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2 • November 4, 2009
Your Hometown Newspaper
Bath County News-Outlook
THE PAINTED TREE
"I showed Colonel Du-
val Payne the road I was
well acquainted with...
and the marks on the
trees, and there were a
great many painted trees
and images of men and
animals cut on the trees
on and about the (Upper
Blue) Lick."
Deposition of James
Ireland, recorded in the
Nicholas County Com-
plete Record Book, de-
posing about the Atlata-
Oh-Waimee, or Warriors
Trail, or War Road, as
it was called. The road
passed from the mouth of
Cabin Creek on the Ohio
River southward to the
Upper Blue Licks, and
then to Plumb Lick and
Ned Boone's Creek. It
was on this creek where
Shawnee warriors killed
Joshua Bennett and
Mathias Spahr; where
Michael Cassidy was
nearly beaten to death
but hid beneath the roots
of a hawthorn tree.
Continued from last
week's column.
Heaven Is I
A LN UkeI
"7"1
I
Nov. 12, 1784, along
the edge of Ned Boone's
Creek,
The small group of fron-
tiersmen found the des-
ecrated bodies of Joshua
Bennett and Mathias
Spahr in the middle
of the War Road, right
where James Beath had
told them they would be.
They'd buried what had
been left of them.
It had been Beath that
had found Cassidy. He'd
been breaking hemp
when Michael Cassidy
had come running out
of the thick woods, but
he was so altered from
his wounds and all the
blood that Beath didn't
recognize him. When he
finally did recognize him,
Cassidy had muttered in
a whisper, "Shawnee ....
they ... killed Bennett
and Spahr," and then he
had collapsed.
Beath carried him back
to Strode's Station, and
Captains John Fleming
and John McIntyre had
set out with Beath and
others to find Bennett
and Spahr.
They buried the two
men, right in the middle
of the War Road and fol-
lowed the trail of the five
warriors to the Ohio Riv-
er, but went no further.
On their return they
saw where wolves had
attempted to dig up the
bodies.
After lingering awhile
between the place where
Bennett and Spahr were
buried and the little
grave near the Plumb
Lick where Ned Boone
was buried, Beath had
spoken some Shawnee
words in a tight whisper.
It had been the only time
he's spoke since they bur-
ied Bennett and Spahr.
Now he stood trans-
fixed, looking at a peeled
oak tree with strange
symbols and figures
painted upon the smooth
side.
Beath was one of the
old guard, one of the orig-
inal Berkley Men who'd
come to Strode's Station
in 1779.
But the Shawnee had
captured him the next
summer while hunting
at Blue Licks. Old man
Orchard had been killed
and Cud Steele had been
taken prisoner too.
Beath had been shot
in the shoulder while he
distracted the warriors
so young Van Swearingin
could make his escape.
Van made a heroic leap
across a deep ravine, and
though he dropped his
musket in the process, he
escaped.
Beath ,and Steele
were made prisoner and
marched back to Old
Chillicothe by a splin-
ter group from the Byrd
Invasion of 1780, when
Ruddle's and Martin's
Station had been cap-
tured.
The Shawnee let
Beath's wound go unat-
tended until it was swol-
len and infected.
Then they made him
run a long gauntlet, with
each Shawnee partici-
pant who was armed with
a switch or a club, taking
particular close aim and
striking Beath's horrible
shoulder wound.
But he had survived
and was released in
peace negotiations in
1783 when British agents
also released many of the
Ruddle's and Martin's
captives.
But his captivity had
hardened him and he
developed a terrible tem-
per.
"Here!" Captain Flem-
ing said as he smacked
Beath's arm with a whis-
key flask.
Beath looked at him
with those crazy eyes,
but they softened when
he saw it was Fleming
who stood by him. He
took the flask and after
flexing his shoulder that
Fleming tapped, seeming
to remind Fleming that
his shoulder still hurt, he
took a long swallow and
handed the flask back to
Fleming.
"It's good to be riding
with you again John,"
Beath said and with a
sly grin poked him in
his stomach, near where
he'd taken his own ter-
rible wound in the Battle
of Upper Blue Licks, two
years earlier.
'"tou gonna' stand
there staring at that tree
all day, or tell us what
is says?" Fleming asked
and added, '2VIy brother
George, who was raised
by the Iroquois showed
me some paintings like
that once, near our base
camp, north of here, and
said it was some warrior's
name. Is that was this is
James?"
Beath turned back and
stared at the painted
tree.
The ancient oak was
easily 20 feet in diameter
and had been carved and
painted upon dozens, per-
haps hundreds of times,
by members of various
clans of Native American
tribes.
Beath starred at what
appeared to be the fresh-
est painting on the tree.
"It's a name of a bad,
Dear Editor,
The History of Bath
County was written by
John Adair Richards, I
believe in 1960 and was
used as the basis for your
recent article on Eleanor
Gillespie. I would like to
try and enlighten your
readers with a few details
omitted by Mr. Richards,
some interesting tidbits
With the help of her son
they tied a rope around
the man's neck and as
the family version goes,
"One went one way and
the other went the other
way." This version was
relayed to me by a descen-
dant of Rebecca Gillespie.
My family descends from
an older daughter, Ann
who married in Sept. of
1817 and helped raise
about what was included: Rebecca ......... :
by the author and also the Interestingly; the May
family's version of events
which corresponds much
closer to the newspaper
account in May of 1817
than the version by Mr.
Richards.
Eleanor was charged
with and found guilty
of the murder of John
Hawkins, the Sheriff of
Bath County, who was
her second husband.
Richards says that the
husband's name was not
listed in the record, but
it is in the newspaper
account, "A Mr. John
Hawkins was murdered
about (April 10th) near
Capt. John Jouett's in
Bath County by Eleanor
Gillespy, his supposed
wife and her son." The
son, Jacob Gillespie's
charges were dropped or
he was acquitted possibly
because of his age - about
14.
The family version of
events was that Hawkins
was a drunkard who was
both physically and sexu-
ally abusive to Eleanor
and her children. She
couldn't turn to "the law"
for help as he was the
law. She took matters
into her own hands on
the night in question. He
was drunk and up to the
usual. Luckily for little 7
yr. old Rebecca Gillespie,
he passed out before he
was able to abuse her.
Eleanor had had enough.
1817 newspaper account
states that "the deceased
being intoxicated, they
took this opportunity of
accomplishing their de-
sign, by putting a rope
round his neck, & one
pulling at each end until
he expired. He was found
with the rope round his
neck, nearly bedded in the
skin." That corresponds
with the family version
of events NOT the book's
version of the molten lead
being poured down his
ears. You might find that
in Shakespeare's Hamlet,
though.
The acting sheriff af-
ter the murder was none
other than the son of
John Hawkins. If he was
anything like his father,
he would not have a prob-
lem with seeing a white
woman hung for murder.
(Eleanor was the first and
only white woman ever to
be hung in the state of
KY.) Hawkins, Jr. is the
one who quite possibly
started the rumor that
Hawkins was murdered
over money, not wanting
the real reason to get out
which would lead to sym-
pathy for the defendants.
The newspaper account
stated %Ve understand
the deceased was in pos-
session of a considerable
sum of money & to obtain
this, they formed the de-
sign of murdering him."
N
Bath County News-Outlook is published every Wednesday by
M.C. Investments d/b/a/Bath County News-Outlook,
71 Miller Drive, Owingsville, KY 40360
Periodicals Postage Rates are paid at Owingsville, KY 40360
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
Bath County News-Outlook, PO Box 272, Carlisle, KY 40311
Members of the Kentucky Press Association
The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors
2009 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $25.00 for year in Bath County, $30.00
elsewhere in Kentucky and $35.00 out of state. Subscriptions include sales tax
where applkable. All subscriptions payable in advance.
In your article, you
mentioned that Col.
George Lansdowne, the
step-father of Richard
Menefee (for whom Me-
nifee Co. was named)
helped in an escape at-
tempt. The man, David
Fahey who stopped the
escape was a friend of the
acting sheriff. Of course,
he was not told of the es-
cape attempt though oth-
ers were in on it as many
of the town's people were.
Another interesting tidbit
was that the murder took
place "near Capt. John
Jouett's in Bath County".
I recently found out that
Richard Menefee was
married to Sarah Bell
Jouett, the granddaugh-
ter of Capt John "Jack"
Jouett. Your readers
may not be aware that
Col. George Lansdowne
acquired his property,
Olympian Springs in
Bath Co. supposedly in
a poker game from Henry
Clay in the 1830's.
Also, your readers
might like to know that
in the book, A Tale of Two
Cities there is a scene
where a woman is taken
to her hanging riding in
a wagon, knitting, very
much like the description
Richards painted of Elea-
nor who "amused herself
by knitting" on the way to
the gallow.
Sincerely,
Roberta P. Newell
A fourth great-grand
daughter of Eleanor Gil-
lespie
Dear Friends,
On Friday night, No-
vember 6, from 5-8 p.m.
participating churches
and supporting organi-
zations in Bath County
will be hosting a Benefit
Fish Fry and Auction for
Jimmy "Buster Lewis
and his wife, Wilma Kis-
sick Lewis. This event
will take place at the Ow-
ingsville First Church of
God, 320 Slate Avenue,
Owingsville, Ky.
For six years Jimmy
has been afflicted with a
very rare illness known
as "Progressive Supranu-
clear Palsy". As a result,
he has been bedfast for
three years, on a feeding
tube for two years and
unable to speak for two
years. Prior to his ill-
ness, Jimmy was an auto-
mobile dealer and Wilma
worked in the kitchen at
the Bath County Middle
School. This long term
illness has been devas-
Churches and community
organizations that are a
part of this fundraiser,
we are urging you to be
supportive. If you would
like to volunteer to help
by selling tickets, provid-
ing auction items or just
being here for the event,
it would be greatly ap-
preciated. I have felt
strongly about helping to
provide this benefit for a
long time because I saw
the need, but, Jimmy
and Wilma wanted to do
all they could for them-
tating financially as well selves before ever giving
as ph~c~j(~:~eb~fiitat-: ~heir consent. However,
ing but because 'of the the time is now-,.here
love and care he receives
from his feimily and home
health, he is able to be at
home. One of the charac-
teristics of our commu-
nity over the years has
been that we respond to
the needs of others when
there are events such as
this benefit and auction
and in behalf of all the
wherein our help is need-
ed and the challenge for
us is to arise to the occa-
sion and respond in such
a degree that Jimmy and
Wilma are blessed and
we are blessed also be-
cause of our willingness
to share.
Blessings,
Lowell C. Rice
bad warrior I know,"
Beath said as he pointed
to the tree. "One of the
bad ones that goes by the
name Blue Jacket."
They mounted their
horses and rode back
home after that.
They imagined they be
arriving in time to dig an-
other grave for that crazy
little Irishman, Michael
Cassidy.
But they ended up being
wrong about that.
Cassidy survived, and
though scarred horribly
for life across his face, he
eventually healed and
became a fierce Indian
Scout.
He often scouted and
hunted with James Beath.
And they would run into
the great Shawnee War
Chief named Blue Jacket
one day in 1787.
But that's another
story, dear reader, and
one I'm sure we will visit
somewhere in the future
if the Good Lord is will-
ing.
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Send letters to:
Editor, Bath County News-Outlook
P.O. Box 272
Carlisle, KY 40311
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Phone: 859-289-6425 • Fax: 859-289-4000
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