CHAPTER 10 JAMES AND JOHN FINNEY: INDIAN FEAR SUBSIDES

Kentucky farmers who grew large crops of corn had trouble exporting their surplus because the United States had allowed Spain maintain the right to navigate the Mississippi River. It became common for farmers in Kentucky to distill the corn into corn whisky, or Kentucky Bourbon whiskey. Like tobacco, now corn could be used as an informal form of currency, in the form of alcohol, and would command high prices when sold to the eastern states, chiefly because of major east-west transportation problems. Whiskey distillers made good profit which allowed them to buy land and other items as hunters had been able to do a decade before. John Finney appears to have been a large-scale distiller of spirits in Woodford County. He was often mentioned in the Kentucky Gazette when the topic of Whiskey was discussed. An excise tax by the United States government unfairly targeted Kentucky distillers and their new form of country currency. The movement taxed whiskey by the gallon (seven cents) and per still and succeeded to put an end to many of the small time distillers.

John Finney operated a still at his home on Cole’s Branch

March 1792 Thomas Marshall wrote a notice in the Kentucky Gazette to registered distillers and mentioned John Finney among a few other prominent distillers. It appears that Thomas Marshall, as inspector of revenue, was following the government’s excise law and taxing those making and selling whisky. John Finney owned a still or distillery that was at this time registered in the state. John was legally paying taxes on the whisky he was manufacturing. Many others illegally made and sold their whisky under the counter. During the 1790’s, it was estimated between 250,000 and 500,000 gallons of locally distilled whiskey escaped taxation. The excise law was not well liked by those in Kentucky because they were unfairly land locked and could not easily sell their product or export it. Richard Steele of Woodford County wrote that Kentucky could have beer or cider like in the other states so they could only substitute distilled spirits for lack of the other.

Figure 1 The boundaries and description of John Finney's 180 acre tract

April 1792 The Finney’s finally bought and received the deed for the land they were living on in April 1792. On April 3, James and John Finney officially purchased the land they had been living on for nearly eight years from Benjamin Craig, each paying 200 pounds.[i] James land was described as 197 ½ acres in Woodford County, south of Jane Burton. John’s land was described as 179 ½ acres in Woodford County by Richard Cole. The brother’s land, of the first rate designation, adjoined each other. The reason this transaction was made at this time is unknown.

John Finney also added a new addition to his family near 1792. Though less is known about the children of John Finney, he and his wife Rachel Finney welcomed a son to Woodford County in early the 1790s. The child received the name John Gibson Finney, presumably after Rachel Taylor-Finney’s father Jonathan Gibson Taylor.[ii] Whether John and Rachel had children previous to this time is unknown though it seems probable that they had, since they had been married for five years. Any children born prior to John G. Finney would have died in infancy or childhood as John G. Finney was later known as the oldest adult child of John and Rachel Finney.[iii] The new son joined older half-sisters Mary and Nancy, who were about seven and six, respectively.

16 May 1792 Though nearing the age of 40, James Finney continued to increase the size of his family, with a little help from his wife Elizabeth. On 16 May, Elizabeth Finney gave birth for the eighth time. James Finney waited with his five children to hear the cries of the newborn. The oldest, 13 year old Nancy, helped keep her younger siblings, including three-year-old James, from making a fuss as they waited. Finally, the family learned they were to be joined by a baby girl. James and Elizabeth named their new daughter after Elizabeth’s mother Judith (Juda) Christy-Gibbs.

May 1792 John Finney served as a justice in the Woodford County court for the last time.[iv] It had been three years since he first took the oath to become a justice. Eleven of the twelve original justices chosen to preside over county court still attended these monthly meetings, though some very seldom. In the three years he did serve the court, he was at 26 court proceedings, easily one of the most trustworthy and active justices in the county during his tenure. He never presided over court as senior judge but was second in seniority several times (Only Robert Marshall, John Craig, Richard Young, Robert Johnson, John Watkins and William Cave sat in court as senior justices). Two months earlier, eight new justices were added to the county court; Marquis Calmes, John Grant, Charles Scott, Bartlett Collins, James Marshall, John Crittendon, William Henry, and Robert Alexander. During this first part of 1792, Kentucky had become a state and during the making of the state constitution, new justices were selected. John would not be a member of this court that officially began in October, but would serve the county in the future within different capacities, like during May 1792 as the commissioner to appoint Deputy Surveyors in the county, along with Richard Young. The Woodford representatives who met at Danville for the creation of the new Kentucky constitution were John Watkins, Richard Young, William Steele, Caleb Wallace, and Robert Johnson.

4 June 1792 The first official General Assembly of Kentucky finally convened, according to the new state constitution. The delegates representing the counties of Kentucky appointed Isaac Shelby of Lincoln County to be their first governor. Those from Woodford County at this meeting, now at the newly formed capital in Frankfort, were John Watkins, Richard Young, William Steele, Robert Johnson, John Grant, and George Muter.

1792 From the Woodford County tax records, the life of the Finneys is partially revealed. These tax records were the first to show how many cattle county citizens owned. James and John Finney each listed 31 head of cattle, not to mention James owning eight horses while John had six. To avoid losing cattle, John reported to the Woodford court in December 1790 that his stock would have “a crop in the left ear and hole in the right.” Settlers’ farms were now raising most of their own meat. Hunting had, though still entertaining, was no longer a necessity. During the waning years of the 1780s, wild game became less abundant. Buffalo herds numbered less than 20 head and were only seen in western Kentucky and on the Mississippi River. Deer herds were greatly thinned and beaver and otter were completely trapped out. Panthers, bears, and wolves were now being killed as garden pests.

The Finneys’ barns had to be large to shelter horses, tobacco, corn, and other crops from weather. Harrowing, plowing, and planted corn seed began in the spring. Once cold weather arrived and corn had achieved full growth, the Finneys and their slaves cut, shocked, and husked ripe corn. Sometimes the corn was pulled into the barn and they had a husking bee with friends and family.

1792 It was apparent that James and John Finney were not of those that were opposed to slavery in Kentucky. They now owned nine and six slaves respectively and had owned slaves since they were young. Many clergy and most non-land-holders and non-slave-owners in Kentucky were outspokenly against slavery. Even Robert and Levi Todd, both highly esteemed citizens of Lexington, were opposed to slavery and would emancipate, or free, their slaves by 1799.[v] But, most of the delegates that sat in the 1792 convention to draw up the Kentucky constitution were slaveholders and it was decided that they would not deal with the slave issue. Many slave owners felt it was wrong but could not and did not do anything about it. There is no way to tell exactly how James and John Finney felt about this issue but they owned slaves and would continue to own them and use them throughout their lives on their farms and in their homes. One thing is for sure, the Finney slaves were instrumental in the Finney immigration to Kentucky, protection of the family, building homes, cropping the land, and maintaining good financial and social standing.

During the constitutional convention, Frankfort selected to become the state capitol of Kentucky. This town was chosen over seven othes, including Leestown just southeast of the Finneys. It was interesting to note that the church appeared to have played an important role in this selection. Five out of the nine men responsible in this voting were members of the Forks of the Elkhorn Church, located just a few miles southeast of Frankfort, at the crossroads of Steele’s Ferry Road and the Lexington-Leestown Road.

June 1792 The year 1792 marked a new beginning for western Virginians; they no longer were citizens of the state of Virginia. Kentucky citizens finally had their statehood and could now make many of their own decisions. However excited this made them; this did not stop the Indians from continuing to terrorize the settlers, old and new. In June 1792, Indians tomahawked three women who were pulling flax at Long Lick in Nelson County. Also, on June 19, men were cutting grass at Fort Jefferson on the Ohio River when they were fired upon by Indians leaving four dead and eight missing, taken as prisoners. Unfortunately, four of the prisoners were found burnt alive shortly after being whisked away. The other four eventually escaped and reported via the Kentucky Gazette that the Indians “were determined on war and will not treat, but kill every white man who attempts to go to them, either with or without flag.”

August 1792 An detailed example of Indians attacking an unexpected home appeared this month in the Kentucky Gazette. Seven Indians approached the house of Mr. Stevenson in Madison County. Before the family was out of bed early in the morning, six entered the cabins and fired into the beds of the sleeping family. Two shots broke the thigh and arm of Mrs. Stevenson and another in the house was killed. Mr. Stevenson was stabbed several times. Another man in the house grabbed a rifle and shot the stabbing Indian, scaring all of the other natives away.

Another attack on a home occurred on a family near the Finney homes.[vi] There were two families living together, brothers Hosea and Jesse Cook, at Innes Bottom settlement just northeast of Frankfort. The Cook brothers were outside shearing their sheep when they were fired upon by a band of Indians. One was killed and the other ran into the house, closed the door, and died on the floor. The women in the house locked the door and the Indians tried at all cost to enter the home. One of the women used a gun to fire through a crack and killed one of the Indians, causing them to flee. After about two hours, Colonel John Finney arrived with a company of men and went after the Indians. It was found later that the Indians had hidden themselves fearing they would be found. These savages had come, unexpectedly too far into the settlement, forcing them to lay low until their escape was clear. Ultimately, after the militia searched to no avail for a few days and finally conceded, they escaped.

A few days after the Cook massacre, a boy named Jared Demint was captured by Indians on Eagle Creek, near the same area. Twenty five men from Scott County, bordering Woodford County to the north, came to search for the boy, stopped at the home of Louis Easterday, got drunk, and when they came to, found that the Indians had stolen all of their horses. The Indians ended up escaping from a cave on Glen’s Creek a few days later. Could these men have been the company of John Finney? The Finneys lived very near the Scott County-Woodford County border. Both stories were told from two different sources so we may never know but the possibility seems plausible.

September 1792 Anthony Wayne wrote to General Charles Scott in Kentucky that the President and the Secretary of War had given him orders to “make those audacious savages feel our superiority in arms and to prevent the murder of helpless women and children.” Washington and Knox also urged Wayne to continue with his discipline of the newly formed troops, sent as a result of a Congress meeting several months before. Wayne had been training his troops near Fort Pitt but deserters were high and recruitment numbers low, there was little pay to offer a standing army. Wayne was strictly enforcing laws against deserting, insubordination, and other crimes against enlisted men in the army. He held the troops accountable and tried them all in court, some even put to death. From these actions, Anthony Wayne was branded with the nickname “Mad Anthony.”

General Wayne was convinced that peace was impossible and victory by the sword was the only way to secure that peace. Secretary of War Knox agreed but was also sympathetic to the entire country, still less than a decade removed from the long, draining war of rebellion. He reasoned there was time to spare and would take every measure to avoid an Indian war. The people of Kentucky would not have agreed with Knox about having time. Seemingly every day an Indian attack took the lives of their family, friends, or neighbors.

January 1793 The Kentucky Gazette reports that the conditions in Kentucky were “extreme” and one can only imagine what the citizens of Kentucky were feeling. During January 1793, the Gazette reported that Indian atrocities have increased in southern Kentucky and the Tennessee district without cessation over the last year.

January 1793 Another road was created near the Finney farms on Coles Branch. In the Woodford County Court meeting in January, John Finney, John Cole, Samuel Gregory, and Richard Bohannon were ordered to “mark a way for a road from Coles Ford on South Elkhorn and intersect to old Lees Town Road leading to Major Blackburn.” These men were to report the progress to the next court. This road still exists today as Fishers Mill Road, directly across from the location of Cole’s Bad Inn.

In February 1793, the Gazette reported on of the success of the patriotic army in France and how pleased the Kentuckians should be as they learn of the events of the French Revolution. The citizens of this country, however distinct, were under the impression that anything that affects the cause of freedom in any way was…very interesting. Dinners were reportedly given in several places to celebrate patriotic French victories. These celebrations were organized before the real action occurred in France as later in 1793, the “Reign of Terror” began and within a year, up to 40,000 French citizens were executed by the guillotine.

April 1793 More news of Indian attacks spread quickly about Kentucky, especially now that information was so easily passed by reading the Kentucky Gazette. In April, Morgan’s Station on Slate Creek was taken and burnt by a party of 35 Indians. Two of the Station’s inhabitants were killed and 19 were taken prisoners. A large party of militia immediately pursued the Indians. After about 30 miles they found all of the prisoners tomahawked, scalped, and dead. However, one woman was not dead but her skull was broken and depressed about three inches. She actually lived with the permanent disfigurement. Also in April, very close to the Finney farms, Indians captured a man on his way to Steele’s Ferry on the Kentucky River. At the same time, about 50 Indians attacked a Station on Russell’s Creek and set up a siege that lasted for 24 hours but without ever affecting anything. The inhabitants had been alerted to their approach and had made defensive preparations. Though the siege resulted in little damage, they killed a man near the station and shot 19 balls into him.

One man, during this time, wrote in a letter about Kentucky that “to see the country all in forts, breaking up, leaving their farms, their houses and corn burnt up, is truly deplorable. At this time nearly half the country is in forts.”

Spring 1793 Continuing through the spring, more reports of Indian attacks reached the Finney ears and eyes. Indians in May took two boys near the mouth of Goose Creek in Jefferson County. After taking them away, they tomahawked and scalped one of them and then cut and mangled the body in a most savage way. Also, Indians took a boat on the Ohio River. All 16 men aboard were killed with their heads and hands cut off and bodies ripped open.

President Washington had been awakened to the sense of duty to protect the western country, not because of sufferings of settlers but from contempt offered to general government in the form of a refusal by the Indians to treat at an earlier planned treaty northwest in Sandusky, New York.

July 1793 As evident by increased Indian atrocities in Kentucky, Indians remained confident from their big victory in November 1791 over St. Clair’s army. They vowed to accept no compromises. All throughout the summer of 1793, continued attempts by Congress to incur peace failed. In July 1793, General Wayne sent men to attempt to negotiate a treaty in Detroit with the Indians but were turned down, as the Indians were insistent on keeping all lands north of the Ohio River. Wayne received this news in September, too late in the year for any large campaign to be planned and carried out, even though General Charles Scott joined him near Fort Jefferson with 1,000 mounted Kentucky militia. Wayne decided to hold ground and defend Kentucky through the winter as they expected renewed Indian hostility after the unsuccessful treaty attempts. He knew the British were still encouraging the Indians and the Indians remained very arrogant.

December 1793 At the December Woodford County court proceeding, another road was ordered to be created near the Finney farms. It was ordered that John Finney, John Cole, Samuel Gregory, and Richard Bohannon view and mark a way for a road to be established, running from Cole’s Ford on South Elkhorn south to intersect the old Leestown Road and then leading to Major George Blackburn’s farm. Presumably, part of this route is now the road known as Fisher’s Mill Road.

The oldest Finney boys were nearing teenage years. They lived for the day as all boys did, that they would own their own gun. Normally, a boy was given a gun by the age of 12 or 13 and would practice until he could hit a nail on the head at 60 yards. The ability to shoot straight allowed a young lad to gain a good reputation. Neighbors would get together and have squirrel-hunting tournaments. Horse races were common and bets to go along were certainly not rare. Horse talk in Kentucky was now as common as Indian drama. Many men took great pride in their fine-bred horses, including neighbor Robert Alexander who was known for raising fine thoroughbred horses at his farm called “Woodburn.” In consideration of another form of Kentucky entertainment, a boy who grew up on a Kentucky plantation stated “we all danced as soon as our legs and arms were manageable.” Dances might include cotillions, hornpipes, allemandes, waltzes, gavottes and reels. Other sources of enjoyment included spectating at cockfights, wrestling, and playing cards; inevitably all involving some degree of betting and wagers.

The Finneys were running a modest plantation. In would seem that they were of an upper gentry status, certainly a goal for most men. Only one in twelve Woodford County citizens owned more than 1,000 acres and James Finney indeed owned well over that total. Ownership of large amounts of lands and numerous slaves determined who was considered a “gentleman” in Bluegrass Kentucky; over attire, manners, and horse breeding. James Finney was certainly a gentleman land owner but John Finney attempted to climb the gentry level through other means; with his political work and titles. Only 42 of the nearly 900 households in Woodford County during the mid-1790s owned ten or more slaves. According to tax records in Woodford County in the 1790s, James Finney owned nine slaves and John Finney owned between six and eight.

May 1794 In their 19thyear of marriage, James and Elizabeth Finney welcomed their ninth child (two had died young) into existence. Their new daughter was given the name Milley Finney. The inspiration for their new child’s name is unknown. Whether this was her official name or a nickname that could have been short for Mildred, Millicent, or Emily, is not clear. She was born on 26 May 1794. The James Finney family now consisted of seven children.

A short distance from the James Finney farm was the scene of a similar occurrence around 1794. A daughter was also born to John and Rachel Finney. They would name their child Eleanor M. Finney. There were no known females named Eleanor that could be a namesake for this child. However, Rachel Taylor-Finney’s sister had a daughter a few years later that was named Eleanor Madison Taylor so it seems plausible that John and Rachel’s daughter was actually named Eleanor Madison Finney. The John Finney family now included at least four children.

Some of James and John Finney’s children were very young but several were old enough to attend school. Like their fathers, the children probably attended the small county schools in the area. Woodford meeting house or Woodford Church was traditionally said to have been used as a school. There was possibly a school at the Big Spring meetinghouse as well. While schools were available, often the most convenient form of education took place at home. The Finney’s were certainly capable of educating their children in the Finney family rooms.

12 June 1794 Churchill Gibbs, James Finney’s brother-in-law, sold a 666 2/3 acre tract of land in Barren County to James and John Finney (Appendix 49). This land was described from its 30 March 1792 survey as “…on Sorells or Peters Creek…on the Big Barren River…” Churchill Gibbs had received 2666 2/3 acres in the form of a military warrant for three years service as a lieutenant in the Virginia State Line of the Revolutionary War in May 1784.[vii] Gibbs had lived in Kentucky but may have moved back to Culpeper County by this time or just after the sale. In 1794, this area south and west of the Bluegrass was known as “The Green River Country.” Population reportedly consisted of a handful of squatters, including “hunters, horse thieves and savages where wretchedness, poverty and sickness will always reign.” The land was also known as the “Barrens to the South” as one-third of this area constituted prairies and grasslands. Longtime Virginia belief was that soil fertility was judged by the number and assortment of the trees on the land. Barren County land was assigned originally to be given as military land warrants to Revolutionary soldiers until the Homestead Act of 1795. There is never any reference to the Finneys using this land in any way, only paying taxes on it. It is possible that their brother William may have lived on or near this land but it is not for certain. There was a William Finney that lived in the area during these years.[viii] The Finneys also could have used it for hunting ground or may have built a small cabin for the purpose of hunting in the off growing season.

Figure 2 Location of the "Green River Country" and the approximate location of the Finney land on Peter's Creek

About 1794 James Finney held a large tract of land to the northeast on Triplett’s Creek, a branch of the Licking River. Each year, James made tax payments on this 5,740 acre tract and likely rarely laid eyes upon it. However, this much land was responsible for and elevated level in James Finney’s social status. In 1794, James only paid taxes for 2,870 acres, exactly half the land. Therefore, half of the land was either sold or given away.

July 1794 An Indian army of 2,000 attacked Fort Recovery where General Wayne’s army was stationed deep in the Ohio country. The attack was easily repelled and set the Indian community into a lesser state of aggression and confidence. Later in the month, 1,500 to 1,600 mounted militia volunteers under Major Charles Scott of Kentucky marched north and arrived at Fort Greenville, near Fort Recovery. In two days they had combined with General Wayne’s army and were marching 3,500 men strong directly into the Indian stronghold to the northeast. Within two weeks they had marched nearly 100 miles and built Fort Defiance to protect their rear as they continued to march north. On August 20, the army was ordered to charge on the Indian defense. The Indians fled headlong and within 45 minutes the Battle of Fallen Timbers was over. The British had closed its northern fort doors so the fleeing Indians had nowhere to find safety. The Indians were stunned by the defeat at Fallen Timbers and the failure of the British to support them.

September 1794 John Finney became the collector of revenue at some time during or before 1794. In the 20 September 1794 issue of the Kentucky Gazette, John Finney, under the title of Collector of the Revenue, had some sort of advertisement regarding the collection of taxes. Working in this capacity, John would have a huge responsibility collecting moneys from taxes and other county generated revenue. Enforcing the excise tax, which as mentioned before deeply angered Kentuckians, was a dangerous job. Revenuers were known to have received threats of violence, often discouraging collectors from doing their jobs. Two collectors the year before were assaulted by angered men being taxed, who forcibly took back their confiscated whiskey. Another collector in Fayette County was pulled from his horse, tarred, rolled in leaves, and warned of more to come. Again in September, John Finney was mentioned in a Kentucky Gazette advertisement notice to persons desiring a license for retailing spirits. The article mentions John Finney of Woodford County, as well as Thomas Marshall, another retailer of spirits in the county. All during this whiskey rebellion, distillers continued to dodge the excise tax. Even when caught by the collectors of revenue, distillers were never convicted. A judge at the time reported that not one of the 50 defendants for this crime during his term was convicted. This must have been a tough job for John Finney and certainly did not win him much popularity with local distillers.

April 1795 Again the following year, another Finney is found in the Kentucky Gazette. This time, it was James Finney, James found a steer on or near his land in Woodford County and put an advertisement for the lost steer in the Gazette so the owner could be found.

6 April 1795 James and John Finney were issued the 666 2/3 acre land grant by the state of Kentucky, who now controls the grants issued within its own borders. Just two years earlier, Churchill Gibbs had sold the survey to the Finney men. The grant would arrive much more quickly than they had when they had previously been issued by the state of Virginia. The Finneys hoped that hanging on to this land would either lead to a big profit one day, provide a place to move if the situation in Woodford County went bad, or offer their children an opportunity to improve their own young lives when the time was right.

Starting with the following chapter, the spelling of “Finney” will be changed to “Finnie.” There is really no known date that the surname actually changed, it just appears to have evolved into a new spelling. The spelling of “Finnie” had been used prior to this date and the spelling of “Finney” would continue to be used after this date. The fact of the matter is that both of these men signed documents early in their lives “Finney” and both signed their will “Finnie.” A change definitely occurred at some point so in this book it will take place now.

[i] This has been a great source of confusion. Why did they buy the land from Benjamin Craig? There was never a record of sale from Abraham Haptenstall to a Craig. Elijah Craig had taken Haptenstall to court from an 11 August 1785 document and may have claimed some or all of this land during that time.

[ii] Actually, John G. Finney was never known as John Gibson Finney. His son was known to have held that middle name. Therefore, it is pure conjecture that I have placed the “ibson” on the “G” since it makes good sense that this father-son tandem shared their name.

[iii] John Finnie will of 1811 Union County, Kentucky

[iv] or did he just not attend any more due to other obligations or services to the county

[v] Aron

[vi] Reported in Shane’s Manuscripts and in Daniel Trabue’s biography

[vii] 26 May 1784

[viii] Actually a William and presumably his brother or kinsman Robert Finney lived there and raised families in the same vicinity as the James and John Finney land

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