James Richardson Tuggle
I was born in Knox County, Kentucky, March 28, 1865. My father was William Tuggle. He was born in Knox County, August 19, 1810. He was a son of Thomas Tuggle, born in 1767, and Susanna Herndon. They were both born in Goochland County, Virginia. Their ages were much the same. They emigrated to Kentucky the latter part of the last century. With my grandparents, there came from Virginia, James Tuggle, my grandfather's brother; Randolph Adams and his wife; Richardson Herndon and his wife; and ______ Pope, whose wife was a sister of my grandmother, also a sister of Richardson Herndon.

Benjamin Tuggle, my uncle, was a soldier in the War of 1812. When about to run the gauntlet, he crowed like a chicken. At that time, Tecumseh said a man who was game to crow at such a time should not be hurt.

My father and G. M. Adams used to go horseback riding to Philadelphia to buy goods, and bring them down to Maysville, Kentucky, on flatboats, and thence on bringing them further on pack horses and wagons. Green Adams, the Congressman, was a son of Randolph Adams.

Harvey Lucas (Manchester, Kentucky)
February 25, 1898
I am 76 years old, and I have been blind for 14 years. I was returning from Estill County, Kentucky, during the Civil War, with Judge Manns (Manus?) and John Peters. We went up Station Camp, near the head of it, and we stayed all night with Larkin Chandler. His wife was a sister of Col. Herd of Owsley County, who was then in command of a regiment in the Union Army. Mrs. Chandler was a fine woman, but Larkin was worthless. They had but one chair, one bed, and one chicken (a hen). The hen was killed and made supper and breakfast for us. The bed was placed on the floor, and we three slept on it.

I do not know what became of Chandler and his wife during the night. I proposed the men to give Mrs. Chandler a dollar each. They refused, saying they had fed Larkin too often for that. I gave her a dollar. Chandler was a soldier, but happened to be home. Since the war, he was drawing a pension, and I learned that he is comfortable. This gives an idea of how people sometimes lived.

Mrs. Nancy Roberts
I was born in 1835 in Clay County, Kentucky. My grandfather was Felix Gilbert, brother of Rev. John Gilbert. He was married and had children when he came here. I do not know when they came. Wallace Gilbert and Mary Ann McCollum were born before they came here. Mrs. McCollum remembers crossing the Cumberland River at the mouth of Strait Creek.

William Gilbert, son of Wallace Gilbert, lives on Richland, in Knox County. He tells that his father's brother's other children were: Felix; Haywood; Asa; Hamilton, my father; Jane, of Knox Jones; John Gilbert, who died 30 years ago on Red Bird; and William Gilbert. Felix married a Snavely in Virginia. Haywood married a Smith.

My father married a Henson, a sister of old Bob Henson of Flat Lick; a wealthy and well-known man, and a great horse trader. He drove horses south, went to California in gold times, and came back. He went with Garrard on the trip, who also took stock.

T. T. Garrard
John Hays married a Callahan. He reported it was the year 1806. Captain Amis and his company marched down the Upper Licks. Keinkade wrote back to General Hugh White for reinforcements.

The Davidsons lived on the Middle Fork, also in Clay. Clay Davidson went to help those on the North Fork. William Asher, grandson of Dillon Asher, told me that his grandfather came to Red Bird in 1800.

John Gilbert began trapping when he first came to these parts. He caught the beavers out of the Beaver Dam on Red Bird, where Carter Holton now lives, just above the mouth of Spring Creek on the right hand side. He also went to the Middle Fork and caught all the beavers at the mouth of Long's Creek. A Renfro once owned the site of Pineville, but a Gibson, who came from Virginia, owned the site before him.

James and Dough Garrard, and Hugh White pooled their issues, and the salt works were in force when the war broke out. They had an agent to sell for all, usually about 50 cents. Grant said of the salt claims of Goose Creek people, "It is just a claim and ought to be paid and would be paid someday, but this is not the time to do it."

Salt was worth $1 a bushel when the works were closed down by the order of General Buck. Mr. Thompson of Louisville was the commissioner who took the proxy in 1863.

William B. Eversole (Cutshin, Kentucky)
January 15, 1898
I was born in Perry County, Kentucky, April 2, 1837. My father's name was Joseph. My mother's name was Sallie Bowling, daughter of Rev. Jesse Bowling, who came from New River, Virginia, and preached the first sermon in Eastern Kentucky. Rev. Bowling was a member of the first association, the Red Bird Association, formed in 1824. He lived near Crockettsville.

My great-grandfather's name was Jacob Eversole. My grandfather's children were: John; Peter; Woolery; Joseph; Abraham; Sallie, who married Deevers; Nancy, who married John Smith; and Polly, who married Thomas Smith. My grandfather died when I was young. I can remember him very distinctly. He was small and low of stature. My grandmother was taller, very active, industrious, and energetic.

John Eversole, son of Jacob, lived and died near where he was born. Roland Eversole, of Harlan, is his son. Roland's son, Green, is a lawyer at Harlan County Courthouse. One of Roland's sons is now superintendent of schools in Letcher County. Some of this branch lives in Wolfe County.

Peter Eversole lived and died in Clay County. He did not have the usual (line) vine of the family. Abraham Eversole, son of Jacob Eversole, lived and died in Owsley County on Buffalo. He had a large family, viz.: John, William, Woolery, Elijah, Lewis, and James (ex-judge of Clay County). John lives in Clay County.
Joseph Eversole, son of Jacob, married an Oliver, and they had children. William Eversole, son of Jacob, died in the army, on Clear Creek in Bell County in 1862. He belonged to the 6th Kentucky Cavalry. Joseph died on Middle Fork.

Woolery Eversole was my grandfather. He married Lucy Cornett. They had children, as follows: William; Elizabeth; Joseph, my father; John, the major, father of Joe; Harry; George; Clark; John; and Abraham.

Shadrick Duff
My brother was killed by the explosion of a keg of gun powder in a storeroom in Hazard when a young man. He snuffed out a candle and threw the snuff into a keg of powder, accidentally. He and my brother, John, were in partnership in the goods business. We lived in Hazard at the time.

John was in the South with a drove of horses at that time. He did not hear of the calamity till he reached home. His wife told him of it, before he got off his horse, whereupon he went to the grave and stuck his riding switch in the fresh dirt. It grew to be a tree, and it stands there today.

Delaney Barger (Hyden, Kentucky)
March 29, 1898
I was born in Perry County, Kentucky, February 9, 1838. I am a son of Jesse Barger, born in Perry County, November 6, 1811. His father was Abraham Barger. He was born in North Carolina, and he came to Kentucky a few years before my father's birth, and settled on the Middle Fork. He was among the first settlers on that river.

Henry Gay came about the same time, and he settled on the mouth of Gay's Creek. Ratliffs and Bowlings settled there about the same time, also Peter Devees.
My father is still living at 86 years of age. I do not know that our name was first Steambarger. My ancestors were German. I do not know how far back they came to America.