Henry Clay Perkins
B. December 1843, Morgan Co. KY
d. July 25, 1906, Centerville, Lawrence Co., KY
Note: military marker, buried Hensley Cemetery, Needmore Road, Webbville, Lawrence Co. KY
Married 1) Eliza/Louisa Jane Prince, 26. July, 1865, at Ironton, Lawrence Co. Ohio
Source: Lawrence Co. OH, Marriage Records
Eliza Jane Prince
b. June 11, 1845, Lawrence Co., KY
d. September 7, 1895, Lawrence Co., KY
d/o James Prince and Mary Elizabeth Hensley
Notes: Buried Hensley Cemetery, Needmore Road, Webbville, Lawrence Co. KY. Has a private marker.
Quarrel at Henry's Station
Cherokee - James F. Prince (1) and Thomas N. Perkins (2) visited Henry's Station last Sunday and witnessed a quarrel between Eliza J. Perkins (3) and Angeline Griffith (4), in which both drew revolvers but no shots were exchanged.
Source: The Ashland Independent, March 15, 1884.
Research notes:
(1) James F. Prince [16]: Son of William and Susan Prince
(2) Thomas N. Perkins [18]: Thomas W. Perkins [?], son of Spencer Perkins
(3) Eliza J. Perkins [39]: Henry Clay Perkins' wife
(4) Angeline Griffith [21]: Angeline Hensley perhaps who lived as servant in Henry Clay Perkins' household in 1880? She was the daughter of Stephen Hensley and wife Pollie.
Children of Henry Clay Perkins and Eliza Jane Prince
1- Elihu PERKINS
b. abt. 1866
2- Isibell PERKINS
b. Dec. 18, 1870
d. aft. 1945
m. David Kitchen in 1893
Note: s/o Nehemia Kitchen. According to one source, after Belle's death, David married 2.) Minerva Banks. David Kitchen died in 1903 and is buried in the Hensley Cemetery, Needmore Road, near Webbville, Law. Co. KY. According to Samuel Everett’s obituary, Belle Kitchen was still living in 1945, in Portsmouth, OH. Perhaps Isibell and David divorced.]
3- Mary E. PERKINS
b. May 11, 1873
d. June 11, 1892
Notes: Mary died three weeks to the day after the birth of her son, Howard F. Webb
m. Wiley B. WEBB
b. November 10, 1870
d. Oct. 29, 1955
s/o Wesley Webb and Abigail Pennington
4- Zylpha PERKINS
b. May 17, 1874, Lawrence Co. KY
d. Aug. 21, 1875, Lawrence Co. KY, of diphtheria.
5- Samuel Everett PERKINS
b. June 10, 1876
d. Oct. 1, 1945
m. Dec. 7, 1893
Sarah Ellen "Ella" WRIGHT
b. November 1, 1879
d. March 21, 1952, Portsmouth, Scioto Co., OH
d/o Benjamin Wright and Perlina Hensley
6- Fred PERKINS
b. Dec. 1884
Henry Clay Perkins
Married 2.) Mary Jane Auxier, Dec. 23, 1895, in Centerville, Lawrence Co., KY.
Mary Jane Auxier
b. March 1873
d.
d/o Amanuel Hensley Auxier (s/o Sarah Ann Murphy Hensley & son or stepson of John L. Auxier) and Mary Jane “Polly” Kitchen (d/o Andrew Kitchen & Winnifred Bays)
Henry Clay Perkins and Mary Jane Auxier had no children.
Biography
My great-great Grandfather Henry Clay Perkins was born December 1843 in Morgan County, KY. Before he reached the age of two, Henry and his mother Aggy Perkins moved and settled on a farm near Webbville, Lawrence County, KY.
In October of 1861, Henry bid his mother and siblings farewell and traveled from his home in Webbville to Catlettsburg, KY and enrolled as a private in Captain James H. Davidson's Company B, 14th KY Infantry Regiment. Henry was only 17 at the time, yet he told the enrollment officer that he was 19 years old, probably fearing that he would be rejected from service because of his age.
Before long, Henry and his comrades were involved in a number of actions ~ Action at Ivy Creek on November 8, 1861~ Battle of Middle Creek on January 10, 1862 and several other smaller skirmishes.
The first three months of 1862 were mainly spent in winter quarters at Paintsville, KY and the weather contributed to much sickness among the men in the regiment. Henry, being no exception, spent March and April of 1862 in the hospital in Lexington.
Spring of 1862 saw a change and the 14th KY was assigned to General Morgan's 7. Division, Army of the Ohio, and marched to Cumberland Ford, KY. The objective was to capture Cumberland Gap and this was accomplished by the 7. Division on June 18, 1862. The following three months were spent fortifying the strategic stronghold.
Engagements with the enemy were rare, yet on August 6, 1862, while participating on a foraging expedition near Tazewell, TN with DeCourcy's brigade, the 14th KY encountered part of Kirby Smith's force that was preparing to invade Kentucky.
Faced with an overwhelming Confederate force, DeCourcy's brigade began their retreat. The ground was uneven, two fences had to be crossed and the men were being flanked on two sides ~ a dangerous situation indeed! Despite orders to move quickly to the rear and to safety, the 14th KY repeatedly stopped to fire at the pursuing enemy that was rapidly approaching them.
It was during this action that Henry was shot in the right leg. His comrades managed to move him off the field and the next day, back at Cumberland Gap, his leg was amputated by Akin C. Miller, Regimental Surgeon of the 14th KY. Miller was a skilled doctor and it is probably due to his medical knowledge that Henry survived this operation. [Miller was from Orrville, OH. In 1881, he moved to Cleveland where he opened a medical practice at 89 Euclid Ave., Rm. 38]
This was not the end of Henry's adventure by all means. Not only fighting for his life in the hospital (this type of operation had a 50% survival rate) it became evident that the Federal forces at Cumberland Gap were hopelessly cut off from the outside world. Food began to run short and after a council of war it was decided to evacuate the Gap.
On September 17, 1862, the 7. Division left the Gap under cover of night and made their way to the Ohio River and on to safety. The men in the hospital at the Gap were not so lucky - they were captured on September 18, 1862. It is very likely that Henry became a prisoner as well. The first glimpse we catch of him was at Danville, KY where he reported to his regiment on December 15, 1862 from where he was sent to Hospital No. 2 in Lexington [Morrison Hall, Transylvania University. The building still exists!] where he was admitted December 18, 1862. Five days later, on December 23, he was sent to Camp Dennison, OH where he arrived on December 25, 1863. He remained in Ward 23, Bed 6 and was outfitted with a wooden leg and finally discharged on disablity on Dec. 31, 1862 at Camp Dennison, OH. [Other records state that Henry was discharged from service at Danville, KY.] His Captain Ham Davidson and the boys in the 14th KY Infantry Regiment took up a collection for Henry which amounted to several hundred dollars. The money was given to him before leaving the service. No doubt, it enabled him and his mother to help pay for the property in Lawrence County that they acquired soon after Henry's return home.
After leaving camp he made his way back home on foot and it is said that along the way a black family helped him and gave Henry food.
In March of 1864, the Medical District Office, Northern Department, in Columbus, Ohio provided him with an artificial limb, manufactured by B. F. Palmer of Philadelphia, which served him well throughout the remainder of his life. A contemporary ad stated about Palmer's Artificial Limb, "The joints, by novel contrivance of elastic cords, performing the office of muscles and tendons ...The peculiar characteristics of this limb, are life-like elasticity and flexibility, excessive lightness, durability, adaptability, and perfection of exterior appearance. It possesses the true principles of ventilation, allowing currents of air to pass to the stump without sacrificing other more important properties."
His disability never seemed to slow Henry down much, though. In January 1865, he engaged in business with Colonel George W. Gallup, former commander of the 14th KY. He also took his sweetheart Eliza Jane Prince across the Ohio River to Ironton where they were married on July 26, 1865 - a union that resulted in six children.
In later years, Henry founded a small lumbertown named Henry's Station, later re-named Perkinstown, but also known as Centerville, located at the junction of Rte. 201 and Needmore Road, near Webbville, Lawrence Co., KY. The town declined during the Depression in the 1930's and the remains were later razed. Henry and Eliza owned a house lot, a store and the saloon. The store sold everything from dresses to farm equipment and there was hard cider in barrels under the counter.
In politics, Henry was a staunch Republican. He flew the US flag next to his store, but only if the Republicans were in office. On July 4, the Democrats in town would steal his wooden leg, haul down his flag and leave him laying helpless.
In older years, Henry grew a long white beard and wore bib overalls. He liked children and would often tell jokes to them. In return, when Henry wanted just "to get away from it all", the children would saddle his horse for him and then Henry would take off riding for a while.
The war had made an impact on Henry's health and in later years he suffered from heart disease to the extent that the slightest exertion would cause "smothering". His eyesight was deteriorating as well. After his wife Eliza died in 1895, Henry married Mary Jane Auxier in 1896, who was 30 years his junior. Mary Jane took care of Henry until his death on July 25, 1906 in Centerville.
Henry Clay Perkins is laid to rest beside his wife Eliza on top of a high hill, in Hensley Cemetery on Needmore Road, Lawrence County. His grave has a military marker.
Notes: I am in part indebted to Michael Perkins, NY, for supplying some of the information about my great-great-grandfather.
CENSUS RECORDS
1860 Census Lawrence Co. KY, HH # 649
Henry Perkins, 16, farmhand. Living with his mother Aggy Perkins.
1870 Lawrence Co. KY, Precinct 11, HH # 48-48
PERKINS Henry 27 M W Farmer $ 200 [Real Estate] $ 235 [Personal Property] KY
PERKINS Eliza J. 25 F W Keep House KY
PERKINS Elihu 4 M W KY
1880 Census of Lawrence Co. KY,Voting Precinct 2, HH # 23
PERKINS, H C W M 37 Farmer Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky
Louisa J W F 36 Wife Keeping House Kentucky Virginia Kentucky
Elihu W M 14 Son Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky
Isabel W F 9 Daughter Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky
Mary E W F 7 Daughter Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky
Samuel W M 3 Son Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky
HENSLEY, Angeline W F 17 Servant Keeping House Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky
1890 Lawrence Co. KY Veteran Census
Henry C. Perkins - leg shot off, heart disease; P.O.Webbville.
1900 Census of Lawrence Co., KY, Magisterial District # 3, East Fork Precinct, HH # 195
PERKINS, Henry Dec. 1845 54 married 4 yrs.
Mary J. Mch.1873 27 married 4 yrs.
Fred Dec. 1884 15
TAX RECORDS
1865 Lawrence Co. Taxlist
Henry Perkins
Property: 43 acres, Cherokee
Value: $ 50
1 horse
Value: $ 50
1 cattle
1866 Lawrence Co. Taxlist
Henry C. Perkins
4 children (6-18 yrs. old)
4 hogs
1 voter
1867 Lawrence Co. Taxlist [almost illegible in places]
Henry C. Perkins
1868 Lawrence Co. Taxlist
Hindrick Perkins [Henry?]
Property: 50 acres, Cherokee
Value: $ 100
1 horse
Value: $ 60
1869 Lawrence Co. Taxlist
Henry Perkins
Property: 60 acres, Cherokee
Value: $ 75
1 mare
Value: $ 50
3 cattle
1 hog
1 white male over 21
No taxlists exist for the years 1870, 1871 and 1872.
1873 Lawrence Co. Taxlist
Henry Perkins
Property: 180 acres, Dry Fork
Value: $ 200
1 horse
Value: $ 60
6 cattle
15 lbs. tobacco
2 children (6-20 yrs. old)
$5 worth in gold, silver, metal, watch, clocks
1 white male over 21
qualified voter
1874 Lawrence Co. Taxlist
Henry C. Perkins
Nearest neighbor: John Lemings
1882 Lawrence Co. Taxlist - Election Precinct No. 2
Henry C. Perkins
Nearest neighbor: Isaac Lemings
Acres: 150
Value of land: $ 500
Hogs: 4
Value: $ 8
Sheep: 3
Value: $ 4
Corn: 100 bushels
Horse: 1
Value: $50
LAND RECORDS
Feb. 21, 1874
Indenture from Rose Heirs to Henry C. Perkins
William J. Withrow & Martha J. Withrow, his wife [from Greenup Co. KY]
John J. Rose & Elizabeth Rose, his wife [from Carter Co. KY]
Isom Hensley & Nancy Hensley, his wife
John Hicks & Elizabeth Hicks, his wife [from Greenup Co. KY]
Samuel Rose & Elen [?], his wife
Levi Kitchen for Lydia Kitchen's Heirs
Elisha Wellman & Mary P. Wellman, his wife
Jacob Rose & Robert Rose
Walter Osburn Guardian for Julia [?] A. G. Griffith Heirs
1. property: "... for and in consideration of One hundred dollars in hand paid ... grant unto the said Henry C. Perkins a parcel of land, situated on Dry Fork and Camp Branch of the Little fork of Little Sandy River ... Beginning on a Ridge between Duvalle branch and Orchard [?] Branch, crossing Camp Branch, ... on the west side of..the Falls on William Lemings' line ... to a stake in the County Road up and down Dry Fork, to a pine on the Duvall Line...
2. property: "on Dry Fork of Little Fork of Little Sandy River, being one fourth part ...in a 50 acre survey that was deeded by James Young to Samuel Leming, Decd., this fourth part being Mary Rose's part and interest...
[Lawrence Co. KY Deedbook L, pp. 177/178]
June 10, 1875
Elizabeth Ratliff, William Leming and Jane Leming, his wife, in consideration of 300 dollars in other land, "lying on the River [?] Fork of Cherokee Creek"' grant, bargain, sell and convey to Henry C. Perkins, "a certain tract or parcel of land Situated on Dry Fork of Little Fork of Little Sandy River, beginning at the Williams line on the South side of Dry Fork ..."
[Lawrence Co. KY Deedbook 2, p. 550]
April 19, 1889
Indenture between H. C. Perkins and Eliza J. Perkins of Lawrence Co. KY, of the first part, and L. P. Watson, of Lawrence Co. KY, of the second part:
Witnesseth, that the party of the first part, for and in consideration of his indebtness to the party of the second part as follows: $1200 twelve hundred dollars as shown by note due and payable April 17, 1890 which is secured by this mortgage for value received of the said Watson in Merchandise the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged and to secure the payment of the same, hath granted, bargained and sold, and by these presents doth grant, bargain, and sell, to the party of thee second part all of the described:
Parcel or tract of land lying and being in the County of Lawrence and state of Kentucky and on Dry Fork of Little Fork of Little Sandy River near the Mouth of Equal Fork of Dry Fork.
Bounded as follows to wit:
Viz Beginning near a Papaw on bank of County road thence an east course to Narrows of road near forks of creek below house thence up with Equal fork of Dry Fork with said creek to a stake above said Perkins house thence back to the Beginning.
Containing about one acre ___ the same more or less.
Eliza Perkins wife of HC Perkins herein relinquishes all her right title and expectancy of dower in and to the said land conveyed by this deed.
Mortgage recorded July 27, 1889
[Lawrence Co. KY Mortgage Book 3, pp. 182/183]
Note: A nearly identical indenture was recorded for Meredith Perkins and wife Matilda on the same day, five acres of land, for a debt of $1200 in merchandise. Sum payable on the same date.
[Lawrence Co. KY Mortgage Book 3, pp. 184/185]
Sept. 7, 1904
Indenture between H. C. Perkins and Jane Perkins, parties of the first part, and James W. Prince, party of the second part.
"The Sum of Two Hundred and Thirty Eight dollars of which 1/3 is due Feb. 15, 1905; and one third due May 15, 1905 and one third due August 15, 1905.
And to secure the payment of same, has granted, bargained and sold ...all of the following real estate:
A certain tract or parcel of land lying and being in the County of Lawrence and State of Kentucky and Situated on Dry Fork of Little Fork of Little Sandy River and at the Mouth of Equal Fork of same and bounded as follows - Beginning at a stake at the Creek about 30 yards above the mouth of Equal Fork and on the E. side the Creek, thence an E. course a straight line
to a stake at E. corner of yard, thence a S. course a straight line to a stake at the upper corner
of Spencer Perkins' yard, thence E. course with Spencer Perkins' line to a rock near the road
thence a N. E. course to a hickory on top of hill, thence E. to 3 hickories at the B. F. Webb line on top of ridge, thence a W. course to the Creek, thence with Creek to beginning - and containing 10 acres more or less.
Witnessed by J. T. Swetnam and Joseph Fields. Mortgage recorded Sept. 9, 1904
[Lawrence Co. KY Mortgage Book 8, pp. 520/521]
MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS
Military Service- Civil War
Henry Clay Perkins served as private in Co. B, 14th KY Infantry [US].
Height: 5' 8'' Hair: Dark; Eyes: Dark; Complexion: Dark
Profession: farmer. Place of Birth: Morgan Co. KY.
(14th KY Infantry (US) Compiled Service Records)
Enrolled 10. Oct., 1861; M.I. 10. Dec., 1861, at Louisa, KY. Wounded in action at Tazewell, TN., 6. Aug., 1862. Leg amputated. Discharged on Surgeon's Certificate of Disability 31. Dec., 1862, at Danville, KY/Camp Dennison, OH.
(Kentucky Adj. Gen. Report, p. 875)
Notes: Was possibly captured at Cumberland Gap, while recovering in the division hospital, ca. 18. September, 1862 by Confederate forces after Morgan's retreat from the Gap.
Applied for and received a pension for his military service.
Military Files
Henry Clay Perkins listed his P.O. address as Prosperity, Lawrence Co. KY at the end of 1862.
James Harve Perkins-Mary Jane Phillips/Phipps Marriage
James Harve Perkins was married to Mary Jane Phillips/Phipps on January 6, 1875, at the house of Henry Clay Perkins in presence of B. E. Fugitt and H. C. Perkins, by Samuel Smith.
Marion Perkins- Lucinda Banks Marriage
Marion Perkins was married Aug. 15, 1877, to Lucinda Banks, at Levi Kitchen's in the presence of Henry Perkins & Levi Kitchen. Married by H. B. Blankenship.
[Lawrence Co. KY Marriage Bonds, Vol. 5A, pp. 110-111]
Researched and compiled by:
Marlitta H. Perkins
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