Walker Daniel, the Founder of Danville - The Filson Historical Society

WALKER DANIEL, THE FOUNDER OF DANVILLE
ONE OF KENTUCKY'S ALMOST FORGOTTEN PIONEERS
BY CALVIN I ORGAN FACKLER
Danville Kentucky
Read before The Filson Club, February 6, 1939
Of Walker Daniel's family or birthplace we know nothing,
as yet. From the circumstance that Robert Daniel appears as
his sole heir, it would seem that there were but two brothers and
that their parents were dead. 1
Both Walker and Robert were educated at the school kept by
Donald Robertson and his wife Rachel (Rogers). Robertson
was a graduate of Edinburgh, and came to America to repair the
family fortunes, after his father had lost them at CuUoden.
He was originally intended for the Church. Many of Virginia's
distinguished men received their education and the love of liberty
from this hater of the Georges. Among Robertson's pupils was
James Madison, who later called his master "the learned school
teacher." George Rogers Clark was Madison's schoolmate
there.
Robertson's school was in Dryesdale Parish, a district composed
of the upper parts of King William and of King and Queen
counties, and the lower part of Carohne. The exact location was
a farm overlooking the Mattaponi River, east bank, about four
miles above the present Dunkirk Bridge connecting the first two
counties. It is still known as the Robertson farm.,
His records of accounts for the various years close with the
pious ejaculation, "Deo gratia & gloria," which may be attributed
to thankfulness for having collected so many of his tuition bills.
At the end of all is the triumphant paean "Benedictus sit Nomen,
Domini, qui Vitam & Vives & ingenium prostiti ."
These dates, from Robertson's account book, give a clue to
Walker Daniel's age:
Nov. 30, 1768--Walker Daniel, to English.. ........ 0-3-4
Jan. 16, 1769--Walker Daniel, to English .......... 2-4)-0
Jan. 1, 1770 ditto Latin. : ........... 0-0-0
Minute Book No. 1, Jefferson County Court, December 7, 1785, page 164. In
The FiLson Club History Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 4j October, 1932, page 414.
s Donald Robert en and Hi8 Wife Rachel Ragers of King and Queen Ceunly, Virginia
(1900), by William Kyle Anderson. Copy in The Filson Club. Review of book in
The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 10, page 224.

1939] Walker Daniel, Founder of Danville 135
Robert Daniel is shown in 1772 and 1773.,
The Daniel boys came several years after Clark and Madison
had left. At the time of Walker's death, in 1784, Madison was
thirty-four and Clark thirty-three. So Walker Daniel must
have been still in his twenties when he died.
Broadly speaking, the early immigrants to Kentucky consisted
of game hunters and land seekers--also young men of ambition,
largely lawyers. Of this second class few gave greater promise
than the talented Virginian whose life ended before it had fairly
flowered. And our historians have almost ignored him.
Collins in his Kentucky gives two scant notices:
"Danville . . . [was] laid off as a town by Walker Daniel in
1781." Collins' date certainly is wrong.'
"Walker Daniel, a young lawyer from Virginia, came to Boyle,
then Lincoln, in 1781, and entered upon the practice of his profession.
His only competitor at that period was Christopher
Greenup, afterwards governor of the State. Mr. Daniel was the
original proprietor of the town of Danville, and succeeded in
laying the foundation of an extensive fortune. He was killed by
the Indians in August, 1784, after a short residence of three years.
From an old pioneer of Mercer, we learn that Mr. Daniel was a
young gentleman of rare talents, and gave promise of great distinction."
The "extensive fortune" hardly got beyond the foundation
stage, but the testimony of "an old pioneer of Mercer," name
undisclosed, can be accepted since it is in line with that of the
more specific witnesses cited in this paper. Judge Lewis Collins'
"saddle-bag investigations" saved much history for us. Other
historians, including Humphrey Marshall, may be dismissed
without comment since we have the original sources from which
they drew, as well as some of which they seem to have been
ignorant.
When did Walker Daniel come to Kentucky? Collins says
"1781," but the Virginia records show that he was one of the
representatives from Halifax County in the House of Delegates
for the session that began in May, 1782, and continued through
October 21-December 28, same year.,
l,,Extracts from the Account Book of Donald Robertson's School, 1758-17699"
The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 34, pages 148, 232, 234, 235,
and Vol. 35, page 55.
4 History of Kentucky, by the late Lewis Collins, revised, ete.,by his son Richard
H. Collins. In two volumes. 1874 and subsequent reprints. Vol. 2, page 18.
6 Collins' History of Kentucky, Vol. 2, chapter on Boyle County, page 90.
Letter, December 20, 1938, from Wflmer L. Hall. Librarian Virginia State
Library: Presumably"House Journal " since he says ']Journals of the May session
are net extant, so far as we know.

136 The Filson Club History Quarterly [Vol. 13
The missing years are about a dozen. We still do not know
what his military service was, though he seems to have had the
rank of Major.,
Whether he was born in Halifax or migrated there, is now
unknown. In an a'tr-line it is over a hundred miles from the
Mattaponi to the Dan. In Halifax the Piedmont begins to roll
up to the western barrier, a constant temptation to an adventurous
spirit.
The Virginia State Librarian recently wrote me: "There are
a considerable number of references to Walker Daniel in various
sources, particularly in E. G. Swem's Virginia Hislorical Index.
We have examined a number of these references without finding
personal or biographical information.", So have we, with the
same result.
Probably his first act upon reaching Kentucky was to open a
store, for he was engaged in trade as well as in law. George
May, Isaac Hite and Willis Green seem to have been in partnership
with him (see agreement dated December 10, 1782) and
Green seems to have withdrawn in February, 1783., Later he
entered into a contract with Daniel Broadhead which specified
that his interest in the profits was not to begin "until the spring
flood in the Ohio in 1785." Before that time Walker Daniel
had been borne away by another tide.
For a long while we thought that his store was located at or
near what later became Stanford, but it may have been "the
town lands of Danville." The inventories filed by his wlministrators
simply say "Lincoln," which county then embraced a
great deal of territory, about one-third of our present State; but
Abram Irvine, Robert Caldwell and Thomas Allin, the appraisers,
all resided either in or near Danville. That's significant!
The first report was filed February 20, 1787. 0 It shows a
rather meager stock, chiefly remnants of drygoods; but much
must have been sold off before then, for the sale of October 16, 17,
1784, netted £190, 7 shillings and 11 pence. This most likely
was our first bargain sale, and doubtless was well patronized by
the few ladies of the neighborhood. The following luxuries
See account given in Conquest of the Country Northwest of the Ohio River, 1778-
1783 and the Life of George Rogers Clark, by William Hayden English. 1896. 2Vols.
Vol. 2, pages 855 1075, 1068, 1077.
s See footnote No. 0.
i Deed Book "A," Supreme Court, Kentucky District (Now Court. of Appeals,
Clerk's Office Frankfort) page 211.
Will Book A, Lincoln County, Clerk s Office, pages 141-147.

1939] Walker Daniel, Founder of Danville 137
appear: "19 watch chains; 9 watch seals; 6 pairs of silk knee
bands."
The last item was possibly with an eye to Colonel Joshua
Barbee, who was '% very elegant and courtly gentleman, and
adhered to the old-style dress of ruffled shirt, knee breeches, silk
stockings, and silver shoe-buckles."-
But this venture had proved profitable, for the second inventory,
filed November 28, 1789, recounts, among othei" things :1,
Cash found in Walker Daniel's chest.......... £65
In his pocket............................... 12-19
In the store ................................ 4-10- 6
Bonds due his estate, Nov. 1, 1784............ 147-11-12 ½
Amt. Bal. on store ledger ....................242- 4- 7
The coming of the District Court inspired the following entry:
"Walker Daniel produced a commission from under the hand
of his Excellency, appointing him an attorney, which was read,
whereupon he took the oaths prescribed by law," February term,
1783.,, And the same book shows that he was appointed one of
his deputies by County Surveyor James Thompson; was examined
by John Cowan and Gabriel Madison, and was reported
"able and qualified.",,
The newly organized District Court convened at Harrodsburg
on March 4, 1783, and, taking note of the lack of accom*
modations there, immediately adjourned to the Dutch Meeting
House for the remainder of the term, two days.,,
Walker Daniel and Christopher Greenup were sworn in as
attorneys. Then Daniel was appointed Attorney General, with
John May as the Clerk. Daniel was instructed to procure a seal
for the Court--of which more anon. And their Honors, John
Floyd and Samuel McDowell, taking cognizance of the need for
proper equipment, commissioned the Attorney General and the
Clerk as follows:
"The Court doth authorize and appoint Walker Daniel and
John May to make choice of a proper and safe place for holding
their terms, somewhere in the neighborhood of John Crow's
Station; and to employ persons to build a log courthouse large
enough for a Court room in one end and two jury rooms in the
l, The Political Club, Dan illej by Thomas Speed, The Filson Club Publicatloas
No. 9 (1894), page 84.
,2 Same as footnote No. 10, pages 188, 187.
l: Order Book No. 1, Lincoln County Court, page 225.
14 Ibid., page 131.
l Order Book No. i Supreme Courtj Kentucky District March 5, 1783 pages
10, I1.

138 The Filson Club History Quarterly [Vol. 13
other, on the lower floor, and a prison of hewed or sawed logs, not
less than nine inches thick. And in case said Daniel and May
at their expense cause such buildings to be erected the Court
engages that they will adjourn to the place erected so to be
chosen, and hold their Sessions there 'till it shall be ordered otherwise
by the General Assembly."
Their Honors made a liberal gesture by adding:
"And that whenever the Court shall be moved from such
place, they will use their endeavours with the General Assembly
to have said Daniel and May reimbursed their expenses incurred
in erecting such buildings, in case the Funds already appropriated
to support such Court shall be insufficient for that purpose. But
if such Funds be sufficient they in that case to appropriate a
sufficient part thereof to said purpose.",5
May seems to have neglected to attend Court after that first
term; and following some warnings to "Keep his office within the
District," the Court notes that he has not attended to the duties
of his office since the month of April, 1783, makes good its threat
and appoints Christopher Greenup in his stead.l,
When finally built under Isaac Hitc's supervision, the Court
establishment cost the stupendous sum of £300, Virginia money,
of which the Jefferson County quota was £43.1,
Daniel was next named one of the trustees for Transylvania,
May, 1783--a rather precarious honor, it would seem, since six of
those original trustees fell at the hands of the Indians.is
The closing months of Walker Daniel's life were busy ones,
full of both official and personal affairs.
Collins gives a good account of certain men who came from
the North, seeking to cause dissension in Virginia's western lands.
He says:
"Tom Paine wrote a book ridiculing the right of Virginia to
the lands of Kentucky, and urging Congress to assume possession
of the whole country. Two Pennsylvanians, Galloway and
Pomeroy, had imbibed the principles of this production, and
came to Kentucky to propagate them--Pomeroy to the Falls,
and Galloway to Lexington." Men were induced to encroach
upon their neighbors' holdings with the intention of appropriating
zl Order Book No. 1, Supreme Court, Kentucky Districtj March 5, 1783, pages
10, I1.
1. Ibid. page 72. March 18, 1785.
7 Dee Book "A," Supreme Court, Kentucky District, page 382.
is See various accounts of Transylvania trustees in Annals of Transylvania University,
also Transylvania Univeraity, Its Origin, Rise, Decline and Fall by Robert
Peter The Filson Club Publications No. ll (1896), pages 25j 26.

1939] Walker Daniel, Founder of Danville 139
them under an Act of Congress which Galloway assured them
would soon be promulgated.l,
This is a good opening statement of the matter, though he
failed to give credit where it was due. So the rest is best told
in the words of Daniel, whose connection with the prosecution of
these men of Belial was made the subject of his official letters to
Governor Harrison:
The first, dated January 19, 1784, relates to Galloway, who
was tried before the Fayette County Court, Daniel attending as
prosecuting attorney. In brief, he managed to secure a conviction,
and the Court imposed a moderate fine, upon which the Attorney
General had an execution levied "least the Judgment of the
Court should appear only a Bugbear to frighten the timid." In
the meanwhile Pomeroy sat out, about the time of the trial, with
a number of petitions to Congress, and so his prosecution was
postponed for the time being.,°
Daniel's second letter to Governor Harrison, dated May 21,
1784, opens with the story of Pomeroy's trial which took place
before the Jefferson County Court. It says, in part:
"I was informed that he had returned from Congress & had
circulated Letters among his adherents calculated to Keep up
their spirits & expectations: that matters were not yet ripe for
execution, &c, &e. Upon this I went down to Jefferson & as he
had once broke custody without leave, I directed the Sheriff once
more to arrest him & bring him into Court, which happened to
sitt at the time a full week.
"The expectation of his Trial, as I had threatened to prosecute
him as soon as he returned, had drawn together a number of the
Faction, who appeared very anxious about the event. There
was a very crowded Audience during the whole Trial 3-5th of
which I am persuaded were of the number of his Followers, notwithstanding
which the most perfect Decorum was observed
throughout. Together with the Evidence made use of, in behalf
of the Commonwealth, I called on five or six of the Ringleaders
of the party, as I could easily pick them out of the Crowd,
most of whom swore to the very facts which the State Witnesses
declared.
"He was fined 2,000 lbs. of Tobacco, the extent of the Law,
and bound to the Behavior, with two Sureties, himself in £1,000,
& his Sureties in £500 each....
"I was for a considerable time almost at a loss to know under
what Law he should be punished . . . I therefore had recourse
-1 Collins' History of Kentucky Vol. 2, chapter on Jefferson County, page 373.
1o Calendar of Virginia State ' apers and Other Manuscript, 1785-1784, edited by
Win. P. Palmer. Richmond, Virginia, 1883. Vol. 3, pages 555, 556.

140 The Filson Club History Quarterly [Vol. 13
to our old Law, almost absolute [sic], for the punishment of
Divulgers of false news; and endeavoured to draw a parallel between
our present situation & that of our Forefathers at the time
of the Restoration when this Act passed. I now persuade myself
& hope with your Excellency that we Shall be no longer troubled
with this turbulent and factious set of men."
This portion of his letter closes with the promise to prosecute
Leitch, who had journeyed to Congress with Pomeroy, when he,
too, returned to Kentucky
Then Daniel, continuing, touches at some length upon the
Indian situation, and the necessity for a general understanding
and treaties with the various tribes. He states that, whenever
be was at the Falls, he was always invited to take a part in the
Indian councils where, it would seem, he gave much good advice
to the warriors.
He presents some of the by-products of the Indian troubles:
"The dread of the Indians produces many Inconveniences
among us. It prevents the population and settlement of the
Country, confines our people to Stations, which serves as Beds to
engender Sedition & Discord in, & as excuses for Indolence,
Rags & poverty--For while they see no vigorous & decided steps
taken by Government to prevent the cruelties & Depredations
of the Savages, they are apt to conclude as the reason, that those
in Administration feeling nothing for their sufferings, are consequently
indifferent to their Situation: they therefore wish for a
separation, because they then expect that every one in power will
be equally interested with themselves in securing a friendly Intercourse
with their troublesome Neighbors: And while they are
shut up in Forts & Stations, on other men's Lands, they are
extremly unwilling to bestow much labour on Improvements,
which they Know they are not to long enjoy.
"The active mind of man cannot bear to be unemployed &
immediately is casting about to remove the causes of their
present confinement; hence these political parties & factions &
hence so ready an Ear to listen to Tales from the Designing in the
Northern States."
Daniel then views the District's governmental situation:
"Another source of complaint, which is confined indeed
mostly to the better sort of people, arises from the want of energy
in Government, from a Defect of Distributive Justice among us.
"The Fund appropriated for the maintenance of the Supreme
Court in this District has proved wholly inadequate to the End;
So much that the Judges have not received £10, apiece for their
Services: their attendance cannot be expected unless other Funds
are granted them. If the present gentlemen resign, which I am
informed they have in contemplation unless their Salaries are

1939] Walker Daniel, Founder of Danville 141
secured to them, by the adoption of some other mode than the
present, I am greatly at a loss to Know where others could be got
to supply their places.
"Unless men of abilities & Integrity fill so high an office, it
were better for the people to annihilate the Tribunal & leave
them as they were. Few men of capacity here will for some
years be willing to undertake the offices, because other Employments
offer, which afford more lucrative prospects: Something
therefore should be clone to induce the present members to continue.
If a Dissolution of the Court takes place, anarchy &
confusion must follow, because faction & error will bring the
County Court into Contempt: their authority will immediately
be trampled on & disregard [sic]--Exclusive of other Differences,
pomp & sound have a great influence over the minds of nine
tenths of mankind--In a Frontier too, so remote as ours, to which
the Knave & the outlaw from every State in the Union fly as to an
Asylum, a place of Impurity, the Springs of Government cannot
be too tightly wound up: the punishment should tread close on
the heels of the crime: As a state of Idleness & Inactivity has
been the parent of Sedition, So a relaxation in the Execution of
the penal Laws of the State will beget and [sic] unwillingness to
obey any Law at all. Hence we may infer, that if we have no
superintending Court, which we cannot have without Funds to
support it, a Revolution in this Country will ensue, and then no
man can say that he is sure of his property an hour.
"I am persuaded that no two thinking men in the District, of
honest disinterested Intentions, at present, wish a separation
from the Eastern part of the State, but if the Indians are neglected
and the Court unsupported, I am at a loss to say how long
they will continue in their present Sentiments....
"One thing more I would wish to observe. That as soon as
the people are allowed to go out & settle generally on their own
Farms, Merchants will find it to their Interest to encourage
Industry. Exports in Tobo., Hemp, Flour, Pork, &c., will
shortly take place & then the Inhabitants will be enabled to
render to the State in Taxes what they now should draw from it
in Protection. This appears to me to be an object of national
concern, of sufficient magnitude to merit some attention from
the Legislature."s
lqo taint of Spanish Conspiracy here or of any other treasonous
project. We question whether his successor, Harry Inn.is, was
ever so sagacious, unselfish or loyal.
Shortly thereafter, June 16, 1784, Daniel purchased from
John Crow the original bounds of Danville---seventy-six acres-which
the deed recites was for a consideration of five shillings,
tantamount to our present "$1. and other valuable considera-
ii Calendar of Virginia State Papers, Vol. 3, pages 584-588.

142 The Filson Club History Quarterly [Vol. 13
tions." Whether Crow ever received, or was to receive, more
will never now be known. Another puzzle is found in the descriptive
clause "Part of said John's settlement wherein he now
lives, and is commonly known as 'the town lands of Danville.' "
If already known as "the town lands of Danville" before its purchase
by Daniel, then the question arises for whom was the town
named? As this tract abuts upon what was probably Crow's
Station, he was carrying out the Court's instructions to the full in
locating its buildings.,,
At the beginning of August, 1784, he again goes to Louisville,
to sit upon the Commission for Apportioning the lands granted
to the Illinois Regiment, which had been recruited in Virginia,
in the spring of 1779, when it numbered 350 men; was reduced to
130 men in August, 1780; disbanded January 18, 1783. George
Rogers Clark was its colonel.,,
Henning shows these commissioners thus: "William Fleming,
John Edwards, John Campbell, Walker Daniel, Gentlemen;
George Rogers Clark, John Montgomery, Abraham Chaplin,
John Bailey, Robert Todd, William Clarke, officers of the Regiment";
not an invidious distinction; merely shows that the latter
were in its service, t'
Daniel presided as chairman of the Board during the first
sessions, August 2nd through 7th. As there are no more entries
on the Minutes until the 16th, when Daniel's death is noted,,,
it would seem that in the meantime the commission had adjourned
temporarily and that during that time Daniel and his
companions George Keightley and William Johnston, went for
a visit to Robert Daniel at Bullitt's Liqk, where Robert Daniel
had taken out a tavern keeper's license.,0
There are several accounts of the death of Walker Daniel.
Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston, in his two-volume Memorial
History of Louisville, publishes two, one in each of his volumes.
In the first he has Walker Daniel slain by the Indians, and
William Johnston taken prisoner, on the road between BuUitt's
Lick and Louisville, but date correct, namely, 1784. Here he
says that William Johnston was thought to have been slain also,
2 Deed Book "A," Lincoln County, Clerk's Office, page 12.
3 Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 21 page 343.
" Hennina's tatutes, Vol. 11 pages 335, 336.
2m For full account see Conquest of the Northwest and the Life of George Rogers Clark.
t* Minute Book No. l, Jefferson County Court April 7, 1784, page 4. In The Filson
Club History Quarterly Vo . 6, No. 1, January 1932, page 42.

1939] Walker Daniel, Founder of Danville 143
until his reappearance months thereafter, when he was released
in Canada, and returned home ragged and footsore.,,
In the other story this writer says Daniel and Keightley were
killed and that William Johnston was taken prisoner, but while
returning from a surveying tour upon Nohn and Bacon creeks
in the present county of Hardin, in 1783.,,
These two conflicting accounts in the same historical work
certainly present a confusion. The following, headed "William
Johnston, C. Stores, to Gov. Harrison," Falls of Ohio, August 14,
1784, gives a contemporary's account of the death of Walker
Daniel:
"Sir . . . This Western Country, perhaps, Sir, has never
sustained a greater Loss, or more deep felt shock in the death of
one man, than it does now in that of Walker Daniel Esquire, who
with a merchant from Ireland by the name of George Keightley,
on the 12th ulto: were Killed and Scalped by the Savages. As I
was in Company & had nearly have shared the Same unhappy
Fate: (a Ball having glanced my Breast) a concise Relation,
perhaps may not be amiss.
"On the morning of the 12th we left Sullivan's old Station,
on our way to the Salt Works at Bullitt's Lick--We had made
some considerable stay at Col: Moore's, at the Fish Pools; had
met numbers of people who had that day left the works, and in
the Evening proceeded leisurely on unapprehensive of Danger,
"towards our place of evening Destination. Within five or six
miles of the Salt Works, we were fired on by several Savages, to
the number of Six as near as ,my fears, and the momentary
Glance I had of them could permit me to distinguish.
"The sudden and unexpected sight of a Savage stepping from
behind a Tree, and deliberately firing on us, occasioned an
Exclamation of there!! from me, who first discovered him, but
the word had hardly escaped my Lips, before two or three guns
more were fired on us, and the war whoop raised. The unfortunate
gentlemen fell dead on the spot, having rec'd the fatal
Ball thro' their Hearts--the wound I rec'd was not attended with
dangerous Consequences--the same Evening the dead Gent:
were taken to a house half a mile farther on the Road, and the
day afterwards conveyed to the Salt Works for a Burial...."..
William Johnston was the Clerk of the 5efferson County
Court, and lived on the Cave Farm, later the site of Louisville's
Cave Hill Cemetery.,°
2T Memorial History of Louisville from its First Settlement to the Year 1896, edited by
J. Stoddard Johnston, Vol. 1, page 57.
25 ""
Memorial History of Louismlle, Vol. 2, page 642.
ffi2 Calendar of Virginia State Papers Vol. 3, page 605.
ao Memorial History of Louisville, Vol. 2, page 27.

144 The Filson Club History Quarterly [Vol. 13
The news of the tragedy must have reached Danville very
quickly for those times, for Willis Green in a letter to Governor
Harrison, dated August 21st, 1784, mentions it. The editor
comments that "He [Green] enlarges upon the great loss to the
Country by this sad event, and urges the appointment of a successor
as soon as possible.",,
Doubtless, too, Dr. David Rice delivered Daniel's memorial
sermon shortly afterward, and at that first Meeting House upon
the Public Square, though the manuscript of that sermon shows
neither date nor place of delivery:
Having selected Romans 3:7 for his text, "Father David"
Rice begins:
"The mournful occasion of our presence makes it proper that
we should for a few minutes leave the world of Vice, of empty
Shadows and Pain and Mortality, and launch our Thots into the
World of Spirits, where Immortality reigns and where all is
substantial."
His "a few minutes" was rather euphemistic: he delivered
a very long Presbyterian sermon upon Immortality and the
Future Life, not returning to the cause of the gathering until
near the end, when he says:
"We shall now take a brief view of some of the circumstances
relating to Mr. Walker Daniel and his Death, and endeavour to
make some use of Them. I mean not to attempt Mr. Daniel's "
Character for I know that I am not quaJified for Panegeriek, and
if I was, I had not sufficient acquaintance with that Gentleman
to enable me to do it with any degree of Justice and Precision.
I would only take Notice of a few things which naturally tend to
suggest some Useful Thots.
"Mr. Daniel was young, he appeared healthy, had a lively
flow of animal Spirits, and as fair Prospect of long Life & temporal
Happiness as the most. Mr. Daniel had large Prospects and
raised Expectations of Wealth & Honor in this Life. Mr.
Daniel's death was sudden; he had not a moment's warning of
his approaching Fate. He fell by the hands of skulking lurking
Savages. Mr. Daniel was a professed Friend of Religion and
was sensible that it was absolutely neeessary for the well-being of
civil Society.'"
At that time "Father David" had been in the community but
a few months, his knowledge of Daniel was doubtless gained by
their association as members of the Board of Trustees of Transylvania
Seminary, later Transylvania University. But the
s Same as footnote No. 29.
a2 Manuscript of David Rice sermon, in Transylvania College archives.

1939] Walker Daniel, Founder of Danville 145
verdict of those who wrote or spoke concerning the deceased
seems to have been unanimous in praise.
Possibly Daniel's collection of books might give some insight
to his character. Of the fifteen, a dozen were tools of his profession;
the other three were Rollins' Belle Letters, Sterne's Tr/stram
Shandy and Sherlock's Discourse Concerning Death.
Strange as it now seems, the only entries of record upon the
order books of the District Supreme Court which even remotely
refer to him are the following: "George Muter is appointed to
act as attorney for the Commonwealth until some legally commissioned
person shall attend to the execution of that office.""
And "Ordered that George Muter, Harry Innls and Christopher
Greenup be requested to procure a Seal for the use of this Court,
with such design as they or any two of them think proper, Walker
Daniel Esq. not having procured one before his decease.'"'
And so passed Walker Darnel, one of the brightest, most
promising lives of the early Western Country.
A POSTSCRIPT, BY R. C. BALLARD THRUSTON
At the request of Mr. Rothert, editor of The Filson Club
History Quarterly, I have prepared this brief explanation regarding
the two incidents that resulted in two conflicting accounts
pertaining to the death of Walker Daniel. When Mr. Fackler
read the foregoing paper before the Club, the Club had a small
old Bible that had been given by Mrs. Lewis G. (Mary Johnston
Fenley) Kaye. In it William Johnston had written a memorandum
in 1783. The bearing of that memorandum on Mr. Fackler's
paper was, at the time, not recognized by us. We now find
that the memorandum proves that the incident of 1783 and the
one of 1784 are two separate affairs.
These two events in the life of William Johnston, both
connected with Indians, were, unfortunately, confused and
linked together as one, and, as such, with variations, they appear
in J. Stoddard Johnston's two-volume Memorial History of
Louisville. In his Vol. 2, pages 641, 642, he makes the event
occur in 1783, and in Vol. 1, page 57, he makes it occur in 1784--and
is SO cited, correctly, in Mr. Fackler's footnotes Nos. 27 and
28. The two incidents are as follows:
u Order Book No.l, Supreme Court, Kentucky District, November 2, 1784, page 41.
J' lbld., page 72. March 17, 1785.

146 The Filson Club History Quarterly [Vol. 13
In the first incident--1783--Johnston had been taken prisoner
by the Indians. When taken I do not know, nor do I know when
he was released, but traditions have it that he was a prisoner for
some eight months. Whilst a prisoner he was held at Ouatenon,
where Fort Wayne, Indiana, now is. He found among those
Indians a small family Bible which he purchased with a pair of
silver sleeve-buttons that he had with him. In the Bible he
records that fact, also the date of the purchase, 16th of April,
1783. That date, it should be noted, was more than a year
before Walker Daniel was shot. He brought the Bible with him
to Kentucky, and, as just stated, it was presented to The
Filson Club a few years ago.
The other incident occurred more than a year later and is
described in a letter William Johnston wrote August 14th, 1784,
to Benjam'm Harrison, then the Governor of Virginia. Part of
that letter is quoted by Mr. Fackler. In it Johnston states that
he, Walker Daniel and one George Keightley left Sullivan's old
Station on Bcargrass Creek on the 12th of July, 1784, their
destination being the Salt Works of Bullitt's Lick. While they
were proceeding towards the Salt Works, they Were fired upon by
some Indians. Walker Daniel and Keightley were killed.
William Johnston was slightly wounded, but made his escape.
The two articles in Memorial History of Louisville reverse the
order of those events and publish them as one continuous incident,
one account putting the event in 1783 and the other in 1784.
The killing of Walker Daniel and Keightley, as shown by Mr.
Fackler, took place on July 12, 1784, which was more than a
year after William Johnston had purchased the Bible whilst
an Indian captive.