The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1880-11-10
ReeOIleettOns Of d. r. Brown, q Pho
neer Of 1878.

In this strange, but pleasant world,
there appears to be a corresponding
good for each evil, or pleasure for its
counterpart, unpleasantness, and so We
found il on that dismal, dark and rainy
Monday of last week. AS we sat in our
sanctum, nursing the blues, while with
out the rain battered against the win
dow all day long, a rap at the door and
an invitation to "Come" brought our
genial and ancient friend, Oliver II.
Brown, to our side with whom we killed
the afternoon talking over his recollect-
ions of early times in the land Of Spen-
Ger, and of course we editor took note
of it and now proposes to print it. Way
back i'm the dim distance of the past,
say sixty-seven year ago, and that
would bring us to the year 1872, the
year memorable in American history
when the great American eagle
scratched the hairs on the back of the
British lion, the second time, there lived
up on the Rolling Fork, in Hardin
county NOW La Rue county, two neigh
bors, Thomas Lincoln and james Brown.
Hardin county then was new country,
and her people lived in rude log houses,
but like the Kentuckians of to-day,
they We're hospitable and generous to u
fault. They were friendly with each
other, and were true neighbors, helping
each other in work and i'm making
sunshine for themselves and families.
Thomas Lincoln had a son, and his
name was Abraham, and after the said
year, 1912, James Brown had a son,
and his name was Oliver r., now our
The parents lived close
neighbors for several years, and the
boys played, fished, hunted, and fed
their fathers pigs and drove up the cows
for several years, and likely would
have been living there now rs hOnored
had not the Western fever
taken possession of their parents. The
Kentuckian, taking his
cue from old Daniel Boone, pinned for
grounds and elbow room. In
1916 or 1917 Thomas Lincoln felt that
he had too many neighbors, or, in other
words, people were getting uncomfort-
ably plenty OH the Rolling Fork" and
he sold out and came West, landing, in
the fall of 1877 in Spencer county, In
diana. In 1918 James Brown, divers
father, took like view of matters and
sold out, leaving his home on the "Roll-
ing Fork" and with his family, includ-
ing our friend Oliver r., also came to
Spencer county, and settled ut Rock
port. Lincoln first squatted at the
mouth Of Anderson river and kept ferry
for a time, afterwards moving to his
Government land, at what
is now Lincoln city. When Thomas
Lincoln made up his mind to come to
Indiana he built little boat at little
place called New Haven, on Rolling
Fork, in which Inc placed his family,
his household plumber and his house,
hold gods, including his son Abraham.
He cast off the line and fioated down
the creek, but unfortunately the night
before he showed out tree had fallen
across Rolling Fork, and the boat hit
against the trunk AMI there it mad to
stay until rise came, when he fioated
over in safety. The two neighbors,
Thomas L ,.coln and James Brown, re-
manned fast friends after settling In the
wilds of Spencer county, and the two
families often visited each other. o. r.
Brown remembers "Abe," as the boys
used to call him, after he came to
Spencer, and says he has seen him Of
ten and often when he would bring
loads of furs, pelts, rags, &c, &c, from
the store of Gideon Romine, merchant
at Gentryville, to the warehouse OF
Benjamin Romine, brother of Gid
con, situated at the upper landing, this
city, about where the railroad depot
now is. Oliver says he could always
tell when "Abe'' was coming by the
loud noise he made driving the oxen
Abe had a strong voice, which could bt
heard in calm day nearly to the old
Gather Phillips farm, two miles out
Pretty soon Abe would be seen coming
along, wading the swamps ut Wal
sw amply then all around ROekport)
yelling at his cattle and cracking his big