The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1910-03-02
MEANING OF A
STRANGE NAME
Got Confused in a Pc
cuIiar Manner.
THE STORY or JOHN SECHRIST
And His HOgShead of Irish
POtatOeS-An Incident
of Long Ago.

Editors Herald:-In your Sleeping
Guard Mystery" which appeared in
The Herald of Jan. 25th, you spoke
of the sleeping guard being MEM
Der of the guards under the CON-
mand of an old German corporal of
Co. X, 18th Ky. v. +. AS this old
German was the principal in a strange
commotion at Cloverport, KY, in
the fall of 1857, perhaps it may in
terest your readers to hear what an
agitation can be raised over the care
.lessness of a produce shipper. Were
it not for the ludicrous aspect caused
by the address on a hogshead of po-
tatoes sent to him at that time, /
would not speak of him the second
time in connection with the sleeping
guard.
/ was in the employment of the
Breckenridge Coal G. Oil Co. four
years and three months as a carpen-
ter, painter and glazier, and while at
work in the oil works at Cloverport
in the fall of 1857 we were so pressed
with our carpenter work that we
sent to Cannellton, Ind, for help.
They sent us four carpenUers-two
Americans and two Germans. One of
the Germans was quite an old man
by the name of John Sechrist, and
| am often reminded of him by the
ak l now break up coal with which ]
bought of him at that time. He had
been a soldier in the United States
army during the Florida or Black
Hawk war, and could tell many inter-
esting events connected with his
campaigns against the Indians.
At the time Sechrist was at the
Gil wCiIs ] boarded with an Ameri-
can crrcnter named Jerry Murphy
but SecLrI, boarded At The large
boarding house Cf JAMES Manning,
where all the foreigners employed at
the ] works boarded. AT that time
I,isa p.titt,s wee scarce N Glover
port and Mr.. Manning employed Sc
christ to send to Cannelltcn for a
hogshead of them for him. The po-
tatoes arrived at the wharf in Clover
port several days sooner than ex-
pected and the cask and bill of lading
oIApnugn1 ~ TnhT1 n Christ
Cloverport, Ky. AS no one in Glover
port had any idea who the potatoes
were for, Major James Miller, the
wharfboat clerk, took the bill of lad
ing to the oil works TO see If Mr..
Christ was at work there.
John Carnes, the president of the
company. was in the office when, Ma
jor Miller presented the bill of lad
ing and Mr.. Carnes told the Major
that he didn't know Christ was in
Cloverpolt and that he was not work
ing for them. A few evenings after
the Majors visit 10 the oil works an
aged German wearing a short green
jacket came On board the wharfboat
and asked if there was a hogshead
of potatoes there for him. Major
Miller asked him if he was Mr.. Christ,
and he told him that he was the man
who ordered the hogshead of potatoe
from Cannellton, Ind, and after he
had paid the freight the Major gave
him the bill of lading.
AS the Ohio river was then the
only means Of travel, many persons
who saw the hogshead were anxious
to know who John C. Christ was, and
when he was pointed out to them
they all agreed that he was not the
Messiah of this world, heaven or that
other place.
Sechrist informed us at the oil
works that his home had been for
years at Cannellton, that his wife
was dead, but that his three chill
dren made their home there with rel
atives.
The last days of this old German
soldier of two American wars were
sad ones. Sechrist enlisted in the
25th Ky. Infantry, which was con-
solidated with the 18th Ky. on the
field at Shiloh soon after the battle,
and he was appointed a corporal Of
Company X, which he was at the
time of his death. In the fall OF 1862
missed Sechrist and asked one of