Kentucky: A History of the State,
Battle, Perrin, & Kniffin, 3rd ed., 1886.

Biographies
Allen County, KY

F-G

JESSE W. FISHBACK was born January 20, 1851, in the house in which he now lives in Allen County, Ky., where he grew to manhood; in 1872 he removed to Barren County, and in 1883 returned to his present home, where he has since resided. His father, James Fishback, was born on this place in 1816, and died here in 1870; he was the son of John Fishback, a native of Virginia, who came to Allen County with his parents, and died at the present residence of our subject. James was twice married; first, to Julia A., daughter of Jesse and Rachel (Gideon) Everett, of Barren County (born in 1819, died in 1860), and from their union sprang Jesse W., Susan (Everett), Mary I. and James E. His second wife was Mary S. Hudson, and their children are Mollie T., Nannie and George E. F. Jesse W. obtained a common school education, and is a reading man. He married, May 1, 1883, Theodocia T., daughter of James H. and Matilda C. (Davidson) Davis, of Barren County (born February 13, 1859), and this union is without issue. Jesse W. Fishback is a farmer, having 225 acres of fair land in a good state of cultivation. He and wife are members of the Baptist Church, and in politics he is a Democrat. His father lost twenty-three slaves by the late war.

PETER C. FOSTER was born March 16, 1826, in Allen County, where he has since resided. His father, Joseph Foster, was born in South Carolina. He afterward lived in Kentucky and finally in Giles County, Tenn. Joseph Foster was married, about 1824, to Rachel, daughter of James and Elizabeth Lovell, of Virginia. From this union sprang Elizabeth (Mayhew), Joseph, Jr., and Peter C. Joseph Foster departed this life in 1828. Peter C. was married February 14, 1852, to Miss Minerva A., daughter of James W. and Edie (Cornwell) Bennett, who was born about 1825. To them have been born Hester A. (deceased), James F., Pelina G. and Joseph W. (twins, of whom the latter is deceased), Marshall A., William C. and Mary E. (twins), and Florence M. (deceased). He has by his own industry, economy and perseverance, accumulated a comfortable competency for his family. He has a well improved and productive farm of 118 acres, in good condition and a fine state of cultivation. He is a thoroughly self-made man and in politics he is a Republican.

DR. J. H. FRANCIS was born May 13, 1832, in Stokes County, N. C., and is the fifth of three sons and five daughters (seven of whom lived to be grown) born of Micajah and Mary (Fitzgerald) Francis, who was born in Halifax and Patrick Counties, Va. Micajah was a hatter by trade, and immigrated with his parents to North Carolina about 1812; immigrated to Kentucky and settled in the southeast part of the county in 1845, where he continued at his trade and where he died in 1869, at the age of eighty-one years. He was a son of John Francis, who married a Miss Scates. They were natives of Virginia and of English and Scotch-Irish descent; moved to North Carolina, where they remained during life, engaged at farming. The mother of our subject was a daughter of Harvey Fitzgerald, who married a Miss Shelton, and came from Maryland to Virginia. Dr. Francis was reared on a farm and resided with his parents until married, when his parents lived with him until their death. In October, 1861, he enlisted in Company I, Ninth Kentucky Federal; was mostly on detached duty in hospital as an orderly; was discharged in March, 1865, when he returned home and engaged in farming for a time. While in hospital he conceived the idea of studying medicine. In 1871 began the study with Dr. Crabtree, of LaFayette, Tenn.; graduated from Cincinnati Eclectic School of Medicine in 1874; first located in La Fayette, Tenn. In 1876 he located where he now resides, in the southeastern part of Allen County, on 300 acres of land, which he farms. He has succeeded in establishing a good lucrative practice. He married, December, 1869, Nancy Williams, of Allen County, a daughter of George and Matilda (Lyles) Williams, who came from Maryland to Kentucky about 1815, and settled in eastern part of Allen County. Mr. Francis is the happy possessor of six bright children; Delia, Lara, Cora, George M., Sarah M. and Minnie. He and wife are members of the Baptist Church. He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity. Sine the war he has been a Democrat, but cast his first presidential vote for Fillmore in 1856.

HON JOHN J. GATEWOOD was born in Allen County, Ky., November 8, 1830. His early life was spent amid the scenes and labors incident to farm life. At the age of twenty years he had acquired a fair common school education, and afterward studied for two years in the Scottsville University. After leaving school he was appointed deputy sheriff of Allen County, and in that capacity served one term, after which he read law for two years; was licensed and went to the bar in 1855. His marriage took place November 13, 1855, with Fannie Burton, of Allen County. After marriage he continued in the practice of the law, and in 1858, was elected to the office of county attorney four years in the Lower House of the Kentucky Legislature, during which time he was chairman of the committee on county courts. In 1871 he was elected to the State Senate, and through a term of four years in that body, he also served as chairman of the committee on education. In 1871, while a member of the State Senate, he moved the amendment that abolished the whipping post in Kentucky. Upon his retirement from the Senate he turned his attention to the practice of law, in which he has been very successful. Politically he is a Democrat. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which order he has reached the Royal Arch degree. He, his wife and five children are consistent members of the Methodist Church South. They are the parents of seven children, six of whom are living: Mary, Minnie, Rose, Bertie, Roy and Max. Fletcher Gatewood, the father of our subject; was a Virginian; he came to Kentucky in 1801, where he married Mary Calvert, whose parents resided in Barren County (now Allen). He was engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1872, when he "was gathered to his fathers." He left a family of four sons and eight daughters; his widow, Mary (Calvert) Gatewood, still survives at the age of seventy-four years. She was born in 1811, and is the daughter of John Calvert, a native of North Carolina. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was with Gen. Jackson at the battle of New Orleans. He died in Allen County, Ky., aged seventy-five years. John Gatewood, subject's grandfather, was a native of Virginia. At the age of sixteen he entered the Continental Army, in which he served until the close of the war; he was present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. Most of his life was spent in agricultural pursuits. He lived to an advanced age.

LAFAYETTE L. GATEWOOD was born December 19, 1837, in the community where he now resides, and is a son of Fletcher and Mary (Calvert) Gatewood. He is the second of four boys and eight girls, all of whom lived to be grown. The father of our subject was born near Augusta, Ga.; when a lad of six years he was brought by his parents to Allen County, Ky., where he resided in the eastern part of the county on a farm of 300 acres, except years spent in Scottsville, engaged in the hotel business. He was school commissioner at his death, which occurred in January, 1871, at the age of sixty-six years. Before the war he was the owner of some slaves; he was the son of John Gatewood, who married a Miss White, and emigrated from Georgia to Allen County, in 1810, and settled in the eastern part of the county. He was one of the patriots of the war for independence; was a farmer and of Irish descent. Our subject's mother was born in Virginia, and was a daughter of John Calvert, of Virginia, who immigrated to Kentucky after the war of 1812, in which he had served, and settled in Allen County. He was of Irish descent, and was one of the finest calculators in the county. Lafayette L. Gatewood was reared on a farm and received but little schooling; after he arrived at maturity he concluded to educate himself, and for that purpose entered school; after one year's attendance at school the war broke out, and possessing a patriotic spirit, he enlisted in defense of the Union, September, 1861, in Company A, Ninth Kentucky Infantry; took part in the battles of Crab Orchard, Chickamauga, Chatoonooga, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Peach Tree Creek and numerous skirmishes; was in all the engagements in which his regiment took part, except Shiloh and Stone River; was discharged as second sergeant in December, 1864, when he returned to his home and engaged in the mercantile business, at Scottsville for two years - one year in packing tobacco. He has since been engaged in farming. In 1868, he moved to Jackson County, Mo., where he engaged in farming for one year. He moved to Neosha County, Kas., and entered 160 acres of land; one year later, on account of ill-health, he sold out and returned to Kentucky, where he has since been engaged in farming. He married, November 24, 1870, Georgie Follis, of Allen County, a daughter of Shelby B. and Elizabeth (Burton) Follis, who were born and reared in Allen County. Shelby B. Follis was a saddler by trade; since the war he has been engaged in farming. He was a son of Raven Follis, who married Mary Waggle - both early pioneers of Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Gatewood have had born to them seven children; six of whom are living: Lucy, Lillian, Clara Elizabeth, George Boone, Zilpha and Fayette Follis. Mr. Gatewood located where he now resides, February, 1871, on 100 acres of land. He cast his first presidential vote for John Bell; since the war has been a Democrat. `

JAMES H. GIBSON was born in Allen County, August 14, 1812. His father, John S. Gibson, was a native of Virginia, born in Culpeper County, in 1758. He joined the Continental Army in 1775 and served as a soldier until 1781. He was in after life a farmer; he died in 1834. He was twice married; his first wife belonged to Culpeper County; she died in 1789, leaving four children; his second marriage was with Elizabeth Compton, of Culpeper County; she died in 1842, leaving ten children. The father and mother of John S. Gibson ware natives of Ireland, and married in Culpeper County, Va. James H. Gibson received very little education in early life on account of the scarcity of books; his father was liberal in his patronage of schools, and young Gibson, by constant application, acquired a fair English education by the study of what books he could procure. He remained with his parents until he attained his majority, when he went to Missouri and worked in the lead mines for a while; then returned home and took care of his parents until their death. He married, in 1849, Mary E. Brite, of Allen County, Ky. She died June 5, 1878, and left six children: James T., John R. (deceased), Lecil, Mary, Luna (deceased), and Alonzo. Mr. Gibson's second wife was Dilly (Johnson) Turner; by this marriage there are no children. Mr. Gibson inherited from his father about one hundred acres of land, upon which he began the battle of life. He has, by industry and economy, been enabled to give to each of his children a good farm, built for them good homes, and given to each one a start in life, besides which he owns 300 acres of land in his home farm, which is well improved with good buildings and is in a high state of cultivation. The farm has excellent water privileges and is well adapted to grass; the orchard of 500 trees produces all kinds of fruit that can be grown in the country. Politically Mr. Gibson is a Democrat, and has held the office of commissioner of possession for many years, and has made many settlements, always giving satisfaction to the contestants. He is known as a liberal-minded citizen, whose time is taken up with farming interests and the culture of the minds of his family and the improvement of the country. He and wife and three children are members of the Baptist Church. As a private citizen he has done much good work in the settlement of difficulties between his friends and neighbors. His motto is, "No compromise in law or in official position."

JAMES T. GIBSON was born November 15, 1849, on the head of Solomon Creek, in Allen County, Ky., where he was reared to manhood and has always resided. His father, James H. Gibson, is a native of Allen County, where he now resides, aged about seventy years. He is the son of John Gibson. James H. Gibson married Mary Brite, Allen County; she died June 5, 1878. James T. obtained an English education at the common schools of the vicinity, and is a reading man. He married, November 27, 1878, Georgie E., daughter of Thomas Mc. and Elizabeth (Motley) Goodnight, of Allen County, born December 1, 1853, and to them have been born John Thomas and Mary Belle. Mr. Gibson is a farmer, having 320 acres of productive and well improved land in good condition. He and wife are members of the Baptist Church, and in politics he is a Democrat.

LAWRENCE A. GLAZE, M. D., was born in Washington County, Tenn., June 5, 1852. His father, William B. Glaze, is a native of the Old Dominion, born in 1817; he emigrated from Virginia when a young man; he married Elizabeth Clark, of Newport, Coke Co., Tenn., and afterwards located in Washington County, that State, where he now resides, and has, during the latter portion of his life, been a dealer in general merchandise. Mrs. Elizabeth Glaze died in the year 1878. Lawrence Glaze, the grandfather of Dr. Glaze, was a native of Ireland. He and his wife came to America at an early day with a "band of pilgrims," who left their native country to avoid the persecutions against them. They settled in New York, where Mrs. Glaze soon after died, leaving no issue. He subsequently married Ella Wilson, who was kidnapped in Ireland by some Dutch traders, who brought her to America and sold her to him for the sum of twenty-five cents. After his second marriage Lawrence Glaze removed to Tennessee and bought 2,800 acres of land on Nola Churky (very swift) River; he constructed a dwelling of canes, they being the most available mterial; these he planted in a circle, and joining the tops, covered this framework with the skins of animals. This served for a dwelling for several years. It was situtated on a stream called Boone's Creek. His death occurred in 1847, on the day preceding the death of his wife. The early life of Dr. Glaze was spent in school; he attended Ewing and Jefferson College, in Blount County, Tenn.; afterward Tusculum College, in Greene County, where, in the year 1868, he took the degree of Bachelor of Sciences. In 1870 he went to Indiana and read medicine one year. On the 27th of September, 1872, he married Mary Baird, a daughter of Hon. J. F. Baird, of Gibson County, Ind. She is a lady of rare attainments, and was educated at St. Mary's College, near Terre Haute, Ind. To them were born two daughters: Birdie and Willie. After marriage Dr. Glaze removed to Tennessee, where he continued the study of medicine, and graduated after a two years' course in Vanderbilt University, at Nashville; he received the degree of M. D. in 1880 from the "Vanderbilt," and also from the University of Tennessee. He graduated with high honors, and received a gold medal for excellence in general pathology; he immediately began the practice of his profession, which he has followed with uniform success. He first located in Gainesville, Allen County, but later in Scottsville. He and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. He is a Master Mason in Graham Lodge, No. 208. Politically he is Democrat. He takes but little interest in politics, being devoted to his profession.

THOMAS M. GOODNIGHT was born November 4, 1817, in Warren County, Ky., where he grew to manhood, and in 1843 removed to Allen County, where he has since resided. His father, Isaac Goodnight, was born in the fort at Harlan's Station, now Harrodsburg, Ky., January 1, 1782; was reared on the frontier; was an active member of the Baptist Church; located in Warren County in 1806, where he died October 14, 1869. He was the son of Michael Goodnight, a native of Germany; immigrated to Virginia, and located in Rockbridge County, about 1708; located in Mecklenburg County, N.C., in 1762; had two sons in the revolution; removed to Mercer County, Ky., 1780, and was slain by the Indians near Harrodsburg in 1782. He was the father of twenty-four children. Isaac Goodnight was married four times; first, September 5, 1805, to Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas McMurray, of Lincoln County, born April 23, 1787; died September 29, 1827, and from their union sprang Catherine (Jameson), James, Abraham, Mary (Neal), Christina, (Casey and Feland), Thomas M., Elizabeth (Grounds), Sarah Motley, Nancy R. (Murdock) and Rachel A (Bedford). His second wife was Mary Grounds, born in 1800, died in 1847, and their offspring are Martha (Larrance), Isaac S., Jacob and Henry G. September 1, 1840, Thomas M. married Elizabeth, daughter of Henry and Mary (Renick) Motley, of Allen County, born March 9, 1821, and to them have been born Mary E. (deceased), Isabell (deceased) and Georgie E. (Gibson). Mr. Goodnight carried on the tanner's trade, at which he was successful for forty-five years. He is now a farmer, owning 550 acres of well improved and productive land, in a high state of cultivation. He has given his children each 200 acres of land. Mr. Goodnight has secured his possessions by his own industry and foresight. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity; also a member of the Baptist Church, and in politics is a Democrat.

THOMAS J. GOODRUM was born July 26, 1844, in Warren County, Ky., and in 1850 removed with his parents to Allen County, where he has since resided. His father, John J. Goodrum, Jr., a native of West Virginia, removed with his parents in childhood to Sumner County, Tenn.; removed to Kentucky, where he remained four years, and then located in Warren County, Ky.; was a soldier in the war of 1812, and died in 1865, aged seventy-one years. He was the son of John J., Sr. John J., Jr., was thrice married; first to Margery Carruthers, and their children are James R., Sarah (Pearson), Martha A. (Johnson), Eliza (Cooksey) and John I. His second wife was Eliza Ragsdale, and their children are Benjamin R., Nancy (Goodrum), Susan (Moore and Ayres), Margaret (Tabor), Mary (Harmon), Andrew J. and Elizabeth. His third wife is Mary A., daughter of Peter and Nancy (Harmon) Cornwell, of Allen County - now living, at the age of sixty-four years - and from their union sprang Patsey A. (Deering), Cinderella, Thomas J., Joseph R., Beverly L. and Briggs. Thomas J. obtained a common English education in the schools of the country, and is a reading man. He married, September 12, 1869, Drusilla, daughter of Willis P. and Martha (Burton) Buckhannon, of Allen County - born July 20, 1850 - and to their union were born Etta F., Anna L., Burton, John J., Lepoteta and Willis H. Mr. Goodrum is a farmer, owning 126 acres of productive land in a high state of cultivation. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity; also of the Missionary Baptist Church and in politics a Democrat.

WILLIAM GUY was born in Allen County, Ky., February 3, 1835, and is a son of Larkin Guy, who was also a Kentuckian, born in 1815, and died in 1871. He was by occupation a farmer. He was twice married. His first wife was Fannie Wagoner, whose parents, George and Sallie Wagoner, were natives of North Carolina. She died in 1840, leaving six children: Sarah A. (Garrison), Samuel, Nancy (Miller), Agnes (Harris), William and Elizabeth (Williams). His second marriage was with Miss Williamson, who died in 1881, leaving three children: Amanda (Wilson), Ellen (Blankenship) and Mary (Stone). Our subject's grandfather, William Guy, was a native of South Carolina, and one of the pioneers of Kentucky; he located in Warren, now Allen County, where he passed the remainder of his life. George Wagoner, a native of North Carolina, came to Kentucky at an early day. He died about the year 1854. William Guy was four years of age when his mother died; he was reared in the home of his grandfather, Wagoner. He obtained a fair common school education, which he has improved by his contact with the affairs of life. His marriage took place December 15, 1859, with Martha Jane, daughter of Jackson and Susan Morgan, who were natives of Kentucky, from which State they removed to Missouri, where they remained for about nine years, and while residents of that State their daughter, Martha J., was born. Mrs. Morgan died in 1879, aged about sixty-two years. Jackson Morgan was born in 1819, and is now sixty-six years of age. William Guy, before his marriage, purchased eighty acres of land which he paid for by his own labor, and has added to at different times, until he is now the owner of 250 acres of good land, which he has brought to a fine state of cultivation, and improved with good, comfortable dwelling, barns, orchards, etc. He is somewhat connected with the stock trade, and owns some fine grazing land. He is a Democrat, and takes some interest in politics, but is no aspirant to political honors. He is a patron of schools, and takes a pride in the education of his children, of whom ten are now living, viz.: Olivie [sic], Charles P., Robert, Susan, Otie, Lady, Harry, Myrtle, Proctor and Toy. Mrs. Guy is a member of the Methodist Church. He bases his religious views on the "sacred rights of man" and strict integrity in business transactions.