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

Biographies
Allen County, KY

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JAMES P. PHILLIPS was born June 7, 1851, in Warren County, Ky.; in 1863 removed with his parents to Butler County; in 1868 he returned to Warren County, and in 1883 he located in the northeast part of Allen County, where he has since resided. His father, Aaron Phillips, a native of Warren County, born in 1809, is now living. He is the son of Morris Phillips, a native of South Carolina, who removed to Kentucky when a young man, and died in Warren County about 1855, aged nearly one hundred years. His father was Stephen Phillips. Aaron was twice married; first to Jane Thomas, and their children are Moses, who died in the army, Elizabeth (Lyles), Melinda, deceased, and Sidney. He next married, in 1845, Henrietta, daughter of Matthew and Mary Allen, of Davidson County, Tenn., born in 1822, and from their union sprang Mary J. (Clark), George W., James P., Franklin P. and Tennessee M. (Phelps). January 5, 1876, James P. Phillips married Marrietta, daughter of David and Amanda (Rector) Jewell, of Allen County, born January 22, 1860, and to them have been born Carrie D., Mary J., Lurinnie, George E. and Maude. By industry, frugality and strict attention to business, Mr. Phillips has accumulated a comfortable competency. He engaged in merchandising for a season at Claypool, in which he lost money. He is a farmer, having 243 1/2 acres of well improved and productive land. He is a member of the Christian Church and in politics a Democrat.

THEODORE D. PITCHFORD as born May 16, 1832, on the banks of Barren River, Allen County, Ky. He is the eldest and only boy of six children born of David and Eveline (Parrish) Pitchford. His father was born and reared in Allen County; was by occupation a farmer; was appointed deputy sheriff before he became of age and afterward was elected sheriff. He was a substantial farmer and slave owner. He was the son of Eli Pitchford, who had married three times, and who came from North Carolina and settled in Allen County about 1800. He was a colonel of militia in early muster days; held the office of magistrate for several terms and also held the office of sheriff. He was a farmer, owned several negroes and was of English descent. Our subject's mother was born in Edmonson County, Ky., came with her parents to Allen County about 1830, and settled on Barren River. The parents were of English descent. Theodore D. was reared on a farm and remained with his parents until the age of twenty-two, when he started in life for himself. He married, October 25, 1864, Sallie B. Foster, of Allen County, a daughter of George and Mary (Whitney) Foster, who were natives of Kentucky and of English descent. Our subject had born to him by this marriage five children: Agnes E. (Holden), William T., Mary Susan, Sarah Jane and James S., last two twins. Mrs. P. died September 25, 1872, a devoted member of the Baptist Church. Mr. P. next married, January 15, 1876, Sallie, a daughter of Samuel E. and Sarah (Downing) Carpenter. Mr. P. located where he now resides, in October, 1864, about one mile from Barren River. He owns 1,550 acres of land, 600 of which are under cultivation, improved with good buildings, etc., all of which he has acquired by his own industry, having started in life without capital. His wife owned about twelve negroes when the war broke out. Mr. P. cast his first vote for Filmore, in 1856, and since the war has been a Democrat. He is one of the most successful men in the county.

ENOCH PRUITT was born January 25, 1840, in Allen County, where he has since resided. His father, Elijah Pruitt, was also born in Allen County, September 27, 1811; he was a son of Abram Pruitt, who was born in Sparklingburg District, S. C., he was a son of Moses Pruitt. Elijah Pruitt was three times married; first, in 1829, to Nancy Mohundro, of Tennessee; to their union nine children were born, of whom Enoch is the sixth. His second marriage was in 1849, with Malinda Brough, of Allen County, who bore him six children; his third marriage was in 1864, to Mary F. Brough, who became the mother of three children. January 20, 1859, Enoch was joined in matrimony with Sarah F., daughter of Isaac and Mary (Buckhanon) Boucher, of Allen County. To them have been born Amanda, Mary (Divine), Almarinda, Lamon, Harrison J. and Pearla L. Mr. Pruitt had his own way to make in the world; starting, as he did, with only one horse and $20, he has become the owner, by industry and economy, of 175 acres of well improved and productive land. He has been since 1875 a magistrate, and is a member of the Methodist Church. In politics he is a Democrat.

COL. ROBERT F. PULLIAM is a native Kentuckian, born in Allen County, April 8, 1850. He is a son of Robert F. and Evelyn (Ellis) Pulliam, who were of Scotch-Irish lineage and natives of Kentucky. The former was born in 1805, and lived to the age of sixty-three years; his life was principally spent in agricultural pursuits, and he accumulated a handsome property; he held the office of sheriff of Allen County for fourteen years, and while serving in that capacity he executed the first criminal ever hung in Scottsville; he afterward held the office of circuit court clerk for twelve years. Mrs. Evelyn (Ellis) Pulliam was born in 1808, and is now in her seventy-seventh year; she and her husband have throughout their lives been noted for their hospitality and their zeal in the cause of religion. Robert F. Pulliam, Sr., was a son of Joseph Pulliam, a native of Culpeper County, Va., and one of a family of nine sons and seven daughters; he came to Kentucky with his parents in an early day, and located in Hart County, on Green River. Later he married a daughter of Joseph Fickland, one of the first settlers of Allen County, and to them were born two children: Margaret and Robert. In the early history of Kentucky the venerable Bishop Asbury found a home with Joseph Fickland and wife, and was entertained at the house in which Col. Pulliam now resides. Col. Pulliam's maternal grandfather, Ellis, was a native of Virginia; he came to Kentucky at an early day, and made his home for a time near Lexington, where he married Miss Biddie Cushenberry, and afterward removed to the Green River country, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits. He died early and left a widow and three children; the widow afterward married Johnson J. Cockrell, who was the first representative of Allen County in the State Legislature, and their's was the first child born in Scottsville. Col. Robert F. Pulliam is the youngest of a family of eleven children; he was born on the farm where he now resides. At the age of eighteen he had aquired a good common school education, and then entered Browder's Institute in Logan County, where he graduated in English literature and mathematics; he then chose the business of commercial traveler, which he followed for five years with the firm of Crump & Davidson, of Louisville, and two years with John P. Merton & Co. Then at the solicitation of his mother he returned home and took charge of the farm, and has since been engaged in farming and stock raising, with excellent success; his strict integrity and business ability soon gained for him the confidence and esteem of all who knew him. He is a Democrat; has no political aspirations for himself, but in political contests he wields a strong influence in favor of his friend, so much so, indeed, that in the year 1873 his influence carried the nomination for governor in his county for Proctor Knott, when the odds were fifty to one in favor of Thomas L. Jones, and for which favor he received the honor of a commission as colonel on the gubernatorial staff. The Colonel is a Master Mason, and a member of Antiquity Lodge, No. 113. He is not a member of any church; his religious views are based on charity for all religious opinions, and the sacred fulfillment of busines obligations.

SAMUEL J. READ, JR., is a native Kentuckian, born April 7, 1858, in Allen County, on the farm where he now resides, on the middle branch of Bay's Fork Creek. His early life was spent principally in agricultural pursuits. His early education was obtained in the common schools of his district. This he supplemented with one year's study in the Scottsville Seminary, where he became proficient in the higher mathematics, and well versed in the English classics, after which he followed the profession of a teacher for some years with marked success. His travels have been for profit as well as for pleasure. In 1880 he made a trip through Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Canada, visiting Niagara Falls and Toronto; his second tour was through Indiana, Illinois and Iowa; a third trip took him through the Southern States of Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida to the Gulf of Mexico, visiting New Orleans and other cities by the way. Since then he has, with the assistance of his brother, had charge of his father's farm of 450 acres, which is managed very successfully. Mr. Read is a Democrat, and takes a lively interest in the political issues of the day. He has for the past three years held the appointment of deputy county court clerk. He is an active and consistent member of the Baptist Church. He still retains a state of single blessedness. As a young man of enterprise and ability he commands the respect and esteem of all who know him. For ancestral history see sketch of William H. Read.

WILLIAM HENRY READ was born in Barren County, near the site of the present village of Cave City, July 10, 1841. His father, Samuel J. Read, Sr., was a native of Virginia, born in Culpeper County, April 24, 1808, and when three years of age came to Kentucky with his parents. In 1830 he married Eliza Jane, daughter of Thompson C. Berry, who at an early day removed from Virginia to Kentucky, and settled at a place called Pruitts Knob, in Barren County, where Eliza J. was born September 18, 1817; her age is now sixty-eight years, and she has resided on the farm since 1812. Of her seven children six are living, of which number our subject, William H., is the eldest, followed by Catherine (Page), Eugenie B. (Rodgers), Mary L. (Welch), Joseph A. and Samuel J., Jr. Samuel J. Read, Sr., has during life been engaged in agricultural pursuits, in which he has been very successful; his farm of 450 acres is well kept, and is said to be the best in the section in which it is located, being well iimproved with good buildings, orchards, etc.; it has also excellent water privileges, and is well adapted to stock raising, and supports an average of $3,000 worth of live-stock. Mr. Read is now seventy-seven years of age; he is a son of Theopholis Read, who was a Virginian by birth, and of Scotch parentage; he married Margaret Duncan, in 1797, and fourteen years later, removed to Barren (now Allen) County, Ky., and located on Bay's Fork Creek, on the farm now occupied by his descendants; he was born February 21, 1775; his death occurred in Bourbon County, Ky., October 3, 1821. His widow, Margaret (Duncan) Read - who was a direct descendant of Winford Favier, a French nobleman of distinction - died February 14, 1856, aged eighty-one years. Our subject, William H. Read's early life was passed amid the scenes and labors incident to farm life; he received a good common school education. In 1861 he joined the Confederate Army; enlisted in Company F, of the Sixth Kentucky Confederate Infantry; was in the engagements of Shiloh, siege of Vicksburg, Baton Rouge, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga and many others from Dalton to Atlanta, and thence to Columbia, S. C., and the fall of the Confederate Government was paroled on the 6th of May, 1865; he prides himself on the fact that while a soldier he never avoided a duty, never was sick, and never was wounded; he returned home and attended school one year, and taught one session, after which he engaged in the mercantile business three years, in Simpson County; then removed to Allen County and engaged in agriculture for two years; then sold drugs until 1882, when he was elected to the office of clerk of the Allen County Court, in which office he has continued until the present time (1885). On the 4th of October, 1870, he married Martha J., daughter of Erasmus Porter, of Allen County. To this union were born three sons: Porter, David and Albert. Politically Mr. Read is a Democrat. He and wife are members of the Missionary Baptist Church, in which he holds the office of clerk; he is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is a Master Mason; his membership is with Graham Lodge, No. 208.

FRANKLIN RICHARDS was born May 5, 1838, in Butlersville, Allen County, where he has since resided. In September, 1861, he enlisted in Company F, Ninth Kentucky Infantry, with which he served until the latter part of 1864, when he received his discharge. He was in the battles of Murfeesboro, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain and the siege of Atlanta, besides numerous minor battles and skirmishes. His father, Green L. W. Richards, was burn in Murray County, Tenn., about 1816; he was a son of Hiram Richards, also of Murray County, who was born about 1787, and was a soldier under Gen. Jackson at the famous battle of New Orleans. Hiram was a son of Rains Richards. Green L. W. Richards was married about 1835, and became the father of the following: Hiram L., Franklin, Joseph W. (deceased), William H., Henry C., Sarah A. and John H. Franklin Richards married, January 10, 1872, Elizabeth, daughter of Isaiah and Mary (Howell) Hancock.

WILLIAM C. RICHARDS was born May 19, 1860, in Allen County, Ky., where he grew up and now resides. His father, Richard M. Richards, was born near Duck River, Maury County, Tenn., December 14, 1826. He was a son of Hiram Richards, of Virginia, who was born about 1790, and was of English descent. Richard M. Richards married, in November, 1854, Sarah M., daughter of Robert and Lydia Meng, of Allen County. To them have been born Lucian N., William C., Sarah H., Jennettie E., Lorenzo D., Charley B. and Henry C. Mr. Richards commenced the practice of dentistry in Scottsville under Dr. A. E. McGlothlin, with whom he remained for some time. In his twenty-fifth year he went to Nashville, where he studied dentistry in the University of Tennessee. After one year's work as a student there he came to Scottsville and commenced practice on his own account. The Doctor is a thoroughly self-made man; one of the best posted in the profession in all this section, and in politics is a Democrat.

JAMES N. RUSSELL was born July 8, 1854, in the western part of Allen County, Ky. His father, Gregory Russell, was born February 19, 1818, also in Allen County. He was a son of Seth Russell, of Virginia. Gregory Russell was married, about 1840, to Nancy, daughter of James Horn, of Simpson County. From their union sprang Melissa (Guy), King M. and James N., who was married February 25, 1875, to Enola, daughter of James and M. E. (Ferguson) Gaines, of Simpson County. To them have been born Zula, Daisy, Nannie B. and Arthur, all but the latter of whom are dead. Mr. Russell owes his success to his own efforts. He commenced life with nothing; first as a teacher, then as a farmer; now is both a farmer and superintendent of his milling business. He has been deputy assessor of Allen County, and in politics is a Democrat

JOHN B. RUSSELL was born September 20, 1833, in the western part of Allen County, where he has since resided, except for a few months spent in Warren County. In 1863 he enlisted in Company B, Fifty-second Kentucky (United States Mounted Infantry), with which he remained until near the close of the war. His father, William Russell, was also born in Allen County, in 1813. He was a son of Seth Russell of North Carolina, who was born about 1765, and was of English descent. William Russell was twice married; first, about 1832, to Nancy, daughter of Isaac and Nancy Allen. From this union sprang John B., Burrell (deceased), Mary F. (Hunt, deceased), Eliza A. (Gullium), Telitha (deceased), and James G. Mrs. Nancy Russell departed this life in October, 1875. In 1876 Mr. Russell married his last wife, Margaret Clarkson; they have no children. John B. married January 16, 1854, Serepta A., daughter of Willis and Nancy (Breedlove) Cash, of Simpson County; she was born February 8, 1837. To them were born Telitha C., Alice B., and Henry C. (deceased). John B. began his life as a teacher, but later devoted his attention to farming, in connection with which, in 1872, he made bricks, and worked, when not needed on the farm, as a brick-mason, until 1881, when he was appointed postmaster, and has since, in connection with his farm and other work, been a merchant and tobacco shipper, having, in 1884, bought 160,000 pounds of tobacco, worth nearly $10,000. He is at present the owner of a well improved and productive farm and of a store at Trammel. He is a member of the Methodist Church and has for twenty years been a successful Sunday school work as superintendent. In politics he is a Republican.