KYLAUREL-L Archives

From: "Robert Speake" <>
Subject: Jonathon Speaks of Laurel County, KY
Date: Fri, 19 Sep 97 09:13:41 PDT

The following article appeared in the Sentinel-Echo many years ago. At one
time the Speak family was prominent in Laurel County. Now, there are just
a few descendants left. Visit the Speak/e/s Home Page at
http://wsnet.com/~bruceb/sfa~1.htm for more information on the Speak/e/s
family.

There is a Santa Claus, at least there WAS that Christmas of 1883.
From all accounts the winter of 1883-1884 was of unusual severity,
particularly in the matter of snow falls.
This period of time was the beginning of the arrival of and settlement
by the valiant Swiss People who braved so many hardships to settle an
unsettled wilderness in the western part of our county. My story is what
was related to me by Mr. Chris Zimmerman of the arrival of himself and
others of his family into this extremely thinly settled region.
He relates that he was eight years old upon his and his family’s arrival
from a long voyage from Switzerland, the land of their nativity. His
father had preceded the family to America and had come to Laurel County,
Kentucky. Here he purchased a good-sized tract of land upon which he had
started construction of a home for his family. It was a small, simple home
with
walls of hewn logs and a board roof constructed with material obtained
right on the spot.
Fine poplars were used to make the logs, and the shingles for the roof
were made from the abundant supply of chestnut trees standing close by. The
construction of the home was progressing very well indeed. The walls had
been completed, a roof was over the whole. Doors had also been made and a
wide chimney of sticks and mud was almost completed. The house, however,
had no floors, nor had the gables been enclosed when the builder ran out of
money.
Hearing that jobs were available in Chicago, Illinois, he went there to
replenish
his supply of cash, hoping that he might earn enough to finish his home and
the means to care for his family when they came to him.
A letter to his family informing them of what he was doing and when he
would be back in Laurel County did not reach them before they sailed for
the United States. Unknown to the man, his family, a mother and several
little children, arrived in Laurel County Kentucky to find no husband or
father and an unfinished house. They were in a strange new land without
finances, without knowledge of the customs of the country with only the
mother being able to speak a few words of English.
They managed to have themselves moved to their unfinished house,
having only a few personal odds and ends of clothing, blankets, etc. They
bravely undertook to set up housekeeping with no kitchen, household or
other furniture.
Their house had been inhabited by the wild things of the forest. They came
after dark, great owls sat in the top logs of the unenclosed gables and
stared down with big brown eyes at the closely huddled family and ‘possums
grinned at them between cracks in the logs.
A heavy snow fell the first night they stayed in the cabin. The
morning broke clear with bitter coldness. No reserve wood or water was
available, and only scant provisions were in the house. Despair was heavy
upon the poor mother and children as they gazed upon a world of dazzling
white. Completely covered were all trails and paths. They had no idea in
what direction the nearest neighbor lived nor how far it was to the
nearest human being.
A call from outside gave them hope and courage. They threw open the door
to gaze upon a gentleman with a kind face and cheerful smiles for all of
them. He knew a small bit of Swiss and Mrs. Zimmerman knew a smattering of
English, and they communicated.
He realized their plight. He took two of the larger children with him
to his mill about two miles away. Here he gathered fresh corn meal , a
slab of bacon, some sorghum molasses, milk, and butter, and the trio
returned to the cabin.
He showed the children how to obtain the rich-burning pine knots for
their fire and where to find water from a nearby spring. During the
following winter days he came each day to see if all was well. He taught
the children how to make turkey traps for catching wild turkeys, and these
wild birds furnished them many feasts during the cold winter. He showed
them how to find the many chestnuts, walnuts, and hickory nuts which lay
underneath the covering of leaves. He saw them through
the winter and assisted them to make contact with the husband and father.
This Santa Claus was Jonathan Speaks, one of the very earliest
settlers of Laurel County. He had a corn and lumber mill on
the waters of Powder Mill Creek. Powder was also made by Mr. Speaks and
other.
A splendid man was Jonathan Speaks, tall and straight, a man of
impeccable manners and habits with more education that was commonly found
in his day and time. A versatile conversationalist with an imposing
appearance and gentle table manners. He declined both sugar and cream for
his coffee preferring to drop a small lump of butter into his cup.
Jonathan was the grandson of Nicholas Speak and Sarah Faires and the
son of Jesse C Speak and Mary Haynes. Jesse C Speak was a lieutenant in
the army during the Civil War. He came from Virginia and established the
Speak mill and store, and raised his family in Laurel County. Jesse Speak
died circa 1874 and his son Jonathan, who married Rachel Whitson, took
charge of the mill and its operation.
Jonathan’s siblings were: Alice, who married S. P. Evans (their son,
John B Evans of Fairburn, Georgia, provided this information to the
Sentinel-Echo in a letter which appeared in the issue of March 17, 1960)
and who was the youngest sister of Jonathan; James, who served in the Civil
War and was later killed in a railroad accident in Indiana; Elizabeth Jane,
who married Jesse McFadden; Melissa, who married P. L. (Bob) McFadden; and
Mary Ann, who married John Sparks.

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• Jonathon Speaks of Laurel County, KY by "Robert Speake" <>