"Pioneer Ghosts of Kentucky Rest in Peace" 6504 pages: Baptist Minister's Diary -- By John J. Dickey: Volume 3, pages 2289-2292

P. 2289: John D. White. Manchester, KY, April 21 1898. I got the following items chiefly from James Campbell of Hazard and Isom Stamper of Turkey Creek, Letcher County.

Fifty families assembled at the mouth of Walker's Creek, on New River, N.C. with a view of emigrating to Kentucky. This was in the spring of 1806. They sent two young men to "spy out the land", viz. Austin Couch and another whose name I have forgotten. They struck the North Fork of the Kentucky river near its head, passed down it to Boonesboro, went on to Lexington, returned by way of Boonesboro, up the North Fork and back to Virginia and reported a goodly land abounding in game and fish. They said where Hazard is was a Canebrake. There was no one on the river.

In the spring May 15, 1807 (they) landed. The Campbells came to bend where there were four acres of land cleared but the fences were rotten and everything indicated it had been long deserted. Campbells brought horses and cattle and such [page 2290] household stuff as they could carry. the patriarch, John Campbell, was a severe Christian. He trained his children as an orthodox Scotchman would do.

One tradition claims that the two young men came down Troublesome (Both accounts may be true; they might have come one way and gone back the other) Mason Combs was the original Combs in the Mountains. He settled on a high hill below the mouth of Carr's Fork, on opposite side. Mace's Creek was named for him and is really Mason's Creek. His brothers, "Danger" Combs and General Elijah Combs came later. He laid out a patent about the mouth of Mace's Creek making his beginning corner a "Mill Seat" upon which a Mill was never built until two years ago by one of the Halls.

Isom Stamper, says that a man named Casebolt settled at the mouth of Line Fork at a very early date. He had a step-daughter, Polly Davis, who used to go to Turkey Cove, Va. alone for [page 2291] flour &c when only 14 years old. She would stay all night going and coming at Wallace's on Poor Fork of Cumberland just above the mouth of Loony's Creek.

Her route was as follows: - From mouth of Line Fork she went down the North Fork of Ky. R. to mouth of Leatherwood, up Leatherwood half a mile to mouth of Little Leatherwood up the head, over on to Turkey Creek, up Turkey (Creek) to near head, over on to defeated Creek, down Defeated to Forks, up left hand Fork, nearly to head, cross over to Trace branch, down Trace branch to Line Fork to a point about two miles below Hurricane Gap, across Pine Mountain by Log Rock - so called because the rock, 30 ft. long, is in the shape of a log - down to Wallace's on Poor Fork just above mouth of Loony. Up Loony to the head over the Big Black Mountain where it is 4,000 ft. high and down Loony into Virginia to Turkey Cove.

There are four Loony Creeks, on in Harlan, one in Virginia, two in Letcher County. They were named for the Loony's early hunters. [page 2292] One of them was killed on Defeated Creek by the Indians. Isom Stamper got this from Polly Davis herself. She married Samuel Lusk and her descendants now live on North Fork about the mouth of Line Fork, Perry County. They have the finest body of Walnut timber in the mountains of Kentucky and will not sell it. The Lusks are numerous in Gerrard and Madison (Counties).

A family named Leslie now lives at the mouth of Line Fork, Letcher Co. Old General Leslie Combs was of this stock.

The fifty families or the greater part of them, eventually settled in the mountains of Kentucky. The Casebolts of the Sandy Valley are descendants of the above (mentioned) Casebolt. Isom Stamper lives on Turkey Creek, Letcher County, now, is 92 years old.

(Source: Ken Dyer - KLDYER@MontanaSky.net)