Gideon Dyer Cobb

     Gideon Dyer Cobb was born on 11 Sep 1773 at Stillwater, Albany Co., New York.^5,6 He married Modena Chittenden Clark, daughter of Gen. Isaac Clark and Hannah Chittenden, about 1796 in or near Castleton, Vermont. According to family lore, her family was opposed to the marriage because she was so young (about 17), and forbade young Gideon from coming to the house. But one day he was out riding and met her taking a walk. He took her up on his horse behind him and they rode into the next county and were married. If so, no record has been found of their marriage in Castleton; no records survive from that period in Fair Haven.^7,8 He died on 1 Mar 1834 in Caldwell Co., Kentucky, at age 60.^6,9 He was buried in Riverview Cemetery, Eddyville, Kentucky, in the Cobb family plot, next to his wife.²
     He moved to Canterbury, Connecticut, with his parents Elkanah Cobb, and Mary Willard between May 1776 and Jul 1778.^10,11 He moved to Pawlet, Vermont,, with his parents by 1780.^12,13,14 He is probably one of the four males over age 16 listed in the household of his father, Elkanah Cobb, in the 1790 Federal Census of Pawlet, Rutland Co., Vermont.¹⁵ He was named a freeman of Wells on 3 Dec 1794.¹⁶

Administrator of His Father's Estate

     Gideon was an administrator for the estate of his father along with his father's brother Ebenezer. They pursued the case Elkanah had filed for damages to his mill, and won a judgement for $200 against Roger Stevens, Gilbert Toper, Nath^l Lewis, and John Shumway Jun^r, which the defendants appealed to the Supreme Court. In the meantime the administrators filed a second suit for damages to the dam, in which they won damages of $20 plus $146 in costs. At that point the defendants filed a motion claiming that the administrators had no standing to bring the suit. With both suits pending but undecided in the Supreme Court, the administrators filed a petition with the state Assembly on 20 Sep 1798, asking it to direct the Court to hear and determine the cases as though they had been prosecuted by Elkanah before his death. On 22 Oct 1798 the petition was read to the Assembly, and the petitioners granted leave to withdraw it, with no explanation provided by the record. The outcome of the Supreme Court cases has not been found.^17,18
     On 5 Aug 1799 Gideon, as one of the administrators of his father's estate, requested and received authority to sell all his father's real estate in order to pay the estate's debts.¹⁹

The Trek to the Western Frontier

     Gideon and Modena and their young son Caleb were part of a group of over seventy people who moved from Vermont to Kentucky under the leadership of Matthew Lyon. They were part of a small group that made the trek in late 1799, followed by a larger group who arrived in mid-summer 1801.^20,21,22 According to family lore, Modena was a favorite of her aunt, Beulah Lyon, Lyon's second wife, who she visited many times at the Lyon's home in Fair Haven. Supposedly, that is where that Modena met Gideon. When the Lyons decided to migrate to Kentucky, they prevailed upon the young couple to join the party.²³ The group traveled in five wagons across the Allegeny Mountains to New Geneva, on the Monongahela River, over 50 miles above Pittsburgh, arriving in mid-Nov 1799. The water was too low to float down the river, so they spent the winter preparing their boats. New Geneva is not known to have been a common embarkation point, so it seem likely that the location was chosen because of Lyon's association with Albert Gallatin, minority leader of the House when Lyon was serving, and a resident there. Lyon left the party while preparations were underway, returning to his Congressional duties.^24,25,26
     Lyon left instructions that they were to follow the Ohio River to the mouth of the Cumberland River, then "go up that river until they were suited with regard to the Situation of the country, & the price of Land & there set down." He gave "rather a preference" to Kentucky over Tennessee because he believed land was cheaper there, but gave "them latitude to go up as far as they chuse." The party loaded their flatboats with their goods, including men's and women's saddles, bridles, shoe upper leathers, boots, tin ware, two stills, black smith tools, farming tools, iron, millstones, and grind stones, and set off. They settled at Eddyville, Kentucky, probably arriving in the spring of 1800.^27,28 For details, please see The Trek from Vermont to the Kentucky Wilderness. According to the 1800 census, Eddyville had a population of 69 persons, including 34 free white males, 23 free white females, and 12 slaves. This presumably including the party from Vermont since the official enumeration day was 4 Aug, though we cannot be sure since no copies of the individual schedules survive.^29,30

Establishing the First Tavern in Eddyville

     Gideon established one of the earliest, if not the first, tavern in Eddyville, obtaining his permit 22 Jul 1800. By one account, it was build of "logs of his own hewing... the only tavern on the then lonesome lower bends of the Cumberland River."^31,32 Tavern rates were set by the County Court. In 1800 those rates were: whiskey or brandy 12½¢ per half pint; rum, wine and French brandy, 25¢; breakfast or supper 19¢; dinner 25¢; lodging 6¼¢ per night; corn or oats 12½¢ per gallon; horse to hay of fodder 12½¢; and pasturage 8½¢ per night. He, in partnership with Samuel C. Clark between 1809 and 1818, maintained the tavern until at least 1830. No renewals have been found for them between 1814 and 1826 and Edward H. Farrants obtained a permit to keep a tavern at his home, formerly occupied by Cobb and Clark, on 26 Oct 1818. So either they moved to a different location, or the property was occupied by Farrants for a period.^33,34
     Apparently the tavern could sometimes be a wild place. One traveler recorded that on the night of 22 Jan 1805 he "took a frolick at Mr. Cobb's tavern and jumpt out an upper window to get Clear of the party."³⁵ It would seem that the tavern was actually run by Modena. Their daughter recalled, many years later, that she kept a hotel where she boarded the men who built barges.³⁶

Engaged in Many Businesses

     We know that Gideon had a farm because Chittenden Lyon wrote in 1828 that he "is reduced in his circumstances in consequence of losing a valuable farm, which was taken by a prior claim after a long law suit, which he had highly improved." Details of that suit have not been found.³⁷ But it seems certain that farming was not Gideon's primary occupation. In addition to the tavern, he is known to have owned a mill, a tannery, and carried on a hattery. The hatter was a Negro he owned, but he was stolen or persuaded away, according to his daughter.³⁸ It seems clear he was also engaged in trade. His great-grandson, noted humorist Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb, wrote about him:     While Irvin's account is perhaps colored by re-telling by several generations of family, the substance of the trade he describes is consistent with that described by other sources. According to family tradition, Gideon originated the idea of packing tobacco, "leaf, lugs, dirt clods, stalks, stems, trash, and all," into casks and "dousing the mess with crude sorghum molasses and pressing it to sticky solidity." The casks were supposedly shipped to New Orleans, then by sailing ships skippered by distant kinsman from Maine to Africa where they were traded for gold dust and ivory.³⁹
     The business of shipping seems to have required the construction of a warehouse, to which a store was then added. Irvin said he had the ledgers and day books from the business, which recorded the sales of "everything from ox-bows and hymn-books, to flintlock muskets, mill wheels and painkillers." One of the earliest entries records purchases on the proprietor's account in anticipation of the birth of his first son born in Kentucky, in 1804. The store no doubt expanded after introduction of steamboat service on the upper Mississippi and Ohio Rivers in 1817, when supplies could have been more easily obtained via New Orleans. A brick building replaced the original, and was expanded by later generations until it covered an acre.^40,41
     Various accounts have Gideon and Matthew Lyon involved with early iron production in the area. While no contemporary records have been found to document their involvement, Irvin claims Gideon "was a partner in setting up of the first iron furnace established west of the Allegheny Mountains." Presumably, his account is based on family oral history. He says that Gideon was a metal-worker by trade as his father had been, and benefited from use of the iron ore and coal found on his farm in the furnaces.⁴²

Public Service

     Gideon seems to have taken and active part in his adopted community from the beginning. He was one of the trustees named for the town of Eddyville in the Livingston Co. Court order that established the town 26 Nov 1800. He was named as a security for the bond of the administrator of an estate in the same court session. On 5 May 1801 he was appointed one of the appraisers for an estate, and also one of two men appointed to select the location for a new ware house. He was appointed security for another estate administrator in Jul 1801. On 6 Jan 1802 he and three others were appointed to mark out a new road from Eddyville to Paitehards Ferry.⁴³
     His public service continued for many years. In Sep 1809 he and John Bradley advertised for proposals for the brick work for a brick court house in Eddyville for the new county of Caldwell. At the Nov 1809 term of the Caldwell Co. Court they along with Samuel C. Clark and Elijah George Galusha Jr. posted a bond to build the new court house. In Jul 1818 he was one of five men requested by the county court to view and report on the condition of the road from Eddyville toward Princeton. In the Oct term he was appointed one of four appraisers for the estate of one James Hill. In the Apr1919 term he appointed surveyor of the road from Eddyville to Smithville, commencing at Eddyville to the branch near Dooms old place. (For more examples, see the extracted County Court Orders).^44,45
     According to her daughter Aurelia's recollections, Gideon had the mail contract between Eddyville and Fort Massack for a time. He often had to carry the mail himself, leaving his wife and young son by themselves or sometimes with a hired man.⁴⁶
     Gideon was commissioned Collector and Inspector of Revenue for the "port and district of Massac" by President Thomas Jefferson in 1805. Because the commission was made to fill a vacant office while the Senate was in recess, the President officially nominated him in a long list of other officials on 20 Dec 1805, shortly after the 9th Congress convened, and he was confirmed 3 Jan 1806. The exact duties of this office have not been learned, but presumably it involed collection of duties on goods imported on the Ohio River. The port of entry of Massac appears to have been located near Fort Massac, on the Ohio River, some 45 miles down-river from Eddyville, then in Indiana Territory and now in Illinois. The district it covered was expanded in 1801, in response to a petition from citizens of Tennessee, to include all of Tennessee, much of Kentucky, and presumably the Territory of Indiana. It is not clear whether Gideon was required to spend any significant time at the port.^47,48,49,50 On 4 Feb 1806 Gideon was granted 400 acres in Livingston Co., Kentucky, by the county court.⁵¹
     Gideon was commissioned Surveyor for the "port of Massac" by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807. Because the commission again was made to fill a vacant office while the Senate was in recess, the President officially nominated him in a long list of other officials on 9 Nov 1807, shortly after the 10th Congress convened, and he was confirmed 18 Nov. Whether this was in addition to, or replaced, his previous post has not been learned.^52,53

The Family in Census Records

     Gideon appeared on the 1810 Federal Census of Eddyville, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, enumerated 1810 with a household consisting of three white males under age 10 (Robert and Joshua, and apparently Caleb, though he was about 13), and two between 26 and 45 (Gideon, and Samuel C. Clark, who was listed as co-head-of-household); one female under 10 (Mary) and one between 10 and 15 (unknown), and one between 26 and 45 (his wife, Modena Chittenden Clark).^54,55
     Gideon appeared on the 1820 Federal Census of Eddyville, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, enumerated 1820 with a household consisting of one white male under age 10 (Gideon Jr.), two between 10 and 16 (Robert Livingston and Joshua), one 19-26 (Caleb), and two over 45 (Gideon and probably Samuel C. Clark); two white females under age 10 (Hannah and Aurelia), two between 10 and 16 (Mary and another), one between 16 and 26 (unknown), and one over age 45 (probably Modena, but she was only 41).⁵⁶
     From the 1810 and 1820 censuses, it is clear that Gideon and Modena's household included at least three people who were not part of their immediate family. One was an adult male born between 1765 and 1775, and the other two were young women, one born between 1794 and 1800, the other between 1804 and 1810. Because of the unusual description of the household in the 1810 census as "Cobb & Clarke" and the several references in the County Court Order books that mention their names jointly, it seems quite certain the adult was a Samuel C. Clark, likely some kin to Modena. The two girls then, might have been unknown daughters of Gideon and Modena, but it seems more likely they were their nieces - daughters of the widowed Samuel Clarke.^54,56
     Gideon sold a parcel on the Cumberland River to his son Caleb on 3 Aug 1823, for $160.⁵⁷
     Gideon appeared on the 1830 Federal Census of Eddyville, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, with a household consisting of one white male age 5 to 10 (Giles), one age 10 to 15 (Gideon Jr.), one 15 to 20 (unknown), seven 20 to 30 (Robert and Joshua, and others unknown), and one 50 to 60 (Gideon); one white female 10 to 15 (Aurelia), two 15 to 20 (Hannah and Persis), and one 30 to 40 (probably Modena, but she was 51); and one female and one male slave.⁵⁸