John H. Mims

     John H. Mims was born on 6 Jun 1806 in Lewisburg, Greenbrier Co., Virginia.^8,9,10 He married Caroline Hanson Cresap, daughter of Edward Otho Cresap and Sarah Story Briscoe, on 5 Oct 1831 in Eddyville, Caldwell Co., Kentucky.^11,12,8 He died on 11 Apr 1850 in Eddyville, Caldwell Co., Kentucky, at age 43.^13,14,15 He was buried in Riverview Cemetery, Eddyville, Kentucky.¹⁶
     He moved to Christian Co., Kentucky, with his parents, Linah Mims and Rebeccah Davis, about 1817 or 1818.^17,18,19

The Move to Caldwell Co.

     John appears to have established himself in Caldwell Co., Kentucky by 1830, when he first appears in the tax records there. By 1833 he was reporting 11 slaves and 3 horses, valued at $3,200. He reported owning 500 acres on Eddy Creek in 1835, but purchase records for that property has not yet been found.²⁰
     The earliest property record found was a sale, for one dollar, of 117 acres on the south side of the Cumberland River to Isham E. Osborn. That tract was described as a reservation Osborn had made when he earlier transferred to Joseph R. Underwood's title bond to 750 acres to Mims. The one-dollar sale would appear to be to clear title to the reserved parcel.²¹
     John seems to have been little involved in public service in Caldwell Co. His name has been found only once in the records of the County Court, on 17 Apr 1837, when he was appointed clerk for the election of trustees of the town of Eddyville.²²
     He appeared on the 1840 Federal Census of Caldwell Co., Kentucky, with a household consisting of one white male under age 5 (Hanson), one between 20 and 30 (apparently John, though he was actually 34), one between 60 and 70 (his father, Linah), and one female under 5 (Victoria), two between 5 and 10 (Eudorah and Georgina), one between 10 and 15 (unknown, but too old to be their daughter), and one between 20 and 30 (his wife, Caroline). There were also seven male and seven female slaves reported, and seven persons employed in agriculture.²³

Taking on the Marshalls' Businesses

     On 24 May 1842 John made a major business transaction. John W. and Samuel P. L. Marshall, substantial merchants in Eddyville, seem to have overextended themselves, and John agreed to assume some $18,421 of their debts. That included $5,512.77 owed to Union Bank of Tennessee, $4,971.38 to Planters Bank of Tennessee, $2,886 to Bank of Kentucky, $1,322.50 to Thomas G. Pettel, $1,000 to Henry Machen, and lessor sums to five other individuals. In return, he received:      On 13 Nov 1842 John posted security for a $750 bill of exchange to be accepted by the counting house of R. K. Price & Co. in New Orleans. A bill of exchange is a financial instrument used in international trading, suggesting that John, as would be expected of a merchant in Eddyville, was engaged in trade through New Orleans. In this case, the security was four slaves: a girl Roena about 13 yrs., Desdeinonia about 10 yrs., a woman Selly about 24 yrs; yellow boy Sam about 13 yrs, and their increase.²⁵
     On 14 Nov 1842 John borrowed $2,412 from the Hopkinsville branch of the Bank of Kentucky, in exchange giving a mortgage on the lot on the river with the store and ware house.²⁶ On 21 Mar 1843 he sold the half lot to William Henderson, John G. Gains, Chas. C. Gains and Stephen L. Relf of New Orleans, "merchants & traders under the name and style of Henderson & Gains" for $531.78. While the deed does not say so, the strange amount strongly suggests this was in settlement of a debt owed the New Orleans firm. At this time much of the trade between points along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers and the outside world was through New Orleans, so as a merchant he may well have had trade with the New Orleans firm.²⁷
     John borrowed $1,360, to be repaid 1 Dec 1845, from the Planters Bank of Tennessee, mortgaging lot no. 10 in Eddyville.²⁸

Continued Land Transactions

     He purchased another parcel from Samuel P. S. Marshall on 13 Oct 1843, 100 acres on Flynn Fork, for $300. Then on 10 Nov 1843 he purchased 150 Acres on Eddy Creek, opposite Prest's Mill, from Terry D. King and William Brooks for $700. That property had previously been owned by John W. and Samuel P. L. Marshall, though there is no indication that their prior ownership had any connection with the purchase. John sold that property two months later, for the same price, to Robert R. Sevick of Philadelphia. On 5 Sep 1845 he purchased yet another parcel from Samuel P. L. Marshall, 1140 acres on the north bank of the Tennessee River, for $1,357.14. Again there is no explanation in the deed for the strange amount, which suggests the settlement of a debt.²⁹
     On 19 Apr 1845 he sold what seems to be the 2,000-acre parcel on the Cumberland River that he obtained from the Marshalls to John Stacker of St. Louis for $3,000. While the deed does not identify him as such, this seems likely to be the same John Stacker who was heavily engaged in the iron business in the Eddyville area.³⁰ Three more land transactions have been found before John's death. On 15 Sep 1845 he bought 260 acres on Lick Creek from James S. Stephens for $150. On 8 Dec 1845 be bought 150 acres on Lick Creek from Edward J. Smith for $125. Then, on 16 Oct 1847 he sold 650 acres on the south side of the Cumberland River to John Stacker (presumably the same John Stacker as in the earlier transaction, but now identified as from Caldwell Co.) for $4,000.³¹
     His holdings as reported on tax records seem to only roughly reflect these transactions. In 1845 he is shown as having one parcel of 700 acres and another of 2000 acres on the Cumberland River, and 100 acres near Bells Branch, along with 23 slaves and 8 horses, valued at a total of $20,200. In 1846 through 1848 he is shown with only 150 acres, now near Lick Creek, and the majority of his slaves.²⁰

The Debts Build

     John apparently made some progress in paying off the debts he had assumed from the Marshalls. We know he had paid off $4,190 of the $5,512.77 owed the Union Bank of Tennessee by Apr 1845. But apparently further payments were not forthcoming, so on 20 Mar 1848, Rueben R. Marshall, James N. Gracey, William O'Hara and Ruben R. O'Hara obtained a mortgage from John on the river-side lot with the store and ware house. It seems they, together with John, had acted as sureties on the Marshalls' loan from the bank.³²
     John Marshall was married at the time of the 1842 transaction, and no release of dower rights was obtained from his wife. On 15 Apr 1848 John obtained that release from her, Marshall having died in the meantime, at the cost of conveying to her lot no. 10 in Eddyville, where she still lived. However, that transfer seems to have not been successful, as we see below.³³
     John seems to have taken on even more debt for the Marshalls. On 21 Apr 1848 he signed a bond for Samuel P. L. Marshall to secure a $5,000 loan to Marshall by Edward & Emma Wilkenson. In exchange, he took a mortgage on Marshall's household goods:      Evidently John was not able to pay off his loan from Union Bank of Tennessee. The bank won a judgement against the estate of S. P. L. Marshall, surviving partner of S & J Marshall, Ruben R. Marshall, John H Mims, James N Gracey, Reuben O'Hara, & William A. O'Hara, trading under style of Gracey O'Hara & Co., and H. B. Creasp for $512.77 less certain (unstated) credits. John's 1140-acre tract on the north bank of the Tennessee river, which he had purchased from Marshall three years before for $1,357.14, was sold on the courthouse steps on 16 May 1849 for $400. The buyer was R. R. O'Hara, who transferred title to Hanson Briscoe Cresap, brother of John's wife.³⁵ (For further details on John's land transactions see Caldwell Co. Deeds - Mims Family and Caldwell Co. Mortgages.)

Writing His Will

     John left a will dated 3 Mar 1850, in which left his entire estate to his wife, Caroline Hanson Cresap, for the common benefit of her and their children. She was also named executrix, with his "highly esteemed friend" (and son-in-law) Willis Benson Machen as co-executor. He was also named executor of the firm of Mims and Jennings, of which John was the surviving partner.³⁶ His will was proved on 19 Aug 1850 in Caldwell Co., Kentucky.³⁶
     John apparently left other debts unpaid. After his death, Bryan, Rodman & Heylin, Planters Bank of Tennessee, William D. Tinsley, John E. Newman administrator of Richard Olive, and the Bank of Kentucky filed suits in chancery against Samuel P. L. Marshall, and the heirs of John W. Marshall, dec'd., and John H. Mims, dec'd. In its Mar 1853 term the Caldwell Circuit Court rendered a decree in the consolidated suits ordering that various properties be sold at the courthouse door. On 20 Jun 1853 Martha Marshall, John Marshall's widow, paid $1,350 to retain title to lot no. 10 and her home there.³⁷