We continue the Bullitt County 1850 census written by Mrs. W. V. Mathis, Wallace A. McKay and W. C. Barrickman. Betty Darnell shared this in The Pioneer News on 2 Sep 1991.
These records have been briefly compared to images of the census pages, and occasional additions or corrections have been made. Those changes we consider significant are noted with red print. Also, the census dwelling house number and family number according to visitation has been added, like this: [1/1].
24 February 1950
Vardaman CRENSHAW, "Uncle Vard," as he became affectionately known to thousands of his fellow Kentuckians, was born in Bullitt County in 1816, lived, married and died there in 1909. His parents were Nelson and Susanna CREMOR CRENSHAW, among the earliest settlers in Bullitt County. After educating himself to be a lawyer, he was admitted to the Bar at Shepherdsville. Not as profound in his knowledge of the law as Charlie CARROLL, not as suave and even tempered as Frank STUAUS, nor as impassioned and eloquent as Wallace McKAY, he nevertheless succeeded frequently in winning his cases.
In politics he took deep interest and played an active part; he could always be relied upon to carry Leach's district for his man, and this fact brought him to the realization of one of his great ambitions, a seat in the Legislature. Charles CARROLL sought the Democratic nomination in one election, but Frank STRAUS, his professional rival, managed to secure it for "Bill" ELLABY. Charlie smarted under defeat and induced "Uncle Vard" to run as an "Independent." Down in Louisiana the country people have a saying when someone does something spectacular and in accord with the popular thought, "He's ridin' a mule!"
And that's just what "Uncle Vard" did; from on end of Bullitt to the other he lectioneered as a plain man of the people, meeting them on their own level, When the votes were counted "Uncle Vard" was ahead of his opponent by several mule lengths.
When the time arrived to go to Frankfort, "Uncle Vard" declined a free railroad pass, donned his Cleveland campaign white "stove pipe" hat, mounted his faithful old mule and rode to the State Capitol.
He did a good job at Frankfort too; his fellow members all liked him for his quaint old-fashioned ways and ideas; they respected and admired his hard common sense, but they took advantage of his lack of worldly-wiseness to play all sorts of laugh-provoking pranks and jokes on him.
Census record 1850:
Census Page 111
[825/825] Vardeman CRENSHAW 35 farmer, Eliza 39 (daughter of John S. OWEN), Susan 9 (married Will SHAW), John N. (died 1887, married Mary HARDY, 1845-1908), (James Buchanan, born after 1850, married Mrs. Mary RAYMOND BRAY).
This project is presented here with the kind permission of Betty Darnell, and The Pioneer News.
If you, the reader, have an interest in any particular part of our county history, and wish to contribute to this effort, use the form on our Contact Us page to send us your comments about this, or any Bullitt County History page. We welcome your comments and suggestions. If you feel that we have misspoken at any point, please feel free to point this out to us.
The Bullitt County History Museum, a service of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is located in the county courthouse at 300 South Buckman Street (Highway 61) in Shepherdsville, Kentucky. The museum, along with its research room, is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Saturday appointments are available by calling 502-921-0161 during our regular weekday hours. Admission is free. The museum, as part of the Bullitt County Genealogical Society, is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization and is classified as a 509(a)2 public charity. Contributions and bequests are deductible under section 2055, 2106, or 2522 of the Internal Revenue Code. Page last modified: 14 Sep 2024 . Page URL: bullittcountyhistory.org/bchistory/bd/50-02-24.html
