Sometimes we find an unusual entry in an old deed book, and recently we discovered in Deed Book L, pages 82-83, the following election results. It is interesting to note that secret balloting did not exist at that time.
The entry begins with this statement: "Polls of an election held at the tavern of John Q. A. Hall, Mount Washington, Ky. on the 8th day of March, 1847 for the purpose of electing Trustees for said town for the year 1847."
The candidates are listed below. The capital letter preceding each name is used to identify him in the voting chart below.
A - Peyton Burdett B - Linton Snapp C - William Hardman D - Charles Hall E - F. Johnson F - H. J. Barnes G - J. D. S. Peacock H - Wm B. Hamilton I - J. C. Buky J - J. Q. A. Hall
We have attempted to duplicate the chart as it was written in the deed book. It appears that each voter announced his five choices, and the election clerk kept a running total as each voter's choices were listed.
| Voters' Names | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J. D. S. Peacock | . | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | . | . | . | . |
| Jacob N. Boswell | . | 2 | 2 | 2 | . | 2 | 1 | . | . | . |
| John Lewis | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | . | . | 2 | . | . | . |
| William Smith | 2 | 4 | . | . | 2 | . | 3 | . | . | . |
| Linton Snapp | 3 | . | 4 | . | 3 | . | 4 | 1 | . | . |
| Henry J. Barnes | 4 | . | 5 | 4 | . | . | 5 | . | 1 | . |
| John J. Brown | 5 | . | 6 | . | . | 3 | . | 2 | 2 | . |
| Bernardon Peter | 6 | . | 7 | . | . | 4 | . | 3 | 3 | . |
| John Q. A. Hall | 7 | . | 8 | . | . | 5 | 6 | 4 | . | . |
| Julius C. Buky | 8 | . | 9 | 5 | . | 6 | . | . | . | 1 |
| Samuel S. Hamilton | 9 | . | . | . | . | 7 | . | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Peyton Burdett | . | . | 10 | . | 4 | 8 | . | 6 | 5 | 3 |
| John Showalter | . | . | . | 6 | 5 | . | 7 | 7 | 6 | . |
| William Seston(?) | 10 | . | . | 7 | . | . | 8 | 8 | . | 4 |
| Austin Hall | 11 | 5 | 11 | 8 | . | . | . | 9 | . | . |
| Smith M. Hobbs | 12 | . | . | . | 6 | . | 9 | 10 | . | 5 |
| David Wilson | 13 | 6 | . | . | . | . | . | 11 | 7 | 6 |
| Isaac N. Parrish | 14 | . | 12 | . | . | . | 10 | 12 | . | 7 |
| James Wright | 15 | 7 | . | . | 7 | . | 11 | 13 | . | . |
| Matthias Ash | 16 | 8 | . | 9 | . | . | 12 | . | . | 8 |
| John Stringer | 17 | . | . | 10 | . | . | . | 14 | . | . |
| TOTALS | 17 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 7 | 8 |
The entry concluded with this statement: "I Nathaniel P. Saunders, clerk of the board of trustees of the town of Mt. Washington in said county certify that the above is a correct poll of the votes taken for the election of trustees for said town on the day and at the place stated in this caption and that Peyton Burdett, Wm Hardman, Charles Hall, Jonathan D. S. Peacock, & Wm B. Hamilton were duly elected the trustees of said town for the year 1847."
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: 12 Sep 2024 . Page URL: bullittcountyhistory.org/bchistory/mw1847election.html
