Muhlenberg County Kentucky
Biographies W
Mattie Welborn, Louan Welborn Davis, & Benjamin Thomas Davis
Mattie Welborn's 1880 letter home to Paradise, Kentucky, written on the packet boat Will Kyle, and what we can learn from it.
On Board the Will Kyle
Sept. 19th, 1880Dear Folks at home:
I thought I would write you a few lines this Sabbath eve as I had nothing else to do and would like to hear from home as soon as possible.
Well, we got on the steamer Evansville on the night of the 15th inst., at 12:00 P.M. Got to the city of Evansville Thursday eve at 5 o'clock. While going through the lock at Spottsville some 20 miles back, Tommie G. brought around Jakie Roll. We didn't pass but a few words with them. T.G. said Jake told him that he was going to marry this month, to one of the foremost ladys in Spottsville. I suppose he is a miner there.
While there Mr. Davis's friend and cousin, Mr. P. Jones, who is pilot on the Evansville came 'round and Mr. D. introduced him to us (Lou and I). He (Mr. Jones) invited us to come go up in the pilot house with him. We did so and had such a pleasant time -- 'tis so nice up there can see as far as your eyes will let you. We stayed up there till we got to Evansville, there we left him. He thanked us very much for our company. Seems to be a very pleasant man. Said he thought I favored his old sweetheart Molly Sharp. Oh we enjoyed staying up in their very much.
We got on board here, the Idlewild, a steamer running from Evansville to Cairo. We got there about 7 P.M. then got on this steamer. She lay at Cairo all night putting on freight, etc. We like to have not gotten a berth on here -- so crowded, but a young man who was going to the same point that we were, gave us up his room. I've heard several persons say they never saw a boat so loaded as this one is. 'Tis over a hundred feet long and has on board about $15,000 worth of freight, etc. There is about 200 new buggies -- all put on at Cairo, and over 1,000 bbls. of flour. Oh, she looks like a good sized town, herself. She aims to get to Memphis this eve about 7 o'clock. We are now about 50 miles of there, sailing down the Mississippi stream pretty rapidly. I thought I would have this mailed at M. when we get there this eve. The boats all have been making slow time -- have so many stopping places and now and then get on a sand bar. The waters are very shallow -- often not more than 8 or 8½ ft. deep. Then she “goes slow”. I hear the Captain say a while ago that we would like over at Memphis tonight. They say there is a bad place in the river down below a few miles. I expect that is his object in staying there. If that's the case we wont get to Friar's Point before Mon. night and then will have 28 miles to travel by land. So you see it's going to take us till Wednesday or thereabouts to get us to our place of destination.
I'm getting awful tired of living this way so long. Though we've been fairing sumptiously every day since we left. Have just everything you can think of (nearly) that's good to eat. We are all gaining flesh, having nothing much else to do but eat and sleep, but I'm getting tire of both. So much of it.
I'm now sitting down at the lower end of the boat, on a large cushioned chair, by the side of a fine piano. Here comes a girl and boy now for a play. Yes, they are singing “In the Sweet By and By”. Oh, I'm feeling so sad now. When I think how far we are drifting from our dear old home and the loved ones there. I'll go to our room, Lou wants to write some. Write soon to your dear sister an child, or to us, lovingly Mattie Welborn.
Mattie's letter writing skills raised the curtain on the theater of life as seen in 1880. Muhlenberg county Kentucky and especially the little town of Paradise on the Green river has it's it's stories of hard working folks earning a living in this happy small tobacco town.
Paradise was a pretty typical 1880 Kentucky small town consisting of a general store, a school house, and churches. There was mail pick up and a river taxi up to the mighty Ohio River right there in town on the Green river. Just a small cemetery to honor those who went on before.
In a short time the entire town would be gone in the name of progress by strip mining and electricity generating. All gone except for the stories, memories and a song written to help preserve what was good.
We the Welborn and related families survivors dedicate this compiled story to Mattie and her Welborn family of hard working folks getting by in Paradise Kentucky.
Mattie's letter gave us a lot to read and as good genealogy detectives armed with records we can relive more of her story of that voyage to Friars Point Mississippi in 1880.
Why were Mattie and her twin sister Lou going Friars Point?
First lets take a look at the small group of travelers on this Steamboat trip from Paradise KY. They were Mattie J. Welborn, and her twin sister Lou who were age 27 and Lou's new husband Benjamin T. Davis age 55 as well as the two friends of Mattie's named Tommy G. age 22, and Jackie Roll age 30. They were all from the Paradise KY area traveling on the steamboat "Evansville", at the same time, as mentioned in her letter.
Looking at the oldest of our Ohio river steamer's group of travelers, is Benjamin Thomas Davis (MR Davis) who was born in 1825 in Kentucky, now age 55. Mattie's letter tells us it's September 19, 1880.
Benjamin Thomas Davis
The Muhlenberg Co KY marriage records show us that Benjamin Thomas Davis had just married Mattie's sister Lou on September 1st 1880. B.T. Davis and Mattie's sister Lou's marriage was 18 days before Mattie's letter was written. Interestingly Lou's new husband Mr B.T. Davis states on their marriage document that he is 49 yrs. old. Ha! Sounds better than fifty and a lot better than fifty five. All of his other life' s documents say he was born 1825. Oh Well.... I'm wondering if Lou's parents were questioning the difference in their ages?
While on the steam boat “Evansville” Mattie mentions meeting up with Tommy G. and Jackie Roll. Tommy G. was Thomas W. Gregory born in 1850 age 30 yrs from near by South Carlton KY. About three miles from Paradise. Jackie Roll was from Paradise, age 22 in 1880 . Were Mattie's friends Paradise school mates or maybe church friends? Mattie said they saw the boys on board saying" We didn't pass but a few words with them" sounding like Mattie was expecting to see them traveling on the same boat at the same time as they were. Agreeing with that thinking, a recently found letter from Mattie and Lou's mother asked if they had met Tommie G. on the boat. Apparently Mattie's mother knew Tommie G. and Jackie roll would be traveling with them.
About the Ohio River trip
Our Paradise travelers were all living near and on the Green River at Paradise Ky and with Steamboats passing daily going up to the Ohio River, It's likely that they would have boarded the Mail boat "Leona" that carried passengers up and down the Green river for years.
Once on the Ohio river, probably at the near by Smith Land boat dock, Mattie mentioned, they boarded the bigger boat the steamer "Will Kyle" to take them down the Ohio river to Evansville. Then boarding the steamer” Evansville”,they continued on down to Cairo Ill where the Ohio river meets the Mississippi river. Getting off there they boarded a south bound Steamboat named "Idle Wild"to Friars Point Mississippi.
After a long stop and go trip down the Mississippi river our travelers finally arrived at Friars Point.
To continue trying to tell this story, we need to talk some more about Mattie's mention of "Mr Davis", sister Lou's new husband. Lets look back a ways from this 1880 steamboat trip letting surviving documents being our guide.
The 1852 California census lists B.T. Davis born in Kentucky as residing in Placer county California and his occupation was a Miner. This tells us that B.T. joined the Calif. Gold Rush like others hoping to get rich.
More surviving letters from a Welborn Grandmother's recollections tell us that B.T. opened a general store at the California Mining Camp to provide equipment for the miners. I'm sure at a good profit for him. Six years later we we find B.T. Davis back in Ohio county Kentucky marrying Eliza A. Jones. That was 1858. They were married in Ohio Co. just across the Green river from Muhlenberg county. Just a quick moment to say that present day Welborn researchers and cousins Leslie and Debbie are thinking Eliza Jones may have been related to Mattie' steamboat pilot P. Jones.
Shortly after their marriage, Benjamin some times shown on documents as B. Thomas Davis moved with his new wife Eliza down the Ohio river and South down the Mississippi river to Coahoma County, Clarksdale, Mississippi. With his California earned money B.T. bought a Plantation in Mississippi to farm Cotton. Cotton, a good money making crop that was maybe better than Kentucky Tobacco back then. Things went pretty well until 1862 when the Civil War came to the South.
Civil War records show B.T or Mr Davis as Mattie called him, enlisted in the Confederate army as part of the 31st Infantry early in 1862. Civil war documents also show he fought in a battle on 20 July 1864 at Peach Tree Creek, Georgia. After serving two years he is then shown as wounded in battle 30 Nov 1864 at Franklin, Tennessee.
So far records don't seem to show when B.T.'s wife Eliza died but Benjamin made a trip back to Muhlenberg Co Ky, in 1880 seemingly to find another wife to take back home to his Mississippi cotton Plantation.
This catches us up to 1880 with B.T.'s marriage to Mattie's sister Lou and the trip back to Mississippi.
Remember Mattie mentioning Tommie G. and Jackie Roll? Now why would these two Paradise young men be steaming on the same boat as Mattie, Lou, and B.T. Davis?
Here is some thinking on that. B.T. was probably pretty well off still having some of his California money and profits from Cotton farming. It looks to me that he was planning to sell the Mississippi plantation and move back to his roots in Kentucky. In Mattie's letter and letters to follow their was no mention of them staying in Mississippi very long. Mattie had her school teaching job in Paradise starting up again after the Tobacco harvest was over.
Okay lets consider this, since B.T. Davis was moving back to Ky , he may have hired the two Paradise boys Tommie G. and Jackie Roll to help him move some things back to Kentucky from his plantation in Mississippi. B.T. was 55 years old then and may have had some lingering Civil War wounds handicapping him some. The younger stronger boys could more easily load up the newly weds furnishings on a returning steam boat and travel back to Paradise with B.T.'s favorite house hold items. B.T and Lou would stay to sell the plantation.
Plantation sale
B.T. may have sold his plantation to the previous Mississippi governor, James Lusk Alcorn who owned a lot of property there in Coahoma Co near where B.T's. plantation was. Both men both fought for the Confederacy in the Civil war and as Mississippi neighbors they probably new each other well. James Alcorn was born right across the Ohio river in Ill. from Benjamin Davis home in Kentucky. Just a ferry boat ride across the Ohio river. Kentucky and Illinois folks would often work, move, and even farm back and forth across the river. Many Kentucky marriages can be found in Shantytown Illinois records.
They certainly had a lot in common.
Lou's letters back home to KY show they stayed at the plantation long enough for her to complain about the Mississippi heat and bugs in her letters.
Back Home in Muhlenberg County
The first evidence of them living back in Kentucky is the birth of their child born in 1883 back in Paradise. B.T. had opened up a general store falling back on his California business experience.
Mattie's letter tells us all about the ups and downs of the trip although I'm sure it was an adventure for her probably never having traveled that far away from her little town of Paradise.
Mattie was such a great writer and she shares her emotions with us at the ending saying how sad she was "Drifting from our dear old home and the loved ones there".
Found!! Other Welborn family letters saved about this trip.
Below a letter from Mattie's sister Lou on board the steamboat Evansville heading to Mississippi sent back home to Paradise.
Well I am enjoying myself much better than I expected. We are having the very grandest fair. Mr. Davis laughs at me say I'm getting so fat - I can't hardly. Mat too is looking better than she has for some time, though she would never eat much at home was the reason she got to looking so bad. There are a great many passengers on board, both ladys and gentlement the boat is equal to a little town. We have never met with a single acquaintance since we left Carrollton, but have formed some pleasant ones. Yes, we did meet Jake Roll at Spottsville … Mr. Davis sends his best regards to you all say he will know more what to write when we get.
Valuable contributors and great researchers of these stories were present day Welborn cousins Leslie and Debbie. They tell us that their Grandmother saved every thing. Thank you Leslie and Debbie, and Thank You Granny!
A letter from Frances Welborn to her daughters, Mattie and Lou, and Lou's husband, Benjamin Thomas Davis:
To Lou & Mattie & Mr. Davis
Dear children
Having just yesterday received another letter from you informing us that you had not yet started back we hasten to write you few lines that we might relieve you of any anxiety or uneasiness about us. We are all well today. I have the sick headache some yesterday had taken some cold on Sunday running around after some little chicks.We have all been well as usual or even better since you all left. I felt a good deal troubled & anxious about you the first two weeks but since felt reconviled feeling assured that the saem great head & benefactor that rulles and guided us here will preserve you while there and happily if we will trust implicitly in his promises. I feel like we would all meet again. Frank's family were all well when last I heard Fillie was here yesterday brought us your letter mein while your be had skiped …
In a letter from Mattie's mother to her daughter Lou in Mississippi mother says " I think Mattie would not have been sick if you had taken some medicine, it seems like you are so far away". "I can't imagine how you look"." Tell Mr Davis he must bring me one chunk of his nice venison". We are looking for you every trip of the boat for two weeks before we got your letters."
Well it sounds like they made it to Mississippi okay and Mr Davis had shot himself a deer. Poor Mattie is still sickly as a earlier letter said. Mom says that they were looking for them to return on the boat each day before the last letter came saying that they would be at the plantation for some unknown time. Living right there on the Green river I'm sure the boat mom was watching for each day was the daily mail boat (the "Leona") traveling on the river bringing the daily mail.
With the steam whistle blowing the boat would nudge up to the Paradise dock and Besides the mail it would be carrying passengers from the returning East and West bound Packet steam boats up on the Ohio river.
In a letter to Mississippi from Mattie and Lou's mother dated Oct 14, 1880, she addressed it to dear children. That tells us that Mattie was still there and didn't return to Paradise with T.G. and Jackie roll.
Well with these letters and new information we are able to steam along with Mattie and her sister Lou which was I'm sure quite an interesting trip for these small town Kentucky ladies.
Sadly Mattie didn't live to be very old while sister Lou did well, out living Mr Davis and marrying again.
The Welborn families all had interesting lives settling in Kentucky after the Revolutionary war.
They migrated to Muhlenberg county with other well known revolutionary war freedom fighter families including The Daniel Rhoads , Henry Uncell, and Thomas Newman families. All of these are related to the Welborns.
Yes, rich Muhlenberg Kentucky history to be sure.
Contributed by Larry Williams, humbled observer and Thomas Newman descendant.
Updated May 9, 2025.