ODD BITS OF HISTORY
By Lyman G. Barrett
It has often been remarked that more Ohio countians have
been named for Rev. Ignatius Pigman pioneer Methodist minister than for any
other person This is evidently not due altogether to his prominence as a
preacher and real estate agent but also to the fact that he performed more of
the marriage ceremonies than any other minister in the early days of the
county. These couples frequently named their first born for him and the name
was handed down through subsequent generations.
It seems that he came to this section from Maryland in about
1788 and being enthralled with the prospects in the new country he returned to
his native state and persuaded scores of his fellow citizens to return with him.
To most of these immigrants from the East he sold farms as is indicated by the
large number of deeds on record in the office of County Clerk Clifton Black.
His name is even more frequently mentioned in the record of marriages which are
now being cross indexed by WPA clerks and typists. As an example, one of his
certificates is as follows:
"I certify that I solemnized the right of marriage
between Joseph Barnett and Jean Barnett on the 21st of July, 1799.
"Also Philip Turpin and Mary Shayne on the - day of
February, 1800.
"Also John Shayne and Mary Turpin, the 9th day of
December, 1800.
“Also Michael Raymer and Precious Brown, the 10th day of
December, 1800.
"Also Charles Hogan and Sarah Hocker, the 25th day of
December, 1800.
"Also Joseph Gentry and Rhoda Thomas, the 8th day of
January, 1801.
first performed after Ohio became Pigman, the 13th day of
January, 1801.
"Also Charles Tarlton and Margery Taylor, the 18th day
January, 1801.
"Also John Ferguson and Nancy Rocker in February, 1801.
"Also Levi Pigrnan and Jane Taylor, the 6th day of
August, 1801.
"Also Simon Tay1or and Elizabeth North on the 9th
of December, 1801.
“Also Robert Render, Jr. and Charlotte Barnes on the 21st of
December, 1801.
“Also Elijah Myers and Hannah Barnett, the 24th of June,
1802.
“Also Ephraim Garner and
Nancy Fowler, July 1, 1802.
“Also Jesse Cravens and Rebecca Tarlton, Sep. 7, 1802.
“Also Thomas Sprigg and Rachel Barnett, Jan 20, 1803.
“Ignatius
Pigman”
This, of course, is only a partial list of the ceremonies he
performed but it includes the progenitors of many of the county’s a leading
families. For instance, Joseph and Jean Barnett, whose marriage was the first
to be formed after Ohio became a county in 1799, have many decendents among
the leading citizens of Ohio county and in other parts of the nation. They were
the children of the two pioneer Barnetts who established Barnett’s Fort near
this city.
“Ohio County Kentucky In the Olden Days,” by Harrison D.
Taylor, devotes considerable space to a biography of Rev. Ignatius Pigman, whose
death occurred in New Orleans shortly after Andrew Jackson's successful defense
of that city, in the preparation of which Pigman had a part.
Source: Ohio County
News 16 Feb 1940
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