1860 United States Federal Census 1860 United States Federal Census Name: M Donohoo Age in 1860: 48 Birth Year: abt 1812 Birthplace: Maryland Home in 1860: District 1, Nelson, Kentucky Gender: Male Post Office: Bardstown Value of real estate: View image Household Members: Name Age M Donohoo 48 C Donohoo 43 Wm Donohoo 22 Mary Donohoo 20 Geo Donohoo 16 P Donohoo 12 U Donohoo 9 L Donohoo 7 Ansel Donohoo 3 Howard Donohoo 1 Louis Evans 76 James Carr 26 Geo Green 70 Jos Smith 50 J Pendleton 50 James Haydon 42
Source Citation: Year: 1860; Census Place: District 1, Nelson, Kentucky; Roll: M653_389; Page: 179; Image: 179; Family History Library Film: 803389.
Note
1870 United States Federal Census 1870 United States Federal Census Name: Michael Donohoo Age in 1870: 59 Birth Year: abt 1811 Birthplace: Maryland Home in 1870: Bardstown, Nelson, Kentucky Race: White Gender: Male Post Office: Bardstown Value of real estate: View image Household Members: Name Age Michael Donohoo 59 Caroline Donohoo 53 William Donohoo 32 George Donohoo 25 Phillip Donohoo 2 Annie Donohoo 18 Lelia Donohoo 16 Ansis Donohoo 14 Howard Donohoo 11 Priscilla Kelly 54 Harriett Kelly 45 Fannie Kelly 11
Shared Note
Conflagration! The Bardstown Fire of 1856
Written by Melissa Finlay, 2015
About 11 a.m. on the morning of April 12, 1856, a fire started in the town of Bardstown. The details on how it started were sketchy right from the start. Some reports claimed it started in the chimney of the house of two widowed sisters, spreading to the roof, and then down to rubbish between their home and the abandoned ten-pin-alley next door. Other reports claim the flames began in the rubbish pile and spread to the chimney and roof of the house. Regardless of the true origin of the fire, it devastated the whole community, and the Donohoo family in particular.
The weather was windy on this day, causing the flames to leap and spread to nearby buildings nearly faster than they could be evacuated. The fire wagon was brought out, but was somehow in ill repair and unable to help in the effort at all. The mayor of the city sent out a plea for help from other towns, but none were able to respond in time. Within three hours time, the entire south-east portion of the city was reduced to smoking embers.
\"Where stood stately edifices before, nothing remains now but crumbling walls and smouldering ruins. The devouring element was so swift in its career, that the citizens, although using almost superhuman exertions, could not do anything towards rescuing the con- tents of the dwellings.\" (\"Immense Conflagration.\" Lebanon Post (Lebanon, KY) 16 April 1856.)
Most families were not even able to salvage any of their household goods from the swift fire. None of the families had insurance to cover their losses. The devastation of the fire was reported throughout Kentucky, and as far away as New York and Chicago. Nearby communities, such as Louisville, called for fundraisers to help the devastated citizens of Bardstown. They formed committees to help with this fundraising effort, and the Catholic Bishop, Bishop Spalding led the way by donating $50 to the cause. The St. Joseph's College in Bardstown donated $100 towards the rebuilding of the Methodist Church, and $100 towards the aid of the orphans and widows.
About 20 families were effected by this fire (this chart, compiled from all the reports listed in sources below, may or may not be accurate, as reports did conflict with each other):
Bardstown Fire Losses
J.C. Matthew: House Mrs. Turner: House valued $500, on which she had just made last payment, lost all furniture, clothing, etc. Dooney: 2 houses Nath'l Wickliffe: Dwelling house valued at $450, occupied by Mr. Gossin who lost all belongings Mrs. Gebway (Widow Gibson): House, furniture, valued at $2,000 C.W. Hill: Dwelling and office McCoon: House Methodist Church: Valued $2,000 J.C. Wickliffe: Residence, furniture, valued at $3,000 Old school house Alex Moore: Residence, furniture, valued $650-$800 Mrs. McAters (Widow McAtee): Residence, furniture, valued $400 M. Donohue: House in which father, etc. resided, lost most household goods, house valued $650 Frien: Old barn & stables James Hite: House, ten-pin-alley (Old Green Tavern), valued $750 I.C. Mattingly: Frame tenement adjoining residence, valued $500 Rev. R.A. Abel: Dwelling house valued at $500, occupied by Robert Mattingly who lost all personal belongings Doom and Brother: Frame house, double tenement valued at $500, resided in by Mrs. Cook and Mrs. Jacobson G.W. Hite: Dwelling, furniture, etc., valued at $12,600 Dr. B.R. McCown: House, furniture, provisions, valued $4,000 Mrs. Caldwell (formerly Miss Breckenridge): Dwelling house valued $400-$500; occupants Mr. Thomas Neal, Mrs. Cotton, Mrs. Cox lost all belongings
The Donohoo family was keenly effected by this fire; their losses were very high. The home that was indicted as the possible cause of the fire was owned by Michael Donohoo, but resided in by Patrick Donohoo, daughter Mary Donohoo, his widowed daughters Margaret Frilling and Sarah Ann Bishop, grand-daughters Susan and Mary A. Bishop and son John W. Another home reduced to rubble belonged to his third widowed daughter, Catherine Turner and her four sons. She reportedly had just paid her last payment on the home and was unable to retrieve any personal belongings. All told, twelve members of the Donohoo family were left homeless by this fire.
Historic Nelson County, its towns and people. Sarah Borders Smith. Bardstown, Kentucky : GBA/Delmar, 1983. vi, 488 p. : ill. Updated ed. of 2 works previously published as: Historic Bardstown, Nelson County, 1968: and Historic Nelson County, 1971. Family History Library 976.9495 H2. Page 342-343.
\"Terrible Conflagration--- Bardstown, Ky.. in Ruins!\" Chicago Times (Chicago, IL) 24 April 1856. Digital Image Source: GenealogyBank.com. Accessed December 2014.
Michael Donohoo: Proprietor, Temperance Promoter, Benefactor, Slave Owner
Michael Donohoo was born in 1811 in Baltimore, Maryland, the third child and second son of Patrick and Sarah Donohoo. When he was five years old, the family moved from Baltimore to Bardstown, Kentucky, where his father continued to work as a shoemaker.
In October of 1836, 25 year old Michael married 19 year old Caroline Green [1, 2].The couple would welcome 11 children (5 sons, 6 daughters) into their family over the next 25 years, and say sad goodbyes to three of their daughters before they reached adulthood.
Michael bought significant amounts of property throughout the 1840s and 1850s, including the Bardstown Hotel [3, 4]. The Bardstown Hotel has been in continuous service in Bardstown under many names and owners since at least 1797. The property has been known as the Old Stone Tavern, Hynes House, the Donohoo Hotel, Newman House, etc., now today called the Talbott Tavern [5]. Michael became a prominent member of the Bardstown society, and proprietor of this well-reputed way station for travelers.
In August 1854, a pleased visitor to the Stone Tavern wrote a review, printed in the Lebanon (Kentucky) Post [6]:
"Our Trip.
"We started from home on Thursday, the 10th inst., and arrived at Bardstown on the same evening. We put up our horse with Mr. Donohoo, who keeps the Stone Tavern, on the South West corner of the Courthouse Square; and sojourned ourself with our relatives. Mr. D. keeps a fine house, and we take pleasure in recommending himself and house to our friends. Not by any means the least attraction at this stand, is the fact that it is emphatically a Temperance Tavern. Mr. Donohoo, has for several years past excluded liquor from his establishment, and any one wishing a quiet rest after the fatigue of riding, may seek it there; and farther, Mr. D. and lady are extremely hard to beat for gentility and cleverness."
Interestingly, the Donohoo Hotel was one of several temperance taverns of its day [7]. Whether this was a part of the larger temperance movement of the era, or whether Michael Donohoo felt it was part of his staunch Catholic religious duty, is unknown. It seems, however, that this aspect of his business helped his reputation. While one could not get an alcoholic drink there, they could put up an animal, eat a meal, and stay for the night.
In April of 1856, a huge fire spread through a large portion of Bardstown (see Conflagration! The Bardstown Fire of 1856). The Donohoo Hotel was spared, but Michael's father, sisters, brother, nieces and nephews, twelve family members in all, lost their homes and all household goods. One of the homes was owned by Michael. As an owner of several properties, it is very likely that Michael provided shelter and goods for his family after this devastating loss.
In August of 1856, a stage line was announced with service between Louisville and Bardstown three times a week, stopping and leaving from the Donohoo Hotel [8]:
"Accommodation Stage Line, Louisville and Bardstown! "The undersigned has just established a Stage Accommodation Line between Louisville and Bardstown, making the trip to Bardstown and back again to Louisville three times a week. The office for this line is at the Neal House, on Main between Second and Third streets, and in Bardstown at the Donohoo Hotel. "The Stage will leave the Neal House at 9 o'clock AM, and returning, will leave Bardstown at 8 o'clock AM. The subscriber will give his entire personal attention, and hopes by a strict attention to business to command a liberal share of the patronage of the traveling public connecting with these points. The Stage goes and comes by Nazareth Academy."
Michael owned several slaves who helped him run his tavern and hotel. In 1850, he owned seven slaves, increasing (due to babies born to the slaves) to nine slaves by 1860 [9, 10]. One of his slaves was Harriet Mathers Walters, "tall and commanding in figure, of a light brown complexion and the embodiment of energy. She weighed over two hundred pounds and possessed unusual strength for a woman.
"On one occasion, when her master and his son were in a fight, the son seemed to have the advantage and was about to stab his father with a butcher knife. [Harriet] heard the struggle and rushed in to see what was the matter. On beholding the situation, she seized her young master, weighing one hundred and fifty pounds, by the seat of his trousers and the nape of his neck, carried him to the kitchen door and threw him into the grape arbor, about six feet away. Though he suffered no bodily injury, you can imagine he suffered much humiliation and chagrin."
In another confrontation, Michael reprimanded Harriet harshly for serving a late breakfast. She, feeling the reprimand was unjust, threw a rolling pin at her master. He threatened to sell her for this offense, and nearly went through with the sale, except for the adamant refusal of his wife, Caroline, to allow the sale. Harriet and her children remained in the Donohoo household until emancipation [11].
In April 1865, Michael sold a house to his sister Catherine Turner for the sum of $750. The deed notes that she already resided in the house, and the house was located adjacent to the Tavern across an alley to the west [12]. In July 1865, Michael sold the Bardstown Hotel to George W. Robertson for $6000 [13]. Even though he left the hotel business behind, Michael used the sale proceeds to buy more properties over the next few years.
Michael Donohoo died of heart disease on the 8th of August 1876 [14]. In his last will and testament, he left everything "to my beloved wife Caroline Donohoo to use enjoy and dispose of as she may desire for ever." [15] He was a man of contrasts: father of a large family, good provider for not only his own wife and children, but generous to his extended family in their need. He was a firm Catholic and a supporter of the temperance movement. He was also a slave owner, a shrewd businessman and perhaps a man with a hot temper. He most certainly had strong adoration for his beloved wife.
Sources & Research Notes:
[1] Nelson County Kentucky marriages, bonds, consents and ministers' returns. compiled by Lillian Ockerman ... [et al.]. Ockerman, Lillian, Nelson County Genealogical Society (Bardstown, Kentucky), Nelson County Genealogy Roundtable (Bardstown, Kentucky). Bardstown, Kentucky : Nelson County Genealogical Society (Kentucky), [198-?]-2006. Family History Library 976.9495 V2. Includes index for each volume. Contents v. 4. 1833-1848
[2] "Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V65Q-G6L :accessed 18 December 2014), Michael Donohoo and Caroline Green, 07 Oct 1836; citing p. , Nelson, Kentucky, United States, Madison County Courthouse, Richmond; FHL microfilm 481,488.
[3] Nelson County, Kentucky deeds, 1785-1904; index, 1785-1947, 1785-1947. Kentucky. County Court (Nelson County). Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1966. Microfilm of originals at Bardstown, Kentucky. Family History Library Film 0482724: Grantee index 1785-1893.
[4] Nelson County, Kentucky deeds, 1785-1904; index, 1785-1947, 1785-1947. Kentucky. County Court (Nelson County). Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1966. Microfilm of originals at Bardstown, Kentucky. Family History Library Film 0482726: Grantor index 1785-1893.
[5] Historic Nelson County, its towns and people. Sarah Borders Smith. Bardstown, Kentucky : GBA/Delmar, 1983. vi, 488 p. : ill. Updated ed. of 2 works previously published as: Historic Bardstown, Nelson County, 1968: and Historic Nelson County, 1971. Family History Library 976.9495 H2. Page 92-94.
[6] "Our Trip." The Lebanon post,August 23, 1854. Repository:University of Kentucky. Accessed at Kentucky Digital Library: http://kdl.kyvl.org on 23 December 2014.
[8] "Accommodation Stage Line." Daily Louisville Democrat, August 5, 1856. Repository:University of Kentucky. Accessed at Kentucky Digital Library: http://kdl.kyvl.org on 23 December 2014.
[9] M. Donohoo, District 1, Nelson, Kentucky. Ancestry.com. 1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Seventh Census of the United States, 1850. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1850. M432, 1,009 rolls.
[10] M. Donohoo, District 1, Nelson, Kentucky. Ancestry.com. 1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Eighth Census of the United States, 1860. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1860. M653, 1,438 rolls.
[11] Walters, Alexander. My Life and Work. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1917. Page 23-24. Accessed at docsouth.unc.edu on 28 January 2016.
[12] Nelson County, Kentucky deeds, 1785-1904; Deeds, v. 32-33 1860-1865. Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1966. Microfilm of originals at Bardstown, Kentucky. Family History Library Film 483140. Index record transcript: 1865, Catherine Turner, grantor M. Donohoo & wife, deed book 33, page 562.
[13] Nelson County, Kentucky deeds, 1785-1904; Deeds, v. 32-33 1860-1865. Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1966. Microfilm of originals at Bardstown, Kentucky. Family History Library Film 483140. Index record transcript: 1865, Michael Donohoo, grantee George W. Robertson, deed 33, page 619.
[14] Nelson County, Kentucky, death records : 1852 thru 1857, 1859, 1861, 1874 thru 1878, 1904, 1907. by Frances Terry Ingmire. St. Louis, Missouri : F.T. Ingmire, c1983. Kentucky vital records. Series 3; v. 90. Family History Library 976.9495 V2ing United States & Canada Book. Page 96.
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