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Source: The Draper Manuscripts (Kentucky)
Index 1100, page 128, Fayette County

WYMORE'S- From Lexington on the Curdy Road, to the left hand, about three miles from town, my father, Mr John WYMORE, came out with his family to Lexington, in the fall of 1779 or 1780. Joe TURNER's family came out with him, but stopped at Boonesborough a few days. Samuel STEVENSON, and I think William STEVENSON came out and settled at McCONNELL's station at the same time. (Samuel STEVENSON was my brother-in-law)
Mrs MORRISON was then the only white woman in Lexington. My mother was the second. To show how alive the wilderness was with Indians, the following day one of our sheep got away, broke by as we were gathering them. Before we could come up with it, someone had shot it, and cut out a piece of the side. Indians didn't know what a sheep was, supposedly. It was a ram and our only one, and we didn't know where we would find another.
Page 129
My father brought out 17 horses. My brother took one in and my father traded one horse for 16 bushels of corn, that was so rotten that it wouldn't grow. (Had been cut early to keep the bears and racoon from eating it) Another horse was traded and the remaining 14 the Indians got. The last was a mare, she had carried a bell, when they had gotten her in the night, they ran all around the Fort, ringing the bell and nickering like a horse. My father was going to go out, but my mother told him "that wasn't old Dumpy". He went to the gate and listened and found it wasn't her. The Indians were then seen running past the port holes, but so fast and it was so dark they couldn't be shot. The next morning their tracks were seen all around the Fort. This all the first year. My brother was gone a year and when he came back, my father had no horse.
Charles WYMORE, his sister-in-law Mrs SMOTHERS, Mr SMOTHERS and their four children were killed on their way through the wilderness, while we were yet forted here. John WYMORE and about twenty in company, going in through the wilderness were attacked by upwards of 50 Indians. As soon as they discovered the Indians WYMORE directed them to sight and fire. But the Indians suddenly rose in such a body and fired, that those not killed, immediately fled. One horse came back and others went on. John WYMORE said to one of the remaining negroes "if you don't run you will be killed" The negro was one of those that escaped the Indians, altho his master had been killed. He then (WYMORE) ran fast as he could to a sink hole, into which he fell. As he fell and his foot went in, a thorn went into his leg. He looked up and saw an Indian, with his tomahawk, just raided over him, and turned his gun and shot the Indian. He then rose and pursued his way. the Indians saw the blood from his leg wound, and thought he was wounded perhaps badly. As he ran, he loaded his gun and when he thought the pursuing Indian came too close he turned and shot him. In this way he killed two others. The fifth one was coming on him, but he said just as he took his gun down she went off, and it was an accident if he killed five. He was now quite warm and pulled his coat off and threw it on a rock. He then crossed a hollow and went into a thicket on the top of a hill. Here he thought he could safely rest, and see if they followed. when they came to his coat they picked it up and carefully examined it, as he saw and finding no bullet holes in it, they gave a dreadful yell and turned back in the direction from which they came. WYMORE had a pocket compass in his shot bag. He took what he thought would be the nearest direction to the trace. When he got within thirty yards of it, he saw a dog pass right by him on the trail, He still went on, not hearing anyone, towards the trace, to see who would pass. When he got near the road, it was so dark he couldn't see who it was, whether white or Indian. He then thought he would go on, in the road and came upon a large horse that had given out, caught the horse, led it to a sapling, and got on the horse. His leg had now begun to mortify. When he had ridden about a ˝ mile he came in sight of a camp. He now got down from his horse, and crept along on all fours, until he got nearer, then stopped. When he stopped he saw a large negro get up and stir the fire. He now thought he was gone, mistook the negro for an Indian. As he waited, however, he heard two who were out to themselves talking, and recognized their voices. As he spoke they flew to their guns, he spoke again, and Col. STEEL (Later a surveyor in Woodford Co), then knew him and took him into the camp. He now had been out five days. They fed him on spoonsful of broth now and then during the night, and the owner of the horse, who was glad that he was brought up, promised next morning to kill him a deer, and give him as much as he could eat. Even then that night he ate more than was good for him. Col. STEEL took him from there on to Powell's Valley, where he met his brother and had his leg dressed and went on in.
Pg. 130
It was his brother Frederick, he met at Powell's Valley, Frederick had never gotten off his horse at the time of the attack. Frederick rode off and John's horse followed. Frederick had been waiting 3 or 4 days in Powell's Valley. John's leg was split and dressed and he rode with a pillow under it (on his own horse, a new idea)
They, (the Indians) let Col. BOONE come home upon his agreeing to give up Boonsborough. When the Indians came to receive it, he said he hadn't the command anymore, and couldn't do it.
Two women scalded and Indian to death. they were then running bullets. The Indian was trying to lift a heavy slab, and one of these very heavy women would always jump on it and the Indian hadn't the purchase to throw her off (This was in the upper part of the block house). They got some water heated and poured it on him. It was said he made a dreadful howling. One of these women had been sick fro some time, before this took place. This adventure cured her, the Indian died.
William McCONNELL had a tan yard. the first in the county, down on now HUNT'S Row. He was the one that went on foot, at the time BRYAN's Station was attacked. He had turned to go back to Lexington, when the Indians overtook him and killed him. He was buried right beside the road.
MASTERSON was one of the horsemen, and the only one that got his in of the 14 men. The other horses all ran off from fright. A woman opened the door, MASTERSON jumped down and went in and his horse follows him.
Buffalo used to pass Lexington every day and sometimes all day long. Virginians and land jobbers used to come out and spend the winter at the stations and go back in the spring, before dangerous times commenced. There were fifteen of the Virginians in one cabin at the fort.
One day there was one of these buffalo driven up with the cows and cattle and someone in the fort got this buffalo up to the Virginians cabin and waved a red handkerchief before it, trying to get it to jump in among them.
The cane was so thick, my father and DONNELLY couldn't be shot at until they got into the open woods. There was a large forked wild cherry tree somewhere about where the Courthouse now is. DONNELLY got behind this and shot at the Indians, killing one, when the men sallied out of the fort, the Indians, of which there were only seven or eight retreated again into the cane field. They hung the head of the dead Indian up in the cherry tree and cut up his frame for the dogs. The cane was cleared away, around the Fort, for about seventy or eighty yards. James MASTERSON came out that fall (79-80) as far as the wilderness, but the winter set in so hard, he was detained in the wilderness all winter, with a parcel of negroes, some of them small. The horses all died from cold and want of salt. MASTESON himself, had to kill one of the dogs to live on. He went out to hunt once and got lost, and was out five days without having anything to eat. He was my brother-in-law. He was from Carolina. He got into Lexington the next spring. He built the first hewed log house, in Lexington, it was in the fort. John MORRISON built a house, made a small station down on Hicklin, before there was any house built out of the fort at Lexington. MORRISON was the first that built out and bought several farms, made a little station out of it.
Joe TURNER, my brother John WYMORE, and MASTERSON, were out hunting. During their absence, news reached Lexington of the taking of CORNWALLIS. The people at the fort, to express their joy on this occasion, gathered every old barrel and other combustible material and kindled a great bonfire. In the meantime, the hunters, returning, came into view of the fort, and discovering the conflagation, gave up all for lost. Supposing that the forters were taken and that it was the fort that was burning. Without ventur further on the spot, they turned and hastened down to MORRISON's to gather the news. When they arrived at Hicklin, they found that MORRISON was up at Lexington at the celebration.
No other man killed at Lexington, but my father and David MITCHELL, an old man was wounded. When he came in he called for some water, after he had drunk it, it did not make him sick, he was not mortally wounded.
Others came to help guard the fort. Every family had to take so many, without pay, to board. They were there for some time. One of the men got the stock of his gun broken. We used to play pushpin on a hat at school, and this man said if I would get him pins and rivets (steeples) he would make me a pair of shoes. We had hither-to worn only buckskin moccasins, with the fur turned in. I was going to McKINNEY at the time of the wildcat scrape. He had gone into the school house, very early in the morning, before sun-up—probably to write a letter to his friends in Virginia, and had left the door halfway open as he went in. When the cat came in he was sitting on the opposite side of the bench writing. He saw, as he thought, that the cat was mad, and threw his ruler at it. It then flew at him. McKINNEY screamed and when they came in from the fort (the schoolhouse was just below the old fort) he told them not to come nearer, the cat was mad. He would not let them touch it. The cat scratched and tore him very much before he could conquer it, not having the use of his left hand, on which he wore a glove. He finally chocked it to death. After this McKINNEY taught until the ninth day when he dismissed school. He had nearly starved himself, and was, withal, nearly frightened to death. All the scholars that went to the school were from the fort. At the time of the incident, there was no other house, but the schoolhouse, yet built out of the fort. Many of the boys were sent merely to keep them from wandering about where the Indians would catch them.
My father brought the first pig to Lexington. Gave 5 dollars for it and a chew of tobacco. He put it in his shot bag and brought it home. When the British and Indians found they couldn't take BRYAN's Station, they threatened to come and take Lexington. This alarmed the Lexington people, and they set to built a large fort, very strong and with a ditch on the outside, up where the KRIGER lot was, up on the hill, right opposite the CALDWELL's on the hill, right cattycornered from QUIGGLES old house. In this fort there was never but one house built, which was occupied by old Mr JANUARY, then 105 years of age, and a lady who was too frail to move in haste in case of alarm. This fort was intended to be cannon proof.

Pg 131 (Draper Report) WYMORE'S in Kentucky
John TODD gave the land where Lexington now is, for a townsite, free. At McCONNELLEY's there were two or three in partnership, and the parts were too small to be cut up so when Lexington was first opened as a county seat, there was but the one spring and although 40 to 50 persons only, used to attend county meetings, the town men had to go and bring up all the water they would need before the person should come, for the spring would be muddied by them, so as to be unfit for use. The springs however gradually cleared and new springs have broken out all along. They also dug in further and the springs got stronger as they went farther into the bank. TODD also gave the outlots at a very reasonable price. MAXWELL, a tailor, bought 500 acres at $9.00 per acre. McKINNEY's school-house stood where the bank came, opposite to the courthouse. this was the first schoolhouse, and he was the first teacher. One Hutchinson was the next. In those days it was believed that the land never would be settled, because of the Indians. those who had entered land, were glad to get their money back, by selling the land at low prices.

In the spring of 1781, a few days before the attack on BRYAN's Station, Mr James WASSON was hauling timber to build a boat, and one Mr Dewey DOWLING and Mr WYMORE were out standing sentry, out by where the old lodge was, above HANKIN's meeting house, The sentries left their posts and went down into the hollow to get some hickory nuts, but thought it best for them to be on their guard, although not thinking of any danger, and so started and were going back up on the hill, when they saw Indians, they gave a shout of alarm "Indians" to WASSON who was just coming out. WASSON turned back and galloped his trucks (pair of truck wheels) back into the fort. WYMORE and DONNELLY ran down to about where Indian row is, where WYMORE was shot by one of the Indians. DONNELLY hurriedly treed and as the Indian was in the act of scalping WYMORE, and from over a hundred yards fired and shot the Indian along the brow of his forehead. The fire struck the Indian , but not so as to break the bone- only so as to stun and throw him. Another Indian immediately ran up and completed the scalping, and took off with both guns. By this time the alarm was through the fort, and every man got his gun. The fort gate flew open, and a volley of bullets whistled in without doing any damage to those making the sally. James MASTERSON was foremost and reached his brother-in-law just as the stunned Indian was about rising on his hands and feet. MASTERSON seized the Indian's tomahawk from his belt and struck him to earth. The Indian was scalped and his scalp hung by a string from a pole, so the wind would blow it about to mortify the Indians.

Index 1600, page 245
MASTERSON, DUNCAN and WYMORE and company had a station down about now JORDAN's Row-Lexington. FORBES and some others had a station on the hill where PINDELL lives and extending to where LUTZ lived. Those on the hill were religious people, and those on the bottom, the contrary. They got hold of FORBES when all the rest from the station were gone, and were going to hang him. Had the rope around his neck.
Jacob WYMORE had a corn field where CHILES Tavern now is. One day while plowing, as he was about to make a turn of the row, an Indian fired and killed him, and was over him, just about to scalp him. WYMORE's son ran out the fort gate, raised his gun and shot the Indian in the forehead, before he had time to scalp his father. The Indian fell dead across WYMORE. They stepped the distance from where the son shot and it was 110 steps, a good 110 yards. I think CHILES Tavern now covers the very spot.

Note: The DRAPER Manuscripts were written by persons who interviewed old settlers or who personally experienced the early history of an area. (in this case the area was Kentucky) the information was copied by hand and then deposited with a man by the name of "Draper" who was an active historian. The material is now in the Library of the University of Wisconsin. It has been copied on microfilm and the film along with a master index, has been sold to other libraries throughout the nation. This material concerning the WYMORE family is a copy of information obtained by Jack B. WYMORE, of Liberty, MO. at the Missouri State Historical Society Library in Columbia, Missouri.

This account was copied from the book:
‘Some Descendants of Thomas WYMORE and other Wymore Family History'
by: Kent Elric WYMORE
located at The Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort, Ky

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