A Trip to Kentucky in 1795

This document was taken from the archives of the New Jersey Historical Society proceedings, as digitized by Google. It is not a story of my family, but it is a journal of a trip from New Jersey to Kentucky and back that was taken only a couple of years before the time that Lewis Gordon and his famiily made a very similar journey. In fact, one of the stopping points was at Limestone (the earlier name of Maysville).

The beginning of this trip took a somewhat more northern route through Pennsylvania than the route that Lewis likely followed since Lewis probably started from Hunterdon County or Trenton, which are closer to Philadelphia. However, the rest of the route to Pittsburgh and down the Ohio River are undoubtedly close to Lewis's experience.

One interesting thing in this description is that the author took the river route to Limestone and beyond on his outbound journey, but then came back through Cumberland Gap and up the Shenandoah Valley on the way back. Other cities he visited include Cincinnati, Frankfort, and Lexington. Another thing to note is the concern with Indian attacks along the river. Yes, this was a real danger at this time.