EARLY OUTLAWS.
The first white people of whose history anything is
known, connected with the prestine[sic] settlement of Henderson County,
were a set of graceless outlaws noted for their wicked deeds and
incomparable attrocities[sic]. It cannot be said that they claimed the
"Red Banks" as a permanent home, for their lives were devoted to wild
adventure, thievery and murder in all their manifold sins and wickedness.
These men were the Mays, Masons and Wilsons, headed by the notorious John
A. Murrell and Samuel May. Their rendezvous was on the bank of the river,
and frequently, murdering the crews. This was their headquarters, and
robbing boats their occupation up to the time Captain Young and his
company (who had organized for the purpose of driving them out of the
country) appeared in the neighborhood. For a number of years John A
Murrell camped at times upon the identical spot where the residence of A.
J. Anderson now stands, opposite Diamond Island, and gave to that place a
poetic name it yet retains - "Forest Home." After the appearance of
Captain Young, the clan then located at or near Cave-in-Rock, Ill, where
they continued to pursue their nefarious avocation.
History of Henderson County, Kentucky
by Edmund L. Starling
p. 26
published in 1887
public domain material
