James Noble Lindsey
A HISTORY OF KENTUCKY AND KENTUCKIANS By E. POLK
JOHNSON 1912 The Lewis Publishing Company
Transcribed by Kim Mohler
JAMES NOBLE LINDSEY was the esteemed representative of an old Kentucky family which for more than a century had figured prominently in the state noted for its chivalry and romance. He was born in Newport, December 11, 1817, and lived within its pleasant limits throughout almost the entire extent of a long life, his death occurring in April, 1897, at the age of seventy-nine years.
For over forty years he held the office
of city engineer of Newport. A glance at the ancestry of this gentleman is of
remarkable interest. His grandfather, Thomas Lindsey, was a native of Ireland,
though of Scotch descent, and was reared upon the Emerald Isle and there married
Rebecca Harris. His early married life was spent in the city of Cork, and in
August, 1789, he and his family sailed for America, arriving in Philadelphia in
October. They went thence to Pittsburg, where they spent the winter. In the
spring of 1780 the father constructed a flat boat, upon which he and his family
and effects were conveyed down the Ohio river to what is now Maysville,
Kentucky.
Two years later the family crossed the Licking river and located on a farm near
Lexington. They later settled at Leitch Station, about seven miles south of
Newport, where Thomas Lindsey spent most of his life in the United States his
death occurring there in 1817. His widow survived him until 1838. Theirs were
the experiences of the pioneers, part of their living consisting of the wild
game which inhabited the forests and the Indians constituting a constant menace
to life and safety. They were the parents of a family of typical pioneer
proportions, eleven sons and daughters bearing their name and the most of them
emigrating to other sections, including Indiana and Illinois.
John Brown Lindsey, the third of these children, and the father of the subject
of this biography, was born in Ireland and was about fourteen years of age when
the family came to America. He located in Newport in 1805, shortly after his
marriage to Maria Noble, who was a daughter of Thomas Noble, a native of
Maryland, who settled in Campbell county in 1795, this section being a
wilderness at that time. He afterward moved to Boone county, where he resided
until his death. John Brown Lindsey was one of Newport’s leading citizens in the
early days, and at one time served as mayor of the town. He engaged in the
harness and saddlery business for many years and accumulated a property which
for those times was large and included considerable land in Campbell county,
which was divided among his offspring. His residence, built in 1808 near the
corner of Front and Columbia streets, was the first brick house in Newport. A
portion of this building remains and is used as the office of the Central Bridge
Company. He died in Newport in October, 1849, and his wife in August of the
following year.
Henry K. was one of the younger sons of John Brown Lindsey. He was born in
Newport in 1825, in the old brick house near the banks of the Ohio, and was
reared amid the primitive scenes and circumstances of his time. When a young man
he engaged in Newport in the merchandise business, of which he later disposed
and removed to Covington in 1856. Here he embarked in the lumber business and
operated a planning mill, but his property was destroyed by fire and entailed
severe financial loss. He went to Cincinnati and engaged in the insurance
business, continuing to reside in the Queen City, with the exception of the
Civil war period, until 1905, in which year he returned to his old home,
Newport, and lived there until his death, which occurred in November, 1909, at
the age of eighty-four years.
Henry K. Lindsey was married in Newport in 1851 to Augusta May Lewis, born July 3, 1830. She was a native of Newport and a daughter of Captain Andrew and Aurelia (Mayo) Lewis. Captain Lewis was an officer in the regular army and was stationed at the Newport garrison for many years. He was subsequently transferred to Texas, and his death occurred in Florida. The Captain’s wife was born in Newport and was a daughter of Daniel Mayo, of Massachusetts, who came to Kentucky when young and married in Newport in 1798. Daniel Mayo was postmaster for forty years in Cincinnati and Newport and an old desk which was used in the post office during this time and which has many historical associations is still in the possession of his descendants. Henry K. Lindsey and his wife were the parents of six children, three of whom died when young. Those living are Aurelia, Lizzie M. and Henry A., the latter a resident of Ashville, South Carolina.
James Noble Lindsey was as previously stated a native of Newport. He was the
ninth in order of birth in a family of thirteen children born to John Brown and
Maria (Noble) Lindsey. He was reared in Newport and received his education in
private schools in Cincinnati. Early in life he prepared to be a civil engineer,
and finding this congenial engaged in the business permanently, his service as
city engineer being included between the years 1848 and 1870. He married Sallie
E. Prettyman, a native of Delaware, who came to Newport in 1852 when a young
woman in company with an uncle. Five children were born to the union of Mr. and
Mrs. Lindsey, as follows: George G.; Mary Louise, wife of E P Simmons of
Oklahoma; Augusta N, widow of James H M Ross of Dayton, Kentucky; James P of
Campbell county; and Helen, who is at home. Mrs. Lindsey survives and resides in
Clifton, but the father died in April, 1897, at the age of seventy-nine years.
George G. Lindsey, eldest son of the foregoing, was born in Newport, June 25,
1856. He was reared and educated here and when fifteen years of age entered the
office of his father and learned the profession of a civil engineer, which he
has ever since pursued, being associated with his father until the latter’s
death. He is a Republican politically and in 1886 was elected county surveyor,
serving in this capacity for a term of four years. In 1898 he was elected to the
office of county assessor, which he likewise held for four years. He has also
given efficient service of many years duration as city engineer of Bellevue and
Dayton. Since 1874 he has resided in Clifton, a suburb of Newport, with his
mother and sister. He is unmarried. Mr. Lindsey is the oldest civil engineer in
Newport in point of continuous service and stands high in the community, both
for his professional and executive gifts and his moral value as a citizen.