JACOB DUVALL II

Jacob Duvall was the son of John Miles Duvall and Anne Rosella Philomena Tarleton. He was probably born about 1777 in St. Mary’s County, Maryland (the 1850 Census states he was born in Pennsylvania; a daughter, in a later census, has her parents born in Virginia; both of these are highly unlikely). John migrated to Nelson County, Kentucky with his mother and several of his siblings probably around 1787 at a time when many Catholics moved from Maryland to Kentucky, including many Tarletons (his older sister married in Nelson County, KY in 1791 and his mother married her second husband in Nelson County in 1792).

While there is not “paper trail” to prove that Jacob was the son of John Miles Duvall and Anne Tarleton, all profession researchers have come to the conclusion that he was, and circumstantial evidence certainly supports that fact.

We know that Jacob and two of his brothers were apprenticed out to learn a trade in 1795. PIONEER, VOL. 5, P. 41 cites the Nelson County, KY deed book 5, p. 109: “Jacob Duvall, poor child, apprenticed to WM Chinowith Tanner. 1795”. Jacob would have been about 18 at the time.
On August 17, 1812 he enlisted to fight in the War of 1812. He was in the 8th Regiment of the Kentucky (Wilcox’s) Militia.

In 1802 Jacob married Elizabeth Rickett(s), the daughter of Peter and Mary (surname unknown) Rickett(s).
During the early years of his marriage he lived on the Nelson/Bullitt County line (a section of Nelson County became Bullitt County in 1797), Kentucky, and it appears he became prosperous (from the information I have obtained on his father-in-law, Peter Ricketts, it may be that Jacob's wealth was derived through his wife). In 1818 and 1819 he purchased a total of 244 acres along Wilson Creek which was both in Nelson and Bullitt Counties.

By 1830 Jacob and Mary had moved to the Bear Creek area (near the Grayson County line) of Edmonson County. He eventually accumulated at least 293 acres, perhaps more. The 1850 census lists the value of his real estate as $4000 (about $102,000 in 2010 dollars). He built what has been described as an “impressive” house: A detailed description of the house was given in the Edmonson County Family History Book:

"A SLAVE HOUSE"

"There is an old house in Edmonson County that is fascinating and rich in history because it was built by slaves and used as an auction site for the selling of slaves, prior to the Civil War.

"Jacob Duvall...accumulated 150 acres of land along Bear Creek in 1842 and 1843. On this parcel of land, Jacob's slaves built him an impressive house. The slaves made the solid, clay bricks and baked them in a furnace located near the building site. The brick walls were three bricks (about 12 inches) thick. At eyelevel inside, a few bricks were inserted endways with no mortar, so that they could be slipped out, perhaps for gun use.

"The house was approximately fifty feet long and it had a basement under the entire floor. The basement was made of hand-hewn rocks and was divided into three rooms", where the slaves were kept. "The small basement windows had wooden frames and spokes" to hinder escape. The only entrance to the basement was on the front porch. The wooden, front porch ran the entire length of the house and connected to an auction rock by a wooden walkway.

"The main house was also divided into three very large rooms was a fireplace on both ends of the house. The end rooms had a front and back entrances, but the middle room did not have any outside doors. There were two large glass windows in each room - probably some of the first in Edmonson County. The wood trim and the glass were brought from Bowling Green by mule wagons.

"Hessie Duvall sold the house to William Jasper Vincent in 1915."

Like his ancestors before him, Jacob had slaves. Over the years we really have no information as to how many slaves, but by the 1850 slave census it appears he only had 1 male age 10 and 1 female age 9. Interestingly, his grandson, Richard Duvall, fought for the Union in the Civil War.

Jacob died in Edmonson County, Kentucky in about 1856.