Person Page 263

Elijah George Galusha Jr. was born on 17 Sep 1780 in Arlington, VermontG.^4,5
     His father died on 26 May 1783, when Elijah was 2 years old.^9,10

Joining the Move to Kentucky --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Elijah was part of a group of over seventy people who moved from Vermont to Kentucky under the leadership of Matthew Lyon, his mother's second husband. He was apparently part of a small group, including his cousin and her husband, Modena and Gideon Dyer Cobb, that made the trek in late 1799, followed by a larger group who arrived in Jun 1801.^11,12,13 The group traveled in five wagons across the Allegheny Mountains to New Geneva, on the Monongahela River, over 50 miles above Pittsburgh, arriving in mid-Nov 1799. The water was then too low to float down the river, so they spent the winter preparing their boats. New Geneva is not known to have been a common embarkation point, so it seems likely that the location was chosen because of Lyon's association with Albert Gallatin, minority leader of the House of Representatives when Lyon was serving there, who was a resident if that town. Lyon left the party while preparations were underway, returning to his Congressional duties.^14,15,16 (For details, please see The Trek from Vermont to the Kentucky Wilderness.)
     It is clear that Elijah was in Kentucky before the main group arrived because on 5 May 1801 he was granted 400 acres Livingston Co. by the county court.¹⁷

Establishing Himself in Eddyville --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Elijah took part in serving the community from an early date. On 5 May 1801 he and his cousin's husband, Gideon Dyer Cobb, were among five men charged by the Livingston Co.G Court with appraising the estate of James Davenport. On 4 Dec the two were among five men appointed to review and mark a new road.¹⁸ At the Nov 1809 term of the Caldwell Co. Court he, along with Gideon Dyer Cobb, Samuel C. Clark and John Bradley, posted a bond to build a brick court house in Eddyville for Caldwell Co.^19,20 (For more examples, see the extracted County Court Orders.)
     There is some evidence that Elijah may not have yet considered his initial move to Kentucky permanent. He was soon back in Vermont, selling a small parcel in Fair Haven for $23 on 18 Feb 1802, and that deed shows him as a resident of Williston, Chittenden Co.G. There seems to have been some issue with the property, however, as he was back, or still, in Vermont on 8 Aug 1803 when the buyer deeded it back to him for the same price. The same day he sold it to another party for $8. By this time he was shown as a resident of Eddyville.²¹ Elijah was appointed to various duties in connection to maintaining roads, and as an election judge, by the Caldwell County Court in 1809 and 1810.²²
     Elijah married Lucy Willard Throop, daughter of John Winchester Throop and Elizabeth Vail, on 20 Feb 1803 in Livingston Co., KentuckyG.^6,7,8
      Elijah also served in more official capacities. On 1 Apr 1805 the County Court received his appointment as Justice of the Peace of Livingston Co. from Gov. Christopher Greenup. As a justice of the peace he became a member of the County Court, the governing body of the county, which also tried minor criminal cases, and adjudged probate matters. The next day he was also appointed by the County Court as a trustee of the town of Eddyville replacing Enoch Prince, who had resigned. In 1808 he was authorized to solemnize marriages, which was not automatically an authority which came with the office of justice of the peace.²³
      When Caldwell Co. was formed effective 1 May 1809, Elijah was one of the eight justices of the peace appointed by the Governor, all taking their oaths at the first meeting of the County Court, which was held in Eddyville that day.²⁴
     On 7 Aug 1810 he resigned his office as justice of the peace of Caldwell Co.G, but not without incident. On 3 Dec 1810 the County Court entered a judgment against him for failing to remit fines he had collected while in that office, and fined him $100 and costs. The matter was resolved the next day when he was permitted to make a return of fines of $5 each against Henry Bremer and Samuel Watson for breach of the peace on 7 Aug 1809, and one cent each against Samuel Mathew & Thomas Lucy for offences on 9 Aug 1809. The judgment and fine of the previous day was set aside.²⁵ (For further details of his public service, see the extracted County Court Orders.)

Merchant, Farmer, Teacher --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     He seems to have become involved in trading and mercantile activities soon after his arrival in Kentucky. On 21 May 1804 he was paid $1,703.53 for supplies for Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's expedition to explore the Pacific Northwest. The provisions he supplied were listed as:      Elijah kept a store near EddygroveG (later Princeton) for a time, apparently in cooperation with his step-father, Matthew Lyon. A 1810 advertisement in the Russellville newspaper mentioned both his store and Lyon's, offering cash for rags at both stores.²⁷
     His principal occupation appears to have been as a farmer most of his life. In the 1850 census he reported his occupation as school teacher.^28,29 He was described as a "poor farmer" by to his half-brother, Chittenden Lyon, in a 1828 letter to a mutual acquaintance.³⁰
     Elijah appeared on the 1810 Federal Census of Caldwell Co., KentuckyG, with a household consisting of one male under age 10 (unknown), one age 10 to 16 (unknown), one age 16 to 26 (himself), three females under 10 (unknown), one age 16 to 26 (wife, Lucy.)³¹
     Elijah appeared on the 1820 Federal Census of Caldwell Co., KentuckyG, with a household consisting of two white males under age 10 (sons Henry and Jonas), one age 26 to 45 (himself), two white females age 10 to 16 (unknown), one age 16 to 26 (unknown), and one age 26 to 45 (wife Lucy.)³²
      On 4 Apr 1822 Elijah was granted a patent for 100 acres on the Eddy Creek watercourse in Caldwell Co.G.³³
     Elijah appeared on the 1830 Federal Census of Caldwell Co., KentuckyG, with a household consisting of one male age 10 to 15 (son Henry), one age 15 to 20 (Jonas), and one age 30 to 40 (himself), one female age 15 to 20 (unknown), two age 20 to 30 (unknown), and one age 40 to 50 (wife Lucy.)³⁴
      On 17 Jun 1836 Elijah was granted a patent for an additional 4½ acres on the Eddy Creek watercourse in Caldwell Co.G.³⁵
     Elijah appeared on the 1840 Federal Census of Caldwell Co., KentuckyG, with a household consisting of one white male aged 20 to 30 (son Henry), and one between 50 and 60 (himself); one female between 20 and 30 (unknown), and one between 40 and 50 (wife Lucy), and a female slave aged 10 to 24.³⁶
     Elijah and Lucy appeared on the 1850 Federal Census of Caldwell Co., KentuckyG, enumerated 30 Sep 1850, reporting real estate valued at $1,000. Their son Henry was listed as living with them, as were Charity Herrald, age 21, possibly their daughter, and George W. Parrent, age 8, son of their late daughter Cynthia.³⁷
     Elijah sold his a tract on Eddy Creek to his cousins, Robert and Gideon Dyer Cobb Jr., on 8 Sep 1852. They paid $625 for 124 acres, but the Elijah retained the use of that portion lying north of the turnpike, and the spring, for his life and that of his wife. He retained the right not only to use the land himself, but also to rent it out, and to cut wood and timber for his own use.^38,39
     Elijah died after 1852, but no record of his death has been found.