Washington
and Alice BerryInformation comes from research done by Margaret S Hartman and is on file at the Campbell County Historical Society
Washington Berry was born in 1764 in King George County, Virginia, the son of Thomas Berry of "Berry Plain" and Elizabeth Washington, the daughter of Captain John Washington and his wife, the former Mary Massey of Stafford County, Virginia.. At the age of 27, on September 27, 1791 he married Alice Thornton Taylor and they had 9 children.
Children of Washington Berry and Alice Thornton Taylor
1. Taylor Berry-born July
1792 in King George County-became a commissioned officer in the War of 1812
2. Hubbard Berry-born 1794 in Dayton, Campbell County m-Agnes B
McKinney-17 Apr 1817
3.
Sophia Berry-born 1799 in Dayton
4. Lucinda Mary Berry-born 1806 in Dayton; m-Hon. Alexander P Sandford 24 Sep 1823; died 1 Dec
1856 at Covington
5. James Taylor Berry-born 17 Jan 1809 in Dayton, Campbell Co; m-Elizabeth V
Wise-16 Dec 1831; died 29 Jan 1864 in Newport and was buried 29 Jan in
Newport Cemetery (known now as Evergreen)
6. Edmund Berry born 1811 in Dayton
7. Washington John Berry born in Dayton; became an attorney
8. Mildred W Berry born in Dayton
9. Alice Berry born in Dayton; m Taliaferro
On November 14, 1792, Washington bought the 1000 acres where Dayton now stands on the advice of his brother-in-law, James Taylor Junior. He paid Katy and Caroline Muse, 200 pounds ($1000) and then moved there with his family April 1, 1793. The Muse women also sold him another 1000 acres along Brashear’s Creek. The company was made up of Washington and Alice, their son, Taylor aged about nine months, who rode on horseback with his mother; James, Alice's brother, and his two slaves, Moses and Humphrey, and his young servant, Adam; Washington's brother, John and John W Buckner. At Brownsville near Pittsburg, they picked up boats and started on the Monongahela River. Moving down the Ohio River, they passed Legionville, General Anthony Wayne's encampment below Pittsburg, where he collected his army and was training them to march against Native Americans.
At some point, Washington decided that it wasn't safe to bring
Alice and Taylor all the way to the Licking, so when they reached Limestone, she
went to stay with her brother, Hubbard at Springhill in Clark County. By the time
Washington was named a justice of the peace for the county on December 17, 1794,
the family was settled on their land.
Washington Berry's Court Orders and Deeds
During his lifetime, Washington held many influential positions. He was County Judge, Newport City Trustee, County Commissioner, Paymaster for Kentucky Militia’s 48th Regiment, County Treasurer and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Newport Academy. He was the wealthiest member of the board, as well as the county's largest slave owner. In 1795 he owned taxable property of seventeen slaves and 1000 acres. On December 11, 1797, he was granted a license to operate a ferry service between Dayton and Columbia, on the Ohio side.
Washington died May 4, 1813 and was buried in the Madison Street Burying Ground. In Washington's will the western 284.5 acres of the land and power of attorney was given to his wife along with the following slaves; Toby, Jenny his wife, George, Hanibel, Daphne, Anthony, Jefferson, Richard, Lucy, Matilda, Jonathan, and Edmund. The property was to be divided among his children after Alice died. Alice's Last Will & Testament
When his son James died in 1864, his will directed that the bodies of
his parents be reburied next to him in the Evergreen Cemetery in Southgate.