An Octogenarian: Life History of Uncle John Maxwell of Mineral Spring: The life of each individual has many things of interest and the lives of our older people tell of the hardships as well as pleasure of pioneer days.

For nearly thirty years, John Maxwell of Mineral springs has been resident of Barry County, but his natively was near Mills Springs, formerly Atkinson's Mills, Wayne Co., KY, where he was born May 24, 1813, the son of Bazwell and Nancy Maxwell. He can just remember their moving  about twenty miles southeast of Atkinson's Mills to near the south fork of the Cumberland River on the Goose Creek or Bean Station Road.

Their purchases were made at Monticello twenty miles away on Canad_s? Creek and churches and schools were far apart. at that time slaves were common but the Indians had been removed to the Hiawassee purchase. It was in Casey Co., KY, that he came across a family with ten girls, five? pairs of twins - the largest barely able to nurse the smallest.

About 1828 he moved to Jackson Co., Indiana where he entered his first school at the age of sixteen, and March 8, 1834, was married to Mahala Waddell by Squire Milhorn Hobeson, by whom there were born five boys and for girls, all of who are living but one son, the oldest, James Jefferson, shi died in the rebel prison at Tyler, Texas, Oct 6, 1864, after captivity since Apr. aspersions?.  [The remainder is missing from my copy.]