Jim QuinlanBecause I will end up referring to them a couple of times, I guess I need to explain where about three small towns in Laurel Co., Kentucky; London, East Bernstadt, and Weaver, Kentucky. London is the county seat of Laurel County, Kentucky. Its just off Interstate 75 (exits 38 and 41), about a hour north of the Kentucky/Tennesse border. East Bernstadt is a little community north west of London. If you take US 25 north out of London and turn right on 490, cross the railroad tracks and go a mile you are in down town East Bernstadt. Continue on up 490 for about 10 miles. When you come to a sign that says "Pilgrim's Rest Baptist Church" and points down a road, turn left on to that road, this is Winding Blade Road. Then take the first left onto a paved road. You will see the church on the right. When you get to the church follow the road on down the hill about a mile and you will come to the prettyist little valley you will ever see; that little creek off to the right ther is Hazel Patch Creek. What was Weaver was in this valley. The Casteels and Quinlans lived in this valley. Weaver consisted of a small general store and a post office; both in the same building. When the store ceased operations the post office was moved up to the house of the post mistress. Now to Samuel James 'Jim' Quinlan. Jim Quinlan was my Great Grandfather; the father of Walter Ernest Quinlan, and the Grandfather of Berniece (Quinlan) Christophel (my mother). In September of 1996 I took a trip to Laurel Co, Kentucky and talked with a few folks that knew Jim when they were kids. In fact one man looked at me and asked "You say Jim was your Grandfather?" My response was "No sir; her was my Great-Grandfather." To which the gentleman replied "Shit!" and walked of in disgust. I suppose his reaction was from talking to a man 20 years his junior about the younger mans Great-Grandfather, and the man having vivid memories of the Great-Grandfather when the man was a youngster. In short I think I made the man I was talking to feel old. The 1899 Laurel Co. Tax List shows him owning 70 acres. It doesn't say where those 70 acres where other than in Tax District 6. I can only assume that it was out near Weaver. From a conversation with Mr. Homer RADFORD, that took place on September 11, 1996, I learned in 1942 Jim Quinlan had 196 acres. He sold it to Mr. Radford's father in 1942 or '43. Mr. Radford paid the sum of $2,500 dollars for the 196 acres. I believe this to have been the biggest part of the little valley that Weaver was in. The farm that Jim sold Mr. Radford's father had two houses on it. The original house was down low, along the Hazel Patch. It was this house that Jim and his first wife, Maggie (Casteel) and thier family lived in. Jim built the second house up on top of the hill after he married Alice McWhorter. She had asma and they thought the air would be cleaner on top of the hill. Jim worked hard, played hard, and had a wonderful sense of humor. Please bear in mind a good bit of the things that I am going to relate was passed down through the family and folks knew him who live down in Laurel Co. I have verified as much as I possible so far. The rest, wellll... The first thing that comes to mind is a story told about Jim playing a practical joke on some men. It seems that Jim was on his way to London, riding his favorite horse, Major. As he was passing the Casteel General Store in East Bernstadt, he noticed a group of group of men a sittin an rockin an just a talkin on the porch of the store. Jim stopped to say Hi and one of the men said "Jim Quinlan, you get down off that horse and tell us some lies". Well ole Jim says "Boys, I ain't got time to get down an tell you lies. But ole man Smith died a day or so ago and they're looking for some help to dig his grave over at the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.", and Jim went on his way. One or two of the men packed up and headed over to the Mt Pleasant Cemetery to help dig the grave. When they got to the cemetery there was no one around. Not even a hole dug. So they get to thinkin and figured maybe Jim got confused and he really meant the Mt. Zion Cemetery. So they took off for the Mt. Zion Cemetery. On their way they saw ole man Smith sitting out on his porch just a rockin and enjoying old age. One the fellas pipes up and says "Jim Quinlan told us you died." Well ole Mr. Smith says "I don't rigthly reckon so. Ya see me sittin' right here don't ya?" Well the men got a little ticked off and went back to the porch of the store. Pretty soon ol Jim comes along on his way home. One of the men pipes up and says "Jim Quinlan, you lied to us. Ole man Smith ain't dead." To which Jim replied "Boys, you told me to get down off this horse and tell you some lies. An' I told you I didn't have time to get down off this horse..." :-) My Ma told me about the time he came up to Ohio to visit us, I was just a little shaver then, no moren 2. Anyway, Mom and Dad was havin' a BBQ and was out cooking the food on the grill, ole Jim looks at Mom and says, "Ya know Bernice, these Ohioians are the only folks I know that cook out side and go into the house to go to the toilet." At the end of the same trip he looked at my Ma and said "Honey, I gotta go home. These hills are akillin' me." Now if you don't know what the landscape of eastern Kentucky is like this'll be lost on you, but if you know what's it's like you'll understand it. Eastern Kentucky has got more big hills (they call em moutains here in West-By-God) than a Mountain Goat can handle. While I was talking to Mr. Radford, I got the feeling that he knew Jim Quinlan about as good as anyone I was going to find. So I asked him to let me tell him a story I had heard about Jim. As I was telling the story that you have just read, he started grinning from ear to ear and when I finished he looked at me and said "Now let me tell you how I heard it..." I was told by Rufus Bruner that as a boy he would go to the Casteel General Store in East Bernstadt from time to time (Rufus being related to the Casteels as well). If Jim were there he would hold out a nickle to Rufus. When Rufus went to take it Jim would catch Rufus and tickle him until he cried. Jim Quinlan went to church regular, in his later years at least; or so I have been told. I was visiting some folks that new him and asked if they new what religon Jim was. The wife said something to the effect that she didn't remember Jim going to church. Her husband, who in the hour I had been then hadn't said two words, piped up and said "Jim went to church as regular as Sundays come." Apparently, Jim would go to the Casteel Store on Saturday and get chewing gum and pass it out to the kids at church on Sunday. Some other things Mr. Radford told me about Jim Quinlan.
It is no secert that Jim Quinlan liked to drink. There are some stories that go along with this; Mr. Radford told me that one of the boys staying with Jim took him (Mr. Radfor) down to the barn one day and lifted up a section of the floor. There in a false floor where about 20 half gallon jugs of moonshine. Jim Quinlan had a couple of friends who would go with him out into a field, under a tree and drink and fight. Knock each other about until they got to the point that they couldn't get up any more and then just sleep it off under the tree. Wake up the next morning and be the best of friends again and go on about their business. As mentioned earlier, Jim had a horse named Major. If Jim had gone to the local 'pub' (my words) he usally rode Major. It apparently go to the point that when folks would see Jim coming back they'd say "He comes Jim drunk again. But he's on Major. Major'll take care of 'im." A story told to me by a lady I meet at the Historical Society in London goes like this; The lady's father had gone with Jim to the local 'pub'. Her mother had super ready and decided it was time for the her father to come home. She went to a neighbors and asked if he would go and get her husband; she couldn't because it unseemly for a lady to go into a 'pub' back then. Anyway, the neighbor went down to the 'pub' and saw Major standing out front. However, there was something wrong with the horse. Its head was hanging so low that its nose was almost draggin' on the ground, And it couldn't stand straight, it was swayin' back and forth. The neighbor beat feet into the 'pub' and found Jim right off. He said 'Jim what's wrong with Major. He's havin' a devil of a time standing." To which Jim replied "He was thursty so I shared my beer with him." One other thing about Jim Quinlan that is no secert, he liked the ladies. In fact he had two children out of wed lock. I don't know much about Jim's escapades with the ladies so therefore can't say much more than I have. Except for the follwing which came from the July 5, 1901 issue of the Mt. Echo. It seems to indicate that the Ladies seemed to think Jim was worth lookin' at as well. "Mr. Robt. Hodge, known as smiling Robt. and Mr. Jas. Quinlin are Weaver's handsomest young society men. Jim has a span of very fine bays, and Chas Parsley says, calls one of them "Hall" What, Jim? The girls say "oh those horses and sweet smiles." Here's luck to you boys." Ok, I have pretty much said all I know about Jim Quinlan. And if you have read this far you have probably come away with an attitude of "This guy was a bumb." Well, I gotta abmit, I did to for awhile. But I asked Mr. Radford about it. I asked him flat out, and his reply was "Jim Quinlan was one of the hardest working men I have ever know. He would get up before sun up and work like mad, get all his work done before dinner. Then come dinner time; he'd finish his dinner and go sit on the porch and read the paper while the rest of the folks were working in the hot sun." 
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