Dr. John J. Dickey Diary, Fleming County, Ky.  Recorded in the 1870's and
beyond.  Reprinted in Kentucky Explorer, Volume 11, No  March, 1997, p.
107. By permission. Clay County.

J. W. CULTON
     My father, James Culton, was born in Knox County.  He came to Clay
County in 1831 or 1832.  He lived where John E. White now lives.  He made
salt on Goose Creek.  J. W. was born here, but his father went back to
Knox in 1840.  J. W. used to seek wagon trains hauling salt by his
father's in Knox, with a hundred wagons in a train, teams of 6 horses or 3
yokes of cattle.  This salt went through the Cumberland Gap.  Trains also
went through Williamsburg.  A radius of 100 miles was supplied.  Masters
from Virginia to Tennessee brought their slaves here and hired them to the
operators.  Wagons from Clinch and Powell Rivers would bring barels of
fresh fish, apple brandy, bacon, flour, green apples, cornmeal, everything
that was consumed.  Also jeans, linsey, tow lines, leather, and all sorts
of materials for clothing.  The eatables the wagons would peddle along the
road and also trade them to the salt makers for salt.  The materials for
clothing were traded to the salt makers for salt.  Those slaves when hired
must be clothed by the employer.  His wife had them manufactured.  Many of
the salt makers had slaves.  These must be clothed also.  Deponent saw a
train of 9 jacks and jennetts, mostly jennets.  Owned by Geroge Brittain
of Harlan, 3 miles from Harlan Court House. These jennets carried salt. 
They needed no more than two drivers.  Some of them were so small they
carried no more than one bushel.  Cooper shops were in operation on all
the leading roads coming to Goose Creek and wagons brought their barrels
as they approached the salt works.

Culton White Brittain
=
Knox-KY VA TN Henry-KY

http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/clay/culton.jw.txt