From Ireland to Kentucky

Laura Johnson, Green County Public Library

Born in Ireland about 1741, Symth Tandy came to America by 1774 and eventually settled in Green County, Kentucky.

In his home country, Tandy's family had engaged in the business of manufacturing and bleaching linen. He brought that trade with him across the sea to a new home in Augusta County, Virginia. He remained there until about 1783 then lived in Amherst County and Buckingham County, Virginia. He was a supporter of America during the Revolutionary War; he bought and sold land, was a merchant, and owner of a mill, distillery, and bleaching mill.

Smyth Tandy and his wife, Joyce Barnes Tandy, had at least four children together: Maria, Joshua, John, and one child who died in infancy.

Tandy received land entries in Kentucky in 1782 and 1783 totaling 2,000 acres that were likely made as payment by the government for rendering patriotic services during the war.

Between 1798 and 1804, Tandy's wife passed away. He and the children moved to Kentucky, traveling through the Cumberland Gap via the Wilderness Road.

The first Green County record Smyth Tandy's name appears on is a deed dated October 31, 1804 for 108 acres of land on the Middle Fork of Pitman Creek. Within a few years, Tandy had accumulated over 1,300 acres.

Today, the land he purchased is in area of Hobson, a small community northeast of Saloma, in Taylor County. Taylor was formed in 1848 from a large portion of Green County.

Joshua married Jane Hamilton in 1807.

Maria married James Benning on March 2, 1809, and left her father's household.

On June 7, 1809, Smyth Tandy married a second time to Susannah Williams. He would have been about 68 or 69 years old; she was only about 19. The ceremony was performed by John Chandler and witnessed by B. Chisholm and Richard Hord.

Over the next ten years, the couple had five children: James Edward, Mary Susan, William Napoleon, Nathaniel Erwin, and Ann Tandy.

In July 1823, Smyth Tandy prepared his last will and testament in which he requested his property to be sold. His wife was to be provided for as the law entitled her to, but no more. Of what remained, half should go to his oldest daughter, Maria, and the other half should be split between James Edward and Mary Susan. He noted that his son, John, had already been amply provided for. The youngest children were left to the care of their mother.

Smyth Tandy died on Friday, October 12, 1823 in Greensburg where he was boarding in the home of James Murray. Tandy, who was about 82 years old, had been suffering from a lingering illness. His burial place is unknown.

Susannah Tandy married a second time on May 1, 1925 to Isaac Hogland in Green County.

Court orders show that in 1827 the Tandy children were taken charge of by other people in the county. James Edward was apprenticed to Durham Sanders until age 21 to learn the art of farming. Henry Sanders was appointed guardian of Mary Susan. William and Nathan were to learn the art of cabinet making from David Willock until they were 21. Ann was apprenticed to Frederick Slinker to learn to art of housewifery until she was 18.

James Edward and Nathaniel Tandy remained in the area all their lives, dying in 1889 and 1896 respectively. The Tandy Cemetery in Taylor County is located near the intersection of Old Lebanon Road and Hobson Road on land once owned by Nathaniel.

The obituary of Smyth Tandy noted him as connected with the best families in Ireland and as a kind and hospitable person – a true Irish