Sylvester Welch Family
Chief Engineer of Kentucky navigation locks and early Frankfort residents
Sylvester Welch married Arabella Scott Davis, a widow and daughter of Col. (Dr.) John Mitchell and Catherine Ware Scott. Sylvester moved to Frankfort in the late 1830s to serve as Chief Engineer for the State of Kentucky, planning and supervising the construction of navigation locks on the Kentucky River. Prior to arriving in Kentucky, he successfully completed the Allegheny Portage Railroad in Western Pennsylvania, which allowed canal boats to be raised via inclined planes on railroad flatcars over the Allegheny Mountains.
Arabella and Sylvester Welch had five daughters. Arabella built four houses on land that had been the garden behind the house on Clinton and Ann Streets for four of her daughters.
Daughters of Sylvester and Arabella Welch
- Arabella "Tennie" Scott Welch — Married Edward Payson Bryan, who came to Frankfort during the Civil War as a telegrapher for the L & M Railroad and later became station agent before being promoted in 1890 to Superintendent of Terminals in Louisville. They raised their family at Glen Mary on the Versailles Road near Jett.
- Mary "Polly" Welch — Married Edward H. Hensley (one of the individuals who persuaded Robert Burns Wilson to move to Frankfort). Their daughter Arabella "Belle" Hensley married Charles Elwood Colahan, who at one time headed the Naval Academy at Annapolis. Belle's brother, Rev. Alex. Hensley, officiated at Robert Burns Wilson's funeral when he was buried in the Frankfort Cemetery.
- Louisa Welch — Married Leopold Labrot, owner of Labrot and Graham Distillery.
- Katie Welch — Married A. J. Grant.
- Lizzie Welch — Married a Mr. Corvell.
Information submitted by:
Maunsel White
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