| William Mitchell founded the third town in Perry County, on Section 33, Township 5, South, Range 2, West, which he had taken up in 1818, after coming from Virginia through Kentucky, with his wife, Mary Bruner, and their several children. On November 4, 1835, John Cassidy, then conducting a store at the mouth of Oil Creek (but who had been a County Survyor in 1819) laid out for William Mitchell a town-site comprising 21 lots 90 by 60 feet in dimensions, with a 50-foot street (Water Street) along the river front, and Second Street, parallel there with, 33 feet wide, one square back. These were intersected at right angles by three alleys, 16 ½ feet in width.Of this plat, however, the encroaching river has devoured so much that one can scarcely recognize today the original plan as recorded December 4, 1835, on Page 18, of Deed Book B, by Samuel Frisbie, Recorder, per Joshua B. Huckeby, deputy. It has always been told that Samuel Frisbie was the town’s sponsor, choosing its name to honour the Old Work home of his ancestors (Derby).
Almost directly after the first house was built in Derby, William Mitchell erected a distillery on (and partially in) the hillside. When in operation its daily output was between twenty and thirty gallons of whiskey and brandy, for which a ready local market was found at a price far from prohibitive, twelve-and-a-half cents, or “a bit” per gallon. After some twelve years the building was turned into the first chair-factory in Perry County and used a such for several years by Jesse Inman. He employed three of four other men, each of whom turned out a dozen chairs as a daily average, the work being performed entirely by hand. Ref: Perry County A History by Thomas de la Hunt |
“St Mary’s Catholic church Congregation Records (Derby) Baptisms, Marriages, Burials” (Father Bessonies at first prob resided at Derby, but later resided in Leopold) was started by Father Benoit (Julia –) and his last, baptized entry is No.71 (Silas Taylor). No.72 (John Cassidy) is the first by Father August Bessonies, recently (Feb. 22, 1840) ordained at Vincennes. Bessonies and all subsequent priests resided at Leopold and recorded Bapts of Perry, Crawford, and part of Harrison and Spencer counties in this record of St Mary’s. |