Western Kentucky is one of the few areas where multiple branches of the family settled together. By multiple branches we mean family members farther removed in kinship than brothers and sisters. In most areas outside Pennsylvania and the Carolinas, the family moved along in groups of one or two as they did across Tennessee and eastern Kentucky. Each successive census report shows one or two of the same names or some other well known family name a little farther west or in an adjoinnging county.

But in Western Kentucky, no less than five different branches of the family settled in a triangular area basically centered in what is now one county. Two brothers, and possibly a third, from Pennsylvania joined a relative from North Carolina, probably an uncle, to settle is what was then Henderson and Christian Counties. About fifteen years later, another group from North Carolina stopped in the area enroute to Southern Illinois and part of the group remained in what was by that time Hopkins County. Ten years after that, around 1825 or 1826, a fourth branch of the family, also from North Carolina, migrated to the area a few years later found brothers of yet another group from Western Tennesse migrated back eastward to join the family in Western Kentucky.

Such a scenario sounds complicated but it has been verified. In 1800, Rueben Herrin from Pennsylvania is shown arriving in Henderson County. Shortly afterward he was joined by his brother, William Herrin, and possibly a third brother which is not verified. About the same time, John Herron, believed to be an uncle of Rueben and William, was settling in what was still Christian County, but only a few miles to the south. In 1810, after Hopkins County had been established from parts of Henderson and Christian Counties, the census shows a total of thirty seven family members in the area.

Toward the close of the War of 1812, another Herrin family from North Carolina stopped off in the Hopkins County settlement as they were migrating to Southern Illinois. This was Issac Herrin and his family. Issac, also believed to be a nephew of “Old” John, is shown in North Carolina records as spelling his name Herrin, but later Illinois records add a “g” to the name. It is not known how long they remained in Hopkins County, but it was long enough for “Old” John’s young son, David, to court and marry Sarah Herrin, Issac’s daughter. The couple was married February 21, 1814 by Reverend John Bourland.

A few years later, in 1825 or 1826, another relative of the group, Daniel Herrin, brought his family from North Carolina. Daniel, believed to be a cousin, moved first to Tennessee and then to Hopkins (now Webster) County to settle the area called “Herrin Hill”. By 1830 there were about one hundred thirty HERREN family members in Henderson, Hopkins and Union Counties, not including slaves owned by some of the family.

The final migration came in 1846 when four brothers from another branch of the family migrated back eastward from Benton County, Tennessee to settle around Boardly and Jonesstand, probably on land owned by and between “Old” Reuben, “Old” William, and Daniel. These brothers were Beveryly, Wesley, George and Enoch, sons of Calib Abimlik, grandsons of William Elisha Herrin, who is believed to have been a brother of “Old” John. These brothers came from their home in the Rushing Creek Community near Camden, Tennessee with a caravan led by William Watson who later settled the area called “Oak Heights”. Beverly, the oldest, was married to William Watson’s daughter, Sarah, and Wesley was married to another of his daughters named Elizabeth. George and Enoch were unmarried at the time of the journey. But George later married Sarah Crews, daughter of another early settler in the area, in 1849, and Enoch married a third daughter of William Watson’s, named Polly Ann, in 1852.

This, then, is how such a large contingent of HERREN’s came to Western Kentucky. By 1860, over two hundred family members were living in Henderson, Hopkins, Union and Webster Counties with Webster as the hub of the settlement. By this time, however, the group was beginning to spread out again with some moving farther west in Kentucky, some crossing the Ohio River into Southern Illinois, and others just moving into counties adjacent to the original settlement.

To illustrate, Matthew, a son of “Old” John, had married Eleanor Herrin, the daughter of “Old” William, and this couple moved to Hickman in the far western part of Kentucky. Heli, who had moved from Tennessee and settled in Hopkins County, had moved to Princeton, Kentucky. David, son of “Old” John, and Sarah, daughter of “Old” Issac, were living near Harrisburg, Illinois. Another of “Old” Issac’s sons, Issac, Jr., was living near Uniontown in Union County. As these descendants moved farther away from the original settlement, it did not decline because the family continued to multiply until almost every county in central and western Kentucky and Tennessee, Southern Illinois and Indiana, and Eastern Missouri has direct descendants of this original group.

In addition to direct descendants, the HERREN family has two and perhaps three “adjunct” family groups who bear the name. Those are the black families in western Kentucky named HERREN. Most negroes did not have family names during the period of slavery, so upon being freed they simply chose a surname for their family group. Many, particularly those who had close ties to their white family, adopted that family’s name. This is what happened in the HERREN family. Slaves were held by both “Old” John’s and Daniel’s families when they came to Kentucky but they were freed around 1850. The 1850 census reports the family of Syre Herrin and his wife, Lucy, living in Hopkins County with their five children. Two other families are listed later: Matthew Herron, a farmer, with his wife, Eva, and their children; and Jacob Herren, a blacksmith, with Amanda, his wife, and their children.

Having explored the ‘how” of the HERREN settlement in western Kentucky, we are left with the question of “why” the area was chosen? First, land records indicate that “Old” William settled on some unclaimed land because his request for appropriation is entered in the court record. It is also known that “Old” Rueben claimed land from a grant certified by the Henderson County Court in 1802, but it is not known how the land grant was acquired. A good guess might be that he was given land in payment for his service with the Transylvania Company in exploring the area, but this is not certain. It is also fairly well documented that “Old” John had a grant of land for some reason. It is not believed that his grant was for service in the Revolutionary War, however, since he did not serve with a Virginia detachment which made such grants. Some other HERREN family members did receive Revolutionary War land grants from Virginia but these were in the eastern part of the state.

Since grants of land were apparently small, they are not considered to be a primary reason for the settlement in Western Kentucky. The other possibility, and probably the most likely, was simple “site” selection. “Old” Rueben is known to have been in the area around 1796 and 1797 before he returned to his family in Pennsylvania. It is reasonable to assume that he was scouting for a suitable site for family location. Many other pioneer families did this same thing before starting a migration. It is also understandable why Henderson County would be chosen since the first settlers in the county were two German families, the Sprinkles and the Upps, who were listed as grantees of Colonel Richard Henderson. The Sprinkles and Upps settled near Red Banks in 1791 and they were originally from Pennsylvania, so it is not inconceivable that these families knew each other.

Once the area for settlement had been selected, Rueben returned to Pennsylvania for his family and the migration began toward this Henderson County site. If this conjecture is correct (and I believe it is, based on my research), our family followed a pattern quite typical of other settlers in the area. Example after example can be shown where individuals and even parties of scouts were sent ahead to locate suitable sites for settlement of families and even entire towns. Consider the “Shaker” community in Central Kentucky, the Rappites of New Harmony, Indiana, the founders of Tell City, Indiana, and even the Mormons on their cross-country trek.

No matter what the reason for the western Kentucky settlement, one pertinent fact is quite evident. All of the HERREN’s who settled or came through the area knew each other and/or were aware of the others. The accidential or co-inccendential convergence of over a hundred people with the same name in an area of fifteen to twenty miles from a given point is highly unlikely. This, plus the fact that members of this settlement arrived from several different directions and locations lends credence to the belief that they were related in some way.

This over view of the family in Western Kentucky provides some insight into the various branches who settled the area. Next, we will present the family lineage of each of these original settlers in order to identify the different groups and their descendants and to further clarify areas of settlement and relationships.