John Finley: Huntsburgs Man of Mystery
How many of you remember the 1980's sitcom "The Golden Girls"? Sophia, an elderly character, was always telling stories of her homeland that began like…
How many of you remember the 1980’s sitcom “The Golden Girls”? Sophia, an elderly character, was always telling stories of her homeland that began like this: “Picture it — Sicily, 1922…”
Hopefully Sophia won’t mind if I borrow that line to begin this tale
Picture it — Huntsburg, 1807. Only it wasn’t Huntsburg yet. This was a thickly-wooded wilderness owned by by Ebenezer Hunt and Colonel John Breck, and thought to be uninhabited. Along the banks of a small stream stood a crude, three-sided shelter. Here lived John Finley. From local accounts, John was an introvert who lived off wild game, potatoes, and rice, and was deathly afraid of thunderstorms.
Finley was an odd fellow. Yet, through the recollections of Huntsburg’s pioneers, we find that his reputation stretches well beyond the township limits.
Several say he fought in the Revolutionary War, under General ‘Mad’ Anthony Wayne. The same stories point to Finley having a famous friend–Daniel Boone! The two met serving under Wayne (though one source mentions them meeting while fighting native Americans under Braddock). Finley began to fill young Daniel’s mind with romantic stories of his hunting expeditions west of the Allegheny Mountains.
Boone soon married and settled into a crude home in North Carolina. With his friend’s tales still fresh on his mind, Daniel organized an expedition. It was scuttled due to a winter storm.
Thirteen years later, a travelling salesman visited the Boone household. It turned out to be none other than…John Finley!
Does the story seem a far-fetched? Just wait — it gets better!
It was getting late in the year, and Daniel insisted that his friend John stay with his family that winter. By spring, they organized a hunting party and made out for the land the natives called “Ken-tuck-ay.”
Yes, you read that right. This old loner, living in a hut in Huntsburg, was the same man that led DANIEL BOONE to the land he became known for — KENTUCKY. This is where the real mystery of John Finley begins.
First, how did he end up in Huntsburg? There is record of his leaving Boone on their second trip to visit family in Pennsylvania. But how did he get herewhyand — was HE here?
Looking further into John Finley’s thoroughly-undocumented life, we find that he may have had a family, and that one of his son’s names was, naturally, John. One account shows John Jr. was separated from his wife, and was known to roam like his dad. However, ‘Junior’ was not old enough to be the one here. By other accounts, ‘Senior’ would have been approaching his eighties. Not many lived that long then, especially in the wilderness. It is said that he enlisted with early Huntsburgers in the War of 1812…in his eighties? Stranger still is a historical marker in Kentucky — on the supposed homestead of John Finley, saying he served in the Kentucky state legislature.
Local books say he was here, and was friends with Boone. It’s it truth, or an elaborate yarn concocted by a hermit? It is hard to suppose the pioneers spun this tale, as they tended to be fairly pious. The more we dig, the more questions arise.
When our men arrived back from the War of 1812, there were more settlers, and John felt crowded. Around 1814, he disappeared, by one account heading to Maryland.
It seems the more we try to study John Finley, the less we know. One national researcher allegedly spent near forty years trying to figure out the real story, with little success. So continues the mystery behind the first non-native Huntsburg inhabitant.
