THE STORY OF JENNY WILEY

Jenny Wiley State Resort Park wasnamedin honor ofa young pioneer woman, Virginia Sellards Wiley -JennyWiley. The legend of this woman is varied but thefollowing is believed to be a fairly accurate account.

In reality, the capture of Jenny and the destructionofthe Wiley family was in error. Sometime before, in anengagement with a party of Cherokee, a member of theHarmon family, neighbors of the Wileys, shot and killedtwo Indians. It was a dark and rainy October 1, 1789, in^Ab's Valley, Virginia, when a group ofIndians returned to seek vengeace. Inignorance of the exact location of theHarmon cabin, they fell upon the Wiley'sinstead. Jenny, her brother, and her four //////y^.children were alone in the cabin while her V/////^-husband, Tom was at a nearby settlement.There had been wordof Indian activity in thearea and Jenny was preparing to go torelative's home until Tom's return when ai/z/z^gBgroup of Shawnee and Cherokee raided ihe->//7^^^cabin. In the surprise attack, Jenny saw herbrother and all of her children, except therC///infant, brutally tomahawked and scalped. l''jWA

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screamed furiously and met the same fate as did hisbrother. Jenny was sentenced to die at the stake but wasbought, at the last moment, by an old Cherokee chiefimpressed by herstoiccalm in the face of such a painfuldeath. She was reduced to slavery and made to do menialchores but, also, taught the chief's squaws to make cloth.

This band of Indians moved to an area around LittleMud Lick Creek in Johnson County, Kentucky and setup permanent camp. As the weeks passed, the Indians•>/. relaxed their vigilance toward Jenny. One

/> dark and rainy night, much like it waswhen^^Yy'y^yVy captured, Jenny found her chance to^^yyyyy^/^ escape. Although she was not exactly sure^"Hy yyyyy. where she was orwhich direction she wantedrTr^y/zz to go, but with the knowledge for the woods

• she had gained from her captors and her{ 'B^yy renewed will to survive, she began her trip•BfffYy home eluding the Indians that pursued her.

Variations of the legend have Jenny guidedhome by dreams, psychic phenomena,fantasies, and Divine Providence intervening

SL-A \y on her behalf. She made it to a newly settledV area and, with some difficulty and the aid ofi Henry Skaggs, crossed to Big Sandy^^3 y^ River to safety just as the Indians caught up

/ / / withher. She wasgivenshelterandallowedto^^^y/yy ^^st before continuing her trip. Agroup of

^hese settlers went with Jenny on theremainingportion of her journey, fighting off

. yyy one last attempt by the Indians to recapture. yyyy/ .

yyyyyy her.

Y/yYy^/ Finally, in the Spring of 1790, she was• reunited with her husband, Tom, and theWileys began to rebuild their shattered family byeventually having five more children. The Wileysemigrated to the Big Sandy valley in 1800. Thomas diedin 1810 butJenny lived until 1831, dying at theageof 71.Both are buried in the Big Sandy area, Jenny's gravebeing located at River, Kentucky.

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Jenny and the child were taken captive,//V jr/*beginning months of incredible hardships.

Upon Tom Wiley's return, an immediate,search was begun. Tom was not an Texperienced woodsman, and his search wasfruitless. Tice Harmon had led another party z/zzzzfVwhich did find Jenny and her captors, V////^\fhowever, a raging and uncrossable river ^////^,,separatedthemand, inthe end, Jenny waslost ^Y///,to rescue.

The march toward the West with the Indians was ahard and continuous strain on Jenny, who was laden withchild and her infant son. When it was apparent that shewas lagging behind, her son was slain so that shemightkeep faster pace.

As the months passed and camp after camp wasmade,Jenny became accustomed tothehard Indian life. Severalmonths into her captivity, she gave birth to a son. At theage of three months, he was given an Indian test ofcourage, whereby he was lied to a flat piece of wood andclinnf»H Intn fhp stream to see if he would crv. He