Captain Aaron Fontaine
Capt. Aaron Fontaine
[Virginia gentleman and planter, migrated to KY in 1798; had French Huguenot ancestry]
born: 1753
died: 1823, age 70
married: Barbara Terrell (1st wife), Elizabeth T. Thruston (2nd wife, mother of 10
already, they had 4 more children)
Barbara Terrell (Fontaine) of Virginia
born: 1756
died: 1798
[Barbara's great-grandmother, Mary Waters, was associated with the court of Charles II in
France]
children: 12
1. Peter Fontaine
born: 1774
married: Catherine Taylor, 1798
2. James Fontaine (tavern keeper)
born: 1776
married: Deborah Hobbs, March 1799
1. ?
Fontaine
1. Charles Beauregard Fontaine
1. Ruth Fontaine Scott
3. Mary Ann Fontaine
born: 1778
married: Fortunatus Crosby, 1795
4. Eliza Fontaine
born: 1780
married: Edmund Bullock (speaker of the KY house of representatives),
1799
children: Mary (m. Maj. Thomas Hart Shelby), Edmund, William F. Bullock
5. Matilda Fontaine
born: 1782
died: 1850
married: Thomas Prather (b. 1770, d. 1823; conducted a general store;
early millionaire)
children: James, William(m. Penelope Pope), Mary Jane, Matilda, Maria,
Julia, Catherine Cornelia (m. Rev. E. P. Humphrey)
6. Martha Fontaine
born: 1785
children: Penelope Pope (m. William Prather), Martha (1. m Charles
Pope, 2. m. Rev. E. P. Humphrey)
7. Sally Fontaine
born: 1787
8. Maria Fontaine
born: 1789
9. America Fontaine
born: 1791
10. William Fontaine
born: 1793
11. Barbara Fontaine
born: 1794
12. Ann Overton (nicknamed Nancy) Fontaine
born: 1796
married: John I. Jacob
children: Matilda Prather Jacob,
The nine Fontaine girls were daughters to Capt. Aaron Fontaine, a Virginia gentleman and planter, who migrated to Kentucky in 1798. Aaron settled first on the banks of Harrod's Creek, moving shortly into Louisville. He and his wife, the former Barbara Terrell, came of French Huguenot ancestry and their ancestors were associated with Charles II.
When the Fontaines set out for Kentucky, Aaron's 42 year old wife died, and his eldest daughter, Mary Ann, 20, took command. She had married Fortunatus Cosby three years before and had an infant girl. Her eight sisters were Eliza, 18, Matilda, 16, Martha, 13, Sally, 11, Maria, 9, America, 7, Barbara, 4, and two-year-old Ann Overton (nicknamed Nancy). Brothers were 24-year old Peter, James, 22, and William, five.
Matilda married Thomas Prather, and took care of Nancy, who married Prather's business partner, John I. Jacob. Nancy's first baby bore the name Matilda Prather Jacob.
Aaron purchased a large farm on the banks of the Ohio River that is now Louisville's west end. He also bought a ferry franchise - Fontaine's Ferry.
Peter wed Catherine Taylor in 1798; James, who became a tavern keeper, wed Deborah Hobbs in March, '99.
Eliza married Edmund Bullock a few months later, a former speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives. Eliza moved with her groom to Fayette County. Eight years later she died. Her children were Mary (m. Maj. Thomas Hart Shelby), Edmund, and Willliam Fontaine Bullock. William F. Bullock came to Lousville in 1828 and became a lawyer. Edmond Bullock, his father, came to live with him until dying in 1852.
Back to Matilda and Tom Prather - Tom and his brother-in-law partner, John Jacob, became two of the city's earliest millionaires. He and Matilda had six children - James, William, Mary Jane, Matilda, Maria Julia, and Catherine Cornelia. Thomas Prather died in 1823 at the age of 53; Matilda lived 27 more years.
Matilda's William married her sister Martha's daughter, Penelope Pope. When Matilda's daughter, Catherine Cornelia, died, her widower, the Rev. E. P. Humphrey, married Martha's daughter, Martha, a widow of her cousin, Charles Pope!
Aaron remarried to Mrs. Elizabeth T. Thruston in 1805, fathered 4 more children, and died in 1823 at the age of 70.