Samuel Gwathmey, the husband of Mary Booth, was one of the trustees who laid off the town of Jeffersonville in 1802, and was long a resident of that place, and intimately connected with early Indiana history. He was appointed clerk of Clark county, Indiana territory, in 1801 and treasurer in 1802. He was a member of the first legislative council of Indiana territory, and further mention will be made of him in that connection. He held a number of offices, and on one occasion, at least, held two at the same time, which caused a curious question to arise, as to whether he could properly be the custodian of his own bond. He referred the matter to General John Gibson, the secretary of the territory, in an interesting letter, now before the author, and its tone clearly shows the nice sense of honor and propriety of the man.
He was an Episcopalian in religion, a man of high character, fine business qualifications, and was long the president of a bank in Louisville. He was the first register of the land office at Jeffersonville, and held it until he was removed by General Jackson for political reasons. He was the owner of slaves in Indiana during the territorial period. He had five children, Marie, William, Balor H., Rebecca and Mary Eliza. Rebecca became the wife of Henry Tyler and mother of Henry S. Tyler, at present mayor of Louisville (1895). Samuel Gwathmey died in 1850, in the seventy-second year of his age.
