"Old Joe" has the distinction of being America's first known brand of bourbon whiskey. It was crafted by JOSEPH PEYTON (1787-1859) and manufactured from about 1818 to 1840, by the Old Joe Distilling Company, which is now closed and in ruins. It is supposed that JOSEPH PEYTON built the distillery shortly after arriving in Kentucky by way of canoe in 1818. Originally going by the name “Old Joe,” PEYTON’s products were hugely successful. After the distillery was sold to Gratz Hawkins, it was renamed Old Prentice. The distillery ended up changing ownership frequently, once purchased by the Ripley Brothers. Finally, in 1888, it was bought by Paul Jones who registered it under its current name. In 1917, the still was closed, and then reopened in 1933, as the Old Prentice Distillery. Today, in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, sits the Spanish Mission style distillery, Four Roses, also known as "Old Joe's." This distillery is possibly one of the loveliest in the United States; currently it is also one of the most beloved, being named "2011 American Distiller of the Year" by Whisky Magazine.
JOSEPH PEYTON, SR. -- "son of BENJAMIN and ELLEN PEYTON was born about 1787 and died in Anderson County, Kentucky on March 11, 1859. His marriage bond to
ELIZABETH MCMICHAEL, daughter of JAMES MCMICHAEL was filed in Franklin County, Kentucky, November 6, 1811. A deed located in Anderson County, Kentucky
Deed BK E, pp. 233-234, dated July 14, 1842 would indicate JOSEPH and ELIZABETH MCMICHAEL PEYTON agreed to separate due to unhappy differences. Forty acres
and personal property deeded to BENJAMIN PEYTON in trust as her full part of alimony. On October 19, 1848, Deed BK G, p. 127 mentions land devised to ELIZABETH PEYTON, SR. AND her children, by her father JAMES MCMICHAEL, deceased to BENJAMIN PEYTON. ELIZABETH PEYTON, age 63, born Virginia appears on the 1850 census
for Anderson County, Kentucky, page 205. It is believed ELIZABETH died sometime prior to the 1860 census in Anderson County, Kentucky." ( "Genealogies of Franklin County Families" )
JOSEPH "Old Joe" PEYTON appears with his parents, wife and son, on page 100 of PEYTONs Along the Aquia Genealogy, where his descent from the PEYTONs of early Colonial Virginia and England is documented.
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