by cowdery » Sun Jan 22, 2012 2:50 pm
I had some contact back in 2003 with a guy named Paul Myers who said he was a descendant and had done some interesting research, but we lost contact. I recall there were some interesting connections, or possible connections, to the Beam family. He suspected Myers may have been Jacob Beam's mentor and his research supported that to some extent. Overall, the story of Jacob Myers is pretty remarkable, starting with his capture by indians as a child. It's well documented that he was operating a mill and distillery before 1781, which would make him early though not necessarily first. His niece was married to Jacob Beam. He is credited as starting the first ironworks in Kentucky.