AX

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Purchased from the income
of the bequest of
WILLIAM ROBERTSON COE
Honorary M.A. 1949, for
material in the field
of American Studies.

HU MAXWELL

THEE

hiistory of F^andolph) County,

West Virginia.

From Its Earliest S^ttlemfeQt to the Present,

Embracing Records, op all the Leading Families, Reminiscences
AND Tradition's, Early Life and Hardships, Internal Improve
ments, Roads, Mills, Forts, Courts, Officers, Soldiers,
Churches, Schools, Towns, Railroads, Forests, Coal,
and other natural resources, giving special
Attention to the County's. Modern
History and Improvements.

The Civil War as it Affected the County and People, from the
Official Records Both Federal and Confederate, Including
Personal Sketches and Adventure. Also Randolph's
Part in the French and Indian War, the Revo
lution, THE War op 1812, the Mexican
and the Spanish War.

111-uLStra.ted..  ^ 
1898.
The Acme Publishing Company,
Morgantown, W. Va.

INTRODUCTION.

-:0:-

Randolph County was forced from Harrison in 1787 and included all
of the present county of Tucker, all of Barbour east of the river, all of Up
shur east of Buckhannon River, and a considerable portion of Pocahontas
and Webster. It lost territory in 1821 when Pocahontas was formed; again
in 1843 when Barbour came into existence, and in 1861 it gave up some of
its territory to Upshur, and five years later 350 square miles were cut off to
form Tucker; and in 1860 Webster took a strip; and after all of these losses
Randolph still is the largest county in the State. The white man's home on
the waters of the MOnongahela, within West Virginia, was first planted in
Randolph. In this county occurred the first Indian massacre in the State.
From that beginning, the county has been an historical center down to the
present. Great events have occured here, and men of wide fame have gone
forth from the valleys and mountains of the grand old county, and have
made their influence felt from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The writer of
this book has attempted to collect, to arrange and preserve traditions, rem
iniscences, annals, bipgraphies and all kindred elements of history, and save
them before too late. The task has not been easy nor the burden light. How
well he has succeeded must be judged by others. The field was new; no
one had entered it before, and the research through the century or more of
neglected and almost forgotten fragments of history was not a holiday ex
cursion. At the conclusion of the French and Indian War, when the tide of im
migration came over the mountains into the Ohio Valley, it came in three
great streams, one by way of Cumberland into the lower Monongahela Val
ley; another, by way of the Greenbrier, into the Kanawha Valley; while the
third — which, for some reason, historians have almost totally ignored—
pushed along old Indian trails across the AUeghanies into Randolph County,
into the Cheat Valley and into the Buckhannon country. This third avenue
of immigration is given, in this book, the prominence which it deserves.
It was of no less importance in working out the destiny of the West than

4 INTRODUCTION.
were the great lines of travel to Pittsburg and down the Kanawha. The
ancestors of men of international fame came through the wilderness into
Tygart's Valley with no guide but obscure Indian trails.
The plan of this book embraces three divisions. The first is a carefully
prepared, though condensed, history of West Virginia, as a whole; the sec
ond is a strictly county history; and part third is biography. The reason
why the State history was included is that comparatively few persons pos-
a history oi West Virginia; particularly i^this true in the rural districts.
The three departments, united in one volume, supply not only the his
tory of the State, but also the local history of the county, and the family
records of thousands of persons who have taken part in the county's affairs.
It is a duty and a pleasure to acknowledge in this place the valuable
assistance rendered by others in the work of preparing this book. The
people of Randolph in general were willing to assist, and help was obtained
from many sources not here enumerated, but special mention should be
made of the following persons who supplied information on subjects with
which they had special acquaintance: Hon. Thomas J. Arnold, of San Diego,
Cal. ; Hon. Benjamin Wilson, of Clarksburg; Hon. H. G. Davis, G. W. Printz,
Hon. B. W. Smith, of Lafayette, Ind. ; Thomas B. Scott, Col. Henry Hay-
mond, of Clarksburg; Col. Elihu Button, Adam C. Rowan, Prof. John G.
Knutti, of Fairmont; Warwick Button, Jacob W. Marshall, Major Joseph
F. Harding, Miss Helen M. Womelsdorff, Alfred Button, Archibald Wilmoth,
S. N. Bosworth, Daniel R. Baker, Jacob Wees, L. D. Strader, William H.
Wilson, Lee Crouch, Dr. George W. Yokum, Mrs. Nancy Wilmoth, Eli H.
Crouch, G. C. Lytle, Dr. A. S. Bosworth, Capt. Sampson Snyder, Alexander
Logan, Prof. James H. Logan, Col. Melvin Currence, Claude Phillips, H. B.
Marshall, John M. Wood, Hon. A. W. Coiiey, of Sutton; E. D. Talbott,
Ezra P. Hart, Hon. Randolph Stalnaker, of Wheeling; Hon. Harmon Sny
der, Kent B. Crawford, Omar Conrad, Patrick Crickard, Jesse W. Goddin
and Floyd J. Triplett.

TABLE OF CONTENTS,

-:0:-

PART FIRST— STATE HISTORY.

GHAPTLR I.
Explorations West of the Blue Ridge.
Capt. Batte's Expedition . . Governor Spotswood Reaches the Base of
the Alleganies . . The South Branch Valley Explored . . Washington's Sur
veying Tour.. The Greenbrier River .. Christopher Gist's Journey. .. Pro
posed German Colony . . Settlement Forbidden West of the AUeghanies . .
Soldiers Attempt to Drive Colonists Out . . Settlements on the Ohio and
Monongahela . . Population of West Virginia . . Land Titles . . 19-24.
CHAPTER II.
Indians and Moundbuilders.
West Virginia's Territory Uninhabited . . The Mohawk Invasion . . Mound-
builders and Indians Probably Identical . . Their Origin Unknown . . America
Had Pre-Historic Inhabitants . . Estimated Number of Indians ¦ Bast of the
Mississippi . . 25-28. CHAPTER in.
The French and Indian War.
The Scheme of France . . Contest for the Ohio Valley . . The French
Build Forts . . England Interferes . . Washington's Journey to the West . . The
French Use Force . . English Troops Skirmish with Jumonville . . Battle at
Fort Necessity . . Washington Surrenders . . Braddock's Campaign . . His De
feat and Death . . Indians Attack the Settlements . . Expedition Under Forbes
. . Fort Duquesne Falls . . France Loses the Ohio Valley . . 29-38.
CHAPTER IV.
The Dunmore War.
Causes Leading to Hostilities . . Forerunner of the Revolution . . En
gland's Scheme to Intimidate . . The Quebec Act . . Lord Dunmore . . His Greed
for Land . . Indians Take Up the Hatchet . . Two Virginia Armies Invade the
Indian Country. .Battle of Point Pleasant. .Treaty at Camp Charlotte. .Al
leged Speech of Logan . . The Indians Make Peace . . 39-46.

6 TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
West Virginia in the Revolution
Meeting at Fort Gower. .Resolutions Passed .. Meetings at Pittsburg
and Hannastown.. Soldiers from the Monongahela .. Attempted Tory Up
risings Suppressed . . Patriotism on the Greenbrier . . Pour Indian Armies
Invade West Virginia . . Numerous Incursions . . Cornstalk Assassinated . .
First Siege of Fort Henry . . Capt. Foreman Ambushed . . Simon Girty Joins
the Indians . . Fort Randolph Besieged . . General Clark Marches to the West
. . Last Battle of the Revolution . . Expeditions Against the Indians . . Gen
eral Wayne Conquers the Savages... 47 — 56.
CHAPTER VI
Subdivision and Boundaries.
Virginia's Western Territory . . Jealousy of other States . . The Contro
versy . . Virginia Cedes to the General Government Her Territory West of
the Ohio. .Mason and. Dixon's Line.. Other Boundary Lines .. Contest with
Maryland . .Virginia's Original Eight Counties . . Table of Population . . 57-65.
CHAPTER VII
The Newspapers of West Virginia.
Humble Beginnings . . The First Newspaper . . Others Enter the Field . .
Ephemeral Character of Country Journalism . . The Editor's Mistakes and
Successes . . 66-70. CHAPTEP VIIL
Geography, Geology and Climate.
The Rock-History of West Virginia . . Mountain-Building . . Valley-Sculp
ture .. The Plateau of West Virginia .. Influences Acting on Climate.. How
Coal was Formed . . The Rain Winds and the Rainless Winds . . Rainfall and
Snowfall . . Formation of Soil . . Fertility and Sterility . . Fertilizing Agents . .
Altitudes in West Virginia. .71-82.
CHAPTER IX.
Among Old Laws.
Examination of and Extracts from Virginia's Early Statutes . . Death
Penalty for Petty Crimes . . Cruel Punishments . . Condemned Prisoners For
bidden Spiritual Advice . . Law against Gossiping . . Hog Stealing . . Special
Laws for Slaves. .Horse Thieves "utterly excluded " . .Pillories. .Whipping
Posts, Stocks and Ducking Stools . . li'ees of Sheriffs and Constables . . Tavern-
Keepers . . Ferries . . 83 — 88. CHAPTER X.
Constitutional History.
The Bill of Rights .. Constitution of 1776. .Freedom of the Press..
Schools not Mentioned .. Restricted Suffrage .. Constitution of 1830.. Mem-

TABLE OF CONTENTS. 7
bers West of the Mountains Advocate Greater Liberty . . Overruled . . Educa
tion Neglected .. Constitution of 1852 .. Line Drawn Between the East and
West .. Property against Men.. West Virginia's First Constitution .. The
Slavery Question. .Constitution of 1872 .. Enlarged Suffrage; .89-104.
CHAPTER XL
John Brown's Raid.
His Purpose . . The Attempt . . Capture, Condemnation and Execution
..105.. 108. CHAPTER XIL
The Ordinance of Secession.
Causes and Beginning . . The Richmond Convention . . Delegates from
Western Virginia . . Stormy Sessions . . The Vote . . Western Delegates
Secretly Leave Richmond. .Virginia Seizes United States Property. .109-112.
CHAPTER XIIL
The Reorganized Government of Virginia.
Mass Meetings West of the AUeghanies . . First Wheeling Convention . .
Its Members . . Vote on the Ordinance of Secession . . Second Wheeling Con
vention. .The Delegates .. New Officers Chosen for Virginia. .113-119.
CHAPTER XIV.
Formation of West Virginia.
The United States Constitution Provided a Way . . The Several Steps . .
President Lincoln's Opinion . . The BUI Signed . . 120-125.
CHAPTER XV.
Organizing for War.
Call for Volunteers by Virginia . . Troops Sent Across the AUeghanies .
Muskets Sent to Beverly by the Confederates . . Guns from Massachusetts
Reach Wheeling .. Federals Cross the Ohio.. Fight at Philippi .. Confede
rates Fortify in Randolph . . General Garnett in Command . . General McClel-
lan Arrives . . Defeat of the Confederates at Rich Mountain . . Garnett's re
treat .. 126-137. CHAPTER XVI.
Progress of the War.
General Lee in West Virginia . . Expedition against Cheat Mountain and
Elkwater. .General Loring's Army. .Movements in the Kanawha Valley. .
Quarrel Between Generals Wise and Floyd . . Federals Defeated at Cross
Lanes.. Confederates Worsted at Gauley Bridge .. Further Fighting .. Con
test for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. .Governor Letcher's Proclama
tion.. 138-146.

8 TABLE OP CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVII
Chronology of the War.
List and Dates of Important Movements in West Virginia . . 147-170.
PART SECOND— COUNTY HISTORY,
CHAPTER XVIII
Early Settlements and Indian Troubles.
Traders Reach the Ohio... Trails and Roads Over the AUeghanies... Sur
veys for Canals... The Mountain Wilderness... Files and Tygart... Mythical
Indian Towns... Tygart's Valley Settled... Forts Built... Indian Raid in 1777
...Ambuscade above Elkwater... The Leading Creek Massacre... Timothy
Dorman's Raid. . . The last Indian Incursion, 1791. . . 175-187.
CHAPTER XIX.
Court Notes of a Century.
Organization of Randolph . . County Seat Selected . . Officers Appointed
. . County Laid Off into Districts . . First Town . . Lawyers Licensed . . Public
Buildings . . Numerous Indictments . . The " Public Square " . . Superior Court
Proceedings . . Twelve Court Houses . . War Reminiscences in Court Records
. . List of Military Offices . . The Beginnings of Roads . . Marriage Licenses in
Thirty years . . Wild Animals of Randolph . . Early Randolph Law Latin . .
Slaves in Randolph . . Early Prices and Money Matters . . The Annals of the
Poor . . List of Sheriffs . . Clerks . . Surveyors . . Assessors . . Justices . . Pros
ecuting Attorneys . . Coroners . . County Commissioners . . Judges . . Constables
. . Superintendents of Schools . . Old Wills . . List of Lawyers . . Supervisors . .
Board of Registration . . 188-235. CHAPTER XX.
Randolph's Share in the Civil War.
First Encounter of Opposing Forces . . Rich Mountain . . Laurel Hill . .
Garnett's Retreat. .Cheat Mountain and Elkwater. .Imboden's Raids. .Jack
son's Raid. .Hill's Raid. .Rosser's Raid,
CHAPTER XXI.
Mountains and Valleys of Randolph.
Altitudes, Distances and Directions .. Sculpture of Tygart's Valley..
Coal Fields of Randolph. .Old River Terraces .. The Buttons ville Gravel
Deposits.. Limestone Caves.. Ledge of Flint.. Salt Sulphur Springs... In
dian "Lead Mines." CHAPTER XXIL
Miscellaneous Historical Notes.
The West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railroad... Newspapers of Ran
dolph... Roster of Soldiers... Old Land Patents... Swiss Colony at Alpina...
The Last Elk... Pre-historic Mounds... Religious Denominations... Notes,

TABLE OF CONTENTS. 9
PLATES.
Frontispiece  , 
Solomon C. Caplinger and Archibald Wilmoth  316
Col David Goff  389
Hon. Washington J. Long  .431
Elam D. Talbott  481
WUliam G. Wilson  ,  499
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Map of Hampshire County, 1755  ! 61
Grave of the Connolly familly  187
Signatures of Early Sheriffs  221
Signatures of Circuit Clerks  222
Signatures of Early Justices of the Peace  .*  224
Signatures of Circuit Judges  227
First Court-House built by Randolph County  235
The Lone Tree  239
Battlefield of Rich Mountain  240
Snyder's Knob  267
The Sculpture of Tygart's Valley  271
Columnar Section of Rock  274
Burried Logs near Beverly  276
Map showing Indian Trail  296
Lorenzo Dow's Stopping Place  302
Site of the FUes Cabin  307
Map showing Indian Trails  308
Site of WestfaU's Fort  309
A Primitive Cabin  310
Cowger's MUl  310
Elder Thomas CoUett's Church  ». 313
Washington's Map  315
The Old Wilson Plantation  491

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS,

Arnold, T J, San Diego Cal.
Ansteregg, Jacob, Newlon W. Va.
Armentrout, Solomon, Elkins, "
Armentrout, C S, Hortcn "
AUen, JM, Elkins .
.Alt, Mrs. Rebecca M, Dry Fork "
Backstrom, P G F, Elkins
Baker, S L, Beverly "
Baker, WE"
Baker, D R "
Bally, C, Pickens
Bazier, Rev. E R, Beverly "
Ball, D W, Rich Mountain "
Bent, J A, Elkins "
Bell, J N C, Lee BeU
Beatty, George, Mingo "
Bennett, E J, Dry Fork
Bennett, A J, Harman "
Blizzard, S C, "
Blackman, S R, Parsons "
Blackman, Mrs. WT, Hastings, Neb.
Bosworth, Dr. A S, Beverly, W. Va.
Bosworth, S N, " "
Bosworth, Dr. J L, Huttonsville ' '
Bowers, J O, Harman "
Bowers, WO, " "
Bodkin, Mrs Nellie E, Harman "
Bonner, H P, Dry Fork "
Bonner, M J, '• "
Bonner, EL, " "
Brown, T P R, Beverly ' '
Brown, P W, Huttonsville "
Brown, S I, Harding "
Bradley, A M, Elkins "
Brandley, A, " "

Butcher, B L, Fairmont W. Va.
Buckey, Dr. D P, Beverly "
Buckey, Mrs. Lizzie, " "
Byron, L C, VaUey Head "
Caplinger, Miss Rizpah, Mingo "
Caplinger, Miss Hattie B, Beverly
Caplinger, J C, Beverly W. Va.
Canfield, H C,
CampbeU, L H, Elkins "
Campbell, EB,
Carr, G A, Dry Fork
Carr, Joseph, " "
Carr, J G
Channell, J H, HuttonsvUle "
Channell, I W, Elkms
Channell, G N, Kerens "
Chaff ey, Richard, Elkins "
Clark, G 0, Hemlock
Clayton, Mrs Lily M, Job "
Coberly, James, Elkins "
Coberly, J A, Elkins
Coberly, D E, Montrose "
Coberly, J G, Montrose "
Coberly, J G, Alpina "
Collier, W H, Elkins
CoUett, L D, Elkins
Collett, Parkison, Beverly "
CoUett, E T, Kerens "
Collett, Mrs. Louisa, Beverly "
Conrad, W P, Huttonsville
Conrad, Samuel, Valley Head "
Conrad, Lloyd, " "
Conrad, C C " "
Conrad, W H, " "
Conrad, H J, " "

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS".

11

Conrad, Omar,. Beverly W. Va.
Coff, C M, Mingo
Corley, AW, Sutton "
Cooper, Daniel, Beverly "
Cooper, Valentine, Harman "
Cooper, E J, Harman "
Collins, Sampson, Dry Fork "
Crawford, Emmet, Beverly, "
Crawford, K B, Beverly ' '
Crickard, C C, Crickard "
Crickard, Patrick, Crickard "
Crickard, J R, Valley Head
Crittenden, Dr. TB, Horton "
Crouch, Lee, Beverly "
Crouch, Abraham, Elkwater "
Crouch, EU H, Elkwater "
Cunningham, George, Elkins "
Cunningham, Dr. J L, Pickens "
Cunningham, A M, Parsons "
Cunningham, E A, Beverly "
Cunningham, J A, Alpina "
Cunningham, H V, Rich Mt. "
Cunningham, J S, Harman "
Cunningham, Mrs M E, Harman "
Cunningham, Mrs C B, Job "
Cunningham, D S, Job "
Cunningham, G W, Elkins "
Cunningham, B Y, Horton "
Cunningham, Geo W, Elkins, "
Curtis, Joseph, Crickard "
Curtis, Lester, Elkins "
Curtis, G M, Horton
Currence, Melvin, Crickard. "
Currence, M H, Elkins, "
Daniels, M L, Beverly, "
Daniels, H W, Elkins
Daniels, Rev. W P, Lick
Daniels, P C, Beverly "
Day, Mrs. Sarah A, Faulkner, "
Day, S L, Elkins,
Dann, Wm. H, Elkins,
Denton, Julia B, Kerens, "
DeWitt, J H, Elkins,

DeArmit, Austin, Montrose W.
Digman, W. J, Montrose
Dorcas, L B, Horton
Durkin, Miss Aliyce, Monroe
Earle, D A, Elkins
Elkins, Hon. S B, Elkins
Elza, J S, Rich Mountain
Fahrion, Lew, Pickins
Ferguson, Moses, Montrose
Ferguson, C B, Montrose
Ferguson, John J, Kerens
Fisher, S H, Kerens
Fisher, Charles, Pickens
Fincham, D C, Long
Findley, A L, Monroe
Findley, J H, Monroe
Fitzwater, Clay, Beverly
Pint, J H, Rich Mountain
Fleegel, C L, Horton
Fox, J M, Valley Bend,
Ford, P F, Mabie
Fretwell, George, Blue Springs
Fueller, H C, Horton
Gainer, S W, Montrose
Gainer, M L, Montrose
Garnett, Rev. J A, Elkins
Gawthrop, J J W, Huttonsville
Gawthrop, J E, Huttonsville
Gibson, J N, Elkins
Gibson, J A, Job
Glannon, Patrick, Laurel
Goddin, J W, Elkins
Goff, Mrs. Annie A, Beverly
Golden, Benjamin, Horton
Golden, Dr. W W, Elkins
Griffith, W P, Elkins
Greynolds, Lew, Beverly
Greynolds, Delbert, Beverly
Graham, J W, Harman
Grose, M F, Beverly
Harding, C W, Beverly
Harper, S W, Faulkner

Va.

12

LIST OP SUBSCRIBERS.

Harper, J P, Circleville Kansas.
Harper, R M, Lick W. Va.
Harper J C, Harman "
Harper, J D, Harman "
Harper, D A, Elkins "
Harper, G W, Elkins
Harper, A E, Elkins
Hart, Mrs. M L, Beverly "
Haymond, Col. Henry, Clarksburg.
Hart, A P, Mabie W. Va.
Hart Hugh S, Havensville, Kansas.
Hart, A W, Beverly W. Va.
Hart, GM, Kerens
Hamilton, A Z, Elkwater "
Hamilton, Bolivar, Valley Head ' '
Hartman, J W, Pickens ' '
Harris, Harman, Harman . "
Harris, R B, Beverly "
Hanley, James, Elkins "
Harman, Rev. Asa, Harman "
Harman, Joseph, " "
Harman, J Wm., " "
Harman, Silon, " "
Harman, D M, Job "
Heavener, J W, Montrose "
Hinchman, J E, Beverly "
High, Loren, Beverly, "
Howell, J E, Mabie
Houdyschell, A H, Beverly "
Hutton, Elihu, Huttonsville "
Button, Warwick,
Huber, Frank, Helvetia "
HuU, J C, Pickens
Huffman, Frank, Dry Pork "
Hyre, L J," Montrose ' '
Irvine, D G, Elkins "
[sner, Mrs. Sarah C, Beverly "
Jett, W P, Montrose "
Joyce, Miss Ella C, Laurel "
Johnson, J M, Beverly "
lohnson John, Dry Fork "
Tones, A. R, Elkins "

Jordan, Baxter, Job
Jordan, G M, Horton
Jordan, A F, Horton '
Judy, I H, Harman '
Kennedy, C W, Elkins <
Kelley, W S, Elkins
Kelley, Harrison, Roaring Creek '
Kesner, H P, Harman '
Keim, W H, Efkins '
King, O J, Beverly '
King, Andrew, Monroe '
Kittle, Leland, Beverly '
Kildow, J Ed, Beverly '
Kisamore, J H, Horton '
Kile, A A, Job '
Kile, E H, Dr,Job
Knutti, Emil, Alpina "
Knutti, J G, Fairmont "
Knutti, Jacob, Beverly "
Kunst, C W P, Grafton
Lamb, Calvin, Middle Pork "
Latham, G R, Beverly "
Lambert, Mrs. P J, Harmon "
Lambert, C E, Horton "
Lawson, P A, Elkins "
Lawson, H T, Montrose "
Lee, Richard, Huttonsville "
Leonard, G W, Beverly "
Leonard, F L, Beverly "
Lewis, H H, Newlon "
Lewis, A, Beverly "
Leary, Hamilton, Beverly "
Loyd, G W, Valley Bend
Lough, J V, Elkins "
Lough, G M, Elkins "
Long, G C, Valley Bend
Long, A J, Valley Bend "
Long, S B, Dry Pork «
Lytle, Gd, Elkins
MarstiUer, C M, Elkins "
MarstiUer, Lee, Elkins "
MarstiUer, J D, Womelsdorff "

W. Va.

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.

13

JSIayo,* C B, Pickens W. Va.
Mayo, W D, Pickens ' '
Marshall, J W, Mingo "
Marshall, H B, Mingo "
Mallow, G A, Harman "
Maxwell, L H, Fresno Cal.
Maxwell, C J, Kaufman Texas
Maxwell, 0 W, Parsons W. Va
Moore, J H, Montrose
Loore, C S, Elkins
Moore, W A, Huttonsville
Moore, B W, Mingo
Moore, Miss Ella, Elkins
Moore, Eli, Montrose
Moyers, Charles, Valley Head
Morral, J W, Harman
Mouse, S A, Elkins
Montoney, Mrs Nettie A, Job
Mojitoney, Dr. Decatur, Harman
MuUenhix, J W, Horton ,
Mustoe, C L, Kerens,
McLaughlin, L B, Beverly
McGraw, John T, Grafton
McAtee, W L, Blue Springs
McAtee, J M, Mingo
McQuain, L W, Beverly
McQuain, Lewis, Elkins
McCallif ter, J W,. Rich Mt.
McBee, J A, Rich Mt
McDariiel, A C Kerens
Nelson, John, Harman
Nelson, S K, Horton
O'Donnell, Manus, Beverly
Payne, Mrs Dora, Elkins
Payne, H H, Horton
Parsons, Joshua, Montrose
Parsons, M L, Montrose
Pennington, V B, Harman
Pennington, S J. "
Pennington, H C, "
Phares, J W, Elkins
Phares, WB, "

Phares, Leonard, Orlena W. Va.
Phares, Jacob, "
Phares, Abel, Laurel
Phares, Mrs. Helen, Elkins
Phillips, W S,
Phillips, E E W, Crickard
Phillips, Randolph, Womelsdorff
PhiUips, Claude, "
Phillips, G M, Beverly
Phillips, J J, Orlena
PhiUips, W S, Oilman
Posten, Wilbur, Huttonsville
Powers, H H W, Elkins
Potts, J O, Beverly
Potts, Rev. M P H, Elkins
Porter, W C, Harman
Pritt, Hugh, VaUey Bend
Pritt, R L,
Pritt, Riley, Beverly
Pritt, C S. " '
Putnam, V B, "
Purkey, D B, Kerens
Purkey, W H, "
Rader, Rev. B T, Elkins
Ranis, G W, Harman
Reger, S L, Elkins
Riggleman, M F, Mingo
Rinehart Rev. H G, Montana
Rowan, S A, Beverly
Rowan, HP, Mabie
Rohrbaugh, M H, Beverly
Rolston, Rev. Holmes, Horton
Roy, I P, Harman
Roy, A G, Dry Fork
Roy, M L, " "
Russell, T C, Crickard
Rush, Frederick, Adolph
Salisbury, G W, Monterville
Scott. C H, Elkins
Scott, J J, Crickard
Scott, G B, Womelsdorff
Scott, Edwin, Monroe

14

Scott, Jefferson, "
Scott, P W, Beverly
Scott, Mrs. Louise M, Beverly ' '
Schoonover, C J, Montrose ' '
Scruggs, W P, Horton "
Sharpless, C C, Kerens "
Shreve, N. H., Valley Bend "
Shaffer, H. L., Elkins
Shobe, Mrs. M J, Harman "
Shront, G W, Beverly
Sharp, W D, Mingo "
Shockey, Ira, Long ' '
Simmons, S G, Valley Head "
Simmons, W C, Elkwater ' '
Simmons, P C, Dry Fork ' '
Sims, G F, Pickens •' •
Sites, D A, Harman ' '
Smith, Charles, Valley Head ' '
Smith, M M, Elkins
Smith, Job, Dry Fork
Smith, W A, Dry Pork
Smith, M C, Job,
Smith, Hon. B W, Lafayette, Ind.
Snelson, P H, Elkins W. Va.
Snyder, Harmon, Valley Head "
Snyder, Howard, Beverly "
Snyder, P A, Harman "
Spies, Henry, Pickens "
Sturm, J A, Womelsdorff ' '
Sturm, L, Crickard "
Stalnaker, J P, Beverly • "
Stalnaker, Randolph, Wheeling ' '
Stalnaker, H T, Elkins "
Stalnaker, W R, "
Stalnaker, Miss Belle, Valley Bend.
Stalnaker, White, Beverly W. Va.
Stalnaker, R. M., Elkins "
Stalnaker, T J, " "
Stalnaker, T H, "
Stalnaker, D M, Kerens "
Stalnaker, Mrs. Edith M, Elkins "
Steeth, W H, Elkins "
Stanton, G J, Womelsdorff "

LIST OP SUBSCRIBERS.
W. Va

Strader, L D, Beverly W. Va,
Summerfield, T J, Job
Summerfield, W A, Harman "
Summerfield, Mordecai, Harman "
Summerfield, Vinson " "
Summerfield, J W,
Swecker, G C, Monterville "
Talbott, Dr. L W, Elkins
Talbott, E D, Beverly "
Talbott, N W. Valley Head "
Talbott, R H, Elkins '
Taylor, L M, Kerens "
Taylor, Blain W, Washington, D.C.
Taylor, E E, Elkins W. Va.
Taylor, Wm, Elkins "
Taylor, Lee, Elkins "
Taylor, Miss Annie L, Elkins "
Taylor, Mrs. Nannie E, Kerens "
Taylor, C M, Valley Head
Thomas, J W, Pembro "
Thomas, PhUip, Beverly "
ToUey, J F, Blue Springs
Triplett, W O, Kerens
Triplett, J W, Faulkner "
Triplett, F A, Kerens "
Triplett, EUjah, Elkins
Triplett, P J, Elkins
Vanscoy, B B, Kerens "
Vanscoy, D A, Kerens "
Vanpelt, L D, Elkwater
Valentine, A J, Parsons "
Vandevender, Wm, Monterville "
Vandevender,Sylvanus, Harman "
Vandevender, W P, Harman "
Vest, Joshua, Beverly "
Wamsley, J N, Elkins "
Wamsley, Z T, Crickard "
Wamsley, Mrs Minerva, Lee Bell "
Wamsley, S B, Lee BeU
Wamsley, F J, Lee BeU
Wamsley, E D, Elkwater
Wamsley, Miss B, Valley Bend "

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.

15

Vamsley, J L, Beverly W. Va
/Wamsley, C C, Beverly "
Vard, Lee M, Huttonsville ' '
Vard, S P, Crickard
/Vard, Iddo, Elkins "
Vard, J A, Delta Idaho
/Vard, H A, Mingo W. Va.
W&rd., Ray, Elkins
Ware, Jonas, Valley Head
/Vaybright, Mrs. Arthena, Job
/Vees, Levi, Montrose
?Vees, Emmet, Valley Bend
?Vees, Z D, Elkins
?Vees, A C, Beverly
Neese, H H, Elkins
^eese, Boyd, "
^ebley, Enoch, "
iVebley, PC, "
?Vestfall, Job, Beverly
Weymouth, Dr. J H, Elkins
iVhite, Bernard, Beverly
iVhite, French, Dry Fork
Nhite, D L, Job
iVhite, Amby, Rich Mountain
?V.hite, J L, Dry Fork
?7hite, R C, Rich Mountain
?7hite, J W, Job
iVTiite, Calip, Harman
Nhite, G W, Horton
Nhite, Felix, Job
^hite, Mrs. Sarah E, Job

White, J T, Harman W. Va.
White, A J, Harman
Whitecotton, G C, Dry Pork
Whitecotton, A D, Harman
Wilson, Hon. Benj., Clarksburg
Wilson, William Grant, Elkins
Wilson, W H, Beverly
WUson, D F, Horton
Wilmoth, A F, Elkins
Wilmoth, B P, "
Wilmoth, Oliver, "
Wilmoth, Elihu, Montrose
Wimer, C H, Elkins
Wise, J E, Huttonsville
Williams, J H, Beverly
Williams,' A D, Beverly
Wolfong, J A, Harman
Woolwine, Lewis, Elkins
Woodford D C, Alpina
Woodford, M S, Huttonsville
Wolfe, Mrs S J, Pickens
Womelsdorff, O C, Womelsdorff
Wood, A J, VaUey Head
Wood, C N, Mingo
Workman, A J, Laurel
Yokum, Dr H, Beverly
Yokuih, Bruce, Beverly
Yokum, Adam, Harman
Yeager, D. M., Womelsdorff
Zinn, A W, Huttonsville
Zehnder, John, Pickens

PART FIRST
State tj isto ry

CHAPTER L

-:o:-

EXPLORATIONS WEST OF BLUE RIDGE,
It is impossible to say when and where the first white man set foot on
the soil of what is now West Virginia. In all probability no record was
t'vev made of the flrst visit. It is well known that adventurers always push
into n^'w countries in advance of organized exploring parties ; and it is likely
that such was the case with AVest Virginia when it was only an unnamed
wilderness. Probably the Indians who waged war with the early colonists
of Virginia carried prisoners into this region on their hunting excursions.
Sixty-five years were required for the colonists of Virginia to become super
ficially acquainted with the country as far west as the Blue Ridge, which,
untU June, 1670, was the extreme limit of explorations in that direction. •
The distance frona Jamestown, the first colony, to the base of the Blue
Ridge, was two hundred miles. Nearly three-quarters of a century was
required to push the outposts of civilization two hundred miles, and that,
too, across a country favorable for exploration, and with little danger from
Indians during most of the time. In later years the outposts of civilization
moved westward at an average yearly rate of seventeen miles. The people
of Virginia were not satisfied to allow the Blue Ridge to remain the bound
ary between the known and unknown countries; and in 1670, sixty-three
years after the first settlement in the State, the Governor of Virginia sent
out an exploring, party under Captain Henry Batte, with instructions to
cross the mountains of the west, seek for silver and gold, and try to dis
cover a river flowing into the Pacific Ocean. Early in June of that year,
1(170, the explorers forced the height's of the Blue Ridge which they found
steep and rocky, and descended into the valley west of that range. They
discovered a river flowing due north. The observations and measurements
made by these explorers perhaps satisfied the royal Governor who sent
them out; but their accuracy may be questioned. They reported that the
river which they had discovered was four hundred and fifty yards wide; its
banks in most places one thousand yards high. Beyond the river they said
they could see towering mountains destitute of trees, and crowned by white
cliffs, hidden much of the time in mist, but occasionally clearing sufficiently
to give a glimpse of their ruggedness. They expressed the opinion that
those unexplored mountains might contain silver and gold. They made no
attempt to cross the liver, but set out on their return. From their account
of the broad river and its banks thousands of feet high, one might suppose
that they had discovered the Canyon of the Colorado; but it was only New
River, the princij)le tributary of the Kanawha. The next year, 1671, the
Governor of Virginia sent explorers to continue the work, and they
remained a considerable time in the valley of New River. If they penetra
ted as far as the present territory of West Virginia, which is uncertain.

20 EXPLORATIONS WEST OF THE BLUE RIDGE.
they probably crossed the line into what is now Monroe or Mercer Counties.
Forty-five years later, 1716, Governor Spotswood, of Virginia, led an
exploring party over the Blue Ridge, across the Shenandoah River and to
the base of the Alleghany Mountains. Daring hunters and adventurers no
doubt were by that time acquainted with the geography of the eastern part
of the State. Be that as it may, the actual settlement of the counties of
Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire and Hardy was now at hand. The
gap in the Blue Ridge at Harper's Perry, made by the Potomac breaking
through that range, was soon discovered, and through that rocky gateway
the early settlers found a path into the Valley of Virginia, whence some of
them ascended the Shenandoah to Winchester and above, and others con
tinued up the Potomac, occupying Jefferson County and in succession the
counties above; and before many years there were settlements on the South
Branch of the Potomac. It is known that the South Branch was explored
within less than nine years after Governor Spotswood's expedition, and
within less than thirteen years there were settlers in that county.
Lord Fairfax claimed the territory in what is now the Eastern Panhandle
of West Virginia. But hiS boundary lines had never been run. The grant
called for a line dravsm from the head of the Potomac to the head of the
Rappahannock. Several years passed before it could be ascertained where
the fountains of those streams were. An exploring party under WiUiam
Mayo traced the Potomac to its source in the year 1736, and on December
14 of that year ascertained and marked the spot where the rainfall divides,
part flowing into the Potomac and part into Cheat River on the west. This
spot was selected as the corner of Lord Fairfax's land; and on October 17,
1746, a stone was planted there to mark the spot and has ever since been
called the Fairfax Stone. It stands at the corner of two states, Maryland
and West Virginia, and of four counties, Garrett, Preston, Tucker and
Grant. It is about half a mile north of the station of Fairfax, on the West
Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railroad, at an elevation of three thousand
two hundred and sixteen feet above sea level.
George Washington spent the summers of three years surveying the
estate of Lord Fairfax, partly in West Virginia. He began work in 1748,
when he was sixteen, and persecuted it with ability and industry. There
were other surveyors employed in the work as well as he. By means of
this occupation he became acquainted with the fertility and resources of the
new country, and he afterwards became a large land-holder in West Vir
ginia, one of his holdings lying as far west as the Kanawha. His knowledge
of the country no doubt had something to do with the organization of the
Ohio Comi)any in 1T4U, which was granted 500,000 acres between the Monon
gahela and the Kanawha. Lawrence Washington, a half brother of George
Washington, was a member of the Ohio Company. The granting of land
in this westei'n country no doubt had its weight in hastening the French
and Indian War of 1755, by which England acquired possession of the Ohio
Valley. The war would have come sooner or later, and England would have
secured the Ohio Valley in the end, and it Avould have passed ultimately to
the United States; but the events were hastened by Lord Fairfax's sending
the youthful Washington to survey his lands near the Potomac. While en
gaged in this work, Washington frequently met small parties of friendly
Indians. The presence of these natives was not a rare thing in the South
Branch country. Trees are still pointed out as the corners or lines of sur
veys made by Washington,

EXPLOITATIONS WEST OF THE BLUE RIDGE. 2l
About this time the lands on the Greenbrier River were attracting
attention. A large grant was made to the Greenbrier Company; and in
1749 and 1750 John Lewis surveyed this region, and settlements grew up in
a short time. The land was no better than the more easily accessible land
east of the Alleghany Mountains; but the spirit of adventure which has
always been characteristic of the American people, led the daring pioneers
into the wilderness west of the mountains, and from that time the outposts
of settlements moved down the Greenbrier and the Kanawha, and in twenty-
two years had reached the Ohio River. The frontiersmen of Greenbrier
were always foremost in repelling Indian attacks and in carrying the war
into the enemas country.
The eastern counties grew in population. Prior to the outbreak of the
French and Indian War in 1755, there were settlements all along the
Potomac River, not only in Jefferson, Berkeley and Hampshire, but also in
Hardy, Grant and Pendleton Counties. It is, of course, understood that
those counties, as now named, were not in existence at that time.
The Alleghany Mountains served as a barrier for awhile to keep back
the tide of emigration from the part of the State lying west of that range;
but when peace was restored after the French and Indian War the western
valleys soon had their settlements. Explorations had made the country
fairly well known prior to that time as far west as. the Ohio. Immense
tracts of land had been granted in that wilderness, and surveyors had been
sent to mark the lines. About the time of the survey of the Greenbrier
country, the Ohio Company sent Christopher Gist to explore its lands
already granted and to examine West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky for
choice locations in view of obtaining future grants. Mr. Gist, a noted char
acter of his time, and a companion of Washington a few years later, per
formed his task well, and returned with a report satisfactory to his em
ployers. He visited Ohio and Kentucky, and on his return passed up the
Kanawha and New Rivers in 1751, and climbed to the summit of the ledge of
rocks now known as Hawk's Nest, or Marshall's Pillar, overhanging the
New River, and from its summit had a view of the mountains and inhospit
able country.
In speaking of the exploration and settlement of West Virginia, it is
worthy of note that the Ohio River was explored by the French in 1749; but
they attempted no settlement within the borders of this State.
Had Virginia allowed religious freedom, a large colony would have been
planted on the Ohio Company's lands, between the Monongahela and the
Kanawha, about 1750, and this would probably have changed the early his
tory of that part of West Virginia. A colonjs in that territory would have
had its influence in the subsequent wars with the Indians. And when we
consider how little was lacking to form a new state, or province, west of
the AUeghanies about 1772, to be called Vandalia, it can be understood what
the result might have been had the Ohio Company succeeded in its scheme
of colonization. Its plan was to plant a colony of two hundred German
families on its land. The settlers were to come from eastern Pennsylvania.
All arrangements between the company and the Germans were satisfactory,
but when the hardy Germans learned that they would be in the province of
Virginia, and that they jaust become members of the English Church or
suffer persecution in the form of extra taxes laid on dissenters by the Epis
copacy of Virginia, they would not go, and the Ohio Company's colonization
scheme failed.

22 EXPLORATIONS WEST OP THE BLUB RIDGE.
Another effort to colonize the lands west of the AUeghanies, and from
which much might have come, also failed. This attempt was made by Vir
ginia. In 1752 the House of Burgesses offered Protestant settlers west of
the AUeghanies, in Augusta county, ten years' exemption from taxes; and
the offer was subsequently increased to fifteen years' exemption. The war
with the French and Indians put a stop to all colonization projects. Vir
ginia had enough to do taking care of her settlements along the western bor
der without increasing the task by advancing the frontier seventy-five miles
westward. The first settlement, if the occupation by three white men may
be called a settlement, on the Monongahela was made Suhtfat 1752. Thomas
Eckerly and two brothers, from eastern Pennsylvania, took up their home
there to escape military duty, they being opposed to war. They wished to
live in peace remote from civilized man, but two of them fell victims to the
Indians while the third was absent. Prior to 1753 two families had built
houses on the headwaters of the^^Monongahela, in what is now Randolph
County. The Indians murdered or drove them out in 1753. The next set
tlement was by a small colony near Morgantown under the leadership of
Thomas Decker. This was in 1758, while the French and Indian War was
at its height. The colony was exterminated by Indians.
In 1763, October 7, a proclamation was issued by the King of England
forbidding settlers from taking up land or occupying it west of the AUe
ghanies until the country had been bought from the Indians. It is not
known what caused this sudden desire for justice on the part of the king,
since nearly half the land west of the AUeghanies, in this State, had already
been granted to companies or individuals; and, since the Indians did not
occupy the land and there was no tribe within reach of it with any right to
claim it, either by occupation, conquest or discovery. Governor Fauquier,
of Virginia, issued three proclamations warning settlers west of the moun
tains to withdraw from the lands. No attention was paid to the proclama
tions. The Governors of Virginia and Pennsylvania were ordered, 1765, to
remove the settlers by force. In 1766 and the next year soldiers from Port
Pitt, now Pittsburg, were sent into West Virginia to dispossess the settlers.
It is not probable that the soldiers were over-zealous in carrying out the
commands, for the injustice and nonsense of such orders must have been
apparent to the dullest soldier in the West. Such settlers as were driven
away returned, and affairs went on as usual. Finally Pennsyvania bought
the Indian lands within its borders; but Virginia, after that date, never paid
the Indians for any lands in West Virginia. The foregoing order was the
first one forbidding settlements in West Virginia north of the Kanawha and
west of the AUeghanies. Another order was issued ten years later. Both
were barren of results. The second will be spoken of more at length in
the account of the incorpoi-ation of part of Ohio in the Province of Quebec.
Settlements along the Ohio, above and below Wheeling, wore not made
until six or seven years after the close of the French and Indian War.
About 1769 and 1770 the Wetzels and Zaiies took up land in that vicinity,
and others followed. Within a few years Wheeling and the territory above
and below, formed the most prosperous community west of the AUeghanies.
That part of the State suffered from Indians who came from Ohio, but the
attacks of the savages could not break up the settlements, and in 1790, five
years before the close of the Indian war, Ohio County had more than five
thousand inhabitants, and Monongalia had nearly as many.
During the Revolutionary War parts of the interior of the State were

EXPLORATIONS WEST OF THE BLUE RIDGE. 23
occupied by white men. Harrison County, in the vicinity of Clarksburg and
further west, was a flourishing community four or five years before the
Revolution. Settlers piished up the West Pork of the Monongahela, and
the site of Weston, in Lewis County, was occupied soon after. Long before
that time frontiersmen had their cabins on the Tygart Valley River as far
south as the site of Beverly, in Randolph County. The first settlement in
Wood County, near Parkersburg, was made 1773, and the next year the site
of. St. George, in Tucker County, was occupied by a stockade and a few
houses. Monroe County, in the southeastern part of the state, was reclaimed
from the wilderness fifteen years before the Revolution, and Tyler county's
first settlement dates back to the year 1776. Pocahontas was occupied at a
date as early as any county west of the AUeghanies, there being white set
tlers in 1749, but not many. Settlements along the Kanawha were pushed
westward and reached the Ohio River before 1776.
The population of West Virginia at the close of the Revolution is not
known. Perhaps an estimate of thirty-five thousand would not be far out
of the way. In 1790 the population of the territory now forming West Vir
ginia was 55,873; in 1800 it was 78,592, a gain of nearly forty per cent, in
ten years. In 1810 the population was 105,469, a gain of thirty-five per
cent, in the decade. The population in 1820 was 136,768, a gain of nearly
twenty-three per cent. In 1830 there were 176,924, a gain in ten years of
over twenty-two percent. In 1840 the population was 224,537, a gain of
more than twenty-one per cent. The population in 1850 was 302,313, a gain
in the decade of more than twenty-five per cent. In 1860 the population
was 376, 388, a gain of more than twenty-two per cent. In 1870 the popula
tion was 442,014, a gain in ten years of nearly fifteen per cent. In 1880 the
population of the State was 618,457, a gain of twenty-six per cent. In 1890
the population of the State was 762,794, a gain of more than twenty-three
per cent, in ten years.
Land was abundant and cheap in the early days of West Virginia set
tlements, and the State was generous in granting land to settlers and to
companies. There was none of the formality required, which has since been
insisted upon. Pioneers usually located on such vacant lands as suited
them, and they attended to securing a title afterwards. What is usually
caUed the "tomahawk right" was no right in law at all; but the persons
who had such supposed rights were usually given deeds for what they
claimed. This process consisted in deadening a few trees near a spring or
brook, and cutting the claimant'sname in the bark of trees. This done, he
claimed the adjacent land, and his right was usually respected by the fron
tier people, but there was very naturally a limit to his pretensions. He
must not claim too much; and it was considered in his favor if he made some
improvements, such as planting corn, within a reasonable time. The law
of Virginia gave such settler a title to 400 acres, and a pre-emption to 1,000
more adjoining, if he built a log cabin on the claim and raised a crop of
corn. Commissioners were appointed from time to time, some as early as
1779, who visited different settlements and gave certificates to those who
furnished satisfactory proof that they had complied with the law. These
certificates were sent to Richmond, and if no protest or contest was filed in
six months, the settler was given a deed to the land. It can thus be seen
that a tomahawk right could easily be merged into a settler's right. He
could clear a little land, build his hut, and he usually obtained the land.
The good locations were the first taken, and the poorer land was left until

24 EXPLORATlOifS "WEST OP THE BLUE RIDgS.
somebody wanted it. The surveys were usually made in the crudest ma;
ner, often without accuracy and without ascertaining whether they ove
lapped some earlier claim or not. The foundation was laid for many futui
law suits, some of which may still be on the court dockets of this State.
is said that there are places in West Virginia where land titles are fii
deep. Some of them are old colonial grants, stretching perhaps across tii
or three counties. Others are grants made after Virginia became a mei
ber of the United States. Then follow sales made subsequently by parti*
having or claiming a right in the land. The laws of West Virginia are sue
that a settlement of most of these claims is not difficult where the met;
and bounds are not in dispute.
After the Revolution Virginia sold its public land usually in the follow
ing manner : A man would buy a warrant, for say ten thousand acres, w
was given a certificate authorizing him to locate the land wherever he coul
find it. He could select part of it here, another part there, or he could se
his warrant, or part of it, to some one else, and the purchaser could local
the land. Land warrants were often sold half dozen times. There we:
persons who grew wealthy buying warrants for large tracts, from fift
thousand to one hundred thousand acres, and seUing their warrants to di
f erent parties at an advanced price. Nearly all the land in West Virgin
west of the AUeghanies, if the title is traced back, wiU be found to ha^
been obtained originally on these land warrants. The most of the land eai
of the AUeghanies was originally granted by the King of England to era
panies or individuals. This title is called a "Crown Grant. " There ai
also a few "Crown Grants" west of the AUeghanies, but the most of tl
land west of the mountains belonged to the State of Virginia at the close i
the Revolution. None of it ever belonged to the United States.

CHAPTER 11,

 :o: 
INDIANS AND MOUNDBUILDERS,
Indians enter largely into the early history of the State, and few of the
early settlements were exempt from their visitations. Yet, at the time
West Virginia flrst becamfe known to white men, there was not an Indian
settlement, village or camp of any considerable consequence within its
borders. There were villages in the vicinity of Pittsburg, and thence north
ward to Lake Erie and westward into Ohio; but West Virginia was vacant;
it belonged to no tribe and was claimed by none with shadow of title. There
were at times, and perhaps at nearly all times, a wigwam here or there
within the borders, but it belonged to temporar,y sojourners, hunters or fish
ermen, who expected to remain only a short time. So far as West Virginia
is concerned, the Indians were not dispossessed of it by the white man, and
they were never justified in waging war for any wrong done them within
this State. The white race simply took land which they found vacant, and
dispossessed nobody.
There was a time when West Virginia was occupied by Indians, and
they were driven out or exterminated; but it was not done by the white
race, but by other tribes of Indians, who, when they had completed the
work of destruction and desolation, did not choose to settle on.the land they
had made their own by conquest. This war of extermination was waged
between the years 1656 and 1672, as nearly as the date could be ascertained
by the early historians, who were mostly missionaries among the tribes
further north and west. The conquerors were the Mohawks, a fierce and
powerful tribe whose place of residence was in western New York, but
whose warlike excursions were carried into Massachusetts, Virginia, Penn
sylvania, West Virginia, and even further south. They obtained firearms
from the Dutch colonies on the Hudson, and having learned how to use
them, they became a nation of conquerors. The only part of their con
quests which comes within the scope of this inquiry was their invasion of
West Virginia. A tribe of Indians,. believed to be the Hurons, at that time
occupied the country from the forks of the Ohio southward along the
Monongahela and its tributaries, on the Little Kanawha, on the Great
Kanawha and to the Kentucky line. During the sixteen years between
1656 and 1672 the Mohawks overran the country and left it a solitude, ex
tending their conquest to the Guyandottp River. There was scarcely a
Huron left to tell the tale in all this State. Genghis Kahn, the Tartar, did
not exterminate more completely than did those Mohawks. If there were
any Huron refugees who escaped they never returned to their old homes to
take up their residence again.
There is abundant evidence all over the State that Indians in consider
able numbers once made their home here. Graveyards tell of those who

26 INDIANS AND MOUNDBUILDERS.
died in times of peace. Graves are numerous, sometimes singly, sometimes
in large aggregations, indicating that a village was near by. Flint arrow
heads are found everywhere, but are more numerous on river bottoms and
on level land near springs, where villages and camps would most likely be
located. The houses of the tribesmen were built of the most flimsy mate
rial, and no traces of them are found, except fireplaces, which may occa
sionally be located on account of charcoal and ashes which remain till the
present day and may be unearthed a foot or more below the surface of the
ground. Round those fires, if the imagination may take the place of his
torical records, sat the wild huntsmen after the chase was over; and while
they cooked their venison they talked of the past and planned for the future,
but how long ago no man knows.
As to who occujDied the country before the Hurons, or how long the
Hurons held it, history is silent. There is not a legend or tradition coming
down to us that is worthy of credence. There was an ancient race here
which built mounds, and the evidence found in the mounds is tolerably con
clusive that the people who built them were here long before any Indians
with which we are acquainted. But the concensus of opinion among schol
ars of today is that the Indians and Moundbuilders were the same people.
All positive evidence points to that conclusion, while all negative evidence ¦
gives way upon being investigated. If the theory of some writers were sub
stantiated, namely, that the Moundbuilders were related to the peoples who
built the pyramids . in Mexico and Central America it would still show the
Moundbuilders to have been Indians; for, notwithstanding marked differ
ences in industry, civilization and languages, the Aztecs and Mayas of
Mexico were and are Indians as truly as the Turk is a Mongolian. The
limits of this work will not jDormit an extended discussion of the puzzling
question of the origin of the Indians. It is a question which history has
not answered, and perhaps never will answer. If the answer ever is given
it will probably be by geology, for history cannot reach so. far into the past.
The favorite conclusion of most authors formerly was that America was
peopled from Asia by way of Berings Strait. It could have been done.
But the hypothesis is as reasonable that Asia was peopled by emigrants
from America who crossed Berings Strait. It is the same distance across,
going west or coming east; and there is no historical evidence that America
was not peopled first; or that both the old world and the new were not peo
pled at the same time, or that each was not jaeopled independently of the
other. Since the dawn of history, and as far back into prehistoric times as
the analysis of languages can throw any light, all great migrations have
been westward. No westward migration would have given America its in
habitants from Asia; but a migration from the west would have peopled
Asia from America. As a matt<M' of fact, Berings Strait is so narrow that
the tril)es on eithci- side can cross to the other a1 ])leasure, and with less
difficulty than tlic Amazon river cuii be ci'osst'd near its mouth. It was long
the opinion of ethnologists that a coi]]i)arisoii of the grammatical construc
tion of a larg(.' number of the Indian hinguages would reveal characteristics
showing that all had a common origin. But the study has been barren of
rd'sults up to the present time. The language of the Indians is a puzzle,
unh.'ss it be ac.c,(.i] )ted as tmie that there is no eommoii thread through all
leading to one source. Thej'e wi3re eight Indian laiiguu,ges east of the Mis-
sissijjpi at the coming of the Europeans.
The fact is so well established that it admits of no doubt that America

INDIANS AND MOUNDBUILDERS. 27
was occupied by man long before the dawn of history in the old world or
the new. Stone hatchets and other implements of war or the chase, now
found buried in the gravel left by ice sheets which covered the Ohio and
the Upper Mississippi Valleys show that men were there at a time which,
at the lowest estimate, was thousands of years before the date given in
chronology for the creation of Adam. America had people who were no
doubt coeval with the prehistoric savages who fought tigers and hyenas in
the caves of England and France. It is, therefore, an idle waste of time to
seek in recorded history for clews to the origin of America's first people.
It would be as profitable to inquire whethfer the oak tree originated in the
old world or the new.
The number of Indians inhabiting a given territory was surprisingly
small. They could hardly be said to occupy the land. They had settle
ments here and there. Of the number of Hurons in the limits of this State
before the Mohawk in^'asion, there is no record and no estimate. Probably
not more than the present number of inhabitants in the State capital,
Charleston. This will appear reasonable when it is stated that, according
to the missionary census, in 1640, the total number of Indians in the terri
tory east of the Mississippi, north of the Gulf of Mexico and south of the
St. Lawrence river, was less than one-fourth of the present population of
the State'of West Virginia. The total number is placed at 180,000. Nearly
all the Indians who were concerned in the border wars in West Virginia
lived in Ohio. There were many villages in that State, and it was densely
populated in comparison with some of the others; yet there were not, per
haps, fifteen thousand Indians in Ohio, and they could not put three thous
and warriors in the field. The army which General Forbes led against Fort
Duquesne (Pittsburg) in 175S was probably larger than could have been
mustered by the Indians of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois combined, and the
number did not exceed six thousand. The Indians were able to harrass the
frontier of West Virginia for a quarter of a century by prowling about in
small bands and striking the defenseless. Had they organized an army
and fought pitched battle they would have been subdued in a few months.
While the Indians roamed over the whole country, hunting and fishing,
they yet had paths which they followed when going on long journeys.
Those paths were not made with tools, but were simply the result of walk
ing upon them for generations. They nearly always followed the best
grades to be found, and modern road-makers have profited by the skill of
savages in selecting the most practicable routes. Those paths led long dis
tances, and in one general direction, unvarying from beginning to end,
showing that they were not made at haphazzard, but with design. Thus,
crossing West Virginia, the Catawba warpath led from New York to Georgia.
It entered West Virginia from Fayette County, Pennsylvania, crossed Cheat
River at the mouth of Grassy Run, passed in a direction south by south
west throughtb;; State, and reached the Ireadwaters of the Holsten River
in Virginia, and tlieiice continued through Noi'tli Carolina, South Carolina
and it is said reached Georgia. The path was well defined when the country
was flrst settled, but at the present time few traces of it remain. It was
never an Indian thoroughfare after white men had jDlanted settlements in
West Virginia, for the reason that the Indian tribes of Pennsylvania and
New York had enough war on hand to keep them busy without making long
excursions to the south. It is not recorded that any Indian ever came over
this trail to attack the frontiers of West Virginia. The early settlements

28 iNDtANS AiId MOUNDBUILDEM.
in Pennsylvania to the north of us cut off incursions from that qiiarier. A
second path, called by the early settlers Warrior Branch, was a branch of
the Catawba path. That is, they formed one path southward from New
York to southern Pennsylvania, where they separated, and the Warrior
Branch crossed Cheat River at McParland's, took a southwesterly direction.
through the State and entered southern Ohio and passed into Kentucky.
Neither was this trail much used in attacking the early settlements in this
State. It is highly probable that both this and the Catawba, path were fol
lowed by the Mohawks in their wars against the Hurons in West Virginia,
but there is no positive proof that such was the case. Indian villages were
always on or near large trails, and by following these and their branches
the invaders would be led directly to the homes of the native tribe which
they were bent on exterminating.
There were other trails in the State, some of them apparently very old,
as if they had been used for many generations. There was one, sometimes
called the Eastern Path, which came from Ohio, crossed the northern part
of West Virginia, through Preston and Monongalia Counties, and continued
eastward to the South Branch of the Potomac. This path was made long
before the Ohio Indians had any occasion to wage war upon white settlers,
but it was used in their attacks upon the frontiers. Over it the Indians
traveled who harrassed the settlements on the South Branch; and later,
those on the Monongahela and Cheat Rivers. The settlers whose homes
hapjjened to lie near this trail were in constant danger of attack. During
the Indian wars, after 1776, it was the custom for scouts to watch some of
the leading trails near the crossing of the Ohio, and when a party of Indians
were advancing to outrun them and report the danger in time for the set
tlers to take refuge in forts. Many massacres were averted in this way.
There was a trail leading from the Ohio River up the Little Kanawha, to
and across the AUeghanies, passing through Randolph County.
The arms and ammunition with which the Indians fought the pioneers
of this State were obtained from white traders; or, as from 1776 to 1783 or
later, were often supplied by British agents. The worst depredations which
West Virginia suffered from the Indians were committed with arms and
ammunition obtained from the British in Canada. This was during the
Revolutionary War, when the British made allies of the Indians and urged
them to harrass the western frontiers, while the British regular army
fought the Colonial army in the eastern States.

CHAPTER III,

-:o:-

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR,
For the first twenty-five years after settlements were commenced in the
present territory of West Virginia there was immunity from Indian depre
dations There was no occasion for trouble. No tribe occupied the South
Branch Valley when the first colony was made; and the outposts of the
white man could have been pushed across the State until the Ohio River
was reached without taking lands claimed or occupied by Indians, except,
perhaps, in the case of two or three very small camps; and this most likely
would have been done without conflict with the Indians, had not Europeans
stirred up those unfortunate children of the forest and sent them against
the colonists. This was done by two European nations, first by Prance,
and afterwards by Engla^nd. There were five Indian wars waged against
West Virginia; the War of 1775 and Pontiac's War of 1763, the Dunmore
War of 1774 and the Revolutionary War of 1776, and the war which broke
out about 1790 and ended in 1795. In the war beginning in 1755 the French
incited and assisted the Indians against the English settlements along the
whole western border. In the Revolutionary War the British took the
place of the French as allies of the Indians, and armed the savages and
sent them against the settlers.
It is proper that the causes bringing about the French and Indian War
be briefly recited. No State was more deeply concerned than West Virginia.
Had the plan which was outlined by the French been successfully executed.
West Virginia would have been French instead of English, and the settle
ments by the Virginians would not have been carried west of the Alleghany
Mountains. The coast of America, from Maine to Georgia, was colonized
by English. The French colonized Canada and Louisiana. About the mid
dle of the eighteenth century the design, which was probably formed long
before, of connecting Canada and Louisiana by a chain of forts and settle
ments, began to be put into execution by the King of Prance. The cordon
was to descend the Alleghany River from Lake Erie to the Ohio, down that
stream to the Mississippi and thence to New Orleans. The purpose was to
confine the English to the strip of country between the AUeghanies and the
Atlantic Ocean, which would include New England, the greater part of New
York, New Jerse.y, Delaware, Eastern Pennsylvania, the greater part of
Maryland, seven eastern counties of West Virginia, Virginia, North Caro
lina, South Carolina and Georgia. The French hoped to hold everything
west of the Alleghany Mountains. The immediate territory to be secured
was the Ohio Valley. Missionaries of the Catholic Church were the first
explorers, not only of the Ohio, but of the Mississippi Valley, almost to the
head springs of that river. The French took formal possession of both
banks of the Ohio in the summer of 1749, when an expedition under Cap-

30 THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. *
tain Celeron descended that stream and claimed the country in the name of
Prance. The determination of the Virginians to plant settlements in the Ohio
Valley was speedily observed by the French, who set to work to counteract
the movement. They began the erection of a fort on one of the upper trib
utaries of the Alleghany River, and no one doubted that they intended to
move south as rapidly as they could erect their cordon of forts. Governor
Dinwiddle, of Virginia, decided to send a messenger to the French, who
already were in the Ohio Valley, to ask for what purpose they were there,
and to inform them that the territory belonged to England. It was a mere
diplomatic formality not expected to do any good. This was in the autumn
of 1753, and George Washington, then twenty-one years of age, was com
missioned to bear the dispatch to the French commander on the Alleghany
River. Washington left Williamsburg, Virginia, November 14, to travel
nearly six hundred miles through a wilderness in the dead of winter,
When lie reached the settlement on the Monongahela where Christopher
Gist and twelve families had planted a colony, Mr. Gist accompanied him
as a guide. The message was delivered to the French commandant, and
the reply having been written, Washington and Gist set out upon their re
turn, on foot. The boast of the French that they would build a fort the
next summer on the present site of Pittsburg seemed likely to be carried
out. Washington counted two hundred canoes at the French fort on the
Alleghany River, and he rightly conjectured that a descent of that stream
was contemplated. After many dangers and hardships, Washington reached
Williamsburg and delivered to Governor Dinwiddle the reply of the French
commandant. It was now evident that the French intended to resist by force all at
tempts by the English to colonize the Ohio Valley, and were resolved to
meet force with force. Governor Dinwiddle called the Assembly together,
and troops were sent into the Ohio Valley. Early in April, 1754, Ensign
Ward, with a small detachment, reached the forks of the Ohio, where Pitts
burg now stands, and commenced the erection of a fort. Here began the
conflict which raged for several years along the border. The French soon
appeared in the Alleghany with one thousand men and eighteen cannon
and gave the English one hour in which to leave. Resistance was out of
the question, and Ward retreated. The French built a fort which they
called Duquesne, in honor of the Governor of Canada.
The English were not disposed to submit tamely. Virginia and Penn
sylvania took steps to recover the site at the forks of the Ohio, and to build
a fort there. Troops were raised and placed in command of Colonel Pry,
while Washington was made lieutenant colonel. The instructions from
Gov(3]-nor Dinwiddle were explicit, and directed that all persons, not the
subjects of Great Britain, wlio should attempt to taice possession of the
Ohio River or any of its tributaries, be killed, destvo.ved or seized as pris
oners. When the troops under Washington n^aclied the Great Meadows,
near the jiresent site of Brownsvill(\ Pennsylvania, it was learned that a
party of about fifty French were prowling in the vicinity, and had an
nounced their purpose of attacking the flrst English they should meet.
Washington, at the head of fifty men, J eft the camp" and went in search of
the French, came upon their camp early in the morning, fought them a few
minutes, killed ten, including the commander, Jiiinonville, and took twenty-
two prisoners, with the loss of one killed and two or three wounded. The

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 31
wounded Frenchmen were tomahawked by Indians who accompanied Wash
ington. The prisoners were sent to Williamsburg, and, at the same time,
an urgent appeal for more troops was made. It was correctly surmised
that as soon as news of the fight reached Fort Duquesne, a large force of
French would be sent out to attack the English. Re-enforcements were
raised in Virginia and were advanced as far as Winchester; but, with the
exception of an independent company from South Carolina, under Captain
Mackay, no re-enforcements reached the Great Meadows where the whole
force under Colonel Pry amounted to less than four hundred men.
The Indians had been friendly with the settlers on the western border
up to this time; but the French having supplied them bountifully with
presents, induced them to take up arms against the English, and hencefor
ward the colonists were obliged to fight both the French and the Indians.
Of the two, the Indians were the more troublesome. They had a deep-
seated hatred for the English, who had dispossessed the tribes east of the
AUeghanies of their land, and were now invading the territory west of
that range. But it is difficult to see wherein they hoped to better their
condition by assisting the French to gain possession of the country; for the
French were as greedy for land as were the English. However, the major
ity of the natives could not reason far enough to see that point; and with
out much investigation they took up aims in aid of the French.
After the brush with Jumonville's party, it was expected that the
French in strong force would march from Port Duquesne to drive back the
English. Washington built Port Necessity about fifty miles west- of Cum
berland, Maryland, and prepared for a fight. News was brought to him
that large re-enforcements from Canada had reached Fort Duquesne; and
within a few days he was told that the French were on the road to meet
him. Exj)ected re-enforcements from Virginia had not arrived, and Wash
ington, who had advanced a few miles toward the Ohio, -fell back to Port
Necessity. There, on the third of July, 1754, was fought a long and obsti
nate battle. Many Indians were with the Pj-ench. Washington offered
battle in open ground, but the offer was declined, and the English withdrew
witliin the entrenchments. The enemy fought fj-om behind trees, and some
climbed to the top of trees in order to get aim at those in the trenches.
The French were in superior force and better armed than the English. A
rain dampened the ammunition and i-endered many of the guns of the En
glish useless. Washington surrendered upon honorable terms, which per
mitted his soldiers to retain their arms and baggage, but not the artillery.
The capitulation occurred July 4, 1754, just twenty-two years before the
signing of the Declaration of Independence. The French and Indians num
bered seven hundred men. Their loss in killed was three or four. The
loss of the English was thirty.
When Washington's defeated army retreated from the Ohio Valley, the
French were in full possession, and no attempt was made .that year to re
new the war in that quarter; but tire purpose on tlK^ part of the English of
driving the French out was not abandoned. It was now understood thaJb
nothing less than a general war could settle the question, and both sides
prepared for it. It was with some surprise, in January, 1755, that a prop
osition was received from Prance that the portion of the Ohio Valle.y be-
- twegn that river and the AUeghanies be abandoned by both the French and
the English. The latter, believing that the opijortunity had arrived for
driving a good bargain, demanded that the French destroy all their forts

82 THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.
as far as the Wabash, raze Niagara and Crown Point, surrender the Penin
sula of Nova Scotia, and a strip of land sixty miles wide along the Bay of
Pundy and the Atlantic, and leave the intermediate country as far as the
St. Lawrence a neutral desert. France rejected this proposition, and un
derstanding the designs of the English, sent three thousand men to Can
ada. General Braddock was already on his way to America with two regi
ments; yet no war had been declared between England and France. The
former announced that it would act only on the defensive, and the latter
affirmed its desire for peace.
When General Braddock arrived in America he prepared four expedi
tions against the French, yet still insisting that he was acting only on the
defensive. One was against Nova Scotia, one against Niagara, one against
Crown Point, and the fourth against the Ohio Valley, to be led by Braddock
in person. This last is the only one that immediately concerns West Vir
ginia, and it will be spoken of somewhat at length.
Much v/as expected of Braddock's campaign. He promised that he would
be beyond the AUeghanies by the end of April; and after taking Port Du
quesne, which he calculated would not detain him above three days, he
would invade Canada by ascending the Alleghany River. He expressed no
concern from attacks by Indians, and showed contempt for American sold
iers who were in his own ranks. He expected his British regulars to win
the battles. Never had a general gone into the field vnth. so little compre
hension of' what he was undertaking. He paid for it with his life. He set
out upon his march from Alexandria, in Virginia, and in twenty-seven days
reached Cumberland with about two thousand men, some of them Virginians.
Here Washington joined him as one of his aids. From Cumberland to Port
Duquesne the distance was one hundred and thirty miles. The army could
not march five miles a day. Everything went wrong. Wagons broke down,
horses and cattle died, Indians harrassed the flanks. On June 19, 1755^ the
army was divided, and a little more than half of it pushed forward in hope
of capturing PortDuquense before the arrival of re-enforcements from Can
ada. The progress was yet slow, altogether the heaviest baggage had been
left with the rear division. Not until July 8 was the Monongahela reached.
This river was forded, and marching on its southern bank, Braddock de
cided to strike terror to the hearts of his enemies by a parade. He drew
his men up in line and sjpent an hour marching to and fro, believing that
the French were watching his every movement from the bluff beyond the
river. He wished to impress them with his power. The distance to Port
Duquesne was less than twelve miles. He recrossed the river at noon.
This was July 9. The troops pushed forward toward the fort, and while
cutting a road through the woods, were assailed by French and Indians in
ambush. The attack was as unexpected as it was violent. It is not neces
sary to onter fully into details of the battle which was disastrous in the
extrerae. The regular soldiers were panic stricken. They could do nothing
against a concealed foe which numbered eight hundred and sixty-seven, of
which only two hundred and thirty were French. About the only fighting
on the side of the English was done by the Virginians under Washington.
They prevented the slaughter -of the whole army. Of the three com
panies of the Virginians, scarcely thirty remained alive. The battle con
tinued two hours. Of the eighty-six officers in the army, twenty-six were
killed, and thirty-seven were wounded. One-half of the army was killed or
wounded. Washington had two horses killed under him and four bullets

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 33
passed through his coat; yet he was not wounded. The regulars, when
they had wasted their ammunition in useless firing, broke and ran like
sheep, leaving everything to the enemy. The total loss of the English was
seven hundred and fourteen killed and wounded. Braddock had five horses
shot under him, and was finally mortally wounded and carried from the
field. The battle was over. The English were flying toward Cumberland,
throwing away whatever impeded their retreat. The dead and wounded
were abandoned on the field. Braddock was borne along in the rout, con
scious that his wound was mortal. He spoke but a few times. Once he
said: "Who would have thought it!" and again: , "We shall know better
how to deal with them another time. " He no doubt was thinking of his re
fusal to take Washington's advice as to guarding against ambuscades.
Braddock died, and was buried in the night about a mile west of Fort
Necessity. Washington read the funeral service at the grave.
When the fugitives reached the division of the army under Dunbar,
which had been left behind and was coming up, the greatest confusion pre
vailed. General Dunbar destroyed military stores to the value of half a
million dollars. In his terror he destroyed all he had, and when ha recov
ered his senses he was obliged to send to Cumberland for provisions to keep
his men alive until he could reach that place. He did not cease to retreat
until he reached Philadelphia, where he went into winter quarters. The
news of the defeat spread rapidly, and the frontier from New York to North
Carolina prepared for defense, for it was well known that the French, now
flushed with victory, would arm the Indians and send them against the ex
posed settlements. Even before the defeat of Braddock a taste of Indian
warfare was given many outposts. After the repulse of the army there
was no protection for the frontiers of Virginia except such as the settlers
themselves could provide. One of the flrst settlements to receive a visit
from the savages was in Hampshire County. Braddock's defeated army had
scarcely withdrawn before the Indians appeared near the site of Romney
and fired at some of the men near the fort, and the fire was returned. One
man was wounded, and the Indians, about ten in number, were driven off.
Early the next spring a party of fifty Indians, under the leadership of a
Frenchman, again invaded the settlements on the Potomac, and Captain
Jeremiah Smith, with twenty men, went in pursuit of them. A fight
occurred near the source of the Capon, and the Frenchman and five of his
savages were killecf. Smith lost two men. The Indians fled. A few days
later a second party of Indians made their way into the country, and were
defeated by Captain Joshua Lewis, with eighteen men. The Indians sep
arated into small parties and continued their depredations for some time,'
appearing in the vicinity of the Evans fort, two miles from Martinsburg;
and later they made an attack on Neally's fort, and in that vicinity commit
ted several murders. A Shawnee chief named Killbuck, whose home was
probably in Ohio, invaded what is now Grant and Hardy Counties in the ¦
spring of 1756, at the head of sixty or seventy savages. He killed several
settlers and made his escape. He appeared again two years later in Pen
dleton County, where he attacked and captured Fort Seybert, twelve miles
west of the present town of Franklin, and put to death more than twenty
persons who had taken refuge in the fort. The place no doubt could have
made a successful resistance had not the inmates trusted to the promise of
safety made by the Indians, who thus were admitted into the fort, and at

34 THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.
once massacred the settlers. In 1758 the Indians again invaded Hampshire
County and killed a settler near Forks of Capon. This same year eight
Indians came into the country on the South Branch of the Potomac, near
the town of Petersburg, and attacked the cabin of a man named Bingaman.
They had forced their way into the house at night, and being at too close
quarters for shooting, Bingaman clubbed his rifle and beat seven of them
to death. The eighth made his escape. In 1759 the Indians committed
depredations on the Monongahela River near Morgantown.
The settlement on the Roanoke River in Virginia, between the Blue
Ridge and the AUeghany Mountains, was the theatre of much bloodshed in
1756 by Indians from Ohio who made their way, most probably, up the
Kanawha and New River, over the AUeghanies. An expedition against
them was organized in the fall of 1756, under Andrew Lewis, who eighteen
years later, commanded the Virginians at the battle of Point Pleasant. Not
much good came of the expedition which marched, vrith great hardship,
through that part of West Virginia south of the Kanawha, crossed a corner
of Kentucky to the Ohio River, where an order came for the troops not to
cross the Ohio nor invade the country north of that river. They returned
in dead of winter, and suffered extremely from hunger and cold. This is
notable from the fact that it was the first military expedition by an English-
speaking race to reach the Ohio River south of Pittsburg.
During the three years following Braddock's defeat the frontier was
exposed to incessant danger. Virginia appointed George Washington com
mander-in-chief of all forces raised or to be raised in that State. He trav
eled along the frontier of his State, inspecting the forts and trying to bring
order out of chaos. His picture of the distress of the people and the hor
rors of the Indian warfare is summed up in these words, addressed to the
Governor of Virginia: "The supplicating tears of the women, and the mov
ing petitions of the men, melt me with such deadly sorrow that I solemnly
declare, if I know my own mind, I would offer myself a willing sacrifice to
the butchering enemy, provided that would contribute to the people's ease."
He found no adequate means of defense. Indians butchered the people and
fled. Pursuit was nearly always in vain. Washington insisted at all times
that the only radical remedy for Indian depredation was the capture of Port
Duquesne. So long as that rallying point remained the Indians would be
armed and would harrass the frontiers. But, in case the reduction of Port
Duquesne could not be undertaken, Washington recommended the erection
of a chain of twenty-two forts along the frontier, to be garrisoned by two
thousand soldiers.
In 1756 and again in 1757 propositions were laid before the Government
of Virginia, and also before the commander-in-chief of the British forces in
America, by Washington for the destruction of Port Duquesne. But in
neither of these years was his proposition acted upon. However, the British
were waging a successful war against the French in Canada, and by this
were indirectly contributing to the conquest of the Ohio Valley. In 1758
all was in readiness for striking a blow at Fort Duquesne with the earnest
hope that it would be captured and that rallying point for savages ulti
mately destroyed. The setl!lements in the eastern part of West Virginia
were nearly broken up. Only two frontier forts west of Winchester heldj
out, exclusive of military posts. Both were in Hampshire County, one at
Romney, the other on Capon, The savages swarmed over the Blue Ridge
and spread destruction in the Valley of Virginia.

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 35
General Joseph Forbes was given command of the army destined for
the expedition against Fort Duquesne. This was early in 1758. He had
twelve hundred Highlanders; two thousand seven hundred Pennsyl-
vanians; nineteen hundred Virginians, and enough others to bring the total
to about six thousand men. Washington was leader of the Virginians.
Without him, General Forbes never would have seen the Ohio. The old
General was sick, and his progress was so slow that but for the efforts
of Washington in pushing forward, the army could not have reached
Duquesne that year. A new road was constructed from Cumberland,
intended as a permanent highway to the West. When the main army had
advanced about half the distance from Cumberland to Port Duquesne, Major
Grant with eight hundred Highlanders and Virginians, went forward to
reconnoitre. Intelligence had been received that the garrison numbered
only eight hundred, of whom three hundred were Indians. But a re-inforce-
ment of four hundred men from Illinois had arrived unknown to Major
Grant, and he was attacked and defeated with heavy loss within a short
distance of the Fort. Nearly three hundred of his men were killed or
wounded, and Major Grant was taken prisoner.
On November 5, 1758, General Forbes arrived at Hannastown and
decided to advance no further that year; but seven days later it was learned
that the garrison of Fort Duquesne was in no condition for resistance.
Washington and twenty -five hundred men were sent forward to attack it.
General Forbes, with six thousand men, had spent fifty days in opening
fifty miles of road, and fifty miles remained to be opened. Washington's
men, in five days from the advance from Hannastown, were within seven
teen miles of the Ohio. On November 25 the fort was reached. The French
gave it up without a fight, set fire to it and fle'd down the Ohio.
The power of the French in the Ohio Valley was broken. When the
despairing garrison applied the match which blew up the magazine of Fort
Duquesne, they razed their last stronghold in the Valley of the West. The
war was not over; the Indians remained hostile, but the danger that the
country west of the AUeghanies would fall into the hand^ of France had
passed. Civilization, progress and religious liberty were safe. The gate
way to the great West was secured to the English race, and from that day
there was no pause until the western border of the United States was
washed by the waters of the Pacific. West Virginia's fate hung in the
balance until Fort Duquesne fell. The way was then cleared for coloniza
tion, which speedily followed. Had the territory fallen into the hands of
France, the character of the inhabitants would have been different, and the
whole future history of that part of the country would have been changed.
A fort was at once erected on the site of that destroyed by the French, and
in honor of William Pitt was .named Fort Pitt. The city of Pittsburg has
grovsm up around the site. The territory now embraced in West Virginia
was not at once freed from Indian attacks, but the danger was greatly
lessened after the rendezvous of Port Duquesne was broken up. The sub
sequent occurrences of the French and Indian War, and Pontiac's War, as
they affected West Virginia, remain to be given.
The French and Indian War closed in 1761, but the Pontiac War soon
followed. The French had lost Canada and the Ohio Valley and the English
had secured whatever real or inlaginary right the French ever had in the
country. But the Indians rebelled against the English, who had speedily
taken possession of the territory acquired from Prance. There is no evi-

36 THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.
dence that the French gave assistance to the Indians in this war; but much
proof that more than one effort was made by the French to restrain the
savages. Nor is the charge that the French supplied the Indians with
ammunition well founded. The savages bought their ammunition from
traders, and these traders were French, English and American. In Novem
ber, 1760, Rogers, an English officer, sailed over Lake Erie to occupy
French posts further west. While sailing on the Lake he was waited upon
by Pontiac, who may be regarded as the ablest Indian encountered by the
English in America. He was a Delaware captive who had been adopted by
the Ottawas, and became their chief. He hailed Rogers and informed him
that the country belonged neither to the French nor English, but to the
Indians, and told him to go back. This Rogers refused to do, and Pontiac
set to work forming a confederacy of all the Indians between Canada on the
north, Tennessee on the south, the Mississippi on the west and the AUegha
nies on the east. His object was to expell the English from the country
west of the Alleghany mountains.
The superiority of Pontiac as an organizer was seen, not so much in his
success in forming a confederacy as in keeping it secret. He struck in a
moment, and the blow fell almost simultaneously from Illinois to the
frontier of Virginia. In almost every case the forts were taken by surprise.
Detroit, Fort Pitt and Port Ligonier were almost the only survivors of the
fearful onset of the savages. Detroit had warning from an Indian girl who
betrayed the plans of the savages; and when Pontiac, with hundreds of his
warriors, appeared in person and attempted to take the Port by surprise, he
found the English ready for him. He besieged the post nearly a year. The
siege began May 9, 1763, and the rapidity with which blows were struck
over a wide expanse of country shows how thorough were his arrangements,
and how well the secret had been kept. Port Sandusky, near Lake Brie,
was surprised and captured May 16, seven days after Detroit was besieged.
Nine days later the Port at the mouth of St. Joseph's was taken; two days
later Port Miami, on the Maumee river, fell, also taken by surprise; On
June 1 Fort Ouatamon in Indiana, was surprised and captured. MachiU-
mackinac, far north in Michigan, fell also. This was on June 2. Venango
in Pennsylvania, near Lake Erie, was captured, and not one of the garrison
escaped to tell the tale. Port Le Boeuf , in the same part of the country,
fell June 18. On June 22 Presque Isle, now Erie, Pennsylvania, shared the
fate of the rest. On J une 21 Fort Ligonier was attacked and the siege was
prosecuted with vigor, but the place held out. It was situated on the road
between Fort Pitt and Cumberland. On June 22 the savages appeared
before the walls of Fort Pitt, but were unable to take the place by surprise,
although it was in poor condition for defense. The fortifications had never
been finished, and a flood had opened three sides. The commandant raised
a rampart of logs round the Port and prepared to fight till the last. The
garrison numbered three hundred and thirty men. More than two hundred
women and children from the frontiers had taken refuge there.
Despairing of taking the Port by force, the savages tried treachery, and
asked for a parley. When it was granted, the chief told the commandant of
the Fort that resistance was useless; that all the forts in the North and
West had been taken, and that a large Indian army was on its march to
Fort Pitt, which must fall. But, said the«chief, if the English would aban
don the Fort and retire east of the AUeghanies, they would be permitted to
depart in peace, provided they would set out at once. The reply given by

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 3^
the commandant was, that he intended to stay where he was, and that he
had provisions and ammunition sufficient to enable him to hold out
against all the savages in the woods for three years, and that English
armies were at that moment on their march to exterminate the Indians.
This answer apparently discouraged the savages, and they did not push the
siege vigorously. But in July the attack was renewed with great fury.
The savages made numerous efforts to set the Fort on fire by discharging
burning arrows against it; but they did not succeed. They made holes in
the river bank and from that hiding place kept up an incessant fire, but the
Fort was too strong for them. On the last day of July, 1763, the Indians
raised the siege and disappeared. It was soon learned what had caused
them to depart so suddenly. General Bouquet was at that time marching
to the relief of Port Pitt, with five hundred men and a large train of sup
plies. The Indians had gone to meet him and give battle. As Bouquet
marched west from Cumberland he found the settlements broken up, the
houses burned, the grain unharvested, and desolation on every hand, show
ing how relentless the savages had been in their determination to break up
the settlements west of the AUeghanies.
On August 2, 1763, General Bouquet arrived at Fort Ligonier, which
had been besieged, but the Indians had departed. He left part of his stores
there, and hastened forward toward Fort Pitt. On August 5 the Indians
who had been besieging Port Pitt attacked the troops at Bushy Run. A
desperate battle ensued. The troops kept the Indians off by using the
bayonet, but the loss was heavy. The next day the fight was resumed, the
Indians completely surrounding the English. The battle was brought to a
close by Bouquet's stratagem. He set an ambuscade and then feigned
retreat. The Indians fell into the trap and were routed. Bouquet had lost
one-fourth of his men in killed and wounded; and so many of his pack horses
had been killed that he was obliged to destroy a large part of his stores
because he could not move them. After a march of four days the army
reached Port Pitt.
The effect of this sudden and disastrous war was wide-spread. The
settlers fled for protection from the frontiers to the forts and towns. The
settlements on the Greenbrier were deserted. The colonists hurried east of
the AUeghanies. Indians prowled through all the settled portions of West
Virginia, extending their raids to the South Branch of the Potomac. More
than five hundred families from the frontiers took refuge at Winchester.
Amherst, commander-in-chief of the British forces in America, was enraged
when he learned of the destruction wrought by the Indians. He offered a
reward of five hundred dollars to any person who would kill Pontiac, and
he caused the offer of the reward to be proclaimed at Detroit. "As to
accommodation with these savages," said he, "I will have none until they
have felt our just revenge." He urged every measure which could assist in
the destruction of the savages. He classed the Indians as "the vilest race
of beings that ever infested the earth, and whose riddance from it must be
esteemed a meritorious act for the good of mankind." He declared them
not only unfit for allies, but unworthy of being respected as enemies. He
sent orders to the officers on the frontiers to take no prisoners, but kill all
who could be caught.
Bouquet's force was not large enough to enable him to invade the Indian
country in Ohio at that time; but he collected about two thousand men, and
the next summer carried the war into the enemy's country, and struck

^8 ¥hE FltEisrCH AND INDIAN WaI.
directly at the Indian towns, assured that by no other means could the sav
ages be brought to terms. The army had not advanced far west of Pitts
burg when the tribes of Ohio became aware of the invasion and resorted to
various devices to retard its advance and thwart its purposes. But General
Bouquet proceeded rapidly, and with such caution and in such force, that
no attack was made on him by the Indians. The alarm among them was
great. They foresaw the destruction of their towns; and when all other-
resources had failed, they sent a delegation to Bouquet to ask for peace.
He signified his willingness to negotiate peace on condition that the Indians
surrender all white prisoners in their hands. He did not halt however in
his advance to wait for a reply The Indians saw that the terms must be"
accepted and be complied with without delay if they would save their
towns. The army was now within striking distance. The terms were
therefore accepted, and more than two hundred prisoners, a large number
of whom were women and children, were given up. Other prisoners
remained with the. Indians in remote places, but the most of them were sent
to Fort Pitt the next spring, according to promise. Thus closed Pontiac's
War. An agency had been at work for some time to bring about peace, but
unknown to the English. It was the French, and without their co-opera
tion and assistance it is probable the Indians would not have consented to
the peace, DeNeyon, the French officer at Fort Chartres, wrote a letter
to Pontiac advising him to make peace with the English, as the war be
tween the French and English was over and there was no use of further
bloodshed. This letter reached Pontiac in November while he was con
ducting the siege .of Detroit, and its contents becoming known to his Indian
allies, greatly discouraged them; for it seems that up to that time they
believed they were helping the French and that the French would soon
appear in force and fight as of old. When the Indians discovered that no
help from France was to be expected, they became willing to make peace
with Bouquet, and for ten years the western frontier^ enjoyed immunity
from war.

CHAPTER IV,

:o:-

THE DUNMORE WAR.
The progress of the settlement of West Virginia from 1764 to 1774 has
been noticed elsewhere in this volume. There were ten years of peace; but
in the year 1774 war with the Indians broke out again. Peace was restored
before the close of the year. The trouble of 1774 is usually known as Dun-
more's War, so called from Lord Dunmore who was at that time Governor
of Virginia, and who took personal charge of a portion of the army operat
ing against the Indians. There has been much controversy as to the
origin or cause of hostilities, and the matter has never been settled satis
factorily to all. It has been charged that emissaries of Great Britain
incited the Indians to take up arms, and that Dunmore was one of the
moving spirits in this disgraceful conspiracy against the colony of Vir
ginia. It is further charged that Dunmore hoped to see the army under
General Andrew Lewis defeated and destroyed at Point Pleasant, and that
Dunmore's failure to form a junction with the army under Lewis according
to agreement, was intentional, premeditated and in the hope that the
southern division of the army would be crushed.
This is a charge so serious that no historian has a right to put it for
ward without strong evidence for its support — much stronger evidence
than has yet been brought to light. The charge may be neither wholly
true nor wholly false. There is not a little evidence against Dunmore in
this campaign, especially when taken in connection with the state of feel
ing entertained by Great Britain against the American colonies at that
time. In order to present this matter somewhat clearly, yet eliminating
many minor details, it is necessary to speak of Great Britain's efforts to
annoy and intimidate the colonies, as early as 1774, and of the spirit in
which these annoyances were received by the Americans,
.Many people, both in America and England, saw,, in 1774, that a revo
lution was at hand. The Thirteen Colonies were arriving very near the for
mation of a confederacy whose avowed purpose was resistance to Great
Britain. Massachusetts had raised ninety thousand dollars to buy powder
and arms; Connecticut provided for military stores and had proposed to
issue seventy thousand dollars in paper money. In fact, preparations for
war with England were going steadily forward, although hostilities had not
begun. Great Britain was getting ready to meet the rebellious colonies,
either by strategy or force, or both. Overtures had been made by the
Americans to the ^Canadians to join them in a common struggle for liberty.
Canada belonged to Great Britain, having been taken by conquest from
Franee in the French and Indian War. Great Britain's first move was
regarding Canada; not only to prevent that country from joining the Amer
icans, but to use Canada as a menace and a weapon against them. Eng-

40 THE DUNMORE WAR.
land's plan was deeply laid. It was largely the work of Thurlow and Wed-
derburn. The Canadians were to be granted full religious liberty and a
large share of political liberty in order to gain their friendship. They were
mostly Catholics, and with them England, on account of her trouble with
her Thirteen Colonies, took the first step in Catholic emancipation. Having
won the Canadians to her side. Great Britain intended to set up a separate
empire there, and expected to use this Canadian empire as a constant threat
against the colonies. It was thought that the colonists would cling to
England through fear of Canada.
The plan having been matured, its execution was at once attempted.
The first step was the emancipation of the Canadian Catholics. The next
step was the passage of the Quebec Act, by which the Province of Quebec
was extended southward to take in western Pennsylvania and all the coun
try belonging to England north and west of the Ohio River. The King of
England had already forbidden the planting of settlements between the
Ohio River and the Alleghany Mountains in West Virginia; so the Quebec,
Act was intended to shut the English colonies out of the West and confine
them east of the Alleghany Mountains. Had this plan been carried into
execution as intended, it would have curtailed the colonies, at least Penn
sylvania and Virginia, and prevented their growth westward. The country
beyond the Ohio would have become Canadian in its laws and people, and
Great Britain would have had two empires in America, one Catholic and the
other Protestant; or, at least, one composed of the Thirteen Colonies and the
other of Canada extended southward and westward, and it was intended
that these empires should restrain, check and threaten each other, thus
holding both loyal to and dependent upon Great Britain.
Some time before the passage of the Quebec Act a movement was on
foot to establish a new province called Vandalia, west of the AUeghanies,
including the greater part of West Virginia and a portion of Kentucky.
Benjamin Franklin and George Washington were interested in it. The
capital was to be at the mouth of the Kanawha. The province was never
formed. Great Britain was not inclined to create states west of the moun
tains at a time when efforts were being made to confine the settlements east
of that range. To have had West Virginia and a portion of Kentucky neu
tral ground, and vacant, between the empire of Canada and the empire of
the Thirteen Colonies would have pleased the authors of the Quebec Act.
But acts of Parliament and proclamations by the King had little effect on
the pioneers who pushed into the wilderness of the West to find new homes.
Before proceeding to a narration of the events of the Dunmore War, it
is not out of place to inquire concerning Governor Dunmore, and whether,
from his past acts and general character, he would be likely to conspire
with the British and the Indians to destroy the western settlements of Vir
ginia. Whether the British were capable of an act so savage and unjust as
inciting savages to harrass the western frontier of their own colonies is not
a matter for controversy. It is a fact that they did do it during the Revo
lutionary War. Whether they had adopted this policy so early as 1774, and
whether Governor Dunmore was a party to the scheme, is not so certain.
Therefore let us ask, who was Dunmore i' He was a needy, rapacious Scotch
earl, of the House of Murray, who came to America to amass a fortune and
who at once set about the accomplishment of his object, with little regard
for the rights of others or the laws of the country. He was Governor of
New York a short time; and, although poor when he came, he was the

. THE DUNMORE WAR. 4l
owner of fifty thousand acres of land when he left, and was pi'eparing to
decide, in his own court, in his own favor, a large and unfounded claim
which he had preferred against the Lieutenant Governor. When he as
sumed the office of Governor of Virginia his greed for land and money
knew no bounds. He recognized no law which did not suit his purpose. He
paid no attention to positive instructions from the crown, which forbade
him to meddle with lands in the west. These lands were known to be be
yond the borders of Virginia, as fixed by the treaties of Fort Stanwix and
Lochaber, and therefore were not in his jurisdiction. He had soon acquired
two large tracts in southern Illinois, and also held lands where Louisville,
Kentucky, now stands, and in Kentucky opposite Cincinnati. Nor did his
greed for wealth and power stop with appropriating wild lands to his own
use; but, without any warrant in law, and in violation of all justice, he ex
tended the boundaries of Virginia northward to include much of western
Pennsylvania, Pittsburg in particular; and he made that the county seat of
Augusta County, and moved the court from Staunton to that place. He
even changed the name Fort Pitt to Fort Dunmore. He appointed forty-
two justices of the peace. Another appointment of his, as lieutenant of
militia, was Simon Girty, afterwards notorious and infamous as a deser
ter and a leader of Indians in their war against the frontiers. He appointed
John Connolly, a physician and adventurer, commandant of Fort Pitt and
its dependencies, which were supposed to include all the western country.
Connolly was a willing tool of Dunmore in many a questionable transaction.
Court was held at Fort Pitt until the spring of 1776. The name of Pitts
burg first occurs in the court records on August 20, 1776. When Connolly
received his appointment he issued a proclamation setting forth his author
ity. The Pennsylvanians resisted Dunmore's usurpation, and arrested Con
nolly. The Virginia authorities arrested some of the Pennsylvania officers,
and there was confusion, almost anarchy, so long ¦ as Dunmore was Gov
ernor. Dunmore had trouble elsewhere. His domineering conduct, and his
support of some of Great Britain's oppressive measures, caused him to be
hated by the Virginians, and led to armed resistance. Thereupon he threat
ened to make Virginia a solitude, using these wordS: "I do enjoin the mag
istrates and all loyal subjects to repair to my assistance, or I shall consider
the whole country in rebellion, and myself at liberty to annoy it by every
possible means, and I shall not hesitate at reducing houses to ashes and
spreading devastation wherever I can reach. With a small body of troops
and arms, I could raise such a force from among Indians, negroes and other
persons as would soon reduce the refractory people of the colony to obe
dience." The patriots of Virginia finally rose in arms and drove Governor
Dunmore from the country. Some of these events occurred after the Dun
more War, but they serve to show what kind of a man the Governor was.
Perhaps the strongest argument against the claim that Dunmore was
in league with Indians, backed by Great Britain, to push back the frontier of
Virginia to the AUeghanies, is the fact that Dunmore at that time was
reaching out for lands, for himself, in Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio; and his
land-grabbing would have been cut off in that quarter had the plan of limit
ing Virginia to the AUeghanies been successful. He could not have carried
out his schemes of acquiring possessions in the West had the Quebec Act
been sustained. Dunmore did more to nullify the Quebec Act than any one
else. He exerted every energy to extend and maintain the Virginia frontier

42 THE DUNMORE WAI^.
as far west as possible. By this he opposed and circumvented the efforts
of Great Britain to shut Virginia off from the West. He and the govern
ment at home did not work together, nor agree on the frontier policy; and
in the absence of direct proof sustaining the charge that he was in con
spiracy with the British government and the Indians to assail the western
frontier, the doubt as to his guilt on the charge must remain in his favor.
' From the time of the treaty made by General Bouquet with the Indians,
1764, to the year 1773, there was peace on the frontiers. War did not break
out in 1773, iiut murders were committed by Indians which excited the fron
tier settlements, and were the first in a series which led to war. The In
dians did not comply with the terms of the treaty with General Bouquet.
They had agreed to ^ive up all prisoners. It was subsequently ascertained
that they had not done so. Some captives were still held in bondage. But
this in itself did not lead to the war of 1774. The frontiers, since Bouquet's
treaty, had been pushed to the Ohio River, in West Virginia, and into Ken
tucky. Although Indians had no right by occupation to either West Vir
ginia or Kentucky, and although they had given up by treaty any right
which they claimed, they yet looked with anger upon the planting of settle
ments in those countries. The flrst act of hostility was committed in 1773,
not in West Virginia, but further south. A party of emigrants, under the
leadership of a son of Daniel Boone, were on their way to Kentucky when
they were set upon and several were killed, including young Boone. There
can be no doubt that this attack was made to prevent or hinder the coloni
zation of Kentucky. Soon after this, a white man killed an Indian at a
horse race. This is said to have been the first Indian blood shed on the
frontier of Virginia by a white man after Pontiac's War. In February 1774
the Indians killed six white men and two negroes; and in the same month,
on the Ohio, they seized a trading carioe, killed the men in charge and
carried the goods to the Shawnee towns. Then the white men began to
kill also. In March, on the Ohio, a tight occurred between settlers and
Indians, in which one was killed on each side, and five canoes were taken
from the Indians. John Connolly wrote from Pittsburg on April 21, to the
people of Wheeling to be on their guard, as the Indians were preparing for
war. On April 26, two Indians were killed on the Ohio. On April 30, nine
Indians were killed on the same river near Steubenville. On May 1,
another Indian was killed. About the same time an old Indian named Bald
Eagle was killed on the Monongahela River; and an Indian camp on the
Little Kanawha, in the present county of Braxton, was broken up, and the
natives were killed. This was believed to have been done by settlers on the
West Fork, in the present County of Lewis. They were induced to take
that course 'by intelligence from the Kanawha River that a family named
Stroud, residing near the mouth of the Gauley River had been murdered,
and the tracks of the Indians led toward the Indian camp on the Little
Kanawha. When this camp was visited by the party of white men from the
West Fork, they discovered clothing and other articles belonging to the
Stroud famUy. Thereupon the Indians were destroyed. A party of white
men with Governor Dunmore's permission destroyed an Indian village on
the Muskingum River. The frontiers were alarmed. Forts were built in
which the inhabitants could find shelter from attacks. Expresses were sent
to WUliamsburg entreating assistance. The Virginia Assembly in May
discussed the dangers from Indians on the frontier, and intimated that the
mihtia should be called out. Governor Dunmore ordered out the militia of

^Hfi DUkMOR^ WAR, 43
the frontier counties. He then proceeded in person to Pittsburg, partly to
look after his lands, and partly to take charge of the campaign against the
Indians, The Delawares and Six Nations renewed their treaty of peace in
September, but the Shawnees, the most powerful and warlike tribe in Ohio,
did not. This tribe had been sullen and unfriendly at Bouquet's treaty, and
had remained sour ever since. Nearly all the captives yet in the hands of
the Indians were held by this fierce tribe, which defied the white man and
despised treaties. These savages were ruled by Cornstalk, an able and no
doubt a good man, opposed to war, but when carried into it by the head
strong rashness of his tribe, none fought more bravely than he. The
Shawnees were the chief fighters on the Indian side in the Dunmore war,
and they were the chief sufferers.
After arranging his business at Pittsburg, Governor Dunmore descen
ded the Ohio River with twelve hundred men. Daniel Morgan, with a com
pany from the Valley of Virginia, was with him. A second army was being
organized in the southwestern part of Virginia, and Dunmore's instructions
were that this army, after marching down the Great Kanawha, should join
him on the Ohio where he promised to wait. The Governor failed to keep
his promise, but crossed into Ohio and marched against the Shawnee towns
which he found deserted. He built a fort and sat down to wait.
In the meantime the army was collecting which was to descend the
Kanawha. General Andrew Lewis was commander. The pioneers on the
Greenbrier and New River formed a not inconsiderable part of the army
which rendezvoused on the site of Lewisburg* in Greenbrier County, In
this army were fifty men from the Watauga, among whoni were Evan
Shelby, James Robertson and Vafentine Sevier, names famous in history.
Perhaps an army composed of better fighting material than that assembled
for the march to Ohio, never took the field anywhere. The distance from
Lewisburg to the mouth of the Great Kanawha was about one hundred and
sixty miles. At that time there was not so much as a trail, if an old Indian
path, hard to find, is excepted. At the" mouth of Elk River the army made
canoes and embarking in them, proceeded to Point Pleasant, the mouth of
the Kanawha, which they reached October 6,. 1774. Prior to that date
Simon Girty arrived at Point Pleasant with dispatahes from Dunmore, who
was then at the mouth of the Little Kanawha with his army. The dis
patches ordered Lewis to proceed to the mouth of the Hockhocking. When
Girty reached Point Pleasant, Lewis had not arrived, and th'e dispatches
were deposited in a hollow tree in a conspicuous place where they would be
seen. Girty returned to Dunmore's army, which marched to the Hock
hocking. Another messenger was sent to Point Pleasant, Scouts passed
between the two armies, and on October 13 Dunmore ordered Lewis to pro
ceed to the Pickaway towns in Ohio. But, in the mean time the battle of
Point Pleasant had been fought. On October 10 the Indian army under
Cornstalk arrived, about one thousand in number. The Virginians were
encamped on the narrow point of land formed by the meeting of the
Kanawha and Ohio. The Indians crossed the Ohio the evening before, or
during the night, and went into camp on the West Virginia side, and about
two miles from the Virginians. They were discovered at daybreak, October
10, by two young men who were hunting. The Indians fired and killed one
of them; the other escaped and carried the news to the army.
This was the first intelligence the Virginians had that the Indians had
come down from their towns in Ohio to give battle. By what means the

44 The dunmore wa:^.
savages had received information of the advance of the army in time to
coUect their forces and meet it before the Ohio River was crossed, has never
been ascertained; but it is probable that Indian scouts had watched the
progress of General Lewis from the time he took up his march from Green
brier. Cornstalk laid well his plans for the destruction of the Virginian
army at Point Pleasant. He formed his line across the neck of land, from
the Ohio to the Kanawha, and enclosed the Virginians between his line and
the two rivers. He posted detachments on the farther banks of the Ohio
and the Kanawha to cut off General Lewis should he attempt to retreat
across either river. Cornstalk meant not only to defeat the army but to
destroy it. The Virginians numbered eleven hundred.
When the, news of the advance of the Indian army reached General
Lewis, he prepared for battle, and sent three hundred men to the front to
meet the enemy. The fight began at sunrise. Both armies were soon
engaged over a line a mile long. Both fought from behind trees, logs and
whatever would offer protection. The lines were always near each other;
sometimes twenty yards, sometimes less; occasionally near enough to use
the tomahawk. The battle was remarkable for its obstinacy. It raged six
hours, almost hand to hand. Then the Indians fell back a short distance and
took up a strong position, and all efforts to dislodge them by attacks in
front failed. Cornstalk was along his whole line, and above the din of
battle his powerful voice could be heard: "Be strong! Be strong!" The
loss was heavy among the Virginians, and perhaps nearly as heavy among
the Indians. Late in the afternoon General Lewis discovered a way to
attack the Indians in flank. A small stream with high banks empties into
the Kanawha at that point, and he sent a detachment up this stream, the
movement being concealed from the Indians, and when an advantageous
point was reached, the soldiers emerged and attacked the Indians.' Taken
by surprise, the savages retreated. This movement decided the day in
favor of the Virginians. The Indians fled a short distance up the Ohio and
crossed to the western side, the most of them on logs and rude rafts, proba
bly the same on which they had crossed the stream before the battle. The
Virginians lost sixty men killed and ninety-six wounded. The loss of the
Indians was not ascertained. They left thirty-three dead on the field, and
were seen to throw others into the Ohio River. All their wounded were
carried off.
The battle of Point Pleasant was the most stubbornly contested of all
frontier battles with the Indians; but it was by no means the bloodiest.
Several others could be named in which the loss jf life was much greater;
notably Braddock's defeat, and the defeat of General St. Clair. The battle
of Point Pleasant was also remarkable from the number of men who
took part in it who afterwards became noted. Among them may be men
tioned Isaac Shelby, the first Governor of Kentucky;' William Campbell,
the hero of King's Mountain, and who. died on the battlefield of Eutaw
Springs; Colonel John Steel, afterward Governor of Mississippi; George
Mathews, afterward Governor of Georgia; Colonel William Fleming, Gov
ernor of Virginia, and many others. Nearly all the men who were in that
battle and afterward returned to their homes, were subsequently soldiers
of the American army in the war for independence.
The Indians possessed soldierly qualities which have generally been
underestimated. On the battlefield tbey were brave and confident. In
their pitched battles with American soldiers on the frontiers they were

THE DUNMORE WAR. 45
nearly always out-numbered, and yet they were defeated with difficulty.
With a smaller force they defeated Braddock; a smaller force fought Bou
quet and almost defeated him. St. Clair's disastrous rout was caused by
an inferior force of Indians. After many defeats from Indians in the North
west, they were whipped only when General Wayne attacked them with
three men to their one. The loss of the Indians was nearly always smaller
than that of the force opposing them; sometimes, as in the case of Braddock's
and of St. Clair's defeats, not more than one-tenth as great. The Indians
selected their ground for a fight with cunning judgment, unsurpassed by
any people. They never fought after they began to loose heavily, but
immediately retreated. This was the only policy possible for them. They
had few men, and if they lost heavily, the loss was irreparable.
The day following the battle. Colonel Christian arrived with three
hundred soldiers from Fincastle. Fort Randolph was built at Point Pleas
ant; and after leaving a garrison there. General Lewis crossed the Ohio
October l7, and marched nearly a hundred miles to the Scioto River to join
Governor Dunmore. Before he arrived at Port Charlotte, where Dunmore
was, he received a message from the Governor, ordering him to stop, and
giving as a reason that he was about to negotiate a treaty with the Indians.
General Lewis and his men refused at first to obey this order. They had
no love for Dunmore, and they did not regard him as a friend of Virginia.
Not until a second express arrived did General Lewis obey.
After the fight at Point Pleasant, Cornstalk, Logan and Red Eagle, the
three principal chiefs who had taken part in the battle, retreated to their
towns with their tribesmen. Seeing that pursuit was swift and vigorous.
Cornstalk called a council and asked what should be done. No one had any
advice to offer. He then proposed to kill the old men, women and children;
and the warriors then should go out to meet the invaders and fight till every
Indian had met his death on the field of battle. No reply was made to this
proposition. Thereupon Cornstalk said that since his men would not fight,
he would go and make peace; and he did so. Thus ended the war. Gover
nor Dunmore had led an army of Virginians into Ohio, and assumed and
exercised authority there, thus setting aside and nullifying the Act of Par
liament which extended the jurisdiction of Quebec to the Ohio River.
The treaty was made at Camp Charlotte. The Indian Logan, Chief of
the Mingoes, as is generally stated, but there seems to be no evidence that
he was a chief at all, refused to attend the conference with Dunmore, but
sent a speech which has become famous because of the controversy which
it has occasioned. The speech, which nearly every school boy knows by
heart, is as follows :
"I appeal to any white man to say, if ever he entered Logan's cabin
hungry, and he gave him not meat, if ever he came cold and naked, and he
clothed him not. During the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan
remained idle in his cabin, an advocate of peace. Such was my love for the
whites that my countrymen pointed as they passed, and said, -Logan is the
friend of white men. ' I had even thought to have lived with you, but for
the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, who last spring in cold blood and
unprovoked, murdered all the relatives of Logan, not even sparing my
women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of
any living creature. This called upon me for vengeance. I have sought it.
I have killed many. I have fully glutted my vengeance. For my country
I rejoice at the beams of peace. But do not harbor the thought that mine

46 THE DUNMORE WAR.
is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to
save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan? Not one."
The charge has been made, that this "—ech was a forgery, written by
Thomas Jefferson. Others have charge it it was changed and interpo
lated after it was delivered. The part j.cj.erring to Cresap, in particular,
has been pointed out as an interpolation, because it is now known, and was
then known, that Cresap (Captain Michael Cresap was meant) did not mur
der Logan's relatives. The facts in regard to the speech are these: Logan
did not make the speech in person, and he did not write it, and he did not
dictate it to any person who wrote it; but the speech, substantiaUy as we
now have it, was read at the conference at Camp Charlotte. Logan would
not attend the conference. Simon Girty, who was employed as interpreter,
but who could neither read nor write, was sent by Lord Dunmore from
Camp Charlotte to hunt for Logan, and found him in his camp, which seems
to have been a few miles distant. Logan would not go to the conference,.
and Girty returned without him. As he approached the circle where the
conference was in progress, . Captain John Gibson walked out to meet him.
He and Girty conversed a few minutes, and Gibson entered his tent alone,
and in a few minutes came out with a piece of clean paper on which, in his
own hand, was written the now famous Logan speech. It is probable that
in the conversation between Logan and Girty, the former had made use of
sentiments similar to those in the speech, and Girty repeated them, as
nearly as he remembered them, to Gibson, and Gibson, who was a good
scholar, put the speech in classic English. At the most, the sentiment
only, not the words, were Logan's.

CHAPTER V,

-:o:

WEST VIRGINIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
The territory of the present State of West Virginia was not invaded by
a British army, except one company of forty, during the war for American
independence. Its remote position made it safe from attack from the east;
but this very remoteness rendered it doubly liable to invasion from the
west where Great Britain had made allies of the Indians, and had armed
and supplied them, and had sent them against the frontiers from Canada to
Georgia, with full license to kill man, woman and child. No part of America
suffered more from the savages than West Virginia. Great Britain's pur
pose in employing Indians on the frontiers was to harrass the remote
country, and not only keep at home all the inhabitants for defense of their
settlements, but also to make it necessary that soldiers be sent to the West
who otherwise might be employed in opposing the British near the sea
coast. Notwithstanding West Virginia's exposed frontier on the west, it
sent many soldiers to the Continental Army. West Virginians were on
almost every battlefield of the Revolution. The portion of the State east of
the AUeghanies, now forming Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire,
Hardy, Grant, Mineral and Pendleton counties, was not invaded by Indians
during the Revolution; and from this region large numbers of soldiers joined
the armies under Washington, Gates, Greene and other patriots.
As early as November 5, 1774, an important meeting was held by West
Vireinians in which they clearly indicated under which banner they would
be found fighting, if Great Britain persisted in her course of oppression.
This was the first meeting of the kind west of the AUeghanies, and few
similar meetings had then been held anywhere. It occurred during the
return of Dunmore's Army from Ohio, twenty-five days after the battle of
Point Pleasant. The soldiers had heard of the danger of war with England;
and, although they were under the command of Dunmore, a royal Governor,
they were not afraid to let the country know that neither a royal Governor
nor any one else could swerve them from their duty as patriots and lovers
of liberty. The meeting was held at Fort Gower, north of the Ohio River.
The soldiers passed resolutions which had the right ring. They recited
that they were willing and able to bear ajl hardships of the woods; to get
along for weeks -without bread or salt, if necessary; to sleep in the open
air; to dress in skins if nothing else could be had; to march further in a day
than any other men in the world; to use the rifle with skill and with bravery.
iThey affirmed their zeal in the cause of right, and promised continued
allegiance to the King of England, provided he would reign over them as a
brave and free people. "But," they continued, "as attachment to the real
interests and just rights of America outweigh every other consideration, we
resolve that we will exert every power within us for the defence of American

48 WEST VIRGINIA IN T^IE REVOLUTION.
liberty, when regularly called forth by the unanimous voice of our country
men." It was such spirit as this, manifested on every occasion during the .
Revolution, which prompted Washington in the darkest year of the war to
exclaim that if driven from every iDoint east of the Blue Ridge, he would
retire west of the mountains and there raise the standard of liberty and bid
deflance to the armies of Great Britain.
At two meetings held May 16, 1775, one at Fort Pitt, the other at
Hannastown, several West Virginians were present and took part in 'the
proceedings. Resolutions were passed by which the people west of the
mountains pledged their support to the Continental Congress, and expressed
their purpose of resisting the tyranny of the mother country. In 1775 a
number of raen from the Valley of the Monongahela joined Washington's
army before Boston. The number of soldiers who went forward from the
eastern part of the State was large.
There were a few persons in West Virginia who adhered to the cause
of England; and who from time to time gave trouble to the patriots; but
the promptness with which their attempted risings were crushed is proof
that traitors were in a hopeless minority. The patriots considered them as
enemies and dealt harshly with them. There were two attempted uprisings
in West Virginia, one in the Monongahela VaUey. which the inhabitants of
that region were able to suppress; the other uprising waS on the South
Branch of the Potomac, in what is now Hardy and Grant Counties, and
troops were sent from the Shenandoah Valley to put it down. In the
Monongahela Valley several of the tories were arrested and sent to Rich
mond. It is recorded that the leader was drowned in Cheat River while
crossing under guard on his way to Richmond. Two men of the Morgan
family were his guard. The boat upset while crossing the river. It was
the general impression of the citizens of the community that the upsetting
was not accidental. The guards did not like to take the long journey to
Richmond while their homes and the homes of their neighbors were exposed
to attacks from Indians. The tory uprising on the South Branch was much
more serious. The first indication of trouble was given by their refusal to
pay their taxes, or to furnish their quota of men for the militia. Complaint
was made by the Sheriff of Hampshire county, and Colonel Vanmeter with
thirty men was sent to enforce the collection of taxes. The tories armed
themselves, to the number of fifty, for resistance, and placed themselves
under the leadership of John Brake, a German, whose house was above
Petersburg, in what is now Grant County. These enemies of their country
had made his place their rendezvous. They met the militia from Hamp
shire, but no fight took place. Apparently each side was afraid to begin.
There' was a parley in which Colonel Vanmeter pointed out to the tories the
consequence which must follow, if they persisted in their present course.
He advised them to disperse, go to their homes and conduct themselves as
law-abiding citizens. He left them and marched home.
The disloyal elements grew in strength and insolence. They imagined
that the authorities were afraid and would not again interfere with them.
They organized a company, elected John Claypole their captain, and pre
pared to march off and join the British forces. "^ General Morgan was atthE|Ji
time at his home in Frederick County, and he collected miUtia to the
number of four hundred, crossed the mountain and fell on the tories in such
dead earnest that they lost all their enthusiasm for the cause of Great
Britain. Claypole was taken prisoner, and William Baker, who refused tq

WEST VIRGINIA IN THE REVOLUTION. 49
surrender, was shot, buttoot killed. Later a man named Mace was killed.
Brake was overawed; and after two days spent in the neighborhood, the
militia, under General Morgan, returned home. The tories were crushed.
A number of them were so ashamed of what they had done that they joined
the American army and fought as patriots till the close of the war, thus
endeavoring to redeem their lost reputations.
The contrast between the conduct of the tories on the South Branch
and the patriotic devotion of the people on the Greenbrier is marked.
Money was so scarce that the Greenbrier settlers could not pay their taxes,
although willing to do so. They fell delinquent four years in succession
and to the amount of thirty thousand dollars. They were willing to per
form labor if arrangements could be made to do it. Virginia agreed to the
proposition, and the people of Greenbrier built a road from Lewisburg to
the Kanawha River in payment of their taxes.
The chief incidents in West Virginia's history during the Revolutionary
War were connected with the Indian troubles. The State was invaded four
times by forces large enough to be called armies; and the incursions by
smaller parties were so numerous that the mere mention of them would
form a list of murders, ambuscades and personal encounters of tedious and
monotonous length, "rhe first invasion occurred in 1777 when Port Henry,
now Wheeling, was attacked; the second, 1778, when Port Randolph, now
Point Pleasant, was besieged for one weeli, the Indians moving as far east
as Greenbrier County, where DpnnoUy's fort was attacked; the third inva
sion was in August, 1781, when Fort Henry was again attacked by 250 In
dians under the leadership of Matthew Elliott. The fourth invasion
occurred in September, 1782, when Wheeling was again attacked. The
multitude of incursions by Indians must be passed over briefly. The cus
tom of the savages was to make their way into a settlement and either lie
in wait along_ paths and shoot those who attempted to pass or break into
houses and murder the inmates or take them prisoner, and then rhake off
hastily for the Ohio River, Once across that stream, pursuit was not prob
able. The custom of the Indians in taking prisoners, and their great exertion
to accomplish that purpose, is a difficult thing to explain. Prisoners were
of little or no use to them. They did not make slaves of them. If they
sometimes received money as ransom for captives the hope of ransom money
seems seldom or never to' have prompted them to carry prisoners to their
towns. They sometimes showed a liking, if not affection, for captives
adopted into their tribes and families; but this kindly feeling was shallow
and treacherous, and Indians would not hesitate to burn at the stake a cap
tive who had been treated as one of their family for months if they should
take it into their heads that revenge for injuries received from others called
for a sacrifice. The Indians followed no rule or precedent as to which of
their captives they would kill and which carry to their towns. They some
times killed children and spared adults, and sometimes the reverse.
When the Revolutionary War began the English and the Americans
strove to obtain the good will of the western Indians. The Americans sent
^imon Girty and James Wood on a peaceful mission to the Ohio tribes in
July, 1775. On February 22 of that year Simon Girty had taken the oath
of allegiance to the King of England, but when war commenced he took sides
with the Americans. In July, 1775, Congress created three Indian depart
ments, that embracing the portions of West Virginia and Pennsylvania west '

50 WEST VIRGINIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
of the AUeghanies, to be known as the Middle Demrtment. Commissioners
were appointed to establish and maintain friendly relations with the Indians.
In October of that year delegates from several of the Ohio tribes visited
Pittsburg, which, since September before, had been occupied by Captain
John Neville and a garrison of one hundred Americans. The Indian dele
gates made a treaty and agreed to remain neutral during the trouble be
tween the colonies and Great Britain.
The British were less humane. Instead of urging the savages to
remain neutral, as the Americans had done, they excited the tribes,to take
up the hatchet against the Americans. The subsequent horrors of the In
dian warfare along the frontier are chargeable to the British, who resorted
to "every means which God and nature had placed in their power" to an
noy the Americans. The most industrious of British agents in stirring up
th^ Indians was Henry Hamilton, who in April, 1775, was appointed Lieu
tenant-Governor and Indian agent, with headquarters at Detroit. His sal
ary was one thousand dollars a year. He reached his destination Novem
ber 9, 1775. The Indians flocked to him and importuned him for permission
and assistance to attack the settlements. But Hamilton had not yet received
instructions from his government, authorizing him to employ Indians, and
he did not send them to war at that time. In June, 1776, George Morgan,
Indian agent for the Middle Department, held a conference with some of
the Ohio tribes and succeeded in keeping them away from Detroit at that
time. The suggestion that Indians be employed against the Americans
came from Governor Hamilton late in 1776. The proposition was eagerly
accepted; and on March 26, 1777, Lord George Germain gave the fatal order
that Hamilton assemble all the Indians possible and send them against the
frontiers, under the leadership of proper persons who could restrain them.
This order was received by Governor Hamilton in June 1777, and before
August 1 he had sent out fifteen marauding parties aggregating 289 Indians.
The year 1777 is called in border history the ' ' bloody year of the three
sevens. " The British sent against the frontiers every Indian who could be
prevailed upon to go. Few settlements from New York to Florida escaped.
In^his State the most harm was done on the Monongahela and along the
. Ohio in the vicinity of Wheeling. Monongalia County was visited twice by
the savages that year, and a number of persons were killed. A party of
twenty invaded what is now Randolph county, killed a number of settlers,
took several prisoners and made their escape. It was on November 10 of
this year that Cornstalk, the Shawnee chief, was assassinated at Point
Pleasant by militiamen who assembled there from Greenbrier and else
where for the purpose of marching against the Indian towns. Earlier in
the year Cornstalk had come to Fort Randolph, at Point Pleasant, on a
visit, and also to inform the commandant of the fort that the British were
inciting the Indians to war, and that his own tribe, the Shawnees, would
likely be swept along with the current, in spite of his efforts to keep them
at home. Under these circumstances the commandant of the fort thought
it best to detain Cofnstalk as a hostage to insure the neutrality of his tribe.
It does not seem that the venerable Chief was unwilling to remain. He
wanted peace. Some time after that his son came to see him, and crossed
the Ohio, after making his presence known by hallooing from the other
side. The next day two of tne militiamen crossed the Ohio to hunt and
one was killed by an Indian. The other gave the alarm, and the
militiamen crossed the river and brought in the body of the dead man The

WEST VIRGINIA IN THE REVOLUTION. 51
soldiers believed that ther Indian who had committed the deed had come the
day before with Cornstalk's son, and had lain concealed until an oppor
tunity occurred to kill a man. The soldiers were enraged, and started up
the river bank toward the cabin where Cornstalk resided, announcing that
they would kill the Indians. There were with Cornstalk his son and
another Indian, Red Eagle. A sister of Cornstalk, known as the Granadier
Squaw, had lived at the fort some time as interpreter. She hastened to the
cabin and urged her brother to make his escape. He might "have done so,
but refused, and admonished his son to die like a man. The soldiers
arrived at that time and fired. All three Indians were killed. The leaders
of the men who did it were afterwards given the semblance of a trial in
Virginia, and were acquitted.
It is the opinion of those acquainted with border history that the mur-'
der of Cornstalk brought more suffering upon the West Virginia frontier
than any other event of that time. Had he lived, he would perhaps have
been able to hold the Shawnees in check. Without the co-operation of that
bloodthirsty tribe the border war of the succeeding years would have been
different. Four years later Colonel Crawford, who had been taken
prisoner, was put to death with extreme torture in revenge for the murder
of Cornstalk, as some of the Indians claimed.
Fort Henry was besieged September 1, 1777, by two hundred Indians,
General Hand, of Fort Pitt, had been informed that the Indians were pre
paring for an attack in large numbers upon some point of the frontier, and
the settlements between Pittsburg and Point Pleasant were placed on their
guard. Scouts were sent out to discover the advance of the Indians in time
to give the alarm. But the scouts discovered no Indians. It is now known
that the savages had advanced in small parties, avoiding trails, and had
united near Wheeling, crossed the Ohio a short distance below that place,
and on the night of the last day of August approached Port Henry, and
setting ambuscades near it, waited for daylight. Fort Henry was made of
logs set on end in the groiyid, in the manner of pickets, and about seven
teen feet high. There were port holes through which to fire. The garrison
consisted of less than forty men, the majority of whom lived in Wheeling
and the immediate vicinity. Early in the morning of September 1 the
Indians decoyed Captain Samuel Mason with fourteen men into the field
some distance from the fort, and killed all but three. Captain Mason alone
reached the fort, and two of his men succeeded in hiding, and finally
escaped. When the Indians attacked Mason's men, the firing' was heard at
the fort, together with the yells of the savages. Captain Joseph Ogle with
twelve men sallied out to assist Mason. He was surrounded and nine of his
men were killed. There were only about a dozen men remaining in the
fort to resist the attack of four hundred Indians, flushed with victory.
There were perhaps one hundred women and children in the stockade.
In a short time the Indians advanced against the fort, with drum and
fife, and the British flag waving over them. It is not known who was
leader. He was a white man, or at least there was a white man among
them who seemed to be leader. Many old frontier histories, as well as the
testimony of those who were present, united in the assertion that the In
dians at this siege were led by Simon Girty. It is strange that this mistake
could have been made, for it was a mistake. Simon Girty was not there.
He was at that tixhe, and for nearly five months afterwards, near Fort Pitt.
The commander of the Indian army posted himself in the window of a house

52 WEST VIRGINIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
within hearing of the fort, and read the proclamation of Governor Hamil
ton, of Detroit, offering Great Britain's protection in case of surrender, but
massacre in case of resistance. Colonel Shepherd, commandant of the fort,
replied that the garrison would not surrender. The leader was insisting
upon the impossibility of holding out, when his words were cut short by a
shot fired at him from the fort. He was not struck. The Indians began
the assault with a rush for the fort gate. They tried to break it open; and
failing in this, they endeavored to push the posts of the stockade down.
They could make no impression on the wall. The fire of the garrison was
deadly, and the savages recoiled. They charged again and again, some
times trying to break down the walls with battering rams, attempting to set
them on fire; and then sending their best marksmen to pick off the garrison
by shooting through the port holes. In course of time the deadly aim of
those in the fort taught the savages a wholesome caution. Women fought
as well as men. The siege continued two nights and two days, but aU at
tempts of the Indians to burn the fort or break into it were unavailing.
They killed many of the cattle about the settlement, partly for food partly
from wantonness. They burned nearly all the houses and barns in Wheel
ing. The savages were preparing for another assault when Colonel Andrew
Swearengen, with fourteen men, landed near the fort and gained an en
trance. Shortly afterwards Major Samuel McColloch, at the head of forty
men, arrived, and after a severe fight, all reached the fort except McCol
loch, who was cut off, but made his escape. The Indians now despaired of
success, and raised the siege. No person in the fort was kiUed. The loss
of the Indians was estimated at forty or fifty.
In September of this year, 1777, Captain William Foreman, of Hamp
shire County, with about twenty men of that county, who had gone to
Wheeling to assist in fighting the savages, was ambushed and kiUed at
Grave Creek, below Wheeling, by Indians supposed to have been a portion
of those who had besieged Fort Henry.
On March 28, 1778, Simon Girty ran away from Pittsburg in company
with Alexander McKee, Robert Surphitt, Mat'thew EUiott,  Biggins
and two negroes belonging to McKee. It is misleading to call Girty a
deserter, as he was not in the military service. He had formerly been an
interpreter in pay, but he was discharged for unbecoming behavior. He
had two brothers, James and George, who also joined the British and did
service among the Indians; and one brother who remained true to the Amer
icans. Simon Girty reached Detroit in June, 1778, after a loitering journey
through the Indian country, during which he busied himself stirring up
mischief. He was employed by the British as interpreter at two dollars a
day, and was sent by Hamilton to work among the Ohio Indians. His influ
ence for evil was great, and his character shows few redeeming traits.
The year 1778 was one of intense excitement on the frontier. An In
dian force of about two hundred attacked Fort Randolph, at the mouth of
the Kanawha, in May, and besieged the place one week. The savages made
several attempts to carry it by storm. But they were unsuccessful. They
then moved off, up the Kanawha, in the direction of Greenbrier. Two
soldiers from Fort Randolph eluded the savages, overtook them within
twenty miles of the Greenbrier settlement, passed them that night, and
alarmed the people just in time for them to flee to the blockhouses. Don-
naUy s f ort stood within two miles of the present village of Frankfort, in
Greenbrier County. Twenty men, with their famiUes, took shelter there.

WEST VIRGINIA IN THE REVOLUTION. 53
At Lewisburg, ten miles distant, perhaps one hundred men had assembled,
with their families. The Indians apparently knew which was the weaker
fort, and accordingly proceeded against Donnally's, upon which they mad^
an attack at daybreak. One of the men had gone out for kindling wood
and had left the gate open. The Indians killed this man and made a rush
for the fort and crowded into the yard. While some crawled under the
floor, hoping to gain an entrance by that means, others climbed to the roof.
Still others began hewing the door, which had been hurriedly closed, AU
the men in the fort were asleep except one white man and a negro slave.
As the savages were forcing open the door, the foremost was killed with a'
tomahawk by the white man, and the negro discharged a musket loaded
with heavy shot into the faces of the Indians. The men in the fore were
awakened and fired through the port holes. Seventeen savages were killed
in the yard. The others fell back, ahd contented themselves with firing at
longer ratige. In the afternoon sixty-six men arrived from Lewisburg, and
the Indians were forced to raise the siege. Their expedition to Greenbrier
had been a more signal failure than the attempt on Fort Randolph.
The country along the Monongahela was invaded three times in the
year 1778, and once the following year. Pew settlements within one hun
dred miles of the Ohio River escaped. In 1780 Greenbrier was again paid
a visit by the savages; and in this year their raids extended eastward into
Randolph County, and to Cheat River, in Tucker County, to the very base
of the Alleghany Mountains. The Monongahela Valley, as usual, did not
escape, and ten settlers were killed.
In this year General George Roger Clark, with a small but excellent
army, invaded Illinois to break up the British influence there. He left
Captain Helm in charge of Vincennes, Indiana. No sooner had Governor
Hamilton heard of the success of Clark than he set out from Detroit to re
establish the British prestige. He took with him thirty-five British regu
lars, forty-four irregulars, seventy militia and sixty Indians, He picked
other Indians up on the way, and reached Vincennes December 17, Cap
tain Helm surrendered. Hamilton then dismissed the Indians, ordering
them to re-assemble the next spring with large reenforcements. His
designs were ambitious, embracing conquests no less extensive than the
driving of the Americans out of Illinois, liidiana, Kentucky, West Virginia,
and the capture of Pittsburg. But (j-eneral Clark destroyed all of these
high hopes. Marching in the dead of winter he captured Vincennes, Feb
ruary 25, 1779, after a severe fight, and released nearly one hundred white
prisoners, Chastised the Indians, captured stores worth fifty thousand
dollars, cleared the whole country of British from the Mississippi to Detroit;
and, most important of all, captured Governor Hamilton himself, and sent
him in chains to Richmond. This victory secured to. the United States the
country as far as the Mississippi; and it greatly dampened the ardor of the
Indians. They saw for the first time that the British were not able to pro
tect them.
Port Mcintosh was built in 1778 on the no^-th bank of the Ohio, below
the mouth of Beavei?, and the headquarters of the army were moved from
Pittsburg to that place, October 8, 1778, In the same year Fort Laurens
was built on the west bank of the Tuscarawas, below the mouth of Sandy
Creek, and Colonel John Gibson was placed in command with 150 men. On
March 22, 1779, Captain Bird, a British officer from Detroit, and Simon
Girty, with 120 Indians and seven or eight British soldiers, besieged the

54 WEST VIRGINIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
fort and remained before it nearly a month, but failed to take it, although
they killed a number of soldiers.
In April, 1781, General Brodhead, with 150 regulars and 150 militia,
crossed the Ohio at Wheeling and led an expedition' against the Delawares
at Coshocton. He killed or captured thirty Indians and destroyed a few
towns. He suffered little loss. In 1782 occurred the massacre of the Mora
vian Indians in Ohio. They lived under the care of missionaries, and
claimed to be at peace with all men. But articles of clothing were discov
ered among them which were recognized as belonging to white settlers who
had been murdered in West Virginia. This confirmed the suspicion that
the Moravian Indians, if they did not take part in raids against the settle
ments, had a good understanding with Indians who were engaged in raiding
They were therefore put to death. The act was barbarous and inexcusable.
The third and last siege of Wheeling occurred in September 1782. The
British planned an attack on Wheeling in July of that year, just after
Crawford's defeat which had greatly encouraged the Indians. They had
scarcely ended the torture of prisoners who had fallen into their hands,
including Colonel Crawford, when they clamored to be led against the
settlements. The British were only too willing to assist them; and in July
a number of British soldiers and 300 Indians, under command of a white
man named Caldwell, moved toward Wheeling. Simon and George Girty
were in this force. Before the army had fairly set out, news came that
General Clark was invading the Indian country. The army on the march
to Wheeling halted. At the same time a rumor was spread that General
Irvine was marching toward Canada from Pittsburg. Re-inforcements for
Canada were asked for, and 1400 Indians assembled. Subsequently it was
learned that the reports of invasions were unfounded, and the Indian army
dispersed. Caldwell with George and Simon Girty and 300 Indians invaded
Kentucky and attacked Bryant's station August 14, 1782. The British and
Indians did not give up the proposed expedition against Wheeling, and Capt.
Pratt with 40 British regulars and 238 Indians marched against the place and
attacked it September 11. James Girty was with this expedition but had no
command. Simon Girty was never present at any attack on WheeUng.
There were fewer than twenty men in Fort Henry at Wheeling when the
Indians appeared. The commandant. Captain Boggs, had gone to warn the
neighboring settlements of danger. The whole attacking force marched
under the British flag. Just before the attack commenced, a boat, in
charge of a man named Sullivan, arrived from Pittsburg, loaded with
cannon balls for the garrison at Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. SuUivan and
his party seeing the danger, tied the boat and made their way to the fort
and assisted in the defense. The besiegers demanded an immediate surren
der, which was not compUed with. The attack was delayed till night. The
experience gained by the Indians in the war had taught them that Uttle is
gained by a wild rush against the walls of a stockade. No doubt Captain
Pratt advised them also what course to pursue. When night came they
made their assault. More than twenty times did they pile hemp against
the walls of the fort and attempt to set the structure on fire. But the
hemp was damp and burned slowly. No harm was done. Colonel Zane's
cabin stood near the stockade. His house had been burned at the siege in
1777; and when the Indians again appeared he resolved to defend his build
ing. He remained in the cabin with two or three others, among them a
negro slave. That night an Indian crawled up with a chunk of fire to burn

WEST VIRGINIA IN THE REVOLUTION. 55
the house, but a shot from the negro's gun crippled him and he gave up his
incendiary project. Attempts were made to breakdown the gates, but they
did dot succeed. A small cannon mounted on one of the bastions was occa-
sionaUy discharged among the savages, much to their discomfiture. On
one occasion when a number of Indians had gathered in a loft of one of the
nearest cabins and were dancing and yelling in defiance of the garrison, the
cannon was turned on them, and a solid shot cutting one of the joists, pre
cipitated the savages to the fioor beneath and put a stop to their revelry.
The Indians captured the boat with the cannon balls, and decided to
use them. They procured a hollow log, plugged one end, and wrapped it
with chains stolen from a neighboring blacksmith shop. They loaded the
piece with powder and ball, and fired it at the fort. Pieces of the wooden
cannon flew in all directions, killing and maiming several Indians, but did
not harm the fort. The savages were discouraged, and when a force of
seventy men, under Captain Boggs, approached, the Indians fled. They
did not, however, leave the country at once, but made an attack on Rice's
fort, where they lost four warriors and accomplished nothing.
The siege of Port Henry is remarkable from the fact that the flag
under which the army marched to the attack, and which was shot down
during the fight, was the last British fiag to float over an army in battle,
during the Revolution, within the limits of the United States. West Vir
ginia was never again invaded by a large Indian force, but small parties
continued to make incursions till 1795. The war with England closed by a
treaty of peace in 1783. In July of that year DePeyster, Governor at
Detroit, called the Indians together, told them that the war between Amer
ica and Great Britain was at an end, and dismissed them. After that date
the Indians fought on their own account, although the British still held
posts in the Northwest, under the excuse that the Americans had not com
plied with the terms of the treaty of peace. It was believed, and not with
out evidence, that the savages were still encouraged by the British, if not
directly supplied with arms, to wage war against the frontiers. In the
autumn of 1783 there was a large gathering of Indians at Sandusky,
where they were harangued by Sir John Johnson, the British
Superintendent of Indian affairs. Simon Girty was present and was using
his influence for evil. Johnson urged the Indians to further resistance. .
In February, 1783, while the English Parliament was discussing the
American treaty, about to be ratifled, Lord North, who opposed peace on
the proposed terms, insisted that the Americans should be shut away from
the Great Lakes; the forts in that vicinity should be held, and Can
ada should be extended to the Ohio River. He declared that
the Indian allies of Great Britain ought to be cared for, and that
their independence ought to be guaranteed by Great Britain, In
the autumn of that year, 1783, when the order was given for the
evacuation of New York by the British, Lord North, on the petition of
merchants and fur traders of Canada, vsdthheld the order for the evacua
tion of the posts about the lakes. On August 8 of that year Baron Steuben,
who had been sent for that purpose by the Americans, demanded of Gover
nor Haldimand of Canada, that British forces be withdrawn from the posts
in the Northwest. Governor Haldimand replied that he had received no
instructions on that subject, and he would not surrender the posts. The
British, in 1785, claimed that they continued to hold the posts in Ohio,
Indiana and beyond because some of the states, and especially Virginia,

56 WEST VIRGINIA IN THE REVOLUTION.
had not yet opened their courts to British creditors for the collection of debts
against Americans incurred before the war. Thus the British continued to
occupy posts clearly within the United States, much to the irritation oi the
American people. The Indians were restless, and the belief was general,
and was well founded, that the British were encouraging them to hostility.
They became insolent, and invaded the settlements in West Virginia and
Kentucky, and in 1790 the United States declared war upon them and took
vigorous measures to bring them to terms. General Harmar invaded the
country north of the Ohio at the head of a strong force in 1790. He
suffered his army to be divided and defeated. The next year General St.
Clair led an army into the Indian country, and met with one of the most
disastrous defeats in the annals of Indian warfare. He lost nearly eight
hundred men in one battle. General Wayne now took charge of the cam
paign in the Indian country. When he began to invade the northern part
Ohio, the British about Lake Erie moved south and built a fort on the
Maumee River, opposite PerrysviUe, Ohio. This was in the summer of
1794. The object in building the fort was clearly to encourage the Indians
and to insult the Americans. On August 20, 1794, General Wayne found
the Indians within two miles of the British fort, prepared for battle. He
made an attack on the savages, routed them in a few minutes and drove
them. They were crushed and there was no more fight in them for fifteen
years. General Wayne was a Revolutionary soldier, and had little love for the
British, The sight of their fort on American soil fiUed him with impatience^
to attack it; but he did not wish to do so without a pretext. He hoped to*
provoke the garrison to attack him, to give him an excuse to destroy the
fort. He therefore camped his army after the battle within half a mile of
the fort., The commandant sent a message to him saying: "The comman
dant of the British fort is surprised to see an American army advanced so
far into this country," and "why has the army had the assurance to camp
under the very mouths of His Majesty's cannon?" General Wayne answered
that the battle which had just taken place might well inform the British
what the American army was doing in that country, and added: "Had the
flying savages taken shelter under the walls of the fort. His Majesty's
cannon should not have protected them." Two days later General Wayne
destroyed everything to within one hundred yards of the fort, and laid
waste the Indian fields of corn, pumpkins and beans for miles around. The
country was highly cultivated, there being thousands of acres in corn and
vegetables. Finding that his efforts thus far had failed to provoke an
attack by the garrison. General Wayne led his soldiers to within pistol
shot of the walls, in hope of bringing a shot from his inveterate enemies.
But the only reply General Wayne received was a flag of truce with another
message, which stated that ' 'the British commandant is much aggrieved at
seeing His Majesty's colors insulted. " Wayne then burned all the houses
and destroyed all the property to the very walls of the fort. This cam
paign ended the depredation of the Indians in West Virginia.

CHAPTER VI,

 :o: 
SUBDIVISIONS AND BOUNDARIES.
West Virginia's boundaries coincide, in part, with the boundaries of five
other States, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Kentucky. Some
of these lines are associated with events of historical interest, and for a
number of years were subjects of controversy, not always friendly. It is
understood, of course, that all the boundary lines of the territory now em
braced in West Virginia, except the line between this State and Virginia,
were agreed to and settled before West Virginia became a seperate State.
That is, the lines between this State and Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ken
tucky and Ohio were all settled more than one hundred years ago.. To
speak briefly of each, the line separating West Virginia from Ohio may be
taken first.
At the time the Articles of Confederation were under discussion in
Congress, 1778, Virginia's territory extended westward to the Mississippi
River. The government of the United States never recognized the Quebec
Act, which was passed by the English Parliament before the Revolutionary
War, and which extended the province of Quebec south to the Ohio River.
Consequently, after the Declaration of Independence was signed, Virginia's
claim to that territory was not disputed by the other colonies; but when
the time came for agreeing to the Articles of Confederation which bound
the states together in one common country, objection was raised to Vir
ginia's extensive territory, which was nearly as large as all the other states
together. The fear was expressed that Virginia would become so power
ful and wealthy, on account of its extent, that it would possess and exer
cise an infiuence in the affairs of government too great for the well-being
of the other states.
Maryland appears to have been the first state to take a decided stand
that Virginia should cede its territory north and west of the Ohio to the
general government. It was urged in justification of this course that the
territory had been conquered from the British and the Indians by the blood
and treasure of the whole country, and that it was right that the vacant
lands should be appropriated to the use of the citizens of the whole
country. Maryland took this stand June 22, 1778. Virginia refused to
consent to the ceding of her western territory; and from that time till Feb
ruary 2, 1781, Maryland refused to agree to the Articles of Confederation,
On November 2, 1778, New Jersey formally filed an objection to Virginia's
large territory; but the New Jersey delegates finally signed the Articles of
Confederation, expressing at the same time the conviction that justice
would in time remove the inequality in territories as far as possible. On
February 22, 1779, the delegates from Delaware signed, but also remon
strated, and presented resolutions setting forth that the United States Con-

58 SUBDIVISIONS AND BOUNDARIES.
gress ought to have power to fix the western limits of any state claiming
territory to the Mississippi or beyond. On May 21, 1779, the delegates
from Maryland laid before Congress instructions received by them from the
General Assembly of Maryland. The point aimed at in these instructions
was that those states having almost boundless western territory had it- in
their power to sell lands at a very low price, thus filling their treasuries
with money, thereby lessening taxation; and at the same time the cheap
lands and the low taxes would draw away from adjoining states many of
the best inhabitants. Congress was, therefore, asked to use its influence
with those states having extensive territory, to the end that they would
not place their lands on the market until the close of the Revolutionary War.
Virginia was not mentioned by name, but it was well known that reference
was made to that State. Congress passed, October 30, 1779, a resolution
requesting Virginia not to open a land office till the close of the war. On
March 7, 1780, the delegates from New York announced that State ready to
give up its western territory; and this was formally done on March 1, 1781.
New York having thus opened the way, other states followed the example
and ceded to the United States their western territories or claims as follows:
Virginia, March 1, 1784; Massachusetts, April 19, 1785; Connecticut, Sep
tember 14, 1786; South Carolina, August 9, 1787; North Carolina, February
25, 1790; Georgia, April 24, 1802.
Within less than two months after Virginia ceded her northwest terri
tory to the United States, Congress passed an ordinance for the govern
ment of the territory. The deed of cession was made by Thomas Jefferson,
Arthur Lee, Samuel Hardy and James Monroe, delegates in Congress from
Virginia. The boundary line between Virginia and the territory ceded to
the general government was the northwdst bank of the Ohio River at low
water. The islands in the stream belonged to Virginia. When West Vir
ginia became a separate State, the boundary remained unchanged.
The line between West Virginia and Kentucky remains the same as
that formerly separating Virginia from Kentucky. The General Assembly
of Virginia, December 18, 1789, passed an act authorizing a convention to be
held in the District of Kentucky to consider whether it was expedient to
form that district into a separate State. The convention decided to form a
State, and Kentucky was admitted into the Union in 1792. Commissioners
were appointed to adjust the boundary line between Virginia and Kentucky,
and agreed that the line separating the two states should remain the same
as that form,gjj'ly separating Virginia from the District of Kentucky. The
line is as follows so far as West Virginia and Kentucky are contiguous:
Beginning at the northwestern point of McDowell County, thence down Big
Sandy River to its confluence with the Ohio.
The Une dividing the northern Umits of West Virginia from the south
ern limits of Pennsylvania was for many years a matter of dispute. Mary
land and Pennsylvania had nearly a century of bickering concerning the
matter before Virginia took it up in earnest. It is not necessary at this
time to give the details of the controversy. A few facts wiU suffice, Penn
sylvania and Maryland having contended for a long time over their common
boundary line, two eminent astronomers, Charles Mason and Jeremiah
Dixon of England, were employed to mark a line five degrees west from
the Delaware River at a point where it is crossed by the parallel of north lati
tude 39 degrees, 43 minutes, 26 seconds. They commenced work in the lat
ter part of 1763, and completed it in |he latter part of 1767. This line,

SUBDIVISIONS AND BOUNDARIES, 59
called Mason and Dixon's line, was accepted as the boundary between
Pennsylvania and Maryland, and the controversy was at an end. But
beyond the west line of Maryland, where Virginia's and Pennsylvania's
posessions came in contact, a dispute arose, almost leading to open hostili
ties between the people of the two states. Virginia wanted Pittsburg, and
boldly and stubbornly set up a claim to territory, at least as far north as
the fortieth degree of latitude. This would have given Virginia part of
Fayette and Greene Counties, Pennsylvania, On the other hand, Penn
sylvania claimed the country south to the thirty-ninth degree, which
would have extended its jurisdiction over the present territory of West Vir
ginia included in the counties of Monongalia, Preston, Marion, Taylor,
parts of Tucker, Barbour, Upshur, Lewis, Harrison, Wetzel and Randolph,
The territory in dispute was about four times as large as the State of
Rhode Island. It was finally settled by a compromise. It was agreed that
the Mason and Dixon's line be extended west five degrees from the Dela
ware River. The commissioners appointed to adjust the boundary were
Dr. James Madison and Robert Andrews on the part of Virginia, and David
Ritenhouse, John Ewing and George Bryan on the part of Pennsylvania.
They met at Baltimore in 1779 and agreed upon a line. The next yeair the
agreement was ratified, by Virginia in June and Pennsylvania in Septem
ber. A line was then run due north from the western end of Mason and
Dixon's line, till it reached the Ohio River. This completed the boundary
lines between Virginia and Pennsylvania; and West Virginia's territory is
bounded by the same lines.
The fixing of the boundary between Virginia and Maryland was long a
subject of controversy. It began in the early years of the colony, long
before the Revolutionary War, and has continued, it may be said, till the
present day, for occasionally the agitation is revived. West Virginia inheri
ted most of the subject of dispute when it set up a separate government.
The controversy began so early in the history of the country, when the
geography of what is now West Virginia was so imperfe(^tly understood,
that boundaries were stated in general terms, following certain rivers; and in
after time these general terms were differently understood. Nearly two hun
dred years ago the Potomac River was designated as the dividing line between
lands granted in Maryland and lands granted in Virginia; but at that time
the upper tributaries of that river had never been explored, and as no one
knew what was the main stream and what were tributary streams. Lord
Fairfax had the stream explored, and the explorers decided that the main
river had its source at a point where the Fairfax Stone was planted, the
present corner of Tucker, Preston and Grant Counties, in West Virginia,
It also was claimed as the southwest corner of Maryland, It has so
remained to this day, but not without much controversy on the part of
Maryland. The claim was set up by Maryland, in 1830, that the stream known as
the South Branch of the Potomac is the main Potomac River, and that all
territory north of that stream and south of Pennsylvania, belonged to
Maryland. A line drawn due north from the source of the South Branch to
the Pennsylvania line was to be the western boundary of Maryland. Had
that State succeeded in establishing its claim and extending its jurisdiction,
the foUowing territory would have been transferred to Maryland: Part of
Highland County, Virginia; portions of Randelph, Tucker, Preston, Pen
dleton, Hardy, Grant, Hampshire and all of Mineral Counties, West Vir-

60 SUBDiyiSlONS AND BOUNDARIES.
ginia. The claim of Maryland was resisted, and Governor Floyd, of Vir
ginia, appointed Charles J. Faulkner, of Martinsburg, to investigate the
whole matter, and ascertain, if possible, which was the main Potomac, and
to consult all avaUable early authorities on the subject. Mr. Faulkner filed
his report November 6, 1832, and in this report he showed that the South
Branch was not the main Potomac, and that the Une as fixed by Lord Pair-
fax's surveyors remained the true and proper boundary between Virginia
and Maryland. The Une due north from the Fairfax Stone to the Pennsyl
vania line remains the boundary in that quarter between West Virginia and
Maryland, but the latter State is still disputing it.
When West Virginia separated from Virginia and took steps to set up
a government for itself, it was at one time proposed to call the State
Kanawha; and its eastern boundary was indicated so as to exclude some of
the best counties now in the State. The counties to be excluded were
Mercer, Greenbrier, Monroe, Pocahontas, Pendleton, Hardy, then including
Grant; Hampshire, then including Mineral; Morgan, Berkeley and Jeffer
son. It was provided that any adjoining county of Virginia on the east
might become a part of the State of West Virginia whenever a majority of
the people of the county expressed a willingness to enter the new State.
But, before the State was admitted the boundary line was changed and was
fixed as it now is found.
As is well known, the territory which now forms West Virginia was a
portion of Virginia from the first exploration of the country until separated
from the State during the Civil War, in 1863. For a quarter of a century
after the first settlement was planted in Virginia there were no counties;
but as the country began to be explored, and when the original settlement
at Jamestown grew, and others were made, it was deemed expedient to
divide the State into counties, although the entire population at that time
was scarcely enough for one respectable county. Accordingly, Virginia
was divided into eight counties in 1634. The western limits were not
clearly defined, except that Virginia claimed the land from the Atlantic to
the Pacific, and it was no doubt intended that the counties on the west
should embrace all her territory in that direction. The country beyond the
Blue Ridge was unexplored, and only the vaguest ideas existed concerning
it. There was a prevailing belief that beyond the Blue Ridge the country
sloped to the Pacific, and that a river would be found with -its source in the
Blue Ridge and its mouth in that ocean.
The eastern portion of West Virginia, along the Potomac and its tribu
taries in 1735, was no longer an unbroken wilderness, but settlements existed
in several places. In 1738 it was urged that there were people enough in
the territory to warrant the formation of a new county. Accordingly, that
portion of Orange west of the Blue Ridge was formed into two counties,
Augusta and Frederick. Thus Orange County no longer embraced any
portion of the territory now in this State. Frederick County embraced the
lower, or northern part of the Shenandoah Valley, with Winchester as the
county seat, and Augusta the Southern, or Upper Valley, with Staunton as
the seat of justice. Augusta then included almost all of West Virginia and
extended to the Mississippi River, including Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan,
Indiana and Illinois. From its territory all the counties of West Virginia,
except Jefferson, Berkeley and part of Morgan, have been formed, and its
subdivision into counties will be the subject of this chapter. No part of
West Virginia retains the name of Augusta, but the county still exists in

SUBDIVISIONS AND BOUNDARIES,

61

Virginia, part of the original county of that name, and its county seat is the
same as at first — Staunton.
In 1769 Botetourt county was formed from Augusta and included the
territory now embraced in McDowell, Wyoming, Mercer, Monroe, Raleigh
and portions of Greenbrier, Boone and Logan. No county in West Vir
ginia now has the name Botetourt. It is thus seen that no one of the first
counties in the territory of West Virginia retains any name in it. Essex,
Spotsylvania, Orange, Augusta and Botetourt, each in its turn, embraced
large parts of the State, but all the territory remaining under the original
names is found in old Virginia, whpre the names are preserved. The Dis
trict of West Augusta was a peculiar division of West Virginia's present

oj{J/i/kr Trut /, ,'(u,n; of FotI O.jVrf

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

J7i-S

On,,,,,,, Co.intjLm. 
iint! ¦//'rcjtnt C.„rijti....
forh are Mdr.fe<L X

MAP OF THE PIEST COUNTY AVHOLLY IN WEST VIRGINIA.
territory. It was not a county. Its boundary lines as laid down in the Act
of Assembly in 1776, failed to meet— that is, one side of the District was
open and without a boundary. Yet counties were formed from West
Augusta as if it were a county and subject to division. From it Monongalia
was taken, yet part of Monongalia was never in the District of West
Augusta. The confusion was due to the ignorance of the geography of the
region at that time. The boundary lines, from a mathematical standpoint,
enclosed nothing, or, at any rate, it is uncertain what they enclosed. The
act of 1776, declaring the line between Augusta County and the District of
West Augusta reads as follows :
"Beginning on the Alleghany Mountain between the heads of the Potomac, Cheat
and Greenbrier Elvers, thence along the ridge of mountains which divides the waters of

62 - SUBDIVISIONS AND BOUNDARIES.
Cheat from those of Greenbrier, and that branch of the Monongahela called Tygart's
Valley Elver to the Monongahela Elver, thence up the said river and the west fork
thereof to Bingemaa's Creek, on the northwest side of the said west fork, thence up the
said creek to the head thereof, thence In a direct course to the head of the Middle Island
Creek, a branch of the Ohio, including all the waters of said creek In the aforesaid Dis-
/trict of West Augusta. All that territory lying to the northward of the aforesaid boun
dary, and to the westward of the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland, shall be deemed,
and is hereby declared to be in the District of West Augusta. "
The territory so laid off would include of the present counties of West
Virginia a narrow strip through the center of Randolph, east of Cheat
Mountain, one fourth of Tucker, the western half of Preston, nearly all of
Marion, and Monongalia, Wetzel, Marshall, Ohio, Brooke and Hancock, part of
Tyler and Pleasants, a small corner of Doddridge, and an indefinite part of
the present State of Pennsylvania. The eastern parts of Tucker, Ran
dolph and Preston, outside the boundaries of West Augusta, were subse
quently included in Monongalia County, under the apparent presumption
that they had belonged to West Augusta.
Following is a list of the counties of West Virginia, with the date of
formation, area and from whom named:
Hampshire, 630 square miles; formed 1754 from Augusta; named for
Hampshire, England; settled about 1730.
Berkeley, 320 square miles; formed 1772 from Frederick; named for
Governor Berkeley, of Virginia; settled about 1730.
Monongalia, 360 square miles; formed 1776 from West Augusta;
named for the river; settled 1758.
Ohio, 120 miles; formed 1776 from West Augusta; settled 1770; named
for the river.
Greenbrier, 1000 miles; formed 1777 from Botetourt; settled 1750;
named for briers growing on the river bank.
Harrison, 450 mUes; formed 1784 from MonongaUa; settled 1770;
named for Benjamin Harrison, Governor of Virginia.
Hardy, 700 miles; formed from Hampshire 1785; settled 1740; named
for Samuel Hardy, of Virginia.
¦ Randolph, 1080 miles; formed 1786 from Harrison; settled 1753; named
for Edmund Randolph.
Pendleton, 650 miles; formed 1787 from Augusta, Hardy and Rocking
ham; settled 1750; named for Edmund Pendleton.
Kanawha, 980 mUes; formed 1789 from Greenbrier and Montgomery;
settled 1774; named for the river.
Brooke, 80 mUes; formed from Ohio 1796; settled about 1772; named
for Robert Brooke, Governor of Virginia.
Wood, 375 mUes; formed from Harrison 1798; settled about 1773
named for James Wood, Governor of Virginia.
Monroe, 460 miles; formed 1799 from Greenbrier; settled about 1760
named for James Monroe.
Jefferson, 250 miles; formed 1801 from Berkeley; settled about 1730
named for Thomas Jefferson.
Mason 430 miles; formed 1804 from Kanawha; settled about 1774:
named for George Mason, of Virginia.
Cabell 300 mUes; formed from Kanawha 1809; settled about 1790;
named for William H. Cabell, Governor of Virginia.
4= -r'^u^^.^'n^^^ ™^®^' fo™ed from Ohio 1814; settled about 1776; named,
for John Tyler.

SUBDIVISIONS AND BOUNDARIES. 68
Lewis, 400 mUes; formed from Harrison 1816; settled about 1780;
named for Colonel Charles Lewis.
Nicholas, 720 mUes; formed 1818 from; Kanawha, Greenbrier and
Randolph; named for W. C. Nicholas, Governor of Virginia.
Preston, 650 miles; formed 1818 from MonongaUa; settled about 1760;
named for James P. Preston, Governor of Virginia.
Morgan, 300 miles; formed 1820 from Hampshire and Berkeley;
settled about 1730; named for Daniel Morgan.
Pocahontas, 820 miles; formed 18g^ from Bath, Pendleton and Ran
dolph; settled 1749; named for Pocahontas, an Indian girl.
Logan, 400 miles, formed from Kanawha, Giles, Cabell and Tazwell,
1824; named for Logan, an Indian.
Jackson, 400 miles; formed 1831 from Kanawha, Wood and Mason;
settled about 1796; named for Andrew Jackson.
Fayette, 750 miles; formed from Logan, Kanawha, Greenbrier and
Nicholas 1831; named for Lafayette.
Marshall, 240 miles; formed 1835 from Ohio; settled about 1769;
named for Chief Justice Marshall.
Braxton, 620 miles; formed 1836 from Kanawha, Lewis and Nicholas;
settled about 1794; named for Carter Braxton.
Mercer, 400 miles; formed 1837 from Giles and Tazwell; named for
General Hugh Mercer.
Marion, 300 miles;' formed 1842 from Harrison and Monongalia;
named for General Marion.
Wayne, 440 miles; formed 1841 from Cabell; named for General
Anthony Wayne.
Taylor, 150 miles; formed 1844 from Harrison, Barbour and Marion;
named for John Taylor.
Doddridge, 300 miles; formed 1845 from Harrison, Tyler, Ritchie and
Lewis; named for Philip Doddridge.
Gilmer, 360 miles; formed 1845 from Kanawha and Lewis; named for
Thomas W. Gilmer of Virginia.
Wetzel, 440 miles; formed 1846 from Tyler; named for Lewis Wetzel.
Boone, 500 miles; formed 1847 from Kanawha, Cabell and Logan;
named for Daniel Boone.
Putnam, 320 miles; formed 1848 from Kanawha, Cabell and Mason;
named for Israel Putnam.
Barbour, 360 miles; formed 1843 from Harrison, Lewis and Randolph;
named for James Barbour, governor of Virginia.
Ritchie, 400 miles; formed 1844 from Harrison, Lewis and Wood;
named for Thomas Ritchie of Virginia.
Wirt, 290 miles; formed 1848 from Wood and Jackson; settled about
1796; named for WiUiam Wirt.
Hancock, 100 miles; formed 1848 from Brooke; settled about 1776;
named for John Hancock.
Raleigh, 680 miles; formed 1850 from Fayette; named for Sir Walter
Raleigh. Wyoming, 660 rniles; formed 1850 from Logan; an Indian name. ,
Pleasants, 150 miles; formed 1851 from Wood, Tyler and Ritchie;
named for James Pleasants, governor of Virginia.
Upshur, 350 miles; formed 1851 from Randolph, Barbour and Lewis;
settled about 1767; named for Judge A. P. Upshur.

64 SUBDIVISIONS AND BOUNDARIES.
Calhoun, 260 miles; formed 1856 from Gilmer; named for J. C. Cal
houn. Roane, 350 miles; formed 1856 from Kanawha, Jackson and Gilmer;
settled about 1791; named for Judge Roane of Virginia.
Tucker, 340 miles; formed 1856 from Randolph; settled about 1774;
named for Judge St. George Tucker.
Clay, 390 miles; formed 1858 from Braxton and Nicholas; named for
Henry Clay.
McDowell, 860 miles; formed 1858 from Tazwell; named for James
McDowell, governor of Virginia.
Webster, 450 miles; formed 1860 from Randolph, Nicholas and Brax
ton; named for Daniel Webster.
Mineral, 300 miles; formed 1866 fi;om Hampshire; named for its coal.
Grant, 620 miles; formed 1866 from Hardy; named for General U, S.
Grant; settled about 1740.
Lincoln, 460 miles; formed 1867 from Kanawha, Cabell, Boone and
Putnam; settled about 1'799; named for Abraham Lincoln.
Summers, 400 miles; formed 1871 from Monroe, Mercer, Greenbrier
and Payette; named for Lewis and George W. Summers.
Mingo, about 400 miles; formed 1895 from Logan; named for Logan
the Mingo.

SUBDIVISIONS AND BOUNDARIES.

65

POPULATION OF THE COUNTIES OF WEST VIRGINIA
EACH TEN YEARS FROM 1790 TO 1890,
BOTH INCLUSIVE.

1790

1800

1810

1820

1830

1840

1850

1860

1870

1880

1890

Hampshire 
Berkeley 

7346
19713 476852126015 2080 7336 951
2452

8348
22006 8540474043454848 66271826 396232394706 12174188

9784
1147912793 817559149958552528544239 38665843 30365444
11851 1991 2717

108891121111060 91827041
10932 57003357484663996631 58606580
13087 48684789 23144247185334222500

11279105181405615584 9006
14722 6798 500062719326 7041
6429 7798
12927 653458844104624133465144269425423680

122451997217368 13357 8695
17669 762262086940
13567 794879238422
14082 6777816369548151225568664253
292243094890392469372575
2233

1403611771123571800610022 11728 954352435797
15353 5054 9450
1020415357 7539
62995498
10031 3963
11708 355735983620
6544 3955
10138 4212
4222
10552 4760
6357 27503475
4282 3237
53359005 39023353
4050
1765 1645

139131252513048224221221113790 986449906164
16151 5494
110461075714535 9173802065177999
4627
13312 37323958
493883065997
12937 4992 6819
12722 67478463520337596703
4840 6301
89586847 3751
4445 336728612945 7292
25025381
14281787 1535
1555

7613
1490013547288311141716714 551855636455
22349 5464
19000 111241321915978 64297832
10175 4458
14555 431540695124
10300 6647
imi 64807064
12107 7852
93677076
4338 8559
4553 7794
10312 905548044363367331713012802329307232190721961952
1730 6332
4467 5053

103361738014985374571506020181 679481028022
32466 6013
25006115011500522296 13744
11073 13269 7223
19091 5777
5591 7329
16312
1156018840 97877467
17198147391145510552 7108
13896 5824
113751187013474 7104
4882 7367
4322 6256
10249 6072
12184 31513460307432078630554287399033

1141918702

Monongalia 
Ohio. 
Greenbrier 
Harrison 
Hardy 

15705415571803421919 7567

Randolph 
Pendleton 
Kanawha 

11633 8711
42756

Brooke 

6660

Wood ...» 
Monroe 

2861212429

Jefferson 

15553
Mason 
22863
Cabell 
23528
Tyler. . : 
11962
Lewis . 
15895
Nicholas 
9307
Preston 
20335
Morgan 
6774
Pocahontas 
6814
Logan 
11101
Jackson
19021
Payette 
20542
Marshall 
20735
Braxton 
13928
Mercer 
16002
Marion
20721
Wayne .
18652
Taylor 
12147
Doddridge 
12183
Gilmer.
9746
Wetzel 
16841
Boone
6885
Putnam
14342
Barbour .
12702
Ritchie 
16621
Wirt
9411
Hancock
6414
Raleigh
9597
Wvomlnff
6247
Pleasants
7539
Upshur
12714
Calhoun
8155
Roane
15303
Tucker
6459
Clay.
4659
McDowell .
7300
Webster
4783
Mineral
12085
Grant
-
6802
Lincoln
11246
Summers
13117
Mingo 

CHAPTER VIL

-:o:-

THE NEWSPAPERS OF WEST VIRGINIA.
Newspaper history commenced in the territory now forming West Vir
ginia nearly one hundred years ago; that is, in 1803. The beginning was
small, but ambitious; and although the first journal to make its appearance
in the State, ceased to pay its visits to the pioneers generations ago; yet,
from that small beginning has grown a press which will rank with that of
any State in the Union, if population and other conditions are taken into
account. West Virginia has no large city, and consequently has no paper
of metropolitan pretensions, but its press fulfills every requirement of its
people; faithfully represents every business interest; maintains every hon
orable political principle; upholds morality; encourages education, and has
its strength in the good will of the people. This chapter can do little more
than present an outline of the growth of journalism in this State, together
with facts and figures relating to the subject.
The first.. paper published in West Virginia was the Monongalia Gazette,
at Morgantown in 1803. The Farmer's Register, printed at Charlestown,
Jefferson County, was the next. These were the only papers in the State
in 1810. The oldest paper still being published in West Virginia is the
Virginia Free Press, printed at Charlestown. It was founded in 1821. The
Monongalia Gazette was perhaps an up-to-date journal in its day; but it
would be unsatisfactory at the present time. It was in four page form,
each page sixteen inches long and ten inches wide. There were four col
umns to the page. Its editors were Campbell and Briton; its subscription
rate was six cents a copy, or two d«jllars a year. It was impossible that a
weekly paper so small could efficiently cover the news, even though the
news of that day was far below the standard set for the present time. Yet,
had such a paper been edited in accordance with modern ideas, it could
have exerted a much wider influence than it did exert. No other paper was
near enough to make inroads upon its field of circulation and influence; and
it might have had the whole region to itself. But it did not expand, as might
have been expected; on the contrary, within three years it reduced its size
about one-half. More space in it was given to foreign news than to the
happenings of County, State and Nation. Before the days of railroads,
steamboats and telegraphing, it may readily be understood that the events
recorded from foreign countries were so stale at the date of their pubhca-
tion in the backwoods paper that they almost deserved classification as
ancient history. The domestic news, particularly that relating to distant
states, was usually several weeks old before it found place in the Gazette,
County occurrences, and happenings in the neighboring counties, were

THE NEWSPAPERS OF WEST VIRGINIA. 67
given little attention. Many a valuable scrap of local history might have
been permanently preserved in that pioneer journal; but the county his
torian looks through the crumpled and yellow files in vain. But, on the
other hand, he encounters numerous mentions of Napoleon's movements;
the Emperor of Russia's undertakings, and England's achievements; all of
which would have been valuable as history were it not that Guizot, Ram-
baud and Knight have given us the same things in better style; so that it is
labor thrown away to search for them in the circumscribed columns of a
pioneer paper printed on the forest-covered banks of the Monongahela.
Joseph Campbell, one of the editors and proprietors of the Gazette, had
learned the printing trade in Philadelphia. It is not known at what date
the paper suspended publication. It was customary in early times, as well
as at the present day, to incorporate two or more papers into one, drop the
name of one and continue the publication. The Gazette may thus have
passed quietly out of its individual existence.
Monongalia County fostered the first newspaper west of the AUegha
nies in the State, and it also has had perhaps as many papers as any county
of West Virginia. The full list, from the first till the present time, num
bers between thirty and forty. The list compiled by Samuel T. Wiley, the
historian of Monongalia, shows that the County had thirty-one papers prior
to 1880. Nearly all of these suspended after brief careers. It would be
difficult to compile a list of all the papers established in this State from the
earliest times till the present. It would perhaps be impossible to do so, for
some of them died in their infancy, and a copy cannot now be found.
There were, no doubt, many whose very names are not now remembered.
It would not be an extravagant estimate to place the total number bi papers
published in this State, both those still in existence and those which are
dead, at five hundred. It would be a surprise to many persons to learn
how ephemeral is the average newspaper. It comes and goes. It has its
beginning, its prosperity, its adversity, its death. Another follows in its
path. Few can be called relatively permanent. There are now more than
one hundred newspapers published in West Virginia. Only nine of these
were in existence in 1868, when the State was admitted into the Union.
These nine are the Wheeling Intelligencer, Wheeling Register, Clarksburg
Telegram, Charlestown Free Press, Charlestown Spirit of Jefferson,
Shepherdstown Register, Barbour County Jeffersonian, Wellsburg Herald
and Point Pleasant Register. Of the papers in existence in this State in
1870 only sixteen have comedown to the present day. The cause of the
early death of so many papers which begin life in such earnest hope is that
the field is full. Two newspapers try to exist where there is room for only
one. It does not require an evolutionist to foretell the result. Both must
starve or one must quit. If one quits there is always another anxious to
push in and try its luck.
West Virginia's experience does not differ from experience elsewhere.
Journalism in country towns is much the same the country over. In cities
the business is more stable, because conducted on business principles.
Men with experience and business training accustom themselves to look
before they leap. The inexperienced man who is ambitious to crowd some
one else out of the newspaper business in the interior towns is too prone to
leap first and do his looking afterwards. There is no scarcity of good news
paper men outside the cities, and West Virginia has its share, but at the
same time there are too many persons who feel themselves called

68 THE NEWSPAPERS OP WEST VIRGINIA.
upon to enter the arena, although unprepared for the fray, and who can
not hold their own in competition with men of training in the profession.
To the efforts and failures of these latter persons is due the ephemeral
character of the lives of newspapers, taken as a whole. Country journal
ism comes to be looked upon as a changing, evanescent, uncertain thing,
always respectable; only moderately and occasionally successful; inaugura
ted in hope; full of promise as the rainbow is full of gold; sometimes mate
rializing into things excellent; now and then falling like Lucifer, but always
to hope again. There is something sublime in the rural journalist's faith
in his ability to push forward. Though failures have been many, country
journalism has builded greater than it knew. West Virginia's development
and the rural press have gone hand in hand. Every railroad pushing into
the wilderness has carried the civilizing editor and his outfit. He goes with
an unfaltering belief in printer's ink and confidence in its conquering power.
He is ready to do and suifer all things. The mining town and the latest
county seat; the lumber center and the oil belt; the manufacturing village
and the railroad terminus; these are the fields in which he casts his lot.
Here he sets up his press; he issues his paper; he booms the town; he
records the births, marriages and deaths with a monotonous faithfulness;
he expresses his opinion freely and generously. In return he expects the
town and the surrounding country to support his enterprise as liberally as
he has given his time, talent and energy in advancing the interests of the
town. Sometimes his expectations are realized; sometimes not. If not,
pf rhaps he packs his worldly assets and sets out for another town, richer
in experience but poorer in cash. There are men in West Virginia who
have founded a number of newspapers, usually selling out alter a year or
two in order to found another journal.
This is the class of editors who blaze the way into the 'woods. They
bear the same relation to the journalism which follows as the ' ' tomahawk
right" bore in early days to the plantations and estates which succeeded
them. After the adventurous and restless journalist has passed on, then
comes the newspaper man who calculates before he invests. He does not
come in a hurry. He is not afraid some one will get ahead of him. He does
not locate before he has carefully surveyed the field, and has satisfied him
self that the town and the surrounding country are able to support such a
journal as he proposes establishing. His aim is to merit and receive the
patronage of the people. This becomes the solid, substantial paper, and
its editor wields a permanent influence for good. Such papers and such
editors are found all over West Virginia.
Journalism among businesses is like poetry among the tine arts— the
most easily dabbled in but the most difficult to succeed in. It may not ap
pear to the casual observer that the newspaper business is nearly always
unsuccessful, or at least, that nearly all the papers which come into exist
ence meet untimely death in the very blossom of their youth. An examina
tion of the history of newspapers in nearly any town a half century old will
show that ten have failed where one has succeeded. The history of journal
ism m Monongalia County, already alluded to, differs little from the history
of the papers m any county of equal age and population.
In 1851, when Horace Greeley was asked by a Parliamentary Commit
tee from England "at what amount of population of a town in America do
they first begin the publication of a weekly newspaper?" he replied that
every county will have one, and a county of twenty thousand population

THE NEWSPAPERS OP WEST VIRGINIA. 69
usually has two weekly papers; and when a town has fifteen thousand peo
ple it usually has a daily paper. This rule does not state the case in West
Virginia today. The average would probably show one newspaper for each
six thousand people. In the small counties the average is sometimes as
low as one paper to two thousand people, and not one-fourth of these peo
ple subscribe for a paper. It is not difficult to see that the field can be easily
over-supplied; and among newspapers there must be a survival of the fittest.
The early journals published in this State, as well as those published
elsewhere at that time, say seventy or eighty years ago, were very differ
ent in appearance from those of today. The paper on which the printing
was done was rough, rugged and discolored, harsh to the touch, and of a
quality inferior to wrapping paper of the present time. Some of them ad
vertised that they would take clean rags at four cents a pound in payment
of subscriptions. At that time paper was made from rags. It is now mostly
made from wood. The publishers no doubt shipped the rags to the paper
mills and received credit on their paper accounts. Some of these early
journals clung to the old style of punctuation and capitalization; and some,
to judge by their appearance, followed no style at all, but were as out
landish as possible, particularly in the use of capital letters. They capital
ized all nouns, and, as many other words as they could, being limited, ap
parently, only by the number of capital letters in their type cases.
As late as 1835 all the printing presses in the United States were run
by hand power. On the earliest press the pressure necessary was obtained
by means of a screw. Fifty papers an hour was fast work. The substitu
tion of the lever for the screw increased the capacity of the press five fold.
This arrangement reached its greatest development in the Washington
Hand Press, patented in 1829 by Samuel Rust. This press is still the stand
by in many small offices. The printing done with it is usually good; btit
the speed is slow, and two hundred and fifty impressions an hour is a high
average. Printers call this press "The Man-Killer," because its operation
requires so much physical exertion.
• The early newspapers in backwoods towns attempted to pull neck and
neck with the city journals. They tried to give the news from all over the
world; and the result was, they let the home news go. They were long in
learning that a small paper's field should be small, and that the readers of
a local paper expect that paper to contain the local news. Persons who
desired national and foreign news subscribed for metropolitan papers. This
was the case years ago the same as now. In course of time the lesson was
learned; the local papers betook themselves to their own particular fields,
with the result that the home paper has become a power at home. The
growth of journalism has a tendency to restrict the influence of individual
great papers to smaller and smaller geographical limits. All round the
outer borders of their areas of circulation other papers are taking posses
sion of their territory and limiting them. No daily paper now has a gen
eral and large circulation farther away from the place of publication than
can be reached in a few hours. This is not so much the case with small
papers. When once firmly established they can hold their small circulation
and local inauence much more securely than large circulation and large in
fluence can be held by metropolitan papers. The trouble with the country
papers is that the most of them die before they can establish themselves.
Some of the earliest statesmen feared danger from what they termed a
newspaper aristocracy, formed by the concentration of the influence of the

70 THE NEWSPAPERS OF WEST VIRGINIA.
press about a comparatively few journals advantageously located in com
mercial centers. This danger is feared no more. The power of the press
has been infinitesimally divided; among the metropolitan papers first; then
among those in the smaller cities; lastly, among those in the smaller towns,
until all fear of concentration is a thing of the past. The fundamental law
of evolution, which rules the influence of the press as it rules the destinies
of nations, or the growth and decline of commerce and political power, ren
ders it impossible that any aggregate of newspapers, acting in concert, can
long wield undisputed influence over wide areas. They must divide into
smaller aggregate, and subdivide again, each smaller aggregate exercising
its peculiar power in its own appropriated sphere and not trespassing
upon the domains of others. The lowest subdivision is the country paper;
and so secure is it from the inroads of the city journals that it can hold
its ground as securely as the metropolitan journal can hold its field against
the paper of the interior.

CHAPTER VIIL

 :o: 
GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE
In this chapter will be presented facts concerning West Virginia's
geography, climate, soil and geology. Its geography relates to the surface
of the State as -it exists now; its geology takes into account not only the
present surface, but all changes which have affected the surface in the past,
together with as much of the interior as may be known and understood.
The climate, like geography, deals chiefly with present conditions; but the
records of geology sometimes give us glimpses of climates which prevailed
ages ago. The soil of a State, if properly studied, is found to depend upon
geography, geology and climatology. The limits prescribed for this
chapter render impossible any extended treatise; an outline must suffice.
Reference to the question of geology naturally comes first, as it is older
than our present geography or climate. We are told that there was a time
when the heat of the earth was so great that all substances within it or
upon its surface were in a molten state. It was a white-hot globe made of
all the inorganic substances with which we are acquainted. The iron, sil
ver, gold, rock, and all else were liquid. The earth was then larger than
it is now, and the days and nights were longer. After ages of great length
had passed the surface cooled and a crust or shell- was formed on the stiU
very hot globe. This was the first appearance of "rock," as we understand
the word now. The surface of the earth was no doubt very rough, but with
out high mountains. The crust was not thick enough to support high
mountains, and all underneath of it was still melted. Probably for thous
ands of years after the first solid crust made its appearance there was no rain,
although the air was more filled with moisture then than now. The rocks
were so hot that a drop of water, upon touching them, was instantly turned
to steam. But they gradually cooled, and rains fell. Up to this point in
the earth's history we are guided solely by inductions from the teachings
of astronomy, assisted to some extent by well-known facts of chemistry.
Any description of our world at that time must be speculative, and as ap
plicable to one part as to another. No human eye ever saw and recognized
as such one square foot of the original crust of the earth in the form in
which it cooled irom the molten state. Rains, winds, frosts and fire have
broken up and worn away some parts, and with the sand and sediment thus
formed, buried the other parts. But that it was exceedingly hot is not
doubted; and there is not wanting evidence that only the outer crust has
yet reached a tolerable degree of coolness, while all the interior surpasses
the most intensfe furnace heat. Upheavals and depressions affecting large
areas, so often met with in the study of geology, are supposed to be due to

72 GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE.
the settling down of the solid crust in one place and the consequent up
heaval in another. Could a railroad train run thirty minutes, at a;n ordi
nary speed, toward the center of the earth, it would probably reach a tem
perature that would melt iron. And it may be stated, parenthetically, could
the same train run at the same speed for the same time away from the cen
ter of the earth, it would reach a temperature so cold that the hottest day
would show a thermometer one hundred degrees below zero. So narrow is
the sphere of our existence — below us is fire; above us "the measureless
cold of space."
When we look out upon our quiet valleys, the Kanawha, the Potomac,
the Monongahela, or contemplate our mountains, rugged and near, or robed ,
in distant blue, rising and rolling, range beyond range, peak above peak;
clifl:s overhanging gorges and ravines; meadows, uplands, glades beyond;
with brooks and rivers; the landscape fringed with flowers or clothed with
forests, we are too apt to pause before fancy has had time to call up that
strange and wonderful panorama of distant ages when the waves of the sea
swept over all, or when only broken and angular rocks thrust their should
ers through the foam of the ocean as it broke against the nearly submerged
ledges where since have risen the highest peaks of the AUeghanies and the
Blue Ridge. Here where we now live have been strange scenes. Here
have been beauty, awfulness and sublimity, and also destruction. There
was a long age with no winter. Gigantic ferns and rare palms, enormous
in size, and with delicate leaves and tendrils, flourished over wide areas and
vanished. And there was a time when for ages there was no summer. But
we know of this age of cold from records elsewhere, for its record in West
Virginia has been blotted out. Landscapes have disappeared. Fertile val
leys and undulating hills, with soil deep and fruitful, have been washed
away, leaving only a rocky skeleton, and in many places even this has been
ground to powder and carried away or buried under sands and drift from
other regions.
An outline of some of the changes which have affected the little spot in
the earth's surface now occupied by West Virginia will be presented, not
by any means complete, but sufficient to convey an idea of the agencies
which enter into the workings of geology. It is intended for the young
into whose hands this book will come, not for those whose maturer years
and greater opportunities have already made them acquainted with this
sublime chapter in the book of creation.
When the crust of the earth had cooled sufficiently rains washed down
the higher portions, and the sands and sediment thus collected were spread
over the lower parts. This sand, when it had become hardened, formed
the first layers of rock, called strata. Some of these very ancient forma
tions exist yet and have been seen, but whether they are the oldest of the
layer rockis no man knows. Some of the ancient layers of great thickness,
after being deposited at the sea bottoms, were heated from the interior of
the earth and were melted. In these cases the stratified appearance has
usually disappeared, and they are called metamorphic rocks. Some geolo
gists regard most granite as a rock of this kind.
As the earth cooled more and more it shrank in size, and the surface
was shriveled and wrinkled in folds, large and small. The larger of these
wrinkles were mountains. Seas occupied the low places, and the flrst
brooks and rivers began to appear, threading their way wherever the best
channels could be found. Rains, probably frost also, attacked the higher

GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE. 73
ridges and rocky slopes, almost destitute of soil, and the washings were
carried to the seas, forming other layers of rpcks on the bottoms, and thus
the accumulation went on, varying in rate at times, but never changing the
general plan of rock-building from that day to the present. All rock, or
very nearly all, in West Virginia were formed at the bottom of the ocean,
of sand, mud and gravel, or of shells, or a mixture of all, the ingredients of
which were cemented together with silica, iron, lime, or other mineral sub
stance held in solution in water. They have been raised up from the water,
and now form dry land, and have been cut and carved into valleys, ridges,
gorges and the various inequalities seen within our State. These rocks are
sometimes visible, forming cliffs and the bottoms and banks of streams and
the tops of peaks and barren mountains; but for the greater part of West
Virginia the underlying rocks are hidden by soil. This soil, however, at
the deepest, is only a few feet thick, and were it all swept off we should
have visible all over the State a vast and complicated system of ledges and
bowlders, carved and cut to conform to every height and depression now
marking the surface. The aggregate thickness of these layers, as they
have been seen and measured in this State, is no. less than four miles. In
other words, sand and shells four miles deep (and perhaps more) were in
past time spread out on the bottom of a sea which then covered West Vir
ginia, and after being hardened into rock, were raised up and then cut into
valleys and other inequalities as we see them today. The rockbuilding was
not all done during one uninterrupted period, nor was there only one up
heaval. West Virginia, or a portion of it, has been several times under and
above the sea. The coast line has swep!' back and forth across it again and
again. We read this history from the rocks themselves. The skilled geol
ogist can determine, from an examination of the fossil shells and plants in
a stratum, the period of the earth's history when the stratum was formed.
He can determine the old and the youngest in a series of strata. Yet, not
from fossils alone may this be determined. The position of the layers with
regard to one another is often a sure guide in discovering the oldest and
youngest. The sands having been spread out in layers, one above the
other, it follows that those on top are not so old as those below, except in
cases, unusual in this State, where strata have been folded so sharply that
they have been broken and turned over. Thus the older rocks may lie
above the newer.
Unmeasured as are the ages recorded in the mountains and cliffs of
West Virginia, yet the most ancient of our ledges are young in comparison
with those of other parts of the world, or even of neighboring provinces.
North of us is a series of rocks, the Laurentian of Canada, more than five
miles thick, formed, like ours, of the slow accumulation of sand. Yet that
series was finished and was probably partly worn away before the first
grain of sand or the first shell, of which we have any record, found a rest
ing place on the bottom of the Cambrian sea, which covered West Virginia.
If the inconceivable lapse of years required for accumulating shell and &and
four miles deep in the sea bottom, where we now live, amazes us, what must
we say of that vaster period reaching back into the cycles of the infant
world, all of which were past and gone before the foundations of our moun
tains were laid! Nor have we reached the beginning yet. No man knows
whether the Laurentian rocks are oldest of the layers, and if they are, still
back of them stretches that dim and nebulous time, unrecorded, uncharted,
penetrated only by the light of astronomy, when the unstratified rocks were

74 GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE.
taking form, from whose disintegrated material all subsequent formations
have been built.
Let us begin with the Cambrian age, as geologists call it. Within the
limits of our State we have little, if any, record of anything older. Were a
map made of eastern United States during that early period it would show
a mass of land west of us, covering the Middle States, Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois and beyond. Another mass of land would lie east of us, occupying
the Atlantic Coastal Plain, from New England to South Carolina, and
extending to an unknown distance eastward, where the Atlantic Ocean now
is. Between these two bodies of land spread a narrow arm of the sea, from
the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Alabama. West Virginia was at the bottom of
that sea, whose eastern coast line is believed to have occupied nearly the
position, and to have followed the general direction, of what is now the
Blue Ridge. Sand washed from this land east of us was spread upon the
bottom of the sea and now forms the lowest layers of rocks met with in
West Virginia, the foundations of our mountains. But this rock is so deep
that it is seen only in a few places where it has been brought up by folds
of the strata, and where rivers have cut deep. For the most part of the
State these Cambrian rocks lie buried, under subsequent formations, thous
ands of feet deep.
There were mountains of considerable magnitude in that land east of
the sea. The country west of the sea must have been low. During the
immense time, before the next great change, the eastern mountains were
worn down and carried, as sand and mud, into the sea. The Silurian age
followed, and as it drew near, the region began to sink. The sea which had
covered the greater part of West Virginia, or at least the eastern part of it,
began to overflow the country both east and west. The waters spread
westward beyond the present Mississippi. The land to the eastward had
become low and not much sediment was now coming from that direction.
The washings from the rounded hills were probably accumulating as a deep
soil in the low plains and widening valleys. Over a large part of West Vir
ginia, during the Silurian age, thick beds of limestone were formed of
shells, mixed with more or less sediment. Shell-fish lived and died in the
ocean, and when dead their skeletons sank to the bottom. It is thus seen
that the origin of limestone differs from that of sandstone in this, that the
former is a product of water, while the material for sandstone is washed
into water from land.
The character of rocks usually tells how far from land they were
formed, and if sandstone, what kind of country furnished the material. The
coarsest sandstones were deposited near shore, back of which the country
was usually high and steep. Fine-grained sandstones, or shales, were
probably laid down along flat shores, above which the land had little eleva
tion. Or they may have been deposited from fine sediment which drifted a
considerable distance from land. If limestone is pure, it is proof that little
sediment from the land reached it while being formed. The limestone de
posited over a considerable part of West Virginia during the closing of the
Cambrian and the beginning of the Silurian age forms beds from three
thousand to four thousand feet thick. D«ring the long period required for
the accumulation of this mass of shells, the land to the east remained com
paratively flat or continued slowly to sink. We know this, because there
is not much sediment mixed with the limestone, and this would not be the
case had large quantities been poured into the sea from the land.

GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE. 75
Another great change was at hand. The land area east of us began, to
rise, and the surface became steep. What perhaps had been for a long
time low, rounding hills, and wide, flat valleys, with a deep accumulation
of soil, was raised and tilted; and the stronger and more rapid current of
the streams, and the rush of the rain water down the more abrupt slopes,
sluiced off the soil into the sea. The beds of limestone were covered two
thousand feet deep beneath sand and mud, the spoils from a country which
must have been fertile and productive. The land was worn down. Ages
on ages passed, and the work of grinding went on; the rains fell; the winds
blew; the floods came; the frost of winter and the heat of summer followed
each other through years surpassing record. Near the close of the Silurian
time the shore of the continent to the east rose and sank. The vertical
movements were perhaps small; they may have been just enough to sub
merge the coastal plain, then raise it above water, repeating the operation
two or more times. The record of this is in the alternating coarse and fine
sediments and sand composing the rocks formed during that time. At the
close of the Silurian period the continent east of us was worn down again
and had become low. The sea covering West Virginia had been cut off
from the Gulf of St. Lawrence by an upheaval in the State of New York.
The uplift of the land seems to have been much greater during this time
north of us than south. The Devonian age followed, which was a great
rock-builder in the North. The aggregate thickness of the Devonian rocks
in Pennsylvania is no less than nine thousand feet. From there to south
ward it thins out, like a long, sloping wedge, until it disappears in Ala
bama, after thinning to twenty-five feet in southern Tennessee. In some
parts of West Virginia the Devonian rocks are seven thousand feet thick.
The sediments of which these strata were made were usually fine-grained,
forming shales and medium sandstones, with some limestones here and
there. The long, dreary Devonian age at last drew to a close, and an
epoch, strange and imperfectly understood, dawned upon the earth. It was
during this age that the long summer prevailed; the winter less climate over
the northern hemisphere; the era of wonderful vegetation; the time of plant-
growth such as was perhaps never on earth before, nor will be again. It
is known as the Carboniferous age.
During that period our coal was formed. The rocks deposited on the
sea bottom in the Carboniferous age range in thickness from two thousand
to eight thousand feet in different parts of West Virginia. During this time
there is evidence of the breaking up and re-distribution (Jf a vast gravel bar
which had lain somewhere out of reach of the waves since earlier ages.
This bar, or this aggregation whether a bar or not, was made up of quartz
pebbles, varying in size from a grain of sand to a cocoanut, all worn and
polished as if rolled and fretted on a beach or in turbulent mountain
streams for centuries. By some means the sea obtained possession of them
and they were spread out in layers, in some places 800 feet thick, and were
cemented together, forming coarse, hard rocks. We see them along the
summits of the AUeghanies, and the outlaying spurs and ridges, from the
southern borders of our State, to the Pennsylvania line, and beyond. The
formation is called conglomerate; and the popular names are "Bean Rock,"
"MiUstone Grit," etc. A heavy stratum of this stone forms the fioor of the
coal measures. The pebbles probably represent the most indestructible
remnant of mountains, once seamed with quartz veins, but degraded and
obliterated before the middle of the Carboniferous era, perhaps long before.

76 GEOGRAPHY-, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE.
The quartz, on account of its hardness, resisted the grinding process which
pulverized the adjacent rock, and remained as pebbles, in bars and beds,
until some great change s-« ept them into the sea. Their quantity was enor
mous. The rocks composed of them now cover thousands of square miles.
As the Carboniferous age progressed the sea which had covered the
greater part of West Virginia since Cambrian time, was nearing its last
days. It had come down from the Cambrian to the Silurian, from the
Silurian to the Devonian, from the Devonian to the Carboniferous, but it
came down through the ages no further. Prom that area where the waves
had rolled for a million years they were about to recede. With the passing
of the sea, rose the land, which has since been crossed by ranges of the
Alleghany, Blue Ridge, Laurel Ridge, and all their spurs and hiUs. Prom
the middle of the Carboniferous epoch to its close was a period of disturb
ance over the whole area under consideration. The bottom of the sea was
lifted up, became dry land, and sank again. It seemed that a mighty effort
was being made by the land to throw back the water which had so long held
dominion. It was a protracted, powerful struggle, in which first the land
and then the water gained the mastery. Back and forth for hundreds of
miles swept and receded the sea. Years, centuries, millennials, the
struggle continued, but finally the land prevailed, was lifted up and the
waves retreated westward and southward to the Gulf of Mexico, and West
Virginia was dry land, and it has remained such to this day.
Beds of coal, unlike layers of rock, are made above water, or at its
immediate surface. While the oscillation between sea and land was going
on, during the Carboniferous age, West Virginia's coal fields were being
formed. Coal is made of wood and plants of various kind, which grew mth
a phenomenal luxuriance during a long jieriod of summer that reigned over
the northern half of the earth. Each bed of coal represents a swamp, large
or small, in which plants grew, fell and were buried for centuries. The
whole country in which coal was forming was probably low and it was
occasionally submerged for a few thousand years. During the submergence
sand and mud settled over it and hardened into rock. Then the land was
lifted up again, and the material for another bed of coal was accumulated.
Every alternation of coal and rock marks an elevation and subsidence of
the land — the coal formed on land, the rock under water. This was the
period when the sea was advancing and receding across West Virginia, as
the Carboniferous age was drawing to a close.
Other ages of geology succeeeded the Carboniferous; but little record
of them remains in West Virginia. The land here was above the sea; no
sediment could be deposited to form rocks, and of course there was little on
which a permanent record could be written. The strata underlying the
greater part of our State grew thicker and deeper from the Cambrian age
to the Carboniferous; then the sea receded, and from that time to the pres
ent the layers of rock have been undergoing the wear and tear of the ele
ments, and the aggregate has been growing thinner. The strata have been
folded, upraised by subterranean force and cut through by rivers. In some
places the Carboniferous rocks have not yet been" worn away; in other
places the river gorges have reached the bottom of the Devonian rocks; in
still other localities the great Silurian layers have been cut through; and
in a few places the cutting has gone down deep into the Cambrian rocks.
The Glacial age, the empire of "steadfast, inconceivable cold," which fol
lowed the warm period in which coal was formed, did not write its history

GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE. 77
in West Virginia as indelibly as in some other parts of our country. The
great morains and bowlders so conspicuous in other localities are not
found with us. No doubt the cold here was intense; perhaps there were
glaciers among the high lands; but the evidence has been well-nigh oblit
erated. Land seems to have been lifted up in two ways, one a vertical move
ment which elevated large areas and formed plateaus, but not mountains;
the other, a horizontal movement which caused folds in the strata, and
these folds, if large enough, are ranges of mountains. In West Virginia
we have both acting in the same area. Independently of the mountains.
West Virginia has a rounding form, sloping gradually upward from three
directions. Imagine the mountain ranges sheared off until no irregular
elevations exist in the State. The resulting figure would show West Vir
ginia's surface as it would be presented to us if no strata had been folded to
make mountain ranges. This is the shape given by the vertical upheaval
since the Carboniferous age, uninfluenced by the horizontal thrust of strata.
The figure would show a great swell in the surface, the highest portion at
the interlocking sources of the Greenbrier, the Elk, the Potomac, the east
fork of the Monongahela, and Cheat. From that highest point the surface
slopes in every direction, as shown by the course of the rivers. There is a
long, curved arm of the plateau, thrust out toward the southwest, reaching
around through Pocahontas, Greenbrier, Monroe and McDowell Counties,
and overlapping into the State of Virginia. The New River, from the
highlands of North Carolina, cuts through this plateau to join the Kanawha
on the western side. The highest part of this rounded area is perhaps
three thousand feet above sea level, not counting the mountains which
stand upon the plateau, for, in order to make the matter plain, we have
supposed all the mountains sheared off level with the surface of the plateau.
Having now rendered it clear that portions of West Virginia would be
high if there were not a mountain in the State, let us proceed to consider
how the mountains were formed and why nearly all the highest summits
are clustered in three or four counties. We have already observed that
ranges of mountains, such as ours, were formed by the folding of layers of
rocks. This is' apparent to any one who has seen one of our mountains cut
through from top to bottom, such as the New Creek Mountain at Green
land Gap, in Grant County. Place several layers of thick cloth on a table,
push the ends toward each other. The middle of the cloth will rise in
folds. In like manner were our mountains formed. The layers of rock
were pushed horizontally, one force acting from the southeast, the other
from the northwest. Rivers and rains have carved and cut them, changing
their original features somewhat; but their chief characteristics remain.
The first upheaval, which was vertical, raised the West Virginia plateau, as
we believe; the next upheaval, which was caused by horizontal thrust,
folded the layers of rocks and made mountain ranges. From this view it is
not difficult to account for so many high peaks in one small area. The
mountain ranges cross the plateau, running up one slope, across the sum
mit, and down the opposite slope. These ranges are from one thousand to
nearly two thousand feet high, measuring from the general level of the
country on which they stand. But that general level is itself, in the
highest part about three thousand feet above the sea. So a mountain, in
itself one thousand feet in elevation, may stand upon a plateau three times
that high, and thus its summit will be four thousand feet above the sea.

78 GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE.
The highest peaks in the State are where the ranges of mountains cross the
highest part of the plateau. There are many other mountains in the State
which, when measured from base to summit, are as high as those just men
tioned, but they do not have the advantage of resting their bases on ground
so elevated, consequently their summits are not so far above sea level. To
express it briefly, by a homely comparison, a five-foot man on three-foot
stilts is higher than a six-foot man on the ground; a one thousand-foot moun
tain on a three thousand-foot plateau is higher than a two thousand-foot
mountain near the sea level.
Exact measurements showing the elevation of West Virginia in various
parts of its area, when studied in connection with a map of the State, show
clearly that the area rises in altitude from all sides, culminating in the nest
of peaks clustered around the sources of the Potomac, the Kanawha and
Monongahela. The highest point in the State is Spruce Mountain, in Pen
dleton County, 4,860 feet above sea level; the lowest point is the bed of the
Potomac at Harper's Ferry, 260 feet above the sea; the vertical range is
4,600 feet. The Ohio, at the mouth of Big Sandy, on the boundary between
West Virginia and Kentucliy, is 500 feet; the mouth of Cheat, at the Penn
sylvania line, is 775. The general level of Pocahontas County is about
3,000 above the sea. The bed of Greenbrier River where it enters Poca
hontas is 3,300 feet in elevation. Where Shaver's Fork of Cheat River
leaves Pocahontas its bed is 3,700 feet. A few of the highest peaks in Po
cahontas, Pendleton, Randolph and Tucker Counties are: Spruce Knob,
Pendleton County, 4,860 feet above sea level; Bald Knob, Pocahontas
County, 4,800.; Spruce Knob, Pocahontas County, 4,730; High Knob, Ran
dolph County, 4,710; Mace Knob, Pocahontas County, 4,700; Barton Knob,
Randolph County, 4,600; Bear Mountain, Pocahontas County, 4,600; EUeber
Ridge, Pocahontas County, 4,600; Watering Pond Knob, Pocahontas Coun
ty, 4,600; Panther Knob, Pendleton County, 4,500; Weiss Knob, Tucker
County, 4,490; Green Knob, Randolph County, 4,485; Brier Patch Moun
tain, Randolph County, 4,480; Yokum's Knob, Randolph County, 4,830;
Pointy Knob, Tucker County, 4,286; Hutton^s Knob, Randolph County,
4,260. We do not know whether the vertical upheaval which raised the
plateau, or the horizontal compression which elevated the mountains, has
yet ceased. We know that the work of destruction is not resting. Whether
the uplift is still acting with sufficient force to make our mountains higher,
or whether the elements are chiseling down rocks and lowering our whole
surface, we cannot say. But this we can say, if the teachings of geology
may be taken as warrant for the statement, every mountain, every hUl,
every cliff, rock, upland, even the valleys, and the whole vast underlying
skeleton of rocks must ultimately pass away and disappear beneath the sea.
Ram and frost, wind and the unseen chemical forces, will at last complete
the work of destruction. Every rock will be worn to sand, and the sand
wiU go out with the currents of our rivers, until the rivers no longer have
currents, and the sea will flow in to cover the desolation. The sea once
covered a level world; the world will again be leveL and again wUl the sea
cover it.
There is greater diversity of climate in West Virginia than in almost
any other area of the United States of equal size. The climate east of the
AUeghanies is different from that west of the range; while that in the high
plateau region is different from both. The State's topography is responsi-

GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE. ' 79
ble for this, as might be expected from a vertical range of more than four
thousand feet, with a portion of the land set to catch the west wind, and a
portion to the east, and still other parts to catch every wind that blows.
Generally speaking, the country east of the AUeghanies has the warmer
and dryer climate. In the mountain regions the summers are never very
hot, and the winters are always very cold. The thermometer sometimes
falls thirty degrees below zero near the summit of the AUeghanies, while
the highest summer temperature is seldom above ninety degrees, but the
record shows ninety-six. The depth of snow varies with the locality and
the altitude. Records of snow six and seven feet deep near the summits of
the highest mountains have been made. At an elevation of fifteen hundred
feet above the sea there was snow forty-two inches deep in 1856 along the
mountains and valleys west of the AUeghanies. In 1831, at an elevation of
less than one thousand feet, snow accumulated three feet deep between the
mountains and the Ohio River. Tradition tells of a snow in the northwest
ern part of the State in 1780 which was still deeper; but exact measurements
were not recorded. The summers of 1838 and 1854 were almost rainless
west of the mountains. In the same region in 1834 snow fell four inches
deep on the fifteenth of May; and on June 5, 1859, a frost killed almost every
green thing in the central and northern part of the State.
The average annual rainfall for the State of West Virginia, including
melted snow, is about forty-seven inches. During some years the rainfall
is three or four times as great as in other years. The precipitation is
greater west of the AUeghanies than east, and greatest near the summit of
these mountains, on the western side. Our rains and snows come from two
general directions, from the west-southwest and from the east. Local
storms may come from any direction. Eastern storms are usually confined
to the region east of the AUeghanies. The clouds which bring rains from
that quarter come from the Atlantic Ocean. The high country following
the summits of the Appalachian range from Canada almost to the Gulf of
Mexico is the dividing line between the two systems of rains and winds
which visit West Virginia. Storms from the Atlantic move up the gentle
slope from the coast to the base of the mountains, precipitating their mois
ture in the form of rain or snow as they come. They strike the abrupt east
ern face of the AUeghanies, expending their force and giving out the
remainder of their moisture there, seldom crossing to the west side. The
Blue Ridge is not high enough to interfere seriously with the passage of
clouds across their summits; but the AUeghanies are usually a barrier,
especially for eastern storms. As the clouds break against their sides there
are sometimes terrific rains below, while very little and perhaps none falls
on the summit. On such an occasion an observer on one of the Alleghany
peaks can look down upon the storm and can witness the play of lightning
and hear the thunder beneath him. Winds which cross high mountains
seldom deposit much rain or snow on the leeward side.
Whence, then, does the western part of our State receive its rains? Not
from the Atlantic, because the winds which bring rain for the country west
of the AUeghanies blow towards that ocean, not from it. No matter in what
part of the world rain or snow falls, it was derived from vapor taken up by
the sun from some sea or ocean. An insignificant portion of the world's rain
fall is taken up as vapor from land. Prom what sea, then, do the winds blow
which bring the rain that falls against the western slopes of the mountains
and waters the country to the Ohio river and beyond?

80 GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE.
Take the back track of the winds and follow them to their starting
point and that will settle the question. They come from a direction a little
west of southwest. That course will lead to the Pacific Ocean west of
Mexico. Go on in the same direction two thousand or three thousand mUes,
and reach the equator. Then turn at right angles and go southeast some
thousand miles further and reach that wide domain of the Pacific which
stretches from South America to Australia. There, most probably, would
be found the starting point of the winds which bring us rain. The evidence
to substantiate this statement is too elaborate and complex to be given here;
suffice it that the great wind systems of the world, with their circuits, cur
rents and counter-currents, have been traced and charted until they are
almost as well known as are the rivers of the world. * Not only is the great
distance from which our rains come an astonishing theme for contempla
tion, but the immense quantity transported is more amazing — a sheet of
water nearly four feet thick and covering an area of twenty thousand square
miles, lifted by the sun's rays every year from the South Pacific, carried
through the air ten thousand miles and sprinkled with a bountiful profu
sion upon our mountains, hills, vales, meadows and gardens to make them
pleasing and fruitful.
The soil of a country is usually understood to be the covering of the
solid rock. It is very thin in comparison with the thickness of the subja
cent rock, not often more than four or five feet and frequently less. This
is not the place for a chemical discussion of soils; but a few plain facts may
be given. What is soil? Of what is it made? In the first place, leaving
chemical questions out, soil is simply pulverized rock, mixed with vegetable
or animal remains. The rocky ledges underlying a country, become disin
tegrated near the surface; they decompose; the sand and dust accumulate,
washing into the low places and leaving the high points more or less bare,
and a soil of sufficient depth is formed to support vegetation. A soil in
which little or no vegetable humus is intermixed, is poor, and it produces
little growth. Sand alone, no matter how finely pulverized is not capable
of supporting vegetation, except a few peculiar species or varieties. This
is why hillsides are so often nearly bare. The soil is deep enough, but it is
poor. The state of being poor is nothing more than a lack of humus, or
decaying vegetation. Those poor hillside soils either never had humus in
them, or it has been washed out. A soil tolerable fertile is sometimes made
miserably poor by being burned over each year when the leaves faU. The
supply of vegetable matter which would have gone to furnish what the soil
needed, is thus burned and destroyed; and in course of time that which was
already in the soil is consumed or washed out, and instead of a fertile wood
land, there is a blasted, lifeless tract. Examples of this are too often met ,
with in West Virginia.
Excessive tillage of land exhausts it, because it takes out the organic
matter and puts nothing back. It does not exhaust the disintegrated rock
—the sand, the clay, the dust; but it takes out the vital part, the mold of
vegetation. Fertilizers are used to restore the fertility of exhausted land.
That process is misleading, in many cases. Too often the fertilizing mater
ial IS a stimulant rather than a food to the land. It often adds no element
of fertility, but, by a chemical process, compels the soil to give up all the
remaining humus; and when the vegetable matter is aU gone from the soil,
all the fertilizers of that kind in the world would not cause the land to pro-
* See Maury's Physical Geography of the Sea.

GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE. 81
duce a crop. The intelligent farmer does not need be told this. His experience
has taught him the truth of it. No land is so completely sterile as that
which, through excessive use of fertilizers, has been compelled to part with
its vegetable matter. Something cannot be created from nothing. If a
soil has no plant food in it, and a fertilizer contains no plant food, the
mixing of the two will not produce plant life.
A crop of clover, of buckwheat, of rye, or any other crop, plowed under,
fertilizes land because it adds vegetable matter to the soil. Then if the soil
is stubborn about yielding up its fertility, a. treatment of the proper fertil
izing agent will compel it to do so. Bottom lands along the rivers and
creeks are usually more fertile than lands on the hills because rains leach
the uplands and wash the decaying leaves and the humus down upon the
lowlands. The soil along the river bottoms is often many feet deep, and
fertile all the way down. This is because the washings from the hills have
been accumulating there for ages faster than the vegetation which annually
drew from it could exhaust the supply. It sometimes happens that the
surface of a deep soil is exhausted by long cultivation; and that a sub-soil
plow, which goes deeper than usual, turns up a new fertile soil which had
lain beyond the reach of plant roots for ages. Occasionally a flood which
covers bottom lands leaves a deposit of mud which is full of humus. This
enriches the land where it lodges, but the mountain districts from which it
was carried were robbed of that much fertility.
Disintegrated rock of all kinds cannot be made fertile by the usual
addition of vegetable humus. Certain chemical conditions must be complied
with. Limestone generally forms good soil because it contains elements
which enter into plants. Strata Of rock, as we now see them, were once
beds of sand and sediment. They hardened and became stone. Sandstone
is formed of accumulations of sand; shale is made from beds of clay or
mud; limestone was once an aggregation of shells and skeletons of large
and small living creatures. When these rocks are broken up, disintegrated
and become soils, they return to that state in which they were before they
became rock. The limestone becomes shells and bones, but of course pul
verized, mixed and changed; sandstone becomes sand again; shale becomes
mud and clay as it originally was. This gives a key to the cause of some
soils being better than others. A clay bank is not easily fertilized; but a
bed of black mud usually possesses elements on which plants can feed. So,
if the disintegrating shale was originally sterile clay, it will make a poor
soil; but if it was originally a fertile mud, the resulting soil will be good.
If the disintegrating sandstone was once a pure quartz sand, the soils will
likely be poor, but if it was something better, the soil will be better. The
fertility of limestone soil is mainly due to the animal matter in the rock.
It should always be borne in mind, however, that the difference of soils is
dependent not so much upon their chemical composition as upon the
physical arrangements of their particles.
Plants do not feed exclusively upon the soil. As a matter of fact, a
large part of the material which enters into the construction of the stems
and leaves of some plants is derived from the air. Some plants prosper
without touching the soil. A species of Chinese lily flourishes in a bowl of
water with a few small rocks in the bottom. On the other hand there are
plants that will wither in a few minutes if taken from the ground. This
shows that some plants extract more material from the soil than other. It

82 GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE.
Some lands are more affected by drought than others, when both
receive the same rainfall. This may be due to the character of the under
lying rocks, although usually due to a different cause. If the soil is
shallow and the subjacent rocks lie oblique and on edge, they are liable to
carry the water away rapidly by receiving it into their openings and crevi
ces, thus draining the soil. But if the subjacent rocks lie horizontally,
water which sinks through the soil is prevented from escaping, and is held
as in a tub, and is fed gradually upward through the soil by capilliary
attraction. This land will remain moist a long time. But the more usual
reason that one soil dries more rapidly than another, is that one is loose
and the other compact. The compact soil dries quickest. The smaller the
interspaces between the ultimate particles which make up the soil, the more
rapidly water raises from the wet subsoil by capilliary attraction, and the
supply is soon exhausted. The more compact the soil the smaller the
spaces between the particles. In loose ground the interspaces are larger,
the water rises slowly or not at all, and the dampness remains longer
beneath the surface. In the western countries where the summers are hot
and rainless, the farmers irrigate their land, thoroughly soaking it from a
neighboring canal. If they, shut the water off and leave the land alone, in
a few days it is baked, parched, hard and as dry as a bone. But the farmer
does not do this. As soon as the water is turned off, he plows and harrows
the land making the surface as loose as possible. The result is, the imme
diate top becomes dry, but a few inches below the surface the soU remains
moist for weeks. The water cannot escape through the porous surface.
The same rule applies everywhere. If two cornfields lie side by side,
especially in a dry season, and one is carefully tilled and the surface kept
loose, while the other is not, the difference in the crops will show that in
one case the moisture in the soil was prevented from escaping and was fed
to the corn roots, while in the other case it rose to the surface and was
blown away by the wind, leaving the corn to die of thirst.

CHAPTER IX,

-:o:-

AMONG OLD LAWS.
" Yet I doubt not through the ages one increasing purpose runs.
And the thoughts of men are widened with the process of the suns. "
— 'Tennyson.
The settlement of the territory now embraced in West Virginia com
menced about 1780, and before the close of the eighteenth century there
were cabins or colonies in the valleys of all the principal rivers of the State.
The first settlers were governed by the laws in force in Virginia from the
earliest occupation of our territory until 1868. A proper consideration of
the history of our State requires that mention be made of some of the old
laws. They should be studied to show the progress of society during the
past century. There are persons who speak of the "good old times" as
though everything were better than now, and who speak of the people of a
hundred years ago as if they were greater, purer, nobler than the men of
today, and as if, when they died, wisdom died with them. The historian
knows that this belief is erroneous. Not only are there men now living
who are as upright, wise and patriotic as any who ever lived, but society,
in all its branches and departments, has grown better. Only the pessimist
refuses to see that the human race is climbing to a higher level, and not
retrograding. To bring this truth nearer home to the people, let a retrospective view
of the customs and laws prevailing here a century ago be taken. That the
people of Virginia tolerated barbarous laws long after the close of the Rev
olutionary War is proof that the laws were not obnoxious to a majority of
the people, otherwise they would have changed them. Before proceeding
to a statement of the Acts of the Virginia Legislature, let it be remembered
that at that time Washington was President of the United States and the
great men of Virginia, at the close of the last century and the beginning of
this, were in their prime. They were responsible for the bad laws as weU
as for the good; if not directly, at least indirectly, for they were looked
upon as leaders. Patrick Henry, who had exclaimed, "give me liberty or
give me death," was yet living and practicing law; John Randolph, of Roan
oke, was entering his career of greatness; James Monroe, soon to be Presi
dent of the United States, was a leader in Virginia; George Mason, the
author of the Bill of Rights, had not yet lost his influence; James Madison,
also to be President of the United States, was a leader among the Virgin
ians; William Wirt, one of Virginia's greatest lawyers, was in his prime;
Edmund Randolph, Governor of Virginia, was in politics; John Marshall,
the famous Chief Justice, was practicing in the courts; Thomas Jefferson,
the author of the Declaration of Independence, was in the height of power;

84 AMONG OLD LAWS.
and the list might be extended much further. Yet, with all of these truly
great men in power in Virginia, the Legislature of that State passed such
laws as will be found below:
On December 26, 1792, an Act was passed for the purpose of suppress
ing vice, and provided that for swearing, cursing or being drunk the fine
should be eighty-three cents for each offense, and if not paid, the offender
should have ten lashes on the bare back. For working on Sunday the fine
was one dollar and sixty-seven cents. For stealing a hogshead or cask of
tobacco found lying by the public highway, the punishment was death.
On December 19, 1792, an Act was passed by the Virginia Legislature
providing that any person found guilty of forgery must be put to death; and
the same punishment was provided for those who erased, defaced or changed
the inspector's stamp on flour or hemp. No less severe was the punish
ment for those who stole land warrants. But for the man who made, passed
or had in his possession counterfeit money, knowing it to be such, the pen
alty of death was not enough. He was not only to be put to death, but was
forbidden the attendance of a minister, and must go to execution "in the
blossom of his sin." The design of the law-makers evidently was to add to
his punishment not only in this life, but, if possible, send him to eternal
punishment after death. It is not in the province or power of the writers
of history to ascertain whether the Virginia Assembly ever succeeded in
killing a man and sending him to eternal torment in the lake of fire and
brimstone because he had a counterfeit dime in his pocket, but the proba
bility is that the powers of the law-makers ceased when they had hanged
their man, and a more just and righteous tribunal then took charge of
his case. It is evident that the early Virginia law-makers laid great stress on the
idea of clergy to attend the condemned man. If they wished to inflict
extreme punishment they put on the finishing touches by denying the priv
ilege of clergy. On November 27, 1789, an Act was passed by the Legisla
ture segregating crimes into two classes, one of which was designated as
"clergyable," and the other as "unclergy able. " It was provided that the
unclergyable crimes were murder in the first degree, burglary, arson, the
burning of a Court-House or prison, the burning of a clerk's office, felone-
ously stealing from the church or meeting-house, robbing a house in pres
ence of its occupants, breaking into and robbing a dwelling house by day,
after having put its owner in fear. For all these offences the penalty was
death. A provision was made in some cases for clergy; but, lest the con
victed man's punishment might not thereby be too much lightened, it was
stipulated that he must have his hand burned before he was hanged.
The same law further provided that, although a man's crime might not
be unclergyable, yet if he received the benefit of clergy, and it was subse
quently ascertained that he had formerly committed an unclergyable
offense, he must then be put to death without further benefit of clergy. In
this law it was expressly provided that there should be no mitigation of
punishment in case of women.
By an Act of December 26, 1792, it was provided that the man who
apprehended a runaway servant and put him in jail was to receive one '
dollar and forty-seven cents, and mileage, to be paid by the owner. This
law was, no doubt, intended to apply chiefly to slaves rather than to white
servants. If the runaway remained two months in jail unclaimed, the
sheriff must advertise him in the Virginia Gazette, and after putting an irou

AMONG OLD LAWS. 85
collar on his neck, marked with the letter " P, " hire him out, and from his
wages pay the costs. After one year, if still unclaimed, he was to be sold.
The money, after the charges were paid, was to be given to the former
owner if he ever proved his claim, and if he did not do so, it belonged to
the State. The law-makers believed in discouraging gossip and tattling. A law
passed by the Virginia Legislature, December 27, 1792, was in the follow
ing language: "Whereas, many idle and busy-headed people do forge and
divulge false rumors and reports, be it resolved by the General Assembly,
that what person or persons soever shall forge or divulge any such false
report, tending to the trouble of the country, he shall be by the next Jus
tice of the Peace sent for and bound over to the next County Court, where,
if he produce not his author, he shall be fined forty dollars or less if the
court sees fit to lessen it, and besides give bond for his good behavior, if it
appear to the court that he did maliciously publish or invent it. "
There was a studied effort on the part of the Legislators to discourage
hog-stealing. It is not apparent why it should be a worse crime to steal a
hog than to steal a cow; or why the purloining of a pig should outrank in
criminality the taking of a calf; or why it should be a greater offense to
appropriate a neighbor's shoat than his sheep. But the early law-makers
in Virginia seem to have so considered it and they provided a law for the
special benefit of the hog thief. This law, passed by the Legislature
December 8, 1792, declared that ' 'any person, not a slave, who shall steal a
hog, shoat or pig," should receive thirty- five lashes on the bare back; or if
he preferred to do so, he might escape the lashing by paying a fine of thirty
dollars; but whether he paid the fine or submitted to the stripes, he still
must pay eight dollars to the owner for each hog stolen by him. This much
of the law is comparatively mild, but it was for the first offense only. As
the thief advanced in crime the law's severity increased. For the second
offense in hog-stealing the law provided that the person convicted, if not a
slave, should stand two hours in a pillory, on a public court day, at the
Court-House, and have both ears nailed to the pillory, and at the end of two
hours, should have his ears cut loose from the nails. It was expressly pro
vided that no exception should be made in the case of women. If the hog
thief still persisted in his unlawful business and transgressed the law a
third time, he was effectually cured of his desire for other people's hogs by
being put to death.
The slave had a still more severe punishment for stealing hogs. For
the first offense he received ' ' thirty-nine lashes on the bare back, well laid
on, at the public whipping-post." For the second offense he was nailed by
the ears to a post, and after two hours of torture, had his ears cut off. For
the third offense he was put to death. The law provided that if a negro or
Indian were put on the stand as a witness against a person accused of steal
ing hogs, and did not tell the truth, he should be whipped, nailed to a post,
his ears cut, and if he still testified falsely, he paid the penalty with his
life. It is not provided how the court shall be led to the knowledge
whether or not the witness had told the truth. It appears that the judge
was presumed to be infallible in separating false from true testimony in
trials for hog-stealing. After a hog had been stolen and killed, the relent
less law still followed it to try to discover if some one else might not be
punished. If a person bought, or received into his possession, a hog from
which the ears had been removed, he was adjudged guilty of hog-stealing,

86 AMONG OLD LAWS.
unless he could prove that the hog was his own property. There was also
a law forbidding any one from purchasing pork of Indians unless the ears
went with the pork. There would be some inconvenience in retailing pork
under this restriction, as it would require a skillful butcher to so cut up a
hog that each ham, shoulder, side and the sausage should retain the ears.
If stealing hogs was a crime almost too heinous to be adequately pun
ished in this world, horse- stealing was so much worse that the law-makers
of Virginia would not undertake to provide a law to reach the case. They,
therefore, enacted a law, December 10, 1792, that the convicted horse-thief
must be put to death; and, in order that he should certainly reach eternal
punishment beyond death, he was forbidden to have spiritual advice. The
language of the law is that the horse thief shall be "utterly excluded."
An Act of unnecessary severity was passed December 22, 1792, against
negroes who should undertake to cure the sick. It is reasonable and right
that the law should carefully guard the people against harm from those
who ignorantly practice medicine; but to us of the present day it appears
that a less savage law would have answered the purpose. It was provided
that any negro who prepared, exhibited, or administered medicine should
be put to death without benefit of clergy. It was provided, however, that
a negro might, with the knowledge and consent of his master, have medi
cine in his possession.
The law of Virginia required every county to provide a Court-House,
Jail, Pillory, Whipping Post, Stocks and a Ducking Stool. But the Duck
ing Stool might be dispensed with if the County Court saw fit to do so. The
Whipping Post was the last of these relics of barbarism to be removed. So
far as can be ascertained the last public and legalized burning of a convicted
man in West Virginia occurred in July, 1828, in the old Court-House in
Hampshire County. A negro slave, named Simon, the property of David
Collins, was tried on a charge of assault. The record does not show that
he had a jury. The court found him guilty and ordered the Sheriff to burn
him on the hand and give him one hundred lashes, chain him, and keep
him on "coarse and low diet." The minutes of the court state that the
Sheriff "immediately burned him in the hand in the presence of the court,"
and gave him then and there twenty-five lashes. The remaining seventy-
five were reserved for future days.
It is but justice to the law-makers of Virginia, and the people at that
time, to state that nearly all of those severe laws came from England, or
were enacted in the colony of Virginia many years before the Revolutionary
War. Some of them date back to the time of Cromwell, or even earlier.
Although the people of Virginia took the lead in the movement for greater
liberty, both mental and physical, they could not all at once cut loose from
the wrecks of past tyranny. They advanced rapidly along some hues, but
slowly along others. They found those old laws on the statute books, and
re-enacted them, and suffered them to exist for a generation or more. But
we should not believe that such men as Patrick Henry, Edmund Ra^dolph,
Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and the other statesmen and patriots
of that time believed that a man should be nailed to a post for stealing a
pig, or that the crime of stealing a hymn book from a church should be pun
ished with death without benefit of clergy.
A law passed near the close of the last century, and still in force in
1819, provided Sheriff's fees on a number of items, among which were the
following: For making an arrest, sixty-three cents; for pillorying a crimi-

AMONG OLD LAWS. 87
nal, fifty- ^wo cents; for putting a criminal in the stocks, twenty-one cents;
for ducking a criminal in pursuance of an order of court, forty-two cents;
for putting a criminal in prison, forty-two cents; for hanging a criminal,
five dollars and twenty-five cents; for whipping a servant, by order of
court, to be paid by the master and repaid to him by the servant, forty-two
cents ; for whipping a free person, by order of court, to be paid by the per
son who received the whipping, forty-two cents; for whipping a slave, by
order of court, to be paid by the county, forty-two cents; for selling a ser
vant at public outcry, forty-two cents; for keeping and providing for a
debtor in jail, each day, twenty-one cents.
It was more expensive to be whipped or pilloried by the Sheriff than by
a Constable, although there is no evidence that the Sheriff did the work
any more effectively. Since the person who received the punishment usu
ally paid the fees of the officer who performed the service, it is probable
that such person preferred being whipped or nailed to a post by a Consta
ble, because it was less expensive. Some of the Constable's fees are shown
below: For putting a condemned man in the stocks, twenty-one cents; for
whipping a servant, twenty-one cents; for whipping a slave, to be paid by
the master, twenty-one cents; for removing a person likely to become a
charge on the county, per mile, four cents.
Within the past century several important changes have taken place in
the laws under which West Virginia has been governed. An Act of As
sembly, passed November 29, 1792, provided that in cases where a person
is suspected of having committed a murder, and the Coroner's jury recom
mend that he be held for trial, and he eludes arrest, the Coroner must seize
his house and property and hold them until he surrenders himself or is
" arrested. Where a defendant was found guilty the costs of the prosecution
was collected by sale of his property, if he had any property; but he might
pay cost and thus save his property. No Constable, miller, surveyor of
roads or hotel-keeper was eligible to serve on a grand jury. A law passed
January 16, 1801, provided a fine of five dollars as a penalty for killing deer
between January 1 and August 1 of each year. A law enacted January 26,
1814, provided that sheep-killing dogs should be killed. If the owner pre
vented the execution of the law upon the dog he was subject to a fine of two
dollars for each day in which he saved the life of the dog. The bounty on
wolves was made six dollars for each scalp, by a law passed February 9,
1819. But the bounty was not always the same, nor was it uniform through
out the counties of Virginia. Each county could fix the bounty within its
jurisdiction. A law of January 16, 1802, provided a fine of thirty dollars
for setting the woods on fire; and a law of January 4, 1805, punished by a
fine of ten dollars the catching of fish in a seine between May 15 and
August 15.
There was a severe law passed by the Virginia Legislature February
22, 1819, for the benefit of tavern-keepers. It provided a fine of thirty dol- ,
lars for each offense, to be levied against any person not a licensed tavern-
keeper, who should take pay from a traveler for entertaiment given. Not
only was this law in force in and near towns, but also within eight hundred
yards of any public road. There was a law enacted by the Assembly of
Virginia December 24, 1796, which was intended to favor the poor people.
It is in marked contrast with many of the laws of that time, for they were
generally not made to benefit the poor. The law had for its object the aid
ing of persons of small means in Teaching justice through the courts. A

88 AMONG OLD LAWS.
man who had no money had it in his power to prosecute a suit against a
rich man. He could select the court in which to have his case tried; the
court furnished htm an attorney free; he was charged nothing for his sub
poenas and other writs; and he was not charged with costs in case he lost
his suit. A law similar to that is still in force in West Virginia.
In 1792 an Act was passed by the Virginia Legislature establishing fer
ries across the principal streams of the State, and fixing the rate of toll.
The State was in the ferry business strictly for the money in it. The lai\'
provided that no person should operate a private ferry for profit where he
would take patronage from a public ferry. The penalty for so doing seems
unnecessarily severe. The person who undertook to turn a few dimes into
his own pocket by carrying travelers across a river, where those travelers
might go by public ferry, was fined twenty dollars for each offense, half of
it to go to the nearest public ferryman and the other half to the person who
gave the information; and in case the public ferryman gave the informa
tion, the entire fine went into his pocket. It will readily be surmised that
the public ferryman maintained a sharp lookout for private boats which
should be so presumptuous as to dare enter into competition for a portion
of the carrying trade, and it is equally probable that competition with pub
lic service soon became unpopular, when a man might receive five cents for
carrying a traveler across a river and to be fined twenty dollars for it.
Messengers and other persons' on business for the State were not
required to pay toll, and they must be carried across immediately, at any
hour of the day or night. But, as a precaution against being imposed upon
by persons falsely claiming to be in the service of the State, the ferryman
was authorized to demand proof, which the applicant was obliged to fur
nish. This proof consisted of a letter, on the back of which must be writ
ten "public service," and must be signed by some officer, either in the civil
or military service of the State. Inasmuch as the punishment for forgery
at that time was death, it is improbable that any person would present
forged documents to the ferryman in order to save a few cents toll. The
men who kept the ferries enjoyed some immunities and privileges denied to
the masses. They were exempt from work on the public roads. They
were not required to pay county taxes, but whether this privilege was ex
tended only to poll tax, or whether it applied also to personal property and
real estate, is not clear from the reading of the regulations governing the
business. They were exempt from military service due the State, and they
were excused from holding the office of Constable.

riBST COHRT-HOnSE IN WEST VIRGINIA,
Hampshire County.

CHAPTER X,

-:o:-

CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY,
The territory now embraced in the State of West Virginia has been
governed under five State constitutions, three of Virginia's and two of West
Virginia's. The first was adopted in 1776, the second in 1830, the third in
1851, the fourth in 1868, the fifth in 1872. The first constitution was passed
by the Virginia Convention, June 29, 1776, five days before the signing of
the Declaration of Independence. Virginia had taken the lead in declaring
the United States independent and capable of self-government; and it also
took the lead in preparing a system of government for itself. The consti
tution passed by its convention in 1776 was one of the first documents of
the kind in the world, and absolutely the first in America. Its aim was
lofty. It had in view greater liberty than men had ever before enjoyed.
The document is a masterpiece of statesmanship, yet its terms are simple.
It was the foundation on which nearly all the State constitutions have been
based. H was in force nearly fifty years, and not until experience had
shown wherein it was defective was there any disposition to change it or
form a new constitution. Viewed now in the light of nearly a century and
a quarter of progressive government, there are features seen in it which do
not conform to the ideas of statesmen of today. But it was so much better,
at the time of its adoption, than anything gone before that it was entirely
satisfactory. A Bill of Rights preceded the first constitution. On May 15, 1776, the
Virginia Convention instructed its delegates in Congress to propose to that
body to declare the United Colonies independent, and at the same time the
Convention appointed a committee to prepare a Declaration of Rights and
a plan of government for Virginia. On June 12' the Bill of Rights was
passed. The document was written by George Mason, member of the com
mittee. This state paper is of interest, not only as being one of the earliest
of the kind in America, but because it contains inconsistencies which in
after years clung to the laws of Virginia, carrying injustice with them, un
til West Virginia, when it became a State, refused to allow them to become
part of the laws of the new Commonwealth. The chief of these inconsis
tencies is found in the just declaration at the outset of the Bill of Rights,
"that all men are by nature equally free and independent;" and yet further
on it paves the way for restricting the privilege of suffrage to those who
own property, thereby declaring in terms, if not in words, that a poor man
is not as free and independent as a rich man. Here was the beginning of
the doctrine so long held in Virginia by its law-makers, that a man without
property should not have a voice in the government. • In after years this
doctrine was combated by the people of the territory now forming West

90 CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY.
Virginia. The inhabitants west of the Blue Ridge, and especially west of
the AUeghanies, were the champions of universal suffrage, and they labored
to attain that end, but with little success until they were able to set up a
government for themselves, in which government men were placed above-
property. Further on in this chapter something more will be found on this
subject. The Bill of Rights declares that the freedom of the press is one of the
chief bulwarks of liberty. This is in marked contrast with and a noticeable
advance beyond the doctrine held by Sir William Berkeley, one of Virginia's
royal governors, who solemnly declared, ' ' I thank God we have not free
schools or printing, and I hope we will nof have these hundred years, for
learning has brought disobedience and heresy and sects into the world, and
printing has divulged them and libels against the government. God keep
us from both." This solemn protest of Virginia's Governor was made
nearly forty years after the founding of Harvard University in Massa
chusetts. It has been sometimes cited as an illustration of the difference
between the Puritan civilization in Massachusetts and the Cavalier civiliza
tion of Virginia. But the comparison is unfair. It was no test of Virginia's
civilization, for the Governor was carrying out instructions from .England
to suppress printing, and he did not consult the people of the colony
whether they wanted printing jiresses or not. But when a printer, John
Buckner by name, ten years after Governor Berkeley asked divine protec
tion against schools and printing, ventured into Virginia with a press he
was promptly brought before the Governor and was compelled to give bond
that he would print nothing until the King of England gave consent.
In view of this experience it is not to be wondered at that the Virgin
ians were prompt in declaring in their Bill of Rights that the press should
be free. But they did not embrace that excellent opportunity to say a word
in favor of schools. Nor could they, at one sweep, bring themselves to the
broad doctrine that property does not round off and complete the man, but
that "a man's a man for a' that," and capable, competent and trustworthy
to take full part in the affairs of government. This Bill of Rights was
brought into existence in the early part of the Revolutionary War, and at
that very time the bold, patient, patriotic and poor backwoodsmen from the
frontiers were in the American armies, fighting and dying in the cause of
liberty and equal rights; and yet, by laws then being enacted, these same
men were denied the right to take part in the management of the govern
ment which they were fighting to establish. It was for no other reason
than that they were not assessed with enough property to give "sufficient
evidence of permanent common interest with and attachment to the com
munity." This notion had been brought from England, and had been fast
ened upon the colony of Virginia so firmly that it could not be shaken off
when that State severed the political ties which bound it to the mother
country. The idea clung to the constitution passed in 1776; to that of 1830;
to that of 1851; but sentiment against the property qualification for suffrage
constantly grew, and particularly among the people of Western Virginia,
until it manifested itself in striking the obnoxious clause from the consti
tution when the State of West Virginia came into separate existence.
If the War of the Revolution did not teach the statesmen of Virginia
thai: the poor man can be a patriot, and if the thirty-five or more years inter
vening between the adoption of the constitution of 1776 and the second war
with England had not sufficed to do so, it might be supposed that the new

CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 91
experience of the War of 1812 would have made the fact clear. But it did
not convince the law-maker. Virginia was speedily invaded by the British
after the declaration of war, and some of the most valuable property in the
State was destroyed, and some of the best territory was overrun by the
enemy. The city of Washington, just across the Potomac from Virginia,
was captured and burned. An ex-President of the United States was com-
peUed to hide in the woods to avoid capture by the enemy. In this critical
time no soldiers fought more valiantly, none did more to drive back the
invader, than the men from Western Virginia, where lived most of those
who were classed too poor 1^ take part in the affairs of government. It is
said that sometimes half the men in a company of soldiers had never been
permitted to vote because they did not own enough property.
The people of Western Virginia felt the injustice keenly. They never
failed to respond promptly to a call when their services were needed in the
field, but in time of peace they sought in a lawful and decent manner the
redress of their grievances. They could not obtain this redress under the
constitution then in force, and the War of 1812 had scarcely come to a close
when the subject of a new ^constitution began to be spoken of. It was agi
tated long in vain. Nor was the restriction of suffrage the only wrong the
people of Western Virginia endured, somewhat impatiently, but always with
full respect for the laws then in force.
The eastern part of Virginia had the majority of inhabitants and the
largest part of the property, and this gave that portion of the State the
majority in the Assembly. This power was used with small respect for the
rights of the people in the^western part of the State. Internal improve
ments were made on a large scale in the east, but none were made west of
the mountains, or very few. Men in the western counties had little encour
agement to aspire to political distinction. The door was shut on them. The
State offices were filled by men from the wealthy eastern districts. At
length the agitation of the question of a new constitution ripened into
results. The Assembly of Virginia in 1828 passed a bill submitting to a
vote of the people whether they would have a constitutional convention
called. At the election there were 38,542 votes cast, of which 21,896 were
in favor of a constitutional convention. By far the heaviest vote favoring
the convention was cast west of the Blue Ridge. The wealthy slave-owners
of the lower counties wanted no change. The constitution had been framed
to suit them, and they wanted nothing better. They feared that any change
would give them something less suitable. Nevertheless, when the votes
were counted and it was ascertained that a new constitution was inevitable,
the representatives of the wealth of the State set to work to guard against
any invasion of the privileges they had so long enjoyed.
The delegates from what is now West Virginia elected to this conven
tion were: E. M. Wilson, and Charles S. Morgan, of Monongalia County;
William McCoy, of Pendleton County; Alexander Campbell and Philip Dod
dridge, of Brooke County; Andrew Beirne, of Monroe County; William
Smith, of Greenbrier County; John Baxter, of Pocahontas; H. L. Opie and
Thomas Griggs, of Jefferson; William Naylor and William Donaldson, of
Hampshire; Philip Pendleton and Elisha Boyd, of Berkeley; E. S. Duncan,
of Harrison; John Laidley, of Cabell; Lewis Summers, of Kanawha; Adam
See, of Randolph. The leader of the western delegates in the convention
was Philip Doddridge, who did all in his power to have the property qualifi
cation clause omitted from the new constitution.

92 CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY.
The convention met at Richmond, October 5-, 1829. Prom the very first
meeting the western members were slighted. No western man was named
in the selection of officers of the convention. It was seen at the outset that
the property qualification for suffrage would not be given up by the eastern
members without a struggle, and it was soon made plain that this qualifica
tion would have a majority. It was during the debates in this convention
that PhUip Doddridge, one of West Virginia's greatest men, came to the
front in his full stature. His opponents were Randolph, Leigh, Upshur,
Tazewell, Standard and others, who supported the doctrine that a voter
should be a property -owner. One of Doddridge's colleagues was Alexander
Campbell, the founder of the Church of the Disciples of Christ, sometimes
known as the Christian Church, and again called, from its founder, the
Campbellite Church. Here were two powerful intellects, Doddridge and
Campbell, and they championed the cause of Uberty in a form more ad
vanced than was then allowed in Virginia. Doddridge himself had f oUowed
the plow, and he felt that the honest man does not need a certain number
of acres before he can be trusted with the right of suffrage. He^had served
in the Virginia Legislature and knew from observation and experience the
needs of the people in his part of the State. He was born on the bank of
the Ohio River two years before the backwoodsmen of Virginia annulled
the Quebec Act, passed by the Parliament of England, and he had grown
to manhood in the 'dangers and vicissitudes of the frontiers. He was but
five years old at the first siege of Port Henry, and was ten years old at the
second siege; and the shot which brought down the last British fiag that
floated above the soil of Virginia during the I^evolutionary War was fired
almost within hearing of his home. Among his neighbors were Lewis
Wetzel, Ebenezer Zane, Samuel Brady and the men who fought to save the
homes of the frontier settlers during the long and anxious years of Indian
warfare. Although Doddridge died two years after this convention, while
serving in Congress, he had done enough to give West Virginia reason for
remembering him. The work of Campbell does not stand out in so conspic
uous a manner in the proceedings of the convention, but his influence for
good was great; and if the delegates from west of the mountains labored in
vain for that time, the result was seen in later years.
The work of the convention was brought to a close in 1830, and a new
constitution was given to the voters of the State for their approval or rejec
tion. The western members had failed to strike out the distasteful prop
erty qualification. They had all voted against it except Doddridge, who
was unable to attend that session on account of sickness, no doubt due to
overwork. His vote, however, would_ have changed nothing, as the eastern
members had a large majority and carried every measure they wanted. In
the dissatisfaction consequent upon the failure of the western counties to
secure what they considered justice began the movement for a new State.
More than thirty years elapsed before the object was attained, and it was
brought about by means and from causes which not the wisest statesman
foresaw in 1830, yet the sentiment had been growing all the years. The old
State of Virginia was never forgiven the offense and injury done the west
ern district in the constitutional convention of 1829-1830. If the injustice
was partly removed by the enlarged suffrage granted in the constitution
adopted twenty years after, it was then too late for the atonement to be
accepted as a blotting out of past wrongs; and in 1861 the people of West
Virginia replied to the old State's long years of oppression and tyranny.

CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 93
The constitution of 1830 adopted the Bill of Rights of 1776 without
amendment or change. Then followed a long preamble reciting the wrongs
under which Virginia suffered, prior to the Revolutionary War, before inde
pendence was secured. Under this constitution the Virginia House of Del
egates consisted of one hundred and thirty-four members, of which twenty-
six were chosen by the counties lying west of the AUeghenies; twenty-five
by the counties between the Blue Ridge and the AUeghanies; forty-two by
the counties between the Blue Ridge and tidewater, and thirty-six by the
tidewater counties. The Senate consisted of thirty-two members, of which
thirteen were from the counties west of the Blue Ridge. No priest or
preacher was eligible to the Legislature. The right of suffrage was based
on a property qualification. The ballot was forbidden and all voting was
viva voce. Judges of the supreme court and of the superior courts were
not elected by the people, but by the joint vote of the Senate and House of
Delegates. The Attorney General was chosen in the same way. Sheriffs
and Coroners were nominated by the county courts and appointed by the
Governor. Justices of the Peace were appointed by the Governor and the
Constables were appointed by the Justices. Clerks were appointed by the
courts. The State Treasurer was elected by the joint vote of the Senate
and House of Delegates. It is thus seen that the only State officers for
which people could vote directly were Senators and members of the House
of Delegates. Such an arrangement would be very unsatisfactory at the
present day among people who have become accustomed to select their
officers, almost without exception, from the highest to the lowest. The
growth of the Republican principle of Government has been gradual. It
was not all grasped at once; nor has it reached its fullest developement yet.
The Bill of Rights and the first constitution of Virginia were a great step
forward from the bad Government under England's Colonial system; but
the gathered wisdom of more than a century has discovered and corrected
many imperfections.
It is noticable that the constitution of 1830 contains no provisions for
public schools. It may be stated generally that the early history of Vir
ginia shows little development of the common school idea. The State
which was satisfied for seventy-five years with suffrage denied the poor
would not be likely to become famous for its zeal in the cause of popular
education. The rich, who voted, could afford schools for their children;
and the father who was poor could neither take part in the Government nor
educate his children. Virginia was behind most of the old states in free
schools. At the very time that Governor Berkeley thanked God that there^
were neither free schools nor printing presses in Virginia, Connecticut was
devoting to education one fourth of its revenue from taxation. As late as
1857 Virginia with a population of nearly a million and a half, had only
41,608 children in common schools. When this is compared with other
states, the contrast is striking. Massachusetts with a smaller population
had five times as many children in the free schools; New Hampshire with
one-fLfth the population had twice as many; Illinois had nearly eight times
as many, yet a smaller population; Ohio with a population a little larger
had more than fourteen times as many children in public schools as Vir
ginia. The following additional states in 1857 had more children attending
common schools than Virginia had in proportion to their population:
Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kentucky,

94 CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY.
Maryland, Louisiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama. The
states with a smaller percentage of children in the common schools than
Virginia's were South Carolina, California and Mississippi. For the
remainder of the states, the statistics for that year were not compiled.
The showing is bad for Virginia. Although the lack of provision for
popular education in the convention of 1830 does not appear to have caused
opposition from the western members, yet the promptness with which the
State of West Virginia provided for public schools as soon as it had a
chance, is evidence that the sentiment west of the AUeghanies was strong
in favor of popular education.
When the western delegates returned home after completing their
labors in the convention of 1829-1830, they found that their constituents
were much dissatisfied with the constitution. The chief thing contended
for, less restriction on suffrage, had been refused, and the new constitution,
while in some respects better than the old, retained the most objectionable
feature of the old. At the election held early in 1830 for ratifying or
rejecting the new constitution, 41,618 votes were cast, of which, 26,055
were for ratification and 15,563 against. The eastern part of the State
voted strongly for ratification; the western part against it. Only two
counties in what is now West Virginia gave a majority for it; and only one
east of the Blue Ridge voted against it. The vote by counties in West
Virginia was as follows: Berkeley, for 95, against 161; Brooke, the home
of Doddridge and Campbell, for 0, against 371; Cabell, for 5, against 334;
Greenbrier, for 34, against 464; Hampshire, for 241, against 211; Hardy,
for 68, against 120; Harrison, for 8, against 1,112; Jefferson, for 243,
asrainst 53; Kanawha, ior 42, against 266; Lewis, for 10, against 546;
Logan, for 2, against 255; Mason, for 31, against 369; Monongalia, for 305,
against 460; Monroe, for 19, against 451; Morgan, for 29, against 156;
Nicholas, for 28, against 325; Ohio for 3, against 648; Pendleton, for 58,
against 219; Pocahontas, for 9, against 288; Preston, for 121, against 357;
Randolph, for 4, against 567; Tyler, for 5, against 299; Wood, for 28,
against 410. Total, for 1,383, against 8,375.
Although the constitution of 1830 was unsatisfactory to the people of
the western counties, and they had voted to reject it, it had been fastened
upon them by the vote of the eastern counties. However, the matter was
not to end there. In a Republican Government the way to reach a redress
of grievances is to keep the proposed reform constantly before the people.
If right, it will finally prevail. In all reform movements or questions, the
right is nearly always in the minority at first; perhaps it is always so. . The
Western Virginians had been voted down, but they at once began to agitate
the question of calling another constitutional convention. They kept at it
for twenty years. Finally a Legislature was chosen which called an elec
tion on the subject of a constitutional convention. The majority of the
Legislature was in favor of the convention, and in May, 1850, an election
was held to choose delegates. Those elected from the country west of the
AUeghanies, and from districts partly east and partly west of those moun
tains, were John Kenny, A. M. Newman, John Lionberger, George E.
Deneale, G. B. Samuels, William Seymour, Giles Cook, Samuel C. WiUiams,
Allen T. Caperton, Albert G. Pendleton, A. A. Chapman, Charles J. Faulk
ner, WiUiam Lucas, Dennis Murphy, Andrew Hunter, Thomas Sloan, James
E. Stewart, Richard E. Byrd, Charles Blue, Jefferson T. Martin, Zachariah
Jacob, John Knote, Thomas Gaily, Benjamin H. Smith, WUliam Smith,

CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 95
Samuel Price, George W. Summers, Joseph Johnson, John P. Snodgrass.
Gideon D. Camden, Peter G. Van Winkle, William G. Brown. Waitniian T,
Willey, Edward J. Armstrong, James Neeson, Samuel L. Hayes, Joseph
Smith, John S. Carlile, Thomas Bland, Elisha W. McComas, Henry J.
Fisher, and James H. Ferguson.
One of these delegates, Joseph Johnson, of Harrison County, was the
only man up to that time ever chosen Governor from the district west of
the AUeghanies; and in the three-quarters of a century since the adoption
of Virginia's first constitution, no man from west of the AUeghanies had
ever been sent to the United States Senate; and only one had been elected
from the country west of the Blue Ridge. Eastern property had out-voted
western men. Still the people west of the mountains sought their remedy
in a new constitution, just as they had sought in vain nearly a generation
before. The constitutional convention met and organized for work. The dele
gates from the east.ern part of the State at once showed their hand. They
insisted froni the start that there should be a property qualification for suf
frage. This was the chief point against which the western people had been
so long contending, and the members from west of the AUeghanies were
there to resist such a provision in the new constitution and to fight it to the
last. Lines were drawn upon this issue. The contending forces were at once
arrayed for the fight. It was seen that the western members and the
members who took sides with them were not in as hopeless a minority as
they had been in the convention of 1830. Still they were not so strong as
to assure victory, and the battle was to be long and hard-fought. If there
was one man among the western members more conspicuous as a leader than
the others, that man was Waitman T. Willey, of Monongalia County. An
unswerving advocate of liberty in its widest interpretation, and with an un
compromising hatred of tyranny and oppression, he had prepared himself
to fight in the front when the question of restriction of suffrage should
come up. The eastern members forced the issue, and he met it. He denied
that property is the true source of political power; but, rather, that the true
source should be sought in wisdom, virtue, patriotism; and that wealth,
while not bad in itself, frequently becomes a source of political weakness.
The rights of persons are above the rights of property. Mr. Scott, a dele
gate from Fauquier County, declared that this movement by the western
members was simply an effort to get their hands on the pocket books of the
wealthy east. Mr. Willey repelled this impeachment of the integrity of the
west. Other members in sympathy with the property qualification took up
the cue and the assault upon the motives of the people of the west became
severe and unjust. But the members from that part of the State defended
the honor of its people with a vigor and a success which defeated the prop
erty qualification in the constitution.
It was not silenced however. It was put forward and carried in another
form, by a proviso that members of the Assembly and Senate should be
elected on an arbitrary basis until the year 1865, and at that time the ques
tion should be submitted to a vote of the people whether their delegates in
the Legislature should be apportioned on what was called the ' ' white basis "
or the ' ' mixed basis. " The first provided that members of the Legisla
ture should be apportioned according to the number of white inhabitants;
the second, that they should be apportioned according to both property
and inhabitants. The eastern members believed that in 1865 the vote of

96 CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY.
the State would favor the mixed basis, and thus the property qualification
would again be in force, although not in exactly the same form as before.
The proceedings of the convention had not advanced far when it be
came apparent that a sentiment in that body was in. favor of electing many
or all of the County and State officers. The sentiment favoring electing
judges was particularly strong. Prior to that time the judges in Virginia
had been chosen by the Legislature or appointed by the Governor, who was
a creature of the Legislature. The members from Western Virginia, under
the leadership of Mr. Willey, were in favor of electing the judges. It was
more in conformity with the principles of republican government that the
power which selected the makers of laws should also select the interpreters
of those laws, and also those whose duty it is to execute the laws. The
power of the people was thus increased, and with increase of power there
was an increase also in their responsibility. Both are wholesome stimu
lants for the citizens of a commonwealth who are rising to new ideas and
higher principles. The constitution of 1850 is remarkable for the general ,
advance embodied in it. The experience of nearly half a century has shown
that many improvements could be made, but at the time it was adopted its
landmarks were set on higher ground. But as yet the idea that the State
is the greatest beneficiary from the education of the people, and that it is
the duty of the State to provide free schools for this purpose, had not
gained sufficient footing to secure so much as an expression in its favor in
the constitution of 1850.
The work of the convention was completed, and at an election held for
the purpose in 1852 it was ratified and became the foundation for State gov
ernment in Virginia. The Bill of Rights, passed in 1776 and adopted with
out change as a preamble or introduction to the constitution" of 1830, was
amended in several particulars and prefixed to the constitution of 1850. The
constitution of 1830 required voting by viva voce, without exception. That
of 1850 made an exception in favor of deaf and dumb persons. But for all
other persons the ballot was forbidden. The property qualification for suf
frage was not placed in the constitution. Although a provision was made
to foist a property clause on the State to take effect in 1865, the great and
unexpected change made by the Civil War before the year 1865 rendered
this provision of no force. The leading features of the "mixed basis" and
"white basis," as contemplated by the constitution, were: In 1865 the peo
ple, by vote, were to decide whether the members of the State Senate and
Lower House should be apportioned in accordance with the number of
voters, without regard to property, or whether, in such apportionment,
property should be represented. The former was called the white basis or
suffrage basis; the latter mixed basis. Under the mixed basis the appor
tionment would be based on a ratio of the white inhabitants and of the
amount of State taxes paid. Provision was made for the apportionment of
Senators on one basis and members of the Lower House on the other, if the
voters should so decide. The members of the convention from West Vir
ginia did not like the mixed basis, but the clause making the provision for
it went into the constitution in spite of them. They feared that the popu
lous and wealthy eastern counties would out- vote the counties beyond the
AUeghanies and fasten the mixed basis upon the whole State. But West
Virginia had separated from the old State before 1865 and never voted on
that measure. There was a clause which went so far as to provide that the

CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 97
members of the Senate might be apportioned solely on the basis of taxa
tion, if the people so decided by vote.
Under the constitution free negroes were not permitted to reside in Vir
ginia unless free at the time the constitution went into effect. Slaves there
after manumitted forfeited their freedom by remaining twelve months in
the State. Provision was made for enslaving them again.
For the first time in the history of the State the Governor was to be
elected by the people. He had before been appointed by the Legislature.
County officers, clerks, sheriff, prosecuting attorney and surveyor, were now
to be elected by the people. The county court, composed of not less than
three or more than five justices of the peace, held sessions monthly, and
had enlarged jurisdiction. This arrangement was not consistent with the
advance made in other branches of County and State government as pro
vided for in the constitution. That county court was not satisfactory, and
even after West Virginia became a State, it did not at first rid itself of the
tribunal which had out-lived its usefulness. But after a number of years a
satisfactory change was made by the new State. Under Virginia's consti
tution of 1850 the Auditor, Treasurer and Secretary were selected by the
Legislature. The first constitution of West Virginia was a growth rather than a crea
tion by a body of men in one convention. The history of that constitution
is a part of the history of the causes leading up to and the events attending
the creation of a new State from the counties in the western part of Vir
ginia, which had refused to follow the old State when it seceded from the
Union. Elsewhere in this volume will be found a narrative of the acts by
which the new State was formed. The present chapter will consider only
those movements and events directly related to the first constitution.
The efforts of the Northern States to keep slavery from spreading to
new territory, and the attempts of the South to introduce it into the West;
the passage of laws by the Northern States by which they refused to deliver
runaway slaves to their masters; decisions of courts in conflict with the
wishes of one or the other of the great parties to the controversy; and other
acts or doctrines favorable to one or the other, all entered into the presi
dential campaign of 1860 and gave that contest a bitterness unknown before
or since in the history of American politics. For many years the South
had been able to carry its points by the ballot-box or by statesmanship, but
in 1860 the power was slipping away, and the North was in the ascendancy
with its doctrines of no further extension of slavery. There were four can
didates in the field, and the Republicans elected Abraham Lincoln. Had
the Southern States accepted the result, acquiesced in the limitation of
slavery within those States wherein it already had an undisputed foothold,
the Civil War would not have occurred at that time, and perhaps never.
Slavery would have continued years longer. But the rashness of the South
ern States hastened the crisis, and in its result slavery was stamped out.
South Carolina led the revolt by a resolution December 20, 1860, by which
that State seceded from the Union. Other Southern States followed,
formed "The Confederate States of America," and elected Jefferson Davis
Prtesident. Virginia, as a State, went with the South, but the people of the western
part, when confronted with the momentous question, ' ' Choose ye this day
whom ye vrill serve," chose to remain citizens of the United States. Gov
ernor Letchter, of Virginia, called an extra session of the Legislature to
7

98 CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY.
meet January 7, 1861, to consider public affairs. The Legislature passed a
bill calling a convenion of the people of Virginia, whose delegates were to
be elected February 4, to meet in Richmond, February 13, 1861. A substi
tute for this bill, offered in the Lower House of the Legislature, providing
that a vote of the people of the State should be taken on the question of
calling the convention, was defeated. The convention was thus convened
without the consent of the people, a thing which had never before been
done in Virginia.
Delegates were chosen for Western Virginia. They were nearly all
opposed to secession and worked to defeat it in the convention. Finding
their efforts in vain, they returned home, some of them escaping many
dangers and overcoming much difficulty on the way. The action of the
Virginia Convention was kept secret for some time, while State troops and
troops from other States were seizing United States arsenals and other
government property in Virginia. But when the delegates returned to their
homes in Western Virginia with the news that Virginia had joined the
Southern Confederacy there was much excitement and a widespread deter
mination among the people not to be transferred to the Confederacy.
Meetings were held, delegates were chosen to a convention in Wheeling to
meet June 11 for the purpose of re-organizing the government of Virginia.
Owing to the peculiar circumstances in which the State of Virginia was
placed, part in and part out of the Southern Confederacy, the constitution
of 1850 did not apply to the case, and certainly did not authorize the re-or
ganization of the State Government in the manner in which it was about to
be done. No constitution and no statute had ever been framed to meet such
an emergency. The proceeding undertaken by the Wheeling convention
was authorized by no written law, and so far as the statutes of the State
contemplated such a condition, they forbade it. But, as the gold which
sanctified the Temple was greater tlian the Temple, so men who make the
law are greater than the law. The principle is dangerous when acted upon
by bad men, but patriots may. in a crisis which admits of no delay, be a law
unto themselves. The people of Western Virginia saw the storm, saw the
only salvation, and with promptness they seized the helm and made for the
harbor. The constitution of Virginia did not apply. The Wheeling Convention
passed an ordinance for the government of the re-organized State. This
ordinance could scarcely be called a constitution, yet it was a good tempo
rary substitute for one. It authorized the convention to appoint a Governor
and Lieutenant Governor to serve until their successors were elected and
qualified. They were to administer the existing laws of Virginia. The
General Assembly was called to meet in Wheeling, where it was to provide
for the election of a Governor and Lieutenant Governor. The capital of
Virginia was thus changed from Richmond to Wheeling, so far as that con
vention could change it. The Senators and Assemblymen who had been
chosen at the preceding election were to constitute the Legislature. A
Council of Five was appointed by the convention to assist the Governor in
the discharge of his duties. An allusion to the State Constitution, made in
this ordinance, shows that the convention considered the. Virginia Consti
tution of 1850 still in force, so far as it was applicable to the changed condi
tions. There was no general and immediate change of county and district
officers provided for, but an oath was required of them that they would sup
port the Constitution of the United States. Provision was madfe for remov-

CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 99
ing from office such as refused to take the oath, and for appointing others
in their stead.
Under and by virtue of this ordinance the convention elected Francis
H. Pierpont Governor of Virginia, Daniel Polsley Lieutenant Governor, and
James S. Wheat Attorney General. Provision having been made by the
General Assembly which met in Wheeling for an election of delegates to
frame a constitution for the State of West Virginia, provided a vote of the
people should be in favor of a new State, and the election having shown
that a new State was desired, the delegates to the Constitutional Conven
tion assembled in Wheeling November 26, 1861. The purpose at first had
not been to form a new State, but to re- organize and administer the govern
ment of Virginia. But the sentiment in favor of a new State was strong,
and resulted in the assemblimg of a convention to<f rame a constitution. The
list of delegates were, Gordon Batelle, Ohio County; Richard L. Brooks
Upshur; James H. Brown, Kanawha; John J. Brown, Preston; John Boggs
Pendleton; W. W. Brumfield, Wayne; E. H. Caldwell, Marshall; Thomas R
Carskadon, Hampshire; James S. Cassady, Payette; H. D. Chapman, Roane
Richard M. Cooke, Mercer; Henry Dering, Monongalia; John A. Dille, Pres
ton; Abijah Dolly, Hardy; D. W. Gibson, Pocahontas; S. P. Griffith, Mason
Stephen M. Hansley, Raleigh; Robert Hogar, Boone; Ephraim B. Hall
Marion; John Hall, Mason; Thomas W. Harrison, Harrison; Hiram Hay
mond, Marion; James Hervey, Brooke; J. P. Hoback, McDowell; Joseph
Hubbs, Pleasants; Robert Irvine, Lewis; Daniel Lamb, Ohio; R. W. Lauck.
Wetzel; E. S. Mahon, Jackson; A. W. Mann, Greenbrier; John R. McCutch
eon, Nicholas; Dudley S. Montague, Putnam; Emmett J. O'Brien, Barbour
Granville Parker, Cabell; James W. Parsons, Tucker; J. W. Paxton, Ohio
David S. Pinnell, Upshur; Joseph S- Pomeroy, Hancock; John M. Powell
Harrison; Job Robinson, Calhoun; A. P. Ross, Ohio; Lewis Ruffner, Kana
wha; Edward W. Ryan, Fayette; George W. Sheets, Hampshire; Josiah
Simmons, Randolph; Harmon Sinsel, Taylor; Benjamin H. Smith, Logan
Abraham D. Soper, Tyler; Benjamin L. Stephenson, Clay; William E. Steven
son. Wood; Benjamin P. Stewart, Wirt; Chapman J. Stewart, Doddridge
G. F. Taylor, Braxton; M. Titchenell, Marion; Thomas H. Trainer, Mar
shall; Peter G. Van Winkle, Wood; William Walker, Wyoming; William W.
Warder, Gilmer; Joseph S. Wheat, Morgan; Waitman T. Willey, Mononga
lia; A. J. Wilson, Ritchie; Samuel Young, Pocahontas.
There were two sessions of this convention, the first in the latter part
of 1861, the second beginning February 12, 1863. The constitution was
completed at the first session, as was supposed, but when the question of
admitting the State into the Union was before Congress that body required
a change of one section regarding slavery, and the convention was re-con
vened and made the necessary change.
When the convention assembled November 15, 1861, it set about its
task. The first intention was to name the new State Kanawha, but there
being objections to this, the name of Augusta was suggested; then Alle
ghany, Western Virginia, and finally the name West Virginia was chosen.
Selecting a name for the new State was not the most difficult matter before
the convention. Very soon the question of slavery came up. The senti
ment against that institution was not strong enough to exclude it from the
State.' No doubt a majority of the people would have voted to exclude it,
but there was a strong element not yet ready to dispense with slavery, and
a division on that question was undesirable at that time. Accordingly, the

100 CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY.
constitution dismissed the slavery question with the provision that no slave
should be brought into the State nor free negroes come into- the State after
the adoption of the constitution. Before the constitution was submitted to
a vote of the people it was changed to provide for the emancipation of slaves.
The new constitution had a provision which was never contained in the
constitutions of Virginia; it affirmed that West Virginia shall remain a mem
ber of the United States. When this constitution was framed it did not
regard Hampshire, Hardy, Pendleton and Morgan as parts of the State, but
provided that they might become parts of West Virginia if they voted in
favor of adopting the constitution. They so voted and thus came into the
State. The same provision was made in regard to Frederick County, but it
chose to remain a portion of Virginia. It was declared that there should
be freedom of the press anij of speech, and the law of libel was given a lib
eral interpretation and was rendered powerless to curtail the freedom of the
press. It was provided that in suits of libel the truth could be given in
evidence, and if it appeared that the matter charged as libelous was true,
and was published with good intentions, the judgement should be for the
defendant in the suit. The days of viva voce voting were past. The con
stitution provided that all voting should be by ballot. The Legislature was
required to meet every year.
A clause was inserted declaring that no person who had aided or abet
ted the Southern Confederacy should become citizens of the State unless
such persons had subsequently volunteered in the army or the navy of the
United States. This measure seems harsh when viewed from after years,
when the passions kindled by the Civil War haye cooled and the prejudice
and hatred have become things of the past. It must be remembered that
the constitution came into existence during the war. The better judgment
of the people at a later day struck out that clause. But at the worst the
measure was only one of retaliation, in remembrance of the tyranny recently
shown within this State toward loyal citizens and office-holders by sympa
thizers of the Southern Confederacy. The overbearing spirit of the politi
cians of Richmond found its echo west of the AUeghanies. Horace Greeley
had been deterred from delivering a lecture in Wheeling on the issues of
the day, because his lecture contained references to the slavery question.
In Ohio County, at that time, those who opposed slavery were in the ma
jority, but not in power. There were not fifty slave-holders in the county.
Horace Greeley was indicted in Harrison County because he had caused the
Tribune, his newspaper, to be circulated there.. The agent of the Tribune
fled from the State to escape arrest. Postmasters, acting, as they claimed,
under the laws of Virginia, refused to deliver to subscribers such papers as
the New York Tribune and the New York Christinn Advocate. A Baptist
minister who had taught colored children in Sunday school was for that act
ostracized and he left Wheeling. Newsdealers in Wheeling were afraid to
keep on their shelves a statistical book written by a North Carolinian, be
cause it treated of slavery in its economic aspect. Dealers were threatened
with indictment if they handled the book. Cassius Clay, of Kentucky, was
threatened with violence for coming to Wheeling to deliver a lecture which
he had delivered in his own State. The newspapers of Richmond reproached
Wheeling for permitting such a paper as the Intelligencer to be published
there. These instances of tyranny from Southern sympathizers are given, not
so much for their value as simple history as to show the circumstances un-

CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. lOl
der which West Virginia's first constitution was made, and to give an in
sight into the partisan feeling which led to the insertion of the clause dis
franchising those who took part against the United States. Those who
upheld the Union had in the meantime come into power, and in turn had
become the oppressors. Retaliation is never right as an abstract proposi
tion and seldom best as a political measure. An act Of injustice should
not be made a precedent or an excuse for a wrong perpetrated upon the
authors of the unjust act. Time has done its part in committing to oblivion
the hatred and the wrong which grew out of the Civil War. Under West,
Virginia's present constitution no man has lesser or greater political powers
because he wore the blue or the grey.
Representation in the State Senate and House of Delegates was in pro
portion to the nymber of people. The question of the ' ' white basis " or the
"mixed basis," as contained in the Virginia constitution of 1850, no longer
troubled West Virginia. Suffrage was extended' until the people elected
their officers. State, County and District, including all judges.
The constitution provided for free schools, and authorized the setting
apart of an irreduceable fund for that purpose. The fund is derived from
the sale of delinquent lands; from grants and devises, the proceeds of estates
of persons who die without will or heirs; money paid for exemption from
military duty; such sums as the Legislature may appropriate, and from
other sources. This is invested in United States or State securities, and
the interest is annually appropriated to the support of the schools. The
principal must not be expended.
The constitution was submitted to the people for ratification in April,
1868, and the vote in favor of it was 18,862, and against it 514. Jefferson
and Berkeley Counties did not vote. They had not been represented in the
convention which formed the constitution. With the close of the war Vir
ginia claimed them and West Virginia . claimed them. The matter was
finally settled by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1870, in favor
of West Virginia. It was at one time considered that the counties of North
ampton and Accomack on the eastern shore of Virginia belonged to the new
State of West Virginia, because they had sent delegates to the Wheeling
Convention for the reorganization of the State government. It was once
proposed that these two counties be traded to Maryland in exchange for the
two western counties in that State which were to be added to West Virginia,
but the trade was not consummated.
Under the constitution of 1863 the State of West Virginia was governed
nine years, and there was general prosperity. But experience demonstra
ted that many of the provisions of the constitution were not perfect.
Amendments and improvements were suggested from time to time, and
there gradually grew up a strong sentiment in favor of a new constitution.
On February 23, 1871, a call was issued for an election of delegates to a
constitutional convention. The election was held in August of that year,
and in January, 1872, the delegates met in Charleston and began the work.
They completed it in a little less than three months.
The following delegates were elected by the various senatorial and
assembly districts of the State: Brooke County, Alexander Campbell,
William K. Pendleton; Boone, William D. Pate; Braxton, Homer A. Holt;
Berkeley, Andrew W. McCleary, C. J. Faulkner, John Blair Hoge; Barbour,
Samuel Woods, J. N. B. Crim; Clay, B. W. Byrne; Calhoun, Lemuel Stump;
OabeU, Evermont Ward, Thomas Thornburg; Doddridge, Jeptha P. Ran-

102 CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY.
dolph; Payette, Hudson M. Dickinson; Greenbrier, Henry M. Mathews,
Samuel Price; Harrison, Bejamin Wilson, Beverly H. Lurty, John Bassel;
Hampshire, J. D. Armstrong, Alexander Monroe; Hardy, Thomas Mashn;
Hancock, John H. Atkinson; Jefferson, William H. Travers, Logan Osburn,
WUUam A. Morgan; Jackson, Thomas R. Park; Kanawha, John A. Warth,
Edward B. Knight, Nicholas Pitzhugh; Lewis, Mathew Edmiston, Black-
well Jackson; Logan, M. A. Staton; Morgan, Lewis Allen; MonongaUa,
Waitman T. Willey, Joseph Snider, J. Marshall Hagans; Marion, U. N. Ar-
nett, Alpheus P. Haymond, Fountain Smith; Mason, Charles B. Waggener,
Alonzo Cushing; Mercer, Isaiah Bee, James Calfee; Mineral, John A. Rob
inson, John T. Pearce; Monroe, James M. Byrnsides, William Haynes; Mar
shall, James M. Pipes, J. W. Gallaher, Hanson Criswell; Ohio, George 0.
Davenport, William W. Miller, A. J. Pawnell, James S. Wheat; Putnam,
John J. Thompson; Pendleton, Charles D. Boggs; Pocahontas, George H.
Moffett; Preston, William G. Brown, Charles Kantner; Pleasants, W. G. H.
Care; Roane, Thomas Ferrell; Ritchie, Jacob P. Strickler; Randolph, J. P,
Harding; Raleigh, William Price, WUliam McCreery; Taylor, A. H. Thayer,
Benjamin P. Martin; Tyler, Daniel D. Johnson, David S. Pugh; Upshur, D.
D. T. Farnsworth; Wirt, D. A. Roberts, David H. Leonard; Wayne, Charles
W. Ferguson; Wetzel, Septimus Hall; Wood, James M. Jackson, Okey
Johnson. The new constitution of West Virginia enters much more fully into the
ways and means of government than any other constitution Virginia or
West Virginia had known. It leaves less for the courts to interpret and
decide than any of the former constitutions. The details are elaborately
worked out, and the powers and duties of the three departments of State
government, the Legislative, Judicial and Executive, are stated in so pre
cise terms that there can be little ground for controversy as to what the
constitution means. The terms of the State officers were increased to four
years, and the Legislature's sessions were changed from yearly to once in
two years. A marked change in the tone of the -constitution regarding per
sons who took part in the Civil War against the government is noticeable.
Not only is the clause in the former constitution disfranchising those who
took part in the Rebellion not found in the new constitution, but in its stead
is a clause which repudiates, in express terms, the sentiment on this sub
ject in the former constitution. It is stated that ' ' political tests requiring
persons, as a pre-requisite to the enjoyment of their civil and political
rights, to purge themselves, by their own oaths, of past alleged offenses,
are repugnant to the principles of free government, and are cruel and op
pressive." The ex-Confederates and those who sympathized with and
assisted them in their war against the United States could have been as
effectively restored to their rights by a simple clause to that effect as by the
one employed, which passes judgment upon a part of the former constitu
tion. The language on this subject in the new constitution may, therefore,
be taken as the matured judgment and as an expression of the purer con
ception of justice by the people of West Virginia when the passions of the
war had subsided, and when years had given time for reflection. It is pro
vided, also, that no person who aided or participated in the Rebellion shall
be liable to any proceedings, civil or criminal, for any act done by him in
accordance with the rules of civilized warfare. It was provided in the con
stitution of Virginia that ministers and priests should not be eligible to seats
in the Legislature. West Virginia's new constitution broke down the bar-

CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY. 103
rier against a worthy and law-abiding class of citizens. It is provided that
' ' all men shall be free to profess, and, by argument, to maintain their opin
ions in matters of religion, and the same shall in no wise affect, diminish or
enlarge their civil capacities. " *
A change was made in the matter of investing the State School Fund.
The first constitution authorized its investment in United States or West
Virginia State securities only. The new constitution provided that it might
be invested in other solvent securities, provided United States or this
State's securities cannot be had. The provision for courts did not meet
general approval as left by the constitution, and this dissatisfaction at
length led to an amendment which was voted upon October 12, 1880, and
was ratified by a vote of 57,941 for, to 34,270 against. It provides that the
Supreme Court of Appeals shall consist of four*judges who shall hold office
twelve years, and they and all other judges and justices in the State shall
be elected by the people. There shall be thirteen circuit judges, and they
must hold at least three terms of court in every county of the State each
year. Their tenure of office is eight years. The- county court was remod
eled. It no longer consists of justices of the peace, nor is its power as
large as formerly. It is composed of three commissioners whose term of
office is six years. Pour regular terms of court are held yearly. The pow
ers and duties of the justices of the peace are clearly defined. No county
shall have fewer than three justices nor more than twenty. Each county
is divided into districts, not fewer than three nor more than ten in number.
Each district has one justice, and if its population is more than twelve hun
dred it is entitled to two. They hold office four years.
• There is a provision in the constitution that any county may change its
county court if a majority of the electors vote to do so, after the forms laid
down by law have been complied with. It is left to the people, in such a
case, to decide what shall be the nature of the tribunal which takes the
place of the court of commissioners.
The growth of the idea of liberty and civil government in a century, as
expressed in the Bill of Rights and the Virginia Constitution of 1776, and
as embodied in the subsequent constitutions of 1830, 1850, 1863 and 1872,
shows that the most sanguine expectations of the statesmen of 1776 have
been realized and surpassed in the present time. The right of suffrage has
been extended beyond anything dreamed of a century ago, and it has been
demonstrated that the people are capable of understanding and enjoying
their enlarged liberty. The authors of Virginia's first constitution believed
that it was unwise to entrust the masses with the powers of government.
Therefore the chief part taken by the people in their own government was
in the selection of their Legislature. All other State, County and District
offices were filled by appointments or by elections by the Legislature.
Limited as was the exercise of suffrage, it was still further restricted by a
property qualification which disfranchised a large portion of the people.
Yet this liberty was so great in comparison with that enjoyed while under
England's colonial government that the people were satisfied for a long
time. But finally they demanded enlarged rights and obtained them. When
they at length realized that they governed themselves, and were not gov
erned by others, they speedily advanced in the science of government. The
property qualification was abolished. The doctrine that wealth is the
true source of political power was relegated to the past. From that it was
but a step for the people to exercise a right which they had long suffered

104 CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY.
others to hold — that of electing all their officers. At first they did not elect
their own governor, and as late as 1850 they acquiesced, though somewhat
reluctantly, in the doctrine that they could not be trusted to elect their own
judges. But they have thro\\'n all this aside now, and their officers are of
their own selection; and no man, because he is poor, if capable of self-sup
port, is denied an equal voice in government with that exercised by the
most wealthy. Men, not wealth; intelligence, not force, are the true sources
of our political power.

CHAPTER XL

-:o:-

JOHN BROWN'S RAID.
The attempt of John Brown to free the slaves; his seizure of the United
States Armory at Harper's Ferry; his capture, trial and execution, form a
page in West Virginia's history in which the whole country, and in a lesser
degree the whole civilized world, felt an interest at the time of its occur
rence; and that interest will long continue. The seizure of the Govern
ment property at that place by an ordinary mob would have created a stir;
but the incident would have lost its interest in a short time, and at a short
distance from the scene of disturbance. But Brown's accomplices were no
ordinary mob; and the purpose in view gave his attempt its great impor
tance. In fact, much more importance was attached to the raid than it
deserved. Viewed in the light of history, it is plain that Brown could not
have freed many slaves, nor could he have caused any wide-spread uprising
among them. The military resources of the Government, or even of the
State of Virginia, were sufficient to stamp out in short order any attempted
insurrection at that time. There were not enough people willing and ready
to assist the attempt. There were too many willing and ready to put it
down. Brown achieved about as much success as he could reasonably
expect, and his attempt at emancipating slaves ran its logical course. But
the extreme sensitiveness of the slave holders and their fears that aboli
tionists would incite an uprising, caused Brown's bold dash to be given an
importance at the time far beyond what it deserved. •
John Brown was a man of great courage; not easily excited; cool and
calculating; not bloodthirsty, but willing to take the life of any one who
stood between him and the accomplishment of his purpose. He has been
very generally regarded as a fanatic, who had followed an idea until he
became a monomaniac. It is difficult to prove this view of him to be incor
rect; yet, without doubt, his fanaticism was of a superior and unusual kind.
The dividing line between fanatics and the highest order of reformers, those
who live before their time, who can see the light touching the peaks beyond
the valleys and shadows in which other men are walking, is not always
clearly marked. It is not for us to say to which class of men Brown
belonged; and certainly it is not given us to set him among the blind
fanatics. If he must be classified, we run less risk of error if we place him
with those whose prophetic vision outstrips their physical strength; with
the sentinel on the watch tower of Sier, of whom Isaiah speaks.
What he hoped to accomplish, and died in an attempt to accomplish,
^was brought about in less than five years from his death. If he failed to
free the slaves, they were speedily freed by that sentiment of which he was
an extreme representative. It cannot be said that Brown's efforts were the

106 JOHN BROWN'S RAID.
immediate, nor even the remote, cause which emancipated the black race in
the United States; but beyond doubt the affair at Harper's Ferry had a
powerful influence in two directions, either of which worked toward eman
cipation. The one influence operated in the North upon those who desired
emancipation, -stimulating them to renewed efforts; the other influence had
its effect among the Southern slave owners, kindling their anger and their
fear, and urging them to acts by which they hoped to strengthen their grip
upon the institution of slavery, but which led them to war against the
Government, and their hold on slavery was shaken loose forever. John
Brown was born in Connecticut, went to Kansas with his family and took
part in the contention in that state which occurred between the slave fac
tion and those opposed to the spread of slavery. Brown affiliated with the
latter and fought in more than one armed encounter. He was one of the
boldest leaders, fearless in fight, stubborn in defense, and relentless in
pursuit. He hated slavery with an inappeasable hatred. He belonged to
the party in the North called Abolitionists, whose avowed object was to
free the slaves. He was perhaps more radical than the majority of that
radical party. They hoped to accomplish their purpose by creating a sen
timent in its favor. Brown appears to have been impatient at this slow
process. He believed in uniting force and , argument, and he soon became
the leader of that wing of the Ultra Abolitionists. On May 8, 1858, a secret
meeting was held in Chatham, Canada, which was attended by delegates
from different states, and from Canada. The object was to devise means of
freeing the slaves. It is not known exactly what the proceedings of the
meeting were, except that a constitution was outlined for the United States,
or for such states as might be taken possession of. Brown was comman
der-in-chief; one of his companions named Kagi was secretary of war.
Brown issued several military commissions.
Harper's Perry was selected as the point for the uprising. It was to
be seized and held as a place of rendezvous for slaves from Maryland and
Virginia, and when a sufficient number had assembled there they were to
march under arms across Maryland into Pennsylvania and there disperse.
The negroes were to be armed with tomahawks and spears, they not being
sufficiently acquainted with firearms to use them. It was believed that the
slaves would eagerly grasp the opportunity to gain their freedom, and that
the movement, begun at one point, would spread and grow until slavery
was stamped out. Brown no doubt incorrectly estimated the sentiment in
the North in favor of emancipation by force of arms. In company with his
two sons, Watson and Oliver, Brown rented a farm near Sharpsburg, in
Maryland, from Dr. Kennedy. This was within a few miles of Harper's
Ferry, and was used as a gathering point for Brown's followers, and as a
place of concealment for arms. Brown represented that his name was
Anderson. He never had more than twenty-two men about the farm.
Prom some source in the East, never certainly ascertained, arms were
shipped to Brown, under the name of J. Smith & Son. The boxes were
double, so that no one could suspect their contents. In this manner he
received two hundred and ninety Sharp's rifles, two hundred Maynard
revolvers and one thousand spears and tomahawks. Brown expected from
two thousand to five thousand men, exclusive of slaves, to rise at his word
and come to his assistance. In this he was mistaken. He knew that
twenty-two men could not hold Harper's Ferry, and without doubt he calcu-*
lated, and expected even to the last hour before capture, that his forces

JOHN BROWN'S RAIt). 107
would rally to his assistance. When he found that they had not done so,
he concluded that the blow had been struck too soon.
About ten o'clock on the night of October 16, 1859, with seventeen
white men and five negroes. Brown proceeded to Harper's Perry, over
powered the sentry on the bridge, seized the United States arsenal, in
which were stored arms sufficient to equip an army, took several persons
prisoner and confined them in the armory; visited during the night some of
the farmers in the vicinity, took them prisoner and declared freedom to
their slaves ; cut the telegraph wires leading from Harper's Ferry; seized
an eastbound train on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, but subsequently
let it proceed, after announcing that no other train would be permitted to
pass through Harper's Perry.
The people in the town knew nothing of what was taking place until
daybreak. At that time a negro porter at the railroad station was shot and
killed because he refused to join the insurgents, and an employe at the
armory was shot at when he refused to be taken prisoner. A merchant
witnessed the shooting, and fired from his store at one of Brown's men.
He missed, but was shot dead in return. When workmen belonging to the
armory appeared at the hour for beginning their daily labors they were
arrested and confined in one of the Government buildings as a prison. The
village was now alarmed. The mayor of the town, Fontaine Beckham, and
Captain George Turner, formerly of the United States Army, appeared on
the scene, and were fired upon and killed. The wires, having been cut,
news of the insurrection was slow in reaching the surrounding country; but
during the forenoon telegrams were sent from the nearest offices. The
excitement throughout the South was tremendous. The people there
believed that a gigantic uprising of the slaves was at hand. The meagre
information concerning the exact state of affairs at Harper's Ferry caused
it to be greatly over estimated. At Washington the sensation amounted to
a shock. General Robert E. Lee Was ordered to the scene at once with one
hundred marines.
Military companies began to arrive at Harper's Ferry from neighboring
towns. The first upon the scene was Colonel Baylor's company from
Charlestown. Shortly afterwards two companies arrived from Martins
burg. A desultory fire was kept up during the day, in which several per
sons were killed. An assault on one of the buildings held by Brown was
successfuUy made by the militia. Four of the insurgents were killed and a
fifth was made prisoner. Brown and the remainder of his men took refuge
in the engine house at the armory, except four who fied and escaped to
Pennsylvania. Two of them were subsequently captured. Two of Brown's
men came out to hold a parley and were shot and taken prisoner. One was
kUled in revenge for the death of Mayor Beckham; the other was subse
quently tried, convicted and hanged. About three o'clock in the afternoon
of October 17, about twenty railroad men made a dash at the engine house,
broke down the door and killed two of Brown's men. But they were
repulsed with seven of their number wounded.
Before sunset there were more than one thousand men in Harper's
Perry under arms, having come in from the surrounding country; but no
further assault was made on Brown's position that day for fear of killing
the men whom he held prisoner in the building with him. That night R.
E. Lee arrived from Washington with one hundred marines and two pieces
of artillery. Lieutenant J. E. B. Stuart was with him. Early Tuesday

108 JOHN BROWN'S RAID.
morning, October 18, Stuart was sent to demand an unconditional surren
der, promising only that Brown and his men should be protected from
immediate violence, and should have a trial under the laws of the country.
Brown refused to accept these terms, but demanded that he and his men' be
permitted to march out with their prisoners, cross the Potomac unpursued.
They would then free their prisoners and would escape if they could; if not
they would fight. Of course Stuart did not accept this offier. Preparations
were' made for an attack. The marines brought up a heavy ladder, and
using it as a battering ram, broke open the door of the engine house and
rushed in. Brown and his men fought till killed or overpowered. The
first man who entered, named Quinn, was killed. Brown was stabbed twice
with bayonets and then cut down by a sabre stroke. AU of his men but two
were killed or wounded. These were taken prisoner. Of the whole band
of twenty -two, ten white men and three negroes were kiUed; three white
men were wounded; two had made their escape; all the others were cap
tured. It was believed that Brown's injuries would prove fatal in a few hours,
but he rallied. Within the next few days he was indicted for murder, and
for treason against the United States. In his case the customary interval
did not elapse between his indictment and his trial. He was captured
October 18, and on October 26 his case was called for trial in the county
court at Charlestown, in Jefferson County. Brown's attorney asked for a
continuance on the ground that the defendant was physicaUy unable to
stand trial. The motion for a continuance was denied, and the trial pro
ceeded. Brown reclined on a cot, being unable to sit. The trial was
extremely short, considering the importance of the case. Within less than
three days the jury had brought in a verdict of guilty, and Brown was sen
tenced to be hanged December 16. Executive clemency was sought.
Under the law of Virginia at that time the Governor was forbidden to grant
pardon to any one convicted of treason except with the consent of the
Assembly. Governor Henry A. Wise notified the Assembly of Brown's
application for pardon. That body passed a resolution, December 7, by
which it refused to interfere in Brown's behalf, and he died on the scaffold
at the appointed time. Six of his companions were executed, four on the
same day with their leader, and two in the following March.
The remains of Brown were taken to North Elba, New York, where
WendeU Phillips pronounced a eulogy. Perhaps Brown contributed more
to the emancipation of slaves by his death than by his life.

CHAPTER XIL

 :o: 
THE ORDINANCE OF SECESSION.
Although West Virginia at the time was a part of Virginia, it refused
to go with the majority of the people of that State in seceding from the
United States and joining the Southern Confederacy. The circumstances
attending that refusal constitute an important chapter in the history of
West Virginia. Elsewhere in this book, in speaking of the constitution of
this and the mother State, reference is made to the differences in sentiment
and interests between the people west of the AUeghanies and those east of
that range. The Ordinance of Secession was the rock upon which Virginia
was broken in twain. It was the occasion of the west's separating from the
east. The territory which ought to have been a separate State at the time
Kentucky became one seized the opportunity of severing the political ties
which had long bound it to the Old Dominion. After the war Virginia in
vited the new State to reunite with it, but a polite reply was sent that West
Virginia preferred to retain its statehood. -The sentiment in favor of sep
aration did not spring up at once. It had been growing for three-quarters
of a century. Before the Close of the Revolutionary War the subject had
attracted such attention that a report on the subject was made by a com
mittee in Congress. But many years before that time a movement for a
new State west of the AUeghanies had been inaugurated by George Wash
ington, Benjamin Franklin and others, some of whom were interested in
land on the Kanawha and elsewhere. The new State was to be named Van
dalia, and the capital was to be at the mouth of the Great Kanawha. The
movement for a new State really began there, and never afterwards slept;
and finally, in 1868, it was accomplished, after no less than ninety-three
years of agitation.
The Legislature of Virginia met in extra session January 7, 1861. The
struggle had begun. The Confederates had not yet open^d their batteries
on Fort Sumpter, but the South had plainly spoken its defiance. The
Southern Confederacy was forming. The elements of resistance were get
ting together. The storm of war was about to break upon the country.
States further South had seceded or had decided to do so. Virginia had
not yet decided. Its people were divided. The State hesitated. If it joined
the Confederacy it would be the battle ground in the most gigantic war the
world ever saw. It was the gateway by which the armies of the North
would invade the South. Some affected to believe, perhaps some did be
lieve, that there would be no war; that the South would not be invaded;
that the North would not go beyond argument. But the people of better
judgment foresaw the storm and they knew where it would break. The
final result no man foresaw. Many hoped, many doubted, but at that time

110 THE ORDINANCE OP SECESSION.
no man saw what four years would bring forth. Thus Virginia hesitated
long before she cast her fortunes with the States already organized to op
pose the government. When she took the fatal step; when she fought as
only the brave can fight; when she was crushed by weight rather than van
quished, she accepted the result and emerged from the smoke of battle stiU
great; and Uke Carthage of old, her splendor seemed only the more con
spicuous by the desolation which war had brought.
The Virginia Legislature called a convention to meet at Richmond Feb
ruary 18, 1861. The time was short, but the crisis was at hand. The flame
was kindling. Meetings were being held in all the eastern part of the State,
and the people were nearly unanimous in their demand that the State join
the Confederacy. At least few opposed this demand, but at that time it is
probable that one-half of the people of the State opposed secession. The
eastern part was in favor of it. West of the Alleghany Mountains the case
was different. The mass of the people did not at once grasp the situation.
They knew the signs of the times were strange; that currents were drifting
to a center; but that war was at hand of gigantic magnitude, and that the
State of Virginia was "choosing that day whom she would serve," were
not clearly understood at the outset. But, as the great truth dawned and
as its lurid light became brighter. West Virginia was not slow in choosing
whom she would serve. The people assembled in their towns and a num
ber of meetings were held even before the convening of the special session
of the Legislature, and there was but one sentiment expressed and that was
loyalty to the government. Preston county held the first meeting, Novem
ber 12, 1860; Harrison County followed the twenty-sixth of the same month;
two days later the people of Monongalia assembled to discuss and take
measures; a similar gathering took place in Taylor County, December 4, and
another in Wheeling ten days later; and on the seventh of the January fol
lowing there was a meeting in Mason County.
On January 21 the Virginia Legislature declared by resolution that,
unless the differences between the two sections of the country could be
reconciled, it was Virginia's duty to join the Confederacy. That resolution
went side by side with the call for an election of delegates to the Richmond
Convention, which was to "take measures." The election was held Febru
ary 4, 1861, and nine days later the memorable convention assembled. Lit
tle time had been given for a campaign. Western Virginia sent men who
were the peers of any from the eastern part of the State. The following
delegates were chosen from the territory now forming West Virginia: Bar
bour County, Samuel Woods; Braxton, and Nicholas, B. W. Byrne; Berke
ley, Edmund Pendleton and Allen C. Hammond; Brooke, Campbell Tarr;
Cabell, WiUiam McComas; Doddridge and Tyler, Chapman J. Stuart; Pay
ette and Raleigh, Henry L. Gillespie; Greenbrier, Samuel Price; Gilmer and
Wirt, C. B. Conrad; Hampshire, David Pugh and Edmund M. Armstrong;
Hancock, George M. Porter; Harrison, John S. Carlile and Benjamin Wil
son; Hardy, Thomas Maslin; Jackson and Roane, Franklin P. Turner; Jef
ferson, Alfred M. Barbour and Logan Osburn; Kanawha, Spicer Patrick
and George W. Summers; Lewis, Caleb Boggess; Logan, Boone and Wyom
ing, James Lawson; Marion, Ephraim B. Hall and Alpheus S. Haymond;
Marshall, James Burley; Mason, James H. Crouch; Mercer, Napoleon B.
French; Monongalia, Waitman T. Willey and Marshall M. Dent; Monroe,
John Echols and Allen T. Caperton; Morgan, Johnson Orrick; Ohio, Ches
ter D. Hubbard and Sherard Clemens; Pocahontas, Paul McNeU; Preston,

THE ORDINANCE OF SECESSION. Ill
William G. Brown and James C. McGrew; Putnam, James W. Hoge; Ritchie,
Cyrus Hall; Randolph and Tucker, J. N. Hughes; Taylor, John S. Burdette;
Upshur, George W. BerUn; Wetzel, L. S. Hall; Wood, General John J. Jack
son; Wayne, Burwell Spur lock.
When the convention met it was doubtful if a majority were in favor of
Secession. At any rate. the leaders in that movement, who had caused the
convention to be called for that express purpose, appeared afraid to push
the question to a vote, and from that day began the work which ultimately
succeeded in winning over enough delegates, who at first were opposed to
Secession, to carry the State into the Confederacy.
There were forty- six delegates from the counties now forming West
Virginia. Nine of these voted for the Ordinance of Secession, seven were
absent, one was excused, and twenty-nine voted against it. The principal
leaders among the West Virginia delegates who opposed Secession were J.
C. McGrew, of Preston County; George W. Summers, of Kanawha County;
General John J. Jackson, of Wood County; Chester D. Hubbard, of Ohio
County, and Waitman T. Willey, of Monongalia County.* Willey was the
leader of the leaders. He employed all the eloquence of which he was mas
ter, and all the reason and logic he could command to check the rush into
what he clearly saw was disaster. No man of feeble courage could have
taken the stand which he took in that convention. The agents from the
States which had already seceded were in Richmond urging the people to
Secession. The convention held out for a' month against the clamor, and
so fierce became the populace that delegates who opposed Secession were
threatened with personal assault and were in danger of assassination. The
peril and the pressure induced many delegates to go over to the Confeder
acy. But the majority held out against Secession. In the front was Gen
eral John J. Jackson, one of West Virginia's most venerable citizens. He
was of the material which never turns aside from danger. A cousin of
Stonewall Jackson, he had seen active service in the field before Stonewall
was born. He had fought the Seminoles in Florida, and had been a mem
ber of General Andrew Jackson's staff. He had been intrusted by the Gov
ernment with important and dangerous duties before he was old enough to
vote. He had traversed the wilderness on horseback and alone between
Florida and Kentucky, performing in this manner a circuitous journey of
three thousand miles, much of it among the camps and over the hunting
grounds of treacherous Indians. Innured to dangers and accustomed to
peril, he was not the man to flinch or give ground. He stood up for the
Union; spoke .for it; urged the convention to pause on the brink of the abyss
before taking the leap. Another determined worker in the famous conven
tion was Judge G. W. Summers, of Charleston. He was in the city of Wash
ington attending a "Peace Conference" when he received news that the
people of Kanawha County had elected him a delegate to the Richmond
Convention. He hurried to Richmond and opposed with all his powers the
Ordinance of Secession. A speech which he delivered against that measure
has been pronounced the most powerful heard in the convention.
On March 2 Mr. Willey made a remarkable speech in the convention.
He announced that his purpose was not to reply to the arguments of the
disunionists, but to defend the right of free speech which Richmond, out of
the halls of the convention and in, was trying to stifle by threats and deri
sion. He warned the people that when free speech is silenced liberty is no
longer a realty, but a mere mockery. He then took up the Secession ques-

112 THE ORDINANCE OF SECESSION.
tion, although he had not intended to do so when he began speaking, and
he presented in so forcible a manner the arguments against Secession that
he made a profound impression upon the convention. During the whole of
that month the Secessionists were unable to carry their measure through.
But when Fort Sumpter was fired on, and -".^hen the President of the United
States called for 75,000 volunteers, the Ordinance of Secession passed, April
it 1861. The next day, April 18, a number of delegates from Western Virginia
declared that they would not abide by the action of the convention. Amid
the roar of Richmond run mad, they began to consult among themselves
what course to pursue. On April 20 several of the West Virginians met in a
bed-room of the Powhatan hotel and decided that nothing more could be
done by them at Richmond to hinder or defeat the Secession movement.
They agreed to return home and urge their constituents to vote against the
Ordinance at the election set for May 24. They began to depart for their
homes. Some had gotten safely out of Richmond and beyond the reach of
the Confederates before it became known that the western delegates were
leaving. Others were still in Richmond, and a plan was formed to keep
them prisoners in the city — not in jail — but they were required tO obtain
passes from the Governor before leaving the city. It was correctly sur
mised that the haste shown by these delegates in taking their departure
was due to their determination to stir up opposition to the Ordinance of
Secession in the western part of the State. But when it was learned that
most of the western delegates had already left Richmond it was deemed un
wise to detain the few who yet remained, and they were permitted to depart,
which they did without loss of time.
Before the people knew that an Ordinance of Secession had passed, the
convention began to levy war upon the United States. Before the seal of
secrecy had been removed from the proceedings of that body, large appro
priations for military purposes bad been made. Officers were appointed;
troops were armed; forts and arsenals belonging to the Government had
been seized. The arsenal at Harper's Perry and that at Norfolk had faUen
before attacks of Virginia troops before the people of that State knew that
they were no longer regarded as citizens of the United States. The con
vention StiU in secret session, without the knowledge or consent of the
people of Virginia, had annexed that State to the Southern Confederacy.
It was all done with the presumption that the people of the State would
sustain the Ordinance of Secession when they had learned of its existence
and when they were given an opportunity to vote upon it. The election
came May 24, 1861; and before that day there were thirty thousand soldiers
in the State east of the AUeghanies, and troops had been pushed across
the mountains into Western Virginia. The majority of votes cast in the
State were m favor of ratifying the Ordinance of Secession; but West Vir
ginia voted against it. Eastern Virginia was carried by storm. The
excitement was intense. The cry was for war, if any attempt should be
made to hinder Virginia's going into the Southern Confederacy. Many
men whose sober judgment was opposed to Secesssion, were swept into it
by their surroundings.

CHAPTER XIIL

-:o:-

THE RE.ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT,
The officers and visible government of Virginia abdicated when they
joined the Southern Confederacy. The people reclaimed and resumed their
sovereignty after it had been abdicated by their regularly constituted
authorities. This right belongs to the people and can not be taken from
them. A public servant is elected to keep and exercise this sovereignty in
trust, but he can do no more. When he ceases doing this the sovereignty
returns whence it came — to the people. When Virginia's public officials
seceded from the United States and joined the Southern Confederacy they
carried with them their individual persons and nothing more. The people
of the State were deprived of none of the rights of self-government, but
their government was left, for the time being, without officers to execute it
and give it form. In brief, the people of Virginia had no government, but
had a right to a government, and they proceeded to create one by choosing
officers to take the place of those who had abdicated. This is all there was
in the re-organization of the Government of Virginia, and it was done by
citizens of the United States, proceeding under that clause in the Federal
Constitution which declares: "The United States shall guarantee to every
State in this Union a Republican form of government. "
The Government of Virginia was re-organized; the State of West Vir
ginia was created, and nothing was done in violation of the strictest letter
and spirit of the United States Constitution. The steps were as follows,
stated briefly here, but more in detail elsewhere in this book. The loyal
people of Virginia reclaimed and resumed their sovereignty and re-organized
their government. This government, through its Legislature, gave its
consent for the creation of West Virginia from a part of Virginia's territory.
Delegates elected by the people of the proposed new State prepared a con
stitution. The people of the proposed new State adopted this constitution.
Congress admitted the State. The President issued a proclamation declar
ing West Virginia to be one of the United States. This State came into the
Union in the same manner and by the same process and on the same terms
as all other States. The details of the re-organization of the Virginia State
Government will now be set forth more in detail.
When Virginia passed the Ordinance of Secession the territory now
forming West Virginia refused to acquiesce in .'hat measure. The vote on
the Ordinance in West Virginia was about ten to one against it, or forty
thousand against four thousand. In some of the counties there were more
than twenty to one against Secession. The sentiment was very strong, and
it soon took shape in the form of mass meetings, which were largely atten
ded. When the delegates from West Virginia arrived home from the Rich-

114 THE RE-ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT.
mond Convention and laid before their constituents the state of affairs there
was an immediate movement having for its object the nullification of the
Ordinance. Although the people of Western Virginia had long wanted a
new State, and although a very general sentiment favored an immediate
movement toward that end, yet a conservative course was pursued. Haste
and rashness gave way to mature judgment, and the new State movement
took a course strictly constitutional. The Virginia Government was first
re-organized. That done, the Constitution of the United States provided a
way for creating the new State, for when the re-organized government was
recognized by the United States, and when a Legislature had been elected,
that Legislature could give its consent to the formation of a new State from
a portion of Virginia's territory, and the way was thereby provided for the
accomplishment of the object.
On the day in which the Ordinance of Secession was passed, April 17,
1861, and before the people knew what had been done, a mass-meetiiig was
held at Morgantown which adopted resolutions declaring that Western Vir
ginia would remain in the Union. A division of the State was suggested
in case the eastern part should vote to join the Confederacy. A meeting in
Wetzel County, April 22, voiced the same sentiment, and similar meetings
were held in Taylor, Wood, Jackson, Mason and elsewhere. But the move
ment took definite form at a mass-meeting of the citizens of Harrison
County, held at Clarksburg, April 22, which was attended by twelve hun
dred men. Not only did this meeting protest against the course which was
hurrying Virginia out of the Union, but a line of action was suggested for
checking the Secession movement, at least in the western part of the State.
A call was sent out for a general meeting, to be held in Wheeling, May 13.
The counties of Western Virginia were asked to elect their wisest men to
this convention. Its objects were stated in general terms to be the discus
sion of ways and means for providing for the State's best interests in the
crisis which had arrived.
Twenty-five counties responded, and the delegates who assembled in
Wheeling on May 13 were representatives of the people, men who were de
termined that the portion of Virginia west of the Alleghany Mountains
should not take part in a war against the Union without the consent and
against the will of the people of the affected territory. Hampshire and
Berkeley Counties, east of the AUeghanies, sent delegates. Many of the
men who attended the convention were the best known west of 1;he AUe
ghanies, and in the subsequent history of West Virginia their names have
become household words. The roll of the convention was as follows:
Barbour County— Spencer Dayton, B. H. Manafee, J. H. Shuttleworth.
Berkeley County— J. W. Dailey, A. R. McQuilkin, J. S. Bowers.
Brooke County— M. Walker, Bazael Wells, J. D. Nichols, Eli Green,
John G. Jacob, Joseph Gist, Robert Nichols, Adam Kuhn, David Hervey,
CampbeU Tarr, Nathaniel Wells, J. R. Burgoine, James Archer, Jesse Bdg-
ington, R. L. Jones, James A. Campbell.
Doddridge County— S. S. Kinney, J. Cheverout, J. Smith, J. P. P. Ran
dolph, J. A. Foley.
Hampshire County— George W. Broski, 0. D. Downey, Dr. B. B. Shaw,
O'.eorge W. Sheetz, George W. .Rizer.
Hancock County— Tii(j;iia^ Andorson, W. C. Murray, WiUiam B. Free
man, George M. Porter, W. L. Crawford, L. R. Smith, J. C. Crawford, B.
J. Smith, J, L. Freeman, John Gardner, George Johnston, J. S. Porter,

THE RE-ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT. 115
James Stevenson, J. S. Pomeroy, R. Breneman, David Donahoo, D. S.
Nicholson, Thayer Melvin, James H. Pugh, Ewing Turner, H. Farnsworth,
James G. Marshall, Samuel Freeman, John Mahan, Joseph D. Allison, John
H. Atkinson, Jonathan Allison, D. C. Pugh, A. Moore, William Brown, Wil
liam Hewitt, David Jenkins.
Harrison County — W. P. Goff, B. P. Shuttleworth, William Duncan, L.
Bowen, William E. Lyon, James Lynch, John S. Carlile, Thomas L. Moore,
John J. Davis, S. S. Fleming, Felix S. Sturm.
Jackson County — G. L. Kennedy, J. V. Rowley, A. Flesher, C. M. Rice,
D. Woodruff, George Leonard, J. P. Scott.
Lewis County— A. S. Withers, P. M. Chalfant, J. W. Hudson, P. M.
Hale. J. Woof ter, J. A. J. Lightburn, W. L. Grant.
Marshall County — Thomas Wilson, Lot Enbc, John Wilson, G. Hubbs,
John Ritchie, J. W. Boner, J. Alley, S. B. Stidger, Asa Browning, Samuel
Wilson, J. McCondell, A. Bonar, D. Price, D. Roberts, G. W. Evans, Thos.
Dowler, R. Alexander, E. Conner, John Withers, Charles Snediker, Joseph
McCombs, Alexander Kemple, J. S. Riggs, Alfred Gaines, V. P. Gorby,
Nathan Pish^ A. Francis, William Phillips, S. Ingram, J. Garvin, Dr. Marsh-
man, William Luke, William Baird, J. Winders, P. Clement, James Camp
bell, J. B. Hornbrook, John Parkinson, John H. Dickey, Thomas Morrissa,
W. Alexander, John Laughlin, W. T. Head, J. S. Parriott, W. J. Purdy, H.
C. Kemple, R. Swan, John Reynolds, J. Hornbrook, William McParland,
G. W. Evans, W. R. Kimmons, WiUiam Collins, R. C. HoUiday, J. B. Mor
ris, J. W. McCarriher, Joseph Turner, Hiram McMechen, E. H. Caldwell,
James Garvin, L. Gardner, H. A. Francis, Thomas Dowler, John R. Mor
row, William Wasson, N. Wilson, Thomas Morgan, S. Dorsey, R. B. Hunter.
Monongalia County — Waitman T. Willey, William Lazier, James Evans,
Leroy Kramer. W. E. Hanaway, Elisha Coombs, H. Dering, George
McNeeley, H. N. Mackey, E. D. Fogle, J. T. M. Laskey, J. T. Hess, C. H.
Burgess, John Bly, William Price, A. Brown, J. R. Boughner, W. B.
Shaw, P. L. Rice, Joseph JoUiff, WiUiam Anderson, E. P. St. Clair, P. T.
Lashley, Marshall M. Dent, Isaac Scott, Jacob Miller, D. B. Dorsey, Daniel
White, N. C. Vandervort, A. Derranet, Amos S. Bowlsby, Joseph Snyder,
J. A. Wiley, John McCarl, A. Garrison. E. B. Taggart, E. P. Finch.
Marion County — P. H. Pierpont, Jesse Shaw, Jacob Streams, Aaron
Hawkins, James C. Beatty, William Beatty, J. C. Beeson, R. R. Brown, J.
Holman, Thomas H. Bains, Hiram Haymond, H. Merryfield, Joshua Carter,
G. W. JoUiff, John Chisler, Thomas Hough.
Mason County — Lemuel Harpold, W. B. Wetzel, Wyatt Willis, John
Goodley, Joseph McMachir, William Harper, William Harpold, Samuel
Davis, Daniel Polsley. J. N. Jones, Samuel Yeager, R. C. M. Lovell, Major
Brown, John Greer, A. Stevens, W. C. Starr, Stephen Comstock, J. M.
Phelps, Charles B. Waggener, Asa Brigham, David Rossin, B. J. Rollins,
D. C. Sayre, Charles Bumgardner, E. B. Davis, William Hopkins, A. A.
Rogers, John O. Butler, Timothy Russell, John Hall.
Ohio County — J. C. Orr, L. S. Delaplain, J. R. Stifel, G. L. Cranmer,
A. Bedillion, Alfred Caldwell, John McClure, Andrew Wilson, George
Forbes, Jacob Berger, John C. Hoffman, A. J. Woods, T. H. Logan, James
S. Wheat, George W. Norton, N. H. Garrison, James PauU, J. M. Bickel,
Robert Crangle, George Bowers, John K. Botsford, L. D. Waitt, J. Horn
brook, S. Waterhouse, A. Handlan, J. W. Paxton, S. H. Woodward, C. D.
Hubbard, Daniel Lamb, John Stiner, W. B. Curtis, A. P. Ross, A. B. Cald-

116 THE RE-ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT.
weU, J. R. Hubbard, E. Buchanon, John Pierson, T. Witham, E. McCaslin.
Pleasants County— Friend Cochran, James Williamson, Robert Parker,
R. A. Cramer.
Preston County— Ei. C. Crooks, H. C. Hagans, W. H. King, James W.
Brown, Summers McCrum, Charles Hooten, WiUiam P. Fortney, James A.
Brown, G. H. Kidd, John Howard, D. A. Letzinger, W. B. Linn, W. J.
Brown, Reuben Morris.
Ritchie County— D. Rexroad, J. P. Harris, N. Rexroad, A. S. Cole.
Roane County — Irwin C. Stump.
Taylor County— J. Means, J. M. Wilson, J. Kennedy, J. J. Warren, T.
T. Monroe, G. R. Latham, B. BaUey, J. J. AUen, T. Gather, John S. Bur
dette. Tyler County— Daniel Sweeney, V. Smith, W. B. Kerr, D. D. Johnson,
J. C. Parker, William Pritchard, D. King, S. A. Hawkins, James M. Smith,
J. H. Johnson, Isaac Davis.
Upshur County— C. P. Rohrbaugh, W. H. WUliams.
Wayne County— C. Spurlock, P. Moore, W. W. Brumfield, W. H. Cop
ley, Walter Queen.
Wirt County — E. T. Graham, Henry Newman, B. Ball.
Wetzel County— Elijah Morgan, T. E. WiUiams, Joseph Murphy, Wil
liam Burrows, B. T. Bowers, J. R. Brown, J. M. Bell, Jacob Young, Reu
ben Martin, R. Reed, R. S. Sayres, W. D. Welker, George W. Bier, Thos.
McQuown, John Alley, S. Stephens, R. W. Lauck, John McClaskey, Richard
Cook, A. McEldowney, B. Vancamp.
Wood County — William Johnston, W. H. Baker, A. R. Dye, V. A. Dun
bar, G. H. Ralston, S. M. Peterson, S. D. Compton, J. L. Padgett, George
Loomis, George W. Henderson, E. Deem, N. H. Colston, A. Hinckley, Ben
nett Cook, S. S. Spencer, Thomas Leach, T. E. McPherson, Joseph Dagg,
N. W. Warlow, Peter Riddle, John Paugh, S. L. A. Burche, J. J. Jackson,
J. D. Ingram, A. Laughlin, J. C. Rathbone, W. Vroman, G. E. Smith, D.
K. Baylor, M. Woods, Andrew Als, Jesse Burche, S. Ogden, Sardis Cole,
P. Reed, John McKibben, W. Athey, C. Hunter, R. H. Burke, W. P. Davis,
George Compton, C. M. Cole, Roger Tiffins, H. Rider, B. H. Bukey, John
W. Moss, R. B. Smith, Arthur Drake, C. B. Smith, A. Mather, A. H.
Hatcher, W. E. Stevenson, Jesse Murdock, J. Burche, J. Morrison, Henry
Cole, J. G. Blackford, C. J. Neal, T. S. Conley, J. Barnett, M. P. Amiss,
T. Hunter, J. J. Neal, Edward Holt, N. B. CasweU, Peter DUs, W. F. Henry,
A. C. McKinsey, Rufus Kinnard, J. J. Jackson, Jr.
The convention assembled to take whatever action might seem proper,
but no definite plan had been decided upon further than that Western Vir
ginia should protest against going into Secession with Virginia. The ma
jority of the members looJved forward to the formation of a new State as
the ultimate and chief purpose of the convention. Time and care were
necessary for the accomplishment of this object. But there were several,
chief among whom was John S. Carlile, who boldly proclaimed that the
time for forming a new State was at hand. There was a sharp division in
the convention as to the best method of attaining that end. While Carlile
led those who were for immediate action, Waitman T. Willey was among
the foremost of those who insisted that the business must be conducted in
a business-like way, first byre-organizing the Government of Virginia, and
then obtaining the consent of the Legislature to divide the State. Mr.
Carlile actually introduced a measure providing for a new State at once.

THE RE-ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT. 117
It met with much favor. But Mr. Willey and others pointed out that pre
cipitate action would defeat the object in view, because Congress would
never recognize the State so created. After much controversy there was a
compromise reached, which was not difficult, where all parties aimed at
the greatest good, and differed only as to the best means of attaining it.
At that time the Ordinance of Secession had not been voted upon. Vir
ginia had already turned over to the Southern Confederacy all its military
supplies, public property, troops and materials, stipulating that, in case the
Ordinance of Secession should be defeated at the polls, the property should
revert to the State. The Wheeling Convention took steps, pending the
election, recommending that, in case Secession carried at the polls, a con
vention be held for the purpose of deciding what to do — whether to divide
the State or simply re-organize the Government. This was the compromise
measure which was satisfactory to both parties of the convention. Until
the Ordinance of Secession had been ratified by the people Virginia was
still, in law if not in fact, a member of the Federal Union, and any step was
premature looking to a division of the State or a re-organization of its Gov
ernment before the election. F. H. Pierpont, afterwards Governor, intro
duced the resolution which provided for another convention in case the
Ordinance of Secession should be ratified at the polls. The resolution pro
vided that the counties represented in the convention, and all other counties
of Virginia disposed to act with them, appoint on June 4, 1861, delegates to
a convention to meet June 11. This convention would then be prepared to
proceed to business, whether that business should be the re-organization of
the Government of Virginia or the dividing of the State, or both. Having
finished its work, the convention adjourned. Had it rashly attempted to
divide the State at that time the effort must have failed, and the bad effects
of the failure, and the consequent confusion, would have been far-reaching.
No man can tell whether such a failure would not have defeated for all time
the creation of West Virginia from Virginia's territory.
The vote on the Ordinance of Secession took place May 23, 1861, and
the people of eastern Virginia voted to go out of the Union, but the part
.now comprising West Virginia gave a large majority against seceding.
Delegates to the Assembly of Virginia were elected at the same time. Great
interest was now manifested west of the AUeghanies in the subject of a new
State. Delegates to the second Wheeling Convention were elected June 4,
and met June 11, 1861. The members of the first convention had been ap
pointed by mass-meetings and otherwise, but those of the second conven
tion had been chosen by the suffrage of the people. Thirty counties were
represented as follows :
Barbour County — N. H. Taft, Spencer Dayton, John H. Shuttleworth.
Brooke County — W. H. Crothers, Joseph Gist, John D. Nichols, Camp
bell Tarr.
Cabell County — Albert Laidly was entered on the roll but did not serve.
Doddridge County — James A. Foley.
Gilmer County — Henry H. Withers.
Hancock County — George M. Porter, John H. Atkinson, William L.
Crawford. Harrison County — John J. Davis, Chapman J. Stewart, John C. Vance,
John S. Carlile, Solomon S. Fleming, Lot Bowers, B. P. Shuttleworth.
Hardy County — John Michael.

118 THE RE-ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT.
Hampshire County— James Carskadon, Owen J. Downey, James J. Bar
racks, G. W. Broski, James H. Trout. o, a .^
Jackson County— Daniel Frost, Andrew Flesher, James F. Scott.
Kanawha County— Lewis Ruffner, Greenbury Slack.
Lewis County— J. A. J. Lightburn, P. M. Hale. ^ ^ ^ ^.
MonongaUa County— Joseph Snyder, Leroy Kramer, R. L. Berkshire,
WiUiam Price, James Evans, D. B. Dorsey.
Marion County— James O. Watson, Richard Fast, Fontain Smith, Fran
cis H. Pierpont, John S. Barnes, A. P. Ritchie.
Marshall County— C. H. CaldweU, Robert Morris, Remembrance Swan.
Mason County— Lewis Wetzel, Daniel Polsley, C. B. Waggener.
Ohio County— Andrew Wilson, Thomas H. Logan, Daniel Lamb, James
W. Paxton, George Harrison, Chester D. Hubbard.
Pleasants County— James W. Willamson, C. W. Smith.
Preston County— William Zinn, Charles Hooten, WiUiam B. Crane, John
Howard, Harrison Hagans, John J. Brown.
Ritchie County— William H. Douglass.
Randolph County — Samuel Crane.
Roane County — T. A. Roberts.
Tucker County — Solomon Parsons.
Taylor County— L. E. Davidson, John S. Burdette, Samuel B. Todd.
Tyler County— WUUam I. Boreman, Daniel D. Johnson.
Upshur County— John Love, John L. Smith, D. D. T. Farnsworth.
Wayne County— WiUiam RatcUff, William Copley, W. W. Brumfield.
Wetzel County— James G. West, Reuben Martin, James P. PerreU.
Wirt County— James A. Williamson, Henry Newman, E. T. Graham.
Wood County— John W. Moss, Peter G. VanWinkle, Arthur I. Bore-
man. James T. Close and H. S. Martin, of Alexandria, and John Hawxhurst
and E. E. Mason, of Fairfax, were admitted as delegates, while WiUiam P.
Mercer, of Loudoun, and Jonathan Roberts, of Fairfax, were rejected be
cause of the insufficiency of their credentials. Arthur I. Boreman was
elected president of the convention, G. L. Cranmer, secretary, and Thomas
Hornbrook, sergeant-at-arms.
On June 18, two days after the meeting of the convention, a committee
on Order of Business reported a declaration by the people of Virginia. This
document set forth the acts oi the Secessionists of Virginia, declared them
hostile to the welfare of the people, done in violation of the constitution,
and therefore null and void. It was further declared that all offices in Vir
ginia, whether legislative, judicial or executive, under the government set
up by the convention which passed the Ordinance of Secession, were vacant.
The next day the convention began the work of re-organizing the State Gov
ernment on the following lines: A Governor, Lieutenant Governor and
Attorney General for the State of Virginia were to be appointed by
the convention to hold office until their successors should be elected and
qualified, and the Legislature was required to provide by law for the elec
tion of a Governor and Lieutenant Governor by the people. A Council of
State, consisting of five members, was to be appointed to assist the Gov
ernor, theirterm of office to expire at the same time as that of the Governor.
Delegates elected to the Legislature on May 28, 1861, and Senators entitled
to seats under the laws then existing, and who would take the oath as
required, were to constitute the re-organized Legislature, and were required

THE RE-ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT. 119
to meet in Wheeling on the first day of the following July. A test oath was
required of all officers, whether State, County or Municipal.
On June 20 the convention |)roceeded to choose officers. Francis H.
Pierpont was elected Governor of Virginia; Daniel Polsley was elected
Lieutenant Governor; James Wheat was chosen Attorney General. The
Governor's council consisted of Daniel Lamb, Peter G. VanWinkle, William
Lazier, William A. Harrison and J. T. Paxton. The Legislature was re
quired to elect an Auditor, Treasurer and Secretary of State as soon as pos
sible. This closed the work of the convention, and it adjourned to meet
August 6.
A new Government existed for Virginia. The Legislature which was
to assemble in Wheeling in ten days could complete the work.
This Legislature of Virginia, consisting of thirty-one members, began
its labors immediately upon organizing, July 1. A message from Governor
Pierpont laid before that body the condition of affairs and indicated certain
measures which ought to be carried out. On July 9 the Legislature elected
L. A. Hagans, of Preston County, Secretary of Virginia; Samuel Crane, of
Randolph County, Auditor; and Campbell Tarr, of Brooke County, Treas
urer. Waitman T. Willey and John S. Carlile were elected to the United
States Senate.
The convention which had adjourned June 20 met again August 6 and
took up the work of dividing Virginia, whose government had been re-or
ganized and was in working order. The people wanted a new State and
the machinery for creating it was set in motion. On July 20 an ordinance
was passed calling for an election to take the sense of the people on the
question, and to elect members to a constitutional convention at the same
time. In case the vote favored a new State, the men elected to the consti
tutional convention were to meet and frame a constitution. The conven
tion adjourned August 2, 1861. Late in October the election was held,
with the result that the vote stood about twenty-five to one in favor of a
new State.

CHAPTER XIV,

-:o:-

FORMATION OF WEST VIRGINIA,
The Re-organized Government of Virginia made all things ready for
the creation of the new commonwealth. "The people of Western Virginia
had waited long for the opportunity to divide the State. The tyranny of
the more powerful eastern part had been borne half a century. When at
last the war created the occasion, the people were not slow to profit by it,
and to bring a new State into existence. The work began in earnest August
20, 1861, when the second Wheeling Convention called upon the people to
vote on the question; and the labor was completed June 20, 1863, when the
officers of the new State took charge of affairs. One year and ten months
were required for the accomplishment of the work; and this chapter gives
an outline of the proceedings relative to the new State during that time. It
was at first proposed to call it Kanawha, but the name was changed in the
constitutional convention at Wheeling on December 3, 1861, to West Vir
ginia. On February 18, 1862, the constitutional convention adjourned, sub
ject to the call of the chairman. In April of that year the people of the
State voted upon the ratification of the constitution, and the vote in favor
of ratification was 18,862, and against it, 514. Governor Pierpont issued a
proclamation announcing the result, and at the same time called an extra
session of the Virginia Legislature to meet in Wheeling May 6. That body
met, and six days later passed an act by which it gave its consent to a divi
sion of the State of Virginia and the creation of a new State. This was
done in order that the constitution might be complied with, for, before the
State could be divided, the Legislature must give its consent. It yet
remained for West Virginia to be admitted into the Union by an Act of
Congress and by the President's proclamation. Had there been no opposi
tion, and had there not been such press of other business this might have
been accomplished in a few weeks. As it was there was a long contest in
the Senate. The opposition did not come so much from outside the State
as from the State itself. John S. Carlile, one of the Senators elected by
the Legislature of the Re-organized Government of Virginia at Wheehng,
was supposed to be friendly to the cause of the new State, but when he was
put to the test it was found that he was strongly opposed to it, and he did
all in his power to defeat the movement, and almost accomplished his pur
pose. The indignation in Western Virginia was great. The Legislature,
in session at Wheeling, on December 12, 1862, by a resolution, requested
Carlile to resign the seat he held in the Senate. He refused to do so. He
had been one of the most active advocates of the movement for a new
State while a member of the first WheeUng Convention, in May, 1861, and
had been a leader in the new State movement before and after that date,

FORMATION OF WEST VIRGINIA. 121
Why he changed, and opposed the admission of West Virginia by Congress
has never been satisfactorily explained.
One of the reasons given for his opposition, and one which he himself
put forward, was that Congress attempted to amend the State constitution
on the subject of slavery, and he opposed the admission of the State on
that ground. He claimed that he would rather have no new State than
have it saddled with a constitution, a portion of which its people had never
ratified. But this could not have been the sole cause of Carlile's opposition.
He tried to defeat the bill after the proposed objectionable amendment to
the constitution had been satisfactorily arranged. He fought it in a deter
mined manner till the last. He had hindered the work of getting the bill
before Congress before any change in the State Constitution had been
proposed. The members in Congress from the Re-organized Government of Vir
ginia were William G. Brown, Jacob B. Blair and K. V. Waley; in the Sen
ate, John S. Carlile and Waitman T. Willey. In addition to these gentle
men, the Legislature appointed as commissioners to bring the matter before
Congress, Ephraim B. Hall, of Marion County, Peter VanWinkle, of Wood
County, John Hall, of Mason County, and Elbert H. Caldwell, of Marshall
County. These commissioners reached Washington May 22, 1862. There
were several other weU-known West Virginians who also went to Washing
ton on their own account to assist in securing the new State. Among
them were Daniel Polsley, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia; Granville
Parker and Harrison Hagans. There were members of Congress and Sen
ators from other States who performed special service in the cause. The
matter -was laid before the United States Senate May 29, 1862, by Senator
Willey, who presented the West Virginia Constitution recently ratified, and
also the Act of the Legislature giving its consent to the creation of a new
State within the jurisdiction of Virginia, and a memorial requesting the
admission of the State. In presenting these documents. Senator Willey
addressed the Senate and denied that the movement was simply to gratify
revenge upon the mother State for seceding from the Union and joining
the Southern Confederacy, but on the contrary, the people west of the AUe
ghanies had long wanted a new State, and had long suffered in consequence
of Virginia's neglect, and of her unconcern for their welfare. Mr. Willey's
address was favorably received, and the whole matter regarding the admis
sion of West Virginia was laid before the Committee on Territories, of
which Senator John S. Carlile was a member. It had not at that time been
suspected that Carlile was hostile to the movement. He was expected to
prepare the bill. He neglected to do so until nearly a month had passed
and the session of Congress was drawing to a close. But it was not so
much the delay that showed his hostility as the form of the bill. Had it
been passed by Congress in the form proposed by Carlile the defeat of the
new State measure must have been inevitable. No one acquainted with the
circumstances and conditions had any doubt that the bill was prepared for
the express purpose of defeating the wishes of the people by whom Mr.
CarUle had been sent to the Senate. It included in West Virginia, in addi
tion to the counties which had ratified the constitution, Alleghany, Augusta,
Berkeley, Bath, Botetourt, Craig, Clark, Frederick, Highland, Jefferson,
Page, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Shenandoah and Warren Counties. The
hostiUty in most of those counties was very great. The biU provided that
those counties, in conjunction with those west of the AUeghanies, should

122 FORMATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.
elect delegates to a constitutional convention and frame a constitution
which should provide that all children born of slaves after 1868 should be
free. This constitution was then to go back to the people of the several
counties for ratification. Then, if the Virginia Legislature should pass an
Act giving its consent to the creation of a new State from Virginia's terri
tory, and the Governor of Virginia certify the same to the President of the
United States, he might make proclamation of the fact, and West Virginia
would become a State without further proceedings by Congress.
Senator Carlile knew that the counties he had added east of the AUe
ghanies were opposed to the new State on any terms, and that they would
oppose it the more determinedly on account of the gradual emancipation
clause in it. He knew that they would not appoint delegates to a constitu
tional convention, nor would they ratify the constitution should one be sub
mitted to them. In short, they were strong enough in votes and sentiment
to defeat the movement for a new State. All the work done for the crea
tion of West Virginia would have been thrown away had this bUl prevailed.
Three days later, June 26, the bill was called up, and Charles Sumner
proposed an amendment regarding slavery. He would have no slavery at
all. All indications were that the bill would defeat the measure for the new
State, and preparations were made to begin the fight in a new quarter.
Congressman Wm. G. Brown, of Preston County, proposed a new bill to be
presented in the House of Representatives. But the contest went on. In
July Senator Willey submitted an amendment, which was really a new bill.
It omitted the counties east of the AUeghanies, and provided that all slaves
under twenty-one years of age on July 4, 1863, should be free on arriving
at that age. It now became apparent to Cariile that his bill was dead, and
that West Virerinia was likely to be admitted. As a last resort, he proposed
a postponement till December, in order to gain time, but his motion was
lost. Carlile then opposed the bill on the grounds that if passed it would
impose upon the people of the new State a clause of the constitution not of
their making and which they had not ratified. But this argument was de
prived of lits force by offering to submit the proposed amendment to the
people of West Virginia for their approval. Fortunately the constitutional
convention had adjourned subject to the call of the chair. The members
were convened; they included the amendment in the constitution, and the
people approved it. However, before this was done the bill took its course
through Congress. It passed the Senate July 14, 1862, and was immedi
ately sent to the Lower House. But Congress being about to adjourn,
further consideration of the bill went over till the next session in Decem
ber, 1862, arid on the tenth of that month it was taken up in the House of
Representatives and after a discussion continuing most of the day, it was
passed by a vote of ninety-six to fifty-five.
The friends of the new State nbw felt that their efforts had been suc
cessful; but one more step was necessary, and the whole work might yet
be rendered null and void. It depended on President Lincoln. He might
veto the biU. He requested the opinion of his cabinet. Six of the cabinet
officers complied, and three favored signing the biU and three advised the
President to veto it. Mr. Lincoln took it under advisement. It was be
hoved that he favored the bill, but there was much anxiety felt. Nearly
two years before that time Mr. Lincoln, through one of his cabinet officers,
had promised Governor Pierpont to do all he could, in a constitutional way,
for the Re-organized Government of Virginia, and that promise was con-

FORMATION OP WEST VIRGINIA. 123
strued to mean that the new State would not be opposed by the President.
Mr. Lincoln was evidently undecided for some time what course to pursue,
for he afterwards said that a telegram received by him from A. W. Camp
beU, editor of the Wheeling Intelligencer, largely influenced him in deciding
to sign the bill. On December 81, 1862, Congressman Jacob B. Blair called
on the President to see if any action had been taken by the Executive. The
bill had not yet been signed, but Mr. Lincoln asked Mr. Blair to come back
the next day. Mr. Blair did so, and was given the bill admitting West Vir
ginia into the Union. It was signed January 1, 1868.
On December 31, 1862, President Lincoln gave his own views on these
questions in the following language:*
" The consent of the Legislature of Virginia is constitutionally necessary to the Bill
for the Admission of West Virginia becoming a law. A body claiming to be such Legis
lature has given Its consent. We cannot well deny that it is such, unless we do so upon
the outside knowledge that the body was chosen at elections In which a majority of the
qualified voters of Virginia did not participate. But It is a universal practice In the
popular elections In all these States to give no legal consideration whatever to those who
do not choose to vote, as against the effect of those who do choose to vote. Hence it is
not the qualified voters, but the qualified voters who choose to vote, that constitute the
political power of the State. Much less than to non-voters should any consideration be
given to those who did not vote in this case, because it Is also matter of outside knowl
edge that they were not merely neglectful of their rights under and duty to this Govern
ment, but were also engaged in open rebellion against it. Doubtless among these non-
voters were some Union men whose voices were smothered by the more numerous Seces
sionists, but we know too little of their number to assign them any appreciable value.
¦'Can this Government stand if it indulges constitutional constructions by which
men in open rebellion against it are to be accounted, man for man, the equals of those
who maintain their loyalty to it ? Are they to be accounted even better citizens, and
more worthy of consideration, than those who merely neglect to vote ? If so, their treason
against the Constitution enhances their coustltutional value. Without braving these
absurd conclusions we cannot deny that the body which consents to the admission of
West Virginia is the Legislature of Virginia. I do not think the plural form of the
words ' Legislatures ' and ' States ' in the phrase of the constitution ' without the con
sent of the Legislatures of the States concerned ' has any reference to the new State
concerned. That plural form sprang from the contemplation of two or more old States
contributing to form a new one. The Idea that the new State was in danger of being
admitted without its own consent was not provided against, because it was not thought
of, as I conceive. It is said ' the Devil takes care of his own. ' Much more should a good
spirit— the spirit of the Constitution and the Union— take care of its own. I think it
cannot do less and live.
"But is the admission of West Virginia into the Union expedient? This, in my
general view, is more a question for Congress than for the Executive. Still I do not
evade it. More than on anything else, it depends on whether the admission or rejection
of the new State would, under all the circumstances, tend the more strongly to the
restoration of the National authority throughout the Union. That which helps most in
this direction is the most expedient at this time. Doubtless those in remaining Vir
ginia would return to the Union, so to speak, less reluctantly without the division of the
old State than with it, but I think we could not save as much in this quarter by reject
ing the new State as we should lose by it in West Virginia. We can scarcely dispense
with the aid of West Virginia in this struggle; much less can we afford to have her
against us, in Congress and in the field. Her brave and good men regard her admission
into the Union as a matter of life and death. They have been true to the Union under
very severe trials. We have so acted as to justify their hopes, and we cannot fully retain
their confidence and co-operation if we seem to break faith with them. In fact they
could not do so much for us If they would. Again, the admission of the new State turns
that much slave soil to free, and this is a certain and irrevocable encroachment upon
the cause of the rebellion. The division of a State is dreaded as a precedent. But a
measure made expedient by a war is no precedent in times of peace. It is said that the
admission of West Virginia is secession. Well, if we call it by that name, there is still
* See " Works ol Abraham Lincoln," by John Nlcolay and John Hay, vol. 2, p. 285.

124 FORMATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.
difference enough between secession against the constitution and secession in favor of
the constitution. I believe the admission of West Virgi nia into the Union is expedient. ' '
However, there was yet something to be done before West Virginia
became a State. The bill passed by Congress and signed by President
Lincoln went no further than to provide that the new State should become
a member of the Union when a clause concerning slavery, contained, in the
bill, should be made a part of the constitution and be ratified by the people.
The convention which had framed the State Constitution had adjourned to
meet at the call of the chairman. The members came together on Febru
ary 12, 1863. Two days later John S. Carlile, who had refused to resign
his seat in the Senate when asked by the Virginia Legislature to do so,
made another effort to defeat the will of the people whom he was sent to
Congress to represent. He presented a supplementary bill in the Senate
providing that President Lincoln's proclamation admitting West Virginia
be withheld until certain counties of West Virginia had ratified by their
votes the clause regarding slavery contained in the bill. Mr. Carlile be
lieved that those counties would not ratify the constitution. But his bill
was defeated in the Senate by a vote of 28 to 12.
The clause concerning slavery, as adopted by the constitutional con
vention on re-assembling at Wheeling, was in these words: "The children
of slaves, born within the limits of this State after the fourth day of July,
1863, shall be free, and all slaves within the said State who shall, at the
time aforesaid, be under the age of ten years, shall be free when they arrive
at the age of twenty-one years; and all slaves over ten and under twenty-
one years shall be free when they arrive at the age of twenty-five years;
and no slave shall be permitted to come into the State for permanent resi
dence therein. " The people ratified tlie constitution at an election held for
that purpose. The majority in favor of ratification was seventeen
thousand. President Lincoln issued his proclamation April 20, 1863, and sixty
days thereafter, that is June 20, 1868, West Virginia was to become a State
without further legislation. In the meantime. May 9, a State Convention
assembled in Parkersburg to nominate officers. A Confederate force under
General Jones advanced within forty niiles of Parkersburg, and the con
vention hurried through with its labors and adjourned. It nominated
Arthur I. Boreman, of Wood County, for Governor; Campbell Tarr, of
Brooke County, for Treasurer; Samuel Crane, of Randolph County, for
Auditor; Edgar J. Boyers, of Tyler County, for Secretary of State; A. B.
Caldwell, of Ohio County, Attorney General; for Judges of the Supreme
Court of Appeals, Ralph L. Berkshire, of Monongalia County; James H.
Brown, of Kanawha County, and William A. Harrison, of Harrison County.
These were all elected late in the month of May, and on June 20, 1868, took
the oath of office and West Virginia was a State. Thus was fulfilled the
prophecy of Daniel Webster in 1851 when he said that if Virginia took sides
with a secession movement, the result would be the formation of a new State
from Virginia's Transalleghany territory.
The creation of the new State of West Virginia did not put an end to
the Re organized Government of Virginia. The oificers who had held their
seat of government at WheeUng moved to Alexandria, and in 1865 moved
to Richmond, where they held office until their successors were elected.
Governor Pierpont filled the gubernatorial chair of Virginia about seven
years.

FORMATION OP WEST VIRGINIA. 125
In the summer of 1864 General Benjamin P. Butler, in command of
Union forces in eastern Virginia, wrote to President Lincoln, complaining
of the conduct of Governor Pierpont and the Secretary of State, intimating
that they were not showing sufficient devotion to the Union cause. On
August 9, 1864, Lincoln replied, and in the following language put a squelch
on General Butler's meddling:
'•I surely need not to assure you that I have no doubt of your loyalty and devoted
patriotism, and 1 must tell you that I have no less confidence in those of Governor Pier
pont and the Attorney General. The former— at flrst as the loyal Governor of all Vir
ginia, including that which it now West Virginia, in organizing nnd furnishing troops,
and in all other proper matters — was as earnest, honest and efficient to the extent of his
means as any other loyal Governor. * * * * * * The Attorney General needs only to be
known to be relieved from all question as to loyalty and thoiough devotion to the national
cause."*  * Worka ol Lincoln, vol. 2, p. 630.

CHAPTER XV,

-:o:-

ORGANIZING FOR WAR,
In a work of this sort it should not be expected that a full account of
the Civil War, as it affected West Virginia, will be given. It must suffice
to present only an outline of events as they occurred in that great struggle,
nor is any pretence made that this outline shall be complete. The vote on
the Ordinance of Secession showed that a large majority of the people in
this State were opposed to a separation from the United States. This vote,
while it could not have been much of a surprise to the politicians in the
eastern part of Virginia, was a disappointment. It did not prevent Vir
ginia, as a State, from joining the Southern Confederacy, but the result
made it plain that Virginia was divided against itself, and that all the part
west of the Alleghany Mountains, and much of that west of the Blue Ridge,
would not take up arms against the general government in furtherance of
the interests of the Southern Confederacy.
It therefore became necessary for Virginia, backed by the other South
ern States, to conquer its own transmontane territory. The commencement
of the war in what is now West Virginia was due to an invasion by troops
in the service of the Southern Confederacy in an effort to hold the territory
as a part of Virginia. It should not be understood, however, that there
was no sympathy with the South in this State. As nearly as can be esti
mated the number who took sides with the South, in proportion to those
who upheld the Union, was as one to six. The people generally were left
to choose. Efforts were made at the same time to raise soldiers for the
South and for the North, and those who did not want to go one way were
at liberty to go the other. In the eastern part of the State considera,ble
success was met in enlisting volunteers for the Confederacy, but in the
western counties there were hardly any who went with the South. That
the government at Richmond felt the disappointment keenly is evidenced
by the efforts put forth to organize companies of volunteers, and the dis
couraging reports of the recruiting officers.
Robert E. Lee was appointed commander-in-chief of the military and
naval forces of Virginia, April 23, 1861, and on the same day he wrote to
Governor Letcher accepting the office. Six days later he wrote Major A.
Loring, at Wheeling, urging him to muster into the service of the State all
the volunteer companies in that vicinity, and to take command of them.
Loring was asked to report what success attended his efforts. On the same
day Lieutenant-Colonel John McCausland, at Richmond, received orders
from General Lee to proceed at once to the Kanawha Valley and muster
into service the volunteer companies in that quarter. General Lee named four
companies already formed, two in Kanawha and two in Putnam Counties,

ORGANIZING FOR WAR. 127
and he expressed the belief that others would offer their services. McCaus
land was instructed to organize a company of artillery in the Kanawha Val
ley. On the next day, April 80, General Lee wrote to Major Boykin, at
Weston, in Lewis County, ordering him to muster in the volunteer com
panies in that part of the State, and to ascertain how many volunteers could
be raised in the vicinity of Parkersburg. General Lee stated in the letter
that he had sent two hundred flint-lock muskets to Colonel Jackson (Stone
wall) at Harper's Ferry, for the use of the volunteers about Weston. He
said no better guns could be had at that time. The next day. May 1, Gov
ernor Letcher announced that arrangements had been made for calling out
fifty thousand Virginia volunteers, to assemble at Norfolk, Richmond, Alex
andria, Fredericksburg, Harper's Ferry, Grafton, Parkersburg, Kanawha
and Moundsville. On May 4 General Lee ordered Colonel George A Por-
terfield to Grafton to take charge of the troops in that quarter, those already
in service and those who were expected to volunteer. Colonel Porterfield
was ordered, by authority of the Governor of Virginia, to call out the vol
unteers in the counties of Wood, Wirt, Roane, Calhoun, Gilmer, Ritchie,
Pleasants and Doddridge, to rendezvous at Parkersburg; and in the coun
ties of Braxton, Lewis, Harrison, Monongalia, Taylor, Barbour, Upshur,
Tucker, Marion, Randolph and Preston, to rendezvous at Grafton. General
Lee said he did not know how many men could be enlisted, but he supposed
five regiments could be mustered into service in that part of the State.
In these orders sent out General Lee expressed a desire to be kept in
formed of the success attending the call for volunteers. Replies soon be
gan to arrive at Richmond, and they were uniformly discouraging to Gen
eral Lee. It was early apparent that the people of Western Virginia were
not enthusiastic in talcing up arms for the Southern Confederacy. Major
Boykin wrote General Lee that the call for volunteers was not meeting with
success. To this letter General Lee replied on May 11, and urged Major
Boykin to persevere and call out the companies for such counties as were
not so hostile to the South, and to concentrate them at Grafton. He stated
that four hundred rifles had been forwarded from Staunton to Beverly, in
Randolph County, where Major Goff would receive and hold them until
further orders. Major Boykin requested that companies from other parts
of the State be sent to Grafton to take the places of companies which had
been counted upon to organize in that vicinity, but which had failed to ma
terialize. To this suggestion General Lee replied that he did not consider
it advisable to do so, as the presence of outside companies at Grafton would
tend to irritate the people instead of conciliating them.
On May 16 Colonel Porterfield had arrived at Grafton and had taken a
hasty survey of the situation, and his conclusion was that the cause of the
Southern Confederacy in that vicinity was not promising. On that day he
made a report to R. S. Garnett, at Richmond, Adjutant General of the Vir
ginia army, and stated that the rifles ordered to Beverly from Staunton had
not arrived, nor had they been heard from. It appears from this report
that no volunteers had yet assembled at Grafton, but Colonel Porterfield
said ,a company was organiziug at Pruntytown, in Taylor County; one at
Weston, under CapLain Boggess; one at Philippi, another at Clarksburg,
and still another at Fairmont. Only two of these companies had guns, flint
locks, and no ammunition. At tliat time aU of those companies had been
ordered to Grafton. Colonel Porterfield said, iu a tone of discouragement,
that those troops, almost destitute of guns and ammunition, were all he had

128 ORGANIZING FOR WAR.
to depend upon, and he considered the force very weak compared with the
strength of those in that vicinity who were prepared to oppose him. He
complained that he had found much diversity of opinion and "rebellion"
among the people, who did not believe that the State was strong enough to
contend against the Government. " I am, too, credibly informed," said he,
"to entertain doubt that they have been and will be supplied with the
means of resistance. * * * * Their efforts to intimidate have had their
effect, both to dishearten one party and to encourage the other. Many good
citizens have been dispirited, while traitors have seized the guns and am
munition of the State to be used against its authority. The force in this
section will need the best rifles. * * * * There will not be the same use
for the bayonet in these hills as elsewhere, and the movements should be
of light infantry and rifle, although the bayonet, of course, would be
desirable. "
About this time, that is near the middle of May, 1861, General Lee
ordered one thousand muskets sent to Beverly for the use of the volunteer
companies organizing to the northward of that place. Colonel Heck was
sent in charge of the guns, and General Lee instructed him to call out aU
the volunteers possible along the route from Staunton to Beverly. If the
authorities at Richmond had learned by the middle of May that Western
Virginia was not to be depended upon for filling with volunteers the ranks
of the Southern armies, the truth was still more apparent six weeks later.
By that time General Garnett had crossed the AUeghanies in person, and
had brought a large force of Confederate troops with him and was en
trenched at Laurel Hill and Rich Mountain, in Randolph County. It had
been claimed that volunteers had not joined the Confederate standard be
cause they were afraid to do so in the face of the stronger Union companies
organizing in the vicinity, but that if a Confederate army were in the coun
try to overawe the advocates of the Union cause then large numbers of
recruits would organize to help the South. Thus Garnett marched over the
AUeghanies and called for volunteers. The result was deeply mortifying
to him as well as discouraging to the authorities at Richmond. On June
25, 1861, he wrote to General Lee, dating his letter at Laurel Hill. He
complained that he could not find out what the movements of the Union
forces were likely to be, and added that the Union men in that vicinity were
much more active, numerous and zealous than the secessionists. He said
it was like carrying on a campaign in a foreign country, as the people were
nearly all against him, and never missed an opportunity to divulge his
movements toMcClellan, but would give him no information of whatMcClel-
lan was doing. "My hope," he wrote to Lee, "of increasing my force in
this region has so far been sadly disappointed. Only eight men have joined
me here, and only fifteen at Colonel Heck's camp — not enough to make up
my losses by discharges. The people are thoroughly imbued with an igno
rant and bigoted Union sentiment."
If more time was required to ascertain the sentiment in the Kanawha Val
ley than had been necessary in the northern and eastern part of the State, it
was nevertheless seen in due time that the Southern Confederacy's supporters
ers in that quarter were in a hopeless minority. General Henry A. Wise, ex
Governor of Virginia, had been sent into the Kanawha Valley early in 1861
to organize such forces as could be mustered for the Southern army. He
was one of the most fiery leaders in the Southern Confederacy, and an able
man, and of great influence. He had, perhaps, done more than any othei;

ORGANIZING FOR WAR. 129
man in Virginia to swing that State into the Southern Confederacy. He it
was who, when the Ordinance of Secession was in the balance in the Rich
mond Convention, rose in the convention, drew a horse-pistol from his
bosom, placed it upon the desk before him, and proceeded to make one of
the most impassioned speeches heard in that tumultuous convention. The
effect of his speech was tremendous, and Virginia wheeled into line with
the other Confederate States. General Wise hurried to the field, and was
soon in the thick of the fight in the Kanawha Valley. He failed to organize
an army there, and in his disappointment and anger he wrote to General
Lee, August 1, 1861, saying: "The Kanawha Valley is wholly disaffected
and traitorous. It was gone from Charleston to Point Pleasant before I
got there. Boone and Cabell are nearly as bad, and the state of things in
Braxton, Nicholas and part of Greenbrier is awful. The militia are nothing
for warlike uses here. They are worthless who are true, and there is no
telling who is 'true. You cannot persuade these people that Virginia can
or will reconquer the northwest, and they are submitting, subdued and de
based. " General Wise made an urgent request for more guns, ammunition
and clothing.
While the Confederates were doing their utmost to organize and equip
forces in Western Virginia, and were meeting discouragements and failure
nearly everywhere, the people who upheld the Union were also at work,
and success was the rule and failure almost unknown. As soon as the fact
was realized that Virginia had joined the Southern Confederacy; had seized
upon the government arsenals and other property within the State, and
had commenced war upon the government, and was preparing to continue
the hostilities, the people of Western Virginia, who had long suffered from
the injustice and oppression of the eastern part of the State, began to pre
pare for war. They did not long halt between two opinions, but at once
espoused the cause of the United States. Companies were organized every
where. The spirit with which the cause of the Union was upheld was one
of the most discouraging features of the situation, as viewed by the Con
federates who were vainly trying to raise troops in this part of the State.
The people in the Kanawha Valley who told General Wise that they did
not believe Virginia could re-conquer Western Virginia had reasons for their
conclusions. The people along the Ohid, the Kanawha, the Monongahela;
in the interior, among the mountains, were everywhere drilling and arming.
There was some delay and disappointment in securing arms for the
Union troops as they were organized in West Virginia. Early in the war,
while there was yet hope entertained by some that the trouble could be ad
justed without much fighting, there was hesitation on the part of the Gov
ernment about sending guns into Virginia to arm one class of the people.
Consequently some of the first arms received in Western Virginia did not
come directly from the Government arsenals, but were sent from Massa
chusetts. As early as May 7, 1861, a shipment of two thousand stands of
arms was made from the Water vleit arsenal. New York, to the northern
Panhandle, of West Virginia, above WheeUng. These guns armed some of
the first soldiers from West Virginia that took the field. An effort had been
made to obtain arms from Pittsburg, but it was unsuccessful. Campbell
Tarr, of Brooke County, and others, went to Washington as a committee,
and it was through their efforts that the guns were obtained. The govern
ment officials were very cautious at that time lest they should do something
without express warranty in law. But Edwin M. Stanton advised that the

130 ORGANIZING FOR WAR.
guns be sent, promising that he would find the law for it afterwards. Gov
ernor Pierpont had written to President Lincoln for help, and the reply
had been that all help that could be given under the constitution would be
furnished.

The Civil War opened in West Virginia by a conflict between the Con
federate forces in the State and the Federal forces sent against them. The
first Union troops to advance came from Wheeling and beyond the Ohio
River. Colonel Benjamin P. Kelley organized a force at Wheeling, and was
instructed to obey orders from General McClellan, then at Cincinnati.
The first order from McClellan to Kelley was that he should fortify the
hills about Wheeling. This was on May 26, 1861. This appears to have
been thought necessary as a precaution against an advance on the part of
the Confederates, but McClellan did not know how weak they were in West
Virginia at that time. Colonel Porterfield could not get together men and
ammunition enough to encourage him to hold Grafton, much less to advance
to the Ohio River. It is true that on the day that Virginia passed the Ordi
nance of Secession Governor Letcher made an effort to hold Wheeling, but
it signally failed. He wrote to Mayor Sweeney, of that city, to seize the
postoffice, the custom house, and all government property in that city, hold
them in the name of the State of Virginia. Mayor Sweeney replied: "I
have seized upon the custom house, the postoffice and all public buildings
and documents, in the name of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United
States, whose property they are."
Colonel Kelley, when he received the order to fortify the hills about
Wheeling, replied that he did not believe such a step was necessary, but
that the proper thing to do was to advance to Grafton and drive the Con
federates out of the country. McClellan accepted the suggestion, and
ordered Kelley to move to Grafton with the force under his orders. These
troops had enlisted at Wheeling and had been drilled for service. They
were armed with guns sent from Massachusetts. They carried their am
munition in their pockets, as they had not yet been fully equipped with the
accoutrements of war. They were full of enthusiasm, and were much grat
ified when the orders came for an advance. The agent of the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad at Wheeling refused to furnish cars for the troops, giving
as his reason that the railroad would remain neutral. Colonel Kelley an
nounced that if the cars were not ready by four o'clock next morning he
would seize them by force, and take military possession of the railroad.
The cars were ready at four the next morning.* WhUe KeUey's troops
were setting out from WheeUng an independent movement was in progress
at Morgantown to drive the Confederates out of Grafton. A number of
companies had been organized on the Monongahela, and they assembled at
Morgantown, where they were joined by three companies from Pennsyl
vania, and were about to set out for Grafton on their own responsibility,'
when they learned that Colonel Kelley had already advanced from Wheel
ing, and that the Confederates had retreated. Colonel Porterfield learned
of the advance from Wheeling and saw that he would be attacked before his
looked-for reinforcements and arms could arrive. The poorly-equipped
force under his command were unable to successfully resist an attack, and
lie prepared to retreat southward. He ordered two railroad bridges burned,
?" Loyal West Virginia," by T. F, Lang,

ORGANIZING FOR WAR. 131
between Fairmont and Mannington, hoping thereby to delay the arrival of
the Wheeling troops.
At daybreak on May 27 Colonel KeUey's troops left Wheeling on board
the cars for Grafton. When they reached Mannington they stopped long
enough to rebuild the burnt bridges, which delayed them only a short time.
While there Kelley received a telegram from McClellan informing him that
trOops from Ohio and Indiana were on their way to his assistance. When
the Wheeling troops reached Grafton the town had been deserted by the
Confederates, who had retreated to Philippi, about twenty-five miles south
of Grafton. Colonel Kelley at once planned pursuit. On June 1 a consid
erable number of soldiers from Ohio and Indiana had arrived. Colonel R.
H. Milroy, Colonel Irvine and General Thomas A. Morris were in command
of the troops from beyond the Ohio. They were the van of General McClel-
lan's advance into West Virginia. When General Morris arrived at Grafton
he assumed command of all the forces in that vicinity. Colonel KeUey's
plan of pursuit of Colonel Porterfield was laid before General Morris and
was approved by him, and preparations were immediately commenced for
carrying it into execution. It appears that Colonel Porterfield did not ex
pect pursuit. He had established his camp at Philippi and was waiting for
reinforcements and supplies, which failed to arrive. Since assuming com
mand of the Confederate forces in West Virginia he had met one diappoint-
ment after another. His force at Philippi was stated at the time to number
two thousand, but it was little more than half so large. General Morris
and Colonel Kelley prepared to attack him with three thousand men, ad
vancing- at night by two routes to fall upon him by surprise.
Colonel KeUey was to march about six miles east from Grafton on the
morning of June 2, and from that point march across the mountains during
the afternoon and night, and so regulate his movements as to reach Philippi
at four o'clock the next morning. Colonel Dumont, who had charge of the
other column, was ordered to repair to Webster, a small town on the Park
ersburg branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, four miles west from
Grafton, and to march from that point toward Philippi, to appear before
the town exactly at four o'clock on the morning of June 3. Colonel KeUey's
task was the more difficult, for he followed roads that were very poor. Gen
eral Morris suspected that spies in and about Grafton would discover the
movement and would carry the news to Colonel Porterfield at Philippi, and
that he would hurriedly retreat, either toward Beverly or eastward to St.
George, on Cheat River. Colonel Kelley was therefore ordered, in case he
received positive intelligence that Porterfield had retreated eastward, to
follow as fast as possible and endeavor to intercept him; at the same time
he was to notify Colonel Dumont of the retreat and of the movement to in
tercept the Confederates.
Colonel Kelley left Grafton in the early morning. It was generally
supposed he was on his way to Harper's Ferry. Colonel Dumont's column
left Grafton after dark on the evening of June 2. The march that night
was through rain and in pitch darkness. This delayed Dumont's division,
a,nd it seemed that it would not be able to reach PhiUppi by the appointed
time, but the men marched the last five mUes in an hour and a quarter, and
so well was everything managed that KeUey's and Dumont's forces arrived
before PhiUppi within fifteen minutes of each other. The Confederates had
not learned of the advance and were off their guard. The pickets fired a
few shots arid fled. The Union artiUery opened on the camp and the utmost

132 ORGANIZING FOR WAR.
confusion prevailed. Colonel Porterfield ordered a retreat, and succeeded
in saving the most of his men, but lost a considerable portion of the small
supply of arms he had. He abandoned his camp and stores. This action
was called the "Philippi Races," because of the haste with which the Con
federates fled and the Union forces pursued. Colonel Kelley, while leading
the pursuit, was shot through the breast and was supposed to be mortally
wounded, but he subsequently recovered and took an active part in the war
until its close.
General McClellan, who had not yet crossed the Ohio, was much
encouraged by this victory, small as it appears in comparison with the mo
mentous events later in the war. The Union people of West Virginia were
also much encouraged, and the Confederates were correspondingly
depressed. Colonel Porterfield's cup of disappointment was full when, five days
after his retreat from Philippi, he learned that he had been superseded by
General Robert S. Garnett, who was on his way from Richmond to assume
command of the Confederate forces in West Virginia. Colonel Porterfield
had retreated to Huttonsville, in Randolph County, above Beverly, and
there turned his command over to his successor. A court of inquiry was
held to examine Colonel Porterfield's conduct. He was censured by the
Richmond people who had sent him into West Virginia, had neglected him,
had failed to supply him with arms or the adequate means of defense, and
when he suffered defeat, thej threw the blame on him when the most of it
belonged to themselves. Little more than one month elapsed from that
time before the Confederate authorities had occasion to understand more
fully the situation beyond the AUeghanies; and the general who took Colo
nel Porterlields place, with seven or eight times his force of men and arms,
conducted a far more disastrous retreat, and was killed while bringing off
his broken troops from a lost battle.
Previous to General McClellan's coming into West Virginia he issued a
proclamation to the people, in which he stated the purpose of his coming,
and why troops were about to be sent across the Ohio river. This procla
mation was written in Cincinnati, May 26, 1861, and sent by telegraph to
Wheeling and Parkersburg, there to be printed and circulated. The people
were told that the army was about to cross the Ohio as friends to aU who
were loyal to the Government of the United States; to prevent the destruc
tion of property by the rebels; to preserve order, to co-operate with loyal
Virginians in their efforts to free the State from the Confederates, and to
punish all attempts at insurrection among slaves, should they rise against
their masters. This last statement was no doubt meant to allay the fears of
many that as soon as a Union army was upon the soil there would be a
slave insurrection, which, of all things, was most dreaded by those who
lived among slaves. On the same day General McClellan issued an address
to his soldiers, informing them that they were about to cross the Ohio, and
acquainting them with the duties to be performed. He told them they were
to act in concert with the loyal Virginians in putting down the rebeUion.
He enjoined the strictest discipline and warned them against interfering
with the rights or property of the loyal Virginians. He ""called on them to
show mercy to those captured in arms, for many of them were misguided.
He stated that, when the Confederates had been driven from northwestern
Virginia, the loyal people of that part of the State would be able to organize
and arm, and would be competent to take care of themselves, and then the

ORGANIZING FOR WAR. 133
services of the troops from Ohio and Indiana would be no longer needed,
and they could return to their homes. He little understood what the next
four years would bring forth.
Three weeks had not elapsed after Colonel Porterfield retreated from
Philippi before General McClellan saw that something more was necessary
before Western Virginia would be pacified. The Confederates had been
largely reinforced at Huttonsville, and had advanced northward within
twelve miles of Philippi and had fortified their camp. Philippi was at that
time occupied by General Morris, and a collision between his forces and
those of the Confederates was likely to occur at any time. General
McClellan thought it advisable to be nearer the scene of operations, and
on June 22, 1861, he crossed the Ohio with his staff and proceeded to Graf
ton, where he established his headquarters. He had at this time about
twenty thousand soldiers in West Virginia, stationed from Wheeling to
Grafton, from Parkersburg to the same place, and in the country round
about. Colonel Porterfield was relieved of his command by General Garnett,
June 14, 1861, and the military affairs of northwestern Virginia were looked
after by Garnett in person. The Richmond Government and the Southern
Confederacy had no intention of abandoning the country beyond the AUe
ghanies. On the contrary, it was resolved to hold it at all hazards; but
subsequent events showed that the Confederates either greatly underesti
mated the strength- of McClellan's army or greatly overestimated the
strength of their own forces sent against him. Otherwise Garnett, with a
force of only six thousand, would not have been pushed forward against
the lines of an army of twenty thousand, and that, too, in a position so
remote that Garnett was practically isolated from all assistance. Rein
forcements numbering about two thousand men were on the way from
Staunton to Beverly at the time of Garnett's defeat, but had these troops
reached him in time to be of service, he would still have had not half as
large a force as that of McClellan opposed to him. Military men have
severely criticised General Lee for what they regard as a blunder in thus
sending an army to almost certain destruction, with little hope of perform
ing any service to the Confederacy.
Had the Confederates been able to hold the Baltimore and Ohio Rail
road, the disaster attending General Garnett's campaign would probably
not have occurred. With that road in their hands, they could have thrown
soldiers and supplies into Grafton and Clarksburg within ten hours from
Harper's Perry. They would thus have had quick communication with
their base of supplies and an open way to fall back when compelled to do
so. But they did not hold the Baltimore and Ohio Road, and their only
practicable route into Western Virginia, north of the Kanawha, was by
wagon roads across the AUeghanies, by way of the Valley of Virginia. This
was a long and difficult route by which to transport supplies for an arniy;
and in case that army was compelled to retreat, the line of retreat was lia-
.ble to be cut by the enemy, as it actually was in the case of Garnett.
On July 1, 1861, General Garnett had about four thousand five hundred
men. The most of them were from Eastern Virginia and the States further
south. A considerable part of them were Georgians who had recently
been stationed at Pensacola, Florida. Reinforcements were constantly
arriving over the AUeghanies, and by July 10 he had six thousand men.
He moved northward and westward from Beverly and fortified two points

184 ORGANIZING FOR WAR.
on Laurel Hill, one named Camp Rich Mountain, six miles west of Beverly,
the other fifteen miles north by west, near Belington, in Barbour County.
These positions were naturally strong, and their strength was increased by
fortifications of logs and stones. They were only a few mUes from the out
posts of McClellan's army. Had the Confederate positions been attacked
only from the front it is probably that they could have held out a con
siderable time. But there was little in the way of flank movements, and
when McClellan made his attack, it was by fianking. General Garnett was
not a novice in the field. He had seen service in the Mexican War; had
taken part in many of the hardest battles; had fought Indians three years
on the Pacific Coast, and at the outbreak of the Civil War he was traveling
in Europe. He hastened home; resigned his position in the United States
Army and joined the Confederate Army, and was almost immediately sent
into West Virginia to be sacrificed.
While the Confederates were fortifying their positions in Randolph and
Barbour Counties, the Union forces were not idle. On June 22 General
McCleUan crossed the Ohio River at Parkersburg. The next day at Graf
ton he issued two proclamations, one to the citizens of West Virginia, the
other to his soldiers. To the citizens he gave assurance again that he came
as a friend, to uphold the laws, to protect the law-abiding, and to punish
those in rebellion against the Government. In the proclamation to his
soldiers he told them that he had entered West Virginia to bring peace to
the peaceable and the sword to the rebellious who were in arms, but mercy
to disarmed rebels. He began to concentrate his forces for an attack on
Garnett. He moved his headquarters to Buckhannon on July 2, to be near
the center of operations. Clarksburg was his base of supplies, and he con
structed a telegraph line, as he advanced, one of the first, if not the very
first, military telegraph lines in America. From Buckhannon he could move
in any desired direction by good roads. He had fortified posts at Webster,
Clarksburg, Parkersburg and Grafton. Eight days later he had moved his
headquarters to Middle Fork, between Buckhannon and Beverly, and in the
meantime his forces had made a general advance. He was now within sight
of the Confederate fortifications on Rich Mountain. General Morris, who
was leading the advance against Laurel Hill, was also within sight of the
Confederates. There had already been some skirmishing, and aU believed
that the time was near when a battle would be fought. Colonel John
Pegram, with thirteen hundred Confederates, was in command at Rich
Mountain; and at Laurel Hill General Garnett, with between four thousand
and five thousand men, was in command. There were about six hundred
more Confederates at various points within a few miles.
After examining the ground McClellan decided to make the first attack
on the Rich Mountain works, but in order to divert attention from his real
purpose, he ordered General Morris, who was in front of General Garnett's
position, to bombard the Confederates at Laurel Hill. Accordingly shells
were thrown in the direction of the Confederate works, some of which ex
ploded within the lines, but doing little damage. On the afternoon of July •
10 General McClellan prepared to attack Pegram at Rich Mountain, but
upon examination of the approaches he saw that an attack in front would
probably be unsuccessful. The Confederate works were located one and a
half miles west of the summit of Rich Mountain, where the Staunton and
Barkersburg pike crosses. When the Union forces reached the open coun
try at Roaring Creek, a short distance west of the Confederate position,

ORGANIZING FOR WAR. 135
Colonel Pegram planned an attack upon them, but upon mature reflection,
abondoned it. There was a path leading from Roaring Creek across Rich
Mountain to Beverly, north of the Confederate position, and Colonel Pegram
guarded this path with troops under Colonel Scott, but he did not know that
another path led across the mountain south of his position, by which
McCleUan could flank him. This path was left unguarded, and it was in
strumental in Pegram's defeat. General Rosecrans, who was in charge of
one wing of the forces in front of the Confederate position, met a young
man named David Hart, whose father lived one and a half miles in the rear
of the Confederate fortiflcations, and he said he could pilot a force, by an
obscure road, round the southern end of the Confederate lines and reach his
father's farm, on the summit of the mountain, from which an attack on
Colonel Pegram in the rear could be made. The young man was taken to
General McClellan and consented to act as a guide. Thereupon General
McClellan changed his plan from attacking in front to an attack in the rear.
He moved a portion of his forces to the western base of Rich Mountain,
ready to support the attack when made, and he then dispatched General
Rosecrans, under the guidance of young Hart, by the circuitous route, to
the rear of the Confederates. Rosecrans reached his destination and sent
a messenger to inform General McClellan of the fact, and that all was in
readiness for the attack. This messenger was captured by the Confeder
ates, and Pegram learned of the new danger which threatened him, while
McClellan was left in doubt whether his troops had been able to reach the
point for which they had started. Had it not been for this perhaps the
fighting would have resulted in the capture of the Confederates.
Colonel Pegram, finding that he was to be attacked from the rear, sent
three hundred and fifty men to the point of danger, at the top of the moun
tain, and built the best breastworks possible in the short time at his disposal.
When Rosecrans advanced to the attack he was stubbornly resisted, and
the fight continued two or three hours, and neither side could gain any ad
vantage. Pegram was sending up reinforcements to the mountain when
the Union forces made a charge and swept the Confederates from the field.
Colonel Pegram collected several companies and prepared to renew the
fight. It was now late in the afternoon of July 11. The men were panic-
stricken, but they moved forward, and were led around the mountain with
in musket range of the Union forces that had remained on the battle ground.
But the Confederates became alarmed and fled without making an attack.
Their forces were scattered over the mountain, and night was coming
on. Colonel Pegram saw that all was lost, and determined to make his way
to Garnett's army, if possible, about fifteen miles distant, through the
woods. He commenced collecting his men and sending them forward. It
was after midnight when he left the camp and set forward with the last
remnants of his men in an effort to reach the Confederate forces on Laurel
HiU. The loss of the Confederates in the battle had been about forty-five
killed and about twenty wounded. All their baggage and artillery fell into
the hands of the Union army. Sixty-three Confederates were captured.
Rosecrans lost twelve killed and forty-nine wounded.
The retreat from Rich Mountain was disastrous. The Confederates
were eighteen hours in groping their way twelve miles through the woods
in the direction of Garnett's camp. Near sunset on July 12 they reached
the Tygart River, three mUes from the Laurel Hill camp, and there learned
from the citizens that Garnett had already retreated and that the Union

136 ORGANIZING FOR WAR.
forces were in pursuit. There seemed only one possible avenue of escape
©pen for Pegram's force. That was a miserable road leading across the
mountains into Pendleton County. Few persons lived near the road, and
the outlook was that the men would starve to death if they attempted to
make their way through. They were already starving. Accordingly, Col
onel Pegram that night sent a flag of truce to Beverly, offering to surren
der, and at the same time stating that his men were starving. Early the
next morning General McClellan sent several wagon loads of bread to them,
and met them on their way to Beverly. The number of prisoners surren
dered was thirty officers and five hundred and twenty-five men. The
remainder of the force at Rich Mountain had been killed, wounded, cap
tured and scattered. Colonel Scott, who had been holding the path leading
over the mountain north of the Confederate position, learned of the defeat
of Pegram and he made good his retreat over the Alleghanies by way of
Huttonsville. ¦ It now remains to be told how General Garnett fared. The fact that
he had posted the greater part of his army on Laurel Hill is proof that he
expected the principal attack to be made on that place. He was for a time
deceived by the bombardment directed against him, but he was undeceived
when he learned that Colonel Pegram had been defeated, and that General
McClellan had thrown troops across Rich Mountain and had successfully
turned the fiank of the Confederate position. All that was left for Garnett
was to withdraw his army while there was yet time. His line of retreat
was the pike from Beverly to Staunton, and the Union forces were pushing
forward to occupy that and to cut him off in that direction. On tlie after
noon of July 12, 1861, Garnett retreated, hastening to reach Beverly in ad
vance of the Union forces. On the way he met fugitives from Pegram's
army and was told by them that McClellan had already reached Beverly,
and that the road in> that direction was closed. Thereupon Garnett turned
eastward into Tucker County, over a very rough road. General Morris
pursued the retreating Confederates over the mountain to Cheat River,
skirmishing on the way. General Garnett remained in the rear directing
his skirmishers, and on July 14, at Corrick's Ford, where Parsons, the
county seat of Tucker County, has since been located, he found that he
could no longer avoid giving battle. With a few hundred men he opened
fire on the advance of the pursuing army and checked the pursuit. But in
bringing off his skirmishers from behind a pile of driftwood, Garnett was
killed and his men were seized with panic and fied, leaving his body on the
field, with a score or more of dead.
When it was found that the Confederates were retreating eastward
Federal troops from Grafton, Rowlesburg and other points on the Balti
more and Ohio RaUroad were ordered to cut off the retreat at St. George,
in Tucker County. But the troops could not be concentrated in time, and
the concentration was made at Oakland, in Maryland, ^ ith the expectation
of intercepting the retreating Confederates at Red House, eight miles west
of Oakland. Up to the time of the fight at Corrick's- Ford the retreat had been
orderly, but after that it became a rout. The roads were narrow and
rough, and the excessive rains had rendered them almost impassible.
Wagons and stores were abandoned, and when Horse Shoe Run, a long and
niirrow defile leading to the Red House, in Maryland, was reached inform
ation was received that Union troops from Rowlesburg and Oakland were

ORGANIZING FOR WAR. 137
at the Red House, cutting off retreat in that direction. The artillery was
sent to the front. A portion of the cavalry was piloted by a mountaineer
along a narrow path across the Backbone and Alleghany Mountains. The
main body continued its retreat to the Red House, and pursued its way un
molested across the Alleghanies to Monterey. Two regiments marching
in haste to reinforce Garnett at Laurel Hill had reached Monterey when
news of Garnett's retreat was received. The regiments halted there, and
as Garnett's stragglers came in they were re-organized.
The Union army made no pursuit beyond Corrick's Ford, except that
detachments followed to the Red House to pick up the stores abandoned by
the Confederates. Garnett's body fell into the hands of the Union forces
and was prepared for burial and sent to Richmond. It was carried in a
canoe to Rowlesburg, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, thirty miles be
low, on Cheat River, in charge of Whitelaw Reid, who had fallen part in
the battle at Corrick's Ford. Reid was acting in the double capacity of cor
respondent for the Cincinnati Gazette and an aid on the staff of General Mor
ris. When Rowlesburg was reached Garnett's body was sent by express to
Governor Letcher, at Richmond.
This closed the campaign in that part of West Virginia for 1861. The
Confederates had failed to hold the country. On July 22 General McClellan
was transferred to Washington to take charge of military operations there.
In comparison with the greater battles and more extensive campaign later
in the war, the affairs in West Virginia were small. But they were of great
importance at the time. Had the result been different, had the Confeder
ates held their ground at Grafton, Philippi, Rich Mountain and Laurel Hill,
and had the Union forces been driven out of the State, across the Ohio, the
outcome would have changed the history of the war, but probably not the
result.

CHAPTER XVI,

-:o:-

PROGRESS OF THE WAR,
After Garnett's retreat in July, 1861, there were few Confederates in
West Virginia, west of the Alleghanies, except in the Kanawha Valley.
But the Government at Richmond and the Confederate Government were
not inclined to give up so easily the part of Virginia west of the mountains,
and in a short time preparations were made to send an army from the east
to re-conquer the territory beyond the Alleghanies. A large part of the
army with which McClellan had defeated Garnett had been sent to other
fields; the terms of enlistment of many of the soldiers had expired. When
the Confederates re-crossed the mountains late in the summer of 1861 they
were opposed by less than ten thousand Federals stationed in that moun
tainous part of West Virginia about the sources of the Greenbrier, the
Tygart Valley River, Cheat, and near the source of the Potomac. In that
elevated and rugged region a remarkable campaign was made. It was not
remarkable because of hax-d fighting, for there was no pitched battle; but
because in this campaign the Confederates were checked in their purpose
of re-conquering the ground lost by Garnett and of extending their con
quest north and west. This campaign has also an historical interest
because it was General Lee's first work in the field after he had been
assigned the command of Virginia's land and sea forces. The outcome of
the campaign was not what might be expected of a great and calculating
general as Lee was. Although he had a larger army than his opponents in
the field, and had at least as good ground, and although he was able to hold
his own at every skirmish, yet, as the campaign progressed he constantly
fell back. In September he fought at Elkwater and Cheat Mountain, in
Randolph County; in October he fought at Greenbrier river, having fallen
back from his first position. In December he had fallen back to the summit
of the Alleghanies, and fought a battle there. It should be stated, however,
that General Lee, although in command of the army, took part in person
only in the skirmishing in Randolph County. The importance of this cam
paign entitles it to mention somewhat more in detail.
General Reynolds succeeded General McClellan in command of this
part of West Virginia. He advanced from Beverly to Huttonsville, a few
miles above, and remained in peaceful possession of the country two
months after Garnett's retreat, except that his scouting parties were con
stantly annoyed by Confederate irregulars, or guerrillas, usually called
bushwhackers. Their mode of attack was, to lie concealed on the summits
of cliffs, overhanging the roads or in thickets on the hillsides, and fire upon
the Union soldiers passing below. They were justly dreaded by the Union
troops. These bushwhackers were usually citizens of that district who had

PROGRESS OP THE WAR. . 189
taken to the woods after their well-known southern sympathies had ren
dered it unsafe or unpleasant to remain at home while the country was
occupied by the Union armies. They were excellent marksmen, minutely
acquainted with all the ins and outs of the mountains and woods; and, from
their manner of attack and fiight, it was seldom that they were captured or
killed. They hid about ^he outposts of the Union armies; picked off senti
nels; wayland scouts; ambushed small detachments, and fled to their moun
tain fastnesses where pursuit was out of the question. A war is considered
severe in loss of life in which each soldier, taken as an average, kills one
soldier on the other side, even though the war is prolonged for years.
Yet, these bushwhackers often killed a dozen or more each, before being
themselves killed. It can be readily understood why small detachments
dreaded bushwhackers more than Confederate troops in pitched battle.
Nor did the bushwhackers confine their attacks to small parties. They
often fired into the ranks of armies on the march with deadly effect. While
in the mountains of West Virginia General Averell's cavalry often suffered
severely from these hidden guerrillas who fired and vanished. The bush
whacking was not always done by Confederates. Union soldiers or sympa
thizers resorted to it also at times.
General Reynolds, with headquarters at Beverly, spent the summer of
1861 in strengthening his position, and in attempting to clear the country
of guerrillas. Early in September he received information that large num
bers of Confederates were crossing the Alleghanies. General Loring
established himself at Huntersville, in Pocahontas County, with 8500 men.
He it was who had tried in vain to raise recruits in West Virginia for the
Confederacy, even attempting to gain a foothold in Wheeling before
McCleUan's army crossed the Ohio River. He had gone to Richmond, and
early in September had returned with an army. General H. R. Jackson
was in command of another Confederate force of 6000 at Greenbrier River
where the pike from Beverly to Staunton crosses that stream, in Pocahontas
County. General Robert E. Lee was sent by the Government at Richmond
to take command of both these armies, and he lost no time in doing so.
No order sending General Lee into West Virginia has ever been found
among the records of the Confederate Government. It was probably a
verbal order, or he may have gone without any order. He concentrated
his force at Big Spring, on Valley Mountain, and prepared to march north
to the Baltimore and Ohio Road at Grafton. His design was nothing less
than to drive the Union army out of northwestern Virginia. When the
matter is viewed in the light of subsequent history, it is to be wondered at
that General Lee did not succeed in his purpose. He had 14500 men, and
only 9000 were opposed to him. Had he defeated General Reynolds; driven
his army back; occupied Grafton, Clarksburg and other towns, it can be
readUy seen that the seat of war might have been changed to West Virginia.
The United States Government would have sent an army to oppose Lee;
and the Confederate Government would have pushed strong reinforcements
across the mountains; and some of the great battles of the war might have
been fought on the Monongahela river. The campaign in the fall of 1861,
about the head waters of the principle rivers of West Virginia, therefore,
derives its chief interest, not from battles, but from the accompUshment of
a great purpose — the driving back of the Confederates— without a pitched
battle. Virginia, as a State, made no determined effort after that to hold
Western Virginia. By that time the campaign in the Kanawha Valley was

1-10 PROGRESS OF THE WAR.
di-awing to a close and theConfederates were retiring. Consequently, Vir
ginia's and the Southern Confederacy's efforts west of the Alleghanies in
this State were defeated in the fall of 1861.
General Reynolds sent a regiment to Elkwater, and soon afterwards
occupied Cheat Mountain. This point was the highest camp occupied by
soldiers during the war. The celebrated "Battle Above the Clouds," on
Lookout Mountain, was not one-half so high. The whole region, including
parts of Pocahontas, Pendleton and Randolph Counties, has an elevation
above three thousand feet, while the summits of the knobs and ridges rise
to heights of more than four thousand, and some nearly five thousand feet.
General Reynolds fortified his two advanced positions, Elkwater and Cheat
Mountain. They were seven miles apart, connected by only a bridle path,
but a circuitous wagon road, eighteen miles long, led from one to the other|
passing around in the direction of Huttonsville. No sooner had the United
States troops established themselves at Elkwater and Cheat Mountain than
General Lee advanced, and skirmishing began. The Confederates threw a
force between Elkwater and Cheat Mountain, and posted another force on
the road in. the direction of Huttonsville. They were attacked, and for
three days there was skirmishing, but no general engagement. On Sep
tember 13 Colonel John A. Washington, in the Confederate service, was
killed near Elkwater. He was a relative of President Washington, and also
a relative General R. E. Lee, whose family and the Washingtons were
closely connected. General Lee sent a fiag of truce and asked for the body.
It was sent to the Confederate lines on September 14. That day the Con
federates concentrated ten miles from Elkwater, and the next day again
advanced, this time threatening Cheat Mountain, but their attack was un
successful. In this series of skirmishes the Union forces had lost nine
killed, fifteen wounded and about sixty prisoners. The result was a defeat
for the Confederates, who were thwarted in their design of penetrating
northward and westward. The failure of the Confederates to bring on a
battle was due to their different detachments not acting in concert. It was
Lee's plan to attack both positions at the same time. He sent detachments
against Elkwater and Cheat Mountain. The sound of cannon attacking one
position was to be the signal for attacking the other. The troops marched
in rain and mud, along paths and in the woods, and when they found them
selves in front of the Federal position, the detachment which was to have
begun the attack failed to do so. The other detachment waited in vain for
the signal, and then retreated. General Lee was much hurt by the failure
of his plan. *
General Loring's army of 8,500, which was camped at Huntersville, in
Pocahontas County, was sent to that place for a particular purpose. He
was to sweep round toward the west, then march north toward Weston and
Clarksburg, strike the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and by threatening or,
cutting off General Reynolds' line of communication with his base of sup
plies, compel him to fall back. This plan was General Lee's. He left its
execution to General Loring, who moved slowly, halted often, camped long,
hesitated frequently, and consumed much valuable time. His men became
sick. Rains made progress difficult, and he did not seem in a hurry to get
along. General Lee waited but Loring still failed to march. He was an
older officer than Lee, and although Lee had a right to order him forward,
? See H, A. White's Life of Robert E. Lee,

PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 141
he refrained from doing so for fear of wounding Loring's feelings. The
time for executing the movement passed, and the flank movement, which
probably would have succeeded, was given up.
The Confederates were not yet willing to abandon West Virginia. They
fell back to the Greenbrier River, thirteen miles from the Union camp, on
Cheat Mountain, and fortified their position. They were commanded by
General H. R. Jackson, and their number was believed to be about nine
thousand. On October 3, 1861, General Reynolds advanced at the head of
flve thousand troops. During the first part of the engagement the Union
forces were successful, driving the Confederates nearly a mile, but here
several batteries of artillery were encountered, and reinforcements arriving
to the support of the Confederates, the battle was renewed and General
Reynolds was forced to fall back, with a loss of nine killed and thirty-five
wounded. On December 10 General Reynolds was transferred to other
fields, and the command of the Union forces in the Cheat Mountain district
was given to General R. H. Milroy, Within three days after he assumed
command he moved forward to attack the Confederate camp on the summit
of the Alleghanies. The Confederates had gone into winter quarters there;
and as the weather was severe, and as the Union forces appeared satisfied
to hold what they had without attempting any additional conquests in mid
winter, the Confederates were riot expecting an attack. However, on
December 13, 1861, General I^.Iilroy moved forward and assaulted their posi
tion. The fighting was severe for several hours, and finally resulted in the
retreat of the Union forces. The Confederates made no attempt to follow.
General Milroy marched to Huntersville, in Pocahontas county, and went
into winter quarters. The Rebels remained on the summit of the Allegha
nies tUl spring and then went over the mountains, out of West Virginia,
thus ending the attempt to re-conquer northwestern Virginia.
It now remains to be seen what success attended the efforts of the Con
federates to gain control of the Kanawha Valley. Their campaign in West
Virginia for the year 1861 was divided into two parts, in the northwest and
in the Kanawha Valley. General Henry A. Wise was ordered to the Kana
wha June 6, two days before General Garnett was ordered to take command
of the troops which had been driven south from Grafton. Colonel Tomp
kins was already on the Kanawha in charge of Confederate forces. The
authorities at Richmond at that time believed that a General, with the
nucleus of an army in the Kanawha Valley, could raise all the troops neces
sary among the people there. On April 29 General Lee had ordered Major
John McCausland to the Kanawha to organize companies for the Confed
eracy. Only five hundred flint-lock muskets could be had at that time to
arm the troops in that quarter. General Lee suggested that the valley
could be held by posting the force below Charleston. Very poor success
attended the efforts at raising volunteers, and the arms found in the district
were insufficient to equip the men. Supplies were sent as soon as possible
from Virginia.
When General Wise arrived and had collected all his forces he had
8,000 men, of whom 2,000 were militia from Raleigh, Fayette and Mercer
Counties. With these he was expected to occupy the Kanawha Valley, and
resist invasion should Union forces attempt to penetrate that part of the
State. General John B. Ployd, who had been Secretary of War under Pres
ident Buchanan, was guarding the railroad leading from Richmond into
Tennessee, and was posted south of the present limits of West Virginia, but

142 PROGRESS OP THE WA.R.
within supporting distance of General Wise. In case a Union army invaded
the Kanawha Valley it was expected that General Floyd would unite his
forces with those of General Wise, and that they would act in concert if
not in conjunction. General Floyd was the older officer, and in case their
forces were consolidated he would be the commander in-chief. But Gen
eral Ployd and General Wise were enemies. Their hatred for the Yankees
was less than their hatred for each other. They were both Virginia politi
cians, and they had crossed each other's paths too often in the past to be
reconciled now. General Lee tried in vain to induce them to work in har
mony. They both fought the Union troops bravely, but never in concert.
When Wise was in front of General Cox, General Floyd was elsewhere.
When Floyd was pitted in battle against General Rosecrans, General Wise
was absent. Tlius the Union troops beat these quarreling Virginia Briga
dier Generals in detail, as will be seen in the following narrative of the
campaign during the summer and fall of 1861 in the Kanawha Valley.
When Generals Wise and Floyd were sent to their districts in the West
it was announced in their- camps that they would march to Clarksburg,
Parkersburg and Wheeling. This would have brought them in conflict with
General McClellan's army. On July 2 McClellan put troops in motion
against the Confederates in the Kanawha Valley. On that date he appoint
ed General J. D. Cox to the command of regiments from Kentucky and
Ohio, and ordered him to cross the Ohio at Gallipolis and take possession
of Point Pleasant, at the mouth of the Kanawha. On July 28 General Rose
crans succeeded McClellan in command of the Department of Ohio. Rose
crans pushed the preparation for a vigorous campaign, which had already
been commenced. He styled the troops under General Cox the Brigade of
Kanawha. On July 17, in Putnam County, a fight occurred between de
tachments of Union and Confederate forces, in which the latter appeared
for the time victorious, but soon retreated eastward. From that time until
September 10 there was constant skirmishing between the armies, the ad
vantage being sometimes on one side, sometimes on the other; but the
Union forces constantly advanced and the Confederates fell back. On
August 1 General Wise was in Greenbrier County, and in a report made to
General Lee on that date, he says he fell back not a moment too soon. He
complained that his militia were worthless as soldiers, and urged General
Lee to send him guns and other arms, and clothing and shoes, as his men
were ragged and barefooted. On August 20 General Rosecrans was at
Clarlfsburg preparing to go in person to lead reinforcements into the Kana
wha. He issued a proclamation to the people of West Virginia, calling on
them to obey the laws, maintain order and co-operate with the military in
its efforts to drive the armed Confederates from the State.
Prior to that time Colonel E. B. Tyler, with a Federal force, had ad
vanced to the Gauley River, and on August 13 he took up a position at
Cross Lanes. He thus covered Carnifex Ferry. General Cox was at that
time on the Gauley River, twenty miles lower down, near the mouth of that
.stream, nearly forty miles above"^ Charleston. General Ployd advanced, and
on August 26 crossed the Gauley at Carnifex Ferry with 2,500 men, and fell
u])on Colonel Tyler at Cross Lanes with such suddenness that the Union
trooi)s were routed, with fifteen killed arid fifty wounded. The latter fell
into tiie hands of the Confederates, who toolc fifty other prisoners also. The
remainder of Tyler's force made its retreat to Charleston, and General
Floyd fortified the position just gained and prepared to hold it. On Sep-

PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 143
tember 3 General Wise made an attack .on General Cox at Gauley Bridge,
near the mouth of the river, twenty miles below Carnifex Ferry. The at
tack failed. The Confederates were beaten and were vigorously pursued.
Had Wise held Gauley Bridge, Floyd already being in possession of Carni
fex Ferry, they would have been in positions to dispute the further advance
of the Union forces up the Kanawha Valley.
General Rosecrans left Clarksburg September 3, with re-inforcements,
and after a march of seven days reached Carnifex Ferry, and that same
evening began an attack upon the Confederates under General Ployd, who
were entrenched on top of a mountain on the west bank of the Gauley
River, in Nicholas County. General Floyd had about 4000 men and sixteen
cannon, and his position was so well protected by woods, that assault, with
chance of success, was considered exceedingly difficult. He had fortified
this naturally strong position, and felt confident that it could not be cap
tured by any force the Union general could bring against him. The fight
began late in the afternoon. General Rosecrans having marched seventeen
miles that day. It was not his purpose to bring on a general engagement
that afternoon, and he directed his forces to advance cautiously and find
where the enemy lay; for the position of the Confederates was not yet
knoAVTi. While thus advancing a camp was found in the woods, from which
the Confederates had evidently fled in haste. Military stores and private
property were scattered in confusion. From this fact it was supposed that
the enemy was in retreat, and the Union troops pushed on through thickets
and over ridges. Presently they discovered that they had been mistaken.
They were fired upon by the Confederate army in line of battle. Prom
that hour until darkness put a stop to the fighting, the battle continued.
The Union troops had not been able to carry any of the Rebel works; and
General Rosecrans withdrew his men for the night, prepared to renew the
battle next morning. But during the night General Ployd retreated. He
had grown doubtful of his ability to hold out if the attack was resumed with
tlie same impetuosity as on the preceding evening. But he was more fear
ful that the Union troops would cut off his retreat if he remained. So,
while it was yet time, he withdrew in the direction of Lewisburg, in Green
brier County, destroying the bridge over the Gauley, and also the ferry
across that stream. General Rosecrans was unable to pursue because he
could not cross the river. It is a powerful, turbulent stream, and at this
place flows several miles down a deep gorge, filled with rocks and cataracts.
Among spoils which fell into the hands of the victors was General Floyd's
hospital, in which were fifty wounded Union soldiers who had been captured
when Colonel Tyler was driven from this same place on August 26. Gen
eral Rosecrans lost seventeen killed and one hundred and forty-one wounded
The Confederate loss was never ascertained.
After a rest of a few days the Union army advanced to Big Sewell
Mountain. The weather was wet, and the roads became so muddy that it
was almost impossible to haul supplies over them. For this reason it was
deemed advisable to fall back. On October 5 General Rosecrans began to
withdraw his forces to Gauley Bridge, and in the course of two weeks had
transferred his command to that place, where he had water communication
with his base of supplies.
On November 10 another action was fought between General Ployd and
General Rosecrans, in which the Confederates were defeated. This virtu
ally closed the campaign for the year 1861 in that quarter, and resulted in

144 PROGRESS OF THE WAR.
the occupation of all the lower Kanawha Valley and the greater part of the
upper valley. The Confederates were finally driven out, and never again
obtained a foothold in that part of the State, although large bodies were at
times in the Valley of the Kanawha, and occasionally remained a consider
able time.
The Confederate Government, and the State of Virginia as a member of
that Government, had an object in view when they sent their forces into
West Virginia at the commencement of the Civil War. Virginia as a State
was interested in retaining the territory between the Alleghany Mountains
and the Ohio River and did not believe she could do so without force and
arms, because her long neglect and oppression had alienated the western
counties. Virginia correctly judged that they would seize the first oppor
tunity and organize a separate State. To prevent them from doing so, and
to retain that large part of her domain lying west of the AUeghanies, were
the chief motives which prompted Virginia, as a State, to invade the west
ern part of her own territory, even before open war was acknowledged to
exist between the Southern Confederacy and the United States Government.
The purpose which prompted the Southern Confederacy to push troops
across the Alleghanies in such haste was to obtain possession of the coun
try to the borders of Ohio and Pennsylvania, and to fortify the frontiers
against invasion from the north and west. It was weU understood at the
headquarters of the Southern Confederacy that the thousands of soldiers
already mustering beyond the Ohio River, and the tens of thousands who
would no doubt soon take the field in the same quarter, would speedily cross
the Ohio, unless prevented. The bold move which the South undertook
was to make the borders of Ohio and Pennsylvania the battle ground. The
southern leaders did not at that time appreciate the magnitude of the war
which was at hand. H they had understood it, and had had a military man
in the place of Jefferson Davis, it is probable that the battle ground would
have been different from what it was. Consequently, to rightly understand
the early movements of the Confederates in West Virginia, it is necessary
to consider that their purpose was to hold the country to the Ohio river.
Their effort was weak, to be sure, but that was partly due to their miscal
culation as to the assistance they would receive from the people of West
Virginia. If they could have organized an army of forty thousand West
Virginians and reinforced them with as many more men from the South, it
can be readily seen that McClellan could not have crossed the Ohio as he
did. But the scheme failed. The West Virginians not only would not
enlist in the Confederate army, but they enlisted in the opposing force; and
when Garnett made his report from Laurel HiU he told General Lee that,
for all the help he received from the people, he might as well carry on a
campaign in a foreign country. From that time it was regarded by the Con
federates as the enemy's country; and when, later in the war, Jones, Jack
son, Imboden and others made raids into West Virginia they acted toward
persons and property in the same way as when raids were made in Ohio and
Pennsylvania. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, crossing West Virginia from Har
per's Perry to Wheeling, and from Grafton to Parkersburg, was considered
of the utmost importance by both the North and the South. It was so near
the boundary between what was regarded as the Southern Confederacy and
the North that during the early part of the war neither the one side nor the
other felt sure of holding it. The management of the road was in sympa-

PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 145
thy with the North, but an effort was made to so manage the property as
not to give cause for hostiUty on the part of the South. At one time the
trains were run in accordance with a time table prepared by Stonewall
Jackson, even as far as Locust Point.* It was a part of the Confederate
scheme in West Virginia to obtain possession and control, in a friendly way
if possible, of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The possession of it would
not only help the Confederacy in a direct way, but it would cripple the Fed
eral Government and help the South in an indirect way. Within six days
after General Lee was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Virginia armies'
he instructed Major Loring, at Wheeling, to direct his military operations
for the protection of the terminus of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on
the Ohio River, and also to protect the road elsewhere. Major Boykin was
ordered to give protection to the road in the vicinity of Grafton. General
Lee insisted that the peaceful business of the road must not be interfered
with. The branch to Parkersburg was also to be protected. Major Boy
kin was told to " hold the road for the benefit of Maryland and Virginia."
He was advised to obtain the co-operation of the officers of the road and
afford them every assistance. When Colonel Porterfield was ordered to
Grafton, on May 4, 1861, among the duties marked out for him by General
Lee was the holding of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and to prevent its
being used to the injury of Virginia.
No one has ever supposed that the Southern Confederacy wanted the
Baltimore and Ohio Road protected because of any desire to befriend that
company. The leaders of the Confederacy knew that the officers of the
roflid were not friendly to secession. As soon as Western Virginia had
slipped out of the grasp of the Confederacy, and when the railroad could
no longer help the South to realize its ambition of fortifying the banks of
the Ohio, the Confederacy threw off the mask and came out in open hostil
ity. George Deas, Inspector General of the Confederate Army, urged that
the railroad be destroyed, bridges burned along the line, and the tunnels
west of the Alleghanies blown up so that no troops could be carried east
from the Ohio River to the Potomac. This advice was partly carried out
by a raid from Romney on June 19, 1861, after Colonel Porterfield had
retreated from Grafton and had been driven from Philippi. But the dam
age to the road was not great and repairs were speedily made. Governor
Letcher, of Virginia, had recommended to the Legislature a short time be
fore, that the Baltimore and Ohio Road ought to be destroyed. He said:
" The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad has been a positive nuisance to this
State, from the opening of the war till the present time. And unless the
management shall hereafter be in friendly hands, and the government un
der which it exists be a part of ouij^Confederacy, it must be abated. If it
should be permanently destroyed we must assure our people of some other
communication with the seaboard."! From that time till the close of the
war the Confederacy infiicted every damage possible upon the road, and in
many instances the damage was enormous.
When General Garnett established himself in Randolph and Barbour
Counties, in June, 1861, he made an elaborate plan of attack on the Balti
more and Ohio Railroad. He intended to take possession of Evansville, in
Preston County, and using that as a base, destroy east and west. The high
* See the History of the War, by General John D. Imboden.
+ Records ol the Rebellion.
10

146 PROGRESS OP THE WAR.
trestles along the face of Laurel Hill, west of Rowlesburg, and the bridge
across Cheat River at Rowlesburg, and the long tunnel at Tunnelton were
selected for the first and principal destruction. General Garnett had the
road from Rowlesburg up Cheat River to St. George surveyed with a view
to widening and improving it, thereby making of it a military road by which
he could advance or fall back, in case the road from Beverly to Evansville
should be threatened. General Imboden twice made dashes over the Alle-
•ghanies at the head of Cheat River and struck for the Rowlesburg trestles,
but each time fell back when he reached St. George. In the spring of 1863,
when the great raid into West Virginia was made under Jones, Imboden and
Jackson, every possible damage was done the Baltimore and Ohio Road,
but again the Rowlesburg trestles escaped, although the Confederates ap
proached within two miles of them.
It is proper to state here that an effort was made, after fighting had
commenced, to win the West Virginians over to the cause of the South by
promising them larger privileges than they had ever before enjoyed. On
June 14, 1861, Governor Letcher issued a proclamation, which was pub
lished at HuttonsvUle, in Randolph County, and addressed to the people of
Northwestern Virginia. In this proclamation he promised them that the
injustice from unequal taxation of which they had complained in the past,
should exist no longer. He said that the eastern part of the State had
expressed a willingness to relinquish exemptions from taxation, which it
had been enjoying, and was willing to share all the burdens of government.
The Governor promised that in state affairs, the majority should rule; and
he called upon the people beyond the AUeghanies, in the name of past
friendship and of historic memories, to espouse the cause of the Southern
Confederacy. It is needless to state that this proclamation fell flat. The
people of Western Virginia would have hailed with delight a prospect of
redress of grievances, had it come earlier. But its coming was so long
delayed that they doubted both the sincerity of those who made the prom
ise and their ability to fulfill. Twenty thousand soldiers had already
crossed the Ohto, and had penetrated more than half way from the river to
the Alleghanies, and they had been joined by thousands of Virginians, It
was a poor time for Governor Letcher to appeal to past memories or to
promise justice in the future which had been denied in the past. Coming
as the promise did at that time, it looked like a death-bed repentance. The
Southern Confederacy had postponed fortifying the bank of the Ohio until
too late; and Virginia had held out the olive branch to her neglected and
long-suffering people beyond the mountains when it was too late. They
had already cast their lot with the North; and already a powerful army had
crossed the Ohio to their assistance. ¦Virginia's day of dominion west of
the Alleghanies was nearing its close; and the Southern Confederacy's hope
of empire there was already doomed.

CHAPTER XVII,

CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR.*
In this chapter will be given an outUne of the progress of the Civil War
1 the soU of West Virginia or immediately affecting the State. As there
ere more than three hundred battles and skirmishes within the limits of
le State, and numerous scouts, raids and campaigns, it will be possible in
le brief space of one chapter to give little more than the date of each, with
word of explanation or description. In former chapters the history of the
jening of the war and accounts of the leading campaigns have been given.
yet remains to present in their chronological sequence the events of
[•eater or lesser importance which constitute the State's war record.
leei.
April 17. The Ordinance of Secession was adopted by the Virginia
onvention at Richmond.
April 18. Harper's Ferry was abandoned by the Federal troops.
ieutenant Roger Jones, the commandant, learning that more than two
lousand Virginia troops were advancing to attack him, set fire to the
nited States armory and machine shops and retreated into Pennsylvania.
ifteen minutes after he left Harper's Ferry the Virginia forces arrived.
April 23. General Robert E. Lee assigned to the command of Virginia's
nd and naval forces.
April 27. Colonel T. J. Jackson assigned to the command of the Vir-
nia forces at Harper's Ferry.
May 1. Governor Letcher calls out the Virginia militia.
May 3. Additional forces called for by the Governor of. Virginia. The
-11 was disregarded by nearly all the counties west of the Alleghanies.
May 4. Colonel George A. Porterfield assigned to the command of all
le Confederate forces in Northwestern Virginia.
May 10. General Robert E. Lee assigned to the command of the forces
the Confederate States serving in Virginia.
May 13. General George B. McClellan assigned to the command of the
apartment of the Ohio, embracing West Virginia.
May^ li. The Confederates at Harper's Perry seized a train of cars.
May 15. General Joseph B. Johnston assigned to the command of Con-
derate troops near Harper's Perry.
May 22. Bailey Brown was killed by a Confederate picket at Petter-
* This chapter is compiled chiefly from the Records ol tlie Rebellion, published Iry the United States
ir Department. A lew of the items are from the West Virginia Adjutant General's Reports lor 18&5 and
8, and a small number from other sources. The reports of oJBcers, both Federal and Confederate, have
in consulted in arriving at conclusions as to numbers engaged, the losses and the victory or defeat ol

148 CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR.
man, Taylor County. BroAvn was the first enlisted man of the United States
volunteer service killed in the war.
May 26. Federal forces from beyond the Ohio and those about Wheel
ing began to move against Grafton where Confederates, under Colonel Por
terfield, had established themselves.
May 27. Captain Christian Roberts was killed by Federals under
Lieutenant West, in a skirmish at Glover's Gap, between Wheeling and
Fairmont. Captain Roberts was the first armed Confederate soldier killed
in the war.
May 80. Grafton was occupied by Federal forces, the Confederates
having retreated to Philippi.
June 3. Fight at Philippi and retreat of the Confederates into Ran
dolph County.
June 6. Ex- Governor Henry A. Wise was sent to the Kanawha Valley
to collect troops for the Confederacy.
June 8. General R. S. Garnett superseded Colonel Porterfield in com
mand of Confederate forces in West Virginia.
June 10. A Federal force was sent from Rowlesburg to St. George, in
Tucker County, capturing a lieutenant and two Confederate flags.
June 14. Governor Letcher, of Virginia, published at Huttonsville,
Randolph County, a proclamation to the people west of the Alleghanies,
urging them to stand by Virginia in its Secession, and promising them, if
they would do so, that the wrongs of which they had so long complained
should exist no more, and that the western counties should no longer be
domineered over by the powerful eastern counties.
June 19. Skirmish near Keyser. Confederates under Colonel John C.
Vaughn advanced from Romney and burned Bridge No. 21 on the Baltimore
and Ohio Ra-ilroad, and defeated the Cumberland Home Guards, capturing
two small cannon.
June 23. Skirmish between Federals and Confederates at Righter's.
June 26. Skirmish on Patterson Creek, Hampshire County, in whicli
Richard Ashby was killed by thirteen Federals under Corporal David Hays.
Jime 29. Skirmish at Hannahsville, in Tucker County, in which Lieu
tenant Robert McChesney was killed by Federals under Captain Miller.
July 2. Fight at Falling Waters, near Martinsburg. Colonel John C.
Starkweather defeated Stonewall Jackson. This was Jackson's first skir
mish in the Civil War.
July 4. Skirmish at Harper's Ferry. Federals under Lietenant Gal-
braith were fired upon from opposite bank of the river. The Federals fell
back with a loss of 4.
July 6. The forces under McClellan which were advancing upon Rich
Mountain encountered Confederate outposts at Middle Fork Bridge, eighteen
miles west of Beverly. The Federals fell baclr.
July 7. The Federals drove the Confederates from Middle Porlc
Bridge. July 7. Skirmish at Glemiville, Gilmer County.
Jvlij H. Skii'mish at Belington, Barbour County. General Morris with
the left wing of McClellan's army attempted to dislodge the Confederates
from the woods in the real' of the village, and was repulsed, losing 2 Ifilled
and 3 wounded.
July 11. Battle of Rich Mountain. The Confederates under Colonel
Pegram were defeated by General Rosecrans.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR. 149
July 12. General Garnett, with 4,585 Confederates, retreated from
Laurel Hill through Tucker County, pursued by General Morris with 8,000
men. July 12. Beverly was occupied by McClellan's forces, and a Confeder
ate force, under Colonel Scott, retreated over Cheat Mountain toward
Staunton. July 13. Colonel Pegram surrendered six miles from Beverly to
McClellan's army.
July 13. Battle of Corrick's Ford, in Tucker County. Garnett was
killed and his army routed by Federals under General Morris.
July 13. General Lew Wallace with a Federal force advanced from
Keyser and captured Romney.
July 15. Harper's Ferry was evacuated by the Confederates.
July 16. Skirmish at Barboursville, Cabell County. The Confederates
were defeated.
July 17. Scarry Creek skirmish. Colonel Patton, with 1200 Confeder
ates, defeated an equal number of Federals under Colonel Norton.
July 20. General W. W. Loring was placed in command of the Confed
erate forces in Northwestern Virginia.
August 1. General R. E. Lee was sent to take command of Confederate
forces in West Virginia.
August 11. General John B. Ployd took command of Confederate
troops in the Kanawha Valley.
August 18. A Federal force was sent from Grafton into Tucker
County, capturing 15 prisoners, 90 guns, 150 horses and cattle and 15000
rounds of ammunition.
August 25. The Confederates were defeated in a skirmish at Piggot's
MiU. August 26. Fight at Cross Lanes, near Summerville. While the Fed
erals were eating breakfast they were attacked and defeated by General
Ployd. September 1. Skirmish at Blue Creek.
September 2. Skirmish near Hawk's Nest in Fayette County. General
Wise with 1,250 men attacked the Federals of equal force, but was repulsed.
September 10. Battle of Carnifex Perry.
September 12. Skirmish at Cheat Mountain Pass, near Huttonsville.
The Confederates under General Lee were repulsed in their attempt to fall
upon the rear of the Federals.
September 13. Fight on Cheat Mountain. The Confederates were de
feated. General Lee was foiled in his attempt on Elk Water.
September 14. Second skirmish at Elk Water. The Confederates were
again unsuccessful.
September 15. The Confederates again were foiled in their attempt to
advance to the summit of Cheat Mountain.
September 16. Skirmish at Princeton, Mercer County.
September 24. Skirmish at Hanging Rocks, in Hampshire County. The
Federals were defeated.
September 24. Skirmish at Mechanicsburg Gap, Hampshire County.
The Federals were defeated.
September 25. Colonel Cantwell defeated the Confederates under Col
onel Angus McDonald and captured Romney, but was afterwards forced to
retreat,

150 CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR.
September 27. Captain Isaiah Hall \^as defeated by Confederate guer-
rUlas at High Log Cabin Run, Wirt County.
October 3. Fight at Greenbrier River. The Federals were repulsed
after severe fighting, but the Confederates fell back to the summit of the
Alleghanies. October 16. Skirmish near Bolivar Heights. About 500 Confederates
under Turner Ashby attacked 600 Federals under Colonel John W. Geary.
The Confederates were defeated.
October 19. There was skirmishing on New River, with various results.
October 28. Skirmishing on the Gauley between detachments of Fed
erals and Confederates.
October 23. Colonel J. N. Clarkson, with a raiding force of Confeder
ates, unsuccessfuUy attacked a steamer on the Kanawha.
October 26. Colonel Alexander Monroe, with 27 Hampshire County
militia, attacked and defeated a large Federal force at Wire Bridge, on
South Branch of the Potomac.
October 26. General KeUey with 3,000 Federals defeated Colonel
McDonald's militia and captured Romney.
November 1. Commencement of a series of skirmishes for three days,
near Gauley Bridge.
November 10. Skirmishes at Blake's Farm and Cotton HiU, with attend
ant movements, occupying two days.
November 10. Fight at Guyandotte. J. C. Wheeler, with 150 recruits,
was surprised and cut to pieces by Confederate raiders under J. N. Glarlf-
son. Among the Union prisoners was Uriah Payne, of Ohio, who was the
first to plant the United States flag on the walls of Monterey, Mexico.
Troops soon crossed to Guyandotte from Ohio and the Rebels retreated, A
portion of the town was burned by the Federals.
November 12. Skirmish on Laurel Creek.
November 14. Skirmish near McCoy's Mill.
November 30. A detachment of Union troops was attacked by guerriUas
on the South Branch, above Romney. The Federals retreated, with three
wounded and a loss of six horses.
November 30. Skirmish near the mouth of Little Capon, in Morgan
County. Captain Dyche defeated the Rebels.
December 13. Battle at Camp Alleghany. The Federals were defeated
with a loss of 137 in killed and wounded.
December 15. Major E. B. Andrews set out on an expedition of six days
to Meadow Bluff; defeated the Confederate skirmishers and captured a large
•amount of property.
December 28. Union forces occupied the county seat of Raleigh.
December 29. Sutton, Braxton County, was captured by 135 Rebels,
The Union troops under Captain Rawland retreated to Weston. The Con
federates burned a portion of the town.
December 30. Expedition into Webster County by 400 Union troops under
Captain Anisansel. He pursued the Confederates who had burned Sutton;
overtook them at Glades; defeated them; killed 22 and burned 29 houses be
lieved to belong to Rebel bushwhackers.
January 3. Fight at Bath, in Morgan county, continuing two days.
The Confederates under Stonewall Jackson victorious.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR. 151
January 3. Major George Webster, with 700 Union troops, marched
from Huttonsville to Huntersville, in Pocahontas County, drove out 250
Confederates, captured and destroyed military stores worth $30,000. These
were the first Federals in Huntersville.
January 4. Skirmish at Sir John's Run, Morgan County. The fight
continued late into the night. The Federals retreated.
January 4. Skirmish at Slanesville, Hampshire County. A squad of
Union troops under Captain Sauls was ambushed and routed. Captain Sauls*
was wounded and taken prisoner. The Confederates were under Captain
Isaac Kuykendall.
January 5. On or about January 5 the village of Frenchburg, six miles
from Romney, was burned by order of General Lander on the charge that
the people harbored Rebel bushwhackers.
January 5. Big Capon Bridge, on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, was
destroyed by Confederates under Stonewall Jackson.
January 7. Fight at Blue's Gap, Hampshire County, in which the Con
federates were defeated and lost two cannon — the same guns captured at
Bridge No. 21 by the Confederates, June 19, 1861.
January 10. The Federal troops evacuated Romney.
January 11. Romney occupied by troops under Stonewall Jackson.
January 14. The seat of Logan County was burned by Union troops
under Colonel E. Siber.
January 31. Confederates evacuated Romney by order of the Secretary
of War of the Confederate States.
January 31. Stonewall Jackson, indignant at the interference with his
plans by the Secretary of War, in recalling troops from Romney, tendered
his resignation. He was persuaded by Governor Letcher, General Johns
ton and others to recall it.
February 2. Confederates at Springfield, Hampshire County, were de
feated by General Lander.
February 8. Skirmish at the mouth of Blue Stone. Colonel William E.
Peters, with 225 Confederates, was attacked by an equal force. The Fed
erals retreated.
February 12. Fight at Moorefield, in which the Confederates retreated.
February 14. Confederates driven from Bloomery Gap, in Morgan
County. February 16. The Union troops were defeated at Bloomery Gap and
compeUed to retreat.
February 26. The Patterson Creek Bridge, in Mineral County, was
burned by Rebel guerrillas.
March 3. Skirmish at Martinsburg.
Aprjl 12. Raid from Fairmont to Boothville by Captain J. H. Showal-
ter, who was ordered by General Kelley to capture or kill John Righter,
John Anderson, David Barker, Brice Welsh, John Lewis, John Knight and
Washington Smith, who were agents sent by Governor Letcher into north
western Virginia to raise recruits for the Confederacy. Captain Showalter
killed three men of Righter's company.
April 17. Defeat of the Webster County guerrillas, known as Dare
Devils, by Major E. B. Andrews, who marched from Summerville to Addi
son with 200 Federals. There were several skirmishes between April 17
and April 21. Several houses belonging to the guerrillas were burned.

152 CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR.
April 18. An expedition was sent by General Schenck to clear the
North Fork and Senaca in Pendleton County of Rebel bushwhackers.
April 18. Colonel T. M. Harris skirmished with Rebel bushwhackers
in Webster County, killing 5 and burning 5 houses.
April 23. Skirmish at Grassy Lick, in Hampshire County. Confeder
ate bushwhackers under Captain Umbaugh, who held a commission from
• » Governor Letcher, concealed themselves in the house of Peter Poling and
fired upon Colonel S. W. Downey's scouting party, killing three. Troops
were sent from Romney and Moorefield and burned the house, after mor
tally wounding its owner.
May 1. Lieutenant Fitzhugh with 200 Federals was attacked near
Princeton, Mercer County, and fought thirteen hours while retreating 23
miles, losing 1 killed, 12 wounded.
May 1. Skirmish at Camp Creek on Blue Stone River. Lieutenant
Bottsford was attacked by 300 Rebels and lost 1 killed and 20 wounded.
The Confederates were repulsed with 6 killed.
May 7. Skirmish near Wardensville, Hardy County. Troops under
Colonel S. W. Downey attacked Captain Umbaugh a Rebel guerrilla, killing
him and 4 of his men, wounding 4 and capturing 12. The fight occurred at
the house of John T. Wilson.
May 8. Major B. P. Skinner led a scouting party through Roane and
Clay counties from May 8 to May 21, skirmishing with Rebel guerrillas.
May 10. Federal scouts were decoyed into a house near Franklin,
Pendleton County, and were set upon by bushwhackers and defeated with
one killed. Two days later re-enforcements arrived, kUled the owner of
the house, and burned the building.
May 15. Fight at Wolf Creek, near New River, between Captain E.
Schache and a squad of Confederates. The latter were defeated with 6
killed, 2 wounded and 6 prisoners.
May 16. The Confederates captured Princeton, Mercer County.
May 16. Skirmish at Wytheville Cross Roads. The Federals were
attacked and defeated.
May 17. Federals captured Princeton with 15 prisoners.
May 23. Battle of Lewisburg, Greenbrier County. General Heth with
3000 Confederates attacked the forces of Colonel George Crook, 1300. The
Confederates were stampeded and fied in panic, losing 4 cannon, 200 stands
of arms, 100 prisoners, 38 killed, 66 wounded. The Union loss was 18 kiUed
53 wounded. May 26. Skirmish near Franklin, Pendleton County.
May 29. Fight near Wardensville. Confederates were attacked and
defeated with 2 killed, by Colonel Downey.
May 80. A Federal force under Colonel George R. Latham attacked
guerrillas on Shaver Fork of Cheat River, defeating them, killing 4 and
wounding several.
June 8. Major John J. Hoffman attacked and defeated a squad of Con
federate Cavalry at Muddy Creek, near Blue Sulphur Springs, killing 3,
June 24, At Baker's Tavern, Hardy County, Capt, Chas. Farnsworth
was fired upon by Rebel bushwhackers. He burned several houses in the
vicinity as a warning to the people not to harbor bushwhackers.
June 24, Colonel J. D. Hines started upon a three days scout through
Wyoming County. He defeated and dispersed Confederate guerrillas
known as Plat Top Copperheads.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR. 153
July 25. Lieutenant J. W. Miller, at Summerville, was attacked at
daybreak by 200 Confederate cavalry and nearly all his men were captured.
August 2. A scouting party of Federals under Captain I. Stough left
Meadow Bluff for the Greenbrier river. On Auerust 4, near Haynes Ferry,
he was defeated by the Confederates, losing 2 wounded. The Rebels had
5 kiUed. August 5. Federals under Lieutenant Wintzer invaded Wyoming
County. In a fight at the county seat he was defeated with a loss of 19
missing. August 6. Rebels attacked Pack's Ferry, near the mouth of Blue
Stone, and were driven off by Major Comly. The Confederates, 900 in num
ber, were commanded by Colonel G. C. Wharton.
August 7. Rebel cavalry was defeated in a skirmish at Horse Pen
Creek. August 14. General John D. Imboden, with 300 Confederates, set out
from Franklin, Pendleton County, on a raid to Rowlesburg to destroy the
railroad bridge across Cheat River. His advance was discovered and he
did not venture beyond St. George, in Tucker County, where he robbed the
postoffice and set out on his retreat.
August 18. Skirmish near Corrick's Ford, in Tucker County, between
Federal scouts and Confederates under Captain George Imboden.
August 22. The Confederate General, A. J. Jenkins, with 550 men, set
out from Salt Sulphur Springs, in Monroe county, on an extensive raid.
He passed through Greenbrier and Pocahontas Counties into Randolph,
through Upshur, Lewis, Gilmer, Roane, Jackson, crossed the Ohio, and
returned through the Kanawha Valley, marching 500 miles, capturing 300
prisoners and destroying the public records in many counties.
August 30. The Confederates under General Jenkins captured Buck
hannon after the small Federal garrison fied. He secured and destroyed
large quantities of military stores, including 5,000 stands of arms. He had
intended to attack Beverly, but feared his force was too small. He crossed
Rich Mountain to the head of the Buckhannon River, traveling 80 miles
through an almost pathless forest and fell on Buckhannon by surprise.
August 31. Weston, in Lewis County, was captured by Confederates
under General Jenkins.
September 1. General Jenkins captured Glenville, Gilmer County, the
Federal garrison retreating after firing once.
September 2. Colonel J. C. Rathbone, with a Federal force stationed at
Spencer, Roane County, surrendered to General Jenkins without a fight.
September 3. At Ripley, in Jackson County, General Jenkins captured
$5,525 belonging to the United States Government. The Union soldiers
stationed at the town retreated as the Confederates approached.
September 11. General W. W. Loring, with a strong force of Confeder
ates, having invaded the Kanawha Valley, attacked the Federal troops un
der General J. A. J. Lightburn at Fayetteville and routed them. This was
the beginning of an extensive Confederate raid which swept the Union
troops out of the Kanawha Valley. Military stores to the value of a mil
lion dollars fell into the hands of the Rebels, who destroyed what they
could not carry away.
September 13. General Lightburn, in his retreat down the Kanawha
VaUey, was overtaken at Charleston by General Loring and was compelled
to abandon large stores in his flight to the Ohio.

154 CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR.
September 15. General Loring, at Charleston, issued a proclamation to
the people of the Kanawha Valley and neighboring parts of the State, in
forming them that the armies of the Confederacy had set them free from
the danger and oppression of Federal bayonets, and he called on them to
rise and maintain their freedom, and support the Government which had
brought about their emancipation.
September 20. General Jenkins' forces, having re-crossed the Ohio
River into the Kanawha Valley, skirmished with Federals at Point Pleas
ant. September 27. Skirmish at Buffalo, twenty miles above Point Pleas
ant. Colonel John A. Turley attacked and defeated the Confederates, a
portion of the force under Jenkins.
September 28. Skirmish at Standing Stone.
September 30. Fight at Glenville. Fifty Federals attacked and defeated
65 Confederate cavalry.
October 1. Fight near Shepherdstown between Federals under Gen
eral Pleasanton and Confederates under Colonel W. H. P. Lee. Both sides
claimed the victory.
October 2. Federals under Captain W. H. Boyd attacked and
destroyed General Imboden's camp at Blue's Gap, in Hampshire County.
October 4. Confederates were captured at Blues' Gap.
October 4. General Imboden attacked and defeated the Federal Guard
at Little Capon Bridge, in Morgan County and destroyed the bridge.
October 4. The Federal guard at Pawpaw, Morgan County, was cap
tured by Imboden.
October 6. Skirmish at Big Birch.
October 16. General Loring was superseded by General John Echols as
commander of Confederate forces in West Virginia.
October 20. Skirmish at Hedgeville.
October 29. Fight near Petersburg, Grant County, between Federals
under Lieutenant Quirk and Rebel cattle raiders who were endeavoring to
drive stock out of the South Branch Valley. The raiders were defeated,
and lost 170 cattle.
October 31. Skirmish near Kanawha Falls.
November 9. St. George, Tucker County, was captured by Imboden
together with the garrison of 31 Federals under Captain WUUam Hall.
Imboden had set out, November 9, from South Fork, in Pendleton county,
to destroy the railroad bridge at Rowlesburg, but learning that troops from
Beverly were moving in his rear, he retreated, passing up Glade-Pork of
Cheat River, through a dense and pathless wilderness. He reached South
Pork November 14. He had 310 men, and carried howitzers on mules.
November 9. Skirmish on South Pork. General Kelley moved from
Keyser and destroyed Imboden's camp, which he had left in charge of Lieu
tenant R. L. Doyle while Imboden was absent on his raid toward Rowles-
^ November 9. Captain G. W. Gilmore with a Federal force invaded
Greenbrier County, capturing a wagon train and 9 men. He returned
November 11. ^ ,, , ,
November 24. A force of 75 Federals under Captain Cogswell marcbea
from Sharpsburg to Shepherdstown and captured Burke's guerriUas, kilhng
November 26, An expedition moved forward under W. H. Powell

CHRONOLOGY OP THE WAR. 155
from Summerville to Cold Knob, and with only 20 men defeated the Confed
erates at Sinking Creek and took 500 prisoners.
December 3. Confederates at Moorefield were defeated with loss of 12 by
Lieut H. A. Myers with 100 men.
December 11. Lieutenant R. C. Pendergrast with 27 men defeated a
detachment of Confederates at Darkesville, Berkeley County.
December 12. In a skirmish near Bunker Hill, Berkeley County, a
squad of Federals captured 12 of Ashby's cavalry.
December 22. General Imboden attacked a supply train near Wardens
ville, Hardy County, capturing it. He lost six men. The Federals lost 20.
December 25. Sixty Confederates under Captain Boyle were defeated by
Lieutenant Vermilyea, with 40 men, at Charlestown.
1S63.
January 8. Fight near Moorefield. Federals under Colonel James
Washburn were attacked by General William E. Jones. A second Union
force, under Colonel James Mulligan, advanced from Petersburg, attacked
the Confederates in the rear and defeated them.
January 3. Petersburg, Grant County, was occupied by Confederates
after it was evacuated by the Federals, who burned military stores to the
value of $20,000, which they could not move.
January 5. A supply train belonging to General Milroy's army was
attacked and partly destroyed by Confederates under Captain John H.
McNeill, four miles from Moorefield.
January 20. General Lee wrote to Imboden, outlining a policy of war
for West Virginia and urged him to carry it out. Among other things, the
municipal officers of the Re-organized Government of Virginia, called by
Lee "the Pierpont government," were to be captured whenever possible;
and Imboden was instructed to ' ' render the position of sheriff as dangerous
a position as possible."
January 22. Skirmish in Pocahontas County between Federals under
Major H. C. Flesher and Confederates under Colonel Fontaine. Success
was equaUy divided.
February 5. Scout by 70 Federals under Major John McMahan from
Camp Piatt through Wyoming County. The men were out three days and
nearly froze to death. ' *
Febrioary 10. Captain C. T. Ewing left Beverly with a Union force of
135 for a two days' scout through Pocahontas County. He captured 13
prisoners, 15 horses and 135 cattle.
February 12. Skirmish near Smithfield, Jefferson County. A Union
scouting party w as attacked by Captain R. W. Baylor's cavalry, and lost six
men, killed, wounded and captured. Federal reinforcements came up and
retook the prisoners and captured Lieutenant George Baylor and several
men. February 12. Major John McMahan set out for a four days' scout from
Camp Piatt through Boone, Logan and Wyoming Counties. He captured
four prisoners.
February 16. Confederate guerrillas captured a wagon train and guard
near Romney.
March 2. General John D. Imboden wrote General Lee, outlining his
plan for invading West Virginia. The formidable raids under Imboden and
Jones in April and May, 1863, were planned by Imboden, and the first men-

156 CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR.
tion of the plan to Lee seems to have been in the letter to that General on
March 2. There was a three-fold object in view. First, it was designed to
destroy as much of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as possible, and Im
boden believed he could destroy nearly all of it. Second, he expected to
enUst " several thousand" recruits in West Virginia. Third, he wanted to
establish Confederate authority in as much of the northwest as possible and
retain it long eno* gh to enable the people to take part in the Vil^inia State
election in May. No hint is found in the letter that the Confederates would
be able to establish themselves permanently west of the Alleghanies. Ex
cept the partial destruction of the railroad and the carrying away of several
thousand horses and cattle, the great raid was a failure so far as benefit to
the Confederacy was concerned.
March 7. Skirmish at Green Spring Run, in Hampshire County.
March 28. Confederates were defeated at Hurricane Bridge, near the
Kanawha, by Captain J. W. Johnson.
March 30. Skirmish at Point Pleasant. Captain Carter, with a Union
force of 60 men, was attacked by Confederates and besieged several hours
in the Court-House. The Rebels retreated when Federal reinforcements
appeared upon the opposite bank of the Ohio.
April 5. Skirmish at Mud River. Captain Dove attacked and defeated
Confederates under Captain P. M. Carpenter.
April 6. Lieutenant Speer, with five wagons and 11 men, was captured
near Burlington, Mineral County, by Confederates under.McNeill.
April 7. Federals under Captain Moore attacked the Confederates at
Going's Ford, near Moorefield, defeated them and retook the wagons lost
by Lieutenant Speer the day before.
April 11. Colonel G. R. Latham moved from Beverly toward Franklin,
Pendleton County, and occupied the town without opposition. He returned
to Beverly after an absence of seven days.
April 18. Fight in Harrison County. Colonel N. Wilkinson with a
squad of Union troops captured Major Thomas D. Armstrong at Johnstown
and scattered his forces on the head of Hacker's Creek.
April 20. Imboden set forward with 3000 men on his great raid. Gen
eral W. E. Jones was sent through Hardy County to Oakland, Maryland,
thence to move westward, destroying the railroad, while Imboden advanced
through Randolph County toward Grafton, expecting to form a junction
near that place with Jones, whence they would move west. The plan was
generally carried out.
April 21. General Jones with 1300 men set forward on the great raid.
April 24. Beverly was captured by Imboden. Colonel Latham with
900 Federals retreated to Philippi, in Barbour County, over roads almost
impassable for mud which in places was up to the saddle skirts. Imboden
was unable to follow with artillery, but pursued with cavalry. General
Roberts in command of the Union forces in the northwestern part of the
State, called in all his outlying garrisons and retreated to Clarksburg.
Colonel James Mulligan marched from Grafton with a Federal force and
fought Imboden's troops in Barbour County, but hearing that General Jones
was threatening Grafton, Mulligan fell back to defend that point. Im
boden moved slowly toward Buckhannon over roads so bad that in
one day he could advance only two miles.
April 25. Fight at Greenland Gap in Grant County. Captain Martin
Wallace with less than 100 Federals held the pass five hours against the

CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR. 157
Rebel army, and surrendered only when driven into a church and the build
ing set on fire.
April 26. General Jones attacked and captured Cranberry Summit,
now Terra Alta, in Preston County.
April 26. The Confederates attacked Rowlesburg for the purpose of
destroying the railroad bridge and trestles. The town was defended by
Major J. H. Showalter and 252 Union troops. General Jones did not
lead the attack in person but remained at the bridge £ve miles above
Rowlesburg where the Northwestern Pike crosses, for the purpose of burn
ing the structure as soon as the town was taken. But his attacking parties
were repulsed, and he abandoned the attack and marched to Evansville, in
Preston County, not knowing that the Federal garrison of Rowlesburg was
in full retreat toward Pennsylvania. Thus the town escaped capture,
although defenseless; and the great trestles, for the destruction of which
General Lee had planned so carefully, and the tunnel at Tunnelton, then
the largest in the world, were saved; and theJDlow which would have para
lyzed the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad for months, was not struck.
April 27, The suspension bridge across Cheat River at Albrightsville,
three miles from Kingwood, was cut down by the Confederates. The
cables were severed with an axe.
April 27. Bridges and trestles on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
near Independence, Preston County, were burned by General Jones.
April 27. Morgantown, Monongalia County, was surrendered to Gen
eral Jones by the citizens. Three citizens were shot near town by the
Rebels. April 28. The suspension bridge across the Monongahela river at Mor
gantown was set on fire by the Confederates, but they permitted the
citizens to extinguish the fire before much damage was done.
Ajn-il 29. The Confederates under Imboden advanced to and occupied
Buckhannon, in Upshur County.
April 29. General Jones attacked and captured Fairmont, Marion
County, after a sharp skirmish. He captured 260 prisoners.
April 29. The large iron railroad bridge across the Monongahela above
Fairmont, which cost over $400,000, was blown down with powder. The
first blast of three kegs of powder placed under a pier, failed to move it,
and the Confederates proceeded to burn the wood-work, considering it
impossible to destroy the iron superstructure. But after several hours of
undermining, a charge of powder threw the bridge into the river.
April 29. ' Governor Pierpont's library at his home in Fairmont was
, burned by the Rebels.
April 29. Colonel Mulligan, who had been in Barbour County fighting
Imboden, came up and attacked the Confederates under Jones, while they
were destroying the bridge above Fairmont, and sharp fight ensued. Mul-
Ugan saw that he could not save the bridge, and fell back to Grafton.
April 30. Imboden lost 200 soldiers at Buckhannon by desertion, be
cause he would not permit them to steal horses for their private benefit.
April 30. Skirmish at Bridgeport, Harrison County. General Jones
captured 47 prisoners, burned a bridge and trestle, and run a freight tram
into the creek.
May 2. General Jones occupied PhUippi, and from there sent across
the Alleghanies, by way of Beverly, several thousand cattle and horses

158 CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR.
taken from the people. On the same day he formed a junction with Im
boden's troops.
May 2. Lieutenant G. M. Edgar, with a detachment of Confederates,
was attacked by Federals at Lewisburg, Greenbrier County. He defeated
them. May 4. General Jones invested Clarksburg, where several thousand
Union troops had collected from the counties south of that place, but he did
not make an attack.
May 5. Imboden skirmished with a small Union force at Janelew,
Lewis County.
May 6. Imboden moved from Weston toward the southwest, Jones
having moved west from Clarksburg toward Parkersburg. Up to that
time Imboden had collected 8,100 cattle from the country through which he
had raided.
May 6. Jones moved against West Union, in Doddridge county, but
upon approaching the town lie saw that the Union troops collected there
were prepared to make a stand and fight, and he declined battle and moved
on west. May 7. Jones captured Cairo, Ritchie County, and the small garrison
at that place.
May 8. Colonel James A. Galliher was fired upon by bushwhackers at
Capon Bridge, Hampshire County.
May 9. Jones burned 100,000 barrels of oil at the oil weUs in Wirt
County. The tanks broke and the crude petroleum fiowed into the Little
Kanawha River, took fire and the spectacle of a river in fiames for miles
was never before seen. The destruction of everything combustible along
the river was complete. The Confederates advanced no nearer the Ohio.
Both Imboden and Jones turned southward and eastward and recrossed the
Alleghanies late in May. Instead of procuring "several thousand"
recruits, as Imboden had expected, more soldiers were lost by desertion
than were gained by recruits. General Lee expressed disappointment with
the result, and Imboden excused the failure to increase his army by saying
that the inhabitants of West Virginia were a "conquered people," in fear
of Northern bayonets, and not daring to espouse the Confederate cause.
May 12. Imboden defeated a small Union force near SummerviUe.
May 19. Fayetteville, in Payette County, was attacked by General
McCausland, but after bombarding two days the Federals forced him to
retreat. May 23. General B. S. Roberts was superseded by General William W.
Averell in command of the Federal forces in the northern part of West Vir
ginia. General Roberts was relieved because he offered so little opposition
to the advance of Jones and Imboden. When Imboden crossed the moun
tains and took Beverly, the war department at Washington urged General
Roberts to collect his forces and fight. To this General Roberts replied
ihat the roads were so bad he could not move his troops. The answer from
Washington was sarcastic, asking why the roads were too bad for hini and
yet good enough to enable the Rebels to move with considerable rapidity.
From all accounts, the roads were worse than ever before or since. Imbo
den left Weston with twelve horses dragging each cannon, and then found
it necessary to throw away ammunition and the extra wheels for the guns,
in order to get along at all, and then sometimes being able to make no more
than five miles a day. When General Averell took command he changed

CHRONOLOGY OP THE WAR. 159
3000 infantry to cavalry, and trained it to the highest proficiency, and with
it did some of the finest fighting of the war. The Confederates feared him
and moved in his vicinity with the greatest caution. His headquarters at
first were at Weston.
June 7. General Lee ordered Imboden into Hampshire County to
destroy railroad bridges, preliminary to the Gettysburg campaign.
June 10. General Averell urged that the mass of mountains forming
the great rampart overlooking the Valley of Virginia should be fortified
and held. He referred to the Alleghany, Cheat Mountain, Rich Mountain
and others about the sources of the Greenbrier, Cheat, Tygart and Elk
Rivers. In his letter to General Schenck he said: "It has always ap
peared to me that the importance of holding this mass of mountains, so full
of fastnesses, and making a vast re-entrant angle in front of the enemy, has
never been appreciated. "
June 14. A portion of General Milroy's farces were captured by Con
federates at Bunker HiU, near Martinsburg.
June 14. Martinsburg was captured by Confederates under General A.
G. Jenkins. General Daniel Tyler, who had occupied the town, retreated.
June 16. Romney was captured by Imboden.
June 17. South Branch Bridge, at the mouth of South Branch, was
burned by Imboden, who advanced through Hampshire County, forming
the extreme left of General Lee's army in the Gettysburg campaign.
June 24. A Union scouting party from Grafton to St. George had a
skirmish with guerrillas, killing five and capturing several horses.
June 26. Skirmish at Long -Creek, in the Kanawha Valley. Captain
C. B. Hambleton, with 75 men, was attacked and defeated by Confederates
under Major R. A. Bailey, with a loss of 29 prisoners and 45 horses.
June 29. General William L. Jackson, with 1,200 Confederates, moved
against Beverly to attack the forces under Averell.
July 2. The Confederates under Jackson attacked the troops at Beverly
and were repulsed.
July 4. The Confederates under W. L. Jackson, who had fallen back
frbm ' Beverly, were attacked and routed at Huttonsville by General
Averell. July 13. An expedition set out from Fayetteville, crossed into Virginia
and cut the railroad at Wythville, being absent twelve days, skirmishing
with small parties of Confederates.
July 14. Skirmish on the road between Harper's Ferry and Charles
town, resulting in the defeat of the Confederates.
July 14. Confederates defeated in a skirmish at Falling Waters.
July 15. Colonel C. H. Smith defeated Confederates near Charlestown.
July 17. Skirmish at North Mountain, Berkeley County. The Rebels
were defeated, with 17 captured.
July 19. Fight near Martinsburg, in which General Bradley T. John
son was defeated by General Averell, who had just arrived from Beverly
and was opp9sing the western wing of General Lee's army retreating from
Gettysburg. Johnson was destroying the railroad when Averell drove him
away, capturing "20 prisoners.
August 5. General Averell moved from Winchester through Hardy
County on his expedition to Greenbrier County.
August 5. Skirmish at Cold Spring Gap, in Hardy County, by a portion

160 CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR.
of Averell's force under Captain Von Koenig, and a detachment of Im
boden s command. The Confederates lost 11 men captured.
August 6. AvereU sent a squad of cavalry to Harper's MiU, from Lost
River, Hardy County. Several prisoners were taken, but the Federals
subsequently fell into an ambuscade and lost the prisoners and had 13 men
captured and 4 wounded. The Confederates had 3 kiUed and 5 wounded.
August 19. The Federals destroyed the saltpeter works near Frankhn.
August 21. Wilkinson's Brigade skirmished with Confederate guer
rillas near Glenville, killing 4.
August 22. Confederates were defeated by Averell near HuntersviUe.
August 25 Averell crossed from Huntersville to Jackson River and
destroyed saltpeter works.
August 26. Battle of Rocky Gap, in Greenbrier County. Averell with
1300 men fought General Sam Jones with over 2000. The battle continued
two days, when Averell's ammunition ran short and he retreated to Bev
erly. His loss in the battle was 218, the Confederate loss 162. This was
one of the most hotly contested battles in West Virginia. Captain Von
Koenig was killed. It has been said it was done by one of his men whom
he had struck while on the march. It is also said that this soldier did not
know Averell by sight, and supposed it was Averell who had struck him,
and when he shot Von Koenig, supposed he was shooting AvereU.
August 26. Lieutenant DUs with 40 Federals kiUed 8 bushwhackers
ten miles from Sutton, Braxton County.
August 26. Union troops were fired upon by bushwackers on Elk
River, five miles below Sutton.
August 27. Forty guerrillas under Cunningham attacked a Federal
detachment under Captain C. J. Harrison, on Elk River, near Sutton. The
guerrillas were defeated.
August 27. In a skirmish with Confederate guerrillas on Cedar Creek,
fifteen miles from Glenville, Gilmer County, Captain Simpson defeated
them, killing 4.
September 4. Skirmish at Petersburg Gap, in Grant County. A Union
detachinent marching from Petersburg to Moorefield was defeated.
September 11. Confederates under McNeill made a daybreak attack
upon Major W. E. Stephens near Moorefield and defeated him, killing or
wounding 30 men and taking 138 prisoners. The Federals were endeavor
ing to surprise McNeill, but were surprised by him. The Rebels had 3
wounded. September 15. One hundred Federals under Captain Jones attacked 70
Confederates at Smithfield, capturing 11. Captain Jones was wounded.
Sejitember 20. A Federal picket on the Senaca Road, where it crosses
Shaver Mountain, was attacked and defeated by the Confederates who
lost 4. ¦
September 24. A scouting party of 70 sent from Beverly by AvereU lost
2 men in a skirmish at Greenbrier Bridge.
September 25. Sixty Confederates under Major D. B. Lang of Imboden's
command, surprised and captured 80 of Averell's men at the crossing of
Cheat River by the Senaca trail.
October 2. A petition was signed and forwarded to the Confederate
Government, asking for the removal of General Sam Jones from the com
mand in Western Virginia, and the assignment of some other General in his
place. Among the signers were members of the Virginia Legislature from

CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR. 161
the West Virginia counties of Mercer, Roane, Putnam, Logan, Boone and
Wyoming. There were many other signatures. Those counties were rep
resented in the Virginia and the West Virginia Legislature at the same
time. The petition charged incompetency against General Jones. He was
soon after relieved of command in West Virginia.
October 7. Confederates under Harry Gilmor defeated Captain G. D.
Summers and 40 men at Summit Point, Jefferson County. Captain Sum
mers was killed.
October 13. Fight at BuUtown, Braxton County. Confederates under
W. L. Jackson were defeated with a loss in killed and wounded of 50 by
Captain W. H. Mattingly, who was severely wounded in the action.
. October 14. When Jackson retreated from BuUtown he was pursued by
Averell's troops, who came up with him and defeated him at Salt Lick
Bridge. October 15. Twenty-seven of Harry Gilmor's men who had been sent
to burn the Back Creek Bridge, were captured in a skirmish near Hedge
ville by Federals under Colonel Pierce.
October 18. Attack on Charlestown by 1200 men under Imboden. The
Confederates captured 484 of Colonel Simpson's command and then retreat
ed, hotly pursued. Some of Imboden's infantry marched 48 miles on the
day of the fight, thus beating the record made by Napoleon's soldiers, who
marched 36 miles and fought a battle in one day.
November 1. General Averell moved from Beverly into Pocahontas
County with about 2,500 men, and General Duffie moved from Charleston
to co-operate with him. They expected to form a junction in Greenbrier
County. November 3. Skirmish at Cackleytown, Pocahontas County. Confed
erates were defeated by Averell.
November 5. Confederates were defeated by Averell at Hillsboro, Poca
hontas County, and at Mill Point.
November 6. Battle of Droop Mountain, Pocahontas County. Averell
attacked General Echols, who had 1700 men strongly posted on the summit
of a mountain. It was a stubborn contest and the Federals gained the day
by a fiank movement, Echols retreating with a loss of 275 men and three
cannon. Averell's loss was 119. The Confederates made their escape
through Lewisburg a few hours before General Duffie's army arrived at
that place to cut them off, while Averell was pursuing. By blockading the
road, Echols secured his retreat into Monroe County. Averell attempted
pursuit, but received no support from Duffie's troops, who were worn out,
and the pursuit was abandoned.
November 6: Confederates at Little Sewell Mountain were defeated by
General Duffie.
November 7. Lewisburg was occupied by General Duffie.
November 7. In a night skirmish at Muddy Creek the Confederates
were defeated by General Duffie's troops.
November 8. A squad of Confederates driving cattle was attacked on
Second Creek, on the road to Union, in Monroe County, and lost 110 cattle.
November 12. The Saltpeter Works in Pendleton County, used by the
Confederates in making gunpowder, were destroyed by Averell's troops.
November 15. General Imboden sent Captain Hill into Barbour County
to waylay wagon trains on the road from Philippi to Beverly.
November 16. At Burlington, in Mineral County, 100 Confederates un-
u

162 CHRONoLoGY OP THE WAR.
der McNeill captured a train of 80 wagons and 200 horses, killing two men
wounding 10 and taking 20 prisoners. The wagon train was under an
escort of 90 men, commanded by Captain Jeffers.
Dcvewher 8. Averell moved from Keyser with Federal troops upon his
great Salem raid, which he concluded on Christmas Day. He had 2500 cavalry,
and artillery. It was a momentous issue. General Burnsides was besieged
at Knoxville, Tennessee, by General Longstreet, and it was feared that no
re-inforcements could reach Burnsides in time to save him. The only hope
lay in cutting Longstreet's line of suppUes and compeUing him to raise the
siege. This was the railroad from Richmond to Knoxville, passing through
Salem, sixty miles west Lynchburg. Averell was ordered to cut this road
at Salem, no matter what the result to his army. He must do it, even if he
lost every man he had in the execution of his work. An army of 2500 could
be sacrificed to save Burnsides' larger army. With his veteran cavalry,
mostly West Virginians, and equal to the best the world ever saw, Averell
left Keyser December 8, 1863, and moved through Petersburg, Monterey,
Back Creek, Gatewood's, Callighan's, Sweet Sulphur Springs Valley, New
castle to Salem, almost as straight as an arrow, for much of the way fol
lowing a route nearly parallel with the summit of the AUeghanies. Pour
Confederate armies, any of them larger than his, lay between him and
Salem, and to the number of 12,000 they marched, counter -marched, and
maneuvered to effect his capture. Still, eight days he rode toward Salem
in terrible storms, fording and swimming overfiowing mountain streams,
crossing mountains and pursuing ravines by night and by day, and on
December 16 he struck Salem, and the blow was felt throughout tlie South
ern Confederacy. The last halt on the downward march was made at Sweet
Sulphur Valley. The horses were fed and the soldiers made coffee and
rested two hours. Then at 1 o'clock on the afternoon of December 15, they
mounted for the dash into Salem.
From the top of Sweet Springs Mountain a splendid view was opened
before them. Averell, in his official report, speaks of it thus: "Seventy
miles to the eastward the Peaks of Otter reared their summits above the
Blue Ridge, and all the space between was filled with a billowing ocean of
hills and mountains, while behind us the great Alleghanies, coming from
north with the grandeur of innumerable tints, swept past and faded in the
southern horizon." Newcastle was passed during the night. Averell's ad
vance guard were mounted on fleet horses and carried repeating rifles.
They allowed no one to go ahead of them. They captured a squad of Con
federates now and then, and learned from these that Averell's advance was
as yet unsuspected in tliat quarter. It was, however, known at that time at
Lynchburg and Richmond, but it was not known at what point he was
striking. Valuable military stores were at Salem, and at that very time a
train-load of soldiers was hurrying up from Lynchburg to guard the place.
When within four miles of Salem a troop of Confederates were captured.
They had come out to see if they could learn anything of Averell, aud from
them it was ascertained that the soldiers from Lynchburg were hourly ex
pected at Salem. This was 9 o'clock on the morning of December 16. Aver
ell's men had ridden twenty hours without rest. Averell saw that no time
was to be lost. Prom this point it became a race between Averell's cavalry
and the Lynchburg train loaded with Confederates, each trying to reach
Salem first. The whistling of the engine in the distance was heard, and
Averell saw that he would be too late if he advanced with his whole force.

CHRONOLOGY OP THE WAR. 163
So he set forward with three hundred and fifty horsemen and two rifled
cannon, and went into Salem on a dead run, people on the road and streets
parting right and left to let the squadron pass. The train loaded with Con
federates was approaching the depot. Averell wheeled a cannon into posi
tion and fired three times in rapid succession, the first ball missing, but the
next passing through the train almost from end to end, and the third fol
lowing close after. The locomotive was uninjured, and it reversed and
backed up the road in a hurry, disappearing in the direction whence it had
come. Averell cut the telegraph wires. The work of destroying the rail
road was begun. When the remainder of the force came up, detachments
were sent four miles east and twelve miles west to destroy the railroad and
bridges. The destruction was complete. They burned 100,000 bushels of
shelled corn; 10,000 bushels of wheat; 2,000 barrels of flour; 50,000 bushels
of oats; 1,000 sacks of salt; 100 wagons; large quantities of clothing, leather,
cotton, harness, shoes; and the laridges, bridge- timber, trestles, ties, and
everything that would burn, even twisting the rails, up and down the rail
road sixteen miles.
At 4 p. m., December 16, Averell set out upon his return. Confeder
ate troops were hurrying from all sides to cut him off. Generals Fitzhugh
Lee, Jubal A. Early, John McCausland, John Echols and W. H. .lackson
each had an army, and they occupied every road, as they supposed, by
which Averell could escape. Rain fell in torrents. Streams overflowed
their banks and deluged the country. The cavalry, swam, and the cannon
and caissons were hauled across by ropes where horses could not ford. The
Federals fought their way to James River, crossed it on bridges which they
burned in the face of the Confederates, and crossed the Alleghanies into
Pocahontas County by a road almost unknown. More than 100 men were
lost by capture and drowning at James River. The rains had changed to
snow, and the cold was so intense that cattle froze to death in the fields.
Such a storm had seldom or never been seen in the Alleghanies. The
soldiers' feet froze till they could not wear boots. They wrapped their feet
in sacks, Averell among the rest. For sixty miles they followed a road
which was one unbroken sheet of ice. Horses fell and crippled themselves
or broke the riders' legs. The artillery horses could not pull the cannon,
and the soldiers did that work, 100 men dragging each gun up the moun
tains. Going down the mountains a tree was dragged behind each cannon
to hold it in the road. The Confederates were hard in pursuit, and there
was fighting nearly all the way through Pocahontas County, and at Edray
a severe skirmish was fought. Beverly was reached December 24, and
thence the army marched to Webster, in Taylor County, and was carried
by train to Martinsburg. Averell lost 119 men on the expedition, one am
bulance and a few wagons, but no artillery.
December 11. Confederates under Captain William Thurmond attacked
General Scammon at Big Sewell and were repulsed. General Scammon
was marching to attract the attention of the Confederate General Echols,
and thereby assist Averell on his Salem raid.
December 11. Confederates under General W. L. Jackson were'defeated
at MarUn Bottom, Pocahontas County, by Colonel Augustus Moor, who
marched into that country to assist Averell, by attracting the attention of
the Rebels. December 12. Lewisburg was taken by General Scammon, General
Echols retreating.

164 CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR.
December 12. Troops sent by General Scammon drove Confederates
across the Greenbrier River.
December 13. Skirmish at Hurricane Bridge. Confederates attacked a
small force of Federals under Captain Young. Both sides retreated
December 14. Skirmish on the Blue Sulphur Road, near Meadow Bluff
Lieutenant H. G. Otis, with 29 men was attacked by Rebel guerrillas under
WUUam Thurmond. The guerrillas fled, having kiUed 2' and wounded 4
Union soldiers, while their own loss was 2.
January 2. Confederates under General Fitzhugh Lee invaded the
South Branch Valley. This raid, following so soon after Averell's Salem
raid, was meant as a retaliation for the destruction at Salem. The weather
was so cold and the Shenandoah Mountains so icy that Lee could not cross
with artillery, and he abandoned his guns and moved forward with his
troops. January 3. Petersburg, Grant County, besieged by Fitzhugh Lee.
January 3. An empty train of 40 wagons, returning from Petersburg
to Keyser, was captured by Confederates.
January 6. Romney was occupied by Fitzhugh Lee.
January 6. Springfield, in Hampshire County, was captured by Con
federates under McNeill and Gilmor.
January 30. General Rosser, with a strong Confederate force, captured
a train of 93 wagons, 300 mules and 20 prisoners, at Medley, Mineral
County. Among the prisoners taken was Judge Nathan Goff, of West Vir
ginia, whose horse fell on him and held him. He was then twenty years
old. The wagon train was in chai'ge of Colonel Joseph Snyder.
January 31. Petersburg, Grant County, was evacuated by Federals
under Colonel Thoburn upon the advance of an army under General Early.
Colonel Thoburn retreated to Keyser by way of Greenland Gap.
February 1. General Early advanced and attacked the fort near Peters
burg, not knowing that Colonel Thoburn had retreated and that the fort
was empty.
February 2. General Rosser destroyed the railroad bridges across the ¦
North Branch and Patte];son Creek, in Mineral county.
February 3. Forty Rebels under Major J. H. Nounnan attacked and
captured the steamer Levi on the Kanawha, at Red House. General Scam
mon was on board and was taken prisoner.
Febrnary 11. Confederates under Gilmor threw a Baltimore and Ohio
passenger train from the track near Kearneysville, and robbed the pas
sengers. Fchniary 20. Twenty Federals under Lieutenant Henry A. Wolf were
attacked near Hurricane Bridge. Lieutenant Wolf was killed.
Fchniary 25. General John C. Breckenridge was assigned to the com
mand of the Confederate forces in West Virginia, relieving General Sam
.Jones. General Breckenridge assumed command March 5.
March 8. Colonel A. I. Root marched from Petersburg and destroyed
the Saltpeter Works operated by Confederates in Pendleton County.
Marcli. 8. Skirmish in Grant County. Lieutenant Denney with 27 Fed
erals was attacked and defeated near Petersburg with a loss of 7 men and
13 horses.

CHRONOLOGY OP THE WAR. 165
March 10. Major Sullivan was killed by Mosby's guerrillas in a skirm
ish at Kabletown.
March 19. Eight men, of Imboden's command, who had been in Bar-
Jiour County attempting to waylay a wagon train, crossed into Tucker
County and robbed David Wheeler's Store, three miles from St. George.
March 20. Skirmish at the Sinks of Gandy in Randolph County. The
Rebels who had robbed Wheeler's store were pursued by Lieutenant Val
entine J. Gallion and Captain Nathaniel J. Lambert and defeated, with 3
kUled, 2 captured, and the stolen property was recovered.
April 19. Confederates were attacked and defeated at Marlin Bottom,
Pocahontas County.
May 2. An expedition moved from the Kanawha Valley under Generals
Crook and Averell against the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. This is
known as the Dublin Raid, so called from the village of that name in
Pulaski County. The cavalry was under the command of General Averell,
while General George Crook was in command of all the forces. On May 9
occurred a desperate battle on Cloyd Mountain, near the boundary between
Giles and Pulaski Counties, Virginia. General Crook commanded the
Union forces, and the Confederates were under General Albert G. Jenkins.
For a long time the issue of the battle was doubtful; but at length General
Jenkins feU, and his army gave way. He was mortally wounded, and died
soon after. His arm had been amputated at the shoulder by a Federal
surgeon. In the meantime General Averell, with a force of cavalry, 2000
strong, advanced by wretched roads and miserable paths through Wyoming
County, West Virginia, into Virginia, hoping to strike at Saltville or
Wytheville before the Confederates could concentrate for defense. When
the troops entered Tazewell County they had numerous skirmishes with
small parties of Confederates. When Tazewell Court House was reached it
was learned that between 4000 and 5000 Confederates, commanded by
Generals W. E. Jones and John H. Morgan, had concentrated at Saltville,
having learned of Averell's advance. The defences north of that town
were so strongly fortified that the Union troops could not attack with hope
of success. Averell turned, and made a rapid march toward Wytheville, to
prevent the Confederates from marching to attack General Crook. Arriv
ing near Wytheville on May 10, he met Jones and Morgan, with 5000 men,
marching to attack General Crook. Averell made an .attack on them, or
they on him, as both sides appeared to begin the battle about the same
time. Although out-numbered and out-fianked, the Union forces held their
ground four hours, at which time the vigor of the Confederate fighting
began to slack. After dark the Confederates withdrew. The Union loss
was 114 in killed and wounded. Averell made a dash for Dublin, and the
Coriifederates followed as fast as possible. The bridge across New River,
and other bridges, were destroyed, and the railroad was torn up. Soon
after crossing New River on the morning of May 12, the Confederates
arrived on the opposite bank, but they could .not cross the stream. They
had been unable to prevent the destruction of the railroad property,
although their forces out-numbered Averell's. The Union cavalry rejoined
General Crook, and the army returned to the Kanawha Valley by way of
Monroe County.
May 3. BuUtown, Braxton County, was captured and the barracks
burned by Confederates under Captains Spriggs and Chewings.
May i. Captain McNeill with 61 Confederate cavalry captured Pied-

166 CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR.
mont, in Mineral County, and burned two trains, machine shops, and cap
tured 104 prisoners.
May 6. Lieutenant Blazer's scouts attacked and defeated a troop of
Confederates near Princeton, Mercer County.
May 8. Fifty Confederates attacked a Federal post at Halltown,
Jefferson County, and were defeated.
May 9. Skirmish on the summit of Cheat Mountain between a scouting
party from Beverly and 100 Rebels.
May 10. The Ringgold Cavalry was attacked and defeated at Lost
River Gap, Hardy County, by Imboden. The Federals were hunting for
McNeill's men, and Imboden had hurriedly crossed from the Valley of Vir
ginia to assist McNeill to escape.
May 11. Romney was occupied by General Imboden.
May 15. A scouting party moved from Beverly under Colonel Harris
against Confederate guerrillas in Pocahontas, Webster and Braxton Coun
ties, capturing 36 prisoners, 85 horses, 40 cattle, and returning to Beverly
May 30.
May 19. General David Hunter was appointed to the command of Fed
eral forces in West Virginia. He assumed command May 21.
May 24. In a skirmish near Charlestown the Confederates under
Mosby were defeated.
June 6. Skirmish at Panther Gap. Rebels were defeated by Colonel
D. Frost. June 6. Fight near Moorefield. Eighty Federals under Captain
Hart were attacked and lost four killed and six wounded, but defeated the
Confederates. June 10. Colonel Thompson was defeated near Kabletown by Major
Gilmor. June 19. Captain Boggs, with 30 West Virginia State troops from Pen
dleton County, known as Swamp Dragons, was attacked near Petersburg
by Lieutenant Dolen, with a portion of McNeill's company. The Confed
erates were at first successful, but finally were defeated, and Lieutenant
Dolen was killed.
June 26. Captain McNeill, with 60 Confederates, attacked Captam
Law and 100 men at Springfield, Hampshire County. The Federals were
defeated, losing 60 prisoners and 100 horses.
June 28. A detachment of Federals was defeated at Sweet Sulphur
Springs by Thurmond's guerrillas.
July 8. Skirmish at Leetown. Confederates under General Ransom
attacked and defeated Colonel Mulligan after a severe fight. A large Con
federate army under General Early was invading West Virginia and Mary
land, penetrating as far as Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
July 8. Confederates under Gilmor attacked Union troops at Darkes
ville, Berkeley County, and were defeated.
July 3. General Early captured Martinsburg.
July 3. Skirmish at North River Mills, Hampshire County.
July 4. General Imboden attacked an armored car and a blockhouse at
the South Branch Bridge, in Hampshire County. He blew the car up with
a shell, and attempted to destroy the bridge, but the blockhouse could not
be taken, and he retreated.
July 4 Rebels under Captain McNeill burned the railroad bridge across
Patterson Creek, Mineral County.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR. 167
July 4. An attack on the North Branch Bridge, in Mineral County, was
repulsed by the Federals.
July 4. Harper's Ferry was invested by Confederates. They besiged
the place four days, but the heavy guns on the heights drove them back
and shelled them to the distance of four miles. General Franz Sigel was
in command at Harper's Ferry.
July 6. General Imboden attacked Sir John's Run, Morgan County,
and burned the railroad station-house, but was driven off by iron-clad cars.
July 6. Big Capon Bridge, Morgan County, was attacked by Imboden.
He was driven*off by iron-clad cars.
July 14. Romney was occupied bv McNeill.
July 28. Romney was taken by McNeill and Captain Harness.
July 25. Federals under General George Crook were defeated at
Bunker Hill, Berkeley County.
July 25. Fight at Martinsburg. The Confederates in strong force
fought General Duffie all day.
July 80. Confederates under General W. L. Jackson were defeated near
Shepherdstown. August 2. The Confederates under General Bradley T. Johnson cap
tured Green Spring, Hampshire County, Colonel Stough being in command
of the Federals. The Rebels had advanced toward Cumberland, and made
an attack on the Federal defenders, but did not push the attack. These
Confederates were returning from their plundering raid in Pennsylvania.
August 2. Confederates under McNeill destroyed three railroad cul
verts between Keyser and Cumberland.
August 2. The suspension bridge across the South Branch of the Poto
mac near Springfield was cut down by order of General Early.
August 4. Confederates under Generals Bradley T. Johnson and John
McCausland attacked Keyser and were repulsed.
August 7. General Averell overtook and routed the forces of McCaus
land and Johnson, near Moorefield. These Confederates had burned Cham
bersburg, Pennsylvania, because the people would not pay $400, 000 ransom.
Averell entered Chambersburg within two hours after the Confederates left,
and he pursued them through Maryland into West Virginia, and came upon
them at daybreak near Moorefield and surprised them, captured all their
artillery, 420 prisoners, 400 horses, retook the plunder carried from Penn
sylvania, and drove the disorganized forces ten miles into the mountains.
The Rebels believed that no quarters would be given them because they
had burned Chambersburg.
August 21. Skirmish at Summit Point between a detachment of Con
federates and the New York Dragoons.
August 21. General Sheridan was defeated at Welch's Spring with a
loss of 275.
August 22. Confederates at Charlestown were defeated by Colonel
Charles R. Lowell.
August 22. General Sheridan's troops defeated the Confederates at
Halltown. August 29. The Confederates were defeated four miles from Charles
town. This fighting, and that which followed and preceded it in the same
vicinity, was between the armies of General Sheridan and General Early.
September 1. Martinsburg was captured by General Early's troops,
AvereU retreating.

168 CHRONOLOGY OP THE WAR.
September 2. Confederate cavalry under Vaughn was defeated by Averell
at Bunker Hill.
September 3. Federals under General Crook defeated General Kershaw
near Berryville, killing and wounding 200.
September 3. Averell defeated McCausland at Bunker Hill.
September 4. Cavalry fight near Berryville between Mosby's and
Blazer's men, in which Mosby lost 19 men, killed and captured.
September 14. Skirmish near Centerville, Upshur County, between Fed
erals under Captain H. H. Hagans and 30 horse thieves.
September 17. Confederates under Colonel V. A. Witcher, to the num-'
ber of 523, among them Captain PhUip J. and Captain William D. Thur
mond's guerrillas, moved from Tazewell County, Virginia, upon a raid into
West Virginia, returning September 28 with 400 horses, 200 cattle, and hav
ing lost only one man.
September 18. General Early's troops recaptured Martinsburg.
September 23. Confederates under Major James H. Nounnan moved
from Tazewell County upon a raid into the Kanawha Valley. They returned
to Tazewell October 1.
September 26. Colonel Witcher captured Weston and robbed the Ex
change Bank of $5,287.85; also captured a number of Home Guards.
September 26. Captain William H. Payne, of Witcher's command, occu
pied Janelew, Lewis County.
September 27. Witcher defeated Federal cavalry at Buckhannon and
captured the town.
September 28. The Rebels having moved up the river from Buckhan
non, and Federals, under Major T. P. Lang, having occupied the town.
Colonel Witcher made a dash and recaptured the place and took Major Lang
and 100 men prisoner, and destroyed a large quantity of military stores.
September 30. Skirmish at the mouth of Coal River. Rebels under
Major Nounnan were defeated.
October 11. Skirmish two miles south of Petersburg between 198
Home Guards under Captain Boggs and Rebels under Harness.
October 26. Colonel Witcher attacked the town of Winfield and was
defeated. Captain P. J. Thurmond was mortally wounded, taken prisoner,
and soon after died;
October 29. Major Hall, with 350 Rebels, attacked Beverly and was
repulsed with a loss of 140, Hall being mortally wounded and taken pris
oner. The Federals, 200 in number, were in command of Colonel Youart.
He lost 46. The Confederate attacking force was made up of men from 21
regiments. November 1. Green Spring, Hampshire County, was captured by Con
federates under Captain McNeill; about 80 Federals were taken prisoner.
November 5. Colonel V. A. Witcher captured and burned the steamers
Barnum and Fawn at Buffalo Shoals, Big Sandy River.
November 7. Colonel George R. Latham, with 225 Federals, defeated
McNeill at Moorefield, taking 8 prisoners.
November 27. Colonel R. E. Fleming with a small force attacked 2,000
Confederates under Rosser at Moorefield, and was defeated, with a loss of
20 men and one cannon.
November 28. Major Potts, with 155 men, was defeated by Confederates
of Rosser's command at Moorefield.
November 28. General Rosser surprised Keyser, capturing or dispers-

CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR. 169
ing the Federal garrison of 800, and taking several cannon, burning gov
ernment and railroad property, and carrying away hundreds of horses.
November 28. Confederates under Major McDonald were defeated at
Piedmont by 27 men under Captain Fisher.
ises.
January 11. General Rosser captured Beverly. The Federals were in
command of Colonel R. Youart. They lost 6 killed, 23 wounded and 580
prisoners. January 11. A Federal scouting party, under Major E. S. Troxel,
moved from Keyser, passing through Pendleton County.
January 15. Skirmish at Petersburg. Major Troxel defeated McNeill.
January 19. Rebel guerrillas wrecked a train on the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad near Duffield,
February 4. Train throAvn from track and robbed by Confederates near
Harper's Perry.
February 5. Major H. W. Gilmor was captured by Federals under
Colonel Toung, near Moorefield.
February 21. Generals Crook and Kelley were captured at Cumberland
by 61 Confederates under Lieutenant Jesse McNeill, son of Captain J. H.
McNeill. There were 3500 Union troops in Cumberland at the time.
February 26. General Winfield S. Hancock was assigned to the com
mand of the Federal forces in West Virginia.
March 15. Rebel guerrilas were defeated on the South Fork, above
Moorefield, by Captain McNulty.
March 22. Lieutenant Martin defeated Confederates of McNeill's com
mand on Patterson Creek, in Mineral County, killing 2, wounding 8.
March 30. A railroad train was derailed and robbed near Patterson
Creek Bridge, in Mineral County, by McNeill's command.
April 2. General W. H. Emory was assigned to the command of Union
forces in West Virginia.
April 6. Confederates under Mosby captured Loudoun County Rangers
near Charlestown.
April 10. General Emory proposed to Governor Boreman that the West
Virginia civil authorities resume their functions, re-open the courts and
dispense justice, inasmuch as "no large bodies of armed Rebels are in the
State." A-pril 12. Lieutenant S. H. Draper raided a Rebel rendezvous on Tim
ber Ridge, Hampshire County.
April 15. Captain Jos^h Badger moved from PhiUppi with a scouting
party, passing through Randolph and Pocahontas Counties, returning to
PhiUppi April 23.
May 8. McNeill's company surrendered at Romney.
June 1. Colonel Wesley Owens left Clarksburg with 400 men and made
a twelve days expedition through Pocahontas and Pendleton Counties,
hunting for Governor WiUiam Smith, of Virginia, who had not surrendered.
He was also collecting Government property, mostly horses, scattered
through those counties. No trace was found of the fugitive governor.
The country was exhausted and desolated. Only two families were found m
Huntersville, Pocahontas County. The paroled Confederate soldiers were
coming home and were trying to plant corn with but little to work with.
By the terms of surrender granted Lee by Grant, the Confederate soldiers

170 CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR.
who had horses or mules were permitted to keep them. Old cavalry horses
and artillery mules were harnessed to plows, and peace again reigned in the
mountains of West Virginia.
West Virginia furnished 86, 580 soldiers for the Union, and about 7000
for the Confederate armies. In addition to these there were 32 companies
of troops in the state service, some counties having one company, some
two. Their duty was to scout, and to protect the people against guer
rillas. The majority of them were organized in 1863 and 1864. These com
panies with their captains were as follows:
Captain M. T. Haller  Barbour County.
A. All top  Marion County.
H. S. Sayre  Doddridge County.
J. C. Wilkinson  Lewis County.
George C. Kennedy  Jackson County.
John Johnson  " "
William Logsdon  Wood County.
William Ellison  Calhoun County.
Alexander Donaldson  Roane County.
Hiram Chapman  " "
H. S. Burns  Wirt County.
John Boggs  Pendleton County.
M. Mallow 
John Ball  '.  Putnam County.
J. L. KesUng  Upshur County.
William R. Spaulding  Wayne County.
M. M. Pierce  Preston County.
William Gandee  Roane County.
Nathaniel J. Lambert  Tucker County.
James A. Ramsey  Nicholas County.
John S. Bond  Hardy County.
William Bartrum  Wayne County.
IraG. Copeley  "
WUUam Turner  ."  Raleigh County
Sanders Mullins  '  Wyoming County
Robert Brooks  Kanawha County.
B. L. Stephenson  Clay County.
G. F. Taylor  Braxton County.
W. T. Wiant  Gilmei; County.
Isaac Brown  Nicholas County.
BenjaminR. Haley  Wayne County.
Sampson, Snyder  Randolph County

PART SECOND.
County hiistory,

PREFACE,

The sources from which county history is obtained are chiefiy three,
from old books, maps and newspapers; from the county records at the
Court-House, and from old citizens. Facts of importance come in from
various quarters, often unlooked for; and in order to avail himself of
everything that can throw light on the subject, the compiler must work
long and patiently to bring together the scattered fragments and make of
them a complete story. Of the early books treating of Randolph
County, the Border Warfare, by A. S. Withers, is the most important. This
is supplemented by DeHass and added to by R. G. Thwaites. Mistakes
made by Withers regarding Randolph, and followed by writers since, are
corrected in this History. The old maps consulted are mostly found
in Justin Winsor's great History of America, and in Sparks' Life
and Writings of Washington. The History of the United States, , by
George Bancroft, and Benjamin Franklin's Treatise on Lands West
of the Alleghanies, have been followed as the highest authority on
Indian tribes and their location. But the most important source of inform
ation has been the county records. Randolph's history for more than a
century is preserved in names, dates and figures scattered through seventy-
seven heavy volumes of manuscript, every page of which has been care-
fuUy examined in collecting data for this book. The work was heavy and,
tedious; but it was done in the hope that the people of Randolph would
appreciate an effort to collect and arrange these stores of information,
heretofore familiar only to lawyers and others whose life-work among the
records made them acquainted with their contents. The result of this
labor wUl be found in the chapter "Court Records of a Century."
In this connection it is necessary to say a word as to the spelling of pro
per names. Every effort has been made to ascertain what spelling is cor
rect; but the task was, in some cases, well nigh hopeless. Names were
spelled in every possible way — except the right way — and if the readers of
this bookfind that the names of their ancestors are not in accordance with
modern orthography in the family, they should not be too hasty in conclud
ing that the historian was careless. It requires some perseverance to find
out that "Crafer," "Craffor," "Crafard" and "Crawford" are all spellings
for the same man; yet Andrew Crawford's name was spelled in that many
ways in the old records. At the present time a numerous family of Ran
dolph spells the name "Wees" or "Weese." In 1803 it was spelled "Weze,"
in 1812, on the land books in Richmond, it was spelled ' 'Wease. " A moun
tain, named from the family, is spelled, on the Government maps, "Weiss;"
yet in 1813, one of the founders of the family signed his name "Waas."
Who is to decide what spelling is right?
In preparing the chapter on the Civil War, access was had to the
reports and correspondence, both Federal and Confederate, of the officers
who took part. Information was also received from many persons who had
knowledge of what took place. There is in this as in nearly every depart
ment of history more or less disagreement as to facts; but in this book au
thorities are sifted and compared, and no statement is made without good
authority. 12

CHAPTER XVIIL

-:o:-

EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND INDIAN TROUBLES.*
Nearly thirty years elapsed after settlement^ were planted on the upper
waters of the Potomac before the tide of emigration .gained sufficient force
to cross the AUeghenies and take possession of the valleys of the west.
The country beyond the mountains, when spoken of by the Virginians, was
called " the waters of the Mississippi," because the streams having their
sources on the western slope flowed into the Mississippi River, while those
rising eastward of the summit found their way into the Atlantic Ocean. It
was usual, from about 1760 to 1780 for the Virginia records to distinguish
between the eastern and western country by calling the former ' ' Hampshire
County," and the latter "the waters of the Mississippi," because Hampshire
included the most important settlements between the Valley of Virginia and
the summit of the AUeghenies, and did not include any country on the
western slope, except about eighty square miles in the present county of
Tucker. Hunters and explorers crossed the mountains occasionally from
very early times, and the country westward gradually became known. The
purpose of this chapter is to mention the routes by which the early settlers
and explorers found their way over the AUeghenies to the upper valleys of
Cheat River and the Monongahela, particularly that section now included
in Randolph and Tucker counties. The subject has been much neglected
by writers who have pretended to cover the field, they having given their
attention to the great highway' to the west, from Cumberland to Pittsburg,
and losing sight of the fact that there were other paths, which were of no
small importance although now almost forgotten. Before proceeding to a
consideration of some of them, a brief history will be given of the highway
from Cumberland west, by which settlers of the lower Monongahela found
their way across the mountains.
About the year 1750 the Ohio Company, a wealthy corporation engaged
in trading with Indians, and also dealing in lands west of Laurel Hill, em
ployed Colonel Thomas Cresap, who lived fifteen miles east of Cumberland,
to survey a path by which traders could carry their goods, to the Ohio River.
The company had a store and a fort at Cumberland, then called Will's Creek.
Colonel Cresap offered a reward to the Indian who would mark the best
route for a path from Cumberland to the site of Pittsburg. An Indian
named Nemacolin received the reward, and a path was marked. Part of
the way it followed a buffalo trail by which those animals had crossed the
*This chapter deals in a general way only of early settlements and Indian troubles,
and does not enter into details. In other parts, of this book much additional informa
tion on the subjects will be found which could not be properly presented in tWs chapter.

176 EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND INDIAN TROUBLES.
mountains for ages. Traders with their packhorses traveled the path from
that time, if indeed, they had not been traveling it, or one similar to it, for
years. Traders bv the hundred, and packhorses by the thousand, had made
their way to the Ohio before that time. In 1748 three hundred English
traders crossed the Alleghanies, some by way of the Kanawha, others by
Cumberland, and others by still other routes. In 1749 the French explorer,
Celeron, met a company of six traders in Ohio, with fifty horses loaded with
furs, bound for Philadelphia. The Nemacolin trail was widened into a
wagon road as far as the Monongahela in 1754, by George Washington.
This was the first wagon road made from the Atlantic slope over the moun
tains to the Mississippi basin. The next year, 1755, Braddock, with his
army, widened the road and completed it within nine miles of Pittsburg.
He was defeated and the road remained unfinished. The National Road
now follows nearly the route of that road. Braddock took 1500 horses over
the route, and more than one hundred wagons, besides several heavy can
non. Although the road was a good one, yet for twenty -five years not a
wagon loaded with merchandise passed over it. Traders still packed on
horses. In 1784 the 'people on the Monongahela, in Pennsylvania, paid
flve cents a pound to have their merchandise carried from Philadelphia, and
in 1789 they paid four cents for carrying from Carlisle to Uniontown. Pack
ing was a trade. There were those who followed it for a living. Wages
paid the packhorse driver were fifteen dollars per month, and men were
scarce at that price. In 1789 the first wagon loaded with merchandise
reached the Monongahela River, passing over the Braddock road. It was
driven by John Hayden, and hauled two thousand pounds from Hagerstown
to Brownsville, and was drawn by four horses. One month was consumed
in making the trip, and the freight bill was sixty dollars. This was cheaper
than packing on horses.*
Prior to the time the first wagonload of merchandise reached the west
ern waters, a movement had been set on foot for opening a canal along the
bank of the Potomac from Alexandra, in Virginia, to a point on the North
Branch of the Potomac near where the Northwestern pike crosses that
stream at Gorman, in Grant County, West Virginia. Thence a road was to
be made across the mountain, thirty or more miles, to Cheat River, and a
canal constructed down that stream to a point where it could be navigated ;
or, if more practicable, the road was to be made from the North Branch to
the nearest navigable point on the Monongahela. The prime mover in this
scheme was George Washington. He had thought over it for years, and in
1775 he was- about to talie steps to organize a company to build the canal
when the Revolutionai'y War began, and he could do nothing further tiU
the war closed. As sopn as peace was established he took up again the
canal scheme. He believed that easy and adequate communication should
be opened between the Atlantic Coast and the great valleys west of the
Alleghanies; because, if those valleys remained cut off from the East by the
mountain barriers, the settlers who were flocking there by thousands, would
seek an outlet for trade down the Ohio and Mississippi, and their commer
cial interests would lead to political ties which would bind them to the
Spanish colonies in the Mississippi Valley, and gradually they would become
indifferent to the Atlantic Ccjast States, f Washington believed that the
*See the " Monongahela of Old," by Veach.
tSee^parks' Life and Writings of Washington.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND INDIAN TROUBLES. 177
people west of the mountains should be bound to the East by commerce and
community of interest, or they would set up an independent republic, and
enter into an alliance or union with the Spanish. He therefore urged that
two canals be built, one by way of the Potomac and the Monongahela ; the
other by way of the James and the Kanawha. In 1784, the year after peace
was signed with England, he crossed the Alleghanies, and visited the Mon
ongahela, on a tour of observation, as well as to look after large tracts of
land which he owned in the West. On his return he ascended Cheat River
and crossed the mountains to Staunton. The wisdom of America's greatest
man is shown no more in his success in war and his foresight in politics
than in his wonderful grasp and understanding of the laws governing trade,
and the effects of geography on the future history of a country. We who
look back, and have the advantage of history, do not see any more clearly
than Washington foresaw, the needs of bonds to unite the Bast and the
West. And with equal foresight he mapped the most practicable routes for
highways. The surveys made for the canal from Alexandria to the Mon
ongahela, forty years after, followed almost the identical line marked by
Washington, including the roads across the mountains. The canal was
, never built further than Cumberland, because the invention of railroads by
that time put a stop to canal building. When Washington began to urge
the construction of a canal, he was opposed by the Maryland Assembly; but
in 1784, when he returned to the prosecution of his scheme, Maryland joined
Virginia, and in December of that year both made appropriations for open
ing a road "from the highest practicable navigation of the Potomac to that
of the River Cheat or the Mpnonghela. "* Washington was the flrst presi
dent of the canal company. He was given stock to the value of several
thousand dollars in that company, and an equal amount in the canal to be
constructed up the James River and down the Kanawha. He .refused to
receive either except on condition that he be permitted to devote his stock
to some educational purpose. He did this in his will.
Having thus spoken of highways and proposed highways, between the
Potomac River and the Upper Valley of the Ohio, it remains to be shown
that these were not the only paths across the mountains. Those mentioned
were of large, almost national importance ; the paths yet to be spoken of
were of local importance only ; but so far as Randolph and Tucker counties
are concerned, they were of more importance than the Braddock road ; be
cause the majority of the early settlers of Upper Cheat and of Tygart's
VaUey did not travel the Braddock road, but entered by trails further
south, of which there were three important ones, and one of lesser import
ance. This latter was known as the McCuUough Trail. It passed from
Moorefield to Patterson Creek, up that stream through Greenland Gap, in-'
Grant County ; crossed over a spur of the Alleghanies to the North Branch,
following the general line of the Northwesterh pike to the head of the
Little Youghiogheny, in Garrett County, Maryland, thence to the Youghio-
gheny west of Oakland, and on to Cheat River near the Pennsylvania line.
But a branch from it led down Horse Shoe Run to the mouth of Lead Mine
Run where it intersected another path to be spoken of later. This branch
of the McCuUough Trail was occasionally traveled by early settlers On Cheat
and the Valley River, but it was of minor importance. Another trail led
up the North Branch of the Potomac to the head of that stream, where the
* See Hening's Statutes.

178 EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND INDIAN TROUBLES.
Fairfax Stone was planted. Thence it crossed Backbone Mountain to the
head of Lead Mine Run, about ten miles east of St. George, in Tucker
County. It followed down Lead Mine to its mouth, thence down Horse Shoe
Run, to Cheat River at the Horse Shoe, three miles above St. George.
Thence one branch led down Cheat, across Laurel Hill to the Valley River
below Philippi, in Barbour County. The other branch passed up Cheat to
the vicinity of Parsons, Tucker County. Thence is passed, by a route not
now definitely known, to the head of Leading Creek, in Randolph County,
and thence to the settlements on Tygart's River. The geography of the
country renders it probable that the path from Cheat to Leading Creek fol
lowed Pheasant Run. The majority of the settlers on Cheat River, above
and below the Horse Shoe, came to the country by this trail, from the
Potomac ; and many of those who settled on Leading Creek did likewise ;
but there was another path by which many of the early settlers of Ran
dolph entered the county. This will be spoken of presently. There is no
record of the marking of the path by Fairfax Stone. It seems to have been
there at the earliest visit of the whites, and was probably an Indian path
or a buffalo trail across the mountain. It is known that not only the earliest
settlers on Cheat, but also some of the earliest on the Buckhannon River,
and on the West Fork, entered the country by this path. The first white
man to follow the trail was probably William Mayo in 1736. It is known
that he ascended the North Branch in that year, and discovered the streams
which have their sources on the western slope of the mountains — tributaries
of Cheat River. History does not say how far westward he followed the
streams ; probably not far. Nine years later other explorers ascended the
North Branch to the present territory of Tucker County, and a map made
of the region soon after is tolerably accurate. During the French and
Indian war, from 1754 to 1759, it, is believed that parties of Indians occa
sionally followed the path in their raids into Hampshire and Frederick
Counties ; but it cannot be established positively that they did so.
Twenty miles south of the trail which led by way of Fairfax Stone, an
other path crossed the Alleghanies, known as the Shawnee Trail, and in
later years sometimes called the Senaca Trail. The former name was given
because it' was traveled by Shawnee Indians, notably, by KiUbuck's bands,
in raiding the South Branch settlement. It was called the Senaca Trail be
cause, after reaching the summit of the Alleghany, it passed down Senaca
Creek to the North Fork. The trail, beginning near Huttonsville, passed
near Beverly and Elkins, thence across the branches of Cheat River above
the mouth of Horse Camp Creek ; thence to the summit of the Alleghany ;
down Senaca on the eastern side to the North Fork. Thence one branch
probably ascended North Fork to connect with another trail further
south to be described presently; another branch passed down the
North Pork to Petersburg and Moorefield where it intersected the McCul-
lough Trail, or what was subsequently called the McCuUough Trail.
Let it be understood that, although these trails were traveled by the early
settlers, they were originally Indian paths, and had been traveled by the
aborigines, time out of mind. The first settlers found them and used them.
The Shawnee path was of great importance. It was the chief highway be
tween Tygart's Valley and the South Branch for a century. Hundreds of
packhorses, laden with salt, iron and other merchandise, traveled it every
year, and many a drove of cattle passed over it. During the Civil War it
was frequently used by soldiers. Many of the horses and cattle captured

EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND INDIAN TROUBLES. 179
by Imboden and Jones in their great raid of 1863, were sent across the
mountains by that path. General Averell, who had command of Federal
forces in this part of West Virginia, found it necessary to post strong
pickets on the trail. A wagon road has since been made, following the
general course of the path, and the old trail is no longer used, but it can
still be followed, and traces of it will probably remain for a hundred years.
Fifty miles southwest of the Fairfax Stone another path crossed the
mountain. It is difficult at the present day to ascertain the exact route by
which it led from the Potomac to the head of Tygart's Valley River. For
a portion of the way its location is well known. It passed up the South
Branch of the Potomac to the mouth of the North Pork, in Grant County ;
ascended that stream to the mouth of Dry Run, in the southwestern part of
Pendleton County ; passed up Laurel Creek into Highland County, Virginia,
and near where the Staunton and Parkersburg pike crosses that stream,
the path turned toward the west, and ascended the Alleghany Mountain.
It followed the dividing ridge, as is believed, between Deer Creek and Little
Run, in Pocahontas County, a short distance, then descended the East Fork
of Greenbrier River to the main river ; crossed it ; crossed Shaver's Moun
tain to the headwaters of Shaver's Fork of Cheat River ; thence across
Cheat Mountain to Tygart's Valley River. It will be seen that from the
head of the North Fork to Tygart's Valley, the path deviated but little from
the general course of the Staunton and Parkersburg pike. No person
knows when this path was first used. Without doubt it daties back beyond
the reach of history, and was followed by buffaloes and Indians before emi
grants and traders made it a highway across the mountains. It was prob
ably a branch of a famous Indian trail which came through Pennsylvania ;
traversed Maryland east of Cumberland ; crossed the Potomac at the mouth
of the South Branch ; ascended that stream to its headwaters. After reach
ing Tygart's Valley River, it intersected the Shawnee Trail near Huttons
ville, crossed to the head of the Little Kanawha, in the southern part ' at
Upshur County, and followed that stream to the Ohio River. A tradition
that the trail up the Little Kanawha, and thence across the mountains to
the Potomac, was marked out by a squad of soldiers who escaped from
Braddock's battle, in 1755, and made their way to the Little Kanawha, and
up that stream, should be given little credence. It is impossible that any
soldiers escaped by that route, and if they did, the trail is well known to
have been in existence long before that date. *
A study of the physical features of the country, lying between the
North Branch of the Potomac and the head of the South Branch, a region
stretching fifty miles southwest along the Alleghanies from Fairfax Stone,
will show why so few paths crossed between the valleys on the east and
those on the west. The country, embracing more than a thousand square
miles, was and is one of exceeding difficulty to the traveler. Between the
two points, Fairfax Stone and the head of the South Branch, the Alleghany
*There was another Indian trail which led from Valley Bend, some six miles above
Beverly, over Cheat Mountain by way of the head of Files Creek, thence crossing Cheat
Eiver at the mouth of Fishing Hawk, and from there by way of the Sinks of Gandy to
the headwaters of the South Branch. There is a tradition that the Tygart family fol
lowed that trail when they fled from the Indians who had massacred the Files family in
the winter of 1753-4. A trail led up the Great Kanawha, up the Elk to the mouth of
Valley Fork in Eandolph County, up Valley Fork, down Elk Water to Tygart's Valley.
It is believed that no other place in West Virginia contained the meeting of so many
trails as Tygart's Valley. It was, evidently, a favorite hunting ground for the Indians,

180 EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND INDIAN TROUBLES,
Mountain and the parallel and crumpled ridges lying on both sides, are
pushed together in rugged and stupendous masses; broken and cleft; steep
and bleak; cut by ravines; battlemented by crags and pinnacles; and had
all the jungles and thickets been removed, they would still have offered
serious obstacles to the passage of the emigrant and explorer. But, added
to the rocks and cliffs, the whole region, along the upper tributaries of
Cheat River, over to the Greenbrier, was one unbroken wilderness of pines
and tangled laurel. Nearly a century passed, after the settlement of
the country on both sides, before roads were constructed through this wil
derness, even in the most favorable places. And to this day there are
scores of square miles where scarcely a cabin is to be seen. The dense beds
of laurel even yet appall the hunter; and they ar^ entered only when the
lumberman's ax cuts the way, or where railroads slash and blast their lines
through jungles and rocks. > As late as 1861, when Garnett's army was
defeated in Randolph County, and was cut off from retreat by the Stanton
pike, it was compeUed to make a detour of one hundred and twenty mUes
to pass round this trackless wilderness, when the distance was only one-
half, could it have made its way directly across the mountains. Again,
in November, 1862, when Imboden made a dash with 800 cavalry from
Pendleton County to St. George, and was compelled to faU back, he saved
his army from capture by overwhelming forces on nearly aU sides, by taking
refuge in the forests between Dry Pork and Shaver's Fork, where he was
safe from pursuit.
It can be seen that the Mountain Wilderness was a barrier which the
emigrant was able to cross at only three points — at the northern, at the
middle, and at the southern extremity. While the stream of emigration
was pouring into the Ohio Valley along the Braddock road, and along the
Forbes road north of it, and while another stream of home seekers passed
down the Kanawha, three obscure paths, hardly known then and now
almost forgotten, conducted the hardy pioneer into the Valley of the Cheat
and to the Tygart Valley, and to other valleys further west.
SETTLEMENTS AND MASSACRES.
Having seen some of the difficulties in the way of the early settlers
of Randolph in reaching the country, it now remains to show what fate
befell them, and the vicissitudes of fortune through which the infant colony
passed. The first settlement on the waters of the Monongahela within
the present territory of West Virginia, was made as early as 1753, possibly
a year earlier. It was made by two families, Robert Files, or Foyle, where
Beverly now stands, and by David Tygart, farther up the Valley, neai:
the present site of the "brick house." Prom the one settler Piles Creek
takes its name, and from the other the River and Valley. It appears from
contemporaneous records in Virginia that the proper spelling of the nanie
was Foyle, not Files; but the latter spelling has been so long used that it
will never be changed. The nearest neighbors of the emigrants lived on
the South Branch, on the one side, at the mouth of the Youghiogheny, ia
Pennsylvania, on the other, while southward there were two white men living
in i;he present territory of Pocahontas County, and a settlement still f urtiher
south in Greenbrier County. It is stated by Withers, the earliest historiain,
that an Indian village was near the settlement. This was doubtless a mis
take. No Indian town is known to have been in that part of West Virginia
at the time under consideration. BuUtown, on the Little Kanawha, in the

EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND INDIAN TROUBLES. 181
present County of Braxton, about fifty miles from this settlement, was
probably meant, * It was near enough to have been considered danger
ously near; but, fortunately, the village was not there at that time. It was
not founded until about twelve years afterwards, when a Delaware chief,
BuU, with five families came there and settled. They were from Orange
County, New York, and were living in New York as late as 1764, at
which time BuU was arrested, charged with taking part in Pontiac's con
spiracy, was carried to New York City and subsequently was released and
he moved with his families to BuUtown, and remained about five years.
The settlers from Hacker's Creek, in Lewis County, destroyed the town in
1772. It is further stated by Withers that an Indian trail passed near the
settlement. This was no doubt the path up the Little Kanawha and down
the North Fork of the Potomac, already mentioned, or that branch, called
the Shawnee Trail, which led into Pendleton County, f
During the season of 1753 the two families in Tygart's Valley not hav
ing raised enough corn for their bread, and also probably having some
uneasiness on account of the growing hostility of the Indians and French,
decided to leave the country for the present. This was late in De
cember, 1753, or early in January, 1754, as inferred from Governor Din
widdle's account of the affair. But they had delayed their departure too
long Indians appeared at the Files cabin and murdered him, his wifeiand
five children. One son, who was not at the house, escaped. The youngest
child killed was ten years old. The boy who escaped fled to Tygart's
house about two milgs up the valley and gave the alarm in time for the
family to escape. The Indians who did this deed were returning, as is said,
from a raid on the South Branch where they had killed or carried into
captivity a young man. The date of the Files murder has long been dis
puted. Governor Dinwiddle, of Virginia, in his speech to the Assembly,
February 14, 1754, refers to it and says it was ' ' no longer ago than last
month," which would place it in January, 1754. On February 4, 1754, the
bodies of the murdered settlers were discovered by white people, and "they
seemed to have been dead about two months." It is presumed that the
dead were buried, although Withers says that in 1772 a man named West-
fall found the bones and buried them. I
*It is not improbable that the Indian village referred to by Withers, was supposed
by him to occupy a site 32 miles south of Beverly, on Mingo Run, a small tributary of
Tygart's River. Old sefttlers supposed, and present inhabitants of the vicinity maintain,
that when the country was first visited by white people the Mingo Indians occupied a
town at that place, and from them Mingo Run, Mingo Knob and Mingo Flats were
named. However, it is morally certain, if not absolutely so, that no Indian town existed
at the place after the country became known to white men. That an Indian town once
existed there, the proof is ample; and the same proof places the town long prior to the
coming of the white people. As shown in a former chapter of this book, the Indian
tribes once occupying West Virginia were driven out or exterminated by Mohawks from
New York a century before the first white man's cabin was built west of the Alleghanies,
The village on Mingo Run, therefore, must have ceased to exist as<the permanent home
of Indians not later than 1672, eighty years, at least, before Files built his cabin.
fR. G. Thwaites, who edited a new edition of Withers, speaks of this trail as
the "Warrior Branch." The "Warrior Branch" crossed the Ohio River forty or fifty
miles above Parkersburg, and passed from there into Pennsylvania, and at its nearest
point it was fully one hundred miles from Tygart's Valley.
tif the Indians who murdered the Files family were "returning from the South
Branch," where they had "killed or carried into captivity a young man," it is probable
the murder occurred early In the fall of 1753, instead of December of that year or Janu-

182 ¦ EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND INDIAN TROUBLES.
After this, Tygart's Valley lay vacant for eighteen years. From 1754
to 1764 there was trouble with the Indians on the border most of the time,
and it was an inauspicious time to plant settlements west of the mountains.'
So disastrous was the war that the settlements east of the mountains were
pushed back to Winchester, with only a few forts between thereand Cum
berland. The settlements on the Monongahela in Pennsylvania were
broken up, and the Indians and the French held sway west of the Alle
ghanies. But when peace returned, in 1765, settlers began to cross the
mountains. There was a considerable colony in Upshur County by 1769
and the outposts of the white settlers had reached the Ohio at Wheeling.'
But not till 1772 was a second attempt made to plant settlements in Ran
dolph County, and this colony was permanent. The VaUey above and
below Beverly had been visited from time to time by hunters and explorers,
and the excellent quality of the land was well known. When it began to
be taken, it went very rapidly, and in a short time it was all taken, for
thirty miles up and down the river.* Among the early settlers who took up
land in 1772, were the names Haddan, Whitman, Wamsley, Warwick, Nelson,
Stalnaker, Riffle and Westf all. In this year, 1772, settlements were made in
Harrison, Lewis, Taylor; and settlements in Monongalia and Marion Coun-
' ties, made some years before, were in a flourishing condition. But so much
could not be said for the colony in Upshur County; not that anything
was lacking with the people or land; but so many new comers entered the
county that corn was consumed and bread failed. The year 1773 was long
known in Upshur County as "the starving year." Settlements in Tucker
County were made about the same time by the Parsonses, Minears, Coopers,
Goffs, Camerons and Millers.
In 1774 came the Dunmore War, and the people in Randolph built two
forts, Westf all's and Currence's. f These were simply large log houses, and
chimneys on the inside to prevent Indians from climbing to the roof . Holes
were made for shooting through. No Indians gave trouble in the Valley
ary 1754. The only prisoner known to have been carried away from the South Branch
about that time was a boy named Zane. In Washington's Journal of his Mission to the
French in Western Pennsylvania, he speaks of a boy who had recently been carried to
that country from the South Branch, by Indians. Washington wrote this on November
25, 1753, and the boy had been carried away some time before that. If the captors of
Zane were the murderers of the Files family, the murder occurred not later than October,
1753. The proof is far from positive, but very probably the murder occurred about that
time. It is not likely that Indians would have made a journey through the mountains
in midwinter — December or January. If Files had not raised enough corn for bread,
and contemplated a return to the settlements, he would not have waited till midwinter
to make the trip. This strengthens the probability that the murder occurred in the fall.
*For more specific information as to how and when lands were taken up in Ran
dolph, see an article in this book headed "Old Land Patents."
tThe Currence Fort was evidently the "Casino's" Fort spoken of in Withers' Border
Warfare. There was no fort in Randolph County named "Casino's." The Currence
Fort stood one-half mile east of Crickard, in Tygart's Valley. Many years after the
Indian wars the fort»was torn down and the logs were used in buildiuga residence which
was occupied half a century. In 1873 the house was torn down, and the logs wereusedin
building an abutment in the river to keep the bank from washing.' Some years later a
flood carried the logs away, after they had seen service more than one hundred years.
The Westfall Fort stood a quarter of a mile south of Bev<?rly,' Nearly a century ago it
was torn down and re-built on the blutf where D, R. Baker now lives. It still stands in
a good state of pj'eservatioii, and probably it is the only Indian fort now standing lO
West Virginia, although tlie ruins of several are still pointed out. It wks built in 1"74
and is now (1898) 124 years old.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND INDIAN TROUBLES, 183
that year, although they prowled about the fort built in the Horse Shoe, in
Tucker County, until they so alarmed the settlers that they abandoned their
colony and retreated to the South Branch, The people in Randolph proba
bly owed their safety to their vigilance. They kept scouts in the mountains
watching all the paths by which Indians would be likely to enter the coun
try. On the first intimation of danger, the settlers locked themselves in
their forts. Indians seldom made an attack when they knew the people
were prepared for them. The war closed in the fall of 1774 and there was
peace until 1777, when the Revolutionary War commenced. The British
induced the not unwilling Indians to take arms against the western settlers.
There was much alarm along the borders. The people of Randolph
repaired their forts, and again practiced the caution which had stood them
so well three years before. They sent scouts to watch Indian paths. The
first misfortune of the war, affecting Randolph COunty, befell two of these
scouts, Leonard Petro and William White. They were watching the path
up the Little Kanawha, perhaps in Braxton County. Late one evening they
shot an elk. Scouts watching Indian trails fired guns only when necessary
to procure food, as the report might betray them to Indians. Such hap
pened on the present occasion. A party of Indians were near, and hearing
the gun, sought out the camp of the scouts and prepared to attack them •
At that moment White, who was awake, discovered them in the moonlight,
and being too near to escape, he whispered to Petro to lie still. The next
instant an Indian sprang upon therh. White aimed a blow with his toma
hawk, but missed. He at once changed his tactics, and putting on a cheer
ful air, pretended that he had struck while half asleep, and had no wish to
hurt Indians. He said he and Petro were on their way to join the Indians.
His story might have deceived them had not the woeful face of Petro told a
different story. It was plainly seen that he was not pleased with the situ
ation. The Indians tied them for the rest of the night, and in the morning,
having painted Petro black, indicating that he was to be killed, they started
with the prisoners and carried them to Ohio. Petro was never again heard
of.* White stole a gun, killed an Indian who was on horseback, took the
horse, and rode home, arriving in Randolph in November, 1777.
It is probable that Indians followed him. At any rate a few days after
he reached Tygart's Valley a party of twenty Indians approached within
ten miles of the settlements. But a snow having fallen, they were afraid
to venture nearer lest their tracks should betray them before they could
murder anybody. They accordingly lay hid ten miles from the head of the
Valley, until the snow was gone. On December 15, they attacked Darby
Connolly's house, in the upper end of the Valley, killed him, his wife and
several of his children, and took the others prisoner. They next appeared
at the house of John Stewart and killed him, his wife and child, and carried
away as a prisoner his sister-in-law, Miss Hamilton. They retreated loaded
with plunder. John Haddan passed the house that evening and discovered
the murder. He sent a message to Wilson's Fort, twenty-seven miles down
the Valley, and the next morning Colonel Benjamin Wilson, who was then
a commissioned officer in the Revolutionary army, was at the scene of the
murder with thirty men, and followed the trail five days through rain and
*The Petro family (sometimes spelled Pedro) were said to be Spanish. They were
dark of complexion and of spare build. When and how they came to Randolph has never
been certainly ascertained. They are frequently mentioned in the earliest county
records, and their decendants are now numerous in Randolph and adjoining counties.

184 EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND INDIAN TROUBLES. -
snow, -wading water at times to the waist, and at times their clothing hung
with icicles. The savages could not be overtaken, and the men reluctantly
returned to the Valley. That was the last mischief done by Indians in
West Virginia that year. It had been a terrible year on the frontiers from
Pittsburg to Kentucky, and is known as the "bloody year of three 7's."*
The Valley was not visited by Indians in 1778. The next year they
came in October and shot Lieutenant John White who was riding along the
road. He was a useful and popular man in the community and his death
was viewed as a public calamity. Colonel Benjamin Wilson raised a party
of men and marched with all speed through the present counties of Upshur
and Lewis, into Gilmer, hoping to cut the Indians off at a weU known
crossing of the Little Kanawha, at the mouth of Sand Fork. He remained
concealed there for three days, but the Indians did not arrive. They had
probably returned to Ohio by some other route, f
Up to 1780 the Indians who had visited Tygart's Valley had done so in
the fall of the year. But in 1780 they came in March and set a dan
gerous ambuscade in the upper end of the Valley, above Haddan's Port.
Thomas Lackey observed the moccasin tracks in the path, and while exam
ining them he heard some one say in an undertone; "Let him alone. He
will go and bring more." He went to Haddan's Port and reported what he
had seen and heard, but he was not believed. There were at that tune
several men from Greenbrier County staying all night in the fort, intend
ing to start home the next morning. When they set out a few of the men
belonging in the fort accompanied them a short distance. Although
warned of the danger they approached the spot carelessly and were fired
upon by the Indians. The horsemen galloped safely by, but the footmen
were surrrounded, and the only chance for escape they had was to cross the
river and climb a hill on the opposite side. John McLain was kiUed thirty
yards from the brow of the hill; James Ralston still nearer the top; James
Crouch was wounded but reached the fort next day. John Nelson, after
ci;ossing the river, attempted to escape down the bank, but was met by an
Indian and was killed after a desperate hand to hand battle, as was evi
denced by his shattered gunstock, the uptorn earth and the locks of Indian
hair in his still clinched hands. J
*The grave of the Connolly family is still pointed out on the present farm of HarmoQ
Conrad, and about a third of a mile below the mouth of Connolly Run. One headstone
' marks the grave.
tThere was a general belief among the old citizens of Randolph that Lieutenant
White was not killed by Indians but by two deserters from the Continental army, who
were hiding in the mountains, and suspecting that White was trying to apprehend them
they waylaid the road and shot him.
JHaddan's Fort stood on the point of high ground, at the mouth of Elkwater, near
the Indian mound, on the present farm of Randolph Crouch. The Indian ambuscade
was set three miles above the mouth of Elkwater, where H. C. Tolly now lives. The
Indians lay concealed at the mouth of a ravine coming down from the west. The path.
followed the west bank of the river. When tired upon, the men ran across the river ana
climbed the cliffs which rise just above the new road which has lately been made along
the base of the hill. James Croucli was wounded just as he reached the top of the cult
Nelson was killed between the present road and the river. Jacob Warwick and JacoD
Lemon were the names of the men on horseback. They lived at Clover Lick, i" '^
present county of Pocahontas. Warwick's horse was wounded. It is related that war-
wick promised his horse on that occasion, if he would carry him safely away, he neea
never work again. The horse did so, and Warwick kept his promise. At that tiiP-V „
path from Tygart's Valley to Greenbrier followed the river to Mingo, passed over Mingo

EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND INDIAN TROUBLES. 185
Soon after this, Indians attacked John Gibson's family on a branch of
the Valley River. Mrs. Gibson was tomahawked in the presence of her
children, and the other members of the family were carried into captivity.
About the same time, and probably by the same Indians, Bernard Sims was
killed at his cabin on Cheat River, four miles above St. George. When they
saw that he had smallpox, they fled without scalping him. The people
along Cheat took refuge in the fort at St. George.
The most disastrous Indian visitation Randolph ever experienced took
place in April, 1781. The savages passed through the settlement along
the West Fork River -without committing any murders, and were shaping
their course for Cheat River, about St. George, when they fell in with five
men from St. George, who were returning from Clarksburg where they
had visited the land commissioners for Monongalia County to obtain
deeds. The Indians killed John Minear, David Cameron and Mr.
Cooper. Two others. Miller and Goff, escaped, one returning to Clarks
burg, the other making his way to St. George. The Indians continued
toward St. George till they encountered two men, James Brown and
Stephen Radcliff, both of whom escaped. The Indians now believed that
they could not surprise the people on Cheat River, so they turned their
steps toward Leading Creek, in Randolph County. They nearly broke up
the settlement. They killed Alexander Roney and took Mrs. Roney and
her son prisoners. They killed Mrs. Daugherty and Mrs. Hornbeck and her
children, Mrs. Buffington and her children, and many others whose names
cannot now be ascertained. Jonathan Buffington and Benjamin Hornbeck
escaped and carried the news to Wilson's and Friend's Forts. Colonel
WUson raised a compalny and pursued them; but the men became uneasy
lest their own families should be murdered while unprotected, and they
retui'ned without having overtaken the savages. But the marauders were
not to escape without severe chastisement. When the news reached
Clarksburg that the land claimants were murdered on the Valley River,
scouts were sent out to watch for the return of the Indians. Their trail
was found soon alter on West Fork River, near Isaac Creek, in the present
County of Harrison. Colonel William Lowther, of Hacker's Creek, Lewis
County, raised a company and went in pursuit. He overtook them on a
branch of Hughes River in Ritchie County, late in the afternoon. He kept
his men out of sight till the Indians were asleep, and then poured a volley
into them, killing five. The others saved themselves by flight, leaving
everything in camp but one gun. One of the prisoners, son of Alexander
Roney, was killed by the fire of the attacking party, although every pre
caution had been taken to avoid such an occurrence. Another prisoner,
Daniel Daugherty, an' Irishman, came near sharing the same fate. The
Indians had tied him down and he was so numb with cold he could scarcely
speak. As the white men rushed forward, after the first fire, Daugierty
was mistaken for a wounded Indian, and not being able to speak he was
about to receive the tomahawk when fear loosed his tongue and he
exclaimed: "Lo-ord, Jesus! and am 01 to be killed by white paple at
last!" * His life was saved. Mrs. Roney, another prisoner, was overcome
Flats and crossed the mountain west of the present Marlinton Pike. This was an old
Indian trail. On top of Middle Mountain the trail divided, one part going to Old Field
,Fork, the other to Clover Lick.
*Wither's Border Warfare.

186 EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND INDIAN TROUBLES.
with joy when deliverance came. She ran towards the men exclaiming,
"I'm Ellick Roney's wife, of the Valley! I'm Ellick Roney's wife, of the
Valley! and a pretty little woman, too, if I was well dressed. " She did not
know that her son had just been shot. Colonel Lo-wther returned, fully
gratified that, the savages had not escaped without punishment.
In the summer of 1782 between twenty and thirty Indians, led by a
renegade Englishman named Timothy Dorman, who formerly lived on
Buckhannon River, appeared in Tygart's Valley, after having driven the
settlers from Upshur County, and burnt the fort near Buckhannon. Be
tween WestfaU's and Wilson's Forts, a mile below Beverly, the savages
met John Bush and his wife and Jacob Stalnaker and his son Adam. They
shot the young man, who fell from his horse. John Bush and his -wife
mounted the horse and escaped. Jacob Stalnaker also escaped, although
the Indians were so near as to try to catch his horse by the bridle.*
In the spring of 1789 Indians invaded the settlement about St. George on
Cheat River, and murdered Jonathan Minear, son of John Minear, who
was killed by Indians eight years earlier, near PhiUipi. When Jonathan
Minear was killed he was feeding his cattle. His leg was broken by a
bullet, and being overtaken he endeavored to escape by running round a
beech tree, bracing himself by one hand against the tree. An Indian in
striking at him with a tomahawk struck the tree several times, and the
marks of the tomahawk in the bark were to be seen a few years ago, and
probably are still to be seen. Minear was killed and his brother -in-lavf,
Philip Washburn, was taken prisoner. The Indians were pursued by a
squad of men under David Minear, and were fired upon near the Valley
River, in Barbour County. Three of the savages were wounded and
Washburn was liberated.
For nine Years following 1782 Indians did not invade Tygart's Valley.
The people believed themselves safe and did not live in forts during the
summer, as formerly; but, as a measure of protection, several families usu
ally lived at one house. On May 11, 1791, Indians came for the last tune.
Two or three families were at the house of Joseph Kinnan, which stood on
the west side of the river a mile above the mouth of Elkwater, on the Adam
See farm, less than a mUe from Haddan's Fort. The Indians approached
the house awhile after dark, and finding the door open, the foremost walked
in. Mr. Kinnan was sitting on the bed, and the savage extending his hand
in a friendly manner said, "How d' do, how d' do." Mr. Kinnan extended
his hand, but at the instant was shot and kiUed by an Indian in the yard.
A young man named Ralston, who had been working -with a draw
ing knife in the room, struck an Indian with it and put off his nose. An
other savage fired at Ralston, but missed, and the young man escaped.
The savages killed three of Kinnan's children; but two others, Lewis and
Joseph, were saved by Mrs. Ward, who ran into another room with them
and escaped through a window. Mrs. Kinnan's brother, Mr. Lewis, vas
asleep in an adjoining room, and being awakened by the firing, he also
escaped. Taking Mrs. Kinnan prisoner, the savages fled. When they
reached the head of the Buckhannon River the Indian who had been strucK
with the drawing knife was unable to proceed, and they lay in concealment ,
tA settler followed these Indians across the river and shot one of them who was
drinking at a spring on the side of Rich Mountain. The Indian ran a short distance m
the woods and fell dead.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND INDIAN TROUBLES.

187

several weeks until he recovered. Mrs. Kinnan remained in captivity three
years and four months, and was released after General Wayne conquered
the Indians at the battle of Fallen Timbers.*
*Withers is mistaken both as to date and name in his account of this occurrence in
the "Border Warfare." He gives the name Canaan and the date the latter part of the
summer of 1794. An inventory of his estate was placed on record in Randolph, June 21,
1793, with Edward Hart administrator. Exclusive of the land the appraisement was
$517 (See Will Book No. 1, pp. 11, 12, 13, 23 and 24.) In his settlement, made in 1796, Ed
ward Hart charged for flve gallons of whiskey, which he had ' 'used i n settling the estate. ' '
Nevertheless the estate had not been settled as late as 1829. The date of the death of
Kinnan is fixed by two letters written in 1829 by Lewis Kinnan, one of the boys who
was carried out of the house and saved by Mrs. Ward. He and his brother were then
(1829) living in Senaca County, New York, and their mother was then living in New
Jersey. These letters are now in possession of Attorney L. D. Strader, of Beverly. The
Indians evidently did not rob the house after the murder, as shown by the many articles
left there, named in the appraisement. This list is valuable as showing what constituted
the possessions of a family of that day. It is as follows: "9 horses, wheat and rye, bed
curtains, 2 pairs pillows and cases, 1 towel, 1 tine shirt, 1 lawn apron, 1 black apron, 1
cambrick apron, fine trumpery, 1 silk-gause apron, 2 handkerchiefs, children's clothing,
1 coat, 1 jacket, 5 long gowns, 1 pair of shoes and silver buckles, 3 petty-coats, 2 check
aprons, 4 short gowns, 2 beds and bed-clothing, 1 pair of pockets, 4 platters, 6 basins, 2
plates, 2 kegs, 1 pail, 1 pot tramble, 1 iron kettle, 2 scythes, 1 set of hangings, 1 gun, 1
pan, 2 bridles, 36 hogs, 16 cattle, 3 sheep, 1 grubbing hoe, two pairs of plow irons and
devices, 2 pots, 1 jug, 1 candlestick, 2 flat irons, 1 pair of shears, 9 spoons, steelyards, 1
brush, 2 collars, 1 ax."

Grave of the OonnoUy Family.

CHAPTER XIX,

-:o:-

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.
The act of the Virginia Assembly, passed in October, 1786, forming
Randolph County, provided that the first court should ' ' be held at the house
of Benjamin Wilson in Tygart's Valley. "* Accordingly, the first county
court was held May 28, 1787, and the following gentlemen were Justices of
the Peace, and under the laws of that time they constituted the Court:
Jacob Westfall, Salathiel Goff, Patrick Hamilton, John Wilson, Cornehus
Westfall, Edward Jackson, Robert Maxwell, Peter Cassity, Cornehus
Bogard, John Jackson, George Westfall, Henry Runyan, John Haddan and
Jonathan Parsons. Randolph County then included half of Barbour, half
of Upshur, a large part of Webster, all of Tucker, and the Justices came
from different parts of that large territory. Salathiel Goff was chosen
President of the court. He lived in what is now Tucker County, at St.
George. When the Justices assembled they organized the court by Patrick
Hamilton administering the oath of office to Salathiel Goff, and Goff swear
ing in the others. Jacob Westfall produced a commission from the Governor
of Virginia appointing him Sheriff, and he was sworn in. His commission
was dated April 17, 1787. His bondsmen were Salathiel Goff and Edward
Jackson. John Wilson was elected by the Justices as their clerk and gave
as his bondsmen Jacob Westfall and another whose name is unreadable on
. the old record. William McCleary was admitted to practice law, the first*
in the county, and ' 'he paid the tax prescribed by law. " He was appointed
Prosecuting Attorney for one year, at a salary of $13.33i "should the court
think proper to continue him for that term. " Edward Jackson and John
Haymond were placed in nomination for County Surveyor. Jackson re
ceived seven votes, Haymond four. Jackson was therefore recommended
to the Governor as the proper person for County Surveyor, f Cornelius
Bogard and Salathiel Goff were recommended to the Governor by the court
for County Coroner. Goff was subsequently appointed. Jacob Westfall
was recommended to the Governor for County Lieutenant; Patrick Hamilton
for Colonel of the County, Cornelius Bogard for Lieutenant-Colonel and John
Wilson for Maj or . There were several military offices at that time filled by ap
pointments by the Governor upon the recommendation of the county court.
It can be seen that the Justices of that day believed in keeping a.U the
offices among themselves, for they recommended nobody outside of theino-wn
¦*HenJng's Statutes, Vol. 12, p. 384.
tBy reference to the chapter on the Virginia Constitutions, in Part I, of this bool^
it will be seen that the people voted directly only for members of the Legislature and
Overseers of the Poor. Other offices were filled by appointment, some made by the wot-
ernor, some by the Legislature, and some by the courts.

COURT NOTES OP A CENTURY. 189
body. They appointed John Haddan, John Jackson and Cornelius Bogard
"Commissioners of Taxable Property," offices answering nearly to that of
Assessor at present.
This court was held about three miles below the present town of Bever
ly, at the residence of Colonel Benjamin Wilson. That was the first county
seat. On the first da,y of court steps were taken for moving the county
seat and building a court house, as the following entry in the record shows:
"Ordered: — That the public buildings be erected on the lands of James
Westfall, in that space of ground bounded by James WestfaU's fence in the
lower end of his plantation, and the river, by a line drawn from the river at
right angles, passing by the old 'scool-house' on said WestfaU's land, and
by the county road, on any spot within the tract by this order delineated
that Jacob Westfall and Cornelius Bogard may appoint, who are hereby
appointed to view and lay off a certain tract, not exceeding one acre, the
said WestfaU giving and granting the said tract of one acre, together with
timber for said public buildings. "
This ended the proceedings for the first day of the first court of Ran
dolph County. Much business was done, that day. County offices were
fUled or provided for; salaries were fixed; a county seat was selected;
ground and timber for a Court-House were provided for; and it is stated in
tradition, although not of record, that a county seat contest was also settled
on that day. According to the tradition, the people of Leading Creek wan
ted the Court-House, but neglected to offer anything except the land, while
the people about Beverly offered timber for buUding purposes, and thus
secured the county seat. The ground chosen for the Court-House was the
site of the Court-House still standing. The place was then or shortly
afterwards, called Edmondton, but in a few years the name was changed to
Beverly. The court met again the next day. May 29, 1787, and appointed Consta
bles and provided for roads, and then changed the place of holding court
from Benjamin Wilson's to the house of James Westfall, on the site of Bev
erly. That was Randolph's second Court-House in two days.
There was court every month. The second term began June 25, 1787.
There was not only usually a new President of the court elected every
term, but often every day. The Justices divided honors and appropriated
offices among themselves with a liberality seldom seen in modern times;
but no outsider jieed apply. The first step of the ambitious politician of
those days was to get himself appointed Justice of the Peace. Then, and
not till then, were the doors to promotion open for him. The Justices re
ceived no pay, and it was natural that they should consider, themselves
entitled to appointment to offices which had salaries or fees. The Sheriff's
place was always in view. The Governor always appointed to that position
the Justice with the oldest commission. A Sheriff could succeed himself.
In fact it was usual for him to be appointed twice in succession. After
that he took his place on the bench with the Justices again, and if he lived
long enough he would be appointed Sheriff again, when his turn came.
One Justice, Samuel Bonnifield, was appointed Sheriff of Randolph County
four times, the last being when he was eighty-eight year old.
The first case tried in the Randolph court was between William Peter
son as plaintiff and James Leeky, defendant. Judgment was for Peterson
in the sum of $11.65, William Kozer claimed pay as a witness, riding forty-
five miles ahd returning. The first deed ordered to be placed on record was

190 COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.
made by Ebenezer Petty and Elizabeth, his wife, to Gabriel Friend, for 200
acres. At this term of court the county was laid off into three assessor
districts, as follows:
John Haddan's District:— " From Simeon Harris' and Aaron Richard
son's up the Tygart River and with a straight line from Richardson's
to Roaring Creek, up Roaring Creek to the head, thence to the Middle Pork
to the head, thence to the Greenbrier line, 'the neardest direction;' from
Harris' to the Rockingham line, ' the neardest direction:' "
John Jackson's District:— " From John Haddan's line on Roaring Creek,
down said creek to the Valley River,* thence in a straight line to where the
road leading to Clarksburg crosses Laurel Run— the old pack road, called
'Pringle's road' — thence with said road to the head of Clover Run, thence
with the meanders of Laurel HUl to the county line."
Cornelius Regard's District: — "All of Randolph County not included in
Haddan's and Jackson's districts."
Matthew Whitman was the first deputy sheriff. He was appointed by
the court at the request of the Sheriff.
At the June term 1787, the earliest mention is found in the court records
of the laying off of the town which is now Beverly. No name for the pro
posed to-wn -was given at that time, but the court ' ' permitted " James West-
fall to ' ' lay out lots for the purpose of a town, between the fence or lower
end of his plantation, the river on the west, Benjamin Wilson's line on the
north, and -the county road on the east." The lots were to be ready for sale
at the August court, 1787. That was three and a half years before the Act
of the Assembly was passed for the incorporation of the town of Beverly.
The court records for July, 1787, contain this item: "Ordered, that
Charles Parsons be exempted from paying taxes on three head of horse
creatures that have been taken from him by the Indians since the 9th of
March last past.," It was also stated that Henry Pink had lost five horses
and John Warwick "several horses." The year 1787 was not one of special
hostiUty on the part of the Indians. The Revolutionary War had closed
and the British were no longer employing Indians, and the war of 1790 had
not commenced. The Randolph Court Record shows, however, that if the
Indians were not killing many people they at least were busy stealing
horses. Indians usually did not care for domestic animals, but they made
an exception of the horse, because they could ride him while he lived and
eat him when he died. At that court occurred the first mention of a tramp.
Nathan Nelson was committed to jail as a vagabond and was ordered to give
bond for his good behavior. On the same day John Alford came into court
and swore that he was afraid Joseph Parsons would do him a private injury.
Thereupon Parsons was put under bond ' 'to keep the peace of the world
and especially John Alford. " Jacob Westfall was ' 'admitted to retail hquor
till the November court, and no longer, without taking out license." That
was the first liquor license in Randolph, but after a few years such licenses
were issued by the score. The court fixed the price of all kinds of liquors
ordinarly served over bars, and the shop-keepers who charged more
were indicted.
-"The Monongahela River, like the Kanawha, has no common name from head to
mouth. It should be called the Mcinongahela from Pittsburg to Mingo; but it has three
names. From Pittsburg to the mouth of the West Fork it is Monongahela; from the
mouth of West Fork to the ^ap in Laurel Hill below Elkins, it is the Valley River; from
Laurel Hill to the source it is Tygart's River, or Tygart's Valley River.

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY. 191
At the July court, 1787, provision was made for the first election in
Randolph. The overseers of the poor were to be elected, and nothing else.
The county was laid off into four districts.
District 1, west of Rich Mountain, down to the Valley River, down the
west side of the river to the county line. The territory between that line
and Harrison county was the district, and John Jackson was appointed to
conduct the election.
District 2, that part of the county north-east of Rich Mountain and east
of Valley River, including the Horse Shoe settlement from Wilmoth's set
tlement down. Salathiel Goff was appointed to conduct the election.
District 3. The remainder of the county was "divided by a line due
east from Rich Mountain, passing by WUliam Wamsley's." North of the
line was the third district and Robert Maxwell was appointed to hold the
election. District 4 consisted of the remainder of the county, and Patrick Hamil
ton was appointed to hold the election. The Sheriff was ordered to oversee
the elections and make returns at the September court. Returns were not
made until November, and then in only two districts. In No. 2, William
WestfaU aud David Minear were elected; in No. 3, Aaron Richardson,
Thomas Philips and William Wilson.
At this court Hugh Turner was ordered to draw plans and specifications
for a jail, and the Sheriff was ordered to advertise for bids for building
the jail. At the August court, 1787, the first grand jury was drawn. The names
were: John Hamilton, Daniel Westfall, Valentine Stalnaker, Jacob Stal
naker. John Currence, Simeon Harris, Joseph Crouch, Charles Nelson,
Solomon Ryan, Abraham Kittle, Thomas Philips, William Wilson, Charles
Myers, Michael Isner, Nicholas Petro, Nicholas Wolf and Andrew Skidmore.
Alexander Addison applied for license to practice law. He. was licensed
temporarily and was given one year in which to secure the recommendation
of some county court, and if he did not secure such recommendation his
license lapsed. The same order "was made at that term in the case of WU
liam McCleary. Lawyers must be recommended by a county court before
they were admitted to practice; and deputy surveyors must pass an exam
ination before they were permitted to enter upon their duties. The County
Surveyor and his deputies had much work to do, as calls for the survey of
land entries were frequent. The principal surveyor must be licensed by
the college of William and Mary in Virginia; but his deputies passed ex
aminations which were usually conducted by a committee appointed by the
county court from its own members, and as they seldom knew anything of
surveying, their questions must have been more formidable than technical.
However, the applicant fared well; for, in the entire records of Randolph
County there is not found one failure among the hundreds of applicants for
deputy surveyor.
Edward Hart was awarded the contract for building a jail, to be com
pleted in one month. The price is not now known.
At the September Court, 1787, John Wilson was allowed 200 pounds of
tobacco as pay for 'labor in collecting the land tax. The first county levy
was laid at this court. It was a poll tax, and was laid on certain slaves as
well as on white men. The rate was $1.04 per head.
The first record of an insane person in the county is found in the pro
ceedings of that court. Philip and David Minear informed the court that

192 COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.
their brother, John Minear, "was crazy and had escaped into Monongalia
County." They asked for authority to take charge of him and his estate.
Their petition was granted. The Minears lived at St. George, in the pres
ent County of Tucker.
Two indictments were found at that court — the first in the county. One
was against Martin Brown and one against Silas Hadchesson, both for sell
ing liquor without license. No further mention of the cases is found in the
records. From that date forward for fifty years or more there was, on an
average, fifty indictments a year for selling liquor without license; and an
examination of the records fails to show that there were, on an average,
two convictions a year. Not one case in four ever came to trial, and .the
verdict was nearly always one of acquittal. The same statement applies to
indictments for assault and battery in the early years of the county. In
dictments were numerous, trials few and convictions rare. Occasionally,
however, when found guilty, a fine by no means light was imposed.
At the March court, 1788, William McCleary was recommended to the
Governor as a proper person for Judge of the District Court of Monongalia
County. At this court the first indictment in the county for getting drunk
was found. It was against Nathaniel Maddix. The first trial jury in the
county was at that court, and found Joseph Donoho guilty and he was fined
$1.72, but the nature of the charge against him is not stated. The names
of the Jurors were: James Taffee, John Elliott, Samuel Pringle, William
Blair, William Anthony, Smith Currence, George Rennix, Anthony Smith,
William Parsons, William Smith, Henry Mace, Job Westfall, and Thomas
Carney. Although the jail was ordered to be finished in one month from the
letting of the contract, it was not done eleven months after, and the court
ordered the Sheriff to collect $26. 66f '"¦ to carry forward the work.
In July, 1788, the court aimed a blow at idleness in these words:
' ' Ordered, that a writ go forth to bring Grant Lambert before the next
August court to show cause why he does not betake himself to lawful em
ployment and demean himself as required by the laws of this common
wealth. " There is no record to show what became of Grant Lambert. He
probably betook himself to lawful employment, or took himself out of the
county. About this time the grand juries commenced indicting the road over
seers for neglecting their work. Such indictments were numerous, some
times half the overseers of the county being on the list. Pew v/ere found
guilty, and the fines were never heavy, often only a few cents. Such in
dictments were found by the dozen at nearly every court where there was
a jury during the first half century of the county, and they are by no moans
obsolete at the present day.
In 1787 the Justices of the Peace drew up plans and specifications for
a Court-House, and ordered the Siieriff to advertise for bids for building.
The site selected was at the intersection of the streets at the corner of the
present vacant square, and when the house was built it stood in the street,
and a narrow alley passed on either side of it. But, although the plans
were adopted in September, 1788, some time elapsed before the house -was

¦"¦Pounds, shillings and pence were used. They have been reduced to dollars an(i
cents in this book. In Virginia currency the pound was $3.33^, the shilling 16f cents antj
lihe penny 1 7-18 cents.

Court notes of a century. 193
completed. Hugh Turner had the contract, and in February, 1789, he was
paid $200. In April of the next year a minute in the court record states
that the total cost should not exceed $400, and that the first story should be
finished and "turned over" by April, 1791. It was a two-story structure. The
jail which was ordered to be finished within one month, dragged along from
1788 till April, 1790, when it was completed. In the meantime, or at least
part of the time, the Sheriff kept his prisoners in his residence. As late as
January, 1792, there were "timbers, scantlings and planks " provided for
the construction of the Court-House, and on April 25 of that year, the con
tractor, Hugh Turner, gave up the job and the court ordered the contract
re-let to the lowest bidder. Henry Hart's bid was $106. 66f, and he was
awarded the contract. This was for completing the work left unfinished
by Turner. Hart was slow, and in August, 1795, the court ordered Max
well Armstrong, the Commonwealth's Attorney, to bring suit against Hart's
bondsmen, on account of his failure to complete the Court-House. In
August, 1796, Hart promised to have the work done by the following
November, and the suit against him and his bondsmen was let rest, to see
what he would do. Plenty of time was given, and on July 23, 1798, a com
mittee was appointed by the court to ascertain whether Edward Hart had
finished the Court-House according to contract. No explanation is given
why Edward Hart was substituted for Henry Hart, the contractor. No
report can be found, but inasmuch as no further mention is made of the
matter it is inferred that the four hundred dollar Court-House had been
finished after ten years of labor, and the failure of one contractor and prob
ably two. Steps were at once taken for building a stone jail, ¦which never
was built. Something, however, was still the matter with the Court-House,
for on December 23, 1799, court was held at the house of William Marteney,
in Beverly. In October, 1802, an order was made to pay ' ' William Mar
teney $12 rent for the use of his house as a Court-House during the winter
last past," and at the same time eight dollars were appropriated to buy
"benches and a table for the Court-House and to repair the stocks." It is
evident that the county had not received much benefit so far from its Court-
House. In 1789 the Sheriff's bond was $53,333. One of the first orders given the
Sheriff after his appointment that year was that he call on Harrison County
for the balance due Randolph. It is not stated for what that balance was
due, nor how much it was, but it probably consisted of taxes collected by
Harrison within the territory of Randolph before the formation of this
county. The law provided, in certain cases, that the new county should
receive a share of the revenue coUected after the Act of the Legislature
had passed creating the county, but before the county was organized.
In those days the records of court proceedings were meager, so meager
that it is often impossible to determine what was the charge or the issue in
suits which passed to judgment. Following are examples, showing every
thing on record concerning the matters :
"Jacob Stalnaker vs. William Blair; agreed."
"John Wilson vs. Uriah Gandy: jury; the plaintiff must have the
horse. "
" The Commonwealth vs. Gabriel Powell; 3s."
"William Gipson vs. William McCleary; improper."
"John Haddan vs. David Lilly; two blankets instead of one."
" Jaines Taffee vs. William Bonner; next."

194 COURT NOTES OP A CENTURY.
"The Commonwealth vs. Charles Parsons; tree in the road."
On April 27, 1789, Robert Maxwell gave notice that he had applied for
a privilege of establishing a ferry across Leading Creek from his lands to
those of Jonas Friend. At the same court Gabriel Powell was cited to ap
pear and give security that he would support his family, or show cause why
he should not come under the vagrancy act. At the May court McCleary
was removed from the office of Prosecuting Attorney, but no reason was
assigned for it. He was subsequently employed occasionally to represen*
the county in court. After waiting a month for Gabriel Powell to appear,
the court ordered that both he and his wife be ' 'taken by Constable WiUiam
Haddan to Constable David Minear, and that Minear convey them into
Washington County, Maryland, and there leave them."
In 1789 David Lilly, who kept tavern in Beverly, was indicted ' 'for sell
ing apple brandy above the legal rate." Five members of the grand jury
whicli indicted him appeared as witnesses against him. There is nothing
on the records to show what became of the case.
In August of that year, 1789, occurs the first record in Randolph of
an oath to support the Constitution of the United States. The oath was
taken by all the Justices of the Peace. The Constitution had lately been
ratified. In September of that year the court issued a certificate to Jona
than Buffington, setting forth that he had lost a land warrant for 400 acres
given to him for services in Colonel Gibson's regiment. The certificate ex
plains, "the warrant was taken from him by the Indians when he was
captivated." Anthony Roger's tax for that year was not coUected because
Indians took his horse.
At the March court, 1790, there was trouble among the Justices on the
bench. One of them, Edward Jackson, went before the grand jury and
gave information that his associate, Robert Maxwell, was drunk, and Max
well was indicted, and Jackson was likewise indicted for a similar offence.
Maxwell was tried and acquitted, but Jackson confessed his guilt. Jacob
Stalnaker was indicted "for swearing at the February court;" Jacob Faltner
for conducting a lottery, and William Currence "for fighting the Sherifi."
He was fined 16f cents. The next year Benjamin Hornbeck was indicted for
carrying a grist to mill on Sunday, and the next year, 1791, almost every
road overseer in the county was indicted for neglect of duty. In August of
that year the name Beverly occurs on the court records for the first time.
At that time it was lawful to imprison a man for debt. The creditor
was required to pay all the expenses of the imprisonment. The debtor
could take the bankrupt's oath and secure his release. He was not com
pelled to stay inside the jail, but was permitted to enjoy liberty within
certain prescribed bounds, beyond which he must not go. In September,
1791, the "prison bounds" in Beverly were fixed: "Beginning at the lower
corner of Edward Hart's lot on Front street, opposite the lot next above
the lot whereon the Court-House is; thence down to the lot Hart's carpen
ter shop is on, by the spring; thence down with the lower Une of thetoism
to the lower end thereof; thence up to Front street, and thence to the be
ginning." Subsequently the "prison bounds" were extended to include the
whole of Beverly.
In 1792 the court appointed a committee to examine the falls in the
Valley River, in the present county of Tayk)r, to ascertain whether they
could be improved so that fish could come up the river. Harrison County
was asked to assist in the improvement. Nothing was done.

Court notes op a century. 195
In 1794 the Sheriff advertised for bids for building stocks and a pillory
in Beverly. These things were considered essential. Among the indict
ments that year were these: St. Leger Stout for "suffering cardplaying in
his house;" Edward Hart, the same; John Shultz "for carrying corn meal
on Sunday;" Samuel Bringham for "profane swearing." Jacob Westfall
was granted permission "to erect a grist mill next to the town of Beverly."
In November, 1794, the words "dollar" and "cent" occur for the first time
in the court records of Randolph. Pounds, shillings and pence gradually
went out of use after that date. The Sheriff was paid in "dollars'* for tak
ing two horse thieves to Bath County. In 1795 Edward Combs was put in
the stocks five minutes for contempt of court. Three years later St. Leger
Stout was adjudged guilty of contempt and was ordered to the stocks five
minutes. This order was partly scratched off the book and one was sub
stituted stating that Stout was fined $20 and was required to give bond to
keep the peace one year. At the same time William Briggs, Richard
Reeder, William Westfall and Jacob Wees were fined two dollars each for
not assisting the Sheriff to arrest Stout when called upon to do so. These
fragmentary records give us a glimpse of a lively court day, with Stout on
the warpath, defying the Sheriff, and citizens refusing to assist the officer
to restore order The next month peace had been restored and all the fines
were ordered remitted.
In 1796 another tramp case was on the docket, and all the constables in
the county were ordered to take part in catching him and fioating him
' 'from constable to constable until he shall be moved beyond the county
line the way he came." His name was John Gilberts, and fifteen days were
allowed to consummate his banishment.
In 1795 the County Seal was affixed to six instruments, at one dollar
each, of which 95 cents went to the State. The next year the seal was
affixed to eight instruments. During the ten or twelve years from 1789, the
records of the county were made by Robert Maxwell, deputy clerk.
Early in 1798 there was a smallpox scare in Randolph. The court met
in special session to take measures, but adjourned without doing anything.
All the Justices in the county were summoned to meet February 26, but they
did nothing, so far as the records show, to check the spread of the epidemic.
Nicholas Marsteller was appointed Master of Brands and Measures.
Under the law, correct weights and measures, such as scales, yardsticks,
pecks, and others of a like kind, were ordered to be provided and kept by
the county; and all weights and measures brought into the county must be
inspected before being used.
There were 32 delinquent taxpayers in Randolph in 1797, and 26 the
next year, and 30 in 1802. In 1800 the first conviction for ' 'profane swear
ing" was placed on record. Henry Mace was fined 33 cents for that offense.
But, once a conviction was secured, others followed, and at the same court
a fine of 33 cents each was imposed upon Joseph Friend and Thomas Wil
moth for swearing.
In March, 1803, Samuel Pringle was a witness at the Beverly court and
was paid for traveling thirty miles, from Harrison county. This was evi
dently the same Pringle who deserted from Port Pitt in 1761, and who took
up his residence in the present county of Upshur in 1765. His name is met
several times in the early records of Randolph, but not later than 1803.
At the May court, 1803, a series of unusual indictments were found,
were subsequently tried and in some of them convictions were secured and

196 COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.
fines of a few cents were imposed. The indictments were "for not giving
or offering to give their votes for a member of Congress and two members
of the General Assembly of the State." The persons indicted were Andrew
Miller, Charles Myers, Daniel Hart, Elijah RoUins, Ebenezer Flanagan,
Charles Boyles, Henry Jackson, Jacob Nestor, Joseph Joseph, John Hill',
John Sanders, John Barker, John Barnhouse, Isaac Parsons, Martin Miller,
Thomas Cade, WUUam Anglin, WUliam Howell, Terah Osborn, John Had
dan and William Wilson. Times have changed. Men are now sometimes in
dicted for voting too much; formerly they were indicted for not voting
enough. The next year Abraham Springstone was indicted, found guilty,
and was fined "85 cents each" for "swearing five several prophane oaths."
The next year another pillory and new stocks were built.
Persons charged with felony were given preliminary trials, and if
deemed guilty, they were sent for trial to the district court, sometimes to
Morgantown, sometimes to Moorefield and sometimes to Clarksburg.
The first foreigner naturalized in Randolph County was William Bock,
1806; the second was Samuel Nearbeck, 1824. In 1806 there were only
two voting places in Randolph for electing overseers of the poor, one at
Beverly, the other at John Philips' house on Glady Creek, in the present
county of Barbour. There were 41 delinquent taxpayers in the countv
in 1806. Randolph had bad luck with its log Court-House, begun 1788 and finished
some ten years later. It never fulfilled expectations, and it was not used
after 1803. From that date till 1808 court was held in the house of John
Wilson, and in 1808, at the house of Nicholas Gibson, in Beverly. On
March 29 of that year all the Justices in the county were called together to
take steps toward building a new Court-House and jaU. The old jail had
utterly failed. In June of that year Jonathan Hutton, Samuel Ball, and
Matthew Whitman were appointed a committee to contract for building a
Court-House, jail and clerk's office. The specifications for the Court-House
were as follows: "The front to be thirty feet -wide; forming a circle in the
back part; underpinned with stones; walls of brick; first story 12 feet
high; second story eight feet high; the clerk's office 15 feet square, ad
joining the southwest end of the Court-House, built of brick; all covered
with joint shingles; lower fioor of office to be laid with brick," That was
the beginning of the the old Court-House which is still standing and in use.
Several changes were made in the plan before it was completed. In 1809
the old county buildings were appraised at $402.50. The length of the new
building was increased to 36 feet. ~ In 1810 the sum of $828.50 was appro
priated for building purposes. The next year, 1811, court was held in the
house of Ely Butcher, in Beverly. In 1813 the further sum of $400 was
appropriated for building the Court-House, and at the same time specifica
tions for a jail, to be completed within a year, were adopted, and the build
ing contract was awarded William Marteney and William Steers. The
foundations must be four feet under ground. The next year the con
tractors were paid $250 on the jail contract, and Solomon Collett was paid
$35. 50 for hinges and other irons for the Court-House, and these are still
in use. In January, 1815, the Court-House was not yet finished, and a
second story was ordered put on the jail.* The upper story was for debtors.
No date can be discovered at which the Court-House was occupied by the
court, but probably it was early in 1815. The County Clerk's office was
not buUt tiU 1838.

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY. 197
Among the numerous indictments in 1811 for Sabbath breaking, neglect
of roads, fighting and other greater or lesser offenses, was one against
Samuel Bingham, expressed in unique and unpunctuated phraseology as
follows: "For provanely swearing one oath to wit by god within two
months last past a true bill." In 1816 Abraham Longaker was fined $30 for
selling half a pint of rum without license, and Peter Robinson was fined
$2.50 for breaking a jail window. The next year Benjamin Hornbeck was
fined $5 "for failing to keep stiU."
At the October court, 1819, Ely Butcher, Godfrey Hiller and Archi
bald Earle were ' 'appointed commissioners to contract for filling up the
Court-House with gravel. " There is no explanation of what this means,
but probably the intention was that the low places in the Court-House
yard, and not the building itself, should be filled with gravel.
In 1820 there was another racket in court. The minute reads: "Or
dered that Robert Furguson be fined $1.66 cents for swearing two oaths in
the presence of the court," and immediately following is another: "Ordered
that Robert Ferguson be fined $20 for contempt of court and that he be
imprisoned until he pay the fine." It is presumable that the first fine pro
voked Mr. Ferguson to commit the second offense. The court records do
not give the conclusion, but it is a matter of tradition that a few minutes
after he was put in jail he walked into the court-room, bringing with him
the iron bars which had barricaded the window. He was a blacksmith, and
had put the bars in the -windo^w, and knowing the manner of their
fastenings, he had easily taken therh out. *
As late as 1821 the jaU was not yet done, having dragged along since
1813. The building yet stands just north of the public square. When
the movement began in 1813 for a new jail it was the purpose to put it in
the public square, but Adam Myers, who owned the old hotel (still stand
ing) on the east side of the square, objected, because a jail' in front of his
hotel would injure his property. Therefore he offered to deed the county
a lot just north of the square for a jail, provided the court would agree to
put no buUding on the square in front of his tavern. The agreement being
satisfactory, the following minute was entered of record November 24,
1813: "Ordered that WUliam Martney and William Steers be appointed
commissioners to contract with Adam Myers for land to build a jail on, and
to enter into an agreement with said Myers that the public will put no
building on the public square, unoccupied, opposite said Myers' house, but
it to remain for the use of the public." Myers gave the lot, and from that
day to this the public square has remained vacant, and it must remain
vacant forever under the laws of this country. Three-quarters of a cen-
*Robert Ferguson was a soldier in the war of 1812. It is said that once when rations
were scarce in camp the soldiers raided a farmer's henhouse. Ferguson plucked his
rooster as he walked along until in front of the Colonel's tent where he wrung the
fowl's head off, left the head and the feathers there, and went to his own tent and
cooked the chicken. The next morning the irate farmer tracked the feathers to the
Colonel's tent, found the head there, and created an uproar by boisterously charging the
otBcer with chicken stealing. The Colonel emphatically denied it, but when shown the
evidence in front of his tent, he said he must have done it in his sleep, as he could not
remember it. Another night the soldiers visifed a potato patch. Ferguson filled his
pockets first, and then roared at the top of his voice: "Come up here, boys; the closer
the house the bigger the taters." This, of course, apprised the farmer of the situation,
and out he came, and the soldiers skedaddled with empty pockets. Ferguson alone had
potatoes for breakfast next morning.

198 COURT NOTES OP A CENTURY.
tury afterwards the county court undertook to sell the square, but could
not do so. The supreme court decided that the county, by that order in
1813, had dedicated the square to the use of the public, and it must per
petually remain for the use of the public.
In 1826 a special court was called for the purpose of "putting a cupola
on the Court-House and buying a bell." That bell remained on the buildin^
nearly seventy years, was then transferred tO the new Court-House, and
when that building was burned, the bell was broken in the fall.
In 1827 ten indictments were found for horse racing, and fines were
imposed in every case.
In case the Justices present and holding court could not decide a ques
tion by reason of a tie vote, the Sheriff could cast the deciding vote.
In 1841 the county court appropriated $1000 for buUding a new jail,
and called for bids, ordering the call published two months "in some news
paper published at Clarksburg." That was the first mention of a news
paper in the Randolph records. The commissioners to build the jail were
Charles C. See, David Goff and Lemuel Chenoweth. The jail was to be
finished in two years. The contractors were WiUiam T. Clark and
Alexander K. HoUaway, and the price $4479,
In 1844 the old jail was sold to David Blackman for $425, and in 1845
the new jail was finished. It is the one still in use.
The first vote by the court in the county, whether liquor license should
be issued, was taken in June, 1856, and resulted in 12 for license and 11
against. In March, 1885, the County Court appointed J. F. Harding and L. D.
Strader commissioners to ascertain the practicability of buying ground and
building a Court-House. In March, 1889, L. D. Strader, Thomas P. E.
Brown and Leland Kittle were named as commissioners to communicate
with architects in regard to a plan for a building to cost $10,000 or |12,000.
In the January following, E. W. Wells, of Wheeling, an architect, was em
ployed to prepare preliminary plans for the Court-House. On July 3, 1890,
a petition, signed by 948 persons, was filed asking for an election to vote on
the proposition to move the county seat from Beverly to Elkins. On the
same day an order was passed by the court sub-mittiug to a vote the pro
position of bonding the county for $25,000 to build the Court-House. The
election occured in November of that year, and the vote stood, for bonds
614, against bonds 1292. In July, 1892, Murray Brothers were the lowest
bidders, at $18,943.50, for building the Court-House, and were awarded the
contract. The building was completed in April, 1894, and on May 20, 1897,
it was accidently burned. The court was held May 26, 1897, in the lower
room of the Masonic Lodge Building, and on June 17, the records were
moved into the old Court-House, and steps were taken iio erect a new build
ing. No books were destroyed in the fire, but many files of old papers were
burned. Two elections were held for the purpose of removing the Court-
House to Elkins, in both of them the decision was in favor of Beverly. In
1898 another election was ordered to vote on the same question.
CIRCUIT COURTS AND JUDGES.
The first record of a Circuit or Superior Court for Randolph dates back
to May, 1H09. Judge Hugii Nelson of the Eleventh Circuit was on the bench.
The first suit tried was that of WUliam Tingle, Clerk of the Monongalia
District Court against Samuel Bonnifield, ex- Sheriff of Randolph, for the

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY. 199
collection of fees. The minute says: "The defendant appeared in court
and said he cannot gainsay the plaintiff's motion against him for $9.41, and
judgment was given for the plaintiff."
In 1817 Judge Daniel Smith was on the bench. Indictments were found
. in the circuit court as well as in the county court, and their jurisdiction
was concurrent in many things. Both had trial juries, but felonies were
not tried in the county court. It was customary in Judge Smith's court to
fine a witness for failure to attend when summoned, and the amount was
uniformly eight dollars, assessed in his absence, and the witness was then
cited to show cause, if he could, why the fine should not be collected. It
was seldom collected. Following is the style of bond usually given in a
civil suit. It was given in 1818 in the case of Thomas Bland against Ben
jamin Marsh.
"Solomon Parsons, of this county, who having qualified to his sufflciency, came into
court and and undertook for the defendant that in case he should be cast in this suit,
that he would pay and satisfy the condemnation of the court, or render his body to prison
in execution for the same, or that he, the said Solomon Parsons, would do It for him. "
In 1819 Solomon Parsons was found guilty of assault and battery and
was fined one cent. In 1820 all the Justices of the county were cited to ap
pear and show cause why they should not be fined for failing to provide a
sufficient jail. The record does not show what excuse the Justices offered,
or whether any of them were fined. Road overseers were seldom fined by
the county court for neglecting their roads, but when they fell into the
hands of the circuit court the fine was usually $10.
In 1822 an important case was disposed of by a brief order, thus: "John
Howard, schoolmaster, late of the county of Randolph, who stands indicted
for forgery, and thereof arraigned, and pleaded not guilty, and for tryall
put himself upon God and the country, was found . guilty, sentenced one
year in the penitentiary prison house, with two months in solitary confine
ment on low and coarse diet."
It was the intention to have both a spring and a fall term, but one or
the other was usually oinitted. In 1827 there were twenty indictments for
unlawful horse-racing. In 1830 the new constitution took effect. The first
Judge after that was Edwin S. Duncan, of the Eighteenth Circuit. In 1835
the venerable clerk, Archibald Earle, was cited to appear in court to show
cause why he should not be fined for failing ' ' for a whole year to fix up a
list of road overseers." His excuse was apparently satisfactory, as he was
not fined. In 1843 John S. Carlile, the politician, was indicted for unlaw
ful practice as an attorney. The specific charge is not stated. The case
was dismissed.
Randolph County has held court in twelve houses, and has had two
coifnty seats, as follows :
First county seat, 1787, four miles below Beverly.
Second county seat, from 1787 till the present, Beverly.
First Court-House, 1787, at Benjamin Wilson's.
Second Court-House, 1787, at James WestfaU's, in Beverly.
Third Court-House, completed 1798, in Beverly.
Fourth Court-House, 1799, William Marteney's residence, Beverly.
Fifth Court-House, 1804, John Wilson's house, Beverly.
Sixth Court-House, 1808, Nicholas Gibson's house, Beverly.
Seventh Court-House, 1811, Ely Butcher's residence, Beverly.
Eighth Court-House, completed 1815, still standing, Beverly.

200 COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.
Ninth Court-House, 1864, Lucinda Leonard's house, Beverly.
Tenth Court-House, 1865, David Blackman's storehouse, Beverly.
Eleventh Court-House, completed 1894, burned 1897, Beverly.
Twelfth Court House, 1897, Masonic Lodge Building, Beverly.
WAR REMINISCENCES IN COURT RECORDS.
The burning of many old files of papers with the Court-House in 1897
no doubt destroyed numerous valuable scraps of history relating to early
Indian troubles as well as the Civil War. All through the books in the
clerk's office, for a hundred years, events are alluded to, but seldom
described, which would be interesting if we had them. Full particulars, in
most cases, were filed as papers and documents and were not recorded in
the ledgers. Particularly was this so with regard to the claims of several
Revolutionary soldiers who afterwards received pensions. Reports were
made, setting forth their services, ahd these papers are lost beyond recov
ery. The same is true in a lesser degree of the Civil War, but other sources
of information are open, and the loss is not so severely felt. In the para
graphs which follow fragmentary items and incidents will be given, as they
can be gleaned from the books, from the organization of the county, in 1787,
till the close of the Civil War.
In 1789 the Sheriff was ordered, "for the time being, to pay to William
Blair, pensioner, resident in the county, forty pounds, his pension for the
years 1786 to 1789." He was most probably a Revolutionary soldier who
drew a pension because of injuries.
On April 29, 1789, Philip Washburn was appointed administrator of the
estate of Jonathan Minear. This seemingly unimportant record perhaps
has more historical value than at first appears. Jonathan Minear and
Philip Washburn, brothers-in-law, owned land two miles below St. George,
in the present County of Tucker. One morning, very early in the spring,
they were waylaid by Indians and Minear was killed and Washburn was
taken prisoner, but was rescued a few days later. The date of the occur
rence is in doubt, but it has been supposed to have happened in 1780. The
Randolph record renders it highly probably that the date was 1789. It is
likely that Minear's estate, which was considerable, would have been placed
in charge of an administrator as soon as possible. If the murder took place
in March, as tradition has it, the time till April 29 would be about sufficient
to take the necessary steps for the appointment of an administrator.
On March 27, 1790, the court "ordered that Thomas Price, an old sol
dier who was wounded at the Battle of the Point, * under the command of
Colonel Lewis, in the command of Captain Jolm Lewis, f of Augusta, be
recommended to the executive as a proper object of public charity and that
a pension ought to allowed him of five pounds."
Prom an order in the court record, June, 1793, it is learned that Jacob
Westfall, who was appointed County Lieutenant in 1787, had called a num
ber of scouts into the field in 1790, to watch Indian paths leading to the
settlement in Randolph. Westfall subsequently removed to Kentucky,
leaving no one to certify the claims of the scouts when they applied for
their pay. This facj; was stated by the court in a memorial to the secre
tary of war. The n^mes of the scouts do not appear on the record. They
*Point Pleasant, October 10, 1774.
fSon of Colonel William Lewis. See Waddell's "Annals of Augusta County," p. 135,

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY, 201
were probably on a separate paper, lost when the Court-House was burned.
In November, 1811, "William Howell came into court and made oath
that Michael Howell never received any compensation in land for his
services while a soldier under Colonel Murtenberger in the Revolutionary
War." In May, 1818, the court passed an order exempting from paying county
taxes, and recommending for pensions the following Revolutionary soldiers,
who had ' ' served against the common enemy :" John StuUer, Samuel Bonni
field, William Shreve, Elias Alexander, Daniel Canfield, and Abraham
Burner. In 1822 Shreve was declared insolvent. He "belonged to the
Virginia line."
In 1822 Archibald Earle, Colonel of the 107th Regiment, was paid $90
for furnishing "three stands of colors."
In 1825 "Samuel Girty was sent to jail for contempt of court for coming
into court drunk. " It cannot be ascertained whether he was a relative of
the notorious Simon Girty, who joined the Indians. It is not improbable
that he was.
In 1828, "Daniel Canfield, a soldier nine months in the Revolution,
renewed his application for a pension, and gave in his property at $57.75."
In 1833 Thomas Isner applied for a pension on the ground that he was an
Indian spy in the Revolutionary War. In 1838 similar claims were made
by Valentine Stalnaker and Jacob Stalnaker. Claims as Revolutionary
soldiers were made by John Ryan, Matthew Whitman, James Holder and
Jacob Lesher.
Randolph must have furnished a considerable number of soldiers for
the war of 1812, but the records show but few. Michael Wees, who was in
Captain William Booth's company. Second Virginia Militia, was discharged
at Fort Meigs, in Ohio, in 1813, and died May 10, just after reaching home.
He was sick when discharged. Levi Ward was Ensign in Captain Booth's
Company. He was drafted in Randolph for six months. Mention of other
soldiers of the war will be found in this book. The present chapter aims
only to give such as are mentioned in the court records.
As troubles leading to the Civil War thickened, mention of them begins
to appear in the court records. In April, 1859, Archibald Earle was
appointed Captain of Patrols to keep watch that there was no unlawful
assemblage ot slaves. His assistants were Morgan Kittle, Judson L.
Suiter, Creed Earle, WUliam H. Keesey, Wm. C. Chenoweth, Thomas R.
Rummell, Parkison Collett, Jacob Suiter, Adam C. Rowan, Alpheus Buckey,
Andrew J. Collett, Squire N. Bosworth, and Owen W. Rummell.
On June 24, 1861, seventeen days before the battle of Rich Mountain,
the following minute appears on the record of the county court:
"Ordered that the sum of $5000 be appropriated for the equipment of any volunteer
. companies that may be hereafter raised in this county, which any subsequent court of
this county may by its order authorize to be borrowed on the faith of the county; and
when so borrowed the payment thereof shall be provided for by levy hereafter to be
made." There was no court from June, 1861, till February, 1862. At the meet
ing of the court at the latter date, the clerk was ordered to take the books
to his own house for safe keeping. In March, 1862, Hoy McLean was ap
pointed to take charge of the public buildings, and to make out an account
against the United States government for damages done to the buildings by
the Union troops who occupied them. In April, 1862, an election was

^^^ COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.
office\acanr^''Tol!^f P P?i'"^' ^°^^™°^ ^^^^P^^^' ^^^ ^««l^^«<i the
omce vacant. Jesse F. Phares was made Sheriff. In June of that vear
anv Zrl °<^«Y-K';'?l^"'"^' t^^* '^^ ^^^'-^^ «1^^11 ^°t P^y aSy monefto
W «w! ^^¦t'^'*f ^^.^y ^'* °^ *^« General Assembly passed at Wheel-
mg since the first day of January, 1861." The county records were taken
1 oi, ?, °"' ^"* ^h®^ ^^^^ ^y '^h'^se order does not appear. In August
1862, the court ordered "that the deed books and the will books of this
office remain m Buchannon until further orders by this court." In Septem
ber following they were ordered to be brought back to Beverly. The last
county court during the war was held in March, 1863, Another was not
held taU November, 13, 1865. In AprU, 1863, occurred Imboden's raid, and the
records of Randolph were carried away to Brownsburg, Rockbridge County,
Virginia, where they remained till the close of the war. They were taken
from Beverly by Squire N. Bosworth, deputy clerk, and were hauled in a
wagon drawn by two horses and a yoke of cattle.
After the county books were carried to Rockbridge County, there was
no circuit court held till September 28, 1863. Judge Robert Irvine was
then on the bench, and John B. Earle was clerk. The first lawyers in
Randolph County to take the oath after West Virginia became a State were
Spencer Dayton and Nathan H. Taft. In March, 1864, the jaU of Taylor
County was designated as the jail of Randolph. What was kno-wn as the
"Test Oath" was as follows:
"I do soimenly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and
of this State; that I have never voluntarily borne arms against the United States; that
I have voluntarily given no aid or comfort to persons engaged in armed hostility thereto,
by countenancing, counseling, or encouraging them in the same; that I have not sought,
accepted or attempted to exercise the functions of any office whatever, under any
authorty in hostility to the United States; that I have not yielded a voluntary support
to any pretended Government, Authority, Power, or Con.stitution within the United
States, hostile or inimical thereto; and that I take this obligation freely, without mental
reservation or purpose of evasion."
In Deed Book No. 23, for the year 1863, is recorded a letter from General
Milroy. • No explanation is given for entering the letter on the records of
the county; but the contents of the letter render it probable that the bonds
to which it alludes had hot yet been recovered, and the letter was intended
to assist in identifying them, should they be found. The handwriting of
General Milroy was certified to by George R Latham and Henry C. Flesher.
A copy of the letter is as follows: •'IlEADQUAH'rEllS, MiLROT's DIVISION, I
WiNCUifis-rBK, Va., Feb. 20, 1863. )
"Cap'I'Ain William G. Geokge:
"J>EAK Silt: -Yiiu will rcnieniher tliat while at Huttonsville two trunks were
captured and hroiighl into headciiinrlers tliat had Ijcloiiged to Dr. .lames Jones who was
alleged to have went oil willi llie Hebe! arniv. and that among other papers found in one
(if Llie.se truiiUs were two bonds ol' $1,000 each, in favor of .said Jones, Upon my return
bo West Virginia hist fall, 1 I'ound Dr. .loiiesat Bueklninnon, and learned that he had
been ill the vicinity oC thai, place for simic time with his family. He took the oath of
allcgiaiice to the UnltedStJiles. and staled fliat he was foreod to go away with the Rebels,
and returned a.s socm as lie could get away Iroin them. 1 was convinced upon inquiry
tlialj liis pniperty was not siibieel. to eon (isea tion for disloyalty, and directed that all his
f)ni|iei'l,y should be returned, as far as pd.ssible. 1 understood that the two bonds above
relerrei'l to were placed in llie hands of li^ank Phares, United States Deputy Marshall,
and gave tlie diictor an order on Krank lor them. But I received aletter fromhimafew
days ago stating that he had called on Phares a few days ago for the bonds, and was in-

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.

203

formed by him that he bad never had them, and told him that they were still in your
possession. If so, send them to his order. If not, let him know where they are, if you
know. This will be forwarded to you by Dr. Jones himself.
"Your Friend Truly, "R. H. MiLUOY, Brig. Gen'"
At the present time the courts pay no attention to military affairs, but
early in the county's history and until the close of the Civil War there was
frequent mention of soldiers, officers and military proceedings. There were
courts held for the sole purpose of providing for the country's defense.
Military officers were appointed the same as civil officers. The militia
had regular times for mustering, and there were fines for non-
attendance, and those fines were collected the same as taxes. There are
gaps in these military records. Several books are missing, if they were
ever kept in this county. They may have been kept in some other county
for part of the time, for military affairs were not exclusively county busi
ness. The militia records for Tucker County are found only in Randolph.
The military officers of Randolph are given below, so far as the records
show them: COLONELS OF MILITIA.

Patrick Hamilton  1787
WiUiam Lowther  1796
Archibald Earle  1822
Robert N. BaU  1827
Solomon Wyatt  1831
Jacob KeUer  1837
CAPTAINS
Edward Jackson  1787
James Westfall  1787
Peter Cassity  1787
WiUiam Wilson  1787
George WestfaU  1787
Jonathan Parsons  1787
John Jackson  1789
Jacob Kittle  1794
John Chenoweth  1794
John Haddan  1795
WUliam Parsons  1796
George Rennix  1798
Adam See  1800
Matthew Whitman  1800
Samuel BaU  1802
Benjamin Vannoy  1805
John Crouch  1805
John Currence.  1805
Nicholas Gibson  1806
John Forrest  1807
WUUam Booth  1807
Anthony Huff  1807
Andrew Friend  1807
John Wood  1808
Thomas Butcher   1810
WUUam Stalnaker  1810

David Goff  1844
John W. Crawford  1850
Hoy McLean  1853
Melvin Currence  1860
Cyrus Kittie  1862
OF MILITIA.
Thompson Elza  1844
Benjamin Kittle  1844
Bushrod W. Crawford  1844
Jacob Conrad  1844
Daniel W. Shurtliff  1844
Elijah M.Hart  1844
John M. Crouch  1844
Wyatt Ferguson  1844
Hamilton Skidmore  1845
Andrew Stalnaker  1845
Hoy McLean  1846
Henry Rader  1846
George W. Berlin  1848
George Kuykendall  1848
Jesse L. Roy  1850
Cyrus Chenoweth  1850
Cyrus Kittle  1851
Washington Salsberry  1851
WiUiam C. Chenoweth  1851
Michael Yokum  1851
James L. Hathaway  1851
Heckman Chenoweth  1851
Abraham Hinkle  1852
Aaron BeU  1852
Allen Taylor  1852
Jacob Shafer  1852

204

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.

Solomon Collett  1812
George Anderson  1816
Solomon Yeager  1817
Samuel Oliver  i^iy
Adonijah Ward  1818
Thomas W. Holder  1823
George McLean  1827
Charles C. See  1828
Solomon Parsons  1828
Arnold Bonnifield  1829
Solomon Wyatt  1829
William McCord  1830

Charles Crouch  1852
Jacob Currence  I860
William E, Logan  I860
Sampson Elza  i860
George W. Mills  i860
L. Phillips  I860
. William Westfall  I860
George A. Hesler  I860
Arnold Phillips  i860
J. S. Collett  I860
John Rice  I860

LIEUTENANTS OP MILITIA.

Jacob Westfall  1787
John Jackson  1787
John Haddan  1787
James Kittle  '.  1787
Matthew Whitman  1787
Daniel Booth  1787
William Parsons  1787
George Rennix  1797
Asahel Heath  1799
John Crouch  1800
Nicholas Gibson  1805
John Baker  1805
James Frame  1807
WiUiam Johnson  1807
William Currence  1807
Thomas Skidmore  1810
Robert W. Collins  IHIO
WiUiam Bennett  1813
Robert Chenoweth  imi
Jesse PhiUips  1815
James Wells  1818
Arnold Bonnifield  1828
Nathan Minear  ]82'.l
Solomon Wyatt  1829
Isaac Canfield  1*^43
Jesse Roy  l''^43
Jacob Flanagan  1843
Levi Stalnaker  1 '"^44
Levi D, Ward  1844
William G. Wilson  1844
.lohn l'>]'ighL  1H44
Jaciob W. Manthus  1841
Jeremiah D, Channel  l-'i 14
Isaac C, Wtalnalf er  IM 14
Vincent Pennington  184 1
Cyrus Kitti(!  1«44
Samuel Smith  1844
Bveret Chenoweth  1844

Conrad Currence  1852
Nathaniel Moss  1852
George W. Long  1852
HuU Ward  1853
Jacob Long  1853
WUUam E. Long  1853
Simeon Philips  1853
Robert Philips  1858
Thomas T. Talbott  1853
James W. MiUer  1858
John M. Stalnaker  1858
Hugh S. Hart  1853
George Little  1853
Randolph Coberly  1853
Dolbeare Kelly  1858
Ezra P. Hart  1858
Arnold WUmont  1853
John Wyatt  1853
Jacob Currence  1858
Charles Channel  1858
WiUiam E. Logan  1853
Sampson Salsberry  1853
Samuel Channel  1858
L. Denton  I860
L. Phillips  I860
William M. WestfaU  I860
Abraham Smith  I860
John W. Bradley  1862
Andrew C. Currence  1862
James Scott  1862
Patrick King  1862
William Bennett  1862
Jacob W. Fortney  1862
AlvinO-sburn  1862
J. M. WestfaU  1862
Solomon P. Stalnaker  1862
Squire B. Daniels  1862
Harrison Moore  1862

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.

205

Samuel P. Wilson  1844
Elam B. Bosworth  .1844
George W. Rennix  1846
Washington Stalnaker  1848
John Phares  1849
Cyrus Chenoweth  1850

Archibald E. Harper  1862
John G. Bradley  1862
WUUam S. Phares  1862
Alfred Stalnaker  1862
Aaron Workman  1866
Riley Pritt  1866

MAJORS OF MILITIA.

John WUson  1787
James WestfaU  1794
WiUiam Wilson  1794
John Haddan  1800
Isaac Booth  1805
Matthew Whitman  1805
John Crouch  1805

David Holder  1820
Henry Sturm  1831
John C. Wamsley  1843
Benjamin Kittle  1849
Patrick Crickard  1860
Archibald Earle  1860
John M. Crouch  1862

ENSIGNS OF MILITIA.

John Outright  1787
Jacob WestfaU  1787
Anthony Smith  1787
George Rennix  1787
Job WestfaU  1787
Jeremiah Cooper  1787
William Seymour  1796
Samuel BaU  1796
George Kittle  1796
James Booth  1798
Barthan Hoskins  1802
John Stalnaker  1805
Thomas WiUiams  1805

James Tygart  1806
John J. Harrison  1807
WiUiam Huff  1807
Thomas Skidmore  1807
Jacob Pickle  1807
Solomon Yeager  1815
Aaron Gould  1818
Job Parsons  1818
Nathan Minear.  1828
Isaac D. NeviUe  1829
WiUiam W. Chapman  1829
Jesse Vannoy  1830

THE BEGINNINGS OP ROADS.
It would be very difficult to write a complete history of the buUding
and maintenance of the highways of Randolph County, and if done, it
would prove dry and uninteresting. There is however, entertaining ma
terial for a few pages, relating chiefly to the beginning of road making in
the county. No effort has been made to mention, even by name or location,
all the early roads, nor any considerable number of the later ones. When
the first permanent settlement was planted in Randolph County, about 1772,
the first need of the settlers was means of communication with other set
tlements. These settlements were to be found east of the Alleghanies, east
and southeast; on the Greenbrier, south; on the Buckhannon, west and
northwest; at Morgantown, north, and on Cheat River, at the Horse Shoe,
northeast. The first roads across the county's borders, or to the remote
parts of the county, led to the settlements named. Other roads were made
from settlement to settlement within Tygart's Valley, or nearby valleys.
It is remarkable that the very first mention of a highway on the court
records of the county was regarding a wagon road. It generally has been
presumed that wagon roads were not needed at that time. The order was
made May 29, 1787, (Randolph's very first court, second day's session) that
Joseph Friend, William Wilson, Salathiel Goff, and Andrew Skidmore be
appointed to view and mark the way for a wagon road from Leading Creek
to the Horse Shoe Bottom, on Cheat River, in the present county of Tucker.

206

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.

?nZe^iTyi^r^TX^^°'^^^^^^ f^«^ *^^t ^^g«°s were
for ft is ev^dfnt tblt ^' f"^ Probably at the Horse Shoe, as.earlyas 1789;
rnnd n\^i!Il fif * ^° ^*^P^ '^^"^'^ ^^^6 b<^en taken to build a wagon
llf^^T ^""^ "^^^^ ""^^^"^ **^ ^^« i^- The statement has been made *
nbi^te "^Pr.!™^?""*^^^'^,*^^' *^^^ *^« fi^«^ ^^g«^ loaded with mer
chandise reached the Monongahela in 1789. That was in Pennsylvania The
wi .^^^ .f ^^^ conclusive that wagons were in Randolph at that tune
Whether they came loaded with merchandise, or by what roads they came'
or whether they were made within the county, is not known. They did
not conie from the South Branch into the southern end of the county, for
not until about 1826 were wagons able to cross the mountains from that
direction. It is not- improbable that the irons were carried into the
county on pack horses and that the wagons were made here.'}
At the time the wagon road to Horse Shoe Bottom was ordered surveyed,
the court appointed John Warwick, John Haddan, John Hamilton and Thomas
Lackey to view a bridle path from Connolly's Lick to the top of the Alle
ghanies in Pendleton County; and established a trail from Jonas Friend's,
near Leading Creek, to Anglin's Ford, near PhUlipi. The surveyor of
the path was William Smith. Uriah Gandy was ordered to survey a path
from Benjamin Wilson's to the top of the Alleghanies, probably near the
head of Senaca. Charles Parsons, Anthony Smith, Matthew Whitman and
Samuel Pringle were ordered to survey a path from Beverly to John Jack
son's, on Buckhannon River. A road was ordered from Thomas Wilmoth's
down Cheat River to the county line, and William Parsons was appointed
surveyor. , -.
Those trails, or "bridle roads," as they were called, were intended only
for footmen or horses. Little or no grading was done. They were "brushed
out," as the term was then used. That is, the brush and the logs were cut
out where necessary. The fact that these roads were ordered surveyed
must not be taken as proof that they were at once made. Years some
times elapsed before their completion, and some were never made. An
example may be given. In 1801 a survey was made for a road from the
mouth of Black Fork of Cheat River to the head of the North Branch, in
the present county of Tucker. That survey was mentioned frequently in
the court records for twenty yeai's, and to this day the road has not been
made. The West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railroad from Parsons to
Fairfax passes over the old survey. Following will be found the most im
portant of the early road surveys :
In 1787, "a road from John Cutright's, along the northwest side of Buckhannon
River, by John Jackson's, to Pringle's Ford."
Same year, "a road from the county seat by William Smith's, to Middle Fork."
Same year, "a road from the head of Elk, up the Buckhannon Eiver to John Cut-
right's." ,
Same year, "a road from the county seat to Sandy Creek, taking in view the road
that passes by Daniel Bootli's, to the Harrison County line."
Same year, "a road from Salt Lick on Leading (^roek to Mud Lick."

*See Veach 's "Monongahela, ol' Old."
fA section ol' an old wagon wheel supposed to have been lost during General Forbes'
expedition against Fort Duquesne in nfiH, is iii the Carnegie Museum at Pittsburg. The
tire was nOt one piece as now, but lour pieces, eaeli a quarter circle. They were fastened to
the felloes with heavy bolts and nuts every few inches, the heads of the bolts giving the
tire somewhat the, rescmiblance of a cog-wheel. The felloes of such a wagon supported
the tire. On a modern wagon the tire supports the felloes.

COURT NOTES OP A CENTURY. 207
In 1788, "a wagon road from the road passing through Tygart's Valley, beginning at
Mud Lick, thence to the State Road crossing Cheat River. " This road probably followed
the route of the present road from Montrose down Clover Run to St. George. The State
Road crossed Cheat at St. George.
Same year, "a roadfromtheTygart Valley Road to Crabapple Bottom, "in Highland.
In 17iS9, "a road from the county road in this county to Colonel Peter Hale's in Pen
dleton County."
Same year, "a road from Baker's Old Mill Run at the Clarksburg Road to the county
line at the ford of Big Sandy Creek. "
Same year, "a road from Peter Cassity's to the Clarksburg Road at the mouth of
Leading Creek." In 1789 the court ordered that certain roads 'ibe worked but once a
year and then cleared suffloient for an eight-foot bridle path."
In 1790, "a road from Michael Isner's in Tygart's -V^alley, to the Hardy County hue."
Same year, "a road from Connolly's Lick to the top of the Alleghanies at the
Augusta County line. "
In 1791, "a road from William WestfaU's down through the Cove Settlement to the
county line."
In 1792, "a road from Beverly to the Upper Ford of Cheat."
1793, "a road along Currence's Blazes square across the Valley."
Same year, "a road from Beverly to the Carpenter Settlement on Elk."
In 1795, "a road from Beverly to Jacob WestfaU's sawmill on Files Creek, so as to
intersect the Big Road."
In 1796, "a road up the ridge so along Minear's Mill Bun." This survey led from St.
George north-east into Preston. The road was not built for fifty years.
In 1798, "a road from Beverly to Wolf's and the foot of Rich Mountain toward Buck
hannon." In 1800, "the roads and alleys in Beverly" were ordered opened.
The above were the principal road surveys in Randolph County up to
the beginning of the present century. A number of them were outside of
what is now Randolph. In 1801 a road order was passed to ' 'view a way
for a road from John Jackson's Mill to the top of the mountain at the head
of the creek above John Bozar's on the old road that goes to Becker's
[Hacker's?] Creek, so as not to go through improvements, or alter the road
that is laid off through WUliam Vandevender's and Widow Roger's lands."
That order betrays the secret of many a crooked, steep or swampy road in
West Virginia, where it might have been comparatively straight, level and
dry. The roads passed around fields even if to do so they must climb hills,
or cross swamps. Travelers through West Virginia for a hundred years
have been climbing hills because the short-sighted pioneer made the origi
nal path that way to get round a neighbor's corn patch. Five dollars in
damages were probably saved at the start, but five hundred dollars have
been expended in keeping the bad road in repair and traveling it. This is
seen all over the State. Randolph is no worse for unnecessarily crooked
and steep roads than other counties; not so bad as some. A road when first
surveyed should be put in the proper place. All subsequent improvements
upon it are permanent. The regularly surveyed turnpikes, and the modern
county roads are usually placed where they should be. But even yet a
road is sometimes put in the wrong place to avoid damages or to accommo
date some particular person at the expense of the public. No road should
cross a hill when with little more expense and but little more distance, it
can go round it. "A pot-bail is as long standing as lying." The pioneer
road builders often forgot this; and modern ones occasionally lose sight
of it. As late as 1814 a road was ordered "brushed out" and made "passable
for men on horseback and pack horses," from Beverly to Buckhannon; and
ten jiffears later many products of the county, such as venison and hides,
wei?e carried on pack horses to Huntersville, where they were met by

208

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.

ridJf'.^wbiri^^^^^r^^*-.,.^^ 1^19 ^250 was appropriated to build a
S" Ad^m ^ir? ^'°.^ I^iffles Run to Jackson's River crosses Chea?
nivei. Adam See, Jonathan Hutton and Jacob Ward were appointed
size biilHnTbV° """"l^ the bridge, which was the first one of consSaSe
size built in the county. It was not finished for some years. In the same
year a bridge was ordered built across Leading Creek. In 1822 the court
appropriated $250 toward opening a road from Beverly to Sistersville bv
way of Clarksburg. ' ¦ '^
In 1825 the flrst mention occurs on the Randolph records of a road to
be opened from Staunton to the mouth of Littie Kanawha. This road was
authorized by an act of the Legislature passed March 5, 1824. The Staun
ton and Parkersburg turnpike was built about twenty years later over the
same general route, but not on the exact location. That was a notable
example of the folly of making a road in the wrong place, only to abandon
it later. Thousands of dollars were spent in making the old road, which,
like a number of others, was called "The State Road," and it was aU
thro-wn away; for when the engineers located the Staunton and Parkers
burg turnpike, they ignored the existence of the old road, and did not
follow it except where, by chance, the old road was in the proper place.
Had it been properly located at first, all the improvements on it would hgive
contributed toward the completion of the pike.
In 1826 Randolph joined with Monongalia in building a bridge across
Sandy Creek, then their boundary, but now the boundary between Barbour
and "Taylor Counties. In 1832 David Goff was appointed by the county
court to superintend a lottery to raise money to aid in the construction of a
road from Beverly to Morgantown. At that time money for public enter
prise was frequently raised by lottery, authorized by the Legislature. In
1824 the first steps were taken for building a bridge across the river near
Beverly. When the Staunton and Parkersburg turnpike was being located,
it would have crossed the mountain from Huttonsville to the Middle Pork,
had not the people of Beverly offered inducements for it to pass through
their town. In 1877 the Legislature appropriated $1000, the county $250,
and private parties subscribed $403 to aid in making a road from Helvetia
to the Staunton and Parkersburg turnpike.
MARRIAGE LICENSES OP THIRTY YEARS.
Below will be found a list of all the marriage licenses issued in Ran
dolph during the first thirty years of the county's existence, that is from
1787 to 1817, together with the names of the contracting parties, by whom
married, and the year: 1787.
man's name. woman's name. daughter of by whom maemed.
William Low Eliz. Westfall William Westfall Isaac Edwards
David Thomas Rachel Brooks Isaac Edwards
1788.
John Outright Rebeccah Truby John Truby Isaac Edwards
Zacariah Westfall Hannah Woolf ChristiannaWoolf J W Loofborough
Henry Mace Ann Currence Lidia Currence " "
James Holder Diana WestfaU Daniel WestfaU " "
William Gibson Mary W. Henry Samuel W. Henry " "
Samuel Stalnaker Susan nahBatchiff William Batchiff " "
George Harper Mary Baxter " "

COURT NOTES OP A CENTURY,

209

DAUGHTER OF
Leonard Day
Jacob Reger
John Jackson
William Anglin

man's name. woman's name.
Solomon Ware Sarah Day
Cottrill Tolbert EUzabeth Reger
Philip Reger Sarah Jackson
Moses Kade Elizabeth Anglin 1789.
Nicholas Wilmoth Susney Currence 1790.
Judith WestfaU WiUiam WestfaU
1791.
Elizabeth Herrin
Abagail Vanscoy Aaron Vanscoy
1792.
Eliz. Maxwell Robert Maxwell
1793.
Elizabeth Kittle Jacob Kettle

George Rennix
William Crow
Isaac Newell
Samuel Ball

Isaac Phillip
John Phillips
Robert Clark
Andrew Friend
John Donoho
Benj. Baggley
Thomas Shaw
William Currence
Samuel Bringham
AaronRichardson Samuel Currence
Hez. Rosekrans
George Baker
Jacob Rifle
Aaron McHenry
Philip Kunce
William Daniels
John Sayler
Cornel's WestfaU
John Hacker
Robert Clark
Jacob Shaver
John Wilson
Jacob White
Moses Slutter
George Stalnaker

Bathia Wells

Mary Friend
Elenor McCall
Mary Wilmoth
Sarah Westfall
Margaret McCall
Mary Ward
Sarah Neilson

Phinehas Wells
1794. Jonas Friend
Peter McCaU
Thomas Wilmoth
George Westfall

Sylvester Ward
John Neilson

1795.

Jenney Bringham
Elizabeth Bogard
Nancy Simpson
Susan 'h Outright
Elizabeth Boarer
Ann Gibson
Barb'a Barnhouse
Cath. Stalnaker
Mary Ann Minear

Widow Bringham
Cornelius Bogard
John Simpson
Benj. Outright
Jacob Boarer
William Gibson
John Barnhouse
Jacob Stalnaker

BY WHOM married.
J W Loofborough
Isaac Edwards

J W Loofborough
Isaac Edwards
A. G. Thompson
J W Loofborough
J W Loofborough
J W Loofborough

Valentine Power
J W Loofborough
K If
Valentine Power
J W Loofborough
II II
Valentine Power
Valentine Power
Robert Maxwell

1796.

Elizab'h Helmick
Susannah Smith
Gean Hudkins
Rachel Davis
Mary Warthen
Elizab'h Pickett
Nancy Parsons
Susanna Hart

Jacob Helmick
David Smith
Bennett Hudkins
John Warthen
Heehcoat Pickett
Joseph Parsons
Edward Hart

1797.

James Booth Phoebe Osborn
Martin Miller Marg'ret Lochrea
Abr'm Springston Mary Innis

Terah Osborn
John Lochrea
William Innis

Phinehas Wells
Jos. Cheaverout
Robert Maxwell
II II
Matthew Ryan
Robert Maxwell
Phinehas Wells
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell

210 •MAN'S NAME.
Francis Riffle
Josei)h Donoho
Thomas Gough
Th's Summerfield
Samuel Keller
WiUiam Wright
Garrett Johnson
Henry Paine
Joel Westfall
Isaac White
John M, Nail
Chris, Burgess
Thomas Wilmoth
William KeUy
WiUiam Clark
James Riddle
John Clark
James C. Goff
Wm, McCorkle
Benjamin Marsh
Alexander Goff
John Outright
David Whitman
Barney McCall
James Ferguson
Jacob Wees
John Wilmoth
Joseph Lyons
Aaron Vanscoy
Leonard Hire
Jacob Baker
Samuel Harris
Jacob Parker
John Hartley
David White
Levin Nicholas

COUtlT NOTES OF A CENTURY,

David Schoonover
Richard Reeder
J'n'thn Buffington
Hen, Schoonover
Jonathan Daniels
Chris, Lamberton
Daniel Clark
Jacob Ward

WOMAN'S NAME.
Eva Mace
Elizab'h WUmoth
Rachel Burns
Elizabeth Roy
Anna Springston
Anna Marsh
Mary England
Elizabeth Smith 1
Elizabeth White
Margaret Haddan
Christian Riffle
Elizabeth Shaw
Amy Schoonover
Gean Kittle
Barbara Helmick
Anna Grayson
Mary Ryan
Elizabeth Howell

DAUGHTER OF
John Mace
Thomas Wilmoth
Patrick Burns
Joseph Roy
Eliz, Springston
James England
WiUiam Smith
798. WiUiam White
David Haddan
Jacob Riffle
William Shaw
Benj. Schoonover
Jacob Kittle
Jacob Helmick

Solomon Ryan
WUliam HoweU

1799.

Juda McHenry
Sarah Minear
Elizabeth Riddle
Deborah Osborn
Nancy Daniels
Ann Buck
Elizabeth Donoho
Sarah Isner
Mary Cun'ingham
Elizabeth Mace
Gean Taffe
Dolly Phyman

Samuel McHenry
John Minear
James Riddle
George Osborn
Tabitha Buck
Catharine Philips
Jas. Cunningham
John Mace
Nancy Grimes

1800.

Nancy Showter
Ann Mace
Elizabeth Burns
Mary Roy
Eliz. Summerfield
Margaret Mace

John Mace
Patrick Burns
Joseph Roy
Jos. Summerfield
John Mace

BY WHOM MARRIED.
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Phineahas Wells
Robert MaxweU
Robert MaxweU
Phineahas Wells
Robert MaxweU
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell

Phineahas Wells
Robert MaxweU
Phineahas Wells
Robert MaxweU

Phineahas WeUs
Robert MaxweU

Robert MaxweU
II II
Phineahas Wells
Robert Maxwell

1801.

Susanna WUmoth Thoms Wilmoth Robert MaxweU
Urie Butcher Samuel Butcher " "
Mad 'line Helmick Jacob Helmick " "
Mary Campfield Daniel Campfield " "
1802.
Mary Channel Joseph Channel Robert Maxwell
Sidney Westfall
Mary Ware "
Eliz'bth Whitman Mathew Wliitman " "

COURT NOTES OP A CENTURY.

211

MAN'S NAME,
Asahel Heath
Rob't Chenoweth
Peter Conrad
George Kittle
William Bonner
John Heater
George Riffle
Jacob Lorentz
Jacob Stalnaker
Samuel Degarmo
Jacob Crouch
J. W. Stalnaker
WUUam Booth
Enoch Osborn
Michael WestfaU
Jos. Summerfield
Gaulaudat Oliver

Barton Hoskins
Samuel Channel
John Stalnaker
WiUiam Yokum
John White.
Richard Ware
Abra'm Skidmore
Silas Smith
Timothy Vanscoy
Christian Bickle
EU Butcher
Richard Hoskins
Benjamin Riddle
James Tyger
James Skidmore
John Helmick
Jacob Wilson
John Spillman
Abraham Kittle
Henry Mace
John Helmick
James McClean
Isaac Riffle
Samuel Wamsley
William Hoff
Robert Darling
Val. Stanaker
Robert Shanklin

WOMAN'S NAME.
Eliza Currence
Rachel Stalnaker
Ann Currence
Elizabeth Weese
Jemima Carr
Mary Higgins
M'rgaret Helmick

DAUGHTER OP
John Currence
John Stalnaker
John Currence
Jacob Weese
John Carr

BY WHOM MARRIED.
Robert Maxwell

Jacob Helmick

1803

Rebec. Stalnaker
Nancy Channel
Elizabeth Grimes
Jane Smith
Mary Chenowith
Deborah Hart
Mary Tidricks
Mary Helmick
Abigail White
Mary Ann Bogard

Val. Stalnaker
Joseph Channel
Mark Grimes
Jonathan Smith'
John Chenowith
Edward Hart.
Adam Helmick
Cornelius Bogard

Robert Maxwell

1804.

Naomi Ingram
Sarah Hornbeck
Elizabeth Haddan
Sarah Ryan
Jemima Heath
Polly Wilson
Elizabeth Vance
Sarah Shaw
Phoebe Wilmoth
Hannah Spillman
EUzabeth Hart
Elizabeth Ingram

Abraham Ingram
Benj. Hornbeck
Solomon Ryan
Asahel Heath
George Wilson
John Vance
William Shaw
Thomas Wilmoth
John Spillman
Edward Hart
Abraham Ingram

Robert Maxwell

1805.

Nancy Goff
Elizabeth Parsons
Sarah Kittle
Joan Ryan
Mary Helmick
Elizabeth Bickle
Mary Scott
Mary Davis
Rebecca Carle
Rachel Channel
EUzabeth Wash

Salathiel Goff
William Parsons
Jacob Kittle
Solomon Ryan
Jacob Helmick
Jacob Bickle,

Robert Maxwell

Joseph Channel
John Wash

1806.

Elizabeth Crouch
Rebecca Johnson
Sarah Vanscoy
Lucretia Jenkins
Mary MarstiUer

Robert Maxwell

Robert Johnson
Aaron Vanscoy
Nich. MarstiUer

212 MAN'S NAME.
Joseph Wamsley
John Johnson
Isaac Westfall
John Forrest
George Bickle
William Lynch
Jeremiah Mace
John McLaughlin
Robert Ferguson
John Gibson
John Conrad
Thomas Butcher
Andrew Skidmore
Jacob Westfall
Abner McClain
John Wilson
Wm. Stalnaker
BasU Hudkins
James Turner
Isaac NeweU
John Brady
Henry Hardman
John Myers
John Holder
George Harnick
Thomas Holder
Abraham Kittle

COURT NOTES OP A CENTURY.
WOMAN'S NAME.
Patty Jameson
EUzabeth Poland
Cath. Shreery
Lyhua Carpenter
Mary Skidmore

DAUGHTER OF
Peter Poland
Joseph Shreery
Jere. Carpenter
John Skidmore

BY WHOM MARRIED.
Robert Maxwell

John Skidmore

1807.

Nancy Hill
Rhoda WUliams
Barbara Bickle
Deborah Wilmoth
Nancy Harris
Betsey Currence
Susanna Petro
MargaretHoskins
Dolly Wilson
Rhceba Daniels
Betsey Vanscoy
Elizabeth Goff

Sarah Williams
Jacob Bickle
Thomas WUmoth
John Currence
Henry Petro
Bennett Hoskins

John Skidmore

Robert Maxwell

Aaron Vanscoy

1808.

Nancy Skidmore
Mary Corrick
Luciana Wilson
Susanna Ware
Prudence Scott
Mary Stalnaker
Mary Lewis
Levina Royce
Margaret Gandy
Elizabeth Esters

Andrew Skidmore
John Corrick
Thomas Wilson

Jacob Stalnaker
John Lewis
Joseph Royce
widow Jno. Gandy

1809.

Ulery Conrad
John R. Beall
John Wees
George Helmick
William Burns
Wm. Louchary
John Hardwick
S. Cunningham
Jacob Borer
Jacob Wilson
Jonathan Vanscoy
Adam Chiner
Wm. P. Wilson
George Keener
Henry Wilfong
Sol. Carpenter
Isaac Hedley
William Yeagor
George Nestor
Robt. W. Collins

Sarah Currence
Patty Holbert
Mary Phillips
Elizabeth Isner
Susanna Chilcott
MargaretJohnsonElizabethChannel
Mary Shagel
Sarah Helmick
Mary Donoho
Sarah Lochary
Elizabeth Fields
¦ Jane Booth
Peggy Miller
Christiana Wees
Catharine Hill
Elizabeth Wilson
Elizabeth Thorn
Millie Poland
Mary Gibson

Robert MaxweU

John Currence
Aaron Holbert
Henry Isner
RobisonLChilcott
Edward Johnson
Jacob Shagle
Jacob Helmick
WUliam Donoho
John Lochary
John Fields
Daniel Booth
John Miller
Jacob Wees
John Hill
William Wilson
Frederick Thorn
Martin Poland
Nicholas Gibson

Robert Maxwell

John Skidmore
John Carney
Simeon Harris

John Rowan

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.

213

MAN'S NAME.
Uriah Ingrim
Daniel Decker
Jacob Stanley
Abel Kelley
Jacob Teter
Joshua Morgan
Martin Poland
James Carr
George Corrick
Eben Schoonover
Simon Maloney
Benj. Phillips
John Wilmoth
Geo. Barnhouse
Hezekiah Bussey
James Ryan
John Black
Henry Hudskins
Andrew Crouch
Thomas Scott
John Chenowith
Soloman Parsons
Martin MUler
Peyton Butcher
William Moore
John Bussey
Samuel Morrow
Joseph Royce
Jacob Yokum
Jeremiah Reddle
Thomas Wamsley
Ruben Holbert
John HiU
Jonathan Yeager
Rod. Bonnifield
Benjamin Helms
Solomon Yeager
Dan Howdershell
Joseph Bennett
George Hill
Nicholas Mace
Thomas Parsons
James Warner
Levi Ward
Edmond Jones
Archibald Earle
Ezekiel Paxton

WOMAN'S NAME.
Hannah Holder
Mary A. Yokum
Nancy Chapman
Jemima Kittle
Nancy Cade
Hannah Gould

DAUGHTER OP
James Holder
Michael Yokum
Val. Chapman
Jacob Kittle
Moses Cade
Aaron Gould

1810.

Mary Wilson
Ann Hornbeck
Jemima ChUlcott
Sarah Reck
Sarah Hornick
Phoebe Walker
Ann Kittle
Susanna Pitman
Fannie Knotts
Elizabeth Bennett
Mary Bussey
Mary Isner
Elizabeth Hutton
Nancy Skidmore
Mary Skidmore
Hannah Parsons
Nancy Day
Elizabeth Renix

William Wilson
Benj. Hornbeck
R. L. ChiUcott
George Reck
Aug. Hornick
Richard Kittle

Sarah Bennett
John Bussey
Thomas Isner
Jonathan Hutton
And. Skidmore
And. Skidmore
William Parsons

BY WHOM MARRIED.
John Rowan
II II
Phinehas Wells
II II
II II
Henry Camdem
Simeon Harris
John Rowan

George Renix

1911.

Rachel Phillips
Sasanna Warthen
Isabella Barr
S'ah Summerfield
Jane Wamsley
M'garet Hardman
Jemima Channel
Betty Brannon
Nancy Warthen
Elizabeth Miller
Nancy Minear
Rachel Moore
Mary Teeter

1812.

Cath 'in Foreman
Mary Phillips
Rebecca Scott
Elizabeth Riffle
Eliza'th Brannon
Barbara Robbinet
Cathe'e Whitman
Melinda Carr
Mary Buckey
C. Coykendall

Jacob Foreman
Henry Phillips
Henry Scott
Jacob Riffle

Mat. Whitman
Peter Buckey
J. Coykendall

Simeon Harris

Robert Maxwell

Henry Phillips
John Warthen
John Barr
Jos. Summerfield
Mathew Wamsley
Eliza'th Hardman
Jeremi'h Channel
John Brannon
John Warthen
Andrew Miller
David Minear
David Moore
Jacob Teeter

Simeon Harris
II II
Robert Maxwell
II II
John Rowan
II II
II II
II II
Simeon Harris

Simeon Harris
II II
John Rowan

214

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.

MAN'S NAME.
Jacob Isner
And. Stalnaker
Ezekiel Hart
David Nutter
Samuel Skidmore
George Beall
Benj amin Jonston
Henry England
John Gainer
John Shaver
Jesse Hall
Samuel Love
Charles Scott
Benjamin Scott
WUliam Smith
Frederick Corrick
Jon'thn Hornbeck
Jacob Westfall
Edwin S. Duncan
Chas. MarstiUer
Jehu Chenowith
WilUs Taylor
John Petro
Nathan Minear
Amos Canfield
Abraham Wolf
Elijah Skidmore
Andrew Crouch
Joseph Bennett
Richard Moore
Francis Vansy
Henry Smith
Isaac Wamsley
William J. Davis
Thomas Goff
Solomon Westfall
Henry Storm
Jonas Poling
John Phillips
Solomon Collett
Thomas Phillips
John Flanagan
Alex. McQuain
Aseal Isner
Job Parsons
Wm. Schoonover
James Shreeve

WOMAN'S NAME.
P'gy Schoonover
Clarissa Danbury
Peggy Hart
Elizabeth Cox
Elizabeth Pitman
Mary Parsons

DAUGHTER OF BY WHOM MARRIED.
Benj. Schoonover John Rowan

Daniel Hart
Henry Cox
Joseph Pitman
Isaac Parsons

Simeon Harris

1813.

Catherine Hall
Mary Alexander
Susanna Easter
Polly Nester
Sally Braidut
Sarah Newall
Agnes Kittle
Jane Currence
Easter Pitman
Parmel' Checvate
Kitty WUt
Sarah Hinckle
Prudence Wilson
Peggy McLain
Elender Skidmore
Sarah Clark
Tasa Butcher

Elias Alexander
Jacob Easter
Jacob Nester
Luke Braidut
Isaac Newall
Richard Kittle
William Currence
Joseph Pitman
Rob. L. Checvate
Justice Hinckle
Wm. B. Wilson
James McLain
Andrew Skidmore

Simeon Harris

Samuel Butcher

1814.

Eliz. Bonnifield
N. Schoonover
R. McLaughlin
M. Cunningham
Eliz. Stalnaker
Catherine Paine
Mary A. Phillips
Mary Gainer
Catherine Lesher

1815.

Susanna Yeager
Lydia Gould
Sarah Robison
Mary Moore
Eliz. Stalnaker
Phoebe Headley
Rachel Phillips
Sarah Petro
Peggy Westfall
Susan Donoho
Elizabeth Scott
Sarah Canfield
Jemima Ward
Char'e MarstiUer
Lydia Smith

George Yeager
Aaron Gould
John Robison
Daniel Moore
Wm. Stalnaker
Cary Headley
John Phillips
Henry Petro
Jacob Westfall
William Donoho
Daniel Canfield
Jacob Ward
Nich. MarstiUer
Jonathan Smith

John GiU Watts
William Munrow
John Rowan

John Rowan

Benj. Schoonover
JohnCunningham
Bostian Stalnaker
Henry Paine
Joseph Phillips
George Gainer
Jacob Lesher

Simeon Harris

Simeon Harris

John Rowan

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.

215

MAN'S NAME.
John Ryan
John S. Hart
John McLain
Henry Walter
Gab'l Chenowith
Edward Hart
John Shreeve

Joseph Phillips
Squire Bosworth
Joseph Cross
John Skidmore
Joseph Moore
John Fling
John Stout
Daniel Boyle
Andrew Foreman
Samuel Poling
William Ryan
George Goff
Benjamin Arnold
John Norman
Martin Poling
Moses Kittle
James Skidmore
David Holder
Daniel Hard way
ThomasSkidmore
J. Cunningham
MaxweU Renix
Andrew Snider

WOMAN'S NAME.
Susanna Briggs
Jemima Stagle
Delilah Currence
Phoebe Wood
Eliz. Currence
CatherinePhillipsSusanna Wamsley

DAUGHTER OP
William Briggs
Jacob Stagle
John Currence
John Wood
Wm. Currence
John Phillips
James Wamsley

1816

Margaret Kittle
Hannah Buckey
Mary Westfall
Juda Pitman
Mary Cross
Elizabeth Gainer
Barbara Cosner
Catherine Wilson
Rachel Poland
Elizabeth Marks
Rebecca Bennett
Nancy Robinson
S. W. Wamsley
N. Montgomery
Anna Right
Nancy Bennett
Elizabeth Monday
EUender Kittle
Hannah Helmick
Mary Kittle
Mary Jordan
Saraii Wilmoth
M. Summerfield

Jacob Kittle
Peter Buckey
Joseph Pitman
Barbara Cross
Vandal Cosner
William Wilson

Wm. Wamsley
William Right
Jacob Bennett
Abraham Kittle
Abraham Kittle
John Jordan
Nicholas Wilmoth

BY WHOM MARRIED.
John Rowan

Asbery Pool

John J. Waldo
William Monroe
Simeon Harris

John Rowan

W^ILD ANIMALS OF RANDOLPH.
Like all other parts of America, Randolph was the home of many wild
animals when first settled by white people. There were wolves, bears,
deer, panthers, buffalo, elk, foxes, wUd cats, bay lynxes or catamounts, and
all other animals, large and small, known 'to this part of America. The
buffalo and elk soon disappeared. The deer, the bear and the wolf have
come dovsTi to the present day, but cannot last much longer, unless pro
tected in game preserves. The wolf is almost extinct in West Virginia,
a few being occasionly met with in Pendleton, Randolph, Grant, Tucker
and Pocahontas Counties. One was killed near St. George, in Tucker
County, as late as 1894, and one in Randolph in 1897. Very early in this
county's history a bounty was offered for wolf scalps, and at late periods
bounties were offered for panthers, foxes and wild cats. The wolf bounties
varied from a dollar to forty dollars, at different periods, being forty
dollars at present. There is no record of more than one wolf's scalp being
paid for since the Civil War, but perhaps there were several. Prior to
1787 no record exists of wolves killed in Randolph, but without doubt they

216

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.

frequently fell before the rifles of the pioneer. So far as ascertainable,
the following table shows the number of wolves killed in Randolph:

1787—2

1797—20

1807-29

1817 -,47

1827—33

1837—18

1847—5

1860—3

1788—13

1798—15

1808—11

1818—10

1828-40

1838—22

1848—24

1861—2

1789—8

1799—17

1809—43

1819—36

1829—43

1839—17

1849—7

1897—1

1790—15

1800—13

1810-44

1820—32

1830—37

1840-11

1850—1

1791—30

1801—3

1811-38

1821—32

1831-21

1841-15

1851—2

1792—18

1802—22

1812—25

182^-56

1832-27

1842—8

1852—3

1793—20

1803—23

1813—30

1823-42

1833—14

1843—15

1853—3

1794—22
1804—21
1814—23
1824—51
1834—28
1844—7
1854—3
1795—12
1805—30
1815—47
1825—23
1835—24
1845—3
18.55-8
1796—16
1806—24
1816—51
1826—27
1836-21
1846-16
1856—1
The following table shows the record of panthers and wild cats killed
in Randolph so far as preserved:
1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861
Panthers  5
Wild cats  0
11 0
5
55
10
14
11
11
6
0
0
49
106
58
80
3
12
Wolves differ from most wild animals in this, that they have no home,
"A den of wolves " is a figure of speech conveying a false impression, as
wolves have no dens. They travel from their birth till their death, seldom
sleeping twice in the same place. They roam over wide extents of country,
having general circuits which they make. They had certain places where
they crossed rivers or mountains whenever they had occasion to go that
way; and old trappers sometimes profited by discovering these crossings.
Adam Harper killed more wolves than any other man in Randolph. He lived
on Clover Run in the present county of Tucker, about eight miles north of
Montrose. He discovered a wolf-crossing and killed several each year
for many years.* The proceedings of the county court, recording wolf -
scalp transactions, were usually unentertaining; but sometimes a little
spice was mixed. For instance, in 1788, the court "ordered that the kiUing
of one old wolf scalp by Benjamin Jones be liquidated;" and the next year
V/illiam Parsons was "allowed for the killing of three old wooalfs, they
being hereby liquidated." Sometimes it was speUed "wooalfts;" and nearly
always spelled with a double "o." In 1789 John Haddan was paid for
"killing three old woolf t scalps and one young one." But the most aston
ishing statement is that a pioneer ' ' proved the killing of two old wolves in
open court." The clerk probably did not mean that the wolves were killed
in court, but that the proof was furnished in court that the wolves had
been killed elsewhere.
*Samuel Bonnifield, one of the early Sheriffs of Randolph, lived at Horse Shoe bottom
on Cheat River. One night three wolves visited his field and killed sheep. He tracked
them where they crossed the river, and saw that in crossing a rivulet which came down
from the mountain on the opposite side, all three had stept on a certain stone. in the
brook. He set a trap on the stone, and covered it with moss. In about three weeks he
caught a wolf. In about three weelcs more, at tlie same stone, he caught another.
Again in about three weeks he caught the third and the last. It appears that the
three wolves had a particular circuit which they tra\'eled in about three weeks, and
that they always crossed the river and the brook at exactly the same place. A certain
pack of about twenty wolves roamed through Preston and the northern part of Randolph
up to the building of the B. & O. R. R. When it was built the wolves liappened to be
north of it, and never again appeared in Randolph, probably being afraid to cross the
track.
COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY. 217
EARLY RANDOLPH LAW LATIN.
It is a principle or practice of law that a written instrument is none
the less valid because of incorrect English or bad Latin. It is well that
this was so in the early days of Randolph courts. The records are as well
kept as the average of the State, and better than some; but, the early
clerks or deputies often had not the means of consulting a law dictionary,
and when they were called upon to use technical terms, they sometimes
made mistakes in spelling; but, as their meaning was clear, no harm was
done. In 1809 the clerk records that a writ of "firey faces" was issued
(fieri facias). The judge had probably made the verbal order, and the
clerk spelled the words as they sounded to his ear. The same clerk at
another time when using the words "nunc pro tunc" (now for then or here
for there) wrote the phrase " nunckpytunck. " The writ of " duces tecum"
(bring with you) was written "dusestake hem," and the term "nolle
prosequi" (prosecute no further) was spelled "noUy prossy kee." The
word "ditimus" was spelled "diddymous.'
SLAVES IN RANDOLPH COUNTY.
Much difficulty attends the collection of statistics concerning slavery
in Randolph. It is well known that the county never was the possessor of
many slaves. ' Perhaps there were always as many free negroes as slaves.
The old court records contain minutes which occasionally throw light on the
subject. In 1788 John Wilson asked the county court to prosecute Edward
Hart for importing negroes into the State, contrary to law. The offense
was a misdemeanor, but there is no record that Hart- was prosecuted. In
1790 a negro named Ben applied to the court for his freedom on the grounds
that he had been unlawfully imported into the State from "West Jersey."
The court ordered him set free. In 1807 Benjamin Toprail, a slave, was
given his freedom by his master, William Howell. In the May court, 1813,
a slave named Morris, the property of Charles Myres, was found guilty of
grand larceny and was given 39 lashes on the bare back, "well laid on,"
and was burned in the hand in open court, in the presence of John Crouch,
Benjamin Hornbeck, William Steers, Robert Chenoweth, Andrew Cross and
George Wess, Justices. That was the last person burned in Randolph
so far as the records show. In 1824 the following order, without any
explanation, is found on the books :
"Commissioners were appointed by the court to value the negro slaves now confined
in the county jail, and upon their report being filed, the court are of opinion that the
said slaves are of suflBcient value to detain them in prison twelve months.
In 1792 there were twelve negro men, liable to road work in
Randolph. In 1848, Allen, a slave of Catherine Parsons, was found guilty
of burning Solomon Parsons' barn, and was given sixty lashes.
EARLY PRICES AND MONEY MATTERS.
The early court records of Randolph give scraps of information now
and then which throw light on financial matters in the county's early history.
Tobacco was not generally the medium of exchange, as in some of the
counties further east. Occasionally a public officer was paid in tobacco,
but not often. The article was never extensively raised in Randolph. In
early years the pound, shilling and penny were the measure of money.
This was not the pound sterling of England, but Virginia money. It is not

218

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.

known when or why the Virginia pound first differed from the EngUsh
pound.* The trouble about the currency arose as early as 1631. f In 1716
the Governor of Virginia speaks of Virginia currency as different from that
of England. 1 Translated into the present currency the Virginia pound was
$3.38^; the shilling 16-^- cents, the penny was one and seven-eighteenths
cents. The coins in circulation were mostly Spanish or Mexican. In
March, 1788, the tavern rates of the county were fixed by the county as
follows. Maderia wine, per half pint  25 cents.

Other wines.
West India rum
Other rums ' '
Peach brandy "
Good whiskey

.20 5-6
.16 2-3 "
.121-2 "
..11 1-9 "
.11 1-9 "
Dinner  16 2-3 "
Breakfast  121-2 "
Supper  121-2 "
Lodging, in clean sheets each night  8 1-3 "
Corn and oats, per gallon  11 1-9 "
Horse at Hay, every 12 hours  11 1-9 "
Pasture, every 24hours  81-3 "
In 1788 the county court allowed and the Sheriff was ordered to pay to
the assessors for their work, as follows: To John Jackson $7.16|; to John
Haddan $6; to Cornelius Bogard $10. The same year the clerk furnished a
list of all the county fees due, which were: On lands, $10.51; on wills, $1;
on attorney fees, $43. 33^; on writs, $24.50.
A suit in court the same year declared the value of "2 coverlids and
one blanket" to be $16.65. In those days the most of the county revenue
was raised by poll tax, the tax being laid on able-bodied men, whether white
or black, bond or free. Such persons were usually caUed "tithables." The
table which follows will show the rate of poll tax on each tithable in Ran
dolph for a number of years :

Year.

Kate.

Year.

Kate.

Year.

Kate.

Year.

Rate.

1789 

 $ .75

1809 

.. ..$1.25

1829, ....

.... $ .50

1849 

 $ .57

1790 

 75

1810 

.. .. 2.00

1830 

 56i

1850 

 45

1791 

 91S

1811 

. . . 1.00

1831 

 75

1851 

 87i

1792 

 854

1812 

 -1.17

1832 

 621

1852 

.... 1.55

1793 

 1.08i

1813 

.... 1.25

1833 

 75

1853 

 L75

1794 

 L57

1814 

 1.50

1834 

 80

1854 

... . L75

1795 

 91J

1815 

 L25

1835 

.90

1855. . . .

 L37i

1796 

 L08*

1816 

 L50

1836 

 50

1856 

 L50

1797 

 91f

1817 

 1.00

1837 

 80

1857 

 L62i

1798. . . .

 L12i

1818. . . .

.... 1.25

1838 

 92

1858 

.... 1.75

1799.

.75

1819 
1820 

.... 1.00
 62i

1839 
1840 

 1.00
 80

1859 
1860 

 2.00

1800 

 92

 L75

1801 

 92

1821 

 1.00

1841 

 65

1861 

. . . 2.70

1802 

.... 1.00

1822 

 65

1842 

.... 1.23

1862 

 80

1803 

 L25

1823 

 62i

1843 

 3.00

1863 

.... 0.00

1804 

 50

1S24 

 80

1844 

.... 2.25

1864 

.... 0.00

1805 

 1.00

1H25. . . .

 62i

1845 

 1.25

1865. ...

.... 0.00

1806 

 50

1826 

 62i

1846 

 70

1807 

 75

1827 

 00

1847 

 42

1808 
 1.25
1828 
 56i-
1848 
 80
* See JelTerson's "Notes on Virginia."
tSee Waddell's "Annals of Augusta County," p. 201.
II See Governor Spotswood's Letters in the "Archives of Virginia."
COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY. 219
In 1788 John Wilson was allowed 300 pounds of tobacco for his services
in collecting taxes. In 1790 the clerk's fees amounted to 6,650 pounds of
tobacco, which was duly inspected by John Jackson. It appears that this
was all the pay the clerk received for some time. At any rate his mind was
not clear on the subject, for at the September court, 1791, this order occurs:
"The clerk received nothing from September 1, 1790, to January 1, 1791,
for any fees due to him that he can anyways recollect." In 1795 the court
ordered that whiskey must sell at 8^ cents a pint and cider at 8^ cents a
quart. In the same year the jailer was allowed fifty cents a day for feeding
prisoners. In 1815 sawed lumber sold in Beverly at $10 per 1000 feet. In
1816 the county court felt called upon to take a hand in regulating the cur
rency, not only of the county, but of the country at large. It gave notice
to the people that certain kinds of money were good. The order of April
23 says: " It appears to the court that there is no depreciation in the bank paper now in cir
culation in the county."
And at the next court the following brief order indicates that there
might have been a tendency to discount certain kinds of money, and the
court came to the rescue with its fiat:
"Ordered, that the chartered notes now in circulation do pass at par with Banks of
Virginia." Whether that order sufficed to hold the notes at par, we are not in
formed, but in February, 1817, another order is found on the books of the
county court:
"It is ordered and certified that the notes on the following banks are current within
this county, to wit: The Bank of Marietta, within the State of Ohio; the Union Bank,
of Pennsylvania; The Bank of the City of Baltimore and Annapolis; the banks within the
District of Columbia, and tlie State Bank of North Carolina."
An old account book, dated 1823, belonging to Robert McCrum's store in
Beverly, is in the Clerk's office where it was probably used in some suit. It
shows the price of several commodities at that time. Coffee per pound,
44 cents; 2i yards of green cloth, $12; one tortoise comb, $2.50; John Chen
oweth bought "one Boston hat," $"7; Jenks Marshall paid $1.50 for one
pound of tea; eggs 6i cents per dozen; fiannel per yard, 62^ cents; wool
per pound, 20 cents; cotton cloth per yard, 18^ cents; paper of pins, 12^
cents; rice per pound 10 cents; needles per dozen 6i cents; New Orleans
sugar per pound 15 cents; pepper per pound 50 cents. In a bill sold one
individual there were 108 articles, and 33 of these were rum, gin, brandy,
or whiskey. In 1824 the court paid 75 cents for six panes of glass, size not
stated. The next year 78 pounds of sheet iron cost $13. In 1829 the
the tavern rates were.
Lodging per night with clean sheets  6i cents.
Dieting per meal  25 cents.
French brandy, per half pint  25 cents.
Whiskey, peach brandy, or apple brandy, per half pint  10 cents.
Cider-wine, per quart  25 cents.
Cider-oil, per quart  121 cent.s.
Cider, per quart  •  6i cents.
Horse at hay, 24 hours  25 cents.
Oats or corn, per gallon  10 cents.
The county court was sometimes philanthropic, and did things for the
love of humanity. In 1792 Thomas Summerfield was "permitted to sell,

220

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY,

without license, liquors on the road which leads from Tygart's VaUey to the
T iQo/^^^ ' ^^'^ *^® ^^T^e^^ of travelers on such a long and lonesome road,"
in 1897 the court offered bounties as follows: For wolves, $40; panthers,
$10; gray foxes 50 cents; red foxes, $1; wild cats, $1; hawks, 25 cents;
eagles, $1. > > > ,
THE ANNALS OF THE POOR.
Like all other parts of the civilized and uncivilized world, Randolph has
had its poor from the first, although they have never existed in such numbers
as to enter as an import.ant factor into the county's history. The first
mention of the poor in the court records was in November, 1788, when
Samuel Warner, an orphan, son of James Warner, was ordered by the
court to be bound to Cornelius Bogard till 21 years old, at which time Mr.
Bogard was required to give him a horse, saddle and bridle. This was the
usual method of caring for orphans, not otherwise provided for. They
were furnished a home with some good man who was placed under bond to
treat them well and when of age to give them some specified sum or piece
of property to pay for their service. The next year, 1789, Thomas Dren-
nin, an orphan, aged 16, was bound to Cornelius Bogard till 21. In aU the
early history of Randolph County, not one word is found relating to the
education of the orphans. It is known, however, that some provision was
made for them by the State.
At the October court, 1801, a note was made which gives information
concerning the f ahiily of Daniel Cameron, who was killed by Indians in
1781, below Philippi. It was shown that, when he was killed, he left a
widow and one daughter, Catherine, a year old, and that five months after
his death a second daughter, Elizabeth, was born. Both children grew to
womanhood; and Mrs. Cameron, after the death of her first husband,
married Thomas Cade. In 1803, for the purpose of electing overseers and
caring for the poor, the county was divided into four districts, and the
election resulted as follows:
First District. From the upper end of the county down to Files Creek, the election
was held by .Tohn Haddan at the house of William Currence, and lohn Currence was
elected. Second District. From Files Creek to the lower end of the Valley, including Lead
ing Creek, the Wilmoth settlement on Cheat, and Dry Fork ; the election was held by
William B. Wilson at his own hou,se, and Nicholas MarstiUer was elected.
Third District. The west side of Laurel Hill, including Glady Creek, Sugar Creek
and the Cove .settlement, "and the county line along the Valley River ;" the election
was held by William Wilson at the house of Henry Phillips. William Wilson was
elected. Fourth District. The Horse Shoe settlement and the rest of the county as far as
the Glades in Maryland. There was no election, and Samuel Bonnifield was appointed.
There was no change m the manner of taking care of the poor for many
years. The orphans were provided with homes. So far as the records
show, no provision whatever was made for unfortunate older people, but it
is well known, outside the records, that they were taken care of then as
well as now. It was the duty of the overseers to look after them, and the
county court had no occasion to make special orders. In 1854 the first
movement was made toward building an almshouse. In that year an elec
tion was held to decide whether the county should buy land and build a poor
house. No record can be found of the vote cast, but from the fact that no
poor house was built, it is presumed that the measure was defeated at the

COURT NOTES OP A CENTURY.

221

polls. The county adopted the plan of hiring the paupers kept by the year,
the contractor giving bond for the faithful performance of his duty, and the
custom has not yet been changed.

SHERIFFS OF RANDOLPH COUNTY.

The list which follows shows the
Sheriffs of this county and the year
when each first took office. Some of
them held office two, three or four times,
but their names are given only once,
and that in the year when they were
elected or appointed the first time.
Jacob Westfall  1787
Cornelius WestfaU  .... ... 1789
Edward Jackson  1792
Uriah Gandy*  1793
Cornelius Bogard   1796
John Wilson  1798
Matthew Whitman   1800
Asahel Heath   1803
John Currence  1806
Samuel Bonnifield 1   1806
George Rennix  1808
John Chenoweth.  1810
Isaac Booth.   1813
John Crouch  1815
Benjamin Hornbeck ...  1815
William Daniels . . .  1818
Andrew Crawford  1820

Ely Butcher . .
Robert Chenoweth .
John M. Hart ....
William Marteney . .
George Stalnaker . .
David Holder ....

, . 1822
.1827
..1829 ..1830 . 1833
.1839

Levi Ward  ...1841
Peter Conrad . . ..  1847
Jacob W. See  .  1848
George McLean  . . 1850

e<ri^oz

cU^,

--^ ,^-^^!o^ -J

^^U-^'!^'^
Signatures of F^andolph's Early
Sberiffs.
*Uriah Gandy was a son-in-law of Jesse Hughes, the well-known Indian fighter of
Harrison County. The name was and -is occasionally spelled Gandee.
Tl Samuel Bonnifield was four times Sheriff of Randolph, the last time in 1838, when
he was 86 years old. He became a Justice of the Peace in 1795, and served, except when
he was Sheriff, until his death in 1847. He was born in 1752 where Washington city now
stands. He was a soldier in Dunmore's War; fought at Point Pleasant in 1774, and re
mained there several weeks, taking care of the wounded. He fought through the Revo
lutionary War, and took part in several battles among them being Brandywine where
he saw Lafayette wounded. He was in the seige of Yorktown and saw General O'Hara
surrender the sword of Cornwallis. After the Revolution he married Dorcas James and
settled at Horse Shoe, in the present county of Tucker.
15
222

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.

William C. Chenoweth  1856
Solmon C. Caplenger . . .... 1857
Hoy McLean  1858
Jacob Phares  I860
Jesse P. Pheresf  1862
John M. Phares   . 1864
Archibald Harper  1864
Francis M. White  . . 1870

Lorenzo D. White .
J. P. Harding..
Jacob G. V/ard . . . .
Z. T. Chenoweth*.
Warwick Hutton . .
A. J. Long 
Abel W. Hart ....

.1872.1876.1880
.1884 .1888 .1892
.1896

COUNTY CLERKS OF RANDOLPH.
The county clerks were appointed by the county court from the form
ation of Randolph tUl the constitution of 1852 was adopted. The first clerk
elected by the people was John W. Crawford, 1852. FoUowing are the
names of the clerks :

John Wilsont  1787
Jacob WestfaU .  1793
Archibald Earle  . 1810
Daniel W. ShurtUff  , . 1838
John W. Crawford^  1845
Squire BosworthJ  1858

William BennettJ  1861
JohnB. Earle.  1868
John B. Morrison  1870
James D. WUson  1872
Floyd Triplett  ...1890
Lee Crouch  1896

CIRCUIT CLERKS OP RANDOLPH.

signatures of Randolph's
Circuit ClerKs.

The circuit court of the county, formerly
sometimes called the superior court, has had
clerks as follows:
John WUson  1809
Archibald Earlel  1812
E. D. Wilson  1842
Bernard L. Brown  1849
John B. Earle  1861
Lorenzo D. White  1866
Leland Kittle  1872
John B. Morrison  1879
W. H. Wilson  1885
COUNTY SURVEYORS.

The actual work of surveying in the early years of Randolph as well as
other parts of the State was nearly always done by deputies. The county
*The election was contested. There had been no convention held, and two Demo
crats, Z. T. Chenoweth and Warwick Hutton, were candidates. On the face of the re
turns Chenoweth had 849 votes, and Hutton S46. Upon a recount the vote stood 848
each, and the court decided in favor of Hutton. The case was carried to the supreme
court where the decision was in favor of Chenoweth. At the next election Hutton was
elected by a large majority.
fJesse F. Phares was the first SheriS of Randolph under the Re-organized Govern
ment of Virginia.
JHeld office twice.
HDied 18^; was clerk twenty-nine years.

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.

228

was so large that no one person could attend to the work. Randolph's sur
veyors were as follows:

Edward Jackson  1787
Henry Jackson  1793
Robert S. ShankUn  1809
Thomas O. WUliams*  1819
Bernard L. Brown  1849

Nicholas MarstiUer  1852
MUton Hart  1858
Cyrus Kittle  1865
Nicholas MarstiUerf  1868

COMISSIONERS OF THE REVENUE AND ASSESSORS.
The officers whose duty it has been to fix the valuation of property in
Randolph County for purposes of taxation, have not been called by the same
name at all times, nor have their duties been always the same. In early
years they were known as Commissioners of Revenue, and of late years
Assessors. A list follows of those who have filled the office in this county:

John HaddanJ  1787
John Jackson  1787
Cornelius Bogard  1787
John Wilson  1788
Peter Cassity  1789
Abraham Claypool  1789
WiUiam Wamsley  1790
Edward Jackson  1791
Robert ClarkT  1792
WiUiam Wilson  1795
James Bruff  1796
George Rennix  1796
Simon Reeder  1797
St. Leger Stout  1800
Asahel Heath  1801
Nicholas Gibson  1809
Isaac White  1809
William WUson  1810
John Crouch  1813
John M. Hart  1814
Ely Butcher  1815
Robert S. Shanklin  1816
Robert Chenoweth  1816
John Currence  1817
Andrew Crawford  1818
George Wees||  1819
Adam Myres  1821
George Stalnaker  1822
Jacob Teter  1823
Daniel Hart  1824
Daniel Booth.  1825
Isaac Taylor  1826
Henry Martin  1827

Levi Ward  1828
Michael See  1830
Matthew Whitman  1831
John Harris  1832
George Nestor  1833
Andrew Crawford  1834
Peter Conrad  1835
Brown Jenks  1836
WUUam Shaw  1837
John Moore  1838
WUUam Marteney  1839
Lair D. Morrell  1841
Jacob W. See  1842
Bushrod W. Crawford  1843
George McLean  1844
Ely Baxter Butcher  1845
George Wyatt  1846
John Taylor  1848
Absalom Crawford  1849
Charles C. See  1850
Jacob Ward  1851
Parkison Collett  1856
John B. Morrison  1858
Jacob Phares  1860
Squire B. Daniels  1861
Archibald E. Harper  1861
J. M. Curtis  1876
Jasper W. Triplett  1880
H. H. Taylor  1880
Abel W. Hart  1884
French H. Kittle  1881
Sheffey Taylor  1892
WUUam O. Triplett  1892

* Williams died 1849.
tNicholas Marsteller was the son of the man of the same name who was surveyorin 1852.
JThis name was sometimes spelled Hadden, but an early signature shows that he
spelled his name Haddan.
HThis name was sometimes spelled Clerk.
IIA signature on the old book shows that he spelled his name Waas.

224

COURT NOTES OP A CENTURY.

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.

3?/!

>o^.

bdft

From the organization of Randolph until
the adoption of the Constitution of 1852 Justices
of the Peace were appointed by the Governor,
and held office for life if they chose to do so.
After 1852 they were elected. The following
list shows the names of the Justices and the
year when they first appeared on the records.
1787. Jacob Westf aU, Salathial Goff, Pat
rick Hamilton, John Wilson, Cornelius Westfall,
Edward Jackson, Robert Maxwell, Peter Cas
sity, Cornelius Bogard, John Jackson, George
Westfall, Henry Runyan, John Haddan, Jona
than Parsons, Uriah Gandy.
1789. John Elliott, Abraham Claypool.
1790. Jacob WestfaU.
1791. Abraham Kittle, Matthew Whitman,
Terah Osborn, William Wilson, Jacob Polsley.
1794. William Parsons.
1795. Asahel Heath, John Pancake, John
Currence, Jacob Kittle, Samuel Bonnifield.
William Seymour, William B.Wilson.
Simon Reeder, John Chenoweth,
MarstiUer. Isaac Booth.
Andrew Miller.
Joseph Long, Daniel Clark, Barthan
John Hartley, John Sanders, John
Barnhouse, Joseph Joseph.
1804 Ebenezer Flanagan, Gilbert Boyles.
1806. John Crouch, John Lamberton, Ben
jamin Hornbeck, Nicholas Gibson, Isaac Booth.
1808. William Daniels, Jonathan Hutton,
John Hart.
1809. Isaac White, Andrew Crawford,
George Parsons, Samuel BaU.
1810. Matthew Hines, John Skidmore.
1811, Nicholas Storm, Daniel Booth, Ben
jamin Riddle.
1813. Zedekiah Morgan, Andrew Cross,
George Wees, Jonathan Wamsley.
1814. Isaac Greggory, Adam Myers, An
drew Friend, George Stalnaker, Robert S.
Shanklin, Jacob Springstone, Levi Ward.
1815. Hiram Goff, Robert Young, James
Tygart. 1817. Ebenezer Leonard, Frederick Trout-
wine, Jacob Teter.
Michael See, Isaac Taylor, William S. Wilson.
Jonas Crane, Godfrey Hiller, Jonas Harman, John Harris.
David Wiles, Robert McCrum.

'yyz:^-^

P^.-:^^-^

1797.
1799.
Nicholas 1801. 1802.1803.
Hoskins,
signatures of Early Justices of thji
Peace.
1820.1824.
1825.
COURT NOTES OP A CENTURY. 225
1830. Brown Jenks, David Goff, Joseph Hart, William Shaw, John
Walker, William Huff, John Moore, Peter Conrad, George Nestor.
1831. George See, Henry. Sturm, Jacob See.
1832. WUUam McLain, Squire Bosworth, Jacob Keller, Ely Butcher,
Andrew Miller, Robert N. Ball, John Wyatt, Joseph Roy, William P. Wil
son, Joseph Teter, Adam See.
1835. Jacob Harper, John Phares, William Rowan, Adonijah B. Ward,
Valentine Stalnaker, Lorentz Mitchell, Daniel W. Shurtliff, Jarrett John
son, Abraham Harding, Samuel Keller, Arnold Bonnifield, Isaac Roy,
Thomas S. White, John Arbogast, Andrew M. Wamsley.
1838. Lemuel Chenowetli, Job Parsons, Samuel Stalnaker, Samuel
Elliott, Michael H. Neville, John W. Crawford.
1839. Charles C. See, Francis D. Talbott.
1841. John A. Hutton.
1842. Noah E. Corley, George Buckey, William Phares, John Kelley,
William Johnson, John W. Moore, John Taylor.
1845. David Gilmore, Christian Simmons, Lenox M. Camden, Elijah
Kittle, Archibald Chenoweth, Benjamin W. Kittle, Jacob Crouch, Abraham
Crouch. 1848. Whitman Ward, Adam D. Caplinger, John W. Haigler, Harri
son W. Campbell, James W. Parsons, William Talbott, James Shreve,
William G. Greggory, Harman Snyder, Thompson Elza.
1852. Peter L. Lightner, Isaac G. Dodrill, WUliam Hamilton, George
W. MiUs, Hezekiah Kittle, Henry Harper, William C. Chenoweth, Jacob
Vanscoy, William R. Parsons, George H. Long, Nathaniel J. Lambert,
Joseph White, James Vance, Jeremiah Lanham, James D. Simon, Absalom
Stalnaker. 1854. Jacob H. Long, Henry C. Moore.
1856. Jacob W. Marshall, Thomas B. Scott, Hamilton Stalnaker,
Abraham Hutton, John A. Rowan, Edwin S. Talbott, Eli Kittle, Aaron
Coberly, Arnold Wilmoth, Samuel Dinkle, Noah H. Harman, James Wil
moth. 1859. Asa Harman, Mathias C. Potts, Joseph J. Simmons.
1860. Jacob Conrad, S. Salisbury, W. Wilson, Washington G. Ward,
George Phillips, WUson Osborn, Michael Yokum, William P. Corley, Wil
liam Raines, James H. Lambert, William Jordan, Elijah J. Nelson.
1861. Jacob Daniels, Everett Chenoweth.
1862. Henry H. Leigh, D. G. Adams.
1867. Solomon S. Warner, James W. Dunnington, Charles Crouch,
William Bennett, Patrick Durkin, Peleg C. Barlow.
1869. Sampson Snyder, Reuben S. Butcher, John A. Vance, John A.
King. 1873. Jesse W. Goddin, J. Wood Price, RUey Pritt, George H. Phillip,
Jacob C. Collett, Adam C. Currence, Emanuel White, Patrick Crickard,
Leonard H. Schoonover.
1876. George W. Yokum, Holman Pritt, Miles King, Joseph Bunner,
J. W. Summerfield.
1877. Alfred Hutton.
1880. George Beatty, John Bunner, William H. WUson, Z. T. Cheno
weth, J. W. Tyre, Jacob C. Harper, Randolph Triplett.
1882. Adam H. Wamsley, Peter Crickard.

226

COURT NOTES OP A CENTURY.

^ ^^^t. ^- n^- P^^^^^> Melvin Currence, James L. Coff, John A. HamU-
ton, D. E. Coberly.
1886. James Shannon.
1888. WUUam H. Grose, Adam C. Rowan, WUUam M. Boyd, H. N
Bunner, Adam L. Findley.
1890. Caleb White.
1892. John R. Crickard, D. P. Harper, Job. W. Parsons, WUliam
Hamilton, James Coberly, J. J. Zickafoose, Lew Fahrion.
1895. G. P. Sims.
1896. B. Y. Cunningham, Ployd McDonald, W. A. Hornbeck, N. W.
Talbott, A. Brandley, Page C. MarstiUer, Peter Madden, W. Scott Wood
ford, W. S. Kelley, John W. Hartman, Elias Zickafoose.
PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS.
The prosecuting attorney, in former times, was appointed, and did not
necessarily live in the county where he served. The same man sometimes
was prosecutor in two or more counties at one time. Following are the
names of the commonwealth's attorneys of Randolph:

WUliam McCleary  1787
Thomas WUson  1791
Maxwell Armstrong  1795
Adam See  1798
WiUiam Tingle  1809
Noah Linsley  1809
Edwin S. Duncan*  1814
OUver Phelps  1817
Phineas Chapin  1818
John J. Allen  1820
WUUam McCord  1829
Gideon D. Camden  1837

David Goff  1835
John S. Huffman  1841
Samuel Cranef  1852
Joseph Hartt  1862
Nathan H. Taft  1862
Spencer Dayton  1863
Gustavus Cresap  1867
Thomas J. Arnold  1868
Bernard L. Butcherl  1876
Cyrus H. Scott  1880
Jared L. Wamsley  1888

COUNTY CORONERS.

Salathiel Goff  1787
Cornelius Bogard  1787''
Robert MaxweU  1789
Abraham Kittle  1792
Simon Reeder  1796
John.Chenoweth  1803
Adam Stalnaker  1805

WiUiam B. WUson  1807
Charles Myers  1809
John Stalnaker  1820
Jacob Myers  1827
William Rowan  1854
Lemuel Chenoweth  1855
WUUam C. Chenoweth  1873

*Edwin S. Duncan, afterwards Judge Duncan, was from Harrison County. It is
said that he collected much of the data afterwards used by Alexander S. Withers in the
"Border Warfare. " Duncan and his elder half-brother, John J. Allen, were law partners.
A story is told of them to the effect that they were employed in a large land suit at
Clarksburg, and on the opposite side was a Virginia lawyer of much notriety at the time.
Allen was a candidate for Congress and was very anxious to go out upon an electioneer
ing tour, but was afraid to entrust the land case to his younger and inexperienced brother.
He therefore remained in Clarksburg for the trial. The evidence was submitted, and
the Virginia lawyer began his address to the jury by quoting Shakespeare. He had not
yetflnkshed the quotation when Duncan leaned over and whkspered to Allen, "You can
go. I can manage any lawyer who will quote poetry to a jury in a land case."
tThe first Prosecuting Attorney elected in Randolph.
IRemoved to Illinois.
^Afterwards State Superintendent of Schools.

COURT NOTES OP A CENTURY.

227

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.

Solomon C. Caplinger  1880
WUUam M. Phares  1880
Jacob S. Wamsley  1880
Omar Conrad  1884
Jacob Vanscoy  1884
B. W. Crawford  1884

.1886

George W. Yokum 
Patrick Crickard  1886
C. S. Armentrout  1888
Jesse P. Phares  1890
Jesse W. Goddin  1892

JUDGES OF THE CIRCUIT COURTS.

Hugh Nelson .

 1809
Daniel Smith  1811
Richard H. Field* . .  1827
Edwin S. Duncanf . .  1831
Allen Taylort  .... 1832
Edward Johnson]:  1842

George H. See

.1848

Gideon D. Camden  1851
George W. Thompson! ...... .1853
Matthew Edmiston ||  1854
William L. Jackson==  1860
WUliam A. Harrison  1861

Robert Irvine  1863
Thomas W. Harrison  1867
John Brannon  1872
WUliam T. Ice  1881
R. P. Fleming**  1882
Joseph T. Hoke  1889
George W. Lewis*^*  1892
C. W. Dailey*^'  1893
Thomas P. R. Brown*.,*  1894
Samuel Woods*.;^*

John Homer Holt

.1896.1897

_/^LU ..^-'^ayj/Pa^-.-.'-'i;^^^ 'ts^j.x-x, tS^so^^.,^^

M &&'<rKt..

^ ;^ ^t^^i^^^^&^'f?^^"^^

Signatures of F^aQdolph's Circuit Court Judges.
CONSTABLES.
In the list of Constables which follows, no segregation with regard to
districts ds given. Formerly they were appointed by the county court.
They depended upon fees for their pay, and the emoluments of the office
were usually small. Their duty, so far as it went, was much the same as
*Sitting for Judge Smith.
fFirst Judge under the Constitution, of 1830.
JBy exchange with Judge Duncan .
II By exchange with Judge Camden.
=By exchange with Judge Camden. This was the Confederate general who attacked
Beverly during the war.
**Sitting for Judge Ice.
*#*Sitting for Judge Hoke.

^^^ COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.
tile duty of sheriff; but for the same work they received smaUer fees.
follow-* ^^^^ ^^^® persons willing to fill the office. Names of constables
T ^'^^l- J^^ob Riffle, Michael Yokum, Thomas Holder, Jeremiah York,
Jeremiah Cooper, Charles Falnash.
1788. WUliam Haddix, David Minear, Valentine Stalnaker, Jacob
Shook. 1794. WiUiam Clark, Henry Carr, Jacob Ward.
1796. Jacob Springston, Henry Phillips.
1797. John Runkins, Nicholas Smith, George Long, Matthew Wams-
1798. John PhUlips, Thomas Cade, Joseph Joseph, John Sanders.
1799. Richard Ware, Daniel Canfield, Gilbert Bayles.
1800. Peter Buckey, John Outright, John Hart, John Triplett.
1803. WUliam Daniels, Samuel Pierce, Richard Ware.
1804. George Whitman, WiUiam Booth, William McCorkle.
1805. Barthan Hoskins, John Hartley, John Spillman, John BeaU.
1809. George Stalnaker, John Chenoweth, WiUiam Steers, Edward
Hart, WUliam P. WUson, WiUiam Stalnaker, James Holder, Alexander
Morrison. 1810. Adonijah Ward, Samuel Burrett.
1811. John Clark, John Miller, Joseph Roy, Nicholas Weatherholtz.
1813. Jonathan Yeager, Levi Slridmore, John W. Stalnaker, WUliam
Kelley, Isaac Wamsley, Samuel Oliver, Isaac Stalnaker.
1815. David Holder, Wilby Taylor, John Snyder, Jesse Cunningham,
John Lynch, Abraham Bryant.
1817. David Evans, Solomon Parsons, Isaac Post, Adam Lough, John
Walker. 1818. Thomas Wamsley, Jonas Harman, Samuel Wyatt, Moses PhUlips.
1819. Solomon Yeager, James Teter, Jesse Bennett, John Long,
Joseph Walker.
1821. Robert N. Ball, Henry Sturm, Henry Cunning, Thomas W.
Holder. 1823. WUliam H. Crawford, Jesse Coberly, Enoch Minear, Abraham
Wolford, Hugh Dailey, James Turner, Noah E. Corley.
1825. Elisha Poling, George Harris, Benjamin Johnson, Isaac B. Marsh.
1827. Absalom Wilmoth, William Wamsley, Jacob Kelley, Benjamin
P. Marsh, John Taylor, William G. Gilmore.
1829. John W. Crawford, Eli Walker, Jacob Teter, Abraham Bowman,
Edmund S. Wyatt, Thomas Byrd, Washington Taylor, Joshua Glascock.
1831. Burwell Butcher, Oliver E. Domire, Joseph Shaw, WUliam
Marsh, John Stout, William Rowan, William Pickens, Absalom Hinkle.
1832. John Conrad, John Phares, Samuel Keller.
1833. Edward Stalnaker, Daniel W. Shurtiiff, James W. Corley, John
P. Gray, Jesse Day, Levi Jenks, Arnold Bonnifield.
1836. Andrew M. Wamsley, WUliam Wamsley, Thomas Phillips, John
Sargent. 1837. Lair D. Morrell, Garrett Johnson, Absalom Harden, David Gil
more, James Vance, Thomas S. White, Joseph J. Simmons, John M. Crouch.
*As in all other lists of ofllcers in tliis book, tlie name appears but once, although the
person may have held the olllcc several times. The date given is the year when he flrst
entered the oUlce.

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY. 229
1838. Adam H. Bowman, WiUiam Simpson, Bushrod W. CravTford,
Archibald Coyner.
1839. Isaac White, Elias Alexander, Lewis GUmore, John C. Wamsley.
1841. William Wilmoth, Garretson Stalnaker, Francis J. Holder, John
Tygart, Jesse Roy, John Arbogast, Jacob Conrad, Abraham Crouch.
1842. William W. Parsons, Samuel Wamsley, John M. Phares, Israel
Coffman, Flavins J. Holder, Francis O. Shurtliff, James R. Parsons, Benja
min Kittle, Henry V. Bowman.
1845. Matthew W. Brady, Milton Hart, Michael Yokum, John Q.
WUson. 1847. William Currence, Michael Walters, Samuel P. Wallace, Job
Parsons, Jr., James Long, Elias Wyatt, Washington Roy.
1848. Thomas James, George W. Mills, Cyrus Kittle,
1849. AUen J. Currence, John W. Adams, Solomon C. Caplinger,
W. H. Coberly, Samuel P. Wilson, Aaron Bell.
1851. Peter H. Ward, William Rains.*
1852. Hugh S. Hart, Melvine Currence, Moses J. PhUlips, Samuel P.
Dinkle, Isaac Roy, Samuel Bonnifield. f
1854. Jacob Currence, Isaac Wilmoth, Parkison Collett, Jesse Parsons,
David 0. WUson.
1855. Alfred Taylor, Washington Stalnaker, George W. Rowan.
1856. Michael Magee, Patrick Crickard, Powhatan A. Tolly,
1858. Levi White, Squire Daniels.
1860. Thomas J. Powers, Henry J. White, Patrick Durkin, Edward
Grim, 0. C. Stalnaker.
1867. Sampson P. Shifiett, William O. Ferguson, WiUiam H. Quick,
Andrew J. Wilmoth, James A. Hicks, W. K. Herren, John Snider, John
King. 1869. Daniel Cooper, Granger Lamb, Montgomery G. Mathews, James
Hoicks 1870. John McGillivany.
[There is a gap of six years in the records which show the election of
constables.] 1876. S. Tyre, E. O. Goddin, George W. Phares, John Pritt, Jasper
Bolton, W. D. Currence, A. J. Wilmoth, Caleb White, A. J. Bennett, James
S. Hution. 1884. French H. Kittle, Lee Yokum, James R. McCallum, P. B. Con
rad, A. B. Mouse, J. A. Cunningham, John J. Nallen, John W. Hartman.
1885. Creed L. Earle, R. L. Pritt.
1888. Page C. Daniels, R. G. Thorn, Charles W. ChanneU, Gideon M.
Outright, Hamilton Markley, Hyre A. Stalnaker, A. H. Summerfield, George
1892. Lloyd D. CoUett, J. H. Currence, Elam E. Taylor, W. D. Cur
rence, C. C. Crickard, L. W. McQuain, William Snyder, Patrick Phillips.
1894. R. T. Hedges, Page C. MarstiUer.
1896. R. C. Sassi, Daniel Cooper, Prank Shoemaker, James Brady,
Oliver Daniels, A. B. Coberly, E. E. Taylor, N. B. Hutton.
*Following the year 1851, the constables were elected; before that they were ap
pointed. tG-randson of Samuel Bonnifield who was justice in 1795.

230

COURT NOTES OP A CENTURY.

SUPERINTENDENTS OP SCHOOLS.
The statistics of early schools in Randolph County are meager. Almost
nothing exists, except the occasional mention of the appointment or elec
tion of school commissioners, and occas.sional reference to a superintendent
In a former chapter of this book may be found an account of the rise and
growth of the free school idea in Virginia, and the poor showing in com
parison with conditions in other States. A Ust of the Superintendents of
schools in Randolph County follows :

David Goff  1853
William P. Corley  1865
Squire B. Hart  1867
Jacob J. HiU  1863
J. W. Price  1872
Alonzo P. Wilmoth  1875
A. S. Bosworth  1877

Blain W. Taylor  1881
P. P. Madden  .1885
C. S. Moore,  1887
D. A. Hamrich  1889
S. L. Hogan  1891
H. S. Whetsell  1893
W. T. Woodyard  1895

OLD WILLS IN RANDOLPH.
In the first fifty years of Randolph County's history, only fifty-six
wills were recorded. The estates were usually small, few of them exceeding
three thousand dollars in value. Interesting points of local history, senti
ment and custom are often found in those old documents. Some of them
are written by lawyers and are in the formal phraseology of the profession,
while others show the uncultivated, native simplicity of the man who
writes his last will and testament. The first will recorded in the county is
to the point. It was written by Andrew McMuUen June 21, 1786. He had
little money or worldly goods to dispose of, but he wanted to leave the
little he had without room for disputes. The document is as follows:
"In the name of God, Amen. I, Andrew McMuUen, of the county of Harrison, and
State of Virginia, being weak of body, but of perfect mind and memory, do make this
my last will and testament in manner and form following: That is to say that it is my
desire, after my decease, that I be decently buried agreeable to my circumstances, out
of what little 1 leave behind; and as my affairs are in a very scattered condition at pres
ent, owing to my by-past troubles, I therefore nominate and appoint Robert Maxwell as
my executor to seek into and examine what trifles are mine, and goods likewise. When
I was at Uriah Gaudy's, I lent him two pounds flve shillings cash, and gave him an order
for a great coat of mine at Thomas Goff's tailor, and a dollar to pay for the making of it;
and 1 gave him my note, as I got his gun by way of loan. But at the time I was at his
house I was not right in my head as I might to have been, and 1 Ivuow not what way the
note or anything'else was; but I hope he will do justice as a Christian. And his gun lie can
have again: and what service he did for me, I hope he will be paid out of what lie owes
me. And for what orders I gave or sent Mr. James Cunningham and Mr. William Cun
ningham, about getting my traps and other things, I hope they give them up to Robert
Maxwell as I have appointed him to settle my affairs. And 1 do aclaiowledge this and
no other to be my last will and testament; as witness my hand and seal this 21st day of
June, 1786.
"Andkew McMullbn.
"Witness: James TafTee and Joseph Friend."
The following will, recorded in 18(14, is very brief and to the point.
It was evidently dictated or written by a very sick man.
"Whereas, I, Vincent Marsli, am going to depart this life. I am in my proper senses.
I leave my soul to God and my body to the mother earth to be burried iri a decent man
ner. I leave the mont^y whicli is in Ezekiel Marsh's liands, to my Aunt ]3arkey Bonni
field, and Elizabeth Daniels, my motlicr, to be equally divided between the two.
Vincent Maesh.
"Witness: Sarah Bonnifield and Mary Loughery."

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.

231

A list of all the wills recorded in Randolph County before 1837 will be
found in the following table, with name of testator and date of record:

Andrew McMuUen  . . .1788
George Ward  . . 171(1
David Haddan .  1791
Jacob Stalnaker  1791
John MUler  1794
Jeremiah Channel . . 1797
Raphael Warthan  1798
Catharine Carlick  1801
Thomas White  1802
Josiah WestfaU . .  1802
John Hardan  1803
Vincent Marsh  1804
St. Leger Stout  1806
Thomas PhUlips . . . .*  1806
Henry Mace  1807
Mary Ann Marteney  1809
Thomas Holder  1810
Edward Hart   . 1811
Charles Myers  1812
Abraham Kittle   1813
Adam Stalnaker  1814
Jacob Helmick . .  1815
John Phillips  1815
Isaac Kittle  1816
Ebenezer KeUey  1816
Isaac Bond  1818
Hezekiah Rosencranz  1819
Martin C. Poling  1819
Martm Poling  1820

James McLain  1820
George Mitchell  1822
Robert Phares  1823
Elias Alexander  1825
Boston Stalnaker  1826
Jacob Wees  1826
Samuel Bonnifield  1826
Benjamin Hornbeck  1827
Joseph Summerfield  1828
Frederick Trou twine  1829
William Parsons  1829
Joseph Pinnell   1831
John Rush  '  1831
Rinehart Domire *  1831
Richard Kittle  1831
John Chenoweth  1831
Joseph Pitman  1832
Sarah Bond  1832
Jacob Wees  1832
Jacob Stagle  1832
James McClurg  1833
Valentine Stalnaker  1833
Henry Petro . 1834
John Light  1834
Richard Ware  ..,.1834
Isaac Poling . . . 1834
Gilbert Boyle 1835
Solomon Collett  1836
Matthew Whitman  1836

LAWYERS WHO HAVE PRACTICED IN RANDOLPH.
Since the county was organized in 1787, the records show that 209 law
yers have been admitted to practice at the Randolph bar. About one half
of them were residents of the county; the others visited the Beverly courts
as business called them. The list shows the names of several who achieved
reputations extending beyond the State. The bar has at all times been able,
and law business in Randolph has been sufficiently large to attract talented
*This name was originally spelled Toomire in Randolph County, and occasionally
Doumire. The family came from Germany, but the name is believed to be French.
DuMire, it is said, meant "Seafaring." It is known that the Domires were .sailors, and
Rinehart Domire had a record for adventure comparing favorably with the old naviga
tors. He was born 1765, in Germany, and before he was thirty-four years old he had dou
bled the Cape of Good Hope six times; had cruised among the South Sea Islands, had vis
ited China three times, and had spent nine years with whaling fleets in the Arctic
Ocean. He then came to America, and about 1800 settled at Stemple Ridge, in the
present county of Preston. Later he removed to Randolph, in that part which is now
Tueker County, and there lived and died, leaving many descendants who still live in this
and adjoining states.

232

COURT NOTES OP A CENTURY.

attorneys from elsewhere. FoUowing is a list of lawyers, with the date
when the name of each first appeared on the court records:

William McCleary  1787
Alexander Addison  17;-i7
Maxwell Armstrong  1790
Adam See  1793
Francis Brook  1793
Isaac White Williams 1794
Gilbert Christie  1795
Patrick Hendrin  1797
Nathaniel Davisson  1798
Christopher Lamberton  1801
John G. Jackson  1801
Isaac Morris  1802
James WUson  1803
James Evans  1803
John M. Smith . 1804
WUUam Tingle  1805
George C. Davisson  1807
Samuel McMeechen  1809
Nathaniel Pendleton" 1809
Noah Lindsey  1809
Philip Doddridge*  1809
WUUam G. Payne  1809
George I. Davisson 1809
William Parinlaw . . . 1810
Oliver Phelps  1810
Lemuel E. Davisson  1810
Edwin S. Duncan  1811
Jonathan J ackson||  1813
James Gilmore 1813
William ColweU  1814
Thomas WUson  1815
James McCally  1815
Marmaduke Evans  1815
James McGee  1815
John Brown  1817
Phineas Chapin  1818
Thomas C. Gordon  182(1
John J. Allen  1820
Jefferson Phelps 1822
Lewis MaxweUf . . . 1822
John RamseU  1823

Daniel G. Morrell  1823
George C. Baxter  1823
William L. Jackson  1824
Edgar C. Wilson  ' 1825
George J. WUson  'l825
Joseph Lovell  ......1821
Solomon Wyatt  1827
Blake B. Woodson  ! 1827
Reuben W. Short  1827
Gideon D. Camden  1828
Augustine L. Smith  1828
W. W. Chapman  1828
W. G. Brownl  1829
W. G. Naylor  1829
James H. Craven  1829
William C. Haymond§  1830
William R. Crane  1830
Frederick M. Wilson  1830
William A. Harrison  1832
George H. Lee  1832
Beverly H. Lurty  1832
Charles McClure  1832
Robert Wallace  .1832
Leroy E. Gaston  1833
Burton A. Despard  1834
John G. Stringer  1834
CabeU Tavener  1834
David Goff  1834
Thomas Brown  1835
WiUiam McKinley  1836
Hyre Jackson  1836
Joseph Hart  1837
Wesley C. Kemp  1838
John S. Caiiilelt  1840
Matthew Edmiston  1840
Bernard L. Brown  1840
John L. Duncan  1841
Richard M. Whiting  1841
James M. Jackson  1841
Edgar M. Davisson  1842
John D. Stephenson  1842

* Author ot •' Doddridge's Notes on Virginia."
II Father of ''Stonewall " Jackson.
t Member of Congress from the district including Randolph.
II Afterwards member of Congress.
^Father of Creed Haymond, the well known California lawyer.
tJAfterwards in the United States Senate.

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.

233

Charles A. Harper  1843
Alphus P. Haymond  1843
Uriel M. Turner  1843
Preston W. Adams  1844
Edwin L. Hewitt  1844
Benjamin P. Myers  1845
Samuel Crane  1847
Caleb Boggess  ;,  1847
Jonathan Koiner  1847
Phillip M. MorriU  1847
Jonathan M. Bennett*  1847
Joseph C. Spalding  1848
Nathan H. Taft  1848
Benjamin Wilsonf  1850
Philip Williams  1851
Daniel A. Stofer  18.52
JohnN. Hughes  1852
Edwin Maxwell  1852
William H. FerriU  1853
Thomas A. Bradford  1853
Samuel Woods  1853
Charles Hooton  1853
George W. Lurty  1854
James Bennett  1855
Edgar M. Williams  1855
Claudius Goff  1856
David M. Auvil  1856
David H. LUly  1858
Thomas B. RummeU  1858
John W. Barton  1858
William H. Gibson  1858
John W. Crawford  1859
Charles W. Cooper  1859
WUliam Ewin  1859
John Keranans  1860
Spencer Dayton  1863
Thomas J. Arnold  1863
C. J. P. Cresap  1863
Charles J. Pindall  1893
Joseph Thompson  1863
Fontain Smith  1864
James W. Dunnington  1866
W. C. Carper  1866
Cyrus Kittle  1866
Willis J. Drummond  1866
Charles S. Lewis  1866
James M. Seig  1867
Alexander M. Poundstone - > 1867

John L. Hoffman  1870
Lorenzo D. Strader  1870
Thomas R. R. Brown  1873
A. G. Reger 1873
E. T. Jones . . 1873
Stark W. Arnold  1873
Gustavus Cresap  1873
Adonijah B. Parsons  1873
J. L. HaU  1873
W. G. L. Totten  1873
C. C. Higginbotham  1873
Jasper N. HaU  1875
Henry Brannon  1875
Bernard L. Butcher 1876
WiUiam T. Ice 1876
W. B. MaxweU  1876
Philetus Lipscomb  1877
Shelton Lake Reger  1877
William L. Kay  1878
Alston G. Daytonf . . . J-879
Cyrus H. Scott  1879
A. C. Bowman  1880
Leland Kittle  1880
H. C. Thurmond  1880
B. P. Martinf  1881
William G. Brown  1881
John W. Mason  1881
W. W. Haden  1881
John E. Wood  1881
R. S. Turk  1881
John Bayles Ward  1881
A. S. Bosworth  1882
L. S. AuvU  1883
Frank Woods  1884
William E. Clark  1884
E. D. Talbott  1884
James A. Bent  1884
J"ared L. Wamsley  1884
J. P. Harding  1885
S. M. Reynolds  1885
H. N. Ogden  1887
A. Jay Valentine  1887
W. C. Clayton  1887
Charles W. Russell  1888
Melville Peck  1888
C. W. Dailey  ,  1890
Charles W. Lynch  1890

*Afterwards Auditor of Virginia.
tAfterwards member of Congress.

234

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.

W. G. Wilson  1893
George B. Scott  1893
George M. Curtis  1893
A. M. Cunningham  1893
W. T. Woodyard  1893
Andrew Price  1894
Henry C. Ferry  1895
W. H. Baker  1895
Lew Greynolds  1895
Judson Ployd Strader  1896
William B. Baker  1896
H. E. Wilmoth  1896
W. B. Kittle  1896

C. W. Harding  1897
Malcolm Jackson  1897
J. N. McMuUen  1897
E. P. Durkin  1897
George B. Scott  1897
J. C. McWhorter  1897
W. T. George  1897
C. P. Guard  1897
B. P. Bailey  1897
S. H. SommerviUe  1897
W. T. Ice, jr  1898
C. W. MaxweU  1898

THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
From 1866 to 1872 the affairs of the county were managed by a Board
of Supervisors, sitting as a court, and having the general powers of the
county courts which were in existence both before and after that time. Pol-
lowing are the names of the supervisors and the dates of their entering
office. 1866. Elijah Kittle, John K. Scott, John M. Haney, John M. Crouch,
John A. Hutton, Powhatan A. Tolly, Sampson Snider, Elijah M. Hart,
Charles W. Burk, William Rowan, James H. Lambert.
1867. Benjamin P. Wilmoth, William D Armstrong, Orlando Wool-
wine, George Buckey, Crawford Scott, Oliver Wilmoth, A. E. Harper.
1869. Samuel Tyre, EU Kittle, Riley Pritt, A. J. Swecker, Melvm
Currence, John W. Phares, Jacob Vanscoy, Elijah Cooper.
1871. John Cain, Adam Yokum.
BOARD OF REGISTRATION.
After the close of the Civil War sympathizers with the South, and par
ticularly those who had actively supported the Southern Confederacy, were
disfranchised in the Southern States. As nearly as can be estimated from
the records of the Board of Registration, one-third of the voters of Ran
dolph County were disfranchised, from first to last; but while some names
were being scratched from the lists of voters others were being re-instated,
so that one-third of the names were never off the books at one time. Gov
ernor Stevenson commissioned Willis J. Drummond, Cyrus Kittle and Elijah
M. Hart a Board of Registration for Randolph County, and they held their
first meeting March 21, 1866, in Beverly, and appointed the following per
sons as registrars to make lists of the voters: In Clay Township, James
Wilmoth; Green Township, O. C. Stalnaker; Beverly Township, C. W.
Hart; Clark Townshiji, John M. Crouch; Reynolds Township, Squire B.
Hart; Scott Township, Jefferson Scott; Dry Fork Township, Sampson
Snider. No one was appointed in Mingo or Union Townships. The regis
trars compUed lists of the voters in the townships, and in June, 1866, the
Board of Registration met to examine the lists and to strike off the names
of persons who could not prove that they had been loyal to the United
States Government. Witnesses were subpoenaed and the trial for disloy
alty was conducted as a court would conduct a trial for a misdemeanor or a
felony. The first to be put on trial was William Apperson, who, failing to

COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY. 235
prove his lo.yalty, was disfranchised. Many other trials followed. About
one-half of those brought to trial were disfranchised. Several whose names
were scratched from the list of voters subsequently were re-instated upon
furnishing satisfactory proof of loyalty.
In May, 1867, another meeting of the Board of Registration was held,
and the following persons were present as witnesses: James Vanscoy,
Henry P. Kittle, William M. Phares, Aaron Workman, A. E. Harper, Levi
Ward, George W. Barrett, . Edward Madden, William Piercy, Mary E.
Buckey, Benjamin Phares, A. C. Currence, James Ryan, Jonathan Daniels,
Jacob Daniels, Hamilton Daniels, John Pritt, Lorenzo Denton, Elizabeth
Earle, John B. Earle, Catherine Phares. After several days' session, the
Board ordered 189 names struck from the list of voters; in Union Township,
25; Scott, 3; Mingo, 44; Green, 23; Clark, 20, Reynolds, 31; Beverly, 43.
Sampson Snider, of Dry Pork, a member of the Board, objected to the dis-
franchisment of many of the men whose names were struck from the list of
voters, but he was overruled by the other members. Thereupon he wrote
the following protest and asked that it be placed on record, which was done:
I, Sampson Snider, am willing to receive all the parties that was examined in my
presence during this seting in Green, Clark, Reynolds and Beverly, as qualified voters.
I protest against any being stricken from those lists who were examined in my presence.
"Signed, Sampson Snideb."
Cyrus Kittle was then clerk of the Board, and having been overruled in
his objection to Mr. Snider's protest going on record, he made the follow
ing entry just below it:
. "test verbatin et Literati n Cyrus Kittle Clerk"
In September, 1867, David Goff asked to be registered in accordance
with the President's proclamation, but the Board refused to do so. The
number struck from the lists at the September meeting was about equal
to the number disfranchised at the proceeding meeting in May. Twenty-
one witnesses were called at the September meeting. A new board was ap
pointed by the Governor in July, 1868, as follows: Jas. Ryan, Jno. M. Crouch,
W. G. Corrick. They appointed registrars in the township. Beverly, Jud
son B. Harper; Reynolds, J. C. Marteney; Mingo, Solomon Parsons; Clark,
A. C. Currence; Scott, Jefferson Scott; Union, John M. Haney; Green, J.
M. Curtis; Dry Fork, John Snider; Clay, Benjamin P. Lee. The next year,
1869, the only change made was the appointment of Thomas R. WiUiams,
in place of Curtis in Green township, and Nicholas P. Butcher in place of
Lee, in Clay. In December, 1868, a new Board of Registration was ap
pointed by the Governor. Corrick remained in office, but Jacob Piercy and
Jacob Morgan were substituted for Crouch and Ryan. The next year, 1869,
Zebulon Stakiaker became a member of the Board. On October 5, 1870, the
Board adjourned forever.

First Court.'House built in Randolph County.

CHAPTER XX,

-:o:-

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR.
The first armed encounter between the Union and Confederate forces
in Randolph County took place at Middle Fork Bridge near the boundary
between Randolph and Upshur Counties, July 6, 1861. In former chapters
of this book a synopsis of events connected with the war in this part of
West Virginia is given, and need not be repeated ; but of such occurrences
as affected Randolph County particularly, a fuller account wiU now be
given.* Confederates under Porterfield had fallen back from Grafton to
Philippi, at which place on June 3, 1861, they had been attacked and de
feated by Colonel Kelly, whose force was about four times that of the
Confederates. Colonel Porterfield retreated into Randolph County, and the
Confederate Government sent General R. S. Garnett to supersede him.
Reinforcements were hurried across the mountains, and by July 11 there
were about 6000 Confederates in Randolph. They had two fortified camps,
one at Rich Mountain, or rather at the western base of the mountain; the
other at Laurel Hill, where the pike from Beverly to Philippi crosses that
range. Colonel John Pegram was in command of 1300 men at Rich Moun
tain, and General Garnett was at Laural Hill with about 4500. There were
troops stationed at other points in the rear of the two principal positions,
and they will be sijoken of again when they appear on the scene of action.
For the dislodgment of the Confederates, General McClellan maneuvered
20,000 Union troops. An advance was made by two divisions, one under
General Thomas A. Morris, from Philippi, against Laurel Hill; the other
under McClellan, by way of Buckhannon, against Rich Mountain. In ad
dition to these there were troops along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
from Parkersburg to Cumberland. McCleUan believed that Garnett had
10,000 men, but Garnett really had fewer than 6000 to defend both Rich
Mountain and Laurel HUl, although there were others in the rear which
did not take part in the fighting. Having outlined the positions of the two
armies early in Jul.y, it now remains to speak of the movements and results.
On July 6, McClellan was at Buckhannon. On that day he sent a dis
patch to Washington, saying that his troops would advance at four o'clock
the next morning to drive the Confederates from Middle Pork Bridge, and
he expected to be there himself during the day. The Confederates at the
bi'id.ge were only a picket post placed there by Pegram to give notice of
the first Union advance toward Rich Mountain. On the same day General
Morris was ordered to advance from Philippi toward Laurel Hill. McClellan
*This chapter deals with the campaigns in their general aspect, and does not enter
into personal adventures and reminiscences. These will be spoken of in other parts of
this book.

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR. 237
said that within three or four days he expected to fight a battle and drive
the Confederates over the mountain towards Staunton. The first movement
of the Federal troops Avas a blunder. On the 6th, without McClellan's
knowledge, a scouting party were sent up the pike from Buckhannon toward
Beverly. They ran into the picket at Middle Fork Bridge and were driven
back with a loss of one killed and five wounded. The next day a stronger
force was sent from Buckhannon under Colonel R. L. McCook, and the
Confederates were driven from Middle Fork Bridge, and McClellan moved
his headquarters to that place. It is worthy of note, showing how little
was understood of the magnitude of the war at that time, that McClellan
wrote to General Scott on July 7, that with 10,000 troops in Eastern Ten
nessee, in addition to what he had in West Virginia, he could "crush the
backbone of secession. " At that verv time McClellan did not know where
he was to go after occupying Beverly; and General Scott did not know.
No plan was formed. McClellan asked if he should march to Staunton or
Wytheville, and General Scott told him to take whatever route he pleased.
Leaving McClellan at Middle Fork Bridge, within twelve miles of the
Confederate position on Rich Mountain, July 7, it is necessary to turn aside
to consider the movement through Barbour County. General Morris was
ordered to advance on July 7, from Philippi to Belington and make a feint
of attacking Garnett's camp on Laurel Hill. The Federal and Confederate
forces confronting each other there were about equal. General Morris was
not expected to fight a battle, but was to skirmish, and occupy the enemy
on Laurel HUl and lead them to believe that the principal attack was to be
made on them, but the plan was to attack Rich Mountain, capture it, push
to Beverly, and then fall in the rear of Garnett and cut off his retreat south
over the Staunton and Parkersburg pike, and compel him to surrender.
General Morris was uneasy at Philippi. He feared that Garnett would ad
vance and defeat him. It was reported and believed that the Confederates
at Laural Hill numbered 8000. Morris with 4000 feared the result of an
encounter. On July 2d he wrote to McClellan and asked for reinforcements.
This brought a reply from McClellan the next day in which he used the
foUowig language:
"I propose taking the really difflcult and dangerous part of this work on my own
nands * * * But let us understand each other. I can give you no more reinforce
ments. I cannot consent to weaken any further the really active and important column
which Is to decide the fate of the campaign. If you cannot undertake the defense of
Philippi with the force now under your control, 1 must find some one who will. Do not
ask for further reinforcements. If you do I shall take it as a request to be relieved from
your command and to return to Indiana. I have spoken plainly. 1 speak officially. The
crisis is a grave one, and 1 must have generals under me who are willing to risk as much
as I am. Let this be the last of it. "*
It is the opinion of some military men that General Morris was the
wiser of the two in this particular. General J. D. Cox writing of it
years afterwards f said that, if Garnett had been as strong as McCleUan be-
Ueved him to be, there was nothing to prevent him from overpowering
Morris at Belington; and when that was done the road to Clarksburg would
be open and there would have been a race between him and McClellan
which could get there first. Taking this view of the case, it was Morris,
* "Records of the Rebellion. "
t "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. "

238

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR.

and not McClellan who was conducting the really unportant movement.
1 he words of McClellan that he was taking the "difficult and dangerous"
work sound strange in view of the well-known fact that when the battie
was fought on Rich Mountain, McClellan took Uttie more part in it than if
he had been a hundred miles away. General Rosecrans did the hard
marching and all the fighting; and although the roar of the cannon was heard
three hours on the mountain, and it was plain Rosecrans was hotly engaged,
McClellan did nothing to help him, and remained out of reach untU he
heard that the Rebels had retreated. But that will be given in detail in
future pages. The advance of Morris to Belington and the fight there will
now be considered.
On July 8, General Morris skirmished with the outposts of the Confed
erates in the woods back of Belington, within sight of General Garnett's
camp on Laurel Hill. The Confederates held the. wood.s and an attempt on
the part of the Federals to drive them out failed, with a loss of four killed
and six wounded on the Union side. The Federals threw shells into the
woods, but without results. Late in the evening of July 8, the Confederates
withdrew from the woods back of Belington and returned to their camp on
Laurel Hill. During the four following days Morris and Garnett faced each
other, without much fighting. The Federals were performing their work,
that is, they were attracting the attention of Garnett whUe the real attack
was being made fifteen miles distant at Rich Mountain.
On the evening of July 9, McCleUan arrived at Roaring Creek, two
miles from the base of Rich Mountain. The Confederates had destroyed
the bridge over the creek, but that had little effect in checking the Federals.
This was two miles from Colonel Pegram's position. On July 10 a strong
reconnaissance was made by Lieutenant Poe within two hundred yards of
the fort, resulting in the killing of one and the wounding of another Fed
eral. The dense thickets with which the Confederate works were sur
rounded prevented the attainment of satisfactory information. The obser
vations, however, served to convince McClellan that the works could not
be easily carried by direct assault in front, and he laid plans for throwing
a force in the rear, if any road could be found. However, that he might be
prepared to attack in the front also, he ordered Lieutenant Poe to cut a
road to the top of a ridge which would command the Confederate fort, and
to plant artillery there. Poe proceeded to cut the road and was fired upon
by the Rebels, but he cleared the ground ready for cannon, which for some
unexplained cause, McClellan never sent, but which he was preparing to
send when he learned that the battle was over. Inasmuch as General
Rosecrans did the fighting, the best account of the battle, on the Union
side, is contained in his official report. When it was decided that a flank
movement should be made, arrangements were commenced for carrying
it into execution. About 10 o'clocls: on the night of July 10, a young man
named David Hart, whose father, Joseph Hart, lived on the summit of Rich
Mountain, a mile and a half in the rear of the Confederate camp, came to
Rosecrans and offered to pilot troops through the woods, by a circuit of
from eight to ten miles, to his father's farm, from which point Colonel
Pegram could be attaclcod in the rear. The plan was talked over between
Rosecrans and McClellan, and was decided upon. Rosecrans was given
1917 men with which to execute the movement. The proposed route lay
south of the pike. The start was made at three o'clock in the morning of

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR.

239

The Looe Tree.

July 11, the men being supplied with rations for one day. General Rose
crans says: "Colonel Lander,* accompanied by the guide, led the
way through a pathless forest, over rocks and ravines,
keeping far down to the southeastern declevities of the
mountain spurs, and using no ax, to avoid discovery by the
enemy, who we supposed would be on the alert by reason
of the unusual stir in our camp. A rain set in about 6 a.m.,
and lasted till 11 o'clock, with intermissions, during which
the column pushed cautiously and steadily forward, and
arrived at last and halted in rear of the crest on the top
of Rich Mountain.t Hungry and weary with an eight
hours' march over a most unkindly road, they law down
to rest. It was found that the guide was too much scared
to be with us longer, and we had another valley to cross,
another hill to climb, another descent beyond that to
make, before we could reach the Beverly road at the top
of the mountain. On this road we started at two o'clock
and reached the top of the mountain after the loss of
an hours' time. Shortly after passing over the crest of
the hill, the head of the column was flred on by the enemy's pickets, killing Sergeant
James A. Taggart and wounding Captain Christopher Miller. J The column then ad
vanced through dense brushwood, emerging into more open woods, when the Rebels
opened a fire of both musketry and a 6-pounder. * * * After an advance of fifty
yards and some heavy firing from our line the enemy showed signs of yielding, and I gave
orders to charge. Seven companies deployed into line and delivered two splendid volleys,
when the enemy broke. The battle was over; two pieces of cannon were taken, and the
dead and wounded were scattered over the hillside.^
Rosecrans was ordered by McClellan to send a messenger every hour
during the march up the mountain. He did so, but a messenger sent about
noon lost his way and was captured by the Confederates who learned from
him of the flank movement, and had time to send 310 men and one 6-pounder
to Hart's house on top of the mountain, and they were there waiting the
approach of the Federals, and opened lire the instant they came in sight.
The fight was a much more stubborn one than would be inferred from Rose-
*Colonel, afterwards General, Lander, died a year and a half later at Pawpaw, Mor
gan County, just after he had succeeded in so maneuvering a force in Hampshire County
as to cause the Confederate Government to withdraw its army from Romney, contrary
to the advice of Stonewall Jackson, who was so provoked that he resigned from the Con
federate army (January 31, 1862), and asked for a position as teacher in the Virginia
Military Institute. At the earnest entreaty of Governor Letcher, Jackson remained
with the army; but the lesson taught the Confederate Secretary of War never again to
interfere with Jackson's plans.
tThis halt was made at "Lone Tree." The "valley to cross" and the "hill to climb"
were small affairs, as the crest of the mountain which the troops followed is compara
tively level, and by no means difficult. "Lone Tree" is 570 feet higher than the battle
field, a little more than a mile distant.
i The Confederate pickets flrst fired into the Federals about half way between the
Lone Tree and the battlefield, or half a mile from the latter place. After firing once,
the Confederate pickets fell back, and the Union forces advanced and the battle began
soon after.
^When the battle began several Confederates took shelter in Hart's house, but the
Federal bullets came through the windows and drove them out. The house, still stand
ing, is of logs, and has many bullets in the walls, and bullet holes are seen in the parti
tions between the rooms. A Confederate who was trying to shelter himself in a far
corner of an upstairs room was killed by a bullet which came through the win
dow and passed through a partition. The hole is there yet. Dead and wounded were
carried into the house, and up stairs. Bloodstains on the floor and on the stairway are
seen to this day, after thirty-seven years of scouring. The blood has penetrated the
wood and cannot be washed out.

240

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR.

crans report. The Federals out-numbered the Confederates more than six
to one,_ and the hglot lasted three hours. A much more vivid picture of the
battie IS from the Confederate side, the report of Colonel Pegram made
three days after the battle, while he was a prisoner at Beverly, and after
Ga,rnett's retreat. The foUowing is from Pegram's report, sent to the Con
federate Secretary of War at Richmond.* "Not knowing where a
communication will find
General Garnett, f I submit
the following report of the
fight at Rich Mountain. The
battlefield was immediately
around the house of one
Hart, situated at the high
est point of the turnpike
over the mountain, and two
miles in the rear of my main
line of trenches, the latter
being at the foot of the
western slope of the moun
tain. The intricacies of the
surrounding country seemed
BATTLEFIELD OF RICH MOUNTAIN. - scarcoly to demand the plac
ing of any force at Hart's, yet I had tliat morning placed Captain De Lagnel
there with 310 men and one piece of artillery, with instructions to defend it
to the last extremity against whatever force might be brought to the at
tack by the enemy, but also to give me timely notice of his need for re-in
forcements. These orders had not been given two hours before General
Rosecrans, who had been conducted up a distant ridge on my left flank and
then along the top of the mountain by a man, attacked the small handful of
troops under Captain De Lagnel, with 3,000 men. When from my camp I
heard the firing becoming very rapid, without waiting to hear from Captain
De Lagnel, I ordered up re-inforcements, and hurried on myself to the scene
of action. When I arrived the piece of artillery was entirely unmanned.
Captain De Lagnel having been severely wounded, after which his men had
left their piece. The limber and caisson- were no longer visible, the horses
having run away v/ith them down the mountain, in doing which
they met and ujjset the second piece of artillery, which had been ordered
up to their assistance. Seeing the infantry deserting the slight breast
works hastily thrown up that morning by Captain De Lagnel, I used all
personal exertion to make them stand to their work until I saw that the
place was hopelessly lost. On my way back to my camp I found the re-in-
forcing force under command of Captain Anderson, of the artillery, in great
confusion, they having fired upon their retreating comrades. I hurried on
* Colonel Pegram wrote this report whil(^ a prisoner at the residence of .Tonathan
Arnold in Beverly. The otlKu- Confederate officers, then prisoners in Beverly, >',ere
allowed the liberty of the town; but Colonel Pegram's liberties were more circumscribed,
because he had joined tlie ('(iiirederate army without taking tlie trouble to resign as an
officer from the United States ai'iny, wliioh'position he held at the beginning of the war.
His fate for a time was in doubt, but, finally, he was exchanged and fought" till the end
of the war.
t Garnett was dead at that time.

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR. 241
to camp and ordered the remaining companies of my own regiment in camp
to join them. This left my right front and right flank entirely unmanned
1 tnen went back up the mountain, where I found the whole force drawn up
m line in ambuscade near the road, under Major Nat Tyler. I caUed their
attention and said a few encouraging words to the men, asking them if they
would follow their officers to the attack, to which they responded by a cheer
I was here interrupted by Captain Anderson, who said to me, 'Colonel
Pegram, these men are completely demoralized, and will need you to lead
them. '
"I took my place at the head of the column, which I marched in single
file through laurel thickets and other almost impassable brushwood up a
ridge to the top of the mountain. This placed me about one-fourth of a
mile to the right flank of the enemy, and which was exactly the point I had
been making for. I had just gotten all the men up together and was about
making my dispositions for the attack when Major Tyler came up and
reported that during the march up the ridge one of the men in his fright
had turned round and shot the first sergeant of one of the rear companies,
which had caused nearly the whole of the company to run to the rear. He
then said that the men were so intensely demoralized that he considered it
madness to attempt to do anything with them by leading them on to the
attack. A mere glance at the frightened countenances around me convinced
me that this distressing news was but too true, and it was confirmed by the
opinion of three or four company commanders around me. They all agreed
with me that there was nothing left to do but to send the command under
Major Tyler to effect a junction with either General Garnett at Laurel HUl,
or Colonel William C. Scott, who was supposed to be with his regiment near
Beverly. It was now half-past six in the evening, when I retraced my steps
with much difficulty back to the camp, losing myself frequently on the way,
and arriving there after 11 o'clock at night. I immediately assembled a
council of war, composed of the field officers and company commanders
remaining, when it was unanimously agreed that, after spiking the two
remaining pieces of artillery, we should attempt to join General Garnett by
a .march through the mountains to our right. This act was imperative, not
only from our reduced numbers, now being about 600, and our being placed
between two large attacking armies, but also because at least three-fourths
of my command had no rations left; the other one-fourth not having flour
enough for one meal. Having left directions for Sergeant Walker, and
given directions to Assistant Surgeon Taylor to take charge of the sicli and
wounded in camp, and to show a white flag at daylight, I called the com
panies together and started at one o'clock a. m. , without a guide, to make
my way, if possible, over the mountains, where there was not the sign of a
path, toward General Garnett's camp. As I remained in camp to see the
last company in column, by the time I reached the head of the column,
which was nearly a mile long. Captain Lilly's company had disappeared and
has not since been heard from. * The difficulties attending my march it
* Captain R. D. Lilly's company was organized at Staunton, and marched from that
place for Randolph County June 7, 1861. He was afterwards promoted to General. In
the battle near Winchester, July 20, 1864, while commanding Pegram's Brigade, he was
wounded three times— first, in the left thigh by a shell; next his right arm was shattered
by a minie-ball near the shoulder; and lastly, a minie-ball went through his already
injured thigh. Being entirely disabled by his second wound, he dismounted, and
received the third wound. Weak and faint, he lay down under a tree. A portion of the
Federal army passed over him, and a soldier stopped long enough to take off his field-

242 RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR.
would be impossible to exaggerate. We arrived at Tygart's VaUey River
at 7 p. m. , having made the distance of twelve mUes in about eighteen
hours. Here we were met by several country people, who appeared to be
our friends, and who informed us that at LeadsvUle Church, distant three
miles, there was a small camp, composed of a portion of Garnett's command.
Leaving Colonel Heck with instructions to bring the command forward
rapidly, I hired a horse and proceeded forward until in sight of LeadsvUle
Church, when I stopped at a farmhouse where were assembled a dozen men
and women. They informed me that General Garnett had retreated that
afternoon up the Leading Creek road, into Tucker County, and that he was
being pursued by three thousand of the enemy, who had come from the
direction of Laurel HUl as far as LeadsvUle Church, when they turned up
the Leading Creek road in pursuit. This, of course, rendered all chance of
joining General Garnett, or escaping in that direction, utterly impossible.
Hurrying back to my command, I found them in much confusion, firing ran
dom shots in the dark, under the impression that the enemy were surround
ing them. Reforming them, I hurried back to the point where we first
struck the river, and persuaded a few of the country people to cook all the
provisions they had, hoping that it might go a little way toward satisfying
the hunger of my almost famishing men.
"I now found, on examining the men of the house, that there
was, if any, only one possible means of escape, and that by a road which,
passing within three miles of the enemy's camp at Beverly, led over precip-
itious mountains into Pendleton County. Along this road there were rep
resented to me to be but a few miserable habitations, where it would be
utterly impossible for even a company of men to get food; and as it was
now 11 o'clock p. m., it would be necessary to leave at once, without allow
ing them to get a mouthful where they were. I called a council of war,
when it was agreed almost unanimously (only two members voting in the
negative) that there was left to us nothing but the sad determination of
surrendering ourselves prisoners of war to the enemy at Beverly. I was
perfectly convinced that an attempt on our part to escape would sacrifice
by starvation a large number of the lives of the command, "f
Colonel Pegram accordingly sent a messenger to Beverly, proposing to
surrender and stating that his men were starving. General McClellan sent
wagons loaded with bread for the prisoners, and they were conducted to
glass. Left alone for awhile, he crawled to a shady spot a.mong the rocks and leaves.
Soon a Federal straggler came up and robbed him of his watch, pocket-book, hat, gold
ring and pocket-knife. Next, an Irishman in the Federal army came along, inquired
about his Injuries, and went nearly a mile to procure water for him. Finally, several of
Averell's cavalry gathered near him, arid while they stood there a moccasin snake glided
across his forehead and stopped near his face. He called to the soldiers and they killed
the reptile. His arm was amputated at the shoulder by a Federal surgeon, and his
wounded thigh was properly treated. The stolen watch was recovered through the
agency of a Federal colonel.— "Annals of Augusta County," page 334.
tThe following note is from a diary kept at Staunton during the war, by Joseph A.
Waddell, whose book is the most interesting account of tlie war, from a. local standpoint,
that has appeared. He wrote from day to day ot what he saw and heard. Under date
of September 20, 1861, he wrote: "A train of wagons has just arrived from Greenbrier
River, bringing the remnants of Captain Bruce's company. Twentieth Regiment.
Thirty odd men are left of about ninety who went out a few months ago. The regiment
was at Rich Mountain when the disaster occurred there, and is completly broken up.
Many of the men were captured by the enemy; some disabled by wounds; and some, I
presume, Idlled."

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR. 243
Beveriy and placed in comfortable quarters. They numbered 555 officers
and men. During the night before the surrender, one officer and fortv
men went off, preferring to take the chances of escaping to the South.
Colonel Pegram had been deceived at Rich Mountain, both as to the num
ber of the Federals and their facilities for getting in his rear. The people
of the surrounding country had told him that it was impossible to work
round his flank on the south. He afterwards said that had he known his
danger, he would have retreated on the night of July 10, blocking the road
across Rich Mountain, thus giving Garnett time to retreat by way of
Beverly Pegram s whole force before the battle was 1300, and only 350
took part m the battie on the summit of the mountain. Three days before
the fight he had sent an urgent appeal for provisions, which were not sent,
and his men fought and retreated on empty stomachs.
_ At the time the battie at Rich Mountain was fought, Colonel W. Scott
with the 44th Virginia Infantry, was stationed near Beveriy, and remained
there till the battie was over, and then retreated toward Staunton by way
of HuttonsvUle. He was blamed by the Confederates at the time for not
marching to the assistance of Colonel Pegram when attacked. Had he
gone up the mountain and attacked the Federals in front and rear, he mio-ht
have changed the result, at least temporarily. In April, 1862, he felt^so
keenly the criticism of his actions, that he prepared a carefuUy written
account of all he did and why he did it, showing conclusively that he had
obeyed orders as well as he could under the circumstances.* He had
been ordered from Staunton to join Garnett at Laurel Hill, and marching
with haste with his regiment, he reached Beverly on the night of July 10,
1861, which was the day before the battle. The next morning he moved
on toward Laurel Hill, and when he had gone three or four miles, a mes
senger overtook him, bearing a letter from Colonel Pegram, as follows:
"1 think it almost certain that the enemy are working their way around
my right flank, to come into this turnpike one and one half miles this side
of Beverly. I would suggest you place your regiment in position on that
road, and will reinforce you as soon as I get information of the approach
of the enemy. I shaU at once write a letter to General Garnett, inform
ing him of my opinion as to the movements of the enemy, and of the request
I have made to you. I need not tell you how fatal it would be to have the
enemy in bur rear, as it would entirely cut off our supplies. "
It will be observed that Colonel Pegram feared a flank movement across
the mountain north of his position, but did not suspect such a movement
south of his camp. Yet, at that very moment nearly two thousand Fed
erals were working their way through the woods south of his camp. There
was a path across the mountain north of the pike, and it was by this route
that Pegram feared a flank movement. When his letter was read by Colonel
Scott, that officer turned back and took up his position on the path ready _
to attack the Union forces should they advance thai; way. He sent to
LeadsvUle for the two cannon, and for a troop of Greenbrier cavalry
stationed there. The cannon had already been removed to Laurel Hill, and
the cavalry refused to obey the order to move, because the order was not
in writing. Scarcely had Colonel Scott reached his position when an order
came from Garnett for him to stay there, and he did so. By that time the
battle had commenced on the mountain, about four miles from Scott's posi-
* The document is published in full in the "Records of the Rebellion. "

^44 RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CiViL WAR.
tion. He could hear the musketry, and presently the artiUery opened. He
supposed the fighting was at the fort, at the western base of the mountain,
SIX miles distant, and that McCleUan had attacked. He remained guarding
the path and waiting for news from the battle. Finally John N. Hughes
who Uved in Beverly, volunteered to go to Colonel Pegram and bring any
message that officer might want to send. He gaUoped up the road, and
never returned. He was kUled by Confederates who fired on him by mis
take* Late in the afternoon Lieutenant James Cochrane was sent from the
top of Rich Mountain toward Beverly, by Captain De Lagnel to bring up
some Confederate cavelry which had been seen in that direction. Cochrane
with six men reached Scott's regiment, numbering 570 men, and conducted
it up the pike toward the top of Rich Mountain. While ascending the
mountain the Confederates met several Rebels on horseback who had been
in the battle, and one had been wounded. They were trying to escape, and
considered the battle already lost. However, they joined Scott's men in
the march to the top of the mountain, but one by one they fell behind and
took to flight. The noise of battle was still heard on the summit, which
convinced Scott that the battle was not over, and he pushed forward as fast
as possible up the pike. But when he reached a point within a mile of the
summit, the firing ceased, and there caine the prolonged yells and cheers
of the victorious Union troops as they swept the Confederates from the
field. Colonel Scott had little doubt of what it meant, but he advanced
nearly half a mile further till almost in sight of the battlefield.
Halting the troops, Colonel Scott, Lieutenant Cochrane and a few other
officers dismounted and walked round a bend of the road from which the
top of the mountain was visible, They saw the Federals in possession of
the field. Thinking it possible to renew the battle successfully, a recon-
noiter was made by a man named Lipford, who volunteered for the service.
He passed round the bend of the road and almost immediately they heard
the order, "Halt! Shoot him," followed by a volley. Lipford did not
return, and Colonel Scott, judging that he had been killed, ordered a retreat
down the mountain toward Beverly, setting an ambuscade on the way for
the Federals, who were supposed to be toUowing. They were not follow
ing, however, and Scott's regiment returned to Beverly. It was his pur
pose to marcli to Laurel Hill to join Garnett, but before a start was made
in that direction two messengers arrived from Laurel HUl with intelligence
that Garnett was retreating. It was now after dark on July 11. It was
plain that Beverly would soon be in possession of the Federals. The quar
termaster stores there were loaded in wagons, making a train a mile long,
and Colonel Scott began his retreat toward Huttonsville. The three divi
sions of the Confederate army during this night were endeavoring to save
themselves. Colonel Pegram was trying to reach Garnett's camp on Laurel
Hill; Garnett was trying to reach Beverly before McClellan could throw
troops across Rich Mountain and cut him off; and Scott, thinking that all
was lost, was retreating south from Beverly with such of the military stores
* John N. Hughes was a delegate to the Richmond Convention which passed the
Ordinance of Secession, and he signed that document. When he returned to Beverly
from Richmond he announced that he had "signed a second Declaration of Independ
ence." He took an active interest in the stirring events about Beverly, and was propos
ing to enlist in the Confederate army. Unfortunately for him he was drinking hard on
the day of the battle and was not in condition to execute the dangerous duty which he
undertook, and for that reason he lost his life.

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR. 243
as he could carry away. Each of these Confederate officers was ignorant
of what the others were doing. On the night of July 11, General Gar
nett sent a dispatch to Colonel Scott to hold the Federals in check on the
Rich Mountain road until dayUght on the 12th. Garnett expected to pass
Beverly with his army by that time, and he would have done so, were it
not for false information, which wUl be spoken of presently. The message
sent to Colonel Scott reached him at sunrise on the 12th, seven miles
south of Beverly, at the Jeff Davis Hotel, a log tavern. It was then too
late to obey the orders, and Scott continued his retreat south, and over
Cheat Mountain. At Huttonsville the regiment was halted for breakfast,
and was joined by Major Tyler and a squad of Confederates who had
escaped from Rich Mountain. While eating breakfast at Huttonsville, an
order came from Garnett, believed to be the last order he ever wrote. It
read:
"General Garnett has concluded to go to Hardy County and toward Cheat bridge.
You will take advantage of a position beyond Huttonsville and draw your supplies
from Richmond, and report for orders there. " *
garnett's retreat.
Incidental mention has already been made of General Garnett's retreat
from Laurel Hill. It will now be spoken of more in detail. On July 9 he
withdrew his skirmishers from in front of Belington and concentrated his
forces on Laurel Hill, expecting an attack. The 10th passed without an
attack, except a shell occasionly fired from the Federal column in the
vicinity of Belington. On the afternoon of the 11th he heard the artillery
on Rich Mountain, and correctly judged that a battle was in progress.
Before sunset he received intelligence that the Federals were flanking
Colonel Pegram on Rich Mountain, and he incorrectly judged that they
were coming round by the path north of the turnpike. Then it was he
sent orders to Colonel Scott to check them on that path, and blockade it.
Early in the night of July 11, he learned that McClellan's troops had
gained Pegram's rear. Garnett was now satisfied that the position on
Rich Mountain could no longer be held; for, if the Confederates were not
attacked and driven out by force they would be cut off from their base of
supplies at Beverly and starved out. He began hasty preparations to
retreat up the valley through Beverly, and it was then that he sent the
order to Colonel Scott to hold the Federals on the Rich Mountain road
until daylight, hoping to reach Beverly with his army by that time. The
outcome of that order has been spoken of elsewhere in this chapter. Gen
eral Garnett still had time to escape through Beverly toward the south,
but he was deceived by false intelligence. His scouts reported early on
the morning of July 12 that Union troops were in Beverly, and Garnett
concluded that McClellan had already crossed Rich Mountain and had
cut off retreat up the valley, f The troops mistaken for Federals were the
*The Federals did not occupy the Confederate fortiflcations at the base of Rich
Mountain until the morning of July 12. The troops under Rosecrans who had
defeated the Confederates on the top of the mountain on the afternoon of the eleventh,
camped that night on the field, and the next morning moved down toward Roaring
Creek, and occupied the abandoned Confederate works. Troops sent by McClellan
from beyond Roaring Creek reached the works about the same time. There were very
fMany of the citizens' of Beverly and the surrounding country left their homes and
went to the South. On the morning after the Rich Mountain fight, the Huttonsville
bridge was burned by the retreating Confederates.

246 RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR.
rear of Colonel Scott's regiment then evacuating Beverly. Garnett was at
that time withm three or four miles of the town. BeUeving that he was
headed off, he turned back and retreated up Leading Creek, and down
Pheasant Run to Cheat River. He camped the night of the 12th on Pheasant
Run. The charge was made at the time, and has been repeated ever
since, that Colonel Scott blocl^aded the road between Beverly and Laurel
Hill, thus cutting Garnett off from the Staunton pike, and compelling him
to retreat through Tucker County. Speaking of this. Colonel Scott says:
"I have been charged with blockading a part of the turnpike between
Laurel Hill and Beverly, which prevented Garnett's retreat by that town.
The charge is false. No road was blockaded by me. No tree was cut by
my orders or by my regiment, anywhere."
General Morris, who confronted Garnett at Laurel Hill, was not slow
in discovering that the Confederates had retreated; but he was in poor con
dition for following. He had very few rations for his troops, and no
time to bring more from Philippi. On the 12th he took possession of the
deserted camp on Laurel Hill, and that evening moved to LeadsvUle, ar
riving there after Garnett's army had passed that point en its way into
Tucker County. A halt was made till four o'clock the next morning when,
with 3000 men, he pursued the retreating Confederates, cutting blockades
out of the narrow roads leading over the mountain toward Pheasant Run,
rain falling nearly the whole forenoon. Below will be found an account of
the retreat of the Confederates and the battle at Corrick's f Ford, from the
official report of Colonel W- B. Taliaferro, of the 23rd Virginia Infantry,
who was present on the Confederate side.
"On the evening of July 12, General Garnett bivouacked at Kalor's
Ford, on Cheat River, the rear of his column being about two miles back on
Pheasant Run. On the morning of the 13th the command was put in mo
tion about 8 o'clock. Before the wagon train, which was very much im
peded by the condition of the country roads over which it had to pass,
rendered very bad by the rains of the proceeding night, had crossed the
first ford, half a mile above Kalor's the cavalry scouts reported that the
enemy were closs upon our rear with a very large force of infantry, well
supplied by cavalry and artillery. The First Georgia regiment was immedi
ately ordered to take a position across the meadow on the river side and
hold the enemy in check until the train had passed the river, and then
retire behind the Twenty-third Virginia Regiment, which was ordered to
take position and defend the train until the Georgia troops had formed
again in some defensible position. By the time the Georgians had crossed
the river, and before some of the companies of that regiment who were
thrown out to ambuscade the enemy could he brought over, the enemy ap
peared in sight of our troops, and immediately commenced firing upon them.
few Confederates found there, and they were nearly all disabled and unable to retreat.
But the Federals captured considerable stores; also buggies, carriages, horses and other
property of citizens who had been visiting the Confederate camp on a friendly call, and
were caught when the battle on the moiuitain began. There was no road by which
they could get away, so they remained, and their buggies fell into Federal hands. One
venerable old Confederate from Moorefield was too fat to run, and when Pegram retreated
he left the corpulent officer in the trenches where lie yielded to his fate and was taken
prisoner the next morning. When the Federals saw him sitting on an empty flour bar
rel behind the ramparts they exclaimed with roars of laughter: "Here's old Sesesh
himself." t" This name is usually written Carrick, but the propper spelling is Corrick.

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR. 247
This was briskly returned by the Georgia regiment, which, after some
rounds, retired, in obedience to the orders received. The Twenty-third
Virginia and the artillery were halted about three-quarters of a mUe below
the enemy, and were ordered to occupy a hUl commanding the valley
through which the enemy would have to approach, and a wood which com
manded the road. This position they held until the Georgia regiment was
formed some distance in advance; then the former command retired, and
again reformed in advance of the Georgians. This system of retiring upon
eligible positions for defense was pursued without loss on either side,
a few random shots only reaching us, until we reached Corrick's Ford,'
three and a half miles from Kalor's. This is a deep ford, rendered deeper
than usual by the rains, and here some of the wagons became stalled in
the river and had to be abandoned.
"The enemy were now close upon the rear. Captain Corley ordered
me to occupy the high bank on the right of the ford with my regiment and
the artUlery. On the right this position was protected by a fence, on the
left only by low bushes, but the hill commanded the ford and the approach
to it by the road, and was admirably selected for defense. In a few min
utes the skirmishers of the enemy were seen running along the opposite
bank, which was low and was skirted by a few trees, and were at first
mistaken for the Georgians who were known to have been cut off;* but we
were soon undeceived, and we opened upon the enemy. The enemy replied
to us with a heavy fire from their infantry and artillery. We could discover
that a large force was brought up to attack us, but our continued and well
directed fire kept them from crossing the river, and twice we succeeded in
driving them from the ford. They again came up with a heavy force and
renewed the fight. The fire of their artillery was entirely ineffective,
although their shot and shell were thrown very rapidly; but they all flew
over our heads without any damage, except bringing the limbs of trees
down upon us. The working of our guns was admirable, and the effect
upon the enemy very destructive. We could witness the telling effect of
almost every shot. After continuing the fight until almost every cartridge
had been expended and until the artillery had been withdrawn by General
Garnett's orders, and as no part of his command was in sight or supporting
distance, as far as I could discover, nor, as I afterwards ascertained, within
four miles of me, I ordered the regiment to retire. I was induced more
over to do this, as I believed the enemy was making an effort to turn our
flank, and without support it would have been impossible to have held the
position, as already nearly thirty of my men had been killed or wounded.
The dead and severely wounded we had to leave upon the field, but retired
in perfect order, the officers and men manifesting decided reluctance at
being withdrawn. After marching half a mile I was met by Colonel Starke,
General Garnett's aid, who directed me to move on with my regiment to the
next ford, a short distance in advance, where I would overtake General
Garnett. *These Georgians, finding that they could not rejoin the army, retreated up the
mountain through the woods, guided by a citizen of that country. They crossed that
day to Otter Fork and camped. The next day they reached Dry Fork, having traveled
through woods of tangled laurel which seemed almost impenetrable. They subsisted,
in large part, on birch bark, and to this day the route they followed may be discovered
by the scarred and half peeled birch trees. They reached Pendleton County after
several days, and thence reached Monterey.

248 RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIViL WAR.
"On the further side of this ford I met General Garnett, who directed
me to halt my regiment around the turn of the road, some hundred and
htty yards off, and to detaU for him ten good riflemen, remarking to me
"This IS a good place behind this driftwood to post skirmishers.' I halted
the regiment as ordered, but from the difficulty of determining who were
the best shots, I ordered Captain Tomkins to report to the general with
his whole company. The general, however, would not permit them to
remain, but after selecting ten men, ordered the company back to the
regiment. I posted three companies on a high bluff overlooking the river,
but finding the underbrush so thick that the approach of the enemy could
not be well observed, they were withdrawn. A few minutes after this
Colonel Stark rode up and said that General Garnett directed me to march
as rapidly as I could and overtake the main body. A few minutes after
wards Lieutenant Depriest reported to me that General Garnett had been
killed. He fell just as he gave the order to the skirmishers to retire, and
one of them was killed by his side.* I marched my regiment four miles on
to Parsons' Ford, a half mile beyond which I overtook the main body of
our troops, who had been halted there by General Garnett, and had been
drawn up to receive the enemy. The enemy did not advance to this ford,
and after halting for some time our whole command moved forward, and
marched all night on the road leading up Horse Shoe Run, reached about
daylight the Red House, in Maryland. At this last place a large force of
the enemy under General Hill was concentrated. This body did not attack
us, and we moved the same day as far as Greenland, in Hardy County."!
The Confederates lost 13 killed in the battle and 15 wounded; at Laurel
Hill 2 killed, 2 wounded; at Rich Mountain 45 killed, 20 wounded; and in the
battles and retreat they los t about 700 prisoners. At Rich Mountain the Fed
erals had 12 killed and 49 wounded; at Laurel Hill, 4 kiUed, 6 wounded; at
Corrick's Ford 2 killed 7 wounded. The Confederates lost the greater part of
their baggage, and retreated with but little food for seven days, reaching
Monterey, in Virginia. The Federals at Corrick's Ford were even in a
worse famished condition than the Confederates. Many of the latter had
breakfast on Pheasant Run that morning. But the Union troops had eaten
nothing since the evening before, and some of them nothing since the noon
before. Therefore, having marched and _f ought in rain and mud, with
nothing to eat for eighteen or twenty-four'hours, they were in poor condi
tion to follow up the victory at Corrick's Ford. They left off pursuit there,
but detachments followed the Confederates aud picked up plunder fifteen
or twenty miles further. General Morris halted his army at Corrick's
Ford till the next day, subsisting the men on beef without salt. He marched
to St. George on the afternoon of July 14, remained there tiU the next
morning, and then returned to Belington by way of Clover Run. Garnett's
army had a narrow escape after the pursuing army from Laurel Hill turned"
back. Troops to the number of 6000, scattered along the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad from the Ohio to Cumberland were ordered concentrated at
Oakland to cut Garnett off, as soon as it was known he was retreating east
ward. While the battle at Corrick's Ford was in progress, troops under
General C. W. Hill were moving to occupy the Northwestern pike at the
*The battle of Corrick's Ford was not fought at Corrick's Ford, but at another ford
nearly a mile up the river; but General Garnett was Icilled at Corrick's Ford, which is at
the southern end of the town of Parsons, in Tucker County.

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR. 249
Red House Had they reached that point before the Confederates passed,
the whole army would have been captured. But the troops could not be
concentrated quickly enough. Cars could not be had to carry them along
the railroad, and the result was, the last of the Confederates had passed
the Red House about an hour before the van of the Union army arrived
there. * CHEAT MOUNTAIN AN:^ ELKWATER.
In preceding pages of this book an outline was given of the events
foUowine the retreat of Garnett, up to and including the skirmishes at
Elkwater and Cheat Mountain, and it is not deemed necessary to repeat
here what was said there; but it is proper to give some of the minor details
of the fighting from the 12th to the 17th of September, 1861. Official re
ports from the Confederate side are very meager. Five reports were made
by as many Union officers, who took part in the skirmishing. These were
General Joseph J. Reynolds, who succeeded McClellan as commander of
the Federal forces in Northern Virginia; by Colonel Nathan Kimball,
Colonel George D. Wagner, Colonel Richard Owen, and Colonel David J.
Higgans. On the Confederate side Colonel Albert Rust, of the Third
Arkansas Infantry, made a report, and General R. E. Lee gave it a brief
mention in a public order. The situation and Lee's plans, on September
12, are thus spoken of :f
"It was decided to attack simultaneously the two Federal fortifications.
Eastward from Huttonsville the Cheat Mountain lifts itself in three par
allel ridges, and upon the second or central height, Reynolds had placed
about 2000 men behind the walls of a log fort. At Elkwater he had 3000
menbehindbreastworks, while 5000 waited at Huttonsville to bring succor
to either outpost. Colonel Rust, of H. R. Jackson's band, reconnoitred
the Federal fortress on Cheat Mountain, and declared his ability to flank
the po.st and capture it. Upon this representation, Lee decided to make
the double assault on the mountain top and at Elkwater. The march was
to begin under cover of darkness, and the blows were to fall in the early
morning twilight of September 12. Prom Jackson's column of 2500, the
two regiments of TaUaferro and Fulkerson were assigned to Rust for the
flank attack on the Federal right and rear of the Cheat Mountain fortress.
Jackson was ordered to lead the rest of his men boldly in front along the
turnpike against this post. From Loring's column of 3500, three regiments
under S. R. Anderson were ordered to gain the roadway between the Cheat
Mountain fort and Huttonsville, and likewise keep in touch of the two
.flanking regiments under Rust. Two regiments under Donaldson were to
seek the Federal left and rear of the Elkwater works and hold the road
way in their rear. The remainder under Loring were to move forward
along the highway against Elkwater. The troops were to move in sUence
during the night, and Loring's bands were to await, as the signal for at
tack, the guns of Rust's regiment on the mountain ridge. The initial steps
in the movement were completed with great spirit. Through the heavy
*In Waddell's "Annals of Augusta County," under date of September 6, 1861, the
foflnwing note occurs: "The jailor of this county informs me that tlie Union men
brought from Beverly when our army retreated from that place, and since then connnea
in our jail, are in miserable plight— some of them half naked. There are twenty-one or
them." Page 288.
tH. A. White's Life of Robert E. Lee.

250

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR.

+w,-,Ti?+? Z^""^^®^^' marching partiy in Cheat River itself and then
tnrough the dense forest, over boulders and up steep ascents, the soldiers
hurried with noiseless tread. The dawn found each column at the ap
pointed place. Anderson and Donaldson reached the rear of the two Fed
eral positions; Loring and Jackson advanced to threaten each position in
tront. Rust succeeded m placing his band to the Federal right and rear
ot the mountain entrenchment, ^uskets were loaded and bayonets fixed
lor the assault. But the signal sounded not. Unfortunately Rust cap
tured some pickets who made him believe that 5000 Federal troops were
fortified on the mountain summit awaiting his onset. As the morning
dawned, he saw' before him heavy abatis and beyond these, entrenchments
and within the entrenchment he saw the soldiers with ready guns.'
He gave no signal, except the signal to retreat. The other columns grew
impatient and strained their ears to catch the sound of musketry fire on
the ridge. Rust withdrew and acknowledged his failure. Two days later
¦ all the bands were withdrawn to their former camping places. Let it be
remembered that widely separated bodies of soldiers seldom make simul
taneous attacks. In this case the movement under Lee's own eye at Elk
water was a complete success, but no communication was possible between
the wings of his army."
General Lee wrote to his wife saying: ' 'I cannot tell you my regret
and mortification at the untoward events that caused the faUure of the
plan. I had taken every precaution to insure success, and counted on it;
but the Ruler of the Universe willed otherwise, and sent a storm to discon
cert the plan. " To governor Letcher, of Virginia, Lee wrote and freely
expressed his disappointment. He said:
' 'I was sanguine of taking the enemy's works on last Thursday morning.
I had considered the subject well. With great effort the troops intended
for the surprise had reached their destination, having traversed twenty
miles of steep, rugged mountain paths, and the last day through a terrific
storm that lasted all night and in which they had to stand drenched to the
skin in the cold rain. Still their spirits were good. When the morning
broke I could see the enemy's tents on the Valley River on the point on
the Huttonsville road just below me. It was a tempting sight. We
waited for the attack on Cheat Mountain, which was to be the signal, tiU
10 a. m. The Federals were cleaning their unserviceable arms. But the
signal did not come. All chance for surprise was gone. The provisions
of the men had been destroyed the preceding day by the storm. They had
notiiing to eat that morning; could not hold out another day, and were
obliged to be withdrawn. The attack to come off from the east side failed
from the difficulties in the way. The opportunity was lost and our plan
discovered. It is a grievous disappointment to me I assure you. But for
the rainstorm, I have no doubt it would have succeeded. This, governor,
is for your own eyes. Please do not s.peak of it. We must try again. Our
greatest difficulty is the roads. It has been raining in these mountains
about six weeks. It is that which has paralyzed all our efforts."
It is observable that Lee makes no mention of skirmishing, and were
it not for the reports of some of the Federal officers, it might be supposed
there was no fighting. But there was considerable maneuvering and not
a little fighting. Colonel Rust, who led one of the Confederate detachments,
makes the rather epigrammatic announcement as the opening sentence of his
report: "The expedition against Cheat Mountain failed." He then pro-

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR. 251
ceeds to explain how and why it happened, and praises the bravery of his
own troops, who were from Arkansas, by charging others with cowardice
and stating that the cowards were not Arkansasans. He says he reached his
position in time, notwithstanding the rain, and with his own hands he
captured a prisoner. But when he began questioning him, the prisoner's
statement of the Union strength upset all the plans of the Arkansas officer,
and greatly alarmed him. The prisoner no doubt purposely overestimated
the Federal strength, and the Confederate officer not only believed the
report, but thought he discovered indications that reinforcements were on
their way to the Federals, and he declares he heard the cannon going down
the road, and was satisfied there were from 4000 to 5000 men in the en
trenchments. Nevertheless he declares he would have attacked them any
how, but discovered that he could not get near enough to make the attack.
The exaggerated strength of the place, learned from prisoners, worked
on his imagination until he declared he "could see entrenchments on the
south, and outside of the entrenchments, and all round, up to the road,
heavy and impassable abatis." He also saw "a fort or a lolock house on the
point or elbow of the road." In addition to this he found in the pocket of
one of his prisoners "a requisition for 930 rations, also a letter indicating
they had very little sustenance." Therefore he says that one of his officers
told him "it would be madness to make an attack" — leaving room for in
ference that he considered it dangerous to attack men who had very little
to eat and wanted "930 rations. " He states that he "got near enough to
See the men in the trenches." In this trying situation when he could "see
the men in the trenches," he declared "most of my command behaved ad
mirably," but, he adds on a second thought, "some I would prefer to be
without upon any expedition." Bad luck attended him still further, for of
all the prisoners he took, including the one he caught with his own hands,
he brought only one away, and says ' 'the cowardice of the guard permitted
the others to escape," and adds that the cowardly guards were not from
Arkansas. After speaking again of the strength of the Federal camp, he
declares "the taking of the picket looked like a providential interposition."
Otherwise he might have attacked the camp, and, he says, "they were four
times my force." This report was made to General Loring and it contains
no account of any fighting, but is teeming with declarations of what he
might have done if he had had a chance.
This is the only report made by the Confederate officers engaged, ex
cepting an order by General Lee, September 14, 1861, in which he says:
"The forced reconnaissance of the enemy's position, both at the Cheat
Mountain Pass and on the Valley River, having been completed, and the
character of the natural approaches and the nature of the artificial defenses
exposed, the army of the Northwest will resume its former positionat such
time and in such manner as General Loring shall direct, and continue its
preparations for further operations."
General Reynolds, commander of the Union forces, narrates the various
movements as he understood them, up to September 17. Below will be
found an extract from his report, written at Elkwater.
"On the 12th the enemy, 9000 strong, with eight to twelve pieces ot
artUlery, under command of General R. E. Lee, advanced on this position
by the Huntersville pike. Our advanced pickets gradually fell back to our
niain picket station, checking the enemy's advance at the Point Mountain
turnpike, and then f aUing back on the regiment. The enemy threw into

252 RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR.
the woods at our left front, three regiments, who made their way to the
right and_ rear of Cheat Mountain, took a position on the road leading to
HuttonsvUle, broke the telegraph wire, and cut off our communication with
Cheat Summit. Simultaneously, another force of the enemy, of about equal
strength, advanced by the Staunton pike in the front of Cheat Mountain,
and threw two regiments to the right and rear of Cheat which united with
~ the three regiments from the other column of the enemy. Cheat Mountain
Pass is at the foot of the mountain, ten miles from the summit. The enemy
advanced toward the pass, by which he might possibly have obtained the
rear or left of Elkwater, was there met by four companies, which engaged
and gallantly held in check greatly superior numbers of the enemy, foUed
him in his attempt to obtain the rear or left of Elkwater, and threw him in
the rear and right of Cheat Mountain, the companies retiring to the pass at
the foot of the mountain. The enemy, about 5000 strong, now closed in on
Cheat Summit, and became engaged with detachments from the summit,
about 300, who deployed in the woods, held in check the enemy, who
did not succeed at any time in getting sufficiently near the field redoubts to
give Daum's battery an opportunity of firing into him.
"So matters rested at dark on the 12th, with heavy forces in front and
in plain sight of both posts, communication cut off, and the supply train
for the mountains loaded with provisions which were needed, waiting for
an opportunity to pass up the road. Determined to force a communication
with Cheat, I ordered the Thirteenth Indiana to cut their way, if necessary,
by the main road, and the Third Ohio and Second Virginia, to do the same
by the path. The two commands started at 3 a. m. on the 13th, the former
from Cheat Mountain Pass, and the latter from Elkwater, so as to fall upon
the enemy, if possible, simultaneously. Early on the 13th the smaU force
of about 300 from the summit engaged the enemy, and with such effect that,
notwithstanding his greatly superior numbers, he retired in great haste
and disorder, leaving large quantities of clothing and equipment on the
ground; and our relieving force, failing to catch the enemy, marched to the
summit, securing the jjrovision train, and re-opening our communication.
While this was taking place on the mountain, and as yet unknown to us,
the enemy, under Lee, advanced on Elkwater, appearently for a general
attack. One 10-pounder Parrott gun from Loomis' battery was run to the
front three-fourths of a mile and delivered a few shots at the enemy, caus
ing him to withdraw out of convenient range, and doing fine execution.
Our relati ve positions remained until near dark when we learned the result
of the movements on the mountain, and the enemy retired somewhat for
the night. ' 'On the 14th early the enemy was again in position in front of Elkwater,
and a few rounds were again administered, which caused him to withdraw
as before. The forces that had been before repulsed from Cheat returned,
and were again driven back by a comparatively small force, from the moun
tain. The Seventeenth Indiana was ordered up the path to open communi
cation and make way lor another supply train, but, as before, found that
the little band from the summit had already done the work. During the
afternoon of the 14th the enemy' withdrew from before Elkwater, and is
now principally concentrated some ten miles from this post, at or near his
main camp. On the 15th he approached in stronger force than at any pre
vious time in front of Cheat and attempted a flank movement by the left,

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR. 253
but was driven back by the ever vigilant and gallant garrison of the field
redoubt on the summit. "
FEDERAL SCOUTS BUSHWHACKED.
On November 12, 1861, a squad of Federals, crossing from Beverly to
Dry Pork, piloted by John Snider, were fired upon and six were wounded
at the Laurel Fork Ford. The attacking party was composed of citizens,
several of whom were from Tucker County. The bushwhackers escaped,
but the affair caused the Southern sympathizers of that section much trou
ble, for very severe measures were adopted against them; and men who
had, before that, been unmolested, afterwards found it necessary to sleep
many a cold night in the woods. IMBODEN'S FIRST RAID.
In August, 1862, an important raid was made by General John D. Im
boden, of the Confederate army, from Pendleton County, through Ran
dolph, into Tucker, and back again. . It was his purpose to attack the
Baltimore and Ohio -Railroad at Rowlesburg, in Preston County, but he did
not succeed in reaching that point. He set out from Franklin August 14,
with about 300 men. He marched through the woods, crossing rivers and
mountains, sometimes by a path, but more frequently through the forest,
cutting a path where the thickets were densest. He could not average
more than twelve or fifteen miles a day. When he reached the eastern
base of Cheat Mountain, a little north of and only twelve miles from
Beverly, on the Senaca Path, he turned off short to the northward, intend
ing to strike Dry Fork of Cheat a few miles below the mouth of Glady
Fork. There was a squad of forty Federals stationed at the mill of
Abraham Parsons, where the town of Parsons now stands. Imboden
hoped to take these by surprise. He reached Dry Fork just at dark and
halted to eat supper. At 10 o'clock that night he moved forward toward
Parsons' miU, ten mUes distant. The night was very dark and he made
only seven miles by daybreak. He divided his forces, waded Black Pork
of Cheat five times, surrounded the mill— only to find the Federals gone in
double-quick retreat toward Rowlesburg. Speaking of his failure Imboden
wrote two weeks later:
"I afterwards learned that an old fool,' a friend, who saw our route
the day before, spoke of it to a Union man, who took the news to Beverly
and thence a carrier warned the post of my approach just in time for them
to flee. It was too bad. About fifteen mounted men I had with me came
up with them and had a skirmish. No damage done. My infantry was
so broken down by twenty-four hours marching that I had to halt a few
hours for rest and sleep. During our rest a scoundrel— a sharp, s.hrewd
German— deserted, stole a mule, and went to Beverly and disclosed my
numbers and what he suspected of my plans. The commandant at Beverly
at once telegraphed to New Creek and 1000 men were sent up to Rowles
burg. Not knowing these facts at the time, I moved on as soon as my men
could travel to St. George. Here I got reUable information that the troops
from New Creek had reached Rowlesburg. In a short tame I also ascer
tained that they were marching upon St. George and were only a lew miles
distant. I took from the postoffice such of the records of the bogus county
court as I could conveniently carry. I have sent them to Governor
Letcher. I took all the goods (sugar, coffee and medicine) from the store
17

254 RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR.
of Dr. Solomon Parsons, member of the Wheeling Convention and leader
of the Lincolnites in Tucker, and left him a receipt for them. He and all
the Union men of the county had fled that morning.* I began to fall back
up the river. When within five miles of Parsons' Mill my brother George
met me and reported a sharp skirmish he had on the Beverly road, near
Corrick's Ford, with a Yankee picket or advance guard. Things now
began to look squally. I feared a force from Beverly might reach the
mill before me and cut me off from the Dry Fork Pass, in which event I
would have been compelled to whip them, or take to the mountains, with
the loss of my pack-mules; so I pushed ahead for the mUl, and on arriving
there found no enemy. I moved up Dry Fork and encamped for the night
with my rear safe, and in a position to whip 1000 men in front, should they
pursue me. The next day I struck the wilderness again, and in three days
reached Daven's [Slaven's] cabin at the foot of Cheat, on the Staunton and
^Parkersburg turnpike. We subsisted on potatoes and beef on the most of
the route, there being no flour or meal in the country."
It is now known that Imboden's advance down Dry Fork was not
betrayed by "a Union man," as he supposed, but by a woman. Miss Jane
Snider, who suspected the designs of the Rebels, and rode to Parsons'
Mill and warned the Federal garrison at that place in time for the troops
to fall back toward Rowlesburg. She was the daughter of John Snider
and afterwards married M. V. Bennett. Imboden afterwards ascertained
who had betrayed his plans. John Snider was one of the leaders of the
Union men on Dry Fork, and he and Imboden seldom crossed each other's
paths without an encounter. On the present expedition they met and
Imboden thus speaks of it in a letter to Charles W. Russell:
' 'Just in the edge of the village of St. George I was riding some dis
tance ahead of my men and suddenly came upon old John Snider and one
of the Parsonses, both armed with rifles. Parsons fled and I got into a fight
with Snider. Just as he was aiming at me with his long rifle, I fired at him
with my revolver. He dropped his gun like a hot potato and leaned for
ward on the neck of his horse and escaped into the laurel. Pursuit was
indmediately made but he escaped. I have since learned from some refugees
that I wounded him badly, though I fear not mortally. I had a fair shot
at about fifty yards and aimed at his hips. We were bushwhacked half a
day in Tucker as we fell back from St. George by Union men, but the cow
ardly scoundrels went so far up into the mountains that they only hit one
of my men, and he was but slightly wounded in the foot. I sent out a
whole company once to try to catch three of these bushwhackers, but it
*Dr. Parsons had received a few weeks previous to that time a large bill of goods, and
bclievirtg that no Confederate would venture into that region, he sent a taunting mes
sage to Imboden to "come and get the goods. " To the doctor's surprise and chagrin
Imboden arrived and carried olf the merchandise. This store stood a half mile from St.
George. It was a success for Imboden, but the Southern sympathizers in Tucker County
paid dearly for i t. Captain Kellogg, of llie VSM C)hio, levied assessments on them to pay
Dr. Parsons. The amount collected was live <ir six times as much as tlie value of the
goods taken. The, order served on the citizens read, as follows: "You are hereby
notified that, upon an assessment, you are assessed  dollars to malce good the losses
of Union men. If you fail to pay in three days, your property will be confiscated, yom'
house burned and yourself shot. Capt. Kullogg, Commanding 123 Ohio.
"By order BiiiG. Gen. Milkoy. "
The assessments ranged from $7 to $800. Nicholas Parsons paid $500; William R.
Parsons $700, and Abraham Parsons $800. These were all relatives of Dr. Parsons.

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR. 255
was impossible to come up with them in the brush. If I had caught them
I intended hanging them in five minutes. The greatest difficulty in our
way out here is the infernal Union men. They carry intelligence and bush
whack us wherever they can, and yet will swear allegiance a dozen times
a day. The proper policy to be pursued toward Union men who are not
in arms as soldiers is one of the most difficult problems I have to deal
with. Thus far I have scrupulously abstained from molesting them in any
manner, with the exception of four Upshur men that I have arrested as
spies. My purpose has been to arrest all office holders under the bogus
government and seize their property for confiscation, but not to interfere
with private citizens, hoping that a policy of conciliation would bring back
many of them; but the enemy are treating our friends in the Northwest
with such brutal cruelty that I fear nothing short of retaliation will check
them. I am tempted sometimes to write to President Davis and tell him
what I have seen and heard in the Northwest and ask his instructions.
Great God! but my blood boils whea listening to such statements as I have
heard from men and women during my recent expedition. No Oriental
despot ever inspired such mortal terror by his iron rule of his subjects as
is now felt by the men and women of the Northwest. Grown up men come
to me stealthily through the woods to talk to me in a whisper of their
wrongs. They would freely have given me bread and meat but dared not
do so. They begged me, in some instances, to take it, apparently by force,
so that they might not be charged with feeding us voluntarily. Men
offered to sell me large lots of cattle secretly, if I would then send armed
men to seize and carry off the property."
IMBODEN'S SECOND RAID.
In November, 1862, Imboden again led an expedition from east of the
Alleghanies, through Randolph County, toward Rowlesburg, but again he
turned back when he reached St. George. This was a remarkable expedi
tion in some respects, and his men suffered much from hunger and cold.
On November 7 'he left his camp on the South Pork, in Hardy County, with
310 well mounted men, supplied with blankets and overcoats. He intended
to destroy the bridge over Cheat River at Rowlesburg. He had written to
General Lee that he thought he could, do it. He set forward in a snow
storm, and at midnight reached the base of the Alleghanies, six mUes north
of the mouth of Senaca, and halted till daybreak- He was thirty-eight
miles from St. George and expected to reach it early in the night of the 8th.
He crossed the mountain by a miserable path at the head of the Right
Pork of Red Creek near the common corner of Grant, Pendleton, Randolph
and Tucker Counties. He passed down Dry Fork, following a path poor
enough at best, but worse then usual on account of the deep snow. He had
mountain howitzers on the backs of mules. One of the mules lost his foot
ing and rolled down the mountain into the river, with the cannon on him.
The animal and cannon were rescued, and the march proceeded. So
rough was the way that when night came they had made less then twenty
mUes, and were obliged to wait for the moon to rise at midnight. While
waiting they were visited by a citizen from Tucker County who gave them
the startUng intelligence that 600 Federals had that day passed up Dry
Pork. Fortunately for Imboden, they had passed the mouth of Red Creek:
before he reached that point, and he thus missed them. He also was tola
that General Milroy with 4000 men had moved from Beverly toward Mon-

256 RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR.
terey. Imboden believed that an effort would be made to capture him as
soon as it was learned he was in the country; but he decided to move on to
St. George anyway, and take chances on getting out. The snow storm still
continued, but he succeeded in reaching St. George by daylight on Novem
ber 9, and surrounded the town, and captured Captain William Hall and
thirty Federals who had fortified the Court-House. The prisoners were
paroled after Imboden had stripped them of their overcoats and blankets .
The Confederates retreated up Drv Fork and reached the mouth of
Glady Pork at 9 o'clock at night, and halted there till midnight . when they
resumed the march up Glady Fork, following part of the distance a path
which Imboden had cut while on his expedition the previous August. He
had received information that an effort would be made from Beverly to
head him off, and for this reason he took to the wUderness where he could
fight on an equal footing with any force that could be sent against him. At
4 p. m. , November 10, he reached a point ten miles east of Beverly, and
went into camp. This was the first night's rest for either men or horses
since starting. While there, a man who had been in Beverly that day
came to him and gave him details of the movements of the Federals, and
informed him that Milroy's baggage train was probably at Camp Barstow,
on the Greenbrier River, and Imboden decided to attack it and take his
chances of escape through Pocahontas County. The next morning he set
forward through the woods by the aid of a guide, and traveled all day on
a course south 35 degrees east, reaching a place called Upper Sinks late in
the afternoon, on the head of Greenbrier, and eleven miles from Camp
Barstow. On the morning of November 12, six of his horses were unable
to proceed, and they were left, the riders following on foot. The day was
dark. The snow had changed to rain. Before noon the guide became be
wildered, and the army was lost in one of the most impenetrable pine for
ests of the Alleghanies. At night they found themselves again at the
Sinks whence they had started that morning. A day had been lost, and Im
boden gave up the plan of attacking Milroy's camp. The sun came up clear
on the morning of November 13, and the hungry and bewUdered Confeder
ates moved forward and that day crossed the Alleghany near the line be
tween Pendelton and Highland counties, to the head of the North Pork.
After many narrow escapes, Imboden reached his camp on the South Pork,
only to find that General Kelley had destroyed it and killed, ' captured or
dispersed the men he had left iihere.
CONFEDERATE RAID UNDER JENKINS.
In the later part of August and the first of September, 1862, General
A. G. Jenkins with a Confederate cavalry force of 550 men, made his famous
raid across West Virginia into Ohio. He passed through Randolph County,
and in conjunction with Imboden, planned an attack on Beverly, but be
lieving that large reinforcements had arrived he abandoned the plan and
moved to Buckhannon. In his report of the expedition, written September
19, he says of his operations near Beverly:
"Fwas at the time under the impression that the enemy had but 450
men at Beverly, and intended to attacli; him at that point; but hearing that
General Kelley had reached there with 1500 men, I determined, if possible,
to ascertain its correctness. For this purpose we used every effort to cap
ture some of the enemy's scouts as we approached Huttonsville, and when
within five or six miles of the latter place, we succeeded in doing so. Of

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR. 257
the enemy's scouting party of six we captured two and killed one, the latter
being one of the two brothers named Gibson. We endeavored to take him
alive, but he refused to surrender and resisted to the last. From the two
prisoners I learned that General Kelley was certainly in Beverly with some
1500 men. In the meantime I had been communicating with Imboden
who was at Cheat Mountain with a small force, and with whom I had con
templated a co-operation. But the enemy's force being nearly twice as large
as ours, made even a combined attack impracticable. I now determined, if
possible, to throw my force in General KeUey's rear, and learning that an
immense amount of supplies, and several thousand stands of arms had
been collected at Buckhannon, I concluded to strike at that point. To
effect this we had to cross Rich Mountain by a mere bridle path, or rather
trail, which was often undiscoverable, and which for thirty miles passed
through the most perfect wilderness I ever beheld. It was indeed an ardu
ous task for men and horses. Some of the latter were completely broken
down and left behind, and a few of the men were also physically unable to
make the march, and returned to General Loring's camp. After twenty-
four hours of continuous marching, with intervals for rest, we suddenly
entered upon the fertile country watered by the tributaries of the Buck
hannon River. Here we halted, and after a few hours for rest and food,
we proceeded down French Creek toward the town of Buckhannon. The
population along this creek is among the most disloyal in all Western Vir
ginia. We emerged so suddenly from the mountains, and by a route hardly
known to exist, and if known, deemed utterly impassable for any number of
men, that the inhabitants could scarcely comprehend that we were South
ern troops." General Jenkins proceeded to Buckhannon, captured the town, and
destroyed considerable quanties of military stores which he could not con
vey away. He then proceeded to Weston, and captured every town he
came to on his march to the Ohio River.
THE GREAT RAID OF 1863.
In the spring of 1863 occurred the memorable and destructive raids of
General John D. Imboden and General W. E. Jones, whose combined force
of 5000 Confederates swept across West Virginia. The principal incidents
of the raids Ure given elsewhere in this book. More particular mention of
the raid through Randolph County will now be given. Imboden entered
the valley above Huttonsville on the evening of AprU 23, having marched
four days in drenching rains. The country was almost impassable on
account of mud, and what otherwise would have been a dashing movement,
was a slow and toilsome march, dragging cannon and wagons through mire
to the axles, and the cavalry struggling through mud to the saddle sliirts.
The movement, however, was sufficientiy rapid to hurry out every federal
detachment and picket from Beverly to Spencer, north to the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad. Imboden, who passed through Randolph, Barbour
Upshur to Lewis, had littie fighting. Jones, who marched from Moorefield
•by the Northwestern Pike, to Rowlesburg, Morgantown, Fairmont, to
Lewis County, had more fighting. Imboden had 3365 men, 700 of them
cavalry; Jones had a force about half as strong. In passing over Cheat
Mountain before descending into the vaUey Imboden's men waded through
snow twenty inches deep. The Confederates hoped to faU on Beverly by
surprise; but in this they were disappointed. The Federal authorities were

258 RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR.
looking for a raid; and when Imboden reached the Greenbrier River he
learned that John Slayton, a Federal scout, with a squad of seven soldiers,
had passed there at sunrise that morning, hurrying to Beverly with intelli
gence that the Rebels were coming. Imboden had anticipated something of
the kind, and thought he had taken ample steps to prevent it,. He had
sent a squad of soldiers from Pocahontas County on April 20 to the Green
brier River to stop any one passing who might alarm Beverly, but Slayton
took to the mountains north of the pike, and although Imboden sent twenty
men in pursuit of him, they failed to stop him, and the Confederate general
presumed that he could not take Beverly by surprise. Nevertheless, he
pushed on to Huttonsville, and found that the Union picket of thirty men
usually kept there had been withdrawn at 11 o'clock that morning. This
convinced him that the forces at Beverly were ready to fight or retreat, and
he went into camp at HuttonsviUe. A little after midnight his advance
picket reported a body of Federals as having passed up on the east side of
the river to a mountain, overlooking the Confederate camp, and after an
hour the same party returned toward Beverly. Imboden had sent a com
pany of infantry on the first alarm to attempt to cut them off, but they
failed to do so. He at that time estimated the Union force at Beverly at
1500. The actual force there was 878 men, with two cannon. Colonel George
R. Latham was in command of the Federal force. The next morning,
April 24, Colonel Latham advanced toward Huttonsville to meet the Con
federates, and met the advance guard five miles above Beverly and skir
mishing began. He was unable to hold them in check. They steadily
advanced, and he as steadily fell back, unable to see much on account of
the fog which had settled down on the valley and hills, but judging from the
assurance with which they advanced he concluded that they meant to march
to Beverly. He also listened to the portentous rumble of the cannon over
the few places in the roads where the deep mud did not deaden the noise,
and his scouts counted six pieces of Rebel artillery moving down the valley.
By noon the Union force had been pushed back within two and a half miles
of Beverly, and one hour later the fog lifted, and the Confederate army
was in full view. In his official report Colonel Latham says:
' 'I took a strong position on the south side of the town, commanding
the entire valley and the Staunton turnpike above, but flanked by back
ridges on each side. About 2 o'clock the action was opened with artillery
and infantry, skirmishing at long range. A large force of the enemy's cav
alry and a part of his artillery were now seen advancing on the back road
west of the valley, toward the road leading from Beverly to Buckhannon,
and actually turning our right. This movement it was impossible for us to
counteract, though the river intervening we wera not in much danger of an
actual attack from this force. The object of this movement was to prevent
our retreat toward Buckhannon. Three regiments of his infantry were at
the same time continually advancing through the woods, pressing back our
skirmishers toward our front and left, his artillery playing directly in front,
with two regiments of infantry in reserve. At 4 p. m. the action had be
come quite brisk along our whole line; our skirmishers were driven in on
our front, and the enemy had advanced within canister range. The com
mands of his officers could be distinctly heard, and he was pressing well
beyond our left. Shortly after this I received orders to fall back. I imme
diately set my train in motion; destroying my public stores of all kinds, and
about 5 p. m. drew off my forces. The movement was executed in perfect

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIViL WAR. 259
order, and though the enemy pressed our rear for six miles, and twice
charged us with his cavalry, there was no confusion, no hurry, no indecent
haste. His cavalry charges were handsomely repulsed, and he learned to
follow at a respectful distance. We marched nine miles, and having gained
a safe position, rested for the night, our pickets and those of the enemy
being a mile apart."
The next morning the Federals continued their retreat to Belington,
thence to PhUippi where they camped over night, and the next day, April
26, reached Buckhannon, where other Union forces were gathered, making
a total of 2800, which was sufficient to have stopped the advance of Imbo
den, especiaUy as General MulUgan was holding his own in Barbour County,
and keeping back the Confederates who were trying to reach Philippi.
But the Union troops at Buckhannon were ordered by- General Roberts to
retreat to Clarksburg, and the way was open for Imboden to advance, and
he was not slow in taking advantage of it. No better history of the raid,
as it affected Randolph County, has been written than that contained in
General Imboden's official report from which the following somewhat leng
thy extract is taken, beginning with the march from Huttonsville toward
Beverly :
"It continued to rain all night, and the morning of the 24th was one of
the most gloomy and inclement I ever saw. At an early hour I started all
my infantry down through the plantations on the east side of the river,
where they were joined by four guns of my battery seven miles above Bev
erly. The cavalry and a section of artillery took the main road on the west
side of the river, under Colonel George W. Imboden, with orders as soon as
they discovered the enemy to be in Beverly to press forward and gain pos
session of the road leading to Buckhannon, and cut off retreat by that
route. About five miles above Beverly the cavalry advance met a man,
who, as soon as he saw them, fled. They flred upon him, but he escaped.
It turned out to be the bogus State Sheriff of Randolph County, named J.
P. Phares, who, though shot through the lungs, succeeded in reaching
Beverly and gave the alarm. About the same time, on the east side of the
river we captured a storage train and its escort. I learned from the prison
ers that the enemy was in ignorance of our approach; but as soon as
Phares reached town and gave the alarm, the whole force was drawn up to
fight us. About a mile above the town they opened upon the head of my
column with artillery. On reconnoitering their position, I found them
strongly posted on a plateau fifty or sixty feet above the river bottom and
commanding it and the road for more than a mile so completely that to
attack in front would probably involve the loss of hundreds of my
men before I could reach them. I at once resolved to turn their position by
making a detour of over two miles across a range of steep and densely-
wooded hills, and attempt to get round to the north of the town. To
occupy their attention I placed a rifle piece on the first hill and engaged
their battery. The cavalry, under a dangerous fire, dashed forward and
gained the Buckhannon road west of the river, and cut off retreat by that
route. The enemy immediately began to fall back below the town, leaving
a strong force of skirmishers in the woods, which my infantry had to pass.
A running fight was kept up more than two miles through these woods, and
a little before sunset I had succeeded in gaining the north side of the town,
but too late to cut off retreat toward Philippi. The enemy was in full
retreat and about one third of the town in flames when I gained their origi-

260 RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WA]ft.
nal fiank. We pursued until dark but could not overtake them. My cav
alry attempted to intercept them from the west side of the river at or near
Laurel Hill, but the difficulty and the depth of the ford and the lateness of
the hour prevented it.
' 'I have been thus minute in these details to explain why we did not
capture the whole force at Beverly. Slayton was unable to cross Cheat
River, owing to the high water, and they were really ignorant of our ap
proach until the wounded man gave the alarm. We found him in almost a
dying condition, though he will probably recover. The attack was so
sudden that the enemy could not remove his stores or destroy his camp.
His loss was not less than $100,000, and about one-third of the town was
destroyed in burning his stores. I lost three men, so badly wounded that
I had to leave them^in Beverly. The enemy's loss was trifling.
' 'On the morning of the 25th my cavalry reported the road toward
Philippi impracticable for artillery or wagons, on account of the depth of
the mud, in places coming up to the saddle-skirts of the horses. I also
ascertained that General Roberts, with a considerable force was at Buck
hannon, and I doubted the prudence of going directly to Philippi until this
force was dislodged from my flank. I sent off two companies of cavalry,
under Major D. B. Lang, to try to open communication with General
Jones,* from whom I had not heard anything, and resolved to cross Rich
Mountain, and either move directly on Buckhannon, or by a country road
leaving the turnpike four miles beyond Roaring Creek, get between PhU
ippi and Buckhannon, and attack one or the other, as circumstances might
determine. ' 'On the evening of the 26th I crossed Middle Pork and encamped
about midway between Philippi and Buckhannon, some twelve mUes from
each, sending aU my cavalry forward to seize and hold the bridge across
Buclihannon River, near its mouth. Considerable cannonading was heard
at this time in the direction of Philippi, which I supposed to proceed from
the enemy we had driven from Beverly, in an attempt to prevent Major
Lang from going towards the railroad, where I expected him to find
General Jones; but at 11 p. m. Colonel Imboden informed me that the
Beverly force had passed up toward Buckhannon at sunrise that morning,
and that there was a fresh brigade at PhUippi, reported by citizens to have
arrived the night before from New Creek, under command of General
MuUigan, and that the cars had been running all the night previous, and
other troops were in the vicinity. He requested me to send two regiments
of infantry and a section of artiUery to the bridge that night, as he was
apprehensive of attack. He also informed me that he had captured a courier
from Buckhannon, and that two others had escaped and gone back to the
place. This information was all confirmed by two citizens who arrived at
my camp from Webster. I resolved to send forward the reinforcements
asked for, and as my troops were all very tired, I sent for my colonels to
ascertain which regiments were in the best condition to make the march
that night. Knowing that General Mulligan was east of the Alleghanies
when our expedition set out, and not hearing from General Jones, it was
the opinion of all present that he had failed to reach or interrupt commu
nication oh the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and that our position was
exceedingly critical if the enemy had control of that road, as he could
*General Jones was then moving througli Preston, Monongalia and Marion Counties.

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR. 261
throw the whole division upon us in a few hours, and, if we wei-e beaten
could cut off our retreat at Laurel Hill, Beverly and at Buckhannon or
Weston. I concurred in the opinions of my colonels that in the face of
this new information it would be extremely imprudent to advance farther
or remain where we were, with the danger of being overwhelmed and cut
off m a few hours, and that the safety of the command required that we
should fall back to a position wliere escape would be possible if we were
overpowered.* Accordingly we marched back to Roaring Creek on the
27th. The road was so bad that it took from 5 a. m. until 2 p. m., nine
hours, to accomplish two miles, and the command did not reach the 'camp
until in the night. Having recalled my cavalry from Buckhannon Bridge,
I sent forward a scout that night toward Buckhannon, which returned after
midnight, reporting that the enemy had burned the bridges across Middle
Fork and the Buckhannon Rivers, and retreated that night from Buckhan
non, blockading the road behind them.
"On the 28th I passed on to within four miles of Buckhannon, and the
next morning took possession of the town with a regiment, which I crossed
over on the debris of the burnt bridge. The enemy had burned all his
stores here and destroyed two pieces of artillery, which he was unable to
move. On account of the extraordinary bad roads, I had been compelled
to leave at the Greenbrier River, east of Cheat Mountain, forty-odd barrels
of fiour, and also several barrels in Beverly. Our horses were giving out
in large numbers, and some dying from excessive labor and insufficient
sustenance. Not being able to cross my artillery and horses over the
river, on my arrival I ordered a raft to be constructed, and the country to
be scoured in every direction for corn and wheat: impressed two mills and
run them day and night. Grain was very scarce and had to be procured in
small quantities, sometimes less than a bushel at a house. I employed a
considerable portion of my cavalry in collecting cattle and sending them to
the rear. I required everything to be paid for at fair prices, such as were
the current rates before we arrived in the country. This gave general sat
isfaction in the country, and our currency was freely accepted. On the 29th
I received my first information from General Jones, and on the same day I
ascertained that the enemy was massing his troops at Janelew, a village
about midway between Buckhannon and Clarksburg, and fortifying his
position. The 30th was spent in collecting corn and cattle.
"On May 1, hearing nothing further from General Jones, I sent Colo
nel Imboden to Weston with his regiment of cavalry. He found the place
evacuated and the stores destroyed, but got confirmation of the fact that
the enemy was at Janelew. Fearing that General Jones had been cut off in
his effort to join me, I gave orders that night to move early the next
morning to Philippi. My raft was completed and I was ready to cross the
river. Just as we commenced moving on the morning of the 2nd, a courier
arrived with the intelligence that General Jones was within six miles. On
receiving this information I changed my direction of march toward Weston,
*General Jones had, at that time, succeeded in cutting the Baltimore and Ohio Rail
road, but he had been delayed flve hours at Greenland Gap, Grant County, by 80 Union
troops under Captain Martin Wallace, who fortified themselves in a log church in the
pass and held the Confederates in check until General Mulligan had passed west over the
railroad with his command. Soon after Mulligan had passed. General Jones stormed the
church, and sent cavalry to Oakland to cut the railroad. They arrived too late to inter
cept Mulligan, but prevented reinforcements from following him. For further particu
lars of the movements of Jones and Mulligan see a preceding chapter of this book.

262 RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR.
feeling confident that with General Jones' brigade and my own force united
we would be strong enough to hold our own and probably defeat the enemy
at Janelew or Clarksburg. WILLIAM L. JACKSON'S RAID.
The next military movement in Randolph County was the advance of
General William L. Jackson with 1200 Confederates against Beverly; his
skirmishes with Colonel Thomas M. Harris, and his retreat before General
Averell who came up with reinforcements. The Confederates entered Ran
dolph July 1, 1863, by three routes, intending to surround Beverly and cap
ture the Union force of about 800 stationed there. One division of Confed
erates advanced from Pocahontas County, by way of Valley Head; another
division advanced by the Staunton and Parkersburg pike, through Cheat
Pass, while a third division made its way through woods and by mountain
paths by way of Slaven's Cabin, and emerged below Beverly on the Phil
ippi pike. This detachment was under Colonel A. C. Dunn, and he was to
attack Beverly from the north when he heard the cannon which would be
fired as a signal for attack. Jackson made all his arrangements to sur
round Beverly and leave no room for retreat for the Union forces. He
sent two companies under Major J. B. Lady to make their way through the
woods along the base of Rich Mountain, and seize and hold the Buckhannon
road, and also to attack Beverly when the signal cannon were heard. As a
guard against an attack on Major Lady's rear from the direction of Buck
hannon, Sergeant Rader with a squad of "twenty men was sent to the
Middle Fork Bridge, eighteen miles west of Beverly. He seized the bridge
and held it. On July 2 Jackson's main forces reached Huttonsville, and he
threw his scouts around the Federal picket posts and captured every picket
on the HuttonsviUe road to within a mile and a half of Beverly — twenty-
eight in all. He believed he was about to surprise the town, but his plans
were betrayed by a woman, whose name he does not mention in his report
of the expedition. She informed the Federals of the proximity of Confed
erates, and Colonel Biarris telegraphed to General Averell for re-inforce
ments, and Averell advanced witli three regiments of cavalry from Phil
ippi, having first telegraphed Harris to hold out if possible. Averell had
but lately taken charge of the Union forces in this section, having succeed
ed General Roberts in command.
Gen. Jackson moved cautiously toward Beverly, sending 200 men across
the river to attack the right of the Union position, and purposely delaying
his attack to give Colonel Dunn time to get in position. When the Confed
erates reached the Burnt Bridge, two miles above town, the slrirmishing
began, the Federals falling back slowly toward the town, and the Conieder-
ates advancing. Believing that all was in readiness for the attack and that
he had Beverly surrounded, Jackson, at 2 o'clock on the afternoon of July
2, fifed the signal cannon for the battle to begin. There was no response
from Dunn, and General Jackson, from the summit of a hill, searched the
country beyond Beverly to see where the troops under Dunn were. Noth
ing of them could be seen, and the attack was still further delayed to give
them more time to get into position. Finally Jackson began the battle, but
found that his artillery was no match for that of the union forces. Not more
than one shell in fifteen exploded, while scarcely a Federal shell failed to

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR. 263
explode.* The Union force occupied Butcher HiU, now called Mount Iser.
Night came, and Dunn still did not put in an appearance, nor had he come
in sight by the next morning. Jackson grew desperate, and proposed to
assault the Federal position without the assistance of Dunn's forces; but a
few minutes later, while again looking beyond Beverly for the long-delayed
troops that were to attack from that quarter, he beheld a sight which in
stantly changed all his plans. Instead of Dunn, he saw three regiments of
cavalry, led by Averell in person, sweeping up the valley. Jackson sent
couriers to call in his out-lying detachments and fled up tiie valley to Hut
tonsville, pursued by Averell, with skirmishing; but the , Confederates did
not stop to risk a general battle. They retreated over the mountain, back
to Virginia. There had been but little fighting, the Rebels losing four
kUled, five wounded. The Union forces lost fifty-five prisoners.
It is to be noted that the Confederate general blamed his subordinate.
Colonel Dunn, with the miscarrage of the expedition, and his failure to take
Beverly; and the Federal general blamed his subordinate. Colonel Harris,
with the failure to capture the Confederate force. Colonel Dunn had
reached his position, but some one told him of Averell's advance, and he
retreated, just before the Union troops surrounded his position. General
Jackson placed him under arrest. Averell says: "Had Colonel Harris fur
nished me with timely warning of the approach of the enemy, I should have
killed, captured or dispersed his entire command. As it was he received
but a slight lesson, "f
General Averell stationed a strong force at Beverly during the re
mainder of the summer of 1863, and posted pickets on the roads leading east
and south. Occasionally these pickets had skirmishes with scouting parties
of Confederates. On September 25 a picket of thirty men on the Senaca
TraU, where it crosses Cheat, nine miles northeast of Beverly, was attacked
and captured by one hundred Confederates under Major D. B. Lang, who
were returning from a raid into Barbour County. Two Federals were
wounded and one was drowned in trying to escape across Cheat. Four days
before that, Averell's picket had a fight on Shaver Mountain with a scout
ing party, defeated it, kUling Wash Taylor, wounded another man and
captured two. The report that a squad of thirty Confederates were at the
same time moving into Tucker County, caused AvereU to send a force after
them. On the same night three or four rockets were sent up on the moun
tain west-southwest of Beverly, and a strong Federal scouting party was
sent to ascertain what it meant. Nothing was discovered.
MAJOR HOUSTON HALL'S DEFEAT.
On the morning of October 29, 1864, a peculiar, and for the Confeder-

*The Federals had a rifled Parrott gun on the hill where J. B. Ward's house now
stands, and the artillerists had practiced firing at targets and trees a mile or two beyond
the river, until they became remarkably accurate. The Confederates planted a cannon
on the nresent farni of M. J. Coberly, and a lively artillery duel resulted. But the dis
tance was too gS for accuracy, and the Federals moved their cannon forward to the
bluff where D.R. Baker now Uves, and the flrst shot cut the axle of the Confederate
cannon. , . , , 4.1. v- *v,
tit has been asserted, and the truth vouched for ""IJ^f^f^^'^ZTrXotex-
real trouble with Colonel Dunn, and the cause of his failure, was th^t two barrels of ex
cellent Randolph County whiskey fell into his hands in an evil ^ou' ' ,^nd that he and
his men were so drunk they did not know whether they were Confederate or Union
soldiers.

264 RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR.
ates a disastrous, attack was made by 360 Rebels under Major Houston
Hall upon a force of about equal strength under Colonel Robert Youart,
stationed at Beverly. The following account of it is from Colonel Youart's
report; Major Hall made no report of the fight:
"Major Hall with a force of Confederates 360 strong, from Jackson's
command, made an attack on this detachment at 5 a. m. They expected to
surprise us and catch the command asleep. As it was, the men were in
rank for reveille roll-call. The Rebels had fianked the mounted pickets
and patrols and crept up to the inner and dismounted picket line, 150 yards
from camp. At the picket's challenge, they charged with a yell for the
camp, over an open field. The men of my command, at the Rebel Yell,
broke into the huts for their arms. The front company was thrown out as
skirmishers, but the Rebel line swept it back. The other companies had
half formed when the Rebel fire scattered the 125 unarmed men of my com
mand through the camp, and broke up for a time all organization. Then
began a struggle among the quarters. In the darkness, friend and foe
were hardly distinguishable. Both parties were taking and guarding
prisoners at the same time. The Rebel force was divided and one half was
shifted to the rear of camp. When day broke, I with other officers had ral
lied and formed about fifty men, and ordered a charge on the force in the
rear. The Rebels were started. A second charge routed them. I then
turned my attention to the force in front and routed it. I ordered immediate
pursuit, which resulted in the capture of nearly all the force operating in
the front of camp. Our loss was eight killed, twenty-three wounded and
thirteen captured. The Rebel loss was, four drowned while trying to es
cape; twenty-five wounded and ninety-two captured."
BEVERLY TAKEN BY ROSSER.
On January 11, 1865, Beverly was captured by 300 Confederates under
General Rosser, who made a night attack, killing six, wounding twenty-
three and taking 580 prisoners. The Federal forces were commanded by
Colonel Robert Youart. From the standpoint of complete surprise and a
small force capturing a larger, the feat was not many times surpassed dur
ing the war. General Crook appointed two officers to examine into
the capture of Beverly, and following is a portion of the report, made by
Colonel Nathan Wilkinson, one of the officers. It is the fullest account of
the affair to be found in the official records of the war. No report of it ex
ists from the Confederate standpoint, except a brief note by General Lee
addressed to the Secretary of War of the Southern Confederacy, on January
15, 1865, which is as follows:
' 'General Early reports that Rosser, at the head of 300 men, surprised
and captured the garrison at Beverly, Randolph County, on the 11th
instant, killing and wounding a considerable number, and taking 580 priso
ners. His loss slight. "
Colonel Wilkinson in his report filed a map of Beverly and the roads by
which it could be approached, and located the pickets and sentinels at the
time the attack was made, and then says:
"The pickets during the day were posted as follows: At Russell's, on
the Philippi road, a corporal and three men; at the Burnt Bridge, on
Staunton pike, four mounted men; at the bridge on the Buckhannon road,
in the town, a corporal and three men, and sentinels beyond. At dark the
pickets were withdrawn from Russell's and Burnt Bridge, and in their

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR. 265
stead single sentinels were posted. These night sentinels were respectively
about 400 yards from camp and about 300 yards from each other, all were
relieved from camp every two hours. The enemy, about 700 mounted men,
wearing U. S. overcoats, under General Rosser, came in from Crab Bottom
by the Staunton and Beverly pike. At the foot of Cheat Mountain they left
the pike and took a road leading on the east side of the Valley River, and
made a detour around the camp and town on an old dirt road, and formed
their line of battle in a hollow, within 450 yards of the camp. The sentinel
saw the Rebels approaching, and challenged them, "Who comes there?"
The reply was, 'Friends.' He moved toward them and was captured.
The first intimation our forces had of the presence of the enemy was the
Rebels forcing the doors of the quarters, demanding a surrender. The sur
prise was complete. Our forces did not have time to rally even one com
pany together. Quite a number of the officers of both regiments were ex
amined and all testified that they had repeatedly called the attention of the
commanding officers to the insuificiency of the guard for picket duty. Lieu
tenant-Colonel Youart himself states that owing to the severity of the
weather, the high water in the rivers, and the statements of the citizens that
it was impossible for the enemy to attack at that time of the year, he felt
perfectly secure.
"Major Butters testified that he notified Lieutenant-Colonel Furney
that the guard was insufficient, and if the forces were attacked they would
be captured. At that time Furney was in command at Beverly during the
absence of Colonel Youart at Cumberland, Maryland. Youart returned
from Cumberland and resumed command two days before the attack by
General Rosser. The testimony was that all the officers of the Thirty-
fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry were quartered in town, not one with the
regiment, and it has been unofficially reported to me that on the evening
previous to the attack there was a ball in the town which was largely attended
by officers who remained there till a late hour of the night. From the evi
dence produced it appears that the whole command was latterly in a very
loose state of discipline."*
About 400 Federals escaped to PhiUppi, many of them without arms.
Their supplies at Beverly nearly all fell into the hands of the Confederates.
General Crook, when he forwarded the testimony to headquarters, recom
mended "that Colonel Furney and Colonel Youart be dismissed the service
for disgraceful neglect of their commands, and for permitting themselves
to be surprised and the greater part of their commands captured, in order
that worthy officers may fill their places, which they have proved them
selves incompetent to hold." The Federal authorities spoke of withdraw
ing aU forces from Beverly, declaring that the leaving of a small body ot
troops there served only as a bait to the Rebels. The town was never after
that attacked, f 
¦ *It was on this occasion that Rosser burned the bridge across tli ViTi/ h?«''InhJ;
Colonel Youart was asleep at the hotel when the attack was made. He left his saber
behind in his flight, and it is still in possession of A. Buckey of Beverly. A song of that
date began: . .,
"Rosser went upon a raid
And captured Youart's whole brigade."
tWaddell's Journal, published in the "Annals of Augusta County, '' f^ys under date
of January 20, 1865: "The prisoners captured by Rosser at Beverly (600 or 700) were sent

266

RANDOLPH'S SHARE IN THE CIVIL WAR.

off by railroad to-day. They suffered greatly from cold and hunger, as our soldiers have.
Several of them died on the way to Staunton, and others will probably not survive long.
After the train started I saw one of the prisoners lying on the pavement at the corner of
the Court-House yard. A crowd was arround him, some of whom said he was dying.
He was taken to the Confederate military hospital."
Many of the prisoners were marched from Beverly to Staunton barefoot through the
snow.

The Sugartree under wbich Gen
eral Rosecrans and bis officers met to
arrange tbe final details for attacking
the Confederates at Ricb Mountaio,
July 11,1861.

CHAPTER XXL

-:o:

MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OF RANDOLPH.
The highest point in Randolph County is Snyder Knob, on Cheat
Mountain, near the Pocahontas line. It is 4730 feet, and is only 130 feet
below the highest summit in West Virginia. The
lowest point in the county is the bed of Shaver's
Fork of Cheat, where it crosses the Randolph -
Tucker line. The point is 1765 feet. There is not
twenty-five feet difference in the altitude of Shav
er's Fork at that point and the bed of the Valley
- River, where it crosses the line into Barbour
County. The vertical range of the county — from
the highest point to the lowest point — is 2965. It
is, of course, understood that all altitudes are
measured from sea level; and when a point is stat
ed to be 4730 feet, it is meant that it is that high
above the level of the ocean.* The ground on
which the Court House in Beverly stands is exactly 2000 feet above the sea.
With this fact impressed on the memory, it will be easy to calculate how
much higher or lower than Beverly the various elevations are which are
given. The channel of Elk River where it enters Randolph from Pocahontas is
2390 feet; where it flows from Randolph into Webster it is 2000. The
stream, therefore, has a fall of 390 feet in Randolph County.
The bed of the Buckhannon River where it crosses the Randolph-Up
shur line at Newlon is 1900. The stream has its source in Randolph among
mountains 3500 feet high.
The bed of the brook which is the source of the Tygart's Valley River,
is 3100 feet where it crosses the Pocahontas-Randolph line. The channel

Soyder's l<nob, as seen from
the Mouth of Elkwater.

book.

For additional information on altitudes in West Virginia see chapter VIII in this

268

MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OP RANDOLPH.

at VaUey Head is 2500 feet; where it leaves the county, 1775. The total
fall of the river in its course through Randolph is 1325 feet.
The bed of the East Fork of the Greenbrier River where it crosses the
Randolph-Pocahontas line is 3300 feet. The bed of the West Pork of the
Greenbrier where it crosses from Randolph into Pocahontas is 2880 feet.
The Greenbrier rises in Randolph among mountains more than 4500 feet
high. The channel of the First Fork of Shaver's Fork of Cheat River, where
it crosses the Randolph line from Pocahontas is 3700 feet. Where the river
leaves Randolph its channel is 1765. The fall of the stream in its course
through the county is 1930 feet. That is 170 feet more than the fall of the
stream in its course of nearly three thousand miles, from the Randolph line
to the Gulf of Mexico.
The bed of Otter Fork on the Randolph-Tucker line is 2100 feet; and
Dry Fork has the same altitude where it crosses the line into Tucker
County. The following table will show the elevation in feet of some of the towns,
post offices and places in Randolph.

Middle Fork Bridge 1900
Elkins  1950
Kerens  2000
Beverly  2000
Lick  2000
Orlena  2000
Montrose  2050
Valley Bend  2050
Huttonsville  2080
Lee Bell  2100
Cassity  2100
Long  2100
Cri ckard  2100
Roaring Creek  2150

Elkwater  2200
Avondale  2200
W. Huttonsville  2300
McCauley  2400
Helvetia  2400
Alpina  2400
Harman  2400
Day's Mills  2450
Mouth Fishing Hawk 2480
Valley Head  2500
Kingsville  2500
Pumpkintown  2550
Job  2600
Pickens  2700

Mingo Flats  2700
Huff  2800
Blue Spring  2900
Florence  2900
Fairview Church  2900
Glady  2900
Buckwheat Church. . ..3050
Monterville  3300
Osceola  3400
The Sinks  3400
Rich Mountain  3400
Winchester  3600
Middlebrook  3800
Brush CampLow Place 4000

It is usual for roads which cross mountains to seek the lowest gaps in
the ranges. This being the case, figures will be of interest which show the
altitudes of certain roads where they pass over mountains.
The pike from Beverly to Buckhannon, where it passes over Rich
Mountain (the battlefield), is 3000 feet. Highest point on the same pike
between Roaring Creek and Middle Fork, 2600. Where the pike from
Beverly to Staunton crosses Cheat Mountain (the military camp), 3750.
Where the same road crosses the Randolph-Pocahontas line, 3800. The
road from Beverly to Circleville crosses Cheat Mountain at an altitude of
3550; it crosses Shaver's Mountain at 3000; Middle Mountain, 3750; Rich
Mountain, 3600; Alleghany Mountain, 4240. The road from Elkins to Dry
Pork crosses Cheat Mountain at an altitude of 2460 feet; Shaver's Moun
tain, 3150; Middle Mountain, 3240; Rich Mountain, 3500. The highest
point between Kerens and the head of Pheasant Run is 2350 feet. The
highest point on the road from Montrose to Clover Run is 2400; from
Elidns to Belington, the toj) of Laurel Hill (the military camp) 2600.
Randolph is justly celebrated for its lofty and picturesque mountains.
In the chapter on the county's geology, in this book, some description of
their structure and history is given. In the chapter on the State's climate*
their influence upon the winds and rains is spoken of; and in the present
*See pages 78, 79 and 80.

MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OP RANDOLPH.

chapter, the elevations of
The foUowing table gives
Snyder Knob  4730
High Knob  4710
Crouch Knob  4(J00
Barton Knob  4600
Green Knob  4600
Sharp Knob  4545
Tony Camp Mt  4510
Cunningham Knob  4485
Brier Patch Mt  4480
Roaring Plains  4400
Ward Knob  4400
Yoakum Knob  4330
Bradshaw Hill  4320
Gregg's Knob  4310

269
f^ftui *^^ principal knobs and peaks wUl suffice.
the altitudes m feet above the level of the sea.
Blue Knob  3700
Bee Knob  3500
Lone Tree  3570
Currence Knob  3500
Beech Mountain  3500
Hawflat Knob  3500
Lynn Knob  3500
Nettiy Mt  3400
Palace Ridge  3000
Bear Knob  2900
Kelly Knob  2900
Cranberry Flat  2800
Whitman's Flat  2750

Elk Mountain  4300
Hutton's Knob  4260
Bayard's Knob  4150
Haine's Knob  4130
Mingo Knob  4120
Bickle Knob  4020
Mast Knob  4000
Round Knob  4000*
Chenoweth Knob  3870
Round Knob  3800t
Whitman's Knob  3800
Little Beech Mt  3700
Shaver's Mountain  3700
Turkey Bone Mt  3700

DISTANCES FROM BEVERLY.
Below will be found a table of distances from Beverly to various Doints
iho^elS ^^4^«i?hbo^i"g «0"-ties; also the directio/s from Beve?S to
those points. The distances are "air Unes," that is, they are measured in
straight lines from Beveriy to the points named, and take no account of the
irregularities of the country. Such lines are shorter than any road con
necting the points, and in some cases are littie more than half as long

FEOM BEVEKLT TO

Lone Tree 
Elkins 
Valley Bend 
Roaring Creek 
Glady 
Huttonsville 
Alpina 
Kerens 
Belington 
Middle Fork Bridge 
Cheat Mountain 
Elkwater 
Montrose 
Sinks of Gandy 
Valley Head 
Harman  ; 
Helvetia 
Parsons 
Traveler's Repose 

3i

69
10
1112
1212
12
12+15i
161719+
19+21
22

Direct 'n

N". of W,
B. of N.
S. W.
W. N.W.
E. S.. E.
S. W.
N. E.
E. of N.
W. of N.
W. N.W.
S.s. w.
E. of N.
S. E.
s. w.
E. N. E.
w. s. w.
N. N.E.
E. of S.

FROM BEVERLY TO

Circleville 
Buckhannon 
Mingo Flats 
St. George 
Philippi 
Mouth of Senaca.,
Franklin 
Grafton 
Weston  ". 
Oakland 
Petersburg 
VirginiaLine 
Marlinton 
Kingwood 
Sutton 
Moorefield 
Glenville 
Keyser 

g

2323+23+24
242532
3637
414242
464647
515457

Direct 'n

E. S. E.
W. N.W.
S. S. W.
E. of N.
W. of N.
E.
E. S. E.
W. of N.
W.N.W.
N. N. E.
E. N. E.
E. S. E.
S. S. W.
E. of N.
S. of W.
E. N. E.
N. of W.
N. E.

THE SCULPTURE OF TYGART'S VALLEY.
Tygart's Valley was never a lake, although many persons have sup
posed that it was, and that it was drained by the cutting of the gorge
through Laurel Hill, below the mouth of Leading Creek. The broad and
flat bottom lands, and the rim of mountains all round, enclosing the basin.

18

' Near the head of Greenbrier River.
t Near the head of Buckhannon River,

270 MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OF RANDOLPH.
with the gap through the mountain for the outlet, have suggested, and
naturally so, that there was an inland sheet of water, forty miles long, and
that the water accumulated until it overflowed Laurel HUl, and cut the
gorge for drainage. The lake theory presumes that the bottom of the
valley was the bottom of the lake, and that the surrounding mountains
were practically the same as they are now, as to height and shape. There
are several arguments that might be presented, any one of v,rhich would
show conclusively that such a lake never existed. One is that the rainfall
in the basin drained by Tygart's Valley, would never have furnished enough
water to fill the lake to overflowing. To have overtopped Laurel Hill, the
water of the lake must have accumulated to a depth of at least 800 feet.
With four feet of rain a year, which is rather an over estimate, two hun
dred years would have been required to accumulate enough water, had none
been carried off by evaporation. But evaporation would carry it away three
times as rapidly as rain would furnish it. Consequently it never could ac
cumulate more then a few feet at the lower end of the valley. . It would dry
up, except at the lower end of the basin. Perhaps the whole floor of the
valley, even in the wettest season, would never be covered. It would stand
200 feet deep at Elkins before the backwater could reach Valley Head, since
the floor of the valley slopes that much between the two points.
If the argument that evaporation would balance precipitation, and pre
vent the accumulation of water, is answered by the claim that in early
geological times the rainfall here was much greater than it is at present (a
claim not supported by fact or theory), still the lake coiild not have existed
and cut the gorge through Laurel Hill. No one can dispute the fact that,
had the basin without an outlet existed, and had the rainfall exceeded
evaporation, water would have risen higher and higher until it overflowed
the rim of the basin. But if it had done so it would not have found an out
let over Laurel HUl where the gorge was cut, because that was not the
lowest place in the rim of the basin. The water would, pf course, have
sought the lowest gap through the surrounding mountains. Draw a line
across the gorge in Laurel Hill, from the top of the mountain on one side
to the top on the other, and the line will be 800 feet above the valley. The
water must have risen that much to overflow there. But before it had
risen 300 feet it would have flowed out through the low gap at the head of
Pheasant Run, and Tagart's Valley River would have emptied into Cheat
River. A rise of 300 feet would also have given the lake an outlet down
Haddix Run, also into Cheat River. A rise of 350 feet would have over
flowed the gap at the head of Clover Run, and would have given an outlet
into Cheat River at St. George. A rise of 450 would have given' an outlet
through the gap into the head of Mill Run, a branch of Glady Creek which
flows past Meadowville, and empties into the Valley River near Philippi.
Thus it is seen that there were four gaps in the rim of the basin through
which the lake (had there been a lake) would have found an outlet long be
fore it could have risen high enough to overflow Laurel Hill. This is proof
positive that the gorge through that mountain was not cut by water escap
ing from a lake.
Then what formed the peculiar and basin-like valley? The same agency
that has formed nearly every other valley in the world — running water.
The river has scooped out the valley. Still the valley is a pecular and
wonderful form of geological sculpture. Generations have lived and died

Crossz-Sectior) Showing the Sculpture of
Tygart's Valley.*

MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OF RANDOLPH. 271
in it, enjoying its exquisite scenery, its level lands, and the green moun
tains on both sides, and yet not knowing that the world does not fZ?sh
many valleys like it, when
-its geological history is con
sidered. It is what geolo
gists call an "anticlinal val
ley." That is, it is neither
more nor less than a deep,
wide trough scooped out
longitudinally along the
summit of a mountain. The
whole top is gone. The
flanking ridges of the once
enormous mountain remain
along each side of the val
ley. That on the west is called Rich Mountain and that on the east.
Cheat Mountain. The space between them, and rising 2000 feet higher than
either, was once filled. The river has cut out the central part and left the
sides. The ancient summit was more than 5000 feet above the present fioor
of the valley. H the part which has been washed away were restored it
would bend as a vast arch from the top of Cheat Mountain to the top of
Rich Mountain, reaching to the clouds. Then, instead of a lake, there was
once a mountain, occupying and rising directly above the valley, more than
two thousand feet higher than the highest peak now existing in West
Virginia. There is no lack of evidence to substantiate these statements. The
older persons who will read this book do not need evidence, as the most of
them are familiar with the subject; but the young, into whose hands this
book will fall, are not yet so fortunate, their education not yet having famil
iarized them with the facts of geology and geography with which they are
surrounded. For their benefit, rather than for those who are older, the
following outline of the manner of mountain-building and valley-making in
this part of West Virginia will be given. In a former chapter of this book
a general view was taken of the geology of the State. The argument ad
vanced there will not be repeated here. It has been shown that all the
rocks in this part of West Virginia were formed of sand, mud and shells on
the bottom of the ocean which once covered this region. Great layers of
rock, each hundreds of feet thick, were deposited one upon another. They
lay flat and level, like sheets of paper, and the same layers extended, not
only over Randolph County, but eastward to the Valley of Virginia, north
ward to Pennsylvania, southward to Tennessee, and westward toward Ohio.
Although these layers were flat and level at first, they were afterwards
lifted above the sea, and the strain to which they were subjected, bent and
folded them, squeezed them from the sides, and raised them in ridges and
valleys. The horizontal thrust was as if one force were pushing from the
direction of the Ohio River and another from the direction of the Valley of
Virginia. That is, one force acted from the northwest toward the south-
*The letters and figures in the cut represent: B— Beverly; R— Tygart's River; S—
summit of the ancient mountain ; 1— the stratum of rock called The Great Conglomerate;
2— Canaan Formation; 3— Greenbrier Limestone; 4— Pocono Sandstone; 5— Hampshire
Formation; 6— Jennings Formation, the floor of the valley; 7— Romney Shale, lying
just beneath the valley floor.

272 MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OP RANDOLPH.
east, and the other force from the southeast toward the northwest. The
result was that the strata, acted upon from both directions, were bent in
enormous folds and arches, like waves on water. This is why we seldom
see ledges lying flat, but nearly always tilted one way or the other.
There were four prominent folds or anticlines between the Ohio River
and the Valley of Virginia, and many smaller ones, along a line drawn
nearly southeast and northwest, through Beverly and Franklin. The first
anticline (arch) is centered on Long Ridge, west of the Shenandoah Moun
tains; the next just west of it, produces Castle Mountain; the third, stiU
west, has its center in North Fork Mountain, and the fourth produced the
enormous mountain which arched over the Tygart's Valley River, of which
Cheat Mountain and Rich Mountain are the remnants, the central and higher
part having been worn away. There is no large fold west of Rich Moun
tain, the layers being nearly horizontal from there to the Ohio River; nor
are there remnants of any large folds east of the Valley of Virginia. If
such existed they are worn away. This description is meant only as an ex
pression, in the most general terms, of the structure. There are folds and
flexures, almost without number, making a network over the whole area,
and forming a complex system intricate in the extreme. But the four great
anticlines mentioned are the chief features. If the foldings could be restored
and made to appear as they would be if none of the upper strata had been
worn and washed away, we would now have four great mountain ranges
between the Ohio and the Shenandoah Valley, and there would be broken
valleys (synclines) between the ranges. The most western range, rising
above Tygart's Valley, would be 7000 feet high; North Pork Mountain
would be 16,000 feet; Castie Mountain, 11,000, and Long Ridge, 10, 000 feet.
The Alleghany range would not be a mountain, but a valley. It is not the
top of an arch or fold, but the bottom of a cyncline or trough between two
folds. The same is true of the Shenandoah Mountain. The Roaring Plains,
that bleak plateau on the summit of the' AUghanies, are (speaking in a
geological sense) the bottom of a valley. They would have-been in the
bottom of a valley had not the higher ground on both sides been washed
away and scooped out. Spruce Mountain, the highest in the State, is a
remnant of syncline or valley. It is thus seen that what was once mountain
is now valley (as Tygart's Valley), and what was once valley in now moun
tain (as the Alleghany,- Spruce Mountain and Shenandoah Mountain). The
cause for the wearing away of one part faster than another is that the rock
covering the one is softer, or is so exposed that it is more easily attacked
by the elements. The "Great Conglomerate" is a great protector of what
lies beneath.
¦ That which has so changed the face of the country, and reversed the
order of valleys and mountains, is the flowing streams. Rocks and hiUs
which seem so solid and enduring, are helpless under the merciless and
ceaseless chiseling of the rivers and rains, the winds and frosts. They crum
ble to atoms. The carved and excavated foundations of the four vast ranges
above spoken of, are proof of the power of water in cutting away mountains.
Fourteen thousand feet of rock, layer above layer, have been stripped from
the top of North Fork Mountain. Could these strata be restored, they
would bend as stupendous arches over the top of the present mountain,
their summit covered with perpetual snow, and overtopping the loftiest peak
now in the United States. Thousands of feet, taken as an average have
been worn from the surface of the whole country, between Randolph

MOUN'TAINS AND VALLEYS OF RANDOLPH. 273
County and the Valley of Virginia. The rains and rivers have done it
the rivers cutting deep trenches for sluciug off the detritus, and the rains
washing the sands and soil into the streams. The muddy water which
comes from the uplands with every rain shows how much of -the surface of
the ground is being carried into the sea.
Having thus turned aside for a general view of the geology of the
'region, let a return bo made to Tygart's VaUey, and consider how the valley
was formed, and what proof there is of its origin. Rivers are usually older
than the mountains. Before the- great folds of the rock were made between
Randolph County and the Shenandoah Mountain, the country, as is believed,
was nearly level, with a gentle slope in all directions from the highest point
in Pendleton, Randolph and Pocahontas Counties. From that highest
point rivers flowed in all directions, having their sources near together.
The tributaries of the Cheat, with Tygart's Valley River, flowed north.
Greenbrier flowed south. Elk flowed southwest. The Little Kanawha took
its course west, while the tributaries of thePotomac 'flowed east and north
east. These streams probably all had well- cut channels befqre the folding
of the strata and the elevation of mountains in the region commenced.
Then as the horizontal compression began, and the great folds and arches
of rock commenced to rise above the surface, there began a contest between
the mountains and the rivers, as to which would be master — whether the
mountains, slowly upheaving, would turn the rivers from their courses, or
whether the rivers would be able to cut through the mountains and continue
in their old channels. The rivers were masters. They kept their courses,
cutting away all obstacles. One great fold, as it happened, was upheaved
directly under Tygart's Valley River. The river kept its course, deeping its
channel along the summit of the mountain, which rose slowly. The amaz
ing slowness with which these folds were forced up surpasses compre
hension. There was no sudden upheaval, in a few months, or a few years; had
there been, the rivers would have been turned aside. But ages unnumbered
were required, perhaps, for an elevation of a few feet, giving the rivers
ample time to cut away the rocks as they were thrust up. The process
was continued for hundreds of thousands of years, and, for aught we know,
is going on yet as rapidly as ever.
The river may have been, and probably was, assisted in the work of
excavating the valley along the summit by the rupture of the strata along
the top of the arch. It can be seen that in bending a thick series of rocks
into the form of an arch, the upper layers would be compelled to stretch or
break, under the excessive strain. They would stretch to some extent; but
the probability is that along the top of the mountain, as it was thrust up,
the rocks were pulled asunder, forming a wide, deep crack along the entire
summit. The river would of course take possession of this chasm for a
channel, and would speedily widen and deepen it, forming it into a valley
as it is now.
Thus the process of deepening and widening Tygart's Valley was
simple. From the small beginning, from the small, shallow trench cut by
the river along the axis of the fold, as it began to rise, the stream has worn
deeper and cut wider as the mountain was forced up, uutU we now see the
whole core of the mountain cut out, and only the sides remaining. The
evidence of this is not far to seek. Six great layers of rock, each clearly
defined, have been cut through by the river. The same strata are found on

274

MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OF RANDOLPH.

CA/VAAN

•Cin-iesTo-ne.

.POCOKO

SHI Rf

siLJzEL

^3=m?i

700

Columnar Sectioo, Showing
the Thickness and Order of
the Differeot Strata of
Rock in Randolph.

both sides of the vaUey. The lowest one is called the Jennings Formation.
It forms the bottom of the valley. It is not yet quite
cut through. It not only forms the floor of the valley,
but the edges of the stratum are found along the
hills on both sides, along the base of Cheat Moun
tain and Rich Mountain. Next to this is a layer many
hundred feet thick, called the Hampshire Formation,
named from its great development in Hampshire
County. The edge of this formation is found a little
higher than the Jennings, all along the base of Cheat
Mountain. Crossing the valley to Rich Mountain,
the same formation is found, the edge of the stratum
just above the first hills. On the Cheat Mountain
side the edges dip down toward the southeast. On
the Rich Mountain side they dip to the northwest.
The rocks on both sides of the valley rise toward the
valley, and if continued, they would span the
valley like an arch. The next layer above the
Hamphshire rock is the Pocono Sandstone. This is
not so thick; but a band of it runs along Cheat
Mountain, and on the opposite side of the valley, at
the same height the same rock is seen along the
side of Rich Mountain. Above this comes a series
of rocks of great thickness, easUy distinguishable
on account of its limestone. The series consists of
the Canaan Formation and the Greenbrier Lime
stone. These rocks can be traced along the face of Cheat 'Mountain, and,
at "the same height, along the face of Rich Mountain, for the whole length
of the valley. Like the formations above and below them, they pitch down
into the mountains on each side of the valley, like the opposite sides of
a vast arch, which, if continued would span the valley. Next above this
is the Great Conglomerate, locally known as the Pickens Sandstone. It is
a rock easily recognized. It is composed of round white pebles,in a matrix
of sand. It is found near the tops of the mountains, along both sides of
the valley. Above this are the Upshur Sandstone and the Pugh Formation.
Thus it is seen that wherever a formation is founed along the face of
Cheat Mountain, the same formation will be found, at the same altitude, on
the opposite side of the valley against the side of Rich Mountain. Take
the dip of any formation on both sides of the valley, and continue the lines
from mountain to mountain, and it will be found that every formation will
be an arch, the highest part of which will be over the center of the valley.
The question is naturally asked: How long ago did the river commence
its work of excavating the valley? How old is the valley? What is the
rate of erosion? Is tlie valley being made deeper and wider? The answers
can be given only approximately. Geologists never measure by years.
They can compare the age of one valley with that of another, or one moun
tain with another, or a valley with a mountain; but they cannot tell the
length of time in years, except in rare cases and in the most recent work
of geology. Tygart's Valley has been all, or nearly all, excavated since
the close of the Carboniferous Age. The coal which lies on both sides, and
probably once extended across, above the present valley, was formed be
fore the folding of the rocks began, which have since been lifted into moun-

MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OF RANDOLPH. 275
tains and chiseled into valleys. Although the numbers of years since then
are inconceivable, so great that the mind cannot grasp them nor thoue-ht
comprehead them yet these vaUeys and mountains ai?e yo^ng when S
pared with some ot the patriarchs of geology. Old as the mSuntain wn^
of which Ricla Mountain and Cheat MountalLre the remLrs^itragrS
but as a day to a thousand years when compared with some of the other
mountains of America. The Blue Ridge was an old, almost obliterated
mountain, when the waves of a restless ocean rolled over the site ol Rich
Mountain and the Alleghanies, and the Blue Ridge is new and young S
comparison with the Laurentide Hills of Canada.
We cannot teU how much is worn. away yearly from the surface of the
mountains surrounding Tygart's Valley. Careful estimates, continued for
many years, and based on the amount of sediment carried by the Missis
sippi River into the Gulf of Mexico each year, have reached the conclusion
that the rate of erosion for the whole Mississippi Valley is equal to the
removal of the whole land surface, one foot deep, in 5000 years Thus for
wearing away of one foot of surface, fifty centuries are required Since
the buiidmg of the Pyramids of Egypt, the Mississippi basin has not been
lowered one foot. Tygart's Valley is a part of the Mississippi basin, and
this valley nas been worn down 5000 feet. But, on account of the steep
ness of the slopes, the rate here has been much more rapid than the aver
age rate for the whole Mississippi basin. Suppose that it has been ten
times as rapid, or one foot in 500 years. This would give the age of Ty
gart's Valley, from its flrst beginning along the crest of the mountain, at
2,500,000 years. No one should place much confidence in these figures.
They may be much too great, or vastly inadequate. However, if the data
be correct on which the calculation is based, no other conclusion is possi
ble. An estimate to be given by and by, based on depth of soil and rate of
sedimentation, shows that the bed of the river has not been perceptibly
lowered in the last thousand years.
Tygart's River has reached that stage in its history where it ceases to
cut deeper, but expends its energy in widening its valley. It has reached
what is known as "the baselevel of erosion." That is, its current is not
now strong enough to tear up the rocks underlying the valley, but is yet
able to carry away the sediment washed in from the neighboring mountain
slopes. It is a condition which comes to the old age of all rivers. In their
youth, when their channels are steep, they cut downward. In their old age,
when their currents, for want of grade, become weak, they widen their val
leys, but do not deepen them. A later stage is reached by some rivers
when their currents become so weak that they can no longer carry out the
sediment washed in from their sides. Then they fill their channels and
their valleys with residual matter.
The condition in which Tygart's Valley now is, is only temporary. It
is deepening very little, but tlie time will come when tbe swift currents of
its youth will be renewed, and then the river will plow out the bottom of
the valley and send the soil and sand pouring down the Monongahela. A
prophet is not necessary, to foretell this chapter of the future. It will come
as surely as effect follows cause. The cause is at work now; the effect is
inevitable. The argument by which the conclusion is reached is as follows:
Between Fairmont (or the foot of Valley Falls, above Fairmont,) and the
mouth of Leading Creek, the fall of the river is more than one thousand
feet. Those falls and rapids are all wearing up stream, working their way

276 MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OP RANDOLPH.
upward, leaving a deep gorge below, through which the river flows with a
gentle current to join the Ohio at Pittsburg. In course of time those falls,
rapids and cataracts will cut back until they come up through the gap in
Laurel Hill, and enter the lower end of Tygart's Valley. As they work
their way up the river, they will cut a gorge from 700 to 900 feet deep.
They will continue this gorge right up the center of the valley to the head
of it. Then the bottom of the river will be several hundred feet below the
floor of the present valley. The most of the present level land will disap
pear. Here and there along the sides fragments may remain, as benches
or terraces, just as at present fragments of old valley floors are found as
benches and terraces along the faces of hiUs in Monongahela and Marion
Counties, and in Pennsylvania. Broad bottom lands once existed there.
The river cut them out. The same river is advancing its falls and cata
racts slowly up toward Tygart's Valley, which is doomed to share the fate
which already has destroyed the level lands which once existed along the
course of the Monongahela. Once the river begins cutting out the floor of
Tygart's Valley, it will make quick work. The Romney Shale lies a short
distance beneath the present surface. When the cataracts attack it, it wUl
go out like sand. It is too soft to resist.
LOGS BURIED UNDER SOIL.
Old logs are seen protruding from beneath heavy beds of soil in many
places throughout the valley where the river has cut away its banks and
exposed them to view. Some of these logs have lain there for centuries,
covered with sand and mud, and in some cases beneath gravel. Several
logs have been uncovered at the water's edge, on the west side of the river,
a quarter of a mile above the Beverly bridge. The
deepest one is buried under eleven feet of soil.
Others may seen in the bottom of the river still
deeper. The stream at that place is cutting away
a high bank, uncovering the timber. The origin
of those logs is evident. They were once drift
wood on the river, and lodging in sheltered places
were slowly covered by sand and silt which pre
served them from decay. Buried timber is found
beneath the soil throughout the Tygart's VaUey in Buried Logs Near Beverly.
such quantity as to show that the river has swung back and forth, from
mountain to mountain, uncovering logs in one place and burying thera in
another. It would be interesting to know how long they have lain buried.
All are not of the same age, of course. Generally speaking, those which
are buried deepest have been there longest, for the burial process, in most
cases, seems to have been an accumulation of silt and sediment. The prob
lem was to discover the average rate of accumulation of sediment in the
bottom lands of the valley. The key to the problem was discovered in an
excavation near the mouth of Files Creek, where a bed of charcoal was
found beneath the surface. A furnace for drying lumber had been there,
and had not been used for thirty-three years, The bed of charcoal was
neatly silted over. It was in a position to be flooded with every deep rise
of the river. By making due .allowance for grass roots and the unusually
rank vegetation growing there, and the probable washing in of soil from
higher ground nearby, it was estimated that three and one-half inches of
sediment had accumulated in thirty-three years, or about at the rate of

MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OF RANDOLPH. 277
one inch in nine and a half years, or one foot in 114 years. If that rate
holds good generally throughout the vaUey (the rate is probably too great
rather than too sniaU) it furnishes a basis for estimating the time reauired
for accumulating the bed of soil on any piece of bottom land subject to
sedimentation bythe overflow of Tygart's Valley River. Multiply the
depth of the soil m feet by 114, and it wiU give the years required for ac
cumulation Those who use this basis of calculation should exercise cau
tion and take into consideration all surrounding conditions that might in
crease or diminish the rate of sedimentation.
The depth of SOU in the valley varies from a few inches to probablv
twenty feet. Ten feet is probably a fair average. The buried logs above
spoken of, under eleven feet of soU, have been there 1250 years if the rule
holds good. The river yet seems to be flowing on the same level as then
It shifts its channel slowly from mountain to mountain. No spot in the
level valley can be found which has not at some time been the bed of the
river. Yet, it sometimes keeps the same bed for ages. An instance of this
is seen above Slate Ford. A low piece of bottom land is there seen be
tween the present river and the bluff. It contains perhaps fifteen or twenty
acres. On the west it is bounded by a bluff, about twenty-five feet high
curved Uke the arc of a circle. That bluff is the old river bank. It is cut
out of rock. It marks the extreme western limit of the river since it has
been flowing on its preset level. The stream washed the base of the bluff
until it cut away many acres of rock, twenty five or thirty feet thick. Then
the river made itself a channel down through the bottom farther east, and
it ceased flowing along the base of the bluff. Since that time the bottom
land there has been filling by sedimentation. A fine meadow now occupies
the space between the bluff and the present river bank. The depth of the
soil, shown in the measurement at the bank of the river, averages about
eight feet. If the above rule holds good, more than 900 years have elapsed
since the river occupied its channel along the base of tlie bluff. It is now
working its way back toward the bluff, and flows over solid rock. Appar
ently its bed is on the same level as it was 900 years ago; further evidence
that the valley is widening but not deepening.
CHARACTERISTICS OP TYGART'S VALLEY SOIL.*
It is a peculiarity of this valley that few beds of gravel underlie the
soil. The bottom lands of Cheat River and of the South Branch of the Po
tomac, are built upon beds of bowlders and gravel. The subsoil in
Tygart's Valley rests upon rock, a flaggy sandstone and shale of the Jen
nings Formation. There are a few and unimportant gravel deposits. The
South Branch and Cheat have powerful currents, capable of carrying
gravel and bowlders which they bring down from the mountains in large
quantities and deposit on the bottom lands, where they are covered by sedi
mentation. Tygart's River has a weak current. It carries nothing coarser
than sand and not much of that, except of the finest grade. The lack- of
gravel underlying the soil has a direct influence upon the valley's agricul
tural interests. Farmers usually have trouble in securing good drainage
for their land. The bottoms lie so flat that surface drainage is slow, and
the solid and compact subsoil prevents good under-drainage. If beds of
gravel were beneath, they would furnish deep drainage. Tiles placed under
ground would be an artificial substitute for gravel beds; but tiles have
never been extensively used here. No factory for making them exists in

278 MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OF RANDOLPH.
the county, and the cost of bringing them from a distance prevents their
general introduction. Open ditches do not give the best drainage, but they
are an improvement on no drainage at all. They interfere with the cultivar
tion of the land. There are many portions of the valley which do not need
artificial drainage. Those tracts, for the most part, are what are known as
delta lands. They lie at the mouths of creeks which come down from the
mountains and meet the valley. The creeks usually have stronger currents
than the river, and they bring down coarser material, and deposit it in the
valley. The coarser material gives better under drainag. The delta lands
at the mouths of creeks, covering sometimes hundreds of acres, are gener
ally a little higher than the adjacent river-bottoms, and this assists drain
age. Although the valley has been settled a century and a quarter, a great
development awaits it. The land has been devoted principally to grass,
hay and cattle, and the farms have been large. The destiny of the valley
is that it shall be cut up into small tracts, the swamps and wet lands
drained, the remaining thickets removed, and grain and fruit take the place
of hay and pasture. The. valley now has a population of 10,000. It could
as easily support 40,000. It is beautiful now. Its beauty can be increased
four fold by higher cultivation. It can be made the garden of the State.
The surrounding mountains still lie in primeval forests. They should be
and will be cleared; and where now the long, graceful ridges ot Cheat and
Rich Mountains greet the eye as almost unbroken wilderness, there wUl be
mountain ranges of pasture, on which tens of thousands of cattle and sheep
will fatten. The old citizens of Randalph justly feel proud of their county
and its progress. But they have scarcely witnessed the beginning. It is
not in the province of history to deal with the future. The historian has
done his duty if he has faithfully pictured the past. But the writer of this
book wishes to place on record here the prediction that not many genera
tions will pass before the people of Randolph see a transformation of valley
meadows and pastures into farms, orchards and gardens, with four families
where there is one now, and the mountain forests will change into blue-
grass-ranges, covered with flocks and herds. The State cannot furnish
another such combination of valley and mountain, the one suited to scien
tific farming, \he other to profitable stock-rai^ng. The valleys are now, or
soon will be, threaded with railroads. The mountains, while lofty, are of
such slopes that they may be crossed nearly anywhere by excellent wagon
roads. If wood for fuel should ever be exhausted, the coal beneath the
ground is inexhaustible. The water-power within the county is sufficient
to drive all the machinery in West Virginia. This power could be carried
by electricity to any part of the State, if it were needed. The people of
Randolph have within their reach all the possibilities man could wish. The
young men should not emigrate to the 'West or the South. They have a
better country at home. Make small farms. Fertilize them with manure,
lime and clover. Do not bake, burn and exhaust them with patent stimu
lants which add nothing and sap the life. Build neat houses; big barns;
straight fences; plant vegetables, fruits and berries; keep the best breeds
of horses, cattle, hogs and sheep; aim to make a good living first and
money afterwards. They will make a good living and money; and what is
better, they will make Tygart's Valley, the surrounding mountains, and the
whole county the pride and the wonder of the State.

MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OF RANDOLPH. 279
THE COAL FIELDS OF RANDOLPH.
There are two coal areas in Randolph County, the first of compara
tively littie importance m Its present state of development, along the sum
mit of the Alleghany Mountains above Red Creek; the other is the Roaring
Creek Field. The Red Creek coal belongs to the Potomac Basin, which
extends from Cumberland, by way of Elk Garden and Davis, to the Ran
dolph hne. The Roaring Creek coal lies in a different basin. It is the
southern end of the veins which underlie MonongaUa, Marion, Harrison
and Barbour Counties. The Roaring Creek Fields Ue in Randolph and Bar
bour, between Rich Mountain and King's Mountain. The basin in which
*^^.f ^^^l-"^®^ ^^ ^^* through by the Tygart's VaUey River between Elkins
and Philippi. The amount of coal that may be mined in the district has
been estimated at 80,000,000 tons. It is found in different veins, and occu
pies a synclme or trough, one rim of which is the top of Rich Mountain the
other run the top of King's Mountain. The Roaring Creek Railroad' has
tapped the field and extensive mines have been opened.
From the top of Rich Mountain, the edge of the Roaring Creek Field,
to the head of Red Creek, the edge of the Potomac Field, the distance in an
air Une is nearly twenty-five mUes, and between the two fields coal has not
been found. The question may be asked: If there is coal on both sides,
why is there none between? The answer is, that coal probably once cov
ered the whole area between the Roaring Creek Basin and the Potomac
Basin. But the action of rain, frost and flowing water has stripped off the
coal and washed it away. Why this has been the case can be clearly seen
by a study of the geography of the country between Rich Mountain and
Red Creek. The Potomac coal lies in a trough or basin between Backbone
Mountain and the Alleghany. At Red Creek and Dry Fork that basin is
broken up by mountains which rise across its end, namely East Rich Moun
tain, Shaver's Mountain, and Cheat Mountain. The Potomac coal probably
extended westward and joined the Roaring Creek Fields; but when the
above named mountains were thrust up, breaking to pieces the southwest
ern end of the Potomac Basin, the denunding process rapidly wore away
the coal and adjacent rocks from all the mountain ridges, and the streams
cut out the bottoms of the ravines, and the coal disappeared. But the
present Potomac Basin and the Roaring Creek Basin were not broken up.
The beds of coal, and the neighboring strata were folded gently, forming
wide, shallow troughs, and in these troughs, or synclines, the coal was pro
tected from rapid wearing, and has been preserved. There can be little
doubt that the whole of Randolph was once covered with coal. The only
considerable patch remaining is at Roaring Creek. The rest has been
washed away. It is not impossible" that some small remnant of coal may
exist among the mountains between Cheat Mountain and the Alleghany.
Perhaps for every ton of coal remaining in Randolph at present, one hun
dred tons have been washed away in past ages.
REMNANTS OF AN OLD RIVER TERRACE.
At different places along Tygart's Valley, on both sides, may be seen
remnants of an old . terrace which once formed, the bottom of the valley.
These strips of level land, like benches, usually lie fifty or sixty feet above
the present bed of the river. One of the best preserved lies just south of
the mouth of Files Creek, and extend a mile. or more up the creek on the

280 MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OF RANDOLPH.
south side. The residence of Daniel R. Baker is situated on this terrace.
The river, in its process of cutting deeper, remained stationary a long time
at that level; long enough to cut far back in the ledges of rock forming the
eastern boundary of the valley. At that time the bottom land of PUes
Creek was level with the river valley; for the same terrace extends a mile
up the creek, forming a bench, a hundred yards wide or more, which at
first is fifty feet above the creek, but a mile up stream has approached the
present creek valley, and is lost in the bottom lands.
THE HUTTONSVILLE GRAVEL DEPOSITS.
The value of underground drainage, and its effect upon the overlying
soil may be studied to advantage in the bottom lands about Huttonsville,
and in a comparison of these lands with the lands lower down the valley.'
From Valley Bend to Leading Creek the soil rests, foi;the most part, upon
solid rock or shale, which holds water, prevents the soil from draining, and
the land is inclined to be damp and heavy. About Huttonsville there is a
layer of gravel and water-worn bowlders between the soil and the underlying
solid rock. This gravel drains the excess of water from the soil above,
causing it to be warmer, dryer and less compact than if it had no such
drainage, and consequently it is better suited for grain and most other
crops. Surface swamps and ponds in that vicinity may be drained, not by
ditches as in the lower valley, but by wells which are sunk to the gravel
beds. Water from the surface pours into the wells and jiasses off through
the gravel. The cause for gravel beds in that part of the valley and not in
the lower portion is to be sought in the geography and geology of the
region. Prom the source of the river down to that locality the river has a
swift current, but within a few miles of Huttonsville the valley loses much
of its grade and the water flows less rapidly. Consequently, the current
which carried gravel to that point is lost in the flat country, and the gravel
and boulders were deposited there, and never reached the lower end of the
valley. An examination of the streams which empty into the river in that
vicinity, particularly Riffle's Run, Becca's Creek and Stewart's Run, war
rants the conclusion that many of the bowlders and much of the gravel
which form the sub-straitum for the fine soil, did not come down the river
from its headwaters, but were washed down the lateral streams from Cheat
Mountain, and in a lesser degree from Rich Mountain, on the opposite side
of che valley. These gravel beds, especially if one can judge by what
appears in the present river channels, are largely made up ot fragments
from the Pocono Sandstone, the Canaan Formation and the Pottsville Con
glomerate, all of which are derived from ledges near the summits of Cheat
and Rich Mountains. They have been washing down and accumulating for
untold centuries. The softer rocks, lying below the formations just named,
such as the Hampshire and Jennings shales and thin sandstones (the Jen
nings forms the present rocky bottom of the valley and the Hampshire the
faces of the mountains) have been ground to atoms, and comparatively
little of that soft material now exists in the bottom of the valley as gravel.
Most of it has been washed away, and has gone, as silt and fine sand and
mud, down the Monongahela River. Some of it remains as soil. InteUi-
gent farmers in that locality have observed that the land near the mouths
of creeks, flowing down from the limestone formations, is more fertile than
other lands not so situated. The credit for this fertility is given exclusively
to the lime brought down by the waters; but the lime is not the sole reason,

MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OP RANDOLPH. 281
and probably not the chief reason,' why the land is more productive.
These streams have strong currents; they have deposited broad deltas of
gravel and coarse materials where they debouch into the valley; and it is as
much due to the underground drainage and to the coarser sand mixed with
the soil as it is to the lime that the land is better than other lands not so
situated. THE HUTTONSVILLE TERRACES.
Situated on the southeastern side of the river, opposite Huttonsville,
and also above and below, is a series of terraces about sixty feet above
the bed of the river, and occupying four square miles or more. This was
once the flood-plain of the river. Water-worn bowlders strewn about the
surface, as well as burried beneath the soil, bear proof of the fact that
strong currents once swept over this upland. It is apparently of the same
age as the terrace south of Piles Creek, at Beverly. The whole floor of the
valley was once level with those terraces, but it has been washed out. The
largest remaining fragment of the flood-plain lies between Riffle's Run and
Becca's Creek. Its soil is of fine quality, and much of its area is still in
primeval forest. An examination of the bowlders shows that they were
mostly derived from the Pocono, the Canaan and the Pottsville rocks, near
the summit of Cheat Mountain, or Rich Mountain on the opposite side of
the valley. The bowlders of that particular locality were likely brought
dovni from Cheat Mountain by Riffle's Run and Becca's Creek. Those
streams are still bringing the hard bowlders down and throwing them into
the valley, while the softer rocks are ground to sand and mud and washed
away. LIMESTONE CAVES.
There are a number of interesting underground caverns in Randolph
County, and a search would no doubt reveal many more. Few of them have
been explored to their limits, and some have never been entered beyond a
few yards. The Greenbrier Limestone, which averages about 350 feet in
thickness, crops out high against the faces of the mountains from Red
Creek to the Webster County line, and all of the caves are in this lime
stone. They have been formed in most cases, perhaps in every case, by
flowing water. There is nothing mysterious about their manner of forma
tion. Some are in their prime now; some are old and falling in; some are
just in their infancy. They are hollowed out by the following process: All
thick strata of rock are more or less faulted or cracked under the strains to
which they are subjected by folding, depression, upheaval, change of tem
perature, different degrees of moisture, and from other causes. The water
which falls upon the surface of the ground as rain, sinks into these nimute
crevices and follows them, in obedience to the law of gravitation, as far as
possible, and then comes to the surface as a spring. If the rock is sand
stone, water has little effect upon it, in dissolving it and carrying it away,
and the small crevices* are not much enlarged by the streamlets ot water
that trickle through them. But with limestone the case is different. It
dissolves or melts in water, and the Uttie stream that starts m a crevice
issues from a spring somewhere, and it is no longer the soft rainwater that
soaked into the cracks on the hiUs above; but it comes out "hard water.
It is " hard " because it is full of limestone which it has dissolved. A cup
of coffee wiU dissolve two spoonfuls of sugar, and the coffee becomes sweet.

282 MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OF RANDOLPH.
A cup of pure water will dissolve, in a similar way, a small quantity of
limestone, and it can be tasted — it is hard — it is loaded with lime as the
coffee with sugar.
If this suggestion has not already rendered clear why caves are formed,
a few words will suffice to do so. The water trickling through the crevice
dissolves the limestone which it touches and carries it away, and the crevice
grows larger. Its increased size admits the passage of the water with less
resistance than the smaller crevices in the vicinity; and the result is that in
course of time multitudes of little crevices will seek and find openings into
the larger one; and the water will become stronger and carry away more
lime. An underground channel, which was at first only a few feet or yards
long may join to another, and that to another, until the united length is
hundreds of yards, or perhaps thousands. Thus a large body of water wUl
flow in a subterranean passage, and in course of time — thousands of years —
it makes it a cave. For it is almost sure to grow larger as long as water
flows through it.
Such a cave is destroyed by means as simple as it is made. Rock may
fall in from above and block it up, as in the Mingo Cave. Another enlarg
ing cave in the vicinity may encroach upon the water supply and cut it off.
Then the cavern will cease enlarging and will slowly fill with crumbling
debris. Or a cave may become too large; may hoUow out the rock under
so large an area that the whole top will fall in and fiU the cavern. The
result is a " sink." Some of them are small, covering but a few rods, while
others are very large, such as are seen in Pocahontas, the " Little Levels"
and in Greenbrier, the "Big Levels," or the very noted "Sinks of Gandy,"
in Randolph. Occasionally under such a ' ' sink " a smaU cave is still found.
It is only an unfilled remnant of the once very large cave. There is a dis
tinction between a "sink" and a "sink-hole," although both are formed on
the same principle. A " sink-hole " is an opening like a well (larger or
smaller) leading down a considerable distance and usuaUy opening into a
cave. A "sink" is a general settling down of the whole surface with no
cave, or only a small one, beneath. Both "sinks" and "sink-holes" usually
abound in a region where there are caves.
THE ELK RIVER CAVE.
Theory and all known facts lead to the conclusion that a cave of enor
mous dimensions exists in Randolph County, under or near the course of
the Elk River, between the Pocahontas County line and the mouth of
Valley Fork, six miles below. But no one has ever yet found an entrance
into the cave, and its existence cannot be possitively affirmed. The facts
which are explained on the theory of a vast cave are these: Elk River,
except in time of freshet, flows into a crevice at the foot of a mountain,
or when very low, disappears among the bowlders of its channel, in Poca
hontas, near the Randolph line; and six miles below, the water rushes to
the surface. Its underground course is through limestone, and it must
flow through galleries of large size. In 1896, near" the point where the
water sinks, a portion of the river bottom dropped down, leaving an open
ing about fifteen feet square into which tlie whole river plunged and
disappeared. No bottom was visible, and no one attempted to enter or
examine. The next flood filled the opening with bowlders. Between the
points where the river sinks and where it rises to the surface, a distance
of six miles, there are no streams emptying into its channel on the surface.

MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OF RANDOLPH. 283
except in freshet; but they all sink, and the most of them pour into "sink
holes," and unless this water reaches the subterranean channel of the river,
its destination is unknown. The area of the region whose streams flow
into "sink-holes" is from fifteen to twenty square mUes; and the supposed
underground course of Elk River passes beneath the region. The conclu
sion is that all those streams that sink reach the waters of Elk somewhere
under the ground; and those meeting places of the waters, and the gal
leries through which they pour must form a series of caverns and chasms
of great dimensions. Pew attempts have been made to penetrate through
the "sink-holes" to the caves, but that some practicable opening exists
somewhere in the region is reasonable.
THE CRAWFORD CAVE.
On the Kent Crawford farm, against the side of Elk Mountain, is a
cavern which has been frequently visited, and has been explored, perhaps
2000 feet, although no measurement of distance has been made. Distance
in a cave is deceptive, and is usually less than one-fourth as great as the
man who does not measure is apt to conclude. The Crawford cave is easy
of entrance, free from danger, abounds in pleasing rooms and galleries, one
of which has white 'walls, and it has been a favorite one with sightseers
who do not care to endure the hardships or undergo the dangers necessary
in exploring the abysmal "sink-holes" in the region of Elk River. For
that reason it is the best known of all the caverns of Randolph. It is some
times caUed the Wymer cave. THE WARD CAVE.
This cavern, tolerbly well explored to the distance of 1000 feet or more,
lies under Cheat Mountain, about six miles from Beverly on the waters of
Files Creek. Like the Crawford cave, the water flows out of it instead of
in, and it is thus distinguished from a "sink-hole." The ingress is not diffi
cult, but careless explorers have become bewildered in the galleries and
have extricated themselves only after hours of alarm. The explorer of a
cavern should mark his way with chalk or a soapstone pencil, making on
the waUs and rocks as he enters numerous arrows pointing always toward
the mouth of the cave. In returning he has only to follow the flight of
arrows. THE FALLING SPRING CAVERN.
This interesting series of pits, galleries and rooms is a combination of
a cave and ' 'sinkhole. " FaUing Spring Run heads against Mingo Knob and
Elk Mountain, and after flowing one and a half miles, and receiving numer
ous tributaries which make it a stream of considerable size, it approaches
within a quarter of a mile of Elk River where it plunges into a yawning
gulf, 200 feet in circumference and forty feet deep, and the water is seen no
more. It enters a gallery from the bottom of the pit, and is supposed to
reach the subterranean channel of Elk River; but exploration has not yet
established this as a fact. No one had ever entered the cavern beyond 200
feet untU 1898, when an examination was made, in the interest of this book,
by Charles J. and Claude W. Maxwell. The work was done m an effort to
find a passage into the Elk River Cave, into which this one was supposed
to lead. The passage was found easy of descent, except m a few places
where precipices and narrow, muddy gaUeries were encountered, until a
depth beyond 1000 feet was reached. The general course of the cavern
pitches under the mountain and downward at a rate of about 20 feet m iuu.

284 MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OF RANDOLPH.
At places the descent is perpendicular in narrow openings of the limestone.
Again the passage is horizontal with a rock-roof thirty and probably forty
feet high, narrowing until it is so low that one must drag his body at full
length through mud and water; and again enlarging. For the first 1000
feet large quantities of drift-wood are found, logs from 20 to 40 feet
long being occasionally seen. Frequently timbers are seen wedged fast in
cracks of. the roofs of rooms, twenty or thirty feet above the floor. They
were driven into these positions by the terrific force of floods poured into
the cave from the mountain stream in time of deluge. The picture which
the imagination calls up, of the fury of the waters surging and whirling
through and among the vaults, galleries, precipices and gurgling throats
of the cavern's subterranean reaches, in time of flood, wrapped in black
ness so impenetrable that Egypt's darkness was as sunshine, is one which
can be appreciated only by those who have penetrated to the nameless
depths and have seen the ruin and havoc wrought. Rocks that weigh
thousands of pounds have been dashed and hurled from side to side, from
depth to depth, until their rounded angles, and their positions, wedged
high in crevices, show the measureless power that drove them. Logs
have been pounded and splintered. Large rooms, one in particular, show
where the subterranean whirlpools did their work. The limestone walls
are scoured as if a glacier had polished them.
Beyond the depth of 1100 feet little drift is seen. The passages become
so low that nothing large can enter. What goes there must be crushed.
The mills of the gods must grind exceedingly small. But the floods go on
raging and swirling through the chasms to reach the vast and unseen
caverns which must lie below. Exploration beyond that point is difficult
and dangerous because of the smallness of the openings and quantity of
water. Yet, in time of drought a passage might be found to the Elk River
cave. No one should venture in, except on a clear day when there is no
danger of rain. A dashing storm might pour a flood in and the explorer in
the cave would have no chance of escape. There is no pinnacle nor shelf
on which he could climb to escape the water. It fills the cave to the re
motest crevice. But, an important discovery no doubt awaits the man
who shall be able to follow the cave to the end.
THE MINGO CAVE.
Near the source of Mingo Run, a tributary of Tygart's Valley River,
and situated about three miles from Elk River, is Mingo Cave, a cavern not
remarkable so much for extent as for its ghostly scenery and the perils
which endanger the explorer. It is a "sink-hole," and in 1898 was entered
to a depth of 500 feet, nearly perpendicular. The persons who explored
Palling Spring Cave also explored this one, with the hope that a passage
would be found leading from its lowest depth under the mountain (Mingo
Knob) to the Elk River Cave. That hope was not realized, but much of in
terest was encountered during the descent. It had never been entered be
fore except to the depth of a few rods. One who will exercise constant care
may go down more than 500 feet without great danger; but the lack of cau
tion may prove fatal at almost tiny step. The mouth of the cavern is four
or five feet across, and for the flrst 35 feet the descent is perpendicular, and
the persons going down must climb ropes, or poles set in for ladders. The
rocks are loose, and there is danger that they will fall upon those who are
descending. This cave is evidently the partly filled remnant of a larger

MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OP RANDOLPH. 285
one. It was one which became so large that the roof fell in; and now the
original limestone walls are seldom seen, and the original fioor perhaps
nowhere remains visible. The whole limestone stratum seems to have been
hollowed out, and the overlying sandstone has fallen in, and we can now
form but an inadequate estimate of the size and form of the original cavern.
After pa:Ssing the narrow neck, like a chimney, through which the
descent into the cave is made, the interior enlarges, and after climbing down
100 feet or more 'over very rough and slippery" rocks, a great cavern opens
out, forming a room 132 feet wide, 192 feet long, with a ceiling in places 20
or 30 feet high. The room is gloomy, but not beautiful. Hundreds of tons
of broken sandstone have fallen from above and lie piled almost to the roof
in places. On one side the original limestone is met, deeply cut by a
crevice of which no bottom could be seen by tying a lantern to a long rope
and letting it down full length. The floor of the room pitches rapidly
down, and the roof bends in the same direction; and the room terminates in
a wide, but rather low passage leading down into impenetrable darkness.
Here lies danger. After descending over slippery and sliding rocks through
a steep passage, about 100 feet, the brink of a precipice is reached athwart
the way into whose yawning depth no lantern will throw light. A blunder
or a misstep there is fatal. With ropes 100 feet long and at great peril
the precipice might be descended, but it is not necessary. Pushing to the
left, close under the low roof, a way may be found for descending which is
reasonably safe, but by no means easy, and another and larger room is
reached. The precipice is one wall of this room. It is irregular in shape,
but if its sides galleries and vestibules were filled it would probably seat
10,000 persons, and its ceiling in one place is about 100 feet high. Like the
other room it is disfigured and partly filled with broken sandstone. Ob
scure, difficult and dangerous crevices and openings lead beyond and below
this room, the last descent of 90 feet being perpendicular, and through
throats so small in places that a man can scarcely squeeze his body through
them. Finally the opening becomes so small that further descent is im
possible. The cave was not thoroughly explored. The chasm mentioned in the
floor of the first large room, to which no bottom could be seen, may lead to
larger galleries below. With ropes long enough, the descent into it should
not be difficult; and the most promising field of discovery Ues there. The
party that explored the cave had no ropes long enough to reach down, and
therefore could not enter. There are many caves in that part of Randolph
County which have never been explored. Farmers have been hauUng logs
for generations to fill "sink-holes " which may open into large caves below.
A LEDGE OP FLINT.
Near the "Brady Gate," at the head of Elkwater, is a ledge of flint,
from which, no doubt, the Indians obtained the material for their arrow
heads. Flint is very scarce in West Virginia, only a few ledges being
known, the chief one being on the Kanawha River. Indians frequently
traveled long distances to obtain this material, sometimes carrying it from
Ohio, as is supposed from the character of the specimens found about old
Indian town-sites in the valley of the Monongahela and its tributaries.
Flint is a deposit in crevices of rock and has a resemblance (in form) 1:o
veins of coal. It is quartz, in charcter; but it spUts like slate, and m this
respect differs from ordinary quartz, which breaks with a ragged tracture.
19

286 MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OF RANDOLPH.
The fiint ledge on the head of Elkwater was discovered by Claude W. Max
well, of Tucker County, while collecting material for this History of Ran
dolph. RANDOLPH SALT SULPHUR SPRINGS.
Sixteen miles south of Beverly are the Salt Sulphur Springs. When the
country was first settled, deer, buffalo and elk frequented the place for the
salt. In 1841 Peter and Currence Conrad began the boring of a well there
for the purpose of making salt. They went down 572 feet, but the sulphur
in the water injured the salt. They tried to shut out the sulphur water by
casing, but the Civil War put a stop to operations. A vein of copper ore 18
inches thick was passed through in boring the well. In 1872 the property
was bought by J. N. C. Bell. In 1890 the mineral water began to attract
attention. In 1895 a stock company was formed for the purpose of devel
oping the property, and a town was surveyed called Havana. An hotel has
been built for the accommodation of visitors. The officers of the company
are Wirt C. Ward, president; Perry Bosworth, secretary; B. C. Conrad,
treasurer. INDIAN "LEAD MINES."
There are traditions in Randolph County, the same, as in nearly every
other county of West Virginia, that Indians had lead mines where tliey pro
cured metal for bullets, and that they frequently resorted to them, usually
tying their prisoners (the traditions always speak of a prisoner) some dis
tance away to prevent them from seeing the mines. There is not a particle
of truth in any of these traditions. Indians did not mine lead. They bought
it of white traders . They could not have mined it, for they did not possess
the means or the knowledge. Lead is very different from coal, which is
ready for use when taken from the mine. Lead must pass through a pro
cess of smelting and refining, and that process was unknown to the Indians,
and an impossibility with them. All stories of Indian lead mines may be
dismissed as pure fiction, so far as West Virginia is concerned. About the
only metal found in a pure state and made use of by Indians was copper,
and none of that has ever existed in West Virginia, so far as known.

CHAPTER XXIL

 :o: 
MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.
The present chapter deals with odds and ends of local history, together
with individual affairs and the social and intellectual growth of the county.
It presents facts and details which could not properly be included in former
chapters. THE WEST VIRGINIA CENTRAL AND PITTSBURG RAILWAY.
Randolph County has nearly as large area as the State of Rhode Island,
nearly one-half the population of the State of Nevada, and is the largest
county in the State of West Virginia. It is a noticeble fact, therefore, that
it has remained until very recently without railroad facilities. The build
ing of a railroad from Piedmont up the North Branch of the Potomac River
was discussed from time to time many years before it was accomplished.
The great resources of the region were known, and the development of
them was an incentive to construct a road up and over the mountains. All
during the period from 1861 to 1880 the tide of investment and immigration
was running so strongly to the far West that it passed by this portion of
the country, so near the Eastern market and containing such possibilities
of development, and it was not until 1881 that serious efforts were made to
reach the coal and timber which were there in so great abundance.
In 1866 an Act was passed by the Legislature incorporating the Poto
mac & Piedmont Coal & Railroad Company, but some years passed before
any progress was made by the company. About April 20th, 1880, work
was commenced on the grading of a road from Piedmont up the Potomac, and
on October 19th, 1881, it was opened to traffic to Elk Garden, a distance of
eighteen miles. In the meantime, the legislature was asked to enlarge the
company's franchise, and on the 21st of February, 1881, the charter was
re-enacted with additional powers and privileges, and the name of the com
pany was changed to that of the West Virginia Central & Pittsburg Railroad
Company. Hon. Henry G. Davis, who had been for twelve years in the
United States Senate from West Virginia, was the moving spirit in the
enterprise. He had decUned being a candidate for re-election m order to
give his whole time and attention to the subject. He interested a number
of his former coUegues in the Senate in the undertaking, and many of the
stations along the road are named in their honor. The West Virginia
Central & Pittsburg Railway Company was organized under the new
charter, June 25th, 1881, with H. G. Davis, President. Among the direc
tors were James G. Blaine, Augustus Schell, J. N. Camden, WUliam Keyser
and S. B. Elkins. Over 37,000 acres of valuable coal, iron and timber
lands were acquired by the company; aniong them being the field contain-

288 MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.
ing the now celebrated Elk Garden mines, from which over 5,000,000 tons
of the highest grade of bituminous coal have since been taken. The first
object of the promoters of the road was to reach this property, which was
only thirteen miles from Piedmont, and by October 19th, 1881, as stated,
the road was constructed to that place, the mines were opened, and trains
running. Leaving Elk Garden, the road was continued up the Potomac, crossing
the river into Maryland, at a point twenty-seven miles from Piedmont, and
returning again eight miles beyond. In August, 1883, the road was opened
to a point thirty-two miles from Piedmont, and on the 1st of November,
1884, track-laying .was completed to where the towns of Thomas and Davis
now stand, the latter at a junction of the Blackwater and Beaver Rivers,
fifty-seven and one-half miles from Piedmont, and seven miles from fhomas.
The road had now reached the summit of the Alleghany Mountains. It had
traversed many miles of coal lands, and was in the heart of the forest
containing the largest and finest of hardwood timber. Here mines
were located, coke ovens built, saw- mills erected. Since then towns have
rapidly occupied the places which, until the coming of the railroad, were
visited only by occasional sportsmen. The beautiful valleys, the rich
grazing, agricultural and timber lands of the western slope of the mountains,
together with a desire to connect to the north and west with the lines of
railroad communication there, offered inducements to the company to push
on beyond. Starting from Thomas, and going down the waters which flow
into the Cheat, on grades sustained high on the mountain sides, the road
was continued fourteen miles to Parsons, which it reached early in 1889,
and soon after entered Randolph County. On the 18th of August, 1889,
trains began running regularly to Elkins, which had formerly been known
as LeadsvUle. The valley here through which the Tygart's Valley River
runs, is beautifully situated, containing perhaps a thousand acres of com
paratively level land, with gentle grades to the river, and encompassed by
mountains, rising one above another in the distance, until four or flve
ranges complete the framing of the picture. It was an ideal place for a
settlement, and the road halted there. Streets and avenues were laid out,
ample grounds being retained for the use of the railroad, and the town of
Elkins was estabUshed, named for Hon. S. B. Elkins, the Vice President of
the company. Engine houses and shops were built, and all the facilities
acquired necessary for terminal .purposes. The officers of the company at
the time named, 1890, were as follows: H. G. Davis, President; S. B.
Elkins, Vice President; E. W. S. Moore, Secretary and Treasurer. The
directors were: H. G. Davis, West Virginia; S. B. Elkins, West Virginia;
T. B. Davis, West Virginia; Wm. W. Taylor, Maryland; John A. Hamble
ton, Maryland; Wm. H. Gorman, Maryland; R. C. Kerens, Missouri.
The president and vice president both selected Elkins as their future
permanent places of residence, and in a short time thereafter erected and
occupied handsome homes there. One of the directors, Mr. Kerens, also
built a fine residence there, which he and his family occupy during the
summer months.
On May 1st, 4891, the company had completed and had trains run
ning on extensions from Elkins to Beverly, seven miles, and from
Elkins to Belington, Barbour County, seventeen and a half miles. At
the latter place connection is made witli the Grafton & Greenbrier branch
of the B. &. O. Road, which follows Tygart's Valley River to Grafton, and

MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY. 289
there connects east and west with the main line of the B. & O. Railroad.
The West Virginia Central & Pittsburg Railway, therefore, runs from the
county line of Barbour in a southerly direction, in the County of Randolph,
to Beverly, and from Elkins to the county line of Tucker, and affords di
rect connection to the East via Cumberland, and the West by way of Grafton
to the people of Randolph County. Until this road was built many of the
citizens of the county were living sixty miles or more from a railroad, and
it was not unusual for them to drive their cattle a hundred miles to market.
Their mail deliveries were infrequent, and communications with the larger
cities and more densely populated portions of the country were few and ir
regular. The railroad has wrought a wonderful change in this respect.
Valleys and mountains have- been brought into closer association; values
have become better understood; markets opened for the quick reception of
products of the forest and the field, and the wants of the farmer and the
mountaineer have been supplied from a nearer, broader and cheaper field
of competition. By the time, or before, this, book is in the hands of the reader, the road
will have been extended to Huttonsville, eleven miles south of Beverly.
The length of the road will then be forty-two miles within Randolph
County. It is estimated that the introduction of this railroad has up to the
present time, added 5000 people to the permanent population of the county.
THE "RANDOLPH ENTERPRISE."
The first newspaper in Randolph, The Enterprise, was founded 1874 by
George P. Sargeant, who sold it to T. Irvine Wells, who sold it to V. B.
Trimble and Bernard L. Butcher. They sold the paper to Drs. John and
A. S. Bosworth. They sold it to John Hutton, and he sold it to E. D. Tal
bott and Dr. John Bosworth. Mr. Talbott sold his interest to Ployd Trip
lett, and Triplett sold it to Dr. A. S. Bosworth. The Bosworth brothers
conducted in eight years and sold it to a stock company which still owns it.
After the company came into ownership, the editors were George W. Lewis
and Stark A. Rowan until January, 1894, when J. Ed Kildow became editor
and still Uolds the position. THE "RANDOLPH REVEILLE."
The second paper in Randolph, The Reveille, was founded by Drs. John
and A. S. Bosworth about ten years after the founding of the Enterprise.
They conducted it six months and merged it into che Enterprise, which they
had bought. They sold the plant to Buckey Canfield, who moved it to
Pocahontas and started the first paper in that county.
THE " INTER MOUNTAIN. "
In 1892 the Inter-Mountavn, RepubUcan in politics, was founded in Elk
ins under the management of a company. The editorship of t]^e paper was
•assumed by Prot. N. G. Keim, who remained m charge until 1894. when
Marshall S. CornweU, of Hampshire County, became editor. In 1896 he re
signed on account of failing health, and the editorial mantle fell "Pon Will
iam S. Ryan, who managed the paper for some months and was succeeded
by Charies B. Beans, in November, 1896. He remained its editor till in
August, 1898, when he was succeeded by Herman G. Johnson. The office

290 MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.
and nearly all the outfit of the paper were burned in March, 1897, but the
publication was not discontinued, although for a short time it was printed
under difficulties. THE "tygart's valley NEWS."
This Democratic newspaper printed at Elkins, began its existence Sep
tember 13, 1889, under the ownership and management of James A. Bent
and Floyd Triplett. It was published in the third building erected in the
town of Elkins, sixteen by twenty-four feet, one story high and located on
an alley. It was not known at that time that it was on an alley, for the
world expanded in unbroken meadows on all sides; but the subsequent
building of the town developed the fact that it was located on an alley.
That, however, did not stunt the newspaper's growth, and today it is
located in the finest brick block of the town. Before the first issue was
published the paper had 500 subscribers. The circulation has grown stead
ily until it now is 1280. In January, 1891, Mr. Triplett, who had been
elected County Clerk of Randolph, retired temporarily from the newspaper
business, and the paper was then taken' charge of by Zan P. Collett and
John J. Ferguson. Later Mr. Triplett again entered the journaUstic field,
and he and Mr. Collett conducted the paper until May, 1898, when Mr. Col
lett, who had been elected captain of volunteers and had gone to the Span
ish War, retired from the business and Mr. Triplett assumed sole manage
ment. One cause of the paper's steady growth and constant success has
been the industrial letters written for it by Claude Phillips of Womelsdorff.
He has contributed constantly to its columns for years, and many of the
letters have been copied by industrial papers in other parts of the country.
BEVERLY.
The original name of Beverly was Edmondton, in honor, as is supposed,
of Edmond Randolph, after whom the county was named. On December
16, 1790, the Virginia Legislature changed the name to Beverly, in honor
of Beverly Randolph. The town occupied 20 acres, laid out on the land of
James Westfall, in lots of one-half acre each. They were originally sold at
five pounds ($16. 66f ) each, and the purchaser bound himself to build a house
sixteen feet square, with stone or brick chimney, on the lot within five
years from the date of purchase. If he failed to do so, the lot was to be sold
by the town trustees and the proceeds were to "go to the inhabitants. " The
purchaser was also bound to pay a perpetual annual rent to James West-
fall, or his heirs, 36 cents. But there is no record that this rent was ever
paid. The trustees of the town in 1790 were John Wilson, Jacob Westfall,
Sylvester Ward, Thomas Phillips, Hezekiah Rosecrantz, William Wamsley,
Valentine Stalnaker. On January 17, 1848, the Virginia Legislature granted
a new charter to the "Borough of Beverly," and on February 10, 1871, the
West Virginia Legislature chartered the " Town of Beverly," and in 1882
the Legislature amended the charter to make it conform to the charters of
all other towns of the State of less than 1000 inhabitants.
HUTTONSVILLE.
The town of Huttonsville, named from the Hutton family, is noted from
the fact that it was the only point west of the Alleghanies at which Gov
ernor Letcher's proclamation to the people of West Virginia was published
in 1861. The town is at present the terminus of the W. Va. C. & P. R- R-
It is situated in the finest part of Tygart's Valfey.

MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY. 291
WOMELSDORFF.
The town of Womelsdorff, named from O. C. Womelsdorff elected its
first officers June 10, 1894; J. D. MarstiUer, mayor, and aL postmaste?
frorn that time till December 1, 1897, when 'he was' succeeded by Srge
Scott On May 6, 1894, the first train pulled out of Womelsdorff, clnsSg
of eight cars of coal, bound for Elkins, which place it reached after coUid
mg with a passenger train. On November 3, 1894, a strike of 500 ItaUans
occurred, stopping all public work till Christmas. Outside of the Railroad
Company s store, the first was opened by G. E. Talbott. One of the first
business men was Stephen Joyce. The first school was taught in 1894 bv
Miss Alice Durkin; the first school house was built in 1897, and the first
school m the new buUding was taught by C. W. Walden, with Miss Camp
bell as assistant. The oldest house in the town was built by Milton Curtis
and IS now occupied by O. C. Womelsdorff, the founder of the town The
second oldest house was built by Thomas WiUiams. The first house built
after the town was laid out into streets and blocks was built by James Matz-
It IS now occupied by "Daddy " Holtzman, the oldest man in the town. Mrs'
Schwartz kept the first boarding house, and Pat Burke the first saloon
The first fire occurred September 8. 1898, burning George Shipman's build
ing. Church and Sunday School were held in Talbott's Hall till June, 1898,
after which they were held in the school house. The town now (1898) con
tains 67 houses, 156 voters and about 500 people. The Himmelrich saw
mill and the mines give employment to all. There are now two hotels, an
opera house, one boarding house and three saloons.
THE TOWN OP ELKINS.
_ In the year 1889 the town of Elkins was begun by the laying off of lots.
Building commenced at once, and in a short time it was the largest village
in the county. It was named from Hon. Stephen B. Elkins, who built on
a neighboring hill the finest residence in the State. Hon. H. G. Davis and
Hon. R. C. Kerens also erected palatial residences on adjacent eminences.
The town is situated at the intersection of the Leading Creek Valley and
Tygart's Valley, and the surroundings are picturesque, and the view de
lightful. Rich Mountain sweeps twenty miles along the western side of the
valley, and its rounded knobs and long, sloping spurs, wooded from base
to summit, form a picture that is restful and pleasing. The growth of the
town has been steady. The railroad company has built machine shops and
a car factory, and thus the village has a constant source of wealth, added
to and supplemented by the rich agricultural country on all sides. The
proximity of the Roaring Creek coal fields, with their almost exhaustless
wealth, the development of which has only commenced, makes Elkins a
natural center for supplies and a point for wholesale trade. The town has
a population of 3000; fine schools, excellent churches of all the leading
denominations; progressive and successful business men, and all the ele
ments on which to found a prediction of a great future.
WEST HUTTONSVILLE.
This village, located on the Middle Fork, was founded in 1880 by Claude
Goff, Alfred Hutton, Elihu Hutton, Charles E. Lutz and others. Many of
the settlers were Swiss, who came under the leadership of Mr. Lutz, among
them being Jacob Rothenbuhler, Jacob Pfeister, John Rush, A. Brenwalt
and many others. Some remained but a short time, others made their homes

292 MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.
there, in a region surrounded by fine timber, and with an excellent soU.
The lumber business was profitable, and a Uttle raUroad, only one and a
half miles long, was built there, caUed the "Pleasant Valley RaUroad."
Other railroads, one from Alexander, the other from Womelsdorff, have
surveys toward West Huttonsville. Among the early settlers in that vicin
ity were John Fincham, of Loudoun County, Va. ; Michael Shannon and
Squire B. Kittie. CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS OP- RANDOLPH.
Few counties of the South have complete records of their Confederate
soldiers; but many of them long ago undertook to compile such lists. Ran
dolph began late, and some names may be lost forever. What follows is
believed to be correct so far as it goes.
THIRTY-FIRST VIRGINIA INFANTRY.*
James Anthony, Joseph H. Anthony, killed at Fort Steadman; Jack
Apperson, Jefferson Arbogast, killed at the "Bloody Angle;"t Moses Ben
nett, John W. Bosworth (Lieut.), S. N. Bosworth (Sergeant), Joseph H
Chenoweth (Major), killed at Port Republic; Z. T. Currence, Eli Currence,
Emmet Crawford, Burns Crawford, died of wounds, 1863; Jacob Currence
(Capt.) resigned 1861. N. S. Channel, Cyrus Crouch, killed at Fredericks
burg; Milton Crouch, killed at Cold Harbor; Garland Cox, died in prison;
Peter Conger, Henson Douglass, killed at the "Bloody Angle; "WUliam Daft;
Edward Daft; Adam E. Folks, (Corporal); John Polks, itilled at the Wilder
ness; George Gainor, Eugene Hutton, killed at Bunker HiU, Va. ; George
E. Hogan, Levi Hebener, Adam Hebener, killed at Spotsylvania; Andrew
Hebener, scout for Lee, killed at Elkwater; J. P. Harding (Captain, after
wards Major of cavalry) Marion Harding, killed at Elkwater, Oct., 1862;
George Harding, died in camp; Thomas Heron, Edward Kittle, killed at the
"Bloody Angle;" MarshaU Kittle, killed in Beverly at the HiU raid, 1864;
Asa Kelly, died of wounds at McDowell, Charles Kelly, John Logan, G. W.
Louk, John Louk, Claud Louk, Dudley Long (3d Lieut), killed at Peters
burg; J. H. Long (Corporal), killed at Port Republic; 'Thomas Long, died
in hospital;! O. H. P. Lewis, (Lieut), § Walter Lewis, died in hospital;
Thomas Lewis, killed at Port Steadman; Stephen D. Lewis, John Lewis,
Jr. killed at Cedar Mountain; John Lewis, Sr. ;|| William Lemmon, died of
wounds at McDowell; Jacob Lemmon, died in hospital; James W. Lemmon,
John D. Moore, died in hospital, Andrew C. Mace, Elisha McCloud, John
B. Pritt, Homan Pritt, Newton Potts, B. P. Potts, John Quick, died from
wounds; Claud Raider, George W. Rowan (Corporal), Jacob Riggleman,
Washington Riggleman, Joshua Ramsay, died of wounds; Thomas Ramsay,
Branch Robinson, George Salisbury (Lieut.), Hiram Smith, Chesley Sim
mons, David Simmons, Joseph Simmons, Franklin Stalnaker, died in hospi-
*This list was compiled from records and gathered from the recollections of the living
by G-. W. Printz, of Beverly, W. Va.
tThis place was at Spotsylvania Court-House. In the battle of May 12, 1864, General
Hancock broke Geiieral Lee's line by a charge. The Confederates under General Gordon,
retook the works after one of the most desperate battles of the war. The trenches
where the hardest fighting occurred were called the "Bloody Angle."
tThe last three named were brothers.
iThis man was onp of the prisoners placed under fire of his comrades at Charleston,
S. C, in reply to a threat made by the Confederates that they would expose Fedeml pris
oners to the Federal fire unless the Union batteries ceased tiring into the city.
IIThis man was the father, and the flve preceeding were his sons.

MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY. 293
tal; Absalom Shifiett, D. H, Summers, John C. Swecker, John M. Swecker,
Thomas Shelton, David Shelton, Joseph Stipes, killed at the "Bloody-
Angle;" William Stipes, Josiah Vandeventer, Adam Vandeventer, Wil
liam H. Wilson (Lieut), David O. WUson, James R. Wilson, James D. "Wilson
(Coporal), James W. Wilson, W. H. Wamsley, Enoch Wamsley, L. D. West-
fall, John M. Wood, Joseph Wood, Randolph Wise, lost arm at Chantilly.
EIGHTEENTH VIRGINIA CAVALRY.
L.D.Adams, John Bennett, Jacob Chenoweth. Judson Goddin(Sergeant),
Charles Myers, L. G. Potts, William Powers, George Powers, Thomas,
Powers, killed; Adam C. Stalnaker, Eli Taylor, Jetson Ta^ylor, Haman
Taylor (Capt), killed at Winchester, 1864; Elam Taylor (Lieut.), H. H.
Taylor, P. M. Taylor, Perry Taylor, J. W. Triplett, Oliver Triplett, Frank
Triplett, killed on Gandy Creek; James Duncan Wilson, George Ward,
Perry Wees, Duncan Wees, Haymond Wees, Lafayette Ward.
TWENTIETH VIRGINIA CAVALRY.
J. N. C. BeU, WUUam H. Coberly, A. C. Crouch, John H. Dewitt,
Claude Goff, Elihu Hutton (Colonel), John Heron, Eugenus Isner, Mor
gan Kittle, John Killingsworth, M. P. H. Potts, Jacob Salisbury, killed at
Winchester, Sheldon vSalisbury, Adam Stalnaker, Harrison Westfall, Fred
White. NINETEENTH VIRGINIA CAVALRY.
John Baker, J. H. Currence, Adam C. Currence, Archibald Earle, Si
mon Fowler, Nathan Fowler, Ira Kittle, John Kinney, Thomas G. Lindsay,
James A. Logan, Thomas Logan, David H. Lilly, John Manly, James Mor
rison, killed at Droop Mountain; Adam Propst, jr; Jesse W. Simmons,
Jonas Simmons, Nimrod Shifiett, J. S. Wamsley (Capt.), Randolph Wams
ley, Samuel B. Wamsley, Adam H. Wamsley, George P. Wamsley, George
Ware, John Ware, Allen Ware, EUhu B. Ward, Jacob G. Ward (Lieut.),. R.
S. Ward, L. M. Ward, Jacob Wilmoth, David J. Wilmoth.
M'CLANAHAN'S BATTERY.
Andrew Chenoweth, Adam C. Caplinger, C. L. CapUnger, John Cap-
linger Parkinson C. Collett (Lieut.), Andrew J. Collett (Sergeant), Hoy
Clark,' James Dailiels (bugler). Harper Daniels, Calvin C. Clark John C.
Clark C B. Clark, John MarstiUer, died at Bridgewater; David B. Mar
stiUer, Blackman RummeU, died in prison; Jacob Wees, Andrew C. Wees.
SIXTY-SECOND VIRGINIA INFANTRY.
A. Canfield, S. B. Kittle*, William Keasey, Cyrus Myers, Randolph
PhiUips, Moses PhiUps, George PhUlips.
CHURCHVILLE CAVALRY.
Andrew C. Goddin (Lieut).
TWENTY-FIFTH VIRGINIA INFANTRY.
Jacob Heator, Dock Heator, Herbert Murphy, Jacob Mathews (Capt),
Charies Mathews, James Shannon, Michael Shannon Martin Shannon,
Curtis Taylor, W. T. Ware, Sturms Gainer, Andrew J. Murphy.
SCOUTS.
WUUam Nelson, kUled on Dry Fork; Thomas Wood. 
*There were flve Kittie brothers in the service, George, Marshall, Ira, Edward and
S. B. •

294 MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.
FEDERAL SOLDIERS PROM RANDOLPH.
No list has ever been compiled of the Union soldiers from Randolph
County. Many Federal soldiers now living in the county did not live here
when they joined the army. Those well posted on the subject estimate
that the number who went from Randolph to the Union army was from
seventy-five to one hundred. RANDOLPH IN THE SPANISH WAR.
When war against Spain was declared in April, 1898, no county in West
Virginia responded more promptly, to the call for volunteers than Ran
dolph. This always has been a county noted for its excellent fighting ma
terial. It commenced with the Revolution, with its full quota; did the same
in the War of 1812; and in the Mexican War it was ready with its volun
teers, which were never needed; and in the Civil War its men went by the
hundred, to the North or to the South. The mountains of West Virginia
sent soldiers surpassed by none, and Randolph's were equal to the best in
the State, whether they rode under the Stars and Stripes with Averell's cav
alry, or marched under the Virginia colors with Imboden, Early or Jack
son. In the Spanish War the same spirit was seen, and many more offered
their services than were needed. Following is a list of those who went,
mostly in Company E, First W. Va. Vol. Infantry, but a few in other com
panies: Zan P. Collett, Captain; James Hanley, jr.. First Sergeant; John
J. Nallen, Second Sergeant; H. B. O'Brien, Third Sergeant; C. D. Poling,
W. C. Kennedy, T. J. Collett, T. J. Goddin, David P. Foy and J. E. Wees,
Corporals; Frank A. Rowan, C. L. Weymouth and H. Platz. Musicians in
the Regimental Band; G. W. Buckey, Wagoner; Privates, Bruce Phares,
James R. Collier, C. L. Lewis, Cyrus J. "Warner, John S. Garber, Leslie
Harding, William Russell, C. Llovd, J. Lloyd, K. Bennett, W. Welsch. S.
Knox. Wm. W. Steffey, P. W. Orris, T. J. Smith, H. Crawford Scott, Brax
ton O. Meeks, Stewart Anthony,  Wamsley. Davis Elkins was on
Gen. Copinger's staff. In addition to these, Randolph had three soldiers
in the regular army at the battle of Santiago, Robert L. Hamilton, First
Lieutenant; Walter Phillips, Hospital Steward, and Mr. Wolf, of the
Twenty-second Infantry. OLD LAND PATENTS.
All the land between the Alleghany Mountains and the Ohio River, in
West Virginia, except a few grants by the King of England to companies
or individuals, once belonged to the State of Virginia; and all land titles iu
that region are traced back, through all possessors, to the time when the
land belonged to the State. There were several methods by which individ
uals could obtain titles to land from the State. One way was to settle on
the land, raise a crop of corn, and receive a deed for 400 acres; another way
was to pre-f mpt 1000 acres, paying a small sum for it; a third way was to
buy it from the State in any desired quantity. It appears, from the read
ing of Hening's " Statutes at Large " (vol. 10, p. 35) that lands in the north
western part of Virginia were not sold by the State prior to May 3, 1779.
On that date a law was passed providing lor giving deeds to persons who
had claims not later than January 1, 1778. It is well known that many well-
improved farms were in Randoliih prior to that time. Nearly all the good
land in Tygart's Valley had been occupied as early as 1774. "When the time
came for Virginia to give deeds to her lands, she respected the claims of the
first settlers. In fact, the State taxed the settlers on these lands long be-

MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY. 295
fore patents were issued. It is stated elsewhere in this book that in 1763
the King of England forbade settlers to occupy lands in West Virginia be
tween the Ohio River and the Alleghany Mountains, and the order had not
been revoked when the Revolution began; consequently deeds to lands could
not be given. During the first years of the Revolution, although England's
authority over the land was not recognized, yet there was so much confu
sion and excitement that Virginia took no steps to sell the land until 1779.
This explains why land titles in this part of the State cannot be traced be
yond that year. Up to that time the people had occupied their lands and
had paid taxes, but had no deeds.
Prom 1779 until 1863 Virginia deeded waste lands, between the Alle
ghanies and the Ohio, to settlers and purchasers, and West Virginia has
done so since the formation of the State in l'-iG3. The territory now in Ran
dolph was a part of Augusta County up to 1776, and Virginia gave no deeds
in the limits. Prom 1776 to 1784 Randolph was a part of Monongalia, and
in 1782 lands now in Randolph began to be deeded. Prom 1782 to 1784,
both inclusive, about 150 patents were issued for lands now in Randolph,
but during that time they were in Monongalia. Prom 1784 to 1787 Ran
dolph's territory was in Harrison County, and in that time about 250 patents
were issued by the State. Thus, up to the formation of Randolph, there
had been issued within its limits not above 400 deeds by the State. From
1787 to 1863 the State of Virginia issued 2258 deeds in Randolph County;
and from 1863 to 1884 West Virginia issued 39. By this process all, or
nearly all, of the lands have passed from the ownership of the State to the
ownership of individuals. In early years speculators patented large tracts,
from 10,000 to 200,000 acres — sometimes overlapping scores of farms — but
the speculators could not hold the land already occupied. In most cases
those large tracts were sold for taxes, or in some other way were cut up
and went to the people.
In 1781, and in later years, commissioners were appointed by the State
to settle conflicting claims and give patents to lands. The law of 1779 di
not apply to lands north of the Ohio River which at that time were in Vir
ginia. That was not put on the market until later.
RIVER IMPROVEMENT.
On December 9, 1795, the Virginia Legislature passed an act for the
improvement of Tygart's Valley River from the falls above Fairmont to the
narrows below Elkins, to render it possible for fish to ascend. A commit
tee for securing and collecting subscriptions for prosecuting the work cpn-
sisted of Robert Maxwell, Abraham Kittle, John Pancake, Abraham Spring
stone, Jacob Stalnaker, Benjamin Hornbeck, Simon Reeder, Hezekiah
Rosencrantz and Jonas Friend. There is no evidence that anything was
ever done by the committee; certain it is that few improvements, if any, m
the river were made. FIRST MILL AT MINGO.
According to John M. Woods, who is well informed on the early events
of the upper end of the county, the first saw-miU in Mingo was built by
Edward Woods and John Smiley at the Laurel Thicket, on H. C. ToUy s
place, near Valley Head, in 1822. The wagon which hauled the irons
for the miU was the first that crossed the mountain to Mingo. It was
driven by Augustus Woods, who cut the road as he came. He drove two
horses from Jackson's River. The first grist mill on the upper fifteen
miles of the river was built by Peter Conrad, about 182« or 1822, where

296

MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.

Harmon Conrad now Uves. According to Mr. Woods the four original
settlers of Mingo were William Mace, where Captain J. W. Marshall now
lives; Peter Harper, on Ralston Run; Henry Ritter, on Trough Spring
Farm, and "Ferdinand Stalnaker, above Mingo Church.
HUNTERS AND FARMERS.
Surprise has often been expressed that early settlers with the whole
country before them from which to choose, selected land by no means the
best. This is explained by the fact that many of the pioneers were more
hunters than farmers. 'They lived on the best hunting grounds. It is
related that the best hunting ground in Randolph was not along the broad
bottom lands, but rather near the head of the river and on tributary streams.
Nearly the only money in circulation was derived from hunting. The skins
were carried to eastern markets and sold.- As late as 1841, three men in
the upper part of the county entered into a partnership to hunt, to raise
money to pay for their land. They were Mace, Harper and Stalnaker:
They killed in one season, 169 deer and 49 bear, carried the meat to Clover
Lick and sold it at three cents a pound.
INDIAN TOMAHAWK AND SCALPING KNIFE.
Samuel Conrad, who lives at Valley Head has what appears to be a
genuine Indian scalping-knife and tomahawk, which he plowed up on his
farm in the immediate vicinity of a well-known Indian trail. They are badly
eaten by rust. Several fights with the Indians occurred in that neighbor-
hoqd, and it is not improbable that a wounded Indian died where the knife
and tomahawk were found. All iron implements in the hands of Indians
were bought or stolen by them from white people. Their own manufac
tures consisted of stone, bone, shell, horn and wood. The upper part of
Tygart's Valley abounds with Indian relics of many kinds, some belonging
to a period jirior to their intercourse with Europeans and some after.
GENERAL LEE AT ELKWATER.
In a former chapter of this book an account is given of General Lee's
attack on Cheat Mountain and Elkwater- in September, 1861. What is there
said is mostly taken from reports of Federal and Confederate officers, and
from White's it/e 0/ iee. A few additional facts have been obtained. "When
Lee moved down on the Marlinton pike he sent a scouting party down the
Dry Branch of Elk and up Valley Pork to the head of Elkwater. These
encountered the Federal
outposts near the ' ' Brady
Gate," and in the skirmish
several men were killed or
wounded. In moving from
near the mouth of Stewart's
Run toward Cheat Moun
tain the Confederates fol
lowed an old Indian trail.
The Federal paymaster.
Lock, with his wagon con
taining a million dollars,
barely escaped capture at
Cheat Pass. It took the
wrong road, and the pay
master was two or three days hunting for it, while it was blundering around

iVIop Showing

Indian Trails Across Cheat Mountaio.-
also page 179.

MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY. 297
in the mountains, surrounded by squads of Confederates, who were un
aware that such a rich prize was in their vicinity. * After Lee had advanced
within two miles of Elkwater, and there had been skirmishing for some
time, he called a council of war at the Adam See house, at which several
officers were present, including General Loring. This officer said he could
capture the Federal position with the loss of sixty meft. Lee answered
that the cajiture of the place was not worth sixty men. f General Lee ex
plained that the retention of tlie country would be difficult, if captured, and
that his force was being threatened from the Kanawha Valley. When they
fell back they camped the first night at Mingo. In their advance they had
encountered Federals near Harmon Conrad's, and ascertaining that other
Federals were further up the valley and liable to attack in the rear, they
began to entrench. Small earthworks are still seen there. It was a false
alarm. ANDREW JACKSON'S FUNERAL.
Among the papers of David Blackman, at the time of his death, was
found a circular dated Clarksburg, July 5, 1845, of which the following is a
copy: To THE Public: The funeral ceremonies in honor of Major General Andrew Jack
son, ex-President of the United States, will be celebrated at Clarksburg, Va., on Satur
day the 12th of .July Inst., by a procession and sermon. The committee would respect
fully and cordially invite their fellow-citizens and the surrounding counties to partici
pate with them on this interesting and solemn occasion, in paying the last sad tribute
to the departed patriot, hero and statesman. ^ .n.T r,
G. A. D. Clark, A. F. Barnes, Ben.t. Bassell, jr., Benj. Dolbeaee, C. W. Smith,
John Dilwoeth, &. A. Davisson, Committee.
DIED AT PORT DELAWARE.
In the summer of 1863 when General W. L. Jackson attacked Beverly,
a party of road makers, citizens of Randolph and Barbour, were taken
prisoner and sent to Richmond. They were soon released and they came
home. But before their return the Federals arrested thirteen citizens ot
Randolph and held them as hostages and sent them to Fort Delaware, near
PhUadelphia. The hostages were Lennox Camden, WiUiam Salsbury and
his son, Pugh Chenoweth, Levi D. Ward, Allen Isner, PhiUp Isner, WiUiam
Clemm, Smith Crouch, Thomas Crouch, John Caplinger, John Leary and
Charles Russell. All but the last four died from drinking the vile water
of Delaware Bay. Frank Phares went to Fort Delaware and secured the
release of the survivors. THE SWISS COLONY AT ALPINA. I
It was in AprU, 1879, that the main body of the Alpina Colony wended
its weary way across the then almost impassable Shaver s Mountain. 1 ne
warm April sun, glimmering amid the myriad branches of trees whose toli-
age was just awakening from its winter's slumbei^ lending new enchant-
nTenttothe great expanse of forest, so welcome to the Europeans eye
Ughtened somewhat the anxious hearts of the courageous fathers ^^^
mothers seeking to found new homes in a strange land amid a strange
*Eli H. Crouch, of Elkwater, is authority for this statement.
t Captain J. W. Marshall, of Mingo, who was with Lee as a guide, is authority foi
this statement. ^, * -d.,, f T,,i-,n r
tThis account of the Swiss settieinent at Alpina is from the pen of Prot. John ix.
Knutti, of the Fairmont IS'ormal School.

298 MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.
people, in order to give their growing families an opportunity for that ex
pansion and improvement impossible in the crowded countries of the East.
Weary, indeed, were they from nearly a month's travel, full of hardships,
dangers and anxieties. The jostling of cars, the tossing of the ship by wave
and wind, and resultant seasickness, and finally, and not least, the tumbling
and pitching of the heavy road wagon over the untried roads were enough
to discourage the hearts of the most hopeful. Yet, as they gazed from the
summit of this last great barrier that separated them from their goal, down
over the vast expanse of forest before them, they felt that now they were
at last to enter into that land of promise where milk and honey flowed in
lavish abundance.
At last the place that was to be the temporary rendezvous of the "Im
migrants " was reached and many a heart sickened at sight of the rude log
shanties enclosing a quadrangular court, built for their reception. The
larger rooms were about twelve by twelve feet, and here large families were
supposed to live, eat and sleep. But their hearts were by this time pre
pared for the worst, and they crowded into the little cabins as best they
could, the smaller families often inviting some of the children of the larger
ones to sleep in their cabins. In this way they found at least a place to lay
their heads. Here then, in a place not exceeding one hundred feet square,
were congregated not less than a score of families, together with many
single adventurers. But bad as was this state of affairs, it was soon plainly
evident to the newcomers that lack of sufficient "standing room" was by
no means the greatest hardship to encounter, for now many were already
drawing heavily upon their purses, lightened by the large expenditures in
cident to so long a journey. The problem of living — of working out a liv
ing — was now facing them and demanding immediate solution, and now
dawned upon those whose means were scant the utter helplessness of their
condition. Strangers in a strange land, unable to sjieak the language of
the natives, without visible means of support (there being no demand for
work of any kind), they were indeed in a pitiable condition. There was no
cleared land for the raising of crops. The crops themselves were new to
the foreigners, and they knew not when to plant, how to care for and when
to harvest them; and who could tell them? for the would-be agents were as
unacqup,inted with these facts as were themselves. The few that did have
the good fortune to secure a cleared spot large enough to warrant tilling
knew so Uttle about raising corn that the general modus operandi was about
as follows : A large sod was pried up with the hoe, corn (often to the quan
tity of a handful) dropped under it and the sod carefully placed back. Its
subsequent care partook largely of this general excellency of procedure,
and the resultant crop was, of course, something astonishing! With pota
toes they fared better, for they knew a little about their cultivation.
The whole outlook, however, was so discouraging that at the approach
of winter many became disheartened, shook the dust off their feet, pro
nounced a last benediction upon the agents who had so artfully decoyed
them into this wilderness of woo, and departed for regions unknown, con
tent, after this brief experience, to desist from the pursuit of the goddess
of "Fame, and to implore the more humble goddess of Food.
But nothing daunted, that portion of the brave little band of settlers
that have become the founders of this colony bought up the land that could
be obtained and set about to clear places large enough for the erection of
houses. A thrilling experience this! They who had been taught from their

MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY. 299
youth up to practice the strictest economy in regard to wood were now ac
tually to cut down the largest forest trees and burn them to ashes' Ah
none but a European can know the significance of this fact. It proved too
much for many of the economic foresters, and instead of rolling the logs in
heaps, as they afterward found necessary to do, they sawed them with great
care into lengths suitable for lumber, in the vain hope of placing this so
valuable product-spruce pine— upon the market, and of thus early reaUz-
mg a small fortune from their wild investments! Poor, deluded people'
Near.y twenty years have passed over their heads since then, and many
sleep beneath the green sod made by so much pain -and labor to take the
place of the sturdy hemlock, and still those everiasting hemlock stumps
resist ahke the plowman's share and all the ordinary agents of decom
position! The work of clearing was a very tedious one indeed, and had to be
learned by them as any wholly new work would have to be learned by any
workman. But they worked on. Now winter was at hand, and since they
had not yet completed their houses they prepared to meet the grim foe as
best they could in their shanties. The large cracks were daubed with mud;
and by huddling close together, as they necessarily did around the cooking
stove, they managed to remain alive, but oft times waking in the morning
they found their beds covered to a depth of one or two inches with snow.
Pood was none too plentiful and commanded a high price; for it will be re
membered that Webster was then the nearest railroad point, and that wag
oning over those scarcely traceable mountain paths was by no means a par
adisial occupation, marked by lively competition. But the winter passed
and with the coming of spring the hopes and aspirations of the colonists
were roused from their dormancy, and with renewed zeal they entered upon'j»
their humble tasks. Amid their many cares it is to be remarked that they
did not entirely forget education and religion, for their children were sent
to school the first winter, though the school house was one and a half miles
distant; and at the end of the first year they had made fair headway toward
the erection of a church — the one that now crowns the beautiful eminence
overlooking the village. But how sadly were their numbers reduced!
From a colony of a hundred persons or more only a half dozen families re
main, who, by the severest wrestling with forest and brier, have managed
to eke out an existence and remain to tell the tale.
- THE LAST ELK.
Without doubt Randolph County can justly claim that the last elk
in West Virginia was killed within its borders, although probably the exact
spot is now in the territory of Tucker County. The assertion, so long per
mitted to go undisputed, that the last elk met its death in the Kanawha
Valley above Charleston, in 1815,* is far from correct. Years after that elk
was killed, the wife of Thomas B. Summerfield shot one at a deer lick near
the Sinks of Gandy. The exact date of this cannot be ascertained, but it
was probably as late as 1830. However, that was not the last one, by
several. About 1835, Abraham MuUenix killed an elk at the Sinks of
Gandy, and Captain J. H. Lambert, who now lives on Dry Fork, and is 71
years old, remembers the occurrence, and also remembers that he ate a
piece of the elk. He was then about eight years old. • In 1840, or about
*SeeHales's "Trans-Allegliany Pioneers." He says the last bufl'alo was killed on
the Kenawha in 1820. Randolph claims a later one.

300 MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.
that time, an elk was killed in Randolph, near the mouth of "Red Creek; and
about three years later three Elks were killed in Canaan Valley, near where
the town of Davis iu Tucker County, now stands, by the Flanagans and
Joab Carr, who were in the habit of going there to hunt. Thus the last
elk to fall before the hunter's rifle in Randolph was about 1843. During
the war, three scouts on Cheat Mountain claimed they saw an elk, but they
did not kill it, and they may have been mistaken; however, there was
nothing improbable in their claim. The last wolf killed in Randolph was
in 1897; the last Vjuffalo about 1825, although the date is uncertain. A
buffalo cow and her calf were discovered at a lick in Webster County, and
the people with dogs gave chase. "They killed the calf on Valley Fork of
Elk and the dogs run the cow to Valley Head, 25 miles south of Beverly,
and there she was shot. It is believed that no buffalo was killed in the
State after that. LAST INDIAN RAID ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS.
Only one time, after the close of the Indian troubles, from 1754 to 1764,
did the Indians cross the Alleghanies on a raid. During tlie war which began
in 1777 and closed in 1794, they crossed that mountain only once. That was
in the summer of 1782, when 30 savages, led by an outlawed Englishman
named Timothy Dorman, burnt the fort at Buckhannon, broke up the settle
ment there, killed Adam Stalnaker near Beverly, and then followed the
old Shawnee trail across to Dry Pork, and reached the top of the Alleghany
Mountains at the head of Horse Camp, and passed down the eastern side
into what is now Pendelton County. A short distance from the top of the
mountain, on the waters of Senaca Creek, lived the Gregg family, with
whom Dorman had fprmeriy made his home. The local tradition is that he
wanted to marry one of Gregg's daughters, and that after he had taken her
prisoner, he offered to spare her life if she would consent' to marry him.
She refused and he killed her. The settlers pursued the Indians, and over
took them at the "Shrader Spring," on top of the Alleghany, where Jacob
C. Harper now lives, but there were too many Indians, and no attack was
made. FIRST STEAM SAW MILL.
The first steam saw-mill in the county, as is claimed by those who are
posted, was brought to Dry Fork from Virginia in 1878.
DRAGGED BY A DEER.
Isaac Vincent was a slave, bought in Richmond and raised near Hut
tonsville. . He remained with his master during the Civil War, and died
sometime after 1865. On one occasion he discovered a very large buck
swimming in the river near his home, and he swam in and caught it by the
horns. As long as he could touch bottom, and it could not, he could man
age it, but when it came to the shore it caught him on its horns and ran
with him. He was unable to extricate himself, and, was dragged half a
mile. All his clothing was torn off and he was covered with blood when
rescued by Charles See.
SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE STAUNTON AND PARKERSBURG TURNPIKE.
Below will be found copies of original subscription lists found among
the papers of the late David Blaclnuaii:
""We, the undersigned, agree and. bind ourselves severally, each for
himself alone, to pay to the Board of Public Works, or such person as said

MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.

301

Board may designate, for the purpose of making that part of the Staunton
and Parkersburg road that runs south of Beverly, provided Beverly be
made a point and the money be laid out for making the road commencing
at Beverly, the sums severally annexed to our names, when required by
the said road for the purpose of paying for the construction of the said
road. Witness our hands and seals October 5, 1840:
W. C. Haymond  $200 00
J. Hart  125 00
G. D. Camden  25 00

Jacob Myers  200 00
Squire Bosworth  50 00
Lemuel Chenoweth  100 00
B. W. Kittle  20 00
Adam Crawford  35 00
Franklin Leonard  25 00
Geore M. Hart  25 00
Thomas O. Williams  25 00
George H. Lee  25 00
Hamen Scott  25 00
Gabriel Chenoweth  10 00
Adam D. Caplinger  10 00
Elijah I?:ittie  25 00
Jehu Chenoweth  5 00
WUUam Wamsley  5 00
W. Taylor  '  10 00
B. W. Shurtliff  100 00
D. Blackman  200 00
Ely Butcher  100 00
A. Hinkle  30 00
John Stalnaker  50 00
Wm. Rowan  '.  50 00
Isaac P. Hays  10 00
Arnold Bonnifield  10 00
Samuel Elliott  20 00
Aug. J. Smith  25 00
John B. Earle  25 00
W. J. Long  100 00
Gawin Hamilton  50 000000000000

Solomon C. Caplinger .... 5
Washington Stalnaker .... 5
John Ward  25
Jesse H. Stalnaker  20
Thomas J. Caplinger  20
The following list, dated November 15, 1840, was signed on condition
that the road pass through both Beverly and Buckhannon, and that the
money subscribed be expended in making the road between those towns.

George W. CapUnger  $ 20 00
J. W. Crawford  100 00
Eli Kittle  100 00
A. Earle  150 00
E. D. CoUett  25 00
Absalom Crawford  25 00
David Goff  60 00
B.L.Brown  25 00
David Holder  10 00
B. Kittle  15 00
J. Arnold  50 00
Martin Hayner  200 00
A. B. Ward  25 00
Joseph Schoonover  25" 00
John Taylor  10 00
Job Wees  10 00
George McLean  20 00
Hoy McLean  20 00
Wm. T. Chenoweth  25 00
H. W. CampbeU  10 00
PhUip Clemm  10 00
Henry Harper  100 00
John J. Chenoweth  25 00
George Buckey  50 00
Wm. Foggy  1 00
John MarstUler  20 00
Moses Triplett  10 00
George Caplinger  25 00
John Hornbeck  40 00
Thomas Collett  50 00
Jacob Haigler  100 00
Moses Harper  25 00
George W. Chenoweth  10 00
Peter Buckey  50 00
Wm. McLean  5 00
Wm. Daniels  50 00

WiUiam Beverlin -  % 20 00
Western Mills  175 00
Jacob Hevener  10 00
Joseph Liggett  10 00
George Olman  5 00
20

George Post  I 5 00
John Vanhorn  5 00
Simon Rohrbaugh  5 00
John I. Walden  5 00
Edward I. Colerider  20 00

302

MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.

Elias Heavener  I 15 00
Moses Phillips  3 00
Enoch Gibson  20 00
Andrew Poundstone  30 00

George Nicholas  15
Zadock Lanhan  15
Elmore Brake  5
William Baird  10
James Griffith  5
Marshall Lorentz  5
Teeter Keesling  5

Wm. McNulty  5
Clark W. McNulty  15

0000000000
00000000

00
00

Thomas B. Kelte  | 4 00
D. S. Haselden  100 00
Henry Simpson  25
James J. Mooney  15
Jacob Lorentz  25 00
John B. Brake  10 00
Abraham W. Brake  10 00
John N. Rohrbaugh  8
Alex. R. Ireland  5
Levi Liggett  5
William Greyson  15
James Louden  2
H. P. Kittle  5

000000
000000

ENTERTAINED LORENZO DOW.

Stopping place of Lorenzo Dow
lo Beverly.

An old log house in Beverly, near the eastern end of the bridge, has
an historic interest from the fact that it sheltered Lorenzo Dow, the great
Methodist missionary who in the early part of the
present century traveled through the wilds of
America as well as through Europe. At that time
the house was occupied by Dr. Benjamin Dolbeare,
who was long a resident of Randolph, represent
ing the county twenty years in the Legislature.
Mrs. Dow was a sister of Dr. Dolbeare. The house
is now used by Dr-. A. S. Bosworth as a barn.
Lorenzo Dow, when he first visited Beverly,
preached on a log near town. He filled two or
three appointments here, announcing them a year
ahead, and when the time came, he was always on hand. His book, now
very scarce, was printed in Wheeling, 1848. He published his early works,
in England and New York.
GRAVE OF SALATHIEL GOFF.
Salathiel Goff was president of the first court of Randolph County. He
died of cancer in 1791, and at the time of his death the Indians were threat
ening the settlement at St. George. Goff's request that he be buried under
a hickory tree on his farm was complied with, but while the funeral was in
progress there was constant and immediate danger of attack from Indians.
The settlers hurried back to the fort as soon as the grave was filled. The
grave and the rude stone slabs, with the square-cut letters, are still to be
seen on the farm of W. E. Cupp, late Sheriff of Tucker County.
MEMORABLE PATCH OP GINSENG.
Perhaps the largest patch of ginseng ever discovered in the world, at
least in the wild state, was probably found in Randolph County about 1840.
The discovery was made by W. H. "Wilson, grandfather of the present clerk
of the circuit court, while he was surveying the line between Randolph and
Pocahontas Counties. The discovery was lost sight of till the war, when
Thomas Wood, a scout, re-discovered it while ranging through the moun
tains in that uninhabited region. He told of it to acquaintances in Webster
County, and they collected a company and dug the ginseng. At the low
price then prevailing, not one-fourth of present prices for the root, they
sold $600 worth from that patch.

MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY, 303
PRE-HISTORIC MOUNDS.
In different parts of Randolph County, but more abundantly along
Tygart's Valley, are mounds built by human hands, but no man knows
when. There are, probably, as many as forty in the valley, and upon the
adjacent hills; -seventeen of them being in the vicinity of Huttonsville.
They are found on the Middle Fork, on Shaver's Fork, on Dry Fork, and
on the very summit of the Alleghany Mountain, southeast of Dry Pork.
One on the bottomland above the mouth of Red Creek, has been plowed down
nearly to a level, and the plow has torn out skulls, stone hatches and
chipped flint implements. Few of the mounds have been excavated; but
those which have been opened contained no metal; only stone implements,
and human bones. Eli H. Crouch plowed up on his farm at Elkwater, a
a quartzite wheel, four inches in diameter, one inch thick at the rim, with
both sides concave. It resembled a double concave lens; or in shape it is
like two shallow saucers placed bottom to bottom. Through the center is
a hole one inch in diameter. Shallow scratches on the surface indicate that
the implement was fashioned into its present shape by incessantly rubbing
it on sandstone. The quartzite is very hard, and the labor was enormous.
No use for it can be suggested, unless it was as an ornament. It was found
within a mile of the large mound at Elkwater, and Mr. Crouch loaned
it to the West Virginia University. In 1854, Dr. G. W. Yokum opened a
mound on Big Island Creek near the Randolph and Barbour line. A large
oak grew on the mound, showing great age. In the mound he found a
man's thigh bone, and from its great length he concluded that it belonged
to a man not less than seven feet tall. Being acquainted with bones and
skeletons. Dr. Yokum would not be mistaken, and his testimony in this
particular is valuable, because many people consider giants as myths. A
thigh bone of equal or greater length was unearthed opposite Sycamore
Island, in the Horse Shoe, Tucker County, about the beginning of the
nineteeth century; but all who saw it are now dead. Alfred Hutton, who
has two mounds on his farm, near HuttonsviUe, has a fragment of a thigh
bone, and a stone hatchet taken from one of them. In a mound four mUes
above Beverly, fragments of bone and two stone pipes were taken. Few of
the mounds have been opened and there is a field for research by antiquari
ans who are looking for relics of an extinct people.
The largest mound is about 42 feet across the base and about six feet
high. From that they vary, down to ten feet across and a foot or two high.
On the hiU above the town of Crickard is what the people caU an "Indian
Ring." It resembles the ring where they ride horses m a circus, and is 4&
feet in diameter. It was there when the country was first settied, and
large trees were growing on it. The ground has since been cleared ana
cultivated, and the ring is neariy obliterated. The soil was piled about one
foot high, forming the ring; and on the east and on the west siae were
openings— paths— leading into it. The use to which it was put is not known.
It is Ukely that a very large Indian wigwam stood there, and that soil was
thrown up all around the waU to keep out the wind, and that the two open
ings spoken of were the wigwam doors. Indians in the western country
stUl build that way, although their wigwams are seldom so ^^rge. Alter
their wigwams are rotted down, or are burnt down or are removed the
ring of earth remains, with usually one opening at the door, but sometimes
two. Within a quarter of a mile of the ring at Crickard are three mounds.

304 MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.
No man knows when the mounds in Tygart's Valley were built. They
were all used as graves, so far as investigated. The most recent of them
may be safely considered as 200 years old and some of them may be a
thousand. Everything goes to show that Tygart's Valley was thickly set
tled. That is, it was well populated from an Indian standpoin^t, although it is
likely that at its best it did not contain one Indian where there are twenty
white people now . It was a famous hunting ground; and long after the
Indians ceased to live here, they occasionally came back to hunt.
GENERAL ROSSER'S HUMOR.
General Rosser with a small force of cavalry made a night attack upon
Beverly in January, 1865, and captured several hundred Union soldiers who
had been under the command of Colonel Youart. The weather was cold
and snowy, and after burning the bridge at Beverly, the Confederates fell
back up the river, marching their barefoot prisoners through the snow,
causing much suffering. They went into camp above Huttonsville, on the
farm of Hamilton Stalnaker, an ardent sympathizer with the South. The
soldiers were chilled, and there being plenty of rails at hand they soon had
blazing fires, and Mr. Stalnaker's fence went up in smoke, serving as fuel.
His brother, Warwick Stalnaker, lived on an adjoining farm, and was a sup
porter of the cause of the North. Rosser's troops did not happen to get
across the line to Warwick's rails. Seeing this, Hamilton Stalnaker went
to camp to make a complaint: "General Rosser," said he, "I am one of
the strongest southern men in all this country and you have burnt all my
rails; while brother Warwick is one of the strongest northern men in all
this country, and you have not touched his rails. " Rosser looked at him
and answered: "Nevermind, Mr. Stalnaker; we will get to Warwick's rails
after awhile." PANEGYRIC ON TYGART'S VALLEY.
In 1861 General McClellan took possession of Beverly, the day after
the battle of Rich Mountain. Two days later he wrote to his wife, describ
ing Tygart's Valley. His praise of the scenery is more remarkable because
he had seen all the fairest parts of the world. In his letter he said: "The
valley in which we are is one of the most beautiful I ever saw, and I am
more inclined than ever to make my headquarters at Beverly. Beverly is
a quiet, old-fashioned town, in a lovely valley, a beautiful stream running
by it, a perfect pastoral scene, such as old painters dreamed of but never
realized * * * "* * Our ride today was magnificent; some of the most
splendid mountain views I ever beheld." *
DEATH OP MARION HARDING.
In October, 1862, a skirmish took place at Elkwater, in which one Fed-.
eral and one Confederate (Marion Harding) lost their lives. It is somewhat
remarkable that both men died from a wound in the leg. The fight took
place in and about the entrenchment on a knoll below the main fortifica;
tions at Elkwater, near where Alexander Stalnaker then lived. Ten Fed
erals had accompanied J. P. Phares, who was then Sheriff, in a trip up the
valley. They stopped at Alexander Stalnaker's to spend the night. Pour
Confederate soldiers, with three citizens, were scouting in that vicinity,
under command of Major J. P. Harding. 'They discovered the Federals and
the Federals discovered them just before daybreak, and in the skirmish
*From "McClellan's Own Story."

MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY. 305-
^n^i*^^ foUowed Marion Harding was shot in tlie leg above the knee and
bled to death in a few minutes. A Federal, similarly wounded, was taken
to Stalnaker s by his comrades, and was left there. Major Hardino- wrote
a letter to the Federal commander at Beverly, informing him of th'e fight
and stating that a doctor and an ambulance might be sent for the wounded
man, provided that no guard were sent along; and provided that the corpse of
his brother Marion be taken to Beverly also. But, if a guard were sent it
would be fought. • The doctor went alone, and the wounded and dead were
talien to Beverly. The Federal died of his wound.
HISTORIC BATTLE FLAG.
A Confederate battle fiag, which was carried through more than fifty
battles and unnumbered skirmishes,^ is in possession of S. N. Bosworth, of
Beverly, who fought with the flag from the commencement to the close of
the war, except the time he was in a Federal prison. The flag shows the
scars of battle. It was carried with the Thirty-first Virginia Infantry,
which was largely made up of Randolph County men. The regiment saw its
flrst service at Philippi, June 3, 1861, when Porterfield was defeated by
Kelley. It was at Laurel Hill with Garnett, and retreated with him, and
was at the battle of Corrick's Ford. It took part in the following battles,
in all of which, after May 5, 1862, the flag was borne: Greenbrier River,
Elk Mountain, Alleghany Mountain, Jack Mountain, McDowell, Front
Royal, Winchester (against Banks), Strasburg (against Fremont), Cross
Keys, Port Republic (where half its men were killed or wounded), the Seven
Days Battles below Richmond, Slaughter Mountain, Warrenton Springs,
Bristow Station (where Pope's headquarters were captured). Second Battle
of Bull Run, Fairfax Court-House, Harper's Ferry (Antietam campaign),
Antietam, Fredericksburg, Beverly (Imboden's Raid), Winchester (against
Milroy), Gettysburg, Bristow Station, Raccoon Ford, Mourton's Ford, The
Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court-House, and the fighting from there around
to Richmond and Petersburg, Early's Maryland Campaign, Kernstown, The
Opequon Campaign (against Sheridan), Fisher's Hill, Waynesboro', Cedar
Creek, Fort Steadman, This regiment captured Fort Steadman, with 400
prisoners, but subsequently lost nearly all of its own men. Eighteen men
surrendered. The flag was presented to the regiment by Stonewall Jack
son, May 5, 1862, A ragged hole was torn in one side of the flag by a shell.
It is said that the report caused by the impact of the shell against the flag,
as heard by those a few feet away, was little less than the sharp crack of
a rifle. The stars and-eross in the flag were stitched by hand. They seem
to have been white originally, on a red field. The white is soiled and the
red faded. THE MILL CREEK CHURCH FIGHT.
On October 1, 1863, a skirmish took place at Mill Creek Church, ten
miles south of Beverly, between 48 Confederates, commanded by Captain
HUl, and 63 Federals of the Eighth Ohio Regiment, under Captain Beckell.
The Confederates had come on a scout from the Greenbrier River, and took
the Federals by surprise. The old church at Mill Creek shows the marks
of bullets. Captain Beckell surrendered and his men were paroled, but
their horses and equipments were taken. On their return across Cheat
Mountain the Confederates met a squad of twelve Federals under Lieuten
ant, "Wilmon "W. Swain, and took all of them prisoner, except the lieuten-

306 MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.
ant, who escaped. In all, the Confederates captured 95 horses on the ex
pedition. SAW THE MOON CHANGE.
So far as known, the only man on earth who ever saw the moon change
lived in Randolph County. While Peter Conrad was testifying in court
early in the nineteenth century, he stated that he had seen that phenom
enon, adding that " the moon just flopped over like a pancake." His home
was in the upper end of the valley. It is related that a peddler once
stopped with him over night and when he asked for his bill in the morning
Mr. Conrad replied: "I have been keeping tavern here nigh on to forty
years, and I never charged a man yet, and I guess I will not begin with you,
stranger. " " HORATIUS AT THE BRIDGE."
The ancient Roman story of how Horatius held the bridge against an
army, had a counterpart in Randolph during the Civil War, although the
bridge had been burnt and only the ford was held. But ours did not ap
proach the sublimity of the Roman exploit because there was not so much
at stake, but the result, although on a small scale, was not dissimilar. At
any rate the story is worth preserving. In February or March, 1865, thir
teen Confederates, under command of Major P. J. Harding, were sent from
Hightown, Virginia, into Randolph to recruit horses. They went as far
down as Leading Creek, and having obtained a number of horses, returned
up the valley to Huttonsville and above, where they visited their old ac
quaintances, and thus scattered themselves about the neighborhood. Among
the men were Eugene Isner, Squire B. Kittle, Jacob G. Ward, John Kil
lingsworth, Samuel B. Wamsley, Claiborne Ashford, James Shannon, Lee
M. Ward and A. B. Crouch.
While visiting old neighbors, and scattered up and down the country,
24 Federals (3 of the them citizens) under Lieutenant Wilmon W. Swain,
put in an appearance, and searched houses and rode here and there hunt
ing for them, and succeeded in capturing D. D. Dix, nephew of Stonewall
Jackson, at Washington Ward's. Major Harding, who was at Mrs. Kitty
Crouch's, had a narrow escape, he being up stairs while the Federals stopped
-in the yard, fed their horses, and some of them went in the house and asked
for him. But they did not search the house, nor did they find Major Hard
ing's horse, which was in the barn. When they took their departure, he
mounted his horse and followed them, frequently in sight. Meeting Eugene
Isner, he dispatched him through the neighborhoodio gather up the Con
federates. Just after the Federals had crossed the ford where the Huttonsville
bridge had been burnt, Major Harding reached the bank and shot at them.
They came- back, shooting; and Major Harding sheltered himself in a low
place beyond the south bank where the bullets could not reach him. He
had only three loads for his gun; but the Federals were shy about charg
ing across the river, although they threatened several times to do so. But
when they advanced, he would show himself and they would fall back and
begin shooting. He would immediately get out of range. They talked
with him, called on him to surrender, swore at him, quarreled with him,
wasted hundreds of rounds of ammunition, all to no purpose. Finally
Lieutenant Swain accused him of fooling with them and trying to hold
them there until Confederates could come down the north side of the riyer

MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY. 307
and cut them off. The lieutenant's surmise was not far wrong, and calUng
off his men he moved down the road to John Shreve's. In the meantimS
Confederates had come up until their squad numbered thirteen; and when
they overtook the Federals there was a fight. While theConfederates
were scattered, the Federals charged them in soUd column. Thev were
met by a charge from a portion of the Confederates, and gave ground be
fore they met Major Harding fired his last load and wounded a soldier
(whose wound was dressed by Dr. Yokum); and grasping his gun bv the
muzzle prepared to club it; but the Federals got out of the way crossed
the ^mountain to Middle Fork and escaped. Lieutenant Swain in speaking
of the affair afterwards said, half in jest: "They were pretty good fellows
and wiU fight all right, and when I saw one of them grab his gun by the
muzzle and start at me, I knew I would have to get out of his way or kill
him, and I did not want to kill him. "
AN HISTORIC SPOT
There is in the town of Beverly a spot of more than local interest. It
is the site of the Piles cabin, where occurred the first Indian massacre on
the soil of West Virginia. Before Killbuck and
Crane tomahawked the settlers on South Branch;
before the peaceable Decker brothers fell victims
to savage ferocity in Monongalia County; before
the settlements on Patterson Creek were broken
up by Shawnees and Mingoes; before the frontiers
men of Greenbrier had given their lives for the
cause of civilization, the yell of the Indian had
sounded through the forest of elms, oaks and syca
mores where Beverly now stands, and seven per-
site of Files' Cabin. SOUS fell before the rifie and tomahawk. There is
no history and no tradition of the time when Files and his family came, nor
whence they came. The supposition is that they emigrated from the South
Branch to Tygart's Valley in the spring of 1753. Tygart's family, which
settled on the river two miles above, probably came at the same time. Tra
dition says that the Files cabin stood about fifty yards, a little
north of west, from Stark L. Baker's mill, on a high point of land which
at that time was washed on one side by Files Creek, but the course of the
stream has since changed, and the old channel is filled with soil and is used
for pasture. Its ancient course can be plainly seen. Men are yet living who,
as boys, snared trout where cattle now graze. It is believed that the bodies
of Files and his famUy were buried beneath the present railroad, a few
steps west of where the cabin stood. Piles had cleared some ground, no
doubt immediately round his house. When the valley was again settled,
about twenty years after the massacre, an orchard was planted where the
Files cabin had stood. One of those appletrees was cut down when the
railroad was built. The log lies there yet. The number of rings of annual
growth counted on the log, added to the number of years since the tree was
cut, indicates that the tree was planted about 1775. The statement was .
long accepted as history that the bones of the Piles family were buried in
1772, but the discovery of documents at Richmond within the past few years,
seems to throw doubt on the correctness of the statement, although the
more lately discovered documents are not positive and conclusive, and
should not be given too much weight as against the statement of Withers,

308

MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.

who visited the scene and talked with the old settlers nearly three-quarters
of a century ago. Withers was told that the Westfalls discovered the bones
and buried them in 1772. The Richmond documents indicate that the bodies
were discovered February 4, 1754, a few months after the massacre, and
the presumption is that those who discovered the bodies buried them. Such
may not have been the case, however, and it is possible that both Withers
and the Richmond authority are correct. There is not necessarily a con
flict between them.
The tradition is that -when the Indians attacked the family one of the
sons was on the opposite side of the creek. Hearing the shrieks at the
house, he approached near enough to see that Indians were murdering the
inmates, and being unable to render any assistance, he fled to Tygart's, and
that family immediately set out for the South Branch, f oUov/ing an Indian
trail which led from Valley Bend across the mountain by the way of Pish- •
ing Hawk. It is not known whether the Indians proceeded up the valley to
Tygart's cabin. That massacre occurred in a time of peace, when the In
dians were supposed to be friendly. They were in the habit of visiting the
settlements along the South Branch and in the Valley of Virginia, from
Winchester to Staunton, and stopping at houses to procure food, but harm
ing no one. For this reason the people were not afraid of them, and no
doubt Files and Tygart felt no more danger west of the mountains than was
felt by settlers east of the range. That accounts for these families ventur
ing so far from settlements to make their home. No war existed; and hav
ing been accustomed to seeing Indians in the older neighborhoods, they had
no reason to look for any different state of affairs in their new abode. But
the Indians were treacherous, and occasionally committed outrages while
professing friendship. The party that murdered the Files family had car
ried away a boy from the South Branch, and the boy was probably a wit
ness to the massacre. There is evidence that Tygart's Valley was a favor
ite hunting ground for Indians from both Pennsylvania and Ohio. The
numerous paths made by
them, not only across the
mountains, both east and
west from the valley, but
also up and down, is proof
that they were frequent
visitors. There were sev
eral licks in the valley
frequented by deer. Jacob
Wees, a very old and
highly respected gentle
man still residing in Bev
erly, says that Indian
trails led by all the licks,
showing that the savages
hunted frequently in the lodian trails inXygarfsValley. See also page 177.
valley. This probably gives a hint of why they murdered the Files family.
It was because they had dared to settle on the Indian hunting grounds. The
natives had acquiesced in the occupation of the dountry east of the moun
tains by the white men, and had ceased to hunt there. This at least was
partly true. But they were not wiUing to give up the country west of the
range, and when they found a family occupying the beautiful Tygart's Val-

' ¦ t 'l\ . ..

¦4.^^ ' ,v\^'^

. MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY. 309
ley, one of their best hunting grounds, they fell on them and murdered
them, although in time of peace. This probably is the correct explanation.
It is believed that the deed was committed by Indians who lived on Alle
gheny River, in Pennsylvania."
 ¦ Within a quarter of a mile of Beverly stood the
f „  ^ —3,0s \ °1*1 Westfall fort, built in 1774. Its site may still
-^~*f jirv_=r-T-S;5#ft-^ be seen in Daniel R. Baker's meadow, south of
-._.,,•> ._*¦ .^g^g ^Qj-T^ down and rebuilt on the bluff about a
century ago, and it still stands. The foundation of
the old chimney in the mead<)w, near an apple tree,
forming a mound, still marks the original spot
Site of Westfalls Fort where the fort stood. A spring about seventy-five
yaids distant, furnished water for the inmates.
WOUNDED EIGHTEEN TIMES.
The case of Lorenzo Adams, a Confederate soldier belonging to Im
boden's command, is remarkable for the fact that after receiving; eighteen
gunshot wounds in the head he recovered. Nine of Imboden's' men who
had been scouting in Barbour County, crossed into Tucker, and three miles
above St. George, robbed David Wheeler's store. They were pursued by
troops from St. George, under Lieutenant Gallion, up Dry Fork. Gallion
turned the pursuit over to Captain Nathaniel J. Lambert with the Home
Guards, known as "Swamps." They followed the Confederates and came
upon them when asleep and fired ujion them at a distance of a few yards.
Two Confederates were killed and Adams was wounded. He was supposed
to be dead, but when the Federals pulled his boots off he showed signs of
life. They beat him on the head with a gun, and supposed they had finished
him. But after they had gone, he recovered consciousness, and in trying
to gain his feet, he fell into the fire and burned hilS hands almost off. The
next day Archibald Earle went to the camp to bury the dead, and finding
Adams alive, took him to Hightown, where he recovered. An ounce ball
was taken from under his skull.
SOUVENIRS OF THE WAR.
Among souvenirs of the war, in possession of S. N. Bosworth of
Beverly, is the original muster-roll of company H, Thirty-first Virginia
Infantry, which was from Barbour County, Thomas A. Bradford, Captain,
as shown by the roll. Mr. Bosworth has his furlough, which contains a
number of signatures of noted men, among them being General Pegram,
General R. L. Bwell, Adjutant General W. N. Taylor. He has also a
musket barrel and bayonet picked up a few years ago in the -woods about a
mile from the battlefield of Rich Mountain, and nearby was found the skele
ton of a man, supposed to have been a Confederate who was wounded in
the battle and died in the woods . The stock of the gun was apparently
burned off in a woods fire. The barrel had burst, caused, as is presumed,
by rainwater collecting in it, and freezing.
AT MALVERN HILL.
At the battle of Malvern Hill the Confederates were driven back in
their efforts to storm the Federal position. General Lee prepared for
another charge the next mouning. He picked his troops for the charge.

310

MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.

Different regiments sent soldiers who were willing to undertake the desper
ate work. The Thirty-first Virginia Regiment sent thirty-two men, and of
that number sixteen were from Randolph County. The troops massed for
the charge and lay on the ground all night within less than half a mile of
the Federal artiUery, waiting for morning. Before morning the Federals
withdrew and the charge was not necessary. Randolph County furnished
about 250 soldiers for the Confederate army. The first company to go was
Company P, which was mustered in at Huttonsville, May 24, 1861.
RELICS AND CUSTOMS THAT ARE PASSING,
Randolph County, covering a wide and diversified region of valley and
mountains, holds within its borders a peculiar blending of the past and
present. Relics of the "good old times" are to be found in nooks and cor
ners, side by side with the development of newer things; the modern paint
ed house, and the log cabin in the yard; the steel bridge, and the out-of-
date wooden arch-structure; the mowing machine
and the reaper, and the scythe and the cradle; the
repeating rifle and the muzzle loader of a century
ago; the railroad and the bridle-path; the log
school-house like that in which Ichabod Crane
lifted the urchins over the tall words with a hick
ory, and the neat, scientific frame or brick struc
tures. The old times were good, but no better than
the present. In most things they were not so good.
The painted and ventilated house is better than the cabins of the grand
fathers, because more comfortable; the
iron bridge is better than the wooden,
because stronger; the mowing machine
and the reaper require less labor than
the scythe and the cradle, &nd are there
fore to be preferred. It is no dispar
agement of the log-cabin schools and
the Ichabod Cranes of former days to
say that education in all its depart
ments and appliances has made won
derful advances since then. To appre
ciate modern things, we should cultivate
our acquaintance with and keep warm
our veneration for what is past. The
better the historian, the better the pa
triot. From a thousand channels the
past enriches the present; and to ap
preciate the present and prepare for
the future, we must trace back to their sources the streams which come to
us from the years gone by.
COURT IN THE WILDERNESS. '
While Judge Camden was on the bench the weather was very warm
during a session of the Randolph court, and he ordered court next day to
convene "at the falls of Cheat River. " Accordingly the judge, the clerk
and the lawyers went up Piles Creek, crossed Cheat Mountain and held
court on Shaver's Fork. Noah Corley was chi«f cook, teamster and assist-

MlSCELLAi^EOUS HISTORY. 311
ant fisherman. The minutes of the court show that the casses "were argued
in chambers." A METHODIST PREACHER'S POEM.
Randolph County has sent out many orators but few poets. About
the only effort at "pure literature," at least in early times, was made by a
Methodist preacher, near the beginning of the present century. His name
is now forgotten, but traditions concerning him are yet current. Some
suppose it was Lorenzo Dow. The poem in meter and style, resembles
Dow's "Morning Vision." The poet was probably not Dow. It is not
known how much poetry he wrote, but one poem of some length, called
"Randolph County" exists in manuscript. The poetry is not of the highest
order, but it is doubtful if Homer painted truer to nature, as nature ex
isted in Randolph a century ago. Witness these lines, alive, no doubt, with
personal experience:
"The hungry bear's portentous growl;
The famished wolf's unearthly howl;
The prowling panther's keenest yell —
These echo from the gloomy dell."
After speaking more fully of the almost undisputed reign of the forest
brutes, and the dangers to the settlers, he sums his conclusion thus:
"But still man holds his dwelling there.
Defying panther, wolf and bear;
But prowling 'varmints' plainly tell
This is no place for man to dwell."
The poetic parson was fond of wreathing garlands of poetry around
the mountain peaks of Randolph, and glancing into the ravines to see what
was there. One verse will suffice as an example:
"The mountains high with grandeur rise
And reach the everlasting skies;
The vales between are dark and wild.
And streamlets dash or murmer mild."
The rivers are antitheses of the mountains, and the preacher never
spoke of the one but that the next stanza took up the other. There is prob
ably some history in the last two lines:
"The roaring rivers, rough and wide,
Dash down, or pause and softly glide;
And oftentimes their rushing waves
Bear dwellers down to walJery graves."
The itinerant evangelist saw other things than mountains and wolves.
He saw the moral and religious side of the people. The picture which he
painted was probably not a fanciful one, since the early court records of
Randolph often show a dozen or more indictments in one day for ' 'provanely
swearing" Here is the preacher's version of it:
"Too many souls these valleys in
Are lost in doubt and dead in sin;
Too few the knees that bend in prayer:
Too many tongues that curse and swear.
"Too few that tread the Narrow Path;
Too many on the road to wrath;
Too many hearts as hard as stone;
Too few the pilgrims to the Throne."
However discouraging this picture may be, the poet sof teped its shades

312 MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.
and threw in some refulgent beams from a solemn sunset, before he con
cluded it. The following verse is a sumniing up of the arguement:
"But in that day of_wrath and doom,
When Gabriel's trump shall burst the tomb,
Above these mountains shall arise
Ten thousand souls to fill the skies."
THE EARLY PRESBYTERIANS.*
So far as records show, the first religious service held within Randolph
County was by the Presbyterians. In 1786 Rev. Edward Crawford, from
the Valley of Virginia, preached two sermons in Tygart's Valley. In 1787
Rev. WUliam Wilson, of the ',' Old Stone Church of Augusta," preached two
sermons. The next year Rev. Moses Hogue preached twice; and in, 1789
Rev. Wilson came again and preached two sermons. For many years after
that there is no record of any preaching in the Valley. Some time prior to
1820 Rev. Asa Brooks, of New England, visited the Valley as a missionary.
He subsequently settled in Clarksburg, where he died in 1836. The first
minister who made Tygart's Valley his home was Rev. Aretas Loomis, 1820.
About that time Daniel McLean, Jonathan Hutton and Andrew Crawford
met at Crawford's house and organized a church. Prior to that time there
was no organized congregation in Randolph. Matthew Whitman was elected
a ruling elder. In 1823 Adam See deeded three acres near Huttonsville on
which to build a church. Rev. Loomis preached in the court house and in
private houses. In 1826 the church near Huttonsville was commenced. It
cost $1500, and was destroyed by Federal soldiers. In 1826 Rev. George
A. Baxter, of Lexington, preached in the county; and in 1831 Rev. Henry
Brown. At this time the church had 60 members and five elders, Mathew
Whitman, Daniel McLean, Andrew Crawford, Squire Bosworth and Jona
than Hutton. In 1832 Rev. John S. Blaine and Rev. James Baber both
preached in the county; and in 1835 Rev. Blaine came again and remained
three years. Rev. Joseph Brown was here in 1840, and Rev. Theodore
Gallandet in 1841. In that year the Mingo Church was organized with Wm.
H. Wilson and Wm. Logan as elders, and Rev. E. Churchill preached there,
and a house of worship was built by A. C. Logan for !5^419, on a lot deeded
by Edward Wood. It stands today. Rev. Enoch Thomas preached the
first sermon in it, and Rev. Henry Brown dedicated it. In 1841 there were
80 Presbyterians in the Valley between the mouth of Elkwater and the
head of Leading Creek, Rev. Enoch Thomas was in charge from 1844 to
1860; Rev.Robert Scott from 1867 to 1875; Rev. Patterson Fletcher from 1875
to 1878; Rev. Plummer Bryan, 1881; Rev. Samuel J. Baird, 1884; Rev. J. N.
Van Devanter, 1887; Rev. Charles D. Gilkeson, 1891.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
The Methodists were regarded as the pioneers in religion on the fron
tiers. It is not known how early they came to Randolph, for they kept
poor records in early times. The court records speak of Adam Burge in
1807, and mention of no earlier Methodist is found, although it is probable
that Burge was not the first. Among others, some named in the court
records, and others obtained from other sources, were: John B. West,
1826;. Walter Athey, 1828; John McCaskey, 1830; James L. Turner, 1833;
'*The facts herein stated were mostly obtained from Rev. Charles D. Gillveson of
Beverly, A. C. Logan of Mingo, and from a pamphlet (" Report of the Presbytery ") pub
lished half a century ago, and now very rare.

MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.

313

Daniel M. Sturm, 1834; W. M. Leeper, 1835; George Monroe, 1835; Chester
Morrison, 1836; John Reger, 1840; David Gordon, 1840; David Hess, 1841;
Joel Pittman, 1841; Gideon Martin, 1842; Henry Clay Dean, 1846; Benjamin
Isner, 1847; Parnnel Steel, 1847; Henry Steven, 1850; Cornelius Whitecotton,
1850; Samuel D. Jones, 1851; Richard M. Wallace, 1853; Aaron Bowers, 1856;
Daniel O. Stewart, 1858; WUson L. Hangman, 1*60; Gilbert Rogers, 1864;
John Birkett, 1866; S. B. D. Prickett, 1867; Thomas M. Hartley, 1868; John
L. Eckess, 1871; Henning Foggy, 1873; John Wilmoth, 1874; Asbury Mick,
1876; C. W. Upton, 1879; Anthony Mustoe, 1881; John Adamson, 1881; E. C.
Woodruff, 1«82; Fred CottreU, 1884; J. N. Sharp, 1887; Cyrus Poling, 1889;
J. S. Robinson, 1891; P. A. Fling, 1893; Luther C. Scott, 1894; James W.
Engle, 1895. THE PRIMITIVE BAPTISTS.
This church had a very early organization in Randolph County. One
of the earliest as well as the most eloquent of its preachers was Elder
Thomas Collett, born 1788, died 1870. Under his management the old
church — the oldest now standing in Randolph — was built four miles below
Beverly. The edifice was a
fine one in its day; it had a
gallery and a high pulpit. The
house was of logs, but several
years before the Civil War it
was weather-boarded. During
the war soldiers tore off nearly.
all the weather -boarding and
the roof. It was never thor-
oughly repaired afterwards,
and was abandoned many years
ago, the denomination building
a new house of worship near
Lick, where 23 members now
worship. The old church is still
an object of veneration in the
neighborhood. The first
preacher there was Thomas
EiderTbomasCoiietfs Church. CoUett. He proached loug af
ter he became blind. He was succeeded by Elder Nathan Everett from
Pennsylvania; and following came Elder Joseph Poe, of Barbour County.
Next was Elder Ezra P. Hart; then Elder Elam Murphy, followed by Elder
Hart again; and Elder Stephen D. Lewis is the present pastor. There is
another congregation of this church on Leading Creek, with a house of
worship and 45 members. The first preacher there was Elder David Mur
phy; next. Elder James Murphy, the present incumbent, who, although
unable to walk, still expounds the Scripture to his people.
THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
The first in Randolph County was organized at Beverly, 1894; by Rev.
E. R. Bazier, sent by the Pittsburg Conference, all of West Virginia being
in the Wheeling District of the Pittsburg Conference. The second A. M.
E. Church in Randolph was organized by Rev. Bazier at Cassity Fork, 1895.
The Beverly Church has thirty members, that at Cassity Pork has twelve.

314 MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY;
Mr. Bazier has been the only worker among the colored people of the
county, both in religious and educational matters, except the presiding
elder. Rev. J. W. Riley, and Rev. T. A. Green, who conducted the quar
terly meetings and Rev. Garnett of Elkins.
Mr. Bazier is a native of Pennsylvania, born at Pittsburg 1865, and be
ginning his education under many discouragements, in the country schools,
but subsequently attending college both at Wooster and Wilberforce, Ohio.
When thirteen he clerked at a store at McKeesport, and subsequently with
wholesale merchants at Pittsburg. He saved money with which to educate
himself. In 1886 he entered the ministry and was appointed to the Boone
County mission, in West Virginia, where he organized schools and churches,
and was the first teacher of colored children in that county. He labored
also in Raleigh, Logan and Wyoming Counties. In 1894 he was appointed
by Bishop Arnett to the Beverly mission. His field here was hard, the
colored people being mostly poor and uneducated; bqt by perseverance he
performed a permanent work, and built two houses of worship. He was
also the first to teach the colored people of Randolph County. In 1894 he
opened a school at Beverly, after securing a teacher's certificate, and has
taught the school five months each year. In the winter, after closing the
Beverly term, he opens a school at Cassity Fork. Under his excellent
methods of teaching, his pupils make remarkable progress, and in educa
tional and moral advancement they compare favorably with any colored
people in the country. THE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH.
The first organized Baptist Church of that denomination in the county
appears to have been founded in December, 1890, in Elkins, by Rev. W. E.
Powell, of Parkersburg, general missionary of the Baptists of West Vir
ginia. The church contained 17 members, and "a Sunday School was organ
ized. Rev. Amos Robinson, of the First Baptist Church of Bristol, R. I.,
was called to become pastor. The building, with the lots cost $3,500, and
was dedicated November 22, 1891. It has now 58 members, although several
have moved away. In March, 1895, Rev, Robinson organized a church of
twelve members in Harding, and Rev, M. P, H. Potts was chosen pastor.
In September of the same year a church was organized at Paullnier, with
twelve members. From 1880 to 1890 Rev, Potts preached to a small con
gregation near Valley Bend, but no church was built.
METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH.
The first Minister of the M. P. Church in Randolph, as far as known,
was James Chambers, who is shown by the court records to have been
authorized in 1848 to solemnize marriages. The records kept by the church
are the merest fragments. Prom that source it is learned that the follow
ing preachers have labored in the county: S. T. Davis, 1875; A. S. Haney,
1877; Rev. Chips, 1879; D. M. Simonton, 1880. Isaac Ocheltree, 1884, E. J.
Harris, 1885; OUver WestfaU, 1886; W. E. Fletcher, 1888; Oliver WestfaU,
1889; J. C. Reese, 1890. A house of worship was built on Roaring Creek
many years ago. In 1898 one was built in Beverly through the exertion of
E. J. Kildow, assisted by George M. Wees and George W. Printz, as a
building committee. The lot was donated by Mr. and Mrs, H. J. "William
son; G. W. Printz was the architect, and A. H. Houdyschell the builder,
Arthur Isner was the first licensed preacher. The famous preacher, Rev.

MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY,

315

Samuel J, Clawson, who was of mixed Indian blood, did missionary work
in Randolph in early years. Many of the older people remember his eccen
tricities and flowery, fiery and grandiloquent language. Near Huttonsville,
when discouraged with the success of his meeting, only five having joined
the church, he expressed his disgust thus:
"I have been fishing, and after thumping any thrashing among the thorns and thick
ets of perdition, and wading and floundering in the nasty pools of abomination, my only
reward is that I have caught one shad, two herring and two old roosters."
Again, near the same place, his success in persuading the wicked to
turn from their evil ways, was not up to his expectations, and he stopped
short in his sermon, and raising his voice, poured forth this prophetic
anathema against those who had failed to repent:
"Thank God, the day is not far distant when you miserable and unrepentant sinners
win be chained down on hell's brazen floor, and the devil with his three pronged har
poon will pierce your reeking hearts, and pile upon you the red hot cinders of black
damnation, as high as the Pyramids of Egypt, and fry the pride out of your hearts to
grease the gudgeons of the rag-wheels of hell."
On still another occasion, in Tygart's Valley, Clawson preached at a
school-house in a community where there were a number of "Free Think
ers, " who were disposed to argue points of theology with ministers who
went there. Someone informed Clawson of it and told him what to expect.
When he took the pulpit he prefaced his sermon as follows:
"I understand there is a gang here who call themselves "l!To-Hellers, " and that they
are in the habit of attacking preachers who come here to expound the gospel. I serve
notice on you that if any of you speak to me here to night, or any other time, I will
knock you higher than the Tower of Babel."
The preacher was in no way interfered with nor interrogated on theo
logical subjects.

Washington's Map,

PART TlilRD.

family History.

CLAUDE WILSON MAXWELL CHARLES JOSEPH MAXWELL
ASSISTANTS IN COMPILING THE HISTORY OF RANDOLPH.

ARCHIBALD WILMOTH

SOLOMON CHENOWETH CAPLINGER

PREFACE
The collection of the family history which is here presented was a task
the difficulty and labor of which few can comprehend who have never un
dertaken a similar work. It contains the names, with mention of each, of
more than ten thousand persons, all of whom live, or at one time lived, in
Randolph. It was constantly necessary to condense into very small space
history which deserved fuller mention; otherwise many persons would have
been left out. The older families, in most cases, are presented more fully
than those of recent ye ars, because they have been longer connected with
the county's history; but the aim has been that each individual shall be
placed properly, not only before the present generation, but also before the
people of the future. Every effort has been made to avoid errors, and it is
confidently believed that there are not many in the book; yet, from the
fact that the material for the family history was gathered from thousand's
of sources, and many of those who furnished the information not agreeing
among themselves as to the same fact, it has been sometimes impossible to
decide who or which was right. That which was considered the highest
authority, however, has always been followed. In collecting the family
sketches a number of persons furnished assistance, visiting nearly all the
houses in the county, and in so doing, traveling in the aggregate about
three thousand miles. Of those who assisted in collecting data for the
fainily history the following may be mentioned: Charles J. and Claude W.
Maxwell collected nearly all the biographies in Beverly, Valley Bend and
Mingo Districts ; they were assisted in Valley Bend by Scott N. Swisher.
In Middle Fork District this work was done by C.G. Swecker; in Roaring
Creek and HuttonsvUle Districts by M. L. Daniels; in New Interest, partly
by Burns Isner and partly by John J. Ferguson; in Dry Pork and Leads
vUle by John J. Ferguson, assisted in the latter district by W. S. Ryan. A
portion of the work in Mingo was done by P. B. Conrad. In addition to
those, there was valuable service rendered by persons who saw the import
ance of the work and were willing to assist. To all ^uch the author feels
under lasting obligations. It is hoped that the compilation of this book
will awaken an interest among the people of Randolph in the importance of
collecting and preserving their family history. Each family should have a
history of its own members and of its ancestors, and that is what very few
families in Randolph now possess.

FAMILY HISTORY,
 :o: 

Jonathan Arnold was born and raised on his father's farm near
West Brownsville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, the date of his birth
being March 27, 1802. He settled in Randolph County, then Virginia,
about 1822, in Beverly, where he continued to reside until his death, which
occurred July 20, 1883. He was the eldest son of William Arnold, who was
raised and lived in Payette County, Pa., and who had married Hulda Knotts,
daughter of a prominent citizen of the same section. Jonathan Arnold was
the grandson of Jonathan Arnold who had married Rachel Scott, and there
after, in the year 1765, had removed, along with two brothers.. Andrew and
Jesse, from Chester County, near Philadelphia, the place of their birth,
to Port Redstone (now Brownsville, Pa. ). The History of Chester County
makes mention of but one family of the name of Arnold residing there prior
to the date named, viz. , Richard Arnold, who died in the year 1720, lea^ng
a large family. He was, presumably, the father of Jonathan, the grand
father of the subject of this sketch.
Upon locating in Beverly, Jonathan Arnold established a tannery. He
continued in this business a few years only, when he engaged in speculat
ing and cattle grazing, being usually successful in his business ventures.
He was an ardent Whig, and was for years one of the leaders of his
party in his adopted couhty. He never sought nor would he accept office;
but many a political battle was waged in the county under his leadership,
the result usually leaving no doubt in the minds of the opposition as to his
active participation therein. He was a conservative man, of the soundest
judgment; of unquestioned integrity; of a kind heart; sympathetic and con
siderate with those in distress; of uncompromising sterness with dishon
esty in any place; and a trusted friend who could always be relied upon.
His advice and judgment were frequently sought, and given freely to those
whom he esteemed, and when observed rarely failing to benefit and profit
the recipient. At the breaking out of the Civil War Jonathan Arnold was strongly op
posed to the State's seceding from the Union; and he voted, in 1861, with the
minority, in his county, against the ratification of the Ordinance of Seces
sion. Early in the war, however, when he saw the policy of the Federal
administration trending, in his opinion, beyond the limits of the Constitu-

S22 FAMILY HISTORY.
tion, he experienced no great change in finding his sympathies more in ac
cord with the seceding States, as they seemed to him more nearly in line
with the tenets of the Constitution. He was fearless in adherence to his
principles and convictions, and he strongly opposed and voted against the
formation of the State of West Virginia at a time when such a vote st3,mped
one with disloyalty in the eyes of the Federal commanders stationed
throughout the State, and subjected him to risk of arrest and imprison
ment. In the autumn of 1863 he was arrested by the United States author
ities; was never informed as to any charge against him except the general
charge of disloyalty, and was held as a prisoner until the close of the war.
Through the intercession of influential friends he was paroled vsrithin nar-
now limits shortly after his arrest, but was not allowed to return to the
vicinity of his home until a short time preceding his release.
Jonathan Arnold possessed one of the largest and most carefully se
lected libraries in his section of the State. Endowed with an unusually re
tentive memory, he read his books, and between the lines, the result being
that he was a man of unusual information.
In the year 1827 he united in marriage with Miss Thursa, daughter of
Ely Butcher, a prominent merchant and resident of Beverly. He lost Ms
wife within a few years, one child only surviving the mother, but dying in
infancy. In 1841 he married Miss Phoebe Ann, daughter of Solomon Col
lett, and was again unfortunate, his wife dying in a few months. In Sep
tember, 1844, he was united in marriage with Miss Laura Ann, daughter
of Jonathan and Julia Neale Jackson of Clarksburg, W. Va. , and the only
sister of Thomas J., afterwards General Stonewall Jackson.* By this mar
riage there were four children, the youngest dying in infancy, the three
eldest being Thomas Jonathan, Anna Grace and Stark W. , recently de
ceased. Anna Grace became the wife of Major C. H. Evans, of Springfield,
O., and died in 1878, having previously lost her two little children.
Rev. Stark W. Arnold, son of Jonathan Arnold, was born in Beverly,
December, 20, 1851, Early in life he was appointed to a clerkship in
the Interior Department at Washington, where he remained about seven
years. During this period he took the law course, graduating from the
Columbia Law School. He then came to Beverly, locating soon afterwards
at Buckhannon, engaging in the practice of his profession. In the fall of
1876 he was a candidate for the ofiice of Prosecuting Attorney of Upshur
County, and was elected by an overwhelming majority — the largest that
had been given a candidate in that county at that time. On account of his
father failing in health, requiring his personal attention, he returned to
Beverly to reside in the year 1879, and continued there until after his
father's death in 1883. During this last residence at Beverly he was elected
* See sketch ol Edward Jackson.

FAMILY HISTORY. 323
to the Senate from that Senatorial District, serving out the full term of four
years, introducing and successfully carrying through several measures of
legislation that attracted considerable attention throughout the State —
notably, the election law, the changes then made leading up to the present
system. It was while serving in the Senate that he concluded to do that
which had long been a subject of deep, consideration with him, viz. : to go
into the ministry. In order to prepare himself for this, he entered Drew
Theological Seminary, where he remained and completed his theological
course. Shortly afterwards he began his ministerial work in the State of
New York, where he continued in active work to the end of his life, preach
ing his last sermon only three weeks preceding his death. In December,
1880, he married Miss Lizzie Gohen, of Cincinnati. She and four children
survive him.
Thomas Jonathan Arnold, was born at Beverly, November 3,1845,eld-
est son of Jonathan and Laura Ann Jackson Arnold. At the age of twelve
he was placed at school at Lexington, Va., making his home with his uncle.
Major Jackson, afterwards General Stonewall Jackson. In 1863-4 he attended
school at Parkersburg, W. Va. , under Rev. William L. Hyland, Rector of
Christ Church. In 1866 he began the study of law at Beverly, under Col.
David Goff, and he afterwards took the course in Law and Equity at Wash
ington and Lee University, Va. graduating from that institution in 1867,
with the degree of L. L. B. , Judge John W. Brockenbrough at that time
filling the chair. The next year he began the practice of his profession in
his native town, and in the autumn of that year was elected Prosecuting
Attorney for Randolph. In 1870 he was re-elected by a largely increased
majority, and in 1872 was for the third time elected, with a still larger
majority. The last term was for four years, under the new constitution
but recently adopted.
On June 1, 1876, Mr. Arnold married Miss Eugenia Hill, daughter of
Lieutenant-General D. H. Hill, of Confederate fame. Miss Hill was a na
tive of Lexington, Va. ; but from childhood her father's home was in Char
lotte, North Carolina. In 1880 Mr. Arnold removed to San Diego, Califor
nia, where he continued the practice of law until 1886, when he was ap
pointed by President Cleveland, Collector of the Port of San Diego, and
continued in that position for nearly two years under the Harrison admin
istration. The duties of the office during the period of his incumbency
were particularly arduous in consequence of the rapid growth of San Diego
from a town of 3,000 to a city of 25,000 inhabitants. The following news
paper extract is from the pen of his successor in office under the Republi
can administration: " Mr. T. J. Arnold yesterday surrendered the office of Collector of the Port of San
Diego to his successor. Mr. Arnold has held the office for nearly a full term, and has
administered it with his characteristic integrity and fidelity. His rulings on close ques-

324 FAMILY History.
tions, upon which there were no decisions, have been sustained by the Department with
much uniformity, -and he has had the pleasure of seeing several of his suggestions adop
ted as Department rules of administration. The business of the office has increased
largely during his term of office, and he turns it over to his successor in good condition."
Since then Mr. Arnold's business has caused him to make frequent vis
its to his native State, where, in addition to his private business, he was
interested in an effort to establish a Confederate Home in Tygart's Valley.
James M. Adams, born 1848, in Rockbridge County, son of Joseph and
J. B. (Gilmer) Adams; Scotch-Irish. In 1875 he married Lina A., daughter
of Jacob S. and Minerva (Hamilton) Wamsley; children, Cornelia H. and J.
Howard. Mr. Adams was killed on the railroad in 1887.
Joseph Milton Allen, born in 1837 in Taylor County, son of John J.
and Nancy (Powell) Allen; Scotch parentage; in 1869, at Kingwood, he
married La Vila K. , daughter of EUjah and Mary (Seypole) Shaffer; children,
Minnie E-, Charles E., Edward E. Learned the carpenter trade with Har
man Sinsel at Pruntytown; was in Union army, in the battles of Second
Manassas, McDowell, Cross Keys, Culpeper, Rocky Gap, Droop Mountain,
Cloyd Mountain; was under Averell; lived in Preston awhile; came to Elkins
1892. His father was born in Morgantown in 1802, died in 1883; his grand
father Allen was born in Scotland 1769, came to America 1778, died 1847.
Charles Herbert Alt, born in Grant County, 1873; son of Martin
and Sophronia (George) Alt; in 1893, in Grant County, he married Rebecca
Margaret, daughter of Isaac and Sena (Mallow) Judy; children, Freddie
Harrison, Isaac Martin, Effie Myrtle; farmer, owns 63 acres, 40 improved;
has lived three years in Randolph.
William B. Alt, born 1865, son of Martin Alt; in 1891 he married Sarah
Jane, daughter of Isaac Judy; children. Bertha, Delphia, Samuel Lester;
farmer and saddler.
J. S. Alkire, born 1864; married Charlotte Tacy 1885; children, Olive,
Mary, James, Louisa, Oliver, Darius, Alice, Rosa.
John Ammeter, born 1862 in Switzerland; was married 1884 to Mrs.
Anna Hostetter; child, Flawie; owns 112 acres three miles from Beverly.
Jacob Ansteregg, born 1851 in Switzerland, son of Valentine and
Mary Ansteregg; married in New York 1873 to Elizabeth, daughter of
Thomas and Katherine (Bergermaster) Wehile; children, Lena, Robert, Ida,
Irene, Alfred, Prida, Birdie, Mania, Minnie; farmer and blacksmith; 'owns
100 acres, 45 improved. It is a model farm for thorough cultivation. He
worked two years as a machinist in New York. The land was a wilderness
when he bought it. His children are well educated.
George Ansteregg, born 1858 in Switzerland; married Amelia Leh
man in 1869; children, Annie, George; farmer.
George W. Arbogast, born 1858, son of Solomon; married Sophia

FAMILY HISTORY. 325
Sunmons 1878; children, Columbus J., James B., Grover C, Adam H., Wal
ter, Amos, Delos, Maud B,
Randolph C. Arbogast, born 1858, son of Solomon; married Jane
Snyder 1879; children, Alice, Blaine, Elam, Dora, Bruce, Eva.
John B. Arbogast, born 1849, son of Moses and Peggy (Wamsley)
Arbogast; married, 1876, Ophelia Ramsey; children, Samuel H., EUsha W.,
Charles W.
Marshall Arbogast, born 1853, son of Henry and Annie (Warwick)
Arbogast; German-English; married 1875 to Rachel Nottingham; children,
Nettie, Harry, Jessie, Samuel, Edna, Annie, Mamie.
William Daniel Armstrong, born 1825 in Louisa County, Va., son
of Thomas F. and Cecelia (Lowry) Armstrong; married 1849 to Susan,
daughter of James and Lydia (Smith) Shreve; children, Thomas,Lydia, Vir
ginia, CeceUa, Wm. L., James, Luvera, Oscar, Samuel, Tucker, Ida, Maud,
Lily, Russey, Effie, Myrtle; owns 300 acres, 40 improved; second marriage
to Theresa Jane Channel.
Solomon Armentrout, born in Grant County, 1844, son of Isaac and
Susan (Shobe) Armentrout; Dutch parentage; married 1871 in Grant County,
to Mary Jane, daughter of George and Margaret (Hart) Pout; children, Ver-
nie, Daisy, Margie, Sudie, Wilbur Camden, Buyrl; was merchant at Peters
burg 15 years; came to Randolph in 1892, and engaged two years in the
mercantile business with John H. Pout; was U- S. gauger under Cleveland;
was in the Confederate army, with Captain John H. McNeill's Rangers; was
in the Jones raid, 1863, into West Virginia. B
Daniel Randolph Baker, son of Isaac Baker, born 1846; German
ancestry; was married in 1868 to Christina M., daughter of Lemuel and
Nancy Ann (Hart) Chenoweth; children, Nora Lee, Hattie Maria, Edgar
Daniel, Bernard Lemuel, John Ulysses, Nannie, Eva, Naomi. His mother
is a daughter of Adam Stalnaker, and Adam was a son of Jacob Stalnaker,
whose children were, Adam, Jacob, William, Katie and Eunice. Adam
married Naomi Morgan, daughter of Zedekiah Morgan, of an old Connecti
cut family. On the Stalnaker side the family is very old, but the direct
line is not certainly known. An old coat of arms, said to belong to the.
Stalnaker family, and painted on the mantel of the old Westfall fort, indi
cates that the family was well established in Europe before the emigration
to America. Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Baker were married in 1825. He came
from Pendleton County, and they returned to his home on their bridal tour,
traveling on horseback along the old Shawnee trail by way of Seneca.
Later they returned to Randolph and made it their home. Mrs. Baker is
still living (1898). The old Westfall fort, which was oi^ginaUy built near
the river, was torn down and rebuilt on the bluff, and it still stands in D.

326 FAMILY HISTORY.
R. Baker's yard, and the logs are tolerably well preserved, although they
were cut from the forest a century and a quarter ago.
Eli Baker, son of Isaac Baker; born 1835; died 1898; German descent;
mother's maiden name Maria Stalnaker; married 1862 in Upshur County to
Rebecca J., daughter of William Sexton; she died in 1865; second marriage
to Maggie E. Sexton;- children, William E., Charles C, George C. and Anna
G. Mr. Baker was postmaster at Beverly 24 years. He entered the mercantile
business in 1861 ; was a farmer, owning 1000 acres, nearly all improved.
Isaac Baker, son of Isaac Baker; born 1833; brother of Daniel R.
and Eli Baker. His father taught German School in Pendleton County;
was married in 1859 to Harriet, daughter of Cyrus Wees; maiden name of
wife's mother, Abbie Hart; child. Stark L. Mr. Baker has been a miller
fifteen years; owns 2500 acres, 600 improved.
Stark L. Baker, son of Isaac Baker; born 1860; mother's maiden
name, Harriet Wees; married 1883 at Fairmont to Mabel S., daughter of J.
J. Burns; maiden name of wife's mother, Margaret Stewart; child, James.
He owns 4000 acres, half under improvement. The first white man's house
on the waters of the Monongahela in West Virginia stood on land now be
longing to him; and the first Indian magsacre in West Virginia took place
on his land. He graduated from the Fairmont Normal School; was Deputy
Collector of Internal Revenue from 1889 to 1893; Chairman of the Repub
lican County Committee sixteen years; was U. S. District Court Commis
sioner a number of years, and in 1898 was chosen by the Republicans as
their representative in the State Senate from the Tenth District of West
Virginia. Edgar Daniel Baker, son of D. R. Baker, born, 1874; attended Ohio
Weslyan University, and in 1898 graduated with the degree B. S. , from the
West Virginia University; and also took a course in law.
Bernard Lemuel Baker, son of D. R. Baker, born 1876; German an
cestry; attended the Buckhannon Seminary four years; is a merchant in
Beverly. William E. Baker, son of Eli Baker, born 1873; graduated from the
West Virginia Conference Seminary at Buckhannon, 1893; and three years
later graduated from the West Virginia University with the degree A. B.
L. He was admitted to practice law in October, 1896. He holds the ofiice
of Commissioner in Chancery. In 1896 he was the the Republican candi
date for Prosecuting Attorney, and was defeated by only 47 votes in a
county with a usual Democratic majority of 500.
James C. Baker, son of John Baker; born 1859, married in 1883 to
Catherine O'Brien; children, John C, Mary P., Edward L., Maggie, Jessie,
Portie, Annie, James O.
Pehr Gustav Pridolf Backstrom, born in Oskarshamn, K. L,

FAMILY HISTORY, ¦ 327
Sweden, son of Pehr and Mary Sophia (Holmsberg) Backstrom; married
1891 at Kane, McKean County, Pa., to Amanda Elenora, daughter of Alex
ander and Mary Colson; children. Walter Adolph, Elmer Pridolf and Mary.
He served three years in the Swedish army; was naturalized in Randolph,
1893; came to America 1885, landing at New York; went to Ludlow, Pa.,
where he worked a year as a millwright; in 1886 went to Kane, Pa., where
he worked four years, went to Buffalo, N. Y., and remained two years;
came to Elkins in 1892; worked thirty months as foreman in W. C. Russell's
planing mill; was a contractor and builder three and a half years; now has
a planing mill and woodworking establishment. He learned his trade in
Sweden with his father, and was educated as a draughtsman in the indus
trial schools of Sweden, and was awarded a bronze medal.
Christian Bally, born 1845, son of Christian and Mary Bally, Swiss;
married 1872 in Switzerland, to Mary, daughter of Andrew Balsiger;
children, Fred, Mary, John, Andrew, Rosa, Lena, Christina, Lettie, Christ,
Martha, Rudolph, Charles; farmer ownes 62 acres, nearly all improved,
good orchard.
John Marshall Ball, born in Illinois, 1836; son of George W. and
Malinda (Parsons) Ball; in 1660 he married Christina, daughter of Adonijah
B. and Patsy (Carper) Ward; children, Hattie and Maggie; lives in Beverly.
David Whitcomb Ball, born 1863, in Jackson County, W. Va., son of
Morgan and Amanda (Barringer) Ball; Dutch ancestry; in 1886 he married
Elizabeth, daughter of Henry and Susan (Heltzel) Payne; children, Francis,
Ernest, Mabel, Edmond, Thomas, Harry. He is a teacher; taught 14 years
in Dry Fork District.
A. D. Barlow, son of Alexander Barlow, born 1847; married, 1874, to
Jennie Belle, daughter of C. W. Russell; children, Hattie C, Willis D.,
Agnes, Mattie, Russell and Ralph.
Marcus Bazzle, born in Virginia, 1860, son of Wilson Bazzle; married
Rachel C. Morral, 1877; children, Robert, Mary, Delphia, Martin, Bertha,
Preston, Carl, Stirley.
George Beaty, Irish ancestry, born 1839 in Rockbridge County, son
of James and Eliza Jane (Long) Beaty; married 1867 to Ann Eliza, daughter
of Rezin and Mary Jane (Keiger) Simpson; children, Fannie M., Mary
Ellen, Annie Laura, Portia Wilson, Maggie Grace; 2d^ marriage to Sarah,
daughter of Augustus Wood. He came to Randolph 1878; owns 190 acres,
50 improved; is a blacksmith; was Justice of the Peace one term; was in the
Confederate army; surrendered with Colonel Pegram the day after the
Rich Mountain fight; was exchanged in 1862, and then was under Colonel
Harman, Fifty- second Virginia Infantry, and afterwards under Imboden;
was in Imboden's raid, 1863.

328 FAMILY HISTORY.
Edward Bender, born 1846; married Lucy Tacket; children, Nancy,
Isaac, Verna, William, John, Nathaniel, Jane, Mary, Hlithia, Plota.
George Betz, born 1844; married Amelia Rustart; children, Eugena,
Nellie, Kathenka, Flora, Mollie, Mary, Elsie, Elwina, MUler.
John N. C. Bell, born 1844, son of Aaron and Eliza (Currence) Bell;
German and English parentage; in 1868 he married Hannah, daughter of
W. H. and Eliza (Conrad) Currence; children, Alverta, Robert S., Bernice,
Eva L., Aaron S., Charles H. ; was in the Confederate army; was formerly
a photographer and machine agent, later a farmer, stock dealer and mer
chant. The post office, "Lee Bell," is named for his daughter, Eva Lee.
He is interested in the "Randolph Salt Sulphur Well."
Robert S. Bell, born 1860,son of J. N.C.Bell; married, 1889, to Nannie,
daughter of William and Cynthia (Woodford) Osborne; children, Clinton,
Clyde, Hattie, Thamer, Diver; farmer, owns 120 acres.
James Appleton Bent (autobiography). ' ' I am the son of George
and Elizabeth Bent, and was born July 15, 1852, in the county of Roane,
this State, where I lived till the age of 18 years. In 1869 I located in Kan
sas and went to farming and raising cattle on the prairies, which I followed
with success till 1874, when the grasshopper raid resulted in my abandon
ment of that business. In 1875, having in the meantime obtained a fair
education in the common schools of West Virginia and the high schools of
Topeka, Kansas, I entered the law office of John C. Tomlinson, of Atchi
son, Kansas, where I studied law three years, and was admitted k) the bar
at Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1878. In 1879 I located for a short time in the
practice of the law in Kansas City, Kansas, where I remained till 1881, at
which time I came on a two years' tour as immigration agent of the A. T.
& S. P. R. R. Company in the eastern States. At the end of that time I
had become convinced that there were as many things east of the Ohio and
Mississippi to profit and attract a man as west of them, and so settled in
the practice of law at Beverly in 1883. While at Beverly I published
' ' Bent's West Virginia Digest, " a digest of West Virginia supreme court
decisions from 1863 to 1897, and later edited a supplernent thereto. In 1889
I married Maggie Butcher, daughter of C. W. and Amanda E. Butcher, of
Beverly. In 1890 I moved to Elkins, and with P. J. Triplett, established
the Tygart's Valley Neivs, but later sold my interest to Triplett, who, with
others, has the sole control of the paper. There were sixteen ¦ children of
our family, ten boys and six girls. These are all dead except myself, three
brothers and one sister, and my mother, who is at this time about 80 years
of age. My father was a native of Virginia. I know of nothing particu
larly interesting or noteworthy in his family history, except that of recent
years I have had correspondence with branches of the Bent family, who are
his relatives, in different States. He was one of the early pioneers to the

FAMILY HISTORY. 329
county of Roane, between 1820 and 1830, where he raised the large family
I speak of. Of my family history on my mother's side, I take a special
pride. She was the daughter of Rev, John Mitchell, of Lewis County, W,
Va, He was a Methodist preacher of great ability in his day, and in a gen
eral conference of that church came within one vote of being elected bishop
thereof, I. am not now able to give the date of his birth, but he was an
Englishman, born in London, and when of sufficient age was put in training
in the British Navy, where he was serving at the breaking out of the Rev
olutionary War. Shortly after that time a British ship on which he was
serving landed near Boston, and my grandfather, seeing a chance, deserted
the ship and at once volunteered in the Continental army under Washing
ton, He signed an enlistment for three years, and at the close of that
period he went in as a substitute for another man, and served till the sur
render at Yorktown, Immediately after peace was declared in 1783, he was
among the first of the pioneers west of the Alleghany Mountains, He set
tled on Hacker's Creek, in Lewis County, where he built a four-story log
house^ and owned a large farm, part of which is still owned by his children
and grandchildren. The principal part of this history of grandfather
Mitchell is engraved on his tombstones at the family burying ground on
the old Mitchell farm, where he was buried."
Martin Vanburen Bennett, born 1839, in Pendleton County, son of
Aaron and Elizabeth (Bennett) Bennett; Irish ancestry; in 1865 he married
Mary Jane, daughter of John and Lucy' (Hensley) Snyder; children, Andrew
Johnson, •Elizabeth, Mary Jane, Walter, Oscar, Minnie. It was Mrs. Ben
nett, then Jane Snyder, who, in 1862, notified the Federal outpost stationed
where Parsons now stands, of the advance of Imboden down Glady Fork,
and thus saved the Union troops from capture, and also probably saved the
railroad bridge and the trestles at Rowlesburg from destruction.* Mr.
Bennett came to Randolph to make it his home in 1865, but he had been in
the county before while a member of the Home Guards, under Captain
Sampson Snyder, and also while a scout under General Milroy. Immedi
ately after settling in Randolph he commenced farming and dealing in
stock, and has continued at the business nearly ever since, sometimes
shipping as high as 800 cattle and 4, 000 sheep in a single year. He ships
principally to Baltimore and Philadelphia, but visits at times all the eastern
markets. He usually drives his stock through the jcountry to market.
During the past three years he has engaged extensively in the lumber busi
ness, buying and selling. In 1890 he went to Indian Territory and spent
three years in the fur trade with Indians, having dealings with more than
twenty-five tribes, and learning considerable of their languages. He found
them as honorable as the white men with whom they are associated.
*For further details of the affair see sketch of John Snyder; also General Imboden's
report of his expedition, page 253 of this book.

330 FAMILY HISTORY.
Speaking of the portion of Randolph in which he lives, Mr. Bennett said;
"When I first knew Dry Fork it took all the men from Gandy to Red Creek
to raise a house or roll the logs on a clearing. I went to school parts of
three winters, about eight months in all, in the old-fashioned pay-school;
the house of logs, open fireplace, no fioor, no loft, no window-glass, but
paper instead; thereof of clapboards held down by poles; the door of boards
pinned together. We made our own ink and wrote with quill pens, which
we made as we needed them ; our boots were of country-tanned leather and
made by traveling shoemakers; our clothes were entirely homespun and
home made. Nearly all the old settlers have died since then."
Amos Judy Bennett, born in Pendleton County, 1848; son of Aaron
and Elizabeth (Bennett) Bennett; English and Irish parentage; married
near Circleville, 1870, to Elizabeth, daughter of Reuben and Margaret (Mc-
Gloughlin) Teter; children, Lottie, Evvie E., Annie T., Martin S., Izerna
J., Mary E., Benjamin H., Gordon D., Mamie, Made, Oda, Nettie. Mr.
Bennett moved to Randolph in 1870; is a farmer, stockraiser and merchant,
dealing extensively at Harman and Job. He owns 1500 acres, 1000 im
proved, and owns houses and lots in Harman and Job; was constable two
terms in Dry Fork District. On his lands he can graze from 250 to 350 head
of cattle a year. His father was also a large stock dealer and farmer and
lived on North Fork in Pendleton County.
Elemuel Jefferson Bennett, born in Pendleton County, 1848; son
of Martin and Sidney Dean (Arbogast) Bennett; Irish ancestry; in 1868 he
married Mary Jane, daughter of John W. and Mary Catharine (Jiidy) Mul-
lenix, of Pendleton County; children, John Adam, CoraBUen, Ida Florence,
Florny Deane, Mattie, Azora M., Osceola, Willie, Katie, Zenia, Edward J.,
Thomas J. ; farmer; has lived in Randolph 13 yea'rs.
E. M. Bennett, born in 1847 in Upshur County; son of WiUiam and
Elizabeth (Hanney) Bennett; in 1870 married Dorcas, daughter of John and
Eva (Wamsley) Maher; children, Bessie A. and David P. ; was County Clerk
1862; teacher 1868; carpenter 1875; merchant and hotel keeper at Wom
elsdorff. Albert Bennett, born 1H74, married 1897 to Hattie Hansford..
John Bennett, born 1839; son of Joseph Bennett; German; married
1865 Mary J., daughter of Morris McDaniel; second marriage 1887 to Vir
ginia Pritt; chUdren, Joseph B., Mary E.7 WiUiam R., Moses C, Lorenzo
v., Minerva E., Melvina F.
John E. Bing, born 1846 in Ohio, died 1897; son-of, John Bing; mar
ried 1888 to Effie M. Swecker; children, Andrew E., Ashley E., Arena B,
He was a merchant at Valley Head. *
Richard Booth, born 1828 in Barbour County; son of David and Arma
Booth; in 1863 he married Ruth, daughter of William Lantz; children, Re-

FAMILY HISTORY. 331
becca A,, George H., Sophia, Lee and Jerry; farmer and stonemason.
Henry Benjamin Bodkin, born 1845 in Pendleton County; son of
Joshua and Barbara (Propst) Bodkin; German parentage; in 1873, in Pen
dleton, he married Nellie E. , daughter of Samuel and Susanna (Stone) Puf -
fenbarger; children, Clara Virginia, Susan, Samuel Pleasants, A. Gilbert,
Wilbur Jackson, Minnie Jane, Chlodie Elva, Pearlie Viola; farmer; moved
to Randolph in 1888; was in Southern army, 62d Va., under Lang; was in
battles of New Market and about Richmond, and in several skirmishes;
was wounded at Beverly and also at New Market.
Isaac L. Bodkin, born 1866, son of Michael; in 1880 he married Sa
vannah, daughter of JohnCunningham; children, Nathan S., Myrta M.,
James E.
William H. Bosely, born 1846; son of Henry and Hannah (Bosely)
Bosely; English; married 1874 to Mary E., daughter of G. H. and Nancy
0. (Armstrong) Herren; chUdren, Bruce J., Loren E., Viola T., Addle M.,
WiUiam H., Lavineyard P. ; was in Union army; captured in 1864 at Key
ser by Rosser; owns 80 acres.
George Bosley, born 1853, married 1872 to paura Outright; children,
George, Anna, Prances, Charles M. ; laborer.
David Blackman. This thrifty farmer, merchant and general busi
ness man, came to Randolph from his native State, Connecticut, 1822. His
brother. Smith Blackman, was a partner in the mercantile business, but
whUe coming from Winchester in 1823 he was attacked with fever and died
in the stone house near the head of Mill Creek, in Hampshire County. In
1824 David Blackman married Rebecca Slane of Hampshire County, and lo
cated in Beverly, and was engaged in the mercantile business until the com
mencement of the Civil War. For many years his was the principal store
in the county, and he hauled his goods first from Baltimore, then from
Winchester, later from Cumberland, and finally from Petterman, in Taylor
County, after the B. & O. railroad was completed to that point. After the
death of his brother, David Blackman formed a partnership with John
Sherman in the mercantile business in Beverly, and Sherman remained
in Randolph till about 1827, when he sold his interest in the business to Mr.
Blackman and removed to Ohio, living for a time at Mt. Vernon in that
State. It is worthy of note that this John Sherman adopted Senator John
Sherman in 1831 and raised and educated him. He was a cousin of Sena
tor Sherman's father. At the time of his adoption Senator Sherman was
eight years old. In 1829 John Sherman wrote to his former partner. Black-
man, saying: "I have just bought one hundred and twenty-five barrels of
whiskey at twenty-five cents a gallon. If it were in Beverly it would not
last long." Several letters from Sherman to Blackman are in the posses
sion of Attorney L, D, Strader, of Beverly, whose wife is a granddaughter
of David Blackman.

332 FAMILY HISTORY.
David Blackman was noted for his social qualities and his honest deal
ings with his fellowmen. He acquired large tracts of land in Randolph
and Tucker Counties, several tracts of which he farmed extensively before
the war. He was opposed to the institution of slavery, but having received
from his father-in-law a few slaves as a gift to his wife, he kept them and
their issue until the commencement of the war, when they numbered
twenty-one. He always refused to sell any of them.
He was of English parentage and his wife of Scotch. The first Black-
man, of the direct line, of whom anything definite is known, was Rev. Adam
Blackman, born in Staffordshire, England, in 1598. He came to New En
gland in 1639, and in 1640 settled at Stratford, Conn., where for twenty-five
years he was pastor of the Congregational Church. He died in 1665. He
was educated at Christ's Church College, Oxford, which he entered at
the age of nineteen. He had two charges in England as a minister of the
Established Church before he came to America. He married Jane Wheeler
in England, and had six sons and one daughter. His son John married
Dorothy Smith and had three sons, of whom Ebenezer married Joanna Cus-
tiss and had four sons and four daughters. One of these sons, also named
Ebenezer, had six sons and one daughter. One of the sons, Jonas, was a
lieutenant of Connecticut troops. His son Lemuel married Anna Downs
and had four sons and three daughters. One of these' sons was David
Blackman, the subject of this sketch.
David Blackman had two children, Margaret A. , who died in infancy,
and Judson, born September 24, 1825, who married Philadelphia B. Rees,
of Mineral County. During the last years of his life David Blackman lived
on his farm on Leading Creek, where he died November 2, 1873, and his
wife died January 4, 1873. They are buried in the cemetery at Beverly.
His son Judson died at Beverly, August 23, 1871, and his wife died in Min
eral County, May 9, 1896, at the age of 70, from injuries received from a
faU from a buggy. The children of Judson Blackman were: Silas R., liv
ing in Tucker County; Maria S., living in Beverly; David P., who moved
to Nebraska and died there; William T., living in Hastings, Nebraska;
John B,, living in Lancaster, Ohio; Mary B., living in Hastings, Nebraska;
¦James S., living at Beaver City, Nebraska; Judson T., living at the same
place, and Rebecca E., who died October 26, 1860, aged five years. To re
mind the reader how rapidly a family, in some instances, will increase in
numbers in one generation, the grandchildren of Judson Blackman are
given :
Silas R. Blackman, who married Mary H. McGuffln, has five children
living and two dead.
Maria S. Strader, wife of L. D. Strader, has five chUdren.
David P. Blackman, who married Almeda Chenoweth, has six children
living and one dead.

FAMILY HISTORY. 333
William T. Blackman, who married Blanche Chenoweth, has two chU
dren. Mary B. Tremble, wife of U. B. Tremble, has three children.
John B. Blackman, who married Nellie Gray, has seven children living
and one dead.
James S. Blackman, who married Mary H. Kuykendall, has two chil
dren. Judson T. Blackman, who married Nettie G. Harding, has two children.
Prom Rev. Adam Blackman, born 1598, to the youngest of his line,
there are eleven generations, in exactly 300 years. Few families of West
Virginia can show a longer line without a break.
Silas Rees Blackman, born in Beverly 1848, son of Judson and Phila
delphia B. (Rees) Blackman; in 1872 at Beverly he married Mary H., daugh
ter of Charles and Martha (Bosworth) McGuffin; children, Lena Rees, Phil
adelphia Burns, Hattie R., Stella Mary, Silas Judson; farmer, owning 420
acres, 200 improved; moved to Tucker County 1874 and lives at Bretz.
William Thomas Blackman, son of Judson Blackman, born in Bev
erly 1852; mother's maiden name, Philadelphia Rees; English ancestry;
married 1875 to Blanche Alpin, daughter of Lemuel Chenoweth; mother's
maiden name, Nancy A. Hart; children, Julian Raymond and Marjorie Hart.
He is a wholesale grocer at Hastings, Nebraska, and has been in the West
eighteen years.
Samuel C. Blizzard, born in Pendleton County, 1849, son of John
B. and Anna R. (Nelson) Blizzard; in 1875 married Mary Susan, daughter
of Aaron and Elizabeth Bennett; children, Pinckney J., Anna Elizabeth,
Martha Regain; farmer and mechanic; came to Randolph 1877; owns 96
acres, all improved. His ancestors lived in Germany; only two of the
Blizzards came to America, Jesse, the grandfather of the subject of this
sketch, and a brother Samuel. They settled in Pendleton, where they mar
ried wives that came from Germany. . Jesse was a farmer, John a cabinet
maker. The excellent farm on which Samuel C. Blizzard now lives was a
forest in 1879. He has a fine residence and out-buUdings.
Archibald Bonner, born 1822 in what is now Grant County, died
1896; son of WUliam and Jemima (Carr) Bonner; EngUsh and Irish
ancestry; in what is now Tucker County, 1853, he married Elizabeth, daugh
ter of Joseph and Sallie (Summerfield) Roy; children, Martha W. , Martin
J., Solomon, Simon, Washington, Sarah E., Archibald, Mary Catherine,
Emory Lee, Howard P.; farmer, owning 2,500 acres, 200 improved; lived in
Randolph 45 years; was a remarkable hunter and trapper, spending much
of the hunting season in Canaan, Tucker County. He killed more than 500
deer, and about 100 bears, besides smaU game beyond measure.
Seymour Bonner, born 1846 in Tnoker County, son of Solomon Bon-

334 FAMILY HISTORY.
ner; in 1867 he married Sophia, daughter of Andrew Fansler; and sll€>,dying
in 1868, he married, 1870, Mahala, daughter of Samuel H. Cosneri He
taught school in Randolph on a No. 5 certificate, and in Tucker on a No. 3.
His children are, Stephen A., Oliver H., Sophia B., Hattie E., Mary, An
tony W. , Robert W. , Solomon V. , Nathan S. He moved from Tucker to
Randolph in 1894.
Emory Lee Bonner, born 1871 on Red Creek, son of Archibald and
Elizabeth (Roy) Bonner; he married Sarah Catherine, daughter of
John and Amanda (Bonner) Wade; children. Grade Bactel, Edgar, Elsie
Elizabeth and Clyde; farmer on Red Creek.
Howard Flaskey Bonner, born 1875, son of Archibald and Elizabeth
(Roy) Bonner; in 1897 he married Mary E., daughter of Jedson B. and Vir
ginia (Davis) Roy; children, Pernia and Luther; is a farmer on Bonner
Mountain. Martin J. Bonner, born 1856 on Bonner Mountain; son of Archibald
and Elizabeth (Roy) Bonner; English and Irish descent; in 1877, in Tucker
County, he married Martha Ellen, daughter of Solomon and Jane (Bright)
Bonner; children, Luther Salem, Bettie Alice, Charles Delbert, Harman,
Minnie Jane, Flarny May, Albert; farmer, 130 acres, 50 improved.
Christopher Columbus Bonner, born 1847 in Tucker County, son of
Samuel H. and Elizabeth (Nelson) Bonner; English and Irish descent; in
1865, in Tucker County, he married Mary Ann, daughter of Robert and
Margaret (MuUenix) Nelson; child, James William; farmer and Star route
mail contractor.
Archibald Bonner, born on Bonner Mountain 1866, son of Archibald
Bonner; was married in 1892 to Clara Belle, daughter of Henry Snyder;
children, Ethel and Blanche; farmer.
Stephen A. Bonner, son of Solomon M. Bonner; married, in Tucker
County, Christina, daughter of Jonathan Varner; children, Anna, Bernard,
Black; farmer on Red Creek.
Albert Squire Bosworth, M. D., born January 12, 1859, son of
George W. and Mary (Currence) Bosworth; English and Irish ancestry;
married 1882 in Marion County, to Julia, daughter of George W.
Davis. Their children, Stella and Julia; 2nd marriage, 1893 in Balti
more, to Ella, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Snyder) Weisgerber; child,
Stanley. Dr. Bosworth came of a very old English family, directly con
nected with a name familiar in English history, "Bosworth Field." The
family was identified with Massachusetts in its early years. The subject
of this sketch began teaching school when fifteen years of age. In 1881 he
graduated from the Fairmont Normal School. He studied law at the Uni
versity of Virginia, and was admitted to practice at the Beverly bar in 1882.
He graduated in 1892 at the Baltimore Medical College. In 1880 he was

FAMILY HISTORY. 335
Superintendent of the Randolph schools. He was dght years editor of the
Randolph Enterprise; and from 1885 to 1887 he was in Nebraska where he
edited the Culburton Sun and Trenton Central. He engaged in other edi
torial work while in the West.
Squire Newton Bosworth, son of Squire and Hannah (Buckey)
Bosworth, born 1841; EngUsh ancestry; married 1867 to Florence A
daughter of Bernard L. and Mary (Dailey) Brown; chUdren, Lutie Lee'
Florence A., Mary Eva, Ada, Charies B., CarroUL., Helen,Ninaand WiUie.'
Mr. Bosworth is the son of one and his wife is daughter of another clerk of
Randolph County. His first teacher was James H. Logan. He belonged
to the 31st Va. Infantry (Confederate), and fought through the war, except
whUe a prisoner, and he still has the fiag of his regiment.* He has the
original muster roll of Capt Thomas A. Bradford's Barbour County com
pany of Confederates. He is a merchant in Beverly; also ownes a 90 acre
farm. J. L. Bosworth, M. D., born 1856, son of George W. and Mary A.
(Currence) Bosworth; English ancestry; in 1892 at HuttonsviUe, he married
Rachel, daughter of Andrew and Catherine (Hutton) Crouch; child, Mary
M. Dr. Bosworth spent three years as teacher in thepubUc schools; seven
years as editor of the Randolph Enterprise, and ten years as a physician,
one year at Beverly and nine at Huttonsville. He began his education in
the common schools, then attended the Flemington College, and in 1881
graduated at the Fairmont Normal School. In medicine he took the course
in the University of Maryland, and graduated from the College of Physi
cians and Surgeons, Baltimore, in 1889.
Perry Bosworth, M. D., born 1867, son of George W. and Mary A.
(Currence) Bosworth; attended country schools, and graduated in 1892 from
the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Baltimore. Since then he has
practiced his profession at Huttonsville.
G. W. Bosworth, son of Squire and Hannah (Buckey) Bosworth, born
182>^; married 1856 to Mary, daughter of John and Ann (Conrad) Currence;
children, John L., Albert Squire and Perry; owns 300 acres.
John O. Bowers, born 1850 in Highland County, son of WUUam and
Margaret Catherine (Sponaugle) Bowers; Dutch ancestry; in 1875, in
Virginia, he married Margaret Catherine, daughter of WUliam and Molly
(Moury) Whitecotton; children, William Washington, Lawrence Alberta,
Jacob, Charles Ottis, Perry, Minnie, LUlie, Texie, Lena, Bertha, Clarence;
farmer and teamster; has lived in Randolph 17 years; owns house and lot
near Harman.
L. W. Bower, born 1864, son of John J., married 1895 to Mary Sassi;
children Eva C,, Lillian May; millwright; owns 186 acres.
* See a sketch of the flag, page 305

336 FAMILY HISTORY.
William 0. Bowers, born 1874 in Highland County, son of John O.
and Margaret (Whitecotton) Bowers; in 1893 he married Rosella, daughter
of Markwood S. and Sarah E. (Bennett) Johnson; children, William, Alston,
Orpha, Gladys, Raymond O.; farmer and railroader; ownes house and lot
in Harman. Arnold Brandley, born 1843 in Switzerland, son of Henry and Clara
(Duri) Brandley; in 1869 he married, at Clarksburg, Sarah L., daughter of
John U. and Elizabeth (Menefee) Thorne; she died 1876 and he married,
1881, Estella W., daughter of H. L. Hunt, of Kansas. He is a prominent
G. A. R. man, holding the position of Junior Vice-Commander, Department
of W. Va. He has traveled extensively since he landed in New Orleans in
1851; fought in the Union Army, and was in fifty engagements, and was
promoted to first lieutenant; was discharged 1866; lived in Clarksburg
twelve years; has been to California three times, and has been in every
State and Territory west of New York, except Alaska. He came to Elkins
in 1894, and two years later was justice of the peace.
William M. Brooks, born 1856, son of James Brooks; in 1882 he mar
ried Eliza C. Rowan, daughter of E. H. and Mary E. Rowan; children,
Blaine and Howard.
Thomas Patrick Ray Brown, son of Thomas and Elinor (Smith)
Brown, was born in Kingwood, W. Va., December 25, 1841; Scotch and
Irish ancestry; married 1888 at Beverly to Nannie J., daughter of James D.
and Elizabeth H. (Logan) Evans. Mr. Brown belongs to the well-known
family of that name in Preston County, and is a brother of Lieutenant
Brown of the United States Navy, who took an active part in the fighting
at Samoa a few years ago, and during the late Spanish War" was given an
important charge at the Norfolk Navy Yard. Mr. Brown is a lawyer and
has been in active practice since 1863, first in Iowa and later^ in West Vir
ginia. He resided in Barbour County from 1869 to 1888, and for twelve
years -^vas District Attorney of that county. In 1896 he was elected to the
legislature. In 1894 he served as special judge of the circuit court of Ran
dolph. F. W. Brown, born 1846 in Ohio; son of Robert and Mary (Coberly)
Brown; English, Irish and German parentage. In 1866 in Ohio he married
Lucy J. Douglass; children, William E., Winnie E., Ava, Mary O., Frank
W. Mr. Brown owns the Old Crouch Mill, which has four holes in it made
by cannon balls, relics of the war. His mill has a capacity of 30 barrels of
flour in 24 hours. His son WUliam was killed by a boiler explosion in 1888.
His daughter Mary married Hugh B. Shinn, a merchant of Buckhannon;
Winnie E. married George A. Latham, of Beverly.
H. H. Bryan, M. D., born 1852, married 1872 to Betty E. Lemon; chU
dren, Neddie, Russell L. ; graduated at Jefferson Medical College.

FAMILY HISTORY. 337
John Jefferson Buckey, son of George Buckey, born 1825; married
Mary Ellen, daughter of Jacob Daniels, 1848; maiden name of wife's mother,
Nancy Parsons; children, George W. and Page B. ; owns 64 acres; lives in
Beverly; keeps hotel, and his guests for the past half century never forget
his hospitable entertainment and the narrations of his remarkable personal
experiments and adventures which are unsurpassed in character and inex
haustible in number.
Alpheus Buckey, son of George Buckey, born 1883; French ancestry;
mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Hart; married 1858 to Rebecca A.,
daughter of Washington Chenoweth; maiden name of wife's mother, Rachel
Wees; second marriage, to Elizabeth C, daughter of Madison Daniels; chil
dren, Wirt, Daniel Peter, Lora, Osceola, Nellie Virginia, Harry Alpheus.
He has a bureau 80 years old and a door-knocker 150 years old. It may be
seen on the front door of the Valley House in Beverly. Peter Buckey, the
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was one qf the first, if not the
very first, of hotel-keepers in Beverly. Some member of the family has
been keeping tavern in the town ever since, for more than a century.
Daniel Peter Buckey, M. D., born 1871, son of Alpheus and Lizzie
(Daniels) Buckey; English and French ancestry; married at Parsons, W.
Va. , June 22, 1894, Ida, daughter of George C. and Virginia (Maxwell) Gal-
bert. Dr. Buckey was in the mercantile business two years, entered th,e
'Buckhannon Seminary in 1889 and spent two years there. He entered the
Baltimore Medical College in 1891 and graduated in 1894, and entered upon
the practice of his profession at Parsons and remained there a year and a
half. He then removed to Harrison County for the benefit of his wife's
health, and remained there three years, practicing at Salem. In Septem
ber, 1898, he located at Beverly and entered upon the practice of his pro
fession at that place.
C. N. Buckey, born 1858, son of Emmet; married to RoseCleary, 1883;
children, Mary, William, Hattie, Georgia, Margaret.
Wirt Buckey, born 1860, son of Alpheus; married 1883 to Eliza_ Alice
Earle; chUdren, Wilbur, Clara, Stella, Lena R. ; a house painter.
Joseph Bunner, son of Amos and Sarah (Pink) Bunner; born 1820;
married 1843 to Eliza, daughter of Hezekiah and Rachel (Musgrave) Bun
ner; children, Solomon, Otha, Jacob, Ezra, Sarah E., Hezekiah H., Minerva
J., Irena v., Ariios B., Helena, Joseph E. ; owns 300 acres. Mr. Bunner
makes the remarkable claim of having killed 1,000 deer.
Thomas G. Burke, son of C. W. Burke, born 1858; married Mary A.
Martin 1882; child, Ida Victoria.
Alexander Burk, born in Ireland, 1842, son of Michael and Margaret
(Rowan) Burk; in 1865 married Bridget Burk; children, Michael W., Mary

§38 FAMILY HISTORY.
A., Bridget D., Catherine, Margaret, John D., James, Dennis, Sarah, Eliza
beth; Joseph, Agnes; farmer; 93 acres; teamster, and in the Union army.
Frederick Burkey, born 1863 in Switzerland, son of John Burkey.
Hon. Bernard L. Butcher, ex-Superintendent of the Public Schools
of West Virginia, was born near HuttonsvUle, September 12, 1853, and until
seventeen years of age attended the public schools of that neighborhood.
He then taught school a few terms, and pursued his studies at the Fair-
mount State Normal School. After a course of three years he graduated;
and began the study of law in the office of Judge Alpheus P. Haymond, of
Fairmont. In 1875 he was admitted to practice at the Beverly Bar, and the
next year was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Randolph. He held the
office four years. In 1876 he was appointed a member of the Board of
Regents of the State Normal Schools. In 1880 he received the Democratic
nomination for State Superintendent of Schools, and was elected for a term
of four years. He founded the School Journal, which has since then been
recognized as an educational factor in the State. In 1888 he was ap
pointed secretary of the State Board of Immigration and Development. He
is now one of the foremost attorneys of the Fairmont Bar.
Creed Warren Butcher, born 1834, died 1895, son of Eli and Mar
garet (Hart) Butcher; married 1855 to Amanda, daughter of Jacob and
Nancy (Parsons) Daniels; children, Charles B., French W., Viola G.,
Laura D. , Robert L. , Mary N. , Hart H. Maggie C.
C
George Caplinger. This family is of German origin, and in Ger
many the name is written Kepliner. The subject of this sketch was born
in Pendleton County, February 3, 1784, and came to Randolph about 1800,
where, in 1806, he, together with Edward Wyatt, bought 450 acres of WU
liam B. Wilson, on the west side of the river, between Beverly and Elkins,
known as the "Old Benjamin Wilson Place."* George Caplinger had one
brother, Adam, who moved to Ohio, and one sister who married Jacob
Hammer, of Pendleton County, and her descendants still live there. The
land bought by George Caplinger in 1806 is still owned by members of the
family, who have added considerably to it. His children were Thomas J.,
George W., Solomon C, Adam D., Margaret and Elizabeth. Every one of
these lived to be more than seventy-four years old. George Caplinger mar
ried Sarah Collett, May 14, 1804. He died 1870, and Mrs. Caplinger died
1844, aged 62 years (born 1782). His father's name was also George, and it
is believed he was born in Germany about 1750.
Solomon Chenoweth Caplinger, son of George, born August 13,
1811; married Mary Chenoweth, and after her death, he married Mary A.
Ryan; children, Laben D., Martha B., Phoebe C, Sarah E., Calvin L., Mar-
* See sketch of Benjamin Wilson. The Caplingers and Wilsons intermarried.

f'AMlLY HISTORY. 33a
garette, Mary Ette, Solomon C, JuUus C, Delia W. and Robert B. The
morning after the battle at Rich Mountain, 100 Confederates, who had sep
arated from Colonel Pegram's command the night before, blundered into
the Caplinger settlement, almost within sight of the Federal army in Bev
erly. Mr. Caplinger warned them of their danger, but they were bewil
dered, and not knowing what way to go, he piloted them past Beverly, and
they escaped. He took an active part in the war, on the Confederate side,
frequently as guide. He was with Imboden, with Hill, and with Rosser in
their raids near Beverly. He assisted in cutting the telegraph wires be
tween Beverly and Buckhannon at the Hill raid. He was at that time over
fifty years of age.
Adam D. Caplinger, son of George Caplinger, born 1816, died 1893;
married EUzabeth, daughter of WUliam B. Wilson; second wife, Sabina
SaUsbury; children, Theodore, Edwin D., Ida B., WiUiam B., Pattie C, Lee
Duncan, May, Perry L. , Hattie B. and Addle W.
Julius C^sar Caplinger, son of Solomon C, born 1864; mother's
maiden name was Mary Ryan; German and Irish ancestry; was married in
1895 to Almeda, daughter of EU H. Rowan; maiden name of wife's mother,
Mary B. Chenoweth. Mrs. Caplinger died in 1896. He is a farmer on the
old homestead which has been in the family nearly 100 years.
Calvin Luther Caplinger, son of Solomon C, born 1843; married,
1868, Isabel Woods, daughter of Edward and Martha (Wees) Wilson; chil
dren, LUian, Grace, Daisy, Rosa, Belle and Jacob Wilson.
Robert B. Caplinger, son of Solomon C, born 1869; married, 1897,
Jessie, May, daughter of John W. Deatter; child, Hilda.
Jehu C. Caplinger, born 1848, son of Thomas J. and Peggy (Cheno
weth) Caplinger; married. 1873 to Ida W., daughter of Joseph Harding;
chUdren, Vivia, George A. , Marion P. , Roberta B. , Belva T. , Bernice P.
Near where his house stands, one of the Indians who had killed Adam Stal
naker was killed by a settler who followed him and came on him while
drinliing at a spring. The Indian went some distance into the woods and
died. Mr. Caplinger, a few years ago, found on his farm a stone hatchet
and stone knife. He has a medicine chest which once belonged to Lord
Baltimore. It afterwards belonged to William Harding, Mrs. Caplinger's
great-grandfather. George C. Caplinger, son of Thomas J., born 1844; married, 1883,
Laura Talbott; children, Texie, Mabel, Maggie and Jennie.
Lloyd Caplinger, son of T. J. Caplinger, born 1849; married, 1892,
Bernice, daughter of John B. and Elizabeth (Currence) Earle.
John Chenoweth Caplinger, born 1837, son of Thomas J. and Mar
garet (Chenoweth) Caplinger; married 1873, Sidney J., daughter of John
W. and Mary (Wood) Moore; children, Lena, Rizpah, Lawrence, Ada,

34o i^amily history.
Moore. He located in Mingo in 1871 as a tanner; ownes 60 acres, 40 im
proved; was a Confederate soldier in 1862, under Imboden, in McClanahan's
battery; was in Imboden's raid through West Virginia in 1863; was at Get
tysburg; received three wounds in the war. He surrendered at Lynchburg.
His daughters are school teachers.
Lee Duncan Calpinger, son of Adam D. , born August 7, 1857, near
Beverly. His mother was Catherine E. , daughter of William B. Wilson .
He married, 1889, Lucy M. , daughter of Henry A. Harper. He owns a
fine farm and has one child.
William Blackburn Caplinger, son of Adam C, born 1849; mar
ried, 1889, Phoebe, daughter of H. A. Harper; maiden name of wife's
mother, Mary Ward; wife died in 1889; he owns 260 acres.
Hoy Calain, born 1853, son of John and Jemima (Isner) Calain; Irish;
married 1886, Cordelia, daughter of Jefferson and Martha E. (Phillips)
Isner; chUdren, James A., Stella and Mary; ownes 50 acres, 20 cleared.
James Calain, born 1865; son of John; was married in 1894 to Mattie
Lucinda, daughter of John W. and Sarah A. (Summerfield) Day; children,
Mertie Ethel, John, Omar; owns 125 acres, 40 cleared.
Solomon Carr, born 1831, son of Eli and Martha (White) Carr; Irish
and German parentage; in 1851 he married Susanna, daughter of Jacob
and Mary (Moats) Simmons; children, James B., Martha, Alice, Cora, Eliz
abeth, Sarah, Dortha E. , Flernoy A. ; lived awhUe in Barbour County, then
on Middle Mountain; now owns a mill and carding machine on Dry Pork.
He attended school only four months, but has a good business education;
has been a great hunter, killing 700 dear and one panther.
James B. Carr, born 1856, son of Solomon; in 1882 he married Mahala
C, daughter of Amby White; children, Columbia Elizabeth, Jacob Cleve
land, George Washington, Susann, Solomon, Flurnoy, Clyde, Edward, Wil
liam Thaddeus; farmer.
Noah J. Carr, born 1870, son of Solomon; in 1887 he married Ursula,
daughter of Lafayette Elza; children, Zernia M., Effie A., Chloe Bonnie,
Lafayette J., Floyd, Burdella, Denelia.
George A. Carr, born 1875, son of George Anson and Phoebe Jane
(Roy) Carr; he married at Red Creek, 1893, Annie Jane, daughter of Samp
son and Margaret (Arbogast) Mick; children, Mary Magdalene, Wilbert
McKinley; farmer; lived in Randolph all his life except two years in Up
shur County; 16 acres, ten improved.
Joseph Carr, born 1859, son of George Anson Carr; German; in 1881
he married Dartha Ellen, daughter of Solomon and Susanna Carr; chil
dren, James William, Eli Acham, Lucy May, Ira Chance, Leslie Lee, Ros-
coe Newton, Harvey Flurnoy Russell; farmer; lived five years in Upshur
County.

Family hisi^orY. 341
Jacob W. Carr, born 1853, son of Enos; married, 1874, Mary A.,
daughter of John S. Kerns; children, James H., Hulda J., Barbara E., Al
bert L., French, Martin L., Asa, EUza A., Enos, Jacob K., Job, John; far- '
mer; owns 725 acres, 100 improved; was first settler on the lower end of
Middle Mountain, his nearest neighbor being seven miles distant.
Jefferson Groves Carr, born 1871 in Tucker County, son of Sylven-
us and Jane (Bonner) Carr; German parentage; in 1896 he married Phoebe
Catharine, daughter of George Anson and Phoebe Jane (Roy) Carr; chil
dren, Lester, Omar, Peach, Lena; farmer.
Nehemiah Carper, born 1835, son of Abram and Margaret (Stewart)
Carper; German and Scotch parentage; in 1857 he married Abigail, daugh
ter of David and Jane (Stewart) Bennett; children, Georgiana; Maggie B.,
Pearl; farmer near Beverly; owns 800 acres.
John W. Carpenter, born 1873; married Rosa Morrison, 1893; child,
Arta; lumberman at Pickens.
Samuel M. Gary, born 1833, son of Philip and Maria (Gregory) Cary ;
married, 1862, Harriet S., daughter of Augustus and Mary V. (Wood) Wood;
painter by trade.
G. P. Callahan, born 1861; married Alissa Humphreys, 1885; children,
SteUa V. , Penelope M. , Flora M. , second marriage to Minnie McCallum.
Harrison Columbus Canfield, born 1866, son of Samuel and Ruma-
hah (Bennett) Canfield, German ancestors; married, 1885, Elizabeth, daughter
Cornelius and Martha (Vanscoy) Corley; children, Ella Blanche, Belle, Wil
lie Lee; owns 28 acres, 11 improved.
C. Cassel, born 1860, son of WUliam; was married in 1889 to Anna
Geiger; children, Edna, John P., Charles C. ; blacksmith at Huttonsville.
W. M. Carter, born 1845, son of W. M. and Evaline Carter; in 1867 he
married Sarah V. Williams; children, Robert M., Lizzie B., Laura A., Susan
A. , Eva G. , James W. ; farmer.
L. H. Campbell, born 1839 in Pocahontas County, son of Harrison W.
and Nancy (HiUey) Campbell; Scotch parentage; married, 1862, Angeline,
daughter of Isaiah Wilson; she died in 1874* and two years later he married
Margaret, daughter of Jacob Arbogast, of Pocahontas County; children,
Wm. Frederick, Sidney Johnston, Lucy Virginia, Maggie, Eugene B. , Har
rison W., Daisy, Pearl Estella; house painter; moved with his parents to
Beverly in 1841; to Philippi 1859; to Elkins 1889; was Constable in Barbour
County. His grandfather, James Campbell, came to America when 17 years
old, was a soldier under General JBraddock, and settled in Rockingham
County, Va. His grandmother on his father's side was named Harrison,
and from her people the town of Harrisonburg, Va. , was named. His father
was born there, moved to Pendleton County 1820, thence to Huntersville,

342 FAMILY HISTORY.
John S. Carlile, born in Winchester, Va. , December 16, 1817, began
the practice of law at Beverly about 1840. He was a politician rather than
a lawyer. In 1847 he was elected to the Virginia Senate; a member of the
Virginia Constitutional Convention, 1850; in Congress 1850; in 1861 in the
convention which passed the Ordinance of Session; in Congress in 1861, in
the United States Senate soon after. His course in the Senate in regard to
the admission of West Virginia as a State, has never been satisfactorily ex
plained. At first he was a strong supporter of the new State movement,
even so strong that many considered that his zeal outran his reason. Sud
denly he changed front and opposed the admission of the State, and went
to extremes to defeat the measure. The legislature of the re-organized
Virginia Government, sitting at Wheeling, asked him to resign his seat in
the Senate because he was not representing but misrepresenting the wishes
of the people. He refused to resign. When ¦ his term expired he lived in
Clarksburg. He espoused the cause of General Grant when he ran for the
presidency the first time; and Grant appointed him minister to Stockholm,
Swe(Ien. The Senate refused to confirm the appointment, a rather unusual
thing to do. It is said, on good authority, that Roscoe Conkling prevented ¦
the confirmation of his appointment by making a quiet personal canvass
among the Senators, and representing to them that it would be unbecoming
a great nation to send as a representative to a foreign court, a man whose
shirt front was constantly stained with tobacco. Carlile died in Clarksburg
in 1878. J. R. Chadwell, born 1874, is a son of Henry Chadwell.
George O. Clark, born 1860 in Lewis County, son of Melvin and
Susan (Anderson) Clark; Irish ancestry; married, 1889, Alcinda, daughter
of James and Susan (Morgan) Shahan; children, James M., Davis M.,
Rogers, Andrew; owns 86 acres, partly improved. He was educated in
the common schools, and at Centerville; taught 32 months than turned to
farming. Henry H. Clayton, born 1860 in Pendleton County; son of Samuel
and Margaret (Davis) Clayton; in 1893 he married Rosella, daughter of
Abram Waybright. She died the same year, and he married Lily May,
daughter of Conrad Smith of Rich Mountain; children, Mary Jane and
Rosa Catherine.
SAMPSOisr Collins, born 1868, son of Matthew and Rachel (Mack) Col
lins; German parentage; married, 1891, in Tucker County, Martha, daughter
of John L. and Minerva (McLudin) Rader; child, Esta Ann; farmer on
Bonner Mountain, 115 acres, 25 improve'^; lived in Tucker County 12 years.
D. M. CoRDER, born 1859, son of Joseph C. and Catherine (Patten)
Corder; married, 1886, Maud Trimble; children, Peter T. and Frank,

FAMILY History. 343
L. G. Corrick, son of W. Corrick, born 1867; married, l89l, Emma
Hamilton; children, Denver Dayton, Mason McKinley.
William H. Collier, born 1841 in Ohio, son of John and Mary (Jen
kins) Collier; Irish parentage; married, 1863, to Mary, daughter of Jona
than and Elizabeth (Clem) Workman; children, Aaron, Elizabeth, John,
William, James R. , George W. ; was in the Federal Army under Reynolds,
Milroy and Averell; was in the battles of Second Bull Run, Rappahannock,
Alleghany, McDowell, Cross Keys, Strasburg, Culpeper, Robinson River,
Droop Mountain, Rocky Gap, near White Sulphur, where he was knocked
down by a shell, though not hit. He came to Randolph in 1867; farmer;
owns 215 acres, 100 improved, near Elkins. His son, James R., enlisted in
the Spanish War, April 1898, under Capt. Zan. F. Collett.
John Connolly, born 1834, in Ireland, son of Thomas; in 1869 he
married Mary McGinnis; 'children, Patrick V., Anna, Mary L., John,
Thomas; farmer, 137 acres.
S. R. Outright, born 1872, married Virginia E. Dupoy, 1898.
A. W. Curry, son of W. H. Curry, born 1849; married, 1849, to Jennie
C. Mayers; child, Maude E. ; he is a jeweler in Beverly.
Joel Outright, born 1844, son of George and Susanna (Pringle) Cut-
right; married Almira Ware, 1867; children, Susanna E. , Lucinda M., Jos
eph D., William G., Gilmore C, Edward J., Magdalene.
Jeremiah Channel, who appears to have been the first of that name
in Randolph, came from the South Branch. His wife's maiden name was
Steel, and their children were Samuel, Elizabeth, John, Jemima, Susan and
Andrew. The dates of his birth, marriage and death are not known; but
in 1804 his son Samuel married Sarah, daughter of Benjamin Hornbeck.
John Channel, born 1834; was married first to Virginia Currence,
second to Tabitha A. Ware, third to Mary V. Simmons, fourth to Martha
E. Pritt; children, Mary B., Harriet E., Jane L., WirtB., DeUa J., Flor
ence B.
N. S. Channel, born 1838, son of Samuel and Sarah (Wamsley) Chan
neU; English parentage; in 1867 he married Mary, daughter of John and
Betty Crickard; children, Ignatius H., Cornelia; John H., Anna B., Enoch
W., Grover C, Myrtle; farmer near Huttonsville; was a Confederate sol
dier; captured near Winchester; of his children, John is a groceryman at
Beverly; Ignetius is a teacher.
Isaac W. Channel, born 1846, son of Samuel and Susan (Taylor)
Channell; married in 1866, Columbia,«laughter of John and Susan (Coberly)
Taylor; children, Haymond T. , Dama G. His father was born 1822, married
Susan, daughter of Isaac Taylor, and located near Kerens. His grand
father-was also named Samuel.

344 FAMILY HISTORY.
C. W. Channel, born 1862, son of Samuel; married MadoraE. Simmons,
1882; children, Morgan R., Lena C, Sarah A., Mattie J., Gertie L., Russie
M., Elihu P., John D., Major A.
David C. Channel, born 1836; married, 1858, Henrietta Snelson; chil
dren, Marion, James, May; farmer, owns 200 acres; he is a grandson of
Jeremiah Channel.
J. C. Channel; married Elizabeth Ware, 1881; children, Charles,
Sophia J. , Luther J. , Branch, Loria E. , Flora A. , Jacob E. , Clinton, Lucy
A. , Loula R.
John I. Chenoweth, born 1790, died 1874; son of John Chenoweth, the
Revolutionary soldier who was from Hampshire County, and an extensive
landowner there. Mother's maiden name was Mary Pugh; married Mary,
daughter of Andrew Skidmore; children, Lemuel, Washington, Elijah H.,
Bli, Archibald, Thomas, Martha and Jerusha. These children married as
follows: Washington to Rachel Wees; Elijah to Nancy C. Ward; Eh to
Rebecca Brown; Archibald to Margaret Hyre; Thomas to Florida Wilson;
Martha to Job Daniels; Jerusha to Allison Daniels. The children of John
Chenoweth, the Revolutionary soldier, were John I. , Robert, William (mar
ried Lydia Kittle), Jehu (married Ellen Skidmore); Gabriel (married Eliza
beth Currence) ; Mary, and Eleanor (married James Hart). The Chenoweths
are of a very ancient family, of Welch origin. The name was originally
Trevelisich, but one of them built a castle called ' ' Chenouth, " and the name
was changed to Chenoweth, the English spelling of the word "Chenouth."
The family settled in Maryland very early, and one branch intermarried
with the family of Lord Baltimore, and another branch with the CromweUs,
whereby that ancient family (to which the great Oliver Cromwell belonged)
became related to the Chenoweths.
Lemuel Chenoweth, son of John I. Chenoweth, born 1811 ; mother's
maiden name Mary Skidmore; married, 1836, Nancy Ann, daughter of Jos.
Hart; maiden name of wife's mother, Mary Kittle. Children, Joseph H.,
John I. , Mary, Bernard, Hattie, Christina, Margaret, Zachary Taylor, Hart,
Stout, Lou Ella May, Blanche Alpin, Charles W., Harold Lee. Of these
children, Joseph became professor of mathematics in the Agricultural Col
lege of Maryland, and graduated at the Virginia Military Institute; was
Major in the Confederate army and was killed at Port Republic, June 9,
1862. Mary married John I. Weymouth, D. D. S. ; Hattie married Captain
T. S. Edwards, of Stanbury, Mo. ; Christina married D. R. Baker; Zachary
married Miss Julia A. Smith. He was in the Confederate army. ' Blanche
married W. T. Blackman, Hastings, Neb. ; Charles married Margaret Car
per. Mr. Chenoweth, by profession, was an architect and builder of
bridges. He took an active part in politics.
C. W. Chenoweth, son of Lemuel, born 1857; married, 1886, Maggie

FAMILY HISTORY. 345
B., daughter of Nehemiah Carper. Children, Blanche A., Charles P., Ab
bie H., Pearl G., Rowena M.
Andrew Crawford, the founder of the name in Randolph County, was
a native of Bath County, Virginia, where he was born January 9, 1775, and
his wife Elizabeth was born February 13, 1776. His people came from
Scotland and were strict Presbyterians, and Andrew saw to it that his chil
dren were regular in their attendance at church so long as they remained
under his roof. It was a choice between church or a whipping, and they
chose the former. He came to Randolph in company with his brother Rob
ert and settled at the mouth of Shaver Run, where they raised a crop, and
Andrew then returned to Virginia and brought his wife to Randolph. Some
time after this, Robert Crawford went to Lewis County, where his descend
ants stiU live. Andrew often spoke of the days spent in the cabin at the
mouth of Shaver Run as the happiest of his life. This land now belongs
to Daniel R. Baker, and is on the east side of the river, about seven miles
above Beverly. Mr. Crawford was one of the founders of the brick church
above Huttonsville, and was buried there. The church was torn down in
1862 by Federal soldiers, who used the bricks to build chimneys to their
winter quarters. The beautiful Presbyterian Church at HuttonsvUle is its
successor. Mrs. Cravrf ord's maiden name was Stephenson. She died Febru
ary 28, 1829. He then married Catharine Hyre, from French Creek, Up
shur County, who died 1832. The record of their children is as follows:
James S. Crawford, born January 27, 1800.
W. H. Crawford, born October 5, 1801.
Absalom Crawford, born October 26, 1803, died January, 1868.
Adam Crawford, born December 8, 1805; died 1860.
J. W. Crawford, born October 8, 1807, died 1860.
EUza Crawford, born October 8, 1809, died 1895.
Robert Crawford, born December, 1812, died December, 1882.
Jenny Crawford, born March 4, 1814, died in youth.
Andrew Crawford, born May 30, 1816, died in youth.
Bushrod W. Crawford, born May 16, 1818, died May 21, 1893.
J.S.Crawford moved to Clermont County and W.H. Crawford to Tusca-
roras County, Ohio. The above is copied from blank leaves in the Confession
o/J^ai^A, printed in 1795, and on one of the leaves is written: "Andrew Craw
ford's book, brought from Winchester by Mr. Robert Maxwell, price
$1.25." Bushrod Washington Crawford, born 1818, died 1893, son of An
drew Crawford; married, 1850, Anzina, daughter of Archibald Earle. Chil
dren, Laura, Earle, Jefferson, Andrew; first marriage to Miss Wilson;
child, Xantippe. He was County Commissioner, Assemblyman and Assessor.
Jefferson Andrew Crawford, born 1855, son of Bushrod and

346 FAMILY HISTORY.
Anzina (Earle) Crawford; in 1887 in Marion County, he married Nora Lou,
daughter of George W. and Kezia (Boyers) Davis; children, Earle Davis,
George Watts, Annie Laura.
Kent Bosworth Crawford, born 1848, son of Adam and Mary E.
(Bosworth) Crawford; married 1876, Mary A., daughter of Franklin and
Lucinda (Earle) Leonard; children, Herbert Adam, Stella Georgia; owns
2000 acres, 400 imjiroved.
Emmet Crawford, son of Absalom and Emily (Hart) Crawford, born
1844; married, 1869, Margaret, daughter of Matthew and Eunice (Harper)
Wamsley. Children, Burns, Rossie, Maggie, Ocia, Leah, Maud, Matie,
Emmet. 2nd marriage 1882 to Minerva Shiflette; owns 140 acres, was in the
Confederate army, and took part in many hard battles, being taken priso
ner below Richmond.
Rush Crawford, born 1855, son of Absalom, married 1880, Melissa E.
Shreve, and in 1895 married Emma Yokum. Children, Plummer B., Dale
W., Asa B. P. and Clinton.
Perry Wees Chenoweth, born 1865, son of John S., and Deborah
(Wees) Chenoweth; married Xantippe, daughter of Jacob and Caroline
(Caplinger) Chenoweth. Children, Maggie, Roy Perry, Ruth, Hattie.
Carpenter. Haymond Taylor CHANNEL,born 1867, son of Isaac W. and Coluinbia
(Taylor) Channf 1; in 1895 he married Bertie, daughter of George W. ^nd
Louisa (Taylor); carpenter in the machine shops at Elkins.
Jeremiah C. Channel, born near Huttonsville, 1824, son of Samuel
and Sarah (Wamsley) Channel; in 1848, at Mingo, he married Clarinda,
daughter of Joseph and Amanda (Wood) Moore. Children, Samaria A.,
Flora Amanda, Charles and Laura. His grandfather, Jeremiah Channel,
was born in Hardy County and came to Randolph in an early day.
Eugene Brannon Campbell, born at Philippi 1870, son of L. H. and
Angeline (Wilson) Campbell; in 1894 at Elkins he married Missouri, daugh
ter of Peter and Maria Poe; Child, William Sidney. . He is a carpenter and
house painter.
Jambs Cain, born 1864 on Roaring Creek, son of John and Mary
(Moyle) Cain, Irish; married Annie, daughter of John and Mary (McGinnis)
Conley. Children, Mary Regina, Amieta, James Alexander; merchant at
Elkins. Clay Channel, bern 1H75, son of George N. and Jemima (Wilmoth)
Channel; he married Maggie Wolf, daughter of John P. and Mary (Tech-
nell) Sharpless. Child, Moody Sewell.
James .L^'le Coff, born 1844, son of Patricia and Martha (Lyle) Cofi;
Irish parentage; married, 1867, Diana, daughter of George and Fannie

FAMILY HISTORY. 347
(Hess) Jordan. Children, James William, Martha Frances, Commodore
Maury, Lena Moore, Mary Cameron, Theodore Ligon, John Kyd, Jacob
Flint; owns 9 acres, 4 improved; carpenter by trade, and his sons, J. W.
and C. M. , are also carpenters.
Randolph Coberly, born on Shaver's Fork, 1832, died 1885, son of
James and Julia (Vanscoy) Coberly; married, 1853, Jane M., daughter of
Archibald Wilson. Children, Helen, Martha E., John, Alfred T., Archi
bald, James, WUliam H. , Ida J. , Julia E. Blacksmith, and owned a small
farm. James Coberly, born 1863, son of Randolph; Irish and German de
scent; married, 1885, Delphia B., daughter of Nicholas and Amanda (Tay
lor) MarstiUer; she died 1895. Children, Otto G., Cleon, Ohley R., CarlD.,
Virgil M. Spent his early life in Barbour County; came to Randolph in
1883, to Elkins 1894; elected Justice of the Peace 1892; studied law in the
West Virginia University; was admitted to practice in 1898.
Levi Coberly, born 1824, died 1883, son of James and Julia (Vanscoy)
Coberly; was married 1846, on Cheat River, to Mary, daughter of Amos
and Nancy (Schoonover) Canfield. Children, Luceba, Louis, Juliann
Columbia, Amanda, Nancy E. , Christopher Columbus, Lucy B. , Lydia Ann,
Sarah Jane. His grandfather, Lewis Coberly, married Margaret, daughter
of Daniel Cunningham, the man who was captured by Indians.
Jesse Coberly, born 1829, son of James and Julia (Vanscoy) Coberly;
EngUsh; married 1854, Jennette, daughter of G. W. and Phoebe (Schoon
over) Gainer. Children, James G. , A. Burr, Douglas E. Owns 555 acres,
125 improved. Mrs. Coberly's grandfather, David S. Schoonover, came to
Leading Creek about 1790, with his wife, carrying their worldly goods on
their backs.
Douglas Edwin Coberly, born on Shaver's Fork, 1860, son of Jesse
and Jeannette (Gainer) Coberly; Irish and English ancestry; married, 1892,
MoUie BeUe, daughter of George W. and Sarah E. (Phares) Kalar. Child,
Bessie Dovie. Mr. Coberly is a farmer, owns 312 acres, 60 improved.
Taught school twelve terms; was elected Justice of the Peace in 1884, and
every term since; is chairman of the District Democratic Committee.
William Harrison Coberly, born 1865, son of Randolph and Jane
M. (WUson) Coberly; in 1887 he married Margaret E., daughter of W. C.
and Jane (Nelson) Taylor. Children, Mota and Howard. Blacksmith at
Harding. James George Coberly, born 1857 on Shafer's Pork, son of Jesse
and DeUla (Gainer) Coberly, was married 1880 to Mary Ellen, daughter of
James S. and Rebecca A. (Phares) Hyre. Children, Glenn D., Stark L.,
Guy E. Oda B., Bttie D., Ray J. and Clare. He began life .as a farmer,
then went into the saw-mill business at Montrose, and in 1890 engaged in

348 FAMILY HISTORY.
the mercantile business with Dr. W. E. Byrd and J. S. Hyre, and four years
later was in the saloon business and followed that three years. He is a
member of the I. O. O. P.
Anthony B. Coberly, born 1863, son of Jesse; married, 1881, Anna
B., daughter of James Murphy. Children, Maud 0., Jesse B., Douglas C,
Eva, Columbus C, William J.
John Coberly, son of James Coberly, born 1826 on Shaver's Pork;
mother's maiden name Julia Vanscoy; married, 1851, Harriet, daughter of
Archibald Wilson. Children, James and Millard.
E. W. Coberly, son of Williams, born 1858, married, 1883, Louise C.
Clem. Children, Frances M. , Bernice B. , A. Blanche, Vinnie M. , Leroy
Haymond. Parmer, owns 70 acres.
Allen Coberly, born 1858, son of Archibald and Caroline (Taylor)
Coberly; English; married, 1878, Antippe, daughter of John and Jemima
(Isner) Calain. Children, Missouri, Eva, Albert, Pearlie, Anna, Emma,
Barley B.
Thomas J. Coberly, born 1878, son of Bushrod W. ; married Minnie
White, 1898; child, Bessie P.; farmer and railroader.
Jesse Chenoweth Coberly, born 1848 near Elkins, son of WUliam
H. and Ruthanna (Hart) Coberly; English parentage; at Kelly Mountain,
1870, he married Elizabeth Ann, daughter of Isaac and Eunice (Triplett)
Taylor; children, Lee, Lummie, Minnie; farmer and stockman, lived 27
years on Shaver's Mountain; member of the American Detective Agency.
Edmond Wilmoth Coberly, born 1858 in Barbour County; son of
William and Mary (Wilmoth) Coberly; married, 1883, Louisa C. daughter of
William and Elizabeth (Cooper) Clem; children Prances Mary, Ida
Belle, Bernice Elizabeth, Ades Blanche, V. Maude, Leroy Haymond. Mrs.
Coberly died 1893, and he married Mrs. Birdie E. Wees, widow of Jefferson D.
Wees; farmer near Kerens. His father was born in Bath County, Va. ;
his grandfather, Joseph Coberly, was in the War of 1812, and afterwards
settled in Barbour.
William Harrison Coberly, born 1824 in Barbour County, son of
Jesse and Margaret (Chenoweth) Coberly; in 1846 he married Ruth Ann,
daughter of James and Nellie (Chenoweth) Hart. Children, Jesse, Lummie
Jane; farmer, owns 1337 acres, 250 improved, on Shaver's Mountain, and
house and lot in Elkins. His father was born on Cheat River 1796; his
grandfather was Levi Coberly. He was in the Confederate Army.
James Allen Coberly. born 1852, son of John and Harriet (Wilson)
Coberly; married near Belington, 1872, Hattie A., daughter of William P.
and Eliza (Simmons) Wilson. Children, Flory Jackson, John Painter,
Charles Shaffer, EUza Wilson, Missouri, Emory Camden, Jasper Mack,

FAMILY HISTORY. 349
Belva, Lida PerreU; farmer, owns 180 acres north of Elkins; educated in
the common schools; member of LeadsvUle Board of Education; prominent
in secret society circles. His son, Flory Jackson, taught school three
years and entered the ministry, M. E. Church, South; Charles S. taught
two years and in 1898 entered the ministry, same church. The Coberlys
came from the South Branch; John was born in Randolph, 1826; was Jus
tice of the Peace during the war; John's father was James, and he lived on
Cheat River, married Julia Vanscoy, and died 1855; James' father was Levi,
and he married a Cunningham.
Millard J. Coberly, born 1860; married, 1886, to Ellen Bonner.
Children, WUliam T., Leland, Frank, Jackson. He has 300 bullets and an
unexploded shell fired at the Confederates under Jackson, a mile above
Beverly, in 1863; owns 210 acres, 180 improved.
Calvin Collett, born 1818, died 1880, son of Thomas Collett; mar
ried, 1849, Louise, daughter of William and Emeline (Vandevender) Hyre;
of Upshur County. Children, Columbus, Christina, Florence May, Lena
Bird, William Thomas.
A. J. Collett, son of Thomas and Nancy (Petro) ¦CoUett, born 1837;
married, 1868, Xantippe Crawford. Children, Beulah, Laura, Albert, Ora,
Bushrod C. , Howard L. , Susan, Katherine Ward.
Parkinson Collett, son of Thomas Collett, born March 29, 1828, of
French ancestry; mother's maiden name, Mary Pedro, belonging to one of
the oldest families of Randolph; married February 19, 1866, Anzina, daugh
ter of Alba Chenoweth. The maiden name of Mrs. CoUett's mother was
Emily WUmoth. Children, Zan P., Mittie, Thomas J., Emma, Louise, Alba
and Florence. He is a merchant and farmer and resides in Beverly. He
served nearly four years in the Confederate Army; was first lieutenant of
McClanahan's battery, and was wounded three times. His grandfather was
a Revolutionary soldier. Mr. Collett, in ^the Confederate Army, took part
in many hard battles, among them being Gettysburg, Lynchburg, New
Hope, Winchester, and many others. He was Assessor two terms before
the war and two after, and worked on the earliest records in Tucker County.
Elam T. Collett, born 1861 on Cheat R'iver, son of Moses P. and
Rebecca (Canfield) CoUett; married, 1884, Celesta P., daughter of Bryan
and Jennie (Goddin) Gainer. ChUdren, Summa O., Delias M., Glennie.
Farmer, owns 35 acres, near Kerens.
Lloyd Dow Collett, born 1866, son of Moses P. and Catherine
(Gainer) Collett; married in 1893 Mattie, daughter of Samuel and Mary
(Gray) Kalor. ChUdren, Evan, Susan Catherine. Was born a farmer, lik
his father before him, but in 1889 engaged in the carpenter trade at Elkins,
and for two years in the mercantile business with P. H. Wees & Sons, then
entered the employ of the West Virginia Central Railroad, department of
23

350 FAMILY HISTORY.
Maintenance of Way, under G. E. Little. In 1893 was elected Constable in
LeadsvUle District; enlisted in the West Virginia National Guards, 1893,
orderly sergeant; was ordered into service in April, 1898, in the Spanish
War; was released May 7.
David Conrad, born 1816. Married, Susan, daughter of Henry
and Elizabeth (Conger) Vandevender. Children, Anna, Jacob, Napoleon
B. , Martha E. , Phoebe E. , Sampson B. The first house in his neighbor
hood was build by Samuel Bonner in 1820.
Harmon Jackson Conrad, born 1847, son of John B. and Mary Ann
(Wilson) Conrad; German parentage. Married, 1872, at Oakland, Md.,
Mary, daughter of Jacob and Ann (Bailey) Conrad. Children, Louella,
Estelle, Jacob W. Owns 500 acres, 300 improved; stockraiser and farmer.
He owns the old Connolly farm on which the Indian massacre occurred.
The gravestone yet stands. General Lee made fortifications on his place.
He owns an old clock, the age of which is unknown, and a bible given to
an ancestor in 1810. The earliest Conrad recorded in the bible was Jacob,
born in 1744; who married Ann, daughter of John and grand-daughter
of William Currence. His son, Peter Conrad, was born 1777. Peter's chil
dren were, Nancy, Elizabeth, married David SaUsbury; Sarah married
Joseph Wamsley; Phoebe, married Jeremiah Conger, on Elk; AUcey, mar
ried Daniel Wamsley; John B., married Mary Wilson; Diana, married Lewis
Conger, on Elk; Maria, married Isaac Dodrill; Polly, married Thomas Cur
tis; Barbara, unmarried; Jacob, married Ann Bailey; Rachel, unmarried;
Peter, married Elsey Arbogast; Syrena, married MarshaU Clarke, and
moved to Illinois.
W. P. Conrad, born 1853, son of Jacob P. and EUzabeth M. (Alkire)
Conrad. Married, 1873, Lydia A. Sargent, and after her death, in 1888, to
Mary E. , daughter of Isaac W. Brady. Children, Fenton, Fletcher E. , Rose
W., Hettie A., George P., John B., Grover L., C. O., Mary, Charles, J.
Boyd, Myrtle, Laura G. Farmer, merchant and lumberman; owns 53 acres.
His second wife was 13 years old and he was 35 when they were married.
A skirmish between Federals and Confederates took place at his father's
house. Omar Conrad, son of A. R. Conrad, German ancestry, born 1847 in
Braxton County; mother's maiden name, Elizabeth Singleton. Married,
1884, Alice C. , daughter of Conrad Currence. Maiden name of wife's mother,
Edith Buckey. He came to Randolph in 1878; owns 111 acres, 60 improved;
was deputy sheriff eleven years, and was then elected member of the county
court. He belongs to the Conrad family of Pendleton County, one branch
of the family settling in Braxton, near BuUtown, and another in Randolph.
Jacob Conrad, son of David, born 1854; married, 1875, Rebecca Ham-
rick. Children, Weymouth H. , Henry H. , Effie, Esty A. , John E. , Lina.

FAMILY HISTORY. 351
S. B. Conrad, son of David, born 1865; married, 1887, Melvina Hamrick.
Children, Mintie O., Phoebe A. Farmer.
Samuel Conrad, son of John and Mary (Wilson) Conrad, born 1856.
Married, 1883, Ann, daughter of WiUiam D. and Ellen (Stalnaker) Currence.
Children, Cecil, Brown, Louonia. Parmer, 272 acres.
Peter B. Conrad, born 1852, son of John and Mary (Wilson) Conrad;
Irish ancestry; married, 1873, to Alice, daughter of Samuel and Hulda
(Mathas) Channel. Children, Charles, Blanche, Blain, Kent, John, Hattie;
carpenter. N.B. Conrad, son of David,born 1856; married, 1876, Martha Hamrick.
Children, Laura A., Isaac C, Nettie, M. L., Eliza J., Jocob E., Susie W.,
Addle E.
Lewis Conrad, born 1850, son of Jacob, married Mary B., daughter
of Jonathan Crouch, 1874. ChUdren, Grace L., Harry, Bruce; farmer, mer
chant and miller.
Lloyd Conrad, born 1848, son of Peter Conrad; English .ancestors;
was married in Webster County, 1880, to Sarah R., daughter of William P.
and Nancy (Gregory) Chatman. Children, Harman P. , Ellis R. , Vilas C. ,
Vandalinden, Rumsey B.
William Hall Conrad, born '1849, son of John B. and Mary (WUson)
Conrad; German ancestry; married, 1892, Alice, daughter of Bryson and
Mary (Stalnaker) Hamilton; owns 66 acres, all improved; was eight years
postmaster; lived eight years in Kansas and Colorado.
Charles Eldridge Conrad, born 1875; German ancestry; son of
Peter and Alice (Channel) Conrad.
Elijah J. Cooper, born 1842, son of Jonas and Mary (Rohrbaugh)
Cooper; in 1873, near mouth of Seneca, he married Hannah Susan, daugh
ter of James and Susanna (MiUer) Bible. Children, Jacob S., Benjamin Y.,
Hayes, Mary Elizabeth, Hattie S., Cora, Mertie, Wilbur B., Harris W.,
Ployd M. ; farmer; owns 250 acres, 75 improved; was in Union Army,
Home Guards.
Valentine Cooper, born 1832 on Dry Pork, son of Jonas Cooper, Ger
man parentage. In 1872 he married, in Pendleton, Rachel C, daughter of
James Bible. ChUdren, James, Clara, Lucy, Kenna, Mary, Wm. P., Anna,
Margaret, Bessie, John H., FrankUn. Farmer, owns 170 acres, 50 im
proved. His father, Jonas Cooper, moved from MiU Creek, Hardy County,
in 1829, and settled just below Harman, on Dry Fork.
Christian Cooper, born 1829, son of Jonas and Mary P. (Rohrbaugh)
Cooper. In 1854 he married Christena, daughter of John and Jemima (Wol
ford) Carr. Children, Mary P., Asa, Emily J., Jemima, Ama, Own 150
acres, 75 improved.

352 FAMILY HISTORY.
Daniel Cooper, born 1840, son of Jonas. In'1874 he married Phoebe,
daughter of John Snyder. Children, Hoy, Nora B., Laura J., Oscar C,
Barbara E., Pearley B., Charles H., Latie P., Baby. Farmer, owns 700
acres, 500 improved. Handles from 75 to 100 stock cattle and 100 sheep,
and winters them; cuts from 40 to 60 stacks of hay; was member of the
Home Guards unde'r Captain Snyder.
Asa Cooper, born 1858, son of Christian Cooper. In 1884 he married
Gettie Lee McDonald. Children, Arthur, Zadie, Cecil, Riley, Nela, Robert
Decatur. Parmer, merchant and hotel-keeper, owns 63 acres, 50 improved.
Job Cooper, born on Alleghany Mountain, son of Samuel Cooper,
Dutch ancestry. In 1879 he married Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. B. Y,
and Elizabeth (Hinkle) Smith, Children, Orpha, Ira, Hickman, French,
Laura, Decatur, Dixon, Farmer, 349 acres, 200 improved. Moved to Ten
nessee 1887, and in one year came back.
Daniel Cooper, born 1864, son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Wymer)
Cooper, English and Irish parentage. Married, 1895, Annie, daughter of
Jacob C. and Susan (McDonald) Harper. Children, Nellie Elizabeth, Jere
miah Harper. He lived in Tucker County 13 years, as merchant and farmer,
and was elected Constable in Dry Pork District 1896; became a citizen of
Beverly 1898, in the business of butcher. His grandfather was Jonas
Cooper and his great grandfather Samuel Cooper.
A. W. Corley was born June 9, 1851, opposite the mouth of Roaring
Creek; son of W. P. Corley; was married at Sutton, Braxton County, 1877,
to Annie D., daughter of Col. William and Eliza (Camden) Newlon. The
Corley family came from Ireland in 1760 and settled in Fauquier County,
Virginia. The grandfather of the subject of this sketch was then three
years old. When he went into business for himself it was as a merchant at
Franklin, Pendleton County, where he remained until 1815, when he pur
chased a farm near Belington, now Barbour, but then Randolph County,
and took up his residence there. He died in 1826. His name was William.
His son. W. F. , was County Superintendent of Schools of Randolph after
the close of the war. The subject of this sketch graduated at the Fairmont
Normal School in 1873, and three years later moved to Sutton, Braxton
County, where he entered upon the practice of law. He was elected to the
office of Prosecuting Attorney of Braxton, and served four years. In 1896
he was nominated for the office of Judge of the Supreme Court of West
Virginia by the People's Party, andis a believer in the "Chicago Platform"
of 1896.
John A. Corley, born 1854, son of W. P. Corley; in 1875 he married
Florence A., daughter of E. H. Rowan. Children, Sarah E., Verna N.,
Georgie C, Emma L., Zetta G., Lela M., Ella M. ; farmer and real estate
dealer.

IPAMILY HISTORY. 35g
G. C. Corley, bom 1840, son of N. B. and Louise (WUson) Corley;
EngUsh parentage; in 1866 he married Lydia, daughter of Jacob and Eva
(Kunst) Thorne. ChUdren, Edward H., Mary L., Stella L., Dora A., James
A., Metie; farmer, 225 acres, 175 improved; was in Federal Army. His
father, who was a Union spy, was captured at Beverly, 1861, and taken to
Virginia. Obtaining his release, he joined the Federal Army and was cap
tured again. G. C. Corley was employed by General McClellan as a spy,
and was captured in Randolph. He claims to have been the second pris
oner of war taken by the Confederates, and that he is now the first surviv
ing prisoner. Conrad Couger, born 1838, son of Lewis ahd Diana (Conrad) Conger;
married, 1869, Elizabeth Wymer. Child, Emma B.
Jacob Couger, born 1840, son of Lewis; married, 1865, Annie Con
rad. ChUdren, WUliam L. and Cleveland.
Patrick Crickard was born 1834, son of John and Mary (Plunkett)
Crickard of Ireland. Miss Plunkett was a relative of the member of the
British Parliament of that name. Michael Crickard, the father of John
and grandfather of the subject of this sketch, took part in the Emmet Re
beUion in Ireland in 1803. He subsequently came to America, and died in
Staunton Va. , 1845. The fiint-lock musket with which he fought in Ireland
was brought to this country and remained in possession of Patrick Crickard
until 1861, when it was taken from him at Beverly by Union soldiers, and
was lost. The chUdren of John Crickard were, Patrick, Peter, Ann, Sarah,
Mary, Margaret. In 1859 Patrick married Amanda, daughter of Henry and
Mary Currence. She lived only two years, leaving children, John Ran
dolph and Mary. In 1869 Mr. Crickard married Sarah, daughter of James
McGee, a merchant of Baltimore. She died in two years and left no chil
dren. Mr. Crickard, 1873, married Phoebe A. , daughter of James Moyers,
Children; Cecil Llewellyn, Robert Walker, Sumner, Mason, Leland Woods
and Ruble. Cecil is a graduate of the Buckhannon Academy. Mr. Crick
ard is a farmer, owning 450 acres; 200 improved. The town of Crickard is
named from him. He has held public office twenty years, ten as Justice of
the Peace and ten as Commissioner of the Court. Prom 1865 till 1872 he
was in the mercantile business at Huttonsville. Ever since the Civil War
he has been a leader in the Democratic party of Randolph. At the begin
ning of the Civil War he was Major of the 107th Regiment Virginia Infantry,
and saw ninety days of service, when he was taken prisoner and was pa
roled. The first public school house in his district was built on his land
and is still standing. Mrs. Crickard has a saber which she picked up on
the battlefield of McDowell just after the fight.
George Nixon Channell, born 1848, son of Samuel and Susan (Tay
lor) Channell; was married in 1861 to Jemima Jane, daughter of James M.

354 paMiLy SiSTotiY.
and Margaret (Hart) Wilmoth. Children, Tippa, Clay, Samuel L. , Bernice,
Clyde, Fletcher, Cletus, Grover C, Belva and Macelona.
Peter Crickard, Irish ancestry, son of John and Mary (Plunkett)
Crickard, born 1837 in Baltimore. Married, 1867, Virginia E., daughter of
David and Jane(Steward)Bennett. Children, Charles G., Augustus J. Has 270
acres, 200 improved. His father helped build the Staunton and Parkers
burg pike. Has been Justice sixteen years. His brother and sisters were:
Patrick, Ann, Sarah, Mary and Margaret.
A. J. Crickard, born 1874, son of Peter. Married, 1896, Georgiana,
daughter of Jasper N. and Sally (Pritt) Phares. Child, Baby. Owns 372
acres. John Randolph Crickard, son of Patrick and Amanda (Currence)
Crickard, born 1860; Irish parentage. Married, 1885, Alverda P., daughter
of John N. C. and Hannah (Currence) Bell. Children, Patrick Ewart, John
Nixon, Robert Bruce, Eva Bell, Peter Warren, Mary. He has been Justice
of the Peace; attended school three years _at Rock Hill CoUege, Ellicott
City, Md. ; spent two years in Missouri; owns 625 acres, 200 improved.
Charles Carroll Crickard, born 1870, son of Peter and Virginia
(Bennett) Crickard; Irish parentage. Married, 1891, Adeline, daughter of
Adam and Virginia (Harris) Stalnaker. Child, Ethel Virginia. Owns 43
acres, nearly all improved; has been Constable six years; attended the
McCloud Academy at Huttonsville.
John Crouch. About 1750 three brothers named Crouch came from
Wales and settled in the United States. It cannot be ascertained where
they first made their home, but subsequently one went to Tennessee, one
to Kentucky and one, whose name was John, and who is the subject of this
sketch, settled in Tygart's Valley, near the mouth of Shaver Run. Of those
who went to Kentucky and Tennessee, or of their descendants, little or
nothing was heard for nearly a hundred years, but they knew that some of
their people lived in Tygart's Valley; and in 1861, when General Lee ad
vanced to Elkwater and fell back, some of the descendants of the Kentucky
and Tennessee Crouches were in his army. They were much elated at the
prospect of seeing their kindred in the Valley, and when Lee retreated they
were greatly disappointed. This fact was learned from soldiers in the
army, but the Crouches never communicated with any of their people in
Randolph, nor were they heard of again. They were probably killed in
some battle during the war. The date when John Crouch came to Tygart's
Valley is not known, but since his son. Major John Crouch, was the first
white child born in what is now Randolph County, he was here at a very
early date; no doubt as early as 1772. It is not known whom he married,
whether he married in the Valley or before he came. His death was caused
by the bite of a rattlesnake. Late in the evening he was in his cowpen,

MMILY HISTORY. ggg
6n the Thomas B. Scott farm, and was barefooted. A rattlesnake struck
him on the ankle, and he lived only eight hours. He left three sons, John
(called Major John), Jacob and Andrew. His daughter married Samuel
Wamsley, whose father was James Wamsley. Thus two of the first fami
Ues of Randolph were connected by marriage before Randolph County was
formed. #-
John Crouch, son of John, and who married Judy Westfall, left the
foUowing children: Isaac, Abraham, Andrew, Marshall and one daughter,
who married John Currence.
Jacob Crouch, son of John, and brother to "Major John," left one
son John. In this repetition of names in the f amUy and in different branches
of the family is seen one of the reasons why it is often so difficult to trace
famUies back to the original ancestor, and why there is so much disagree
ment on the subject. The father, son and grandson, together with nephews,
uncles and cousins, all having the same name, are sometimes supposed,
after they have been dead a few generations, to have all been the same
person. Andrew Crouch, son of John and brother to "Major John," married
EUzabeth Hutton. Their children were Jonathan, Jacob, Kitty, Moses,
John and Abraham.
Jonathan Crouch, born 1811 at Elkwater, son of Andrew and Eliza
beth (Hutton) Crouch; in 1830 married Delila, daughter of Adam and Chris
tina (Harper) Haigler; children, Dorothy who married Adam See, Almira
who married William L. Ward, Cyrus, killed at the battle of Fredericks
burg, Martha who married Samuel B. Wamsley, Christina who married
Adam H. Wamsley, Eli H. who married Amelia Currence, Elizabeth who
married Jacob L. Ward, Mary who married Lewis Conrad, Roberda, Henry
C. who married Anna Stalnaker; farmer, owned 1625 acres.
ChXrles Crouch, born 1833, son of Abraham, married 1858, Virginia,
daughter of Elias and Eliza (Crawford) Wilmoth; children, Livia, Kate L,,
Stella, Harriet E., Mary M., John C. ; farmer and stockdealer; his daughters
Kate and Stella are teachers, and Harriet is a milliner at Crickard.
Newton Crouch, born 1843, son of Jacob and Rachel (McNeal) Crouch;
married Verna D. Hutton, and afterwards Alice Hutton; children, Carrie
R. , Paul M. Farmer, owns 1900 acres.
Marshall Crouch, born near Lee Bell, 1814, son of Major John and
Judy (Westfall) Crouch; in 1849 he married Mary J., daughter of George
and Mary J. See. Children, George A., John R., Eugenie, Minerva W.,
Eliza A., Mattie J., Virginia L., Florence W., May J., Lucy S. He was a
farmer. John A. Crouch, born 1827, died 1889, son of Andrew; in 1874 he

3^6 ii^AMlLY mSToRY.
married Hannah daughter of James and Mary (Wamsley) 'Rosencranee.
Children, Lena and Early. Farmer, owned 1200 acres.
Abraham Crouch, born 1832, son of Andrew and Elizabeth Crouch;
married in Pocahontas County, 1856, to Elizabeth, daughter of John and
Harriet (Lockridge) McNeal. Children, Lee, Ada, Lina, Bettie, May,
Jackson, Grace. Farmer, owns 1800 acres, 700 improved; large stockdealer,
Noah Crouch, born 1832, son of Abraham; married, 1867, Margaret,
daughter of John A. Hutton. Merchant, farmer and stockdealer.
Bli H. Crouch, born 1841, gon of Jonathan and Delia (Haigler) Crouch;
he married in 1870 in Braxton County, Amelia, daughter of John J. and
Delila A. (Conrad) Currence. Children, Madlene, Mary E. , Ruth, Howard,
Cyrus, Delilah, Spencer. Mrs. Crouch died April 1, 1896. He is a farmer,
owns 450 acres, half improved, and an interest in 1000 acres. He has a
plow eighty years old, with a wooden mouldboard; his residence contains
many modern conveniences.
Lee Crouch, son of Abraham Crouch, born 1859 near Elkwater;
mother's maiden name was Elizabeth McNeal; German ancestry; was mar
ried in 1893 near Staunton Virginia, to Amanda, daughter of John Wallace;
maiden name of wife's mother, Mary Black. Child, Mary Elizabeth. He
was Deputy Sheriff under Warwick Hutton and A. J. Long, and in 1896
was elected Clerk of the Randolph County Court.
Solomon Cunningham, born 1830 near Circleville. His mother was
DelUa, daughter of William Cunningham; was married 1857 in Pendleton Co.
to Mary J., daughter of Levi and Elizabeth (Rittenhouse) Lantz. ChUdren,
David S., James L., Lee, Abraham, Absalom M., Charles, Benjamin Y.,
Mary E., Arthena, Martha P., Anna B., Solomon T. Came to Randolph
1889 and bought land below Harman. His grandfather, James Cunningham,
came from Dublin, Ireland, about 1753, and in the Revolutionary War was
a major in Gen. Washington's army. When about 17 years old, during the
French and Indian War (probably in 1758) he was captured by the Indians
and was a prisoner seven years, and during that time he became acquainted
with what is now West Virginia, by traveling through it with the Indians.
He married in Pennsylvania, moved to the South Branch, and settled at
Old Fields, Hardy County, and then moved to Upper Tract, then to North
Fork, then to Crab Bottom, then to HuttonsvUle, and died while on his
way to Gilmer County,
David Snyder Cunningham, born in Pendleton County, 1857, son of
Solomon and Mary Jane (Lantz) Cunningham; Irish ancestry; at Circleville
he married Minnie, daughter of Adam B. and Elizabeth (Cunningham)
Warner. Children; Guy, Warner, Odie, Maggie, Robert, Don. Came to
Randolph in 1892 and for two years was in the mercantile business; lumber
inspector for A. J. and M. V. Bennett three years, and now for the Pied-

J^AMILY HISTORY. 357
mont Lumber Company. He built the Alleghany Hotel and three dwelling
houses in Job. In his yard is the rock against which Thomas B. Summer-
field built his hut and spent his first winter in Randolph. He was the first
settler in that section. He came in the fall and intended to begin build
ing his house the next day. That night a heavy snow fell, and he built
a hut of pine boughs against the rock and thus spent the winter. The
ashes from his fire may yet be seen, two or three feet deep.
A. M. Cunningham, formerly of Randolph, now of Tucker County,
born 1864, son of Solomon and Mary (Lantz) Cunningham; Scotch and Ger
man ancestry; was married in 1887 to Maude, daughter of Daniel and Eliza
J. (Lantz) Auvil. Children, Eugene B., Charles S., Neale, Constance, Mc
Kinley and Hobson. Mr. Cunningham is a lawyer; was Prosecuting At
torney of Tucker from 1893 to 1897, and assistant prosecutor in the cele
brated Eastham case, 1897.
James Snyder Cunningham, born 1857, son of Solomon and Mary J.
(Lantz) Cunningham; Scotch parentage; in 1881 he married Maijg S., daugh
ter of Salem and Polly (Bennett) Ketlerman. Children, cS.rles, Paul,
Homan, Maudie, Gertie, Glenn, . Lenora, Bryan, Baby; farmer, has lived in
Randolph since 1890; was member of the Board of Education of Dry Fork
District one term; traveled three years in the West, visiting Ohio, Indiana,
lUinois, Missouri and Kansas.
Abraham Lantz Cunningham, born in Gilmer County, son of Sol
omon Cunningham; in Pendleton County, 1886, he marriedCatherine Bean,
daughter of William and Martha (Waybright) Hinkle. Children, Zena,
Willie, Hinkle, Chloe, Vella J. ; lived in Randolph since 1880; carpenter.
Lee Cunningham, born 1860 in Pendleton County, died 1892; son of
Solomon Cunningham; Scotch parentage; in 1882, in Pendleton County,
he married Martha Ellen, daughter of Aaron and Elizabeth Bennett. Chil
dren, Dora, Rettie, Goff, Glenn, Lee, Parloa; came to Randolph in 1886;
merchant and hotel keeper at Harman.
E. A. Cunningham, bom in Pendleton County in 1852, son of Arnold
and Mary A. Cunningham; Irish descent; educated in the common schools
and at Oakland Academy, Va. ; taught school in Upshur County; studied
law three years under Hon. W. H. H. Flick, and in 1873 entered the Univer
sity of Virginia, and the same year was admitted to practice. In 1872 he
was elected to a committee clerkship in the State Senate, through the influ
ence of Hon. H. G. Davis, and in 1874 he was elected assistant, and in 1876
Clerk of the Senate. In 1874 he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Pen
dleton and held the office eight years. He was married May 4, 1893, to
Miss Sallie Handy, daughter of J. B. and Margaret Kee (Boggs) Anderson,
of Pendleton County. Soon after his marriage he visited Beverly, bought
a lot opposite the new Court-House, and built upon it an elegant home,

35g I^AMlLY HlSTOlY.
which cost more than $5000, and it is elaborately decorated with artistic
paintings made by Mrs. Cunningham.
Henry Vandevender Cunningham, born 1850 in Pendleton County,
son of Thomas and Sallie Ann (Turner) Cunningham; Irish ancestry; in
Pendleton County, 1877, he married Susan Elizabeth, daughter of Adam
and Kitty (Turner) Raines; he is a merchant; for 14 years he has been a
minister in the German Baptist, or Brethren Church. He was one of the
first settlers on Senaca, and established the postoffice at Onego, W. Va. ;
has been a great hunter, having killed 109 deer, 10 bears and great quanti
ties of small game,
John W. Cunningham, born 1828 in Pendleton County, son of WiUiam
and Mary (Grimes) Cunningham, married Rebecca, daughter of James and
Rebecca (Wimer) Bennett. Children, Isaac, Eli, Mary, Martha, Jane,
Savanna, Lura, Isabel. Blacksmith in Dry Fork District.
Bli Cunningham, born 1864, son of John W. In 1886 he married
Rebecca J. , daughter of John S. and Eliza (White) Kerns. Children, Laura
A., Carrie E., Luah P., Alba L., Elvie R., DoUie G. and Baby. Farmer.
Isaac Cunningham, son of lohn W., born 1860. Married Alice, daugh
ter of George and Mary (Lamb) ^arkley. Children, Mary P. , Maudie B. ,
Delia C. , Geneva E. , Elmer, Annie and John P.
Benjamin Yost Cunningham, born in Pendleton County, 1868, son of
Solomon Cunningham. In 1891, near Circleville, he married Florence P.,
daughter of Nimrod P. Dove. Children, twins, Leonie and Leorie, Andy
Yost, Bnola, Frankie, Marie. He came to Randolph in 1890; has taught
nine terms of school; was the first principal of the Job school, and the first
at Whitmer; was elected Justice of the Peace for Dry Fork District in 1896.
He was in the mercantile business one year at Job. His enterprise and
hard work have won him the confidence and esteem of the people of Ran
dolph, and in 1898 the Republicans of that county and of Tucker nominated
him as their standard-bearer in the race for the West Virginia Legislature.
Joseph Arnold Cunningham, born April 27, 1861, on Cheat River,
son of Andrew J. and Eleanor (Wimer) Cunningham; Irish and German
ancestry; was married September 11, 1888, to Rose Anna, daughter of Jacob
and Catherine (Scherz) Knutti. Children, Wilbert J., Clara Maude, Lillian
Rose, Claude Arnold, Floyd Wilson, Fred, Grace Catherine, Bertha Eleanor.
Mr. Cunningham has held the office of Constable and Notary Public, and
was nominated in 1898 by the Democratic party of Randolph and Tucker
Counties as a member of the Legislature. He made his way in life, while
young, under many discouragements. He was born poor, and hard worli
was his lot. Yet he constantly held in view the purpose of making a suc
cess in life. He studied by the light of pitch pine knots which he gathered
in the woods. When thirteen years old his mother died, and he was turned

FAMILY fliSTORY. §59
out into the world to make his way. His father died in 1893. He worked
at fifty cents a day to pay board while going to school, and all the educa
tion he got was through his own exertions. During the winter of 1884-5
he taught school at Thorn Grove, and soon after he accepted a position as
clerk in J. W. Parsons' store at Job, which position he held until 1897. He
then went into the mercantile business on his own account at Alpina. By
frugality, industry and perseverance he has accumulated considerable prop
erty, owning 618 acres of land. In his leasure hours, of which he has few,
he enjoys the sport of hunting and fishing, and is an expert at both.
Andrew Jackson Cunningham, son of A. J. and Lucy E. (Wimer)
Cunningham. In 1898 he married Emma, daughter of Jacob and Catherine
(Scherz) Knutti, of Alpina.
Henry G. Cunningham, born 1844, son of Eglon. Married CaroUne
Bland, 1871. Children, Charles E. , Retimma, Virginia, Rosanna, Delia,
William. Blacksmith at Job; was in Southern army.
James L. Cunningham, M. D., born 1863, in Pittsburg; Irish and Eng
Ush ancestry; son of John and Salina (Cowell) Cunningham. Married, 1894,
Mary, daughter of William and Margaret (Rees) Roberts. Child, Mabel
Marie. Dr. Cunningham graduated in medicine from the Baltimore Uni
versity in 1891, and the next year located at Pickens.
William Currence, son of Samuel Currence, was a native of Ireland.
His father, for a second wife, married a wealthy and aristocratic woman
who could not get along well with her stepchildren. William, who was
seventeen years of age, and who is believed to have been the oldest of the
children, one day when greatly provoked, so far forgot himself as to strike his
stepmother. This made great commotion among her people, and her hus
band, in order to bring about peace, packed his son off for America. The
young man went to Maryland and in course of a few years married Miss
Steele, and several years after that he moved to Tygart's Valley and soon
became one of the leading pioneers. He built the Currence fort a short
distance below HuttonsviUe, in 1774. This was incorrectly called "Casino's
fort" in some of the old histories.* The fort stood about 200 yards south
east of the railroad depot at Crickard. When William Currence first came
to the Valley he took up land where Beverly now stands, but he soon after
traded with some of the WestfaUs for 600 acres around Crickard. He built
a tub mill on the bank of the river near the fort. This is beUeved to have
been the first mill within the present Umits of Randolph County. Shortly
after that he built another mill, located it on MiU Creek, a few yards above
the site of the present mill of Colonel Melvin Currence. He left ten chil
dren, John, who was known as "Up the river John," Samuel, WUUam, Ann,
Sidney, Jane, SaUy, Lydia, and two daughters whose baptismal names are
*See note, page 182.

360 FAMILY aiSTOBY.
not remembered, but one married a man named Shaw and the other a man
named Smith (not Jonathan Smith). Of the children, John married Miss
Friend, believed to have lived on Leading Creek; Samuel married Elizabeth,
daughter of Cornelius Bogard, April 27, 1795; Lydia married Benjamin
Hornbeck, who was Sheriff of Randolph County in 1815; Sally Currence
married Mathew Wamsley; Sydney married Nicholas Wilmoth; Jane mar
ried Jonathan Smith, and two of her grand daughters are living at this day
near Huttonsville, Mrs. Jane Lazure and Mrs. Nancy Wilmoth, the former
85 and the latter 81 years old. William married Mary, daughter of Sylves
ter Ward, June 10, 1794.
William Currence fell a victim to the Indians about 1780.* He left
his home near the Currence fort to go to the Haddan fort, ten miles above.
It is related that his children and his vrife urged him not to go, because
there had been Indian alarms in the neighborhood for. several days, and it
was believed the savages were still in the vicinity. He sent his son to the
pasture to bring a horse, and the boy, in order to keep his father from go
ing, came back and said he could not catch the horses. Under threats of a
whipping the boy was sent again, and brought the horse. Mr. Currence
rode off, following the old Indian trail up the valley, and whUe crossing the
flats between Riffle's and Becca's Creeks, about one-fourth of a mile from the
present residence of Alfred Hutton, he was killed, falling against an oak
tree. Two trees are pointed out each as the one where he fell; one a large
straight oak; the other has fallen within the last few years, and is now a
decaying log. The two are not far apart.
Of William Currence's children, John had five children: John who mar
ried Miss Crouch; Ann who married Peter Conrad; another daughter mar
ried John Conrad, and another married Wallery Conrad; there was a son
William. Samuel, another son of William, had four sons, Cornelius, William,
Henry and John. They went to the West. William, a son of William the
first, married a daughter of Jacob Ward, and she dying, he married a
widow, Mrs. Hall. His children were Jonathan, Elizabeth, William H.,
John, Jemima, Virginia, Catherine and Polly.
Colonel Melvin Currence, born 1829 at Crickard, within half a mile
of the old Currence fort, is a son of William H. , and Eliza (Conrad) Cur
rence; Irish and German ancestry;- in 1863 he married Matilda V,
daughter of John B. and Elizabeth (Vineyard) Earle. Children, Flora,
* There is much in the traditions of the killing of William Currence to puzzle the
historian. We are by no means sure that we know the truth; the date is disputed, the
place is disputed, and even the fact that it was William Currence who was killed is dis
puted, some claiming that it was Cornelius Currence. All accounts, however, agree that
a Currence was killed, and the disagreement as to the exact date is not material. The
silence of Withers in the "Border Warfare" on the aubject is not easily explained, for
his opportunities to reach the facts were much better than any person now possesses.
However, it is well known that Withers missed many important occurrences, and made
serious mistakes with regard to others.

FAMILY HISTORY. 361
Frederick W,, Jeanette, Elizabeth, WiUiam H, Hiram A,, Albert B,, Eliza
A,, Felix E. He is a farmer and miller, his mill on Mill Creek grinding
8000 bushels of grain a year. He was elected Constable when 21 years old^
and held the office two terms. He then traveled several years in the West.
At the beginning of the CivU War he held the office of Colonel of the 107th
Regiment of Virginia MUitia, and in obedience to orders from Richmond he
caUed out the militia when General McClellan's army crossed the Ohio into
West Virginia. Seven companies responded and assembled in the vicinity
of Huttonsville, where they acted under orders received from General
Garnett at Laural Hill. The mUitia performed much scouting service, and
the advance of the Federal army from Clarksburg to Buckhannon, early in
July, 1861, was discovered by scouts sent out by Colonel Currence who
immediately reported the fact to General Garnett. Thereupon Garnett,
who saw the danger if the Federals should make their way into the valley
above Beverly, ordered Colonel Currence to blockade and hold the three
roads leading across Rich Mountain, south of the Staunton and Parkers
burg pike. Those roads were rather poor ones at that time, but Garnett
knew that, the Federals would not hesitate to follow a very poor road if by
so doing they could get in the rear of his position. They were the Queen's
MiU road, the Middle Pork road, and the Old Yankee road.*
Colonel Currence proceeded according to orders and blockaded the
three roads, and posted his militia to be ready to oppose the Federals
should they attempt to cut out the blockades. On July 11, 1861, while at
the ford of the Middle Pork, the roar of cannon on Rich Mountain an
nounced that the battle was in progress. , The militia was too far away to
be of any assistance in the battle, and before Colonel Currence could move
his men to the scene of action, he learned that the battle was lost and that
the victorious Federals ha,d entered Beverly. At this news his militia scat-
teredf and never assembled again. Colonel Currence remained almost
alone and was taken prisoner; was carried to Grafton, where he was paroled
after paying $90 for the privilege. That closed his military record. He is
still of the opinion that he could have changed the result at Rich Mountain
had he succeeded in getting his troops there in time to take part in the
battle. Of Colonel Currence's children. Flora married John Proudfoot of Bar
bour County; Elizabeth married John Berry of Grafton; Frederick W.
married Jane Vaughn and lives at Crickard; William lives at Grafton.
Colonel Currence was many years a Justice of the Peace; held the office of
Supervisor and has been on the Board of Education. On his farm are In
dian relics of exceptional interest, such as mounds and remains of graves.
*This was so called because it led to a settlement of New Englanders who lived on
the upper waters of the Buckhannon River. It was a very old road, traveled by early
settlers. tSee sketch of Colonel Elihu Hutton.

362 FAMILY HISTORY.
Mill Creek, on which his mill is situated, was called "George WestfaU's
Mill Run" in 1797. At that time George Westfall Uved in Harrison County.
Lorenzo D. Currence, son of Squire B. and Margaret (Wamsley)
Currence, born, 1869, married 1897 to Mrs. Barbara Painter; farmer.
Marion Harding Currence, born 1862, son of Jacob C. and Virginia
P. (Currence) Currence; in 1891 he married, in Colorado, Iva Mabel, daugh
ter of A. J. and Elizabeth (Muncy) Edwards. Children, Alcanzar Edwin,
Arthur Jacob, Omar Jarvis and Virginia Pearl. After receiving a common
school education he went to the West; herded cattle in Indian Territory,
farmed in Kansas, raised cattle in Colorado, and in 1895 returned to West
Virginia and located at Elkins.
Henry Currence, born 1875, son of Haymond and Labinia (Tenney)
Currence. Lee Currence, son of Jacob, born 1864; Irish descent; married 1891
to Annie Bradley. Child, Mary.
Jonathan Currence, born 1832, son of William H. and Eliza (Conrad)
Currence; married 1857 Nancy Geer. Children, William Fremont, Rhoda,
Peter, Charles, Adam, Austin, Eliza; owns 677 acres,
William Dolbeare Currence, son of William and Ellen (Daniels)
Currence, born 1822; Irish ancestry; married Adaline, daughter of WUliam
and Mary (Burr) Bradley. Children, Laban, Maria, Ann, Delphi, Lewis. ^
He has been Constable eighteen years.
A. B. Currence, born 1850, son of William; married Mary J. Bell
1870. Children, Eliza, William %., Louisa B., Melvin, Retha, Reuben D.,
Addie; farmer, owns 420 acres.
Thomas Conrad Curtis, bom 1839, son of Thomas B. and Mary
(Conrad) Curtis; married, 1872, Mary J. daughter of Nathaniel J. and Jemi
ma (Bonner) Lambert; children, Flodie, Willie D., Lester, OdeU, Rosabell,
Leona Wauneta, May; farmer and teacher; lives near Elkins, formerly
owned the land where Womelsdorff stands, was in Union army. His father
was born 1804 in Henry County, Va. ; grandfather Brewer Curtis came from
England to Virginia. Mrs. Curtis is a sister of Rev James W. Lambert, of
Knoxville, Iowa.
John Creed Curtis, bom 1845, son of Thomas B. and Mary (Conrad)
Curtis; in 1867 he married Mary E. , daughter of John Logan; children,
Henrietta, Charles L., Joseph W.,Lily J.,Loda Dell, Victoria H., Austin C,
Mary E., Stt^phen L., Carrie L., Willie J., Xanna, Cordelia. His wife died
1883 and he married Elizabeth G., widow of Talbott Ferguson, and daugh
ter of Rev James Murjihy; lives at Elkins; shoemaker and farmer; belonged
to the United States Burial Corps iu 1807, which removed the bodies of
Union soldiers in this section of West Virginia to the cemetery at Grafton.

FAMILY HISTORY. 353
David Blackman Curtis, born near the site of Elkins, 1841, son of
Thomas B. and Mary (Conrad) Curtis, German parentage. In 1870 he mar
ried Mary Virginia, daughter of George McLean; children, George McLean,
Stella, Anna May, David Quinton, Eusebius Ozias, Flossie; served three
years in the Union army, 2nd W. Va. Volunteer Cavalry, Company B. In
1865 he was transferred to the West where he fought the Sioux Indians.
In 1867 he returned to Randolph and taught school till 1890, then engaged
in farming, dying of pneumonia March 26. 1893.
Laban B. Curtis, born 1836, son of Thomas B. and Mary (Conrad)
Curtis; was married in 1862 to MaUnda DoddrUl.
George McLean Curtis, born near Elkins, 1872, son of David B. and
Mary Virginia (McLean) Curtis; German descent. He was educated in the
common schools, and at the age of nineteen began teaching, and read law
with Hon. C. H. Scott; was admitted to the bar in 1895, and a few months
later was admitted to practice in the U. S. court; spent one year at Ard-
more, Indian Territory, then returned to Randolph and resumed the prac
tice of law, locating at Whitmer.
Joseph Wilford Curtis, born at Greenbanks, 1873, son of John C.
Curtis; EngUsh parentage; in 1896 at Montrose he married Tabitha C,
daughter of Ellis Ferguson; teacher, owns a house and lot in Crickard; was
three years a member of the county board of examiners.
Lester Curtis, born 1879, son of Thomas C. and Mary J. (Lambert)
Curtis; learned the barber trade under Thomas C. Davis and C. H. Wymer;
his father was a teacher and farmer.

Hon. Henry Gassaway Davis, unquestionably the leading spirit in
the development of the material interests of West Virginia, began life upon
a farm in Maryland, and the success which he has attained, both in affairs
of business and in winning a place in the esteem of his fellow-men, should
be an encouragement to all young men whose road to advancement seems
beset with difficulties. Mr. Davis succeeded not through chance, nor
because, of any smiles of fortune, nor by luck, but every step of his way, from
the beginning until now, has been the result of energy, industry, the exer
cise of a clear and a correct judgment, and the acceptance of the experience
of the past as a guide for the. present. Fifty years or more have passed
by since he left home to engage in battle with the world, and during that
time he has built railroads, organized banks, opened coal mines, and sat in
the Senate of the United States, and otherwise performed an active and
useful part in the drama of national life. The changes which have been
wrought in his affairs are entirely the product of his own energy. He owes
nothing to inheritance. He was born in Baltimore, Md., November 16,
1823, and is the son of Caleb and Louisa Brown Davis. His father was, in

364 FAMILY HISTORY.
early life, a merchant in Baltimore County, and afterwards engaged in farm
ing and mercantile pursuits in Howard County. Although generally suc
cessful in business, reverses came to him toward the close of life, and he
lost the greater portion of his accumulations. The mother was of Scotch-
Irish lineage and of a family remarkable for its strength of character and
mental endowments of its members. One of the sisters of Mrs. Davis was
the mother of Senator Arthur P. Gorman, of Maryland.
An attendance of a few months at the country schools in the winter
time, in Howard County, was all the educational advantage Mr. Davis had.
Acquaintance with the world, observation and reflection did aU the rest.
When the senior Davis died, the family were left in such circumstances
as to make it necessary for Henry to lend his aid in their support. He was
only a boy, but he went to work at once to lighten the burdens of his moth
er, who herself taught schaol as a means of support for herself and children.
. The first employment was given to young Davis by ex-Govenor Howard, of
Maryland, who had a fine plantation called Waverly. In time Mr. Davis
became superintendent of the farm. He was a patient, persistent, observ
ing young man, aud he watched with special interest the building of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad through the section of the country in which
he lived. After the completion of the road, he received a position as brake.-
man, was advanced to the place of conductor, and in time was appointed
agent at Piedmont, then the most important station on the road outside of
Baltimore. He was at the gateway to the great coal and timber region of
West Virginia, on the waters of the North Branch and the tributaries of
Cheat River, and he saw the possibilities for development. Continually
back and forth along the line of the Baltimore and Ohio RaUroad, and mak
ing a close acquaintance with the people and the interests of the whole sec
tion, he finally put his experience and savings to use by resigning from the
Baltimore and Ohio, and going into business at Piedmont with his brothers,
under the firm name of H. G. Davis & Co. They traded in general mer
chandise, but dealt largely in coal and lumber, shipping these products
both east and west. It was at this time that Mr. Davis laid the foundation
of the fortune which he now enjoys. An opportunity offered and he invest
ed in coal lands in West Virginia. They were then entirely inaccessible
and consequently of small market value; but when, in after years, his
energy and activity caused a railroad to be built through them, he profited
by his foresight, industry and good judgment. During the Civil War the
Confederates who raided Piedmont under McNeill destroyed many thousand
dollars worth of his property.* But the war brought business, and after
the war the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad needed immense quantities of
timber for repairing and building bridges and track; and Mr. Davis having
purchased large tracts of land, timbered with oak, in the vicinity of Deer
*History of Hampshire County.

FAMILY HISTORY. 365
Park, Maryland, he was able to saw and deUver the timber to the railroad.
He was largely instrumental in making Deer Park the beautiful summer
resort that it is. The town of Keyser, county seat of Mineral, was also, to
a large extent, founded and built by him.
Mr. Davis reaUzed more thoroughly than any other man of his day the
possibUities of the region lying southwest of Piedmont. It was his concep
tion to build the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railway from Cum
berland along the banks of the Potomac to its source, then crossing the
mountain and continuing to the valleys beyond the Alleghanies. By open
ing up access to coal and timber lands of the greatest value, he sprang at
once into an important position in West Virginia affairs. PubUc life finally
brought him into contact with men of prominence and wealth, and before
he left the United States Senate he had enlisted several in the enterprise
he had in mind. The road was the fruition of his labors; and its prosperity
is largely, perhaps wholly, due to the attention he has given it.* The coal
mines have since been opened and worked and Mr. Davis is yet actively oc
cupied with these interests. He is the president of the West Virginia Cen
tral and Pittsburg Railway, the Piedmont and Cumberland Railway, the
Davis National Bank of Piedmont, founded by him, and is a large share
holder in the Davis Coal and Coke Company, and other corporations en
gaged in the developement of the country adjacent to his lines of railroad.
In the management of some of these enterprises, his son-in-law, Stephen B.
Elkins, now United States Senator from West Virginia, co-operates with
him. f
In Tucker County, at an elevation of 3100 feet above the sea, and not
more than 250 miles therefrom, in the midst of magnificent forests, and un
derlaid with coal, is the town of Davis; of 2500 people, where in 1884 was
an unbroken wilderness. It is a striking example of developement of
natural resources in a short time. The town was located by Mr. Davis and
was named for him. In 1890 the railroad was extended into Randolph and
a town was laid out by Senator Davis and his business associates, to which
was given the name of Elkins. Here Mr. Davis has established his home
and has built one of the finest residences in the State.
Mr. Davis is a Democrat in politics and his public services began in
1865, when he was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates. Later
he served twice in the State Senate, and was United States Senator twelve
years, 1871 to 1883, then declining re-election. He has been frequently
mentioned for Governor of the State, but has been so far too much occupied
to accept the nomination. He did accept a seat as one of the American del
egates to the Pan American Congress, and took an interested part in the
* See the history of the building of that road on page 287.
tSee sketch of Mr. Elkins in this book,

866 FAMILY HISTORY.
proceedings of that body, and he became a member of the International
Railway Commission.
In 1853 he was married to Miss Kate A. Bantz, daughter of Gideon
Bantz, of Frederick, Md., and they have five children: Hallie D., wife of
Stephen B. Elkins, United States Senator; Kate B., wife of Lieut.
R. M. G. Brown, of the United States Navy; Miss Grace T., Henry G., Jr.,
and John T.
Mr. Davis is well known throughout the United States. Baltimore and
New York are both important points of distribution for his coal, and he is
frequently called to both places by his business interests. He has traveled
widely, but has never lost his love of home, and has given many practical
proofs of his attachment to the places in which he has dwelt. To Piedmont,
his former home, he gave a handsome building, now known as the Davis
Free School. During the winter of 1894-5 he sent a letter to the Governor
of West Virginia offering to give $50,000 for the establishment of a girl's
industrial school upon certain conditions to be f ulfiUed by the State, and
the Legislature appointed a committee to confer with him on the subject.
At Elkins he has built and has given to the Presbyterian parish a beauti
ful stone edifice known as the Davis Memorial Church; and iri conjunction
with his son-in-law. Senator Elkins, has arranged to endow a Presbyterian
College to be located at Elkins. His vigor of mind and body at the age of
75 is remarkable. Life has been full of toil, but his spirit is as buoyant,
his interest in affairs as keen, and his activity as driving as when he first
twisted a brake on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
Mathew Davis, born 1820, in Ireland, son of James. He married in
Lewis County, Anna Brady. Children, James, Peter, Mary A., William,
Thomas, Patrick, John, Catherine, Ella, Agnes, Winifred, Mathew. Parmer,
110 acres. Jesse Davis, born 1860, son of Jesse. Married Annie A., daughter of
Andrew Fairburn. Children, James Riley, William Clay, Daniel W. A.,
Ida M., Elizabeth M. R., Text L. B., Clara D., Job P.
Madison Daniels, son of William and Catherine (Stalnaker) Daniels,
was bom 1808; was married in Pendleton County, to Ellen, daughter of
Andrew and Elizabeth (Stonestreet) Skidmore. Children, George H., Har
per, William, Lizzie, John A. , Samuel, Bushrod, Mary, Christina. In 1868
he married CaroUne Channel. Mr. Daniels has and still operates a mill on
which was ground the first wheat in Randolph County. His father met a
sad misfortune while on the way to Petersburg, now Grant County, to be
married, near the close of the last century. In company with his affianced.
Miss Hopkins, he attempted to cross a turbulent mountain stream, and she
was washed from her horse and was drowned.
George Harrison Daniels, born 1840, son of Madison Daniels; Eng-

FAMILY HISTORY. 367
lish ancestry. In 1862 he married Martha I., daughter of Martin and
Susanna (Spesert) Stemple. Children, Flora A., Jessup, Loretta E., Mar
tin L.; Calvin H, OUver C, Louie B., George H., Plummer B., Lizzie M.,
Alta G. Farmer; formerly miller; moved to Tucker County 1861, where he
married; 'two years later returned to Randolph and bought land; later he
bought more, including the old homestead, and he now owns 1200 acres
near Beverly. He was originally a Whig, then a Democrat, with which
party he still votes. In 1868 he was elected Constable. Twelve years later
he was a candidate for the Legislature; and again was a candidate and was
elected twelve years later. In 1890 he was elected president of the Board
of Education, serving two terms. Mr. and Mrs. Daniels and all of their
cliildren are active members of the M. E. Church. Mrs. Daniels was born
in Preston County, and has assisted her husband in making and maintain
ing a pleasant home, where the rich and poor are welcome. During the
Civil War their house was frequently invaded by soldiers, but Mrs. Daniels,
with true courage, bravely defended her home. Of their children. Flora
married John B. Rose; Loretta is the wife of Charles S. Harper, a well-to-
farmer and stock dealer of Tucker County; Calvin married Isle Chenoweth;
Louie is a teacher.
Martin L. Daniels, born 1868, son of Hon. G. H.' Daniels, was raised
on a farm till eighteen years of age, then took a three years' course in the
Fairmont Normal School. In 1890 he began teaching in the public schools
of Randolph, and has taught ever since; was principal of the Pickens
school; in 1898 was principal of the school at Orlena. He has engaged in
buying and selling stock for several years; is an active worker in Sunday
schools. He assisted in collecting the family history for this History of
Randolph, his particular field being Huttonsville and Roaring Creek Dis
tricts, with some work in other parts of the county.
Rev. William Perry Daniels, born 1843, son of Madison Daniels;
French descent; was married 1869 to Minerva, daughter of Hoy and Eliza
beth L. McLean; children. Body Wilbur, Floyd Arlington, Dorsey Mick,
Byron Haskett, Willie Ursula; minister of the M. E. Church; owns 250
acres, half improved.
Page Cameron Daniels, son of Solomon W. Daniels, born 1856;
mother's maiden name Mary J. Gum; English ancestry; married Annie G.,
daughter of Fountain Butcher; maiden name of wife's mother. Miss Ham-
Uton; children. Harvard L., Ulah, Mabel, Ethel and HalUe B.
H. Wilbur Daniels, M. D., born near Beverly, 1872, son of WUliam
P. and Minnie (McLean) Daniels; English parentage; married in 1895 to
Lizzie B., Daughter of Randolph M. and Ida (Caplinger) Harper; chUdren,
Harper and Delaine. Dr. Daniels was educated in the common schools of
Randolph, and in the Conference Seminary at Buckhannon. From there

368 FAMILY HISTORY.
he went to the Baltimore Medical College and graduated in 1894. The same
year he began the practice of his profession at Womelsdorff, remaining fif
teen months, then locating at Elkins, where he has since remained. He
was elected president of the Elkins Board of Health in 1897; was the first
recorder of Womelsdorff. The Daniels family came from England 'to Vir
ginia. John W. Daniels of that State is of the same family as those of that
name in West Virginia.
Elam Bosworth Daniels, son of Jonathan Daniels, born 1833; mar
ried Louise, daughter of Eli Wilmoth; children, Emily, Isbern, Bli, Hervey,
Ceba, Elet, Lloyd, Ida, Cora M. , Maudie, Dolly and Daisy.
Allison Daniels, son of William Daniels, born 1811, died 1893;
mother's maiden name Katie Stalnaker; married 1838 to Jerusha Cheno
weth; children, John I., Elmore, William, Elijah C, George W., Harriet,
Mary, Nancy C. , David H. and Laphaat.
Jonathan Daniels, son of William D., born 1790; mother's maiden
name was Stalnaker; married Catherine Wees; chUdren, WiUiam, Jacob,
Alpheus, Elam, Squire, Catherine, Maria, Martha and Hamilton.
Elijah C. Daniels, son of Allison Daniels, born 1847; married Lucy
Ann Wees; children" Priscilla M., Allison, Henry H., Kent, Leonard, Blaine,
Florence, 011a, Arthur, Eva and Ernest.
Hervey Daniels, born 1863, son of E. B. Daniels; married Elizabeth,
daughter of John Wees; children, Clinton, Agnes and Pearl.
Allison Daniels, son of E. C. Daniels, born 1874; married Lizzie
Chamberlain. Children, Wm. Roy and Baby.
Floyd Arlington Daniels, born 1874, son of Rev. W. P. Daniels;
graduate of the Buckhannon Seminary.
Jacob Daniels, son of John, born 1828; was married in 1855 to Cathe
rine Phillips. Children, Granville, Anzina, Albert, Ulysses G., Verna M.,
Minnie C.
O. C. Daniels, son of G. Harrison, born 1872, married, 1898, to Loved,
daughter of J. H. and Sidney (Wees) Schoonover.
J. W. Daff, born 1858, married Melvina Hamrick. Children, Mary,
All, Hannah, Cornelia, Minerva, Jennie, Wilburn, William. Lives near
Mingo. R. L. Daft, son of Jacob, married Elizabeth Pritt, 1873. Children,
Emma, Loretta, Evaline, Plummer B., Esther, Tipple, Maggie, Jacob L.
Aaron Day, born 1853, son of William Day; in 1876 he married Emme-
line, daughter of Abel and Elizabeth (Wilson) Phares. Children, Gideon
Camden, Henry Ulysses, Jaines Blaine, WiUiam Randolph. In 1896 his
second marriage was with Martha, daughter of Lewis Price. Parmer and
railroader at Harding.

FAMILY HISTORY. 369
SanfOrd Lee Day, born 1853, in Barbour County, son of WUUam and
Sarah (Thorne) Day; was married in Barbour 1879 to Emma J., daughter
of EUas W. and Edith (Stalnaker) Phares. Children, Walter B., Leslie
Howard, Wayne G. , Claude Sullivan, Zona Alice. Farmer and road builder;
owns 70 acres, 40 improved, three miles from Elkins; came to Randolph in
1883; was four years a member of the LeadsvUle Board of Education. His
father, Wm. Day, was born in Rockingham County, Va. , and moved to Bar
bour County while young. The grandfather, Gideon Camden Day, came
from Ireland.
Sampson Day; married, 1894, Sarah A. Summerfield. Child, Sarah M.
John Wesley Day, born 1846 in Pendleton County; son of Morgan
and Thankful (Rowan) Day; English parentage; was married 1867 on Dry
Fork to Sarah Ann, daughter of Thomas and Eliza (Carr) Summerfield;
children, Sampson, Clarinda, Jane, Almeda Katherine, Louise Estelline,
Martha, Lucinda, Jasper, Mary Elizabeth, Minnie May, James Arthur,
Florence Belle, Daisy Dell; farmer, 137 acres, 57 improved.
Solon Day, bom 1867, son of Aaron H., German descent; married
Idella White 1895; Child, Ethel; he is a railroader.
Lorenzo Denton, born 1827, in Rockbridge County, Va. ; son of Ben
jamin and Tabitha Denton; English parentage. He married lantha, daugh
ter of John and Anna Wilmoth; children, Caroline Eugenie, Isabel Jane,
Douglas Austin, Cornellia Estelline, Tabitha Anna, Julia Bird, Irving Liv
ingston, Luverna Susan; farmer and carpenter, owning 275 acres, 120 im
proved. I. L. Denton, born 1878, son of Lorenzo; married Mattie Chenoweth;
chUd, Ernest B. ; he is a farmer.
William Jackson Digman, born 1867 in Barbour County, son of Sam
uel and Fanny Digman; in 1887 he married Angelica, daughter of Andrew
Jackson and Rebecca (Cross) Phillips; children, Victoria, Willie Stephen,
Beulah Cleo, Harry Roy. Mrs. Digman, whose father was Johnson Lim
bers, was raised in Staunton, Va. Mr. Digman's grandfather was Absalom
Digman, and his great-grandfather, George Digman, who was drowned in
Hunter's Fork, Barbour County. Mr. Digman has followed farming, mer
chandising and blacksmithing. He lives at Montrose, and has been Town
Sergeant, member of the Town Council, and member of the New Interest
Board of Education. He belongs to the M. P. Church:
John Digman, born 1869; married' DeUa Wilfong. He lives in New
Interest District.
Benson Douglas, born 1808 in Bath County, Va., son of WUliam and
Nancy Jane (Griffin) Douglas; Scotch parentage, was married in 1833 in
Bath County, to Martha Ann, daughter of Edward and Sarah Wood. ChU
dren, Henson H., JUson B., Juliet Ann. He died of heart trouble at the

370 FAMILY HiSTORY.
age of seventy. His two sons joined the Confederate army and never re
turned. His wife died of dropsy 1886. Their daughter and only living
child is now the wife of H. B. Marshall, and presides at the Marshall House,
at Mingo, near the place of her birth. Henson Douglas was among the
earliest settlers of the southern part of Randolph. He lived on the upper
Mingo Flats at an elevation of 3,500 feet above the sea, where health
abounded and life was enjoyable.
Carl S. Douglas, son of FrankUn, born 1869, married 1892 to Nancy
Kelly. Children Louie S., Bessie L.
Patrick Durkin, born 1830 in Ireland, died 1886; son of Thomas and
Bridget Durkin; in 1855 in Lewis County he married Margaret, daughter
of John and Margaret King. Children, Mary A. , John T. , WUliam V. ,
Agnes, Margaret, AUyce, Joseph, Teresa G., Edward andCathrine; farmer,
owns 140 acres. Of his children, Edward is practicing law at Parsons,
Tucker County, and all the others, except Joseph, Teresa, and Agnes are
school teachers, and all are married except AUyce, Joseph and Edward.
Andrew D. Durkin, born in Ireland 1841; married Ellen Joyce, and
after her death he married Ida Nay. The first preacher in that vicinity
was Father McGerty;
John Henry Dailey, son of John DaUey,born 1860. He married Anna
C. DeWitt. They have one child. Rush DeWitt. By trade he is a plumber
at Elkins. Ralph Darden, born in North Carolina, 1867, son of George T. Dar-
den. In 1898, in Hardy County, he married Ada May, daughter of B. 0.
Harwood. He received a college education in his native State; studied law,
but was compelled to abandon it because of failing eyesight. He has been
in the insurance, real estate, and mercantile business, and in 1896 was a
member of the Elkins Town Council.
John Harrison DeWitt, born 1844 in Maryland, son of Samuel and
Dorcas (Castell) DeWitt; French and Irish parentage, was married 1870 to
Martha, daughter of John and Mary (Rennix) Wees. She died 1894 and in
1898 he married Minnie, daughter of Joseph Hinchman. Children, Zuella,
Raymond, Anna Grace, James Holland, Mary Alice, Albert S., Stanley
Congo, Emma. He was raised from the age of three years by N. Fitzwater
of Beverly; was in the Confederate army, was twice wounded, once in
shoulder at Martinsburg, again in knee at Beverly during Hill's raid; was
taken prisoner and sent to Camp Chase. He returned to Beverly in 1865.
He took part in the battles of Berryville, Antietam, Winchester, Williams-
port, Droop Mountain, Alleghany, Greenbrier, Fisher Hill, Strasburg and
others; was elected Justice of the Peace in Beverly District in 1880, and
was twice re-elected, holding office twelve years; moved to Elkins in 1898.
-Austin DeArmit, born in Pennsylvania, 1859; son of J. J. and Louisa

J'AMILY HISTORY. 371
(McMullin) DeArmit; French and Irish parentage. In 1894 he married
Annie, daughter of WiUiam and Mary E. (Burgen) Cunningham. He came
to West Virginia in 1882, and after engaging iri the lumber business in
Pocahontas and Randolph Counties he located at Whitmer where he went
into the saloon business. His great-grandfather was an early settler in
Pennsylvania; was a Revolutionary soldier; was with General Washington
at Valley Forge. His son Barnabas, born in 1800, was grandfather of the
subject of this sketch.
Henry Clay Dean, the able and somewhat eccentric preacher and
politician, and at one time chaplain of the U. S. Senate, formerly lived in
Randolph. His farm in Valley Bend District he called "Brimstone Levels. "
In 1847 he married Christena M. , daughter of Jacob Haigler, and Dean's
farm was inherited from her father. There were 216 acres. On October
6, 1849, he sold this land for §1000 to John W. and Perry Haigler, and he
moved from the county, went to the West, quit preaching and became a
professional politician in the Democratic party.
GOTLIEB Daetwyler, born 1842, married Lena Wuerzer. Children,
Anna, Emma, Lena, Edward, Nellie, Gertrude, Frank, Eugene, William,
Powell. Shoemaker.
John Dupoy, son of John, born 1854, married Lucinda M. Wooday.
ChUdren, Joseph A., Charles C, Susanna, Wesley, Ida M., Reuben,
George D.
Lewis Benjamin Dorcas, born in New York in 1867, of African
descent. In 1891, at Harman, he married Mary E. Hedrick, and their chil
dren are Lewis B., Frederick D. , Hubert and Hubbert. He came to West
Virginia in 1886, locating at Rowlesburg as a barber; was at St. George the
next year, where he was the first colored juror to serve in Tucker County.
He is highly educated, and one of the finest penmen in the State. He was
the first barber to open a shop on Dry Fork, locating at Horton.
Hon. Stephen Benton Elkins was born in Perry County, Ohio, Sep
tember 26, 1841, but in early childhood removed with the family to Mis
souri, entered the public schools, and applied himself so diligently that not
only had he passed through the ordinary courses of education, but at the
age of nineteen he had graduated with high honors at the head of his class
in the State University. Having chosen the profession of the law, he fitted
himself for that work, and in 1863 was admitted to practice. The Civil
War was then at its height, and he joined? the Union Army and entered
upon active service on the Missouri frontier. He rose to the rank of captain.
In 1864 Mr. Elkins took up his home in New Mexico, a territory rich in re
sources but poor in developement. Its people were largely Spanish,' mixed
with adventurers. It was a country of much promise, but full of peril and

372 FAMILY HISTORY.
hardships. Mr. Elkins found it necessary, in order to practice his profes
sion and carry on business there successfully, to learn J:he Spanish lan
guage. This he did within one year.
His success was marked from his first entrance into New Mexico. His
law practice became large and lucrative, and his circle of acquaintances
widened among men of influence, and within less than two years after he
entered the Territory he was elected a member of its legislature, and his
work there rapidly increased his popularity among all classes of people.
The next year, 1867, he was appointed by President Johnson to the ofiice of
Attorney General of New Mexico, and the next year the President ap
pointed him United States District Attorney of the Territory. He was one
of the fev/ officials whom General Grant, when he became President, did
not remove from office. The position which Mr. Elkins held brought honor
and influence with it, but it also carried grave responsibilities and dangers
of a serious and unusual kind. The Civil War had abolished negro slavery,
but in New Mexico another kind of slavery existed among the Spanish
which was worse, if possible. Numbers of ignorant and degraded people
of Spanish and mixed breeds were held as slaves, called peons, and while
there were some differences between their condition and that of the negro
slaves, the results were the same. As soon as Mr. Elkins became United
States District Attorney he began the enforcement of the Act of Congress
for the prohibition of slavery or involuntary servitude in the Territories.
He was the first official in the United States to enforce that law; and it may
be imagined that the opposition was fierce among the Mexicans whose
wealth and position depended npon the labor of the peons whose miserable
position had long been hopeless. It required no small courage to face that
opposition, coming as it did, from a class which, when exasperated, had no
scruples against the employment of the dagger and the revolver to accom
plish or to thwart a purpose. Mr. Elkins was unyielding in his determina
tion that the law should be enforced, and he did enforce it in spite of the
opposition of the wealthy and influential, and in the face of threats of per
sonal violence. He was instrumental in giving thousands of peons their
freedom. While performing his public duties with aggressive promptness and
vigor, Mr. Elkins did not neglect his private business, which had. become
large and was rapidly expanding. Carefully investing his earnings in val
uable lands, and in silver mines in Colorado, he was soon possessed of large
and profitable interests. In 1869 he had been elected president of the First
National Bank of Sante Fe and' filled the position thirteen years.
In 1873 Mr. Elkins was nominated for Congress from New Mexico.
This gave his enemies, whose hatred he had roused in freeing the peons,
an opportunity to join issues with him. They nominated a Mexican as his
opponent, but in the election Mr. Elkins overwhelmingly defeated him,

Family history. 373
receiving 4,000 majority. He served in Congress with marked abiUty and
success, but declined to be a candidate for re-election. But, while travel
ing in Europe, news reached hinxthat, in spite of his refusal to be a candi
date, he had been again placed in nomination by the people of New Mexico.
He felt that he no longer had a right to decline. He was again elected, and
again he took up the work for the Territory. During this second term he
was untiring in his efforts to secure the admission of New Mexico into the
Union as a State. A speech made by him, setting forth the resources of
the Territory, gained for him a wide reputation. The biU passed the House
by a two-thirds vote, due largely to the efforts made by Mr. Elkins in its
behalf. In the Senate it was amended, and on its return to the House, was
defeated for want of time.
While hi Congress Mi-. Elkins married a daughter of Senator Henry G.
Davis, a woman of great refinement and social ability.
Mr. Elkins had been brought prominently into the arena of public affairs
by his four years' experience and work in Congress. A Republican, he had
been from the beginning active, progressive and aggressive. He was a
pronounced protectionest to American industries. His advocacy of con-
stiuctive measures made him, during his first term in Congress, one of
the leaders of his party. In 1875 he was made a member of the Republican
National Committee, and as such he served through three Presidential
campaigns. In 1884 he was chosen chairman of the Executive Committee. A
warm friendship sprang up between him and James G. Blaine, and it was
in a large measure due to the influence of Mr. Elkins that Mr. Blaine was
nominated for the Presidency in 1884; and he was no less instrumental in
the nomination of Benjamin Harrison in 1888 and 1892. On December 17, 1891,
he became Secretary of War under President Harrison. He was especiaUy
fitted to perform the duties of this ofiice through his large and intimate
acquaintance with the affairs of the War Department in the West. His ap
pointment brought into the service of the army a man of intellectual force,
an excellent organizer and a courtous gentleman who was invariably cor
dial and obliging to persons engaged in public business. Patient in investi
gation, prompt in decision, and in every way desirous of promoting the
welfare of the army, he proved a successful and useful Secretary of War.
In 1878 he became a citizien of West Virginia and from that time de
voted his labor and his wealth to a development of the great resources of
his adopted State. He associated himself with Senator Davis and others
in building the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railroad. * He con
tributed in a large share to the success of that enterprise which has de
veloped a portion of West Virginia formerly but little known, and has
added millions to the taxable property of the State. His is the rare ability
of creating wealth; thereby not taking it from one place to put it in another,
*See the history of this enterprise on page 287.

374 FAMILY HISTORY.
but causing it to exist where none existed before. No better example of
this, the highest order of industrial economy, can be found than that seen
along the West Virginia Central, where flourishing towns, factories,
mills, mines, schools, and all that contributes to progressive civilization,
are found throughout a region which a few years ago was an almost un
broken wilderness, supposed to have- so little value that in former years
large tracts were repeatedly sold for taxes, through the neglect of the
owners. A rare combination of knowledge, confidence, talent and capital
was necessary to redeem the inhospitable region, and thousands of men
now find employment where not long ago the hunter and the fisherman
alone had penetrated the forest.
His home at the town of Elkins, in the lower end of the beautiful Ty
gart's Valley, is the finest in West Virginia; his residence being four stories
with porches and towers, giving it the appearance of an ancient castle. Its
elevated position gives it a commanding view of valleys, hills and moun
tains, rolling and blending to form a picture, which in some respects, can
not be equaled. The main hall in the residence is fifty-eight feet long by
twenty-five wide, and the other apartments are planned in proportion. The
grounds, originally a series of vales, ravines and oak-grown ridges, on the
highest point of which the residence stands, have been improved and
beautified by every art known to scenic gardening, but, withal retaining
their rustic and wooded character.
In December, 1892, Mr. Elkins received the complimentary vote of the
Republicans of the West Virginia Legislature for United States Senator.
Two years later he was the recognized leader of the Republicans of West
Virginia in one of the most vigorous campaigns in the history of the State;
and in the election the State, both in Congressmen and in the Legislature,
went Republican, the first time since 1867. As a result of this election, the
Legislature chose Mr. Elkins United States Senator in 1895. He at once
turned his attention to the affairs of the Nation, and his speeches on mat-
te^rs of national importance have placed him in the foremost rank of Amer
ican statesmen. The first speech he made was on the resolution obliging
President Cleveland to sell bonds at public sale, instead of by private con
tract, as he had done once before and was preparing to do again on a larger
scale. He had sold the bonds at $104| when they were bringing in the
market $116. The resolution introduced by Mr. Elkins passed the Senate,
declaring it the judgment of that body that bonds should be sold at pubhc
sale. Russell Sage declared that the resolution saved the Government
seven or eight million dollars. In his speech supporting his resolution Mr.
Elkins pointed out that it had cost more to float President Cleveland's
loan of $62,000,000, in time of peace, than it cost to float all the enormous
loans during the Civil War, aggregating $2,500,000,000,

FAMILY HISTORY. 375
On April 5, 1897, Mr. Elkins made a speech in the Senate which at
tracted wide attention. He advocated the protection and encouragement of
American shipping by levying a ten per cent ad valorem duty on all goods
imported into the United States in other than American ships. He main
tained that in no other way could prosperity be restored to the American
merchant marine; and he arrayed 'elaborate collections of facts, and sub
mitted statistics collected from all countries of the world to substantiate
his claims. The founders of the government levied such a duty, and Amer-
can shipping interests prospered and our flag was seen on all the seas; but
some time after the War of 1812 the duty was given up, and our shipping
declined. In the language of Mr. Elkins: "Our flag is unknown on many
seas, and with some nations has become almost a myth." The policy which
he advocated was vigorous, strong, patriotic, and calculated to make the
United States the leading maritime nation of the world.
In the Senate, on January 28, 1898, Mr. Elkins delivered a speech in
opposition to the resolution submitted by Senator Teller of Colorado, de
claring that all bonds of the United States, issued or authorized to be issued,
be payable in silver, at the option of the Government. Mr. Elkins main
tained that such a policy would injure, if not ruin, the credit of the Govern
ment, and that of all things, next to liberty and honor, a nation's credit is
the most sacred.
On March 2, 1898, he delivered another speech in the Senate which at
tracted wide attention among commercial men and those interested in Amer
ican railroads. He pointed out that the Canadian Pacific Railroad, with
2000 miles of track in the United States, and subsidies from Canada to assist
it in its policy of aggression, was injuring the business of American roads,
and in so doing it was favored and assisted by the laws of the United States.
One of these laws was that permitting the Canadian road to ship goods
through the United States, under a consular seal, and in bond. Mr. Elkins
advocated a change of policy in that respect, thereby compelling shippers
to patronize American roads when sending merchandise into the United
States. It was stated that from 500 to 1000 Canadian cars cross the fron
tiers of our country daily.
On May 31, 1898, he spoke in the "Senate on a bill for raising revenue
for carrying on the Spanish War, and in the speech used the following lan
guage touching the policy of our Government:
"Our present war, only a month old, has wrought wonderful changes in the public
mind. We are surrounded with new cohditions; new and difficult problems confront us.
We have gone farther in some directions in a .short month than we had traveled in a hun
dred years before. These conditions lay upon us grave duties and responsibilities which
we cannot avoid. We must look now more and more to extending our commerce and
finding markets for our products, and to this end we must hold all the territory that
may come to us by the fortunes of war to*elp sustain these markets. We must have a
merchant marine, ships on every sea. We must control the shipping and commerce of
the great oceans that wash our shores; and beyond all this, we must have a navy greater
and more powerful than now floats. This is our manifest destiny. Necessity drives us,

376 FAMILY HISTORY.
our interests oblige us, and we cannot avoid keeping pace with the great powers of the
world in finding markets and acquiring at least coaling and cable stations all around the
globe. The mighty movement now going on toward combination and consolidation and
acquiring territory by the nations of the world, or by war, if necessary, is natural and
logical. It has come about by reason of the demands of a better civilization, wider
markets and an increasing trade and commerce. We cannot, if we would, remain longer
remote, silent and isolated. We cannot resist this great movement, and we should not
try to do so, if we are to take the place in the^ffairs of the world that naturally belongs
to us." Archibald Earle, bom in Clarke County, Va., 1788, died 1842, son of
Isaiah Earle, of Clarke County, Va. ; English and German ancestry. He
was married in 1812 to Mary, daughter of Peter Buckey. ChUdren, John
Bayles, Sally Ann, Lucinda, Maria, Christina, Edith, Elias B., Anzina,
Archibald, Jefferson, Mary Elizabeth, Creed Luther. He was an early clerk
of Randolph and a man of great popularity and infiuence.
Creed Luther Earle, born 1837, son of Archibald and Mary (Buckey)
Earle; English and German ancestors. In 1878 he married Columbia June,
daughter of William Harrison and Ruth Ann (Hart) Coberly. Children,
Charles Harrison, Delbert Archibald, Pearl, Mary Ruth. Lived in Beverly
when married; moved to site of Elkins in 1881; then owned land which he
sold to Hon. Henry G. Davis; was elected Constable in LeadsvUle District
1886. Mr. Earle held the LeadsvUle postoffice under Cleveland. He has
paintings of his father and mother made 85 years ago.
John Bayles Earle, son of Archibald Earle, born 1813, died 1881.
Married Elizabeth M. Currence. Children, Mary Elizabeth, Nancy Ann,
Matilda V. , Burns S. , Charles Page, John Bayles, Leonora A. , Ployd Bir
kett, Linda, EUza, Eliza A., Lucinda S., Archibald B., Jefferson Clay,
Bernice. E. B. Earle, son of Archibald Earle, born 1826; German and English
ancestry; mother's maiden name, Mary Buckey.
Jefferson Clay Earle, son of John B. and Elizabeth (Currence)
Earle, born 1872. Owns house and lot in Beverly; has been town sergeant,
Joseph Sylvester Elza, born 1852 on Gandy Creek, son of Thomp
son and Sarah (White) Elza, English parentage. In 1873, at Middle Moun
tain, he married .Martha Louella, daughter of Solomon and Susie (Simmons)
Carr. Children, Mary Alice, Sarah Almira, William Ulysses, Frank Leshe,
Ettie Susan, Mittie May, George Robert, Vicie LUlie. Farmer, owns 80
acres, 35 improved; has lived on Middle Mountain since 1873.
Zachariah Taylor Elza, born 1849, son of Thompson Elza; in 1874
he married Margaret Jane, daughter of Levi White. Children, Mary A.,
Almira, William L.,Rosetta, Ely, Henry, SteUa, Essie May, Ployd; farmer,
121 acres, 25 improved.
Noah Egleson, born 1847 in Ohio; son of EUas and Fanny (Hostetter)
Egleson, German. He was married in 1872 to Margaret, daughter of John

FAMILY HISTORY. 377
Zehnder. Children, WiUiam Henry, Edwin L; farmer and blacksmith,
owns 150 acres.
Wm. Egleson, born 1872, son of Noah; married 1897 to CaUie, daugh
ter of Bernhard and Maclene (Menger) Vogel.
Henry Eckhardt, born 1842, married Barbara Enderlein. Children,
Albert, Annie, Emil, Walter, Henry,* Herman, Minnie, Elsie; farmer.
Rev. James William Engle, born in Barbour County, 1865, son of
WiUiam and Tabitha (Criss) Engle; English and German ancestry; was
married 1895 in Webster County to Dora B., daughter of Evan and Martha
(Bartlett) McCray; attended the West Virginia Academy at Buckhannon
and the Wesleyan College at Delaware, O. ; commenced preaching in 1892,
and has worked in Webster, Lewis and Randolph Counties; his church, the
M. E., in Beverly, prospered greatly under his charge, and has 120 mem- .
bers. Ammi Eye, born 1840; married Eunice Kerens. Children, Elizabeth,
John S., Francis B., Eliza A., Rebecca S. ; owns 63 acres, 30 cleared.
Robert Ferguson. This early settler of Randolph County wUl long
be remembered, for he was a remarkable man. First of all, his bodily
strength was enormous, and the feats which he performed almost surpass
belief. It is related of him that he would take a barrel of whisky, with one
hand gripped on either end, straighten to his full height and drink from
the bung. On one occasion, while hunting, he kUled an old bear, two cubs
and five turkeys, and carried them all home at one load; and it was by no
means uncommon for him to carry home two or three deer at a time, and
even continue hunting after killing a deer or two, carrying them, with him
as he hunted. He was six feet tall and weighed 200 pounds. He was
always a hard drinker and a constant user of tobacco; but, although inclin
ed to be quarrelsome when drinlring, he was usually jovial and kindhearted.
His physical endurance was as remarkable as his strength. He worked on
his farm by day, and for half the night worked in his blacksmith shop. It
is related that he and Solomon Collett, a rival blacksmith, entered upon a
wager as to who could work longer in the shop without eating or sleeping.
Ferguson won the bet, having worked three days and nights without rest,
food or sleep. He was usually present at court in Beverly, for it was his
delight to mix with the crowd and enjoy his cups. Sometimes he became
boysterous in court, and it required the sheriff and all his deputies to arrest
him, and when put in jaU he would break out in a few minutes.*
He was a full-blooded Irishman, but was born in America, his native
place being Greene County, Pennsylvania, and the date of his birth 1780.
His father was James Ferguson. While a boy he served an apprentice-
*See page 197.

378 FAMILY HISTORY.
ship as a blacksmith, and learned his trade jvell, for a better smith never
was in Randolph County. When about fifteen years old he was working in
a shop in Pennsylvania at the time of the Whiskey Insurrection, and saw
General Washington, who was then President of the United States, who
accompanied the soldiers part of the way on their march to Pittsburg to
put down the rebellion. Washington sent his gray mare to the shop to be
shod, and Ferguson shod her. He often told of the occurence with pride.
It was about that time that Ferguson received a blow on the head from a
man with whom he was quarreling, and had his skull broken. The bone
was trephined with a silver half-dollar, and he carried it to the end of his
life, and it was buried with him.
The exact date when Ferguson came to Randolph County is not known,
but he was in the county several years before the War of 1812; for, on Feb
ruary 19, 1807, he married Deborah Wilmoth who lived on Shaver's Pork,
in the Wilmoth Settlement. Her father, Thomas WUmoth, was murdered
by Indians on Cheat River many years before. Robert Ferguson and his
wife settled near Beverly, where they lived till after the War of 1812. He
was a soldier in that war. When he came home he settled on Pickles' Knob,
where he cleared 100 acres of land. About 1825 he moved to Leading Creek,
where he remained the rest of his life, dying in 1868. He kept tavern for
awhile, and always had a blacksmith shop in which he made axes, hoes,
plows, steel traps, hinges, and jiretty much anything needed by the people.
The "Ferguson Broadhoe" was a famous article in its day. He had a se
cret in hoe-making which his rivals never found out in his lifetime. His
hoes always remained sharp; and the secret was, that in making them he
used three thin sheets of metal and welded them together. The middle
sheet was^teel and the outer ones on both sides were soft iron. The iron
wore away as the hoe was used, always leaving the sharp, thin edge of the
inner steel sheet exposed. On one occasion William Harper, who lived in
Tucker County, went to him to have twelve hoes made. Ferguson asked
him why he wanted so many. "Because," replied Harper, "you will die
before long, and nobody else can make good hoes, and I want a supply on
hand." "You will die before me," answered Ferguson, and his prophecy
came true. Harper was killed in the war, and Ferguson lived three years
after the war closed. His axes were almost as famous as his hoes. That
was before all the stores kept axes for sale. His axes had a better shape
than any other that could be had, and he took great pride in his model. On
one occasion, however, a man objected to the pattern, and said he wanted
three axes made after a i)attem which he had made for himself. Ferguson
examined the pattern and said that an axe made like it would be of no use
for chopping, and that the pattern ought to be changed in an important
particular, but he did not say in what the change ought to consist. "I
don't want any change," replied the customer. " You make the axes ex-

FAMILY HISTORY. 379
actly like the pattern, and if they are not aU right, that will be my business
and not yours. " Ferguson made the axes like the pattern, and in a few
days the customer came after them. When he saw them he exclaimed:
"Why, you didn't make any eyes for the handles," to which the blacksmith
answered: " Neither did you make an eye in your pattern. You were so
smart you thought you knew more about axes than I knew; now pay for
them." The man did so; and it is needless to say that when he wanted axes
again he let the blacksmith be the judge of the style.
Robert Ferguson died in 1868. His children, all of whom are now dead,
were as follows: Archibald married Anna Triplett, Nancy married Henry
Harris, Ellis married Elizabeth De Garmore, Wyatt married Edith Schoon
over, Solomon married Mary J. Triplett, Robert married Nancy Gainer.
Susan married Abel H. Kelley. Elizabeth never married. The last that
died was Solomon, in February, 1898, aged 84 years.
Ellis Ferguson, son of Robert, married Elizabeth De Garmore, and
their children were Wyatt J.. William O., EUas A., Archibald B. and
Robert. He died in 1847, and his wife in 1881.
Archibald B. Ferguson, born 1837, son of Ellis Ferguson; married,
1860, to Mary, daughter of Aaron and Delilah (Schoonover) Vanscoy. Chil
dren, Delilah E. , Louise E. , Archibald E. , Berlin A. , Truman C. Owns 100
acres; Irish, Scotch and French descent.
' Elias Andrew Ferguson, born 1833, died 1888, son of Ellis Ferguson.
Near Lewisburg he married Mary Francis Clementine, daughter of Jehu
and Abigail (Ervin) Propst. Their children are Sarah E., Bernard I., Isaac
W. , Alba J. , Elias A. , Wyatt P. , James L. , Penesa J. , Olive M. and Robert
E. In his early life he traveled in the West, and of late years he has farmed
in Randolph and Tucker Counties. His son Bernard lives in Oregon.
Solomon Ferguson, son of Robert, bom 1814, died 1898. In 1842 he
married Polly, daughter of John Triplett, and their children were, JohnT.,
who is dead, Moses, Loami, who married Amanda Wilmoth and lives in
Idaho, Arnold, Phoebe, Park C, GennettaE., who married Salathiel Poling
and ft ves in Barbour, Coleman, Jasper, who married Ada Wees and lives in
Tucker, Angeletta and Deborah, who are dead. He was a farmer and owned
1300 acres, 120 improved, and he was a member of the Baptist Church. His
wife died in 1887, and five years later he married Polly, widow of Levi
Coberly; her maiden name was Canfield.
Park Collett Ferguson, born 1857, son of Solomon Ferguson. In
1883 he married Melissa E., daughter of Bryan and Virginia (Goddin)
Gainer. Their children are Jefferson W., Xantippe, Douglas T., Salathiel
L., Nettie E., Grace, Glennie A. and Lucy B. He is a farmer near Mont
rose, owning 128 acres, 20 improved, and is a member of the Primitive
Baptist Church.

380 FAMILY HISTORY.
Arnold B. Ferguson, son of Solomon, born 1850, married on Haddix
Creek, 1889, Louvernia, daughter of Samuel Gainer, and widow of John
Yeager. Their children are Henry C, Early L. and Onie D. He has lived
in Maryland, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Kansas, working as a
farmer; and in Davis, Tucker County, as a tanner. In 1888 he returned to
Randolph and now owns 55 acres, 20 improved, two miles from Mont
rose. Moses Ferguson, bom 1845, son of Solomon. In 1870, in Barbour
County, he married Minerva, daughter of William and Delilah (Coontzs)
Phillips, and their children "were French, Corder, William, Bernice, Hugh,
Lulu and Dessie. He began life as a farmer, lived two years in Barbour,
fifteen in Tucker, and then returned to Randolph and settled in Montrose,
where he works at the carpenter trade. He is a grandson of Robert and a
great-grandson of James Ferguson, who came from Ireland.
Coleman B. Ferguson, born 1864, son of Solomon and Polly Ann
(Triplett) Ferguson. In 1884, on Haddix Creek, he married Louisa B.,
daughter of Stephen and Charity (Everett) Murphy. Children, Essie,
Beatrice, Deborah Hazel, Ada M. , EJisie and Charity. He is a farmer near
Montrose, owning 86 acres, 25 improved.
John J. Ferguson, born 1858, son of William O. and Harriet (Trip
lett) Ferguson. He married Mary Catherine, daughter of Samuel and
Phoebe (Phillips) Purkey. Their children are Maud, Winnie Blanche, Wil
bur Brandt, Dot, Hart, Gladys, Chester. He was a school teacher in early
life, then became owner of the Tucker County Pioneer, published at St.
George, and later was interested in the Tygart's Valley Neios, published at
Elkins. He then became a photographer, and as such collected views of
many mountain scenes of West Virginia which had never been before pho
tographed, chiefly in Randolph, Pendleton, Pocahontas and Grant Counties.
He assisted in collecting the material for this History of Randolph,
compiling the greater part of the biographies in Dry Fork, LeadsvUle and
New Interest Districts.
Armisted Montgomery Fredlock, M. D., bom in Maryland, 4866,
son of E. P. and, Sarah M. (Jameson) B'redlock; married in Indiana, 1891,
Rosa, daughter of David Van Busldrk. He was educated in the West Vir-
Virginia University and Roanoke College, Va. , and Studied medicine in the
University of Maryland. x\fter a briei practice in Piedmont he located at -
Elkins, whei-e he is the surgeon for the railroad company. He was mem
ber of the first council of the town of Elkins; secretary of the Republican
County Committee and a member of the Repu'oUcan Congressional Com
mittee in 1892.
Clinton W. Flesher, son of Crayton and Harriet Rebecca Flesher,
was bom in Pleasants County, 1870. He received his education in the pub-

FAMILY HISTORY. 381
lie schools of his native county and in the Fairmont Normal School, gradu
ating from the latter in 1894 as the salutatorian of his class. He taught in
Pleasants and Wood Counties, and soon after graduating was elected prin
cipal of the Grammar School of the Fairmont Public Schools, holding the
position two years, and then accepting the position of principal of the
Ellrins Public Schools, which he still holds.
Howard C. Fueller, born 1869 in Pennsylvania, son of Henry C. and
Mary (Ebling) Fueller; German and French ancestry, his grandfather,
Charles Fueller, being a resident of Paris, France, and his son, Henry 0. ,
coming to America in 1863 and locating at Parkersburg. His grandfather,
Jacob Ebling, lives in Allegheny, Pa. , where the subject of this sketch was
educated, first in Lessing Institute, then in the medical department of the
University of Pennsylvania. After spending three years iu travel he lo
cated in Whitmer, opening the first regular drug store there. His father
was formerly inspector of engines for the Ft. Wayne Railroad Company,
and now is inspector for the Pittsburg Locomotive Works, and his brother,
A. J. Fueller, is an electrical engineer with the Westinghouse Electrical
Manufacturing Co. , and for a number of years was Demonstrator in the
Keystone Electrical College, Pittsburg.
Levi Findley, bom 1825, son of Adam. He married Emmeline Kittle.
Children, Adam L., Levi J., John K., Jane R., H. T., Emmeline, W. Reathy,
Minnie P., Lucinda, T^ersia, Linnie, Alice.
Adam L. FiNDLEY,born 1856,son of Levi and Emmeline (Kittle) Findley;
was married to Margaret E. , daughter of Preston and Elizabeth (Gooden)
Taylor. Children, -Luceba, Silas H., Charles C, Maud, Porter C. and Ella.
Parmer and school teacher; elected Justice of the Peace 1888; owns 210
acres, 100 improved.
Levi J. Findley, born 1860, son of Levi; married Minerva, daughter
of Preston Taylor. Children, Floy L. and French. Farmer.
John Ford, born in Ireland, 1825, son of Patrick Ford. In 1858 mar
ried Mary Bums. Children, Kate, Anna, James, Mary E., Nicholas, John,
Mary Ellen, John T. Owns 100 acres; followed railroad buUding for years.
Richard Ford, born 1840 in Ireland, died in 1893, son of Patrick and
Mary Ford. Married, 1866, in Clarksburg, to Mary, daughter of Patrick
and Catherine (Naylor) CooUcan. ChUdren, Michael J., Mary E., Patrick
P., John T., Richard V., Anna C, WUUam A. Farmer on Middle Fork,
125 acres. Michael Ford began teaching at 16, and taught four years; went
to Wheeling and entered business, having graduated at Buckhannon 1888.
In 1895 the building in which he worked in WheeUng feU, and he was the
only person rescued. Richard V., also a graduate from the Buckhannon
school, is a teacher. Anna C. is a teacher also.
Benjamin Wilson Fretwell, born 1853, in Upshur County, son of
25

382 FAMILY HISTORY.
James D. and Susan (Kittle) Fretwell. Married, 1870, to ArdeliaE., daugh
ter of A. C. and Mary (Moore) Logan. Parmer and shoemaker, owns 100
acres. George W. Fretwell, born 1858 in Lewis County, son of James D.
He married in 1880 Lee Ann, daughter of Solomon and Jane E. (Hogan)
Heavener. Farmer, 100 acres, 25 improved.
William L. Fretwell, born 1851, son of James D., m^arried a daugh
ter of Merican Moore. Children, Kate E. , Burwood L. , Oda M. . Sue A.
Richard Fretwell, son of J. D. , born 1854. Married Birdie Kelly.
Children, Alonzo W., John E., Mary, Pearl M., Bertha B., Charles J.
James Madison Fox, born 1843, son of William and Mary Pox; English
ancestry. Married, 1872, to Mary Jane, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth
(Barber) Quick. Children, Ira and Lena. Farmer, 100 acres, 25 improved.
Charles P. Fox, bom in Culpeper County 1833, son of William. Mar
ried, 1855, to Jane, daughter of Aaron and Maria (Steed) Jackson. Children,
Mary O., Alfred M., Saphronia, Sarah E., James, Wilford, Minerva.
J. M. Pox, born 1846. Children, MeUssaM., Millard J., James W.,
Jesse I.
Lewis Fahrion, son of Fred, born 1843; German-French ancestry.
Married, 1865, in Ohio, to Clara, daughter of George and Clara S. (Haas)
Heckler. Children, Clara S. and Lewis. Farmer, owns 100 acres, 60 im
proved; good orchard; .lustice of the Peace 1892. Mr. Fahrion claims the
important distinction of having been the youngest soldier that enlisted un
der the first call of President Lincoln who served through the entire war.
He enlisted at Columbus, O. , and saw more active service than falls to the
lot of most soldiers, having taken part in innumerable skirmishes, and the
following battles: Wildcat, Ky.; Mill Spring, Ky. ; Stone River, Tenn.;
Chicamauga, Ga. ; Chattanooga, Tenn. At Chicamauga he was wounded
by the explosion of a shell. He was pronaoted to sergeant, and was honor-
bly discharged July 22, 1865.
Lewis Fahrion, bom 1869, son of Lewis; German-French; married
1890 to a daughter of Elihu Forinash; children, Lewis,- Edward; road-
surveyor. Elihu Forinash, born 1848, in Lewis County, son of Lorenzo; mar
ried Jane Rader; children, Cora A., Manda, William, Esta, Blanche.
William Folks, born 1868, married Elizabeth Hicks; children, Min
nie, Margaret D., Samantha S., Ida, LUlie; farmer.
Daniel Fansler, born 1850, son of Andrew; married Margaret Cooper
1872; farmer, 70 acres; road-surveyor in Dry Pork.
Clay Fitzwater, born 1834; son of Nelson and Sarah (White) Fitz
water; married 1880 to Anzina, daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Phillips)

FAMILY HISTORY. 383
Daniels; chUdren, Walter Nelson, Minnie, Clarence Holland, Hattie, James
Herbert: owns 60 acres, 5 improved, also house, lot and blacksmith shop in
Beverly. On his mother's side he is descended from a passenger (Will
iams) who came over on the Mayflower in 1620.
William S. Floyd, son of H. W. and MiUie J. (Hess) Floyd, bom
1847; married Martha, daughter of Oliver and Thena (Tetarick) Nay; chU
dren, Herschell L. , Russell O. , and Ollie. Farmer, 55 acres.
Dewitt C. Fincham, bom 1851, son of John and Nancy (Dyke) Finch
am; German parentage. He married, 1870, Caroline, daughter of Jacob
and Ruth (Wiseman) Fortney; children, Annie P., Grace, Early E., Clar
ence, Rosa, Alva; farmer, owns 20 acres.
John Henry Pint, born 1866 in Preston County, son of George P.
and Jane (Lipscomb) Pint; German ancestry. In 1892 he married Mary
Alice, daughter of Joseph and Martha L. (Carr) Elza; children, Essie Eve
lyn, Carl Joseph, Lyda Grace. Mr. Pint is a manufacturer of lumber and
has lived on Middle Mountain 16 years.
John K. Findley, born 1868, son of Levi and Emmeline Findley, Ger
man and Irish parentage. In 1892, in Barboyr County, he married Grace
M., daughter of Hubbard and Harriet (Phillips) Terry; child, Guy. He is a
farmer, owning 156 acres, 100 improved. Mrs. Findley died in 1895,
Patrick Flanagan, born 1795 in Ireland, married, in 1855, to Bridget
McDermott in Upshur County. Children, John, Mary, James, Patrick and
Bridget. Owned 500 acre; died in 1870.
Patrick Pahaney, son of Daniel, born 1854, married in Lewis County
Anna Stokes. Children, Charles, Mary E., Bridget A., Patrick V., Cathe
rine, James A. and John J.
Charles Fisher, born in Germany, son of John M. and Caroline
Fisher; was married in Germany to Rosina. daughter of Paul Gunther.
Children, Carrie V., Charles M., Oscar N., Emily, George C, John and
Jesse; farmer, owns 150 acres three miles from Pickens, half under culti
vation. He came to America in 1874 and worked some time in a wagon fac
tory in Pittsburg, before coming to Randolph.
Charles Lev/is Fleegel, born 1864 in Pennsylvania, son of Isaac
and EUzabeth (Wolfe) Fleegel; German descent; in 1894, at Bayard, W. Va.,
he married Emma, daughter of John L. and Harriet (Raymond) Nordeck;
carpenter and contractor at Horton; has lived in West Virginia 9 years, 4
in Randolph. William Monroe Flint, born 1863 in Pleasants County, W. Va., son
of George Flint; Welsh descent; married Delphia B., daughter of Jasper W.
Triplett; child, William Jasper; lives on head of Glady.

384 FAMILY HISTORY.
0-.
William Wolfe Golden, M. D., was born in Russia in 1866. In 1891
in New York City he married Sarah Solotaioff, and they have one child,
Benjamin I. He received a liberal education in various schools of Russia,
especially at Vilna and Bielostock. From his early years he showed a fond
ness for chemistry and biology, to the studies of which he devoted consid
erable time, and through these branches he gradually drifted into the study
of medicine and finally decided to make that his profession. Attracted by
the liberal form of our Government, he came to the United States early in
life and settled in New York City. With a fair knowledge of English, ac
quired by him as a part of his early education, he was able to continue his
studies in the high schools of that city. He graduated from the medical
department of the University of the City of New York in 1892, During the
last year of his medical course he was attached to the St. Marks Hospital
as resident physician, and to the German Polyclinick as assistant visiting
physician. Toward the close of the year 1892 he located in Elkins for the
practice of his profession. Here he soon attained an unusual degree of pop
ularity, extending to the neighboring counties, where his opinion is fre
quently sought in consultation by other physicians. His admitted success
is as much due to his early thorough medical education as to his unremit
ting efforts to remain a student. He is a prominent member of the West
Virginia State Medical Society, in which he held the office of vice president
during the years 1896 and 1897. He is a frequent contributor to current
medical periodicals, notably the New York Medical Record. He is a promi
nent member of the following secret societies: A. P. and A. M., I. 0. 0. P.,
A. O. U. W., andL O. R. M.
Benjamin Golden, born 1858 in Russia, son of Raphael Hillel and
Balk Mindle (Lifkovitz) Golden; married at Kossovo to Alta, daughter of
Moses Lieb Juck. Children, Sarah Blume and Gershon. Mr. Golden was
divorced from his wife October 13, 1897, in the Randolph circuit court, on
the grounds of desertion on her part. He came to America in 1888, landing
in New York, and six months later he came to West Virginia and began
business as a pedler of dry goods and notions in Randolph, Tucker and Po
cahontas Counties. In 1893 he secured naturalization papers, and in 1895
started in business at Horton. He enjoys the enviable reputation of being
one of Randolph's most highly educated citizens; and in business matters
and in the qualities of social life he is looked up to by his friends and asso
ciates with confidence and esteem.
Jesse W. Goddin, born near LeadsvUle in 1832, son of Jefferson and
Rachel Chenoweth Goddin; English ancestry. In 1856 he married Mary E.,
daughter of Daniel and Sallie Ann (Earle) Harper. Children, Floyd, Lucy,
Ida, Bettie, Jefferson, Mary and John. He is a carpenter and cabinet mak-

FAMILY HISTORY. 385
er by trade; was elected member of the Board of Supervisors in 1870, held
the office two years; was elected a member of the county court in 1872, held
the office four years, being president of the board; was elected Justice of
the Peace in 1884, and held the office eight years; in 1892 was elected mem
ber of the county court for six years. He worked at cabinet making,
bridge building and at undertaking more than any other man in the county,
up to 1882. His father was born in New Kent Co., Va., in 1805, and settled
near Elkins in 1827. His grandfather, Avery Goddin, was also born in
Virginia and married a Scotch lady. Mr. Goddin's brothers and sisters
were, Andrew J., Isaac P., Judson C, Thomas J., Clitis, George, Emmet,
MaUssa E., Virginia, Mary and Eliza. The two first-named brothers were
in the Confederate army.
Judson Chenoweth Goddin, born 1841, son of Thomas Jefferson
Madison Monroe and Rachel (Chenoweth) Goddin; Scotch-Irish descent.
Married in Barbour County, 1866, to Melvina, daughter of Thomas Jeffer
son and Susan (Ray) Corley. Children, Rachel J. , Jacob L. , Thomas Jef
ferson, Benjamin Franklin, Hattie Lee, George Judson. He is a farmer on
KeUey Mountain.
Jacob L. Goddin, born 1870, son of Judson C. Goddin. Married, 1893,
Margaret M., daughter of D. C. Woodford. ChUdren, Eva May, Thomas
Omar, Baby.
Matthew Luther Gainer, born 1854, son of Daniel G. and Rachel
(Matthew) Gainer, was married in 1883 to Lydia Ann, daughter of Jacob
and Jemima (Wilmoth) Phares, and their children are Howard J. , Delias C.
Dora B., Emma May, Summa. Lura, Glenn W. and Stella Pearl. He is a
farmer on the old home place, near Montrose. His brothers are Sturms
and Robert E. L., the former a prosperous farmer in Idaho and the latter a
gold miner in Alaska; Amos L., who is dead; WUliam G, who lives in Lewis
County, and Silas W., who lives in Randolph. Their father was bom on
Leading Creek in 1822, and in 1894 he went to Idaho, where he now lives.
Their grandfather, George W. Gainer, was bom in Barbour County, and
was in the Confederate army. Their great-grandfather was Bryan Gainer.
Samuel W. Gainer, born 1841, son of G. W. and Phoebe (Schoonover)
Gainer; Irish descent. He married in Barbour County, 1860, EUzabeth,
daughter of Jonah and Sallie (Pride) Stansberry. ChUdren, Stansberry J.,
Sarah A., Alcinda L., Elam E., Delila B., Alice Bird, Mary E. and Vinnie
Ohve. He is a farmer, near Montrose, owning 175 acres, largely improved,
and is a successful business man; was lecturer for the Randolph Furmers'
AUiance one year. He is a local minister in the M. P. Church, and fre
quently lectures on temperance subjects. For several terms he was mem
ber of the Board of Education. His father was born near Meadowville in
1800; was a farmer and teamster, and was for many years fife major in the

386 FAMILY HISTORY.
Randolph militia, and was in the Confederate army. In 1830 he settled at
Montrose, where he owned 1300 acres. His father was Bryan Gainer.
J. J. W. Gawthrop, born 1842 in Taylor County, son of James and
Hulda (Waldo) Gawthrop. In 1861 he married Clarissa A. Corbett; in 1867
he married Anna Mathews, and in 1886 Verdilla L. Luder. Children, Wado,
Willie, Hulda, Leona, Hattie, Myrtle, Eddie, Florence, Minnie, Olive,
Naomi. He owns a house and lot at Womelsdorff, and also a photograph
gallery at the same place; was in the Confederate army, belonging to Co.
A, 20 Virginia Cavalry, and saw much fighting and hard service. He
belongs to one of the pioneer families in West Virginia.
J. E. Gawthrop, born in Taylor County, 1842, son of A. B. and Ehza-
beth (Corder) Gawthrop, English parentage. He married Samaria, daughter-
of Abraham Reger, and after her death married R. P. daughter of John A.
Hutton. Child, Ola. He was a Confederate soldier; is now a farmer, and
merchant at Huttonsville, and is one of the progressive business men of
that prosperous section of Randolph County.
David W. Gibson, M. D., born in Pocahontas County 1829, son of
David and Mary Gibson. He was married, 1861 to Martha E. , daughter of
Jacob W. and Ellen Stalnaker. Children, Wm. W., Charles, Florence B.
He studied medicine in Richmond, practiced in Buckhannon a few years,
then located near Elkwater, where he still lives.
Jasper Newton Gibson, born in Upshur County, 1848, son of Alex
ander and Margaret (Currence) Gibson, Dutch parentage. In 1872, at
Mingo, he married Rosa, daughter of Jerome B. and Susie McCloud. Chil
dren, Francis Dold, Kent, Jerome, Alonzo, Mazora Daisy, Wick, Harlan,
Emerson Gordon, Lenora Belle. He was a teamster in the Union army;
came to Elkins in 1890, and is workman in the carpenter department of W.
Va. C. R. R. Co., at Elkins. His father was born in Richmond, died 1887;
his grandfather, James Gibson, died 1863.
John Alonzo Gibson, born 1854, near Beverly, son of Alexander and
Margaret (Currence) Gibson. In 1877, in Pendleton County, he married
Virginia Susan, daughter of John W. and Mary C. (Judy) MuUennix; Eng
lish parentage. Children, William Dold, Effie Viola, John, Ethel Victoria,
Eddie Oliver, Flossie Margaret, Mary Catherine. He is a farmer and
teacher, taught 13 years; was a lumberman 15 years, and has lived at Elkins
8 years. George E. Greynolds, son of Joseph Greynolds, born in Harrison
County, 1851. His mother's maiden name, Rowana H. Blair. He was mar
ried in 1876 to Verna M., daughter of John D. Romine; maiden name of
wife's mother, Rachel Dawson. Children, L. Delbert, Joseph, Mary C,
John D. and Robert Lee.
L. D. Greynolds, son of Joseph Greynolds, was born in Harrison

FAMILY HISTORY. 387
County, October 3^ 1844; English ancestry. He was married in 1870, at
Beverly, to Martha E., daughter of Jacob Westf all. ChUdren, Lew, NeUie,
Flora, Anna, Stella, Clyde and Wilford.
Lew Greynolds, son of Lewis D. Greynolds, born 1871; mother's
maiden name was Martha Westfall. He was admitted to practice law at
the Beverly bar; and later was elected Mayor of Beverly. He was educated
in the public schools and subsequently took a course in the West Virginia
University. Patrick Gillooly, born 1821, died 1885; son of John and Mary GU-
looly; Irish. In 1857 married Catherine, daughter of Thomas Durkin. Chil
dren, Owen W., Patrick, Bridget, Mary E., John J. Farmer, 200 acres;
was a teamster in the Union army.
Owen Gillooly, born 1858, son of Patrick; married Anna Moyle.
ChUd, Mary. Mrs. Gillooly died 1893 and he married Teresa Cain. His
parents came from County Mayo, Ireland.
William P. Griffith, born in Barbour County, 1870; son of Richard
T. and Macedonia (Morrison) Griffith. Married in Tucker County 1890, to
Eva, daughter of Jackson and Jane (Kellar) Ramsey. Children, Howard
Butcher, Wallace B., Minnie Lee. By trade a carpenter; worked in Tucker
County; moved to Clarksburg 1897 and engaged in the hotel business; came
to Elkins in 1897, and is now the proprietor of the Diamond saloon.
John R. Goodman, born in Virginia 1869; son of James and Nancy
(Blankenship) Goodman; married, 1889, to Cora, daughter of Davis and
Catherine (Lindsey) Gordon. Children, Jesse Alfred, Pearl Beatrice.
Parmer. James Moses Gillis, born 1853 in Harrison County, son of James E.
and Sarah Jane Gillis; was married in 1876 to Amelia C, daughter of John
G. and Nancy Howell. Children, Lee Ann, George B., James Sylvester,
Peter Daniel, Eugene M., William, John and Martha C. He is a farmer
and railroader.
Rev. C. B. Gilkeson, bom 1863, son of John A. and Isabella (Hum
phreys) GUkeson; Scotch-Irish; married 1891 to Margaret, daughter of Ed
ward J. and Margaret (Kerr) Leyburn. He is pastor of the Beverly Pres
byterian Church.
Isaac M. Groves, born 1863, son of Solomon H. Groves. In 1896 he
married in Grant County, Cora, daughter of Jacob Parsons; merchant and
assistant postmaster of Harman.
• Marion Franklin Grose, son of Henry Grose, of Dutch descent,
born in Bath County, 1857; mother's maiden name Mary J. Hively; was
married 1880, near Beverly, to Alice C, daughter of G. W. Caplinger; one
child, Eva Lee. His father was in the Confederate Army and was killed
near Orange Court-House,

388 FAMILY HISTORY.
David Goff, for more than half a century prominent, not only in the
affairs of Randolph Courity, but also of the State, came from a family dis
tinguished for talent, industry, perseverance and success, and he developed
all of those characteristics. His people were of New England stock, his
immediate ancestors being natives of Rhode Island, and they took a promi
nent part in shaping the history of that State. Job Goff, the father of the
subject of this sketch, was born in Rhode Island in 1760, and his father and
grandfather before him were natives, or at least, citizens of that State.
He married Miss Waldo, who belonged to a talented and influential family.
Job Goff served three years in the American Army during the Revolution
ary War. After the restoration of, peace he removed to Vermont, subse
quently to New York, and finally, in 1804, to Harrison County, then Vir
ginia, now West Virginia. That was his home till his death, which occurred
in 1845, in his eighty-fifth year. His life was long and useful, and for sixty
years he was a member of the Baptist Church. His children were, J. W.,
Abigail, Jemima, Polly, Waldo P. , John and David. The last named was
born in Harrison County, September 3, 1804. In 1829 he married Christina
M., daughter of Peter Buckey, of Randolph County, and their children
were Cecilia, Claude and Vernon. Scarcely had David Goff become a citi
zen of Randolph, and while yet a very young man, when he was called upon
to assume the responsibilities of public office, and from that time until the
end of his life he nearly always held some position of honor and trust. He
was early admitted to the bar as a lawyer, and in 1830 he was appointed by
the Governor of Virginia to the office of Justice of the Peace for Randolph.
At that time the justice held office without pay. It was strictly a position
of honor, without hope of reward except that the justice with the oldest
commission might be appointed sheriff. Five years later, 1835, David Goff
became Prosecuting Attorney of Randolph County, an office which he filled
with exceptional success and vigor. He was early interested in school
affairs. At that time the public schools scarcely deserved the name, but
the idea was growing in the western part of Virginia, and the small begin
ning needed a man of ability and in thorough sympathy, to lead it to the
great developement which it has since attained. David Goff became the
first Superintendent of Schools of Randolph County, having been elected
in 1853, soon after the new constitution went into effect. With much public
sentiment against popular education, and the laws of the State only half
hearted in their support of it, Mr. Goff had no easy duty to perform when
he entered upon the work of his office. But with that perseverance which
always distinguished him, he laid the foundation on which a splendid super
structure has since been erected. His conspicuous success soon attracted
the attention of the people and he was elected by a large majority to repre
sent Randolph in the Legislature of Virginia. He had natural ability for
that work, and he gained such poiiularity that when the State of Virginia

COLONEL DAVID GOFF.

FAMILY History. mi
was divided and West Virginia was formed, he was elected by his people to
represent them in the Senate of the new State.
Mr. Goff, from 1844 till the close of the CivU War, took an active part
in military affairs. In 1844 he became Colonel of Virginia militia and filled
the office several years. He was not in the office at the commencement of
the Civil War, but he was looked upon as a leader. His sympathies were
with the South, and he actively espoused that cause. In 1861, when the
confiict came, and the authorities at Richmond were pushing troops across
the Alleghanies to occupy Grafton and other towns along the railroad,
David Goff was the medium through which, in many instances, the Govern
ment at Richmond communicated with its officers in the northwestern part
of the State. Colonel Porterfield at Grafton was directed to communicate
with Colonel Goff at Beverly in the matter of arms, and one consignment of
1000 muskets was sent to Beverly to be distributed by him. The official
Confederate correspondence at Richmond, now published by the United
States Government, shows the important part performed by Mr. Goff at
that early stage of the war. On the day of the Battle of Rich Mountain
Colonel Goff, together with many of the citizens of Beverly, left the town '
and set out upon their journey to the South. Colonel Goff left at about two
o'clock in the afternoon, while the noise of the battle was distinctly heard.
He feared that his life would be in danger if he remained, for his sympa
thies for the South were well known. He took with him his family, includ
ing Claude Goff, wife and child (David Goff, jr.,) and remained till the close
of the war. David Goff, jr., died at Brownsburg, Rockbridge County, Va.,
in 1863, of scarlet fever, being two years and six months old. The last
barrel of fiour Colonel Goff purchased for his family in his Southern home
cost him $200; and a French cambric dress pattern bought by one of the
ladies of his family cost ,^111.
When peace was declared Colonel Goff returned to Beverly only to find
that his property had been much abused and damaged. His house had been
taken possession of by the Federals and had been used as a hospital.
Soldiers had carved their names on the woodwork, so badly defacing it that
new woodwork was necessary. The yard and garden had been used as a
burying ground for the amputated limbs of soldiers. In addition to this.
Colonel Goff was disfranchised and for some years was not permitted to
vote. He stood high as a Mason, and was a member of the Presbyterian
Church, always ready to help, and doing more than his share in all church
work. He was an elder in the church for a great many years. He was in
strumental in building the second Presbyterian Church in Beverly after the
close of the war, the first church having been destroyed by the Federal
troops. *
* Efforts have been made at various times by our Congressmen to get some compen
sation from the Government for the destruction of this church, but without success.
" Too many Rebels In it, " is usually assigned as the reason for the failure to obtain com
pensation.

392 FAMILY HISTORY.
The Goff men have all been good husbands, good fathers and good citi
zens, upright and honest in all their dealings, always liberal in giving to
persons in distress or to suffering humanity. Major Goff's death occurred
in 1878, and he left valuable property, the accumulation of a long life of
industry and careful business. General Nathan Goff, formerly Secretary
of the Navy, and now Judge on the United States Supreme Bench, is a
nephew of the subject of this sketch, and studied law in his office in Beverly.
David Goff's daughter, Cecilia, on June 4, 1859, was married to Charles
Frederipk WUliam Kunst, an influential and well known business man of
Grafton, W. Va. Their children are Hattie, George Henry Augustus, David
Goff, William H., Charles Albert and Fred V. Mrs. Kunst was a lady
highly respected by all who knew her, very kind in giving to the poor and
needy, and she was sadly missed at her death, which occurred September
17, 1894. She was the only daughter of Colonel Goff.
Claude Goff, son of David Goff, was born in 1832, and was given the
best education to be had at Clarksburg, and was then entered as a student
at Lexington, Va. Having chosen the law as his profession he prepared
himself for its practice by a course in the law school at Lexington. In 1856,
when he was twenty-four years of age, he began the practice, and at once
took his place among the successful practitioners of Randolph and adjoining
counties. Two years later, that is, 1858, he was married to Miss Anna A.
daughter of Franlilin and Lucinda Leonard, of Randolph County. During
the Civil War his residence at Beverly was seized by the Federal troops
and was used as a hospital; and his sympathies being for the South, he
took his family and moved within the Confederate lines. When he returned
to Beverly after the war he found great changes. Those who had upheld
the cause of the South found themslves shut out from many professions by
test oaths and otherwise. It was especially difficult to successfully carry
on the practice of law, and this had its weight in infiuencing Mr. Goff to
turn his attention elsewhere. In 1867 he accepted a position with a com
mercial house, and traveled for it seven years, being pre-eminently success
ful. He subsequently was in the mercantile business in Beverly on his
own account, and was thus engaged a few years when he again took up the
profession of law, and was also employed in looking after the extensive in
terests which he inherited from his father.
He was a man of high standing, a Royal Arch Mason, and was treas
urer of the Beverly Lodge for a number of years. He was greatly respected
by all of his friends, and at his death he was missed by the community in
which he had lived. His death was a sad affliction to his family. His chil
dren were Charles P., David, Ralph Waldo, and one unnamed. Charles
P. Goff and his mother reside in the old homestead at Beverly, which they
have remodeled into a beautiful and comfortable home. Ralph Waldo Goff,
who was born at Grafton, W. Va., died at Beverly in his twenty-first year,

FAMILY HISTORY. 393
and the loss of this brilliant boy, who was a born lawyer, so shattered the
nerves of his father and mother that they were never able to overcome the
blow caused by his death. Charlas P. Goff, after a three years course at
the West Virginia University, was compelled to give up his studies without
graduation because of failure of eyesight. The records of "the family have
been carefully kept, and Charles Goff can extend the famUy tree to include
thirty-two ancestors, among them being not only the Goffs, but also the
fanulies of the Earles, the Buckeys, the Waldos and the Leonards, each
having an extensive history of its own. A German Bible belonging to Mrs.
Goff was printed in 1545, and a badge that was worn at the inauguration of
President Washington is among the family souvenirs.
French W. Gear, born 1862; son of John and Catherine Gear; mar
ried 1886 to Cora A. , daughter of R. J. Wees. Children, Charles E. , George
Walter, Maudie M. , WUliam W,
John Gower, born at Philippi, son of Moses and Hannah (Moats)
Gower. In 1869 he married Marcy J., daughter of John Murphy. Chil
dren, Isaac C, Patsy C, John D., Waitman, William R., Alice M., An
toinette M. , Oscar L. He is a farmer and was in the Union Army.
Patrick Glannon, born in Ireland in 1842, son of Thoinas and Sarah
Glannon. In 1870 married Mary A. , daughter of Thomas and Mary Fallon.
ChUdren, M. I., Mary C, Sarah E., Catherine P., Thomas J., John P.;
farmer and blacksmith; owns 105 acres. Mrs. Glannon died 1888. He was
a Federal soldier and has traveled extensively.
C. L. Graham, bom 1875, son of James. He is a farmer and miller,
living in Dry Fork District.
John William Graham, born 1853 in Pendleton County, son of James
and Mary Ann (Davis) Graham; German parentage. In 1873, at Reed's
Creek, Pendleton County, he married Delila Jane, daughter of Anthony and
Rachel (Mowrey) Mowrey. Children, Maudella Frances, Rachel Ann, Da
vid Seymour, WUliam Webster, Irene, Louetta, Clara Susan, Denver Lee,
Minnie Pearl, Owen Chloe. He reriioved to Randolph 1892; farmer and
carpenter; owns a house and lot near Harman.
Jonathan Button was of Welch descent. His father was Abraham
Hutton who left Wales when sixteen years of age and landed at Phila
delphia, where he remained several years, and about 1765, as is believed-, he,
went to the South Branch in the present county of Hardy. In a short time
he returned to Philadelphia, married Miss Evans and returned to South
Branch where the following children were bom: Moses, Peter and Jona
than, the last named being the subject of this sketch. Jonathan alone came
to Randolph County and no further mention of his brothers is necessary,

394 FAMILY History.
nOr is it possible to give much information concerning them, as but little is
known. When Abraham Hutton left Wales he possessed what few boys of
that time could boast of — a shot gun. It was six feet long and by no
means graceful in its outline, but he brought it to America, kept it many
years, than gave it to his son Jonathan who bronght it to Randolph where
it remained in the family as a relic of old times, audits last lawful owner was
Warwick Hutton who had it at the beginning of the war. But the Yankees
concluded that a gun was a dangerous thing in the hands of a Hutton, and
they took it, carried it to Beverly, where they exhibited it as a curiosity,
and it finally disappeared.
Jonathan Hutton was born in Hampshire County, now Hardy, June 3,
1769. In May, 1790, he married Mary Troutwine, a German lady. Her father
was body-physician to Frederick the Great, of Prussia, but becoming weary
with the formality of court life, and being unable longer to endure the over
bearing beheavior of his kingly master, he ran away and came to America
which then, as now, offered a refuge to those who wished to escape tyranny
in Europe. The following named children were bom to Mr. and Mrs.
Jonathan Hutton: Elizabeth, Sarah, Moses, Nancy, Catherine, John Adams,
Fannie, Abraham, Mary. All, or nearly all, of these were born in Randolph
County. Jonathon Hutton came to this county about 1795 and purchased
and took up land on the west side of the river near the present village of
Huttonsville. He was a surveyor as well as a farmer, and did his survey
ing with a compass which he made with his own hands. One of the early
enterprises which he undertook was the drilling of a salt well above Hut-
- tonsville, but his efforts were not successful. The lands in that part of the
valley when he came were covered with forests of oak and walnut. The
Haddans. the Riffles, the Currences, the Crouches, and others had made
considerable improvement before he came. He became a Justice of the
Peace in 1808; and it does not appear that he ever aspired to office, prefer-
ing to devote his time to his private affairs. His daughter Elizabeth mar
ried Andrew Crouch; Sarah, Fannie and Nancy died young; Catherine
married Charles C. See; Mary married W. J. Long.
Moses Hutton, son of Jonathan, married Mary Haigler. Children,
Mary Ann, Alfred, Elihu, Elizabeth, Eugene, Virginia and Mozella. He
was a farmer and stockdealer, and he cleared much of the land about Hut
tonsville, particularly the farm belonging to his son Elihu Hutton. He was
a Whig in politics; he died about 1860 of typhoid fever, at the age of 66.
John A. Hutton, son of Jonathan, married Dorothy See in 1834. Chil
dren, Margaret, Catherine E., Rachel P., Lucy, Warwick and Caroline.
John A. Hutton was a member of the West Virginia Legislature, and in
1880 he re-assessed the lands of Randolph County. He was Justice of the
Peace in 1841, and held other county offices.

FAMILY HISTORY. 395
Abraham Hutton, son of Jonathan, married Phoebe Ann WUson in
1836, and for a second wife married Jane Eliza Harris. Children, Jane L.,
Mary Martha, Catherine, Phoebe Ann, AmeUa, Albert E., James S., De
catur B. and John.
Alfred Button, son of Moses, born 1833, married Caroline, daughter
of WiUiam L. Ward. Children, ErseUa Lee, VirenaD., Eugene E., Charles
S., Alice W., Napoleon B., Amy G. and Durbin W. Of these chUdren
Eugene E. married Flora Osbern of Barbour County; Napoleon B. married
Mary Crouch. Alfred Hutton was Justice of the Peace in 1877.
Colonel Elihu Button, son of Moses and grandson of Jonathan
Hutton, was born 1837, on the John Haddan farm near the mouth of Rifle's
Creek. It was near this spot that Indians murdered and burned David
Haddan and his wife, together with their cabin, before the formation of
Randolph County. Elihu Hutton began his education in the country schools;
then attended an academy at Hillsboro, Pocahontas County, for twp months,
and went to Weston, where he was taught by Ed. Bland, now of Braxton
County. After three months at Weston he came home sick of pneumonia.
He next entered the academy at Huttonsville, taught by Jacob I. HUl, and
remained there from 1857 to 1861. The academy, which stood on the hill
back of Moore's hotel, was built by Moses, John and Abraham Hutton and
E. B. Butcher. It was burned by Federal soldiers in 1862 and the beU was
carried to Beverly, where it is said to be still in service at-*one of the tav
erns. Before the academy was burned, the majority of the students had
joined the Southern Army, and Prof. HUl had been elected Ueutenant. But
before that time the subject of this sketch had commenced his mUitary
career. Early in July, 1861, when McClellan invaded West Virginia, the
Randolph MUitia was called out by Col. Melvin Currence to oppose the
Union Army,* and Mr. Hutton mustered with the militia. After the fight
at Rich Mountain there was great excitement at Huttonsville, where the
miUtia was stationed, but no authentic news. Citizens came fleeing up the
pike with aU kinds of reports. Mr. Hutton was sent to Beverly to obtain
news. He met Col. Scott, with a regiment of Confederates, in full retreat.
Scott burned the Huttonsville bridge and retreated over Cheat Mountain.
Hutton went with him. The militia scattered in every direction and never
assembled afterwards.
Col. Hutton did not become a Confederate soldier until the spring of
1863. Prior to that time he had been on scouting duty, and had spent much
time with Company F, from Randolph. In September, 1861, he came into
Randolph with Gen. Lee, and was at Elkwater during the skirmishing
there and in the rear of Cheat Mountain. Gen. Lee asked him to pUot a
battery to the top of the mountain east of Elkwater, from which it
* See sketch of Col. Currence.

396 FAMILY HISTORY.
could command the Federal position; but before the battery was placed, Lee
ordered a retreat. At Camp Northwest, in Pocahontas County, Hutton
joined Co. C, 20th Va. Cavalry, and was elected captain. This was in W.
L. Jackson's brigade, and was the spring of 1863. For some time he and
Capt. J. W. Marshall did outpost duty along the border from Kentucky to
Randolph County. About that time he was sent against the Home Guards
on Dry Fork, under Capt. Snyder. He was given 27 men for the service
and started from Elk Mountain in Pocahontas County. Great secrecy was
necessary, and he broke up his command, ordering each man to make his
way alone to Hightown, where they assembled and left their horses. They
proceeded through the woods, traveling at night. They first camped on
Laurel Fork ol North Fork. The next night they reached the head of
Gandy, and the next night at 2 o'clock they surrounded Capt. Sampson
Snyder in his house and toook him prisoner, together with a deserter
named Meeks, who was shot, a man named Cunningham who in trying to
escape was shot in the elbow and died of the wound, and Daniel Anvil.
Amos Bennett was in the house at the time, but escaped. With the prison
ers, and with seven horses and eighty cattle picked up on Dry Fork, they
retreated. Capt. Snyder's men collected, followed them and had a skirmish
in Highland County, but failed to rescue the prisoners or retake the stock.
However, Capt. Snyder made his escape.*
Col. Hutton's first duty in the regular service was in the Imboden raid
of 1863. At Middle Fork he was detached and sent back to Beverly to hold
that point. He remained there until the Federals came in sight, a week or
more after Imboden had passed. He then fell back to Pocahontas County.
The weak resistance offered the advance of the Confederates by the Union
forces under General Roberts caused that general to be superseded by Gen
eral Averell, who equipped and trained 3000 cavalry to guard the passes
through the mountains in West Virginia north of the Kanawha. Colonel
Hutton entertains a high opinion of the generalship of Averell and consid
ers that he was the ablest and most dangerous opponent the Confederates
had to contend with in West Virginia. He moved very rajiidly.
In July, 1863, Colonel Hutton was with General W. L. Jackson in his
attack upon Beverly. Hutton was sent down on the west side of the river,
but fell back and retreated with the Confederates when Federal cavalry
under Averell put in an appearance on the pike between Beverly and Lead
ing Creek. Averell pursued and the last firing occurred at Crickard.
Colonel Hutton was in the battle at Droop Mountain, Pocahontas County,
where General Echols was defeated by Averell, and he was cut off when the
Confederate Army retreated, and with Captain Jacob S. Wamsley, Sergeant,
C. G. Rader and Sidney Ruckman, and the men of their commands
camped on the edge of the battlefield that night, very near the
* See sketch of Capt. Snyder for further particulars of this affair.

FAMILY HISTORY. 397
Union Army, and the next day made their way to the Levels, crossed the
Greenbrier River at Ruckman's and joined General Echols at Lewisburg.
Next came the campaign of General Hunter against Lynchburg. The
command that Hutton was in met the Federals under General Crook at
White Sulphur Springs, and there was a running fight for ten miles, the
Confederates falling back. Ten of Major J. P. Harding's men were cap
tured on that occasion, and the Major would have shared the same fate but
for an unerring shot from his revolver which stopped the foremost pursuer.
In a skirmish the same day at Covington Colonel Hutton received a painful
wound in the shoulder from a spent ball, but it did not disable him. The
next day, with five men, he was sent to Callihan's, near the top of the Alle
ghanies, to learn the movements of the Federals. He learned that Averell
was close upon them, and four Union scouts in gray clothes came in sight
a few minutes later, but a shot which killed one of them put the others to
flight. During the rest of the campaign Col. Hutton was in the principal part
of the fighting against Gen. Crook, falling back before him from Bratton's
to Panther Gap, and again through Rockfish Gap to Lynchburg. When
Hunter retreated from Lynchburg, his troops were attacked wherever pos
sible. On the march to Lynchburg the Confederates fought as they fell
back, but on the return the order was reversed, and the Federals were obliged
to fight their way out until they reached Monroe Co. The next large mili
tary movement with which the subject of this sketch was connected was
Gen. Early's expedition into Maryland, advancing to the suburbs of Wash
ington, and faUing back across the Potomac. Col. Hutton was in all of the
hard fighting in the Valley of Virginia between Early and Sheridan, and
was wounded near White Post. Eugene Hutton, his brother, who was a
Ueutenant, was kUled at Bunker HUl, Sept. 3, 1864. This left Major Hard
ing the only officer remaining. The war was drawing to a close. The last
fight in which Col. Hutton took part was between Madison Court-House and
GordonsvUle; from there he went to Highland County to spend the winter.
In the spring of 1865 he was ordered to join Lee. Below Lynchburg he
heard of the surrender. He attempted to reach Johnston in North Carolina,
but got no farther than Pittsylvania Court-House. He crossed the James
at Buchanan, disbanded his men and reassembled them a few days later at
Lexington. There he finally disbanded them and directed them to surrend
er wherever they saw fit. He surrendered at Lewisburg, Greenbrier Co. ,
May 10, 1865.
The war having ended. Col. Hutton entered actively into business. In
1877 and again in 1881 he was elected to the Legislature, and received the
Democratic nomination for the State Senate in 1885. His real estate trans
actions have been on a large scale, he having bought and sold more land
than any other man in the State, his purchase for one company amounting

398 FAMILY HISTORY.
to 132,000 acres. He aided in founding a plant in Braxton Co. at a-cost of
a quarter of a million dollars; bought 16,000 acres for the Holly River Lum
ber Co., and 10,000 on Elk for a Pennsylvania company. He contested to a
successful issue a lawsuit involving the largest amount ever litigated in
Randolph County.
In 1872 Col. Hutton was married to Miss Sophronia E., daughter of John
Harvey Woodford of Barbour Co. ; children, Laone, who married Captain
W. H. Cobb of Georgia, cousin of Gen. Thomas Cobb; Harvey Woodford,
Ernest, Forrest and Beryl.
Warwick Hutton, born 1850, son of John A. and Dorothy (See) Hut
ton; Welsh ancestry. In 1888, in Barbour County, he married Rissa, daugh
ter of J. H. and I. (Thompson) Woodford. Children, Dorothy S., Isis I.
Farmer and stockdealer. In 1888 he was elected Sheriff of Randolph; after
his term expired he resumed farming. He lives on the Hutton homestead
and owns an interest in 1000 acres. His sister Margaret married Noah
Crouch, who is dead, and his sister Caroline married Philip Hamilton, who
lives at Grafton, and is in the employ of the B. & O. Railroad.
Albert E. Button, bora 1850, son of Abraham; married, 1886, Eliza
beth, daughter of John M. Crouch. Children, Jossie B., Felix C, Myrtle,
Ora, Mary. Farmer.
The Haddan Family. Among the first settlers arriving in Tygart's
Valley after the massacre of the Files family in 1753 or 1754, were three
brothers, David, William and John Haddan. With them came their parents.
There is some evidence that they came here from New Jersey, then called
"the Jerseys." The families located in the vicinity of what is now Hut
tonsville, selecting the choicest and most fertile lands in 'Tygart's Valley.
The surveys describe the river as the "Monongahela." Tradition has it
that the elder Haddan and his family were murdered by Indians,* their
house and its contents pillaged and burned, and that this was witnessed by
their son William, who was concealed nearby in a sink-hole covered with
driftwood, but powerless to render any aid. In consequence of the barbar
ity which he witnessed upon that occasion he became the unrelenting foe
of the Indians, and when they ceased coming to this section he followed in
their footsteps further west, as they retired, until all trace of him or of his
descendants has been lost, f It is believed that the elder Haddan's name
* It is remarkable that this circumstance, whicli appears well authenticated, and
seems to have been a matter of common knowledge among the early inhabitants, should
have escaped Witliers when he was collecting material for the '¦ Border Warfare." There
were, however, several Indian murders in Randolph County which Withers failed to
record. t Such characters were not uncommon on the frontiers— men whose natures had be
come s(i chatigod by the revolting ci'uelty of the Indians that they seemed powerless to
resist the temptalidii to kill an Indian whenever they could— in peace or war. Noted
examples wei-e Lewis Wet/.el and Jesse lluglies, the former of Ohio County, the latter
of Harrison. William Haddan appears to have been like them. It is stated by way oi

FAMILY HISTORY. 399
was David. Of the other sons, David, the eldest, with othbrs, built an Indian
fort near the mouth of Elkwater, a branch of Tygart's Valley River, and it
was long known as Haddan's Fort. David Haddan was married twice. Of the
first wife's family little is known, except that his daughter Mary married
Edward Jackson, and became the grandmother of General Stonewall Jack
son:* The marriage took place prior to the formation of Randolph County.
The second wife of David Haddan was Rebecca Barr. By this marriage
there were three children, David, Margaret and Elizabeth. David died be
fore attaining his majority; Margaret, in 1797, became the wife of Isaac
White, who was born 1776, and Margaret was bom March 28, 1779; and in
1804 Elizabeth became the wife of John Stalnaker, dying without issue.
David Haddan died 1791 at his home near Huttonsville, his widow surviving
him many years.
John Haddan was one of the Justices of the Peace who organized Ran
dolph County in 1787. .He was County Lieutenant and also one of the as
sessors in the same year. He and William Wilson were the first represen
tatives of Randolph County in the Virginia Legislature at Richmond, f both
voting for the Report of 1799, defining the rights of the States. He was
captain of the militia in 1795 and Major of the Militia in 1800. In 1806 he
disposed of his property and moved to Knox County, then in the territory
of Indiana. Creed Haymond. Although Creed Haymond's chief connection with
Randolph was to be born in the county, yet because of the prominence
which he afterwards gained, it is proper that mention should be made of
him. His father was Calder Haymond, who married Martha, daughter of
Colonel Benjamin Wilson, I and for many years was a resident of Beverly.
He was a lawyer and began practice at the Beverly bar in 1830. The Hay-
monds were of an influential family. The first of the name, of which any
record is known, was John Haymond, an English architect and builder who
visited Maryland, from England, prior to 1734, for the purpose of erecting
a buUding. He was pleased with the country and remained in Maryland,
settling near Rockville, then Frederick County, now Montgomery, where
he died. He left considerable property, consisting of personal effects,
slaves and real estate. His wife's name was Margaret, but whether he
married in England or America is not now known. He left three sons,
WiUiam, Calder and Nicholas. The two former removed from Maryland to
the Monongahela Valley, and Nicholas died young, leaving one son John,
example that a friendly Indian visited the settlement near Huttonsville, and came into
a blacksmith shop where Haddan was repairing a gun, having it screwed in a vice.
When the Indian, by chance or design, was standing in front of it, the gun was dis
charged and the Indian was killed. The belief was general at the time that the gun was
not discharged accidentally.
*See sketch of Edward Jackson.
tSee sketch of Colonel Benjamin Wilson,
JSee Sketch of the Wilson family,

400 FAMILY HISTORY.
of whom nothing" more is known. Calder Haymond, (Creed Haymond's
great uncle) has a few descendants in Taylor County; but the most of them
went to the West.
William Haymond, from whom most of the West Virginia Haymonds
are descended, was born in Maryland, January 1740 and died in Harrison
County 1821. He was a soldier, when eighteen years old, in General
Forbes' expedition against Fort Duquesne, now Pittsburg, which was then
held by the French. The next year, 1759, he enlisted in the Virginia regi
ment which had been commanded by Washington, and served in it three
years on the frontiers, being discharged in February, 1762.* In 1773 he
removed to what is now Monongalia County, and in 1776 he was commis
sioned Captain of the Militia by Patrick Henry, then Governor of Virginia,-
and was commissioned major by Governor Benjamin Harrison in 1781, He
was in active service against the Indians on the frontiers during the Revo
lution. He was Deputy Surveyor of Monongalia County, Justice of the
Peace, Coroner and Sheriff. When Harrison County was formed, 1784, he
was appointed principal surveyor, and traveled to Williamsburg to pass his
examination at the College of William and Mary, as the law then required.
He held the office thirty-seven years. He was a mathmatician and me-
phanic of more than ordinary ability. He was always prominent in public
affairs. Under the Act of the Virginia Assembly, May 1777, he was one of
the officials selected to administer the oath of allegiance to all male inhab
itants over 16 years of age, and to absolve- them from their allegiance to
George III. His son, William Haymond, was the father of William Calder,
who was the father of Creed Haymond. Creed had two sisters, Harriet and
Ann, the latter the only member of the family now living. About 1838 the
family removed to Marion County, f
Creed Haymond's chief reputaition as a lawyer and soldier was gained
in California. Below will be found a sketch of him from The Resources of
California, published in San Francisco about 1886:
Creed Haymond was born in the town of Beverly, Randolph County, Virginia, April
22, 1836. His father was Hon. W. C. Haymond, one of Virginia's most distinguished and
gifted lawyers. When a mere boy, only sixteen years of age, in 1852, he crossed the
plains with a party of friends from that section to try his fortunes in California. Soon
after arriving in this State, being possessed of ample means, he engaged largely in
mining, pacldng, merchandising and ditching in northern Sierra. He continued in this
business until 1859, when he entered upon the study and practice of law. In the legal
profession his upward course was a phenomenal flight, cari-ying him to the head within
the first year of his new career.
Colonel Haymond was chairman of the Code Commission of this State, and prepared
with his associates, the tirst complete code of laws ever adopted by any State in the
Union, or in fact by any English speaking people. He married Miss Alice Crawford, an
*The discharge is now in possession of Colonel ITenry Haymond of Clarksburg. It
was signed at Fort Lewis, Va., by Lieut-Col. Adam Stephen, afterwards a brigadier in
the Revolution.
t In the court records of Randolph the name of Calder Haymond is entered among
the lawyers of the bar as "William C. Haman," evidently the blunder of a careless
clerk, who followed the custom of the time and place, and spelled the shortest way.

FAMILY HISTORY. 401
accomplished and beautiful young lady, a native of the town of Auburn, Placer County,
Cal. He served two terms in the State Senate from the Sacramento District, in which
body he achieved great distinction as a speaker and earnest worker. Aside from his
connection with most of the great civil cases at the bar of our State for the past twenty
years. Colonel Haymond has been connected with many of the most noted criminal cases.
He was for a long time Colonel of the First Artillery Regiment, National Guard, Cali
fornia. He was Captain of the Sierra G-reys, a Sierra County militia company, and took
his company into the service under Colonel Jack Hays, in the spring of 1860, against the
Indians of Nevada after the Pyramid Lake Massacre. He entered the service of the
railroad company in May, 1882, since which time he has been identified with all that
company's important legal affairs. In what is so well known as the Railroad Tax
Cases, he raised for the flj'st time the question of the protecting influence and power of
the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, against the dis
criminating exercise of powers by a State, as between citizens or property of the same
class, contending that the State could not discriminate in the matter of taxation as
between citizens holding the same class of property, nor as to property of the same class
because of its ownership by citizens or associations of citizens. While Colonel Hay
mond's position, so ably put forth, has not been as yet to the full extent aftirmed by the
supreme court of the United States, it has been by the circuit court of the United
States here, and by the highest courts of seven other States. Colonel Haymond added
much to his reputation by his masterly presentation ot these constitutional questions.
He was also counsel for Governor Stanford, and arranged all the papers in the matter of
that gentleman's munificent donation to the State for the foundation of a great Uni
versity. Upon the whole we may consider Creed Haymond as synonymous with energetic
labor and sleepless ambition to go on further up, even to the top. Not that he may
then rest, but only that his field of view may be the more expansive.
Daniel S. Haymond, M. D., born in Taylor County, 1838, son of
John and Parthena (Murphy) Haymond, English parentage; in 1873 married
Phoebe C, daughter of Adam and Emily (Cooper) Mouse. Children, Grace,
Orpheus Luther, Odbert James; graduated from the Medical department
of the University of New York f867; began practicing at Simpson, Taylor
County; came to Randolph. in 1869, and has since engaged in merchandising
and practicing medicine.
Benjamin Hornbeck, born in 1759, married early and moved to what
is now Randolph County, and settled on Leading Creek. In 1781, at the
time of the Leading Creek Massacre, the Indians, killed his wife and all his
children, but he succeeded in making his escape. About a year after that
he married Lydia, daughter of William Currence. She was born in 1763.
Their children were Sarah, who married Samuel Channel in 1804; Moses,
Joseph, Mary, Ann, who married James Carr, March 16, 1810; John,
Elizabeth, and three others whose names are not remembered. Benjamin
Hornbeck was Justice of the Peace in 1806 and Sheriff in 1815.
Josiah Wilbert Heavener, son of WiUiam and Susan (Harper)
Heavener, was bom in Upshur County in 1859, and in 1892, in Pendleton
County, married Virginia, daughter of A. M. and Mahala (Lough) Hevner,
Children, Marguerite and Fred. He has been in Randolph six years, and
before his coming he was deputy post master at Overhill, Upshur County,
and at Seymoursville, Grant County. In the latter town he clerked in his
brother's store. He is now the senior member of the firm of Heavener
Brothers, merchants in Elkins,

402 FAMILY HISTORY.
Levi Heavener, born 1833, son of George and Catherine (Pox)
Heavener; lives in Mingo District.
J. W. Heavener, born 1865; married Blanche Fretwell. Children,
Vanessa L., AlUe G., John W. ; farmer in Mingo District.
James O. Hevener, bom 1874, son of J. W. and Mary E. (Alkire)
Hevener, lives in Middle Fork District.
John Dice Harper, born near MarksviUe, 1835, son of Phillip and
Martha (Harman) Harper; in 1855 he married Susan, daughter of
George Eye; she -died in 1861 and he married, 1863, Ellen, daughter of
Daniel Summerfield. Children, Martha Ellen, Mary Susan, Amby W.,
James R., Philip D., Daniel B., Lutitia Catherine, Ira G., Martin V. The
grandfather of the subject of this sketch was Elias Harper, and his father's
name was Philip and he was one of the first settlers on North Pork. J.
D. Harper is a farmer, owns 170 acres, 100 improved. He was in the Union
service under Capt. Sampson Snyder and was in the fight at Judy's Gap.
Jacob Conrad Harper, born 1834 near Mouth of Senaca, son of Moses
and Phoebe (Conrad) Harper; German ancestry; in 1860, at MacksviUe,
Pendleton County, he married Susan, daughter of Anthony and Harriet
(Stonebreaker) McDonald. Children, Jeremiah, Adam, Peter, Albert, Sey
mour, Riley,* Mary, Agnes, Isom George Washington, Henry, Miner,
Almira, Florence Ida, Rosanna, Walter, EUzabeth, Gettie, Susan, Virginia,
Delphia. He is a farmer and stockman .and has lived in Randolph since
1861; owns 750 acres, 650 improved; was Justice of the Peace eight years;
member Board of Education. When he moved to the summit of the Alle
ghany Mountain, where he now lives, it was a wilderness. The nearest
store, Mouth of Seneca, was nine miles; the railroad at Keyser was 85 miles;
he paid $5 a sack for salt; nails, 10 cents a pound. The Strader Spring on
his farm was an old watering place for elk and buffalo, and Indians went
there to kill them.
Isom Harper, born 1868, son of Jacob C; in 1886 he married in Tucker
County, Phoebe Elizabeth, daughter of Joab Carr. Children, Calvin,
Miner, Chlorinda, Ottis, Delva, Baby; farmer, was constable in Tucker
County. Miner Harper, born 1872, son of Jacob C. , was married 1893 to Clara,
daughter of Valentine Cooper. Children, Fred, Ermer, Baby.
Randolph Morgan Harper, born 1841, son of Jehu and Ellen (Stal
naker) Harper; German descent; married 1863 to Ida E., daughter of Adam
D. and Kittie E. (WUson) Caplinger. Children, Willie Clair, Samuel Mor
rill, Edward Dice, Elizabeth Ellen, Ota Verna; was storekeeper 16 years.
Farmer, owns 1251 acres, 660 improved, and houses and lots in Elkins;
owns the ground on which stood Wilson's Fort. In 110 years the old Ben-
*Elected Sheriff of Tucker County, im. ~~~ "

FAMILY HISTORY. 403
jamin Wilson farm has never been out of a direct descendant's hands. One
of the oldest orchards in the State is there yet, and is stiU caUed "Benny's
Orchard." It was planted about 1777. The old miU dam, built by Benja
min Wilson, is not yet all gone. Some of the timbers are in a fair state of
preservation. The oldest Harper of the famUy, now known, was Henry.
His children were Jacob, Jehu, Moses, Henry, Eva, Elizabeth, Absalom.
The children of Jehu were Henry A., Randolph M., Daniel P., EUzabeth.*
Philip Samuel Harper, born 1858 in Pendleton County, son of Elijah
and Caroline (Bland) Harper; English; was married iu 1878 to Mary Alice,
daughter of Henry and Sarah K. (Roy) White. Children, Maudie Belle,
Mary Susan, Samuel Walter, Nora Catherine, Annie Elphie, Sarah Rosetta,
Austin Jay, Nathan Steele, Valley Marie, Gertie May. Parmer, 600 acres,
150 improved. Willie Clair Harper, born 1866, son of Randolph M., was married
115 to Florida M., daughter of Allen and Jemima P. (Ward) Taylor; chUd,
Willie Glenn; owns 105 acres and a grist-mill; owns the William B. Wilson
homestead. H. L. Harper, son of Henry and Hannah (See) 'Harper; born 1851;
married, 1883, to Nancy A., daughter of Jasper Clark. Children, Lucy B.,
EUa May, Henry C, Mary W.
Daniel A. Harper, born 1867, son of Archibald E. and Virginia
(Hinkle) Harper. In 1887 he married Minerva, daughter of Nicholas Wil
moth. ChUdren, Candy and Mittie. He is a farmer, owning 70 acres, 40
improved, near Elkins; a member of the M. E. Church, and a licensed ex-
horter. Occasionally he lectures on temperance and other social questions.
His education was limited to the common schools.
Lloyd J. Hyre, born 1866, son of James S. Hyre, married Mary V. ,
daughter of WUUam and Lucinda (Sidwell) Wolfe in 1888. Children, Lulu
N. , Maudie L. , Myrtle R. and Earl C. SawmUl owner and hotel keeper at
Montrose; also a farmer. William Wolfe was born in Preston County.
James Sansom Hyre, born 1839, son of Abram and Catherine (Stalna
ker) Hyre, Dutch parentage. In 1858 he married Rebecca A. , daughter of
William and Anna (Stalnaker) Phares, and following are their children: Vir
ginia A., Mary E., Lloyd J., Catherine A., Opha B. and Charles Blain. He
was a farmer^ sawmill owner and hotel keeper on Leading Creek, and was
also in the mercantile business with J. G. Coberly and Dr. W. E. Byrd. He
was kUled by a boiler explosion in 1897. His father was born in 1799 and
came to Randolph from Buckhannon, and died in 1887; and his grandfather
was Noah Hyre.
Martin Cecil Harman, son of Asa, bom in 1869; merchant and law
*See sketch of Colonel Benjamin Wilson for further particulars concerning the old
plantation and the fort.

404 FAMILY HISTORY.
student, having taken a course in the West Virginia University; has been a
member of the board of education, and a notary public; is now located at
Harman. Harris Harman, born in 1872, son of Jesse; married Anzina Yokum,
children, Clyde and Lester. He is a farmer.
Edward Hart, whose name occurs often in the early records of Ran
dolph, was a son of John Hart, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Daniel Hart was a brother of Edward, and both came to Randolph very
early. Both were Revolutionary soldiers, and were of English parentage.
Joseph Hart, son of Edward, was a lawyer and an extensive property
owner. In 1855 he moved to the top of Rich Mountain, on the Parkersburg
pike. He married Susan, daughter of John Pickens, and died in 1881.
Squire Bosworth Hart, son of Joseph, was born in 1841. He lived
on Rich Mountain during the early part of the Civil War. In 1862 he went
with his father to Illinois, and came back when the war was over. In 1868
he married Maria L. Morgan of Upshur Co. , a descendant of Hezekiah Mor
gan. They had one child, Anna Grace.
Alexander P. Hart, born 1846, son of Joseph; was married in 1868
to Lizzie, daughter of Wm. P. and Mary C. (Burr) Bradley. Children,
Mabel, Rufus, Bertha, Verna S., "George B., Howard M.
Jacob Hart, born 1828, son of John S. , and Jemima (Slagel) Hart; was
married in 1853 to Hannah Young. Children, Gilbert M. , Ellen, Luther B. ,
Alonzo P. Miller and farmer.
Alonzo P. Hart, born 1868, son of Jacob; was married in 1892 to Laura
Channel. Child, Leo J. Merchant and farmer in New Interest District.
Ezra Pugh Hart, minister in the Primitive Baptist Church, was
born on Files Creek, 1820; son of James and Eleanor (Chenoweth) Hart;
English ancestry; married in 1842 to Jerusha, daughter of Abel W. and
Jemima Kelley. Children, John Chenoweth, Almira Jane, Virginia, Abel
W. , James, Webster Bosworth. His great-grandfather, John Hart, signed
the Declaration of Independence. His grandfather, Daniel Hart, was a
soldier in the Revolution, as was also his grandfather on his mother's side,
John Chenoweth; and Jacob Kittle, who was Mrs. Hart's great-grandfather
(grandfather of Mrs. Abel W, Kelley), was the well known Indian fighter;
and Abel W. Kelley, Mrs. Hart's father, was a soldier in the War of 1812.
Hugh S. Hart, born near Beverly, November 18, 1828, son of James
M. and Eleanor (Chenoweth) Hart. In 1853, at Beverly, he married Eliza
beth R., daughter of Moses and Betsy (Ward) Harper. Children, Alice Wil
son, who lives at Boise City, Idaho; Lair D., who lives at Westmoreland,
Kansas; Lucy Prey, Thurston, who lives in Oklahoma; Lizzie Hart Rich
ardson, who lives at Havensville, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Hart were married

FAMILY HISTORY. 405
by Rev. John Birkett, in West Virginia, and all their children were married
by him. They moved to Kansas in 1658, and Mrs. Hart taught the first
school in Jackson County, that State. Mr. Hart served three years in the
Union army, in Company B, 11th Kansas Regiment.
Calvin C. Hart, son of James M. Hart, born 1842; mother's maiden
name, Eleanor Chenoweth; married, 1868, to Julia Foggy. Children, Wil
liam C, Lou Ella, Elam, Vance, Annie Knote, Hugh H. His great-grand
father signed the Declaration of Independence; he has a family portrait 120
years old, made in Ireland by J. R. Smith, inscribed, "The Nobility of
England." Abel W. Hart, the present Sheriff of Randolph, was born 1852; son
of Ezra P. Hart, whose father was James M. Hart; his father was Daniel
Hart, and his father was John Hart, who signed the Declaration of Inde
pendence. Abel Harfs mother, before her marriage, was Jerusha Kelley,
from Pennsylvania. He owns 500 acres, 200 improved. He has held the
office of President of the Board of Education, Assessor and Sheriff. He
was educated in county schools.
Rev. Asa Harman, born 1834 in Pendleton County, son of Solomon
and Elizabeth Harman; German ancestry. In 1856 he married Elizabeth,
daughter of Jonas and Mary (Rohrbaugh) Cooper. She died and- in 1863
he married her sister, Barbara Cooper. Children, Clay, Job, Mary, Danial,
Martin, Jason, Simon and Asa. Mr. Harman is a farmer and a minister in
the German Baptist Church, and has been in Randolph 55 years. At one
time he owned 2000 acres, which he divided among his children. Unques
tionably he has performed more marriage ceremonies than any other minis
ter in Randolph County, the total* number being 518.
Jesse Harman, born 1845 near MacksviUe, son of Solomon. In 1869
he married Sarah, daughter of Jonas and Mary (Rohrbaugh) Cooper.
ChUdren, Cora A., Harris, Emma S., Jonas C, Solomon B., Edna B., Mary
E. The first house in that neighborhood was built in 1823 on Horse Camp
Run by Jonas Harman, uncle of the subject of this sketch. The first school
house was built in 1830, and the first teacher was David Ketterman, who,
when seventy years of age, was killed by bushwhackers during the war.
The first preachers in the vicinity were Samuel Pike, of Preston County,
and WUUam George and Martin Cosner of Hardy County. They were
German Baptists, or Dunkards. Mr. Harman came to Randolph in 1860,
and is a farmer and stockman; owns 400 acres, 300 improved. When he
bought 1}he land it was nearly all in the woods, and would make but five
haystacks; now it makes from 30 to 35, and he can graze 75 cattie and
170 sheep, and winter 70 cattie and 90 sheep. Mr. Harman was township
treasurer after the war.
Joseph Harman, bom 1842 in Pendleton County, son of Solomon

466 FAMILY HISTORY.
Harman. In 1865, in Pendleton County, he married Mahala Mouse,
daughter of Michael and Phoebe (Harman) Mouse. Children, William
Clarence, Oliver Grant, Alice, Emma, Lloyd, Laura, Preston, Calvin,
Charles, Lee; farmer, and for 25 years a merchant at Mouth of Seneca, and
postmaster for the same length of time; was in the lumber business awhile
at Davis, Tucker County, now keeps hotel at Harman; was in the Union
army; member of the Home Guards under Captain E. C. Harper and Captain
Boggs; John was in several engagements, and in a skirmish in Pendleton
County was wounded in the thigh; his brother was killed by bushwackers.
Mr. Harman has lived two years in Randolph.
Henry C. Harman, born 1858, son of Asa; in 1878 married Sarah A.
Smith. Children, Ruhanna, Susan, Rosanna, LenaE., Simon P. , Eugene
B. ; farmer, 200 acres. 150 improved.
Job Harman, born 1860, son of Asa; married Mary J. Dolly 1886.
Children,' James B. , Tena M., Stark, Baby; farmer; postmaster at Day's
Mills two years.
Jason Harman, born 1871, son of Asa, was married in 1893 to Elmira,
daughter of Jacob C. Harper. Children, Lester, Icie, Nannie, Baby. Farmer,
owns 440 acres, 100 improved; also house and lot in Harman.
Simon P. Harman, born 1875, son of Asa; is a merchant and law stu
dent, having taken a course at the West Virginia University, and is now
located at Harman.
Silon Harman, born on the South Branch in 1850; son of Moab and
Elizabeth (Lough) Harman; German parentage. In 1877 he married Rebecca,
daughter of Michael and Mary (Wise) Mallow. Children, Ira Franklin, Ida,
Anna Maud, Wm. Jasper. Came to Randolph 1885. Farmer.
Noah Harman, born 1851 in Pendleton County, died 1896; son of Moab.
In 1877, at Upper Tract, Pendleton County, he married Sarah Prances,
daughter of Hugh W. and Mary Jane (Crowder) Nash. Children, Samuel
Luther, Walter Scott, James Arthur, Mary Elizabeth, Nellie, Ray Gordon.
Farmer on Red Creek; lived in Weston, W. Va., five years.
D. Milton Harman, born 1880, in Pendleton County,' son of David H.
and Joanna (Huffman) Harman; German parentage. His boyhood was spent
on a farm and in his father's store; after he was 16 years old he attended
school two terms; he came to Randolph in 1898, passed his examination and
taught in Dry Pork District, and is preparing for the law and journalism.
John William Harman, born 1869, in Pendleton County, son of David
and Cyntha J. (Hedrick) Harman; German ancestry. In 1895, in Pendleton
County, he married Minnie S., daughter of David Mouse. Child, Vera
Belle, who died aged five months. His wife died in 1896 and in 1898 he
married Myrtle L. , daughter of Abram Miley, of Edinburg, Va. Mr. Har
man began life under disadvantages, and educated himself by his own ex-

FAMILY HISTORY. 407
ertion. After the common schools he attended one term at Dayton, Va. , in
the Shenandoah Institute, graduated from the law department of the West
Virginia University in 1892; he opened a law office at Petersburg, Grant
County, 1893, and remained till 1897, when he located at Harman, Randolph
County, and there practices law. He has made his way in the world under
circumstances which would have discouraged one less courageous.
Joseph French Harding, born November 9, 1838, in Anne Arundel
County, Md., son of Joseph and AUce (Elliott) Harding; English, Scotch
and Irish descent; married, 1869, Luceba E., daughter of Archibald and
Caroline (Taylor) Wilmoth. Children, Clare W., French Leslie, Luceba M.,
Ro Ella, Jo Lisle and Vie Own. The Hardings as a family date far back
into the history of Scotland, and were related by intermarriages with the
Stuarts and Mary Queen of Scots. The name occurs frequently in Scot
tish annals, and although sometimes spelled in different ways, the family
was the same. There was always noticeable a predisposition and aptness
for mUitary life, and some of them achieved fame in no small degree, one
of them. General Hardinge, a near relative of the subject of this sketch,
being at one time commander-in-chief of the armies of England. Repre
sentatives of the family came to Virginia at an early date and wielded in
fluence in affairs there. At the breaking out of the Civil War, Major Hard
ing, then twenty-three years old, was a resident of Randolph, and he followed
the fortunes of his State into the Confederate cause, and he fought it
through, taking part in many battles and skirmishes, receiving many
wounds, escaping from dangers when escape seemed impossible, and, in all,
making a record seldom equalled and perhaps never surpassed in point of
personal adventure linked with the fortunes of a soldier. He rose to the
rank of major, and was named on the field of battle for promotion to col
onel, for personal bravery, even before the battle was ended.
He joined Co. F, 31st Va. Infantry, May 23, 1861, at Huttonsville, and
he remained in service four years to the day, and for more than a month
after Lee's surrender. He left the infantry service and joined the cavalry,
Co.C, 20th Regiment, early in the war. Although he did much fighting
among the mountains and rocks, yet he never would countenance the prac
tice of bushwhacking, believing it cowardly to kill an enemy without giving
him a chance to surrender. It is claimed that he fired the last gun of the
Civil War east of the Mississippi River. The fight occurred in Poca
hontas County, May 18, 1865. Captain Joseph Badger, 8th Ohio Cavalry,
made a report of the affair, which is published on pages 1312 to 1314, Vol.
95, Records of the Rebellion, and an extract from the report is given below.
Captain Badger had gone through Pocahontas looking for government
property and for the purpose of capturing, any Confederates who might.

408 FAMILY HISTORY.
still be in that region. The fight occurred near Knapp's Creek. Captain
Badger says:
"My advance was suddenly and furiously attacked. I immediately threw my three
companies into a shape to make a strong tight if the enemy were in force, and to pursue
instantly if he were not. I galloped forward to see what it was. I found that the enemy
were running up the side of the mountain to get away; told Lieut. McConkey to i?ake
his company instantly up the hill after them and shove them at top speed; told Sergeant
Llewellyn to dash ahead after a few who had ran back on the road by which they came.
He captured one who said it was a squad of 25, with Major [Elihu] Hutton, Captain [J.
W.] Marshall, and Captain [J. F.] Harding, going to their homes."
There were only eleven Confederates in the squad and Col. Hutton was
not among them. They scattered through the woods, but were not pursued
far. Major Harding lost his horse. The last shot was fired by him. A
cavalryman was following him into the woods. Major Harding raised his
gun and was In the act of firing when the Federal saw him and jerked his
horse's bridle, causing his horse to throw up his head in time to receive the
bullet in the forehead and save the rider. Major Harding thus fired the
last shot of the war, and killed a horse. He and Jacob Ward then set for
ward alone for Huttonsville, traveling on foot. Captain Badger continued
his expedition as far as Gatewood's and then set out on his return to Beverly.
He suspected that Major Harding intended to collect a squad and attack
him, and he kept a sharp lookout all the way to Huttonsville. In his report
he says: "I expected to find that Major Harding and friends had gathered a pretty good squad
through the mountains to bushwhack us on Greenbrier or about the Gum Road on Cheat
Mountain. Therefore I placed half my Spencers in the advance guard and half in the
rear. Moved on, reaching White's, top of Cheat Mountain. An hour before sundown
stopped for supper. Learned that Captain Harding had passed there in the middle of
the day with flve men, armed and on foot, saying he was going to Beverly. He also said
my command was returning on that road and would reach White's sometime that even
ing. I ^udied a good deal as to his intentions. His character is such that I felt sure
he was not going to surrender. Finally I concluded he had gathered up thirty or forty
men, had them coming through the mountains by Becca's Creek, and either intended to
entangle us in a blockade in going down the mountain, and cut us up, or to surprise us
after we encamped in the valley. It is eight miles from White's to Stipe's (foot of
mountain), I had Sergeant Knott with ten men and an ax. march half mile ahead and
look for a blockade; commenced the descent at nine p. m.. Reached Stipe's without
accident, and learned that Harding with one man had passed there just at dark, saying
he was going to Beverly to give himself up. This left four of his men unaccounted for,
which made me look still more for another party acting with him. I had twenty men
dismounted, go ahead, and in two squads search every house within three miles of Hut
tonsville for Harding and Ward (whose mother lives close by), but found no trace what
ever of them. Moved into the valley and bivouacked near Mrs. Wade's, making as much
noise as possible to let the enemy know 1 was there, it being my wish that he attempt a
surprise. Next day moved to Beverly, arriving at 5 p. m. As Captain Harding has not
made his appearance nor been heard of at a late hour to-night, I have no doubt he had
some design against us. He had no chance."
Major Harding slept at Elihu Hutton's house the night Captain Badger
camped in the valley "and made as much noise as possible." He was alone
at that time. He subsequently made an effort to reach the country beyond
the Mississippi where it was reported that a Confederate army was still
holding out; but learning that all had surrendered, he wrote his own parole,
and surrendered. May 23, 1865, When he returned to civil life he was twice

FAMILY HISTORY. 409
elected to represent Randolph and Tucker Counties in the legislature; was
elected and served as a member of the Constitutional Convention of West
Virginia in 1872. He was Sheriff of Randolph from 1877 to 1881. In 1885
he was licensed to practice law, and has since followed his profession. His
election to every public office he has held was against his will and consent
except that of Sheriff. In that instance he entered the race against great
odds, and won by a large majority. There was no convention that year,
and four Democrats were in the field and one Republican. Mr. Harding
defeated the whole field.
Clare Wilmoth Harding, son of Major J. P. Harding, was born in
1872; is junior member of the firm of Harding & Harding at Beverly; gradu
ated in law at the West Virginia University in 1897 and was admitted to
practice in 1898.
Bolivar Hamilton, born in 1859, son of Bryson and Mary E. (Stalna
ker) Hamilton; Irish ancestry; was married in 1883 to Maud, daughter of
John S. and Deborah (Wees) Chenoweth; children, Carl, Dale, Mary Ora,
Silva, Nina, John B. and Dewey; owns ten acres, all improved.
A. Z. Hamilton, born in 1870, son of Bryson; was married in 1893 to
Bernice, daughter of John C. N. and Hannah (Currence) Bell; children are
WiUiam L. W. , A. B. and Bertie P. He is a farmer and lumberman, owns
125 acres, 30 improved, and lives in Huttonsville District.
Jerome Harris, born in 1836, son of Tunis, married Mary J. Crocker;
children, Lenore, Gaylord, Gerrald, Tunis, Mary, Raphael and William.
Richard B. Harris, son of Hensley R. B. Harris, was born 1866; his
mother's maiden name was Caroline B. Woodson. In 1 894 he married, at
Harman, Fidelia, daughter of Solomon Cunningham. The maiden name of
his wife's mother was Mary J. Lantz. The subject of this sketch is deputy
sheriff and jailor.
Paul Hamilton, born 1829, son of WUliam, was married, 1850, to Jane
S. , daughter of Abraham Hutton. Children, Maud, Minnie, William, Mary
M., Bessie W., Robert L., Pauline. He died in 1870. His son Robert grad
uated at West Point in 1891, and is still in the military service, and was
First Lieutenant. at the time he took part in the capture of Santiago, Cuba,
in July, 1898.
S. A. Hamilton, born 1853, married, 1872, to Nancy E. Scott. Chil
dren, Emma, Mary E.,, Blanche, Rosa Pearl, Blaine Harrison. Owns 350
acres. G. W. Hogan, married, 1890, Mary Heavener. Children, Mamie, Wes
ley, Mary.
L. H. Hogan, married, 1884, Ann Swecker. Children, Eva L., Guy,
Ola, Ruth.

410 FAMILY HISTORY.
D. H. Hamrick, born 1861, married, 1890, Portia W. Beatty. Children,
Mabyn W., Sophia S., John G., Kenneth J. School teacher and farmer.
John Howells, son of John, bom 1831; married, 1894, May, daughter
of Alfred and Sarah (Robinson) Phillips. Children, Ida, Fannie, Ella,
Bessie. James E. Howell, born in Barbour County, 1845, son of Nehemiah
and Rebecca Howell; German and Welsh descent; married, 1880, Virginia,
daughter of Jacob and Nancy (McQuain) Isner. Children, Daisy D. , Lily
B., George M. Farmer; owns 840 acres, 280 improved. His father was
one of the early settlers in Barbour, and during the Civil War was a Union
soldier, fighting till peace was signed. James Howell came to Randolph in
1878 and began work in the woods. His farm is one .of the finest in the dis
trict, and his barn the largest, being 50 by 100 feet.
Hiram Hill, bom 1845, married Lizzie Pritt, 1866. Children, William
and Mary. His son is paralyzed from a shot in the back by his uncle, who
mistook him for a turkey.
George Hill, son of Scott HiU, born 1849; married, 1869, Christina
Wees. Children, Columbus E., Aries G., Luther M., Oliver L., Effie M.,
SteUa W.
John Hill, son of Scott Hill, born 1857, married, 1888, to Elizabeth
Kittle. Children, William, Cecil, Cora, Levi, Ernest and Mary.
John C. Hull, born 1848 in Upshur County, son of James D. and
Mahela (Armstrong) Hull; German; married 1874 Elizabeth, daughter of
Robert and Margaret (Wilson) McAvoy. Children, Robert, Charles; farmer
and lumberman; owns 400 acres, 60 improved. Mr. Hull is a brother of the
famous hunter, Laban Hull, who in 1870 performed the remarkable feat of
riding an enormous deer half a mile through the woods. The deer was lo
cally known as the ' ' Turkey Bone Buck, " because his haunt was Turkey
Bone Mountain. Hunters had long tried to kill him, but the fortune fell to
Mr. Hull, who, with his brother Warwick, wounded him, and he fell. Laban
got astride of him, when the buck sprang to his feet and carried the hunter
half a mile. A second shot killed him. He weighed 225 pounds,
Laban M, Hull, son of James, born 1852, married 1879 Flora, daugh
ter of William and Mary (Kittle) Simmons, Children, Mary, Lily, May,
Willie, Mahala Irene, Milton, Lucy, Ada, Benjamin, Ollie, Salina, Lettie.
Mr. Hull was a noted hunter, and settled on Middle Fork 1872.
Frank Huffman, born on Seneca in Pendleton County, son of John
and Rachel (Turner) Huffman. In 1897 he married Janie, daughter of Al
bert and Dorothy (Dolly) Waybright; farmer; has lived in Randolph six
months. Wilson Hoffman, born in Pennsylvania, son of Peter and Sarah Hoff
man, was married in 1887 to Emma S., daughter of J, H. Bowersox. They

FAMILY HISTORY. 411
have one child, Joe. He is railroad agent, telegraph operator and merchant
at Montrose. He has a clock 200 years old that was brought from Ger
many. Bernard Luther Hinkle, born 1846, son of Ananias and Elizabeth
Hinkle. In 1865 he married Albina Louisa, daughter of Adam and Emily
(Cooper) Mouse. Child, DoUie. The land on which the Hinkle Addition
to Elkins is built formerly belonged to him.
M. Hicks, born 1868, son of James; married, 1889, Mary E. Folks.
Children, Etta M., Pleasant, James, George, Nellie. Owns 60 acres.
James Hicks, born 1832, son of David; married in 1866, Samantha
Skinner. ChUdren, Mortimer, Lizzie. Owns 300 acres.
Charles S. Hansford, son of Acra, was born in Tucker County in
1830, and first married Sarah A. AUender, then Amanda Hyre, and for his
third wife married America Curtis. Children, Mary C, Jacob Laban,
Wickum, Walter E. and Corder. He says of his ancestors that the earUest
record he knows of the Hansfords two brothers, probably soldiers, came
from England, and one was hanged for insubordination. Acra Hansford
was born in 1800, in Rockingham County. The subject of this sketch has
been a great hunter. For eighteen years he has been a member of the
Primitive Baptist Church, and lives on Leading Creek.
Eugene Emmet Hedrick, bom 1859, son of S. M. Hedrick, married,
1880, Mary Jane, daughter of Sampson Jordan. Children, Margaret Susan,
Arthur, Riley Mansfield, Early Washington, Hassle Belle, Omar Wilmoth,
Maudie Clare.
Jasper N. Hight, son of William, born 1857, married, 1878, Nannie E.
Johnson. Children, Prince W., Nimrod M., Mary B., Alice, Addie, Fred,
Cecil, Nettie, Frank. Owns 168 acres.
Loren High, son of Lewis High, born 1855, at Van Wert, Ohio;
mother's maiden name, Louise Maddox; German ancestry. Children, Anna,
Clara, Emma, Mary and Loren. He is a merchant at Beverly; lived five
years at Gorman. His father was in the Battle of Rich Mountain, under
McCleUan. John M. Hartman, bom 1842, in Switzerland; son of John and Katrina
Hartman; married, 1871, in Ohio, to Sarah, daughter of 'John Wagner.
Children, Carrie, Albert, Helen, Matilda, Henrietta, Frederick, Prida. Has
held the position of Constable, Justice of the Peace and Postmaster.
J. H. Hamner, born 1860, married Sarah Fitzgerald, 1887. Children,
Jessie, Nellie. Lumber inspector at Pickens.
Prank Huber, born 1846, in Switzerland, son of John J. and Anna
(Hartman) Huber, was married 1886, at Helvetia, to Hulda, daughter of
John J. and EUzabeth (Zurcher) Wurzer. Children, Hulda A. , Mary A. ;

412 FAMILY HISTORY.
farmer and hotel keeper at Helvetia; machinest; came to America 1872,
and worked at his trade in New York and Pennsylvania; owns 95 acres
near his home.
Henry G. Harold, bom 1868, son of James and Mary Harold; was
married in 1894 to Matilda, daughter of John and Orvilla Hartman. Chil
dren, Ray H. , Orvilla L. ; school teacher.
Squire B. Hornick, born 1855, son of Canzada (Clark) Hornick, was
married 1879, to Melvina, daughter of John and Kittie (Fansler) Myers.
Children, Adam Dellis, Jesse, Dorsey, Grover, Eli, Mason. His grand
mother died at the age of 110 years; his people were the first settlers on
upper Cheat.
Andrew Hamilton Houdyschell, son of John H. Houdyschell, born
1857, in Augusta County; German parentage; mother's maiden name was
Bridget Doyle; married 1889 in Pocahontas County, to Nora B., daughter
of J. W. Dreppard; maiden name of wife's mother, Carrie Powell. Children,
Willa May, Forrest S., Charles E. He is a contractor and builder; has
been in business twenty-five years in Beverly.
Michael Higgins, bom 1813 in Ireland, son of Patrick; married Mar
garet Tuell in Ireland, 1856. Children, Mary A., Lizzie, Nora, John,
Martin, Sarah; farmer and railroader.
S. M. Hall, son of James, married 1875, Tabitha Moore. ChUdren,
Edwin L., Mary M., Frank M., Anriie; farmer.
Joseph Elias Hinchman, born 1865, son of Joseph and Caroline (Riffle)
Hinchman; married at Cumberland, 1895, to Dolly Louella, daughter of
Elam and Louise (Wilmoth) Daniels. Child, Mabel; farmer.
John Herron, bom 1837; married Martha J. Smith 1867; children,
Urnie G., Burr, Laura, H. T., Ellen, Minnie, Lenora, Missouri; farmer.
John W. Heltzel, born 1860, son of James C. ; marrie'd Cora A. John
ston; children, James PhUip, John W., Mary E., Monna C.
A. J. Hathaway, born 1856, son of Francis; married, 1885, Mattie
Lake. Children. L.C, Candacia, Genevieve P. , Francis W. , Andrew H. ;
farmer, 92 acres.
Samuel Haddix, born 1853, son of Isaac; married Rebecca Bryan,
1887; she died 1896; farmer, 130 acres.

Jefferson Isner, born 1829, son of Henry and Sarah (Helmick) Isner;
English; married, 1855, to Martha Ellen, daughter of Moses and Susanna
(Walker) Phillips, Children, Henry, Phoebe J., Moses, Sarah, Cordelia,
Creed, Lewis. Owns 10 acres, imjiroved. Mr. Isner says that the first
house on Cheat River, in Randolph County, was built about 1770 by John
Vance, who filed on land in that vicinity two years earlier.

FAMILY HISTORY. 413
Henry Isner, born 1856, son of Jefferson and Martha (PhiUips) Isner;
English; married, 1885, to Laura M., daughter of Emmet B. and Lucinda
Vanscoy. ChUdren, Emmet J., Claudie W., Lou Mattie, Lottie B., Laoni
P., Willie B. Owns 50 acres, 30 cleared.
Hamilton Isner, born 1851, son of Cyrus and Christina (Kittle) Isner;
English; married, 1876, to Sarah Columbia, daughter of Eli and Julia Ann
(Stemple) Schoonover. Children, Burns, Ernest, Cora EUen, Stella Mabel,
Carrie Hope. Owns 90 acres, 60 cleared.
B. L. Isner, born 1847, married Rachel Wees. Children, Albert G.,
Oliver, Ray, Dorsey M. and Arthur.
Eugenus Isner, son of John Isner, born 1838; married to Emily Wees.
ChUdren, Luverna, Daisy, Frona, Havard, Clarence and Fred.
David Grove Irvine, bom 1865, son of Wm. H. and Emily T. (John
son) Irvine; Irish ancestry; married, 1896, to Louella, daughter of Calvin C,
and Julia (Foggy) Hart. Child, Orres Keim. Has Uved in Ohio and Mich
igan; attended Dennison University, Ohio, and Broaddus College, W. Va.

John Jackson. Among the earliest and most influential citizens of
Randolph County was the subject of this sketch. He deserves more than a
passing notice, not only because of his own prominence in public affairs,
but also because he was the representative of a family of unusual natural
endowments, some of the members of which have achieved fame, not only
in this country, but throughout the world. The most noted of these was
the great Confederate general, Thomas J. Jackson, popularly called
"StonewaU. " He was the great grandson of John Jackson. It is proper to
turn aside a moment and trace the origin of this family as far as known.*
At the beginning of the seventeenth century James I of England, with
the view of converting Ireland to Protestantism, formulated the plan of
transplanting to that country Protestant colonies from the south of Scot
land and the north of England. He commenced carrying out his scheme
about the year 1611, the settlement being made in the Province of Ulster.
The settlers were selected men and women of the most excellent sort.
They were inteUigent farmers and artisans. As an evidence of their intel
ligence, it is stated that in a document signed in the year 1718 by a miscel
laneous group of 319 men, 306 wrote their names in full, only 13 making
marks. Nothing like that could have happened in any other part of the
British Empire. These people were Presbyterians. They and the Irish *
were very bitter toward each other; nevertheless there were frequent
*The fRcts here given regarding the ancestors of Edward Jackson, and consequently
of Stonewall Jackson, are derived from original sources, and some of them are here pub
lished for the first time.

414 FAMILY BISTORY.
intermarriages. Their offspring, and in fact, aU of the people from that
section, were in course of time designated as Scotch-Irish.*
Of one of these families there was born, about the year 1719, in the
parish of Londonderry, John Jackson, the great-grandfather of StonewaU.
While yet a boy, his father, with two of his uncles, emigrated to London,
England, where his father, after a year or two, died. The boy, John Jack
son, learned the builder's trade. After arriving at manhood he contracted
with a gentleman emigrating to Maryland to go with him and build him a
house, with all the materials pr^ared in London and shipped to Maryland.
In accordance with this arrangement, John Jackson went to Maryland in
the year 1748 and settled in Cecil County, and there erected the house.
While in Cecil County he met with and married Elizabeth Cummins, a young
woman who was born in England, and with her orphan sister, had been
raised by her maiden aunt. Her sister married and emigrated to New York.
Elizabeth was prevailed upon to remain with her aunt who promised that
she would, at her death, leave Elizabeth a considerable part of her estate,
viz., £1000 ($5000). The aunt died in two or three years. EUzabeth, after
obtaining her money, went to New York in search of her sister. After her
arrival and diligent search, she ascertained that her sister, husband and
their two children had died of yellow fever the year preceding. She then
went to Maryland where she had some acquaintances from England, with
whom she made her home until 1755. in which year she was married to
John Jackson. From an old letter we quote: "She often assured my sister,
and felt proud of it, that the land patented in her name, including the site of
the present town of Buckhannon, [W. Va.] was paid for in gold which she
had brought from England; and still retained to the day of her death, a few_
English guineas."'
Some time after the birth of their first son, George, they removed from
Cecil County to what is now Moorefield, Hardy County, W. Va. After a
short residence there they removed to what' is now Pendleton County;
thence, crossing the Alleghany mountains they settled upon the Buckhan
non River near the site of the present town of Buckhannon, and with other
settlers erected a fort which was long known as Jackson's Fort. They
reared a family of eight children. He was a member of the first court of
Randolph and assisted in organizing the county. Years afterwards, at the
instance of their eldest son, George, they removed to Clarksburg, where
John Jackson died in 1804, in the 85th year of his age. Elizabeth survived
him until 1825, still residing at Clarksburg, where she died after attaining
'the age of 101 years.
When the Revolutionary War came on, John Jackson and his two eldest
sons, George and Edward, bore an active part in it as soldiers to the con
clusion of peace, both sons having received commissions as officers. It is
*See "Old Virginia and Her Neighbors," by Prof. John Piske,

FAMILY HISTORY, 415
worthy of note that the father of Andrew Jackson, former President of the
United States, and the hero of the Battie of New Orieans, was bom m the
same parish of Londonderry as John Jackson,
Edward Jackson, son of John and Elizabeth Jackson, was a Justice
of the Peace in 1787, and with his associate justices organized the county of
Randolph in that year. He was the first surveyor of Randolph County;
was one of the assessors for the county in 1791; was sheriff 1792. After
wards, and subsequent to the year 1800 he settied on West Fork River,
about five miles below Weston, then Harrison, now Lewis County, where he
resided until he died in the year 1827. He at one time represented Harri
son County in the Virginia Legislature at Richmond. He married Mary,
daughter of David Haddan, who resided near where HuttonsviUe now
stands.* By this marriage he had three sons, George, David and Jonathan.
Jonathan Jackson, son of Edward and Mary (Haddan) Jackson, was
born about 1790. He was educated in the law and located at Clarksburg,
where he practiced his profession and where he continued to reside untU
his death in 1827. He married Julia Beckweth, daughter of Thomas Neale,
a merchant of Parkersburg. Of this marriage four children were born in
the order named: Elizabeth, who died in childhood; Warren, who died in
early Ufe unmarried; Thomas Jonathan, born July 21, 1824, afterwards
General Stonewall Jackson, and Laura Ann, who married Jonathan Arnold
of Beverly. Adonijah N. Jordan, bom 1847, son of William and EUzabeth (Carr)
Jordan; Irish ancestiy. In 1870, in Pendleton County, he married Amanda,
daughter of Isaac J. and Susan (Porter) Nelson. ChUdren, Isaac Patrick,
H., Fleet, Okey, Baxter, Brannon, Tallehassie, Blanche Bella, Jesse Lee,
Heltzel, Clintwood, Caddie Susan, WUliam, Zan, Silva and Hysel May. Has
Uved in Tucker, Randolph and Pendleton Counties; farmer; owns 200 acres,
150 improved. One-half the town of Job is built on land formerly belong
ing to him. His land was granted to Thomas B. Summerfield 114 years
ago; later, part of it belonged to Soldier White. Mr. Jordan was postmas
ter under Harrison.
Albert Freeling Jordan, bom 1852, son of William Jordan, was
married in 1884 to Martha, daughter of Harvey and Martha (Lambert)
White. Children, Victoria, Darlot Paris, Jared L. and Pearly Chlorinda.
He was in the mercantile business several years at Job, and was postmaster
under Cleveland and assistant under Harrison, when Mordecai Summerfield
was postmaster. He js a champion marksman, and never was beaten at a
shooting match. Usually he shoots with an old-fashioned rifle. He is an
artist, and for twenty-five years has followed the picture business in Pen
dleton, Grant, Mineral, Tucker, Randolph and other counties.

27

See .sketch of the Haddan family,

416 FAMILY HISTORY.
William A. Jordan, born 1858, son of William. In 1889 he married
Hester Nelson. Children, Maxie, Thaddeus, Arbella, Belva, Mana, Ethel
and Flossie.
George Mossine Jordan, M. D., son of James E. H. and Mary (Lutz)
Jordan; marri-ed in 1884, in Virginia, Lucy, daughter of C. V. and Frances
(Huffman) Horn. Children, Clara H., Clarence O'Dessa Paul, Evaline and
Mary. He has been editor of several papers, beginning with the Pendle
ton News, at Franklin, which he founded in 1871, and the next year founded
the Highland Recorder, and eight years later was again editor of the Neivs. In
1898 he was instrumental in founding the Central Alleghanian at Whitmer.
He attended the Georgetown Medical School in 1896, and passed the exam
ination of the West Virginia Medical Board, and is now practicing his pro
fession at Whitmer.
Mortimer Johnston, born near Doe Hill, Va. , 1816, son of John and
Mary Wilfong Johnston. In 1837 he married Catherine Ann, daughter of
John Henry Will. Children, John Henry, Washington Milton, Nerval
Luther, Markwood Stickley, James William, Sampson Reuben, Eliza Cath
erine, Mary Ellen, Alice Caroline, Charity Elizabeth, Laura Caroline, Cecil,
Arbelia, Lucy, Solomon Yancey. His father was born in Ireland, but came
to this country while a boy. Mr. Johnston's wife died in 1845 and he mar
ried Caroline, daughter of Sampson Pennington, of Pendleton County. He
was in the Southern army under Jones, and acted as a scout and mail car
rier; lost a leg in the battle of the Wilderness; was at Gettysburg; he was
formerly Captain of State militia; was Constable, Justice of the Peace and
Notary Public.
John Johnson, bom 1851, son of Joseph Marsh and Mary Catherine
Johnson; English parentage. In 1874, in Tucker County, he married Vir
ginia Catherine, daughter of Henry and Ruth Dumire. Children, Dora Ann,
Charles Wesley, Civilla Jane, William Howard, Nattie Belle and Baby. Mr.
Johnson has Uved in Tucker, Lewis and Randolph Counties; is a farmer,
merchant, blacksmith, shoemaker and wagon-maker. Owns 23 acres, 10
improved. John Middleton Johnson, son of David Johnson of Virginia, born
1837; mother's maiden Fannie Huff ; English ancestry; married in Missouri,
1857, to Sarah, daughter of Garrett Yates. Children, Henry, Missouri,
Emma, Sammy Henry, Charles Pickett and Fannie. He is a farmer; mar
ried second time 1891 to Eliza E., daughter of George ^V. Beahm. Chil
dren, Nancy, Etta, Belle, Gilbert Bibee and Ira Clay." He was in the Con
federate Army under Pickett; fought at First Manassas, Gettysburg, Seven
Days, Cold Harbor, Williamsburg, Fredericksburg and Cedar Mountain;
was first sergeant; spent two years in CaJ,ifornia.
Markwood S. Johnson, born 1848 in Pendleton County, son of Mor-

FAMILY HISTORY. 417
timer Johnston; Irish ancestry. In 1870 he married Sarah E., daughter of
Henry Bennett, and she dying, he married her sister Jennette in 1886.
ChUdren, Henry, Maudie, Edward, Mortimer, Floyd, Rosetta, Florence,
Milton, Erx-iii, Vancey, Elizabeth and Flossie May; by trade he is a black
smith. Herman Gordon Johnson, born near Meadowville, Barbour County,
1875, son of Le\'i and Helen A. (Poling) Johnson; English and German par
entage; educated in the common schools, the Fairmont Normal School, the
Peabody Normal College of Nashville, Tenn., and the University of Nash-
^^Ue. He taught school; served on the reportorial and editorial staff of
the NashviUe American; came to Elkins in 1898 and purchased the Inter-
Mountain, and is its editor, he being the youngest editor in West Virginia
having entire charge of a newspaper.
William Joyce, born 1828 in Ireland, son of Thomas and Margaret
Joyce; married Hannah Plynn in 1865. ChUdren, Margaret, Thomas and
Patrick J.; farmer, 100 acres; was a Federal soldier.
Patrick Joyce, born 1843, in Ireland, son of Thomas and Margaret
Joyce. In 1870 he married Mary T., daughter of Michael and Margaret
Joyce. ChUdren, Michael P., Margaret A., Ella C, Thomas, Maria and
John. Hp says that Father O'Connor was the first preacher in that neigh
borhood. Mr. Joyce went from Ireland to England, where he mined coal.
He came to West Virginia in 1870 and bought 117 acres near Laurel, which
he farmed tiU his death in 1889. His son Michael operates the home farm.
Of his chUdren, Maggie Uves in Pittsburg and EUa is one of Randolph
County's best school teachers. John Uves at the old home.
T. H. Joyce, born in Ireland 1832; married at Nashville, Tenn., 1861,
Anna O'Maly. ChUdren, Mary, Stephen, Sarah, Anna, John, Thomas,
Patrick, Martin and William.
Thomas Joyce, born in Ireland 1833, married in England 1850 to Mary
Naughton. Children, John, William, Mary A., Patrick, Bridget and Kate.
Edward Joyce, born 1833, son of John; married Bridget Joyce.
Children, John T., James, Miles, Martin, Patrick, WiUiam, Mary A.,
Michael, Edward, Peter, Stephen, Isaac, Anna and Joseph.
Albert Rees Jones, born 1866 in Preston County, son of John M.
and Rebecca (Punk) Jones; he married, 1887, in Preston, to Emma J.,
daughter of Rev. B. T. Rader. ChUdren Emma and Maud. He followed
the lumber business at Rowlesburg five years. Came to Elkins 1889 and
eneased in the same business, and was elected to the town councU, and
Mayor; for a time was in the mercantUe business. He is State Commander
of the Sons of Veterans of West Virginia. His father, who was born m
Virginia in 1846, entered the Federal army at the age of 16.
M. W. Joyce, born in Ireland 1844, son of Walter, was married in 1865

418 FAMILY HISTORY.
to Mary, daughter of Patrick McCarty, Children, William H., Walter T.,
Isaac J., Michael J., Patrick V., James H., Edward S., Margaret A., Mar
quis, Robert E. ; farmer, merchant, miner and stonecutter.
Isaac Hervey Judy, born 1856 in Grant County, son of Zebulon and
Cyntha (Graham) Judy; married 1879 in Pendleton County to Hannah,
daughter of Moab and Elizabeth (Lough) Harmon. Children, Louellen,
Cyntha Elizabeth, Zebulon Moab, Mary Jane, Cora Magdalene, Sarah
Alice, Florence, Cena Elva, and Charles Daniel; farmer, with 50 acres un
der cultivation. Adam Fletcher Judy, born 1860, son of Zebulon. In 1881 he mar
ried Sarah E., daughter of Archibald Bonner. Children, Mary Susan,
Enoch Lawrence. Harley Delbert, Letcher Daniel and Bertl^a Gustava;
farmer. Leland Kittle, son of Eli Kittle, was born in 1846, of German ances
try; was married in 1873 to Mary Margaret, daughter of James Moyers;
maiden name of wife's mother Rachel Davis. They have one child, Ruth.
He owns 1400 acres, half improved. He was clerk of the circuit court six
years, and was licensed in 1879 to practice law. The exact date of the com
ing of the Kittles to Randolph is not certainly known, but they were here
in the spring of 1781, as they are mentioned in the " Border Warfare "
as taking part in Indian fighting at that time. When the settlers on Lead
ing Creek were massacred or carried into captivity. Colonel Benjamin Wil
son raised a company of settlers and pursued them. But the men became
uneasy, fearing that during their absence another party of Indians would
enter the settlement and murder their families. They clamored to return,
but Colonel Wilson urged them to continue the pursuit. He then called
upon all who were willing to go ahead to step forward. He stepped for
ward himself and only three others did likewise. One of them was Rich
ard Kittle; the other two were Alexander West and Joseph Friend, who
lived at Friend's Fort, at the mouth of Leading Creek. It being use
less to follow the Indians with only four men. Colonel Wilson returned.
However, the settlers about Clarksburg discovered the Indians retreating,
and pursued them into Doddridge County and killed several and rescued
the prisoners. There is a tradition in the family that Richard Kittle was
in this part of West Virginia (possibly in Lewis County) as early as 1772,
and that he was with Hughes, Hacker, Outright and others when the In
dians at BuUtown, in Braxton County, were destroyed, in time of peace.
This is on tho authority of Mrs. John K. Scott, who is still living in Ran
dolph, and is the grand-niece of Richard Kittle. She says he always denied
that any Indians were killed at BuUtown, but said the Indians ran away.

FAMILY HISTORY. 419
However, in his death bed confession one of the Cutrights, who died at the
age of 105, said that the Indians were killed, men, women and children.
The ancestor of all the Kittles in Randolph was Abraham, born in New
Jersey, 1731, and died in Randolph, 1816. His sons were Richard (the In
dian fighter), Jacob, Abraham, George, John, and a daughter who married
Henry Petro (or Pedro). Abraham Kittle, jr., was the father of EU and
grandfather of Leland. It is believed that Richard was the oldest of Abra
ham's sons and 25 or 30 yearsolderthanAbraham,Jr.,whomarriedMargaret
Marteney. Eli Kittle, father of Leland, was born January 6, 1800, died
1863. In 1828 he married Rebecca, daughter of George Wees. Her moth
er's maiden name was Ruth Morgan, daughter of Zedekiah Morgan. Eli
Kittle's children were Caleb, Lydia Ann, Dama Rebecca, Morgan and Le
land. Morgan was killed in the Confederate Army; Lydia Ann married
W. S. Booth, and lives at Albany, 111. ; Dama Rebecca married Dr. Edwin
Parsons of MeadowviUe, Barbour County; Morgan married Sallie Long.
Ira C. Kittle was born in 1815, died 1896, son of Benjamin and Nancy
(Stalnaker) Kittle. In 1852 he married Maria C. daughter of Jesse and
Diana (Woolwine) Stalnaker. Children, Louise, Paul, Nancy V. , Lena,
Mary P., Emma, Harriet, George L., Thomas, Margaret E., Harrison and
Sophonia. Squire B. Kittle, born 1842, son of Benjamin, married in 1867 M.
Shifiitt. Children, Marshall, Nancy A. , Simeon, Tip and Lucy.
Alby Kittle, son of Smith and Mary E. Kittle, born 1852, was mar
ried to Mary, daughter of Andrew Kittle, and their children are Lloyd V.
and Harmon B. He is a farmer.
John Burlin Kittle, son of John Kittle, born 1854; married, 1882, to
Laverna, daughter of John R. Wilmoth. Children, Burtis and Clay .
John Edmond Kildow, son of Michael V. and Mary (Root) Kildow,
born 1862; German ancestry; married 1886 at Kingwood, W. Va., to Minnie,
daughter of Benoni Jordan. Children, Edna, William Lavelle, Eunice and
Beulah. He is a newspaper man by profession, having learned the mechan
ical part at Oakland, Kingwood and elsewhere, and later he bought the
Argus, a Democratic paper at Kingwood. That party, in Preston County,
was in a hopeless minority, but Mr. Kildow so managed the paper that it
grew in circulation and infiuence; and instead of its leading a precarious
existence, as when he bought it, he made it the equal of any paper in that
part of the State. When he had placed it on a paying basis, he sold it and
intended to enter the ministry; but the way not seeming clear for doing so,
he again entered upon newspaper work, this time in Grafton, where he
remained until 1894, when he took charge of the Enterprise at Beverly, and
has remained there since. He is a member of the Methodist Protestant
Church, and holds views broad and liberal, believing that the true essence

420 FAMILY HISTORY.
of religion is a spiritual condition rather than a compliance with outward
forms. Through his efforts, to a large extent, the new Methodist Protest
ant Church at Beverly was built.
John Karlen, born 1845, married Katy Kaiiand, 1869. Children, Katy,
John, Bertha, William and Clara.
Hanson Friend Kisner was born in 1863, in Pendleton County, son
of Reuben and Elizabeth (Simpson) Kisner; German ancestry. In 1889 he
married Priscilla Jane, daughter of Solomon C. and Jane (Wyatt) Penning
ton. Children, Elizabeth Hester, Cynthia Jane, John Ad and Mary Martha.
He is a farmer, owns 110 acres, 30 improved; has lived 10 years in Randolph.
Solomon J. Knox, bom in 1830, in Maryland; son of Benjamin. Mar
ried Anna E. Edmonds in 1863. Children, Samuel M. , Edward S. , Anna
R., Harry M., Charles G., Kingsley S. ; is a shoemaker; came to West Vir
ginia in 1881; was in the Confederate army under Imboden; was Justice
of the Peace in Maryland.
John H. Kisamore was born in Pendleton County, 1870; son of Jonas
and Hannah (Harper) Kisamore. In 1896, in Pendleton County, he married
Sallie A. , daughter of Amos and Mary (Barthey) Morral. They have one
child, Florence.
C. C. Kerns, born 1854, son of John S. Kerns, married, 1875, in Tucker
County, Jemima, daughter of Enos Carr. Children, Ida Jane, Adam Har
ness, Florence May, Charlotte, Flodie Alice, John Smith, Walter, Luther,
Enos, Wilbert, Emmet Clyde, Eliza, Maudie and Baby. Farmer, 269 acres,
100 improved, on Middle Mountain.
John Selby Kissinger married Addie Stalnaker. Children, William
and Carrie.
Danhel Kellison, born 1832, son of James and Susan Kellison; mar
ried, 1860, to Martha A., daughter of Augustus and Mary Wood. One child,
Florence. Herman Koerner, born 1847, married Fannie Drummer, 1865. Chil
dren, Frieda, Anna, Martha, Ida, Alfred, Clara. Owns 340 acres.
A, E, Kiumbiegle was born in 1854, married Maggie Dryburgh. ChU
dren, Belle and AUie.
William Hay Keim, born in Pennsylvania in 1869, son of Silas C. and
Anna (Arnold) Keim; German ancestry; was married in 1895 at Pittsburg to
Eva, daughter of John and Winifred (Powell) Rees. Children, Bess and
Vera. He was educated in the common schools and in Bridgewater College,
Virginia. For two years he was employed as conductor on a Pittsburg
cable car line. In 1897 he came to Randolph and accepted a position in the
store of N. G. Keim. He has traveled extensively in the West.
Stephen King, born in Ireland 1805, died 1893, son of Stephen and
Margaret King; married Catherine, daughter of John Connolly. Children,

FAMILY HISTORY. 421
John, Patrick S., Stephen, Michael, Mary, Margaret, Martin, Andrew,
Bernard and. Joseph, He was a farmer with 324 acres, 175 improved. He
came to America in 1863 and to Randolph five years later. The children
all live on the home place and deal extensively in stock.
Michael H. King, born 1814 in Ireland, son of Owen and Anna King;
married, in Ireland, Bridget Morgan. Children, John A. and Owen; farmer;
.. was elected township treasurer 1865 and served four years.
Patrick M. King, bom in Ireland 1834, son of Owen and Bridget
(Morgan) King. In 1861 he was married in Harrison County to Anna,
daughter of MUes and Mary King. ChUdren, Mathew, Mary A., Patrick
P., Michael H., Delia, Owen W., Catherine, Martin J. and John P.; farmer;
owns 200 acres. The daughters, Delia and Catherine, are teachers.
Miles King, bom in Ireland, 1835, son of John and Margaret King.
In 1858 he married at Weston, Martha J., daughter of W. E. and Louise
Corley. Children, Mary A., Kate, EUza, Margaret, Ellen, William, Sarah,
Terese, Bridget, Paul, Helen; railroader and farmer, and is a leading poli
tician of Roaring Creek District.
Michael King, born 1839 in Ireland, son of Owen King. In 1865 he
married Delia Joyce. ChUdren, Eugene, Anna, Mary C. , Joseph M. , Katie
B., Eddie M., WiUiam M., Maggie J., Walter and Lily.
John A. King, born 1844 in Ireland, son of Michael. In 1867 he mar
ried Mary O'Connor. Children, Maria, Michael W. , Owen J. , Anna T. ,
Patrick P., John T., Aliee B., Frances G., Stephen, James, WinUred,
Oscar B., WiUiam V., Alfred G. and Mary A.; was a teamster in the Fed
eral army, and is now a farnaer.
Owen J. King, born 1872, son of John A. and Mary (O'Connor) King,
educated in the common schools of- Randolph, and began business as a
stonecutter, working in Wheeling, Charleston, on the Court-Houses at Mar
linton and Addison. Later he went into the saloon business at Laurel, Lick
and Beverly. His father and his grandfather, Michael King, were born in
Ireland, his father in 1849. Six years later they came to America and
settled at Kingsville, Randolph County. His father was Constable in
Roaring Creek, and was in the Confederate army.
Rev. Wayne Kennedy, born 1813, died 1883; Irish parentage; was
married in 1870 to Mrs. Lenox Camden, daughter of William and Anna
(McLean) Foggy. Children, Banning, Wayne Camden, Camden Wayne,
Lenox Martin Camden. He owned 266 acres, 75 improved; began preaching
when nineteen, was stationed eight years at Parkersburg, and became presid
ing elder of the M. E. Church, South.
Camden Wayne Kennedy, born 1877, son of Rev. Wayne and Mary
A. (Foggy) Kennedy. He attended the Buckhannon seminary one year,

422 FAMILY HISTORY.
has taught three years in Randolph and is among the county's most pro
gressive teachers.
Harrison Kelley, born 1822, son of Abel W. and Jermah (Kittle)
Kelley; German and English ancestry. In 1878 he married Louise, daughter
of Ira C. and Maria Kittle. Children, Arthur, Er M. Walter, Saphronia,
Sterling, Guy and Cecil H. He is a carpenter and farmer.
C. S. Kelley, son of Benjamin and Margaret (White) Kelley; married
Elizabeth C, daughter of Hamilton Stalnaker, 1865. ChUdren Annetta P.,
Bertie U., Davis L. J., Guy W. B., Newton B. L. ; farmer on Becca's Creek.
Draper Camden Kelley, bom in Barbour County, son of Dyre and
Malinda Kelley, was married in 1889 to Anza, daughter of Alfred and Mary
Poling, Children, Raymond H., Arley G,, Clarence C, and four inlants
that died unnamed. He lives in Elkins and is a carpenter.
Alba Chenoweth Kelley, son of Dolbeare and Margaret Kelley,
born 1860, married, 1885, to Nancy A., daughter of Elam D. and Dorothy
A. Murphy. Children, Ethel May, Harold Ray, Lelia Pearl, Lorena Beryl
and Elam Howard. He is a farmer near Montrose. WUliam Kelley, his
grandfather, was the first settler on Kelley Mountain, and his great-grand
father came from Ireland.
William Floyd Kelley, born 1861, son of Dolbeare Kelley, was mar
ried in 1886 to Rosa A., daughter of Henry T. and Rebecca Lawson. Chil
dren, Farla, Nora J. , Minta M. and Edgar L. He owns 75 acres near Mon
trose; has been member of the Board of Education and belongs to the M. P.
Church. Andrew Addison Kile, born 1842, at Upper Tract, W. Va. ; son of
Absalom and Mary (Currence) Kile; German descent. In 1870 he married
Rebecca, daughter of Valentine and Ellen (Rexroad) Bowers. ChUdren,
Elihu, Nettie Virginia, Annie R., Louemma, Mary L., Lemuel R., Lora J.,
Willie C. , Roy Brocket and Lo.y Burton. He has lived in Pendleton and
Randolph Counties, and Ohio and Texas; was in the Confederate army under
Colonel Pegram, at Rich Mountain; was with Imboden till the close of the
war; took part in many skirmishes and the following battles: Winchester,
Fisher's Hill, Bunker Hill, Williamsport, Gettysburg, Turkey Ridge, Lynch
burg; had four brothers in the Sourthern army, all of whom were wounded;
he was not hurt, although several bullets passed through his clothes.
Elihu H. Kile, M. D., born 1871 at Upper Tract, West Virginia, son
of Andrew A. and Rebecca (Bowers) Kile. In 1894, at Brushy Run, W. Va.,
he married Florence, daughter af Job and Elizabeth (Harper) DoUey. Doc
tor Kile attended the common schools of Pendleton County and the medical
school at Lebanon, Ohio, arid the medical department of the University of
Louisville, graduating in 1895. He is located at Job, where he owns a house
and lot,

FAMILY HISTORY. 423
Emil Knutti, born 1868 at Neidfiuh, Switzerland; son of Jacob and
Catherine (Scherz) Knutti; was married in 1893 at Alpina, Randolph
County, to Lizzie, daughter of Jackson and Eleanor (Wimer) Cunningham.
Children, Stephen E. and EUa' May. He has a peculiar old clock, brought
from Switzerland, age unknown, which he keeps in memory of the father
land. Jacob Knutti, son of Jacob, born 1860, in Switzerland; mother's
maiden name Catherine Scherz; married 1891, Emma T., daughter of Charles
E. MyUus; maiden name of wife's mother, Kate Jennings. Children, Amia,
Carl Jacob, Mary G., Catherine a»d Richard. Mr. Knutti is a farmer and
Uves near Beverly.
John Gottlieb Knutti, born 1871 at Niedfiuh, Canton Berne, Switz-
zerland, son of Jacob Knutti. He graduated with • the degree A. B. from
the West Virginia University at Morgantown; he also graduated as a cadet,
and was comnussioned captain in the National Guards. He was appointed
to a position as teacher in the State Normal School at Fairmont, and in a
short time was made first assistant in that institution.
James H. Logan, son of William and Elizabeth (Crawford) Logan, was
born in Rockbridge County, Va., 1818; Scotch-Irish descent. His grand
father, James Logan, was a pioneer of that county. He married Hannah
Irvine. The maternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch was Alex
ander Crawford, born in Augusta County, where both of his parents were
kiUed by Indians. He became an elder in the Presbyterian Church. The
father of the subject of this sketch was a farmer, mechanic and millwright.
He was a Captain in the War of 1812. In 1827 he moved his f amUy to Ran
dolph, locating 23 miles above Beverly, where he built and operated the
first mill in that section. He died in 1858, and his wife in 1831. James H.
Logan was nine years old when he came with his parents to Randolph. He
was educated at GranviUe, Va. , and at Lexington, at what is now Washing-
ington and Lee University. For a number of years he followed teach
ing, and the success in life of his pupils is the highest praise of his educa
tional work. Later he engaged in civil engineering, and dealt in real estate,
becoming the owner of several valuable tracts of land. In 1853 he married
Mary G., daughter of Robert Crawford, a soldier in the War of 1812, and
youngest son of Alexander Crawford. To Mr. and Mrs. Logan were born
four children, two of whom died in infancy. The eldest, Frances Irvine,
married Hon. Cyrus H. Scott, and died in 1893. Emma, the only child now
living, also became the wife of Cyrus H. Scott. Mrs. Logan and her two
daughters were members of the Presbyterian Church.
The subject of this sketch is Uberal in his views, both as regards poli
tics and religion, in the former, looking rather to the man, in the interest

424 FAMILY HISTORY.
of decency, civilization and good government, than the slavish trappings
of party. In the latter he has always been the friend of individuality in
man, of free investigation and free thought, and opposed to fanaticism,
dogmatism and moral slavery. He believes that this world is a system of
progression; that man is progressive; that in the future, as in the past,
what is orthodox today, a century hence may become heterodox, for the
very reason that there will be, then must be, progression and advancement
in religion as in every department of the human ken. He believes that God
does not act without design, that He never gave the bird wings and did not
intend it to fiy ; that He never endowed man with that noble, God-like power,
reason, and made it a crime to think, to investigate, to reason. He believes
that all truth is a benefit to mankind; that an error is an injury; that noth
ing but truth can ever benefit the race; that the only religion that is worth
anything is the religion that is based upon sound philosophy, and the indi
cations of God in the volume of nature, and that the man who comes the
nearest truth is the nearest God and the nearest Heaven.
Alexander Crawford Logan, born 1814 in Rockbridge County, Vir
ginia, son of Wm. arid Elizabeth Logan. In 1840 he married Mary Ann,
daughter of Thomas and Martha (Wood) Moore. Children, WUliam
Thomas, James Alexander, Martha Elizabeth, Clarinda Ann, Luther Irwin,
Rebecca Craig, Mary Ann, Ardelia E., and S. Columbia. Mr. Logan lives
at Valley Head.
Wm, T, Logan, born 1841, son of A, C. Logan, married 1871 to Eliza
beth Sharp, Children, Marietta E, , James C. , Lucy E. , Alvin C.
James Crawford Logan, son of William T. and Elizabeth ( Sharp )
Logan, born 1875; married 1897 to Louella, daughter of H. A. and Melvina
(Wees) Ward, child, Willis Camden.
Rev. C. Scott Lingampelter was born in Berkeley County, W.Va.,of
Scotch-Irish and German descent. After receiving his preparatory train
ing in several academies, he entered Hampden Sidney College, Virginia, in
1869, and in 1872 graduated from that institution. The same year he en
tered Union Theological Seminary, Virginia, graduating in the class of
1875. He was immediately licensed and ordained by the Winchester Pres
bytery and became pastor of the church in Berryville, Virginia, where he
remained five years. From 1880 to 1890, he was pastor in Poolesville,
Maryland, from which he was called to the pastorate of the Davis Memorial
Church at Elkins. In 1876 he was united in marriage to Miss Rebekah M.
Lupton, of Berryville, Virginia, who is an active and earnest co-worker
with her husband in the responsible labors of this important charge.
It is proper in this connection to give more than a passing notice to
the Davis Memorial Church, with which Rev. Lingamfelter has been con
nected during his residence in Randolph County. There is no church edi
fice in West Virginia supassing this in finishing and architecture, although

FAMILY HISTORY. 425
there are larger churches and, therefore, more expensive, although even
in that respect not many surpass it.
This beautiful structure which stands at the intersection of Kerens and
Randolph avenues with Fifth and Park streets, was the gift of ex-Senator
Henry G. Davis and his brother. Colonel Thomas B. Davis, to the congre
gation of the Presbyterian Church, and was erected as a memorial to their
mother; the beautiful memorial windows and side panels being the contri
bution of Senator S. B. Elkins and wife, and the heirs of the late William
R. Davis. The building was dedicated September 29, 1895, the sermon be
ing preached by Rev. Moses D. Hoge, D. D. , of Richmond, Va. One week
before that the pastor had preached the last sermon in the old church,
which stiU stands at the intersection of Randolph avenue and Third street,
and is one of the old landmarks of the lower valley, being long known as
the "Old WlUte Church," and was occupied during the Civil War by the
Federal soldiers, its history long ante -dating that of the town.
The congregation of this church owes its origin to a little band known
as the "Lower Congregation of the Tygart's Valley Church," that held its
first memorable services over 65 years ago, in what was called the "Old
Kittle Place, " on the spot where now stands the residence of the late Rev.
Hanning Foggy. The Earles, Harpers, Wards, Caplingers, McLeans,
Taylors, Chenoweths, MarstUlers, and Morrisons were .connected with the
early organization, and were ministered to by such men as Revs. Baber,
Loomis, Blain, GauUdet, Thomas, See, Fletcher and Preston.
In September, 1869, the present organization was formed, under' the
title of the LeadsvUle Presbyterian Church, and was served at intervals by
Revs. Robert Scott, Frank J. Brooke and J. N. Van Deventer, in connection
with the church at Beverly. Under Mr, Van Deventer's pastorate, after
the town grew up around it, the name was changed to the "Elkins Church."
In 1890 Rev. C. Scott Lingamfelter was called to the pastorate and still
continues in charge. When the congregation moved into their new build
ing the name was again changed by the authority of Lexington Presbytery,
and the church became the "Davis Memorial." Since the growth of the
town the work of the church has prospered and its success has been phen
omenal, having quadrupled its numbers under the present pastorate; report
ing to the General Assembly of 1898 a membership of 218. The RuUng
Elders are Nicholas MarstiUer, Randolph M. Harper, Squire B. Ward,
Major W. J. Armstrong, and Dr. J. C. Irons. The Deacons are Henry A.
Harper, Andrew Taylor, Charles MarstiUer, Job Ward, Daniel P. Harper,
Thomas Leonard and Frank Buzzell. In addition to the Deacons, C. Wood
Dailey, James A. Bent, Lee MarstiUer, Henry G. Davis and Stephen B.
Elkins are Trustees. The church has a fiourishing Sunday School and
societies for Heme and Foreign Missions and a Ladies' Aid Society which
has been a great factor in the aggressive work of the congregation. It

426 FAMILY HISTORY.
owns several valuable town lots and has a comfortable and commodious
manse, situated in a most desirable location.
James H. Lambert, born 1828 in Pendleton County, son of James B.
and Susanna (Nelson) Lambert. In 1852 he married America A., daughter
of Catherine Bonner. Children, James B., Christopher C, Lorenzo D.,
Nathaniel, Edward, Prosy Ellen, Annie May, Flodie V., Alfred Y.; was a
school teacher, and was a captain in the Federal Army. In 1884 he lived
in Tucker County and was elected County Commissioner; is now proprietor
of the Alleghany Hotel at Job, and is postmaster.
Charles Edward Lambert, born 1868 near Franklin, son of John J.
and Ber linda (Lough), German parentage. In 1898 he married Gertie S.,
daughter of Robert D. and Emma .(Vint) Bennett; came to Randolph 1885;
attended school at Fairmont; took the business course in the Kentucky
University, graduating in 1895; teacher in the public school at Horton and
owner of the Lambert Block.
Albertus Lambert, born in Pendleton County, 1871, son of Cain and
Ellen Lambert. In 1892, near Circleville, he married Phoebe J., daughter
of Robert J. and Jane (Hinkle) Nelson. Children, Neva and Dove; came to
Randolph 1894; farmer near Harman.
Henry Thomas Lawson, born 1837 in Harrison County, son of EHas
and Elizabeth (Teter) Lawson. Irish and Dutch ancestry. In 1856, in
Pennsylvania, he married Rebecca, daughter of William and Mary (Nutter)
Douglass. Their children are Meredith E., P. M. A., Rena P., Rosa E., P.
A., H. T., J. H. and Kittie Ann. He began as a farmer in Harrison County,
came to Randolph in 1876 and now owns 132 acres near Montrose, nearly
all under high cultivation and well stocked. He has been a member of the
M. P. Chureh forty-two years, and has been either member of the New In
terest Board of Education or school trustee nearly ever since he came to
the county. His father was born near the Ohio River about 1800, and was
a farmer in Harrison County and an exhorter in the M. P. Church for sixty
years, and was liberal and charitable in all his dealings with his fellow men.
His father's name was Theopholis. William Douglas, Mrs. Lawson 's father,
was bom in Barbour County in 1810, and was a church member, and in bus
iness was a farmer and stockdealer. He has 176 descendants, including
great-great-grandchildren. His father was Levi Douglas, also of Barbour
County. Franklin Asbury Lawson, born 1875, son of Henry Thomas and
Rebecca (Douglas) Lawson. He attended the West Liberty Normal School,
and taught several terms in Randolph and Tucker Counties. In 1898 he
entered the ministry of the M. P. Church. He is an eloquent speaker and,
logical reasoner.

FAMILY HISTORY. 427
Abraham Limbers, born in 1837 in Barbour County, son of John and
Sarah Limbers; was married in 1859 to Eliza, daughter of Noah Corley.
Children, Louise, Henry M., Camden, William, Patience, Rachel, Lucy, and
James L. He was in the Confederate army, and is now a merchant at
Roaring Creek Junction. His youngest daughter Lucy graduated from the
city schools of Weston and is a teacher.
Elias R. Lough, born in Pendleton County, 1815, died 1886; son of
John and Sarah (Harpold) Lough; German parentage. In 1843 he married
Dorcas, daughter of George and Ruth (Morgan) Wees. Children, Angeline,
Rebecca, John Vernon, Leslie J. and George Morgan; came to Randolph
1841. His father came from Germany and settled in Pendleton; died 1853,
his wife, Sarah, dying in 1858. John Lough's children were, Zebulon,
John, Adam, Amos, Jacob, Noah, William, Michael and Elias R. The fol
lowing dates are taken from George Wees' famUy Bible:
George Wees, born April 11, 1781.
Zyrus Wees,* born December 23, 1805.
Zyba Wees,* born November 20, 1807.
Jacob Wees, born January 3, 1814.
George Wees, died November 6, 1855.
George Morgan Lough, born 1845 near Elkins, son of Elias R. and
Dorcas (Wees) Lough. In 1879 he married Louisa, daughter of Alba and
Emily (Wilmoth) Chenoweth. Children, Leslie and Guy. He is a farmer
and owns 1050 acres, 500 improved, in LeadsvUle District.
John Vernon Lough, ferother of George M. Lough, was born in 1850,
and in 1894 he married Delia Wilson, daughter of Solomon and Abigail
(Ryan) Caplinger. They have one child.
George Washington Leonard, born 1849, son of Franklin and
Lucinda (Earle) Leonard, Irish parentage; was married in 1894 to Beulah
W., daughter of Andrew J. and Xantippe (Crawford) CoUett. Children,
Roy Lee and Heroe. In 1897 he was appointed deputy Sheriff under A. W.
Hart; owns 2500 acres, 1000 improved. He Uves at Beverly.
John Carlile Leonard, born 1844, son of Franklin Leonard, was
married in 1872 to BeUe Dona, daughter of Archibald and Margaret (Hyre)
Chenoweth. Children, P. Lee, Charles, WiUiam and Worthington. Owns
112 acres, half improved.
Fred L. Leonard, son of John C. Leonard, born 1873; mother's maiden
name was Belle Chenoweth; EngUsh ancestry. He is manager of the AUi
ance Stock Company's store in Beverly.
Thomas Leonard, boi;n in Pennsylvania, son of Reuben, was married
in 1889 to Lizzie R. Harmon. They have one child, Mary EUzabeth. He

*The names Zyrus and Zyba are thus spelled in the family record, but the usual
spelling now is Zirus and Ziba, sometimes Zaiba.

428 FAMILY HISTORY.
was a Federal soldier, and after the war was in the gold and silver mines
in Nevada and California.
Henry H. Lewis, born 1832 in Buckhannon, son of Andrew and Mary
E. (Forinash) Lewis; German, English and French descent; was married in
1852 to Martha A., daughter of David and Elizabeth Harris. Children,
John A., Andrew D., George W., Henry H, Granville S., Rose E., Mary
E. and Minnie L. Farmer and merchant; owns 1690 acres, 400 improved;
came to Randolph i860; enlisted in thf Union army in September, 1861, and
served till December, 1865; was First Lieutenant; in 1872 was elected Jus
tice of the Peace; has been prominent in all public improvements,- such as
roads and school-houses.
George Washington Lewis, son of Franklin Lewis, born 1847,- in
Greenbrier County; mother's maiden name was Catherine Constantino. He
married in 1876 to Mrs. Jemima Pritt, daughter of Jesse Stalnaker. Chil
dren, William B., Asa, Alice, Jesse and Joseph. He was killed by guerrUlas
in Webster County during the war.
John Lewis, born 1835, married, 1863, to Luverna Ward. Children,
Martha, Mary E., Lydia W., Ployd E., Ada B., Emma, Ivy and David. He
lives in Middle Fork District.
William Lewis, born 1843, married Mary A. Hinkle, 1862. ChUdren,
Jacob M., Leonard, Ida B., Portia M., Rebecca, Clarence D. , WUliam, Viola,
Vivie, Obad and Nora B. Owns 80 acres, on which is the site of an Indian
camp. George W. Lewis, son of John W. Lewis, born in 1864 in Greenbrier
County; mother's maiden name, Ruth M. Huffman; ancestry, Dutch, Welsh
and French; graduated at Hampton-Sidney College with degrees A. B. and
A. M., and took the post-graduating course in history in Johns Hopkms
University; graduated at the University of Virginia with degrees LL. B.
He was admitted to practice law in Beverly 1891; and was editor of the
Randolph Enterprise two years. He has filled the position of special judge
of the circuit court in Randolph.
Godfrey Laderick, born 1849, in Switzerland, and married, 1874,
Annie Huffman. ChUdren, Rosie, Ernest, Frank and Bertha. Owns 90
acres. Calvin Lamb, born 1851, son of Granger and Judah (Quick) Lamb;
EngUsh parentage; married in Upshur County, 1874, Virginia, daughter of
Jaines and Catherine Gooden. Children, James A., Lewis, William H.,
Mary J., Arthur Gordon L., John R , Miner, Sarah, Anna, Judah, Ivy,
Lily and Silas. He is a farmer, owns 49 acres. An old Indian trail passed
through the farm.
George Robert Latham, son of Colonel George R. Latham,. of the

FAMILY HISTORY. 429
Second West Virginia Regiment, born in Upshur-County 1873; his mother's
maiden name was Caroline Thayer; was married in 1896 at Buckhannon to
Winnie, daughter of P. W. Brown. Child, Julia. He is a dealer in lumber
and feed at Beverly, and was educated at the Buckhannon Seminary.
Samuel Lemon, born 1814, son of Jacob and Jane (Wood) Lemon; was
married in 1840 to EUzabeth J. , daughter of Edward and Sarah (Gilden)
Wood. Children, Wm. E., Jacob, James W., Elvira, Sarah J., Susan B.,
Lucy A., George L., Ida, Betty E., SeUa M. and Bidia. His father was a
Revolutionary soldier.
Richard Lee, born 1873 in Pocahontas County, son of George and
Elizabeth B. (White) Lee. African ancestry; barber at Huttonsville; was
raised a farmer.
Robert Allen Lilly, born 1852 in Marion County, son of David H.
and Josephine (Kline) Lilly; married 1874 in Webster County, to Mildred
Jane, daughter of Isaac and Margaret (Griffin) Hamrick. Children, Roxie,
Daisy, Berta, Nellie; farmer and machinist at Elkins.
John Marshall Loudin, son of Thomas Lojidin, born 1828, married
1854, to Amanda J. Burner. Children, Ellen, Jacob B., Lee O., and
George. 1^.
George Washington Lloyd, son of James M. and Martha (Arm
strong) Lloyd, born 1858; was married in 1879 to Elizabeth, daughter of
John and Martha (Quick) Shreve. Children, Wilbur, Lucy, Lado, Elmer
and Carrie. He resides on the "Shreve Farm," in Valley Bend District.
George Caplinger Lytle, born 1825; son of Robert and Mary E.
(CapUnger) Lytle; Scotch-Irish; was married in 1852 to Julia Ann, daughter
of George and Susan (Hart) McLean. Children, James B. , Archibald E. ,
Mary B., French, Squire B. Laura and Daisey; second marriage, 1887 to
Mary E. , daughter of James M. Hart. He owns 500 acres, 200 improved;
was twice deputy sheriff. James Lytle, grandfather of George C. , came
to Philadelphia from Ireland; was a merchant. One of his sons died in
Cuba and one in Haiti.
Arch Earle Lytle, born 1868, son of George C. and Julia A. (Mc
Lean) Lytle; Scotch-Irish; member Co. A. 1st W. Va. National Guards.
John Leary, born I860; married 1884 to EvaUne, daughter of Morris
Chenoweth. Children, Emily, Anna M., Pearl and Sibbie.
Hamilton Leary, son of James Leary, born on Kelley Mountain 1864.
He married in 1897 Alice, daughter of James Vest. Children, Harry and
Missouri. He is a farmer in Beverly district.
Samuel B. Long, born in Pendleton County, 1843, son of Abel N. and
Eliza (MuUenix) Long. In 1865 he married Mary Margaret, daughter of
Solomon A. Pennington. She dying, he married Arbela Roy, widow of

430 FAMILY HISTORY.
Benjamin Franklin Roy, and daugnter of Vincent Pennington. Their chU
dren are Rebecca J. , James Madison, Mary Catherine, Hugh Allen, Alden
Machia, Rosanna, Artrutia, Arabella, Ira Strife, Donna, Alpha, Charles
Edmond and Abel Harry. He is a farmer and was in the Union service
under Captain Snyder.
Washington J. Long, one of the soUd men of Randolph who wielded
an infiuence in its affairs that has lived after him, was born in 1804 and was
a son of George Long. The maiden name of his mother was Sally Ryan
and she belonged to a well-known and infiuential family. The subject of
this sketch possessed characteristies which were sure to bring him success,
and in his long and useful life he attained to both wealth and honors, the
one acquired by his industry and good judgment, the other bestowed upon
him. by his fellow men who chose him to represent them in the legislature.
He was elected by a large majority by the people of Randolph and Tucker
Counties, and he was an able and" a- safe representative. In private life he
was a model citizen. For his first wife he married Mary Hutton, daughter
of Jonathan Hutton, one of the leading men in Randolph in the latter part
of the last and the early part of this century. Their children were Draper,
Elizabeth, Seymour, Catherine, George C, Andrew J., Sarah and Mary H.
His second marriage was to Margaret See, and they had one daughter,
Emma. By careful attention to business Mr. Long accumulated valuable
property in Randolph and Tucker Counties, in the latter county the fine lands
in the Holly Meadows belonging to him and he settled James and John
Long there. His lands in Randolph still belong to his children and are
j ustly regarded as the choicest portion of the Tygart's Valley. Hft died, as
he lived, respected by all who knew him, and he is considered as one of the
representative men of Randolph county.
Andrew Jackson Long, born 1849, son of Washington J. and Mary
(Hutton) Long. He has been many years in public life and has filled every
position with abiUty and integrity, winning the confidence and esteem of
the people of his county. He was sixteen years president of the Valley
Bend Board of Education, and in 1892 was elected sheriff, and he conducted
the affairs of the office with exceptional ability. When the Court House
burned he was a heavy loser, no less than $4000 worth of paper being
burned and lost beyond recovery He owns extensive property, his farm in
Valley Bend containing 700 acres, of which 500 are in a high state of culti
vation, in the best part of the county.
George CasSklman Long, son of Washington J. and Mary (Hutton)
Long, born 1^42. Ho waw married 1H03 to Melissa Ellen, daughter of Ben
jamin and Catherine (Slagle) Phares. Children, Mary C, Annie Grace,
Brancli Benjamin, Georgiana, Washington Jackson, Carl Baxter, Adonijah
B. Mr. Long lived in Barbour in 1873, lived in Tucker 1878, and in Ran-

WASHINGTON J. LONG

FAMILY HISTORY. 433
dolph since 1886. He is a farmer and lives six miles above Beverly. His
son, Washington J., is one of Rudolph's most energetic school teachers.
Robert MxVXWell was a prominent man in the early history of Ran
dolph. Nothing can now be learned of his birth or his parentage, and very
little of his descendants or of his family. The first record of him was in
1776, when he lived on "Thomas Parsons' Run," in Hampshire County (now
Hardy). He was an intimate friend of Thomas Parsons, and in 1773, Par
sons, who was about to deed valuable tracts of land, near the Horse Shoe,
in what is now Tucker County, to his three sons, William, James and George,
appointed Maxwell as his attorney to make the deeds, and the deeds were
accordingly made. Earlier than that, and before the formation of Ran
dolph, that is, April 12, 1784, Maxwell, as the assignee of James Parsons,
applied for a patent for 150 acres of land on Horse Shoe Run, "including
Radcliff 's camp," in the present county of Tucker. It is believed that he
was then living on Horse Shoe Run. He certainly lived there about that
time, and a creek which empties into Horse Shoe Run, six miles east of St.
George, is known to this day as "Maxwell's Run;" and near its mouth there
was an old clearing long known by no other name than "Robert's Field."
In 1798 he patented another 150 acres on Horse Shoe Run, but he no longer
lived there, having moved to Leading Creek, near its mouth, prior to 1787.
The Virginia Legislature, in October, 1787, passed an Act incorporating an
academy for the counties of Randolph, Harrison, Monongalia and Ohio (the
whole northern part of the present State), and appointed Robert Maxwell
one of the trustees.* When Randolph County was organized, in 1787, Max
well was appointed by the Governor of Virginia as one of the Justices of
the Peace who constituted the county court. That court numbered among
its ineifibers some very able men, among them being John Wilson and John
Haddan, Randolphs two tirst representatives in the Virginia Legislature,
aud the latter a great-grandfather of StonewaU Jackson; Edward Jackson,
grandfather of Stonewall; and John Jackson, a great-grandfather of Stone
waU; besides, there were three of the old Westfall pioneers who settled
Tygart's Valley in 1772— Jacob, CorneUus and George. It was a county
court the Uke of which will probably not be seen again. Soon after the
county was organized, Robert MaxweU was appointed deputy county clerk
and held the office many years, and manv of the old records are in his hand
writing. In 1789 he was appointed County Coroner, he being a physician.
About the same time he was appointed surgeon for the county militia. He
was a preacher also, and he performed more marriage ceremonies than any
other preacher ever in the county, with the single exception of Rev. Asa
Harman, of Dry Fork. It is not known whom Robert Maxwell married,
*See "Hening's Statutes at Large," pp. 38, 39, 640 and 661.

434 FAMILY HISTORY.
except that her name was Deborah. They had one daughter only (so far
as known) and her name was Elizabeth, an<t on May 29, 1792, she was mar
ried to Samuel Ball, whose descendants still live in Randolph. Maxwell
was a large landowner, his possessions lying in the present counties of
Tucker, Barbour, Randolph, and at one time he owned 10, 000 acres on Gau
ley River. He died about 1818, leaving no will.
Thomas W. McAtee, born 1848; married Rebecca Bradshaw. Chil
dren, Wm. L., Marian A., Addie, Albert H., Millard P., Mabel, Evert, Lucy
and Elsie.
William Lee McAtee, born 1867 at Elkwater, son of Thomas William
and Margaret (Folks) McAtee; Scotch ancestors; was married at Addison
in 1888 to Bertha Jane, daughter of John and Margaret Eakle. Children,
Bertel Donovan, Willie Sylvester and Edna Adaline. The first house in the
vicinity of Blue Spring was built in 1840 by Jeremiah Couger. An Indian
flint quarry is in that locality.
H. H. McAtee, born 1822; married, first, to Nancy Hoysett; second, to
Rabecca J. Bradshaw; third, to Margaret C. Stalnaker. Children, James
S., Thomas, Elizabeth, Henry, Charles, Millard, Ferdinand, Jacob, Mary,
Sarah, Lulila, James, AUie M., Georgia, John N. and Olevia.
Jacob M. McAtee, bom 1861, son of H. H. McAtee; by trade a car
penter. Elam D. Murphy was born in Barbour County in 1843, son of Harrison
and Elizabeth (Martin) Murphy; English parentage. In 1863 he married
Dorothy, daughter of Washington and Nancy (Kelly) Long. Children,
Alonzo Wellington, Nancy A. and David W. He began life as a farmer,
with a very limited education, living at different times in Tucker, Barbour
and Randolph. He owns 107 acres near Montrose, and was the fi];st mer
chant, first postmaster and first mayor of that town. In 1865 he entered
the Primitive Baptist Church, and in 1897 became a minister in the Mission
ary Baptist Church at Montrose. His father was born in 1801, and his
grandfather, David Murphy, was a native of Virginia.
Alonzo Wellington Murphy, son of Elam D., born 1864, married
Emma PhiUips and has one child, Cecil. He is a member of the Missionary
Baptist Church.
Enoch Ellsworth Mouse, bora in 1864, son of Adam and Emily
Mouse, was married in 1889 to Mary A. , daughter of Archibald Harper,
Children Lily Grace, Willis Bent, Gordon Clarence, Urcel and Golden. He
is a farmer and dairyman near EUtiiis.
Richard Clark Moore, born 1855, son of Rolie and Sarah A. Moore,
was married in 1874 to DeUla C. , daughter of Amos J. Canfield. Children,
Viona, Charles Henry, Icy and Orpha. He came to Randolph from Tyler

FAMILY HISTORY. 435
County; first settled on Cheat River, and later became a farmer near Orlena
owning 75 acres.
William D. Mayo, born 1848, son of Dudley and Mary J. (White)
Mayo; Scotch-Irish; was married in 1887 to Deliah A., daughter of Solo
mon and Rachel (Hyre) WiUiams. Children, Charles B., Richard D.,
Esther H. , William B. , Birdie W. He lives at Pickens where he is en
gaged in the hotel business.
Charles B. Mayo, born 1870; Scotch-Irish, son of WiUiam D. and
Sarah (Dickison) Mayo, was married in 1896 to Kitty, daughter of Charles K.
and Susan (Jennings) Fretwell. Mr. Mayo spent his early life in Upshur
County, and came to Randolph in 1888, where he subsequently became
agent for Senator Camden at Pickins. *
Zedekiah Morgan was an officer and prominent citizen in the early
years of Randolph. He was born in Connecticut, 1744, of ancestors who
had lived in New England since 1636. The first in America was James
Morgan, 1607; the next in the line of descent was John Morgan, bom 1645;
the next was Isaac Morgan, born 1670; the next was Peter Morgan, born
1705; and the next was the subject of this sketch, the fifth generation from
the James Morgan the immigrant. Zedekiah Morgan was an officer in the
Revolutionary War. His descendents are now numerous and influential in
Randolph and other counties of West Virginia, as well as in other States.
Lack of space forbids giving more than an outline of the families descended
from Zedekiah Morgan, but fuller mention of some of those families and
individuals wiU be found elsewhere in this book. Zedekiah Morgan, in
1769, married Ruth Dart, of Connecticut, and after her death he married
Rebecca Watson, of Boston. By the first marriage he had six children,
Joshua, Ezra, Hezekiah, Lydia, Ruth, Naomi; by his second marriage,
four chUdren, Theodore, Watson, Fanny and Alford. These children mar
ried and had families as follows:
Joshua married Hannah Gould and had three children, Isaac, Chester
and Lydia.
Ezra Morgan married Rhoda Byrant and had three children, Emily
Maria and Eliza.
Hezekiah Morgan, born 1773, married EUzabeth Sanford and had three
children, Ezra, Zera and Fanny.
Lydia Morgan married Mr. Wakelee and had two children, Ebenezer
and Nancy.
Ruth Morgan married George Wees, of Randolph, and had six children,
Ziba, Zirus, Rebecca, Jacob, Dorcas and Martha.
Naomi Morgan married Adam Stalnaker, of Randolph and had four
children, Maria, Daniel, Ellen and Randolph.
Theodore Morgan married Lydia H. Rude, of Lewis County, and had

436 FAMILY HISTORY.
ten children. Maxwell, Amos, Jane, Ezra, Maria, Rebecca, Hannah, Luceba,
Hattie, and a son who died young.
The facts of the marriages of Watson, Fanny and Alfred Morgan could
not be obtained for this book.
The marriages and subsequent history of all the grandchildren of
Zedekiah Morgan cannot be given here, but the following will suffice:
Isaac Morgan, son of Joshua, married Amanda Gould.
Chester Morgan, son of Joshua, married three times, to Virginia Town-
send, to Nancy Talbott, to Delila Boiles.
Lydia Morgan, daughter of Joshua, married Major Thorp.
Emily Morgan, daijghter of Ezra, married Eldridge Burr.
Maria Morgan, daughter of Ezra,, married Abram Hudkins.
Eliza Morgan, daughter of Ezra, married Benjamin Gould.
Ezra Morgan, son of Hezekiah, married Hannah Nash, and had eight
children, one of whom, Daniel Nash Morgan, received the Democratic nomi
nation in 1898 for Governor of Connecticut. He was Secretary of the
Treasury under President Cleveland.
Maria SUftlnaker, daughter of Naomi Morgan-Stalnaker, married Isaac
Baker of Randolph County, and had six children, Isaac, Eli, -Catherine,
Daniel R. , Ellen and John.
Daniel Stalnaker, son of Naomi Morgan-Stalnaker, married Sarah Wy-
lie, of Greenbrier County, and their children were Virginia, Callie, John,
Ellen, Kate, William and Sallie.
Ellen Stalnaker, daughter of Naomi Morgan-Stalnaker, married Ro-
landus Heavener, and had two children, Ella and Eunice. Ella became the
wife of Prof. U. S. Fleming of Pittsburg, and Eunice the wife of Clay Craw
ford of Beverly.
Randolph Stalnaker, son of Naomi -Morgan Stalnaker, married Caroline
Erskine ZoU of Monroe County. Their children were Dr. John W., Sarah,
Daniel E. , Caroline E. , Dr. Albert G. , Henry Z. , Mary L. and Randolph.
The last named was private secretary to Governor Henry M. Mathews from
1877 to 1881, and Secretary of State of West Virginia from 1881 to 1885.
Abraham Wise Mallow, born 1841 in Pendleton County, son of
Michael; was married in 1869, in Grant County, to Mary Catherine, daugh
ter of Amos Judy. Children, George Amos, Rebecca Virginia, Mary Susan
and Charles Edward.
George Amos Mallow, born 1870 in Pendleton County, son of Abra
ham and Mary (Judy) Mallow; German ancestry. In 1894 he married Bar.
bara Jane, daughter of Conrad and Mary A. (Reed) Smith. Children. Al
pha May, Bertha Ellen, Bennie Carroll. He is a farmer and has lived in
Randolph 20 years.
Decatur Montoney, M. D., born in Pendleton County, 1868, son of

FAMILY HISTORY. 437
Robert W. and Mary C. (Vandevender) Montoney; French and Scotch an
cestry. He lived three miles from school and did not attend till 12 years
old, and he had a long and difficult struggle to obtain his education. After
a few years he secured a first grade certificate, and taught school for a few
terms. Then he entered the Fairmont Normal and nearly finished the
course, but did not graduate. He resumed his teaching, and was appointed
on the examining board of Randolph County. In 1891 he began the study
of medicine in the University of Virginia, and at the Medical College of
Virginia at Richmond, and finaUy graduated at the Baltimore Medical Col
lege in 1894. Since then he has been successfully practicing his profession
at Harman. He owns a farm of 350 acres, all improved, in Pendleton
County, six miles from Harman.
Albert Meade Montoney, bom in Pendletoij County, 1866, brother
of Dr. Montoney; was married in 1887 at Frederick City, Md., to Nettie A.,
daughter of Aaron W. and Mary (Feaster) Roby. Children, Peachie Lee,
Bessie Lenore, Urvin 'Guy, Mary Lola and Ona Grace. By trade he is a
carpenter, and owns 80 acres in Dry Fork District.
Jacob Williamson Marshall, bom 1830, in Ritchie County; English
ancestors; son of Joseph and Hannah (McKinney) Marshall; Was married in
1855 to Georgiana, daughter of George and Mary (See) Marshall. Children,
Joseph, Dixie, Mary E., Piatt, Cecil E., Ligon, Adam, Lucy and Arthur.
He is an extensive farmer,, owns 3000 acres, 1500 improved, of which 750
acres are on Tygart's Valley River. He was in the Confederate army, Cap
tain in the Nineteenth Virginia Cavalry. He was on General Lee's staff in
1861, aind was with Lee at Elkwater. He was subsequently with General
Jenkins, and saw much service on outpost duty in Pocahontas, Randolph,
Greenbrier and other counties of West Virginia between Greenbrier and
Kentucky. He lives on Mingo Flats, in a region elevated, healthful and
abounding in fine scenery. His house is within three miles of the fountain
source of Tygart's Valley River. His son, Jacob Ligon, is a student in the
Baltimore Medical College.
Piatt Marshall, born 1869, son of Jacob W. , was married in 1894 to
Mary E. Beatty. Children, Adam J. and Samuel M.
Hezekiah Bukey Marshall, born 1832, in the present county of
Ritchie; Scotch-Irish; son of Joseph and Hannah (McKinney) Marshall; was
married in 1857 to Samaria Blain, daughter of Joseph and Amanda (Wood)
Moore; second marriage to Juliet Ann Douglas. Children, Joseph Moore,
Jacob Williamson, John Blain, Martha Ato, Mary AU, Kyd Douglas and
Guy Holt. He owns 2500 acres, 600 improved; was in Texas from 1857 to
1865, and then returned to Mingo and has since kept store there, and an
hotel, which is the stopping place for travelers from Virginia to Addison
Springs. His great-grandfather was a brother to John Marshall, the Vir-

438 FAMILY HISTORY.
ginia Chief Justice.* He has a coin made in Mexico (Chihuahua) in 1556,
and many other old and rare ones; has a book printed 1792; a half -cent of
1808, and a Caroline cent of 1771. He has always taken the lead in move
ments looking to the development of the country, and is well posted as to
its resources. His son, Kyd Douglas, was educated at the Hillsboro
Academy. John W. Mullennix, born 1829, in Pendleton County, son of James
and Permela (Murphy) Mullennix; German ancestry; was married in 1855
to Mary Catherine, daughter of Adam and Mary (Harper) Judy. Their
children are Mary Jane, Isaac J., John A., Thomas J., Virginia, Martin,
Phoebe C. , Elizabeth, Edward J. and Alpha. He is a farmer and owns 5000
acres, one-half improved, and he handles 400 or 500 head of cattle, and
winters 200 each year, besides over 200 sheep. He has dealt extensively in
hardwood lumber and was formerly a merchant at Job. He began business
in a moderate way, having inherited one-sixth of an estate worth $2,000.
In all his undertakings he has been successful. His father, also a farmer,
was born in Pendleton County, 1804, and his grandfather, Abraham Mul
lennix, also a farmer, was bom in Highland County, and was very fond of
hunting. In 1835 he killed an elk at the Sinks of Gandy, which was one of
the last, but not the last, killed east of the Ohio River. The great-grand
father was James Mullennix. On his mother's side, his grandfather, Walter
Murphy, came from Ireland, settled in Pendleton County, and married Miss
Posten, near Baltimore.
Thomas Jefferson Mullennix, born 1860, in Pendleton County,
died 1891; son of John W. and Mary C. (Judy) Mullennix; was married in
1880, near Circleville, to Susan Virginia, daughter of Nimrod and EUzabeth
(Bland) Dove. Children, Sedgwick L., John W., Harness P., Katie E.,
Jeddy D., Wandy P., Silvie P., DoUie. Farmer and stockdealer; owned
147 acres, 100 improved; began merchandising at Job in 1887, and remained
there until killed by Lafayette Elza.
William Marstiller, born 1825, died 1895; son of John and Mary
(Hill) Marstiller. Children, Louise, Amon E., Nancy, French H. and Page.
Charles May Marstiller, born 1859; German parentage, son of
Nicholas and Amanda (Taylor) Marstiller; was married, in 1880 to Agnes,
daughter of David Hand Perrie (Skidmore) Gilmore. Children, Otis Grover,
Clara Harding, Pearl, Jeane and Kendall Gilmore; owns 400 acres. For
twelve years he was County Surveyor.
Lee Marstiller, born on Cheat River, 1861; son of Nicholas Marstil
ler; married in 1883 to Leonora, daughter of John B.,and Laban (Stalnaker)
Earle. Children, Dillon, Louida, Lillian, Earle and HalUe; farmer, owns
419 acres, 200 improved, two miles from Elkins; owns the John I. Stalnaker
farm, by deed to Lee Marstiller and wife, she being Stalnaker's adopted

Family history. 439
daughter, having Uved with him since four years old. Her sister, Louida,
was also adopted by him at the same time, she being two years old. Louida
married Benjamin Gall of Philippi, and died 1885.
J. D. Marstiller, born 1867, son of Nicholas, was married in 1888 at
Lebanon, Ohio, to Minnie A., daughter of John A. and Alice M. (Morris)
Blair. Children, Blair, Ruth and Brooke. He is a school teacher; was
first postmaster at Womlesdorff, also first Mayor of the town; was appointed
County Surveyorin 1897; was Notary Public 1887 ; graduated at the National
Normal University of Ohio; was also a student in the Randolph Academy
at Huttonsville. At present he is a dealer in flour and grain at Womlesdorff.
A. E. Marstiller, bom 1859; was married in 1882 to Deborah Moore.
Children, Bruce, Charles, John, Byrne, Lloyd and Burt.
Eli Moore was born in Barbour County, 1851, son of Solomon W. and
Clarissa H. (Schoonover) Moore. In 1876 he married Clara A. , daughter of
Rev. A. Mustoe. Children, Ezekiel H., Charles M., Alice M., Lawrence,
Simeon, Anthony, Lily, Leslie, Lona and Lulu. He began as a farmer in
Barbour, then in Randolph and in 1890 engaged in the mercantile business
at Montrose, being Town Sergeant one year. His grandfather, William
Moore, was born in Loudon County.
W. A. Moore, born 1833 in Pocahontas County, son of Addison and
Elizabeth Moore; Irish, German aud English ancestry. In 1856 he married
Mary A., daughter of John and Mary McCoy. She dying, he married Vir
ginia L., daughter of Benjamin Jackson. Children, George Anna, Edgar
W., Virda I., Lucy M., Harry H., Rosa I. and Wm. H. He has followed
the business of farmer, blacksmith and iixerchant, and now keeps hotel at
HuttonsvUle; entered the C'.-.nfouerate army in 1863; was taken prisoner in
1864; took part in the b: .ties of Winchester, Droop Mountain, Fisher's Hill
and in many skirm.:shes.
Bukey William Moore, born 1858, son of James A. and Sarah (Chan
nel) Moore; Scotch-Irish; was married in 1878 to Virginia E., daughter of
Merican and Sarah (Simmons) Moore. Children, Marion, Sarah, Elvira,
Roy, Viola and All. He owns 140 acres, mostly improved; Uved three
years in Kansas. The first 9f the Moore famUy, Joseph, came from Bath
County. Uis children were, Ann, who married Mr. Vv'^elch; Clara, married
Jerry Channel; James, married Sarah Channel; Blain, married H. B. Mar
shaU Jennette, married John Bdminson, Eliza, married Sam Hepler; John
married Ida Burger. Wood Moore, brother of Joseph, had the foUowing
children: Martha, Sarah, Samuel, Merican, Virginia, Dorphan, Sidney,
Penelope, Joseph and Augustus. Their descendants are numerous in Ran
dolph and and Pocahontas Counties.
Thomas Merican Moore, born 1835, son of Wood and Mary (Wood)
Moore; Scotch-Irish; married 1856 to Sarah Ann, daughter of Adam and

440 FAMILY HISTORY.
Tabitha (Stalnaker) Simmons. Children, Tabitha Ellen, Charles Sam
uel, Virginia Elizabeth, Caroline Amelia, John, Dorphan, Mary Martha,
Ella Vernon, Adam Simmons, William, Everett Burns; owns 76 acres, 50
improved. Charles Samuel Moore, born 1859, son of T. M. and Sarah A. (Sim
mons) Moore; Irish ancestors; married 1885 to Lelia, daughter of Samuel
and Elizabeth (Wood) Lemon. ChUdren, Hugh, Emerson, Rosa Elizabeth,
Etta Ora, Stella Ann, Carl Lemon; owns 33 acres of improved land; at
tended Glenville, (W. Va.) Normal School, and National Normal at Leban
on, O. ; was County Superintendent 1880-82.
T. S. Moore, married 1882. Children, Sarah A. , Laura, Mercia, John,
and Thomas.
Lewis McQuain, born 1846 in Pendleton County, son of John and
Sarah (Strader) McQuain, Irish parentage; was married in 1882 to Nancy
E., daughter of Wm. and Jane (Everett) Marstiller. Children, Hattie,
'Charley, Howard, Delbert, Jennie and Luther. He is a farmer and owns
150 acres, 100 improved, five miles from Elkins; came to Randolph 1851 and
settled on Cheat. His father died in 1878.
Levi Wilmoth McQuain, born 1864, son of Joshua and Mary Ann
(Leary) McQuain, was married in 1891 to Mary Elizabeth, daughter of
Hiram and Elizabeth (Pritt) Hill. Children, Lutie and Hiram Wilson. He
owns 250 acres, 65 improved; was elected constable in 1892. His grand
father, John McQuain, came from Ireland.
Jefferson Clem Marteney, born 1835, son of George Washington
and Rebecca (Clem) Marteney. In 1865 he married Margaret C. Pritt, and
their children are Ida, Kent, Cora, Edward, George W., Mattie, Charley,
Perry and Clyde. He is a farmer near Laurel. William Marteney was his
grandfather and was a prominent man and efficient officer in the early years
of Randolph County, and being a slaveholder in his lifetime, when he came
to die he set the slaves free.
Edward Marteney, son of Jefferson, married Ceba Yokum in 1889,
and after her death he married Daisy, daughter of Creed Kittle. Children,
Willie, Mattie, Maudie and Ruth.
Francis Lightfoot McElwee, born 1846 in Pocahontas County, son
of John and Mahala(Nottingham)McElwee; Irish descent. In 1872 at Val
ley Bend he married Virginia E. daughter of Samuel L. and Syrena Ann
(Haigler) Wamsley; children, Walter Warteu, Flossie Ford, Lado Lome,
Jewell Holt, Orman Day and Hallie May. Mrs. McElwee died 1892, and in
1896 he married Eliza E., daughter of Adam and Sarah (McDonald) Arbogast
of Pocahontas County. His father was a carpenter, and in 1848 moved to
Hot Springs, Va. , and from there to Pocahontas, then to Randolph, set
tling first near Huttonsville, and in 1857 in Elkins. Mr. McElwee was in

FAMILY HISTORY. 44I
the Confederate Army, and was in the battles of Cedar Mountaid, Second
Manassas, Antietam, Gettysburg, Spotsylvania, around Richmond, and
many others. His brother Bud was at Rich Mountain, and surrendered.
Mrs. Mahala McElwee is stiU living, aged 87. Her children were,
Andrew B., Margaret J., Bud D., Sarah E., Divers B., Francis L., Bernard
T. and Button G. Mr. McElwee's grandfather was drowned on the voyage
from Ireland to America.
Charles Moyers, born 1870, in Pendleton, son of Henry and Sally
(Eye) Moyers; German-Irish parentage; was married in 1890 to Polly E.,
daughter of John and Deniza (Hartman) Kile: chUdren, Arthur Burlin,
Sally May and Mary Jane. He owns six acres, two improved; is a black
smith, living at Valley Head.
John Moyle, a merchant of Elkins, was born in Baltimore; in 1887
married Bridget Ann Gillooly, and their children are Mary C, Frances G.,
Bertha V., Elizabeth, Ann, John J., Bernard, and Edward D. Mr. Moyle
came to Randolph from Ohio, and by trade is a steel worker.
John A. Moore, born 1864 in Tyler County, son of Rolie Moore, mar
ried Ida Collett and has one child, Elmer.
David Ross Martin, born in 1851 in Marion County, son of George
W. Martin, married Martha A. Jones in 1880. • Children, Lurana G., Harry
B. , Arthur P. , Pearl and HaUie M. ; farmer and teacher. His grandfather
was Charles W. Martin, of Culpeper, Virginia.
John Wallace McCallister, born 1835 in Greenbrier County, son of
Samuel and Sarah Ann (Cook) McCallister; Irish parentage. In 1863 in
Pocahontas County, he married Sarah Jane, daughter of Philip and Eliza
beth (Keister) Heltzel. Children, James Levesy, Charles Robert Edmond,
Samuel Philip, Elizabeth, William Acham, and Lee. He is a farmer and
carpenter, owns 32 acres, 20 improved; was in Confederate army, Stonewall
Jackson's brigade, was in 21 engagements and was vvounded in the head at
the second Battle of Manasses.
Elisha McCloud, bom 1842, married Elizabeth White, 1866. Chil
dren, Ida, AUie C, Emma; farmer, near HuttonsvUle.
John Alexander McBee, born 1855 in Barbour County, son of Wil
liam and Elizabeth (Shaffer) McBee, Scotch-Irish. In 1877 near PhUippi, he
married Frances Jane, daughter of Daniel and Rachel Rebecca (May) Frid-
ley. Children, Eliza'^eth Jane, Frances Anna Lee, David Scott, John
Woodbridge, Wm. Everett, Amos, Reuben, Stella Maud, Ora, Minnie Myr
tle, Gordon and Baby; a lumberman and farmer, owns 163 acres, 45
improved; has been in Randolph 20 years.
Floyd McDoNALD,born 1872, son of Peter; married Jemima Cooper in
1893. Children, Ella and Ramey. Justice of the Peace in Dry Fork.

442 FAMILY HISTORY.
Clarence M. Mills, born 1873, married Mary Gooden. Child, Jewel
R. He is a farmer and laborer.
Hamilton Markley, son of Absalom, in 1873 was married to Parmeha,
daughter of Elam Talbott. Children, Valeria, Nora, Florence and Kizzine.
He lives in Roaring Creek District.
Charles Emil Mylius was born 1843 in Wurtemberg, son of Peter
Mylius. In 1867 at Buckhannon, W. Va., he married Edmonea, daughter
of William Jennings. Children, Emma, Nannie, Charles, Mary and Oscar.
He lives on Shaver's Mountain.
John William Morral, born 1865 in Pendleton, son of John and
Rebecca (Dean) Morral, German ancestry, was married in Upshur County,
1897, to Nancy Margaret, daughter-of Granville arid Virginia (Osbone) Lan
ham. He is a merchant at Harman, where he owns a house and lot, and he
has lived five years in the county. He taught school in Pendleton County
eight years.
George N. Martin, born 1832, son of George W. and Prudence L.
(Carpenter) Martin; was married in 1853 to Elvie, daughter of Jonah and
Sally (Pryde) Stansberry. Children, Louisa, Josiah, Prancis'Maxon, Mary
A. , Stansberry J. , Christina, Dexter T. and Cornelius C.
Francis Meredith, son of J. Q. A. Meredith, born 1868; married 1895
to Emma, daughter of J. T. Latham. Child, Latham.
William Morrison, son of J. B. Morrison, born 1867; married 1896
to Hattie, daughter of Riley Pritt. Child, Byron.
LiNDLEY BOYER McLaughlin, born 1861, son of R. M. and Susan
(Gilleland) McLaughlin; Scotch-Irish; was married in 1878 in Pennsylvania
to Sarah, daughter of Robert Boyer. Children, Leroy E. , Robert M. , An
nie E. , Orlando D. , Wilbur R. and Roy R. He came to West Virginia in
1892; is a stonemason and a coke-oven maker; owns 135 acres, 40 improved,
five miles from Beverly.
Adam McGee, born 1819, died 1894, married M. A. Kenna 1867. Chil
dren, Michael, Wirt, Hattie, Minerva P. , Birdie, Luther, Alba and Annie. .
George McLean, a prominent citizen of Randolph early in this cen
tury, and Sheriff in 1850 — the last Sheriff under the Virginia Constitution
of 1830, prior to the adoption of the new Constitution of 1852 — was born
March 25, 1792, on the eastern shore of Maryland, and early in life came to
Randolph. He died July 13, 1880. IsT.
Martin Luther Nestor, born in Barbour County, 1851, son of Jacob
J. and Rachel (Poling) Nestor; married, 1876, Helen M., daughter of Jacob
B. and Mary A; Phillips. Children, Julia Belle, Alba Clyde, Lela Roe;
miller and farmer on Leading Creek. His grandfather's name was John,

FAMILY HISTORY. 443
and he was born in Barbour in 1794; his great-grandfather's name was
Jacob. He came from Germany, the first Nestor to come to America. He
settied near Valley Furnace, in Barbour, probably before the Revolution
ary War. James M. Nestor, born 1863 in Barbour County, son of Jacob J. He
married Mary L. Chenoweth, and is a photographer, living at Whitmer.
John Nelson, born 1866 on Dry Fork, son of John S. and Catherine
Nelson. He married Alice, daughter of Eli A. and Mary Butcher. Chil
dren, Casper, Walter, Caddie Catherine, Minnie Margaret, John Dickson,
Barton M. O.
Patrick O'Conner, born 1813, in Ireland, son of Michael O'Connor;
married, 1840, to Bridget Quinn. ChUdren, Michael, Mary, Catherine,
John, Martin, Margaret, Helen, Patrick.
M. O. O'Conner, born 1843, son of Patrick. In 1881 he married Martha
Hallett, and for a second wife, Mary E. Corley. Children, Mary, John,
Barney, Charley, Ernest, William, James.
Manus O'Donnell, son of John O'Donnell, born 1865, in Pittsburg;
mother's maiden name, Margaret Haney. :^.
Benjamin Phares, born 1805, son of Robert and Susan (Minnis)
Phares; Irish; was married in 1834 to Catherine, daughter of Jacob Slagle.
Children, Jessie P., John R., William S., Melissa E., George W., Jasper N.
Jesse P. Phares, born 1835, son of Benjamin and Catherine Phares,
was married in 1856 to Lucinda, daughter of Joshua and Mildred (Foster)
Quick. Children, Squire B., George, William H., and Elihu P.; owns 1,400
acres, 300 improved. Mr. Phares was known as the ' 'War Sheriff " of
Randolph, he holding that office under Governor Pierpont. The place was
one of great danger, as there was a special attempt made by the Confeder
ates, and particularly by General Imboden, to capture or drive out the
officers under the re-organized Government of Virginia. In the records of
the war office are found orders issued by Confederate generals to their sub-
ordiuates who were expecting to invade West Virginia, instructing them to
make the holding of the office of Sheriff as dangerous as possible. Mr.
Phares did not escape. During Imboden's raid, 1863, Mr. Phares suddenly
came upon the advance of the Confederate army between Beverly and Buttons-
ville, and was shot through the body. However, he rode into Beverly and
gave the alarm which enabled the Federals to make their escape. He was
left in Beverly in a dying condition, as was supposed. In fact General
Imboden in his official report, said he must die. But under the care of Dr.
G. W. Yokum, he recovered and was afterwards pensioned by the United
States, he being one of a very few (said by some to be the only one) men

444 FAIMLY HISTORY.
pensioned by the government who never belonged to the army. It was
maintained that, though not in pay of the government, he was wounded
while endeavoring to obtain information for the benefit of the Federals.
William M. Phares, born 1826, died 1892, son of John and Martha B.
(Marteney) Phares, was married 1854 to Mary E. , daughter of John B. and
Elizabeth (Vineyard) Earle. Children, Alias May, John T. B., Catherine
Matilda, William B., Charles Henry; farmer and merchant 30 years at
LeadsvUle, also postmaster part of that time. His daughter Catherine'
married Hon, W. L. Kee, of Washington, D. C; Charles H. married Matilda
Roney and is in business in Pittsburg.
Benjamin Isborn Phares, born 1828, son of John; in 1863 married
Helen Amanda, daughter of George W. and Maria (Earle) Ward; children,
Inez Davis, Robert L., Lee Ward, Maria, Page E., Grace, Lummie D., Guy
v., Irene, Harry G., Maggie, Matie, Tucker J. and Maud E. Of these,
Inez married Louis H. Anderson, of Indiana; Lummie married John Koontz,
of Nebraska. John Phares moved to LeadsvUle when thirteen years old;
was a scout in the Union army and was deputy sheriff under Frank Phares.
Elias W. Phares, born 1830, died 1886, son of John; was married in
1851 to Edith, daughter of John W. and Mary (Chenoweth) Stalnaker.
Children, Emma Jane, Martha Ellen, John W., Ann Eliza, Mary Alice,
Lloyd Bent and Laura Anzina. Mrs. Stalnaker died 1875.
Johnson W. Phares, born 1836, son of John and Martha E. (Mar
teney) Phares; German and French ancestry; was married in 1872 to Mary
A., daughter of Levi D. and Rebecca (Wamsley) Ward. Children, Bruce
P., Nettie B., Frona H., Charles James Pindle, John L., Burl R., Flossie
H. and Nellie R. ; was born and raised a farmer. His father moved from
Valley Bend to LeadsvUle in 1841. Mr. Phares was formerly a member of
the Randolph Board of Supervisors. His grandfather,. Robert Phares, was
born in Pendleton and died near Beverly. His grandfather, William Mar
teney, was many years a member of the Virginia Legislature. Robert Mar
teney's wife, Eunice (Isborn), was born in France and was a cousin to General
Benjamin P. Butler. Bruce P. Phares, son of the subject of this sketch,
was a soldier in the Spanish War in Captain Zan CoUett's company. In
target practice, with fifty seven regiments competing, he made the highest
score, 49 points out of a possible 50.
George Washington Phares, son of William, born 1824, married
EUza, daughter of WUUam WUmoth, in 1848. Children, Squire B., WiUiam*
P., Haman, Anzina, Mary Jane, Alice M., Amanda, Ella 'M., Columbia A.
and Philadelphia. He is a farmer, three miles from Elkins, owning 175
acres, 100 improved.
Abel Phares, bom on Leading Creek in 1826, son of William and
Anna Stalnaker Phares. When twenty years old he married EUzabeth,

FAMILY HISTORY. 445
daughter of Archibald and Jane (Corley) See. Children, Harriet, Angelina,
EmmeUne, Patsy Jane, Archibald Wilson, Xantippe Crawford, Lucy Ellen.
WiUiam Randolph, Laura Virginia, CaroUne Augusta, Elizabeth Bird and
Charles Bruce. He is a farmer and owns 287 acres underlaid with coal.
Mrs. Phares, now 72 years old, is no doubt the greatest weaver in the
county. She began when twelve years old, and is still at the loom, and has
made that her important work for sixty years, sometimes weaving 1000
yards a year. Mr. Phares lost his nouse and its contents by fire in 1872.
He raised William Bonner and considers him as one of the children.
Jacob Phares, born 1831, son of William. In 1853 he married Jemima,
daughter of William and Mary (Taylor) Wilmoth. Children, Delia, Lydia
Ann, Leonard, Jasper N., Marion, Robert, Warner, Luceba, Dora and Wal
ter. He has been twice Assessor; owns 500 acres, 150 improved, three miles
from Elkins. His grandfather, Robert Phares, came from Pendleton
County prior to 1798, for in that year his son William was living on the
waters of Leading Creek. Mr. Phares says that Roney's Run was so-called
from Alexander Roney, who lived there, was captured by Indians and tied
to a tree. This was no doubt the family spoken of in the "Border War
fare." Warner Phares joined the West Virginia National Guards in 1894.
Leonard Phares, born 1858, son of Jacob. His mother's maiden name
was Jemima Wilmoth. He was married in 1881 to Laura Louella, daughter
of Seymour and Virginia C. (Taylor) Wilmoth. Children, Lottie, Leslie J. ,
Grover C. and Roy Lynn. He is a farmer, and after trying the West, and
engaging in other business in this State, he came back to Randolph, and
owns a 90-acre farm near Orlena, half improved.
Jasper N. Phares, bom 1860, son of Jacob and Jemima Phares; mar
ried Addie, daughter of Eli and Margaret Taylor, in 1897. He is a merchant
at Oilman and a member of the West Virginia National Guards.
Squire B. Phares, bom 1858, son of Jesse P. Phares; married Olive
J. Osborn, 1885. Children, Zada, Estella, Stella, Lue and Jesse.
Robert L. Phares, born 1865, son of Benjamin I. and Helen A. (Ward)
Phares; was married in 1891 to Margaret, daughter of H. C. and Sarah E.
(GiUam) Bowers. Children, Lola Z., Turl Victoria, Latan. Farmer and
milkman. Squire B. Phares, son of George W., bom 1855, was married in 1880
to Annie R., daughter of Godfrey and Lucinda Marstiller, and their chUdren
were Cora, Bernard W., DoUie T., Ercy, Leland J., HaUie W. He is a
farmer and lumberman, owning 97 acres four miles from Elkins.
Perry Phares, born 1866, son of G. W. and Eliza (Wilmoth) Phares;
married in 1889 to Maggie B. Hamrick. Children, Donzel, Neva, Lelia and
Pauline. Trackman on the railroad.
William L. Parsons, born 1845 in Tucker County, son of James R. and

446 • FAMILY HISTORY.
Mahala (Mason) Parsons. Near Montrose, 1868, he married Rebecca B. ,
daughter of Thomas and Bashaba (Nutter) Schoonover. Children, Wise C.
and James R. His wife died in 1895 and he married Columbia E. daughter
of Isaac Ward of Barbour. He owns 135 acres, one-half improved, near
Montrose, and was in the Confederate army under Imboden, in the battle
of Gettysburg and in many skirmishes. He was wounded at the Sinks of
Gandy March 20, 1864, at the time Oliver Triplett was kiUed and Jasper N.
and Anthony Triplett and Dow Adams were wounded. He is a member of
the U. B. Church.
Joshua Parsons, bom in Tucker County, 1846, son of James R. Par
sons, was married in 1868 to Lois M., daughter of Thomas and Bashaba B.
(Nutter) Schoonover. Their children are Burl N., Edgar .D., Maud R.,
Page L., Burr D., Ella M., Nancy E., and Jared G. Of these, Burl is in
Oklahoma and Page in Ohio. Mr. Parsons came to Randolph in 1882 and
owns a sixty-six acre farm near Montrose.
Rev. Mathias Porter Hamilton Potts, bom 1846 in Pocahontas
County, son of M. C. Potts. His father was born in 1803, and in 1833 mar
ried Rachel Warwick McCabe. Rev. Potts married Martha Elizabeth,
daughter of Alexander C. Logan in 1872. After her death he married
Maggie, daughter of Joseph and Isabel (Green) Baxter. Children, Laura
Moore, Lena Gay, Joanna, John Alexander Broaddus, Bucy Holden, and
Lily Mabell. His great grandfather came from England, and his son Ben
jamin Pott, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Maryland
1773. Rev. Potts entered the ministry in 1877, preaching under the direc
tion of the West Virginia Baptist State Mission Board. In 1890 he resigned
his work and moved to Elkins and opened die Temperance Hotel. He still
preaches but has no regular wor Iv. His father was born in Bath Co. , and when
twenty-seven years old he moved to Pocahontas, and fourteen years later to
Randolph , three miles east of Valley Head, where he was eight years a
Justice of the Peace. He had four sons in the Confederate Army. He died
at Huntington, W. Va., 1882. Of his four sons, Benjamin P. died in Poca
hontas; Lieutenant J. N. Potts is Chief of Police at Huntington, W. Va.;
Capt. L. G. Potts lives at McConnelsburg, Pa. ; the fourth is the subject of
this sketch, who was a soldier in the Confederate army.
James Oscar Potts, bom 1860, son of Benjamin P. and Mary Potts,
Irish and German ancestry; was married in 1880 to Eugenia, daughter of
Powhatan A. Tolly. Children, Cora See, Elvin Porter, Addalee, and Mintie
Gertrude. He is a carpenter living in Beverly; lived formerly in Mingo.
His grandfather, M. C. Potts, was the second settler on Ware's Ridge.
Benjamin P. Potts was an officer in McClanahan's Battery.
Solomon Judy Pennington, bom 1845, son of Solomon A. In 1870 he
married Eliza J. Wilfong. Children, Mary Susan, William Perry, Virginia

FAMILY HISTORY. 447
Catherine, Solomon Adka, Abel Seymour, Margaret EUzabeth, French
Harding, Joshua Heatwell, Ruth, Anna Lutetia, Enoch Riley, George W.
Sisk and Allen Zacharias.
Vinson B. Pennington, born 1873, son of Vinson B. and Phoebe
(Flannagan) Pennington. In 1894 he married Annie, daughter of John and
Jennie Graham. Children, Preston D., Zenia, Fronia. He is a railroader
on Dry Fork.
Sampson J. Pennington, born 1867, son of Vinson B. ; was married in
1892 to Christina, daughter of John W. and Emily (Lantz) Thompson;
farmer and railroader.
Henry Clay Daugherty Pennington, born 1873, and in 1893 he
married Virginia, daughter of Solomon J. and Eliza Jane Pennington. They
have one child, Ed. Bryan.
Jesse Pennington, was born 1846, and married Martha E.,
daughter of Thomas S. White. Children, Lutitia, Estelline, Mary J.,
George W., Andrew J., Zella M., Alex R., Lucy B., Salathiel D., Albert
W. , and Benry Otta.
Samuel Augustus Purkey, born 1818 in Rockingham County, Va. ;
died 1896; son of John and Elizabeth (Colter) Purkey; German ancestors;
married 1843 at Meadowville, Barbour County, to Phoebe, daughter of
Jesse and Margaret (Kittle) Phillips. Children, Alcinda, William E., Syl-
vanas T., Margaret E., Melvina E., Albina, David B., Mary C, Phoebe
Ann, James McCleUan, John R. The father of the subject of this sketch,
John Purkey, came from Germany and settled in Virginia. He lived to the
age of 104 years, and his wife 103. Samuel Purkey came to West Virginia
about 1842, locating at Meadowville, where he opened a shoemaker's shop.
Twelve years later he moved to Randolph, locating at New Interest, now
Kerens. He lived a very quiet, industrous life and was noted for his skiU
in making boots and shoes.
David B. Purkey, son of Samuel A. ; was married in 1895 in Grant
County, to Eliza BeUe, daughter of Charles A. and Susan (Shell) Tucker.
Children, Neal Rennix, Charles Augustus. He is a harness maker, having
worked at Harman, Kerens and Elkins.
Sylvanus T. Purkey, born 1848, son of Samuel A. ; was married in
1871 to Sarah C, daughter of Henry and Anna (Brimble) Ark. ChUdren,
Lula B., Frank L., Charles H., Samuel T.; farmer; formerly deputy sheriff
in Tucker County.
Jonas J. Poling, son of David and Margaret Poling; was bom in
Barbour County, where in 1867 he married Jane, daughter of James and
Anna McGuffin. ChUdren, Charles A., Louisa P., Anna R., Emma C, Ar
thur A., Irvin J., James L. and Morgan B. He owns 132 acres near Mon-

448 FAMILY HISTORY.
trose, and has for six years kept the paupers under contract with the
county; and in Barbour he kept them seven years. His father was born in
1802, and his grandfather, Isaac Poling, lived also in Barbour, east of
PhUippi. John Haddan Pritt, bom 1850, son of John and Nancy Pritt; mar
ried 1871 to Mary E. , daughter of Sampson and Amy (Geer) Shifiett. Chil
dren, Elam C, Lottie L., Amy P., Guy M., Tipple J., Wye P. and
Mabie H.
Wirt C. Pritt, son of John; married Jane Stalnaker 1878, children,
Sophrona, Mattie, Nancy, Lena, Rissie, Duck, Warrick. He is a farmer,
Riley Pritt, son of James and Sadney (McLaughlin) Pritt, born 1846;
Irish ancestry; was married in 1868 to Catharine, daughter of Isom and
Margaret Channel. Children, Warwick, Hattie, Branch, Ernest, Chfford,
Howard and Helen. He owns 225 acres; is an ex-member of county court;
was justice of the peace; and is a well-known and successful business man
of Valley Bend.
Johnson Pritt, born 1851, son of Edward and Susan (Phares) Pritt;
was married in 1876 to Hannah, daughter of Henry and Hannah Harper.
Children, Hugh, Margaret, Opie, Susan and Edward E. He owns an in
terest in 1324 acres,
Hugh Pritt, born 1877, son of Johnson and Hannah (Harper) Pritt, is
a school teacher and obtained a No. 1 certificate the first application before
the Board of Examiners.
Robert Lee Pritt, born 1860, son of Edward and Susanna (Phares)
Pritt; Irish ancestry; was married in 1895 to Georgiana, daughter of George
C. and Melissa Long. Child, Wilson. He owns one-third interest in 3258
acres, 746 improved. A house built in 1808 still stands on the farm, having
been the finest house in Randolph when built.
Charles Sidney Pritt, son of Edward Pritt, born 1874. He has
worked in Barbour and Pocahontas Counties, and is a resident of Beverly
District. Wayne Kennedy Pritt, bom 1872, in Randolph, but now living in
Tucker County, where he was elected, 1896, by the Republican party, clerk
of the circuit court; son of George W. and Lucy Pritt.
Elber E. W. Phillips, born 1850, son of George H. and Margaret
(McGee) Phillips; was married in 1869 to Mary E., daughter of MarshaU
Scott. Children, Allen, Nora, Everett, George, Charles. Married second
time to Annie G. Crouch. He owns 287 acres in Valley Bend, one-half well
improved. George M. Phillips, bom in Tucker County, 1860, son of Alfred PhU
lips; English parentage. In 1878, at Huttonsville, he married Sirena M.,

FAMILY HISTORY. 449
daughter of J. G. and Nancy L. Howell. Children, AUce, Mary, Walter,
Francis, Westley and Russie. He lives in Beverly District.
Randolph Phillips, bom 1846, son of Moses and Margaret (Scott)
PhUUps, Irish and Welsh parentage; married 1867, Mary W., daughter of
WiUiam H. and Elizabeth (Harris) Apperson. ChUdren, Dennis, Margaret,
Claude, Bertha, Maude E., CecU, Walter, Warwick and Jessie. He is a
farmer; owns 300 acres: served two years with Confederate army; worked
several years repairing turnpikes in Randolph County.
James J. Phillips, born 1835, son of Moses; was married 1875 to
Emmeline Markley. Children, James, Anna, Margaret, Moses, Randolph,
Abraham, Crawford, Oliver, Martha, Rebecca and Frank.
Claude Phillips, born 1845, son of Moses and Margaret Phillips;
farmer. He served in the Confederate army; was in prison six months;
and after the war started for California, but stopped at St. Joseph, Mo.,
and studied commercial law and geology and other sciences; then was em
ployed on the railroads and in large packing houses. In California he spent
some time in the gold mines. He thoroughly educated himself in all de
partments of literature. When he returned to West Virginia he took great
interest in the development of Roaring Creek. He named the town of
Womelsdorff and made an exhaustive and thorough geological survey
of Roaring Creek, and in his publications he advertised its resources to the
world. He wrote to President Cleveland and laid before him the urgent
need of better postal facilities for Roaring Creek, and the President imme
diately took steps which led to the establishment of another postoffice in
that part of Randolph County. Mr. Phillips is a Democrat, but has never
asked for office;" never was a witness in court, never served as a juryman
but once. He has crossed the continent twice from Baltimore to San Fran
cisco; is a Knight of Pythias, and is at present engaged in writing and pub
lishing the resources of Roaring Creek. He has done much to bring that
part of the country to the attention of capitalists.
Jesse J. Phillips, bom in Barbour County in 1847,- son of Blackman
and Nancy Phillips, of English descent; married Martha, daughter of Ma
jor D. B. and Elizabeth Long. She died 1888, and four years later he mar
ried Seba E., daughter of Jacob and Jemima (Wilmoth) Phares. ChUdren,
Walter Scott, Emory Powell, Blackman David, Harley Jasper and Baby.
He came to Randolph in 1888 and opened a saddlery and harness shop at
Kerens, and engaged in the mercantile business at Montrose in 1889, and at
Oriena two years later. He is agent for the W. Va. C. R. R., and assistant
postmaster at Orlena. His son, Walter S., enlisted for the Spanish War,
in the Red Cross service, in a cavalry brigade; was at the storming of San
Juan, on the outskirts of Santiago, July 1, 2 and 3, 1898, and was present
at the surrender of Santiago a few days later. He returned to Randolph in
September, 1898,

450 FAMILY HISTORY.
Wilbur Posten, bom 1856, son of Nicholas and Rosanna (Graham)
Posten; Irish and German ancestry. In 1878 at Tunnelton, Preston County,
he married Flora B., daughter of Thornton J. and Sarah J.Bonafield. Chil
dren, Rector V. , Lester J. , Carrie V. , Curtis J. and Julia M. He is post
master at Huttonsville, and in the mercantile business at that place; was
formerly a merchant in Preston County.
James S, Posten, born in Morgantown 1866; son of Nicholas; was
married in 1891 to Sadie E. , daughter of P. G. Smith, and they have one
child, Blaine. He came to Elkins in 1889 and engaged in the mercantile
business, and was postmaster both under Harrison and McKinley. -He built
a brick block at a cost of $11,000, which is used as storerooms, opera house
and lodge rooms.
John Ad Porter, born 1848, in Pendleton County, son of George L.
and Sarah (Singler) Porter. In 1871, at Circleville, he married Martha E.,
daughter of Hugh W. and Mary Jane Nash. Children, Julia M., George H,
Charles Gabriel, William Claude, Emma Jane and Agnes Catherine. He
has lived in Randolph since 1882; shoemaker; owns property at Day's MUl's;
was assistant postmaster under Cleveland.
Henry Harrison Payne, bom 1842, in Rockbridge County, son of
Thomas and Sydney (Jones) Payne. In 1866 he married, in Virginia, Susan,
daughter of James C. and Christina Heltzel. ChUdren, Elizabeth, Maggie,
Thomas Jackson, Mary, William, Susan and Jacob. He is a farmer; owns
600 acres, 350 improved; moved to Randolph in 1880.
Victor Benton Putnam, born 1868, at Front Royal, Va,, son of James
K. and Alice Putnam; English. He is a carpenter and a member of the Bev
erly town council, and is an Odd Fellow.
H. M. Pfau, born 1860, died 1896; married, 1885, to Malinda, daughter
of Alpheus and Amanda Irons, of Tucker County. Children, Harland C,
Ora M. , Iva V. , Otha DelUs and Edna B.
Clarence Howard Potter, born in Pennsylvania, son of James and
Polly Potter; married Sarah C, daughter of Francis McKinzie, in 1883.
Children, Harry S. , Clarence A. and Vella M. He has been a farmer, lum
berman, hotel man and saloon-keeper, and lij^es at Whitmer. He is a K. of
P., and Odd Fellow. His father was born in New York in 1811.
Henry H. Withers Powers, born 1861 in Gilmer County, son of El
mer and Minerva Powers; was married in Upshur County, 1884, to Saman
tha, daughter of Squire B. and Roxana McCaiin. Children, Ortha, Elmer,
Leslie, Nellie and Flora. He is a carpenter at Elkins; taught school in Up
shur five years, and was employed some time by the W. Va. C. R. R., and
by the Alexander Lumber Co., ill Upshur. His ancestors were early set
tlers in Harrison, and were frequently engaged fighting Indians. He is the
inventor of a gauge for handsaws.

FAMILY HISTORY. 451
John Philip Pigott, born 1854, son of Louis H. and Elizabeth Pigott;
married Eliza W. Dotson. ChUdren, Detosie Etka, William LesUe and
Amy Inis; educated for the ministry and now pastor of the U. B. Church at
Kerens; taught school in Doddridge County; is engaged in farming as well
as preaching. Edward Rosser Pence, born 1865 in Augusta County, Va., son of
Emanuel and EUzabeth (Wise) Pence; German parentage; lives in Beverly.
Rev. John Rowan, one of the early settlers of Randolph, was born in
Maryland, April 12, 1749. He was a minister of the M. E. Church and the
records show that for many years he performed nearly all the marriage
ceremonies in the county. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and
was wounded at the battle of Brandywine, During the battie, at one point,
the British cavalry charged and rode over the American infantry. Rev.
Rowan, to the end of his life, carried the .print of a horse shoe on his back,
received on that occasion. ' Sometime after peace was declared, he married
Elizabeth Howard, in Anne Arundell County, Md. In 1809 he emigrated to
Kandolph County, and on April 12, of that year he located three and a half
miles north of Beverly, on the west side of the river, and lived there about
three years. He then moved to Roaring Creek and settled on 3000 acres of
land which he had purchased one half mile north of where Womelsdorff
now stands. He was one of the first settlers in that region and made con
siderable improvement. He lived there about ten years, and then lost his
land in a lawsuit with Daniel Stringer. He then moved back to the VaUey
and taught school and preached until he became too feeble. He was one of
Randolph's early educators. He died at Beverly, December 29, 1833. His
wife died February 19, 1844. Their children were John, Thomas, Joseph,
Francis, William, Nancy, Elizabeth, Bathany and Labanah. John taught
school in Randolph County for thirty years. Thomas was a soldier in the
War of 1812 and was stationed at Norfolk Va.
William Rowan, son of John was bom August 17, 1804, and on AprU
10th, 1827, married Anna, daughter .of John S. and Anna Goff, in what is
now Barbour County, about seven miles east of Philippi. John S. Goff
was born in Virginia. June 14, 1770, and on July 2, 1794, married Anna
Howell, who was born December 27, 1778. The chUdren of WiUiam Rowan
were John A., George W., David B., EU H. and Adam C. WUUam Rowan
was constable and deputy sheriff for over thirty years. He died in Beverly,
November 21, 1883. His wife Anna was born September 24, 1804 and died
March 6, 1898. At the time of her death she had Uving three great, great-
grand children. George W. Rowan was a member of Co. P. 31st Va. Vol.
Infantry in the CivU War, John A, was elected Justice of the Peace
in 1856,

452 FAIMLY HISTORY.
Adam Crawford Rowan, son of WiUiam and Anna Rowan, was born
September 15, 1836; Irish ancestry; on November 30, 1860, married Phoebe
A., daughter of Solomon C. and Nancy (Chenoweth) Caplinger. Children
Stark A. , Grace C. , Wade H. , Frank A. Adam C. Rowan is a merchant at
Beverly, and has held the office of Justice of the Peace since 1888. He is
possessed, by inheritance of what was in former times a necessary piece of
furniture, but which is now a curiosity. It is a mold in which spoons
were made. Formerly each neighborhood madeits own pewter spoons, and
these molds saw service in Ireland many a generation ago.
Eli H. Rowan, born 1834, son of William. In 1856 he married M. E.,
daughter of John and Ellen (Skidmore) Chenoweth. Children, Florence A. ,
Bailey S. , Flora, Eliza, Julia, George W. , Ella, Media, Nettie, Hanning P. ,
C. Mick; was postmaster 24 years at Roaring Creek, farmer, blacksmith
and merchant.
John A. Rowan, bom 1828, son of William. In 1852 he married
Rachel, daughter of John and Ellen Chenoweth. Children, Bums, William
J., Eli C, Kent, Lee, Delphia, Martha, Mary, Thomas, Peggy and Ida.
W. J. Rowan, born 1852, son of J. A. and R. A. Rowan. In 1874 he
married Jane, daughter of Levi and Emmaline Findley. Children, Flor
ence, Emmeline, Cynthia, Vinna, Delbert, Harriet and Herbert.
George W. Rowan, bom 1865, son of E. H. and Mary Rowan. In
1894 he married Lizzie Kittle. Children, Effie and Hoddie.
L. C. Rowan, born 1854, son of J. A. and Rachel (Chenoweth) Rowan.
In 1887 he married Rachel Woods. Children, Alice P., James A., Minnie
D. , Lizzie, Bernard S. , Ida, Rossie L.
Stark A. Rowan, son of Adam C. Rowan, born at Franklin, Pendle
ton County, 1862; mother's maiden name Phoebe A. Caplinger. He resides
at Beverly, where he is deputy in the office of the County Clerk.
Charles W. Russell, son of Isaac Russell, bom 1819 in Winchester,
Va., died 1885; married, 1848, to Mary E., daughter of Solomon Collett.
Children, Isaac Perry, hotel-keeper at Crichard; WiUiam D., Charles N.,
merchant at Huttonsville; Thomas C, Harriet A., Fannie B. , Idella,
Lutie L.
T. C. Russell, bom 1868, son of Charles W. ; English extraction; was
married at Crickard in 1892 to Nannie, daughter of Henry and Polina
(Stricklin) Quick. Children, Willie L. and Clarence. He began the mer
cantile business in 1879 and is still in it at Crickard. Owns 200 acres, nearly
all improved. Mrs. Russell died March 29, 1898.
Frederick Rush, bom 1871, in Switzerland; son of John and Annie
Rush; married, 1897, to Katie, daughter of John Karlen, at Helvetia. Child,
Prida. Farmer; own 30 acres near Adolph.

FAMILY HISTORY. 453
John Rush, born 1841, in Switzerland, son of John, married, 1863, to
Annie, daughter of Samuel and Eliza (Liefred) Miller. ChUdren,- Annie,
John, Frederick, Leonora and Martha.
Washington Roy, born 1822,. son of Joseph and Sarah (Summerfield)
Roy; English and Irish parentage. In 1843 he married Sarah, daughter of
Thomas Summerfield. Children, Joseph, Mordecai P., Judson B., Wash
ington J., Anderson N., Franklin P., Amby A., Larkin, James M., Isaac P.,
FeUx, Albert. Mr. Roy says the first house on Red Creek was built by
Saul Puffenbarger, date unknown; the first school was about 1830; the first
teacher, Absalom Wilmoth. The first school house was of logs, built by
Samuel Wyatt, Joseph Roy and David Summerfield. On the bottom land
below the Roy homestead is an Indian mound, from which have been taken
human bones and tomahawks. Mr. Roy has served as Constable several
terms. In his earlier years he was a great hunter, and killed from 25 to 50
deer every fall, and also bears and panthers.
James M. Roy, son of Washington, married Armeda A. Pennington,
1892. Children, Tacy, Belva, James S. Parmer.
Isaac P. Roy, born 1863, in Tucker County; son of Washington and
Sarah (Summerfield) Roy. In 1882 he married Martha E. , daughter of H.
A. and Catherine Wilfong. Children, Hattie E., Luther B., Harrison M.,
Virginia C. , Gertha M. , Zeruia E. , Flodie and Hugha A. Farmer and rail
roader in Dry Fork.
Albert G. Roy, born 1871, son of Jacob and Amanda (Ferguson) Roy.
In 1897 he married Alice Jane, daughter of James William and Phoebe
Catherine (White) Bonner. He is a farmer and has lived in Dry Fork all
his life. Martin Luther Roy, born 1861, on Red Creek, son of Jacob and
Amanda Roy; French parentage. In 1879 he married Sarah, daughter of
Aaron and Susan (Ayers) Shirk. Children, Delia, Ockey, Yeager, Bernard,
Starr, Amanda, Elsie and Gertie. Farmer and carpenter; owns 67 acres,
25 improved; lives on Red Creek. The name " Roy " indicates a French
descent. In that language its means "King."
Adam R. Roy, born 1850, son of Simeon K. ; married Margaret Carr.
ChUdren. Martha J., Chlorinda B., Daniel A. B., Lorenzo D., Phoebe E.
He lives at Job.
John Pleasant Roy, born 1847, son of Solomon A. Roy. In 1894 he
married Cora Ellen, daughter of James Buckbee. ChUdren, Blanche and
Alta Belle. He was in the Federal army, member of Captain Snyder's Home
Guards; joined when 14 years old; was in two engagements.
William Riggleman, born 1829, son of Martin; married in 1851 SaUie
A., daughter of William and Prudence (Wilmoth) Wamsley. Children, Mar-

454 FAMILY HISTORY.
garet E., Lewis M., Naomi, Emmeline, Adelpha, Lee W., Samuel C. and
Lucretia. He has a bible printed in 1700.
Millard P. Riggleman, born 1859, son of Washington and Phoebe
(Salisbury) Riggleman; married in 1880 to Martha J., daughter of M.D. and
Agnes J. Ruckman. Children, Howard D., Almeda E., Mary A., Louise P.
His father was born in 1835, and was a son of Martin Riggleman, who mar
ried Hester Swadley. Washington Riggleman married Phoebe Salisbury.
Lee W. Riggleman, bom 1861, son of William L. and Sally A., (Wams
ley) Riggleman; married 1883 Phoebe Conrad. Children, Dollie M. and
Stuart O.
John Riggleman, born 1851, son of Martin; married 1874 Barbara
Swecker. Children, Tabitha A., Columbus W., Isaac P., Calvin C, Lena H.
Jacob Riffle was one of the first settlers in Randolph County. There
is evidence that he was in the Valley in 1772, and that he subsequently
owned, or had a claim upon, 300 acres of land on the creek named from
him, where Alfred Hutton now lives. The tradition is that he deserted
from the Virginia army during the French and Indian War, and in his
efforts to hide he found his way into Tygart's Valley soon after the Prin-
gles, also deserters, had made their camp in a hollow sycamore on the Buck
hannon. He is said to have owned two slaves. His son's name was Jacob
and he, probably accompanied by his father, removed to Braxton County at
an early date.
Rev Homes Rolston, born 1864 in Rockingham County, son of J. H.
and Fanny (Bear) Rolston; Scotch-Irish ancestry. In 1895 at New Provi
dence, Va., he married M. Jacqueline, daughter of Thomas Campbell.
Child, Prances. In 1895 Rev. Rolston was sent to Horton as an evangelist
by the Lexington Presbytery Synod. During that year, by his efforts, a
church was built at Job, and the following year one at Horton, and in 1898
one at Harman, He preaches at those three places and at Alpina every
two weeks; and by preaching on Saturday night and three times on Sunday
he reaches a number of school houses which are not visited by any other
minister. These are on Alleghany Mountain, Laurel Fork, Glady Pork,
Shaver's Fork and at the Sinks of Gandy. In 1896 there were enough
members in the field to organize a church, and there are now 85 members.
The three churches named, with the Alpina church, were the first built in
Dry Fork District, except a Dunkard church on Horse Camp Run,
recently finished.
William Samuel Ryan, born at Beverly 1867; Irish parentage. In
1891, near Beverly, he married Virginia, daughter of John Dryberg.
Children, Chattie, Mabel St. Clair, Margaret Elizabeth, Ralph; learned
typesetting on the Randolph Enterprise under Bosworth Brothers; worked
on the Tucker County Pioneev; waseditor of the JfouH.^ai^iJrt^eKt', Wilkesboro,

FAMILY HISTORY. 455
N. C, for two years; returned to Tucker County and worked on the
Dem.ocrat under D. W. Ryan; came to Randolph in 1894 and was foreman on
the Inter-Mountain, then under the management of M. S. CornweU; worked
a year on the Tygart's Valley News, aud was again foreman on the Inter-
Mountain. In 1898 he received the Republican nomination for Constable in
LeadsvUle District, and assisted in compiling the family sketches for this
History of Randolph County.
Rev. Benjamin Taylor Rader, born 1849, son of Wm. M. and Mary
(Arbogast) Rader; German family; was married in Webster County, 1869,
to Elzina, daughter of Peter Harper. Children, Emma J., Marcellas D.,
Floyd Nestor, Sarah Elizabeth and Lora Edith. He joined the Confederate
army when fifteen years old, Elihu Hutton, Captain, J. P. Harding, first
lieutenant, Jacob Wamsley, second lieutenant, company C, 20th Va. The
other officers of the company were, Eugene Hutton, Wm. M. Rader, and
Claude G. Rader, all Randolph men. He began teaching in 1879, taught six
years in Webster County, then entered the ministry, M. P. Church, and
preached three years in Preston County, and has held the following circuits:
Masontown, Preeport, Glenville, Tyler, Hendricks, Elam, Blue Rock and
Upshur. George Washington Rains, born 1858 in Pendlebon County, son of
Tobias and Elizabeth (Harper) Rains. In 1879 he married Mary, daughter
of WUUam and Anna Jane (Carr) Jordan. Children, Cletus, Gertie A. ,
Stella M., Flodie A., Alpha E., Pearl E., Gettie Lee and Denver Hurst.
He is a lumberman and exports walnut to Germany, and was a merchant in
Harman and Job from 1889 to 1893; deals extinsively in furs and ginseng.
Gabriel Rains, born 1869, son of Amby Rains; merchant at Dry Fork,
assistant postmaster, anJ was Justice of the Peace in Tucker County.
Joseph R. Rice, bom 1869, son of John, was married in 1887 to Mollie,
daughter of Andrew Wilmoth. Children, Lewis J., Georgia B., Charles A.
and Edgar R.
William Harrison Rohrbaugh, son of John M. Rohrbaugh, born in
Upshur County, 1842; German descent; mother's maiden name Matilda
Butt; was married in 1868 to Annie, daughter of Benjamin Conley. ChU
dren, John Hampton, Edward Gay, Lena Victoria, Maud, Minter, Benjamin,
OUve and Ruth. His grandfather was one of the first settlers in Upshur
County, and lived near the famous sycamore tree which sheltered the Prin-
gles. He has his grandfather's old gun, once a flint lock, and a pair of
turnkeys for pulling teeth, dating from the past century. Mr. Rohr'iaugh
is a dairyman and cheese manufacturer, and resides one mile west of Bev
erly. His son, Edward Gay, was educated at Buckhannon and at Allegheny.
Charles H. Grant Rinehart, born 1871 in Tucker County, son of
James Rinehart; German ancestry; married at St. George, 1892, to Rebecca

456 FAMILY HISTORY.
M., daughter of Thornton and Catharine Hebb. Child, C. H. Edison; min
ister of the United Brethren Church; taught school four years in Tucker
and six in Randolph. His father was a Union soldier in Co. K, 6th W. Va.
Vol, Inft., under Captain Hathaway.

Jonathan Smith, the name of whose father is not now remembered, was
of Welch descent. There is much disagreement as to when he first came
to Randolph, but is agreed that he came with Jonathan Hutton when he
came in 1795. There is evidence, however, that Jonathan Smith had been
in Randolph long before that time. Prior to 1777 he married Jane, daugh
ter of William Currence. In 1777 his son, William Smith, was born in Ran
dolph. Again, it is found in the court records that on February 8, 1803,
Jacob Crouch married Jane, daughter of Jonathan Smith. If Jonathan
Smith did not marry until after he came with Jonathan Hutton in 1795, he
could not have had a daughter old enough to marry in 1803. The conclu
sion must be that Jonathan Smith, instead of coming for the first time in
1795, was really one of the first settlers of Tygart's Valley. His children
were WiUiam, Jane, Lydia, Samuel, Currence and John. At the time of
hiS" death Jonathan Smith was 99 years old. His son, WUliam Smith, was
born in 1777, died 1852. He married Ester, daughter of Joseph Pitman.*
Their children were Jane, who married Benoni Lazure; Samuel, who mar
ried Katie Mace; Nancy, who married Jacob WUmoth; Judy, who married
Ferdinand Mace; Christina, who married John Smith; Elizabeth and Pop,
who died young.
Milton Marcellus Smith, born 1859 in Grant County, son of Abram
W. and Caroline (Michael) Smith. In 1886, at Petersburg, he married Fan
nie G., daughter of Henrv and Sophronia (Iman) Thalaker. ChUdren, Boyd
Milford, Helen Irene. He is a merchant in Elkins (Smith & Wees). He
was educated in the public schools; began business in 1883 at Greenland
Gap, Grant County; six years later came to Randolph and became a mem
ber of the firm Smith & Pout, and later of the firm McCarty, Smith & Pout;
was appoirited postmaster at Elkins under Cleveland; is a member of the
Elkins Board of Trade, and was the first town recorder. His father was a
member of both the Virginia and West Virginia Legislatures, and his grand
father, Henry Smith, came from Hamburg, Germany.
George Alexander Smith, born 1847 in Tucker County, son of An
drew C. and Elizabeth (White) Smith. In 1867 he married in Pendleton
County Emily Catharine, daughter of Joseph and Catherine (Bennett) Mon
toney ; children, Charity Ann, Adam, William Haymond, Noah, Minor C. , Floyd,
* Joseph Pitman was a native ot Hanover,- Va. He served seven years in the Revo
lutionary War, and three years in the regular army afterwards, making ten years in all.
He then settled in Eandolph County.

FAMILY HISTORY. 45;
Margaret, Jacob S., Phoebe E.; farmer, owns 51 acres, 30 improved He
moved to Randolph in 1886, and was elected member of the board of educa
tion; his son, Minor C, is a teacher.
Andrew C Smith, born 1821 in Tucker County, son of Charies and
Hannah (Carr) Smith.. In 1843 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas
White. ChUdren, Phoebe Ann, George A., John H., Aaron, Malinda Ga
briel L., Job, Mary E.
Wn^LL^M Ambrose Smith, born 1849 in Pendleton County, son of Dan
iel C. and DeUla Smith. In 1872, in Pendleton County, he married Rebecca
P., daughter of John and Susanna Swadley. ChUdren, Delila Catherine
Elijah H., Mary Frances, Charies, Irad J., WiUiam H., Martha A, Adam
L., Eston A., ArUe Luther, Ernest E, EsteUa R.; farmer; lived in Pendle
ton untU 1898.
Charles H. Smith, born 1877 in Webster County, son of Thomas and
Phoebe (Cogar) Smith; EngUsh descent: Uves in :Mingo District.
Jacob B. Smith, bom 1845, died 1894, son of WiUiam and Alice (Mor
gan) Smith; married 1^69 to Angelina, daughter of John and Sarah (Lyle)
Ray. ChUdren, Lily R., Theodore, Earnest, George. His son Theodore
now resides in Mingo.
Job Smith, born on Rich Mountain 186'8, son of Abraham Smith. In
1889 he married Rebecca Virginia, daughter of Abraham and Catherine
(Judy) MaUow. Children, Texanna, Ella EUzabeth, Charles Otis; farmer,
owns 30 acres, 20 improved.
Abraham Smith, born 1841 in Pendleton County, son of Laban V. and
Elizabeth (Sites) Smith. In 1863 he married Rebecca, daughter of Laban
Hoffman. ChUdren, Albert C, who married Mary S. Mallow; Solomon,
who married Alice G. Teter; Job and Elizabeth.
Adam Stalnaker, whose ancestors came from Holland, was one of
the early settlers in Randolph, but before the county was formed. It is not
known whom he married. His children were, John, Adam, Andrew, Jacob,
Eunice, and three other daughters whose names are not remembered. In
1782, he was killed below Beverly by Indians. His son Adam married
Naomi, daughter of Zedekiah Morgan. Their children were, Ellen, who
married Jehu Harper, Daniel H., who married ^Miss Wiley, of Greenbrier
County, Maria, who married Isaac Baker, and Randolph, who was bom
June 17, 1808, on Piles Creek. He died in 1885. In 1830 he married
Caroline Erskine ZoU. Their children were. Dr. J. W. Stalnaker, of Green
brier County, who was a surgeon in the Confederate army, and died in
Texas; Sarah, who married P. B. Baugh, of Virginia; Caroline Erskine, who
married WUliam Preston Hix; Dr. Albert Galletine Stalnaker, who married
BeUe Paxton, of Virginia; Henry, who died young; Mary Lewis, who

458 FAMILY HISTORY.
married Joseph C. Hale and lives in Brooklyn; and Randolph Stalnaker,
bom June 8, 1846, in Greenbrier County, who now lives in Wheeling.*
Andrew Stalnaker, born_1815, died 1888, son of Jacob and Nancy
(Channel) Stalnaker; married in Lewis County, Margaret, daughter of Adam
Smith. Children, Marcellus, Adam, Eunice, Newton Kain, Mary E.,
Hannah, Caroline, Thaddeus, Henry, William, Margaret.
John I. Stalnaker, born 1830, died 1894; lived near LeadsvUle; son
of John W. and Mary (Chenowith) Stalnaker; married 1885 Mary, daughter
of John and Elizabeth (Bailey) Hilkey. His father was bom in Randolph,
May 19, 1783, and his father's father, also named John, was killed by the
Indians, according to the family tradition. His wife was named White and
came from Frederick County, Va. The Hilkeys were from Hampshire
County. Adam Stalnaker, born 1836, son of Andrew and Margaret (Smith)
Stalnaker, was married in 1859 to Virginia, daughter of Noah and Elizabeth
(McLaughlin) Harris. Children, Margaret, Lee Ann, AdeUne, Mary
Elizabeth, Virginia Belle, John, Andrew, Jasper Ployd, Judson Wayne,
Francis Terrell, Bertha, and Eva; owns 620 acres, 130 improved; has been
Constable and school trustee; was in the Confederate army, under Imboden.
He piloted the soldiers (300) sent by Jackson to cut the telegraph wire on
the top of Rich Mountain. While on this duty he was captured one mile
from Beverly at the Baker house.
Jacob Parsons Stalnaker, son of George W. , born 1844 on Stal
naker Run, mother's maiden name Melinda Daniels; was married in 1878 to
Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Reed; maiden name of wife's mother
was Susan Shelton. Children, Ada May, Matie Ellen, Wilbert Parsons,
George Edgar, Page Cameron, Nathan Bush, Carrie Rose, Maggie Lee,
Vernie Catherine and Maudie Gay. He owns a farm of 400 acres.
White Stalnaker, son of John M. Stalnaker, born 1853; mother's
maiden name Bethany Kittle; married in 1882, Rebecca Jane, daughter of
Silas Moore. Maiden name of wife's mother was Kelley. Children, Howard
and Cleo.
Thomas Jefferson Stalnaker, born 1852, son of George W. and
Malinda (Daniels) Stalnaker. His mother was a daughter of Jacob Daniels.
He married Mary, daughter of George and Betsy (Fleming) Flint. Children,
Cora A. , Edward, Belle, Robert B. , Georgia, Stella, Kate, Ila, Wm. J. and
Bryan; farmer in early life; then Constable and later went into the hotel
business in Elkins, and then went into the saloon business. In 1894 he
enlisted in the National Guards as second lieutenant.
Alfred Stalnaker, son of Garrison and Elizabeth Stalnaker, was
born in 1847, and married Mary M. , daughter of Abraham Summerfield;
*See sketch of Zedekiah Morgan for further mention.

FAMILY HISTORY. 459
and after her death he married Mary J.Wilfong,and after her death Rebecca
A, widow of Alba Stalnaker. Children, SteUa arid Hyre. He is a farmer
and carpenter, and now lives near Orlena. His father was born near Beverly
and his chUdren were Granville, Hyre, TaUman, Alfred, Almira and Eliza
beth. His grandfather was Isaac Stalnaker.
Abram Stalnaker, born 1850, son of John Stalnaker. His mother's
maiden name was Bethany Kittle. In 1877 he married Edith M., daughter
of William CoUett. Children, Harry T. , Willie, Mary Effie Kate, George L. ,
and Freddie Otto. He has lived in both Beverly and Elkins, and in the
latter town has been proprietor of the Fremont House, the Elkins House
and the Central Hotel.
Thomas Henry Stalnaker, bom 1861, son of John M. In 1887 he
married Maggie, daughter of Miles and Martha(Corley)King. Children,
Guy, Joe, Ada and Burr. His second marriage was to Ella, daughter of
Amos Mathew, 1896. His son Joe was the first child born in Elkins. He
spent one year in the West, now resides in Elkins and is a carpenter.
Isaac D. Stalnaker, bom 1848, son of Levi, was married in 1870 to
Mary E. , daughter of Washington and Malinda Taylor; child, B wight L.
He is a farmer, also pastor of^the Mt. Harmony Independent Evangelist
Church of Christ. He entered the ministry in 1894. This denomination
has one house of worship in Randolph County, on Beaver Creek, near the
Barbour line, and a large congregation. The church takes the 18th chap
ter of Mathew as its discipline, and "the Word of God as its guide".
Imboden Stalnaker, born 1862, son of Harrison H., married Belle
Mouse; chUdren, Karl and Leo; graduated at the Fairmont Normal School;
now a merchant at Harman.
Rufus Marion Stalnaker, born 1860, son of Hyre H. and Emme
line (Taylor) Stalnaker. In 1881 he married Orlena Elizabeth, daughter of
Johnson and Mary E. (Hinkle) Phares; children, Charles Wade, DoUie Grace,
and M. Blanche. He is a farmer and carpenter; has been member of the
Elkins City CouncU and Constable in LeadsvUle. The postoffice at Orlena
was named in honor of Mrs. Stalnaker.
Willie Randolph Stalnaker, born 1866, son of Hyre A. and Em-
meiine(Taylor)Stalnaker. In 1890 he married Cora, daughter of Andrew J.
and Osa(England)Thompson; children, Effie L. and Frank; was educated in
the common schools; taught one term in Tucker County; was a lumberman
seven years; now lumber inspector for the Hemelreich Company at Wom
elsdorff. He was three years a brakeman on the W.Va. Central, and spent
three years in the hotel business in Colusa County, CaUfornia.
Wilbur L. Stalnaker, son of Adam C. and DruseUa Stalnaker, born
near Elkins, married at Oakland, Md., 1898, Ota V., daughter of Randolph

460 FAMILY HISTORY.
M. and Ida E. Harper. He was educated in the common schools and took a
course in pharmacy at the Ohio Normal University. He has taught eleven
terms of school, and is now located at Elkins, as a druggist.
Alba M. Stalnaker, son of Asbury and Rachel, born 1845 and mar
ried in 1870 Rebecca A. , daughter of Adam and Emily Mouse. Children,
Thomas W., Daniel M., Emma Grace, Albina Hattie, James G., Florence
B. and Addie May; farmer on the home place; member of the M. E. Church.
His father was born near Beverly in 1807 and died in 1894, and was a son of
Isaac Stalnaker.
Daniel M. Stalnaker, born 1871, son of Alba and Rebecca A.
(Moore) Stalnaker. In 1890 he married Myrtle, daughter of Frankhn B.
and Jane (Corley) Coffman. After her death he married Ada M. Right. In
1891 he moved to Idaho, where he engaged in farming, and was employed
in the U. S. Geological Survey of that State. Two years later he returned
to Randolph and lives near Kerens. His grandfather was Asbury and his
great grandfather was John W. Stalnaker.
Harry Teter Stalnaker, born 1876, son of Abraham and Edith M.
(Chenoweth) Stalnaker; was married in 1876 near Elkins to Nellie B.,
daughter of Johnson W. and Mary (Ward) Phares. Child, Myrtle. He is
a printer, learned the trade in the Randolph Enterprise office, worked on the
Tygart's Valley News from its founding up to 1898; was Constable and en
listed in the West Virginia National Guards, 1894. In 1898 he enlisted in
the Spanish War as corporal; was released fifteen days later.
John Snyder was born on Dry Fork early in the present century.
His father, his grandfather and his great-grandfather were all named ,Iohn.
They were German, and the eldest John Snyder settled in Pennsylvania at
an early day, and from thence they moved to the South Branch, and in 1800
the father of the subject of this sketch settled on Dry Fork. John Snyder
married Lucinda Hensley, of Albemarle County, Virginia. Children, Eliz
abeth, Sampson, Mary Jane, George Washington, Henry, Phoebe, Lorenzo
Dow and Hannah. During the war he was a staunch Union man, and had
many narrow escapes. Once a large force of Confederates crossed into Dry
Fork with orders to ' ' find John Snyder and kill him. " His escape on that
occasion was due to an accident, and he never, to his dying day, knew the
danger he had been in. On another occasion he was shot by bushwhackers
who had waylaid him, and although the wound would have killed an ordi
nary man, yet his great vitality enabled him to live through it. A Confed- .
erate newspaper published a song in celebration of the attempt to murder
him, beginning with these lines:
" The Dixie boys have right smart sense.
They shot John Snyder through the fence. "
On another occasion, in 1862, at the time of Imboden's first raid to St.
George, Snyder met the Confederates in the road near that village, and the

FAMILY HISTORY. 461
fight he gave them received a special mention in Imboden's report of his
expedition. Snyder escaped through a laurel thicket. It was on that
occasion that Jane Snyder, daughter of John Snyder, performed the peril
ous ride in the night down Dry Fork to notify the Union outpost at Abra
ham Parsons' mill, where the town of Parsons now stands, that Imboden
was coming. She saved the outpost from capture, and probably also saved
the railroad at Rowlesburg from destruction; for the Confederates were
striking for that point. Jane Snyder's midnight ride through the moun
tains has often been misrepresented, both in prose and verse. The facts
are these: Imboden did not pass down Dry Pork, but went through the
wilderness over the AUeghanies to the head of Glady Fork, cutting a path,
and passed down Glady to Dry Fork. Jane Snyder learned from a spy
that the Rebels were in the woods on some mysterious expedition, and she
correctly surmised their purpose. Her father had gone to St. George the
preceding day, and it was more to save him than to notify the Federal posts
that she hastened down Dry Fork to give the alarm. She outrode the Con
federates and passed the mouth of Glady Fork( where that stream empties
into Dry Fork)before they reached that point. Thus she was ahead of
them, and gave warning of their appoach. A peculiar coincidence occured
that night as she approached the Federal pickets at Parsons' miU. The
password that night was "Jane Snyder", and it had been selected by
chance. When she approached the pickets, and was challenged, she
repUed "Jane Snyder", and they supposed it was some one with the
countersign; but it was only an accident. Among the celebrations of the
event in verse is the following extract:
The Rebels, equipped for a galloping raid.
Came over the mountain through forest and glade.
They followed no path that had ever been followed,
But through swamps where the bear and the buffalo wallowed
Long ages ago; and they took to the ridges.
And crassed the ravines without grading or bridges.
They had crowbars and axes and all kinds of tools.
And howitzers strapped on the saddles of mules;
They had powder and matches and fuses and funnels.
And they struck for the railroad to blow up the tunnels.
They were grizzled old warriors, as rugged as Odin,
And they followed the daring and dashing Imboden
Who aimed to strike quickly with blow that was bold
And come down in the night like a wolf on the fold.
There was only one thing that appeared in the way—
A squad of the Yankees out scouting that day
Were right in his road and he knew it. What next ?
The grizzly old Kebel for once was perplext.
But small things like Yankees, though squarely his road in.
Could not long block or bother the plans of Imboden.
For, in one thing he always was quick and expert—

462 FAMILY HISTORY.
To start, go and get there and never get hurt.
If it happened the Yankees he found in his path.
He slugged them, like David the Giant of Gath;
Unless it so happened the Yankees came back
With a hillside maneuver and hit him a whack
Where he looked for it least, and when such was the case,
He could double and twist at a wonderful pace
Into gorges, o'er ridges, through ravine and hollow.
Confusing his tracks till no blood-hound could follow.
"There are Yankees ahead of us," Imboden said,
"Let us flank 'em and whip 'em; file on," and he led.
The night was as dark as the Land of the Nile
When the plagues were on "Egypt; and mile after mile.
The Rebels rode sullenly. Seldom a word
To break the monotonous raindrip was heard.
The path which they followed was only a trail
On the shelves of the cliffs where the footings were frail;
While the noise of the dashing of water below
Came up through the night with a murmur of woe.
If a horse lost its footing on terrace or scar,
Aud went down the abyss — 'twas the fortune of war:
If the rider fell too and went down in the gloom.
They left him What better than that for a tomb!
Then Imboden spoke: "'Tis a treacherous track !
If the Yankees lambaste us we'll never get back."
¦'If they chase," replied one who was nobody's fool,
"We can stop them — blockading the path with a mule."
Thus they rode in that night which so many remember.
That terrible night of the stormy November,
When the winds through the pines on the mountains were roaring
And the torrents re-echoed with plashing and pouring.
But the Rebels while flanking the Federal pickets
Were flanked by a woman who rode through tbe thickets.
O'er by-paths and no paths, o'er mountains that rose
To the clouds, and their summits were spattered with snows;
;\nd she out-rode the [Rebels and came in ahead —
Tlicy were balked, they were beat; for the Yankees had fled.
Slie had warned them in time, but no moment to spare;
Tlie sentinel challenged her: "Halt! Who comes there '?"
The horse was brought up by the bit, and the rider
Replied to the sentinel's challenge: " Jane Snyder,"
The Yankees, disturbed by the sudden intrusion
l!an this way and that way in stupid confusion.
And they stumbled o'er luggage and saddles and packs.
Till slie said, "Here, the Ilebels are coming; make tracks !"
Then tliey went in stampede like the Clans of Collodcn,
And were gone when the Rel)els came down with Imboden,
And the* (iiiths that he swore were of very high rank
As he reined up liis Ikipsc- (in llie bleak river liank.
Then one said: "We will cross, and will follow their tracks."
"If we do, we'll have Mulligan right on our baclcs,"

FA^IILY HISTORY. 463
Said Imboden, adding: ""Where laurel is thick
Wc can fight them or dodge them, and give lick for lick;
But the country before us is open and level.
And Mulligan's Irish will fight like the devil.
Let us take the back track. " And they took the back track
Through the desolate mountains, stormy and black.
Captain Sampson Snyder, son of John Snyder, was born and raised
on Dry Fork. His education was limited to the common schools, and in his
early years these were few and poor. In 1861 he joined the Federal Army
at Beverly, volunteering in an Ohio company, and was soon in active ser
vice, fighting among the Alleghany Mountains as the Confederates were
pushed back across that range. He took part in the battle at McDowell in
the spring of 1862, and sometime after that he was sent to the Southwest
and became attached to General Granfs army, and took part in aU the hard
fighting leading up to the siege and capture of Vicksburg. But he was not
present when Vicksburg surrendered. Before that event he was sent back
to West Virginia to act as a guide for ^he Union forces among the mountains,
where his intimate acquaintance with the rugged country gave him pecu
liar fitness for that duty. From that time till the close of the war he was
in constant and active service, often on posts of great responsibility and
danger. On February 29, 1864, Governor Boreman commissioned him Cap
tain of the Independent Scouts of Randolph County. They belonged to the
State Guards, were clothed and provisioned by the United States and paid
by West Virginia. Captain Snyder proceeded to organize a company to
operate in the mountains of Randolph, to prevent marauding and to protect
the lives and property of loyal and peaceable citizens, as weU as to pursue
or fight Confederate forces which might invade the county. The roll of
this company, when discharged April 15, 1865, showed forty-three men.
There were more at an earlier date, but the casualities of war had reduced
the number. FoUowing are the names of those who were discharged after
Lee's surrender: Sampson Snyder, captain; John W. Summerfield; 1st ser
geant; George W. Snyder, 2d sergeant; Jesse KeUer, John H. Middleton,
Jesse Harman, Joseph Roy, corporals; George Arbogast, Daniel Bennett,
George Bishop, John S. Darrall, Absalom Echard, Henry Echard, George
Jennings, Charles Gray, Samuel Harman, Joseph Harman, WUUam Hel
mick, John W. Harper, Mathias Helmick, A. D. Jordan, Noah Jordan,
PhUip Keller, John KeUer, John W. Long, Samuel Long, Absalom ]Mick,
EUjah L. Nazelrod, Jesse Pennmgton, John P. Roy, Isaac Roy, Solomon
A. Roy, Henry Snyder, John Snyder, Benjamin Snyder, Laban Smith,
Isaac Smith, Alfred Stalnaker, Adam Wolf, George Wolf, George L. Rimer,
Mathew Collins, Solomon Huffman.
In the year 1864 occured a running fight of three days between Cap
tain Snyder's men and a force of sixty Confederate guerriUas under Cap
tain Ezekiel Harper. The Confederates had made a raid upon the store of

464 FAMILY HISTORY.
a merchant named Hart below Beverly and were retreating through the
mountains toward Pendleton when they were intercepted and surprised by
Captain Snyder at the house of Isaac Taylor, on Shaver Mountain late in
the evening. They were very hungry and had stopped there to cook a
sheep and a deer which they had killed. They had stacked their guns
some forty steps away and were in the act of sitting down to supper when
Captain Snyder's men charged from the woods, captured more than half of
the guns, and drove the Confederates into the woods. Having eaten the
supper abandoned by the Confederates, Captain Snyder pursued them to
Dry Fork, and far up on Gandy, surprised them again and captured all of
their guns except one musket. Finally they scattered through the woods,
and made their way across the Alleghanies in an almost famishing con-
didon. The Federal authorities were desirous of locating Imboden's camp, who
was believed to be on Jackson's River, and Captain Snyder was sent for to
go to Wheeling for consultation. He undertook to spy out the camp of the
Confederates, and returned to his hoifie on Dry Fork, arriving at midnight.
Two hours after he went two bed his house was surrounded by 27 Confed
erates under Colonel Elihu Hutton and he was taken prisoner, together
with others who were at the house. * He was taken with all speed to Jack
son's River, for his m.en on Dry Fork were in hot pursuit to rescue him.
His victors took his boots from him and he was compelled to walk in his
socks. His hands were tied, and as they approached Imboden's camp Col
onel Hutton, who was his special guard, held him by the coat. They were
some distance ahead of the main squad of Confederates. Captain Snyder
had quietly untied the rope which bound his hands, and suddenly seizing
Colonel Hutton, he threw him into a ditch and ran for his life, while bullets
were whizzing about his head, f He took shelter in a thicket, where the
darkness of the night made his concealment safe; but he soon discovered
that the Confederates were surrounding the woods, and he knew they would
find him at daylight. So, he emerged from his hiding while he could,
and ran across a large field and reached a mountain, where he felt that his
chance was good for escape. At daybreak he was twenty miles away on
the road toward home. His feet were worn out, and he stopped long
enough to cut off parts of his pants legs and make himself moccasins. He
arrived on Dry Fork after three days. He had located Imboden's camp,
and that was what he had been ordered to do. But he had scarcely ex
pected to gain the information in the manner he did.
Captain Snyder, in company with M. V. Bennett, had a narrow escape
*See sketch of Elihu Hutton.
tin speaking of tills afl'air, Co]. Hiilton afterwards said: "Capt. Snyder was a pow
erful man, and there was nothing to prevent him from overpowering me, taking my pis
tol from me, shooting mc with it and escaping before my men could come up, but he
contented himself with giving me a shove and then running."

FAMILY HISTORY. 455
from bushwhackers about that time. They were riding up Dry Fork in
Tucker County, when they were fired on from the woods, and Bennett was
shot through the lungs. Captain Snyder hid him under a shelving rock at
the river's edge, and with a revolver went back and fought the bushwhack
ers as long as his ammunition lasted. He kiUed a horse, and wounded one
of the bushwhackers in the arm. Bennett ultimately recovered, and after
wards married Jane Snyder, Capt. Snyder's sister.
WiUiam Harper, of Tucker County, a noted Confederate scout, was
kiUed by Capt. Snyder's company at the house of Leonard Harper, in Pen
dleton County. He refused to surrender. He. had been tracked to the
house, and was found about two o'clock in the morning, lying on the roof
of the porch, covered with white clothes. There was snow on the roof, and
he nearly escaped detection, and might have escaped had he not betrayed
his presence. One of the Federals approached a window to look out, and
Harper probably supposed that he was discovered, although he had not yet
been seen. He fired through the window, and barely noissed a soldier
inside. He then leaped off the roof and ran toward a thicket. Captain
Snyder headed him off, and met him face to face, with a fence between
them, and called on him to surrender. Harper's reply was a shot from his
revolver, which by some miracle missed the mark, although held within a
few inches of Captain Snyder's face. Captain Snyder fired and Harper fell,
but immediately attempted to rise. Captain Snyder took hold of his coat,
and Harper struck him with a knife, and he carries the scar yet. At that
moment several shots were fired, and Harper, exclaiming "Don't murder
me!" fell dead. He was a man of terrible courage, and was much feared by
the Union scouts in that region. He had piloted Garnett's defeated army
after the battle of Corrick's Ford, and had piloted Imboden on his second
raid into Tucker County. He was a brother of Captain Ezekiel Harper, of
Tucker County.
When the war closed, Capt. Snyder's company was mustered out. The
next year he was commissioned by Governor Boreman captain in the West
Virginia militia. He took up the pursuits of peace, and entered upon vari
ous lines of business on Dry Fork, where he still resides.
W. P. Snyder, M. D., born in 1859 in Charleston, son of David H. and
Mary Snyder, Scotch-Irish ancestry, was married in Barbour County to Isis,
daughter of J. H. Woodford; child. Thomas A. He graduated at the Vir
ginia Military Institute, and in the medical department of the University of
Virginia; also from the PhUadelphia Medical College. He located at Hut
tonsviUe in 1887. In 1898 he received the Democratic nommation for the
House of Delegates, and a few hours later he died of paralysis of the heart.
Prince Albert Snyder, born in 1872, son of Sampson and EUzabeth
(Bonner) Snyder, was married in 1891 to Clara Virginia, daughter of Benja-

466 FAMILY HISTORY.
min and Nellie (Puffinbarger) Bodkin; children, Glenn, Omar, Argel and
Stellman. He is a farmer on Rich Mountain.
Harmon Snyder, son of John and Barbara (Waybright) Snyder, was
born in 1821 in Pendleton County, now Highland. His ancestors were Ger
man. In 1865 he married, in Barbour County, Elizabeth, daughter of Elias
and Elizabeth (Teter) Lawson; children, John B. , Elizabeth B., Mary C,
Harmon E., Martha W., Blaine R., George W., William L., and James A. G.,
Mr. Snyder settled in Randolph in 1845 and he acquired valuable property
which was largely destroyed during the Civil War, his loss being no less
than $9,000. He was JusJ^ce of the Peace many years, and was president
of the board of education. In 1884 he was elected by Randolph and Tucker
to the Legislature. He owns 1400 acres, 400 improved. Snyder's Knob, the
highest mountain in Randolph, is named from him.
Howard Madison Snyder, born in 1865, son of W. M. and Hannah
(McNeal) Snyder, German and Irish parentage. He came to Randolph in
1888 and is a lumberman, having worked in Tucker, Preston, McDoweU, Po
cahontas, Webster and Greenbrier Counties. A bible 130 years old is one
of his souvenirs.
Thomas C. Summerfield, born on Dry Fork in 1822, son of Thomas B.
and Anna (Rains) Summerfield, English ancestry. He married Eliza, daugh
ter of Abner and Bettie (White) Carr; children, Sallie Ann, Eliza Jane, Eliz
abeth, Cinda, Christina Sampson, Thomas and Solomon; a farmer. His
mother killed an elk, about 1825, while watching a lick for deer, near the
Sinks of Gandy. The fact is also handed down through the family, as well
as through the Bonners, that the last hostile Indian who invaded that re
gion was killed near the mouth of Red Creek by Peter Peterson.
John Wesley Summerfield, born in 1842 in Pendleton County, son
of Abraham and Catherine Ann (Hensley) Summerfield. In 1862 he married
MaryC, daughter of Solomon A. and Margaret (Pennington) Roy; chil
dren, Abraham, Wesley Alfred, Maudie K. Presley, Margaret Catherine
Ann, Ida Belle, Robert W. and Melvina Alice. He went to school one month
each to three different teachers; enUsted in Company D, 10th W. Va. Vol.
Infantry, and fought with that regiment in many hard batties. He taught
school ten years, and was then elected Justice of the Peace for Dry Fork
District, and held the office twenty years, and for the same length of time
was chairman of the Dry Fork Republican Committee; and was also secre
tary of the District Board of Education; was postmaster at Harman under
the Harrison administration, and has been notary public since 1880 and has
been agent for the Dry Fork RaUroad since 1894.
Wesley Alfred Summmerfield, born in 1863, son of John W., was
married in 1889 to Lora C, daughter of Robert W. and Mary (Vandevender)
Montoney; children, Peari Blanche, Mary Chloe, Elsie, Frank Bretz and

FAMILY HISTORY. 467
Baby. He owns 175 acres, half improved; he also owns a house and lot in
Harman; was postmaster at Day's Mill under Harrison, and assistant agent
for the Dry Fork Railroad at Harman. He had few school advantages, and
when 21 years old he had not a second suit of clothes. By industry he has
worked his way up.
Mordecai Summerfield, bom 1856, son of Andrew J. and EUzabeth
(Pennington) Summerfield. In 1877 he married Lucy J. , daughter of Harvey
and Martha White; children, Andrew, Leonora E.,Sylvena A., Ulysses G.,
LiUie Frances, Benjamin Harrison, William Arthur, Oda May and Stella
lona. He owns 65 acres. 30 improved; was postmaster and deputy marshal
under Harrison.
Sampson Summerfield, born 1860, son of Thomas 0. In 1880 he mar
ried Sarah Anna, daughter of Solomon and Susanna Carr; chUdren, James
Walter, Sarah Ellen, George Kenna, RUey C, William A. and Stawyer E.
Thomas Jefferson Summerfield, born I860,, son of Thomas C, was
married in 1876 to Maria Elizabeth, daughter of Garrison Stalnaker. She
died in 1878, and in 1898 he married Ella White. Her maiden name was
Nelson. They have one child, TaUman.
Vinson Summerfield, son of Andrew J. , was born in 1863 and in 1883
he married Phoebe C, daughter of Levi and Mary Ann White; children, Al
bert, Miles, Walter, Frank, Glenn, Goldie and Peachie.
Andrew Skidmore, of English extraction, was born near Norfolk, Va.
He had three brothers, John, the eldest, born in 1735, Benjamin and Samuel.
Of these, John was probably the most noted. Be was a captain under Gen.
Andrew Lewis at the battle at Point Pleasant, and his brother Andrew was
a soldier in his company and both were wounded. Andrew subsequently
settled in Rannolph, on the river below Elkins. He commenced to dig a
mUlrace across the narrow isthmus at the bend of the river, but after the
work had progressed some time, he had a second survey made and he found
that the fall was so smaU that it would not give power enough to run the
mUl, and he abandoned the enterprise. He raised a numerous famUy, and
his descendants are found in several counties. He died at Sutton, Braxton
County in 1826, where his grave, marked by a plain stone, may be 'seen.
One of his daughters married Joseph Friend, and his eldest daughter mar
ried John Arthur, the father of Rev. Anderson Arthur, now of Webster Co.,
and of the late Nat Arthur of Wheeling. James Skidmore, son of Andrew,
lived at the railroad junction below Elkins. One of his daughters, Mrs.
Rachel Scott, still lives near HuttonsviUe, aged 82 years. Another of his
daughters, Sarah Ann, married W. P. Corley, formerly Superintendent of
Schools of Randolph, and whose son, Hon. A. W. Corley, now resides at
Sutton, Braxton Co. James Skidmore married a daughter of Jacob Kittle.
James Skidmore, born in 1838, son of WiUiam and Sarah (Evans) Skid-

468 FAIMLY HISTORY.
more, was married in 1875 to Celia, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Tyre,
children, Lizzie and James A. He was in the Union army. His father was
son of James Skidmore, and came from Pendleton. Mr. Evans, the father
of Mrs Skidmore, came from Philadelphia and died in Braxton County. The
Tyre family is French; the first of the name came to America with Lafayette.
David Skidmore, born near Elkins in 1837, son of William and Sarah.
In 1866 at Philippi he married Martha A. , daughter of James and Rebecca
(WiUiams) Corley; chUdren, Almira, Charles, Luverna, Edna, Cora, Gar
field and George. He owns 668 acres, 160 improved, three miles from Elkins.
Alpheus Skidmore, born in 1829, son of Elijah and Margaret; mar;
ried in 1853 Angeline, daughter of Maxwell and Sarah (Wilmoth) Rennix;
children, Luther M., Elijah R. , George B., Gilbert Irwin, Mary and Ira K.
Edwin Scott, born 1849, son of John K. and Rachel (Skidmore) Scott,
Irish and German parentage, was married in 1891 to Carrie L., daughter of
G. W. and P. M. Kittle; children, Stephen B., Russie and Rachel. He is a
farmer and contractor. His weight is 340 pounds; at the age of thirteen he
weighed 220 pounds. He spent several years in the Northwest where he
learned the carpenter trade. He lives in Roaring Creek District.
Benjamin Thicson Scott, bom in 1788 on the North Fork, a son of
John and Mary Scott, Irish ancestry, married Jane, daughter of William
and Polly Currence; Homer, William, Mary, John, Thomas B. and Catherine
were his children.
John J. Scott, borndn.1854, son of John K. and Rachel Scott, in 1880,
married Nancy A., daughter of Oliver and Rachel (Kittle) Scott; children,
Emma Lucretia, Simon Clay, Porter, James and Claude. He owns 156
acres, half improved. Mr. Scott has seven brothers, and with himself, their
combined weight is 2180 pounds, and their names and their weights are as
follows: Jefferson, 240; Charles, 275; Hugh, 250; James S., 258; Oliver J.,
276; Winfield, 225; John J., 276;, Edwin, 340. Their father was born in 1818
on Roaring Creek and weighed 225. He married Nancy A Skidmore, who
weighed 208. The average height of the eight sons is six feet.
Thomas Beeks Scott, born 1823 near HuttonsviUe, son of Benjamin
T. and Jane (Currence) Scott, Irish descent, was married in 1848 to Mary
Ann, daughter of Moses and Mary Hutton; his second marriage was in 1866
to Martha, daughter of Elias Wilmoth; and his third marriage was in 1875
to Rebecca, widow of Solomon Hull Parsons; children, FeUx Seymour, Lucy,
EUzabeth, Cyrus HaU, Virginia, Annie, George CUnton, Clyde and Eva
line C. He served eight terms as Justice of the Peace, and was president
of the county court. He has long been one of the leading men of the county.
Hon. Cyrus Hall Scott, son of Thomas B. Scott, was born near Hut
tonsviUe in 1856. His mother was Mary Ann, sister of Col. EUhu Hutton.
He was educated in the common schools, at the HuttonsviUe Academy, the

FAMILY HISTORY. 469
Fairmont Normal School and in the Roanoke College, graduating at Fair
mont m 1874, at Roanoke three years later. At the age of twenty-one he
was principal of the Beveriy school. He early turned his attention to law
and was admitted to practice in 1879, and the next year was elected Pros
ecuting Attorney of Randolph County and held the office dght years, in the
meantime conducting many important criminal cases which made 'him a
high reputation as a lawyer, not only in Randolph but also in neighboring
counties. Possessing indomitable will power, he rose in spite of discour
agements that would have turned back many a young man. He borrowed
money to maintain him at school the last two years, and when he left col
lege he was several hundred dollars in debt. He was placed at a great dis
advantage in his start in life; but his industry, energy and perseverance
triumphed; he forced his way to the front and was not only able to take ad
vantage of every opportunity that was presented, but also to bend circum
stances to his own advantage. The practice of his profession was attended
from the start with unusual success; and he paid his debts, accumulated
means and greatly enlarged his circle of friends. From his youth he has
been identified with the Democratic party, always serving his party with
integrity and fidelity. He was elected Mayor of Beverly four successive
terms, and was a prominent candidate for the Democratic nomination for
Congress in 1888, but was defeated by Hon. W. L. Wilson. Pour years
later he was elected to the State Senate from the Tenth Senatorial District.
He at once attracted attention in the Senate, where he was recognized as
an able leader. His vigor and attainments naturally attracted the burdens
that fell upon him in the Senate, where he was made a member of the com
mittees on mines and mining, forfeited, delinquent and unappropriated
lands, rules, a prominent member of the judiciary committee, and chairman
of the committee on Federal relations and railroads. At the subsequent
sessions of the Senate he was a most prominent figure, being the leading
member upon senatorial committees, notably the. fiduciary committee and
the committee upon railroads and upon forfeited and delinquent lands. He
was the author of the present law governing railroad freight and passenger
traffic, and also the present law concerning forfeited and delinquent lands,
both of which are working in a most satisfactory manner. He was also the
friend and patron of many other measures of great public importance,
among them the Industrial Institute BiU, the Girls' Industrial Home, Home
for Incurables, and he prepared and passed the Elkins Independent Dis
trict Law.
His record upon the Virginia Debt question was especially pleasing to
the people of the State and has given him a wide reputation as a soUd and
safe man. The elegant school building in Elkins is a monument to his
memory, for it was through his services that it was obtained. He was also

470 FAMILY HISTORY.
the author of the Davis Institute Bill, and secured its passage through the
Senate, but it f aUed in the House.
Mr. Scott still possesses a fondness for farm life. He has made judi
cious investments in real estate and is now the owner of several fine farms,
one of them near Elkins, where he has built a magnificent residence upon
the Heights. He is also the owner of large tracts of timber and coal lands,
and has been a dealer in such lands for years, and by his public services
and his private business he has risen to a position of influence and wealth.
Mr. Scott has been twice married, his wives being sisters, and the
daughters of Prof. James H. Logan, and he has one child living, about ten
years old. He resides upon his farm, and practices his profession in ad
dition to overseeing his stock. In the heated controversy over the removal
of the county seat from Beverly to Elkins he was a conspicuous advocate
of removal. He also took a leading part in the political campaign of 1898
for the election of the Democratic ticket. Governor Atkinson recognized
his prominence in 1898 by selecting him as a delegate to the National Imi-
gration Congress at Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Rev. Robert Scott, son of James Scott, born 1813, died 1887, was a
native of Ireland, moved first to Ohio, then to West Virginia. His mother's
maiden name was Margaret Jack. In 1839 at Louisville, Ky.-, he married
Rebecca, daughter of Edward Herndon; children, Robert, Paxton, Frank,
Louise, Price, Edward, Margaret and John. He was the first Presbyterian
minister in Randolph after the war, and he organized all the churches in the
Valley. He left Missouri because of his Southern sympathies. One of his
sons was a lieutenant in General Lee's army. Rev. Scott was a man of lib
eral education and of fine literary tastes.
Paxton W. Scott, son of Rev. Robert Scott, was born in 1858 and he
was married in 1885 to Lena B., daughter of William Daniels. Her mother's
maiden name was Elizabeth Isner; children, Maggie, Marie, Maudline and
Gertrude. He is a farmer, owning 560 acres near Beverly.
Jefferson Scott, bom in 1844, son of John and Rachel Scott. In
1870, in Barbour County, he married Susan, daughter of Archibald and Jane
(Corley) Wilson; children, Meda and L. D. Mr. Scott served in the army,
was wounded and was honorably discharged. A loaded shell, eight inches
long is among his keepsakes. He lives on Roaring Creek, owns 58 acres of
land on which is a 14-foot vein of coal.
George B. Scott, born 1863, son of Isaac and Mary (O'Conner) Scott;
Irish ancestry. In 1897 he married Emma, daughter of Edwin and Alice
Hunt. He worked in the iron mills of Pennsylvania for awhile, then, 1892,
entered the West Virginia University, graduating in the law course in 1895;
he also graduated in the classical course of the Ohio Wesleyan University,
and afterwards took post-graduate work in the Northwestern University at

FAMILY HISTORY. 47I
Evanston, IU. He now practices law at Womelsdorff, and is mayor of the
town. Henry Lewis Shaffer, born in Preston County in 1852 son of
Christopher and Elizabeth (Hardesty) Shaffer, was married at Rowlesburg
in 1877 to Jennie, daughter of Robert McCrum. She died four years latter
and he married Columbia EUa, daughter of Jacob and Mary E. (Jeffreys)
Nine at Newburg. Children, Cleora Ethel, Clements Esther, Edna Fay,
Clifton Earl, Beulah Vista, Evelyn Lois. He was educated in the pubUc
schools of Preston; was postmaster at Rodmer's under President Arthur,
and was different times a member of the Board of Education. He came to
Elkins in 1889 and became a partner in the firm of Shaffer Brothers, general
merchants; next was sole owner, and finally sold the stock to the Laboririg
Men's Co-operating Association, and became general manager. He was
Town Recorder of Elkins in 1896.
William P. Scruggs, bom 1856 in Buckingham County, Va., son of
P. T. and Rebecca N. (Newton) Scruggs, was married in Hampshire
County in 1877 to Katie, daughter of Jeremiah and Ann (Day) Keister, of
Strasburg, Va. Children, Clarence H. and Sanello R. He is a photog
rapher; travelled in Virginia and North Carolina before coming to West
Virginia. He settled in Hampshire County, and in 1892 was elected Justice
of the Peace there. When he came to Randolph he located at Whitmer,
engaging in the mercantile business. He is a member of the M. E. Church,
and also a Free Mason. His father was born in 1828, and was a Confeder
ate soldier; and his grandfather, Thomas, who was born in 1795, was in
the War of 1812. John Scruggs was his great-great-grandfather, and his
great-great-great-grandfather came from Europe,
James A. Snelson, born in Virginia, 1813, died in 1877, son of John
and Jemima (Armstrong) Snelson. In 1834 he married EveUna T. Arm
strong, who died in 1861, and he married Catherine Channell. ChUdren,
Louisa E., Fannie S., Henretti R., Patsy T., James G., Mary S., Thomas
P., Sarah J., EUetha, Leonidas, Lois and French. He came to Randolph
about 1840, and owned 634 acres, 200 improved, near HuttonsviUe.
Lee Jesse Sandridge, born in Upshur County 1870, son of John
Frederick and Elmanza (Lyman) Sandridge; was married at Beverly, 1896,
to Mrs. Jessie May Houston, daughter of James D. Wilson. Mr. Sandridge
graduated from Buckhannon Seminary. In 1892 he went to Kansas and
prospected in the lead and zinc mines. "In 1894 he returned to West Vir
ginia and came to Randolph as a stone-cutter and mason, and in 1895 was
elected sergeant of Beverly. He engaged in the building, loan and life in
surance business, His father Uved in Albemarle County, Va., and his
grandfather, Lindsey Sandridge, Uved in the same county and was a brick-
mason and molder.

472 FAMILY HISTORY.
William H- Sidwell, born in Preston County, 1842, son of Henry
and Nancy Sidwell; married Jane, daughter of William Lawrence, and after
her death he married Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph and Barbara Funk.
Children, Joseph S., Clarence A., James I., William A., Walter L. and
Ernest. He lives at Montrose; was in the Union army under Averell.
William Henry Steeth, born in Lewis County 1852, son of D. A.
and Lucinda (RatcUff) Steeth; married 1885 Malissa Frances, daughter of
Hiram Lamb. He was educated in the common schools. The fort at
Clarksburg sheltered his ancestors in Indian times. Beginning business
for himself as a carpenter, he has accumulated property and is now a mer
chant in Elkins.
J. A. Sturm, born 1854, son of P. B. and Elizabeth (Barnhouse) Sturm.
In 1874, in Marion County, he married Ida, daughter of Elias and Susanna
(Freeman) Ryan. Children, Benjamin T., William H., Jesse P., Eddie L.,
Elias O. , Elizabeth M. , Earl J. He has been a teamster all his life.
Gilmore P. Sims, bom in Lewis County 1829, son of Wm, and Margaret
(Divers) Sims; German and English; was married in 1854 at Cumberland,
Md., to Mary, daughter of Peter and Nancy (Marsh) Murray; hotel keeper
at Pickens. He formerly lived at Piedmont and was sheriff of Mineral
County and postmaster at Piedmont.
Conner C. Sharpless, bom 1871, in Mineral County, son of John P.
and Mary J, (Tichnel) Sharpless; Irish ancestry; was married 1893 to Lulu
B., daughter of Sylvanus T. and Sarah (Ark) Purkey. Child, Joseph Del-
ton. He is a farmer.
Daniel Adam Sites, born 1865 in Pendleton, son of Adam and Cath
erine (Simmons) Sites. In 1886 he married Vina, daughter of Vinson and
Phoebe (Flanagan) Pennington. Children, Elizabeth, Phoebe Alice, Wash
ington J. , Alston and Hobert. He came to Randolph in 1872 and began as
a laborer; now is a foreman on the Dry Fork Railroad.
John Sassi, born 1836 in Switzerland; married 1862 in Ohio to Louise
Wagner, Children, Henry, Rudolph, Mary, Evaline, John Andrew, Julius
Frederick, Amelia, Ella C. He owns 100 acres.
William Hamilton Shobe, born near Petersburg, 1842, died 1894,
son of William and Susan (McBee) Shobe. In 1868 he married Mary Jane,
daughter of Daniel and Phoebe (Graham) Judy. Children, Daniel, Charles
Wilbur, Carrie Rebecca, and Phoebe Lena. By trade he was a miller until
1892; then was proprietor of Shobe House, in Harman, until his death; was
postmaster at Harman under Cleveland; was in Confederate army four
years. George Washington Shront, born 1869 at Kingwood, W. Va.;
German parentage; was married in 1894 to Rachel, daughter of Leonard

FAMILY HISTORY. 473
R. Howe, Her mother was Maria Myers before marriage. Children,
Minerva, Ellen, Nettie V. , Lavina. He is a dairyman.
Watson Diven Sharp, born 1872, son of WUUam W. , and Elizabeth
(Barlow) Sharp; Scotch-Irish; married 1891 in Pocahontas County to Eliza
beth E., daughter of Ebenezer and Margaret (Swecker) Mace. Children,
Ivy Cameron, Myrtle Rowena, Grace Dale. He owns 190 acres, 100 im
proved; kept the Mingo hotel a year; was licensed in 1897 by the M. E.
Church South, to preach.
Henry Spies, born 1857 in Germany, son of John and Katherine
(Klappart) Spies; married 1892 to Lina, daughter of Frederick and Henri
etta Abelman. Children, Louise, Edwin Otto, Annie Katie, Henritta, Her-
mine. He is a merchant and lumberman at Pickens.
Coleman J. Schoonover, born in 1839, son of Thomas and Bashaba
Schoonover, German parentage. In 1865 in Tucker County he married Sus
an, daughter of James R. and Mahala (Mason) Parsons. After her death,
1870, he married Rachel E. , daughter of Henry V. and Margaret (WUmoth)
Bowman; children, Carl W., Harriet B., James T., Lillian Adaline, A. Ward,
Sansom E. and Leslie Clare. He is a farmer and owns 347 acres, 200 im
proved on Leading Creek, and a half interest in 3000 acres. When he was
twenty-one years old he began business for himself as a mail carrier from
Kerens to Oakland, Md. , three days being required for the trip, and he con
tinued at it until the war. He then farmed in the Horse Shoe, in' Tucker
County, in partnership with David Bonnifield, on land belonging to William
Harper. At the close of the war he began to buy real estate and to deal in
live stock. He took his first drove to Harrisonburg, Va. , and in the succeed
ing years drove to Richmond and other eastern points, handling large num -
bers of cattle and horses; and he is still in the business and still finds profit
able markets in Virginia. He has always been very successful in all of his
undertakings. His father, who was born on Leading Creek, was also a large
stock dealer, and was a successful business man, leaving land at his death
which is now worth $25,000, Daniel Schoonover, grandfather of the sub
ject of this sketch, was born in the Horse Shoe in 1780 and died at the age
of ninety-one. He made the first improvement, in 1804, an Cherry Tree
Fork, Randolph County. He was in the War of 1812, and his father's name
was Benjamin, and he was born in Connecticut in 1755, and when a young
man settled in what is now Tucker County, at the mouth of Horse Shoe Run
and lived there several years and then moved to Shaver's Fork, in Randolph
and lived to an old age. Mrs. Bashaba Schoonover was a daughter of Dr.
Thomas C. Nutter of Barbour County.
Lemuel Sturm, born 1827, in Marion County; son of David S. and
Rebecca (Moore) Sturm; German and Irish ancestry; married at Fairmont,
1866, to Mattie C, daughter of Armstead Martin. ChUdren, W. T., Carrie,

474 FAMILY HISTORY. .
Lawrence, Minnie, Mollie, Charles R. ; 2nd marriage to Ida, daughter of
Washington Yokum, 1895. He served 3 years in Co. H., 107th IlL Reg't,
and saw active service in the ' 'March to the Sea. " His grandfather was in
the Revolutionary War. Owns 751 acres, 150 improved.
G. J. Staunton, born 1860, son of John and Bridget Staunton; Irish
parentage. In 1893 he married Miss H. M. Joyce, daughter of Patrick >nd
Bridget Joyce. Children, Mary S., B. Veronica, Cyril J. He was a black.
smith and wagon maker at Womelsdorff. He worked in iron and steel mills
at Braddock and Pittsburg, and then at Bellaire, Ohio. Later he
was in the mercantile business at Philippi. His father, who was post
master at Middle Pork 20 years, and who was born in Ireland, had thirteen
children, ten being boys.
Noah Alexander Shreve, born 1845, son of James and Emily J.
(Geer) Shreve; married 1871 to Amanda, daughter of Thomas and EUza
beth Quick. Children, Gussie M., Eugene D., Effie M., Rufus S., Berling
S., Flossie A.. Claudie B. , Jessie J. and Erastus B.
Lorenzo Dow Strader, son of Valentine and Mary (Jackson) Strader,
Dutch and English ancestry, bom in Upshur County November 13, 1839;
married in 1871 to Maria S., daughter of .ludson and Philadelphia B. (Rees)
Blackmail. Children, Judson Floyd, Mary Dow, Helen B. , Wilbur J. , Phil
adelphia R. Mr. Strader was admitted to the practice of law at Buckhan
non in 1868, and the next year removed to Beverly, and has practiced at
that -bar longer than any other lawyer of Randolph County. Before begin
ning the study of law he had seen service in the Civil War, in the Federal
army. He belonged to Company E, 1st W. Va. Cavalry, and took part in
the Battle of Rich Mountain in July, 1861. He was in the Kanawha cam
paign, and was at Carnifex Perry immediately after the battle. He was in
the engagements at ' McDowell, Cedar Mountain, Second Bull Run, and
many others. The Straders came from Holland at a very early period in
American history. The line of descent cannot be traced with certainty
during the first generations in America, due chiefiy to different spellings of
what evidently was the same name; but they settled in New Jersey, and
later moved to the South Branch in what is now, Hardy or Grant -County.
There was a considerable colony of Hollanders (Dutch) on the South Brarich
very early, and the Straders were among them. When George Washing
ton was surveying near Moorefield for Lord Fairfax, about 1748, he spoke
in his diary of the "Dutch people" who came to his camp, and "who would
not speak English." Among those Dutch people are forind the ancestors
of some of the best people of the State.
The grandfather of the subject of this sketch was John Strader, and
he had two brothers, Christopher and Michael. At an early date, not as
certained with certainty, the three brothers left South Branch, and Michael

FAMILY HISTORY. 475
and Christopher went to Ohio, while John settled in what is now Upshur
County, at the mouth of Little Sand Run, one mile above Buckhannon.
He was twice married, the first time to Miss Post, by whom he had ten
children; and the second time to Miss Cooper, by whom he had two, one of
whom, Valentine, was the father of L. D. Strader, and was born 1818. He
married Miss Mary Jackson, the daughter of Edward H. Jackson, whose
wife was a Love and whose mother was a Haddan. He lived two miles
above Buckhannon. Edward H. Jackson's father was John Jackson, and
he' was twice married, first to a Miss Cozad, and then to a Haddan. This
John Jackson's father was also named John, and he was an Englishman,
and married a talented English woman named Cummins. Thus the Jack
son family is traced to England, and to- the common ancestor John, who
married Miss Cummins. From him Stonewall Jackson descended. He
was Stonewall's great-grandfather, in a Une as follows: John Jackson's
son Edward (brother to the John above mentioned) married Miss Haddan,
and they had a son, Jonathan, and Jonathan's son was Stonewall Jackson.
In the above sketch there are two Edward Jackson's mentioned and they
should not be confused. Stonewall Jackson's grandfather was Edward,
andL. D. "Strader's grandfather was Edward H., and the former was an
uncle of the latter. The Jackson family through its intermarriages became
connected with the leading families of Central West Virginia, and the de
scendants and relatives constitute a large percentage of the population in
Randolph, Upshur, Lewis and Harrison Counties. Judson Floyd, son of
L. D. Strader, is a lawyer, practicing at Beverly. He is a graduate of the
West Virginia University.
Michael See, who was a German and spoke the language in his fami
ly, is beUeved to have been born in Pennsylvania. At any rate, he moved
from that State to the South Branch about 1765. His father's name was
Frederick Michael See, and but little else is known of him, except that he
had a son Adam, but Adam never lived in Randolph. Michael was one of
the early settlers and his children married into several of the leading fam
Uies nearly a century ago, viz: Anthony See married Julia Leonard, "Adam
married Margaret Warwick, Polly married George See, Barbara married
William McCleary, John married Miss Stewart, and Noah married Marga
ret Long. Adam C- See, son of Michael, was a prominent man early in the history
of Randolph. He was admitted to practice law at the Beverly Bar in 1793
and in 1798 he was Prosecuting Attorney. In 1800 he was a captain of the
militia. He married Margaret, daughter of Jacob Warwick, and following
are the names of their children: Mary, EUza, Rachel, Christina, Margaret,
Dorothy, Hannah, Charles, Jacob and George. Mary married Andrew
Mathews and lived in Pulaski County, Va. ; Eliza married Dr. Robert Gamble
and lived near the "Old Stone Church" in Augusta County; Rachel mar-

476 FAMILY HISTORY.
ried Col. Paul Mc Neill of Pocahontas Couhty; Christina married Washing
ton Ward and lived in Randolph; Margaret married Washington Long; Dor
othy married John A. Hutton; Hannah married Henry Harper and moved to
Missouri; Charles married Dr. Squire Bosworth's daughter; George married
Polly See; Jacob married Mary Baxter of Lexington, Va. He was Sheriff
of Randolph in 1848, and subsequently moved to Tucker County where he
died about the close of the war.
Albert Lee See, son of Adam, born in 1854, was married in 1880 to
Minerva, daughter of John M. and Mary Jane Crouch; children, Alice, Annie
May, William Cameron and Bernard Lee; owns 150 acres at Elkwater. His
grandfather was George See.
George Washington Salisbury, bom 1831, son of David and Eliza
beth (Conrad) Salisbury; English ancestry; married, 1872, in Webster
County to Mary B., daughter of John H. and Rebecca (Crouch) Mace.
Children, Flora, Perry Wade, Winfield, Hancock, Ella B. , Lot and Whitney.
He is a farmer, owns 150 acres, half improved; was a lieutenant in the
Confederate army.
Presley Calvin Simmons, bom 1849 in Hardy County; son of Sand-
ford Y. and Susan (Bobo) Simmons; English descent. He was married in
1875 in Hardy County to Sallie, daughter of John and Rachel (Jones)
Brown. Children, Ursula Williams, Clara Maude, Conner Baker, Ed.,
Susan Virginia, Edna Lee, Ethel May, Calvin Snyder, Kate, Grade and
Linnie. He is a farmer on Red Creek.
Jacob Simmons, born 1835 died 1863, son of Jonas J. and Mary (Stal
naker) Simmons; married 1855 to Sarah A., daughter of John Haines.
ChUdren, Paul, John and Nancy. He was a Federal soldier and scout, and
was one of the guides acting with the Union forces at Rich Mountain, 1861.
On July 3, 1863, while at his home on Middle Fork Mountain, his house was
surrounded by twenty-four Confederates who demanded his surrender. He
declined and fired upon them with deadly effect. They returned the fire,
wounding him, and he died in a few hours.
Valentine Simmons, born 1816, in Pendleton County, son of Henry,
was married in 1835 to Jemima, daughter of John and Elizabeth Grim.
Children, Chesley, David, Ophelia, William, Harman, John, Phoebe J.,
Sophia, Jefferson and Mary.
William E. Simmons, born 1847, son of Daniel W. and Mary (Hull)
Simmons; German parentage. In 1868 he married Evaline, daughter of
Tobias Long, and she dying, he married EUen, daughter of Hezekiah Sim
mons of Valley Head. Children, Drusilla L., French W., S. T., Everett,
Evaline and Albert.
Ira Shockey, born in 1843 in Ohio, son of Jacob and Minerva (Haines)
Shockey, was married in 1865 to Melisse J. , daughter of B. and Sally New-

FAMILY HISTORY. 477
Ion; chUdren, Jacob B., Mary B., Mattie L., Charles B., Andrew D., Manda
M., James H., Blaine L. , Mamie and Harrison. He is a farmer, owns 260
acres; is postmaster at Long. He belonged to the Union Home Guards, of
Washington County, Ohio, and in 1865 he was mustered into the regular U.
S. army. Christopher C. Swecker, born 1834, son of Samuel; married 1857 to
Ann Couger. Children, Barbi, Dinah, Andrew L. , Jacob A. He has lived
on Elk River since 1861; he had a grist mill for many years and let his
neighbors grind toll-free, unless they saw fit to pay, in which case a box
was provided into which they poured toll. A flood upset his mill in 1896,
and his neighbors mourned the calamity. He has scores of bee- hives about
the yard, and on quiet afternoons he may be seen sitting on his porch catch
ing bees in his fingers as if they were flies. He is a Dunkard, and moved
to that place to escape the Civil War. Soldiers never penetrated that re
gion but once.
Andrew J. Swecker, son of Samuel, born 1836, married 1873 to Sa
rah Fretwell. Children, George C, Charles B., William, Anna; farmer.
T.
Isaac Taylor, the date of whose birth is unknown, settled on Cheat
River at a very early day. His children were, John, who married Susan
Coberly; Washington, who married Melvina Chenoweth; Polly, who mar
ried WiUiam Wilmoth; Jemima, who married Samuel Wilmoth; Elizabeth,
who married Edwin Stalnaker; Sarah who married Hamilton Skidmore;
Caroline, who married Archibald Wilmoth; Susanna, who married Samuel
Channel; Rebecca, unmarried; Nimrod, who married Margaret Coberly;
James, who married Deborah Skidmore.
Nimrod Taylor, born 1815, son of Isaac; married, 1834, to Margaret,
daughter of Levi Coberly. Children, Martha Ellen, Washington Kiner,
Lucinida, Phoebe Melvina, Hamilton Skidmore, John Columbus, James
Monroe, Columbia Jane, Isaac Louis, Margaret Elizabeth.
John Taylor, born 1802, died 1886; son of Isaac; was married in 1826
to Susanna, daughter of Levi Coberly. Children, Alfred, Amanda, James
Allen, Felix J., John Andrew, WUliam C, Perry, Elam B., Columbia,
Emma J., Almeda. He was a member of the Virginia Legislature two
terms and of the West Virginia Legislature two terms.
Allen Taylor, bom in 1831 on Cheat River; son of John and Susan
Taylor; was married in 1852 to Jemima, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth
Ward. After her death he married Elethea, daughter of John K. and Sarah
Chenoweth. Children, Louisa, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Florida and WUliam C.
H. He has been a merchant and farmer; owns 570 acres and lives in
Elkins. His grandfather, Isaac Taylor, came from Kentucky and married
Elizabeth Hayes on the South Branch.

478 FAMILY HISTORY.
Andrew Taylor, son of John, was born 1835 and was married in 1858
to Louisa D. , daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Ward. Children, Blain W. ,
Annie Laurie, Ida B. and Gettie V. He is a farmer near Elkins, owning
440 acres. His father was Justice of the Peace and member of the Legis
lature of Virginia; was bom in 1802 and died 1887.
Hamilton S. Taylor, son of Nimrod, born 1844; Scotch; married in
1866 to Elizabeth M. Vanscoy. Children, WiUiam C, Dorsey P., Lacy M.,
Lucy B. ; fanner and merchant.
Felix Taylor, son of John and Susan Coberly Taylor, was born on
Shaver's Fork in 1833, and was married in 1859 to Lucinda, daughter of
Nimrod Taylor. Children, Sheffey, William Haymond and Emma Harriet.
He owned 375 acres on Shaver's Fork, but in 1893 he moved to Kerens,
although he still works his farm.
Washington Coyner Taylor, born 1838, died 1896, son of Nimrod
and Margaret Taylor; was married in Pendleton 1861 to Jane, daughter of
Elijah Nelson. Children, Elam E., Samuel Lee, Nimrod, Lizzie, French,
Alice, Delphia, Maud, Ella; farmer. Nimrod Taylor was born 1815, son of
Isaac Taylor, who was born in Kentucky, 1781, and married Elizabeth Hays
on the South Branch about 1803.
Elam, Elijah Taylor, bom 1862, son of Washington C. Taylor; mar
ried 1885 on Shaver's Pork to Lydia Ann, daughter of Levi and Mary (Can-
field) Coberly. Child, Marvin Lucius; elected Constable in LeadsvUle Dis
trict in 1892 and in 1896; farmer, owns 160 acres, 50 improved.
Sheffey Taylor, son of Felix and Lucinda Taylor; was born on
Shaver's Fork in 1860, and when twenty-three years of age he married
Nanny Ellen, daughter of Job W. and Martha Daniels. Children, Earlie
O'Perrell, Delia Wesley, Odbert Haymond, May Jackson, Opal Mamie and
Marian Frances. He is a merchant at Kerens, but formerly was a teacher
and- one of the assessors of Randolph. He has a farm of 134 acres, 80
cleared, and is a member of I. O. O. F.
Blain Ward Taylor, bora near Elkins, December 15, 1859, son of
Andrew and Louise Dyre Taylor; English ancestry. On February 13, 1889,
at Lexington, Va., he married May, daughter of Colonel Alfred H. and
Mary Blair (Paxton) Jackson, of Weston, W. Va. Children, Mary Louise,
Elizabeth Jackson, Beatrice Washington' May. Alfred H. Jackson was
a major on Stonewall Jackson's staff, and was colonel of the Thirty -first
Virginia Regiment and was killed at the battle of Slaughter Mountain. The
subject of this sketch received his early education in the public and private
schools of his native county, and commenced teaching in the public schools
when fourteen years old. He graduated at the Fairmont State Normal
School, one ol the leading educational institutions of West Virginia, and he
was afterwards employed as a teacher in that school. He served during

FAMILY HISTORY. 479
two sessions as a committee clerk in the West Virginia Legislature; in 1882
was appointed to revalue the lands of Randolph. He was twice elected su
perintendent of the schools of Randolph; was chief clerk of the State De
partment of West Virginia during Governor Fleming's administration;
spent two years in the railway mail service. In January, 1894, he was ap
pointed chief clerk of the Dead Letter Office at -Washington; and in Sep
tember, 1895, was promoted to the position of Superintendent of the Divi
sion of Post Office Supplies; in .lanuary, 1897, he was promoted to the
office of Chief Clerk of the Post Office Department, which position he now
holds. During his residence in Washington he has taken the Degree of
L. L. B. and L. L. M. , at Columbia University.* He has successfully passed
bar examination in the District of Columbia and has been admitted to prac
tice in all the courts of that jurisdiction, and in the circuit court of Ran
dolph County, and in the supreme court of the State.
Annie Laurie Taylor, M. D. , daughter of Andrew Taylor, having
chosen the profession of medicine, permitted no obstacle to stand in her way
to the attainment of a thorough education, fitting her for her responsible
work. She attended the public schools and at the early age of fourteen be
gan teaching. A three-years course at the Fairmont Normal School sup
plemented the education obtained in the public schools; and she resumed the
work of teaching, and made of it a success in every particular; but that not
being her ideal profession, she constantly held in view the higher calling of
a physician, and in 1894 she entered the Woman's Medical College of Balti
more and graduated with high honors in the class of 1897 She then took
the post-graduate course at the Laura Memorial College of Cincinnati, and
also pursued her studies in the Clinical and Pathological School in the same
city in 1898, She located temporarily at Elkins where phenomenal success
attended her practice of medicine and surgery. But in order to reach a larger
field, she selected Newark, Ohio, as her home.
Samuel Lee Taylor, born 1864 on Shaver's Fork, son of Washington
C. Taylor. His mother's maiden name was Jane Nelson. In 1887 he mar
ried Siba, daughter of TaUman Stalnaker, and after her death he married
Ella, daughter of G. W. and Virginia (Isner) Triplett. Children, Ira and
Guy. He owns 316 acres, 40 improved, on Craven's Run. He is a member
of the I. O. O. P.
Lacy Malory Taylor, born 1873, son of Hamilton S. and Elizabeth
M. Taylor, was married in 1892 to Zora Ettie, daughter of Israel and Susan
Canfield. Children, Ophie and Harley R. He is a farmer and blacksmith,
owns 40 acres, 20 improved.
Charles M. Taylor, born 1868, son of Curtis and Martha (Arbogast)
Taylor; English ancestry; lives near Mingo.
* In his senior year at the University he was unanimously elected chairman of the
executive' committe of his law class, one of the highest honors of the class.

480 -FAMILY HISTORY.
Francis Marion Taylor, son of George W. and Malinda (Chenoweth)
Taylor. He married Emma, daughter of John Taylor, and upon ber death
married Miss Coffman; she dying, he married Mollie Wright. He died in
Charleston, 1898.
Willie C. H. Taylor, born 1866; son of Allen and Jemima Taylor;
married in Barbour County, 1893, to Nettie, daughter of John Moss; child,
Byron; carpenter and undertakes in Elkins; taught two schools, one in
Tucker and one in Randolph. Mrs. Taylor's father was a merchant at Cal
houn a number of years.
Elam Dowden Talbott, born November 8, 1857, near Philippi, Bar
bour County; son of WUliam Woodford and Sarah (Simon) Talbott; was
married at Beverly, June 15, 1886, to Miss Lutie Lee, daughter of Squire
Newton and Florence A. (Brown) Bosworth. Children, Eva Bosworth,
Marguerite, Eugenia, Winifred and William Donald. Mr. Talbott was edu
cated at the West Virginia University and in law at the Universities of Vir
ginia and West Virginia, and practices his profession at Beverly and in
other courts throughout the State. He spent two years on the western
frontiers, herding cattle, hunting, prospecting and traveling. The Talbott
family is one of the oldest, not only in America, but in England. The
founders of the name in England crossed to that country from Normandy
with William the Conqueror more than nine hundred years ago. The
immediate ancestors of the subject of this sketch came from England to
Virginia early in the history of that State. William Talbott, the great-
great-grandfather of E. D. Talbott, was born in England, and located in
Fairfax County, Va. , while young. He had three children who were born
in Fairfax County — Richard, Cotteral and Charity. In 1788 Cotteral Tal
bott was married^ in Randolph County to Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob
Reger. Richard Talbott, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch,
settled in what is now Barbour County, W. Va., in 1780. A portion of the
old homestead in Barbour is still in the Talbott family. He was born No
vember 16, 1764, and was, therefore, 16 years old when he came to Barbour.
Be was the youngest of the family. Their father had died in Fairfax
County, when they were young, and Richard was bound out. The man to
whom he was bound treated him badly, and his sister Charity, who was
eldest of the three, aided him- to escape, which he succeeded in doing, and
he accompanied his mother, his brother and his sister across the Allegha
nies, and they made their home in Barbour.
In 1788 Richard Talbott married Margaret Dowden, who was born De
cember 25, 1776, and who lacked three days of being twelve years old at
the time of her marriage. Thirteen chUdren were bom to them, ten boys
and three girls. The names of the children, with the dates of their births,
are as follows: Samuel, bom December 13, 1790; Mary Ann, born Novem-

ELAM DOWDEN TALBOTT

FAMILY HISTORY. 483
ber 7, 1792: Jacob, born September 3, 1794; Abraham, born October 16,
1796; Isaac, born September 2, 1798; Robert, born February 3, 1801; EUsha,
bom January 7, 1804; SUas, born June 11, 1806; Absalom, born September
22, 1807; Elam, born July 6, 1810; Zachariah, born AprU 13, 1813; Mar
garet, born October 27, 1815; EUzabeth, bom December 15, 1819. Only one
of these children is now living, she being the wife of George Gall, of Bar
bour County.
Robert Talbott, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, married
Miss Mary Woodford, whose grandmother was a daughter of Lord Howe,
and who had married clandestinely Colonel William Woodford, an officer of
the British Army. Colonel Woodford had fought the Colonists three years,
and then joined the Americans and fought against the British till the close
of the war. He subsequently located in Western Virginia, where his de
scendants still live, and where his granddaughter married Robert Talbott.
The chUdren of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Talbott were, John, Richard, David,
WUliam Woodford, Salathiel, Marion, Robert M., Perry, Peggy, Hannah,
Josiah and Mary. Ten of the children are still living, all in West Vir
ginia.- except one who moved to Appleton City, Mo. Robert Talbott was a
farmer' and owned a large tract of land on the waters of Hacker, near the
Beverly and Fairmont turnpike.
"William Woodford Talbott, father of the subject of this sketch, mar
ried Sarah, daughter of Abraham Simon, of Barbour County. Their chil
dren were as follows: Salathiel M., Melvin, Lewis WUson, Elam Dowden,
Abram Ira, Fitzhugh Lee, William Floyd, Wateman T., Robert Dellett,
Mary Florence, Virginia B. and Rosa May.
Lewis Wilson Talbott, M. D., son of William Woodford and Sarah
(Simon) Talbott, was born on Stewart's Run, Elk District, Barbour County,
November 25, 1855; married in 1893, at Beverly, to Miss Mary Evlyn,
daughter of Squire Newton and Florence Amelia (Brown) Bosworth. Chil
dren, Richard Bosworth, William Brown and Virginia Catherine. The sub
ject of this sketch supplemented a common school education by a course in
the West Virginia College and in Jefferson College, Greene County, Pa.
Aftej- this he taught school for a year and a half, and then studied medi
cine 'with Dr. John W. ^sworth, of Philippi. Following this he entered
the Medical Department of the Maryland University at Baltimore, and
graduated from that institution in 1883. Immediately after that he com
menced the practice of hi^ profession in Glade District, Barbour County,
and remained there two years. On August 4, 1884, he went to Beverly and
practiced there untU 1893. He then went to New York City where he took
a post-graduate course, and upon his return he resumed the practice of
medicine and surgery. In 1896 he located at Elkins where he enjoys a
large and successful practice in his chosen profession.
Rezin Howe Talbott, born 1871 at Philippi; son of Irvin Benton and

484 FAMILY HISTORY.
Virginia C. (Zinn) Talbott; English ancestry; married 1892 to Columbia,
daughter of James Shoemaker. Children, Garland and Winifred. Mr.
Talbott is among the foremost artists and decorators of the State; he came
to Randolph in 1886, and located at Huttonsville; learned the carriage
painter's trade under Edward Sheheidtlin; came to Elkins three years later
and served under James Allen, painter and decorator, from Long Island,
working on the residence of Hon. S. B. Elkins. Since then he has worked
exclusively in the city of Elkins. He fresco"fed the residence of Hon. H. G.
Davis, and did about all the other artistic decorating in the city. His sign
painting has an originality and charm about it which bespeak the true
artist, many of his designs being relieved by views from nature. He worked
a year at the photography business, and brought to this the same origin
ality and taste which distinguish his painting.
Francis Marion Talbott, born 1862, in Doddridge County, son of
Francis M. and Elizabeth (Linger) Talbott; English parentage; in 1884,
near Philippi, he married Mary Jane, daughter of Isaac S. and Mary Poling.
Children, Okey Stanley, Sanford Wayne, Harry Corwin, Harlin Boyd, Lulu
Maude, Madge Elizabeth, Cecil Forrest; farmer and stockman; owns 900
acres oh Shaver Mountain. His paternal grandfather crossed the Alle
ghanies eighteen times before being permitted to remain in peace, the In
dians driving him back every time. He finally settled in Barbour County.'
The father of the subject of this sketch was a soldier in the Civil War, and
was killed near the mouth of Leading Creek, in Gilmer County.
Nicholas W. Talbott, born 1859, in Doddridge county ; son of Marion
and Elizabeth (Linger) Talbott; English parentage; married 1875 at Philip
pi, to Harriet, daughter of Philip and Martha (Swearenger) Burger; chU
dren, Blanche, Newton, Armina, Howard, Lucy, Nora. He owns 100 acres,
25 improved; by trade he is a carpenter, and was Justice of the Peace in
1896. John Triplett was the first of his name in Randolph County, and when
nineteen years of age he came from Baltimore, Md. , where he was raised.
The date of his coming is not certainly known, but was about 1795. * He
married SaUie Kittle in 1800 and lived several years on Tygart's VaUey
River, about two miles from the site of Elkins. Of this marriage, nine child
ren were born. After the death of his wife, he married Mrs. Nancy Kittie,
a widow, and eight children were born to them. .His descendants are scat
tered throughout the United States. He died in,1876 at his home on Kelly
Mountain. Of his numerous children there are living at this time only Mrs.
Eunice, widow ot Isaac Taylor, Mrs. Rachel, widow of Arnold Wilmoth,
and Randolph Triplett, in this county; Mrs. Martha E., widow of Amasa
Kittle, of Lake City, Mo., Hickman Triplett, of Cavendish, Idaho, and
Anthony Triplett, of Taylor Co., W. Va.

FAMILY HISTORY. 485
David Blackman Triplett, born 1833, son of Bphriam and Prudence
Triplett, was married in 1844 to Christina, daughter of Isaac and Eunice
Taylor. Children, Sylvanus Squire, Judson, Eunice Arcelia and Perry C.
He is a farmer and stonemason, living on Kelly Mountain. John Triplett
was his grandfather.
Sylvanus Triplett, born 1855, son of David and Christina Triplett,
was married in 1866 to Anzina, daughter of MUton and Susie Triplett. They
have one son Zan P. He lives on Kelly Mountain and owns 40 acres.
Elijah Triplett, born in 1857, son of Jacob and Hulda (Kittle) Trip
lett, was married in Cumberland, 1892, to Caroline, daughter of Charles and
Louisa Kleppee; children, Arno L. and Jacob K. He is a carpenter and
buUder, learned his trade under James Scott, near Elkins; was a foreman
in the building of Hon. H. G. Davis' residence, the Memorial Church, and
several of the buildimgs in Elkins; he is also a member of the Elkins Board
of Education.
' Jasper Wilmoth Triplett, born 1842, son of Job and Sidney (Wil
moth) Triplett; English; was married in 1875 to Eliza, daughter of James
and Mary (Helmick) Chenoweth. Children, Wade Hampton, George, Del
phi. He owns 700 acres, 150 improved. He filled the office of Assessor
many years.
William Owen Triplett, born 1854, son of Job and Sidney; was
married 1881 to Etna, daughter of Philip and Jane Isner. Children, Marcella,
Willis, Luverna, Icie. Mr. Triplett has been twice elected to the office of
Assessor of the second district of Randolph. He owns 300 acres, 100 im
proved. Cyrus Triplett, born 1852, son of Jacob and Hulda (Kittle) Triplett;
married 1876 to Lucy J. , daughter of Oliver and Rebecca Scott. Children,
Randolph C, Rebecca 0., Walter, Jacob B., Willis P.
Floyd J. Triplett, born 1863, son of Randolph and Sarah (Kittle)
Triplett; English parentage. In 1887 he married Ella May, daughter of
Archibald and CaroUne (Taylor) Wilmoth. ChUdren, Eva Belle, Sam, Lu
ceba Maria, Sallie, Clare. His father was a blacksmith. Floyd attended
school and assisted in the shop until 1879, when he passed the examination
and began teaching; following that profession, in winter and working in the
blacksmith shop in summer until 1884, when he entered the newspaper bus
iness, purchasing an interest in the Randolph Enterprise, with John L. Bos
worth as a partner; remained there 18 months; was appointed in 1886 in
the revenue service, held the place tUl 1889. In that year he erected the
third new buUding in Elkins, in the rear of a lot on Second street. In this
building, with James A. Bent as a partner, he started the Tygart's. Valley
News, and conducted it till 1891, when having been elected County Clerk,
he took charge of that office, When his term expired in 1897 he resumed

486 FAMILY HISTORY.
editorial management of the Neivs, in partnership with Captain Zan P. Col
lett. In May, 1898, Captain Collett was called into service in the Spanish
War, and Mr. Triplett assumed entire control of the newspaper.
Harry Samuel Turner, born 1861 "in Rockbridge County, Va., son
of John J. and Margaret Turner, was married in 1894 to Fannie May,
daughter of Benjaman P. and Louise Crabtree. He came to Randolph in
1896 as manager for J. H. Simmon's meat market.
Philip Thomas, son of John W. Thomas, was born 1827 in Wertheim,
Germany; his mother's maiden name being Margaret Sons. In 1855 at Wat
erloo, N. Y., he married Barbara Gasper, of Swiss descent; children, Ursu
la, Mary Louise, Helen R., John Philip, Charles P., Burton Harry and Wil
lie. In 1896 his wife died. Mr. Thomas has been an extensive traveler,
having visited many parts of the world, including Egypt, Arabia and parts
of Persia having been turned back from the frontiers pf that country when
he tried to enter. By trade he is a tanner, and he lost heavUy by a fire in
Pennsylvania. He attended school at Heidelsburg, Germany. He owns
380 acres about three miles from Beverly. His son Charles, who was born
in 1867, married Miss Laura Gilberts; children, Helen and Jessie.
John W. Thomas, born 1846 in Wales, son of John and Mary Thomas,
was married in Wales in 1864 to Sarah, daughter of John and Annie Nich
olas; children, John W., Annie, Thomas and William. He is a farmer, owns
54 acres and a good orchard.
Frederick Thorn, born in Barbour, 1857, son of Jacob and Eva
(Coontz) Thorn; married 1878, Edith, daughter of Washington Gf. and EmUy
(Stalnaker) Corrick. Children, Guy V., Mollie, Cinda, Bessie and Stella;
farmer, two miles from Elkins; member of LeadsvUle Board of Education;
his father was born in Barbour, 1824; his grandfather, John Thorn, was
born in Germany, 1800, died in Barbour aged 96; his children were, Robert
G., Joshua, Frederick, Cinda, Lydia, Lucy, Mary Katie. Robert was in the
Union army.
Margaret Tell, daughter of Peter and Susan (Wanamaker) Haney;
born 1845; was married in Pennsylvania, 1862, to John O'Donnell. ChU
dren, Mary L. and Manus; second marriage, 1871, was to Gustavo TeU;
child, Geraldine. She lives near Beverly.
Samuel T. Thornhill, son of Edmond and Rebecca (Lauck) Thorn-
hill, was bom in Rappahannock County, in 1846. He married Mary B.
VermilUon. Children, Albert H., Columbus C, Nancy E., Rebecca J.,
Lewis E. and Lily Virginia. He is a farmer on Leading Creek, and a ditch
maker. His father was born in 1809 in Rappahannock County, and his
grandfather, native of the same county, and whose name was Thomas, was
a Revolutionary soldier.
John Maher Tyre, born 1844; son of Samuel and Elizabeth Tyre, was

FAMILY HISTORY. 487
married in 1867 to EUzabeth Jane, daughter of Thomas Scott. ChUdren,
Virginette, James Scott, Samuel Alexander, Adolphus Rowe, WiUiam David^
Sarah Ellen, John Maher and Virginia. He was a Federal soldier as an
artiUerist, in the Civil War and was in many battles and was taken prisoner
at Buckhannon. He rose to the rank of captain, was subsequently elected
Justice of the Peace in LeadsvUle; is a farmer, owning 300 acres near El
kins. His grandfather, John Tyre, came from France with Lafayette and
was wounded at Guilford. '
James Franklin Tolley, born 1849; son of Powhatan A., and Sarah
A. (Wood) Tolley, German and Irish; was married 1870 to Melissa, daughter
of Solomon and Jane (Hogan) Havener; child, Birdelia. He own 120 acres,
30 improved. Daniel Allen Vanscoy, born in Barbour County in 1856, son of Jehu
and Hannah Vanscoy; Scotch-Irish parentage. Near Montrose in 1880 he
married Teracy, daughter of Peter Pansier; children, Harry Gordon, Bessie
M., Willard, Amy Orpha, H. B., Glenn and Dewey. He owns 112 acres
near Kerens. His father was born in Randolph in 1821, and lived here all
his life, except three years in the West. His grandfather, Jonas Vanscoy,
was also born in Randolph, about 1800, and died in Barbour. The great
grandfather, Aaron Vanscoy, was born in Vermont and died on Leading
Creek. Mrs. Vanscoy's father lived near Hendricks in Tucker County, and
his father, Henry Fansler, came from Germany when twelve years old
and was a fifer in General Washington's army. He settled in Canaan, now
Tucker County, in 1802.
Emmet Buckey Vanscoy, born 1837, son of William and Sarah (Hart)
Vanscoy; French and German ancestry; was married in 1860 in Tucker
County to Lucinda, daughter of William and Hester (Ward) Parsons. Chil
dren, Laura May, Arthur Bruce, Sydney Helen, Lester Dwight; carpenter
and farmer. Mr. Vanscoy was married a second time, 1880, to Mrs. Tacy
Wilmoth, widow of A. J. Wilmoth,of Barbour, she being formerly of Marion
County, daughter of Algee Baker. Children by this marriage. Baker Cal
vin, Mary Belle, Algee Loman and Mattie Grace. The great-grandfather
of the subject of this sketch died in Pendleton County, and his vridow re
moved to Randolph about 1800. He was the ancestor of all the Vanscoys
in Randolph County.
Andrew Valentine, bom 1835 in Barbour County, died 1888; was
married 1859 in Barbour to Rachel Digman. Children, Elizabeth, Carrie
BeU and Arthur Jay. The last named is now a citizen of Tucker County,
residence at Parsons, where he is a practicing attorney and one of the leading
Republican politicians of the county. At St. George in 1891 he married
Lummie Kalor, and their children are Zella and Arthur J.

488 FAIMLY HISTORY.
Lorenzo D. Vanpelt, born 1866 at Huttonsville, son of William H.
and Laura (Snyder) Vanpelt; English parentage. He now resides near
Mingo. Joshua Vest, son of Harvey Vest, born in Rockbridge County, 1851;
married 1876 Rebecca, daughter of H. C. Killingsworth. Children, Martha
AUce, Ella May, James WiUiams, Henry Adams and Luvera. He is a
farmer on Beaver Creek.
William Vandevender, born 1843, son of Henry and Betty (Cowger)
Vandevender; German ancestry; was married in 1884 to Mary, daughter of
Peter Conrad. ChUdren, Isaac N., Albert L., Melvin P. and Jacob Piatt.
William Perry Vandenender, born 1843 in Pendleton County; son
of Jacob and Eve (Nelson) Vandevender. In 1869 he married in
in Pendleton, Phoebe Ellen, daughter of Tobias and Elizabeth (Harper)
Rains. ChUdren, Frank, Walter, Albert, Carrie Elizabeth, Anzina, Dolly
Blanche and Dotty Gay. He owns 60 acres, 20 improved; has lived in
Randolph since 1878.
Sylvanus Vandevender, born 1 876, son of Isaac C. and Eboline
(Snyder) Vandevender; German parentage; teacher and lumberman; fore
man for J. L. Rumbarger, Dobbin, W. Va. His father is a farmer and lives
near Dry Fork.
Benjamin Wilson, although he left Randolph County soon after its
formation, was one of the most widely known and infiuential men the county
has had in its century or more of existence. The following biography is
from the American Historical Record, 187 ii, edited by Benson J. Lossing:
"Colonel Benjamin Wilson was born in Frederick County, now Shenandoah County,
Virginia, November 30, 1147. His father, William Wilson, was a Scotch-Irishman who
emigrated from the Province of Ulster, Ireland, in 1737, and in that or the following
year settled in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, where, in 1746, he married Elizabeth
Blackburn, whose family was also of Scotch-Irish origin. Before Ben had passed his
early childhood years his father's family was permanently located on Trout Run, near
the South Branch of the Potomac, then in Frederick, now in Hardy County, West Vir
ginia, about 30 miles from Winchester. Here Ben reached his manhood. But little is
known of him during his minority, except that he made himself useful on liis father's
farm at Trout Run. His opportunities to acquire an education were very limited, but
he devoted his leisure hours to studies which tended to fit him for a successful business
career. On September 4, 1770, he married Ann Ruddell, and soon thereafter became a
resident of Tygart's Valley, in what is now Randolph County, W. .Va.
"In 1774 he was attached as a lieutenant to the right wing of Lord Dunmore's army,
which marched against the old Chillicothe towns on the Scioto River. For a time he
served as an aid to Lord Dunmore, the commander-in-chief. He rendered very efficient
service during the campaign, a competent and reliable authority declaring that 'he
acquired by his zeal and attention to duty the confidence of his superior officers.' Early
in the Revolution he was appointed to a captaincy in the Virginia forces, doing duty
mainly on the frontiers; and to the close of the Revolutionary struggle he was the organ
through which most of the military and civil business of the part of the State in which
he resided was transacted. He frequently served as commander of the forces raised to
pursue marauding parties of Indians, and in all tliese expeditions lie was prompt, influ
ential, and conspicuously courageous, as well as prudent and judicious. His distinguished
abilities secured him a colonel's commission in 1781. At the close of the Revolutionary
War he served for several sessions in the Legislature of Virginia, from the county of

FAMILY HISTORY. 489
Monongalia. In 1784 he secured the organization of Harrison Countv, it being taken
from the county of Monongalia. He was then appointed the tirst clerk of the county of
Harrison, but his duties as such did not witlidraw him from other public duties nor from
politics, although he retained the office until near the close of his life He was elected
and served as a delegate* in the ConventiDO of Virginia, in March, 1788, which ratified
the Constitution of the United States. He was a Federalist in politics, and was one ot
the acknowledged leaders of the Federal party in western Virginia until the close of the
war of 1812, when party hues were obliterated, and parties themselves were dissolved,
the consummation being the election of James Monroe to the Presidency of the United
States. "Colonel Wilson was a man of varied and extensive business operations; of much
general information; of genial temper; of stalwart person; of most dignified bearing; of
undoubted patriotism; of unimpeachable integrity of character; and of the elegance
that characterized the true Virginia gentleman of the old school. He was not unmind
ful of the claims of religion upon him, and he sustained to the close of his life an irre
proachable Christian character."
The Wilson famUy is traced through Ireland to Scotland, and the earliest
records show that the name was a prominent one in the troubled times in
Scotland nearly two centuries ago. The first ancestor of Colonel Wilson,
so far as known, was his great-great-grandfather, David Wilson, a hardy
Scotchman, the date of whose birth is not known, but must have been as
early as 1650. His son was also named David, and he was born probably
about 1685, although nothing definite is known of his birth and early life,
and the date is only an approximation from certain known dates in his early
life. He took part in the Scotch Rebellion of 1715, and when the rebellion
was put down, he, with many other unfortunates co-patriots, was compelled
to leave his native land. He fled to the Province in Ulster, in Ireland. It
has not been ascertained whether he was married when he left Scotland, or
whether not until after he settled in Ireland, nor who his wife was, nor how
many children he had. It is only known that his son William was born in
Ireland, November 16, 1722. He became the father of Colonel Benjamin
WUson, and ten other children. He came to America in 1736, and after his
arrival here, married Elizabeth, daughter of Archibald Blackburn. She
was born in Ulster, Ireland, Pebr,uary 22, 1725. Within a few years Wil
liam Wilson and his wife took up their home in Hampshire County, now
Hardy, and there spent the remainder of their days. He died January 12,
1801, and she died May 2, 1806. The dates of the births and deaths of their
children were as follows : f
* Randolph County had two delegates in that famous convention. Colonel Benjamin
Wilson and his brother, John. The other members from what is now West Virginia,
were: Berkeley County, William Drake and Adam Stephen; Greenbrier, George Clen-
denin and John Stuart; Hampshire, Alexander Wodrow and Ralph Humphreys; Harri
son, George Jackson and John Prunty; Hardy, Isaac Van Meter and Abel Seymour; Jef
ferson, Robert Breckenridge and Rice Bullock; Mercer, Thomas Allen and Alexander
Robertson; Monongalia, John Evans and William McCleary; Ohio,- Archibald Woods and
Ebenezer Zane.
t As shown in the case of this record, slender is the thread by which many a valuable
historical item is preserved. The dates of the births of William Wilson's children were
found on a blank leaf of an old book^" Record of the Fifth Congress "—now in posses
sion of Lewis Wilson of Phili])pi, wlio supplied the information tor this book. The dates
of the deaths were furnished by Col. Benjamin Wilson of Clarksburg. No one knows
when or by whom the record was written on the leaf of the old book, but it was thereby

490 FAMILY HISTORY.
Benjamin WUson, born Nov. 30, 1747, died Dec. 2, 1827.
Archibald Wilson, bom June 13, 1749, died March 27, 1814.
David Wilson, born Sept. 8, 1751, died Aug. 12, 1805.
WiUiam WUson, bom Feb. 8, 1754, died Jan. 1, 1851.*
John Wilson, born AprU 12, 1756, died AprU 12, 1827. f
Moses Wilson, born May 1, 1758, died Feb. 17, 1760.
Moses WUson, jr., born AprU 8, 1761, died April 7, 1784.
James WUson, born July 25, 1763, died Aug. 13, 1822.
Solomon WUson, born July 2, 1766, died Sept. 8, 1819.
Elizabeth WUson, born July 2, 1766, died May 12, 1849.
Margaret Wilson, born AprU 7, 1769, died Sept. 19, 1826.
The records in the Virginia Land Office at "Richmond show that William
Wilson and his sons patented many tracts of land in what is now Hamp
shire, Hardy and Grant Counties. The old homestead was on Trout Run a
few miles from Moorefield.
The eldest of the above-named children, Benjamin Wilson, appears not
to have patented any land in the eastern part of the State. In his 23d year,
that is. Sept, 4, 1770, he married Ann, daughter of Stephen and Mary Rud
dell of Hampshire County-. X She was born Sept. 20, 1754, and was not six
teen at the time of her marriage. The young couple took up their residence
at Cedar Creek, Shenandoah County, Va. , where their first two children
were born. They then removed to Tygart's Valley, now Randolph County,
but then Augusta. The exact date of their coming to Randolph is uncer
tain, but it was after 1774 and before 1777. § Benjamin Wilson was a lieu-
preserved, and numerous descendants — perhaps hundreds — of William Wilson are there
by enabled to trace their family back to the old country. These descendants are found
throughout West Virginia, and in many States.
* For many years judge, or chairman of the Randolph County Court; he held other
offices also, and was Randolph's first representative in the Virginia Legislature.
t He was the flrst County Clerk of Randolph, 1787; the flrst Circuit Clerk, 1809; first
Justice of the Peace, 1787; Sherifi:, 1798; Assessor, 1788; Major of Virginia jNIilitia, 1787.
J Mr. Ruddell subsequently removed to Kentucky and founded Ruddell Station. In
June 1780 an army of 700 Indians and British, among them the three renegade brothers,
Simon, George and James Girty, the whole under a British officer, invaded Kentucky
with cannon, captured Ruddell's station with 300 men, women and children, murdered
several after they surrendered, and destroyed all the property in the settlement. Capt.
Ruddell and his family were among the piisoners. They regained their liberty some
time afterward, except one of the children, Stephen, who was held in captivity seventeen
years. ? Colonel Wilson's first visit to Tygart's Valley was in the late fall or early winter of
1774, probably in the latter part of November. At the conclusion of the Dunmore war
the Virginia troops were sent back by different routes. Some went up the Kenawha
and through Greenbrier County; others returned through the northern part of West
Virginia, and others by other ways. Colonel Wilson and several soldiers, but how many
is not known, passed through what is now Randolph County, aud went on to the South
Branch over the Senaca Indian Trail which led them into the present county of Pendle
ton, and thence into Hardy, where Colonel Wilson's fatlier-in-la,w resided. Colonel
Wilson stopped in Tygart's Valley long enough to examine the land. A tract on both
sides of the river, some four miles below Beverly, pleased him, but it was already oc
cupied by two squatters, who claimed possession as their right. Such rights were always

FAMILY HISTORY. 491
tenant in Lord Duninore's army in the war of 1774 and marched against the
Indians on the Scioto River, in Ohio. He was present at the Treaty of Camp
Charlotte, and from him Withers obtained much of the data for his graphic
description of the Shawnee chief. Cornstalk, in the Border Warfare.
Monongalia County was formed from West Augusta in 1776 and Benja
min Wilson was elected to represent it in the Virginia Legislature, Monon
galia included the present territory of Randolph. In 1784 Harrison County
was formed from Monongalia, and he became its first Clerk, and in 1787 re
moved to the -vidnity of Clarksburg. The old Wilson homestead in Ran
dolph Ues at the mouth of Wilson's Creek, four miles north of Beverly. He
became an extensive landholder in Randolph. In 1777 he built Wilson's fort
on his own farm, as a place of refuge from the Indians, during the long and
bloody war which began that year. The settlers, in time of danger, fied to
that fort. It was never attacked by Indians, but a number of persons were
murdered by them -within a few miles. Colonel Wilson's activity, as an In-

The old WilsoQ Homestead at Present — Winter Scene.
dian fighter, and protector of the settlement, is mentioned elsewhere in this
book. At that time he was an officer in the Revolutionary army, and he was
assigned the duty of defending the settlers of Tygart's Valley, He was
furnished with no regular soldiers for that duty, but depended upon volun
teers from, the surrounding settlements, and one summer he had part of one
company of Hampshire County mUitia. The volunteers were usually suffi
cient, but once, at the time of the Leading Creek massacre in 1781, they re
fused to follow the Indians who were retreating with their prisoners toward
the Ohio River.* The militia thus called out usually served without pay,
and perhaps none of them thought of pay at that time. But, many years
respected in early times, although in law they probably would not have'held. Colonel
Wilson found the squatters willing to sell, and he bought them out. That was, so far as
can be ascertained, the beginningof Colonel Wilson's possessions westof the Alleghanies.
At that time WestfaU's and Currence's forts had just been built, the former four miles
above Wilson's land, and the latter fourteen miles above.
*See pages 185 and 418.

492 FAMILY HISTORY.
afterwards, when pensions became common, some of the survivors asked for
pay, as is shown by the court records of Randolph. "**
None of Colonel Wilson's family ever fell victim to the savages, but on
more than one occasion their escape was narrow. Mrs. Wilson was a brave
and heroic woman whose courage and presence of mind once saved herown
life and the lives of her three children. The event occurred late in the fall
of 1777. Indians had broken into the settlement about Valley Head and had
murdered the Connollys. Colonel Wilson hurried in pursuit of them with
thirty men. It was so late in the season that no incursion by Indians was
expected, and the settlers had been taken by surprise. They were busy in
their fields shucking their corn. Colonel Wilson owned a farm west of the
river, in what is now the Caplinger Settlement, as well as the farm east o£
the river, on Wilson's Creek, where his fort stood; and at the time of the
Indian raid his family were living in a cabin west of the river, about two
miles distant, temporarily while the crop was being gathered. When he
went up the river in pursuit of the Indians, he left his wife and three chil
dren at the cabin, with a slave named Rose, a Guinea negress whom he had
bought. She was born in Africa and had been brought over on a slaveship.
The three children were, Mary, aged six, William B., aged four and Stephen,
aged two.
Late in the afternoon while Mrs. WUson and Rose were milking the
cows, the young horse came dashing up from the range with wild excite
ment and with peculiar movements. Mrs. Wilson cried to Rose: "There
are Indians near! The horse has seen them. That's the way he acts when
he sees Indians! Catch him quick — we must fiy to the fort or we wiU be
massacred!" While the negress was catching the horse, Mrs. Wilson, with
wonderful coolness and presence of mind, worthy the daughter of Captain
Ruddell, took one of her strong petticoats, tied both ends, put the two older
children in it as a sack, with their heads out, threw the sack over the horse's
back, one child on each side. Then with the baby in her arms, she mounted
the young horse bareback, and told Rose to run for her life and to cross the
river on the footlog. Then she gave the rein to the young horse, which
was snorting and prancing as though it could see or smell the Indians. The
horse was apparently as eager to escape the savages as she was, and went
at fuU speed toward the fort. The river was past riding on account of rain
and melting snow; but it was a matter of life and death, and Mrs WUson,
with her precious burden, did not halt, but plunged in ahd swam the horse
for the other side. When in midstream she discovered that the child on the
up-stream side, Mary, had struggled from the sack and was bobbing up and
down against the horse's side, held there by the strong current Mrs. Wilson
caught her by the clothes and brought her safe to shore. Then re-adjust
ing the children in the sack, she rode with them to the fort. The alarm by
this time had been given and several families were arriving at the fort.

FAMILY HISTORY. 493
The Indians plundered the settlement west of the river. It is probable that
Mrs. Wilson and her children would have been murdered in a few minutes
had she not made her escape when she did.
It is proper to state that Rose, the faithful slave, also escaped. A few
minutes after Mrs. Wilson reached the fort. Rose put in an appear
ance, carrying a churn of cream on her head, and remarking: "I did not
mean that the Redskins should have this cream!"
Ten years later, July 3, 1787, when she was yet not quite sixteen years
old, Mary Wilson, who so narrowly escaped both from the Indians and from
drowning, became the wife of Colonel John Haymond, of Harrison County,
a noted Indian fighter as well as a prominent business man, who served in
both the Assembly and the Senate of Virginia. * The marriage of John
Haymond and Mary Wilson was a notable event in the early social affairs
of Randolph. The groom came from Clarksburg, accompanied "by a caval
cade of young people of both sexes. The first night out from Clarksburg,
there being no houses along the way, the company camped under a cliff of
rocks a short distance east of where PhUippi now stands.
There were several inter- marriages between children of Colonel Wilson
and the Haymonds, but they belong, for the most part, to other portions of
the State, rather than to Randolph, and a list of the marriages will suffice.
John Haymond married Mary WUson, July 3, 1787. Hiram Haymond mar
ried Elizabeth Wilson. Calder Haymond married Martha Wilson. Lewis
Haymond married Rachel Wilson. Rowena Haymond married James P.
Wilson. Of these, Rachel is the only one living. She resides at Quiet Dell,
Harrison County. Hon. Benjamin Wilson, who now resides at Clarksburg,
and who was several terms a memb^ of Congress from that district, is a
grandson of Colonel Wilson and a son of Josiah D. Wilson. Hon. B. Wilson
Smith, of Indiana, is also a grandson of Colonel Wilson, his mother being
Deborah Wilson, and his father Abel T. Smith, who was a son of Joshua
Smith and Mary Wamsley Smith. Mary Wamsley belonged to the^Randolph
County family of Wamsleys, and Joshua Smith was from the South Branch.
The history of the descendants of Colonel Wilson might be extended indef
initely, not only in Randolph but in other counties of the State, and also in
other States. They are numbered by hundreds. At the time of his death
he had living 24 chUdren, 73 grand children, 32 .great-grandchildren and 1
great-great-grandchild, making in all 130.
In 1787, as is believed, Colonel Wilson left Randolph and made his
home in Harrison County, where he entered largely into business. In 1795
*On one occasion it is related of Colonel Haymond that he was at the head of a squad
of men pursuing Indians, and fell into an ambuscade. An Indian bullet went through
a handkerchief which was tied round his head, and dazed him. He described the pecu
liar sensation tlius: " I believed I had been killed, aud I waited to see myself fall; but
when I did not fall I came to the conclusion that I was not dead, and that I ought to
get behind a tree, which I did." He raised a family ot fourteen children, and died at
BuUtown, Braxton County, September 5, 1838, and his wife died the year before.

494 FAMILY HISTORY.
he built a mill on Simpson Creek, and subsequently enlarged it to do spin
ning, weaving, coloring and cloth-dressing. On June 18, 1795, occurred
the death of Mrs. Wilson, who had become the mother of twelve children.
On December 15, 1795, Colonel Wilson married Phoebe Davisson, of Har
rison County, then in her nineteenth year, and she became the mother of
seventeen children. She died June 24, 1849. The names of Colonel Wil
son's children, with the date of the birth of each, are as follows:
Mary B. WUson, born July 9, 1771.
William B. Wilson, born January 23, 1773
Stephen Wilson, born October 21, 1775.
Benjamin Wilson, bom January 13, 1778.
Sarah Wilson, born September 11, 1780.
Elizabeth Wilson, born August 17, 1782.
Ann Wilson, born January 17, 1786.
John Wilson, born July 5, 1788.
Archibald B. Wilson, born July 25, 1790.
Two children died without names.
Josiah D. Wilson, born October 12, 1796.
David Wilson, born February 18, 1798.
Edith Wilson, born November 9, 1799.
Elizabeth Wilson, born October 15, 1801.
Thomas W. WUson, born May 12, 1803.
Margaret Wilson, born March 26, 1805.
Deborah Wilson, born October 17, 1806.
James P. Wilson, born June 9, 1808.
Daniel D. WUson, bom July 30, 1^10.
Phoebe D. Wilson, born August 29, 1811.
Martha M. WUson, born January 23, 1813.
Philip D. Wilson, born June 29, 1814.
Noah L. Wilson, bom March 9, 1816.
Julia Ann Wilson, born September 28, 1817.
Harriet B. Wilson, born November 13, 1818.
Rachel WUson, born July 20, 1820.
One infant died without a name.
William B. Wilson, son of Benjamin, was born in 1773, and spent his
whole life in Randolph; married EUzabeth, daughter of Daniel Davisson, of
Clarksburg. She was born February 12, 1779. Their chUdren were. Pru
dence, who married Judge Edwin S.' Duncan; Patsy, who married Lenox
Camden, brother of Judge G. D, Camden; Ann, who married Abraham Hut
ton; Elizabeth, who married Adam D. CapUnger; Alexander, Frederick,
Daniel and Edwin Draper, who married Martha Wees. WUUam B., popu
larly called "Billy B.," was widely known in this and adjoining counties.
When he was nine years old he had a narrow escape from Indians, It was

FAMILY HISTORY. 495
at the time of the raid under Timothy Dorman, in 1782, when Adam Staln
aker was killed. Colonel Wilson, father of William B. . had a stillhouse
west of the river in the Caplinger Settlement; and after the killing of Staln
aker the Indians crossed the river and broke into the stillhouse; and while
they were carrying on at a high rate, William B. Wilson, on horseback, rode
up almost to the building before he discovered them. He wheeled his horse
and rode at top speed to the fort and gave the alarm.
Edwin D. Wilson, son of William B., was born August 11, 1821, and in
1841 he married Martha Wees who was bom in 1822. Their children were,
Florida D. , James Duncan, Rosa Ann and Isabella.
James Duncan Wilson, son of Edwin D., married Delia Crawford in
1866; Children, Jessie May, wife of Lee J. Sandridge, and Lottie Lee. Mr.
Wilson was elected Clerk of the county court in 1872 and he held the office
eighteen years. He died in 1895,
Doctor Franklin Wilson, born 1858 in Lee County, Va. , son of Wil
liam and Polly (Jones) Wilson; EngUsh descent; was married in 1883 to Eliza
P., daughter of Joshua and Sarah Harman; children, Elizabeth, William D.,
Rosetta, Bessie, Jamie and Grade. He is a miller at Whitmer where he
owns a house and lot.
William Hall Wilson, son of John Q. , and Harriet S. (Wood) Wilson,
was born atiMingo in 1840; Scotch-Irish ancestry; was married in 1866 to
Rachel, daughter of Abram and Catherine Crouch; children, George Nelson
and Magnora. John Wilson, the great-great-grandfather of the subject of
this sketch, lived on Jackson River, and is believed to have belonged to the
Wilson family which suffered so severely from Indians in 1763. His son
was William H. whose children were John Q., Jane, Mary, Samuel, Nancy,
William, Sarah, David, Elizabeth, Brown and James. He moved to Ran
dolph in 1829, and his son, John Q., opened the first store at Mingo. The
subject of this sketch was in the Confederate army during the entire war
and was in many hard battles, and was several times wounded. In 1884 he
was elected Clerk of the circuit court of Randolph, and has since held the
office. It is highly probable that this family is. related to the family to
which Colonel Benjamin Wilson belonged; but the actual connecting link
has not been found. The common ancestry was very early in the history
of Augusta Country, if at all. Both are Scotch-Irish, and the oft-repeated
family names are similar.
George Nelson Wilson, son of W. H. Wilson, was born in 1871 and
was married in 1894 to Myra, daughter of Dr. John I. Weymouth, and her
mother's maiden name was Mary Chenoweth; children, Margaret R. and
Reginald Weymouth. He graduated at the Wheeling Business College,
and is deputy clerk under his father.
W. H. Wilson, son of Archibald and Jane (Corley) Wilson, In 1861 he

496 FAMILY HISTORY.
married Anzina Scott; chUdren, Linnie, Annie, DoUie, Dora E. and May; he
lives in Roaring Creek District.
John Crawford Wilson, son of Archibald, was born in 1848 and in
1868, in Barbour County, he married .Bertha, daughter of David Rosen-
burger; ChUdren, Flora EUen, Rosa Anna, V7illie A., David H. and George.
He is a farmer, owning 200 acres near Harding underlaid with coal. His
father owned 3100 acres in that vicinity and in 1846 established what has
since been known as 'the WUson Settlement.
Allen Lewis Wilson, born 1851, son of Archibald; was married in
1871, in Barbour County, to Emma Jane, daughter of Archibald and Christ
ina Coberly. Children, Lura Jane, Winfield Scott, James Archibald, Lloyd
L., and Benjamin Harrison. He is a farmer near Harding and a member of
the Republican County Commit bee,
Samuel Kincaid Wilson, bom near Circleville, 1836; son of Elijah
J. and Hannah (Nelson) WUson; Scotch; at Buckhannon, 1866, he married
Elizabeth, daughter of WiUiam W. and Roanna (Cooper) King. Children,
Roanna E., William Ulysses,, Mar tin H., Minnie M., John E., Isaac, Warren
Vernon; was in Confederate army under Stonewall Jackson and afterward
under Imboden; was in the following battles; Alleghany Mountain, Mc
Dowell, Antietam, Gettysburg, Williamsport, Fredericksburg, Cross Keys,
Beverly, the Seven Days Battle. At Gettysburg a man was killed on each
side of him, but he was not hurt. Mr. Wilson says the first settler on
Gandy was Joseph Summerfield in 1780, and that the first school in that
vicinity was taught in 1856 'by Gabriel Rains. Mr. Wilson is a farmer and
owns 160 acres, 75 improved.
Raphael Warthen was one of the early settlers of Randolph County.
He lived just north of King's Run, a short distance west of the present Bev
erly and Elkins road. He died about February 1, 1798, leaving a widow and
two minor children, Elizabeth and Chlotilda, the latter bom in 1795. In
1800 the widow with her children removed to Kentucky. Chlotilda grew to
womanhood and married a Mr. Montgomery, of a Maryland family. The
offspring of this union includes some very distinguished names. One son,
Hon. Zach Montgomery, migrated to California in 1849, and from an early
date has been one of the most distinguished citizens of that State, his articles
and books on the public school question having attracted widespread atten
tion, and have been discussed and quoted by many of the most prominent
and learned writers and scholars, not only of this country, but of "Europe,
and have elicited from them frequent complimentary notices. In the presi-
dentia] campaign ol 189(), a pamphlet written and published 'oy him in sup
port of bi Qietalism, entitled Bovdiu/e or Blood, was recognized by many as
the most clear and concise argument made in favor of free coinage. In fact,
he never writes anything that is not interesting, all being the product of

FAMILY HISTORY. 497
deep, intelligent thought. Mr. Montgomery was assistant Attorney Gen
eral under President Cleveland's first administration, and made a marked
and distinguished record while in discharge of official duties. He now lives
in Los Angeles, California, engaged in the practice of his profession, and
Bearing a name synonymous with rectitude and integrity. A grandson of
this same ChlotUda is the Right Rev. George Montgomery, Catholic Bishop
of Southern California, "a gentleman admired greatly by all who know him,
and of very distinguished ability. Prom the records of the county we find
that on August 2, 1796, John Wilson married Mary Warthen, daughter of
John Warthen, and that on April 15, 1811, John Busse married Susanna
Warthen, daughter of John Warthen. It is presumed that he was the
father of Raphael Warthen. John Wilson is named as an executor of the
will of Raphael Warthen, being mentioned as his "trusty friend." John
Wilson was a brother of Col. Benjamin Wilson.
W. S. Woodford, born 1852 at Philippi, son of J. Harvey Woodford,
English parentage. In 1875 at Huttonsville he married Mozella, daughter
of Moses and Polly (Haigler) Hutton. Child, Howe H. He is a farmer
and stockraiser; came to Randolph in 1884 and was postmaster at Cheat
Bridge, where he kept hotel. In 1896 he was elected Justice of the Peace.
J. E. Wise, born 1858 in Rockbridge County, son of John A. and De
lila (Dinkle) Wise; Scotch-Irish ancestry. He commenced teaching when
17 years of age, and entered the University of Virginia in 1874. He has
taught four summer normal schools, and is one of the leading educators of
Randolph County.
Job Westfall, borh 1840, son of Jacob and Ivy (Marteney) Westfall;
German parentage; was married in 1865 to Nancy V., daughter of Jesse
and Diana (Woolwine) Stalnaker. Children, Judson, Jesse and Dora.
Harrison J. Williamson, born 1861, of English parentage, son of
Capt. James W. Williamson, was married in 1888 to Kate W. , daughter of
Fountain and Elmira (Reeder) Butcher. Children, Clifford, Wilford and
Mona May. His grandfather was a pilot on the Mississippi. Mr. William
son deals in timber, bark and horses, of which he owns several blooded; is
a sportsman and hunter, having killed several bear and scores of deer, and
is the champion rifie shot of the State; and promoter of the Beverly fair
grounds, and its manager; owns a fine residence and other property in
Beverly. John Harvie Weymouth, D.D.S., born 1843, at Richmond, Va.; son
of John L. and Henrietta D. (Jenkins) Weymouth; English ancestry; was
married in 1873 to Mary, daughter of Lemuel and Nancy A. Chenoweth.
Children, Myra May, Charles Lee, Nannie Chenoweth and Henrietta
Blanche. The name is derived from the mouth of the river Wey, England.
The first house built in Richmond belongs to this family; they also own

498 FAMILY HISTORY.
a prayer book with Washington's autograph. Dr.' Weymouth attencjed the
Riehmond Military Academy, and the Pennsylvania Dental College, and
was captain of a morter battery in the Confederate army. He is a dentist
at Elkins. William Grant Wilson, son of Isaac and Harriet Wilson, was bom in
Marion County in 1864. After receiving an education which fitted him for
his work, he chose the law for his profession and Elkins as his home. He
was one of the first to see the promising future for that city, and he has
been one of the leaders in managing the municipal affairs. Three times he
was elected Mayor, and to his official acts was largely due the-excellent gov
ernment which the city has enjoyed. From the first he enjoyed a large and
lucrative law practice, and he also took an active interest in politics, being
one of the leaders of the Republican party in Randolph. In 1898 he ac
cepted a position in the Internal Revenue service, and divided his time
between his new duties and his profession.
Jacob See Wamsley, born 1824, died 1898, son of Samuel and Eliza
beth (Crouch) Wamsley; English parentage; was rnarried in 1850 to Minerva,
daughter of Col. WilliamL. and Amelia (Brockmire) Hamilton. Children,
Celeste, Salina Amelia, Jared Lee, Edgar Donaldson, Stuart McClung and
Jacob Emerson. He owned 2300 acres, 800 improved. Captain Wamsley
was a sympathizer with the South in the Civil War. In 1861 he took his
family to Virginia and left them near Lexington while he joined the army,
soon becoming captain of Company D, 19th Va. Cavalry* He saw much ac
tive service. His company was mostly made up of. men from Randolph and
Pocahontas Counties. In civil life he was largely identified with public
affairs; was six years president of the county court, and was a man of wide
influence and of sterling worth, who was a leader among men and whose
influence lives after him.
Jacob Emerson Wamsley, son of Captain Jacob S. Wamsley, born
1860, graduated at the University of Virginia, also at the Jefferson Medical
College of Philadelphia in 1884. He located in Beverly, but in 1888 he
moved to Montana, where he married Mary J. Per rail. He died in 1897.
As a physician he stood very high in the profession.
Stuart M. Wamsley, of Oklahoma, born 1858 in Randolph, son of
Captain Jacob S. Wamsley; was married 1881 at Huttonsville to Mary E.,
daughter of Patrick Crickard. Children, Lorna M., J. G. Cleveland, Lina
A., John Elmer T., Agnes, Tresa and Hope. He left Randolph in 1894.
Edgar D. Wamsley, bom 1856, son of Jacob and Minerva (Hamilton)
Wamsley. In 1879 at Beverly he married Mary H. , daughter of Baxter and
Mary (Hutton) Butcher. ChUdren, Wilfred D., Helen J., Warren B., J. E.
Kenneth and Robert H. He is a farmer and stockraiser, owns 1000 acres,
half improved; has traveled extensively in the West.

WILLIAM GRANT WILSON

FAMILY HISTORY. 501
Jared L. Wamsley, the present Prosecuting Attorney of Randolph,
was born in 1854; son of Captain Jacob S. Wamsley, who was an officer in
the Confederate army; of EngUsh ancestry. He was married in 1880 at
Beverly to Florence M.,, daughter of EU B. Butcher. The maiden name of
Mrs. Butcher was Elizabeth Hutton. Mr. Wamsley graduated from the
Fairmont Normal School in 1875, and attended the Roanoke College two
years. He studied law without an instructor, reading alone, and in 1882
was admitted to practice and six years later was elected Prosecuting At
torney and has held the office, by election, ever since, the people of his
county having chosen him for three consecutive terms .
Walter Lee Willhide, born in Taylor County, 1871, son of J. W.
Willhide; married Gretta Viola, daughter of Andrew Taylor, and they have
one child, Catherine. He is a druggist at Elkins.
Benjamin Franklin Whetsell, born 1863 in Preston, son of Buck
ner and charlotte Whetsell, was married in 1890, near Elkins to Bettie,
daughter of Jessie W. Goddin. Children, Charles Vernon, Garland
Lynn and Dama Charlotta;.came to Elkins in 1889 and went into the livery
business; was proprietor of the Central Hotel three years. His father
settled in Pregton; his grandfather, Peter Whetsell, came from Germany^
and settled in Maryland.
Willis H. Woodley, bom at Charlottsville, Va., in 1845; son of
Willis H. and Averilla (Day) Woodley; natives of Isle of Wight County, Va.
His ancestors came from England in the 17th century. In 1876 he married
Martha Dickenson, Children, Thomas O. , Harry E. , Archie A. His father
was ten years Proctor of the University of Virginia, and was a fine Latin
and Greek scholar. He served several terms in the Virginia Legislature.
He moved to Buckhannon in 1847. The subject of this sketch was attend
ing school in Washington when the Civil War began. He returned to
Buckhannon, joined the Upshur Greys (Confederate). He fought through
the war, and after its close taught school; did work as a contractor on rail
roads; engaged in the lumber business, and in 1898 bought a farm in Valley
Bend District. His wide reading has given him an exceptionally good
education. His family is traced in England back to the year 1440.
Lewis Woolwine, born 1840, son of Orlando and Sallie (Clark) Wool
wine; was married in 1865 to Columbia, daughter of John B. and Mary
White. Children, Charles Lee, Nora, Icy, Tucker, Dorpha, John, Howard,
Burr, Guy, Kent and MorUe; farmer; owns 106 acres, partly within the
corporate limits of Elkins; owns the Round Barn which was bult by Jesse
W. Goddin for George Ward; owned the land on which the Graham Ad-
(^tion of Elkins is built; also owns land on VaUey Mountain; was in the
Confederate army and was with Imboden's raid in 1863. Both he and his
father were born in Randolph,

502 FAMILY HISTORY.
Andrew Marcellus Wamsley, bom 1812, died 1876, son of Samuel
Wamsley; Scotch ancestry; married, 1837, to Mary, daughter of Adam Har
per. Children, Adam H. , Samuel B. , Margaret E. , George P. , Zackary T. ,
Virginia A. , Mary A. and Jacob W.
Wm. M. Wamsley, born 1831, died 1881; son of Jesse and Sarah (Mace)
Wamsley; married Hannah, daughter of Levi S. and Martha Ward. Chil
dren, Floyd, Martin L., Lee J., John S., William M. His father was born
1795, and was a soldier in the War of 1812.
Squire B. Wamsley, son of John N. Wamsley, born near Beverly,
1851. His mother's maiden name was Eliza Yokum. He was married in
1872 to Martha Jane, daughter of James A. Vaughn, whose mother was
Deborah Jeffries. Children, Idella Harriett, Minnie Myrtle, Ida Burton
and John Stanley. He is a farmer in Beverly District.
Cyrus C. Wamsley, son of Adam H. Wamsley of Tucker County, was
born in 1864. His mother's maiden name was Christina Crouch; English
ancestry; was married in 1888 to Laura B. , daughter of Solomon W. Daniels;
her mother's maiden name was Mary J. Gum. Children, Mary Chloe,
Nannie Hazel, Menter S. and Baby. His father was a Confederate soldier,
and now lives in Tucker County. Cyrus Wamsley is a successful farmer
near Beverly.
Zachary Taylor Wamsley, son of Andrew M. and Mary (Harper)
Wamsley, bom in 1848, was married in 1875 to Melisse, daughter of Thomas
B. and Mary A. Scott; chUdren, Ruth, Edith Scott, Jessie Harper and Rus
sie Hutton. He owns 265 acres, 100 improved, in Valley Bend.
Jacob Webster Wamsley, born 1852, son of Andrew M. and Mary
(Harper) Wamsley; was married in 1873 to Virginia, daughter of Thomas
B. and Mary Ann (Hutton) Scott. ChUdren, Bertie, Mabel, Harold, Josie,
BasU, Waite, EvangeUne, Agnes, Porter Maxwell, Thomas Andrew and
AUce. He owns the Wamsley homestead in Valley Bend.
J. Lafayette Wamsley, born 1847, son of Solomon and Elizabeth
(Stalnaker) Wamsley; was married in 1867 to Georgiana, daughter of Ham
ilton and Mary (Arbogast) Stalnaker. Children, Nora L., Ployd J., S.
Burn, Bryan, G. L. Burton, E. E., Plumber,' W. and Mary E. He is a
farmer, owning 200 acres. Floyd J. is a portiait painter; S. Burn is a
teacher and photographer.
Jasper Newton Wamsley, born 1873 iu Indiana, son of George and
Margaret (Talbott) Wamsley; was married in 1893 in Tucker County to
Anna, daughter of Henry and Rosella (Lipscomb) Hovatter. ChUdren, Ola
Dayton, Howard and Dewey. He came to West Virginia in 1878 and located
at HuttonsviUe; worked for years as brakeman of W. Va. C. & P. R. R.,
and two years on the B. & 0.; came to Elkins in 1898 and opened a bicyde

FAMILY HISTORY. 503
shop and agency for the Singer Manufacturing Co. His father was a
blacksmith and farmer, and was born in Randolph County.
William L. -Wamsley, born 1860, son of Peter and Elazan Wamsley.
In 1880, near Gladesville, he married Sarah A., daughter of Jacob W. and
Evaline H. Martin. Children, Walter L., Earl R., Lena L., Maudie G. and
Laura D. He is a farmer, owning 75 acres near Kerens. His grandfather,
Daniel Wamsley, born 1796,. lived first in Randolph, then went to the West
and died in Iowa. Mrs. Wamsley's father lived in Preston County; her
grandfather, John Martin, lived in Monongalia and was killed in a coal
mine. Jonas Ware, born 1861, son of Allen B. and Mary E. (Daft) Ware;
was married in 1882 to Salina, daughter of George W. and Sarah E. Painter.
Childi-en, Elihu, Lulu B., Wilson; farmer, owning 162 acres, 50 cleared.
The first Ware who came to Randolph was Richard, who settled on Ware's
Ridge, in Mingo District.
W. M. Ware, bom 1830; married in 1855 to Lucinda, daughter of Wm.
and Prudence (Wilmoth) Wamsley. Children, Prudence, Matilda, Phillip,
Anna, Hannah; Boone, Samuel, Gordon, Hulda, WUliam.
Sylvester Ward, the first of the name in Randolph County, so far as
known, came at an early date from the South Branch, and nearly aU of the
Wards in the county are descended from him.
Jacob Ward, son of Sylvester, was born in Randolph very early in its
history. He married a sister of John Scott for his first wife, and after her
death he married EUzabeth, daughter of Matthew Whitman. Bj these two
marriages he had twelve children, seven by the first as follows: Scott who
fell on a pitchfork and was killed; Adonijah who married Miss Hull; Jacob
who married Miss Dyre, daughter of James Dyre who was spared by the
Indians at the time of the Fort Seybert massacre in Pendleton County; Levi
who married Miss Stalnaker; Katie who married WiUiam Parsons; Polly
who married Solomon Parsons; Jemima who married Job Parsons. The
children by the second marriage were. Whitman, William L. , Washington G. ,
Jesse and Phoebe.
Job Ward, son of Whitman M. and Mary(Wees)Ward, was married
in 1866 to Catherine, daughter of John K. and Sallie(Stalnaker)Chenoweth;
children. Clay, Wade, Flora, Ray, Err, Berna, Luna, Pearl; farmer, resid
ing on the old homestead two miles from Elkins; owns 215 acres, 160 im
proved. His father. Whitman M. Ward, was born April 9, 1803 above Hut
tonsvUle; was shot in the head at New Interest by Rebel guerrilas under
William Harper, while, attending an election, June 14, 1862. He had been
Justice of the Peace. His wife, Mary, was a daughter of John Wees.
Their children were: Washington G., born October 28, 1831; Squire B.,
born October 10, 1833; John W., born February 28, 1836; Mary E., born

504 FAMILY HISTORY.
August 17, 1838; Phoebe C, born July 8, 1840; Job, born January 28, 1943;
Winfield S., born May 10, 1848; Mathew W., born December 28, 1850; WU
liam K., born November 13, 1853.
Squire Bosworth Ward, born 1833, son of Whitman; was married in
1856 to Mary Jane, daughter of Daniel and Catherine Dinkle; child, Iddo.
He owns 431 acres, 375 improved. His second marriage was tolda Huffman.
Iddo Ward, bom 1856, son of Squire B. Ward, married 1884 to Mary,
daughter of Adam C. and Sabina (Salisbury) Caplinger. Children, Stark,
Carrie, Russey, Adam D., Vatie. He owns 1080, 230 improved; farmer and
stockman. His grandfather, Daniel Dinkle, came from Augusta County.
John Baylis Ward, son of George W. and Maria (Earle) Ward, born
1852; married, 1882 to Angelina, daughter of Andrew and Susan Scott.
Children, George A. , William M. , Wilson P. , John Baylis, Edgar Foggy,
and Mary Genevieve.
James A. Ward, son of Levi D. and Rebecca (Wamsley) Ward; was
born near the site of Elkins in 1860. He was afterwards a scout among
the Black Hills, aud finally became a gold miner of Idaho. His father died
from harsh treatment while a prisoner of war at Fort Delaware. He was a
descendant of James Dyer who was carried away from Fort Seybert, Pendle
ton County, by Indians in 1758. Dyer was taken over the Seneca traU which
passed near Elkins, then a wilderness. His descendants afterwards set
tled there.
Elihu B. Ward, born 1838, sonofJes.se C, and Elizabeth Ward. In
1865 he married Eliza A. Crouch, and at his second marriage, Eugenia
Crouch. Children, Mittie L., KeiitC, Jubal E., Mary, Emma, Nora, Lenna,
Bessie, Randall, Bruce. He is a farmer, owns 1965 acres, and was in the
Confederate army. His son Kent married Ora M. Ward. Children, Wini
fred E., Blain E. and Gladys.
Lee M. Ward, bom 1846,son of Wm. L. and Eliza (Myers) Ward; Irish
and German descent. In 1867 he married Virginia, daughter of Moses and
Polly (Haigler) Hutton. Children, Tucker H., Russie L. and Lucy. He is
a farmer and stockdealer, owns 3000 acres near HuttonsviUe, largely im
proved. He entered the Confederate army iu 1862 and fought till the close
of the war, being paroled at Staunton. He is the possessor of furniture
which once belonged to his grandfather, Jonathan Hutton. His son Tucker
married Aneath, daughter of Edwin Butcher. Children, Whitman L. and
Brownie B.
Levi Scott Ward, son of Adonijah and Hannah (Hull) Ward, great-
grandson of one of the original surveyors of Beverly, born 1819. He was
married in 1841 to Martha, daughter of John and Mary (Hornbeck) Wood.
ChUdren, Hannah, John, Luther, Asa Paul, Sabina. He owns 140 acres
in Valley Bend.

FAMILY HISTORY. 505
Hull Adam Ward, born 1825 in what is now Tucker County; son of
Adonijah and Hannah (Hull) Ward; Irish ancestry; was married in' 1878 to
Melvina Wees. Children, Lee, Luella, Adonijah, Elvin, Jacob, WiUiam,
Harrison, Leonora, Alston Dayton, Hannah. He owns 200 acres, 150 im
proved; has lived 42 years in Randolph; was lieutenant of mUitia before
the war; has been school trustee. The children of Adonijah Ward were:
Peter, who married Polly Parsons; Jacob, Levi S., Hester, who married
Wm. W. Parsons; Jemima, who married Job Parsons; Susan, who married
James Wilson; and the subject of this sketch, who lives at Mingo.
Sterling P. Ward, born 1866, son of George and Margaret (Wamsley)
Ward; was married at Valley Bend in 1890 to Mary M., daughter of Charles
and Virginia (Wilmoth) Crouch. Child, Margaret Virginia. He is a farmer
and stock dealer near Crickard; was educated at the Bingham Military
School in North Carolina; owns 300 acre farm and a house and several lots
in Crickard, Jacob Wees, the first of the name in West Virginia, was an early
settler in Hardy County; was born 1733, died 1826; his ancestors were citi
zens of Germany. The date of their coming to America is not known.
The name at present is spelled both Wees and Weese. The original spell
ing conformed to neither of these, but was Waas, as is shown by the signa
tures on the old records of Randolph County. * It is said that in German
Waas is pronounced the same as Wees in English, consequently the name
has always been pronounced the same, although the orthography has
changed. Jacob Wees moved from Hardy County to North Carolina, where
he remained a short time, and then made his home in Randolph County.
The date of his coming is not definitely known, but it was during the Indian
troubles, for the fainily frequently took refuge in Wilson's fort in time of
danger. He was a man of influence in the community, and acquired consid
erable property. He had four sons and several daughters. The latter
married and moved away from Randolph. The sons were Jacob, George,
Daniel and John. Of these, Jacob's sons were Absalom, Jacob, John and
Eli. George's sons were Zirus, Zaiba and Jacob, and his daughters,
Rebecca, Catherine, Dorcas and Martha. Daniel's sons were Judson, Hay
mond and Duncan, and he had several daughters. John's sons were Elijah,
John and Job. All the Weeses of Randolph are descended from these.
Zirus Wees, born 1804 on Isner's Creek, son of George and Ruth (Mor
gan) Wees, was married in 1828 to Alba, daughter of John L, and Deborah
Hart; chUdren, Harriet, Deborah, Ruth, Perry H. and Ziba. He was a car
penter until forty years of age, and then began farming near where Elkins
now stands, on 200 acres, nearly all improved; had also 700 acres of mount
ain land. His son Ziba was born in 1844 and he married Rebecca Camden,
*See signatures on page 224.

g06 FAMILY HISTORY.
daughter of Archibald and CaroUne Wilmoth; child, Harley D. ; is a farmer
and stockraiser on the old homestead.
Levi Wees, born 1876, son of Taylor and Christina Wees; German
parentage. He has taught schoool four years.
Perry Hart Wees, born 1840, son of Zirus and Alba (Hart) Wees; was
married in 1865 to Mary Alice Jewell, daughter of Joseph and Alice
(ElUot) Harding; children, Boyd, Clyde, Glenn, Kirk, Hope. He is a farmer
and merchant.
Henry Harper Weese, born 1856, son of Jesse and Mahala(Stalna-
ker) Weese. In 1878 he married Celia, daughter of Robert Lloyd, who
dying in 1891, he married Mrs. Hannah Davis, daughter of Sampson Shif
iett. She died in 1896, and he married Luceba, daughter of Elam Daniels.
They have one child. Mr. Weese, on his mother's side, is a great grandson
of Adam Stalnaker who was killed by Indians below Beverly.
Elias Wees, born 1836, son of Absalom and Eunice(Marstiller)Wees;
was married in 1867 to Helen, daughter of Caleb and Mary Griffith; chil
dren, Elihu, Bruce, Arthur, Dora, Sterling, Bernard L. , Norvell. He was
a carpenter, and later farmed on King's Run; was a prisoner at Camp
Chase; died 1887.
Alba C. Wess, son of Andrew C. Wees, born 1860. His mother's
ihaiden name was Amy J. Hart; was married in 1881, to Marietta, daughter
of John M. Stalnaker; maiden name of wife's mother was Bethany Kittle.
Children, William H. and Thomas J.
Emmet Wees, born 1863; was married in 1891 to Eddie, daughter of
Edward and Minnie (Stalnaker) Pritt. Children, Charles Edward, Ora
May, Willis Lee. He is a farmer in Valley Bend.
Joseph A. Wilfong, born 1874, son of H. A. and Catherine (Huffman)
Wilfong In 1895 he married Alden Machia, daughter of Samuel B. and
Mary M. Long. Child, Zeni.. Be is a farmer and railroader in Dry Fork.
DeWitt Clinton WooDPORD,bom 1837 in Barbour County, son of John
H. and Nancy (Minear) Woodford; English parentage. In 1867, in Indiana,
he married Matilda Weirick. Children, DeWitt Clinton, Jacob Weirick,
Emmeline, Mary, Hattie, Florence, Catherine Harvey; farmer and fruit
grower; owns 1000 acres, 300 improved
Andrew Workman, born 1833 in Shenandoah County; son of Jona
than and Elizabeth Workman. On Leading Creek, in 1864, he married
Herriet, daughter of Asbury Stalnaker. Children, Andrew J., Oliver H.,
Susan A. , Archibald W. He owned a farm in the Wilson settlement, was a
member of the M. E. Church, and died in 1892.
Andrew Jackson Workman, bom 1865; son of Andrew and Harriet
(Stalnaker) Workman; German ancestry; was married in 1888 to Emmeline
(Kittle) Findley. There child is Thaddeus R. He is a farmer near Laurel,

FAMILY HISTORY. 507
with 123 acres and is one of the owners of the Riverside Stone Quary. His
wife's great-grandfather, on her mother's side, was John Waldo who was
carried away by Indians when two years old and remained with them seven
teen years, then returned and found his people. He subsequently went
back to the Indians and became a noted doctor, then returning and practic
ing among the white people. He was also a Baptist preacher, and died
about 1857.
William Webley, bom on Cheat River 1822, son of William B. and
Margaret (Schoonover) Webley; was married in 1842 to Mary, daughter
of Benjamin and Elizabeth Morrison. Children, Arnold, Elias, Harmon,
Enoch, William P. , Parkison C. and Perry T.
Enoch Webley; born on Cheat River 1851, son of William; was mar
ried in 1877 to Emmeline, daughter of John K. Wilmoth. William Webley
was a farmer, owned 210 acres five miles from Elkins. John K. Wilmoth
lived on Cheat, but now lives in Barbour County. He was in the Union
army. His children are Alba H. , Henry C. . Almeda and Emmeline.
Parkison C. Webley, born on Cheat River 1856, son of William;
was married in 1889 to Rachel Melvina (Corley) Goddin. Children, Lena
May, Ola G., Avery Fleet. He is a farmer, owns 334 acres, 100 improved,
five miles from Elkins; was educated in the common schools; taught nine
terms. His father was a farmer. ,
Thomas Epperson Wood, the famous scout who became widely known
for his services in behalf of the Confederacy, was a resident of Mingo. He
was born in 1805 in Prince Edward County, Va. , son of Carless and Glaf ery
Wood, of Irish parentage; was married in 1829 in Botetourt County, to Sarah,
daughter of Thomas and Martha Moore; children, Davis M., Andrew Jack
son, James B. and Clarinda. The year of his marriage he moved to Mingo
Flats, and from that time till the Civil War he was engaged in home work
and was successful. He was in his fifty-sixth year when the war came, and
although exempt from military duty, he was among the first to take arms.
Shoulflering his hunting rifle, he left his home, and encouraged younger
men to do the same. He joined General Garnett at Laurel Hill. Being
intimately acquainted with all the pasess through the mountains leading
south and east, and being a man who could be relied on, he was chosen as a
scout and guide and was commissioned by Governor Letcher. He operated
through Randolph, Pocahontas, Webster, Greenbrier and elsewhere, and
endured many hardships. For weeks at a time he was in the woods guiding
different parties through the mountains; and they often had to depend upon
his unerring rifie and practiced eye for things to eat, and they seldom went
hungry. One of his many daring deeds is worthy of note. He was one of
a company of twenty-five volunteers who hastened to the Little Levels to
intercept a squad that had been destroying property. After traveling on

508 FAIMLY HISTORY.
foot all night through the woods, they came to a log house in which the
Federals were encamped, and they demanded a surrender. But the demand
was answered by a fire from every window and crevice in the walls. The
fight lasted half an hour and resulted in the death or capture of the whole
Federal force. In the fight, Mr Wood was shot through the body, the ball
coming out above the hip. The surgeon. Dr. M. Wallace, examined the
wound and told him it would prove fatal. The scout declared that he would
recover, and in a few months he was again scouting through the mountains.
The wound, however, at times gave him trouble, and may have been the
cause of his death which occured in his 82d year. He was a warm friend,
or, if a foe, his noble nature moderated his enmity.
A. J. Wood, born 1850, son of Thomas E. and Sally Wood; was married
in 1871 to Miss S. Ware. Children, Sallie, Joseph, Jacob, John, Ann, Rob
ert, Houston, Bruce, Maggie and N. He lives at Mingo.
Francis M. Wood, born 1855, son of John C. and Elizabeth (Wilson)
Wood; married 1882 to Mollie Armentrout. Children, Charlie 0. and
Roland K.
Samuel Wood, born 1857, son of John C; married in 1886 to Fannie
M. Beatty. Children, Herbert H. and Lucy E.
Charles Noah Wood, born 1861, son of John C. and Mary W. (Chan
nel) Wood; English ancestry; married 1885 in Kansas to Florence, daugh
ter Daniel and Martha Kellison. Children, Arnett Clyde, Arva Earle, Iva
Merte. He has been a merchant at Mingo and deputy postmaster, and is
an excellent carpenter.
Davis E. Wood, born 1873, son of James and Millard (Hall) Wood;
married 1895 to BirdeUa, daughter J. P. and Melissa (Havener) Tolly.
Nicholas Wilmoth. The oldest of the family of Wilmoths in Ran
dolph County was Nicholas. He was the eldest of four brothers and two
sisters who settled on Shaver's Pork of Cheat near what was afterwards
known as the Stone House; viz: Thomas, Jonathan, James, Deborah and
Susan. They were an English family, but of their parentage, and where
they lived before coming to Randolph, nothing is now known. The exact
date of their settUng on Cheat is also unknown, but they were living there
at the beginning of the Revolution. The place was known as "the Wil
moth Settlement" in the earliest court records of Randolph. Nicholas
WUmoth built the largest house in Randolph County. It was made of logs,
two stories high, and very long and wide. The postoffice in that locality is
now caUed Corcoran. He married Sidney Currence and had eight children,
John W., Sarah, Thomas, WUUam, EU, Samuel, Currence and James.
Thomas Wilmoth, brother of Nicholas, married Nannie Schoonover,
and owned the land where the Stone House now stands. The house was
built by his son Levi with rocks taken from the river, and uncut. The

FAMILY HISTORY. 509
building proved strong and substantial and is one of the old landmarks.
The children of Thomas Wilmoth were Absalom, John, Edmund, Levi, and
three daughters.
Jonathan Wilmoth, brother of Nicholas; married a woman of Irish
parentage, but her name and the names of their children are now forgotten,
except that her son was named Ellis.
James Wilmoth, brother of Nicholas, left no family. He fell a vic
tim to Indian ferocity early in the Revolutionijry War. The tragedy oc
curred in the vicinity of the Stone House, but no record remains of the
date nor of the particulars of the event.
Eli Wilmoth, son of Nicholas, was married to Rebecca Vanscoy,
daughter of Aaron Vanscoy, who was a soldier in the War of 1812. Their
children were, Archibald, Emily, Currence, James, Arnold, Louisa, Isbern,
Oliver and Elizabeth. In 1858 Currence, who was then a married man, fell
in the fire, during a fainting spell, and was burned so that he died after
forty days. •
Archibald Wilmoth, son of Eli and Rebecca Wilmoth, born 1824,
was married in 1847 to Caroline, daughter of Isaac Taylor. Children, Lu
ceba Elizabeth, Alonzo Frances, Rebecca Camdena, Ella May. He now
resides in Elkins, and is one of the oldest representatives of the Wilmoth
family now living, and he furnished much of the data used in this History
concerning the old families that settled on Cheat River and Leading Creek.
He is a man of extensive and correct general information. His brother
Arnold, now dead, was a man of great prominence in the county and was
widly known and was always popular. He was a member of the county
court in 1867.
John Wilmoth, who lived where John Scott now lives on Wilmoth
Run, was one of the early settlers. He was a son of Nicholas and Sidney
(Currence) Wilmoth. The exact date of his birth is not known, but it was
before Randolph was formed, probably as early as 1775; for on October 16,
1799, he married Mary, daughter of James Cunningham.* Their children,
all now dead, were as follows: Elias died in Missouri, Peggy died in Ohio,
James died in Missouri, Prudence died at Mingo Plats, Wilson died in the
West, Andrew died in Beverly, Jacob died near Huttonsville, Solomon died
in Ohio, John died in Ohio, Adam died at Pike's Peak, Mary Ann died in
Upshur County, Devy died in Ohio. Elias Wilmoth was born in 1800 and
married Eliza, daughter of Andrew Crawford. Their children were Jennie,
Martha, Nancy and George. All were born on Wilmoth's Run. Jacob Wil
moth, son of John, born in 1810, died 1843, married Nancy, daughter of
WiUiam Smith. They had one son, John Hutton.
Nicholas Wilmoth, born 1824, son of William and Mary (Taylor)
* See the sketch of Solomon Cunningham for the history of James Cunningham.

510 FAMILY HISTORY.
Wilmoth; was married in 1853 to Eliza A., daughter of Noah McLean; chil
dren, Virginia, Emmeline, Minerva, Simpson, Haymond, Lou A., Julia B.
and Theodore.
Benjamin Franklin Wilmoth, bom 1829, son of William and Mary
(Taylor) Wilmoth, was married in 1868 to Virginia E., daughter of William
and Angeline Stalnaker. He was raised on Shaver's Fork, and in later hfe
lived on Leading Creek, and was on the Board of Supervisors during the
Civil War.
Seymour Wilmoth, born 1839, son of William and Mary Wilmoth,
married Virginia, daughter of Solomon and Malinda Kalor. Children,
Laura L. , Delia, Ann, Lizzie, Ollie, Columbia, William and Lottie Peari.
For a second wife he married Catherine, widow of Loman Hart, and was
divorced from her in 1896, and the same year married Jerusha Duckworth,
of Barbour County. He is a farmer near Kerens, and his son William was
in the United States army at the capture of Santiago, Cuba.
Oliver Wilmoth^ born 1835, son of Eli and Rebecca (Vanscoy) WU
moth; was married in 1857 to Louisa C, daughter of George W. and
Malinda Taylor. Children, Alice M., Eugene B., Francis Hayes, Flora C,
Clarence C. and Malinda W. He began as a farmer at Kerens, then farmed
at Meadowville fourteen years, coming to Elkins in 1889, and the next year
was elected town sergeant, holding the office five years; was re-elected in
1898. In 1867 — 8 he was a member of the Board of Supervisors. He
always conducted his public business in such a manner as to command the
confidence of the public.
Elihu Wilmoth, born 1836, son of John and Nancy Wilmoth. In 1857
he married Louisa, daughter of Wyatt and Edith (Schoonover) Ferguson.
Children, Nixon B., Charles W., French E., Nancy Ann and Edith Jane.~
He is a farmer and miller and has operated mills at Montrose, on Teter's
Creek and at Meadowville, Barbour Couny, the Nestor mill at Orlena, the
Wilmoth -Mill at Valley Furnace, and then built a mill at Montrose, where
he now lives. He spent two years in Pennsylvania. His father was a
farmer and was born on Shaver's Pork in 1799.
Alonzo Francis Wilmoth, born 1854, son of Archibald, was married
1886 at Wheeling to Marcy C, daughter of Thomas G. and Emily L. Black.
ChUdren, Emily, Josephine, Russell Woods, Edith Loraine; graduated at
the Fairmont Normal School 1881; the next year he was principal of the
New Martinsville public school; from 1884 to 1888 was secretary in the office
of State Superintendent of Schools, B. L. Butcher; in 1876 was elected
County Superintendent of Randolph, and held the office two terms. For
twelve years he has been identified with a large school furniture house; is
also engaged in the leather and saddlery business, and has always taken a
prominent part in the development of his county.

FAMILY HISTORY. 511
Eugene Blain Wilmoth, M. D., bom 1859, died 1895, son of Oliver
and Louisa C. Wilmoth; was married at Harman 1889, to Dolly A., dauo-hter
of A. H. and Elizabeth (Lantz) Harper. Children, Elizabeth Louisa,
Eugene and Eugenia. From his youth. Dr. Wilmoth was bright and active
and soon developed an aptitude for books and a desire for knowledge. His
education began in the common schools; then he attended the Philippi
school, next at Grafton and then at Fairmont in the Normal School. He
next taught a few terms. He then entered the Medical Department of the
Maryland University and graduated in 1888. He practiced his profession a
short time at his home in Meadowville, Barbour County, then at Harman,
and later located at Elkins, intending to make it his permanent home. He
was pre-eminently successful in his profession and was very popular.
William White, born 1813 on Dry Fork, son of David and Elizabeth
(Summerfield) White; English parentage. In 1837 at Beverly he married
Mahala, daughter of Margaret Summerfield. Children, Aliburtus, Almira,
Amby, EmUy, Uriah, William Levigia, Mahala, Margaret, Irene, Sampson
Sylvester. Mr. White built the first house on Shaver Mountain in 1849.
He has been a remarkable man, long to be remembered. He usually made
his own clothing, wore moccasins, except on rare occasions when he
endured shoes. He has been a great hunter, a veritable Nimrod. More
than 500 deer have fallen before the deadly aim of his rifie, and more than
100 bears have shared the same fate. Twenty-seven panthers have ceased
their screaching at his hand; he once killed nine in one laurel thicket.
When the Civil War came, he joined the Confederate army, serving as
lieutenant under Imboden three years, and saw much fighting, but was
never wounded. In his younger days the nearest stores were at Peters
burg, Franklin and Beverly. He went to school nine months; has been a
member of the Presbyterian and of the Dunkard church. He still lives,
hale and hearty, on Red Creek, strong of body and clear of mind, in his
eighty-sixth year.
Amby White, born 1842 on Dry Fork, son of William, was married to
Anna Ruhanna, daughter of Jacob Wyatt; children, Levi, Mahala,Ida, Eliz
abeth, Alfred, Clay, Amby, Lena May, Fronia, Galford, Philadelphia, Zan-
corda and Otto. For a second wife he married Amanda, daughter of James
White; his third wife was Alice Columbia, daughter of Solomon Carr; lived on
Shaver Mountain and Middle Mountain; was in the Confederate army under
Imboden, and was wounded by a piece of shell at McDowell.
Levigia V. White, born 1858, son of William, married Sarah, daughter
of Samuel H. Bonner; children, French, James and Gertie". As a hunter he
has met with phenomenal success, killing 12 bears, 200 deer and 500 turkeys.
Uriah White, born in 1846, son of William, married Margaret Snyder;
children, William, Emma J., Sampson, George W., James S., Wilbert B.,

512 FAMILY HISTORY.
Estey M., Xantippe, Peachie M., Dayton and Snowdie. In 1873 he married
Hannah V. White.
Archibald Earle White, born 1826 in Pendleton County, son of
Thomas. In 1848 he married Emily, daughter of John Wyatt. She died
in 1880 and he married Mrs. Louisa Henline, widow of Benjamin Henline of
Tucker County. She died in 1881. Children, Deniza, Mary Jane, Mar
garet, Felix, Sylvester, Elizabeth, Evangeline, Edmond, Jesse P., John T.
and Henry Howard. In 1882 he married Anna Jane, daughter of Solo
mon Fansler : owns house and lot in Job and 100 acres.
Levi White, born 1827, son of Thomas E.( "Soldier ") and Lucy (Rains)
White. In 1850 he married Mary A. Davis. She died in 1879 and he mar
ried, 1880, Sarah E., daughter of Joshua Teter. Children, John Wesley,
Susann, James, Levi, Henry, Mary, Elizabeth, Martha, Ellen, Job, Char
lotte, Viola May, Cyrus C. , Rosetta Florence, Delzena Edna, Grover L. ;
farmer, owns 200 acres, 150 improved.
Laban White, born 1837, son of Thomas S. ; married Catherine Rod
man, 1857. Children, Benjamin, Lorenzo D., Sarah, Mary S., Sidney A.,
Isabel, Alice, Louella, Idella, Laban; farmer and miller; belonged to the
Confederate Home Guards under Captain Sampson Elza, and was shot three
times by the Union Home Guards, but not killed.
John T. White, born 1860 in Pendleton County, son of Archibald. In
1888 he married Caroline, daughter of James D. and Maria Thompson;
farmer and railroader.
Felix White, born in Pendleton County, 1853, son of Archibald E. ,
and Emily White. In 1890 at Oakland, Md. ; he married Addie, daughter
of Benjamin and Louise (Wotring) Henline. Children, Arnett, Myrtle,
Opie and Loudie. He went to the West 1880, worked six years in Illinois,
worked seven years on railroads, visited Kansas and Colorado, returned
1894 to Randolph and went to work on the Dry Fork Railroad as foreman,'
which position he still holds.
Calip White, born in 1842, son of Joseph and Sallie (Lambert) White.
In 1868 he married Susan, daughter of Levi and Mary Ann White; children,
Lottie, French, Levi, Mary C, Mauda, Carrie, Page and Calip; is a farmer,
was Constable one term, and Justice of the Peace one term. David White
was the ancestor of the Dry Fork family, and lived near Job, and his three
sons were, Joseph who lived below Job on the farm where Calip now lives,
and who died in 1884; Thomas Soldier who settled at Job, and William who
settled on Shaver Mountain. Calip's son French married Martha E. White.
Jamas B. White, born 1835, son of Joseph, was married to Sarah Carr;
chUdren, George L. , Almeda, Louise, Emma J. , SaUie Ann, Martha, James
B., Joseph J. and Benjamin Y. ; farmer; member of the board of education.
John W. White, born 1850, son of Levi and Mary Ann White. In 1872

FAMILY HISTORY. 513
he married Columbia J., daughter of Daniel and SaUie Nelson; children,
Mary Margaret, Susanna, Jemima, Elizabeth, Frances, Sarah Jane, Alonzo
and Phoebe Ellen.
Levi White, bom 1861, son of Levi, married Lucy A. Lambert in 1879;
children, Jesse, Lafayette, Mary E., Melvina, Hester, EUa, Catherine, Amos
and Charles.
Joseph Layton White, born 1844 in Hardy County, son of Allen and
Lydia (Layton) White. In 1866 he married Susan Wilfong, widow of John
WUfong, daughter of Enos Helmick; Irish ancestry. Children, Abel, Amos,
Elizabeth, Allen, Adam Harness, Frank, Mary, Jane, Martin Kenna,
James B., Phoebe, Catherine, Taswell E. and Fannie. In 1885 he married
Amanda, daughter of Samuel Bender. He was elected Constable in Dry
Fork District in 1884. He served nearly four years in the Confederate
army, part of the time under Imboden.
Robert Cayton White, born 1875 on Dry Fork, son of George L. and
Phoebe C. White. In 1896 he married Almira, daughter of Taylor and
Margaret J. Elza. Children, Phoebe Jane, Carlie and Vernon.
George Washington White, born 1860, son of Henry and Sarah C.
White. In 1880 he married Mary S. , daughter of Laban and Cathe'rine
(Rodeman) White. Children, Lenora C. , Olive L. , Grover Scott, Dennis,
Dixon and Carl. He was a farmer and merchant at Job two years; was
elected Constable three times; located at Horton, 1897; attended school
only 12 months. When he was two years old, his mother removed to
Illinois, returning to Randolph in 1878.
Amby J. White, born 1879 on Shaver's Mountain, son of Amby and
Almeda White; farmer and lumberman.
Daniel Levi White, born 1875, son of James and Ellen (Nelson)
White. In 1897 he married Ada Belle, daughter of Noah and Malinda
Montoney. He is a farmer and railroader.
Lafayette White, son of William, born 1854 in Highland Co., Va. ;
English ancestry; was married in 1879 to Mary A., daughter of
EUis H. Houchin. Children, Bernard, Lily Florence, Effie Ellen and Flem-
mie Elizabeth; owns 254 acres, 50 improved, in Valley Bend.
Lorenzo Dow White, born 1834, son of John B. and Mary (Reger)
White. In 1855 he married Emmeline, daughter of Hoy and Rachel Mc
Lean. Children, John B. and Laura. He was Circuit Clerk four years;
Sheriff four years. His father was born near Beverly, and his grandfather,
Isaac White, was born near Huttonsville in 1776; great-grand-father,
Capt. John White, of the Revolutionary army, was killed in 1779
near HuttonsvUle, supposed to be by Indians, but some claim that he was
shot by two deserters who were hiding, and who suspected that he was look
ing for them..

514 FAMILY HISTORY.
Francis Marion White, son of JohnB.; born 1838; English ancestry;
was married in 1869 to Mary E., daughter of George and Elizabeth (Hart)
Buckey. ChUdren, Kent, Lizzie and Effie. Mr. White is a grandson of
John White who was killed near Huttonsville in 1779 by Indians, of which
further mention is made elsewhere in this book.
John B. White, bom 1856, son of Lorenzo D. White; in 1883 he mar
ried Lucy, daughter of Job W. and Martha E. Daniels; children, Nellie and
Howard. His grandfather, JohnB. White, was born 1800, and his children,
Amanda, Lorenzo D., Margaret H. , Francis M. and Columbia. Isaac White
was his great-grandfather and married Margaret Haddan who was born in
1779; chUdren, Polly H, John B., Rachel and Eliza.
Jacob Warwick, although not a resident of Randolph County, yet de
serves a place in its history. Few men took a more active part than he in
driving out the Indians and settling the county. He lived at Clover Lick,
Pocahontas County, aud was a large landholder in Randolph, and his de
scendants now form some of the best families in the county. His people
were Scotch-Irish, and he was the only survivor of the immediate family.
His father was a sea captain in charge of an English ship. During one of
his sojourns in a Virginia port he married a lady of that State. Soon after
that he was shipwrecked and drowned, leaving a widow and a baby. Jacob
Warwick was that baby; and he grew to manhood, and in 1774 when the
Dunmore War came on, he enlisted, and marched with General Lewis to
Point Pleasant, where he took part in the battle of Oct. 10. He was one of
the flanking party which attacked the Indians from the rear and turned the
scale of the battie and drove the Indians across the Ohio River. He
marched with the army to Chillicothe, Ohio, where peace was made.
Among the prisoners which the Indians had carried from the settlements in
Virginia was a boy two years old. They had murdered all the rest of the
family. When peace was made with the Indians, this boy was taken from
them, and Warwick carried him on his back through the woods, 300 miles
to Rockbridge Co. , Va. , where the boy grew up to be a useful citizen. On
that occasion Warwick, carrying the child, passed through the southern
end of Randolph, he having followed the Indian trail up tlie Kanawha, up
Elk, up Valley Pork and into T.ygart's Valley, and thence across the Alle
ghanies. Margaret, daughter of Jacob Warwick, married Adam See, one
of the first lawyers to practice in Randolph County. Through the Sees he
became related with the Buttons. He was one of the horsemen who
escaped from the Indian ambuscade above Haddan's fort in 1781.*
Charles Howard Wimer, "born 1866 in Maryland, son of Perry and
Catherine (Zebaugh) Wimer; German parentage; married 1890 at Elkins to
Martha, daughter of Archibald E. and Virginia (Hinkle) Harper. ChUdren,
Caraleta, Mary Grace and Franlv C. ; was a lumberman seven years. WhUe
*See page 184.

FAMILY HISTORY. 515
he was trying to rescue a companion from death in a train wreck he lost a
foot and was otherwise badly hurt. He then began as a barber in Pennsyl
vania; came to Elkins and opened a shop on Randolph Avenue; in 1898 he
moved to Davis Avenue, where he opened an elegant shop and built up a
valuable trade. His father was born in Pennsylvania in 1833, and his
grandfather in 1804, and died aged 90. The Wimers are one of the oldest
families in Pennsylvania.
0. C. Womelsdorff, son of Lefevre and Rebecca Alwilda Womels
dorff, bom 1850, at Pottsville, Pa. ; was married 1873 to Eleanor Amelia,
daughter of Isaac and Margaretta Pitman Beck, of Pottsville. Their chil
dren are Isaac Beck, who married Emelie Cordelie Shoener of Pottsville;
Stephen Harris, Helen Margaretta and Emily Thompson. Their home,
" Ligenelli," is at the town of Womelsdorff, named from this family. Mr.
Womelsdorff is the direct descendant of Capt. PhiUp Von Womelsdorff, who
came from Germany to America in 1650; and the father of the subject of
this sketch was an officer in the Federal Army and was also a volunteer for
the Mexican War. Mr. Womelsdorff came to West Virginia in 1889 and
bought large tracts of coal and timber land in Randolph County, and built
the Roaring Creek and Charleston Railroad, the ultimate destination of
which is Charleston.
A. I. Daniel Williams, son of Jeremiah Williams; Geman descent;
born 1849 in Harrison County; mother's maiden name was Celia Huff. He
was married in Doddridge County in 1868 to Rebecca, daughter of Nathan
Davis. Children, Marion Nahman, Alexander Washington, Martin Car
mine, Calvurna, Riley Homer, Frederick Cole, Zana Belle. At his second
marriage in 1885 he married Miss Martha Belle Hyde. He saw the tirst
locomotive that entered Clarksburg. His father was a soldier under Milroy.
William T. Woodyard, son of Arthur P. and Sarah A. (Brawner)
Wood.yard, born March 12, 1864, at Manassas, Va. ; was married in 1892 to
Emma, daughter of Parkison Collett; maiden name of wife's mother An
zina Chenoweth ; one child, Harold Gray. Mr. Woodyard taught school
eight years, three as principal in Beverly. In 1895 he was elected County
Superintendent. He has practiced law four years. On his mother's side
he is a descendant uf Sir Walter Raleigh, and his ancestors were soldiers
and officers in the Revolution. He is an extensive reader and an educated
critic of literature, not only in his native language, but also in Greek, Latin
and French.
Amos Duncan Whitecotton, born 1840 in Highland County, son of
Cornelius. In 1882, at West Alexander, Pa., he married Martha Elizabeth,
daughter of PhiUp and Betsy Ann Sponaugle. Children, Francis Wayland,
Frederick Emmons, Annie Kate and Coda Glenn; farmer, and has lived in
Randolph 21 years.
George Washington Whitecotton, born 1849 in Highland County,

516 FAMILY HISTORY.
son of CorneUus and Sarah Whitecotton; Scotch descent. In 1885 in Pen
dleton County he married Barbara C, daughter of Amos and Mary Spon
augle. Children, WUUam Cornelius, LoueUa May, Benjamin Harrison and
Nannie EUzabeth. He is a farmer and carpenter, has lived on Red Creek
ten years, owns 37 acres.
Isaac Roy Waybright, bom in Pendleton 1865, son of Daniel and
Christina (Mullennix) Waybright. In 1893 he married Arthena, daughter
of Solomon Cunningham. Children, Ola, Solomon, Silva Gladys; carpen
ter; has lived in Randolph since 1893.
Ellis A. Wyatt, born 1824 on Dry Fork, son of John and EUzabeth
(Rains) Wyatt; German ancestry. In 1849 he married Mary, daughter of
John and Winnie Pennington. Children, Jacob Flanagan, Samuel Crane,
John Imboden, Seymour, Solomon, Jasper T.,ElUs A., Washington, Phoebe
Jane, Mary EUen, Lenora E. In 1848 he buUt the first house in the neigh
borhood where he resides. After the Civil War he was the first and only
Democrat to vote at Dry Fork. No Democratic ticket had been printed,
and one had to be written to accommodate him. His father, John Wyatt,
was the first settler between Dry Fork and Shaver's Fork. He settied on
Middle Mountain in 1827. The grandfather of the subject of this sketch
was Edmund Wyatt, a native of Virginia.
George Washington Yokum, M. D. , son of John and Malinda (Kuy
kendall) Yokum, born 1831, of Irish and German ancestry; was married in
1858 to mary C, daughter of George W. and Maria (Earle) Ward. Children,
Humboldt and Bruce. The Yokums were settled in Virginia at least four
generations before the birth of the subject of this sketch. The first of
whom definite information can be obtained, was PhUip Paul Yokum, who
lived on the South Branch of the Potomac, and was the great-great-grand
father of Dr. Yokum. He married Miss Harness, who belonged to a family
of the earliest settlers ill that part of the country. The next was Michael
Yokum, son of Philip Paul, and he married Miss Stump. The third gener
ation was represented in Randolph County by William Yokum, who mar
ried Sally Ryan, and lived in the Ryan House, a short distance west of
the Beverly bridge. The Ryans were an old family in Randolph. The first
was Solomon, the father of Sally (Ryan) Yokum. Her brothers and sisters
were: Solomon, James, Polly, who married John Clark, Jane, who married
Henry Graham, Diana;, who married Rev. Daniel Helmick's father, Nellie
and one whose name is not now remembered, who married Counsel Hart.
John Yokum, the fourth generation, married Miss Kuykendall (also spelled
Coykendall) a very old family of the South Branch, famous in the Indian
wars before settlements were made west of the Alleghanies. In the early
years of Randolph, some of the Kuykendall family moved to the county. Dr.

FAMILY HISTORY. 517
Yokum studied medicine under Dr. Wm. Biggs in 1853-4, and also attended
lectures at Jefferson College, Philadelphia. He commenced the practice of
his profession in 1854, and in 1859 located in Beverly, where he has since
resided. His extensive observation, careful investigation and retentive
memory, made him, perhaps, the best posted man in Randolph, concerning
the history of the county during the period of his life; and due acknowledg
ment is made here, and elsewhere, of his invaluable assistance in compiling
data for this book.
Outside of his profession, he has been a successful business man, hav
ing identified himself with many enterprises. He was four years president
of the county court and is now a director of the Elkins National Bank. He
has extensive land interests, no less than 1000 acres under cultivation,
besides wild lands. The famous ' 'Sinks of Gandy" belong to him. Prom
July till September, 1861, he was in a Federal prison as a prisoner of war,
at Camp Carlisle (Wheeling Island). In his profession he has always been
a careful investigator, close student and extensive reader. His medical
library is by all odds the largest in Randolph County. His life-Work and
its success have made him one of the landmarks of the county.
Humboldt Yokum, M. D., son of George W. Yokum, M. D., born 1860.
He was married in 1890 to Hattie M. , daughter of Daniel R. Baker, and
their child is Gertrude. Dr. Yokum attended the University of Maryland,
at Baltimore, and graduated from the Jefferson Medical College at Phila
delphia in 1885, and attended the West Virginia University three and a half
years. He has practiced his profession in Beverly since his graduation.
He owns 400 acres and has an interest in 3500 more, besides a home in Bev
erly worth $4500, and other lots in Beverly and Elkins. He has a bear-
spear that was used by Jacob Yokum, one of his ancestors, who lived to be
ninety-seven years old. Dr. Yokum is one of the leading business men of
Randolph County.
Bruce Yokum, son of Dr. George W. Yokum, born 1866; was married
in 1893 to Mary Erwin, daughter of Morgan Kittle; maiden name of his
wife's mother was Sallie Long. He was educated at Washington and Jef
ferson College at Washington, Pa., and as a business he handles agricul
tural implements and hardware at Beverly.
Adam Yokum, born 1841 in Grant County, son of George and Christina
(Mouse) Yokum; German parentage. In 1866, in PendletcJn County, he
married Rebecca, daughter of Michael and Phoebe (Harman) Mouse. ChU
dren, Anzina, Jasper, Daniel, Michael, Dennis, Esten and Walter. He is a
farmer, owns 1200 acres, 600 improved; was in the Union army, 7th W. Va.
Vol. Inft. , and was in the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancel
lors vUle, Gettysburg, Second BuU Run and other; was wounded at An
tietam. 33

518 FAMILY HISTORY.
D. M. Yeager, born in Barbour in 1842, son of Absalom and Mary
Ann (Coberly) Yeager. In 1865 he married Nancy, daughter of Solomon
and Edith George. Children, Mary E., Edith, Sarah E., Henry J., Solo
mon, Louise J. and Lizzie. He was in the Union army and took part in
many important battles.
John Zehnder, born 1832 in Switzerland, son of John and Anna
(Herren) Zehnder; was married in 1883 to Ruanna, daughter of George and
Saloama (Boggs) Lake. Children, Emma and Ida; farmer, owns 97 acres,
30 improved. A. W. Zinn, born in Barbour County, 1863, son of Anthony and Mar
garet (Berger) Zinn; German and English ancestry. In Pocahontas County,
1886, he married a daughter of Jacob K. and Clara Taylor. Children, Law
rence, Clara, Taylor B. , George and Ruth. He owns a house and two lots
in Huttonsville, at which place he is in business as a wagon builder and
undertaker. SUPPLEMENT.
The following biographies were received too late for insertion in the alphabetical list of sketches.
1 John W. Armentrout, bom 1843 in Pendleton County, son of Hiram
and Amanda Armentrout, was married in 1868 to Martha, daughter of John
and Susan Dolly. Children, Robert E. L., Laura V., Stella C, Jasper C,
and Wilbur E. He is a farmer, owning 550 acres, 200 improved, near
Horton. Christopher S. Armentrout, born 1845 in Pendleton County, son
of Hiram and Amanda (Smith) Armentrout, was married in 1883 to Phoebe
C, daughter of John W. and Mary 0. (Judy) Mullennix. Children, Ola E.,
Vista G., Carney L., Elva T., Viva and Orgie P. He is a farmer; owns
1000 acres, 600 improved, near Whitmer, on which he grazes 70 cattle and
125 sheep a year. He came to Randolph in 1872, and in 1888 was elected
a member of the county court. During his term of office the new Court-
House at Beverly was built, the iron bridge across the river above that
town was constructed, and a large number of new roads in Middle Fork and
other mountainous districts were opened. His father was bom about 1810
near Petersburg, now Grant County; was Lieutenant of Militia, and died
at the age of 66. His grandfather, Christopher, was also born near Peters
burg about 1775, and died at the age of 82. The great-grandfather, also
named Christopher, came from Rockingham County, Virginia. His grand
mother, Eva Catherine (Peterson) Armentrout, died in Pendleton County •
at the age of 98. His grandmother was captured at Fort Seybert in 1758
by Indians under Killbuck and was in captivity six years, until General
Bouquet conquered the Indians in 1764. The prisoners captured at Fort
Seybert were taken west over the old Shawnee trail which led from the
mouth of Senaca to where Elkins now stands.

FAMILY HISTORY. 519
Hezekiah Bowers, born in Pendleton County in 1835, son of Joseph
and Barbara Bowers, was married in 1868 to Ellen M., daughter of Levi T
and Mary Gillmon. ChUdren, Arbela, Joseph, John, Charies, Tilden, Cora",
Margaret, AUce George. He was in the Confederate army.
Samuel Isaac Brown, born 1842 in Pocahontas County, son of Archi
bald and Prancina (McCoy) Brown, is of EngUsh and Irish ancestry, and
was married in 1865 to Carolina E., daughter of James and Martha (Farns
worth) Smith. Children, Archibald S. , Prancina E. , Sheldon C. , Maggie
L. Austin B. , Willa Ann, Dora B. , Eliza Jane, Washington Lee, Mabie
Woods and Jane Averell. He was a Union soldier under Averell, Crook,
Sheridan and Grant, and was in numbers of battles all the way from Beverly
to Richmond, and was present at Lee's surrender. He is a member of the
G. A. R. Post at Buckhannon.
Arthur M. Bradley, born 1856, son of Matthew Whitman and Annie
(Wertenbaker) Bradley. In 1888 he married Mittie, daughter of Parkison
Collett. He was educated in the common schools and in the French Creek
Academy in Upshur County, then taught 12 years, always passing good ex
aminations. He was 7 years member of the Board of Examiners. For one
year he was in the County Clerk's office, and also clerked for A. D. Barlow
at Beverly. He was manager three years of Scott Brothers' planing mill
at Elkins, first in the county; was assistant postmaster at Elkins; was on
the West Virginia Central Engineer Corps, and since then has been in the
railroad shops, now foreman of car building. Matthew Whitman was his
great-great-uncle. Baxter Butcher, born 1843, son of Reuben S., married Annie R.,
daughter of Earle Daniels. Children, Alice H. , Francis M. , Clarence J. , Ber
nard L., Lewie A., WiUiam S., Mollie M., Thomas S.
George W. Cunningham, born 1858, son of A, J. and Eleanor (Wimer)
Cunningham; was married in 1883 in Barbour County to Mollie S. , daughter
of Graham H. and Margaret Hamrick. Children, Mabel, Delmar H. , Lois,
Lutie, Reta, Hurst J., Elf a and one deceased. Mr. Cunningham was born
in humble life, and his early years were passed amid the dangers of the
Civil War on the borders. From his childhood he was very apt in books',
particularly mental arithmetic. He knew the multiplication table to 25x25
before his first day in school; and before he was in school a week he was at
the head of the spelling class. The opportunities for an education were
few, but he made use of all of them, attending the public school and work
ing on the farm to help support the family. Later he attended private
school in Barbour County, and then began teaching and farming. He has
taught thirty- six terms, aggregating 150 months, and always on a No. 1
certificate. He is a Republican, has given faiuch thought to economic pol
itics but has never sought office. IIis father-in-law, Mr. Hamrick, iq

520 ~ FAMILY HISTORY.
Barbour County, is the discoverer and patentee of an embalming process
which has attracted much attention. He is seventy-seven years old.
Andrew Jackson Cunningham, born 1830 in Pendleton County, son
of Stephen and Elizabeth (Hinkle) Cunningham; was of German and Irish
parentage. In 1855 he married Eleanor, daughter of George and Susan
(Zicafoose) Wimer. Children, George W., Joseph Arnold, Martha, Eliza
beth S. (wife of Emil Knutti), Mary, Andrew J. and Lucy Ellen. Mr. Cun
ningham settled on Middle Mountain in 1859 near the old Wyatt homestead.
He was driven from his home during the war and returned, at its close. He
worked hard to raise his family of twelve in that wilderness. In 1874 his
wife died and he broke up housekeeping. The younger children were
taken by neighbors, and the older looked Out for themselves. He was not
inclined to acquire or hold wealth. He was chiefly esteemed as a skillful
nurse, and was a good "home doctor." Both he and his wife were German
Baptists. He died in 1893 at the home of his son George near Elkins, and
was buried on Middle Mountain.
Thomas Beauregard Crittenden, M. D., born in King and Queen
County, Va., 1862; was a son of Capt. G. H. and Mrs. Emmeline Critten
den. His father was in the o.yster business at the beginning of the war,
entered the Confederate army and lost his property, therefore was unable to
give his son a college education. With a common school education, the
subject of this sketch left home at the age of seventeen, and was employed
by a relative in a Baltimore publishing house for several years, and while
in that city graduated from a business college. The publishing house
moved to Alexandria, Va., and the doctor went there also, remained
eighteen .months, then returned to his home town. West Point, Va., and
bought a share in the West Point Virginian, a weekly paper. The field was
small, and after two years he went to Washington and secured a govern
ment position. In 1895 he graduated in medicine at the Georgetown Uni
versity, and began practicing in Washington, where he filled important
positions both in hospitals and in the medical college from which he grad
uated. In 1897 he was called to Whitmer to perform a surgical operation,
and finding a field there, he sold out in Washington and located in Whitmer,
where he at once took his place in the front rank of his profession.
Richard Chaffey, born 1850, at Pittsburg, son of H. P. and Isabella
(Hopwell) Chaffey; English ancestry; was married in 1882 to Laura L.,
daughter of A. W. and Caroline Couse. Children, Ruth Laura, and Flor
ence Isabella. He has a normal school education; came to Randolph in
1889 and eight years later was elected to the Elkins City CouncU. He is in
the merchandising business at WiUiam, and owns a stave factory at Lick.
His residence in what is known as the "Public Square" in Elkins is one of
the best in the town.

FAMILY HISTORY. 521
William Henry Dann, born in England in 1854, son of George and
Elizabeth Dann, was married in 1875 in Kansas to Christina Addison,
daughter of ' Captain and Mrs. B. J. P. Hanna. Children, Albert Edwini
WUUam Christie, Margaret Elizabeth, Annie Ethel, and Benjamin George!
He came to America in 1871 and located at St. Louis, thence moved to
Kansas where he clerked in the land office, and was Town Clerk of Wake-
eney, and in 1885 was elected clerk of Trego County, Kansas. He was also
engaged in other business until he came to Randolph County when he en
gaged in the hardware business in Elkins where he owns a large store, and
is half owner of the Warfield-Dann building, and has other valuable pro
perty. He was elected City Recorder of Elkins in 1897, and lost heavily in
the fire of that year. He is also a member of the Board of Education and
secretary of the Masonic Lodge.
Sandy H. Fisher, born in Barbour County, 1868, son of Charles T.
and Elizabeth A. Fisher; was married in 1895 to Annie B., daughter of G.
M., and Elizabeth (Taylor) Hart. Children, Raymond and Pearl. He is a
merchant at Kerens, and has an interest in a store at Calhoun, Barbour
County, under the firm name of C. T. Fisher & Sons. He began in a small
way five years ago, and now has one of the finest stores in Randolph.
Hoy M. Ferguson, born in 1854, son of Robert M., married Margaret
S. , daughter of Samuel Kalor. Children, Lair D. , Hyre, Mary, Ray, Birdie,
Daniel Archibald Ferguson, born 1852, son of Wyatt, married Ella,
daughter of James Murphy. Children, Jonathan, Mary E., Martha E., A.
J., Sarah E., James H,, Hester B, and Monie.
Columbus C. Ferguson, born in 1848, son of Wyatt, married Hester,
daughter of James Murphy. Children, Isabel, Talbott, James, Eunice,
Andrew, Maxon, Elizabeth and EsteUa D,
Gilbert M. Hart, born 1854, son of Jacob and Anna. (Young) Hart;
was married in 1876 to Margaret E, , daughter of Nimrod Taylor, Children,
Taylor B,, Charles B., Anna B,, Grover C, Dama G. and William J. Bryan.
He is a miller and farmer; owns 40 acres,
George Washington Harper, born 1849, son of Daniel and Sally A.
(Earle) Harper; was married in 1870 to Louisa Melvina, daughter of Allen
and Jemima (Ward) Taylor. Children, William G. , Gilbertia' M. and John
Taylor. He was educated in a school house with a dirt fioor and a slab for
a writing desk, and was raised a miller, but afterwards became a farmer.
He was Constable two terms, also deputy sheriff, and for the past seven
years has been farm superintendent for Senator Elkins.
Archibald Earle Harper, born 1834, son of Daniel and Sallie Ann
(Earle) Harper; was married in 1863 to Phoebe C, daughter of Whitman
Ward. She died in 1864, and two years later he married Amanda Virginia,
daughter of Ananias Hinkle. She died in 1875, and four years later he

522 FAMILY HISTORY.
married Cordelia, daughter of Jacob Phares. Children, Archibald, Daniel
A., Enoch, Mary Alice, Martha, Phoebe C, Marion J., Icy, "D," Lummie,
Perry, Stephen B., Harvey, Louisa, Annie and Charley. Mr. Harper was
Commissioner of the Revenue in 1861, and three years later was appointed
and then elected Sheriff. The land on which the principal part of Elkins
stands formerly belonged to him, and he now owns 34 acres one-half mile
from town, and 175 on the niountain. He is a member of the M. E. Church
and an Odd Fellow. His father, bom in 1807, was Captain of Militia. His
grandfather, Henry Harper, was born in Germany, and in early life settled
three miles above Beverly.
James Hanley, born 1855 in Dublin, Ireland, son of James and Anna
(O'Rouke) Hanley. In 1876 at Baltimore he married Rebecca, daughter of
Michael and Mary (McCann) McCabe. ChUdren, Mamie, James, Eugene,
Marcella, Cletis; tinner by trade; left Ireland when five years old and
located in Baltimore, where he remained until 1882, then moved to Beverly,
and seven years later came to Elkins and went into, the hardware business;
owns 105 acres near Elkins, and he handles thoroughbred stock. His son
James enlisted in the West Virginia National Guards in 1894 and in April,
1898, was called into service in the Spanish War, and was stationed at Chic
amauga during the summer of 1898. He holds the rank of first sergeant.
William .P. Jett, born 1862 in Harrison County, son of Stephen A.
and Susan V. (King) Jett; was married in 1881 to -Sarah, daughter of Lot
and Cassandra G. (Wright) Bowen. Their only child is dead. Lot Bowen
was a Justice in Harrison County, was a member of the First Wheeling
Convention (see page 115), and was a major in the Federal army, and was
specially honored by Gen. Sheridan. He was afterwards killed in a rail
road accident, and his wife died of blood poisoning. Mrs. Sarah Jett grad
uated at Lewisliurg {Pa.) University in 1869, and was a teacher until 1880,
at which time she came to Randolph. Her mother's people (Wrights) were
the early settlers of Philadelphia, and other ancestors of the family figured
prominently in the Indian wars, and some met their death at the hand of
the red savages. Mrs. Jett is now postmistress at Montrose.
Winfield Scott Kelly, born on Kelly Mountain, son of Lovell and
Mary M. (Taylor) Kelly; was married in 1879 to Columbia, daughter of
Allen and Maria Isner. Children, Cevilla, Jessie, Pearl and Effie. His
farm of 200 acres is three miles from Elkins. He was elected Justice in
1896. His grandfather, Abel W. Kelly, came from Pennsylvania.
Adam B. Mouse, born 1861, son of Adam Mouse. At HuttonsvUle,
1879, he married Samaria A., daughter of Jerry C. and Clara (Moore) Chan
nell. Children, Fred, Laura, Ocie, Harold. He is a farmer, owns 132
acres, mostly improved. His father was a farmer and carpenter; was born
1825 in Grant County; came to Randolph in 1833 and fourteen years later

FAMILY HISTORY. 523
married Emily Cooper. Daniel Mouse was his father's name, and he came
from Germany. Mrs. Mouse was educated at the Hill Academy at Huttons
ville and at the Fairmont Normal School. She taught eleven terms. Her
great-grandfather Channell came from Hardy County in 1793. His son
Jerry was born in 1798, and grandson Jerry in 1826. Mr. Mouse's great
grandfather, on his mother's side, was named Lickens, and he was an officer
in the Revolutionary army.
Chambers L, Mustoe, born in 1860 in Barbour County, son of An
thony and Catherine Mustoe; farmer and lumberman, owning 160 acres.
In 1880 he went through the western country, visiting Missouri, Montana,
and during the next four years was among the gold mines of Alaska and
British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, California; also was in the South.
In 1886 a premature explosion of dynamite tore off part of his hand and killed
his brother Anthony. It occurred in the Cascade Range. After many
vicissitudes of fortune he settled as a farmer two miles from Kerens.
Abraham C. McDaniel, born 1884 in Indiana, son of William S. and
Martha (Thompson) McDaniel; was married in 1879 to Sarah Margaret,
daughter of George H. and Julia Ann Nestor. Children, Bahn, Hester E.,
Bertha, Blaine, Ulta Belle, Augusta, Gnomon and Isaac. He owns 200 acres,
half improved, two miles from Kerens, and has taught eleven terms of
school in Randolph and Barbour Counties, on No. 1 certificates. He is now
in the lumber business and has always been successful, having begun for
himself at the age of seventeen. His father was born m Taylor County in
1834, married in Indiana and settled in Taylor County. Isaac McDaniel,
his grandfather, was born in Taylor County, and his great-grandfather,
Aaron McDaniel, came from Pennsylvania.
William Frank Stout, born 1859, son of Benjamin Stout; married
Harriet, daughter of Colman J. Schoonover. Children, Maudie A. . Chloe
D. , James C. and Alecia R. He lives at Montrose.
Adam C. Stalnaker, born 1842; son of George W. ; married Ella,
daughter of William Lee, and lives on a farm near Elkins.
William Prescott Smith, born in Pennsylvania, 1843, son of John
Smith; married Eliza E. Mallott. Children, Charles, Emma J., Alice and
Maggie E. He owns a truck garden near Elkins.
James Wilmoth, born 1829, son of EU; married Eunice, daughter of
Archibald Ferguson. Children, L. D. , Delia, Estella and Leland.
Benjamen Wilmoth, bom 1845, son of George W. ; married EUzabeth
McGinnis. Children, lantha Barbara, George, Ida L., James O., Sarah S.,
and Clyde C.

insr^E^^:.

In the following Index no reference to names in the Family History is
made. That part of the book is arranged alphabetically as to names, and
an index is not needed.

Adams, Lorenzo 309
Addison, Alexander 191, William 232
Alford, John 190
Allen, John J. 226 232
Alexander, Elias 201
Alpina, 268 297
AUeghany Mt. 268
Altitudes 268 269
Armstrong, Maxwell 193 232
Armentrout, C. S. 227
Arnold. Jonathan 301, Stark W. 233
Thomas J. 226 233
Avondale 268
AvereU, Gen. W. W. 158 159 161 165
262
Assessors, List of 223
Batte, Capt. Henry 19
Baker Wm. 48, W. H. 234, W. E. 234
Stark L. 307, D. R. 309
Baltimore & Ohio R. R. 144 157 261
Badger, Capt. Joseph 169
Baxter, Rev. G. A. 312'
BaU, Samuel 196 205
Bazier, Rev. E. R. 313
BeUngton, 237 248
Beverly 127 128 138 139 155 156 159
161 166 168 169 189 190 194 207 258
262 263 288 290
Bennett Wm. 222, Martin V. 254,
Jonathan M. 233
Becca's Creek 280
Beans, C. E. 289
Bent, J. A. 233 290
Bill of Rights 89 90 93 96
Bingham, Samuel 197
Blackman, ftavid 189 297 300
Bland, Thomas 199,
Blair, Wm. 200

Blue Spring 268
Blain, Rev. John S 312
Booth, Isaac 205 221
Bouquet, Gen. 37 42
Bonnifield, Samuel 189 198 201 216
220 221, Arnold 204
Board of Registration, 234
Bogard, CorneUus 218 220 221 290
Bonner, Wm. 193
Bowman, A. C. 233
Bosworth, S. 1^. 201 202, Squire 222
312, A. S. 230 233 289, John 289
Braddock, Gen. 32 33 45 177
Brake, John 48
Brodhead, Gen. 54
Brown, John Raid 105, Bailey killed
147, Thos. P. R. 198 227 233 Wm.
G. 232, B. L. 222, 232
Bradford, Thomas A., 233 309
Breckenridge, Gen. John C. 164
Brush Camp Low Place 268
Bushwhackers 138 152 254
Buckhannon 168 186 257
BuUtown, 180
Buffington, Jonathan 185 194
Bush, John 186
Butcher, Ely 197 221, Bernard L. 226
233 289
Buckwheat Church 268
Burge, Rev. Adam 312
Buckey A. 201
Burner, Abraham 201
Carlile, John S., 110 116 117 119 120
124 199 232.
CampbeU, A. W., 123
Carnifex Ferry, Ijattle of, 143.
Camp Alleghany, battle of, 150
Cameron, David 185 220

526

INDEX.

Cassity, Peter 188 203 207, post-
office 268
Cade, Thomas 196 220
Canfield, Daniel 201
Caplinger, Solomon C 222 227, John
297
Camden, G. D. 226 227 232 310, Len
ox 297
Caves 281
Carr, Joab 300
CentervUle 168
Celeron, Capt. 176
Cheat River 48 176 185, skirmish at
160
Cheat Mountain 138 140 149 166 249
252, 257, 271
Chenoweth, Lemuel, 198 226, John
203 221 226, W. C. 203, 222 226, Z.
T. 222, Pugh 297
Churches, Presbyterian 312, Metho
dist Episcopal 312, Primitive Bap
tists 313, African M E 313, Mis
sionary Baptists 314, Methodist
Protestant 314 *=
Chambers, Rev. James 314
CivU War 126 130 147 234 236
Claypool, John 48
Clarksburg 158
Clerks, Ust of, 222
Clem, Wm. 297
Clawson, Rev. S J 315
Connolly, John 41, Darby 183, 187
Constables, fees of, 87, hst of, 227.
Constitution, of 1776, 89, of 1830, 91,
of 1851, 94, of 1863, 98, of 1872, 101
Corrick's Ford 136 149 153 246 254
Cox, Gen. J D 142
Copper Ore 286
Court 188 189 201
Court-Houses 188 192 196 198 199
County Seat 188 189
Collett, Solomon 196 204 231, Parkin
son 201, Zan P. 290, Thomas 313
County Records 202, Surveyors, Ust
of, 223
Conrad, Jacob 203, Peter 221, 295,
306, Omar 227
Cooper, Jeremiah 205
Coroners, list of, 226
Commissioners, list of, 227
Corley, W F 230
Coal 279

CornweU, M S 289
Confederate Soldiers, list of, 292,
fiag 305
Cornstalk, 43 44 45 50
Crown Grants 24
Crane, Samuel 118 226 233
Cross Lanes, battle of, 142
Cresap, Col. Thomas 175, Gustavus
226, 0. J. P. 233, Capt. Michael 45
46
Crouch, James 184, Joseph 191, John
203 204 205 217 221, Lee 222, Smith
297, Thomas 297, EU H. 297 303
Crickard, Patrick 205 227, town of,
268
Crawford, Andrew 221 312, Rev. Ed
ward 312, Crawford Cave 283, J W
203 222 233
Currence, John 191 203, 221. Wm 194
220, Col. Melvin 203, Currence Fort
182
Outright, John 205 206
Curtis, George M 234
Cunningham, A. M. 234
Dare Devils, defeated 151
Daniels, William 221
Dayton, Spencer 202 233, Alston G.
233
Day's Mills 268
Davis, Hon. H. G 287 291
Davisson, Nathaniel, 232, Geo. C. 232
Dailey, C. W 233
Despard, B. A. 232
Dean, Henry Clay 313
Dinwiddle, Gov. 30, 181
Distances from Beverly, table of 269
Dix, D.D. 306
DonnoUy's Fort 49 52
Dougherty, Daniel 185
Dorman, Timothy 186 300
Domire, Rinehart 231
Dow, Rev. Lorenzo, 302 311
Dolbeare, Dr. Benjamin 302
Droop Mountain, battle of, 161
Dry Fork, 180 220 254 255
Dunmore, Lord 39 40 42 45 46
Duckingstool 86
Dublin Raid 165
Duncan, Judge Edwin S. 199 226'227
232
Earle, Archibald, 197 199 201 222,

INDEX.

527

John B. 202 222
Edmonton 290
Edmiston, Judge M. 232
Elkwater 138 140 149 249 251 252 268
296
Elliott, Matthew 49 52
Elections 191
Elkins, Hon. S. B. 287 291, town of
198 268 291
Elza, Thompson, 203
Elk River, 282, Cave of, 282
Evans, James 232, Marmaduke, 232
Ewin, Wm 233
Fairfax Stone 20 59 60 178, 179
Fairview Church 268
FaUing Spring-Cave 283
Ferries 88 194
Ferguson, Robert 197, J. J. 290,
Wyatt, 203
Federal soldiers 292
Fishing Hawk 179 268
Files, Robert, 180 307
Fink, Henry 190
Floyd, Gen. J. B- 141
Elat Top Copperheads 152
Florence 268
Flint, ledge of 285.
Ports, Duquesne, 30 32 34 35, Neces
sity, 31 33, Cumberland 32 33 175,
Seybert 33, Pitt 35 36 37 48, Ran
dolph, 45, 49, 50, Charlotte 45 46,
Henry 49 51 54 55
Foreman, Capt, Wm. 52
French and Indian War 29 39 178
Friend, Jonas 194 206 295, Joseph
195, Andrew 203
French Creek, 257
Garnett, Gen. 127 133 136 145 148 180
236 240 242 245 248, Rev. 314
Gandy, Uriah 193 206 221.
Gallion, Lieut V. J. 309
Galandet, Rev. Theodore 312
Ginseng 302
Gist, Christopher 21 30
Girty, Simon 41 43 46 49 51 54 55
Gibson, John 185, Nicholas 196
M ^Co? David 127 198 203 208 226
230 232, Claude 29i, 233, Salathiel
188 191 205 326 303
Goddin, Jesse W. 22 <

Greenbrier Company 21
Greynolds, Lew 234
Hampshire County 33 34
^^m^^«^?' Henry, 50 53, Patrick 188
191 203, John 206
Harmar, Gen. 56
Harper's Ferry 106 112 147 148
Hart, David 135 238. Edward 191 195
231, Henry 193, John M, 221, 223,
Hugh S. 204, Abel W. 222, Joseph
226 232, S. B. 230, Ezra P. 313
HaU, Major 168 263
Hayden, John 176
Haddan, John 183 188 189 190 196 203
216 218 220, Wm. H. 194, Haddan's
Fort, 184 186.
Haymond, John 188, W. C. 232 301,
A. P. 233
Harper, A. E, 205 222, Adam, 216,
Peter 296
Harding, Major J. P. 222 233 304 306
C. W. 234, Marion 304
Harman 268
Harris, Col. T. M.' 262, Rev. Simon
191
Harrison, Wm. A. 232
Heath, Asahel 204, 221
Helmick, Jacob 231
Helvetia, 268
HiU, J. J. 230, Gen. C. W. 248
Horse Shoe 178 183 191 205 206 220
Horse Shoe Run, 177 248
Hornbeck, Benj. 185 194 217 221 295
Horse racing 198 199
HoweU, Michael 201
Holder, James, 202, David 221
Holt, Judge J. H. 227
Hogue, Moses 312
Hughes, John N. Ill 233 244
HuttonsviUe 132 138 146 148 159 268
280 289
Huntersville 151
Hunter, Gen. David 166
Hutton, Jonathan 196 208 312, John
289 234, Warwick 222, Alfred 291,
Col. B. 291
Huff 268
Ice, Judge W. T. 227 233
Imboden, Gen. John D. 153 154 156
161 180 253 254 255 257
Indians 25 30 49 175 181 184 185 190,

528

INDEX.

Settiements 22 27, trails 27 196 308
Indictments 192 194 195 197 198 199
"Inter-Mountain" 289
Isner, Michael 191 207, Thomas 201,
AUen 297, PhiUp 297
Irvine, Judge Robert 202
Italians, strike of, 291
Jackson, Gen: John J., Ill, Gen.
StonewaU 147, Gen. W. L. 159 262
Gen. Andrew 297, John 188 190 203
204 206 218, Edward 188, 194 203
221, 223, John G. 232, Henry 223,
Jonathan 232
Job 268
Johnson, Joseph 95, H. G. 289
Jenkins, Gen. A. G. 153 165 256.
Jones, Gen. W. E. 156 157 257 261
JaU 191 192 196 198 199
Juries 191 192 199
Judges, Ust of, 227
Justices,-188, listiof 224
KeUey, Gen. B. P. 130 256
Kerens 268, R. C. 288 291
Keim, N. G. 289
KiUbuck 33 178 256
Kinnan, Joseph 186
Kittle, Abraham 191 226 231 295, Le-
' land 198 222 233, Morgan 201, Cy
rus 203 223 235, James 204, George
205
KingsviUe 268
Kildow, J. E., 289 314
Knutti, J. G. 297
Land Patents, 24, 294
Laws, against swearing, stealing and
forgery 84, tattling 85, hog-steal
ing 85, for burning convicts 86
Laurel HiU 128 134 236 245 260 269
Laurel Fork, skirmish at, 150 253
Latham, Col. George R. 152 156 202
258
Lambert, Capt. N. J. 165 309, Grant
192, J. H. 234 299
Lawyers 191, Ust of, 231
Lackey, Thomas 206
Lang, Maj. D. B. 260 263
"Law Latin" 217
Lander, Col. 239
Lady, Maj. J. B. 262
Lewis, John 21, Capt. Joshua 33,

Gen. Andrew 34 39 43 44 200, Chas.
S. 233, G. W. 227 289, Stephen D.
313
Lewisburg, battle at, 152
Lee, Gen. R. E. 126 138 147 149 153
250 296
Letcher, Gov. 127 130 146 148, 253
290
Leading Creek 178 194 205 220 246,
Massacre of, 185
Leary, John 297
Lesher, Jacob 201
Lee BeU 268
Lily, Capt. D. H. 193, 241
Lick 268
Lipscomb, Philetus, 233
Lowther, Col. Wm. 185 186 203
Logan, the Indian, 45 46, A. C. 312
Long, A. J. 222
Lone Tree 239
Lutz, C. E. 291
Lurty, Beverly H. 232
Mayo, Wm. 20 178
Mason and Dixon's Line 58 59
Mace, Henry 192 195, Wm. 296
Marteney, Wm. 193 197 221
MarstiUer, Nicholas 195 220 223, J.
D. 291
Marsh, Benj. 199, Vincent 230
MaxweU, Robert, 188 191 194 226 295
Lewis 232, Edwin 233, W. B. 233, C. W.
234 286 319, C. J. 319.
Marriage licenses, list of 208
Madden, P. P. 230
MarshaU, Capt. J. W. 296 297 396
Methodists 312
Mingo Indians 45, Run 181, Flats 181
268, Cave 284
MUroy, Gen. R. H., 131 141 202 255
Military telegraph 134 •
Minear, Joljn 185, Jonathan, 186 200
David 186 191 194
Militia, colonels of 203, captains of
203, lieutenants of 204, majors of 205,
ensigns of 205
Middlebrook 268
Middlefork 134, 148 236 260
Mills 295 300
Moundbuilders 25 303
Morris, Gen. .G. B. 131 134 148 237
246
Morgantown 157

INDEX.

529

Monongahela River 190
Money 195 217 219
Morrison, John B. 222
Moore, C. S, 230
Montrose 268
Morrell, D. G. 232
Mulligan, Gen. 157
Mud Lick 206 207
Mullennix, Abraham 299
Murphy Elam 213, James 213
Myers 297
McCuUough, Samuel, 52, Trail, 177
McCleUan, Gen. 130 132 135 142 147
236 242
McLean, John 184, Hoy 201 203 222
301, George 204 221 301, Daniel 312
McCleary Wm. 188 192 232
McCrum, Robert 219
McMuUen, Andrew 230
Naturalizations 196
Nelson, John 184, Charles 191,
Judge Hugh 198 227
Nemacolin's Trail 175
Nestor, Jacob 196
Newspapers 66 198
Ohio Company, The 20 21 175
Oliver, Samuel 204
Orlena 268
Osborn, Terah 196
Osceola 268
. Owen, Col. Wesley 169
Parsons, Charles 190 194 206, Joseph
190, Wm. 192 203 206 216, Isaac 196, Sol
omon 199 204 217 254, Jonathan 203, A.B.
233, town of 178 253
Pancake, John 295
Paupers 192 194 195 220
Pegram, Col. John 134 135 149 236
240 242
Petro, Leonard 183, Nicholas 191
Pendleton, Nathaniel 232
Philippi 131 148 157 259, "the Phil
ippi Eaces" 132
Pheasant Run 178
PhiUips, Thomas 191, Claude 290
Phares, J. P. 202 222 227 259 297,
Jacob 222, J. M, 222
Pittsburg 41 43 50
Pillorv 86 195 196
PierpJnt, Gov. P. H. 99 117 119 124
125 130 157 r, T .L 0-7 /f
Pickens 268, Pickens Sandstone 274
Pickle, Jacob 205

Pontiac 36 37 38
Point Pleasant 39 43 44 45 47 49 50
154 156 200
Polsley, Daniel 99 119
Porterfield, Col. 127 130 132 236
Poundstone, A. M. 233
Potts, Rev. M. P. H. 314
Pringle, Samuel 192 195 206
Price, Thomas 200
Pritt, Riley 205
Prosecuting Attorneys, list of, 226
Printz, G. W. 292, 314
Pumpkintown 268
Quebec Act 40 41 57
Randolph County 50 53 127 180 188
311, "Enterprise" 289, "Reveille" 289
Rainfall 79
Ralston, James 184
Rader, Henry 203
Red Eagle 45 51
Revolutionary War, 47 183
Reger, Anthony 194, A. G. 233, S. L.
233
Reynolds, Gen. J. J. 138 141 149 251
Rennix, George 203 204
Reeder, Simon 126
Rich Mountain 128 134 148 236 240
257 271 291
Riffle's Run 280
Rosecrans 135 142 143
Roberts, Capt. C. 148
Rowlesburg 157 253
Rocky Gap 160
Rosser.. Gen. 169 264 304
Roney, Alex. 185
Rowan, A. C. 201, Stark W. 289,
Wm. 226 234
Roy, J. L. 203
Roads 205 206 207 300, overseers 199
Roaring Plains 268 269
Robinson, Rev. Amos 314
RummeU, T. B. 201 233
Rust, Col. A. 249 250
RusseU, Charles 297
Ryan, Salomon 191, John 201, W. S.
289
Salt Sulphur Springs 286
Salem Raid 162
Salisbury, Wm. 297, Washington 203
Sergeant, G. P. 289
Scott, Col. W. C. 135 241 243 246,

530

INDEX.

Hon. C. H. 233 286; George 291
Schools 93 103, Superintendents,
list of 230
Secession, ordinance of 109 112 117
Seneca TraU 178 253
Settlements 180 182
See, Charles C. 204 300, Adam 203
208 226 232 312, Jacob W. 221, G. H. 227
Shawnees 42 43 51, TraU 178 181
Sheriffs, fees of 86, Ust of 221
Shaver's Mountain 269, skirmish at
160
Shultz, John 195
Shreve, Wm. 201
Shurtliff, D. W. 222
Shanklin, R. S. 223
Sinks of Gandy 268 299, skirmish at,
165
Sims, Bernard 185
Skidmore, Andrew 191 205, Thomas
204 205, Hamilton 205
Slaves 97 100 106 122 124 217
Slaven's Cabin 254 262
Slayton, John 258
Slate Ford 277
Smith, Capt. Jeremiah 33, Wm. 192
206, Judge Daniel 198, 227
Smallpox 195
Snows 79
Snyder, Capt. S. 170 234 235 396,
John 235, 253 254, Miss Jane 254
Snyder's Knob 267
SoUs 80 81
Spotswood, Gov. 20
Spiritous Liquors 192 197 198 219
Springstone, Abraham 196
Spanish War, Randolph in 294
St. George, 146 148 154 159 185 191
207 253 256
State Guards, captains of, 170
Stalnaker, Valentine 191 201 290, Ja
cob 186 191 194 201 295, Adam 186 226,
Wm. 203, George 221, Ferdinand 296
Stocks 193 195
Stout, Sti Leger 195
Strader, L. D. 198 233, J. P. 234
StuUer, John 201
Summerfield, Thomas 219, Mrs.
Thomas 299
Supervisors, list of, 234
Swain, Capt, W. W. 305 306
Talbott, E. D. 233 289, E. G. 291
Taverns 87 218
Taxes 195 218

Taft N. H. 202
Taylor, AUen 227, B. W., 230
Taliaferro, W. B. Col. 246
"Test Oath" 202
Thomas, Rev. Enoch 312
Tingle Wm 226, 232
Tomahawk Rights 23
Tories 48
Tobacco 219
Triplett, Floyd 222 290
Turner, Hugh 191 193
Turkey Bone Mountain 269
T^jgart, David 180, James, 205
Tygart's Valley, 138 178 182 207 269
275 277 288 291 304, News 290
Tyler, Maj. Nat. 241
Vandalia 21 40
Vanscoy, Jacob 227
Valley Head 262 268 295
VaUey Bend 268
Valentine, A. J., 233
Vincent, Isaac 300
Voting, 100 lOa
Washington, Geo. 30 32 34 47 176,
John A. 140
Wayne, Gen. A. 45 56 187
Ward, Levi D. 197 201, Adonijah 204
Hull 204, Jacob 208, Jacob G. 222, George
231, Sylvester 290.
Wagons 206
Ward's Cave 283
Wamsley, J. L. 226 233, Jacob S. 227
Wm. 191 290
Washburn, Philip, 186 200
Warthen, Raphael 231 li,'^^""^
Warwick, John, 190, 206, Jacob 184
West Virginia, population, 28^65,
Counties of 61-65, climate, geography,
etc., of 71-73, altitudes in 78, formation
of 120 124
Western land, 57
West Augusta 61 62
WestfaU's Fort 182
Westfall, Jacob 188 190 200 204 221
290, James 189 203 205 290, Job 192, Cor-
nelius 188 221, George 188 203, Wm. 191
Wpes, Jacob 195, Michael 201
W. Va. Central R. R. 206 287
West Huttonsville 268 291
West, Rev. J. B. 312
WheeUng 42 49 51 54 98 120 130
Whipping Post 86

INDEX,

531

White, Wm, 183, Lieuti John, 187,
,^ F. M. 222, L, D. 222
Whitman, Mathew 190 196 201 203
204 206 221 231 312
WhetseU, H. S. 230
Willey, W. T. 94 110 115 121
Wise, Gov. H, A, 108 128 141 148
WUson's Fort 183 185
WUson, Col. Benjamin 183 184 185
188 190 206, John 188 191 196 205 219 221
222 290, William 191 196 203 205, Wm. B.
220 226, James D 222, E- D. 222, T. O.
223, W. H. 222, Thomas 226, James 232,
Edgar C. 232, George J. 232, Fred. M.
232, Hon. Benjamin 233, W. G. 234.
Wilmoth, Thomas 195 206, Arnold
204, A. F. 230, H. E. 234.

Wild Animals of Randolph 215 299
300
Wills 230, Ust of, 231
Winchester 268
Woods, Judge Samuel 110, Samuel
227, Frank 233
Wolf, Nicholas 191
Woodyard, W. T. 230 234
Womelsdorff 291
Wood, Augustus 295, Edward 295
312, John M. 295, Thomas 302.
Wyatt, Solomon 203 204 232
Youart, Col. R. 168 264 265
Yeager, Solomon 205
Yokum, Dr, G. W, 226, 303.

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