KQvX.vdo\^V v ■ J
DR. A. S. BOSWORTH
A History of Randolph County
West Virginia
r
From its Earliest Exploration and Settlement
to the Present Time
ILLUSTRATED
Vi
BY
DR. A. S. BOSWORTH
A
:
11
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
B09665A
-ASTOR, LENOX AND
T1LDEN FOUNDATIONS
R 1932 L
PREFACE
No literary merit is claimed in the presentation of this
book. The purpose of the writer was to present facts and if
any event of historical value will be saved to future genera-
tions, the author will feel compensated for his labors. An
undertaking embodied within this volume involves labor and
research little understood by the average individual. En-
couragement and assistance have been received from many
sources not practicable to enumerate, but none the less
cherished and appreciated.
I acknowledge with gratitude assistance from the follow-
ing individuals in procuring subscriptions: Jesse W. Bird, B.
Y. White, G. W. White, Felix R. Tuning, Rev. Robert Grey-
nolds, Wm. Ft. Conrad and Samuel H. Godwin.
Valuable assistance which the writer acknowledges with
pleasure was given by Hon. T. J. Arnold, Capt. W. H. Cobb,
Col. S. N. Bosworth, Jesse W. Robinson and Geo. W.
Crawford.
—
In the preparation of this volume valuable information
was obtained from Maxwell's History of Randolph, Hay-
mond's History of Harrison, Price's History of Pocahontas,
Morton's History of Pendleton and from Harper's Magazine.
A. S. BOSWORTH.
Elkins, W. Va., 1916.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Physical Features — Chapter 1 7
Pre-historic Randolph— Chapter II 12
Pioneer Period — Chapter III 17
Among the Records of Randolph — Chapter IV 38
Harrison County Court Proceedings — Chapter V 80
Early Military Matters— Chapter VI 86
Early Land Patents— Chapter VII 93
Early Roads in Randolph— Chapter VIII 102
Annals of Education — Chapter IX 106
Civil War Period— Chapter X 114
Laws Ancient and Obsolete — Chapter XI 158
Randolph County Lawyers — Chapter XII 177
Physicians and Surgeons of Randolph — Chapter XIII 181
Porte Crayon in Randolph— Chapter XIV 193
Miscellaneous— Chapter XV 229
Family Histories— Chapter XVI 287
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Page
Dr. A. S. Bosworth Frontispiece
Big Falls of Cheat 9
Mountains and Valleys 10
Entrance to the Tunnel of Gaudy 11
Indian Trails 12
Stone Hatchet 16
A Pioneer Cabin '. 17
The Historic Site of Tygart Cabin 18
The Joe White Tub Mill 33
A Pioneer Kitchen 31
A Pioneer Barn 35
Randolph's First Court House 38
Signatures of Early Sheriffs and Justices of the Peace 68
Rich Mountain Battle Field 156
The Country Store 191
Soldier White 198
Noosing Trout 200
Goose-plucking 208
The Dance 210
A Flirtation 223
Henry Clay Dean 247
A Primitive Industry 251
Historical Round Barn 255
Dr. Squire Bosworth 307
Mr. Bernard L. Brown 313
Abram Crouch 318
Colonel Elihu Hutton 318
Mr. J. D. Wilson 395
Captain Jacob W. Marshall 430
Mr. James Pickens 433
A HISTORY OP RANDOLPH COUNTY 7
CHAPTER I.
PHYSICAL FEATURES.
"This our life exempt from public haunts finds tongues in trees,
books in running brooks, sermons in stones and good in everything."
THE pioneers of Randolph partook of their rugged environ-
ment in their mental, moral and physical characteristics
That period produced a superior class of men because the
struggle for existence was ameliorated by easy access to the
soil, giving opportunity for culture and the social amenities
and fostering; a generous and hospitable spirit. The extent
and direction in which man is compelled to expend his energy
in obtaining food, shelter and raiment materially influence
his life and belief. In the field of biology it is a well known
law that every leaf, limb or branch is developed because of
the necessity of the organism to obtain support from its en-
vironment. The organism is strong or feeble, depending upon
the munificence with which the surroundings bestow their
gifts.
The proverbial utterance that "mountaineers are always
freemen" is largely true for the reason that a people living in
the seclusion of valleys, surrounded by high mountains are
enabled by Nature's fortresses to impel invading foes. More-
over, the birds in the illimitable air and the animals that roam
at will in the wilds of the woods suggest to man the inherent
right to freedom and independence.
Randolph is the largest county in the State with an area
of 1,080 square miles. The contour of the county exhibits a
series of mountain ranges with parallel valleys. The valleys
are drained by the several forks of the Cheat, the Valley River,
Middle Fork, Buckhannon, Elk and Gauley Rivers. Tygarts
Valley is about 40 miles long and averages one mile in width.
The head of the valley is known as Mingo Flats. The high-
est point in the county is Snyder's Knob in Mingo district
on the Pocahontas line. Its altitude is 4,730 feet, being only
130 feet below Spruce Knob, in Pendleton County, the highest
point in the State. The lowest point in the county is at the
8 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Randolph-Tucker line, on Cheat River with an elevation of
1,765 feet. At the Southern extremity where the Elk River
enters Randolph, the altitude is 2,390 feet and at the Ran-
dolph-Webster line it is 2,000 feet. The Valley River has a
fall in Randolph of 1,325 feet. Cheat River has a fall in
Randolph of 1,930 feet, more than it has in its subsequent
course of 3,000 miles to the Gulf.
The following table will show the elevation of some of
the places in Randolph :
MidcTe Fork Bridge 1,900
Elkins 1,950
Kerens 2,000
Beverly 2,000
Lick , 2,000
Or:ena 2,000
Montrose 2,050
Valley Bend 2,050
Huttonsville 2.0S0
Lee Bell 2,100
Cassity 2,100
Long 2,100
Crickard 2,100
Roaring Creek 2,100
Elkwater 2,200
West Huttonsville 2,300
Helvetia 2,400
Alpina 2,400
Harman 2,400
Day's Mills 2,450
Mouth Fishing Hawk 2,480
Valley Head 2,500
Kingsville '. 2,500
Job 2,600
Laurel Hill B. and B. Pike 2,600
Mingo Flats 2,700
Pickens 2,700
Blue Springs 2,900
Florence 2,900
Glady 2,900
Monterville 3,000
Rich Mountain Battle Field 3,000
Osceola 3,400
The Sinks 3,400
Rich Mountain 3.400
Nettly Mountain 3,400
Currence Knob 3,500
Lone Tree 3,570
Cheat Bridge 3,600
Bickle Knob 4,020
Bayard Knob 4,150
Yokum Knob 4,330
Ward Knob 4.400
Crouch Knob 4.600
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 9
The rocks of Randolph, with few exceptions, are lime-
stone, sandstone and shale. Nearly all of these rocks are of
sedimentary origin. Limestone was formed of the remains
of the shells or skeletons of sea animals, more or less broken
to fragments or even ground to powder in the waves of shal-
low waters. It is much more soluble in water than other
rocks. Sandstone was formed from waste of such rocks as
granite. The sand was washed into the sea or other body ot
Big Falls of Cheat.
water and was there spread out into layers which in the
course of ages accumulated in great thickness. Infiltering
waters, carrying some mineral substance in solution was de-
posited between the grains and bound them more or less
perfectly together. The finer waste of granite rocks formed
shale and slate. Millions of years ago the only dry land in
North America was a mountain ridge lying east of the Alle-
ghenies. This primitive" mountain by an internal force was
forced up out of the bed of the ocean. The rocks forming
this mountain were not sedimentary in origin. The action of
air, wind and water in the course of a long period wore down
this mountain to a base level and deposited its silt and sedi-
ment layer upon layer in the bottom of the ocean. The land
formation crept steadily westward. There were alternate
intervals of upheavals and subsidences. The coal beds of
10
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Randolph formed by compressed vegetation, mark successive
terrestial surfaces. At the time of the formation of the Ap-
palachian plateau, there were no deep valleys or high moun-
tains. The dry land was plastic and formative. There were
anticlinals and synclinals that in the course of long periods
of time by the action of floods, frosts and other agencies
sculped out deep valleys and formed high mountains.
The Mountains and Valleys of Randolph as They Probably Ap-
peared in an Early Geological Period.
Xo lake, probably, ever existed in the present formation
of Tygarts Valley. The outlet of the Valley, with the excep-
tion of temporary land slides, perhaps, has ever been on a
lower plane than its floor. However, that the flood plane of
the valley has been gradually degrading or eroding, is evi-
denced by river terraces in different parts of the valley, cov-
ered by sandstones worn smooth by agitation in a stream with
a rapid current. These terraces are particularly prominent
on the M. J. Coberly farm two miles above Beverly and on
the opposite side of the river on the farm of D. R. Baker.
Cheat River as it passes through Randolph County is being-
eroded or degraded at the rate of two inches per annum.
The Sinks.
Perhaps the greatest natural curiosity in Randolph
County is the sinks, where Gandy Creek makes a remarkable
subterranean passage beneath a spur of the Allegheny moun-
tains. The stream issnes from its lethean channel in three
arched passages side by side on the face of a perpendicular
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
11
cliff, which abridges the glen by an arched opening fifty feet
wide by twenty feet high. Into this orifice Gandy's waters
incessantly glide. At a low stage of the water a few persons
have succeeded in making their way from entrance to exit.
Entrance to the Tunnel of Gandy.
12
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
CHAPTER II.
PRE-HISTORIC RANDOLPH.
RANDOLPH COUNTY was never the settled abode of the
Red Man. To him it was only a large game reservation,
into which he made periodic incursions for the hunt and the
chase. When the first white men visited the county there
Indian Trails.
was little evidence of any except temporary occupation by
the savages. Squaw patches, or small clearings were found in
some localities: however they were of such a character as
to indicate only transitory habitation. Indian mounds are
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 13
still to be seen in some localities, but as a rule are found on
or near old trails. A mound of considerable size is still visible
on the farm of Archibald Lytle, near where the old fort stood,
about three miles south of Elkins. This mound is on an
Indian trail which passed up Westfall Run to the West side
of Rich Mountain, through the Caplinger settlement on the
East side of the mountain, thence up Chenoweth's Creek.
Excavations in this mound have revealed fragments of human
skulls and stone implements. An Indian burial ground existed
also in Valley Bend district on the Currence farm, once owned
by Henry Clay Dean.
The Indian population in what are now the two Virginias
was never very dense. It is conjectured that at the time of
the discovery of America, the territory embraced in these two
states contained a population of about 8,000 savages. The
Shawnees were the white man's greatest foes during the first
half century of his occupancy of the Xew World. They were
a branch of the Algonquin family. The remnants of this
family live in the Indian Territory, in a condition of semi-
civilization. They are a superior race mentally and physical-
ly. Tecumseh, a member of this tribe, was a man skilled in
the arts of warfare and of dauntless courage. He was a
Brigadier General in the British army in the war of 1812,
and was killed in the battle of the Thames.
The ethnic stages as adopted by most archaeologists are
savagery, barbarism and civilization and in each of the two
lower stages there are three subordinate periods. The dis-
tinction between savagery and barbarism is marked by the
point where the manufacture of pottery is begun. In the
lower status of savagery men lived in their original restricted
habitat and subsisted on fruits and nuts. Articulate speech
may be supposed to have begun in this status. All existing
races of men had passed beyond it at an unknown antiquity.
In the middle status of savagery men had learned how to
catch fish and to use fire. The invention of the bow and
arrow marks its close. The upper status of savagery, in
which some of the lowest American tribes still continue, such
as the Athamaskans of Hudson Bay, ends, as above stated,
with the invention of pottery. They know nothing of horti-
14 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
culture, make no potter)' and depend for subsistence entirely
on roots, fish and game. They have little or no village life.
The lower status of barbarism exhibits the domestication of
animals other than the dog. In 1492, at the time of the dis-
covery of America, the dog was the only animal domesticated
by the North American Indians. This was true of all the
American aborigines, except the Peruvians. The absence of
domesticable animals is no doubt important among the causes
that retarded the development of the American Indians. The
horse, which is shown by fossil remains to have existed in
six or seven species, had become extinct, and was reintro-
duced by the invaders. The regular employment of tillage
with irrigation, and the use of adobe brick and stone in archi-
tecture, marked the end of the lower status of barbarism in
America. The middle status of barbarism was marked in
the Eastern Hemisphere by the domestication of other ani-
mals than the dog, and there as well as in the Western Hemi-
sphere, by the development of irrigation in cultivation, and
the use of brick and stone in building, bv great improvement
in the manufacture of stone implements, and ultimately the
introduction of implements of copper and bronze. The middle
status may be regarded as ending with the discovery of the
process of smelting iron ore ; and this process becomes more
and more important through the upper status of barbarism
and is finally associated with the production of written records
by means of a phonetic alphabet or of advanced hieroglyphics.
Among the influences which have affected the more or less
rapid development of races the following suggest themselves:
The condition of soil and climate as favoring or impeding
the aquisition of ample and varied means of sustenance, the
existence or absence of the various animals suited for domest-
ication, notably, sheep and cattle : the opportunities for con-
tact, by migration, commerce or war, with races occupying a
higher ethnic scale ; inherent ethnological defects or advant-
ages in special races.
The Indian that made incursions into this section, be-
longed to the lower status of barbarism. He practiced a
limited agriculture. However, he domesticated no animal
except the dog. He discovered the tobacco plant, smoked
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 15
but never chewed. Smoking was a civil and religious rite and
was indulged as a means of communicating with the Great
Spirit as well as emphasizing the sancity of treaties between
tribes. Thus originated the phrase "smoking the pipe of
peace." The Indian raised corn and had many ways of pre-
paring it for food. "Green corn" was an important food with
the Indians. Many tribes celebrated its season with festivals
and religious ceremonies. The Indian cleared land by dead-
ening the trees with the stone tomahawk. However, his main
subsistence was upon game and fish. His hut was made ot
long poles bent together and fastened at the top, and covered
with bark. There were two openings, a place to go in and
out and a place for the smoke to escape. Clothing was made
from the tanned skins of animals. His weapons were bone
and stone instruments and the bow and arrow. He was Un-
acquainted with firearms until the white man came. The
tradition that the Indian visited lead and other mines has no
foundation in fact. Implements used in the hunt and the
chase were hurried with the Indian because he believed that
the soul took its flight to the happy hunting ground. The
coward and the deformed were denied admittance to the
Indian's paradise. In scalping and mutilating an enemy, he
prevented his foe from entering this abode of bliss.
The Indian had great skill in finding his way through the
forest. The moss and bark on the trees revealed to him the
prevailing direction of the wind and the rays of the sun. In
this way lie was enabled to distinguish the points of the
compass. Foot-paths were as a rule established along water
courses, but in crossing from stream to stream dividing ridges
were followed. Although not provincial, each tribe claimed
a definite territory, and any infraction thereof was a cause of
war with neighboring tribes. Individual ownership of land
never prevailed and all claims thereto were of a tribal nature.
However, individual rights to cultivated patches were re-
spected, but his use of the land gave him no permanent title.
Tribes consisted of groups, each living in a separate village.
Their laws were founded upon custom. Matters of tribal
interest were settled in council.
The Indian was sometimes a cannibal, but not often, and
16
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
was closely associated with economic necessity. The custom
was practiced only under circumstances of the direst ex-
tremity. The custom of leaving old men in the woods to die,
is bad enough but not as bad as supposed. They carried the
old man with them until he himself grew tired of being a
burden and begged to be killed. When this point was reached
he was given more than his share of food and left in the woods
to die. He believed in revenge, but it was to be measured by
the offense. His revenge was only directed against his ene-
mies and he at all times defended the members of his own
tribe. Within the tribe everything was shared in common.
However scant the food, it was shared by those present.
Stone Hatchet Taken from Indian Grave on Isner
Farm, Lower Cheat.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
17
CHAPTER III.
PIONEER PERIOD.
ORANGE County, Virginia, was formed from Spottsyl-
vania county in 1704 and was made to include all the
territory West of the mountains. In 1744 that vast region
was divided into the districts of Augusta and Frederick and
was to be organized into counties as soon as they attained
A Pioneer Cabin.
sufficient population. Monongalia was formed from part ot
Augusta in 1776; Harrison was formed from part of Monon-
galia in 1784 and Randolph from part of Harrison in 1787.
18
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
In I806 Randolph gave part of its territory to the formation
of Tucker county. Randolph also contributed part of its
territory along with other counties in the formation of Nicho-
las, Pocahontas. Upshur and Webster.
Although settlement was made in the adjoining county of
Pendleton in 1747. the first white men to visit the valley were
Files or Foyle and Tygart or Taggart. in 1753. Fovle located
his cabin in the present site of Beverly, a little north of the
Baker Mill, near the mouth of the creek that bears his name
Tygart selected a location farther up the river, on the west
side, now the John D. Weese Brick House Place three miles
The Historic Site of Tygart Cabin, Weese Farm,
Valley Bend District.
from Beverly. Nothing is known of Tygart or Files that
would throw light on their antecedents: however, the tide
of emigration must necessarily have been from the east.
The Tygart family and young Files departed from the county
into Pendleton. These circumstances coupled with the fact
that the name was probably Tag-art rather than Tygart
and the Taggarts were among the first settlers of Pendleton
and other eastern counties, the presumption is very strong in
favor of the hypothesis that these families came into^the
valley from the settlements west of the Alleghenies.
Perhaps. Files and Tygart were induced to push into
the wilderness in pursuit of game. The fertile lands of the
valley, also no doubt, were an inducement.
The difficulties in the way of procuring breadstuff for
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 19
their families, coupled with the perception of the dangers
from Indians on a remote and unprotected border induced
Files and Tvgart to a determination to abandon the valley.
Before they carried their plans into execution Robert Files,
wife and five children, the youngest of which was ten years
old, were murdered by the Indians, who were returning from
the South Branch to the country west of the Ohio. An elder
son not being at home escaped, but being nearby heard the
disturbance and approaching the house learned of the horrible
fate of his relatives, and realizing the utter impossibility of
giving any assistance, resolved to give warning to the family
of David Tvgart, a few miles up the river. Young Files and
the Tvgart family immediately abandoned the country.
Withers says that Files and Tvgart had discovered that their
location was near an Indian trail and an Indian village. No
Indian village existed in dangerous proximity. Mingo on
Mingo Run, 32 miles above, had been many years before the
site of an Indian village. However, it had been abandoned
by the Mingoes many years previous to 1753. Their cabins
were near the trail that entered the valley at Elkwater and
Huttonsville and passed down the river on the east side, and
thence up Leading Creek and over the mountain to Cheat
river.
Tygarts Valley did not attract emigrants for a period of
eighteen years after the disaster attending the efforts of Files
and Tvsart. In the meantime hunters from Greenbrier visit-
ed the valley and on their return gave a glowing description
of the region to the settlements. These reports induced many
settlers to seek homes west of the mountains and most of the
level land in the valley was occupied by permanent posses-
sors during the year 1772. Withers mentions among those
who were first to occupy the valley the names of Hadden,
Conley, Whiteman, Warwick, Nelson, Westfall, Riffle, and
Stalnaker. Westfall found and buried the remains of the Files
family. Settlements were made in what is now Lewis, Taylor
and Harrison counties in the same year. The region that
now comprises Upshur County had been the abode of John
and Samuel Pringle since 1764 and by several other families
since 1769. John and Samuel Pringle were deserters from the
20
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
army at Fort Pitt and sought safety in the seclusion of the
wilderness by ascending the Monongahela and making their
abode in the trunk of a sycamore tree on the west fork of the
Buckhannon, near the mouth of Turkey Run. They made
visits to the South Branch for amunition and their reports
caused others to seek that section for settlement.
Indian hostilities, which had been in abeyance since
176o, were renewed in 1774. There is a diversion of opinion
as to the cause. Some think that the unprovoked murder of
several Indians caused them to seek revenge, while others
are inclined to the opinion that they were instigated to out-
rages upon the whites by British emmisaries and that the
savages who committed the deeds were ignorant of the out-
rages committed upon the members of their own race. Three
Shawnees, friendly to the whites, were killed near Wheeling
by the settlers. Three Indians were killed on the South
Branch while on a friendly visit to that country. Among the
number killed were Captain Peter and Bald Eagle, two In-
dians of prominence in their tribes. About the same time a
few white men exterminated Chief Bull and five families of
Indians on the Little Kanawha, in cold blood, in what is
now Braxton county. Bull and his little band were on terms
of intimate friendship with the settlers, visiting and hunting
with them. I he people expected renewed hostilities on the
part of the Indians and in 1774 two forts were built in Ran-
dolph. The Westfall fort, evidences of which still remain on
the farm of Daniel Baker, near the mouth of Files Creek
and the Currence fort which was built near the present town
° f . M,H Creek " Thes * f ° r ts were constructed of loos. with
chimneys on the inside to keep the Indians from reaching the
roof. Roles were left between the logs to shoot through
there was no visitation this year from the Indians. However
the settlers kept scouts in the mountains, watching the trails
leading into the valley. On the first indication of danger
the settlers took refuge in the forts. The Revolutionary war
brought Indian troubles in 1777. On the frontier this' year
was known as the bloody year of the three sevens The
British were instrumental in causing the Indians to make an
effort to exterminate or drive 'back the western settlers The
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 21
whites were apprehensive and vigilant. Leonard Pedro and
William White were sent out as scouts to watch Indian trails
leading- into Randolph. They were watching- the path that
ascended the Little Kanawha, in Uraxton County, when being
pressed by the necessity for food, shot an elk. A number of
Indians being in the neighborhood, heard the report of their
gun and stealthily followed them to their camp, and were in
the act of making an attack when they were discovered by
White. A savage sprang upon them and White made a futile
strike at the Indian with a tomahawk. Realizing that re-
sistance was useless, White pretended that he had attempted
to do the Indian harm only when half awake, and assumed an
air of friendliness. He told the Indians that Pedro and him-
self were on their way to join the Indians. Perhaps his ruse
would have been successful if Pedro's dejected countenance
had not contradicted his pretentions. They were' tied for the
rest of the night. In the morning Pedro was marked for the
tomahawk and scalping knife by being painted black. How-
ever, the Indian abandoned their purpose of killing Pedro and
returned to Ohio, taking their two captives with them. White
stole a gun, killed an Indian, appropriated the horse of his
fallen foe and returned to Randolph in 1777. Pedro was
never heard of afterward.
As a rule the settlements were free from Indian molesta-
tion during the months of winter, for the reason that they
could be followed by their tracks, as well as from the fact
that their scant clothing was not sufficient for the rigors of
such a trip through the mountains. However, whether they
followed White or came on an independent mission of mas-
sacre and plunder, a party of about twenty Indians approach-
ed to within about twenty miles of the settlements in Novem-
ber. A snow had fallen and they waited until December 15th.
When it disappeared on that date, they attacked Darby Con-
noly's house in the upper valley, and having killed him, his
wife and several of his children, they took the others prison-
ers. The graves of the Connoly family are still to be seen
on the farm once owned by Harmon Conrad, on which there
was a salt well drilled at one time. They next visited the
house of John Stewart, and killed him, his wife and his child.
22 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
carrying away his sister-in-law, Miss Hamilton, as a prisoner.
John Hadden discovered the murder of the Stewart family
and reported the tact to Colonel Benjamin Wilson at Wilson's
Fort. Wilson's Fort was situated about thirty miles down
the river. Colonel Wilson was an officer in the Revolutionarv
army. With thirty men Colonel Wilson followed the men
five days through the rain and snow, often wading ice cold
streams waist deep, but the Indians could not be overtaken.
The settlers were not molested in 1778. But the next year the
Indians shot and killed Lieutenant John White from the road-
side. Colonel Benjamin Wilson with a party of men tried to
intercept the Indians on their Westward return at the mouth
of Sand Fork on the Little Kanawha, but the Indians re-
turned by a different route.
Early in March, 1780, Jacob Warwick and others from
Greenbrier county visited Randolph as Government surveyors.
Kilbuck was scouting the mountains at the time with bands
of Mingoes and Shawnees. Mr, Warwick and his company
felt themselves in comparative safety on account of the snow,
which would betray the Indians' tracks to the settlers. W r hile
the Greenbrier party was at Haddan's Fort, Thomas Lackey
reported that he had seen moccasin tracks in the snow a few
miles above the fort, and heard a voice say in an undertone,
"Let him alone ; he will go and bring more." An escort ot
men went with the Greenbrier party to the place where
Lackey saw the Indian signs. When near the place Andrew
Sitlington's horse showed signs of fright. Mr. Sitlington
then saw the Indians, but for the moment could not speak
from fright. Warrick's attention was attracted and he cried
out, "Indians! INDIANS!!" Thereupon the Indians fired,
wounding one member of the party and Mr. Warwick's horse.
The horse sank to the ground and the rider was in the act
of throwing off his cloak to facilitate his escape when the
horse arose and started off at a rapid speed and away from
their assailants. Jacob Warwick, James McLean, Thomas
Cartwill and Andrew Sitlington comprised the party on horse
back, all of whom escaped. John McLean, James Ralston and
John Nelson were killed. This occurred on Windy Run.
John McLean was killed about thirty yards from the brow of
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 23
the hill. James Ralston was killed while ascending the hill.
James Crouch was wounded near the summit of the hill, but
escaped and recovered. John Nelson attempted to escape
down the river, but was met by a stout warrior and after a
severe struggle was killed. But the shattered gun stock, the
uptorn earth and Indian hair still in his clinched fist gave evi-
dence that he had fought bravely. Mr. Warwick's horse re-
ceived only a slight wound in the thigh and carried him to
his home in Greenbrier County the same day. The Indians
occupied the road above and below where they were attacked,
those on horseback were enabled to out-distance the Indians,
but the foot men were compelled to cross the river and ascend
a steep bluff on its opposite side. In attempting this several
lost their lives.
Soon after this a family by the name of Gibson was at-
tacked at their sugar -cam]), on a branch of the Valley River.
They were made prisoners and the return trip to the country
west of the Ohio with their captives was undertaken. Mrs.
Gibson, being incapable of undergoing the fatigue of the trip,
was tomahawked and scalped in the presence of her children.
The other members of the family were carried into captivity
and were never heard of afterward.
In April 1781, Indians attacked a party of five men wno
were returning to the present county of Tucker, from Clarks-
burg, where they had been to obtain deeds for their lands.
John Minear, David Cameron, and a Mr. Cooper were killed.
Messrs. Miller and Goff escaped, one returning to Clarks-
burg, the other to St. George. The Indians continued their
course toward Cheat, but meeting Stephen Radcliff and James
Brown, whom they could neither kill nor capture, and no
longer believing that they could surprise the Cheat River
settlements, changed their course and passed over to Leading
Creek, and nearly destroyed the entire settlement. They
killed Alexander Rooney, Mrs. Dougherty, Mrs. Hornbeck
and her children as well as many others and made prisoners
of Mrs. Alexander Rooney and her son, and Daniel Dough-
erty. Johnathan Buffington and Benjamin Hornbeck succeed-
ed in escaping. Mr. Hornbeck lived about a quarter of a mile
east of where White Station now stands, on the north bank
24 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
of Stalnaker Run. The remains of the chimney of Horn-
beck's cabin is still visible on the farm of Obadiah Taylor.
It seems that the Hornbeck family had some intimation of the
presence of the Indians in the community and had left the
house and were in the woods on the hill nearby. The Indians
visited and plundered the house and were in the act of leaving,
when the whereabouts of the family was betrayed by the
barking of a dog that was with them. Mr. Hornbeck, fearing
to approach his house, mounted a horse in the field without
saddle or bridle and rode hurriedly to Wilson's Fort, six
miles up the valley. Colonel Wilson raised a company and
pursued the Indians, but the men becoming alarmed lest their
families be murdered in their absence, returned without over-
taking the savages. In the meantime word had reached
Clarksburg of the murder of land claimants on their return
home and a number of scouts were sent out to intercept the
Indians on their return to the Ohio. Their trail was discov-
ered on the West Fork River, near Isaac Creek, in the present
county of Harrison. Colonel William Lowther of Hacker's
Creek, raised a company to pursue them. They were over-
taken on a branch of Hughes River, in Ritchie County in the
evening. They waited until the Indians were asleep and then
opened fire. Five were killed, the others escaped, leaving
everything in camp, except one gun. One white man, a
prisoner, was killed. He was the son of Alexander Rooney
and his sad fate was much regretted by the whites, who had
been very cautious in trying to prevent such an accident.
Withers relates the following amusing incident in connection
with the affair: "Daniel Daugherty, an Irishman, came near
being killed by the whites. The Indians had him tied down
and he was so cold he could scarcely speak. Colonel Low-
ther's part}- rushed forward after the first fire, and mistaking
Daugherty for a wounded Indian, they were about to dis-
patch him with a tomahawk, when fear loosened his tongue
and he exclaimed, 'Lord Jasus ! and am Oi to be killed by
white people at last!' His life was saved. Mrs. Rooney was
overcome with the prospect of deliverance. She ran toward
the men saying. 'I'm Ellick Rooney's wife of the Valley! and
a pretty little woman too, if well dressed !' : She was not
aware that her son had been killed.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 25
On this raid the Indians killed James Wilmoth. The Wil-
moth's were at Wilson's Fort, either in anticipation of an
Indian raid or as a result of the recent one on Leading Creek.
James Wilmoth, leaving the other members of the family at
the fort returned to his home on Cheat to attend to some
skins he had in process of tanning. The barking of a dog
which was with him betrayed him to the Indians and he was
shot and killed, near where the Stone Plouse now stands.
Some of the Indians were afflicted with small pox and jumped
into the ice cold water of Wilmoth's Millrace for relief. They
died from the exposure.
A band of from twenty to thirty Indians visited the
vallev in the summer of 1782. They were led by a renegade
white man by the name of Timothy Dorman. John Bush and
his wife, Jacob Stalnaker and his son. Adam, were ambushed
on the old road, as they were crossing a drain, on the old Hoy
McLean place, about a mile south of Arnold station. Young
Stalnaker was shot from his horse and killed, but his father,
and Bush and his wife escaped. The fleeing party had a close
race with the Indians to the river, being so near some times
as to try and reach the bridle reins. The whites plunged into
the river and the Indians abandoned pursuit. The Indians
were followed by the aroused settlers. When near the crest
of Rich Mountain, at a point which afterward became the
scene of the Rich Mountain battle, the Indians were over-
taken. When just east of the top of the mountain as an
Indian stooped to drink from a spring, he was shot and killed
by a man by the name of Morgan. The other savages escaped
and were pursued no farther.
The Indians made their last hostile raid into the valley
on May 11, 1781. Two or three families, as a measure of pro-
tection, lived with Joseph Kinnan, whose cabin was one mile
above the mouth of Elkwater on the west side of the river on
the land that afterward became the Adam See farm. Haddan's
Fort was less than a mile down the river. The Indians ap-
proached the house a little after dark and finding the door
open, walked in. Mr. Kinnan was sitting on the bed and the
Indian extended his hand in a friendly manner saying, "How-
26 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
d-do, how-d-do?" Mr. Rinnan was in the act of extending
his hand when an Indian in the yard shot him dead. A young
man by the name of Ralston, who had been working in the
house with a drawing-knife, struck an Indian with it and
cut oft" his nose. Another Indian fired at Ralston, but missed
and the young man escaped. The Indians killed three of
Rinnan's children, but two others, Lewis and Joseph, escaped
with the assistance of Mrs. Ward, through a rear window.
Air. Rinnan's brother, Rewis, was sleeping in a rear room and
escaped through the window. Airs. Rinnan was taken prison-
er and remained with the Indians several months in the
western country until General Wayne conquered the Indians
at the battle of Fallen Timbers. Andrew and Joseph Crouch
living a few miles below on the river, were notified next day.
They took their families to the home of James Warwick who
lived near where the Brick Church was built in later years,
and with some neighbors hurried to the rescue of the settlers
up the valley. While they were absent the Indians visited
the Warwick home where there were three white women,
several children and a colored man and his wife. An Indian
climbed to the roof of one of the buildings after nightfall and
set it on fire. The colored man put the fire out. Then the
stable was fired. The colored man went out and seeing an
Indian by the light of the burning building, shot at him and
let the horses out and returned in safety to the fort. When
the barn burned down and darkness returned the colored
woman left the fort and gave the alarm to the settlers down
the river. Next day the inmates of the fort were rescued.
This party also proceeded to the scene of the Rinnan massacre
and buried Mr. Rinnan and his children. The settlers be-
lieved that the Indians had withdrawn from the valley. How-
ever, they were lurking in the community and before leaving
killed Frank Riffle and William Currence and burned two
houses belonging to James Lackey. Riffle and Currence were
killed on the divide between Becca's Creek and Riffle's Creek,
near the later location of the Brick Church.
An inventory of the Joseph Rinnan estate was placed on
record in Randolph County Clerk's Office, June 21, 1793
with Edward Hart as administrator. The personal propertv
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 27
was valued at $517, a list of which is given below: "9 horses,
wheat and rye, two curtains, 2 pairs pillows and cases, 1
towel, 1 fine 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 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."
Tradition says that the Indians twice visited the Wil-
moth settlement on Cheat. On one incursion they killed
James Wilmoth and on another raid all were absent from
the house except Mrs. Wilmoth. They searched the house
and premises for the men, occasionally throwing their toma-
hawks into the logs of the cabin, at the same time giving vent
to savage exclamations of threat and anger, as much as to say
what they would do if the men could be found. In the mean-
time Mrs. Wilmoth had prepared a pot of corn meal mush,
putting it in a sugar trough with milk and maple syrup,
giving each Indian a spoon. The half famished savages par-
took of the repast with evident signs of delight and gratifica-
tion. When one of the company would violate a rule of Indian
table etiquette, he was punished by a stroke on the head with
a spoon, accompanied by words of admonition with violent
gesticulations, not to repeat the indecorum. After finishing
their meal, the Indains fastened their eyes on Mrs. Wilmoth
in a studious and penetrating gaze for several moments, evi-
dentlv debating i n their own minds what should be her fate,
then giving a warwhoop they continued on their marauding
expedition. Mrs. Wilmotlr's diplomacy saved her life and
established the fact that things more material and prosaic
than music hath charms to soothe the savage breast.
The family of William Leavitt, who settled, in 1780, on
the lands now owned by Drs. J. L. and Perry Bosworth, two
miles north of Daily Station, was attacked by the Indians
and the entire family, father, mother, and several children
28 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
were tomahawked and scalped. The mother, though left for
dead, revived, was rescued by her neighbors and completely
recovered. The dead were enshrouded in deer skins and
buried at the Currence graveyard, on the lands now owned
by John D. Weese. The date of the tragedy is uncertain, but
it was subsequent to 1780.
Then Indians at another time visited that community.
The date is not definite, but the facts are direct from the lips
of Isaac White, who was a member of the party, to persons
now living. The cabin in this incident was situated near
where the Troutwine Run crosses the county road on the
Bosworth farm. The men were harvesting in the field in the
bottom below. The community was apprehensive and several
families were congregated at the cabin. The women usually
accompanied the men to the field but on this particular day
had remained at the cabin for a few minutes to attend to
household duties following the mid-day meal. The Indians,
who were lurking near by, thought the time opportune tor
an attack, but as they approached the house they were dis-
covered by the women. Realizing that their lives depended
upon reaching the men in the field, they took to flight and in
crossing the fence to the field, raised their hands above their
heads and shunted. "Indians!" The hand of one of the women
was piereced by a bullet, as a result of a volley from the
Indians. All others escaped injury. The men seized their
rifles and started in pursuit. The savages fled to the adjacent
forests and soon eluded their pursuers.
The Murder of the Bozart Family.
In the summer of 1795 the trail of a large party of Indians
was discovered, leading toward the settlements on West Fork
of the Monongahela, Tygarts Valley or on the Buckhannon,
near where the town of Buckhannon is now situated. The
trail was discovered in what is now Lewis County. Messeng-
ers were sent immediately to these settlements warning them
of possible danger. John Bozart lived on the Buckhannon
River, near the present town of Buckhannon, but at the time
of the massacre of his family in 1795, the Buckhannon settle-
ment was within the territory of Randolph.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 29
Mr. Bozart and his two sons, John and George, were en-
gaged in hauling grain to the barn near the house. They were
alarmed by the shrieks of the family at the house and hasten-
ed to ascertain the cause. George approached the house a
few paces in advance of his father, but the latter saw an
Indian raise his gun to shoot the son, and shouted, "SEE
George, an Indian is going to shoot you." The young man
was too near the Indian to escape by flight, but watched close-
ly the movements of the Indian and when he pressed the
trigger young Bozart fell. The ruse was a success and the
Indian, believing the young man dead passed on in pursuit
of the father. The old gentleman proved a good runner and
was leaving the Indian, when the savage in despair threw his
tomahawk at him which passed harmlessly by and he made
his escape. When George Bozart fell, as though dead, he lay
upon the ground expecting to be scalped, determined to seize
the Indian by the leg as he would bend over him and en-
deavor to bring his antagonist to the ground, where he hoped
to successfully grapple with him. The Indian passing him
in pursuit of his father, the young man arose and fled. He
overtook a younger brother hobbling along on a sore foot.
George gave him every assistance he could until he observed
another savage closely pursuing them. Although much ad-
verse to leaving his brother, he knew that remaining with
him meant death to both. Taking to rapid flight, he soon
came up with his father in the woods. Mr. Bozart, believing
that his son was dead and hearing some one approaching,
supposed he was being pursued by an Indian and seizing a
heavy stick, turned to face his antagonist. He was greatly
surprised to see his son and exclaimed, "WHY GEORGE, I
thought you were dead." In his mistake he evinced a joy-
ful moment in an awful tragedy.
At the house two or three children were massacred and
Mrs. Bozart and two boys were spared and taken to the
Indian towns west of the Ohio. They were surrendered to
General Wayne at Greenville on September 9, 1795 by a
party of Shawnees, numbering sixty or seventy. Puck-se-kaw,
in delivering the prisoners spoke as follows: "My Father:
I have been in the woods a long time. I was not acquainted
30 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
with the good works which were transacting at this place by
you and all our great chiefs. Last spring when we were
hunting peaceably, our camp on the Sciota was robbed. We
are very poor and the mischief that has since been done was
in retaliation for the injuries then received. As soon as I
received this belt, which you sent me by Blue Jacket, one
of our great chiefs, and as soon as I was informed by him
that the good work of peace was finished, I arose to come to
see you and brought with me these four prisoners. I now
surrender them to you, my father, and promise you that we
will do you no more mischief.
"I hope for the future we shall be permitted to live and
hunt in peace and quietness. We were poor and ignorant
children, astray in the woods, who knew not that our nation
and all other tribes of Indians had come in and made peace
with you. J thank the Great Spirit for at last opening our
eyes. Father, we beg you will forgive and receive your re-
pentant children. These people whom I now deliver to you
must plead our forgiveness and vouch for our conduct for the
future."
The Last Indian Raids in Randolph.
The last Indian raids in Randolph were between the
middle of June and the last of July, 1792. In that year they
made three incursions in Randolph, but confined their depre-
dations to stealing horses. On their return, they were at-
tacked by a part\- of scouts on the Ohio and one Indian was
wounded and the horses recovered. Although this was the
last visit of the savages to Randolph, alarms were frequent
until the victory of General Wayne over them at Fallen
Timbers in 1794 and the treaty in the subsequent year. Scouts
and militia were kept in constant service until after captives
were returned after the Treatv of Peace at Greenville in
August, 1795. At different times after 1792 Indian trails
Avere discovered leading toward the valley, but the vigilance
of scouts and militia prevented them penetrating the frontier
farther than the Buckhannon settlement, which they visited
in 1795, taking captive Airs. Bozart and three children, and
killing two or three of the smaller ones.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 31
The following tribes subscribed to the Greenville treaty :
Wyandottes, Ottawas, Miamas, Kicapoos, Delawares, Chip-
pewas, Eel Rivers, Paneshaws, Shawnees, Pottowotamies,
Weas, and Kaskaskies.
Treaty of Lancaster.
By the treaty of Lancaster, Pa., 1744, the Indians re-
linquished their claim to all the lands between the Blue Ridge
Mountains and the Ohio River. This was the first convey-
ance to title to lands in this vast region. The consideration
was £400 — one-half in gold and one-half in goods. In the
negotiations the Indian chiefs stated that the acquisition of
the territory by conquest had cost them many lives. The
treaty was as follows:
To all people to whom these presents shall come: Con-
asatngo, Joneeat, Caxhayion, Torachdadon, Xenrranarkto,
Sachemsor, Chiefs of the nations of the Onondagors ; Saqur-
hsonyunt, < iasroddodon. Huarasaly-akon, Rowamthalyhisso,
Occoghquah, Seventies, Sachems or Chiefs of ye nations of
ye Cahugoes ; Suadany alias Shirketiney, Onishudagony, On-
onthkallydoroy alias W'alrattuah, Tohosnorororow, Arrighah-
horvand, Tiorhoosoy, Sachems or Chiefs of the Tuscaroras ;
Tansanegoesand, Toniknunitus, Sachems or Chiefs of ye na-
tions of ye Senekers. send greeting:
Whereas, the six united nations of Indians laying claim
to some lands in the Colony of Virginia, signified their willing-
ness to enter into a treat}' concerning the same. Whereupon,
Thomas Lee. Esq., a member of the Ordinary of his Majesty's
Honorable Council of the State and one of the Judges of the
Supreme Court of Judicature in the Colony, and William
Beverly, Esq., Colonel and County Lieutenant of the County
of Orange and one of the representatives of the people in the
House of Burgesses of that Colony, were deputed by the Gov-
ernor of the said Colony as Commissioners to treat with the
said Six Nations or their Deputies, Sachems or Chiefs, as
well of and concerning their said claim as to renew their
covenant chain between the said Colonv and the said Six
Nations, and the said Commissioners, having met at Lan-
caster, in Lancaster County and province of Pennsylvania,
32 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
and as a foundation for a stricter amity and peace in this
juncture, agreed with the said Sachems or Chiefs of the said
Six Nations for a Disclaimer and Renunciation of their Claim
or pretense of Right whatsoever of the said Six Nations and
an acknowledgement of Right of our Sovereign, King of
Great Britain to all the land in the said County of Virginia.
Now Know Ye, in and for the sum of four hundred
pounds current money of Pennsylvania, paid and delivered
to the above named Sachems or Chiefs, partly in goods and
partly in Gold Money by the said Commissioners, they the
said Sachems or Chiefs on behalf of the said Six Nations do
hereby renounce and disclaim not only all the right of the
said Six Nations, but also recognize and acknowledge the
right and title of our Sovereign, the King of Great Britain
to all the land within the said Colony as it now or may here-
after be peopled and bounded by his said Majesty, our Sov-
ereign Lord, the King, his Heirs and Successors.
In Witness Whereof, the said Sachems or Chiefs, for
themselves and in behalf of the people of the Six Nations afore-
said have herewith set their hands and seals this second day
of July in the 18th year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord
George the Second King of Great Britain and in the year
of our Lord 1744.
Signed by all the above named Chiefs.
Signed, Sealed and Delivered in the presence of Edward
Jennings at a General Court held at the Capital, October
25, 1744.
This Deed Poll was proved by ye oaths of Edward Jen-
nings, Esq., Phillip Ludwell Lee, Esq., and William Black,
three witnesses thereto and by the Court ordered to be
recorded.
Teste: (Signed)
BEN. AVALTER, CI. Ct.
Early Customs.
It was some time after the first settlement of the county
before the pioneers had the convenience of grist-mills. In
the meantime various substitutes were devised. First, wa^
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
33
the hominy block, then followed the hand mill. However,
the settlers, later, availed themselves of the excellent water
power furnished by the numerous streams in the county and
tub mills were built in many localities. The hominy block
was made by burning a large cavity like a druggists mortar
in a block of elm wood. This was made to hold about a
peck of grain. After soaking the grain in tepid water, it was
pulverized by a wooden pestle. The coarse and fine particles
were separated by a seive made by stretching a perforated
The Joe White Tub Mill, Dry Fork.
deer skin over a hoop. The fine meal was used for bread and
the coarse for hominy.
The log house was necessarily the only kind of house
built. The first houses were unhewn. The floor was made
of puncheons. The roof was made of clapboards held on with
weight poles. The stairway was a ladder of pegs fastened
in the side wall. Some cabins were built with fire places so
large that practically an entire tree could be used as a back-
log. There was a door at each end of the fire place, which
extended nearly across the cabin, and a horse would be driven
in, dragging the log by the chain. Then the chain would be
34
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
unhooked and the horse would he loosened and go out the
other door. The log would then he rolled into the fire place.
The first settlers were under the necessity of making, with
their own hands, or at least having made in the immediate
neighborhood all the things essential in the home and on the
farm. Every well ordered household had a loom, spinning
wheel, little and big, a flax breaker, sheep shears and wool
carders. All the processes that converted the wool or flax
\ \
A Pioneer Kitchen.
into clothing were deftly done at home with their own tools,
by the mothers and daughters. The apparel worn by both
sexes was made from linen and woolen fabrics, which had
been woven on the loom in the farm house and dyed with
coperas in combination with various barks. Buckskin pants
were often worn, and vests from fawn skins and caps from
coon skins were in vogue in some communities until the Civil
War. In the winter, moccasins were worn. They were made
from deer skin, came up around the ankles and were tied
with "buck-skin" strings.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 35
Stoves did not come into use until a comparatively recent
period. All cooking- was done over the fire place or in the
bake oven. Kettles were suspended from a hook and tram-
mel, which was fastened to an iron bar, secured in the chimney
above. Matches not being in use, fires were kept as much as
possible by covering live coals, or burning embers with ashes.
When the fires went out however, a "chunk" was brought
from a neighbor's supply, or resort was had to flint and steel
with punk and tow. Kerosene lamps, being a later day in-
* ■
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•X-
3?g ; *
■
■
.
■ ■ . %
>
■ w
A-
'«,*•
■tJMWS
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A Pioneer Barn.
novation, candles, pine knots or the ordinary dip light was
improvised. The "dip" was made by immersing a twisted
thread or cotton string in hog's lard or bear's oil and lighting
the free end.
The practice of agriculture was rude and the most primi-
tive tools were used. The plow was made entirely of wood
and oxen drew them, as a rule, instead of horses. Harrows
were made of wooden pegs in a wooden frame. Sometimes
crab bushes or thorn bushes were substituted. The harvest
was gathered with a sickle. Forks were made from forked
dogwood saplings. Threshing was done, usually, with a flail
and fifteen bushels was considered one dav's work. Newly
36 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
shod horses were sometimes used to tramp out the grain.
Two or three pairs of horses would tramp out fifty bushels
in one day. The grain was separated from the chaff by
throwing both in the air and letting the wind separate them.
Then came the hand wind mill and later the horse power
thresher.
In pioneer days a wedding was an event of great social
importance. Xo effort was spared to celebrate the event in
such a way as to make the event a memorable one. It was
a time of much mirth and pleasure. The wedding party
started in a double file from the home of the groom, when
within a mile of the home of the bride, an Indian warhoop was
given and all raced at full speed. The one reaching the house
first was given a bottle that was awaiting the victor. All
were then expected to participate, men and women, in the
refreshing and stimulating contents of the bottle, when it
was returned to the winner. A feast followed the wedding
ceremony, which was duplicated at the infare at the groom's
home. Horn and puter spoons and hunting knives not in-
frequently adorned the table on these occasions. After supper
the young people enjoyed themselves in the mistv mazes of
the dance. In pioneer parlance, it was the "hoe down."
Occasionally the violinist was not an expert in his art and if
his music failed to ascend in lofty and inspiring strains or fall
in soft and sweet cadences, it was then that some rustic and
unappreciative youth would likely compare his strident strains
to "choking the goose." Other occasional festivities were
corn huskings, log rollings, and house raisings. In the fall
months, on a moonlight night the pioneer would ask in his
neighbors, and from dark until 11 or 12 o'clock there would
be a joyous combination of work and sport. There would be
a contest between individuals and groups as to which would
finish their work first, or which would rind the most red ears
of corn. All hands would occasionally take a rest to draw
fresh inspiration from the pitcher of cider or the jug of "apple
jack." The log rolling and the house raising were also affairs
of festivities as well as of hard work. These undertakings
were impossible undertakings alone, but with the combined
assistance of friends and neighbors the task was easv. Then
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 37
it afforded an opportunity to cultivate the social amenities.
While father and son were busy with the throng at the rolling
or raising, the mother and daughter were having a season of
mirth and enjoyment at the house, cooking and quilting.
Wild Animals.
The mountains and valleys of what is now Randolph
county was the habitat of many wild animals. This was a
blessing to the pioneer in many ways. They not only sup-
plied his larder with meat, but their skins covered his naked-
ness and protected him from the elements. The hunt and
the chase also furnished him with diversion and relieved the
monotony of an isolated life. The elk. deer, buffalo, panther,
bear, otter, beaver, raccoon, wolf and catamount were the
principal wild animals found by the first white men. The
panther and wolf perhaps yet remain in very limited numbers
in the eastern part of the county. The elk and buffalo disap-
peared early. A few deer remain and the black bear is rather
plentiful in the mountain districts in the eastern part of the
count}. The wild turkey, pheasant and owl were here in
abundance. The eagle, though not so plentiful, made its home
among the crags and cliffs of our mountain peaks. The wolf
was very numerous and very troublesome to the pioneer. It
was necessary to fasten sheep and calves in an enclosure every
night to prevent their destruction. Wolves were soon deci-
mated, not so much by the hunter's rifle as the prevalence of
rabies among them. Many were infected, ''went mad," and
often attacked the settlers in their homes. Wolves exhibited
great cunning in preying upon other animals. They hunted
in packs. They followed the deer in company until they be-
came tired, then one kept the deer going until it made a turn
in the direction of another wolf, which was sniffing the wind
for scent of its prey. The deer was thus pursued by fresh
wolves until it became the victim of their ravenous appetites.
The black bear is a timid animal and is not inclined to
attack man only in self defense or in defense of its young. It
was an object of superstitious reverence to the Indians, who
never killed it without apologizing and deploring the neces-
sity which impelled them to do so.
8
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COL" Nil
CHAPTER IV.
AMONG THE RECORDS OF RANDOLPH.
RANDOLPH COUNTY was formed by an act of the Yir
Jnia Assembly. October, 1786. and the hoi> Benja-
min Wilson in T; g rts Valley was designated as the place
for holding the hrst court. The territory of the new county
m
Randolph's Firsr Court House,
i From an old photograph.)
embraced all of the present county of Tucker, half of the
present count} ur. half of I'j'-hur and a 1 art
of Webster.
We give below the pi lings of the • irt
held in Randolph County. We have endeavored to produce
the record ; und in the time worn book, u "he
original spelling and punctuation :
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 39
Be It Remembered that at the House of Benjamin Wilson
on the 28 day of May 1787, a Commission of the Peace Os:c
held a session of Oyer »S; Terminer for the said county directed
and ordered that Jacob Westfall, Salathiel Goff, Patrick Ham-
ilton, John Wilson, Cornelius Westfall. Edward Jackson,
Robert Maxwell, Peter Cassity, Cornelius Bogard, John Jack-
son, George Westfall, Henry Runyan. John Hadden & Johna-
than Parsons, Gent, was presented and read. Whereupon
the Ooath of Allegiance to the Commonwealth was administ-
ered by the said Patrick Hamilton, to the said Salathiel Goft
and also the Oath of Office as directed by law. and by the
said Salathiel < roff to Patrick Hamilton. John Wilson, Cor-
nelius Westfall, Edward Jackson, Robert Maxwell, Peter
Cassity, Cornelius Bogard, John Jackson. Geo. Westfall,
Henry Runyan. John Hadden. & Jonathan Parsons.
Jacob Westfall. Gent, produced a commission of Sheriff
from his Excellency the Governor Baring Date the 17th day
of April 1787 which was openly Read, whereupon the Said
Jacob Westfall. < ient. after entering into the bond, with
Edward Jackson &c Salathiel his Securities took the
th of Allegiance and the Oath :e as directed by law.
John Wilson was chosen Cleark of the Court of Randolph
county and after giving bond with Jacob Westfall for Secur-
ity for the due and faithful execution of his >:>fnce took the
Oath Allegiance to the Commonwealth and the Oath of Office
prescribed by law.
Upon motion William McCleary admitted to practice ls
an Attorney in Randolph County and the necessary Oaths
scribed by law & paid the Tax Directed by Law.
That Wm. Mc Leary be allowed the sum of four pounds
to be paid quarterly by the Court for one Year Should the
Court think proper to continue for that time, who is now
admitted Attorney for the Commonwealth. Edward Jack-
v\: John Haymond candidates for the Prinsible Survey-
- Office for Jackson 7 votes for Haymond 4 votes.
That Edward Jackson be recommended to the Governor
as a proper person to fill the Office of Surveyor, he being of
Probity v\ I Character.
That Salathiel i ioff and Cornelius Bogard be recom-
40 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
mended to the Governor as proper persons to rill the Office
of Coroner.
That Jacob Westfall be recommended to his Excellency,
the Governor as a proper person to fill the office of Lieut, of
this county.
Patrick Hamilton Col.
John Wilson Major.
That the Public Buildings be erected on the Lands of
James Westfall in that space of ground bounded by James
Westfall fenses on the lower end of his plantation and the
River >S: by a line, drawn from the River at Right angles
passing the old School house and Westfalls Land and by
the County Road.
If any spot within the tract of this order delineated that
Jacob Westfall and Cornelius Bogard may appoint who is
hereby appointed to view and lay oft a certain tract not ex-
ceeding One Acre, the Said James Westfall giving and Grant-
ing the said Tract of One Acre together with Public
Buildings.
That John Hadden, John Jackson & Cornelius Bogard
be appointed Commissioners of Taxable Property.
That the Court do new adjourn till tomorrow Xine
O'clock.
Salathiel Goff.
The next day May 29. 1787 the Court resumed its session.
Jacob Riffle, Michael Yokum, Joseph Cooper, Thomas Holder,
and Chas. Falanash were appointed Constables. Hezekiah
Rosencranse was appointed Surveyor of Roads from Eber-
man's Creek, (now Chenoweth's Creek) to Files Creek. The
House of James Westfall was selected as the place of hold-
ing the next Court. A wagon road was ordered opened from
Mudlick at the County Road to Cheat River at the Horse
Shoe Bottom. A bridle road was ordered to be opened from
Connelies Lick to the Top of the Alleghany. Wm. Smith was
appointed Surveyor of Roads from James Friend's to Wm.
k England's Ford. Uriah Gandy was appointed SurveyoWof
Roads from Benj. AYilson's to top of Alleghany.
The first session of Court held in what is now the town
of Beverly, convened at the house of James Westfall. May
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 41
29, 1787. This house was a log structure, and was situated
on the West side of Main Street adjoining the S. N. Bos-
worth house on the north. This house remained a landmark
of pioneer days until long after the civil war. The "worship-
ful Justices" who conducted this session of court were "Ed-
ward Jackson, Robert Maxwell, Peter Cassity, and Cornelius
Bogard, Gent."
At the June term of the court, this body entered upon
new duties and performed functions hitherto not exercised.
No controversy over property rights had so far marred the
tranquility of the pioneer period. However, at the August
term, no less than seventeen cases were on the docket. The
style of the first case demanding the attention of the court
at the June term was \Ym. Peterson, plaintiff, vs. James
Lackev, defendant. Judgment was given in favor of the
plaintiff in the sum of Si 1.65. The first order for recording a
deed for the conveyance of real estate was also passed at this
term of the court.
Ebenezer Petty conveyed by deed 200 acres to Gabriel
Friend. James AYestfall was granted permission 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 & that he
have town lots laid off & Exposed to sale the first Day of
August Court." (1787). No name had been given the em-
bryotic town at that time, but later it was called Edmonton,
and retained this appellation until three years later when by
an Act of the Virginia Assembly the town of Beverly was
created. At this term of the court the county was divided
into three assessment districts as follows :
John Hadden's District : — From Simeon Harris' and Aaron
Richardson's up Tygarts Valley, a straight line to Roaring
Creek to the head, thence up Middle Fork to the head, thence
to the Greenbrier line, "the neardest direction" and from the
said Harris' to the Rockingham line, "the neardest direction."
John Jackson's District : — From John Haddan's line on
Roaring Creek to its junction with the Valley River, thence
a straight line where the road leading to Clarksburg crosses
Laurel Run, the old pack road called "Pringle's Road," thence
42 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
with this road to the head of Clover Run, thence with the
meanders of Laurel Hill to the county line.
Cornelius Bogard's District: — All of Randolph County
not included in Hadden's and Jackson's districts.
In more than one sense the court at this session became
a trail blazer and a pathfinder. Highways were ordered to
be viewed that were destined to become roads of State and
National importance. Commissioners were appointed to re-
port to the court on the "convenience and inconvenience" that
would attend the opening of a road from John Jackson's on
Buckhannon River to the court house in Beverly. This road
was located some years later. The Staunton and Parkers-
burg pike was constructed practically on the same route, and
became part of a great thoroughfare from the east to the Ohio
river. It was also used extensively in military operations
during the civil war.
John Wilson was appointed Surveyor of Highways from
Mudlick in Tygarts Valley to foot of mountain on Northeast
side of Horseshoe Bottom.
The July term, 1787, marked the beginning of the super-
vision and control of the liquor trafic in Randolph County.
Jacob Westfall was "admitted to retail liquor till the Novem-
ber court and no longer without license."
During these years of peace Indian hostilities may have
been in abeyance, yet the records evidence the fact that the
Red Man was busy appropriating the settlers horses. The
court ordered that Charles Parsons be exempted from paying
taxes on "three horse creatures that have been taken from
him by the Indians since the 9, of March last past." A simi-
lar order was passed in regard to five horses lost by Henry
Fink and several lost by John Warwick. At this term of the
court Nathan Nelson was brought before the court on the
charge of being a vagabond and gave bond for his good be-
havior. Among the cases tried at this term of the court were
the following:
John Smith vs. Michael Isner. Judgment for 4 pounds.
Jacob Stalnaker vs. John Phillips. The case agreed.
Ralph Stewart vs. James Pringle. Continued.
John Alford vs. Joseph Parsons. In this case the plain-
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 43
tiff made oath that he was afraid that the defendant would
do him a private injury. Accordingly Parsons was put under
bond to "keep the peace of the world and especially John
Alford."
At this term of the court Hugh Turner and William
Wilson were appointed to draw plans for a county jail, let
the contract for its erection to the lowest bidder and report
the same to the next August court.
At the July (1787) term provision was made for the first
election to be held in Randolph County. Overseers of the
Poor were to be elected. All other county officers except
Members of the Legislature were appointive. It seems strange
that the more important and remunerative offices of Sheriff
and Clerk of the Court would be appointed by the Justices
and the insignificant office of Overseer of the Poor be made
elective at so much trouble and expense to the people.
The county was laid off into four districts as follows:
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 dis-
trict, and John Jackson was appointed to conduct the election.
District 2, that part of the county northeast of Rich
Mountain and east of Valley River, including the Horse Shoe
setlement from AYilmoth's settlement 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 William
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 Hamilton was appointed to hold the election. The
Sheriff was ordered to oversee the elections and make re-
turns at the September court. Returns were not made until
November, and then in only two districts. In No. 2, William
Westfall and 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.
44 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
At the August court, 1787, the first grand jury was
drawn. The names were: John Hamilton, Daniel Westfall,
Valentine Stalnaker, Jacob Stalnaker, John Currence, Simeon
Harris, Joseph Crouch, Charles Nelson, Solomon Ryan,
Abraham Kittle, Thomas Phillips, William Wilson, Charles
Myers, Michael Isner, Nicholas Petro, Nicholas Wolf and
Andrew Skidmore.
At the August term (1787) Jacob Westfall made the fol-
lowing report in reference to the county jail: "Jacob West-
fall, Gent, came into court and reported that he struck off
the building of the Public Jail to a certain Edward Hart, to
be finished by the next March court." No reference was
made as to the price at which the contract was given. Joseph
Crouch was appointed Surveyor of Roads from Geo. West-
fall's Mill up to John Alexander's plantation. Alexander Ad-
dison applied for a recommendation from the court to obtain
a licence to practice law. He was given one year in which
to obtain such license. At the expiration of this time the
order of the court was to become void if he had not obtained
law license in the meantime. A similar order was made in
regard to Wm. McLeary.
At the September court (1787) John Wilson was allowed
200 pounds of tobacco "for service in regard to the tax law."
This allowance was in all probability for the collection of the
land tax, and was equivalent to $6.65.
The first reference to the insane is found in the records
of that term of the court. Philip and David Minear informed
the court that their brother John Minear "was crazy and had
eloped from their charge and strayed into Monongalia Coun-
ty." They were given authority to take charge of him and
his property.
The records of the October term (1787") reveal that John
Jackson was appointed Captain of the Buckhannon Company
and Edward Jackson Colonel of this county. Edward Jack-
son was grandfather of Thomas Jonathan (Stonewall) Jack-
son. Colonel Edward Jackson, though his military record
was humble and obscure, may have possessed, for aught we
know, the military genius of his illustrious grandson. He
may have been one of those "gems of purest ray serene the
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 45
dark unfathomed caves of oceans bear" and Stonewall may
have inherited those qualities of a soldier that gave him im-
perishable renown from his paternal grandfather.
Two indictments were found at the November (1787)
term for illegally retailing liquor. These indictments, as the
record states, were found on the information of two members
of the Grand Jury. At the same term of the court we find
many orders similar to this one: Ordered that the killing of
one old wolf by John Hadden be liquidated. Evidently the
killing of wolves was an important infant industry. Meagre
and indefinite information is found in the records of the fol-
lowing: cases tried at this term of the court :
Cornelius Bogard vs..Wm. Short. Refused to be taken.
John Hamilton vs. Pat. Hamilton. Refused to be taken.
Benjamin Hornbeck vs. Joseph Summerfield. Xot found.
At the January term (1788) Benjamin Hornbeck was
"admitted to retail liquor for the term of the present day."
The reason for the brevity of the life of his license is not
clear. Perhaps he only wanted to dispense the ardent on the
first day of court. In the earlier years of the county and
even up to the second decade after the civil war the first day
of court was largely in the nature of a social gathering. An
event in which the monotony and isolation of pioneer life were
broken by an exchange of greetings and experience of people
similarly situated. Under these circumstances the wine not
infrequently flowed with a spirit of good feeling and comrad-
ship. Hence the necessity of "admitting Mr. Hornbeck to
retail liquor for the term of the present day."
At the same term of the court it was ordered that a
certificate be issued to the Governor in favor of Wm. Blair
for an increase in his pension for a wound received while
rendering military service for the commonwealth under
Colonel Charles Lewis at the battle of Point Pleasant, Octo-
ber 10, 1774.
Tavern rates were regulated at that term of the court
as follows :
46 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Maderia wine, per half pint 25 cents
Other wines, " " " 20 5-6
West India rum " " " 16 2-3
Other rums " " " 12 1-2
Peach brandy " " " 11 1-9
Good whiskey ' 11 1-9
Dinner 16 2-3
Breakfast 12 1-2
Supper 12 1-2
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 24 hours „ 8 1-2
Mr. McLeary was recommended to the Judges of the
Court of Appeals as a suitable person to fill the office of
Clerk of their court in Monongalia County.
At the May term (1788) the court ordered that the
Sheriff collect S26.66 "for E. Hart to carry on the publick's
joal."
At the July term ( 1788) the following extraordinary
order was recorded : "That a writ go forth to bring Garret
Lambert before the next court to show cause why he does not
betake himself to lawful employment & demean himself as
required by the laws of the Commonwealth." The exercise
of such jurisdiction by the courts today would no doubt be
considered an unwarranted infringement of personal liberty.
On the 22nd day of September, 1788, the court took the
initial steps to build the first court house for Randolph
County. The Justices of the Peace had previously prepared
plans and specifications for the temple of justice and it was
ordered that they be given to the Sheriff, who was directed
to advertise for contracts for its construction.
At the February term (1789) the bond of Jacob YVest-
fall. Sheriff, was fixed at $53,353. At the same term of the
court Edward Hart was allowed $85 for building the jail
to be paid when completed and delivered. James Cunning-
ham was allowed $2.66 for bringing Acts of Assemblv of
Virginia from Richmond. At that term of the court it was
ordered that Hugh Turner be paid $200 for building the
Court House. Wm. McLeary, Attorney for the Common-
wealth, was allowed $40 as his salary for one year.
At the March term of the court (1789) the Sheriffs
house was "appointed a jail until the next term of the court."
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 47
At the April term (1789) Robert Maxwell served notice
that he intended petitioning the General Assembly setting
forth the utility of a ferry on Leading Creek from the lands
of Robert Maxwell to Jonas Friend's. At the same term of the
court Gabriel Dowell was ordered to appear at the next term
and give security for the maintenance of himself and wife
or be subject to the vagrant act. Dowell evidently gave no
heed to the action of the court as that body at the next term
ordered that both he and his wife be "taken by Constable
William Madden to Constable David Minear and he convey
them into Washington County, Maryland, and there leave
them.*'
At the July term of the court (1789) it was ordered that
the roads from the county seat to Roaring Creek and from
Jonas Friend's to Pringle's Ford and from Connalie's Lick
to the top of Alleghany and from Wilson's Mill to the top
of Alleghany at the Pendleton line be worked once a year
and then cleared for a good bridle path eight feet wide. This
order gives an insight into the status of the roads of that
day. The roads mentioned above were among the important
highways of the county at that time and no effort was made
to keep them in a state of repair surpassing the bridal path
standard.
The Grand Jury at the August term (1789) found only
one indictment. There was one indictment for retailing apple
brandy above the legal rate. The indictment was made on
the information of five members of the Grand Jury. The im-
portance and emoluments of the office of Commonwealth's
Attorney had been keeping pace with the growth of the
county. At this same term Win. McLeary's allowance was
raised to $33.33 per annum if there were two terms of the
court and $50.00 if there were four terms. At the same term
the Justices of the Peace took the oath of office as "required
by Congress to support the Constitution of the United
States." The constitution had been recently ratified and this
was the first record of reference to the constitution.
At the September court (1789) Moses Ware was given
a certificate for a land warrant for 400 acres of land for ser-
vices as Sergeant in Colonel Gipson's regiment. The certi-
48 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
ficate explains that the warrant was taken from him when he
was "captivated by the Indians.'' It does not say when
where. The court issued the certificate to Moses Ward, but at
a subsequent term corrected its error by substituting Ware
instead of Ward. The court at that term passed an order
exempting Jacob Springstone from working the highway
until he "be in a better state of health, he now being unsane."
Peace and pleasantness evidently did not prevail among
the "worshipful" Justices at the March term i 1790 >. Edward
Jackson went before the Grand Jury and indicted his colleague.
Robert Maxwell, for being drunk, whereupon Maxwell gave
information to : and Jury that resulted in Jackson be: g
indicted for the same offense. Jackson confessed, but Max-
well stood trial and was acquitted.
At the April term i 1790) the court ordered that Hugh
rner be paid $200 to enable him to carry on the building
of the court house, and that $200 be paid him subsequently,
making the entire cost of the court house $400. At the same
term the jail was accepted from Edward Hart, the contractor.
Prisoners, who had been boarding with the Sheriff, could
henceforth be domiciled at a home especially provided
them.
The Sheriff was ordered, at the June term i 1790 1. to pay
Wm. Blair $ his pension for that year. Mr. Blair was
wounded at the battle of Point Pleasant. October 10, 1774.
while serving unc lonel Charles Lewis
The town of Edmonton was destined to have a brief
official life. Only once in the records was there any re:
ence to Edmonton. At the October term (1790i a road was
ordered opened from the town of Edmonton to Roaring
Creek. In August I the next year. Beverly made its • -rticial
bow to the public in the court records, when Edward Hart
was licensed to keep an ordinary in the town of Beverly.
At the November term 1 7 Maxwell Armstrong v -
the third attorney to be admitted to practice law in Randolph.
Thomas Wilson succeeded Wm. McClearv a- I ::.:::
weak/ - Lttorney at the March term - 1 791 • of the court.
Xo reason was given for retiring Mr. McLeary.
At the May term il791) Jacob Lewis was appointed ad-
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY M
ministrator of the estate of Joseph Kinnan. Mr. Lew:- as
a brother of the widow Kinnan. whose husband was killed
the Indians May 11th of that year. : a few weeks prevk -
It will be seen by reference to another chapter that Mr. Lev -
made his escape from the Indians by way of a window in a
rear room where he v. - - eping when the Kinnan h -
attacked by the Indians. Wither- "Border Warfare is in
error as to the name and date. Withers has the name Caanan
and the date of the occurrence in the latter part of the sum-
mer of 1794.
The records of tl 5 tember term (1791 reveal :::at
Edward Hart, who built the jail was licensed to keep an
ordinarv. also conducted a cooper's shop by the spring. The
adjacent : rests with their retention of moisture made, prob-
able, the existence f springs in the town : rly.
The cooper's trade in that day was a useful and impor-
tant one. All tuh - gs, and barrels were made by
Tiand. The order referring tc these subje - and prescribing
prison b< Is reads as foil - ginning at the corner :
lid. Hart's lot on the Fro: - site 1 :he lot n
above the lot whereon the cour- - hence to
the lot Hart's cooper shop is on by the spring, thence
th the lower line of the town to the lower end t
thence up to the front - and thence to the beginn : °
Imprisonment for debt was a legal proceeding and it
probable that the boundar: es a n applied particularly
to that class oi prisoners rredit rs ere : mpelled :
the expense of imprisoned debtors.
The sympathic- th< urt : r those who were com-
pelled to travel the long and lonesome mountain -. with-
out the company anc : - lation : - methir._ and
cheer their drooping spirits, assumed a practical turn at the
June term | 1792 when that body passed the following order:
'"That Thomas Summerrield be permitted I ail liquor on
the road that leads from T g irts Valley tc the North F
without payment oi license, for the benefit of traveler-
such a long and lonesom t this same term urt
dollars and cents appeared for the first time on th
of the county. Pounds, shillings and pence were used in
50 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
transaction of the county for two or three years later, but
gradually went out of use. Tobacco was the legal currency
of Virginia until 1794. Official fees and county levies were
frequently computed in pounds of tobacco. At this same ses-
sion of the court a committe was appointed to examine the
falls of the Tygarts Valley river, in the present county of
Taylor, and report on the probable expense of putting them
in condition for fish to ascend the river. At the July term
additional action was taken and the cooperation was asked
of the Harrison County Court with the expression of the
hope that it would meet with "your worships approbation."
However, nothing has been done to this day, though there
has been perennial agitation of the project.
The first reference to a saw r mill in the records of Ran-
dolph is found in the proceedings of 1794, when Jacob West-
fall was permitted to erect a saw mill near the town of Bev-
erly. Prior to this time the slab and the puncheon and the
product of the cross-cut answered every purpose. The first
steam saw mill is said to have been brought into this county
from Virginia in 1878.
It is surprising that in so short a time, the most of our
timber, our greatest natural wealth, the result of the provi-
dent process of the ages, should be without thought or con-
sideration for the future, used, wasted and destroyed.
Indictments in most cases in the years of 1795-96 were
for assault and battery. Although presentments for Sab-
bath breaking, "profane swearing" selling liquor "by the
small," and against overseers of the highway for neglect of
duty were by no means infrequent. In that day the indi-
vidual's ability to take care of himself in conflict with savages
and wild animals was considered a very desirable character-
istic and the man who exceeded his fellows in strength and
agility was looked upon as a hero in his community. An
influence and environment of this sort necessarily resulted
in personal encounters which terminated in the courts.
Randolph was still without a court house in 1795, though
its construction had been undertaken seven years previous.
At the August term (1795) the court ordered suit to be in-
stituted against Edward Hart for failure to complete it.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 51
The court at the September term (1795) gives us an
index to the rate of daily wages in that day, when it allowed
50 cents a day to guards for prisoners at the jail for their
services.
The records of the December term (1795) indicate that
there was an Indian scare in the valley in that year. At that
term of the court an allowance for patrolling Leading Creek
was made to Thomas Phillips, Jacob Kittle, Samuel Ball,
John Phillips and Closes Shuter. Although the Indians had
not visited the valley since May, 1791, the settlers evidently
believed that a raid was iminent.
There was a smallpox scare in Randolph in May, 1798.
The court met in special session but did nothing except sum-
mon all the Justices in the county to attend the next session
and to take action to prevent the spread of the disease. The
records of the court are silent as to any further efforts to
stop the contagion.
The limited income of the pioneer, together with the
necessities of incessant toil, incident to the conversion of
the wilderness into cleared and cultivated fields, with the
distance and inconvenience of travel to good schools made
anything but a rudimentary education for their children be-
yond their hope or ambition. The will of Raphael Warthen
when admitted to record in 1798, is interesting for the reason
that it show r s the extent of the average and expected educa-
tion of the youth of that period. . One provision of his will
provided that "as much of my estate as will be sufficient to
educate my children to read properly, to write plainly and to
have a knowledge of arithmetic as far as the rule commonly
called the simple rule of three."
From the fact that the sickle was the tool commonly used
in cutting- grain and the flail and the winnowing sheet the
usual method of threshing grain, made anything except limit-
ed crops in the early period of the settlement of this county,
impossible. The inventory of the estate of Nicholas Wolfe
gives information of the kind and quantity of the crops raised
by the farmers in 1800, the year the appraisement of his estate
was admitted to record. It was as follows: 5 acres of rye,
52 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
3 acres of wheat, 8 acres of corn, 5 acres of meadow, and 4
acres of oats.
Neither dude nor dullard ever became a pioneer. Dis-
content presupposes intelligence and contemplation. The
first settlers of Randolph evidently were dissatisfied with
conditions in their native land. They left home and friends
to seek free homes in a free country for themselves and their
children. It required hope, courage, decision and determina-
tion to undergo the isolation, hardships, and the inconven-
iences incident to the life of the pioneer. They may, or may
not have had the advantages of a liberal education, yet they
possessed excellent judgment and good common sense. It
would be interesting to know the books they read and the
nature and extent of their libraries. In the records of the
county there are only vague hints on this subject. In the
list of articles of the estate of Nicholas Wolf, sold at vendue
in 1800, we find that three "Dutch books and one English
Almanac" brought 50 cents. In the inventory of the estate
of Jacob Westfall, there is listed the following books ; 6
volumes Doddridge on the New Testament, 4 volumes Gold-
smith, 2 volumes Pope's Homer, 2 volumes Flower's History,
2 Spectator, 2 Parcels old books, 2 volumes Blair's Lectures,
1 Book Washington's Reports, 1 Clark's Magazine.
From the report of the Commissioners appointed to pass
upon disputed land entries, their report as recorded in this
county, shows that Peter PofTenberger and John Bush settled
on Radcliff's Run, on the Buckhannon River in 1774, and
that John Fink settled on Fink's Run in the same year.
In the appraisement of the estate of Nicholas Wolf
(1803) poplar boards were rated at $10 per thousand feet.
Among the items of the expenses attending the sale of his
personal estate we find this one : "one other gallon of liquor,
75 cents." In the sale of the personal effects of St. Leger
Stout about the same time, some of the articles commanded
the following prices: One pair dog irons $2.00: two pot tram-
bles and fire shovel, $4.00: fifteen pewter spoons, $5.85. Dog
irons and trambles, once articles of universal use, are prac-
tically unknown and discarded today. Dog irons or fire
dogs were used to support the fore stick in an open fireplace.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 53
Trammels were pendent hooks for suspending pots, kettles,
etc., over an open fireplace. Chimneys were not in use prior
to the early part of the 14th century and cooking and heat-
ing- stoves are comparatively modern innovations. In 1741
Benjamin Franklin invented what he called a Pennsylvania
fireplace, which consisted of several plates of cast iron with
a shutter to regulate the draught and a register to distribute
the heat. From this rude construction the modern stove has
evolved. Previous to 1825 the use of stoves, generally of the
box pattern, and of very rude pattern, was confined to stores,
halls, hotels, barroms, school houses, and churches, in the
cities and larger towns. Not until the building of the B. &
O. railroad, making possible the transportation of heavy
goods, did the use of stoves come into general use in this
county.
In the records of the court for the year 1803 we find the
following item, in the report of an Administrator: "burial ex-
penses, coffin, shirt and liquor and accommodations at the
sale, $24.00."
In will book No. 1, page 23, there is recorded a list of the
personal property of Joseph Kinnan, sold at vendue by Edward
Hart, Administrator, and admitted to record, June 26, 1793.
Mr. Hart( in his final settlement a few years later, among the
necessary expenses incurred) mentions five gallons of whiskey-
It was the custom in the pioneer period to treat or give free
drinks to those in attendance upon a public auction. Perhaps
the object was to promote a liberal attendance, as well as a
condition of mental opulence among the prospective purchas-
ers. The list is interesting from the fact that it gives an
insight into the possessions of the average pioneer as well as
the prices these articles commanded in that day. Mr. Kinnan,
it will be remembered, was killed by the Indians, at his home
near the mouth of Elkwater. The list is as follows:
Two pair shears $ .50
One pot tramble 3.33
One keg 40
One keg 35
Two rockers 90
Pewter 80
One mattock 1.15
One cleavis 35
54
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Shoes and brush 2.00
Plow and irons 2.00
One kettle 1.85
One scythe 1.70
One ax ; 1.60
One horse 21.60
One ox 4.00
One heifer 7.50
Two yearling steers 11.00
Two yearling calves 12.00
One scythe 1.00
One jug 18
One bucket 35
One frying pan 70
One musket 90
One cow and calf 17.25
One cow 11.25
One horse 7.25
One mare 12.50
One mare and bell. 15.50
Hogs 40.00
Three sheep 6.50
Grain, upper place 6.65
Two stacks of hay 1.65
Flax, growing 50
Corn on Sylvester Ward's loft 10.65
One brown horse 55.95
One bay colt 18.95
Wills Recorded in Randolph County.
A list of wills recorded in Randolph County prior to 1836
is given below, with the name of the testator and the date
of record :
Andrew McMullen 1788
George Ward 1791
David Haddan 1791
Jacob Stalnaker 1791
John Miller 1794
Jeremiah Channell 1797
Raphael Warthen 1798
Catherine Carlick 1801
Thomas White 1802
Josiah Westfall 1802
John Haddan 1803
Vincent Marsh 1804
St.Leger Stout 1806
Thomas Phillips 1806
Henry Mace 1807
Mary Ann Marteny 1809
Thomas Holder 1810
Edward Hart 1811
Charles Myers 1812
Abraham Kittle 1813
Adam Stalnaker 1814
Jacob Helmick 1815
John Phillips 1815
Isaac Kittle 181
Ebenezer Kelley 1816
Isaac Bond 1816
Hezekiah Rosencrantz 1819
Martin C. Poling 1819
Martin Poling 1820
James McLean 1820
George Mitchell 1822
Robert Phares 1823
Elias Alexander 1825
Boston Stalnaker 1826
Jacob Weese 1826
Samuel Bonnifield 1826
Benjamin Hornbeck 1827
Joseph Summerfield 1828
Frederick Troutwine 1829
William Parsons 1829
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 55
Joseph Pennell 1831 James McClung 1833
John Rush 1831 Valentine Stalnaker 1833
Rinehart Dumire 1831 Henry Petro 1834
Richard Kittle 1831 John Light 1834
John Chenoweth 1832 Richard Ware 1834
Joseph Pitman 1832 Isaac Poling 1834
Sarah Bond 1832 Gilbert Boyle 1835
Jacob Weese 1832 Solomon Collett 1836
Jacob Stagle 1832 Mathew Whitman 1836
First Will Recorded in Randolph.
Below is given a copy of the first will recorded in Ran-
dolph County. It is evident fro mits freedom from legal
phraseology that it was a product of his own mind. The
document is characterized by simplicity and attention to de-
tails and left no room for doubts or different construction
of meaning. It is as follows :
"In the name of God, Amen, I, Andrew McMullen, 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 I
have behind ; and as my affairs are in a very scattered condi-
tion at present, owing to my past troubles, I therefore nomi-
nate and appoint Robert Maxwell as my executor to see into
and examine what trifles are mine, and goods likewise. When
I was at Uriah Gandy's I lent him two pounds, five shillings
cash, and gave him an order for a great coat of mine at
Thomas Goff's a tailor, and a dollar to pay for the making of
it: and I 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 in my head as I
ought to have been, and I know not what way the note or
anything was; but I hope I will do justice as a Christian.
And his gun he can have again; and what service he did for
me, I hope he will be paid out of what he owes me. And for
what orders I gave or sent Mr. James Cunningham, about
getting my traps and other things, I hope they give them up
to Robert Maxwell as I have appointed him to settle my
56 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
affairs. And do acknowledge this and no other to be my
last will and testament ; as witness my hand and seal this
21, day of June, 1786.
ANDREW McMULLEN.
■"Witness; James Taffee and Joseph Friend."
The first deed admitted to record in Randolph is given
below :
At a Court held for the County of Randolph the 25th day
of June, 1787, the following Deed of Bargain & Sale of 200
Acres of Land from Ebenezer Petty & Elizabeth, his wife to
Gabriel Friend was acknowledged and ordered to be Recorded.
This Indenture Executed this Twenty-fifth day of June,
in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and
Eighty-seven, between Ebenezer Petty and Elizabeth his
wife, of Randolph County, and Commonwealth of Virginia,
of the one part, and Gabriel Friend, of the County of Wash-
ington and State of Maryland, of the other part. Witnesseth,
That they the said Ebenezer Petty & Elizabeth his wife, their
heirs and assigns for in and consideration of One Hundred
and Twenty-five pounds, to them in hand paid, the receipt of
which the}- hereby acknowledge, and themselves fully satisfye.
Have bargained and sold and transferred unto the said Gab-
riel Friend a certain Tract of land lying and being in the said
County of Randolph, on the west side of Tigers Yallev River,
adjoining the lands of John Harness and John Crouch, junior,
and boundede as followeth, towit : Beginning at a Maple
thence south Ten Degrees East Ninety-six Poles to a Beach,
South Twelve degrees west Sixty-eight Poles to two Syca-
more, South Eighteen degrees West Thirty-two Poles to a
Sycamore & Elm, South nine degrees East Thirty Poles to
a Sycamore and Walnut, North Eighty-six degrees, East
Thirty poles to two walnuts, South Seventy degrees, East
fifty-two poles to an Elm and Walnut, North forty-two
Degrees East Seventy-four Poles to two White oaks. East
fifty-eight poles to a Svcamore, North Seventy-one degrees
East thirty-three poles to two Cherries John Harnesses Cor-
ner North thirty-eight degrees west one hundred & forty
poles to a Spanish Oak near two Pines his Corner North
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 57
thirty-three degrees West Eighty poles to a white oak, his
Corner South Eighty-seven degrees west. Ninety-six poles
to the Beginning. Containing two hundred acres and ap-
purtenances to have and to hold the said Tract or parcel of
Land with its appurtenances to the said Gabriel Friend his
Heirs and assigns forever.
In witness of the presents we have hereunto set our
hands and affixed our Seals this Day and Date above written.
EBENEZER PETTY [Seal]
her
ELIZABETH C. (X) PETTY, [Seal]
mark
Recorded and Examined
Teste: JOHN WILSON, C R C
The Price of a Slave.
In deed book No. 10, page 378 of the county of Randolph,
can be found a document, bearing date of October 30, 1830,
recording the sale of a slave, I Fenrietta Crown, to Geo. Buckey
of Beverly. Henrietta gained the favor of her master and
his family and remained with them to the time of her death,
some thirty years subsequent to the time of obtaining her
freedom. Mr. Buckey was opposed to the institution of
slavery, though it meant to him financial loss and was a Union
sympathizer in the war between the states. Below is a copy
of the instrument of writing in that transaction:
Know all men by these presents, that I, George Wash-
ington Hilleary, of Prince George County, State of Mary-
land, for and in consideration of the sum of Two Hundred
and Forty Dollars, to me in hand paid by George Buckey,
of the town of Beverly, county of Randolph, and state of
Virginia, to and before the sealing and delivery of these pre-
sents, the receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge, have
bargained, sold, granted and confirmed, and by these pre-
sents do bargain, sell, grant and confirm to the said George
Buckey a certain female slave named Henny, to have and
to hold said female negro slave and her future increase to the
58 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
only proper use and behalf of the said George Buckey, his
executors, administrators, and assigns forever, and I, the
said George Washington Hilleary for myself, my executor
and administrators, the said female negro slave with her fu-
ture increase to the said George Buckey, his executors, ad-
ministrators and assigns, and against all and every other
person or persons whatsoever shall warrant and forever de-
fend by these presents.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and
affixed my hand and seal this 27th day of October in the
year 1830.
GEORGE WASHINGTON HILLEARY,
(Seal)
Teste : Squire Bosworth,
Randolph County Court,
February Term A. D. 1831.
This bill of sale from Geo. W. Buckey appeared to have
been acknowledged before the Deputy Clerk of the Court
is ordered to be recorded.
Teste: A. EARLE, C. R. C.
The following names appear in the records of Randolph
County prior to the year 1800:
Arnold, Alexander, Armstrong, Allison.
Bogard, Blair, Bodkins, Buffington, Barker, Breeding, Bell,
Brigs, Badgely, Beard, Booth, Brown, Ball, Bird, Bishop,
Beebe, Bond, Booth, Buckey, Boyles, Berry, Blue, Beaty.
Currence, Crouch, Cassity, Crow, Cooper, Conley, Christy,
Clark, Chenoweth, Cook, Claypoole, Carper, Channel!,
Canfield, Cutright.
Davisson, Donohoe, Deener, Dent, Dawson, Dougherty,
Daniels.
Elliott, Eberman, England.
Fink, Fisher, Friend, Ford, Ferguson.
Goff, Good, Gibson, Gandy, Green, Gallatin.
Hamilton, Haddan, Holder, Harness, Haddix, Hough, Hunt,
A HISTORY OP RANDOLPH COUNTY 59
Hart, Heath, Harris, Howell, Hanna, Henderson, Hick-
man, Harper, Hacker.
Isner.
Jackson, Jones, Joseph, Jenkins, Jack.
Kittle, Kinnan, Kizer, Kuhn, Kykendale, Kerper.
Lin, Lackey, Lambert, Lowny, Long, Lamberton, Light.
McLeary, McMullen, McClung, Minear, McLean, Mitchell,
Maxwell, Marteny, Mace, Myers, Middlebrook, Marstil-
ler, McVicker, Moore, Morris, Miller, Mason.
Nelson, Neale, Neston.
Osburn.
Peterson, Parsons, Post, Petty, Peatro, Pendell, Phillips,
Pamcake, Pryor, Patterson, Peter, Price, Patten, Pringle,
Pleasants.
Reed, Rose, Rennix, Reeder, Rooney, Ryan, Robert, Riffle,
Rosencranse, Rankins, Robinson, Riddle.
Scott, Smith, Stalnaker, Stewart, Snmmerfield, See, St. Clair,
Stout, Steel, Strawder, Seymour, Seitz.
Taffee, Taft, Tolly, Truby, Thompson, Teter, Talbott, Thomas.
Vanscoy, Vandevander.
Westfall, Wilson, Whitman, Warwick, Ward, Wilmoth,
Wiseman, W r eese, Warthen, W'amsley, Wolfe, White.
Yokum, Yeager, Yenner.
Marriage Licenses.
Below will be found a list of Marriage Licenses issued
from 1784 to 1817. Licenses issued prior to 1787 were issued
by Harrison County, but the contracting parties lived in
what ic nnw T? QnrlnlnVi
what is now Randolph.
1784
Man's Name Woman's Name Daughter of By Whom Married
John Wamsley Mary Robinson
Henry Runyann Mary Hagel
Simon Harris Christian Westfall
James Bodkin Mary Westfall
60
A HISTORY OP RANDOLPH COUNTY
1785
Man's Name
William Briggs
John Kittle
John Haddan
Alexander Blair
Isaac McHenry
Richard Kittle
David Crouch
John Phillips
David Henderson
John Jackson, Jr.
Thomas Isner
William Low
David Thomas
.John Outright
Zachariah Westfall
Henry Mace
James Holder
William Gibson
Samuel Stalnaker
George Harper
Solomon Ware
Cottrill Tolbert
Philip Reger
Moses Kade
Woman's Name
Sarah Westfall
Elizabeth Wells
Isabell Elliott
Elizabeth Breeding
Margaret Blair
Margaret Stalnaker
Elizabeth Cassety
Catherine Isner
Daughter of
By Whom Married
Ingra Kittle
Rebecca Haddon
Magelene Miller
Eliza Westfall
Rnchael Brooks
1786
1787
1788
Rebecca Truby
Hannah Wolf
Ann Currence
Diana Westfall
Mary W. Henry
Susannah Batchiff
Mary Baxter
Sarah Day
Elizabeth Reger
Sarah Jackson
Elizabeth Anglin
Leonard Day
Jacob Reger
John Jackson
William Anglin
1789
Nicholas Wilmoth Susney Currence
1790
George Rennix Judith Westfall William Westfall
William Crow
Isaac Newell
Samuel Ball
Isaac Phillip
John Phillips
Robert Clark
Andrew Friend
John Donoho
Benjamin Baggley
Thomas Shaw
William Currence
Samuel Bringham
1791
Elizabeth Herrin
Abagail Vanscoy Aaron Vanscoy
1792
Elizabeth Maxwell Robert Maxwell
Elizabeth Kittle
Batnia Wells
Mary Friend
Elenor McCall
Mary Wilmoth
Sarah Westfall
.Margaret McCall
Mary Ward
Sarah Neilson
1793
Jacob Kittle
Phineas Wells
1794
Jonas Friend
Peter McCall
Thomas Wilmoth
George Westfall
Sylvester Ward
John Neilson
J. W. Loofborough
Isaac Edwards
Isaac Edwards
Isaac Edwards
J. W. Loofborough
Isaac Edwards
A. G. Thompson
J. W. Loofborough
J. W. Loofborough
J. W. Loofborough
.1. W. Loofborough
Valentine Power
J. W. Loofborough
J. W. Loofborough
Valentine Power
J. \Y. Loofborough
J. W. Loofborough
Valentine Power
A HISTORY OP RANDOLPH COUNTY
61
1795
\
Man's Name
Aaron Richardson
Samuel Currence
Hez. Rosekrans
George Baker
Jacob Riffle
Aaron McHenry
Philip Kunce
William Daniels
John Sayler
Cornelius West foil
John Hacker
Robert Clark
Jacob Shaver
John Wilson
Jacob White
Moses Slutter
George Stalnaker
James Booth
Martin Miller
Abraham Springston
Francis Riffle
Joseph Donoho
Thomas Gough
Thos. Summerfield
Samuel Keller
William Wright
Garrett Johnson
Henry Paine
Joel Westfall
Isaac White
John M. Nail
Chris. Burgess
Thomas Wilmoth
William Kelly
William Clark
James Riddle
John Clark
James C. Goff
Wm. McCorkle
Benjamin Marsh
Alexander Goff
John Cutright
David Whitman
Barney McCall
James Ferguson
Jacob Wees
John Wilmoth
Joseph Lyons
Woman's Name
Jenney Bringham
Elizabeth Bogard
Nancy Simpson
Susannah Cutright
Elizabeth Boarer
Ann Gibson
Barbara Barnhouse
Catharine Stalnaker
Mary Ann Minear
Daughter of
Widow Bringham
Cornelius Bogard
John Simpson
Benjamin Cutright
Jacob Boarer
William Gibson
John Barnhouse
Jacob Stalnaker
By Whom Married
Valentine Power
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
1796
Elizabeth Helmick Jacob Helmick
Susannah Smith
Gean Hudkins
Rachel Davis
Mary Warthen
Elizabeth Pickett
Nancy Parsons
Susannah Hart
Phoebe Osborn
Margaret Lochrea
Mary Innis
Eva Mace
Elizabeth Wilmoth
Rachel Burns
Elizabeth Roy
Anna Springston
Anna Marsh
Mary England
Elizabeth Smith
Elizabeth White
Margaret Haddan
Christian Riffle
Elizabeth Shaw
Amy Schoonover
Gean Kittle
Barbara Helmick
Anna Grayson
Mary Ryan
Elizabeth Howell
David Smith
Bennett Hudkins
John Warthen
Heehcoat Pickett
Joseph Parsons
Edward Hart
1797
Terah Osborn
John Lochrea
William Innis
John Mace
Thomas Wilmoth
Patrick Burns
Joseph Roy
Elizabeth Springston
James England
William Smith
1798
William White
David Haddan
Jacob Riffle
William Shaw
Benj. Schoonover
Jacob Kittle
Jacob Helmick
Solomon Ryan
William Howell
Phineas Wells
Joseph Cheaverout
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Matthew Ryan
Robert Maxwell
Phineas Wells
Robert Maxwell
Juda McHenry
Sarah Minear
Elizabeth Riddle
Deborah Osborn
Nancy Daniels
Ann Buck
Elizabeth Donoho
Sarah Isner
Mary Cunningham
Elizabeth Mace
1799
Samuel McHenry
John Minear
James Riddle
George Osborn
Tabitha Buck
Catharine Philips
James Cunningham
John Mace
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Phineahas Wells
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Phineahas Wells
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Phineahas Wells
Robert Maxwell
Phineahas Wells
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Pliinahas Wells
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
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A HIST' . . DOLPH COUNTY
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Helmick
Jacob W.
John Spillman
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William Hofl
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•Joseph
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John Forrest
George BieS
William Lynch
Jeremfali
John McLaughlin
Robert P
John Gi'r.
John Conrad
Thomas Butcher
Andrew Skidmore
Jacob Westfall
Abner McClain
John Wilson
Wm. Stalnaker
Basil Hudkins
James To i
Isaac Newell
John Brady
Henry Hardman
John Myers
John Holder
George Harnick
Thomas Holder
Abraham K
Ulery Conrad
John R. Beall
John Wees
George Helmick
William Burns
Wm. Louchary
John Hardwick
Wc '.ica
Parsons
B
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Mary Helm.
Eliz.i
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Mary Da^na
taeea Ca •
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Elizabeth Wash
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Jacot -
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Jacob Helm. •
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Joseph Cha:.
John Wi
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Eliza -
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Mary Marsr.iller
Catharine Shreery
Mary Skidm
Robert Johr.
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Nicholas Marstiller
■ Poland
oh Shre-
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John Skidm . i
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Xancy Hill
Rhoda Williams
Bar-
ran Wilmoth
- Harris
-una Petro
Margaret Hoskins
Dolly Wilson
Phoeba Dan:
Betsey Vanscoy
Elizabeth Goff
Sarah Williams
Jacob B:
Thomas Wilmoth
John Currence
Henry Petro
Bennett Hoskins
Xancy Skidmore
Mary Corrick
Luciana Wilson
a nna Ware
Prudence See - -
Mary Stalnaker
Mary Lewis
ta Royce
Margaret Gandy
Elizabeth Esters
Sarah Currence
Patty Holbert
Mary Phillips
• Elizabeth Isner
Aaron Vanscoy
1808
Andrew Skidmore
John Corrick
Thomas Wilson
Jacob Stalnaker
John Lewis
Joseph Royce
widow Jno. Gandy
Bl '•■":. -:ed
Robert Mi.iwell
Rot- '
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Max-* -
Robert Man
Rober- Mi.Twell
Robert M
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert. Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Max-
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
John Skidm
John Skidmore
John Skidmore
John Skidmore
John Skidmore
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
■:Zi
John Currence
Aaron Holbert
Henry Isner
Susanna Chilcott Robinson L. Chilcott
Margaret Johnson Edward Johnson
Elizabeth Channel
Robert
Robert
Robert
Robert
Robert
Robert
Robert
Robert
Robert
Robert
Robert
Robert
Robert
Robert
Robert
Robert
Robert
Maxwell
Maxwell
Maxwell
Maxwell
Maxwell
Maxwell
Maxwell
Maxwell
Maxwell
Maxwell
Maxwell
Maxwell
Maxwell
Maxwell
Maxwell
Maxwell
Maxwell
64
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Max's Name
S. Cunningham
Jacob Borer
Jacob Wilson
Jonathan Vauscoy
Adam Chiner
Wm. F. Wilson
George Keener
Henry Wilfong
Sol. Carpenter
Isaac Hedley
William Yeager
George Xestor
Robt. W. Collins
Uriah Ingrim
Daniel Decker
Jacob Stanley
Abel Kelley
Jacob Teter
Joshua Morgan
Woman's NAME
Mary Shagel
Sarah Helmick
Mary Donoho
Sarah Lochary
Elizabeth Fields
Jane Booth
Peggy Miller
Christiana Wees
Catharine Hill
Elizabeth Wilson
Elizabeth Thorn
Millie Poland
Man,' Gibson
Hannah Holder
Mary A. Yokum
Nancy Chapman
Jemima Kittle
Nancy Cade
Hannah Gould
Daughter of
Jacob Shagle
Jacob Helmick
William Donoho
John Lochary
John Fields
Daniel Booth
John Miller
Jacob Wees
John Hill
William Wilson
Frederick Thorn
Martin Poland
Nicholas Gibson
James Holder
Michael Yokum
Val. Chapman
Jacob Kittle
Moses Cade
Aaron Gould
By Whom Married
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
John Skidmore
John Carney
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
Phineahas Wells
Phineahas Wells
Phineahas Wells
Henry Camdem
Martin Poland
James Carr
George Corrick
Eben Schoonover
Simon Maloney
Benj. Phillips
John Wilmoth
Geo. Barnhose
Hezekiah Bussey
James Ryan
John Black
Henry Hudkins
Andrew Crouch
Thomas Scott
John Chenoweth
Solomon Parsons
Martin Miller
Peyton Butcher
William Moore
John Bussey
Samuel Morrow
Joseph Royce
Jacob Yokum
Jeremiah Reddle
Thomas Wamsley
Ruben Holbert
John Hill
Jonathan Yeager
Rod. Bonnifield
Benjamin Helms
Solomon Yeager
Dan Howdershell
Mary Wilson
Ann Hornbeck
Jemima Chilcott
Sarah Reck
Sarah Hornick
Phoebe Walker
Ann Kittle
•Susanna Pitman
Fannie Knotts
Eizabeth Bennett
Mary Ru
Mary Isner
Elizabeth Hutton
Nancy Skidmore
Mary Skidmore
Hannah Parsons
Nancy Day
Elizabeth Renix
Rachel Phillips
Susanna Warthen
Isabella Barr
1810
William Wilson
Benj. Hornbeck
R. L. Chilcott
George Reck
Aug. Hornbeck
Richard Kittle
Sarah Bennett
John Bussey
1 Thomas Isner
Jonathan Hutton
And. Skidmore
And. Skidmore
William Parsons
George Renix
1811
Henry Phillips
John Warthen
John Barr
Sarah Summerfield Jos. Summerfield
Jane Wamsley
Margaret Hardman
Jemima Channel
Betty Braunon
Nancy Warthen
Elizabeth Miller
Nancy Minear
Rachel Moore
Mary Teeter
Mathew Wamsley
Elizabeth Hardman
Jeremiah Channel
John Brannon
John Warthen
Andrew Miller
David Minear
David Moore
b Teeter
1812
Catherin Foreman Jacob Foreman
Simeon Harris
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harr: -
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
65
Man's Name
Joseph Bennett
George Hill
Nicholas Mace
Thomas Parsons
James Warner
Levi Ward
Edmond Jones
Archibald Earle
Ezekiel Paxton
.Jacob Isner
And. Stalnaker
Ezekiel Hart
David Nutter
Samuel Skidmore
George Beall
Benjamin Johnston
* Henry England
John Gainer
John Shaver
Jesse Hall
Samuel Love
Charles Scott
Benjamin Scott
William Smith
Frederick Corrick
Jonathan Hornbeck
Jacob Westfall
Edwin S. Duncan
Chas. Marstiller
Jehu Chenoweth
Willis Taylor
John Petro
Nathan Mi near
Amos Canfleld
Abraham Wolf
Elijah Skidmore
Andrew Crouch
Joseph Bennett
Richard Moore
Francis Vansy
Henry Smith
Isaac Wamsley
William J. Davis
Thomas Goff
Solomon Westfall
Henry Sturm
Jonas Poling
John Phillips
Solomon Collett
Thomas Phillips
John Flanagan
Woman's Name
Mary Phillips
Rebecca Scott
Elizabeth Riffle
Elizabeth Brannon
Barbara Robbinet
Cathe'e Whitman
Melinda Cart-
Mary Buckey
C. Coykendall
Peggy Schoonover
Clarissa Danbury
Peggy Hart
Elizabeth Cox
Elizabeth Pitman
Mary Parsons
Daughter of
Henry Phillips
Henry Scott
Jacob Riffle
Mat. Whitman
Peter Buckey
J. Coykendall
Benj. Schoonover
Daniel Hart
Henry Cox
Joseph Pitman
Isaac Parsons
1813
Catherine Hall
Mary Alexander
Susanna Easter
Polly N ester
Sally Braidut
Sarah Newall
Agnes Kittle
Jane Currence
Easter Pitman
Parmel' Cnecvate
Kitty Wilt
Sarah Hinckle
Prudence Wilson
Peggy McLa'in
Elender Skidmore
Sarah Clark
Tasa Butcher
Elias Alexander
Jacob Easter
Jacob Xester
Luke Braidut
Isaac Newall
Richard Kittle
William Currence
Joseph Pitman
Rb. L. Checvate
Justice Hinckle
Wm. B. Wilson
.Tames McLain
Andrew Skidmore
Samuel Butcher
1814
Elizabeth Bonnifleld
N. Schoonover
R. McLaughlin
M. Cunningham
Eliz. Stalnaker
Catherine Paine
Mary A. Phillips
Mary Gainer
Catherine Lesher
Benj. Schoonover
John Cunningham
Bostain Stalnaker
Henry Paine
Joseph Phillips
George Gainer
Jacob Lesher
Susanna Yeager
Lydia Gould
Sarah Robison
Mary Moore
Eliz. Stalnaker
Phoebe Headley
Rachel Phillips
Sarah Petro
Peggy Westfall
Susan Donoho
1815
George Yeager
Aaron Gould
John Robison
Daniel Moore
Wm. Stalnaker
Cary Headley
John Phillips
Henry Petro
Jacob Westfall
William Donoho
By Whom Married
Simeon Harris
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
John Gill Watts
William Munrow
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
66
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Man's Name
Alex. McQuain
Aseal Isnear
Job Parsons
Wm. Schoonover
James Shreeve
John Ryan
John S. Hart
John McLain
Henry Walter
Gabriel Chenoweth
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 Hardway
Thomas Skidmore
J. Cunningham
Maxwell Renix
Andrew Snider
Woman's Name
Elizabeth Scott
Sarah Canfleld
Jemima Ward
Char'e Marstiller
Lydia Smith
Susanna Briggs
Jemima Stagle
Delilah Currence
Phoebe Wood
Eliz. Currence
Catherine Phillips
Susanna Wamsley
Daughter of
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
Ellender Kittle
Hannah Helmick
Mary Kittle
Mary Jordan
Sarah Wilmoth
M. Summerfleld
Daniel Canfleld
Jacob Ward
Nich. Marstiller
Jonathan Smith
William Briggs
Jacob Stagle
John Currence
John Wood
Wm. Currence
John Phillips
James Wamsley
1816
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 Marriei>
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
Asbery Pool
Asbery Pool
John J. Waldo
William Monroe
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
Simeon Harris
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
John Rowan
The following table shows the number of claims allowed
for wolf scalps from 1787 to 1897. The high water mark was
reached in 1822 when 56 claims were presented :
1787 — 2
1798—15
1809 — 43
1820 — 32
1831 — 21
1842 — 8
1853 — 3
1788 — 13
1799 — 17
] 810 — 44
1821 — 32
1832 — 27
1843 — 15
1854—3
1789 — 8
1800 — 13
1811 — 38
1822 — 56
1833 — 14
1844 — 7
1855 — 8
1790 — 15
1801 — 3
1812 — 25
1823 — 42
1834 — 28
1845 — 3
1856—1
1791 — 30
1802 — 22
1813—30
1824 — 51
1835 — 24
1846 — 16
1860 — 3
1792 — 18
1803 — 23
1814 — 23
1825 — 23
1836 — 21
1847 — 5
1861 — 2
1793 — 20
1804 — 21
1815 — 47
1826 — 27
1837 — 18
1848 — 24
1897 — 1
1794 — 22
1805 — 30
1816 — 51
1827 — 33
1838 — 22
1849 — 7
1795 — 12
1806 — 24
1817 — 47
1828 — 40
1839 — 17
1850 — 1
1796 — 16
1807 — 29
1818 — 10
1829 — 43
1840 — 11
1851 — 2
1797 — 20
1808 — 11
1819—36
1830 — 37
1841 — 15
1852 — 3
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 186L
Panthers 5 11 5 10 14 11 11 6
Wild cats 55 66 49 106 58 80 3 12
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
67
Sheriffs of Randolph.
[The year given is the date of assuming office.]
Jacob Westfall 1787
Cornelius Westfall 1789
Edward Jackson 1792
Uriah Gandy 1793
Cornelius Bogard 1796
John Wilson 1798
Matthew Whitman 1800
Asahel Heath 1803
John Currence 1806
Samuel Bonnifield 1806
George Rennix 1808
John Chenoweth 1810
Isaac Booth 1813
John Crouch 1815
Benjamin Hornbeck 1815
William Daniels 1818
Andrew Crawford 1820
Ely Butcher 1822
Robert Chenoweth 1827
John M. Hart 1829
William Marteney 1830
George Stalnaker 1833
David Holder 1829
Levi Ward 1841
Peter Conrad 1847
Jacob W. See 1848
George McLean 1850
W. C. Chenoweth 1856
Solomon C. Caplinger 1857
Hoy McLean 1858
Jacob Phares 1860
Jesse F. Phares 1862
John M. Phares 1864
Archibald Harper 1864
F. M. White 1870
L. D. White 1872
J. F. Harding 1876
Jacob G. Ward 1880
Z. T. Chenoweth 1884
Warwick Hutton 1888
A. J. Long 1892
A. W. Hart 1896
P. W. Marshall 1901
Floyd McDonald 1905
Thadeus Pritt 1910
A. J. Crickard 1915
County Clerks of Randolph.
County Clerks were appointed by the County Court until
the adoption of the constitution of 1852.
John Wilson 1787
Jacob Westfall 1793
Archibald Earle 1810
D. W. Shurtliff 1838
John W. Crawford 1845
Squire Bosworth 1858
William Bennett 1861
John B. Earle 1868
John B. Morrison 1870
James D. Wilson 1872
Floyd Triplett 1890
Lee Crouch 1896
S. A. Rowan 1905
F. A. Rowan 1910
Thadeus Pritt 1915
Circuit Clerks.
John Wilson 1809
Archibald Earle 1812
E. D. Wilson 1842
Bernard L. Brown 1849
John B. Earle 1861
L. D. White 1866
LeJand Kittle 1872
John B. Morrison 1879
W. H. Wilson 1885
G. N. Wilson 1897
County Surveyors.
Edward Jackson 1787
Henry Jackson 1793
Robert S. Shanklin 1809
Thos. O. Williams 1819
Bernard L. Brown 1849
Nicholas Marstiller 1852
Milton Hart 1858
Cyrus Kittle 1865
Nicholas Marstiller 1868
C. M. Marstiller 1892
Frank Parsons 1900
E. E. Taylor 1904
A. J. Crickard 1908
A. W. Schoonover 1912
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
^-v.
4^W. ^to-^J^
Signatures of Randolph's Early
From Maxwell's History of
Randolph Coun
mJaairSSS^
Signatures of Early Justices
of the Peace. 1 From Maxwell's
History of Randolph County.)
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
69
Commissioners of the Revenue and Assessors.
The officers whose duty it has been to fix the valuation
of propertv in Randolph County for purposes of taxation,
have not been called by the same name at ail times, nor have
their duties been always the same. In early years they were
known as Commissioners of Revenue, and of late year- As-
sessors. A list follows of those who have filled the office in
this county :
John Haddan 1T S T
John Jackson — - 1787
Cornelius Bogard 17^7
John Wilson 17SS
Peter Cassity 1789
Abraham Claypool 1789
William Wamsley 1790
Edward Jackson 1791
Robert Clark - 1792
William Wilson .. -1795
James Bruff 1796
George Rennix 1796
Simon Reeder 1797
St. Leger Stout 18
Asahel Heath - 1801
Nicholas Gibson ...1809
Isaac White 1809
William Wilson 1810
John Crouch 1813
John M. Hart.... 1^-lt
Ely Butcher 1S15
Robert S. Shanklin 1816
Robert Chenoweth 1816
John Currence 1S17
Andrew Crawford 1818
George Wees 1819
Adam Myers 1821
George Stalnaker 1>22
Jacob Teter
Daniel Hart
Daniel Booth
Isaac Taylor 1826
Henry Martin 1^27
Levi Ward 1828
Michael See 1830
Matthew Whitman 1831
John Harris 1832
George Nestor 1833
Andrew Crawford 1834
Peter Conrad 1S35
Brown Jenks 1836
William Shaw 1^37
John Moore
William Marteney 1S39
Lair D. Morrell.... 1S41
Jacob W. See 1S42
Bushrod W. Crawford 1S43
George McLean 1S44
Ely Baxter Butcher 1S45
George Wyatt 1846
John Taylor 1S48
Absalom Crawford 1S49
Charles C. See 1850
Jacob Ward 1851
Parkison Collett 1856
John B. Morrison 1858
Jacob Phares 1860
Squire B. Daniels
Archibald E. Harper 1S61
J. M. Curtis 1876
Jasper W. Triplett
H. H. Taylor
Abel W. Hart
French H. Kittle
Sheffey Taylor
William O. Triplett ...1>92
Thacleus Pritt .1900
J. C. Goddin 1902
L. W. McQuain 1902
A. W. Zinn 1910
J. N. Phares 1913
Justices of the Peace.
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 lite if thev ch> - I do
70 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
so. After 1852 they were elected. The following list shows
the names of the Justices and the year when they first ap-
peared on the records :
1787 — Jacob Westfall, Salathial Goff, Patrick Hamilton,
John Hamilton, John Wilson, Cornelius Westfall, Edward
Jackson, Robert Maxwell, Peter Cassity, Cornelius Bogard,
John Jackson, George Westfall, Henry Runyan, John Had-
dan, Jonathan Parsons, Uriah Gandy.
1789 — John Elliott, Abraham Claypool.
1790— Jacob Westfall.
1791 — Abraham Kittle, Matthew Whitman, Terah Os-
born, William Wilson, Jacob Polsley.
1794 — AYilliam Parsons.
1795 — Asahel Heath, John Pancake, John Currence, Jacob
Kittle, Samuel Bonnifield.
1797 — William Seymour, William B. Wilson.
1799 — Simon Reeder, John Chenoweth, Nicholas Mar-
stiller.
1801— Isaac Booth.
1802— Andrew Miller.
1803 — Joseph Long, Daniel Clark, Barthan Hoskins, John
Hartley, John Sanders, John Barnhouse, Joseph Joseph.
1804— Ebenezer Flanagan, Gilbert Boyles.
1806 — John Crouch, John Lamberton, Benjamin Horn-
beck, Nicholas Gibson, Isaac Booth.
1808 — William Daniels, Jonathan Hutton, John Hart.
1809 — Isaac White, Andrew Cawford, George Parsons,
Samuel Ball.
1810 — Matthew Hines, John Skidmore.
1811 — Nicholas Storm, Daniel Booth, Benjamin Riddle.
1813 — Zedekiah Morgan, Andrew Cross, George Wees,
Jonathan Wamsley.
181-1 — Isaac Greggory, Adam Myers, Andrew Friend,
George Stalnaker, Robert S. Shanklin, Jacob Sprigstone, Levi
Ward.
1815 — Hiram Goff, Robert Young, James Tygart.
1817 — Ebenezer Leonard, Frederick Troutwine, Jacob
Teter.
1820— Michael See, Isaac Taylor, William S. Wilson.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 71
1824 — Jonas Crane, Godfrey Hiller, Jonas Harman, John
Harris.
1825— David Wiles, Robert McCrum.
1830 — Brown Jenks, David Goff, Joseph Hart, William
Shaw, John Walker, William Huff, John Moore, Peter Con-
rad, George Nestor.
1831— George See, Henry Sturm, Jacob See.
1832 — William McLain, Squire Bosworth, Jacob Keller.
Ely Butcher, Andrew Miller, Robert N. Ball, John Wyatt,
Joseph Roy, William F. Wilson, Joseph Teter, Adam See.
1835 — Jacob Harper, John Phares, William Rowan, Ad-
onijah B. Ward, Valentine Stalnaker, Lorentz Mitchell, Daniel
W. ShurtlifT, Jarrett Johnson, Abraham Harding, Samuel Kel-
ler Arnold Bonnifield, Isaac Roy, Thomas S. White, John
Arbogast, Andrew M. Wamsley.
1838 — Lemuel Chenoweth, Job Parsons, Samuel Stal-
'naker, 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, Harrison W. Campbell, James W. Parsons, William
Talbott, James Shreve, William G. Greggory, Harman Snyder,
Thompson Elza.
1852 — Peter L. Lightner, Isaac G. Dodrill, William Ham-
ilton, George W\ Mills, Hezekiah Kittle, Henry Harper, Wil-
liam 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. Tal-
bott, Eli Kittle, Aaron Coberly, Arnold Wilmoth, Samuel
Dinkle, Noah H. Harman, James Wilmoth.
72 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
1859 — Asa Harman, Mathias C. Potts, Joseph J. Sim-
mons.
1860 — Jacob Conrad, S. Salisbury, W. Wilson, Washing-
ton G. Ward, George Phillips, Wilson Osborn, Michael Yo-
kum, William F. Corley, William 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, Pele°- C.
Barlow.
1869 — Sampson Snyder, Reuben S. Butcher, John A.
Vance, John A. King.
1873 — Jesse W. Goddin, J. Wood Price, Riley Pritt,
George H. Phillip, Jacob C. Collett, Adam C. Currence, Eman-
uel White, Patrick Crickard, Leonard H. Schoonover.
1876 — George W r . Yokum, Holman Pritt, Miles King,
Joseph Bunner, J. W. Summerheld.
1877— Alfred Hutton.
1880 — George Beatty, John Bunner, William H. Wilson,
Z. T. Chenoweth, J. W. Tyre, Jacob C. Harper, Randolph
Triplett.
1882 — Adam H. Wamsley, Peter Crickard.
188-1 — J. H. Hewitt, Melvin Currence, James L. Coff,.
John A. I [amilton, D. E. Coberly.
1886 — James Shannon.
1888— William H. Goss, Adam C. Rowan, William M.
Boyd, H. X. 1 '.runner, Adam L. Findley.
1890— Caleb White.
1892— John R. Crickard, D. P. Harper, Job. W. Parsons,
William Hamilton, James Coberly, J. J. Zickafoose, Lew
Fahrion.
1895— G. F. Sims.
1896— B. Y. Cunningham, Floyd McDonald, W. A. Horn-
beck, X. W. Talbott, A. Brandley, Page C. Marstiller, Peter
Madden, W. Scott Woodford, W. S. Kelley, John W. Hart-
man, Elias Zickafoose.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
73
Prosecuting Attorneys.
The prosecuting attorney, in former times, was appoint-
ed, 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 com-
monwealth's attorneys of Randolph :
William McCleary 1787
Thomas Wilson 1791
Maxwell Armstrong 1795
Adam See 1798
William Tingle 1809
Noah Linsley 1809
Edwin S. Duncan 1814
Oliver Phelps 1817
Phineas Chapin 181S
John J. Allen .1820
William McCord ..1829
Gideon D. Camden 1837
David Goff 1835
John S. Huffman 1841
Samuel Crane 1852
Joseph Hart 1862
Nathan H. Taft 1862
Spencer Dayton 1863
Gustavus Cresap 1867
Thomas J. Arnold 1868
Bernard L. Butcher 1876
Cyrus H. Scott 1880
Jared L. Wamsley 1888
C. W. Harding 1901-09
H. G. Kump 1909-15
County Coroners.
Salathiel Goff 1787
Cornelius Bogard 1787
Robert Maxwell 1789
Abraham Kittle 1792
Simon . Reeder 1796
John Chenoweth 1803
Adam Stalnaker 1805
William B. Wilson 180?
Charles Myers 1809
John Stalnaker 1820
Jacob Myers 1827
William Rowan 1854
Lemuel Chenoweth 1855
William C. Chenoweth 1873
County Commissioners.
Solomon C. Caplinger 1880
William M. Phares 1880
Jacob S. Wamsley 1880
Omar Conrad 1880
Jacob Vanscoy 1884
B. W. Crawford 1884
G. W. Yokum 1886
Patrick Crickard 1886
C. S. Armentrout 1888
Jesse P. Phares 1882
Jesse W. Goddin 1892
P. Crickard 1896
John Heavener 1902
R. M. Harper 1904
K. B. Crawfird 1908
A. W. Hart 1912
Judges Circuit Court.
Hugh Nelson 1809
Daniel Smith 1811
Edwin S. Duncan 1831
Geo. H. Lee 1848
Gideon D. Camden 1851
William A. Harrison 1861
Robert Irvine 1863
Thos. W. Harrison 1867
John Brannon 1872
William T. Ice 1881
Joeph T. Hoke 1889
John Holt 1897
Warren B. Kittle 1912
74 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Constables.
1787 — Jacob Riffle, Michael Yokum, Thomas Holder,
Jeremiah York, Jeremiah Cooper, Charles Falnash.
1788 — William Haddix, David Minear, Valentine Stal-
naker, Jacob Shook.
1794 — William Clark, Henry Carr, Jacob Ward.
1796 — Jacob Springston, Henry Phillips.
1797 — John Runkins, Nicholas Smith, George Long, Mat-
thew Wamsley.
1798 — John Phillips, Thomas Cade, Joseph Joseph, John
Sanders.
1799 — Richard Ware, Daniel Canfield, Gilbert Bayles.
1800 — Peter Buckey, John Cntright, John Hart, John
Triplett.
1803 — AYilliam Daniels, Samuel Pierce, Richard Ware.
1804 — George Whitman, William Booth, William Mc-
Corkle.
1805 — Barthan Hoskins, John Hartley, John Spillman,
John Beall.
1809 — George Stalnaker, John Chenoweth, William
Steers, Edward Hart, William F. Wilson, William Stalnaker,
James Holder, Alexander Morrison.
1810 — Adonijah Ward, Samuel Burrett.
1811— John Clark, John Miller. Joseph Roy, Nicholas
Weatherholtz.
1813 — Jonathan Yeager, Levi Skidmore, John W. Stal-
naker, William 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 Phillips.
1819 — Solomon Yeager, James Teter, Jesse Bennett, John
Long, Joseph Walker.
1821 — Robert N. Ball, Henry Sturm, Henry Cunning,
Thomas W. Holder.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 75
1823 — William H. Crawford, Jesse Coberly, Enoch Min-
ear, Abraham Wolford, II ugh Dailey, James Turner, Noah
E. Corley.
1825 — Elisha Poling, George Harris, Benjamin Johnson,
Isaac B. Marsh.
1827 — Absalom Wilmoth, William Wamsley, Jacob Kel-
ley, Benjamin P. Marsh, John Taylor, William G. Gilmore.
1829 — John W. Crawford, Eli Walker, Jacob Teter, Abra-
ham Bowman, Edmund S. Wyatt, Thomas Byrd, Washing-
ton Taylor, Joshua Glascock.
1831 — Burwell Butcher, Oliver E. Domire, Joseph Shaw,
William Marsh, John Stout, William Rowan, William Pick-
ens, Absalom Hinkle.
1832 — John Conrad, John Phares, Samuel Keller.
1833— Edward Stalnaker, Daniel W. Shurtliff, James W r .
Corley, John P. Gray, Jesse Day, Levi Jenks, Arnold Bon-
nifield.
1836 — Andrew M. Wamsley, William Wamsley, Thomas
Phillips, John Sargent.
1837 — Lair D. Morrell, Garrett Johnson, Absalom Har-
den, David Gilmore, James Vance, Thomas S. White, Joseph
J. Simmons, John M. Crouch.
1838 — Adam H. Bowman, William Simpson, Bushrod AY .
Crawford, Archibald Coyner.
1839 — Isaac White, Elias Alexander, Lewis Gilmore,
John C. Wamsley.
1841 — William Wilmoth, Garretson Stalnaker, Francis J.
Holder, John Tygart, Jesse Roy, John Arbogast, Jacob Con-
rad, Abraham Crouch.
1842 — William W. Parsons, Samuel Wamsley, John M.
Phares, Israel Coffman, Flavius J. Holder, Francis O. Shurt-
liff, James R. Parsons, Benjamin Kittle, Henry V. Bowman.
1845— Matthew W. Brady, Milton Hart, Michael Yokum,
John 0. Wilson.
1847 — AA r illiam Currence, Michael Walters, Samuel P.
Wallace, Job Parsons, Jr., James Long, Elias Wyatt, Wash-
ington Roy.
1848 — Thomas James, George W. Mills, Cyrus Kittle.
1849 — Allen J. Currence, John W. Adams, Solomon C.
76 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Caplinger, W. H. Coberly, Samuel P. Wilson, Aaron Bell.
1851 — Peter H. Ward, William Raines.
1852 — Hugh S. Hart. Melvine Currence, Moses J. Phillips,
Samuel P. Dinkle, Isaac Roy, Samuel Bonnifield.
185-1 — Jacob Currence, Isaac Wilmoth, Parkinson Collett,
Jesse Parsons, David O. Wilson.
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 Dur-
kin, Edward Grim, O. C. Stalnaker.
1867 — Sampson F. Shiflett, William O. Ferguson, William
H. Quick, Andrew J. Wilmoth, James A. Hicks, AM K. Her-
ren, John Snider. John King.
1869 — Daniel Cooper, Granger Lamb, Montgomery G.
Mathews, James Hicks.
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. Hutton.
188-1 — French H. Kittle, Lee Yokum, James R. McCal-
lum, P. B. Conrad, A. B. Mouse, J. A. Cunningham, John J.
Xallen, John W. Hartman.
1885— Creed L. Earle, R. L. Pritt.
1888— Page C. Daniels, R. G. Thorn, Charles W. Chan-
nell, Gideon M. Cutright, Hamilton Markley. Hyre A. Stal-
naker. A. FT. Summerfield, George W. Stalnaker.
1892— Lloyd D. Collett, J. H. Currence, Elam E. Taylor,
W. D. Currence. C. C. Crickard, L. W. McOuain, William
Snyder, Patrick Phillips.
189-1 — R. T. Hedges, Page C. Marstiller.
1896 — R. C. Sassi, Daniel Cooper, Frank Shoemaker,
James Brady, Oliver Daniels, A. B. Coberly, E. E. Taylor,
X. B. Hutton.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
77
Colonels of Militia.
Patrick Hamilton 1787
William Lowther 1796
Archibald Earle 1822
Robert N. Ball 1827
Solomon Wyatt 1831
Jacob Keller 1837
David Goff 1844
John W. Crawford 1850
Hoy McLean 1853
Melvin Currence 1860
Cyrus Kittle 1862
Captains of Militia.
Edward Jackson 1787
James Westfall 1787
Peter Cassity 1787
William Wilson 1787
George Westfall 1787
Jonathan Parsons 1787
John Jackson 1789
Jacob Kittle 1794
John Chenoweth 1794
John Haddan 1795
William Parsons 1796
George Rennix 1798
Adam See 1800
Matthew Whitman 1800
Samuel Ball 1802
Benjamin Vannoy 1805
John Crouch 1805
John Currence 1805
Nicholas Gibson 1806
John Forrest 1807
William Booth 1807
Anthony Huff 1807
Andrew Friend 1807
John Wood 1808
Thomas Butcher 1810
William Stalnaker 1810
Solomon Collett 1812
George Anderson 1816
Solomon Yeager 1817
Samuel Oliver 1818
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
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
William C. Chenoweth 1851
Michael Yokum 1851
James L. Hathaway 1851
Heckman Chenoweth 1851
Abraham Hinkle 1852
Aaron Bell 1852
Allen Taylor 1852
Jacob Shafer 1852
Charles Crouch 1852
Jacob Currence 1860
William E. Logan 1860
Sampson Elza 1860
George W. Mills 1860
L. Phillips 1860
William Westfall 1860
George A. Hesler 1860
Arnold Phillips 1860
J. S. Collett 1860
John Rice 1860
78
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Lieutenants of 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
William Johnson 1807
William Currence 1807
Thomas Skidmore 1810
Robert W. Collins 1810
William Bennett 1813
Robert Chenoweth 1814
Jesse Phillips 1815
James Wells 1818
Arnold Bonnifield 1828
Nathan Minear 1829
Solomon Wyatt 1829
Isaac Canfield 1843
Jesse Roy 1843
Jacob Flanagan 1843
Levi Stalnaker 1844
Levi D. Ward 1844
William G. Wilson 1844
John Bright 1844
Jacob W. Manthus 1844
Jeremiah D. Channel 1844
Isaac C. Stalnaker 1844
Vincent Pennington 1844
Cyrus Kittle 1844
Samuel Smith 1844
Everet Chenoweth 1844
Samuel P. Wilson 1844
Elam B. Bosworth 1844
George W. Rennix 1846
Washington Stalnaker 1848
John Phares 1849
Cyrus Chenoweth 1850
Conrad Currence 1852
Nathaniel Moss 1852
George W. Long 1852
Hull Ward 1853
Jacob Long 1853
William E. Long 1853
Simeon Philips 1853
Robert Philips 1853
Thomas T. Talbott 1853
James W. Miller 1853
John M. Stalnaker 1853
Hugh S. Hart 1853
George Little 1853
Randolph Coberly 1853
Dolbeare Kelly 1853
Ezra P. Hart 1853
Arnold Wilmoth 1853
John Wyatt 1853
Jacob Currence ...1853
Charles Channel 1853
William E. Logan 1853
Sampson Salsberry 1853
Samuel Channel 1853
L. Denton 1860
L. Phillips 1860
William M. Westfall 1860
Abraham Smith 1860
John W. Bradley 1862
Andrew C. Currence 1862
James Scott 1862
Patrick King 1862
William Bennett 1862
Jacob W. Fortney 1862.
Alvin Osburn 1862
J. M. Westfall 1862
Solomon P. Stalnaker 1806
Squire B. Daniels 1862
Harrison Moore 1862
Archibald E. Harper 1862
John G. Bradley 1862
William S. Phares 1862
Alfred Stalnaker 1862
Aaron Workman 1866
Riley Pritt 1866
Majors of Militia.
John Wilson 1787
James Westfall 1794
William 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
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
79
Ensigns of Militia.
John Outright 1787
Jacob Westfall 1787
Anthony Smith 1787
George Rennix 1787
Job Westfall 1787
Jeremiah Cooper 1787
William Seymour 1796
Samuel Ball 1796
George Kittle 1796
James Booth 1798
Barthan Hoskins 1802
John Stalnaker 1805
Thomas Williams 1805
James Tygart 1806
John J. Harrison... 1807
William Huff 1807
Thomas Skidmore 1807
Jacob Pickle 1807
Solomon Yeager 1815
Aaron Gould 1818
Job Parsons 1818
Nathan Minear 1828
Isaac D. Neville 1829
William W. Chapman 1829
Jesse Vannoy 1830
In the early records of Randolph frequent reference was
made to Samuel Pringle, who deserted Fort Pitt in 1761 and
located in what is now Upshur County in 1765. He was a
witness in the court at Beverly in 1803 and was allowed for
traveling 30 miles. This is the distance from Beverly to the
former home of the Pringles near the present town of Buck-
hannon. Pringle's name is mentioned for the last time in the'
Randolph records in the year 1803.
It seems that the refusal to exercise the elective fran-
chise was an indictable offense in pioneer days. At the May
term of the court, 1803, a number of indictments were found
against individuals who "for not giving or offering to give
their votes for a member of Congress and two members of
the General Assemblv of the State."
80 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
CHAPTER V.
HARRISON COUNTY COURT PROCEEDINGS.
AT a court held at the residence of George Jackson on the
Buckhannon River, July 20, 1784, the oath of office was
administered to the following Justices of the Peace: Benjamin
Wilson, John P. Duval, Wm. Lowther, James Anderson,
Henry Delay, Nicholas Carpenter, John Powers, Thos. Chane,
Jacob Westfall, Salathiel Goff and Patrick Hamilton.
At the same term of the court Jacob AYestfall and Patrick
Hamilton were authorized to celebrate the rites of matrimony.
Cornelius Westfall, Geo. Jackson, Edward Jackson, John
Wilson and Robert Maxwell were recommended to the Gov-
ernor as suitable persons to hold the office of Justice of the
Peace.
Jacob Riffle, John Currence and Matthew Whitman were
appointed Constables.
At a court held at Clarksburg, September, 1784, Patrick
Hamilton, Jacob Westfall, John Wilson, were appointed
Captains of Militia. Peter Cassity, Cornelius Bogard, and
George Westfall were appointed Lieutenants of Militia.
Abram Kittle, Thos, Phillips, Geo. Westfall, Sr. and
Benjamin Hornbeck were appointed Viewers of a road from
Jacob Westfall's Mill to a bridge opposite Geo. Westfall's
Mill.
Ebenezer Petty, John Yokum, Peter Cassity and Jacob
Stalnaker, Sr., were appointed Viewers of a road from the
bridge opposite Geo. Westfall's Mill to Darby Conly's Place.
At a Court held at Clarksburg, September 22, 1784, Jonas
Friend was appointed a Surveyor of a Public Highway from
his own house to Eberman's Creek. He was to collect
tithables on Leading Creek, both side of the Valley River, up
Eberman's Creek and across the river to Hezekiah Rose-
crances, and to keep same in lawful repair.
At a term of the Harrison Countv Court held at Clarks-
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 81
"burg, September, 1784, Henry Petro was appointed Surveyor
■of a highway from Ebermans Creek to Jacob Westfall's Mill
and tithables from said Creek upwards to Files Creek and
William Smith's.
Most of the litigation in the Harrison county court seem-
•ed to be between parties then living in that part of Harrison,
now embraced in Randolph. The case of Cornelius Westfall
vs. Joseph Donohue and Westfall & Crouch vs. Donohue,
both cases of debt were at the September term 1784, dis-
missed as generally agreed.
At the same term of the Court the following cases involv-
ing people living in the valley were disposed of:
John Warwick, plaintiff, vs. Joseph Friend, defendant.
Upon motion of the defendant that the plaintiff be nonsuited
for failing to file his declaration, the court ordered the same
to be nonsuited.
Case of John Westfall vs. Benjamin Hornbeck, trespass,
continued.
Johnathan Smith vs. James Taffe, attachment. The at-
tachment was dissolved and Thos. Wilmoth entered special
bail for defendant and the common proceedings of law to
issue. Declaration and plea of payment filed and rule for
trial at March term.
David Bradford took oath as directed by law and was
admitted to practice as an attorney. He was thus the first
attorney to qualify in what is now Randolph County.
At Court held at Clarksburg, Va., November, 1784 Jacob
Stalnaker was appointed Surveyor of Roads from Jacob West-
fall's Mill to Alexander Maxwell's Old Place and to collect
tithables for same. It is signficant that at this early date that
a farm be designated as an Old Place.
On motion of Jacob Crouch, Thomas Lackey was fined
350 pounds of tobacco for contempt of Court for failing to
answer summons as witness. He was summoned to appear
at the next term of the Court to show cause why execution
should not issue for said judgment.
The rate of liquor license, victuals, horse forage, etc., for
82 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Ordinary Keepers was fixed as follows for the year 1784:
S P
Wine, per pint 1 6
Jamaica spirits, per pint iy 2
Peach and apple brandy, per pint 6
Rye whiskey, per pint 6
Beer, per quart 6
Cider, per quart 6
Mead, per quart 6
Warm breakfast 9
Cold breakfast 8
Warm supper 9
Cold supper 4
Bed for night, clean sheets 4
If not clean, nothing
Horse and hay for night 7%
Corn and oats per gallon 7%
Pasturage, 24 hours 4
The following Justices composed that Court : James An-
derson, John Powers, John McCally, John Sleeth, and Ed-
ward Jackson.
In 1784 there were 337 tithables in Harrison County.
Two-thirds, or 225 tithables, were in what is now Randolph,
Tucker and Upshur counties.
At a court held at Clarksburg in August, 1785, Cornelius
Bogard was appointed Surveyor of a highway from Wilson's
Mill to Rockingham County line. The tithables in Tygarts
Valley from Joseph Crouch's down, and including Leading
Creek, Wilmoth's settlement and Dry Fork of Cheat settle-
ments were by their labor to keep this highway in good repair.
At the term of the Court held at Clarksburg, Va., Febru-
ary 1, 1786, it was ordered that a path be opened from Conoly's
Lick to the top of Allegheny Mountain. John Warwick was
appointed Overseer. The petitioners for this road were James
Lackey, Jr., David Henderson, James Lackey, Sr., Francis
McDonald, Jacob Riffle, Geo. Wilson, Geo. Johnson, John
Warwick, Geo. Parsons, Benjamin Abbott, John Alfred,
David Haddan, Thos. Lackey, John Hamilton, James Moore,
William Hamilton, James McLean, Pat. Hamilton, John
Alexander and Robert Flenderson.
At a Court held at Clarksburg, September, 1786, Wm.
Wilson. Cornelius Westfall, Andrew Skidmore and Nicholas
Petro were ordered to view a road from Tygarts Valley road
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 83
by way of Mud Lick to Cheat River at Phillip Menear's in
Horse Shoe Settlement.
An Early Inventory.
An inventory of the personal estate of John Crouch was
riled in the county court of Harrison County, September 4,
1786 by Charles Formelson, John Wilson and Patrick Hamil-
ton. This indicates the usual articles possessed by the aver-
age citizen of that period as well as their valuation.
L S d
One black mare 10
One sorrel yearling horse colt 3
One bay horse colt 15
One saddle and bridle 1 2
One rifle gun and shot bag 4
One yearling bay horse colt 11
One pair leather breeches 1 4
One iron pot and dutch oven with bails 1 4
One cow 3
One jacket with scarlet fore shirt 1 5
One pr. silver knee buckles and stork buck 18
One straight coat 1 16
One straight coat without lining 1
One furred hat 10
One Great coat 1 4
One old jacket and old leggins 6
One shirt 10
One pair old leather breeches 6
One sieve 8
Cash and one Johannas 4 16
Johannes, above mentioned, was a Portuguese coin of the
value of eight dollars; often contracted into joe; half-joe.
It is named from the figure of King John which it bears.
Residents in Randolph, 1785.
At the June term of the Harrison County Court, 1785, a
list of all the white inhabitants of Harrison County, subject
to the payment of taxes, was ordered taken. Assessors were
appointed and the county divided into districts. The names
of women who owned property are given.
84
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
H. Delay's District from Petty's Ford to Joseph Crouch.
Anthony Chevalear
George Westfall
John Crouch, Jr.
John Currenc
Charles Parsons
Henry Delay
Johnathan Crouch
Ebenezer Petty
John Crouch, Sr.
Liddia Currence
William Currence
Ed. Tackson's District — Buckhannon Riyer Settlement
Charles Foranash
Henry Fink, Sr.
John Cutrite, Jr.
John Bush
John Jackson
Dayid Casto
Henry Fink, ]r.
Joseph Hall
Edward Jackson
John Bosart
Henry Runyan
John Cutrite, Sr.
John Jackson, Jr.
Jacob Westfall's District from Leading Creek up In
Petty's Ford. Both Sides of Riyer.
Aaron Richardson
Abraham Kittle
Anthony Smith
Benjamin A\ llson
Benjamin Cutright
Benjamin Jones
Cornelius Bogard
Daniel Westfall
Dayid Cassity
Dayid Henderson
Dayid Phillips
Elizabeth Springstone
George Bredin
Henry Petro
John Trubies
John Paul}-
John Wilson
Isaac McHenry
Johnathan Smith
Jacob Wolf
Joseph Donahue
Thomas Holder
George Breeding
Xicholas Petro
Nicholas Wolf
Peter Bredin
Peter Cassity
Phineas Wells
Phillip Clem
Richard Kittle
Solomon Ryan
Jonas Friend
Benjamin Hornbeck
Andrew Skidmore
Samuel McHenry
Samuel Quick
Thomas Phillip-
Thomas Bore
Valentine Stalnaker
William Cassity
William Smith
A\ "illiam Le\itt
A\ illiam Blair. Sr.
AYilliam Briggs
AWlliam Blair, Jr.
Zacharia U'stfall
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
85
Jacob Stalnaker, Sr.
Jacob Stalnaker, Jr.
Jacob Westfall, Sr.
Jacob Westfall, Jr.
John Johnson
John Yoakum
John Kittle
John Cassity
Mathias Whitman
Michael Toner
Nicholas Smith
William Anglin
George Teter
Jacob Shook
Samuel Eberman
Alexander Blair
Elizabeth Shaver
Hezekiah Rosecronts
Jacob Shaver
Jacob Brinkle
Joseph Friend
James Bodkin
Cornelius Westfall's District from Leading Creek Down to
the County Line, Between the East Side of the
River and Cheat Mountain.
Cornelius Westfall
John Westfall
Robert Maxwell
William Westfall
Daniel Booth
Phillip Washburn
Samuel Cole
William Wilson
George Westfall
Hannah Wire
William Haddix
William Clark
Patrick Hamilton's District from Jacob Crouche's up to
the County Line.
George Alford
John Alexander
Judy Crouch
Robert Henderson
John Hadden
James Leckey, Sr.
Francevs McDonald
Charles Xilson
Elmer Riffle
Christopher Truby
Benjamin Abbott
Margaret Bare
Richard Elliott
William Hamilton
David Hadden
Thomas Leckey
James Moor
James Prathor
Daniel Simerman
John' Warwick
Peter Shavers
John Alford
Joseph Crouch
Patrick Plamilton
John Hamilton
James Leckey, Jr.
James McClain
Joseph Milton
Jacob Riffle
George Shavers
George Wilson
86 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
CHAPTER VI.
EARLY MILITARY MATTERS.
JACOB COXRAD was a private in Uriah Springer's com-
pany in 1781 when the present area of Randolph was a
part of Monongalia County. He was in service at Pittsburg.
There were three invalid pensioners in Randolph in 1835.
They were William Shreves, Abram Burner and Fortunatius
Snyder. Each received an annual stipend of S96.00. Others
who were not invalids, but on the pension list for that year
were: Henry Fansler, Virginia, Continental, aged 73; Jacob
Kittle, Xew Jersey Militia, aged 77 ; Marney Rarvan, Virginia
Continental, aged 83 ; Ambrose Lipscomb, Virginia Militia,
aged 82; David Minear, Virginia Militia, aged 79; John Ne-
ville, Virginia State Troops, aged 69: John Ryan, Virginia
Continental, aged 75; James Tenner, Virginia, aged 68; John
Woolford, Virginia Militia, aged 80: Matthew Whitman, Vir-
ginia Militia, aged 74; Henry Whiteman, Pennsylvania Mili-
tia, aged 75.
The following pensioners of the Revolutionary war were
living in Randolph in 1840: Mary Chenoweth, widow of John
Chenoweth, aged 78; John Xeville, Sr., aged 74; Henry Fans-
ler, aged 79, residing with Andrew Fansler; Jacob Kittle,
aged 84; Nancy Ann Hart, widow of Edward Hart, aged 83.
The following pensions were suspended awaiting fur-
ther proof: Thomas Isner, service subsequent to the Revolu-
tion; Johnathan Smith, services not of a military character;
Michael Boyles, awaiting further proof ; Catherine Parsons,
period, length and mode of serrice and name of company and
field officers wanting.
Gorernor Bererly Randolph ordered into service in 1790
the following scouts for the protection of the settlements in
Randolph County. They were in service two months from
March 1. 1790 to May 1, 1790. The following facts have been
obtained concerning them : Valentine Stalnaker, aged 30, size
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 87
5 feet 9 inches, nationality, Virginia; Phineas Wells, aged 30,
size 5 feet 9 inches, nationality, New York; James Stewart
Elliott, aged 22, size 5 feet 10 inches, nationality Virginia;
James Westfall, aged 22, size 5 feet 11 inches, nationality
Virginia; James Schoolcraft, aged 20, size 5 feet 8 inches, na-
tionality Virginia ; Jacob Reger, aged 23, size 6 feet, nation-
ality Virginia.
In 1792 Governor Henry Lee, apprehending an Indian in-
cursion into the valley ordered into service the following
scouts in Randolph: Valentine Stalnaker, Charles Parsons,
Geo. Westfall, John Jackson, William Gibson, William West-
fall, and Thomas Carney.
The following persons from Randolph were officers in the
war of 1812: Isaac Booth, Colonel, date of commission, Dec.
10, 1807: John Crouch, Major, date of commission, Aug. 30,
1806; Hiram Goff, Major, date of commission, Dec. 10, 1807;
Solomon, Collett Captain, served at Norfolk and other places
on Atlantic seaboard in 1812.
Randolph County paid $5,465.50 in direct taxes to aid the
United States in prosecuting the war of 1812.
The following correspondence from Colonel Benjamin
Wilson to Governor Harrison, dated December 9, 1782, re-
veals the dangers to which the early settlers were subject,
during the first two decades of the occupation of the county.
Many other facts of interest are disclosed. Flints which at
that time were necessary munitions of war were furnished by
the General Government. The number of men in the county
subject to military duty is also gleaned from the reports.
Sir : — At this time duty obliges me to lay before yout
Honor this letter which contains a narrative of the present
state of the County of Monongalia together with my humble
request.
Notwithstanding your parental care of my county, last
Spring before aid came to its relief, the settlement of Buck-
hannon broke up and moved into the interior parts of the
county, which unhappy event caused about fourteen or fifteen
families of the settlement of Tygarts Valley to leave the
countv. At this time Tygarts Yallev is a frontier, also Horse
88 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Shoe, West Fork, Dunkard Bottom and about fifteen miles of
Cheat River settlement, the county as now inhabited is about
one hundred and ten computed miles from North to South.
There are about sixty-eight effective men in Tygarts
Valley, eighteen at the Horse Shoe, eighty at West Fork,
twenty-five at Dunkard Bottom and about one hundred and
sixty at forks of Cheat River and Sandy Creek Glades, so
that from the scattered condition of the country the damages
the people have already sustained by the frequent incursions
of the Indians since the commencement of this war, will, I
believe (and from the voice of the people) cause the firse four
mentioned settlements to break up and leave the country,
should the Indians pursue the war with the vigor they did
last Spring, unless timely relieved by your excellency's in-
terposition.
I here insert the different incursions made by the Indians
in my county this year until the eleventh day of October:
first incursion made February 7th, next 10th day, next 12th
day, next 20th day of March, next 22nd day. next 7th day of
April, next 12th, next 24th, next 29th day of May, next 12th
day of August. I await your answer.
Sir, from your most obedient and very humble servant,
BENJAMIN WILSON.
Memorial to the Governor by Delegates from
Randolph County.
On October 27, 1790, Abraham Clavpool and Cornelius
Bogard, delegates to the Assembly from Randolph County,
addressed a memorial to the Governor of Virginia praying
that the four scouts from Randolph be allowed their claims
for services rendered during the year, 1789. These delegates
also petitioned Governor Beverly Randolph, Nov. 1, 1790,
stating the defenseless condition of the counties for 400 miles
along the Ohio river exposed to the hostile invasion of the
Indians and destitute of every support, is truly alarming.
The Governor was asked to relieve the people from the
threatened danger or lav their complaints before the proper
tribunal for redress.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 89
John P. Duvall, County Lieutenant of Harrison County to
Governor Henry Lee, December 20, 1791.
Sir:—-] could wish to have about twenty of the men to be
raised for the defense of Harrison County, stationed on the
Ohio, ten at .Veal's Station, the Little Kanawha, and ten at
or near the mouth of the Muskingum.
I could also wish your excellency to appoint some person
to .employ a person to prepare the arms belonging' to the State
in the counties of Ohio, Monongalia, Harrison and Randolph,
as they are much out of repair, and also wish you to appoint
Colonel Benjamin Wilson to muster the men for the counties
of Harrison and Randolph.
And am Sir, Your Excellency's most obedient, humble
servant,
JOHN P. DUVALL.
In 1792 the Governor of Virginia authorized the distri-
bution of a number of scouts to protect the frontier from the
apprehended invasion of the Indians from the territory West
of the Ohio River. William Lowther, of Harrison County,
wrote to Gen. James Woods informing him of the following
distribution of men at his disposal: Two scouts at the mouth
of the Little Kanawha, two scouts on the frontier of the West
Fork settlements. In Randolph he stated he had under his
command a Lieutenant, two Sergeants, two Corporals and
twenty-five privates which the Randolph officers distributed
as follows : Lieutenant, fifteen privates, Sergeant and Corporal
in the upper end of the valley. Eleven men and a Sergeant
were sent to the Buckhannon settlement
The Governor of Virginia Sends Flints to the Settlers.
With the modern inventions of the weapons of warfare,'
it seems incredible that as late as 1792 the Governor of Vir-
ginia would send flints to the settlers of the frontier as muni-
tions of war in their defense against the invasion of Indians
from tribes West of the Ohio River. However, Colonel Benj.
Wilson, writing to General James Woods, from Morgantown,
90 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
June 7, 1792, informs him that powder, lead, and flints had
been received and distributed to the Captains of Militia in
Randolph, Harrison and Monongalia counties.
Philadelphia War Department, 7th April, 1792.
Colonel Benjamin Wilson,
Sir: — I am directed by the President of the United States
to acknowledge the receipt of yours to him of the 29th ot
February, 1792. and inform you that his excellency, the Gov-
ernor of Virginia, was authorized in behalf of the President
of the United States to add as many scouts as he should
judge expedient, at the general expense to any part of the
exposed not exceeding eight in number in any one count}'.
It is the disposition of the President of the United States
that the must entire protection should be afforded the exposed
counties that the nature of the case may require. The ex-
ecutive of Virginia must be presumed to be competent to
judge of this matter, and they have made an arrangement
upon this subject, but as some inconvenience may result from
waiting for an application from the Governor of Virginia,
the counties of Randolph and Monongalia will be permitted
the four scouts requested by your letter of the 27th February,
together with such a sufficient number of rangers upon the
continental establishment as a temporary arrangement as
shall be deemed indispensably necessary, not exceeding the
Company mentioned in your letter, until the executive of
Virginia may make an application confirmative of the same
for the season.
I am your humble servant,
H. KNOX.
Strength of Militia in Randolph.
The County Lieutenants reported to James Woods, Lieu-
tenant Governor of Virginia. June 7, 1792, the following as
the strength of the militia in the counties of Harrison, Ran-
dolph and Monongalia : Benjamin Wilson reports strength
of Harrison Count}- militia at 400; Jacob Westfall reports
strength of Randolph County militia at 174 or 200; John
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 91
Evans reports strength of Monongalia County militia at 730.
Colonel Benjamin Wilson Appeals to President
of United States.
Harrison County, Ya., February 29, 1792.
Sir: — It would be intruding on you for me to call your
attention to the disposition of the Indians when fired with
conquest, on their dastardly way of war. Particularly their
lying in wait about houses to take advantage of defenseless
women and children, their ambuscading roads, robberies, etc.
It may suffice only to mention the situation of the exposed
frontier and the present fears of the people.
Ohio County covers a part of Monongalia County and
Harrison a part of Randolph County, and my observation
since the year 1774, Ohio and Harrison have stood on a simi-
lar footing in point of danger. The lamentable catastrophe
that befell the Federal Army last fall has with fear so im-
pressed the minds of the exposed people that it is pitiable to
hear their complaints, and sure 1 am that many of them
would move from the exterior settlements was not their con-
solation a full confidence in your granting extensive tempor-
ary relief, as well as to pursue the reduction of the Indians
upon a more extensive scale than has been heretofore done.
I wish not to trespass upon your time or patience, but con-
ceive it my duty to mention my adjoining counties, viz : That
Randolph may be favored with an addition of four scouts,
and Monongalia with four, Ohio I learn is by your excel-
lency provided for, with an additional number of those al-
lowed by this State.
Sir, I am your humble and devoted servant,
BEN J. WILSON.
Sir: — If you condescend to answer the above, the way
by Winchester is the swiftest and surest conveyance.
B. W.
92 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Captain Cornelius Bogard of Randolph to Governor.
Randolph County, August 16, 1794.
On receiving your orders I raised a company of volun-
teers for the defense of the Monongalia District. On the 17th
March last I received orders from Captain William Lowther
to station the troops raised in this county at the head of the
Tygarts Valley and Buckhannon Rivers. I acted agreeably
to his instructions and kept the troops stationed at these
points until I received another letter from Captain Lowther
with orders to march them under my care to the mouth oi
the Great Hock Hocking, or a little settlement about four
miles above Hock Hocking. I received said orders on the
8th of Jul}-. On consideration of the distance I had to march
I thought it would be impracticable to march before the first
Monday in August, but on the 29th I had an express from
Buckhannon, giving the intelligence that the Indians had
taken a young woman prisoner from the West Fork. I im-
mediate!}' marched a part of my company to the place where
the mischief was done, but did not overtake the enemy. I
got back to the Valley the 10th of August where I found the
people much alarmed. I think it my duty to try to detect
the enemy if they be in the settlement before I march to the
Ohio. The vacancy on the Ohio between Belleville and the
mouth of the Big Kanawha is the worst inlet to the Indians..
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 93
CHAPTER VII.
EARLY LAND PATENTS.
THE General Assembly of Virginia in 1777, passed an Act,
providing that all persons, who settled on the Western
Waters prior to the 24, day of June, 1776, should be given
400 acres of land for every family. In 1779 that law was
changed to require one year's residence and the raising one
crop of corn, to entitle him to 400 acres. In 1781 a commis-
sion was appointed to grant certificates to those who were
entitled to lands in the counties of Monongalia, Ohio and
Yohogania. These certificates are of the greatest historical
value as fixing the date and place of occupancy of the pioneers.
Appended are certificates granted to settlers in this sec-
tion of the District. The first one is copied in full, followed
by extracts from others.
\\ e, the commissioners for adjusting claims to unpatent-
ed lands in the counties of Monongalia, Yohogania and Ohio,
do certify that William Isner is entitled to 400 acres of land
in Monongahela County, on Tygarts Valley River to include
his settlement made in 1775, adjoining lands of Benjamin
Wilson.
Given under our hands at Colonel John Evan's this 7,
day of March in the fifth year of the Commonwealth 1781.
JOHN P. DUVALL,
JAMES NEAL,
WILL HAYMOND.
This certificate cannot be entered with the surveyor
after the 26, of October, 1781.
Wm. McCleary, Clk. Com.
Ent'd, 9th. April 1781.
Thos. Wilmoth is entitled to 400 acres of land on Cheat
River to include settlement made in 1776.
94 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Thos. Wilmoth, assignee of Geo. Shaver, 400 acres on
Cheat River near to lands of settlement of 1776.
John Wilmoth 200 acres on Cheat River to include set-
tlement made in 1776 and adjoining lands of Thos. Wilmoth.
John Haddin, 200 acres on Haddin's IN J ill Run to include
settlement of 1774.
Jacob White 100 acres on Laurel Run to include settle-
ment made in 1773. Preemption.
Richard Jackson, 400 acres on South Fork of Ten Mile
Creek, including his settlement made in 1775.
Geo. Walker, 200 acres, adjoining lands of John Wil-
moth, including settlement of 1777".
John Yeoakum, 400 acres on Barker's Creek to include
settlement made 1773.
Michael Yeoakum, 400 acres on Sugar Creek to include
settlement of 1772.
Noah Hadden, 1000 acres 2 miles from mouth of Elk
Creek and Haddin's Cabbin.
Daniel Fink, 1000 acres on Fink's Run to include his set-
tlement, made in 1772.
David Wilson, 400 acres on Buckhannon River to include
settlement of 1772, adjoining lands of Henrv Fink.
John Fink, preemption 1000 acres on Buckhannon River
to include settlement of 1777.
Phillip Menear, 400 acres on Cheat River.
William Westfall, 1000 acres on Teter's Creek, including
settlement of 1772.
John Jackson, Junior, 400 acres Turkey Run on Buck-
hannon River, adjoining lands of John Jackson, Senior, to in-
clude his settlement made in 1773.
Benjamin Wilson, 400 acres on Leading Creek, right of
residence and including improvements made in 1773. Ad-
joining lands of Thos. Skidmore.
Jacob Conrad and Benjamin Wilson, tenants in com-
mon, 400 acre-; at Bulltown, on Kanawha River, including
settlement made in 1775.
John Jackson, 400 acres on Buckhannon, including set-
tlement made 1776.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 95
Isaac Brooks, assignee of Samuel Pringle, 400 acres on
Buckhannon River including settlements made in 1772.
Timothy Dorman, 400 acres on Buckhannon River in-
cluding improvements of 1773.
John Reger, 400 acres on Buckhannon River to include
settlement made 1773.
Salathiel Goft. 400 acres Cheat River to include settle-
ment made in 1774.
Thomas Parkeson, 1000 acres by right of preemption at
the Tygarts Valley Falls to include improvements made 1773.
John Wilson and Martin Shobe, assignee, of James
Knotts, as tenants in common, 400 acres on Dry Fork of
Cheat to include settlement made at Horse Camp in 1776.
Edward Jackson and John Fink, as tenants in common,
assignees to George Parsons, 400 acres in Parsons right o\
residing and raising a crop of corn, to include an improve-
ment made by the said Parsons on the Head of Little Elk,
adjoining lands claimed by Timothy Dorman in 1775.
David Minear, 200 acres Clay Lick Run, a branch of
Cheat River in right of residence to include improvements
of 1776.
Salathiel Goff, assignee of William Wilson, 400 acres at
the mouth of Pleasant Creek, opposite to lands claimed by
Thos. Parsons, to include settlement of 1776.
Salathiel Goft, assignee of Thomas Pence, 200 acres on
Cheat River nearly opposite Horse Shoe Bottom, to include
settlement of 1776.
John Reger, 400 acres on each side of Buckhannon river
nearby joining lands of Timothy Dorman to include his set-
tlement made 1773.
Edward Jackson, 400 acres Finks Run to include settle-
ment of 1774.
Geo Peck, assignee of Edward Tanner 400 acres on
Buckhannon River, adjoining lands of George Jackson to
include settlement 1774.
Christopher Strader, 400 acres in the right of raising corn
crop before 1778 on Buckhannon Fork.
Charles Fornash, assignee of Alexander Sleath, 400 acres
on the Buckhannon River, to include his settlement of 1772.
96 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Jeremiah Prather, assignee of John Davis, who was as-
signee of Daniel Hagle, 200 acres in Tygarts Valley on the
West side of the river, adjoining lands of Peter Cassity and
Benjamin Jones, to include his settlement of 1771.
James Parson, 400 acres in the Horse Shoe Bottom, Cheat
River, to include his settlement made in 1769.
John Heagle. 400 acres on Buckhannon to include his
settlement made in 1776.
John Haddin, 200 acres on Haddin's Mill Run, a branch
of the Tygarts Valley River, to include his settlement made
in 1774. "
Geo. Teter, 400 acres on Tygarts Vallev River, adjoin-
ing said river, to include his settlement made in 1772.
William Anglin, 400 acres on Tygarts Valley River at
Pringle's Ford, including his settlement made in 1773.
Geo. Jackson, assignee Alexander Sleeth, 400 acres on
Buckhannon River including his settlement made in 1769.
Isaac Brooks, assignee of Samuel Pringle. 400 acres on
Buckhannon River, to include settlement of 1776.
John Jackson, assignee of William White, 400 acres on
Buckhannon River to include settlement made in 1772.
Old Land Entries.
Joseph Friend entered 100 acres on the East side of
Cheat River to include improvements made in 1783.
Andrew Skidmore, assignee of William Wamslev, enter-
ed 5000 acres to include Salt Black Lick. 1783.
John Harness, 600 acres on Black Water, a branch of
Cheat River, adjoining lands of Ruby Shobe and Isaac Horn-
beck, 1783.
John Crouch, assignee, Geo. Harness, 70 acres adjoining
lands he now lives on Tygarts Valley River, 1783.
William Westfall, 24 acres. West side Tygarts Valley
River, 3 miles to the left hand of Geo. Westfall's Mill to in-
clude the Coper Banks, April, 1783.
Uriah Gandy, 200 acres on Dry Fork of Cheat to include
land he formerly lived on, 1783.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 97
Phincas Wells, assignee of Ben. Wilson, 100 acres, below
and adjoining lands of Abraham Kittle, 1781.
David Lilly, 600 acres East of Tygarts Valley River, ad-
joining lands of William Westfall, 1783.
From the entry of William Westfall as given above, the
"Coper Banks" were evidently a place of local celebrity in
the vicinity of Beverly in 1783.
Real Estate Conveyances, 1787-92.
200 Acres. Ebenezer Petty to Gabriel Friend, adjoining
lands of John Crouch and John Harness in Tygarts Valley.
10 Acres. John Warwick to Sylvester Ward, East side
of Valley River.
900 Acres. James Arnold to Jacob McEnry, Cave Run,
a branch of Tygarts Valley River.
5400 Acres. Samuel Hanaway to Mathias Halstead, Elk
River.
600 Acres. John Hagel to Henry Runyan, Buckhannon
River.
130 Acres. Jacob Shaver to Wm. Briggs, Kings Run.
200 Acres. Joseph Friend to Henrv Smith, Mud Lick Run.
1000 Acres. James Hanaway to Benjamin Hall, Davis
Run and Hawe's Run. /
540 Acres. James Arnold to Ignatius Hayden, Tygarts
Valley River.
600 Acres. James Arnold to Robert Price, Sandy Creek.
300 Acres. Charles Tomilson to James Lackey, Tygarts
Valley River.
170 Acres. James Lackey to Charles Tomilson, Tygarts
Valley River.
103 Acres. John Lackey to John Hadden, Tygarts Val-
ley River.
170 Acres. Joseph Crouch to Geo. See. Tygarts Vallev
River.
400 Acres. Wm. Gibson to Charles Myers, Sugar Creek.
131 Acres. Simean Harris to David Lillv, Tygarts
Valley.
225 Acres. James Arnold to Thomas Martin.
98 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
2000 Acres. Edward Jackson to Henry Arkeport, ad-
joining lands of John Jackson and James Arnold.
1000 Acres. Richard Mason to Wm. W. Cary, Middle
Fork.
250 Acres. William Wilson to John Shenick, West side
Cheat River.
400 Acres. John Hardin to Hector Hardin, Cove Run.
1000 Acres. Brooks Beal to William Wilson, East side
Tygarts \ 'alley River.
6j4 Acres. Henry Petro to Richard Kittle, Wilson Creek.
197 Acres. Aaron Richardson to Charles Myers, West
side Tygarts Valley River.
186 Acres. Sylvester Ward to Geo. See, John Warwick
land.
213 Acres. Cornelius Bogard to Jacob Stalnaker, Fil^^
Creek.
135 Acres. John Crouch to John Pancake, West of
Tygarts Valley River, adjoining lands of Ebenezer Petty.
20 Acres. Abram Kittle to Phineas Wells, East side of
Valley River.
210 Acres. John Alexander to Jacob Poseley, East side
of Valley River.
130 Acres. Jacob Shaver to Wm. Biggs, Trout Run.
197 Acres. Elizabeth Shaver to Boston Stalnaker, ad-
joining lands of Alexander Maxwell and Wm. Currence.
500 Acres. John Jackson, Jr. to Wm. Waters, Turkey
Run.
200 Acres. Daniel Westfall to Henry Fink, East side
Tygarts Valley River.
112 Acres. Nicholas Smith to Wm. Smith, West side
Tygarts Valley River, adjoining lands of Isaac White.
120 Acres. Benjamin Jones to John Currence, West side
Tygarts Valley River.
190 Acres. Daniel Henderson to Wm. Clark, Tygarts-
Valley River.
300 Acres. John Cassity to Wm. Wamsley, West side of
Valley River, adjoining lands of Peter Cassitv above an<J
Wm. Levett below.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 99
166 Acres. Cornelius Bogard to Daniel Richardson, Files
Creek.
96 Acres. Jeremiah Cooper to Patrick Burns, Cheat
River.
3000 Acres. Hugh Thompson to Joseph Gibson, Elk
River.
396 Acres. David Conley to Jacob Kuhnrod (Conrad),
adjoining lands of Wra, Hamilton.
330 Acres. \Ym. Wilson to John Beall, Mouth of Roar-
ing Creek.
260 Acres. Jacob Eberman to John Smith, Tygarts Val-
ley River.
9322 Acres. Thomas Pennell to Stephen Sherwood, Elk
River.
5000 Acres. Joseph Pennell to Stephen Middlebrook,
Elk River.
1434 Acres. Thomas Pennell to Stephen Sherwood, Elk
River.
57 Acres. Henry Mace to John Bogard, Cheat River.
190 Acres. Geo. Reed to John Currence, West side Val-
ley River.
77 Acres. Thomas Wilmoth to James Thompson, Cheat
River.
77 Acres. James Thompson to Uriah Gandy, Cheat
River.
200 Acres. Philip Kizer to Cornelius Bogard, Shavers
Run.
337 Acres. Peter Cassity to Benjamin Hornbeck, ad-
joining land of Wm. Wamsley, West side Valley River.
300 Acres. Sylvester Ward to John Pancake, East side
Valley River.
135 Acres. Wm. Briggs to Jacob Weese, Kings Run.
150 Acres. Jacob Westfall to Sylvester Ward, East side
Valley River.
200 Acres. Geo. Breeding to Abraham Clay pool, East
side Tygarts Valley River, between the two tracts of Geo. See.
190 Acres. Michael Isner to David Henderson, both sides
of the river, adjoining lands of Abram Kittle and Henry
Peatro.
609665 A
100 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
195 Acres. Nicholas Petro to Henry Petro, adjoining
land of Benjamin Wilson, Daniel Westfall, Abram Kittle,
John Kittle and Jacob White.
402 Acres. Cornelius Bogard to Jacob C. Harper, East
side Tygarts Valley River.
The consideration in the sale of the 402 acre tract of
land of Cornelius Bogard to Jacob C. Harper was SI. 458. 00.
In the sale of 337 acres of land of Peter Cassity to Benjamin
Hornbeck. the consideration was S972.00. This tract was
north of the present railway station of Daily, in Valley Bend
District, and the descendants of Benjamin Hornbeck own
and reside upon a portion of the tract at the present time.
Old Surveys.
The following surveys were made in what is now Ran-
dolph County before separation from Harrison :
August 3, 1785, Geo. Harness, adjustor for both sides,
surveyed a tract on both sides of Dry Fork of Cheat River
above Buffalo Lick.
Surveyed in 1785, on Westfalls Mill Run for Jacob West-
fall, Jr. and Geo. Westfall, Sr., 322 acres.
Surveyed 1785. for Benjamin Wilson, assignee of Henry
Banks, 200 acres East side of Vallev River, adjoining lands
of John Truby. Chain Carriers, Wm. Cassidy, Jacob West-
fall and Cornelius Bogard.
Surveyed, August 1785, for John Jackson, assignee of
Geo. Harness, 148 acres of land in Harrison County, on Black
Water Creek, a branch of Cheat River.
Surveyed August, 1785. by Geo. Harness for Wm. Hay-
mond, a tract of land on Black Water Creek. Chain carriers,
Henry Mace and John Jackson.
Surveyed June, 1785, for Isaac Westfall, assignee of Cor-
nelius Westfall, assignee of Joseph Friend, assignee of An-
drew Woodrow, 152 acres of land in Harrison County on both
sides of left hand fork of Isners Run, adjoining lands of Thos.
Isner.
John Wilson, adjustor, surveyed in 1785, for Henry and
Nicholas Petro, 200 acres adjoining the land they then lived
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 101
on and lands of Daniel \\\st fall and William Wilson, as-
signee of Benjamin Wilson, assignee of Henry Banks.
Surveyed by Edward Jackson, adjuster, 1735, for Wm.
Haymond, Sheriff of Harrison County, lands of Christopher
Strader on Buckhannon River, including mouth of Little
Sand Run.
Surveyed 1785, for Jacob Riffle, 50 acres on waters of
Tygarts Valley River, adjoining lands of John Alexander,
Geo. Harness, surveyor. Chain carriers, James Lackey and
Geo. Wilson.
Surveyed, August 1786, for James Taffee, assignee of
[srael Brown and Robert Chanee, 698 acres on both sides of
river that empties into Tygarts Valley River below Roar-
ing Creek.
Surveyed February 1786, for James Taffee, assignee of
Israel Brown, assignee of Robert Chanee, 875 acres on West
side of the waters that empty into Roaring Creek. Chain
carriers, Jonas Friend and John Westfall.
Surveyed by Daniel Pugh for James Taffee, 1000 acres of
land on King's Creek, a branch of Tygarts Valley River and
adjoining lands of John Wilson, Benjamin Wilson and Henry
Petro.
102 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
CHAPTER VIII.
EARLY ROADS IN RANDOLPH.
"One day through the primeval wood,
A calf walked home, as all calves should;
But made a trail all bent askew,
A crooked trail as all calves do.
"And then the wise bell weather sheep,
Pursued the trail o'er vale and steep
And drew the flock behind him, too
As good bell-weathers always do.
"This forest path became a lane,
That bent and turned and turned again;
This crooked path became a road,
Where many a poor horse with a load,
Toiled on beneath the burning sun,
And traveled some three miles in one.
And thus a century and a half
Trod in the footsteps of that calf."
THE roads of a country are an index to its culture and civi-
lization. The status of any people, historic or contem-
poraneous, may be determined by a knowledge of its facilities
for intercommunication. The civilization of the classic an-
cients reached its limitations in stone highways. The carts,
wheelbarrows, canals and junks are parallelled by the civili-
zation of the Celestial Empire. Civilization today is moving
forward on railroads, steamships and magnetic telegraphs,
while the possibilities of aerial navigation are challenging
man's inventive genius.
Of course good roads were an impossibility in Randolph
for many vears because of the sparsely settled condition of
the county.
In 1774, when Pendleton was still a part of Augusta, a
road was ordered to be surveyed up Seneca and over the Al-
leghany divide in order to connect the infant settlements on
Cheat and Tygarts Valley with the communities east of the
mountains. Whether this road was ever surveyed and im-
proved is uncertain. Road making in that day, however, con-
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 103
sisted largely in cutting out the brush and removing the logs
along the proposed highway. A new order for a road over
the same route was ordered by the Court of Pendleton County
in 1787. Regardless of the condition of the trail, this was the
main route traversed by the pioneer in reaching his new abode
West of the mountains.
Among the important early road surveys were the fol-
lowing:
In 1787 a road from the county seat by Wm. Smith's to
Middle Fork.
Same year a road from the county seat to Sandy Creek.
Same year a road from Salt Lick on Leading Creek to
Mud Lick.
In 1788 a road from the Tygarts Valley Road to Crab
Apple Bottom in Highland County.
In 1789 a road from Peter Cassity's to the Clarksburg-
road at the mouth of Leading Creek.
In 1790 a road from Michael Isner's in Tygarts Valley
to the Hardy County line.
Same year a road from Connolly's Lick to the top of the
Alleghanies at the Augusta County line.
In 1792 a road from Beverly to the upper ford of Cheat.
In 1793 a road along Currences Blazes square across the
Valley.
Same year a road from Beverly to the Carpenter settle-
ment on Elk.
In 1795 a road from Beverly to Jacob Westfall's Saw Mill
on Files Creek, so as to intersect the Big Road.
In 1798 a road from Beverly to Wolf's at the foot of Rich
Mountain toward Buckhannon.
The travel in an early day between the valley and set-
tlements to the Westward was probably across the mountains
South of Huttonsville.
In 1814 a road was ordered to be made that would be
passable for pack horse from Beverly to Buckhannon.
The Staunton and Parkersburg Pike was built about
1840. Evidently the Board of Public Works intended to cross
the mountains South of Huttonsville. This 'would have left
Beverlv ten or twelve miles to the north. To induce the
104 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Board to make Beverly a point on the road, several thousand
dollars was subscribed by citizens of Beverly to be used in
the construction of the road.
In 1784 Henry Petro was appointed surveyor of a road
from Eberman's Creek to Jacob Westfall's Mill.
In 1785 Cornelius Bogard was appointed surveyor of a
road from Wilson's Mill on Wilson's Creek to the Rocking-
ham County line. This was practically a continuation of the
Seneca Trail by which most of the settlers had entered the
valley from the East. It crossed over Cheat Mountain at the
Kelly settlement to Cheat River, thence up the river to the
mouth of Tavlor Run, ascending Shaver Mountain bv a divid-
ing ridge just South of Taylor Run, passing down on the
east side of the mountain about one-half mile north of the
Coberlv farm, uniting with the road as presently located at
or near Laurel Fork.
At a court held at Clarksburg, September, 1784, Abram
Kittle, Thos. Phillips, Geo. Westfall, Sr., and Benjamin Horn-
beck were appointed viewers of a road from Jacob Westfall's
Mill to a bridge opposite Geo. Westfall's Mill. Geo. Westfall's
Mill was located, perhaps, in the vicinity of the old Baker
Mill at Beverly, while Jacob Westfall's Mill was probably
located on the Buckey Mill site, about one mile east of Bev-
erly, on the same stream.
At the same term of the court, Ebenezer Petty, Jacob-
Yokum, Peter Cassity, and Jacob Stalnaker, Sr., were ap-
pointed viewers of a road from a bridge opposite Geo. West-
fall's Mill to Darby Conoly's place. This road, perhaps, the
most travelled road in the first half century in the history of
the county, crossed the river about one mile south of Beverly
at what is known as the slaty ford on the Coberly farm, then
skirted the base of the old river terraces up the river, passing
about 100 yards to the west of the old Isaac White house on
the brow of the hill, thence up the river at the base of the
foot-hills, crossing over the blurt near the site of the old
Methodist church a quarter of a mile west of the residence
of J. A. Crawford, thence on up the valley largely on the
west side to Conley Run.
Jonas Eriend was made overseer of a road by the Harri-
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 105
son County Court in 1784, from his home near the mouth of
Leading; Creek to Eberman's Creek, now Chenoweth's Creek.
lm; A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
CHAPTER IX.
ANNALS OF EDUCATION.
THE education of the youth of Randolph, in the first decade
of its history, because of the sparsely settled condition of
the country, must have been limited to the home and fireside.
While the achievement that mostly concerned the pioneer was
the conversion of the wilderness into homes and farms, yet a
people with the courage and intelligence to take advantage of
the opportunities afforded by a frontier community with the
laudable ambition to improve their condition, would not long
neglect the education of their children. Accordingly, private
schools were early established by two or more families uniting
and employing a teacher. The next step in the way of ele-
mentary education was in the direction of subscription schools,
open to all who were able to pay the tuition fees. Often the
teacher of these schools was a roving individual, whose quali-
fications were limited to his ability to teach the most rudi-
mentary branches, such as reading writing and arithmetic
and his physical ability to maintain discipline. As a rule
these teachers received a meagre salary and boarded around
with the patrons of the school. However, not a few of the
early teachers of Randolph were men of classical scholarship,
and the impress and influence of their teaching is not only
manifest today, but will extend to future generations. Such
men were James H. Logan, Dr. Squire Bosworth, Rev.
Thomas and Jacob I. Hill.
Education was a subject the early lawmakers of Virginia
considered worthy of their consideration and Randolph
Academy was established by act of the Virginia assembly of
December 1, 1787. In the following November, among the
additional trustees appointed, were the following from Ran-
dolph County : John Haddan, Abraham Claypoole, James
Westfall, and Henry Fink. The trustees selected Clarksburg
as the most eligible location for the proposed institution of
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 107
learning. A copy of the act founding Randolph Academy is
appended :
WHEREAS, The inhabitants of the counties of Harri-
son, Monongalia, Randolph and Ohio, are from their remote
stiuation, deprived of the advantages arising from the estab-
lishment of public seminaries within the state; and it is just
and reasonable that the one-sixth of the fees of the surveyors
of the said counties, winch are now applied toward the sup-
port of the William and Mary College, should be applied to
the establishment of a public seminary within one of the
said counties.
BE IT THEREFORE EXACTED BY THE GEN-
ERAL ASSEMBLY, That his excellency Edmund Randolph,
Benjamin Harrison, Patrick Henry, Joseph Prentiss, James
Wood, George Mason, George Nicholas, John Harvey, Tho-
mas Mathews, William Ronald, Henry Banks, William Mc-
Lean-, John Evans, William John. Francis Worman, John
Pearce Duvall, George Jackson, Benjamin Wilson, Nicholas
Carpenter, John Powers, Archibald Woods. Moses Chapline,
Ebenezer Zane, David Chambers. John Wilson, Jacob West-
fall, junior, Robert Maxwell and John Jackson, junior, gentle-
men, shall be and they are hereby constituted a body politic
and corporate, to be known by the name of "The trustees of
the Randolph Academy,'* and by that name shall have per-
petual succession and a common seal.
The said trustees shall hold their first session in Morgan-
town in Monongalia County, on the second Monday in May
next; they shall then or as soon after as conveniently may be,
fix upon some healthy and convenient place within one of the
counties of Harrison, Monongalia, Randolph, or Ohio, for the
purpose of erecting thereon the necessary buildings for the
said academy.
After defining the powers and duties of the trustees of the
academy the act concludes in the following sections, indicat-
ing the source from which the financial support of the institu-
tion should come :
The surveyors of the said counties of Monongalia, Har-
rison, Randolph, and Ohio, shall not be accountable to the
108 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
president and masters of William and Alary College, for any
part of the fees which shall accrue to them after the first day
of January, one thousand seven hundred and eighty eight :
And the bond as given by them for the yearly payment of
one-sixth of their fees to the president and masters of the
said college, shall be and are hereby declared to be null and
void, so far as relates to the fees which shall become due to
them after the said first day of January, in the year last men-
tioned.
Each of the surveyors of the said counties shall, within
one month after he shall be required by the board of trustees,
give bond with sufficient security in a reasonable sum, for
the yearly payment of one-sixth part of the fees which shall
become due to him after the said first day of January, to the
said trustees; and in case any one of the said surveyors shall
fail or refuse to give such bond and security he shall forfeit
and pay to the said trustees the sum of one hundred pounds, to
be recovered by motion in the court of the county of such
surveyor, upon giving him ten days previous notice of such
motion : and each of the said surveyors shall annually forfeit
and pay the like sum to the said trustees, to be recovered in
the same manner, until he shall give such bond and security.
Free School System.
In order to understand the causes that resulted in the
foundation of the free school system, it is necessary to give
a cursory review of the origin and progress of popular educa-
tion in the mother state. Thomas Jefferson, in 1779, pre-
pared and had submitted to the Virginia Assembly a bill
"For the Better Diffusion of Knowledge." This was the first
movement to, establish a system of Free Schools in Virginia.
The object of Air. Jefferson's Free School bill, in conjunction
with his other bills for religious freedom and the abolition of
entails and the rights of primogeniture, was to form "a sys-
tem by which every fiber would be eradicated of ancient or
future aristocracy, and a foundation laid for a government
truly republican."
Mr. Jefferson's Free School bill was not even considered
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 109
by the General Assembly, but it greatly influenced public
sentiment and laid the foundation for all subsequent legisla-
tion on public education in Virginia. It proposed a system
embracing three classes of schools, namely :
1. Elementary schools, free to all and supported by pub-
lic expense.
2. General schools, academies and colleges, to be main-
tained partly by public expense, and partly by tuition fees.
3. A State University, at the head of the system.
In his "Notes on Virginia" Mr. Jefferson gives the fol-
lowing particulars of the system :
"The bill proposes to lay off every county into small dis-
tricts of five or six miles square, called hundreds, and each
of them to establish a school for teaching reading, writing and
arithmetic. The teacher to be supported by the hundred and
every person in it entitled to send his children three years
gratis, and as much longer as he pleases, paying for it. These
schools to be under a visitor, who is annually to choose a boy
of best genius in the school, of those whose parents are too
poor to give them further education, and to send him forward
to one of the grammar schools, of which twenty are pro-
posed to be erected in different parts of the country, for teach-
ing Greek, Latin, geography and the higher branches of num-
erical arithmetic. Of the boys thus sent in one year, trial is
to be made at the grammar schoods one or two years, and
the best genius of the whole selected, and continued six years,
and the residue dismissed. By this means twenty of the best
geniuses will be annually instructed at public expense, so iar
as the grammar schools."
"At the end of six years' instruction, one-half are to be
discontinued, from among whom the grammar schools are to
be supplied with future masters, and the other half who are
to be chosen for the superiority of their parts and disposi-
tions, are to be sent and continued three years in the study
of such services, as they may choose at William and Alary
College, the plan of which is to be enlarged, as will hereafter
be explained, and extended to all the useful sciences."
^ H: + * * >5= & >i< =i- : ! ; ♦
The general objects of the law are to provide an educa-
110 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
tion adapted to the years, to the capacity, and the condition
of every one, and directed to their freedom and happiness."
In 1796, December 22, an act to establish public schools
was passed which embodied the provision of Air. Jefferson's
bill for elementary schools, being the first grade of the system.
This act contained the general plan of an efficient free
school system. The entire management of the proposed sys-
tem was placed in the hands of three comity officers, styled
aldermen, who were empowered to divide the county into
school districts, employ teachers, determine the amount of
money necessary to build school houses, to pay teachers' salar-
ies and to make a levy upon the property of the inhabitants of
each county for this purpose. A fatal proviso, however, was
added to the act: "That the court of each county, at which
a majority of the acting magistrates thereof shall be present,
shall first determine the year in which the first election of ald-
ermen shall be made, and until they so determine no such
election shall be made." Concerning the failure of his law,
Mr. Jefferson said: 'The justices, being generally of the more
wealthy class, were unwilling to incur the burden, so that it
was not suffered to commence in a single county." Although
ths law was never repealed, there is no record showing that
this act was ever put in operation.
The Literary Fund.
The opportunity was again presented for the agitation of
the public school question in 1810 when the Literary Fund
was created.
"It was enacted on the 2d of February, 1810, that all
escheats, confiscations, fines, penalties and forfeitures, and all
rights in personal property accruing to the Commonwealth,
as directed, showing no rightful proprietor, shall be appro-
priated to the encouragement of learning ; and the auditor was
directed to open an account to be designated as the Literary
Fund."
The following year an act was passed protesting against
anv other application of the revenues of this fund by any
other General Assembly, to any other object than the educa-
tion of the poor. This was the beginning of what was called
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 111
the "Pauper System" which continued in force up to 1861 and
was in operation in every county except those in which a free
school system had been established and in such counties their
just quota of the Literary Fund went into the county school
fund.
Various amendments were made to the Literary Fund
bill from time to time, however, under laws most friendly to
free schools, it required the endorsement of two-thirds of the
legal voters of the county, before a single public school be
established. This, coupled with the property qualification of
voters, gave a vast advantage to the enemies of public edu-
cation.
The constitution, which was adopted by the state of
West Virginia in 1861, made provision "for a thorough and
efficient system of free schools." The legislature on the 10th
day of December, 1863, passed an act, establishing our pre-
sent system of free schools. However, some slight amend-
ments were made under the new constitution adopted in 1873.
School Commissioners for Randolph County.
At a session of the County Court, held on the 27th day
of October, 1856, by Joseph Hart, Thos. B. Scott, and Jacob
Vanscoy as members of the court, the following School
Commissioners were appointed for Randolph County :
District No. 1— John W. Moore.
District No. 2 — Harmon Snyder.
District No. 3— John M. Crouch.
District No. 4 — E. B. Bosworth.
District No. 5— Wm. P. Brady.
District No. 6 — Squire Bosworth.
District No. 7 — John I. Chenoweth.
District No. 8 — Levy Moore.
District No. 9— Wm. M. Phares.
District No. 10 — Washington Taylor.
District No. 11 — Samuel Dinkle.
District No. 12— Cyrus Kittle.
District No. 13 — Alexander Grim.
District No. 14 — Alph Taylor.
District No. 15— Jesse M. Roy.
112
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
School Statistics of Randolph County for 1866.
Amount of School Fund $2,157.00
School Houses in 1865 2
School Houses in 1866 12
Average value of School House, 1866 $140.00
Enumeration 1736
Enrollment 761
Daily Attendance 615
Teachers — Male 21
Teachers — Female 9
Average Salary — Men $24.00
Average Salary — Female $15.00
Average length of term 2.8 months
Statistics 1910.
do
. a;
—
'— «
•~
s t»
O xJ
2*
- ~
+j c
+j ~
•£-
?\ "C
<U
= -
= i.
Names of Magisterial and
Independent Districts
o _,
m £
— X
+J
'- -
~ C
'r- <Xi
> 3
O d
o H
u
1 Amou
lding F
1 Amou
chers'
to
73
so •-
C3 «
-; c
. ^^
*J d
-m o>
2 'S
o c£
£'-
643 46
1365 .
20
41
15 I 666
20 716
Beverly
Dry Fork
Huttonsville
Leadsville
Mingo ! 14 361
Middle Fork 25 I 627
New Interest 13 425
Roaring Creek 16 516
Valley Bend 8 ] 253
Elkins Independent I 33 15S4
13
65
$ 2,898.32
5,940.81
1,951.75
2,053.19
2,599.33
2,801.04
1.113.22
3,987.92
1,728.12
65,572.31
Total I 205 | 7143 I 128
? 7,375.74
13,316.35
4,965.11
5,901.38
4,709.83
7,039.81
3,648.35
4,805.57
2,335.23
20,831.73
$90,646.01 $74,929.20
Public Schools of Randolph in 1882.
A. S. Bosworth was County Superintendent that year and
from his report we learn the -following facts : There was an
enrollment of 1758 pupils in the county; there was but one
graded school in the county and this was at Beverly : there
were 24 log buildings and 34 frame buildings for school pur-
poses in the county : the average value of school buildings was
S211. Fifty-three teachers were licensed that year with grades
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 113
as follows: 20 first srrade, 25 second Grade, and 8 third "rade.
O <J o
The following teachers were licensed: H. L. Stalnaker, G. W.
Cunningham, C. S. Moore, Teresa Cain, A. M. Bradley, D.
B. Curtis, Anna McLean, Maud Chenoweth, Nannie Daniels,
John L. Bosworth, James B. Litle, B. W. Taylor, P. C. Web-
ley, Lee Marstiller, J. B. Canheld, \\ r . Marstiller, Agnes Mar-
stiller, Angelia Scott, Alice Scott, F. M. Canheld, C. M. Mar-
stiller, M. A. Durkin, Ella Wilmoth, F. J. Triplett, Sylvester
Wilmoth, Arnold Wilmoth, L. B. Triplett, D. E. Coberly,
E. R. Skidmore, D. A. Denton, M. E. Lawson, Lemuel C.
Rice, Delpha Marstiller, Celia Wilmoth, Flora Channel, B.
B. Herron, T. L. Daniels, Sheffey Taylor, Thomas Madden,
Mary King, W. P. Madden, John F Ward, F. H. Kittle, John
Hutton, Martin Madden, Mollie L. Thomas, Henry Simmons,
AW O. Grim, 11. B. Morgan, J. H. Wamsley, J. L. Wamsley.
Superintendents of Schools.
David Goff 1853 C. S. Moore 1888
W. F. Corley 1865 D. A. Hamrick ...1890
S. B. Hart 1867 S. L. Hogan 1892
Jacob I. Hill 1869 W. T. Woodyard 1895
J. W. Price 1872 A. J. Crickar'd..... 1899
A. F. Wilmoth... .....1875 E. A. Poe. 1903
A. S. Bosworth.... 1882 W. J. Long.. 1906
B. W, Taylor .....1884 Troy Wilmoth 1915
F. P. Madden 1886
The Davis and Elkins College.
The founding of the Davis and Elkins College marked a
new era in the educational history of Randolph. The first
session opened in 1904 and has steadily grown in power, pat-
ronage and usefulness. Until 1908, the college was under
Lexington and Winchester Presbyteries. The Presbyterian
church of the State is now united in its support. The College
received an endowment of $100,000 under the will of the late
Senator Davis. The College is open to both sexes and com-
pares favorably with the best institutions of learning in this
country.
114 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
CHAPTER X.
CIVIL WAR PERIOD.
N December 20, 1860, South Carolina adopted an ordi-
nance of secession declaring that the Union existing be-
tween South Carolina and the other States was dissolved.
The spirit of secession spread with great rapidity, and by the
first of February, 1861, five other states — Mississippi, Florida,
Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana — all had taken similar action.
On February 4, 1861, delegates from six of the seceded states
met at Montgomery, Alabama, and formed a new government
called the Confederate States of America. February 8th, the
same year, Jefferson Davis was elected President, and Alex-
ander Stevens, Vice-President. Virginia was not only the old-
est but, in many respects, the most influential among the
slave holding States. She was soon to become the principal
theatre in which the great Civil War drama was to be en-
acted. The public mind at this time was much agitated and
the impending crisis cast its shadows before. Under these
circumstances Governor Fletcher called the General Assembly
in extra session on Monday, January 7, 1861, and an act was
passed providing for a State Convention and the election of
delegates thereto. The object of this convention was to de-
termine the position Virginia should take in regard to seces-
sion. The election was held February 4, 1861, and the con-
vention was to be held February 13th following. John X.
Hughes was elected to represent Randolph County in that
convention. The public mind was further inflamed by the
bombardment of Fort Sumpter by the forces of South Caro-
lina on April 13, 1861. On April 17, 1861, this convention
passed an ordinance of secession by a vote of yeas 88 and
nays 55.
The Civil War was precipitated in Western Virginia by
an effort on the part of Virginia, aided by the other seceding
states, to prevent a division of the state. In the counties west
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 115
of the Alleghanies the preponderance of sentiment was in
favor of maintaining the Union. However, in some counties,
as Randolph, secession sympathizers were in the majority.
Robert E. Lee was appointed Commander in Chief of the
military and naval forces of Virginia, April 23, 1861. He at
once began the organization in the counties west of the Al-
leghanies of an army of volunteers.
On May 4, 1861, Colonel A. Porterfield was ordered to
Grafton by General Lee to take charge of the volunteer troops
of that section. About the middle of May, 1861, General Lee
ordered Colonel Heck to transport 1,000 muskets from Staun-
ton to Beverly for the use of volunteer companies. General
Lee being disappointed in the enlistment of volunteers, sent
General Garnett across the mountains with troops from Vir-
ginia, Georgia and Tennessee. While the Confederacy was
organizing an army in Northwestern Virginia, the general
government was not idle. Two thousand stands of arms were
shipped to the Northwestern Panhandle on May 7, 1861.
Colonel Benjamin F. Kelley organized a force of Federal
volunteers at Wheeling, May 26, 1861, and was commanded
to obey the orders of General McLellan, who was then at
Cincinnati. The next day Colonel Kelley was ordered to
Grafton to engage Colonel Porterfield. On reaching Grafton
Colonel Kelley learned that Colonel Porterfield had abandon-
ed Grafton for Philippi. Colonel Kelley with a much superior
force surprised and routed Colonel Porterfield at Philippi on
the morning of June 3, 1861. Colonel Porterfield retreated to
Huttonsville where he met and was relieved of his command
by General Garnett, who with the combined forces of Porter-
field and his own men commanded an army of about 6,000
soldiers. Against this force General McLellan was approach-
ing with an army of 20,000 men. General Garnett sent Col-
onel Pegram to fortify the western base of Rich Mountain
with 1,300 men. General Garnett marched with the main
body of his army of between 4,500 and 5,000 to the northern
base of Laurel Hill near Belington. General Morris was
ordered to advance from Philippi and make a demonstration
as though the principal attack was to be made on the Con-
federate forces at Laurel Hill, while McLellan, designed to
116 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
route Pegram's forces at Rich Mountain and cut off Garnett's
retreat at Beverly.
On June 22, 1861, General McLellan crossed the Ohio
River at Parkersburg. By way of the B. & O. Railroad he
reached Grafton next day. He marched to Buckhannon by
way of Clarksburg and Weston, leaving fortified posts at
Webster, Grafton, Clarksburg and Parkersburg. He reached
Buckhannon, July 2, 1861. Under date of July 5, 1861, Buck-
hannon, Ya., General McLellan informed Colonel E. D. Town-
send, Washington, D. C. :
"I expect to find the enemy in position on Rich Moun-
tain, just this side of Beverly. I shall, if possible, turn the
position to the south, and thus occupy the Beverly road in
the rear. Assure the General that no prospects of brilliant
victory shall induce me to depart from my intention of gain-
ing success by maneuvering rather than by fighting. I will
not throw these men of mine in the teeth of artillery and in-
trenchments, if possible to avoid it. From all that I can
learn the enemy is still uncertain as to where the main at-
tack is to be made, and is committing the error of dividing
his army in the face of superior forces."
Colonel Pegram, the Confederate commander, had a
picket post at Middle Fork Bridge to keep watch on the Fed-
eral advance. A scouting party from McLellan's army ran
into these pickets on July 6th, and were repulsed with one
killed and five wounded. This was the first armed conflict
between the Federals and Confederates in Randolph County.
General McLellan in his report to the Federal Government
says that seven Confederates were killed. This statement was
erroneous as the Confederates had three wounded and none
killed. On July 7, General R. L. McCook drove the Confed-
erates from Middle Fork bridge. General McLellan occupied
the bridge next day, July 8th, and on the evening of July 9th.
moved to the Hillery farm on Roaring Creek, within two miles
of Pegram's fortifications at the base of Rich Mountain. On
July 10, 1861, the Confederates under Colonel Pegram, and
the Federals under General McLellan were facing each other
at the western base of Rich Mountain. Simultaneously Gen-
eral Morris was feigning preparations for an attack on the
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 117
forces of General Garnett at the northern hase of Laurel
Hill, acting" under orders from General McLellan to withhold
his attack until he was in a position to intercept General
Garnett's retreat at Beverly. Colonel Scott was encamped at
Beverly on the night of July 10th, on his way from Staunton
to Laurel Hill to reinforce General Garnett. It was apparent
that a battle was impending. General McLellan, conscious
of his superior force and equipment, was confident of victory.
In his report to Colonel Townsend from Buckhannon, July
6th, he said: "By the 8th or 9th, at least, I expect to occupy
Beverly, fighting a battle in the meanwhile. I propose to
drive the enemy over the mountain toward Staunton. Gen-
eral Garnett was discouraged by the prospect of meeting a
force much larger than his own, as well as disappointed by
the meager number of volunteers and the lack of support and
co-operation on the part of the people. In his report of June
25th, from Laurel Hill, to the Confederate government at
Richmond, Ya., among other things he said: "I have been,
so far, wholly unable to get anything like accurate informa-
tion as to the numbers, movements, or intentions of the enemy
and begin to believe it almost an impossible thing. The Union
men are greatly in the ascendency here and are much more
zealous and active in their cause than the secessionists. The
enemy are kept fully advised of our movements, even to the
strength of our scouts and pickets, by the country people,
while we are compelled to grope in the dark as much as if we
were invading a foreign and hostile country." Instead of large
additions to his forces as he expected, only eight men had
joined his army prior to July 1st, and only fifteen had joined
Colonel Heck's camp to that date. That General Garnett
realized his inability to cope with the superior forces of
the Union army was evidenced by his report from Laurel
Hill dated July 6, 1861, in which he said: "I do not sup-
pose this force can ever obtain a strength relative to that of
the enemy, which would warrant us in giving- him battle. The
only certain result we can calculate upon is that our presence
here will occupy a considerable force of the enemy, and re-
lieve other points of the state where they might be employed
against us." Colonel Pegram seemed to be the only officer
US A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
on either side who had no adequate idea of the comparative
strength of the opposing armies. The day before the Rich
Mountain battle he asked permission of General Garnett to
attack McLellan's army, intimating his belief that his forces
were adequate for such an engagement. General Garnett
very wisely refused him permission.
Colonel Pegram was under the impression that the Fed-
eral army wotdd endeavor to attack him from the rear by
sending a detachment across the mountain by an abandoned
road to the north of the pike and which entered that road one
and one-half miles west of Beverly. Colonel Pegram accord-
ingly sent a message to Colonel Scott on the morning of
July 11th, stating: "I think it almost certain that the enemy
are working their way around my right flank to come into
the turnpike one and one-half miles this side of Beverly."
This message reached Colonel Scott when his regiment had
reached a point four miles north of Beverly. Colonel Scott
immediately retraced his march to Beverly and thence to the
position where the old road intersects the turnpike at the
eastern base of Rich Mountain. While Colonel Pegram was
industriously trying to circumvent the opposing forces from
reaching his rear from the north, General Rosencranse was
without molestation moving approximately 2,000 men to Peg-
ram's rear by way of a circuitous route through the woods a
mile or more to the south of the Pike, being piloted by David
B. Hart, son of Joseph Hart, who resided on the crest of the
mountain, where the pike crosses, a mile and a half to the
rear of Pegram's camp. Young Hart visited McLellan's
camp about 10 o'clock on July 10th, and volunteered his ser-
vices in piloting the Federal troop to his father's farm on
the top of the mountain from which point Pegram's forces
could be attacked from the rear. Generals McLellan and
Rosencranse discussed the plan and concluded to accept Hart's
services. Rosencranse was given a detachment of 1917 men,
and on the morning of July 11th, at 5 o'clock with rations
for one day, they started to execute the movement. Rosen-
cranse says: "The column formed and moved forward in the
following order and strength :
A HISTORY OP RANDOLPH COUNTY 119
Eighth Indiana, under Benton 242 strong
Tenth Indiana, under Manson 425
Thirteenth Indiana, under Sullivan.... 650
Nineteenth Ohio, under Beatty 525
Total infantry 1,842
Burdsal's cavalry 75
Aggregate 1,917
"Colonel Lander, accompanied by the guide, led the way
through a pathless forest, over rocks and ravines, keeping far
down on the south eastern declivities of the mountain spurs,
and using no ax, to avoid discovery by the enemy, whom we
supposed would be on the alert, by reason of the appearance
of unusual stir in our camp, and the lateness of the hour. A
rain set in about 6 A. M. and lasted until about 11 o'clock
A. M. with intermissions, during which the column pushed
cautiously and steadily forward, and arrived at last and halt-
ed in rear of the crest on the top of Rich Mountain. Hungry
and weary with an eight hours' march over a most unkindly
road, they laid down to rest, while Colonel Lander and the
General examined the country. It was found that the guide
was too much scared to be with us longer, and we had an-
other 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 2
o'clock, and reached the top of the mountain after the loss of
an hour's time by mistake in the direction.
"Shortly after passing over the crest of the hill, the head
of the column ordered to be covered by a company deployed
as skirmishers, was fired on by the enemy's pickets, killing
Sergeant James A. Taggart and dangerously wounding Cap-
tain Christopher Miller, of the Tenth.
"The column then advanced through dense brushwood,
emerging into rather more open brushwood and trees, when
the rebels opened a fire of both musketry and 6-pounders,
firing some case shot and a few shells. *
"We formed about three o'clock under cover of our
skirmishers, guarding- well against a flank attack from the
direction of the rebels' position, and after a brisk fire, which
threw the rebels into confusion, carried their position by a
120 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
charge, driving them from behind some log breastworks, and
pursued them into the thickets on the mountain. We cap-
tured twenty-one prisoners, two brass 6-pounders. fifty stand
of arms, and some corn and provisions. Our loss was 12
killed and 49 wounded.
"The rebels had some 20 wounded on the held. The
number of the killed we could not ascertain, but subsequently
the number of burials reported to this date is 135 — many
found scattered over the mountain. Our troops, informed
that there were one or two regiments of rebels toward Bev-
erly, and finding the hour late, bivouacked on their arms
amid a eld. drenching rain, to await daylight, when they
moved forward on the enemy's intrenched position, which
was found abandoned by all except 63 men. who were taken
pri- rs. We took possession ">rass 6-pounders. four
caiss ns, and one hundred r - ammunition, tv gs and
one barrel powder. 19.000 buck and ball catridges. two standi
rs, and a larcre lot of equipment and clothing, consist-
ing - 4 tent-. 427 airs pants. 124 axes. 98 pick-. 134 spades
and shovels, all their train, consisting '29 \va. ns, 75 1 rses,
4 mules, and 60 pairs harne —
"The enemy finding their ; sition turned, abandoned in-
trenchments. which, taken by the front, would have c 51 us
a thousand lives, and dispersed through the mountains, some
attemptii _ - tpe by the way of Laurel Hill and others
aim g r Huttonsville."
Rosencranse and his army reached the mountain crc-'
at the lone tree. This p is a little more than a mile fr
Hart's house, where the battle was fought. The valley
cross and the hills to climb were comparatively small de-
pressi i - and elevations, as the cr si i the mountain fr
the lone tree to Hart's house is a de-cent of nearly 600 feet.
The Confederate pickets were stationed about a half mile
soutl rt's 1 use, and upon approach of Federal for
fired and fell back, joining the Confederate detachment at
the Hart farm.
The Confederates were informed of the flank movement
ab by a mess e_ r -ent from Rosencranse to Mc-
Lellan. This ssenger 1 5t his ay and was captured by the
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 121
Confederates. Acting upon this information Pegram sent
350 men and one 6-pound cannon to the top of the mountain.
The Confederates opened fire on the first approach of the
Federals, although the Federals outnumbered the Confed-
erates, about six to one, the battle lasted three hours, and was
stubbornly contested. Hart's house was occupied by the Con-
federates, who fired from the windows and from the chinks
between the logs. The Federals finally drove them out, kill-
ing one Confederate who was settling himself in a far corner
of an upstairs room. Many dead and wounded were carried
into the house, and blood stains are still visible on the floors
and stairways, having penetrated the wood beyond the effect
of the scouring brush.
Colonel Pegram's report is much more complete than
Rosencranse's, and is here appended. It was written while he
was a prisoner at the residence of Johathan Arnold in Beverly.
He say- :
"Not knowing where a communication will find General
Garnett. I submit the following report of the fight at Rich
Mountain. The battlefield was immediately around the house
of one Hart, situated at the highest point of the turnpike over
the mountain, and two miles in the rear of my main line of
trendies, the latter being at the foot of the western slope of
the mountain. The intricacies of the surrounding country
seemed scarcely to demand the placing of any force at Hart's,
yet I had that morning placed Captain DeLagnel there with
310 men and one piece of artillery, with instructions to de-
fend it to the last extremity against whatever force might be
brought to the attack by the enemv, but also to give me
timely notice of his need for reinforcements. These orders had
not been given two hours before General Rosencranse. 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 DeLagnel. with 3,000
men. When, from my camp, I heard the firing becoming
verv rapid, without waiting to hear from Captain DeLagnel,
I ordered up reinforcements, and hurried on myself to the
scene of action. When I arrived the piece of artillery was
entirelv unmanned. Captain DeLagnel having been severely
122 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
wounded, after which his men had left their piece. The lim-
ber and caisson were no longer visible the horse having run
away with them down the mountain, in doing which they
met and upset the second piece of artillery, which had been
ordered up to their assistance. Seeing the infantry deserting
the slight breatsworks hastily thrown up that morning by
Captain DeLagnel. I used all personal exertion to make them
stand to their work until T saw that the place was hopelessly
lost. On my way back to r y camp I found the reinforcing
force under command of Captain Anderson, of the artillery,
in great confusion, they having tired upon their retreating
comrades, i hurried on to camp and ordered the remaining
companies of my own regiment in camp to join them. This
left my right front and right Hank entirely unmanned. I
then went back up the mountain where I found the whole
force drawn up in line in ambuscade near the road, under
Major Xat Tyler. I called their attention and said a few en-
couraging words to the men, asking them if they would fol-
low 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 demoraliz-
ed, and will need you to lead them.'
"I took my place at the head of the column, which 1 march-
ed in single file through laurel thickets and other almost im-
passable brushwood up a ridge to the top of the mountain.
This placed me about one-fourth of a mile to the right Hank
of the enemy, and which was exactly the point I had been mak-
ing for. I had just gotten all the men up together and was
about making my dispositions for the attack when Major
Tvler came up and reported that during the march up the
ridge one of the men in hi- fright had turned around 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 to,, true, and it was confirmed la-
the opinion of three or four company commanders around me.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 123
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 Hill, or Colonel Wil-
liam C. Scott, who was supposed to be with his regiment near
Beverly. It was now half past six in the evening, when I re-
traced 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 held officers and company commanders re-
maining, 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 re-
duced 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. Hav-
ing left directions for Sergeant Walker, and giving directions
to Assistant Surgeon Taylor to take charge of the sick and
wounded in camp, and to show a white flag at daylight, I
called the companies together and started at one o'clock A. M.,
without a guide, to make my way, if possible, over the moun-
tains, where there was not the sign of a path, toward General
Garnett's camp. As I remained in camp to see the last com-
pany 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 would be im-
possible to exaggerate. We arrived at Tygart's Valley River
at 7 P. M., having made the distance of twelve miles in about
eighteen hours. Here we were met by several country people,
who appeared to be our friends, and who informed us that at
Leadsville 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 for-
ward rapidly, I hired a horse and proceeded forward until in
sight of Leadsville Church, when I stopped at a farmhouse
where were assembled a dozen men and women. Thev in-
formed me that General Garnett had retreated that afternoon
124 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
up the Leading Creek mad. into Tucker County, and that he
was being pursued by three thousand of the enemy, who had
come from the direction of Laurel Hill as far as Leadsville
Lhurc" when they turned up the Leading Creek road in pur-
suit, t'his, of course, rendered all chance of joining General
Garnett, or escaping in that direction, utterly impossible.
Hurrying hack to my command, I found them in much con-
fusion, firing random shots in the dark, under the impression
that the enemy were surrounding 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 pro-
visions they had. hoping that it might go a little way toward
satisfying the hunger of m\ almost famishing men.
"'I now found, on examining the nun 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 enem; -
camp at Beverly, led over precipitous mountains into Pendle-
ton County. Along this road there were rep ed to nu-
to be but a few miserable habitations, where it would be
terly impossibh en a company of men to get food; and
n< w 11 "'clock P. M., it would be necessary to leave
at once, without allowing them to mouthful where they
were. I called a council of war, when it was ed aim
unanimously (only two members voting in the negati
that there was lefl to us nothing but the sad d< ination
of surrendering ourselves prisoners of war to the enemj
Beverly. I was perfectly convinced thai an attempt on oui
pan t< pe would sacrifice by starvati n a large number of
the lives i if the c< >mmand."
ilonel Pegram sent a note to the commanding offi
■ t" the United States forces at Beverly, and dispatched it
ul 12 o'clock on the night >^i July 12th. The messenj
urned next morning with Colonel Key. one of General Mc-
Lellan's staff officers, ^fter a conference between Colonels
Pegram and Key, the former's officers and men. numbering
555 marched to Beverly and -tacked their arm-. They w
kept at Beverly until July 17th. when all but Colonel Pegram
were released on parole, Pegram being refused his parole be-
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 125
cause he had not resigned as an officer in the Unite/ States
Army.
Lieutenant Charles W. Statham, in his report, gives in-
teresting additional details of the battle of Rich Mountain.
He says :
"I have to report that on the 11th instant, by your order,
1 moved with one gun and a detachment of twenty-one men
to occupy this pass in Rich Mountain. We took our position
about 1 o'clock P. M. In less than two hours the enemy made
their appearance in large column, six regiments strong, im-
mediately on the hill south of the pass. We reversed our
gun, which was pointed, down the pass, and prepared to re-
ceive the enemy in the direction in which he was approaching.
In a few minutes the sharpshooters of the enemy commenced
a fire upon us from behind trees and rocks at a distance rang-
ing from two to three hundred yards, the body of the enemy
being still farther. We opened upon the main body with
spherical shot, which 1 cut at first one second and a quarter,
and could distinctly see them burst in their midst. 1 knew
we did good execution, as I could distinctly hear their officers
give vehement commands to close up ranks. After firing this
way some little time at the rate of near four shots per minute
we forced the enemy to retire.
In about twenty minutes the enemy reappeared in a
column of three regiments, advanced briskly upon us. when
we moved our gun a little higher up the opposite hill and
again opened upon them, and with our spherical shot cut as
low as one second down to three-quarters. After firing
rapidly for some time the enemy again beat a hasty retreat.
when my men, including the infantry not yet in action, rent
the air with their shouts, confidently believing that we had
gained the day. But in a short time the enemy again formed
and renewed the attack with more swiftness than before, and
soon played havoc with our horses. These, with the caisson,
ran down the mountain with drivers and all, leaving us with
only the small amount of ammunition in our limber-box. We
then limbered and moved our gun near a small log stable, be-
hind which we placed our horses for protection. By this time
our men were falling fast. Sergeant Turner, of the gun, had
126 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
both legs broken and shot through the body : Mays had his
left arm splintered with a musket ball ; Isaiah Ryder shot
through the head, and died instantly ; John A. Taylor had his
thigh broken; E. H. Kersey, shot in the ankle; Lewis Going,
wounded in the arm; William W. Stewart, badly wounded in
the head and breast. This left me but few to man the gun.
Captain DeLagnel, who was the commander of the post,
having his horse shot under him and seeing our crippled con-
dition, gallantly came and volunteered his valuable aid, and
helped load and fire three or four times, when he was shot
in the side, and I think, in the hand. He then ordered us to
make our escape, if we could, but the enemy was too close,
and his fire too severe, to admit of safe retreat to many of us.
I was shot through the right hand and am now a prisoner."
Colonel W. Scott with the 44th Virginia Infantry was
stationed at the western base of Rich Mountain, during the
battle on Rich Mountain. Scott heard the muskets and ar-
tillery, but supposed that the fighting was at the fort six
miles distant. Scott obeyed orders and remained guarding
the old road at its junction with the pike. However, becom-
ing suspicious and impatient, Scott sent Jno. X. Hughes, a
lawyer who lived in Beverly, to Pegram's headquarters for
information. Hughes never returned. "When at the turn of
the road, a few hundred yards east of Hart's house, he was
fired on by mistake by the Confederates and killed. Hughes
w r as a brilliant lawyer, but was addicted to drink, and it has
been charged that he was intoxicated when he undertook to
discharge this dangerous service. Colonel Scott denies that
Hughes was drinking the day he lost his life.
Lieutenant James Cochrane, of the Churchville Cavalry,
in a report to Colonel Scott, of the exciting and interesting
events in which he participated on the day of the Rich Moun-
tain fight, says :
"I was sent out with a squad of six men by Captain De-
Lagnel, who commanded our forces engaged in the fight, to
bring up some cavalry that he had fired on through mistake.
In going down the turnpike I unexpectedly met witli youi
regiment drawn up in the road about a mile and a half from
Beverlv. I told you vour regiment was needed at the battle
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 127
which was then going on ; that the enemy to the number of
four or five thousand had gotten around Colonel Pegram's
left flank, and were engaged with a few hundred of our men
about a mile and a half in the rear of Colonel Pegram's camp;
that the enemy were on the left, and our men in and on the
right of the turnpike as you would approach the camp ; that
our men had but one piece of artillery. You asked me if I
would go with you and act as guide. I consented. You in-
stantly put your regiment in motion in double-quick time. I
remonstrated ; told you we had to go between four and five
miles up the mountain before we could reach the battlefield,
and if the men traveled at that rate they would not be fit to
fight when they got there. You then brought them down
to quick time.
"In going up the mountain we met with several men on
horseback who had been in the battle ; one I recollect, of my
company, who had been shot through the foot, and another
whose coat had been shot across the shoulders. The latter
told us that he was aid to Colonel Pegram, and that Colonel
Pegram had been killed. Some of these men turned back
and went with us part of the way up the mountain, but they
all disappeared before your regiment stopped. On our way
up I informed you of the death of Hughes, and you requested
me not to mention it to your men, as it might dampen their
spirit. When we arrived within about a mile of the battle
the firing ceased, and in a few moments a loud huzza was
heard coming from the position our forces had occupied when
I left them. You asked me what that huzza meant. I told
you that T was fearful the Yankees had driven our men from
the field and captured our artillery, for the shout came from
about the place where our artillery and fortifications stood.
You continned your march to within half a mile of the battle-
ground, when T informed you that it was unsafe to go farther,
that you could not with one regiment encounter successfully
four or five thousand of the enemy, with the advantage of
position, fortifications, and a piece of artillery. You halted
your regiment, you and I dismouted and in company with
some of your officers passed around a turn in the road that
we might see, if possible, how things stood at the pass on
128 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
top of the mountain, when we did see more men, as I told you
at the time, exulting and shouting-, than Colonel Pegram had
in his entire command. You were yet unwilling to go back,
but requested me either to go myself or to send some of my
men to reconnoiter. 1 told you I would not go, nor should
any of my men go, for I was perfectly satisfied as to how
things stood. A young man named Lipford, of your regi-
ment, stepped forward and proposed to go if he could get a
pistol and horse. Thus equipped, he went off up the road,
but in a very short time we heard the shout from many voices,
"Halt, shoot him,'* and the firing of several guns, and then
another loud huzza. It being now plain that the enemy had
either killed or taken Lipford prisoner, you were satisfied that
I was right, and that the enemy did have possession of the
field. You appearing still unwilling to go back, some of your
officers suggested that as the enemy's pickets could plainly
be seen around the fields on each side of the road in which
we stood, if you went forward the enemy would receive you
in ambuscade, whereas if you went back they would probably
follow, and then you could take them in ambuscade. This
suggestion being approved by all of us who expressed any
opinion, you marched your regiment down the mountai i.
leaving men in the rear to give you information of the ap-
proach of the enemy. In going down, information wa>
brought you that the enemy were in pursuit, when von put
your men in position to receive them. After remaining there
some time, and the alarm proving false, and all being quiet
on the mountain, you returned to Beverlv."
Lipford, referred to above, was not killed but was cap-
tuerd by the Federals. Colonel Scott correctlv conjecturing
the true state of affairs on the mountain to]), retreated, setting
an ambuscade on the way for the Federals, who were be-
lieved to be in pursuit. This proved to be a mistake and
Scott returned to Beverly, reaching that place about dark.
Colonel Scott held a conference with Confederate sympa-
thizers in Beverly, and concluded to march that night to
Laurel Hill, but on going into the street, where he had left
his regiment, lie found that his Lieutenant Colonel, acting on
erroneous information, had gone in the direction of Muttons-
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 129
ville. Colonel Scott mounted his horse and dashed up the
pike, overtaking his troop about two miles above Beverly.
He turned his regiment in the direction of Laurel Hill, and on
his return to Beverly, was informed that General Garnett
was retreating. Accordingly, about 10 o'clock on the night
of the 11th, Colonel Scott started from Beverly on his retreat
by way of I Iuttonsville, across Cheat Mountain. On the
night of July 11th, General Garnett sent a message to Colonel
Scott to hold the Federals in check on the pike west of Bev-
erly, until daylight next morning. The message was not re-
ceived by Colonel Scott until the morning of the 12th, when
he had reached a point seven miles south of Beverly. The
victorious Federals did not seem eager to follow the retreating
Confederates, as the forces under Rosencranse camped on the
field of battle on the night of the 11th, and did not occupy the
abandoned Confederate fortifications at the western base of the
mountains until July 12th. The Federal forces entered Bev-
erly July 12th, about one o'clock. General Garnett had ample
time to retreat south by way of Beverly and Fluttonsville, but
a messenger, whom he sent to Beverly on the evening of the
12th, mistaking Colonel Scott's regiment for Federals, reported
to him that McLellan's army was occupying Beverly.
While the Federal troops were entering the town and
crossing the wooden bridge over the Tygarts Valley River,
Captain Richards, a Conferedate, rode up Main Street, and
when opposite the bridge, fired into the approaching Fed-
erals. The Federal cavalry pursued him for about a mile
south of Beverly, when Captain Richards entered a by-road
and escaped. The day following the Rich Mountain fight,
many of the sympathizers in Beverly left their homes and
refngeed to Eastern Virginia.
Garnett's Retreat.
General Garnett heard the artillery on Rich Mountain on
the afternoon of July 11th, and interpreted its meaning. He
received intelligence that evening that McLellan had reached
Pegram's rear ; however, he incorrectly believed that the Fed-
eral troops had gained Pegram's rear by a road north of the
turnpike. It was then he sent a message to Colonel Scott to
130 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
hold the Federals in check west of Beverly until he could re-
treat up the valley, but as stated elsewhere, this order did
not reach Colonel Scott until he was some miles south of
Beverly on his retreat across Cheat Mountain. Garnett left
Laurel Hill and retreated up the valley within about Z l / 2 miles
of Beverly, when he was falsely informed that McLellan's
army occupied Beverly. He then turned back and retreated
to Cheat River, by way of Leading Creek and Pleasant Run.
General Morris, who had been feigning preparations for an
attack on General Garnett's army at Laurel Hill, moved for-
ward and took possession of the deserted camp on the 12th,
but on account of shortage of supplies, was not in position to
make effective pursuit. The Federal forces advanced to
Leadsville on the evening of the 12th, and encamped there
until next morning, when with a detachment of 3,000 men,
General Morris pursued the retreating Confederates into
Tucker County. At 6:10 A. M. Captain Benham, sent a
message to Major Williams that the Federals had reached
a point \ l / 2 miles east of New Interest (now Kerens) and
that the Confederates were supposed to be about six miles
ahead. The Federal army was compelled to subsist largely
on beef, procured in the vicinity, without bread or salt. Cap-
tain H. A'. Benham, in his report of the pursuit of Garnett,
and action at Carrick Ford, says:
"At about noon we reached Kaler's, or the first ford of
the Shaver Branch or Main Cheat River, having within the
previous two or three miles, fired at and driven in several
pickets of the enemy protecting those who were forming the
barricades, and at one place we broke up a camp where the
meals were being cooked. At the ford near Kaler's and about
one-half of the distance to another ford, which we afterwards
met with about one mile farther on, we saw the baggage train
of the enemy, apparently at rest. This I proposed to attack-
as soon as strengthened by the arrival of Steedman's second
battalion, witli Dumont's regiment, when the thoughtless fir-
ing of a musket at our ford set the train rapidly in motion,
and long lines of infantry were formed in order of battle to
protect it. In a few minutes, however, the arrival of Barnetfs
artillerv, with Dumont close upon it, enabled the command
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 131
to push forward in its original order, but the train and its
guard had retired, leaving only a few skirmishers to meet us
at the second ford, where, however, quite a rapid firing was
kept up by the advance regiment, and the artillery opened
for some minutes to clear the adjacent woods the more com-
pletely of the enemy.
"We then continued our march rapidly to the ford, and
as we approached it we came upon their train, the last half
of it just crossing the river. The enemy was found to have
taken a strong position, with his infantry and artillery upon
a precipitous bank of some fifty to eighty feet in height upon
the opposite side of the river, while our own ground was upon
the low land, nearly level with the river. Steedman's regi-
ment, in the advance, opened its fire most gallantly upon them,
which was immediatly returned by their strong force of in-
fantry and by their cannon, upon which Barnett's artillery
was ordered up and opened upon them with excellent effect.
"As I soon perceived a position by which their left could
be turned, six companies of Colonel Dumont's regiment were
ordered to cross the river about three hundred yards above
them, to pass up the hill obliquely from our right to their
left, and take them in rear. By some mistake, possibly in
the transmission of the order, this command crossed at about
double this distance and turned at first to their right, which
delayed the effect of the movement. After some fifteen minu-
tes, however, this error was rectified, and, the hill being re-
ported as impracticable, this command, now increased to the
whole regiment, were ordered down to the ford, under close
cover of this hill on their side, and there to take them directly
in front at the road.
"The firing of Steedman's regiment and of Milroy's, now
well up and in action, with repeated and rapid discharge of
the artillery during this movement, decided the action at
once. As Dumont reached the road, having passed along and
under their whole front, the firing ceased, and the enemy
fled in great confusion, Dumont's regiment pursuing them
for about one mile farther, having a brisk skirmishing with
their rear for the first half of that distance, during which Gen-
eral Garnett was killed. The enemy would still have been
132 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
followed up most closely, and probably to the capture of a
large portion of their scattered army, but this was absolutely
impossible with our fatigued and exhausted troops, who had
already marched some eigbteen miles or more, in an almost
incessant, violent rain, and the greater part of them without
food since the evening, and a portion of them even from the
noon of the yesterday, so warm had been the pursuit on their
hasty retreat from Laurel Mountain, twenty-six miles dis-
tant. The troops were, therefore, halted for food and rest
at about 2 P. M.
"The result of the action proves to be the capture of
about forty loaded wagons and teams, being nearly all their
baggage train, as we learn, and including a large portion
of new clothing, camp equipage, and other stores; their head-
quarter papers and military chest ; also two stands of colors
and one fine rifled piece of artillery: while the commanding
general, Robert S. Garnett, is killed, his body being now
cared for by us, and fifteen or twenty more of the enemy are
killed and nearly fifty prisoners are taken. Our loss is two
killed and six or seven wounded: one dangerously."'
We have fuller details of Garnett's retreat and battle of
Carrick's Ford in the report of Colonel W. B. Taliaferro of
the Confederate 23rd, Virginia Infantry. He says:
"On the evening of the 12th of July, General Garnett
bivouacked at Kaler's Ford, on Cheat River, the rear of his
command being about two miles back on Pleasant Run. On
the morning of the 13th July the command was put in mo-
tion about 8 o'clock, the Thirty-seventh Virginia and Colonel
Jackson's regiment and Lieutenant-Colonel Hansborough's
battalion, with a section of artillery, under Captain Shumaker,
and a squadron of cavalry under Captain Smith, forming the
advance: then the baggage train, and then Colonel Ramsey's
First Georgia and the Twenty-third Virginia Regiment, con-
stituting, with Lieutenant Lanier's section of artillery and a
cavalry force under Captain Jackson, the rear of the command.
Before the wagon train (which was very much impeded by
the condition of the county road over which it had to pass,
rendered very bad by the heavy rains of the preceding night)
had crossed the first ford half a mile above Kaler's. the cav-
A HISTORY OP RANDOLPH COUNTY 133
airy scouts reported that the enemy were close upon our
rear with a very large force of infantry, well supported by
cavalry and artillery. The First Georgia Regiment was im-
mediately ordered to take position across the meadow on the
river side and hold the enemy in check until the train had
passed the river, and then retreat 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 be-
fore some of the companies of that regiment were thrown out
to ambuscade the enemy could be brought over, the enemy
appeared in sight of our troops, and immediately commenced
firing upon them. This was briskly returned by the Georgia
regiment, who after some rounds retired, in obedience to the
orders received. The Twenty-third Virginia and the artillery
were halted about three-quarters of a mile below the cross-
ing, and were ordered to occupy a hill commanding the valley
through which the enemy would have to approach and a wood
which commanded the road. This position they held until the
Georgia regiment was formed some distance in advance of
the Virginians, then the former command retired and again
reformed in advance of the Georgians. This system of re-
tiring upon eligible positions for defense admirablv selected
by Captain Corley, adjutant-general to General Garnet, was
pursued without loss on either side, a few random shots only
reaching us, until we reached Carrick's Ford, three and a
half miles from Kaler's. This is a deep ford, rendered deeper
than usual by the rains, and here some of the wagons be-
came stalled in the river and had to be abandoned.
'The enemy were now close upon the rear, which con-
sisted of the Twenty-third Regiment and the artillery ; and as
soon as this command had crossed Captain Corley ordered me
to occupy the high bank on the right of the ford with my
regiment and the artillery. 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 minutes
the skirmishers of the enemv were seen runnintr alon<>- the
1S4 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
opposite bank, which was low and skirted by a few trees, and
were at first taken for the Georgians, who were known to
have been cut off; but we were soon undeceived, and a hearty
cheer for President Davis having been given by Lieutenant
Washington, C. S. Army, reiterated with a simultaneous shout
by the whole command, 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 firing
kept them from crossing the river, and twice we succeeded
in driving them back some distance from the ford. They
again, however, came up with a heavy force and renewed the
fight. The fire of their artillery was entirelv ineffective, al-
though their shot and shell were thrown very rapidly, but
they flew over our heads without anv damage, except bring-
ing the limbs of trees down upon us. The working of our
three guns under Lieutenants Lanier, Washington, and Brown
was admirable, and the effect upon the enemy verv destruc-
tive. We could witness the telling effect of almost every shot.
"After continuing the fight until nearly every cartridge
had been expended, and until the artillery had been with-
drawn by General Garnett's orders, and as no part of his
command was within 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,
moreover, to do this, as I believed the enemy were making
an effort to turn our flank, and without support it would have
been impossible to have held the position, and as already
nearly thirty of my men had been killed and wounded. The
dead and severely wounded we had to leave upon the held,
but retired in perfect order, the officers and men manifesting
decided reluctance as being withdrawn. After marching half
a mile I was met by Colonel Starke. General Garnett's aide,
who directed me to move on with my regiment to the next
ford, a short distance in advance, where T would overtake
General Garnett.
"On the farther side of this ford I met General Garnett,
who directed me to halt my regiment around the turn of the
road, some hundred and fifty yards off. and to detail for him
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 135
ten good riflemen, remarking to me, "This is a good place be-
hind this driftwood to post skirmishers." I halted the regi-
ment as ordered, but from the difficulty on determining w ho
were the best shots, I ordered Captain Tompkins to report
to the general with his whole company. The general, how-
ever, would not permit them to remain, but after selecting ten
men, under Lieutenant Depriest, ordered the company back
to the regiment.
"By General Garnett's orders, conveyed by Colonel
Starke, I posted with that officer three of my companies on
a high bluff overlooking the river, but, finding the under-
growth so thick that the approach of the enemy could not be
well observed, they were withdrawn. A few minutes after
these companies rejoined the regiment, Colonel Starke rode
up and said that General Garnett directed me to march as
rapidlv as I could and overtake the main body. In a few
minutes afterwards 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.
"It gives me pleasure to bear testimony to the coolness
and spirit displayed by officers and men in this affair. Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Crenshaw and Major Pendleton set an example
of courage and gallantry to the command, and the company
officers behaved admirably, doing their whole duty. It would
be invidious, when all behaved so Avell, to distinguish between
them. The gallantry of Lieutenant Washington was con-
spicuous. After the 6-pounder rifled piece had been disabled
and it was discovered it had to be abandoned, he spiked it
under a heavy fire.
"It is not my province, perhaps, in this report to speak of
officers outside of my own command, but I trust I shall be
pardoned for bearing testimony to the coolness and judg
ment that characterized the couduct of Colonel Starke and
Captain Corley during the whole of this day and afterwards
on the march. These officers, but more particularly the lat-
ter, selected every position at which our troops made a stand,
and we were never driven from one of them.
'The loss to the enemy in this section must have been
136 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
very great, as they had from their own account three regi-
ments engaged, and the people in the neighborhood whom I
have seen since report a heavy loss, which they state the
enemy endeavored to conceal by transporting the dead and
wounded back to Belington in covered wagons, permitting no
one to approach them.
"After receiving the order of General Garnett I marched
my regiment four miles farther on to Parson's Ford, a half
mile beyond which I overtook the main body of our troops,
who had been halted there by General Garnett, and which had
been drawn up to receive the enemv.
"The enemy did not advance to this ford, and after halt-
ing for some time our whole command moved forward, and
marching all night on the road leading up to the line of Horse-
shoe Run, reached about daylight the Red House, in Alary-
land, a point on the Northwestern turnpike near West Union.
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 into Virginia as far as Greenland, in
Hardy Count}."
General Morris did not pursue the Confederates further
after the battle of Carrick's Ford, but returned by way of St.
George and Clover Run, reaching Belington July 15th. His
army was practically without rations, and had been marching
and fighting without food for twenty hours. General Garnett's
army had a narrow escape from capture at the Red House on
the Northwestern pike. Federal troops to the number of
6,000 concentrated at that point to intercept the Confederate
retreat, but they arrived there about one hour after Garnett's
army had passed. The Confederate army retreated to Mont-
erey, Ya. without further molestation. At the battle of Car-
rick's Ford the Confederates lost 13 killed and 15 wounded.
The Federals lost 2 killed and 7 wounded. At Laurel Hill
the Confederates lost 2 killed and 2 wounded. The Federals
lost 4 killed and 6 wounded. At Rich Mountain the Con-
federates lost 45 killed and 20 wounded. The Federals had
12 killed and 49 wounded.
It is an undisputed fact that both Federals and Confed-
erates made serious blunders in the campaign in western
A HISTORY OP RANDOLPH COUNTY 137
Virginia. However, the result could not have been different
with the great disproportion in the size of the two armies.
General McLellan, though regarded by many as the greatest
General on the Union side in the Civil War, betrayed in the
West Virginia campaign a weakness in not vigorously pur-
suing an advantage, that was later manifested at Malvern
Hill and Antietam. That General McLellan was a man of
great civic and military attainments is universally conceded,
yet it is interesting to know how he underestimated the mili-
tary resources of the Confederacy. On July 7th. 1861, he
wrote to General Scott that with 10,000 troops in eastern
Tennessee, in addition to his West Virginia army, he could
"crush the backbone of secession." However, in January,
1862, when made Chief Commander of the army, he estimated
that 273,000 men would be necessary for the main army
operations, aside from those needed for the defense of
Washington.
Both in his proclamation to the Union men of West Vir-
ginia and in his reports to the general government, he showed
a strong devotion to the Union, but an equally strong oppo-
sition to the abolition of slavery. In his instructions to
Colonels Irvine, Kelly, Steedman and others, he invariably
closed his admonitions with, "see that the rights and property
of the people are respected, and repress all attempts at negro
insurrection." In his proclamation to the people of West
Virginia, he said :
"Notwithstanding all that has been said by the traitors
to induce you to believe that our advent among you will be
signalized by interference with your slaves, understand one
thing clearly — not only will we abstain from all such inter-
ference, but we will, on the contrary, with an iron hand, crush
any attempt at insurrection on their part."
Woodley's Reminescence of Rich Mountain.
Willis H. Woodley, then a lad in his teens, joined a com-
pany of Upshur County Confederates, known as the Upshur
County Grays, and was a participant in the battle of Rich
Mountain. We are indebted to him for the following inter-
esting narrative :
138 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
"In compliance with your request I am giving you my
personal recollections of the events immediately preceding and
those occuring in the battle of Rich Mountain. After our
stampede at Philippi we returned to Huttonsville, and in the
course of a week or ten days we were reinforced by troops
from Virginia, Infantry and Cavalry, and under the command
of Colonel Heck, we came back to the western foot of Rich
Mountain and went into camp near Alexander Hart's, where
we began to fortify and commenced a systematic course of
drilling, in the meantime completing a line of breastworks
from the top of one ridge down across the pike and small
ravine to the top of a parallel ridge to the north. There were
very few tents in the command of about 2,500 men. We, the
Upshur Grays, Co. B. 25th Va. Infantry, known at that time
as Reger's Batallion, which was afterwards united to Hans-
bury's Batallion, forming the 25th Va. Infantry, made our
tents of brush under which we managed to sleep the best we
could, with water dripping on our faces.
"A few days before the battle at the to]) of the hill, we,
the Upshur Grays, under command of Captain John Higgen-
botham, were ordered to go to Middlefork Bridge on a recon-
noitering expedition. Below Fords, the half-way house, we
ran into the advanced pickets of the enemy, drove them in,
and also drove in a second outpost, when we discovered that
we were confronting McLellan's army, who were encamped at
the bridge. Bugles blowing, the long roll beating, warned us
of our danger. We immediately began a hasty retreat which
we accomplished without being pursued. The next evening-
General McLellan advanced and camped at the Hilleary place,
known as Fisher, and made his headquarters in the old log
house, known at that time as the Hilleary House and is still
standing, and was about two miles from our fortification.
Next morning our videttes wounded and captured a Federal
Sergeant and brought him in on a stretcher, the first person
in blue that any of us had ever seen and he was quite a
curiosity. The night before the battle on top of the moun-
tain at S. B. Hart's house and farm, the Upshur Grays, under
Captain Higginbotham, were ordered to do picket duty on
the middle ridge immediately above Colonel Pegram's head-
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 139
quarters, who had recently superceded Colonel Heck in com-
mand. All through the night we distinctly heard the sound
of axes to our left and Captain Higgenbotham sent twice to
notify Colonel Pegram of the fact, and receiving the curt
reply from Colonel Pegram 'to mind his own business,' which
of course ended all communications between Colonel and
Captain for the remainder of the night.
"It it worthy of mention and fixed indelibly on my mind,
the most beautiful comet, the head extending to the south-
ern horizon, the tail reaching across the entire heavens, was
clearly visible the whole night and presented the most beau-
tiful appearance, surrounded by myriads of constellations and
stars, so peaceful, so sublime, so glorious, a sad commentary
of the brutality of man to man to be enacted on the morrow.
"Diverging slightly from a continuation of the narative
to inject a few personal interrogations. Why did Colonel
Heck select the foot instead of the top of the mountain?
When Hanibal in the Carthagenian wars with Rome, demon-
strated the fact that where one man can go 100,000 or more
can go also, and Napoleon Bonaparte confirmed the fact when
he scaled the Alps under almost the same identical conditions.
''Resuming the incidents as occurred early next morn-
ing, the Upshur Grays were ordered to the top of the moun-
tain, and when we had passed the O'Donnell turn. Colonel
Pegram overtook us and asked Captain Higgenbotham if he
thought the boys — for we were all boys — would stand fire.
Immediately the reply came from the boys themselves, 'try
us, try us.' When we reached the top we were halted right
at the very summit, and for a few moments we were exposed
to a volley from an unseen foe, whose numbers were entirely
unknown, realizing to the fullest extent the danger of being
shot down under such conditions without having a ghost of
a show to retaliate, made me weak kneed for sure, but as
soon as we fronted and marched into the woods and were told
to conceal ourselves by any natural or artificial object, all
fear seemed to go out, and as soon as I placed myself behind
a good sized tree, almost immediately thereafter the racket
commenced in earnest by vollies fired by Federal companies,
the bullets pattering against the trees way above us. We, of
140 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
course returned the fire, aiming for the most part at the smoke
arising from the edge of the woods. This desultory firing was
kept up for an hour, neither side knowing the strength of the
other. DeLagniel with his one 6 pound cannon certainly must
have produced consternation in our foes, for they at once
began to reconnoiter with the most satisfactory results to
them, for availing themselves of a temporary- cessation of
firing occasioned by quite a shower coming up, to send one
body of men to flank the cannon, and another to cut us oft
from our camp at the foot of the mountain, and when the
shower was over the enemy had a clear insight as to position
and numbers confronting them, and they advanced with the
certainty of victory. The firing in front was renewed with
increased activity, while the flanking parties were getting in
their work. The party that gained the pike between us and
the camp, came up crying reinforcements, at almost the same
time another flanking party rushed the one cannon and took it.
At about the same time a boy the same age as myself, from
Buckingham Lee Guards, with their Captain Irving com-
manding, stepped up behind me and said, "do you care if I
stand behind you?' We fired several shots almost at random,
when he called my attention to a group of officers who had
come out of the woods and were in plain view, about two
or three hundred yards in the open field above Hart's house,
and said 'watch one fall." We had both loaded, my musket
being held against the tree, as he sidestepped to take deliber-
ate aim, I watching on the other side of the tree. He never
fired the gun. The flanking party that had come up the pike,
calling out "reinforcements," had deployed along the pike and
three men had crept behind a big rock, one of the three had
put a bullet through the head of my comrade, and for the
first time in my life I heard the "thud" of a bullet against
flesh. In turning from looking at my fallen comrade I caught
a glimpse of three men in blue with brown hats tiptoeing
and gazing at the boy in gray whom they had just shot to
death. Instantly I jumped to the opposite side of the tree
from the three men, at the same time bringing my Spring-
field musket to bear on the middle man. I saw him scringe
and all three heads dissappeared behind the rock at my shot.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 141
Trepidation seized me and I ran up the hill, and every bullet
that passed me knocked up the leaves around me which only
accelerated my speed. In fact there is no telling how fast a
fellow can go with bullets pattering- around his feet. I have
always attributed my life to the fact of having on a blue U.
S. Army overcoat which my oldest brother obtained while a
station agent in Kansas in '58 and '59, in the employ of Russel
Magor & Wadell, who had the government contract of trans-
porting supplies to Albert Sydney Johnson who was in Utah
quelling the depredations of the Mormans. Running about
100 yards I concealed myself behind a large chestnut tree, got
my nerve, loaded and let slip a bullet at random, where the
Federals were yelling over the capture of DeLagnel's gun. I
at once resumed my retreat up the hill and overtook several
of the Upshur Grays including Captain Higgenbotham, John
Fuchert, Third Lieutenant, Bill McFadden, Orderly Sergeant,
and Ben Patterson, and others numbering twelve of the same
company. We spent the remainder of the evening in an aim-
less wandering on Rich Mountain until finally we arrived in
the Valley at Caplinger settlement, when we took possession
of an old log stable and went to sleep on the floor which was
covered with hay. Some time during the night I was awaken-
ed by the regular tramp of marching men. I nudged my com-
panion when we held a subdued conversation and concluded
it was the Federals. The next morning we were at sea. We
did not know which way to turn, when fortunately one of the
Caplingers came by and said the way was clear to Beverly,
as the enemy had not advanced. We at once took up our line
of march for Beverly, where Mrs. Leonard, the kindly dis-
posed matron of the Old Valley House, gave us our break-
fast. We proceded up the valley and reached Mrs. Bradley's
at now Valley Bend, who kindly gave us our dinner. Lying at
full length on the green sod after dinner, along came a soli-
tary cavalry man who said 'boys, get out of this, the Yankee
Cavalry are in Beverly.' We lost no time in getting a move
on us, and when we reached Huttonsvillle, Scott's 44th Va.
Regiment were just pulling out for Cheat Mountain. They
left us some hard-tack and bacon, and as soon as we had fried
it on the smouldering fire, left by the 44th, we too headed for
142 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Cheat Mountain, and the first clear field we came to on the
mountain side about five miles from Huttonsville, we laid
down under the canopy of Heaven and slept the sleep of utter
exhaustion, disturbed once by the yell of a wild cat or panther.
Xext morning we resumed our weary way, and upon reaching
the top found the 44th on the move again ; they kindly left us
something to eat. We were actually the rear guard without
knowing it. After resting and eating our breakfast, we pulled
out again, twelve of us, and upon arriving in the vallev be-
tween what it now Durbin and Travellers' Repose, we blund-
ered into the camp of the 12th Georgia, who had come so tar
and had orders to fall back to McDowell. They left us beef
and hard-tack, which we proceeded to cook and devour. After
a good long rest we followed across the Alleghenies, Crabbot-
tom, Monterey and finally reached McDowell, where we found
the 1st Georgia, 3rd Arkansas, 12th Georgia. 44th Virginia,
two batteries and a lot of cavalry. We moved to Monterey,
and daily stragglers came in bunches, the most woe begone,
foot sore, demoralized set of men it is impossible to describe.
During our stav at Monterev and McDowell we were re-
viewed by General Lee, and my impression of him as he sat
on a bay stallion, with his dark mustache and hair, his whole
bearing of calm repose, with a pent up reserved force, com-
municated to us by some invisible magnetic force that in-
stantly gave us renewed energy and faith, and there was not
one of us West Virginia snakes who would not have followed
him to death at a moment's notice.
"One more incident. George King, a little awkward
Upshur County boy, was so unfortunate as to get a flint-lock
musket, that of necessity, he had to keep. My father came on
from Staunton and joined us at Monterey, when the strag-
glers were coming in. father jokingly said to George. 'Well,
George did you kill a Yankee at Rich Mountain?' 'No,' said
George, I didn't." 'Why?' said my father. 'Because,' George
replied, 'I could not get my gun off.' The rain wet the powder
in the pan. and poor, brave simple George had stood during
the whole engagement, flashing powder in the pan of his old
flintlock without being able to fire a single shot. If there
ever was a hero, George deserves to be ranked with the
bravest of the brave."
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 143
General Lee at Elkwater.
On July 22, 1861, General McLellan was called to Wash-
ington to take charge of the military forces there. General
Reynolds succeeded him as Commander of the Federal forces
in northwestern Virginia, with headquarters at Beverly. The
Federal forces had been reduced by the expiration of enlist-
ments and by sending detachments to other fields. In the
course of a few months General Reynolds moved to Huttons-
ville and remained in undisputed possession of that section
until September. However, the Union army and especially
its scouts were in the meantime greatly annoyed by Con-
federate irregulars, who used their superior knowledge of the
country to fire upon the Federals from ambush and then
make their escape into the mountain fastnesses. Union sym-
pathizers resorted to the same tactics when opportnuity
afforded.
The Confederate government planned to retrieve their
fortunes and regain the territory of northwest Virginia. Early
in September, 1861, General Loring established himself at
Huntersville, in Pocahontas County with 8,500 men. Gen-
eral H. R. Jackson with 6,000 men was stationed on the
Greenbrier River, where the Staunton and Parkersburg pike
crosses that stream in Pocahontas County. General Robert
E. Lee was commanded to take charge of these forces by the
Confederate government and drive the Union army out of
northwestern Virginia. Accordingly General Lee concen-
trated his forces, which now numbered 14,500, at Big Springs,
Pocahontas County. General Lee planned to drive Reynolds
from the valley and march northward to the B. & O. railroad
at Grafton. General Reynolds' army in the valley numbered
about 9,000 men and he prepared to resist the approach of
Lee by fortifying two advanced positions at Elkwater and
Cheat Mountain. These positions were 18 miles apart by
way of Huttonsville, but General Reynolds established com-
munication between the two fortifications by a bridal path
seven miles distant. General Lee advanced to the valley and
skirmishing between the opposing armies began. The Con-
federates occupied a position between Elkwater and Cheat
Mountain and also the pike leading toward Huttonsville.
144 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
In the three days skirmishing, which followed, the Union
army lost 9 killed, 15 wounded and 60 prisoners. Among the
killed of the Confederate army was General John A. Wash-
ington, a relative of General Lee and President Washington.
The Washington and Lee families were closely related.
Under a flag of truce General Washington's body was con-
veyed to the Confederate lines. General Lee decided to at-
tack the Federal forces at Elkwater and Cheat Mountain
simultaneously, on the morning of September 12. Loring
and Jackson were to attack the Federals on the Huttonsville
side of the mountain and Rust was to open the attack from
the rear, which he had gained by crossing Cheat Mountain
and descending Cheat River. Loring and Jackson in front
and Lee at Elkwater were to await the signal of Colonel Rust's
artillery, when the}- would also assault the Federal forces.
With loaded guns and fixed bayonets, Colonel Rust was ready
to make the assault, when a captured picket made him believe
that 5.000 Federal troops awaited his attack. This ruse of
the picket with the approach of dawn and the sight of the
strong fortifications so terrified Colonel Rust that the in-
tended signal to the other detachments of the Confederate
army was never sounded. With the want of concert of ac-
ton of Colonel Rust and his own army hungry and without
rations General Lee did not make the proposed attack at Elk-
water. General Lee. in order to be nearer base for supplies,
withdrew to the Greenbrier river in Pocahontas County.
General Lee was greatly disappointed by the failure of
his campaign in northwestern Virginia. In writing to his
wife he said: "I cannot tell you my regret and mortification
at the untoward events that caused the failure 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 disconcert the plan."
General Lee, perhaps, referred to the rain storm that on
the previous day destroyed the provisions of his army. It
will be observed that the operations of Lee himself were suc-
cessful, but there was no communication between the de-
tachments of his army, which rendered a favorable termina-
tion from concerted action improbable.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 145
Raids into Randolph.
General John I). Imhoden, of the Confederate army,
made a raid through Pendleton, Tucker, and Randolph coun-
ties in August, 1862. Mis object was to destroy the B. & O.
railroad bridge at Rowlesburg in Preston County, \\ith 300
men he set out from Franklin, Pendleton Count}-, August 14,
1862. lie followed the Seneca Trail to Dry Fork, and thence
down that stream to the Abram Parsons Mill, where the town
of Parsons now stands. He expected to surprise and capture
a squad of forty Federals, who were stationed at that place.
However, Miss Jane Snyder, daughter of John Snyder, of Dry
Fork, had divined their intention as they passed down the
Fork and mounting her horse and taking a by-path hastily
rode to Parson's Mill and gave warning to the Federals, who
retreated to Rowlesburg. Imboden, realizing that the plans
and destination of his raid had become known to the Federal
army, retreated through the forests and mountains to the
south and in three days reached Slaven's Cabin on the Staun-
ton and Parkersburg Pike in Pocahontas County.
General Imboden made a second raid into Randolph in
November, 1862. Rowlesburg was again his objective point.
However, he ventured no farther than St. George. With 310
men he marched in a severe snowstorm on the night of No-
vember 7, 1862, down Red Creek to its junction with Dry
Fork and thence down that stream and Cheat to St. George,
where he surprised and captured forty Federals. Believing
that further operations against Rowlesburg would be futile,
he again retreated southward this time by way of Glady Fork
and the Sinks and thence into Pendleton and Hardy counties.
He was compelled to subsist upon the resources of the coun-
try through which he passed, obtained by force or otherwise.
To compensate the Union sympathizers for their losses and
to avoid surprises in the future by Confederate invaders Cap-
tain Kellogg, issued very stringent orders of assessment and
notification directed to numerous southern sympathizers. The
assessments largely exceeded the losses sustained by the
Union sympathizers and ranged from $7 to $800. As a sample
of the general order we give below the one directed to Adam
Harper:
14« IISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
rge, Tucker County. Ya.. 28 18 2
Mr. Adam Harpe- - In consequence of certain rober-
which have been committed upon Union citizens of t
county by Bands of Gurilic- are here' d to the
amount - 0) Two Hundred and Eighty-five Dollars
to make good their losses And upon your failure to make
good thi- nt by the 8th day of December, the :
lowing order has been issued to me by Brigadier General
R. H. Milroy:
a are to burn their hou< ze their property and
shoot them. You will be sure that vou strictlv carrv out
this order. You will require of the inhabitants for ten or
fifteen miles around your camp on all the roads approaching
the town upon which the enemy may approach that V.
mi: »h in and give you notice and that upon any one fail-
ing to do so you will burn their houses and shoot the men."
By order of
BRI \ R. H MILRoY
Captain Kell . g anmanding 123 Ohio.
Raid Under Jenki-
cneral Jenkr >nfederate cavalry fot
of 550 men. made a raid a .jinia into Ohio in
- :>tember. 1862. He passed through Randolph
above Huttonsville and planned an attack on Beverly, with
the co-operal eneral Imboden. The Federal - at
Be - : » men. but on being informed that
neral Kelley had re *d the Beverly garrison with 1.500
men. General Jenkins abandoned his intended attack upon that
place and moved to Buckhannon by n the valley
to head of the Buckhannon River, and thence over to French
Creek and down thai the town of Buckhanr
which he surprised and captured. He also captured W
Glenville. Spencer and Ripley on the Ohio Rive- I Buck-
hannon he • ed considerable milit.v \ Federal
the name oi ho refused to surrender
Jenkins troops was killed above Huttonsville.
a nnvi'MitY OF RANDOLPH COUNTS 147
in iir reporl Genera] [enkini sayi thai the population
along French I reek was among ih<- mosl disloyal in Western
Virginia and thai hii forces emerged so suddenly from the
mountaini thai the inhabitanti could scarcely comprehend
thai they wen Southern troopi The truth oj thii statemenl
i ..ill- unted foi when we refled thai the French ' reel
settlemenl consisted, largely, oi emigranti from New Eng
land, who, no doubt, believed thai theii situation wesi oj th<
mountains protected them from Conferedate inva ion
J.nboden's Raid ol '03.
in the spring oi 1863 a Union force oi K78 men, with two
< anon wei e garrisoned al Beverly I olonel George !■' ■ Latham
was in charge. Genera] [onei and [mboden to i feeuti a
poliej planned and outlined bj General Lee, wen- to invade
Wei 1 Virginia General [on< was to march through Hard)
< ounty to Oakland, thenc< to Grafton, where he was to form
a junction with General [mboden, who was to cross Cheal
Mountain by waj oj the Staunton and Parkersburg Pike,
tin ii'> by "■'•- of Philippi to Grafton, whence theii combined
forcei would move wesi General [mboden commanded 3,365
and General [onei 1,300 men. Genera] [mboden, aftej a foui
d.i ■ ma i ( 1 1 in ;i drenching rain, < otered 1 ^garts Valli j abo i
I futtoni vdl< , on .\]<iil 23. Be had crossed ( heal Mountain
I--, way "i the Staunton and Parkei burg Piki He planned
to surprise and capture the Federal garrison al Beverl; Ho
• 1 1 , when 1 1' 1 1 a< in d Huttonsville he found thai the Federal
pickel had been withdrawn and believed thai the fore* al
Beverly had received intellii i of his approach Believing
t li.it he had losl hii opportunity to surprise the Federal al
Beverly, [mboden camped for the nighl al 1 1 mi on mi. The
in -t day he resumed hii march and when about six milei
above Beverl) th< advance guard oj [mboden's army al
tempted to hah |< ■ ■ < I- Phares, ! herifl of Randolph County.
Mi Pharei refusing to urrender, wai fired upon and shol
through the lungi Hi succeeded in reaching Beverly, n
covered from whal al the time wai thoughl to be a mortal
wound and lived uiair yean aftei the war. h developed thai
Slu-iiil Pharei wai the firsi man to giv< intelligence to thi
148 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
federal army of Imboden's approach. The skirmishing- con-
tinued during the day when the Federal army retreated to-
ward Philippi.
The object of these raids was to destroy the B. & O.
railroad, which was an important means of transportation for
Federal troops, destruction of military stores and to gain
Confederate recruits west of the Allegfhenies.
-& j
Jackson's Raid.
In July, 1863, General W. L. Jackson, with a force of
1,200 men entered Randolph County by way of Valley Head
and Cheat Mountain with the object of surprising and cap-
turing General Harris and a garrison of 800 Federals at Bev-
erly. General Jackson, with the main body of his men came
down the Valley by way of Huttonsville. Major J. E. Lady
with a detachment of 200 men by way of the back road
reached and guarded the Buckhannon Pike west of Beverly.
Colonel Dun detcured to the east of Beverly with a detach-
ment with the object of reaching the Philippi pike in the
rear of the Federals. At a signal of the firing of a cannon by
General Jackson the Federal forces were to be attacked sim-
ultaneouslv by the three detachments. Skirmishing began
when the main body of the Confederates reached a point
about two miles south of Beverly. General Jackson advanced
to an eminence on the M. J. Coberly farm, one and one-half
miles southwest of Beverly. At 2 o'clock General Jackson
fired the gun that was to be the signal for a uniform attack
but Colonel Dun failed to appear and General Jackson delay-
ed the intended assault. In the meantime, a lively artillery
duel was in progress. The Federals occupied Mt. Izer, where
the Confederate monument now stands. The Confederate pro-
jectiles did not reach the Federal fortifications, but exploded
in Beverly and the Leonard Flotel as well as some other
houses were damaged. The Federals moved their artillery
to the D. R. Baker bluff, south of Beverly, after which their
cannonading was more effectual. On the morning of July
3, General Jackson, in observing the pike north of Beverly for
the approach of Colonel Dun, discovered the advance of
General Averill with a brigade of Union soldiers from Philippi
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 149
to reinforce General Harris. General Jackson at once re-
treated up the valley and over the mountains into Virginia.
The Confederates lost four killed and five wounded. The
Federals lost fifty-five prisoners. Colonel Dun finally reached
Beverly, but not until after General Averill had come to the
rescue of General Harris. Colonel Dun's delay had been
attributed to the fact that a mountain still was on the line of
his march, which he and his men were loth to leave as long
as there remained a sparkling drop of the mountain dew.
The writer, at the age of four years, was an involuntary
participant in General Jackson's retreat. As the General re-
turned up the valley the main body of his army passed where
the writer's parents resided in Valley Bend District. As the
Confederates slowly and unheedingly passed the house, the
Federal cannon balls flew over our heads and exploded against
the hillside to the west. One projectile became so uncom-
fortably familiar and informal as to cut the branches from a
chestnut tree under which the writer, with James Morrison
and a few other Confederate soldiers were standing. Captain
J. W. Marshall is held in grateful remembrance for appearing
on the scene at the time of the most spirited cannonading and
directing the family and assembled neighbors to a place of
comparative safety. The cannon of which there has been so
much controversy is distinctly remembered and the appear-
ance of the ordnance as well as the statements of the cannon-
eers was to the effect that the axel of the cannon had been
broken not by a shell from the Federal batteries but in recoil
when the instrument was discharged.
Hill's Raid.
At 5 o'clock A. M. on the morning of October 29, 1864,
Major Benjamin Hill with 300 men made an attack on about
an equal number of Federals stationed at Beverly, under the
command of Colonel Robert Youart. Major Hill had flanked
the pickets and approached to within 150 yards of the Fed-
eral camp, when upon a challenge from a picket, the Confed-
erates raised a yell and charged the Federals. The attack
had been delayed too long and instead of finding the Fed-
erals asleep they were in rank for reveille roll call. The Con-
150 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
federates succeeded in reaching- the Federal quarters. In the
darkness friend and foe could not be distinguished. At the
break of day the Federals organized and drove the Confed-
erates from the field. The Federal loss was eight killed,
twenty-three wounded and thirteen captured. The Confed-
erate loss was four drowned in crossing the river, twenty-five
wounded and ninety-two captured.
Rosser's Raid.
In the early morning before the break of day, January
11. 1865, General Rosser with 300 Confederates surprised the
Federal garrison at Beverly, consisting of about 1.000 men,
taking 580 prisoners, killing six and wounding twenty-six.
About 400 Federals escaped capture and marched to Philippi.
Rosser's loss was slight. It was one of the most remarkable
military feats of the war. The Federal forces were command-
ed by General Robert Youart. It was in mid-winter and the
high waters and severe weather lulled the Federals into a
feeling of security. There was a ball in the town on the
evening previous, largely attended by the officers, who re-
mained until a late hour. The Federals had pickets posted
during the day at Russell's, a mile below town, at the Burnt
Bridge, two miles above town, and at the bridge in Beverly
on the Buckhannon Pike, a corporal and three men. At dark
the pickets were withdrawn from Russell's and the Burnt
Bridge and in their stead single sentinels were posted. Rosser
crossed Cheat Mountain by way of the Staunton and Park-
ersburg Pike, came down the Valley on the east side of the
river, made a detour around Beverly and formed their line
of battle in a hollow within 450 yards of the Federal camp.
The sentinel saw the Confederates and challenged them, "Who
comes there?" The reply, "Friends" threw the sentinel off
his guard, who moved toward the Confederates and was cap-
tured. The Federals were awakened by having the doors of
their quarters forced open and they were asked to surrender.
Many of the officers were quartered in the town and Colonel
Youart was asleep in Alfred Buckey's Hotel in Beverly when
the attack was made. Many of the prisoners marched from
Beverly to Staunton barefoot in the snow and suffered great-
ly from hunger and cold.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 151
Burnt House Incident.
Captain David Poe, of Buckhannon, in his "Personal
Reminiscences of the Civil War" relates his experience in
capturing a squad of Federals, who were stationed at the
John Taylor Burnt House on Cheat River, about a mile above
the present village of Bowden. He says: "After we left the
Upper Sinks and got down Shavers Mountain near the Glady
Fork of Cheat we were informed that there was a company
of Federal soldiers encamped over on the Main Cheat River
at the Taylor Burnt House. So we got together and held a
council of war. The strength of the enemy at the Burnt
House was one question to be settled. I was made guide and
we took up the line of march, crossing the mountain between
Glady Fork and Cheat River through the woods. The rain
was falling in torrents, so fast that a red deer, when scared
up, came near running over Ed. Boor of Marion County. We
crossed up toward the top of the mountain, on the opposite
side of the Burnt House. It was then nearly night. It had
been so rainy that day I think the blue coats felt no fear of
danger. YYe had no dinner and for supper ate hard sweet
apples that chanced to be on a tree in a nearby field. We all
remained on the mountain until 2 o'clock in the morning, when
the moon rose and we moved down to the bank of the creek,
near their camp. I went down into the creek and standing in
the shade of some timber on the bank, counted the horses,
finding only twenty in camp. They had ten pickets. I went
back and told the men all about it, eighteen of us and twenty-
two of them. All said we could take them. I suggested to
the officers that we cross the creek near the tents and wait
until day light came ; that I could pilot them across without
being seen by the enemy, but that when we got to the bank
of the creek we would have to crawl along the ground oppo-
site the tents in the grass and weeds. When daylight was
sufficient to tell blue from gray I was to raise up and give
the order to remove the tents, which were what we called fly
tents for cavalry. The sentinel was walking the beat. The
order was for no firing unless the blue coats commenced it.
At the proper time I arose and gave the order, which was
152 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
promptly obeyed. Lem Tenant was next the sentinel; he was
a tall slim man and by the time he got straightened up the
sentinel fired his gun, but the bullet went wild. The tents
were removed at once and the boys in blue in confusion.
Some seized their guns, others surrendered at once. I took
one tent from two boys ; one surrendered, but the other point-
ed his carbine square at me. I knocked it away so that the
bullet missed me. but he tried to shoot me until I fired my
revolver close enough to his body to burn him, and then he
surrendered. He was but a boy about fourteen years old
and as pretty as a girl. The Captain had not yet surrendered,
but was contending with two of the boys. Buck Carter of
Barbour and Tom Alton of Marion County. He was trying
to mount his horse and when he threw his belt around to put
it on his pistol slipped oft" the belt. He drew his sabre and
cut the hitch strap of his horse when the boys seized him
and demanded his surrender. Buck Carter's patience wore
out and he drew his spencer rifle and stepped back and said,
T will make you surrender.' Just then I caught his gun and
pushed his muzzle down so the ball went into the ground. I
slapped the Captain on the shoulder and said. Captain, you
had better surrender ; and he did. Tom Alton took charge of
him and the fight was over. Two or three of the boys in
blue were wounded and two horses were wounded. We piled
the tents, bent the guns and set fire to them. We took Cap-
tain Farrow of Miami County, Ohio and another man with
us as pisoners and sent them to Richmond and paroled the
rest. I asked my little boy why he was in the army, and he
replied that his mother was a widow and that he could make
more money for her in the armv than anywhere else. I told
him I was going to set him free and told him he had better
go home to his mother and keep out of the army. He said
he did not know about that. I will put you on parole ; you will
go home until you are exchanged, I said. 'I may do that' he
said. I do not know what he did, as I did not get his name,
only that he lived in Miami County, not far from Dayton,
Ohio. We got breakfast and some rations to last us through
to Crabbottom. We were all well mounted. I got a very
good horse and kept him seven years. The man who rode-
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 153
him while he served the blue, while he was getting his wife's
and child's pictures from the saddlepockets, said I had a good
tough horse, which I found to be true."
Captain Poe does not give the date of this exploit, but it
was in the latter part of the summer of 1864.
Confederate Soldiers.
Below is a list of Confederate soldiers from Randolph.
This list was compiled by George W. Printz for Maxwell's
History of Randolph :
James Anthony, Joseph H. Anthony, killed at Fort Stead-
man ; Jackson Apperson, Jefferson Arbogast, killed at the
"Bloodv Angle," Spottsylvania Court House; Moses Bennett,
John VV. Bosworth Lieutenant, S. N. Bosworth Sergeant,
Joseph Chenoweth Major, killed at Port Republic; Z. T.
Chenoweth, Eli Currence, Emmett Crawford, Burns Craw-
ford, died of wounds, 1863 ; Jacob Currence Captain, N. S.
Channell, Cyrus Crouch, killed at Fredericksburg ; Milton
Crouch, killed at Cold Harbor; Garland Cox, died in prison;
Peter Cowger, Henson Douglass, killed at the "Bloody
Angle," Spottsylvania Court House ; William Daft, Edward
Daft, Adam E. Folks Corporal, John Folks, killed at the
Wilderness ; George Gainor, Eugene Hutton, killed at Bunker
Hill, Va. ; George E. Hogan, Levi Hevener, Adam Hevener,
killed at Spottsylvania ; Andrew Hevener, sctout for Lee,
killed at Elkwater; J. F. Harding Captain, after Major of
Cavalry, Marion Harding, killed at Elkwater, October, 1862 ;
George Harding, died in camp ; Thomas Herron, Edward Kit-
tle, killed at "Bloody Angle," Spottsylvania Court House;
Marshall Kittle, killed in Beverly at the Hill Raid 1864; Asa
Kelly, died of wounds at McDowell ; Charles Kelley, John
Logan, G. W. Louk, John Louk, Claude Louk, Dudley Long,
Third Lieutenant, killed at Petersburg; J. H. Long Corporal,
killed at Port Republic; Thomas Long, died in hospital; O.
H. P. Lewis, Lieutenant, Walter Lewis, died in hospital;
Thomas Lewis, killed at Fort Steadman ; Stephen D. Lewis,
John Lewis Jr., killed at Cedar Mountain ; John Lewis Sr.,
William Lemon, died of wounds at McDowell ; Jacob Lemon,
died in hospital ; James W. Lemon, John D. Moore, died in
154 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
hospital ; Andrew C. Mace, Elisha McCloud, John B. Pritt,
Newton Potts, John Quick, died from wounds; Claude Rader,
George W. Rowan, Corporal, Jacob Riggleman, Washington
Riggleman, Joshua Ramsay, died from wounds; Thomas
Ramsay, Branch Robinson, George Salsbury, Lieutenant,
Hiram Smith, Chesley Simmons, David Simmons, Joseph
Simmons, Franklin Stalnaker, died in hospital : Absalom
Shifflett, D. H. Summers, John C. Swecker, John M. Swecker,
Thomas Shelton, David Shelton, Joseph Stipes, killed at
"Bloody Angle" Spottsylvania Court House; William Stipes,
Joseph Vandevander, Adam Yandevander, William H. Wil-
son, Lieutenant, David O. Wilson, James R. Wilson, James
D. Wilson, Corporal, James W. Wilson, W. H. Wamsley,
Enoch Wamsley, L. D. Westfall, John M. Wood, Joseph
Wood, Randolph Wise, lost arm at Chantilly.
Dudley Long, J. H. Long and Thomas Long, mentioned
above were brothers, all losing their lives in the Southern
cause.
In the above list John W. Lewis Sr. was the father and
O. H. Lewis, Walter Lewis, Thomas Lewis, Stephen D.
Lewis and John Lewis Jr. were sons.
There were rive Kittle brothers in the Conferedate ser-
vice: George Kittle, Marshall Kittle, Ira Kittle, Edward
Kittle, and Squire B. Kittle.
Eighteenth Virginia Cavalry. — J. D. Adams, John Ben-
nett, Jacob Chenoweth, Judson Goddin, Sergeant, Charles
Myers, L. G. Potts, William Powers, George Powers, Thomas
Powers (killed), Adam C. Stalnaker, Eli Taylor, Judson Tay-
lor, Haymond Taylor (killed at Winchester, I, 1864), Elam
Taylor, Lieutenant, H. H. Taylor, F. M. Taylor, Perrv Tay-
lor, J. W. Triplett, Oliver Triplett, Frank Triplett (killed at
the Sinks), James D. Wilson, George Ward, Perry Weese,
Duncan Weese, Haymond Weese, Lafayette Ward.
Twentieth Virginia Cavalry.— J. X. C. Bell, William H.
Coberly, A. C. Crouch, John H. Dewitt, Claude Goff, Elihu
Hutton, Colonel, John Herron, Eugenus Isner, Morgan Kittle,
John Killingsworth, M. P. H. Potts, Jacob Salisbury (killed
at Winchester), Sheldon Salisbury, Adam Stalnaker, Harri-
son Westfall, Fred White.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 155
Nineteenth Virginia Cavalry. — John Baker, J. H. Cur-
rence, Archibald Earle, Simon Fowler, Nathan Fowler, ira
Kittle, John Kinney, Thomas G. Lindsey, James A. Logan,
Thomas Logan, David H. Lilly, John Manley, James Morri-
son (killed at Droop Mountain), Adam Propst Jr., Jesse W.
Simmons, Jonas Simmons, Nimrod Shifflett, J. S. Wamsley,
Captain, Randolph Wamsley, Samuel B. Wamsley, Adam H.
Wamsley, George F. Wamsley, George Ware, John Ware,
Allen Ware, Elihu B. Ward, Jacob G. Ward, Lieutenant, R.
S. Ward, L. M. Ward, Jacob Wilmoth, David J. Wilmoth.
M'Clanahan's Battery. — Andrew Chenoweth, Adam C.
Caplinger, C. L. Caplinger, John Caplinger, Parkison C. Col-
lett, Lieutenant, Andrew J. Collett, Sergeant, Hoy Clark,
James Daniels, Bugler, Harper Daniels, Calvin C. Clark, C.
B. Clark, John Marstiller (died at Bridgewater), David B.
Marstiller, Blackman Rummell (died in prison), Jacob Weese,
Andrew C. Weese.
Sixty-seventh Virginia Infantry. — A. Canfield, S. B. Kittle,
William Keasy, Cyrus Myers, Randolph Phillips, Moses Phil-
lips, George Phillips.
Churchville Cavalry. — Andrew C. Goddin, Lieutenant.
Twenty-fifth Virginia Infantry. — Jacob Heator, Dock
Heator, Herbert Murphy, Jacob Mathews, Captain, Charles
Mathews, James Shannon, Michael Shannon, Martin Shan-
non, Curtis Taylor, W. T. W T are, Sturms Gainer, Andrew
J. Murphy.
Scouts. — William Nelson (killed on Dry Fork), and
Thomas Wood.
Remarkable Recoveries.
On the night of March 20, 1864, a squad of Confederate
scouts, consisting of Adam C. Stalnaker, Jasper Triplett,
Oliver Triplett, Anthony Triplett, Taylor Chenoweth, James
156 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
D. Wilson. Jacob Wilmoth. Luther Parsons. Lafe Ward and
Dow Adams were fired upon by thirty-three Home Guards,
known as Swamps, while they were sleeping before a camp-
fire at the Sinks on the head of Dry Fork. Oliver Triplett
was killed instantly. Anthony Triplett and Adams were -
severely wounded that they were thought to be dead. How-
ever, upon the removal of their boots they showed signs of
Rich Mountain Battle Field.
life and were clubbed with muskets and left for dead. Later
they regained consciousness and Adams, in a dazed condition,
fell into the fire and was severely burned. Mr. Teter. who
lived near, found the wounded men next day and cared for
them at his home. Adams had been hit by eighteen missiles,
yet both he and Triplett recovered. Those escaping injury
fled to the adjacent woods. Messrs. James D. Wilson and
Adam C. Stalnaker. having departed the camp without their
shoes, wrapped their feet in the capes of their coats, tied them
with their handkerchiefs, and waded through the snow
several feet deep to Hightown, eight miles distant. Messrs.
Perry Weese. John and Eli Taylor were with the Confederate
scouts, but Mr. Weese stopped for the night with a Mr
Teter, who lived near. He was surprised and captured be
a };:-7 ;.v ::oolph county 157
fore the soldiers at the camp were fired upon, but was help-
rn his comrades. [Messrs. John and Eli Taylor. : rar-
ing a night attack, did not remain with the main body of the
scouts, but were passing the night about a half mile distar...
when the discharge of musl-: in them langer.
They made their escape. Mr. We - is turned -r :o the
Federal authorities and sent to Camp Chase .ere he remain-
ed until the close of the war. 7 Confederates were re-
turning frorr. : z to their homes this secti CTiey alsc
designed to surprise - oture the Federal agon train :
suiZ'.ies ::: :: = -.; r::r. e": -..: :r:iv:r. :: Btvtr.y. r'rtZc.'-
ration was "ale :or the attack a few miles t>elow Beverly
but when the train appeared the guard was too strong for their
-::\.\ ::-;: £.::: :ht:r :' : e;: -.vis e.". ir.-d nt
158 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
CHAPTER XL
LAWS ANCIENT AND OBSOLETE.
"The world advances and in time outgrows
The laws that in our father's days were best,
And doubtless after us some purer scheme
Will be shaped by wiser men than we."
RANDOLPH COUXTY was governed by the constitution
and statutes of Virginia from the time of its settlement to
1861. From 1863 to the present time the constitution and
statutes of West Virginia have been the laws of the land. The
study of the laws of an epoch or a country is interesting and
instructive from the fact that they reflect the customs, usages,
intelligence and civilization of a people. Blackstone defines
statute law as. "A rule of action, prescribed by the supreme
power of a state, commanding what is right and prohibiting
what is wrong. Accepting this definition, we can determine
from the laws of a country what its people regard as right and
wrong. The consideration of the laws of the past is also
interesting in throwing light upon the advancement of society.
As mankind progresses in civilization there decreases the
necessity for harsh, punitive and deterrent laws. A com-
parison of the laws of today with the statutes of a century
ago is sufficient to convince the most skeptical and pessi-
mistic that there has been real progress. The fact that laws
were not repealed, is not evidence that they were not dis-
tasteful to a majority of the people. They often remain on the
statute books long after they ceased to be enforced.
The laws that governed Randolph County, as a part of
Virginia, during the first half century of its existence, were
framed or inspired by the most distinguished statesmen our
countrv has produced. Thev were largelv responsible for the
laws, whether good or bad. These men not only provided the
State of Virginia with its code of laws, but dominated the
policies of the general government as well. Among this
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 159
galaxy of statesmen may be mentioned Patrick Henry, George
Washington, John Randolph, John Marshall, James Madison,
James Monroe, William Wirt and Thomas Jefferson. If some
of the laws of their day seemed incompatible with their learn-
ing and wisdom, as we view them today, we must remember
that they were intended for a people more primitive. A
people steeped and inured in king-craft, with many laws and
usages venerable with age. The laws may have been in-
harmonious with the spirit of the age, but they were hallowed
by the usages and traditions of their ancestors and they were
loth to alter or change them. If these laws, the product of
the brain of these sages and statesmen, fall below our expec-
tations, it may serve the purpose of removing the glamour and
illusion that often attaches to the lives and teachings of those
who have preceded us and leave us free to fashion our own
destiny in the light of present day conditions.
In 1792 a law was enacted in the interests of trood morals
and the suppression of vice and provided a penalty of eighty-
three cents for swearing, or getting drunk and in default of
payment, the offender was to receive ten lashes on the bare
back.
For working on the Sabbath the fine was one dollar and
sixty-seven cents. In the early records of Randolph there is
frequent reference to the violation of the Sunday law ; in
most instances for going to mill on the Sabbath. However,
mitigating circumstances set the offender free in most
instances.
For stealing a hogshead or cask of tobacco, found lying
by the highway, the punishment was death.
By act of the Virginia Assembly of December 19, 1792,
it was a crime punishable with death for any one to be found
guilty of forgery. The same penalty was attached to the
crime of eracing, defacing or changing the inspector's stamp
on hemp or flour. A similar penalty was attached to the
crime of stealing land warrants.
The individual, who made, passed, or possessed counter-
feit money with knowledge that it was counterfeit, was to be
put to death without benefit of clergy.
In the early davs of Virginia laws were often classed as
160 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
"clergible" and "unclergible." Benefit of clergy was a privi-
lege which arose from the pious regard paid by Christian
princes to the church in its infant state. Clergymen were ex-
empt from criminal processes before the secular judge in a
few particular cases. This exemption of the clergy, ar they
increased in wealth, power and honor was extended to every
subordinate officer belonging to the church or clergy. For
a time the clergy could have his clerks or subordinates re-
mitted out of the courts as they were indicted. This privi-
lege was later changed so that the prisoner could only claim
benefit of clergy after conviction in arrest of judgment. Be-
fore the general dissemination of learning the fact that the in-
dividual could read was competent evidence that he was a
clerk or clericus and entitled to the benefit of clergy. There-
fore, in the early history of our county, when the offender
was found guilty and sentenced to expiate his crime with
his life without benefit of clergy, it did not mean that the
tribunal was tssaying to extend its jurisdiction beyond earthly
courts, but that the prisoner should not plead benefit of
clergy in arrest of judgment. The principal argument upon
which the clergy of that day claimed exemption of the law.
was founded upon that text of Scripture. "Touch not mine
annointed and do my prophets no harm."
In 1789, an act was passed by the Assembly of Virginia.
making arson, burglary, the burning of a courthouse or
prison, church, robbing a house in the presence of its occu-
pants, breaking into and robbing a dwelling house by day,
after putting its owner in fear, murder in the first degree,
punishable with death without benefit of clergy.
By a law put on the statute books in 1792, gossip was dis-
couraged in the following terms :
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 whomsoever shall forge or divulge any such false
report tending to the trouble of the country, he shall be by
the next Justice of the Peace, sent for and bound over, to
the 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,
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 161
and besides give bond for bis good behaviour, if it appear to
the court that he did maliciously publish or invent it."
Hog stealing was a very grave crime in the eyes of the
earlv Virginia law makers. Special penalties were provided,
perhaps for the reason of the opportunities and temptations
for appropriating another's swine. Hogs, more than other
stock, were inclined to roam farther from the settler's cabin
and clearing and remain for months or years without the care
or attention of their owners. They were marked and turned
loose to live, fatten and multiply upon the nuts and n> ts < if
the forest. A law enacted in 1792. provided that a person
stealing a hog, shoat or pig should receive thirty-five lashes
■on the bare back, or pay a fine of thirty dollars and in either
event he should pay the owner eight dollars for each animal
■stolen. For the second offense he should stand in the pilories
with both ears nailed to the pilories on a court day. For the
third offense the culprit was to be put to death without the
benefit of clergy. The laws of marks and brands made the
possession of a hog without ears sufficient evidence that the
possessor had stolen it. Indians, under the law. were pro-
hibited from selling the settler hogs unless the ears were
produced to indicate the ownership.
Slaves whether regarded as property, or as men. severe
laws were passed for their restraint and regulation. His-
torians differ as to the precise date of the introduction of
slaves into Virginia. Smith, the first historian of Virginia
thus expresses himself: "About the last of August came in
a Dutch man of warre that brought us twenty Xegars."
Prior to 1788 it was no punishable offense for the owner
to accidentally kill his slave, by stroke or blow, intended for
their correction. This law was repealed by act of the As-
sembly, November 21, 1788.
The assemblage oi slaves at any school for teaching them
reading or writing either in the day or night, was denied an
unlawful assembly and the offenders were subject to corporal
punishment, not to exceed twenty lashes.
Prior to 1806 an emancipated slave remaining in the State
more than one year forfeited his or her freedom. No free
negro or mulatto was permitted to migrate into the State
162 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
under the penalty of receiving thirty-nine lashes for every
week while he should remain in the State.
The General Assembly of Virginia in 1785, in order to
prevent the further introduction of slaves into the State,
passed an act that slaves brought into the Commonwealth and
kept therein one year should be free.
It was unlawful for a slave to leave the premises of his
master without a permit. No person was allowed to sell to
or purchase from a slave any commodity without the master's
consent.
In the same year the General Assembly declared all per-
sons to be mulattoes, whose grandfathers or grandmothers
shall have been negro, although all his other progenitors shall
have been white persons. Also, every person, who shall have
one-fourth part or more negro blood should be deemed a negro.
The early laws of Virginia recognized another species of
servitude; that of servants. The legal status between ser-
vant and master was clearly defined by statute. Many poor
persons in the mother country contracted for service on Vir-
ginia plantations in consideration of transportation. Then
the mother country from motives of economy of gibbets and
jail room at home transported a number of individuals who
had not displayed a proper ethical consideration for the rights
and properties of others in England. This class of individuals
were sold to the American planter. In a new environment,
with the inspiration of the opportunities of a new and growing
country, removed from the scenes of their crimes, these ex-
ported convicts, as a rule, became upright and exempulary
citizens.
Xo negro, mulatto or Indian could purchase any servant
other than their own complexion.
By act of the Assembly of 1792, the servant could not be
compelled to perform a contract exceeding seven years. In-
fants under fourteen years of age, with consent of parents or
guardian could serve until of age. Servants, whose compen-
sation was limited to transportation, food, lodging and cloth-
ing were to receive at the end of their service a suit of clothes,
suited to the season : to-wit, a coat, waist coat, pair of
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 163
breeches, and shoes, two pair of stockings, two shirts, a hat
and a blanket.
A Justice of the Peace could convict a servant for lazi-
ness and have him corrected with stripes. No servant was
permitted to sell or receive any commodity.
In offenses by free persons punishable by fines, servants
were punished by lashes. Every servant upon the expiration
of his or her time, was upon proof, to receive a certificate from
the cleark of the court where he or she last served.
The Virginia Assembly passed an act November 13, 1788,
to prevent the importation of convicts into Virginia, as
follows :
"Whereas, it has been represented to this general assem-
bly by the United States in congress, that a practice has pre-
vailed for some time past of importing felon convicts into
this state, under various pretences, which said felons convict
so imported and sold and dispersed among the people of this
state, whereby much injury hath been done to the moral, as
well as the health of our fellow citizens : for remedy whereof,
"Be it enacted, that from and after the first day of Janu-
ary next, no captain or master of any sailing vessel, or any
other person, coming into this commonwealth, by land or
water, shall import or bring with him, any person who shall
have been a felon, convict, or under sentence of death, or any
other legal disability incurred by a criminal prosecution, or
who shall be delivered to him from any prison or place of
confinement, in any place out of the United States."
Religious Freedom.
Virginia had originally an established church with some
of the intolerance of the mother church of England, but under
the leadership of Thomas Jefferson, who is justly venerated
as the father of religious liberty in Virginia, the legislature
incorporated the liberal views of this distinguished statesman
in the statutes of the state. In 1776 a committee had been
appointed to revise the statutes of the state and the most im-
portant of these bills were enacted into law in 1785 and 1786.
Among the bills recommended was one for establishing re-
ligious freedom, which became a law in October 1785. Patrick
164 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Henry was at that time Governor of Virginia. The preamble
and act was as follows:
"Whereas, Almighty God hath created the mind free;
that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or
burdens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits
of hypocricy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan
of the Holy author of our religion who being Lord both of
body and mind, yet choose not to propogate it by coercion on
either, as was in his almighty power to do ; that the impious
presumption of legislators and rulers civil as well as eccle-
siastical, who being themselves but fallible and uninspired men,
have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up
their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true
and infallible, and as such endeavoring to impose them on
others, hath established and maintained false religions over the
greatest part of the world, and through all time ; that to com-
pel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propo-
gation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyran-
ical ; that even the forcing him to support this or that teacher
of his own religious persuasion, is depriving him of the com-
fortable liberty of giving his contributions to the particular
pastor, whose morals he would make his pattern, and whose
powers he feels most persuasive to righteousness, and is
withdrawing from the ministry those temporary rewards,
which proceeding from an approbation of their personal con-
duct, are an additional incitement to earnest and unremitting
labours for the instruction of mankind ;" that our civil rights
have no dependence on our religious opinions, any more than
our opinions in physics or geometry ; that therefore the pro-
scribing any citizen as unworthv the public confidence by
laying upon him incapacity of being called to offices of trust
and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or that
religious belief, is depriving him injuriously of these privileges
and advantages to which in common with his fellow citizens
he has a natural right ; that it tends only to corrupt the prin-
ciples of the religion that it is meant to encourage, by bribing
with a monopoly of worldly honors and emoluments, those
who will externally profess and conform to it : that though
indeed these are criminal who do not withstand such tempta-
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 165
tion, yet neither are those innocent who lay the bait in their
way; that to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers
into the field of opinion, and to restrain the profession or
propogation of principles on supposition of their ill tendency,
is dangerous fallacy, which at once destroys all religious
liberty, because he being of course judge of that tendency will
make his opinions the rule of judgment, and approve or con-
dem the sentiments of others only as they shall square with or
differ from his own ; that it is time enough for the rightful
purposes of civil government, for its officers to interfere when
principles break out into overt acts against peace and good
order; and finally, that truth is great and will prevail if left
to herself, that she is the proper antagonist to error, and has
nothing to fear from the conflict unless by human interposi-
tion disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and
debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted
freely to contradict them :
Be it Enacted by the General Assembly, That no man
shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious wor-
ship, place or ministry whatsoever, or shall be enforced, re-
strained, molested or burthened in his goods, nor shall other-
wise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but
that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to main-
tain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same
shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil ca-
pacities.
And though we well know that this assembly elected by
the people for the ordinary purposes of legislation only, have
no power to restrain the acts of succeeding assemblies, con-
stituted with powers equal to our own, and that therefore to
declare this act irrevocable would be of no effect in law ; yet
we are free to declare, that the rights hereby asserted are of
the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act shall be
hereafter passed to repeal the present, or to narrow its opera-
tion, such an act will be an infringement of natural right."
The military spirit prevailed in the early history of this
county, to a much greater extent than today. The long con-
test with the Indians and French had imbued the people with
166 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
a military spirit and inured them to the hardships of war.
After the revolution the masses of the people gladly returned
to the pursuits of peace, but the thunder and mutterings of
the war god in Europe, echoed in the New World and the
drill and efficiency of the militia was the constant care and
patronage of the state. Musters for military drills were gala
days in the pioneer period. In that day, when physical prowess
was at a premium from an environment of danger and hard-
ship, it was not an unusual occurrence for the participants of
the muster, to test their physical skill and endurance in a
fistic encounter.
The law under which musters were held was passed
October 17, 1785. Patrick Henry was at that time Governor
of Virginia. Several salient sections of the law are produced
below:
"That all free male persons between the ages of eighteen
and fifty years, except the members of council of state, judges,
millers, ministers of the gospel, etc., shall be inrolled or form-
ed into companies, of three Serjeants, three corporals, a drum-
mer and a fifer, and not less than forty and not more than
sixty-five rank and file; and these companies shall again be
formed into regiments of not more than one thousand, nor
less than five hundred men, if there be so manv in the county.
Each company shall be commanded by a captain, lieutenant,
and an ensign; each regiment by a colonel, and a major; and
the whole by a county lieutenant. There shall be a private
muster of every company once in two months, except Decem-
ber and January, at such convenient time and place as the
captain or next commanding officer shall appoint : a muster
of each regiment on some day in the month of March or April
in every year, and a general muster of the whole on some day
in the month of October or November, in every year, to be
appointed by the county lieutenant.
"Every officer and soldier shall appear at his respective
muster field on the clay appointed, by eleven o'clock in the
forenoon, armed, equipped and accoutered as follows: The
county lieutenants, colonels, lieutenant colonels, and majors,
with a sword, the captains, lieutenants, and ensigns, with a
sword and espontoon, every non-commissioned officer and
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 167
private, with a good clean musket, carrying an ounce ball
and three feet eight inches long in barrel, with a good bayonet
and iron ramrod well fitted thereto, a cartridge box properly
made, to contain and secure twenty cartridges fitted to his
musket, a good knapsack and canteen, and moreover, each
non-commissioned officer and private shall have at every
muster one pound of good powder, and four pounds of lead,
including twenty blind cartridges; and each serjeant shall
have a pair of moulds fit to cast balls for their respective
companies, to be purchased by the commanding officer out
of the monies arising on delinquencies.
"Provided, that the militia of the counties westward of
the Blue Ridge, and the counties below adjoining thereto,
shall not be obliged to be armed with muskets, but may have
good rifles with proper accouterments, in lieu thereof.
".And whereas it will be of great utility and advantage In
establishing a well disciplined militia, to annex to each regi-
ment a light company to be formed of young men, from
eighteen to twentv-five years old, whose activitv and do-
mestic circumstances will admit of a frequency of training and
strictness of discipline, not practical for the militia in general,
and returning to the main body, on their arrival at the latter
period, will be constantly giving thereto a military pride and
experience, from which the best of consequences will result.
"If any non-commissioned officer or soldier shall behave
himself disobediently or mutinously when on duty, on, or
before any court or board directed by this act to be held, the
commanding officer, court or board, may either confine him
for the day, or cause him to be bound neck and heels for any
time not exceeding five minutes. If any by-stander shall
interrupt, molest or insult any officer or soldier while on duty
at any muster, or shall be guilty of the like conduct before
any court or board, as aforesaid, the commanding officer, or
such court, or board may cause him to be confined for the day.
And when any militia shall be in actual service, they shall
be allowed pay and rations as follows : A brigadier general,
one hundred dollars per month, and twelve rations of pro-
visions and five rations of forage for himself and family, per
day ; an aid-de-camp, thirty dollars per month ; a colonel,
168 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
seventy-five dollars per month and six rations of provisions-
and two rations of forage per day ; a brigade major, thirty
dollars per month, four rations of provisions and two rations-
of forage per day ; a brigade quartermaster, thirty dollars per
month, and three rations of provisions and one ration of forage
per day ; a lieutenant colonel, sixty dollars per month, and five
rations of provisions and two rations of forage per dav ; a
major, fifty dollars per month and two rations of forage per
day ; a captain, forty dollars per month and three rations of
provisions per day ; a lieutenant, twenty-seven and two-thirds
dollars per month and two rations of provisions per dav ; an
ensign, twenty dollars per month and two rations of provisions
per day : a surgeon, sixty dollars per month and three rations
of provisions and two rations of forage per day : a quarter-
master, twenty dollars per month and two rations of provi-
sions and one ration of forage per day ; a paymaster, forty
dollars per month and two rations of provisions and one ration
of forage per day ; an adjutant, twenty-four dollars per month
and two rations of provisions and one ration of forage per day;
a quartermaster sergeant, eight dollars per month and one
ration per day ; a sergeant, eight dollars per month and one
ration per day ; a corporal, seven dollars per month and one
ration per day ; a private, five and one-half dollars per month,
and one ration per day. A ration shall consist of one pound
of fresh beef or pork, or three-quarters of a pound of salt
pork, one pound of wheat bread or flour, or one pound and a
quarter of corn meal, one gill of rum, when to be had, and one
quart of salt, one quart of vinegar, two pounds of soap, and
one pounds of candles, to every hundred rations; but in case
salt meat be issued, the salt to be withheld ; and a ration of
forage, of ten quarts of corn or oats, and fourteen pounds of
hay or fodder.
The pioneer depended, much more than people of the
present day, upon the local grist mill for converting his corn
and wheat into meal and flour, whereof was obtained the
"staff of life." The miller was an important and conspicuous
personage in the community and an object of much consid-
eration by the law making bodies. Unless the mill was es-
tablished bv court, the owner could collect no toll nor receive
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 169
any compensation for grinding grain. The law, in part, gov-
erning the operation of grist mills was as follows:
"All millers shall well and sufficiently grind the grain,
brought to their mills for the usual consumption of all per-
sons bringing the same and their families: and in due turn as
the same shall be brought and may take for the toll, one-
eighth part and no more, of all grain of which the remaining
part shall be ground into meal and one-sixteenth part and no
more of all grain of which the remaining part shall be ground
into hominy or malt.
"And every miller or occupier of a mill, who shall not
well and sufficiently armd as aforesaid, or not in turn as the
same shall be brought, or take or exact more toll, shall,
(whether such mill be established by law or not) forfeit and
pav to the party injured, five dollars for each and every of-
fense, recoverable with costs before any justice of the peace
of the county where such offense shall be committed. And
where the miller shall be a slave free or mulatto, he shall,
upon the first conviction for such offense, receive ten lashes,
and on the second conviction twenty lashes, on his or her
bare back, well laid on, in lieu of the forfeit aforesaid ; but
upon a third conviction, the master of such slave, where the
party is a slave, or his overseer or agent, shall be liable to pay
to the party injured, five dollars, recoverable as aforesaid, and
so for every offense by such slave afterward committed ; pro-
vided that every owner, or occupier of a mill, shall have a
right at any time to grind his or her own grain for the con-
sumption of his or her family ; And provided, That no miller
shall be obliged to run more than one pair of stones, for the
purpose of grinding grain brought to his mill for the con-
sumption of the persons bring the same and their families.
"Every owner or occupier of a mill established, or grind-
ing for toll, as aforesaid, shall keep therein sealed measures,
of half bushel and peck, and toll dish sealed, and shall measure
all grain by strike measure under the penalty of paying two
dollars and fifty cents for every such failure, recoverable with
costs, before a justice of the peace for the county wherein such
mill shall be, to the use of the informer, and if the miller be
170 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
a slave or servant, his master or owner shall be liable to
the penalty."
According to the code of Virginia of 1819, in case ot
trespass by horses and cattle upon the lands of another, for
the third offense the "party injured may kill the beast without
being liable to an action."
In the question of the lawfulness of a fence, in case ot
trespass the justice was compelled to issue his order for "three
honest and disinterested house keepers," to view the fence and
their testimony was good evidence to the jury.
Persons injuring trespassing live stock, when their fence
was not up to the legal standard, were mulcted in double
damages. The statute read as follows: "If any person dami-
fied for want of such sufficient fence shall injure or cause to
be injured, in any manner, any of the kind of animals above
mentioned, he shall pay to the owner double damages, with
costs recoverable as aforesaid.''
The penalty for making a fence across a public road was
one dollar and sixty cents for every twenty-four hours the
fence remained.
On November 7, 1787, an act was passed by the Virginia
Assembly of considerable historic interest. John Fitch, ol
Pennsylvania was granted exclusive privilege to navigate
steamboats upon all waters within the jurisdiction of the state
for a term of fourteen years. This act was to become void it
he did not have his boats or crafts in use at the expiration of
three years from the passage of the act. The preamble of the
bill cited that John Fitch "hath constructed an easy and ex-
peditious method of propelling boats through the water by
force of fire or steam." Several years previous, while sailing
on the great western rivers, the idea occurred to him that
they might be navigated by steam. lie applied for pecuniary
assistance to several states without success. However in
1786, he succeeded in forming a company for the prosecution
of his enterprise, and a steam packet was launched on the
Delaware. The undertaking proved a losing one and Mr.
Fitch, in poverty and disappointment, committed suicide in
1798. James Rumsey disputed Fitche's claim to be the in-
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 171
ventor of steam navigation, but, he as well as Robert Fulton,
who in 1806, succeeded in propelling a boat through the
water by the use of steam, perhaps, appropriated the ideas
conceived and suggested by Fitch several years previous.
District courts were established by act of the Virginia
Assembly December 22, 1788. Randolph, Harrison, Monon-
galia, and Ohio composed one of the circuits. Court for this
district was to be held at Monongalia court house on the 3rd
day of May, and the 20th day of September of each year.
Judges were elcted by joint ballot of the both houses of the
Assembly. There were to be two judges for each circuit.
Where the charge was of such a nature as to subject the party
to capital punishment or burning in the hand, two judges
were required to try the issue, whether in law or fact. Their
jurisdiction obtained in civil causes, only, where the matter in
controversy amounted to 3000 pounds, or more, of tobacco.
On November 20, 1788, the Virginia Assembly apportion-
ed the state into ten Congressionad districts and passed an
act for the election of representatives pursuant to the consti-
tution of the United States, which had been ratified by Vir-
ginia in June of the same year. Randolph county was linked
with Harrison, Hampshire, Berkeley, Frederick, Shenandoah,
Ohio, Monongalia and Hardy in the formation of one con-
gressional district. This congressional district, with a few
variations, remains much the same today.
On December 9, 1795, the General Assembly of Virginia
passed an act for removing the obstructions for the passage
of fish in the Tygarts Valley river. There is no record or
tradition that anything was ever accomplished and the agita-
tion for this project, though hoary with the frosts of many
winters, today shows the vitality of vigorous youth. The
falls referred to exist a few miles below the city of Grafton.
The narrows, near Cornelius Westfall's, has reference to -the
passage of the Valley river through the mountains, a few
miles below Elkins. A copy of the act is produced below r :
"Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That Robert
Maxwell, Abram Kittle, John Pancake, Abram Springstone,
Jacob Stornaker, Benjamin Hornbeck, Simon Reader, Heze-
kiah Roincrantz, and Jonas Friend, gentlemen, shall be and
172 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
are hereby constituted and appointed commissioners, for tak-
ing and receiving subscriptions for the purpose of defraying
the expense of removing the obstructions to the passage of
fish, in the Tvgarts Valley River between the falls and the
narrows near Cornelius Westfall's.
"If any person shall neglect or refuse, when required to
pav the money by him subscribed, it shall be lawful for the
said commissioners or the survivors of them, to recover the
same by motion in the court of the county where the sub-
scriber resides : Provide, the party has ten days previous
notice of such motion, and the clerk shall endorse on every
execution issued by virtue of this act, 'No- security to be
taken.'
"The commissioners, or a majority of them, shall have
power to contract and agree with one or more fit person or
persons for removing the obstruction to the passage of fish in
Tv^er's Yallev river between the falls thereof and the nar-
rows near Cornelius Westfall's and take a bond or bonds with
sufficient securitv for the due and faithful performance of the
undertaking: and of the money arising from the subscrip-
tion as aforesaid, to pay the expense thereof.
"This act shall commence and be in force from and after
the passing thereof."
The Virginia Assembly on December 10. 1793 passed an
act authorizing the county of Randolph to open a wagon road
from the court house at Beverly to the State Road at David
Minear's on Cheat River. Under this act the surveyors of the
different precincts of the county were to compel all persons
in their precincts, who were subject to the road law, to assist
in the construction of this road. The road law at that time
compelled "all male labouring persons, of the age of sixteen
years or more, except such as are masters of two or more male
labouring slaves of the age of sixteen years or more to work
on some public road." The penalty for the violation of this
statute was seven shillings and six pense for each clay's of-
fense. The following is a copy of the act referred to above :
"Whereas it has been represented to the present general
assembly that the inhabitants of Randolph County have long
laboured under manv disadvantages for the want of a wagon
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 173
road from the court house thereof to the state road at David
Manear's on Cheat River, which can not he effected by the
ordinary mode of prescribed by law :
"Be it therefore enacted by the general assembly, That it
shall and may be lawful for the court of the said county of
Randolph to order the attendance and services of the several
surveyors of highways in Tyger's Valley, Leading- Creek and
Cheat River, with the hands assigned to work thereon, to
open and complete a wagon road from Thomas Skidmore's, in
Tyger's Valley, to David Manear's on Cheat River, where the
state road crosses the same.
"And be it further enacted, That any person failing to
comply with the requisitions of this act, shall be subject to
the same fines and penalties as are inflicted by the act entitled,
'An act concerning public roads.'
"This act shall commence and be in force from and after
the passing thereof."
Tavern keepers were for many years in the early history
of the state licensed by the Governor, but from the time of
the formation of this county the licenseing power was vested
in the county court. A special penalty, forfeiture of license,
was attached to the offense of permitting "any person to
tipple or drink more than is necessary on the Lord's day or
any day set apart by public authority for religious worship."
Prices to be charged by the innkeeper for diet, lodging, liquors,
and horse feed were left to the discretion of the county court.
The culture of tobacco was for many years the principal
pursuit in the early history of Virginia and it was the only
staple commodity to which the first settlers could be induced
to turn their attention. Various laws were, at first enacted by
the legislature, wth a view to improve its quality and lessen
the quantity, the distance at which the plants should be set
apart, the number of plants to be attended by each labourer,
and the number of leaves to be gathered from a plant, were
all prescribed by act of Assembly. At one period a law was
in force, declaring that no tobacco should be planted after a
certain day in the year; at another there was a total suspen-
sion from planting for a year, which was called a cessation or
stint. The size of a hogshead of tobacco w r as, for a number
174 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
of years, three hundred and fifty pounds weight. Before any
warehouses were stablished, the inspection of tobacco was
performed by an order from a commander of plantations, two
men in the neighborhood, who were to view it and if of bad
quality to burn it.
Postage Rates. Laws of the United States of April 9,
1816: For every letter, of a single sheet, conveyed not ex-
ceeding thirty miles, 6 cents ; over thirty and not exceeding
eighty miles, 10 cents; oyer eighty and not exceeding one
hundred and fifty miles, I2y 2 cents; oyer one hundred and
fifty and not not exceeding four hundred miles, 18^4 cents ;
over four hundred miles, 25 cents. For every double letter,
or one composed of two pieces of paper, double those rates ;
for a triple letter, or one composed of three pieces of paper,
triple those rates. One newspaper could be sent by each
printer to every other printer free of charge. The postage of
newspapers was one cent for any distance not more than one
hundred miles and one and one-half cents for any greater
distance. The postage of magazines and pamphlets was one
cent a sheet for any distance not exceeding fifty miles, one
and one-half cents for any distance over fifty.
We give below the Act of the General Assembly creating
Randolph County, That portion of Harrison County em-
braced in the territory west and east of the lines given, hound-
ed on the west by Pendleton, south by Greenbrier, constituted
the county at the time of its formation.
Be It Enacted by the Geenral Assembly of Virginia : That
from and after the first day of May, 1787, the county of Har-
rison, shall be divided into two distinct counties, that is to
say, so much of the said county, lying southeast of the fol-
lowing lines, beginning at the mouth of Sandy Creek, thence
up Tyger's Valley River to the mouth of Buckhannon River,
thence up said river including all the waters thereof, thence
down Elk River, including the waters thereof to the Green-
brier line, shall be one distinct county and called and be
known by Randolph and the residue of said county shall re-
tain the name of Harrison. A court for the said county of
Randolph shall be held by the Justices thereof on the fourth
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 175
Monday of every month after the said division shall take
place, in such manner as is provided by law for other counties,
and shall be by their Commissioners directed. The Justices
so named shall meet at the house of Benjamin Wilson in
Tyger's Valley in said county, upon the first court day after
the said division shall take place, and having taken the oaths
prescribed by law and administered the oaths of office to,
and taken bond of the Sheriff according to law, proceed to
appoint and qualify a Clerk, and fix upon a place for holding
court in the said county at or near the center thereof as the
situation and convenience will admit of, and thenceforth the
said court shall proceed to erect the necessary public build-
ings at such place and until such public buildings are com-
pleted, appoint any place for holding courts as they may think
proper. * * * * * * * In all elections of a senator,
the said county of Randolph shall be of the same district as
the said county of Harrison.
When a new county was organized the Governor com-
missioned a number of men to act as "Worshipful Justices."
They were not only Justices of the Peace, but were also a
board of County Commissioners. They held office for life,
except that the Governor might remove them for cause. Vac-
ancies were filled by new men recommended by the Court,
and commissioned by the Governor. The Court was there-
fore self perpetuating.
This was the law of the land until 1852. The senior Jus-
tice in point of service became Sheriff. The Justices were
selected from the influential and land owning class; they
alone were entitled to the title of "Squire" or "gentlemen."
The office often descended from father to son. To be eligible
to vote or hold office in that day, it was necessary to own a
plat of ground of 25 acres and have a house thereon of the
dimensions of 12 x 12 feet or in lieu thereof, a plat of fifty
acres of unimproved land.
From the formation of the government of Virginia until
1794, tobacco was the legal currency of the state, one hundred
pounds being equivalent to one pound in coin. One pound
was the equivalent of 3^ cents.
176 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
By an act of 1788, the county court was for the trial of all
presentments and criminal prosecutions, suits at common law
and in chancer}-, where the sum exceeded five pounds or 500
pounds of tobacco, depending therein and continuing for the
space of six days unless the business should be sooner de-
termined. It had general police and probate jurisdiction, con-
trol of levies, of roads, actions at law, and suits in chancery.
The Justices served without pay, and their number was not
limited by law. A quorum consisted of four. The grand jury
of twenty-four members, sworn for an "inquest on the bodv
of the county" was selected by the Sheriff from the freeholders.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
177
CHAPTER XII.
RANDOLPH COUNTY LAWYERS.
Tl I E members of the legal profession have ever left a mark-
ed impress upon the times in which they lived. They
were, not only the principal factor in framing laws, but were
largely influential in moulding public sentiment, which found
expression in the statutes of the state. Since the organiza-
tion of the county, Randolph has had a bar that would bear
favorable comparison with that of any other county in the
state. Many of the lawyers that became prominent at the
Randolph county bar received their legal training and tute-
lage from such learned and eminent jurists as Tucker, Minor,
and Brockenborough. More than 200 lawyers have been ad-
mitted to practice in Randolph county, a list of whom is given
below, with the date when the name of each first appeared
on the record :
William McCleary 1787
Alexander Addison 1787
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 Wilson 1803
James Evans 1803
John M. Smith 1804
William Tingle 1805
George C. Davisson 1807
Samuel McMeechen 1809
Nathaniel Pendleton 1809
Noah Lindsey 1809
Philip Doddridge 1809
William G. Payne 1809
George I. Davisson 1809
William Parinlaw 1810
Oliver Phelps 1810
Lemuel E. Davisson 1910
Edwin S. Duncan 1811
Jonathan Jackson 1813
James Gilmore 1813
William Colwell 1814
Thomas Wilson 1815
James McCally 1815
Marmaduke Evans 1915
James McGee 1815
John Brown 1817
Phineas Chapin 1818
Thomas C. Gordon 1820
John J. Allen 1820
Jefferson Phelps 1822
Lewis Maxwell 182S
John Ramsell 1823
Daniel G. Morrell 1823
George C. Baxter 1823
William L. Jackson 1824
Edgar C. Wilson 1825
George J. Wilson 1826
Joseph Lovell 1827
So'omon Wyatt 1827
Blake B. Woodson 1827
Reuben W. Short 1827
Gideon D. Camden 1827
Augustine L. Smith 1828
178
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
W. W. Chapman 1828
W. G. Brown 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
Cabell Tavener 1834
David Goff 1834
Thomas Brown 1835
William McKinley 1836
Hyre Jackson 1836
Joseph Hart 1837
Wesley C. Kemp 1838
John S. Carlisle 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
Charles A. Harper 1843
Alpheus F. Haymond 1843
Uriel M. Turner 1843
Preston W. Adams 1844
Edwin L. Hewitt 1844
Benjamin F. Myers 1845
Samuel Crane 1847
Caleb Boggess 1847
Jonathan Koiner 1847
Phillip M. Morrill 1847
Jonathan M. Bennett 1847
Joseph C. Spalding 1848
Nathan H. Taft 1848
Benjamin Wilson 1850
Philip Williams 1851
Daniel A. Stofer 1852
John N. Hughes 1852
Edwin Maxwell 1852
William H. Ferrill 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. Lilly 1858
Thomas B. Rummell 1858
John W. Barton 1858
William H. Gibson 1858
John W. Crawford 1859
Charles W. Cooper 1859
William Ewin 1859
John Kearanans 1860
Spencer Dayton 1863
Thomas J. Arnold 1863
C. J. P. Cresap 1863
Charles J. Pindall 1863
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 S. Hoffman 1870
Lorenzo D. Strader 1870
Thomas P. R. Brown 1873
A. G. Reger 1873
E. T. Jones 1873
Stark W. Arnold 1873
Gustavus Cresap 1873
Adonijah B. Parsons 1873
J L. Hall 1873
W. G. L. Totten 1873
C. C. Higginbotham 1873
Jasper N. Hall 1875
Henry Brannon 1875
Bernard L. Butcher 1876
William T. Ice 1876
W. B. Maxwell 1876
Philetus Lipscomb 1877
Shelton Leake Reger 1877
William L. Kee 1878
Alston G. Dayton 1879
Cyrus H. Scott 1879
A. C. Bowman 1880
Leland Kittle 1880
H. C. Thurmond 1880
B F. Martin 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. Auvil 1883
Frank Woods 1884
William E. Clark 1884
E. D. Talbott 1884
James A. Bent 1884
Jared L. Wamsley 1884
A HISTORY OP RANDOLPH COUNTY
179
J. F. 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
L. H. Keenan 1892
W. G. Wilson 1893
Geo. B. Scott 1893
Geo. 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
C. O. Strieby 1896
J. F. Strader 1896
W. E. Baker 1896
H. E. Wilmoth 1896
W. B. Kittle 1896
C. W. Harding 1897
Malcolm Jackson ..1897
J. N. McMullen 1897
E. P. Durkin 1897
Geo. B. Scott 1897
J. C. McWhorter 1897
W. T. George 1897
C. P. Guard 1897
B. F. Bailey 1897
S. H. Summerville 1897
W. T. Ice, Jr. 1898
C. W. Maxwell 1898
F. A. Rowan .1898
B. W. Taylor 1898
W. H. Cobb 1898
Michael King 1899
C. M. Murphy .1899
J. B. Ware 1899
Russell Allen 1902
B. M. Hoover 1902
G. H. A. Kunst 1902
E. A. Bowers 1902
S. T. Spears 1903
J. C. Canfield 1903
W. W. Brown 1903
E. Clark Ice 1903
S. H. McLean 1903
Roy See 1905
W. G. Bennett 1905
Myron Clark 1905
Fred L. Cox 1905
H. G. Kump 1905
E. F. Morgan 1905
Thos. Horner 1906
H. H. Rose 1906
W. J. Strader 1906
D. W. Bauske 1907
D. E. Cuppett 1907
H. P. Camden 1907
Haymond Maxwell 1907
L. M. McClintic 1907
R. H. Waugh 1907
Tucker H. Ward 1907
C. N. Pew 1908
H. S. Rucker 1908
Geo. A. Vincent 1908
T. A. Bledsoe 1909
T. M. Beltzhoover 1909
B. H. Hiner 1909
P. R. Kump 1909
Earl H. Maxwell 1909
J. W. Robinson 1909
R. S. Spillman 1909
R. E. Swartz 1910
F. E. Tallman 1910
John F. Brown 1911
W. A. Arnold 1912
Chas. Richie 1912
C. H. Marstiller 1912
Robert Irons 1913
Geo. W. McClintic 1913
Cecil Crickard 1914
Neil Cunningham 1915
YVm. McLeary, the first attorney to be admitted to prac-
tice in Randolph, was also the first Prosecuting Attorney of
the county. Record or tradition gives little information in
regard to him. He received the munificent sum of $13. 33^
per annum "should the court think it proper to continue him
for that term." In 1791 Mr. McLeary moved to Morgantown
and became the Clerk of the District Court. He was succeed-
ed as Prosecuting Attorney by Thomas Wilson.
180 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Thomas Jackson, who was admitted to practice in 1813.
was the father of General Stonewall Jackson and was a mem-
ber of the Clarksburg bar. He was a son of Edward and
Mary (Haddan) Jackson. His father Edward Jackson, was
a member of the pioneer family of Randolph by that name.
William L. Jackson, who was admitted to the Beverly
bar in 1824. became a General in the Confederate army and
was repulsed in an attack upon the Federal forces at Beverly.
John S. Carlisle, admitted to the Randolph county bar in
1840. was a member of the Secession Convention at Rich-
mond. Virginia. 1861. and was expelled for voting against the
Ordinance of Secession. Mr. Carlisle and W. T. Wiley were
the first representatives of the new state in the United States
Senate.
Alpheus Haymond. admitted in 1843, Samuel Woods, ad-
mitted in 1853, and Henry Brannon, admitted in 1875. were
at a later date, elevated to the Supreme bench of the state.
W. W. Hayden. for a time located in Beverly, and ad-
mitted to the Beverly bar in 1881, was a native of Fincastle,
Virginia. He returned to his native town.
H. X. Ogden, admitted to the Randolph county bar in
1887, for a time practiced his profession in Beverly, but re-
turned to his native town of Fairmont, where he achieved
success and prominence.
Cyrus Kittle, admitted to the bar in 1866. was the grand
father of W. B. Kittle, the present Judge of the Randolph-
Barbour Circuit.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 181
CHAPTER XIII.
PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS OF RANDOLPH.
When two single cells were joined in one embrace,
Fraternity was born, time never could efface.
Traced in the mammal's maternal instinct wild,
She gave her substance for the welfare of her child.
Man in his cave home first felt another's grief and pain;
He then upward turned his course to God again.
His love toward man He then deigned to reveal,
Conformed man to His image with power to heal.
THAT period of the past, contemporaneous with the inter-
val from the early settlement of Randolph to the present
dav, marked the transition of medicine from an empiric art to
a precise science. Among the epoch making achievements
embraced within that period, may be mentioned vaccination
for small pox, the germ theory of disease, anesthetics and
serum therapy. The physician of the present day deprived of
these aids and instruments in his warfare against disease
would be tempted, no doubt, to hoist the white flag of truce
and abandon mankind to the fates. However, what the phy-
sicians of that period lacked in methods and equipment, was
compensated by faith in his remedial agents and the benevo-
lence with which he pursued his profession. The ethics of
the time forbade the question of fee or reward, and whether
amid the storms and snows of winter, the sultry heat of
summer, in the glare of the noonday sun, or the midnight
hour, when deep sleep falleth upon men, the calls of human
need w r ere obeyed with equal cheerfulness into the hut of the
pauper or the palace of the prince. Then, as now, other men
might by proxy, by reason of fortutitious circumstances, re-
lieve the suffering and afflicted, but the physician must give
the sweat of his own brow, the fatigue of his own body, the
toil of his own intellect and the anxieties of his own soul.
The old-time physician, in a degree that cannot be con-
ceived today, was regarded as a friend and advisor of the
182 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
community. To the credit of his time, let it be said that he
seldom was rewarded for his sacrifice and unselfish devotion
to duty by criticism and ingratitude.
The dangers and hardships of the pioneer physician were
augmented by the sparsely settled condition of the country,
with poor roads and few bridges. A night call of thirty or
fortv miles, across mountains, following a bridal path, was
not an infrequent occurrence. He shared with his horse the
fame and affection of the community. So much depended
upon the ability of the animal to carry its rider safely and
swiftly through the forest, over mountain and stream, to the
bedside of his patient. As a rule it was the most magnificent
and stalwart specimen the community could produce: spirited,
sure and Meet of foot, trained to swimming swollen streams,
carrying its rider safely over, while elevated above high
water mark, suspended from his own shoulders, were his shiny
saddle bags.
Because of the distance from the physician, the early
settler often had recourse to home remedies. To "draw out
the fire" apple butter or a poultice of corn meal or scraped
potatoes was applied to burns and scalds. The juice of roast-
ed onions had the reputation of being a specific for croup.
The Virginia snake root. Serpentaria, was the standard remedy
to produce perspiration and abort a fever. Other remedies
were boneset, horehound, chamomile, wild cherry and prickly
ash. As late as 1777 the physicians in Rockingham County, Va.,
were authorized to inoculate persons living within three miles
of a smallpox infected locality. Previous to the introduction
of vaccination, the method of preventative treatment by what
was known as inoculation had been employed. This consisted
of introducing into the system — in a similar way to the
method commonly employed in vaccination — the smallpox
virus from a mild case with a view to introducing the disease
also in a mild form in the person inoculated and thus offering
him protection from a further attack. The testimony of phy-
sicians was to the effect that this practice made a marked im-
pression upon the fatality of the disease. However, it was a
prolific source of the spread of the contagion.
From the fact that a medical societv did not exist in
A HISTORY OP RANDOLPH COUNTY 183
Randolph until a recent period no records have been kept and
perhaps several physicians, who should live in local history,
bv reason of the merit of their work and lives, have passed to
oblivion. The sketches given are the result of the best infor-
mation now obtainable, in some instances brief and frag-
mentary :
Robert Maxwell was the first man to locate in Randolph
who made any pretense to the practice of medicine — perhaps.
The early records of the county show that he did not bear the
title of Doctor, yet in 1789 he was appointed Coroner and in
the same year he was surgeon for the county militia, lie was
also a preacher and performed many marriage ceremonies in
the pioneer period. Nothing is known of his education or
parentage and that branch of the Maxwell family is now ex-
tinct in Randolph. He resided about one mile below the site
of Elkins on Leading Creek. He died in 1818.
Dr. Benjamin Dolbeare was, perhaps, the first man in
Randolph to pursue the practice of medicine as a profession.
He was a man of education and superior ability in his pro-
fession. He came to Randolph from Connecticut, the precise
date is not known. He was a brother-in-law to Lorenzo Dow
and that eccentric genius made Dr. Dolebeare's home in
Beverly a place of a few day's rest and recuperation in his
annual pilgrimages as a missionary through the wilds of
America. After practicing a few years at Beverly, perhaps
from about 1810 to 1815, lie removed to Clarksburg.
Dr. Squire Bosworth, student under and successor of Dr.
Dolebeare, was born in Hampshire county, Massachusetts, in
1794. He was born in the same year and in the same county,
and was a fellow student at Williams College of William Cnl-
len Bryant. After his graduation at Williams College Dr.
Bosworth came to Virginia as a volunteer soldier in the war
of 1812. On reaching Parkersburg on his way to Norfolk,
Virginia, the company to which he belonged was disbanded,
peace having been declared. He remained in Parkersburg as
a Deputy County Clerk under a Mr. Neal for two years. He
then came to Randolph to assume the same duties for Mr.
Archibald Earle, then Clerk of the Circuit Court of Randolph
county. Soon thereafter, he married Hannah, daughter of
184 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Peter Buckey of Beverly and with his bride returned to Park-
ersburg and opened an Academy. A few years later he again
became a resident of Beverly and began the study of medicine
under Dr. Dolbeare. At a later period he attended lectures
in Richmond, Ya. For many years he was the only physician
in Randolph and a night trip to Tucker, Barbour, or Webster
was not an unusual occurrence. There is an authentic tradi-
tion that Drs. Bosworth and Dolbeare successfully perform-
ed the operation of tracheotomy nearly a century ago. In his
religious faith he was a Presbvterian and practiced the strict
tenets of an early-day Xew England Puritan. He carried
tracts of a religious nature for distribution in the communi-
ties in which he was called and, in remote districts, would call
the settlers together and hold prayer meeting. He was Clerk
of the Circuit Court two terms and represented Randolph and
Tucker in the Virginia legislature of 1855 and 1856. He died
in the year of 1870 in the 76th year of his age after more than
half a century's active practice in the county.
Dr. Samuel H. Dold practiced his profession in Beverly
from 1870 to 1873. He returned to Augusta county Virginia.
He received his medical education as a student of his brother-
in-law, Dr. J. \Y. Bosworth, at Philippi. and at the Jefferson
Medical College, Philadelphia.
Daniel S. Haymond, M.D., born in Taylor County in
1838, graduated in the medical department of the University
of New York in 1867. He began the practice of medicine at
Simpson, Taylor County, and moved to Leadsville, Randolph
County, in 1869. He was an active practitioner for a quarter
of a century.
Eugene B. Wilmoth, M.D., son of Oliver and Louisa
Taylor Wilmoth, was born in 1859, died 1895. He was edu-
cated in the public schools at Philippi, Grafton, and the Nor-
mal School at Fairmont. He received his education in medi-
cine at the University of Maryland, where he graduated in
1888. He practiced at Meadowville. Harmon and then located
at Elkins. Although a comparatively young practitioner at
the time of his death, he attained an eminent place in the
medical profession of Randolph.
Dr. George W. Yokum was born in Randolph County
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 185
December 19, 1831, and was the eldest of five children born to
John and Melinda (Kuykendall) Yokum. The paternal grand-
father, William Yokum, was a native of Virginia, On his
father's farm in Randolph County Dr. Yokum spent his early
life and received a limited education in the log schoolhouse
of those days. In 1849 he began the study of medicine with
Dr. William Briggs and in 1853 and 1854 attended lectures at
Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. In May, 1854, he
began to practice and in 1859 located in Beverly, where he
practiced until the time of his death, He was
well read and a very successful physician. In 1858 he married
Miss Mary C. Ward, a native of this county and a daughter
of George W. Ward. Although not a politician, because of
his wide range of knowledge and strong mentality he was
called upon to serve the people four years as President of the
Countv Court and six years as Commissioner of the County
Court. Dr. Yokum was honored by the party of which he was
a member by being selected as a delegate to the National
Democratic Convention which assembled in Chicago in 1892.
Dr. Oscar Butcher was the eldest son of Baliss G. and
Patsy McNeil Butcher, and was born in Randolph County,
December 24, 1820. He moved to Indiana with his father and
studied medicine under Dr. Creigh, of Delphi, that state, and
later attended medical lectures in Chicago. He returned to
Virginia and commenced the practice of medicine at Falling
Springs, Greenbrier County. He married Sarah J. Beard of
that county May 16, 1849. In 1851, he moved to Green Bank,
Pocahontas County, where he practiced until he moved to
Huttonsville, this county, in 1860. He practiced at Huttons-
ville until the outbreak of the war, when he became identified
with the Confederate army. He was with the advance on
Elkwater and Cheat Mountain, also at Stewart Run and Camp
Bartow and Allegheny Mountain. In declining health for-
several years, he died at Lockwillow, in Augusta County,.
December 21, 1861. Although always in delicate health he-
was energetic and a very successful physician.
Dr. George White located at Huttonville in the early
forties. He was from eastern Virginia. After several years'
practice in that locality he returned to his native county.
186 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Dr. James Hamilton of Bath County, Virginia, located at
Huttonsville, about 1850. He moved to Parkersburg prior
to the outbreak of the civil war.
Dr. Jones located in Huttonsville about the commence-
ment of the civil war. He returned to Virginia during the
progress of that conflict.
Dr. Blair was located at Huttonsville for a short time
subsequent to the war of the rebellion.
Dr. David W. Gibson was burn in Pocahontas County in
1829 and was the son of David and Mary Gibson. He was
married in 1861 to Martha, daughter of Ellen and Jacob
Stalnaker. He studied in Richmond, practiced in Buckhannon
a few years, then located near Elkwater, where he practiced
until the time of his death.
Dr. Charles Rice, son of Rev. John and Susan (Denton)
Rice, was born December 3, 1855. He was educated in the
public schools and at the Fairmont Normal school. He re-
ceived his medical education at the University of Maryland,
where he graduated in 1884. He was married to Miss Georgie
Brown of Louisville, Kentucky, May 9, 1888. He died of
typhoid fever, October 14, 1888 From the time of his gradu-
ation until his death. Dr. Rice was engaged in the practice of
his profession at Kerens, this county. During his short pro-
fessional career he revealed a marked adaptability to his
chosen profession and attained a success that gave promise of
a useful and honorable career.
W. F. Snyder, M.D. was born in Charleston, Virginia, in
1859, son of David H. and Mary Snyder, was married to Isis,
daughter of J. Harvey Woodford. He was educated at the
Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia. After graduating
from the medical department of the University of Maryland,
he located at Huttonville, where he entered upon the practice
of his profession in 1887. He received the Democratic nomi-
nation for House of Delegates in 1888, and died suddenly a
few hours later of an affection of the heart. He had built up
a large practice and was regarded as one of the foremost
physicians of the country.
Dr. William B. Collett, son of Solomon and Edith Davis-
son Collet was born in 1832. Dr. Collett was perhaps, the
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 1X7
first physician in Randolph County to receive a diploma from
a medical school. When 23 years old in 1855, he graduated
from the Winchester Medical College, a school then conduct-
ed by Dr. Hunter McGuire, who in later years became one of
the noted surgeons of the country. After the war Dr. Mc-
Guire moved to Richmond, Virginia, and founded the College
of Medicine. Dr. Collett was regarded as a very skillful and
successful surgeon and performed operations before the days
of asepsis and anaesthesia that would do credit to modern
surgery. In 1885, he visited Brazil as a surgeon for a com-
mercial company and contracted an illness which compelled
him to return to his native country. However, he did not
regain his health and died at Beverly in 1860.
Dr. John T. Huff practiced at Beverly, Huttonsville, and
Valley Bend for several years 'in the eighties.
J. C. Irons, M.D., born in Monroe County, Virginia, 1853.
He was educated in the public schools of Monroe County.
Prior to studying medicine Dr. Irons taught school several
terms. He graduated in medicine from the Central University
of Louisville, Kentucky, in 1881. He has practiced his pro-
fession at Huttonsville and in Elkins and is at present phy-
sician for the Wildell Lumber Company at Wildell. He has
been three times mayor of Elkins and was the first mayor
of the city in 1890.
Dr. O. L. Perry, M.D. born in 1861, in Upshur County.
He was educated in the public schools and graduated in medi-
cine from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Baltimore
in 1891. He has practiced his profession at Belington and
Elkins.
A. M. Fredlock, M.D. was born 1866, in Maryland ; was
educated in Roanoke College, Virginia, and State University
at Morgantown. Dr. Fredlock took his degree in medicine
from the University of Maryland. He was one of the first
residents of the city of Elkins and was a member of the first
city council. Dr. Fredlock is serving his fourth term as
mayor of the city.
Perry Bosworth, M.D., son of G. W. and Mary (Currence)
Bosworth, born in 1867. He was educated in the public
schools. He graduated in medicine in 1892 from the Balti-
188
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
more Medical College and has since practiced his profession
at Huttonsville. He is also a licensed pharmacist.
t L Bosworth, M.D., son of G. W. and Mary (Currence)
Bosworth was born in 1856. He was educated in the public
schools West Virginia College and graduated from the
1- rnont Normal School in 1881. He graduated in medicine
ro ; the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Batanort . m
1889 He was health officer for Randolph County for sexeral
terms. Prior to studying medicine he was for seven years
editor of the "Randolph Enterprise.
Dr A S Bosworth, M.D., son of George W. and Mary
, Currence', Bosworth. was born January 12. 1859. He was ed-
ucated in the public schools and a, the Fairmont Normal
School, where he graduated in 1881 and was elected superin-
tendent of the schools of Randolph County the same year.
He studied law at the University of Virginia and has been ad-
mitted to practice in the Circuit and Supreme courts. He was
eight vears editor of Randolph En.erpr.se. and from 1884 to
1886 was in Nebraska where he was editor and owner o the
cTbertson Sun and .he Trenton Central. He graduated iron
the Baltimore Medical College in 1892 and has practiced a
Bevet and Elhins. He is vice president of .be State Med.ca
Association and was elected delegate to the American Med.cal
Association in 1910.
Dr Thomas B. Crittenden was born in King and Queens
County Virginia, in 1862: was educated in the schools of
a, e'-n.v'and graduated from the medical department of
Georgetown University. Georgetown D. C. ,n 189,. D
Crittenden was attached to the cluneal serv.ee of the En er
^ .Hospital for two years. Since 1897, he has been .£r
Lian for .he Parsons Pulp and Lumber Company at Horton.
Decatur Montony, M.D., was born in 1868 in Pendleton
County. He was educated in common schools and at
Fairmont Normal School ; graduated ... med.e.ne from the
Baltimore Medical College in 1894. He has practiced his
profession at Harmon since graduation.
C H Hall, M.D. was born at Boothsville. W. Va., in
1876 'He was educated in the public schools and at the Fa.r-
A HISTORY OP RANDOLPH COUNTY 189
mont Normal School. He graduated in medicine from the
University of Kentucky in 1904. Dr. Hall was a member of
the Elkins city council in 1912-15.
R. R. Mcintosh, M.D. was born in Boston, Massachusetts
in 1875. He was educated in the Boston public schools. He
graduated in medicine from Tufts College in 1897. After tak-
ing his degree, Dr. Mcintosh spent three months in Floaty
Hospital, Boston, one year in St. Johns Hospital, Lowell,
Mass., was two years in charge of eye clinic of Methodist
Hospital, Boston and has taken post graduate work in Eye
and Ear Hospital in New York City. Since 1908, Dr. Mc-
intosh has been a specialist as occulist and aurist in Elkins.
William W. Golden, M.D. was born in Russia in 1866.
He was educated at Vilna and Bielostock. Dr. Golden gradu-
ated from the medical department of the University of the
City of Xew York in 1892. The same year he located in Elkins
and is surgeon of the Davis Memorial Hospital. He is an ex-
President of the State Medical Society and the State Board of
Health and is at present a member of the State Health Com-
mission.
S. G. Moore, A.B., M.D., was born in Barbour County in
1877. He received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from the
State University at Morgantown. Dr. Moore graduated from
the College of Physician and Surgeons in Baltimore in 1906,
and took a post graduate course in the Harvard Medical
School in 1914. He is Professor of Biology in the Davis-Elkins
College, Elkins, W. Va.
Humbolt Yokum, M.D., son of Dr. G. W. Yokum, was
born in 1860. He was educated in the public schools and at
the State University. In 1885 he graduated from the Jeffer-
son Medical College, Philadelphia, Penna. He has been en-
gaged in the practice of medicine at Beverly since his gradu-
ation. He has also been prominent in business circles and is
President of the Beverly Bank.
Dr. L. W. Talbott, son of William Woodford and Sarah
(Simon) Talbott was born in Barbour County in 1855. He
was educated in the public schools, West Virginia College
and Jefferson College. He graduated in medicine at the Uni-
versity of Maryland in 1883. Dr. Talbott took a post gradu-
190 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
ate course in New York City in 1894, and located in Elkins
in 1896, where he has since practiced his profession.
William R. Dove, M.D. was born in Pendleton County in
1880. Dr. Dove was educated in the public schools and
Normal School. Prior to studying medicine he was nine
years a teacher. After graduating in medicine from the Medi-
cal College of Virginia at Richmond, in 1907, he located at
Harmon, where he has since had a large and lucrative practice.
Dr. D. P. Buckey was born in 1871, son of Alpheus and
Lizzie (Daniels) Buckey. Dr. Buckey 's preliminary educa-
tion was obtained in the Conference Seminary, Buckhannon
and in the public schools. He graduated at the Baltimore
Medical College in 1894 and entered upon the practice of
medicine at Parsons. After remaining there about two vears
he located at Beverly, where he remained about two vears
and moved to Flemington, Taylor County, as surgeon for a
mining company. After about two years' successful practice
of his profession at Flemington he met an accidental death.
Dr. Stuckey practiced medicine at Helvetia in this county
from 1872 to 1889, a period of seventeen vears. He was a
native of Switzerland and a graduate of the University of
Berne. Before coming to America he was a student in a
Paris hospital for one year. Dr. Stuckey had an extensive
practice and his fame as a successful physician was not limit-
ed to the locality in which he practiced. He died in 1889 in
the 72nd year of his age.
Otto W. Ladwig, M.D. was born at West Milford, W.
Ya., October 11, 1875. He was educated in the public schools
and at the Fairmont Normal School, where he graduated in
1901. He taught school a number of years and was principal
of one of the Clarksburg schools. Dr. Ladwig was graduat-
ed from the Louisville Medical College in 1905. He practiced
for a short time in Harrison and Lewis counties and has been
located at Evenwood, this county, since 1908.
Dr. G. C. Rodgers, son of Wm. G. and Rachel (Campbell)
Rodgers, came to Randolph County in 1902. He was graduat-
ed from the University College of Medicine, Richmond, Ya.,
in 1900. He has taken postgraduate course^ in surgery in
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 191
the hospitals of Philadelphia and has heen surgeon at the
City Hospital since 1907.
Dr. H. W. Daniels, son of Rev. Win. P. and Minerva
(McLean) Daniels, was educated in the public schools and
at the Buckhannon Wesleyan College. Me graduated in medi-
cine at the Baltimore Medical College in 1894. He has heen
a member of the city council and health officer for the city of
Elkins since 1905.
B. L. Liggett, M.D. was born in Braxton County, \Y. Va.,
in 1887. He was educated in the common schools and Wesle-
yan College at Buckhannon. He graduated at the Hanneman
Medical College, Kansas City, Mo., in 1910 and in the medical
department of the University of Maryland in 1914. Dr. Lig-
srett was located at Fort Worth, Texas, three vears and has
practiced his profession at Mill Creek since 1914.
Thomas H. Chaney, M.D. was born in Marshall County,
AW Ya., November 21, 1871. He was educated in the West
Virginia Conference Seminary, Buckhannon, W. Va. He
graduated in medicine from the Starling Medical College,
Columbus, Ohio, in 1896. He commenced practice at Little-
ton, W. Ya. and has practiced at Montrose and Elkins.
Dentists.
Dr. David S. Strock, son of Jacob and Letitia Strock, was
born April 16, 1871 in Champaign County, Ohio. Dr. Strock
was educated in the public schools and at the Ohio Normal
University. In 1899, he graduated from the Pennsylvania
Dental College with the degree of D.D.S. Dr. Strock has
been in active practice in Elkins for eleven years. Dr. Strock
was married on April 23, 1895 to Edith Russell, daughter of
Mahlon and Arabella Russell. Dr. and Mrs. Strock have one
child, Richard Junior.
Dr. John U. Baker, son of Daniel Randolph and Margaret
(Chenoweth) Baker, was born in 1879. He was educated at
the Wesleyan College, Buckhannon. Dr. Baker married Lena
Mae (Bedell) Schuyler. Phillip Schuyler, the ancestor of
that family in America came from Amsterdam, Holland, and
settled in New Amsterdam, New York, in 16S3. Dr. Baker
192 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
graduated from the Baltimore Dental College in 1906, since
which time he has practiced his profession in Elkins. Dr. and
Mrs. Baker have three children : Rosalind, Margaret Chris-
tina, and Daniel Randolph.
Dr. G. C. Baker, son of Eli and Margaret (Sexton) Baker
was educated in the public schools and the Wesleyan College
at Buckhannon, and was graduated from the Baltimore Col-
lege of Dental Surgery in 1906. He practiced his profession
at Gassaway from 1906 to 1908. He came to Elkins in 1909,
since which date he has practiced dentistry in that city.
Dr. Nathaniel Barnard was born in Westernport, Mary-
land in 1887. He graduated from high school and attended
the Davis and Elkins College at Elkins. He received the de-
gree of D.D.S. from the University of Maryland in 1913. After
practicing at Mill Creek for a short time he moved to Elkins
where he has practiced about two years.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 193
CHAPTER XIV.
PORTE CRAYON IN RANDOLPH.
"The rudiments of empire here
Are plastic yet and warm,
The chaos of a mighty world
Is rounding into form."
DAVID HUNTER STROTHER, author and artist, was
born at Martinsburg, Ya., September 26, 1816. He stud-
ied under Sam. F. B. Morse of New York and also spent five
years as a student in Europe. From 1852 to 1861 he con-
tributed to Harper's Magazine a series of illustrated articles
chiefly on Virginia and the South, some of which appeared
in book form under the title of "Blackwater and Virginia Il-
lustrated." At the outbreak of the civil war he volunteered
into the United States service and was appointed Captain,
rising to Brigadier General in 1865. He served as Consul to
Mexico from 1879 to 1885. He died in Charleston, W. Ya.,
March 8, 1888. These sketches appeared in Harper's Maga-
zine in 1852. Though often somewhat exaggerated, they
reveal a people primitive in their habits and aspirations. This
section, because of its mountainous isolation, long retained
pioneer customs and characteristics. However, a half cen-
tury and communication with the outside world by means of
a railroad have wrought marvelous changes and Dry Fork dis-
trict today rivals any other section of the county in all that
goes to make up a moral, cultured and intelligent people.
Porte Crayon summarized the gratification of his visit
to Dry Fork as follows: "It has been one of the supreme en-
joyments of my life to wander among these wild communi-
ties, until I have become familiar with their occupations, in-
stincts and aspirations as one 'to the manor born,' learning
thereby to respect their unsophisticated manhood, and appre-
ciate their simple virtues, and it has sometimes appeared to
me there was a grace in the woodland blossoms, and a flavor
194
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
in the crabbed fruit not to be found in the cultivated gardens
of civilization."
The Country Store.
Adamson's Store.
Although Adamson's store was located at the mouth of
Seneca in Pendleton Count}", it was for years the emporium
for the section described in this chapter and the characters
mentioned were mostly residents of Randolph. The inci-
dents chronicled by Strothers, moreover, were so typical of
the country store of an earlier period that we reproduce the
narrative. Mr. Sylvester Rains, to whom reference is made,
is spoken of by his former employer, Mr. George Adamson,
who is now a resident of Elkins, as having- been a faithful
clerk and an honorable and upright gentleman. As the irony
of fate would have it. Mr. Rains lived a life of single blessed-
ness, heart whole and fancy free and has long since gone to his
reward, an alien and stranger to the joys, charms and delights
of "domestic bliss, the only source of paradise below that
hath survived the fall."
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 195
"The junction of the North Fork Turnpike and the Pack
Horse Road, across the Alleghanies from Beverly, has grown
up a little settlement at this place, consisting of a half dozen
families, with the conveniences of a store, postoffice, black-
smith shop, a schoolhouse, and 1 believe a meeting house and
apple-jack distillery. There was no tavern or regular place
of entertainment, but to atone for this deficiency, any of the
householders were ready to take in travelers as a special favor.
"Having been recommended to Adamson, the proprietor
of the merchantile establishment about a mile up the creek,
we presented ourselves and were hospitably received. Here
we dined and spent the afternoon lounging about the store
and hooking a mess of trout from the Seneca. Adamson is
an exotic, a Scotch Irishman, who had the reputation of being
a shrewd and intelligent trader and a worthy and upright
citizen. He has set up shop at this outpost to barter the knick-
knacks of civilization for the products of the mountains and
to furnish clothes for one class of the natives in exchange for
the coats which they strip from another class.
"The place retains many of the characteristics of those
frontier trading posts, which we read of in the days when the
United States had frontiers and they skinned the aboriginees
as well as bears.
"All sorts of queer people congregated here, bringing in
peltries, ginseng, venison, yarn stockings, maple sugar, home-
made cloth, oats, corn, potatoes, butter and eggs to exchange
for gay colored dry goods, crockery, tin and hardware, gun-
powder, tobacco, snuff, infinitesimal packages of coffee, and
corpulent jugs of whiskey. Some came on foot, others in
sleds, most on horseback, and very few in wheeled vehicles,
the country in general not being addicted to this mode of
transportation. Adamson's fancy salesman is the model of a
mountain beau, in his own conceit at least. Going to the
desk to jot down some notes of our journey, I took up a scrap
of paper with the following inscription legible, amidst a maze
of inky smirks and flourishes: "Sylvanus Rains is my name
and happy is the gal that gits me for a man." Thrice happy,
Sylvester, may your delusions be perennial ! They will help
to keep you amiable and obliging, and enable the mountain
19G A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
belles to make better bargains in calicoes and ribbons. After
this accidental insight I observed Sylvester more closely, and
remarked that when a wrinkled dame, overladen with butter
and eggs, or a sallow matron, encumbered with babies rode
up, she was allowed to dismount as best she could, and might
tumble off if she could do no better, but when a frisky lass,
all bouncing and blooming, appeared coming up the lane,
down went pen, yard stick and molasses jug and out rushed
the gallant clerk all smiles and empressment. Although
either Mahala Armentrout, Susie Mullenix, or Peg Teters
could have jumped from the saddle, or meal bag, to the
ground, without discommoding a flounce and after landing,
shouldered Sylvester and carried him into the store, never-
theless, he must drop everything, run out with a chair and
hold the critter, carrvin^ the basket in and then giving his
roach, and shirt collar each a sly twig as he passed the fly-
specked looking glass, take his stand behind the counter
with, 'Well Miss Susan, what can I have the pleasure of show-
ing you today?' Meanwhile Dame Wrinkle with her bundle
stands waiting and grumbling. 'Take a seat on the tobacco
box, I'll attend you presently, mum.'
'Lookee here man ; T can't stop here all day a foolin,'
I can't, eh, I'm in a desput hurry, I am eh. 5
"But here comes Mr. Adamson himself, and the impa-
tient granny prefers to deal with him in person rather than
wait for that fool feller that hain't no manners for old folks,
but only for his likes. So she trucks off to the best advantage
the contents of her basket and gets her measure of calico for
her daughter's dress, two hats for her grandsons, a quarter
of pound of coffee, not forgetting the complimentary paper
of snuff — the invariable conclusion of all trades and pur-
chases in these stores. Meanwhile Sylvester has denuded the
shelves of gay prints, and the drawers of ribbon boxes. He
and his fair customers, mutually inclining over the barrier
of dry goods, continue to discuss business in a more quiet and
rather indirect manner:
" T say, Miss Susan, how's folks over on Dry Fork about
these times?.'
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 197
" 'Well, all about our settlement is middlin' hearty, they
are."
"'Have you been bavin' any fun over there lately?'
" 'Ye— es indeed, we had a tumble good time at Zed.
Kyle's last week, we had, eh. You see Zed had a wool pickin',
he had, and all the gals and fellers was there, they was, and
danced the holen joren night, we did.'
"Sylvester looked radiant at the thought and then with a
sly leer asked in a lower tone, 'was Jess there?'
"Susan's face seemed to have caught the reflection from
the box of pink ribbons which she was examining with sud-
den interest. 'Pshaw, Mr. Rains, what account was it to me
if Jess was there? He mostly hunts with them Kyles and
Armentrouts, he does, and I shouldn't wonder ef he mought
have been there.'
"And he seen you home after the dance now didn't he?'
whispered the clerk with a smart diplomatic wink.
'He done no sich thing' replied Susan, sharply, 'cause
he only come as fur as the Fork with me and Marta and Dilly
and Emily.'
' 'And I'll bet a new dress he carried you across.'
' 'And I'll take the dress jist now off this red and yaller
piece, I will ; for we all waded across, we did, eh, so we did.'
'Mr. Rains, Old Sam Bonner from over the mountain
has just brought in a lot of bear skins. Go out and receive
them. Miss Susan I can wait on you. Have you selected
a dress yet?' "
Soldier White's.
Porte Crayon, in this chapter, narrates incidents and ex-
periences of customs long since obsolete. Goose-picking or
any form of labor which would be a tedious task for one per-
son in that day, was interchanged and a frolic and a dance
was the result. Soldier White, as well as most other charact-
ers referred to by Porte Crayon, have gone to their reward.
Their lives were simple, moral and happy. The innocence and
isolation of their primitive environment gave them a child-
ish zest and appreciation of life that the modern man, striving
198
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
for the material rewards, in order to shine, dazzle and out-
strip his neighbor, can neither enjoy nor comprehend.
"At Soldier White's we found a regular two-storied log"
house, containing half a dozen rooms, which serves as a place
of entertainment to drovers who come from below to sum-
■
SOLDIER WHITE.
mer their cattle on the Fork, and to the occasional traveler
who ventures to cross the wilderness by pack horse road from
Seneca to Beverly, the county seat of Randolph. Here is also
a tub mill, driven by a pretty stream of water, which has
been caught and utilized before being swallowed by the drv
river. This combination of circumstances makes Soldier
White's rather a notable place in the Dry Fork community,
and as the proprietor himself observed somewhat boastfully,
'ther's not a month passes but he sees a stranger of one sort
or another under his roof.' The soldier is personally a man
A HISTORY OP RANDOLPH COUNTY 199
worthy of consideration, lie is upward of sixty years old and
for his peculiar opportunities for seeing the world, is more
cosmopolitan in his speech and views than most of his neigh-
bors. He wears shoes habitually, and his residence exhibits
the grade of civilization pertaining to a pack horse road. His
face, including his stack of hair, looks as if east in bronze,
while his square sinewy hands are of the type most frequently
carved and pa'nted by Michael Angelo. His tall, athletic
figure is a model of strength and endurance. Its proportions
are slightly modified at present, owing to an accident. About
six weeks ago, at the saw mill, a log about three feet across
the butt rolled over him, and flattened him out considerably;
but he thinks he is drawing up to his natural shape again by
degrees, and his ribs and backbone getting set back in their
places. To assist Nature in her praisworthy efforts at re-
construction, he distends himself as much as possible by eat-
ing- heartilv, and greases his exterior with bear's fat.
"Having never been in the military service, he cannot
explain how he got the sobriquet of. 'Soldier,' but thinks it was
simply a tribute to his youthful strength and activity, which
were extraordinary. Being a justice of the peace for Ran-
dolph, he is now sometimes more properly addressed as Squire
White, which title of dignity he prefers. The Squire has a
partner who is worthy of him, and a daughter 'rising of six-
teen' who assists in the house keeping.
"Martha White is entirely too pretty to be sketched as a
tvpe of the mountain maiden. A sparkling brunette, lithe and
graceful as a fawn, she is- also, from the habit of meeting
strangers, more affable in her manners than most of her moun-
tain cousins. On being asked if she understood cooking trout,
she replied smartlv, 'You'd better catch a mess hrst and try
me,' indicating at the same time that there was good fishing
just below the mill.
'The Major and myself took the hint, and soon hooked
a pretty string of medium and small sized fish. There were,
however, some magnates we saw moving about in the crystal
water who conld not be tempted by any bait we had to offer.
They would glide out from beneath the cool shadows of the
boulders, approach our traps with a certain majestic delibera-
200
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
tion, sometimes even rubbing their noses against the hooks,
then, as satisfied that it wasn't worth the risk, would retire
contemptuously and let the minnows take a bite, tickled no
doubt at seeing how rapidly the youngsters snapped and
went up. While we were worrying with the sly old rogues,
Martha came down armed with a hickory wand with a running
noose of horse hair attached to the end. With an arch smile
Noosing Trout.
she requested us to hold off a while and let her try her hand.
Creeping like a cat over the rocks, she marked a grand old
voluptuary half dreaming among the shadows. Silently and
gradually dropping her slender noose into the water, she drew
it toward him. As the enticing hair touched his fin, it sug-
gested a slight suspicion of mischief, and he slowly retreated
to a distance of about half of his length, then resuming his
indifference again, lay balanced and immobile, very possibly
A HISTORY OP RANDOLPH COUNTY 201
felicitating himself on the superior wisdom which had enabled
him to detect the gilt and feathered shams displayed to de-
ceive the small fry of his race, and the lofty virtue which had
taught him to resist the allurements of casual appetite. The
next moment he was whipped from the water by an invisible
noose of horse hair, and wriggling in Martha's cat-like
clutches, and her plump cheeks pitted with rosy dimples.
Quieting our applause with a gesture, she readjusted her trap,
and presently lifted out another beauty, then another, and
another, until she had captured four of the largest fish we had
seen, one weighing two and a half pounds, and surpassing
any we had taken with the hook. Having thus justified her
own skill, she handed her angle to the Major, at the same time
instructing him how to use it ; but neither he nor I had the
dainty glibness of hand to execute the trick successfully, and
after several awkward failures each, we gave up and returned
to the house. The trout at dinner were as brown as fritters,
and verified another of the pretty maid's accomplishments.
"The afternoon was whiled away with smoking, sleep-
ing, and discoursing with Squire White and his sprightly
daughter. We were given to understand that if we could con-
tent ourselves to remain a couple of days we might partici-
pate in some fun at the house, as there was to be a goose-
plucking, at which all the gay society of the Fork would be
gathered. Mr. Rains, from Seneca, had sent word he would
be oxer. Dilly Wyatt also would be there with her fiddle,
and when she played it would set a cripple to dancing.
"And who was Dilly Wyatt?
'Ye never heard of Dilley?' exclaimed the Squire, with
an expression of gratified surprise as if he had discovered a de-
fect in our education. 'She's our brag gal over here, she is,,
and strangers like to hear about her.'
''Then do tell us her story, to pass away the long evening:
'The Squire thrust his nervous square-cut fingers into
the shock of iron wire which stood for his hair, and after a
preliminarv rustling and scratching proceeded to deliver the
following narrative, which we will endeavor to translate into
smoother English, at the risk of losing something of its origi-
nal naivete and graphic point :
202 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
'"Several years ago there was a young stranger from the
lowlands who was in the habit of spending the greater part of
the summer months roaming about the mountains. What
brought him here was never clearly understood, nor could
the limited fancies of the natives ever suggest a plausible mo-
tive for his frequent visits and long sojourning. Some sup-
posed he might be a drover seeking a lost steer; others reck-
oned he was one of these 'inchimists' who could tell brass
from gold, and was prospecting minerals; a third respectfully
suggested that he must be an engineer locating a railroad — a
nefarious cntrivance to increase taxes and the price of land,
which would scare all of the game out of the country. Shrewd-
er gossips insinuated he was possibly a refugee from the op-
pressions of lowland law or society, whose vague terro r s o°-
casionallv chilled the hearts of free-born mountaineers even
in their most secluded retreats.
"But neither the stranger's appearance nor ways seemed
to justify any of these surmises. He was a handsome youth,
with a wild romantic eye and a contract of blonde hair falling
over his shapely shoulders. Reticent of speech and shunning
companionship, he seemed to take delight only in savage and
solitary places. The hunters sometimes met him in the re-
cesses of the forest, tearing through the laurel as if pursuing
or pursued by some wild "varmint." Then he would lie for
hours basking beside a sequestered brook, idly watching the
gambols of the trout or the movements of the uncivilized
creattued that came down to drink and pre} - upon each other.
Again they would tell of his reckless activity in scaling fright-
ful precipices, or how he stood upon the summit of inacces-
sible peaks looking down upon the eagles, always carrying
rifle and haversack, he was so heedless of sport that he was
never seen to bring in any game. With pencils and tablets in
his pockets if • he ever sketched or wrote, the world never
heard of it. A worshiper of Nature, who sung no anthem to
her praise, and laid no votive offering on her altars: an Al-
pine climber who kept no record of the nameless heights he
scaled, or the lonely dangers he encountered, a romantic vol-
uptuary, content to revel in beauty and sublimity without the
courage or ambition to rehearse his emotions before a cynical
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 203
and unappreciative world. A poet without verses, an artist
without works, a dreamer, an idler, a genius, whose life was
a bold defiance, or perhaps an unconscious protest against a
society domineered by mercenary traders in stock ; 'whose
speech is of oxen' or of meaner speculators in stocks, whose
voices are modulated by the rise and fall of gold. As time
wore on he ceased to shun the friendly faces of the settlers,
and was frequently seen warming himself at their hearths,
sitting at their tables, and even sleeping in their beds. They
,vere entertained with the novelty of his conversation, and
imazed at the extent and variety of his conversation, while
he found in their society gratification of his natural longings
for human speech and presence without the risk of intrusion
into the hallowed precincts of his ideal world.
"Dillv Wyatt was the only child of a widower, a stout
herdsman and mighty hunter of the wild valley, whose cabin
stood in one of the most savage and secluded passes. She
was a tall, fine looking girl after the mountain pattern, beam-
ing with health and good humor, and uncommonly smart in
all the learning pertaining to her people. She could cook or
keep house equal to any maid or wife on the Fork. She could
shear a sheep, card and spin the wool, then knit a stocking
or weave a gown with a promptness and skill that were be-
yond rivalry. Besides these feminine accomplishments, she
could fish, shoot with a rifle, swim, or skin a bear, in a man-
ner to challenge the supremacy of the other sex.
"Our wandering artist had frequently stopped at Old
Wyatt's cabin, where, among other attractions, he found an
ancient fiddle with which the proprietor had once amused his
roistering youth. Being an expert on the instrument, he
sometimes tuned it up and played for hours, to the great de-
light of father and daughter. When the men were gone Dilly
took up the fiddle herself and being one of those who could
turn a hand to any thing, she soon learned to play several
airs upon it. Next time the visitor returned she surprised
him with her new accomplishment, and he, perceiving that she
had both taste and will to learn, undertook to initiate her
regularlv in the mysteries of the art. His time and teachings
were not wasted, for she learned with surprising rapidity, and
204 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
soon developed very decided talent.
"Thenceforth it might have been observed that the er-
ratic stranger was less frequently heard of in the wilderness,
and oftener seen in the vicinity of old YVyatt's sociable dwell-
ing, while Dilly's acquaintances were annoyed with her in-
creasing absent mindedness and continued humming of danc-
ing tunes, both in and out of seison. But it was natural
enough, when wearied with his owi • lonesome ways, the teach-
er should find a solace in the comp my of so apt and willing a
pupil, and that a mountain maiden, amidst her rude surround-
ings, should become enamored of her gentle and engaging art.
Fortunately there were no meddlesome gossips at hand to
suggest that it might be the artist instead of the art.
"One morning, after giving Dilly her musical instruction
as usual, the artist stored his haversack with some cold vic-
tuals, and promising to return by evening, struck across the
dry river and disappeared in the forest. The cottagers were
so accustomed to his eccentric courses that his failure to ap-
pear at the appointed hour excited no surprise or uneasiness.
Next day was stormy. A windy tempest swept the woods,
and the rain came down like a water-spout. During the night
that followed the storm swelled to a hurricane. Tree-tops
were hurled throng-h the murkv air like thistle down, and the
forest shrieked and howled for the downfall of the tallest
chieftain. The YVyatts sat beside their lowly hearth glaring
with pine knots, and occasionally enveloped in clouds of
smoke and ashes, to which the father responded defiantly with
counter-puffs from his root pipe, while Dilly concealed any
vague uneasiness she might have felt behind her darling fiddle.
Soon the old man removed his pipe, and pricking his ears as
if to catch some special note of the tumultuous chahivari
without, exclaimed, 'D'ye hear that, Dilly?'
"She answered, with a nervous start, 'What is it, daddy?
Did you heary anybody?'
"He motioned silence, and her straining ears became
presently aware of a low rushing sound distinguishable amidst
the fitful voices of the tempest by its steadiness and con-
tinuity. As they listened there was a sudden swelling of the
storm, followed by a crash so enormous and stunning that it
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 205
seemed as if the whole magazine of thunder bolts had blown
up at once. Old Wyatt started to his feet, staring wildly up-
ward at the roof of his trembling cabin, while the daughter
snatched a flaming brand and rushed out into the darkness.
By the flash of her torch she saw near at hand a freshly up-
heaved wall of earth and roots higher than the chimney top,
and stretching away across fences and cabbage patches lay
the prostrate body of a mighty hemlock tree which had long
overshadowed their humble dwelling.
" 'Come back gal; cried the father, resuming his pipe
and his stolidity at once. 'The Fork is up, and the big hemlock
is down, so we might as well go to bed.'
"The second morning dawned through clouds and mists,
which hung on hillsides and tree-tops like sloppy rags put
out to dry. Tudus was quietly folding up his flaccid wind-
bags, and Aquarius resting languidly on his empty watering
pot, but the dry river was full from bank to bank, and career-
ing like a mad bull. After breakfast the old man mounted
his nag and rode away toward Soldier White's to gossip anent
the storm and look after a grist he had carried there some
days before. Dilly was left alone to tend her household af-
fairs and nurse a vague uneasiness about her absent friend.
The day passed wearily enough between spinning, fiddling,
and strolling up and down the stream, vainly listening for
some signal call, and straining her eyes into the depths of the
opposite forest. Late in the afternoon she was startled by
hearing a distant rifle shot, and hurrying up the stream a
half mile or more she discerned through the midst the figure
of a man emerging from the wood on the further shore. Flush-
ed with the sight, she gave a ringing halloo which evidently
struck the wanderer's ear, and was answered by a feebler
shout, about like a cry for help. Then the figure tottered for-
ward, sunk, and disappeared among boulders and thickets.
"Agitated with mingled hopes and fears, she repeated her
calls again and again, awakening the echoes away up in the
mountains, but no response from any living voice. Then, as
if struck with a sudden thought, she hurried back to the house,
and in a short time returned clad in a scanty linsey gown,
bare armed and bare footed, with a stout package tied firmly
206 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
on the top of her head. Her eyes sparkled, her lips com-
pressed, and there was resolution expressed in every feature
and in every movement. Scanning the savage torrent above
and below, she hesitated for a few moments, as if instinctive-
ly calculating its force and speed, she nimbly descended to
the stream, flung herself into the raging water. A few bold
strokes brought her to the mid-current, which swept her away
light as a feather in a whirlwind.
"The girl had evidently underrated the power of the
stream, but she was a strong and confident swimmer, and in
spite of the resistless downward sweep, continued to strike
vigorously for the further shore, holding her head erect, as
if intent on keeping her bundle dry at all hazards. Amidst
the heaving and boiling of the mad current her downward
course was so rapid that it was difficult to estimate her trans-
verse progress; but as she approached a bend in the river, just
at the head of a succession of falls, it might have been noted
that the color forsook her cheek, and her efforts became more
lmrried and spasmodic. Suddenly, as if caught up in a water
spout, she was heaved over a submerged boulder and dashed
headlong into the foaming eddy below. For a moment she
was lost to sight, then her head popped up through a bed of
yellow froth, blinded and gasping. Clearing her eyes with a
quick movement of her hand, she saw that the bend and cur-
rent had helped her on her way, and she was almost in reach
of shore. Another desperate effort and she succeeded in
grasping a trailing root, by which she drew herself to land.
Once more on firm footing she felt for the package on her
head, and finding it still in place, hurried up the bank to search
for the object of her solicitude.
"Nearly a quarter of a mile above her landing place she
stumbled upon the body of a man lying prostrate among the
bushes. Beside him was a rifle, dropped from the nerveless
grasp ; his clothes were drenched and torn in shreds ; his up-
turned face, half hidden by the tangled hair and battered hat,
was white and motionless as death. On the brave girl's
face the dawning smile of recognition was suddenly quenched.
With trembling hand she loosened the bundle from her head,
and laying it on a rock, dropped on her knees beside the body.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 207
A few moments after she started from the cold embrace with
a countenance all radiant with joy, and quickly opened her
precious package, displayed its contents on the sward — a cold
corn pone partially soaked in muddy water, some greasy slices
of fried venison, and a small flask of liquor.
"Dilly clapped her hands and laughed, 'Not dead yit, by
a long sight, but only jist half starved. See what I've brung
ye, my pretty boy !'
"But at the sight of the bread and meat the languid eyes
closed again, as if in token of refusal. Then, tenderly en-
circling the youth's clammy head with her plump arm, she
raised him to a half sitting posture, and in coaxing tones half
whispered, 'Now this ye won't refuse, I'm sure.'
"Then followed the resonance of an oscillatory smack, as
his pallid lips met those of the devoted girl's brandy bottle.
The timely stimulant assisted exhausted Nature across the
narrow bridge which led from death to life. The patient open-
ed his eves, sat up alone, and consented to nibble a little at
the corn bread and venison. In the meantime the indefatigable
nurse had collected a heap of wood, and by means of the rifle
kindled a blazing fire, and warmed a portion of the food to
render it more savory and wholesome.
"Drink, food and fire had so far restored the wanderer
that he was enabled to give a brief account of his absence.
He had strolled many miles away toward the summit of the
back-bone, where he was caught in the storm. Having eaten
up his provisions, he undertook to return, fell from a ledge
of rock and sprained his ankle, and thus crippled and half
starved, he had spent two terrible davs in endeavoring to drag
himself back to the cabin. Now he required only shelter and
rest ; but the stream was still impassable, and from his sprain-
ed ankle and general exhaustion he was incapable of locomo-
tion. To a city belle the situation might have appeared hope-
less ; but Dilly 'was not born in the woods to be scared by
an owl.' In a marvelously short time, with moss and hem-
lock twigs she had made a bed which, under the circumstances,
might have been esteemed luxurious. A canopy of evergreen
boughs sheltered it from the sky, while a blazing fire dispelled
\i n wholesome damps and diffused an air of cheerfulness
208
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
around. The remnants of the meat and drink were placed be-
side it, and the hollowed surface of a convenient rock con-
tained several gallons of fresh rain water to quench the in-
valid's thirst, if required. Regarding these arrangements with
a smile of satisfaction, the mountain heroine cut short a grate-
ful speech by ordering her patient to lie still and get a good
night's sleep. 'By morning,' said she, 'the Fork will be down.
Goose-Plucking.
and dad'll fetch ye over to the house on his horse.' The stars
were shining when she took leave, and walking some distance
up the stream to find a longer sweep of unbroken current, she
boldly took the water again, and reached the cabin in safety.
"Next morning the river bed was nearly dry, and by sun-
rise the invalid had been transferred to old Wyatt's cabin. He
had slept profoundly, and was refreshed ; but his ankle was
fearfully swelled, and it took a fortnight's nursing to set him
fairly on his feet again. When the time came for the stranger
to leave he pressed a pretty sum of money into old Wyatt's
hand, and thanked the daughter with a warmth and fullness
of speech which ought to have been satisfactory ; but there
was at the same time a reserve and even stateliness of man-
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 209
ner which rather wounded the warm-hearted girl. He went
and returned no more."
' 'And did he go off and forget such a girl as that?' Ex-
claimed Hick indignantly. 'By thunder I'd have married her!"
'Very chivalric,' suggested the Major; 'but in your case that
might he thought poor return for a heroic service.'
''Tomorrow she will be at the goose-plucking, and we.
will tarry to see the heroine, and dance to her music'
"Next morning we were out early, trying to earn our
breakfast before we ate. After breakfast while the materials
for the frolic continued to arrive, 1 received a private invita-
tion from Squire White to look in at the goose picking. As
we slyly peeped between the logs of the barn the whole in-
terior seemed to be a whirlwind of laughter, screeching, and
flying feathers, so that it was hard to distinguish the pluckers
from the plucked. ( )ccasionallv as the downy clouds sub-
sided one might catch a momentary glimpse of groups of
worthy of the antique scenes that may be carved and paint-
ed more elegantly and easily than described — and as such we
commend them to the Praxitileses and Photogeneses of mod-
ern art; and for a more practical account of the subject we
must refer our readers to those good old-fashioned folks who
raise geese and sleep in feather beds.
"Dilly Wyatt at length arrived, carrying her fiddle in a
muslin bag slung over her shoulders. She was a buxom lass
with grand black eye and regular features ; but we were dis-
appointed in her appearance, as we usually are by the per-
sonal presence of famous people. Nevertheless our mountain
heroine showed the ameliorating influences, in dress and man-
ners, of her association with the Muses.
"After the midday dinner our party was swelled by a
number of young bucks from the neighborhood, and the danc-
ing commenced. The movements at first were rather shy
and constrained, but a few rounds with the inspiring strains
of Dilly's music warmed their blood and started the wheels
of gavety to buzzing. We had all done our best in playing
the agreeable to the ladies to avoid offending the jealous sus-
ceptibilities of their native beaux, and had nearly got through
the afternoon without an accident.
210
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
"With his usual luck however. Cockney narrowly escaped
getting us in a row. Delighted with the opportunity of show-
ing off his strong points he had been exceedingly gay and
prominent in the dance, but becoming wearied and -disgusted
with the succession of jigs, reels and square figures, he asked
Miss Roy if she understood the round dances. That young
lady signified her willingness to shake a foot to any tune that
The Dance.
could be started, and promptly took her place on the floor be-
side the gallant. Encircling her waist with his arm, Augus-
tus politely requested the fiddler 'to please give us a polka.'
The mystified musician was silent; and the equally mystified
partner, red as a trout about the gills, delicately attempted
to elude the embarassing embrace. He, entirely absorbed with
the idea of electrifying the assembly with his graceful whirls,
reiterated his call for a polka, mazourka, waltz or any round
dance, and persisted in holding on to his retreating partner.
"At length a tall, iron-bound forester, who had been
squirming with jealousy, forgot his hospitable politeness, and
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 211
laying- his heavy hand on Cockney's shoulder, exclaimed,
'Lookee here mister. Onr gals won't stand huggin' on sich
short acquaintance, they won't, eh.' Augustus was himself
electrified, and the house buzzed with mingled laughter and
indignation. The Major, prompt in all social engagements
and emergencies, stepped forward and explained the situation.
Cockney apologized to the lady and the company, and the big
woodsman made amends for his rudeness by a grasp of the
hand so friendly and penitent that it brought tears to the
recipient's eyes."
Shooting Contest.
Shooting matches in which the prizes were usually turk-
eys, were frequent occurrences in the earlier history of the
county. So much depended in those days on the skilful use
of the rifle, not in the way of self-defense only, but in obtain-
ing the necessities of life, also, that the skillful marksman was
a hero in the community. Porte Crayon here relates his ex-
perience in a contest for markmanship with Tom Mullenix:
"Observing that Jess Teter had conceived an extravagant
admiration for a neat little powder flask I carried, T took oc-
casion to present it to him. In the fullness of his gratitude he
took me aside, and in a whisper, informed me that he was the
best rifle shot on the Fork. I had heard as much.
'Well, now, said he, wouldn't you like to learn the
secret.'
" 'Then there is a secret?'
'Yes, I can learn it to you in a day, so that you can beat
any of these fellers.'
"Jesse's proposition accorded so exactly with my humor
that 1 eagerly accepted it. We got our guns, and privately
slipped off together to the woods, where after exacting a
promise not to reveal his trick, he proceded to put me through
a course of instruction.
"Whether there was any virtue in his teaching, or whether
the mountain air had cleared my eye and braced my nerves,
it is true that from a very indifferent marksman I presently
became very expert with my rifle and after driving the center
212 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
three consecutive times at sixty yards, I expressed myself
satisfied, and my tutor slapped me on the shoulder and said
emphatically, 'You'll do."
"After a most friendly leave taking, we mounted and
rode down the valley toward Soldier White's. About two
miles below we stopped at the cabin of Tom. Mulleriix (com-
monly known as Hunter Tom.), hoping to have a chat with
him on the subject of hunting i n these mountains. He was
barely civil but not at all communicative. He told us very
frankly that he never missed killing »ame when he went out
alone, but he never had any luck when these gentlemen hunt-
ers went along. They had too many patent fixings and talked
too much. With his long flint-lock rifle, munitioned with an
ounce of powder, and with from three to five bullets wrapped
in greased buckskin patching, he could always kill more game
than he could carry home. Some fellers pack so much am-
munition and cold victuals that they broke down before they
found any game, and couldn't hit anything if thev happened
to see it. For his part he couldn't see any sense in all these
percussion traps. As the hunter made these disparaging re-
marks, he cast a contemptuous glance at my ornate German
rifle, which being observed by my companion, drew a laugh at
my expense.
" 'Air. Mullenix,' said I, 'what do you value that bear
skin at, which I see hanging upon the porch?"
"That skin," replied Tom. 'mought be worth about four
dollars over at Franklin.'
"Very well. Xow I'll bet you five dollars in cash, against
that bear skin that with this percussion grim-crack of mine,
I can beat you shooting three best shots out of five, line
measure, at any distance or in any way you mav choose.
"Tom eyed me for a moment as he would probably have
stared at a rabbit suddenly turning- and trving to bite him.
His astonishment presently resolved into a fit of contemptu-
ous laughter ; but as I had already put up my money in the
Major's hand, and showed by my manner that I was in ear-
nest. His cupidity got the better of his contempt.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 213
" 'Well mister,' said lie, taking down and proceeding to
load his long gun. "Hits not becoming of me to disappint a
stranger in a little innocent sport, and if you kin beat me
shootin", that bar skin's your'n !' and the hunter's face warmed
with a smile of sinister benevolence.
'•'Laureate, said the Major, aside, '1 wouldn't give the
churlish dog a chance to make five dollars so easily.'
"I answered, carelessly, there are always two sides to a
question, and I've taken quite a fancy to that bear skin.
" 'Laureate,' whispered Dick, 'try to make a good chance
shot, and if you beat him I'll give you my horse.'
"Dick's horse was a borrowed one, but his good-will was
none the less appreciated. Meanwhile the preliminaries had
been arranged — two best shots out of three, at sixty yards.
"The Major stepped off the distance and Dick placed the
target against the tree. The mark was a circle of white paper
about the size of an ancient half-dollar, tacked upon a black-
ened board. We were to shoot alternately, and tossed a cop-
per for the first fire. The hunter won it, and took his position
accordingly, observing as he did so, 'I reckon I'll have to shoot
a little wild to give you a opening.'
"As Tom raised his rifle and leveled it at the mark all the
slouchiness of his manner disappeared, and he settled into a
pose of iron firmness. As his rifle cracked, the target fell for-
ward on its face, and Dick ran at full speed, followed by the
others at a more dignified pace, to verify the shot.
"The ball had cut the left edge of the paper with half its
diameter. Mullinx chuckled. "There's a leetle wind," said he,
"and I forgot to allow for it ; but ther's the opening I promised
ye.'
"It was a eood shot, however, and mv friends looked blank
enough as I took my stand. Their evident anxiety annoyed
me. and for a moment a sense of responsibility unnerved me.
Then I shut my eyes, recalled my lessons, and concentrated
my mind on the work in hand. My shot parted, the target
rattled and fell. The next moment Rattlebrain waved it tri-
umphantly over his head, shouting, 'Centre!' It was impos-
sible for Dick to be exact. It was not a centre shot, but the
214 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
whole ball was in the paper, beating Mullenix by half a dia-
meter.
' 'Can you do that again?' whispered the major.
" 'I think I can do better.'
'Then we've got the rascal to a certainty,' said he, rub-
bing his hands with hopeful satisfaction.
"The gleam of benevolence had departed from Mullenix's
face, and he proceeded to load his piece with a precision quite
the reverse of his former half insolent carelessness. He
waited for a lull in the almost imperceptible breeze, and when
he took aim the steadiness of his attitude was statuesque.
"Dick Rattlebrain looked as if he would burst during the
process, and the result of the hunter's shot did not relieve
his anxiety in the least. The paper was perforated just be-
neath the central tack — so close that we wondered it had not
been knocked out.
"Tom looked vengefully benevolent again.
" T reckon, mister, T hain't left ye much of an opening
this time.' He said this with a wicked chuckle.
"My friends looked grave again. Dick desired to give
me some advice, but the Major restrained his zeal and per-
suaded him to keep quiet.
"On coming up for my second trial I had a more severe
struggle with my nervousness than at the first. The open-
ing was indeed a narrow one, and then my success had aroused
hopes which must not be disappointed. I succeeded, however,
in attaining the requisite coolness, and fired.
"The board fell forward as usual.
"Dick Rattlebrain gave a convulsive start, and then step-
ping up to me said, 'By thunder, Larry, I haven't the heart
to look at it!' But the Major presently approached with the
board in one hand and the paper in the other. The tack was
gone, and there was a clean hole exactly through the center
of the mark. Dick uttered a triumphant yell, and nearly suffo-
cated me in his rude embrace.
" 'Come Dick; having won, we must triumph like gentle-
men.'
"Tom Mullenix eyed me like a basilisk.
" 'Well mister, the bar skin's your'n ; you've won two, and
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 215
hit's not worth while to waste the third shot. Powder and
lead is too scarce up here to waste on nothinV
"I sincerely sympathized with the mortified mountaineer;
so that when he came formally to deliver the hear skin 1 po-
litely attempted to decline it. But the flash of his eye and
sternness of his manner quickly showed that I had made a
mistake.
" 'Mister,' he said, '1 don't like any man to fool with me.
The skin is fairly your'n and yon must take it.'
A rousing swig from the Major's flask was more appre-
ciated than my fanciful magnanimity, and we took leave with
all due civility."
Killed a Wolf.
Porte Crayon here relates his experience in killing a wolf.
His former rival in a shooting match, Hunter Tom Mullenix,
showed feelings of umbrage and resentment by Porte Crayon's
competition in the wolf industry. Crayon says :
"As I stood to gaze I saw something moving on a ledge
thirty or fort}- feet above, and at length perceived two fiery
eyes glaring downward, and my blood was stirred by a long-
drawn savage howl.
"I again remembered Jesse's secret, and steadying my
rifle against a hemlock tree, took aim and fired. With a
brushing sound, followed by a crash, the body of a large wolf
fell into the thicket nearly at my feet. Neither my shot nor
the fall had quite killed the savage beast, which writhing and
snarling in its death agony, bit frantically at its wounds, sticks,
leaves and everything within its reach. Staining the rocks
and moss with its life blood, its struggles gradually subsided,
and at length, with a spasmodic shiver, it stretched itself out
and died. Drawing my knife, I approached the body, and
discovered that the creature was a female, and evidently had
a young family somewhere up the cliff. But this was no time
to be speculating about game, so I was contented to take the
scalp as a trophy, and congratulating myself that I had prob-
ably broken up a whole family of robbers, proceeded to re-
load my piece.
216 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNT?
"On the following morning, as had been agreed, we left
Soldier White's and started down Dry Fork to visit Roy who
lived at Red Creek and to seek such other sports and ad-
ventures as the country afforded. As we passed the mill we
recognized several acquaintances among a group of moun-
taineers, and stopped to exchange civilities and take leave.
The Major politely offered his flask and drinking cup which,
notwithstanding the early hour, was honored dulv as it passed
from hand to hand with. 'well, here's good luck, men.' My
quondam antagonist. Tom Mullenix. however, put aside the
cup with a scowl and. to the surprise of evervbodv. retired sul-
lenly into the mill. The bear skin I had won of him was
thrown over my saddle, and it occurred to me that the sight of
this trophy had again recalled the mortification of the shoot-
ing match. Anxious to leave good feeling behind us. I asked
Jesse Hedrick to bring Tom out that we might drink and
shake hands, burying all animosities before we parted.
"'Jesse laughed at the suggestion of the shooting match
and then looked ^rave.
"'Hit's not that he minds; sure Tom's eot too much
sense for that. But he's mighty riled about somebodv a
killin' of his wolf, and he 'lows hit was one of you men as
done hit. and he swears vengeance aoqn ve. he does."
"At the mention of wolf I was electrified, and drawing
Jesse aside, asked him earnestly if Tom had lost a pet wolf
lately.
" "\\ ell not exactly that.' he replied, 'but ve see Tom
makes his living pretty much by huntin'. and there's a middlin'
high bounty on wolf scalps : and so you see when he finds
out where an old she has a den. instead of killin' of her he
plays sharp and waits till she has young uns. and as they
begin to come out and play around he kills them off and gits
the premium on five or six scalps every season. So ye see
when a feller finds the haunt of an old wolf he lays claim to
her. and takes care of her. and she brings him a smart little
income every year. And for any man to go and kill another
man's wolf is a big spite, and a fightin' business, it is. And
somebody killed Tom's wolf up here by the tunnel dav be-
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 217
fore yesterday, they did; and he's dangerous mad about it,
so he is.'
*' 'And who does he blame?' I asked in breathless curi-
osity.
"'Well.' said Jess, 'he lays it on that teller there — Mr.
Rattlebrain — but he says he hain't sure of hit quite, or else
there would a been trouble.'
"Now here were revelations and explanations and per-
gonal responsibilities which admitted of no shirking or hesi-
tation.
"Taking Jesse by the arm, I entered the mill and cor-
nered Mullenix so that he had to stand up and look me
square in the face.
"'Mullenix,' 1 said, 'somebody killed your wolf, I under-
stand."
"'Yes, they did and took her scalp,' he replied grimly,
'the sneaking hounds, which is jest about equal to highway
robbery; and dura him, I — I — '
" 'Well suppose the man who did it will tell you he
meant no wrong, not being- aware of your claim on the ani-
mal. and will give you up the scalp and a fair reimbursement
for any further loss you may sustain in the matter?'
" "Well, mister, that would look like the feller meant
fair," said Tom, 'and if he does that I'd bear him no grudge, I
wouldn't.'
"I then handed Mullenix the scalp and put ten dollars into
his hand, and ere he fairly recovered from his astonishment
we mounted and rode off."
A Crowded House — Domestic Bliss.
The proverbial hospitality of an earlier period did not
countenance the refusal of entertainment to any one. The
rooms might be few and small, the table might be dearth of
tempting viands, yet their all was shared with others with un-
stinted liberality. Porte Crayon herewith narrates amusing
incidents of the entertainment of his party in houses of two
rooms :
"As candles and kerosene lamps are reckoned among the
218 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
superfluities in these parts, we lit our cigars and pipes and
repaired to the starlight of the front porch. Then bedtime
was announced, and being ushered into the proprietor's cham-
ber, a single bed of moderate dimensions was assigned for
the accommodation of our party ; we could arrange it to suit
our convenience. 'As thick as three in a bed,' has become a
by-word : four in a bed surpasses the limits of proberbial phil-
osophy, and being naturally addicted to seclusion, I yielded
my share of the couch and took the floor with a saddle for my
pillow and a blanket for covering.
"Sleep, like a loving lass, needed but a brief wooing. Ex-
cept in romances virtue is not always rewarded, and in spite
of doctor's promises — fresh air, exercise, and a temperate sup-
per — will not insure the coveted repose. Mine was inter-
rupted by nightmare dreams of creeping through subteranean
passages to escape from robbers and finally plunging head
foremost into an abyss of mud where I stuck, panting and
suffocating. In my struggles I awoke, realizing the peculiar
sensations which had doubtless suggested the dreams and
which filed me with real alarm. There was a rumbling in my
ear like the buzzing of a spinning wheel : my head and face
were so hot and oppressivelv heavy that I could not rise from
the saddle. Disengaging one hand from the blanket, 1 felt
the upper side of my face and head covered with a squirming
mass of soft, warm fur which, upon further exploration, de-
veloped into five kittens, cuddled in a loving heap and pur-
ring- with contentment. 1 was far from satisfied with the ar-
rangement and especially aggravated at having my rest dis-
turbed, so I arose suddenly to a sitting posture, unceremon-
iouslv tumbling the happy family out of their bed. They
clung together, mewing and striving to climb back to their
comfortable position. In my wrath I seized one by the back
of the neck and slung it vindictively at the bed occupied by
the ancient couple. Considering the darkness, my aim was
good, and the mauling missile struck the pillow with a rip
which stopped the old man's snoring.
''Scat! scat! Wife, here's one of these darned kittens
jumped on the bed."
"'Well, fling it out. can't ye!' she muttered impatiently.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 219
Having- found it in his fumbling, he dropped the animal
quietly on the door, whence it quietly trotted back to its fel-
lows on my blanket. Meanwhile I directed another toward
the same point.
" 'Scat ! scat !' cried a shriller voice.
" 'You i ild fool, yev'e flung the nasty critter right in my
face, ye hev now !' and giving the kitten a spiteful toss, she
sent it over the bed where my three comrades lay. I heard a
stifled snickering in that direction, and presently the shot w r as
returned, flying with outspread claws, and tearing as it ric-
ochetted across the coverlet. Then as the wrathful dame
rose to grope for the offender, 1 let fly a plumper which car-
ried away her nightcap.
By this time there was a general tumult of scatting, maul-
ing, pounding on the wall, and calling for the lights. As the
patriarch got up to unbar the door I pitched the rest of my
amunition on his back, where the little wretches clung with
all their claws.
"'Wife! wife!' he exclaimed, as he danced and stumbled
around the room, 'I believe the devil himself is got among
these cats. Take 'em off! scat! take 'em off!'
"This suggestion of the presence of the evil one aroused
the dame's superstitious fears, and redoubled her calls for
Betsy and a light, declaring that she would not touch one of
these creeters to save the old man's life.
"The door was at length unbarred and Betsy came to the
rescue with a pine torch. The light revealed the stranger
guests all sleeping the sleep of untroubled consciences, and
the five tempest tossed kittens wandering around mewing in
concert.
" 'Them's all our cat's kittens,' said Betsy, 'all white and
tortoise shell; the pretty little dears.'
" 'Haint there a big black cat somewhere around?' asked
the old woman in a tremulous voice. The favorite mask of
the Arch Enemy was nowhere to be seen.
" 'Take 'em out ! take 'em out !' growled the patriarch, 'the
devilish things hev well nigh scratched the shirt off me back.'
"Betsy smiled audibly. 'Well daddy, ye've always achavin'
220 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
of somebody to scratch yer back, and maybe hits done ye
good, haint hit?'
" 'Git out with you and yer cussed cats," cried daddy. 'I'll
drown the whole misbegotten litter tomorrow, so I will."
"At this direful threat Betsy snatched up her pets, and
smothering her youthful felines in her apron, went out with
the light, and there was peace until morning. At sunrise the
door opened again, and a pleasant, manly voice called out,
'Men git up and rinse your countenances; folks is goin' to git
up !'
"Breakfast went off very civilly, and on observing the
clawed faces of the seniors I felt a twinge of remorse for my
deeds of darkness. Dick Cockney and Betsy, however, had
got up a triangular giggle which broke out at the slightest al-
lusion to cats. At length the matron, with a severe and sig-
nificant glance toward her junior guests, observing that she
had never knowed them kittens to behave so before, and she
had a suspicion there mought be wuss devils in the house than
sich as come in the shape of black cats."
:*: ^c ;Jc ;|: * * ^ i'fi $z ^ =!=
Another incident and experience of Porte Crayon's is
here reproduced as explanatory of old time customs. Owing
to their isolation, primitive ways were still in vogue at the
time of Strother's visit :
"The cabin was so small and the flaring pine knots re-
vealed such a multitude of good humored faces, that we be-
gan to entertain some doubts whether we should not have
done better to have remained and enlivened the bachelor's
lonely hall and helped him cook his solitary supper. Still
everybody, young and old, seemed glad to see us, and there
was no hint of crowding or inconvenience. The family con-
sisted of husband and wife, four sons, two grown to manhood,
and a daughter between ten and eleven years old, a grandson,
and a hired boy. The other domestics were three hounds and
a cat with kittens.
"The cabin was eighteen by fifteen feet in the clear, di-
vided into two rooms. Although limited in space, all the san-
itary arrangements in regard to ventilation had been espec-
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 221
ially attended to. The cabin built of logs, turkey pen fashion,
were only partially chinked with moss and still more imper-
fectly tapestried with male and female garments, bunches of
dried herbs, with deer and fox skins stretched on the outside.
This open space did away with the necessity and expense of
glass and had several other advantages, as we afterward as-
certained. We could study the planets at ease, and tell the
character of the weather without the inconvenience and awk-
wardness of getting up to look out of the window. Jess also
informed us that of nights when he wasn't sleepy, he could
chaw tobacco and spit through the cracks without siling the
old man's floor, which was a pleasing indication of filial con-
sideration. We experienced the fact that a family of nine
persons with four guests could be comfortably fed, enter-
tained ,and lodged in such apartments, but during our sojourn
of several days, we never understood how it was done.
"The head of the family was a native of the mountains,
about fifty years of age, with good features, light hair and
complexion, broad chested and powerfully built. His coun-
tenance was amicable and his manner frank and obliging ;
consenting to everything that was said with the grace of a
courtier, and closing every sentence with an echo and twang,
a habit common to the whole region — -ye-as ; oh ye-as, I
wouldn't wonder now, ah, ye-as indeed, as — at the same time
confusing you with the universality of his admissions, com-
ing back with opinions of his own which he sustained with
true courtier like tenacity.
"Dick Rattlebrain attempted to pump him on the sub-
ject of politics, and to our astonishment, knew neither the
names of the opposing political parties nor the names of their
presidential candidates.
' 'Oh,' exclaimed Dick somewhat airily, 'I see vou do not
read the papers up here.'
' 'Mister, yer'e mistaken, I tell ye ye are, ah ; we do git
newspapers up here we do, ah. There was a feller fetched one
up here last summer and my wife read it to me, she did, ah.
Wife look if that newspaper haint in the chest under the head
of the bed.'
" 'No, it haint, for ye know ye lent it to Zed Kyle. Hits
222 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
three weeks today and he haint fetched it back yit. But he ort
to have fetched it back, he ort, fer I heerd of him having of hit
up to Teter's last Sunday a readin' of hit to them, and he
mought git hit tore, so he mought, and hit will be many a day
afore he sees another one.'
"Madam it seems can read, and the only book larnt mem-
ber of the family. She showed me the only specimen of Guten-
berg's art, except the newspaper, in the settlement, an ex-
tremely aged and well thumbed copy of a Methodist hymn-
book. In this precious volume, she assured me, she had read
a hymn or two every Sunday for thirty years, and kept it up
regular for fear she mought forgit how.
"Having thus established a sort of literary fellowship with
the old woman, I seated myself on the chest while she was
getting dinner and continued the conversation. This was not
difficult for after the sluices were fairly opened, my share
consisted in listening. She opened on polemics and naming
all the religious sects and denominations she had ever heard
of. gave each a passing punch or two, quite intelligently de-
livered. As they all fared alike in her hands, I at length in-
quired what church she belonged to.
" 'None.'
"Here was something of an anomaly. A Christian of no
sect, pious on her own hook; unguided except by the tradi-
tions of her childhood and the greasy old hymn book, yet as
far as my observation extended her conscience and practice
were as near the purest Christian standard as if she had all
her life enjoyed the advantages of a five thousand dollar pew
under the ministry of the Rev. Dr. Plumpcushion in the great
and enlightened city of Hubadub. And so the worthy dame,
on hospitable deeds intent, brimming over with smiles and
amiability, went on baking, boiling and stewing and frying
her viands and her neighbors, until everything was done up
and dished up. By the time our meal was over, Jess then
announced that there was to be a yoking of a pair of steers
over at Xelson's that afternoon, and offered to introduce us to
the sport if we were so minded. Augustus requested him to
oblige us by describing the nature of the diversion.
' 'Oh/ said Jess, 'they have tumble times specially if
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
223
the steers happen to he fractious. They hook and kick and
heller, run off and jump fences, and sometimes break a fel-
ler's leg ; they mostly cripple themselves or something else
afore they are done with it. Then they hev a keg uv licker
and there is some as thinks there is right smart fun in it.'
On the whole we thanked Jess for his civility and de-
clined going. He did not appear much disappointed and care-
lessly observed that he would slip over to Tom Mullenix's
and proceed to put some extra touches on his toilet. Jess
A Flirtation.
was evidently the pet and pride of the family and it was amus-
ing to observe the general solicitude in his toilet. The old
woman picked at his w r aistcoat and shirt collar ; the little sis-
ter Jane tugged his coat tails straight ; Job pulled the wrinkles
out of his breeches legs, while the boy Harvey pulled them
up again to make the red morocco boot tops show. Jess got
off at length and soon after his father, excusing himself to us,
followed in the same direction. About the middle of the after-
noon the old man came back with an unusual solemn coun-
tenance, shaking his head as he announced the doleful tidings :
"'Wa-al wife, they've had orful bad luck down to Mul-
224 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
lenix's. That brindle cow of hisn had two desput fine calves
this mornin', and they're both of 'em dead, yes, they are, ah.
The old woman she just sot down and cried, she did, and
Suze, she was afeard to milk her, ye-as she wuz-ah, till Jess
he drew her up in a corner and hilt her by the horns, then
Suze she milked her, she did, and they wuz two tumble fine
calves, yes, indeed, they wuz, so they wuz, ah.
A Sylvan Golgotha.
A Sylvan Golgotha was Porte Crayon's apt and poetic
description of a "deadening;.'' The appellation applies today
to the entire forested area of the country. The destruction of
our forests has been an improvident blunder and an economic
sin. Large areas have been denuded, suited neither for graz-
ing nor agriculture. Porte Crayon gives this description of an
"improvement" as it impresses his poetic imagination.
"Savage and lonely as are these vast tracts of primitive
forests, there is yet a virgin freshness in their haunts ; a varietv
and affluence of natural life which relieves their monotony and
charms away their solitude. But on issuing from the pillared
aisles and verdant archways of nature's temples into a moun-
tain, 'improvement,' one feels as if approaching the lair of
some obscure and horrible dragon. Death, desolation, and
decay are visible on every hand. Skeleton forests, leafless,
lifeless, weather-beaten, and fire blasted ; heaps of withered
branches, split rail fences, warped and rotten ; in the midst of
a space from whence every green thing and graceful form has
been banished. "
Trout Fishing.
"Thus am I teased, my vision pleased,
Commingling sport with idle wishing,
Time moves as if his wheels were greased,
While I half dreaming sit, half fishing.
Strothers and his party are now on Gandy, a tributary of
the Dry Fork, and at that time teeming with the vermillion
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 225
spotted, salmon tinted trout. The explosion of a stone be-
neath a fisherman's coffee pot and frying pan, while not on
the program, when it does occur, adds zest and excitement to
piscatorial pleasures and largely compensates for the loss sus-
tained. In this case it supplied an interesting incident' for
Porte Crayon's pen and pencil. Me gives the following nar-
rative of the ludicrous incident:
"Pleased with the idea of cooking our own meal, we soon
raised a fire whose smoke circled above the tree tops. I was
detailed to make the coffee while the Major superintended
the preparation of the fish. The Major discoursed with the
assurance of an expert and sliced his middling with a certain
affectation of nicety which impressed his assistants with the
idea of his profound science. Laying a cut on one of the heat-
ing stones, he exclaimed, 'It is just in trim. Now boys bring
your trout !' The scullions hastened to obey the order, each
bearing a tin platter with a dozen selected fish. The chief
picked them off with a forked stick and daintily arranged them
side by side in the bubbling fat.
"A tall mountaineer, on an absurd little horse, who had
stopped in the road to look at us, now approached with gaping
countenance and outstretched neck, as if deeplv interested in
the proceedings.
' 'My friend, won't you 'light and take dinner with us?'
'No,' said the fellow bluntly, 'I don't want none of your
victuals, but I'm cur'us to see ye cook them fish.'
' 'Just wait a moment then,' said the culinary director
with a complacent wink, 'and you'll see something to surprise
you.'
"At the word there was an explosion like that of a ten-
pound shell : a fragment of a cooking stove whizzed by the
spectator's head and a hot trout slapped him in the face.
'Heavens,' he shouted, 'I've seen enough !' and putting whip
to his horse he started up the road at full speed. Then in
quick succession there followed a whole battery of explosions,
sending stones, fish, firebrands and tinware in every direction,
some cutting through the branches of the adjacent trees, oth-
ers sizzed into the stream ; the horses broke loose and scam-
226 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
pered away : the cook and attendants dodged behind trees or
scampered after the horses. I deftly dropped behind a syca-
more log, creeping under the opposite side where I remained
during the bombardment. I had been watching the coffee,
and after the firing ceased, ventured to raise my head above
the log parapet to look after my charge. Its place was vacant,
but I saw the pot overturned near the margin of the stream
some twenty yards off.
'Hello, Laureate! Are you all safe and do you think it's
over ?'
"I saw the Major peeping from behind a large maple
with a queer expression as if he was undetermined whether
to laugh or swear. As the fire was pretty well scattered and
not a trace of our cooking visible, I thought we might leave
cover and so we did.
"Searching land and water and branches of trees we
recovered most of our tinware, dented and battered, but still
available for all purposes. The actual loss consisted of two
dozen trout and a boiler of coffee. Nevertheless, it behooved
the Major to explain the result of his cooking arrangements,
which he did in this wise: 'For the sake of shape and clean-
liness we selected stones from the bed of the stream ; they
contained cells filled with water, which as they became heated,
generated steam and blew everything to pieces.' Agustus
plucked up :
'I've seen flying fish in Barnum's museum, but scarcely
expected to see flying fish in the mountains.'
'Pepper away, pepper away, young gentlemen ; but mind
your work and don't let the dinner lag. Without accident
you will find the receipt a good one.'
"Said I, 'It will appear in the cookery books as a ''saute"
of trout with capers, furnished by an officer of the United
States Artillery."
'Bravo, Laureate! excellent! Now,' said the annoyed
chief.handing me a hot fish on a biscuit, 'put that under your
ribs and then comment on mv receipt."
"The hot stones had been again heated and cooked our
fish very quietly. Their flavor fully justified the Major's
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 227
boasts, and we made a delightful meal, all the merrier because
of the preliminary misadventure.
"Expanded by a dozen or more of his brownest specimens,
a stiff toddy and an excellent cup of coffee, the culinary chief
answered all our rallying good naturedly and even kept his
temper when the Dry Forker stopped to gibe at us on his re-
turn.
" 'I say men, is them fish done yit?'
"Dick asked him how he liked the specimen he got.
" 'It was something hotter than I ginerally take 'em,'
said he facetiously, 'and then instead of bread ye gim me a
stone, which is agin scripter, haint hit?'
" 'Oh, you didn't quote scripture as you rode off a while
ago,' rejoined Dick. 'But get down and we will give you the
receipt for cooking the fish which you can teach to your wife.'
" 'Excuse me mister, my wife don't want none of your
receipts for blowin' up things; she's got a way of her own
which is more convenient.'
' 'Come neighbor, 'light and lie sociable,' said the Major,
holding up his Mask in an insinuating manner.
'Now that's the kind of talk I understand,' said the na-
tive, dismounting and joining our party. 'Gentlemen, here's
luck!" and when the drink was swallowed he seated himself
upon the log and laughed long and loud. 'Well for all the
world I'd like to know what was in them devlish stones.'
"The Major explained everything to his satisfaction, in
return for which he told us his name was Roy. We engaged
to visit him and said he, as he took leave, 'I'll show you how
to cook 'em without blowin' your head off.' "
Poetic Pleasure.
Anyone who cast a line in "Gandy's amber waters" a
half of a century ago will appreciate this stanza of Strother's:
"On an afternoon in blooming June,
I sit by Gandy's amber water
'Mid vernal bowers and scented flowers,
And trout in plenty to be caught there.
A ~ ffil W OLPH COU>~
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CHAPTER XV.
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230 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
ers and Warwick seized their guns to go to help the families
exposed to the Indians farther up the river; they neglected to
barricade the fort, and so the little boy and the two little girls
went out to the branch. While the little boy was washing
the blood from his face, caused by his nose bleeding, the little
girls became frightened and without saying anything, ran
back into the fort and left him alone. When his bleeding-
stopped he went back and found the fort barricaded. The
Crouch brothers had been met by some persons from the lower
fort, took them along, and so their wives and children were
left to themselves at Warwick's to make the best they could
of a perilous situation.
"When the boy, Andrew Crouch, came to the fort, he
heard his aunt in a loud voice giving orders as if there was
quite a number of men in the fort, when in fact the force con-
sisted of three white women and one colored man and wife
and some little children. An Indian climbed to the roof of the
fort buildings after night and set it on fire. The colored man
put it out. Then the stable was fired. The black man said
they should not burn the horse. He went out and carefully
approached the place. Seeing an Indian by the light he shot
at him and let the horse out and safely returned to the fort.
He dared the Indians to come on and as there seemed to be
but two or three that showed themselves it seems they were
not disposed to storm the loud but little garrison.
"When the barn burned down and became dark the col-
ored woman insisted on leaving the fort and giving the alarm
farther down. She was allowed to do so and the next day
the men came up and moved all farther down. Then the
little boy and eight of the others went to bury the dead, Lewis
Kinnan and the three children. He says no one wept nor
did any feel afraid while the funeral was going on.
"After the burial the men seeing no signs of Indians be-
lieved they had withdrawn and so they disbanded. But late
in the evening an Indian killed Frank Riffle near where the
Brick Church stood and burned two houses not far away be-
longing to James Lackey. Major Crouch remembers seeing
Lackey not long after the battle of Point Pleasant. He could
show the rock on which Lackey sat and sung a war song,
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 231
then very popular among the mountaineers, in commemor-
ation of the hattle of Point Pleasant, that eventful struggle.
"In subsequent years "Sir. Warwick moved to Ohio and
rewarded his faithful negro with his freedom for his gallantry
in saving the fort and the property. This Mr. Warwick was
the ancestor of the ( )hio Congressman of that name who, rep-
resented McKinley's district a few years ago."
Lackey's war song was as follows:
Let us mind the tenth day of October,
Seventy four, which caused woe,
The Indian savages did cover
The pleasant banks of the Ohio.
The battle beginning in the morning,
Throughout the day it lasted sore
Until the evening shades were turning down
Upon the banks of the Ohio.
Judgment proceeds to execution,
Let fame through all ages go,
Our heroes fought with resolution
Upon the banks of the Ohio.
Seven score lay dead and wounded
Of champions that did face the foe,
By which the heathen were confounded
Upon the banks of the Ohio.
Elk Horns Found.
In 1913, Chas. Collett discovered Elk horns in a cave
or sink on the Pritt farm, at the head of Files Creek, that
measured eight feet from tip to tip. The horns and the skele-
ton of the animal were in a good state of preservation. The
sink was about twenty feet deep and its sides almost perpen-
dicular. The animal probably fell into the cave and perished
from the fall or starvation.
The Formation of Randolph County.
Randolph County was formed from Harrison by act of
the Virginia Assembly, October, 1786. The following is a
copy of the act :
I. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEM-
BLY, That from and after the first day of May one thousand
232 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
seven hundred and eighty seven, the county of Harrison shall
be divided into two distinct counties, that is to say, so much
of the said county lying on the southeast of the following'
lines, beginning at the mouth of Sandy Creek, thence up Ty-
ger's Valley to mouth of Buchanan river, thence up the said-
river including all the waters thereof to the Greenbrier line,
shall be one distinct county, and called and known by the name
of Randolph and the residue of said county shall retain the
name of Harrison. A court for the said county of Randolph,.
shall be held by the justices thereof on the fourth Monday
in every month after the said division shall take place, in such
manner as is provided by law for other counties and shall be
bv their commissioners directed. The justices to be named
in the commission of the peace for the said county of Randolph
shall meet at the house of Benjamin Wilson, in Tyger's Val-
ley, in the said county, upon the first court day, after the said
division shall take place, and having taken the oath of office
to, and taken bond of the sheriff, according to law, proceed to
appoint and qualify a clerk, and fix upon a place for holding
courts in said county, at or as near the center thereof as the
situation and convenience will admit of : and thenceforth the
said court shall proceed to erect the necessary public build-
ings at such place, and until such buildings be completed to
appoint any place for holding courts as they may think proper.
Provided always, That the appointment of a place for holding
courts, and of a clerk, shall not be made unless a majority of
the justices of said county be present, where such, majority
shall have been prevented from attending by bad weather, or
their being at the time out of the county, in such case the
appointment shall be postponed until some court day when
a majority shall be present. The Governor with the advice of
the council, shall appoint a person to be first sheriff of the
said county, who shall continue in office during the term, and
upon the same conditions, as is bv law appointed for other
sheriffs. It shall be lawful for the sheriff of the said county of
Harrison to collect and make distress for any public dues or
office fees, which shall remain unpaid by the inhabitants there-
of at the time such division shall take place, and shall be ac-
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 233
countable for the same in like manner as if this act had not
been made. The court of the said county of Harrison shall
have jurisdiction of all actions and suits in law or equity, de-
pending before them at the time of said division, and shall try
and determine the same, issue, process, and award execution
thereon.
II. AND BE IT FURTHER EXACTED, That the court
of the said county of Harrison, shall account for and pay to
the said county of Randolph, all such sums of money as shall
or may be paid by the inhabitants of the said county of Ran-
dolph, toward defraying the expense of erecting a court house
and other public buildings in the said county of Harrison. In
all elections of a senator, the said county of Randolph, shall
be of the same district with the said county of Harrison.
The Whiskey Insurrection.
In the year of 1794, there occurred in the Monongalia Val-
ley and adjacent territory, a series of acts in resistance to the
Federal Revenue Laws, known in history as the "Whiskey
Insurrection." Upon the recommendation of Alexander Ham-
ilton, Secretary of the Treasury, Congress passed an Act, tak-
ing effect June 30, 1791, that there should be paid on every
gallon of spirits distilled in the United States, duties ranging
from 9 to 25 cents. There was great dissatisfaction with
this provision and Western Pennsylvania determined to resist
its enforcement, and endeavored to secure the co-operation of
Monongalia, Ohio, Harrison, and Randolph counties. This
conflict between government officials and the distillers has
found expression in violence and bloodshed in the mountain
districts of the Southern States for more than a century. The
incident is of historical interest as it was the first test of the
efficiency of the general government in dealing with the oppo-
sition to the enforcement of Federal laws as well as indicating
the trend of public sentiment toward the nullification of such
laws by sections and states.
Governor Lee, of Virginia, sent a circular letter to Hon.
Thomas Wilson of Morgantown. The following reply was
borne to the Governor by an express rider. William McCleary
234 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
or McCreerv was the first prosecuting attorney of Randolph
Countv and married Barbara, daughter of Michael See.
Colonel McCreery's letter to Governor Lee was as fol-
lows :
Morgan Town, Ya.
28th of Aug. 1794.
Sirs :
Your express arrived here today with sundry letters ad-
dressed to the care of Thomas Wilson, who happened not to
be at home; thinking it right (in this alarming time) I re-
ceived the papers & Passed a receipt for them. Mr. Wilson
will be at home tomorrow & no doubt will send them instantly
forward to their address.
We are all in this, Harrison & Randolph counties in
Peace & also Ohio with some exceptions ; a state of neutrality
is all we are able to support, and indeed, we are in this town
much threatened now for lying still by our Powerful neigh-
bors. However I trust we will support it until the Govern-
ment takes steps to bring aboutPeace — the Commissioners
who attended at Pittsburg, by order of the President of the
United States, and also by the order of the Governor of Penn-
sylvania, but nothing has vet transpired that can be relied
upon ; a Committee of 12 men from the insurgents met them,
and it is reported that no terms but the repeal of the Excise
Law will be accepted by the People — however this is only re-
port. I am in beast Sir.
Your Excellency's Obedient Servant,
William McCreerv.
Mr. McCreery had become a citizen of Monongalia sev-
eral years previous to this incident.
Randolph Representatives in the Assembly of Virginia,
1782-1865.
Below are given the names of the Representatives, Del-
egates and Senators from Randolph County in the General
Assembly of Virginia from 1782 to 1865, a period of eighty-
three years. The senatorial and delegate districts were often
changed and the name is given of the Delegate or Senator of
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 235
the district of which Randolph was a part. This, also, applies
to the representatives from Monongalia at the time the pres-
ent territory of Randolph formed a part of that county.
Senators.
Thomas Wilson 1793
John Raymond 1798
Thomas Wilson 1803
Phillip Dodridge 1806
James Pindall 181 1
Noah Zane 1814
Geo. I. Davisson 1818
Edwin S. Duncan 1822
Chas. S. Morgan 1826
John J. Allen '. 1830
' Chas. S. Morgan 1831
Richard Watts 1833
Francis Billingsley 1836
William J. Willey ._ 1839
John S. Carlisle 1847
Albert G. Reger 1852
Lewis Steenrod 1854
Albert G. Reger 1856
John Brannon 1858
Delegates from District Including Randolph.
Benjamin Wilson 1782
Geo. Jackson 1786
Johnathan Parsons 1788
Johnathan Parsons and Cornelius Bogard 1789
Cornelius Bogard and Abraham Claypoole 1790
John Haddan and Cornelius Bogard 1792
John Haddan and Abraham Claypoole 1793
Robert Green and Cornelius Bogard 1795
Robert Green and John Chenoweth 1796
Adam See and John Haddan 1798
William B. Wilson and John Haddan 1799
236 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Adam See and William B. Wilson 1801
John Haddan and William B. Wilson 1803
John Haddan and Mathew Whitman 1804
William Wilson and William Ball ....1805
William Wilson and Jacob Kittle 1806
William Marteney and Nicholas Gibson 1807
Adam See and William Marteney 1810
William Marteney and James Booth 1811
Edwin S. Duncan and William Marteney 1813
John M. Hart and William Marteney ----- 1814
Adam See and William Marteney ...1815
Adam See and William Daniels 1816
Isaac Booth and William Marteney 1817
Samuel Ball and Isaac Booth ..1820
Daniel Hart and William Marteney 1821
Isaac Booth and William Marteney 1822
Isaac Booth and Adam See 1823
William Daniels and William Marteney 1824
Robert Crum and William Marteney 1826
William Daniels and Isaac Booth 1827
Joseph Hart and William Daniels 1828
Benjamin Dolbear and Adam Myers 1829
Joseph Hart and Isaac Booth 1830
Joseph Hart 1831
Isaac Booth 1833
William Marteney ..1835
William C. Haymond 1837
Henry Sturms ...1838
Samuel Elliott 1841
Henry Sturms 1843
Washington J. Long 1846
Henry Sturms 1847
David Goff 1849
Chas. S. Hall 1850
Henry Sturms 1851
John ' Taylor 1852
John Phares 1854
Dr. Squire Bosworth 1856
Jacob Conrad 1858
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 237
Samuel Crane 1860
B. W. Crawford 1864
John and Benjamin Wilson represented Randolph County
in the Constitutional Convention of 1788.
Adam See represented Randolph County in the Constitu-
tional Convention of 1830.
John N. Hughes was a delegate from Randolph to the
Constitutional Convention which met at Richmond, Ya., in
1861. He was succeeded by Jacob W. Marshall, after his
death on the Rich Mountain battle field.
Josiah Simmons represented Randolph County in the
Constitutional Convention which convened at Wheeling:, No-
vember 26, 1861. This was the convention to form a consti-
tution for the new state.
First Auditor of West Virginia from Randolph.
Joseph Hart, Milton Hart and W. J. Drummond were the
delegates from Randolph to the first State Convention of
Union men, held at Parkersburg, W. Ya., May 6, 1863. Sam-
uel Crane, of Randolph County, A. I. Boreman, of Wood
County, and Peter VanWinkle, also of W T ood, were presented
to the convention by their friends for the nomination for Gov-
ernor. Xo nomination was made on first ballot as neither as-
pirant received a majority of the votes cast. Before the sec-
ond ballot was taken, Mr. Crane withdrew his name and Mr.
Boreman was nominated. Mr. Crane was then unanimously
nominated for State Auditor.
Samuel Crane, the first Auditor of West Virginia was
born in Richmond, Ya. When a mere boy he moved to Tuck-
er County, where he grew to manhood. He married a lady
near Richmond, Ya., and moved to Randolph County. He
practiced law at Beverly until the breaking out of the Civil
War, when he became active in politics. His wife died in
\\ 'heeling in 1863 and in 1866 he moved to Missouri to as-
sume the management of the family and property of a de-
ceased brother. Soon after going to Missouri he entered the
ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church.
238 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
The Vote of Randolph for State Capitol.
On the first Tuesday in August, 1877, there was held
throughout the state an election on the question of the per-
manent location of the state capitol. The places voted for
were Martinsburg, Clarksburg and Charleston. In that con-
test Randolph cast 859 votes for Clarksburg, 31 for Charleston
and 2 for Martinsburg. The vote of the state was : Charles-
ton, 41.243; Clarksburg, 29,942. and Martinsburg, 8,046.
Elections.
The vote of Randolph County, March 26, 1863, to accept
or reject the amended constitution of the new state was as
follows: For ratification 167, Against ratification 13.
In the election for state officials held May 22, 1863, Ran-
dolph County cast 78 votes for F. H. Pierpoint for Governor,
76 for Daniel Poselv for Lieutenant Governor, and 65 votes
for James S. Wheat for Attorney General.
Members of the Legislature.
The following persons have represented Randolph County
in the Legislature since the formation of the state:
Cyrus Kittle 1863
Jesse F. Phares 1865
Chas. W. Burke - 1867
James W. Dunington 1868
John A. Hutton 1869
Lemuel Chenoweth .1871
John A. Hutton 1872
John Taylor _ 1873
Elihu 1 lutti m 1877
C. J. P. Cresap 1881
A. B. Parsons 1883
Harmon Snyder 1885
J. F. Harding 1887
W. L. Kee 1889
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 239
J. B. Finley 1891
G. H. Daniels 1893
J. F. Harding 1895
T. P. R. Brown .' 1897
J. A. Cunningham .1899
W. G. Wilson -1901
Lew Greynolds - 1903
Warwick Hutton - 1905
J. F. Strader 1907
James W. Weir 1909
John T. Davis 1911
E. D. Talbott - -1913
lames W. Weir - 1915
Tn the second Constitutional Convention held at Charles-
ton in 1872, J. F. Harding was a delegate from Randolph and
Tucker.
Beverly Threatened to Secede.
Prior to the adoption of the constitution of 1851. none hut
freeholders could participate in the elective franchise in Vir-
ginia. All offices were appointive except members of the Leg-
islature, overseers of the poor and town trustees. It was
claimed that the territory west of the mountains received very
unfair treatment in the distribution of power. The proposed
constitution of 1830 gave one hundred and three members of
the House of Delegates to the counties east of the mountains
and thirty-one to the territory west of them. Randolph was
much opposed to the new constitution and a public meeting
was held at Beverly, March 10, 1830. In the discussion of the
merits of the proposed constitution at that meeting, it was
stated that in one company of seventy-four soldiers from a
county of Virginia in the war of 1812, only two had the right
to vote. The Beverly mass-meeting adopted the following res-
olution :
Resolved, That we would sooner commit to the flames
e
240 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
the new constitution and vote for a division of the state than
to vote for its adoption.
The opposition west of the mountains availed nothing and
the constitution was ratified by a vote of 26,055 for and 15,563
against. However, the opposition of the people resulted twen-
ty years later in the adoption of the constitution of 1851, which
granted the right of suffrage to all white males of the state
of more than 21 years of age, and made most offices elective
instead of appointive.
Fined Four Hundred Pounds of Tobacco.
The first superior court for the territory west of the
Alleghenies, under the Act of the Virginia Assembly of 1788,
was to be held at Morgantown, May 4, 1789. This district
embraced Randolph, Ohio, Harrison, and Monongalia Coun-
ties. No court was held on that date owing to the attendance
of an insufficient number of grand jurors. Robert Maxwell,
Cornelius Bogard, Peter Cassedy, Edward Jackson, and
George Jackson had been summoned from Randolph but failed
to attend. The court fined each four hundred pounds of to-
bacco. However, at the September term of the court these
fines were remitted.
Tory Camp Run.
Big and Little Tory Camp Runs are the only two objects
in Randolph that perpetuate memories of the Revolution. Lit-
tle Tory Camp Run is a tributary of the Dry Fork on the east
side about a mile above the town of Harman. Big Tory Camp
Run is a tributary of the same stream on the same side about
two miles farther south and a short distance below the village
of Job.
Tory was a term that designated one who favored the
mother country. The revolutionist was called a Whig. The
feeling between these two classes of citizens was very bitter
during and for many years subsequent to the Revolution.
Midnight raids of neighbor against neighbor in which murder
and arson were the objects sought were frequent occurrences
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 241
ill communities in which there was a division of sentiment.
Virginia enacted drastic laws against the Tories. Many
left the country and sought protection under the flag of Great
Brittain. A number from the counties of Hardy, Hampshire
and Pendleton entered the wilderness and established camps
in the eastern part of Randolph. A few years ago evidences
of their encampments were still visible.
The First Settlement on Lower Middle Mountain.
The first man to make settlement on the lower Middle
Mountain, below the Seneca Road, was Jacob W. Car. In
1874, he married Mary .Ann Kerens and with his bride, for
Tetter or worse, to carve out their fortunes from the vir-
gin forests, located many miles from human habitation.
However, the fates favored their adventurous spirits and they
have a large landed estate to transmit to their children in a
community of churches, school-, stores and railroads. Twelve
children have blessed their union, all living except one son,
French, who died in his fifteenth year. Children living:
James H., Albert L., Asa Martin, Enos, Jacob, Job, John,
Hulda Jane, Barbara E., and Eliza Jane.
Neighbors in Pendleton and Randolph.
The ancestors of several prominent families in Randolph
were friends and neighbors in Pendleton. The Caplingers and
Harpers who were pioneers in Randolph were close neighbors
in Pendleton before locating in this county. These two fam-
ilies have been on terms of neighborly intimacy in Randolph
for a century. The same can be said of the Wards, the Col-
letts and the Phareses. Representatives of these families were
constables appointed by the Governor in the organization of
Pendleton in 1787. They were Gabriel Collett, Johnson
Phares and William Ward.
Abraham Springstone.
Springstone Run, emptying into Leading Creek about a
242 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
mile northwest of Kerenes, is supposed to have received its
name from the fact that it lias its source in the mountains,
where the springs flow from stony beds. However, this sup-
position is erroneous as it was named for Abraham Spring-
stone, who settled on its banks in the pioneer period. Little
is known of his antecedents or decendants. He married Mary,
daughter of William Innis, in 1797.
Imprisonment for Debt.
Imprisonment for debt was a legal barbarity in vogue
during the earlier years of the history of Randolph. The
court records ran as follows :
Thereupon came A. B. and undertook for the said de-
fendant in case he be cast in this suit, he shall pay and sat-
isfy the condemnation of the court, or render his body to
prison in execution for the same, or that he, the said A. B.
u on Id do it for him.
Trustees of Moorefiald.
Moses Hutton, Johnathan Heath and Geo. Rennock were
the trustees of the town of Moorefield in 1777. Moses Hutton
was, perhaps, the son of Abraham, who was the first of the
Hutton famly to come to America. Geo. Rennix was sheriff
of Randolph in 1808 and captain of militia in 1798. Whether
it was the same Geo. Rennix is not known. Ashael Heath
was sheriff of Randolph in 1803 and lieutenant of militia in
1799. The name Rennock has been changed to Renix.
'.-,-
Early Church History.
In 1748, at Frederick, Md., a log church was built by the
settlers who were German reformers. Among the members of
this church were names of families identified with the settle-
ment of Randolph County : Lingenfelders, Buckeys, Kuntzs,
Witmans, now Whitman and Weiss, now Weese.
A Lutheran church was built at Monocacy, Md., in 1747.
Among the members of this congregation were the Ebberts,
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 243
Jenkins, Myers, and Couradts, afterward spelled Conrad ;
Poes, Whites, Wilhides, Hedges, Wiers. William White
moved from Monocacy, Md., to the Shenandoah Valley in
1734. Probably his decendants settled in the valley in the vi-
cinity of Hadden's Fort.
Elkins Weather Bureau.
This station was established January 1, 1899. Albert Ash-
enberger was in charge from that date until October 31, 1903.
Louis Dorman succeeded him and was in charge until June
1, 1911, when he was succeeded by Harry M. Howell, who
remained in charge until November, 1914, when upon his own
request he was transferred to the Philadelphia station and
later to Washington, D. C. Mr. H. H. Jones, of Tennessee,
has been in charge of the station since the transfer of Mr.
Howell. Mr. Jones is ably assisted by Jesse Robinson, a Ran-
dolph County young man. Mr. Howell commenced as an as-
sistant to Mr. Dorman and his promotion has been rapid. Be-
sides his position as chief of the Elkins bureau and his pres-
ent situation in Washington, D. C, he has held important
positions in the service at Savannah, Georgia, and Louisville,
Kentucky.
The Socialist Movement in Randolph.
The Socialist party was first organized in Randolph,
March 5, 1908, when a few adherents of that economic philoso-
phy met at the M. P. church in Elkins and organized a local.
Dr. A. S. Bosworth was chairman of the meeting and W. G.
Howell w r as secretary. An address was made by J- E. Kildow.
Those who were present and became members of the local
were: J. E. Kildow, Dr. A. S. Bosworth, A. R. Conoway, S. W.
Hayden, Adam See, R. M. Stalnaker, W. G. Howell, Edward
Tucker, and H. M. Howell.
Indian Ring.
On Conrad Street in the village of Mill Creek can be seen
what is called an "Indian Ring." It is about 50 feet in diame-
ter. The ring was more distinct before the land was culti-
244 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
vated. Large trees originally grew on the spot, indicating
many years since the ring was the scene of occupancy by the
Red Man. The soil forming the elevation was about one foot
high. The ring is too large to have been a wigwam and is
in all probability the remains of an ancient palisade. In the
adjoining county of Pendleton there is evidence of a ring en-
closing almost an acre of ground.
Indian mounds exist on the farm of Will Harper, in
Leadsville District and on the adjacent farm of Arch Lytle in
Beverly District. From the mound on Lytle's farm stone
hatchets have been taken. From the mound on the Currence
farm, a mile south of Daily, two stone pipes and parts of a
human skeleton were removed.
The Inter-Mountain.
The Inter-Mountain, the first Republican paper in Ran-
dolph County, was established in 1892, in the town of Elkins.
Professor N. G. Keim was its first editor under the manage-
ment of a publishing company. Professor Keim remained in
charge two years, when he was succeeded by M. S. Cornwell,
of Hampshire County. Mr. Cornwell remained editor two
years or until 1896, when he resigned on account of failing
health. William S. Ryan edited the paper for a few months
and was succeeded by Chas. E. Beans. Mr. Herman Johnson
succeeded Mr. Beans in August, 1898. Mr. Johnson is still ed-
itor and owner of the paper. A daily edition has been pub-
lished since October, 1907.
Randolph Men in the French and Indian War.
Quite a few of the early settlers of Randolph had been
soldiers in the French and Indian War of 1754-60. The fol-
lowing is a partial list. However, in a few instances the de-
scendants of these men, only, became residents of Randolph.
Friend Jonas, Sergeant ; Phares John, Corporal ; Briggs Sam-
uel, Conrad Ulrich, Coplinger George, Cunningham James,
Cunningham Robert, Cunningham William, Eberman Jacob,
Haigler Benjamin, Haigler Jacob, Harman George, Harper
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 245
Adam, Harper Phillip, Hevener Michael, Kile George, Kile
Valentine, Skidmore James, Skidmore Joseph, Ward William,
Wise Jacob.
Population of Randolph.
The population of Randolph in 1790 was 951. The first
ten years the population nearly doubled and in 1800 the cen-
sus figures show Randolph to have had 1826 souls. The rate
of increase in subsequent years was not so large, but in 1810
the population had increased to 2854. When we remember
that the area of the county was so much greater than at pres-
ent, we know that the population was sparse in 1820 when the
census of that period gives the population of the county as
3357. The assessors for the year 1792 returned 87 white per-
sons and 18 colored as proper subjects for poll tax in John
Jackson's District. In John Hadden's District 57 whites and
4 colored. In the remainder of the county 15 white persons
were eligible for poll tax; making in the entire county 159
whites and 12 colored, or 181 in all. John Hadden's District
embraced very nearly the same territory that constitutes
Randolph County today. In that district according to the
estimate of five persons to each tithe, there was in the pres-
ent territory of Randolph a population of 305 in 1792. There
were 260 horses in Randolph county that year.
From 1820 to 1910 the population of Randolph County
has varied as follows :
1830 5,000
1840 6,208
1850 5,243
1860 4,990
1870 5,563
1880 "... 8,102
1896 11,633
1900
1910
246 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Population of incorporated towns in Randolph County
according to the census of 1910:
Beverly 438
Elkins 5,260
Harding 105
Harmon 149
Huttonsville 251
Mill Creek 740
Alontrose - 112
Whitmer 650
Womelsdorf - 665
An Old Field School.
The building was a rude round log structure. A chimney
made from split sticks cemented together with mud. A roof
of clapboards held on by weight poles. Greased paper cover-
ing an aperature caused by the removal of a log was substi-
tuted for a window. Xo floor overhead and none beneath but
the bare earth. Puncheon seats, no blackboard and few
slates, goose quill pens; pupils reading or spelling aloud. A
constant supply of hickory gads to enforce discipline. Such
was the first school attended by the writer in Valley Bend
District in 1866.
Swiss Colony at Alpena.
In April, 1879, a colony of about one hundred Swiss emi-
grants settled at Alpena, on the eastern slope of the Shaver
Mountain. In a strange environment, unaccustomed to the
tillage of the crops suitable to this soil and climate, they be-
came discouraged and all but about half dozen families aban-
doned the country within the first year. About a half dozen
families remained and prospered and constitute a valuable ac-
quisition to our population. Those who became permanent
residents of the county are Emiel Knutti, Jacob Ratzer, Chris-
tian Herdig, Godfrey Herdig and John Herdig.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
247
HENRY CLAY DEAN.
248 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
An Orator in Disguise.
.Mark Twain, in his "Life on the .Mississippi," pub-
lished in 1906, in referring to his visit to Keokuk, Iowa, relates
an amusing incident in the life of Henry Clay Dean. An ac-
count of Dean's relation to Randolph County is narrated in
another chapter. Mark Twain says :
" Keokuk, a long time ago was an occasional loafing place
of the erratic genius, Henry Clay Dean. I believe I never saw
him but once, but he was much talked of when I lived there.
This is what was said of him :
"He began life poor and without education, but he edu-
cated himself on the curb stones of Keokuk. He would sit
down on a curb stone with his book, careless or unconscious
of the clatter of commerce and the tramp of the passing
crowds, and bury himself in his studies by the hour, never
changing his position except to draw in his knees now and
then to let a dray pass unobstructed; and when his book was
finished, its contents, however, abstruse, had been burned into
his memory, and were his permanent possession. In this way
he acquired a vast hoard of all kinds of learning, and had it
pigeon-holed in his head where he could put his intellectual
hand on it whenever it was wanted.
"His clothes differed in no respect from a 'wharf rat's'
except that they Avere raggeder, more ill-assorted and in-
harmonious (and therefore more extravagantly picturesque)
and several layers dirtier. Nobody could infer the master
mind in the top of that edifice from the edifice itself.'
"He was an orator by nature in the first place, and later
by training of experience and practice. When he was out on
a canvass, his name was a lode stone which drew the farmers
to his stump from fifty miles around. His theme was always
politics. He used no notes, for a volcano does not need
notes. In 1862, a son of Keokuk's late distinguished citizen,
Mr. Claggett, gave me this incident concerning Dean :
"The war feeling was running high in Keokuk in '61,
and a great mass meeting was to be held on a certain day in
the new Athenaeum. A distinguished stranger was to ad-
dress the house. After the building had been packed to its
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 249
utmost capacity with sweltering folk of both sexes, the stage
still remained vacant — the distinguished stranger had failed
to connect. The crowd grew impatient, and by and by indig-
nant and rebellious. About this time a distressed manager
discovered Dean on a curb stone, explained the dilemma to
him, took his book away from him, rushed him into the build-
ing the back way and told him to make for the stage and save
his country.
"Presently a sudden silence fell upon the audience, and
everybody's eyes sought a single point — the wide, empty, car-
petless stage. A figure appeared there whose aspect was fa-
miliar hardly to a dozen persons present. It was the scare
crow Dean in foxy shoes, down at the heels ; socks of odd col-
ors, also down ; damaged trousers, relics of antiquity and a
world too short, exposing some inches of naked ankle ; an un-
buttoned vest also too short and exposing a zone of soiled,
wrinkled linen between it and the waistband ; shirt bosom
open ; long, black handkerchief wound round and round his
neck like a bandage ; bobtailed blue coat, reaching down to the
small of the back, with sleeves which left four inches of the
forearm unprotected ; small stiff-brimmed soldier cap hung
on a corner of the bump of whichever bump it was. This fig-
ure moved gravely out upon the stage and with sedate and
measured step down to the front, where it paused and dream-
ily inspected the house, saying no word. The silence of sur-
prise held its own for a moment, then was broken by a just
audible ripple of merriment which swept the sea of faces like
the wash of a wave. The figure remained as before, thought-
fully inspecting. Another wave started — laughter this time.
It was followed by another, then a third — this last one
boisterous.
"'And now the stranger stepped back one pace, took off
his soldier cap, tossed it into the wing and began to speak
with deliberation, nobody listening, everybody laughing and
whispering. The speaker talked on unembarrassed, and pres-
ently delivered a shot which went home, and silence and at-
tention followed. He rivited their attention quick and fast
with other telling things; warmed to his work and began
250 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
to pour his words out instead of dripping them ; grew hotter
and hotter and fell to discharging lightning and thunder, and
now the house began to break into applause to which the
speaker gave no heed, but went hammering straight on ; un-
wound his black bandage and cast it away, still thundering;
presently discarded the bobtailed coat and flung it aside, fir-
ing up higher and higher all the time ; finally flung the vest
after the coat, and then for an untimed period stood there
like another Vesuvius, spouting smoke and flames, lava and
ashes, raining pumice stone and cinders, shaking the moral
earth with intellectual crash upon crash, explosion upon ex-
plosion, while the mad multitude stood upon their feet in a
solid body, answering back with a ceaseless hurricane of
cheers, through a threshing snow storm of waving handker-
chiefs.
"When Dean came," said Claggett. "the people thought he
was an escaped lunatic ; but when he went, they thought he
was an escaped archangel."
Stocks and Pillories.
In the pioneer period each court house yard was supplied
with stocks and pillories. The pillories were for the punish-
ment of a higher grade of crimes than the stocks. The court
house grounds of Randolph County were provided with these
primitive methods of penal punishment. At the Febrnary
term 1794. an allowance of S10 was made for the construction
of stocks and pillories. Xext year Edward Combs was put in
the stocks live minutes for contempt of court. Three vears
later St. Leger Stout was ordered to the stocks five minutes
for the same offense. Stocks consisted of a framework of
heavy timbers, having holes in which legs and arms were
confined. Pillories were made of a wooden post and frame,
fixed on a platform several feet above the ground, behind
which the culprit stood, his head and hands being thrust
through holes in the frame, so as to be exposed in front of it.
The intention of setting a criminal in the pillory was that he
should become infamous.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
251
252 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Marks and Brands.
For many years in the earlier history of this country no
attempt was made to confine horses, cattle, sheep or hogs in
enclosed fields. Xone except cultiyated fields were put under
fence. Horses, cattle and sheep were belled and turned loose
to roam upon the range. Horses were branded and cattle,
sheep and hogs were marked. Each individual owner selected
a brand or mark of his own, which he had recorded with the
court of the county. Proving 1 this brand or mark was suffi-
cient to recover stock in dispute. Recording ear marks and
brands constituted a large part of the business of the court
in those days. As an example of these marks, at the June
term, 1794, it was ordered that the "ear marks of Jacob West-
fall, which consists of a swallow fork in the left ear be admit-
ted to record."
Arrow Heads.
Arrow heads are made from quartz of various colors.
Some have been found in the country of such rare quality that
it is not known where the Indians obtained the material from
which they were made. A quantity of flint would be carried
perhaps for many miles and handed down for generations as
an inheritance. Maxwell's history says there is a ledge of
flint near Brady's Gate in Mingo District. Sprawls are found
in some localities, especially about the mounds, showing that
the Indians stopped there long enough to replenish their sup-
ply. A notable difference between some arrow heads and
other arrow heads is that which distinguishes the point made
for hunting game from that made for use in war. In the ar-
row heads, made for hunting, at the base of the triangular
part there is an indented portion, enabling the huntsman to
fasten the point to the shaft with a thong, so that he could
recover the weapon in its entirety. The war points, however,
are perfect triangles or triangles with a concave curve at the
base. The war points have thus not only one but three sharp
points. The war arrow heads were not fastened to the shaft
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 253
with thongs, but simply inserted in the split end of the shaft.
When they struck and wounded a brave he pulled at the shaft,
which became loose, but the pronged point remained in the
flesh. The war points are long and narrow of design, well
calculated to give a death blow to the stoutest warrior who
did not know how to encase himself in armor, and was in fact
ignorant of the use of iron or any other metal until he met the
strangers across the sea. A battle-ax, made of stone, was
found near the Indian mound on the Lytle place, about three
miles south of Elkins.
Wooden Wagons.
Although the pack saddle was the pioneer's main depend-
ence in matters of transportation, yet for local purposes he
constructed a wagon entirely of wood. Therefore, the order
of the court that wagon roads were to be constructed did not
signify that wagons of modern design were in use. However,
the first wagons, in the modern sense, used in this county
were built by local workmen. The iron used was brought to
the county by pack horses, hi the first years of the settlement
of the county, wagons constructed entirely of wood were in
general use. The axles were made of hickory and wdieels were
sawed from the swamp gum tree. Harness, especially tugs
and traces, were made from raw hide, buffalo skins being a
favorite material for this purpose.
Bees and Birds.
The honey bee was inported from Europe to America by
the first settlers. Its first home is supposed to have been in
Asia. In pioneer davs wild bees were found in great numbers
far from human habitation. However, in the beginning they
escaped from the settlers 1 apiary. Crows, black birds, and
song birds also followed the advent of the white man. The
English sparrow, the recent feathered nuisance, is an impor-
tation into this country of the last few decades. The common
house rat and the common house mouse which have played
such an important role in the spread of contagious diseases,
254 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
belong' to the mammalia of India, although some specimens
are supposed to be indigenous to China. However, the white
man is responsible for their existence in America.
Mill Creek.
Mill Creek has the distinction of being the second town
in Randolph county. Tt has a population of 740 according to
the census of 1910. The community had prosperous stores,
churches, school house and a blacksmith shop at the junction
of the Valley Pike and the Mountain road, many years before
the extension of the railroad up the valley. However, the
completion of the railroad gave the impetus to the growth
of the present town of Mill Creek. For many years the com-
munity bore the not euphonious name of ''Dog Town." For
about a decade before the building of Mill Creek the village
was called Crickard, in honor of Patrick Crickard, who was
its first postmaster. Mill Creek is now the site of several
large saw mills and is quite an important industrial center as
well as the emporium of a wide agricultural territory.
Spanish War Volunteers.
Following is a list of the volunteers in the Spanish-
American war of 1898. Thev were mostlv in Company E
First West Virginia Volunteer Infantry: Zan F. Collett,
captain ; James Hanley Jr., first sergeant ; John J. Xallen, sec-
ond Sergeant; H. B. ( )T»rien, third sergeant; C. D. Poling, W.
C. Kennedy, T. J. Collett, T. J. Goddin, David F. Foy and
J. E. Weese, corporals ; F. A. Rowan, C. L. Weymouth and H.
Platz, musicians in the Regimental band ; G. AY. liuckey,
Wagoner; privates: P>ruce Phares, James R. Collier, C. L.
Lewis, Cyrus J. Warner, John S. Garber, Leslie Harding,
William Russell, C. Lloyd, J. Lloyd, K. Bennett, W. Welch,
S. Knox, Wm. Steffey, F. W. Orris, T. J. Smith, H. Crawford
Scott, Braxton O. Meeks, Stewart Anthony, Wamsley. Ran-
dolph had three regular soldiers in the battle of Santiago.
They were: Robt. L. Hamilton, first lieutenant ; Walter Phil-
lips, hospital steward, and a Mr. Wolf, of the Twenty-second
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
255
Infantry. Colonel Davis Elkins was on General Coppinger's
staff.
The City of Elkins.
The site of the present City of Elkins, was a place of more
than local distinction before the railroad was among the prob-
Historical Round Barn, Built About 1832, Elkins, W. Va.
abilities in Tygarts Valley. Leadsville and the Round Barn
were the scenes of many stirring events during the Civil War.
The City of Elkins was laid off into lots in 1889. It was
named for Hon. S. B. Elkins, who with Honorable H. G.
Davis and Honorable Richard Kearns, built magnificent re-
sidences on adjacent eminences. On August 18, 1889, trains
commenced running into the town. The railroad was ex-
tended to Beverly and Belington in 1891, and to Huttonsville
a few years later. A branch was also built, known as the C.
& I., connecting with the Chesapeake & Ohio railroad at Dur-
bin. The Coal & Coke, though entering the city over the
Western Maryland tracks, entered the city over its own road
bed in 1911. The county seat, which from the organization
of the county, had been located at the ancient town of Beverly,
was wrested from that place in an election in 1898, and the
256 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
records were moved to Elkins eighteen months later. The
clerk's offices were kept in the Western Maryland railroad
building until the completion of the present court house about
two years later.
The Elkins Electric Railway commenced running its cars
on December 1, 1909. It is slowly extending its line down the
river in the direction of Belington and is at present carrying
passengers to Roaring Creek Junction and Harding.
In the fall of 1910, the magnificient Odd Fellows Home
was dedicated in the western suburbs of Elkins. In this pala-
tial home, in the midst of parks, driveways, artificial lakes and
beautiful landscape, there is cared for the aged Odd Fellow
and the orphaned children of deceased brethren. This home
is supported by the order in West Virginia.
The same year marked the completion, also, in Elkins, of
the Orphans Home, a State institution, supported by general
taxation. The population of Elkins according to the census
of 1910, was 5,260.
Indian Trail Still Visible.
An Indian trail leading over the mountain from the Val-
ley to Fishing Hawk is still visible according to good au-
thority. The trail followed the divide between the forks of
Files Creek for some distance and then took its course along
the north side of the mountain to the gap between the heads
of Files Creek and Fishing Hawk. Evidences of the existence
of this trail can be traced through the pasture fields and in
the woods on the mountain side. The information of its ex-
istence was orally transmitted by Wm. Daniels to his grand
son, Harrison Daniels, who lives near where the trail start-
up the mountain side. Several "licks" of salt springs were
near the course of the trail, which, perhaps, partially ac-
counted for its location. The county court of Randolph or-
dered a survey of a road from Beverly up Files Creek to the
top of the Alleghany Mountain in 1799, but the grade of the
road now traveled is not as good as was the old Indian trail.
A HISTORY OP RANDOLPH COUNTY 257
Salt.
Salt is an indispensable condiment. It is an essential in-
gredient of food for most mammals. Obtaining a sufficient
supply of salt was one of tbe most difficult problems that con-
fronted the pioneer. Not a few of the roads leading to older
communities were opened for the purpose of importing salt.
At an early day some salt was made in this country from sa-
line springs, frecpiented by deer and buffalo. The water was
evaporated by boiling. However, the greater part of the sup-
ply was carried on pack saddles from Bull Town, Braxton
County. In an inventory of a personal estate, admitted to rec-
ord in 1803, salt was valued at $6.00 per bushel.
Names of Streams.
Tygarts Valley River was named for David Tygart, who
settled on its banks near Beverly, in 1753. In the early rec-
ords of the county the name is spelled Tygers. After the
massacre of the Files family, Tygart abandoned the Valley.
However, a family by the name of Taggart was among the
first permanent settlers of the county and tradition says they
were of the same stock as the David Tygart family. It is
therefore probable that the name of the Valley and the river
should be Taggart rather than Tygart.
Cheat River is so called from the deceptive appearance of
the depth of the river, due to its freedom from foreign sub-
stances. Estimating the depth of Cheat River from the stan-
dard of other streams the eye is much deceived. The stream
was called Wilmoths River for a number of years in the
early history of the county for the reason that the Wilmoths
were the first settlers on its banks.
Files Creek was named for Robert Files who settled near
its mouth in 1753.
Mill Creek was called Currence's Mill Creek in the pion-
eer period. It was one of the first streams in the countv to
furnish power for grinding grain. Wm. Currence erected a
grist mill on the site of the present mill of Jesse Rosencranse
in 1794. In the course of time the word Currence was drop-
258 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
ped from the name and it now bears the abbreviated name of
Mill Creek.
Gandy Creek was named in honor of Uriah Gandv who
was the first settler on the waters of that stream.
Dry Fork is so called for the reason that this stream is
wont in man}' places to seek subterranean passages and leave
a dry bed.
The origin of the names of Mud Lick, Gum Lick, Pond
Lick, Laurel Fork, Middle Fork, Roaring Creek, Beaver
Creek. Elkwater, Leading Creek, Otter Fork. Windy Run, is
indicated by the names thev bear.
Beccas Creek was named for a man by the name of Becky
or Beckay, who settled on that stream in an early dav.
Board of Registration.
From 1866 to 1870, the elective franchise in Randolph
County was subject to the whims and discretion of a Board
of Registration appointed by the Governor. Those charged
with disloyalty to the government during the war, then just
closed, were tried before the Board. The accused was found
loyal or disloyal as the evidence indicated and was either dis-
franchised or left on the list of eligibles. William Apperson
was the first to be tried and being unable to establish his loy-
alty was disfranchised.
The following are samples of findings of the Board:
State vs. Squire Bos worth.
The defendant, a resident of Beverly District, being called
appeared. Xo witnesses appearing this cause is dismissed.
State vs. Christopher X. Schoonover.
Christopher X. Schoonover having been struck off ap-
peared and asked to be reinstated. ' Ordered that he stay off.
The Board adjourned to meet no more in 1870 and thus
ended an incident that had done much to foster and keep ac-
tive the passions and prejudices of the war.
Board of Supervisors.
A Board of Supervisors managed the affairs of this coun-
ty from 1866 to 1872. Their jurisdiction was similar to the
A HISTORY OP RANDOLPH COUNTY 259
county courts, following is a list of supervisors and the dates
of entering office :
1866 — Elijah Kittle, John EC. Scott, John M. Haney, John
M. Crouch, John A. Hutton, Powhatan A. Lolly, Sampson
Snvder, Elijah M. Hart, Charles \Y. Burk, William Rowan,
James II. Lambert.
1867 — Benjamin F. Wilmoth, William D. Armstrong-, Or-
lando Woolwine, Geo. Buckey, Crawford Scott, ( )liver Wil-
moth, A. E. Harper.
1869— Samuel Tyre, Eli Kittle, Riley Pritt, A. J. Swecker,
Melvin Currence, John W. Phares, Jacob Vanscoy, Elijah
Cooper.
1871 — John Cain, Adam Yokum.
During- the time the county was managed by a Board of
Supervisors the county was divided into townships. The dis-
tricts of Mingo, Dry Fork and Beverly were named and
bounded very much as they are today. Clay corresponded to
New Interest, Clark to Valley Bend, Reynolds to Huttons-
ville, Scott to Roaring Creek, Union to Middle Fork, and
( ireene to Leadsville.
Lorenzo Dow.
Lorenzo Dow, the noted Methodist Missionary, visited
Beverly in his animal pilgrimages through the frontier set-
tlements of America. In addition to his enthusiasm as a mis-
sionary, Dow had another purpose in visiting Beverly. His
brother-in-law, Dr. Benjamin Dolbear, was a resident of that
place. Mrs. Dow was a sister of Dr. Dolbear. Tne house
in which Dr. Dolbear liyed and which sheltered Dow is still
standing on the Archibald Chenoweth lot near the eastern end
of the Valley River bridge. Dow made his appointments a
year ahead and seldom disappointed his congregation. In
Beverly he usually preached in the eastern suburbs near the
Creed Butcher homestead. He would lay his hat, coat and
watch on a log and would preach about two hours. He was
a man of unusual magnetic presence and power. It was not
unusual for many of his congregation to become affected with
260 A HISTORY OP RANDOLPH COUNTY
the "jerks" in which the individual would undergo strange and
peculiar contortions. These manifestations were variously
interpreted. Some believed that these extraordinary expres-
sions of emotion were the wrestling of the spirit of the Evil
One with the soul of the convicted sinner. Dow refers to these
mental states in his writings and evidently they were as much
a mystery to him as to any one else. Today psychologists
would readily attribute them to the power of suggestion.
These phenomena heralded his reputation and magnified his
power and influence. He visited Europe in 1799 and in 1805.
His dress and manner was that of the frontierman and he at-
tracted great crowds to see and hear him. His Polemical
works were published in 1814, and the history of a Cosmopo-
lite and a short account of a Long Travel in 1823. He was
born in Connecticutt in 1777, and died February 2, 1834.
The Tygarts Valley News.
The Tygarts Valley News made its initial bow to the
public September 13, 1889. The first owners and editors were
James A. Bent and Floyd J. Triplett. In January, 1891, Zan.
F. Collett and John F. Ferguson succeeded Messrs. Bent and
Triplett, the latter having been elected clerk of the county
court, temporarily left the newspaper field to assume official
duties. At the expiration of his term of office Mr. Triplett,
with Mr. Collett, conducted the paper until the breaking out
of the Spanish American war in May, 1898, when Mr. Collett,
having been elected Captain of Volunteers entered the mili-
tary service. Mr. Triplett a few years later sold the paper to
a joint stock company which still owns and manages the
paper. The paper has since suspended.
The Randolph Enterprise.
The Randolph Enterprise was the first paper published in
Randolph County. The first issue appeared in May, 1874.
Its first editor and owner was Geo. P. Sargent. The paper
was a five column quarto and was printed on a Washington
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 261
hand press. The nearest railroad station was Webster, Taylor
County, and blank paper and other supplies were hauled from
that point by road wagons, Mr. Sargent, after a few years
management of the paper sold it to T. Irvin Wells. V. B.
Trimble and B. L. Butcher succeeded Mr. Wells. Mr. Butch-
er, having been elected 1'rosecuting Attorney, sold his inter-
est to Mr. Trimble. J. L. and A. S. Bosworth purchased the
paper of Mr. Trimble. They sold to John Hutton and he
sold it to J. L. Bosworth and E. D. Talbott. Mr. Talbott sold
his interest to F. J. Triplett. who about two years later sold
his interest to A. S. Bosworth. J. L. and A. S. Bosworth con-
ducted the paper about eight years and sold it to a stock com-
pany with G. W. Lewis and S. A. Rowan as editors. The pa-
per followed the county seat to Elkins and has been under
the editorial management of James W. Weir for several years,
and was succeeded by J. Slidell Brown, the present editor.
The Randolph Review.
The Randolph Review was the second paper published
in Randolph County. Jt was founded by J. L. and A. S. Bos-
worth and after publishing it for about six months purchased
the Randolph Enterprise and sold the Review plant to Buckey
Canfield, who moved it to Huntersville and started the Times,
the first paper published in that county. These events oc-
cured in 1882.
Huttonsville.
The town of Huttonsville was named in honor of the
Hutton family. Before the war the village was the educa-
tional center of the county. Until the coming of the West
Virginia Central railroad, it was a county hamlet with post-
office, hotel, church, school house and blacksmith shop. It is
now an incorporated town with a population of 251 according
to the census of 1910.
262 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
Coalton.
This town is situated in the center of the Roarino- Creek
coal fields. The existence of the village is cotemporaneous-
with the entrance of the railroad into the town in May, 1894.
Until recently it was called Womelsdorf for O. C. YVomels-
dorf. who founded the town and was the pioneer in the devel-
opment of that section. It is now a flourishing village with
a population of 650 according to the census of 1910.
Harman.
The town of Harman is situated near the junction of the
Dry Fork and Horse Camp Run. For many vears a quiet
country hamlet, with the advent of the railroad it has grown
into a prosperous village with a bank, hotels, graded school
and a system of water piped from an adjacent mountain
spring. It is surrounded by a rich agricultural community
with neat and attractive farm houses. According to the cen-
sus of 1910 the town has a population of 159 and is incor-
porated.
The Frost of "59.
On the morning of June 5, 1859, occurred a notable frost
in Randolph County. The spring had been warm and aus-
picious and the farmers were looking forward to a bountiful
harvest. However, on the day previous the weather became
unseasonably cold. Furs and overcoats were taken from their
winter recesses. Some farmers presaged the coming calamitv
and entered their corn fields with horse and plow and covered
the -rowing crop with the mellow earth, which was removed
when the weather moderated. Their pains were rewarded
with the usual harvest. All unprotected crops of corn and
wheat and every other green and growing thing were frozen.
To compensate for the disaster the farmer went to work with
renewed energy. Corn was replanted and partially matured.
A large acreage of buckwheat was sown. The local supply
of seed was exhausted and the Glades of Preston and Garrett
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 263
were drawn upon. Winter found the farmer's graneries with
their wonted plethora.
First Foreigner Naturalized.
The first foreigner to be naturalized in Randolph was
John Lambertson in 1787. He came from Ireland. William
Currence witnessed his good character and the fact that he
had been a resident of the State one year. The second was
Win. Bock in 1806, and the third was William Xearbeck in
1824.
Emancipation Paper.
So far as the records show the bearer of the following-
paper was the first negro to receive his liberty in Randolph
County :
Randolph County, Ya.
Dec. 30, 1791.
1 do hereby certify that I have set the bearer hereof,
Negro Tom, at full liberty from servitude to act and do for
himself as a free man, as witness my hand the day and date
above written.
JONAS FRIEND.
Town of Beverly.
The General Assembly of the State of Virginia passed
an Act December 16, 1790, creating the town of Beverly, as
foll< tws :
That twenty acres of land, the property of James West-
fall, as the same are already laid off into lots and streets in
the County of Randolph adjoining the land whereon the Court
House now stands, shall be established a town by the name of
Beverly; and that John Wilson, Jacob Westfall, Sylvester
Ward, Thomas Philips, Hezekiah Rosecrouts, William Worm-
sley, and Valentine Stornaker, Gentlemen, shall be and are
hereby constituted Trustees thereof.
The names Rosecrouts, Womsley, and Stonaker, as they
264 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
appear in the Act reproduced above, should be Rosencranse,
Wamsley and Stalnaker.
The original name of the town was Edmonton, in honor
of Edmond Randolph. The Virginia Assembly changed the
name to Beverly in honor of Beverly Randolph. The town,
as indicated by the charter, consisted of 20 acres. This tract
was divided into 40 half-acre lots and were sold at $16.66%
each and the purchaser bound himself to build a house 16x16
feet with stone or brick chimney within five years. An an-
nual rent of 36 cents for each lot was to be paid to James West-
fall or his heirs forever. There is no evidence that this stip-
ulation in the deeds was ever enforced.
The town has a population, according to the census of
1910, of 438.
Historic Beverly.
In the years subsequent to the Civil War, isolated and
unassuming, nestled among the mountains, many miles from
the marts of trade, stood the village of Beverly. But this ham-
let possessed a wealth of men that entitled it to a higher rank
than larger and more pretentious towns — a class of honest
yeomanry so aptly described by Dr. Goldsmith in his poem
of the "Deserted Village." To each of whom is applicable
Mark Anthony's tribute to Caesar: "His life was gentle and
the elements so mixed in him that nature might stand up and
say to all the world this was a man." Intelligent, honest and
upright, with good counsel and good example to the young,
they sought neither pelf, place nor power, and living simple
and unselfish lives, the higher self unfolded. Such men were
B. W. Crawford, Adam Crawford, Adam Rowan, Claude Goff,
David Goff, George Printz, Lemuel Chenoweth, Archibald
Chenoweth, Dr. Geo. W. Yokum, Xelson Fitzwater, Fountain
Butcher, Creed Butcher, Henry Suiter, Geo. W. Leonard, John
Leonard, John B. Earle, Elias Earle, Alpheus Buckey, John
Buckey, Dr. Squire Bosworth, Chas. W. Russell, C. J. P.
Cresap, Parkinson Collett, Isaac Baker, Eli Baker, James H.
Logan, Solomon Warner, Samuel Gilmore, Jacob Suiter, L.
D. Greynolds, Jacob M. Weese, Calvin Collett, Jacob Collett,
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 265
Johnathan Arnold, L. D. Strader, Bernard L. Brown, George
Buckey, William Rowan, Judson Blackman, James *D. Wilson,
Rev. Robert Scott, John B. Morrison, Emmett Buckey, James
A. Vaughan.
These men have gone to reap their recompense in that
"country from whose bourn no traveler returns," but they
merit a permanent place in the annals of their town and
county, which they so highly honored. Accepting Walt Whit-
man's definition of the greatest city, which we append, the an-
cient village of Beverly should live in history for having pro-
duced a superior class of men :
The greatest city is that which has the greatest man
or woman.
If it be a few ragged huts, it is still the greatest city
in the whole world.
The place where the greatest city stands is not the
place of stretched wharves, docks, manufactures,
deposits of produce,
Nor the place of ceaseless salutes of newcomers, or
the anchor-lifters of the departing,
Nor the place of the tallest and costliest buildings, or
shops selling goods from the rest of the earth.
Nor the place of the best libraries and schools — nor
the place where money is plentiest.
Nor the place of the most numerous population.
Where the city of the faithfulest friends stands,
Where the city of the cleanliness of the sexes stands,
Where the city of the healthiest fathers stands,
Where the city of best-bodied mothers stands,
There the greatest city stands.
Wild Pigeons.
The wild pigeon or the passenger pigeon appeared in
very large flocks in Randolph County until a comparatively
recent date, perhaps for a decade following the civil war.
They visited this section as a rule in September and October,
and were evidently attracted to the wooded districts of Ran-
dolph by acorns and beech nuts. They came in such flocks as
266 A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY
to obscure, the sun light and present the appearance of the
sky being overcast by dark and ominous clouds. Trees and
their branches were often broken and crushed by the weight
of their numbers. Some flocks were estimated to contain
many millions of birds. It is supposed their breeding ground
was in Western Canada and the backwoods of the Western
United States. The passenger pigeon was about the size of
the common turtle dove, but with a long wedged shape tail.
The male was of a dark slate color above and a purplish bay
beneath, the sides of the neck being enlivened by gleaming
violet green and gold. The female was drab colored and
dull white beneath, with only a slight trace of the brilliant
neck markings. This species of pigeon is now supposed to be
extinct and fabulous prices are offered for a male and female
specimen.
Prisoners at Fort Deleware.
Lenox Camden, William Salisbury and his son,
Salisbury, Pugh Chenoweth, Levi Ward, Allen Isner, Philip
Isner, William Clemm, Smith Crouch, Thomas Crouch, John
Caplinger, John Learv and Charles Russell, were sent to Fort
Deleware near Philadelphia, to be held as hostages for a num-
ber of Union sympathizers taken to Richmond by General W.
L. Jackson, in his raid of 1863. All died but the last four
from drinking the pointed water of Delaware Bay. Frank
Phares went to Philadelphia and secured the release of the
survivors.
The Settlement of Adolph.
This settlement was established in 1880-1 by imigrants
from Switzerland. However, a few Swiss families that moved
to Adolph had lived temporarily in other States of the Union.
Fred Tseley, a single man, and the following heads of fam-
ilies were the permanent settlers of the colony: Jacob Ruth-
enbuler, John Rush, Albert Brenwald, Jacob Pheister, Gotlieb
Schorer, Joseph Koefle. and Jacob Schmid. A few families
not mentioned above came, but not finding conditions to their
liking:, settled elsewhere.
A HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 267
The village consists of ele
