History of Hampshire County, West Virginia

Introduction

ampshire county, the oldest in West Virginia, was med in 1754. It then included nearly all the valley of the uth branch, and its limits westward were not defined, he present county of Mineral and a portion of Morgan ere then in Hampshire. In 1785 Hardy county, including e present territory of Grant and part of Pendleton, was taken from Hampshire. In 1820 Morgan county was ere-, ated, taking- part of its territory ; and in 1866 Mineral was formed from Hampshire. Thus [the old -county was reduced to its present limits. In 1784 its area was two thousand eight hundred square miles, with about fourteen thousand population. Its area is now six hundred and thirty square miles with about thirteen thousand population. □ In writing- the present history no labor or expense has been spared. The aim has constantly been to present a faithful narrative of C events, beginning- with the earliest explorations and settlements and leading- down to the present 'time. In order to present occurrences in their proper sequence and relation, the work has been divided into three parts. The first considers the county of Hampshire as one in a group of counties forming the state. Many features of history cannot be adequately considered if restricted to a single county because* they concern the whole state. Part L of this book, therefore, contains a synopsis of the history of West Virginia, thereby laying a broad foundation on which to construct the purely local history of the county. Part II. contains the county history. Part III. deals with family history. Each of these parts is complete and could stand alone ; but the three are . so related that they form one work, the state history being

INTRODUCTION.

the foundation, the county history the superstruc and the family history the finishing*. Every nook and ner of Hampshire has been ransacked to collect the s tered and disconnected, but mutually related, fragme from which to compile this book. The magnitude of ti Work may be partially appreciated when it is stated th more than thirteen hundred families were visited at thei homes, and a record made of the births, marriages anc deaths in each family, not only for the present generation) but often extending back more than one hundred yearsJt The result of this has been carefully condensed and is pre-! sented in part III. The aggregate distance traveled in col-i lecting this material was no less than three thousand miles.; and if one man had collected the material and written this History of Hampshire it would have occupied his whole time for seven hundred days.

While the preparation of the family history was the most laborious and expensive part of the undertaking, much work was required for the other parts. The book has t>een written for the homes, and the aim has been to make it an educational work, not so much for the older people who probably are already acquainted with much that is in it, but for the young whose education has only begun. To this end, special attention has been given to the geography, botany, geology and mineralogy of the county, and the kindred topics relating to climate and products. These have been written from original investigation and observation ; for no writer had ever before entered that field in Hampshire count}', except in the most general and superficial manner. It is confidently believed that the school children X)i Hampshire will find the way opened for a more intelligent and practical understanding of their county's geography and natural features, particularly of what the mountains contain, how soils are made, and the effects of climate, and many kindred topics.

The destruction of man}^ of the county records during-

CHAPTER t

EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT.

It is impossible to say when and where the first white man set foot on the soil of what is now West Virginia. In all probability no record was ever made of the first visit. It is well known that adventurers always push into new countries in advance of organized exploring- parties ; and it is likely that such was the case with West Virginia when it was only an unnamed wilderness. Probably the Indians who waged war with the early colonists of Virginia carried prisoners into this region on their hunting excursions. But there is no record of this, and history deals with records and not conjecture. Sixty-five years were required for the colonists of Virginia to become superficially acquainted with the country as far west as the Blue Ridge, which, until June 1670, was the extreme limit of explorations in that direction. The distance from Jamestown, the first colony, to the base of the Blue Ridge, was two hundred miles. Nearly three-quarters of a century was required to push the outposts of civilization two hundred miles, and that, too, across a country favorable for exploration, and with little danger from Indians during most of the time. In later years the outposts of civilization moved westward, at an average yearly rate of seventeen miles. The people of Virginia were not satisfied to allow the Blue Ridge to remain the boundary between the known and unknown countries; and, in 1670, sixty-three years after the first settlement in the state, the governor of Virginia sent out an exploring party with instructions to cross the mountains of the west, seek for silver and gold, and try to discover a river flowing- into the Pacific ocean. Early in Jane of that year, 1670, the explorers forced the heights of the Blue Ridge which they found steep and rocky, and descended into the valley west of that range. They discovered a overflowing due north, as far as they could see. The observations arid measurements made by these explorers • perhaps satisfied the- royal governor who sent them out; hut their accuracy may be questioned. They reported that the river which they had discovered was four hundred and fifty yards wide; its banks in most places one iM Bey oiid the river they said they

could see towering mountains destitute of trees, and crowned by white cliffs, hidden much of the time in mist, but occasionally clearing sufficiently to give a glimpse of their ruggedness. They expressed the opinion that those unexplored mountains might contain silver and gold. They made no attempt to cross the river, but set out on their return. From their account of the broad river and its banks thousands of feet high, one might suppose that they had discovered the Canyon of the Colorado; but it was only New River, the principal tributary of the Kanawha. The next year, 1671, the governor of Virginia sent explorers to continue the work, and they remained a considerable time in the valley of New River. If they penetrated as far as. the present territory of West Virginia, which is uncertain, they probably crossed the line into what is now Monroe or Mercer counties.

Forty-five years later, 1716, Governor Spotswood of Virginia led an exploring party over the Blue Ridge, across the Shenandoah river and to the summit" of the Allegheny mountains near the source of the South branch of the Potomac It is probable that the territory of West Virginia was entered on that occasion in what is now Pendleton county. It would be unreasonable to suppose that these exploring parties were the real pioneers of West Virginia. Baring hunters, traders and adventurers no doubt were

INTRODUCTION.

the war has been a serious obstacle in the way of fully investigating many events in the county's early history. However, no source of information that could possibly throw light upon the subject has been neglected. The compilation of the history of the war in Hampshire presented most discouraging difficulties. There were few documents and almost no chicial or unofficial records accessible. Days of investigation often were required to fix a elate ; and sometimes the date could be fixed only approximately. The narratives of events were collected from scores of sources, and were often so conflicting that to bring order out of chaos seemed impossible. But, after months of labor, the chapter on the war is presented to the people with the assurance that they will find it an important and painstaking record of events as they occurred in Hampshire. It is believed that, in the main features it is absolutely correct, and in the minor details it contains very few errors.

It has not been the purpose to go much beyond the present borders of the county in dealing with its history, yet, so intimately are historical occurrences interrelated, that a proper handling of the subject often led the investigator beyond the confines of Hampshire. The book is a tolerably full history of the lower portion of the South branch valley. Trivial matters have been omitted in order to devote more space to what is of greater importance. Valuable assistance has been given by the citizens of Hampshire. They have cooperated nobly in the work, and if they find this history a book of value, they helped to make it so.

o p

PART I. State History

EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT. 15 by that time somewhat acquainted with the geography of the eastern part of the state. Be that as it may, the actual settlement of the counties of Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire and Hardy was now near at hand. The gap in the Blue Ridge at Harpers Ferry, made by the Potomac breaking through that rang*e, was soon discovered, and through that rocky gateway the early settlers found a path into the valley of Virginia, whence some of them ascended the Shenendoah to Winchester paid above, and others continued up the Potomac, occupying- Jefferson county and in succession the counties above; and before many years there were settlements on the South branch of the Potomac. It is known that the South branch was explored within less than nine years after Governor Spotswood's expedition, and within less than thirteen years there were settlers in that country.

Lord Fairfax claimed the greater part of the territory in what is now the eastern panhandle of West Virginia; that is, he claimed the territory now embraced in the counties of Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire, Hardy and Grant. But his boundary lines had never been run. The grant called for a line drawn from the head of the Potomac to the head of the Rappahannock. Several years passed before it could be ascertained where the fountains of these streams were. An exploring party traced the Potomac to its source in the year 1736, and on December 14 of that year ascertained and marked the spot where the rainfall divides, part flowing- into the Potomac and part into Cheat river on the west. This spot was selected as the corner of Lord Fairfax's land; and on October 17, 1746, a stone was planted there to mark the spot and has ever since been called the Fairfax stone. It stands at the corner of two states, Maryland and West Virginia, and of four counties, Garrett, Preston, Tucker and Grant. It is about half a mile north of the station of Fairfax, on the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg railroad, at an elevation of

HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE.

three thousand two hundred and sixteen feet above sea level.

George Washington spent the summers of three years surveying- the estate of Lord Fairfax, part!}' in W est Virginia. He began the work in 1748, when he was sixteen, and persecuted it with ability and industry. There were other surveyors employed in the work as well as he. By means of this occupation he became acquainted with the fertility and resources of the new country, and he afterwards became a large land holder in W est Virginia, one of his holding's lying as far west as the Kanawha. His knowledge of the country no doubt had something to do with the organization of the Ohio company in 1749 which was granted 500,000 acres between the Monongahela and the Kanawha. Lawrence Washington, a half brother of George Washing*- ton, was a member of the Ohio company. The granting of land in this western country no doubt had its weight in hastening the French and Indian war of 1755, by which England acquired possession of the Ohio valley. The war would have come sooner or later, and England would have secured the Ohio valley in the end, and it would have passed ultimately to the LTnited States; but the events were hastened by Lord Fairfax's sending the youthful Washington to survey his lands near the Potomac. While engaged in this workr Washington frequently met small parties of friendly Indians. The presence of these natives was not a rare thing in the South Branch country. Trees are still pointed out as the corners or lines of surveys made by Washington.

About this time the lands on the Greenbrier river were attracting attention. A large grant was made to the Greenbrier compan}r; and in 1749 and 1750 John Lewis surveyed this region, and settlements sprang up in a short time. The land was no better than the more easily accessible land east of the Alleghany mountains ; but the spirit of adventure which has always been characteristic of the

EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT. 17

American people, led the daring- pioneers into the wilderness west of the mountains, and from that time the outposts of settlements moved down the Greenbrier and the Kanawha, and in twenty-two years had reached the Ohio river. The frontiersmen of Greenbrier were always foremost in repelling" Indian attacks, and in carrying- the war into the enemy's country.

The eastern counties grey/ in population, and within a dozen vears after their settlement there was an org-anized church on the South branch, with reguilar monthly meeting's at Opequon. Prior to the outbreak of the French and Indian war in 1755, there were settlements all alongthe Potomac river, not only in Jefferson, Berkeley and Hampshire, but also in Hardy, Grant and. Pendleton counties. It is, of course, understood that these counties, as now named, were not in existence at that time.

The Alieg-hany mountains served as a barrier for awhile to keep back the tide of emigration from the part of the state lying- west of that rang-e; but when peace was restored after the French and Indian war the western valleys soon had their settlements. Explorations had made the country fairly well known prior to this time as far west as the Ohio. Immense tracts of land had been gr anted in that wilderness, and surveyors had been sent to mark the lines. About the time of the survey of the Greenbrier country, the Ohio company sent Christopher Gist to explore its lands already granted and to examine West Yirg-ima,^ Ohio and Kentucky for choice locations in view of obtaining- future grants. Mr. Gist, a noted character of his time, and a companion of Washing-ton a few years later, performed his task well, and returned with a report satisfactory to his employers. He visited Ohio and Kentucky-, and on his return passed up the Kanawha and New rivers in 1751, and climbed to the summit of the ledg-e of rocks now known as Hawk's Nest, or Marshall's Piller, over-

HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE.

hanging- the New river, and from its summit had a view of the mountains and inhospitable country.

In speaking- of the exploration and settlement of "Wiest Virginia, it is worthy of note that the Ohio river was explored by the French in 1749; but they attempted no settlement within the borders of the state.

Had Virginia allowed religious freedom, a larg-e colony would have been planted on the Ohio company's lands, between the Monong-ahela and the Kanawha, about 1750, and this would probably have chang-ed the early history of this part of West Virginia. A colony in that territory would have had its influence in the subsequent wars with the Indians. And when we consider how little was lacking* to form a new state, or province, west of the Allegiiaiiies about 1772, to be called Vandalia, it can be understood what the result might have been had the Ohio company succeeded in its scheme of colonization. Its plan was to plant a colony of two hundred German families on its land. The settlers were to come from eastern Pennsylvania. All arrangements between the company and the Germans were satisfactory ; but when the hardy Germans learned that they would be in the province of Virginia, and that they must become members of the English church or suffer persecution in the form of extra taxes laid on dissenters by the Episcopacy of Virginia, they would not go ; and the Ohio company's colonization scheme failed.

Another effort to colonize the lands west of the Alleghanies, and from which much might have come, also failed. This attempt was made by Virginia. In 1752 the House of Burg-esses offered Protestant settlers west of the Alleghanies, in Aug-usta county, ten years' exemption from taxes ; and the offer was subsequently increased to fifteen years' exemption. The war with the French and Indians put a stop to all colonization projects. Virginia had enough to do taking- care of her settlements along the western border without increasing the task by advancing the fron-

EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT.

tier seventy-five miles westward. The first settlement, if the occupation by three white men may be called a settlement, on the Monong-ahela was made about 1752. Thomas Eckerly and two brothers, from eastern Pennsylvania, took up their home there to escape military duty, they being- opposed to war. They wished to live in peace remote from civilized man; but two of them fell victims to the Indians while the third was absent. The next settlement was by a small colony near Morg-antown under the leadership of Thomas Decker. This was in 1753, while the French and Indian war was at its heignt. The colony was exterminated by Indians the next spring*.

In 1763, October 7, a proclamation was issued by the King- of England forbidding settlers from taking- up land or occupying- it west of the Alleg-hanies until the country had been boug-ht from the Indians. It is not known what caused this sudden desire for justice on the part of the king-, since nearly half the land west of the Alleg-hanies, in this state, had already been granted to companies or individuals; and, since the Indians did not occupy the land and there was no tribe Avithin reach of it with any rig-ht to claim it, either by occupation, conquest or discovery.. Governor Fauquier of Virginia issued three proclamation-, warning- settlers west of the mountains to withdraw from the lands. No attention was paid to the proclamations. The g-overnors of Virginia and Pennsylvania were ordered. 1765, to remove the settlers by force. In 1766 and thenext year soldiers from Fort Pitt, now Pittsburg-, were sent into West Virginia to dispossess the settlers by force- It is not probable that the soldiers were overzealous in carrying- out the commands, for the injustice and nonsen- . of such orders must have been apparent to the dullest soldier in the west. Such settlers as were driven away, returned as soon as the soldiers were g*one, and affairs went on as usual. Finally, Pennsylvania boug-ht the Indian lands within its borders; but Virginia after that:

HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE.

date, never paid the Indians for any lands in West Virginia. The foregoing" order was the first forbidding- settlements in West Virginia, north of the Kanawha and west of the Alleghanies. Another order was issued ten years later. Both were barren of results. The second will be spoken of more at length in the account of the incorporation of • part of Ohio in the Province of Quebec.

Settlements along the Ohio, above and below Wheeling, were not made until six or seven years after the close of the French and Indian war. About 1769 and 1770 the Wetzels and Zanes took up land in that vicinity, and others followed. Within a few years Wheeling and the territory above and below, formed the most prosperous community west of the Alleghanies. That part of the state suffered from Indians who came from Ohio; but the attacks of the savag'es could not break up the settlements, and in 1790, five years before the close of the Indian war, Ohio county had more than five thousand inhabitants, and Monongalia had nearly as many.

During the Revolutionary war, parts of the interior of the state were occupied by white men. Harrison count}'', in the vicinity of Clarksburg, and further west, was a flourishing community four or five years before the Revolution. Settlers pushed up the West fork of the Monongahela, and the site of Weston, in Lewis county, was occupied soon after. Long before that time frontiersmen had tlieir cabins on the Valley river as far south as the site of Beverly, in Randolph county. The first settlement in Wood county, near Parkershurg, was made 1773, and the next year the site of St, George, in Tucker county, was occupied by a stockade and a few houses. Monroe county, in the southeastern part of the state, was reclaimed from the wilderness fifteen years before the Revolution; and Tyler county's first settlement dates back to the year 177-5, Pocahontas was occupied at a date as early as any county west of the Alleghanies, there being white settlers in 1749;

EXPLORATION AN 13 SETTLEMENT.

but not many. Settlements along- the Kanawha were pushed westward and readied the Ohio river before 1776.

The population of West Virginia at the close of the Revolution is not known. Perhaps an estimate of thirty-live thousand would not be far out of the way. In 1790 the population of the territory now forming' West Virg-inia was 55,873; in 1800 it was 78,592, a gain of nearly forty per cent in ten years. In 1810 the population was 105,469, a g-ain of thirty-five per cent in the decade. The population in 1820 was 136,768, a g-ain of nearly twenty-three per cent. In 1830 there were 176,924, a gain in ten years of over twenty-two per cent. In 1S40 the population was 224,537, a gain of more than twenty-one per cent. The population in 1850 was 302,313, a gain in the decade of more than twenty-live per cent. In 1860 the population was 376,388, a gain of more than twenty-two per cent. In 1S70 the population was 442,014, a g'ain in ten years of nearly fifteen per cent. In 1880 the population of the state was 618,457, a gain of twenty-six per cent. In 1890 the population of the state was 762,794, a gain of mere than twenty-three per cent, in ten years.

Land was abundant and cheap in the early daj^s of West Virginia settlements, and the state was generous in granting- land to settlers and to companies. There was none of the formality reo uired, which has since been insisted upon. Pioneers usually located on such vacant lands as suited them, and they attended to securing a title afterwards. What is usually called the "tomahawk right" was no right in law at all; but the persons who had such supposed rig-hts were usually given deeds for what they claimed. This process consisted in deadening a few trees near a spring- or brook, and cutting* the claimant's name in the bark of trees. This done, he claimed the adjacent land, and his right was usually respected by the frontier people; but there was very naturally a limit to his r Mentions. He must not claim too much; and it was considered in his

HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE.

favor if he made some improvements, such as planting* corn, within a reasonable time. The law of Virginia gave .such settlors a title to 400 acres, and a pre-emption to 1,000 more adjoining-, if he built a log cabin on the claim and raised a crop of corn. Commissioners were appointed from time to time, some as early as 1779, who visited different settlements and gave certificates to those who gave satisfactory proof that they had complied with the law. These certificates were sent to Richmond, and if no pretest or contest was filed in six months, the settler was sent a deed to the land. It can thus be seen that a tomahawk right could easily be merged into a settler's right. He could clear a Tittle land, build his hut, and he usually obtained the land. The good locations were the first taken, and the poorer land was left until somebody wanted it. "The surveys were usually made in the crudest manner, often without accuracy and without ascertaining whether they overlapped some earlier claim or not. The foundation was laid for many future law suits, some of which may still be on the court dockets of this state. It is said that there are places in West Virginia where land titles are ■five deep. Some of them are old colonial grants, stretching perhaps across two or three counties. Others are grants made after Virginia became a member of the United States. Then come sales made subsequently by parties having or claiming a right in the land. The laws of West Virginia are such that a settlement of most of these claims is not difficult, where the met^s and bounds are not in dispute.

CHAPTER IL

INDIANS AND MOUNDBUILDEFS.

Indians enter largely into the early history of the state, and few of the early settlements were exempt from their visitations. Yet, at the time West Virginia first became known to white men, there was not an Indian settlement, village or camp of any considerable consequence within its borders. There appears to have been several villages in the vicinity of Pittsburg, and thence northward to Lake Erie and westward into Ohio; but West Virginia was vacant; it belonged to no tribe and was claimed by none with shadow of title. There were at times, and perhaps at nearly all times, a wigwam here or there within the borders; but it belonged to temporary sojourners, hunters, fishermen, who expected to remain only a short time. So far as West Virginia is concerned, the Indians were not dispossessed of it by the white man, and they were never justified in waging war for any wrong done them within this state. The white race simply took land which they found vacant, and dispossessed nobod}'.

There was a time when West Virginia was occupied by Indians, and they were driven out or exterminated; but it was not done by the white race, but by other tribes of Indians, who, when they had completed the work of destruction and desolation, did not choose to settle on the land they had made their own by conquest. This war of extermination was waged between the years 1656 and 1672, as nearly as the date could be ascertained by the early historians, who were mostly missionaries among the tribes further north and west. The conquerors were the Mohawks, a

HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE.

fierce and powerful tribe whose place of residence was in Western New York, but whose warlike excursions were carried into Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, even fu -ther south. They obtained firearms from the Dutch colonies on the Hudson, and having- learned how to use them, they became a nation of conquerors. The only part of their conquests which comes within the scope of this inquiry was their invasion of West Virginia. A tribe of Indians, believed to be the Hurons, at that time occupied the country- from the forks of the Ohio southward along* the Monongahela and its tributaries, on the Little Kanawha, on the Great Kanawha .'and to the Kentucky line. During" the sixteen y.ekrs- between-. 165'6 and 1672 the Mohawks overran the country and left it a solitude, extending their conquest to the Guyandot river. There was scarcely a Huron left to tell the tale in all this state. If a small village on the Little Kanawha at the coming of the white man was not a remnant of the Hurons, it cannot be ascertained that there was one of that tribe within the borders of this state when the white men pushed their settlements into it. Genghis Kahn, the Tartar, did not exterminate more completely than did these Mohawks. If there were any Huron refugees who escaped, they never returned to their old homes to take up their residence again.

There is abundant evidence all over the state that Indians in considerable numbers once made their home here. Graveyards tell of those who died in times of peace. The dead left on the field of battle are seldom buried by savages. Graves are numerous, sometimes singly, sometimes in large aggregations, indicating that a village was near by. Flint arrowheads are found everywhere, but more numerous on river bottoms and on level land near springs, where villages and camps would most likely be located. The houses of these tribesmen were built of the most flimsy material, and no traces of them are found, except fireplaces, which may occasionally be located on account of charcoal

INDIANS AND MOUNDBUILDERS. 25 and ashes which remain till the present day and may be unearthed a foot or more below the surface of the ground. Round these fires, if the imagination may take the place of historical records, sat the wild huntsmen after the chase was over; and while they roasted their venison, they talked of the past and planned for the future; but how long- ago, no man knows.

As to who occupied the country before the Hurons, or how long- the Hurons held it, history is silent. There is not a leg-end or tradition coming- down to us that is worthy of credence. There was an ancient race here which built mounds; and the evidence found in the mounds is tolerably conclusive that the people who built them were here long- before any Indians with which we are acquainted; but history has not yet been able to deal with the question whether the Indians built the mounds or whether they are the work of another race.' The strongest argument against the claim that the mounds are the work of Indians of a prehistoric time is the fact that Indians have not built mounds since they have been under the eye of the white race. This evidence is of a negative sort, but it is given weight, and properly so. The argument that the work done shpws that the people who built the mounds were a more highly civilized race than the Indians, is not well supported. They were probably more industrious. The mounds in this state, and in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, seem to have been the crude beginnings of architecture which was i7nproved and enlarged in the pyramids of Mexico, built, or supposed to have been built, by the ancestors of the Aztecs and Mayas. If such were the case, the conclusion would not be unreasonable that the people who built the mounds were driven southwest ward into Mexico by the irruption of a new people from the north, and that when the exiles reached their new home they turned their hands again to building mounds, and their experience in buildingenabled them ultimately to build pyramids. In Mexico to-