The history of Upshur county, West Virginia, from its earliest exploration and settlement to the present time ...

Introduction

The actual history of Upshur antedates the period of recorded events; relates to the peoples who lived on this continent prior to its discovery ; embraces the epochs of settlement, colonization, nationality and disruption of Virgmia ; refers more particularly to the early settlers on the waters of the Buckhannon and West Fork rivers and their troubles with the Indians, the local political agencies which brought about the formation of the county, her complete records, including Upshur's share in the Civil and Spanish-American Wars, the life of her people, commercial, industrial, economic, social, educational and religious; also the family records of a thousand persons who have taken part in the settlement and county periods.

Within this volume will be found a very instructive chapter on the Birds of Upshur, by Rev. Earle Amos Brooks, a native bom son who is authority on ornithology and whose reputation spreads to the ends of this nation.

The plan of this history proper embraces three divisions. The first is a condensed history of West Virginia ; the second is an elaborate, carefully-prepared county history, and part third is a biography.

Part First was written by Hu Maxwell, author of county histories of Tucker. Randolph and Barbour, and joint author of County History of Mineral and a text book on History and Government of West Virginia.

Parts Second and Third in the fall of 1906 and spring of 1907 and the material (much of collected years before) was collected from every available source. To those who aided in collecting the data for this book we are indebted and for the names of those who assisted in the most substantia! way to make the History of Upshur a success, particular reference is directed to family history. Buckhannon, W. Va., July i, 1907.

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CHAPTER I. Explorations West of the Blue Ridge

Capt. Batte's Expedition. .Governor Spotswood Reaches the Base of the Alleghanies. .The South Branch Valley Explored. .Washington's Surveying Tour Alleganies — The South Branch Valley Explored — Washington's Surveying Tour ..Settlement Forbidden West of the Alleghanies. .Soldiers Attempt to Drive Colonists Out. .Settlements on the Ohio and Monongahela — Population of West Virginia. .Land Titles. .19-24.

CHAPTER //.

Indians and Moundbuilders.

West Virginia's Territory Uninhabited. .The Mohawk Invasion .. Moundbuilders and Indians Probably Identical. .Their Origin Unknown. .America Had Pre-Historic Inhabitants. .Estimated Number of Indians East of the Mississippi ..25-28.

CHAPTER HI.

The French and Indian War.

The Scheme of France .. Contest for the Ohio Valley. .The French Build Forts — England Interferes. .Washington's Journey to the West. .The French Use Force. .English Troops Skirmish with Jumonville. .Battle at Fort Necessity ..Washington Surrenders. .Braddock's Campaign. .His Defeat and Death- -Indians Attack the Settlements. .Expedition Under Forbes. .Fort Duquesne Falls. . France Loses the Ohio Valley. .29-38.

CHAPTER IV.

The Dunmore War.

Causes Leading to Hostilities -• Forerumier of the Revolution. .England's Scheme to Intimidate. .The Quebec Act. .Lord Dunmore. .His Greed for Land. . Indians Take Up the Hatchet. .Two Virginia Armies Invade the Indian Country.. Battle of Point Pleasant. .Treaty at Camp Charlotte. .Alleged Speech of Logan. .The Indians Make Peace. .39-46.

vi TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER V.

West Virginia in the Revolution.

Meeting at Fort Gower. .Resolutions Passed. .Meetings at Pittsburg and Hannastown. .Soldiers from the Monongahela. ..\ttempted Tory Uprisings Suppressed. . Patriotism on the Greenbrier. .Four Indian .Armies Invade West Virginia- • Numerous Incursions. .Cornstalk .Assassinated. .First Siege of Fort Henry.. Capt. Foreman Ambushed. .Simon Girty Joins the Indians. .Fort Randolph Beseiged. .General C'.ark Marches to the West. .Last Battle of the Revolution. .Expeditions Against the Indians. .General Wayne Conquers the Savages • -47-56.

CHAPTER VI.

Subdivision and Boundaries.

Virginia's Western Territory. .Jealousy of other States. .The Controversy. . Virginia Cedes to the General Government Her Territory West of the Ohio.. Mason and Di.xon's Line. .Other Boundary Lines. .Contest with Maryland.. Virginia's Original Eight Counties. .Table of Population. .57-65.

CHAPTER VH.

The Nnvspapers of West Virginia.

Humble Beginnings. .The First Newspaper. .Others Enter the Field.. Ephemeral Character of Country Journalism. .The Editor's Mistakes and Successes. .6670.

CHAPTER VHI.

Geogfapihy, Geology and Climate.

The Rock-History of West Virginia. . Mountain-Building. . Valley-Sculpture . .The Plateau of West Virginia. .Influences Acting on Climate. .How Coal was Formed.. The Rain Winds and the Rainless Winds. .Rainfall and Snowfall.. Formation of Soil. .Fertility and Sterility. .Fertilizing Agents. ..Altitudes in West Virginia. .71-82.

CHAPTER IX.

Among Old La-^^'s.

Examination of and Extracts from Virginia's Early Statutes. .Death Penalty for Petty Crimes. .Cruel Punishments. .Condemned Prisoners Forbidden Spiritual Advice. .Law Against Gossiping. .Hog Stealing. .Special Laws for Slaves .. Horse Thieves "Utterly Excluded". .Pillories. .Whipping Posts. Stocks and Ducking Stools. .Fees of Sheriffs and Constables. .Tavern-Keepers. .Ferries . .83-88.

CHAPTER X.

Constitutional History.

The Bill of Rights. .Constitution of 1776. .Freedom of the Press. .Schools not Mentioned. .Restricted Suffrage — Constitution of 1830.. Members West of the Mountains .Advocate Greater Liberty. .Overruled. . Education Neglected . .Con-

TABLE OF CONTENTS vii

stitution of 1852. .Line Drawn Between the East and West .. Property Against Men.. West Virginia's First Constitution. .The Slavery Question. .Constitution of 1872. .Enlarged Suffrage. .89-104.

CHAPTER XL John Brozvn's Raid.

His Purpose.. The Attempt. .Capture, Condemnation and Execution .. 105- 108.

CHAPTER XH.

The Ordinance of Secession.

Causes of Beginning. .The Richmond Convention. .Delegates from Western Virginia. .Stormy Sessions. .The Vote. .Western Delegates Secretly Leave Richmond. .Virginia Seizes United States Property. . 109-1 12.

CHAPTER Xni.

The Reorganised Government of Virginia.

Mass Meetings West of the Alleghanies. .First WHieeling Convention .. Its Members . . Vote on the Ordinance of Secession . . Second Wheeling Convention . . The Delegates. .New Ofificers Chosen for Virginia. .113-119.

CHAPTER XIV.

Formatioti of West Virginia.

The United States Constitution Provided a Way . . The Several Steps . . President Lincoln's Opinion. .The Bill Signed. .120-125.

CHAPTER XV.

Organising for War.

Call for V^olunteers by \'irginia. .Troops Sent Across the Alleghanies. .Muskets Sent to Beverly by the Confederates. .Guns frfom Massachusetts Reach Wheeling. .Federals Cross the Ohio. .Fight at Philippi. .Confederates Fortify in Randolph. .General Garnett in Command- General McClellan Arrives. .Defeat of the Confederates at Rich IMountain. .Gamett's Retreat. .126-137.

CHAPTER XVI.

Progress of the War.

General Lee in West Virginia. .Expedition Against Cheat Mountain and Elkwater. .General Loring's Army. .Movements in the Kanawha Valley. .Quarrel Between Generals Wise and Floyd. .Federals Defeated at Cross Lanes- -Confederates Worsted at Gauley Bridge. . Further Fighting. .Contest for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. .Governor Letcher's Proclamation. .138-146.

PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE.

Anderson, Joseph • • 399

Ash Camp Rock 230

Beans' Mill and Bear Den Rock • • 333

Beer, Dr. O. B 390

Bennet, Silas 398

Bennet, Vernon Lee 457

Boreman, A.I 390

Brown, Eugene 391

Bridge, Stone and Dirt Road 203

Bush's Fort 196

Carper, W. C Frontispiece

Carper Church 216

Clark, A. B 604

Conference Seminary 271

College, West Virginia Wesleyan 271

Courtney, John T 262

Court House, New 279

Court House, Old 279

Cutright, W. B 174

Cutright, G. S., Family 270

Cutright, Lyman 190

Crites' Mill at Selbyville 231

Dailey, James 605

Darnall, H. A 391

Downes, J. M. N 391

Famsworth, Gov. D. D. T 360

Farnsworth, J. J 263

Farnsworth, Thomas J 446

Farnsworth, Dr. Thomas G 398

Farnsworth, Professor B. U 190

Fleming, G. M 391

Fidler's Mill 278

French Creek Institute 268

Graham, Sanford 400

Gould, Aaron, Sr 390

Gould, Benjamin 456

Hanging Rock 332

Hall, D. OB 605

Hamner, William E 464

Heavner, Major Jacob 472

Herd of Graded Cattle 202

Hiner, Charles E 464 xii PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE.

Hinkle, Job 481

Hinkle, Margaret Hadden (Jackson) 481

Hinkle, Foster, and wife 480

Hyre, Jacob's Grist Mill 276

Jackson, Minter J 465

Kiddy, Arthur Glasgow 456

Leonard, Levi 248

Leonard, Ebenezer 496

Leonard, Wealthy Gould 496

Lewis, H. Q 390

Ligget, Thomas J 262

Lorentz, Jacob's Pack Train 319

Marple, Granville D 465

Martin, W. T 605

Mearns, William 263

Moore, Oscar L 540

Morgan, Isaac 207

Morgan, J. J 398

Neflf, Henry 399

O'Brien, W. S 54°

Phillips, Spencer 532

Phillips, Lothrop 532

Phillips, Walter 533

Phillips, Ernest .• 533

Poe, David 541

Pringle Bros, and Sycamore Tree 177

Racoon Meeting House 332

Regar, John, Sr., Major Abram and John W 544

Regar, John, Sr., and daughter, Barbara 326

Rohrbaugh, Simon 398

Ross, Charles 541

Reger Mill on Spruce Run ■. . .231

Smith, John L 386

Sexton, F. P 400

Smith, Joseph C 457

Stockert, Gustave F. and wife 576

Strader, Rev. Perry S 54o

Strader, John, and wife 480

Southdown Sheep 202

Talbott, Sen. W. D 604

Tenney, A. M., Jr 604

Teter, Alva, and wife 327

Westf all. Homer, and wife 207

Young, Hon. U. G 604

Young, Hon. U. G.'s residence 270

Zickefoose, A. J 605

PART FIRST State liistory

CHAPTER L

EXPLORATIONS WEST OF BLUE RIDGE,

It is impossible to say when and where the first white man set foot on the soil of what is now West Virginia. In all probability no record was ever made of the first visit. It is well known that adventurers always push into new countries in advance of organized exjiloring parties: and it is likely that such was the case witli West AHrginia when Tt was onlv an unnamed wilderness. Probalily th.- Ir,(li;ius who waged war with the early colonists of Virginia carried pii^oncis iiHiMhis region on their hunting excursions. Sixty-five years were rc,|uiiv>l tui-th.' colonists of Virginia to become suijerficially acquainted with the ccunlry as far west as the Blue Ridge, which, until .June, 1670, was the .■xiivmr limit of explorations in that direction. The distance fj'diii .Iani.'sl;i\vii, Ihc first colony, to the base of the Blue Ri(l--i\ was twci hinulivd miles. Nearly three-quarters of a century was riMluii'cd In |jus|] llif ()ut|)!)sls <if civilization two hundred miles, and that, too, across a country favorable for exploi-atioii, and with little danger from Indians during most of the time. In lat.T y.ai-s ihe outposts of civilization moved westward at an avei\age yearly rate of se\-e!iteen miles. The people of A^nginia were not satisfied to allow the Blue Ridge to remain the boundary l)ci\\i(ii the known and unknown countries; and in 1670, sixty-thi-ee yiMJs alter the first settlement in the State, the Governor of Virginia sent out an exploring party under ('ai)tain Henry Batte, 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 June of that year, 1670, the explorers forced tlie lieiglits of the Blue Ridge which they found steep and rocky, and descended into the valley west of that range. They discovered a river flowing due north. The observations and measurements made by these explorei-s ]„M-liaiis satisfied the royal Governor who sent them out; but their a.-eura.y may !»■ (|nestioned. They reported that the river which they had .lis.'..\ cie.l was Uhw hundred and fifty yards wide; its banks in most places one tlioiisaud yards higli. Beyond the river they said they i-oiil(l see toweriii,-- iiioiiiilaiiis (iestitute of trees, and crowned by white clrits, hidden mueli of llie time in mi.^t, Ijul occasionally clearing sufficiently to give a glimpse of their ruggedness. They expressed the o]>inion that those unexplored mountains might contain silver and gold. They made no atteinj>t to cross the river, but set out on their I'eturii. From their account of Ihi' 1)road rivei- ami ds baiik-s llioiisaiids of feet high, one might suppose that tliey had dis<-o\-ered I he ( 'anyoii of I lie Colorado; but it was only New River, iiie principle i ri bill a iw of the i\aiiawha. 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,

20 EXPLORATIONS WEST OP THE BLUE RIDGE.

they isrobably crossed the line into what is now Monroe or Mercer Counties.

Forty five years later, 1716, Governor Spotswood, of Virginia, led an exploring party over the Blue Ridge, across the Shenandoah River and to the base of the Alleghany Mountains. Daring hunters and adventurers no doubt were by that time acquainted with the geography of the eastern part of the Slate. Be that as it may, the actual settlement of the counties of Jeft'orson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire and Hardy was now at hand. The gap ill du' TMui' Ridg.' at Ilai'per-s Perry, made by the Potoinac l>ivaking tlir(iii,'_rli lliat ran-c was sdou discovered, and through that i-dcK-y .irali'way the early set Hits IuuikI a jiatli into the Valley of Virginia, wlicnci' sdiiic of tliem ascciidi'd tln' Shciiaiidoah to Winchester and above, and others continued up the I'cldiiiai'. i>ccn|i.\ing Jefferson County and in succession the counties aliiixf; and bidurc many years there were settlements on the South Branch i>i tlie Potomac. It is known that the South Branch was exjilored within less than nine years after Governor Spotswood's expedition, and within less than thirteen years there were settlers in that county.

Lord Fairfax claimed the teri-itory in what is now the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. 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 Ra|i|ialiaiin(i(k. Several years passed before it could be ascertained where tilt' rmnitaiiis of those streams were. An exploring party under WiUiam ]\rayc> liacrd tlie Potomac to its source in the year 1736, and on December 14 of iliai \cai- ascfrtaiucd and niark-cd {]](' sjiot where the rainfall divides, pai1 llowinir iido llir I'otoiiiac and |iai1 into Cheat River on the west. This spot was sclccli'd as the coiau'i' of Lord Fairfax's land; and on October 17, 174G, a stone was planted there to iwAvk the spot and has ever since been called the l<\iirfa.\ Stone. It stands at the corner of two states, Maryland and West \"iii.'inia, and of four counties, Gai-rett, Preston, Tucker and Grant. II is alionl lialf a mile north of the station of Fairfax, on the West VirginiaCiiiii al and I 'i It sburg Railroad, at an elevation of three thousand two liundri'd and sixteen feet above sea level.

George Washington siient tlie summers of three years surveying the estate of Lord Fairfax, partly in West Virginia. He began work in 1748, when he was sixteen, and perseciiied it with ability and industry. There were other sni-veyors eiiiployi'd in the work as well as he. By means of

this occupaiicn lie lieca aci|iiaiiited with the fertility and resources of tlie

newcountrw and lie afterwards lieeaine a large land-holder in West Virginia, one of his holdings lyinir as far west as the Kanawha. His knowledge of the eoiiiili-y no doubt had soiiielhiiiL;- to do willi t he orLranizal ion of the Ohio ('oiii])any in 174U, which was .^--ranted .".()i ),()()() acres hetwe.'ii the Monongahela ami I he Kanawha. Lawrence Washington, a half brother of Cieorge WashiiiLjIon. was a member of the Ohio Company. The granting of land in this weshrn country no doubt had its weight in hastening the P''rench and Indian War of 17.'^, bv wliich Eiiirland arcinin^d i)ossession of the Ohio Vallev. The war would ha\e,-<,ine sooner or later, and England would have secured the Ohio \'alh>y in the end, and it would have passed ultimately to th<' Ilnile<l Stat.'s: bill the e\ciits wei'e hastened hv Lord Fairfax's sending the youthful Washiii-loii to survey his lands near 'the Potcmiac. Whih' engaged in this work, Washington f reiiuent ly 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,

EXPLORATIONS WEST OP THE BLUE RIDGE. 21

About this time the lands on the Greenbrier River were attracting attention. A large grant was made to the Greenbrier Company; and in 1749 and 1750 John Lewis surveyed this region, and settlements grew up in a short time. The land was no better than the more easily accessible land east of the Alleghany Mountains; but the sjiirit of adventure which has al\\a\'s liccn characteristic of the American people, led the daring pioneers iiilo I he wilderness west of the mountains, and from that time the outjiosts 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 grew in population. Prior to the outbreak of the French and Indian War in 1755, there were settlements all along the Potomac River, not only in Jefferson, Berkeley and Hampshire, but also in Hardy, Grant and Pendleton Counties. It is, of course, understood that those counties, as now named, were not in existence at that time.

The Alleghany Mountains served as a barrier for awhile to keep back the 1i(]c of fiiji;;i'ution from the part of the State lying west of that range; but w hell j)i-aif was restoi'ed after the French and Indian War the western vallt'ys so<jn had their settlements. Explorations had made the country fairly well known prior to that time as far west as the Ohio. Immense tracts of land had been granted in that wilderness, and surveyors had been sent to mark the lines. About the time of the survey of the Greenbrier country, the Ohio Company sent Christoi^her Gist to explore its lands already granted and to examine West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky for choice locations in view of obtaining future grants. Mr. Gist, a noted character of his time, and a companion of Washington a few years later, performed his task well, and returned with a rejjort 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 ledge of rocks now known as Hawk's Nest, or Marshall's Pillar, overhanging the New River, and from its summit had a view of the mountains and inhospitable country.

In speaking of the exploration and settlement of West Virginia, it is worthy of note that the Ohio River was explored by the French in 1749; but they attempted no settlement within the borders of this State.

Had Virginia allowed religious freedom, a large colony would have been planted on the Ohio Company's lands, between the Monongahela and the Kanawha, about 1750, and this would probably have changed the early history of that 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 Alleghanies 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 wove satisfactory, but when the hardy Germans learned that they would be in lln- luoviuce of Virginia, and that they must become members of the Eui^'lisli Clmrch or suffer persecution in the form of extra taxes laid on dissenters by the Einscopacy of Virginia, they would not go, and the Ohio Company's colonization scheme failed.

S2 EXPLORATIONS WEST OF THE BLUE RIDGE.

Another effort to colonize the lands west of tlie Alleprhanies, and fi-ora which much min:ht have come, also failod. This att<Mii]it was miulc l)y Virginia. In IT")!; the "House of Hui-.-^-css.'S (.tlrrcd i'i-< -t.^sta ii1 s.-tt I.ts west of the Alleglianies, in Au,u:usta c<>un1\-, Icii yi'ai'.s' cxcnipliiiii I'l-oiii taxes: aiid the offer was sul)S(H(U('ii1ly incicascil to liilcm ycais' cMMiiiilioii. Tlic wai' with the Preneli an.l Indians i.ut a sin], to all coiduiy.alion iM'ojccts. Virginia hadenou.<,'h lo do lakiiiL'-carc dl' lici' scH Irincuts aloiiL; \\\r western border without inert M si I i,a- 1 \\>- task by advaneiuK tlie frontier sevunty-tive miles westward. Tlie Hist settlement, if the occupation by three white men may be called a settlt'inent. on the Monongahela was made about 1752. Thomas Eckerly and two brolheis, from eastern Pennsylvania, took up their home there to escajie military duty, they being opposed to war. They wished to live in jjeace remote from civilized man, but two of them fell victims to the Indians while the third w^as absent. Prior to 1753 two families had built houses on the headwaters of tiie Monongahela, in what is now Randolph County. The Indians murdered or drove them out in 1753. The next settlement was by a small colony near Morgantown under the leadership of Thomas Decker. This was in 17."if^, wliile the French and Indian War was at its height. The colony was exteiiniiiatid liy Indians.

In 1763, October 7, a proclamation was issued by the King of England forbidding settlers from taking up land or occupying it west of the AUeghanies until the country had been bought from the Indians. It is not known what caused this sudden desire for justice on the ]mrt of the king, since nearly half the land west of the Alleiihanies. in tJiis Slate, had already been granted to companies or indi\ idn.als; and, since ;he Indians did not occupy the land and there was no tribe within reach of it with any right to claim it, either by occupation, conquest or discovery. Governor Fauquier, of Virginia, issued three proclamations warning settlers west of the mountains to withdraw from tlie lands. No attention was paid to the proclamations. The Governors of Virginia and I'ennsyU ania were ordered, 1705, to remove the settlers by force. In ITfiii and the next yeai' snldiers from Fort Pitt, now Pittsburg, were sent into West Virginia to ili.-5possess the settlers. It is not ijrobable that the snldiers were over-zealous in carrying out the commands, for the injustice and nonsense of such orders must have been apjmrent to the dullest soldier in the West. Such settlers as were driven away returned, and affairs went on as usual. Finally I'ennsyvania bought the Indian lands within its borders; but Virginia, alter that date, never paid the Indians for any lands in West VirgiTiia. Tin- inrenMing order was the first one forbidding settlements in West A'irginia noith ol the K'anawliaand west of the Alleghanies. Anniher ordei- was is^ned ten years later. Both were barren of results. The second will be siwlcen of more at length in the account of the incorporation of part of Ohio in the Pi'ovince of Quebec. Settlements along the Ohio, above and below Wheeling, were not made until six or seven years after the close of tlie French and Indian War. About 1769 and 1770 the Wetzels and Zanes tool: np land in that vi.inily, and others followed. Within a few years W'heelini^- and t he teiTilni\\ aliove and below, formed the most ■i)ros])erous cnnnnunitx west of Iht' Alleghanies. That part of the State sntfered from Indians who <anie from Ohio, but the attacks of the savages could not lirealc up the settlements, and in 1790, five yeai's before the close of the Indian war, Ohio County had more than five thousand inhabitants, and Monongalia had nearly as many.

During the Revolutionary War parts of the interior of the State were

EXPLORATIONS WEST OP TtlE BLUE RIDGE. 23

occulted by white men. Harrison County, in the vicinity of Clarksburg and further west, was a tloui-ishing' community four or five years before the Revolution. Si't11ci-s pnsli.Ml ii]> the West Pork of the Monongahela, and the site of Weston, in Tjcwis ( 'oiuity, was occupied soon after. Long before that time frontiiM-sini Ml liad tln/ir cabins on the Tygart Valley River as far south as the site of l!i>\rily, in Randolph County. The first settlement in Wood County, ncai- I •arl<i'rsburg, was made 1773, and the next year the site of St. George, in Tuck-i'i- County, was occupied by a stockade and a few houses. Monroe County, in the soutlieasternpart of the state, was reclaimed from the wildei'uess fifteen years before the Revolution, and Tyler county's first settlement dates bacli to the year 1776. Pocahontas was occuijied at a date as early as any county west of the Alleghanies, there being white settlers in 1749, but not many. Settlements along the Kanawha were pushed westward and reached the Ohio River before 1776.

The population of West Virginia at the close of the Revolution is not Icnown. Perhaps an estimati- dl thiiiy-five thousand would not be far out of the way. In 1790 the puinilalinn dl' the territory now forming We.st Virginia was 55,873; in 1800 it was 7^, •''.)!', a '.rain of nearly forty per cent, in ten years. In 1810 the ijopulaiion was in,"i,4ii9, a gain of thirty-five per cent, in the decade. The 2J0i)uiati(.)n in l^i'n was 1:!(),7(')H, a gain of nearly twenty-three per cent. In 1830 there wi' re I7ii,'.*i'i, a gain in ten yeai's of over twenty-two jaer cent. In 1840 the p(>i)nlati(>n was i.'"_'4,ri.';7, a gain of more than twenty-one per cent. The population in Is^jO was 30i',313, a gain in the decade of more than twenty-five per cent. In i860 the ^jopulation was 376,388, a gain of more than twenty-two per cent. In 1870 the population was 442,014, a gain in ten years of nearly fifteen per cent. In 1880 the poi)ulation of tlie State was 618,457, a gain of twenty-six per cent. In 1890 the population of the State was 762,794, a gain of more than twenty-three l^er cent, in ten years.

Land was abundant and cheap in the early days of West Virginia settlements, and the State was generous in granting land to settlers and to companies. There was none of tlie formality required, which has since been insisted ujDon. Pioneer's usually located on such vacant lands as suited them, and they attendcfl tn securing a title afterwards. What is usually called the "touialuiwlc right" was no right in law at all; but the persons who had sucli supjiDsi'd i-ights were usually given deeds for what they claimed. This process (•(insisted in deadening a few trees near a spring or broolc, and cutting tlie claimant's name in the bark of trees. This done, he claimed tlic iidjaccnt land, and his right was usually respected l)y the frontier ijeopie, liut there was very naturally a limit to his pretensions. He must not claiui too much; and it was considered in his fa\or it he made some improvements, such as jjlanting corn, within a reasonable time. The law of Virginia gave such settler a title to 400 acres, and a pre-emption to 1,000 more, adjoining, if he built a log cal)in on the claim and raised a crop of corn. Coiiiuiissioners were a| ipoint ed from time to time, some as early as 1779, who \isit<'(i <iii1ereni >ei i leiueuis and gave certificates to tho.se who furnished sati.sfaclory pi'ooi' that they had complied with the law. These certificates were sent to Richmond, and if no jirotest oi- contest wa,s filed in six months, the settler was given a deed to the hind. It can thus be seen that a tomahawk right could easily be merged iuLo a settler's right. He could clear a little laud, build his hut, and he usually obtained the land. The good locations were the first taken, and the poorer land was left until

24 _ EXPLORATIONS WEST OP THE BLUE RIDGE.

somebody wanted it. The survey.s 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 live 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 follow 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 metes and bounds are not in dispute.

After the Revolution Virginia sold its public land usually in the following manner: A man would buy a warrant, for say ten thousand acres, and was given a certificate authorizing him to locate the land wherever he could find it. He could select part of it here, another part there, or he could sell his warrant, or part of it, to some one else, and the purchaser could locate the land. Land warrants were often sold half dozen times. There were persons who grew wealthy buying warrants for large tracts, from fifty thousand to one hundred thousand acres, and selling their warrants to different parties at an advanced price. Nearly all the land in West Vii-ginia west of the AUeghanies, if the title is traced back, will be found to have been obtained originally on these land warrants. The most of the land east of the AUeghanies was originally granted by the King of England to companies or individuals. This title is called a "Crown Grant." Thei-e are also a few "Crown Grants" west of the AUeghanies, but the most of the land west of the mountains belonged to the State of Virginia at the close of the Revolution. None of it ever belonged to the United States.

CHAPTER 11,

INDIANS AND MOUNDBUILDERS,

Indians enter largelj' into the early history of the State, and few of the early settlements were exemjit 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 bcH'ders. There were 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 i^erhaps at nearly all times, a wigwam here or there within the borders, but it belonged to temporary sojourners, hunters or fishermen, who exjjected to remain only a shoi't time. So far as West Virginia is concei-ned, the Indians were not dispossessed of it by the white man, and they were never justified in waging war for any wrong done them within this State. The white race simply took land which they found vacant, and dispossessed nobody.