| Sources |
- [S1330] blog, Ryan, http://blackberrycreekdays.blogspot.com.es/.
http://blackberrycreekdays.blogspot.com.es/
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Notes on the 1880 Census
The divisions that we currently use to think about Blackberry Creek had not quite come into being by 1880. For example, the area of Pond Creek falls under the heading of Lower Elkhorn Creek in the 1880 census. It also seems, from the family names, that the Blackberry section of the census crosses over Hardy Mountain and includes a good portion of Hardy, including the area where the McCoy's lived. It is also difficult to determine where you are at any given time, since it depends on how the census taker travelled.
In this census, for example, the Blackberry section begins on the bottom of the last page of the Lower Elkhorn Creek section, and, since the first Blackberry household is that of Ulysses Hatfield, it seems clear that the census taker came across Ball Fork and started there. At the foot of Ball Fork, he turned right and came up the creek, all the way to the last house in the head of the hollow - that of Ferrell Marion. After that, it's hard to tell whether he crossed the hill into Left Fork or came down and started just below Ball Fork. At any rate, he came down the creek, and it's easier to tell that when he was at Bluespring, the foot of Hardy Mountain, etc. I think he went all the way down to the river, then came back up the creek and crossed Hardy Mountain, listing the Farley's, then Scott's, then McCoys as he went through Hardy toward Williamson.
Part of the pleasure, though, is trying to figure out where the various homeplaces were.
Posted by Ryan at 11:54 AM 0 comments
Dramatis Personae - The Hatfields
Joseph B. Hatfield and his brother Valentine come to what became known as Blackberry Creek at some point around 1814/1815. They settled, as near as we can tell, on the banks of the Tug River near present-day Matewan. While there may have been some moving back and forth across the river in the early years, eventually both brothers end up on the Kentucky side of the river. Both brothers are married to daughters of Ferrell Evans, who lives on Blackberry Creek with them. By 1830, Valentine and Ferrell Evans move their growing families across the river to Gilbert, West Virginia.
Joseph remains on Blackberry Creek, living, I think, on the river at what is now Buskirk. Joseph's children, however, move inward, up the creek. By 1830, Joseph's younger half-brother George moves to Blackberry Creek as well, settling near the mouth of Bluesrping Hollow. Later their younger brother Jeremiah also comes, as well as their father Ephraim (Eaf), who died in 1847 and is buried in the Anderson Hatfield Cemetery at the mouth of Dials Branch.
In the 1880 census, Upper Blackberry Creek is primarily home to the Hatfields - Joseph's children tend to cluster in Buskirk (Valentine, McGinnis, Joseph II) and above Left Fork (Ferrell Marion, Richard Thomas, Ephraim). George and his children tend to live from Bluespring down to the foot of Hardy/Blackberry Mountain.
Posted by Ryan at 11:06 AM 0 comments
1880 Census Explained Page 1
To see picture full size, click on it. Once it comes up on your screen, wait a little while and then click on it again. Boxes will appear at upper left and lower right. The lower right button lets you view full size. Click on that.
Posted by Ryan at 8:28 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Up The Hill
So I've been working at this material for quite a while. I wrote this for my freshman composition class in 1982 (I was 18). My professor, Judy Rogers, included the essay several years later in a textbook that she and her husband Glenn put together for teaching composition. At some point, Kathy Mincey, one of the English professors at Morehead, used it for her class, and for some unknown reason it's still sitting out there on the MSU website. It isn't a great piece of writing, but it's a good example of some of the themes that I'm still trying to chase down and nail to the page.
The piece was written as a response not to my grandmother's death (who was still very much alive at the time) but borrowing details from the burial of my great grandmother Octavia Hatfield. The cemetery is the J.F. Hatfield cemetery at the head of Blackberry Creek. It was always up there, above where we lived, serving - at least for me - as a reminder of where we would all be going sooner or later.
Go here.
Posted by Ryan at 8:02 AM 0 comments
Friday, April 16, 2010
Chinotahishetha
I often ask myself, when the work of the day has settled down and things grow quiet and still, how did I get there? How did any of us get there, to that river valley in eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia, scattered along those creeks and streams like so many seeds, sprouting wildly in the deep shadows of hollows that for centuries knew only the footfall of bear and fox and mountain lion, and for more centuries after that the occasional band of Shawnee hunters, passing through, building fires in the shelter of overhanging rocks? Perhaps as they slept they dreamed of their homes, along the Ohio River near Portsmouth, or west, in Clark County, the village they called Eskippakithiki, the Place of Blue Licks. They had other names that hide behind the places we know: Eskalapia, Tywhapita, Tyewhappety. Or the name they gave, when asked by English explorers, to the Kanawha River - Chinotahishetha, which means, roughly "He, the Shawnee, is guarding that which is his."
Then they were gone, defeated at the Battle of Point Pleasant, overwhelmed by history. Soon the land itself was neatly divided into tracts by Thomas Jefferson's Land Ordinance of 1785 and sold for as little as $1 an acre. After that, my ancestors came, Hatfield and Ball and Blankenship, Farley and Evans and Dotson, Runyon and May, McCoy and Smith, beginning, timidly, around 1810 and gaining momentum in the second decade of the new century. Hungry for land and, I can only assume, space, primal emptiness, they came, clearing back the virgin forest, building homes, planting things, naming things. By 1820, they had established themselves in the hollows of Pike County, from Buskirk on the banks of the Tug River, all along Blackberry Creek, Bluespring, Left Fork, Smith Fork, Calf Branch, Pond Creek, Pinsonfork, McVeigh. And there, despite the steep hillsides and narrow hollows, the thin soil, the difficulty of getting anywhere, the isolation, they survive. One might say, looking at the census rolls from 1820, 1830, 1840, seeing the number of children in their homes grow to 6,8,10,12, that they even prospered. Certainly, as William Faulkner might say, they endured.
From that point on, I can trace their comings and goings by way of census rolls, church records, the occasional deed or court document. I can watch them intermarry and mingle, see how their children spread out along the hollows, each generation carving the land into smaller (and less productive) portions, but at the same time note how the family networks grow more complex and intertwined. I don't really know anything about these people. They didn't leave much in the way of documents or artifacts. They are little more than names, dates scribbled in census books, but something of them survived in their children and grandchildren and great grandchildren; in the songs my great grandmother might have sung to herself as she weeded her garden, in the stories she told about her great grandfather, in the knowledge my grandfather had of the hillsides around his house - where to find gingseng, which tree the squirrels came to feed at early in the morning, where the chestnut trees had been before the blight in 1933.
I know a few things for certain. They came and they stayed. They changed the land and the land changed them, individually and collectively, until at times it is difficult for me to tell which side, human or natural, was more profoundly altered by the other. I honestly can't say that I understand the forces that drove them to make the choices they made. What makes a man and woman load their children and all of their worldly belongings onto rickety old wagons and head out into a wilderness that only a decade before had been the hunting grounds of the Cherokee and Shawnee? I know that they came to Blackberry Creek and, after over 100 years of moving from place to place, they stayed. It is common among outsiders, historians and cultural scholars, to see Appalachia as a kind of trap, a place where people came but were too poor or too stubborn to leave. But as I look at the land records from the 1830s and 1840s and watch these original settlers and their adult children buy up every scrap of land on Blackberry Creek they can get their hands on, 50 and 100 acres at a time, I don't get the sense that these were people who wanted to leave. I get the sense, impossible to prove but difficult to shake, that these were people who, after more than a century of roaming, had finally found a home.
So, no, I have no way, really, of knowing what drove their choices, but I can say without exaggeration that I am to a large extent the result of those choices. I cannot reach back across time to know for sure who they were or what they wanted or how they felt when they sat on their porches and looked out at the same Blackberry Creek where I grew up, or what they thought when they climbed to the same ridge tops that I've walked dozens of times and looked out across a seemingly endless stretch of blue-tinged hills. All I have of them are my own personal memories, the more tenuous memory of historical research, and, perhaps most importantly, the bone-deep memory of culture, which molds us the way the contours of the hillsides direct the path of the streams. But this memory, whether personal or historical or cultural, is important, since it is the one way that we can keep faith with them and with the Shawnee who were here before them, with the land itself - we too, in our stories and our songs and our boxes of old photographs and faded documents, guard that which is ours.
Posted by Ryan at 10:26 AM 1 comments
 |
blog: Ryan
http://www.blogger.com/profile/11162379255606907512 great treatise on Hatfields, mainly sons of Eaf, like Valentine HATFIELD, Joseph, half-brother George, and settling Blackberry Creek valley in KY. jcw 15.06.2012, Barcelona |
- [S1720] Public Member Trees, N/A, Myers-Christian: Arthur-Friend: Stalnaker-Schmidlen et al Family Trees, Owner: jimmyjingles193/Martha Mattie Weddington (77) facts N/A 20230926GHLn-.
Record for Martha Mattie Weddington (77) facts
N/A 20230926GHLn-
Myers-Christian: Arthur-Friend: Stalnaker-Schmidlen et al Family Trees, Owner: jimmyjingles193/Martha Mattie Weddington (77) facts N/A 20230926GHLn-
Last viewed: Martha Mattie Weddington
- [S394] Ancestry.com, Public Member Trees, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006;), Database online., Skinner/Schinzel-Ahlemeyer/Haines Tree J_Ahlemeyer.
Record for Virginia Jane Annie Hatfield
- [S344] Linda Runyon, WorldConnect Database: Runyon, Varney, and Allied Famillies, (Name: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/ridge/4108/;), Linda Runyon, lrunyon@triad.rr.com.
Children of Martha "Mattie" Weddington and Valentine "Wall" Hatfield are: i. Annie Hatfield was born ABT 1815 in Virginia. She married James Justice. He was born ABT 1814 in Virginia. ii. James G. Hatfield was born 19 MAY 1824 in Pike Co., KY. He married Rachel Toler, daughter of John Toler and Nancy Toler. She was born ABT 1824 in Virginia. iii. Ali Hatfield was born 24 MAY 1809 in Virginia. He married Anna Evans 20 SEP 1827 in Pike Co., KY, daughter of Ferrell Hammond Evans and Phoebe Musick. She was born 13 AUG 1810 in Cabell Co., VA. iv. Joseph "Joe" Hatfield was born 1806, and died 10 MAR 1893. He married Nancy Evans 20 SEP 1827 in Pike Co., KY. She was born ABT 1809 in Virginia, and died ABT 1899 in Logan Co., VA. v. John Hatfield was born 9 JAN 1809 in Russell Co., VA, and died BEF 18 JUN 1867. He married Isabella Vance ABT 1837 in Logan Co., VA, daughter of Abner Vance and Susannah Howard. She was born 1815 in Cabell Co., VA. vi. Jacob Hatfield was born ABT 1811 in Virginia. He married Catharine Cline 1842 in Logan Co., VA, daughter of Peter Cline and Mary "Polly" Smith. She was born ABT 1826 in Virginia. 6. vii. Ephraim "Big Eaf" Hatfield was born 11 APR 1812 in Logan Co., WV, and died 30 JUN 1879 in Mate Creek, Mingo Co., WV. He married Nancy "Bettie" Vance 28 AUG 1828 in Pike Co., KY, daughter of Abner Vance and Susannah Howard. She was born 2 MAY 1813 in Virginia, and died in Pike Co., KY. viii. Andrew Hatfield was born ABT 1813 in Virginia. He married Susan Trent, daughter of Fredrick Trent and Agnes Horton. She was born ABT 1815 in Virginia. ix. Virginia "Jenny" Hatfield was born 10 JAN 1813 in Pike Co., KY, and died 28 APR 1886 in Mingo Co., WV. She married James Justice 1833, son of Thomas Justice and Elizabeth Blackburn. x. Thomas Hatfield was born ABT 1818 in Virginia. He married Sarah Evans, daughter of Frank Evans. She was born ABT 1815 in Virginia. xi. Celia Hatfield was born
- [S394] Ancestry.com, Public Member Trees, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006;), Database online. Kirkpatrick Family Tree, Owner: maksiccar Last viewed: Ephraim Vance, Skinner/Schinzel-Ahlemeyer/Haines Tree J_Ahlemeyer.
Record for Ephraim Vance History of Logan Co, Va (WV) by Ragland History of Logan County, W.Va by Henry Clay Ragland Chapters 13-22 - The Russell County was formed from Washington, in 1788; Wyeth from Montgomery, in 1790; Kanawha from Wythe and Greenbrier (which was formed from Montgomery in 1778), in 1792; Monroe from Montgomery and Greenbrier, in 1799; Tazewell from Wythe and Russell, in 1799; Giles from Montgomery, Tazewell and Monroe in 1898; and Cabell from Kanawha, in 1809. The territory of Logan, as it exists today, was part of Fincastle from 1738 to 1776, then a part of Montgomery until 1790, a part of Wythe until 1792, a part of Kanawha until 1809, when it became a part of Cabell and remained as such until it was organized into a county in 1823.(Logan is beside Wyoming & Mingo Counties, WV, now) Upon the passage of the law in 1792, referred to in our last chapter, the owners of grants made before that time, saw the necessity of seeding and cultivating the lands which had been patented to them before the expiration of the period to which that right had been extended (1799), and at once went to work to get some one to take charge of their lands. In the company of John Breckenridge, at the time of the battle of the Islands, was one James Workman, who in addition to being a gallant soldier, was in every respect a trustworthy gentleman. Breckenridge, as soon as possible, employed him to take charge of his survey at the Islands (Logan C.H.) and in 1794, James Workman with his brothers Joseph and Nimrod, built a cabin on the Island and planted a few acres of corn. They planted the same land again in 1795 and 1796, and in the fall of the latter year. James Workman, who was a man of family, moved his wife and children from their old home in Wythe (now Tazewell), and settled on the Island, where the three brothers continued to live until the year 1800, when they moved upon the farm now occupied by Henry Mitchell. More will be said of this family in a future chapter. Genealogical Section The first permanent settlement of which we have any record was commenced by William Dingess, a son of Peter Dingess, a Montgomery county [?], in the year 1799. Peter Dingess was a German, but just when or under what circumstances he came to America, is shrouded in doubt, which will never be dispelled. One account given us by one of his prominent descendants, is, that he came to this country before the War of the Revolution and settled in Montgomery County, and in evidence of this, furniture etc., brought with him from the "Fader Land," is pointed out; especially a finely finished bureau, which was, for a long time, an heirloom in the family, and a peculiar shaped gourd which was grown in Germany, and used by his son John Dingess as a powder gourd, within the memory of the present generation. Another account given us by William A. Dingess, one of his grandsons, is, that some time between the years 1750 and 1760, that his parents with their family embarked for America, that fell disease carried off his parents on the voyage, that he and a sister landed at Baltimore, neither of whom could speak a word of English, that from some cause they became separated, and that he never saw her or heard of her again. That wandering about the streets, homeless and alone, a merchant from Montgomery County, Virginia, took charge of him and brought him to Montgomery, where he grew up and married a wife, and afterwards served in the War of the Revolution. It is impossible to say which story is correct, but of one thing we are assured, and that is, that he lived in Montgomery County, Virginia, and raised a family of eleven children, four boys and seven girls and died there in 1800. The names of his sons were William, Peter, John and Charles A., and his daughters, Harriet, Betsy, Susan, Nancy, Sallie, Peggy and Polly, who intermarried with Sam Peck, John McClaugherty, William Henderson, David French, (who was, for a long while Clerk of the Courts of Giles County), Ezekiel Smith, William Smith and James Bright, who emigrated to Tennessee, and was the father of John Morgan Bright, who for twelve years represented Tennessee in Congress. Charles A., died unmarried in Mercer County, Col. Napoleon B. French, a son of David French, is still living in Mercer County, aged 96 years. William Dingess, the oldest of the family, was born in Montgomery County in 1776, and married Nancy McNeeley, and purchasing of John Breckenridge the survey of 300 acres which covers the present site of Logan Courthouse, and a portion of the farm across the river where Mrs. J. W. Desking now lives, moved upon it in 1799, and built a residence where J. S. Miller now lives; the old chimney of which is still standing. John Dempsey came with him and build a cabin on the little island, but afterwards moved to Island Creek, near where Sam Jackson now lives. William Dingess was said to be almost a giant in strength, but so peaceable that no one could induce him to fight. While he was born at too late a date to engage in the Indian warfare on the border, he, on one occasion, joined in the pursuit of a band of Indian marauders and followed them as far as the Falls of Guyan, where, killing an Indian, he took off a part of his hide, out of which he made a razor strap, and kept it during his lifetime. He had no children by his wife, but was the reputed father of a child born to Katie McComas, who was always known as Peter Dingess, and was for a long time regarded as the best physician in Logan County. Katie McComas was also the mother of the late John Garrett, of Big Creek, one of the most highly esteemed citizens of Logan County. In the year 1800, Peter Dingess and John Dingess, brothers of William Dingess, joined him and became permanent settlers, of whom more will be said hereafter. Some time in the next year or two Captain Henry Farley, of Montgomery County, who had served with distinction in the War of the Revolution, and who has been heretofore mentioned as the leader of the whites in the pursuit of the Indians in 1792; with Garland Conley, who had married his eldest daughter, Bettie, settled at the mouth of Peach Creek. He brought with him three stalwart sons and five marriageable daughters, and as might have been expected, the big house at the mouth of Peach Creek, and it was said to have been the largest house in the country, was always full. Of what tales that never grow old were told, we have no record, and the man in the moon has never divulged the vows which he witnessed, yet we know that enough was said to divide the happiness of Captain Farley's home among five families. The blushing Sallie became the wife of Peter Dingess during the year 1806, and they set up housekeeping just across the river where Mrs. John W. Deskins now lives, and to the happy couple there was born, on the 30th day of October 1806, William Anderson Dingess, who, during a long and useful life (dying December 13th, 1893, in his eighty-eighth year) bore the proud distinction of being the first white child born in Logan County. The other children born to this marriage were John, who intermarried with Sallie Moore; Guy, who married Rhoda Toney; Charles F., who married Betty Toney, both of these were the daughters of William and Polly (Caperton) Toney; Polly, who married Lewis Lawson; Matilda, who married James Lawson, both sons of Anthony Lawson; Julyantes, who married Charles Smoot; Minerva, who married W. W. McDonald; and Hattlett [Harriett?], who married John Justice. Peter Dingess was a prominent citizen and was for a long while one of the justices of Cabell County. Another one of the blooming daughters of Capt. Farley, (Chloe), intermarried with John Dingess, who then settled near his father-in-law, at the mouth of Peach Creek. His children were William, who married a daughter of Josiah Stollings; Julius, who married a daughter of Ben Smith; Harvey, who married a daughter of Joseph Adams; Henderson, who married a daughter of Joseph Adams; John and Peter, both of whom married daughters of Washington Adams; Sallie, who married James Butcher; Peggy, who married John Gore; and Nancy, who married William Chapman, all of whom are dead except Sallie and Henderson. All of them except David had a large off-spring. The daughters of Captain Henry Farley were Judith, who married Thomas Thompson, and, who, after the death of Thompson, married Robert Hensley; Matilda, who married Carter T. Clark; and Mary, who first married Stephen Hensley, and afterwards married Pryyhus McGinnis. Of his three sons, John and Thomas, both married Miss Pinsons of Kentucky, and William was married four times, first marrying Bettie Phillips, second Phoebe Muncy, third Polly Williams, and fourth, Jane Jones. All of them left large families, and with the Dingesses constituted one of the largest family connections in Logan County, and more will be said of them hereafter. At about the same time that Captain Farley settled at the mouth of Peach Creek, Richard Kezee, another hero of the Revolution, built a cabin near the present residence of Major William Stratton and the branch which flowed past the old homestead still bears the euphonious name of Kezee. His descendants all moved to the State of Kentucky, and many of them are now living in Pike County, of that state. About the same time David McNeeley settled where Floyd Buchanan now lives, and afterwards moved upon the farm now owned by J. E. Robertson. For some reason he was nick-named "Jagger," and the place, to which he removed on Robertson's farm was called "Jaggerstown." His descendants are quite numerous, and the name is familiar not only in Logan, but in all the surrounding counties, and many of them at an early day went with the "Course of Empire" westward. Among his descentants is Rev. John Green McNeeley, the present pastor of the Desciples Church of Aracoma. Richard Elkins, of Montgomery, also came with William Dingess and settled near the big island on Island Creek. The island was covered with a heavy growth of cane, and Elkins leased it from Dingess and cleared it out, and the first year that he cultivated it in corn he raised three thousand bushels, or about one hundred bushels to the acre. (a few acres of the Island had been cleared before that time by the Workman brothers heretofore mentioned, and cultivated in corn.) He was also the father of a large family his wife being a Miss Maguire, of Montgomery. His sons were Archibald, who married a Miss Gillaspie, of Tazewell, James, who married his cousin - a daughter of Zach Elkins, of Hewett; Robert, who married the widow of Edward McDonald and who was formerly a Miss Harvey; Israel, who married a daughter of William Browning; Richard, Jr., who married a Miss May, and Eddie and Harvey, whose wives are unknown. His daughters were Lucretia, who married James White; Martha, who married Elijah Elkins (son of Wm. Elkins, of Newett); Nancy, who married William Walls; Susannah, who married John White, (son of Jack), and Hannah, who married William Moore, of Tazewell. This last mentioned couple joined the Mormons and were with Joe Smith at Nauvoo. Zach and William Elkins, brothers of Richard Elkins, settled on Hewett and, like Richard, had numerous descendants, but we are unable to give their names. From these three brothers, however, are descended the Elkins family of Logan and adjoining counties. [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER XVIII William Hinchman settled near the mouth of Rich Creek, on the farm now owned by his son, George Hinchman, about the year 1814. He was the son of William Hinchman, an English sailor, and was born in Dorchester, Maryland, about 1770. He was too young to enter the army at the time of the Revolution, but was in hearing of the guns of Yorktown; and was familiar with the stirring events of the time when America desired to be independent [text missing] county, Virginia, now Monroe County, West Virginia, about the close of the last century, when he married Mary Ann Perry, a daughter of John Perry, who had emigrated from the north of Ireland. After several of his children were born he came, as we have seen, to the mouth of Rich Creek. His sterling worth was seen and appreciated by the people and he was soon made one of the Justices of Cabell County, and upon the organization of Logan County he became a member of its first County Court. His children by his first marriage, were John K., who married the daughter of Ben White; Cyrus, who married a daughter of F. R. Pennell; Hiram, who married a daughter of Thomas Riggins; Milton, who married a daughter of Ben Cary; William, who first married a Miss Seymour, then a Miss Hatfield, and as a third wife a Miss Chapman; Dr. Ulysses, who married a Miss McDonald; James Harvey, who married a Miss Gore; Elizabeth, who married Benjamin Smith; Amanda, who married Robert Clendenin; Sarah, who married Ira Chambers, and Mero, who married Levi Gore. After the death of his first wife William Hinchman, Sr., married Nancy Stollings, and the children of this marriage were Floyd, who married first a Miss Chambers, and after her death a Miss Mangus; Nancy Ann, who married Joseph Scaggs; Penelope, who married George Claypool; Risby, who married Thomas Nelson Ballard, and Edna, who died single. Of the first children of William Hinchman, John K., Cyrus, Hiram and Milton moved to the State of Michigan, William moved to the county of Cabell, Dr. Ulysses was a practicing physician and held many offices of public trust, and was several times elected as a member of the West Virginia Legislature; James Harvey, who is still living, was a successful farmer, a member of the West Virginia Legislature, and at different times held other important offices in the county. F. R. Pinnell was another one of the early settlers. He settled on the farm where James Buchanan now lives and where Dr. Ulysses Hinchman lived and died. He was the first surveyor of Logan County, which position he held for several years. He had a large family of children who went with him to Michigan, where the old man died a few years ago at the ripe old age of ninety-eight years. Archelaus Mitchell, who married a Miss Goodwin, of Montgomery County, Virginia, settled on Buffalo Creek about the year 1812. His sons were Jordan who married a Miss Gore, of Montgomery County, Virginia; Gustavus, who moved to Smyth County, Virginia, and Micajah, who married a daughter of Absalo Elkins, of Huss Creek, and then moved to Kanawha County. Jordan Mitchell had four sons, James, John, Archelaus and Micajah, and four daughters, Mary, who married Patterson Christian; Victoria, who married Curtis Ballard; Isabella, who married Paren Christian, and Emaline, who married Anthony Jarrell. Absalom Elkins settled on Huffs Creek about 1815. His sons were Henry, Thomas, William, Isaiah and Uriah Watson. His daughters were Mahala, who married Eli Trent; Peggy, who married Edward Mason, and Frances, who married Micajah Mitchell. Absalom Elkins died about two years ago, after having just passed his hundreth year. Some time not far from the beginning of 1820, Thomas Christian, a nephew of Col. Wm. Christian, of Montgomery, settled at the mouth of Huffs Creek on the survey made for John Seets. He married a daughter of Alexander Pine, of Montgomery County. His [sic] Alexander Pine took his name from the fact that a gentleman by the name of Alexander found him while an infant of only a few days under a pine tree where he had been left, and his parents were never discovered. Thomas Christian was the father of three sons (James, Thomas and Allen) and several daughters, all of whom, except James, moved with their father to Kentucky about the year 1824. James, who was born in 1800, married a Miss Anne More [sic], and remained in the county. He was a member of the first county court of Logan County, and held many positions of trust, all of which he filled to the satisfaction of the people. He was the last survivor of the first court, and died in 1892 in the 93rd year of his age, leaving an honorable name and numerous descendants, among whom are Patterson Christian, who was for a long while one of the justices of the county, and is at present a member of the county court; Paren Christian, one of the leading citizens of the county, and Rev. Byron Christian, who was for many years a minister of the M. E. Church, South. His daughters married R. P. Spratt and D. P. Ellis. Isaac Spratt, of Tazewell County, first settled at the mouth of Gilbert Creek, on the survey made for Edward Crawford. He married Kate Buchanan, of Tazewell, and to this marriage was born three sons and seven daughters. His sons were John, who married a Miss Perry, of Tazewell; James, who married a Miss Steele, of Tazewell; and Alexander, who married a Miss Rogers, of Tazewell County. His daughters were Jane, who married Francis S. Browning; Amanda, who married Augustus Lecompte; Amelia who married Lewis Lichenett; Kesiah, who married Henry Buchanan; Louisa, who married John Stafford; Kate, who married William Steele, and Flora, who married Lloyd Ellis. Passing up Gilbert Creek, we find, about the year 1806, domiciled in a brand new cabin at the first fork above the mouth, Frederick Trent, of Russell County, Va. He married Agnes Horton of Tazewell County. He had three sons and two daughters. His sons were Humphrey, who married Martha Smith; Eli, who married Mahala Elkins, and Frederick, who married a daughter of Wm Cline. The daughters were Susan, who married Andrew Hatfield, and Sarah, who married Wm. Riffe. The children of Humphrey Trent are Alexander, who married a Miss Mounts; Smith, who married a Miss Cline; Eli, who married a Miss Ellis, and Clarissa, who married Madison Ellis. Some time before Frederick Trent had settled on Gilbert, Thomas Smith, another gentleman from Russell, and a Revolutionary hero, had settled on Horsepen, a creek which had derived its name, as we have seen, from the fact of its having been used as a place to pen the stolen horses of Baker and his Indian allies. The name of the wife of Thomas Smith is not known, but he had a wife and three children where he first settled on Horsepen. His children were John, who first married a Miss Murphy, of Kentucky, and after her death a Miss Charles of Kentucky; Mary who married Peter Cline, and Martha, who married Humphrey Trent. John Smith had by his first wife two sons, viz., Harrington, who married a Miss Mullins, and then moved to Kanawha, and Larkin, who was twice married, and who, having passed his three score and ten years, is still living at the old homestead on Horsepen. His first wife was a Miss Lusk, by whom he had eight children; his second wife was a Miss Trent, by whom he had six children. At what is still known as the Hatfield place on Horsepen, Valentine Hatfield, of Washington County, Va., settled at quite an early day. He was the father of nine sons and three daughters, and from them have sprung many of the Hatfields of the Guyandotte and Sandy Valleys. Valentine Hatfield married a Miss Weddington, and he was a half son of Thomas Smith . His sons were Al, who married a daughter of Ferrell Evans; Joe, who also married a daughter of Ferrell Evans; Ephraim, who married Bette Vance; (This Ephraim Hatfield was one of the quietest men in the county, and was for a long time a justice of the peace, yet he was the father and grandfather of the Hatfields who were engaged in the Hatfield-McCoy feud). Andrew, who married a daughter of Humphrey Trent, and those descendants live in Wyoming county; Thomas, who married a daughter of Frank Evans; John, who married a daughter of Abner Vance; Joseph, who married a daughter of John Toler; (Squire M. Hatfied and James Hatfield are the sons of this marriage.) Jacob who married a daughter of Peter Cline, and Valentine who was never married. Of his three daughters, Phoebe married Alexander Varney; Celia married James Perry, and Jennie married James Justice, who was at one time sheriff of Logan County, and who was the father of John Justice, a prominent merchant in Logan Court House; B. J. Justice, a merchant and timber dealer of Cabell County, and William E. Justice, a merchant at North Spring and at one time a member of the West Virginia Legislature. Joseph Hatfield, a brother of Valentine Hatfield, settled about the same time at Matewan and will be mentioned herefafter. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER XIX Passing up the Horsepen and on to Island Creek, on the trail used by Baker and his Indians, we find that two brothers and a brother-in-law from North Carolina had made settlements at quite an early date - thought to be about 1812. These brothers were Francis and Edmund Browning and the brother-in-law was Barnabus Curry. Francis Browning, who married a daughter of Abner Vance, of Tazewell County, settled at the mouth of Cow Creek, and was the father of three sons and four daughters. His sons were William E., (known as Buck) who married a Miss Wallace; Jesse, who married a Miss Webb; and Jackson, who went West while a young man. The daughters were Francis, who married John Curry; Rebecca, who married James Browning; Nancy Ann, who married L. D. Hill, and Amy, who married William Ellis. Edmund Browning, who was a Revolutionary soldier, married a Miss Hall, of Washington County, Virginia, and settled where John R. Browning now lives. By his first wife he had two sons and one daughter. His sons were Enoch, who, still a young man, moved to Russell County, Virginia, and Reece, who married a Miss Boyd, of Tennessee. Reece Browning was one of the prominent men of the county, having held, at different time, offices of honor and trust and was a long time major of militia and Sheriff of the county. Reece had but two children - Thomas Edmund, who married a Miss Vance and moved to Missouri, and John Reece, who is still living at the old homestead on Island Creek. Jane, the daughter of Edmund Browning by his first wife, married Thomas Cunningham, of Russell County, Virginia. Edmund Browning married, as a second wife, Miss Robertson, of Russell County. By this marriage he had four sons - Jesse, who married a daughter of Barnabus Curry. He was the father of John L. Kemper, and the late Adam Browning, Mrs. A. H. McDonald and Mrs. Joseph Hatfield and several other sons and daughters. Isaac, who married a daughter of Phillip Ellis; Frank, who married a daughter of Isaac Spratt, of Gilbert; and Edmund, who also married a daughter of Barnabus Curry. Edmund and Frank Browning are still living, aged respectively, 85 and 83. Edmund is the father of George F. Browning, a prominent merchant of Cow Creek, and several other sons and daughters. Barnabus Curry, who as we have already seen, married a Miss Browning, sister of Edmund and Francis Browning, settled on Island Creek, where Thomas Steele now lives. His sons were Robert, who moved to Lincoln County, and is the progenitor of the Currys of that county; John, who married a Miss Browning; Eli, who married a Miss McCoy. After the death of his first wife he married a Miss Pressley, by whom he had several sons and daughters, among whom are Calvin and Victor D. Ralph Steele also from Russell County, Virginia, at an early date, and married a daughter of John Ferrell, of Sandy, and settled where Anderson Hatfield now lives on Island Creek. His sons were Hawkins, who married a Miss Ellis; John, who married a Miss Mounts; William, who married a Miss Spratt; George, who married a Miss Ellis; and Lorenzo D., who married a lady from Tazewell. His daughters were Catherine, who married H. B. Justice and Rebecca, who married Lewis Hinchman. Passing down the creek we find that two brothers - Evans and Phillip Ellis - made settlements about 1811. They were from Monroe County and were descendants of the Evans Ellis who emigrated from Wales in 1730, and settled in the James River Valley. Evans Ellis, who married a Miss Hines, settled near where John T. Vance now lives. His sons were Jacob, who married a daughter of Joseph Gore; Henry, who married a daughter of Isaac Spratt; Lloyd, who also married a daughter of Isaac Spratt; Madison, who married a daughter of Humphrey Trent; and Zatto C., who moved to Roane County. His daughters were Nancy, who married Eli Gore; Catherine, who married Hawkins Steele; Margaret, who married Henderson Bailey; Sallie, who married George, and Evaline, who went to Roane County. Phillip Ellis married a Miss Black and settled where Howard Ellis now lives. His sons were William, who married a daughter of Francis Browning; Squire, who married a daughter of John Vance, and James who married a daughter of William Browning. His daughters were Hannah, who married Thomas Taylor; Christina who married Isaac Browning; Polly who married Thomas Buchanan, who for a long time was Clerk of the Circuit Court of Logan County; and Bettie, who married George Avis, an Englishman, and father of Hugh C., Thomas and Burwell Abis [Avis?] and Mrs. J. E. Robertson, Mrs. Scot Dejarnette, Mrs. Andrew Perry, and the late Mrs. H. S. White. Simpson Ellis, a late member of the County Court, is a son of Lloyd Ellis. Mrs. Martha Straton, of whom mention has been made, settled about the same time, near where Howard Ellis now lives. She married Ben Smith of Buffalo. Joseph Straton was a man of considerable prominence in the county, having represented it in the Legislature of Virginia and Sheriff for a long time. He was the father of William Straton, a prominent lawyer who is still living at Logan Court House, and who was for a long time clerk of the Courts of the county, and for one term, representative of the county in the Legislature of West Virginia and was during the civil war, a major of cavalry in Confederate service. The widow of Joseph Straton moved to Texas where she died a few years ago, leaving their one son, David, and one daughter, Eliza, who married a gentleman named McKean. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER XX About the same time that Wm. Hinchman settled at the mouth of Rich Creek, four brothers named Perry came into the county from Monroe. Of these, Jack settled about a mile above Huffs Creek. He was the father of seven sons and two daughters. His sons were Dr. James, who married his cousin, Margaret, a daughter of Joe Perry; Oliber [Oliver?], who married a Miss Haner; Henry, who married a daughter of Jack Chambers; Alexander, who went to Texas and joined the forces of Gen. Houston and was never heard of afterwards; Ephraim, John and Silas, who moved West. Jane married Peter, a son of Conrad Riffe, who was one of the oldest settlers on Upper Tug. Mrs. Riffe is still alive, though about 87 years old, and is the mother of John, Gordon and Patterson Riffe, Mrs. F. M. White and Mrs. Eli Gore. The other daughter of Jack Perry was Mary, who married Richard Chambers. Joe Perry, the next brother settled on Buffalo. He had five sons and four daughters. Of his sons Frank married a Miss Workman; Eli married a Miss Johnson; William and John E., both married Miss Buchanans, and James married a Miss Hatfield. Of his daughters, Margaret married Dr. James Perry, who was at one time Sheriff of the county, and Polly married Rhodes D. Ballard, one of the most prominent and highly esteemed citizens of the county. Mr. Ballard was for years a justice of the peace, and for one term a member of the West Virginia Legislature and was for a long time a member of the county court. He died in 1888, in his 88th year. Jane married Abner Vance and Flora married Amos Workman. Henry Perry, the next brother, settled on Guyandotte River near the mouth of what is now known as Henry's Branch. He moved West and nothing is known of his family. James Perry, the fourth brother, settled at what is still known as the Perry place. He was the Colonel of the Logan County militia for a long while and was among the most prominent men in the county. His sons were Dow, who married a Miss Elkins; Granville, who married a daughter of Carter T. Clark; Preston, who married a daughter of Pyrrhus McGinnis; John A., who married a daughter of John Farley; Oliver, who married a daughter of W. W. McDonald; James, who went West, and Andrew, who enlisted in 1846, in the company of Capt. Elisha McComas, and went to Mexico, and died while still in the service near Vera Cruz. James Perry had two daughters - Mary, who married Maj. Wm. Straton, and Elba, who died unmarried. Jack Perry married a Miss Dixon, of Monroe County; Joe Perry married a Miss Shirkey [?], of Greenbrier County, and James Perry married a Miss Roach, of Monroe County. It is not known who Henry Perry married. They were the sons of John Perry, a native of the north of Ireland, and who has already been mentioned as the father of Mrs. Wm. Hinchman. John Perry had two other daughters, who moved to this county, viz, Bettie, who married Issac [Isaac?] Stollings, of the mouth of Crawley, and Flora, sho married Samuel Canterberry, who afterwards moved to Boone County. John Perry was said to be quite a learned man, and was the author of an arithmetic which was for a long time a text book in the schools of Virginia and North Carolina. Near the same time the Perrys settled here, several other families from North Carolina made settlements on Buffalo and the waters of Spruce, among whom were William Browning, William, John, Tandy and Meredith Burgess and Ben White. William Browning brought with him, in addition to his own family, which consisted of a wife and several daughters, two nephews - Nathaniel and Simeon Browning. He first settled on Buffalo, and while he had no sons to perpetuate his name, he had four daughters. Sarah, who married James Madison White; Lucinda, who married Griffin Canterbury, Peggy, who married Nathaniel Browning and Polly, who married Simeon Browning. Tandy Burgess settled on Buffalo. His sons were Calvin, Hiram and Cornelius. William Burgess moved in Kanawha at an early date. His daughter, Araminia, who married Harrison Chambers, is still living, however, in this county. John Burgess settled on Spruce. His sons were Milton, John A., and Lewis. He had one daughter, (Peggy) who married Russell Trump, of Raleigh County. Meredith Burgess also settled on Spruce. His sons were Fernandus, Jackson, James, George and John W., and his daughters were Polly, who married William McCreeley, and Martha, who married Lewis McDonald. Ben White, who, to distinguish him from Ben White, son of John, who has already been spoken of was known as "Chickawaw Ben." He settled on the farm now owned by Stephen Browning, and was the father of a large family. His sons were Gradon, who married a daughter of William Browning; Russell, who married a Miss Coon; Benjamin Wesley, who married a daughter of Tandy Burgess, and Andrew, who married a daughter of George Ferrell. His daughters were Amanda, who married Oliver Browning; Elizabeth, who married Byron Christian; Nancy, who married a Ferrell, and Paulina, who married Chapman Miller, of Boone County. As has been before stated, James Mitchell and John Miller settled on Turtle Creek about the year 1815. They were brothers-in-law and both were soldiers in the War of 1812. Mitchell was the son of Joshua Mitchell (or Michel,) who came from France with Rochambeau, and served under him at the battle of Yorktown. He married Elizabeth Miller, a daughter of Michael Miller, and his children were Michael, Joshua, a well-known Baptist preacher, and Dr. James, who is living and practicing his profession. John Miller was the son of Michael Miller, a Hessian who deserted his command and joined the American forces, and after the war settled in Montgomery County, Va. John, who married a daughter of Joshua Mitchell, settled where Riland Ballard now lives. He had two sons - Benjamin and Ezekiel. Ezekiel married a daughter of Joshua Mitchell and is the grandfather of C. M. Turley, a prominent attorney of Logan. Last but not least among the men who left their impress upon the people of the Guyandotte Valley was Anthony Lawson, who settled where J. S. Miller now lives, about the year 1823. Anthony Lawson was a native of Northumberland, England, and was born about 1780. Some time about the year 1815 he emigrated to America with his wife and four sons, John, Lewis H., James and Anthony. He remained for a while at Alexandria, Va., where his brother, John, who had preceded him to America, lived. Col. Andrew Bierne, of Lewisburg, soon ma
History of Logan Co, Va (WV) by Ragland
History of Logan County, W.Va by Henry Clay Ragland Chapters 13-22 - The
Russell County was formed from Washington, in 1788; Wyeth from Montgomery, in 1790; Kanawha from Wythe and Greenbrier (which was formed from Montgomery in 1778), in 1792; Monroe from Montgomery and Greenbrier, in 1799; Tazewell from Wythe and Russell, in 1799; Giles from Montgomery, Tazewell and Monroe in 1898; and Cabell from Kanawha, in 1809. The territory of Logan, as it exists today, was part of Fincastle from 1738 to 1776, then a part of Montgomery until 1790, a part of Wythe until 1792, a part of Kanawha until 1809, when it became a part of Cabell and remained as such until it was organized into a county in 1823.(Logan is beside Wyoming & Mingo Counties, WV, now)
Upon the passage of the law in 1792, referred to in our last chapter, the owners of grants made before that time, saw the necessity of seeding and cultivating the lands which had been patented to them before the expiration of the period to which that right had been extended (1799), and at once went to work to get some one to take charge of their lands. In the company of John Breckenridge, at the time of the battle of the Islands, was one James Workman, who in addition to being a gallant soldier, was in every respect a trustworthy gentleman. Breckenridge, as soon as possible, employed him to take charge of his survey at the Islands (Logan C.H.) and in 1794, James Workman with his brothers Joseph and Nimrod, built a cabin on the Island and planted a few acres of corn. They planted the same land again in 1795 and 1796, and in the fall of the latter year. James Workman, who was a man of family, moved his wife and children from their old home in Wythe (now Tazewell), and settled on the Island, where the three brothers continued to live until the year 1800, when they moved upon the farm now occupied by Henry Mitchell. More will be said of this family in a future chapter.
Genealogical Section
The first permanent settlement of which we have any record was commenced by William Dingess, a son of Peter Dingess, a Montgomery county [?], in the year 1799. Peter Dingess was a German, but just when or under what circumstances he came to America, is shrouded in doubt, which will never be dispelled. One account given us by one of his prominent descendants, is, that he came to this country before the War of the Revolution and settled in Montgomery County, and in evidence of this, furniture etc., brought with him from the "Fader Land," is pointed out; especially a finely finished bureau, which was, for a long time, an heirloom in the family, and a peculiar shaped gourd which was grown in Germany, and used by his son John Dingess as a powder gourd, within the memory of the present generation. Another account given us by William A. Dingess, one of his grandsons, is, that some time between the years 1750 and 1760, that his parents with their family embarked for America, that fell disease carried off his parents on the voyage, that he and a sister landed at Baltimore, neither of whom could speak a word of English, that from some cause they became separated, and that he never saw her or heard of her again. That wandering about the streets, homeless and alone, a merchant from Montgomery County, Virginia, took charge of him and brought him to Montgomery, where he grew up and married a wife, and afterwards served in the War of the Revolution. It is impossible to say which story is correct, but of one thing we are assured, and that is, that he lived in Montgomery County, Virginia, and raised a family of eleven children, four boys and seven girls and died there in 1800. The names of his sons were William, Peter, John and Charles A., and his daughters, Harriet, Betsy, Susan, Nancy, Sallie, Peggy and Polly, who intermarried with Sam Peck, John McClaugherty, William Henderson, David French, (who was, for a long while Clerk of the Courts of Giles County), Ezekiel Smith, William Smith and James Bright, who emigrated to Tennessee, and was the father of John Morgan Bright, who for twelve years represented Tennessee in Congress. Charles A., died unmarried in Mercer County, Col. Napoleon B. French, a son of David French, is still living in Mercer County, aged 96 years.
William Dingess, the oldest of the family, was born in Montgomery County in 1776, and married Nancy McNeeley, and purchasing of John Breckenridge the survey of 300 acres which covers the present site of Logan Courthouse, and a portion of the farm across the river where Mrs. J. W. Desking now lives, moved upon it in 1799, and built a residence where J. S. Miller now lives; the old chimney of which is still standing. John Dempsey came with him and build a cabin on the little island, but afterwards moved to Island Creek, near where Sam Jackson now lives. William Dingess was said to be almost a giant in strength, but so peaceable that no one could induce him to fight. While he was born at too late a date to engage in the Indian warfare on the border, he, on one occasion, joined in the pursuit of a band of Indian marauders and followed them as far as the Falls of Guyan, where, killing an Indian, he took off a part of his hide, out of which he made a razor strap, and kept it during his lifetime. He had no children by his wife, but was the reputed father of a child born to Katie McComas, who was always known as Peter Dingess, and was for a long time regarded as the best physician in Logan County. Katie McComas was also the mother of the late John Garrett, of Big Creek, one of the most highly esteemed citizens of Logan County.
In the year 1800, Peter Dingess and John Dingess, brothers of William Dingess, joined him and became permanent settlers, of whom more will be said hereafter.
Some time in the next year or two Captain Henry Farley, of Montgomery County, who had served with distinction in the War of the Revolution, and who has been heretofore mentioned as the leader of the whites in the pursuit of the Indians in 1792; with Garland Conley, who had married his eldest daughter, Bettie, settled at the mouth of Peach Creek. He brought with him three stalwart sons and five marriageable daughters, and as might have been expected, the big house at the mouth of Peach Creek, and it was said to have been the largest house in the country, was always full.
Of what tales that never grow old were told, we have no record, and the man in the moon has never divulged the vows which he witnessed, yet we know that enough was said to divide the happiness of Captain Farley's home among five families.
The blushing Sallie became the wife of Peter Dingess during the year 1806, and they set up housekeeping just across the river where Mrs. John W. Deskins now lives, and to the happy couple there was born, on the 30th day of October 1806, William Anderson Dingess, who, during a long and useful life (dying December 13th, 1893, in his eighty-eighth year) bore the proud distinction of being the first white child born in Logan County. The other children born to this marriage were John, who intermarried with Sallie Moore; Guy, who married Rhoda Toney; Charles F., who married Betty Toney, both of these were the daughters of William and Polly (Caperton) Toney; Polly, who married Lewis Lawson; Matilda, who married James Lawson, both sons of Anthony Lawson; Julyantes, who married Charles Smoot; Minerva, who married W. W. McDonald; and Hattlett [Harriett?], who married John Justice.
Peter Dingess was a prominent citizen and was for a long while one of the justices of Cabell County.
Another one of the blooming daughters of Capt. Farley, (Chloe), intermarried with John Dingess, who then settled near his father-in-law, at the mouth of Peach Creek. His children were William, who married a daughter of Josiah Stollings; Julius, who married a daughter of Ben Smith; Harvey, who married a daughter of Joseph Adams; Henderson, who married a daughter of Joseph Adams; John and Peter, both of whom married daughters of Washington Adams; Sallie, who married James Butcher; Peggy, who married John Gore; and Nancy, who married William Chapman, all of whom are dead except Sallie and Henderson. All of them except David had a large off-spring.
The daughters of Captain Henry Farley were Judith, who married Thomas Thompson, and, who, after the death of Thompson, married Robert Hensley; Matilda, who married Carter T. Clark; and Mary, who first married Stephen Hensley, and afterwards married Pryyhus McGinnis. Of his three sons, John and Thomas, both married Miss Pinsons of Kentucky, and William was married four times, first marrying Bettie Phillips, second Phoebe Muncy, third Polly Williams, and fourth, Jane Jones. All of them left large families, and with the Dingesses constituted one of the largest family connections in Logan County, and more will be said of them hereafter.
At about the same time that Captain Farley settled at the mouth of Peach Creek, Richard Kezee, another hero of the Revolution, built a cabin near the present residence of Major William Stratton and the branch which flowed past the old homestead still bears the euphonious name of Kezee. His descendants all moved to the State of Kentucky, and many of them are now living in Pike County, of that state.
About the same time David McNeeley settled where Floyd Buchanan now lives, and afterwards moved upon the farm now owned by J. E. Robertson. For some reason he was nick-named "Jagger," and the place, to which he removed on Robertson's farm was called "Jaggerstown." His descendants are quite numerous, and the name is familiar not only in Logan, but in all the surrounding counties, and many of them at an early day went with the "Course of Empire" westward. Among his descentants is Rev. John Green McNeeley, the present pastor of the Desciples Church of Aracoma.
Richard Elkins, of Montgomery, also came with William Dingess and settled near the big island on Island Creek. The island was covered with a heavy growth of cane, and Elkins leased it from Dingess and cleared it out, and the first year that he cultivated it in corn he raised three thousand bushels, or about one hundred bushels to the acre. (a few acres of the Island had been cleared before that time by the Workman brothers heretofore mentioned, and cultivated in corn.) He was also the father of a large family his wife being a Miss Maguire, of Montgomery. His sons were Archibald, who married a Miss Gillaspie, of Tazewell, James, who married his cousin - a daughter of Zach Elkins, of Hewett; Robert, who married the widow of Edward McDonald and who was formerly a Miss Harvey; Israel, who married a daughter of William Browning; Richard, Jr., who married a Miss May, and Eddie and Harvey, whose wives are unknown. His daughters were Lucretia, who married James White; Martha, who married Elijah Elkins (son of Wm. Elkins, of Newett); Nancy, who married William Walls; Susannah, who married John White, (son of Jack), and Hannah, who married William Moore, of Tazewell. This last mentioned couple joined the Mormons and were with Joe Smith at Nauvoo. Zach and William Elkins, brothers of Richard Elkins, settled on Hewett and, like Richard, had numerous descendants, but we are unable to give their names. From these three brothers, however, are descended the Elkins family of Logan and adjoining counties.
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CHAPTER XVIII
William Hinchman settled near the mouth of Rich Creek, on the farm now owned by his son, George Hinchman, about the year 1814. He was the son of William Hinchman, an English sailor, and was born in Dorchester, Maryland, about 1770. He was too young to enter the army at the time of the Revolution, but was in hearing of the guns of Yorktown; and was familiar with the stirring events of the time when America desired to be independent [text missing] county, Virginia, now Monroe County, West Virginia, about the close of the last century, when he married Mary Ann Perry, a daughter of John Perry, who had emigrated from the north of Ireland. After several of his children were born he came, as we have seen, to the mouth of Rich Creek. His sterling worth was seen and appreciated by the people and he was soon made one of the Justices of Cabell County, and upon the organization of Logan County he became a member of its first County Court. His children by his first marriage, were John K., who married the daughter of Ben White; Cyrus, who married a daughter of F. R. Pennell; Hiram, who married a daughter of Thomas Riggins; Milton, who married a daughter of Ben Cary; William, who first married a Miss Seymour, then a Miss Hatfield, and as a third wife a Miss Chapman; Dr. Ulysses, who married a Miss McDonald; James Harvey, who married a Miss Gore; Elizabeth, who married Benjamin Smith; Amanda, who married Robert Clendenin; Sarah, who married Ira Chambers, and Mero, who married Levi Gore. After the death of his first wife William Hinchman, Sr., married Nancy Stollings, and the children of this marriage were Floyd, who married first a Miss Chambers, and after her death a Miss Mangus; Nancy Ann, who married Joseph Scaggs; Penelope, who married George Claypool; Risby, who married Thomas Nelson Ballard, and Edna, who died single. Of the first children of William Hinchman, John K., Cyrus, Hiram and Milton moved to the State of Michigan, William moved to the county of Cabell, Dr. Ulysses was a practicing physician and held many offices of public trust, and was several times elected as a member of the West Virginia Legislature; James Harvey, who is still living, was a successful farmer, a member of the West Virginia Legislature, and at different times held other important offices in the county.
F. R. Pinnell was another one of the early settlers. He settled on the farm where James Buchanan now lives and where Dr. Ulysses Hinchman lived and died. He was the first surveyor of Logan County, which position he held for several years. He had a large family of children who went with him to Michigan, where the old man died a few years ago at the ripe old age of ninety-eight years.
Archelaus Mitchell, who married a Miss Goodwin, of Montgomery County, Virginia, settled on Buffalo Creek about the year 1812. His sons were Jordan who married a Miss Gore, of Montgomery County, Virginia; Gustavus, who moved to Smyth County, Virginia, and Micajah, who married a daughter of Absalo Elkins, of Huss Creek, and then moved to Kanawha County. Jordan Mitchell had four sons, James, John, Archelaus and Micajah, and four daughters, Mary, who married Patterson Christian; Victoria, who married Curtis Ballard; Isabella, who married Paren Christian, and Emaline, who married Anthony Jarrell.
Absalom Elkins settled on Huffs Creek about 1815. His sons were Henry, Thomas, William, Isaiah and Uriah Watson. His daughters were Mahala, who married Eli Trent; Peggy, who married Edward Mason, and Frances, who married Micajah Mitchell. Absalom Elkins died about two years ago, after having just passed his hundreth year.
Some time not far from the beginning of 1820, Thomas Christian, a nephew of Col. Wm. Christian, of Montgomery, settled at the mouth of Huffs Creek on the survey made for John Seets. He married a daughter of Alexander Pine, of Montgomery County. His [sic] Alexander Pine took his name from the fact that a gentleman by the name of Alexander found him while an infant of only a few days under a pine tree where he had been left, and his parents were never discovered.
Thomas Christian was the father of three sons (James, Thomas and Allen) and several daughters, all of whom, except James, moved with their father to Kentucky about the year 1824. James, who was born in 1800, married a Miss Anne More [sic], and remained in the county. He was a member of the first county court of Logan County, and held many positions of trust, all of which he filled to the satisfaction of the people. He was the last survivor of the first court, and died in 1892 in the 93rd year of his age, leaving an honorable name and numerous descendants, among whom are Patterson Christian, who was for a long while one of the justices of the county, and is at present a member of the county court; Paren Christian, one of the leading citizens of the county, and Rev. Byron Christian, who was for many years a minister of the M. E. Church, South. His daughters married R. P. Spratt and D. P. Ellis.
Isaac Spratt, of Tazewell County, first settled at the mouth of Gilbert Creek, on the survey made for Edward Crawford. He married Kate Buchanan, of Tazewell, and to this marriage was born three sons and seven daughters. His sons were John, who married a Miss Perry, of Tazewell; James, who married a Miss Steele, of Tazewell; and Alexander, who married a Miss Rogers, of Tazewell County. His daughters were Jane, who married Francis S. Browning; Amanda, who married Augustus Lecompte; Amelia who married Lewis Lichenett; Kesiah, who married Henry Buchanan; Louisa, who married John Stafford; Kate, who married William Steele, and Flora, who married Lloyd Ellis.
Passing up Gilbert Creek, we find, about the year 1806, domiciled in a brand new cabin at the first fork above the mouth, Frederick Trent, of Russell County, Va. He married Agnes Horton of Tazewell County. He had three sons and two daughters. His sons were Humphrey, who married Martha Smith; Eli, who married Mahala Elkins, and Frederick, who married a daughter of Wm Cline. The daughters were Susan, who married Andrew Hatfield, and Sarah, who married Wm. Riffe. The children of Humphrey Trent are Alexander, who married a Miss Mounts; Smith, who married a Miss Cline; Eli, who married a Miss Ellis, and Clarissa, who married Madison Ellis.
Some time before Frederick Trent had settled on Gilbert, Thomas Smith, another gentleman from Russell, and a Revolutionary hero, had settled on Horsepen, a creek which had derived its name, as we have seen, from the fact of its having been used as a place to pen the stolen horses of Baker and his Indian allies. The name of the wife of Thomas Smith is not known, but he had a wife and three children where he first settled on Horsepen. His children were John, who first married a Miss Murphy, of Kentucky, and after her death a Miss Charles of Kentucky; Mary who married Peter Cline, and Martha, who married Humphrey Trent. John Smith had by his first wife two sons, viz., Harrington, who married a Miss Mullins, and then moved to Kanawha, and Larkin, who was twice married, and who, having passed his three score and ten years, is still living at the old homestead on Horsepen. His first wife was a Miss Lusk, by whom he had eight children; his second wife was a Miss Trent, by whom he had six children.
At what is still known as the Hatfield place on Horsepen, Valentine Hatfield, of Washington County, Va., settled at quite an early day. He was the father of nine sons and three daughters, and from them have sprung many of the Hatfields of the Guyandotte and Sandy Valleys. Valentine Hatfield married a Miss Weddington, and he was a half son of Thomas Smith . His sons were Al, who married a daughter of Ferrell Evans; Joe, who also married a daughter of Ferrell Evans; Ephraim, who married Bette Vance; (This Ephraim Hatfield was one of the quietest men in the county, and was for a long time a justice of the peace, yet he was the father and grandfather of the Hatfields who were engaged in the Hatfield-McCoy feud). Andrew, who married a daughter of Humphrey Trent, and those descendants live in Wyoming county; Thomas, who married a daughter of Frank Evans; John, who married a daughter of Abner Vance; Joseph, who married a daughter of John Toler; (Squire M. Hatfied and James Hatfield are the sons of this marriage.) Jacob who married a daughter of Peter Cline, and Valentine who was never married. Of his three daughters, Phoebe married Alexander Varney; Celia married James Perry, and Jennie married James Justice, who was at one time sheriff of Logan County, and who was the father of John Justice, a prominent merchant in Logan Court House; B. J. Justice, a merchant and timber dealer of Cabell County, and William E. Justice, a merchant at North Spring and at one time a member of the West Virginia Legislature. Joseph Hatfield, a brother of Valentine Hatfield, settled about the same time at Matewan and will be mentioned herefafter.
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CHAPTER XIX
Passing up the Horsepen and on to Island Creek, on the trail used by Baker and his Indians, we find that two brothers and a brother-in-law from North Carolina had made settlements at quite an early date - thought to be about 1812. These brothers were Francis and Edmund Browning and the brother-in-law was Barnabus Curry.
Francis Browning, who married a daughter of Abner Vance, of Tazewell County, settled at the mouth of Cow Creek, and was the father of three sons and four daughters. His sons were William E., (known as Buck) who married a Miss Wallace; Jesse, who married a Miss Webb; and Jackson, who went West while a young man. The daughters were Francis, who married John Curry; Rebecca, who married James Browning; Nancy Ann, who married L. D. Hill, and Amy, who married William Ellis.
Edmund Browning, who was a Revolutionary soldier, married a Miss Hall, of Washington County, Virginia, and settled where John R. Browning now lives. By his first wife he had two sons and one daughter. His sons were Enoch, who, still a young man, moved to Russell County, Virginia, and Reece, who married a Miss Boyd, of Tennessee. Reece Browning was one of the prominent men of the county, having held, at different time, offices of honor and trust and was a long time major of militia and Sheriff of the county. Reece had but two children - Thomas Edmund, who married a Miss Vance and moved to Missouri, and John Reece, who is still living at the old homestead on Island Creek. Jane, the daughter of Edmund Browning by his first wife, married Thomas Cunningham, of Russell County, Virginia.
Edmund Browning married, as a second wife, Miss Robertson, of Russell County. By this marriage he had four sons - Jesse, who married a daughter of Barnabus Curry. He was the father of John L. Kemper, and the late Adam Browning, Mrs. A. H. McDonald and Mrs. Joseph Hatfield and several other sons and daughters. Isaac, who married a daughter of Phillip Ellis; Frank, who married a daughter of Isaac Spratt, of Gilbert; and Edmund, who also married a daughter of Barnabus Curry. Edmund and Frank Browning are still living, aged respectively, 85 and 83. Edmund is the father of George F. Browning, a prominent merchant of Cow Creek, and several other sons and daughters.
Barnabus Curry, who as we have already seen, married a Miss Browning, sister of Edmund and Francis Browning, settled on Island Creek, where Thomas Steele now lives. His sons were Robert, who moved to Lincoln County, and is the progenitor of the Currys of that county; John, who married a Miss Browning; Eli, who married a Miss McCoy. After the death of his first wife he married a Miss Pressley, by whom he had several sons and daughters, among whom are Calvin and Victor D.
Ralph Steele also from Russell County, Virginia, at an early date, and married a daughter of John Ferrell, of Sandy, and settled where Anderson Hatfield now lives on Island Creek. His sons were Hawkins, who married a Miss Ellis; John, who married a Miss Mounts; William, who married a Miss Spratt; George, who married a Miss Ellis; and Lorenzo D., who married a lady from Tazewell. His daughters were Catherine, who married H. B. Justice and Rebecca, who married Lewis Hinchman.
Passing down the creek we find that two brothers - Evans and Phillip Ellis - made settlements about 1811. They were from Monroe County and were descendants of the Evans Ellis who emigrated from Wales in 1730, and settled in the James River Valley. Evans Ellis, who married a Miss Hines, settled near where John T. Vance now lives. His sons were Jacob, who married a daughter of Joseph Gore; Henry, who married a daughter of Isaac Spratt; Lloyd, who also married a daughter of Isaac Spratt; Madison, who married a daughter of Humphrey Trent; and Zatto C., who moved to Roane County. His daughters were Nancy, who married Eli Gore; Catherine, who married Hawkins Steele; Margaret, who married Henderson Bailey; Sallie, who married George, and Evaline, who went to Roane County.
Phillip Ellis married a Miss Black and settled where Howard Ellis now lives. His sons were William, who married a daughter of Francis Browning; Squire, who married a daughter of John Vance, and James who married a daughter of William Browning. His daughters were Hannah, who married Thomas Taylor; Christina who married Isaac Browning; Polly who married Thomas Buchanan, who for a long time was Clerk of the Circuit Court of Logan County; and Bettie, who married George Avis, an Englishman, and father of Hugh C., Thomas and Burwell Abis [Avis?] and Mrs. J. E. Robertson, Mrs. Scot Dejarnette, Mrs. Andrew Perry, and the late Mrs. H. S. White. Simpson Ellis, a late member of the County Court, is a son of Lloyd Ellis.
Mrs. Martha Straton, of whom mention has been made, settled about the same time, near where Howard Ellis now lives. She married Ben Smith of Buffalo. Joseph Straton was a man of considerable prominence in the county, having represented it in the Legislature of Virginia and Sheriff for a long time. He was the father of William Straton, a prominent lawyer who is still living at Logan Court House, and who was for a long time clerk of the Courts of the county, and for one term, representative of the county in the Legislature of West Virginia and was during the civil war, a major of cavalry in Confederate service. The widow of Joseph Straton moved to Texas where she died a few years ago, leaving their one son, David, and one daughter, Eliza, who married a gentleman named McKean.
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CHAPTER XX
About the same time that Wm. Hinchman settled at the mouth of Rich Creek, four brothers named Perry came into the county from Monroe. Of these, Jack settled about a mile above Huffs Creek. He was the father of seven sons and two daughters. His sons were Dr. James, who married his cousin, Margaret, a daughter of Joe Perry; Oliber [Oliver?], who married a Miss Haner; Henry, who married a daughter of Jack Chambers; Alexander, who went to Texas and joined the forces of Gen. Houston and was never heard of afterwards; Ephraim, John and Silas, who moved West. Jane married Peter, a son of Conrad Riffe, who was one of the oldest settlers on Upper Tug. Mrs. Riffe is still alive, though about 87 years old, and is the mother of John, Gordon and Patterson Riffe, Mrs. F. M. White and Mrs. Eli Gore. The other daughter of Jack Perry was Mary, who married Richard Chambers.
Joe Perry, the next brother settled on Buffalo. He had five sons and four daughters. Of his sons Frank married a Miss Workman; Eli married a Miss Johnson; William and John E., both married Miss Buchanans, and James married a Miss Hatfield. Of his daughters, Margaret married Dr. James Perry, who was at one time Sheriff of the county, and Polly married Rhodes D. Ballard, one of the most prominent and highly esteemed citizens of the county. Mr. Ballard was for years a justice of the peace, and for one term a member of the West Virginia Legislature and was for a long time a member of the county court. He died in 1888, in his 88th year. Jane married Abner Vance and Flora married Amos Workman.
Henry Perry, the next brother, settled on Guyandotte River near the mouth of what is now known as Henry's Branch. He moved West and nothing is known of his family.
James Perry, the fourth brother, settled at what is still known as the Perry place. He was the Colonel of the Logan County militia for a long while and was among the most prominent men in the county. His sons were Dow, who married a Miss Elkins; Granville, who married a daughter of Carter T. Clark; Preston, who married a daughter of Pyrrhus McGinnis; John A., who married a daughter of John Farley; Oliver, who married a daughter of W. W. McDonald; James, who went West, and Andrew, who enlisted in 1846, in the company of Capt. Elisha McComas, and went to Mexico, and died while still in the service near Vera Cruz. James Perry had two daughters - Mary, who married Maj. Wm. Straton, and Elba, who died unmarried.
Jack Perry married a Miss Dixon, of Monroe County; Joe Perry married a Miss Shirkey [?], of Greenbrier County, and James Perry married a Miss Roach, of Monroe County. It is not known who Henry Perry married. They were the sons of John Perry, a native of the north of Ireland, and who has already been mentioned as the father of Mrs. Wm. Hinchman. John Perry had two other daughters, who moved to this county, viz, Bettie, who married Issac [Isaac?] Stollings, of the mouth of Crawley, and Flora, sho married Samuel Canterberry, who afterwards moved to Boone County. John Perry was said to be quite a learned man, and was the author of an arithmetic which was for a long time a text book in the schools of Virginia and North Carolina.
Near the same time the Perrys settled here, several other families from North Carolina made settlements on Buffalo and the waters of Spruce, among whom were William Browning, William, John, Tandy and Meredith Burgess and Ben White.
William Browning brought with him, in addition to his own family, which consisted of a wife and several daughters, two nephews - Nathaniel and Simeon Browning. He first settled on Buffalo, and while he had no sons to perpetuate his name, he had four daughters. Sarah, who married James Madison White; Lucinda, who married Griffin Canterbury, Peggy, who married Nathaniel Browning and Polly, who married Simeon Browning.
Tandy Burgess settled on Buffalo. His sons were Calvin, Hiram and Cornelius. William Burgess moved in Kanawha at an early date. His daughter, Araminia, who married Harrison Chambers, is still living, however, in this county.
John Burgess settled on Spruce. His sons were Milton, John A., and Lewis. He had one daughter, (Peggy) who married Russell Trump, of Raleigh County.
Meredith Burgess also settled on Spruce. His sons were Fernandus, Jackson, James, George and John W., and his daughters were Polly, who married William McCreeley, and Martha, who married Lewis McDonald.
Ben White, who, to distinguish him from Ben White, son of John, who has already been spoken of was known as "Chickawaw Ben." He settled on the farm now owned by Stephen Browning, and was the father of a large family. His sons were Gradon, who married a daughter of William Browning; Russell, who married a Miss Coon; Benjamin Wesley, who married a daughter of Tandy Burgess, and Andrew, who married a daughter of George Ferrell. His daughters were Amanda, who married Oliver Browning; Elizabeth, who married Byron Christian; Nancy, who married a Ferrell, and Paulina, who married Chapman Miller, of Boone County.
As has been before stated, James Mitchell and John Miller settled on Turtle Creek about the year 1815. They were brothers-in-law and both were soldiers in the War of 1812. Mitchell was the son of Joshua Mitchell (or Michel,) who came from France with Rochambeau, and served under him at the battle of Yorktown. He married Elizabeth Miller, a daughter of Michael Miller, and his children were Michael, Joshua, a well-known Baptist preacher, and Dr. James, who is living and practicing his profession.
John Miller was the son of Michael Miller, a Hessian who deserted his command and joined the American forces, and after the war settled in Montgomery County, Va. John, who married a daughter of Joshua Mitchell, settled where Riland Ballard now lives. He had two sons - Benjamin and Ezekiel. Ezekiel married a daughter of Joshua Mitchell and is the grandfather of C. M. Turley, a prominent attorney of Logan.
Last but not least among the men who left their impress upon the people of the Guyandotte Valley was Anthony Lawson, who settled where J. S. Miller now lives, about the year 1823.
Anthony Lawson was a native of Northumberland, England, and was born about 1780. Some time about the year 1815 he emigrated to America with his wife and four sons, John, Lewis H., James and Anthony. He remained for a while at Alexandria, Va., where his brother, John, who had preceded him to America, lived. Col. Andrew Bierne, of Lewisburg, soon made his acquaintance, and induced him to come in the wilds of the Guyandotte River and engage in the fur and ginseng trade. Mr. Lawson first settled near the present site of Oceana, where he remained about four years and then moved to the present site of Logan C. H., where he remained until his death, which occurred in Guyandotte in 1846, while he was returning from Philadelphia, where he had been to purchase goods. The state of trade in Logan at that time and the difficulty of getting goods and of taking produce to market will be treated of hereafter. Mr. Lawson was a member of the first county court and was during his life a leading citizen. His wife survived him for something over a year, when she was murdered by two of her slaves. Her tombstone in our cemetery had the following inscription: "Ann Lawson, wife of Anthony Lawson, of Logan County, Va., who was born in the Parish of Longhorsby, in the county of Northumberland, England, on the 17th day of March, A.D. 1783. Murdered on the night of the 17th of December, 1847, by two of her own Negroes."
The sons of Anthony Lawson were all prominent men in the county, and will be noticed more fully in some future chapters. John married Emily Butcher, daughter of Joshua and Sarah (Clarke) Butcher, and was killed by a falling tree in 1844; Lewis B. married Polly Dingess, James married Matilda Dingess, both daughters of Peter and Sallie (Farley) Dingess, and Anthony, the youngest son, married Ann Brooke Robertson, the daughter of Edwin and Mary (Minnie) Robertson.
While the Guyandotte Valley was being settled with hardy pioneers from Montgomery and the territory which formerly belonged in that ancient county, the Tug Fork of Sandy was being peopled by those who had for awhile paused in their march to the wilderness on the waters of the Clinch and the Holsten. From the time of the building of the old Block House at the forks of Sandy, about the year 1789, frequent visits were made from the cabins on the frontier by daring hunters to their friends in the old fort, but there is no account of any settlement being made on the West Virginia side of the river below the McDowell County line, or even above that line, until the year 1800, when Richard and John Ferrell, sons of Richard Ferrell, who was killed by the Indians in Thompson's Valley in 1780, settled on the farm where M.A. Ferrell now lives.
Richard Ferrell, the youngest brother, married a Miss Romaines, of Russell County, Virginia, and was the father of ten children - six sons and four daughters. His sons were William, who married Mahala Tiller; John R., who married Elizabeth Coleman; Elizah, who married Barbara Jackson; Richard, who married Letitia Eskew; Evans, who married Martha Duty, and Moses, who married Jane Lockhart. His daughters were Rachel, who married William Tiller; Rebecca, who married Green Justice; Elizabeth, who married Joab Justice, and Nancy, who married Cummings Musie [?].[Musick? -jcw 25.02.2013]
John Ferrell married Nancy Jackson of Russell County, Virginia. He was the father of three sons and two daughters. His sons were William, who moved to Roane County; Andrew, who married Polly Slater, and then moved to Missouri; and John, who married Jane Taylor, and was through a long life, a prominent Baptist preacher, and was greatly beloved by all who knew him. His daughters were Jennie, who married John Murphy, ( John has been proven to be the father of Bad Jim Vance and Nancy Vance who married Eph. Hatfield, by DNA, by Abner Vance's daughter, Elizabeth Vance, never married) and Levisa, who married Ralph Steel, of Island Creek.
Reuben Thacker made the first settlement at what is now known as Thacker. He came from the James River Valley, remained for a few years, giving to the creek its name, and then moved further west.
Peter Cline, who was of German origin, settled about the year 1802 just below the mouth of Peter Creek on the West Virginia side of the river. It is claimed that he had settled on the Kentucky side, on Peter Creek, some eight years before that time, and that the creek took its name from him, and that he came direct from Montgomery County, Va. Be this as it may, it is well known that he lived and died at a ripe old age on Tug River, and that he was the father of four sons and one daughter, from whom has sprung the Clines and Mounts of the Tug and Guyandotte Valleys. His sons were Michael, who married a Miss Hinkle, of Kentucky; Jacob, who married a Miss Fuller, of Kentucky; William, who married a daughter of Thomas Smith, of Horsepen. This Peter Cline Jr., died on Gilbert's Creek in 1893, aged something over one hundred years. The daughter of Peter Cline, Sr., whose name was Margaret, married David Mounts, a young man who came to the Tug Valley a short time after Clines had settled there. It is not known where he came from, but it is believed from the name that he is a descendant of a Portugese family by the name of Mountz, which settled in South Carolina about 1750, some of whom served under Sumpter in the War of the Revolution. Mounts settled just above Cline, on the river, and was the father of six sons and four daughters. His sons were William, who married Mary Blankenship; Charles who married a daughter of Isaac Spratt; Peter, who married a daughter of William Cline; Michael, who married a daughter of Peter Cline; Jackson, who married a daughter of William Cline, and Alexander, who married a Miss Charles. His daughters were Nancy, who married Asbury Hurley; Patsy, who married John Steel; Elizabeth, who married Alexander Trent, and Sarah, who married Daniel Christian. (There is a Peter Cline abt his age listed in 1830, Pike, Ky.) ( He also had a daughter, Sarah who married Abraham Honaker)
As was stated in our last chapter, Francis Browning married a daughter of Abner Vance, of Tazewell. This Abner Vance was hung for killing a man named Horton - a justifiable killing, as was afterwards shown - had four sons and four daughters who came to Logan early in the century and settled on the waters of Tug, and who are the progenitors of the Vance family of this county.
Abner Vance, the father spoken of, was a native of North Carolina, and, after serving through the Revolutionary War, settled in Russell County, Va., and married a Miss Howard. His sons spoken of above were James, who married a Miss Miller; John, who married a Miss Rader; Richard, who married a Miss Sutherland; and Abner, who married a Miss Perry. His daughters married respectively, Francis Browning, Jos. Dempsey, James Brown and John McCloud. There was another daughter - Bettie - who was never married but had two children of whom John Ferrell was the reputed father. These were Mrs. Ephriam Hatfield and the late James Vance.( she married Big Eaf, Ephraim Hatfield, the son of Valentine Hatfield of Horsepen)
Joseph Hatfield, who has already been mentioned as the brother of Valentine Hatfield, and a half-brother of Thomas Smith of Horsepen, settled at what is now Matewan, at about the same time that his brother settled on Horsepen. He married a Miss Evans, of Russell County, and was the father of ten sons and one daughter. His sons were Joseph, William, Ferrell, Ephriam, John, Valentine, Richard Thomas, James, Seth and McGinnis, and the name of his daughter was Phoebe. All of them moved across the river into Kentucky, where Richard and McGinnis are still living, both being olg [old?] and highly respected citizens.
The settlement at the mouth of Spruce, where Lewis Rutherford now lives, was made by Benjamin Sprouse. At just what time he settled there is not known, but he raised a large family of boys and girls, and with Reuben Thacker, a brother-in-law, moved further to the west, selling his place to William Davis, who came from Albermarle County, and claimed to be a first cousin of Thomas Jefferson. Davis married a Mrs. Hensley, of Russell County, who was the mother by her former marriage of four sons and one daughter. Three of the sons - William, Robert and John - and the daughter, whose name is forgotten. There was another son - Daniel - who had been captured by the Indians in 1790, and who remained with the Indians until 1807, when he joined the family and married a daughter of Thomas Davis, of Albermarle County, and niece of the William Davis above mentioned, settled at the mouth of Rockhouse Fork of Pigeon. Of the other Hensley boys, Robert married a daughter of Capt. Henry Farley, and settled at the mouth of Sugar-tree; William married a Miss Brewster, and settled opposite the mouth of Pond, on what is now known as the Lawson farm, and John married a Miss Davis and settled lower down the river. The daughter above mentioned married William Davis, a son of Thomas Davis of Albermarle, and nephew of the William Davis above mentioned, who settled near the mouth of Pigeon. William Davis, Sr., had one daughter by his first wife. William Davis, Sr., married a Miss Runyon, by whom he had two daughters, one of whom married Jess Stratredge and the other Jacob Runyon.
William Davis, Jr., above mentioned, from whom descended all of the Davis' of the Tug Valley, had four sons and two daughters. His sons were George, who married a Miss Dillon; Henry, who married a Miss Stotts, and William and Joseph, who married Miss Dillons. His two daughters married respectively, Daniel Hensley, Jr., and Jas. Bailey. The Dillon girls above mentioned, were the daughters of Christopher Dillon, who settled on the waters of Pigeon at quite an early day, and had a large family of boys and girls from whom sprung the large Dillon family.
Vinson Grant, a mulatto, settled at the mouth of Sycamore. He had a white woman with him by whom he raised a large family. He moved to Ohio about 1820, and settled near Haverhill, Lawrence County.
Moses Parsley, of Russell County, who married a Miss Loving, of the same county, settled at the mouth of the Rockokse [?] Fork of Pigeon. He was the father of five sons and four daughters. His sons were John, who married a Murphy, and settled at the mouth of Upper Burning Creek; William, who married a Miss Chafin, and settled on Lower Burning Creek; Alexander, who married a Miss Smith, and settled near Warfield, Ky.; Jesse, who married a Miss Marcum, and settled at the mouth of Jennie's Creek, and Riburn, who married a Miss Muncey, and settled near the mouth of Jennie's Creek, but becoming involved in the Marcum-Muncey feud he moved to Mississippi, and became a brigadier-general of the Confederate States in the late unpleasantness. His daughters were Sallie, who married William Starr, and Polly, who married William Muncey. The other daughters were never married and their names are not known.
Christopher Chafin who came from Montgomery County, Va., settled near the mouth of the Elk Fork of Pigeon. He married a Miss Roberts and first settled near Burlington, Lawrence County, Ohio, where several of his children were born. He then moved to the Elk Fork of Pigeon, where he lived for many years and then mysteriously disappeared. His sons were Stanley, who died unmarried; William, who married Sarah Deskins; Joshua who married Sarah Collins; Nathan, who married Matilda Varney; Pleasant, who married Nancy White, and Thomas, who married Jennie Horn. His daughters were Bettie, who married Harrison Blair; Alafair, who married ____ Nelson, and Margaret, who married James Copley. John Chafin, who was for a long time clerk of the circuit and county courts of this county, and Francis M. Chafin, who was sheriff of the county, were sons of William Chafin, and John B. Wilkinson, the present prosecuting attorney of the counties of Logan and Mingo, is his grandson.
John Stafford, of Tazewell, settled at the mouth of Lick Creek. Just at what time he settled there or who he married is not known. He had three sons and several daughters. His sons were John, who married a daughter of Isaac Spratt, and settled at the mouth of Gilbert; Compton, who married a daughter of Isaac Brewer, and settled at the mouth of Breeding, and Fleming, who married a daughter of Frank Evans, and went to Mercer County. Of his daughters, Sarah married Andrew Varney, and Phoebe married Smith Trent.
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CHAPTER XXII
Emile Millard, usually called Miller, a Frenchman, who had served under Lafayette in the Revolutionary War, made the first settlement near the town of Nolan. He settled after the war in what is now Tazewell County, and married Sallie Roark, of Roark's Gap. Sallie had two children by former husbands a the time of her marriage with Millard, both of whom came with Millard to his new settlement. They were John Deskins and Isaac Brewer, who will be spoken of again.
Millard, and his brother Charles, the grandfather of Ben and A.J. Millard, were in the county as early as 1792, at which time Charles was drowned in Johns Creek, Ky., near the mouth of the creek now known as Miller's Creek.
Emile Millard had three children - one son and two daughters. His son, whose name was Timothy, married Polly Boreman; and his daughters were Rachel, who married James Starr, and Rebecca, who married Arter White. This James Starr was one of the prominent men of the Tug Valley, who, after the death of his first wife married Rebecca Hensly, and after her death married a Miss McCoy. He died about ten years ago at the age of 91, after having built the first Methodist Church in the valley, which is of stone and will long remain as a monument to his memory. He had no children.
John Deskins, spoken of above, married a Miss Holt and settled near the Millard place. He was the father of five sons and four daughters. His sons were John, who married a Miss Bevins, of Kentucky; James, who married a Miss Hibbard; Jackson, who married a Miss Lieslie; Nathan, who married a Miss Phillips, and Lewis, who married a Kentucky lady whose name is forgotten. His daughters were Esther, who married Benjamin Williamson; Sarah, who married William Chafin; Bettie, who married Benjamin Maynard, and Nancy, who married Wm. Taylor.
William Farley, a brother of Capt. Henry Farley, of Peach Creek, settled near the mouth of Buffalo. He married a Miss Thompson of Albemarle County, Va., and was the father of four sons and one daughter. His sons were William - known as "Punch Bill" - who married a Miss Allen, of Boone; Thompson, who married a Miss Chapman; Nimrod (Father of the late Senator Farley, of California), married a Miss Slater, and Henry, who married a Miss Starr. Henry was quite a prominent citizen, and represented the county in the Virginia Legislature.
Adam Runyon settled on Pigeon. His sons were Alexander, who married a Miss Starr; Adam, who married a Miss Harris; James, who married a Miss Simpkins; William, who went West, and John, who married a Miss Mead, and [was?] murdered by George Aldredge. He had two daughters, Chrisina and Anna, who were never married.
Joseph Clark, of Culpepper County, settled at what is known as the Floyd place, on the Trace Fork of Pigeon. He married a Miss Briton, of Pittsylvania County, and had six sons and four daughters. His sons were John B., who married Mary McDonald; Thomas K., who married a Miss Clay; Carter T., who married a daughter of Capt. Henry Farley; Joseph M., who went to Tennessee in 1812; Henry who went to Texas, and George, who went to Kentucky. His daughters were Nancy, who married Jonathan B. Bailey of Mercer; Polly, who married James Suthers; Rebecca, who married Jonas McDonald, and Sallie who married Roland Dillon. Of these sons, John B., settled at the mouth of Pigeon, and had one son; Thomas K., had three sons, one of whom (Charles) was a soldier in the Mexican War, and Carter T. had four sons - Henry P., Ira H., Joseph M., and Guy, and from these have sprung the Clarks of the Tug Valley.
Thomas Evans was an early settler in the valley. He married a Miss Closser, and was the father of Richard Evans, who married a Miss Thompson. The names of his other children are not known, but they are the progenitors of a large Evans family.
Alden Williamson was the first person to settle at the mouth of Laurel Fork of Pigeon. He was a descendant of Hugh Williamson, who came from Wales about 1720 and first settled in New Kent County, Va., and then moved with the tide of emigration to Western Pennsylvania. Alden Williamson had three sons - John, who married a Miss Hibbard and moved to Kentucky; Richard, who married a Miss Wiley, daughter of Jennie Wiley, and settled on Twelve Pole, and Benjamin, who married a Miss Porter, and settled near the present site of the town of Williamson. By his marriage with Miss Porter, Ben Williamson had two sons (Benjamin, who married Esther Deskins, and John, who moved to Kentucky), and three daughters, who married respectively Abraham Millard, Joseph Porter and James Taylor. By a second marriage he had two sons - Hammond, who married a Miss Maynard, and Julius who married a Miss Butcher, and who is still living.
Jean Schmidt Baisden was another early settler at the mouth of Laurel. He came with Lafayette to America and served under him during the Revolution. After the war was over he located at Richmond, Va., and then moved to Reeds Island of New River, where he married a Miss Braham, and about the beginning of the present century, settled at the mouth of Laurel. He had three sons and two daughters. His sons were Joseph, who married Lucinda Osborne, Solomon, who married Mary Chafin, and Edward, who married Susan Barnett. His daughters were Polly, who married John Blair, and Frances, who married Thomas Copley.
John Blair, who came from Powells Valley, first settled just above the present site of the town of Williamson, but after marrying Polly, the daughter of Jean Schmidt Baisden, he settled near his father-in-law at the mouth of Laurel, where he died in 1860. His sons were Harrison, who first married a Miss Chafin and then a Miss Johnson, and who was Logan's first Democratic Sheriff after the war; Anderson, who married a Miss McCoy, and Joe, who also married a Miss McCoy. His daughters were Mahulda, who married Anderson Dempsey; Chlorina, who married John McCoy, and Rhoda, who married Moses Parsley.
Josiah Marcum was also an early settler on Laurel. He came from Franklin County, and brought with him eight sons, from whom has sprung the large and influential house of Marcum. These sons were Moses, who first married a Miss Elswick and then a Christina Wiley, daughter of Jennie Wiley; Stephen, who married a Miss Sperry, and was the grandfather of Wm. W., Jno. S., and Lace Marcum, prominent lawyers of West Virginia. J.M. Marcum, the late state senator from Cabell, and Thos. D., and Penbroke Marcum, of Catlettsburg, Ky.; William, who married a Miss Sutherland; John, who married a Miss Copley, and was a Baptist Preacher; James, who married a Miss Chapman, and Jacob and Randall, who married ladies from Franklin County, Va., whose names are not known.
Alexander Sutherland settled at the mouth of Marrowbone, and is spoken of as the first settler in that locality. He had two daughters, one of whom married William Marcum and the other a Wellman.
William Bingham Meade, who married Mildred Esther Davis, came from Virginia about 1790, and settled at the old Vancouver settlement at the block house at the forks of Sandy. In the early part of the present century - about 1801 - he moved with his family to Marrowbone Creek. He had three sons and five daughters. His sons sere Wm. B., Jr., who married Jane Ellen Rutherford; Samuel, who married Isaac Brewer; Margaret, who married Thomas Watts; Frances, who married Theodore Gooding; Anna, who married Perry Burruss, and Keziah, who married John Cline [editor's note - the above doesn't seem correct, and was possibly transcribed incorrectly in 1977]. Wm. B., Jr., had seven boys and four girls. His sons were James, who married a Miss Lowe; Reuben, who married a Miss Rose; John, who married a Miss Dingess; Lewis, who married a Miss Spaulding; Thomas B., who married a Miss Sartin; Wm. B., who married a Miss Brewer and Pyrrhus who married a Miss Messer. The daughters were Mary, who married John Field; Priscilla, who married Hiram Rose; Lydia, who married Silas Damron, and Ellen, who married G.R.C. Floyd, and who was the mother of Hon. J.B. Floyd, Mrs. S.P. Kelly, and several other children.
Isaac Brewer, who married the oldest daughter of W. B. Meade Sr., was of English stock. Among the soldiers who came with Braddock to America, in 1755, were two brothers by the name of Brewer: one of them was was killed at Fort Duquesne, on July 9th, 1755, and the other survived the war and settled in Southwestern Virginia, where he had several sons and daughters. One of these sons, after serving in the Revolution, married Sallie Roark, who afterwards became the wife of Emile Millard. To this former marriage of Sallie Roark was born Isaac Brewer, who came with Millard to the Tug Valley, and after his marriage was born eight sons and three daughters. His sons were Lewis, who married a Miss Marcum; William, who moved to Kanawha; Isaac, who married a Miss Spaulding; Samuel who married a Miss Kirk; Johnson, who married a Miss Clark, Calvin, who married a Miss Messer, James, who married a Miss Newsom; Aaron, who married a Miss Mead, and Anthony, who married a Miss James. His daughters were Eliza, who first married Jacob Marcum and then Compton Stafford; Evaline, who married another Jacob Marcum, and Matilda, who married Moses Ferrell, who was for a long time a member of the County Court of Logan.
Transcribed by Tom Steele, June 30, 1998
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Submitted By Cheri Fox Smith, 2012
maksiccaradded this on 26 Nov 2012
gerryw4655originally submitted this to Cheri's Family Tree on 15 May 2012
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1813 - 1886 (73 years)
