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Brandon Ray Kirk

Category Archives: American Revolutionary War

Civil War in the Kanawha Valley: Ruffner Memorial Park (2019)

29 Tuesday Oct 2019

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in African American History, American Revolutionary War, Cemeteries, Civil War

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22nd Virginia Infantry, Appalachia, Charleston, Confederate Army, Daniel Ruffner, French and Indian War, gas, George S. Patton, George Washington, Henry D. Ruffner, history, Holly Mansion, John McCausland, Joseph Ruffner, Kanawha County, Kanawha Riflemen, Kanawha River, Kanawha Street, oil, Revolutionary War, Richard Laidley, salt, Thomas Bullitt, United Daughters of the Confederacy, West Virginia

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Terry Lowry is THE authority on the Civil War in the Kanawha Valley. Stop 2 on his tour: Ruffner Memorial Park in Charleston, WV. 29 September 2019. Here is a link to Terry’s latest book, The Battle of Charleston (2016): https://wvcivilwar.com/now-available-the-battle-of-charleston/

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Kanawha Riflemen: “Hometown Boys in Gray.” 29 September 2019

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Kanawha Riflemen Memorial at Ruffner Memorial Park. In 1831, Joseph Ruffner deeded this cemetery to the city. In 1920, the site became a city park. Some graves were relocated but many are still here with their headstones buried beneath the surface. The UDC memorial was placed in 1922. 29 September 2019

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Thomas Bullitt grave. Ruffner Memorial Park. In 1776, George Washington wrote of him: “Bullet (sic) is no favourite of mine, & therefore I shall say nothing more of him, than that his own opinion of himself always kept pace with what others pleas’d to think of him—if any thing, rather run a head of it.” 29 September 2019

John Breckinridge Once Owned Logan, WV (1937)

23 Saturday Feb 2019

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in American Revolutionary War, Logan, Native American History

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Andrew Lewis, Appalachia, Aracoma, Battle of the Island, Big Creek, Boling Baker, Coal River, Dingess Run, Elizabeth Madison, George Booth, Gilbert Creek, Guyandotte River, Hatfield Island, history, Island Creek, John Breckinridge, Kentucky, Logan, Logan Banner, Logan County, Mingo County, Montgomery County, Native American History, Native Americans, Spruce Fork, Thomas Madison, Virginia, Washington County, West Virginia

From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, comes this bit of information about Logan’s early history printed on April 26, 1937:

Land On Which City Of Logan Now Stands First Owned by Breckinridge

The tract of land on which the city of Logan now stands and the Island–now “Hatfield’s Island”–once belonged to John Breckinridge, scion of an old Kentucky family and leader of the attacking party which broke the control of the Shawnee Indians in the Guyandotte valleys in the “Battle of the Islands.”

Princess Aracoma was killed in this battle and Boling Baker, her renegade white husband, was banished forever from the lush river valley where he had spent his days since his desertion from the English forces in Virginia.

Captain Breckenridge led the attack which made the valley safe for white settlers, and, in appreciation of his services, the new government allowed him 300 acres at the mouth of Island creek.

The land grant was made early in the 1780s along with a few others on Island Creek, Dingess Run, Gilbert Creek, Big Creek and the Spruce Fork of Cole River.

Surveying parties from Montgomery and Washington county, Virginia, braved the wilderness and apportioned the land in Guyan Valley and vicinity to early Indian fighters who had contributed their services to opening the valley for white settlement.

Included in the surveys made by deputy surveyors from Montgomery county were grants apportioning much of Island Creek, Spruce Fork, and Dingess Run to persons whose names are still remembered in the county has holders of much of this county’s land.

In these early surveys Andrew Lewis was given 3000 acres on Island Creek along with 2000 acres on Big Creek, and 3000 acres on Gilbert Creek.

Thomas Madison was given 2000 acres on Spruce Fork, 1000 acres on Dingess Run, and 2000 acres on Gilbert Creek.

Others who figured in this early allocation of land were Elizabeth Madison, who was given much of Spruce Fork; George Booth, who was awarded several thousand acres along Guyan River and on Island Creek; and George Booth [same name listed twice in this story], who received much of the land along Island Creek.

Later in the waning years of the 19th century other grants were made by the new government with the stipulation that settlement be made immediately, but these early grants were rewards for work well done in opening the valley of the Guyandotte for settlement.

Chief Logan (1937)

01 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in American Revolutionary War, Guyandotte River, Native American History

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American Revolution, Andrew Lewis, Appalachia, Battle of Point Pleasant, Cayuga, Chief Cornstalk, Chief Logan, Daniel Greathouse, England, governor, Guyandotte Valley, history, Iroquois, James Logan, John Murray, Lord Dunmore, Michael Cresap, Mingo, Native American History, Native Americans, Ohio, Oneida, Pennsylvania, Six Nations, Susquehanna

From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, comes this bit of history for Chief Logan, printed in 1937:

Family of Chief Logan Was Brutally Murdered After Battle of Pt. Pleasant

Chief Logan, the Cayuga Indian leader who was an important figure in the Indian Confederation in the early days of the Revolutionary war and for whom the city of Logan was named, was an instrument in the hands of Governor Dunmore, appointed by the English Parliament to conduct the affairs of the 13 colonies.

The family of Chief Logan was brutally murdered soon after the battle of Point Pleasant on October 10, 1774, in order to incite to new acts of murder and rapine the Indians whose order for fighting the courageous white settler was beginning to wane.

In the Battle of Point Pleasant the Indian Confederacy, commanded by Chief Cornstalk faced the white settlers under General Andrew Lewis and got a taste of the treatment they might expect in event England and the Colonies went to war with themselves on the side of the mother country.

Dr. Connelly, a deputy of Governor Dunmore, realized that the Indian desire for white scalps was somewhat satiated by the battle of Point Pleasant and the tribes were once gain becoming interested in their everyday life of hunting and shing. In order to offset this feeling of contentment, Dr. Connelly employed the English trader named Greathouse to incite the Indians to new acts of bloodshed.

Trader Greathouse knew of the popularity of the Cayuga chief Logan and rightly judged that an injustice done him would be an injustice to the majority of the tribes of the Confederacy.

Greathouse well-versed in the Indian situation west of the Alleghenies set out to the greatest harm to the Indians in the shortest time and chose the family of Chief Logan as the best possible victims of a white man’s outrage, knowing full well that Dr. Connelly had chosen a colonist well-known to the Indians to hold the “bag.”

The trader, posing as a representative of the English government, gained admittance to Chief Logan’s camp deep in the wilds of the Alleghenies while the latter was away on a hunting expedition. At an opportune moment when he knew that he would not be detected, Greathouse entered Chief Logan’s family circle of tepees and murdered the squaw and the Chief’s favorite children.

When the outrage was discovered by the braves, Greathouse, by instruction from Connelly, told of seeing a white Army officer’s horse near the camp that night before but though it to be of a courier. The unsuspecting braves took the explanation as good and allowed Greathouse to leave soon afterward.

Chief Logan returned from his hunting trip, found his family murdered and demanded retribution from the English.

Dr. Connelly definitely fixed the murder on a Captain Cresap, who at the time of the slaying was at his home in Maryland.

This, however, was enough for Chief Logan. A colonist, a member of the paleface band with whom a treaty had been made following the battle of Point Pleasant, had violated the trust. He returned to his Confederacy and began the work that Governor had anticipated.

The Indian tribes began new raids on the white settlers homes in the West and sufficiently retarded organization of a settlers’ regiment to allow Dunmore to make new inroads on the angry colonists in the East who were laying plans which culminated in the rebellion in 1776.

Dunmore’s strategy triumphed and probably held up the Revolution for at least a year.

Logan (WV) Banner, 19 April 1937

***

Life of Chief Logan Is An Interesting Narrative

Indian Chief Was Peaceful Until Massacre Of Family At Pt. Pleasant Changed Him To A Veritable Devil; Father Was French

Logan, chief of the Mingos, stands out as a romantic figure in the history of Indian warfare of this section.

His was a tragic role player on the shifting stage of border warfare between the white settlers who were attempting to penetrate the “wilderness” and the Indian tribes who were attempting to cling to their priority rights in this section before being pushed farther westward to the plains.

Logan was his place in history as an orator as well as a famed Indian warrior.

He was a true friend of the white man until, through the machinations of the English in an effort to incite the Indians to further bloodshed, his family was killed by a treacherous white trader named Greathouse.

Logan’s father was a French child who was captured by the Indians and adopted by the Oneida tribe that inhabited Eastern Pennsylvania and Western New York.

When he grew to manhood, he was possessed not only of a commanding stature, but of all the arts, wiles, traits, and characteristics endowed by nature and intellect to an Indian warrior.

By virtue of these he became chief of the tribe of the Susquehannas, who made their home in the Susquehanna valley of Pennsylvania.

The mother of Logan was a Mingo, or Cayuga, which tribe was a derelict branch of the Iroquois and the Six Great Nations.

It is believed that the influence of Logan’s mother on her son caused him to have attitude of tolerance and friendship toward the whites. Whether he husband influenced her sentiments for the whites is not definitely known.

As a matter of fact it was she who christened her son, the great and mighty warrior, “Logan,” in honor of James Logan, who was then secretary for Pennsylvania.

Logan’s Indian name was Tah-gah-jute, meaning “the young and mighty warrior.”

He was after a time chosen chief of the Mingo tribe of this section. As chief of the Mingos he was slow to anger, indulgent, considerate, and dealing in a kindly manner with those who dealt kindly with him.

Chief Logan married an Indian maiden whose name is not recorded. He reared a family in territory of the Guyandotte watershed and was relatively happy, living at peace, with man, until the English changed him from a peaceful Indian to a veritable devil by having massacred his family at a camp in the Ohio.

The stories of Chief Logan’s campaign against the white man after the atrocious murder of his family is recorded in history and tradition.

He lived to see his beloved hunting grounds desecrated by the white man and died a broken-hearted old chieftain somewhere in a camp on the Ohio.

A bronze replica of the mighty warrior has been erected in front of the courthouse at Williamson in memory of the Mingo chief. Logan and Logan county has honored his name by taking it for themselves.

Logan (WV) Banner, 1 May 1937

Harrison Blair Was Early Sheriff in Logan County, WV (1937)

12 Wednesday Dec 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in American Revolutionary War, Battle of Blair Mountain, Logan, Williamson

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American Revolution, Anderson Blair, Anderson Dempsey, Appalachia, Battle of Blair Mountain, Blair Mountain, Chlorina Blair, civil war, Democratic Party, Edward Baisden, Frances Baisden, genealogy, genelaogy, Harrison Blair, history, Jean Schmidt Baisden, Joe Blair, John Blair, John McCoy, Joseph Baisden, Joseph Blair, Laurel Fork, Logan County, Lucinda Osborne, Mahulda Blair, Marquis de Lafayette, Mary Chafin, Mingo County, Moses Parsley, Polly Baisden, Powells Valley, Republican Party, Rhoda Blair, sheriff, Solomon Baisden, Susan Bennett, Thomas Copley, West Virginia, Williamson

From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, comes this bit of history about Harrison Blair, an early sheriff in Logan County, WV:

Harrison Blair Was First Democrat Sheriff In Logan

Son of Namesake Of Town Of Blair Served Shortly After Civil War; Democrats Held Office Continuously Until 1924

Harrison Blair Appointed Sheriff 1.JPG

John Blair, namesake of the little mining town which nestles at the foot of Blair Mountain on the headwaters of Laurel Fork, was the father of Logan county’s first Democratic sheriff.

He was a native of Powells Valley in Virginia and first settled just above the present site of Williamson. He married Polly Baisden and later settled near his father-in-law, Jean Schmidt Baisden, at the Mouth of Laurel.

Blair died in 1860 after rearing a family of three sons and three daughters. His son, Harrison, was Logan county’s first Democratic sheriff after the Civil War.

Harrison was married twice. He first married a Miss Johnson and later a Miss Chafin. His brothers Anderson and Joe married McCoy sisters and made their home near their brother and father on Laurel Fork.

Jean Schmidt Baisden, father-in-law to John Blair, was one of the first settlers at the Mouth of Laurel. He came with Lafayette to America and served under him during the Revolution.

After the war he located at Richmond, Va., and then moved to Reeds Island, New York, where he married a Miss Burnham. At the beginning of the 19th century he moved to the mouth of Laurel and reared a family.

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 Bennett.

His daughters were Polly, who married Harrison Blair; and Frances, who married Thomas Copley.

John Blair’s daughters were Mahulda, who married Anderson Dempsey; Chlorina, who married John McCoy; and Rhoda, who married Moses Parsley.

The Blairs and Baisdens are a well-known family on the Laurel Fork side of Blair Mountain, though few have crossed the divide and settled on the Guyan river watershed.

Early county history has it that the Blairs were active politically in the county following the Civil War, but no definite facts can be found of individuals holding any official position other than Harrison, who was the first of a long line of Democratic sheriffs, which ruled the county up until 1924, when the Republicans broke the power of Democrats and began their regime which ended in 1932.

Source: Logan (WV) Banner, 4 May 1937.

Peterstown, WV (2016)

02 Tuesday Oct 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in American Revolutionary War, Monroe County

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American Revolution, Appalachia, Christian Peters, Giles Fayette Kanawha Turnpike, history, Monroe County, Peterstown, photos, Revolutionary War, West Virginia

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Peterstown, Monroe County, WV. 6 August 2016.

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Peterstown, Monroe County, WV. 6 August 2016.

Jackson’s Mill (2015)

27 Thursday Sep 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in American Revolutionary War, Civil War, Lincoln County Feud, Native American History

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American Legion Mountaineer Boys State, American Revolution, Appalachia, Battle of Chancellorsville, Beverly, Blake G. Woodson, Blood in West Virginia, books, Brandon Kirk, civil war, Confederate Army, Edward Jackson, First Battle of Manassas, George Conrad, Harpers Ferry, Henry McWhorter, history, Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership Academy, Jackson's Mill, Jonathan Arnold, Jonathan Jackson, Julia Beckwith Neale Jackson Woodson, Laura Ann jackson, Lewis County, Lincoln County Feud, log cabin, Mary Conrad, Mexican War, Native American History, Native Americans, New Jersey, Pelican Publishing Company, photos, Phyllis Kirk, Revolutionary War, Rutherford B. Hayes, Stonewall Jackson, U.S. Military Academy, Union Army, Virginia Military Institute, West Point, West Virginia, West Virginia 4-H Camp, West Virginia University Archives, William McKinley, William Rohrbough

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Years ago, I attended Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Academy (10th grade) and the American Legion Mountaineer Boys State (11th grade) here at Jackson’s Mill in Lewis County, WV. 29 August 2015. Photo by Mom.

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Jackson’s Mill is the boyhood home of Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. 29 August 2015.

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Jackson’s Mill. Original owned by West Virginia University Archives.

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Jackson’s Mill Historic Area Map. 29 August 2015.

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Mary Conrad Cabin/The General’s Store. William Rohrbough constructed the front in 1845; George Conrad constructed the back after 1855. 29 August 2015.

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Mary Conrad Cabin/The General’s Store. Future U.S. presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley reportedly visited the cabin at its original location. 29 August 2015.

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Mary Conrad Cabin/The General’s Store. Dove tail notching. 29 August 2015.

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Mary Conrad Cabin/The General’s Store. Love the dogtrot feature! 29 August 2015.

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Mary Conrad Cabin/The General’s Store. BOOK MEETS LOG CABIN. I enjoy seeing the book with logs. 29 August 2015.

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McWhorter Cabin. Built after 1793 by Revolutionary War veteran Henry McWhorter of New Jersey, this 18′ X 24′ cabin offers an internal chimney as protection from attacks by Native Americans. It was used as a home, church, school, and post office. 29 August 2015.

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McWhorter Cabin. Note the square notching. 29 August 2015.

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McWhorter Cabin. 1793 pioneer cabin meets 1889 feud history. 29 August 2015. Photo by Mom.

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Jackson’s Mill. 29 August 2015.

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Jackson’s Mill, 1837. 29 August 2015.

Aracoma Memorial in Logan, WV (1936)

22 Saturday Sep 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in American Revolutionary War, Logan, Native American History

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American Revolution, Appalachia, Aracoma, Aracoma Hotel, Bluestone River, Boling Baker, C.A. Davis, Cornstalk, Daughters of the American Revolution, Edwin Goodwin, Elmer McDonald, Harris Funeral Home, history, Jimmy Browning, Logan, Logan Banner, Logan County, Lyle Burdette, M.R. Atkinson, Montgomery County, Native American History, Native Americans, photos, sheriff, Virginia, W.C. Turley, West Virginia

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Aracoma Memorial at the Logan Courthouse, Logan, WV. 18 May 2017.

Princess Aracoma Memorial Given to the Public by D.A.R. Chapter is Formally Unveiled and Dedicated

The monument to Princess Aracoma was dedicated yesterday afternoon by the local chapter of the D.A.R. which bears her name, with a brief ceremony in which the romantic history of the chief of the first tribe known to have settled in this vicinity was reviewed.

The dedication service took place at 4:30 o’clock at the northeast corner of the courthouse, and was opened with an assembly bugle call by Boy Scout Edwin Goodwin. Rev. M.R. Atkinson led in prayer and Jimmy Browning gave the salute to the flag.

Mrs. S. Elmer McDonald, regent of Aracoma chapter, presided, saying, “We have gathered here to honor Princess Aracoma, an Indian princess who with her tribe first settled in this valley.”

W.C. Turley, whom Mrs. McDonald introduced as the descendant of one of the oldest families of the county gave a talk reviewing the traditional settling of the Indians in this vicinity.

“I think it striking evidence of patriotism for your Princess Aracoma chapter to place this monument in memory of Princess Aracoma,” he said.

Mr. Turley said that Princess Aracoma was born somewhere between 1740 and 1745, the daughter of Cornstalk, chief of the Shawnee Indians, who was killed in the first land battle of the Revolution.

“When the princess was a young girl she interceded in behalf of Boling Baker, a white soldier who had deserted from the British army and had been captured by her tribe. Through her plea his life was spared and he was initiated into the tribe.

“According to the Indian custom, when Princess Aracoma became of age she was given a portion of the tribe to settle under her leadership in new hunting grounds, and chose the island first settled in this territory. Shortly after settling in their new home, the Princess and Boling Baker were married at a large ceremony attended by Cornstalk and other chiefs.

“The tribe lived happily and prospered until, in 1776, a plague struck them taking many of their members including all of the children of the princess and her white husband.

“Baker, seeking to replenish the goods of the tribe went with some scouts to a settlement on the Bluestone river, where, posing as an escaped captive, he gained the confidence of the settlers. Then one night he led his scouts in a raid on the camp, stealing their horses and provisions.

“The sheriff of Montgomery county, of which Logan was then a part, designated Col. Breckenridge and Gen. Madison to lead a force of 90 men to seek revenge on the Indians. In the ensuing battle, which took place near where the power plant now stands, Princess Aracoma was killed.

“According to tradition, she was buried somewhere in the vicinity where the Aracoma Hotel and Harris Funeral Home now stand. Skeletons and Indian burial pieces were unearthed when the excavation for these buildings was made.”

At the close of Mr. Turley’s address, the monument was unveiled by Mrs. Lyle Burdette and Mrs. C.A. Davis.

Source: Logan (WV) Banner, 28 October 1936.

NOTE: This article incorrectly references the Battle of Point Pleasant as part of the American Revolutionary War.

“Revolutionary” John Mullins Grave in Clintwood, VA (2018)

15 Saturday Sep 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in American Revolutionary War, Big Creek, Cemeteries

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Appalachia, Big Creek, Boone County, cemeteries, Dickenson County, genealogy, history, John Mullins, Logan County, North Fork, photos, Virginia, West Virginia

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“Revolutionary John” Mullins, sometimes nicknamed “Buttin’ John,” is buried near the intersection of Mullins Avenue and McClure Street in Clintwood, Dickenson County, VA. To reach his grave, park at Johnson’s Chevrolet on McClure Street and walk up the hill. Signs will direct you to the cemetery. 25 August 2018.

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Up this way. You will pass a residence to the right of the road leading up to the cemetery. 25 August 2018.

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Straight ahead… 25 August 2018.

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Along the way, I found this old gun piece. 25 August 2018.

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John Mullins grave, 25 August 2018. John is the father of “Money Makin’ Sol” Mullins, who settled on North Fork of Big Creek near the Logan-Boone county line of West Virginia.

“Holly Creek” John Mullins Grave in Clintwood, VA (2018)

03 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in American Revolutionary War, Big Harts Creek, Cemeteries

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American Revolution, Appalachia, cemeteries, Clintwood, Clintwood Baptist Church, Dickenson County, genealogy, Harts Creek, history, Holly Creek John Mullins, Jane Mullins, John Mullins, Logan County, Revolutionary War, Virginia, West Virginia

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Dickenson County Courthouse in Clintwood, VA.  THIS IS MULLINS COUNTRY. Placed at its front is a large plaque commemorating John Mullins, Sr. (father to “Holly Creek John”), who served in the Revolutionary War. 25 August 2018.

Holly Creek John Mullins Historic Marker

“Holly Creek John” received his nickname because he settled on Holly Creek, near the courthouse. Clintwood is located in the head of Holly Creek.

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Behind the Clintwood Baptist Church on High Street is the grave of “Holly Creek John” Mullins, son of John and Jane (Bailey) Mullins. There’s really no place to park along this narrow street, so you have to park at the Sleep Inn and Suites Hotel and walk back up the hill just a bit. 25 August 2018.

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Up this way! These steps literally connect to High Street — parking right here is not really an option! 25 August 2018.

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Straight ahead. For more information about the grave and cemetery, follow this link: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64659784/john-mullins

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John and Ollie (Cox) Mullins grave, located in Clintwood, Dickenson County, VA. Their daughter Jane married Peter Mullins and settled on Harts Creek in Logan County, WV. 25 August 2018.

West Virginia Once Part of Iroquois Domain (1927)

21 Tuesday Aug 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in American Revolutionary War, Native American History

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Andrew P. Price, Appalachia, Canada, Cayuga, Chillicothe, Cumberland River, Dekanawida, Five Nations, Great Lakes, Greenbrier Valley, Hiawatha, history, Iroquois, Jackson River, James Fenimore Cooper, Kanawha River, Lancaster, Logan Banner, London, Marlinton, Mingo Flats, Mohawk, New York, Ohio, Oneida, Onondago, Ototarha, Pennsylvania, Revolutionary War, Rio Grande River, Seneca, Seneca Trail, Shawnee, St. Lawrence River, Tennessee, Tuscarora, Virginia, Warrior's Road, West Virginia, Winchester

From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, comes this bit of history about the Iroqouis and West Virginia dated October 7, 1927:

West Virginia Part of Iroquois Domain

Confederation of Five Nations, Pledged to Peace, Endured For Two Centuries — Hiawatha One of Founders — Vast Indian Drama Told By Andrew P. Price, “Sage of Marlinton.”

You keep hearing of the Shawnees who overran this country prior to the Revolutionary War, and you keep hearing of them to the east and then to the west. You know that when 72 men went from this (Greenbrier) valley to fight them at the mouth of Kanawha, that they were living in Chillicothe.

The mystery of the Shawnee being to the east and then to the west is explained as follows:

When the whites first began to record history the Shawnees were far to the south and were split into two tribes. One lived on the Atlantic seaboard, around Savannah, and the other west of the mountains in the Tennessee country. They were forced north by their enemies and they were sometime after that found with towns at Winchester, in the valley of Virginia, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and in other places in Pennsylvania, while those from the Cumberland basin in Tennessee came north into Ohio. The eastern tribe moved first and no doubt the communicating road between the settlements at Winchester and eastern Pennsylvania traversed West Virginia. They would have to cross Seneca Trail, or Warrior’s Road, and the military town of Mingo Flats lay in their line of travel and that is the occasion of the corrupting of that place and making the garrison traitor to the Five Nations.

The whole of the Appalachia Range of mountains was owned, policed and controlled by the Iroquois or Five Nations. This was the highest type of Indian north of the Rio Grande. For centuries they held a commanding position, their country extending from the mouth of the St. Lawrence river, west on both sides to the Great Lakes and turning there took all the mountain country as far south as Georgia, and they had at least 50 towns along the way from north to south. History deals more with the Mohawks around New York, but the westernmost part in which we live was occupied and kept by the Senecas. The list of the Iroquois or Five Nations: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondago, Cayuga and Seneca. When the Tuscaroras came in in 1726 they were called the Six Nations.

Government Older Than Ours

This conference lasted for more than two centuries and was perhaps the most notable government ever set up by savages. They are the Indians that James Fennimore Cooper wrote about and they are entitled to every bit of praise that he gives them. They had a council that was noted for its dignity, faith, and ability. The kinds of Europe sent ambassadors to that council for many generations which made treaties, and it was well known in the London of that day as the American Congress is now. The Nations early agreed with the whites to allow the Europeans to settle and thrive on the Atlantic seaboard and they, the Five Nations, kept the mountains and western part of their countries.

Probably the first fraud practiced on the Five Nations was the Greenbrier Colony grant of 100,000 acres on waters that flowed into the Ohio, and this was held up for more than 30 years and only matured after the colonies had gained their independence. It is evident that it was first granted on the mistake of fact, that is, that the Greenbrier, like the Jackson River, flowed into the Atlantic.

Hiawatha an Organizer

The formation of the Five Nations was accomplished about the history the year 1750 and was the work of two Indians of great fame, Dekanawida and Hiawatha. The name of Hiawatha is famous by reason of Longfellow’s poem, but it does not contain a single fact of the history of Hiawatha. The two Indians posed as medicine men and magicians and spent their lives to bring about the league to promote peace and to end war. At the time they commenced their work, war was the religion of the tribes. Hiawatha was a Mohawk, and at times the Mohawks were cannibals. The two Indians traveled from council to council, proposing the scheme of the league to promote peace, and it was debated on the council fires, and it encountered the most bitter opposition. The name of the tyrant Ototarha comes down in history as the most formidable opponent to the peace makers.

The first success they had was to make it unlawful to prosecute family feuds and murders generally. For every murder the killer was required to pay the family of the dead man ten strings of wampum, as the value of a human life. Later the law was amended to require the payment of an additional ten strings of wampum, on the construction that the first payment was compensatory, and the second string to take the place of the life of the murderer which was forfeited under the old law to the blood kin of the slain man.

In time the confederation was formed. First by the Mohawk, Cayuga and Oneida. Then the Onondaga came in and last, the Senecas came in with reservations, and plenty of them. The Senecas refused to disband their armies and were thereupon made the police force of the Iroquois nations, and kept to themselves the department of war and foreign affairs. They gave up murder and cannibalism but clung to their military life.

The league got along pretty well until the introduction of fire-water and gunpowder. After that it was hard to keep the peace. The end of the league of the Iroquois came when they joined the British to fight the colonists. They came out of the Revolutionary War, doomed, and most of the survivors moved into Canada, though some are still to be found on the reservations in the State of New York.

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Feud Poll 2

Do you think Milt Haley and Green McCoy committed the ambush on Al and Hollene Brumfield in 1889?

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Feud Poll 3

Who do you think organized the ambush of Al and Hollene Brumfield in 1889?

Recent Posts

  • Whirlwind News 04.12.1927
  • E. Hatfield Survey (1878)
  • Cline Property in Magnolia District (1865-1876)

Ed Haley Poll 1

What do you think caused Ed Haley to lose his sight when he was three years old?

Top Posts & Pages

  • Baisden Family Troubles
  • Interview of Jean Hatfield at Sarah Ann, WV (2001), Part 4
  • Dunlow, Wayne County, WV (2016/2020)
  • Sims Index to Land Grants (1952)
  • Whirlwind News 04.08.1927

Copyright

© Brandon Ray Kirk and brandonraykirk.wordpress.com, 1987-2021. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Brandon Ray Kirk and brandonraykirk.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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Appalachia Ashland Big Creek Big Ugly Creek Blood in West Virginia Brandon Kirk Cabell County cemeteries Chapmanville Charleston civil war coal Confederate Army crime culture Ed Haley Ella Haley Ferrellsburg feud fiddler fiddling genealogy Green McCoy Guyandotte River Harts Harts Creek Hatfield-McCoy Feud history Huntington John Hartford Kentucky Lawrence Haley life Lincoln County Lincoln County Feud Logan Logan Banner Logan County Milt Haley Mingo County music Ohio photos timbering U.S. South Virginia Wayne County West Virginia Whirlwind writing

Blogs I Follow

  • OtterTales
  • Our Appalachia: A Blog Created by Students of Southern West Virginia CTC
  • Piedmont Trails
  • Truman Capote
  • Appalachian Diaspora

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OtterTales

Writings from my travels and experiences. High and fine literature is wine, and mine is only water; but everybody likes water. Mark Twain

Our Appalachia: A Blog Created by Students of Southern West Virginia CTC

This site is dedicated to the collection, preservation, and promotion of history and culture in Appalachia.

Piedmont Trails

Genealogy and History in North Carolina and Beyond

Truman Capote

A site about one of the most beautiful, interesting, tallented, outrageous and colorful personalities of the 20th Century

Appalachian Diaspora

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