16 Saturday Jun 2018
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Spottswood, Warren, Whirlwind
Tags
Appalachia, genealogy, history, John M. Workman, Logan County, Squire Sol Adams, West Virginia, Wog Dalton
Solomon Adams, Jr., later known as Squire Sol, promissory note to Moses “Wog” Dalton, 6 October 1891.
Moses “Wog” Dalton transferred the note to James Adams, 25 October 1891. Adams transferred it to John M. Workman on 8 October 1892.
29 Sunday Oct 2017
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Cemeteries, Civil War, Lincoln County Feud, Pecks Mill, Warren, Whirlwind
Tags
10th Kentucky Cavalry, Anderson Blair, Appalachia, Aracoma, Barbara Kovach Morris, cemeteries, Chapmanville District, civil war, Confederate Army, Dingess Cemetery, Harts Creek, history, John Blair, John S. Blair, Logan, Logan County, Logan County Banner, Pecks Mill, photos, Polly Blair, Pop Dingess, Tommy Isaacs, Upper Hart, West Virginia
Anderson Blair, son of John S. and Polly (Baisden) Blair. Photo posted online by Barbara Kovach Morris.
Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 9 January 1890. During the Lincoln County Feud, Anderson Blair was a justice of the peace in Chapmanville District, Logan County, WV. His district included Upper Hart.
Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 14 August 1895.
Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 17 April 1902.
Dingess Cemetery, Pecks Mill, Logan County, WV. June 2016. John Blair and Tommy Isaacs installed the military headstone in May of 2014.
24 Tuesday Oct 2017
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Cemeteries, Lincoln County Feud, Spottswood, Timber, Warren
Tags
A.J. Mullins, Annie Butcher, Appalachia, Ben Adams, Ben Adams Family Cemetery, Brandon Kirk, Cecil Butcher, Chatillon's Improved Spring Balance, Dave Fry, distiller, Emalina Baisden, feud, Garland Fly Conley, genealogy, Harts Creek, Henderson Bryant, history, Kathy Adams, Lincoln County, Lincoln County Feud, Logan County, logging, Matthew Babe Dempsey, Melvin Conley, Mont Baisden, Mose Workman, Nab Smith, New York, photos, Pilgrims Rest Church, Reece Dalton, Rosabelle Fry, Smokehouse Fork, Spottswood, timber, Trace Fork, Van Butcher, Warren, West Virginia
Benjamin “Ben” Adams (1855-1910), son of Joseph and Dicy (Mullins) Adams, was a prominent logger, splasher, distiller, and tavern operator at Warren-Spottswood in Logan County, WV. He was a key participant in the Lincoln County Feud.
Ben Adams residence (built 1892), located on Harts Creek between the mouth of Trace Fork and Smokehouse Fork in Logan County, WV. Photo taken c.1995.
Ben Adams well, Trace Fork of Harts Creek, Logan County, WV. Photo taken c.1996.
Ben Adams home and still site on Trace Fork of Harts Creek, Logan County, WV. Photo taken c.1996.
Ben Adams millstone on Trace Fork of Harts Creek, Logan County, WV. Photo taken c.1996.
Ben Adams scale
Ben Adams scale
Ben Adams Baptism Record, Pilgrims Rest United Baptist Church Record.
Ben Adams grave, Trace Fork of Harts Creek, Logan County, WV. October 2014. Photo by Kathy Adams.
15 Thursday Jun 2017
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Civil War, Halcyon, Native American History, Queens Ridge, Shively, Spottswood, Stone Branch, Warren, Whirlwind, Yantus
Tags
Albert Thornton, Alice Dingess, Alonzo, Anna Adams, Appalachia, Battle of Cloyd's Mountain, Beatrice Adams, Ben Adams, Bob Dingess, Brown's Run, Browns Run School, Buck Fork, Buck Fork School, Bud Dingess School, Bulwark School, Chapmanville District, civil war, Cole Adams, Confederate Army, Conley School, Crawley Creek, Daisy Dingess, Dalton School, Dave Dingess School, Dixie Mullins, E. Burton, East Fork, Ed Dalton, education, Edward Chapman, F.M. McKay, Fisher B. Adkins, Fisher Thompson, genealogy, George Doss, George Mullins School, Harts Creek, history, Hoover School, Howard Adams, Hugh Dingess School, Ina Dingess, Ivy Branch School, J.A. Vickers, J.L. Thomas, John Conley, John Dingess, L.D. Stollings, Lee Dingess School, Limestone Creek, Local History and Topography of Logan County, Logan County, Lower Trace School, Manor School, Marsh Fork, Melvin Plumley, Middle Fork, Native Americans, Pigeon Roost, Piney School, Reuben Conley, Road Fork, Rocky School, Sallie Dingess, Smokehouse Fork, Stephen Hart, Striker School, T. Doss, Thelma Dingess, Three Fork School, Tim's Fork, Timothy Dwight, Twelve Pole Creek, Ula Adams, Union Army, West Fork, West Virginia, White Oak School, Workman School, World War I
Teachers identified the following schools in Chapmanville District of Logan County, WV, and offered a bit of local history in 1927:
Dave Dingess School, est. 1814
Ula Adams, teacher
One room frame school
“Harts Creek derived its name from Steven Harts, said to have been killed by Indians on the creek.”
Striker School, est. about 1874
Edward Chapman, teacher
One room frame building
Three Fork School, est. 1878
One room frame building, originally a log house
Nine Confederate veterans live here: George Doss, T. Doss, L.D. Stollings, Ed Dalton, Ruben Conley, John Conley, Ben Adams, E. Burton, Melvin Plumley. A Union veteran lives here; he originated elsewhere. Three branches of Crawley Creek are Road Fork, Middle Fork, and Pigeon Roost. Alonzo is the local post office.
Bulwark School, est. 1880
Robert Dingess, teacher
One room frame building
“All fought on the Confederate side” during the Civil War. One man gained great merit from our district as a marksman with the American marines during World War I.
Lee Dingess School, est. 1891
Cole Adams, teacher
One room frame
Five local men served in the Confederate Army.
Browns Run School, est. 1892
Ina Dingess, teacher
One room frame building
“Sent several soldiers to help the South.” The fork is named for a Brown who lived at its mouth.
Buck Fork School, est. 1894
No teacher given
One room frame building
A Church of Christ exists nearby. Three local men served in the Confederate Army. One local soldier lost both hands in World War I.
Ivy Branch School, est. 1895
Anna Adams, teacher
Albert Thornton was the first teacher here. “Trace Fork received its name from the original road leading to Twelve Pole Creek.”
Hugh Dingess School, est. 1897
Sallie Dingess, teacher
One room frame building
Conley School, est. 1897
J.L. Thomas, teacher
One room frame building
The first house built on Smoke House Fork at its mouth had no chimney for quite a while and smoked badly.
Dalton School, est. 1897
Thelma Dingess, teacher
One room frame building
“This district furnished a lot of Civil War veterans and played her part.”
Bud Dingess School, est. 1904
Beatrice Adams, teacher
One room frame building
“East Fork named on account of its being the most Eastern fork of Harts Creek.” One local soldier served in the Confederate Army.
Hoover School, est. 1910
Howard Adams, teacher
One room frame building
A Christian Church exists in the vicinity. Four local men served in the Confederate ARmy. “Harts Creek named from Steven Harts murdered by Indians.” Three boys went from here and one was wounded at the battle of Argonne.
George Mullins School, est. 1910
Dixie Mullins, teacher
One room frame building
“Buck Fork named from large number of male deer on creek.”
Rocky School (no date)
Daisy Given Dingess, teacher
References an Indian mound on Pigeon Roost where tomahawks, arrowheads, etc. can be found. Indian burial ground.
Under the Tim’s Fork entry, it says that John Dingess was killed in battle at Cloyd’s farm. Tim’s Fork is named for Timothy Dwight, who lived there.
Lower Trace School, est. 1919
Alice Dingess, teacher
Two room frame building
“Sent several soldiers to help the South.” Also, “Harts Creek named from Steven Harts.”
Piney School, est. 1921
F.M. McKay, teacher
One room building
No permanent churches exist locally; people meet occasionally in one of the school houses. Four local men served in the Confederate Army. “Piney was named because of so much pine growing there.”
White Oak School, est. 1922
Fisher Thompson, teacher
One room rented frame building
Manor School, est. 1923
Located at Limestone
Workman School, est. 1924
Fisher B. Adkins, teacher
One room frame building
Marsh Fork derived its name from the marshy land near its mouth.
Source: Local History and Topography of Logan County by J.A. Vickers (Charleston, WV: George M. Ford, State Superintendent, 1927).
29 Monday May 2017
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Spottswood, Warren, Whirlwind
Tags
Appalachia, crime, Dicy Adams, genealogy, Harts Creek, history, John Frock Adams, John Q. Adams, John Workman, Joseph Adams, Logan County, Spencer A. Mullins, Ticky George Adams, West Virginia
John Q. Adams, son of Joseph and Dicy (Mullins) Adams, died in 1863. This record is located in the Logan County Clerk’s Office, Logan, WV.
09 Sunday Apr 2017
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Warren
Tags
Appalachia, Camel Rocks, Hall Point, Harts Creek, Indian Rocks, Lincoln County, Myrtle Kirk, nature, photos, Raven Rocks, rocks, Thompson Branch, West Virginia
These rocks are visible from Thompson Branch and Hall Point on Harts Creek, Lincoln County, WV. Most locals today know them as the Raven Rocks. Myrtle (Farley) Kirk, born in 1909, remembered them as the Camel Rocks; she played on them as a young girl. Yet another possible name is “Indian Rocks.” 2 April 2017.
08 Saturday Apr 2017
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Big Ugly Creek, Fourteen, Green Shoal, Guyandotte River, Harts, Leet, Little Harts Creek, Timber, Warren, Wewanta
Tags
Adam Lambert, Andrew D. Robinson, Appalachia, B.C. Curry, Big Ugly Creek, Boone County, Burbus Toney, Charles Spurlock, constable, Edley Elkins, education, Fourteen Mile Creek, genealogy, Guyandotte River, Harts Creek, Harts Creek District, Henry H. Hardesty, Hezekiah Adkins, history, Isaac Elkins, James White, Jefferson District, Jeremiah Lambert, Jesse Gartin, John Fry, John H. Brumfield, John Lucas, justice of the peace, Kiahs Creek, Laurel Hill District, Lewis Queen, Lincoln County, Little Harts Creek, Little Ugly Creek, Logan County, Methodist, miller, Rhoda Elkins, Richard Adkins, Richard Elkins, Sarah Elkins, Squire Toney, timber, timbering, Wayne County, West Virginia, William Lucas, William West
From “Hardesty’s History of Lincoln County, West Virginia,” published by H.H. Hardesty, we find this entry for Harts Creek District in Lincoln County, West Virginia:
This is the most southern subdivision of the county. It derives its name from Harts creek, a tributary of the Guyandotte river. On the north is Laurel Hill district, on the northeast is Jefferson, east Boone county, on the south Logan, and on the west Wayne. Guyandotte river flows northwest and divides the district into two nearly equal parts. There are several small streams, among which are Little and Big Harts creeks, Little and Big Ugly creeks, Kiahs creek, and Fourteen Mile creek.
The first settler was Richard Elkins, who reared his cabin in the month of September, 1807. Here he removed his family, and here Charles Spurlock became his first neighbor. Other early settlers were: Esquire Toney, John Lucas, Edley Elkins, John Fry, Hezekiah Adkins, John Brumfield, and Richard Adkins. Rhoda, a daughter of Edley and Sarah Elkins, was the first white child born in the district. The first grist mill was built by James White about the year 1821. It was a small tub-wheel mill, water being the propelling power. Isaac Elkins built the first saw mill in 1847 or 1848. It was constructed on the old sash-saw plan, and had a capacity for cutting from 800 to 1,000 feet per day.
The first school was taught in a log cabin one mile above the mouth of Big Harts creek about the year 1832, but who the teacher was cannot now be ascertained. The date, however, is remembered by an old resident, because it was the year in which he first visited this section. The first house for educational purposes was built near the mouth of Big Harts creek in 1834. It was a five-cornered building, one side being occupied by the ever-present huge fire place. There are now ten public school houses in the district, “some of which,” says an informant, “are in bad condition, but will soon be replaced by frames;” 334 boys and girls attend school in this district.
The first sermon was preached here in the year 1823 by a Methodist minister named William West, and here the same year he gathered a little church, one of the first ever formed in the valley of the Guyandotte river; but of its history or who composed its membership, nothing is known. When the writer asked of an old settler the question: “Who were the first members?” his reply was: “The register is gone, and no one living can tell.” When asked who organized the first Sabbath school, he replied: “There never was one in the district.”
The first township officers were as follows: Supervisor, Burbus Toney; justice of the peace, Jeremiah Lambert; constable, Jesse Gartin; clerk, Andrew Robinson; treasurer, B.C. Curry; school commissioners, Adam Lambert, William Lucas, and Lewis Queen. According to the census of 1880, the population was 1,116.
Source: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, Vol. 7 (Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock, 1974), p. 106-107.
NOTE: I descend from Richard Elkins, John Fry, John H. Brumfield, and Jeremiah Lambert.
03 Monday Apr 2017
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Cemeteries, Civil War, Lincoln County Feud, Shively, Spottswood, Warren
Tags
Appalachia, Blood in West Virginia, Brandon Kirk, cemeteries, Dingess-Brumfield Family Cemetery, genealogy, Harts Creek, Henderson Dingess, history, Kathy Adams, Lincoln County Feud, Logan County, photos, Sallie Dingess, Smokehouse Fork, West Virginia
Henderson and Sallie (Adams) Dingess are buried here on Smokehouse Fork of Harts Creek, Logan County, WV. Since my last visit, a tree has pitched over onto their graves. Photo by Kathy Adams. 2 April 2017.
14 Tuesday Mar 2017
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Civil War, Harts, Warren
Tags
Andrew D. Robinson, Appalachia, Benjamin F. Robinson, board of education, civil war, coal, David A. Robinson, David Robinson, Dicy Adams, Emmeline V. Robinson, farming, genealogy, Harts, Harts Creek, Harts Creek District, Henry H. Hardesty, history, Jesse Robinson, John R. Robinson, Joseph Adams, Joseph Robinson, justice of the peace, Libby Prison, Lincoln County, Logan County, Margaret Browning, Margaret Robinson, Polly A. Robinson, Rhoda J. Robinson, timber, Union Army, West Virginia
From “Hardesty’s History of Lincoln County, West Virginia,” published by H.H. Hardesty, we find this entry for Andrew D. Robinson, who resided at Harts Creek in Lincoln County, West Virginia:
Son of David and Margaret (Browning) Robinson, residents of Logan county, West Virginia, was born in that county, April 13, 1837, and came to what is now Lincoln county in 1851. He chose for a life companion Rhoda J., daughter of Joseph and Dicy (Mullins) Adams, who was born in Logan county, October 7, 1844, and in this county, in 1859 their marriage was consummated. To them nine children have been given, born as follows: David A., November 21, 1860; Emmeline V., July 5, 1863; Benjamin F., January 26, 1866; John R., September 1, 1868; Joseph, February 20, 1870; Polly A., August 7, 1873; Dicy, June 13, 1876; Margaret, June 22, 1879; Jesse, September 10, 1882. Andrew D. Robinson was elected justice of the peace in Hart Creek district in 1876, and held the office four years. He has been the secretary of the board of education, and is now postmaster. Mr. Robinson enlisted in the war between the States, in 1863, serving in the Federal army; he was captured, taken to Libby prison and there held for two months. He was deprived of the advantages of the free school, but through his energy and perseverance gained a good practical education. Mr. Robinson is tilling the soil in Hart Creek district, owning 110 acres of land on Hart creek. The timber on the land is oak, poplar, walnut, and ash; the orchard, apple, cherry, and pear; mineral, coal and iron ore, found in abundance. Andrew D. Robinson’s post office address is Hart, Lincoln county, West Virginia.
Source: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, Vol. 7 (Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock, 1974), p. 137.
19 Thursday Jan 2017
Posted in Big Harts Creek, Lincoln County Feud, Warren
Tags
Appalachia, Billy Hall, Blood in West Virginia, Brandon Kirk, history, Lincoln County, Lincoln County Feud, nature, photos, Rockhouse Fork, West Virginia
Billy Hall Farm, Mouth of Rockhouse Fork of Harts Creek, Lincoln County, WV. 3 December 2016.
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