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Tag Archives: Fayette County

Favorable Review of Logan, WV (1925)

23 Wednesday Dec 2020

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Coal, Logan

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Appalachia, Bowlin, C.C. Chambers, Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, coal, coal camps, Fayette County, fiddler, Frank Adkins, Gassaway, Jewell Encampment, John C. Hicks, Logan, Logan Banner, Logan County, music, Nick Roomy, Odd Fellows, W.M. Hornsby, West Virginia

From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, comes this favorable review by one prominent visitor in 1925. The story is dated Friday, June 5, 1925.

“Truth About Logan”

By W.M. Hornsby

Fayette County Man Who Attended Grand Encampment of Odd Fellows Here Makes Interesting Report.

The yellow journalists and just plain liars who have been telling everything about Logan county but the truth for many years may now prepare to receive a real kick in the slats. Their crazy illusions are due to get shattered.

No man ever came to Logan on a peaceful mission and went away to relate any stories of wrong treatment.

The finest group of men that have visited our city for many moons was here when the Grand Encampment of the Odd Fellows of the state was held in Logan recently. In their meetings at the Christian church many of the delegates confessed that they came to Logan fearful and trembling, all on account of the millions of lurid lies which they had read in various papers before coming here. It may sound like old stuff to say that “truth crushed to earth will rise again” but that is exactly what happened in this case. The delegates were recipients of the famous Logan hospitality. The keys to the city were theirs and they were accorded the kind of a reception which Logan has always given to anything good. After a pleasant visit the delegates departed for their homes with a true knowledge of the conditions which exist here, a knowledge of the fact that Logan is not different from any other prosperous mining section of the country.

One of the gentlemen who attended the Grand Encampment was Mr. W.M. Hornsby, of Bowlin, Fayette county. He too had been filled with the common ideas which prevail about Logan county, but during his visit here he discovered the real Logan, not the kind that exists in the putrid minds of the editors of the sensational yellow journals which have done a grievous wrong to Logan county. He discovered real friends with a handshake just as firm and a smile just as sincere as he had ever known. When Mr. Hornsby returned to his home he wrote a report to this lodge. That report is of vital interest to every Loganite and we are glad to reproduce it in the columns of this paper. The entire report is as follows:

“To whom it may concern…and I think it will concern all true hearted Americans:

“This is a true story of what took place during my stay in Logan county. To get a proper start, I must go back one year. On May 14, 1924, the Grand Encampment met in its annual session in Gassaway, W.Va. When the time arrived to choose a place for our next annual meeting, a good many towns offered invitations to the body. Among them was the town of Logan, and when Logan was mentioned there was silence in the hall, until finally some brother said: ‘Can we meet in Logan?’ For we thought by some of the newspaper reports that Logan county was the hell on earth and the town of Logan was the gateway to the bottomless pit. Then somebody got up in the midst of us and said: ‘Yes, you can meet in Logan, for I’m from the town of Logan.’ We looked over this monster from head to foot but could not see any horns and then our Grand Scribe stood up and declared: ‘Our own dear John wants us to come,’ and we answered, ‘If our own dear John wants us to come, we will go.’

“I started to Logan town on May 12, 1925, from Bowlin, Fayette county, wondering what was going to happen to me. We arrived at Logan the following day in a fine coach donated by the C. & O. for our convenience on the trip to Logan and return.

“When we got off the train at the Logan depot, some brother whispered, ‘Now where–and what?’ Just at that moment we found our way blocked–not by the sheriff and his so-called outlaw deputies as you might think–but by John Hicks with a three hundred pound smile for he is __ and by his side stood our own dear Captain of the Uniform Bank with his fine boys.

“The command was given about face, forward march, and we went up a finely paved street by skyscraper hotels and big mercantile houses to the court house. Instead of finding the so-called persecutors of the law awaiting, we ran into a committee of Jewell Encampment, No. 124, with some of the fairest of the fair sex assisting them and all wearing broad and welcoming smiles. We registered as customary and were assigned to our various hotels.

“After the grand body had been called to order in the Christian church by John C. Hicks, past grand patriarch, C.C. Chambers, mayor of Logan, gave us a fine talk and turned the town over to us, saying ‘the town is yours, do what you want with it,’ and common sense would teach that we were not going to destroy our own property. Next were a group of songs by Mrs. Frank Adkins and Mrs. Nick Roomy, accompanied by fine music, and followed in rotation by several fine speakers, and every one of them said ‘we welcome you,’ and by the smiles on their faces you could tell that they meant it.

“At the close of the morning session we had dinner in the basement of the church, where we saw some of our earthly angels sweating over a hot stove to prepare a feast good enough for a king, while two others rendered fine music and songs, accompanied by one of Logan’s imps–but he had a fiddle, not horns as you might think.

“During the afternoon session in stepped Little John, with the statement, ‘Grand Patriarch, the citizens of this town beg this grand body to let them take you out for an auto ride at your pleasure and show you some of Logan county.’

“___ for the ride, and promptly at that hour it was announced: ‘The cars are waiting.’ And we went out and loaded up according to the capacity of each car. It was found that there were not quite enough cars for all, so an appeal was made to the garage men of the town, and the latter stepped on the starters of some brand new machines and fell in line for our pleasure. Now, Fayette county garage men, would you have done that?

“The trip lasted two and a half hours over paved roads to the coal camps. I was told that part of the roads we traveled over were built by the so-called outlaw operators at a cost of $650,000 and when it was finished they walked into the court house and said to the county court, ‘your honors, we will give you this road if you will keep it up.’ Now, if this is so, I would not mind to have them for neighbors, would you?’ In going from one coal camp to another we met the miners coming from work. Walking? No! Sitting reared back in real cars–no Henry’s–and driving over hard roads built by the so-called outlaw operators for their use. I wish we had some outlaws like that in our town, don’t you?

I will say now, Mr. Newspaperman, wherever you may be over this great nation, listen to plain, honest-to-goodness, one-hundred percent American language. If you have been guilty of this dirty low-down, yellow dog propaganda about Logan county and its fine people. In the name of God and the love of humanity, I say stop right now. It’s a shame if you haven’t any respect for yourselves, for God’s sake have mercy on the people of the best county on earth and the country that gives you shelter for you may just as well stop right now for we have been there from every nook and corner in the United States, and we will not believe you anymore anyway. Cut it out or the devil will get you, for no one could write such stuff but imps. If you will just go to the town of Logan and walk around you will get ashamed of yourself and stop talking about your neighbors.”

George Wolfe Answers John L. Lewis (1925)

07 Monday Dec 2020

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Coal

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Beckley, Central Competitive Field, coal, Fayette County, George Wolfe, Illinois Department of Mines, Indianapolis, Jacksonville Wage Scale, John L. Lewis, Logan, Logan Banner, R.M. Lambie, Raleigh County, secretary, United Mine Workers of America, West Virginia, West Virginia Department of the Mines, Winding Gulf Operators Association

From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, comes this bit of history about John L. Lewis and the United Mine Workers of America. The story is dated May 15, 1925.

WOLFE ANSWERS LEWIS’ BARRAGE; QUOTES FIGURES

Points out That Miners of Central Competitive Field Always Opposed Aims of West Virginia Miners–Tells How American Plans Gets Results

The statement of John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Workers of America, to the effect that it would make no difference to the coal mining industry if the wages of the miners ________________ time scale “as the public burns 500,000,000 tons of coal annually anyway” was characterized as “ridiculous rubbish” by George Wolfe, Secretary of the Winding Gulf Operators Association, of Beckley. He said that Lewis is not looking at the industry from a practical business standpoint, when he makes such a statement, but is merely blustering to hear himself talk.

“There are 24 states in the union that are producing coal and that means there is competition,” said Mr. Wolfe. “The union miners in the Central Competitive Field are banded together in an effort to keep the ‘outlying fields’ out of the market and already have an unwarranted advantage for the inferior coal mined by them in the matter of widened freight differentials. The Central Competitive Field employs the vast majority of union miners and contributes the major share of the Indianapolis organization’s finances.

“Even when West Virginia had a large union delegation its delegates had nothing to do with making the scale and passed it over to the West Virginia delegation to enforce. West Virginia is mentioned especially as one of the most affected outlying fields against which the union is fighting. It isn’t a question of union or non-union but it is a case where the miners of the Central Competitive Field led by Lewis are seeking to curtail the production of this state, which produces one fifth of the nation’s best coal.

“That’s why Lewis is lending his personal influence and sending scores of agitators into West Virginia to try and coerce satisfied miners into joining his organization. They can either work and receive satisfactory pay or join the union and strike–in the interests of the union miners of other states who want to sell their coal instead of the West Virginia fuel. They have had the nerve to say that West Virginia should never have been developed until the other older fields that now produce a coal inferior to ours had been completely exhausted. Then they could have moved down to West Virginia and done the mining that was necessary, they say. But since they can’t come right away they want to hold up West Virginia’s progress, blight the prosperous mining villages and towns that exist today, and stay the wheels of time until such time as they can come to West Virginia and handle the situation. But the miners of West Virginia are wise enough to see this and the scheme is getting them nowhere.

“One needs look no further than the annual report of R.M. Lambie, chief of the West Virginia Department of the Mines, to see that these schemes of mice and men are ganging aft agles. Not only did the West Virginia mines ship more coal last year but the tonnage per man has increased–and thus the cost of mining is being reduced, instead of being saddled with the extra costs and working conditions imposed by the Indianapolis organization. The men of Southern West Virginia are perfectly satisfied with the American plan of mining, which implies that the miners are human beings capable of making their own agreements, and not dumb driven cattle herded together by organizers.

“The miners of West Virginia have been misled before and now they alone are the ones to take an interest in their own welfare. Their jobs are the things that support their wives and families and they mean to make the most of them. They are working more consistently and turning out more coal per man. In turn getting bigger pay checks. This in turn keeps the coal moving, and they then get a bigger share of work than those mines dominated by Lewis and his Indianapolis lieutenant.

“In 1923 West Virginia operation gave employment to 121,280 miners who worked an average of 158 days a year to mine 37,475,177 tones of coal, according to Mr. Lambi’s report. Before 1924 the American plan had spread through the industry and it only took 115,964 miners, working an average of 155 days a year to mine 103,325,960 tons of coal. In other words, with fewer working days and 5,000 fewer men in the mines, the state produced 6,000,000 tons more coal in 1924.

“Compare that with the annual report of the Illinois Department of Mines. Due to the Jacksonville Wage Scale, which is so high that it closes many markets to mines operating it despite the exceptional freight rate handicaps accorded them, the union miners were not nearly as well off as the West Virginia miners working under the American plans. The Illinois men average but 140 days work during the year. The report shows that __,765 miners in Illinois produced 72,308,665 tons of coal during 1924, which was 3,205,430 tons less than was mined in 1923. And the average tonnage per man was about one-fourth of a ton less per day.

“It isn’t necessary to answer Lewis’ statement regarding ‘starvation wages’ paid miners in West Virginia. You don’t have to give a theoretical answer to that. Just note the scores of loaders and cutlers who are making from $15 to $18 a day. Note those men to Raleigh and Fayette counties who claim championships in loading, who have averaged better than $20 a day–not for one or two days but for months at a time. Then figure out what $20 a day means, in fair weather and foul because there isn’t any rain underground, and you’ll see why Southern West Virginia doesn’t have to advertise outside of West Virginia to get all the miners it needs to produce the record tonnages from this state. All we need is a chance to get to the markets under a reasonable freight rate, and our coal will do the rest, backed by thousands of satisfied miners who are making new production records daily.”

Levisa Hatfield (1927-1929)

03 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Holden, Huntington, Logan, Matewan, Pikeville, Wharncliffe, Women's History

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Abraham Lincoln, Appalachia, Barnabus, Ben Creek, Betty Caldwell, Betty Hatfield, Bob Hatfield, C.C. Lanham, Cap Hatfield, Charles Dardi, Charleston, deputy sheriff, Devil Anse Hatfield, E. Willis Wilson, Elias Hatfield, Elliott R. Hatfield, F.M. Browning, Fayette County, feud, genealogy, governor, Halsey Gibson, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Henry D. Hatfield, Hibbard Hatfield, history, Holden, Huntington, Island Creek, J.O. Hill, Jim McCoy, Joe Hatfield, John Caldwell, John J. Jackson, Johnson Hatfield, Kentucky, L.W. Lawson, Levicy Hatfield, Logan, Logan Banner, Logan County, Lundale, Marion Browning, Mary Howes, Mate Creek, Matewan, Matilda Chafin, Mingo County, Nancy Carey, Nancy Mullins, Nathaniel Chafin, Omar, Pike County, Pikeville, Pittsburgh, pneumonia, R.A. Woodall, Randolph McCoy, Rebecca Hatfield, Rose Browning, sheriff, Tennis Hatfield, Tom Chafin, Troy Hatfield, Tug River, W.R. Eskew, West Virginia, Wharncliffe

The following news items from the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, provide some history about the final years of Levisa Hatfield, widow of Anse Hatfield:

Levisy Hatfield Dies LB 03.15.1929 1.JPG

MRS. HATFIELD BETTER

Mrs. Levicy Hatfield, widow of Ance Hatfield, continues to recuperate from a serious illness and is now able to walk about the home of her daughter, Mrs. F.M. Browning, of Holden, where she has been cared for. She is 84 years old.

Source: Logan (WV) Banner, 03 June 1927

***

Mrs. Hatfield Hurt

Mrs. Lovisa Hatfield, widow of the late “Devil Anse” Hatfield, is suffering from injuries received in a fall at her home on Island Creek Sunday. She hurt her hip and shoulder and forehead and her condition was such as to cause some concern, yet she was able to sit up yesterday. Two or three of her daughters are helping to take care of her. She is 85 years old.

Source: Logan (WV) Banner, 20 September 1927

***

DEVIL ANSE’S WIDOW, AGED 86, RECOVERS FROM PNEUMONIA

In recovering from her recent severe illness Mrs. Levisa Hatfield, widow of the late “Devil Anse,” has again demonstrated her remarkable vitality. Though in her 87th year, she is now recovering from pneumonia with which she was stricken on December 28. Monday of this week her lungs began to clear up, and her son, Sheriff Joe Hatfield, said yesterday that she seemed to be assured of recovery.

So critical was her illness for several days that half a dozen physicians were summoned to her bedside. These included Dr. H.D. Hatfield, L.W. Lawson, J.O. Hill, Brewer and Moore as well as Dr. E.R. Hatfield, of Charleston, a son of the aged patient.

Mrs. Hatfield celebrated her 86th birthday at the Hatfield homestead near the head of Island Creek on December 20.

Source: Logan (WV) Banner, 18 January 1929.

***

Devil Anse’s Widow Died Early Today

Mrs. Levisa Hatfield Succumbs Unexpectedly In 87th Year

10 Living Children

Hers Was Life of Storm And Stress for Several Decades

Funeral services for Mrs. Hatfield will be held at 2:30 Sunday at the Hatfield cemetery on Island Creek.

Mrs. Levisa Hatfield, widow of “Devil Anse” of Hatfield-McCoy feud fame, died at the family homestead up near the head of Island Creek at about 8 o’clock this morning. Though she was frail and had been in ill health all winter, the news of her passing caused much surprise and regret among relatives and friends outnumbered. Still, her condition yesterday was unsatisfactorily, indicating she had suffered a backset.

Mrs. Hatfield celebrated her 86th birthday on December 20. Eight days later she was stricken with pneumonia, and for several weeks her condition was alarming. Despite her advanced age, her indomitable grit and wiry strength and endurance triumphed, having as she did the tender, constant care of her children and other kinfolk, neighbors, and friends.

Hers was a stout heart, otherwise it could not have, withstood the storms that raged about her home and her family for many years. But long before her interesting career ended, peace and contentment had come into her life, and her declining days were brightened by the successes that had come to her children and grandchildren.

The decedent was born and reared on Mate Creek in what was then Logan county but now in Mingo. She was a daughter of Nathaniel Chafin. In her teens she was married to a neighbor youth, William Anderson Hatfield, who shortly thereafter entered the Confederate army and attained the rank of captain. That was a trying experience for a bride, but a longer and more terrifying one came in the early ‘80s when her family became involved in a now historic private war with the McCoys, a large family living on the Kentucky side of the Tug River. Even after the feud ended and a tacit agreement was carried out whereby her family moved back from the Tug and over the county divide and their foes went farther away from the Tug in the opposite direction, tragedies cast their shadows across her pathway. Chief of these was the slaying of her sons Troy and Elias by a drunken miner in Fayette county in 1911. The miner, too, was riddled with bullets after his victims had fallen mortally wounded.

Ten children survive Mrs. Hatfield and three are dead, Johnson, the oldest, having died in 1922 on Ben Creek, Mingo county. The living are: William A. (Cap), who shared with his father the leadership of their clan in the days of the feud, now a deputy sheriff and living at Stirrat; Robert L., Wharncliffe; Mrs. Nancy Mullins, living just above the Hatfield place; Dr. Elliott R., Charleston; Mrs. Mary Howes, at home; Mrs. John (Betty) Caldwell, Barnabus; Sheriff Joe D. Hatfield; Mrs. Marion (Rose) Browning, Holden; Willis, deputy sheriff at Lundale; Tennis, former sheriff.

She is survived by two sisters and a brother: Mrs. Betty Hatfield, widow of Elias Hatfield and mother of U.S. Senator H.D. Hatfield; Mrs. Rebecca Hatfield, of Logan, mother of Hibbard Hatfield, and Tom Chafin, who lives on Mate Creek.

Mrs. Hatfield and devoted to her home and family. And her home as well as herself was widely known for hospitality. There the friend or wayfarer ever found a welcome. She was a member of the Church of Christ and was baptized along with her husband by Uncle Dyke Garrett some years before her husband’s death.

No announcement was made this forenoon as to the funeral arrangements. Squire Elba Hatfield, a grandson, said he supposed the funeral would be held Sunday. Burial will be in the family cemetery.

Source: Logan (WV) Banner, 15 March 1929

***

Great Crowd At Funeral of Mrs. Hatfield

Throng Surpassed That of Any Previous Funeral In County

Pictures Are Taken

News of Death of “Devil” Anse’s Widow Travels Far and Wide

Hundreds of relatives and friends and neighbors paid their last tribute of affection to Mrs. Lovisa Hatfield Sunday afternoon. It is declared to be, by persons capable of judging, the largest funeral crowd ever assembled in the county. Perhaps the maximum attendance of the afternoon was no larger than that at the funeral of Charles Dardi last November, but on Sunday people were coming and going for an hour or more before the hour set–2:30–for the services and until the services were concluded.

Early in the afternoon a crowd began to form both at the Hatfield cemetery and the homestead. A cool, steady, stiff breeze made it uncomfortable for those who gathered at the cemetery, with the result that they did not tarry long there; and on account of weather conditions a great many did not leave their cars, which were closely parked along both sides of the highway from Sheriff Joe Hatfield’s home up to and beyond the home of the decedent.

The attendance at Sunday’s rites exceeded that of the funeral of Mrs. Hatfield’s widely known husband, “Devil Anse,” which was held on Sunday, January 9, 1921. At that time there was but a semblance of a highway up toward the head of Island Creek and most of those who attended the rites of the old feudist chieftain rode on a special train that was run that day or walked for a great distance.

At the homestead there were scripture readings, sermons, and tributes by Rev. Joe Hatfield, a nephew of the decedent, of Matewan; Rev. Halsey Gibson and Rev. C.C. Lanham, pastor of the first Methodist church of Logan. Before the cortege left the house R.A. Woodall, local photographer, took pictures of the body at rest in a beautiful metallic casket and of the grandchildren and perhaps others who were grouped on the porch.

At the grave the services were conducted by Rev. W.R. Eskew of Omar and a solo by a Mr. Woods of Huntington featured the singing. Mr. Eskew paid a tribute to the generosity and hospitality of Mrs. Hatfield, to her love of home and her devotion to her children and other loved ones.

As related in Friday’s paper, Mrs. Hatfield died at about 8 o’clock that morning, after having nearly recovered from pneumonia. Her age was 86 years, two months and 25 days. She was a daughter of Nathaniel and Matilda Varney Chafin and was born on Mate Creek, now in Mingo county. Her sisters, Mrs. Elizabeth Hatfield of Huntington , Mrs. Nancy Carey, Pittsburgh, and Mrs. Rebecca Hatfield of Logan, and her brother Tom Chafin of Mingo were at the funeral.

All over the country the news of Mrs. Hatfield’s death was flashed and it called forth much comment on the old Hatfield-McCoy feud that for a long time held the close attention evidently of millions of newspaper readers.

—

An old sketch of “Devil Anse” says he had none of the attributes of “bad men” in his character. He was always recognized as a loyal friend of the many who had some sort of claim to his friendship. Numbered among those who believed he had been right in the position he took during the feud days were the late Judge John J. Jackson, known as the “Iron Judge,” who was appointed to the federal bench by President Lincoln, and the late Governor E.W. Wilson, the former protecting Hatfield when he was called into court, and the latter refusing to honor a requisition of the Governor of Kentucky for the arrest of Devil Anse on a charge of killing some particular member of the McCoy family.

Detectives, real and alleged, had arranged for the capture of Hatfield, spurred by a reward, after they had seen to it that he was indicted on a charge of whiskey selling; in 1888, Judge Jackson, hearing of these plans, sent word to him that if he would appear in court voluntarily the court would see that he had ample protection until he returned to his home in this county.

Uncle Anse appeared and was acquitted of the charge against him. Some of the detectives pounced on him soon after he left the court room, but Judge Jackson summoned all of them before him, threatened to send them to jail, and directed special officers to see that Hatfield was permitted to reach his home. After Hatfield was well on his way, Judge Jackson told the detectives that if they wanted to get him they could proceed, just as the McCoys had been doing for a number of years. They never went.

Captain Hatfield spent the last 20 years of his life peacefully on his farm then in an isolated section of the county. Once he was prevailed upon by some enterprising amusement manager to go on the vaudeville stage but the lure of his home in the mountains soon proved stronger than the lure of the footlights.

—

In the splendid account of the death of Mrs. Anderson Hatfield, estimable woman who passed away at her home Friday, it was stated that Mrs. Hatfield was one of the last of either the Hatfield or McCoy family directly connected with the feud and that all the McCoy principals are believed to be dead. This last is in error as James McCoy, who resided in Pikeville for many years and latter came here, where he lived with his family for a number of years, and after the death of his wife only a few years ago again returned to Pikeville and is now living there. He is a highly respected and esteemed citizen and was the eldest son of the late Randall McCoy, of Pike county, and was one of the main principals of the feud.

Catlettsburg cor. in Huntington Advertiser

Source: Logan (WV) Banner, 19 March 1929.

Civil War Gold Coins Hidden Near Chapmanville, WV

23 Monday Jul 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Chapmanville, Civil War, Guyandotte River

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Buried Treasures of the Appalachians, Chapmanville, civil war, Confederate Army, Fayette County, Guyandotte River, history, Logan County, Union Army, W.C. Jameson, West Virginia

From W.C. Jameson’s Buried Treasures of the Appalachians (1991, pp. 204-205) comes this story of buried treasure near Chapmanville, WV:

In Fayette County during the War Between the States, a contingent of Union soldiers was escorting a large payroll–a wagon full of gold coins–to a Yankee encampment in the area. As the party traveled along the winding trails through the dense woods, scouts told the commanding officer that a Confederate patrol was rapidly approaching from the east.

The Union officer ordered the escort into a full gallop in the hope of outdistancing the rebels, but after trying to elude the enemy for about five miles, it became clear that they would soon be overtaken. Anticipating a skirmish, the officer halted the wagon and ordered the canvas bags that held the Union payroll taken from the wagon and buried it a short distance from the trail. While troopers hastily dug a pit in which to hide the gold, the officer noted the surroundings in his journal. He wrote that the payroll was hidden on the west side of the Guyandotte River, near a small settlement named Chapmanville.

Once the hole was filled, the soldiers remounted and rode on. About an hour later, the Confederates overtook the Union soldiers and opened fire. The Yankees sought cover and returned fire, but they were disorganized and greatly outnumbered. The fighting lasted about two hours, and when it was over, all of the Yankee soldiers lay dead.

The rebel soldiers searched the wagon for the money and found it empty. Suspecting the gold had been buried shortly before the engagement, they retraced the Yankees’ trail for several miles, without finding the payroll.

Returning to the site of the skirmish, the Confederates stripped the Union soldiers of anything of value and left the corpses to rot in the sun. An unknown soldier took the commanding officer’s journal and he tossed it into the trunk and forgot it. In the early 1930s, someone discovered an old journal and searched unsuccessfully for the buried coins.

The directions in the journal claimed the gold was buried at a point where the old road and the Guyandotte River came within twenty yards of one another. Since the war, however, the road has been all but obliterated by the more modern thoroughfare, and the river has shifted its course.

If the Union payroll of gold coins was not uncovered by the shifting river and washed downstream, the Civil War cache is probably still lying just a few inches beneath the soil near Chapmanville.

For more information about buried treasure in Appalachia, read Mr. Jameson’s book, which can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Buried-Treasures-Appalachians-W-C-Jameson/dp/0874831261

Republicans in Logan County, WV

03 Friday Nov 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Chapmanville, Logan

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A.A. Lilly, A.D. Cook, A.J. Fowler, A.L. Sansom, Amherstdale, Appalachia, assessor, B.A. Browning, B.L. Holland, Bernadine B. Ridenour, board of education, Bruce White, C.V. White, Chapmanville, Charleston, Christian, circuit clerk, county clerk, county commissioner, Curry, Edward Cooper, Edward S. Doolittle, Evart Campbell, Fayette County, Ferrell-Cook Republican Club, G.R. Claypool, George Godby, H.C. Burgess, Henry D. Hatfield, Henry Godby Jr., history, House of Delegates, Hugh Ike Shott, Huntington, Huntington Advertiser, I.M. Conley, Ira P. Hager, J.C. Elkins, J.D. Copley, J.M. Mitchell Jr., J.W. Hinchman, James Jeffrey, John M. Perry, John Perry, justice of the peace, lawyer, Logan, Logan Banner, Logan County, Logan County Banner, Logan District, Lon Walls, Mike F. Matheny, Naaman Jackson, O.J. Deegan, Pat Riffe, prosecuting attorney, R.F. Mitchell, Republican Party, Richard Kirk, S.A. Ferrell, sheriff, T.C. Whited, Thomas B. Hensley, Thomas Wilson, Triadelphia District, Union Army, W.A. Brazie, W.C. Lawrence, W.P. Neekamp, Wayne County, West Virginia

From various regional newspapers come these stories about the Republican Party in Logan County, West Virginia:

***

Republicans of Logan

Endorses the Candidacy of Judge Doolittle for Supreme Judge

The Logan county republican convention was held last week. Instructions were given for Gaines for Congress, and the candidacy of Judge Doolittle, of this city was endorsed for Supreme court judge.

Source: Huntington (WV) Advertiser, 30 April 1900.

***

The Republican Ticket

The Republicans, at their convention on Saturday, nominated a full county ticket.

The nominee for House of Delegates, Pat Riffe, is a native of the county and an old Union soldier.

W.A. Brazie, the nominee for County Clerk, is a native of Fayette and came here about twelve years ago, and worked in this office about ten years. He is well known in the county, and is well fitted for the position for which he is named.

J.D. Copley, the nominee for Circuit Clerk, is a native of Wayne, …

Source: Logan County Banner (Logan, WV), 2 October 1902.

***

Logan Republican Municipal Ticket LD 03.30.1911 1.JPG

Logan (WV) Democrat, 30 March 1911.

***

Republican Convention in Logan LB 07.10.1914 1.JPG

Logan (WV) Banner, 10 July 1914.

Republican Convention in Logan LB 07.10.1914 2.JPG

Logan (WV) Banner, 10 July 1914.

***

Republican County Ticket.

Member of the Legislature–Naaman Jackson, of Logan.

County Clerk–John Perry, of Logan.

Circuit Clerk–J.M. Mitchell, Jr., of Curry.

County Superintendent of Schools–R.F. Mitchell, of Christian.

Member of the County Court–A.D. Cook, of Triadelphia District.

W.C. Lawrence, for the Committee on Nominations, reported the following selection for members of the County Central Committee of the Republican Committee of Logan County.

For Logan District, Bruce White, I.M. Conley, James Jeffrey, T.C. Whited and W.C. Lawrence.

For Triadelphia District, H.C. Burgess and Lon Walls.

For Chapmanville District, A.J. Fowler and T.B. Hensley.

Hon. O.J. Deegan was selected County Chairman and Hon. Ira P. Hager as County Secretary and Treasurer, both promising young attorneys of Logan.

Source: Logan (WV) Banner, 17 July 1914.

***

Primary Results LD 06.29.1916 3.JPG

Logan (WV) Democrat, 29 June 1916.

 

Republican Campaign Opening Ad LB 10.05.1926.JPG

Logan (WV) Banner, 5 October 1926.

***

Republicans Organize Club At Chapmanville

Republicans met at Chapmanville Friday night and organized a campaign club and named it the Ferrell-Cook Republican club. Praise was sounded for local and national Republican administrations for the tax reductions that have been made. The following officers were elected: S.A. Ferrell, chairman; Evart Campbell, secretary; A.L. Sansom, treasurer. Another meeting of the club was called for 7 o’clock tonight.

Source: Logan (WV) Banner, 19 October 1926.

Whipple, WV (2015)

02 Monday Oct 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in African American History, Coal

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Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, Carlisle, coal, Fayette County, Gentrytown, history, National Register of Historic Places, Oakwood, photos, Scarbro, West Virginia, Whipple, Whipple Company Store, Wingrove

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Whipple Company Store, Whipple, WV. 29 July 2015.

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Whipple Company Store, the “hub of the coal camp,” was built about 1900 and closed in 1957.

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The Whipple Company Store is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 29 July 2015.

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Today, the Whipple Company Store is a museum. For more info, follow this link: http://www.whipplecompanystore.com/

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You can find more history for Whipple right here: http://www.wvexp.com/index.php/Whipple,_West_Virginia

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Map of Whipple and surrounding area. 29 July 2015.

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Coal brought more ethnic and cultural DIVERSITY to southern West Virginia.

 

Evi Sias

05 Wednesday Apr 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Boone County, Civil War

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Andrew Lewis Sias, Appalachia, Boone County, Bradford Hill, commissioner of reassessments, Confederate Army, Evi Sias, Fayette County, genealogy, Gettysburg, Henry C. Sias, Henry H. Hardesty, history, Ira Sias, Isaac Sias, James B. Sias, James Sias, James Wilson Sias, Jefferson District, justice of the peace, Left Hand Fork, Lelia Sias, Lincoln County, Missionary Baptist Church, Mud River, Noah Sias, Olivia F. Sias, Rebecca A. Sias, Rebecca Sias, Sallie R. Sias, Sarah B. Hill, Sarah B. Sias, Spurlockville, Union Army, Union District, Washington District, West Virginia

From “Hardesty’s History of Lincoln County, West Virginia,” published by H.H. Hardesty, we find this entry for Evi Sias, who resided at Spurlocksville in Lincoln County, West Virginia:

One of the farming population of Jefferson district, Lincoln county, was born in Fayette county, (then) Virginia, in 1835, and he is a son of James and Rebecca (Adkins) Sias, who came to Lincoln county in 1857. Sallie R., daughter of Bradford and Sarah B. (Thomas) Hill, was born in Boone county, (now) West Virginia, in 1852. Her parents settled in Lincoln county in 1852, and in this county, in 1871, she became the wife of Evi Sias, and six children are the result of their union: Sarah B., born July 8, 1872; Rebecca A., November 28, 1873; Olivia F., September 4, 1875, died in August, 1877; James B., October 22, 1877; Ira, September 28, 1879; Lelia, January 14, 1882. Five brothers of Evi Sias served in the late war: Isaac, James W., Noah, and Henry C. were in the Federal service, and Andrew L., joined the Confederate ranks, and was wounded at the battle of Gettysburg. Evi Sias was elected justice of the peace, and in 1880 was re-elected; he is commissioner of reassessments of land and secretary of the board of education in Jefferson district. Mr. Sias has been a strong advocate of free schools, and taught the first free school in Washington district, Boone county, and the first in Union district, Lincoln county. He has a farm of 100 acres on the Left Hand fork of Mud river; a part is heavily timbered, contains mineral, coal and iron ore, and the remainder in cultivation, with a large orchard. Evi Sias is a member of the Missionary Baptist Church, and a man respected by all. Address, Spurlocksville, Lincoln county, West Virginia.

Source: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, Vol. 7 (Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock, 1974), p. 148.

NOTE: I descend from Evi’s brothers, James Wilson Sias and Andrew Lewis Sias.

James R. Godfrey

26 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Wyoming County

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Almira C. Godfrey, Appalachia, Armour L. Godfrey, Cordova C. Godfrey, England, Fayette County, genealogy, Guyandotte River, Henry H. Hardesty, history, Huff's Creek, James C. Godfrey, James R. Godfrey, Jesse Davis, Margaret Davis, Mercer County, North Spring, photos, R.A. Brock, Rebecca Godfrey, Richmond, Sarah M. Godfrey, U.S. South, Virginia, Virginia and Virginians, West Virginia, Wyoming County

From “Virginia and Virginians, 1606-1888,” published by H.H. Hardesty, we find this entry for James R. Godfrey, who resided at North Spring, West Virginia:

Is among the most highly respected citizens of Wyoming county, and is of a family that has always stood among the first in purity and nobility of character and brilliancy of mental endowments. As a teacher he has no superior and but few equals in that county, and is always zealously active for the advancement of education. He was appointed in 1885 on the board of teachers’ examination, served that term and two other terms since. He was born in this county July 25, 1859, and was married there Nov. 2, 1882, to Sarah M. Davis, who was born in Fayette county, W.Va., May 15, 1857. Their union has been blessed with the following offspring: Almira C., born Aug. 30, 1883; Cordova C., born Aug. 14, 1885; James C., born Oct. 2, 1889; they are all now living with parents. Mr. Godfrey owns a beautiful home on Huff’s Creek not far from Guyandotte River, surrounded by extensive mineral lands underlying valuable timber growth. His post office is North Spring, Wyoming county, W.Va., and his vocation is teaching and conducting his farm. His father, Armour L. Godfrey, was born in Mercer county, W.Va., March 25, 1827, and at present resides in Wyoming county. His mother, whose maiden name was Rebecca Lister, was born in Wyoming county, Aug. 15, 1827. They were united in marriage in Wyoming county, Aug. 14, 1851. Her father, Jesse Davis, was born about 1800 and died in Wyoming county at the age of 72 years. Her mother, whose maiden name was Margaret Godfrey, was born in 1802 and died in Wyoming county at the age of 63 years. The Godfrey family came from England, and have long been seated in Virginia and in Wyoming and Mercer counties, W.Va. They have always commanded respect among the citizens, having filled many offices ably and honorably.

Source: Dr. R.A. Brock, Virginia and Virginians, 1606-1888 (Richmond, VA: H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, 1888), p. 830-831.

Feud Poll 1

If you had lived in the Harts Creek community during the 1880s, to which faction of feudists might you have given your loyalty?

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

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Ed Haley Poll 1

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

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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

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

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