Clyde Dean
11 Sunday Jan 2015
Posted in Ferrellsburg
11 Sunday Jan 2015
Posted in Ferrellsburg
18 Sunday May 2014
Posted in Big Creek, Ferrellsburg, Fourteen, Leet, Sand Creek, Toney
Tags
Anna Laura Lucas, Big Creek, Blackburn Lucas, Catherine Toney, Clerk Lucas, Ed Reynolds, Elizabeth Lucas, farming, Ferrellsburg, Fourteen, genealogy, Georgia Stowers, Hazel Toney, history, Huntington, Isaac Marion Nelson, Jessie Lucas, John Sias, Leet, Lincoln County, Lincoln Republican, Low Gap United Baptist Church, Marie Lucas, Rachel Fry, Republican, Sand Creek, Sarah Workman, Susan Brumfield, Toney, Tucker Fry, W.W. Lucas, Walt Stowers, Ward Lucas, West Virginia, Wilburn Adkins
“Bess,” a local correspondent from Toney in Lincoln County, West Virginia, offered the following items, which the Lincoln Republican printed on Thursday, May 23, 1912:
The farmers are all glad to see this fine weather. They are all busy planting corn and hoeing potatoes.
Clerk Lucas attended the Republican Convention at Huntington last Wednesday and Thursday. He reports an interesting time.
D.C. Fry spent Saturday and Sunday with his family here.
Some of our people attended church at Low Gap Sunday and heard an interesting sermon delivered by Rev. Nelson.
Mr. and Mrs. B.B. Lucas had as guests Sunday J.W. Stowers and wife, of Ferrellsburg, W.W. Lucas and wife, E.W. Lucas and wife, of Big Creek, and John Sias of Fourteen.
Mrs. Sarah Workman was shopping in Ferrellsburg Saturday.
Mrs. B.D. Toney and granddaughter, Hazel, were visiting on Green Shoal Sunday.
Ed. Reynolds, a hustling republican of Leet, was in our midst Sunday.
Mrs. Rachel Fry is visiting her mother near Leet.
Wilburn Adkins, of this town, was visiting relatives near Sand Creek last week.
Little Marie Lucas is on the sick list this week.
20 Friday Sep 2013
Posted in Ferrellsburg
Tags
Admiral S. Fry, Archibald Harrison, Arena Ferrell, Burl Adkins, Burns Chair Factory, Elmer Evans, Ferrellsburg, Fisher B. Adkins, George W. Ferrell, Georgia Stowers, Hansford Adkins, history, James Stowers, Keenan Ferrell, Kennis Altizer, Lincoln Republican, Martha Harrison, Martin Sanders, Melissa Adkins, Noah Sanders, Walt Stowers, Wilburn Sanders, William Isaacs
Ferrellsburg Post Office was established on December 27, 1904 by George W. Ferrell, a 30-year-old general store merchant and musician.
George W. Ferrell was born on October 10, 1874 to Archibald B. and Martha E. (Fry) Harrison. In the 1890s, Keenan S. and Arena (Sanders) Ferrell, a childless couple who made their home at Fowler Branch, adopted him. The Ferrells were proprietors of a large general store business, which they named G.W. Ferrell & Company. Young Ferrell was active in the family business. According to a 1902-03 business directory, he acted as proprietor of the store. At that same time, from December 22, 1902 until 1904, he served as postmaster of Green Shoal. In 1904, Green Shoal was discontinued to Ferrellsburg. According to postal records, Ferrell served as postmaster of Ferrellsburg from December 27, 1904 until January 23, 1906. “They claimed Ferrellsburg was named after him,” said the late Roma Elkins of Ferrellsburg. On August 6, 1905, Ferrell died of tuberculosis.
On January 23, 1906, Arena Ferrell became postmaster. Arena was born around 1859 to Martin and Elizabeth (Mitchell) Sanders in Russell County, Virginia. She married Keenan Ferrell on April 6, 1877 in Logan County. The Ferrells had come to the Green Shoal area in the late 1890s. In 1895, Arena had bought land on the east side of the Guyan River from A.S. Fry, a postmaster and businessman at the mouth of Green Shoal. The next year, she bought land on the west side of the Guyan River from John Q. Adams. In 1897, she bought land at Fowler Branch, where she occupied a two-story log home and operated a general store. The store was listed in business directories as G.W. Ferrell & Company from 1904 until 1913. Arena served as merchant, while D. Kennis Altizer of Huntington was salesman. In 1913, Ferrell sold out to Hansford Adkins and moved to Green Shoal, where she briefly owned a hotel.
Wilburn Sanders, a nephew to Arrena Ferrell served as Ferrellsburg postmaster from 1906 until 1909. Born around 1882 to Noah Baldwin and Nancy Ann (Haner) Sanders, he married Addie Jones and later moved to Ogden, Utah. In 1906, Ferrellsburg had a population of 200 people and had a telephone connection at the Ferrell store.
Fisher B. Adkins, a popular schoolteacher was postmaster at Ferrellsburg from 1909 until 1914. Born in October of 1879 to Burl and Melissa (Adkins) Adkins of Harts, Fisher lived at West Fork with his wife, the former Beatrice Dingess. The couple had one child, Hope. A 1913 newspaper story in the Lincoln Republican referred to Fisher as “one of the leading educators of the county” who is “well up in educational matters.” Within months, he would win election as county superintendent of schools (1915-1919).
Joseph Walt Stowers became postmaster at Ferrellsburg on February 18, 1914. Born March 1, 1876 to James and Emily (Haner) Gillenwater-Stowers, Walt was raised on Green Shoal and had family connections to nearby Big Creek in Logan County. In 1908 he purchased jointly with Enos Adkins a one-acre tract of land in Ferrellsburg from the Ferrells and opened a store business under the name of Stowers & Adkins. “Walt Stowers bought the old Ferrell store and reworked it…renovated it,” said the late Vergia Rooney of Texas. According to newspaper accounts of that time, Stowers was president of the stockholders in the Burns Chair Factory and considered attending medical school in Louisville. Instead, he improved his store building, increasing its value from $100 in 1910 to $900 in 1912. In June of 1914, Stowers became the sole proprietor of the store. In that same time frame, he married Georgia Adkins, reportedly a daughter of Rayburn Adkins of Wayne County. The couple never had any children but partially raised several nephews. During the next two decades, from the World War I era until the Great Depression, Walt Stowers was the chief businessman in Ferrellsburg. He was also the longest serving postmaster, giving up the position with his death on February 10, 1934. Thereafter, his widow served as postmistress until January 12, 1938.
Following Georgia Stowers’ term, William Isaacs was postmaster from January 12 until April 1, 1938. Isaacs was a resident of upper Ferrellsburg. “Old man Isaacs lived above the schoolhouse in old man I.M. Nelson’s house,” according to Elkins. At the same time that Isaacs became postmaster, he also bought much land from Georgia Stowers. Within a year, he sold most of the land and soon moved to Barboursville where he was involved in the realty business. Georgia was also in Cabell County by 1939, where she lived at 1600 16th Street, Huntington.
Elmer Evans became postmaster at Ferrellsburg on November 28, 1938.
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