Sheriff Joe D. Hatfield, Son of Devil Anse (1962)
12 Monday Dec 2022
Posted Hatfield-McCoy Feud
in12 Monday Dec 2022
Posted Hatfield-McCoy Feud
in12 Monday Dec 2022
Posted Barboursville, Coal, Guyandotte River, Huntington, Logan, Peach Creek
inTags
Appalachia, Barboursville, C.A. Coulter, Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad, Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Newsletter, coal, Empty Yard, Gay Coal and Coke Company, Guyandotte River, history, Huntington, Logan, Logan County, Mount Gay, Peach Creek, railroad, Red Onion, Slabtown, West Logan, West Virginia, World War I
From the Chesapeake and Ohio Historical Newsletter (June 1974) comes this history titled “The Shops at Peach Creek” composed by C.A. Coulter. This is Part 1 of Mr. Coulter’s account.
The railroad was first built to Logan in 1904, the first train arriving on September 9 of that year. The line was started at Barboursville, West Virginia, on the main line, and ran up the Guyan River for 65 miles to Logan. By 1913, rail lines had been run to the heads of all the main branches of the Guyan River in Logan County. As soon as the rail lines reached the branches, coal mines were built, and coal immediately began to move to outside markets.
The first shop facilities were built at Slabtown, a small settlement just north of Logan. Just when the shops were built, I have no record, but it was soon after trains had begun to arrive from Huntington. A short pit track, a shed track with a shed for the freight that was handled, a wye track, and a small yard of three tracks that held about fifty cars each were constructed. This yard is still in use, and is known now as the merchandise yard. Later, another yard was built just north of this one, with about three tracks; this was used to assemble the loaded coal cars. This yard was later lengthened and more tracks were added; it is now known as the Empty Yard. A yard office building was located along the main line between the two yards.
There was also an old bunkhouse located near the pit track at Slabtown, called the “Red Onion.” I have heard my father mention this many times, as he would lay up in it when he came in from the run from Huntington. I have heard him tell of how he would have to wait until someone got out of bed so he could get in and get a few hours of rest before being called back to Huntington. This was a long, hard run with the small, hand-fired G-4s, G-6s, and G-7s that were in use at that time. The trains were much shorter than they are today. By World War I, trains were lengthened to 55 loads for a single engine and 85 loads for a doubleheader. This limit held for many years until the Mallets and Mikados arrived, then the car limit was done away with.
The first carload of coal was run out of Logan County on Thanksgiving Day, 1905. It was loaded in wagons at the Gay Coal and Coke Company mine at Mt. Gay, about one mile south of Logan, and hauled and dumped into a coal car at Logan. The old coal loading records show that for 1905 about 55 carloads of coal were mined in the county. As the years passed, coal loadings began to boom, and by 1907 15 companies were operating in the county. By 1923, 148 mines were working in the county. According to the records, this was about the peak year for the number of mines in operation.
It was not long after the first small shop facilities were built at Logan that it became evident that a much larger one had to be built. The company finally decided to build at the present site of Peach Creek. Peach Creek was an old town, having been established as a small settlement about 1806. Quite a number of houses were clustered near the mouth of the small creek that emptied into the Guyan at this point. It is said that the town got its name from a small peach orchard that stood near the mouth of the creek.
I am not sure just when construction began on the new shops. It was some little time before 1916, as the company moved the shops from Logan in 1916. The town of Peach Creek was laid out in lots and streets at about the same time, as the town of West Logan, on the west side of the Guyan River. A swinging foot bridge across the river, near the site of the present highway bridge, connected the two towns. Soon, employees of the company began to build their homes in both towns.
08 Thursday Dec 2022
Posted Atenville, Banco, Beech Creek, Big Creek, Big Harts Creek, Big Sandy Valley, Big Ugly Creek, Boone County, Breeden, Chapmanville, Clothier, Cove Gap, Crawley Creek, Dingess, Dunlow, East Lynn, Enslow, Ferrellsburg, Fourteen, Gilbert, Gill, Green Shoal, Guyandotte River, Halcyon, Hamlin, Harts, Holden, Kermit, Kiahsville, Kitchen, Leet, Little Harts Creek, Logan, Man, Matewan, Meador, Midkiff, Pecks Mill, Peter Creek, Queens Ridge, Ranger, Rector, Sand Creek, Spurlockville, Stiltner, Stone Branch, Toney, Twelve Pole Creek, Wayne, West Hamlin, Wewanta, Wharncliffe, Whirlwind, Williamson, Wyoming County, Yantus
inTags
Appalachia, Big Sandy River, Boone County, Guyandotte River, Hamlin, history, Lincoln County, Logan, Logan County, Madison, map, maps, McDowell County, Mingo County, Pineville, Polk's State Gazetteer and Business Directory, Tug Fork, Twelve Pole Creek, Wayne, Wayne County, Welch, West Virginia, Williamson, Wyoming County
07 Wednesday Dec 2022
07 Wednesday Dec 2022
Posted Boone County, Guyandotte River, Hamlin
inTags
Abraham Lincoln, Appalachia, Boone County, Cabell County, Carroll District, Duval District, Guyandotte River, Hamlin, Hamlin Chapel, Harts Creek District, history, Jefferson District, Kanawha County, Laurel Hill District, Lincoln County, Logan County, Mud River, Putnam County, Sheridan District, Union District, Washington District, West Virginia
From West Virginians, published by the West Virginia Biographical Association in 1928, comes this profile of the Logan-Boone Highway in southwestern West Virginia:
Lincoln County
Lincoln County occupies a place in the southwestern section of the State, and is one of the few counties created by the State of which it is a component part. The organization of the county was authorized by an act of the legislature passed February 23, 1867, from a part of the counties of Cabell, Putnam, Kanawha and Boone. The formal organization of the county government was made on March 11, following, at the Hamlin Chapel, a short distance away from the present seat of justice. Lincoln county is drained by the Guyandotte and Mud rivers, and has a land area of 448.76 square miles. The population in 1920, according to the official enumeration of the United States Census Bureau, was 19,378. Later estimates from the same sources do not increase the figures. The county has a great diversity of natural resources, coal, oil and gas predominating. It also has large agricultural interests, and its horticultural products are of no inconsiderable value. The assessed valuation of property within the county, as returned at the 1927 assessment, is as follows: Real estate, $7,000,460; personal property, $3,666,350; public utility property, $8,751,297; total $19,418,107. The county is sub-divided into eight magisterial districts, Carrol, Duval, Harts Creek, Jefferson, Laurel Hill, Sheridan, Union and Washington. There are but few who are not familiar with the life story of the man whose name is borne by this country—the martyred Abraham Lincoln, rail-splitter, country lawyer and sixteenth President of the United States. No towering shaft; no swiftly flowing stream; no sub-division of this land of ours, welded into one by his work and sacrifice, is needed to keep his memory green. His name is so emblazoned on the pages of American history that it will remain bright, shining and untarnished long after letters engraved upon granite rocks are dimmed and dulled by the rust and erosion of the years as they come and go. Lincoln—homely in feature and tall in stature—grows with the years and honors are paid him and his memory that are accorded no other, save only Washington, the founder. Hamlin, the county seat, is named in memory and honor of Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, Vice President of the United States during the first administration of Abraham Lincoln. The site was selected as a proper place for the county seat at the organization of the county, and was made the permanent county seat by legislative enactment of February 26, 1869. Hamlin has an elevation of 642 feet above sea level, and in 1920 had a population of 516. It is the only incorporated place in the county.”
NOTE: Hamlin is NOT named for Hannibal Hamlin!
NOTE: By 1869, all land was returned to Putnam and additional land was taken from Logan County.
05 Monday Dec 2022
Posted Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Timber
in05 Monday Dec 2022
Tags
Alderson-Wilkinson Land Company, Appalachia, Ashburn, attorney, Big Huff Coal Company, California, Carroll County, Cincinnati, David Wilkinson, Ernest Eugene Wilkinson, First Baptist Church, genealogy, Guyan Coal Company, Guyan Valley Bank, Guyandotte Valley, history, Hollywood, John B. Wilkinson, John B. Wilkinson Jr., Knights Templar, lawyer, Logan, Logan County, Margaret Midyette, Mary Belle Straton, Mingo County, Mona Coal Company, Mona Russo, Mystic Shrine, prosecuting attorney, Robertson Consolidated Land Company, Robertson Grocery Company, San Diego, Seventh Judicial Circuit, Virginia, Wayne, West Virginia, West Virginia Biographical Association
From West Virginians, published by the West Virginia Biographical Association in 1928, comes this profile of Judge John B. Wilkinson of Logan, WV:
The Honorable John B. Wilkinson, who died August 12, 1919, at Logan, where he had long been a foremost citizen, held rank among the best known and most successful lawyers and jurists in West Virginia. In business likewise Judge Wilkinson enjoyed a distinguished success. One of the leaders in the early development of the coal industry in the Guyan Valley, his position at the time of his death was among the great figures in business and industry. He was treasurer of the Guyan Coal Company, the Mona Coal Company, the Robertson Consolidated Land Company and the Alderson-Wilkinson Land Company. He was president of the Big Huff Coal Company and a director of the Robertson Grocery Company. He was originally a director of the Guyan Valley Bank, but later disposed of his holdings in that institution. Throughout the state at large, however, his fame was earned chiefly by his work as a jurist. During twelve years on the bench of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, he was noted for his fairness, accuracy and knowledge of the law. The press of the whole state reported his passing at great length and with sincere regret that so valuable a personality had been lost to the community. Judge Wilkinson was born in Logan County, W.Va., February 13, 1860, the son of David Wilkinson, who had come from Carroll County, Va. He lived on a farm and attended school in that part of Logan County which afterward became Mingo County, coming to the then village of Logan Court House to attend a teachers’ institute and take an examination for a teacher’s certificate. He taught two or three local normal schools here and at Wayne. His legal career began in 1882, when he was admitted to the bar. He continued in the legal profession until his death in 1919. In 1884 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Logan County, which office he filled continuously till 1896. After an interval of four years he again assumed that office, in 1900, and served till January 1, 1905. Having been elected Judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, he resigned as prosecutor and took his place on the circuit bench on the first of January, 1905, and remained as judge until failing health induced him to resign twelve years later. Several times Judge Wilkinson was urged to become his party’s candidate for Governor of the State, although he preferred not to accept that honor. In the summer of 1916 he was nominated for Judge of the Supreme Court of West Virginia. After leaving the office of circuit judge, the condition of his health inclined him to give up the practice of law and close his office, but many friends had learned to depend on him for legal counsel, and at their urging he continued in active practice until his death. Judge Wilkinson was married, September 21, 1882, to Mary Belle Straton of Logan, who survives him with their four children, John B., Jr., who resides at Ashburn, Va.; Ernest Eugene, of Cincinnati; Mrs. Mona Russo, of San Diego, Calif.; and Mrs. Margaret Midyette, of Hollywood, Calif. Judge Wilkinson was for a long time a member of the First Baptist Church of Logan, and a member of its board of deacons. He was a member of the Masonic Orders—the Knights Templar and the Mystic Shrine. Hundreds of people in West Virginia and neighboring states, although not personally acquainted with Judge Wilkinson, knew of his work as a jurist and his renown as a civic leader in general, so that at the time of his death, his passing elicited the sincere feeling that the state had lost one of its best and most constructive citizens.
04 Sunday Dec 2022
Posted Logan, World War I, Wyoming County
inTags
A.J.S. England, Appalachia, Arline England, Athens, attorney, attorney general, Attorney Generals Association of the United States, Barbour County, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Charleston, Concord Normal College, Edward Theodore England, Francis M. England, Grand Chancellor, history, Huldah Lenburg, Huntingdon, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Jackson County, Junior Vice Grand Chancellor, Kiwanis Club, Knights of Pythias, Logan, Logan County, Louisiana, Loyal Order of the Moose, Majorie England, Mary Elizabeth England, masons, Methodist Church, minister, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Moulton, Oceana, politics, Post Office and Postal Committee, Republican Party, senator, Shriners, Southern Normal University, State Council of Defense, Tennessee, Thea Springs, U.S. Congress, West Virginia, World War I, Wyoming County
From West Virginians, published by the West Virginia Biographical Association in 1928, comes this profile of Congressman Edward Theodore England of Logan, WV:
Edward Theodore England, congressman from the sixth district of West Virginia, made a reputation, which finally took him to Congress through his singularly able and efficient administration as attorney general of the state, 1916-1924. Mr. England was born in Jackson County, W.Va., the son of A.J.S. and Mary Elizabeth (Welch) England. His father was a native of Barbour County, W.Va., and a minister in the Methodist Church. He spent a boyhood and youth of mingled labor and effort to advance and improve himself. His education was largely derived from the opportunities he created. He attended public schools, the Concord Normal at Athens, W.Va., graduating therefrom in 1892 and was also graduated with the degrees of Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Law from the Southern Normal University, Huntingdon, Tenn. He began the practice of law at Oceana, then the county seat of Wyoming in the spring of 1899. From there, seeking a larger field for his activities, he removed to Logan, county seat of Logan County in 1901 and from that county, his abilities as a successful lawyer gained him recognition throughout the state. He served as mayor of Logan in 1903 and again in 1908 and in 1912 was elected to the state senate. He was a leader in that body for eight years and in 1915 was elected president of the senate, an office in which he represented West Virginia and presided over the first meeting of state lieutenant governors, held at Rhea Springs, Tennessee, in 1916. In 1916, Mr. England was elected on the state Republican ticket as attorney-general and in 1920 was re-elected by an increased majority. It was during his administration, that the Virginia-West Virginia debt settlement was negotiated and finally cleared up, Mr. England handing West Virginia’s interests in the affair. He also represented the state in the cases of Ohio and Pennsylvania vs. West Virginia, involving the constitutionality of an act passed by the West Virginia legislature affecting the transportation of gas out of the state. During his term as attorney general occurred the World War and there were many matters growing out of the war period that were assigned to his office. He was a member of the State Council of Defense and as a four-minute man, his services were enlisted as a speaker in war drives and campaigns. In 1923, Mr. England was elected president of the Attorney-Generals’ Association of the United States at a meeting in Minneapolis, Minn. He was a candidate for governor of the state in 1924, being defeated by a small majority, in the primary. He is known all over West Virginia as a loyal member of the Knights of Pythias. During 1920-21 he was Grand Chancellor of the state order and was also Junior Vice Grand Chancellor in 1923. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and Shriner, and is otherwise affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows., Elks, Loyal Order of Moose, and the Kiwanis club, of Charleston. He is also a member of the Methodist church. Mr. England was elected to Congress November 2, 1926, and has looked after the interests of the state faithfully. The sixth congressional district which he represents comprises the counties of Boone, Fayette, Greenbrier, Kanawha, Pocahontas and Raleigh, and in committee appointment he holds place on the Post Office and Postal Committee, being one of a fewto be honored with appointment to a major committee during first term. He was renominated without opposition in the Republican Primary in May, 1928. Mr. England was married to Huldah L. Lenburg, of Moulton, La., December 25, 1901. They have three children, Arline, Francis M. and Majorie England.
03 Saturday Dec 2022
Posted Chapmanville
in03 Saturday Dec 2022
Tags
Appalachia, Barboursville, civil war, Frank Ball, Guyandotte Valley, Hiram Hill, history, Kitchen, Logan County, Lorenzo Dow Hill, Mary Hill, Scott Hill, slavery, slaves, Tazewell County, Union Army, Virginia, West Virginia
The following article, written by Frank Ball, is taken from a Huntington-area newspaper clipping, the first part of which is missing.
…Americans are those who remember servitude as slaves. Barboursville has one citizen, Scott Hill, who remembers rendering such service. And little work he did as a slave, for he was but six years of age when the Civil War ended.
“Uncle Scott,” as he is familiarly known, was born the property of Lorenzo Hill, prominent orchardist and farmer of the Guyandotte valley. Lorenzo Hill, owner of several slaves, lived on a large tract of land across the river from the little mining town of Kitchen in Logan county. Here Barboursville’s “Uncle Scott,” son of Hiram and Mary Hill, was born Feb. 5, 1859. (Slaves usually took the surname of their owners.)
Mr. Hill remembers well the excitement created by the Civil War, and the frantic movements attendant thereto. His owner was a blender of the best whiskies in the valley and his home was widely visited by soldiers and citizens alike who sipped the choice brandies and exchanged the news of the day.
Hysteria in border states ran high during the war, and it was thought best by some slaveholders to move their slaves farther south for safe keeping. It was rumored that Union soldiers were taking the slaves by force and freeing them. So Lorenzo Hill, whom Uncle Scott affectionately remembers as “Ole Boss,” started with his slaves on a long journey into Virginia.
Uncle Scott’s memory of this trip and stay in Virginia is rather painful. To begin with, it meant the sacrifice of “Old Baldy,” a steer of which the slave children were exceedingly fond, to furnish meat for the journey. En route, Uncle Scott’s uncle and three of his uncle’s children were sold. Tearfully, his mother parted from her brother and her nephews and niece as the trip to Virginia was resumed.
Ole Boss left his remaining slaves with a planter in Tazewell county, and returned to Logan. A year in Virginia found Scott’s father and mother greatly overworked, and they and their children greatly underfed.
This treatment was in direct contrast to that given to them by their owner, and the mother had the nerve to “strike.” She hired herself to a neighbor slaveholder that her children might be fed. And despite the frenzied objections of the planter with whom she was left, she won out in this extraordinary action.
In the fall of 1864, wartime hysteria had subsided somewhat and Lorenzo Hill returned to Virginia for his slaves. They were overjoyed at seeing him. They were sure they would be well fed and treated kindly. In return they would work hard for Ole Boss.
Note: Mr. Scott’s true name was William Henry “Scott” Hill. His mother Mary was the daughter of her master, Lorenzo Dow Hill, and a slave named Julia.
03 Saturday Dec 2022
Tags
Appalachia, Aracoma, Blue Feather, Bluestone River, Boling Baker, Doris Miller, Guyandotte River, history, HorsepenCreek, Huntington, Jim Comstock, John Breckenridge, Little Black Bear, Logan, Logan County, Man, Montgomery County, Native American History, Native Americans, Ohio, Raindrop, Running Deer, Snow Lily, Virginia, Waulalisippi, West Virginia, West Virginia Women, William Ingles, William Madison
Doris Miller (1903-1993), a longtime educator, historian, writer, and poet operating in the area of Huntington, West Virginia, composed this biography of Aracoma, a well-known Native American figure who lived in present-day Logan, West Virginia. This is Part 3 of her composition.
Aracoma has been described as an Indian maiden of exceptional grace and beauty. Perhaps the Virginians she impressed deeply in her dying hours may have believed she had great beauty in youth. Boling Baker is said to have had a fine physique and courageous bearing, which would have given his Indian captors reason for adopting him into the tribe. He is given credit for artful courtship of his love, and it seems likely he must have been skillful to win her away from other suitors the sachem’s daughter must have had.
The long history of their wedding, an elaborate ceremony her father accompanied them to the Guyandotte to perform, is less credible, but not impossible. More stress has been given to Aracoma’s royal estate than Indian customs warranted, but the English settlers had their own traditions of royal pomp and ceremony as patterns to draw from.
The carefree life credited to the Indians in the Guyandotte valley before 1776 reflects the wishful thinking of people whose own lives were filled with toil. Certainly the Indians must have lived stremuous lives, though they may have had an interlude of unusual peace and happiness before family life was saddened by the scourge which overtook them in 1776.
According to the story-tellers, Aracoma and Boling Baker had six children. Their names were Waulalisippi, or Laughing Waters, Snow Lily, Raindrop, Running Deer, Little Black Bear and Blue Feather.
It is said that Baker became despondent and bitter after the death of his children and during the hardships undergone by the colony after disease had reduced its strength. Doubtless the ones who added this detail had seen similar results in other men’s lives. They deduce that it was his desire to recoup the fortunes of the tribe that led him to attempt a bold exploit which resulted in disaster for his settlement.
Legendary history tells us that in the spring of 1780, a stranger appeared at a white settlement on Bluestone River, a man with a woe-begone countenance who recited sorrowful accounts of hardships he had undergone as a captive among the Indians in Ohio. He stayed for several days, familiarizing himself with everything about the settlement, then departed for the east (he said) in the hope of being reunited with his aged parents. The man was Boling Baker, who merely circled back to Flat Top Mountain, where he had left a band of his braves. On a dark rainy night in April, they stole quietly into the settlement and left with every horse there without disturbing a single sleeper.
The outraged settlers realized their recent visitor must have led the raid. Without horses to follow, they could only send for help from the mounted guard at Montgomery, seat of government for Montgomery County, Virginia, in which this entire area was then located. Colonel William Ingles, sheriff of the county, dispatched Colonel Madison and a deputy sheriff, John Breckenridge, with [p. 10] the party which massacred Aracoma’s village a few days later. Her paleface husband was one of the party absent on a hunt that day.
Little is known of Boling Baker after the death of Aracoma. It is said that for many a year afterward, men could read a couplet carved on beech trees in the area: ‘Boling Baker—his hand and knife, He can’t find a horse to save his life.’ Whether the words were carved by Baker or were a gibe directed at him by another, none can say.
The story is told that years later, an aged stranger came wandering up the Guyandotte River, asking questions of those he met. After standing a long time weeping on the mountainside opposite the island where Aracoma had lived, he went on past Horsepen Creek and eventually found lodging for a night in a home near Man. That night he told briefly some of the experiences of his life, which later were recognized to match the known story of Boling Baker. Next morning he was found dead in bed.
Source: West Virginia Women, Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock (1974), p. 10-11.
For more about Doris Miller, go here: https://mds.marshall.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1284&context=sc_finding_aids
15 Tuesday Nov 2022
Posted Boone County, Ferrellsburg, Holden
inTags
Appalachia, Boone County, C&O Railroad, Chessie System, Ferrellsburg, Goldenseal, history, Holden, Iona Mae Richardson, Jim Mullins, Lincoln County, Logan County, Madison, West Virginia
This model train caboose is one of many made by my great-uncle J.M. “Jim” Mullins, Jr. (born 1932) of Madison, Boone County, WV. He made this particular model for his sister, Iona Mae (Mullins) Richardson of Holden, Logan County. Jim and Mae, the children of a C&O section foreman in Ferrellsburg, Lincoln County, were longtime employees of the C&O and Chessie. Uncle Jim was profiled as “The Caboose Man” in Goldenseal magazine.
15 Tuesday Nov 2022
Posted Civil War, Harts, Lincoln County Feud
inTags
Amos Williamson, Ann Brumfield, Appalachia, civil war, Confederate Army, county clerk, Curtis Ballard, Felix McConahoy, George Scaggs, history, James M. Duncan, Logan County, Paris Brumfield, Robert Thompson, Tolbert Ferrell, Vincent A. Witcher, West Virginia
Circuit Court Logan County
George Scaggs et al v. Amos Williamson
And the said defendant George Scaggs by Ferguson _ Samuels his attorney for plea says that at the time of the committing of the said supposed grievances in the said plaintiff’s declaration mentioned a state of actual war existed between the United States of America and the so called Confederate States of America, and that the said so called Confederate States of America were there and then a de facto government, to whom all the rights of bligerants had been and were then and there accorded by the said government of the United States, that at the time aforesaid he the said defendant was a regularly enlisted soldier in the military service of the said de facto government of the Confederate States of America and the said plaintiff was a regularly enlisted soldier in the military service of the said government of the United States, that the said defendant __ in the military service of the Confederate States of America, and in obedience to the orders of Col. Vincent A. Witcher, Lieutenant Felix McConahoy & Lieutenant Tolbert Ferrell his superior officers & captured from the said plaintiff one horse, while the said plaintiff was in the military service of the said government of the United States, which said horse was then and there contraband of war and was by the orders of the officers aforesaid appointed to the use of the said Confederate States of America, and not in any way to the private use of him the said defendant which is the same horse, and the man taking and c__ing in the said plaintiff’s declaration mentioned. And this the said defendant is ready to verify, wherefore he prays judgment.
***
The State of West Virginia
To the Sheriff of Logan County–Greeting:
We command that you summon Paris Bromfield, Jas. M. Duncan & Robert Thompson to appear before the Judge of our Circuit Court of Logan County, at the Court House of said County, on the 2nd day of the next May Term of the said Court, to testify and the truth to speak on behalf of George Scaggs, in a certain matter of controversy before our said Court depending, wherein Amos Williamson is Plaintiff and George Scaggs is Defendant; and have then there this writ, and show how you have executed the same. Witness: Curtis Ballard, Clerk of the said Circuit Court of Logan County, at the Court House thereof, the 2nd day of April, 1866, and in the 3rd year of the State.
Curtis Ballard, Clerk
Executed on Pairs Brumfield By Reading the within to his wife on the 4th day of April 1866.
14 Monday Nov 2022
Posted Big Sandy Valley, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Matewan
inTags
Anna Musick, Appalachia, Big Sandy River, Blackberry Creek, Clinch River, Coleman A. Hatfield, David Musick, Devil Anse Hatfield, Ephraim Hatfield, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Honaker, Joseph Hatfield, Kentucky, Logan County, Mary Smith Hatfield, Mate Creek, Mingo County, Mud Lick Branch, Native American History, New Garden District, Pike County, Red Jacket, River Wall Hatfield, Russell County, Shawnee, Sprigg, Thompson's Creek, Tug Fork, Valentine Hatfield, Virginia, West Virginia
11 Friday Nov 2022
Posted Big Harts Creek, Lincoln County Feud
in11 Friday Nov 2022
Posted Women's History, Native American History, Logan, Huntington
inTags
West Virginia, history, Logan County, Huntington, Logan, Guyandotte River, Aracoma, Henry Clay Ragland, Native Americans, Jim Comstock, Logan High School, West Virginia Women, Doris Miller, William Madison
Doris Miller (1903-1993), a longtime educator, historian, writer, and poet operating in the area of Huntington, West Virginia, composed this biography of Aracoma, a well-known Native American figure who lived in present-day Logan, West Virginia. This is Part 1 of her composition.
West Virginians can lay claim to one of America’s most romantic legends, the story of Aracoma which has grown in Logan County around the meager authentic details of an incident in the history of the region which occurred some 200 years ago.
It is a legend of romance and tragedy about an Indian Princess who lies buried in the city of Logan. The story tells of her love for a white man taken captive by her tribe, of their happy life together as leaders of a settlement of her people on the Guyandotte River until tragedy wiped out their children and many others of their tribe, and of his depredations which led to her death.
Legends are stories built by folklore on a foundation of historic fact. Folklore is history preserved by tradition by people searching for the heroic. Such is the Logan County legend, a story of a courageous woman whose death brought her to the attention of ancestors of many of the people now living in Logan County, with details added by the romantic imaginations of residents of the region who have preserved and added to the legend.
Aracoma, an Indian word said to mean “corn blossom,” was the name given Colonel (later General) William Madison by a dying Indian woman who appeared to be the leader of a settlement of Indians located on the island where Logan High School now stands. She had been mortally wounded in combat between her people and a party of 90 Virginians led by Colonel Madison, in which all of the Indians were massacred except some braves strong and fast enough to escape when they saw the tide of battle had turned against them and a party of hunters absent when the Virginians made their surprise attack.
In later accounts, Aracoma was described as a woman of dignity and courage who appeared to be about 40 years old. The Virginians had been reared in a culture that still remembered the old chivalric tradition of reverence for women. They quickly forgot their animosity in concern for this woman of noble bearing, and treated their wounded captive with compassion and respect.
Tradition says that for several hours the woman resisted every effort to get her to talk. She lay with closed eyes, stoically awaiting her fate. Then, apparently realizing her life was ebbing away and there was no hope for recapture by her people she asked for their leader.
“My name is Aracoma and I am the last of a mighty line,” she told Colonel Madison. “My father was a great chief and friend of your people. He was murdered in cold blood by your people when he had come to them as a friend to give them warning. I am the wife of a paleface who came across the great waters to make war on our people, but came to us instead and was made one of us. Many moons since, a great plague carried off my children with a great number of my people and they lie buried just above the bend of the river. Bury me with them with my face toward the setting sun that I may see my people in their march toward the happy hunting grounds. For your kindness, I warn you to make haste in returning to your homes, for my people are still powerful and will return to avenge my death.”
It was told that the battle occurred in the afternoon of a spring day in 1780 and that Aracoma died before daybreak of the following morning. After burying her in the place and manner she had requested, the Virginians soon departed to return to their homes.
This story of Aracoma’s death differed but slightly in detail as it was repeated around countless firesides for a century before the late Henry Clay Ragland wrote it into the History of Logan County. It seems to be a reasonably accurate account, authenticated by certain details of historic record.
Source: West Virginia Women, Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock (1974), p. 6-7.
For more about Doris Miller, go here: https://mds.marshall.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1284&context=sc_finding_aids
01 Sunday May 2022
Posted Logan
inTags
Aracoma Hotel, Dick Arters, E.D. Arters, E.W. Oakley, Faymont, history, Huntington, Island Creek Coal Company, Jefferson Hotel, Logan, Logan County, Mike Ghiz, Monitor Coal and Coke Corporation, Montgomery, W.L. Davis, West Virginia
From the Logan Banner comes this bit of history for the Aracoma Hotel dated March 17, 1933:
Arters Brothers Lease Aracoma Hotel Property
Starting April 1st W.L. Davis and Dick Arters, of this city, and E.D. Arters of Huntington will operate the Aracoma Hotel. They have leased the hotel from the Ghiz estate, Mike Ghiz having been manager for the past six months. Dick Arters has been Mr. Ghiz’ assistant.
The Arters brothers are hotel men known the state over. At one time they operated the Faymont in Montgomery, and E.D. Arters was manager of the old Jefferson in Logan, when Dick Arters served in the capacity of assistant manager. The Arters and Mr. Davis have hosts of friends among the traveling public, as well as locally, who will be interested in this announcement. Mr. Davis, now with the Pioneer, used to be at the Aracoma and Mr. Arters has been on the same force. At the present time E.D. Arters is with the Huntington Hotel in Huntington, where he has managed the Farr.
Mr. Davis has lived in this county since 1914. He was superintendent of the Island Creek Coal Company for ten years, and has also been superintendent of the Monitor Coal and Coke Corporation. He became interested in the hotel business several years back. Mr. Davis when interviewed today, in behalf of the new management, said they planned on renovating the Aracoma as soon as they can take charge, give their particular attention to social gatherings, for which the hotel is an ideal place, and further stated that Mrs. E.W. Oakley would remain in charge of the dining room.
01 Sunday May 2022
Posted Big Harts Creek
in28 Thursday Apr 2022
Tags
A.A. Hamilton, A.A. Vance, A.J. Browning, A.J. Dalton, Adrian Murphy, Albert Dingess, Albert Gore, Allen Mounts, America Justice, American Surety Company of NY, Anthony Adams, Appalachia, Art Chambers, B.J. Hiner, Bert Bush, Bettie Stollings, Burl Adams, C.A. Vickers, C.P. Donovan, C.W. Gore, Cecil Mounts, Charles H. Miller, Charley Conley, Charley Stollings, Clark Smith, Clay Workman, Cush Avis, D.V. Wickline, David C. Dingess, David Dingess, deputy sheriff, Don Chafin, Dump Farley, E.R. Hatfield, Ed Chapman, Ed Eggers, Elias Thompson, Elizabeth Ellis, Everett Dingess, F.A. Sharp, F.D. Stollings, Frank Hurst, Frank Justice, Frank P. Hurst, Fred Midelburg, G.F. Gore, G.W. Lax, Garland Adams, genealogy, George Butcher, George Chafin, George E. Thompson, George Justice, George Robinette, Georgia Dingess, Green Ellis, Guy F. Gore, H.H. Farley, Harrison Lowe, Harry S. Gay, history, J.B. Toney, J.E. Barlow, J.E. McCoy, J.H. Ford, J.L. Bess, J.L. Chambers, J.M. Moore, J.O. Hill, J.S. Miller, J.W. Chambers, James Ellis, James Toney, Joe Adams, Joe Blair, Joe Hall, Joe Scaggs, John Barker, John Chafin, John D. Browning, John D. Neece, John F. Dingess, John Harrison, John L. Butcher, John T. Gore, Joseph A. Ellis, K.F. Mounts, Katie Mounts, L.D. Perry, L.E. Steele, L.G. Burns, L.H. Thompson, Lewis Butcher, Lewis Chafin, Lewis Farley, Lillie Mounts, Logan County, Martha J. Stowe, Mary Chafin, Mat Jackson, Matilda Stollings, Millard Elkins, Milton Stowers, Monroe Bush, Moses Williamson, Nim Conley, Noah Steele, O.M. Conley, P.J. Riley, Paul Hardy, Pete Gore, R.H. Ellis, R.J. Conley, Riley Damron, Robert Bland, sheriff, Sidney B. Lawson, Simp Thompson, Sol Adams, T.B. Stowe, Taylor Walsh, Tennis Hatfield, Tom Butcher, U.B. Buskirk, Van Mullins, Vincent Dingess, W.E. White, W.F. Farley, W.H. Bias, W.I. Campbell, W.L. Honaker, W.W. Conley, Wash Farley, West Virginia, William Farley, William Gore, William Hatfield, William White, Willis Gore
The following list of Don Chafin’s deputies prior to the Battle of Blair Mountain is based on Record of Bonds C and Record of Bonds D in the Logan County Clerk’s Office in Logan, WV:
Don Chafin was elected sheriff on November 5, 1912 and appeared on December 28, 1912 with his bondsman U.B. Buskirk for $40,000 (Book C, p. 215)
Name, Date of Appointment, Surety, Surety Amount, Book, Page
Garland A. Adams…28 January 1913…J.W. Chambers…$5000…C…236
Joe Adams…14 October 1913…G.F. Gore, A. Dingess, David C. Dingess, Anthony Adams, Sol Adams, Sr., and Sol Adams, Jr….$5000…C…297
John Barker…5 February 1913…F.P. Hurst…$5000…C…241
J.E. Barlow…26 April 1913…S.B. Lawson…$5000…C…268
J.L. Bess…22 July 1916…Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland…$5000…D…22
Joe Blair…28 December 1912…J.W. Chambers and Allen Mounts…$5000…C…224
John D. Browning…1 July 1914…Fidelity and Deposit Company…$5000…C…345
Bert Bush…6 January 1913…Monroe Bush…$5000…C…230
John L. Butcher…28 December 1912…Lewis Butcher, J.W. Chambers, Albert Gore…$5000…C…221
George Chafin…12 July 1915…James Toney…$5000…C…402
George Chafin…3 January 1917…J.B. Toney…$5000…D…74
J.A. Chafin…20 June 1913…J.W. Chambers and A.A. Vance…$5000…C…275
John Chafins…31 January 1913…H.H. Farley and A.J. Browning…$5000…C…240
Art Chambers…25 July 1914…Cush Avis, J.L. Chambers…$5000…C…349
Charley Conley…18 June 1914…George Butcher, Ed Chapman, William White…$5000…C…342
Nim Conley…18 July 1913…Ed Chapman and W.W. Conley…$5000…C…281
R.J. Conley…25 March 1913…Albert Gore…$5000…C…252
A.J. Dalton…26 December 1913…Fidelity and Deposit Company of MD…$5000…C…315
Riley Damron…5 July 1913…Millard Elkins and J.E. McCoy…$5000…C…278
David Dingess…3 April 1913…J.W. Chambers and George Justice…$5000…C…254
Everett Dingess…10 November 1913…John F. Dingess and Burl Adams…$5000…C…304
Vincent Dingess…7 July 1913…Georgia Dingess, William Gore, and Albert Gore…C…$5000…279
Ed Eggers…21 April 1913…Paul Hardy…$5000…C…264
Green Ellis…1 January 1917…Don Chafin…$5000…D…78
Joseph A. Ellis…30 January 1913…O.M. Conley…$5000…C…239
R.H. Ellis…undated…Elizabeth Ellis…$5000…C…233
H.H. Farley…29 January 1913…L.E. Steele…$5000…C…237
W.F. Farley…28 December 1912…Robert Bland…$5000…C…223
William Farley…13 January 1914…Wash Farley, A. Dingess, Lewis Farley, G.B. Farley…$5000…C…319
J.H. Ford…16 May 1914…P.J. Riley…$5000…C…336
Harry S. Gay, Jr….15 October 1913…S.B. Lawson…$5000…C…299
Albert Gore…28 December 1912…J.W. Chambers, G.F. Gore, Millard Elkins…$5000…C…222
C.W. Gore…2 January 1917…Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland…$5000…D…76
John T. Gore…11 July 1916…G.F. Gore and Lewis Farley…$5000…D…18
Pete Gore…5 December 1916…Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland…$5000…D…63
William Gore…31 December 1914…W.E. White, James Ellis…$5000…C…377
Joe Hall…23 April 1913…C.P. Donovan, Paul Hardy…$5000…C…267
A.A. Hamilton…14 June 1913…A.A. Hamilton…$5000…C…273
Paul Hardy…20 February 1913…W.F. Farley…$5000…C…244
John Harrison…19 April 1913…J.S. Miller, M. Elkins, W.E. White, and James Ellis…$5000…C…262
E.R. Hatfield…6 January 1914…$5000…H.H. Farley…C…316
Tennis Hatfield…14 June 1915…James Ellis and Lewis Chafin…$5000…C…396
William Hatfield…28 December 1912…J.S. Miller and George Justice…$5000…C…229
J.O. Hill…17 April 1913…Katie Mounts…$5000…C…261
B.J. Hiner…23 April 1913…C.P. Donovan and Paul Hardy…$5000…C…266
W.L. Honaker…8 August 1916…Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland…$5000…D…23
Mat Jackson…13 October 1913…Albert Gore, Van Mullins, G.F. Gore, and David C. Dingess…$5000…C…296
Frank Justice…8 July 1914…America Justice…$5000…C…346
S.B. Lawson…12 April 1913…J.W. Chambers…$5000…C…256
G.W. Lax…21 April 1913…Paul Hardy…$5000…C…263
Harrison Lowe…5 March 1914…no surety [blank]…$5000…C…326
F. Middleburg…16 May 1914…D.V. Wickline…$5000…C…337
Charles H. Miller…25 November 1914…Don Chafin, W.E. White…C…368
J.M. Moore…14 May 1915…American Surety Company of NY…$5000…C…391
Allen Mounts…226
Cecil Mounts…11 June 1913…Allen Mounts…$5000…C…272
Cecil Mounts…2 January 1917…Lillie Mounts…$5000…D…79
K.F. Mounts…28 December 1912…Allen Mounts…$5000…C…225
K.F. Mounts…6 January 1917…Katie Mounts…$5000…D…72
Adrian Murphy…6 February 1917…W.H. Bias and W.E. White…$5000…D…77
John D. Neece…21 March 1914…W.E. White, R.H. Ellis, and J.S. Miller…$5000…C…330
George Robinett…17 July 1913…George Justice…$5000…C…284
Joe Scaggs…231
F.A. Sharp…28 December 1912…W.F. Farley and L.G. Burns…$5000…C…217
Clark Smith…22 December 1913…Mary Chafin…$5000…C…313
L.E. Steele…29 January 1913…H.H. Farley…$5000…C…238
Noah Steele…6 September 1913…L.E. Steele, Jr….$5000…C…290
Charley Stollings…21 July 1913…Matilda Stollings, Tom Butcher, Bettie Stollings, W.I. Campbell, and Milton Stowers…$5000…C…283
T.B. Stowe…13 January 1913…Martha J. Stowe…$5000…C…234
Elias Thompson…16 April 1913…W.I. Campbell and K.F. Mounts…$5000…C…258
George E. Thompson…17 April 1913…A.F. Gore and Willis Gore…$5000…C…260
Simp Thompson…3 October 1916…Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland…$5000…D…36
C.A. Vickers…12 January 1914…L.D. Perry and F.D. Stollings…$5000…C…318
Taylor Walsh…28 July 1914…W.E. White, Albert Gore…$5000…C…350
Moses Williamson…29 April 1913…L.H. Thompson…$5000…C…270
Clay Workman…28 December 1912…S.B. Lawson…$5000…C…228
Frank P. Hurst was elected sheriff on November 7, 1916 and appeared on November 28, 1916 with his bondsmen J. Cary Alderson, S.B. Robertson, and R.L. Shrewsbury for $100,000 (Book D, p. 54); deputies appointed after November 1916 may be Hurst–and not Chafin–deputies (a few names are duplicated for this reason, I think)
21 Thursday Apr 2022
Tags
Appalachia, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, justice of the peace, Kentucky, Logan County, Pike County, Sam McCoy, Tolbert Hatfield, Wall Hatfield, West Virginia
Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk | Filed under Hatfield-McCoy Feud
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