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Scott Hill Reflects on Life as a Slave, Part 2 (1940)

08 Thursday Dec 2022

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in African American History, Barboursville, Civil War, Huntington, Kitchen, Music

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Amie Dickinson, Annie Morris, Appalachia, Barboursville, Charles Morris, Charley Stone, Dyke Garrett, fiddler, fiddling, Guyandotte, Hiram Hill, history, Huntington, Jim Dingess, Kitchen, Lorenzo Dow Hill, Martha, Mary Hill, music, Ohio, Peter Hill, preacher, Scott Hill, slavery, slaves, Springfield, West Virginia

The following article, written by Frank Ball, is taken from a Huntington-area newspaper clipping. This is Part 2 of the story.

A year after the trip back from Virginia, the slaves of Lorenzo Hill were surprised and not a little dazed when he tried to convey to them the fact that they were free. They didn’t want to leave Ole Boss. They had no place to go. So they lived on with him and worked for him as usual. Uncle Scott stayed with his former owner until he was 21. And the slaves who were sold en route to Virginia returned often to visit the Hill farm.

At the age of 21, Scott Hill left the valley and went to Springfield, O. There he met and married Annie Morris, who was born the slave property of Charles Morris of Martha, near Barboursville, May 5, 1862. She remembers nothing of slave days, but remembers that she, too, lived on at the home of her former owner with her father and mother until she was 18. She often went back to visit the Morris home after she left it. In case of sickness there her services were always desired. She and her husband are the parents of 13 children, seven of whom are dead. The Hill family moved to Barboursville in 1891.

The father and mother of Scott Hill were the parents of 14 children, nine boys and five girls. All the children lived to be grown. Three are yet living. In addition to Uncle Scott there is a son, Peter Hill, and a daughter, Mrs. Amie Dickinson, of Huntington.

Mr. Hill’s father died in Huntington in 1913, and his mother in Guyandotte in 1909. Uncle Scott has long since passed his days of usefulness as a workman. He sits patiently by the bedside of his invalid wife daily, musing on the past. Friends have lately installed a radio for the aged couple by which they may hear directly from the outside world.

In his younger days, Mr. Hill pushed a cart about town selling fish to the citizens. For many years he was a familiar figure as he wheeled about the village, and his “feesh, fresh feesh” became a by-word among the youngsters. In addition he was a great hog raiser, and he made arrangements for swill from many of his neighbors who were glad to accommodate him.

He remembers well the old days and the old citizens of the valley. He likes to recall the mountain dances at Old Boss’, or across the river at Charley Stone’s or Jim Dingess’. The fiddler who sawed incessantly in the corner while others tripped the light fantastic was a stripling named Dyke Garrett. And in those early days, “Uncle Dyke” was not exactly adverse to sampling Old Boss’ brandies.

“I remember, though, when he made th’ change,” recalled Uncle Scott, “an’ I’ve follered him through a long an’ useful life. Fine feller, Uncle Dyke.”

Thomas C. Whited

06 Monday Jul 2020

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Harts Creek, Chapmanville, Civil War, Huntington, Logan, Poetry

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Anna Meadows, Appalachia, Chapmanville, Charles S. Whited, Charleston, civil war, Craneco, deputy clerk, Ella Godby, Ewell Deskins, genealogy, George W. McClintock, H.A. Callahan, Harriet Totten, Harts Creek, Hattie Rothrock, history, Huntington, J. Green McNeely, J.C. Cush Avis, John A. Totten, John W. Buskirk, Logan, Logan Banner, Mud Fork, poetry, preacher, Raleigh County, Robert Whited, Russell County, Slagle, Southern Methodist Church, T.C. Whited, teacher, Thomas Harvey Whited, U.S. Commissioner, Virginia, W.B. Johnson, W.G. Whited, W.W. Beddow, West Virginia

From the Logan Banner we find this entry for Thomas C. Whited, who resided at Logan, West Virginia:

“Uncle Tom” Whited, United States commissioner, one of the county’s oldest citizens, and poet, came to Logan, or the present site of Logan, on October 11, 1877.

He was born on a Russell county, Virginia, farm in a one-room log cabin on November 25, 1854, the son of Robert and Anna Meadows Whited, who reared a family of ten children, nine boys and one girl.

“Uncle Tom” has only one brother living, the Rev. Charles S. Whited, a preacher in Raleigh county. His sister is dead.

His home was broken up by the Civil War, and Mr. Whited began the life of a vagabond, wandering about over the country seeking happiness, but never finding it until he came to Logan. He discovered the little frontier settlement as he was making his way on foot back to his Virginia home to take a job in a store.

“I just dropped in here, tired and sore-footed and decided to attend a teacher’s examination that was advertised for the town–mostly just to see what kind of a certificate I could get among strangers,” Mr. Whited said.

He received his certificate and taught his first term of school at the mouth of Mud Fork in 1877. Then followed terms at Chapmanville, Craneco, Logan and Hart’s Creek until 1883 when he was asked to take a position in the clerk’s office as deputy clerk.

Among the well-known citizens that “Uncle Tom” taught in his educational forays in Logan county were the Rev. J. Green McNeely; Ewell Deskins; Mrs. Ella Godby of Huntington, mother of Mrs. W.W. Beddow of Slagle; J.C. (Cush) Avis, and several of the Conley family.

From the position as deputy clerk, Mr. Whited rose in succession to circuit clerk, county superintendent of schools, city councilman, and United States Commissioner. He served a total of 18 years as circuit clerk of Logan county.

In 1930 Federal Judge George W. McClintic appointed “Uncle Tom” United States Commissioner which office he will hold for life unless removed by the judge on charges of misconduct.

“Uncle Tom” is a poet of no mean ability. His poetry is recognized throughout the county and some think his best work was a poem dedicated to the old elm tree in the court house square which was recently cut down.

He was instrumental in saving the tree when it was just a sprout and John W. Buskirk was about to dig it up to plant a locust orchard near the site of the present courthouse. “Uncle Tom” requested that the sprout be left to grow. It was not moved from the original spot where it sprouted until it was cut down in 1931, Mr. Whited said.

Mr. Whited married Miss Harriet Totten, daughter of the Rev. John A. Totten, pastor of the Southern Methodist Church in Logan, on March 4, 1887.

The couple reared a family of five children–two boys and three girls. All are still living. They are Mrs. W.B. Johnson, W.G. Whited, and Mrs. H.A. Callahan, all of Logan; Mrs. Hattie Rothrock, Charleston; and Thomas Harvey Whited whose residence is unknown.

Though 81 years old, “Uncle Tom” still manages the affairs of U.S. Commissioner and finds time to dash off a line or so of poetry now and then.

Source: Logan (WV) Banner, 17 April 1937.

J. Green McNeely: Logan County Preacher (1937)

19 Tuesday May 2020

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Logan, Timber

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Appalachia, Bethel McNeely, Billy Workman, Chapmanville, Cherry Tree, Crooked Creek, Delmas Seagraves, Dempsey Branch, Dyke Garrett, Elizabeth McDonald, Elliott McNeely, farming, ginseng, Hatfield Island, Henlawson, history, Howard Suiter, J. Green McNeely, Jimmie McNeely, John Morrison, Lee Whitman, Lewis McDonald, Little Buffalo Creek, Logan Banner, Logan County, logging, Luther McNeely, Mill Creek, Peach Creek, Pete Minotti, preacher, Stollings, Susan White, timbering, West Virginia

On May 26, 1937, the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, profiled one of the county’s more renowned preachers: J. Green McNeely.

Rev. J. Green McNeely: One of County’s Most Beloved Ministers Will Soon Round Out Half Century Of Service; Has Married Approximately 3,000 Couples; Conducted 3,500 Funerals, And Is Still “Going Strong”

One of the county’s most loved and best known ministers will soon round out a half century of service to the citizens of Logan county.

Born October 29, 1871, the Rev. J. Green McNeely, clerk of the county court, has already lived a full life of service, but is hale and hearty and plans to continue “preaching the gospel until the end.”

The Rev. McNeely has married approximately three thousand couples since he was ordained as a minister on March 28, 1891. He is proud to have been able to unite so many in the holy bonds of matrimony, he says, but he is prouder to know that the majority of the marriages “took,” he declares.

The first married he performed was on May 25, 1892. He married Lee Whitman and Elizabeth McDonald, both of Logan county. Mrs. Whitman is still living, but her husband preceded her in death several years ago. She lives on her farm in Henlawson.

The Rev. J. Green McNeely in addition to performing this amazing number of marriages, has conducted 3500 funeral services. His first service was for Billy Workman, 20, who was killed on Dempsey Branch by a falling tree. Workman’s death came in the fall of 1892.

The Rev. McNeely was born at the “Head of Dry Island” on a farm whose site is now occupied by the highway which runs down past Hatfield Island.

His parents were Elliott McNeely, farmer, Susan White McNeely. He had only a sister. She lives at Peach Creek at the present time. She is Mrs. Lewis McDonald.

The young man grew up on Mill Creek, his father having bought a farm there not long after where he attended rural schools and earned enough money chopping wood three months at $1.50 per month for the Mill Creek school to buy himself a suit of “store” clothes.

His first pair of “store” shoes were bought with a summer’s digging of the ‘seng.’ Young J. Green had dug a pound of the roots of the ginseng and dried them.

At nineteen the soon-to-be Rev. McNeely left home to do timbering work on Little Buffalo Creek at Henlawson. He had married by this time and “Uncle Dyke” Garrett, who was the Baptist evangelist who was responsible for the conversion of Rev. McNeely, performed the ceremony.

The Rev. McNeely’s conversion came a year after “Uncle Dyke” had married the couple in 1890.

He says: “I can remember that day yet. We had nearly completed a one-day revival meeting at the mouth of Crooked Creek in a grove where Pete Minotti’s house now stands, and I heard the call. ‘Uncle Dyke’ was a powerful preacher and he touched a responsive something in me that made me want to follow his example. So me and my wife were converted and were baptized by him.”

The Rev. McNeelys live in Cherry Tree. They are the parents of six children. The children are Mrs. John Morrison, Mrs. Howard Suiter, Mrs. Delmas Seagraves, Bethel, Luther, and Jimmie.

The Rev. J. Green McNeely, though “getting up in years” has not ceased active preaching. He delivers a Sunday message regularly to a church in Stollings once a month, Crooked Creek once a month, and in Chapmanville twice a month.

He says he has just closed the best revival meeting he has had in years. Thirty four persons were converted at the two-week’s meetings at Crooked Creek, and Rev. McNeely says: “It took us nearly half an hour to get the house cleared on the last night of the revival after the benediction. The people just couldn’t seem to get enough singing and praying.”

Stirrat Colored News 01.05.1923

11 Wednesday Dec 2019

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in African American History

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African-Americans, Chauncey, G.J. Parks, history, Island Creek, Lewis Calvin, Logan Banner, Logan County, preacher, Stirrat

A correspondent named Lewis Calvin from Stirrat on Island Creek in Logan County, West Virginia, offered the following news, which the Logan Banner printed on January 5, 1923:

On last Sunday, the Sunday school lesson at the Mt. Olive Baptist church was efficiently taught by our visiting minister, Rev. G.J. Parks, of Chauncey.

Rev. Parks remained with us during the day and preached for us some wonderful sermons which were accepted by all of his hearers. We sure did enjoy having Rev. Parks with us and we extend to him an invitation to return and he will always find a warm welcome.

We always delight in having with us ministers who know how to preach the Gospel and Rev. Parks surely did know how to bring the message to us. His evening text was taken from the 3rd chapter of Job, and he discussed Job as a man of God.

The entire congregation was delighted with his manner of handling the subject and extends to him the glad hand to return and be with us again.

Lewis Calvin, Clerk

Stephen Hart and Harts Creek (1937)

14 Sunday Jul 2019

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Creek, Big Harts Creek, Civil War, Hamlin, Harts, Logan, Midkiff, Ranger, Spurlockville, Toney

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Appalachia, assistant postmaster, Big Creek, Cabell County, Charles Spurlock, Cheat River, Cincinnati, civil engineer, civil war, doctor, genealogy, gunsmith, Hamlin, history, Jane Spurlock, John Spurlock, Lifas Spurlock, Lincoln County, Logan Banner, Logan County, Logan Post Office, Marshall Spurlock, Midkiff, Montgomery County, Omar, Pete Spurlock, preacher, Ranger, Robertson Spurlock, Seth Spurlock, Sheridan, sheriff, Spurlockville, Stephen Hart, surveyor, Union Army, Virginia, West Virginia

From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, comes this bit of history about Stephen Hart and Harts Creek in Lincoln and Logan counties, West Virginia. The story is dated April 14, 1937.

Stephen Hart Settled at Cheat River, Pete Spurlock, A Great Grandson, Reveals

P.A. (Pete) Spurlock, assistant postmaster at the Logan post office, this morning revealed the destination of Stephen Hart, who went went after he had lived for a short time at the forks of the creek in the lower end of Logan county which now bears his name.

Spurlock said that Hart went to the Cheat River and settled permanently there to hunt deer and rear a family. He said the family name of Hart is as familiar there as the name Dingess is familiar in Logan county.

A daughter of Stephen, Jane, was Spurlock’s grandmother. She lived until 1913 and told her grandson much of the early history of the family which made its home in and around Spurlocksville, Sheridan, Ranger, and Midkiff.

Charles Spurlock, the progenitor of the Spurlock family, came to what used to be the Toney farm below the mouth of Big Creek in 1805 from Montgomery county, Virginia.

“Uncle Charley was a funny old cuss,” his great grandson Pete said this morning. “The story is told that a sheriff of Cabell county was given a capias to serve on the old codger for some minor offense when he was growing old and rather stout.

“Meeting him in the road one day, the sheriff informed Uncle Charley he had a capias to serve on him.

“None abashed, the old man informed the sheriff he was a law-abiding citizen and laid down in the middle of the road and told the sheriff to take him to jail.

“The ruse worked, for the sheriff chose to look for less obstinate prisoners,” Uncle Charley’s grandson said, chuckling.

Another story about the eccentric “Uncle Charley Spurlock” which has gone down in history, whether true or not, was that he lived for a short time below Big Creek under a rock cliff (known as a rockhouse) during the early summer while he was getting his cabin in shape for winter.

The tale is out that “Uncle Charley” explained his strange dwelling place in this way to his neighbors:

“Well I took Sarah (his wife) in a good substantial frame house in Virginia and she wasn’t quite satisfied. I took her to a log house and she wasn’t satisfied. I took her to a rail pen and still she grumbled. Then I took her to a rock house built by God Almight and still she wasn’t satisfied.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with Sarah.”

Sarah evidently became accustomed to “Uncle Charley” for the couple reared four sons. They were John, Seth, Lifas and Robertson. There were no daughters.

Seth was P.A. Spurlock’s grandfather. His father, Marshall, is 78 and lives on his farm near Cincinnati.

Spurlock says “Uncle Charley” is buried on a point at Spurlocksville overlooking the haunts of his early manhood.

Robertson was a gunsmith and lived near Hamlin. Seth was a civil engineer and helped survey much of Logan county. He was a Union soldier. John was a country doctor who practiced at Ranger.

Lifas was a preacher for sixty years and lived at Sheridan.

Charles Spurlock, of Omar, is a distant cousin, the assistant postmaster said. He is the only relative that lives in this section of Logan county, Spurlock said.

Spurlock, at Omar, was born at Spurlocksville and is a grandson of one of the original “Charley’s” boys.

Whirlwind News 05.11.1923

11 Tuesday Jun 2019

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Harts Creek, Whirlwind

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Appalachia, Brown's Run, Charles Curry, genealogy, Harts Creek, history, J. Jackson., Logan Banner, Logan County, preacher, T. Vance, Van Mullins, West Virginia, Whirlwind

A correspondent named “Punch and Judy” from Whirlwind on Harts Creek in Logan County, West Virginia, offered the following items, which the Logan Banner printed on May 11, 1923:

Rev. C. Curry delivered a delightful sermon at Brown’s Run Sunday.

Miss A. Baisden was visiting home folks here last week.

Van Mullins is making rails.

Wonder how T. Vance and J. Jackson are getting along selling copper wire and scrap iron?

Confederate Pensions in West Virginia (1929)

24 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in African American History, Big Creek, Big Harts Creek, Boone County, Civil War, Crawley Creek, Holden, Logan, Man, Pecks Mill, Whirlwind

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A.B. White, A.L. Browning, A.V. Pauley, African-Americans, Andrew Jackson, Appalachia, Band Mill Hollow, Big Creek, Boone County, C.H. Gilkinson, civil war, Confederacy, Confederate Army, Crawley Creek, Curry, Dave Bryant, Dyke Bryant, Dyke Garrett, Ethel, genealogy, Gettysburg, Green Thompson, Harrison White, Harts Creek, Harvey Chafin, Henlawson, Henry Mitchell, history, Holden, House of Delegates, Hugh Avis, J. Matt Pauley, Jackson McCloud, James Zirkles, John Bryant, John Neece, Joseph Lowe, Judy Bryant, Kistler, Leslie Mangus, Logan, Logan Banner, Logan County, Lucinda Spry, M.T. Miller, Madison, Man, Martha Jane Smith, Melvin Plumley, Mingo County, Monaville, Mt. Gay, Pecks Mill, preacher, Shegon, Slagle, slavery, Steve Markham, Stollings, Union Army, W.C. Turley, Wade Bryant, Wayne County, West Virginia, Whirlwind, William C. Lucas, William Chafin, William Workman, Zan Bryant

In 1929, the State of West Virginia nearly opted to allocate a monthly pension to its Confederate veterans, as well as blacks who had served the Confederate Army in service roles. In covering the story, the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, compiled a list of its remaining Confederate veterans.

HOW MANY VETERANS?

A pension of $20 a month is provided for Confederate veterans of the state by a bill passed by the Senate last week and sent in the House for concurrence. Senator M.T. Miller, of Boone county, who said he could not vote to pension men who had carried arms against their government, cast the only vote against the proposal.

A Charleston paper says there are only about 60 Confederate veterans living. This paper cannot believe that, although it has no information on the subject. How many are there in Logan county? Does anyone know? Has anyone an approximately correct list? If so, will he or she make the fact known? Uncle Dyke Garrett probably knows most of them.

The Banner would like to obtain a list of both Confederate and Union veterans still living in the county, together with their post office address.

Source: Logan Banner, 26 February 1929.

***

AS TO OLD SOLDIERS

The Banner’s request for information about old soldiers living in Logan county has not been in vain, nor has the response been satisfactory. The names of four confederate veterans have been turned in, as follows:

Rev. Dyke Garrett, Curry, beloved and venerable minister; William Workman, Shegon, who fought at Gettysburg and is now 88; Steve Markham, Holden No. 20, who has been blind for 20 years; and William Chafin, who lives with his son Harvey, at Holden 5 and 6.

Who are the others? Send in their names and addresses and any information you deem of interest concerning their careers as soldiers and citizens. The same information about Union soldiers, residents of the county, is likewise desired.

Logan Banner, 5 March 1929.

***

PREPARING THE ROLL

Another name has been added to the list of old soldiers that The Banner has undertaken to compile. Reference is to J. Matt Pauley, residing in Band Mill Hollow, post office Stollings. He was in the Confederate army, fought throughout the war and was wounded, writes Mrs. A.V. Pauley of Ethel. He is of the same age as Uncle Dyke Garrett.

The names of four survivors of the War Between the States, all living in Logan county, were published in Tuesday’s paper. There must be others. Who are they?

Today, W.C. Turley brought in a list of eight Confederate veterans, including the following new names: Wm. C. Lucas, Big Creek; Henry Mitchell, Henlawson; Hugh Avis, Green Thompson and John Neece, Logan; Harrison White, Pecks Mill.

Logan Banner, 8 March 1929.

***

On Confederate Roll

Two more names have been added to the roll of Confederate veterans that The Banner is preparing. These are James Zirkles of Man, whose name was sent in by Leslie Mangus, of Kistler, and Zan Bryant of Whirlwind, whose name was recalled by County Clerk McNeely. Are there not others besides nine or ten previously published?

Logan Banner, 12 March 1929.

***

Confederate Veterans Living Here Number at Least 17

There Are Probably  Others–Will You Help to Enroll Them–All Merit the Tender Interest of Younger Folk

Seventeen names of Confederate soldiers, residents of the county, have been collected by The Banner. Wonder if any have been overlooked, or if the appended list is in error in including any Union veterans? If any reader knows of a Confederate soldier not listed here, please send in the name and address AT ONCE. There will be no further request or reminder.

This paper undertook to make up a list of these old soldiers for two reasons. Chief of these was a desire to prevent any of them being overlooked in case a bill to pension them was passed by the legislature–but the writer does not know yet whether or not that bill was enacted into law. Another reason for assuming the task was to test in a limited way a statement in a Charleston paper that there were only 60 Confederate veterans left in the state. That statement was doubted, and with good reason judging from the number polled in this county. Anyhow, the ranks have become terribly thinned. Every few days we all read of taps being sounded for another one here and there.

Middle-aged men and young folk should esteem it a privilege to do something to brighten the lives of these old soldiers. As the years roll by our pride will increase as we recall our acquaintance with and our kindness toward the “boys of ’61 and ’65.”

Here is the list. Look it over, and if there is a name that should be added or a name that should be stricken out, or any error or omission that should be corrected or supplied, speak up:

James Zirkles, Man; Zan Bryant, Whirlwind; J. Matt Pauley, Ft. Branch; Uncle Dyke Garrett, Curry; William C. Lucas, Big Creek; Henry Mitchell, Henlawson; Hugh Avis, Green Thompson and John Neece, all of Logan; Harrison White, Pecks Mill; Melvin Plumley, Crawleys Creek (post office not known); William Workman, Shegon; Steve Markham, Holden No. 20; William Chafin, No. 5 and 6.

Logan Banner, 15 March 1929.

***

Two Names Added Confederate Roll

Bill to Pension Them is Defeated By Parliamentary Tactics in House

Names of two more Confederate soldiers living in the county have been sent to The Banner. They are: C.H. Gilkinson, minister, resident of Holden, who was born and reared in Wayne county, and is the father of Dr. L.W. Gilkinson. Jackson McCloud, a resident of Whirlwind on Harts Creek. His name was supplied by A.L. Browning of Monaville, who says he feels sure that Mr. McCloud was in the Confederate service and fought at Gettysburg.

Assuming both names should be added to the roll, it means that there are at least 19 Confederate veterans still living in Logan county, seventeen names having been listed and published a week ago.

For many of them there will be disappointment in the information that the bill to pension them did not pass. Sponsored in the Senate by ex-governor A.B. White, the son of a Union soldier, the bill passed, that body, Senator M.T. Miller of Madison casting the only vote against it. In the House of Delegates it was amended, by a majority of one, to include Negroes, whether slave or free, who had served in the Confederate army of cooks, personal servants, or otherwise, and later tabled.

Source: Logan Banner, 22 March 1929.

***

Slagle Man 17th in Confederate List

Zan Bryant Probably Oldest Veteran In County–Born in Jackson’s Time

Joseph Lowe of Slagle is the latest name to be added to the list of Confederate veterans that has been compiled by The Banner. However, that leaves the count at 17, as the name of Melvin Plumley of Crawleys Creek was erroneously included in the published list. He was a Union soldier, it seems.

Of all those listed Zan Bryant of Whirlwind must be the oldest. He is said to be 98 years old and his wife, Judie Hensley Bryant, 91. They have been married for 75 years and have a son, Dave Bryant, who is 73. There are five other children, Dave, John, Wade and Dyke all live on Harts Creek, most of them near their parents; Mrs. Martha Jane Smith at Gay, and Mrs. Lucinda Spry of Mingo county.

This venerable couple have spent all their years in the isolated Harts country, their home being on White Oak fork, and can be reached only by a long horseback ride.

When Zan was born Andrew Jackson was president and Logan county as a political subdivision was but five years old. He was 23 years old when married and 30 when the War Between the States began.

Logan Banner, 26 March 1929.

 

Allen Hatfield of Beech Creek, WV (1970s)

11 Tuesday Sep 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Matewan, Tazewell County

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Allen Hatfield, Appalachia, Beech Creek, Beni Kedem, Charleston, Charlie Simpkins, Cincinnati, civil war, Clyde Kiser, Deanna Hatfield, Devil Anse Hatfield, Devon Church of Christ, Doc Mayhorn, Eliza Murphy, Ellison Hatfield, feuds, Frankfort, genealogy, Goldie Hatfield, Gordon Smith, Grapevine Fork, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, history, Hugh C. Boyd Lodge No. 119, Jane Hatfield, Jane Maynard, Joseph Chester Hatfield, Joseph Murphy, Kentucky, Kentucky Colonels, Lawrence Hatfield, Logan County, Major Hatfield, Martha Bell Murphy, Maryland, Mingo County, Norfolk and Western Railroad, North Tazewell, Ohio, Pike County, Plyant Mayhorn, preacher, Raymond Hatfield, Right Hand Fork, Rockville, Thacker, Valentine Wall Hatfield, Virginia, West Virginia, Williamson, Williamson Memorial Hospital, Willis Hatfield

My name is Deanna Hatfield and tonight I would like to share with you a West Virginian, Allen Hatfield, who the community of Beech Creek honored and loved. Allen was born October 11, 1877. He was the youngest child of the pioneer couple, Wall Valentine Hatfield and Jane Maynard Hatfield, who settled on Beech Creek in 1861, the year that the Civil War broke out in this country. His parents had settled at the mouth of Grapevine Fork of Beech Creek. They had occupied a log cabin near the present site of Lawrence Hatfield’s home. He was the nephew of Captain Devil Anse Hatfield, clan leader in the famed Hatfield-McCoy Feud, and a first cousin of Willis Hatfield, the only surviving child of that family.

Almost until the day of his death, Allen carried a sadness in his heart over the death of his father in the days of the famous feud. His father, a peaceable man, was not an active member of the fighting group of the Hatfields during the trouble between his family and the McCoys but was named in warrants along with two of his sons-in-law, Doc and Plyant Mayhorn. Allen Hatfield, but ten years old at the time, remembered that his father Wall, thinking that he had nothing to fear in the courts of Kentucky, wrote the prosecuting attorney of Pike County that he and his sons-in-laws wished to surrender in Pikeville and stand trial for crimes for which they were accused. Allen Hatfield recalled the incident from his boyhood, including the feud. His father did go to Pikeville to voluntarily stand trial and clear his name but he was convicted by a prejudiced jury, the son remembered, and was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Kentucky State Prison in Frankfort. After sentencing, he lived about one year and his burial place is still unknown today. The two Mayhorns served several years and were later pardoned.

One of his fondest memories was that of his mother Jane who took over the management of the home and did a good job of raising a large family after her husband was taken from her. She did chores around the homestead. A great and interesting conversationalist in his adult years, he liked to tell of how he and his friends made bows and arrows–arrows consisting of straight pieces of wood with a horseshoe nails attached as the spike. He became an excellent marksman with the bow and arrow and later with his first rifle as he helped to provide squirrels and other wild game for the family table.

The early years of Hatfield’s life were marked by sadness as a result of the loss of his family in the feud. But his hours spent in the great outdoors hunting and fishing provided a therapy that led to his development to splendid manhood. He was several years old when the Norfolk and Western Railroad Company built an extension from Virginia to southern West Virginia and Mingo County, which still was Logan County at that time.

In 1899, Hatfield was married to Martha Bell Murphy, daughter of Joseph and Eliza (Steele) Murphy. She had just turned fourteen when he proposed and her family thought she was too young to wed. The young couple sort of eloped the night of April 8, 1899, to Allen’s home where they were married by Allen’s brother, Ellison, a country preacher and a granny doctor, as he later recalled. Late that summer, he amassed enough lumber to build their first home—a one-room abode that was erected next to the hillside just north of the present homestead. Allen Hatfield made most of his furniture and his wife tended a garden and dug ginseng to help the family fortune.

During the ensuing years, the Hatfields had eleven children, two of whom preceded them in death. Lawrence Hatfield, who married Dollie Kiser, is now retired and lives with Dollie on Beech Creek at the mouth of Grapevine Fork. Estel Hatfield, who married Virginia Varney, lived with his dad and still lives in the old homeplace. Estel is an agent for the Norfolk and Western Railroad Company. Major Hatfield, who married Mildred Friend, is employed as an agent also for the Norfolk and Western Railroad Company in North Tazewell, Virginia. Rosa Hatfield, married Wayne Simpkins, lives on Beech Creek on Right Hand Fork. Goldie Hatfield married Gordon Smith, and they make their home below Grapevine Fork on Beech Creek. Mamie Hatfield married Charlie Simpkins and makes her home in Rockville, Maryland. Glendeen Hatfield married Douglas Berlin, and they make their home in Louisiana. Etta June Hatfield, never married and lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. Erma Hatfield married Forest Baisden, and she lives in Williamson, West Virginia. Milda Hatfield, deceased, was a retired school teacher and was never married. Joseph Chester Hatfield, died at six months old.

In 1914, Allen bought from his brother Smith a grocery store at the old homeplace and moved the merchandise to a small building at his home. He built a large home later and it was there that most of the children were born. He expanded his business to a larger store building, which still stands, and then he erected the present homeplace. During his early merchandising days, Hatfield was compelled to haul his goods from the railway station at Devon by team and wagon for the roads had not been built and most of the rough team tracks was through the creeks. It was a problem in the wintertime to get through the streams as they were filled with ice. After the county built a road up Beech Creek, he retired his team and wagon and switched to a gasoline-powered vehicle to haul and deliver his goods. He learned carpentry in the early years of his marriage and continued this art until 1964 when he retired. Hatfield was a 57-year member of the Hugh C. Boyd Lodge No. 119 AF & AM at Matewan and received his 50-year service award from the Grand Lodge of West Virginia in 1970. The lodge, when he became a master mason, was known as Thacker No. 119. It was located at Thacker, West Virginia. It later was moved to Matewan. He also belonged to the Beni Kedem Temple of Charleston, being a 50-year member of the Shriners. He also received the honorary commission of a Kentucky Colonel on April 10, 1972. He had been a member of the Devon Church of Christ since 1916 and sponsored the building of the present church that stands near his home on Beech Creek.

In his years of selling groceries, Hatfield said he never lost but 50 dollars in bad debts. He was proud of his heritage, a leader in his community, and in his active life a crack shot with a rifle, pistol, and shotgun. His hunting and fishing kept the table supplied with food. He won beef, hogs, turkeys, and chickens in the old-time rifle matches that were so popular in the Beech Creek area years ago. He and the former Martha B. Murphy were married 71 years before her death on May 25, 1970. His life might have been used as the subject by the poet who wrote, “Let me live by the side of the road and be a friend to man.” Allen Hatfield had spent a lifetime doing just that, living beside a little country road on Beech Creek and being a friend to mankind. On March 2, 1975, Allen was taken to the Williamson Memorial Hospital for ailments associated with his advanced age. He then was released and re-entered the hospital on April 18 in critical condition. On Friday, May 2, 1975, the community of Beech Creek lost one of the dearest old-timers that was ever known. Allen Hatfield, 97, prominently-known Mingo pioneer citizen, retired merchant of Beech Creek, died at 3 a.m. in the Williamson Memorial Hospital of a lingering illness. Funeral services were scheduled at the Chambers Funeral Home Chapel with his beloved ministers Clyde Kiser and Raymond Hatfield officiating. Burial took place in the family cemetery behind the homeplace on Beech Creek. His grandsons and great-grandsons were his pallbearers. Allen would have wanted it this way. Simple.

NOTE: Some of the names may be transcribed incorrectly.

Chapmanville News 05.06.1927

06 Wednesday Dec 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Chapmanville, Huntington, Logan

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Appalachia, Bernice Ward, Bertie Collins, C&O Railroad, Chapmanville, genealogy, Hassel Perdue, Henry Conley, history, Huntington, Kenneth Hilton, Logan, Logan Banner, Logan County, Mable Ferrell, Maxey Perdue, O.J. Moses, Omar, Phico, preacher, Route 10, Ruth Queen, Virginia Hurst, West Virginia

An unknown correspondent from Chapmanville in Logan County, West Virginia, offered the following items, which the Logan Banner printed on May 6, 1927:

Rev. Screeds of Omar preached at the Church of Christ Sunday morning and Sunday evening.

Miss Virginia Hurst of Logan spent the weekend here with Miss Click.

Miss Ruth Queen spent the weekend in Logan.

Miss Bernice Ward spent the weekend here with her mother.

Miss Bertie Collins has returned to Chapmanville after a few days absence.

Lamar seemed to be enjoying himself Saturday evening and Sunday. Who is she, Lamar?

Daily Scenes: Beulah on the road to Phico; Carrie coming to school; Jane looking cute; Hazel and John; Inez working in the post office; Lyle calling at the office; Kyle and his sweetie.

Mr. O.J. Moses was visiting his parents in Huntington Saturday and Sunday.

Mrs. Kenneth Hilton and daughter were in Logan Monday.

The Sunday school at the Christian church is progressing nicely.

Rev. Shrive preached two delightful sermons at the Christian church Sunday. The house was crowded.

Mr. and Mrs. Hassel Perdue and son Maxey were visitors in Logan Monday.

The work on both the state and county roads is progressing finely.

Henry Conley was injured Monday by a freight train. All wish him speedy recovery.

Wonder why Miss Mable Ferrell doesn’t attend Sunday school?

Good luck to The Banner and its readers.

Dyke Garrett Visits Logan (1927)

23 Monday Oct 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Creek, Logan

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Appalachia, Big Creek, Church of Christ, Dyke Garrett, genealogy, history, Logan, Logan Banner, Logan County, preacher, West Virginia

Dyke Garrett Visits Logan LB 04.05.1927

Source: Logan (WV) Banner, 5 April 1927.

Whirlwind News 03.08.1927

03 Sunday Sep 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Harts Creek, Logan, Queens Ridge, Whirlwind

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Annie Dingess, Anthony Adams, Appalachia, Bob Dingess, Buck Creek, Burl Mullins, Carl Adams, Charles Curry, Charley Mullins, Daniel McCloud, Edward Hensley, Ewell Mullins, Frank Adams, genealogy, Harts Creek, Hoover Fork, Hoover School House, Isom Workman, Logan, Logan Banner, Logan County, Lora Belle Martin, Lucy B. Mullins, Lucy McCloud, moonshine, moonshining, Mud Fork, preacher, Queens Ridge, T.H. Adams, Twelve Pole Creek, Washington, West Virginia, Whirlwind, Wilburn Mullins

An unknown correspondent from Whirlwind in Logan County, West Virginia, offered the following items, which the Logan Banner printed on March 8, 1927:

Edward Hensley, the prohibitionist, and Frank Adams, the constable, are constantly on their duty trying to catch all the moonshiners at present.

Anthony Adams of Logan visited relatives at Whirlwind Sunday.

Mr. and Mrs. R.L. Dingess of Whirlwind spent Sunday with their parents at Queens Ridge.

A large crowd visited the Hoover school house Sunday expecting to hear a sermon delivered by Rev. Chas. Curry, but were badly disappointed as Curry was not present.

Daniel McCloud has postponed his singing school, as there are several pupils suffering with smallpox at the place where the school is being taught.

T.H. Adams went through town with a basket in his hand Sunday.

Burl Mullins of Buck Creek spent Sunday on Hoover with his sweetie.

Wilburn Mullins of Mud Fork is still visiting Hoover regularly.

Charley Mullins made a business trip to Twelve Pole Monday.

Mr. and Mrs. Ewell Mullins made a flying trip to Washington, D.C., last week. Guess they had a message for the President.

Carl Adams is still cold trailing. Carl says he is going to stop if the trail doesn’t get warmer.

Isom Workman was calling on Miss Lucy B. Mullins Sunday.

Miss Lucy B. McCloud of Hoover was visiting her aunt, Mrs. Lora B. Martin, of Queens Ridge Sunday.

Hezekiah Adkins (1759-1842)

04 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Cemeteries, Giles County, Harts, Native American History

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

American Revolution, Appalachia, Beech Fork, Beech Fork State Park, Billy Adkins, Brandon Kirk, cemeteries, Continental Line, genealogy, Giles County, Harts, Hezekiah Adkins, Hezekiah Adkins Cemetery, history, Isaac Adkins, John Lucas, Lincoln County, Missionary Baptist, Molly Adkins, Montgomery County, Native Americans, New River, photos, preacher, Revolutionary War, Ronnie Adkins, tourism, Virginia, Wayne County, West Virginia, Winslow

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In 1990, Ronnie Adkins published THE definitive Adkins genealogy book. A great many researchers appreciated his work on Hezekiah Adkins’ line of the family. Hezekiah Adkins was born in 1759 in Virginia, served in the American Revolutionary War, moved from Giles County, Virginia, to present-day Wayne County, West Virginia, about 1810, and died in 1842. His grave markers are yet visible at Winslow on Beech Fork in Wayne County, WV. If you visit the grave site, you will find Hezekiah Adkins buried on the left and his wife Mary “Molly” buried on the right (unlike in this photo). Any Adkins researcher owes a great debt to Ronnie Adkins and his book. THANK YOU, RONNIE.

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Here is a photo of my good friend and mentor Billy Adkins visiting the grave site in 1991. Years ago, Billy assisted Ronnie in gathering information about members of the Adkins family who settled in the Harts area of Lincoln County, WV.

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Here is Hezekiah’s grave as it appears today (left). His wife Molly is buried to the right.

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Hezekiah Adkins is my paternal great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather through his son, Isaac Adkins (1790-1854).

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Here is Molly Adkins’ grave as it appears today. She is my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother.

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Hezekiah Adkins has a nice military marker positioned at his feet.

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I recently visited Hezekiah Adkins’ grave. 30 June 2017.

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A short distance from the cemetery, beside of the highway, is this great historical marker commemorating Hezekiah Adkins’ service in the Revolutionary War. Beech Fork State Park is less than five minutes away. 30 June 2017.

Rev. Eliphus Spurlock

05 Friday May 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Hamlin

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8th West Virginia Infantry, Appalachia, Battle of Boone, Battle of Rocky Gap, Boone County, Cabell County, Charles Spurlock, civil war, Dicie Spurlock, Elijah Elkins, Eliphus Spurlock, farming, genealogy, Hamlin, Henry H. Hardesty, history, Laurel Hill District, Lena Spurlock, Lincoln County, Logan County, Martha Elkins, Martha Spurlock, Methodist, overseer of the poor, Pattison Spurlock, preacher, road surveyor, Selpha Spurlock, Stephen Spurlock, Union Army, West Virginia

From “Hardesty’s History of Lincoln County, West Virginia,” published by H.H. Hardesty, we find this entry for Rev. Eliphus Spurlock, who resided in Laurel Hill District in Lincoln County, West Virginia:

Is a son of Charles and Lena (Hager) Spurlock, who came to Lincoln county in 1798. He was born in Cabell county, May 11, 1824, and in Boone county, (now) West Virginia, in 1853, he was joined in marriage with Selpha, daughter of Elijah and Martha (Elkins) Elkins, residents of Boone county. She was born in Logan county, (now) West Virginia, in 1834, and is the mother of three children living in Lincoln county, and one dead: Martha, born February 14, 1857; Dicie, September 17, 1859; Stephen, April 30, 1862; Pattison, May 8, 1864, died November 29, 1866. Mr. Spurlock enlisted in the war between the States in September, 1861, serving in the Federal army, in the 8th West Virginia Infantry, and was in the battles at Boone, Scary, Maryland and Rocky Gap. Eliphus Spurlock came to Lincoln county in 1851, and in 1868 he was overseer of the poor in this county, as well as road surveyor. He is an ordained Methodist minister, and was on the Hamlin circuit one year, in 1866, as a supply, but has since been a local Preacher. Beside ministering the gospel, Mr. Spurlock is engaged in farming in Laurel Hill district, owning 60 acres of land, upon which there is a good orchard of apple, peach, and pear trees, and a part of the land is timbered with oak and chestnut. He may be addressed at Hamlin, Lincoln county, West Virginia.

Source: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, Vol. 7 (Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock, 1974), p. 141-142.

Chapmanville News 04.16.1926

11 Tuesday Apr 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Harts Creek, Chapmanville, Shively

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Appalachia, Chapmanville, Dump Farley, Dwyer Coal Company, genealogy, history, J.D. Price, Logan Banner, Logan County, Mud Fork Quartet, pleurisy, preacher, Shively, singing school., Tucker Hensley, West Virginia

An unknown local correspondent from Chapmanville in Logan County, West Virginia, offered the following items, which the Logan Banner printed on April 16, 1926:

Dwyer Coal Co. has suspended operation temporarily.

Some of our population doesn’t believe there are any birds. They never get up in time to hear them sing in the mornings.

If our singing school keeps on it will not be long until we have a choir equal to the Mud Fork quartet.

Everything seems to be unusually quiet here just now. Even the registrar of vital statistics had neither births nor deaths to report for March.

Dump Farley of Shively was in town one day last week getting his seng hoe sharpened.

Dump said he anticipates a fine May apple crop this season.

Rev. Tucker Hensley was expounding the scripture here Tuesday evening.

Strange as it may seem there are great big children here that have never saw their father in Sunday School.

The rural population have been coming into town the last few days. They have been isolated all winter. One man said if it stayed good weather ’til he came back he would have his hair cut.

J.D. Price is very ill with pleurisy. 

Recollections of a Guyandotte Valley Preacher (c.1870s)

23 Friday Sep 2016

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Salt Rock

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Appalachia, Bulahann Church, Cabell County, Enon Church, From Youth to Old Age, Grant District, Guyandotte Valley, history, J.D. Carter, John A. Petit, John J. Perry, John J. Rowsey, Lincoln County, preacher, Salt Rock, Susannah Church, Thomas H. Perry, timbering, Tylers Creek, Union District, West Virginia, Zoar Church

About 1910, Rev. Thomas H. Perry reflected on his long life, most of which was spent in the vicinity of Tylers Creek in Cabell County, West Virginia. In this excerpt from his autobiography, Mr. Perry recalled his early days as a preacher in the Guyandotte Valley.

After I had preached my first sermon, I then preached in the school houses in the most isolated places. I had two reasons for this: first, I thought I would meet with less intelligence; and second, that they heard so little preaching, but to my surprise the people would come for miles to my meetings, and I would wonder why they came. Do they come through evil curiosity, or do they come from a sense of duty? I would pray to the Lord, down deep in my heart and soul that He would help me at this hour to preach His word with such power that these people, who have come here this day through vain curiosity, that they may be made to feel the weight of their sins, but if they have come for the good of the soul that they may go away from this place feeling it was good to be at church to-day. The hardest struggles I had in my work was from the time I entered the church to the beginning of the sermon. The presence of strangers and noted people generally embarrassed me to some extent until after I had announced my subject and read my text. After that I did not notice them anymore than others. I never tried to change my voice from the natural or make it appear I was educated, but put my whole soul and heart in my subject with the hope that somebody might be saved to-day.

About the time I began to preach there were three other young men who entered the ministry, J.D. Carter, John J. Perry and John A. Petit. These young men lived on Tyler’s creek. John J. Perry was the founder of Susannah church, one of the good churches of Grant district. He was killed by falling timber, near Salt Rock, in 1884. John A. Petit was the founder of Bulahann church in Union district. This church was named in honor of my mother, because of the interest my father and John J. Perry took in its organization. Bro. Petit was a fine preacher and had a great many friends. He was pastor of a good church in Ohio. He died, I believe, in 1885. Bro. Carter was the founder of Zoar church, another good church in Grant district. He was a large man of fine personal appearance. His ability as a preacher was second to none in this end of the state. He died in 1906. Knowing these three men as I did, I considered them the three greatest lights that ever went out from Enon church.

Many time I have put corn in my saddle-pockets and rode up the Guyan valley as far as I could by eleven o’clock, and in good weather I would meet from fifty to seventy-five people at a school house. Some of the men were bare-footed, and had their guns and a poke of salt with them and some of the old women would smoke their pipes while I was preaching to them. The men said to me, “we came prepared to salt our cattle and kill a mess of squirrels as we go home.” Sometimes on my way home I would think a people that had so little regard for the Sabbath and not enough respect for a preacher to feed his horse were not worthy of the gospel; and then I would think if nobody will preach to them they will never do any better, and as Christ had said: “Preach His gospel to every creature,” and as Paul had said: “Woe is me if I preach not the gospel.” I felt I could not live, or that great calamity would come to me if I did not preach the gospel.”

About this time I was going to school at Salt Rock. A Mr. John J. Rowsey, a very noted teacher was our instructor that year. Some of the old men tried to discourage me by saying if God had called me to preach I did not have to go to school to learn how. But I felt the need of a better education and knew that some of my appointments did not pay me one dollar a year and I was hard pressed financially. These things would discourage me very much. I saw at once there was a race to be run and a battle to be fought in this life, and I remembered that the Bible said the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but to them that put their trust in the Lord. I believed every word in the Bible was the word of God, I could not treat it with indifference. I was determined to preach all I could and go to school all I could, and raise my finance all I could, and as to those people that go to church with their guns and those that sit and smoke during preaching, I have a great love for them as well as others; for their souls are as precious in God’s sight as the souls of the rich and most refined.

Source: From Youth to Old Age by T.H. Perry, Chapter 10, p. 25-27.

Andrew Elkins grave (2015)

23 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Cemeteries, Civil War, Fourteen

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

34th Battalion Virginia Cavalry, Andrew Elkins, Brandon Kirk, Confederate Army, Fourteen, genealogy, history, Lincoln County, Marvel Elkins, Phyllis Kirk, postmaster, preacher, Rhoda Elkins, U.S. South, West Virginia

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Mom and I recently marked the grave of Andrew Elkins, our ancestor who served in Company D, 34th Battalion Virginia Cavalry. After the war, Andrew, the son of Marvel and Rhoda (Vance) Elkins, was a Baptist preacher and postmaster at Fourteen in Lincoln County, WV.

 

Rev. James H. Cook

26 Tuesday May 2015

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Wyoming County

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22nd Virginia Infantry, Almeda Cook, Annie Cook, Appalachia, Confederate Army, David H. Cook, Elizabeth Cook, Florence Cook, genealogy, Giles County, Henry H. Hardesty, history, James H. Cook, John R. Cook, Joseph L. Cook, Mary E. Cook, Missionary Baptist Church, Nancy Cook, Oceana, preacher, R.A. Brock, Robinson Cook, 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 H. Cook, who resided at Oceana, West Virginia:

Is a son of Robinson and Nancy Cook, both natives of Giles county, Va.; the father was born Feb. 7, 1812; both parents now reside in Wyoming county, W. Va. Their son, James H. Cook, the subject of this sketch, was born Aug. 11, 1835, in Logan county, W.Va. He was united in matrimony to Elizabeth Cooper, Dec. 25, 1855, in Wyoming county, W.Va. His wife was born in Giles county, Va., Feb. 3, 1842. Their children have the following records. David H., born Feb. 21, 1857, now married; Almeda, born March 25, 1859, now married; Joseph L., born June 6, 1864; Mary E., born June 30, 1866; Florence, born Aug. 21, 1868; Annie, born Aug. 15, 1870; John R., born April 3, 1879; the last five live with their parents. Mr. James H. Cook enlisted in Co. I, 22d Va. infantry, C.S.A., and served from 1862 for 12 months, having espoused the cause of his native State. In 1868 he was received into the fellowship of the Missionary Baptist Church, and was a most devoutly pious and consistent Christian, always zealous in all Church and Sunday School work. In 1872 he entered the ministry of that church, and ever since has labored in the spread of the Gospel. As a minister he is greatly beloved by all who know him, having been the instrument in the hands of the Master by whom many have been turned to righteousness. He resides in Oceana, Wyoming county, W.Va., with his family, and by his earnest precepts as well as conscientious example is accomplishing great good in the cause of Christ. He spends his leisure hours during the week, when not engaged in preaching at his appointments, in attending to his farm.

Source: Dr. R.A. Brock, Virginia and Virginians, 1606-1888 (Richmond, VA: H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, 1888), p. 826-827.

Gill News 06.28.1923

21 Thursday Aug 2014

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Barboursville, Big Creek, Big Ugly Creek, Gill, Sand Creek

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Ada Sperry, Barboursville, Big Creek, Brad Gill, Bradyville, Cesco Messinger, coal, education, Elmer Fry, Fay Gill, genealogy, Gill, Hager, Harvey May, history, Huntington, Lee Adkins, Lincoln County, Lincoln Republican, M. Nelson, Maggie Sperry, Maud Gill, Parker Lucas, preacher, Sand Creek, singing schools, W.M. Sperry, West Virginia

An unnamed local correspondent from Gill in Lincoln County, West Virginia, offered the following items, which the Lincoln Republican printed on Thursday, June 28, 1923:

Miss Fay Gill begins her school here on the 6th of August.

M. Nelson, of Barboursville, preached an able sermon at Gill last Sunday.

Parker Lucas preached a fine sermon here last Sunday night.

Prof. Lee Adkins, of Hager has completed a fine singing school at Sand Creek. He has taught three at Gill, and will teach another one in the near future.

Mr. and Mrs. W.M. Sperry, of Gill, were visiting relatives and friends at Hager last week. They were accompanied by their small daughters, Misses Ada and Maggie.

Miss Maud Gill began teaching the Bradyville school on last Monday.

Brad Gill was a recent visitor in Huntington.

Cesco Messinger caught a 15-pound fish one day last week.

Elmer Fry has been getting our coal bank ties during the past week.

Uncle Harve May was visiting relatives at Big Creek the latter part of last week.

Did you ever notice that when people hear of some little talk that doesn’t amount to anything, how it goes over the country; and then when they hear of anything that amounts to a great deal you hardly ever hear it mentioned?

Cain Adkins

01 Friday Aug 2014

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Harts Creek, Lincoln County Feud

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Blood in West Virginia, Cain Adkins, doctor, Harts Creek, history, Lincoln County Feud, Logan County, photos, preacher, teacher, West Fork, West Virginia

Cain Adkins, resident of the West Fork of Harts Creek, Lincoln County, and participant in the Lincoln County Feud

Cain Adkins, resident of the West Fork of Harts Creek, Lincoln County, and participant in the Lincoln County Feud

Marvel Elkins

13 Sunday Jul 2014

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Fourteen

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Andrew Elkins, Appalachia, Church of Christ, Elizabeth Elkins, history, Lincoln County, Marvel Elkins, photos, preacher, religion, U.S. South, United Baptist, West Virginia

Marvel Elkins

Marvel Elkins (1866-1935), son of Andrew and Elizabeth (Elkins) Elkins, resident of Fourteen, Lincoln County, WV

 

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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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Feud Poll 3

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

Recent Posts

  • Sheriff Joe D. Hatfield, Son of Devil Anse (1962)
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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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Appalachia Ashland Big Creek Big Ugly Creek Blood in West Virginia Brandon Kirk Cabell County cemeteries Chapmanville Charleston civil war coal Confederate Army crime culture Ed Haley Ella Haley Ferrellsburg feud fiddler fiddling genealogy Green McCoy Guyandotte River Harts Harts Creek Hatfield-McCoy Feud history Huntington John Hartford Kentucky Lawrence Haley life Lincoln County Lincoln County Feud Logan Logan Banner Logan County Milt Haley Mingo County music Ohio photos timbering U.S. South Virginia Wayne County West Virginia Whirlwind writing

Blogs I Follow

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

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

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

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

Piedmont Trails

Genealogy and History in North Carolina and Beyond

Truman Capote

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

Appalachian Diaspora

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