Tag Archives: slavery

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

08 Thursday Dec 2022

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

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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.”

Scott Hill Reflects on Life as a Slave, Part 1 (1940)

03 Saturday Dec 2022

Posted by in African American History, Barboursville, Chapmanville, Civil War, Kitchen, Tazewell County

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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.

African-American Items from Logan, WV (1920s)

29 Sunday Mar 2020

Posted by in African American History, Holden, Man, World War I

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From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, comes these items relating to African-American life in Logan County during the 1920s:

“Jes’ Twelve O’Clock”

A hungry looking negro was observed sitting on a railroad track at Peach Creek yards when the noon whistle blew. He scratched his head and remarked, “Dar she blows. Dinner time for most folks, but jes’ twelve o’clock fo’ me.”

Logan (WV) Banner, 14 April 1922

***

War Story Uncovered

It was four shot years ago and the American doughboys were in the front line trenches facing Heinie. A company of colored troops were in the front trenches and among them were two colored boys from Logan whom we will call Sam and Rastus. They were backed up by 6,000 white troops and the order had been given to “go over the top” at a certain moment and the zero hour was fast approaching.

]Sam aquietly crept over to Rastus and said, “What do you ‘spose our folks would say about us if ‘de knowed where we was now?”

“Go away,” said Rastus. “If ‘de knowed where we wuz ‘de Logan Banner would be setting up headlines right now, saying, ‘Six thousan’ white boys done been trampled to death'”

Logan (WV) Banner, 27 October 1922

***

Negro Advancement

Though most northerners, including Negro leaders, often express disappointment with the progress the race is making, especially in the southern states, an impartial survey would doubtless inspire hope and pride rather than despair and humiliation.

In spite of deplorable lynchings and persistent unkindness toward him that must make the angel weep, the Negro is advancing. Future generations will be amazed at the rapidity with which he has overcome his handicaps. This view is set forth clearly, along with the facts that justify it, in the Dearborn Independent, which quotes a “Southern Planter” as follows:

Nearly nine million Negroes live south of Mason and Dixon’s line. With but few exceptions they are the progeny of grandparents who were born in slavery. The Negro emerged from the darkness of servitude without land, capital or credit. Within the sixty years that have followed emancipation he has come into possession of twenty-two million acres of land, an area greater than that of South Carolina. Negroes of the South are proprietors of business of every description. Approximately forty thousand enterprises, some of which are national in scope, are owned and operated by them. There are nearly seventy Negro banks, three Negro life insurance companies, real estate firms, hotels, factories, drug and department stores. Colored lawyers, doctors, dentists, undertakers and artisans of every degree of skill practice their profession and ply their trade in every part of the Negro’s native section. In sixty years the Southern Negro has acquired these for himself.

Negroes of the nation own one billion dollars’ worth of property and their holdings are increasing at the rate of fifty million dollars a year. Their most important investments and greatest enterprises are in the South, for that is the section they have known for generations, and the one in which, best authorities say, they will find their greatest success.

Were the Southerner not the friend of the Negro it would have been impossible for the Negro to have attained the degree of success with which he has been blessed. The late Andrew Carnegie and the late Lord Bryce agreed that the progress of the American Negro, after emancipation, was the most remarkable racial accomplishment in the history of the world. The Southerner claims his part of the glory for this achievement for he is the Negro’s teacher.

Logan (WV) Banner, 6 January 1928

***

Holden Wins Debate

Resolved “That the Negro has received more cruel treatment than the Indian in America,” was the interesting subject debated by Holden and Logan at Cora last Friday night, with a judges’ score of 5 to 6 points in favor of Holden. The Logan speakers were Rev. E.W. Ross, Rev. M.C. Gentry and Prof. Lucas Wade, while R.R. Batty, Eugene Carter and Guy W. Pennington represented Holden. A spicy program, arranged by the local P.T. Association at Cora, who sponsored the debate, was also a pleasing feature.

Logan (WV) Banner, 8 March 1929

***

Negro Prisoner Bears Odd Name

A colored man of very dark skin languishes in the county jail in default of bond for his appearance in federal court. Commissioner Hager bound him over to Charleston court April 16, after hearing evidence concerning a sale of whiskey. The arrest was made by Troopers Reed and Creasy of Man.

Now the interesting feature of this case is the prisoner’s name, which is none other than White Child. The surname as well as the first name must be the gift of the satirist, for this fellow, a resident of Accoville, has been under pretty close surveillance for a child.

The same troopers brought in Harvey Bias on a charge of possessing booze. He, too, was bound over to federal court and in default of bond went to jail.

Logan (WV) Banner, 12 April 1929

Civil War in the Kanawha Valley: Hoge House (2019)

24 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by in Civil War

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Terry Lowry is THE authority on the Civil War in the Kanawha Valley. Stop 10 on his tour: James W. Hoge House in Winfield, WV. 29 September 2019. Here is a link to Terry’s latest book, The Battle of Charleston (2016): https://wvcivilwar.com/now-available-the-battle-of-charleston/

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Built in 1838 by Charles Brown, his son Tallyrand sold it to Capt. John Bowyer. James W. Hoge acquired the home in 1857. He represented Putnam County at the Virginia Secession Convention in 1861, voting against secession.

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Moved from its original location in 2004, the home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

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This is the grave of Confederate Captain Phillip James Thurmond, who was mortally wounded in the Battle of Winfield (1864). For more about Capt. Thurmond, follow this link: https://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/putnam_news/confederate-soldier-reburied-with-fanfare-military-rites/article_0c234fe9-6083-5fbf-b7ac-79d2fd87b889.html

Powell Valley Male Academy at Speedwell, TN (2013)

07 Sunday Oct 2018

Posted by in African American History, Civil War

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Powell Valley Male (later Speedwell) Academy, built 1827, at Speedwell in Claiborne County, TN. During the Civil War, it served as headquarters for Confederate General Felix Zollicoffer. 30 May 2013.

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George Shutter, a German immigrant who settled locally from Pennsylvania about 1800, believed strongly in education. He supplied the money and slaves necessary to build the academy. 30 May 2013.

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Slaves supervised by Sam Monday made the bricks from nearby Davis Creek and erected the building. 30 May 2013.

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Once the building was completed, students relocated from an earlier log building. 30 May 2013.

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Students boarded with neighborhood residents or upstairs in the building. The professor lived upstairs. 30 May 2013.

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The Powell Valley Male Academy operated until sometime around 1900 when it was reorganized as Speedwell Academy and served both male and female students. 30 May 2013. For more history, follow this link: http://www.tngenweb.org/campbell/hist-bogan/speedwell.html

Confederate Pensions in West Virginia (1929)

24 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by 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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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.

 

John R. Browning Debt to James A. Nighbert (1860)

07 Thursday Jun 2018

Posted by in African American History, Logan

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John R. Browning Check to James A. Nighbert, Logan County, (W)VA, 1860.

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John R. Browning Promissory Note to James A. Nighbert, Logan County, (W)VA, 1860-1861. Note reference to “Negro boy” named Simon.

For more information about John R. Browning, follow this link: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9BSZ-9N3H?i=46&cc=1473181

Dils Cemetery in Pikeville, KY (2018)

29 Sunday Apr 2018

Posted by in African American History, Cemeteries, Civil War, Hatfield-McCoy Feud, Pikeville

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The Dils Cemetery Sign, Pikeville, KY. 27 April 2018.

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McCoy Family wreath, Dils Cemetery, Pikeville, KY. 27 April 2018.

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Randolph and Sarah McCoy graves, Dils Cemetery, Pikeville, KY. 27 April 2018.

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Randolph McCoy grave, Dils Cemetery, Pikeville, KY. 27 April 2018.

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Roseanna McCoy grave, Dils Cemetery, Pikeville, KY. 27 April 2018.

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Col. John Dils grave, Dils Cemetery, Pikeville, KY. 27 April 2018.

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History Marker, Dils Cemetery, Pikeville, KY. 27 April 2018.

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Dils Cemetery, Pikeville, KY. 27 April 2018.

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Basil Hatfield grave sign, Dils Cemetery, Pikeville, KY. 27 April 2018.

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Basil Hatfield grave, Dils Cemetery, Pikeville, KY. 27 April 2018.

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Sam and Martha McCoy grave, Dils Cemetery, Pikeville, KY. 27 April 2018.

Thomas Farley Last Will and Testament (1796)

21 Sunday Jan 2018

Posted by in African American History, American Revolutionary War, Montgomery County

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During a recent visit to the Montgomery County Courthouse in Christiansburg, Virginia, I viewed the Last Will and Testament of my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather Thomas Farley (c.1730-1796). Thomas was a veteran of the American Revolutionary War.

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In the Name of God Amen

I Thomas Farley of the County of Montgomery and State of Virginia being sick in Body but of a good and sound memory calling to mind the uncertain estate of this Temporary(?) life and knowing that all flesh must yield to death when it shall pleas God to call. I commit my soul to almighty God that give it and my Body to be buryed as my Friends Shall See cause. In the first place I desire as much of my Estate may be sold as shall pay all my Just debts, Such things as my Dear wife shall think fit. Secondly I give and bequeath to my Dear wife three Negros and all my Pertional estate to dispose of as she Shall See fit and Likewise all Bonds Notes and demands. In the third place I give and Bequeath unto my Dear Sons Such Lands and I have heretofore given them agreeable to Such lines as I have directed and this I believe to be my Last Will and Testament this thirty first day of  May one thousand seven hundred and ninety six.

Thomas Farley

Signed and Sealed

In the presence

Test

John Kirk

John Farley

?Winney Thomp (her mark)?

I also leave Gordon Cloyd and John Kirk my true(?) Friend as Executors

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NOTE: Henry Farley, pioneer settler of Logan County, WV, is the son of Thomas Farley.

Beloved Colored Woman Dies in Barboursville, WV (1899)

22 Wednesday Feb 2017

Posted by in African American History, Barboursville

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Patsy Dean Obituary, Huntington (WV) Advertiser, 29 March 1899. According to the 1870 Cabell County Census, Patsy was born about 1837. The census enumerator identified her as a mulatto. Based on the 1880 Cabell County Census, Patsy was born about 1840 and was the mother of three children: Harvey Dean (born about 1873), Gertrude Dean (born about 1875), and Clarence Dean (born about 1878). The census enumerator identified her as black.

 

Adkins Slave Cemetery (2016)

22 Wednesday Feb 2017

Posted by in African American History, Civil War, Harts

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Isaac and Elizabeth Adkins section of the Adkins Family Cemetery in Harts, WV, 21 May 2016. The slave cemetery is located just beyond the trees.

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Here I am standing in the old Adkins slave cemetery. Isaac Adkins is my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. 21 May 2016.

Jones Chapel Cemetery (2016)

29 Saturday Oct 2016

Posted by in African American History, Cemeteries, Civil War, Kiahsville, Queens Ridge

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The Jones Chapel Cemetery, which I visited on 29 October 2016, is located at Kiahs Branch of Twelve Pole Creek in Wayne County, West Virginia.

Level 1

Row 1

Little Brack Jones (17 May 1912-6 May 1925)

Eddie Jones (28 April 1868-17 March 1937)

Sallie Jones (19 October 1881-28 January 1957)

Robert H. Hughes (30 May 1910-29 May 1965)

Level 2

Row 1

L. Leonard Manns (13 February 1925-7 October 1994)

Ray Manns (16 March 1931-25 May 1949)

Dova Manns (8 July 1904-10 February 1933)

Eugene Manns (28 December 1932-28 December 1932)

Row 2

Cubie Jones (1890-1954); m. Willie Jones

Willie Jones (1884-1973); s/o Robert L. and Elizabeth Jones

Fanny Rigsby (1865-1955)

J.B. Rigsby (1857-1925)

Ossie Rigsby (12 June 1887-13 February 1919)

Yorkie Rigsby (1 December 1916-10 April 1919)

Geraldine Curry (9 May 1934-19 May 1935)

Major Curry (1882-1955)

Ora T. Curry (1896-1974); m. Major Curry

Level 3

Row 1

John Jones (17 February 1817-15 August 1903)

Margaret Jones (19 September 1839-1920); d/o ___ Helms; m. John Jones

Row 2

Alberta Jones (1905-1936); mother to Quentin Ferrell

Jesse F. Jones (1883-1911); s/o John and Margaret Elizabeth (Helms) Jones

Ellen A. Jones (1886-1909); d/o Sanders and Mary Elizabeth (Maynard) Adkins; m. Jesse F. Jones

Virgie Jones (1905-1908)

Level 4

Row 1

Golden Jones (19 May 1919-17 October 1981)

Jesse Jones (12 July 1904-25 December 1971)

Lila Jones (1877-1965); d/o ___ Maynard; m. John B. Jones

John Jonnie Jones (1873-18 March 1955); s/o John and Margaret Elizabeth (Helms) Jones

little square headstone

rock headstone and footstone

rock headstone and footstone

Row 2

Cubie Workman (12 August 1945-16 September 1945)

(little gap between graves)

Betty E. Ramey Jones (1 November 1861-14 February 1906); m. Robert L. Jones

(little gap between graves)

square headstone and round footstone

rock headstone and footstone

(little gap between graves)

rock headstone and footstone

rock headstone and footstone

Row 3

Maxine Queen (23? April 1933-18? June 1933)

Queen (baby)

Tomblin (baby)

Tennessee Queen (1894-1934); d/o Robert L. and Elizabeth Jones; m. Noah Queen

Noah Queen (1883-1968)

Howard Queen (27? December 1929-February 1936)

Nelven Queen (29 January 1919-24? July 1935)

Chlista Jones (8 June 1888-10 June 1905); d/o Robert L. and Elizabeth Jones

Virginia Jones Ramey (26 April 1881-13 December 1902); d/o Robert L. and Elizabeth Jones; m. Kelly Ramey

Row 4

Normal Queen (9 January 1914-12 October 1964)

Nelven Queen (9 November 1935-24 February 1968)

Slade Section

Row 1

rock headstone and footstone

rock headstone and footstone

Row 2

Jenny Slade

Joseph Slade

rock headstone and footstone

rock headstone and footstone

Row 3

Noah Slade

Polly Slade (12 December 1917-15 March 1920); d/o Joseph and Anna (Park) Slade

Josephene Slade (3 July 1902-27 June 1926); d/o Joseph and Anna (Park) Slade

Annie Slade (20 September 1881-6 July 1921); m. Joseph Slade

Joseph Slade (2 August 1877-15 July 1944)

Row 4

Anna Mae Slade (2 February 1931, only date)

Rufus Slade (12 November 1925-2 October 1926)

Isaac Slade (13 February 1904-1931); s/o Joseph and Anna (Park) Slade

Row 5

Floraetta Slade (6 May 1940-20 January 1941)

Johnny Slade (26 February 1934-24 July 1934)

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John: Freed Slave of John Jones (c.1850-c.1875)

Level 5

Row 1

James Maynard (November 1814-August 1862); born 19 November 1813; s/o Jesse and Sarah (Welch) Maynard; Union soldier killed during Civil War on 9 August 1862; Damron’s Co., Independent WV INF

Elizabeth Maynard (1817-Unknown); born 13 June 1814; d/o James and Sarah (Ratliff) Maynard; m. James “Tar Keg” Maynard

John Doe, Negro Soldier, Died August 1862

Infant Maynard (death date unknown)

Recollections of the Civil War in Eastern Kentucky and Southwestern Virginia (1862)

20 Tuesday Sep 2016

Posted by in African American History, Civil War

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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 participation in Civil War activity in eastern Kentucky and southwest Virginia.

After the night fight, above Prestonsburg, we knew the Federals were above us and we would have to fight if we ever got back to Dixie. The cold weather and deep snow and timber across the road and Federals to contend with, we moved very slowly. One morning we stopped, as I thought for breakfast, and as I was almost frozen I rejoiced because I thought we will all get warm and some beef, as I saw one man shoot down a cow. But just at that time the Federals run in our pickets and began shooting at us, but I was so hungry I ran to the cow and cut two or three pounds out of the hind-quarter and took it with me. We ran about one mile and there we saw Colonel Hounshal’s regiment in battle line, who held the Federals off us until we could get our breakfast. I took my beef without salt and put it on the end of my ramrod and held it to the fire and cooked an ate it, and it was good.

The next day my company was the rear guard and it was reported to the captain that the Federals had got between us and our command. The captain said: “Men, we will have to fight or we will be taken prisoners.” There was a preacher with us that day. He said: “Captain, I did not intend to fight, but rather than be a prisoner I will fight. Give me a gun.” When I saw him shoulder his gun, it did me good. I thought if a preacher could fight it was not bad for me to fight, as I was only a prospective preacher.

One very cold night I was detailed on the outer picket post, the orderly said: “You can not have fire as they are likely to slip upon you and shoot you.” I said to the orderly: “I cannot stand it without fire.” I thought I would freeze to death. The orderly said: “I cannot excuse you.” Just at that time Louis Bledsoe said to the orderly he could stand more cold than Perry could and he would go in my place and I could go in his place some other time. Never did I forget the kindness Mr. Bledsoe showed me that night.

When we were within fifteen miles of the Cumberland mountains, our army cattle, prisoners and all we had was on one creek; that creek led to the main road across the mountains into Dixie. On either side of this creek, the mountains were high and very rough and covered with snow. The Federals cut timber across the creek above us, and had a strong army below us, and held us here three days and would have captured us and all we had if General Floyd had not come with his artillery and drove the Federals away from the head of the creek, and let us out. The first night after we crossed the mountain into Dixie, E.H. Perry, one of my brothers came to my captain’s tent and said: “Captain, are my brothers all here?” He said: “Yes.” Then my brother exclaimed: “Thank the Lord for that.” Never will I forget the tone of my brother’s voice that night for he knew we had been gone for forty-one days, and it was by the hardest work that we landed back in Dixie.

Once more after this we went into winter quarters near the King Salt works, and they sent me to a farm house to nurse three sick soldiers. We had a large nice room, well furnished and the landlord was rich and good to us. He and his good wife would help me in waiting on the sick; he furnished us with everything we could ask for to eat. We stayed there more than three months. I saw in the beginning that I would not have much to do, and as I had the money and there was a book store at that place, I bought a complete set of school books and studied them hard that winter and it did me good. It helped me to keep down the roughness of a soldier’s life, and also to educate. Along the back yard there was a row of one-story brick buildings in which the negroes lived. Some nights I would go and hear them tell ghost stories, and they knew how to tell them for they had seen a great many ghosts. I deny superstition, but I noticed when these negroes had told me some of the most fearful ghost stories, if it was a very dark night I would ask some of them to go apart of the way home with me.

Mr. James Stephens, one of my patients, died; the other two got well. We left that place about the first of May. I saw then that the south could not gain her independence, and I told these negroes I thought they would soon be free and advised them to learn to read and write. I talked with a good many old men in the south about the war. They said they should have raised the “Old Flag” and contended for the constitution, and as for slavery, they said it was dying out in the south anyway.

Source: From Youth to Old Age by T.H. Perry, Chapter 8, p. 20-22.

Poor Whites (1896)

18 Sunday Sep 2016

Posted by in African American History, Coal, Native American History

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On July 15, 1896, the Huntington Advertiser of Huntington, West Virginia, printed a story titled “The Poor Whites: Origin of a Distinct Class Living in the South.” Subtitled “The ‘Cracker of the Hills’ is the Direct Descendant of the ‘Sold Passengers’ Who Came to This Country in the Seventeenth Century,” the story initially appeared in the Chattanooga Times of Chattanooga, Tennessee. And here it is:

The notion that the poor white element of the southern Appalachian region is identical with the poor people generally over the country is an error, and an error of enough importance to call for correction. The poor white of the south has some kinfolk in the Adirondack region of New York and the Blue and Alleghany [sic] mountains of Pennsylvania, but he has few relatives any place else about the Mason-Dixon line. The states of New York and Pennsylvania were slave states until the early part of this century.

This poor white mountaineer descends direct from those immigrants who came over in the early days of the colonies; from 1620 to about or some time after the Revolutionary war period, as “sold passengers.” They sold their services for a time sufficient to enable them to work out their passage money. They were sold, articled to masters, in the colonies for their board and fixed wage, and thus they earned the cost of their migration.

The laws under which they were articled were severe, as severe as apprentice laws in those days. The “sold passenger” virtually became the slave of the purchaser of his labor. He could be whipped if he did not do the task set [before] him, and woe to the unlucky wight [sic] if he ran away. He was sure to be caught and cruelly punished.

And though he was usually a descendant of the lowest grade of humanity on the British islands, he still had enough of the Anglo-Saxon spirit about him to make him an unsatisfactory chattel.

From 1620 forward–the year when the Dutch landed the first cargo of African slaves on the continent–the “sold passenger” was fast replaced by negroes, who took more naturally and amiably to the slave life.

The poor white naturally came to cherish a bitter hatred for the blacks that were preferred over him. He already hated his domineering white master. When he was free to go, he put as many miles as his means and his safety from Indian murderers permitted between himself and those he hated and hoped he might never see again. In that early time the mountain region was not even surveyed, let alone owned by individual proprietors.

The English, Scotch, Irish and continental immigrant who had some means sat down on the rich valleys, river bottoms and rolling savannahs, and the poor white was made welcome to the foothills and mountain plateaus.

These descendants of the British villain of the feudal era grew and multiplied, became almost as distinct a people from the lords of the lowlands as the Scotch highlander was, as related to his lowland neighbor, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

The stir of the period since the close of our civil war has made somewhat indistinct the line that separates the mountaineer from the plainsman of the south, especially in the foothills and at points where the two have intermingled in traffic, in the schoolhouse and church, and especially where the poor whites have been employed at mining, iron making, etc. But go into the mountains far enough and you will find the types as clear cut as it was 100 years ago, with its inimitable drawling speech and curious dialect, its sallow complexion, lanky frame, lazy habits and immorality–all as distinctly marked as they were when hundreds of these people found Cherokee wives in Georgia and Tennessee in the early part of the century and bleached most of the copper out of the skin of the Choctaw as well as out of the Cherokee.

It is a pity that some competent anthropological historian has not traced the annals of this interesting and distinctive section of our population, and made record of it in the interest of science, no less than in the interest of the proper education and elevation of the mountain people. It has become, especially in the Piedmont section of the south, a most important labor element. The cotton mill labor by thousands comes from the “Cracker of the Hills,” and it is destined o become a great power, that labor population, social and political.

The redemption of the poor white began when slavery went down in blood and destruction, and it has gone on faster and traveled further than some of us think.

Logan County, WV, Political Commentary and Voting Trends (1824-1900)

05 Monday Sep 2016

Posted by in Chapmanville, Civil War, Logan

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Democrats who lived in Logan County, West Virginia, prior to 1896 may best be thought of as Democrats of the Jeffersonian and particularly the Jacksonian variety. The earliest settlers and their immediate progeny likely carried popular political viewpoints across the mountains from Virginia. Logan County Democrats appear to have believed in states’ rights, although few residents owned slaves. The old Democrats of the Civil War generation guided Logan County’s political scene until the 1890s, when the national political climate shifted toward issues relating to gold/silver, imperialism, etc. Still, the Confederate veterans of the county continued activity until the 1910s, even raising the Confederate flag over the courthouse as late as 1911. The Logan County Banner (later the Logan Banner), a Democratic organ since its inception in 1889, remained silent about issues that divided the Democratic Party in the 1890s. Based on its editorials, the Banner—operated by men of the Civil War era—was more concerned about industrial progress, particularly the development of a railroad in the Guyandotte Valley, than the national political issues that emerged in the 1890s. Examination of the active participants in the railroad effort include both Democrats and Republicans, locals and outsiders…

Logan County was organized in 1824. Voting trends from 1824 until 1856 reveal a strong preference for Democratic candidates:

1824: William H. Crawford (Democratic-Republican)
1828: Andrew Jackson (Democrat, 90+ percent)
1832: Andrew Jackson (Democrat, 90+ percent)
1836: Martin Van Buren (Democrat)
1840: Martin Van Buren (Democrat)
1844: James K. Polk (Democrat)
1848: Lewis Cass (Democrat)
1852: Franklin Pierce (Democrat)
1856: James Buchanan (Democrat, 80-90 percent)

We know, based on the above presidential tallies, the county was heavily Democratic. Because the Democratic Party was closely linked to slavery during this era, it is useful to consider local slave statistics.

1850 Logan County Slave Census:  26 slave owners in Logan County; 84 slaves (largest slave owner had 10)

1860 Logan County Slave Census:  27 slave owners in Logan County; 80 slaves (largest slave owner had 7)

We know the county voted heavily for John Breckenridge in the 1860 presidential election. What is remarkable to modern residents is this: Logan Countians gave no votes to Abraham Lincoln (see below):

Logan County Presidential Election Results (1860):
John Breckenridge (Southern Democratic), 271
John Bell (Constitutional Union), 100
Stephen Douglas (Democratic), 6
Abraham Lincoln (Republican), 0

We know Logan County’s delegate to the Virginia Secession Convention favored secession. James Lawson, the delegate to the Secession Convention for Logan, Boone, and Wyoming counties, voted in favor of the Ordinance of Secession on 17 April 1861.

We know the county did not favor anti-secession political developments in Wheeling. Logan declined to send delegates to the First Wheeling Convention (May 13-15, 1861).

We know the voters of Logan County favored secession. Here are results for Logan County regarding the Secession Ordinance in Virginia (23 May 1861):
For: 518
Against: 63

We know Logan County did not support the political gatherings in Wheeling. Logan County sent no delegates to the Second Wheeling Convention, First Session (June 11-25, 1861). Likewise, it sent no delegates to the General Assembly of the Reorganized Government of Virginia (July 1-26, 1861) or to the Second Wheeling Convention, Second Session (August 6-21, 1861).

In the mind of local people, Logan County was invaded in 1861. On 25 September 1861, Union soldiers attacked Confederates at the Battle of Kanawha Gap (Chapmanville). The battle was a Confederate loss.

Due to the absence of its men and election irregularities, Logan County did not vote heavily on the question of “West Virginia.” This was true for many counties in western Virginia: West Virginia Statehood Referendum (24 October 1861): 34 percent turnout statewide; 18,408 for statehood and only 781 opposed! We can be sure that Logan did not favor “West Virginia.” Logan County sent no delegate to the West Virginia Constitutional Convention (26 November 1861).

Logan Countians overwhelmingly enlisted to fight for the Confederacy (60-90%). According to one estimate, Logan County contributed over 780 soldiers to the Confederacy. Contributions to the Union Army were less than 60. Based on the 1890 census, the following number of Union veterans lived in Logan County:
Chapmansville District: 7
Hardee District (later Mingo County): 16
Logan District: 13
Magnolia District (later Mingo County): 9
Triadelphia District: 11

During the war, Logan sent delegates to participate in the Confederate government in Richmond. Isaac E. McDonald represented Logan, Boone, and Wyoming counties at the Confederate General Assembly from 1861 to 1863. James A. Nighbert represented Logan, Boone, and Wyoming counties at the Confederate General Assembly from 1863 to 1865.

Because Logan was known as a Confederate stronghold and recruiting station, the town was invaded in 1862. Union troops burned the Logan Courthouse (15 January 1862).

Logan County was one of 15 counties in WV that did NOT vote in the 1864 U.S. presidential election (most were south of the Kanawha River).

After the war, Logan Countians refused to recognize West Virginia as a legitimate state and refused to pay taxes to the new state. Guerillas and gangs were active in the county. Governor Arthur I. Boreman sent troops into the county in order to collect taxes and maintain order.

Ex-Confederate disenfranchisement was common after the war. In 1868, of 888 voters in Logan County, only 125 voted for president. In 1870, 220 voted for the Democratic candidate for governor while 70 voted for the Republican (total 290). In Logan County, it was difficult to find any men who had NOT served in the Confederacy who could hold political office (or practice law, or teach).

Maj. William Straton (namesake of Stratton Street) typified Logan County political leadership during this time.

After the war, Democrats and Republicans largely chose/maintained party identification based on their views of the war. Logan had been heavily Democratic before the war; Logan was pro-Confederate during the war; Logan was strongly Democratic after the war

Logan County in Presidential Elections After the War:
1868: Horatio Seymour (Democrat)
1872: Horace Greeley (Democrat)
1876: Samuel J. Tilden (Democrat, by 90+ percent)
1880: Winfield Scott Hancock (Democrat, by 90+ percent)
1884: Grover Cleveland (Democrat, by 90+ percent)
Winfield Scott Hancock’s victory in Logan County is somewhat noteworthy considering that he was a former Union general.

On 30 October 1886, the Parkersburg Sentinel reported: “Logan county is so intensely democratic that there are thirteen democratic candidates running for the legislature and only one republican. Nevertheless one of the thirteen democrats will be elected.”

In 1888, Logan Countians voted for Grover Cleveland (Democrat).

The Logan County Banner was established on 7 March 1889 by Henry Clay Ragland (editor) and J.A. Nighbert (business manager). On 28 March 1889, it stated:

The paper will be devoted to the best interests of the people of Logan county. To the improvement of the education and morals of its people, and to the development of its great material resources. Politically, the Banner will be Democratic. Every one connected with it is a Democrat, but at the same time it will be fair to the opposition, and will heartily accord to the Republican party due credit for any good work which it may do. In addressing the questions which may arise in the Democratic party, as to its management and its leaders, the Banner will be Independent and will acknowledge no faction or factions, but will labor earnestly and zealously for the success of the party, and not for any individual.

In 1892, it reported: “Three years ago in order to furnish the people of Logan county with a home paper, we unfurled the Banner. We expected neither money nor glory, and our expectations have been fully realized.” On 3 January 1895, Ragland stated: “When I first went into the newspaper business I had no idea of continuing on for any length of time. My only desire was to see a newspaper in Logan county which would truly reflect the character of its people and be able to defend them from the many slanders which have been heaped upon them by the outside world…”

The Banner‘s reputation as a Democratic organ was well-known. In April 1889, the Parkersburg State Journal referred to it as “Democratic to the core.” On 11 July 1889, the Charleston Daily Star said: “The Logan County Banner is being made one of the best country weeklies in the State. As long as it continues as it has begun Logan may be depended upon for her customary Democratic majority.” On 13 January 1898, the Boone Democrat said of the Banner: “We cheerfully hail it, and hope that it may long continue to wave in the vanguard of Logan Democracy.”

The Banner never failed to applaud Democratic gains. On 6 November 1890, it stated: “Glorious old Chapmansville always does her fully duty. The Democratic vote increased from 205 in 1888 to 210, and the Republican vote decreased from 28 in 1888 to 14.”

This editorial, from 15 September 1892, is one example of Banner political commentary:

We have heard that there are several so-called Democrats born and reared in the mountain fastnesses of old Logan who have avowed their intention of ‘scratching’ one or another of the nominees of our party when they ides of November shall roll around, but we hope for the credit of Logan’s ‘rock-ribbed, copper-bottomed’ democracy that such reports are false. It is but natural that bitter feelings should be engendered by the clashing of the claims of rival candidates before our conventions but the conventions have done their work now, well and conscientiously, and every true Democrat in hearty and earnest response to the bugle call of freedom must face about with his brethren and forgetting all private feuds and grievances join in the charge upon our friends the enemy. That Democrat who falters in his duty in this the crisis of our party’s need betrays the trust reposed in him by the party of the people, forfeits his claim upon the confidence and good will of his compeers and deserves to be incarcerated in the bottom-most pit of damnation. You cannot afford to let a petty desire for revenge prevent you from casting a straight Democratic ticket on the 8th day of November. If you have ever harbored such a thought, exorcise the evil spirit that has taken possession of you and come back to the fold on bended knee and ask forgiveness for the wicked thoughts of your heart. The people have spoken and ‘the voice of the people is the voice of God.’ We feel sorry for that Democrat who, when the glorious news flashes over the wires next November that Cleveland, MacCorkle, Alderson and Mahood are elected can’t forget one or more of them was scratched on his ticket. Verily, like the Judas of old, he will feel like sneaking off with down cast eyes and hanging himself to the nearest tree. Logan expects every Democrat to do his whole duty during this campaign. The eyes of friend and foe alike are turned towards the mountains of old Logan whence cometh our help. Every Republican in the county is alert, active and zealous in the support of his whole ticket, and it behooves every Democrat to see to it that he does not prove a traitor in the camp of his friends. Stop a minute, friend, and think of the issues involved in the fight that is now upon us. Do you want the robber tariff barons to keep on heaping up their multiplied millions from your hard-earned dollars? Do you want your polls to be manned by Federal soldiers or maybe negroes from Virginia or North Carolina?

In 1892, Logan Countians voted for Grover Cleveland (Democrat).

During the mid-1890s, the Banner offered more brief political commentary. Here are some examples. On 21 June 1894, it stated: “The Logan Republican club was organized last Saturday night, with 20 members.” On 9 September 1896: “There is a meeting of the W.J. Bryan club at Chapmansville next Saturday evening. Everybody is invited to attend.”

Logan Countians voted for William Jennings Bryan (Democrat) in 1896 and 1900.

Election of 1892 LCB 11.10.1892

Logan County Banner, 10 November 1892.

In Search of Ed Haley 191

02 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by in Ed Haley

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After talking with Lola, we walked down the street with Billy Adkins and spent a few hours filtering through genealogy books at his kitchen table. Billy, I discovered, had two large bookcases filled with categorized three-ring binders dedicated to Harts families. One of the first things we dug out were notes pertaining to Ed’s mother, Emma Jean Haley. Years earlier, Lawrence Haley had told me that someone shot her in the doorway of what I later learned to be Al Brumfield’s house. In his notes, Billy recorded her as re-marrying James Benton Mullins, a son of Peter and Jane Mullins, which we ruled out immediately: James B. was her uncle. The Emma who had actually had married this fellow was born in 1876 (about eight years after Emma Haley) and was listed in other sources with the maiden name of Johnson.

“I don’t know where I found that out but somebody told me that that woman right there was Milt Haley’s widow,” Billy said. “But that date’s totally wrong, see.”

Whether or not Ed’s mother had ever remarried anyone, based on census information, Brandon was convinced that she had died in the 1890s. In the 1900 Logan County Census, her mother Chloe Mullins listed seven of her nine children as being alive. The seven accounted for were Joseph Adams, John Adams, Ticky George Adams, Peter Mullins, and Weddie Mullins. The two who were not listed in the 1900 census were Dicy (Adams) Thomas, whose husband was listed as a widower in the census, and Ed’s mother.

We found out from Billy’s notes that Emma Haley descended from a notorious counterfeiter named Solomon Mullins.

“Money Makin’ Sol,” as he was called, was born to John and Jane Mullins on the Broad River in North Carolina in 1782. Around 1806, he married Sarah Cathey; he settled in Kentucky by 1810.

“Solomon was always ready for action,” according to photocopied papers at Billy’s house. “He served in the War of 1812 in Cpt. David Gooding’s Company of Kentucky Volunteer Militia. After the war, Solomon, evidently ready for more action, began counterfeiting coins. Family tradition has it that Solomon found one of John Swift’s ‘Lost Silver Mines’ in the hills of eastern Kentucky and ‘South of the Mountain’ in Southwestern Virginia. Thus he became known as ‘Money Making Sol’, and I might add always the ‘genius’, stayed one step ahead of his trouble. In 1837 Solomon decided to join his father and his two brothers in Russell County. He bought a farm and built a shop just a little ways from his house where he began making money again. He melted the silver down and didn’t seem to care who saw him.”

“I was born August 29, 1840, at my father’s home below Clintwood,” according to a 1926 interview with one Nancy Mullins. “The Mullins mixed with the Indians. I have heard it said that Grandpa John Mullins was about one-fourth Indian. Grandpa John had at least two brothers. One was named Sol and he owned a lot of slaves. He was a moneymaking man. He lived on the other side of the branch in a bottom near my father’s home. He had a crowd of slave wenches. He made money on Holly Creek back of Press Harris’ home. He had his work place under a cliff. Pa and Uncle John used to help him work at this business. They would ‘strike’ for Sol. While they lived there, his slave women would take guns and go hunting. They would kill deer and pack them in on their backs. The government got after Sol and he went to West Virginia where he died.”

“Solomon Mullins moved to the waters of Holly Creek, about two miles northeast of Clintwood, [Virginia,] where he lived for several years,” according to Sutherland’s The Mullins Family in Dickenson County (1967). “He owned several slaves, mostly women, who worked in the fields and hunted in the woods. He made counterfeit money for several years under a cliff near Holly Creek. The cliff is still pointed out by neighbors as ‘Sol’s Cliff.’ He was caught at work once by a detective and when he saw he was caught, he ordered the detective to help him work, saying: ‘Grab that hammer and strike this.’ He hoped this would make the detective afraid to tell on him, but it didn’t do any good. He managed to get pure silver and mixed other metal with it to make the counterfeit money. He would pay $2 of his counterfeit money for $1 of the government money. At last, he took a scare and left this country.”

In 1837, Sol and his son Peter were involved in making counterfeit coins in Russell County, Virginia. As a result, according to Boone County, West Virginia, History (1990), they moved to Marion County, Tennessee, where they renewed their counterfeiting activity. In the winter of 1841-42, after pressure from government authorities in Tennessee, Sol and Peter moved with their families and slaves to the North Fork of Big Creek in Logan (now Boone) County, (West) Virginia.

“They rode mules and walked all the way,” according to Boone County. “He died in 1858 and Sarah died about 1872.”

As Brandon flipped through the Sol Mullins notes, I could see his brain working, making connections. Suddenly, he said, “Sol was a great-grandfather to both Emma Haley and Hollena Brumfield…making them third cousins.”

Oh my.