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Tag Archives: Tazewell County

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

03 Saturday Dec 2022

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

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Appalachia, Barboursville, civil war, Frank Ball, Guyandotte Valley, Hiram Hill, history, Kitchen, Logan County, Lorenzo Dow Hill, Mary Hill, Scott Hill, slavery, slaves, Tazewell County, Union Army, Virginia, West Virginia

The following article, written by Frank Ball, is taken from a Huntington-area newspaper clipping, the first part of which is missing.

…Americans are those who remember servitude as slaves. Barboursville has one citizen, Scott Hill, who remembers rendering such service. And little work he did as a slave, for he was but six years of age when the Civil War ended.

“Uncle Scott,” as he is familiarly known, was born the property of Lorenzo Hill, prominent orchardist and farmer of the Guyandotte valley.  Lorenzo Hill, owner of several slaves, lived on a large tract of land across the river from the little mining town of Kitchen in Logan county. Here Barboursville’s “Uncle Scott,” son of Hiram and Mary Hill, was born Feb. 5, 1859. (Slaves usually took the surname of their owners.)

Mr. Hill remembers well the excitement created by the Civil War, and the frantic movements attendant thereto. His owner was a blender of the best whiskies in the valley and his home was widely visited by soldiers and citizens alike who sipped the choice brandies and exchanged the news of the day.

Hysteria in border states ran high during the war, and it was thought best by some slaveholders to move their slaves farther south for safe keeping. It was rumored that Union soldiers were taking the slaves by force and freeing them. So Lorenzo Hill, whom Uncle Scott affectionately remembers as “Ole Boss,” started with his slaves on a long journey into Virginia.

Uncle Scott’s memory of this trip and stay in Virginia is rather painful. To begin with, it meant the sacrifice of “Old Baldy,” a steer of which the slave children were exceedingly fond, to furnish meat for the journey. En route, Uncle Scott’s uncle and three of his uncle’s children were sold. Tearfully, his mother parted from her brother and her nephews and niece as the trip to Virginia was resumed.

Ole Boss left his remaining slaves with a planter in Tazewell county, and returned to Logan. A year in Virginia found Scott’s father and mother greatly overworked, and they and their children greatly underfed.

This treatment was in direct contrast to that given to them by their owner, and the mother had the nerve to “strike.” She hired herself to a neighbor slaveholder that her children might be fed. And despite the frenzied objections of the planter with whom she was left, she won out in this extraordinary action.

In the fall of 1864, wartime hysteria had subsided somewhat and Lorenzo Hill returned to Virginia for his slaves. They were overjoyed at seeing him. They were sure they would be well fed and treated kindly. In return they would work hard for Ole Boss.

Note: Mr. Scott’s true name was William Henry “Scott” Hill. His mother Mary was the daughter of her master, Lorenzo Dow Hill, and a slave named Julia.

A History of Methodism in Logan (1927)

26 Saturday Jun 2021

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Huntington, Logan

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Appalachia, Ben F. Donley, Cabell County, Claypool Chapel, Crump and Reardin, Dan Westfall, Giles County, Guyandotte, history, Huntington, J.S. Thornburg, Kanawha County, Kenova, Logan, Logan Banner, Logan County, Orville, Pittsburgh, Tazewell County, W.T. Workman, West Virginia

From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, comes this bit of history about Methodists in Logan County, WV. The story is dated April 26, 1927:

PLANS FOR SUNDAY’S DEDICATION OF FIRST M.E. CHURCH PROMPT REVIEW OF 100 YEARS OF METHODISM HERE

Methodists from all parts of Logan county and even more distant points are expected to attend the dedication next Sunday of the new First M.E. Church in this city. As previously announced, an impressive program for the day has been arranged. Dr. Daniel Westfall, of Pittsburgh, Rev. J.E. Bird, of Huntington, and Rev. J.S. Thornburg, of Kenova, will be here to assist the pastor, Rev. Ben F. Donley.

It is more than a century ago that Methodism took root in Logan county. There are authentic records telling of the activities of the followers of the Wesleys as far back as 1825, the year the county was carved out of Tazewell, Giles, Cabell and Kanawha. Students of local church history are convinced that Methodist ministers labored in this field prior to that date. Their first goings and comings antedate the West Virginia Conference, which was established by the General Conference while assembled in Pittsburgh in 1848.

For the following review of the history of Methodism in Logan, the Banner is indebted to an adherent of the church who has just been delving into the subject:

First Church Prepares for Dedication

Methodism had its beginning in what is now Logan county in the year 1825 of which we have record, but we feel sure that even before that there were Methodist preachers in the confines of the county.

The History of Methodism in Logan county beings even before we have a West Virginia Conference. It was established by the General Conference while assembled in Pittsburgh in 1848.

Methodism, like all other denominations in Logan county and elsewhere, has been intermittent, not always able to have ministers enough to supply all its work; but wherever possible having local men to exhort the people, and some of these men became great ministers of the church.

Logan County’s Methodism has fared somewhat like that. It has been intermittent in its work. They have had many ministers and many times they have been without a minister. Because of this a large portion of the history has been lost, so far as records are concerned, but in the heart and mind of Methodist people there remains the story of Methodism in Logan county which has been given to them by their ancestors.

At Guyandotte in 1804

We know from the general church history that Bishop Asbury preached in this section of the country before the year 1825 and the minister who was preaching in Guyandotte at the mouth of our river came into the county and preached as early as 1804.

The local church has within the jurisdiction property that was deeded to the church as early as the year 1844 and at this time is defending in the Circuit Court of Mingo county title to property that was deeded to the church in 1882.

The First Methodist Church has been using the old church building or 21 years. It was started by the Reverend J.W. Bedford, who is now living at Parsons, W.Va., and who is still active in serving a church. He began traveling this field in 1872. His circuit included these places as some of the appointments: Claypoool Chapel, Logan, Orville, Starr Chapel, and others that made a circuit of over a hundred miles in length. He walked most of the time and won for himself the name “Walking Joe,” which holds to this day.

The Rev. J.S. Thornburg, a brother of the Rev. Thornburg of this city, was the first preacher in the new church built in 1904. This building has served its people well, but now the needs of the present congregation are so great that they cannot be served in the old building.

In 1924 the Rev. Ben F. Donley was appointed pastor of the local congregation. Upon arrival he found a very much discouraged people, but that willingness that has characterized the Christian people from the beginning–a willingness to arise and work.

Without much ado, or even any shouting from the housetops as to what they were going to do, they set themselves to the task of doing what seemed the impossible.

Planning for Future

The church board made a survey of the community and of the church to find out its needs and to see if it were possible for them to supply them. The first one that arose was the need of a new church building, Sketches were drawn of a building that would care for the church for a number of years, but upon consideration it was decided that the coat was prohibitive. It was then decided to build a part now and complete the plans in the near future. This included departmental rooms and a modern parsonage.

Contract was let to the firm of Crump and Reardin, of Huntington, and ground was broken on November 23, 1926. The corner stone was laid January 13, this year by W.T. Workman, the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the A.F. & A.M., of West Virginia.

The new edifice to be presented for dedication on Sunday, May 1, is of English architecture, a very beautiful structure.

Absentee Landowners of Magnolia District (1870, 1876, 1886, 1889)

22 Monday Feb 2021

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Sandy Valley, Matewan

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A.J. Baker, Alexander Mounts, Anthony Lawson, Appalachia, Asbury Hurley, Charles Mounts, Charleston, Christian M. Cline, Cincinnati, Edward Cline, Eli Trent Jr., Four Pole Creek, genealogy, history, J.C. Alderson, J.D. Sergeant, Jackson Mounts, Jacob Smith, James Laidley, James M. Lawson, James OKeeffe, John Counts, John Mullins, Julius C. Williamson, Julius Williamson, Kanawha County, Kentucky, Lewis Ferrell, McDowell County, Minnesota, Morehead, Oswald Schaaf, Philadelphia, Pike County, Pond, Roane County, Stuart Wood, T.W. Blankenship, Tazewell County, W.W. Adams, Warren Alderson, Warren M. Alderson, Wayne County, West Virginia, Wheeling, William Collins, William P. Payne, William Prater, Wytheville

What follows is a list of absentee landowners in Magnolia Township/District of Logan County, WV, for 1870, 1876, 1886, and 1889… There are three significant types of absentee landowners: 1) those who live outside of Logan County; 2) those who live in Logan County but outside of Magnolia District; and 3) those who own property, for example, at Mate Creek but reside, for example, at Grapevine Creek (both within the district). This list does not include the latter type.

1870

Alexander Mounts, Kentucky, 300 acres

John Counts, Minnesota, 230 acres

Charles Mounts Estate and Jackson Mounts, Kentucky, 150 acres

John Mullins, McDowell County, 150 acres

Christian M. Cline, McDowell County, 85 acres

1876

Jacob Cline’s Heirs, Kentucky, 5000 acres

Warren M. Alderson, Kentucky, 4518 acres

Julius Williamson, Kentucky, 1375 acres

William Collins, Kentucky, 1045 acres

John W. Deskins, McDowell County, 555 acres

Eli Trent, Jr., Wayne County, 524 acres

James M. Lawson, Kentucky, 417.25

William Prater, Kentucky, 240 acres

Asbury Hurly Heirs, Kentucky, 214 acres

Alexander Mounts, Kentucky, 75 acres

Edward Cline, McDowell County, 25 acres

John Mullins, McDowell County, 15 acres

1886

Warren Alderson, Morehead KY, 2999 acres

Jacob Smith, Mouth of Pond KY, 2050 acres

J.D. Sergeant, Philadelphia PA, 1581 acres

Julius C. Williamson, Kentucky, 1353 acres

T.W. Blankenship, Roane County, 1200 acres

Anthony Lawson estate, Wytheville VA, 816 acres

Oswald Schaaf, Cincinnati OH, 650 acres

A.J. Baker, unknown, 300 acres

James Laidley, Kanawha County, 141 acres

1889

J.D. Sergeant, Philadelphia PA, 8976 acres

James OKeeffe, Tazewell County VA, 3592 acres

Stuart Wood, Philadelphia PA, 1093 acres

Warren Alderson, Morehead KY*, 800 acres

F. Slutienburgh, Cincinnati OH, 350 acres

J.C. Alderson and W.W. Adams et al., Wheeling and Charleston

Lewis Ferrell heirs, Pike County KY

Anthony Lawson heirs, Wytheville VA

William P. Payne et al., McDowell County

*Note: Residence located in Logan County in 1889 but in Morehead, Kentucky, for all other years.

Source: Land Book 1866-1872, Land Book 1873-1874, Land Book 1880-1886 and Land Book 1887-1892.

Early Anglo Settlers of Logan, WV (1937)

10 Monday Dec 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Guyandotte River, Logan, Native American History, Tazewell County

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Appalachia, Aracoma, Bluestone Valley, Boling Baker, Deskins Addition, Guyandotte River, Hatfield Island, Henry Mitchell, history, Island Creek, John Breckinridge, John Dempsey, John Dingess, Joseph Workman, Logan, Logan Banner, Logan County, Montgomery County, Nancy McNeely, Native American History, Native Americans, Nimrod Workman, Peter Dingess, Shawnee, Tazewell County, Virginia, West Virginia, William Dingess, Wythe County

From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, comes this bit of history about Logan’s earliest Anglo settlers in a story printed April 1, 1937:

First White Settler To Make His Home In Logan Lived on Hatfield Island

The first white settler to make his home near Logan was James Workman who was with the force of men who struck the blow that broke the power of the Shawnee in the valley of the Guyandotte.

He was a member of the group of white settlers who pursued Boling Baker from a settlement in the Bluestone valley to the island that is now known as “Hatfield Island” and there burned an Indian village and mortally wounded Princess Aracoma. Boling Baker escaped.

After Workman had a glimpse of the beautiful lush valley of the Guyandotte, it took little persuasion by John Breckinridge, who had been granted much of the valley after the battle of the Islands to get Workman and his two brothers Joseph and Nimrod to make settlement there, Breckinridge was forced to settle the land by the law of 1792 in order to hold title to it.

Workman and his two brothers came to the island in 1794 and built a cabin and planted a few acres of corn. In 1795 and 1796 the brothers planted the same land and James, who was a man of family, brought his wife and children from their old home in Wythe (now Tazewell) county, Virginia, where they continued to live until about the year 1800 when they moved to a farm nearby which was later owned by Henry Mitchell.

The first recorded permanent settlement was made by William Dingess, son of Peter Dingess, a German. Dingess was the oldest in a family of eleven children.

He was born in Montgomery county in 1770 and married Nancy McNeely. He purchased a survey of 300 acres, which covers the present site of the courthouse and a portion of the land across the river which is now Deskins addition.

Dingess moved to his survey in 1799 and made his home. John Dempsey came with him and built a cabin on the island, but afterwards moved to Island Creek.

William Dingess was said to be almost a giant in strength, but so peaceable that no one could induce him to fight. He was a relentless Indian fighter in the Guyan Valley, however. A story is told that he was with a force of whites who pursued a band of Indian marauders as far as the falls of the Guyan where they killed several braves.

Dingess cut a portion of the skin from a forearm of one of the braves and tanned it using it for a razor strop until his death.

The first settler had no children by his first wife. In 1800, Peter Dingess and John Dingess joined him and built their homes in the fertile land on each side of the river near the islands. Other settlers followed in time and the little settlement grew to a thriving frontier town.

Civil War in the Guyandotte and Big Sandy Valleys (1862)

03 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Sandy Valley, Chapmanville, Civil War, Guyandotte River, Pikeville, Tazewell County

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Abington Virginian, Appalachia, Big Sandy River, Cabell County, Chapmanville, civil war, Confederate Army, genealogy, Guyandotte River, history, John B. Floyd, John Clarkson, John Dils, John Letcher, Kanawha River, Kentucky, Levisa Fork, Lincoln County, Logan County, Ohio River, Pigeon Creek, Pike County, Pikeville, Prestonsburg, Smyth County, Tazewell County, Union Army, Virginia, Virginia State Line, Washington County, Wayne County, West Virginia

Confederate General John B. Floyd composed this letter detailing military activity in the Guyandotte and Big Sandy valleys in late 1862, which was published by the Abington Virginian on January 2, 1863.

***

OFFICIAL REPORT OF GEN. FLOYD

Headquarters Virginia State Line,

Camp Clarkson, Tazewell Co.,

December 17, 1862

His Excellencey, John Letcher,

Governor of Virginia—

SIR: After my last communication to you I prepared an expedition consisting of a strong force of Cavalry under Colonel John Clarkson, to operate against the enemy in the counties of Wayne, Cabell, &c. He set out from Chapmansville on the 14th November, in the direction of Cabell down the Guyandotte river, over a rough and difficult road. The following day he fell in with a detachment of the enemy which he quickly routed and dispersed. He continued the march until a few miles of the Ohio river, breaking up the “Home Guard” organization of the enemy, which are very numerous in all that country, and taking prisoners every day.

A strong guard of Yankee troops, acting as a guard for the Pierpont Assessor for the county of Wayne, was attacked and dispersed after a short skirmish, in which was killed and wounded some of the enemy and took a few prisoners. Col. Clarkson proceeded then, according to the previous directions given him, to the Sandy river, to attack a large and formidable organization of the enemy composed mainly of the native population, and very strong posted amidst the cliffs and forests upon the precipitous banks of that river. He succeeded in taking them by surprise completely, and after killing and wounding a number of them, took a large number of prisoners, and surprised entirely the rest of the force. This force and organization were formidable and extremely dangerous to the peace and quiet of all the country round about for many miles, the loyal people were nearly all driven from their country and all were robbed. After that, Col. Clarkson, according to previous understanding, made a junction with me at the mouth of Pigeon Creek, in Logan county, on the Kentucky border, whither I had gone with the infantry and a section of the mounted howitzer battery.

I learned from Col. Clarkson that the enemy had started a number of boats with valuable supplies, from the mouth of Sandy to a post recently established at Pikeville, a point at the head of navigation on the Louisa Fork of Sandy. These boats were in charge of a strong guard, and were intended to furnish a complete outfit for a force deemed sufficient for them, by their commander, to march upon and destroy the salt works in Smyth and Washington counties.

I determined at once to attack this train, and from its distance, being more than forty miles off, it became necessary to send mounted men. Besides this reason, I found it inconvenient to move the infantry in that direction, on account of the number of prisoners with which we were encumbered. The cavalry and mounted men were put in motion within an hour and proceeded upon the march, which was uninterrupted, day or night, until the enemy were overtaken, attacked and routed.

Our people captured ten of the enemy’s transport boats, laden with valuable supplies. A great deal of these supplies was distributed amongst the men, and much of them was brought off; but a very large amount of most valuable supplies was necessarily destroyed for want of transportation to bring them away. A train of one hundred pack mules would have brought away a very large amount of extremely valuable stores, which were committed to the fire and the river.

The night following the capture of these boats (indeed, just twelve hours after the attack upon the boats,) our forces engaged that of Col. Dils, posted in an extremely strong position on the summit of a mountain on the road leading from Prestonsburg to Pikeville. This position was taken and held without any knowledge on our part, and as the attack was made after the night, and entirely unexpected, we were taken at a great disadvantage. But our men behaved with great steadiness and resolution, received the attack and charged the enemy, driving him from his position, and dispersing them entirely. The rout was complete, and the post at Pikeville, consisting of a thousand men, was entirely broken up. The prisoners and the Union people in that neighborhood reported Colonel Dils as killed in the fight that night.

For more detailed statements of this expedition I refer you to the report of Col. Clarkson. In our operation through the country, we made a number of recruits in the counties of Cabell, Wayne, Logan, &c.

My object in this campaign was, as far as possible, to prevent the occupation by the Yankee forces, of the country between the Kanawha Valley and Kentucky border, as well as to destroy the military organization of the country under the traitor government in Wheeling. Both objects were fully attained, as long as I was able to remain in the country. The military organizations, very numerous and well appointed in every particular, were almost entirely destroyed, and the attempts to set up the spurious government were entirely failed.

I was compelled to leave the country, held by me for more than three months alone, for the want of Quartermaster’s supplies. We were without tents, or clothing, or cooking utensils, or axes; and after the inclement weather of winter set in, we could no longer remain in the field. With these stores supplied, I would have remained in that country throughout the winter months. We were able to procure food (meat and bread) in the country, nearly all of it taken from the enemy.

The campaign, from first to last, was one of hardship and privations; but they were borne without complaint by the men, who are unsurpassed in hardship, activity and capability to endure privations. They deserve great praise for their constancy and general good conduct.

The officers generally deserve commendation, but to Col. Clarkson too much credit cannot be given for his energy, activity and courage. The obstacle she encountered, of every sort, throughout these expeditions, were of the most formidable character, but they were also most gallantly surmounted.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully,

Your obedient servant,

JOHN B. FLOYD,

Maj. Gen. Commanding Va. State Line

NOTE: I bolded Gen. Floyd’s description of activity in the Guyandotte Valley that occurred between Chapmanville and the lower section of the river near present-day Huntington.

Wife of Logan Banner Editor George A. Dean Disappears (1912-1913)

20 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Huntington, Logan, Matewan, Tazewell County

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Albermarle, Appalachia, Bluefield, Buchanan, Collier's Weekly, Dry Fork, genealogy, George A. Dean, Henry Clay Ragland, Herald-Dispatch, history, Huntington, Iaeger, Imperial Order of Redmen, J.B. ellison, Jefferson Hotel, Kentucky, Keyes Sisters, LaRoy Stock Company, Lena Boyd Nelson, Lena Gross, Logan, Logan Banner, Logan County, Logan Democrat, Logan Nest 1442, Matewan, Modern Maccabees, Norfolk and Western Railroad, North Carolina, Order of Owls, Sayersville, Silver Cloud Tribe 138, Tazewell County, Virginia, W.L. Richardson, West Virginia, Williamson

In 1912, Logan Banner editor George A. Dean married the former Lena Gross, who soon thereafter disappeared. Here are a few stories about the event:

Editor Dean Married

On Monday, Nov. 11 in the minister’s study, Geo. A. Dean and Miss Lena Gross of Virginia, were united in marriage by Rev. W.L. Richardson.

Mr. Dean is the hustling editor of the Logan Banner and is well-known in this city and surrounding country as a man of push and energy, while the bride was one of the charming dining room girls at the Hotel Jefferson.

Mr. and Mrs. Dean will be at home to their friends after Nov. 18.

Source: Logan (WV) Democrat, 14 November 1912.

***

George A. Dean Logan Banner LB 01.24.1913.JPG

Logan (WV) Banner, 24 January 1913.

***

Editor of “Most Fearless Weekly” on the Trail

West Virginia editors who have failed to receive the Logan Banner on their exchange tables during the past three weeks, no doubt, marveled at its absence. But there is a reason–a tragic, gnawing reason which has caused the editor, Geo. A. Dean to suspend temporarily editorial duties and to embark upon a quest which means more to him than journalistic honors or the mere touch of hollow gold.

Readers of the Banner will remember that there appeared graven upon its front page four months ago Mr. Dean’s and his wife’s own announcement of their marriage. The paragraph attracted more than usual attention, partly because of its unique construction and partly because of the unusual manner of its presentation, but more than all because Mr. Dean was very prominently in the editorial limelight because of recent rather prominent mention in Collier’s Weekly. But that is history, and in mere prelude to the situation which now confronts him: to-wit: that of a married man, wifeless, disconsolate, yearning for the things that were.

Mr. Dean, who has been in Huntington and vicinity for two days seeking a trace of his evanished spouse, speaks frankly of his bereavement, and is importunate that the home-loving public shall, if possible, assist him in finding and restoring his lost treasure. In brief, Lena Boyd Nelson Dean has gone away and, some fear, forever departed. She went without the tender formality of a farewell husband’s kiss. She went away surreptitiously, mysteriously. She went, and Mr. Dean, who has sounded the very depths of heaven and earth, is no whit the wiser whither. Descriptive circulars, telling her height, weight, complexion, color of eyes and hair, manner of dress, and all that pertains to accurate and dependable description have been scattered broadcast all over the territory in which it might be surmised that she would be obscuring herself from the eyes of love and yearning. Mr. Dean stated last night, in conversation with the Herald-Dispatch, that he had absolutely no heart for business, that he had known no rest, no surcease from the terrible heart-longing that had seized upon him and held with tenacious grip from the morning of his wife’s departure. He has searched high and low. He has communicated with every known relative of his wife, without being able to get even the shadow of a clue tending to lead to the discovery of her whereabouts. He gives the following verbal photograph, which is almost as good as the ordinary studio product, and much better than a tintype:

Lena Boyd Nelson Dean, formerly of Williamson and Matewan and Bluefield. Four months ago she served as waitress, cook, and house girl at Logan, W.Va. Last seen at Kenova on Sunday morning, March 2. Physical description: Age 26. Height 5 ft. 2. Coal-black eyes given to starry twinkle. Raven black hair. Rather full lips. Gold filling in front teeth. Deep, well modulated musical voice, with a tendency to coarseness in time of cold. Can not read or write much as her early education was neglected. Her costume is described as being strict in the style of today. Raincoat, drab-colored; blue-serge, two piece coat suit. Beaver hat, embellished with four black ostrich plumes. Leather suitcase, canvass trunk and gold-headed umbrella.

Mr. Dean feels that his wife may have returned to one of the three occupations ascribed to her in the opening paragraphs.

He has important mail for her, both registered and ordinary, and is awaiting anxiously any news of her, and his arms are open to her return. The Logan editor’s plight is positively pitiful. He has grown emaciated, hollow-eyed, faded, wan. The tireless vigil, the ceaseless search, the anxious waiting hours, have all played their part in preying upon his splendid vitality. He is discouraged but not defeated, and will continue the search as long as human endurance will permit, or else sooner find the partner of his joys and immediate cause of his great and overpowering grief. His plight has elicited much sympathy. For what is life without a partner?

Source: Huntington (WV) Herald-Dispatch via Logan (WV) Democrat, 13 March 1913.

***

George A. Dean's Wife Missing LB 03.21.1913 1

Logan (WV) Banner, 21 March 1913.

George A. Dean's Wife Missing LB 03.21.1913 2

Logan (WV) Banner, 21 March 1913.

George A. Dean's Wife Missing LB 03.21.1913 3

Logan (WV) Banner, 21 March 1913.

George A. Dean's Wife Missing LB 03.21.1913 4

Logan (WV) Banner, 21 March 1913.

George A. Dean's Wife Missing LB 03.21.1913 5

Logan (WV) Banner, 21 March 1913.

George A. Dean's Wife Missing LB 03.21.1913 6

Logan (WV) Banner, 21 March 1913.

Battle of Kanawha Gap (1861)

10 Sunday Jun 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Barboursville, Big Creek, Boone County, Chapmanville, Civil War, Guyandotte River, Tazewell County

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129th Regiment Virginia Militia, 1st Kentucky Infantry, 34th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, 5th Virginia Regiment, Abram S. Piatt, Appalachia, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Barboursville, Battle of Kanawha Gap, Big Creek, Big Sandy River, Boone County, Burlington Weekly Hawk-Eye, Camp Enyart, Ceredo, Chapmanville, Charleston, Chicago Daily Tribune, Cincinnati Daily Press, Cincinnati Gazette, civil war, Cleveland Morning Leader, Coal River, Confederate Army, Daily Green Mountain Freeman, David S. Enyart, Eli Thayer, Evening Star, George McClellan, Greenbrier County, Guyandotte River, H.C. Evans, Harpers Ferry, Herman Evans, history, J.V. Guthrie, J.W. Davis, Jacob D. Cox, John Dejernatt, Kanawha River, Kanawha Valley, Logan County, Logan Court House, M.H. Wood, National Republican, O.P. Evans, Ohio, Ohio River, Parkersburg, Pomeroy Weekly Telegraph, Portsmouth, Richmond Whig, Robert E. Lee, Samuel Smoot, Sewell Mountain, Southwestern Times, Staunton Spectator, T.W. Rathbone, Tazewell County, Tug Fork, Union Army, Virginia, West Virginia, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Wheeling, William Baisden, William Rosecrans, William S. Rosecrans, Zouaves

The following newspaper accounts describe the Battle of Kanawha Gap near present-day Chapmanville, Logan County, WV, which occurred on September 25, 1861:

Cleveland (OH) Morning Leader, 3 October 1861

GALLIPOLIS, Oct. 2.

The expedition planned by Col. J.V. Guthrie of the First Kentucky Regiment, and sent out under Lieut. Col. Enyart and Col. Piatt, has returned. They encountered the enemy at Chapmansville under Col. J. Lucien Davis, of Greenbrier, and utterly routed them. The enemy lost between fifty and sixty killed. Our loss was four killed. The expedition returned to Charleston on the 30th ult.

david s. enyart photo

Col. David S. Enyart, 1st Kentucky Infantry (Union).

Evening Star (Washington, DC), 4 October 1861

A Confederate Camp in Western Virginia Broken Up and Routed

CINCINNATI, Oct. 3 — A body of Federal troops, under Lieut. Col. Enyart, attacked a camp of rebels at Chapmansville, in Logan county, Va., near the Kentucky line, routing them, killing sixty and taking seventy prisoners. The same body of rebels were afterward intercepted in their retreat by Col. Piatt, who killed forty and made a large number prisoners.

abram s. piatt photo

Col. Abram S. Piatt (1821-1908), 34th Ohio Infantry Regiment.

New York (NY) Herald, 4 October 1861

FIGHT WITH THE REBELS AT CHAPMANSVILLE

Cincinnati, Oct. 3, 1861.

The Kanawha correspondent of the Commercial of this city says that five companies of the First Kentucky regiment, four companies of the Thirty-fourth Ohio regiment and one company of the Fifty Virginia regiment, under Lieutenant Colonel Enyart, surrounded and attacked the rebels at Chapmansville, and after a short engagement completely routed them, killing sixty and taking seventy prisoners. The rebels in escaping were intercepted by Colonial Piatt, who killed forty and took a large number of prisoners. The country between Charleston and Wyandot river is now freed from secession power. This is the most effective blow given the rebels in this part of the valley.

IMG_2256.JPG

One section of the Kanawha Gap Battle Site, Chapmanville, Logan County, WV, 9 June 2018.

Daily Green Mountain Freeman (Montpelier, VT), 7 October 1861

Chapmansville, Va., the scene of the most recent engagement, is a small post village in Logan county, Va. Logan county is in the extreme Western portion of Virginia, the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy being the boundary line between it and the State of Kentucky. It is one of the largest, wildest and most sparsely inhabited counties in the State.

IMG_2238.JPG

Part of the Kanawha Gap Battle Site, Chapmanville, Logan County, WV, 9 June 2018.

National Republican (Washington, DC), 7 October 1861

THE SITUATION.

The two affairs at Chapmansville, reported three or four days since, in which the enemy lost one hundred killed and a proportionate number of wounded, will, it is supposed, restore permanent peace to the Virginia counties western of the Kanawha. Chapmansville is on the turnpike from Charleston to Logan county Court-house, and is about twenty-five miles to the south of Barboursville, the shire town of Cabell county. The secessionists in that part of Western Virginia have been numerous and pertinacious. They have once had possession of Guyandotte on the Ohio river and for a long time they threatened Ceredo (Mr. Thayer’s colony,) which lies on the river between Guyandotte and the Kentucky line. There have been two engagements with them in the rear of Ceredo, one at Barboursville, one at Logan county Court-house, one at Boone county Court-house (which town was burnt by the national troops,) and finally two at Chapmansville. The truth is, that in large portions of numerous, and, but for the early occupation of that region by the National troops, would have controlled it, not because they were the majority, but because one secessionist is, everywhere, a match for three Union men.

The secessionists are reckless, violent, and desperate, while their opponents, if not timid are at any rate remarkably pacific. We doubt, indeed, from all the information we can get, whether throwing out of the account Wheeling and Parkersburg, the terminal on the Ohio river of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, Western Virginia had more elements of Union strength than the Valley of Virginia. From Harper’s Ferry south for fifty miles, the Union men have been numerous from the first, and it is a matter of deep regret that it did not consist with the plans of military strategy adopted at the headquarters of the army here, to occupy (at least) the northern part of the Valley of Virginia. It is consoling, that a different policy was adopted in retrospect to Western Virginia. That region was promptly taken possession of, cleared of the rebel armies by Gen. McClellan, and has since been victoriously held by Gen. Rosecrans. All attempts of the enemy to affect a re-entrance into Western Virginia are promptly repulsed.

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Staunton (VA) Spectator, 8 October 1861

Status at Sewell’s Mountain.

The enemy, under Gen. Rozencrantz, and our forces under Gen. Lee, are both upon Sewell Mountain very near each other. A fight has been daily expected there for some time, but the enemy have been fortifying ever since they have been there, and there will not be a fight unless we attack them in their entrenchments. They are afraid to attack us, and it is probable that our force is too weak to risk an attack on them within their fortification. It may, therefore, be some time before an engagement will take place. We understand that we had sent a force of four regiments to their rear for the purpose of cutting off their supplies—that we succeeded in getting around them, but were compelled to return because we did not have sufficient supplies ourselves. We also learn that Col. Jas. W. Davis of Greenbrier, whilst commanding a force of militia in Logan county, attacked a part of the enemy, and was shot down at the first fire. The militia, after several rounds caught the Yankee fever which made their cowardly legs run off with their brave hearts, and they left their commander in the hands of the enemy, who, we fear, has died from his wound.

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New historical sign placed by the WV Division of Culture and History located at the 119 ramp in Chapmanville, WV. 26 April 2017.

Chicago (IL) Daily Tribune, 9 October 1861

A Splendid Achievement of the Ohio Zouaves–“Wood Up” the Battle Cry.

[The following letter is exclusively devoted to the fight which the Piatt Zouaves had with the rebels near Chapmansville, Va. It is distinct from the victorious fight which the command of Lieut. Col. Enyart had with another body of rebels, in the same vicinity. EDS. CINCINNATI COM]

CAMP ENYART, KANAWHA, Oct. 2, 1861. EDS. COM.: The Zouave Thirty-fourth Regimens, Ohio, have had a chance to show their metal. This was on Wednesday, on Kanawha Gap, near Chapmansville, Va. After marching 42 miles, they came upon the enemy, who were behind breastworks, but could not stand our boys’ steady fire, for they retreated in utter consternation, their Col. J.W. Davis, of Greenbrier, Va, (but the traitor is a native of Portsmouth, Ohio,) being mortally wounded. We killed 20, took 3 prisoners, a secesh flag, 20 feet long with FIFTEEN STARS, 4 horses, 1 wagon, 10 rifles (one of which I claim), 12 muskets, and commissary stores (very low.) We lost 3 killed, 9 wounded, one since died. The route of the enemy was complete, although they had a brave, skillful commander, and strong position, with two days’ information of our intentions. They fled the moment their commander fell. The fight lasted about 10 minutes opposite the breastworks, but a running fire was kept up previous to that, by the Bushwhackers and rebel cavalry for two hours. At every turn of the road over the mountains, they would fire upon our advance men, wheel round, and gallop away. This kind of fight was kept up till we came suddenly upon their breastworks, immediately in line of our entire column. It was made on the side of a knoll, between two mountain sides, the road running between the mountain on our left. The wily rebel commander had adroitly cut down the brush on the right, placing a force of 100 men on the mountain top on our right, who raked our column from the front to the center. This was to draw our attention from their breastworks. Our men naturally fired upon the rebels on their right, steadily advancing up the road, until within 20 feet of the enemy’s works, when the rebels suddenly opened fire, from their right, left and center. The order from Col. Piatt and Lieut. Col. Toland, to flank right and left was immediately responded to by the Zouaves with a hurrah, a Zouave yell, and a cry of “wood up” from Little Red; a dash by our boys upon the enemy’s breastworks, above which about 300 rebel heads suddenly appeared, unknown by our men till that moment. They sent a perfect storm of bullets around, over, under, and into our men. A few minutes more and our boys were inside the breastworks, chasing them over the mountains, the enemy running away like cowards as they proved to be. They left 29 dead behind. Their force was 450 infantry and 50 cavalry. Our force was 560.

We buried our three brave dead comrades that night, carried our wounded to the house wherein the rebel Colonel lay, mortally wounded, deserted by all his men but one. Our whole column finally marched into the little town of Chapmansville, formerly headquarters of the enemy, and camped for the night.

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34th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Piatt’s Zouaves, Captain Photo.

Pomeroy (OH) Weekly Telegraph, 11 October 1861

Brilliant Action in the Kanawha Valley.

CHARLESTON, Va., Sept. 30, ’61. Eds. Cin. Com.–Information having been brought to Col. J.V. Guthrie, commanding this post, that a large force of Rebels were gathered at Logan Co., Lt. Col. Enyart, of the 1st Kentucky, was at once sent to engage them. His force was composed of five companies of the 1st Kentucky, four companies of the 34th Ohio–German Regiment–under command of Col. A.S. Piatt, and one company of the 5th Virginia Regiment, under command of Maj. M.H. Wood.

Col. Enyart, with the Kentucky force, surrounded and attacked the Rebels at Chapmanville, and after a short but decisive engagement, completely routed them, killing 60 and taking 70 prisoners. The Rebels, in escaping, were intercepted by Col. Piatt, who surprised them and killed 40 men, and took a large number of prisoners.

The force of the Rebels is now completely broken up, and the country between this point and Guyandotte River is now freed from Secession power. This is the most effective blow given the Rebels in this part of the Valley.

In great haste. Further particulars by next boat.

Very respectfully,

M. CLEMENS,

Lieut. Col. 5th Va. Reg’t.

34th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Piatt's Zouaves Soldier Photo

34th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Piatt’s Zouaves, Soldier.

Evening Star (Washington, DC), 11 October 1861

THE BATTLE OF KANAWHA GAP.

The Western Virginia correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette gives the following account of the late engagement at Kanawha Gap:

There were about 1,050 troops under the command of Colonels Enyart and Piatt, who left their camp Monday morning, 30th ulto., and took up their line of march for the enemy.

The forces moved together until they reached Peytona, on Cole river, where they separated; Col. Enyart going up Cole river. Col. Enyart did not meet the enemy in force at any place but his men did meet and ford swollen rivers, and marched on short rations, and were anxious to meet with the running enemy of Old Virginia. Col. Enyart did not meet Col. Piatt until they met on the Kanawha, on their return.

Col. Piatt’s command immediately proceeded thence to Boone Court House, and camped that night one mile beyond. The next day, after proceeding some sixteen miles,t hey came up with the advance guard of the enemy, consisting of cavalry, when a brisk fire was exchanged, the cavalry retreating. After the retreat of cavalry the battalion was immediately put in order of battle. The advance guard of fifteen men was led forward by Adj’t Clarke, proceeding along the road. Scouts were sent out on either side of the road to meet and repulse the sharp-shooters of the enemy.

The force proceeded in this order for about two miles, meeting the pickets of the enemy, exchanging shots with them incessantly, and driving them back with increased confusion at each charge.

Being unable to ascertain the position of the rebels, the entire force halted for a few moments, and Col. Piatt rode in advance and took observations with his glass, but could not ascertain their force and position, as it was covered with a thick growth of underbrush. After these observations a command was issued to forward the column. The scouts moved on the rapidity and enthusiasm, the main body moving up the narrow road cautiously and firmly. The fire continued to increase, and shots were rapidly exchanged from the right and left with the enemy, until our advanced guard reached within sixty yards of their main force. The column was some eighty yards from the enemy when they received a perfect volley of fire upon their right, indicating that the rebels were in force in that direction. Company “A,” commanded by Capt. Rathbone, was ordered to deploy as skirmishers to the right, up the side of the mountain, and if possible to flank the enemy on the left. Company “C,” commanded by Capt. Miller, was ordered to the right, up a similar mountain, to flank the enemy on their left. Company “I,” commanded by Capt. Anderson, was ordered directly up the ravine, on the left. In this position he drew the concentrated fire of the rebels upon his company, who made use of the knowledge thus obtained by rapidly charging upon and destroying the enemy’s breastworks. The center moved directly up the road. With this disposition of the forces, Col. Piatt routed them from their confusion. Capt. Anderson was the first to mount their breastworks, his men following him in the face of a terrible fire without flinching or confusion.

As Capt. Anderson sealed the breastwork, Capt. Miller closed upon the left and Capt. Rathbone came in upon the right, his men crying “Zouave!” The main column moving up the road in double quick–until they were brought to a temporary halt by obstructions placed in the road by the enemy.

The rebels, terrified by the strange bravery and almost wild enthusiasm that was exhibited by each advancing column, ran in confusion, leaving their dead, wounded, clothing, guns, horses, &c., making their escape by Capt. Rathbone’s right; his company being too far up the mountain to cut off their retreat. Capt. West, commanding company F, was detailed to scour the mountain on the west, on the left of the road. Capt. O.P. Evans on the west side of the mountain, on the right side of the road. Capt. Herman Evans, commanding Company H, on the east side of the mountain, on the left of the road.

Each of these companies moved with dispatch, yet such was the knowledge of the rebels of teh by-paths in the mountains, and belonging to the “F.F.V.’s,” and having been drilled at running all summer, that but two were captured.

Among interesting objects captured was a genuine secession flag, captured by Lieut. Brown.

The enemy’s loss was thirty killed and fifty wounded.

We regret to know that four of our men were killed and eight wounded.

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34th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Piatt’s Zouaves, Soldiers. Here’s a link to Captain T.W. Rathbone’s Civil War diary: http://resources.ohiohistory.org/ohj/browse/displaypages.php?display[]=0071&display[]=33&display[]=56

Burlington (IA) Weekly Hawk-Eye, 12 October 1861

The fight at Chapmansville was a sharp and bloody affair. Five of Piatt’s Zouaves were killed. The rebels lost thirty-five killed.

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Part of the Kanawha Gap Battle Site, Chapmanville, Logan County, WV, 9 June 2018.

National Republican (Washington, DC), 17 October 1861

The thirty-fourth regiment (first Zouaves) have been actively engaged since they came to the Kanawha Valley. Since the glorious victory they won near Chapmansville where the rebel commander, Colonel Davis, was mortally wounded, the Union sentiment has advanced on the Cole River. Two companies have been organized, and are ready to go to work to defend their own homes and give the organized regiments an opportunity to advance into the heart of the enemy’s country.

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Part of the Kanawha Gap Battle Site, Chapmanville, Logan County, WV, 9 June 2018.

Cincinnati (OH) Daily Press, 22 October 1861

Captain H.C. Evans, of Piatt’s Zouave Regiment, yesterday called in our office and exhibited a Secesh flag, captured at the Chapmansville fight, on the 24th ult.

34th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Piatt's Zouaves Soldiers Photo

34th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment, Piatt’s Zouaves, Soldiers.

Clarksville (TN) Chronicle, 25 October 1861

The Fight in Logan County, Va.

[From the Richmond Whig of the 15th.]

We yesterday published the Yankee account of a battle in Logan county, which as usual, was manufactured out of whole cloth. The following are the facts as given by the South-western Times, (Tazewell county) of the 10th inst.:

From Samuel Smoot, Esq., of Boone county, who was in the fight, we learn the following particulars of the battle near Chapmanville, Logan county, on the 25th ult: The Yankees numbered 700, and commenced the attack upon our troops–the Logan militia–in a low gap between Guyandotte river and Big Creek, where they were engaged in raising a temporary breastwork. Our troops numbered 220, but there were only about 80 of them engaged in the fight. They were commanded by Col. J.W. Davis, of Greenbrier, a brave and gallant officer, who was severely, but not dangerously wounded, in the arm and breast. As soon as it became known that Col. Davis was wounded, the militia commenced a retreat. The commanding officer of the Lincoln troops afterwards confessed to Col. Davis, who was taken prisoner, that at the same moment a portion of the Yankees were running, and that one more round would have completely dispersed them.

The loss of the Yankees, by their own confession to Col. Davis, was 40 killed and a number wounded; among the former were four Union men, all of whom are represented by the Yankees to be most arrant thieves and cowards. Our loss was two killed and three or four wounded, besides Col. Davis, whose valuable services are at present lost to the Confederacy, being paroled by the enemy.

On the following day our scouts killed one of their pickets, and wounded another, at a point about half way between Logan Court House and Chapmanville, promising to give them particular thunder before daylight next morning. This with some news from a lady on the road, and some account of the militia of the surrounding counties, found on the person of Col. Davis, caused a hasty stampede for their headquarters, in the valley of the Kanawha. It seems that high water, bad roads, nor anything else could impede their rapid flight. They tore down a meeting house in Boone county to make rafts whereon to cross the river. They drowned two of their wounded, lost a wagon containing their entire stock of ammunition, and were fully persuaded that they were followed by two thousand cavalry, of which the Yankees in the West are about as fearful as their Eastern brothers are of masked batteries.

Upon the whole, we are much gratified at the result of this fight. It has, for the present, driven the cowardly thieves from the country, given renewed energy to the true patriots of Logan and the adjoining counties, fully convincing them that with the assistance of two or three hundred of their gallant friends in Tazewell county, they will be fully able to thrash any number that Gen. Cox or his friends shall dare to send against them.”

Note: An almost identical version of this story appeared in the Staunton (VA) Spectator on 22 October 1861.

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Record relating to the 129th Virginia Militia (Confederate), which was present at the Battle of Kanawha Gap.

Charleston, WV: One Century Ago (1927)

25 Friday May 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Coal, Giles County, Native American History, Tazewell County

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Alex W. Quarrier, Andrew Donnally, Benjamin F. Morris, C&O Railroad, Cabell County, Charles Droddy, Charles Page, Charleston, Clendenin, coal, Coal River, Coalsmouth, Daniel Boone, David Ruffner, Davis Creek, Donnally's Fort, Ebenezer Oakes, Elk River, Fleming Cobb, Fort Tackett, genealogy, Giles County, Greenbrier County, Henry Ruffner, Herbert P. Gaines, history, John P. Huddleston, John Young, Josiah Hughes, Kanawha County, Kanawha Court House, Kanawha Salines, Kanawha Valley, L.H. Oakes, Leonard Morris, Logan Banner, Logan County, Malden, Marmet, Mason Campbell, Mercer Academy, Michael Newhouse, Native Americans, Owen Jarrett, Point Pleasant, Roy J. Morris, salt, South Charleston, St. Albans, Tazewell County, The Western Virginian, Walton, West Virginia, William Cobb

From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, in a story titled “Conditions Century Ago: Charleston Educator Tells of Settlement of Kanawha County Which Embraced Part of What Is Now Logan–With 550 Population Charleston Was Metropolis of Kanawha Valley,” comes this bit of history for the city of Charleston dated October 14, 1927:

Josiah Hughes, principal of the South Charleston graded schools, has written a sketch of Kanawha county, telling of the activities of a century and more ago. It is of interest here, because Logan county was created in 1824 from parts of Kanawha, Cabell, Giles and Tazewell, and because some of the pioneers he names have descendants in Logan. Kanawha county was formed Oct. 5, 1789. His article in part follows.

Charleston was the largest town in the valley, and had a population of approximately 550. It had its stores, its schools, its court house, its jail, its pillory, and its whipping post.

The postoffice at Charleston was “Kanawha C.H.” established under that name in 1801, and was so called until late in 1879. Among those who received their mail here one century ago were the following: Leonard Morris (an ancestor of Roy J. Morris, who is in the local C. & O. ticket office), probably the earliest of the pioneers of the valley; Fleming Cobb, the noted Indian scout, who lies buried near the mouth of Davis Creek; John P. Huddleston, who hunted and trapped with Daniel Boone; Alex W. Quarrier, who was many years clerk of the courts of Kanawha county; Herbert P. Gaines, founder of the first newspaper in Charleston; John Young, whose father saved him and his mother from death by Indians when Fort Tackett at the mouth of Coal River was destroyed about 1789; Dr. William Cobb, the first physician in this valley and the ancestor of the Cobb family near Clendenin; Michael Newhouse, a noted pioneer of Elk river; Ebenezer Oakes, a near ancestor of our townsman, L.H. Oakes; Charles Droddy, the first settler at Walton; Owen Jarrett, noted ancestor of the Jarrett family in Kanawha county; Col. David Ruffner, the noted business man whose enterprise made possible the establishment of Mercer Academy in Charleston one hundred and ten years ago; Benjamin Morris, a noted pioneer and near ancestor of Benjamin F. Morris of Marmet; Col. Andrew Donnally, whose father built Donnally’s Fort in Greenbrier county.

During the years 1825-1829. “The Western Virginian,” as it was called, was the only newspaper published in Charleston. Mason Campbell was editor.

50 Salt Furnaces

The first great industry in the Great Kanawha Valley was the manufacturing of salt. One hundred years ago more than fifty salt furnaces were in active operation. A few years later the annual production of salt reached upwards of 3,000,000 bushels.

Kanawha Salines, now Malden, was the center of the great industrial area. The salt companies had greater stores than could be found in Charleston and many of the citizens of Charleston went to Kanawha Salines to do their trading.

One hundred years ago only a few coal mines had been opened up. Wood was the principal fuel used at the salt furnaces. Prior to 1830 but little coal was used by the salt makers. The coal industry in this valley was of comparatively small value until the opening of the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad in 1873.

By 1827 three steamboats had succeeded in reaching Charleston. In 1830 the first towboat on the Kanawha reached Charleston.

Before the close of the first quarter of the nineteenth century missionaries of various churches had visited the valley and preached in the homes of the pioneers. The Protestant Episcopal church established parishes in Kanawha valley about 1821. The Rev. Charles Page was the preacher for the churches at Point Pleasant, Charleston and Coalsmouth (St. Albans). But the Presbyterian church was probably the pioneer in the valley, although small congregations of communicants of the Baptist and Methodist churches may have worshiped in the homes of some of the pioneers. Dr. Henry Ruffner organized the first Presbyterian church in Kanawha county in 1818. The church was organized in Charleston.

Smith Cemeteries on Brier Branch of Harts Creek (2018)

31 Saturday Mar 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Harts Creek, Cemeteries, Civil War, Tazewell County, Whirlwind

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45th Battalion Virginia Infantry, Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, Brier Branch, cemeteries, civil war, Confederate Army, Emal Smith, Florence Smith, genealogy, Harts Creek, history, James Smith, Logan County, photos, Scott Dalton, Susie Smith, Tazewell County, Thomas Smith, Thomas Smith Family Cemetery, Virginia, West Virginia, Zernie Smith

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Heading up Brier/Briar Branch of Harts Creek, Logan County, WV. 29 March 2018.

 

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Up we go! 29 March 2018.

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Lower Smith Cemetery. Right Hand Fork of Brier Branch. I counted six graves here. 29 March 2018.

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Lower Smith Cemetery. Right Hand Fork of Brier Branch. 29 March 2018.

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Upper Smith Cemetery. Some records refer to this cemetery as “Brier Branch Cemetery.” Right Hand Fork of Brier Branch at left; Sugar Camp on the right. 29 March 2018.

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Thomas Smith grave. Mr. Smith, a veteran of the Confederate Army, was a native of Tazewell County, VA. 29 March 2018.

History of Logan County as Political Subdivision (1926)

02 Tuesday Jan 2018

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Giles County, Holden, Logan, Native American History, Tazewell County

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Accawmack Shire, Appalachia, Augusta County, Botetourt County, Cabell County, Cayuga, Charles City Shire, Charles River Shire, Elizabeth City Shire, Essex County, Fincastle County, G.W. Bickley, Giles County, Henrico Shire, history, James City Shire, John Logan, Kanawha County, King and Queen County, King William County, Littletown Tazewell, Logan Banner, Logan County, Mingo County, Montgomery County, Ohio, Orange County, Russell County, Simon Cotterel, Spottsylvania County, Tazewell County, Virginia, Warroskuyoak Shire, Warwick River Shire, Washington County, West Virginia, Wheeling, Wythe County, Yellow Creek, York County

From the Logan Banner of Logan, WV, comes this item relating to county history dated October 22, 1926:

AS POLITICAL SUBDIVISION, LOGAN CO. IS DESCENDANT OF FIRST EIGHT SHIRES

Logan county was formed in 1824 from parts of Tazewell, Giles, Cabell and Kanawha. In 1895 Logan was bisected in two almost equal parts, from the southernmost of which Mingo was created. Logan’s area is 455.82 square miles; Mingo’s 423,50_ square miles.

Tracing this county’s ancestry back through Tazewell it will be found to have a long line of distinguished progenitors.

The county was named after John Logan, a famous Cayuga Indian but not a chief, who was changed from a staunch friend to an unrelenting foe of the whites after his family had been murdered at Yellow Creek, Ohio, not far from Wheeling.

Tazewell was formed from Wythe and Russell in 1799. It derived its name from a political strategem. Simon Cotterel, representative from Russell, introduced a bill to authorize the creation of a new county. A Mr. Tazewell, representing Norfolk County, opposed the measure. Cotterel induced him to suspend his opposition pending the rewriting of the bill. Then Cotterel erased the proposed name and substituted that of Tazewell. That silenced the objector, who then voted for the amended measure. According to G.W. Bickley’s history of Tazewell County, the Tazewell referred to was not Littletown Tazewell, who was governor of the state from 1834 to 1836.

At that time Tazewell county had an area of 3,000 square miles–two and a half times the size of Rhode Island and more than six times the six of Logan county.

Wythe county was formed from Montgomery in 1789, Russell from Washington in 1786, Washington and Montgomery from Fincastle in 1772, Botetourt from Augusta in 1769, Augusta from Orange in 1738, Orange from Spottsylvania in 1724, Spottsylvania from King and Queen, Essex, and King William in 1720, King William from King and Queen, and through a series of changes, descended from Charles River Shire, which was changed to York county, in 1643. Ten years before that “The General Assembly holden at James City the 21st of August, 1633, divided Virginia Colony into eight shires, named James City, Henrico, Warwick River, Warroskuyoak, Charles City, Elizabeth City, Accawmack and Charles River.”

 

Thomas Dunn English Deed to Crispin Stone (1852)

28 Tuesday Nov 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Ugly Creek, Tazewell County

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Appalachia, Big Ugly Creek, county clerk, Crispin S. Stone, genealogy, Hamilton Fry, history, Lincoln County, Logan County, Nancy Fry, Pigeon Rock Branch, Tazewell County, Thomas Dunn English, Virginia, W.I. Campbell, West Virginia, William Straton

Thomas Dunn English and Crispin Stone to Hamilton Fry 1852 1

Deed Book C, page 306, Logan County Clerk’s Office, Logan, WV. This property is located in present-day Lincoln County, WV.

Narrows, VA (2017)

25 Monday Sep 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Civil War, Giles County, Native American History

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Abraham Wood, Appalachia, Blacksburg, Brandon Kirk, Confederate Army, George Crook, Giles County, history, John McCausland, MacArthur Inn, Monroe County, Montgomery County, Mountain Lake, Narrows, Native Americans, New River, Norfolk and Western Railroad, North Carolina, Phyllis Kirk, Stonewall Jackson, Tazewell County, The Crooked Road, Thomas Batts, Union Army, Virginia, West Virginia, William B. Giles, Wood's River

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Plenty of my ancestors once lived in Giles County, VA. 10 August 2017.

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Here we are near Narrows, VA. 10 August 2017. Photo by Mom.

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Entering Narrows, VA. 10 August 2017. The New River is visible on the right.

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I enjoyed this little section of old buildings in Narrows, VA. 10 August 2017.

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Narrows, VA. 10 August 2017. For more info, follow this link: http://townofnarrows.org/history/

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Confederate victory here in Narrows, VA. 10 August 2017. Photo by Mom.

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The MacArthur Inn in Narrows, VA. 10 August 2017. For more info, follow this link: http://www.macarthur-inn.com/

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Bluegrass music every Thursday at MacArthur Inn in Narrows, VA. 10 August 2017. Photo by Mom. For more info, follow this link: https://www.myswva.org/tcr

Welcome to Burke’s Garden, VA (2015)

16 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Native American History, Tazewell County

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Andrew Lewis, Appalachia, Brandon Kirk, Burke's Fort, Burkes Garden, farming, French and Indian War, Garden Mountain, history, James Burke, James Patton, Mary Thompson, Native Americans, North Caorlina, photos, Tazewell County, Thomas Ingles, Virginia

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Burke’s Garden, Tazewell County, VA. October 2015. Photo by Mom.

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Burke’s Garden, Tazewell County, VA. October 2015.

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Burke’s Garden, Tazewell County, VA. October 2015. James Patton, referenced on this historical marker, is my direct ancestor through his daughter, Mary (Patton) Thompson.

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Burke’s Garden, Tazewell County, VA. October 2015.

William Straton Deposition (1890)

04 Sunday Jun 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Civil War, Logan

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Appalachia, Aracoma, Ashland, civil war, clerk, George E. Bryan, history, Island Creek, Joseph A. Dempsey, Kentucky, lawyer, Logan, Logan County, Ralph Steel, Stuart Wood, Tazewell County, Virginia, West Virginia, William Straton

On October 7, 1890, William Straton, former clerk of Logan County, (West) Virginia, provided a deposition in a timber lawsuit. His deposition includes valuable recollections of his life during the Civil War and of the destruction of Logan County’s courthouse and records. So here it is:

Then came William Straton, another witness introduced by the plaintiff, being of lawful age and being by me first duly sworn deposes and says in answer to the following questions:

State your age, residence, and occupation?

I am 69 years old, and live at Logan Court House, W.Va., and am a lawyer.

State if you know who was clerk of the County Court of this County from 1861 to 1865?

I was the clerk during that time.

Did you have any deputy in said office during that time? If so, who?

I had a deputy, George E. Bryan. I might have some other deputy but if I did I have forgot all about it.

Which stayed in the office and attended to the business during that time, and especially in 1862, you or your said deputy George E. Bryan?

I was about the office myself very little during the year 1862, or any other time during the war. My deputy George E. Bryan stayed about here and about home more than I did, and during all of that time there was but little business done in the office anyway. It appears to me that it was in the winter 1862 and 1863 that they burned the Court House and clerk’s office.

What become of the records of marriages kept in said office in 1862?

There were some books such as deed books and order books carried to Ralph Steel’s on Island creek in the summer of 1861 and put there for safe keeping. But I don’t think the record of marriages was taken there but was left in the clerk’s office with most of the books and papers belonging to said office. I was not here at the time but the common understanding  afterwards was that all the books and papers were burned.

State if you know whether the said George E. Bryan is dead or living and if living where is he at this time?

The last I knew of him he was living at Ashland, Ky. I have never heard of his death.

Cross Examined.

Where did you live during the latter part of 1862 and the year 1863?

I lived at Logan Court House.

Where did your family live during that time?

Here.

When was it you speak of taking your family from here to Tazewell Co., Virginia?

I took my family, I think it was, in November 1862 as refugees to the County of Tazewell.

How long did your family remain there?

Until the fall of 1865.

And further this deponent saith not.

Source: Stuart Wood v. Joseph A. Dempsey (1889), Logan County Circuit Clerk’s Office, Logan, WV.

Albert M. Adkins

27 Thursday Apr 2017

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

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Albert M. Adkins, Appalachia, civil war, coal, Confederate Army, Cosby J. Adkins, Fourteen, Fourteen Mile Creek, genealogy, Henry H. Hardesty, history, Jeremiah Lambert, Laurel Hill District, Lewis Adkins, Lincoln County, Melcina Adkins, Sarah Lambert, Tazewell County, timbering, Virginia, West Virginia

From “Hardesty’s History of Lincoln County, West Virginia,” published by H.H. Hardesty, we find this entry for Albert M. Adkins, who resided at Fourteen in Lincoln County, West Virginia:

At the age of eighteen, enlisted in the late war, in 1862, and bravely did he fight for Virginia and her rights. He served in the Confederate army, was taken prisoner and held ten months. Mr. Adkins was born in what is now Lincoln county, West Virginia, August 27, 1844. His parents are Lewis and Melcina (Hunter) Adkins. In Lincoln county in 1868, Albert M. Adkins wedded Cosby J. Lambert, who was born in Tazewell county, Virginia, in 1843, and whose parents, Jeremiah and Sarah (Hedrick) Lambert, settled in Lincoln county in 1856. A.M. Adkins is one of the farming population in Laurel Hill district, dealing to some extent in lumber, and is the possessor of 400 acres of land, situated on Fourteen-mile creek. A portion of the land is cultivated, and the rest is heavily timbered with oak, poplar, pine, and walnut, and coal and iron ore are found in abundance. Any mail for Albert M. Adkins may be addressed to Fourteen, Lincoln county, West Virginia.

Source: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, Vol. 7 (Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock, 1974), p. 138.

Rufus Stowers

18 Tuesday Apr 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Hamlin, Lincoln County Feud

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Appalachia, Bland County, Carroll District, commissioner of revenue, constable, Emma Eva Christina Stowers, farming, genealogy, George Washington Stowers, Hamlin, Henry H. Hardesty, Hiram H. Lambert, history, James Addison Stowers, Lincoln County, Lincoln County Feud, Luella Ann Stowers, Martha Rebecca Alice Stowers, Mary Priscilla Stowers, Matilda Jane Stowers, music, Paris Brumfield, Priscilla E. Lambert, Rebecca Stowers, Rufus Stowers, Sarah Elizabeth Stowers, Scary Creek, Tazewell County, The Lincoln County Crew, timber, United Baptist Church, Virginia, War of 1812, West Virginia, William Larkin Stowers, William Stowers

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

Son of William Larkin and Rebecca (Lambert) Stowers, was born in Tazewell county, Virginia, January 26, 1842, and settled in Lincoln county in 1872. His father died in Tazewell county in 1857, and his mother in 1856. Mr. Stowers taught school thirteen years, but is now a farmer in Carroll district, owning about 127 acres of land on Scary creek, seven miles southeast from Hamlin. The farm is in good condition, containing a large orchard of apple, pear and peach trees, and a portion of it is heavily timbered with poplar, sugar, maple, beech, hickory, and walnut. In Tazewell county, August 16, 1859, Rufus Stowers was united in wedlock with Sarah Elizabeth Lambert. She is a daughter of Hiram H. and Priscilla E. (Lambert) Lambert, and she was born in Tazewell county, April 26, 1844. October 28, 1882, Mrs. Stowers died, leaving a husband and six children to mourn her loss. She was the mother of seven children, one deceased, who were born as follows: George Washington, September 8, 1860; Matilda Jane, March 29, 1862; Mary Priscilla, August 14, 1864; Martha Rebecca Alice, August 9, 1871; Emma Eva Christina, October 7, 1875; James Addison, March 8, 1877, died July 5, 1878; Luella Ann, April 16, 1879. Mr. Stowers is a member of the United Baptist Church; his wife was a member of the same church at the time of her death. William Stowers, father of Rufus, was a soldier in the war of 1812. Rufus Stowers was at one time constable and commissioner of revenue in Bland county, Virginia. Any mail for him may be addressed to Hamlin, Lincoln county, West Virginia.

Source: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, Vol. 7 (Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock, 1974), p. 117.

NOTE: During the Lincoln County Feud, Paris Brumfield accidentally shot Mr. Stowers. Mr. Stowers appears in the song, “The Lincoln County Crew.”

Patton Thompson

24 Friday Mar 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Big Harts Creek, Civil War, Green Shoal

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34th Battalion Virginia Cavalry, Abbotts Branch, Appalachia, Branson Tomblin, Chloe Thompson, constable, David Thompson, Delana Thompson, deputy sheriff, Feriba Tomblin, genealogy, Green Shoal, Guyandotte River, Harts, Harts Creek, Henry H. Hardesty, history, Jenks Thompson, John F. Thompson, Lincoln County, Logan County, Margaret Thompson, Martha J. Thompson, Mary A. Thompson, North Carolina, Patsy Thompson, Patton Thompson, Susan Kirk, Susan Thompson, Tazewell County, Virginia, West Virginia, William Thompson

From “Hardesty’s History of Lincoln County, West Virginia,” published by H.H. Hardesty, we find this entry for Patton Thompson, who resided near Green Shoal in Lincoln County, West Virginia:

Patton Thompson and Delana Tomblin were united in the holy bonds of matrimony in Logan county, (now) West Virginia, October 1, 1845, and they have been blessed with nine children, born as follows: William, August 24, 1846; John F., March 11, 1849, died in 1858; Martha J., September 3, 1851; Chloe, January 24, 1854, died in 1864; Margaret, July 27, 1856; David, December 4, 1858; Albert G., September 10, 1861; Mary A., May 15, 1864; Susan, June 15, 1868. Mrs. Thompson was born in Tazewell county, Virginia, in 1826, and her parents are Branson and Feriba (Lewis) Tomblin, natives of North Carolina. Patton Thompson is a native of Logan county, born May 28, 1834, and his parents, William and Patsy (Wilkins) Thompson, came to this county in 1823. Mr. Thompson owns 100 acres of farming land on Guyan river, and 300 acres in Logan county on Hart creek. The land produces well and is highly cultivated. Patton Thompson is deputy sheriff of Lincoln county, and is also constable of Hart Creek district. He is a man of considerable means and ability, is tilling the soil in this district, and receives his mail at Hart, Lincoln county, West Virginia.

Source: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, Vol. 7 (Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock, 1974), p. 138.

NOTE: Most likely, when this history was compiled about 1883, Patton Thompson lived at what has been called “the Baisden farm” on the Guyandotte River above present-day Abbotts Branch near the Logan County line.

NOTE: Patton Thompson, a veteran of Company D, 34th Battalion Virginia Cavalry, is my great-great-great-grandfather. I descend from his daughter, Susan (Thompson) Kirk.

Andrew Lewis Sias

22 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Civil War, Fourteen

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22nd Virginia Infantry, Albert Gallatin Jenkins, Andrew Lewis Sias, Appalachia, Charlotte Sias, civil war, coal, Confederate Army, Delilah Jane Sias, East Cavalry Battlefield, East Fork, Fourteen, Fourteen Mile Creek, genealogy, Gettysburg, Harts Creek District, Henry H. Hardesty, Henry H. Sias, history, James Sias, Jeremiah Sias, John Lucas, Lena L. Sias, Lincoln County, Martha Ellen Sias, Mary Etta Sias, Maryland, Mercer County, Point Lookout, Rebecca Sias, Tazewell County, timber, Vincent A. Witcher, Virginia, West Virginia

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

Andrew Lewis Sias is one of the farming population of Hart Creek district, Lincoln county, and owns 87 ½ acres of land on the East fork of Fourteen Mile creek, 45 acres well cultivated, the rest heavily timbered, and coal, iron ore and building stone are to be found on the farm. Mr. Sias was born in Mercer county, (now) West Virginia, May 28, 1842, and was married in Lincoln county February 10, 1867, to Martha Ellen Lambert, the Rev. John Lucas officiating clergyman. The children of this union were born as follows: Jeremiah, November 25, 1868; Delilah Jane, March 1, 1870; Henry C., September 5, 1872; Lena L., March 8, 1874; Charlotte, November 5, 1876; Mary Etta, April 25, 1880. The parents of Andrew Sias, James and Rebecca (Adkins) Sias, have resided in Lincoln county since its organization. Mrs. Andrew Sias was born in Tazewell county, Virginia, April 12, 1848, and her parents, Jeremiah and Sarah (Hedrick) Lambert, were residing here before the county was organized. Andrew Lewis Sias enlisted in the late war, in Company G, 22nd Virginia Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel Clawhammer Witcher, in General A.J. Jenkins’ brigade. Mr. Sias was wounded in the battle of Gettysburg on the third day of the fight, and was left in the hands of the enemy, taken to Point Lookout, Maryland, held eight months and four days, suffering untold injuries. When the word of exchange came Mr. Sias went back to his company, his arm still in a sling, and participated in several engagements, though he could use a revolver only with his left hand, and he would have suffered for something to eat had it not been for the kindness of two good soldiers. Andrew Lewis Sias settled in Lincoln county in 1867, and receives his mail at Fourteen, Lincoln county, West Virginia.

Source: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, Vol. 7 (Richwood, WV: Jim Comstock, 1974), p. 137-138.

NOTE: Lewis Sias is my great-great-great-grandfather.

James S.P. Stafford

17 Thursday Sep 2015

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Gilbert

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Appalachia, David Young, Essie P. Stafford, Eva L. Stafford, genealogy, Henry H. Hardesty, history, James S.P. Stafford, John Stafford, John W. Spratt, John W. Stafford, Levisa J. Stafford, Levisa Stafford, Logan County, Maria Jane Spratt, Mount Vernon, Ohio, R.A. Brock, Richmond, Suda E. Stafford, Tazewell County, U.S. South, Virginia, Virginia and Virginians, West Virginia

From “Virginia and Virginians, 1606-1888,” published by H.H. Hardesty, we find this entry for James S.P. Stafford, who resided in Logan County, West Virginia:

Son of John and Levisa (Spratt) Stafford (record given in sketch of John W. Stafford), was born Jan. 25, 1851, in Logan county, W.Va. On Jan. 18, 1878, he was united in marriage with Margaret E. Spratt, who was born in Tazewell county, Va., on Oct. 11, 1858. The records of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Stafford are as follows: Eva L., born Nov. 30, 1878; Levisa J., born Oct. 4, 1880; Ida Z., born Aug. 5, 1884; Suda E., born Nov. 9, 1886; and Essie P., June 20, 1888. Mrs. Stafford’s parents are John W. and Maria Jane (Peery) Spratt, her father was born Nov. 10, 1815, at Mt. Vernon, O., and now resides in Tazewell county, Va.; her mother was born in Tazewell county May 15, 1820, and died there on Feb. 13, 1875. The marriage of her parents was solemnized April 3, 1843, the Rev. David Young officiating, in Tazewell county, Va.

Source: Dr. R.A. Brock, Virginia and Virginians, 1606-1888 (Richmond, VA: H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, 1888), p. 841.

Adolphus Spratt

31 Monday Aug 2015

Posted by Brandon Ray Kirk in Gilbert

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Adolphus Spratt, farming, genealogy, Gilbert, Henry H. Hardesty, history, Jennie B. Spratt, John E. Spratt, Josie Spratt, Laura C. Spratt, Lettie Lee Spratt, Logan County, Mingo County, overseer of public roads, R.A. Brock, Richmond, Tazewell County, Thomas G. Spratt, Triadelphia District, U.S. South, Virginia, Virginia and Virginians, West Virginia, Wiley F. Spratt

From “Virginia and Virginians, 1606-1888,” published by H.H. Hardesty, we find this entry for Adolphus Spratt, who resided at Gilbert in Logan (now Mingo) County, West Virginia:

Was born Oct. 15, 1847, in Tazewell county, Va., and for quite a number of years has been an honored citizen of Logan county, W.Va. On Aug. 3, 1876, in this county, he was united in marriage with Laura C. Justice, who was born there June 11, 1859. Six children have been the result of this union: Jennie B., born Feb. 27, 1878; Josie, born April 19, 1880; Lettie Lee, born March 30, 1882; John E., born Jan. 27, 1884; Thomas G., born July 17, 1886, and died June 7, 1887; and Wiley F., born Feb. 15, 1889. Mr. Spratt is engaged in farming and running a saw mill, having also filled a number of county offices of trust and honor. He was trustee of public schools in Triadelphia district from 1886 to the present, and has for some time past been overseer of public roads. His post office address is Gilbert, Logan county, W.Va.

Source: Dr. R.A. Brock, Virginia and Virginians, 1606-1888 (Richmond, VA: H.H. Hardesty, Publisher, 1888), p. 840.

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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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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?

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