USA > Virginia > Highland County > Highland County > A history of Highland County, Virginia > Part 13
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After a suspension of half a year the machinery of local gov- ernment was once again set in motion. W. W. Fleming, salt agent, was directed to give in an account at four cents a pound of the quantity yet unpaid for. These claims, amounting to $331,88, were put into the hands of the sheriff. Road overseers to the number of 47 were appointed during the September term. The county clerk was ordered to return the records to the courthouse, and to transcribe the records kept in manuscript after the removal of the old records to a place of greater safety.
During the reconstruction era, taxes were high, especially the poll tax. The general loosening of restraint during the turmoil of war was now reflected in a greater number than usual of felon-
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ies, of selling liquor without license, and of illegitimate births. Yet a better degree of public order steadily returned, and during the forty years which have elapsed since the reconstruction era, the annals of Highland are quite uneventful.
As early as 1872 there was a three-fifths vote in favor of a subscription of $50,000 to the "Washington, Cincinnati, and St. Louis Railroad," a wildcat line which was never built. Un- fortunately for itself, Highland is still paying interest on a part of these bonds. There is nothing to show for the fraudulent in- vestment but a few yards of useless embankment on Bullpasture Mountain.
Slave labor having been in vogue much less than free labor, there was no violent industrial shock in Highland, such as was experienced in the large slaveholding districts of the South. After the war, free labor had merely to become universal instead of gen- eral. The growth of the manufacturing and transportation sys- tems of the United States have led to a relative decline in general farming in Highland, but to a great expansion of its livestock interest. This has brought a large degree of prosperity to the county, as is evidenced in its better roads, dwellings, church and school houses, and in the high value of land, notwithstanding the distance to railroad outlets.
Because of the loss of life during the war, and the inducement to emigration caused by its impoverished condition at the close, the county fell off in population during the decade 1860-70, so that at the end of this ten-year period there were no more people in Highland than when it was organized in 1848. During the next ten years there was a rebound, the number of people increasing one-fourth. The census returns of 1890 and 1900 showed a slower though steady advance to the highwater mark of 5,647 in the last named year. The shrinkage in the past decade has brought the number back to what it was twenty years ago. This, however, is not due to any lack of real prosperity. It is a result of the economic changes throughout the Union which became par- ticularly active about 1898. By greatly increasing the demand for well-paid labor in the industrial centers, this evolution has made the rural counties, to a degree greater than before, a nursery ground for the cities and the industrial towns.
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CHAPTER XIV
CHURCHES AND FRATERNITIES
Church Organizations Represented in Highland - Lutherans - Presbyterians - Other Churches - Ministers - Otho Wade - Fraternal Societies.
T HE history of church organizations in Highland is not com- plex, as is often the case in American communities. At the outset but two denominations were represented, the Pres- byterian by the Scotch-Irish, and the German Reformed by the German element. These are kindred churches, their differ- ences being national more than theological.
Long years of hardship in Europe had inspired both the Scotch-Irish and the German immigrants with a devotion to their respective faiths. The later appearance in Highland of the Church of the Brethren and the United Brethren is due to its German element, both these denominations having an early German origin. The absence of the Episcopal Church is due to the very small Cavalier element in the immigration hither. The only nominal presence of the Catholic Church is due to the very meager immigration from Catholic communi- ties. The total absence of the Baptist and Disciples churches, both of which are strong in many states, is not so obvious.
But Methodism, the most numerous wing of American Protestantism, is well represented. Originally, it was a society within the Church of England. As an independent church it is practically of American origin and is very unlike the com- munion from which it sprang. Until after the close of the Revolution its adherents were exceedingly few. But its sim- plicity, its itinerant system, and its consequent ease of adapt- ing itself to pioneer conditions, caused it to appeal strongly to the people of the frontier, and thus gave it an immense follow- ing.
In the upper Potomac basin the Reformed Church was early supplanted by the Lutheran. Within the Highland area
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they had but one organization, and this was in the Crab- bottom. Here on the site of Mount Zion, or Union Chapel, was already a church building in 1802. A later structure was built as a union church, as the name implies. Elsewhere in the north of Highland the German settlers attended the Lu- theran churches which still exist beyond the Pendleton line. Otterbein Chapel on Straight Creek is at present the only other church building used by the Lutherans.
The first Presbyterian organization in Highland was the Blue Spring congregation in 1780. It had a church near J. H. Swope's, but a new one was built at Williamsville, the older lapsing into total disuse. The Stony Run congregation on Jackson's River dates from 1814, its present church edifice being erected in 1858. The McDowell church dates from 1822, and the Pisgah church near the head of Jackson's River dates from 1831. A church was built in the Crabbottom in 1837. The vacant building may be seen near M. M. Jack's, rather more than a mile west of New Hampden. The Beulah church on Back Creek dates from 1873, and the Monterey church from 1878. In Bluegrass the Presbyterians now have in addition to Pisgah and Beulah, Baraca Chapel on Back Creek and a church at New Hampden which takes the place of the deserted one toward the foot of Lantz Mountain. In Monterey District is also Seig Chapel at Pinckney. On the Bullpasture are now two other churches, one at Clover Creek and one at McKen- dree, five miles above McDowell. In the Cowpasture Valley are two more; one at Headwaters, and another-Southall Chapel-below the mouth of Shaw's Fork. The Presbyterian Church is strong in Highland, as, indeed, it always has been.
Methodism appeared in Highland at least as early as 1797, and probably somewhat earlier. For half a century its church buildings were very few, private houses and school houses being used in their stead. The homes of zealous Methodists were homes also for their circuit riders as well as places of worship for the people of the neighborhood. Among these were the Davis and Curry houses on Bullpasture, the Wade house on Back Creek, and the Seybert house at Forks of Wa-
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ters, where services were held in a barn. The territory covered by Highland, Bath, Pocahontas, and Greenbrier formed one circuit, its two riders traveling from house to house and preach- ing every day but Saturday. Their Bible, hymn book, and Discipline were their inseparable companions.
By 1832 the Methodists had a church building in Crab- bottom and another at the head of Straight Creek. Another early church was the one a little east of Doe Hill village, which was torn down in 1901.
The disagreement between Northern and Southern Meth- odists over the slavery question, and the separation of the parent church into two wings has caused each to be repre- sented in Highland since 1866. In Bluegrass both divisions are perhaps evenly represented, while in Stonewall the Meth- odist Episcopal Church South has the field to itself. The Methodist Episcopal organizations in Highland are Green Hill and Fairview in Back Creek, Brick Church and Union Chapel in Crabbottom, and Wesley Chapel near Pinckney. Those of the Church South are Rehoboth on Back Creek, Central and New churches in Crabbottom, Monterey, Trinity, Straight Creek, and Valley Bethel in Monterey District, and Doe Hill, McKendree, and McDowell on the Bullpasture. Thorny Bottom Church on Straight Creek is used jointly by the Meth- odist Episcopal and Church of the Brethren societies.
The United Brethren, German in origin and Methodist in spirit, have at Crabbottom village a church of recent origin.
The German Baptists, or Church of the Brethren, have a church in Big Valley, another three miles north of McDowell, and a third at Laurel Gap on the Cowpasture. Contrary to what we might expect, this denomination does not occur in Highland where the German element is most numerous.
The Adventists have a church on Jackson's River and an- other in Big Valley, both of recent date.
The liberality of a Mrs. Rynoff built a Roman Catholic chapel near Pinckney for the benefit of a few Irish families, but for three years no priest has conducted services there.
The first Sunday School in Highland appeared at Doe Hill
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in 1826. Its constitution was written by Benjamin Hiner when a boy of sixteen.
The campmeeting appeared among the Highland Meth- odists at an early day. There was a campground near E. A. Wade's on Back Creek before there was any church in that valley. Another campground lay a little north of Crabbottom village, and still another just east of Monterey.
The earliest Methodist preacher in Highland of whom we have knowledge was the Rev. James Ward, mentioned in 1797 and again in 1803. His namesakes are many. In 1810 the Methodist classes in Highland were those of Davis, Burner, Stephenson, Wilson, Matheny, Seybert, Wade, and Moore.
The ministers whose authorizations appear on the county order book are the following and in the years specified :
William Ervin - M. E. - 1848.
John T. Tabler - Lutheran - 1848. Samuel Jones - M. E. - 1851.
William Champion - M. E. - 1852.
Solomon B. Dolly - M. E. - 1858.
James L. Snyder - M. E. - 1860. William R. McNear - M. E. - 1865.
E. W. Pierce - M. E. - 1867. J. S. Wickline - M. E. - 1868.
Silas R. Snapp - M. E. C. S. - 1868.
J. H. Winfree - Pres. - 1869.
A. B. Blue - M. E. C. S. - 1879.
S. K. Hine - U. B. - 1879.
R. Smithson - M. E. C. S. - 1880.
Luke R. Markwood - M. E. C. S. - 1880.
D. L. Reed - M. E. C. S. - 1885.
W. E. Hamilton - Pres. - 1890.
J. Luther Kibler - Lutheran - 1890.
J. E. Font - U. B. - 1890. A. R. Lambert - M. E. C. S. - 1893. Charles H. Dobbs - Pres. - 1893.
R. H. Coleman - A. M. E. - 1895. Edmund Walton - Christian Workers - 1895.
H. W. Linderwood - U. B. - 1895.
The minister of greatest national reputation who ever served a Highland charge was William Taylor, afterward
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known as the "Missionary Bishop" of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was then little more than a youth and was on his first circuit, which was 75 miles long. Yet he was not far from home, his mother's people living in Bath. Thomas Jones, his host on the Cowpasture, found him too bashful and too slow of tongue to sustain a conversation. The young preacher thought he was being quizzed by what was really a well- intended use of miscellaneous topics. The next day was Sun- day and he thought his preaching so near a failure that he was tempted to go to parts unknown and into other work. At Crabbottom he was at first nonplussed by the eccentricity of George W. Amiss, a well-informed, fine-looking, attentive lis- tener, and good judge of sermonizing. On taking a place in the amen corner, this pillar of the church was wont to sit with his back to the preacher and his face on his hands. Not unless the discourse interested him would he turn about. But Taylor was not far along until Amiss took a seat in front of him, his countenance wearing a very appreciative look. This appears to have gone far toward removing the self-distrust of the young preacher. It is related that James McCourt, an Irish- man of ninety years, was converted under Taylor's preaching at Rehoboth.
The Rev. Jared Morgan, another old-time preacher, has had namesakes almost without number, as a study of our gen- ealogic chapter will show.
The Rev. Thomas Hildebrand, of Pennsylvania, joined the Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1840. He came to Highland in 1872, and after serving the Crabbottom and Monterey charges, took a superannuate rela- tion and remained here. His son, Simpson V., is a preacher of the Church South.
Highland has also furnished a number of preachers. The first in order of time appears to have been the Rev. Otho Wade, who, though not born in Highland, was reared here. He preached twenty-one years and united several hundred couples. His ordination reads as follows :
Know all men by these presents that Francis Asbury, bishop of the Methodist Church in America, under the protection of ALMIGHTY GOD,
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and with a single eye to his glory, by the imposition of my hands and prayer, have this day set apart Otho Wade for the office of a Deacon in the said Methodist Episcopal Church, a man whom I judge to be well qualified for that work: and do hereby recommend him to all whom it may concern, as a proper person to administer the Ordinances of Baptism, Marriage, and the Burial of the Dead, in the absence of an Elder, and to feed the flock of Christ, so long as his Spirit and Practice are such as become the Gospel of Christ, and he continueth to hold fast the Form of sound Words, according to the es- tablished Doctrines of the Gospel.
In TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have herewith set my hand and seal, this 4th day of Mareh in the Year of our Lord, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Nine.
Done in Harrisonburg.
FRANCIS ASBURY.
Among other native Methodist preachers, either traveling or local, have been William C. Holcomb, William J. Ryder, Thomas Edmond, John S. Pullin, Thomas E. Morton, and George W. Varner. - Electith Cool
Presbyterian preachers have been William and George M. Life and M. Ernest Hansel. Both the Lifes were graduates of Princeton University. The Rev. William Life was the founder of Rye Seminary at Rye, N. Y., and was. connected with it till his death. His brother preached in Iowa.
Jerome Puffenberger is a minister of the United Brethren Church, and Josiah Beverage and Charles Gibbs of the Church of the Brethren.
Three ladies of Highland-Misses Sarah Rexrode, Sarah Pullin, and Maude E. Simmons-are missionaries in Africa, as is also James M. Seig.
Until a rather late day the burial ground in Highland fol- lowed the Scotch-Irish custom of being usually a spot on the family homestead. Few of the marked headstones are older than the War of 1861.
The history of fraternities in Highland is not a very ex- tended chapter. There appears to have been no actual organ- ization in this line for somewhat more than a century after the beginning of settlement. Thomas Campbell, about the year 1800, is the first member of the Masonic order of whom we have definite mention. Yet it was not until May 20th, 1860,
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that Highland Lodge, Number 110, of this fraternity, held its first meeting at Monterey. The members then present were James C. Newman, Austin W. Campbell, William M. Chew, George W. Fraley, John S. McNulty, William Kinkead, Peter Kinkead, Konrad Kramer, and Samuel A. Gilmor. The names of Thomas H. Slaven, Jesse M. Chitester, and Jesse A. Bus- sard were then presented, and these persons were soon after- ward initiated.
Until 1881 the Lodge used the upper story of the court- house. In the previous year, John Trimble, a member, deeded to Adam F. Swadley, Joshua Lunsford, and Lucius H. Stephen- son, trustees for the Lodge, a lot in the northwest of the town for the purpose of a Masonic Temple. The cornerstone of this building was laid April 6th, 1881 with impressive cere- monies. In 1910 was begun a handsome new Temple, built of brick at a cost of $7,000.
The following members have served as Masters of High- land Lodge :
James C. Newman, 1869-72.
Jacob C. Matheny, 1872-3, 1878-80, 1897-8, 1899-1900, 1905-6.
Charles S. M. See, 1873-4.
Jesse A. Bussard, 1874-6.
Joshua Lunsford, 1876-8 and 1906-8.
Henry M. Patterson, 1880-4.
Samuel W. Sterrett, 1884-6.
Isaac H. Trimble, 1886-8 and 1893-6.
J. E. Williams, 1888-93.
Sully B. Sieg, 1896-7.
Charles S. McNulty, 1898-9. William W. Sampler, 1900-1. Walter P. Campbell, 1901-2. William Hevener, 1902-3.
F. Glenn Mauzy, 1903-4.
Harry F. Slaven, 1904-5 and 1908-9.
J. Clifton Matheny, 1909 -.
In the decade of the 50's the Sons of Temperance, once a well-known order, had a division at Monterey, meeting in the courthouse. About 1884-8 the Good Templars had a flourish- ing Lodge at the county seat.
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At the present time the Odd Fellows have strong and pros- perous Lodges, both at Monterey and Crabbottom.
There was formerly a Grange at Crabbottom, and during the palmy days of the Farmers' Alliance that organization was also represented in this county.
The Highland Camp of Confederate Veterans has a large membership. Under its auspices, the anniversary of the battle of McDowell has several times been observed.
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CHAPTER XV
SCHOOLS AND THE PROFESSIONS
Early Educational Conditions - School Districts of 1848 - Schools of the Period - Teachers - Academies - Higher Education - Attorneys - Physi cians - Authorship - Political Parties.
A S to when and where the first schoolhouse in Highland was built we have no knowledge. Until within the recollec- tion of people still living our educational history is well-nigh a blank. However, it is safe to assume that it would be a meager chapter if known.
The earliest teacher of whom we have knowledge was William Steuart, progenitor of the Steuart family. He taught quite regularly from the time of his arrival about 1755, and appears to have been well educated, especially in the mathe- matics. Another early pedagogue was John Sprowl of Ire- land, who was teaching at his home near the mouth of Dry Branch about 1790. He was also a surveyor. It is related of Sprowl that he had wedded in Ireland a feeble-minded woman whom he thought it best to leave behind. Yet while at his vocation he was one day thunderstruck to see Bridget Sprowl step into his schoolroom. The teacher accepted the situation and thenceforward lived with her. But several of their off- spring were blighted with the inheritance of a weak mind.
Until 1810 the state government of Virginia took no official notice of popular education. Everything was left to private effort, and except with those who were awake to the need of educational training, nothing was of course done. Thus John Beverage in 1830 wills that his boys, John and Andrew, be taught to read and write, and to cipher as far as interest, in- cluding the same; and that his daughter Margaret be taught to read and spell well. In fact, there was little to read. Books were scarce and mostly of a religious nature. Few newspapers came into these valleys, and the almost prohibitive rate of postage was not favorable to the writing of many letters.
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In giving the following specimen of pioneer composition, dated 1797, let it be borne in mind that in our own day of assumed enlightenment there are persons who can do no better :
Sir this is to let you Know that I am satisfied that My Daughter isble and James Boggs be liesoned acording to law.
Alex Waddle
I am satisfyed to be Joined in MatroMoney.
is Bel Waddle
Here and there was a bookishly inclined person in spite of all these disadvantages. In the case of Taylor against Langdale, 1792, the sheriff discovered the following as the property of the defendant : Whole, Art of Navigation; Mariner's Compass; Life and Travels of John Portugal; London Jests; Voyages and Travels ; Schoolmaster's Assistant ; Montgomery's Poems; three old shirts ; one pair of stockings.
A law of 1820 initiated a very rudimentary school system. A "Literary Fund" was provided for out of certain fines and penalties, and other odds and ends of public moneys. Each county was to have an unsalaried collection agent, and it was entitled to a board of commissioners, one of these being a bonded treasurer. This board was to determine how many indigent children it would educate and what it would pay for this purpose. The board could select their indigents, but had to gain the consent of parent or guardian. Books and other necessaries were furnished, but only the three R's were taught. Under this law Thomas Jones was director of the Literary Fund for Pendleton and treasurer of the school committee.
A law of 1845 went much further. It empowered the county courts, on a petition of a third of the voters, to submit to the people the question whether they would have public schools or not. A two-thirds vote was necessary to establish them. Such schools were to be maintained by a special tax. Of the three trustees in each district, two were elected by the people and one by the school board. The trustees were to build the schoolhouse and employ or discharge the teacher.
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Several counties, especially beyond the Alleghanies, availed themselves of this law, but no thoroughgoing system of public instruction was set on foot until after the War of 1861.
The Highland court of October, 1850, divided the county into twelve school districts, with boundaries as follows :
1. North of the turnpike and east of the top of Bullpasture Mountain.
2. South of turnpike and east of top of Bullpasture Mountain.
3. Bath line to Clover Creek Mill and between Jack and Bullpasture Mountains.
4. Bullpasture Valley from Clover Creek Mill to Blue Hole on Crab Run and Mrs. Malcomb's on Bullpasture River.
5. Bullpasture Valley above Blue Hole and Mrs. Malcomb's.
6. Straight Creek Valley to Forks of Waters, including Crab Run Valley above Blue Hole.
7. All the northwest of county as far south as the new church in Crab- bottom and the lane from said church to the South Branch road.
8. All south of District 7, as far as the turnpike and west of Monterey Mountain.
9. All south of turnpike to Abraham Gum's and west of Back Creek and Monterey Mountains.
10. All south of District 9 and west of Back Creek Mountain.
11. From turnpike to mouth of Dry Branch, including valley of said stream, and between Jack and Straight Creek Mountains.
12. All the middle of county south of District 11.
These twelve districts were the only ones till after the war. The commissioners, respectively, for these districts were An- drew J. Jones, Andrew H. Byrd, John Graham, Charles Steu- art, Jared Armstrong of W., Henry Seybert, Emmanuel Arbo- gast, John Bird, Benjamin B. Campbell, David H. Bird, Will- iam W. Fleming, and David Stephenson. Each commissioner was bonded in the sum of $2,000.
A schoolhouse of this date at Valley Center is described as a log-and-daub cabin fourteen by sixteen feet in size. The space left vacant by a log from the side-wall was covered with greased paper fastened to stays and occasionally repaired. No other light could enter the room except through the door. Heat was afforded by a fireplace and occasionally the flames would take hold of the jamb. The instruction was wholly in the three R's and geography, and even with this limited range there was no uniformity in the books. Head tickets were given
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for proficiency in spelling. After Webster's blueback speller and reader was outgrown, anything else was used as a reader, one boy bringing a copy of Daniel Boone. Instruction was individual. Pike's Arithmetic, with its pounds, shillings, and pence, was the law and gospel in mathematics.
A school near Doe Hill of somewhat earlier date is de- scribed by the late James W. Blagg as having backless punch- eon seats. On each side of the room was a writing board sup- ported by pegs inserted in auger holes. The ink was of cop- peras and maple bark. There were some slates but no black- board. The books were Walker's Dictionary, Dilworth's Speller, the English Reader, and Pike's Arithmetic. About 1840, geography was introduced and a few pupils studied grammar. The only recess was at noon. To some extent the studying was aloud. A large share of the teacher's time was spent in pounding in his instruction with the vigorous use of a hickory rod. Yet sundry notes would pass from one side of the room to the other. The tuition was one dollar a month to each pupil, and during his three months the teacher some- times "boarded around." At New Year's the pupils would come very early to take possession of the schoolroom, and unless he could dislodge the garrison the teacher was expected to stand treat.
The qualifications of many of the teachers appear to have been better than the schoolhouses. Their severe discipline was upheld by the parents, yet the unsatisfactory instructor could be discharged.
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