USA > Virginia > A history of the valley of Virginia, 1st ed > Part 20
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The late Robert Rutherford, Esq. opened the first store ever established in Winchester. There was sent a mixed population of Germans, Irish, and a few En- glish and Scotch. The national prejudices which ex-
" The late John S. Woodcock, Esq. communicated this fact to the author, and stated that he bad the information from the late Col. Martin.
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isted between the Dutch and Irish produced much dis- order and many riots. It was customary for the Dutch, on St. Patrick's day, to exhibit the effigy of the saint, with a string of Irish potatoes around his neck, and his wife Sheeley, with her apron loaded also with potatoes. This was always followed by a riot. The Irish resent- ed the indignity offered to their saint and his holy spouse, and a battle followed. On St. Michael's day the Irish would retort, and exhibit the saint with a rope of "sour krout" about his neck. Then the Dutch, like the Yan- kec, "felt chock full of fight," and at it they went, pell mell, and many a black eye, bloody nosc, and broken head, was the result .* The author recollects seeing one of these riots since the war of the revolution. The practice was at last put down by the rigor with which our courts of justice punished the rioters.
In the month of September, 1758, the town of Ste- phensburg, in the county of Frederick, was established. This town was first founded by Peter Stephens, who came to Virginia with Joist Hite, in the year 1732. The ruins of Stephens's first cabin are yet to be seen. Lewis Stephens, the late proprietor of the town, was the son of Peter Stephens. He laid out the town in form, and applied to the general assembly to have it establish- ed by law, which was done in the year 1758.
This town was first settled almost exclusively by Ger- mans; and the religion, habits and customs, of their ancestors, were preserved with great tenacity for many years. 'The German language was generally used in this village since the author's acquaintance with it, which acquaintance commenced in the year 1784.
In the month of November, 1761, Strasburg (com- monly called Stover's town.) was established by law. This town was settled entirely by Germans, and to this day the German language is in general use, though the English language is now generally understood, and al-
* Gen. Smith informed the author that this practice was kept up for seve- ral years after he settled in Winchester, and that several very dangerous ri- ots took place, in which he with other magistrates had to interpose, to pre- serve the peace,
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so spoken by the inhabitants. It was laid off by Peter Stover.
Staunton, in the county of Augusta, was laid off by William Beverly, Esq. and established by act of the general assembly in November, 1761: 'The first settlers were principally Irish.
In March, 1761, Woodstock, then in the county of Frederick, was established by law. Jacob Miller laid off twelve hundred acres of land, ninety-six of which were divided into half acre lots, making one hundred and ninety-two building lots-the remainder into streets and five acre lots, commonly called out lots. This town appears to have been originally laid out upon a larger scale than any of our ancient villages. Like the most of our towns it was settled exclusively by Germans, and their religion, customs, habits, manners and language, were for a long time preserved, and to this day the Ger- inan language is generally in use by the inhabitants,
Mecklenburg (Shepherdstown), then in the county of Frederick, now in Jefferson, was established by law in the month of November, 1762. This village is situ. ated immediately on the bank of the Cohongoroota (Potomac) about 12 miles above Harpers-Ferry. It was laid off by the late Capt. Thos. Shepherd, and was first settled chiefly by German mechanics. It is remarkable for its being the place where the first. steam boat was ever constructed in the world. Mr. James Rumsey, in the year 17SS, built a boat, which was propelled by steam against a brisk current. There are some of the remnants of the machinery now to be seen, in the pos- session of Capt. Haines, in that placc.
Romney, in the county of Hampshire, was laid off' by the late lord Fairfax, and established by law in the month of November, 1762. His lordship laid off fifty acres into streets and half acre lots ; but the town in - proved but slowly. It does not contain more than fifty families at this time. It is nevertheless a place of con- siderable business ; has a bank, printing-office, severa! stores and taverns. The new Parkersburg turnpike
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road passes through it, which will doubtless, when com- pleted, give it many great advantages.
In February, 1772, Fincastle, in the county of Bo- tetourt, was established. Israel Christian made a pre- sent of forty acres of land to the justices of Botetourt court, for the use of the county. The court laid off the said forty acres of land into lots, and applied to the le- gislature to have the town established by law, which was done accordingly.
In October, 1776, first year of the commonwealth, the town of Bath, at the warm springs, in the county of Berkeley, (now the seat of justice for Morgan coun- ty,) was established, and laid off by act of assembly.
Preamble. "Whereas it hath been represented to this general assembly, that the laying off fifty acres of land in lots and streets for a town at the warm springs, in the county of Berkeley, will be of great utility, by encouraging the purchasers thereof to build convenient houses for accommodating numbers of infirm persons, who frequent those springs yearly for the recovery of their health ; Be it enacted, &c. that fifty acres of land adjoining the said springs, being part of a larger tract of land, the property of the right honorable 'Thomas lord Fairfax, or other person or persons holding the same by a grant or conveyance from him, be and the same is hereby vested in Bryan Fairfax, Thomas Bry- an Martin, Warner Washington, the reverend Charles Mynn Thruston, Robert Rutherford, Thomas Ruther- ford, Alexander White, Philip Pendleton, Samuel Wash- ington, William Ellzey, Van Swearingen, Thos. Hite, James Edmundson, and James Nourse, gentlemen, trustees, to be by them, or any seven of them, laid out into lots of one quarter of an acre each, with convenient streets, which shall be and the same is hereby establish- ed a town, by the name of Bath."
The author has been the more particular in making the foregoing extract from the act of the legislature, be- cause this appears to be the first instance under our re- publican government in which the legislature took the
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TOWNS. 243
authority of establishing and laying out a town upon the land of private individuals, without the consent of the owner of the land. It is possible lord Fairfax as- sented to the laying off this town; but if he did, there is nothing in the language of the act which goes to show it.
In the month of October, 1777, Lexington, in the county of Rockbridge, was established. Extract from the law : " And be it further enacted, that at the place which shall be appointed for holding courts in the said county of Rockbridge, there shall be laid off' a town, to be called Lexington, thirteen hundred feet in lengthi and nine hundred in width .* And in order to make satisfaction to the proprietors of the said land, the clerk of the said county shall, by order of the justices, issue a writ directed to the sherif, commanding him to sum- mon twelve able and disinterested freeholders, to meet on the said land on a certain day, not under five nor over ten days from the date, who shall upon oath value the said land, in so many parcels as there shall be sopa- rate owners, which valuation the sherif shall return, under the hands and seals of the said jurors, to the clerk's office ; and the justices, at laying their first count- ty levy, shall make provision for paying the said pro- prietors their respective proportions thereof; and the property of the said land, on the return of the said val- uation, shall be vested in the justices and their succes- sors, one acre thereof to be reserved for the use of the said county, and the residue to be sold and conveyed by the said justices to any persons, and the money arising from such sale to be applied towards lessening the coun- ty levy : and the public buildings for the said county shall be erected on the land reserved as aforesaid." From this it appears that the name of the town was fix- ed by law before the site was marked out.
Moorefield was also established in the mouth of Oc- tober, 1777, in the county of Hanipshire, now the seat of justice for the county of Hardy. Extract from the
- * This was truly upon a small scale.
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ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TOWNS.
act of assembly : "Whereas it hath been represented to this present general assembly, that the establishing a town on the lands of Conrad Moore, in the county of Hampshire, would be of great advantage to the inhabi- tants, by encouraging tradesmen to settle amongst them ; Be it therefore enacted. &c. that sixty-two acres of land belonging to the said Conrad Moore, in the most conve- nient place for a town, be, and the same is hereby vest- ed in Garret Vanmeter, Abel Randall, Moses Hutton, Jacob Read. Jonathan Heath, Daniel M.Neil, and Geo. Rennock, gentlemen, trustees, to be by them, or any four of them, laid out into lots of half an acre each, with convenient streets, which shall be and the same is hereby established a town, by the name of Moore- field."
Martinsburg was established in the month of Octo- ber, 1778. Extract from the law: " Whereas it hath been represented to this present general assembly, that Adam Stephen, Esq. hath lately laid off one hundred and thirty acres of land in the county of Berkeley, where the court-house now stands, in lots and streets for a town, &c .; Be it enacted. &c. that the said one hundred and thirty acres of land laid out into lots and streets, agreeable to a plan and survey thereof made, contain- ing the number of two hundred and sixty-nine lots, as, by the said plan and survey. relation thereunto being had, may more fully appear, be and the same is hereby vested in James M.Alister, Joseph Mitchell, Anthony Noble, James Strode, Robert Carter Willis, William Pat- terson and Philip Pendleton, gentlemen, trustees, and shall be established a town by the name of Martins- burg." This town was named after the late Col. T. B. Martin.
Tradition relates that an animated contest took place between the late Gen. Adam Stephen and Jacob Hite, Esq. in relation to fixing the seat of justice for this coun- ty ; Hite contending for the location thereof on his own land, at what is now called Leetown, in the county of Jefferson. Stephen advocating Martinsburg. Stephen
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prevailed, and Hite became so disgusted and dissatisfied, that he sold out his fine estate, and removed to the fron- tier of South Carolina. . Fatal remove ! He had not been long settled in that state, before the Indians mur- dered him and several of his family in the most shock- ing and barbarous manner .* It is said that the evening before this bloody massacre took place, an Indian squaw. who was much attached to Mrs. Hite, t called on her and warned her of the intended massacre, and advised her to remove with her little children to a place of safety. Mrs. Ilite immediately communicated this intelligence to her husband, who disbelieved the information, ob- serving, "the Indians were too much attached to him to do him any injury." The next morning, however, when it was fatally too late to escape, a party of Indians, armed and painted in their usual war dress, called on Hite, and told him they had determined to kill him. It was in vain that he pleaded his friendship for them, and the many services he had rendered their nation : their fell purpose was fixed, and nothing could appease them but his blood, and that of his innocent, unoffending and helpless wife and children. They commenced their operations by the most cruel tortures upon Mr. Hite. cut- ting him to pieces, a joint at a time ; and whilst he was thus in the most violent agonies, they barbarously mur- dered his wife and several of her little offspring. After Mr. Hite, his wife, and several of the children were dis- patched, they took two of his daughters, not quite grown, and all his slaves as prisoners. They also car- ried off what plunder they chose, and their booty was considerable.
Mr. Hite kept a large retail store, and dealt largely with the Creek and Cherokee tribes. It is said a man by the name of Parish, who went to Carolina with Hite, and to whom Hite had been very friendly, growing jea- lous of Hite's popularity with the Indians, instigated
" Col. James Hite, of Jefferson county, related this tra lition to the author,
+ Mra. Ilite was the sister of the late Col. J. Madison, of Orange county. Virginia, and of course aunt to ex-president Madison.
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the savages to commit the murder. About the year 1784 or 1785, the author saw the late Capt. George Hite, (who had been an officer in the revolutionary ar- my,) and who had just returned from an unsuccessful search after his two young sisters, who were taken cap- tives at the time of the murder of his father. He had traversed a great part of the southern country, among the various tribes of Indians, but never could hear any thing of them. Capt. Hite, some short time after the war of the revolution, recovered a part of his father's slaves, who had been taken off by the Indians, one of whom is now owned by Maj. Isaac Hite, of Frederick county. This woman brought home an Indian son, whom the author has frequently seen, and who had all the features of an Indian. A part of Hite's slaves are to this day remaining with the Indians, and are kept in rigorous slavery. In the winter of 1815-16, the author fell in with Col. William Triplett, of Wilkes county, Georgia, who informed him, that in the autumn of the year 1809 he was traveling through the Creek country, and saw an old negro man, who told him he was one of Jacob Hite's slaves, taken when his master and family were murdered in South Carolina. He fur- ther informed Col. Triplett, that there were then sixty negroes in possession of the Indians, descended from slaves taken from Hite, the greater number of whom were claimed by the little Tallapoosa king.
In October, 1778, the town of Abingdon was estab- lished in Washington county.
In the month of May, 1780, the town of Harrison- burg, in the county of Rockingham, was established. It appears that Mr. Thomas Harrison had laid off fifty acres of his land into lots and streets, and the legislature simply confirmed what Mr. Harrison had done, without appointing trustees for the town, as was the usual prac- tice. The privileges, however, granted by law to the citizens of other incorporated towns, were given to the inhabitants of Harrisonburg.
In the month of October, 1782, the town of Lewis-
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burg, in the county of Greenbrier, was established. The act of assembly appropriates forty acres of land at the court house, to be laid off into half acre lots and streets. Samuel Lewis, James Reid, Samuel Brown, Andrew Donnelly, John Stuart, Archer Matthews, Wm. Ward, and Thos. Edgar, gentlemen, were appointed trustees.
In October, 1785, Clarksburg, in the county of Har- rison, was established. William Haymond, Nicholas Carpinert, John Myers, John M'Ally, and John Davi- son, gentlemen, were appointed trustees.
In the same month and year, Morgantown, in the county of Monongalia, was established. The act ap- propriates fifty acres of land, the property of Zackquell Morgan, to be laid off into lots and streets for a town: Samuel Hanway, John Evans, David Scott, Michael Kearnes, and James Daugherty, trustees.
In October, 1786, Charlestown, in the county of Berkeley, (now the seat of justice for the county of Jef- ferson,) was established. This town was laid off by the late Col. Charles Washington, a brother to the illustri- ous Gen. George Washington, on his own land. Eighty acres were divided into lots and streets; and John Au- gustine Washington, William Drake, Robert Rather- ford, James Crane, Cato Moore, Magnus Tate, Benja- min Rankin, Thornton Washington, William Little, Alexander White, and Richard Ranson, were appoint- ed trustees. This town bears the christian name of its proprietor.
In the year 1787, Frankfort, in Hampshire county, was established. One hundred and thirty-nine acres of land was laid off into lots and streets, with out-lots, by John Sellers. John Mitchell, Andrew Cooper, Ralph Humphreys, John Williams, sen., James Clark, Rich- ard Stafford, Hezekiah Whiteman, and Jacob Brook- hart, trustees.
In the month of October, 1787, the town of West- Liberty, in the county of Ohio, was established. Sixty acres of land was laid off into lots and streets by Reu- ben Foreman and Providence Mounts. Moses Chap-
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line, George M'Culloch, Charles Willis, Van Swearin- gen, Zachariah Sprigg, James Mitchell, and Benjamin Briggs, were appointed trustees.
In the same month and year, Middletown, in the county of Berkeley, (commonly called Gerrardstown,) was established. This town was laid off by the late Rev. Mr. David Gerrard, and contained one hundred lots. William Henshaw, James Haw, John Gray, Gilbert M'Kewan, and Robert Allen, were appointed trustees.
The same year and month, the town of Watson, (commonly called Capon Springs,) in the county of Hampshire, was established-twenty acres of land to be laid off in lots and streets. Elias Poston, Henry Fry, Isaac Hawk, Jacob Hoover, John Winterton, Valentine Swisher, Rudolph Bumgarner, Paul MAIvor, John Sher- man Woodcock, and Isaac Zane, gentlemen, trustees.
In 1788, Front Royal was established, in the county of Frederick. Fifty acres of land, the property of Sol- omon Vanmeter, James Moore, Robert Haines, William Cunningham, Peter Halley, John Smith, Allen Wiley, Original Wroc, George Chick, William Morris, and Henry Trout, was laid out into lots and streets; and Thomas Allen, Robert Russell, William Headly, Wil- liam Jennings, John Hickman, Thomas Hand, and Thomas Buck, gentlemen, trustees.
The same year and month, Pattonsburg, in the coun- ty of Botetourt, on James river, was established. Crows- ville, in Botetourt, was established at the same time.
In 1790, Beverly was laid off and established a town at Randolph court-house.
Frontville, at the Sweet Springs, and Springfield, in the county of Hampshire, were severally laid off and established in October. 1790.
In October, 1791, Darksville in Berkeley, Keisletown in Rockingham, and Charlestown in Ohio, were seve- rally established. This concludes the author's account of the establishment of the various towns west of the Blue ridge, within the present western limits of Virgi-
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nia, from the earliest settlement of the country to the year 1792 inclusive.
This history of the establishment of the towns in Western Virginia, from the earliest settlement of the country, to the year 1792 inclusive, is gathered from Hening's Statutes at Large, which brings the acts of the legislature no further than that period. To continue the list to the present time, would require an examina- tion of the various session acts since 1792, which it would be difficult to obtain, perhaps, except in Rich- mond, to which place it would not suit the author's pre- sent convenience to make a journey. As he confident- ly anticipates a demand for a second edition of this work, he will in the mean time make perfect this portion of the history of our country for future insertion.
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NOTES
ON THE SETTLEMENT AND INDIAN WARS
OF THE WESTERN PARTS OF VIRGINIA AND PENNSYLVANIA, From the year 1763 until the year 1783 inclusive.
TOGETHER WITH
A VIEW OF THE STATE OF SOCIETY AND MANNERS OF THE FIRST SETTLERS OF THAT COUNTRY.
- BY THE REV. DR. JOSEPH DODDRIDGE.
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646 120
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NOTES, &c.
CHAPTER I.
Preliminary observations on the character of the In- dian mode of warfare, and its adoption by the white people.
THIS is a subject which presents human nature in its most revolting features, as subject to a vindictive spi- rit of revenge, and a thirst of human blood, leading to an indiscriminate slaughter of all ranks, ages and sexes, by the weapons of war, or by torture.
The history of man is, for the most part, one contin- ued detail of bloodshed, battles and devastations. War has been, from the earliest periods of history, the almost constant employment of individuals, clans, tribes and nations. Fame, one of the most potent objects of hu- man ambition, has at all times been the delusive, but costly reward of military achievement. The triumph of conquest, the epithet of greatness, the throne and the sceptre, have uniformly been purchased by the con- flict of battle and garments rolled in blood.
If the modern European laws of warfare have soft- ened in some degree the horrid features of national con- flicts, by respecting the rights of private property, and extending humanity to the sick. wounded and prison- ers ; we ought to reflect that this amelioration is the et- fect of civilization only. The natural state of war
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knows no such mixture of mercy with cruelty. In his primitive state, man knows no object in his wars, but that of the extermination of his enemies, either by death or captivity.
The wars of the Jews were exterminatory in their object. The destruction of a whole nation was often the result of a single campaign. Even the beasts them- selves were sometimes included in the general massacre.
The present war between the Greeks and Turks is a war upon the ancient model-a war of utter exter- mination.
It is, to be sure, much to be regretted, that our people > so often followed the cruel examples of the Indians, in the slaughter of prisoners, and sometimes women and children : yet let them receive a candid hearing at the bar of reason and justice, before they are condemned as barbarians, equally with the Indians themselves.
History scarcely presents an example of a civilized nation carrying on a war with barbarians without a- dopting the mode of warfare of the barbarous nation. The ferocious Suwarrow, when at war with the Turks, was as much of a savage as the Turks themselves. His slaughters were as indiscriminate as theirs ; but du- ring his wars against the French, in Italy, he faithfully observed the laws of civilized warfare.
Were the Greeks now at war with a civilized nation, we should hear nothing of the barbarities which they have committed on the Turks ; but being at war with barbarians, the principle of self defense compels them to retaliate on the Turks the barbarities which they commit on them.
In the last rebellion in Ireland, that of United Irish- men, the government party were not much behind the rebels in acts of lawless cruelty. It was not by the hands of the executioner alone they perished. Sum- mary justice, as it was called, was sometimes inflicted. How many perished under the torturing scourge of the drummer for the purpose of extorting confessions!
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These extra-judicial executions were attempted to be justified on the ground of the necessity of the case.
Our revolutionary war has a double aspect : on the one hand we carried on a war with the English, in which we observed the maxims of civilized warfare with the utmost strictness: but the brave, the potent, the magnanimous nation of our forefathers had associa- ted with themselves, as auxiliaries, the murderous toma- hawk and scalping knife of the Indian nations around our defenseless frontiers, leaving those barbarous sons of the forest to their own savage mode of warfare, to the full indulgence of all their native thirst for human blood.
On them, then, be the blame of all the horrid features of this war between civilized and savage men, in which the former was compelled, by every principle of self de- fense, to adopt the Indian mode of warfare, in all its revolting and destructive features.
Were those who were engaged in the war against the Indians, less humane than those who carried on the war against their English allies? No, they were not. Both parties carried on the war on the same prin- ciple of reciprocity of advantages and disadvantages.
- For example, the English and Americans take each one thousand prisoners: they are exchanged: neither army is weakened by this arrangement. A sacrifice is indeed made to humanity, in the expense of taking care of the sick, wounded and prisoners; but this expense is mu- tual. No disadvantages result from all the clemency of modern warfare, excepting an augmentation of the ex- penses of war. In this mode of warfare, those of the nation, not in arms, are safe from death by the hands of soldiers. No civilized warrior dishonors his sword with the blood of helpless infancy, old age, or that of the fair sex. He aims his blows only at those whom he finds in arms against him. The Indian kills indis- criminately. His object is the total extermination of his enemies. Children are victims of his vengeance, because. it males, they may hereafter become warriors.
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