USA > Virginia > A history of the valley of Virginia, 3rd ed > Part 20
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* A very aged woman, by the name of Sperry, informed the author that when she first saw the place where Winchester now stands, she was 22 years of age, and from her age at the time the author conversed with her, (which was in 1809), he found the year in which she first saw Winchester to be in 1738, at which time she stated there were but two small log cabins, and those near the run.
t Mr. Jacob Gibson informed the author that he was in Winchester in 1755, and that the court house was a small cabin, and that he saw the court sitting in this cabin.
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the same privileges which the said freeholders of other towns erected by Act of Assembly enjoyed." This act further provides that fairs may be held in the towns twice in each year.
Thus it appears that the late Col. James Wood was the founder of Winchester, and not Lord Fairfax as has generally been believed. The latter made an addition to the town. Tradition relates that Fairfax was much more partial to Stephensburg than he was to Winchester, and used all his influence to make Stephensburg the seat of justice, but that Wood out-generaled his lordship, and by treating one of the justices with a bowl of toddy secured his vote in favor of Winchester, which settled the question, and that Fairfax was so offended at the magistrate who thus sold his vote, that he never after spoke to lıim .*
The late Robert Rutherford, Esq., opened the first store ever established in Winchester. There was soon a mixed population of Germans, Irish, and a few English and Scotch. The national preju- dices which existed between the Dutch and Irish promised much disorder 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 resented 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 Yankee, "felt chock full of fight" and at it they went pell-mell, and many a black eye, bloody nose, and broken head, was the result. ; The author recollects 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 Stephensburg, in the County of Frederick, was established. The town was founded by Peter Stephens, who came to Virginia with Joist Hite, in the year 1732. The ruins of Stephen's cabin are yet to be seen. Lewis Stephen, the late proprietor of the town, was the son of Peter Stephens. He laid out the town in form, and applied to the Gener- al Assembly to have it established by law, which was done in the year 1758.
This town was first settled almost exclusively by Germans ; and the religion, habits and customs, of their ancestors, were preserved with great tenacity for many years. The German language was gen-
* The late John S. Woodcock, Esq., communicated this fact to the au- thor, and stated that he had the information from Col. Martin.
t Gen. Smith informed the author that this practice was kept up for several years after he settled in Winchester, and that several very dangerous riotos took place, in which he and other magistrates had to interpose, to preserve the peace.
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erally 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, (commonly 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 also 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 the Act of the General Assembly in November, 1761. The first settlers were principally Irish.
In March, 1761, Woodstock then in the County of Fred- erick, was established by law. Jacob Miller laid off twelve hun- dred acres of land, ninety-six of which were divided into half- acre lots, making one hundred and ninety-two building lots, the re- inainder 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 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 German language is generally in use by the inhabitants.
Mecklenburg (Sheperdstown), then in the County of Frederick, 110w in Jefferson, was established by law in the month of Novem- ber, 1762. This village is situated immediately on the bank of the Cohongoroota (Potomac) about twelve miles above Harpers-Ferry. It was laid off by the late Capt. Thomas 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 1788, built a boat, which was propelled by steam against a brisk current. There are some of the machinery now to be seen, in the possession of Capt. Haines, in that place.
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 improved but slowly. It does not contain more than fifty families at this time. It is nevertheless a place of consid- erable business ; has a bank, printing office, several stores and taverns. The new Parkersburg turnpike road passes through it, which will doubtless, when completed, give it many great ad- vantages.
In February, 1772, Fincastle, in the County of Botetourt, was established. Israel Christian made a present 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 legislature to have the town established by law, which was done accordingly.
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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 county), was established, and laid off by Act of Assembly.
PREAMBLE. " Whereas it has been represented to the General Assembly, that the laying off of 50 acres of land in lots and streets fos a town at the Warm Springs, in 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 large 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 Bryan Martin, Warner Washington, the Rev. Reverend Charles Mynn Thurston, Robert Rutherford, Thos. Rutherford, Alexander White, Philip Pendleton, Samuel Washing- ton, William Ellzey, Van Swearingen, Thomas Hite, James Ed- mundson 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 es- tablished a town, by the name of Bath."
The author has been the more particular in making the fore- going extract from the Act of the Legislature, because this appears to be the first instance under our republican government in which the legislature took the 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 assented to the laying off of the town ; but if he did, there is nothing in the langu- age 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 hold- ing courts in the said County of Rockbridge, there shall be laid off a town, to be called Lexington, thirteen hundred feet in length 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 sheriff, command- ing him to summon twelve able and disinterested freeholders, to meet on the said land, on a certain day, not under five nor over ten days from date, who shall upon oath value the said land, in so many parcels as there shall be sepearate owners, which valuation the sheriff shall return, under the hands and seals of the said jurors, to the Clerk's office : and the justices, at laying their first county levy, shall make provision for paying the said proprietors their respective proportions thereof ; and the property of the said land, on the re-
* This was truly upon a small stale.
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turn of the said valuation, shall be vested in the justices and their successors, 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 to- wards lessening the county levey ; 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 fixed by law be- fore the site is marked out.
Moorefield was also established in the month of October, 1777. in the County of Hampshire, now the seat of justice for the County of Hardy. Extract from the Act of the Assembly : " Whereas it has 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 inhabitants, by en- couraging tradesmen to settle amongst them ; Be it therefore enact- ed, &c., that sixty-two acres of land belong to the said Conrad Moore, in the most convenient place for a town, be, and the same is hereby vested in Garret Vanmeter, Abel Randall, Moses Hutton, Jacob Read, Jonathan Heath, Daniel M'Neil, and George Renneck, 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 Moorefield."
Martinsburg was established in the month of October, 1778. Extract from the law : "Whereas it has been represented to this present General Assembly, that Adam Stephens, Esq., had 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, agreeably to a plan and survey thereof made, containing 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, Jas. Strode, Robert Carter Willis, William Patterson and Philip Pendleton, gentleman, trustees, and shall be established a town by the name of Martinsburg." The 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 county ; 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 prevailed, and Hite became so disgusted and dissatisfied that he sold out his fine estate, and removed to the frontier of South Carolina. Fatal remove ! He had not been long settled in that state before the Indians murdered him and several of his family in the most
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shocking 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, i called on her and warned her of the in- tended massacre, and advised her to remove with her little children to a place of safety. Mrs. Hite immediately communicated this intelligence to her husband, who disbelieved the information, observing, "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 Hite 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, cutting him to pieces, a joint at a time ; and whilst he was thus in the most violent agonies, they barbarously murdered his wife and several of her little offspring .. After Mr. Hite, his wife, and several of the children were dispatched, they took two of his daugh- ters, not quite grown, and all his slaves as prisoners. They also carried off what plunder they choose, and their booty was con- siderable.
Mr. Hite kept a large retail store, and dealt largely with the Creek and Cherokee tribes. It is said that a man by the name of Parish, who went to Carolina with Hite, and to whom Hite had been very friendly, growing jealous of Hite's popularity with the Indians, instigated 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 Army), and who had just returned from an unsuccessful search after his two young sisters, who were taken captive at the time of the murder of their father. He had traversed a great part of the Southern country, among the various tribes of Indians, but never could hear anything of them. Capt. Hite, some short time after the War of the Revolution, recov. ered a part of his father's slaves, who had been taken off by the In- dians, one of whom is now owned by Maj. Isaac Hite, of Frederick county. This woman brought home an Indian son, whom the au- thor 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 1815-16, the au- thor 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 ot Jacob Hite's slaves, taken when his
* Col. James Hite, of Jefferson county, related this tradition to the author.
+ Mrs. Hite 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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master and family were murdered in South Carolina. He further 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 Octotber, 1778, the town of Abington was established in Washington county.
In the month of May, 1780, the town of Harrisonburg, in the county of Rockingham, was established. It appears that Mr. Thomas Harrison had laid off fifty acres of 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 town, were given to the inhabitants of Harri- sonburg.
In the month of October, 1782, the town of Lewisburg, in the County of Greenbrier, was established. The Act of Assembly ap- propriates 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 Donnolly, John Stuart, Archer Matthews, William Ward and Thomas Edgar, gentlemen, were appointed trustees.
In October, 1785, Clarksburg, in the County of Harrison, was established. William Haymond, Nicholas Carpinert, John Myers, John M'Alley and John Davison, gentlemen, were appointed trustees.
In the same month and year, Morgantown, in the County of Monongalia, was established. The act appropriates 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 of the County of Jefferson), was establish- ed. This town was laid off by the late Col. Charles Washington, a brother to the illustrious Gen. George Washington, on his own land. Eighty acres were divided into lots and streets ; and John Augustine Washington, William Drake, Robert Rutherford, James Crane, Cato Moore, Mangus Tate, Benjamin Rankin, Thornton Washington, Wm. Little, Alex'r White and Richard Ranson, weer appointed trustees. This town bears the christian name of its proprietor.
In the year 1787, Frankfort, in Hampshire county, was estab- lished. One hundred and thirty-nine acres of land were laid off into lots and streets. with out-lots, by John Sellars. John Mitchell, An- drew Cooper, Ralph Humphreys, John Williams, Sr., James Clark, Richard Stafford, Hezekiah Whiteman and Jacob Brookhart, as 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
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off into lots and streets by Ruben Foreman and Providence Mounts. Moses Chapline, George M'Cullough, Charles Willis, Van Swear- ingen, 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. David Gerrard, and contained one hundred lots. William Henshaw, James Haw, John Gray, Gil- bert 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 Bumgardner, Paul M'Ivor, John Sherman Wood- cock and Isaac Zane, gentlemen, trustees.
In 1788, Front Royal was established, in the County of Fred- erick. Fifty acres of land, the property of Solomon Vanmeter, James Moore, Robert Haines, William Cunningham, Peter Halley. John Smith, Allen Wiley, Original Wroe, George Chick, William Morris and Henry Trout, was laid out into lots and streets, and Thomas Allen, Robert Russell, William Headly, William Jen- nings, John Hickman, Thomas Hand and Thomas Buck, gentle- men, trustees.
The same year and month, Pattonsburg, in the County of Bote- tourt, on James River, was established. Crowsville, in Botetourt, was established at the same time.
In 1790, Beverley was laid off and established, a town in Ran- dolph court house.
Frontville, at the Sweet Springs, and Springfield in the Coun- ty of Hampshire, were severally laid off and established in Octo- ber, 1790.
In October, 1791, Darkville, in Berkeley, Keilstown in Rock- ingham, and Charlestown in Ohio Counties, were severally establish- ed. This concludes the author's account of the establishment of the various towns west of the Blue Ridge, within the present western limits of Virginia, from the earliest settlement of the country to the year 1792 Inclusive.
The 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 examination of the various session acts since 1792, which it would be difficult to obtain, perhaps, except in Richmond, to which place it would not suit the author's earliest convenience to make a journey. As he confidently anticipated a demand for a second edition of this work, he will in the mean time make perfect the 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 One Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty-three un- til the year One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty-three Inclusive, Together with a View of the State of Society and Manners of the First Set- tlers of that Country.
BY THE REV. DR. JOSEPH DODDRIDGE
N OTES, & C.
CHAPTER I.
PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS OF THE CHARACTER OF THE INDIAN MODE OF WARFARE, AND ITS ADOPTION BY THE WHITE PEOPLE. .
This is a subject which presents human nature in its most re- volting features, as subject to a vindicative spirit 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 continued detail of bloodshed, battles and devastations. War has been, from the ear- liest periods of history, the almost constant employment of individu- als, clans, tribes and nations. Fame, one of the most potent objects of human ambition, has at all times been the delusive, but costly re- ward of military achievement. The triumph of conquest, the epithet of greatness, the throne and the sceptre, have uniformly been pur- chased by the conflict of battle and garments rolled in blood.
If the modern European laws of warefare have softened in some degree the horrid features of national conflicts, by respecting the rights of private property, and extending humanity to the sick, wounded and prisoners ; we ought to reflect that this amelioration is the effect of civilization only. The natural state of war knows no such mixture of mercy with cruelty. In his primitive state, inan 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 cam- paign. Even the beasts themselves were sometimes included in the general massacre.
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The present war between the Greeks and the Turks is a war upon the ancient model, a war of utter extermination.
It is, to be sure, much to be regretted, that our people so often follow the cruel examples of the Indians, in the slaughter of prison- ers, and sometimes women and children ; yet let them receive a can- did hearing at the bar of reason and justice, before they are con- demned as barbarians, equally with the Indians themselves.
History scarcely presents an example of a civilized nation carry- ing on a war with barbarians without adopting 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 slaughter was as indiscriminate as theirs ; but during 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-de- fense compels them to retaliate ou the Turks the barbarities which they commit on them.
In the last rebellion in Ireland, that of the United Irishmen, 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. Summary justice, as it was called, was sometimes inflicted. How many perished under the torturing scourge of the drummer for the purpose of extorting confessions ! These extra-ju- dicial 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 max- ims of civilized warfare with the utmost strictness ; but the brave, the potent, the magnanimous nation of our forefathers had asso- ciated with themselves, as auxiliaries, the murderous tomahawk and scalping knife of the Indian nations around our defenceless frontiers, leaving those barbarous sons of the forest to their own sav- age mode of warfare, to the full indulgence of all their native thirst for human blood.
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