USA > Virginia > Tazewell County > Tazewell County > History of Tazewell county and southwest Virginia, 1748-1920 > Part 38
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62
The suggestions of Lewis and Fleming that forts should be erected at the mouth of Guyandotte and the mouth of Big Sandy were not carried out; and the inhabitants of the Clinch Valley were left exposed for the next succeeding thirteen years to bloody attacks from the Ohio Indians. This was a great injustice on the part of the State and county authorities to the settlers who were founding a community that would, in the coming years, be recognized as one of the most useful, wealthy, and intelligent within the bounds of our Commonwealth. Regardless of the careless and indifferent treatment extended them, our worthy ancestors wrought on, and within a period of thirty years from the arrival of the first settlers on the Clinch had transformed the wilderness into a substantial community of comfortable homes.
In the meantime, there had been such considerable accessions to the population of the Lower Clinch Valley settlements, and in those sections of Washington County that now compose the coun- ties of Russell, Scott, Lee, and Wise, that the inhabitants were desirous of having a new county erected. To that end a petition was presented to the Virginia General Assembly by the citizens of the said territory ; and an act for dividing Washington County into two counties was passed by the Legislature on the 6th of January, 1786. The new county was named Russell, from General William Russell, its then most distinguished citizen; and the boundaries of the two counties were defined as follows: "All that part of the
392
History of Tazewell County
said county (Washington) lying within a line, to be run along the Clinch Mountain to the Carolina line (now Tennessee line) ; thence with that line to the Cumberland Mountain and the extent of the country between the Cumberland Mountain, Clinch Mountain, and the line of Montgomery County, shall be one distinct county, and shall be called and known by the name of Russell, and the residue of the said county shall retain the name of Washington."
The beginning point was at the Montgomery County line, on the top of the Clinch Mountain, about three miles southwest of Morris' Knob. Thus it will be seen that all of Washington County that was located north of Clinch Mountain was constituted and became Russell County; and that all that portion of Tazewell County, as originally formed, lying west of the Montgomery line was made a part of Russell by the act of 1786.
Three years later the inhabitants of that part of Montgomery County lying west of New River, petitioned the General Assembly to erect a new county. In response to the petition, the General Assembly, on December the Ist, 1789, passed an act for dividing the county of Montgomery and creating a new county to be called Wythe. The act declared: "That from and after the first day of May next (1790), all that part of the county of Montgomery, which lies south-west of a line beginning on the Henry line, at the head of Big Reedy Island, from thence to the wagon ford at Peek creek; thence to clover bottom on Bluestone, thence to the Kanawha county line, shall form one distinct county, and be called and known by the name of Wythe."
The new county received its name from George Wythe, the emi- nent jurist, who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde- pendence, as a delegate from Virginia. All of the territory east of the line between Russell and Montgomery that afterwards became a part of Tazewell County was placed in Wythe County, where it remained until Tazewell was formed.
The high ambition that brought the pioneers to the Upper Clinch Valley at length reached a concrete form. They had been compelled, even if they had not preferred to do so, to carve out their own destiny as a community, unassisted in this isolated but
393
and Southwest Virginia
charming region. Their self-reliance had grown as their duties and numbers had multiplied; and in the closing years of the eighteenth century they began to yearn and clamor for the full exercise of local self-government. In other words, they wanted a county for themselves. This aspiration was at first obstructed and thwarted by certain citizens of the two counties-Russell and Wythe-from parts of which the new county was to be formed. The opposition came largely from the county officers of Wythe and Russell. They did not want to relinquish any of the emoluments of their offices, some of the offices being very lucrative for that day and generation.
In 1799 the movement for a new county became so active and persistent that it brought to pass the long desired event. A petition was prepared, circulated, and signed by hundreds of citizens of the counties of Russell and Wythe praying for the creation of a new county. It was my good fortune recently to find among the archives deposited in the Virginia State Library the original petition sent to the General Assembly one hundred and twenty years ago. Its recitals so graphically set forth the needs of the settlements in Tazewell at that period that it is invaluable from a historic stand- point. Hence, I will give it in full :
"To the Honourable the Speaker, And Gentlemen of the Gen- eral Assembly of Virginia;
"The Petition of the Inhabitants of a part of the Counties of Wythe & Russell, humbly Represents
-That your Petitioners for near thirty years, have been under the Disagreeable Necessity of traveling fifty miles or upward to transact our own Ordinary Business, besides Regimental Musters, Elections, &c in which cases the Laws of the State Requires our attendance. - Our Roads also are Intolerably bad; many of your Petitioners have to cross four Large Mountains, the least of which chain would in the Interior parts of the State, be considered almost Impassable, And, between each of those Mountains there are Rapid Water Courses, which in common with all streams Among Moun- tains, are Quickly made Impassable by Rains, and Renders the passage Dangerous, as well as fatigueing & Expensive. Your Petitioners have for many years, not only Experienced the hard- ships Naturally to be expected from the above Difficulties, but at the same time had to Defend ourselves against the Perpetual Incur-
394
History of Tazewell County
sions of our Savage Enemies, and that at the Expense of many Valuable Lives ; still hoping and expecting, that when peace would again Return to our Country, when our Number, and other circum- stances would fairly admit, that the General Assembly (on applica- tion) would Remove our Local Inconveniences, by granting us A new County ; We however have been thus far Disappointed in our Expectations, by a small party of Designing men who have from time to time Opposed our Petition, and by Misrepresenting our case, have prevented our success ; But as we find our Difficulties Increase with our Population as we wish for nothing more than A Just Representation of facts, And as we believe, that if the General Assembly were fully acquainted with the Geography of our country, it would Insure our success, we beg leave once more to pray that your Honourable house would be pleased to pass an act that a new county may be formed of parts taken from the counties of Wythe and Russell, Beginning at the Kanawha Line and Running with the Line which divides the counties of Wythe and Montgomery to where said line Crosses the top of Brushy Mountain, Thence along the top of said Mountain to its junction with the Garden Mountain, thence along said Mountain to the Clinch Mountain, Thence along the top of said Mountain to the head of Cove Creek, a Branch of the Maiden Spring fork of Clinch River; Thence a straight Line to Manns Gap in Kents Ridge; Thence North, forty five Degrees West, till it strikes the Line which Divides the State of Kentucky, from that of Virginia; Along sd. Line to the Kanawha Line, And with said Line to the Beginning. - A County bounded as above, would we humbly Conceive Answer all the purposes contemplated by your Petitioners without Injuring Either of the Counties from which it would be taken, as it would leave the court house of Rus- sell County in the Centre thercof, & prevent all Disputes in the future about the situation of the court house in that county, it would also Divide the County of Wythe by the Chain of Mountains above Described & thereby Add to the ease and convenience of both par- ties. We therefore submit our case to the most serious considera- tion of the Legislature, in humble confidence that our grievances will be Redressed and that A New County will be formed Agreeable to the prayer of our petition. And your petitioners as in Duty bound shall ever pray &c."
395
and Southwest Virginia
Is it any wonder that the petitioners from Russell and Wythe attained their object? A stronger and more effectively conceived petition was never presented to the Virginia General Assembly. The penmanship of the petition is very fine; and though the paper abounds with capital letters and is defective in punctuation, it is a wonderfully forceful document; and it is unfortunate that the name of the author was not preserved. I have repeatedly asserted that the settlers of the Upper Clinch and Bluestone Valleys were cruelly neglected by the State and county authorities; and this petition verifies my assertions.
When the petition was presented to the General Assembly it met with the usual opposition from "Designing men;" but on the 20th of December, 1799, the act was passed for the erection of a new county, and the act is as follows :
"I. Be it enacted by the general assembly, That all that part of the counties of Wythe and Russell, lying within the following bounds, beginning on the Kanawha line and running with the line which divides Montgomery and Wythe counties to where the said line crosses the top of Brushy mountain, thence along the top of the said mountain to its junction with the Garden mountain, thence along the top of the said mountain to the Church mountain (should be Clinch Mountain), thence along the top of the said mountain to the head of Cove Creek a branch of the Maiden Spring fork of Clinch river; thence a straight line to Mann's Gap in Kent's ridge; thence north forty-five degrees west, to the line which divides the state of Kentucky from that of Virginia; thence along said line to the Kanawha line, and with said line to the place of beginning, shall be known by the name of Tazewell."
The act provided that the county court, which was to be com- posed of justices appointed by the governor, should hold its terms on the first Tuesday in every month after the county was organized; and that the first meeting of said court should be held at the house of Henry Harman, Junior; that, after taking the oaths prescribed by law, the justices were directed to administer the oath of office to and take a bond from the sheriff who had been appointed and commissioned by the governor; that they appoint and qualify a clerk; "and fix upon a place for holding courts in the said county, at, or near the centre thereof as the situation and conveniences will admit." After they had selected a county seat, the justices were
396
History of Tazewell County
directed to erect public buildings thereon. There were other pro- visions in the act that it is unnecessary to give in detail.
It seems that the "Designing men," who were opposing the erection of a new county had enlisted the support of Littleton W. Tazewell. He was a young man, twenty-six years old, and was serving his first term in the Virginia House of Delegates as the representative from James City County. Bickley, speaking of the opposition manifested by young Tazewell and the incidents con- nected therewith, says:
"Tazewell county was named, not in honor of Littleton W. Tazewell, as is generally supposed, but received its name somewhat in the following manner. Simon Cotterel, who was the represen- tative from Russell in 1799, having been authorized to apply for the formation of a new county, drew up a bill, and proposed it on the 18th, of December, 1779, but met with the most violent opposition from Mr. Tazewell, a member from Norfolk county, and a relative of L. W. Tazewell then in Congress. Cotterel rose in his seat, and begged the gentleman to withold his remarks till his bill was maturcd, to which he assented. Cotterel erased the pro- posed name and inserted that of Tazewell, and the next day (19tli) presented his bill thus amended. Tazewell was silenced; the bill passed, receiving Tazewell's vote. To this stratagem the county is indebted for its name."
It is evident that Dr. Bickley was again misled by relying entirely upon tradition. Possibly some of the features of the story he heard as coming from Cotterel may be true, but in the main they are incorrect. Littleton W. Tazewell was too high a man to be induced to withdraw his opposition to the formation of the new county by such a trivial stratagem as that named by Bickley. After serving in the Legislature young Tazewell was elected to Congress in 1800, but declined re-election in 1802. He served in the United States Senate in 1834-36. In 1829 he declined the mission to England; and in 1834-36 was governor of Virginia.
The county of Tazewell received its name from Henry Tazewell, who was a member of the United States Senate from Virginia when the act was passed creating the county. At that time he was one of the most distinguished citizens of the Commonwealth. From 1775
397
and Southwest Virginia
to 1785 he was a member, in succession, of the Virginia House of Burgesses and the House of Delegates; and served on the com- mittees that drew the Bill of Rights and the first Constitution for Virginia. He was for a number of years a judge of the District Court and the Court of Appeals of this State.
Littleton W. Tazewell represented James City County, and not Norfolk County, in the House of Delegates in 1799. The State records show that Simon Cockrell, not "Simon Cotterel," represented Russell County at the session of 1798-99, with Francis Browning as his colleague; and at the session of 1799-1800, with James McFarlane as his colleague. The patent errors committed by Bick- ley, through relying on hearsay information, or tradition, make the tale about the stratagem practiced by Cotterel insufficiently authen- tic to be accepted as history.
Appendices --- Pioneer Period
A-Sketches of Pioneer Families; B-Mas- sacres by Indians
٠
APPENDIX A TO PIONEER PERIOD
SKETCHES OF PIONEER FAMILIES.
Though it has never been my intention to make this, in any respect, a genealogical history of the families of the first settlers, it has been my purpose to write brief sketches of the pioneers and the first generation born in Tazewell. But even in this worthy design I have been greatly hampered by failure on the part of the descendants of the pioneers to supply me with needed information. Therefore, the sketches must be brief and few in number. As pre- viously stated in this work, I will make no great effort to disclose the antecedents of the pioneers, except for the purpose of showing from whence they came. Thomas Witten was the first white man to take up permanent residence with his family within the limits of the present Tazewell County. For this reason, he and his family will be the first mentioned in these sketches.
THE WITTENS AND CECILS.
These two families were so intermingled by marriage for several generations after they came to the Clinch Valley that I will write of them in a single sketch. The Wittens were of Teutonic origin; but left Saxony and migrated to England as early as the ninth century. There they became identified with the Anglo-Saxons, who had conquered the Britons and gave the name England to ancient Britain. The Cecils were of purely Celtic blood, and natives of the British Isles. Tradition and documentary evidence reveal that the progenitors of the Wittens and Cecils in America came from England with the Calverts, and settled in Maryland, then Lord Baltimore's colony.
In 1766, Thomas Witten and Samuel Cecil, men with large fami- lies, and neighbors and kinsmen, moved from Maryland to the region now called Southwest Virginia. Thomas Witten's wife was Elizabeth Cecil, a sister of Samuel Cecil.
Witten located temporarily at what is now known as the "Wil- liam Allen Place", on Walkers Creek, in the present Giles County, Virginia, on the road between Poplar Hill and White Gate in said
[ 401 ]
TH .- 26.
.
402
History of Tazewell County
county. Cecil pitched his tent where the town of Dublin, in Pulaski County, is now located. He lived there until he died, in 1785, and there he and his wife are buried.
John Witten, the eldest son of Thomas, who had married before he left Maryland, stopped on the way out and located near the Peaks of Otter, in Bedford County. Later he came on to the Clinch and located at the place where John C. St. Clair now lives, four miles west of the county seat. The log cabin he used for a dwelling is still standing, and is perhaps the oldest house in the county. He afterwards returned with his family to Bedford, and in 1820 con- veyed his valuable farm at the foot of Paint Lick Mountain to his brother, Thomas Witten, Jr. John Witten has a number of descend- ants in Bedford and Amherst counties, but they spell the name "Whitten."
In the spring of 1767, Thomas Witten moved on from Walker's Creek with his family to the "Crabapple Orchard" tract on Clinch River, and with him came John Greenup, who had married Eliza- beth, the eldest daughter of Witten. He also brought out five unmarried sons, Thomas, Jr., James, Philip, Jeremiah and William. The latter was a small boy when his father settled on the Clinch, and James was then only fifteen years old. After attaining man- hood, Philip married Ruth Dickerson and moved to Witten's Land- ing on the Ohio River. William, the youngest son of the first Thomas, married and moved to the Saquatche Valley, in Tennessee.
When trouble began with the Indians, about 1772 or 1773, Thomas Witten and his sons, assisted by their neighbors, built a stockaded fort on the Clinch, near Pisgah. This was one of the first three forts built in the present bounds of Tazewell County, and was a place of refuge for all the inhabitants of the neighbor- hood when the Indians made hostile incursions to the Clinch settle- ments.
Two of Thomas Witten's sons, Thomas, Jr., and James, gained much local distinction because of their performances as soldiers and scouts. Thomas, Jr. was not only conspicuous as an Indian fighter, but was also an ensign in the service of the United Colonies in the Revolutionary War. He served as ensign in one of the companies from Montgomery County that protected the border from savage invasions while the Revolution was in progress. In recognition of his services he was granted a pension of $24.00 a month by the
403
and Southwest Virginia
United States Government, which he received until his death. To show that he was highly esteemed in civil life by his fellow-citizens . he was elected one of the first members from Tazewell, along with David Ward, to represent the county in the Virginia General Assem- bly, serving at the sessions of 1801-02 and 1802-03. He married his cousin, Eleanor Cecil, and fixed his home at the place where Allen Higginbotham now lives at the east end of Paint Lick Mountain.
James Witten was distinguished while a youth as the first among his equals as a woodsman and hunter; and even before he reached
Colonel Wilkinson Witten son of James Witten, the scout and pioneer, born Aug. 12th, 1807, died March 26th, 1878. He was one of the most esteemed and useful citizens of his day; and represented Tazewell County several times in both houses of the Virginian General Assembly.
his majority was recognized as the most skillful and daring scout employed by the military authorities against the Indians. Bickley says: "He was brave and generous to a fault. When any duty requiring bravery, firmness and prudence, had to be performed, James Witten was the man invariably chosen, as he possessed these qualities in an eminent degree. Many incidents of interest are related of him, which should be preserved." These incidents, unfortunately, were not related by Bickley; and his descendants, who have been called upon to pass through troublous times, have failed to preserve the many noble and daring deeds of their gallant ancestor. He married his cousin, Rebecca Cecil, daughter of
404
History of Tazewell County
Samuel Cecil, in 1783, and located his home at the place where Colonel Wilk Witten, his grandson, afterwards lived and died, on Plum Creek, three miles west of the county seat. Very near and in view of the spot where he built his first cabin home, the dust of this pioneer hero is resting beneath a bluegrass sod that grows on soil his strong arms reclaimed from a wilderness waste. His grave is marked by a rude marble slab, but cattle and other animals, I am informed, are free to graze and trample upon and about it. His numerous descendents, hundreds of whom now live in Tazewell County, should not permit such neglect of the last resting place of their gallant ancestor, but should erect a suitable monument there to perpetuate his memory.
Jeremiah Witten, though older than his brothers, Thomas and James, held no official rank as a soldier, but he performed faithful service as a private. I have before me certain data which tends to show that he was a member of Captain William Russell's company and was with him at the battle of Point Pleasant. After his return from the Lewis expedition to the mouth of the Kanawha, he per- formed garrison duty at his father's fort at the Crabapple Orchard, · his name being on the roll of the garrison stationed there in October, 1774. He married, and located his home on Plum Creek, at the place where the late, lamented T. E. George lived; and he has many descendants now living in Tazewell County.
William Cecil, son of Samuel Cecil, married his cousin, Ann Witten, daughter of Thomas Witten, about the year 1773. Hc and his wife made their home on the Clinch at the place where Otis E. Hopkins now lives. I once had in my possession a patent for this boundary of land that was issued by authority of George III. to William Cecil, and which bore date 1774. This is the oldest patent for land in Tazewell County I have ever seen. William Cecil was my great-grandfather and I am named from him. His brother, James Cecil, later, settled at the head of Baptist Valley, where he built the house now owned and occupied as a residence by Fullen Thompson. This is, possibly, the oldest house in Tazewell County that is now used as a dwelling. The two brothers, each, reared a large family of children. They were not conspicuous as soldiers,
405
and Southwest Virginia
but, no doubt, did their duty as frontiersmen when the Indians invaded the settlements.
William and Ann Cecil had six daughters and two sons. Susan married Alex Sayers; Rebecca never married; Elizabeth married William Price; Linnie married Crabtree Price; John married Lin- nie Witten, who was his double first cousin and a daughter of James Witten the scout; Nancy married Buse Harman; Samuel married Sallie Poston; and Sally married James Caldwell. The Prices moved to Missouri; and the Caldwells moved to Tennessee. Cap-
Samuel Cecil, son of William Cecil, the pioneer, born in 1788, died in 1868. He was one of the finest characters Virginia has ever pro- duced.
tain John Cecil, son of William Cecil, was a prominent figure in the civil and military life of the county. He was for many years a member of the county court; and represented the county in the Virginia House of Delegates at the sessions of 1808-09, 1810-11 and 1811-12. While the War of 1812 was in progress he raised a company of volunteers and was made captain of the company, but the Government declined to muster it into service. After he married, Captain Cecil made his home on Little River, known as the Maiden Spring Fork of Clinch River. He there acquired what is now one of the most beautiful and valuable farms in Tazewell County. He sold the place to John Baylor for Confederate money during the Civil War, and thus lost his splendid estate.
406
History of Tazewell County
Samuel Cecil, son of William, after his marriage with Sally Poston, in 1814 built his home on the north side of and overlooking the Clinch, and opposite the mouth of Plum Creek. The house is still standing, is known as the Mays place, and is now owned by Mrs. O. E. Hopkins, a great-granddaughter of Samuel Cecil. My mother was born, reared and married to my father in this house. · Samuel Cecil did not care for public life, and was never an office- holder, civil or military, but was esteemed by all persons who came in contact with him as one of the nicest gentlemen they ever met, and one of the best citizens the county cver produced. His home was among the most noted in the county for its delightful hospi- tality, where the poor and humble received the same courteous treatment as was extended to the richest and most distinguished
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.