USA > West Virginia > Tucker County > History of Tucker County, West Virginia, from the earliest explorations and settlements to the present time; > Part 1
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.
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
1800
Glass
Book
COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT
. „AP A
& Harper.
HISTORY
OF
TUCKER COUNTY,
WEST VIRGINIA,
FROM THE EARLIEST EXPLORATIONS AND SETTLE- MENTS TO THE PRESENT TIME;
WITH
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF MORE THAN TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY OF THE LEADING MEN, AND A FULL APPENDIX OF OFFICIAL AND ELECTIONAL HISTORY; ALSO, AN ACCOUNT OF THE RIVERS, FORESTS AND CAVES OF THE COUNTY.
BY HU MAXWELL.
ILLUSTRATED WITH
TWENTY-EIGHT PHOTOTYPES OF NOTED PERSONS.
DEC 26 1034 21725 CITY OF WASHINGTO
KINGWOOD, W. VA .: PRESTON PUBLISHING COMPANY. 1884.
F247 .T& M4 Copy 2
COPYRIGHT BY HU MAXWELL. 1884.
PRE3 .F JOURNAL PRINTING HOUSE KINGWOOD. W. VA.
AS A
SLIGHT, BUT SINCKKE EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE,
AS A TOKEN OF RESPECT FOR INTEGRITY AND FIRMNESS
IN THE CAUSE OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH,
AS A MARK OF ESTEEM
FOR NOBILITY OF PURPOSE
IN ALL THE LESSER AND LESS-TRODDEN PATHS OF LIPK,
THE AUTHOR
DEDICATES THIS BOOK TO HIS FRIEND,
WILBUR C. BROCKUNIER.
INTRODUCTION.
Had some things been different from what they were, I believe that I could have made the History of Tucker County better than it is. The labor required to collect and arrange the material was greater than would be supposed by one who has never undertaken a task of similar nature. No previous history, covering the period and territory, has ever been compiled, and I had to enter upon original and unexplored fields wherever I went. There was no scarcity of subject-matter; but, at times, it was not easy for me to decide what to use and what to reject. I am not certain that I have not erred seriously in one thing-that I trusted more to the whims of others than to my own judgment. The plan of the work would have been quite different had I followed my own inclination to make the whole thing one connected story instead of biographical fragments, as it is. Yet, as it is, it will please more people than it would if cast in the mold for which it was first intended. I was not wri- ting it for myself, but for others; and, as my tastes and fan- cies differ from those of others, I thought it best to suit the book to those for whom it was intended.
But, as I said, if some things had been otherwise, this book might have been better. The circumstances under which the work was done were not at all times pleasant or favorable. I commenced it in 1881, and devoted to it only what time was mine after devoting twelve hours a day to school work. At first it was my intention to publish it in the Tucker County Pioneer, as a serial story; but this was abandoned when it was seen how unwise it was. The his-
6
INTRODUCTION.
tory as it was then was less than half as large as now, al- though it devoted more space to the guerrilla warfare that was carried on along our county's borders during the Civil War. When the idea of publishing it in the newspaper was abandoned, it was next proposed to bring it out in book form, and the first half-dozen pages were actually set in type. But, I was not pleased with it, and concluded to re- arrange the whole work, and the printing was accordingly suspended until the writing should be completed.
Meanwhile, I found it necessary to give some attention to other matters; for, it has never been my fortune to be so situated that I could devote my whole time to literary work. Soon, too, I grew doubtful if it was worth while to do anything further with the matter. So, it was allowed to lie idle, while I found more agreeable employment in other fields of history. Thus, nothing was done till the winter of 1883-4. I was then in California, and had done as much on a new history ("Conquest of the Ohio Valley") as I could do without a personal visit to the Library at Washington City, and, as I was not yet ready to return to the East, I began to consider whether it would not be a good opportu- nity to revise the musty manuscripts of the Tucker History. I was the more inclined to do this because I did not like the idea of having commenced a thing without finishing it. So, I sent to West Virginia for the manuscript and revised it by the time I was ready to start home, in April, 1884. Upon my arrival at home, I added the part embraced in "Brief Biographies," and sent the book to the press late in August.
If I had quieted myself to this task, and had nothing else to lead my mind off or to disturb me, I could have done better. I could have better interwoven the stories, one with another, and made of them one continued purpose,
7
INTRODUCTION.
and about them there would have been a completeness which I am conscious that they do not now possess. But it isnot necessary to speculate upon such things as might have been. The book is as it is, and those who feel troubled at the discovery of logical errors may, if they will, let charity cover what is best concealed. It is not my intention to un- dertake another task of the kind, so I cannot truthfully promise to profit by irregularities that may be pointed out. But, from this, it should not be inferred that I look upon my labor as that much thankless drudgery. Far from it. The people of Tucker County have lent their aid and en- couragement to me, and have done what they could to assist me, and, on their account, if for nothing else, the work, in spite of its many discouragements and dif- ficulties, has been to me a pleasing one. No person feels a deeper and kindlier interest in the majestic mountains, the quiet valleys, the green meadows, the blooming orchards, the sweeping streams and the crystal springs of our little county, than I do. The interests of the people are mine, and their hopes and aspirations are in unison with my sym- pathy. The whole county, from the wind-swept crags of the Alleghanies to the sugar-bloom of the Seven Islands, is throbbing with the pulse of universal life. The past with its romance is lost in the present, and the present is newer and beautifuller than the past ever was. Who would not feel a pride in such a county ? If I have done anything for it in the present undertaking, I am glad of it ; if I have done nothing, I am sorry, for I have not done my duty.
Some of the history has been wholly neglected or only touched, because I could not utilize it all. What I have left has been principally romances that cling around old memories. I would like to fling history aside and cast my
8
INTRODUCTION.
lot with them for a season. No mountain of Scotland has echoed to the themes of more beautiful legends that our mountains have. The temptation to me was great as I was writing the history, for I wanted to turn myself loose among such landscapes and people and stories as my fancy could create or my eyes could see already created. But I held steadily before my mind the fact that I was writing history, and I did all I could to weed from it what was not sober and true. I have given nothing that I do not believe to be the truth. I am able to rid myself of all partiality when it is necessary to do so, and in this case I have done it. I feel that I have done injustice to none. If I have, it was unin- tentional on my part. It has been necessary to write of some who are anything but my personal friends ; but I have done it without one shadow of desire to do them a wrong or to let them suffer by neglect. All I could ask of any man is to be treated as fairly as I have treated my characters in this History of Tucker County. I hold that no man should be misrepresented ; but, if misrepresentations be tolerated, it is better that they affect the dead than the living. I would rather harm the memory of a dead Washington, although he was my friend, than to take a mean advantage of a living enemy-to injure him in a manner wherein he could not de- fend himself. Whether right or wrong, thus I believe.
To those who will read this book closely enough to notice errata, where they exist, I would say, bear in mind that the book was written in fragmentary parts, and did not receive the supervision that all histories should have. However, I feel confident that the serious errors are few, and what they are, they are there without the knowledge of the author at this hour.
HU MAXWELL.
Kingwood, October 23, 1884.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
JAMES PARSONS.
Page.
The County of Tucker defined. First visited by James Par- sons. He discovers the Horse Shoe. Passes up Horse Shoe Run. The Pringles. Simon Kenton. The Indians. Mound- builders. Mound in the Horse Shoe. Graves, bones and ar- row points. Captain Parsons and his brother locate lands on the River. Chased by Indians.
17
CHAPTER Il.
JOHN MINEAR.
John Minear. Early life. Leads a colony to the Horse Shoe. Builds a fort. Trouble with the Indians. A settler chased from the Sugar Lands. Settlement broken up. St. George founded in 1776. Fort Built. Mill. Prosperity. Reverses. New trouble with the Indians. The small-pox rages in Tuck- er. An Indian raid. Sims killed. St. George besieged. Am- buscade. Jonathan Minear killed. Washburn taken priso- ner. Pursuit of the Indians. Skirmish. Indians defeated. Washburn rescued. A rash Indian. Boy taken prisoner near St. George. Killing of John Minear, Cooper and Came- ron. Escape of the Millers and Goffe. The Indians pass into Randolph. Routed by Jesse Hughes. Burial of Minear, Cooper and Cameron
34
CHAPTER III.
MISCELLANIES.
The manners and customs of the pioneers. Moving. Pack- horses. Plunder. Household articles. Bread and meat. Building houses. The style of houses. Clothing. Mill at St. George, 1776. Intoxicating liquors. Guns. Tomahawks. Religious worship. The customs of the times. Schools. Teachers. Modes of imparting instruction. Singing schools. Romance of Manassa Minear and Lyda Holbert.
69
10
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
MISCELLANIES.
Silent History. James Goff. His peculiarities. The land agent. The supper. The Parsons family. The Bonnifields. Settle- ment of Clover District. First school-house. The Dumire family. The Losh family, William Losh and two friends go to Ohio. John Losh, the hunter. Canada : the bed of alake. Lost in the woods. Captures cub-bears. Crosses the river on a raft. Old settlers. Geneology. Nimrod Haddix breaks his neck. Ambrose Lipscomb. Adam Harper
87
CHAPTER V.
FORMATION OF TUCKER COUNTY.
Efforts to obtain a new county. Meeting in St. George. Com- mittee select site for court-house. William Ewin sent to the Legislature. Judge John Brannon. Name of the county and county-seat 121
CHAPTER VI.
SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES.
The influence of schools and churches. Should be co-workers. Growth slow but permanent. Common schools the greatness of the country. Home supply of teachers. 125
CHAPTER VII.
MOUNTAINS AND CAVES.
Mountains of Tucker. Limestone mountains. Falling Spring. Jordan's Cave. Blooming Cave. Subterranean wonders ..... 130
CHAPTER VIII.
LUMBER INTERESTS OF TUCKER COUNTY.
Primeval forests. Description of trees. Sugar making. Saw mills. Cheat River. Springs. Wells. The blackness of the water of Cheat. To what due. History and description of the river. Alum Hill. Job's Ford. Slip Hill. Turn Eddy. Willow Point. St. George Eddy. Miller Hill. Murder Hole. Turtle Rocks. Seven Islands. Rafts and raftsmen. Shin- gle mills. Lumber interests opposed to farming .. 139
11
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IX.
WEST VIRGINIA CENTRAL AND PITTSBURGH RAILWAY. General view of the subject. Coal. Railroad plans of 1856- 1881. Reports. Wealth of the company's lands. 167
CHAPTER X.
MISCELLANEOUS STATISTICS.
The value of statistics. Various lists and tables. Reports of County Superintendents. 173
CHAPTER XI.
NEWSPAPERS OF THE COUNTY.
First paper in Tucker County. Founding of the Pioneer. The Democrat comes into existence. The progress of the two papers.
190
CHAPTER XII. THE ST. GEORGE BAR.
Sketches of William Ewin. Rufus Maxwell. A. B. Parsons. Lloyd Hansford. L. S. Auvil. W. B. Maxwell. Philetus Lipscomb. 198
CHAPTER XIII.
TRAVELERS.
Abe Bonnifield. Starts to Missouri. Joins a show. Leaves it. Joins another. Rumpus with Indians. Goes to Canada, The old black scalawag. Returns home. Joins the Confed- erate army. Fights to the last. A. T. Bonnifield. Goes to California. Returns. Chased by a tiger at Nicaragua. Visits W. Va. Returns to California. 206
CHAPTER XIV. TRAVELERS .- (CONTINUED.)
Captain Ezekiel Harper. Early life. Volunteers to go to the Mexican war. Starts overland to California. The jour- ney. The Humboldt desert. Harper leaves the company. Proceeds on foot. Crosses stupendous mountains. Arrives at the gold fields. Digs gold to buy his breakfast. Various reverses and successes. Indian war. Harper leader of
12
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
the miners. Skirmishes with the Indians. Rescue of priso- ners. The Indians driven from the country. Harper revis- its W. Va. Returns across the plains to California. Drives 4000 sheep. Jacob Harper dies on the Rocky Mountains. Fortunes and reverses. Harper comes back to W. Va. Re- turns to California. Terrible storm at sea. The "Central America" goes down. Letter from Aspinwall. Jerome Har- per goes to Chili. Insurrexion there. Prisoners sent to Patagonia. Captain Harper starts to hunt his brother. Meets him at Pataluma. Returns to the mines. Comes back to W. Va. and joins the Confederate army. Various skirm- ishes. Taken prisoner. Carried to Camp Chase and Rock Island. Suffering. Escape. After history.
220
CHAPTER XV.
TRAVELERS. - (CONTINUED.)
Henry Bonnifield. Early life. Adventures. Goes to Cali- fornia. Rides wild horses. Desperate ride over Millerton Mountain. Dragged by a wild horse. A wicked mule. In- vited to ride at the Centennial at Philadelphia. Goes to Ar- izona. Haunted house of Tulare. A lying emigrant. Mo- jave Desert. In Arizona. Sick. Lost in the desert. Falls into the hands of the Indians. Passes down the Colorado River. Trouble with the Indians. Reaches home. . ...... 250
CHAPTER XVI.
TRAVELERS .- (CONTINUED.)
The Minears. Farm work. School. St. George Inn. A. P. Minear. Works on the B. & O. R. R. Starts to California. Adventures on the Isthmus of Panama. Reaches California. Taken sick. Kindness of E. Harper and Mr. Buckelew. Goes into the lumber business. Fails. Goes to Oregon. Suc- cesses and reverses. John W. Minear goes to California. To Oregon. A. C. Minear follows. Letters on the way. Sol- omon Minear killed. The Minears goto Idaho. Mining. Fam- ine. Snow. Storms. Attempt to murder A. P. Minear. Struck by sixteen bullets. Escapes. Joins a railroad enter- rpsie in Florida. Fails. Goes to New York. Returns to the Pacific coast and engages in mining. A. C. Minear in Idaho. Fights Indians. Letters. Returns to W. Va. David S. Minear ..
273
13
TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVII.
THE WAR.
The commencement of the struggle in Tucker County. Cap- ture of a Confederate flag at Saint George. Death of Lieut. Robert McChesney. Letters bearing on the subject. Ad- vance of Garnett. Battle of Corrick's Ford. Confederates retreat. Capt. E. Harper pilots the flying army. Destruc- tion and ruin marked the way. The army deserted by the cavalry. Retreat of the Union forces from the Red House. E. Harper leads the scouts up Backbone Mountain. Escape of the army. The raids of Imboden. Surrender of Hall. Faris. Battle of St. George. Close of the war 316
BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES.
In this department the subjects are treated alphabetically ...... 438
APPENDIX.
Biographical sketch of the author
511
APPENDIX.
POLITICAL STATISTICS.
Election returns of the county 532
INDEX. 573
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Capt. Ezekiel Harper,
.
Frontispiece.
Page
W. B. Maxwell,
202
A. P. Minear,
272
A. T. Bonnifield,
.
482
.
John G. Moore, .
.
512
The Maxwell Brothers-a group,
Lieut. Robert McChesney,
. 320
Abraham Bonnifield,
512
Rufus Maxwell, .
450
Capt. Joseph A. Faris,
Mrs. Anna Minear,
96
Mrs. Sarah J. Maxwell, .
. 176
Mrs. Elizabeth Bonnifield.
96
Mrs. Mary J. Minear,
320
Mrs. D. A. Lowther, 196
George A. Mayer, 368
David S. Minear, 320
Jeff. Lipscomb,
482
Hu Maxwell,
512
Enoch Minear,
96
Job Parsons, 482
Dr. A. E. Calvert, 368
Nelson D. Adams, 320
Philetus Lipscomb, 482
Cyrus H. Maxwell,
512
Dr. T. M. Austin. .
. 368
.
·
·
.
176
Dr. B. Baker,
.
368
320
.
Mrs. Mary A. Spesert,
196
HISTORY
OF
TUCKER COUNTY.
CHAPTER I.
JAMES PARSONS.
TUCKER COUNTY, West Virginia, is bounded on the north by Preston, on the east by Maryland and Grant County ; on the south it is bounded by Randolph, and on the west by Barbour. It lies along the valley of Cheat River, and includes the tributaries of that stream for about thirty-five miles north and south, and twenty east and west. The area of the county would, therefore, be about seven hun- dred square miles; but, if an actual measurement were made, the area would probably fall a little short of these figures.
The county is not mentioned in history prior to the French and Indian War, about 1762. Of course, it is un- derstood that when the county is spoken of in this manner, reference is had only to the territory now included in the county of Tucker. The territory so considered appears to have been unknown to civilized man till about the year 1762 or 1763. The accounts of the earliest explorations
18
HISTORY OF TUCKER COUNTY.
are vague and conflicting, and very few positive statements can be made on the subject. However, it is certain that both Preston and Randolph were visited by white men be- fore Tucker was.
Probably the first white man in the county was Captain James Parsons, who then lived on the South Branch of the Potomac, near Moorefield, in the present county of Hardy. During the French and Indian War, the Indians often passed from beyond the Ohio, across the Alleghany Mount- ains, into the settlements on the Potomac River, and partic- ularly on the South Branch. They killed or carried away as prisoners everybody they could catch. On one of these raids they captured Capt. James Parsons." They carried him with them all the way to Ohio, and kept him a prisoner for some time. At length, however, he managed to escape from them and set out for home. He knew that the South Branch was in the east, and he traveled in that direction. He guided his course by the sun by day and the moon by night. But, as it was often cloudy, he wandered at times from his way. In this manner he proceeded many days, and from the length of time that he had been on the road, he thought that he must be near the South Branch. He struck a small river, which he thought to be the South Branch, because it flowed in an easterly direction. He followed it until it emptied into a larger river, which flowed north. This stream he followed, thinking it might be a branch of the Potomac, flowing in this direction to pass around a mountain, and that it would turn east and south again in the course of a few miles. With this impression he followed it. But it did not turn east, and showed no
* It is now a question whether It was Parsons or another man. The best authorities say Parsons.
19
JAMES PARSONS.
sign of turning. He became convinced that he was on the wrong river, as indeed he was. The first river followed by him was the Buckhannon. At its mouth he came to the Valley River, and down it he had traveled in hopes that it would conduct him to Moorefield.
As soon as he was satisfied that he was on the wrong river, he left it and turned eastward across the mountains. He passed Laurel Ridge somewhere near the head of Clover Run, and came to Cheat above the Holly Meadows, proba- bly near the farm of Ward Parsons, Esq. He concluded that this must certainly be the South Branch, and followed down it. When he reached the Horse Shoe Bottom he was struck with the beauty of the country, and noticed in par- ticular the great forest of white oak trees that covered the whole bottom land of the river from the Holly Meadows to the mouth of Horse Shoe Run. The trees were nearly all of the same size, and there was little underbrush.
Up to this time he had thought that the river must be the South Branch; but, now he began to doubt it. It was too large. Already it was larger than the Branch was at Moorefield; and, he knew that he must still be far above that town; because no country like that in which he then was could be found near his home. He knew that, if it was the South Branch at all, he was above the mouth of both the North and South Forks, or upon one of those rivers. Neither was half as large as Cheat at the Horse Shoe. Therefore, he was certain that he was not on a tributary of the Potomac. He was confirmed in this conviction when he had passed round the high point of land, where Judge S. E. Parsons now resides, and saw that the river, instead of continuing toward the north-east, broke away toward the west, and flowed in that direction as far as he could see.
.
20
HISTORY OF TUCKER COUNTY.
He could not divine where he was. He knew of no river of this kind anywhere in the west. For the first time, in all his wanderings, he became confused, and knew not where to go next. He would have followed down the river, in the hope that it would lead him to some settlement; but, he felt sure that it must empty into the Ohio.
After pondering over the matter for some time, he re- solved to continue his eastward course. He saw a long valley extending east; and, crossing the river, he was at the mouth of Horse Shoe Run. As far as is known, he was the first white man ever in Tucker County. However, there is a tradition that a band of Indians, with a prisoner, once halted at the mouth of Horse Shoe Run ; and, leaving their prisoner tied on the bank of the river, they went up the run after the lead. In a few hours they returned with some. Whether this event, if it happened at all, was before or after Captain Parsons was there, cannot now be determined. One account says that the prisoner was Captain Parsons' brother Thomas. But, all accounts of the subject are vague and conflicting. If the Indians got lead in that manner, it was probably some that they had hidden on a previous expedi- . tion. There are not known to be any lead mines in that vi- cinity; although some people think there are. It was a custom among the Indians, when they went upon an expe- dition, to hide lead along the road so that, upon their return, they might have a supply without carrying it with them during the whole journey. This is likely why they went up the run to get that article, at the time mentioned. This probability is strengthened by the fact that an old Indian war path crossed Cheat River at the mouth of Horse Shoe Run; and, if lead were left anywhere, it would likely be along a path.
21
JAMES PARSONS.
When Captain Parsons crossed the river at the mouth of Horse Shoe Run, it was with the intention of continuing toward the east. This he did. He pursued his way up the stream a little distance, when he came upon a large, old path. It was perhaps an old Indian trail; or it might have been made by animals. Parsons would have followed this; but, it turned to the north, and he left it. At the mouth of Lead Mine, he left Horse Shoe Run; and, by going up Lead Mine, he crossed the Backbone Mountain near Fairfax.
This path across the mountain was the route by which nearly all of the first settlers of Tucker found their way into the county. After crossing the mountain, Parsons struck the North Branch of the Potomac, and finally reached home. Of the Horse Shoe Bottom he gave an account that filled the settlers about Moorefield with long- ings to see it. But, it was several years before any of the people from the South Branch again visited the Chieat River lands.
At that time there was a large fort at the mouth of the Monongahela River, where Pittsburgh now stands. In 1761, four of the soldiers who garrisoned the fort became dissatisfied and deserted. They passed up the Monon- gahela, and at the place where Geneva, Penn., now stands, they made them a camp. But, they did not like the place, and moved into Preston County, and made them another camp not far from Aurora. No one then lived anywhere near them, and for a year they saw no trace of human, ex- cept themselves. But, at length, one of them found a path leading south-east. He thought that it must go to Virginia, and he hurried back to camp and told his companions that they ought to follow the path and see where it would lead. They were all willing for this, and at once set out to trace
22
HISTORY OF TUCKER COUNTY.
the path. It is not now known who made the path or where it led to and from. But, the deserters followed it until it conducted them to Luney's Creek, in Grant County. Here they stumbled upon a frontier settlement; for, the whites were just then colonizing the upper part of the South Branch, and the adjacent valleys. This was near where Seymoursville now stands, and was not more than fifteen miles from where Captain Parsons lived, near Moore- field.
This was in the vicinity of Fort Pleasant, where Dr. Eckarly, from Preston County, had been arrested on sus- picion, some six or eight years before. They suspected that he was a spy from the Indians. The South Branch was evidently a bad place for suspected characters. At any rate, the four deserters from Pittsburgh had been there but a short time when they were arrested as deserters. How- ever, two of them, brothers named Pringle, made their es- cape, and ran back to their camp in the glades of Preston.
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.