USA > West Virginia > Monroe County > A history of Monroe county, West Virginia > Part 9
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Lewis, John-of William (Ann) Lewis (parents)-154 (patented 1771) and 115-$2-Sweet Springs, adj. William Hughart-1796
Lewis, John-of William (Ann) Lewis-100-$1-gap of Peters Mtn. n. Sweet Springs-1789-1801
Longacre, Jacob-of Nathanial Foster-209-$1-assignee, Isaac Foster, assignee, Reuben Foster-1798
Loudebaugh, James of Botetourt-of David (Comfort) Tate of Botetourt -90-$200-north branch of Second-1790
Lynn, Matthew of Botetourt-of James (Rosanna) Dempsey-100-5s -Second, adj. Ralph Yates-1796
Maddy, William-of Robert (Martha) Ritchie-196 of 320-250p-1797 Magart, David-of John (Francina) McMullen-133-Second, adj. Aaron Turpin, David Johnston, David Louderback-1790
Magnet, Henry-of Conrad (Jean) Dubois-Knobs, adj. James Collins, Robert Campbell, and-Hinchminger (formerly Best)-previously owned by (1) John Wylie, (2) Ralph Yates, (3) Henry Mannax-1809
Magart, Henry, Sr .- of John (Ann) Kincaid-10 of 390-5s-hd Indian, adj. Thomas Stewart, Dennis Cochran-1794
Magart, Henry, Sr .- of Edward (Agnes) Heanon (Keenan ?)-85 of 316 -És-hd Indian, adj. Thomas Stewart (deceased)-1795
Magart (McGart), David-of David Johnston of Botetourt-146 of 349 -5s-Second, adj. Turpin-1794
Mahan, John-of James (Rebecca) Scarborough-226-5s-Lick Run, adj. Michael Kounnse and others-1797
Malcolm, Alexander-of Joseph (Dorothy) Malcolm, Sr .- Sinks-P, by Robert Thompson, Sr .- 1810
Mann, James-of James Henderson, heir of James Henderson (deceased) -- 84 of 380-Dropping Lick-1797
Mannax, Mary-of Ralph (Jean) Yates, heirs at law of John Wiley- 400-5s-Swope's Knobs-1796
Martin, John-of John (Catrina) Noseman-215 of 250-5s-n. Francis McNutt-1797
Matheny, Luke-of Philip Cooper-59 of 175-5s-Turkey-1794
Maxwell, Audley of Wythe-of James (Isabella) Alexander-150-$1 -Wolf, adj. William Alford, Joseph Swope-1798
McClintic, James-of Thomas (Jane) Irons-Knobs, hd Laurel and Rain- bow Run survey, 1794-1810
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A HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
McCulloch, Robert of Staunton-of Thomas McCulloch of the Western Territory-400-150p-adj. Matthew Gwinn, Daniel Perry, Henry Douglas, Richard Humphreys-1792
McCue, David-of Hugh (Margaret) Alexander-100 of 300-5s-P by Richard Mathews-1795
McDaniel, John-of Francis Long-397-50p-Scotts Run, adj. Martha Gatliff-1789
McDougall, John-of Patterson Griffith-41-5s-Turkey-James Scar- borough-1798
McDougall, John of Augusta-of Thomas Wright per Isaac Estill-385 -5s-Indian-1797
McDougall, John-of James (Rachel) Scarborough and James (Sarah) Christy-152-5s-1798
McDowell, Henson-of Joseph (Elizabeth) Sawyers-360-$1-Little Wolf, adj. William Lafferty-1799
McGee, Lively-of John Arbuckle-N side Peters Mtn-1809
McNutt, Francis and John-of James Byrnside-300-70p-Indian-1783 Miller, Jacob-of Jacob, Jr .- 133 of 380-$200-1797
Miller, Valentine-of William Stephenson of Cabell-hd Wolf-1810 Miller, Henry-of E. (S.) Griffith-92 of 150-5s-1796
Morris, Robert-of John Beckley, both of Philadelphia-19 tracts of 20,555 A. No. 2 of 1422-Brushy, adj. Andrew Hamilton on Second Cr. No. 7 of 1150-Second and Brushy. No. 8-1330-Brushy of Second-1796?
Neal, Walter-of William (Catrina) Shannon-200 of 395-5s-1795
Neal, Daniel-of Philip (Elizabeth) Cooper-192 of 370-5s-Dropping Lick-1798
Neel, William-of Christopher (Margaret) Hand-hd Second, adj. Rob-
ert Dunbar-1811
Neel, William-of William (Katharine) Adair -- hd Second-P by Mich- ael Penturff-sold to Barnabas Johnson-1812
Neel, John-of William (Jane) Cornwell-Second-Moses Higgenbot- ham land-1809
Neel, Owen (Isabella)-of James McDowell of Rockbridge-$500-Potts, 1 mile from Sweet Springs-1796 (1790?)
Neel, Owen-of John (Rachel) Gallaway-95 of Solomon Turpin survey -hd Second-1792
Nelson, James-of Joseph (Elizabeth) Nickell-165-$400-Second-1788 Nelson, William H .- of George Daughtery-200-100p-Carpenter's Run, adj. Philip Holsapple-1793
Nicholas, John-of Samuel (Christina) Carroll-150 pf 315-5s-Wolf Hollow, Second Cr .- 1797
Nickell, Andrew-of Robert (Jean) Patton and William (Martha) Pat- ton, now of Russell-1810
Nosman, John-of Francis McNutt-216-5s-adj. Thomas Wright-1789
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EARLY LAND CONVEYANCES
Patterson, Matthew-of James (Isabella) Byrnside-300-70p-Indian- 1783
Patton, Robert, Jr .- of Robert (Margaret) Knox-280-200p-adj .- James Humphreys-1794
Patton, John-of Christopher Hand-Second, adj. William Cornwell-of Moses Higgenbotham P of 500 A, 1783-1809
Patton, Thomas and Robert-of Frederick (Mary) Gromer-218-$1500 -Second, adj Isaac Nickell-1797
Patton, Robert, Jr. of Alexandria city-of James Welch-3215-$3215- Big and Little Devil, adj. 1271 survey of Alyn Thruston, prior claims in- cluded : 326 plus 690 to Edward Cornwell; 100 entry by Moses Higgen- botham; 328 survey to same; part of 30 A survey to Joseph Higgenbotham- 1798
Patton, Robert, Jr .- of James Welch-1096-$1096-Second, adj. survey by Thruston-1798
Pearson, Joseph-of Robert (Hannah) Chambers-90-5s-Wolf, adj. Joseph Swope-1795
Perry, Daniel-of Alexander Hosick-400-200p-Second, adj. Edmund Cornwell-1794
Plymel, John-of Mathias (Elizabeth) McGlamery-75-55p-Dropping Lick-1798
Pritt, William-of John (Susanna) Cart-Second-1811
Ramsay, Richard of Botetourt-of Philip (Elizabeth) Cooper-192 of 370-5s-Dropping Lick-1798
Reaburn, John and John Blanton-of Isaac (Ann) Poulton-82-5s- Samuel Black land-1797
Reaburn, Henry-of James (Elizabeth) Murdock-100-5s-1789
Richie, David-of Robert (Martha) Ritchie-320-5s-Indian-1792
Robertson, John-of Joel (Elizabeth) Wood of Pendleton-Clin's Run of Rich, adj. Robert Langford-survey by William Rice, 1802-1809
Robinet, Nathan-of James (Isabella) Burnside, Sr .- 131-50p-E side New-1794
Rodgers, Michael-of Samuel (Christina) Carroll-123 of 315-$100- 1797
Rodgers, John-of James (Elenaor) Gregory-100 of 265-5s-adj. Henry Holsapple-1798
Rorebaugh, John-of John (Rosanna) Carlisle-250-5s-adj .- Babel Benson-1798
Ruble, John-of Thomas (Elizabeth) Garvin-112, including 110 of Nimrod Tackett land-5s-Turkey-1797
Ruth, Joseph-of James ( Isabelle) Alexander-400 -- 5s-Warren place- Potts-1798
Scarborough, David-of Jacob Pope-80 of 800-5s-Warren place- 1796
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A HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
Scarborough, David-of Henry (Elizabeth) Pope-10-5s-Weaver's Knobs-1798
Scothorn, Lewis-of Joseph (Mary) Higgenbotham-220-5s-Little Devil, adj. Reuben Harris-1797
Scott, William and James, Jr .- of James Scott, Sr .- Board Run of Wolf 1810
Shanklin, William-of James (Elizabeth) Henderson and William (Nan- cy) Shanklin-$1-Indian-1810
Shelman, Lewis-of Joseph (Ann) Dickson-53 of 70-5s-1795
Shumate, Daniel-of Henry Willis-186-5s-Rich-1795
Slater, Joseph of Baltimore-of Robert Crawford-100-800p-Second, lately Joseph Conrad's-1794
Smith, Jacob-of William (Ann) Royall-200-$200-Potts-1811
Sprowl, William-of Thomas (Esther) Soward-139-50p-branch of Dropping Lick-1793
Steele, Thomas-of Barnabas (Jane) Johnson-244-5s-foot Peters, adj. Robert Bland (deceased)-1795
Stuart, John and John Mathews-of William (Mary) Richmond-180 (adj. William Craig and David Dick) plus 100-adj. William McKinster and John Burdette-$5-Swope's Knobs-1797
Stuart, John-of Joseph (Sally) Slater-100-Second Creek Gap-made over as per court decree-1799
Swearingen, Van (Mary) of Isaac (Mary) Wiseman-Dropping Lick -1810
Swope, George-of Henry (Sarah) Miller-part of 150-5s-Wolf --- formerly Barnabas Johnson's-1797
Swope, Joseph-of Evan (Susanna) Griffith-58 of 150-5s-Wolf-1796 Symms, John-of Thomas (Jean) Stuart-165-Indian-P by John Car- lisle-1808
Tackett, Nimrod-of John (Margaret) Swope-60-5s-Indian-1793
Thompson, Adam-of William Craig of Bourbon county, Ky by John Byrnside-391-5s-1793
Tincher, Thomas-of Thomas (Hannah) Kincaid-143-5s-adj. Mar- tin Phillips-including survey of Samuel Sollard, 1774-1794
Turpin, Martin-of Solomon Turpin-147 of 400-5s-1789
Turpin, Aaron-of Solomon Turpin-115 plus 42 of 400-5s-1789
Vass, John-of William Vass-Second Cr. adj. Charles Lewis and Ed- ward Cornwell-P, 1783, by James Dempsey and Ralph Yates-1809
Vawter, William-of Andrew (Sabina) Hutchinson-Brush and Elk Run -1810
Vawter, William-of Daniel (Rysanna) Cook-Slaty Run of Hans, adj. William Young-survey by John Kincaid, 1798-1810
Watkins, Joseph of Goochland -- of James (Phoebe) Moss-272-$204- Dunlap-P, 1789-1797
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EARLY LAND CONVEYANCES
White, John-of William and Martha Cooper-100-5s-1789
White, William-of Thomas Keener-100-5p-Carpenter's Run, adj. Henry Winkleblack-1797
Wyatt, Thomas-of James Byrnside, Sr .- 331-5s-New at and above mouth Greenbrier-1787
Wiatt, Thomas-of Joseph (Elizabeth) Sawyers-360-$1-Little Wolf, adj. William Lafferty-1799
Wickline, Jacob-of William (Euphemia) Linton-295-$1-hd Dunlap -1799
Wiley, Robert-of Samuel (Mary) Black-218-5s-Sinks, adj. James Chambers, John King, William Blanton, Isaac Polston-1792
Wiley, Robert-of Moses Higgenbotham-194-5s-between Second and Laurel Run-1796
Wilson, Andrew-of John (Sarah) Lewis-200-200p-Indian, adj. Wal- lace Estill-1793
Wiseman, Isaac-of William (Elizabeth) Rice-78-Dropping Lick, n. John Hutchinson, Robert Chambers-1797
Wiseman, Abner-of Daniel (Sarah) Neal-93-5s-1798
Wiseman, John-of Edward (Nancy) Keenan-84 of 400-5s-Lick Run -1798
Wolf, Jacob-of John Wolf-108-20p-Potts-1798
Woodson, George-of James (Phoebe) Moss-272-$204-Dunlap-P, 1789-1797
Yates, Ralph-of James (Rosa) Dempsey-375-5s-Second, adj Thomas Lewis-includes P of 180 by Yates, and 195 of P of 295 by Dempsey-1795
Young, Andrew-of John (Jean) Campbell-95-5s-Turkey-1792
Young, Robert-of Boude (Jean) Estill-183 of 383-70p-Hans-1793
Young, William-of Thomas (Priscilla) Ray-quit claim to 150-Hans -1809. Priscilla Ray was formerly Priscilla Gold and legatee of John Es- till.
Young, Robert-of Robert Nickell-60-5s-1793
Young, James-of Samuel (Christianna) Carroll-150 of 315-Wolf Hol- low, Second Cr .- 1797
Young, James-of Edward (Clara) Fleather -- 73-5s-1797
Young, James-of G. (E.) Eagle-132 of 200-$450-Second-1797
Zickafoos, George-of James (Elizabeth) Henderson and William (Nancy) Henderson-hd Wolf, adj. James Miller, Patrick Dixon, Jacob Doran (now Robert Johnson) -1809
INDEX TO GRANTOR NAMES
Abell
Ballard
Blanton
Adair
Beckley Boyd
Alexander
Benson
Burns
Arbuckle
Black
Byrnside
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A HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
Cail
Henderson
Parker
Caldwell
Higgenbotham
Patton
Campbell
Hogshead
Pierson
Carlisle
Hosick
Penturff
Carroll
Hutchinson
Pope
Chambers
Irons
Poulson
Clendennin
Jarrett
Ray
Conrad
Jarvis
Reaburn
Cook
Johnson
Rice
Cooper
Johnston
Richmond
Cornwell
Keatley
Ritchie
Craig
Keenan
Rodgers
Crawford
Kilpatrick
Royall
Crosier
Kincaid
Ruth
Curry
King
Sawyers
Daugherty
Kitchen
Scarborough
Dempsey
Knox
Scott
Dickson
Larkin
Shanks
Doran
Legg
Shannon
Douglas
Lewis
Shepherd
Dubois
Linton
Shower
Dunbar
Long
Skaggs
Eagle
Louderback
Slater
Edgar
Lynn
Soward
Elliott
Maddy
Sparr
Ellis
Madison
Steele
Ellison
Magart
Stephenson
Estill
Malcom
Stuart
Ewing
Mann
Swope
Fleather
Matthews
Tackett
Fleming
McClintock
Tate
Foster
McDowell
Thompson
Gabbert
McGlamery
Turpin
Gallaway
McKinster
Vass
Garvin
McMullen
Walker
Green
McNutt
Warren
Gregory
Metheny
Welch
Grider
Miller
Wikel
Griffith
Morton
Willis
Gromer
Moss
Winkleblack
Gwinn
Murdock
Wiseman
Hall
Neal
Wolf
Handley
Neel
Wood
Hanna
Nickell
Yates
Hargo
Noseman
Young
XI
FORMATION OF MONROE
Petitions to Divide Greenbrier-Act of 1796-Act of 1799-Organization of County-Attempt to Disestablish Monroe.
T is not often that a county is divided for the simple reason that it is large. Local politics, factional feel- ing, and the logrolling of ambitious men will seek the division of a county that is not large. And whether the county be large or small, the seceding element may have a pro- longed and bitter struggle before it accomplishes its purpose.
In view of the long continued good feeling between the counties of Greenbrier and Monroe, it may come as a surprise to many persons to learn that the separation was effected only after more than ten years of persistent work, and that even after the establishment of Monroe there was a determined effort to disannul the new county.
Kanawha county was set off from Greenbrier in 1788. But even then, Greenbrier ran about 70 miles along the Alleghany chain and about 35 miles westward. A separation of what was left, nearly on the line of the lower course of the Greenbrier River, was a foregone conclusion. 'But there was still a thin population, and this consider- ation was not lightly to be overcome. And yet it was in 1790, before the harrassments of the red man were definitely known to be a thing of the past, that we find the first recorded attempt to divide the county.
A numerously signed petition of that year, voicing the people of the sinks of Monroe, asks for a new county because of the natural barrier of the Greenbrier River. It recites that the courthouse is 40 miles from any point on New River. It asserts an inconsistency in Bath county being permitted to extend up the valley of Dunlap Creek. The boundary asked for the new county begins at the mouth of the Greenbrier, runs up New River to the Greenbrier line at the
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A HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
end of Peters Mountain, which is then followed to the dividing ridge between Potts and Stony creeks. Then the line follows the crest of Potts Mountain so as to cross Jackson's River at the Island Ford at the mouth of Simpson's Creek. The river is crossed again at Red Bank, where Thomas McCallister then lived, and the line follows a divide so as to include all the valley of Dunlap Creek to the top of Little Mountain. This is followed to the divide between How- ard's and Second Creeks, which in turn is followed to the mouth of Laurel, where Second Creek is crossed. The line then goes straight to the mouth of Muddy, and thence to the point of beginning.
For five years the movement for separation does not seem to have been pressed with energy. Meanwhile the Indian warcloud had van- ished, and improving times favored a renewal of the attempt. In 1795 a petition to divide Greenbrier received 542 signatures. In the same year was a vigorous counter-petition by the people of the Great Levels. The latter document sets forth that the public tax for this year was only $601.05; that the tithables numbered only 1591, including 184 negroes and 250 delinquents, leaving but 1157 white tithables of permanent residence within the county. It alleges that of the signers to another petition,-presumably the one above named,-several hundred have no existence. It further declares that the said petition exaggerates the extent of the county. It states that the mass of the population is confirmed to an area extending 20 miles north and 20 miles south from the courthouse, and reaching west only from three miles to six or seven miles, the remaining people be- ing scattered thinly along the creeks and branches. The paper goes on to say that emigration westward will be large and constant, and that any increase in the local population will hardly be noticed for many years. It claims that no county could be more compact; that as to the fords in the Greenbrier, no river can have better fords, and they can always be used except in time of high water, when there are boats for such emergency.
A petition of 1796, signed by people on Jackson's River and Potts and Dunlap creeks, asks for a new county with lines as already men- tioned. It claims that the Greenbrier docket is habitually so full as
105
FORMATION OF MONROE
to cause much delay, while because of the high mountains, the acting sheriff makes his visit only at rare intervals.
A counter-petition of the following year is numerously signed. It affirms that "petitions of a similar nature (to the one just presented ) have for some years past been presented and rejected, so that it seems the petitioners hope to obtain by importunity what has so often been justly denied to the merits of the case." In December of this year an affirmative petition repeats the request made in 1795, and insists it is true that many persons drown in the surges of the Greenbrier. This paper is well fortified with signatures, and is indorsed as "rea- sonable" by the committee of the Assembly to which it was referred. A similar petition of 1798 asks for a redress of "grievances so often complained of." It was not until this year that a bill was drawn for the creation of Monroe.
The leader in this movement was John Hutchinson, who had been a delegate to the Assembly for the session of 1796-7. He was stiffly opposed, and for a while successfully, by Colonel John Stuart, William H. Cavendish, John Matthews, and others. They were able to defeat him for re-election. But Hutchinson was astute and resourceful. He undertook a flank movement on what, were he liv- ing in our own time, he would style the "courthouse ring." As a political general of the twentieth century West Virginia, Hutchinson would have been in his element.
An Act of Assembly of November, 1796, states that great quan- tities of land in Greenbrier, Kanawha, and Randolph remain unas- sessed. It provides that in each county three men be appointed by the governor and council to assess all lands therein. Two copies of the lists were to be made, one going to the sheriff and one to the state auditor. This bill was put through the Assembly by Hut- chinson. It enabled him to win, as we shall presently see.
In the session of 1798-9, Hutchinson was present at Richmond as a lobbyist. As a result of his wire-pulling, the legislature passed, January 14, 1799, the act creating the county of Monroe. It reads as follows:
Section I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That all that part
106
A HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
of the county of Greenbrier, lying within the following bounds, beginning where the ridge dividing the eastern and western waters joins Peters moun- tain, and with the said ridge to the ridge that divides Howards and Sec- ond Creek, thence with the said ridge westwardly, including the waters of Second Creek, to the waggon road at Robert Knox's; thence with the said creek to Thomas Nichol's spring branch, thence a straight line to Alder- son's ferry landing on Greenbrier river, thence down the said river to the mouth of Muddy Creek, thence crossing the same to the ridge that divides the waters of Muddy Creek and Griffith's run, and with the said ridge to Keeny's Knobs, and with the said knobs, including the waters flowing into Greenbrier river to New river, and up the same to where it breaks through Peters mountain, thence with the said mountain an easterly course to the beginning, shall form one distinct county, and be called and known by the name of Monroe.
Section II. A court for the said county of Monroe shall be held by the justices thereof on the third Tuesday in every month, after the same shall take place.
Section III. The justices to be named in the commission of the peace for the said county of Monroe shall meet at the house of George King, in the said county, upon the first court day after the said county shall take place and having taken the oath prescribed by law, and administered the oatlis of office to and taken bond of the sheriff, according to law, proceed to appoint and qualify a clerk, and fix upon a place for holding courts in the said county, at or as near the center thereof as the situation and convenience will admit, and thenceforth the said county shall proceed to erect the nec- essary public buildings at such place, and until such public buildings be completed, to appoint any place for holding courts as they shall think prop- er: Provided always, that the appointment of a place for holding courts, and of a clerk, shall not be made unless a majority of the justices of the said county be present; where such majority shall have been prevented from attending by bad weather, or their being at the time out of the county, in such case the appointment shall be postponed until some court day when a majority shall be present.
Section IV. It shall be lawful for the sheriff of the county of Green- brier to collect and make distress for any public dues and officers' fees re- maining unpaid by the inhabitants thereof at the time the county of Monroe takes place, and shall be accountable for the same, in like manner as if this act had not been made.
Section V. The court of the said county of Greenbrier shall have ju- risdiction of all actions and suits depending before them when the said county of Monroe takes place, and shall try and determine the same and award execution thereon.
Section VI. The Governor, with the advice of Council, shall appoint a person to be sheriff of the said county of Monroe, who shall continue in
107
FORMATION OF MONROE
office during the term and upon the same conditions as are by law pre- scribed for other sheriffs.
Section VII. In all future elections of a Senator, Elector, and a Rep- resentative in Congress, the said county of Monroe shall be of the same dis- trict as the county of Greenbrier. The said county of Monroe shall be of the same district with the county of Greenbrier for which districts are holden at the Sweet Springs, and also be of the same brigade district.
This act shall commence and be in force from and after the first day of May next.
It does not appear who was instrumental in giving the new county the name of Monroe. Hutchinson does not seem to have favored it, because Monroe was not of the Federalist party, which was the po- litical organization dominant in both Monroe and Greenbrier. James Monroe was at this time forty-two years of age. He was a well known planter and public man of Virginia, but had scarcely yet ac- quired a national reputation. He did not become president of the United States until eighteen years later. It was Monroe's good for- tune to fill this position while the national sky was unusually serene. His administration was uneventful. Party feeling was at so low an ebb at the close of his first term that he was re-elected with only one opposition vote in the electoral college. Monroe was neither brilliant nor great and was the least able of the four presidents form- ing what is sometimes styled the "Virginian dynasty." It is signifi- cant that no county has been named for him in any of the states ad- mitted since 1848. His death took place on Independence Day, 1831. During his lifetime he made several visits to Red Sulphur Springs, passing through Union.
Hutchinson also lobbied through the Assembly a bill to establish the town of Union, and another to relieve the people of Monroe from the Greenbrier taxes of 1799, assessed before Monroe was organized. But before coming to the last act in the drama, wherein he and Stuart were the leading characters, we must pause to narrate the organization of the new county.
The house of George King, where the justices were required to meet, lay a mile and a half east of Union and not far from old Reho- both church. The log houses of that day were not generally com-
108
A HISTORY OF MONROE COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
modious and the august court adjourned to the barn. The first or- der-book opens with the following significant entry :
Be it remembered that at the House of George King in the new County of Monroe on Tuesday the twenty-first Day of May in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seventeen Hundred and Ninety Nine and of the Com- monwealth of Virginia the Twenty Third A Commission of the Peace for the said County directed to William Hutchinson, James Alexander, Isaac Estill, William Haynes, John Hutchinson, John Gray, John Byrnside, Wil- liam Graham, James Hanley, and William Vawter, Gentlemen was pro- duced and read and thereupon the said William Hutchinson took the oath appointed by Act of Assembly for giving Assurance of Fidelity to the Com- monwealth and the Oath for supporting the Constitution of the United States, also the Oaths of a Justice of the Peace and of a Justice of the County Court in Chancery which were administered to him by the said James Alexander and William Haynes and then the said William Hutchin- son administered the said Oaths to the said James Alexander, Isaac Es- till, William Haynes, John Hutchinson, John Gray, John Byrnside, William Graham, James Hanley, and William Vawter.
The court was now ready to enter upon its duties. Isaac Estill qualified as sheriff, giving two bonds, with William Haynes and John Byrnside as sureties, for the execution of his regular official duties and the collection and payment of the public taxes. John Arbuckle qual- ified as under sheriff, John Hutchinson as clerk, and John Woodward as prosecuting attorney. John Byrnside was nominated as county surveyor. James Alexander and John Wallace were granted license to keep ordinaries.
Next day, the court still sitting at King's, the site for a court- house was selected on the land of James Alexander. James Graham was nominated as coroner. The constables chosen were Thomas Lowe, Robert Dunbar, John Cottell, William Dickson, George Fos- ter, Isaac Cole, Enos Halstead, and Joshua Lewis, these men to serve, in the order of their mention, in the militia companies of Cap- tains Byrnside, Clark, Nickell, Graham, Jones, McDaniel, Farley, and Estill. Twenty-seven men were nominated as officers of the militia.
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