USA > West Virginia > Hampshire County > History of Hampshire County, West Virginia : from its earliest settlement to the present > Part 26
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to remain in captivity. They had a better time where they . were. They were allowed almost as much liberty as the private citizens in the surrounding country, yet few of them attempted to escape. When, at last, they were set at liberty, they preferred to stay in America, and many of them found their way into Hampshire county and settled. Their descendants are in the county yet, and form a re- spectable portion of the community.
John Champe .- A few miles south of Romney, near the South branch, is the site of a house which long ago fell into decay, only a few ruins remaining. Connected with these ruins is a story dating back to the revolution. Here lived for thirty years John Champe, one of the bravest soldiers in Washington's army. A mystery hung over his life, but it has long since been cleared away. He came into the South branch valley while the war for independence was in progress; and, since it was known that he had been an officer in the army, enjoying the confidence of Wash- ington, it was a source of speculation why he had left the army and taken up his abode in what was then the remote frontier of Virginia. The true reason was understood by a few, but the truth became generally known only long years after the war, when Washington and many of his soldiers had gone to their last rest. Washington sent Champe into Hampshire county to remove him from the danger of falling into the hands of the British, by whom he would have been hanged had they captured him. The story of his life and of the hazzardous mission which he under- took is as follows:
John Champe was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, about 1756. He enlisted in the continental army in 1776, and was in the command of Major Henry Lee. Champe rose to the rank of sergeant major, and was a great favorite with Lee. He was thus performing the duties of a soldier and officer when peculiar circumstances brought him to the notice of Washington. Benedict Arnold had
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turned traitor and had fled to the British army at New York. Major Andre had been captured and was held as a spy. Rumors were in circulation to the effect that at least one other American officer of high rank contemplated desertion, and no one knew how far the spirit of treason might extend. It was an hour of uncertainty and danger. Washington felt the gravity of the situation. He sent for Major Henry Lee in whom he had unbounded confidence, and laid before him a plan for the capture of the arch- traitor Arnold. Could he be taken and executed, his death would satisfy justice and furnish the public example deemed necessary; and the unfortunate Major Andre's life could be spared. To carry out Washington's plan, it was necessary to find a man of cool determination, delib- erate purpose, desperate courage, and absolute self- possession under any and all circumstances. He was to desert to the British, and execute a plan for kidnapping Arnold and carrying him into the American lines. Wash- ington asked Lee to find him a man who could do this. Lee selected Champe and brought him to Washington. The young officer was of a silent and morose disposition, of dark complexion, a splendid horseman, of a frame mus- cular and powerful, combining the qualities, both mental and physical, necessary for performing duties difficult and dangerous.
The young officer came to Washington, and heard the plan for Arnoid's capture. He did not like to undertake it, not because of the danger, but the thought of desertion, even when feigned, was abhorrent to him. Upon the earnest entreaty of Washington, he finally agreed to go upon the mission. The time was short, for it was neces- sary to act at once. About eleven o'clock that night he quietly mounted his horse and started for New York by way of Paulus Hook. He hoped to escape unobserved, or at least to have several hours the start of his pursuers. But in this he was disappointed. He had not been gone an
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hour before a troop of cavalry was in pursuit. When he reached the water's edge, within sight of a British ship, the pursuers were within two hundred yards of him. He left his horse and plunged into the water. The British came to meet him and he was assisted on board, and in a short time reached New York, where he was introduced to Sir Henry Clinton, who at once saw that Champe was a man who could be useful. The news of the desertion had already reached the British commander. Champe had papers on his person which showed him to be an officer; and it was the policy of the British to give deserting officers the same rank in the British army that they had held in the American army, by this method encouraging others to desert. Benedict Arnold had already been received with favor, and was engaged in raising a body of soldiers, which he called the American Legion, composed of tories and deserters. It was natural that Champe should be sent to Arnold to be given service in the American Legion. This was what he had hoped for; and at the end of a few days he found himself with Benedict Arnold. Arrangements were made for carrying the traitor back to the American lines. Champe had two companions who were ready to assist him. A boat was prepared and was tied at a convenient point. Major Lee was notified, and sent a troop of cavalry to a place agreed upon to be in readiness to carry Arnold away if Champe should succeed in kidnapping him and bringing him in the boat to shore. The plan was to seize Arnold, gag him. carry him by force to the boat and make off. Everything was ready, and the night approached for executing the plan. But at the last hour it was defeated by an unforeseen occurrence. Arnold was ordered to another point, and Champe, with much dis- gust, saw his project fall through. It is believed that it would have succeeded had Arnold remained a few hours longer where he was. In the meantime Major Andre had confessed, thus rendering unnecessary a protracted trial, 25
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and he had been put to death in accordance with the severe but necessary rules of war which decree that the spy must pay the penalty with his life. Had Arnold been captured, and executed, the life of Andre could not have been spared under the circumstances.
Benedict Arnold and his newly organized troops sailed for the south and landed in Virginia. Champe went with them, and was thus carried far from his friends in New York, and all hope of kidnapping the traitor was past. He therefore prepared to escape back to the American lines. The opportunity to do so came soon after Arnold joined Lord Cornwallis at Petersburg. General Greene was then in the south, as was Major Lee also. Champe returned to Lee, and was by him introduced to General Greene who furnished him with a horse and sent him to General Wash- ington who received him kindly, and gave him his dis- charge from the army, lest he fall into the hands of the British and be hanged by them. It is highly probable that Washington advised him to go to the South branch valley beyond the reach of the British. It is well known that Washington was acquainted with Hampshire county, and knew the wealth of the country in natural resources; and also knew that no British army would ever penetrate so far into the interior. At any rate, Champe took up his residence on the South branch, on land now belonging to John M. Pancake, near the Haunted Gate, five miles south of Romney.
The subsequent history of Champe is much like that of Simon Kenton, the Kentucky pioneer who was doomed to disappointment and neglect and who died in poverty. When Washington sent Champe upon his perilous mission he promised him, in the name of the United States, that he should bewell rewarded. This promise seems never to have been fulfilled. Champe remained at his home on the South branch, but there is no recond that he ever owned the land on which he lived. However, Washington never forgot
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. him. About fifteen years afterward, when it seemed that war was about to be declared between the United States and France, and Washington had been called to take com- mand of the American army. he endeavored to find Champe, intending to give him a command in the army. But he was told that Champe had gone to Kentucky, where he had died. But this was incorrect. He still lived in the South branch valley, but it is uncertain whether at the place of his first settlement or further up the river. In 17SS his name occurs on the land books. In that year he entered a claim on a tract of public land on the Alleghany mountains. in Hardy county, but within the present limits of Grant county. It is not believed that he ever lived on this land. For the next twenty-five years nothing is known of his life, except that he married Phoebe Parnard and had a family. About 1815 he moved to Ohio, in company with Isaac Miller of Hampshire county. Mr. Miller settled on a tributary of the Scioto river. Champe remained a short time in Ohio and then went to Kentucky and soon died. His descend- ents are still living in Ohio and Michigan. His son, Nathaniel Champe, was an officer in the war of 1812 and made an honorable record. About 1858 S. S. Cox of Ohio, presented a petition to congress on behalf of the heirs of John Champe, asking for recognition of the claim of their father. The heirs then resided in Ohio and Michigan. The petition was prepared by A. W. Kercheval of Hamp- shire county. It was never atted upon.
Early Militia Roll .- The earliest militia roll now obtainable in Hampshire county is in the possession of Lieutenant John Blue, to whom it descended from his grandfather, Captain John Blue. The roll bears date April 29, 1790, and as that was but a short time after the close of the Revolutionary war it is highly probable that the same company was in existence during that war. From the list of names given below it will be seen that many of the names are still common in this county among the best
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class of citizens: Jolin Blue, captain; Robert Ross, John Ross, Garrett Blue, William Linton, John Pancake, James Spilman, John Reynolds, John Newman, Andrew Humes, George Glaze, Robert Parker, William Hanson, George Newman, William Newman, James Dale, Thomas Cornick, Barton Davis, Abraham Blue, John Williams, Joseph Hall, Peter Parker. Jesse Edwards, William Beakeman, Benja- min Belford, John Elos, Benjamin Swick, Isaac Daiton, John Ross, jr., David Laycock, Jacob Blue, William Skid- more, Samuel Davis, Samuel Newman, George Taylor, Ralph Skidmore, John Walker, William Coughran, Joseph Coughran, John Donalson, William Donalson, Robert Walker. Samuel Walker, Robert Buck, Anthony Buck, Jeremiah Sullivan, Patrick Savage, John Wells, William Corbett, Isaac Johnson, Robert Reynolds, Henry Hinds, Samuel Abernathy, James Halls, James Smought, Simon Pancake, Wheeler Meradeth, Thomas Davis, Joseph Wil- liams, James Starr, Samuel Shrout. William Sheets, Wil- liam Spilman, James Wood, Abraham Skilmon, Peter Swick, Henry Barber, Peter Williams, John Campbell, Feildon Calmers, Benjamin Neale, Isaac Newman.
It will be seen that four men of the name Newman were members of that company. It is believed that they were brothers of Dr. Robert Newman, but proof of it has not been found. Dr. Newman had five brothers who, with himself, took part in St. Clair's battle with the Indians, north of Cincinnati, the year after the date of the above militia roll, that is in 1791, and five of the brothers were killed.
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CHAPTER XXXI.
NOTES ON NEWSPAPERS.
BY H. L. SWISHER.
Hampshire's newspaper history is long but not so varied as that of many counties a century younger. We find in many counties numerous newspapers of an ephemeral na- ture. They grow up as suddenly as Jonah's gourd and like it perish in a night. Such is not the history of news- papers in Hampshire. This county seems to have never had a paper but met with a reasonable degree of success and accomplished in a certain measure the purpose for which it was established. In the year 1830 William Har- per set on foot the Hampshire and Hardy Intelligencer This paper served the people of both counties as a news- paper as there was no other paper nearer than Cumber- land. The name was in a short time changed to The South Branch Intelligencer and under this head it was run for two generations. This paper when established was a six-column, four page paper 14x20 inches in size. It was, however, soon enlarged to seven columns and later to eight. At first it was printed on an old Franklin press, and the printing of one thousand to twelve hundred copies, which was its circulation at that time, was no small job. The ink was distributed by means of buckskin-covered balls filled with some absorbing substance. Such a thing as a composition roller was unknown. This paper was whig in politics during all its career up to the war, but after the war it lent its support to the regular democratic party. Mr. Harper continued as editor of the Intelli- gencer until his death, which took place in 1887. During
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NOTES ON NEWSPAPERS.
his long connection with newspaper work in the county he became acquainted with most of the older inhabitants, and they looked upon him and his paper as indispensable friends. After his death the paper was conducted, for about three years, by his widow until 1890, when Mrs. Harper sold the paper to a stock company who placed C. F. Poland at the head, and he continued as editor until January, 1897, when the stock and fixtures were bouglit by Cornwell Brothers, of the Review. With this event the old South Branch Intelligencer, which had visited the peo- ple of the county regularly, except during the civil war, for almost three score years, passed out of existence.
The Virginia Argus, a democratic paper, was estab- lished in Romney in the month of July, 1850. Its founder was A. S. Trowbridge, who had formerly followed the profession of teaching in New Orleans. The measure of success was not such as he thought ought to be meted out to his enterprise, so in the year 1857 he sold the paper to Samuel R. Smith and John G. Combs, who held it for three years and nine months and in turn sold it to William Par- sons. A few months' experience satisfied Mr. Parsons that he did not need the paper, so he in turn sold it to Colonel Alexander Monroe and Job N. Cookus. These gentlemen continued as editors and proprietors until the first year of the war when they laid aside the pen and took up the sword and substituted for the noise of the printing press the din of battle. The paper was not revived after the war.
The Review, the strongest paper ever in the county, and one of the most ably edited local papers in the state, was established in 1884 by C. F. Poland, who conducted the enterprise with considerable success until 1890, when he sold out to the present proprietors, Cornwell Brothers. The Review has a comfortable home, built in 1895, and is steadily increasing in circulation and influence. When established it was a seven column folio, but has recently
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enlarged to eight columns, and is now printed on a new steam press. In politics it has always been democratic.
The latest journalistic enterprise in the county is the Romney Times, established March 25, 1897. James Wirg- man is editor and proprietor. The paper is republican in politics and has thus far received a fair measure of sup- port.
The Tablet is an educational paper supported by the state and published at the Institution for the purpose of teaching printing to the pupils. It is issued weekly, on Saturday, during the school session of forty weeks. Parents of pupils attending the Institution receive the paper free. Others pay fifty cents a year for it. In size it is four column, 16x22, and its makeup is chiefly of such matter as concern the school and pupils. This paper was established in January, 1877, by A. D. Hays and has remained under his management for the greater part of the time since:
There is nothing that so minutely mirrors local senti- ment and current history of a community as its local papers. In after years the chaff of weekly news, as re- corded in the columns of a county's papers, yields the golden grain of history. Some of the incidents and hap- penings of former years that we find recorded in those old papers seem trivial enough, but, in fact, they were once matters of moment.
The oldest paper published in Hampshire which the author has seen, is a copy of the South Branch Intelli- gencer of April 4, 1845. It is a seven-column folio. The tittle is in moderately-sized letters, but without display. The paper is filled up largely with descriptive articles and foreign news. Some local items, however, are of interest. There is a list of unclaimed letters remaining in the Rom- ney postoffice April 4, 1845, signed by E. M. Armstrong, P. M. This paper and several other very old ones were furnished the writer by J. N. Buzzard. They bear the
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name of James Larimore. In this issue John Green and Joseph Davis give notice that they do a general business in carding and fulling. There is also a column and a-half arti- cle on the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, showing the proba- bility of its being built and the benefits to be derived there- from. In an issue of the same paper for 1847 we find this notice:
"TEMPERANCE.
"George Gilbert contemplates delivering a temperance address in the court house in Romney on Saturday night, 23d inst., at early candle lighting."
We see thus that active war was waged against intoxi- cants fifty years ago even in our midst. In the market reports for this year wheat is quoted at one dollar and forty cents to one dollar and fifty cents a bushel; corn sixty- nine to seventy cents; oats forty to forty-five cents, and rye seventy to seventy-five cents. Here is a notice that must have caused consternation among the small boys:
"NO BALL PLAYING AGAINST THE COURT HOUSE.
"HAMPSHIRE COUNTY.
"September Court, 1847.
"Ordered, That Joseph Poling, keeper of the court house, prevent all ball-playing against the court house and defac- ing and injuring the same; and that if any person or per- sons shall hereafter play ball against said court house, or deface or injure the same, it shall be the duty of the said Poling to report to the court the names of all such offend- ers in order that he or they may be proceeded against for said offence.
"This order is ordered to be published.
"A copy: Teste."
There is also an advertisement of "The most brilliant lottery ever drawn in the United States." It was located at Alexandria, and no doubt attracted many an adventurer by its brilliancy. There is, however, no local mention of any fortunate ticket-holder in this county. Another copy
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of the paper for November 15, 1850, is very much improved in size, appearance and makeup. There are numerous professional cards and many business notices. Two schools of academic grade are advertised, showing that. educational advancement kept pace with material progress. Two year later still greater progress is manifested and the. paper becomes in tone much like the local paper of today. A couple of peculiar notices from these old papers will close this chapter:
"HALF A CENT REWARD.
"Ran away from the subscriber on 22 of February of Feb- ruary, a bound boy by the name of James C-, about 13 years of age. The above reward will be given to any per- son who may bring him back to me.
"WASHINGTON PARK. "Hamp. Co., Mar. 5, 1852."
We have no record of who captured the prize. There are also several advertisements of slaves for sale and for hire, which read to us of the present generation like tales from a foreign land.
Times were not then so prosaic as one might suppose, for in an old paper printed in 1852 a shoemaker thus pours. forth his soul in a poetic advertisement:
"Each lady, too, will please to recollect Men have for pretty feet a great respect. Many a time the foot a beau will gain, E'en when a pretty face has tried in vain."
But let us drag into the light no more of the peculiarities of times and people so long past. Who shall say others will not in time to come, smile at those things we now con- sider sum and substance?
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CHAPTER XXXIII. -
AMONG OLD RECORDS,
BY HU MAXWELL.
Hampshire county, being the oldest in the state, its pub- lic records of course date back beyond those of any other county. So far as can be ascertained the first public record for Hampshire was written June 11, 1755. It was the minutes of a court held at that time. The oldest book in the court house, or that which is apparently the oldest, is a record of deeds, leases and mortgages immediately following the organization of Hampshire. The entry on the first page bears date in December, 1757, and to this fact are probably due the statements made by most his- torians who have written on the subject, that the oldest record was made in 1757. A person who is seeking the date of the oldest record, naturally looks on the first page of the oldest book. But in the present case, that would be misleading; and it is apparent that Kercheval, Howe, Lewis and others who have examined into Hampshire's history, have fallen into the error, and have concluded that the entry on the first page of the oldest book extant is actually the oldest record. Such is not the case. This old book bears internal evidence of being a copy of a still older book; or, more probably, it is a copy of records which existed some years as documents folded and laid away. The evidence of this is the fact that at different places in the books are instruments bearing dates earlier than those on the first pages. For example, on the first pages are deeds prefaced by these words: "At a court held in and for the county of Hampshire, December 13.
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1757, ordered to be placed on record." A hundred or more pages further in the book occurs this preface to a deed: "At a court held in and for the county of Hamp- shire, June 11, 1755, ordered to be placed on record." Documents admitted to record at earlier sessions of court are found following those admitted later, probably twenty places in the book, showing, or at least indicating, that the recorder had before him a bundle of papers of different dates, all to be recorded; and that he endeavored to record them in the order of their dates, and usually did so, but a few of the earliest were overlooked, and had to be recorded later.
The honor of being the first clerk of Hampshire has usually been given to Gabriel Jones; but this is also a mis- take, and it was made in the same manner as the error as to the first court. The first page of the oldest book was examined, and the clerk who recorded that page was Gabriel Jones. But the records of the court of June 11, 1755, show that Archibald Wager was the first clerk, or at least was in office before Gabriel Jones. There is nothing in this old book to show where this first court was held. It would be interesting to show this, for at that time the French and Indian war was raging with all its fury, and Hampshire was overrun with savages and their French allies. "Three days before this first court was held in Hampshire, the British and American troops, under com- mand of General Braddock, left Cumberland on the march to the present site of Pittsburg; and within one month from that date occurred the terrible battle on the bank of the Monongahela where Braddock fell and where he lost nearly half his army. Washington conducted the retreat to Cumberland, and the place was considered so unsafe, that the British troops continued the retreat to Philadel- phia. Washington returned to Virginia with the Ameri- can soldiers, and built a strong fort at Winchester as a de- fense against the Indians and French. If such was the
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desperation of the situation that a British army was afraid to stay in Cumberland, and Washington thought it neces- sary to fortify Winchester, what must have been the situ- ation of Hampshire which lay exposed to attack, and forty or fifty miles nearer the Indian country than Winchester was? Yet, it was in that summer, in the midst of the war, that Hampshire's first court was held. As already said, it would be interesting to know where the court convened and what protection it had against Indian attacks. It is known that the oldest court house stood several miles above the site of Romney, on the South branch; but whether it was in existence as early as the summer of 1755, and whether the first court was held there, is not certainly known, and perhaps the truth will never be ascertained. No person living can remember anything throwing light on the subject. It is probable, however, that the first court was not held in the court house on the river. It is more probable that it was held in some private house, the owner and its location having been long ago forgotten. Some persons are inclined to believe that the first court was not held in the county at all, but somewhere else. Wherever it was held, it was under British rule, and the judges were appointed by the crown, probably on author- ity delegated to Lord Fairfax.
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