USA > West Virginia > Ritchie County > History of Ritchie County, with biographical sketches of its pioneers and their ancestors, and with interesting reminiscences of revolutionary and Indian times > Part 10
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His wife died in 1892, at the age of eighty-three years. and was laid by his side.
Their children were as follows :
Mrs. Temperance (T. W.) Ireland, Morgantown; Mrs. Josephine (Jesse) Hammond, Portsmouth, Ohio; W. S. Wil- son. Texas: Mrs. Eveline (Smith) Bee, Mrs. Love (Alex) Frunty, the late Mrs. Elizabeth (C. M.) Collins, J. M., Bazil
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H., the late H. N., A. B., Barton H., and L. P., all of this county. The last four have all passed on.
John Wilson .- Along with Archibald Wilson came his brother, John Wilson, who was. then a single man, but who married Miss Charlotte Dotson, of Tollgate, a little later, and settled in Doddridge county for a short time, before re- moving to Lynn Camp, where he made the pioneer settlement on the James Tucker farm, where he passed from earth.
His family consisted of seven daughters and two sons; viz., Eda, who married Calvin Haynes; Eliza, who was Mrs. Jehu Shinn ; Almira, Mrs. David Hogue : and Angeline, Retta, Francis, and another daughter ; Jasper went west ; and Black- burn was killed by a log at the old home.
Wilson Ancestry .- The Wilsons have a remarkably inter- esting ancestral line. One, which, in part, belongs to National History. They are of Scotch-Irish descent. Their antecessor. William Wilson, was born in Ireland, on November 16, 1722. He was the son of Davis Wilson, and the grandson of David Davis Wilson, of Scotland. He married Miss Elizabeth Black- burn, who was also a native of "Old Erin," she having been born on February 2, 1725 ; and near the year 1755, they came to America, and settled in Shenandoah county, Virginia. Here, Mr. Wilson died on June 12, 1801, and his wife, on September 2, 1806.
They were the parents of eleven children, four of whom were born before they crossed the sea :
1. Benjamin born November 30, 1747.
2. Archibald born June 13, 1749.
3. David born September 8, 1751.
4. William born February 8, 1754.
5. John born April 12, 1756.
6. Moses born May 1, 1758 and died in 1760.
. Moses, 2nd born April 8, 1261.
8. James born July 25, 1763.
9. Solomon born July 2, 1766.
10. Elizabeth (twin) born July 2, 1766.
11. Margaret born April 7, 1768.
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John Wilson, the fifth son, and the first one born in Amer- ica, was a native of Shenandoah county, Virginia. He married Miss Mary Wathin, a French maiden, and from him the Ritchie county branch of the family is descended. He being the father of Archibald, John, and Mrs. Dorcas (Augustus) Modisette, of this county ; Blackburn, of Walker; Mrs. Tem- perance (Moses) Thompson, Harrison county; and Mrs. Mary (G. W.) Shinn, Doddridge county.
He (John Wilson) lived and died at Beverly in Randolph county, where he served as clerk of the County court for inore than thirty years. He was engaged in a desperate In- dian fight at Wheeling when he was a lad of eighteen years, and was severely wounded.
His final resting place is at Beverly.
Benjamin Wilson .- Benjamin Wilson, the eldest son of William and Elizabeth Blackburn Wilson, who. as before stated, was born in Ireland, on November 30, 1747, was not only a man of great ability and prominence, but he had the most remarkable progeny that has come under our notice since the days of the ancient patriarchs, he being the father of thirty children.
On September 4, 1770, he was married to Miss Anne Rud- del, who was born on September 20, 1754, and twelve children were the result of this union. On June 18, 1795, the mother passed on ; and on December 15, 1795, he married Miss Phebe Davidson, who was the mother of the other eighteen. And at the time of his death, on January 2, 1828, his posterity numbered one-hundred thirty-six persons-twenty-four chil- dren, seventy-three grandchildren, thirty-two great-grandchil- dren, and one great-great-grandchild.
"Mr. Wilson served as lieutenant in the expedition of Lord Dunmore against the Indians in 1224, and acquired, by his zeal and attention to duty, the confidence of his superior officers.
"Early in the Revolution, he was appointed captain in the Virginia forces, and in 1781, he received the appointment of colonel.
"During the entire war, he was the organ through which
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most of the military and civil business of that part of the State in which he resided was transacted.
"He was a member of the Legislature from the County of Monongalia for several sessions previous to the year 1784, in which year, the County of Harrison was established; and at the organization of this county, he became the clerk of the County court. The duties of this office, however did not with - draw him from the theater of politics -- as he was selected as a delegate to the convention, in 1788, which ratified the Con- stitution of the United States."
Another incident worthy of mention in this connection is the fact that Col. Wilson was present at Camp Charlotte -- eight miles east of Chillicothe, Ohio -- on the occasion when Cornstaik, the renowned Indian chief, visited Lord Dunmore in the interests of peace, and had the pleasure of listening to this great chieftain's wonderful gift of oratory, which he com- inents on in the following language :
"When he (Cornstalk) arose, he was in no wise confused or daunted, but spoke in a distinct and audible voice without stammering or repetition, and with a peculiar emphasis. His looks while addressing Dunmore were truly grand and ma- jestic-yet graceful and attractive. I have heard the first orators of Virginia, Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee, but never have I heard one whose powers of delivery sur- passed those of Cornstalk on that occasion."
The first county seat1 of Randolph county is said to have been kept at the home of Col. Ben Wilson four miles from Beverly, and the following amusing anecdote is told of his transference of this local-seat of government to another individual, and of his removal to Clarksburg where he finally passed to the confines of the tomb, at the age of eighty years :
"During the Civil war when the soldiers were stationed at Beverly (in 1864) a short time after their arrival, George Renscrift, one of the number, noticed a peculiar hole in the ground around which the soldiers and the civilians gathered from day to day to pitch horse-shoes. His attention being especially attracted to the size of this hole, he remarked to an old- gentleman standing near, that this ground must have been Coor the purpose before the war; and the old gentleman, the { 11
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heaving a reminiscent sigh, said, "Yes, my young man, I am! nigh unto seventy, and I was not born when the first horse- shoes were pitched into that hole.' And he then proceeded to tell him its unique history :
He said, as above mentioned, that the county seat was kept at the home of Col. Ben Wilson, and that at Beverly. Icur miles distant lived one Jacob Westfall. One day Col. Wilson came riding down the path past the Westfall residence and found Mr. Westfall out pitching horse-shoes in his yard all alone.
"Having a good game?" asked Col. Wilson. "Good enough," was the reply. "I'll bet I can beat you," said the Colonel. "I'll take the bet," replied Westfall. "How much?" asked Col. Wilson.
"Whoever beats gets the court house," replied Westfall. "It's a bargain," replied Col. Wilson, who had everything to lose and nothing to gain as he already had the court house, but he was a great old codger to take chances. So the game began and continued until night and Westfall flaxed the Colo- nel on every proposition, and won the bet."
This same evening Col. Wilson made Jacob Westfall decd a quarter of an acre, which included this play-ground, to the public forever, and according to the provisions of this deed an individual could play when, and as long, as he pleased, and 110 one could hinder him.
The next day Col. Wilson sent Westfall the county seat, books, papers and so on, to Beverly, and shortly after sold out and removed to Clarksburg.
This piece of ground is still used as a horse-shoe play- ground and will doubtless continue to be thus used until the end of time, as no one has the power to molest this lot.
This is said to be the only piece of real estate in the world that has such a title. When the new court house at Beverly was under contract, the court undertook to sell this lot, but found upon investigation that it belonged to the public, and that the county had no authority over it. Consequently, it lies there vacant as it did a century ago-a monument ( +
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cated to the simple game of horse-shoe-and the men and boys haunt it to-day as they did in the days of Col. Wilson.
Record of the Family of Col. Ben Wilson .- Children of Col. Ben and Anne Ruddle Wilson :
Mary Wilson born June 7, 1771, married John Haymond.
William Wilson born January 26, 1773, married Miss Martin.
Stephen Ruddle Wilson born October ?1, 1775, married ---
Benjamin Wilson born June 13, 1778, married Miss Mar- tin.
Sarah Wilson born September 11, 1280, married Benjamin Bryce.
Elizabeth Wilson born August 17, 1782, died September 3, 1782.
Anne Wilson born January 17, 1786, married Dr. Brice.
John Wilson born July 5, 1788, married Miss Martin and Miss Caldwell.
Archibald Blackburn born July 25, 1790, married Edith Roby.
Cornelius Wilson born April 7, 1795, married Rachel Mar- tin.
And two children died without names.
Children of Col. Ben and Phebe Davidson Wilson :
Josiah Davidson Wilson born October 12, 1796, married Miss Martin and Miss Despard.
David Wilson born February 18, 1798, died unmarried.
Edith Wilson born November 9, 1799, married James Martin.
Elizabeth Wilson born October 18, 1801, died unmarried.
Thomas W. Wilson born May 12, 1803, married Miss , O'Bannon, of Ohio.
(The language of Col. Wilson concerning his impresion of Cornstalk is taken from the foot-notes of the revised edition of Withers' Border Warfare; the anecdote concerning the Beverly court house, from an old newspaper clipping furnished us by Mrs. Susan Collins, of Pennsboro- his granddaughter; and the part concerning his public career, is quoted from the National Intelligencer, of January 29, 1828, in which the ac- count of his death appeared. And to his great-great-granddaughter, Mrs. Jessie Norris Tierney, of Glenville, who is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, we are indebted for this rare account.
Col. Wilson was the County clerk of Randolph county at the time of the incident herein narrated.
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Margaret Wilson born March 26, 1805, married Hiram Haymond.
Deborah Wilson born October 17, 1806, married Abel Smith.
James Pindall Wilson born June 9, 1808, married Rowcna Haymond, daughter of Thomas.
Daniel Davisson born January 30, 1810, married Miss O'Bannon.
Phebe Wilson born August 29, 1811, married Ainos Gil- bert.
Martha Martin Wilson born June 23, 1813, married Caul- der Haymond.
Philip Doddridge born June 29, 1814, married Penelope Sinnett.
Noah L. Wilson born March 9, 1816, married Miss Gilpin. of Baltimore.
Julia Anne Wilson born September 28, 1817, married James Robinson.
Harriett Baldwin Wilson born November 13, 1818, mar- ried Jonathan Haymond.
Rachel Wilson born July 20, 1820, married Lewis Hay- mond and Dr. W. D. Wilson.
Two died in infancy.
William Hall .- William Hall, the progenitor of another prominent Ritchie county family, found a home on the river above Oxford, across what is now the Doddridge county line, as early as 1830, but, ere the lapse of many years, he removed to the Flannagan farm above Berea, and later resided at both Pullman and Harrisville. He finally, in his old age, went to Roane county where he died, at the home of his daughter. . Mrs. Thomas McKinley, during the spring of 1813.
Mr. Hall was born in Loudin county, Virginia, in 1797, and from there he emigrated to Harrison county in his young
The descendants of Col. Ben Wilson in this county are not a few but among the nearest in line are F. H. Martin and Mrs. Susan Collins- grandchildren, of Pennsboro. Mr. Martin being the son of his daughter Edith, and Mrs. Collins of Rachel. Mrs. John Hallam of Cairo is another granddaughter, she being the daughter of Thomas. See Haymond and Maxwell history for descendants of Mary Wilson,
Conflicting records of this family have been furnished us but we have used the one sent us by Miss Genevieve Collins of Pennsboro, it being taken from Col. Wilson's old Bible.
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manhood where he met and married Miss Mary Ann Lowther, eldest daughter of Jesse, and Mary Ragan Lowther, and granddaughter of Col. William, and from West Milford, they came to Oxford.
Mrs. Hall survived him by three years, dying at the home of her daughter in Roane county in 1876. And there by his side she lies at rest.
Their children were as follows :
Jesse L. Hall, William, Celina, Lucinda, Mary, Elizabeth, Elias, Robert Hannibal, Lemuel, Smith, and Judge Cyrus Hall, all of whom have now crossed the tide, with the possible ex- ception of Elias.
Jesse L. Hall married his cousin Miss Alcinda Lowther, and was the father of Cyrus, William E., Robert G., Marietta, Ellen, and Martha Hall, and after the death of his first wife, lie married again, and went to Elizabeth, Wirt county where he died and where some of his descendants still reside. Mrs. Rosa Connolly was a daughter by the second marriage.
William Hall died in his youth, and Mary remained single, dying at the home of her sister at Point Pleasant at an advanced age.
Selina married the Rev. George Monroe of the West Vir- ginia Methodist Episcopal conference, and died childless. She sleeps at Point Pleasant.
Lucinda married Jesse M. Lowther, son of Elias Lowther, senior, and lived and died in this county. She was the mother of Johnson J., Stillman F., Mrs. Mandane (Hiram) Wilson, and Mrs. Similda Randolph, of Salem; Mansfield and Syl- vanus Lowther and Mrs. Salina Bee, of the West ; Thomas, of Harrison county ; Lucinda-and the late Mrs. Dorinda (Eli) McKinley, of Harrisville-mother of the late lamented Homer Mckinley.
Elizabeth married Thomas Mckinley, and went to Roane county, where she sleeps. Their children were Lee, Walter, Rector, Jennie and Sarah.
Smith Hall married Miss Jennie Scott, of Hardy county, and lived and died at Harrisville. His family consisted of two sons, John and Charles, and of one daughter, Mrs. Laura viu ghert, of Ellenboro.
used f
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Robert Hannibal married Miss - Bennett, of Wes- ton, and was the father of Mrs. John B. Ayres, formerly of Harrisville, but now of Spencer, and of one other daughter. He died in Virginia a few years since.
Elias Hall married Miss Margaret Kirkpatrick, sister of Ichabod, and was an early settler on the Mason farm near the Pisgah church, in the Pullman vicinity. He finally went to Roane county where he, perhaps, is sleeping. William Smith, Neal. Hannibal, Lee and Landora Hall were among his chil- dren, but this is not all of them.
Lemuel Hall married here and went West where he was identified as an able barrister.
Judge Cyrus Hall .- Judge Cyrus Hall married Miss Amelia Scott, sister of his brother Smith's wife. and principally spent his long life at Harrisville, Parkersburg, and Charleston. His family consisted of two daughters, and three sons; viz .. Flora died in childhood : Louella became Mrs. Chancellor, of Parkersburg, but after the death of her first husband she mar- ried H. T. Sheffey, of Charleston ; the late Judge Cyrus Hall. B. B. and Thomas C., all of Charleston, are the sons.
Judge Hall was one among the prominent men that this county has produced.
Born in Harrison county early in the century, he came to this county with his parents in the "log cabin days" and strug- gled up through the many disadvantages that surrounded the ambitious lad in those days of untold privation and toil.
He was graduated from college, studicd law, and at the age of thirty years went to Woodsfield, Ohio, where he was admitted to the bar; and after a brief stay here, he returned to this county and took up his residence at Harrisville, where he practiced his profession for a number of years. He was Ritchie county's first Prosecuting Attorney, and was at one time her representative in the Legislature at Richmond.
He was a member of the Richmond convention that passed the ordinance of secession, and with one exception was the last survivor of that stormy body. He went there as an opponent of secession, but in the heat of the fight, was, won over and cast his vote for the measure-the passing of
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which sounded the bugle-note for the formation of the "Little Mountain state."
For a number of years after the birth of West Virginia, he was the judge of the County court of Wood county. He practiced in the courts of Virginia and West Virginia for almost sixty years, rising to distinction at the bar. It is said that he never lost a case before the Supreme Court of the State. He died at Charleston early in the year 1909, at the age of ninety years. His wife preceded him to the grave by fifteen years.
The Norrises .- Along with William Hall, from Harrison county, came his brother-in-law, William Norris, who settled near him on the river above Oxford.
Mr. Norris was born in Fauquier county, Virginia, on August 8, 1792. and on April 20, 1817, he was married to Miss Sallie Lowther, daughter of Jesse and granddaughter of Col. William Lowther, whose natal day was October 5, 1995; and after a brief residence on the river here, in 1833, they removed to Gilmer county where their lives came to a close. His on November 24, 1861, and hers, on May 22, 1870. And both lie at rest in the Norris burying-ground on Cedar creek.
Their family were as follows :
Emily (1818-1906, unmarried), Milton (1819-1896). John G. (1821-), Jesse (1823-), Mary (1824-1825), Caroline (1825-). Lucinda (1828-1888, unmarried), Drusilla (1832-, Mrs. Kerns, of Gilmer county), Elizabeth (1835-), Edward (183%-), and Elias Norris.
Milton G. Norris, who was born on November 10, 1819, was married in 1869, to Miss Maria Louise Campbell, daughter of John C. and Anne Wilson Campbell of Clarksburg, and lived and died at the "Beeches" near Glenville. He passed from earth on July 30, 1896, and Mrs. Norris survived until July 3, 1908, and both rest in the family burying-ground at the "Beeches." Their family consisted of four daughters ; viz .. Mrs. Jessie Campbell Tierney, and Mrs. Anne Wilson Lewis, are of Glenville ; Sallie Lowther is the wife of the Hon. E. M.
'The Campbells were from Winchester, Virginia, and the old home there is still owned by the family.
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Showalter, of Fairmont; and Miss Rebecca Lupton Norris is lying with her parents in the family burying-ground, she hav- ing passed from earth at San Francisco, California in 190 ?. while on a tour in the West.
The Norrises are of English origin, and the name is an ancient and prominent one in the "Old World" to-day. Gen- eral Sir John Norris was commander of the British army in the sixteenth century, and was sent by Queen Elizabeth to aid the Hollanders in their struggle against the Spaniards, at this time. Tradition says that three brothers crossed to America about the year 1760, and that one settled in Pennsyl- vania, one in Maryland, and the other, William Norris, who was an English school-master, in Virginia ; and from William, the different families of this state are descended.
His son, John Norris, was born in Fauquier county, Vir- ginia, on July 4, 1760, and at the age of seventeen years (in February 1777), enlisted as a volunteer, for three months, in the company of Captain James Scott, which was organized at the Fauquier Court House, and marched by way of Lewisburg (now West Virginia) across the Potomac, at Noland's Ferry to Frederick, Maryland, thence to Philadelphia, and on to Quibbletown (now New Market) in New Jersey. And in March, 1781, he was drafted, for two months, into the com- pany of Captain Morehead, who was stationed at Williams- burg. Virginia, and from this point, on April 20, 1781, they were driven by the enemy, and retreated to Richmond.
Again, in September, 1781, he was drafted for three months, and was appointed as orderly sergeant of a company of militia, commanded by Captain Hel, which was sent from Fauquier county to join the main army under General Wash- ington at Yorktown, and here he remained until the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, on October 19, 1781, and after this he was detailed as a member of the guard-force which conducted a band of prisoners to Winchester.
His service on the battle-field being at an end, he re- turned home, and on March 26, 1782, was married to Miss Mary Jones, of the "Old Dominion," who was in some way closely connected to the Washington family; and about the year 1807, they removed to what is now Lewis county (then
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Harrison), and settled near the old Jackson mill, five miles below Weston ; and here death overtook him on February 12. 1836, and here with his wife he lies at rest.
Their family consisted of the following children: Juliet, Hannah, Polly, Nancy. Eliza, Lucinda, Caroline, John, junior. and William Norris, the Ritchie county pioneer.
Juliet Norris, born on December ?2, 1783, was married to David Jackson. She passed on, on March 16, 1865, leaving four children: Edward J., Wm., Pitt, Nancy and Mary J. Jackson.
Hannah Norris (born on October 13, 1787, and died on May 26, 1879), married Daniel O'Brien, and her children were : Melville, Emmett J., Mary, Daniel. Nancy, Hannah, and Juliett O'Brien.
Polly, born July 22, 1785, died, unmarried, on December 29, 1848.
Nancy Norris (born October 13, 1794, and died on July 17, 1876) was married to Godfrey Hille, and Frederick, the one child of this union died in boyhood.
Eliza Norris was born in August. 1798, and died on Dec- ember 20, 1860, unmarried.
Lucinda (born on November 24, 1296, and died on Octo- ber 14, 1885) was the late Mrs. Benjamin Bassel, of Clarks- burg, and the mother of John Bassel, a graduate of West Point, and James Bassell, both prominent attorneys of Clarks- burg.
Caroline, who was born on December 15, 1800, died on September 4, 1804, unmarried.
John Norris, junior, was born in 1805, and died at the age of twenty years. And the family of William has already been given.
Felix Prunty, and Alexander Lowther, junior, were later pioneers in the Oxford vicinity.
Mr. Prunty was the son of Jacob Prunty, and was a native of Taylor county. He married Miss Emily Great- house, and took up his residence where his son, Jacob, now · lives, perhaps in the carly forties, and to the day of his death. on September 22, 1895, he was prominently identified witlı the affairs of this community, both in church and in state.
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He represented this county in the Legislature, at one time and was long a pillar in the White Oak church ; and in this . church-yard he sleeps. Mrs. Prunty died in 1908, and she sleeps by his side.
Their children : Mrs. Cynthia (wife of the late Rev. Sylvester Lowther ), Parkersburg ; Mrs. Salina Bce, Tennessee ; Mrs. Fannie (Lewis) Pritchard, Parkersburg: Jacob, and Marshall, Oxford, are the surviving ones; and Mary Jane, John W., Alexander, Mrs. Elizabeth Leach, and Mrs. Rosetta Ross, have passed on.
Alexander Lowther, junior, made his settlement on the farm that is now the home of his daughter, Mrs. John Allender.
Mr. Lowther was a native of Harrison county, having been born, near West Milford on May 1, 1816. He was the son of Alexander and Sarah Ireland Lowther, and the great- grandson of Col. William.
In 1838, he was married to Miss Emily Prunty, daughter of Jacob Prunty, and shortly after this event, he established his home here, and remained until 1864, when he removed to Ellenboro, where he engaged in the mercantile business for the next two years. From here he went to Graham Sta- tion, Mason county, and in 1872, to Elizabeth, Wirt county, where. for more than twenty years, his interests werc identi- fied with the town ; his services to both church and state being of a high order.
Here, in 1891, Death entered his home and carried away his wife, and, not long after this sad event, he went to Park- eisburg, where his life came to a close, on March 28, 1903, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Roana L. Kendall: and here in the Riverview cemetery beside his wife, he sleeps.
He was one of the early school-teachers of the county, and at different times held county offices. He said "At one time I knew every man in Ritchie county." As long as he lived, he spoke fervently of his love for Ritchie county, which had been his home for sixty-six years.
Their children: M. R. Lowther, who has been promi- nent in political circles in this state for a number of years, and who served as State Senator for one or more terms, is the
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only surviving son. He and Mrs. Roana L. Kendall, wife of the late Dr. J. E. Kendall, are both of Parkersburg, and Mrs. Sallie Allender, is of Oxford. Wilson, the eldest son died at the age of seventeen, and one daughter, in infancy.
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