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 16
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William Sharpnack, who was born near the year 1785, was married near 1808 to a Miss Anderson, and settled in Wetzel county, on the site that is now marked by the Anthem post-office. Here he established a mill and a distillery, and reared a large family. Near 1840, while chopping wood, he met with an accident that cost him his life.
His children were: Richard, Daniel, Samuel, William, John. Henry, Peter, Hiram, Jane and Hester.
William Sharpnack, junior, was born in 1810, and married Miss Sarah Harris, daughter of Anthony Harris, and removed from Wetzel to Ritchie county in 1845; and after resid- ing for a brief time on Buffalo run, settled on a tract of land near the present site of the "California House." Here, his wife, Sarah, died, leaving three children, Elias, Anthony and Elizabeth, who died in her youth. Some time after this sad event, he married Miss Margaret Cokeley, daughter of Daniel Cokeley, of near Harrisville, who only survived a short time. He then married her sister, Miss Mary Cokeley, and three children were born of this union; viz., John I., Frank D., and Martha, who became Mrs. William Cox, and went to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where she died without issue.
After the death of his third wife, William Sharpnack mar- ried Miss Eleanor Pipes, of Tyler county, who still survives. He lived a long and useful life, dying on July 8, 1890, at the age of eighty years. He was a leader in the Methodist Epis- copal church, and was Captain of the Militia before the Civil war. His sons Elias and Anthony, were soldiers of the Union army for three years.
Hiram Sharpnack, brother of William, who was born on April 11, 1818, married Miss Lydia Harris, daughter of An- thony, in 1843; and five years later he came to this county and settled on a tract of land joining his brother, near the Cali- fornia House, where he remained until his death on November 20, 1880. He was a skillful workman in both wood and iron -- was a cabinet-maker, builder. and mill-wright.
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
His wife died in January, 1886.
They were the parents of nine children : viz., William H., Daniel M., Rachel A., Isaac N., Sarah F., Lucy J., Mary V .. Ella P., and Martha E.
William H. served as a Union soldier for three one-half years during the Civil war; and then married Miss Kathrine Smith, of Freeport, and settled there, where he has been a leading figure in business and political circles for forty years. His wife died in 1906, and his two children are Mrs. Minnie (R. C.) Marshall, and Joseph N. Sharpnack, who was for sey- eral years identified with the Cairo Bank.
(For D. M.'s Famliy see Petroleum.)
Isaac N. and his wife, Ida J. Huntington, and their only son Fred, reside at Parkersburg, where he is manager of the Western Union Telegraph Company.
Rachel A., the eldest daughter, married Thomas Bath- gate, of Scotland, who, in 1865, removed from the old "Bath- gate homestead," at Petroleum, to Missouri, where she died a number of years ago, leaving several children, who are prom- inently known in different parts of the West. After her death. Mr. Bathgate re-married and he now lives at Polo, Missouri, at the advanced age of eighty-one years, surrounded by ease and luxury. When he first came to America. he worked at digging ditches for the small sum of eight dollars a month and his board.
Sarah F., the second daughter, became Mrs. James Lil- lie, of New York, and went to Missouri, where her husband died in 1905, leaving a small family.
Mary F. Sharpnack, who died in 1886, was the wife of the late Alfred B. Enoch, and mother of Chester Enoch, of Parkersburg.
Ella P. married Winfield Clarke. of Volcano, and resides at Tacoma, Washington, and has one son, Winfield.
The other daughters never married.
John Sharpnack, a cousin of William and Hiram, with his wife, Hannah, also came to Ritchie county in the forties. and settled on Buffalo run, where he reared a large family. which are as follows: Hiram, Abraham, Elma, Mrs. Lydia A. (J. W.) Hensley, Mrs. Sarah J. (John H.) Wendell, of
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SCOTCH SETTLERS
Michigan ; Mrs. Mahala ( John B.) Rice, and Henry Sharpnack, Seattle, Washington.
All the different families of this name in the United States are said to have been descended from the same common ancestors in the Fatherland.
CHAPTER XII
Bond's Creek Settled
Bond's creek is a stream not noted in song, No pencil or tongue its beauties portrayed;
Unwritten, unsung it glided along,
Keeping time to the music it ripples made.
'Tis a gentle stream with its winding way, Through a woodland dell where the wild flowers bloom;
Where the trees their pliant branches sway,
And the air is filled with a sweet perfume.
-- John S. Hall.
OND'S CREEK, with its numerous trib- utaries, drains one of the most fertile regions in the county. It has its source in the dividing ridge between Tyler, Pleasants, and Ritchie, and its confluence with the North fork at Cornwallis, eighteen miles dis- tant.
Its name perpetuates the memory of one of its earliest settlers-"Lewis Bond."
Mr. Bond has, hertofore, been recognized as its first pioneer, but careful investigation proves this to be in error, as George Husher was without doubt his predecessor here, But as Mr. Husher's improvement was slight, and his stay brief, his rightful claim to this distinction was lost to view until quite recently, when the facts were brought to light from their hiding-place in the cob-webby past.
The Coming of the Hushers .- George Husher is recog- nized as the second' pioneer within the present bounds of the county, as his settlement at Highland closely followed that of John Bunnell, at Pennsboro, in 1800.
1But so many came near the same time that it is difficult to establish this fact beyond doubt.
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BOND'S CREEK SETTLED
Mr. Husher was of German origin, and was probably born in the Fatherland. However, his natal day was July 6, 1771, and that of his wife, Annie Terrell, who was a native of one of the New England colonies, was December twelfth of the same year. They were married on February 12, 1793 ; and as early as 1801, came to Highland and opened a blacksmith- shop and a house of public entertainment; but after a brief residence here, they removed to Husher's run-to the farm that is now the home of John Fowler, near three miles below Ellenboro; and from there, in 1830, they went to Cabin run, and became the first citizens of the forest where Tollgate now stands ; the site of their old cabin being marked by the resi- dence of the late T. J. Broadwater. Here, in 1838, Mr. Husher fell asleep, and in 1856, his wife, Annie, was laid by his side in the Baptist church cemetery, at that place.
Their family consisted of six daughters and two sons ; viz., Elijah, Mary, Kathrine, Elizabeth, Jacob, Anna, Nancy, and Selina Husher.
Elijah Husher was born on October 19, 1794, and on April 3, 1818, he was married to Miss Mary (or Polly) Cunning- ham. daughter of Edward Cunningham, of Bond's creek ; and remained in this part of the county until after the early death of his wife, when he went West and spent much of his time in traveling about until late in life, when he settled down with his only daughter, Margaret, at Terre Haute, Indiana, where lie rests.
Mary Husher, born March 13, 1796, was married to Alexander Sommerville, on January 28, 1836 ; and near West Union they resided until 1878, when they removed to Kansas, where they rest. Their children were five in number: Adol- phus, of West Union ; the late A. B., and S. Salome Lowther (first wife of the Rev. Oliver Lowther), of Pullman; Mrs. Minnie Davis, and Busie, who went to Kansas with their parents.
Kathrine Husher, born July 31, 1799, became Mrs. Nixon, on October 21, 18?2, and went to Ohio, where she reared a family and died.
Elizabeth Husher, who was born on October 17, 1803, was the late Mrs. Bond, of Indiana. She had one daughter,
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
Selina, and one son, Lewis Bond, who came back to Tyler county, near twenty-five years ago, and was married to a Miss Wilson, of the Pennsboro vicinity.
Jacob Husher was born on September 1, 1805, and went to Ohio in his younger days, where he met and married Miss Nancy Boran, of Washington county ; and at Covington, Ken- tucky, they established their home, a little later. Here he enlisted in the Union cause and served for four years; and here he spent his last hours, near the year 1878. His only child, Nancy, became Mrs. Ridgeway, of Covington.
Annie B. Husher, born on December 28, 1807, was first married to John Ankrum, of Highland ; and they settled near Centreville, in Tyler county, where Mr. Ankrum and their three sons-George, Solomon, and Augustus, all died within a few months : and her second husband was William Moore, of North Bend Mill, and this marriage was childless.
Nancy Husher, born, perhaps, near the year 1809, was married to John Rawson on August 26, 1827; and settled in the Ellenboro vicinity, where they both lived and died. They had no children of their own, but they reared three of his brother's children : viz., Thomas, Samuel, and Mary Rawson. who was the late wife of Eber Mason, of Pennsboro. Mr. Rawson passed from earth in July, 1861, and his wife. in August of the following year.
Selina Husher was born on December 13, 1813; and on May 14, 1843, she became the wife of George Haddox, son of Raleigh Haddox, of this county ; but in 1867, they removed to Pleasants county, where their lives came to a close. She died on April 21, 1894; and he, on June 19, 1898. They were the parents of seven children ; viz ..
Virginia, Greene, John R., Mary Ann, M. D., G. B., and Cindonia, who died in early childhood.
The Bonds .- Lewis Bond, the second settler of this creek, whose memory is so fittingly enshrined by its name, was born in Cecil county, Maryland, on February 16, 1780, amidst the din of the American Revolution ; and on November 15, 1805. he was married to Miss Lydia John, daughter of Jehu and Elizabeth David John, and granddaughter of the Reverend Enoch David, of Philadelphia, who was also a native of the
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BOND'S CREEK SETTLED
Keystone state-of Fayette county. And in 1813, with her, he removed to Brookville, Indiana, and three years later (1816), came to Bond's creek, and established a home north of High- land ; but we are without authentic information as to the exact scene of this settlement. However, he later removed to Gnat's run, where he built the "old brick house" that is now owned and occupied by Robert Cunningham-it being, perhaps, second only in age to the "stone house" at Pennsboro.
After a long residence here he removed to the South fork of Hughes river, in Doddridge county, where he remained but a short time, before going to Quiet Dell, in Harrison county, near the year 1860. There he quietly passed into the land of eternal rest, on April 14, 1867. And within the peaceful bosom of the old Seventh-Day Baptist cemetery, at Lost creek, in Harrison county, he lies in his last sleep.
He and his wife, Lydia, were the parents of twelve chil- dren, which are as follows: Alfred J., Edwin P., Ethelbert D., Benjamin Franklin, Thomas, and Lewis, junior, who died in youth, (and another son was named Lewis J.), and Richard C. ; Rebecca E., the eldest daughter, married William P. Bond ; Casandra, Simeon Bond ; Mary Ann, Thomas Booth Bond ; and Lydia, Daniel D. Kildow.
Two of these sons were ministers of the gospel, and four were physicians. All have now crossed to the other side, but their descendants are widely scattered in this and other states.
The original home of the Bonds was in Cornwell county, England, where there remains to-day the ruins of an ancient castle, which was held by their antecessors for more than three hundred fifty years.
They belonged to the landed aristocracy of their day, and were recognized by the higher castes in the social realm.
But the first account we have of the family in America, begins with the year 1700, when Richard Bond and his wife. Sarah, crossed to the colonies.
Their son, Samuel, married Miss Ann Sharpless, daughter of John Sharpless, of Chester, Pennsylvania, who formerly came from Cheshire, England, and from him the Ritchie coun- ey family trace their lineage.
This marriage took place in 1726, and a pretty little tradi-
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
tional romance is woven about it, which says that they eloped at the ages of nineteen and fourteen years, respectively ; and that they were pursued by the girl's father, who arrived too late to prevent the ceremony ; but he, seeing the fallacy of farther opposition, joined, good naturedly, in the nuptial feast and "took the children home."
Samuel and Ann Bond were the parents of four children : Richard Clayton, Sarah, Margaret, and Susanna.
Richard Clayton Bond, this only son, was born in Cecil county, Maryland, in 1728, and was twice married; his first wife being Miss Mary Jarman, of Cumberland county, Mary- jand : and his second Miss Mary Booth. He removed to Har- rison county, this state, later in life, where he saw the last of earth.
He was the father of fifteen children: Samuel, born in 1254, Richard, Susana, Levi, Lydia, John, Abel, Sarah, and Mary were the nine children of the first union. And Rachel, Thomas, Lewis, Rebecca, Mary Ann, who died in infancy, and another daughter named Mary Ann were the fruits of the second union.
Lewis Bond, above mentioned, son of Samuel and Mary Booth Bond, was the Ritchie county pioneer, after whom Bond's creek was named.
And Rebecca Bond, his twin sister, who married Thomas Haymond, of Harrison county, was the grandmother of Mrs. Creed Collins, senior, of Pennsboro. (See Haymond family history.)
Sarah Bond, the daughter of Samuel and Ann Sharpiess Bond, married Ebeneezer Howell, of New Jersey, in 1749, and they were the parents of-Samuel, Richard, Lewis, Sarah, Ebeneezer, Azariah, Susanna, Tamar, Margaret, Anne, and George.
Their son Richard Howell was, in 1775, appointed Cap- tain of the Fifth Company in the Second Battalion of the "Jer- sey Line." Ile spent the winter with his command in the Highlands of the Hudson, and was a participant in the unsuc- cessful expedition to Canada in the spring.
He was in active service throughout the Revolution, and was in the noted engagements at Brandywine and German-
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town, and witnessed the terrible suffering of the patriotic army at Valley Forge.
In 1793, he was chosen governor of his native state -- New Jersey, and served as chief executive for eight consecu- tive terms.
He was the grandfather of Mrs. Jefferson Davis, the late wife of the only President of the Southern Confederacy.
In a biographical work on the Governors of New Jersey, the following beautiful tribute is paid to his memory :
"Howell, for social virtue far-famed, Shone in the ranks and urged the dreadful war; His graceful form expressed a noble mind, The soul of honor, friend of human kind."
Margaret Bond, daughter of Samuel and Ann Sharpless Bond, married Jonathan Davis, of New Castle county, Dela- ware, who was the founder of the Newark Academy-now the Delaware college ; and their children were: Ann, Samuel, David, Ammi, Susanna, Sarah, Richard, and John.
Susanna Bond, daughter of Samuel and Ann Sharpless Bond, married Elnathan Davis, and their children were : Rachel, Jonathan, Jacob, Ebeneezer, Jebediah, Susanna, Sam- uel Bond, Jeremiah, Elnathan, Susanna (the first Susanna having died in infancy ), and Margaret.
Jack and Robinson .- The next settlers on this creek were an Englishman by the name of Jack, and Charles Robinson, a Scotchman, brothers-in-law, who both took up their resi- dence in the same house, at Highland. Jack had been an ad- miral in the British navy, and he first came to the "New World" in his official capacity during the war of 1812. Rob- inson is also said to have been an officer in the Brittish army ; and shortly after the close of our second conflict with the Mother-Country, they came to Bond's creek. They went from here to Rock Island, Illinois, some time during the twen- ties, and there some of their descendants still live.
The McGregors .- John McGregor, senior, was the next settler at Highland. He was born and reared near Edin- burgh, Scotland, and there learned the blacksmith's trade. In 1809, he was married to Miss Susanna Blakeley, of Glasgow ; and three years later, with their little son, James, they set
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
sail for America : and after a six month's voyage, landed in Philadelphia, where they remained until April, 1819, when they went to Pittsburg in an emigrant wagon. From here they floated down the Ohio river to the mouth of Bull creek, and from there via the "Old State road" found their way to Bond's creek, where they established a permanent home, and reared one of the most prominent and highly respected fam- ilies of the county.
Mr. McGregor was one of the earliest blacksmiths here, and his great-grandson, M. A. McGregor, is the present Higli- land blacksmith.
During the latter part of the year 1830, he, being in very ill health, went to Uniontown, Pennsylvania, to consult a physician whose fame had been wafted far and wide, but who proved to be a fake; and there, on January 3, 1832, he passed into the other world at the age of fifty-two years. eleven months, ten days, and as there were no facilities for bringing the remains home, they were laid away in the old Presbyterian churchyard, at Uniontown.
A marble slab of antique design marks his resting place, which has only been viewed by two of his descendants -- John McGregor, his son, who accompanied him on his last journey, and Charles L. Hall, his great-grandson.
Mrs. McGregor rests in the family burying-ground at Highland.
This venerable couple were the parents of eleven children : viz., James, John, junior, David. Susan, William, Jeannette, Thomas, Joseph, and Alexander McGregor. Elizabeth and another Thomas who died in infancy.
James McGregor, the oldest son, who was born in Scot- land on August 16, 1810. was married to Miss Jane Morrison, of Marietta Ohio, and settled on Bond's creek, where he re- mained until after the death of his wife, in 1855, when he re- moved to Cairo. Here he engaged in the mercantile business : and here he fell dead while sweeping his porch in 1814. He was the father of eight children, all of whom have joined hint on the other side, except three.
Susan died in youth. Sarah was the late Mrs. Bail Wil- son, of Pennsboro; and Baxter. Renic, and John have also
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BOND'S CREEK SETTLED
passed on. James, junior, William, and Florence, who is Mrs. Elmer Devaughn, live in the West.
John McGregor, the second son, was born in the "City of Brotherly Love," on May 14, 1813; and on September 11, 1834, he was married to Miss Delilah Martin, who was born on August 19, 1817: and at Hebron, in Pleasants county, they established their home and reared a large family. Here he died in 1886, and here many of his descendants live.
His children are: The Rev. Silas McGregor, of the West Virginia Methodist Episcopal conference: William M., Tyler county : S. E. (Mrs. Asa Fitzwater), Pennsboro; Cathrine (Mrs. Amos Wagner), India D. (single). Jeannette G. (Mrs. John Odeil), all of Hebron; and Anna D., Susanna B., Elva J., Fanny R. (Mrs. F. M. Morgan), David W., Eliza J., and Spencer B. McGregor liave all passed on.
David McGregor, the third son of the family, was, also, born in the "City of Brotherly Love." on June 4, 1815, and with his parents came to Bond's creek in his early childhood. Here he remained until he had reached the age of twenty-two years, when he went to "the Mckinney settlement" and formed a mill partnership with William Lowther, of Cairo : but he became the sole owner of this mill property, a little later (1838), and run a store in connection with it. The post- office (with William Mckinney post-master). was also kept at this mill. Near the year 1850, he erected another mill. at Cairo, and opened a store in the same building : and for sev- eral years (until he sold the lower one). he operated both mills and stores. His mercantile business at Cairo continued down to his old age, and he was prominently known in polit- ical, church, and lodge circles. He was a charter member of the Kate Barclay I. O. O. F. lodge, which was organized in November, 1848, and was also a charter member of the Good Templars' order, which was instituted at Cairo, in 1870. Being installed as Grand Worthy Chief of the latter, he organized many Good Templar lodges throughout the state, and was the candidate for Governor on the Prohibition ticket in 188-4. He held the commission of Colonel in the State militia at the breaking out of the Civil war, and was proffered the Colonency in both the Confederate and the Union armies, but declined
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
to accept, as he wished to remain on neutral grounds. Ile was a life-long Democrat, and three times represented his Senatorial district in the legislative halls at the State Capitol -(1848-1882). And he was one of the earliest presidents of the Sunday school organization of the county.
On March 12, 1842, he was married to Miss Kathrine Mc- Kinney, daughter of William and Frances Piatt McKinney, and, at their home at Cairo, she passed from earth, on Septem- ber 11, 1863, leaving one daughter. Frances S., who is now Mrs. I. S. Hallam, of Abeline, Kansas. The two sons, William A., and John P., born of this union, died in infancy.
On November 1, 1864, Mr. McGregor again took the mar- riage vow, when he claimed Mrs. Matilda Lowther, daughter of Jesse Lowther, of Cornwallis, and widow of Maxwell Low- ther. as his wife; and six children were the result of this union ; viz., Lilian B., who is Mrs. Robert Wilson, of Parkers- burg; David G., of Cairo; Rob Roy, of the South; Nettie Pauline, F. Herbert McGregor, who is a prominent young barrister of Parkersburg, and Miss Lelia Bertha McGregor.
Mr. McGregor passed away very suddenly while absent from home on business in 1891, and was brought back to the Egypt cemetery for burial. Mrs. McGregor still survives at the old home at Cairo. The one daughter of her former mar- riage is Mrs. Mary Lowther Earnest, of the West.
William and Elizabeth Hall McGregor.
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William McGregor, the fourth son of the family, was but an infant when his parents came to Bond's creek, he having been born at Philadelphia, on October 25, 1818.
On April 24, 1844, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Gregg Hall, daughter of Samuel G. Hall, who was born in Bar- bour county, on September 25, 1825; and settled at the old homestead on Bond's creek, which is still in the hands of his heirs.1 Here the sun of his well-spent life sank behind the Western hills in December, 1903. His venerable widow, who was revered by a legion of friends, survived until May 3, 1910, when she passed away at the home of her son, W. S. McGreg- or, at Cairo. Both rest in the Highland cemetery. Few women have called forth a higher tribute than the one paid to her beautiful Christian character by the pen of a grand- daughter on the occasion of her recent death : and few, per- haps, have been more entitled to such a tribute. Generous. intellectual, kind and loving, she was almost universally ad- mired.
The children of this family are as follows :
Harlan P., wholesale china dealer, of Wheeling; the late Mrs. Virginia (John) Cottrell, of Parkersburg, who died in 1895 ; Mrs. Anna (G. F.) Carroll, Fairmont : J. B. McGregor, Pennsboro; Burns and Clyde, Salem; Mrs. Rose (Theodore) Furbee, Tyler county; W. S., Cairo; Mrs. Mary (James) Chestnut, Ohio: Indiana died in infancy, and Homer, who was graduated from the Marietta College, and also from the Presbyterian Union Theological Seminary at Cincinnati, died after having served as pastor of a church in the South for one year.
Thomas McGregor, born on Bond's creek, on September 19, 1823, went to Madison, Indiana, at the age of seventeen years to live with his uncle, Thomas McGregor ; and there he married and reared a family of six children by his first wife, and three by his second.
Shortly before his death in 1903, he removed to Kansas, where he rests. His descendants principally live in Indiana, Kansas and New Mexico.
"He purchased four thousand acres on this creek, in 1838, at a tax sale for seven cents an acre, and the whole county and state tax at this time was but forty cents on the entire tract. The family still own five hundred acres of this tract.
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
Joseph McGregor, the youngest son of the family that reached the years of maturity, was born, lived and died on Bond's creek, where he sleeps. His life began on May 11, 1825, and ended in 1898. He married Miss Eliza Jane Martin, and was the father of six children ; viz .. Baxter McGregor, Misses Callie. and Mattie, Highland; Bryson, the late Mrs. Josephine Saterfield ; and Mrs. Frankie (Marion) Alkire, who now lives at McMechen, Marshall county.
Alexander McGregor, born on March 7, 1822, died in his young manhood. And Susan, born March 5, 1817, died in 1876, unmarried. Elizabeth, born February 2. 1812, died August 12, 1852. Another son named Thomas, born May 25, 1820, died at the age of five months and fifteen days.
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