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 22
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Among the grandsons and the granddaughters of this pio- neer, who are well-known citizens of this, and adjoining coun- ties, are C. J. Valentine, of Fonsoville ; Emery, of Newberne : J. M. and John B., Macfarlan ; S. A. Wyer, of Auburn : Mrs. Katharine Beckner, Parkersburg; and George Wyer, and a host of others, of Gilmer county.
Levi Smith was the first denizen of Upper Spruce creek. He was the son of Aaron, the pioneer on the Hatfield farm, at Goff's. He married his cousin. Katharine Smith, daughter of Barnes, senior, and made the first settlement where E. C. Goff now lives. before coming to Spruce creek, in 1834, where he found a permanent home on the farm that is now his estate ; the old "mansion house" being occupied by his youngest son, Elisha. Here he resided until death claimed him, near 1894;
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and on his old homestead, he sleeps. The first grave that was hollowed out on this creek was on this homestead, and it was filled by one of his children. After the death of his first wife, he married Miss Ruhama Morehead, who survived until June, 1910.
The children of the first marriage have all passed on. They were, Silas, who died in childhood, Lemuel, Barnes, and Nathaniel, of Spruce creek; Mrs. Wm. (Drusilla) Som- merville, Auburn: Mrs. Christopher (Charlotte) Morehead, Berea ; Mrs. Sarah Ann (James) Smith, Spruce creek ; and Hannah, who died in childhood. Mrs. Morehead, and Barnes, both passed away in February, 1909.
The children of the last marriage were the son above mentioned ; Allison B. Smith, of Richwood; Mrs. Columbia (Cash) Freed, and the late Mrs. Rebecca Tucker, of Spruce creek.
Isaac Smith .- Scarcely had Levi Smith settled down in his new home, when Isaac Smith-his cousin, and Samuel Davidson arrived, the former reared his cabin one day, and the latter the next. The site of Mr. Smith's cabin is now marked by the dwelling of the late Harrison Bartlett. He was the son of Barnes Smith, senior, and his wife, Hannah Collins, was the daughter of Isaac Collins, and granddaughter of Thomas and Phebe Cunningham. He moved from here to Smithville, where he and his wife rest.
His children were, Martin Smith, A. W., Mrs. Alfred (Cynthia) Barr, Mrs. M. A. Ayres (Mary), Smithville: S. Allen Smith, and Sylvanus Smith, and Mrs. Sabra J. White (John), all of Iowa ; the late Mrs. Rachel (Nutter) Webb, of Smithville; and Lear, and Jefferson, who both died in child- hood.
Samuel Davidson's cabin stood on the farm that after- wards became the homestead of the late Dr. Harrison Wright. Mr. Davidson was the son of Alexander Davidson, of Smith- ville, and he married Sarah, the daughter of Barnes Smith. He moved from here to Gilmer county, and settled on Road run, near Tannersville. Here his wife died, and at Tanners- ville she sleeps. He rests in Braxton county, where he passed away at the home of his son.
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He was the father of three sons and six daughters: Mrs. Elizabeth (J. A. C.) Davis, and Mrs. Mary (Wesley) Byrd. Hazelgreen ; Mrs. Benjamin Goff (Elzara), Burnt House ; and Warren Davidson, of Braxton county, are the surviving ones ; and the deceased are, Mrs. Jane Earle, Hazelgreen ; Mrs. Alex. McDonald, Racket ; Mrs. Adaline Willis Hamilton, second wife of Eli Hamilton, and John and Israel, of Tan- nersville. From Israel, junior, the late teachers, Joy and Samuel Davidson, were descended.
Joshua Smith, brother of Isaac, made the first improve- ment on the farm that is now the home of M. L. Law, in 1840. He married Miss Emily Beall, and went from here to the Kanawha river, below Grantsville, where he and his wife sleep, and where no small number of his descendants live.
His children: Henry, Solomon, Jerome, Levi, and Mat- thew Smith, and Mrs. Mary Harris, are all of Calhoun coun- ty ; Newton, is of Braxton county : Mrs. Sarah J. Hickembot- tom, of Clarksburg; and the late Mrs. Sarah Newlon, of Grantsville.
Asby Law .- During the spring of 1848, the late Asby Poole Law became the successor of Joshua Smith on the Law farm, where he continued to reside until he fell asleep, on February 20, 1868, at the age of forty-four years. His sons, F. M., David G., M. L., and Willie, and his daughters, Mrs. Hannah (Wm.) Huff, and Mrs. Elizabeth Singleton, who all have interesting families, are still prominently identi- fied with the affairs of the community in both church and state; and his venerable widow, Mrs. Deborah Gaston Law Bartlett, is spending a pleasant eventide here with her chil- dren. Her posterity numbers eight children, forty-two grand- children, and nineteen great-grandchildren, who have risen up "to call her blessed." Two of her children have passed on -the youngest son, in infancy, and the eldest, John W. Law, father of Steele Law, of Clarksburg, later in life, Morris Law is of Newberne, and Newton, of Cairo.
The ancestral history of this family is.one and the same as that of the Bone creek branch. The two brothers having come from Ireland at the same time (see Bone creek chapter), and from them all the Laws in West Virginia are descended.
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William Law, the progenitor of the Lawford branch, mar- ried a Miss Burnside, and settled near Gooseman's mill, in Harrison county ; and of this union six children were born : William, junior, Thomas, John, and Isaac, all of Lewis and Harrison counties ; Frank, of Wirt county ; and Mary B., wife of the Rev. George Collins. After the birth of these children, Miss Hannah Sill became the wife of William Law, and seven more children were the fruits of this union ; viz., David, and Asby Poole, Asa, Jesse, Elizabeth, who became Mrs. Morris Gaston, of Doddridge county ; Ruhama, who married Jeffer- son Law, and Ellen, James Hutson, both of Harrison county.
Eleven Riddel made the first settlement on the A. J. Reed farm, in 1841. He was a native of Gilmer county, the son of Jeremiah and Margaret Hardman Riddel,1 but being left an orphan at an early age, he was reared by the late Rev. James Hardman, of Hardman chapel. He married Miss Susan Davidson, sister of the venerable Israel Davidson, of Lawford. and made a settlement on Leatherbarke, which antedated the one on Spruce creek.
He died in June, 1893, at the home of his son, George, on the Ritchie and Gilmer county line, and, beside his wife, he sleeps in the Wright graveyard, on Spruce creek. He was the father of nine children; viz., Katharine Elizabeth, the only daughter, married Henson Bumgardner, and went to lowa, where she rests. James and Samuel sacrificed their lives for the Union cause ; and Jeremiah died shortly after his return from the Union army ; Davidson C., and George, reside near Lawford ; Hiram, on Devil Hole : Loman, in Gilmer coun- ty : and Granville, in Webster.
The Wright Brothers .- The next settlers in this section were James and Harrison Wright, two brothers, who came from Barbour county, in 1842, and found permanent homes, and final resting places here.
James Wright took up his residence near one mile below the little hamlet of Lawford, on the farm that is now owned by his sons, Joshua and James, and Robert Pride-the latter being the occupant of the old home. Here he passed away in 1884, and in the old Spruce creek burying-ground on the M.
1See other chapters for ancestral history of Riddels and Hardmans.
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L. Law farm he is sleeping. He first married Miss Mary Wiant, and Joshua was the son of this union; three others having died in childhood. His second wife was Miss Eliza- beth Calhoun, daughter of Allen Calhoun, and she was the mother of the Rev. Allen Wright, of Parkersburg; James, of Spruce creek ; and Columbus, who died in the asylum at Wes- ton. His last wife was Ruth, the daughter of Daniel Mitchell. He was a blacksmith by trade and one of the earliest in this section. He had wielded the hammer on the Doddridge count- ty side, for a short time, before coming to Spruce creek.
Dr. Harrison Wright made his settlement, near one mile above Lawford, on the farm that is now owned by his grand- son, Addison Wright. He also owned the Samuel Davidson farm-now the property of M. L. Law.
He was born on Simpson's creek, in what is now Barbour county, on June 14, 1815, and died on January 17, 1889, and in the Mt. Olive churchyard-the Progressive Brethren-on Spruce creek, he lies buried. He married Miss Elizabeth Cleavenger, daughter of Edman Cleavenger, of Barbour coun- ty, who was born in 1820, and was laid by his side in 1902. She was of Dutch descent and was a distant relative of George Washington.
Their children : Zachariah, Lloyd. Alexander, Mrs. Mary Ann Rollins, Harrison Wright, junior, Mrs. Adaline Weaver, Mrs. Clarinda Weaver, all reside on the waters of Spruce creek: Mrs. Elizabeth Bright lives in Greenbrier county ; David died in the Rock Island prison during the late Civil war: Ai, near Lawford: Mrs. Moriah Gragg, in Gilmer coun- ty : and Edgar, in childhood.
The Wrights are of Scotch-Irish descent. The grand- father of James and Harrison Wright crossed the sea, near 1745, and married a Virginia girl by the name of Porter, and settled in this colony. He served as a Revolutionary soldier : and from his son Joshua, who was born in the "Old Domin- ion," in 1770, the Ritchie county families come.
Besides James and Harrison-of this county-Joshua Wright's other children were, the late Mrs. Wm. Adams (Lucinda), of Doddridge county-grandmother of Lawyer Homer Adams, of Harrisville ; the late Mrs. David Cleavenger
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(Jemima), of Gilmer county ; Mrs. Sylvester Monroe ( Eliza- beth), sleeps in Harrison county ; Willis, and Thompson, in Barbour county : and Joshua Wright was a citizen of Seattle, Washington, the last account, he being the only survivor of the family.
Israel Davidson .- The autumn of 1839 was marked by the coming of Israel Davidson, who made the first improve- ment on the homestead where he is quietly spending the even- tide of his serene old age. He is not only the oldest citizen of Spruce creek, but he enjoys the distinction of being the oldest surviving son of Ritchie county. He is perhaps, too. the only citizen of the county that still occupies the home that he obtained from the Commonwealth of Virginia, and one that has never changed hands.
He is the son of Alexander Davidson, and in May, 1818, he first saw the light of day at the family home, one mile north of Harrisville. When he was but two years of age, his father moved to Smithville, and there he grew to man- hood ; and from there, after the death of his father, the family emigrated to Illinois in a wagon, and he went with them -- walking much of the distance; but only staid a short time. The following year he came to Spruce creek, where he has ever since remained. He was unmarried at the time of his settlement, but three years later, he claimed Miss Tabitha Cunningham, daughter of Joseph Cunningham, who then re- sided on the E. C. Snodgrass farm, as his wife, and for more than fifty-six years she crowned his life with happiness, and then passed from sight. Two of their five children, Benjamin and James, died in childhood ; and Silas, in his young man- hood ; and Mrs. Samuel Cleavenger, and Albert Davidson, reside at Lawford.
Mr. Davidson was, at one time, numbered among the late General Harris' pupils. He was an early pedagogue, and a noted hunter, he having slain near one hundred fifty deer in his time-an almost snow-white one being among the num- ber. Being a gentleman of high character, he is esteemed by all who know him ; and though he has no church ties, he has great reverence for religion. His mind is a store-house of
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pioncer lore, and to him we are indebted for no small amount of valuable information.
The Doughertys .- In 1840, John Dougherty came to the farm that is now the home of T. T. Goff, below Hazelgreen. A man by the name of Holbert had made a slight improve- ment here, which he purchased. Remaining on the Goff farm but a short time, he went to Dry run and settled on the farm that is now the home of the Wright Brothers, below Juna ; and here his life was principally spent until he was laid in the Reeves cemetery, near the year 1864. He was of Irish descent. his grandfather, George Dougherty, having come from the "Emerald Isle," near the middle of the eighteenthi century, and settled in Pennsylvania. He (George Dougherty. senior) served in the French and Indian war, and was with General Washington's army at Braddock's defeat. He, also. served as a Revolutionary soldier: and at the elose of this struggle, he was married to Miss Mary Sharrow, an English maiden, who lived in Pennsylvania; and their son, George. was the father of John, of this county. He (George, junior ) was a soldier of the war of 1812.
John Dougherty was born in the ancestral home in the Keystone state, and there he was married to Miss Katharine Bolinger-sister of the late Rev. John Bolinger-a German maiden : and in 1832, they removed to Monongalia county, and from there they came to Spruce creek, at the time above stated. Their son, the late Jacob, of Lamb's run, served as a Confederate soldier in the Civil war, and George and Wes- "ley, in defense of the Union. The latter met his death shortly after his return home by an accidental bullet wound in his forehead, which he only survived a very brief time. George now lives in Ohio; William, in Mississippi; Mrs. Elizabeth Weinrich, on Lamb's run : and Mrs. Sarah Feathers Scott, of Indian creek, and Mrs. Mary (Eugene) Tibbs, of Missouri, have joined the throng on the other side. (Few families have a more continuous military record.)
Benjamin Goff made his settlement on the T. T. Goff homestead, near Hazelgreen, about the year 1845, but in 185?, he sold his interests here to his brother, Alexander Goff, and removed to the Frederick's mill vicinity, and later. to Goff's,
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where his son, E. C. Goff, now lives, and where his last hours were spent. Here his aged widow, who was Miss Eda Smith, daughter of Aaron Smith-the pioneer at Goff's-also passed away a few years ago; and side by side they sleep in the Reeves cemetery.
Their children were ten in number: Strother-father of the late Levi, of Goff's, sleeps near Hazelgreen; Alexander died in Libby prison during the Civil war; and Core and Sarah, in childhood; E. C., who was a Union soldier, and a recent member of the House of Delegates, is merchant and post-master at Goff's ; and Mrs. Roanna Byrd (Davis) is, also, of Goff's; B. P. Goff is of Macfarlan; Mrs. Rebecca Bee (Obidiah), of Belpre, Ohio; Mrs. Dorcas Beall (J. S.), of Burnt House ; and Mrs. Mary Gainer (Perry ), of Bone creek.
Alexander Goff, born November 29, 1818, married Miss Mary Bush, daughter of George Bush, an early settler of Gil- mer county, on January 28, 1840, and his family are still prominently identified with the Hazelgreen community. Here, at the old homestead, his venerable widow, who has been numbered among the octogenarians for several years, still survives. Butt Mr. Goff has been a silent sleeper in the Buzzard cemetery for more than a quarter of a century.
This family's religious faith is that of the M. E. church, South, and politically, they are strongly Democratic ; while Benjamin's family are members of the M. E. church, and are ardent Republicans.
Their children were seven in number: Lafayette died in childhood ; Marcellus-father of L. C., of Juna; Marshall --- father of Guy, of Burnt House ; Dr. Lee, and Ira S. have, also, passed on ; T. T., and R. W. are of Hazelgreen; and Mrs. Martha Ellen Wass, of Huntington.
Thomas Goff-another brother of Benjamin and Alex- ander-was the pioneer on the Prather farni. He married Elizabeth, the daughter of Barnes Smith, senior, and came from Gilmer county, near 1850; he afterwards removed to the E. C. Goff homestead, and from there, to Iowa; perhaps. late in the sixties, and there, near Decatur, he and his wife rest.
They were the parents of sixteen children, several of whom died in childhood: T. M. Goff, of Harrisville ; the late
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Simeon-father of Dr. J. M. Goff, of Hazelgreen, and the late Mrs. A. P. Hardman (Thankful Ann), of Fonsoville ; were the ones that remained in their native county-the rest all went West : Barnes, Jethro, and Francis; Sarah became Mrs. Daniel Osbourne, and they live at Knoxville, Iowa: Mrs. Elzaria Hendricks, Mrs. Rachel Hendricks, Mrs. Cynthia Rambo, and Eli, who sleeps in the West, are the other mem- bers of the family.
Aaron Schoolcraft .- The year 1853, brought Aaron Schoolcraft from Gilmer county to the Schoolcraft farm, on Lower Spruce creek. About the ancestry of this typical pioneer hangs a mantle of unusual. historic interest :
John, Jacob, and Leonard Schoolcraft-three brothers, were captured by the Indians in their boyhood, and were held as captives until they had almost reached the years of matur- ity. In fact, Leonard always remained with the red men. But John and Jacob, when nearly grown, were given guns, and an allowance of ammunition, and each day upon their return from hunting, they were required to give a strict ac- count of their success as marksmen. They were expected to kill something with each shot, but they managed, however, to hide away a shot or two each day until a supply had ac- cumulated, and one fine morning, they set out for their home, which was on the South branch of the Potomac. They pro- ceeded without incident until nearing a frontier settlement .. when they discovered that the Indians were in pursuit. Tak- ing refuge under a creek bank, they lay in hiding until their pursuers had passed on ; but discovering that they were near- ing a fort, the Indians hastily retreated, and when they had disappeared in the distance, the boys resumed their journey and soon came within sight of the fort. "The Whites," seeing them approaching, and mistaking them for savages-so like them was their dress and manner-marched forth to meet them prepared for battle; but the lads, holding up their guns as a token of surrender, were permitted to reach the fort in safety: When once inside, they told the story of their captivity as best they could in their broken, Indian tongue, and when they had finished, an aged inmate of the fort, who
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had listened in rapt silence, joyfully claimed them as his long lost sons, whom he had mourned as dead.
Jacob, who married a Miss Parsons, was the father of Aaron-the Spruce creek pioneer.
Aaron Schoolcraft married Miss Sarah Collins, sister of the iate Chainey Collins, of Smithville, and was the father of Mrs. Granville (Mahala) Tingler, of Juna ; and of Mrs. Re- becca Radcliffe. of Lewis county. He and his wife sleep on the old homestead, where he settled.
The Bartletts .- The history of Upper Spruce creek would hardly be complete, without a word concerning the Bartletts, who, though not so early as the settlers before mentioned, were as truly pioneers ; as they came here in the ante-bellum. days, when but little improvement had been made, and have helped to transform this section of the wilderness into one of the best agricultural districts in the county.
This family are direct descendants of Josiah Bartlett, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, who was born at Amesbury, Massachusetts, in 1729, and died in 1795. He was a member of the Continental Congress: Chief Justice of New Hampshire; and the first governor of the "Granite State" under the new Constitution. Three brothers crossed the sea, doubtless, from England, as this is a prom- inent name in that country, and settled in the New England states, where not a few of their descendants have distinguished themselves, as men of letters, and of military prowess.
Josiah Bartlett was the father of William Bartlett, whose two sons, Robert and Thomas, have innumerable descendants in this and different other counties of the state.
Robert was the father of Harrison Bartlett, who came to Spruce creek in 1858, and remained until 1907, when he was laid in the Baptist churchyard.
Harrison Bartlett was born in Taylor county, on Simp- son's creek, on April ?8, 1829, and there he was married to Miss Hannah Rhyne, who was the mother of seven of his children : John R., Phineas, Nathan, Jeddeiah, Mrs. Lydia Ellen (Robert) Sommerville, of Auburn ; and Arminda, and Sarah Jane, who died in childhood.
After her death, he married Mrs. Elizabeth Reed Smith,
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who was the mother of Ira C. Bartlett, of Newberne; Mrs. Dora (George) Simmons, Auburn, and Mrs. Myrtal (Hayes) Coburn, Clarksburg.
John R. and Phineas, reside in Gilmer county, and Jed- deiah, in Calhoun.
Elijah Bartlett, who came to Spruce creek from the place of his nativity, Simpson's creek, Taylor county, in 1859, was the son of Thomas Bartlett, brother of Robert. He married his cousin, Miss Rebecca Bartlett, daughter of Robert, and sister of Harrison, and was the father of three sons and two daughters: Sylvester, and the late Stariing, and Lair D., Mrs. Lydia (T. D.) Phillips, Spruce creek ; and Mrs. Mclissa (Moses) Law, Harrison county.
James F. Bartlett, who was long a citizen of this creek, was the son of Samuel and Mary Flemming Bart- lett, and the grandson of Thomas. He married Miss Zelda Newlon, of Barbour county, and joined his kinsmen here at the close of the Civil war, and remained until he, too, was laid in the Baptist churchyard, on Spruce creek.
He was the father of the late L. D. Bartlett, Patrick F., Mrs. Martha (Chas.) Hickman, Mrs. Celia (D. G.) Law, all of the Auburn vicinity ; and Henrietta, and Loverna, who died in infancy.
He and his son, L. D., were both soldiers of the Civil war. The Bartletts were the corner stones of the Spruce creek Baptist church, and their descendants are among its present pillars. James and Oaf Hickman, who are prominently known among the teachers of the county, are grandsons of James F. Bartlett, and P. S. Strother, another successful peda- gogue is descended from this family, he being the grandson of Phineas Bartlett, a brother of Harrison.
Sanford B. Flemming merits a little place in this chapter, as he redeemed from its primitive wilderness one of the finest blue grass farms of five hundred fifty acres, in this part of the county, though he did not come here until the spring of 1868.
Mr. Flemming was born in the ancestral home at Flem- mington, in Taylor county, in 1837, and there grew to man- hood and married Miss Lydia Ellen Cather, daughter of the Rev. Jasper Cather, in 1861 ; and seven years later they came
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to Spruce creek. where she passed away in 1900, and where Mr. Flemming died in 1910. They were the parents of two sons : Floyd died in infancy, and Harvey, who was graduated from the State University at Morgantown in the class of 1885, is now a prominent journalist of Kansas City, Missouri.
The Flemmings are of Scotch-Irish stock. Their ante- cessors crossed the sea early in the eighteenth century, and settled in the Virginia colony, and from there, scattered to other colonies.
James Flemming, who was descended from this Virginia family, came from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, near 1799, and settled at Flemmington, in what is now Taylor county ; and from him this town took its name, he having given the right- of-way for the railroad and the ground for the station, at the coming of the railroad. He married the daughter of Judson MacDonald, of Taylor county, and in 1800 a son was born of this union, which was named Patrick Flemming. This son married Miss Margaret MacDonald, daughter of James Mac- Donald, of Taylor county, and they were the parents of San- ford B. Flemming, of Spruce creek.
Patrick Flemming spent his entire life at Flemmington, where he sleeps.
Mary, or Polly Flemming, as she was called, sister of Patrick, married Samuel Bartlett, of Barbour county, and was the mother of the late James F. Bartlett. of Spruce creek, and grandmother of Mrs. D. G. Law, of Lawford; and of Mrs. Charles Hickman, of Auburn.
Farther Development .- The Methodist Episcopal church was the pioneer church on this creek. This organization was perfected in 1850, and among its original members were Mr. and Mrs. Asby Law, and Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Goff.
The first church house was erected in 1853, near the present site of the residence of J. W. Goff, above Hazelgreen, and was known as the "Old Spruce Valley church." From this organization, the present Spruce creek churches date their history, as does the Bethany church, at Goff's.
The Spruce Creek Baptist church was organized through the efforts of Harrison and Elijah Bartlett, in 1859, with thir- teen charter members, and it is now a strong and influential
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church. Mrs. Barnes Smith is the only survivor of the original thirteen members.
The first church was erected in 1866, and the present one, in 1890.
The Methodist Episcopal Church South once had an organization here, but it has now become the Methodist Pro- testant church.
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