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 27
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James Kendall was married to Miss Kathrine Shuman, who was born in the Fatherland, and, with her parents, came to Pennsylvania at the age of twelve years. The family were six months in crossing and several of the children died on board the ship and were buried beneath the waves in order to avoid the danger from the sharks.
Kathrine died at her home in Marion county, in 1848, and sleeps beside her husband on the old homestead.
This family consisted of two sons and seven daughters ; viz., Ransom, the head of the Ritchie county family; Jere- miah, of Tyler county ; Rachel, and Orpha, who died in youth ; Zilpah (Mrs. Aaron Kearns), Nancy (Mrs. James Kearns), Sarah (Mrs. Levi Shuman), Kathrine (Mrs. William Hayes), and Anarie, who married Asel Amos. All left families, ex- cept Mrs. Amos.
Jeremiah Kendall, the younger son of William, junior. and Jemima Kirk, served as a member of the Continental forces for five years during the American Revolution, and was with General Anthony Wayne in his campaign against the Indians for two years, being at the battle of Maumee, and at the treaty of Greenville. He carried to his grave nine scars from musket-ball wounds which he sustained in battle. After the Revolution, he sold his interests in Virginia ; and with his wife and two children and their sole belongings, emigrated to Pennsylvania on horseback, and settled on the old "National Road." in Fayette county, between Brownsville and Union- town, where he died in 1843, and where some of his descend- ants now live.
He was the father of the late General William Kendall, of Ohio, who served under General Harrison at Tippecanoe,
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and was a soldier of the war of 1812; was the grand-uncle of Ransom Kendall; and Ransom's only brother was named for him.
The family are in some way related to General Wayne, and Jeremiah Kendall fell heir to the spurs, watch-chain and boot-hooks of this distinguished warrior, who is better known as "Mad Anthony," and these invaluable relics are still cher- ished in his family, they having been handed down from father to eldest son for five generations, until they have now reached Kendall Overturf, of Columbus, Ohio.
Thomas Kendall, who came from Settle, Yorkshire, Eng- land, in 1700, is said to have been the founder of the Penn- sylvania branch of the family.
Old Record .- As these old records are rare and of inestim . able value, we insert this one :
Marriages of the sons of William Kendall, senior, of Vir- ginia :
1-William Kendall, junior, married Jemima Kirk on May 10, 1738.
2-James Kendall married Mary Coffey on February 25, 1745.
3-George Kendall married Cathrine Kelley, June 5, 1748. 4-Joshua Kendall married Cathrine Smith, April 4, 1749.
5-John Kendall married Margaret Keys, January 9, 1752. Family of William, junior, and Jemima Kirk Kendall :
1-Jesse Kendall born October 4, 1740.
2-Thomas Kendall born May 27, 1742.
3-George Kendall born January 13, 1744.
4-Anne Kendall born December 6, 1745.
5-John Kendall born March 21, 1748.
6 and 7-William and Samuel (twins), August 30, 1749.
8-Mary Anne, April 9, 1752.
9-Elizabeth, April 1, 1754.
10-Jeremiah (of Penn.), February 6, 1758.
(One of these brothers was the grandfather of Ransom Kendall.)
Children of Joshua and Cathrine Smith Kendall: Jesse, born August 21, 1251; Joshua, born May 27, 1753; Nancy, born December 19, 1755 ; and Betty, born February 22, 1758.
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Children of James and Mary Coffey Kendall: John, born February 26, 1149; Jesse, born June 19, 1250: Bailey. born October 8, 1755 ; Moses and Aaron are also said to have be- longed to this family.
Children of John and Cathrine Keys Kendall: Samuel B., January 1, 1253; Charles, born September 17, 1254; and Elizabeth, born February 11, 1758.
We have no record of the children of Joshua and Cathrine Smith Kendall.
Note .- The tradition handed down to us concerning the coming of the Kendalls to America is that three brothers crossed in Colonial times: One settled in the Pine forests of Maine ; one in the "City of Brotherly Love," and the other, in Virginia, but as Miss Lexington's information seemed more definite than ours concerning the place of settlement in New England, we have given hers the first place, but we still credit the coming of the third one to the "Old Dominion." We are also indebted to her for the origin of the name.
The information of the Kendalls of Ohio comes to us from the great-granddaughter of Jeremiah Kendall, Mrs. Ella Kendall Overturf, of Columbus, Ohio, she having sent us a copy of an old manuscript written by her grandfather, the late General William Kendall, and to her we owe our thanks for this old record.
The Rexes .-- As quite a number of the people of this county are descended from the Rex family, a brief mention of their origin in America will perhaps add interest in this connection.
This family are of Welsh descent; and from Mapleton, Pennsylvania, their original home on this side of the water, they migrated to Marion county. The father lost his life in the struggle for Independence, as he was never heard of after the close of the war. but he left a family of four sons and three daughters ; viz .. Eli Rex, who married Sarah Hall, and was the father of Mrs. Kendall and Mrs. Amos; Jonathan, John, and Jesse were the other sons. One of the daughters, Elizabeth, became Mrs. Fast, and she was the grandmother of J. E. Ferrell, of Burnt House; Rebecca first married a Price, and was the mother of the late Mrs. John Leggett, of
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Pullman ; the late Mrs. Jeremiah Snodgrass, of Harrisville : and the late Mrs. Rachel Troy, and her second married name was Ice. Mary Rex died in youth.
William Cokeley .- Shortly after the coming of Har- mon Sinnett, William Cokeley made the first settlement at Mt. Zion, where his only daughter, Mrs. Salem Duckworth. now lives. He was a native of Hampshire county. and soon after his arrival in this county with his parents, he was mar- ried to Miss Hannah Starr, sister of James Starr, and at Mt. Zion they founded their home, and remained until death closed their eyes. He died on February 12, 1888, at the age of seventy-four years, one month, twelve days. His wife was born on Indian creek. on September 5, 1816, and died on May 12, 1895.
They were Christians of the United Brethren church faith, and Mr. Cokeley might be styled the "Father" of the Mt. Zion church: for he gave the grounds and played no small part in the erection of the first church home here in 1859, and beneath the shadow of the present building, which was erected in 1894, he lies in his last sleep beside his com- panion.
Nimrod Kuykendall was the first citizen of the farm formerly owned by J. N. Kendall and C. W. Leggett, but now the property of William Wilson. Mr. Kuykendall and his wife. Kathrine Ziekafoose, sister of the late Asbury Zieka- foose, came from Pocahontas county in the early fifties, and after the Civil war, removed to the West. He and his son, Jacob, were soldiers of the Civil war; and Jacob, who was Captain of Company K of the Tenth West Virginia Infantry. lost his life at the battle of Cedar creek, on October 19, 1864. and his father was commissioned to take his place. His last resting-place is marked by a marble slab in the Mt. Zion churchyard. The other son. Samuel, went West.
CHAPTER XXIII
Slab Creek Settled
HIS creek derived its name from a hunters' camp, which was constructed of slabs, and stood upon its banks.
John Cain1 was the first citizen to pen- etrate its forest. He came from Harrison county, as early as 1818, and reared his lowly dwelling on the farm that for long years was designated as the "Lewis Maxwell homestead," now the property of W. E. Hall, at Pullman.
We know but little of his early history. except that he was an inmate of the old "Nutter fort" at Clarksburg. during his boyhood days. when the citizens of that vicinity were compelled to take refuge from the savage foe. within its pro- tecting walls.
We have been unable to secure a record of his family. but he was the grand-uncle of J. R. Lowther. of Pullman : and the father of the late Harrison. and Recse. Edith, Nancy. and Dorinda Cain. His descendants in this county are quite numerous. however.
John Shores, whose history will be found in the Spruce creek chapter. was the first settler at the mouth of this creek : but we have no account of any other contemporary settlers with Cain. whose coming antedates that of Shores by a num- ber of years. But not a few, however, whose names belong to this chapter, and whose descendants are still identified with the citizenship of the vicinity, came here in the thirties and in the forties, and redeemed their homes from their primi- tive wilderness.
John Cain is said to have been a brother of David Cain, whose his- tory appears with the South Fork settlers.
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Daniel V. Cox was the first settler at the forks of Slab creek, where his son, Floyd Cox, now lives. He was born în Harrison county, on March 10, 1809; and was the son of Phillip and Christiana Stille Cox.
He married Miss Mahala Ward, of Harrison county, sis- ter of the late Martin Ward, who was born in 1812: and in 1835, they came to the mouth of Bone creek, where they re- mained until 1845, when they removed to Slab creek.
Mr. Cox was the first merchant at the mouth of Bone creek. he and his brother, Phillip, being partners in this busi- ness. They also opened a tailor-shop here with John Shores,1 a Dutchman, who died at the home of Col. Cox in the early sixties, as tailor. This was, doubtless, the first tailor-shop in the county.
Col. Cox, as he was generally known, was Colonel of the Militia from the time of the organization of the county, until a short time before his death in the sixties. He recruited a company of volunteers, early in the Civil war, but owing to his failing heaith did not go into active service. But three of his sons took up arms in defense of the Union: (John, Taylor, and J. E.)
Col. Cox, like many of the other pioneers, was a man of indomitable courage, and of great daring. His daring being scarcely second to that of Israel Putnam, when he descended the wolfe's den and shot the animal by the glaring light of its own eye, as the following incident will illustrate :
When Robert Sommerville reared his cabin on Bone creek, he had to get his help from Harrison and Lewis coun- ties ; and during the night, after the cabin had been erected, there fell a tracking snow; and on the following morning, when the little party started for their homes, they discovered three panthers' tracks in the snow, near a mile beyond the Gilmer county line; and following the tracks they were led to a ledge of rocks where the animais were securely housed. They tried for several hours to smoke them out, but all in vain, and all but Col. Cox decided to give it up and to go on home ; but he said, "No, gentlemen, those panthers must come
1Shores had no family, and is not known to be connected to the pio- neer of the same name.
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out of there." And despite their remonstrances, with a pine torch in one hand, and a huge knife in the other, he started in after them, telling his companions to be ready with their guns to fire should they come out : but after some delay to their intense relief, they heard him coming, and he soon ap- peared dragging his prey after him. the animals having per- ished from the effects of the smoke.
He sleeps on his old homestead on Slab creek, beside his wife, who died in 1899.
He was the father of ten children :
W. Floyd, and Mrs. Louisa (Win.) Bane, the late H. C. and J. E., all of Slab creek; the late John M .. of Burnt House ; D. S., Chevauxdefrise ; W. Taylor, Calhoun county ; W. E., Alvin W., and Phillip, all died in youth.
Phillip Cox, brother of Col. Cox, was also identified with the county's early history, he being a surveyor in this and ad- joining counties as early as 1820: and, as already mentioned, he was a partner in the mercantile business with his brother at the mouth of Bone creek, in 1835: though he did not take up his residence here until 1847. when he removed to Harris- ville, and took charge of the "Franklin hotel," where he re- mained until 1852. He finally went to Cox's mill, in Gilmer county, where he died on December 19, 1876, at the age of seventy-six years, he having been born, on July 20, 1800. He at one time represented Braxton and Lewis counties in the General Assembly at Richmond.
He married Miss Susan Kniseley, daughter of George, and sister of the late John Kniseley, of Auburn, and in the Auburn cemetery, beside his wife, he sleeps.
He was the father of D. W. Cox, of Washburn, and of the following other sons and daughters: Oliver P. Cox, of Cox's mill; George Kniseley Cox: Isaac, of Clay county ; John. of Kansas City: Mrs. Josephine (Hamilton) Norman, Spokane, Washington: Mrs. Elizabeth (Anthony) Wagner, of Washburn-mother of "Al" Wagner, Berea ; Mrs. Mary Snodgrass, wife of the late Rev. Elisha L. Snodgrass, of Au- burn : Mrs. Rodenia (Thomas) Williams, Kansas City, all of whom have passed on, save D. W .. O. P., and Mrs. Norman.
The Coxes have a distinguished ancestral line, which
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they trace back to Dr. Daniel Cox, of London, who was the Royal family's physician when Queen Anne was on the throne (from 1702-1714), he being a cousin of the Queen.
Dr. Daniel Cox had three sons, Isaac, John, and Daniel, junior, who came to the New Jersey colony at a very early day, and from these three brothers, nearly all of the Coxes in the United States are said to be descended. From Isaac the Ritchie county line comes ; but the generations from him to the Isaac that came to Harrison county, are about six or seven, and the heads of the line down are alternately "Isaac" and "Phillip," and it is quite difficult to make the matter clear. However, Isaac Cox, the Harrison county pioneer, was born in New Jersey in 1731. He was the son of Phillip and Hannah Trembly Cox-the youngest and only son that lived to rear a family.
Isaac Cox, the first, in making a disposition of his prop. erty, had willed all his immense fortune to his eldest son. Phillip, thus setting a precedent that was adhered to for seven generations. But Isaac Cox, the Harrison county pio- neer (being the youngest of the family as above stated), be- came the legatee of the property, owing to the fact that he was the only survivor of the family. His brothers, having gone some distance from home to make an improvement, in advance of the settlement, and raise a crop, pitched their tent near a fine spring from which they got water for constant use, and in a short time they all sickened and died ; and upon investigation, it was found that the water came from a cop- per-mine, and thus was poisonous. Isaac being but a lad, and drinking here and there where he chanced to be herding the stock, escaped death.
Isaac Cox married Miss Sarah Sutton, of New Jersey, and after the Revolution, perhaps, near 1790, came to Harri- son county, and settled at the mouth of Kincheloe's creek. He died in 1838, at the age of one hundred seven years, and in the "Broad Run cemetery," in Lewis county, beside liis wife, he lies at rest. His father died in New Jersey, in 1797, at the age of one hundred twelve years.
They (Isaac and Sarah Sutton) were the parents of five children : Phillip, who sleeps in Ritchie county; John and
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Mrs. Sarah (John) Tingley, Ohio: Mrs. Hannah (Josepli) Smith, Harrison county : and Isaac, of Chestnut Grove, Cal- houn county.
Phillip Cox married Miss Christiana Stille, and was the father of Col. Daniel, the Ritchie county pioneer, and of nine other children ; viz., Isaac P .; John, of Ohio; David S., Han- nah, Phillip. Huldah, who became Mrs. Hezekiah D. Tharpe, and went to Iowa; Sarah, who was Mrs. Timothy Tharpe, of Auburn ; James S .. and Levi, who sleeps in Doddridge coun- ty. All the Coxes in this and adjoining counties came from this family.
Phillip and his wife Christiana died at the home of their son, Col. Daniel V. Cox, on Slab creek, and here they sleep. He was born in 1760, and died in 1854. She died in 1856. at the age of ninety-two years.
Enoch B. Leggett .- Thomas Stevens built the first dwell- ing on the farm that is now owned by Mrs. Cynthia Lowther, at Pullman. He came from Monongalia county and went to Marion, where he died. But Enoch B. Leggett purchased this slight improvement in 1845, and moved into the rude cabin until a better one could be constructed.
Mr. Leggett was born in Monongalia county, in 1811, and near the year 1835, he was married to Miss Sarah Athey. of Marion county, and in her native county, they remained until they came to Slab creek, where he played an important part in the early affairs of the community. He was one of the charter members of the first church organization here ; was the donor of the grounds for the church and the ceme- tery, known as "Bethel." or "Old Slab," and was one of the principal factors in its erection.
From here he removed to the Harrisville vicinity, near one mile north-east, where he was engaged in the milling business until his property was destroyed by fire, in 1871: and in a few years after this, he went to Holbrook, where he was again engaged as miller for a time. Here death en- tered his home and carried away his beloved wife, and he. then made his home with his children until his death, at the home of his son. E. A. Leggett, niear Oxford, in 1886. His last moments were full of triumph. he having been permitted
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to catch a glimpse of the glorious over there, before he closed his eyes to earth. Side by side he and his wife slumber in the Pullman churchyard. Here, too, rests his daughters Harriet, Martha, and his son. Nelson, who died in childhood. The other members of the family are as follows: Mrs. Anna (T. E.) Davis, Mrs. Jennie Amos Tarleton, Harrisville : Marion Leggett, Ravenswood: E. A., Oxford; and the late Mrs. Nancy (James) Davis, Harrisville ; the late Mrs. Mary (A. K.) Athey, Marion county : and the late Mrs. Kathrine (Smith) Gaston, Doddridge county.
MIrs. Tarleton and Marion Leggett have both passed on since the above was written.
John Leggett, brother of Enoch, made the first improve- ment on the farm that is now owned and occupied by his son, C. W. Leggett. He was born in Marion county. on September 3. 1825, and there on April 16, 1846, he was mar- ried to Miss Mary Price, daughter of Charles Price, and in September, 1848, they removed to Slab creek, where their lives came to a close. Mrs. Leggett was born on August 15. 1828, and died in 1896; and he survived until September 28. 1906. Both . lie in the White Oak churchyard, as do their sons, James N., and Francis M. Leggett.
Their other children are: C. W., Pullman; M. Jackson, and V. Elbert, Harrisville; and Mrs. Kathrine Rebecca (T. A.) Prunty, Chrisman, Illinois.
The Leggetts are of English origin. James Leggett came from England before the American Revolution and settled in Rockingham county, Virginia, and from there removed to what is now Monongalia county, West Virginia. It is not known whether he was a soldier of the Continental army or not, but he was a noted Indian fighter, and not long after his removal to the "Little Mountain State," he started eastward on a journey, and nothing was ever heard of him again, and thus his history ends. But he had several sons: John, James, Thomas, George, and Isaac, and perhaps, others, and one daughter at least. This daughter, Elizabeth, became Mrs. Arnett, of Arnettsville, Marion county, and she lived to reach the century mark; and her daughter, Mrs. Mary Glasscock, reached the age of one hundred five years. She is
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said to have been the ancestor of Governor Glasscock, but we cannot verify this, however.
James went to Columbus, Ohio, near the year 1825, and there, and, perhaps, in other parts of the West his descend- ants live.
Thomas and George ( ?) Leggett crossed the Allegheny mountains into Western Virginia in Indian times, and all trace of them was lost, but during the Civil war, James Leg- gett, the brother of Enoch, met with Thomas' son, James, who was serving as a soldier from a Western state: and "Border Warfare" relates the story of a party of drovers from Dunkard and Fish creeks who were overtaken by the Indians in September, 1791, while on their way to Marietta to market their cattle; and Jesse Hughes alone escaped to tell the tragic tale. "George Leggett" was a member of this party, and as he was never heard of again, he is supposed to have shared the fate of the rest. It is not positively known that he was a member of this family, but there can scarcely be a reasonable doubt of it.
Isaac Leggett was but a half-brother of the others, and he is the ancestor of the Doddridge county branch : and John, of the Ritchie county family.
John Leggett, senior, whose history is of more moment to us, was twice married. His first wife, whose name is wanting, met a tragic death by a fall early in their wedded life, and he then married Miss Kathrine Barrick, who was born in Germany, and with her parents crossed the water to Rockingham county, Virginia, at the age of nine years. Here she grew to young womanhood : and here on September 11, 1802, she took the marriage vow. She was a sister of Adam Barrick, who was at one time a resident of Harrisville, and her death occurred in Marion county, at the age of sixty-one years. Her old German Bible is now the treasured heirloom of her granddaughter, Mrs. T. E. Davis, of Harrisville.
Some time after her death, perhaps, in the early fifties, Mr. Leggett came to this county and resided on the Flan- nagan farm, above Berea, for several years. He died on February 14, 1862, at the age of eighty-four years, and rests at Duckworth summit.
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He was the father of a large family of sons and daugh- ters, who nearly all have descendants in this county :
Mrs. Mary (C. W.) Batson, of Marion county (mother of the late W. H. Batson, of Berea) ; Mrs. Sarah (Thomas) Bane, Farmington (mother of the late Wm. Bane, Pullman) ; Mrs. Elizabeth (Zubulon) Bee, Berea; Mrs. Margaret (Dick- erson) Wood, Marion county ; Mrs. Casandra (Henry) Good- win, Berea; Elethean, who first married William Dixon, of Pennsboro, and after his death, Powell Calhoun, formerly of this county, but later of Tyler: Enoch B., and John. the pio- neers of this county; James, who resided here but removed to Missouri shortly after his service as a soldier in the Union army. where he died in 1903; Thomas, who resided at Toll- gate, also, went to Missouri shortly after the Civil war: and Jacob died in youth.
Note .- Some conflicting statements have confronted us in this data, but we have given it according to what we con- sidered the best authority. One is that the original Leggett's name was Isaac, or John, instead of James.
Jonathan Mckinley was another worthy pioneer here. He came from Harrison county, in 1850, and redeemed the "Mckinley homestead" from its primitive wilderness; and for almost sixty years his family have been identified with this community. He was a native of Monongalia county ; the son of Thomas and Sarah Stuart Mckinley, who later re- moved to Harrison county, where they sleep. He was of Highland Scotch stock. His grandfather, John McKinley, came from Scotland to the Virginia colony, perhaps, near the middle of the eighteenth century ; and, doubtless, served as a Revolutionary soldier, as he was an officer in one of the Virginia regiments. He was a noted Indian fighter, and while on an expedition against the Delawares (with near two hundred other men from the Monongalia settlements), 111 1282, he was captured and beheaded, by the savages. It was on this expedition, and near the same time that Col. Crawford met his cruel, tragic, death at the hands of the in- human monsters. As he (Col. Crawford) passed along in captivity, he witnessed the death of John McKinley and his four companions.
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Jonathan Mckinley married Miss Elizabeth Rector. f Pruntytown, who was of Dutch descent, and they were the parents of nine children : William, of Pullman: Eli, of Hoi- risvilie : Thomas, of Roane county; John, of Pennsboro: Marion, of Harrison county : Mrs. Rebecca A. (Saul) Son- merville, Harrison county : Mrs. Juliet (David) Owens, Wood county ; Mrs: Harriet (James R.) Lowther, Pullman ; and Mrs. Jane Lowther, Pennsboro. The last two mentioned alone survive. Jane, first married Robert Lowther and after his death, she married his brother, William I. Lowther.
Mr. and Mrs. Mckinley rest at Pullman.
The late Homer B. McKinley, of Salem, who was so prominently known in different parts of the state. was a member of this family, he being the son of Eli, and Mrs .. Dorinda Lowther McKinley, and the grandson of Jonathan. He attended the McKinley reunion at the Kansas State build- ing, at the World's Fair at Chicago, on September 13, 1893. in which the late President NicKinley, who was then Gover- nor of Ohio, and other distinguished gentlemen of the nanie from the United States, Canada, and Scotland, participated (giving interesting reminiscences of the origin and history of the family), and thus he learned that his ancestors sprang from the same Scottish stock, as did those of the late Presi- dent Mckinley.
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