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 4
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The Skeltons .- This same year (1808) brought Edward Skelton, with his family, to the W. H. Peirpoint farm. He was born and reared in England, and there he was married to Mrs. Sarah Walker Gibson, a young widow, of London, who was, also, of English birth. And from England they emi- grated to New York city, where they established a home, but being driven from there by a scourge of yellow fever, they came to Harrisville. Here Mrs. Skelton died, and after the home was broken up Mr. Skelton went to Cairo, and spent the remnant of his days with his daughter, Mrs. Jacob Mckinney. Here he died, and in the old Pioneer burying-ground at Har- risville, beside his wife, he sleeps.
He was the father of one son, Edward, and three daughters, Mary, Eliza and Anne.
Edward Skelton, junior, married Miss Jane Mckinney. Mary became Mrs. Jacob Mckinney. (See Mckinney fam- ily.) Eliza married James Maley ; and Anne, Henry Wigner.
Mrs. Skelton had one son, John Gibson, by her first hus- band.
James Mitchell was the next arrival in this vicinity. He came from the "Old Dominion" (1808), bringing with him four or five slaves, the first that had ever been seen in this section, and took up his residence on the Edward Cokeley farm ; and in 1809, William Rogers became the second owner of the Wolfe farm. He, too, came from the "Old Dominion," bringing his family of slaves. His sons, Robert and Lewis. also found homes here at this same time.
Robert Rogers is said to have settled on the North fork of Hughes river, and Lewis, on Indian creek; but we have been unable to learn anything of their subsequent history.
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FIRST SETTLERS IN RITCHIE COUNTY
other than that Lewis was the father of the late Tohn B. Rogers, of Smithville, and that all the Rogerses in this and adjoining counties sprung from this family. (See South fork chapter for family of John B. Rogers.)
And of the Mitchell family we know nothing farther, as it is evident that the Mitchells of this county did not spring from this source, as they came from Barbour county at a much later day.
The Harrises .- During this same year, 1809, John Harris came from Harrison county, and made the first settlement on the farm that is now the estate of his late son, John P. Harris. He was at this time a single man, but the following year (1810) he was married to Miss Agnes Maley, daughter of Lawrence Maley, and remained a prominent, useful citizen of this com- munity until he was laid in the Harrisville cemetery.
Mr. Harris' services to this county were of a high order, for more than thirty years he served as justice of the peace of Ritchie and Wood counties. He was the father of eight children, all of whom have crossed the tide. The late General Thomas M. Harris, whose interesting history occupies another chapter, James and John P. Harris were the sons ; and Hannah, Margaret, Anne, Mary and Jane, the daughters.
James married Miss Anne Rutherford, daughter of Rich- ard Rutherford, senior, and they were the parents of two children, Miss Ella, of Concord, Ohio; and a son who died in infancy. He was laid away on the old homestead, near Har- risville, many years ago, but his aged companion survived until 1908, when she was laid by his side.
John P. Harris married Miss Margaret Rutherford, sister of his brother's wife, and lived and died on the homestead that is now owned and occupied by his son, R. R. Harris.
Mrs. Harris survived him by several years, and she fell dead while walking on the street in New York city, near ten years ago, and at Harrisville, by the side of her husband and eldest son, James, she reposes. Their surviving children are Richard R., who is a prominent nurseryman, of Harrisville ; Thomas G., a physician, of Weston ; John, a railroad engineer, of Weston; Agnes, who is the wife of the Rev. William B. Barr, of the Presbyterian church of New Jersey : Mary, the
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
wife of the Rev. Edward S. Littell, of the Presbyterian church of Pennsylvania ; and Annabel, who held a position as teacher in a college at Knoxville, Tennessee, became the wife of the Rev. John T. Aikin, of the Presbyterian church of Rochester, Pa., June 24, 1910.
Hannah, the eldest daughter of John and Agnes Maley Harris, married Samuel Blue and went to Pennsylvania, and her two children, Agnes, a daughter, and a son, died in child- hood.
Margaret Harris married T. F. Leech and lived and died at Harrisville. Mrs. R. R. Hall, of Harrisville, is her only surviving child ; another daughter, Martha E., having passed on in her youth.
Anne Harris died in youth, and Mary and Jane, in child- hood.
Thomas Harris' settlement here antedated that of his brother. John, by two years, he having succeeded his son-in- law, George Stuart, on the land where Harrisville now stands, in 1802.
He married Miss Nancy Cunningham, sister of Elijah M. Cunningham, and with his family came from Harrison county, and remained here until his death; and in the old Pioneer cemetery, beside his wife, he rests. He was the father of ten children : viz., John went to Illinois: James, to Zanesville, Ohio; and Adam rests at Smithville; Effie became Mrs. John Chancellor and went to Iowa ; Margaret, who married William Stanley, lies at Harrisville: Hannah married George Stuart and lived and died in this county; Elizabeth, Rachel, Sarah and Mary, who remained single, also died here.
From this pioneer Harrisville took its name, and is a most beautiful monument to his memory.
The Harrises are of Scotch-Irish origin. Two brothers came from Ireland before the Revolution, landing in the City of "Brotherly Love." These brothers were separated, soon after their arrival, Thomas going Southward, was never heard of again, and the other one (whose Christian name is wanting) was the father of Thomas and John, the Ritchie county pioneers. He married a widow, a Mrs. Miller, whose
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FIRST SETTLERS IN RITCHIE COUNTY
maiden name was Plummer, and near the year 1800, they came to Harrison county. Besides the two sons mentioned they were the parents of four daughters, all of whom were the wives of Ritchie county pioneers :
Margaret married Elijah M. Cunningham ; Jane, Benja- min Starr; Anna, John Harris, and another daughter was the wife of Nutter Webb, a pioneer of Goose creek.
The Chancellors .- The year 1809 was, also, marked by the coming of Thomas Chancellor, with his family, from Culpep- per county, Virginia, to the farm that for long years was the home of the late Mrs. John Hawkins, but now the homes of Edward Wells and James Maxwell. He married Miss Judith Gaines, a Virginia maiden of Welsh descent, she being his third wife, and they were the parents of seven sons and one daughter.
Mrs. Chancellor was the niece of Edmond Pendleton, of Virginia, and a cousin of General Edmond Pendleton Gains. of the United States army. Mr. Chancellor was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, he having served in the Virginia in- fantry. He died not long after his settlement here, and the family went to Wood county, where a number of their descendants still live.
The two eldest sons of these pioneers, Richard and James Chancellor, died at Norfolk, Virginia, while serving as soldiers in the war of 1812, leaving no issue; Cooper and William sleep in Wood county. Benjamin went to Missouri, and finally to Mississippi, where he sleeps. John emigrated to Missouri, and later to Arkansas, where he reposes. (He was the grandfather of C. B. Chancellor, of the Chancellor Hard- ware Company, of Parkersburg.) Rebecca, the only daughter, who never married, also sleeps in Wood county ; and Thomas, the sixth son, who was born in the Old Dominion, in 1805. married Miss Prudence Rector, of Taylor county, and re- moved to Wood county in 1838, where he died on July 4, 1872, at his home in Parkersburg. Here his family, who are prominently known, still reside. To the late Hon. W. N. Chancellor, his son, we are indebted for this sketch ; his other sons, Edmond P. and Alfred B., are also citizens of Parkers- burg.
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
The Chancellors are of French origin, although they went from France to England in the eleventh century (1066) with William the Conquorer, and subsequently removed to Scotland in the fourteenth century. However, Richard Chan- cellor, the founder of the family in the United States, came from England in 1682, and settled in Westmoreland county, Virginia. He had two sons, William Cooper, and Richard Chancellor, junior (the hatter). William Cooper Chancellor married a Miss Thomas, and removed to Culpepper county (Virginia), and here his son, Thomas, the Ritchie county pioneer, was born.
Doubtless the town of Chancellorsville, in the Old Dominion, which was so far-famed during the late Civil war, took its name from this family.
The Starrs .- Near the year 1810, John and Benjamin Starr, and Elijah Cunningham, with their families, found homes in this wilderness. They all came from Harrison coun- ty, and were all the uncles of General Harris.
Mr. Cunningham settled on land adjoining the Wolfe farm; Benjamin Starr, on the George Martin farm, now the home of Mrs. Susan Rymer; and John Starr, on Indian creek, on the homestead that is now the estate of his late son, James.
John Starr's wife was Miss Anne Harris, sister of John and Thomas Harris, and they were the first settlers on Indian creek. Here they lived and died, and in the Harrisville ceme- tery they lie at rest. He has been sleeping since 1846.
The children of the family were Mary, Elizabeth, Effie, Hannah, Moses, Benjamin, John and James Starr.
Mary became the wife of Jacob Moats, senior, and spent her life in the Harrisville vicinity. (See Moats family.)
Elizabeth Starr was married to Jacob Wigner, junior, and in this county she remained until death. Her children were: Cathrine, Eliza, Elizabeth, Matilda, James, Harper, Nelson, Wilbur, Clarke and George Wigner.
Effie Starr was the late Mrs. Henry Moats, of Addis' run. (See Moats family.)
Hannah Starr, with her husband, William Cokeley, set- tled at Mt. Zion, where she is now resting in the churchyard. (See Chevauxdefrise chapter.)
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FIRST SETTLERS IN RITCHIE COUNTY
Moses Starr was married to Miss Margaret Prince, and in Wood county he resided. His family consisted of two daughters : Anne is the widow of Jacob Moats, junior, of Har- risville, and Jane is Mrs. Sarber, of Parkersburg.
Benjamin Starr died in youth.
John Starr was married to Miss Ellen Ayres, sister of John B. Ayres, formerly of this county, but now of Spencer, and resided at different points in this county, before going to Addis' run, where he died in 1875. His wife survived him 11ntil 1898.
Their children were : Miss Mary and Benjamin, Missouri : John, of Addis' run ; Anne (Mrs. G. W. Hammer), Mrs. Frances Watson Foster, and Miss Hannah Starr, Harrisville.
James Starr and his wife, Mrs. Eliza Ayres Starr, (sister of his brother's wife) spent their lives at the old homestead, on Indian creek. Here she passed from earth in 1891, and lie, on February 25, 1901.
Their only son, Alpheus, died in youth ; Margaret mar- ried Hl. M. Murdock, and lives in Ohio: and Misses Sarah and Fannie are of Harrisville.
Benjamin Starr, senior, the pioneer, was married to Miss Jane Harris (sister of his brother's wife) and, perhaps, re- mained here until his death, yet we have been unable to learn anything definite concerning his subsequent history or that of his family, other than that he had two children, Moses and Elizabeth Starr.
Elijah Morgan Cunningham was married to Miss Mar- garet Harris, he and Thomas Harris having traded sisters, and in this vicinity they remained until they were borne to the old "Pioneer cemetery," near Harrisville. He was a native of Harrison county, and a brother of Edward, a very early settler, on Husher's run. 1
His only son died in childhood, and his daughters were : Elizabeth (Mrs. Elijah Husher, of Husher's run) ; Sarah (Mrs. Riddel, mother of David J. Riddel, of Riddel's chapel) : Effie (the late Mrs. James Riddel, of Roane county), and Rachel and Jane, who remained single. (Effie and Jane were twins.) All of whom have crossed to the other side.
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
This family were related to William Cunningham, of Revolutionary fame, and to Thomas, of Indian times, they having been descended from the same Irish family, as the similarity of names would suggest; but we have been unable to determine the exact connection, though circumstances point to the fact that they were first cousins.
The Drakes .- During the year 1811, the Reverend John Drake, a minister of the Baptist church, made the first im- provement on the farm that is now the estate of the late Edward D. Lough.
He was the first minister in the settlement, and being licensed to celebrate the rites of matrimony, took this matter from the hands of the Reverend Reese Wolfe, a lay minister of the Baptist church faith, of Parkersburg, who had been performing this important service for the little colony.
The Rev. Mr. Drake was a lineal descendant of Sir Francis Drake, the English admiral and explorer. His father, George Drake, came from England, some time during the last half of the eighteenth century, and probably settled in the Vir- ginia colony.
However, John Drake was born in 1775, and was one of the first missionaries to cross the Allegheny mountains, to Western Virginia.
He was twice married, but the maiden names of both of his wives are missing. But the record shows that he and his first wife, Isabel, were married on January 15, 1794; and that he was married to his second wife, Elizabeth, on January 30, 1803, and with her he came to this county.
After a few years' residence at Harrisville, he removed to Smithville, and found a home at the mouth of Leatherbrake, on land that is now owned by W. A. Flesher. Here he con- tinued to reside until August 3, 1826, when he was called to his heavenly reward; and in the Murphy graveyard. on the John P. Kennedy farm, his ashes lie.
No imposing monument marks his resting place! Per- haps, not even a stone is there to distinguish it from the many other early graves in the burying-ground, but the record of his hardships, his noble deeds, his heroic self-sacrifice, is a
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FIRST SETTLERS IN RITCHIE COUNTY
memorial, sufficient-the Baptist church in this county is a fitting and enduring monument to his memory.
His wife, Elizabeth, survived him by many years, dying on May 26, 1854, at the age of seventy-one years.
Bible Record of the Family of Rev. John Drake .- Chil- dren of John and Isabel Drake :
James Drake, born on March 15, 1795, married Elizabeth Sinnett, on September 25, 1815.
Jemima Drake,, born on September 19, 1796, married John Earle on July 22, 1814.
Elizabeth Drake, born on March 21, 1799, and-
Children of John and Elizabeth Drake :
Susana Drake, born on February 26, 1804, died in 1810.
George Drake, born October ?? , 1805, died in 1825.
Rachel Drake, born on January 4, 1808, married George Camp on April 13, 1826.
Mary Drake, born on October 20, 1809, married Seth Rogers, on March 9, 1854.
Agnes Drake, born on February 19, 1812, married Solo- mon Rexroad, on November 17, 1833.
John Drake, born on April 5, 1814. died in 1852.
David Drake, born on December 19, 1816, and-
Lavina Drake, born on August 15. 1820, died in 1852.
Noah Drake, born on March 16, 1823, died in 1851.
Aaron Drake, born on October 25, 1826, and-
Some of these sons went to Charleston and here their history ends, but James remained here and his descendants are a host in this county. (See Indian creek chapter.)
The late Mrs. Agnes Layfield, of Cokeley, was a grand- daughter of this pioneer.
James Drake, a brother of the Reverend John Drake, went to Ohio, and Hannah, a sister, married Aaron Smith, a pioneer of this county, and has a large number of descendants among our well known citizens. (See South fork settlers.)
Adam Cunningham was another early pioneer in this section.
He was the son of Adam, senior, and the nephew of
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
Thomas Cunningham, and was a native of this county, being born on the Hoff farm, below Smithville.
He married Sarah, the daughter of Patrick Sinnett, and settled on the old ridge road between Harrisville and Smith- ville, on the farm that is now the estate of the late Charles Moyer ; here he passed from earth at a ripe old age, and here, with his wife, he sleeps.
His children were: Jacob, of Indian creek: Absolem, father of John, the Washburn artist: Mrs. Millie (Wm.) Hoover, of Wood county ; the late Mrs. Dolly (James) Webb, of Harrisville ; Mrs. Phebe ( Ephraim) Cunningham, of Indian run ; and the late Mrs. Sarah Ann Mullenax, of the same vicin- ity.
The Moatses .- Near the year 1819, George Moats and his wife, Eve, with their family, came from Pendleton county, and took up their residence on the land that is now marked by the west end of Harrisville.
They were the grandparents of Andrew Moats, of Har- risville, and the ancestors of all the families of this name in the county, they being the parents of twelve children. Mrs. Moats was a native of North Carolina, and both were of Ger- man descent.
They gave the grounds for the first Baptist church in the Harrisville vicinity, and near the site of this old church, which stood just north of the present residence of Mrs. Wm. M. Rymer, Mr. Moats met a tragic death, in 1844, by the falling of a tree, under which he had sought shelter from a storm. He was buried almost on the site where he was killed. but sixty years after, his ashes were removed to the cemetery on the hill south of town. Mrs. Moats rests in the Indian creek Baptist churchyard.
Their sons were: Peter, Jacob, Henry and William ; and their daughters, Christiana, Barbara, Magdalene, Kathrine. Elizabeth, Frances, Susan and Julia Moats, whose descend- ants are now a host among the good citizens of the county.
These children in their turn were nearly all the heads of pioneer families.
Peter Moats, the eldest son, was born in Pendleton coun- ty, in 1997, and there he was married, at the age of nineteen
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FIRST SETTLERS IN RITCHIE COUNTY
or twenty years, to Miss Rachel Grogg, and, with his parents, came to this county and settled on one end of the old home- stead, on the part that is now owned by the heirs of the late Samuel Moats. Here he died, and in the Egypt cemetery he sleeps. He was one of the earliest blacksmiths in this vicinity.
Ilis children were: Joseph, Jesse and Cathrine (Mrs. Wm. Godfrey), who went to Ohio; the late Wm. P. and Mrs. Lucinda (Jacob) Cunningham, of Washburn ; Mrs. Flora Eve (Kuhnrod) Mullenax, of Missouri; the late Mrs. Elizabeth (James) Layfield, and Mrs. Susana (Salathial) Simmons, both of Cairo.
Jacob Moats, the second son, was born in 1799; and in 1823, he was married to Miss Mary, the daughter of John Starr, senior, and on the old homestead, near Harrisville, where their son, Jacob, died a few years since, they established their home. Here she saw the last of earth in 1873, and he, in 1885, and both rest at Harrisville.
Their eldest daughter, Anne, was the late Mrs. Andrew Cokeley, and Susana was the late Mrs. Isaac Cokeley, both of Harrisville: Mary became Mrs. Joshua Nest and went West; Elizabeth was Mrs. Holland, of Tyler county ; Mar- garet, Mrs. Robinson, of Wood county ; Jane, the late wife of J. R. Sigler, of Cairo; India is Mrs. William Gilbert, of Will- iamstown; Andrew has long been a prominent merchant of Harrisville; and Benjamin and Jacob, junior, lie sleeping in the Harrisville cemetery.
Henry Moats, with his wife, Mrs. Effie Starr Moats, set- tled on the head of Addis' run, where his son, Henry, now lives. He entered a large tract of twelve hundred acres of land in this section, but his claim being contested, he pur- chased the entire tract, and obtained a title for it, and it is now divided into several homesteads (viz .; J. H. Hatfield's, John Starr's, George Layfield's, Edward Cokeley's and per- haps others) besides what is owned by his heirs.
He, too, was a blacksmith by trade, and was the first one in this section. Here his last hours were spent.
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
His children :
John went West, where he died; George and James lost their lives in the defense of the Union in the sixties; Henry resides at the old home; William is the owner and operator of the Moats mill at Rusk; Kathrine married Thomas Martin, and she now lives with her son in New York: Hannah was the late Mrs. David Shrader, of Cairo, and another daughter was Mrs. Hiram (?) Norman, of Calhoun county.
William Moats married Miss Phebe Drake, daughter of James Drake, and settled on the old parental homestead. he having succeeded his father there. Here he lived and died. and at Harrisville he rests.
After the death of his wife, Phebe, he married Miss Edna M. Cunningham, daughter of Enoch M. Cunningham, of Smithville, and they were the parents of Pompey Moats, and Misses India and Virginia, who reside at the old homestead near Harrisville.
The children of William and Phebe Drake Moats were the late James and Sinnett Moats, of Indian creek, who were both soldiers of the Union army, and Cornelius, of Harrisville. The other children born of this union died in childhood.
Christiana Moats, the eldest child of George and Eve Moats, who was born in 1293, was married to John Shrader, and settled on Husher's run. Her sons were Nicholas, George and William Shrader, and one of her daughters, Fannie, was Mrs. James Rollins, of Ellenboro.
Barbara Moats became Mrs. Solomon Dick, and resided here and in the "Buckeye State." George Dick, of Ohio, is one of her sons, but the names of the other members of the family are wanting.
Magdalena Moats was the late Mrs. William Kibby, of Cornwallis, and Hezekiah Kibby, the ex-assessor, of Grant district, is her only heir.
Kathrine Moats was married to Absolem Harpold, and from the Webb's mill vicinity, they went to Indiana. Nicho- las and George Harpold were two of her sons.
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FIRST SETTLERS IN RITCHIE COUNTY
Susan Moats was the late Mrs. Solomon Mullenax, of Missouri; Elizabeth was the wife of John Layfield, senior ; Frances was Mrs. Harmon Sinnett; and Julia Anne, Mrs. Ephriam Culp, all of this county. (See other chapters for their families.)
The Cokeleys .- Another family whose name belongs to this community, though not among the earliest settlers, is that of Cokeley.
Jeremiah Cokeley came from Ireland near the year 1750, and settled in the Virginia colony. He was the father of five sons ; viz., William, Daniel, Edmund, Jeremiah and Elijah,. and from his son, Edmund, the Ritchie county Cokeleys are descended ..
Edmund Cokeley was a Revolutionary soldier, he having taken up his sword in behalf of the colonies.
In 1812, his son, Elijah, married Christiana Crofus, a German maiden, who, with her parents, crossed to Virginia in 1790; and, in 1822, he passed from earth at his home in Virginia, and here, near Cumberland, on the Virginia side, he sleeps.
In 1840, his widow, with her three sons and one daughter ; viz., Edmund, Isaac, Andrew and Anne, came to the Harris- ville vicinity, and with them came Daniel Cokeley, a brother of Elijah, and his family, and from these two brothers all the different families of this name in this, and sister counties, are descended.
Edmund Cokeley, the eldest son of Elijah, married Miss Eliza Wagner, of Cumberland, Maryland ; and near the break- ing out of the Civil war, with his family and his widowed mother, he removed to Iowa, where he died but a few years since. His mother died in the early sixties, and lies at rest in a rural cemetery near Vinton, Iowa.
His children were Jonathan, Edward, Asby, Christiana, Margaret and Martha.
Isaac Cokeley married a Miss Rexroad and lost his life in defense of the Union in 1863.
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
Anne Cokeley, the only daughter of Elijah Cokeley, be- came the wife of Jonathan Barksdale, of Virginia, and after a brief married life, she died and her family went to Iowa.
Andrew Cokeley, the younger son of the family of Elijah, was married to Miss Anne Moats, daughter of Jacob Moats, senior, on April 15, 1841, and settled on the old homestead near two and one-half miles West of Harrisville, where his leirs still reside.
He was the father of twelve children :
Jacob, of Williamstown; Edmund E., George, the late Andrew J., all of Harrisville; and Alvah, of Cairo; Elizabeth, the eldest daughter, was the late Mrs. Aaron Friedly, of Spruce Grove ; Mary Jane was the late Mrs. William Moats, of Addis' run; Alcinda was the late Mrs. Henry Moats, of Spruce Grove, the mother of the late F. M. Moats, editor of the Ritchie Standard: Susan L. was the late Mrs. John Echard, of Five Forks ; Melvina became Mrs. Jonathan Coke- ley, and resides at Vinton, Iowa; Margaret R. married Frank Griffin and died in 1877, leaving one son; Belle married Everett Brake and resides at the old home.
Daniel Cokeley .- Daniel Cokeley, the pioneer, married Miss Elizabeth Crofus, sister of his brother Elijah's wife, and . came from Virginia in 1840, as above stated, and settled near, two miles from Harrisville, on the farm that is now the estate of his late son, Isaac. Here he died in 1861, at the age of ninety-four years, six months, fifteen days.
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