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 48
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OTHER PROMINENT FAMILIES
On June 1, 1852, he was married to Miss Sarah Jane Bon- nifield, who was born on Horse Shoe run, in this state, on July 14, 1834, and died at Denver, Colorado, on February 16, 1897. She was the daughter of Arnold and Elizabeth Minear Bonnifield.
This couple were the parents of twelve children who are quite prominently known throughout the state: Elizabeth A. (1855-1861), Mary A. was first married to W. S. M. Spesert, and her second husband was W. A. Lipscomb, of California . Dorcas Angelica is the wife of the Rev. Oliver Lowther, of the M. P. church, Pullman ; Hu Maxwell is the well-known historian, who now holds a position in the Forestry Service at Washington city; Cyrus Haymond is of Morgantown; Thomas E. (1865-1896, unmarried), John F. and Levi H., California ; Charles J., Texas; Robert R. (1874-1899), and Anna Catharine (1871-1879).
Lewis Maxwell, third son of Thomas and Jane Lewis, born in 1790, was a member of Congress from 1827 to 1833, and was a man of no small means for his time. Being an early surveyor, as before mentioned, he entered large tracts of land all over this part of the state, and as he left no heirs much of his fortune fell to his nephew, Franklin Max- ivell.
In 1844, he was first married to Miss Safronia Wilson, and his second wife, whom he married in 1859, was Miss Jane Pritchard, daughter of Peter Pritchard, of White Oak. He died near Weston in Lewis county in 1865, and his widow who was many years his junior is now Mrs. Wiley of Fair- mont.
Robert Maxwell, the fourth son of Thomas and Jane Lewis, was born on February 19, 1791, and on March 19. 1812, he was married to Miss Rebecca Eastlack, who was born on November 6. 1792, and died at their home in Ohio, on May 9, 1843. After her death he returned to Lost creek in Harrison county, where he contracted two subsequent marriages, and where he died on February 5, 1844.
His children were as follows and all were born of the first union : Thomas J., Frances B. (Mrs. Wm. Boggs), Jane Lewis, and Amy, who died in childhood, Rebecca H .. ( Mrs.
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
Joseph Lefevre), Meiggs L., Caroline A. (Mrs. B. F. McMil- lian) Mary Melvina (Mrs. Alexander Ireland), Robert C., and Emma Ann (Mrs. Sylvanus Page) all of whom reside, and rest, in Ohio, and other Western states. Caroline, Meiggs. and Rebecca, alone survive.
Mary Melvina Maxwell was born on June 27, 1828, and was married to Alexander Ireland, brother of G. M. Ireland. on October 7, 1851, the marriage taking place in Ohio, where Mr. Ireland had gone in his single days. Mrs. Ireland died in 1907, but he still survives at the old home at Cardington, Ohio.
His children : Caroline Belle is the wife of the Rev. Louis C. Haddox, of the Methodist Episcopal church of Columbus, Ohio: Corydon Boyd is a prominent physician of Church- ville, New York; Lillie Love (1857-1875) Rosalind C., (1858- 1875), Mary Alexandria is Mrs. Stephen C. Kingman : Elba Nile, Mrs. Wm. F. Duncan ; and Virginia V., the wife of Dr. H. B. Campbell.
Amy Maxwell, daughter of Thomas and Jane Lewis Maxwell, born August 27, 1799, became the wife of John Peck on August 7, 1825, and went to Ohio, where she died on May 23, 1847.
Her children : were Lemon B., Dewitt C., David B., John S., Tarleton, and Minerva who married George R. Cunning- ham, and two sons that died in infancy, all of whom were of Cardington, Ohio, but are now numbered with the dead.
Mary Maxwell, daughter of Thomas and Jane Lewis Maxwell, was first married to John Swisher, and her second husband's name was Hawley, but little is in our possession concerning her family other than the names of the Swisher children ; viz., Alvira, John, George, Lewis, and Amy, who married Thomas Curl.
The Haddoxes, who have so long been identified with the citizenship of this county, are of Irish extraction. The time of their coming to the Western world is not definitely known, but as they are only another branch of the family whose liis-
(This data was principally gleaned from the Smith Family Record by Joseph S. Harris, of Philadelphia, and it has been our aim to give the history of the original Maxwell Family in this state, and then to write up only the younger families that have been well-known here in times fast, and to-day.)
OTHER PROMINENT FAMILIES
tory appears with the North fork settlers, it is quite probable that they crossed to Virginia at the same time-during the latter part of the eighteenth century-as circumstances point strongly to the fact that Jonathan Haddox, the head of the North fork family, and William, the progenitor of this one, were brothers.
But be that as it may, William Haddox and his wife, Mary Minear Haddox, lived and died in what is now Barbour county, where they reared quite a family.
Phillip Haddox, their son, spent his entire life in Barbour county within three miles of the place of his nativity. He married Miss Isabel Hewey, of Quaker city, Ohio, and in Barbour county she also died. Their family consisted of nine children ; viz., Leanna, Sarah, Nancy, Susan, Mary, Jonathan, Joseph, Samuel and Allen Haddox. Allen and Mary, who is Mrs. Duckworth, remained in their native county, and the rest came to this county.
Leanna was the late Mrs. John Mitchell; Sarah, the late Mrs. John Moody Pritchard, of White Oak; Nancy was the late Mrs. Josiah Hawkins ; and Susan, who first married Phil- lip Felton, senior, of Barbour, was the late Mrs. George Brown of Burnt House.
Jonathan Hewey Haddox, the eldest son of Phillip and Isabel Hewey, was born in Barbour county, on February 20. 1822, and came to this county in his young manhood where he met and married Miss Sarah Salina Cunningham, daugh- tei of Enoch M. and Mrs. Jane Stuart Cunningham, and grand-daughter of Edward1 and Sarah Price Cunningham, of Indian fame.
The marriage took place in 1843, and from that time until the day of his death, he called Ritchie county his home. He was one of the early merchants of Smithville, and from there, removed to Cairo, where he became identified in the same business, and where he played an important part in other affairs. He was a trusted employee of the "Ritchie Mine Company" during the sixties, but in the early seventies, re- turned to Smithville and became a member of the mercantile firm of "Haddox and Carr." Here Mrs. Haddox passed from
1See Cunningham chapter.
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
sight, and in 1884, he again took the marriage vow, when Miss Safronia Collins, daughter of Chainey Collins, became his wife ; and shortly after this event, he changed his place of business to Washburn. But finally removed to Harrisville, where he owned and managed a grocery store at the time of his death, which took place on May 27, 1906, while he was visiting his sons at Huntington. The remains were brought back to Harrisville, and there laid at rest.
The children of the first union were seven in number : viz., Cincinnatus P., and Lathrop, Huntington ; Maclisona was the late lamented Mrs. Adam Flesher, of Pennsboro; Etta is Mrs. Columbus Riddel, of Moundsville: Harrison B. died in 1877; Charles, in 1865, and one, in childhood.
The children of the wife of his old age are: Matilda. Elsie. Dona, who is Mrs. Jesse Gatrell, and Thurman liai dox, all of Harrisville, except Mrs. Gatrell, who resides at Clarksburg.
Joseph Haddox was married to Miss Sarah Wass. daugh- ter of John Wass, whom he met while on a visit to this county : and in 1848, he purchased the improvement of his brother-in-law, John Mitchell, at Pleasant Hill, and there re- sided until his death, on May 9, 1900, and there his aged widow still survives. He was seventy-six years of age at the time of his death.
His children are as follows: Misses Josephine and Eliza- beth, of Parkersburg; Mrs. Mary Summers (wife of Jonn Summers), Samuel and Charles Haddox, Berea : Mrs. Ella ( Bruce) Wilson. Washburn; Mrs. Etta (Hedges) Davis, Hazelgreen ; Jonathan, Berea ; John, of Calhoun county : and Benjamin, and Robert, whose places of residence are 1in- known.
Samuel Haddox with his wife. Mrs. Mary A. Kennedy Haddox, came to this county in middle life, but finally went to Parkersburg where they have both been sleeping for sex- eral years : she died in 1903, and he preceded her to the grave.
Their son. Jasper N. Haddox died in 1903, and the sul- viving members of the family are: John Haddox, of Colum- bus. Ohio, Coleman, and Mrs. Jennie Griffin. Parkersburg : and Mrs. Belle Hostetter, Beatrice.
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OTHER PROMINENT FAMILIES
Allen Haddox of Berea belongs to this branch of the fan- ily, he being a son of Adam, brother of Phillip, and his mother was Miss Mary Willett before her marriage.
We learn from the Haddoxes of the North fork, that all the families of the name of both the Virginias are related.
King Knob Settled By the Carpenters .- Though King Knob is one of the most distinguished points of land in Mur- phy district, being the highest (1270 ft.) its forest remained unbroken until 1881, when the late Reason Carpenter came here from Pleasants county with his family, and erected the old, deserted cabin that still stands, as a reminder of the days that have gone by.
Mr. Carpenter was born in Ohio, in 1820, and there he was married near the year 1841, to Miss Rachel Porter, who was born in the little State of Delaware, on February 26, 1825, but, with her parents, removed to the "Buckeye state" when she was a small child. From there, in 1815, they removed to Tyler county, and three years later, to Pleasants, and from there they came here. Mr. Carpenter died in 1895, and filled the first grave that was made in the King Knob churchyard. And Mrs. Carpenter survived until March 1, 1910, when she joined him on the other side.
Their children were twelve in number : William and Rob- ert, Tyler county ; Albert, Mrs. Margaret Hedge, Mrs. Julia Ann Edgell and Mrs. Nancy Dye, are all of this county ; Mrs. Rachel Smith, and Mrs. Eliza Stull, Clarksburg; Mrs. Jane Carpenter, and the late Mrs. Sarah Haga, Ohio; and the late Mrs. Drusilla Carpenter. Ohio: and the late Mrs. Mary Car- penter, Middlebourne.
J. M. Mckinney .- Another family whose services to this county merit recognition is that of Joseph Morris Mckinney. of Hebron.
This family comes of Irish stock. Francis Mckinney and Miss Hannah Hopkins were married near Londonderry in the North of Ireland, and their son, George, was educated for the ministry ; but not finding his heart wholly in this work, he emigrated to America before the Revolution and settled near the boundary line of Loudin and Fauquier conn- ties, Virginia : here he met and was married to Miss Mary
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
James, and liere, engaged in teaching until near the year 1812, when he removed with his family to Harrison county. where he died at the age of near one hundred years.
His son, Thomas, married Miss Frances Leah Gallaher, of Loudin county, and on November, 24, 1802, their son, George Washington Mckinney was born. He married Miss Amelia Morris, daughter of the Rev. Joseph Morris of Har- rison county, and settled at Joseph's Mills in Tyler county. Here Joseph Morris Mckinney, the subject of this sketch, was born, on February 22, 1838, and while he was yet an in- fant his parents removed to Washington county, Ohio, where they remained six years before returning to their former home in Harrison county, where the mother died in 1847. The father survived her by a number of years, dying at the home of his son in this county.
Joseph Morris McKinney and Miss Margaret Carlin, daughter of Joseph Carlin, of Barbour county, were married on November 10, 1859, and came to this county the following spring and settled near Hebron on the old homestead which they still own, though they removed to Tyler county a year ago.
Mr. Mckinney has been a prominent figure in the public affairs of the county for almost a half-century. He served as Captain, Major and Colonel of the Militia, and as clerk of the Regimental court. He has been Supervisor of Clay district, President of the Board of Education, member of the County Board of Teachers' Examiners, and has three times filled the office of County Superintendent. He being the first one chosen by the popular vote under the Free School system ; and was one of the chief factors in the inauguration of this system : for under his administration the first houses were built by the state. He was twice a member of the House of Delegates from this county, and for thirty years, "wielded the birchen rod" in the winter and farmed in the summer.
He entertains with pride the thought that he never used tobacco, nor drank intoxicating drinks, and that all his sons imitate his example.
He is the father of seven sons and four daughters, sev-
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OTHER PROMINENT FAMILIES
eral of whom have been identified in the profession of teach- ing :
George E. is a merchant of Ben's run in Tyler county : Thomas E. resides in South Dakota, where he fills the chair of Mathematics in the State University; John M. resides at the old home at Hebron; Joseph, who is a civil engineer, lives at Parkersburg ; Homer died a few years ago ; and A. L. is the other son.
Sarah Ellen, the eldest daughter. is Mrs. W. A. Doug- lass, of Highland ; Flora, is Mrs. J. C. McGregor, of Salem; and Hester M., and Amelia V. are at home
The Hallams originated in Bradford, England, and tra- dition has it that they belonged to the same family as Henry Hallam, the renowned English historian whose son's mem- ory has been so beautifully enshrined in Lord Tennyson's "In Memoriam." But our authentic information begins with Michael Hallam who was one of a family of four children ; viz., Rachel (born in 1814) who never married. Nancy Ann ( B. 1817) who became Mrs. Lacy. And William Hallam, born in 1818.
Michael Hallam was born on March 13, 1813, and died on July 20, 1865, at his home in Tyler county. On September 1, 1836, he was married to Miss Hannah Robinson. at Center- ville, in Tyler county. with Willis Wells and his sister Rachel Hallam as witnesses. Mrs. Hallam was born on March 9, 1814, and died in July, 1882.
Their children were four in number :
William Wesley, who was born on July 8, 1837, was killed by a log rolling over him, on the Hallam farm below Smithville, on December 2, 1896. He never married.
Israel Nickline, born on November 16, 1838, died on Oc- tober 15, 1839.
John B. Hallam, born on March 26, 1840, has long been a prominent citizen of this county, he having twice served as Sheriff, being elected on the Democratic ticket. His wife, Mrs. Lyda Wilson Hallam, is the daughter of the late Thomas Wilson. and the grand-daughter of Col. Ben Wil- son, senior, and they have no family. For a number of years
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
following his official service, their home was at Webb's mill. but it is now at Cairo.
Isaac Simmons Hallam, the youngest member of the fam- ily was born on September 5, 1843, and in 1865, he was mar- ried to Miss Frances McGregor, eldest daughter of the late David McGregor of Cairo ; and in 1811 they removed to Kan- sas. and settled near Abeline : but since 1884, Mr. Hallam has been identified with the business interests of the town ; hav- ing first been engaged in the lumber enterprise; then as a wholesale groceryman, and now as President of the State Bank of Abeline. Later -- He died in September, 1910, and was buried at Abeline.
The only child of this union is Mrs. Lulu Parker, wife of Dr. Parker, of Kansas city, Missouri, who is a talented young woman of cultivated literary tastes.
John Hulderman, Ritchie county's present chief official, was born in Wood county, on May 26. 1852, and was one of a small family of four children. His mother. Mrs. Drusilla King Hulderman, was borne to her final resting-place on Worthy creek (in Wood county ) not long after his birth ; and with his father, Absalom Hulderman, and the rest of the fam- ily he came to this county in 1854. The father finally re- turned to Wood county where he spent his last hours near Walker Station, and there he rests. The two brothers, Rufus, and Isaiah Hulderman, served as Union soldiers, and Rufus died soon after his return home from the army, but Isaial: survived until May. 1902. The only sister is Mrs. James Bailey, of Parkersburg.
Mr. Hulderman's official life began in 1894 when he was appointed Road supervisor of Union district ; and at the cx- piration of his four years' service in this capacity (1898), he was elected as Justice of the Peace, and continued to hold this office until 1908 when he was chosen as Sheriff ; and in this office he was installed on January 1, 1909, and is now making a highly creditable record.
On December 25, 1814, he was married to Miss Harriett C. Sinnett, daughter of the late venerable George Sinnett, and three daughters are the result of the union: Addie M.
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OTHER PROMINENT FAMILIES
(Mrs. S. M. Keith), Laura D., (Mrs. C. F. Brown) and Miss Della, who is her father's efficient helper in his office.
The Carders .- The late John Carder, of Hardman chapel, belonged to one of the older pioneer families of the North fork of Hughes river, but owing to our indefinite information con- cerning his ancestors, we cannot do the family justice.
However his parents lived a little north of the old Wells mili at the time of his birth on May 3, 1825, and his fatlier died when he was still in his cradle, leaving his mother with three children to her care. Jesse, the elder brother, who was long a citizen of the Petroleum vicinity died in the West Emily the sister was drowned in the Ohio river while at- tempting to dip up a bucket of water from a boat; and the mother married John Hammond, of Tyler county and finally went to Michigan, and here her history ends. The Hammond children were: Calvin, the late Wesley, of Kansas; the late Leroy, of Iowa; Elmira, who married Sanford Riggs and died in Tyler county : (Mr. Riggs is now of Pennsboro) and Josephine, the late wife of Dr. Leander Maxwell of Pleasants county.
John Carder grew to manhood in the forests of Tyler county. There he was married to Miss Sarah Leeper, and there they lived until the early seventies when they came to this county, and settled on the head of Bear run of Goose creek where Barnes Beall now lives. This part of the county even at that late day had very few inhabitants, and while a slight improvement had been made here, the forest was still almost unbroken from Cornwallis on the south-west, to Glen- dale on the north-east, and for miles around. Stephen Week- ley being the only settler on the run below him. From here he removed to what is known as the "Job Musgrave farm" not far from Harrisville; and about the year 1878, went to the Hardman chapel vicinity and made the first improvement on the farm that is now owned and occupied by W. N. Kirk- patrick. Here he resided until after the death of his wife, in October, 1890, and he then made his home with his children until May 16, 1903, when he passed into the other world. He rests by the side of his wife in the family burying-ground on
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
his old homestead. He was a man of strong physique, and of steriing character, and he ever stood for the right.
His children were as follows:
Susan, the wife of D. W. Howard, of Vienna: J. M. Carder, Parkersburg; Mrs. Emily (John) Inghram, Goose creck ; the Rev. L. M. Carder of the U. B. church, who is now oi Mason county; L. H. Carder, Iris; Della the late wife of Samuel Wamsley ; and Flora B., late wife of A. C. Cunning- ham.
The Flannagans .-- Flannagan is another name that has stood for good citizenship in this county for sixty years.
Samuel Flannagan, the progenitor of the family, crossed the occan with his uncle, from Ireland, and settled in Penn- sylvania. His wife was a Miss Garnen, of German descent, and their only son, Samuel, was born in the Keystone state. But after the death of his father, he emigrated to Hampshire county, (West) Virginia, where he was married to Miss Katherine Arnold, who was also of German extraction, and eight children were the result of this union : viz., John, Daniel, Otha, George, William, Charity, Zimri, and Joseph.
John was first married to Miss Ellen Reese and six chil- dren were the result of this union. His second wife was Miss Julia Hollenback, of Reese's mill in Mineral county, and there he and his companions rest.
Daniel's wife was Miss Susan Arnold, and after he was laid away in the burying-ground on the Flannagan farm above Berea, his widow and three children went to Waterloo. Iowa, where she rests.
Otha went West and died unmarried.
George and his wife, Miss Louisa E. Craigen, of Hardy county, with their family of three children went to Mcllen- ville, Tennessee, where they died. And the rest came to this county.
In 1850, William, Charity and Zimri, purchased the im- provement made by Major Elias Lowther, above Berea, of William Hall, and established their home here. After the sister's death, Zimri bought his brother's interest, and grad- ually extended his borders until his estate now covers an area of about eight hundred acres, and is rich in oil.
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OTHER PROMINENT FAMILIES
Zimri Flannagan was born on Patterson's creek in what is now Mineral county (West) Virginia, on January , 1826 : and died at his home at Harrisville, on August 6, 1910, and in the Harrisville cemetery he lies at rest.
On April 4, 1876, he was married to Miss Sarah C. Neff, of Moorefield, and the two children of this union are : Otha Z ... and Mary C. Flannagan. His widow still survives.
After selling his interest in the farm on the South fork. William Flannagan went to the North fork of Hughes river and purchased the Malone farm and other land near Hannah- dale, making five hundred acres in all, and settled in the brick house where he and his wife, Mrs. Emily Wolfe Flannagan. and their only child, Amelia, all died ; and at Riddel's chapel they sleep. The estate is still in the hands of the Flannagan heirs.
Joseph Flannagan, the remaining member of the family, was born in 1827; and on August 4, 1859 he was married to Miss Amzella Neff, of Moorefield, who was born in Decen- ber, 1841; and near the year 1859, they came to this county and settled at Tollgate, where Mr. Flannagan died on March 7, 1882, leaving a family of seven children. He was one of the prominent citizens of his day, and he left an estate of thir- teen hundred acres of land, which is still principally owned by his family. After his death, Mrs. Flannagan was married to Joseph Inskipt, of Maryland, who died a few months since (in 1910), and Miss Grace Inskipt, of Harrisville is the only child of this union.
The children of Joseph Flannagan are as follows :
George E. Parkersburg : William A., Buckhannon ; Wal- ter N., Tollgate: Guy, Pennsboro; and Addie V., who is the wife of Dr. Hosea Rymer, of Harrisville.
John McGinnis, the head of another old family of this county, deserves recognition here. He was a native of Greene county, Pennsylvania, as was his wife, Mary Hoff- man McGinnis; and from there, with his family, he came to this county in 1852, and settled near Ellenboro, where his son, Benjamin, now lives. Here he died during the Civil war, at the age of sixty-five years, and at Riddel's chapel he rests.
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
His family consisted of ten children: viz., Benjamin, of Elienboro: Sarah, who is Mrs. John Moore, of near Harris- ville : Joseph, of Griswold, Iowa: the late James: Thomas. who died in the Union army : David, George, Nancy (the late Mrs. Henry Garrett), and two others, who have all passed on. John McGinnis, junior, was the son of a former marriage.
Benjamin McGinnis, the eldest son of the second union. has long been a prominent citizen of this county. He was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, on April 10, 1835, and, with his parents, came to Ellenboro in his boyhood. He early manifested an interest in education, and, with his brother. James, walked back to his old home in Pennsylvania in order that he might have better school advantages: and there studied under a private instructor, working of nights and of mornings for his board ; and while enroute home he con- tracted smallpox.
He later taught school for two years ; served as assessor (1868) ; was member of the House of Delegates in 1841-2; and again in 1903 and '04; and filled the office of County com- missioner from 1886 to 1892, being the president of the court for four years of this time.
He enlisted in the Union army in July, 1861, in Company K of the Third Virginia Infantry, and served until August, 1864.
In 1882, he was married to Miss Alice Virginia McCul- lough, daughter of Elmore Mccullough, of Ellenboro, and three children are the result of this union: viz., B. F., the eldest son, who was graduated from the law department of the State University at Morgantown, in the class of 1908, 110W has a law office of his own at Pennsboro ; and Sadie and J. W. are at home.
(Doubtless, this family comes from the same ancestral source as the other McGinnis family before mentioned in this work, but this data reaches us too late for farther investiga- tion.)
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