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 9
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The children of the first union are as follows: F. C., G. C., Fremont, Sheridan, T. E., Mrs. Safronia Dailey, the late Ulysses, and Rosa A., and one that died in infancy.
The Tibbses .- The Tibbses, too have have been identi- fied with this part of the county for more than sixty years, and their ancestral history is one of exceptional interest. Their antecessor, whose first name is wanting, came from Ire- land, some time during the last half of the eighteenth century, and settled in the Virginia colony, where his son, James Tibbs was born ; and where he was married to a Miss Wor- ley. On the morning following the marriage, James with his bride. set out for what is now Monongalia county, West Vir- ginia, where he made a pioneer settlement, a little west of
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Morgantown, not long after the close of the Revolution. He was, perhaps, a soldier of this war, and was a captain in the war of 1812, being present with his company at the seige of Fort Meiggs.
Here, near Morgantown, his first wife died, and he mar- ried Miss Jennie Morgan, sister of the renowned Indian fighters, David, Levi, and James Morgan.1
Mr. Tibbs was a slave owner, and at one time he was the possessor of twenty slaves, half of which were the heritage of his wife ; but sixteen of this number in a body managed to make their escape across the Pennsylvania line. He spent his last days in Monongalia county where he sleeps.
He was the father of three sons by the first marriage : Joseph was a soldier under General Harrison, and fell at the battle of Big Bend in Indiana. John was also killed in Indian warfare : and Robert was the remaining son.
Robert Tibbs married Miss Castilla Burris, of Monon- galia county, a cousin of the late Waitman T. Willey. of Morgantown, and came to this county in 1848, and settled on the Hatfield farm at Goff's, where Mrs. Tibbs was laid to rest in 1852; and from there, he removed to the farm that is now the home of his son, E. R. Tibbs. He figured in the early affairs of the county as justice of the peace-an office which he held for many years. He died in 1876, while on a visit with his sons in the West, he being past eighty years of age at the time of his death ; and in the Snow Hill cemetery in Missouri, his ashes lie. He was the father of seven sons :
Boaz B. Tibbs, the eldest son, was graduated from the Virginia Military Institute, at Lexington with high honors- the title of Colonel being conferred upon him by this institu- tion. He was a member of the order of Freemasons, and hield the highest office in this brotherhood in the State. at the time
1David Morgan is said to have skinned and dressed the hide of one of the Indians that he killed. However, the writer has a stereopticon picture of the monument that the descendants of David Morgan erected to his memory, a few years since, on the site where his most famous combat with the red-skins occurred. The shot-pouch, saddle-skirt, etc. made from the skin of the Indian were on exhibition at the unveiling of the monument, which stands, just across the river from the little village of Catawba in Marion county, on the Morgan estate. The knife with which the Indian was killed is still in the hands of the Morgan descend- ants, who own a large estate near Catawba.
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of his death, in 1853. He resided near Fairmont at this time. and his remains were placed in a metallic casket, and covered with alcohol, and buried in the ground, at Fairmont; but some years after they were dis-interred and removed to a vault, at the month of Indian run, near six miles below Fairmont, on land belonging to his heirs ; and long after their removaal. the features are said to have presented a perfectly natural ap- pearance, so well had they been preserved by the alcohol.
John, the second son, went to Missouri, where he sleeps. He was a soldier, and a non-commissioned officer of the Civil war.
Eugene, who was an early deputy sheriff of this county, resides in South Dakota. He was commissioned as captain in the secret service of the Southern Confederacy, but the war came to a close before he was called into active service.
William went to Missouri, and there enlisted in the Union cause, and rose to the rank of captain. He now resides in the Virginia colony in Texas.
Francis M., who was a Confederate soldier resides at Paris, Missouri : T. D., and E. R. Tibbs, are of this part of the county. The latter was a non-commissioned officer of the Union army.
Other pioneers along this river, whose names belong to our history were John W. Mitchell, John Wass and Jeremialı Snodgrass.
John W. Mitchell made his settlement at Pleasant hill. He and his wife, Mrs. Leanna Haddox Mitchell, were both natives of Barbour county ; and shortly after their marriage in 1835, they came to this county and settled in a pole cabin at the mouth of Bone creek, on the farm that was later desig- nated as the "Butcher farm"-now owned by the heirs of the late Alex Prunty : and from here, they removed to the farm that is now the estate of the late Joseph Haddox-Mrs." Mitchell's brother, and thus became the first citizens of the forest at Pleasant hill. They afterwards resided at different points in the county, but both sleep in the "Old Pleasant hill" cemetery. Mrs. Mitchell died at Eva in 1892, and he, at Pennsboro in January 1898, at the age of eighty-three years.
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These venerable people were the parents of twelve children, two of whom died in infancy, and one, Jerome, at the age of four years.
Few parents have been called upon to mourn more deep- ly. Their daughters Nancy (Mrs. Reilly Mason), Mrs. Sarah (C. F.) Beall, Mrs. Mary (Phonso) Welsh, Mrs. Huldalı (Charles) Zickafoose, all died of consumption ; and the three sons that reached the years of maturity-B. F., Marion and J. Marshall, all met tragic deaths ; Mrs. Kathrine (Lemuel) Wil- son, of Smithville; and Tabitha, who first married Jonathan Baker, but is now Mrs. Eber Mason, of Pennsboro, alone sur- vive.
The three sons were all soldiers of the Union army, and Marion was injured by the bursting of a shell. while in battle, which resulted in his being an invalid for the remaining six years of his life.
J. Marshall was brutally murdered in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, the body being dragged near a mile and a quar- tei from the scene of the tragedy, and placed upon the rail- road track, where it was dreadfully mutilated by the train. It was thought that a jealous rival, assisted by the father of the girl in question, was the perpetrator of the crime, but 110 one was ever brought to justice. - The remains were sent home and laid away at Pleasant hill, but the broken-hearted loved ones were not permitted to take a last look.
Banjamin Franklin Mitchell met his death by drowning. While piloting a raft down the river, he was overtaken by a violent storm, and, in the darkness, he was lost. The tragedy occurred in October, 1884, and though every effort was made to find the body, it lay concealed in its watery hiding place, just above the forks of Hughes river, for nine months : being accidentally discovered at last, by a citizen of the vicinity, who having missed his aim at a hawk, turned his attention to the fish in the water. The features were beyond recogni- tion, but he was identified by his watch, in which his name was engraved, and by letters that were found upon his per- son. The remains were taken to the Kendall burying-ground for interment: and as the dear old mother, sorrowfully bent over the casket unable to look within, she spoke of the other
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son that had been sent home in a like manner-that she could not see, and she sadly exclaimed and, "This is no better!"
B. F. Mitchell was at one time sheriff of this county, and he was the only son of the family that left issue. He was married to Miss Sarah Cathrine Kendall, daughter of Ransom Kendall in 1867, and was the father of S. H. Mitchell, editor of the Kanawha News of Elizabeth, Wirt county ; of B. F. Mitchell, who is employed in "The Youth's Copmanion" office at Boston : of Roy, and Miss Agnes, of Pullman ; Mrs. Ella Riddel, and Mrs. Daisy Reynolds, of Harrison county. His widow is now Mrs. H. B. Mason, of Pullman.
John Wass settled on the farm that is known as the Harrison Wass homestead, above Goff's-now the home of Peter Wass, where Cornelius Wyers had made a slight im- provement. He was the son of George Wass, an Englishman, who came across the sea and settled in Somerset county, Penn- sylvania, where he (John) was born, and where he was mar- ried to Miss Barbara Bovers, a German maiden. In the spring of 1841, he and his wife with their several children, came from near Petersburg, to the "Wass homestead," where they re- mained until they were laid in the Pleasant hill cemetery. Mr. Wass met his death at the hand of an assassin in July, 1863, while on his way home from Harrisville. He was taken back to that place, where he died from the effects of the bullet wound a few hours later, but not until he had made a statement con- cerning the tragedy.
He was the father of ten children : all of whom reared families of their own save one son, who died in childhood.
Mrs. Lucinda (Eugene) Barker, and Mrs. Mahala (R. H.) Rogers, are now numbered with the dead, but the rest survive. Mrs. Elizabeth (H. B.) Tharpe. resides near Holbrook; Mrs. Amanda (Ebeneezer) Tharp, near Auburn; Mrs. Sarah (Joseph) Haddox, Berea; Mrs. Larue (E. R.) Tibbs, and William, at Goff's; Mrs. Luvina (J. R.) Westfall, at Smith- ville ; and Harrison Wass, at Harrisville.
Jeremiah Snodgrass took up his residence below Berea. where his daughter, Mrs. John Colgate, now lives. He and his wife, Mrs. Euphamy Clayton Snodgrass, came from Marion county in 1845, and redeemed this farm from its primi-
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tive wilderness. Here, they passed from earth-he, in 1880, and she, four years later, and side by side they slumber in the Old Pleasant hill burying-ground. He was the son of Frank- lin and Rachel Burr Snodgrass, and was the father of thirteen children :
B. F., and Jeremiah, Harrisville; Ezekiel, of Marion county ; the Rev. Elisha, of Auburn, Mrs. Nancy (Greenbury) Hammond, Berea; Mrs. Isabel (Thomas) Baker, of Hale, Missouri; and Mrs. Rachel Wagner, of Newberne, are all numbered with the dead. E. C., resides at Smithville ; John, at Harrisville; Mrs. Sarah Colgate, at Berea ; Mrs. Elizabeth (Thomas) Prather, at Mt. Zion; David L., in Marion county ; and W. C., in Florida.
This pioneer was the grandfather of the distinguished pulpit orator, the Rev. Winfield C. Snodgrass, of the Methodist Episcopal conference of New Jersey, who, while on a tour in Europe, some years ago, was accorded the honor of an invita- tion to fill Spurgeon's pulpit. He is the son of the Rev. Elisha and Mrs. Mary Cox Snodgrass, and near Auburn he first saw the light, on December 27, 1849. He began his ministerial career as a member of the West Virginia conference. and from here went to the Kansas conference, where he remained for some years, before going to New Jersey, where he has added new laurels to his brow. .
The Rev. Hall Snodgrass, who is now serving a Baptist church in Oklahoma ; and the Rev. McClellan Snodgrass of the New York M. E. conference are also grandsons of this pioneer.
William Snodgrass .- William Snodgrass, an uncle of Jeremiah, was the first one of the name to come to Ritchie county. He was a native of Pennsylvania and a soldier of the war of 1812. In 1807, he was married to Miss Nancy King, who passed on in 18?4, from their home in Marion county, leaving eight children to his care. Two years later, he was again married to Miss Mary Pritchard-half-sister of Peter Pritchard, and in 1841. he came to this county, and penetrated the unbroken forest on Turtle run-a small tributary of the South fork-above Berea, and reared the first cabin on the farm that is now the home of his youngest son, T. C. Snod-
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grass ; and here he died in 1879, at the age of ninety-six years, and at White Oak, he sleeps.
The children of his first marriage were: John Wesley Snodgrass, who died in Iowa, a few years ago, at the age of ninety-one years-having been a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church for seventy-three years: Mrs. Frances (Nicholas) Baker, and Mrs. Martha (Elijah) Morgan, who sleep in Marion county ; Mrs. Naoma (Davis) Meredith, late of Tyler county ; Mrs. Nancy Pierce, Mrs. Comfort Ewins, and Mrs. Isabel (Jared) Hawkins, of Ohio; and Sarah, who married Solomon Hawkins and lived and died in this county.
The children of the second marriage were five in number and were as follows: W. F., who rests in Kansas; B. F., in the State of Washington; Eliza, who died in infancy : Mrs. Margaret A., who married George Carder and lives in Ohio : and T. C. Snodgrass, who lives at the old homestead. Mrs. Snodgrass died at the home of her daughter in Ohio, and there she sleeps.
The Snodgrasses are of Irish origin. Three brothers, William, James, and Michael Snodgrass, came from Ireland and settled in Washington county, Pennsylvania. Michael wandered away, and was never heard from again, and William and James removed to Monongalia-now Marion-county (W.) Virginia, in 1787; and three years later James met a tragic death at the hands of the Indians, on Fishing creek in Wetzel county, while in quest of his horse that he had lost while on a buffalo chase. His remains were afterwards found and buried, but not until the flesh had been torn from the bones by the fangs of wolves.
William married Miss Kathrine Yost, a German maiden, and from his sons, William, junior, Isaac, and Franklin, the Ritchie county Snodgrasses are descended.
Isaac was the father of the late Mrs. John Parker, of Nathan, who went West, and of Elias Snodgrass, who died in Doddridge county.
John Harris .- John Harris was another worthy pioneer of Turtle run. He was born in Harrison county, on January 25, 1814, and there in 1838, he was married to Miss Dorinda
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Coburn, who died a few years later, leaving one son, Geary Harris, who is now a citizen of Harrison county. He then married Miss Elizabeth Pritchard, sister of Peter Pritchard, who was born on February 20, 1812, and in 1846, when Tur- tle run was almost a wilderness they came to this county and settled on the farm that is now the home of their son, A. F. Harris. Here they passed from earth-she, on March 25, 1876, and he, on March 23, 1904. Both sleep at White Oak. He reached the venerable age of ninety years, and was revered by all who knew him, as was his companion.
Their children were: Eliza J., who died in youth ; George W., of Harrison county ; the late Mrs. Martha (H. C.) Cox. and Mrs. Millie F. (G. W.) Ilayhurst, and Alpheus F. Harris, Pullman ; and the late Mrs. Nancy Rebecca (Wesiey ) McCor- mick, of Tyler county.
Jacob Ehret .- The Ehrets were, also, early people on this stream. Jacob Ehret, senior, came from his native land-Ger- many, in 1810, when his son, Jacob, junior, was but a child of six summers, and settled at Philadelphia. Jacob, junior, mar- ried Miss Joanna Seizer, a German lassie, of the Keystone state, and near the year 1845, they migrated to West Virginia and settled in Doddridge county, for a few months, before com- ing to Hughes' river, where they sojourned for a time on land now owned by G. M. Ireland ; and from there they removed to Turtle run, where they remained until they were laid in the Pine Grove cemetery, at Berea. They were the parents of the late William Ehret, Mrs. Hannah Bee, Mrs. Mary John- son, and John Ehret, all of this county ; and of Mrs. Cathrine Bee, of Massachusetts.
Benjamin Prather was born in Washington county, Mary- land, in 1798, and there he was married in 1830, to Miss Cathrine Dick, who was born in 1800, and, in the year 1845, they joined the little colony on Turtle run, and here they remained until they were borne to the Pullman cemetery.
They were the parents of James Prather, of Spruce creek : Thomas, of Slab creck ; the late Jacob Prather, and Mrs. Frank Snodgrass, and Mrs. John Snodgrass.
CHAPTER VII
South Fork Settlers --- Continued
RESTON ZINN, brother of Manly, was the first settler at Berea, on the Ezekiel Bec farm. He, with his wife, Mrs. Nancy Rogers Zinn, came from Preston county, in 1849. and erected his cabin aimost on the very site that is now marked by the residence of Min- ter Fox; and from here he removed to the J. E. Meathrell farm, where he came to his death by the "kick" of a plow.
After he was laid away in the Pine Grove cemetery, his family went to Illinois and there, and in California, they now reside.
His children were ten in number; viz., Mrs. Elizabeth Kuhn, the late Mrs. Angelina (David ) Clayton, the late Mrs. Adaline (Ishmael) Clayton, Thomas, Ginevera, Perdilla. Biba, Elendar, Phedora, and Ruth but several of the last ones named died in childhood.
Thomas D. Pritchard, also came to Berea this same year-1849-and erected his dwelling where the J. M. Mere- dith residence. now stands-(formerly the Job Meredith) ; and, from here. he removed to Slab creek -- to the farm that his son, T. T. Pritchard recently sold to Samuel Haddox. Here he continued to reside until a short time before his death, when he went to Lewis county, and there, at Gaston, he lies at rest.
He was born in Monongalia county, on February 25, 1818, and was the son of Thomas, senior, and Mary Moody Pritchard. On February 11, 1843, he was married to Miss Mary Lowther, daughter of Major Elias Lowther and sister of Jonathan Lowther, of Berea, and six children were the re- sult of this union: Rebecca, Silas and Mary died in child - hood, and beside their mother they rest on the old homestead
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on Slab creek. T. T. resides at Hyattsville, Wyoming ; Elias R., in Roane county ; and Jerusha, at
Alexander Ireland .- Near the year 1818, Alexander Ire- land, senior, with his family came from the vicinity of Clarksburg and settled just above the mouth of Otterslide, on the farm that was formerly designated as the "Joshua Davis"-now a part of the Flannagan, homestead. Here he remained until some time in the early thirties when he re- moved to Tyler county, where he passed from carth on July 18, 1843, at the age of seventy-one years.
Mr. Ireland was a native of Maryland, and with his father, William Ireland, who was, also, a Maryland product, migrated to Harrison county in his boyhood. Little else is known of his early family ties other than that he had one half-sister, who became Mrs. Sheets, and that his father died near Clarksburg.
His wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Ragan Ireland, was of German lineage-the daughter of a Revolutionary soldier. She was born at West Milford in 1771, and died at her home in Tyler county, on September 7, 1855, at the age of eighty-four years.
They were the parents of the following named sons and daughters whose posterity are scattered throughout the Union :
John, Jacob, Thomas, Jonathan, Jesse, Alexander, William, Mary, Eliza, Sarah, Margaret, and Priscilla Ireland. All of whom have passed on leaving families except Jacob, who married Miss Martha Wells and died childless, at his home in Tyler county.
John first married Miss Agnes Maxwell, and his second wife was Miss Amy Joseph. Mary became Mrs. Robert Doak, and Eliza married Alexander Doak, and all lived and died in Tyler county, where many of their descendants reside.
Thomas and Sarah, who was the wife of Alexander Low- ther, of Oxford, lived and died in Ritchie county. (See other chapters).
Jonathan (married Jane Rose), Jesse (Sarah Wells), Alex- ander .(Sarah Bond), William ( -- ), Margaret (Thomas Bond), and Priscilla (William Wells), and all went West.
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The Ireland ancestral line is not traceable to the land be- yond the sea, as are many of the other pioneer lineages, but a very interesting legend as to the origin of this family in America has been handed down by tradition for generations ; and although its authenticity cannot be verified, it is given credence by some and will, doubtless, add interest here :
A lad whose parents had evidently been "lost on the deep," and whose name and history were unknown, grew up on board a ship at sea, and, as his appearance suggested the Irish nationality, he was called "Ireland" for the want of a better name.
On one occasion, when this lad had reached manhood's estate, the vessel which had so long been his home lay at anchor in a harbor on the eastern coast of the United States, and he decided, for the first time, to venture on shore, and being so delighted with the land, could not be induced to re- turn to the ship, and thus America became the home of his adoption. He married and from him Alexander Ireland is said to have been descended.
Circumstances point to the fact that this family are con- nected to other families of the name in the United States who can trace their ancestry to the land across the water, but this connection has not been made clear, however. And this lit- tle tradition still retains its former weight and interest.
Dr. William R. Lowther .-- The late Dr. William R. Low- ther was the first settler at the mouth of Turtle run, on the farm that is now owned by Edward J. Lowther.
He was born near West Milford, in Harrison county, in 1809, and with his wife, Mrs. Sarah Randall Lowther, of Ohio. came here in 1838. Here Mrs. Lowther and their infant child passed away ; and some time after. he married Miss Sarah Ann Ayres, daughter of Daniel Ayres, and sister of John B. Ayres ; and resided on the Ayres-now the McNeill-honic- stead, near Smithville for a short time, before removing to the Holbrook vicinity where he made the first improvement on the Thomas Griffin farm. He finally removed to Mt. Zion where his daughter, Mrs. Margaret Glover now lives, and from here he crossed to the other side in 1881, and at Pullman he lies at rest.
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Mrs. Lowther, who survived him by several years, rests at his side.
Dr. Lowther was a very successful physician, a school- teacher of merit, and a man of more than ordinary talent.
Ilis children-all of the second marriage-are as follows :
Mrs. Hannah E. Parker (widow of Frank Parker), Mrs. Orvilla (J. H.) Nichols, and George W. Lowther (ex-mayor of Grafton), all of Grafton ; Mrs. Margaret (Taylor) Glover, Miss Sarah Ann Lowther, D. A., and D. S. Lowther, all of Mt. Zion ; and John A. Lowther, of Arkansas.
William B. Lowther .- In 1840, William B. Lowther, father of Dr. William R., with his wife, Mrs. Margaret Co- burn Lowther, and their family, came from his native Har- rison county, and succeeded his son on the Edward J. Low- ther farm, at the mouth of Turtle run. Here the remainder of his life was spent, and in the Pullman churchyard by the side of his wife, he lies at rest.
He was the son of Robert, the eldest son of Col. William, and his children are as follows :
James R., Edward J., and Mrs. Mandane (Robert) Wil- son, Pullman : Mrs. Rosetta (Granville) Zinn, of Harrisville, who lately celebrated her ninetieth birthday ; the late Dr. William R., Napoleon, Mrs. Juliet ( Wm. S.) Wilson, and Misses Julia and Rebecca Lowther, all of this county, who have joined the throng over there ; and Lemuel of Michigan.
Elias Lowther, the youngest son of Col. William, whose history will be found in an earlier chapter, came from West Milford, in 1820, and erected the first cabin on the Zimri Flan- nagan farm, above Berea.
William J. Lowther, son of Jesse, and grandson of Col. William, was the pioneer on the Bee iarm at Oxford, near the year 1825.
He married his cousin, Mary Lowther, daughter of Robert, the eldest son of Col. William, and within the bounds of this county, at some unknown point, he and his wife sleep.
He was the father of the Rev. Perry Lowther a late min- ister of the West Virginia Methodist Protestant conference :
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HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY
of Henderson Lowther and several other children whose names are not at hand.
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The Wilsons .-- The year 1828, brought Archibald Wilson with his family from Harrison-now Taylor-county, to the Broadwater farm near Oxford.
Archibald Wilson.
Mr. Wilson was a native of Ran- dolph county, he having been born near Beverly, in 1801. Near the year 1825, he was married to Miss Eliza- beth Hudkins, daughter of Barton Hudkins, of Simpsons creek, Taylor county ; and after spending the first years of his married life there. he canie to Oxford, and ten years later, changed his place of residence to the Edmond Taylor farm, at the mouth of Lynn Camp, on the North fork of Huglies river, where his life came to a close in 1866.
His remains filled the first grave that was made in the C. B. church cemetery at Pennsboro, he having been inter- ested in the erection of this church at the time of his death.
He was a man of marked ability, and was one of the prominent citizens of his day in state affairs. He was a school-teacher, and was the first county surveyor. He served as a member of the first Constitutional convention of the State, and was the first individual to suggest that the counties be divided into districts for educational purposes ; and was thc author of the resolution making sach provisions, which. though, perhaps somewhat altered, became a clause of the Constitution.
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