USA > West Virginia > History of West Virginia > Part 38
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On the second day the court turned its attention to the military establishment, and James Graham was
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recommended to the Governor as one well qualified to discharge the duties of colonel of the county. John Hanly and John Hutchinson were recommended for majors ; Isaac Estill, John Byrnesides, James Jones, Robert Nickell, William Graham, Samuel Clarke, Henry McDaniel and Watt Farley, for captains; Nimrod Tacket, John Hanly, Jr., George Swope, James Gray, William Maddy, David Graham, Talison Shumate and Thomas Wyatt for lieutenants, and Alexander Dun- lap, Charles Keenan, James Young, James Byrnesides, James Miller, James Gwinn, James Thompson and John Harvey, for ensigns. John Leech was nominated as captain of a troop of cavalry ; Robert Patton for first lieutenant, Joseph Alderson for second lieutenant, and Ervin Benson for cornet.
James Graham was then recommended as a suitable person to execute the office of coroner, and Thomas Lowe, Robert Dunbar, John Cottell, William Dison, George Foster, Enos Halstead and Joshua Lewis were appointed constables.
The First Circuit Superior Court ever held in Mon- roe convened at the Sweet Springs on the 19th day of May, 1800, with Archibald Stewart, judge of the dis- trict composed of the counties of Greenbrier, Bote- tourt, Montgomery, Kanawha and Monroe, presiding. John Skinner was appointed to prosecute in behalf of the State, and Samuel Dew was made clerk.
At this term the first grand jury that ever sat for the body of Monroe was empanelled. It was composed of the following-named gentlemen : William Royal, foreman ; Dennis Cochran, John Mathews, Samuel Todd, Hugh Caperton, Joseph Snodgrass, Isaac Snod- grass, William Howell, John Peck, Joseph Cloyd, John
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Lewis, William Vawter, Jacob Persinger, John Byrne- sides and James Byrnesides. After receiving their instructions, they retired "to consider their present- ments." Two indictments for felony were returned, one against Jack Hunt-free colored-the other against John Kincaid, both of whom were tried and acquitted at this term. The second term of this court convened at the same place on the 18th day of October 1800, at which time the celebrated Paul Carrington presided.
Union .- The present site of the town was selected by the court in 1799. January 6, 1800, the General Assembly enacted " That twenty-five acres of land, the property of James Alexander, at the court-house in the county of Monroe-as the same has been laid off into lots and streets-shall be established a town, by the name of Union ; and that William Haynes, John Gray, John Byrnesides, James Hanly, Michael Erskine, John Hutchison and Isaac Estill shall be, and are hereby constituted, trustees thereof."
On the 2 1 st day of August, 1799, the trustees met and passed a resolution to the effect " that the size of the buildings must be one square log house, or stone, or brick of the same size, of sixteen feet by eighteen feet, from out to out, two stories high, of a common height, with a shingle roof, and chimney of brick or stone, to be floored and finished in the inside in a workmanlike manner."
Richard Shanklin is said to have been the first mer- chant; he began business in 1800. Henry Alexander and Hugh Caperton began business in 1802. The first hotel proper was built by Charles Friend, in the same year. The post-office was established in ISoo, with James A. Shanklin as postmaster.
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The town was incorporated in 1868. The first offi- cers were: Alfred Phillips, Mayor ; Lewis Calaway, Recorder; Andrew Ira Prentice, A. G. Tebbetts, G, W. Davis, John R. Wiseman and William Monroe, Councilmen, and D. C. Calaway, Sergeant.
Alderson .- The town derives its name from the Alderson family, in whose possession the land on which it stands was, for nearly a hundred years. It is beauti- fully situated on the south bank of the Greenbrier river. The town was surveyed and platted in 1871, by Elliot Vawter, ex-surveyor of lands for Monroe county. George W. Nickell purchased the first lot, and M. L. Harwood built the first dwelling-house. Lewis F. Watts was the first merchant. Morgan Conner and B. F. Jones were the first druggists. B. A. Knapp was the first jeweler, and W. L. Lynch the first resi- dent minister.
The town was incorporated in October, 1880. The first officers were as follows: A. E. T. Scruggs, Mayor; George Alderson, Recorder ; William Boa, W. L. Barksdale, J. L. Fainer, J. G. Loban and C. W. Van- dergrift, Councilmen ; I. E. Bare, Marshal.
The First School in the county was taught in 1795, by Samuel Harper. The school-house was a cabin constructed from round logs. The clapboard roof was held in place by ridge-poles, and the floor made of thick slabs or puncheons.
The First Land Surveys in the county were made within the present limits of Sweet Spring district. The first land located was a tract of one hundred and fifty-four acres, including the Sweet Springs, by John Lewis, in the year 1760. On the 25th of September, 1760, a tract of 490 acres was surveyed for John
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Dickinson, and in 1700, a tract of 1220 acres, including the Sweet Chalybeate Springs, was surveyed for John and Andrew Lewis. About the year 1775, John Alder- son and his brother-in-law, William Morris, visited the Greenbrier country, each bringing a patent for 1200 acres of land. They decided to locate these in the vicinity of the present town of Alderson, but, upon investigation, found that Samuel Lewis had located a large tract just below where the town now stands. Alderson could not find the northern boundary of the Lewis lands, and made his survey so as to include the bottom lands just below the town. He afterward learned that his grant "shingled," or lapped over, on the Lewis survey, and accordingly extended his further into the mountains, so as to include the 1200 acres. Morris crossed to the north side of the river, and selected the site of his future home. Alderson built his cabin on the exact spot on which the Alderson Hotel now stands.
Early Settlers .- In the year 1760, James Moss built his cabin near the Sweet Springs, and became the first permanent settler of that district. Christian Peters came to the county in 1770. From him the village of Peterstown takes its name, as does also the mountain range which here forms the dividing line between the Old Dominion and her daughter, West Virginia.
In the year 1770, within the present limits of Spring- field District, Adam Mann, Jacob Mann, Valentine Cook, John Miller, George Miller and Isaac Estill built Mann's Fort. Here, for many years, these pioneers and their families took refuge from the savages. Within the walls of this rude fortress was celebrated the first marriage that occurred within the
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present limits of the county. The bride was Christiana, the daughter of Valentine Cook, the groom was Philip Hammond, as brave a man as any whose name appears on the pages of frontier history. It was he who, in company with John Prior in 1778, ran from Point Pleasant to Donnally's Fort in Greenbrier, and gave the alarm in time to save the settlement from destruc- tion.
James Alexander, who was a native of Augusta county, Virginia, visited the site of Union as early as 1772, but he did not long remain. He made an ex- tended journey through what is now Kentucky and Tennessee, then returned to Augusta, and in 1772, settled permanently near where Union now stands. Shortly after, he sold part of his land to Michael Erskine, who also became a permanent settler.
The settlement of Rev. John Alderson and William Morris have already been mentioned. About two years later came Thomas Smithson, who settled one mile below the present site of Alderson, and Wilson Jones, who built his cabin on the summit of the mountain overlooking the site.of the town; other early settlers in this vicinity were James Hardy, John Alford, Jack- son Alford and John Hall. James Hardy was once out hunting and was discovered by a band of roving Indians, who at once pursued him ; he ran more than a mile, and finally distanced his pursuers. The scope of country over which he passed was for many years known as " Hardy's Run."
About the year 1780, came John Nickell, Andrew Nickell and Robert Campbell, each of whom obtained a large tract of land on what is now known as the Pickaway Plains. They were soon joined by Archibald
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McDowell, William Pritt, Robert Knox and James Humphreys, all of whom were recently from Ireland. Then came James Scott, James Miller, John Lemons, Charles Carr, James Steele, James Dunsmore, James Murdock, Joseph Dunsmore, Christopher Hoke and Nicholas Lake, all from Scotland.
NARRATIVE OF THE CAPTURE OF MRS. MARGARET HANLY PAULEE BY THE SHAWNEE INDIANS.
(Dictated by herself to her grandson, Allen T. Caperton, a few years before her death.)
It was in the fall, September 23, 1779, that Margaret Paulee and her husband, John Paulee, with one child about one year old, set out from the county of Monroe on a journey to Kentucky for the purpose of establish- ing themselves. They were attacked by a party of Indians, who, as it was conjectured, had some notice of the projected trip, and waylaid them for the purpose of making captives. There were six Indians, and the party in company with Mr. Paulee consisted of Mr. Paulee and wife, Robert Wallis, Brice Miller and James Paulee. Each man was armed with a rifle, but there being no cause to fear an attack, only one was loaded. It was about twelve o'clock, and I was riding in front of the cattle we were taking with us, with my baby in my arms. We were about five miles from the mouth of East river when I was alarmed by the report of a gun which seemed to have been fired from behind a log, at which my horse took fright, and at the same time I heard my husband's voice calling to me re- peatedly to ride back. I turned to obey the summons, when one of the party of Indians came from behind a tree, pulled me from my horse, and knocked me sense-
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less with his club. What took place during this state of insensibility I never knew, except what I could gather from the Indians, but the scalp of poor Wallis and my husband's gun were objects that met my eyes upon recovering, bearing evidence of the scene that must have been enacted. There was also in our com- pany the wife of Wallis, and also the wife and child of James Paulee. The latter were taken prisoners and placed on a log beside me after I had been restored to consciousness. It was while we sat on the log that an Indian came with the reeking scalp of poor Wallis, who of course had been killed. My husband, when he saw me dragged from my horse, ran up and fought over my body with three of the Indians, using nothing but the hilt end of his gun, when one of them put his gun to his breast and shot him through. He, thinking his wife and child were both dead, and that he had received a mortal wound, left the strife and started on his way back. He fainted several times, and observed the Indians watching him attentively, expecting him to fall from the effects of the shot. Coming to a turn in the road, he left it, probably thereby effecting his escape. He had lost his gun in the scuffle, but took another, which he carried with him. After going some distance in the wood he lay down, expecting to die, but after resting he felt revived, and, leaving his gun, set out for Wood's Fort, on Rich creek. When he came to New river he waded it, and by the guidance and assistance of John Wood he was enabled to reach the fort, where he died in a short time, under the full belief that his wife and child had fallen under the tomahawk of the merciless Indians.
After recovering from the stunning effects of the
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blow which I had received, I observed my infant lying a short distance from me, which I took in my arms, fondly hoping to afford it a shelter, but all my care was soon arrested by the approach of an Indian, who tore my child from my arms, killed it with a club, and then threw it barbarously on the ground. The child of James Paulee afterward met with the same fate. The party who went in pursuit of the Indians found the body of my child, which had been protected from the wolves by a little dog, which was lying by its side. The body of the other child had been almost destroyed by the wolves.
The five Indians, and one white man, named Mor- gan, who seemed more barbarous than the Indians, after possessing themselves of whatever of the bag- gage they could conveniently carry, and taking twelve of the horses, placed me on my horse and Mrs. Paulee on hers, and set out. The beds were ripped open, the feathers emptied and the ticking taken. We started up the north fork of East river, an Indian leading my horse. We continued on our way, traveling in the middle of the water for a mile or more, and then went in the direction of the Blue Stone, traveling all day and all night, never stopping until late the next night, when we encamped, our captors taking care to build their fire in a sink-hole. I suffered much during these two days, having had repeated falls from my horse, caused by the savage Morgan, who seemed to take a malicious pleasure in cutting my horse, and causing him to throw me over his head. I could learn nothing of their purposes but through Morgan, who informed me that they intended to take us up to a Shawnee town and make squaws of us. They took no other
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precaution to secure us than to place us pretty well in their midst, and taking our shoes, which were re- turned to us next morning. I frequently thought of attempting to make my escape, but every time I raised my hand an Indian would raise his. I ate nothing for two or three days. The savages seemed desirous that we should partake of whatever they got to eat. Those who killed my child were now kinder than the rest. I had prepared myself with a little dried beef, biscuit and cheese, which I partook of. I also had a bottle of spirits to use in case of sickness, which was still hang- ing to the horn of my saddle, but becoming alarmed lest they might get drunk and become more barbarous, I loosed it and let it fall in the weeds, where it may remain to this day.
The next day we continued our route in a westward direction through a wilderness, nothing occurring until we reached the Ohio river, where they placed our sad- dles in a canoe and crossed it-the Indians swimming beside the horses-and then across to the Sciota, and thence to the Miami. The Sciota we crossed at the old Chillicothe town. We forded the Miami, and came in sight of the Shawnee town, where we camped, and the next morning the Indians gave their signal by firing the guns and giving a peculiar yell, that they had re- turned with prisoners, plunder and scalps. The object in stopping was to prepare for some ceremonies attend- ing all those whose lot it was to be prisoners. They came shouting and rejoicing, and one of them ap- proached me and held out his hand. I offered mine in return, when he struck me a blow which brought me to the earth. The chief of the gang that had taken us seemed enraged at this treatment, and interposed for
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my protection. The sympathy created by this treat- ment probably saved me from the necessity of running the gauntlet, which all prisoners had to undergo, and which the savages call a welcoming. The manner of it is, a large number of squaws and Indian boys place themselves along a line, armed with clubs and switches; the prisoner is required to run an appointed distance, and to undergo all the blows that can be inflicted. I saw two boys, named Moffit, who were brought in, and forced to run the gauntlet. They were started, and one turned upon the first blow and returned it, which pleased the Indians so that he escaped the balance and was adopted. Through the interference of the chief I escaped running the gauntlet, but my fellow-prisoners were forced to undergo it, and suffered severely. We were then taken before the council, and, through an interpreter, questioned closely. They in- quired particularly if my husband was not a captain, and upon my replying in the negative, they cautioned me not to tell a lie, being assured that he was a cap- tain by the courageous manner in which he had behaved. Upon further consultation, it was decided that I should be adopted in the family of Wa-ba-kah- kah-to, into which family-having been gifted with the white wampum belt-I entered. This chief was king of the tribe, and had been at the battle of the Point, where he was wounded. After my adoption, Wa-ba- kah-kah-to told me I must be contented, to fear no one, and not to be ordered by any of the women. My greatest and most distressing apprehension was that they should take it into their heads to compel me to marry one of the Indians, and this apprehension was rendered stronger from the conduct of a white female
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prisoner, who had intermarried, and hearing that it had been proposed to me, and that I had refused, came to me and urged me to the course, saying that if I did not consent I would be murdered. I communicated my uneasiness to Wa-ba-kah-kah-to, who informed me that I need not fear anything, that there would never be any compulsion if I was unwilling.
I was likewise further relieved by Simon Girty, who, soon after I was captured, came to see us and informed us that we need not fear on that score, that they were not the people to compel any one to such a course. The Indian who killed my child seemed particularly desirous to atone for his barbarity, by various acts of kindness, such as sending for me to partake of anything he got. I suffered greatly, more than I otherwise would have done, from being in a delicate condition. I saw McKee and Girty often-the former was a gentle- manly man, and there were Simon, James and George, all three had Indian wives. The Indians thought a great deal of McKee and Girty. There was an Indian chief named Blue Pocket, who had married a half French woman of Detroit, who lived in great style, had curtained beds and silver spoons. I was fond of visiting this house. They always seemed kind, and desirous of giving me tea, etc. He had his negro slaves ; so had McKee.
Nothing of moment occurred until the May after my capture, when my little boy was born. An old Indian squaw took a chunk of fire and conducted me to the wood, where I was left alone with nothing but a shelter of bushes over me for the space of ten days, when I was permitted to return to the town. The squaws seemed very much delighted with my child, carrying it
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through the town, showing it with great joy, seeming to think it a beauty. There was a string of corn brought me and a mortar to pound it in, but luckily a man from Detroit, who had engaged me to make him a shirt, came with a kerchief of flour. About a year after I had been taken, I met with a young man named Thomas McGuire, who had previously been taken by the Indians, but got out of their hands by joining a company of rangers, who informed me all about the defeat and death of my husband. Nothing of importance occurred until the summer of 1780, when Colonel Clarke made his incursion upon the Indians. The Indians knew of Clarke's advance from the time he crossed the Ohio, and seemed very much alarmed. I was taken, with other prisoners, and secreted in the woods within hearing of the firing. After the battle was over we returned to the town, Pickaway, which was entirely laid waste, where we stayed about a week-gathered some corn and dried it, when I was taken with the fever and ague. We then left and went on fifty or one hundred miles. I had my horse and saddle, which I was permitted to ride, while the squaws carried large packages. We went where the hunting was good, and lived the whole winter on meat. I suffered with fever and ague about eight weeks. At this place we settled, lived in camp during the winter, and afterward built a town, which was called McKeestown. I employed my- self in sewing, got two shillings a shirt and made four a day. In the summer of 1782, there arose a difficulty which had nearly put an end to my career. A party of Indians, headed by the same individual who had taken me prisoner and killed my child, agreed upon an expedition into Kentucky for the same purpose that
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had formerly taken them into Virginia, which expedi- tion terminated by the death of the chief Wabapusito, the son of Wa-ba-kah-kah-to.
The news of his death was received with sorrowful lamentations by all of the tribes. His father was inconsolable and required something to appease him for his loss. There had been taken in Kentucky two boys, Jack Calaway, about nine years old, and Dicky Hoy, about twelve, who were placed with us and lived in Wabapusito's house. The old chief, notwithstand- ing all the partiality he had shown for me, was so grieved by the death of his son that he conceived the horrid idea of avenging his loss by burning within his own house the prisoners he had made, the two boys · and myself. I had observed a considerable commotion for several days before I was enabled to ascertain its cause, when, by accident, as I passed a blacksmith shop I overheard the white man inquire if that was the woman to be burned. This made me inquire, and to my surprise and horror I learned that the old chief had resolved upon my destruction. I also learned further, that the greatest exertions had been made to avert our doom ; that numbers of Indians had interceded in our behalf; that McKee had been sent for to exert his authority, and that preparations had been made to steal us off in the event of a failure with the old chief by any other means. There was an assembly of nearly all the tribes of the Shawnees. Wa-ba-kah-kah-to and another chief of considerable character, sat over the council fire the whole of the night consulting upon the place of our death, and Wa-ba-kah-kah-to intent upon burning us. This I ascertained through my own ears, for having learned enough of the Shawnee language
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to understand the principal part of what was said, I concealed myself in their vicinity and heard all that passed between them. The morning after this, how- ever, a messenger arrived from McKee, with a wampum belt and a talk, the substance of which was that he would not suffer the execution.
The old chief, I suppose, finding himself opposed by so many, and so violently, proposed at length that if the interpreter would give him a handsomely-mounted rifle which he had in his hand, all would be for- gotten, to which the interpreter immediately acceded, and thus a rifle-gun appeased what all argument of pru- dence or mercy, aided by an acknowledged partiality, failed to effect. After this took place, the chief's man- ner and treatment were the same. Following the advice of McKee, I disguised my knowledge of what had been in contemplation. The two boys were adopted, and little Jack Calaway was placed with me.
I heard through the Indians of Crawford's defeat, capture and death ; saw the Indians, upon their return from the fight, with scalps. The reason they gave for treating Crawford so barbarously was in retaliation for accounts of the death of Cornstalk, a Shawnee king, who commanded at the battle of Point Pleasant, and who surrendered himself and sons as hostages, and were treacherously murdered by Arbuckle's men who were stationed at the Point. This was contrary to the commander's orders, and done under the pretext that Cornstalk's friends had murdered one Gilmore a short time before. It is stated in a book called "Border Warfare," that an Indian calling himself John Hollis, who pretended friendship toward Captain Arbuckle, but betrayed him, was recognized as one of the slain
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at Donally's Fort ; but this is a mistake, as I saw and talked with Hollis, during my captivity among the Shawnees, about his exploits in Greenbrier.
The marriage ceremony among the Shawnees con- sists in boiling a large vessel of dumplings, which were served out in small vessels that every guest is expected to bring for the wedding. The dumplings the guests take home and eat, and the day following the groom goes out and kills a deer, which he presents to his wife, who takes it to her mother. She gives him bread and he gives her meat. The squaws do the principal part of the courting, the men being, for the most part, modest even to bashfulness. From the time of his adoption, little Jack Calaway lived with me and was a great comfort and relief. He had to take his morning plunge with the Indians, winter and summer, and fre- quently has he come into the cabin with icicles hanging from his hair. I always had a fire for him.
Between the period of Crawford's death and the time an attempt was made to ransom me, nothing occurred worth transcribing. I lived as comfortably as one could among savages and apart from friends, without any tolerable probability of ever seeing them again. The hostile feelings between the Shawnees and the Americans had not subsided. In the summer of 1782 there were strong but ineffectual attempts made to redeem me. The old chief replied to all their pro- posals that I was not a slave to be sold, and that he would not part with me. I was adopted and had become one of his family. A Mr. Higgins, whose generous exertions in my behalf can never be for- gotten, tried hard. The old chief's feelings were sin- cere, and I do not think that any price could have over-
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