USA > West Virginia > History of West Virginia > Part 46
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The First Circuit Court held for the county convened on the 6th day of October, 1856, Judge Matthew Ed- miston presiding. At this court the first grand jury was impaneled. The following gentlemen composed it : Alexander Huffman, foreman : Jasper Ball, John H. Johnson, James P. Hunt, Daniel Nichols, Francis Robinson, Nicholas Poling, Daniel Stallman, Silas Petit, Joseph Hayhurst, Lemuel Haverty, Isaac Star- cher, Andrew Mace, Arnold Snider, Peter M. McCune and Anthony Conrad. The jury retired to consider of its presentments, and shortly reported three true bills of indictment. Some other unimportant business being transacted, the court adjourned.
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722
HISTORY OF WEST VIRGINIA. $
Capture of Pedro and White by the Indians .- In the month of September, 1777, Leonard Pedro and William White were watching the Indian warpath which led up the Little Kanawha. It was probably within the limits of the present county of Calhoun that they, having eaten a late supper, lay down to rest and were soon fast asleep. During the night White awakened and discovered Indians near. He whispered to his com- panion to lie still, hoping they might escape notice ; but the Indians sprang upon them. White pretended great friendship, and tried to impress the Indians with the opinion that he was glad to see them, but the sav- ages were not to be deceived. Both men were bound, and at daylight Pedro was painted black, which signified that he was to be burned, and White red. The Indians then returned to their towns with the captives. White soon managed to escape, and on foot began the long march for home. Meeting an Indian on horseback, he shot him and appropriated his horse. Pedro was never after heard of.
Pioneers .- In 1810, Philip Starcher built his cabin where Arnoldsburg now stands. Soon after he was joined by Peter Coger, Isaac Mace, William Brannon, Peter McCune and Adam O'Brien, all of whom found homes on the West fork of the Little Kanawha. The first settler in what is now Sheridan district was James Mayes, who built his cabin on the Little Kanawha in 1814. At that time his nearest neighbor was thirteen miles distant. He was soon followed in his wild retreat by Benire Mayes, James Niler, Audrey Sharpe and Stephen P. Burson. In 1815, Peter McCune settled in the valley of the West fork of the Kanawha. The solitude of his retreat was soon broken, Anthony Par-
723
HISTORY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
sons, Thomas Cottrell, Barnabas Cook, George Conley and Thomas P. Brannon finding homes near him. No settlement was made in what is now Sherman district until 1830, when John Haverty and John B. Goff located on the Little Kanawha.
The County Seat .- In no other county in the State has there been so much difficulty regarding the perma- nent location of the seat of justice as in this. The act creating the county provided for its location either at Pine Bottom at the mouth of Yellow creek, or at Big Bend on the Little Kanawha, a vote of the people to decide between the two places. Further, it required the first court to be held at the house of Joseph W. Burson. This last requirement appears to have been about the only one which was regarded, for when the first court adjourned, it was to meet-not at Pine Bot- tom or Big Bend, but at the residence of Peregriene Hays, on the West fork. Accordingly the second court convened at that place, September 9, 1856, and here it was held until 1857. But in August of that year two courts were in session at the same time, one at Arnoldsburg and another at the house of Collins Betz, on the Little Kanawha. For the purpose of effecting a reconciliation between the opposing factions, it was de- cided that the courts should be held at the mouth of Yellow creek-now Brookville. A contract for the erection of a court house at that place was let to E. McClosky, who for the sum of $675 erected a neat frame structure. But legal proceedings were now in- stituted, and on the 15th of June, the court again con- vened at Arnoldsburg, and here it continued to be held until 1869. It now seemed that the matter was settled. The erection of a substantial brick building was begun
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724
HISTORY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
at Arnoldsburg. But after the basement story had been completed-all of cut stone, at a cost of $1500 -the question was once more agitated and another move made, this time to Grantsville. Here a frame court house was erected, but burned to the ground before it was occupied. Another arose upon its ruins and was occupied until 1880, when a brick building was erected at a cost of $8400. A lawyer who settled in the county at the time of its formation, but later re- moved to an adjoining county, said that he was com- pelled to do so for he " had been broken up trying to keep up with the county seat."
Grantsville, the county seat, is on the north bank of the Little Kanawha. The first improvement on the site was made by Eli Riddle, more than half a century since. The town was laid out by Simon P. Stump, and became the county seat in 1869.
Arnoldsburg, on the north side of Henry's fork, de- rives its name from Charles Arnold, who patented the land on which it stands. A post-office was established here in 1832, and the same year the first school was taught by Charles Arnold. Peregriene Hays was the first merchant. He began business in 1833.
CLAY.
Clay county was created from parts of Braxton and Nicholas, by act of March 29, 1858, and named in honor of Kentucky's favored son, Henry Clay.
The First Circuit Court convened October 21, 1858, Judge E. B. Bailey presiding. The first county court was held July 12, 1858, the following justices compos-
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725
HISTORY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
ing it: N. W. Shannon, William H. Ewing and Wil- liam G. Fitzwater. The first county officers were : Sheriff, C. C. Campbell ; Prosecuting Attorney, Joseph H. Rolinson ; Clerk of Courts, Jacob Salisbury ; Asses- sor, Thomas McQuain ; Surveyor, Clayburn Pinson.
Henry .- The act creating the county declared that the seat of justice should be on the McCalgin farm, opposite the mouth of Buffalo creek, and be known by the name of Marshall. But an act of the Legislature, passed October 10, 1863, changed the name of the town from Marshall to Henry.
ROANE.
Roane county was formed in 1856, from portions of Kanawha, Jackson and Gilmer, and its own name, and that of its seat of justice, Spencer, commemorate that of him whose life and public services added lustre to the annals of Virginia jurisprudence. He was ap- pointed Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia, April 13, 1795, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Henry Tazewell, and served continually until his death in 1822, when he was suc- ceeded by John W. Green.
J. P. Tomlinson carried the petition asking for the formation of the county to Richmond, and laid it before the Assembly. He was a native of one of the counties of lower Virginia, and when a boy was engaged in teaming. On a certain occasion his wagon stuck fast in the mud ; while working to get it out, a gentleman rode up, and, alighting, assisted the boy in getting out of the difficulty. That man was Judge
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726
HISTORY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
Spencer Roane, then on his way to attend court in one of the tidewater counties. Tomlinson never forgot the kindness, and when the county was formed he asked that it be named Roane. Thus the distinguished jurist, by one kindly act, secured the perpetuation of his name in that of one of the counties of West Virginia.
The First Circuit Court convened at the house of M. B. Armstrong, in Spencer, October 20, 1856, with Hon. George Summers, Judge of the Eighteenth Cir- cuit and Ninth Judicial District, presiding.
Spencer, the county seat, is situated in the Spring Creek valley, within a survey of 6000 acres, patented by Albert Gallatin, in 1787. The land afterward be- came the property of J. P. R. Bureau, once a promi- nent business man of Gallipolis, Ohio, and one of the French colonists who settled that place in 1791. The town is distant fifty miles from Charleston and sixty- seven and one-half from Weston.
The first settlers upon the spot came in 1812. They were Samuel Tanner, his wife, one child, and a man named Wolf, who lived in Tanner's family. Their first residence was beneath a shelving rock, within a few yards of the present residence of Hon. J. G. Schilling. The Tanner family thought it, no doubt, a comfortable lodging in a trackless wilderness. The birth of the first white child born here occurred in this cave; it grew to an adult age and yet survives.
In 1813, Mr. Tanner erected his cabin near the spot on which the residence of M. W. Kidd, ex-Clerk of the Circuit Court, was afterward built. In 1814, other pioneers came and settled on Spring creek, two miles below Spencer. In 1817, the spot was visited by a
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HISTORY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
Baptist minister, who preached the first sermon in the cabin of a Mr. Greathouse, and the same year a Meth- odist minister established an appointment at the house of Mr. Tanner. The first grist mill was built in 1818. It was a water mill with a capacity for cracking about eight bushels of corn per day. The patience of the pioneer was supposed to have stood the crucial test if he had waited for his grist at Runion's mill.
William Armstrong, J. S. Spencer and John Shedd were among the first teachers.
In 1816, the name of Tanner's Cross roads was bestowed upon the place, suggested by the fact that two paths bisected each other here. Thus the place was known until 1839, when a man named Raleigh Butcher, residing on Reedy creek, sold his property, intending to go to California, but instead of removing to that far off land, came to where Spencer now stands, where, in 1840, he erected a large frame house, and the place became known as New California, because it was the place at which Raleigh Butcher stopped. By this name it was known until March 15, 1858, when it was incorporated under the present name. The town was almost entirely destroyed by fire in the summer of 1887.
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TUCKER.
Tucker county was formed from Randolph by act of March 7, 1856, and was named in honor of St. George Tucker, the eminent Virginia jurist, while the seat of justice derives its name from St. George Tucker, who was Clerk of the House of Delegates at the time the county was formed. The act creating the county
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HISTORY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
required it to be located on the east side of Cheat river, on the lands of Enoch Minear.
Pioneers .- The first settlers within the county appear to have been John and Jonathan Minear, who came in 1776. The former reared his cabin near the present site of St. George, while the latter found a home on the opposite side of the river. Soon after a Mr. Simms settled about three miles farther up the river on the west side. Other early settlers were the Parsons and Goffs. Jonathan Minear and Simms both fell victims to savage butchery.
McDOWELL.
McDowell county was formed from Tazewell in com- pliance with an act of Assembly passed February 28, 1858, and named in honor of James McDowell. He was born at Cherry Grove, Rockbridge county, Vir- ginia, October 11, 1795, and was educated at Yale and Princeton, after which he read law in the office of the eminent Chapman Johnson at Staunton. He repre- ,sented Rockbridge county in the General Assembly in 1831, and frequently thereafter until IS41, when he was elected Governor of Virginia; but before his term ex- pired he was elected to a seat in Congress, in which capacity he served his native State until his death, which occurred August 24, 1851.
The act creating the county declared that the seat of justice should be called Peerysville, and Henry D. Smith, of Russell county ; Charles C. Calfee, of Mercer ; and John C. Graham, of Wythe, were appointed to locate the same. The following commissioners were appointed
729
HISTORY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
to divide the county into magisterial districts: G. W. Payne, Guy T. Harrison, Samuel Lambert, Thomas A. Perry, Elias V. Harman and Henry T. Peery.
WEBSTER.
Webster county was formed from Nicholas, Braxton and Randolph, by Act of January 10, 1860, and named in honor of Daniel Webster.
The act creating the county located the seat of jus- tice on lands of Addison Mclaughlin, at Fork Lick, of Elk river, and declared that it should be known by the name of Addison. The name of "Fork Lick," how- ever, continued to be applied until March 21, 1873, when the Legislature enacted " that the town of ' Fork Lick,' in Webster, shall hereafter be known by the name of Addison."
GRANT.
Grant county was formed from Hardy by an Act of February 14, 1866, and named in honor of General U. S. Grant.
The Fairfax Stone, of which an extended notice will be found in Part I. of this work, is situated in the ex- treme western angle of this county. It marks the southwestern limit of Maryland, which is determined by the head spring or fountain of the Potomac. The stone was planted on the 17th of October, 1746.
730
HISTORY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
MINERAL.
Mineral county was formed from Hampshire, by Act of February 1, 1866, and named from the vast mineral resources within its limits.
Piedmont, "Foot of the Mountain," was laid out by the New Creek Company and Owen D. Downey, and incorporated by act of the Legislature, February 20, 1856.
LINCOLN.
Lincoln, the third county formed after the organiza- tion of the new State, has an area of 460 square miles. It was but two years after the sound of war died away that the county began her existence. On the 23d day of February, 1867-the fourth year of the Common- wealth-a bill was passed by the Legislature entitled "An Act Establishing the County of Lincoln out of parts of the Counties of Cabell, Putnam, Kanawha and Boone." The county was called Lincoln in honor of the chief magistrate of the United States.
The first meeting of the Board of Supervisors was held on the 1 1 th day of March, 1867, in what was known as Hamlin chapel, an old church which stood on the Curry farm, about one-fourth of a mile above the pres- ent county seat. There were present: William C. Mahone, of Carroll District; John Scites, of Sheridan, and William A. Holstein, of Duval. W. C. Mahone was made president, and Benjamin F. Curry, clerk, the latter giving bond in the penalty of $2000, with James A. Holly and Jeremiah Witcher as his securities. It was then or- dered that the Board of Supervisors have the White Hall
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HISTORY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
-a Southern Methodist church one-fourth of a mile below where the county seat now stands-arranged for holding the courts until the proper buildings could be erected, George A. Holton and a majority of the trus- tees consenting thereto.
The first Circuit Court ever held in the county con- vened on the Ist day of April, 1867, William L. Hind- man, Judge of the Eighth Judicial Circuit of West Virginia, presiding. On the 8th of March previous he had appointed Benjamin F. Curry clerk of the court.
W. H. Tomlinson, James H. Ferguson, T. B. Kline, W. H. Enochs, A. Vance and L. A. Martin were, on their own motion, granted license to practice law in the courts of this county. Judge Hindman then appointed L. A. Martin to prosecute in behalf of the State. He took the oaths as prescribed by law, and then, on his motion, James H. Ferguson was appointed his assistant.
It was at this time that the first grand jury that ever sat as a jury of inquest for the body of Lincoln county was impaneled. It was composed as follows : E. F. Har- mon, foreman ; Anderson Bias, B. B. Wilkinson, D. M. F. Keenan, James Johnson, Henderson Drake, Henry Pey- ton, J. D. Smith, Hiram Adkins, Goldsberry Adkins, An- drew Adkins, Mathias Plumley, William Cooper, Ander- son Adkins, Adam Cummings, Joseph A. Griffith, Zachariah Priesty, William Pauley, Peter Holstein, Silas Elkins and Henry B. Griffith. After receiving their in- structions, they retired to consider of their presentments. Soon they returned and reported two true bills of in- dictment, one of which was against R. M. Lusher for obstructing the highway leading from Barboursville to Logan Court House. There being no further business, the court adjourned, and Lincoln county entered upon
732
HISTORY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
her career as a component part of the "Little Moun- tain State."
Pioneers .- The first settlement within the county the date of which can be ascertained was that made by Jesse McComas, John McComas, David McComas, William and Moses McComas, all of whom came in the year 1799. In the summer of that year they cultivated twenty acres of corn, probably the first ever grown in the Upper Guyandotte Valley. In the autumn they returned east of the mountains and brought their fami- lies. Near them other cabins were soon reared by John Lucas, William Hinch and John Johnson. About the year 1800, Isaac Hatfield settled on Ranger's branch, a tributary of Ten-mile creek, and James Hat- field, William Smith and John L. Baker soon came to reside in the same vicinity. In 1807, Luke Adkins found a home near the mouth of Slash creek, on Mud river, twelve miles southeast of the present site of Hamlin. Near him other cabins were reared by his brothers, John and Mark, William and Richard Love- joy, William Cummins, Mathias Plumley, Silas Cooper, Hamilton Adkins, Peter Holstein, William Smith and William Cooper. In 1801, John Tackett removed his family to a cabin on Trace-fork creek. Other early settlers along the same stream were James Wells, Jonathan Williams, Joseph Holley, James Alford, Reu- ben Cremeans, Abraham Smith and George Alford. In ISHI, Richard Parsons led the way into the wilder- ness and settled at the mouth of Cobb's creek. Those who came to reside near him on that stream were Eli Parsons, Samuel M. Midkiff and James Lively.
Hamlin, the county seat, was named in honor of Hannibal Hamlin, who was Vice-president under him
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HISTORY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
for whom the county was named. Section seventh of the act creating the county provided that the county seat should be on lands of Charles Lattin. At that time the spot was an old brier field, it having been · cleared by David Stephenson, who patented the land and erected a cabin about the year 1802. He after- ward sold it to James Fullerton. The land afterward passed into the possession of Linzie Cremeans, who, after occupying it for a time, sold it to Walker J. San- ford, who in turn sold it to James C. Black, who trans- ferred it to James Ballard, from whom it passed to John Likens, and through him to James A. Holley, who about the beginning of the Civil War transferred it to Charles Lattin.
The first building erected after the town was laid out was the county jail, in 1867.
Hamlin was made the permanent county seat by legislative enactment February 26, 1869.
SUMMERS.
Summers, the last county formed in the State, was created from Monroe, Mercer, Greenbrier and Fayette by act of February 27, 1871, and named from George W. Summers, who was born in Fayette county, Vir- ginia, March 4, 1804, and accompanied his parents to the Kanawha Valley when but an infant. He gradu- ated at the Ohio University, and having read law with his brother, Judge Lewis Summers, was admitted to the bar in 1827. In 1830, he was elected to the General Assembly from Kanawha county, and in that capacity served ten years, when he was elected to Congress, taking his seat in 1841, and was reelected
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HISTORY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
in 1843. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1850, and the Whig candidate for Gov- ernor in 1851. In 1852, he was elected Judge of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit of Virginia, but resigned in 1858. In 1861, he represented Kanawha county in the Virginia Convention which passed the Ordinance of Secession, a measure he earnestly opposed. He died in September, 1868.
Hinton, the county seat, was laid out on lands of John Hinton, at the mouth of Greenbrier river, and here, in the Greenbrier Baptist Church, the first court was held. The town was incorporated September 21, 1880. The first county officers were : Sheriff, Evan Hinton ; Clerk of Circuit and County Courts, Josephus. B. Pack; Prosecuting Attorney, Carlos A. Sperry ; Surveyor, Joseph Keaton; Assessor, Allen H. Meador; Superintendent of Schools, John H. Pack. The first Justices were Allen L. Harvey, Joseph Grimmett, T. J. Jones, William Meadows and James Farley. The first supervisors were William Haynes, E. J. Gwinn, Joseph Cox and James Houchins.
The West Virginia Stone in the Washington Monu- ment was taken from a quarry near Hinton, in this county-the same from which the stone used in the construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway docks at Newport News was obtained. It was pre- pared under the supervision of Hon. W. K. Pendleton, of Bethany College, who, in addition to the coat-of- arms of the State, had placed upon it the following inscription :-
" Tuum nos sumus Monumentum."
The block, two by four feet, was received in Wash- ington, February 2, 1885, and is placed in the wall more than two hundred feet above the floor of the shaft.
COUNTIES .- AREA IN SQUARE MILES AND SEATS OF JUSTICE.
COUNTIES.
AREA.
SEATS OF JUSTICE.
Barbour,
360
Philippi.
Berkeley,
320
Martinsburg.
Boone, .
500
Madison.
Braxton,
620
Sutton.
Brooke,
So
Wellsburg.
Cabell,
300
Huntington.
Calhoun,
26
Grantsville.
Clay,
390
Henry.
Doddridge,
300
West Union.
Fayette,
750
Fayetteville.
Gilmer,
360
Glenville.
Grant,
520
Petersburg.
Greenbrier,
1000
Lewisburg.
Hampshire, .
630
Romney.
Hancock, .
100
New Cumberland.
Hardy,
700
Moorefield.
Harrison, .
450
Clarksburgh.
Jackson,
400
Ripley.
Jefferson,
250
Charlestown.
Kanawha,
980
Charleston.
Lewis, .
400
Weston.
Lincoln,
460
Hamlin.
Logan, .
800
Lawnsville.
McDowell,
860
Peerysville.
Marion,
300
Fairmont.
Marshall,
240
Moundsville.
Mason, .
430
Princeton.
Mineral,
300
Keyser.
Monongalia,.
360
Morgantown.
Monroe,
46c
Union.
Morgan,
300
Berkeley Springs.
Nicholas, .
720
Summersville.
Ohio,
120
Wheeling.
Pendleton,
650
Franklin.
Pleasants,
150
St. Marys.
Pocahontas,
820
Huntersville.
Preston,
650
Kingwood.
Putnam,
320
Winfield.
Raleigh,
680
Beckleyville.
Randolph,
1080
Beverly,
Ritchie,
400
Harrisville.
Roane,
35
Spencer.
Summers, .
400
Hinton.
Taylor, .
150
Grafton.
Tucker,
340
St. George.
Tyler, .
300
Middlebourne.
Upshur,
350
Buckhannon.
Wayne,
440
Webster,
45
Addison.
Wetzel,
440
New Martinsville.
Wirt,
290
Wood.
375
Parkersburg.
Wyoming,
660
Oceana.
(735)
:
State's area,
24,715
Trout's Hill.
Elizabeth.
Merçer,
400
Point Pleasant.
INDEX.
Addison, town of, 729. Alderson, Rev. John, notice of, 530. Town of, established, 597.
Alexander, Captain John, notice of, 92. Allegheny Mountain, first white men on summit of, 53. Summit, battle of, 409.
America, first scen by Northmen, 19. Actual discovery of, 20.
Ancient Battlefield, 489.
Antiquarian Society of Copenhagen, 19. Arbuckle, Captain William, 618. Area of West Virginia, 735. Arnoldsburg, town of, 724. Augusta county, first settler in, 67. Formation of, 482.
Baker, Captain john, 668. Barboursville, town of, established, 631. First trustees of, 631. Military engagement at, 405. Cavalry engagement at, 410. Bath, town of, established, 644. First trustees of, 644.
Battelle, Gordon, resolutions by, 379.
Beauchamp, William, notice of, 699.
Becham Family, murder of, 519.
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Beckley, General Alfred, biographical notice of, 709. Bennett, Jonathan M., biographical notice of, 638. Berkeley county, formation of, 494. Sir William, notice of, 494. Bethany, village of, 582. Beverly, manor of, 68. Town of, established, 564. First trustees of, 564. Big Sandy Expedition, The, 88. Disastrous results of, 92. Blennerhassett's Island, 58S. Blue Ridge, the, 53. Spottswood's journey over, 53.
Boone county, formation of, 687. Boquet, Colonel Henry, expedition of, 108. notice of, 108. Bowyer, John, notice of, 695.
Bowyers and York waylaid by Indians, 490. -
Braddock, General Edward, arrival of, in Virginia, 85.
His march into the wilderness, 85. His defeat at the Battle of Monon- gahela, 87.
Braxton county, formation of, 673. Extensive view in, 674.
Breckenridge, Captain Robert, notice of, 92. Bridgeport, town of, established, 547. Brodhead, Colonel David, expedition of, 179. Brooke Academy, incorporation of, 581. County, formation of, 578. First court for, 579. Pioneers of, 579.
Governor Robert, biographical notice of, 578. Brown, John, his insurrection at Har- per's Ferry, 308. Trial, Conviction and Execution of, 317, 318. Captain Oliver, notice of, 582.
Buckhannon, town of, 720. First trustees of, 720. Buffalo Academy, 694. Town of, 694. Bullitt, Colonel Thomas, patent of, 573. Bulltown, destruction of Indians at, 113. Manufacture of salt at, 674. Burden, Benjamin, visit of, to the Val- ley, 6S. He receives patents for lands, 69. His colonists, 60. Burgesses, House of, established, 43. Burning Springs, town of, 699. Petroleum burned at, 418.
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738
INDEX.
Cabell county, formation of, 626.
First court for, 626. First officers of, 627. First Baptist church in, 629. Early Methodi m in, 628.
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