USA > West Virginia > Wetzel County > History of Wetzel County, West Virginia > Part 8
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THOMAS JENNINGS.
There is another of that family in the gang worthy of men- tion. It is Frank's brother, Thomas Jennings. He was older than his brother Frank. He became about as notorious as the other members, but probably his notoriety was to be attri- buted largely to his connection to the Jennings family, more than his criminal exploits. Like his father, he was not natu- rally a criminal, as were his other brothers. He was engaged in fewer criminal transactions than any other member of the gang. He was young, not being more than twenty-seven years of age at the time of his death, which occurred at the peniten- tiary hospital in 1872. Like his father, he entered the military service of the United States and deserted therefrom, but un- like his father, did not return to his regiment at the time of
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Lincoln's proclamation. His most prominent action was in the shooting of Geo. Forbes, of Wheeling. He had been ar- rested and tried for grand larceny and sentenced to an impris- onment in the penitentiary, which term he served. He was not out of the prison twenty-four hours until he was among his old confederates in crime, and roamed the country with disrep- utable females, such as Beck Craig and Mollie Vanhorn, in- dulging in conduct so disgraceful as to be unfit for publica- tion. He was again indicted with Rebecca J. Craig upon the charge of grand larceny, breaking into the house of one George Alter. For this he was sentenced to five years in the peniten- tiary. This sentence was terminated by his death, which oc- curred while there. A fearful epidemic was raging in the pen- itentiary, to which he fell a victim.
Thomas Jennings was so much like his brother Frank that there is no use to rewrite his history.
JACKSON JENNINGS.
There is another who was one of the most cruel and inhuman men that ever stood upon the soil of Wetzel county. His name is Jackson Jennings, commonly known as Jack Jennings. He was a brother to Thomas and Frank, and younger than either. He was the most unscrupulous member of that fam- ily. Like his brothers, he was ready at any time to commit a robbery. He was less intelligent than the others, and equally illiterate, without a redeeming trait about him. He was not capable of planning or carrying out any plan, as was Frank, without a leader, and it was necessary that he should act in a secondary capacity. Jack could not play the part of a hypo- erit, as could Frank. While Frank would never betray a friend, Jack would for the sake of money, or for the purpose of escaping punishment. He would betray his best friend. For female virtue he had no respect whatever. The language that he has used in the presence of his own sisters and mother dare not be repeated here. He did not know what the sacred words
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of mother or sister meant. In this respect he was the opposite of his brother Thomas, and it is pleasant to the writer to bear this testimony in behalf of the latter. Jack Jennings was hos- tile toward his father, disliked to acknowledge his authority. On several occasions he threatened to take his father's life, and made an assault on him, and it was some time before the breach between the two was healed. So depraved was he that his father stood in fear of his personal safety, and on 1wo occasions sought the aid and advice of the authorities, taking the necessary steps to have him arrested. It was at these times that people were beginning to think that the old man had nothing to do with the gang. He frequently stated that he had no control over him; that he would pay no attention to his orders or requests; that he would, contrary to parental wishes, bring to the house disreputable persons for him to lodge and feed, and that when he ventured to remonstrate the son would seize a revolver or rifle and threaten to terminate the old man's existence. He complained bitterly of the conduct of his son and frequently remarked that he was being accused of harbor ing bad men under his roof, when in fact, he was opposed to such proceedings, and would often warn his son not to repeat these offenses, but that he was only threatened with his life. He complained that it was hard that he should have the enmity and ill will of his neighbors for acts done by his son. But enough has been said of the ill-fated family, so I will give a sketch of the next member of the gang.
BENJAMIN BARCUS.
Benjamin Barcus was a native of Marshall county. It is extremely difficult to give the reader a correct and full sketch of him, says Steinmetz. In his life he managed to make him- self notorious as a criminal. In early life he was afflicted with kleptomania, with an equine tendency. He frequently en- gaged in horse dealing of a peculiar nature. He would some- times be seen traveling through the country as a peddler, sell-
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ing dry goods at rates that would have been ruinous to ordi- nary retail dealers in dry goods, but not ruinous to him, hav- ing the good fortune to obtain his stock of goods without giving any consideration. This was a slow way to make money in Ben's eyes, and besides, it required labor to carry his pack from one house to another. Dealing in counterfeit national currency was an easy and genteel business, but where could he get his material? To Ben this was a great difficulty. At last he became acquainted with Frank and Jack Jennings, and they told him glowing tales of Wetzel, and how many families were there who had money in their possession, and then the country stores, filled with dry goods, with no person remain- ing in the building during the night; how easy to enter and carry away with them the entire stock. Such glowing ac- counts did he receive of the many golden opportunities Wetzel afforded such men that he concluded as soon as his time of im- prisonment expired, to report for duty at the Jennings head- quarters.
"Upon a warm summer day in the year of 1872, a rather tall man, with brown hair and beard, gray eyes and an awkward gait, passed the residence of Nelson Garner and inquired the way of him to the residence of John Jennings, and received the desired information." That man was Benjamin Barcus, just discharged from prison, and then on his way to the headquar- ters of the Jennings gang. In less than thirty days thereafter the breaking into of the house of and brutal assault upon John Burrows, an old disabled citizen, by himself and Jack Jen- nings, proved how ready he was to begin his infamous work. Like Frank Jennings he was possessed of a rare line of human nature and could act the hypocrite to perfection, and was a power at a meeting. He could shout, sing, pray and exort to anything that was required in that line, except to the shedding of tears. He could not quite adapt himself to that. He served a term out in the Ohio penitentiary, upon which he was convicted of a felony. He has also served two terms out in
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the West Virginia penitentiary and was pardoned the first term by Governor Boreman, who was deceived by the repre- sentations made to him.
MOLLIE VANHORN.
Mollie Vanhorn, another member of the Jennings gang, has quite a history, and if published would create quite a sensa- tion. Her history is still imperfectly known to the people at large. She was a woman of remarkable beauty and more than an ordinary share of intelligence, and her connection and acts with them must be deeply regretted. She was in point of in- telligence and education the superior of many in the county, who would not tolerate her presence socially among them. She was capable of adapting herself to their surroundings. Her physical beauty was equalled by few in Wetzel county. Immorality was her first offense, and, of course, the down- ward path speedily followed. She was a niece of John Jen- nings, being an illegitimate daughter of his sister, Ortha, who afterward married one Nicholas Cross, a harmless and inof- fensive man. Most people knew her reputed father, but it dare not be put in print. She was married to a man by the name of Vanhorn, who after their marriage entered the mili- tary service of the United States, and during his absence it was reported that she was guilty of adultery. Her mother-in- law witnessing these proceedings, wrote to her son and told him of her actions, and he immediately disowned her as a wife. There are people now who are thought to be respectable, and who have large families, who have spent whole nights with Mollie Vanhorn. She herself declared that there were those: who claimed to be respectable and deemed themselves aristo- cratic, who were nevertheless, on very intimate terms with her, having traveled together in different localities as man and wife, and afterwards endeavored to effect her capture. At one time fifty dollars was offered for her arrest, but she always escaped the hunting parties. She was arrested with Thomas
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Jennings at the time he was sent for a year to the penitentiary, but escaped trial. One of the things that always enabled her to escape trial is that she has been intimate with so many re- spectable men in Wetzel county, that if she once got on trial would disgrace them as well as their families. She kept going downward from time to time. She became as notorious as her cousins, the Jennings boys. After the breaking up of the Jennings gang she joined a house of ill fame at Pittsburg. She was married to one Frances Sheppard, a discharged sol- dier of the Union army. He was so unfortunate as to become involved in a fight with a German at Hannibal, O., in which the latter lost his life, and Sheppard was indicted and found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to the Ohio penitentiary for ten years. He was pardoned, and notwithstanding Mollie's infamous actions, he went back to her and became reconciled, and lived with her for a long time. The last account the au- thor had of her whereabouts, was at Sistersville, where she ap- plied for a place of employment in a respectable family, in which she was hired, and upon being asked her name, she re- plied Mollie Vanhorn. She was immediately discharged. Thus is a life which could have been passed in happiness. With her beauty and refinement she could have been surrounded with everything that made life dear, and it was spent in misery and disgrace. Her last husband, Frank Sheppard, was not a man of bad reputation. He was not a member of the Jennings gang, but a hard working man, whose trouble originated from intoxication.
CHARLES CANNON.
But little is known of the next member of the gang, more than that he was known by the name of Charles Cannon, and was introduced to diferent parties by John Jennings as his nephew. He was convicted in one of the counties of West Virginia as Charles Willard, of grand larceny. He had a pe- culiar expression of countenance. He was ready at any time
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to do anything that was criminal. There was not a crime known that he was not ready at any time to commit. He claimed to have been a soldier in the federal army, and was at the battle of Pittsburg Landing, but was unable to give his or- ganization. He was lame in walking, which he claimed was caused by a bullet shot which he received at the battle of Shi- loh. He was fortunate enough at an early age to acquire a common school education, of which he frequently engaged in reading stories of noted highwaymen, such as Dick Turpin, Jack Sheppard and others. But little is known of his connec- tion with the Jennings gang, more than that he was a mem- ber.
JIM PARKER.
There is still another member of the gang who is worthy of mention. That man was Jim Parker. This man is more noted in his connection with the shooting of Mr. Forbes, of Wheeling. He was pleasant and agreeable and one whose so- ciable manner would win the confidence of most anyone. Even in prison he was cheerful and obeyed prison orders, en- deavoring to yield a pleasant and implicit obedience to the dis- cipline of the prison. While serving his second term he openly denounced the Jennings boys, and claimed that he was now suffering for a crime that was committed by the Jennings boys, and both Frank and Tom said that he was not guilty. While the great revival was in progress, the officers were sur- prised to see such depraved as wretches as Frank Jennings and Luther Cremeens suddenly become converted. Parker was strongly urged to join in the movement by those who were making professions, for the purpose of fraud, but he bitterly denounced those whom he knew to be hypocrits. Among the number was Frank Jennings. He accused him of making those professions for the purpose of making the officers believe that he was going to do better, and thus escape the punish- ment he too often deserved. These actions on the part of Par-
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ker made him honorable in the minds of the officers and he gained the sympathy of those who came in contact with him. It was believed by a number of people throughout Wetzel and adjoining counties that he was innocent of the shooting of Mr. Forbes, of Wheeling, and Parker said that he believed that Forbes was honest in making his statement that he was the man that shot him, and that he could not in the excitement of such a thing identify his attempted murderer. It is believed that his connection with the Jennings gang had more to do with securing his conviction than Mr. Forbes' testimony.
LUTHER CREMEENS.
The next member of the gang is Luther Cremeens. Cre- meens was a native of Kanawha county. He was one of the worst dare-devils that West Virginia has ever produced. Ready at any time to commit a crime (no matter how bad it was) for the sake of money. He formed the acquaintance of the Jen- nings in the West Virginia penitentiary, as did most of the members of the Jennings. He was convicted in Kanawha county of manslaughter and sentenced to a term of ten years in the State penitentiary. His first object when reaching prison was to discover what opportunities were afforded for escape, and watched closely, but he had not long to wait. On the 22nd day of August, 1867, the inmates at that time being allowed to purchase any luxuries that they were able to pay for, and on the morning of that day groups of men were scat- tered here and there discussing plans of escape. At their head were J. L. Graham, Chester Crawford and Luther Cre- meens, and on that morning Graham arose as he had done numbers of times before and started toward the gate with a small tin bucket. Knocking on the gate it was opened by the keeper. Graham then told him that he wanted some milk, on which the keeper took the bucket and started after it, holding the bucket in one hand and trying to shut the gate in the other. At that moment Graham suddenly swung back the gate and
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shouted: "Come on, boys, if you want your liberty !" Out marched twenty-seven men, who seized the arms of the guard- and compelled them to surrender, and marched in good order toward the hills, with Luther Cremeens at their head. For a long time Cremeens remained at large and what crimes he committed during that time are not known. He was again cap- tured and taken back to prison and succeeded in affecting his escape in 1868, and it was while he was in the second time that he became acquainted with the Jennings boys, but he was with them but a short time when he was again captured and taken back to prison. He was captured the last time by Thomas H. Snodgrass.
FRANK GODDARD.
We will not introduce a new character, well known to the people, Frank Goddard. None of the Jennings gang was more despised than he by the people of Wetzel county. He was not a thief or robber, but a spy, and gave the necessary evidence in court needed by the defence in the trials of the Jennings boys. He would visit the prosecuting attorney's office and try to find out the mode of proceedure in the capturing of the Jennings gang, and would often denounce the Jennings boys for the purpose of securing something that might prove useful to them. There was a difficulty in proving his connection with the Jennings gang, but it was evident that he was a member. It is also evident that he received money for his services, for he had a family to keep, who were provided for. Yet he never worked.
REASON GODDARD.
We will now introduce to the reader Frank Goddard's son, Reason Goddard. This man did little actual service for them. He was too cowardly and worthless, says Steinmetz, who, if all reports were true, ought to know. He was one who bore dis- patches, and, like his father, a spy. His stealing, if any was
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done, was on his own responsibility, and of a petty order. There is no use taking up the space in this book speaking of such a worthless character.
JAMES BERRY.
There is another who should not be overlooked, James Berry. His house was often visited by the Jennings gang, and was used by them as one of their headquarters. His home was the stopping place for disreputable women. It was the headquar- ters of the notorious Susan Hopkinson. She was the most in- famous of her sex in the country, and it is to be regretted that the term of woman can be applied to such a creature. She was so abandoned and so utterly lost to every sense of the word that sympathy was beyond her reach. Among the Jennings gang she was the almost constant companion of Cannon, and the whole house of Berry was a rendezvous of a lot of women whose honor had gone beyond recall, and those who were in- timate with the members of the Jennings gang, such as Beck Craig and Mollie Vanhorn. The latter cannot by any ways be compared with Susan Hopkinson. Though Mollie could have been respected, it is doubtful if the former could ever have been. Had it not been for the aid that Berry received from the gang, he would have hardly been able to support his family.
REBECCA J. CRAIG.
Another disreputable female who was connected with the gang was Rebecca J. Craig, familiarly known as Beck Craig. She was as abandoned as was Susan Hopkinson, but while the latter escaped indictment for a felony, Beck did not, there being for a long time on file at the clerk's office an indictment for grand larceny. She was for a while the constant companion of Thomas Jennings, and roamed with him night and day, camping in the woods and preying upon peaceable and unof- fending citzens and committing crimes more annoying than
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criminal. Not being satisfied with operating on so small a scale they committed a crime more serious, on which both were indicted, and Thomas convicted and sent to the peniten- tiary. After his conviction he was succeeded by Frank and Jack Jennings, while after their conviction, Reason Goddard, abandoning his wife and children, would accompany her; but we will now leave her to give a sketch of one who was thought to be one of the gang.
FREEMAN WHIPKY.
Freeman Whipky, was a brother-in-law to John Jennings. His principal offense in the eyes of the people was harboring the gang and securing such information as they might need He was not recognized by the people as a good citizen. He was addicted to drinking and gambling, harboring women of ill fame and occasionally made a visit to a near neighbor's smoke house.
HENRY GODDARD.
There is still another member of the gang of considerable importance. This was Henry Goddard; whether a relative of Frank it is not known by the author, but it is probable that he was. He was a natural born thief, and a man without honor or conscience. He would steal the last cent from those who had gained it by charity. His wife was equally as bad. They would often steal from those who had done them a favor. They richly deserved the fate so nearly meted out from the hands of the red men.
There is another member of the gang, who if a description were given, it would be a repetition of the sketch just given of Henry Goddard. Jerry Bondine was a neighbor of Henry Goddard, and between the families, in their low and petty crimes, it is difficult to find a difference.
There is still another member, and the last we shall mention,
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as there are a number of families through the county who were connected with the gang through fear, and probably some we have mentioned were connected with them with the same ex- cuse. It may be we have spoken too harshly of them, but we will now take up the sketch of the last man we shall mention,
FRANK JACKSON.
Frank Jackson, alias Burns. It is not probable that Burns, or Jackson, ever had the opportunity of participating in any of the serious offences committed by the gang. He was a native of Virginia (not West Virginia). He was convicted of larceny and sent to the penitentiary, where he served his time, and was again sent to the same place and made his escape with Luther Cremeens. Like the latter, was captured by Thos. H. Shep- pard and James Sheppard and taken back to prison, where he remained until not long ago, after which it is thought that he concluded to seek an honest livelihood.
CRIMES COMMITTED BY THE GANG.
We will not dwell largely upon the crimes committed by the gang more than to mention them. The first crime known was the robbing of one Nicholas Hitch, who owned a store in the place known as Stender's. Another outrage committed by the gang was the shooting of one George Forbes, a cattle dealer, of Wheeling, in which he was wounded severely and laid for a long time with the wound he had received. The robbing of Stephen Howell was another outrage committed by the gang. The robbing of Lemaster's store, in Tyler county, also the rob- bing of John Burrows, John Clark, Mr. Grossenbaucher, Mr. Bucherm, and others too numerous to mention. Nearly all of the members of the gang had served terms in the penitentiary, and at one time very near all of the gang, yet outrages were still committed. The people by this time were trying every way to find means of breaking up the gang, but could accom- plish nothing. At last a secret organization was formed un-
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der the name of the Redmen, and these men determined to stop what the law so far had failed to do. Jennings was warned of the storm that was near by a piece published in the Labor Vin- dicator, and it was Jennings' own obstinate ways that short- ened his life. On the night of June 12th, 1873, while lying in bed at his home in slumber, and little dreaming that that night would be his last on earth, he was awakened by a shot, doubt- less fired at the faithful watch dog, and on looking out beheld the members of the Redmen, who were more than a score in number, and their faces painted with red paint. He at once knew what it meant. He was no coward, but when he thought of his past life and of the widow and the youngest son, his limbs began to tremble, but he was going to face death like a man. He was ordered to surrender. This, of course, he re- fused to do. He was then commanded to follow them, and again he refused. An attempt was then made to fasten a rope around his neck. His wife seeing this, and knowing the mean- ing, handed him an axe, on which Jennings was shot by one of the Redmen and fell lifeless to the floor. His wife also receiv- ed two bullet wounds, though testifying before the coroner's jury that she did not believe the shots were intended for her. She afterward remarked that she believed they were. It is the opinion of the writer that they were not thus intended. The Jennings gang, Jack and Frank, were in the South the last time they were heard of, but the other members of the gang disappeared, as did the Jennings boys, and not since then, with but one exception, has there ever been a person unlawfully hung or shot by a mob.
THE GHOST OF GAMBLE'S RUN.
This article is not based upon superstition, but it is written to show one of the peculiar cases that has been in the courts, since the formation of the county. The following sketch was written by D. W. Gamble, who was then but ten years old, but who remembers the incident very well, it being revised and cor- rected by the author.
John Gamble, of whom our story relates, was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in the year of 1814. He was a house carpenter by trade, and helped build the second house built in New Cumberland. In the year of 1850, he moved on the farm now owned by the D. W. Skinner heirs, near Sardis Station, on the West Virginia side. He often engaged in buying up staves, tanbark and wagon spokes, and carried them down the Ohio river in flat boats to Cincinnati. The same year he moved to this county there was a very large crop of apples, there being two large orchards on the farm he moved on, and one of the orchards contained crab apples. He went to work, and with hired help, made a number of barrels of cider, and on the afternoon of November 12th, same year, it being the thirty- sixth anniversary of his birth, he started from home in a hurry for New Martinsville, with a skiff, after barrels to put the rest of his cider in, but he never returned, for that very night he was murdered by one Leb Mercer. Now to bring about the facts of the deed. The writer was about ten years old, at the time, and well remembers the incident. John Gamble had a wagon, and sold it to the Whiteman Brothers, who then lived on what was then the Cox farm, and now the property of the Short Line Railroad Company and the heirs of John R. Brown, and took their note for twenty dollars, and after going to New
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