USA > West Virginia > Webster County > Moccasin tracks and other imprints > Part 9
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The first store in Webster county was at the McGuire
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MOCCASIN TRACKS
Low Gap on the mountain near Fork Lick. It be- longed to Byrne, Duffy and Company. This firm also had stores at Sutton, Summersville and other places. Groceries, calico, dye stuffs, hand cards for combing wool, and a very coarse quality of cotton yarn were exchanged for beeswax, ginseng and peltries. Money at that time was scarce and it was spent very sparingly. The place was called "Pluck-'em-in" by persons who thought they did not get good bargains at the store. This was about 1840.
Stephen Woods settled in Virginia before the Revolu- tion. Two of his sons, Stephen and Isaac, were killed in the Second War of Independence. Stephen, junior, at the time of his enlistment lived in Augusta county. His son John, in company with four of his neighbors, came to Webster county (then Kanawha county) to dig ginseng. They went as far north as Holly. Woods
was much pleased with the country and moved to this county in 1815, settling on Beaver creek. in what is. now Nicholas county. In 1819 he married Rebecca Hannah. His son. William J., was born in 1825. and married Jane McElwain in 1851. Two other sons, Samuel and Chaney, lived in Webster county in the vi- cinity of Cowen. William J. settled in the Glade coun- try and was a farmer from choice. He cleared out a large farm in the virgin forest. and was the father of a large family of children.
THE SAWYERS FAMILY.
George M. Sawyers, late in life, came from Alle- ghany county, Virginia, in 1831, and settled near Upper Glade. His wife, who was Mary R. Reese before mar- riage, died soon after coming to this county and was the second person buried in the Samuel Given cemetery. George's son Samson married Elizabeth Dyer, dauhg- ter of James Dyer, senior, and located on the Gauley near the mouth of Sand run. He was a farmer and a merchant and died childless in 1866.
Margaret, a daughter of George Sawyers, married James Dyer, the first county superintendent of free schools of Webster county, and lived on the Gauley at the mouth of Beaver run.
John R., eldest son of the pioneer Sawyers, born in 1790, married Nancy Johnson in 1820, and came from Alleghany in 1833, and settled on the Williams river. He was one of the pioneer school teachers. He was a shoemaker and was often called upon to make the wed- ding shoes for pioneer brides. The last pair made for such an occasion was worn by Mary (Polly) Hamrick, who married William Dodrill.
He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was the fifer of his company. His fife used on that occasion is now a treasured relic in the possession of one of his lineal descendants. He was the father of Isaac J., George M., Elvira, Sarah, Isabella, Margaret, Rachel and Jeremiah M.
Isaac was sent to Camp Chase by the Federal author- ities. While there he had the measles, and being dis- charged before fully recovered started home. He
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camped out several nights, sleeping on the damp ground. He died soon after arriving home.
George MI., born in 1822, married Letitia Walker, of Nicholas county, and settled on the Williams, where he gained the distinction of being one of the best hunters in the county. He was elected county clerk of Webster county in 1877 for a term of six years. "The Governor," as he was familiarly called by his many friends, was one of the noted characters of Webster county thirty years ago.
Jeremiah M. was one of the "boys in blue," and saw some desperate fighting as a member of the Tenth West Virginia Infantry. He now lives at Horner. Lewis county, and is the only one of the family still living.
XVI. THE MCELWAIN FAMILY.
Tunice Muckelwain (McElwain), born in 1773, came to the Elk valley from Pendleton county about 1810, and settled on Holly. He had married Catharine .Propst before coming to the county and was the father of ten children. Catharine was born, in 1792; George in 1793; Barbary in 1795; Mary in 1798; Thomas in 1800; Dorothea in 1806; Catharine (named after her deceased sister) in 1808; Jacob in 1810; Elizabeth in 1813, and Nancy in 1815. It can be seen that no charge of race suicide can be alleged against this Ger- man-American · citizen. George married Elizabeth Perrine, born in 1798. This marriage occurred in 1813, and the young couple, full of pluck and vim, settled at the mouth of Laurel creek, where they re- mained until 1832. They then moved to what is now Wainville, and remained there until Mr. McElwain's death, which occurred in 1854. He was a good farmer and left each of his three sons a fine farm adjoining each other. He was a noted hunter, but he did not let that diversion interfere with his farm work. He be- · longed to that class of pioneers that did things. They subdued the wilderness and fought the Indians and the British. They did their full share in the work of laying the foundation of sovereign states. George Mc- Elwain was a soldier in the War of 1812. He was the father of ten children-Nancy, Catharine, Dianah, An- drew, Jane, Rachel, Lewis, Elizabeth, George and Je- rusha. They married and settled in what is now Web- ster county. Nancy married Isaac Weese and moved to the right-hand fork of Lost run. She was the mother
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of four children-Martha, Andrew, Addison and Ange- line. She died in 1852.
Catharine married Enos Weese and lived on the left hand fork of Lost run. She was the mother of George, Lewis, Mack, Wesley, Reuben, Elizabeth, Virginia, Di- anah and Catharine. Mrs. Weese died in 1858 and was buried in the McElwain cemetery near Wainville.
Dianah married Abraham Goff and settled on Laurel creek one mile above Wainville. She became the mother of eight children. Their names were Thomas, Mary, John, Louisa, George, Albert, Benjamin and Isaac. She died in 1884.
Andrew, born in 1826, married Margaret Sawyers in 1850, and moved to the Gauley in 1873. He was the father of Thomas S., William D., George S., Lewis J .. Enos W., Preston M., Kate and Robert. . He was a justice of the peace and served as assessor for twelve years. He died in 1888 and was laid to rest in the old Wainville cemetery. His wife died in 1891.
As stated in a former sketch Jane married William Woods and settled on the head of Birch river. She was the mother of eight children and lived until 1908. and her husband died in 1914.
Rachel, born in 1828, married John Given about 1846, and settled at Upper Glade. They lived there until 1863, where Mr. Given was killed by Federal soldiers. She was the mother of three children: Eliz- abeth, Fannie and Samuel Kyle. She married Major" Marshall Triplett in 1865 and raised one son. Hedge- man. She is the only one of the family now (1915) living. Major Triplett died in 1898.
Lewis, born in 1832, married Matilda Hickman in
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1854, and began housekeeping in the old McElwain homestead near Wainville, then Nicholas county. He was the father of eight children-seven daughters and one son. They were named Rhoda, Martha, Tunice, Catharine, Mary, Jerusha and Ida. The second daugh- ter (name unknown) died at the age of five years. He took a very active part in the affairs of Webster county. He was one of the supervisors in 1871 and 1872. He was elected a justice of the peace in 1876 and served a full term of four years. He was elected a member of the County Court in 1880. He was president of that body for four years in a term of six years. He died in 1911 and his wife in 1912.
Elizabeth, who was born in 1833, married George Ad- kinson and moved to Pocahontas county in 1861. Her husband joined the Confederate army and marched to the front, but she never knew what became of him. She afterwards married Jackson Reynolds and was the mother of eight children. She died in the state of Washington in 1912.
George, born in 1834, married Sarah Newman, of Bedford county, Virginia, in 1868. He lived on a part of the McElwain farm a near neighbor of his brother Lewis. He was the father of two children and he died in 1899.
Jerusha, born in 1835, married William Hoover in 1867, and settled on the head of Birch. She was the mother of eleven children. She died in 1909. Her husband died in 1890 and both were buried on the home farm.
The people in Webster county who can count blood relationship with Tunice McElwain forms a good per-
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centage of the population of the county, but his grand- children, with the one exception noted above, have passed away. A few years hence people will be won- dering as to the kind of men who cleared the forests and built the log cabins on the frontier. Men like Lewis and George McElwain, who wore the red or brown "wamas," with the fringe around the sleeves and the bottom will not be seen. Store clothes of an up-to- date fit and style are worn by the successors of these men. What the people of to-day have gained in edu- cational advancement, has been discounted in the lack of genuine hospitality, good cheer, upright living, and the passing opportunity of enjoying the good health and the appetites incident to pioneer life. In some re- mote period, when Webster county is peopled with a heterogeneous population, and, when their great, great grandchildren have arrived at distinction, there will be a movement started, and carried to a successful termi- nation, to erect tablets and monuments to the memory of the first settlers. The first centennial of the first settlement has come and gone and nothing has as yet been done to mark the graves of the men who wore the moccasin and the hunting shirt.
THE MORTON FAMILY.
Edward Morton was born in Pennsylvania in 1762. At the age of fourteen he became a Revolutionary sol- dier. He served until the close of the war and was with Washington when he captured Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781. After the war he settled on the Cowpasture river in Virginia, where he reared a large
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family of children. He and his son Thomas, who was a soldier in the War of 1812, moved to Stroud's creek in 1850. They purchased five thousand acres of land and at once began to prepare it for cultivation.
Thomas married an Irish girl by the name of Elander Leach. He was the father of the following children : Edward, Robert, John, George, Thomas, Jr., Margaret, Elizabeth, and Sarah. Thomas was the founder of the Morton family in Webster and Nicholas counties.
Edward married Mary Ann Bodkins and became the father of Porterfield, Felix, Catharine and Louisa. Both girls died in childhood.
Robert married Mary Jane Campbell. His children were George, Francis, Charles, Margaret, Rebecca, Mary, Rachel, and Hettie.
John married Mary Ann Devereux and became the father of Garland, Clark, William, Jimison, Samuel, Elizabeth and Caroline.
George married Hannah C. Kyer and reared the fol- lowing children: Emerson, Eskridge H., Catharine, Drusilla, Annie, and Sarah.
Thomas married Sarah Rader and his children were Floyd, Eliza, and Elizabeth. These five brothers lived near neighbors on Stroud's creek. They were most ex- cellent farmers and stock men. They were among the very best citizens of Webster county. Of the daughters, Margaret married John Dodge, Elizabeth married Adam Rader, and Sarah married Charles Kyer.
Felix, the second son of Edward Morton, married Elizabeth Collison in 1867. One son, William E., and one daughter, Annie R., was born unto this union. His wife dying in 1872, Mr. Morton married Nannie
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Bobbitt, of Nicholas county, in 1879. George R., the present (1915) superintendent of the free schools of Webster county, is the eldest of six children.
The Morton family has always been prominent in the development of Webster county. Many have filled places of public trust and have rendered efficient ser- vices. Members of the family have been prominent in educational advancement and have been successful school teachers.
TRACKLETS.
Samuel Given, senior, took the first census of Web- ster county in 1860. The second census was taken by Isaac H. Griffin in 1870.
The Honorable Joseph A. Alderson represented the counties of Nicholas, Braxton and Clay in the House of delegates of the General Assembly of Virginia in its session of 1859-1860. Mr. Alderson was a great ad- mirer of Daniel Webster, who died in 1852, and he selected Webster as the name for the new county pro- vided for at that session of the Assembly.
He was the father of the late Honorable John D. Al- derson, of Nicholas county.
The first Webster county court house, together with all the records, with the exception of one book not in the building at the time, was burned on the night of June 17, 18SS. The origin is not definitely known, but it was probably burned to destroy some records in- volved in a land suit.
The election of 1865 was a very exciting one. The following men were candidates for assessor : Addison Hamrick, of Gauley ; Andrew McElwain, Arthur Ham- rick, Adam G. Cogar. Franklin Hamrick, William Hamrick, Adam Gregory. William Given, and Joel Dob- bins. This race would indicate that men were no less willing to be sacrificed for the good of the public. fifty years ago, than they are to-day.
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In 1850, Robert Gregory built a school house near the present site of the St. Mary's school house, and Wil- liam Given was employed as teacher for three months. William G. Hamrick, Benjamin Hamrick, Isabel Ham- rick, Rebecca Gregory, Isaac Gregory, Thomas Gregory, William Gregory, Noody Gregory, Samuel Given, Betsey Given. James Dobbins, Nancy Dobbins, and Cur- rence Gregory were his pupils.
*
The following men went from the Elk valley and vicinity to Norfolk, Virginia, in the War of 1812, to fight the British: Colonel Isaac Gregory, William Hamrick, Benjamin Hamrick, John Kyer, Jacob Co- gar, Daniel Matheny, Thomas Cogar, George McEl- wain, and James Miller. They joined a regiment at Lewisburg and immediately marched across the Alle- ghany mountains to the Atlantic. The camp site at Norfolk was low and swampy. Many fell victims to malarial and typhoid fevers. The men were given picks and shovels and set to work building fortifica- tions. When these were completed, they were told to throw the earth back to its original place. In this way, the men were given exercise. They did not have a chance to fight the enemy because the British did not make any attempt to land troops at that place. But they did see the British flag displayed from the mast head of a British-man-of-war far out at sea.
William Hamrick, the hunter. was born in 1789. He was four years old when he was carried from the Wil- liams river to Donnally's fort by Jack McMillion. Jen- nie Gregory. who became his wife, was four years old
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when her father, Colonel Isaac Gregory, moved to the Gauley in 1800. She remembered seeing her mother fall from her horse in the Greenbrier river on that memorable journey into the wilderness. William Ham, rick settled in the Elk valley in 1812. His two nearest neighbors were Bonner, living at the mouth of Balti- more run, and Wright, living at the Given ford. *
Isaac Duefield and his wife Isabel lived near the mouth of Miller Mill run on the Gauley in 1803. Due- field and Colonel Gregory were brothers-in-law and both came from Bath county.
*
Colonel Isaac Gregory was one of the first justices of the peace of Nicholas county and became a member of the county court at Kessler's Cross Lanes in 1818. C. W. Cottle, who killed the elk above the mouth of Straight creek, was also one of the first justices and was elected the first member of the General Assembly from Nicholas county.
*
The following is a copy of one of the very first, if not the first, teachers' certificates granted in Webster county.
Webster County, West Va., December 4, 1868.
This is to certify that I have this day examined James Woodzell and finding him qualified to teach a Primary School in this county do hereby give him a No. 2 certificate In Duplicate.
Jas. Dyer Co. Supt. of Free Schools.
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Mr. Woodzell taught at Webster Springs for a term of three months on the above certificate. This was the first free school taught at the Springs. Doctor C. W. Benedum followed Owen Thornton in 181. Peter L. J. Cogar, James Woodzell, George Wolverton and Pat- rick F. Duffy were the only residents of the town at that time.
List of Union soldiers from Webster county during the Civil War.
Wesley Collins,
Co. A. 10th W. Va. Vol. Inft.
Riley Collins,
Archibald Collins,
Wilson Howell,
Zachariah R. Howell.
..
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James Green,
George W. Wolverton,
William McAvoy,
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Owen Brenigar,
Addison McFisher,
Abner Cogar.
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William G. Hamrick,
Robert Pritt,
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Shannon Cline,
K.
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,
Isaac H. Griffin,
Geo. Griffin,
Jeremiah Sawyers,
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Adam Gregory,
I. Artillery.
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„ E. 3rd W. Va. Cavalry.
The boys of the Tenth West Virginia did some hard fighting during the time in which they were in the service.
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The following is a correct list of the engagements that William G. Hamrick took part in when a member of the Tenth : Buckhannon, Virginia, August 29, 1862; Beverly, West Virginia, July 3, 1863; Droop Mountain, West Virginia, November 6, 1863; Leetown, Virginia, July 3, 1863; Maryland Heights, Maryland, July 6, 7, 1864; Snicker's Ferry, Virginia July 17, 18, 1864; Winchester, Virginia, July 24, 1864; Mar- tinsburg, West Virginia, July 25, 1864; Berryville, Virginia, September 3, 1864; near Winchester, Vir- ginia, September 19, 1864; Fisher's Hill, Virginia, September 22, 1864: Cedar Creek, Virginia, October 19, 1864; Hatcher's Run, Virginia, November 30, 1864; Petersburg, Virginia, April 2, 1865; Rice's Station, Virginia, April 7, 1865; Appomattox, Vir- ginia, April 9, 1865.
I certify on honor this is a true statement of the within mentioned engagements.
Sergt. Roswell A. Shepherdson,
Co. E. 10th Regt. W. Va. Vol. Inft.
George Griffin was killed at the battle of Rocky Gap. called by the Confederates Dry Creek, in 1863. James Green died on his way home after his discharge in Upshur county. Abner Cogar died in a hospital tent at Winchester. Isaac H. Griffin was wounded at Steven's Depot, and W. G. Hamrick received a slight wound at Winchester. Addison McFisher received a severe wound at Snicker's Gap. L. M. Marsh was captain of Com- pany E.
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Henry C. Moore was born in Clinton, Maine, in 1817. He married Margaret Hamrick in 1853. At one time he was one of the largest land owners in Web- ster county. At the beginning of the Civil War he went to Clarksburg, where he joined the Federal army and acted as pilot for General George B. McClellan in his Western Virginia campaign. Mr. Moore repre- sented Webster county in the First Wheeling Conven- tion in 1861, for one week. In 1863 he went west. He spent a large portion of his later years in trying to solve the problem of aerial navigation. He died but recently in the state of Iowa.
The Act by the Virginia General Assembly creating Webster county located the seat of justice on land owned by Addison Mclaughlin, at the junction of the Elk and the Back Fork rivers. and declared that it should be called Addison. The place had been known as Fork Lick for many years. When the town was sur- veved it was called by the latter name and it continued to be so until an Act was passed by the Legislature of West Virginia in 1873 declaring that the town there- after should be known as Addison. The name was changed in 1903 to Webster Springs by legislative en- actment. A very euphonious name has been erased . from the map of West Virginia by American commer- cialism, and a great injustice has been done to the memory of a public spirited man who gave to the peo- ple of Webster county their public square.
Other Imprints
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THE TRUE GRANDEUR OF NATIONS.
Ancient nations had their rise, continuance, decline, and fall, and each in its own way taught to succeeding nations a lesson for good or for evil. Modern nations have had their rise and continuance, and many have somewhat declined in power and influence during the last two hundred and fifty years. When we take a retrospective view of the historic nations the question : "What constitutes the True Grandeur of Nations ?" naturally arises. It does not consist of an extensive empire built up at the expense of weaker nations and governed by a Caligula, a Nero, or a George III ; it does not consist of a splendid and a well equipped army that might at the bidding of a tyrant crush a weaker nation struggling for political freedom; it does not consist of a powerful navy whose vessels carry the ensign of power into foreign seas; it does not consist of high walls like the Athenians built in Attica or the Babylonians built at Babylon ; neither does it consist of fine military roads like the Appian Way, built by the Romans in southern Italy, over which their army marched to victory under the imperial eagle. But it does consist of the prin- ciples promulgated in the American Declaration of In- dependence, that all men are created equal and are en- titled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It also consists of the individual worth and the intellectual development of the people composing the nation. Abraham Lincoln, the great Commoner and American statesman, recognized the first of these in his great ora- tion on the Gettysburg battle field when he spoke of a government being of the people, for the people, and by
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the people. Napoleon Bonaparte, perhaps the greatest military genius the world has ever produced, recognized the second of these when he spoke of men as being nothing, but a man as everything. Though a nation may be composed of individuals as innumerable as the sands of the seashore, if they do not possess a high perception of right ; if they fail to promote the universal brotherhood of mankind both at home and abroad; if they are unwilling to assist the weak, the oppressed and the helpless, that nation will fail to contribute any- thing of material worth to the advancement of civiliza- tion, or to the moral and religious elevation of man- kind. Where these principles have been recognized and where they have been carried into effect, we find the nation has made the greatest progress in all things that make a people great, contented, prosperous and happy.
The great Medo-Persian Empire, occupying the fair- est portion of Eurasia, and possessing many advantages in soil and climate, failed to exert an influence for good either at home or abroad because the rulers acted from the false premise that might makes right. While it is true that King Darius and his illustrious son and successor Xerxes could muster and equip millions of men and could carry on a war of conquest in Europe, in Asia, and in Africa, yet they utterly failed to wield an influence for good among the nations of the earth. Military glory and achievement stimulate individual action, but in the end it causes decay by impoverishing nations as well as individuals. War should only be resorted to when a nation fails to secure justice by in- ternational law or arbitration.
The people inhabiting the little country of Phœnicia,
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hemmed in on the east by the Lebanon mountains, whose only outlet on the west was by way of the Mediterranean sea, did not go forth to conquer the world by military tactics but by planting colonies in distant countries, fostered trade and navigation and disseminated learning and civilization to the uttermost parts of the known world. They aided most of the great enterprises of antiquity. They introduced the alphabet into Europe ; they furnished naval armaments for the Pharaohs of Egypt; they assisted Solomon in building the magnif- icent temple at Jerusalem ; they built the Hellespontine bridge for Xerxes; a Phoenician vessel served as a model for the first Roman war galley. Modern civiliza- tion owes more to the little country of Phoenicia than it does to the great Persian Empire.
Switzerland, situated in the Alpine regions of south- ern Europe, has never been conquered by a foreign foe. Her policy has been one of peace and she has never at- tempted to conquer or oppose any nation or people. Each individual has been given a just share in the government and they have always been entitled to the fruits of their labor. The battlefields of Morgarten, Sempach and Naefles, where the Swiss peasants met the Austrian tyrants, will always be revered by liberty- loving people of all nations. They did not wage war for glory or for conquest, but for political existence. Individual worth is the true philosopher's stone that has ever given a golden hue to national existence. It is the key that has unlocked the storehouse of material creation, and has harnessed the mighty forces of nature.
Greece is a good example of the higher aims of a people. As long as her people were ruled wisely she
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flourished and produced such great characters as Homer, Solon, Aristides and Lycurgus. . When she departed from the principles of the golden rule, rivalry, jealousy and hatred was engendered and the great Pelopone- sian War was the result. This soon caused the down- fall and the enslavement of Greece. Nations can no less afford to be dishonest with each other than in- dividuals. Greece bore her best fruit during the days of peace and colonization and before military glory was her object.
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