USA > West Virginia > Myers' history of West Virginia (1915) Volume II > Part 23
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entered the county. I desire to say nothing against the secretary of war. I take it for granted that he has done what he believed to be best, but I regard such a policy ruinous.
T. J. Jackson."
The letter which Governor Letcher wrote to General Jack- son was carried by Colonel Boteler, and he returned with Jack- son's reply, in which he consented to have his resignation withdrawn from the files of the war office. This was done. The resignation was entrusted to the keeping of Governor Letcher. When the Confederates retreated from Richmond this paper was forgotten, and would have been lost had not the governor's mother secured it, with other papers, and car- ried it to a place of safety.
Skirmish at Peter Poland's.
In April, 1862, a fight occurred near Grassy Lick, at the residence of Peter Poland, between a company of Federals and a dozen or more men who were preparing to enter the Con- federate srvice. At that time a man styling himself Captain Umbaugh was in that part of Hampshire County raising a company for the Confederate service. He claimed to have authority from Stonewall Jackson, but it was subsequently learned that he had no authority. He collected a dozen or more men and would perhaps have raised a company if his career had not been cut short. Colonel Downey of the Union army, went out from Romney with one company, on April 22, 1862, looking for Captain Umbaugh's men, and any other Con- federates he might find. They came to the house of Peter Poland and took his son, Peter Poland, Jr., prisoner. The young man was a Confederate soldier and was visiting his father. Sometime after the Federals left, Captain Umbaugh. with a dozen of his men, came to Mr. Poland's to spend the night. About three o'clock in the morning the Federals re- turned and called upon the men to surrender. They refused to do so, and a fight immediately began. The Yankees fired through the doors and windows. The walls were so thick that the bullets would not come through. The members of the family protected themselves the best they could from the
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bullets, but one came through the door and struck Peter Po land's arm. The same bullet wounded Isaiah W. Pownall. Jasper Downall, who was in the house, was also wounded. Peter Poland's wound proved fatal two weeks later. When daylight came the men in the house killed three Federals and the others withdrew. Captain Umbaugh took advantage of the situation and retreated with his men. In a short time the Federals returned with reinforcements from Romney. bring ing artillery with which to batter the house down. Troops arrived from Moorefield and Petersburg. But there was no one in the house to oppose them, and they notified Mrs. Poland and her daughters to take their furniture out of the house. They said they would give her two hours to get the things out. She commenced removing the furniture, but in less than fifteen minutes the building was set on fire. The soldiers loaded the household goods on wagons and hanted them off. It is said there are persons in an adjoining county still sleeping on beds stolen from Mr. Poland's house. His property was destroyed or carried off, and the inmates were turned out of doors. Mr. PoĊand's family consisted of his sons, Richard. James C., Peter, William, Isaac. Jasper and Frank M. His daughters were: Elizabeth, who afterwards married John Haire, who was in the house at the time of the fight : Hannah, who married Isaiah Haire, and Mary C .; who married Amos Roberson.
Captain Umbaugh Killed.
Captain Umbaugh, whose fraudulent claim to being an officer in the Confederate service led to the death of Peter Poland and the burning of his house. continued to roam about Hampshire County until he met his death and caused the death of others. In May. 1862. he was at the house of J. T. Wilson, where he was surprised by the Federals. He was shot and killed. At the same time and place John W. Poland was killed and William H. Poland was wounded and taken prisoner.
The Grassy Lick Militia.
When the Civil War began, the Grasss Lick militia was under Captain John 11. Piles. It was the one hundred and
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fourteenth regiment of Virginia militia. It served one year and was then disbanded, many of the members joining the regular Confederate army.
Captain Pile's Company.
When the Grassy Lick militia disbanded in the second year of the war, Capt. John H. Piles and a number of his men entered the regular army of the Confederacy as Company K., electing John H. Piles as captain. The company became a portion of Colonel George Imboden's regiment, and belonged to General John Imboden's cavalry brigade.
McMackin's Militia.
A company of militia, about eighty in number, was or- ganized early in the war under Thomas McMackin as captain. Joseph Berry, lieutenant, and Conrad Wilbert, second lieu- tenant. This company was delegated to guard the district along North River, and was occupied with that work during the summer of 1861 and the early part of 1862. After about one year of service the company went to Winchester, where it disbanded. Some of the men joined other companies and some returned to their homes.
A Sentinel's Mistake.
Rising several hundred feet above the channel of North River is a rock jutting out from the summit of Ice Mountain. McMackin's militia company's camp was near the river at the base of the mountain. It was the custom to place a sentinel on that pinnacle, which was called Raven Rock, at daybreak and keep him there all day. I was his duty to watch the sur- rounding country for the approach of enemies. From the elevated station the region for miles around lies in full view : and a sentinel with a good glass could easily discover troops approaching and could give the alarm in time for the militia in the camp below to prepare for action. The duty of stand- ing guard on the pinnacle usually devolved upon H. L.
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Swisher; but on a certain day, which the militia had occasion long to remember, an inexperienced man was placed on the rocky watch tower, while the experienced sentinel, accom- panied by William Sherwood, went hunting. The new man had not been long on his elevated post when he saw an un usual object rising over an eminence where one of the country roads crossed the ridge in the direction of Springfield. He had not long to wait before he satisfied himself that Yankee cavalry was approaching. Down from the rocks he went to give the alarm in the camp below, where the Rebels were whil- ing away the time, unsuspicious of their danger. The start- ling intelligence produced the greatest consternation. The militia had been waiting a long time for a chance to fight the Yankees, but they did not care to rush into the jaws of death by meeting the advancing cavalry, which, as the sentinel de- clared. "made the road blue for miles." They accordingly rushed the other way. They broke camp double quick, aban- doning what they could not carry away, and up the road they went on a run, crossed the mountains and continued their retreat till they reached Sandy Ridge, several miles distant. Major Devers, who resided at the foot of Ice Mountain, finally succeeded in rallying them, and they made a stand. But the Yankees never put in an appearance, and a battle was averted. The Yankees came suddenly upon William Sherwood and Henry Swisher, who were absent when the retreat began, and took the former prisoner, but the latter made his escape. Great was the mortification of the Confederate militia when they learned that the Federal cavalry which had "made the road blue for miles" consisted of only seven men. But these seven men had accomplished wonders. They had driven eighty militia and had burned a number of houses about North River mills, and then retired unpursued. Maxwell & Swish- er's History of Hampshire County.
Francis Harrison Pierpont.
Francis Harrison Pierpont was born January 25. 1814. in Monongalia County, Virginia, (now Marion County. West Virginia). He graduated at Allegheny College, Meadville.
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Pa., in 1839. He then taught school for a few years and after- wards became a successful lawyer and business man ; later, he was engaged in coal mining and the manufacture of brick.
In politics, he was an Anti-Slavery Whig and was a presidential elector from Virginia in 1848. He was a member of the Methodist Protestant church.
On June 20, 1861, he was elected provisional governor of Virginia by the Wheeling convention. On the fourth Thurs- day of May, 1862, he was elected governor of Virginia, to fill out the unexpired term of John Letcher, who was declared to have vacated his office by having joined the Confederacy.
On the fourth Thursday in May, 1863, he was elected for the full term of four years, beginning January 1, 1864, and re- moved the seat of government from Wheeling to Alexandria before the State of Virginia began its legal existence on June 20, 1863. On May 25, 1865, he removed the seat of govern- ment to Richmond, and served until the end of his term, January 1. 1868, when Major-General Schofield, in command of the First Military District, appointed Henry W. Wells pro- visional governor. lle then returned to his home in Fairmont.
In 1869 he was elected to the House of Delegates and was Jater appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for West Vir- ginia by President Garfield. He died in Pittsburgh, at the home of his daughter, on March 24, 1899, and was buried at Fairmont.
Daniel D. T. Farnsworth.
Daniel Duane Tompkins Farnsworth was born on Staten Island, New York, December 23, 1819. In June, 1821, the family removed to Buckhannon, Upshur County. In carly life he learned the trade of tailor with Charles Lewis, of Clarksburg. He afterwards went into business for himself and was a merchant for thirteen years.
He was a member of the Wheeling convention and took a very active part in the proceedings, being one of the most ardent members of the Carlisle party. At the first Wheeling convention, he offered the first and only resolution providing for the formation of a new state. It was defeated 50 to 17. the delegates not being ready at that time for such a radical step.
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At the reconvening of the convention in August, he was the chairman of the committee of six that presented the new state ordinance and is generally regarded as the author of that ordinance. He was a member of the first House of Delegates of the new state and of the State Senate for seven years. By virtue of his office as President of the Senate, he became Governor to fill the unexpired term of Governor Boreman when the latter was elected to the United States Senate.
Daniel Dye Johnson.
Daniel Dye Johnson was born in this state, April 28, 1830. He received a good education, graduating from Columbian University in June, 1860. From the galleries of congress he listened to the stirring debates on secession and returned home to work against it. He was a member of the Wheeling con- vention and following the formation of the Restored Govern- ment he entered the Union army as Major of the Fourteenth West Virginia Infantry ; was promoted to be Colonel and in many battles was called upon to serve as Brigade Commander.
Honorable John H. Atkinson.
Hon. John H. Atkinson, one of the leading citizens of Hancock County, was also a leading supporter of the Union. He was a member of the first Wheeling convention, and was the chairman of a committee from Hancock County which drew up a set of resolutions, one of which was somewhat similar to the restored government idea later adopted. Ile was elected to the first state senate and was chairman of the committee on education for several years.
James W. Paxton.
James W. Paxton, one of the most prominent residents of Virginia at the time the civil strife began, also has the dis- tinction of having been one of the strongest defenders of the Union. His voice, influence and means were always at the
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command of his country and his services were of the most valuable nature.
He took a leading part in all the Wheeling conventions and his views as expressed on the floor were heard with great respect by all factions. At the first gubernatorial convention, his name was placed before the delegates without his consent and on the first ballot he received a very large vote. He then made known to his friends that he would not accept and on the second ballot, Francis H. Pierpont was named.
When the statehood measure was before congress, Mr. Paxton headed the delegation that went to the national capital to work for its passage. He was afterwards urged to be a candidate for United States senator, but declined, having no desire for political position. His widow, Mrs. James W. Pax- ton, still resides at the beautiful old colonial home at "Up- lands," Pleasant Valley.
James G. West.
James G. West was born at Morgantown, Virginia, (now West Virginia), November 25, 1794. lle married Jemima Thorn about the year 1815. To this union were born the fol- lowing children: Sons, C. N., P. G., J. G. Jr., S. M. and S. G. West: daughters, Elmina J., Mary, Lucinda, Anna J. and Martha. all of whom are now dead, except Captain P. G. West. of Mannington : S. G. West, of Humbolt, Kansas, and Martha Morgan, of Altizer, West Virginia.
James G. West moved to what is now Wetzel County, West Virginia, in the year 1820, settling near the present town of Jacksonburg, where he lived until the spring of 1832, when he removed to and built the house where his great-grandson. 'Squire S. J. Kilcoyne, now lives-just above the village of Mobley. Here he resided till the spring of 1867. when he located on a farm near Mannington, Marion County, at which place he died October 20, 1872.
He was the second sheriff of Wetzel County, having served in that capacity from January 1, 1849, to January 1. 1851 ; was a member of the House of Delegates in 1861, and was also a member of the Second Wheeling Convention, which
History of West Virginia
convened June 11, 1861-particulars of which are given in an other chapter, entitled "Formation of West Virginia." 11 was president of the county court of Wetzel County from 1800 to 1801 ; was a delegate to the State Nomination Convention held at Parkersburg, May 6, 1863; served as justice of the peace twenty years.
Mr. West was a large real estate holder, having at one time owned 7000 acres in Grant District, Wetzel County.
The writer does not know to what religious denomination. if any, Mr. West belonged; but, judging from his recorded actions, he possessed all the qualifications of a Christian gen tleman, and was a person of more than ordinary ability in the pursuit of worthy enterprises. His frequent elevation to po litical honors is sufficient evidence of the high esteem the people held for him.
Hon. P. M. Hale.
llon. P. M. Hale was born near Morgantown on August 25. 1826. In 1849, following his marriage, he moved to Wes- ton and engaged in business. At the beginning of the war he promptly declared for the Union, and called a meeting of the loyal citizens of Weston to meet at his store for the pur pose of mutual protection and the defense of the Union. Hle was chosen delegate from Lewis County to the Wheeling con- vention and took an active part. He was elected to the first legislature of West Virginia and was one of the active worker- for the present free school system of the state.
Chester D. Hubbard.
Chester D. Hubbard was born in Hamden. Connecticut. November 25. 1814. The family removed to near Pittsburgh ' in the spring of 1815, and to Wheeling in March. 1819. He was associated with his father in the brick and lumber busi ness for several years. He prepared for college and entered Wesleyan University, at Middletown, Connecticut. in 1836. graduating as valedictorian of the class of 1840. From that time until his retirement shortly before his death in 1891. he
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was incessantly busy. He became one of the foremost leaders of the Union cause in West Virginia, and called the first Wheeling convention to order. He also took a leading part in all the events of all the Wheeling conventions. He is sur- vived by two sons, Hon. William P. Hubbard and C. R. Hub- bard, and one daughter, Mrs. J. C. Brady, all of this vicinity. Following is a brief chronology of his life :
In the lumber business in Wheeling until the organization of Bank of Wheeling in 1853, when he was elected its presi- dent, giving it his personal attention until 1865.
1844, member of the city council of Wheeling ; 1852, rep- resented Ohio County in the Virginia legislature : 1853, re- elected to the same body : 1861, a member of the Virginia con- vention at Richmond and voted and spoke against the Ordin- ance of Secession. Same year took a prominent part in the Wheeling conventions; 1863, a member of the West Virginia senate : 1864, delegate to the Baltimore convention that nom- inated Lincoln and Johnson ; 1865, president of the board of trustees, Wheeling Female Academy; 1865 to 1869, repre- sented Panhandle district in 39th and 40th Congresses; 1871, secretary of the Wheeling Iron and Nail Co .; 1872, lay dele- gate to M. E. General Conference in Brooklyn, N. Y. : 1874. president of the Pittsburgh, Wheeling & Kentucky Railroad ; 1880, president of the German Bank of Wheeling; 1880, dele- gate to the Republican National Convention at Chicago.
Campbell Tarr.
The Tarr family is of Prussian origin. Peter Tarr, the American immigrant ancestor, came to Pennsylvania near the close of the Revolutionary War: about the year 1800 he re- moved and settled on King's Creek, then in Brooke, but now Hancock County, West Virginia, where he established the first iron smelting establishment west of the Alleghanies. His oldest son, William, wedded Mary, a daughter of James Perry. veteran of the Revolution, and engaged in business, in Wells- burg. Brooke County, where on January 8, 1819, Campbell. the subject of this sketch, was born. He received his carly training from his mother, who was an educated, cultured lady,
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and obtained his business experience in the mercantile house of his father. A student of books, men and environment, he became a leader of public opinion, and when the crisis of 1860 came, the voters of Brooke County elected him to represent them in the Convention at Richmond in 1801, in which he opposed and voted against the Ordinance of Secession.
He was among the most ardent and consistent advocates of a new state and his voice was heard in fiery debate in all the Wheeling conventions. He served two years as treasurer of the Commonwealth under the restored Government, and was then elected the treasurer of the new State of West Vir- ginia. In 1865 he returned to private life, on his farm near Wellsburg, where he died December 22, 1879, leaving issue five children-one son and four daughters.
John S. Carlisle.
Hon. John S. Carlisle was born in Winchester, Virginia. December 16, 1817. His mother was a woman of high culture and educated her son until he was fourteen years of age. He then entered a dry goods store as clerk and at the age of seventeen went into business for himself. He soon formed a taste for the legal profession, studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1840. lle began his law practice at Beverly. Randolph County. In 1847 he was elected to the Virginia Senate and served until 1851. He was a man of untiring energy, a close student, a diligent legislator and a ready and forceful debater. He took a leading rank in the Senate and in 1850 was elected a delegate from Randolph County to revise the state constitution. In that body of distinguished men he was soon found to be one of the most able. In 1855 he was elected to Congress and served one term.
To secure greater opportunities in the practice of law, he removed to Clarksburg. Harrison County. He was employed in practically every important case in that section of the state and achieved great distinction.
In the troubles that immediately preceded the Civil War. Mr. Carlisle was a staunch supporter of the Union. He was a representative from his county at all the Wheeling conven-
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tions, and to him, more than to any other one man, West Vir- ginia owes her existence as a separate state. Several times it seemed that arguments of those opposed to separate state- hood were unanswerable, but on all such occasions the fiery eloquence of Carlisle steadied the wavering delegates and fin- ally turned the tide. He was chosen one of the first two senators from the Restored Government of Virginia and served until 1865. lle died at his home in Clarksburg in 1878.
Waitman T. Willey.
This famous leader of the conservative element in the wheeling conventions was born on Buffalo Creek, Monor- galia County, (now Marion County), October 18, 1811. He was born and reared on a farm. At the age of 17 he entered Madison College (now Allegheny College), from which he graduated in June, 1831.
In the spring of 1832 he began the study of law in Wells- burg under the distinguished Philip Doddridge, and was ad- mitted to the bar in September, 1833. He immediately took up the practice of law at Morgantown.
In 1834 he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Ray, who is now deceased. In 1840 he was an elector on the Har- rison-Tyler ticket ; from 1841 to 1852 was clerk of the county and circuit courts of law and chancery of Monongalia County ; was a member of the Virginia constitutional convention in 1850-51; he was the Whig candidate for congress from his district in 1852 and Whig candidate for lieutenant governor in 1859; in 1860 he was a delegate to the convention that nom- inated Bell and Everett for president and vice-president ; was a member of the Virginia convention of 1861 and voted against the ordinance of secession.
In the memorable Wheeling conventions, which ended with the formation of West Virginia, he was one of the most prominent actors. He was not opposed to the formation of a new state, but consistently advised slow and careful proce- dure. He and the fiery and eloquent John S. Carlisle were the two leaders of the convention. Both were in favor of practically the same action, but on the question of methods
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they led two widely varying factions. The ultimate result was a compromise in which the views of both leaders were incorporated.
Following the formation of the restored government of Virginia, he was selected as one of the two United States sen- ators, drawing the two-year term. In 1865 he was re-elected and served until the expiration of his term in 1871.
For many years previous to the Civil War Senator Willey and Geo. W. Summers, of Kanawha County, were regarded as the leaders of the Whig party in Western Virginia. He was always a man of almost limitless energy and industry and in addition to his public career, wrote much for newspapers and periodicals on both religious and political subjects.
Perhaps his greatest fame was as an orator and his plat- form triumphs were among the most numerous and conspicu- ous in an age when oratory was in flower. Together with his powers as an orator Mr. Willey combined those solid traits which go to make the real statesman.
He was a conspicuous member of the Methodist Episcopal church for more than half a century. He died May 2. 1900.
Gibson Lamb Cranmer.
Gibson Lamb Cranmer, the secretary of the statehood convention that met in Wheeling. June 11. 1861, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, February 20, 1820.
The family removed to Virginia and the son received the greater part of his early education in this state. He became prominent in politics and was elected a member from Ohio County of the General Assembly of Virginia for the term of 1855-56.
He was an ardent supporter of the Union and gave his services unsparingly to aid the fight against secession. . 1s secretary of the Wheeling convention, he rendered great ser- vice in the formation of the restored government of Virginia, and later of the formation of West Virginia. He was elected clerk of the House of Delegates under the restored govern- ment.
Following the war, he was president of the Antietam Na-
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tional Cemetery Association until it was presented to the na- tional government. For many years he was a leading lawyer and jurist of Wheeling and an elder of the First Presbyterian church. He also possessed great literary talent and did a great deal of historical and newspaper writing. Perhaps the best known of these is his "History and Biography of Ohio County."
J. H. Diss De Bar.
J. H. Diss De Bar was, in many respects, a remarkable man. He was a Frenchman, born in Alsace about 1817; re- ceived a classical and scientific education ; spoke and wrote the French, German, and English equally well; had a fair knowl- edge of Spanish and Italian, and readily translated the Latin and Greek. Likewise he was a genius in art ; capable of pro- ducing a likeness portrait in a few swift lines in the briefest space of time. Having resolved to come to the United States, he proceeded to Liverpool, where, on the 4th of January, 1842, he sailed in the Cunard Steamer "Britannia," having as a fel- low voyager the distinguished Charles Dickens. This Depart- ment has in its possession a small portrait of him (Dickens). made by Diss De Bar while at sea on that voyage. Landing in Boston Diss De Bar made his way to Cincinnati, where he was soon after wedded to Clara, the daughter of Eugene Le- vassor, a Frenchman well connected in his own country. From there Diss De Bar removed to Parkersburg, and became in- terested in West Virginia lands. Ile brought the Swiss col- ony to Doddridge County, naming it Santa Clara, in honor of his wife. When the Civil War came he was an ardent New States man, and it was while unsuccessfully contesting the seat of Ephraim Bee, of Doddridge County, that he designed the Coat-of-Arms and Seals of the State. January 3. 1864, Governor Boreman appointed Diss De Bar "State Commis- sioner of Immigration." He went actively to work and in a short time distributed 18,000 pamphlets, hand-bills and adver- tisements in Europe. In 1870 he published "The West Vir- ginia Hand-Book," a work which shows that he possessed a wide knowledge of the resources of the State. His wife died and is buried in the Catholic cemetery at Parkersburg. He
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