USA > West Virginia > Wood County > Sketches of Wood County : its early history : as embraced in and connected with other counties of West Virginia : also brief accounts of first settlers and their descendants : including accounts of its soils, timber, minerals, water, and material wealth > Part 6
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Of the Scotch emigrants with families who first came to Belleville with Mr. Wood, and those who came the following spring, we have been able to gather only the following named persons, viz : Messrs. McDon- al, Greathonse, Tabor, James Pewthewer, Wm. Ingals, Jemerson, An- drew McCash, and two single men, F. Andrews and Thomas Gilruth .- We are not aware that any of the descendants of these families are now residing in this country.
In the year 1787 this settlement was joined by the following persons : viz : Joel and Joseph Dewy, from near Wyoming, Pa .; Stephen Sherod and family, from the same place, Malcomb Coleman, with his wife and family of sons and daughters, from Carlisle, Pa .; Peter and Andrew An- derson, from above Wheeling, Va. Descendants from these last named families are still living in the lower part of this and Jackson county .- We made mention of some of them in the fifth chapter. .
-. In the spring of 1785, a company of hunters and trappers from the vicinity of Wheeling, but formerly from the Susquehanna river, Pa., took possession of an abandoned Indian improvement of about twenty acres. above the mouth of Lee Creek, erected a station house and cultivated the improvement in corn. This was then known as Flinn's Station. I. consisted of old Mr. Flinn, a widower, and his two sons, Thomas and James, and their families, Mr. Parchment, with his wife and two sons, Jacob and John, Mr. John Barnett, who married a daughter of Flinn's. and Mr. John McCessack, a single man. The principal occupation of these men was hunting and trapping. In 1787 the inhabitants of this station moved down to the station at Belleville, thus adding strength, safety and protection to the inhabitants of that station against the Indi- ans, who had commenced being troublesome by their stealing of horses, etc., and threatening the safety of the settlement.
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JOSEPH WOOD.
We have already spoken of Mr. Peter Anderson. Soon after the formation of Wood county, he was commissioned, on the 4th of May, 1801, and filled the office of Justice of the Peace, acceptably, until his great age eansed him to resign. On his resignation, the Rev. Ben- jamin Mitchell, an able local minister of Belleville, was commission- ed and filled that office in that vicinity until his death in 1834. Mr. John Kincheloe, of Belleville, was the successor of Mr. Mitchell, and filled that office in that community until the adoption of the constitu- tion.of 1851.
Mr. Joseph Wood, the agent of the Tilton lands, was united in mar- ringe with Miss Margaret Pewthewer, a Scotch lady, a daughter of James Pewthewer, one of the first emigrants to that settlement, in summer of 1790. Owing to the fact that no person in that settle- ment was anthorized to solemnize the rites of matrimony, they came up to "Farmer's Castle," in Belpre. Ohio, where the marriage cere- mony was performed by Gen. Benjamin Tupper, a magistrate of that State. In 1791 he moved to Marietta, Ohio. In that place and vi- cinity he resided until his death in 1851, in the 93d year of his age, having- filled with credit and honor many important offices. His daughter, Miss Agnes, still resides at the homestead place in that city, who is in possession of her father's papers.
Having thus very briefly sketched these facts which have come to our knowledge relative to the first settlement made at Belleville, in 1785, and traced the same down to 1795, the year of the treaty of peace with the Indians of the Northwestern territory, which resulted from the victories of 'Gen. Wayne, in some future chapter we will briefly notice the individual settlers who came to that portion of our county after that date. In doing this, we presume that many per- sons will be omitted for the want of information. We find in the records of our county many names that furnish no data of their com- ing, or when they left, or of their pursuits while here. This want of correct information we meet with frequently while endeavoring to make up these sketches.
CHAPTER VIII.
FIRST SETTLEMENT:
Among the citizens and inhabitants of the county, at the present day, there are but few, if any, remaining, who can rightly appreciate the rude character, heroism and worth of many of those noble and fearless frontiersmen, who, from the condition of those early times and the sur- rounding circumstances of the country and its settlements during the last half of the eighteenth century, were employed by the Province of Virginia as Rangers, for the purpose of giving notice to, and protect- ing the inhabitants of the settlements which were then being extended from the Valley of Virginia, west and northwest, to and over the Alle- gheny Mountains, to the tributary streams of the Ohio river. The Int dian tribes of the great northwestern territory, from the influences then brought to bear upon them by the French and English Governments, were a cruel and dangerous foe, then hanging about the skirts of these settlements.
It frequently taxed the wisdom and the limited resources of the House of Burgesses of Virginia to successfully provide for the safety and de- fence of her citizens who were then making settlements along the front- ier boundaries of her counties. . The Rangers thus employed by them . had to o men who could discover and identify the traces and courses of these indians in their raids, their manner of attack, their mode of warfare, and successfully turn them back, or punish them for theit ag- gressions.
Among those employed by the Colonial Government of Virginia as a . Ranger, for the protection of her frontier settlements, was Mr. Isaac Williams, who spent the last of his years as a citizen of this county .- Being one of its first settlers, and for many years occupying a prowi-
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ISAAC WILLIAMS.
nent position in this county, we will here give a brief notice of him and his family, as well as a brief notice of those who succeeded to his estate in this county.
In doing so, however, we here acknowledge our indebtedness to the sketches made by the late Dr. S. P. Hildreth, of Marietta, Ohio, for many of the facts herein stated ..
. Mr. Isaac Williams was born in Chester county, Pa., on the 16th of July, 1737. When quite a youth his parents removed with him to Winchester, Va., where he grew up to young manhood. He early in life displayed great love and aptitude for hunting and trapping. . When at the age of eighteen years, the Colonial Government of. Virginia em- ployed him as a Ranger and spy to watch the movements of the Indians on the frontier, and ward off the dangers from their attacks upon the white settlements. In that capacity he served Virginia in that disas- trous campaign of Gen. Braddock, in the year 1754. He was also one of the Rangers who assisted in guarding the first convoy of provisions and ammunition to Fort Duquesne, after it had been captured by Gen. Forbes, of Pennsylvania, in 1758,and who had changed its name to Fort Pitt. At that time the western part of the present State of Pennsylva- nia was supposed to belong to the Colony of Virginia. The completion of the survey of the Mason and Dixon line gave it to that State.
The following ten years after, he spent in hunting and trapping on the western waters, having descended the Ohio to the Mississippi, and ascended the Mississippi to the Missouri river and returned. In 1768 he conducted his parents over the mountains from Winchester, and settled thom on Buffalo Creek, near West Liberty,in what is now Brooke county, West Va. In 1769 he accompanied Ebenezer and Jonathan Zane in their explorations of the country around Wheeling, Zanesville, . and other locations, west of the mountains. By his hunting and trap- ping excursions he became well acquainted with the topography of the Ohio river and its tributaries, and entered several tomahawk rights, which he sold. In 1774 he accompanied Governor Dunmore in his In- dian expedition against the Shawnees, then at war with the Colonies, un- der the leadership of the celebated chieftain, Cornstalk, and was with him when he concluded the treaty of peace near Chilicothe, after the battle at Pt. Pleasant, under Gen. Lewis, in that year.
In 1775 he became acquai ..:. 1 with Mrs. Rebecca Marti , at Grave Creek, whose husband had be., killed by the Indiaus, on Tog Hocking, .in 1770, and after a short ac . intance, the were unitel marriage. She was a daughter of Mr. Joseph Tomlin1, born at Creek, on the Potomac, in the State of Maryland, ( ue 14th da February, 1754. After the death of her first husban , .n 1771, sho . ccompanied her two brothers, Samuel and Joseph, to Grave Creek, on the Ohio riv- er, and was their housekeeper for several years. In 1783 her brothers while engaged in trapping at and near the mouth of the Big Muskingum, preempted for her a tract of 400 acres of land in Virginia, opposite the
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52
ISAAC WILLIAMS.
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mouth of the Big Muskingum river, and cleared four aeres and erected a cabin thereon. and raised a crop of corn during that year. This tract of land, owing to its locatien, and the fertility of its soil, has become very valuable. The beautiful village of Williamstown forins a part of it, while the residue has been divided into small farms, now in a high state of cultivation.
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In 1786, Fort Harmar, at the mouth of the Muskingum river, having been established and garrisoned by United States troops, on the 26th day of March, 1787, Mr. Isaac Williams, with his wife and family, mov- ed to and settled on this 400 acre tract belonging to his wife, under the preemption laws of Virginia. Soon after their arrival at the place, his wife gave birth to a daughter, whom they named Drusilla. She was the only child by this marriage. She lived to become a woman, and was united in marriage to John G. Henderson, a son of Alexander Hender- son, of Dumfries, . Va. By him she became the mother of one child. which died in infancy. Soon after the death of this child the mother died, being about twenty years of age. Mr. John G. Ilenderson came to this county in 1797, in company with the late Robert Triplett. Mr. Henderson filled important positions in this county for many years after its organization. A notice of him and his brothers, who settled here at an early day, is reserved for a future chapter.
After the removal of Mr. Williams to this wilderness farm, he aban- doned hunting and trapping as a means of support (only seldom taking an excursion as a pastime), and devoted his time and attention to this farm, making all necessary improvements. Situated opposite to and commanding a full view of Marietta and the Big Muskingum river, it soon became a noted and interesting place of retreat, and is now known by the name of Williamstown.
Honesty, industry, prudence and economy gave him prosperity as a farmer, and secured for him the respect and esteem of all the early pio- neers. Thoughtful and considerate of the welfare and happiness of others, his benevolence extended a helping hand to any in want. After living on this plantation for thirty-three years, and making it one of the most pleasant and productive farms in the country, surrounding himself with the necessary comforts of those early times, making his home the mansion of hospitality for his neighbors and friends, as also a resting place for the stranger, he died on the 25th of September, 1820, aged 84, having spent an active life, full of years. nade up of good deeds, and in the enjoyment of a hope of a blessed im. rtality.
The first half of his manhood years was mostly devoted to the pro- tection of the frontier settlements against the inroads and attacks of the Indians in their savage mode of warfare. As a ranger and spy upon their war-paths, he had but few, if any equals. He had made himself well acquainted with all their modes of pursuit, attack and retreat. In these dangerous expeditions he was frequently the associate of Lewis
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ISAAC WILLIAMS.
Wetzel, Kerr, and others of great notoriety in those years. He was cool, thoughtful and courageons, and so watchful of his foe as never to permit him to gain an advantage or infliet on him a wound. His wife possessed the same heroic courage and dauntless spirit, and shar- ed with him in the full sympathy of his nature.
In person he was of the medium size, with an upright frame and inuscular limbs, features well formed and marked, a mild expresions of countenance, with tacitur and quiet manners, securing confidence and respect. Hle with his family, were buried in a beautiful spot, on his plantation. shaded by the trees he dearly loved in life.
After the death of Mrs. Rebecca Williams, this beautiful planta- tion descended by devise to the late John A. Kinnard, who had married Miss Mary Tomlinson, the sixth child of Joseph and Elizabeth Tom. linson, late of Grave Creek, and a niece of Mrs. Williams. Mr. John A. Kinnard, with his young wife, moved to Wood county in 1807,and settled on this farm. Here they raised a family of six children, who attained to man and womanhood, and who are now all dead but one, Mrs. Mary Gardner,
In January, 1827, he was commissioned a Justice of the Peace of the county, and served the county acceptably until his advanced age caused him to resign. In the discharge of publie duties, he was thoughtful, considerate, and faithful. In private life he was highly esteemed for his uprightness of character and manly bearing.
Having made a disposition of his property among his children, he removed to Parkersburg, and for some time before his death, he and his wife resided with their youngest daughter, Mrs. Gardner. He died at Parkersburg, on the 2d of May, 1850, in the 73d year of his age. His esteemed and venerable widow, Mrs. Mary Kinnard, sur- vived him until the 16th of March, 1873, when she died at Parkers- burg, at the residence of her daughter, at the age of 87 years. They filled up the measure of their years with usefulness to themselves and society, and died respected and beloved. '
We will give a brief notice of their children in the order of their births :
First-Alfred Little Kinnard, who was born in the summer of 1808. He graduated at Athens College, Ohio; studied law for his profession, and commenced practice in Parkersburg in the fall of 1833. But not liking it, he soon abandoned that profession, and con- menced merchandising in Ripley, Jackson county; but not meeting with success, he returned to this county, where he resided until his death. On the 3d of January, 1839, he was happily united in mar- riage with Miss Julia A. Nixon, of Parkersburg. No children were born to them. Ile died at Parkersburg, on the 6th of March, 1872, aged 63 years, 10 months and 3 days. After a long and painful ill- ness from cancer, she died at Parkersburg, on the 24th of June, 1878. They were zealous and active members of the M. E. Church, South,
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JOHN A. KINNARD.
Second-Louisa Kinnard, who married the late Hon. John F. Suod- grass. She died at Parkersburg, on the 22d day of October, 1843,aged 31 years, 11 months and 22 days, leaving four children. Mr. Suod- grass was a native of Berkeley county. Va., emigrated to Parkersburg in 1830, and entered successfully upon the practice of the law; was elected and served in the Convention of Virginia in 1851.2, and was re-elected, and took his seat in Congress in 1853, and died at Park- ersburg, on the 5th of June, 1854.
Third-Rebecca Kinnard was united in marriage to Alexander Murdoch, of Washington, Pa .; died 23 of January, 1841, aged 27 years and 12 days.
Fourth-Drusilla Kinnard died unmarried at the home residence of her parents, in Williamstown, the 21st day of August, 1841, aged 25 years, 6 months and 15 days.
. Fifth-Rev. Rufus Kinnard, a worthy local minister in the M. E. . Church, was united in marriage to Miss Sophia Cook, eldest daughter of the late Tillinghast A, Cook, died at . Williamstown, the 24th day of March, 1871, aged 51 years, 6 months and 19 days. He was a prominent, active and useful citizen, respected by all, filling up the incasure of his years with usefulness. At his death he left a widow with seven children, who reside at the homestead place, in Williams- town. His widow has been united in marriage with John. A. Hen- derson, of that town.
Sixth-The youngestchild and daughter, Mary, was united in mar- riage to Wm. S. Gardner, on the 5th of November, 1844. He was a native of the State of Pennsylvania, and settled in this county in '35, and was married to Miss Ann S. Beeson, the youngest daughter of the late Col. Jacob Beeson, (who occupied a prominent position in the car- ly history of this county.) He was engaged very extensively in mer- chandising. Ile died the 31st day of October, 1849, aged 37 years, 4 months and 14 days. His widow still resides in Parkersburg, and it was at her home that her venerable parents closed up the eventful periods of their lives.
While penning the foregoing sketches of John A. Kinnard and his. once interesting family, our mind has frequently turned back, and with mournful pleasure reviewed the days of other years, when these parents with their children, formed an unbroken, happy family around the domestic hearth of home, and we were permitted to share in their hospitality. Intelligence and refinement, blended with cheerfulness of heart, in kindred sympathies, made tl.e hours pass smoothly and pleasantly,and imparted to memory a rich legacy of remembrances, of joss and happiness. We can almostsee again the watchful pride of parental love, as then bestowed upon those children of their future hopes. Now, all except one has passed in hope to the joys of that bet- ter, brighter, happier world.
On the Southern banks of the Ohio, upon an elevated plateau of
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JOHN A. KINNARD.
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land, fronting Marietta, and within the original boundaries of this plant- ation, is situated the pleasant village of Williamstown. Several years ago it was made an incorporated town by an Act of the Legislature of Vir- ginia, and coutains a population of about five hundred inhabitants. A turnpike extends back through this county from this town over fine ara- ble lands, and intersects the Northwestern Turnpike, fifteen miles East of Parkersburg. Above and below the town, the bottom lands on the Ohio are wide and of the best quality, giving not only fine views of the Ohio Valley, but also of the Muskingum. The railroads terminating at Marietta add greatly to the landed estate of this portion of the county .- A charter was obtained from the Legislature of Virginia for a railroad from this town to intersect the Northwestern Virginia Railroad at the town of Ellenboro, thirty-seven miles East of Parkersburg, but failed in being made for want of capital.
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CHAPTER IX.
Belleville in 1795.
In Chapter Seven, we presented to the reader an account of the first settlement made at Belleville, in the lower part of this county, in 1785, and followed its history down to 1795, the date of the close of the Indi- an war in the then Northwestern Territory, and the treaty of peace re- sulting from the victories of General Anthony Wayne, made at Green- ville. Ohio.
We made our sketch of that settlement in those years from 1785 to 1795, as perfect and complete as the limited materials at our command would admit. The information was gathered from several sources, of a reliable character. As that settlement soon thereafter assumed a leed- ing position in this vicinity, we will continue the same from that year, (1795.)
The treaty of peace made with the Indians in the summer of 1795, at Greeneville, Ohio, opened up a new chapter in the settlements on the Ohio and its numerous tributaries, arising from the comparative safety felt by the inhabitants then occupying the country, from fear of Indian raids and their cruel barbarities, so common in former years.
Italso invited new emigrants from among the young and enterprising families of the South, East and North, to here select and open up homes, amidst the rich and fertile lands of this great . iley. This desirable op- portunity was hailed and improved, and the time of emigration became great as the country became more generally and perfectly known. Un- der these auspices, in this chapter we shall further trace the settlement inade at Belleville and its vicinity.
We have learned that Mr. David Lee, a hunter and trapper, some years prior to 1785, had encamped on Lee Creek, forthe purpose of proscenting that business, and consequently the creek took its name
ยท
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GEORGE D. AVERY.
. from him. He continued his residence and occupation in that vicin- ity, and in one of those years he married a sister of Mr. Peter Ander- son, and finally purchased land, and settled on Tygart creek in this connty, and raised a family of five sons and three daughters. The last of his sons, of whom we have any knowledge, was Mr. Stephen Lee, who died some years since in this comity. Several of the de- scendants of Mr. David Lee reside in this county. He was a native of the State of Pennsylvania, and in early life had the reputation of be- ing one of the most successful hanters and irappers of his time.
About the year 1796 or 1797, the settlement at Belleville received a most important addition by emigrants from the State of Connecti- cut. The leading man of this emigration was Mr. George D. Avery. He commenced, and for several years carried on merchandizing in connection with ship-building, at that place. Many ships in those early years were built there, and descended the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to the Ocean. He was a man of fine educational attainments, a professed surveyor and civil engineer. Of some of his services in this capacity; we will hereafter speak.
His wife had been the widow of Mr. Champlin, of Connecticut, a lady well edneated and of fine culture. By him she was the mother . of three sous, viz: Lodwick, Samuel and Guy. Champlin. By Mr. Avery, she was the mother of one son, who was named after his fathi- er. These orphan children of Mr. Champlin were under the guidance and supervision of Mr. Avery, who acted a generous part by them .- The estate of Mr. Champlin was invested in land for his children and heirs, by Mr. Avery, on the upper part of Belleville Bottom, and is included in the lands now belonging to Mr. Daniel R. Neal.
After the formation of Wood county, Mr. Avery was commissioned and ably filled the office of Justice of the Peace, taking a prominent part in the reviewing and establishing of county roads, and looking after the general welfare of the county.
Under the direction of William Robinsou, Jr., and Dr. Joseph Spen- cer, (who were litigating their titles to Parkersburg), on the 7th of December, 1810, Mr. Avery completed his survey of the town of Par- kersburg, the streets of which are made to intersect each other at. right angles; running from the Ohio river in a Southeasterly direction, and from the Little Kanawha northeasterly. The town then contained one hundred and seventy acres of land. The plot and survey as then made by Mr. Avery, was put upon record in the Clerk's Office of the coun- .ty at the February term, 1816, and will be found in Deed Book No. 5, page 337, and 338. Avery street, the fifth from the Ohio river, runs from the Little Kanawha river, at the East end of the old Fer- ry, formerly kept by Col. Otis L, Bradford, in a Northeasterly direc- tion, passes on the Northwest side of the passenger depot ot the B. & O. Railroad, was named in honor of hin.
After doing a large and extensive business at Belleville, for many
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THE PRENTISS FAMILY
years, he finally failed financially, and having had the misfortune to bury his wife. he removed, and his subsequent history, as well as that of the Champlin family, is unknown to the writer. It is thus that many of the carly citizens of the county, who filled prominent and responsible po- sitions, have been lost sight of, and have passed away.
Among the emigrants to Belleville with Mr. Avery, was that of Mr. Prentiss and family .: His wife was a sister to Mrs. Avery. He pur- chased and seitled on a farm on the Ohio river, immediately above and adjoining Lee Creek, and also purchased other lands or lots in Bele- ville. Soon after settling there he died, leaving a widow and two sons, Jonathan and Henry L. Prentiss.
Mr. Jonathan Prentiss inherited the furin on Lee ereek. After some years, he emigrated and settled in Monongalia county, and finally sold the farm to Caleb Wells, and it now belongs to his heirs. Henry L. Prentiss married Miss Rebecca Mayberry, daughter of Mr. Geo. May- berry, deceased, and sister of the late Hon. John P. Mayberry, of Park- ersburg. He sold his land at. Belleville, and purchased and settled in Parkersburg. For many years he filled prominent positions in the county. On the 28th of February, 1822, he was commissioned a Jus- tice of the Peace, which office he held until 1837, when he removed to the West. He was elected and served this county several times in the House of Delegates of Virginia. He finally settled in Quincy, Illinois, where he died many years since. His eldest son, Gen. Benjamin M .. Prentiss, resides in that city. Many of our old citizens will remember Henry I. Prentiss, and the quaintness of his address, and the burlesq- neness of his manners.
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