USA > West Virginia > Harrison County > Clarksburg > The Shawnee trail : program : an historical pageant presented at Clarksburg, West Virginia, June 13 and 15, 1923 > Part 3
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Clubs and organizations who are doing educational work show us their principles and their ideals of progress.
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Scene 4 INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
The Oil, Coal and Gas Industries and the Potteries, Glass Fac- tories, Steel Plants and other Industries in Harrison county show their growth.
PROLOGUE The Soldiers of All the Wars
Oh memory! Sacred memory! Recall anew those treasured recollec- tions.
Refresh our minds with deeds that speak of daring, valor, and of sacrifice,
For truly can it be said of the sons of this old Mountain State,
With our honored host, "Bravely they fought, and well"-the soldiers of all the wars.
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'Twas not love for spilled blood, or flying darts, or of canon's roar, But in defense of humble cabin homes, of women, and of children young,
To transfer a wilderness primeval into an abode of civilization and liberty
That our strong sires blazed the way, and took their places in French and Indian wars.
And when the Mother Country's yoke of oppression, beginning to gall, Called forth the brave to defend this land for liberty and for love,
Though upon the National horizon no star had appeared for this old state
Her strongest sons, their muskets seized and helped to win a place for thirteen other stars.
In conflicts oft', as Eighteen-Twelve, and that of Mexico,
Wherever the call to arms did come, you were sure to find the Mountaineer
And when the Civil strife arose her sons must part; some in Blue, some in Gray,
Honored bravery marks their deeds, for what they thought to be the right, whichever the cause.
When Liberty's bugle sounded; first from tropic clime, then across the seas
Sons of Blue and sons of Grey, side by side, in comradeship marched away
What to them the Demon of war with terror beneath the sea, and in the air,
For truth and freedom must prevail, that God may rule and thus remove all need for wars.
-REV. J. T. CARTER.
HISTORICAL PAGEANT
INTERLUDE 3 HONOR TO THOSE WHO DID NOT RETURN
A Mourning Processional in honor to those of our Heroes who did not Return from the Battle.
EPILOGUE The Passing Years
The legends are told, and the curtain descends
On the first scenes of this drama of progress,
Where, on the stage of the years, passed before us
The men and the women whose names are recorded In luminous type on pages of history.
Deeds of valor we saw-of high purpose-
Of fearless endeavor-and ever before,
Like the light of the Grail, gleamed freedom to come.
And their souls reached forth to the mountains around them,
Unconsciously breathed in those manifold beauties
Of wondrous dawns and of nights in the open- Expanded, as unfolds in quiet places,
When touched by the wind-blown hair of fair Daphne, The first pink bloom of the rank rhododendron.
'Tis but a beginning-
Theirs was the vision-to us the fulfillment.
The mind of man, like a subtle magician,
Changed trees of the forest and cliffs of gray stone
Into great cities-smoke shrouded-turbulent. The hills and valleys revealed to the sunlight Long hidden stores of wealth beyond measure And highways of commerce are noisy with traffic Where then ran the silent trails of the Shawnees. Swift wings of airplanes now cleave the clear blue In paths where the eagle once drifted and poised, In days long ago-in paths long forgotten.
Splendid the heritage-straight the blazed way That leads to a future of higher achievement- Insistent the voice of the past urging onward
The spirit courageous of our West Virginia.
-HOMOZELLE MASON HORNOR
EPISODE VIII
America, Democracy, Truth, Justice, Peace, Education, Music, Art, Drama, Literature, Agriculture, Industry, Greatest Mother in
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the World in symbolism appear in a grouping with West Virginia, Harrison County and Clarksburg, while on the field in a great Ensem- ble are gathered the Patriotic, Religious, Fraternal, Educational and Civic organizations in Harrison county.
We pledge anew our loyalty to our Country and sing the "Star Spangled Banner," then in a great Recessional we enact the closing scene in THE SHAWNEE TRAIL.
THE PLEDGE TO OUR FLAG
I pledge allegiance to my Flag, and to the Republic for which it stands, ONE NATION INVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
- HARRISON COUNTY
SAYRE
Photo by Ideal Studio
THE SPIRIT OF HARRISON COUNTY-MISS MARTHA DORSEY
AN OUTLINE OF THE EARLY HISTORY of HARRISON COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA
Prepared by THE HISTORY COMMITTEE and MISS NINA B. LAMKIN
So build your community that quickened conscience, larger vision, deeper devotion and equality of rights for all men will re- solve itself into an enthusiastic zeal for per- sonal service in the community. All who give service are torch bearers.
Theodore Roosevelt
HISTORICAL PAGEANT
Trails of the Aborigines 1745-1765
HE records of aboriginal occupation are, of necessity, read by means of bits of pottery, arrow-heads, and like relics. For un- counted generations the Red Man had roamed and hunted, en- joyed or quarreled with his neighbors, and worshipped his God in this trans-Allegheny wilderness.
Abundant proofs of his residence are to be found scattered through the valley of Hacker's Creek (Lewis county), and its tribu- taries. On every hill and in every glen are to be found those mys- teriously pitted "cup-stones" that have been given so much notice by archaeologists. In the main valley of that creek are the sites of seven Indian villages with their adjacent burying grounds.
But by far the most interesting and puzzling record left by some vanished race is the great Ash Circle, located near the head waters of the creek, on the farm of the late John W. Marple, (Upshur county). A belt of dark ashes sixty feet wide encircles a clear inner space sixty feet in diameter. The circle, when discovered, (1821), was thickly strewn with fragments of bone, mussel shell, flint chips, scraps of pottery, arrow points, and stone relics-evidently the votive offerings of a tribe that had been either exterminated or driven away. These circles are unusual in American, or Old World antiquities. All at- tempts to solve the riddle have been futile. The permanent aboriginal inhabitants of West Virginia will probably remain undetermined.
When the first explorers traversed this region there were no per- manent habitations, in which this region is unique.
There is a tradition among the Iroquois of fierce and bloody wars fought when they conquered all the tribes as far west as the Missis- sippi and south as far as Alabama. West Virginia was included in the early conquests of this New York tribe. Several battles were fought among the West Virginia hills during which the streams are said to have run as with blood. It is quite possible that the Iroquois found an unconquerable tribe in possession of West Virginia whom they ex- terminated.
In Withers' Chronicles of Border Warfare it is stated: "At the time when Virginia became known to the whites, it was occupied by many different tribes of Indians. That portion of the state lying northwest of the Blue Ridge, and extending to the lakes was pos- sessed by the Massawomess. These were a powerful confederacy, rarely in amity with the tribes east of that range of mountains. Of their subsequent history nothing is known.
"As the settlements were extended from the sea shore, the Massa- womess gradually retired; and when the white population reached the Blue Ridge the region to the west was used by the Indians as a hunt- ing ground, and as a highway for the warriors of the different nations in their tribal wars and expeditions against each other."
Very different is the case of the last mentioned Indians, those who made this their hunting ground and war path.
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The great Algonquin Nation, which included the Delawares, Min- goes, and Shawnees, with their many sub-divisions, were constantly met with by the pioneers ; and those Indians were found in undisputed possession of a land of singular beauty, of great fertility and natural wealth.
Some of the greatest Indian captains, orators and statesmen were Shawnees; among whom were Cornstalk, Paxnous, Blue Jacket, and Tecumseh. The great Logan was a Mingo chief, named for William Penn's secretary, John Logan. He was a true friend to the whites until his family was treacherously murdered by them.
During the hunting season the Shawnees came here in great numbers, bringing their women and children with them and remaining several months. It was on such a trip about the year 1768, that Tecumseh, the greatest Indian military genius who has lived within historic times, was born. Some time after the Treaty of Greenville, 1795, Tecumseh was in the settlements of the upper Monongahela and visited Hacker's Creek. While there he stated in conversation that he was born on that creek.
The name of Chief Cornstalk once thrilled the heart of every white man in Virginia, and terrified every family in the mountains. He possessed talents of a high order. If in the battle of Point Pleasant, Cornstalk manifested the bravery and generalship of a mighty leader; in the negotiations at Camp Charlotte, he displayed the skill of a statesman, joined to powers of oratory, rarely surpassed.
His dignified recital of the wrongs which were oppressing his people; contrasting their once happy and powerful condition, with their present fallen fortunes and unhappy destiny; and his reasonable proposals for regulating future intercourse between the races, de- servedly places his name on the roll of great men-and simultaneous- ly gives rise to the reflection that no greater tragedy can befall a race than that its history shall be written by its enemies.
-LILY SHIRAS MORRIS JARVIS
HISTORICAL PAGEANT
The Coming of the White Man 1765-1774
HE first white man to traverse that part of West Augusta, which is now Harrison county, was John Simpson, said to be a great great uncle of General Ulysses Simpson Grant. Simpson, to- gether with John and Samuel Pringle, came into what is now Harrison county in 1764. Pringles were said to be deserters from the British army stationed at Fort Pitt, and a misunderstanding arising between them they parted company at the mouth of Three Fork creek on the Tygarts Valley river, Pringles going up the river and Simpson going up Pleasant Creek and passing over the divide came to a stream to which he gave the name of Simpson Creek.
Leaving this stream where Bridgeport is now located, he came west to a stream which he called Elk Creek because he shot an elk in the water and thus provided himself with meat. Here he made his settlement right and built a rude cabin on the south side of West Fork river, opposite the mouth of Elk Creek. Here, Withers states, he remained for more than a year and saw not one human being. His food consisted of game, fish, blackberries, service berries, plums, ramps, pawpaws, persimmons, and various kinds of nuts. The chest- nuts which he stowed in the ground to prevent shriveling and which he made into bread, baking on heated stones are said to have made an excellent and nourishing food. Fire was started by placing tow into the powder pan of his rifle and igniting it with the flint.
After this period he made one trip to the South Branch to trade what furs he could carry for ammunition, salt and meal, and return- ing to his camp alone remained until he could gather a canoe load of furs. With this cargo he paddled the West Fork river to Fort Pitt where he met traders with whom he made exchange for money and food, and continued his lonely journey down the Ohio, terminating on the river in Northern Kentucky, in the vicinity of Point Pleasant, the birthplace of General Grant.
His "Squatters" right he assigned to Nicholas Carpenter, and the title was perfected to Carpenter in 1781, by a commission created to adjust claims and titles to lands. Carpenter erected on this land in the year 1786, an excellent two story log house, located about four hundred feet south of the brick house standing on Milford street and now occupied by Mrs. Nathan Musgrave.
This was the birthplace of Mr. J. Erwin S. Stealey, one of the oldest and most respected native born citizens of Clarksburg. The house was razed in 1886, and the stone on top of the chimney bearing date of erection was accidentally destroyed a century after it had been placed there to commemorate the building of a house which at that time was one of handsome design and strongly built. Carpenter was killed by the Indians near Marietta, in 1791.
After the disagreement with Simpson the Pringles followed the Valley river to the mouth of Buckhannon river, thence up that river to the mouth of Turkey run, about four miles north of Buckhannon, where they camped in a hollow sycamore tree said to be thirty feet in
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circumference. The third generation of this tree is standing on the same spot as the first, having sprung from the roots at the base of the stump.
Here they lived for three years and suffered many inconveniences, but nothing daunted they remained and made short explorations to- wards the West. On one of their excursions they discovered a stream flowing west and followed it to its mouth they gave the name to the river into which it emptied, West Fork. This was Stone Coal creek where now stands the city of Weston, and the origin of the name of Weston was Westown, a town on the West Fork.
After a residence there of nearly four years, they went to the South Branch country and prevailed upon several families to come out and make a settlement. Among them was John Jackson the immigrant from London, the ancestor of "Stonewall" Jackson. It was a settle- ment of virile courageous men and women, such as Elizabeth Cummins Jackson, the wife of John Jackson, and from this immigration grew a community of upright, loyal and patriotic people, which supremacy is maintained to this day, and descendants of the Pringles are among this citizenship.
The quarrel mentioned by writers between Simpson and the Prin- gles could not have been very violent, because one of the Pringles af- terwards went to Kentucky and married Rebecca Simpson, a sister of John, and from this alliance the mother of General Grant is supposed to have descended.
The first court for Harrison county was held at Buckhannon, and was held at the house of George Jackson, son of John Jackson.
Another pioneer into West Augusta and whose descendants have taken a most active part in the affairs of this state from their arrival until the present day was Morgan Morgan. Quoting the historian, Callihan :
"The Morgan family is of Celtic origin-extracted from the only white race or clan that was never conquered or subdued. The word 'Morgan' traced back to its Cymric origin, means 'Seabrink' or 'one born on the seashore.' Glamorgan County, Wales, is situated on the coast, takes its name from the Morgans. The family is very old: mem- bers of it held important posts in early English history, and were pro- vincial rulers. The West Virginia Morgans are descendants of Rev. Morgan Morgan, of Glamorgan County, Wales. In 1726, he came to what is now Berkeley county and near Bunker Hill made the first white settlement in what is now West Virginia territory, and here built the first church in this state, the Episcopal church. His son, David Morgan, was an engineer and worked with George Washington. On one of his trips with Washington they discovered the region on the Monongahela, afterwards taken up and settled by the Morgans. It was he who had the deadly encounter with two Indians near Prickets Fort. These, after a desperate battle, he killed, and with his compan- ions from the fort, skinned and tanned their hides, which were con- verted into various articles for 'family use.'
Mr. Daniel M. Ogden, of Clarksburg, at one time owned a purse made from the skin thus tanned.
HISTORICAL PAGEANT
From Morgan Morgan has sprung a family that has played a most active part in professional, political, and various business pur- suits, and their achievements have been potent in bringing West Vir- ginia to the front rank in this great republic.
Governor Morgan on May 8, 1923, signed a bill passed by the leg- islature for an appropriation of five thousand dollars to erect a monu- ment to Morgan Morgan at Bunker Hill, in Berkeley county.
In the year 1771, John Thomas settled on Booths creek and was one of the first, if not the first, surveyor to come into this region. He made many surveys of the earlier tomahawk rights. A grapevine was carried for the chain and boundaries were properly measured and marked. The instrument used was a combination sundial and com- pass, his guide by night and timepiece when the sun shone. In March, 1781, the cabin of Mr. Thomas was attacked by Indians early in the evening when the family consisting of the father, mother, seven small children and a young woman whose parents had been killed by the Indians, were at family devotions. The parents and six children were massacred and scalped. The young woman, Betsey Juggins, escaped but the eldest child, a boy fourteen years of age, was carried away captive and the cabin burned. In March 1888, one hundred and seven years after the site was ploughed, and among the stones and charcoal where had stood the chimney, the sundial was discovered in a brass case. The needle still trembles on its balance and turns to the North; the triangle working on its pivot, is raised to its position and marks the time of day. This instrument is now in the possession of Samuel R. Harrison.
The first settlements made by families in this section was about two years after the arrival of Simpson, and the first white child to open its eyes in this wilderness was Adam Ice, in 1767, so called by reason of being the first to perpetuate the race in this cold and un- grateful forest.
Notwithstanding the knowledge of the great dangers and hard- ships that threatened life at every turn, the passion for hunting, trap- ping, and acquiring rich lands for homes, impelled many to risk their all among a most savage foe, and thus make habitable a land of great promise, a land that has grown into one of the most prosperous sec- tions of our country, and has produced men of renown in science, lit- erature, law, statesmanship, soldiers, the pulpit and the industries that have created great wealth and made comfortable and luxurious homes.
Are we grateful for what the pioneer has done for us ?
-SAMUEL R. HARRISON
CLARKSBURG COMMUNITY SERVICE
The Call to Independence
1775-1783
HE first Virginia Assembly-the first representative body in America-met on June 30, 1916, in the chancel of the church at Jamestown. The business transacted was of purely local inter- est-the price of tobacco, and matters of self protection-and the As- sembly adjourned in six days.
One hundred and fifty years later, when Virginia and the other colonies that followed her had grown richer and more powerful, thoughtful men saw ominous clouds gathering, and the growing tyran- ny and oppression of England caused more and more apprehension and resentment among the liberty loving men of all colonies. When finally the odious Stamp Act was passed by the English Parliament, Virginia was the first to make open protest; and as a matter of prudence, the act was repealed in 1766.
Meanwhile, in Virginia had been growing and developing the man whose eloquence was to stir the Colonies into action. The young country lawyer, Patrick Henry, had sprung into prominence almost over night by his brilliant speech in the "Parsons' case," in which he declared that the Crown had no right to over-ride the self-government of Virginia. The House of Burgesses was in session when the news of the Stamp Act reached Virginia, and when Patrick Henry saw that none of the older members of the House seemed disposed to raise a voice in protest, he scribbled a set of resolutions on the fly-leaf of an old law book, and gave them to the House with a rush of eloquence that set the tone for the whole country. He declared the right of the Colonies to tax themselves; and declared that Virginians were not bound to obey the Parliament when it acted against this privilege and that anyone who advocated such obedience was an enemy of the colony.
After the House had adjourned and Mr. Henry had gone home, some of the more prudent members were for cutting out that last defiant resolution, but before that was done the resolutions in their original form had been sent throughout the Colonies, and had kindled the first flame of revolution.
Later, when the ministers of Parliament declared their intention of removing to England for trial anyone charged with treason, Patrick Henry's eloquence was not needed to make Virginia unanimous. See- ing the temper of the Colonies, Parliament now repealed all taxes ex- cept that upon tea-the smallest of the taxes, retained at the express comand of the king as an assertion of his right to tax the Colonies if he so pleased. But it was precisely that principle to which they ob- jected; and in 1772 Virginia invited several colonies to join her in forming Committees of Correspondence, that all might be of one mind in resisting further aggressions. Lord Dunmore was at this time governor of Virginia, and for a year he refused to call a meeting of the House of Burgesses, but did so at last in March, 1773.
Hearing that a royal commission was to be sent from England to look into the matter of the burning of His Majesty's ship, Gaspee, certain of the members of the House-among them Thomas Jefferson,
Photo by Sayre Brothers
FIRST SETTLERS TRADING WITH THE SHAWNEES
HISTORICAL PAGEANT
Richard Henry Lee and Patrick Henry-came together to concert measures for the common protection, and by the end of the year five other colonies had adopted their suggestions and the Committees of Correspondence were at work.
In March, 1774, the leaders of the government in England passed drastic measures-closing the port of Boston, and suspending the charter of Massachusetts, and other measures. For some reason, it was not until June 2 that the new statutes were heard of in Boston, and a month before that, in May, 1774, Virginia acted upon the news, and ordered that the first of June, the day when the Boston Port bill was to take effect, should be observed as a day of fasting and prayer. Dunmore promptly dissolved them for their pains but they quietly re- assembled in the Raleigh Tavern, and thence issued a call for a gen- eral Congress. This action is signed by Peyton Randolph, of Virginia, president; Richard Henry Lee, George Washington, Richard Bland, Edmund Pendleton and Patrick Henry. Every colony but Georgia was represented.
Thus both sides saw that their differences were not likely to be settled without arms; and what is considered the first battle of the Revolution soon followed.
The frontier in western Virginia had been steadily pushed west- ward, and in 1774 the Indians had already by treaty given up their claim to all land east of the Ohio river. But they saw with sullen alarm that the white man was not likely to be satisfied with this, and that he was encroaching upon Indian territory west of the Ohio and in Kentucky. The French had made use of the Indians in the French and Indian wars, and had filled them with vindictive hatred of the English-a feeling which the conduct of the frontier men was not cal- culated to soften. Lord Dunmore, an ardent royalist, was not averse to turning this hatred to account against the western colonists and thereby weakening their powers of resistance when the time for arms should come. An agent of his was one Dr. John Connolly, whose ac- tivity in stirring up trouble between the Indians and the whites has been doubted by some; but in view of the following extract from a letter of his, it would seem that there are no reasonable grounds for doubt :
"By directions from Lord Dunmore I have prepared the Ohio Indians to act in concert with me against His Majesty's enemies in this quarter."
Surveyors were now at work on both sides of the Kanawha and along the Ohio, locating lands for the soldiers who had fought in the French and Indian wars ; while settlers were pouring into the new land, building cabins and clearing cornfields. The Indians saw this, and ex- perience had not taught them to trust the whites as neighbors. Sav- age acts and atrocities on both sides followed one after another, and the Indians were not always the first nor the most to blame. Finally after the brutal murder of the family of the chief Logan by one Daniel Greathouse (not by Col. Cresap as has often been charged and as Logan was led to believe), the Indians in their vengeance made no distinction between the innocent and the guilty, and it was soon plain
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that armed protection for the settlers was necessary. Homes were abandoned by the score, and all who could fled across the Alleghanies.
While Lord Dunmore was slowly organizing his forces east of the mountains, the settlements were calling loudly for help; and at last Lord Dunmore ordered Col. McDonald, with a force of 400 men, to attack the Indian towns on the west of the Ohio, hoping by this to drive all the warriors back across the river to defend their own homes. By July Col. McDonald was at Wheeling, ready to obey the governor. The attack upon the peaceful Indians, the destruction of their villages and houses and fields and crops, and the killing of their women and children, remind us of later wars!
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