USA > West Virginia > Barbour County > The history of Barbour County, West Virginia, from its earliest exploration and settlement to the present time > Part 24
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* At the October term of the County Court in Randolph in 1801 a note occurs which probably gives the ages of the Cameron children at the time their mother carried them to the fort. It isstated that when Daniel Cameron was killed he left a widow and one daughter, Catherne, a year old, and that five months after his death, a second daughter. Elizabeth, was born. If Mrs. Cameron's flight from Indians was in 1783, the children were about three and two years old, respectively. Both daughters grew to womanhood, but no record of their marriage is found in Randolph County. After the death of Daniel Cameron, his widow married Thomas Cade. No record of this marriage oceurs in Ran- dolph; so if it took place in Randolph territory, it must have been before the county was formed.
" The date of this occurence was long disputed, and is not yet settled with absolute certainty; but a minute entered on the court records of Randolph County. in April, 1789, renders it highly probable that the occurrence was in March of that year.
# While striking at Minear, the Indian's tomahawk frequently struck the tree, and the cuts in the bark left sears which could be seen for a hundred years. While thus striking they cut off the fingers of Minear's hand. They scalped him, broke his skull into fragments and drove the pieces into a stump. His dog guarded the body till men came from the fort.
197
SETTLEMENTS AND INDIAN TROUBLES.
River, but had found none that were occupied. They were thus off their guard when Minear's party attacked them. Two or three were too severely wounded at the first fire to escape and were overtaken and killed. The remainder of the Indians fled, some taking their guns, others running off without them and eluding further pursuit. Their only prisoner, Philip Washburn, was rescued, and on April 29, 1789, the county court of Ran- dolph appointed him administrator of the estate of Jonathan Minear .*
The Minears, and their descendants, became related with many of the people, not only of Tucker County, but of Barbour also. Of John Minear's children, Mary Ann married John Saylor in 1795. He is supposed to have perished in the woods while hunting. A small stream near St. George, where he was last seen alive, is still known as Saylor's Run. Sarah, another daughter of John Minear, married Benjamin Marsh in 1799, and their descendants are still living. John Minear's sons who survived him were, Philip, David and John; the Minears now living in Tucker County being descendants of David, through his son, Enoch; while Adam, another son of John Minear, settled in Barbour, near the Taylor line, on the river. He had marrid Miss Cobb, a native of Pennsylvania, and their daughter, Nancy Minear, who was born in 1801, was the wife of John Howe Woodford, of Barbour County, and thus became related with a large family of that name.
The first settlers within what is now Barbour County, so far as can now be ascertained, were Richard, Cotteral and Charity Talbott, and their mother. Richard was sixteen years old, Cotteral about eighteen and Charity twenty. They came in 1780 and settled two miles northwest of Philippi, and by intermarriages afterwards became related with the Woodford and Reger families. The account of this settlement will be found in the biographical part of this book, under the name of Richard Talbott. In another chapter which treats particularly of the settlement and develop- ment of Barbour, the colonization of the various localities will be con- sidered in detail, together with early developments and improvements in each.
*At the fire of the whitemen, the savages fled in panic while the victors rushed into the camp. A few moments later an Indian came bounding back into the midst of the white men. cauglit up something from the ground, looking like a small pouch, and escaped with it so suddenly that no one had time to shoot him. The old settlers often discussed the question whether it was a bag of money or a pouch of medicine which the savage valued so highly that he risked his life for it. It was probably neither money nor medicine, but the scalp of Jonathan Minear.
*
CHAPTER XIX,
Notes From the Records.
The County of Barbour was named from Philip Pendleton Barbour, who was a son of Thomas Barbour, was born in Orange County, Virginia, May 25, 1783, died February 24, 1841. He studied law while young, and when only seventeen years of age went to Kentucky to look after some bus- iness for his father. He was unsuccessful in managing the business, and his father was so much displeased that he disowned him. He attempted to teach, but could procure no school. He took up the study of law again, and when nineteen years old returned to Virginia, and borrowing money, entered the college of William and Mary as a law student. Subsequently he returned to Orange County and soon became a successful lawyer. In 1812 he was elected to the Virginia Legislature, and was earnest in his sup- port of the administration in its war with England. Two years later he was elected to Congress and was afterwards chosen speaker. When the University of Virginia went into operation, about 1825, he was offered the professorship of law in that institution, and although pressed by Mr. Jef- ferson to accept it, he declined, and was soon after appointed judge of the general court of Virginia. In 1827 he resigned the judgeship and was elected to Congress. He was president of the Virginia Constitutional Con- vention of 1829. On account of weak lungs, which prevented him from speaking in public, he accepted a judgeship in the circuit court of the United States for the Eastern District of Virginia. In 1836 he became judge of the United States Supreme Court, which post he held till his death.
Boundaries of Barbour.
The act of the Virginia Legislature passed March 3, 1843, establishing Barbour County, fixed its boundaries as follows:
"Beginning opposite the mouth of Sandy Creek, on the east side of the Valley River, in the now county of Randolph; thence down the said Valley River, with the several meanders thereof, to Daniels' Ferry; thence a straight line to the dividing ridge on the waters of Simpson's Creek and Bartlett's Run, (so as to include Ruben Davisson's farin in the new county); thence a straight line to the old farm now occupied by Samuel Bart- lett; thence to the head of Goodwin's Run; thence a straight line to William Bean's on Gnatty Creek; thence a straight line to the head of Peck's Run; thence with the dividing ridge between the head of Peck's Run and Hacker's Creek to the gap of said ridge where
199
NOTES FROM THE RECORDS.
the road crosses leading down Hacker's Creek; thence a straight line to Samuel Black's
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residence (including the farm of the said Black in the new county) on Buckhannon Run; thence a straight line to the mouth of Sarvis' Run, on the Middle Fork of the Valley River; thence a straight line to the gap of Laurel Hill Mountain where the Widow Corley's corner tree stands; thence with the top of the said mountain until it comes to the Preston County line; thence with the Preston and Randolph County line to the beginning, the whole to form one distinct and new county, and to be called and known by the name of Bar- bour County, in honor to and in memory of Philip P. Barbour of Virginia."
Randolph From a minute entered Greenbrier County 1787 in the proceedings of the County Area 2090 S.m! county court it is inferred that the actual line was surveyed entirely around MAP OF RANDOLPH COUNTY FROM WHICH BARBOUR WAS TAKEN. Barbour County in 1843, as in July of that year the sum of eighty six dollars was set aside to pay the surveyors, including guides, but no record of such a survey is found on the books of the County Surveyor. It became a matter of importance to have part of the lines accurately surveyed, and in 1894 the sum of $944.50 was paid for that purpose. The commissioners who made the survey between Barbour and Taylor were C. M. Cornwell, J. E. Hall and M. F. Hall on behalf of Barbour, and J. F. Ross, M. W. Kinkaid and Upton Foreman on behalf of Taylor, with J. Nelson Baker as umpire. The calls of that sur- vey were:
"Beginning at a stone pile on the corner of Harrison, Barbour and Taylor, west of Simpson's Creek, thence north 86 degrees 53 min., east 2422 feet, passing 83 feet south of the residence of John Lough, to a stone on the ridge on the John H. Woodford farm; thence south 89 degrees, 30 min., east 10942 feet to the Pleasant Creek Ford; thence north 68 degrees, 53 min., east 19086 feet to the mouth of Pleasant Creek, at L. Keller's residence on the line, and so crossing the river as to have 1772 feet of railroad in Pleasant District; thence up Sandy to the month of Little Sandy, which is the corner of Preston, Barbour and Taylor."
The commissioners who surveyed the lines between parts of Barbour and Randolph were, Milton Hart and H. C. Rosenberger on behalf of Barbour; A. C. Findley, C. M. Mosteller and Jefferson Scott on behalf of Randolph, and David Poe, umpire. The line is as follows:
" Beginning (line south 82 degrees, 45 min. west) at a hickory on top of Laurel Hill;
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NOTES FROM THE RECORDS.
900 feet to a cliff; 2,800 feet to a small stream; 4,550 feet to a small stream; 5,100 feet to P. Stipe's land. 8,400 feet to Tom Corley's land; 11,030 feet to Nixon Shomo's land; 12,300 feet to Visquesney's line; 13,400 feet to George Hayes' land; 17,176 feet to Beaver Creek; 20,495 feet to Valley River: 24,660 feet to the north bank of the river, after crossing the second time, nearly opposite the mouth of Zebb's Creek; 26,486 feet to the river again; 27,500 feet to H. G. Davis' land; 30,012 feet to Patrick Judge's land, 31,175 feet to T. Kavanaugh's land; 33,300 feet to Patrick Glannon's land; 34,281 feet to 'Taylor's graveyard; 53,447 feet to the mouth of Sarvis Run on the west bank of Middle Fork."
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SIGNATURES OF EARLY JUS- TICES IN RANDOLPHI CO.
The First Court,
The minute book of Barbour County's first county court begins with an entry made April 3, 1843, and it is therein stated that the court was held at the house of William F. Wilson, and all the acting Justices of the Peace of the county were present. They were: David Holder, Jacob Keller, William Shaw, Jacob Bennett, Joseph Teter, Henry Sturm, William F. Wilson, William W. R. Callihan, Samuel Elliott, Elam D. Talbott, Isaac Booth, John H. Woodford, Joseph McCoy, William McCoy, Noah E. Corley, John Reger, Samuel Stalnaker, John Kelley, Michael H. Nevil, George Nestor and William Johnson. At that time, under the Virginia constitution of 1830, the county court was composed of the Justices of the Peace, and the Justices were appointed by the Governor. The Sheriff was nominated by the Justices and appointed by the Governor. He was usually the oldest Justice, that is, the one who had been longest in office. The Justices also elected the County Clerk. All of the Justices of the Peace who lived in the territory taken from Ran- dolph (east of the Valley River and Buckhannon River) had been Justices in Randolph County; and it is said that all the others had been Justices in Lewis or Harrison Counties.
The first duty to which the new court gave its attention was the election of a Clerk for the term of seven years. Three candidates presented their names to be voted upon viva voce, Lair D. Morrall, Michael H. Nevil and Thomas Hall. The result was, Morrall received 11 votes, Nevil 5 and Hall 3; Morrall being elected. He at onceentered upon his duties but first gave bond in the sum of $3,000, his sureties being Samuel Stalnaker, William F. Wil- son, E. D. Talbott, Henry Sturm and George Harris all but the last being members of the court.
201
NOTES FROM THE RECORDS.
The court was now organized and ready for work. Six lawyers came for- ward and asked to be admitted to practice, all of them being attorneys well- known in the county at that time. They were, John S. Carlile, John S. Duncan, Edgar M. Davisson, U. M. Turner, Bernard L. Brown and David Goff. They took the required oath and were admitted to practice before the county court. At that time there was much more business in the county court for lawyers than there is under the present constitution, by which much of the business formerly done in that court is now transferred to the circuit court.
At that time, as now, the office of Sheriff was one of the most important in the county; but it was not, as it now is, open to any voter of the county Matthew Whitman who might choose to try for it, but no one except a Justice of the Peace was eligible, only in rare cases of vacancy when a tem- Coward Jackson Cham Haut Vtv Convanil Jevich Candy. Ely Butcher, Jacob Withface John, Grouch George Rennix Samuel Bonnifield My Doomily Jen Ward. george porary appointment of "cryer" (a substi- tute for Sheriff) might be made. The court might nominate whom it pleased, among its own members; but it was cus- tomary (a custom perhaps never varied from) for the oldest Justice to be nomi- nated. All the Justices in Barbour had held office in the county the same length of time, and there was no "oldest." But the court recognized the Justices who had longest served elsewhere and Isaac Booth and Joseph McCoy were the candidates. 0,00 1 Baqui-d John Shema Andere Crawfurg fir Marteneiz Blucher John finance Flott Chenoweth Booth had been Sheriff of Randolph as long ago as 1813 and a Justice there as early as 1801. It cannot be ascertained what length of time McCoy had been in office. The voting gave Booth 2, and McCoy 16. The latter was, therefore, recommended to the Governor for appointment as Sheriff: It was customary to make a second and third Berg. Hornbach choice for appointment, to be considered in case a reason should arise for not giving the appointment to the man first chosen. SIGNATURES OF EARLY RANDOLPHI COUNTY SHERIFFS. As second choice, John H. Woodford was named; and William Shaw was third choice. Next came the naming of a candidate for Coroner, to be appointed by the Governor. The first vote stood: John Sargent 3, Peter Zinn 10, Sam- uel Keller 7. No choice. On the second ballot Zinn stood 12, and Keller 6. Keller was then named as second choice.
Following this came the election of a Prosecuting Attorney. The court
202
NOTES FROM THE RECORDS.
had the election of this officer without presenting the name to the Governor for approval. There were three candidates, John S. Carlile, John S. Dun- can and Mortimer M. Johnson. On the first vote Duncan received 9, Car- lile 5 and Johnson 3; no choice. On the second vote Duncan was chosen.
The important question of selecting a site for a court house was then taken up. A committee was appointed to make the selection, and chose the ground on which the present court house stands. The minutes of the court do not state what offers, if any, were made by different parts of the county. The committee appointed to select the ground was composed as follows: W. W. R. Callihan, Jacob Bennett, John Kelley, Michael H. Nevil and William F. Wilson. No formal report of this committee is on file; but there is reason to believe that a report was made the next day, and the site selected which has since been the place of the court.
Provision was made for an election in the county. Only three voting places were named. That would seem to be inadequate, but it was much better than in Randolph when the first election was held there. That were county was six times as large as Barbour, yet only three voting places provided there. In Barbour the voting places were, first, the house of Jesse Phillips at Sandy Creek Cross Roads, with George Nestor, Joseph Teter and John Holsberry as commissioners to superintend it; second, the house of Isaiah Welch, on Elk Creek, with James Dilworth, John C. Holden and Thomas Hall as election commissioners; and third, at the court house, with William Shaw, William F. Wilson and Peter Zinn as commissioners. This completed the business of the first day of court.
The next day, April 4, court met, and the first preacher in the county to be licensed to solemnize the rites of marriage, received that license. He was a Methodist minister named George L. Warner, and his bond was fixed at $1500. He gave as bondsmen, Edgar M. Davisson, Noah B. Wams- ley and Samuel Stalnaker. On the same day a license of the same kind with equal bond was granted Joel Pitman, a Methodist preacher. With that, the court adjourned to William F. Wilson's mill, and there resumed busines.
No sheriff had yet been appointed, and to provide an officer the court elected a "cryer." The bond was fixed at $10,000. Five candidates entered the list, and the first vote was as follows: Noah E. Corley 4, Elias Alexan- der 2, James Benson 2, Samuel Keller 1, Flavius J. Holden 1. There was no choice, and not until four votes had been taken was an election made, it being required that the successful candidate receive a majority of the votes cast. Elias Alexander was chosen.
The county was then divided into two constable districts, the first including all of Barbour that was taken from Harrison and Lewis; and the second, all that was taken from Randolph. The constables for the first district, were John Weaver, Isaac Johnson, George W. Gall, James Welch, James Benson, Noah B. Wamsley and Alpheus Teter; in the second district Absalom Hardin, Elias Alexander, Martin D. Kittle, Samuel Keller, Isaac
PHILIPPI BRIDGE, Built 1852. The First Bridge Captured in the Civil War.
BARBOUR COUNTY COURT HOUSE. From its Dome Floated the First Confederate Flag in West Virginia,
3 .8.1
205
NOTES FROM THE RECORDS.
Coffman, William Simpson, Francis O. Shurtliff and Flavius J. Holdeu. In the first district the bond of each constable was $3000, and in the second district $2000.
The county was divided into two districts to be in charge of the Over- seers of the Poor. The first coincided with the first constable district, and the second with the second constable district. In the first James Teter, Soloman Jarvis and Robert Talbott, were overseers; and in the second, John Holsberry, William Simpson and Absalom Phillips were overseers; and John S. Carlile was appointed agent for the Overseers of the Poor. Just what the duties of that officer were is not plain, but he was paid a tolerably liberal salary, in comparison with salaries of other officers.
In two days the court had been held in two places, and on the second day the question came up again. Two places were considered, and when the vote was taken, "the new meeting house" on the land of Peter Zinu, had three votes, and the residence of John R. Williamson, near Hite's Ferry, received seven votes, and was selected as the place of holding court.
On April 5, a committee, consisting of John S. Carlile, Jobn Holsberry, James D. Hall, Elam D. Talbott, and Jacob Talbott, was appointed to draft plans for public buildings. The committee reported on the first day of next court, May 1.
Alpheus Wilson was appointed deputy county clerk. On April 5, the first mention in the records is found of the town of Philippi. The exact language is this: "Ordered, that the county seat of this county be known and called Phillippa." Not until the May term, 1844, is the name Philippi, as now spelled, found on the records.
On May 1, 1843, the first road overseers were appointed. They were, Johnson Ward, James D. Hall, John Radcliff, Alpheus Zinn, Albert E. Cor- der, Jacob Talbott, Henry Robinson, Elisha Talbott, John Reed, Henry Wilson, Daniel Post, Eli Hudkins, Absalom Roberts and John Martin. On the same day the first tavern in Barbour County was granted a license. John R. Williamson was the proprietor, and it stood in "Phillippa." It was, presumably, the same building then being used as a court house. That closed the term of court for April. Court was held every month.
Barbour's Court House.
As stated already, the first court of Barbour was held in the residence of William F. Wilson, the next in his mill, and then it was moved to theres- idence of John R. Williamson. A brief history of the building of the first public court house (the present one) will now be given. The committee appointed to draft plans made its report at the May term, 1843, submitting two plans for the court house, and two for the jail. Plan No. 1, in each case was called the "Hampshire Plan," because modeled after the public building of Hampshire County. No. 2 was called the "Barbour Plan, " and
.
206
NOTES FROM THE RECORDS.
was original. The court adopted the Hampshire plan for the court house and the Barbour plan for the jail. The Hampshire jail had a small yard, with brick walls twenty feet high, enclosing a space where prisoners for debt were permitted to walk about and see the sky. The Barbour court, when the plan was explained, decided to try something else, and then adopted the model on which the present jail was built. Barbour's court house and Hampshire's are practically of the same size and style.
Having adopted plans, the court appointed a committee to see to the building. This committee consisted of Elam D. Talbott, Henry Sturm, John S. Carlile, William W. R. Callihan, and Michael H. Nevil. Its duties were to advertise for bids, to enter into contracts, and, last but not least, to borrow money with which to put up the buildings. It was stipulated that, in case the committee should be unable to borrow sufficient money to pay for the work, it should have no power to enter into contracts. The court instructed the committee to advertise for bids in the "Scion" of Dem- ocracy published at Clarksburg, and to let the contract on June 1, 1843.
On June 29 the court met again, and the building committee came for- ward with a report that it had contracted with Felix Davis, of Hampshire County, to build the court house and jail for $8000, to be paid in five annual installments of $1600. The court refused to ratify the contract, and the com- mittee resigned. A second committee, consisting of Thomas M. Hite, William Carroll, William F. Wilson and G. D. Camden was at once appointed to report a plan for a jail. The next day the court entered into a contract with William Carroll and John S. Murdock to build the court house and jail for $5300, to be completed in two years, and to be paid for in five annual installments.
Four days later Joseph McCoy, Sheriff of Barbour, came into court and lodged a formal protest against being held responsible for the escape of any prisoner, because there was no jail. This method of procedure was quite common in early times, not only in Barbour but in other counties. The Sher- iff from time to time would protest against being held responsible for the escape of prisoners.
At the September court, 1843, the court house plan was modified, although it is not stated in what particular. A new committee had been appointed, consisting of William F. Wilson, Martin Sinsel, Edwin D. Wilson. It reported a modified plan for the court house which the court approved; and the contractors agreed to complete the building for $3820. This evidently did not include the price of the jail. A new committee, con- sisting of Lair D. Morrall, Edwin D. Wilson, John H. Woodford, David Hol- der and Isaac H. Strickler, was appointed to superintend the building; and the contractors were ordered paid $1090 for work done on the jail. Three months later William Carroll assigned his contract to Amos Carroll. On May 15, 1844, the jail was so far completed that court was held in it, and in the following September it was completed and accepted from the contract-
207
NOTES FROM THE RECORDS.
ors; but in the January following the Sheriff again protested that the jail was insufficient. John H. Woodford was then Sheriff.
In April, 1845, the contractors were formally notified that the found- ations, so far as done, were not according to contract, and would not be accepted, and in May following, the court decided that the contract was "illegal, null and void." The minutes of the session do not state what the trouble was, nor is it rendered clear in what way the matter was smoothed over; but when it was proposed to enter into a new contract with the build- ers the motion was defeated by a vote of 11 to 8; thereby, as it appears, authorizing the contractors to proceed under their old contract. Then came the qustion of raising money to complete the building, and the proposition of levying a tax was supported by a vote of 13 to 5. David Holder, the presiding justice, was opposed to the course taken, claiming that it was illegal, and he refused to sign the minutes of the day, "because the contractor had been paid $1273.33} on his job." Thereupon the minutes were signed by William Shaw.
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