USA > West Virginia > Randolph County > The history of Randolph County, West Virginia. From its earliest settlement to the present, embracing records of all the leading families, reminiscences and traditions > Part 25
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In 1826 a special court was called for the purpose of "putting a cupola on the Court-House and buying a bell." That bell remained on the building nearly seventy years, was then transferred to the new Court-House, and when that building was burned, the bell was broken in the fall.
In 1827 ten indictments were found for horse racing, and fines were imposed in every case.
In case the Justices present and holding court could not decide a ques- tion by reason of a tie vote, the Sheriff could cast the deciding vote.
In 1841 the county court appropriated $1000 for building a new jail, and called for bids, ordering the call published two months "in some news- paper published at Clarksburg." That was the first mention of a news- paper in the Randolph records. The commissioners to build the jail were Charles C. See, David Goff and Lemuel Chenoweth. The jail was to be
1 finished in two years. The contractors were William T. Clark and Alexander K. Hollaway, and the price $4479.
In 1844 the old jail was sold to David Blackman for $425, and in 1845 the new jail was finished. It is the one still in use.
The first vote by the court in the county, whether liquor license should be issued, was taken in June, 1856, and resulted in 12 for license and 11 against.
In March, 1885, the County Court appointed J. F. Harding and L. D. Strader commissioners to ascertain the practicability of buying ground and building a Court-House. In March, 1889, L. D. Strader, Thomas P. R. Brown and Leland Kittle were named as commissioners to communicate with architects in regard to a plan for a building to cost $10,000 or $12,000. In the January following, E. W. Wells, of Wheeling, an architect, was em- ployed to prepare preliminary plans for the Court-House. . On July 3, 1890, a petition, signed by 948 persons, was filed asking for an election to vote on the proposition to move the county seat from Beverly to Elkins. On the same day an order was passed by the court submitting to a vote the pro- position of bonding the county for $25,000 to build the Court-House. The election occured in November of that year, and the vote stood, for bonds 614, against bonds 1292. In July, 1892, Murray Brothers were the lowest bidders, at $18,943.50, for building the Court House, and were awarded the contract. The building was completed in April, 1894, and on May 20, 1897, it was accidently burned. The court was held May 26, 1897, in the lower room of the Masonic Lodge Building, and on June 17, the records were moved into the old Court-House, and steps were taken to erect a new build- ing. No books were destroyed in the fire, but many files of old papers were burned. Two elections were held for the purpose of removing the Court- House to Elkins, in both of them the decision was in favor of Beverly. In 1898 another election was ordered to vote on the same question.
CIRCUIT COURTS AND JUDGES.
The first record of a Circuit or Superior Court for Randolph dates back to May, 1809. Judge Hugh Nelson of the Eleventh Circuit was on the bench. The first suit tried was that of William Tingle, Clerk of the Monongalia District Court against Samuel Bonnifield, ex-Sheriff of Randolph, for the
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collection of fees. The minute says: "The defendant appeared in court and said he cannot gainsay the plaintiff's motion against him for $9.41, and judgment was given for the plaintiff."
In 1817 Judge Daniel Smith was on the bench. Indictments were found in the circuit court as well as in the county court, and their jurisdiction was concurrent in many things. Both had trial juries, but felonies were not tried in the county court. It was customary in Judge Smith's court to fine a witness for failure to attend when summoned, and the amount was uniformly eight dollars, assessed in his absence, and the witness was then cited to show cause, if he could, why the fine should not be collected. It was seldom collected. Following is the style of bond usually given in a civil suit. It was given in 1818 in the case of Thomas Bland against Ben- jamin Marsh.
"Solomon Parsons, of this county, who having qualified to his sufficiency, came into court and and undertook for the defendant that in case he should be cast in this suit, that he would pay and satisfy the condemnation of the court, or render his body to prison in execution for the same, or that he, the said Solomon Parsons, would do it for him."
In 1819 Solomon Parsons was found guilty of assault and battery and was fined one cent. In 1820 all the Justices of the county were cited to ap- pear and show cause why they should not be fined for failing to provide a sufficient jail. The record does not show what excuse the Justices offered, or whether any of them were fined. Road overseers were seldom fined by the county court for neglecting their roads, but when they fell into the hands of the circuit court the fine was usually $10.
In 1822 an important case was disposed of by a brief order, thus: "John Howard, schoolmaster, late of the county of Randolph, who stands indicted for forgery, and thereof arraigned, and pleaded not guilty, and for tryall put himself upon God and the country, was found guilty, sentenced one year in the penitentiary prison house, with two months in solitary confine- ment on low and coarse diet."
It was the intention to have both a spring and a fall term, but one or the other was usually omitted. In 1827 there were twenty indictments for unlawful horse-racing. In 1830 the new constitution took effect. The first Judge after that was Edwin S. Duncan, of the Eighteenth Circuit. In 1835 the venerable clerk, Archibald Earle, was cited to appear in court to show cause why he should not be fined for failing "for a whole year to fix up a list of road overseers." His excuse was apparently satisfactory, as he was not fined. In 1843 John S. Carlile, the politician, was indicted for unlaw- ful practice as an attorney. The specific charge is not stated. The case was dismissed.
Randolph County has held court in twelve houses, and has had two county seats, as follows:
First county seat, 1787, four miles below Beverly.
Second county seat, from 1787 till the present, Beverly.
First Court-House, 1787, at Benjamin Wilson's.
Second Court-House, 1787, at James Westfall's, in Beverly.
Third Court-House, completed 1798, in Beverly.
Fourth Court-House, 1799, William Marteney's residence, Beverly. Fifth Court-House, 1804, John Wilson's house, Beverly.
Sixth Court-House, 1808, Nicholas Gibson's house, Beverly.
Seventh Court-House, 1811, Ely Butcher's residence, Beverly. Eighth Court-House, completed 1815, still standing, Beverly.
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Ninth Court-House, 1864, Lucinda Leonard's house, Beverly. Tenth Court-House, 1865, David Blackman's storehouse, Beverly. Eleventh Court-House, completed 1894, burned 1897, Beverly.
Twelfth Court House, 1897, Masonic Lodge Building, Beverly.
WAR REMINISCENCES IN COURT RECORDS.
The burning of many old files of papers with the Court-House in 1897 no doubt destroyed numerous valuable scraps of history relating to early Indian troubles as well as the Civil War. All through the books in the clerk's office, for a hundred years, events are alluded to, but seldom described, which would be interesting if we had them. Full particulars, in most cases, were filed as papers and documents and were not recorded in the ledgers. Particularly was this so with regard to the claims of several Revolutionary soldiers who afterwards received pensions. Reports were made, setting forth their services, and these papers are lost beyond recov- ery. The same is true in a lesser degree of the Civil War, but other sources of information are open, and the loss is not so severely felt. In the para- graphs which follow fragmentary items and incidents will be given, as they can be gleaned from the books, from the organization of the county, in 1787, till the close of the Civil War.
In 1789 the Sheriff was ordered, "for the time being, to pay to William Blair, pensioner, resident in the county, forty pounds, his pension for the years 1786 to 1789." He was most probably a Revolutionary soldier who drew a pension because of injuries.
On April 29, 1789, Philip Washburn was appointed administrator of the estate of Jonathan Minear. This seemingly unimportant record perhaps has more historical value than at first appears. Jonathan Minear and Philip Washburn, brothers-in-law, owned land two miles below St. George, in the present County of Tucker. One morning, very early in the spring, they were waylaid by Indians and Minear was killed and Washburn was taken prisoner, but was rescued a few days later. The date of the occur- rence is in doubt, but it has been supposed to have happened in 1780. The Randolph record renders it highly probably that the date was 1789. It is likely that Minear's estate, which was considerable, would have been placed in charge of an administrator as soon as possible. If the murder took place in March, as tradition has it, the time till April 29 would be about sufficient to take the necessary steps for the appointment of an administrator.
On March 27, 1790, the court "ordered that Thomas Price, an old sol- dier who was wounded at the Battle of the Point,* under the command of Colonel Lewis, in the command of Captain John Lewis, t of Augusta, be recommended to the executive as a proper object of public charity and that a pension ought to allowed him of five pounds."
From an order in the court record, June, 1793, it is learned that Jacob Westfall, who was appointed County Lieutenant in 1787, had called a num- ber of scouts into the field in 1790, to watch Indian paths leading to the settlement in Randolph. Westfall subsequently removed to Kentucky, leaving no one to certify the claims of the scouts when they applied for their pay. This fact was stated by the court in a memorial to the secre- tary of war. The names of the scouts do not appear on the record. They
*Point Pleasant, October 10, 1774.
tSon of Colonel William Lewis. See Waddell's "Annals of Augusta County, " p. 135.
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were probably on a separate paper, lost when the Court-House was burned.
In November, 1811, "William Howell came into court and made oath that Michael Howell never received any compensation in land for his services while a soldier under Colonel Murtenberger in the Revolutionary War."
In May, 1818, the court passed an order exempting from paying county taxes, and recommending for pensions the following Revolutionary soldiers, who had "served against the common enemy:" John Stuller, Samuel Bonni- field, William Shreve, Elias Alexander, Daniel Canfield, and Abraham Burner. In 1822 Shreve was declared insolvent. He "belonged to the Virginia line."
In 1822 Archibald Earle, Colonel of the 107th Regiment, was paid $90 for furnishing "three stands of colors."
In 1825 "Samuel Girty was sent to jail for contempt of court for coming into court drunk." It cannot be ascertained whether he was a relative of the notorious Simon Girty, who joined the Indians. It is not improbable that he was.
In 1828, "Daniel Canfield, a soldier nine months in the Revolution, renewed his application for a pension, and gave in his property at $57.75." In 1833 Thomas Isner applied for a pension on the ground that he was an Indian spy in the Revolutionary War. In 1833 similar claims were made by Valentine Stalnaker and Jacob Stalnaker .. Claims as Revolutionary soldiers were made by John Ryan, Matthew Whitman, James Holder and Jacob Lesher.
Randolph must have furnished a considerable number of soldiers for the war of 1812, but the records show but few. Michael Wees, who was in Captain William Booth's company, Second Virginia Militia, was discharged at Fort Meigs, in Ohio, in 1813, and died May 10, just after reaching home. He was sick when discharged. Levi Ward was Ensign in Captain Booth's Company. He was drafted in Randolph for six months. Mention of other soldiers of the war will be found in this book. The present chapter aims only to give such as are mentioned in the court records.
As troubles leading to the Civil War thickened, mention of them begins to appear in the court records. In April, 1859, Archibald Earle was appointed Captain of Patrols to keep watch that there was no unlawful assemblage of slaves. His assistants were Morgan Kittle, Judson L. Suiter, Creed Earle, William H. Keesey, Wm. C. Chenoweth, Thomas R. Rummell, Parkison Collett, Jacob Suiter, Adam C. Rowan, Alpheus Buckey, Andrew J. Collett, Squire N. Bosworth, and Owen W. Rummell.
On June 24, 1861, seventeen days before the battle of Rich Mountain, the following minute appears on the record of the county court:
"Ordered that the sum of $5000 be appropriated for the equipment of any volunteer companies that may be hereafter raised in this county, which any subsequent court of this county may by its order authorize to be borrowed on the faith of the county; and when so borrowed the payment thereof shall be provided for by levy hereafter to be made."
There was no court from June, 1861, till February, 1862. At the meet- ing of the court at the latter date, tlie clerk was ordered to take the books to his own house for safe keeping. In March, 1862, Hoy McLean was ap- pointed to take charge of the public buildings, and to make out an account against the United States government for damages done to the buildings by - the Union troops who occupied them. In April, 1862, an election was
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called for choosing a Sheriff. Governor Pierpont had declared the office vacant. Jesse F. Phares was made Sheriff. In June of that year this entry occurs: "Ordered, that the Sheriff shall not pay any money to any officer prohibited by any Act of the General Assembly passed at Wheel- ing, since the first day of January, 1861." The county records were taken to Buchannon, but when and by whose order does not appear. In August 1862, the court ordered "that the deed books and the will books of this office remain in Buchannon until further orders by this court." In Septem- ber following they were ordered to be brought back to Beverly. The last county court during the war was held in March, 1863, Another was not held till November, 13, 1865. In April, 1863, occurred Imboden's raid, and the records of Randolph were carried away to Brownsburg, Rockbridge County, Virginia, where they remained till the close of the war. They were taken from Beverly by Squire N. Bosworth, deputy clerk, and were hauled in a wagon drawn by two horses and a yoke of cattle.
After the county books were carried to Rockbridge County, there was no circuit court held till September 28, 1863. Judge Robert Irvine was then on the bench, and John B. Earle was clerk. The first lawyers in Randolph County to take the oath after West Virginia became a State were Spencer Dayton and Nathan H. Taft. In March, 1864, the jail of Taylor County was designated as the jail of Randolph. What was known as the "Test Oath" was as follows:
"I do solmenly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and of this State; that I have never voluntarily bornc arms against the United States; that I have voluntarily given no aid or comfort to persons engaged in armed hostility thereto, by countenancing, counseling, or encouraging them in the same; that I have not souglit, accepted or attempted to exercise the functions of any office whatever, under any authorty in hostility to the United States; that I have not yielded a voluntary support to any pretended Government, Authority, Power, or Constitution within the United States, hostile or inimical thereto; and that I take thisobligation freely, without mental reservation or purpose of cvasion."
In Deed Book No. 23, for the year 1863, is recorded a letter from General Milroy. No explanation is given for entering the letter on the records of the county; but the contents of the letter render it probable that the bonds to which it alludes had not yet been recovered, and the letter was intended to assist in identifying them, should they be found. The handwriting of General Milroy was certified to by George R Latham and Henry C. Flesher. A copy of the letter is as follows:
"HEADQUARTERS, MILROY'S DIVISION, 1 WINCHESTER, VA., Feb. 20, 1863.
"CAPTAIN WILLIAM G. GEORGE:
"DEAR SIR :- You will remember that while at Huttonsville two trunks were captured and brought into headquarters that had belonged to Dr. James Jones who was alleged to have went off with the Rebel army, and that among other papers found in one of these trunks were two bonds of $1,000 each, in favor of said Jones. Upon my return to West Virginia last fall, I found Dr. Jones at Buckhannon, and learned that he had been in the vicinity of that place for some time with his family. He took the oath of allegiance to the United States, and stated that he was forced to go away with the Rebels, and returned as soon as lie could get away from them. I was convinced upon inquiry tliat his property was not subject to confiscation for disloyalty, and directed that all his property should be returned, as far as possible. I understood that the two bonds above referred to were placed in the hands of Frank Phares, United States Deputy Marshall, and gave the doctor an order on Frank for them. But I received a letter from him a few days ago stating that he had ealled on Phares a few days ago for the bonds, and was in-
7
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formed by him that he had never had them, and told him that they were still in your possession. If so, send them to his order. If not, let him know where they are, if you know. This will be forwarded to you by Dr. Jones himself. "Your Friend Truly,
"R. H. MILROY, Brig. Gen"'
At the present time the courts pay no attention to military affairs, but early in the county's history and until the close of the Civil War there was frequent mention of soldiers, officers and military proceedings. There were courts held for the sole purpose of providing for the country's defense. Military officers were appointed the same as civil officers. The militia had regular times for mustering, and there were fines for non- attendance, and those fines were collected the same as taxes. There are gaps in these military records. Several books are missing, if they were ever kept in this county. They may have been kept in some other county for part of the time, for military affairs were not exclusively county busi- ness. The militia records for Tucker County are found only in Randolph. The military officers of Randolph are given below, so far as the records show them:
COLONELS OF MILITIA.
Patrick Hamilton 1787
David Goff .1844
William Lowther 1796
John W. Crawford. 1850
Archibald Earle 1822
Hoy McLean 1853
Robert N. Ball
1827
Melvin Currence 1860
Solomon Wyatt 1831
Jacob Keller 1837
CAPTAINS OF MILITIA.
Edward Jackson 1787
Thompson Elza 1844
James Westfall.
1787
Benjamin Kittle . 1844
Peter Cassity 1787
Bushrod W. Crawford 1844
William Wilson. 1787
Jacob Conrad 1844
George Westfall 1787
Daniel W. Shurtliff 1844
Jonathan Parsons 1787
John Jackson 1789
John M. Crouch 1844
Jacob Kittle. 1794
Wyatt Ferguson 1844
John Chenoweth 1794
Hamilton Skidmore 1845
John Haddan. 1795
Andrew Stalnaker 1845
William Parsons 1796
Hoy McLean 1846
Henry Rader 1846
Adam See .. 1800
George W. Berlin®
1848
Matthew Whitman 1800
George Kuykendall 1848
Jesse L. Roy 1850
Cyrus Chenoweth 1850
Cyrus Kittle. 1851
Washington Salsberry 1851
William C. Chenoweth. 1851
Michael Yokum 1851
James L. Hathaway 1851
Heckman Chenoweth. 1851
Abraham Hinkle. 1852
Aaron Bell. 1852
Thomas Butcher 1810
Allen Taylor
1852
William Stalnaker 1810
Jacob Shafer
1852
Nicholas Gibson 1806
John Forrest 1807
William Booth 1807 Anthony Huff 1807
Andrew Friend. 1807
John Wood. 1808
Samuel Ball 1802 Benjamin Vannoy 1805
John Crouch 1805
John Currence 1805
Elijah M. Hart. 1844
George Rennix 1798
Cyrus Kittle 1862
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Solomon Collett. 1812
George Anderson 1816
Jacob Currence 1860
Solomon Yeager .1817
William E. Logan 1860
Samuel Oliver 1818
Sampson Elza 1860
Adonijah Ward 1818
George W. Mills 1860
L. Phillips. 1860
George McLean. 1827
Charles C. See. 1828
George A. Hesler 1860
Solomon Parsons 1828
Arnold Bonnifield
1829
J. S. Collett 1860
John Rice 1860
LIEUTENANTS OF MILITIA.
Jacob Westfall 1787
Conrad Currence 1852
John Jackson
1787
Nathaniel Moss 1852
John Haddan 1787
George W. Long 1852
James Kittle 1787
Hull Ward . 1853
Matthew Whitman 1787
Jacob Long 1853
Daniel Booth 1787
William E. Long 1853
William Parsons 1787
Simeon Philips. 1853
George Rennix. 1797
Robert Philips
1853
Asahel Heath 1799
Thomas T. Talbott 1853
John Crouch 1800
James W. Miller 1853
Nicholas Gibson 1805
John M. Stalnaker
1853
John Baker. 1805
Hugh S. Hart. 1853
James Frame 1807
George Little 1853
William Johnson 1807
William Currence 1807
Thomas Skidmore 1810
Robert W. Collins 1810
.
John Wyatt. 1853
Robert Chenoweth 1814
Jesse Phillips 1815
James Wells 1818
Arnold Bonnifield 1828
Nathan Minear 1829
Solomon Wyatt 1829
Isaac Canfield 1843
Jesse Roy 1843
Jacob Flanagan 1843
Abraham Smith. 1860
Levi Stalnaker 1844
John W. Bradley 1862
Andrew C. Currence 1862
James Scott 1862
Patrick King 1862
William Bennett. 1862
Jacob W. Fortney 1862
Alvin Osburn 1862
J. M. Westfall 1862
Solomon P. Stalnaker 1862
Squire B. Daniels
1862
Harrison Moore
1862
Everet Chenoweth 1844
L. Denton. 1860
L. Phillips 1860
William M. Westfall 1860
Levi D. Ward 1844
William G. Wilson 1844
John Bright 1844
Jacob W. Manthus 184.1
Jeremiah D. Channel. 1844
Isaac C. Stalnaker 1844
Vincent Pennington 18444
Cyrus Kittle
1844
Samuel Smith 1844
Randolph Coberly 1853
Dolbeare Kelly 1853
Ezra P. Hart 1853
Arnold Wilmont 1853
William Bennett. 1813
Jacob Currence 1853
Charles Channel 1853
William E. Logan . 1853
Sampson Salsberry 1853
Samuel Channel 1853
Arnold Phillips 1860
Solomon Wyatt 1829
William McCord . 1830
Charles Crouch 1852
Thomas W. Holder 1823
William Westfall 1860
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Samuel P. Wilson 1844
Archibald E. Harper 1862
Elam B. Bosworth 1844
John G. Bradley
1862
George W. Rennix 1846
William S. Phares
1862
Washington Stalnaker 1848
Alfred Stalnaker
1862
John Phares 1849
Aaron Workman 1866
Cyrus Chenoweth
1850
Riley Pritt 1866
MAJORS OF MILITIA.
John Wilson 1787
David Holder 1820
James Westfall
1794
Henry Sturm 1831
William Wilson
1794
John C. Wamsley 1843
John Haddan
1800
Benjamin Kittle 1849
Isaac Booth
1805
Patrick Crickard 1860
Matthew Whitman 1805
Archibald Earle. 1860
John Crouch 1805
John M. Crouch
1862
ENSIGNS OF MILITIA.
John Cutright
1787
James Tygart 1806
Jacob Westfall.
1787
John J. Harrison.
1807
Anthony Smith
1787
William Huff 1807
George Rennix
1787
Thomas Skidmore 1807
Job Westfall
1787
Jacob Pickle 1807
Jeremiah Cooper 1787
Solomon Yeager 1815
William Seymour 1796
Aaron Gould 1818
Samuel Ball
1796
Job Parsons. 1818
George Kittle 1796
Nathan Minear 1828
James Booth
1798
Isaac D. Neville
1829
Barthan Hoskins.
1802
William W. Chapman 1829
John Stalnaker
1805
Jesse Vannoy
1830
Thomas Williams
1805
THE BEGINNINGS OF ROADS.
It would be very difficult to write a complete history of the building and maintenance of the highways of Randolph County, and if done, it would prove dry and uninteresting. There is however, entertaining ma- terial for a few pages, relating chiefly to the beginning of road making in the county. No effort has been made to mention, even by name or location, all the early roads, nor any considerable number of the later ones. When the first permanent settlement was planted in Randolph County, about 1772, the first need of the settlers was means of communication with other set- tlements. These settlements were to be found east of the Alleghanies, east and southeast; on the Greenbrier, south; on the Buckhannon, west and northwest; at Morgantown, north, and on Cheat River, at the Horse Shoe, northeast. The first roads across the county's borders, or to the remote parts of the county, led to the settlements named. Other roads were made from settlement to settlement within Tygart's Valley, or nearby valleys. It is remarkable that the very first mention of a highway on the court records of the county was regarding a wagon road. It generally has been presumed that wagon roads were not needed at that time. The order was made May 29, 1787, (Randolph's very first court, second day's session) that Joseph Friend, William Wilson, Salathiel Goff, and Andrew Skidmore be appointed to view and mark the way for a wagon road from Leading Creek to the Horse Shoe Bottom, on Cheat River, in the present county of Tucker. 14
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COURT NOTES OF A CENTURY.
This has an historical importance, establishing the fact that wagons were in use in Tygart's Valley, and probably at the Horse Shoe, as early as 1789; for it is evident that no steps would have been taken to build a wagon road unless there were wagons to use it. The statement has been made,* and has long gone uncontradicted, that the first wagon loaded with mer- chandise reached the Monongahela in 1789. That was in Pennsylvania. The evidence seems conclusive that wagons were in Randolph at that time. Whether they came loaded with merchandise, or by what roads they came, or whether they were made within the county, is not known. They did not come from the South Branch into the southern end of the county, for not until about 1826 were wagons able to cross the mountains from that direction. It is not improbable that the irons were carried into the county on pack horses and that the wagons were made here. t
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