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 39
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WOUNDED EIGHTEEN TIMES.
The case of Lorenzo Adams, a Confederate soldier belonging to Im- boden's command, is remarkable for the fact that after receiving eighteen gunshot wounds in the head he recovered. Nine of Imboden's men who had been scouting in Barbour County, crossed into Tucker, and three miles above St. George, robbed David Wheeler's store. They were pursued by troops from St. George, under Lieutenant Gallion, up Dry Fork. Gallion turned the pursuit over to Captain Nathaniel J. Lambert with the Home Guards, known as "Swamps." They followed the Confederates and came upon them when asleep and fired upon them at a distance of a few yards. Two Confederates were killed and Adams was wounded. He was supposed to be dead, but when the Federals pulled his boots off he showed signs of life. They beat him on the head with a gun, and supposed they had finished him. But after they had gone, he recovered consciousness, and in trying to gain his feet, he fell into the fire and burned his hands almost off. The next day Archibald Earle went to the camp to bury the dead, and finding Adams alive, took him to Hightown, where he recovered. An ounce ball was taken from under his skull.
SOUVENIRS OF THE WAR.
Among souvenirs of the war, in possession of S. N. Bosworth of Beverly, is the original muster-roll of company H, Thirty-first Virginia Infantry, which was from Barbour County, Thomas A. Bradford, Captain, as shown by the roll. Mr. Bosworth has his furlough, which contains a number of signatures of noted men, among them being General Pegram, General R. L. Ewell, Adjutant General W. N. Taylor. He has also a musket barrel and bayonet picked up a few years ago in the woods about a mile from the battlefield of Rich Mountain, and nearby was found the skele- ton of a man, supposed to have been a Confederate who was wounded in the battle and died in the woods. The stock of the gun was apparently burned off in a woods fire. The barrel had burst, caused, as is presumed, by rainwater collecting in it, and freezing.
AT MALVERN HILL.
At the battle of Malvern Hill the Confederates were driven back in their efforts to storm the Federal position. General Lee prepared for another charge the next morning. He picked his troops for the charge.
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MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.
Different regiments sent soldiers who were willing to undertake the desper- ate work. The Thirty-first Virginia Regiment sent thirty-two men, and of that number sixteen were from Randolph County. The troops massed for the charge and lay on the ground all night within less than half a mile of the Federal artillery, waiting for morning. Before morning the Federals withdrew and the charge was not necessary. Randolph County furnished about 250 soldiers for the Confederate army. The first company to go was Company F, which was mustered in at Huttonsville, May 24, 1861.
RELICS AND CUSTOMS THAT ARE PASSING.
Randolph County, covering a wide and diversified region of valley and mountains, holds within its borders a peculiar blending of the past and present. Relics of the " good old times" are to be found in nooks and cor- ners, side by side with the development of newer things; the modern paint- ed house, and the log cabin in the yard; the steel bridge, and the out-of- date wooden arch-structure; the mowing machine and the reaper, and the scythe and the cradle; the repeating rifle and the muzzle loader of a century ago; the railroad and the bridle-path; the log school-house like that in which Ichabod Crane lifted the urchins over the tall words with a hick- ory, and the neat, scientific frame or brick struc- tures. The old times were good, but no better than the present. In most things they were not so good. The painted and ventilated house is better than the cabins of the grand- fathers, because more comfortable; the iron bridge is better than the wooden, because stronger; the mowing machine and the reaper require less labor than the scythe and the cradle, and are there- fore to be preferred. It is no dispar- agement of the log-cabin schools and the Ichabod Cranes of former days to say that education in all its depart- ments and appliances has made won- COWGeRam derful advances since then. To appre- ciate modern things, we should cultivate our acquaintance with and keep warm our veneration for what is past. The better the historian, the better the pa- triot. From a thousand channels the past enriches the present; and to ap- preciate the present and prepare for the future, we must trace back to their sources the streams which come to us from the years gone by.
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COURT IN THE WILDERNESS.
While Judge Camden was on the bench the weather was very warm during a session of the Randolph court, and he ordered court next day to convene "at the falls of Cheat River." Accordingly the judge, the clerk and the lawyers went up Files Creek, crossed Cheat Mountain and held court on Shaver's Fork. Noah Corley was chief cook, teamster and assist-
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ant fisherman. The minutes of the court show that the casses "were argued in chambers."
A METHODIST PREACHER'S POEM.
Randolph County has sent out many orators but few poets. About the only effort at "pure literature," at least in early times, was made by a Methodist preacher, near the beginning of the present century. His name is now forgotten, but traditions concerning him are yet current. Some suppose it was Lorenzo Dow. The poem in meter and style, resembles Dow's "Morning Vision." The poet was probably not Dow. It is not known how much poetry he wrote, but one poem of some length, called "Randolph County" exists in manuscript. The poetry is not of the highest order, but it is doubtful if Homer painted truer to nature, as nature ex- isted in Randolph a century ago. Witness these lines, alive, no doubt, with personal experience:
"The hungry bear's portentous growl; The famished wolf's unearthly howl; The prowling panther's keenest yell- These echo from the gloomy dell."
After speaking more fully of the almost undisputed reign of the forest brutes, and the dangers to the settlers, he sums his conclusion thus:
"But still man holds his dwelling there, Defying panther, wolf and bear; But prowling 'varmints' plainly tell This is no place for man to dwell."
The poetic parson was fond of wreathing garlands of poetry around the mountain peaks of Randolph, and glancing into the ravines to see what was there. One verse will suffice as an example:
"The mountains high with grandeur rise And reach the everlasting skies; The vales between are dark and wild, And streamlets dash or murmer mild."
The rivers are antitheses of the mountains, and the preacher never spoke of the one but that the next stanza took up the other. There is prob- ably some history in the last two lines:
"The roaring rivers, rough and wide. Dash down, or pause and softly glide; And oftentimes their rushing waves Bear dwellers down to watery graves."
The itinerant evangelist saw other things than mountains and wolves. He saw the moral and religious side of the people. The picture which he painted was probably not a fanciful one, since the early court records of Randolph often show a dozen or more indictments in one day for "provanely swearing" Here is the preacher's version of it:
"Too many souls these valleys in Are lost in doubt and dead in sin; Too few the knees that bend in prayer: Too many tongues that curse and swear.
"Too few that tread the Narrow Path; Too many on the road to wrath; Too many hearts as hard as stone; Too few the pilgrims to the Throne."
However discouraging this picture may be, the poet softened its shades
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and threw in some refulgent beams from a solemn sunset, before he con-
cluded it. The following verse is a summing up of the arguement:
"But in that day of wrath and doom, When Gabriel's trump shall burst the tomb, Above these mountains shall arise Ten thousand souls to fill the skies."
THE EARLY PRESBYTERIANS."
So far as records show, the first religious service held within Randolph County was by the Presbyterians. In 1786 Rev. Edward Crawford, from the Valley of Virginia, preached two sermons in Tygart's Valley. In 1787 Rev. William Wilson, of the "Old Stone Church of Augusta," preached two sermons. The next year Rev. Moses Hogue preached twice; and in 1789 Rev. Wilson came again and preached two sermons. For many years after that there is no record of any preaching in the Valley. Some time prior to 1820 Rev. Asa Brooks, of New England, visited the Valley as a missionary. He subsequently settled in Clarksburg, where he died in 1836. The first minister who made Tygart's Valley his home was Rev. Aretas Loomis, 1820. About that time Daniel McLean, Jonathan Hutton and Andrew Crawford met at Crawford's house and organized a church. Prior to that time there was no organized congregation in Randolph. Matthew Whitman was elected a ruling elder. In 1823 Adam See deeded three acres near Huttonsville on which to build a church. Rev. Loomis preached in the court house and in private houses. In 1826 the church near Huttonsville was commenced. It cost $1500, and was destroyed by Federal soldiers. In 1826 Rev. George A. Baxter, of Lexington, preached in the county; and in 1831 Rev. Henry Brown. At this time the church had 60 members and five elders, Mathew Whitman, Daniel McLean, Andrew Crawford, Squire Bosworth and Jona- than Hutton. In 1832 Rev. John S. Blaine and Rev. James Baber both preached in the county; and in 1835 Rev. Blaine came again and remained three years. Rev. Joseph Brown was here in 1840, and Rev. Theodore Gallandet in 1841. In that year the Mingo Church was organized with Wm. H. Wilson and Wm. Logan as elders, and Rev. E. Churchill preached there, and a house of worship was built by A. C. Logan for $419, on a lot deeded by Edward Wood. It stands today. Rev. Enoch Thomas preached the first sermon in it, and Rev. Henry Brown dedicated it. In 1841 there were 80 Presbyterians in the Valley between the mouth of Elkwater and the head of Leading Creek, Rev. Enoch Thomas was in charge from 1844 to 1860; Rev. Robert Scott from 1867 to 1875; Rev. Patterson Fletcher from 1875 to 1878; Rev. Plummer Bryan, 1881; Rev. Samuel J. Baird, 1884; Rev. J. N. Van Devanter, 1887; Rev. Charles D. Gilkeson, 1891.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
The Methodists were regarded as the pioneers in religion on the fron- tiers. It is not known how early they came to Randolph, for they kept poor records in early times. The court records speak of Adam Burge ill 1807, and mention of no earlier Methodist is found, although it is probable that Burge was not the first. Among others, some named in the court records, and others obtained from other sources, were: John B. West, 1826; Walter Athey, 1828; John McCaskey, 1830; James L. Turner, 1833;
* The facts herein stated were mostly obtained from Rev. Charles D. Gilkeson of Beverly, A. C. Logan of Mingo, and from a pamphlet (" Report of the Presbytery ") pub- lished half a century ago, and now very rare.
L
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Daniel M. Sturm, 1834; W. M. Leeper, 1835; George Monroe, 1835; Chester Morrison, 1836; John Reger, 1840; David Gordon, 1840; David Hess, 1841; Joel Pittman, 1841; Gideon Martin, 1842; Henry Clay Dean, 1846: Benjamin Isner, 1847; Parnnel Steel, 1847; Henry Steven, 1850; Cornelius Whitecotton, 1850; Samuel D. Jones, 1851; Richard M. Wallace, 1853; Aaron Bowers, 1856; Daniel O. Stewart, 1858; Wilson L. Hangman, 1860; Gilbert Rogers, 1864; John Birkett, 1866; S. B. D. Prickett, 1867; Thomas M. Hartley, 1868; John L. Eckess, 1871; Henning Foggy, 1873; John Wilmoth, 1874; Asbury Mick, 1876; C. W. Upton, 1879; Anthony Mustoe, 1881; John Adamson, 1881; E. C. Woodruff, 1882; Fred Cottrell, 1884; J. N. Sharp, 1887; Cyrus Poling, 1889; J. S: Robinson, 1891; P. A. Fling, 1893; Luther C. Scott, 1894; James W. Engle, 1895.
THE PRIMITIVE BAPTISTS.
This church had a very early organization in Randolph County. One of the earliest as well as the most eloquent of its preachers was Elder Thomas Collett, born 1788, died 1870. Under his management the old church-the oldest now standing in Randolph-was built four miles below Beverly. The edifice was a fine one in its day; it had a gallery and a high pulpit. The house was of logs, but several years before the Civil War it was weather-boarded. During the war soldiers tore off nearly all the weather-boarding and the roof. It was never thor- oughly repaired afterwards, and was abandoned many years ago, the denomination building a new house of worship near Lick, where 23 members now ยท worship. The old church is still an object of veneration in the neighborhood. The first Elder Thomas Collett's Church. preacher there was Thomas Collett. He preached long af- ter he became blind. He was succeeded by Elder Nathan Everett from Pennsylvania; and following came Elder Joseph Poe, of Barbour County. Next was Elder Ezra P. Hart; then Elder Elam Murphy, followed by Elder Hart again; and Elder Stephen D. Lewis is the present pastor. There is another congregation of this church on Leading Creek, with a house of worship and 45 members. The first preacher there was Elder David Mur- phy; next, Elder James Murphy, the present incumbent, who, although unable to walk, still expounds the Scripture to his people.
THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
The first in Randolph County was organized at Beverly, 1894; by Rev. E. R. Bazier, sent by the Pittsburg Conference, all of West Virginia being in the Wheeling District of the Pittsburg Conference. The second A. M. E. Church in Randolph was organized by Rev. Bazier at Cassity Fork, 1895. The Beverly Church has thirty members, that at Cassity Fork has twelve.
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Mr. Bazier has been the only worker among the colored people of the county, both in religious and educational matters, except the presiding elder, Rev. J. W. Riley, and Rev. T. A. Green, who conducted the quar- terly meetings and Rev. Garnett of Elkins.
Mr. Bazier is a native of Pennsylvania, born at Pittsburg 1865, and be- ginning his education under many discouragements, in the country schools, but subsequently attending college both at Wooster and Wilberforce, Ohio. When thirteen he clerked at a store at Mckeesport, and subsequently with wholesale merchants at Pittsburg. He saved money with which to educate himself. In 1886 he entered the ministry and was appointed to the Boone County mission, in West Virginia, where he organized schools and churches, and was the first teacher of colored children in that county. He labored also in Raleigh, Logan and Wyoming Counties. In 1894 he was appointed by Bishop Arnett to the Beverly mission. His field here was hard, the colored people being mostly poor and uneducated; but by perseverance he performed a permanent work, and built two houses of worship. He was also the first to teach the colored people of Randolph County. In 1894 he opened a school at Beverly, after securing a teacher's certificate, and has taught the school five months each year. In the winter, after closing the Beverly term, he opens a school at Cassity Fork. Under his excellent methods of teaching, his pupils make remarkable progress, and in educa- tional and moral advancement they compare favorably with any colored people in the country.
THE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH.
The first organized Baptist Church of that denomination in the county appears to have been founded in December, 1890, in Elkins, by Rev. W. E. Powell, of Parkersburg, general missionary of the Baptists of West Vir- ginia. The church contained 17 members, and a Sunday School was organ- ized. Rev. Amos Robinson, of the First Baptist Church of Bristol, R. I., was called to become pastor. The building, with the lots cost $3,500, and wasdedicated November 22, 1891. It has now 58 members, although several have moved away. In March, 1895, Rev. Robinson organized a church of twelve members in Harding, and Rev. M. P. H. Potts was chosen pastor. In September of the same year a church was organized at Faulkner, with twelve members. From 1880 to 1890 Rev. Potts preached to a small con- gregation near Valley Bend, but no church was built.
METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH.
The first Minister of the M. P. Church in Randolph, as far as known, was James Chambers, who is shown by the court records to have been authorized in 1848 to solemnize marriages. The records kept by the church are the merest fragments. From that source it is learned that the follow- ing preachers have labored in the county: S. T. Davis, 1875; A. S. Haney, 1877; Rev. Chips, 1879; D. M. Simonton, 1880. Isaac Ocheltree, 1884, E. J. Harris, 1885; Oliver Westfall, 1886; W. E. Fletcher, 1888; Oliver Westfall, 1889; J. C. Reese, 1890. A house of worship was built on Roaring Creek many years ago. In 1898 one was built in Beverly through the exertion of E. J. Kildow, assisted by George M. Wees and George W. Printz, as a building committee. The lot was donated by Mr. and Mrs. H. J. William- son; G. W. Printz was the architect, and A. H. Houdyschell the builder. Arthur Isner was the first licensed preacher. The famous preacher, Rev.
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MISCELLANEOUS HISTORY.
Samuel J. Clawson, who was of mixed Indian blood, did missionary work in Randolph in early years. Many of the older people remember his eccen- tricities and flowery, fiery and grandiloquent language. Near Huttonsville, when discouraged with the success of his meeting, only five having joined the church, he expressed his disgust thus:
"I have been fishing, and after thumping any thrashing among the thorns and thick- ets of perdition, and wading and floundering in the nasty pools of abomination, my only reward is that I have caught one shad, two herring and two old roosters."
Again, near the same place, his success in persuading the wicked to turn from their evil ways, was not up to his expectations, and he stopped short in his sermon, and raising his voice, poured forth this prophetic anathema against those who had failed to repent:
"Thank God, the day is not far distant when you miserable and unrepentant sinners will be chained down on hell's brazen floor, and the devil with his three pronged har- poon will pierce your reeking hearts, and pile upon you the red hot cinders of black damnation, as high as the Pyramids of Egypt, and fry the pride out of your hearts to grease the gudgeons of the rag-wheels of hell."
On still another occasion, in Tygart's Valley, Clawson preached at a school-house in a community where there were a number of "Free Think- ers," who were disposed to argue points of theology with ministers who went there. Someone informed Clawson of it and told him what to expect. When he took the pulpit he prefaced his sermon as follows:
"I understand there is a gang here who call themselves "No-Hellers," and that they are in the habit of attacking preachers who come liere to expound the gospel. I serve notice on you that if any of you speak to me here to night, or any other time, I will knock you higher than the Tower of Babel."
The preacher was in no way interfered with nor interrogated on theo- logical subjects.
The heads of Cheat must A tus coune
Sandy Creek
Divicling,
Anal Rouge A
Creat Lough River
Glades of Great yough
Difficult Crook
Mcculloch's
Green Blades
stany
RINCY
Savage River George Creek.
New Creek
cumberland
Patterson's Crack
Washington's Map.
good to Portalge
Little youghlever
Ihram's Creed
CLAUDE WILSON MAXWELL
CHARLES JOSEPH MAXWELL
ASSISTANTS IN COMPILING THE HISTORY OF RANDOLPH.
ARCHIBALD WILMOTH
SOLOMON CHENOWETH CAPLINGER
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PART THIRD.
Family History.
PREFACE.
The collection of the family history which is here presented was a task the difficulty and labor of which few can comprehend who have never un- dertaken a similar work. It contains the names, with mention of each, of more than ten thousand persons, all of whom live, or at one time lived, in Randolph. It was constantly necessary to condense into very small space history which deserved fuller mention; otherwise many persons would have been left out. The older families, in most cases, are presented more fully than those of recent years, because they have been longer connected with the connty's history; but the aim has been that each individual shall be placed properly, not only before the present generation, but also before the people of the future. Every effort has been made to avoid errors, and it is confidently believed that there are not many in the book; yet, from the fact that the material for the family history was gathered from thousands of sources, and many of those who furnished the information not agreeing among themselves as to the same fact, it has been sometimes impossible to decide who or which was right. That which was considered the highest authority, however, has always been followed. In collecting the family sketches a number of persons furnished assistance, visiting nearly all the houses in the county, and in so doing, traveling in the aggregate about three thousand miles. Of those who assisted in collecting data for the family history the following may be mentioned: Charles J. and Claude W. Maxwell collected nearly all the biographies in Beverly, Valley Bend and Mingo Districts; they were assisted in Valley Bend by Scott N. Swisher. In Middle Fork District this work was done by C.G. Swecker; in Roaring Creek and Huttonsville Districts by M. L. Daniels; in New Interest, partly by Burns Isner and partly by John J. Ferguson; in Dry Fork and Leads- ville by John J. Ferguson, assisted in the latter district by W. S. Ryan. A portion of the work in Mingo was done by P. B. Conrad. In addition to those, there was valuable service rendered by persons who saw the import- ance of the work and were willing to assist. To all snch the author feels under lasting obligations. It is hoped that the compilation of this book will awaken an interest among the people of Randolph in the importance of collecting and preserving their family history. Each family should have a history of its own members and of its ancestors, and that is what very few families in Randolph now possess.
FAMILY HISTORY.
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A
JONATHAN ARNOLD was born and raised on his father's farm near West Brownsville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, the date of his birth being March 27, 1802. He settled in Randolph County, then Virginia, about 1822, in Beverly, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred July 20, 1883. He was the eldest son of William Arnold, who was raised and lived in Fayette County, Pa., and who had married Hulda Knotts, daughter of a prominent citizen of the same section. Jonathan Arnold was the grandson of Jonathan Arnold who had married Rachel Scott, and there- after, in the year 1765, had removed, along with two brothers, Andrew and Jesse, from Chester County, near Philadelphia, the place of their birth, to Fort Redstone (now Brownsville, Pa.). The History of Chester County makes mention of but one family of the name of Arnold residing there prior to the date named, viz., Richard Arnold, who died in the year 1720, leaving a large family. He was, presumably, the father of Jonathan, the grand- father of the subject of this sketch.
Upon locating in Beverly, Jonathan Arnold established a tannery. He continued in this business a few years only, when he engaged in speculat- ing and cattle grazing, being usually successful in his business ventures. He was an ardent Whig, and was for years one of the leaders of his party in his adopted county. He never sought nor would he accept office; . but many a political battle was waged in the county under his leadership, the result usually leaving no doubt in the minds of the opposition as to his active participation therein. He was a conservative man, of the soundest judgment; of unquestioned integrity; of a kind heart; sympathetic and con- siderate with those in distress; of uncompromising sterness with dishon- esty in any place; and a trusted friend who could always be relied upon. His advice and judgment were frequently sought, and given freely to those whom he esteemed, and when observed rarely failing to benefit and profit the recipient.
At the breaking out of the Civil War Jonathan Arnold was strongly op- posed to the State's seceding from the Union; and he voted, in 1861, with the minority, in his county, against the ratification of the Ordinance of Seces- sion. Early in the war, however, when he saw the policy of the Federal administration trending, in his opinion, beyond the limits of the Constitu-
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tion, he experienced no great change in finding his sympathies more in ac- cord with the seceding States, as they seemed to him more nearly in line with the tenets of the Constitution. He was fearless in adherence to his principles and convictions, and he strongly opposed and voted against the formation of the State of West Virginia at a time when such a vote stamped one with disloyalty in the eyes of the Federal commanders stationed throughout the State, and subjected him to risk of arrest and imprison- ment. In the autumn of 1863 he was arrested by the United States author- ities; was never informed as to any charge against him except the general charge of disloyalty, and was held as a prisoner until the close of the war. Through the intercession of influential friends he was paroled within nar- now limits shortly after his arrest, but was not allowed to return to the vicinity of his home until a short time preceding his release.
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