Marion County, West Virginia     Interim Report on John Hood (1799-1843)

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Interim Report on John Hood (1799-1843)
and his wife Letitia Smith Hood (c. 1803-1887)
Author: John J. Hood
Version Level: Original
Version Date: December 10, 1999

Introduction
John Hood was a businessman of great renown in the upper Monongahela
Valley in the early 19th century.  This report has been written,
first, to document what is known to date about John Hood and what
questions remain about him, and, secondly, to make suggestions for
the direction of future research.

In this report, there will be shorthand references made to published
narratives on the Hood family.  These resources are:

* History of Monongalia County, by Samuel T. Wiley, Kingwood, 1883

* Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Monongalia, Marion and
Taylor Counties, published by Rush, West and Company, Philadelphia,
1895 (Although this is a "vanity" history book, Alfred Hood (1825-1899)
 of Marion County wrote, by far, one of the better histories of the
Hood family)

* The Smith Hood narrative, written by Smith Hood (1861-19??) using,
"..his personal memory and facts gained from others, and from records
 in the Bibles of John Smith Hood and wife Maria Smythe Hood on Feb.
20th 1948"

Early Years (1799 to 1818)
John Hood was born in Fredericktown, Washington County, Pennsylvania in
1799 where his father, Archibald Hood, had settled some years earlier.
The name of his mother is unknown to us at this time.

John received a practical education from his father who operated a
tannery and saddlery shop in Fredericktown.  As Smith Hood tells us,
"[Archibald Hood] taught his son, John, ...beginning at the age of
ten years.  Father and son would work in the shop all winter and in
the early spring travel throughout Greene and adjoining counties
selling their saddles and harness[es].  Some trips would require a
week or ten days."

It is unclear whether or not John Hood received a formal education.
In his history of Washington County, PA, Crumrine (1882) states that
there was a log school house erected in Fredericktown around 1810.
Fredericktown is known to have a library as early as March of 1796.
However, it's not certain as to where Archibald Hood was living between
the years 1801 and 1819, therefore it's also not certain where (or if)
his son John would have had an opportunity for a formal education.
Regardless of that, John Hood, at the very least, knew how to write
his name as deeds on record in the Greene County, PA show that he
signed his name.

The Smith Family
Smith Hood tells us that, "They [Archibald and John] soon learned the
good places to stop for good food and a clean bed [when they were
traveling and selling saddles and harnesses], and one of their choice
places to stay was with a farmer by the name of Smith.  [John] Smith
[of Waynesburg] had a very attractive fifteen year old daughter, named
Letitia.  John Hood fell in love with her and they married."

Letitia was the youngest daughter of John Smith and Lettice Cline Smith
of Franklin Township, Greene County, PA..  Her age as recorded in census
records created during her lifetime yield a birth year range from 1801
to 1805.  Her father moved from Harford County, Maryland with his brothers
in 1774 and was an Indian fighter during the Revolutionary War.

About the time that John would have been courting Letitia, members of the
Smith family began leaving Greene County, PA for Tyler County, WV.
John Smith's son, John Jr., left for the area around Middle Island Creek
in Tyler County in 1818, and his father followed him to Tyler County in
1819.  John and Letitia were most likely married in 1819, as John Hood is
taxed as a married man for that year.  What's not certain is where they
were married.  John Smith may have left for Tyler County after his daughter
was wed, meaning that they were married in Greene County (and no marriage
records were kept by Greene County at that time).  The other scenario is
that John Smith may have moved with his daughter to Tyler County, meaning
that John may have married her in Tyler County (Tyler County records have
not been checked yet for this marriage).  It is not known whether or not
Letitia received any kind of formal education.  Deeds in Greene County
that she signed with her husband were marked with a "/" or an "X",
indicating that she did not know how to write.  However, young women
at that time were taught how to read but not how to write.

The Young Businessman: The Years in Jefferson (1819 to 1828)
John and Letitia set up their home and shop in the village of Jefferson in
Jefferson Township of Greene County sometime in the year 1819.  Tax records
show that they did not own any land or the house in which they lived, but
that they did have one cow and John was taxed for his occupation (saddler).

Although they had a modest beginning, the tax records show that it did not
remain that way for long.  By 1820, John owned his own horse.  The 1820 census
for John and Letitia shows that there were two men between the ages of 16 and
26 living in the household.  One of these men would have been John, and the
other may very well have been an apprentice or an employee as the census
states that both of these men are engaged in "manufacturing".

In 1821, John appears to have gained enough wealth to purchase a lot with a
house on it in the village of Jefferson.  The tax records describe this house
and lot as being, "...of E. Luse."  This may be Eleazar Luse, who served as
a witness for a deed for John Hood some years later.  There is no deed
recorded in the Greene County courthouse for the time when John Hood
bought this house and nor is there one for when he sold it.  Nevertheless,
it would be of great interest to discover if Eleazar Luse recorded a deed
for when he first bought this lot and to determine where it was located as
this would be the location where many of John and Letitia's children were
born.  John and Letitia's first child, John Smith Hood, was born in May of
1821, so he may or may not have been born in this house.  It would,
undoubtedly, be the location where the other sons and one daughter
would have been born (William in 1822, Alfred in 1825, Maria in 1827
and James in 1827).

In 1822, John Hood had purchased another horse, was still living in
Jefferson and appears to have started dealing speculatively in land.
In March of 1822, he purchased from William and Polly Pryor (heirs of
the Robert Kelley estate) a 1/8 interest in an undivided tract of land
known as the "Buffalo Flats" for $90.  He then sold this land in March
of 1823 for $100 to George Rex (a return on investment of 11%).

John Hood bought other tracts of land in Greene County from 1822 to 1828
while he was living in Jefferson.  He warranted a 400 acre tract in Wayne
Township, and he and Joseph Adamson jointly owned a 107-acre tract in
Center Township that was situated on the Ten Mile Creek.  Around 1826 or
1827, he purchased a five-acre tract of land in Jefferson Township from a
man named Strawn.

The year 1828 saw John Hood selling much of the property that he had acquired.
In March of that year, he and Joseph Adamson sold the tract that they owned
in Center Township.  In August of 1828, he sold the tract in Wayne Township
that he had warranted (he had purchase it from the Greene County Treasurer
in June of 1828 as he had forgotten/neglected to pay the tax on the property).
And at some point in 1828, he also sold the five acre tract he held in
Jefferson Township and as well as their house and lot in the village of
Jefferson has been sold by that time.

Business Is Steady: The Waynesburg Years (1828-1832)
>From deeds in the Greene County courthouse, it can determine that John
Hood and family moved from Jefferson to somewhere in or around Waynesburg
in August of 1828.  On August 2, 1828, John Hood is recorded as being "of
Jefferson Township" when he purchases ½ of lot #138 in Waynesburg, and then
on August 21, 1828 he is recorded as being "of Waynesburg" when he sells his
tract of land in Wayne Township.

Although it's known when John Hood moved from Jefferson to Waynesburg, it's
not known where he lived in Waynesburg.  Tax records for the ½ of lot #138
that he owned was vacant, and he sold it at a time when he was known to be
living in the vicinity.  Tax records also show that he had sold this lot by
1830.  What is perplexing is that the deed recorded in Greene County when
John Hood sold this lot is dated March 10, 1835.  What can explain this?
Was this a copying error by the county clerk?  Was it really sold by 1830,
but no contract written until 1835?

In December of 1828, John Hood bought a tract in Franklin Township that
contained 12 acres and 96 perches of land.  Even though he held this land
until he moved to West Virginia, this is not where he lived as there is no
tax paid for a house or a cabin on this land.  As with the lot in Waynesburg,
there is a discrepancy between the tax records and the deed.  The tax records
show that John Hood held this 12+ acre tract only as late as 1832, and the
tax records mention that it was sold to James Golden.  The deed recorded for
the sale of this tract from John Hood to James Golden is dated April 1, 1837.
Again, what could explain this difference?

The 1830 census record for the John Hood household paints a picture of a home
with a growing family that has a number of employees or apprentices or servants
living with them.  The census show four young, white males in the home, and it
would safe to conclude that these are John and Letitia's four sons, John Smith,
William, Alfred and James.  There are also two young females listed and we
would be safe in concluding that these are John and Letitia's daughters Maria
and Margaret.  In addition to the family, there are three white males between
the ages of 15 and 20, and one while male between the age of 20 and 30, all of
whom may have been employees or apprentices.  There is also an additional female
between the ages of 20 and 30 who may have been a servant for Letitia.  Lastly,
there was a free negro in the household between the ages of 10 and 24 who may
have been an employee or a servant.

The tax and land records during this period make it appear as though John Hood
stopped dealing in land and focused on his saddlery business.  Tax records
during this period show him as living in Franklin Township (but never showing
a house or cabin), working at his trade, owning a 12½ acre tract of land, and
owning a horse (or two) and a cow (or two).

Business Expands: The West Virginia Years (1832 to 1843)
A variety of sources allude to the fact that John Hood and family moved from
the Waynesburg area to Blacksville in present-day West Virginia in late 1832
or very early in 1833.  Blacksville is 13 miles due south of Waynesburg and
abuts the Pennsylvania-West Virginia border.  Alfred Hood (1895) states that
John Hood spent the last twelve years of his life in West Virginia (which
would make it around 1831).  The tax records in Greene County show that he
was present in Franklin Township in 1832, but had definitely left the area
by 1833 (stating the he had, "Moved to Blacksvell [sic]").  John and Letitia's
daughter, Letitia, was born in September of 1832, and in some census records
she claims to have been born in Pennsylvania and in others that she was born
in Virginia.

Smith Hood (1948) states: "John Hood, after most of his children were born,
moved to Blacksville, Virginia (now West Virginia),  and there he conducted
a general store, and with his son, John Smith Hood, continued the saddler trade,
John Smith taking up the trade as did his father."  The store that John Hood
operated is mentioned is a piece entitled "The Road to Morgantown".  The "Road
to Morgantown" is the earliest example of the folk literature in Monongalia
County, written about 1832.  Robin Darrah, a resident of Miracle Run in western
Monongalia County, is giving directions to a stranger on how to get to the
county seat and adds a great deal of superfluous information.  Along with
illustrating the garrulous nature of some backwoodsmen, the account gives
sidelights on living conditions of the day and the people mentioned were real
men and women living in the area at that time.  At one point in the middle
of this piece, Robin Darrah utters: "John Hood's got the best store in Blacksville."
[Source: The Mongalia Story, Vol. III, Earl Core, McClain Printing Co., Parsons, WV, 1979]

Not content with simply operating a store and a saddlery business, Alfred Hood
(1895) tells us that  John Hood started the large wholesale and grocery and
provision house of Hailman, Hood and Company of Pittsburgh in 1836.  This author
(John J. Hood) has found where a Hailman and a Lazear jointly owned a lot in
Waynesburg, and a Jesse Lazear was a witness on a deed for one of John Hood's
land deals.  It is also in 1836 that John Hood is found receiving a land grant
for 17½ acres of land on Day's Run in Monongalia County, although Day's Run may
be in present-day Marion County [Source:  Sim's Index to Land Grants in West
Virginia ].

Sometime later, John Hood and family moved again.  From the Smith Hood narrative
(1948): "After a few years in Blacksville, John Hood again moved to what was
then known as Jimtown, located on the Monongahela River, at the mouth of Scott's
Run in Cass District, Monongalia County, West Virginia."  This is corroborated
to some extent in Core's history of Monongalia County (1979) but it is somewhat
confusing.  On page 158, Core says that John Hood and Company start a store in
the vicinity of Hamilton on December 5, 1837.  Then, on page 359, Core states
that Morgan L. Boyers, with John Hood and Company, started a store in Jimtown
December 5, 1837.  It appears that something of importance occurred on December
5, 1837, but just exactly where it occurred and who the major players were still
needs to be straightened out.

Although he apparently moved to Jimtown (or thereabouts) in 1837 or so, John
Hood did not cut his ties in the Blacksville area.  Core (1979) states that in
1839, John Hood of Blacksville (italics added) was one of a number of people
who bought stock in the Dunkard Creek Turnpike.  In this same year, Core says
that John Hood, with William Launtz, was operating a store at Blacksville.

After residing in the vicinity of Jimtown, John Hood and family moved one more
time. Smith Hood (1948) says: "About the year 1840 he moved to Lowesville at
the mouth of Indian Creek in Grant District, Monongalia County.  There, he
erected a good home, a frame building large enough for a general store and
saddler shop."  It may have been around this time that John Hood donated the
land for what would become the Mount Hood Methodist Episcopal Church, South
[Source: Virginia Wisman Welty].

The 1840 census for Monongalia County, (West) Virginia show a family where the
children are "leaving the nest".  There are only two young males in the
household, one surely is their son James and the other may be their son William.
Their son, John Smith, is known to have left home long before 1840 to study the
saddlers trade in Waynesburg.  Their other son, Alfred, received formal schooling
at schools in Waynesburg and Pittsburg, and he may have left home by this time.
There is also only one daughter in the age bracket of 10 to 15 years when there
should be two daughters (Maria and Margaret).  Could Maria have been married at
this time?  At school?  Working as a servant in another household?  Core (1979)
notes in his history of Monongalia County that John Hood was sworn in as a
Justice of the Peace for Monongalia County in 1840.

Descriptions of general business activities and personality traits (1820 to 1843)
Alfred Hood (1895) said that his father was, "...one of the most remarkable and
successful business men [sic] that southwestern Pennsylvania has ever produced....
He operated two or three large farms, ran several lines of huckster and peddling
wagons....He also ran a line of trading boats on the Monongahela and Ohio rivers,
and operated several large saddlery and harness shops, whose products he sold
throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.  In connection with these different
lines of business he engaged in numerous other enterprises, one of which was
buying large quantities of whiskey, which he shipped west and sold.....He
possessed rare organizing powers, good judgement and fine executive ability.
At the time of his death he was entering upon a wider career of business that
promised abundant prosperity to himself and usefulness to the commercial interests
of western Virginia and western Pennsylvania.  Prudent but energetic in his
enterprises and enthusiastically hopeful in whatever he engaged, his untimely
death was severely felt in the Monongahela valley from Pittsburg to Fairmont."
In a biographical piece on C.P. Hood (son of William Hood [1822-1899] and grandson
of John Hood [1799-1843]), we find the following (brief) description of John Hood:
"He was a man of excellent characteristics, and took a deep interest in all movements
for the material development of the section wherein he resided."
[Source: Genealogical and Personal History of the Upper Monongahela Valley West
Virginia, by James Morton Callihan, Lewis Historical Publishing Co., New York, 1912]

1843 and Afterwards
Both Alfred Hood (1895) and Smith Hood (1948) cite the date of death for John Hood
as being March 21, 1843, and both state that John Hood was in his 45th year of life
when he died.  Alfred Hood (1895) identifies the place of his death as "Laurelville"
in Monongalia County, West Virginia, but  Smith Hood identified the place of death
as his home in Lowesville ("Laurelville" may have been an older name for Lowesville;
places called "Laurel Flats" and "Laurel Point" are not far from Lowesville).

According to Smith Hood (1948), John Hood's son John Smith Hood took entire charge
of the farm, store and shop as he was the only one of legal age.  John Smith Hood
also aided his mother in caring for the family.  Even though he died prematurely,
he had accumulated enough wealth to ensure that his would not suffer as a result.

Smith Hood claims that John Smith Hood lived with his mother until 1861, and that
afterwards she lived with her one of her sons, James or Joseph, of her daughter
Letitia Hood Huffman.  Census records from that time bear this out, but only in part.

In the 1850 census of Monongalia County, (West) Virginia, we find Letitia Smith
Hood listed as the head of her own household.  Her younger children, James,
Letitia and Joseph, are living with her.  The estimated value of her wealth that
was reported to the enumerator was $2,500.

In the 1860 census of Monongalia County, (West) Virginia, we find Letitia Smith
Hood listed with the family of her son, James Hood.  Her son, Joseph, is still
single and living with her.

In the 1870 census of Monongalia County, West Virginia, we find Letitia Smith
Hood listed in the household of her son Joseph Hood.  The value of her personal
property was estimated at $200, and the value of her real estate holdings was
valued at $3480 (which was quite a lot for that time).

In the 1880 census of Monongalia County, West Virginia, we find Letitia Smith
Hood listed as  living in the household of her son, James Hood.

Letitia Smith Hood died on September 10,1887 (the date on her grave marker
matches the date listed on her death record).  Her cause of death is recorded
on her death record as simply being "Old age".  She lies buried next to her
husband in the cemetery at Lowesville where the Mount Hood Methodist Episcopal
(South) Church used to stand.

Since Letitia Smith Hood died intestate, an inventory of her estate was made
and recorded in the Monongalia County courthouse (on August 7, 1888).  The
items that she owned of highest monetary value were her livestock: one colt,
one cow and one heifer.  Aside from her livestock, she appears to have been
prepared to have company overnight (grandchildren, perhaps?) as she had four
beds, a bedstead, linen, blankets, a comforter and a quilt.  It appears that
her kitchen was equipped with everything that a housekeeper might have desired
at that time:  table and chairs, a cupboard, dishes, a kettle and pot, a copper
kettle, table spoons and tea spoons.  Lastly, there are items that suggest that
she was living in comfort and wealth for her time; items such as a mirror, a
clock, a watch, a desk and two carpets.

Children of John and Letitia (Smith) Hood

1.)  JOHN SMITH HOOD
Born May 31, 1821 in Jefferson, Greene County, PA
Married Mary Maria Smythe, Feb. 4 or 5, 1844 in Monongalia County, WV
Died June 30, 1901, Lowesville, Monongalia County, WV

2.)  WILLIAM HOOD
Born Nov. 18, 1822 in Jefferson, Greene County, PA
Married Hannah Pindell Coombs (1st spouse)
Died Feb. 3, 1899

3.)  ALFRED (ALPHEUS?) HOOD
Born Aug. 14, 1825 in Jefferson, Greene County, PA
Married Sarah Straight (1st) June 10, 1846
Died Dec. 18, 1899

4.)  MARIA HOOD
Born Jan. 4, 1826 in Jefferson, Greene County, PA
Married Phillip Lowe (1st), April 7, 1849
Died Feb. 13, 1921

5.)  JAMES HOOD
Born 1827 in Jefferson, Greene County, PA
Married Martha Hough, April 1, 1850
Died 1909

6.)  MARGARET HOOD
Born about 1827 or 1828, Greene County, PA
Never married
Died Sep. 21, 1841, Lowesville?, Monongalia County, WV

7.)  CAROLINE HOOD
Born about 1830 or 1831, in/near Waynesburg, Greene County, PA
Never married
Died 1845?

8.)  LETITIA HOOD
Born Sept. 22, 1832 at Waynesburg, PA or Blacksville, WV
Married Jacob Huffman
Died April 7, 1896

9.)  MARY ELLEN HOOD
Born 1836?
Never married
Died 1837?

10.)  JOSEPH A. HOOD
Born May 20, 1841 at Hamilton, Monongalia County, WV
Married Columbia Robey (1st), Nov. 11, 1868


John J. Hood
PO Box 248, McDonald, TN 37353
e-mail: 73552.1552@compuserve.com