Raleigh County's First Settlers -- The following list was compiled by Judge Winton A. White and presented to the Beckley Post-Herald newspaper in 1950. The list was published in the 1850 Centennial Edition of the Beckley Post-Herald on 26 Aug. 1950. It is now available in either the "Smith-Riffe" microfilm collection at the Raleigh County Public Library in Beckley, or from the Beckley Register-Herald Archives also located in Beckley, WV. Judge Riffe was an excellent historian, however, there are known errors in this work, so please check all information against primary sources. -- 1810 - 1820 ADKINS, Matthew - A native of Franklin County, Va.; he settled on Cooper's Creek near the Beckley Water Company dam about 1815. ADKINS, Parker - Parker was also a native of Franklin County and settled on Pinch Creek near Pluto. His sons were Larkin, Robert, Richells, and Anderson. BENNETT, Robert - Bennett probably settled on the New River plateau near Pear post office. His son Jacob lived in that neighborhood and was a large landowner. DAVIS, Peter - Davis came from Greenbrier River just below Big Bend and settled on the Squire William C. Richmond farm. John Davis, his son moved to Little Whitestick Creek near Mount Tabor about 1850. William Davis, the eldest son of John was a prominent citizen of the Mount Tabor community and a commissioner of the County Court from 1893 to 1899. Peter Davis, son of John, was a Confederate soldier and was killed by bushwhackers when returning home after the war. ELLISON, James - He first settled on Marsh Fork, at the mouth of Hazy Creek, where Edwight is located. About 1812 he moved just below the Marshes near the old Trump Mill Ford. He lived there until about 1819 and then returned to his old home in Monroe County, but came back in 1829 to Sand Lick at the Shumate farm. He was a Baptist preacher and died in Roanoke County in 1834 on his return from a Baptist General Association at Richmond. He had five sons who were Baptist ministers. FARLEY, Drewry - Farley came from Mercer County and settled on Drews Creek, a tributary of Peach Tree in Marsh Fork District, later moving to Kanawha County. Drews Creek was named for him. GORE, Joseph - A native of Island Creek in Mercer County, he settled on Rock House Fork of Maple Meadow around 1818. He was not a permanent settler, moving to Logan County around 1825. Three of his daughters, however, remained in Raleigh County. Catherine married Robert Massey, Celia married Jacob Pettry and Nancy wed Robert Acord. HARPER, Joseph - A native of Monroe County, Harper settled on Clear Fork of Coal River near the Clear Creek post office. He was sheriff of Fayette County during the 1840's, being the only man in the territory later embraced in Raleigh County who served in that capacity. His son, Jacob, who lived at Harper, was a prominent citizen and an early school teacher in that section. He married Elvira, a daughter of George Snuffer. In April 1864 he was taken from his home in the night and murdered by four outlaws who were regularly enrolled soldiers of the Confederate Army. Jacob Harper was noted for his kindness to the poor during the Civil War and made no distinction between Union and Confederate families. His sons, A. J. and George W., served as sheriffs of Raleigh County. Jacob was a large landholder and left a large estate to his family. HARVEY, John - Harvey settled on Cranberry Branch at the old McCreery place, but moved to the neighborhood of Fayetteville in the early 1830's. He was the father of Morris Harvey, the Fayette County financier and philanthropist. JARRELL, Gibson and Lemuel - These two brothers came from Monroe County, with Gibson settling on the Clear Fork on the Coal River near the mouth of Sycamore Creek, and Lemuel moving first to Paint Creek in the Cirtsville neighborhood, later going to the Clear Fork of Coal River near the mouth of Sycamore. MEADOWS, Issac - Meadows moved to New River on the W. C. Richmond farm. He and his brother-in-law, Peter Davis, owned a fine body of land on which the Richmond farm is located, originally known as "Briery Bottom". Issac Meadows was the great-great grandfather of former Governor Clarence Meadows. PACK, Samuel - A native of Monroe County, Pack moved to Cooper's Creek (tributary of Glade Creek) at the foot of White Oak Mountain about 1815. He was a large landholder and a wealthy and prominent man in the early days. His house was on the main road through this section and he was a "Tavern Keeper". PLUMLEY, John - He opened a farm on Plumley Mountain near Pear post office and was an ancestor of the numerous Plumley family in that section. REDDEN, John - Redden settled on Redden's Ridge near Table Rock. His sons were Harrison, Michael, William, and Joseph. SCARBROUGH, John - A native of Monroe County, he moved to Toney's Fork near Clear Creek post office. He married Clara Harper, a sister of Joseph. His son John W. Scarbrough, was a large landowner. SHUMATE, Daniel - Shumate, a native of Monroe County, settled at the mouth of Shumate's Branch near Edwight in 1810, but in a year or so moved to the Marshes to what is known as the George W. Calloway place. He had five sons: James, Amos, John, Tollison, Newton and Daniel, Jr., all of whom were outstanding. Tollison was a noted pioneer school teacher. Daniel Jr., was the first clerk of the Raleigh County Court, serving from 1850 to 1862. During the Civil War he was taken as a "citizen prisoner" to Camp Chase Prison in Ohio, where he died. Newton Shumate was also taken to Camp Chase with his brother, Daniel, where he was kept until the close of hostilities. John Shumate's son Felix was a Confederate soldier in Captain Stephen Adams' company. He was of a literary turn and kept a diary throughout the war. Newton's son, George W., was a Confederate soldier in Captain Benjamin Linkous' company. Daniel's sons, H. K. and William T., were Confederate soldiers. STOVER, Jacob - Originally a native of Franklin County, Va., Jacob moved to the Clear Fork of Coal River just below the mouth of Spruce about 1819. He had seven sons: Obediah, Abraham, John, Lewis, Sampson, Jacob, and Jubal, and two daughters, Fannie, who married Joseph Harper, and Susan who married John Williams. WILLIAMS, David - A native of Giles County, Va., Williams moved to the Clear Fork of Coal River, later settling on Paint Creek near Cirtsville. His son, John Williams, lived on Little Whitestick Creek, near the present Shumate Dairy, and had four sons in the Confederate Army: Lewis, Daniel and Jackson, who was killed at Cloyd's Farm, and Burrell. Submitted by Melissa Duggins **************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. 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