History of Ritchie County CHAPTERS 10 - 12 ********************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ********************************************************************** History of Ritchie County The following is taken from the book "History of Ritchie County" written by Minnie Kendall Lowther, and published in 1910. Transcribed by Janet Waite. Chapter X First Settlers in the Cairo Vicinity The first settlers in the Cairo vicinity were, Isaac. Levi, John, and Thomas Nutter - four brothers, and Richard Gillispie, who, early in the century, took up their abode at the mouth of Addis' run; but they, having no title for the land, were only temporary settlers, and, at the coming of William McKinney, in 1818, they found homes elsewhere. Richard Gillispie, being compelled to flee from the indignation of his neighbors, owing to a difficulty which had arisen over the killing of a cow, had sought refuge on the stream that bears his name - "Gillispie's run", before the coming of the McKinney's; but the Nutter Brothers remained here until that time. The Nutters. - The family of Nutters, like the ones of Oxford and Holbrook, were descended from the traditional four brothers, that came from England and settled in Harrison county in Colonial times. Isaac Nutter married Miss Elizabeth Webb, who was, perhaps the sister of Nutter Webb, of Webb's mill, and after leaving Addis' run, made the first settlement where the village of Rusk now stands; and in 1844, having lived at different other points in the meantime, he removed to the farm just below the mouth of Gillispie's run, and from here, in 1856, went to Indiana, where he fell asleep. He was the father of several children, and not a few of his descendants are still citizens of this county. Margaret, the eldest daughter, married Jesse Cain, of Rusk,and was the mother of E. A. Cain, and Siotha Cain, of Rusk; J.W. Cain, of Harrisville - the County surveyor; Frank Cain, of Ellenboro; and Mrs. Simon Tenant, of Petroleum. John Nutter, the eldest son, went to Indiana; Matthew, to Missouri; George, to Wisconsin; Jane was the late Mrs. William Enoch, of Indianapolis; Elizabeth married Alexander Bickerstaff, and resides at Mellin; David rests in California. She and Mrs. Bickerstaff being the only survivors of the family (of Isaac Nutter). Levi Nutter married Miss Margaret Webb, sister of his brother's wife, after leaving Addis' run, went to Goose creek, where he became the pioneer settler of the well-known "Nutter farm", he having purchased near one thousand acres of land in this wilderness. Here he reared a large family, and here, he found a resting place, more than a half century ago. Some of his descendants still lay claim to a part of this old homestead, though part of it is now the estate of the late "Dick" Wilson. His only daughter married Sylvester Webb, and some of her family live on the old homestead. Three of his sons, Thomas, Math, and Tone, met tragic deaths. John was another son; and Benjamin, the youngest and last survivor of the family, died a few years since, in the Hospital for the Insane at Weston. When Mr. Nutter first settled here, he had a wife and one child, a cow and calf and one horse; and when he went to visit his brother, Isaac, seven miles distant, he rode on horse-back and carried the calf, the cow followed behind, and the wife walked and carried the child; this manner of procedure being necessary to protect the calf and the child from the wolves. John Nutter married Miss Mary Mounts and, from the Cairo vicinity, they removed to Calhoun county, in 1818, and settled on the West fork of the Kanawha river, just below Richardsonville, where he spent his last hours; His children were as follows: James and Humhrey, who both have passed on, were the sons. Sarah (Mrs. Jonathan Nicholas), Elizabeth (Mrs. Abraham Starcher), and Basha (Mrs. Jeremiah Hickman) were the daughters. T. J. Nutter, of Rusk, is a son of Humphrey, as is James Nutter of Wirt county. Thomas Nutter, the last one of the four pioneer brothers, went from the Cairo vicinity to Athen county, Ohio, and settled on the banks of the Little Hocking river, and here his history ends. William Nutter. - From "The Recollections of a Life-Time", a little sketch of early days in Calhoun and Gilmer counties, we learn that Mrs. Mary Starr Nutter, the widow of William Nutter, another brother of the four above mentioned, came from Ritchie county with John Nutter, in 1818, and settled where Richardsonville now stands, but her name escaped the early settlers of this county, as William Nutter is not remembered among the pioneers here. However, her children were David, Isaac, Thomas, Levi, William and Nancy, who became the wife of Jacob Starcher, senior. THE MCKINNEYS.-- The Nutters, as above stated, were only squatters at the mouth of Addis' run, and, in 1818, they were dispossessed by William McKinney, who purchaed a tract of three thousand nine hundred twenty acres in this secion, of Mathias Mattenly, for the small sum of eight thousand forty dollars. He afterwards bought another tract of one thousand eighty acres, and after giving each one of his children a large fare, he sold the remainder to a colony of Scotch settlers, who came later. Mr McKinney came from the "Keystone state", with his wife and large family of children, and founded his home where his late grandson, Jacob McKinney, resided until his death. He figured prominently in the early history of the county, both in church and state affairs; and for a number of years after his coming, this was known as the McKinney settlement, fthe former "Egypt", being gradually dropped. William McKinney was born of English parentage in Lyconing county, Eastern Pennsylvania, on September 4, 1760. He was the son of William and Hannah McKinney and was next to the youngest member of a family of six children (viz., Sarah, who married a Mr. Haggerty, Jemima, Jacob, John, and Cathrine). Though so young, he served as an American soldier during the latter part of the Revolution; and on July 14, 1789, he was married to Miss Frances Piatt, and from this time until he came to Ritchie county, his home was at White Deer valley,on the Susquehannah river. Mrs. McKinney was of French descent. She was the daughter of John and Jane Williamson Piatt, and the granddaughter of John Piatt, of France; and at historic old Trenton, she was born, on March 7, 1770, when the bugle notes of the Revolution were being sounded, but her parents later removed to White Deer Valley, Pennsylvania, where she met and married Mr. McKinney. In 1789, when General Washington was enroute from Mr. Vernon to New York City, for his first inauguration to the Presidency, when he reached the old bridge at Trenton over which he had retreated before Lord Cornwallis' army, a few years before, a beautiful triumphal arch under which he was to pass, greeted his eye. This arch had been prepared by the ladies of the town in honor of the occasion, and was supported by thirteen pillars, wreathed with flowers and evergreen, and it bore the inscription, "The Defender of the Mothers will be the Preserver of the Daughters." Beneath the arch stood a party of thirteen loyal young ladies, laden with baskets of flowers, and as the hero of the Revolution approached, they showered the flowers in his pathway-singing as they did so,the following ode, which had been composed for the occasion: Welcome mighty Chief once more, Welcome to this grateful shore; Now no mercenary foe Aims again, the fatal blow, Aims at thee, the fatal blow. Virgins fair and matrons grave, Those thy conquering arm did save, Build for thee, triumphal bowers, Strew ye fair, his way with flowers, Stew your hero's way with flowers. Frances Piatt was one of this number, and in the presence of the writer, in later years, she sang this little ode, reviving the feeling of her youth and her loyalty to her Chieftain. Mrs. McKinney was a woman of strong mind, and of a cheerful, happy disposition, and her husband being ever kind and generous, "the world went well with them." When they first came to this wild country the younger members of the family were very much dissatisfied, and they would say, "Oh, dear, mother, you have brought us to a wilderness!" But with her characteristic cheerfulness, she would reply, "O children, you will see railroads running through your farms, yet, some day." At the absurdity of such a prediction all would break into a laugh, thus dispersing the shadow occasioned by their undesirable surroundings. And though the dear old mother never lived to see it, the prophesy has long since been fulfilled. The Baltimore and Ohio railroad runs through what was at that time the "McKinney estates" for miles, and the busy town of Cairo stands on the farm that once belonged to their daughter, Kathrine McKinney McGregor. Mr. McKinney was the first mill-owner in this section. He was a Presbyterian in religious faith, and was a man of a strong influential character. He passed to his reward on June 24, 1848, on the first anniversary of the death of his wife. (She died June 24, 1847) Both sleep in the Egypt cemetery. Their children were as follows: William, John Piatt, jacob, Hannah (Mrs. Joseph Marshall), Jane (Mrs. Edward Skelton), David and Kathrine (Mrs. David McGregor) were twins, Sarah (Mrs. Richard Wanless), and James. Nearly all these sons and daughters were in turn the heads of pioneer families of this county. William McKinney, junior, the eldest son of William and Frances Piatt McKinney, was born in Pennsylvania, on May 17, 1790, and there, on January 22, 1818, he was married to Mary Wilson Miller; and, a few months later, with his parents, they came to this county and settled on the farm that is now the estate of the late Jacob Hatfield, senior. After a twelve years' residence here, they went to Harrisville, where Mr. McKinney purchased the Mathias Cline store, and engaged in the mercantile business for eight years before removing to Waverly, in Wood couty, where he died, in 1879, at the age of eighty-nine years. Here Mrs. McKinney died at the age of eighty years. Both rest in the Bethel cemetery, near the old home. They were the corner stones of the Bethel church at Waverly, the first organization being made at their home, in April, 1845, when Mr. McKinney was ordained as Elder - an office which he filled until his death. Their family consisted of ten children, all of whom reached the years of maturity except one that died in infancy; viz. Robert Simpson, William Piatt, Frances S. (unmarried), Eliza J. (Mrs. Thomas Miller), Abram F., Hannah M. (Mrs. James Sharps), Festus H., Mary S. (unmarried), and Jacob, all of whom have joined the parents on the other side, save Miss Mary S., who resides at Parkersburg. Robert Simpson and William Piatt, the two eldest sons, were the victims of a most thrilling experience while the family resided on the "Hatfield farm", they being but five and two years of age, respectively, at the time of the incident: Their father being absent from home, their mother sent them to drive the young cattle to the forest, and, unconsciously, they wandered too far to find their way back; and when they failed to return home in a reasonable length of time, she became alarmed, and, taking her babe in her arms, went to the home of her father-in-law and made the sad truth known - that her children were lost. All the able-bodied men, with her husband, were at Parkersburg -thirty miles distant, "at muster", but she gathered together what help she could - both men and women - and went in search of the little wanderers. But they being unfamiliar with the forest, could not venture far, and all night long they searched to no avail, and on the following day the father was called home, and he, too, joined in the quest, which was continued throughout the next night all to no purpose; but during the third day, however, they were found near three miles from the home almost perished from hunger and cold - the elder being in a state of unconsciousness. They had been out almost two days and nights without food, with the exception of a few berries that they had found. It was in the month of October, and during the first night, a cold rain had fallen, and the elder brother had taken off his coat and put it on the little one to keep him warm, and their dog helped to keep them from freezing at night. They said that their dog drove a "big black dog" away from them one night, but it was supposed to have been a bear, by the older people. The mother could never speak of the pathetic incident in after years without tears. John Piatt McKinney, the second son of William and Frances Piatt McKinney, was born in the Keystone state, on August 19, 1792; and on July 4, 1826, he was married to Miss Sarah W. Lacy, and near Cairo, they resided until 1836, when they removed to Parkersburg, and took charge of the "United States" hotel - one of the best in the city at that time. Here Mrs. McKinney died, in 1844, at the age of forty-seven years, and two years later their only daughter, Fraces Selina, passed on, at the age of thirteen years. After this sad event, Mr. McKinney, principally made his home with his brother, David; and here, on April 23, 1879, he passed from earth, and in the Odd Fellows cemetery, at Parkersburg, he rests. His three sons were William Hopkins, David P., and Thomas E. McKinney. The last two mentioned reside at Springfield, Ohio, and are unmarried. Jacob McKinney, the third son of William nad Frances Piatt McKinney, was born on November 16, 1799; and on June 9, 1828, he was married to Miss Mary, daughter of Edward Skelton, senior, and settled just across the river from the old McKinney homestead, where he and his wife saw the last of earth, and in the Egypt cemetery their ashes lie. He died on January 15, 1861. Their nine children were as follows: Anne Eliza (Mrs. Luke Terry), Cathrine (Mrs. H. B. McCollum), James, Mary M., Sarah, William S., and Frances A. (who all remained unmarried); Jacob B., and John P. McKinney. Hannah McKinney, the eldest daughter of William and Frances Piatt, was born in the "Keystone State", on March 13, 1795; and there she was married to Joseph Marshall, on September 23, 1816, and from there they went ot Ohio, where they remained for a few years, before coming to this county, and settling on the "Marshall homestead", near one mile south of Cairo. This old pioneer residence, with its massive chimney and huge fire-place, is one of the very few that have escaped the plans of the modern architect, and still stands, undisturbed, in its original state. It is now the property of A. M. Douglass, of Cairo. The first church organization in the community (Presbyterian) was perfected at the Marshall home, and here, a little band of worshipers gathered regularly until a churchhouse was erected. Mr. Marshall died in 1835, at the home of his brother-in-law, James McKinney, at Williamstown, he having been stricken with the fatal illness while on his way home from a business trip to Cincinnati; and in the "Bukey cemetery" at Williamstown, he rests. His wife died at the old home hear Cairo, in 1874, at the age of eighty years,and she lies in the Egypt cemetery. They were the parents of eight children - seven sons and one daughter, the late Miss Ellen Marshall, of Cairo, being the daughter. The sons were, William M., Francis J., John P. (who never married), Robert R., of Gilmer county; Jacob W., David H. (died in youth), and Hezekiah B. Marshall,of Buckhannon, who was a resident of Mining Flats, this state, for fifty-four years, and who is the only survivor of the family. John W. Marshall, formerly of Oil Ridge, but now of Wood county, is a grandson of this pioneer, and he has not a few other descendants in this, and an adjoining counties. Jane McKinney, the second daughter of William and Frances Piatt McKinney, was born on July 4, 1797, and was married to Edward Skelton, junior, on January 1, 1822, and, removed to Illinois, where all the family are sleeping, except Augustus D., who resides in Kansas City, Missouri. Their other children, besides the one mentioned, were, John G. (a mute), who married Miss Prudence Chidester, who was, also, a mute; William M., Frances (unmarried); Edward A., and Eliza J., who married George Briggs. David McKinney, the fourth son of William, and Frances Piatt, and his siter, Kathrine, were twins. They were born, on August 1, 1801; and on December 29, 1831, David was married to Miss Sarah M. Henderson, and settled on the farm, given him by his father, in the Cairo vicinity, where he remained until 1848, when he removed to Harrisville, and after a three years' residence there, went to Willow Island, on the Ohio river, in Pleasants county, where he was identified in the mercantile business for the next three years. He then resided on a farm in Pleasants county for twenty years, going from there to Williamstown, where he fell asleep in 1881, in the eighty-first year of his life. His wife preceded him to the grave by three years, she having reached the age of seventy-one years. Both sleep near the St. John's Episcopal church in Pleasants county. They were the parents of five daughters and one son, John, who died in infancy. The daughters were: Nancy, who married Oscar L. Ridgely; Miss Frances Piatt McKinney, of Williamstown; Mary J. (unmarried); Hannah M., who became Mrs. Giles R. Hammat; and Sarah C., who married John D. Sharp. Mrs Sharp and Miss Frances alone survive. Kathrine McKinney, the third daughter of William and Frances Piatt McKinney, who, with her brother, David, first saw the light on August 1, 1801, was married to David McGregor, on March 17, 1842, and settled at Cairo, where she died, on September 11, 1863, and was laid in the Egypt cemetery. Three children were the fruits of this union; viz., William A., and John P., the sons, both died in infancy, and Frances S., the only daughter, is now Mrs. I. S. Hallam, of Abeline Kansas. Sarah McKinney, the youngest daughter of William and Frances Piatt McKinney, married Richard Wanless, senior, and was the mother of five children: John, William A., Richard, junior, Frances and Mary Wanless. (For farther history of her family see Wanlesses.) James McKinney, the youngest son of William and Frances Piatt, was born, on November 26, 1807; and he was married to Miss Suannah Bukey, on January 1, 1832, and the first years of their married life were spent at Williamstown, from whence they removed to Harrisville, where Mr. Mckinney was engaged in the mercantile business, and where he filled the County clerk's office for a number of years. Here Mrs. McKinney died; and on May 18, 1854, he was married a second time to Miss Minerva Stephens, of Harrisville, who still survives. He died on July 26, 1889, and lies at rest, beside the wife of his youth, in the Harrisville cemetery. The children of his first union were three in number: Drusilla B., who married William A. Wanless; Mary Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Arbour; and Hezekiah McKinney, who lives in the West. Alma, the late wife of Dr. W. E. Talbott, of Harrisville, was the one child of the second union. Chapter XI Scotch Settlers John Douglass, junior, so of John and Susan Howee Douglass, married Miss Mary Cline, daughter of Abraham Cline, a very early pioneer, who is said to have been the first white girl born west of the Blue Ridge mountains, and went to Kansas, where they heired their “six feet of earth”. William Roberts, who came with this little band of emigrants, married Miss Nannie Cameron, and at Cairo they sleep. They left no issue. Andrew Douglass. - The year 1829, brought Andrew Douglass, so of John and Susan Howee Douglass, with his wife, Catharine Hall Douglass, and their five sons (viz., John, Wm. H., Andrew, junior, Christopher, and Matthew), from Scotland, to the farm adjoining Cairo, which is still in the hands of his heirs. This family crossed to New York in the “Jean Hasttm” and from there, made their way to the Ohio river, near the mouth of the Big Beaver; there they rested while Andrew Hall, who was one of the party, went to Pittsburg and secured a keel boat, and on this they drifted down the river to the mouth of Cow creek, in Pleasants county, where they were met by William Douglass and his horses, as this was the only means of conveyance at that time. Here, at Cairo, where they first settled, they spent the remainder of their lives, and in the Egypt burying-ground, they are sleeping, as are the sonsabove mentioned, with the exception of Christopher, who lives at Cornwallis. Three children were added to the family after their arrival here: James R. died while serving as a soldier in the Civil war, and in the Egypt cemetery he, too, rests. Ellen married William Skelton, and at LItchfield, Illinois, she sleeps; and George B. is of Petroleum. John, the eldest son, was well known throughout the county, he having been County surveyor for many years. He married Miss Elizabeth Marsh, sister of the late Jefferson Marsh, and at the old home at Cairo she still survives, though he has been gone for several years. Matthew Douglass, and Mrs. Emma (David) McGregor, of Cairo; and Mrs. Laura Crummett, wife of the Rev. S. P. Crummett - the Superintendent of the Parkersburg district of the West Virginia M. E. conference, are his children. Wm. H., too, was widely known, he having served as Clerk of the Circuit court for many years. He married Miss Mary Rutherford, and left no heirs. Matthew, who married Miss Susan Rutherford, was killed by the falling of a tree, in the Cornwallis vicinity. He left no issue. Andrew was twice married, his first wife being Miss Mary Hindmarsh, and his widow, Miss Narcissus Smith. The one child - of the first union - was Andrew, junior, who has passed on. Christopher, who has long been prominently identified with the Cornwallis community, married Miss Mary Wanless,* and five children were the fruits of this union. Ellen, the only daughter, became Mrs. William Skelton and went to Illinois.** George B. Douglass, the youngest member of the family, is a leading citizen of Petroleum. He is a veteran of the Civil war, having enlisted in the 2nd West Virginia Infantry Volunteers in 1861; but owing to an illness which immediately followed, was not mustered into service until later in the year, *See Wanless history. **See Cairo chapter for her family. when he re-enlisted in the Sixth Virginia, where his services continued for three years. He married Miss Isabella Rutherford, and is the father of one son, Dr. E. H. Douglass, of Petroleum, as before stated. The name, Douglass, has been a distinguished one almost throughout the annals of Scotland. History tells us that they were “territorial magnates” before the time of Bruce and Wallace; that they played a conspicuous part in the numerous wars that visited their native land from time to time; and that they early became guardians against the encroachment of the English - as their estates lay on the outer borders of the country. In the days of feudalism, they were a powerful clan; and at the battle of Floddenfield, when James the Fifth of Scotland fell, two hundred of the name were slain. The name not only figures prominently in the history of “Scotia,” but it holds a place in its stories and its songs. In “Marmion,” the pretty little poetical tale that Sir Walter Scott has woven about the Battle-field of Flodden, the memory of Archibald Douglass, the Earl of Angus, is enshrined. He being a man of remarkable strength of body and mind acquired the popular name of “Bell-the-Cat”. At the time that the war against England was declared, he was an old man, and he protested earnestly against such a step and on the eve of the battle of Flodden, he remonstrated so vehemently on the impolicy of fighting that the King in a voice of indignation, told him “that he might go home if he were afraid.” At this insufferable insult, the brave old earl burst into tears and retired, leaving his sons, George, Master of Angus; and Sir William, of Glenbervie; in command of his followers. These sons were both numbered amont the two hundred of the name that fell on that fatal day; and the aged father, broken-hearted over the calamities that had befallen his house, sought relief from his sorrow within the friendly walls of a religious castle, where he died a year later. To this same Archibald Douglass, the familiar, ireful language of Lord Marmion was directed when he exclaimed: “If thou said’st, I am not peer, To any lor in Scotland here, Lowland or Highland, far or near, Lord Angus - tho- hast-LIED.” In the :Lady of the Lake: it was the fair Ellen Douglass, that sang the simple lay, “Soldier Rest Thy Warfare O’er,” etc., to the Knight of Snowden - to James Fitz James. The Halls. - Andrew Hall, wo is mentioned as a member of the Douglass emigrant party, was the son of William and Mrs. Ellen Brown Hall, of Scotland; and a brother of Mrs. Andrew Douglass, senior, and of Mrs. Andrew Younge. He was at this time enjoying single life, but a little later, he claimed Miss Margaret Blake as his wife, and settled at Parkersburg, where he was a stone contractor. He finally removed to Wheeling, and there he and his wife sleep. They were the parents of six children, two of whom have passed on, and the tohers reside at Wheeling, and in the far West. Mis Iabel Hall, his siter,who was, also, a member of the emigrant party, lived and died at Cairo. She never married. Mary Hall, another sister of Andrew, married James Browne, in Scotland, and came to the Cairo vicinity. Mr. Browne was a miller by trade, and they went from her to Brooke county, where they bade their final adieu to earth. They had six children, four of whom were born in Scotland, and some of their descendants still reside near Wheeling. John Hall, another brother, married Miss Margaret Douglass, in Scotland, and after her death, he, too, with his family, came to America, and settled in the Cairo vicinity, in the year 1836; and there remained until he was laid in the Egypt cemetery. He had three sons and two daughters, sho crossed the sea with him. Eespeth had married William Newland in her native lad, and they settled in Pleasants county, where some of their descendants live. Ellen Hall married James Pew and lived and died at her father’s house. Her only child, Maggie, is now Mrs. Milton Wall, of Pennsylvania. After she was laid in the Egypt cemetery, Mr. Pew married Miss Nancy Younge, and was the father of four more children. The Pews are of German descent and came here from the “Keystone state.” John Hall, junior, son of John and Margaret Douglass Hall, married Miss Hannah Pringle, and lived and died at Parkersburg, and there, beside his companion, he sleeps in the Cook cemtery. His youngest daughter, Mrs. John Dare, now occupies the old home. William Hall married Miss Mary Taylor, and resided between Cairo and Cornwallis. His children are John, and Miss Margaret, of Cairo; and Mrs. Mary Jenkins of Petroleum. Andrew Hall, junior, married Miss Ellen Rutherford, and spent his life at the old homestead, near Cairo; and in the Egypt cemetery beside his wife he is sleeping. He was the father of the following named sons and daughters; John Hall, of Beloitt, Kansas; Richard R., of Harrisville; William, a prominent merchant, of Cairo; Andrew and Archie L., of Ohio; Misses Ellen and Mary, of Cairo; and the late Miss Eppie, and another daughter, who, with the parents, lie in the churchyard. The Younges. - Along with the Douglasses,in 1829, came Andrew Younge, and his family from Scotland. His wife, Mrs. Agnes Hall Younge, was a sister of Mrs. Andrew Douglass, and they were the parents of nine children - six daughters and three sons - all of whom were born in Scotland, except one daughter and one son, who were born at Cairo. Mr. and Mrs. Younges spent the remainder of their lives here and with the many other pioneers, sleep in the Egypt cemetery. Their children: William H. Younge married Miss Almeda Browne, of Parkersburg, and resided there until after her death, when he went West, and there re-married. He now lives in Arkansas, and is the only survivor of the family. He lost his eyesight six years ago and now lives in darkness. His family consists of three sons. Andrew Younge, junior, married Miss Janet Smith, and lived at Parkersburg. He had two sons, and one daughter, Lulu, who was the ate wife of U. B. Merchant, of Cairo. John married Miss Rebecca Lowther, daughter of William, of Cairo, and died childless. Nancy became the second wife of Jmes Pew, and her children were four in number; viz., Preston, Andrew, Jessie and Nannie, who, after her death, with their father, went West. They now reside at St. Louis, Missouri. Nannie is married. Ellen Younge married Brigham Wood, of White Oak, and left no issue; and Mary, Isabel, Christiana, and Margaret never married. John Layfield, senior, eldest son of William Layfield, whose history appears with the South fork settlers, was another early pioneer in this section. He was born in the wilderness, on the S. H. Westfall farm, above Smithfield, on February 4, 1803 - was perhaps the first child born within the present limits of this county. He married Miss Elizabeth Moats, and forst settled on “Dry Ridge,” on Goose creek, and from there he removed to the dividing ridge between Addis’ and Elm runs, where his grandson, Noah Layfield, now lives; and there he passed from earth on March 5, 1877, and in the Mr. Moriah churchyard, he sleeps. His wife was laid by his side in 1892. They were the parents of eleven children. One died in childhood, and the rest are as follows: the late Henry, John, junior, Jacob, George, Mrs. Mary (Uriah) Shrader, the late Mrs. Elizabeth Hilkey, and the late Miss Julia Layfield, all of this county. Nearly all of the Layfields in this county are descended from John, senior. His brother, Sanford, lived and died near Cornwallis, where he was tunnel watchman on the B. & O. railroad for many years. The others went West. JohnLayfield, senior, and his sons, George and James, were all Union soldiers in the Civil war. The Philippses were another worthy pioneer family that have heretofore been overlooked. They crossed the “briny deep” from the “Emerald Isle” at a date unknown, and settled a Norfolk, Virginia. Here Benjamin Philipps was born in 1810; and at the age of twelve years, with his parents, Thomas D. and Mrs. Sarah Lemon Philipps, he removed to Belington, Barbour county, where he grew to manhood and where his parents fell asleep. In 1830, he came to this county, where he met and married Miss May Deem, daughter of pioneer Jacob Deem, who was born here in 1812; and shortly after his marriage, settled on the North fork of Hughes river, six miles below Cairo, on the old homestead that is still in the hands of his heirs. Here, he continued to reside, until April, 1897, when he was borne to his final resting place in the Egypt cemetery. Here, his companion also rests. They, like the other pioneers, came at a time when the forest was resonant with the howl of the wild beast, and their domestic animals were not unfrequently disturbed by the bear and the wolf. This venerable couple were the parents of a large family of sons and daughters; viz., Thomas D., Lawford; Benjamin F., A. R., Mrs. Sarah Dotson, the late Rev. A. H. Philipps, of the Baptist church, and the late Mrs. Rachel (George) Twyman, all of Rusk; D. M. V., of Smithville, wh was a Confederate soldier; Philip C., wh resides at Elizabeth; and Mrs. Cinderilla (Samuel) Hatfield, Cairo. Thomas D. last his hearing when a small child, and was educated at the college for the Deaf and Blind at Staunton, Virginia, as was his wife, Mrs. Lydia Bartlett Philipps. The Sharpnacks. - Sharpnack is another prominent, pioneer name that belongs to the history of this part of the country. This family trace their ancestry to Germany, where the name wa originally spelled “Scharpenack.” In the year 1759, the founder of this family, leaving his native land - “Prussia” - with his wife and one child, Peter, set sail for the New World; but he died on board the emigrant ship, and was, doubtless, sundk beneath the waves, and his widow and child came on to Philadelphia alone. Here, a few months later (in 1760), she gave birth to another son, who was known as “Henry.” These two sons grew up in the “City of Brotherly Love,” and became identified as silk merchants. Peter returned to the place of his nativity at Elberfeld Half Camp, Prussia; adn Henry took up his residence at Rice’s Landing, in Pennsylvania, where he met and married Miss Mary Rice in the year 1783. Here he reared a large family: and here his last hours were spent - in 1848. He ws locally known as “River Henry.” His sons were: Daniel, Samuel, Henry, Peter, John, Jacob, and William; and he had three or more daughters. John, with his wife and brothers, Samuel and Henry, crossed the plains to Pike’s Peak, in 1849, in wagons drawn by their cows. Having secured some gold there, they all returned to Iowa and settled near Modale, where they reared families. William Sharpnack, who was born near the year 1785, was married near 1808 to Miss Anderson, and settled in Wetzel county, on the site that is now marked by the Anthem post-office. Here he established a mill and a distillery, and reared a large family. Near 1840, while chopping wood, he met with an accident that cost him his life. His children were: Richard, Daniel, Samuel, William, John, Henry, Peter, Hiram, Jane and Hester. William Sharpnack, junior, was born in 1810, and married Miss Sarah Harris, daughter of Anthony Harris, and removed from Wetzel to Ritchie county in 1845; and after residing for a brief time on Buffalo run, settled on a tract of land near the present site of the “California House.” Here, his wife, Sarah, died in her youth. Some time after this sad event, he married Miss Margaret Cokeley, daughter of Daniel Cokeley, of near Harrisville, who only survived a short time. He hen married her sister, Miss Mary Cokeley, and three children were bornof this union; viz., John I., Frank D., and Martha, who became Mrs. William Cox, and went to Host Springs, Arkansas, where she died without issue. After the death of his third wife, William Sharpnack married Miss Eleanor Pipes, of Tyler county, who still survives. He lived a long and useful life, dying on July 8, 1890, at the age of eighty years. He was a leader in the Methodist Episcopal church, and was Captain of the Militia before the Civil war. His sons Elias and Anthony, were soldiers of the Union army for three years. Hiram Sharpnack, brother of William, who was born on April 11, 1818, married Miss Lydia Harris, daughter of Anthony, in 1843; and five years later he came to this conty and settled on a tract of land joining his brother, near the California House, where he remained until his death on November 20, 1880. He was a skillful workman in both wood and iron - was a cabinet- maker, builder, and mill-wright. His wife died in January, 1886. They were the parents of nine children; viz. William H., Daniel M., Rachel A., Isaac N., Sarah F., Lucy J., Mary V., Ella P., and Martha E. William H. served as a Union soldier for three one-half years during the Civil war; and then married Miss Kathrine Smith, of Freeport, and settled there, where he has been a leading figure in business and political circles for forty years. His wife died in 1906, and his two children are Mrs. Minnie (R. C.) Marshall, and Joseph N. Sharpnack, who was for several years identified with the Cairo Bank. (For D. M.’s Family see Petroleum) Isaac N. and his wife, Ida J. Huntington, and their only son Fred, reside at Parkersburg, where he is manager of the Western Union Telegraph Company. Rachel A., the eldest daughter, married Thomas Bathgate, of Scotland, who, in 1865, removed from the old “Bathgate homestead,” at Petroleum, to Missouri, where she died a number of years ago, leaving several children, who ar prominently known in different parts of the West. After her death, Mr. Bathgate re-married and he now lives at Polo, Missouri, at the advanced age of eighty-one years, surrounded by ease and luxury. When he first came to America, he worked at digging ditches for the small sum of eight dollars a month and his board. Sarah R., the second daughter, became Mrs. James Lillie, of New York, and went to Missouri, where her husband died in 1905, leaving a small family. Mary F. Sharpnack, who died in 1886, was the wife of the late Alfred B. Enoch, and mother of Chester Enoch, of Parkersburg. Ella P. married Winfield Clarke, of Volcano, and resides at Tacoma, Washington, and has one son, Winfield. The other daughters never married. John Sharpnack, a cousin of William and Hiram, with his wife, Hannah, also came to Ritchie county in the forties, and settled on Buffalo run, where he reared a large family, which are as follows: Hiram, Abraham, Elma, Mrs. Lydia A. (J. W.) Hensley, Mrs. Sarah J. (John H.) Wendell, of Michigan; Mrs. Mahala (John B.) Rice, and Henry Sharpnack, Seattle, Washington. All the different families of this name in the United States are said to have been descended from the same common ancestors in the Fatherland. Chapter XII Bond's Creek Settled Transcribed by Earl Cowan Bond's creek is a stream not noted in song, No pencil or tongue its beauties bortrayed; Unwritten, unsung it glided along, Keeping time to the music it ripples made. 'Tis a gentle stream with its winding way, Through a woodland dell where the wild flowers bloom; Where the trees their pliant branches sway, And the air is filled with a sweet perfume. --John S. Hall BOND'S CREEK, with its numerous tributaries, drains one of the most fertile regions in the county. It has its source in the dividing ridge between Tyler, Pleasants, and Ritchie, and its confluence with the North fork at Cornwallis, eigthteen miles distant. Its name perpetuates the memory of one of its earliest settlers- "Lewis Bond." Mr. Bond has, therefore, been recognized as its first pioneer, but careful investigation proves this to be in error, as George Husher was without doubt his predecessor here. But as Mr. Husher's improvement was slight, and his stay brief, his rightful claim to this distinction was lost to view until quite recently, when the facts were brought to light from their hiding-place in the cob-webby past. The Coming of the Hushers.--George Husher is recognized as the second *1 pioneer within the present bounds of the county, as his settlement at Highland closely followed that of John Bunnell, at Pennsboro, in 1800. Mr. Husher was of German origin, and was probably born in the Fatherland. However, his natal day was July 6, 1771, and that of his wife, Annie Terrell, who was a native of one of the New England colonies, was December twelfth of the same year. They were married on February 12, 1793; and as early as 1801, came to Highland and opened a blacksmith shop and a house of public entertainment; but after a brief residence here, they removed to Husher's run -- to the farm that is now the home of John Fowler, near three miles below Ellenboro; and from there, in 1830, they went to Cabin run, and became the first citizens of the forest where Tollgate now stands; the site of their old cabin being marked by the residence of the late T. J. Broadwater. Here, in 1838, Mr. Husher fell asleep, and in 1856, his wife, Annie, was laid by his side in the Baptist church cemetery, at that place. Their family consisted of six daughters and two sons; viz., Elijah, Mary, Kathrine, Elizabeth, Jacob, Anna, Nancy, and Selina Husher. Elijah Husher was born on October 19, 1794, and on April 3, 1818, he was married to Miss Mary (or Polly) Cunningham, daughter of Edward Cunningham, of Bond's creek; and remained in this part of the county until after the early death of his wife, when he went West and spent much of his time in traveling about until late in life, when he settled down with his only daughter, Margaret, at Terre Haute, Indiana, where he rests. Mary Husher, born March 13, 1796, was married to Alexander Sommerville, on January 28, 1836; and near West Union they resided until 1878, when they removed to Kansas, where they rest. Their children were five in number: Adolphus, of West Union; the late A. B., and S. Salome Lowther (first wife of the Rev. Oliver Lowther), of Pullman: Mrs. Minnie Davis, and Busie, who went to Kansas with their parents. Kathrine Husher, born July 31, 1799, became Mrs. Nixon, on October 21 1822, and went to Ohio, where she reared a family and died. Elizabeth Husher, who was born on October 17, 1803, was the late Mrs. Bond, of Indiana. She had one daughter, Selina, and one son, Lewis Bond, who came back to Tyler county, near twenty-five years ago, and was married to a Miss Wilson, of the Pennsboro vicinity. Jacob Husher was born on September 1, 1805, and went to Ohio in his younger days, where he met and married Miss Nancy Boran, of Washington county; and at Covington, Kentucky, they established their home, a little later. Here he enlisted in the Union cause and served for four years; and here he spent his last hours, near the year 1878. His only child, Nancy, became Mrs. Ridgeway, of Covington. Annie B. Husher, born on December 28, 1807, was first married to John Ankrum, of Highland; and they settled near Centreville, in Tyler county, where Mr. Ankrum and their three sons -- George, Solomon, and Augustus, all died within a few months; and her second husband was William Moore, of North Bend Mill, and this marriage was childless. Nancy Husher, born, perhaps, near the year 1809, was married to John Rawson on August 26, 1827; and settled in the Ellenboro vicinity, where they both lived and died. They had no children of their own, but they reared three of his brothers children; viz., Thomas, Samuel, and Mary Rawson, who was the late wife of Eber Mason, of Pennsboro. Mr Rawson passed from earth in July, 1861, and his wife, in August of the following year. Selina Husher was born on December 13, 1813; and on May 14, 1843, she became the wife of George Haddox, son of Raleigh Haddox, of this county; but in 1867, they removed to Pleasants county, where their lives came to a close. She died on April 21, 1894; and he, on June 19, 1898. They were the parents of seven children; viz., Virginia, Greene, John R., Mary Ann, M. D., G. B., and Cindonia, who died in early childhood. The Bonds.--Lewis Bond, the second settler of this creek, whose memory is so fittingly enshrined by its name, was born in Cecil county, Maryland, on February 16, 1780, amidst the din of the American Revolution; and on November 15, 1805, he was married to Miss Lydia John, daughter of Jehu and Elizabeth David John, and granddaughter of the Reverend Enoch David, of Philadelphia, who was also a native of the Keystone state--of Fayette county. And in 1813, with her, he removed to Brookville, Indiana, and three years later (1816), came to Bond's creek, and established a home north of Highland; but we are without authentic information as to the exact scene of this settlement. However, he later removed to Gnat's run, where he built the "old brick house" that is now owned and occupied by Robert Cunningham--it being, perhaps, second only in age to the "stone house" at Pennsboro. After a long residence here he removed to the South fork of Huges river, in Doddridge county, where he remained but a short time, before going to Quiet Dell, in Harrison county, near the year 1860. There he quietly passed into the land of eternal rest, on April 14, 1867. And within the peaceful bosom of the old Seventh-Day Baptist cemetery, at Lost creek, in Harrison county, he lies in his last sleep. He and his wife, Lydia, were the parents of twelve children, which are as follows; Alfred J., Edwin P., Ethelbert D., Benjamin Franklin, Thomas, and Lewis, junior, who died in youth, (and another son was named Lewis J.), and Richard C.; Rebecca E., the eldest daughter, married William P. Bond; Casandra, Simeon Bond; Mary Ann, Thomas Booth Bbond; and Lydia, Daniel D. Kildow. Two of these sons were ministers of the gospel, and four were physicians. All have now crossed to the other side, but their descendants are widely scattered in this and other states. The original home of the Bonds was in Cornwell county, England, where there remains to-day the ruins of an ancient castle, which was held by their antecessors for more than three hundred fifty years. They belonged to the landed aristocracy of their day, and were recognized by the higher castes in the social realm. But the first account we have of the family in America, begins with the year 1700, when Richard Bond and his wife, Sarah, crossed to the colonies. Their son, Samuel, married Miss Ann Sharpless, daughter of John Sharpless, of Chester, Pennsylvania, who formerly came from Chesire, England, and from him the Richie county family trace their lineage. This marriage took place in 1726, and a pretty little traditional romance is woven about it, which says that they eloped at the ages of nineteen and fourteen years, respectively; and that they were pursued by the girl's father, who arrived too late to prevent the ceremony; but he, seeing the failacy of farther opposition, joined, good naturedly, in the nuptial feast and "took the children home." Samuel and Ann Bond were the parents of four children; Richard Clayton, Sarah, Margaret, and Susanna. Richard Clayton bond, this only son, was born in Cecil county, Maryland, in 1728, and was twice married; his first wife being Miss Mary Jarman, of Cumberland county, Maryland; and his second Miss Mary Booth. He removed to Harrison county, this state, later in life, where he saw the last of earth. He was the father of fifteen children: Samuel, born in 1754, Richard, Susana, Levi, Lydia, John, Abel, Sarah, and Mary were the nine children of the first union. And Rachel, Thomas, Lewis, Rebecca, Mary Ann, who died in infancy, and another daughter named Mary Ann were the fruits of the second union. Lewis Bond, above mentioned, son of Samuel and Mary Booth Bond; was the Ritchie county pioneer, after whom Bond's creek was named. And Rebecca Bond, his twin sister, who married Thomas Haymond, of Harrison county, was the grandmother of Mrs. Creed collins, senior, of Pennsboro. (See Haymond family history.) Sarah Bond, the daughter of Samuel and Ann Sharpless Bond, married Ebeneezer Howell, of New Jersey, in 1749, and they were the parents of--Samuel, Richard, Lewis, Sarah, Ebeneezer, Azariah, Susanna, Tamar, Margaret, Anne, and George. Their son Richard Howell was, in 1775, appointed Captain of the Fifth Company in the Second Battalion of the "Jersey Line." He spent the winter with his command in the Highlands of the Hudson, and was a participant in the unsuccessful expedition to Canada in the spring. He was in active service throughout the Revolution, and was in the noted engagements at Brandywine and Germantown, and witnessed the terrible suffering of the patriotic army at Valley Forge. In 1793, he was chosen governor of his native state--New Jersey, and served as chief executive for eight consecutive terms. He was the grandfather of Mrs. Jefferson Davis, the late wife of the only President of the Southern Confederacy. In a biographical work on the Governors of New jersey, the following beautiful tribute is paid to his memory: "Howell, for social virtue far-famed, Shone in the ranks and urged the dreadful war; His graceful form expressed a noble mind, The soul of honor, friend of human kind." Margaret Bond, daughter of Samuel and Ann Sharpless Bond, married Jonathan Davis, of New Castle county, Delaware, who was the founder of the Newark Academy--now the Deleware college; and their children were; Ann, Samuel, David, Ammi, Susanna, Sarah, Richard, and John. Susanna Bond, daughter of Samuel and Ann Sharpless Bond, Married Elnathan Davis, and their children were: Rachel, Jonathan, Jacob, Ebneezer, Jebediah, Susanna, Samuel Bond, Jeremiah, Elnathan, Susanna (the first Susanna having died in infancy), and Margaret. Jack and Robinson.--The next settlers on this creek were an Englishman by the name of Jack, and Charles Robinson, a Scotchman, brothers-in-law, who both took up their residence in the same house, at Highland. Jack had been an admiral in the British navy, and he first came to the "New World" in his official capacity during the war of 1812. Robinson is also said to have been an officer in the Brittish army; and shortly after the close of our second conflict with the Mother-Country, they came to Bond's creek. They went from here to Rock Island, Illinois, some time during the twenties, and there some of their descendants still live. The McGregors.--John McGregor, senior, was the next settler at Highland. He was born and reared near Edinburgh, Scotland, and there learned the blacksmith's trade. In 1809, he was married to Miss Susanna Blakeley, of Glasgow; and three years later, with their little son, James, they set sail for America; and after a six month's voyage, landed in Philadelphia, where they remained until April, 1819, when they went to Pittsburg in an emigrant wagon. From here they floated down the Ohio river to the mouth of Bull Creek, and from there via the "Old State road" found their way to Bond's creek, where they established a permanent home; and reared one of the most prominent and highly respected families of the county. Mr. McGregor was one of the earliest blacksmiths here, and his great- grandson, M. A. McGregor, is the present Highland blacksmith. During the latter part of the year 1830, he, being in very ill health, went to Uniontown, Pennsylvania, to consult a physician whose fame had been wafted far and wide, but who proved to be a fake; and there, on January 3, 1832, he passed into the other world at the age of fifty-two years, eleven months, ten days, and as there were no facilities for bringing the remains home, they were laid away in the old Presbyterian churchyard, at Uniontown. A marble slab of antique design marks his resting place, which has only been viewed by two of his descendants--John McGregor, his son, who accompanied him on his last journey, and Charles L. Hall, his great-grandson. Mrs. McGregor rests in the family burying-ground at Highland. This venerble couple were the parents of eleven children; viz., James, John, junior, David, Susan, William, Jeannette, Thomas, Joseph, and Alexander McGregor. Elizabeth and another Thomas who died in infancy. James McGregor, the eldest son, who was born in Scotland on August 16, 1810, was married to Miss Jane Morrison, of Marietta Ohio, and settled on Bond's creek, where he remained until after the death of his wife, in 1855, when he removed to Cairo. Here he engaged in the mercantile business; and here he fell dead while sweeping his porch in 1874. He was the father of eight children, all of whom have joined him on the other side, except three. Susan died in youth. Sarah was the late Mrs. Bail Wilson, of Pennsboro; And Baxter, Renic, and John have also passed on. James, junior, William, and Florence, who is Mrs. Elmer Devaughn, live in the West. John McGregor, the second son, was born in the "City of Brotherly Love," on May 14, 1813; and on September 11, 1834, he was married to Miss Delilah Martin, who was born on August 19, 1817; and at Hebron, in Pleasants county, they established their home and reared a large family. Here he died in 1886, and here many of his descendants live. His children are: The Rev. Silas McGregor, of the West Virginia Methodist Episcopal conference; William M., Tyler county; S. E. (Mrs. Asa Fitzwater), Pennsboro; Catherine (Mrs. Amos Wagner), India D. (single), Jeannette G. (Mrs. John Odell), all of Hebron; and Anna D., Susanna B., Elva J., Fanny R. (Mrs. F. M. Morgan), David W., Eliza J., and Spencer B. McGregor have all passed on. David McGregor, the third son of the family, was, also, born in the "City of Brotherly Love," on June 4, 1815, and with his parents came to Bond's creek in his early childhood. Here he remained until he had reached the age of twenty-two years, when he went to "the McKinney settlement" and formed a mill partnership with William Lowther, of Cairo; but he became the sole owner of this mill property, a little later (1838), and run a store in connection with it. The post-office (with William McKinney post-master), was also kept at this mill. Near the year 1850, he erected another mill, at Cairo, and opened a store in the same building; and for several years ( until he sold the lower one), he operated both mills and stores. His mercantile business at Cairo continued down to his old age, and he was prominently known in political, church, and lodge circles. He was a charter member of the Kate Barclay I. O. O. F. lodge, which was organized in November, 1848, and was also a charter member of the Good Templars' order, which was instituted at Cairo, in 1870. Being installed as Grand Worthy Chief of the latter, he organized many Good Templar lodges throughout the state, and was the candidate for Governor on the Prohibition ticket in 1884. He held the commission of Colonel in the State militia at the breaking out of the Civil war, and was proffered the Colonency in both the Confederate and the Union armies, but declined to accept, as he wished to remain on neutral grounds. He was a life-long Democrat, and three times represented his Senatorial district in the legislative halls at the State Capitol--(1878- 1882). And he was one of the earliest presidents of the Sunday school organization of the county. On March 17, 1842, he was married to Miss Kathrine McKinney, daughter of William and Frances Piatt McKinney, and, at their home at Cairo, she passed from earth, on September 11, 1863, leaving one daughter, Frances S., who is now Mrs. I.S. Hallam, of Abeline, Kansas. The two sons, William A., and John P., born of this union, died in infancy. On November 1, 1864, Mr. McGregor again took the marriage vow, when he claimed Mrs. Matilda Lowther, daughter of Jesse Lowther, of Cornwallis, and widow of Maxwell Lowther, as his wife; and six children were the result of this union; viz., Lilian B., who is Mrs. Robert Wilson, of Parkersburg; David G., of Cairo; Rob Roy, of the South; Nettie Pauline, F. Herbert McGregor, who is a prominent young barrister of Parkersburg, and Miss Lelia Bertha McGregor. Mr. McGregor passed away very suddenly while absent from home on business in 1891, and was brought back to the Egypt cemetery for burial. Mrs. McGregor still survives at the old home at Cairo. The one daughter of her former marriage is Mrs. Mary Lowther Earnest, of the West. William McGregor, the fourth son of the family, was but an infant when his parents came to Bond's creek, he having been born at Philadelphia, on October 25, 1818. On April 24, 1844, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Gregg Hall, daughter of Samuel G. Hall, who was born in Barbour county, on September 25, 1825; and settled at the old homestead on Bond's creek, which is still in the hands of his heirs.*2 Here the sun of his well-spent life sank behind the Westren hills in December, 1903. His venerable widow, who was revered by a legion of friends, survived until May 3, 1910, when she passed away at the home of her son, W. S. McGregor, at Cairo. Both rest in the Highland cemetery. Few women have called forth a highter tribute than the one paid to her beautiful Christian character by the pen of a granddaughter on the occasion of her recent death; and few, perhaps, have been more entitled to such a tribute. Generous, intellectual, kind and loving, she was almost universally admired. The children of this family are as follows: Harlan P., wholesale china dealer, of Wheeling; the late Mrs. Virginia (John) Cottrell, of Parkersburg, who died in 1895; Mrs Anna (G. F.) Carroll, Fairmont; J. B, McGregor, Pennsboro; Burns and Clyde, Salem; Mrs. Rose (Theodore) Furbee, Tyler county; W. S., Cairo; Mrs. Mary (James) Chestnut, Ohio; Indiana died in infancy, and Homer, who was graduated from the Marietta College, and also from the Presbyterian Union Theological Seminary at Cincinnati, died, after having served as pastor of a church in the South for one year. Thomas McGregor, born on Bond's creek, on September 19, 1823, went to Madison, Indiana, at the age of seventeen years to live with his uncle, Thomas McGregor; and there he married and reared a family of six children by his first wife, and three by his second. Shortly before his death in 1903, he removed to Kansas, where he rests. His descendants principally live in Indiana, Kansas and New Mexico. Joseph McGregor, the youngest son of the family that reached the years of maturity, was born, lived and died on Bond's creek, where he sleeps. His life began on May 11, 1825, and ended in 1898. He married Miss Eliza Jane Martin, and was the father of six children; viz., Baxter McGregor, Misses Callie, and Mattie, Highland; Bryson, the late Mrs. Josephine Saterfield; and Mrs. Frankie (Marion) Alkire, who now lives at McMechen, Marshall county. Alexander McGregor, born on March 7, 1827, died in his young manhood. And Susan, born March 5, 1817, died in 1876, unmarried. Elizabeth, born February 2, 1812, died August 12, 1852. Another son named Thomas, born May 25, 1820, died at the age of five months and fifteen days. Jeanette McGregor, the only daughter that reared a family, born in 1821, was married to Leonard S. Hall, brother of John S. Hall, the blind poet, who was long a leading barrister of New Martinsville; and after his death, in 1875, she went to Wheeling, where she spent her last hours at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Addie Baggs, in 1904. Her other children are as follows, Mrs. Sue Newman, Hon. Septimus Hall, who was a member of the State Constitutional Convention in 1872, and who has since been a member of both houses of the Legislature, Bruce Hall, and the late William, all well-known lawyers of New martinsville. At the time of the coming of the McGregors, this country was engaged in its second war with Great Britain, and it was the custom of the British men-of- war to take young unmarried men from the emigrant ships bound for these shores and press them into their service; and on board this vessel, as a member of the McGregor party, was a young man by the name of Ferguson, who was made the unfortunate victim of this custom; he being seized and taken on board a British man-of-war, from which he escaped by swimming to shore at some point on the coast of Florida. From here he made his way to Canada, and finally, back to the place of his nativity at Edinburgh, Scotland, where he became a prosperous business man. Thomas McGregor, senior, an elder brother of John, senior, came to America also, and settled in Indiana, where he lived and died. He married but had no children; but as above stated, he partly reared his nephew, who bore his own name--Thomas McGregor. The Halls.--"About two hundred years ago there was a young farmer by the name of Hall residing in the Northern part of England." He fell in love with a beautiful Scotch lassie, wooed and won her; and, doubtlessly, influenced by the wonderful tales they had heard of the New World, shortly after their marriage, they crossed the ocean and settled at Duck Bridge, Maryland, not far from Baltimore. Here, after rearing a family of several children, they died at an advanced age. One of their sons, Samuel, married, and was the father of two sons, Thomas and Joseph; and when the Revolutionary war broke out, the father and the elder son, Thomas, took up arms in defense of the colonies, and served under the direct command of General Washington. Samuel and his wife died within two days of each other, and were laid in the same grave; and after their death, their sons crossed the mountains and settled in Pendleton county (W.) Virginia, on the South branch of the Potomac, where they were engaged in farming. Joseph was first married to Miss Barbara Dickenson, and David, John, Samuel, Thomas, and Nancy, were the children of this union. After her death, he (Joseph) removed to Harrison county, where he was again married to Mrs. Elizabeth Reger Talbott, who was the mother of his three sons, Jacob R., Enoch, and Phillip; and his two daughters, Kathrine, and Phoebe Hall. Here he died in 1821, at the age of eighty years, and his widow, who survived him, lived to the age of eighty-seven. John Hall, a son of his first union, married Miss Elizabeth Gregg, and was the father of Samuel G. Hall, the Ritchie county pioneer, and of four other children; viz., Louis Chestine, Thomas, Nancy and Elizabeth. Samuel G. Hall was born in Harrison county, in 1803; and there the days of his youth and his young manhood were spent. In 1823, he was married to Miss Rachel Hudkins, daughter of Barton Hudkins, whose history appears among the early settlers of White Oak, and after spending the first nineteen years of their married life in Barbour and Tyler counties, they came to Ritchie in 1842, and took up their residendce on Bond's creek, at the mouth of Dog Comfort, on a part of the farm that is now the homestead of Thomas Dye. Two years later they emigrated to Indiana, and there in 1846, Mr. Hall fell asleep, and at New Buffalo, Michigan, his ashes lie. In 1849, Mrs. Hall, with her three younger children, returned to Bond's creek, where she continued to reside until 1874, when she removed to St. Mary's, where she bade adieu to earth in 1883, and at Highland she lies at rest. The children of this family were twelve in number--seven girls and five boys; Naomi (who married Jacob Bosler), Sacharissa (Amos Gorrell), and Rebecca (Wilbert Rider), have all passed on. Sarah A. is Mrs. S. P. Howell, of Indiana; Elizabeth, the late venerable widow of William McGregor, of Highland; and Misses Mary J., and Nannie P., reside at St. Mary's. Miss Nannie has led a very active life, she having taught school for forty-four years in Indiana, and West Virginia. In 1883-4, she was principal of the St. mary's school--an honor that has never been conferred on any other member of her sex. She has been engaged as a teacher in Sunday-school work for more than fifty years, and was President of the St. Mary's organization, of the W. C. T. U. for seventeen years. Leonard S. Hall, the eldest son of the family, was a member of the Richmond Convention that passed the ordinance of seccession. He took an active interest in the affairs of the Confederacy during the war, and at its close went to Wetzel county, where he served as Prosecuting Attorney, and rose to eminence at the bar. Here he died in 1875. (See McGregor Family.) Simon Hall, who now resides in Indiana, took up arms in behalf of the Union cause. William W. also served as a Union soldier, and was a lawyer of ability. He practiced at the bar of Wetzel county until 1870, when he removed to St. Mary's, where he held the office of Prosecuting Attorney for fourteen years. Here he passed from earth in September, 1884. Allen S., who died at Fort Sill, Indian territory, in 1880, was a Confederate soldier; and, on comparing notes with his brother, William, in after life, found that they had unwittingly "fought against each other in seven different battles." John S. Hall, the blind poet, of ST. Mary's, is the youngest member of the family; and to his interesting career, which is set apart from all the others in this history by the hand-i-cap of blindness, we dedicate a little corner of this work--to Ritchie county's first poet. (See Poet's Corner.) Hon. Septimus hall, of New Martinsville, who has been State Senator, and is now a member of the House of Delegates, is a grandson of Samuel G. Hall, he being a son of Leonard, and Mrs. Jeannette McGregor Hall. The Pyles.--This family comes of English stock. Elisha Pyles was a soldier of the war of 1812, and tradition says at its close he was sent to the Northwest in the campaign against the Indians, and that he either died or lost his life in battle in Ohio near the year 1817. However, he never returned; and in 1820 his widow, Mrs. Kathrine Crawford Pyles, of Monongalia county, with her two orphaned children, Penelope, a daughter of a few summers; and William, a child of three, emigrated to Middlebourne, in Tyler county, where she remained for a few years--until she was married to John Cunningham, son of Edward Cunningham, an early settler at the mouth of Whiskey run. And after her marriage to Cunningham they settled at the forks of Husher's run, where they remained until her son had established a home of his own; and they then removed to Ohio, where death overtook them. Five children were born of her union with Cunningham; The late C. B. Cunningham, of Ohio; the late B. F., of Gilmer county; and Edward, of Missouri; and Micha, who died at Mineral, Ohio; and Laura, who is married and resides near Guisville, that state. Penelope, the daughter of the first union, married against her mother's wishes and went away and was never heard from again. William I. Pyles, the son of the first union, who was born on March 31, 1817, was the progenitor of the Ritchie county family. After his mother came to Middlebourne, he lived with two families by the name of Sayre and Hayne, until she married again; and on Husher's run, at the home of his stepfather, he grew to manhood. On March 30, 1837, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Cunningham, daughter of Elijah and Sarah Wigner Cunningham, and granddaughter of William, of Cornwallis, who was born on March 29, 1816, and soon after their marriage, settled on Husher's run, where they remained until 1839, when they removed to Bond's creek and settled on land owned by John Rawson--and made the improvement that was afterwards purchased by John Weekly; and also the one that passed into the hands of John Lacy at an early day. Mr. Rawson entered a thousand acres of land on this creek at the small cost of one dollar eighty cents for the entire tract; and after making the improvements above mentioned on the Rawson land, Mr. Pyles purchased a farm of his own farther up the creek. And from here he went to the Madison Lambert farm, where he resided for some time, and where he run a water-mill. He finally removed to the head of Big Knot, where he fell asleep on March 29, 1892. His wife died on August 20, 1894, and side by side they lie at rest in the Beech Grove cemetery; here, too, their eldest son, who died in 1845, is also sleeping. Mr. Pyles was noted for his "craze" for planting out fruit trees, and wherever he lived, he left a young orchard as a memorial. His children are as follows: Sarah, who is the widow of the late J. A. Lacey, resides in Ohio; Barbara, who married S. A. Rawson, died in 1877; Serena B., who resides at Hebron, is the widow of the late John Wricke; Laura V. is the the widow of J. W. Hawkins, and at Parkersburg she resides; Susanna is Mrs. A. Bevers, of West Union; and W. Harrison Pyles, who is unmarried, is of Hebron. The Weeklys.--The autumn of 1847 brought John Weekly from Tyler county to Bond's creek, and thus added another good family to the permanent citizenship of the county. Mr. Weekly was born in 1790, and was a veteran of the war of 1812. He was first married to a Miss Gatrell, who died in early life, leaving two sons and three daughters; and in 1825, he again took the marriage vow, when he claimed Miss Sarah Garrett as his bride; and seven children were the result of this union. Mr Weekly died on July 5, 1878, and his wife, Sarah, who was born in 1804, on January 26, 1864. Both sleep at Highland. The children of the first marriage were; Stephen, who married Miss Nancy Garrett, and lived and died on Goose creek, where he reared a large family. Thomas, who went west; Mary (Mrs. Hillery Pratt), Rachel (Mrs. John T. Lacy), and Mrs. Dorcas Wright, all of this county; with the possible exception of Mrs. Wright. The children of the second union: Richard (married Miss Ada Corbin). Justus (Miss Lucreta Carpenter), John (Miss Orpha Solcum), Rhoda (Mrs. George Corbin), Jane (Mrs. Henry Williamson), Elizabeth (Mrs. John Farmington), and Sarah (Mrs. Jacob Pratt), all of whom reared large families except Justus, who died childless; and all were citizens of this county, but Jane and Elizabeth. The Lacys.-- For more than seventy years the name of Lacy has had a prominent connection with the citizenship of Bond's creek. John T. Lacy, the founder of this family, was born in Fauquier county, Virginia, in 1806: and in 1832 he was married to Miss Rachel Weekly, and a few years later, came to this county and took up his residence near two miles north of Highland, on the old homestead that is still in the hands of his heirs. Here, in 1857, Mrs. Lacy passed from earth after having given birth to seven children; and two years later he married Miss Naomi Hudkins, sister of Daniel Hudkins, of Cabin run, and six children were born of this union. Mr. Lacy was an old time pedagogue, and he taught the first school on Bond's creek, in a log house of "primitive style," that stood where the Lacy school house now stands. He was always interested in educational and religious work, and contrubuted liberally to both causes. His father died when he was quite young, and his mother then married Mr. Henry Haddox*3, a veteran of the Revolutionary war, and they came to Bond's creek, and made their home with Mr. Lacy for a time, and then went to Kansas, where Mrs. Haddox died. After her death Mr. Haddox returned to the home of his step- son, and spent the remainder of his days, dying at the advanced age of ninety years. Mr. Lacy died in 1883, and his second wife, in 1900. All sleep within the bosom of the Highland cemetery. The children of his first marriage are: Mrs. Elizabeth Pratt, and Mrs. Fannie Pratt, who survive; and Mary Jane, the late wife of William Bolton, of Tyler county; the late Mrs. Martha (Samuel) Rawson, and James, of Bond's creek. The children of the second union are: P. L. Lacy, Wilbur; Mrs. Emma Hayhurst, Ellenboro; A. L. Lacy, Nebraska; Mrs. Ida Brown, J. B. and Miss Ella Lacy, Pennsboro. Mrs. Ida Brown, and perhaps other members of the family, have been teachers. Edward Cunningham was one of the earliest pioneers on Bond's creek, he having settled at the mouth of Whiskey run at a very early day. He was a native of Harrison county, and a brother of Elijah M., who married the sister of Thomas Harris. He later removed to Husher's run, where he died, and at Ellenboro he lies at rest. His sons were Adam, John, William, Thomas, Elijah, and James; and his daughter, Mary or Polly, as she was called, became the second wife of Elijah Husher, of Husher's run. Murphy Cunningham, a grandson of this pioneer, who is now very old, lives at Poynette, this state, and Mrs. Laura Fellows, a granddaughter, resides in Ohio, as do a number of his other descendants, Moses Cunningham, of Ellenboro; and Joseph, of Shultz, are other grandsons. The Martins.--Martin, too, is an old and worthy Bond's creek name. John Martin was born in the New Jersey colony, of English parentage, in the first quarter of the eighteenth century; and he, with his son, Joseph, fought in behalf of the colonies during the American Revolution. He being a commissioned officer in General Greene's army. Shortly after the close of this struggle, he emigrtated to what is now West Virginia, and settled at Wheeling, and finally, removed to Athens, Ohio, where he died at the age of ninety-nine years. His son, Joseph, was born in New Jersey, in 1758, and during the residence of the family at Wheeling, he married Miss Martha Bryson, an Irish lassie, who crossed to America at the age of twelve years, and near the dawn of the nineteenth century, he removed to Tyler county, where he died in 1833. His son, Ephraim, was born in Tyler county, on August 18, 1803, and, in 1831, he was married to Miss Sarah Allen, of Lewis county, who was of German extraction, and took up his residence in his native county, where he remained until 1848, when he came to Bond's creek, and settled on the farm that is now the home of his son, Van Martin, near Pike. Here he continued to live until 1900, when he was laid in the Highland cemetery at the age of ninety-seven years. His wife had preceded him home by nine years. He was the father of the following named children--some of whom reside here and are identified among our leading citizens: Mrs. Eliza J. McGregor, Highland, who has passed her seventy-sixth mile stone; Van Martin, of Pike, aged seventy-three; Joab Martin, of Pennsboro, aged seventy-one; Mrs. Susan Freeland, Morgan county, Ohio, aged sixty-nine, all of whom bid fair to carry out the traditional longevity of the family. Joseph Bryson Martin, with his brother, Joab, were soldiers of the Union army, but he lost his life at Cloyd Mountain. The Campbells.--Campbell is another Bond's creek name that stands for good citizenship. This family is of Irish origin. Robert Campbell, whose ancestors emigrated from Ireland to Scotland, and from thence to America, married Miss Margaret Bell, and settled in Hancock county, (W.) Virginia, where they reared nine children--seven sons and two daughters. Two of these sons, Archibald and William Campbell were identified among the settlers of this creek. Archibald Campbell married Miss Jane Adams, of Brooke county, who was of Scotch descent, and they came to Bond's creek near the year 1845; but afterwards removed to Upland, in Mason county, where they found a resting place. Serena A. Campbell, who was laid in the Highland cemetery in 1905, was the late wife of Van A. Martin, of Pike. Mrs. Malinda A. Locke resides at the old home near Upland, and Samantha, Eliza, Bradford, and Wylie lie in the cemetery at Upland. William Campbell married Miss Susan Adams, the sister of his brother's wife, and they came to Bond's creek, near 1853, and remained until they were laid away in the Highland cemetery. Maria A., their eldest daughter, is Mrs. J. F. Bolton, of Beech Grove; Anne E., who was the late Mrs. Aaron Stuart; and Emma G., Milton A., Oliver H., and William Lamar, none of whom were married, all rest in this cemetery. Milton A., who served as a soldier in the Union army (in the 14th West Va. Infantry), died in a hospital at Parkersburg, in 1864. And Oliver H., who enlisted in the same regiment, died in the Danville prison, in Georgia, in November, 1864. The Rollinses.--Moses Rollins was one of the very earliest pioneers on lower Bond's creek. He was born on July 8, 1763, and died during the winter of 1858-9, at the age of ninety-six years. He was a veteran of the Revolution, and a Brittish cannon-ball had taken off both legs, and "so he laid down his arms." And he carried bullets from the enemy's guns in his hip to the hour of his death. He lies in the "Taylor burying-ground, " and his wife, Nancy, who was born in 1795, probably, rests by his side. >From a well-worn old family Bible the following record was taken; Henry Rollins (born April 1, 1810), Jeremaih (January 30, 1813), Sarah (May 9, 1815), Edward (June 1, 1817), Rebecca (May 6, 1819), Jemima (February 15, 1821), James (January 6, 1823), William (November 29, 1824), Lemuel (October 15, 1827, Elizabeth (January 6, 1830), and Jesse M. (September 25, 1832). The data concerning this family is very meager, but the descendants are quite numerously scattered throughout Ritchie and adjoining counties. B. F. Rollins, of Cairo; Amos, of Cornwallis; and the late John, of Lawford; are grandsons of Moses Rolins. The Pratts merit a place among the older people of Bond's creek, though not so early as many of the rest. Thomas P. Pratt, the head of this family, was a Monongalia county product; and from there he came to this county in 1856, and settled on the Luke Hemsworth farm, on Big Knot run, where he spent his last moments on April 16, 1867, and at Hebron he lies at rest. His wife, Mrs. Cynthia Anne Evans Pratt, was born in Monongalia county, on April 29, 1804, and died on October 14, 1869, and was laid by his side. Their family consisted of the following named members: Maria M. (1831-1852), unmarried; William O. (1839-1868), unmarried; John W. (1840--died in youth); Phebe (1845-1845); Thomas B. (1850-1854); Martha A. (1835-1896), married George Shingleton, and died in Pleasants county, leaving five children; Dudley N. (1837-1891), married Miss Fanny Lacy, and spent his life on Husher's run, where his only heir, John B. Pratt, now lives. Margaret (1846- -), married John Wricke and died at Hebron, leaving no issue. And James E. Pratt, the remaining member of the family, spent his life in this county. James E. Pratt was born in Monongalia county, on september 26, 1842, and with his parents, came to Bond's creek, in his boyhood. At the age of twenty years he took up his sword in defense of the Union, and served for two years in Company G, Fourth Regiment West virginia Cavalry. He manifested quite an interest in educational matters and was a member of the Board of Education of Clay district at the time of his death, and was also a member of the Grand Army Post at Pennsboro. On October 24, 1867, he was married to Miss Sarah Elizabeth Hogue, and thirteen children were the result of this union. He died at Beech Grove, on April 12, 1909, and was taken to the U. B. cemetery at Pennsboro, for burial, Mrs. Pratt still survives. The children: Arah, the eldest daughter, is Mrs. A. R. Horner, of Parkersburg; Cynthia is the wife of Dr. L. H. Hayhurst, of Pullman; Bertha is Mrs. R. L. Lacy. of Marietta; E. E. Pratt, is of Clarksburg; J. I., of Charleston; O. C., of Parkersburg; T. O. of Pittsburg; Harry, of Parkersburg; Luther and Earle, are at home, and Asa, Andy, and Charles died in childhood. ********FOOTNOTES******** *1 But so many came near the same time that it is difficult to establish this fact beyond doubt. *2 He purchased four thousand acres on this creek, in 1838, at a tax sale for seven cents an acre, and the whole county and state tax at this time was but forty cents on the entire tract.The family still own five hundred acres of this tract. *3 Henry Haddox was a nephew of Raleigh Haddox, of the South fork, and his only daughter, Julia, married Frank Cook, of Parkersburg. ****************************