News articles from Wayne Co. Newspapers Submitted by June White and Wayne County News,who gave permission to research its old editions, and Nina Johnson, resident genealogist at Cabell County Library. December 2001 1924 Mrs. Donald Clark Hanging of Laban T. Walker Early History NEWS LETTERS NOTICE TO TEACHERS Obit of Hannah Blankenship, 108 years old P.H. Napier RECALLS BOYHOOD DAYS SPENT IN WAYNE COUNTY F. S. Vanhoose Paul Wilson Emery Wilson Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia January 17, 1924 MRS. DONALD CLARK, OF THIS COUNTY, ANNOUNCES FOR SECRETARY OF STATE The newest development in West Virginia politics is the announcement of the candidacy of Mrs. Donald Clark, of Wayne County, for Secretary of State on the Democratic ticket. Mrs. Clark's candidacy is authorized in an announcement just received by this newspaper. This information confirms rumors of her entrance into the State race, which have been current for the last several weeks. Mrs. Clark, who is te first woman candidate to formally announce herself for a State office, is a resident of that section of Wayne County which was incorporated into the city of Huntington last year. She is prominently known throughout the State, having long been active in social, political and religious work of various organizations. During the war Mrs. Clark led Red Cross activities in her home county. She has served on the State Child Welfare Commission. Until recently she was president of the board of education in her home district and was instrumental in a number of important improvements among the schools in her charge. In 1920 Mrs. Clark's name was often mentioned in connection with the Democratic nomination for Congress from the Fifth district. She has long been an active party worker and has given generously of her time and effort for the success of Democracy even long years before the enfranchisement of women. She is a leader in religious and social circles in Huntington. Her acquaintances extend throughout the state due to her notable successes in the lines of endeavor just mentioned. Mrs. Clark is the daughter of the late Samuel Sperry Vinson, one of the strongest political characters of Southern West Virginia. Her father was a Confederate veteran, having been twice slightly wounded. His unselfish service to the Democratic party covered his entire life and stands out as an exemplary instance of party loyalty. Recognizing the service she has performed in the State and in view of her unquestioned qualifications, numerous well known Democrats in West Virginia have been urging Mrs. Clark to consent to enter the race for primary nomination for Secretary of State. At the recent meeting of the Democratic committee in Parkersburg, her address was one of the outstanding features. The Parkersburg meeting gave decided impetus to the [support] which had already been launched by friends of Mrs. Clark, but not until this week did she announce her definite intentions of getting into the State race. Mrs. Clark is a native born West Virginian of the type which so well represents the ideals of the State. She possesses a forceful personality together with unusual business ability and feminine charm and is an outstanding figure in any group. Her candidacy adds a new and interesting angle to West Virginia politics for 1924. ****************************************************** Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia January 17, 1924 NEWS BRIEF O. J. Rife and Elias Drown have formed an insurance agency in Kenova which represents a consolidation of F. R. Poole agency, W. R. Wilson agency, C. W. Thompson agency, J. Miller Jackson agency and Curtis Wright agency. Drown is a former clerk of the C. & O. Railway and Rife ex-county superintendent of schools and former editor of the Wayne News. ***************************************************** EXECUTION OF WALKER HERE IS OUTSTANDING EVENT IN HISTORY Below we are publishing an account of the first and only hanging in Wayne county. The execution of Laban T. Walker is one of the outstanding events of Wayne county's history. The following facts are taken from Hardesty's Encyclopedia: The only civil execution that has ever taken place in Wayne county was that of Laban T. Walker for the murder of Patrick Nolen at Virginia Point (now Kenova) on the 21st day of August 1878. After shooting his victim he fled to the Ohio shore, but the same evening was arrested and brought back to Ceredo, where he had a preliminary hearing before S. D. Ward, who sent him to jail to await the action of the grand jury. At the March term of the circuit court for 1879 upon the evidence of Johnson Fry, Dr. J. T. Wharton and Patrick McLeece, and indictment for murder was found against him. He refused to go to trial, and it was postponed until the next term. On the 9th day of August, 1879, he was brought into court and placed on trial for his life. He pled not guilty to the charge, and the court then appointed the Hon. Eustace Gibson, of Cabell county, now a member of Congress from the 4th District of West Virginia, to defend him. A jury was then empanneled, composed of the following named gentlemen: Alvis Maynard, Eli Adams, Charles Tooley, Andrew J. Fry, Joel Adkins, M. A. Stephenson, Samuel Roberts, Michael Peters, Marion Preston, George P. Dillon, Anthony Hampton and Levi Hampton. The day closed; the jury was placed in the custody of the sheriff, and the prisoner was remanded to jail. On the morning of the 10th both jury and prisoner were returned to court, and the trial continued throughout the day. On the 12th the counsel for both prisoner and State closed, and late in the evening the case went to the jury, and, on the morning of the 13th, after a short consultation, it came into court and rendered the following verdict: "We, the jury, find the prisoner, Labon Walker, guilty of murder in the first degree as charged in the within indictment." The prisoner was then returned to jail to await the sentence of the court. On the 16th he was brought into court, and when asked the question if he "had anything to say why sentence of death should not be pronounced upon him," made no reply. Judge Evermont Ward then sentenced him to be taken by the sheriff from the jail to some convenient place on the 28th day of November, 1879, and there be hung until dead. He was then taken back to jail to await execution. At length the fatal day arrived. It was a dark, gloomy morning, but despite the descending rain the crowd began to arrive, and by noon from seven to ten thousand persons from this and adjacent counties were swaying through the streets of the little village. A scaffold had been erected in the court house yard, and at 2 p. m. the doomed man walked forth from the jail, and assisted by the sheriff and jailor went to the scaffold. He ascended it; the black cap was drawn, the rope adjusted, and Laban Walker, in the 21st year of his age, swung into eternity. Twenty minutes later, Drs. C. R. Enslow and G. R. Burgess pronounced his life extinct, and the body was cut down and given to friends, who removed it to Catlettsburg, where it was interred. This ended the first and last execution in Wayne county. Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia February 7, 1924 ************************************************* NEWS BRIEFS The Masonic lodge is preparing to build a new home in Wayne. To this end the barbershop, residence and grocery store building on the Frizzelle block in town have been ordered removed by March 1st by the lodge. The Masons purchased this valuable property last year. Plans are also being discussed for a new home of the Knight of Pythias lodge in Wayne. The K. of P. Hall was destroyed by the fire last year, and it is hoped a new home can be built this season. The Cormell Electric Company of Kimball, W. Va., will make a canvass in the town of Wayne with a view to securing a franchise for providing the town with electricity. A representative of the company met with the Wayne Council Monday evening of this week and explained that a franchise would be asked for in event a sufficient number of residents expressed their interest in getting electricity for their homes. Marriage licenses have been issued to the following couples during the past month by county clerk H. Adkins: Charley Poindexter 27 and Letha Miller 18; Anthony B. Jarrell 19 and Vada Maynard 18; Perchie Loggins 21 and Effie Perry 17; Luther Perry 27 and Martha Marcum 20; Mat Johnson 36 and Anna Salmons 24; Ezra Robinson 33 and Tennie Copley 18. Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia February 7, 1924 ************************************************ April 10, 1924 ANCIENT SAVAGE LAND GRANT WAS SOLD FOR TAXES The Savage grant, the first land granted to private individuals in Cabell and Wayne counties, is a proposition which won't stay downed. The other day the writer of this article happened to get chesty about one of his ancestral names being named in the first land grant here. "I guess that's how part of my tribe came here, " it was remarked. And right there another of those fond dreams was punctured. . . "Nothing doing!" remarked the other fellow who takes pleasure in doing that sort of thing. The cold truth of the matter is (and how like us yet, we thought) every bit of that first land grant was sold for taxes! All of those ancestors who should have settled here, judging by the names, will [require] a little more research work. Not a single person entitled to a share of the Savage grant ever took possession of it. The lands were sold after the War of 1812 for United States direct tax of two cents an acre. Cabell county, which included Wayne at that time, had to raise $1,546, 50, and the old soldiers or their heirs forfeited their tracts of 400 acres rather than pay the $8.00 accessed against it. It had been decreed that if the land taxes were not paid by July 1, 1819, the land should be sold. In 1817 surveyors were directed to come here to make such surveying as might be necessary and to make appraisal reports, and the like. General Edward W. Tupper was the surveyor. The commission was composed of George Summers, Lewis Summers, John Henderson, William Sterrett and Andrew Parks. Their bill of expenses was $2, 351, ?55 and was accessed at $33 to each share of the 400 acres, which was in addition to the tax and equalization money. They reported the number of lots and their estimated value. The suit had been instituted at Staunton, Va., and there in December 1818 the tract allotted to the original grant of William Buffington, 3,423 acres, was confirmed to Thomas and William Buffington, Jr. The 800 acres assigned to Charles Morgan was turned over to Simon Morgan, Nancy Morgan, and to James Wells and his wife. There was allotted in 1775 to James Mccormick 1200 acres, owner of the shares of Timothy Conway, John Meade and James Ford. This tract was confirmed to Moses Mccormick, and others. Lots 48, 58, 59 and 60 were allotted to Isaac LaRue Tot, the shares of N. A. McCoy. Parts of the tracts assigned to Robert Tunstall, Robert Langdon, Joshua Jordan, Ed Evans, John Ramsey, Michael Scully and Marshall Pratt were confirmed to John Morrow. The shares of James Given and Wm. Hogan were assigned to Robert Rutherford, later to John Morrow. Morrow also acquired the share of Mathew Donn and Richard Bolton. David Spurlock acquired lot 26. Numbers 22 and 25, the shares of Wm. and Henry Bailey were confirmed to Charles Brown of Kanawha county. The shares of Charles Smith were conveyed to Philip Easton and to Horatio Catlett. The shares of James Ludlow were conveyed to John Poage, that of James Latrol to John Poage, the shares of William Coleman to Achilles Rogers. The shares of James, Samuel, Hugh, Paul and Robert Jones were confirmed to Henry Hampton and his assignees. The shares of David Gorman were confirmed to Manoah Bostick. The tract of Richard Trotter was confirmed to Edward McCarty. Some Early History One of the earliest settlers, Jonathan Buffington, returned to his home on the Guyandotte and found the bodies of his entire family, except a little girl, lying on the ground scalped. He concluded his child was left to live and had been captured by the Indians. He followed them and he himself was taken and was held prisoner for years. He finally returned to Cabell county, but no trace of his baby girl has ever been found. Thomas Hannon, who settled at Green Bottom, has been called the first settler in Cabell county. The first settler in the present limits of Wayne was probably Stephen Kelly, who erected his cabin at the point, at the mouth of Big Sandy, in 1798. Mathew Bellomy came in 1799. Wayne and Cabell counties were both formerly parts of Kanawha county, which was formed in 1788. Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia April 10, 1924 ***************************************** By Wayne County News Staff Correspondents WALKERS BRANCH C. H. Kendrick, who has been ill for the past few weeks, is slowly improving.--- W. H. Perdue made a business trip to Huntington Monday.--- Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Roberts and little daughter Thelma, of Huntington, spent last week with Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Drown.--- Mrs. George Rowe and daughter , Dorothy Neal, are spending the week with Mrs. Rowe's parents, Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Kendrick.--- The Walkers Branch school, which was successfully taught by E. A. Buckingham, closed April 3.--- Fisher Drown visite relatives here Sunday. Honey Gal FORT GAY ROUTE ONE Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Sheppard and Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Sheppard have moved to Coal Grove, Ohio. Otis Crabtree has moved into the house vacated by them.--- Mr. and Mr. J. R. Rigg gave a chopping and a quilting last Thursday. The ladies who asisted with the quilting were Mrs. Wayne Rigg, Mrs. Fletcher Noble, Mrs. G. B. Hayton of Centerville, Mrs. H. Hooser, Josephine Artrip, Myrtle Thompson, and Minnie Bartram.--- Mrs. Carmi Webb and Walter Nobel attended the funeral of James Akers of Big Hurricane last week.--- Mr. and Mrs. Beecher Noble are moving to Ceredo this week.--- Minnie Bartram entertained at her home Sunday the following: Mrs. George Crockett, Josephine Artrip, Katy Ferguson, Martha and Reba Rigg, Taylor Noble and Robert Bartram. Reporter KENOVA ROUTE ONE Cassie Staley of Wayne, spent last week end with Pansy Staley.--- The Freshman class of Ceredo District High school gave a party at the home of Francis Damron last Friday night. After many interesting games refreshments were served to all present.--- Rev. Billups of Catlettsburg preached at Locust Grove Baptist last Saturday night and Sunday.--- The B. Y. P. U. was well attended at Locust Grove Sunday night. The following group leaders have been appointed: Merlin Roberts, Helen Freeman, Francis Damron and Lloyd Plymale.---The Parents Teachers Meeting will be held at Ceredo District Hi school, April 11.--- An Easter program will be given at Locust Grove April 20. KIAHSVILLE Henry Mathis of Logan county is spending a few days with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. S. V. Mathis, of Beechy Branch.--- A. J. Toppins of Six Mile was visiting friends at Kiahsville a few days ago.--- Born: to Mr. and Mrs. Charley Maynard, Jr., April 4, a boy.--- Tom Maynard of Wilsondale was the week end guest of his son, E. Q. Maynard.--- F. T. Adkins has moved to his home at Cove Gap.--- Leona Finley was the Sunday guest of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Maynard. Little School Girl BIRTHDAY DINNER A birthday dinner was given at the home of Mr. and Mr. Thomas E. Phillips, near East Lynn, in honor of the 81st birthday of Uncle Evermont Ross. Those present were Mr. and Mrs. B. B. Ross, Mr. and Mrs. D. E. Belcher, Mrs. Charley Tabor, Esta Tabor, Fannie Spence, Zelma and C. Asbury, Mrs. Martha Lester and children, Juanita and Majorie, Ella and Julia Russell, Lena and Violet Tabor, Mr. and Mrs. Aley Pratt, Willie Pratt, Thomas Napier, and Mrs. G. W. Drenner. RICH CREEK Millard Maynard, who has ben visiting in Logan County, has returned home.--- W. W. Marcum was a business visitor at East Lynn Monday.--- J. F. Maynard was the Saturday guest of his daughter, Mrs. A. H. Napier of East Lynn.--- Mrs. Alvis Maynard of Beechy Branch was visiting on our Creek last Saturday.--- John Napier and Arthur Smith, who have been working in Logan county for some time, have returned home.--- Nannie and Clarcy Maynard were visiting friends at Ferguson last Sunday.--- Hazel and Lucian Smith were week end guests of their grandfather, Wm. Napier.--- Mrs. John Smith was the week end guest of friends at East Lynn.--- Geo. Smith is preparing to move to Westmoreland.--- Mrs. Jesse Smith of Kenova is visiting friends here. Mountain Rooter ECHO Sunday School at this place is progressing nicely with Rev. U. S. Workman as superintendent.--- Ada and Lena Ronk were recently visiting friends at Echo.--- Burnie Booth has purchased a new Maxwell car.--- L. H. Hatten and Albert Ronk were business visitors in Wayne Saturday.--- Earl Jackson visited relatives in Kenova last week.--- Mosco Hatten was recently visiting friends on Black Fork.--- G. P. Buskirk was visiting relatives in Genoa last week. Silas Green LOST CREEK Sherman Horn had the misfortune of getting two ribs broken while working in a logging job here.--- C. G. Perry was transacting business at Crum Saturday.--- Ethel Pratt of Mill Creek was the week end guest of Della V. Perry.--- Mr. and Mrs. Ora Artrip of Glenhayes have moved into the house vacated by Mr. and Mrs. Moses Brown.--- Alonzo Elkins, who has a severe attack of small pox is improving.--- Fannie Lovins, who is taking training at the Williamson hospital is visiting home folks.--- Sanford Horn was the week end guest of folks on Turkey Creek.--- Sadie Lovins of Portsmouth was recently visiting home folks. MILUM CREEK Romie Maynard of Logan county is visiting his grandmother on Twelve Pole.--- Bill Maynard recently visited home folks.--- W. C. Maynard, who has been working on Huff Creek, has returned home.--- W. F. Maynard is on the sick list. Ginger Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia April 10, 1924 ****************************************** NOTICE TO TEACHERS The State Teachers' Elementary Examination will be held at Fort Gay and Wayne, on the 24th and 25th of April. All teachers expecting to take either of said examinations will register on the evening before. Said examinations will begin at eight a. m. each morning. To secure a first grade certificate an applicant must have the following: Namely, High School subjects, eight units, two years work. Professional subjects, 16 semester hours, 18 weeks work. No credit less than 1--4 unit will be given in any subject. All of these credits must be certified by proper officials of the school in which it was done, and if so qualified for a first grade certificate at the time you enter the examination, attach a statement of your High school and professional subjects to your enrollment card. But if this work is not completed at that time, send a statement to the State Department as soon as possible and no later than September 1st. Applicants should be on hand promptly at the beginning of each session. In no case an applicant will be allowed to begin a subject after the manuscripts on that subject have been taken up. No applicant from another county may be admitted to the examination if he does not have a written permission from the County Superintendent of the county where he resides. So be prepared with ink, erasers, paper, knives, pencil and pen, etc. Because it is a mark of a good teacher to come fully equipped with everything he may need. (sic) JOHN H. BECKLEY County Superintendent of Schools Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia April 10, 1924 PENCIL POINTS By Gosh for Wayne County News The trouble with the fellow who knows it all is that he never wants to keep it to himself. We read the other day of a fence that was so crooked that every time a pig crawled through it came out of the same side. A check on your living expenses can always be cashed. With waves of advice on how to live to 100 passing over the country one is reminded of Blankville and the Linker twins. The native of Blankville pointed with pride to two doddering ancients hobbling down the village street and informed an out-of-town visitor: "Them fellers is the Linker twins---90 years old!" The visitor was duly impressed, and to appear interested, asked to what the twins attributed their long life. "Well," was the response. "Jake declares it's because of his chewin' and smokin' day in an' day out, fer nigh onto a hundred years, an' Obediah avows he has his health because he never touched the filthy weed." Few statues are erected to men whose chief concern is how their hair looks. After all, success may be mere happiness. A hick town is a place where a "cleanup" refers to alleys and not to influential citizens. Laugh and learn--for tear-filled eyes see nothing but sadness. Prosperity makes acquaintances but mighty few friends. Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia April 10, 1924 ************************************************ DEATH TAKES WOMAN AGE 108 YEARS; WAS OLDEST PERSON IN THIS COUNTY The oldest person in Wayne county, and in all probability the oldest in the whole state, died at her home in Westmoreland, this county, Friday, when Hannah Blankenship, age 108 years, died following a comparatively recent illness. Notwithstanding the fact that she was more than one hundred years old, Mrs. Blankenship was active until within a few months before her death. The aged Westmoreland woman made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Maggie Loar. Didn't Want Silks "When I pass out I don't want any fine silks," Mrs. Loar quoted her mother as often saying. "I just want to wear a black dress like I used to have when I went out in the country." And this rugged mountain woman, who was not without a vein of sentiment, wanted on her head a cap like the women of another day wore in the last long sleep. She had her wish. Fitting snugly to her brow was a little black cap, trimmed with white frill about its edge. And the coffin--it was made at her request by R. R. Via--was covered with black broadcloth and lined with silver cloth, just as she had wanted it. Around the edge of the coffin, at the top, was a black lace ruffle, and this also was as she had asked. Even the curious superstitions retained by the old lady as a heritage from the mountain fastness were respected, and she was laid out, not by an undertaker, but by intimate friends. They placed copper coins on her closed eyes , and a bowl of salt on her form--the latter precaution to keep the body from swelling. Born in 1816 Mrs. Blankenship, as nearly as she could remember, was born in 1816, in Pike County, Kentucky, and there she was reared. When she was little more than two years old, her mother died. She and her brother were then placed under the care of paternal grandmother. "She took care of us, and we lived with her for a long time," she said recently in recalling a few incidents in connection with her childhood. They had a hard time to get along, she said. Her father remarried when she was eight years old. He died at the lage of 104 years. Until two years ago, when rheumatism crippled her, Mrs. Blankenship was active. She frequently walked from her daughter's home in Westmoreland to Huntington or to Ceredo. And even after rheumatism handicapped her in her usual activities, she insisted on going to the polls to vote. She attended services on the occasion of Mother's Day one year ago at Vinson Memorial church and won a prize awarded to the oldest mother present. Up the Big Sandy river, she had been a member of the Baptist church. Smoked All Her Life Mrs. Blankenship smoked all her life. She couldn't remember just when she started, but for many, many years a pipe had been her most constant companion. Her own children she reared in Catlettsburg. Three of them are living--the daughter already mentioned, and two sons, H. M. and Harvey Blankenship. The venerable woman always wore a black sunbonnet, a white apron and collar, and took considerable pride in her appearance. Her mind was good up the the last few weeks. Her teeth all were good, as were also her eyes. She pieced quilts up to the last year of her life. Twenty-four grandchildren, twenty-two great-grandchildren and numerous great-great grandchildren survive. Miss Runyon was Mrs. Blankenship's maiden name. She was married at the age of sixteen to Conley Blankenship. Funeral services were conducted Sunday morning at the home of her daughter in Westmoreland. Burial was in Catlettsburg, where her youngest half-sister had been laid to rest. Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia May 15, 1924 **************************************************** NEWS BRIEF Four men. . .arrested by state and federal prohibition agents in a series of moonshine raids in the upper end of Wayne county, were held to the next term of federal court at Huntington, when arraigned before United States Commissioner J. P. Douglass on Monday. All were returned to jail in default of bond. Approximately 2, 700 gallons of corn mash, three moonshine stills and a quantity of shine were confiscated by the officers conducting the raids. A gun battle between three moonshiners and Clay Williams, state prohibition agent, and United States Marshal E. E. Buskirk, brought the raiding expedition to an end. The officers believe one of the moonshiners was shot and seriously wounded. The raid was conducted on Alum Branch near the mouth of Kiahs Creek in Grant district. Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia May 15, 1924 ********************************************* NATIONALLY KNOWN MAN RECALLS BOYHOOD DAYS SPENT IN WAYNE COUNTY "Once a Wayne countian, always a Wayne countian." That remark was made to the writer a few years ago by the late P. H. Napier, beloved and well known jurist, who spent his life here. Judge Napier added: "And it doesn't matter how far they get from home, they still cherish their life and experience in Wayne county as choicest memory treasures." The truth of this statement is well substantiated in a recent interview with the Honorable Carmi A. Thompson, nationally known Republican leader and former treasurer of the the United States who was born and reared on Paddle Creek, in Wayne County. Richard M. Archer, of the Wheeling (W. Va.) Telegraph carries a column known as "Arrows In Friendly Flight." It is in this column that Mr. Thompson's interesting interview recalling boyhood days in this country is published. Mr. Thompson was Republican nominee for governor in Ohio two years ago and assistant Secretary of the Interior during Taft's administration. He is a big business man and powerful politician. He is chairman of the Committee on Arrangements at the Republican national convention which is in session this week in Cleveland, Ohio, which city is the home of Mr. Thompson. Wayne County News has secured special permission from Mr. Archer by wire to publish the interview which is copyrighted: Writing to the Arrow man Mr. Thompson says: "On account of the fact that my time is so completely occupied in caring for the Republican national convention, which is to meet here in June--you probably know that I am chairman of the local committee--I cannot write you a better story of my boyhood life in West Virginia, but I have jotted down some facts for you, and if they are worth anything, if you will weave them into a story that will interest your readers, I will appreciate it." The Arrows column is proud of giving Mr. Thompson's story just as he has written it. BY CARMI ALDERMAN THOMPSON Doubtless your readers will not be interested in my genealogy, but suffice it to say that I am an offspring of the old mountain families whose names are so familiar in the history of the mountain sections of West Virginia. My forefathers were of the Ferguson, Polley, Pack, Kirby, Robinson, and Thompson families. I was born on a little creek in the upper part of Wayne County, now locally known as Paddle Creek, where I spent the first few years of my life. My father had drifted away from West Virginia some years earlier and had become a coal miner, having worked throughout Kentucky, Ohio, and most everywhere else that coal was mined fifty years ago (1870's). But when the time came for him to choose a life partner, he sought a playmate of his childhood and went back to Wayne county to marry my mother. He undertook to farm in the primitive way that farming was done in those days, and it was while conducting this experiment that I was born. It did not last long, however, and when I was about four years old, he went back to Ohio, taking myself and my mother with him. But our association with West Virginia was always very close. All my relatives lived in and about Wayne county, so that, perhaps, a third of my time was spent there during my childhood days. When I was close to sixteen years of age, I graduated from the Ironton high school at Ironton, Ohio, and being too young to get a certificate to teach school in the state of Ohio, I returned to my native state where I had no trouble in passing the examinations and was granted a certificate and was hired to teach what was known as the Hurricane school, located not more than three miles from the place of my birth. The little school house was nestled down by the side of Hurricane creek in the hills, and there I began my career, such as it has been. I opened my school about two weeks before I was sixteen years of age. It was a four months school and while I was teaching I believe I was earning my money; but in after years I have doubted very much whether I accomplished anything more than drawing my pay and interesting the whole community in the simpler form of athletics. Within the past week one of my relatives wrote me from that vicinity, asking whether or not I was as good a jumper as I used to be. Jumping was one of the favorite amusements of the time, and I am pleased to say that I became a champion among them. I was just at the age when I could fully enjoy my friends and relatives, their habits of life and their amusements. It was a log rolling on Saturday, and apple peeling or paring another evening, a jumping match or the most popular of all amusements, perhaps a shooting match. I could not jump ten feet now on a running and broad jump. My shooting eye is still fairly good, but I wish I could draw a bead like I did in those far-a-way days. I might refer to dances, o'possum hunts, etc., but neither time nor space would permit me to go into these pleasant recollections. Permit me to say in conclusion, that I am proud of my West Virginia ancestry. The entire stock came from the best blood of the Revolution. Wayne county is populated by pure-blooded Americans. They are men of sterling worth and splendid character. Honor and honesty are each a part of their way of being. Since the days when I was a child, railroads have passed through the county, and mineral and timber have been developed, and, in general, Wayne county is rapidly taking its place as one of the prosperous, progressive counties of the state. Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia June 12, 1924 **************************************** NEWS ITEMS A new spur track has been completed by the N & W at the R. Booton gasoline station just South of town. Mr. Booton plans to install tanks, buy in car-load lots and [sell] gasoline to both wholesale and retail trade. The Steffy Oil Company has also installed a wholesale gasoline station at Wayne on the brick-yard spur track and will be in the position to supply the wholesale trade in the county within a few days, according to announcement from the management. Continued rains during the week have further handicapped Wayne county farmers, practically all of whom are already several weeks behind with their crops because of wet weather. Cherry picking is the order of the day on local farms this week. There is an unusually big crop of cherries. Prospects for a [big] black-berry crop are good as vines everywhere have been heavy with bloom. Sam Ferguson returned home this week from Richmond where he completed his medical course this [term]. Blvard Prichard has returned from the University of Virginia at Charlottsville, Virginia; Earl Burgess and Earl Mosser are at home from Columbia University, New York City. [A large crowd] is expected to be in Wayne. . .June 16th to witness the naturalization ceremony of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. A large delegation will be here from Huntington according to announcement made Wednesday. Three crosses will be burned and a large class of candidates will be naturalized. The ceremony will probably be held in the bottom just South of town, near the railway station, and the general public is invited to witness the affair from this hill-top. It is understood that all members of the local Klan [will be] present, since this is said to be the biggest out-door meeting of the Klan that has ever been held in this county. Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia June 12, 1924 ************************************************** F. S. Vanhoose Paul Wilson Emery Wilson HOME-COMING LETTERS From F. S. Vanhoose Paintsville, Kentucky First of all I want to say that I am a reader of Wayne County News and have been for some time. I will tell you a little of my life and a few places I have been, but I don't know that you could consider me as a citizen of Wayne county, but I will tell you how I came to be there and about how long I stayed. First of all I was born in Johnson county, Kentucky, September 4, 1883, on the waters of Toms Creek, five miles north of Paintsville, Kentucky, county seat of Johnson county and my present home. I was reared by an good old-fashioned farmer and a hard working man who always taught us to be good boys. My father raised nine boys. There names are as follows: Fred C., Alonzo F., Verner, Ernest, Coon, Clyde, Frew S., Burns C., and Byran. They all lived to be grown men except Coon. My mother died when I was about six or seven years old. This left my Father in bad shape and with all of us boys on his hands he was not able to hire some woman to keep house, so he made girls out of us boys. The boys were all at home when mother died, but after mother's death the older boys began to scatter off. Each boy took his turn at cooking. Bye (sic) and bye, it came my turn to cook and keep house, and I want to say it has come in pretty handy sometimes since I have been married to know how to cook and keep house. I have washed dishes when I was small. I had to stand in a chair to be tall enough to reach the table and of course this kind of life did not appeal to boys much so, bye and bye, the boys began t o leave. Two of my older brothers, Verner and Ernest, wandered off into Wayne county, West Virginia. Verner stayed with Lucian Ferguson and worked on a farm. Ernest stayed with Dr. G. R. Burgess, who at that time lived just above Lucian's on the left fork of Twelve Pole about a mile above Wayne. They stayed there several years and would come home often, and I would hear them talk how they liked to stay out there and how good they were to them. It created a desire in me to want to go and see the place. The time passed on till I was about fifteen. I went to Catlettsburg to spend the Fourth of July. I fell into bad company, got drunk and was locked up for being drunk. To my shame I am sorry to tell you, but I am trying to tell you how I came to get into Wayne county. After I got out of jail next day, I was ashamed to go back home, and I knew my father would hear about it, so I decided to go up to Thacker, W. Va., and work there in the mines. I worked there a while and the company was so much rougher than what I was used to that I did not like it, so I thought of the good place Ernest had told me about, and I decided to go down and see Wayne county. I crawled on a freight train on Saturday night and Sunday morning I landed in Wayne all black and dirty so I got off at the end of the Spunky bridge and went to the store at the end of the bridge and got a cake of Grand Pa's soap, went down to the creek and took a good wash. . . . [I] came up the bank and inquired about Dr. G. R. Burgess. Some one was kind enough to tell me where he lived and told me that Basil and all the girls were over in town. I waited at the bridge until they came along. I had seen Basil before. He had been home with Ernest on a visit. But this was the first time that I had ever seen Charlie, oldest daughter of Dr. Burgess. She was in a buggy with John Meek, who afterwards became her husband. I got in the buggy with Basil and went home with him. Next morning, Dr. Burgess gave me a job of feeding the cattle and horses. Dr. always kept several head of horses, and among them was one he called Black Beauty and a beauty she was too. I stayed about three years with them and never was treated nicer by anyone in my life than I was by Dr. Burgess' family. It always seemed to be that Mrs. Burgess treated me just like she did her own son, Basil. It may have been because she knew I had no mother, but she was a mother to me and Dr., a father. When the East Lynn railroad started, I [was] getting about 50 cents a day so I began working on the bridge force at $1.00 a day and still boarded with Dr. Burgess. I helped build all the bridges on the East Lynn road. I left Wayne about 1902 and came home. About that time, the C. & O. R. R. had started the work to extend the road from White House to Elkhorn City, Kentucky. I worked at that one year. On November 16, 1904, I joined the army at Huntington and was sent to Fort Slocum, N. Y., [where I] was assigned to the 80th Co., Coast Artly, Fort Schuyler, N. Y. I stayed there two years and five months. March 1907 I was transferred to Key West, Florida, where I served seven months and was discharged. I sent back to New York City and got a job from the Interbourgh Rapid Transit Co., on a subway train as a guard. I worked there two years and decided to go back home. Two of my younger brothers had married and [were] living at the old home. I dug coal that winter for pocket change. A revival meeting was in progress on the creek where I lived. That man of God preached with such power that it reached my heart, and I was truly saved from all my sins. That was January 10, 1910. I was changed right about, and I began to settle down. I started to work March 1910 for Webb & Preston Department Store in Paintsville for $30.00 a month. I worked three years for this firm. During this time, I was married to Ollie Webb and shortly after this I started business for myself. I had a general store for about two years, then Ed Vanhoose, my cousin, and myself organized the Vanhoose Wholesale Grocery, Co. at Paintsville. We worked at this three years then my brother and I went into the lumber business. I have in the F. S. Vanhoose Lumber Co. over $27,000 and am manager and president of the company. I also own as good a house and lot as there is in Paintsville. I want to give God the priase for what I have done, for I have made this all since I gave my heart to Him. I was ordained to preach in the Freewill Baptist church about three years ago. I am still in the fight against sin in every form. I was married April 18, 1911, and we have had three children: Stewart, who died when he was two years old; Helen Elizabeth, who is now 10; and Howard is 7. With all good wishes to you everyone. FREW S. VANHOOSE Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia December 18, 1924 ********************************************** Paul Wilson Emery Wilson From Pvt. Emery Wilson Troop R, Fifth U. S. Cavalry Fort Clark, Texas I am down here on the Mexican border serving a 3 year term with the United States Cavalry. I have eight more months to serve before I will return to Wayne county. The Cavalry sure is a fine place for a young man. It is very interesting to ride a horse over the Texas ranges and see the different kinds of scenery. I am a reader of Wayne County News and find it very helpful while being away from all my relatives. EMERY WILSON Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia December 18, 1924 ******************************************************** From Paul Wilson Russell, Kentucky As you asked for a letter from all former Wayne county folks, I will try and give you a few sketches of my past. It has been eight years since I left Wayne county, and I have rambled a good bit during this time. I settled in Russell, Kentucky, in 1917 and took a job with the C. & O. railroad as a brakeman, and a little later I went to the U. S. army. I didn't stay long on this side until I sailed for England and from there to France. I was over there until July 1919, when I came back to the U. S. and was discharged from the army. I visited my home folks in Wayne county and had just been home nine days when my mother died. I came back to Russell and took up my position with the C. & O. railroad. January 25, 1921, I was promoted to conductor. About one year later I married a Wayne county girl. This is a good town to live in, lots of employment. It isn't a very large town, but it is a busy place. The C. & O. railroad has the largest train yards here of any one road in the U. S. A. Their payroll every two weeks amounts to one-half million dollars. Property is very high here. I own my own home and have prospered ever since I have been here. I have one three- year-old daughter. I love to visit the Wayne county people and find some of the best people there that I have ever found anywhere. I attended the Wayne county fair and met lots of friends and relatives. I still own a farm in Wayne county but don't have any idea of every coming back there to live. I always think of my old home county and will always give it the praise of a good place. I would like to hear more of the Wayne county folks. PAUL WILSON Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia December 18, 1924 *******************************************************