pioneers of mason county -...
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Pioneers of Mason County.
In 1794, the town of PointPleasant was established, and itsname confered upon it, and in1804, the county was taken oilof Kanawha, and Point Pleasantwas made the county seat. Atthe formation of the county, itcontained 432 square miles, andin this large tract of country, Iwill try and give a short sketchof some of the pioneer settlers.Among those who recieved landgrants, were Andrew Lewis, GeoMuse, Peter Hog, Andrew Steph
' enson, Andrew Waggoner,,JohnPoulson, John West, Hugh Mercer, George Washington. Thegrant of Andrew Lewis included Point Pleasant. Few of theoriginal owners of the land settled upon their land, but manyof the descendents came out, andtook possession of them, andsome of it was sold to'other settlers.that Washington, and his distinguished party, came down theOhio river in 1770.
The land on which Point Pleas
- will was
It was to survey this land _
ant islocated, belonged to Thomas Lewis, the son of GeneralLewis, 9000acres in the forks ofthe Ohio, and Kanawha, was tobe equally divided between histhree sons Thomas, Andrew andWilliam. Thomas came before1789, and took control of it. Hisfather had died in 1781,and his
probated in 1792.Thomas Lewis remained in Kanawha a short time, and thencame to the mouth of the river,and built his cabin at the mouthof Old Town "Creek, where oncestood an Indian village, that hadbeen deserted some years before.This farm is now owned by thevenerable W. O. Roseberry. In1791Thomas Lewis establishedthe ferries, and coming at soearly a date, he became prominent in all the affairs of the country, It has been stated, that hebuilt a small fort on the site ofFort Randolph. during the troubles of 1892-34, and commandedit. Many visitors had been atthe "mouth of the river,” before
Thomas Lewis, the point beingan important one to get to the“bloody ground," a sort of busi»ness point, and resting place forsurveyors,‘ where they could procure transportation down theriver, and it was also a rendevouzfor explorers, and restless pio~neers, who like the Israelites,f‘anxious to go in and possessthe land.” Hanson and his party came down the KanawhaApril 20, 1774, and in his journalwrites, "found 26 people encampt on the point to cultivateland, others to attend the surveyors." Mark the expression. tocultivate land,” there. must havebeen some rudely constructedstockade, or fort, to have enabledthese persons to have carried ontheir farming, for farther alongin his journal. he tells of an In‘dian taking a fine rifle from McCulloch, and also speaks of otherdepredations committed by them,showing their hostility, and adds“that" some were afraid to gowith them. for fear of losingtheirscalps."
The real pioneers of Masoncountv, were those who lived infort Randolph, that was built in‘summer of 1776, forty rods from"fort St. Blair up the Ohio, andwent out and cultivated the land,and when peace was finally restored, (after General Wayne’sfvictory at Fallen Timbers.) buil_ttheir log cabins, and made homesfor themselves in the unbrokenVvilderness, along the two rivers.
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Welmowthe names of someof the noble men and women,‘who lived in the circle of cabinswithin Fort Randolph, and envythem this great honor. Some ofthem had children’ born withinthe fort, and the owners of manyof the line farms in our country,are the descendents of these pioneers, who cleared a small spoton which to build, possibly a tworoom log cabin, and were as happy as their grandchildren, withtheir much larger possessions.The men who are mentioned onthe records, in the Clerks Ofliceat Charleston, as the first to buythe lots, and land in the town,when put upon the market byThomas Lewis were,
To Ben Uhn lot in Point Pleas~ant, 1700.
To Amos Morris 8 acres, 1791.‘ To Leonard Cooper 5 acres,
1797.To Walter Newman 1 acre.
1797.To William Owen % acre, 1797.To William Owen 5a—5a-5a-250
acres, 1798, on crooked creek.To William Owen la-1a—}"2'acres
179‘).To Allen Pryor 5 acres, 1797.To Allen Pryor 5 acres, 1797.To Charles Rowan M plus 1
acre, 1800.To Goodrich Slaughter 1 acre.
1798.To Isaac Yyler lots, 1798.To George Tyler lots, 1898To James Tyler.To Isaac Tyler Jr. ’
To Van Bibber, Lewis— 1808.T0_Jno. Woodward 2 a plus 1 a
189'}.
To Van Bibber, Jno, 1808.To Van Bibber, James 1898.,To Maurice ReynoldsTo George Thornton, 1899.To George Thornton Jr. 1899.To Jas McGee, 1898.To Robert McGee, 1899.To John Allen, 1808.To William Bridger, 1800.’To W. H. Cavendish, 1S99.~To Allen Pryor to Bob McNair
1801.
To Wm. Owen to Heney Skiles1803.
To Goodrich Slaughter toFrancis Morris, 1804.
To Chas. C. Lewis to Wm.Sterrett ()0acres, 1803.
The plat seems to have been 1acre, and five acre lots, WilliamOwen buying many, and at oncebegan to sell them olf.
Ben Uhlin not only had thedistinction of making the leapover the high cliff, across theKanawha river which bears hisname, and to escape capture,threw away his fine silver mounted rifle, but the first lot sold isput down on the record to hiscredit,—“No H back street."
Luman Gibbs for twenty yearsacted as scout, and to his vigilence the inmates of the fortowed their comfort, and peace ofmind. Every week he went outfrom the fort, with his trustyrifle, and made a circuit of thecountry, and the path he travell
ed over, was known as “GibbsTrace.” He is buried eightmiles from Point Pleasant, alongside of two brave soldiers, andpioneers, John Robinson andJames Ball.
William Arbuckle, was one ofthose who experienced some ofthe horrors of Indian war-fare,beinga defender of the settlements on the frontier. He wasin the battle of Point Pleasant,and was with George RogersClark, .when he took the westernforts from the British, and onhis return was one of the garrison at Point Pleasant. He livedin the fort with his beautiful andaccomplished wife, the widow ofCapt. Robert McClenachen whowas killed in the battle of PointPleasant, her maiden name wasCatherine Madison, more familiarto her friends, as Kitty Madison.
Thomas Hannan,and Elizabethhis wife, came at a very early dayto the country, and lived in oneof the cabins, of Fort Randolph,and went out, and built a cabin17‘l7,where they lived and died.He was the ancestor of Mrs.James Long. Mr. James Longis one of our most successfulfarmers, and his sons have closely followed in his footsteps, having one of the most beautifulfarms on the Kanawha. Mrs.Long’s grand-father was born inthe fort. .
The axes of these men echoed,and re-echoed through the talltrees, of the vast forest. up and
down our country, and we owe tothem, the possession of thisbeautiful country of ours, for bytheir courage, industry, and indomitable will, they drove outthe savage foe, and made thecountry to "blossom as the rose."There was another emigrationthat came later, but were nevertheless pioneers,in plenty of time, to take partin telling the mighty oaks,’andmaking the settlements. wherewe now see beautiful cities, andtowns.
Among these was John l\lcCul—loch, who came down the riverin a large flat boat, in 1702, andfor some reason not known, tiedup to the Virginia shore, near 8mile Island, and was influencedto disembark and build his cabin.,His wife was Olivia Morgan, andon their trip down the river, shewas wounded in the arm, from abullet fired by an Indian, fromthe Ohio shore. They raised alarge family, and have many descendents in the country. Theirtombs are to be seen in an oldcemetery on their farm, and theinscription is perfectly legible.
John Edwards, bought land adjoining.John McCulloch. WalterNewman fought in the battlewith the Indians, and came back
_,after the army was disbanded,"andsettled first at Point Pleas'ant, buying from Thomas Lewisthe site of fort Blair, built byAndrew Lewis’ army. The old
“loghouse standing now, on the
for they came
l“arl< was built by him, in l7‘)7.John Cantrell came with his
widowed mother to the Ohio, in1794;she was a sister of the Clendinen brothers. The Clendin—en’s, nobly did their part in maltit possible, for settlers to buildtheir cabins, and make homes inthe Kanawha Valley. WilliamClendinen came from Kanawha'in 1797, and bought land, first atthe mouth of the river, then moved up the Ohio, and finally settledat Gallipolis Ferry.’ His daughter Sophia, married John Millerof Gallipolis, and they were theparents of Mr. C. C. Miller, whowas for so many years, the President of the Merchants NationalBank, of our city. He was thefather of Mrs. Edith StephensWade.
William Owen. was one of theorganizers of the county. and oneof the first Court of Mason C0un~ty. He came to Point Pleasantin 1781. He was from Scotland,and served through the revolution, and was a man.of influencein his day. He moved to Jackson county, and there died, atthe advanced age of 85 years.Robert Roseberry’s father W353soldier of the Revolution, andshared with Washington, thehardships of the winter at ValleyForge. Nathan Smith the father of.Col. John Smith, was theson of Jonas Smith of Watertown.N. Y., and came with his fatherto Mason county, in 1817. Theywere both‘ surveyors, and then‘
maps of survey, are done in themost perfect. manner, in every
lminutia, that would stand thecriticisn of our most proficientdraughts-man, of the present day.Virgil A. Lewis is the son ofGeorge Lewis, his mother LucyEdwards. They came to Masoncounty in 1797. and built a cabinin Pleasant Flats, as it is nowknown. Their son Virgil, afterhis father’s death, started out in,the world. He became interested in the history of his county,and then his'State, and has worked himself into prominence as ahistorian, and occupies at thepresent, the position of StateHistorian, and Archivist. MorganMoore came from the Shenandoah Valley, and located on a farmin Mercer Bottom, where he liveduntil his death, in August 1869.He was the grandfather of Mr.G. Hootf. GeorgeEasthemcameto Mason, from Culpeperin 1817,and in 1818 he died. Being urged by her father, the widow returned to her native country, andleft her farm, in the care of herservants. On the top of SewellMountain, she met the Edwardsfamily, whom she knew in Culpeper, coming this way to settle.Both in their grief, and joy atmeeting, they rushed into eachothers arms, and wept bitterly.Gallatin Easthe m, was the son ofGeorge Easthem, and the lastoffspring of the soldiers, of thebattle of Point Pleasant, as faras known. Dr. Whaley of Pome
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"of Mason county,
roy, claims that honor, he says,“that his "father if not in the battle, was not very far away, andmust have been with Christian,for he often heard him sing theircamp songs, and tell his war experience. He was also in theRevolution. Daniel Couch didnot come on the Kanawha, until1820, and died in 1824, leaving alarge family of eight children, tothe care of his wife, on a farmcovered with a heavy forest. andbut a log cabin.was one'of the pioneer physician
and had hishome at Point Pleasant for anumber of years, finally after hismarriage to Cathrine Hereford,he moved to Mercer Bottomwhere he died at an advancedage. Samuel Couch, anotherson, and the eldest of the familywas born in 1808. He marriedSarah Steenbergen, daughter ofPeter H. Steenbergen, who hadnine daughters, seven married inMason county, and had theirhomes in the county, as also hisonly son John William Steenbergen, so well known in our townand County. Peter S. Couch, theonly son of Samuel Couch, livesin the beautiful old colonial homestead. the forest trees in theyard are full of native song birds,and squirrels that come only athis bidding, to take the nutsfrom his hand, which is one ofthe many pleasures you enjoy, invisiting his most hospitable home.Peter H. Steenbergen came to
His son Daniel, >
for hervice
ti «-()lno; in l'€lH. zazwlwas i.) tlleOi‘ ll]L‘
marched away [ruin the county,in the war of 1812.
When they reached the ‘top of-Sewell Mountain, they recei\'e(lword, that peace was declared,much to the relief of the friendsthey ha(l left behind. Daniel,Roush came in 1804, when but aifladof 14 years, and did his partlas he grew to manhood, in (levelbping the country. J. M. H.‘Beale. the son of ‘Col. TavernerBeale of the revolution, who served in the 8th, Va. Regiment, underthe fighting Lutheran Parson, General John Peter GabrielMulenberg of Va., came to PointPleasand in 1813. He was thefather of Col. C. '1‘. Beale, one ofMason counties most progressive farmers, and the first importer offine cattle to the countyand grand—father of J. M. H.Beale. Charles C. Lewis, was aLieutenant with General Wayne,and after the campaign was endéd, he resigned from the army,ind married Jane Dickinson ofBath County, Va., daughter ofEapt. John Dickinson who was soJadly wounded in the battle herewith the Indians. John D. LewS, the wealthy Coal operator ofKanawha county, during his life;ime, and the father of Mrs. J.M.H. Beale, was brought a baben his mothers arms, when theyEame to the Ohio river, in 1800.dbarles Lewis was the grand’ather of P. S. Lewis, and also
comm;.n(l cmnpany that
-y.;.,..=,
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.\lr.s:. .l. ll. .\IcCullocli. the wifeof the late John Daniel .\Ic(.'ullo-;hwhose death a short time ago,was ‘so much deplored, being apopular business man, and agreat favorite with ail classes ofmen in our county.
He came from pioneer stock,on both sides of his family. Col.Andrew Lewis came to Masoncounty also, when it was stillKanawha County, in 1801. Hewas the son of Col. Charles Lewis, and his wife was the daughterof Capt. John. Stuart, of Greenbrier county, the distinguishedsoldier and scholar of his day.He had married the widow ofCapt. John Frogg, who the In
dians were so excited about during the battle ‘trying to get hisscalp, thinking from his gaudyuniform, that he was an ofiicer ofgreat rank.foun ddeadonhis body. AndrewLewis settled near his brotherCharles, on Old Town Creek,and there raised a large and intluential family, whose namesare revered in our county, nonemore beloved than that of Mrs.Agnes Sehon, and I could notclose this sketch, without paying
- tribute to one of the most lovelycharacters that this country hasever produced Mr. John Lewis.Nu monument is needed to markthe spot where he lies, for his lifeis his monument.
Dr. Samuel Shaw was one ofthe old physicians of Point Pleasant, and of the county, and gave
Five of them were '
a lung lire se1‘\’ice to the people.it was never too cold or to hot, orthe way too long, or the pay toouncertain. for him to respond.Henry Potfenliarger came fromMaryland to Jarskson countyOhio, and then to Mason county.but ata much later period, hewas among the substantial farmers on the Kanawha. and hisgreat-grand-son is Judge GeorgePoffenbarger of the SupremeBench. Richard Swan was another of the early settlers, hemarried the daughter of thepioneer John McCulloch, and hisdescendents are prominent in ourcountry.
Mr. William Smith was a son, of Daniel Smith, and Jane Harri
son of Harrisonburg, Va., andi son of John Smith, who was inthe battle of Point Pleasant.William Smith was the father ofMiss Elizabeth Smith, so wellknown in our county. He cameat an early day, and located onthe south side of the Kanawha,on a beautiful site opposite thepoint, now called Tu-Endie-WeiPark. Edward McDonough, anuncle was one of the first court.
William Neale, came with hismother in 1808, she having married the second time, WilliamProsser. The Prosser Cemetery is on the Prosser land inMercer Bottom. William Nealewas one of Mason County's mostprogressive and successful farmers, and‘ lived and died in the
I county. leaving a large family.
who are among t_hebusiness menof the county. James CapehartS12, long since dead, was a successful business man, both merchant and farmer. He built alarge brick store—room,and warehouse, on the site of old FortRandolph, and carried on a largebusiness.
Leonard Cooper was fromMaryland, and fought in the battle of Point Pleasant, and also inthe I\‘e\'o_lntion. He was oneiofthe original members, of the order of the “Society ofthe Cincinnati." He built a block-houseon his land on the Kanawha.where he settled. not far fromthe mouth of the river, which isnow owned by his great-grandson George Pullin.
Adam Long, and three brothers, came at an early day, and asfarmers thev, and their (lcSC€Ud’ents have occupied prominentplaces. and have been identifiedwith every thing in the interestof Mason County.
James Bryan, was an earlysettler. he and Andrew Lewismade a trade of land, and he wasgiven his choice of land, at themouth of the Kanawha river inthe exchange, the site of PointPleasant included. He was thefather of l\I-aj. Andrew Bryan,the father of Mrs. Mary McCulloch, who is still remembered inour country. having lived to a11old age, and was identified in somanv ways with the_ people of
town, as w--llboth our as thecountry.
Her mother was PartheniaClendinen, the (laughter ofGeorge Clendinen, the founder ofCharleston, the Capitol of ourState. Parthenia Clendinen‘sfirst husband, was John Meigs,the brother of Governor R. J.Meigs, of Ohio. She brought toMason from her father’s estate,a colored man who had the reputation of being the greatest‘wood-chopper in all of the Kauawha Valley, and through hiswork, much of the land of MajorBryan’s was cleared. Dr. JesseBennett, the first practicing physician on the Ohio river, was thegrand father of the late, andmuch loved citizen. of PointPleasant, Mr. Griffith Thomas,so long identified with our county, a link that bound us to thepast. William Sterrett qualifiedas first clerk of our county, and"received his commission fromGov. John» Page. _Mr. Sterrettwas drowned one dark night leaving a steamboat at his landing,just returning from a trip to Cincinnati, (1849). His saddle bagsthat he carried with him, were‘never found, and this led personsto think, that he had been murdered, after leaving the boat.There were no banks in thosefdaysshere, to deposit money, and
Sterrett was knownto keepjthousands of dollars, in an oldEsafe on his upper porch. He{was the g-rand-father of the Ster
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rett Bros, in Charleston. MajorWaggener, came to Mason county, after 1813. He was the sonof Capt. Andrew Waggoner, ofthe French and Indian War. whorecieved a large tract of land, inthe upper part of Mason county,known as “Waggoners Bottom.”
’ His son came out from Berkleycounty,’ and took control of itafter the war of 1812-13. Hewas largely responsible for thehaste, in which the British leftCrauey Island. He was in theVa, House of Delegates, in 1811,and from Mason county in 1836.He was killed near his home, bya Confederate “picket," duringa raid made by the Confederates,under General Jenkins to theOhio river in on March 30th,1863. Elija Kimberling was fora long time an efficient Clerk ofthe County, and was Sheriff whenthe first, and only “hanging"took place in Mason county, in1853. James H. ' Couch theyoungest son of Daniel Couchthe pioneer, and the eminent lawyer of our county, was born inHanover county Va., in Aug. 3rd,1821. He spent a long life in hisprofession, and retired to his oldfamily homestead on the Kanaw-ha, where he died. His wifeHelen Waggoner survived himseveral years. The distinguished lawyer, George Couch ofCharleston, is his second son. andnow owns the old home place.
William George, the first Baptist minister to settle in Mason
to have that honor.)
county, came to the county in1823. His wife was Nancy Easthem, of Fauquier county Va.He was the father of James, andJoseph George of Mason county.
James Henderson Miller, theson of John, and Sallie Henderson(his second wife) were the parents of a large family, amongthem Dr. Joseph L. Miller, sowell known out of his profession,for his genealogical researches.
Mr. Miller has a most beautiful farm on the Kanawha, partof it, the landof hisfather. I. V.Newman, was the son of WalterNewmam, who fought in the battle of Point Pleasant, (and cameover from Germany just in time
The sonwas but 12 years of age, when hecame to the county. He marriedthe daughter of George Easthemwho also fought in the battle.Both were in the "Indep,endentcompany" of Col. John Field,that was raised in Culpeper county, Va. 1. V. Newman, and hissister Emma, occupy the oldhomestead. William Wallis camewith his father to Mason, atalater date from Halifax Co., Va.1845. Hisgrand-fatherwas fromScotland, David Wallis.
William Wallis was a successful farmer, and manager, and became the owner of a large farmof nearly 1000 acres. His sonafter his farthers death, came into possession of the farm, andlike his father is a successful,and progressive farmer. His
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wife is the daughter of James(Jlendiuen, the pioneer.
Dr. James Hooff came to PointPleasant about 1854,and marriedCathrine, the daughter of Morgan Moore, of Mercer Bottom.After many years of succesfulpractice, he bought_ the farm ofJohn Mc.\'lullen, who lived in thecounty for many years before thewar, and was the son-in-law ofMajor Andrew Bryan. On thisfarm Dr. Hooff died, he was thefather of (3. W. M. Hooff.
The parents of Mr JamesKnight, and Dr. A. L. Knight,lived in the upper part of Masoncounty, building a log cabin sixmiles above Point Pleasant, andwas the first hewed log cabin, inthe county, and stood from 1795to 1885on the land of ThomasHogg.
VVilliamHawkins was a son-inlaw of Hog, who unlike his descendents, spelled his name withone “g”. Peter Hog had recieved a large grant of land in Masoncounty, he was a builder of fortsand besides being an officer inthe service of king George, hewas also the king’s Attorney.His two daughters came out tothe Ohio, and settled on theirfathers land. The original deedis in the possession of a descendent, Mr. Watt Hogg of Masoncounty. John Hereford, son ofRobert Hereford the pioneer,was a soldier of the revolution.John with his brother ran awayfrom their school in Alexandria,
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1landenlisted, their father securied their release, on account of{theiryouth, but they had caught{thespirit of Patrick Henry, andagain entered the army, the father reconciled, went to see them,and in parting said, -"never myboys turn your backs on a red_oat?” ,I The tomb of John Hereford,nd his father, is on their land inIercer Bottom. Capt. Hereord’s tomb is on ()hio Sixteen
:Creek,and on the first tombstone was this inscripti0n,~~,“stranger pause and drop a tear,a revolutionary soldier lies buried here.” When this tomb was:replaced, by a better one. byhisgrandson Hon. James Georgethis couplet was unfortunatelyomitted. He served as Adjutantunder Lafayette. His fatherRobert Hereford, was from Louilen county Va., and his wife wasMary Mason Bronough, daughter of Ann Carter ‘of "Cleves,”ind great—grand-daughter ofEeorge Mason of “Gunston Hall"He bought 1000 acres of land inMercer Bottom, and moved therein 1807. and lived in that unbrozen wilderness, with only a spotzleared, for a double log cabin.He died in 1845.
; Thomas Stribling another piotee: of the Kanawha valley, came ‘toRed House on the Kanawhafiver, in 1810. His son Dr.MathewStribling became a phyéician, and settled at PointEfleasaiit, in 1835. His son Otis
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Stribling is one of the prominentfarmers of the county, and livesin the old historic house of Robert Hereford built in 1811.
John Henderson, the greatgrand-father of Mrs. Mary E.Hutchinson was a lieutenant inthe battle of Point Pleasant andwas also a soldier of the revolution. His wife was Anne Givensthe sister of the wife of AndrewLewis. He lived and died inGreenbriar in 1787. His sonSamuel came to Kanawha andsettled at Charleston, and thefirst white child born there wasJohn G. Hutchinson the father ofMrs Hutchinson. He came tothe Ohio river at an early date,about 1797, and chose one of themost beautiful sites on the river,to make his home, just oppositethe point where Andrew Lewis”army had encamped, and Wherefort Blair had stood. The viewup and down the river is mostbeautiful, beyond description.In the conference held with theIndians at Pittsburg, Oct 14,
-1775, Dr. Walker in his speech tothe Indians said: “BrotherShawanese, you told us on Wednesday the 12th, that three ofyour foolish young men had beenat the Kanawha, and ‘burnedsome old useless houses, but that _the fort was not hurt, we nowhave proof, that part of the fortis burned, and all the houses in"it destroyed, except the logs of .the store. M1‘. Thomas hasoften remarked, that he did not
“__'~.g.'vaha.
understand waere Walter New-Vman got his logs hewed for hishouse, (the old log cabin he builtin 1797, and which is still on thepark in a good state of preservation.) I‘. is possible that he gotpossession of these logs notdestroyed at that time, by theIndians if so, the old log cabin ishistoric indeed.
Mrs. Hutchinson's grandmother, was Sallie Donnally, thedaughter of Major AndrewDonnally, who built and Commanded .“Fort Donnally.“ Thisfort stood near the site of Frankfort, Greenbriar county, andbuilt in 1771, then in‘ BotetourtCounty. It was besieged by alarge force of Indians in 1778,who had first attacked the fortat Point Pleasant. Two volunteer scouts from fort Randolphwere sent to_ warn the fortDonnally garrison of 20 men, andwere successful in doing so. Toassist them in this perilousundertaking, the Grenadiersquaw (the sister of the notedchief, Cornstalk, who made herhome at fort Randolph, notwithstanding her brother who hadbeen so foully murdered at thegarrison in 1777,) painted them,up in Indian fashion. FortDonnally was torn down thesame year that Major Donnallydied, in 1825. Major Donnallyfirst settled at Point Pleasant,when he came to the KanaivhaValley, but afterwards movedtoCharleston, where he died.
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Peter Ilogg, the ancestor ofHon. C. E. Hogg Dean of theUniversity at l\lorgautown, W.Va. and our prominent farmerMr. Watt Hogg of Mason countvlocated near West Columbia 1800-.His descendents have alwaysstood for the best interest of ourcounty, and are among_our highly esteemed citizens.
Edmund Franklin, the grandfather of our townsman, Benj.Franklin came to Point Pleasant in 1810, he moved to Parkersburg and there died. JosephHolloway, and his wife ElizabethHaynes came from the Shehandoah inlS15, and built a cabin inClendinen district. His fatherJohn Holloway is supposed tohave been in the revolution, hecame with his son to the county.John Musgrave, father of Mr.Asa Musgrave came to thecounty'1'ust before the war of1812. His descendents have always been interested in agricultural pursuits. John Hoy, asoldier of the revolution whoserved with Col. Jacob Rinker,of the Valley of Va. located nearGallipolis Ferry. and later moved to Covington, Ky., and diedthere in the sixties. GeorgeRiflle settled on Old Town Creekin 1801,he came from Fayettecounty, Pa., and wasa soldier ofthe revolution. John Roseberrycame to Point Pleasant in 1813,and kept hotel, one of the first inthe town. J. Greer, known as“Jacl(" lived in the county to an
told age, and would love to tell ofithe “early days," the "Gloriouslmuster days,“ when every manwas supposed to be on hand, andanswer to the roll call." He
, was full of remeniscences. with-great pride he would relate thestory of his drum. that had been
1brought from Philadelphia, byfone.of the pioneer merchants,;_Alex McCulloch, and how closehe marched behind the general’s
thorse, “the tail resting on hisigdrum head", and how the horseipranced along to the inspiringiimusic of his drum, and that offthe fifer.” John Bowyer came"'from a long line of ancestors, the
first mentioned of that name was; John, who settled on the “Borden
Grant", and married the widowof John McDowell. and also thewidow of Benj. Borden. He wasa French Huguenot, who cameto the settlement as a teacher.John Bowyer, the pioneer ofMason county, who came beforethe slice was taken off to helpform the county of Putnam, wasthe great—grand father of C. C.Bowyer. He died at Winfield atthe age of 84 years, havingbeen born in Greenbriar county
§“1794. Daniel Boone lived nearthe K. & M. Depot in 1786, and
" surveyed 10 acres for Wm. Allenon Crooked Creek June 14, 1791.
Rl'.|].3?3
“<r"-""“'‘"77‘?”F"’“‘-'"""T'TTG’X7'\}':re7*?"‘r*7v~.
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John S. Miller who died March12th. 1908 came to the town withhis parents when but 13 years ofage, and lived here continuously,longer than any one other citizen,he was 83 years .pld. an(l lived
‘here 70 years.George Roush settled in the
county in 1800. I might thuscontinue this interesting historyof the early settlers of Masoncounty, and fille many pages,for it along list, and I am afraidI have left out in this imperfectsketch, many names who havefilled important places, both inthe civil, and military government, as well as in the religious,and moral influences of ourcounty. I wish to make a request of the people of our townand county, that if they possessany unpublished history of theirfamily, either in old letters,papers and manuscript, wouldthey kindly send it to me, that Imight make a copy of them, andpreserve them in the archives ofthe Col. Charles Lewis Chapter,and when the corner stone of themonument is laid, the historythat we have collected, and pre
. served may be placed in it.Respectfully submitted,
Delia’ A. McCu11och.
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