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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

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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.

- 2

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. ’

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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

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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‘

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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

5

"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, >

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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.;.,..=,­

6

.\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 '

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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

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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

8

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

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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

9

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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7

E.

Ll..,1.

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

E

r

1O

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.

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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

Page 13: Pioneers of Mason County - WVancestrywvancestry.com/ReferenceMaterial/Files/Pioneers_of_Mason_County... · Pioneers of Mason County. In 1794, ... Muse, Peter Hog,Andrew Steph ...

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~.

12

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.

EE??l:


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