Volume 16 , Issue 27

Historical Sketches Pocahontas County, West Virginia

The leaders that gave our pioneers the most trouble were Pontiac, Chief of the Ottawas; Cornstalk, Killbuck, and Crane. Killbuck annoyed the settlements for a long series of years, and when hostilities ceased went to his home in Ohio, and thereafter paid occasional visits to Wheeling. He became blind, and lived to be more than a hundred years old, Killbuck had for a comrade, whose efficiency as a warrior made him nearly as dangerous, named Crane, because of his unusually long neck and legs. Crane was an ugly thorn in the flesh, especially to those of the settlers that located on the South Branch, and made himself a conspicuous nuisance never to be forgotten. But little record is to be found of his exploits, but enough is known to give him the distinction of being considered nearly as dangerous as Killbuck.

The Shawnees, the aboriginal people, were here to repel the pioneers for the reason they regarded the land as theirs by inheritance from their fathers, at whose burial mounds they observed solemn rights of worship, and whose exploits they so fervently chanted in war songs and funeral dirges.

Indian troubles continued about thirty years with brief intervals of precarious peace. It is believed on very reliable tradition that for ten years before his death at the battle of Point Pleasant, October 10, 1774, Colonel Charles Lewis was never at home more than a month at a time.

The pioneer Scottish Virginians, ancestors of so large proportion of our Pocahontas people, wore remote from the seat of the colonial government, poorly provided with means of defense, and were exposed to all the troubles arising from the long and bitter struggle between the French and English for supremacy in the Mississippi Valley. History makes no formal mention of expeditions numbering hundreds of men going out as armed rangers upon the frontier. Nothing but a few unnoticed Acts of Virginia Assembly, acknowledging and commending such services, are available to show that companies of "Rangers," "Independents,'" or "Volunteers," led by a Lewis, a McClenachan, a Cunningham, a Preston, a Dickinson, a Dunlap, a Moffett, an Alexander, or some one else, armed and equipped at their own charges, penetrated the forests to punish or disperse hostile parties of Indians.

For in times of avowed peace the Indians would allege nominal or supposed wrongs, and thereupon murder defenseless families, then disappear stealthily as panthers, hastening away to their well nigh inaccessible strongholds beyond the mountains. The Indian leaders, moreover, were foemen worthy of any antagonistic steel. The Emperor Pontiac appears to be the first to wage war against the Scottish Virginians. How was a war chief of the Ottowas, the most influential of the northern tribes, and was conspicuous among the native heroes whose devotion to the interests, of their people, wisdom and eloquence in council, skill in strategy, bravery in battle, have made for them a fame that the proudest warriors of all time might well envy.

One writer speaks of Pontiac as a person of remarkable appearance and commanding stature. Another says that in point of native talent, course, magnanimity, and integrity he will compare without prejudice with the most renowned of civilized rulers and conquerors. It was Pontiac's war in 1763 that required the utmost strength of the Colonies and the strongest support of the British Government to withstand and overcome. It was in obedience to Pontiac's orders and plans that raiding parties pressed far into panic stricken settlements, and among the massacres were the Big Levels and Muddy Creek in Virginia, and the merciless slaughter in the Valley of Wyoming.

Ten or eleven years later another terrific Indian war blazed forth. This was conducted by the Shawnee chief Cornstalk, who when a young warrior was under Pontiac. The Shawnees held all other men in contempt as warriors. Mr Stuart speaks of Cornstalk as distinguished for beauty of person, for agility and strength of frame, in manners graceful and easy, and in movements majestic and princely. He commanded the Indian forces at Point Pleasant, During that very memorable action he was frequently seen moving rapidly along the lines of picked braves, and his marvelous voice was board above the din of conflict cheering on with his battle cry "Be Strong! Be Strong!"

Colonel Wilson, a British officer, says: "I have heard the famous orators of Virginia - Patrick Henry and Richard Lee - but never have I heard one whose powers of delivery surpassed those of Cornstalk."'

As seen and regarded by us as we write, had Cornstalk been successful at the battle of Point Pleasant, the war for Independence could not have occurred when it did, and very probably never taken place. For English cavaliers, the French and Spanish missionaries with their Shawnee and other Indian adherents would have made it too uncomfortable for the Scotch-Irish and the Huguenots to remain, and there would not have been a Pocahontas County to write history about, as we know it, and are now preparing. The tide of that very eventful and pivotal battle was turned against Cornstalk and his chosen braves by the management of Jacob Warwick, a pioneer of Pocahontas County, who now sleeps in his lowly grave six miles west of the Warm Springs, Virginia.

The close of Cornstalk's eventful career in life is one of the most touching events of the kind on historical record since the death of Socrates. Impelled by a magnanimous sense of duty unsurpassed in all barbaric history, in order to be faithful and true to the treaty of peace he had made with the pioneers. Cornstalk came to the fort at Point Pleasant, the scene of his humiliating defeat, to inform the garrison of efforts made by British emissaries to incite the Indians to war against the Virginians during the Revolution. He and his son Ellinipsico wore detained as hostages.

In the meanwhile some of the garrison, infuriated by the treacherous death of a comrade by an Indian tramp, resolved to be avenged upon the hostages. Soon as Cornstalk divined their purpose, he turned to his son and said: "My son, the Great Spirit has seen fit that we die together, and has sent you here to that end. It is His will - let us submit. It is all for the best." He then faced the person making ready to slay him, bared his bosom, received seven shots from deadly mountain rifles, and fell lifeless. With him departed the spirit and prestige of the Indian power on the frontier. In thinking of this wonderful person, how very aptly the words apply:

"The Lord of all The forest heroes, trained in wars, Quivered and plumed and lithe and tall And seamed with glorious scars."

Such historical allusions seem needful to aid us now living in forming some adequate conception of what our worthy ancestors had to encounter and overcome in their endeavors to build up their homes, for themselves, and for their sons and daughters, their children and childrens' children. So comparatively silent is general history concerning border warfare that none but special students of pioneer times have anything like a correct apprehension how dangerous and skilful were Indian warriors fighting for hunting grounds, fishing streams, and ancestral graves. While it may be that little, relatively speaking, has been recorded of the events that make up pioneer history, yet it is impossible for those of us who revere our ancestral worthies not to revert often in thought to those sad twenty-five or thirty years in which the weapons must have been fashioned and the characters formed and matured for the stupendous war that was to be fought before the Rose of Sharon planted by Scottish-Virginia hands should bloom and adorn this goodly land and diffuse all around its liberty inspiring and soul saving fragrance. With so much at issue in a conflict to be led by savage and civilized leaders of the highest endowments, there is something so sublimely portentous in its significance as to prompt every pious patriot to exclaim in all fervency of spirit:

"Sound, thou trumpet of God, come forth Great Cause, to array us. King and Leader appear! Thy soldiers sorrowing seek thee."

Thus organized, Pocahontas took her place among the counties of Virginia, and Huntersville was designated for the County Seat. A location near George Baxter's present residence, in the vicinity of what is now Edray, had been selected by a committee on location and reported on favorably as the place for the permanent location of the County Seat. Inducements by John Bradshaw were so enticing and favorable, and the people at the head of Greenbrier so anxious on the subject, that Huntersville prevailed, and the report of the committee on location was overruled.

In 1800 the population of the region coterminous with the present limits of Pocahontas County amount-ed to about one hundred and fifty-three persons, and were for the most part members of the first families that had permanent homesteads, whose heads were John McNeel, Thomas McNeill, Moses Moore, Peter Lightner, Henry Harper, John Moore, Felix Grimes. Samuel Waugh, James Waugh, Aaron Moore, Robert Moore, Timothy McCarty, Robert Guy, Jeremiah Friel, Jacob Warwick, John Slaven, John Warwick. Sampson Mathews, Josiah Brown, John Sharp, William Sharp, William Poage, John Baxter, Levi Moore. and John Bradshaw.

From the census returns it appears that in 1830 the population of the county was 2,542; in 1840, 2,922: in 1850, 3,598: in 1860, 3,958; in 1870, 4.069; in 1880, 5,591; in 1890, 6,813, in 1900, 8,572.

According to these official returns, the population of the county has increased from 2542 in 1830, to 8572 in 1900. The percentage of growth about 70.

From 1830 to 1860, the period before the war between the States, the percentage of gain was about 35. From 1800 to 1900 the percentage of gain was about 53. From 1890 to 1900, the gain was 20 per cent, and was larger than any previous decade, and readily accounted for.

The smallest rate of gain was between 1800 and 1870, about 2 per cent. In the decade the war occurred. The next less rate of gain was between 1850 and 1860 -- about 9 per cent. This indicates that just previous to the war the county was about ready to progress backwards, such was the disposition of people to look for homes in the far West, and the western counties of the State.

John Slaven, son of John from Tyrone, was twice married. The first wife was a Miss Wade. There was one son, John Slaven, who never married. The second marriage was with Elizabeth Warwick, a sister of Andrew and William Warwick, on Deer Creek. Not long after this marriage he settled on the head of Greenbrier, and he is the ancestor of the Pocahontas branch of the Slaven relationship. By the second marriage there were five daughters and two sons.

He was a person of remarkable muscular powers, and was a Revolutionary veteran, a noted hunter and successful trapper. He had thrilling descriptions to give of the many bloody engagements he passed thro, the hazardous risks he ran, and the bitter privations he endured in the service of his country. He lived to an advanced age, and was so weakened by the infirmities of age as to make use of crutches in moving around in his closing days.

JEREMIAH FRIEL

The Friel relationship trace their ancestry to one Daniel O'Friel, a native of Ireland, who probably came to Augusta county with the Lewises, 1740. He settled on Middle River, between Churchville and Staunton. His children were James, William, Jeremiah, and Anna. James O'Friel went to Maryland, Eastern Shore. William settled in Highland County. Anna became a Mrs Crawford and lived in Augusta.

Daniel O'Friel seems to have been a person of considerable means. He sold his property for Continental money, with a view of settling in Kentucky, The money being repudiated, he was unable to carry out his plans. Upon Jacob Warwick's invitation, Jeremiah O'Friel came to Clover Lick. Mr Warwick gave him land on Carrich Ridge. This land was exchanged with Sampson Matthews, Senior, for lands on Greenbrier, now occupied in part by his descendants.

Jeremiah Friel's wife was Anna Brown, daughter of Joseph Brown, who was living at the time on Greenbrier River, Their first home was on Carrich Ridge, then afterwards they lived on the river. Their children were Joseph, Daniel, Josiah, John, Catherine, Hannah, Ellen, Mary, and Jennie.

The compiler in his attempt to illustrate the history of Jeremiah Friel's family has been mainly aided by his grandson, the late M. A. Friel, who took special pains to collect authentic information. It may be interesting to say about him that he stands on the old list as the first subscriber to "The Pocahontas Times"; and he claims to have owned and used the first kerosene lamp in Pocahontas, in 1865.

Jeremiah Friel was in the expedition to Point Pleasant, 1774-, in the same company with Jacob Warwick. He was one of the soldiers detailed under Jacob Warwick to provide a supply of meat for the contemplated advance on the Indian towns in Ohio, in the morning: of that memorable battle, and was at work in the slaughter pens when the battle was going on. The hunters and butchers were rallied by Jacob Warwick and crossed over. At this the enemy mysteriously ceased firing and began to withdraw across the Ohio River, supposing that Colonel Christian had arrived with reinforcements. The importance of that action by Jacob Warwick and his men need not be dwelt upon here.

Jacob Warwick and Felix Grimes seem to have been on very friendly terms. He once asked James Grimes what ho would charge for managing his affairs. While James was trying to estimate what he would be willing to do it for, Mr Warwick remarked that all he realized for what he was doing was what he could eat and wear.

Arthur Grimes and Levi Moore, son of Levi, the pioneer, and afterwards a member of the Legislature, went on a scout to Clover Lick to see if Indians were around. Seeing no sign they want to the house, placed their guns just outside the door, and finding a bed within, lay down and fell asleep. Arthur dreamed of being bitten by a rattlesnake, sprang out of bed and awakened Moore. The dog was growling at Indians stealing toward the house. The men seized their guns and escaped, leaving the dog shut up in the house, The dog soon came to them, however. The Indians fired the building, cut a pair of moccasins from a dressed deer skin belonging to old "Ben," and amused themselves by striping the feathers from two live roosters to see their antics.

When they reported to Jacob Warwick about the affair, he told them that whenever he dreamed of wild turkeys he was sure of having trouble with Indians very soon.

JACOB WARWICK

The compiler of these memorials, deeply impressed that something should be attempted to perpetuate the memory of these persons - Jacob Warwick and Mary Vance, his wife - has availed himself of such facilities as have been in reach. He is largely indebted to John Warwick, Esq., Judge James W. Warwick, and Mrs Elizabeth McLaughlin for the information from which these sketches are compiled. All these persons have since died, at a very advanced age. This article first appeared in the Southern Historical Magazine for August, 1892. Mrs McLaughlin, a daughter of William Sharp, lived with Mrs Warwick at intervals, as a friend and visitor in the family, and for whom Mrs Warwick manifested special attachment.

The father of Jacob Warwick came to Augusta County, from Williamsburg, Va,, during colonial times, between 1740-50, He was a Lieutenant in the service of the British Crown, and was employed in surveying and locating land grants in Pocahontas County, which County included territory of which States have since been formed.

Lieutenant Warwick located and occupied the Dunmore property for his own use. He married Elizabeth Dunlap, near Middlebrook. He was one of the English gentry whose families settled in Virginia in consequence of political reverses in England, and whose history is so graphically given in Thackeray's Virginians.

After operating extensively in lands; and securing the Dunmore property in his own name, Lieutenant Warwick concluded to visit England. He never returned, and being heard of no more, he was given up for dead. In the meanwhile. Mrs Warwick settled on the Dunmore property, had it secured by deed to Jacob and afterwards married Robert Sitlington, but remained at Dunmore a number of years after her second marriage. Jacob Warwick seemed to have remembered but little of his own father, and always cherished the highest filial regard for Mr Sitlington. When Jacob attained his majority, Mr Sitlington moved to his own property near old Millboro, the estate now occupied by Mrs Dickinson, daughter of the late Andrew Sitlington. Upon her decease, Mrs Sitlington left a bequest of one thousand dollars to Windy Cove Church the annual interest of which was to to paid to the pastor of that congregation. For a long while it was managed by the Messrs Sloan. In the hands of Stephen Porter it was finally lost through financial failure.

Upon reaching legal age and coming into possession of his estate, Jacob Warwick was married and settled at Dunmore. Just here let it be stated, that when it was decided that Lieutenant Warwick was dead, the grandfather of David Bell, of Fishersville, Va., was appointed guardian of Jacob Warwick. William and James Bell were the sons of this guardian, and James Bell was the father of William A. Bell and David Bell well remembered citizens of Augusta County.

Dunmore was Mr Warwick's first home after his marriage. His wife was Miss Vance, daughter of Colonel John Vance, of North Carolina. He died on Back Creek, at Mountain Grove, Va. Colonel Vance's family moved to the vicinity of Vanceburg, Ky., except Samuel Vance, Mrs Warwick, and Mrs Hamilton. The last named was the mother of Rachel Terrel, of the Warm Springs, and John Hamilton, Esq., of Bath County. Governor Vance, of Ohio, and Senator Zeb Vance, of North Carolina, are of the same family connection. The Vances, originally, from Opecquon, near Winchester, Va.

In business trips to Richmond, to sell horses or cattle, Mr Warwick formed the acquaintance of Daniel Warwick, a commission merchant, who attended to business for Mr Warwick, and thus became mutually interested and were able to trace a common ancestry.

Mr Warwick remained at Dunmore a number of years. His children were all born there. He was industriously and successfully occupied in accumulating lauds, and managing large herds of cattle and droves of horses. His possessions on Jacksons River were purchased from a certain Alexander Hall, of North Carolina, Mr Hall owned from the Byrd place to Warwickton. One of his sons, being charged with horse theft, the penalty being death by hanging, refuged to Bath County. The elder Hall came to Dunmore to see Mr Warwick, and proposed to sell this land to provide means to send his refugee son to Kentucky so as to elude arrest. Mr Warwick had sent out one hundred head of cattle to be wintered in the cane brakes. This herd was taken by Hall as part payment for the Jackson River lands. The cattle rated at eight pounds a head (about forty dollars.) The (Clover Lick lands were rented from the Lewises.

The accounts from Kentucky were so flattering that Mr Warwick decided to settle there. He actually set out for the purpose of locating and securing a new place for a new home. The persons in advance of the party with which he was going were slain by Indians near Sewall Mountain, and when Mr Warwick and those with him came up and saw their slain friends, all returned home. Mrs Warwick thereupon became so unwilling to emigrate from her Pocahontas home, that her husband concluded to exchange his Kentucky possessions with one Alexander Dunlap for a portion of the Clover Lick lands. The Dunlap patent called for four hundred acres of land; the actual survey made six hundred. There was a suit between Lewis and Dunlap about this possession. When matters as to these lands became satisfactorily arranged, Mr Warwick moved to Clover Lick, and lived in a row of cabins. After a few years he and Mrs Warwick thought it might be better for their children to live on the Jackson River estate. They moved to Bath, and remained there until the marriage of their son Andrew.

Upon their return to Clover Lick, the log cabins were deemed unfit for occupancy, and arrangements were made to build a spacious mansion, Patrick Bruffey was employed to prepare the material. He began work in Mr Warwick's absence, Mrs Warwick instructed Mr Bruffey to hew the timbers so as to have a hall or passage, as it was then termed. He did so. When Mr Warwick returned, and found what had been dime, he was not pleased with his wife's plans, and had the logs changed accordingly. Mr Bruffey hewed the logs and dressed the plank, but did not build the chimneys. Mr Wooddell, near Greenbank, furnished the plank for sixty pounds (nearly three hundred dollars. ) The nails were forged by hand at the Warm Springs.

Several mounds have been discovered near Clover Lick, In searching for material for the foundation of the large new house, the builders gathered some nice stones from a rock pile. They found human remains, and when Mr Warwick heard of it he emphatically ordered the stones to be replaced, and told them not to molest anything that looked like a burial place. Greenbrier Ben often spoke of the opening of a grave just in front of the Chapel; and from the superior quality of the articles found with the remains, all were of the opinion it was the tomb of a chief. Mr Warwick directed it to be carefully closed, and the relics were not molested.

One of the main objects in having the new house so spacious was that it might be used for preaching services, and there was preaching there more frequently than anywhere else in this region, during a number of years. This historic mansion was finally removed to give place to the handsome residence reared by Dr Ligon, and which was burned in 1854.

The main route for emigration from Maryland, Pennsylvania, and other points north and northeast, passed by Clover Lick to Kentucky and Ohio. As many as forty and fifty would be entertained over night. This made Clover Lick one of the most public and widely known places in the whole country. The approach from the east avoided hollows and ravines, keeping along high points and crests of ridges, so as to be more secure from ambuscades and Indian attacks. The original way out from Clover Lick, going east, after crossing the Greenbrier near the mouth of Clover Creek avoided Laurel Run, kept along the high point leading down to the river, and passed close by the McCutchen residence. Mrs Warwick had the first road cut out, up the Laurel Ran, in order to bring the lumber for the new house from Wooddell's in the Pine Woods, now Greenbank and vicinity. She gave the enterprise her personal attention.

Quite a number of interesting incidents are given by tradition illustrating the character of Mrs Warwick. While renting Clover Lick, her husband and others were making hay. A shower of rain came up very suddenly and dampened their guns and horse pistols. Late in the afternoon the men fired them off, so as to load them with fresh charges. Some one hearing the report of firearms in quick succession brought word to Mrs Warwick, at Dunmore, that the Indians were fighting the men at the Lick. She at once mounted a large black stallion, put a colored boy on behind, and went at full speed and swam the swollen river in her effort to see what happened. This colored boy is old "Ben," who died at Clover Lick, and is remembered by many of the older citizens.

Upon another occasion, when the Shawnees were returning from one of their raids to the east, forty or fifty of their warriors were sent by Clover Lick with the intention, it is believed, to pillage and burn, A scout from Millboro warned Mr Warwick of their movements. With about twenty others he waited for them in ambush on the crest of the mountain south of Clover Lick. The fire was very effective, and every man killed or wounded his victim. The Indians in their surprise hastily retreated, and were pursued as far as Elk Water in Randolph County. Upon hearing of the result, Mrs Warwick at once followed her husband and friends, attended by servants carrying provisions for them. She met them at the Big Spring on their return, and the weary hungry party were greatly refreshed by her thoughtful preparations.

She was eminently pious, and was a member of the Windy Cove Presbyterian Church. She never felt her self more honored than when ministers would visit her home and preach. The visiting minister would receive a nice horse, or something else as valuable, as a token of appreciation. She was conscientiously rigid in her domestic discipline. Her brother once made this remark; "Mary, I used to think you were too strict with your family, and yon have been blamed for it. I see now you are right. You have not a child but would knee in the dust to obey you. I let my children have more liberties, and they do not care near so much for me."

The Rev Aretas Loomis came from Beverly, for a time, every four weeks, and preached at the Warwick residence. She was highly emotional, and during the services often appeared very happy. As to her personal appearance she was tall, slender, and blue eyed, hair slightly tinged with auburn, and lithe and agile in her carriage. So she was distinguished for symmetry of person, beauty of feature, and force of character, all of which she retained even to an advanced age. She was very benevolent, and her kind deeds were done upon the principle of not telling the left hand what the right might be doing. Persons in her employ would always be overpaid. Polly Brown, whose lot it was to support her blind mother, received two bushels of corn every two weeks, and no one knew where the supply came from at the time. A person named Chaley Collins, who was renowned as an athlete, and whose name is given to one of the meadows of Clover Lick, did a great deal of clearing. It was reported that he was but poorly paid, but before Mrs Warwick was done with him his family was doubly paid by the substantial gifts dispensed with her open hands.

Among her many other generous deeds, it is told how a rather worthless character, disabled by frozen feet, was received into her house, clothed and fed until he could walk. His name was Bosier. This man afterwards died from the effects of a burning tree falling on him, against which he had made a fire, while on his way from Big Spring to Mace's in Mingo Flats. George See, a grandson of Mrs Warwick, heard his cries and came to him. In his efforts to rescue him, he exerted himself so laboriously that ho was never well afterwards.

It should be remembered also, that Mrs Warwick, in her old age, gathered the first Sabbath School ever taught in Pocahontas County. In the summer her servants would lift her on her horse, and she would then ride about four miles to a school house near where the Josiah Friel cabin stood, now in the possession of Giles Sharp. The exercises would begin at about nine o'clock. There was no prayer, no singing; but she would read the Bible, talk a great deal, and give good advice. The scholars would read their Bibles with her. The exercises would close at two in the afternoon. After this continuous session of five hours Mrs Warwick would be so exhausted as to require assistance to arise and mount her horse. It was her custom to go to William Sharp's, dine and rest awhile, and then go home later in the day. To use the language of one of her scholars, the late Mrs Elizabeth McLaughlin, who died near Huntersville in 1895, aged over ninety years: "She would give such good advice. If all would do as she told them, how well it might have been. She was the best woman to raise girls I ever saw, if they would take her advice how to act and how to do. She has talked to me for hours, and it was often thrown up to me that old Mrs Warwick made me proud because I tried to do as she advised me."

The school was mainly made up of Josiah Brown's family, John Sharp's, William Sharp's, and Jeremiah Friel's. The lamented Methodist preacher, Rev James E. Moore, once belonged to her Sabbath school, and received from her his earliest religious instructions. By common consent it is agreed that he did more for his church than any two ministers who have ever preached in this region.

Not a great while before her death, during one of Mr Loomis' ministerial visits, she received the communion. Upon receiving the elements, her emotions became so great that her husband and children, fearing results, carried her to her own room. For 4 weeks she was helpless from nervous prostration. All her children from Bath and Pocahontas were sent for. She died at the ripe age of eighty years, in 1823, at Clover Lick, and there she was buried. There were no service of any kind in connection with her burial.

The purpose of these sketches is already manifest to the discerning reader -- to rescue, if possible, from total oblivion the name and services of an obscure but eminently worthy person. Jacob Warwick was one of the persons who made permanent settlements in what is now Pocahontas and Bath counties Virginia and West Virginia.

It has been already stated that he commenced his business life at Dunmore; purchased Clover Lick, where he resided for a time; then moved to his immense possessions on Jacksons River, and then returned to Clover Lick, In addition to these estates he acquired some equally as valuable. He endowed his seven children with ample legacies, and besides bequeathed a competency to ten or fifteen grandchildren.

Mr Warwick was an alert and successful Indian lighter, and had a series of conflicts, narrowly escaping with his life on several occasions; yet he was never sure of killing but one Indian. Parties now living remember seeing a tree on the lands of John Warwick, near Greenbank, where Jacob Warwick killed that Indian in single combat. It always grieved him that he had certainly sent one soul into eternity under such sad circumstances.

Owing to his accurate knowledge of the mountain regions far and near, his services were in frequent demand by land agents and governmental surveyors. He and others went to Randolph as an escort for a land commission in the service of the colony. It was during the period when Kilbuck scouted the mountains with bands of Shawnees and Mingoes. Colonel John Stuart, of Greenbrier, says: "Of all the Indians the Shawnees were the most bloody and terrible, holding all other men -- Indians as well as whites -- in contempt as warriors in comparison with themselves. This opinion made them more fierce and restless than any other savages, and they boasted that they had killed ten times as many white men as any other tribe. They were a well formed, ingenious, active people; were assuming and imperious in the presence of others, not of their nation, and sometimes very cruel. It was chiefly the Shawnees that cut off the British under General Braddock, in 1755 - only nineteen years before the battle of Point Pleasant - when the General himself and Sir Peter Hackett, the second in command, were both slain, and the mere remnant only of the whole army escaped. They, too, defeated Major Grant and the Scotch highlanders at Fort Pitt, in 1758, where the whole of the troops were killed or taken prisoners."

At the time Mr Warwick went over to Randolph with the commissioner, the season had been inclement, and it was believed the Indians would not be abroad. Indeed, such was their sense of security the party did not think it worth while to arm themselves on setting out on their business. While in the lower valley about Huttonsville, however, it was reported by one Thomas Lacky, a person of somewhat questionable veracity, that he had seen fresh Indian signs. As Mr Warwick and his party were unarmed, six citizens and friends of the escort armed themselves and proposed to go with them to the place where Lacky had seen the Indian trail. Upon coming near the place, Andrew Sitlington's horse showed fright, thereupon his rider saw Indians, but for a moment could not speak. This attracted Mr Warwick's attention, and looking in the same direction he saw the Shawnees creeping along to reach a suitable place to cut them off. He gave the alarm -- "Indians! Indians !" Finding themselves discovered the warriors fired hastily, wounding one of the party and Mr Warwick's horse. The horse sank to tho ground as if dead, but as Mr Warwick was in the act of throwing off his cloak for flight, the horse rose and darted off at the top of his speed, and carried his rider safely home to Dunmore before night. Those that were mounted all escaped -- Jacob Warwick, James McClain, Thomas Cartmill, and Andrew Sitlington. Of those on foot, John Crouch, John Hulder, and Thomas Lacky escaped. The following were killed: John McClain, James Ralston, and John Nelson. When these were attacked they were near the mouth of Windy Run. One man was killed running across the bottom. Three of the men escaped by climbing the bank where they were; two others, in looking for an easier place to get up the bank, were overtaken, killed and scalped. Not very far from this place is the laurel thicket where Colonel Washington was killed in 1861.

The horse was found to to wounded in the thigh. The ball was extracted, and the noble animal lived long and became very valuable for usesful endurance, Most of the way home the day be was wounded that horse carried two persons a distance of thirty miles.

Upon a subsequent occasion Mr Warwick went to Randolph County. It was night when he returned. His horse shied at something in the road, which he at once recognized as the fresh husks of roasting ears. The presence of Indians was at once suspected, and upon approaching the house cautiously it was found that the row of cabins were burned and the premises ransacked. In their glee, the Indians had caught the chickens, picked all their feathers off and let them go. The place had been loft in the care of a colored man named Sam and Greenbrier Ben, aged ten or twelve years. Sam made good his escape to the woods, but Ben hid in a hemp patch so near the cabin that when it was burned he could hardly keep still, his buckskin breeches were so hot. From his retreat Ben saw the Indians pick the chickens, leaving their tails and top-knots, and laugh at their grotesque appearance. He saw them run the wagon into the fire, after the cabin near the spring had become a smouldering heap of coals. This wagon was the first that ever crossed the Alleghanies. It was brought from Mountain Grove, up Little Back Creek, about three miles above where the Huntersville road first crosses the stream going east; then across Knapps Spur, along by Harper's Mill ; then straight across to Thorny Creek, through the Lightner place, past Bethel Church, to the Saunders place on Thorny Creek; thence up the ridge to the top, and then along down to the Knapp place on the Greenbrier River; thence to Clover Lick.

The most memorable event of his life, however, was his being in the expedition to Point Pleasant, under General Andrew Lewis. The march from Lewisburg to Point Pleasant -- one hundred and sixty miles -- took nineteen days. It is most probable that he was in the company commanded by Captain Mathews. This conflict with the Indians was the most decisive that had yet occurred. It was fought on Monday morning, October 10, 1774.

It is a matter of regret that .the recorded history of this battle does not accord full justice to the memory of a very deserving person. It is conceded by all, so far as there is any record, that up to the time when there occurred a lull in the battle the advantage was with the Indians. The question arises, why should a warrior as skillful as Cornstalk call a halt in the full tide of success, and suddenly cease firing and pressing upon a receding foe, with victory just in his grasp?

Had it not been for this, no troops could have been safely detached for a flank movement. Flank movements are only a good policy for those who are pressing the enemy, and not for the retreating party. When Cornstalk ceased to press, the victory was decided in favor of the Virginians, and lost to him. Had the battle been lost to our people and the army sacrificed, unspeakable disasters would have befallen all settlements west of the Blue Ridge mountains; the Revolution would have been deferred for all time, possibly, and the whole history of America far different from what has been.

How is that lull in the battle to be accounted for. which resulted in victory to the Virginians ? Dr Foote says, in his account, which is one of the most minute and extended of all in reach of the writer, that "towards evening, Lewis seeing no signs of retreat or cessation of battle, dispatched Captains Shelby, Hathews, and Stewart, at their request, to attack the enemy in their rear. Going up the Kanawha, under the cover of the banks of Crooked Creek, they got to the rear of the Indians unobserved, and made a rapid attack. Alarmed by this unlooked for assault, and thinking the reinforcements of Colonel Christian were approaching, before whose arrival they had striven hard to end the battle, the savages became dispirited, gave way, and by sunset had recrossed the Ohio. Colonel Christian entered the camp about midnight, and found all in readiness for a renewed attack." (Second Series p165)

Colonel Kercheval, who claims to have derived his information from Joseph Mayse and Andrew Reed, of Bath County, states on their authority "that about two o'clock in the afternoon Colonel Christian arrived on the field with about five hundred men, the battle was still raging. The reinforcements decided the issue almost immediately. The Indians fell back about two miles, but such was their persevering spirit, though fairly beaten, the contest was not closed until the setting of the sun, when they relinquished the field." There were persons recently living in Bath, and the writer conversed with one, (September, 1873), almost in speaking distance of the residence where Joseph Mayse lived and died, who are certain that Mr Mayse gave the credit of that cessation in battle and falling back two miles on the part of the Indians, to Jacob Warwick and the persons with him. According to Judge Warwick's statement, -- and the writer's impression is that Mr Mayse's statement was emphatically confirmed by Major Charles Cameron, a lieutenant in the battle, -- Mr Mayse often repeated the fact that Jacob Warwick, an obscure private in the ranks, was detailed with a number of others, perhaps fifty or sixty in all, to bring in a supply of meat, that rations might be supplied for a forced march to the Indian towns, as Governor Dunmore had so treacherously given orders. These persons crossed the Kanawha about daybreak, and while at work in the hunting grounds and slaughter pens, they heard the firing beyond the limits of the camp, and so far up the Ohio they supposed it to be a salute to Governor Dunmore, who was expected at any time by the soldiers generally. But the firing continuing too long for this, it was surmised the troops were putting their arms in order for the contemplated march over the Ohio. Finally they suspected it was a battle. Mr Warwick was one of the first to ascertain this to he so, and immediately rallied the butchers and hunters, in order to return to camp and join the battle. This was noticed by the enemy, and Cornstalk was of the opinion that Colonel Christian was at hand. He ceased in the reach of victory, and took measures to withdraw from the field, unobserved by our exhausted troops. For nearly two hours they had been falling back, and when the flank movement was made to communicate with the hunters, supposed to be Colonel Christian's advance to join them. What fighting occurred afterwards was with the rear guard of Cornstalk's retreating army of demoralized braves.

If all this be true, and considering the sources of information, the writer sees no reason to doubt its authenticity in the main, it illustrates how important results are sometimes made to depend, in the providence of God, upon fidelity to duty on the part of the most obscure, and it brings to light the leadings of God's hand in human affairs.

This is not written in a complaining spirit, yet one feels like saying, if this be true, what a comment it furnishes on the justice meted out by the historic muse. The reputed hero of Point Pleasant appears in bronze, an honored member of the group wherein stand Henry, Jefferson, and Marshall, while the humble man whose hand turned the fortunes of that most eventful day sleeps in his obscure grave on the west bank of Jacksons River, six miles from the Warm Springs. Were it the grave of Campbell's "Last Man," it could not be in a much less frequented place.

Major Warwick's sons and daughters were all born at Dunmore, Pocahontas Comity. The eldest daughter, Rachel, remembered when the settlers would fly to the fort near her home, when she was a little girl. The fort was near the spot now occupied by Colonel Pritchard's mill.

She became the wife of Major Charles Cameron, a descendant of the Camerons so noted in the history of the Scottish Covenanters. He was in the battle of Point Pleasant, and was there called upon to mourn the death of his three brothers slain in that conflict. In person he was of medium stature, tidy in his dress, wore short clothes, very dignified in his manners, and was never known to smile after the heart-rending scenes he witnessed at Point Pleasant. He was an officer in the Revolution, and served as clerk of both courts of Bath County many years. He reared the late Charles L. Francisco, so long clerk of Bath, as his successor.

Mrs Cameron drew a pension of nine hundred dollars for several years before her death in 1858. Major Cameron's residence was on Jacksons River, at the crossing of the Huntersville and Warm Springs pike. The two story spring house yet remains in good state of preservation, the upper part of which he used for his office, where he long and faithfully kept the legal records intrusted to his care, almost one hundred years ago.

One son, Colonel Andrew W. Cameron, survived him. He became a very wealthy and popular citizen. He represented Bath in the Virginia Legislature. He removed afterwards to Rockbridge County and resided on an immense estate near Lexington, so as to secure educational and social advantages for his largo family of sons and daughters. He met his death in a sad way in the town of Lexington, where be had gone anxious to hear something of his sons John and Charles in the army.

One of the passengers in the mail coach was a soldier with a musket. In the act of leaving the coach this weapon wan discharged, the contents inflicting a wound from which he expired almost instantly.

Dr John H. Cameron, a popular physician of Deertield, Va., is his eldest son. Mrs Thomas White, Mrs D. White, and Mrs Judge Leigh, of Lexington, Va. and the late Mrs A. W. Harmon are his daughters.

Mrs Jane Warwick Gatewood and Her Descendants. She was Major Warwick's second daughter, and became the second wife of William Gatewood, of Essex County, a near relative of President Tyler. Their home was at Mountain Grove, Bath County. Their sons were Warwick and Samuel Vance, and their daughters were Mary Jane and Frances.

Warwick Gatewood married Miss Margaret Beale, of Botetourt County, Va., a relative of President Madison. Their daughter Eliza became Mrs Judge James W. Warwick, near the Warm Springs, and Catherine became Mrs Cæsereo Bias, once proprietor of the Red Sweet Springs. Mr Bias was rescued when an infant from a wrecked ship, and is supposed to be of Portuguese parentage. One of their sons, James W. Bias was a very promising candidate for the Presbyterian ministry, and died in North Carolina, where he was spending a vacation in charge of a church. Miss Kate Bias, her daughter, is a very efficient missionary in Brazil.

Colonel Samuel V. Gatewood married Miss Eugenia Massie, near Alleghany Falls, Va. He succeeded to the old Mountain Grove homestead and built the fine brick mansion there. His daughter Susan became Mrs William Taliaferro, of Rockbridge County. Mary Pleasants, his second daughter, married Samuel Goode of the Hot Springs, Va. William Bias Gatewood, one of the sons, a prominent business man of Loudoun County, has recently died. Colonel A. C. L. Gatewood, another son, resides at the Big Spring, Pocahontas County. He was an officer in the Confederate service, 11th Virginia, (Bath Cavalry), and ranked among the bravest of his comrades. His daughter is Mrs Dr W. T. Cameron, a popular physician in the vicinity of Linwood.

Mrs Jane Gatewood's daughter, Mary Jane, became Mrs Kennedy, a merchant in Memphis, Tennessee, where she died of yellow fever.

Frances, the other daughter, became Mrs Patton, of Rockbridge. Her daughters, Mrs Crockett and Mrs Kent, were highly esteemed ladies of Wytheville and vicinity. Upon her second marriage Mrs Frances Patton became Mrs General Dorman, of Lexington, Va.

Mrs Mary Warwick Mathews and Her Descendants

This member of Major Warwick's family was married to Sampson Mathews, and for years occupied the old Warwick homestead at Dunmore. Her children were Jacob Warwick, Andrew Gatewood, Sampson Lockhart, Elizabeth, and Jane.

Jacob W. Mathews resided on Sitlington's Creek, near Dunmore. His wife was a daughter of Rev John McCue, of Augusta County, and who is mentioned in history as a pioneer minister in Greenbrier and Monroe County. There were two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary. Elizabeth married Captain Felix Hull, of McDowell, Highland County. Captain Hull was a prominent merchant and popular citizen. He led a company of two hundred men into Grafton, W. Va., in May1861. He died in the service of the State of Virginia.

Mary was married to Joseph McClung, a citizen of Greenbrier, near Williamsburg. Mrs Newman Feamster, in the Blue Sulphur District, is her daughter; Mrs Brownlee, of Birmingham, Ala., is another daughter.

Andrew G. Mathews married Mary W. See, and lived several years at Dunmore, and then moved to Pulaski County, Va., where his later years were passed amid very pleasant surroundings. He was a highly respected citizen, and a prominent ruling elder in his church and well known throughout the Virginia Synod.

His daughter Martha married Uriah Hevener, near Greenbank. Mrs James Renick, of Greenbrier County, is one of his daughters. Mrs Ellen Snyder, of Salem, Misses Eliza and Rachel Mathews at the old Pulaski homestead, are also daughters. Charles Matthews of Summers County, is his son. Mrs Samuel B. Hannah, near Greenbank, is a granddaughter of Andrew Q. Mathews.

Sampson L. Mathews, the third son of Mary Warwick Mathews, married Nancy Edgar, of Greenbrier County. The town of Ronceverte now occupies the Edgar homestead. He was a very useful and intelligent citizen of Pocahontas. He was the first surveyor of the county and a member of the court a number of vears. His only child Mary, became Mrs William H. McClintic, and yet lives. Her five sons were educated at Roanoke College. Hunter was a prosperous citizen of Pocahontas, and met his death April, 1901, by a falling tree; Withrow is an enterprising citizen of Pocahontas; George is a lawyer at Charleston; Edward resides at Seattle, State of Washington. He was among those who visited Alaska, in 1897, searching for gold. Lockhart was State's attorney several terms and represented Pocahontas County in the Legislature. Elizabeth, the eldest daughter, was married to a Mr Miller, of Rockingham County, Virginia, emigrated to Missouri, and died young. June married Captain George Woods, of Albemarle County. Her home was near what is now Ivy Depot. She was the happy mother of six sons and two daughters.

Margaret Warwick See and Her Family

This daughter was married to Adam See, who lived near Huttonsville, Randolph County. He was a well known lawyer, an extensive owner of lands, an influential citizen and a devoted ruling elder in his church. There were four sons and seven daughters. The sons were George, Jacob, Warwick, and Charles Cameron. Eliza, Dolly, Christina, Mary, Rachel, Hannah, and Margaret were the daughters.

George See's daughter, Georgiana, became the wife of the late Captain Jacob W. Marshall, who raised and commanded a very efficient company of mounted infantry for the Confederate service. He was also one of the original promoters of Marlinton, and was an active member of the Pocahontas Development Company. F. P. Marshall, Sheriff of Randolph County; Dr L. J. Marshall, of Marlinton, and Cecil Marshall are his sons. Mrs Samuel Holt, and Mrs E. I. Holt, of Hillsboro, are his daughters.

George See's son Adam married Dolly Crouch and lived at the old home on Elkwater, Randolph County. Their daughter Florida became Mrs J. Calvin Price, near Clover Lick. She and her two beautiful little boys died within a few months of each other, several years ago.

Jacob Warwick See married a daughter of the Rev, Dr. Geo. A. Baxter, one of the most eminent ministers and educators of his day, and settled in Pocahontas, on the property owned by Mr. Uriah Hevener. The last years of his life were spent in Tucker county. W. Va. When more than sixty years of age, he volunteered in the Confederate service, and died in Lynchburg Va., in a military hospital in 1862. His son Rev. Chas. S. M. See, a well-known minister, was with him and had his remains carried to Tinkling Spring Cemetery in Augusta county, where he now sleeps well after his busy life. In personal appearance he is said to have borne a very marked likeness to his venerated grand-father, and no doubt inherited his patriotic spirit along with his name.

The third son, Charles Cameron, was among the most popular and widely known citizens of his native county, an ernest friend of liberal learning, and a zealous Christian gentleman. His wife was a daughter of Dr Squier Bosworth, an eminent physician of Beverly. Peter See, a prosperous and influential citizen of Augusta County, and a ruling elder in the old Stone Church, is his son. Mr Peter See's wife, Marv, is a daughter of Mrs Eliza Gamble, one of Margaret Warwick See's daughters, whose husband, Dr Robert Gamble, was a noted physician, a ruling Elder in the Augusta Church, and a very influential citizen of Augusta County.

Dolly See was married to Hon. John Hutton, of Huttonsville, W. Va. This gentleman was a member of the Randolph court, and a delegate to the West Virginia Legislature, and did as much as any other man toward removing the disabilities of southern sympathizers.

Christina See was married to Washington Ward, and lived on the old See homestead, nearly east of Huttonsville. Her sons, Jacob, Renick, and Adam, were all in the Confederate service, and were known by their comrades as men that never flinched from danger nor shirked a duty. All three with their families have migrated to the far west.

Mary Sea became Mrs Andrew G. Mathews, owhom mention has been made. Hannah See became Mrs Henry Harper, near Beverly, a ruling Elder in the church and a highly esteemed citizen.

Margaret See was married to the Hon. Washington Long, one of the wealthiest and most influential citizens of Randolph County.

Rachel Cameron See was the wife of Hon. Paul McNeel, of Pocahontas County. He possessed an immense landed estate, was for years a leading member of the court, sheriff of the county, and was a member of the Virginia convention that passed the Ordinance of Secession. Their eldest son George resides near Hillsboro. He was a Confederate soldier. Andrew Gatewood raised a company for the Confederate service. He died a few years since. John Adam was a soldier, studied law, and now resides upon a line estate in Rockbridge County. Eliza, the eldest of the daughters, became the wife of Rev Daniel A. Penick, a Presbyterian minister in Rockbridge County. The other daughters are Mrs Edgar Beard, near Millpoint, and Mrs Captain Edgar, near Hillsboro.

Andrew Warwick and His Family. Major Jacob Warwick had another son, Charles Cameron, but he died while at school in Essex County, Va., aged fourteen. Andrew was therefore the only son that lived to be grown, and to perpetuate his father's name. He was twice married. His first wife was a Miss Woods, of Nelson County: the second wife was a Miss Dickinson, of Millboro Spring, Bath County.

Andrew Warwick's eldest son, James Woods, lately resided on Jacksons River on a section of the old homestead. He served a term as Judge of the courts of Bath and Highland counties. He received the appointment from the Virginia Legislature. He had never been a lawyer by profession, but such was his clear perceptions and common sense of the right thing to be done that he met the duties of his station with marked ability, and very acceptably to the people generally. He had three sons.

John Andrew was a lieutenant in the Confederate service; received several wounds, from one of which be suffered many years. For several years he was in the west, leading the life of a frontiersman. He died in 1898.

James Woods was a soldier; a teacher and Superintendent of Schools in Pocahontas County. Charles Cameron, lately deceased, was a cadet of the Virginia Military Institute, and at one time a civil engineer in the Mexican Railway service.

Judge Warwick's daughter Mary, is the wife of Col. A. C. L. Gatewood. Lillie married James A. Frazier, of Rockbridge Alum Springs. Eliza is the wife of J. W. Stephenson, of the Warm Springs, a lawyer and attorney for Commonwealth, Bath County. Another daughter is Mrs Jacob McClintic near the Hot Springs.

Andrew Warwick's second son, Jacob, married Miss Ellen Massie, of East Virginia, and most of his life was spent there. He was an extensive planter, and much esteemed for his elevated, pure character.

John Warwick, the third son of Andrew, resided in Pocahontas County. As a member of the court, school commissioner, assessor of lands, and in other positions of trust, he was prominent as a citizen, and influential. His first wife was Hannah Moffett, the only daughter of Andrew Gatewood, of whom special mention is yet to be made. His second marriage was with Caroline Craig, youngest daughter of George E. Craig, merchant at Huntersville, Elder in his church, and a most estimable christian gentleman. Miss Emma Warwick, Mrs Ernest Moore, of Dunmore, and Mrs Dr Lockridge, of Driscol, are their daughters. Their sons John Warwick, merchant at Hinton, died in 1896; George Warwick died in Lexington, while a student at Washington and Lee College.

Elizabeth Warwick Woods. This member of Jacob Warwick's family married Colonel William Woods, near Charlottesville, Va. There were no children born to them. He and his wife were particularly kind and benevolent: A great many persons remember them with gratitude for their ample hospitality.

Mrs Nancy Warwick-Gatewood Poage and Her Descendants. This member of Major Warwick's family was first married to Thomas Gatewood, son of William Gatewood, of Mountain Grove; by a previous marriage, Jane Warwick, already mentioned, was the second wife of William Gatewood.

Their home was at Marlin's Bottom, now Marlinton, Pocahontas County. Andrew Gatewood was the only child of her first marriage. Upon relinquishing all interest in the Marlins Bottom estate, he received the Glade Hill property, near Dunmore. He is remembered as a person of uncommon sprightliness. While a student at Washington College, he was regarded as the peer of his classmate, William C. Preston of South Carolina, in studies and oratorical talent in their academic rivalry. He married Sally Moffett. A son and daughter survived him, Charles and Hannah. The daughter became the first wife of John W. Warwick. Her only child was the late Mrs Sally Ligon, wife of Dr John Ligon, of Clover Lick. She was the mother of eight daughters and one son: The late Mrs C. P. Dorr, Mrs Dr McClintic, Mrs Louisa Coyner, Mrs Annette Coyner, Mrs Eva McNeel, Mrs Rosa Arbuckle, Mabel, Georgia, and Yancey.

Upon her second marriage Mrs Nancy Gatewood became the wife of Major William Poage. Four daughters and one son were born of this marriage.

Mrs Poage died one morning just at the dawning. Feeling death to be near, she requested Jennie Johnson, who afterwards became Mrs Jennie Lamb, to sing her favorite hymn:

�Come, O Thou traveler unknown, Whom still I hold but can not see. Art Thou the man than died for me ? The secret of thy love unfold, With Thee all night I mean to stay. And wrestle till the break of day."

Mrs Poage's eldest daughter, Rachel Cameron, was married to Josiah Board, of Locust. At 18 years of age, Mr Beard was a ruling Elder in the Falling Spring Church, Greenbrier County, and was the first clerk of Pocahontas County. During the Civil War, when over seventy years of age, he was taken prisoner by Federal troops. Something was said to rouse his ire, and he challenged the whole squad to single combat.

Their family numbered eight sons and three daughters. William T, Beard, the eldest, was liberally educated, and became an honored, influential citizen. His wife was Mary, the only daughter of Richard McNeel.

Henry Moffett Beard was a Lieutenant in the Confederate service, and for years was among the most prosperous Pocahontas farmers.

Samuel J. Beard has long resided in Missouri.

Joel Early Beard died in the Confederate service. His mother came to church one Saturday morning of a sacramental occasion, to the Brick Church, and the first intimation of her soldier son�s death was the fresh grave and the arrival of the body for burial. Her other sons were Charles Woods, John George, and Wallace Warwick were Confederate soldiers, and are influential citizens residing in the Little Levels of Pocahontas. Edwin Beard, the youngest son, is a merchant at Hillsboro. Mrs Alvin Clark, Mrs George McNeel, and Mrs Maggie Levisay are her daughters.

Mrs Poage's second daughter, Mary Vance, who is said to have borne a remarkable resemblance to her grandmother, Mary Warwick, was first married to Robert Beale, of Botetourt County, and resided on Elk Pocahontas, where he died, leaving one child, Margaret Elizabeth, who married Dr George B. Moffett, one of the first graduates in medicine that ever resided in Pocahontas. One of their sons, James Moffett, lives in Chicago. It was at her son's home Mrs Moffett died a few years ago.

Upon her second marriage Mrs Beale became the wife of Henry M. Moffett, the second clerk of Pocahontas, a very excellent man in every respect, and in his time one of the most influential of citizens. Their only son that survived them was George H. Moffett, a member of the Pocahontas bar, ex-speaker of the West Virginia Legislature, and at present a distinguished journalist in Portland, Oregon.

One of her daughters, Mary Evelina, was married to Colonel William P. Thompson, a Confederate officer, whose late residence was in New York, and prominent in the management of the Standard Oil Company. The youngest daughter, Rachel, became Mrs Dr McChesney, of Lewisburg.

Sally Gatewood, another daughter, became Mrs Dr Alexander McChesney, of Charleston. whose daughter, Mary Winters, is the wife of Rev A. H. Hamilton, a well known Presbyterian minister.

Margaret Davies Poage, the third daughter of Mrs Nancy Warwick Poage, was married to James A. Price of Botetourt County, and lived at Marlins Bottom.

Four of their sons were in the Confederate service - James Henry, Josiah Woods, John Calvin, and Andrew Gatewood.

James Henry was captured at Marlins Bottom and taken to Camp Chase. He died in 1898.

John Calvin was severely wounded in the same skirmish, shot down in the river, and afterward rescued by friends. He resides near Clover Lick.

Josiah Woods graduated with distinction at Washington College in 1861. He was a lieutenant in Captain McNeel's company of mounted infantry. He was a teacher, superintendent of schools, and merchant in Randolph County; a member of the Randolph court, and for a term was presiding officer. He now resides at Marlinton.

Andrew Gatewood Price was in the Confederate service in the Bath Cavalry. He was taken prisoner at Hanover Junction, and died a few weeks thereafter at Point Lookout, July 6, 1864, aged about twenty years. A lady near Richmond, seeing his name mentioned among the missing, wrote some very beautiful lines, that have been widely copied in books and journals, and his name has been sweetly embalmed and his memory not soon forgotten.

Samuel Davies Price married Caroline McClure and lately resided on Jacksons River, where his widow and Mary Margaret Price, the only surviving daughter, was married to Andrew M. McLaughlin, of whom was purchased the land on which the town of Marlinton is built. They reside near Lewisburg, W. Va. Their eldest son, Rev H. W. McLaughlin, is a Presbyterian minister, in charge of the Greenbank and Dunmore churches. Lee and Edgar are their other sons; Anna Margaret, Lula, and Grace are their daughters.

Concerning William T. Price, the eldest son of J. A. and Mary 1. Price, the following is taken from Herringshaw's Encyclopædia of American Biography:

"William T. Price, cleryman, author, was born July 19, 1830, near Marlinton, W. Va. He was prepared for college at the Hillsboro Academy, and graduated in 1854 from Washington College, now called the Washington and Lee University, receiving a gold medal as the first honor graduate. In 1857, he completed his theological studies at Union Seminary and was licensed the same year to preach. His time has been devoted mainly to the ministry of the Presbyterian Church - for forty years; -- twelve years as home missionary in Bath and Highland counties; sixteen years as pastor of Cooks Creek Church, Rockingham County, Va. ; and twelve years as pastor of the Huntersville and Marlinton churches. He has contributed extensively to religious literature and is the author of several published works."'

William T. Price and Anna Louise Randolph, of Richmond, Va., were married in 1865. Their children are Dr James Ward Price, Andrew Price, Susie A. Price, a student at the Woman's Medical College of Baltimore; Norman R. Price, medical student; Calvin W. Price, and Anna Virginia Price.

Elizabeth Wood Poage, the fourth daughter, became the wife of Colonel Joel Mathews, of Selma, Alabama. A sad mortality attended her family; a few, perhaps none survive. Colonel Mathews was an extensive planter, and owned between two and three thousand slaves. He tendered a colored regiment to the Confederate Congress, but the Government was too punctilious to receive them as soldiers, and put them to work on fortifications. Major Dawson, a son-in-law, was a member of the Southern provisional congress.

Colonel William Woods Poage married Miss Julia Callison, of Locust, and lived awhile at Marlins Bottom. His later years were passed near Clover Lick. He served many years as a member of the court. Two of his sons, Henry Moffett and William Anthony were slain in the war. Henry Motfett was n cavalry otticer. and was recklessly daring. He fell near Jack Shop. Mrs Sally W. Beery, of Mt. Clinton, Va., is his only surviving child: William Anthony was no less brave, and lost his life near Middletown, Va., while on a scout.

The surviving sons of Colonel Poage, John Robert and Quincy Woods, are prosperous farmers on the grand old homestead near Clover Lick. These brothers married sisters, daughters of Jacob Sharp, whose mother was the intimate friend of Mrs Mary Vance Warwick, long years ago.

Authentic tradition preserves some incidents that illustrate some of Major Warwick's personal traits. Soon after the affair at Point Pleasant, he went among the Shawnees on a trading excursion to secure skins and furs. On the last excursion of this kind he traveled as far as Fort Pitt, where he found little Gilmore, a boy who had been carried a captive from Kerrs Creek, Rockbridge, Virginia. To put him out of the reach of the mischievous boys, his master had lashed him to a board and laid him on the roof of a log cabin. Mr Warwick tried to ransom the captive, but too much was asked by the Indian foster parent, and so he planned to rescue the boy and bring him home to his surviving friends in the Virginia Valley. He went with the Indians upon a hunting expedition, and while moving from place to place to place he would frequently carry the Indian children behind him on his horse. and by turns he would carry the Gilmore boy too. Sometimes he would fall behind the party, first with au lndian boy and then with the white one, but still come up in time. Finally the Indians placed so much confidence in the trader as to be off their guard, whereupon he withdrew from the party with the captive and started for the settlements, and before the Indians became suspicious of his intentions, his swift horse had carried them safely beyond their reach. After an arduous journey he arrived home in safety and restored the captive to his friends.

Mr Warwick was once at a house raising in the vicinity of Clover Lick, A young man made himself unpleasantly conspicuous boasting of his fleetness of foot. The Major took one of his young friends aside and told him if he would beat that youngster at a foot race and take some of the conceit out of him he would make him a present. The race came off in the afternoon, and was won by the young friend. Mr Warwick was delighted, and told him to come over to the Lick soon as convenient and see what was there for him. When he did so the Major gave him one of his fine colts.

That youth became a distinguished Methodist minister, Rev Lorenza Waugh; traveled in West Virginia, Ohio, and Missouri, and finally went overland to California, where he died in 1899 at the advanced age of 95 years. During the greater part of this extended itineracy he used horses that were the offspring of the horse presented to him by Major Warwick.

In a controversy about land on Little Back Creek, in Bath County, a challenge passed between him and Colonel John Baxter. This was about the only serious difficulty he ever had with any one, but the affair was amicably and honorably settled by mutual friends.

His grandson, the late John Warwick, Esq., remembers the last visit paid to the old home in Pocahontas. He would have Greenbrier Ben, a faithful servant; to mount a large black mule; take his grandson, a lad of four years, in his arms and carry him from Jacksons River to Clover Lick - between thirty-five and forty miles - the same day. The party of three rested at noon in the home of John Bradshaw, the pioneer and founder of Huntersville. Squire Warwick remembered seeing the hands at work upon the court house, then in course of erection, and the interest manifested by his venerated grandfather, then more than eighty years of age, in what was going on.

In person, Jacob Warwick was tall, stoop shouldered, and exceedingly agile and muscular. His grandson, the late Jacob See, is said to have resembled him more than any one else in personal appearance.

Mrs Mary V. Warwick was a person of highly refined taste, and took all possible pains to make home attractive. When there was preaching at her house, all present were pressingly invited to remain for dinner. Her table service was really elegant, and a prince might well enjoy her dinners. She had a well supplied library of books in the nicest style of binding, and she made good use of them, too.

Mr Warwick was jovial in his disposition, and extremely fond of innocent merriment. He delighted much in the society of young people, and even children. His pleasant words and kindly deeds to young people were vividly and affectionately remembered by all who ever knew him.

After the decease of his wife, most of his time he passed at the home of Major Charles Cameron. He died at the breakfast table. When apoplexy came upon him he was merrily twitting Miss Phebe Woods about her beau, young Mr Beale. This occurred January, 1826, when he was nearing his eighty-third year.

They carried his venerable remains about a mile up the west bank of the Jacksons River, and in a spot reserved for family burial, he was buried. When the writer visited his grave several years since, the place seemed to be in danger of forgetfulness. A locust tree stood near it and marked the place. Since then it has been nicely and substantially enclosed, and the grave marked by a neatly sculptured marble. In that lonely, but beautiful, valley retreat the strong, busy man has found repose.

Thomas Galford was a very pronounced Confederate sympathizer, and as such he was regarded as a dangerous citizen to be at large in war times. In discharging what they deemed to be their duty, be was arrested by a detachment of Union soldiers, under the command of the late Captain Nelson Pray, and sent to Camp Chase, where he died during the war.

In reference to the pioneer's daughter Elizabeth Galford, the tradition is that when she was fourteen years old she was sent on an errand to the mill, a quarter of a mile east of the residence. The child was never seen afterwards. While parties were carefully searching the creek, Indian signs were discovered and it was at once concluded that she had been taken captive. Vain pursuit was made, and the neighbors hastened to the fort. Indians, believed to be the same party, attacked the fort and killed a man named Sloan, and an Indian was wounded. The Indian was taken to a glade near Arbovale, and secreted until he was able to leave for the Ohio towns. Hence the name "Hospital Run."

Some months subsequently Thomas Galford and Samuel Gregory went to the Indian towns, but could hear nothing of the child. The two men lingered about the town, inquiring for furs and tried to trade with the Indians, hoping thus to get the desired information about the missing child. Hearing nothing, they gave up all hopes, and turned their attention to a pair of fine horses. They stole them, hitched them some distance from the town, and then went back and waited in ambush for the warriors that might come in pursuit. Two were shot down and their ornaments taken, and these were kept for years. The bracelets were burned when Thomas Galford, Junior, lost his house. The captured horses were fine stallions. The bay was called Buck Rabbit and the other Irish Grey. Buck Rabbit was sold to John Bird, the ancestor of the Bird relation, on upper Back Creek. The other was bought by John Harnes, a trader from Staunton.

Thomas Galford, the pioneer, and Jacob Warwick, on returning from a scout, thought they would have sport at the expense of William Higgins and Peter Ingram, whom they found digging potatoes near the fort at the mouth of Deer Creek. Higgins always claimed there was no indian that could ever make him run. While the two were busy with their digging, Galford and Warwick slipped up to the fence and fired simultaneously, hitting the ground close to Higgjns and scattering the dust all over him. He and Ingram ran with all speed to the stockade and reported that Indians had fired on them. The panic was soon relieved however, when hilarious laughter instead of war whoops were heard in the direction of the potato patch.

ANDREW WARWICK

One of the best known names in our pioneer annals was that of the Warwicks. John Warwick; the ancestor of the Greenbank branch of the connexion, was of English descent. It is believed he came to upper Pocahontas previously to the Revolution, and opened up a settlement on Deer Creek, at the place now in the possession of Peter H. Warwick and John R. Warwick. Mrs Warwick, whose given name can not be certainly recalled, was a member of the Martin family in the Valley of Virginia.

John Warwick seems to have been a person of great enterprise, and braved the dangers of pioneer life with more than ordinary courage and devotion to duty. He had a fort raised upon his premises, to which himself and neighbors would resort when threatened by Indian incursions or raids. Being so near to Clover Lick, whose facilities for hunting and fishing were so much prized by the Indians, its erection seems to have been very exasperating to them, and were very troublesome to the settlers living in reach of the Warwick fort.

The only Indian Major Jacob Warwick was ever certain of killing was shot from a tree not far from this fort. The warrior had climbed the tree to reconoitre the fort, and it is more than probable that the death of the scout interfered with the Indian plans and intentions of attack.

In reference to John Warwick's children we have the following particulars: Their names were William, John, Andrew, Elizabeth -- of whom special mention was made in the Slaven sketches: Mary, who was probably the first lady teacher of schools in our county; Margaret, who became Mrs James Gay and went west; Ann, who became Mrs Ingram and lived in Ohio.

As the Warwick relationship is so extended, it will be treated in groups in these biographic notes. In this paper the descendants of Andrew Warwick will be mainly considered and their history illustrated, concluding with a fragmentary reference.

Andrew Warwick went to Richlands, in Greenbrier, for a wife and married Elizabeth Craig, and then opened up a home on Deer Creek. This property is now occupied by Major J. C. Arbogast. Their children were Jane, who was married to James Wooddell, near Greenbank; Margaret became Mrs Samuel Sutton, first wife; Nancy was married to Jacob Hartman, north of Greenbank, and went to the far west. Her children were Sarah Lucretia, Virginia, William; and James. Mary Warwick became the second wife of Isaac Hartman, and lived on property now held by Joseph Riley. Elizabeth Warwick was kicked in the face by a horse about the time she was grown to womanhood, and lingered for years in great suffering and finally died of the injury. Sally Warwick became Mrs George Burner, of Travelers Repose. Anna Warwick was married to Rev Henry Arbogast, and lived near Gladehill.

Jacob Warwick, son of Andrew Warwick, married Elizabeth Hull, of Virginia, and settled on the Deer Creek homestead; moved thence to Indiana, and finally to Missouri. His children were Mathew Patton, Amos, Andrew Jackson, William Craig, Caroline, who became Mrs George Tallman; and Rachel, who was the youngest. They all went with their parents to the western states.

This paper will be closed by a fragmentary reference to John Warwick, of John the elder.

In the winter of 1861 there was an officer with the Ohio troops in the Cheat Mountain garrison by the name of Warwick. The writer has been informed that he claimed descent from the Pocahontas Warwicks, and made some inquiry concerning the Warwick relationship.

The tradition is that John Warwick, Junior, married Margaret Poage of Augusta County. It is believed James Poage, her father, lived awhile on Knapps Creek, and afterwards moved to Kentucky.

Upon his marriage John Warwick, Junior, settled on the lower end of the farm now owned by Captain G. W. Siple. Parties yet living remember seeing traces of the cabin he had built and dwelt in. He remained here but a short time however, and moved to Ohio about 1790.

There were three little boys, one of them named John. The Union officer claimed to be a descendant of a John Warwick from West Virginia, a grandson, and was a son, doubtless, of one of those little boys that went to Ohio with their parents from their cabin home on Deer Creek. This Federal officer became a member of Congress, and achieved a national reputation by defeating William McKinley in a Congressional contest. Many no doubt will readily recall this interesting event in the history of Ohio politics.

WILLIAM WARWICK

The group of the Warwick relationship treated of in this paper includes the descendants of William Warwick, son of John Warwick, the early pioneer. Like his brother Andrew, William Warwick lost his heart in the Richlands of Greenbrier, and married Nancy Craig, a sister of Mrs Andrew Warwick. They settled on Deer Creek, where Peter H. Warwick now lives, and were the parents of three children: Robert Craig, Elizabeth, who became Mrs Benjamin Tallman; Margaret, who became Mrs John Hull, and lived on the head of Jacksons River.

Robert Craig Warwick, the only son, at one time crossed the Alleghany to pay his sister a visit. One result of the visit was that he and Esther Hall were soon married, and the happy. young people settled on the Deer Creek homestead. They were the parents of three sons and six daughters. In reference to their children the following items are recorded: Catherine Hidy Warwick is now Mrs William Bird. Her children Elvira Louisa, now Mrs William McClune, near Millpoint; Robert Craig Bird, at Clifton Forge; John Henry Bird, Covington; George Newton Bird, Clifton Forge; William Lee Bird, Roanoke City, Virginia. Her husband, Major W. W. Bird, was a Confederate officer. He had command of Company K, 52d Virginia Regiment in the battle of McDowell, and was in charge of a regiment of reserves in the battle of New Hope. He was near General William Jones when he fell in that engagement, and received his last orders just a few minutes before his death. He was named for William Wallace, a renowned hero in Scottish history.

Nancy Jane Warwick is now Mrs Jacob Lightner of Highland, Virginia. Her children were John Adam, now in the west; Robert, on Back Creek; William C, died in youth, Jacob Brown, on Back Creek; Peter H, lives in Greenbrier; James Cameron, a lawyer at the Warm Springs, Va. ; Mrs Malcena Catherine Creek, on Jacksons River; Mrs Virginia Rachel Wallace, of Highland; Mrs Mary Etta Gum, of Meadow Dale, Va. Sarah Elizabeth Warwick married Daniel Matheny, and lives at Valley Centre. Her children Esther Ann, Melissa, and Robert Matheny.

Margaret Ann Warwick became Mrs Nelson Pray. Her family was quite a large one, but only one survives, Ella, who is now Mrs John Riley and lives in one of the western counties. One of Mrs Fray's daughters, Regina, received fatal injuries in a railway collision.

Hannah Rebecca Warwick was married to Captain George Siple, a Confederate officer, 31st Virginia Infantry, and lives on Deer Creek in sight of the Warwick homestead. Her children were Nancy Jane, now Mrs Pierce Wooddell at Greenbank; Anna, Mrs William Jackson, at Dunmore; Mary Catherine, now Mrs Bernard McElwee at Dunmore; Clara Belle, William, and Joseph Siple.

Louisa Susan Warwick was married to Eli Seybert, settled near Mt. Grove, Va., then went west. But one of her children survives, Mary Amaret, now Mrs Morgan Matheny, Top of Alleghany.

William Fechtig Warwick was named for a pioneer Methodist preacher. He married Anthea Pray, and lives near Mt. Grove, Va. His children Paul, Pray, Robert, Nelson, Peter Hull, George Craig, Charles, Amelia, who became Mrs George Dilley, and is now Mrs Hopkins Wanless near Mount Tabor; Amanda Gabrielle, now Mrs John Landes, near Mt. Grove; Sally, and Louise Catherine. Three of the sons, Peter, Robert, and Nelson, went to Kansas.

Peter Hull Warwick married Caroline Matheny, and settled on the Deer Creek home place. The children were Jesse, Otis, Forrest, and Elbert. By the death of Cecil, in 1896, at Cowen, Webster County, his mother's heart was so broken that she did not survive him very long.

John Robert Warwick married Jennie Cleek, daughter of the late John Cleek of Bath County, and lives on a section of the Deer Creek homestead. Their children are Mary and Nancy. Lieutenant Warwick was a Confederate officer, 3lst Virginia Infantry, and served as a commissioner of the Pocahontas Court.

Elizabeth Warwick became Mrs Benjamin Tallman, and lived on the property now held by Captain Siple. Her children were William, James, Robert, John, Cyrus, and Nancy. Nancy became Mrs Benjamin Tallman aud lives in Illinois.

Margaret Warwick was married to John Hull, on Jacksons River. Her children were William Hull, who was one of the California forty-niners, and hasnot been heard of since; Robert, Andrew, Nora, Nancy Jane, who became the wife of Colonel Peter H. Kincaid, in Crabbottom ; Margaret, who is now Mrs Christopher Wallace, of Williamsville; Irene Esther, the first wife of James Fleisher, of Meadow Dale.

This relationship has furnished our citizenship with good citizens, brave soldiers, industrious tillers of the soil, and good homekeepers, and deserves honorable mention in the short and simple annals of our own Pocahontas people.

JOHN SUTTON, SR.

July 27, 1894, was the last time the writer met the late John Sutton, Junior, whose painful death by a cancerous affction was mourned by a large circle of attached friends. Much of the morning was occupied in family reminiscence. His father, John Sutton the senior, was a native of Westmoreland County, and hence was neighbor of the Washington family. His home was on the Potomac not far from Mount Vernon. For some years John Sutton, Senior, was manager for Jacob Warwick at the Dunmore farm, late in the last century. Finally he bought land and settled where his son, John Sutton, Junior, lived. Mrs Sutton was Rachel Gillispie, daughter of Jacob Gillispie, who owned nearly all the land in sight of Greenbank looking north and east. Mrs Jacob Gillispie was Rebecca Berry, a half sister of Mary Vance Warwick, the widow Berry having married Mr Vance, who lived at Mountain Grove. Jacob Gillispie's family consisted of nine daughters and six sons.

John Sutton, Senior, paid a visit to his old home on the Potomac where it is said to be twelve miles across. His friends seemed astonished when he told them he had seen the head spring and drank of its water on Laurel Fork, near what is known as the Wilfong Settlement.

Thus far the writer has been able to furnish some historical items that illustrate the family history of two very estimable persons [William Poage & William Sharp]. As related elsewhere, these people were the intimate friends of Jacob Warwick and his wife. Mr Sharp lived to a very advanced age, having survived his wife many years. He lived to see his children married and settled. His appearance was venerable, and nature had done very much for him in the way of natural endowments of mind and vigor of body.

Everyone has heard of Major Jacob Warwick's famous servant Ben who accompanied liim on all his warring, hunting and surveying trips, and to whom his mastor granted his freedom. At the Augusta court the following order was entered in reference to his life and character:

"Ben, a man of color, who is entitled to bis freedom under the last will and testament of Jacob Warwick, deceased, bearing date on the 7th day of March, 1818, of record in the Clerk's Office of this county. This day motioned the court, (the common wealth's attorney being present) for permission to remain in this county: whereupon, it is the opinion of the court, that the said Ben be permitted to remain and reside for his general good conduct and also for acts of extraordinary merit, it appearing to their satisfaction that the said Ben hath given reasonable notice of this motion.

"The acts of extraordinary merit, upon which the order of the court is founded, are the following: "It appearing from the evidence of Mr Robert Gay that at an early period when the county of Bath (now Pocahontas) was invaded by the Indians, he protected with fidelity the possessions of his master, and assisted in defending the inhabitants from the tomahawk and scalping knife.

"In addition to this public service it appears from the evidence of Messrs Waugh and P. Bruffey that he rendered most essential service to his master in saving his life on divers occasions.

"Upon these meritorious acts the court grounded their order."   |  View or Add Comments (1 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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