Greenbrier County, WV Biographies
Greenbrier County, WV Biographies
HOWARD B. ARBUCKLE
Arbuckle, Howard Bell, educator, chemist, scientist, was born Oct. 5, 1870, in Lewisburg, W.Va. He was educated at the Hampden-Sydney college of Virginia, from which institution he received the degrees of A.B. and A.M.; and in 1898 he received the degree of Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University at Baltimore, Md. Since 1898 he has been in the department of chemistry and biology at the Agnes Scott college of Decatur, Ga. He has made original researches on atomic weight of zinc and cadmium.
[Herringshaw’s National Library of American Biography: Contains Thirty-five Thousand Biographies of the Acknowledged Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States, by William Herringshaw, 1909 – TK - Sub. by a FoFG]
John Burnside
Burnside, John, planter, was born about 1800 in Ireland. At the time of his death he was the largest sugar-planter in the United States. About 1852 he began to invest money in sugar lands; eventually owned ten of the finest plantations in the sugar district of Louisiana; and also owned the finest residence in New Orleans. In spite of the loss of more than two thousand slaves, he was among the first to try sugar-planting with free labor on a large scale; and his success had much influence in re-establishing the broken industries and credit of the south. He died June 29, 1881, in White Sulphur Springs, Va.
[Herringshaw's National Library of American Biography: Contains Thirty-five Thousand Biographies of the Acknowledged Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States, by William Herringshaw, 1909 – Transcribed by Therman Kellar]
RICHARD H. CAIN
Cain, Richard H., clergyman, bishop, congressman, was born April 12, 1825, in Greenbrier County, Va. At an early age he was sent as a missionary to the freedmen in South Carolina. He was chosen a member of the constitutional convention of South Carolina; was elected a member of the state senate and served two years; and edited a newspaper from 1869. In 1873-75 and 1877-79 he was a representative from South Carolina to the forty-third and forty-fifth congresses as a republican. In 1880 he was chosen bishop by the general conference of the African methodist episcopal church. He died Jan. 18, 1887 in Washington, D.C.
[Herringshaw's National Library of American Biography: Contains Thirty-five Thousand Biographies of the Acknowledged Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States, by William Herringshaw, 1909 – TK - Sub. by a FoFG]
CHARLES CARAWAY.
Charles Caraway was the son of Thomas Caraway of Greenbriar County, Virginia. He was born in 1788 and came to Vermilion County (Illinois) in 1829. He had been married to Elizabeth McCorkle of the same county a few years previous to his coming west. They located not far from Butler's Point and established a family, the descendents of whom have been prominent in affairs of the county since that time. Mr. Caraway lived in the county nine years and died in 1838. His widow afterward married Anson Butler, and lived until 1848.
[Source: "History of Vermilion County, Illinois" By Lottie E. Jones Published In 1911 - Submitted by K. Torp]
SAMUEL HAMILTON CURRY
Born in Monroe county, (now) West Virginia, May 2, 1836, was a son of Josiah and Sarah (Nickell) Curry. His mother was born in Monroe county, his father in Augusta county, Virginia. The former died in Ohio, the latter died in 1845. In the war between the States, Samuel H. Curry was a member of Company C, 132d Ohio Infantry, enlisting May 1, 1864, and serving the Government through the last year of the war in the army of the Potomac. Anderson Curry, his cousin, was a soldier of the Confederacy, and killed in the service. At Irish Corner, Greenbrier county, November 2, 1882, Samuel H. Curry married Susan Rebecca Hallowell, who was born in Richmond Virginia, May 27, 1835. She was a daughter of Joshua Hallowell, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Elizabeth E. (Pullin) Hallowell, who was born near Richmond, Virginia, September 15, 1796. (Her parents are no longer living.) Samuel H. Curry owns 180 acres of good land, well improved, watered and timbered. It has several springs of superior medicinal qualities, and is well located. He has been a consistent and useful member of the Presbyterian Church for ten years, and his wife joined the Methodist Church early in life, and has been constant in her religious faith ever since. The postoffice address of Samuel H. Curry is Monroe Draft, Greenbrier county, West Virginia.
[Source: Hardesty’s West Virginia Counties Vol. 6 Greenbrier County Pg 240 - Submitted by Cathy Schultz]
MARY ALICE DOWD
DOWD, Miss Mary Alice, poet and educator, born in Frankford, Greenbrier county, W. Va., 16th December, 1855. Her parents were school-teachers of Puritan descent, their ancestors having landed in New England about the year 1630. In both families were found officers and privates of the Revolutionary army. On her father's side she is related to the well-known family of Field and the old English family of Dudley. She was the youngest of four children. Her early home was among the Berkshire Hills, whence her parents removed to Westfield, Mass., a town noted for its schools. Alice was a delicate child, and her parents scarcely dared to hope that she would be spared to years of maturity. Shy and reserved, she early showed a great love of nature and a deep appreciation of all natural beauty. She was educated at home and in the public schools of Westfield. She was graduated from the English and classical departments of the high school, taking the two courses simultaneously. In the normal school she studied optionals with the prescribed branches and composed a class hymn sung at her graduation. Since that time she has been constantly employed as a teacher. During the past eleven years she has held her present position of first assistant in the high school of Stamford, Conn. Of scholarly attainments, she has helped many young men to prepare for college. She has taken several courses in the Sauveur Summer School of Languages and has especially fitted herself to give instruction in German. In 1886 the greatest sorrow of her life came to her in the sudden death of her mother. She has published one volume of verse, "Vacation Verses" (Buffalo, 1891).
(American Women, Frances Elizabeth Willard, Mary Ashton Rice Livermore, Volume 1 Copyright 1897. Transcribed by Marla Snow.)
THE DUNBAR FAMILY
Mathew Dunbar, the ancestor of the Dunbars in Monroe and Greenbrier counties by that name, was a dashing Scotchman, and he was born on the Firth of Forth, Scotland, in 1764. With the dauntless courage of a pioneer, he left his native country and embarked for America, not yet having attained his age. After reaching the American coast, he at once set out for the forests of western Virginia, where settlers were scarce but very bold. He located in Monroe county, a place he reached without the aid of posts or roads and where he built a trading post.
In due time he became a wooer, finding his maiden the fair Mary Ellen Herbert, nestled in a little cottage up in the Alleghanies. She was the daughter of John Herbert, who did not at first consent to the marriage project, but true love always finds a way whether the parents do or not. Mr. Dunbar traded in ginseng and furs, which he hauled to Lewisburg, then a thriving little village. On the return from one of those trips he and his team of horses were drowned at Ronceverte while trying to ford the swollen stream. His driver, however, escaped. Mr. Dunbar left a widow and six children. His widow was kicked by a colt and left an invalid for life. The children were Mathew, William, John, Margaret, Andrew and James.
Mathew, the eldest son, was a judge on the circuit bench in Monroe county and had the reputation of being an upright and learned judge. John, the third son, born in 1794, was the immediate ancestor of the Greenbrier Dunbars. John Spade, a Hessian, was the great-grandfather of John Dunbar on his mother's side. He was a brewer of Hesse. He was drafted for the army to aid the English in their war against America, but he was not found with the troops when ready to sail for America. He was drafted the second time, but again hid; but when drafted the third time he saved his life by coming across, but he deserted and fought with the Continentals for American freedom. After the war John Spade married Mary Magdalena Shafer, a German maid he had met in the Valley of Virginia. John Dunbar married their daughter, Eva. She was born in Monroe county in i8oo and died in Summers county, West Virginia, n 1859.
John Dunbar, who was left an orphan when five years old, moved to Summers county, where upon arriving at the age of manhood there enriched himself by securing a comfortable home. He was a small, sandy-haired, sandy-complexioned man, very industrious and very strong. He died in i866 at the age of seventy-two years. He left five sons, George, Mathew, William, Hiram and John, and six daughters, Elizabeth, Isabel, Mary, Margaret, Catherine and Ellen. William H. Dunbar, son of John, was born April 24, 1829, in the county of Monroe. Until he was sixteen years of age he remained on the old Dunbar place and taught school when a very young man. In 1857 he married Hannah A. Hedrick, at Asbury, W. Va., who was then a very businesslike young girl of eighteen. The early death of her father had developed many cares on her young shoulders, but she executed them with neatness and dispatch. William H. Dunbar, at the outbreak of the Civil war, was living in Greenbrier county. At that time he was elected captain of a company of militia. His battalion was ordered on a forced march to Little Sewell Mountain. William H. Dunbar and Hannah A. Hedrick were married at Asbury, W. Va., in 1857. There were twelve children. The first born, James Johnson, died in childhood, and Mary Emma in infancy; William Oliver, the eldest living, passed away at sixteen years of age; Henry at nineteen years, one of the victims of the boiler explosion in the Livesay woodlands. The year of 1897 will always be remembered as the saddest time ever experienced in the little town of Frankford, when so many homes were desolated. David Berkely, the youngest of the family, took sick in New Mexico and was brought home by his brothers as far as Ronceverte General Hospital, where he died September 14, 1911.
Of the remaining children, Sallie married J. F. Van Stavern, of Monroe county. They are now engaged in the mercantile business at Spring Creek, W. Va. They have one child, Lois, who is in Staunton attending school. Jennie S. married W. F. Knapp, of Lewisburg. They moved to Morgantown when Mr. Knapp died. His widow and three children still reside there. Mary Gray married William Reynolds Thatcher and lives in Paxton, Ill. Oliver was graduated from the West Virginia University. He engaged in agriculture and was county agent for Doddridge county last year. Forrest will graduate this year if his country does not take him before the expiration of this school year. Ruth, the youngest, is attending school at Morgantown. C. W. Dunbar married Miss Dollie Ransbarger and lives on his farm at Caldwell. John married Miss Lena Layton, of Virginia. They have seven children living. Three have passed away, the eldest as he was entering young manhood, the other two in infancy. Frank married Miss Ella Grose. They have three children. Frank is practicing law in Columbus, Ohio, where he has made his home for several years. Marion married Miss Minnie Crickenberger. They have six living children. They reside in Lewisburg.
Jesse married Miss Almyra Wheeler, of New York State. They have three children and live in Norwalk, Conn. Jesse is a lawyer and was appointed prosecuting attorney for his district last year, but his country needed him, so he gave up his loved work, left his dearly loved home and family to serve his country. He is, or was, lieutenant in the Coast Artillery, Fort Terry, N. Y. We have reason to believe that he is now on his way to France. [p. 269-272, "History of Greenbrier County", by J. R. Cole, 1917 - Transcribed by Andrea Stawski Pack]
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN FLESHMAN
Son of Michael and Elizabeth (Sydenstricker) Fleshman, was born in Greenbrier county, near Lewisburg, March 18, 1829. His mother was a native of this county, and his father came to the county in 1798. They were among the early and prominent settlers in Anthonys Creek district, and his mother died on the farm they owned, in August, 1839, aged about 44 years. The farm was soon after sold, but after many years was repurchased by the subject of this sketch, who brought his then aged father back to the old homestead, and here the old gentleman died, in the house and in the same room where his wife departed this life forty-four years, he dying, March 25, 1883, in his 97th year. This farm, still owned and cultivated by Benjamin F. Fleshman, contains 250 acres, mostly bottom land, and lied on Anthonys creek, at the mouth of Little creek. The oldest grist and saw mill in the district is located on the land. The first wife of Benjamin F. Fleshman was Evaline J. Hull and their only child, Maggie J., is now the wife of William H. Cleek, of Pocahontas county, West Virginia. At Knapps creek, Pocahontas county, September 25, 1872, Benjamin F. Fleshman wedded Alice E. Cleek, and their daughter, Addie Arrena, was born October 4, 1882. John and Phebe Ann (Ligtner) Cleek are the parents of Mrs. Fleshman, who was born in Pocahontas county, March 16, 1847. During the civil war, Mr. Fleshman was a member of Company B, Edgars Battalion, Confederate army. Himself and wife are devoted and useful members of the Presbyterian Church, in which he is an elder. His post office address is Alvon, Greenbrier county, West Virginia.
[Source: Hardesty’s West Virginia Counties Vol. 6 Greenbrier County Pg 217 - Submitted by Cathy Schultz]
HARRISON FLESHMAN
Is descended from pioneer families of their county, his grandfather entering the land in Rich Hollow by tomahawk claim, and his parents, who were John and Catharine (Rinehart) Fleshman, coming to the county when the Indians still occupied it as a hunting ground. His father was born in Henrico county, his mother in Rockingham county, Virginia, and the former died in February, 1857, the latter on the 25th of November, 1859. Harrison Fleshman was born near Lewisburg November 11, 1812, and in Greenbrier county, December 17, 1834, he married Palmyra Perkins, who was born near Chillicothe, Ohio, October 13, 1810. Andrew and Elizabeth (Poore) Perkins, who came to Greenbrier county in 1814, were her parents. Her father was born in this county April 23, 1792, and died in Indiana, May 10, 1856, and her mother, born in North Carolina, in 1794, died in Indiana, March 23, 1857. The record of the children of Harrison Fleshman and wife is: John Andrew, born November 18, 1835, lives in Frankford, Charles H., August 12, 1837, is a resident in Ronceverte, this county; VanBuren, February 22, 1840, lives at Frankford; Miranda, born December 6, 1842, married John I. Vie, March 6, 1873, and lives in Charleston, this State; Virginia, born December 12, 1845, married William A. Osborn, August 11, 1867, and lives in this county; Elizabeth M. C., born December 15, 1848, married G. W. Brant October 11, 1877, and lives in this county; Margaret Palmyra, born April 20, 1854, died February 10, 1855. The sons were all Confederate soldiers, John A. and VanBuren in the Greenbrier Cavalry, enlisting in June, 1861, and Charles enlisting in the same year in the 60th Virginia Infantry. Harrison Fleshman is one of the substantial residents of Falling Spring district, where he owns a blacksmithing establishment, and he has been for sixteen years a magistrate in the county. Himself and wife have been in the membership of the Methodist Episcopal Church for fifty years. Frankford, Greenbrier county, West Virginia, is his post office address.
[Source: Hardesty’s West Virginia Counties Vol. 6 Greenbrier County Pg 224 - Submitted by Cathy Schultz]
THOMPSON H. FLESHMAN
– is a grandson of Moses Fleshman, who came from Germany to Greenbrier county in the early days of its settlement, and a son of Simeon and Sarah (Thompson) Fleshman, who were born in this county. He was born in Greenbrier county, October 1, 1840, and his parents are now deceased, his father dying in 1868, and his mother in 1869. At Grassy Meadows, Greenbrier county, December 14, 1865, Thompson H. Fleshman and Leah H. Lewis were united in marriage, and in their home are six children, while death has taken their first born: Mary E. S., born March 20, 1867, died September 19, 1868. Howard F., was born March 6, 1869; Anna B., March 14, 1871; Fannie E., March 21, 1873; Albertes H., March 30, 1875; Clyde T., June 17, 1879; Effie M. H., February 21, 1882. Griggsby and Anna (Coffman) Lewis, born in Greenbrier county were the parents of Mrs. Fleshman, who was born in Greenbrier county, April 2, 1846. Her mother died in the year of her birth, and her father died in 1864. During the civil war, Thompson H. Fleshman was fife major, Company K, 22d Virginia Infantry, Confederate service. He is now and for several years has been overseer of roads, and is also school trustee of sub, district No. 17. He is by trade a stone mason, and owns a farm of 135 acres, devoted to grain raising. His post office address is Blue Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier county, West Virginia.
[Source: Hardesty’s West Virginia Counties Vol. 6 Greenbrier County Pg 232 - Submitted by Cathy Schultz]
PHILIP F. FRAZER
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, 27TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY.
Philip Fouke Frazer was born in Lewisburg, Greenbrier County, Virginia, on the 22d of December, 1844, the youngest son of James A. and Sophia Frazer. In early childhood his gentleness of manner, his brightness and intelligence, rendered him a favorite with all who knew him. He was as modest and gentle as a girl, and yet possessed all those manly qualities which later in life, though still at an early age, made him the gallant officer and devoted patriot.
His early education was received at a girls' school in Lewisburg; here, when he reached the age at which boys were excluded from the school, so refined and gentle was he that his teacher said he should remain her scholar so long as he might choose to attend her school.
He was appointed a cadet of the Virginia Military Institute in 1860, and reported for duty on the 19th of July of that year. He soon attracted the attention of his professors by his industry and brightness, and won the hearts of his comrades. by his open, generous disposition and manly traits of character. In April, 1861, the corps of cadets was ordered to Richmond, and proceeded thither under the command of General Jackson, to assist in drilling and disciplining the raw troops which were being concentrated there. Cadet Frazer remained at this camp of instruction for several months, as drill-master; but, though in consequence of his extreme youth and delicate appearance he could, doubtless, have readily secured a position which would have withdrawn him from the dangers of battle, the gallant young soldier would accept no such position, nor could he reconcile himself to the discharge of the monotonous duties of a drill-master when the soldiers of his State were confronting the enemy; and every day brought to him the intelligence of another battle fought Leaving the camp of instruction then, he entered the Greenbrier Rifles, Co. "E " 27th Virginia Infantry, as a private. In a very short time, though only sixteen years of age, he was elected first lieutenant of his company. So gallant was his bearing, and such the soldierly qualities which he had displayed, that when his regiment was reorganized he was elected captain of his company, which position he held for two years. In the spring of 1863 Captain Frazer was promoted major of his regiment. On several occasions, even while captain, he led his regiment into battle. In every battle in which his great commander, Stonewall Jackson, was engaged, except those around Richmond, when he was forced to be absent by sickness, he did his duty as a man and soldier. Through all he passed unscathed, until, at second Manassas, he received a painful, but not dangerous, wound. In the battle near Wilderness Run, May 6, 1864, the very day on which he received his commission as lieutenant-colonel, this brave young officer fell, at the head of his regiment, shot through the head with a musket-ball, and died while being removed from the field. Not an unworthy pupil of the noble Jackson, he laid down his life near the spot where that grand old hero received his death-wound. His name from childhood had been linked with all that is kind, loving, generous, and true. At the time of his death he was but nineteen, perhaps the youngest officer of his rank in the whole army, yet the most distinguished officer of his regiment. Men of unquestionable, courage and daring say that he was the most gallant and coolly brave man they ever knew. He lived without fear and without reproach, died as a true soldier, and is mourned as a devoted patriot, an efficient officer, a dutiful and affectionate son. The prop and support of his widowed mother and youngest sister, he unselfishly devoted to them the greater portion of the miserable pittance of pay he received. In his last letter to his mother, received after he had gained his soldier's crown, he sent her all he had, hoping, with tender solicitude, that it might help her till he could send her more. His body was interred at Hollywood, and by his side lies all that was mortal of an idolized sister (Mrs. George E. Taylor), a whole-souled Southern woman, not unworthy of such a brother, who dearly loved the cause, and, when it was. lost, "her pen, with more than usual beauty and force, was often employed in the effort to add a freshened lustre to the fame of our heroic dead." United in life, in death they were not divided, one monument telling their story.
(Source: Biographical sketches of the Graduates and Eleves of the Virginia Military Institute who fell during the war between the States, by Chas. D. Walker. Published 1875. Transcribed and submitted to Genealogy Trails by Linda Rodriguez)
Judge William A. Harrison
Judge Harrison, the senior member of the first Supreme Court of Appeals of the State of West Virginia, was born in Prince William County, Virginia, August 27, 1795. His education was obtained in the schools of that section. He, however, was ambitious and was an earnest seeker after knowledge, and consequently used every facility within his reach to store his mind with such knowledge as would be of value to him in after life. At an early age he chose the law for his profession, and all the books he read, and really mastered, were in that direction. In this way he pieced out what, in that day, was considered a fairly good education for even a professional man. He, therefore, may be classed as a self-educated and selfmade man. He read law under the guidance of his brother-in-law, Obed Waits, of Winchester, Virginia, one of his most valued friends and helpers in time of need. In 1819 he was sufficiently informed in the fundamental principles of the profession to enable him to pass a creditable examination for admission to the Winchester Bar. Shortly after his admission he came to Parkersburg, Wood County, on the Ohio River, and entered upon the practice of his chosen profession. The first circuit in which he practiced was presided over by Judge Daniel Smith, which was composed of the Counties of Rockingham, Pendleton, Preston, Monongalia, Brooke, Ohio, Tyler, Wood, Lewis and Harrison. This circuit embraced all the territory between the Pennsylvania line and the Little Kanawha River. The custom of that period was for the aspiring attorneys to travel with the judge and attend all of the courts embraced in the Judicial Circuit twice a year. In this way lawyers of ability and industry managed to secure a paying practice, and young Harrison, who possessed many natural gifts, succeeded in picking up more than his share of the cases disposed of on these various swings around the circuit.
In 1821 he moved to Clarksburg, Harrison County, and thereafter made that town his permanent home, and remained there up to the time of his death, which occurred December 31, 1870. In 1823 he was appointed Assistant United States District Attorney for the Western Distript of Virginia, which office he filled acceptably and ably, traveling on horseback twice a year to Wytheville to attend upon the sessions of the court. After the establishment of the Court of Appeals of Virginia at Lewisburg in Greenbrier County, he practiced regularly at its bar until the breaking out of the Civil War in 1861. His practice, during a long, successful life, was one of immense labor, requiring great research and profound investigation. He appeared, during his career, before seven Federal Judges, fifteen Circuit Judges, and twelve judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia. He was elected a member of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia after the formation of the State in 1863, and served with great ability.
Judge Harrison was a Union man and a Republican, but was never a politician. He preferred the calm and dignified contests of the bar to the more animated scenes incident to partisan warfare. He, however, represented Harrison County three terms in the Legislature of Virginia in ante bellum days. He was also United States Attorney for the Western District, and Prosecuting Attorney of Harrison County, one term in each office. When the Civil War came on in 1861 he took a firm stand for the Union, and was one of the leaders in the erection of the new Commonwealth of West Virginia. The Circuit Judge of the Harrison County District was vacated by its judge going with the South, and Judge Harrison was elected that year (1861) to fill out his term, which position he occupied until elected a member of the Supreme Court of Appeals of the new State in 1863.
He was an able and a just judge, and ranked among the leading lawyers of his time. He was of large stature and commanding presence; in religious convictions he was a Presbyterian; was married and left a large family of honored citizens; one of his sons, Thomas W. Harrison, became a prominent citizen and was one of Harrison County's distinguished Circuit Court Judges. No better people can be found anywhere than the immediate descendants of William A. Harrison.
[Source: "Bench and Bar of West Virginia" by George Wesley Atkinson, 1919-TK - Transcribed by AFOFG]
JESSE HULL
Son of George Hull, was born in Bath county, Virginia, December 20, 1801. In Pocahontas county, (then) Virginia, August 6, 1837, he married Elizabeth A. Cleek, born in Pocahontas county, June 3, 1807, a daughter of Matthew and Margaret (Crawford) Cleek. Their children are recorded: Margaret, born March 20, 1828, lived on Little creek; William C., October 5, 1830, lives in this district; John M., August 23, 18??, died June 1, 1862; Evaline, February 15, 1833, died November 26, 1869; James Silas, June 1, 1836, died August 24, 1837; Jesse A., December 10, 1841, lives at home; Alice F., January 14, 1848, lives in Highland county, Virginia; Andrew F., January 26, 1850, lives at home; Charlotte, September 23, 1854, died September 19, 1883. Three sons were in the Confederate army, William C. in the 22d Virginia Infantry, Taylors Company, and John and Jesse in Company B, Edgars battalion, 25th Infantry. John died in the service at Christianburg, Virginia, in 1862. Jesse was in the battles of White Sulphur Springs, Fayettesville, New Market, Cold Harbor, Lynchburg and ????town. In the last-named battle he was wounded in the thigh by a mimic-ball, and recovered only after great suffering, reaching home in September 1864. Jesse Hull, the father, died July 20, 1875, and Elizabeth H., his widow, died February 16, 1879. Jesse, Andrew and William own 3000 acres of land on Anthonys creek, fives miles above Alvon, 300 acres bottom land under cultivation. The ???? is well timbered, good medicinal springs abound, and iron, coal and lead are found everywhere in the 3,000 acres. The family post office is Lowrys Mill, Greenbrier county, West Virginia.
[Source: Hardesty’s West Virginia Counties Vol. 6 Greenbrier County Pg 218 - Submitted by Cathy Schultz]
WILLIAM CRAWFORD HULL
An energetic and prosperous farmer of Anthony’s Creek district, Greenbrier county, owns about 900 acres of excellent land, of which 130 acres is bottom land and under cultivation. The remainder is upland, well timbered with white pine, cedar, locust, poplar, white oak, ash and sugar. Iron ore is to be found in abundance, the mountainous portion of his land being, in fact, almost a solid cake of iron ore. Lead, silver and coal, also abound. Mr. Hull’s grandfather was a soldier in the patriot army, war of 1776, and with his comrades, by the treachery of their commander, was sold to the British Forces. The parents of William C. Hull were Jesse and Elizabeth (Cleek) Hull, whose record has just been given and he was born in this district, October 25, 1830. In Pocahontas county, West Virginia, April 23, 1867, he married Mary A. Cleek, who was born in that county, July 13, 1837, a daughter of John and Phebe Ann (Lightner) Cleek. Mr. and Mrs Hull are the parents of: John F., born October 14, 1870; Eutoka Addie, April 23, 1872; Elizabeth l., Jully 13, 1874. Mr. Hull was a soldier in the civil war. He served in Captain Taylor’s company, 22d Virginia Infantry, Confederate army, and was in the battles of Cloyd Mountain, Piedmont, Winchester, Droop Mountain, Fishers Hill, Lynchburg, the seven days fight near Richmond, and others. Lowrys Mills, Greenbrier county, West Virginia, is his postoffice address.
[Source: Hardesty’s West Virginia Counties Vol. 6 Greenbrier County Pg 219 - Submitted by Cathy Schultz]
GEORGE KIRKPATRICK
Post master, notary public and farmer, owns a farm of 220 acres on Anthony’s creek, four miles above Alvon, and a second farm of about 270 acres on Howards creek, five miles from White Sulphur Springs. All is good land, well located and well improved, and on the lower farm is found coal and iron ore. The parents of George Kirkpatrick were Thomas K. and Jennie (Hays) Kirkpatrick, who came from Augusta county, Virginia, to Greenbrier county in 1812. His birth was in Anthony’s Creek district, September 4, 1816, and on Howards creek, October 20, 1836, he married Belinda D. Dean. The fifteen children of their union are recorded: Thomas H., born July 27, 1837, lives in Augusta county, Virginia; George Dean, September 8, 1838, died May 26, 1845; William K., December 3, 1839, lives in Idaho Territory; James F., August 17, 1841, killed December 18, 1855; John H., December 1, 1842 lives on Howard creek, this county, Eleanor V., February 6, 1845, died April 9, 1863; Francis H., May 13, 1846, lives on Howards creek; Samuel B., February 8, 1848, lives at home; Margaret J., December 11, 1849, died February 11, 1863; Hugh M., February 26, 1851, lives on Howards creek, Susan Ann, January 10, 1853, resides in Fayette county, West Virginia; Aquilla F., September 22, 1854, lives at home; Edward C., September 20, 1856, lives in Augusta county, Virginia; S. Kate, February 3, 1859, lives at Hinton, Summers county, this State; Virginia, October 5, 1861, died when four days old, Four sons were in Edgar’s Battalion, Confederate army, Thomas H, as first lieutenant, William K., sergeant, and John H. and Francis Thomas was wounded, John was held prisoner of war in the last year of the war, and all gave faithful service to their State. The mother of these children was a daughter of George and Margaret (Keister) Dean, who came to Greenbrier county from Pendleton county in 1825. She was born April 25, 1817, and died March 28, 1863. In Monroe county, West Virginia. March 20, 1866, George Kirkpatrick married Bettie A. Shanklin, who was born September 16, 1824, Mr. Kirkpatrick is a good citizen who has been honored with many public trusts. He was eight years constable, eight years justice of the peace, two years supervisor, four years secretary of the board of education and is now commissioner of roads, postsmasters at Lowry’s Mills, notary public, and member of the Democratic executive committee of Greenbrier county. He has been for fifty years a member of the Presbyterian church, elder and clerk of the Session many years.
[Source: Hardesty’s West Virginia Counties Vol. 6 Greenbrier County Pg 219 & 220 - Submitted by Cathy Schultz]
HENRY SYDENSTRICKER, Sr
Son of Philip and Elizabeth Sydenstricker, was born in Pennsylvania, February 17, 1785. In Greenbrier county, December 21, 1808, he was united in marriage with Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Fleshman, who was born in Pennsylvania, her nativity on the day of his birth. The record of their children is: Michael, born October 16, 1809, died in 1869; Samuel, December 11, 1810, lives in Vinton county, Ohio; Lewis, May 30, 1812, lives at Irish Corners, this county; Henry, January 18, 1814, lives at home or in Alvon; Catharine, January 3, 1816, lives at home; James, January 24, 1818, died in 1862; John, January 17, 1821, died August 15, 1834. James was a soldier of the Confederacy in the opening months of the war between the States, and died in the service, in Mercer county, (now) West Virginia. Henry Sydenstricker owns a farm of 260 acres, 80 acres fenced, the soil good and well improved, located on Anthonys Creek, in the district of that name, and about two and a half miles from Alvon. The farm not under cultivation is well timbered with excellent oak and plenty of white pine; iron ore of good quality, and probably coal, abounds. The family post office address is Alvon, Greenbrier county, West Virginia.
[Source: Hardesty’s West Virginia Counties Vol. 6 Greenbrier County Pg 221 & 222 - Submitted by Cathy Schultz]
JAMES E. WALKUP
The Walkups and Beards were early settlers in Greenbrier County. They were Scotch-Irish, and of that sturdy old Covenanter faith which has always distinguished that race. They immigrated first to Pennsylvania and then went to Virginia and settled in Augusta county, and from there they came to this county.
Christopher Walkup and his brother, Robert, visited Greenbrier County before the Revolution. In 1778 Christopher came again and entered a tract of land consisting of one hundred and seventy-five acres, on which the town of Renick now stands. This farm was sold to William Renick. who gave the town its name.
Robert settled in Meadow Bluff. Both brothers married and reared families and their descendants to this day are known as men of important affairs. Christopher Walkup was the great-grandfather of James E. Walkup, who is now living on a farm four miles east of Renick which was bought by his grandfather of a Mr. Snodgrass. He married a Miss Rusk, of Augusta, Va., and from this union were born three sons-John, Christopher and Joseph, and three daughters. John was drafted in the War of 1812, but the war closed before he was called into service. Margaret married Samuel Beard, a major in the Continental army. John died about the year 1868, eighty-four years of age, and his wife, Miss Nancy Beard before marriage, died in 1858 in the seventieth year of her age. Their children were: Christopher, a captain of the State militia; Samuel W., a farmer; Joseph Josiah, the father of the subject of this sketch, and McElhenney Walkup.
Joseph Josiah Walkup married Ann Eliza Elliott, daughter of James Elliott, who was shot and killed in a deer lick by an accident. He took up his residence on a farm two and one-half miles east of Renick. Their children were: James E.; Elizabeth, who married Harvey J. Hanna, now dead; Margaret, who married C. 0. Huff; Ida, who married William R. Byrd; Lucy, who married Reuben Miles; Samuel B., who married Germina Williams, and Christopher William, who now resides in California.
James E. Walkup, a large farmer and stock dealer, owns several farms. He was born October 3, 1844, and was reared on a farm. When eighteen years of age he enlisted in Company A, Fourteenth West Virginia Cavalry, and entered the service for the Confederacy, and served from the time of his enlistment, in 1862, to the close of the war. He participated in several of the battles fought in the Valley of Virginia and around Winchester, was at Chambersburg, and afterwards at Gettysburg, when his regiment did considerable reconnoitering. His regiment was also in that contest which fought General Hunter in a six days' fight from Staunton to Lynchburg, and scouted for Gen. Jubal Early in the Virginia Valley campaign.
In 1868 James E. Walkup married Rachel M. Beard, now dead. She was the daughter of Robert Beard and bore him two sons, Robert and Harry, both of whom are dead. Harry also was a soldier, in the war with Spain, and was accidentally killed while in the Philippines, after being honorably discharged. Robert went West and was killed in a cave-in of a silo. He had three children, two girls and a boy.
Mr. Walkup married for his second wife Miss Ida Jameson, in 1877. She was the daughter of David Jameson and Martha Walkup Jameson and bore him five children, four daughters and one son: Mabel, born February 26, 1880; Martha J., born October 4, 1881, married Cape Read and lives on the east side of Greenbrier river. Their children are James Hunter, Harry McFerrin, Homer Cletis, Leonard Caperton; Lenna E., unmarried; Lilly Ruth, married Hubert Beard and lives on Anthony's creek. They have one son, Dr. Homer A. Walkup and a granddaughter, Anna M. Walkup, adopted. The only son married Lillie B. Harris, of Morgantown. They have one child, Homer A. Walkup, Jr. The father is a physician, practicing his profession in Fayette County, West Virginia. He graduated from the State University at Morgantown and subsequently took his degree of Doctor of Medicine from the Washington and Lee University at Richmond, Va. He has been in the pursuit of his chosen profession since the year 1913. He is within the draft age and is in for the war with Germany in 1917, October 1st. The Walkups were all born soldiers and game citizens.
Their names are found on the Virginia war rolls in all of her struggles in the history of Virginia.
History of Greenbrier County, by J. R. Cole, 1917 p. 267-269
Transcribed by Andrea Stawski Pack
JOHN WALKUP
John B. Walkup was born in Greenbrier County, Va., Aug. 11, 1811, a son of Christopher and Sabrina (Beard) Walkup.He was reared and educated in his native county, and after reaching maturity came West as far as La Porte, Ind., where he taught school two years. He then, in company with several others, came to Illinois and laid a claim in Algonquin Township, but subsequently settled on the farm in the town of Nunda where the family now reside and where he died June 9, 1856. When he first came to the county he boarded with Mrs. Gilliland, now the oldest settler in the county. He was married Oct. 20, 1840, to Mary J., daughter of Robert G.and Esther White. To them were born three children-Leonidas W., born May 16, 1842; Eva M., Nov. 17, 1844; and Alfred C., May 18, 1849. Alfred has been for four years a missionary of the Congregational church to the South Sea Islands. Politically Mr. Walkup was a Republican. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church. Mrs. Walkup's grandfather, Isaac White, was born in Pennsylvania, Oct. 1, 1757, and Jan. 17, 1782, married Jane Givens, a native of North Carolina, born Jan. 17, 1762. They had a family of seven children-Robert G.(White), born Dec. 29, 1782; Peggie, Oct. 15, 1781; Lucy, Oct. 23, 1786; Sarah, April 2, 1789; Polly, Oct. 30, 1791; John, Feb. 19, 1794; Rebecca, July 19, 1796. Robert G. went to Indiana, and thence, in 1818, to Illinois and located in Bond County. In 1836 he came to McHenry County and settled near Marengo, where he died in 1871. Of his six children, four are living- Mary J.(Walkup), born Oct. 18, 1815; John, now in Minnesota; Alfred, of Marengo, and Esther L., wife of William P.Walkup. Isaac and Benjamin are deceased.
History of McHenry County, Illinois-1885
Transcribed by Anne Kunzen
JOSIAH WALKUP
Josiah Walkup, one of the earliest settlers of the county, was born in Greenbrier County, Va., Feb. 22, 1815, and died in Nunda, McHenry Co., Ill., Sept 12, 1876. He passed his early life in Virginia, and there received a limited common-school education. His parents were upright and worthy people, and he was brought up with habits of industry, temperance, and frugality. In 1835 he removed with his parents to McHenry County, where he resided until his death. In 1836 he was converted and thenceforth led a blameless Christian life. In 1840 he married Margaret St. Clair, who survived him. Mr. Walkup was naturally possessed of more than ordinary physical and mental endowments. In business he was faithful and conscientious. For twenty-one years he was railroad agent at Crystal Lake station.
[Source: "History of McHenry County, Illinois : together with sketches of its cities, villages and towns, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens..." Chicago: Inter-State Pub. Co., 1885 - Transcribed by K.Torp]
WILLIAM WALKUP
William P. Walkup, section 13, Dorr Township, was born in Greenbrier County, W.Va., May 25, 1817, a son of Christopher and Sabrina (Beard) Walkup, natives of Virginia, of Scotch and Irish descent. In 1835 his parents came to McHenry County, and settled on the farm where he now lives. His mother died in 1855, and in 1858 his father went to Kansas and remained four years. He then returned to Illitiois and lived in Abingdon,Knox County,till his death, in 1870. He was Sheriff of McHenry County several years, and Justice of the Peace of Dorr Township. Of his family of six children, but three are living. After reaching his majority William P. Walkup paid a mortgage held by Isaac Torbert, on his father's farm, and took possession of the property. He owns 200 acres of choice land, and in addition to cultivating it carries on a large stock and dairy business. He was married in 1848 to Esther L. White, a native of Bond County, Ill. They have had three children; but one is living-Lowell A. Mr. Walkup was Postmaster of Ridgefield twelve years, and has been School Trustee twenty years. He is a member of the firm Dufield & Walkup, blacksmiths, Ridgefield. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church.
History of McHenry County, Illinois-1885
Transcribed by Anne Kunzen
WALTON FAMILY data
Before 1 Jan 1778, one John Walton had taken 200 acres of land in Greenbrier County (Surveyor's Record Book, No. 1, p. 314; Lewisburg, VA)
The Tax Records of VA show John Walton Sr. and John Walton, Jr. in Greenbrier County in 1784 and 1786; and in the latter year also James Walton.
In 1782 John, James and William Gilkison were there (cf. the marriages of Job Walton's children)
John Walton, Sr. or Jr., signed his will on 17 Aug 1807, and it was probated 26 April 1808. He mentioned his wife, Anne, and the following children: William, George, James, John, Elijah, Elisha, Jane, Nancy, Elizabeth and Eleanor. (Will Book 1, p. 231; Lewisburg, VA)
On 12 Nov 1810, James Walton signed his will and it was probated in December of the same year. In it he mentioned his wife Nancy1, and the following children: Samuel, William, Solomon, Joseph, James, Charles Abigail, Petty, Nancy and Polly.
(1Possibly the daughter of Joseph McClung, according to a letter from Miss Eva L. Christensen of Sacramento, CA, dated 13 July 1963 - James Walton m. Nancy McClung, dau of Joseph and Margaret Bell McClung. Their daughter Nancy was the third wife of James McClung, son of John and Jane Bollar McClung and had Virginia, Hester, and General Davis McClung. Polly married 15 Aug 1833 John McClung, son of James and Mary Alderson McClung, and died 1850. Their children were James, Mary, Agnes, Charles, William, Minerva, Margaret, Louisa Jane, Abigail, Amos, Virginia, Catherine, Sara and Martha)
Research by John Walton, presented in the NSGS quarterly, vol. 52, Part 1, Number 2; June 1964
Transcribed by K. Torp
