SENT FROM BARBARA HIATT
SENT FROM BARBARA HIATT
Historical Records of Old Frederick Co., Va. by Dr. Wilmer Kerns, publ.
1991. pg. 124.
EDWARDS, Thomas II, son of Thomas and Sarah (should be Mary HIETT) EDWARDS, was born in 1763 and died on Jan 12, 1814. He married Martha Kesner (KISNER or KEENER) on Dec. 13, 1785. Nearby in the same graveyard is a very old stone which says only, "E.E.(dwards), Jan 20, 1795." My guess is that htis is the death date for one of the children of Thomas and Martha EDWARDS, possibly named Elizabeth. Source: Tombstone inscription in the Thoams Edwards, II, graveyard, behind the Cold Stream Assembly of God Church, Capon Bridge, W. Va.)(61.) THOMAS EDWARDS (8.) (2.) (1.):
b. prob. 1750's, Frederick or Hampshire Co., Va.; d. prior 1827, prob. Hampshire Co., Va. (now W. Va.) ; m. prob. 1785, Frederick Co., Va., to MARTHA KESNER, parentage unknown; b. date and place not known; d. 1827, Hampshire Co., Va.
CH: (321.) Ann. (Others?).
Marriage bonds of Hampshire Co., Va.:
1824 - John Powell to Ann Edwards, ward of Robert Sherrard.
1826 - David Scott to Martha Edwards - Thomas Edwards, bondsman.Hampshire Co., Va.: Will of Martha Edwards, widow of Thomas - 1827.
Dau. Ann Powell. Exec., John Powell.Edwards, Thomas, Jr, son of Thomas Sr. and Mary (Hiett) Edwards, was born in 1763 and died on Jan. 12, 1814. He married Martha Kesner (Kisner or Keener) on Dec. 13, 1785. Nearby in the same graveyard is a very old stone which says only, "E.E(Edwards), Jan. 20, 1795." My guess is that this is the date for the one of the children of Thomas and Martha Edwards, possibly named Elizabeth. Source: Tombstone inscription in Thomas Edwards, II, graveyard, behind the Cold Stream Assembly of God Church, Capon Bridge, W.Va.
Sent by Charles House
Killed by Indians, Sent by Lela Lillian Lones from the Edwards Book page 35.
In 1771, Captain James Booth and John Thomas settled on Booth's Creek. In 1772, David Edwards,son of Thomas nad Mary Hiatt, made his improvements at the headwaters of Booth's Crrek. The same year, Isaac Edwards settled on the right hand fork of Ten Mile Creek.
In his History of Harrison County, Henry Hammon wrote:
"When the country was first occupied, for many years, there was scarcely ever a warm night the entire summer. The evenings were cool and the mornings were uncomfortably cold. The coldness of the nights were owing to the deep shade of the lofty forest trees, which everywhere covered the earth. Wild forest herbage prevented the ground from being heated by rays of the sun.
"Summers were mostly dry, the small streams dwindled to small rivulets - and the mills were not expected to do any grinding after the first of June, excepting at intervals after heavy rains."The Spring of the year must have been made colorful and fragrant by the flowering trees, such as dogwood, locust, wild chery, poplar or tulip tree, chestnut, shumate, crabapple, and different varieties of haws.
In the Summers, the settlers could gather strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, elder berries, gooseberriees, plums, mulberries, graps, black haws, red and sugar haws.
In the Fall, there were hickory nuts, black walnuts, white walnuts, (butternuts), hazel nuts, chestnuts, beechnuts, and acorns for the settlers and their domestic animals.
There were some buffalo, more elk, and numerous bears and deer. There were also a few panthers and numerous wildcats and wolves. Small game found in what became Harrison County were grey, black, and red squirrles, the raccon, ground hogs, mink, and the land water animals - muscrats, beaver, and others. Game birds included wild turkeys, pheasants, ducks, geese, and pigeons. Mention of rattlesnakes and copperheads should not be ommitted, for these were pleantiful and very much dreaded.
The first settlers in North Western Virginia settled on whatever land suited them and by "Tomahawk Right" marked that location. Among the settlers these rights were generally respected and often sold to others when the "owner" wished to move to a new location which better suited him. Many of the first settlers came without their families, cleared the land, planted corn and built a cabin. More then one settler had to wait and plant a second crop when the crop was destroyed or lost due to depradations by animals before bringing his family to the new home. Once he was assured of enough corn to see his fmaily through the winter, the settler returned with hs family.
The settlers brought to their new homes what could be packed in by horse or carried. Included were cooking utensils - the iron skillet, the iron pot and/or Dutch oven. The cabins were furnished with furniture of teh "rudest character". Chairs and tables might be a slab of timber hewed out with a broad axe. Four holes were bored by an auger and sticks or lengths of small tree trunks were stcuk in the holes for legs. Wooden bowls and platters were common tableware. Spoons were of horn or wood. The unting knife served as both knife and fork. Pewter dishes, plates and spoons gave elegance to the table and home.
The home was lighted at night by the fireplace supplemented by dip candles or a lamp made of a grease filled gourd with twisted cotton wick. In some localities, pine knots were used.
As soon as it was known along the South Branch that the settlements had commenced in what was reported to be country full of game, many pioneers crossed the mountains to North Western Virginia. By 1774, seventeen families had setteld on Booth's Creek. Nine more families joined them in the next two years. The names changed when settlers "sold their land" and moved to a new location.
Robert Park had settled on the West Branch of the Monongahela River in 1776. He sold his land before 1781 when he purchased land from John Stackhouse, whose holdings adjoined David Edwards's on Booth Creek. In 1771, Thomas Merrifield had located on Homer's RUn, a branch of Booth's Creek, in the present county of Marion. Richard Merrifield and Moses Templin located on Lost Run, near Simpson's Creek, near the boundary between the present counties of Harrison and Marion.
When he first came to North Western Virginia in 1771, Samuel Merrifield (Sr.) apparently had settled on West Fork adjoining Coon's Creek. He sold the original 400 acres plus preemption 800 acres when he settled "at the mouth of Tygart's Valley River, in Forks of said river". Richard Merifield sold his land on Booth's Creek and settled in 1776 on Lost Run (now in Taylor County). John Merefield had not located on Booth's Creek. His improvements were made in 1774 on Otter Creek, a branch of Tygart's Valley River. NOTE: Merrifield, Merefield, Merifield found in the records.
Samuel Merrifield (Jr.) settled on Booth's Creek in 1773. Thomas Merifield made his improvements on waters of Booth's Creek, on Horner's Run, in 1776.
Every settlement had it's own place of defense into which people could retire when threatened with danger from teh Indians. For the people of BOoth's Creek, there was Fort Edwards. According to Roy Bird Cook in "Virginia Frontier Defenses 1719-1795" in West Virginia's Blue Book, 1936, Fort Edwards was a "small fort situated 5 miles south of present Boothsville in Booth's Creek District, Taylor Co." It was a stopover point for the forces from Power's Fort on their way to installations both north and south of Both's and Simpson Creek.REVOLUTARY WAR IN NORTH WESTERN VIRGINIA
An act was passed in May 1777 requiring that "all freeborn male inhabitatns of Virginia over 16 years of age should take an oath renouncing all allegiance to George III, King of Great Britain, and swearing to bear true allegiance to the Commonwealth of Virginia, andt oreprot any treason of traitorous conspiracies coming to their knowlege against Virginia, or any of the Unitted States of America.
At the instigation of British Officers during the Revolutionary War, the Inidans intensifired their predatory forays on the Virginia frontier. There was no interference from the Virginia Military for they were engaged east of the Blue Mountains.
It was in 1777 that Cornstalk, a friendly Shawnee Chief, visited Fort Randolph to warn that the Indians were preparing to make war on the frontier. While he was a guest of the commander of the fort, one of the soldiers of the garrison, while out hunting, was killed by an Indian. The soldiers mtinied and murdered Chief Cornstalk.
1777 was called "The Bloody Year of the Three 7's". The murder of Cornstalk stirred the war like nation of the Shawnees to avenge the death of their chief.
THe British urged other tribes to attack the frontier settlemnets, and furnished the Indians with supplies and gave rewards for prisoners. Heavy Indian incursions were made during the Summer of 1778 on the Greenbrier Upper Potaomac Rivers. In May of 1778, two hundred Indians attacked Forth Donally in Greenbrier (about ten miles north of the town of Lewisburg).
On the upper Potomac, a large force of Indians besiged Fort Randolph (Point Pleasant). Failing to take the fort, they started up the Kanawha toward the interior settlements. Small band of Indians spread out through the valeys of the Monongahela, killing and plundering. Attacks were made on Eagle Creek, a tributary of Ten Mile Creek, Dunkard Bottom of Cheat River, Hacker Creek Setttlement, near West's FOrt, on COburn's Creek near Coburn's Fort, on Dunkard Creek near Stradlers's Fort, at West's Fort, and on Booth's Creek.
When the hostile incursions of the Indians had apparently ceased for that year, the people abandoned the forts and returned home to their repsective occupations.
Apparently feeling that hte Indians would not return again, and that it was safe to make a trip, David Edwars, son of Thomas Edwards of Capon Valley, went to Winchester.
"In that time those who resided on the frontier were in the habit of giong on horseback to Winchester and other points in teh Shenandoah Valley, for the purpose of securing salt, powder, lead, and other articles indispensible to pioneer life, and which could not be secured elsewhere. Late in teh fall, David Edwards made a journey to Winchester and, having procured a load of salt and shot, began his return home. When he reached the Valley River, at point near the mouth of Big Sandy Creek, he was shot, tomahawked, and scalped. His body lay for some time before it was discovered and buried. He was the last person who fell victim to savage engeance in Norhtwestern Virginia in the year 1778." THis account of the murder of David Edwards is from the Barbour Section of Hadesty's Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia, published in 1883.
"David Edwards was killed by Indians along the Tygart Valley River, probalby near Colfax, in 1778." The Monongalia Story, Vol I. 1974, page 202.
The three sons of David Edwards and Sarah Par4ke, m. c1772, were less than six years of age when the Inidans killed their father. Jesse Edwards was born 2 September 1773, Andrew Edwards was born 5 August 1775, and David Edwards was born c1777.
The area where they were living when Jesse and Andrew were born was called Deistirct of West Augusta and when David was born it was known as Monongalia County (established 1776).(See further story under Nancy Edwards McKeever.)
Five of the first ten listed families to arrive in Pike Co., IL is listed on page 234 of the 1830 United States census for Pike County, IL, they were: David Edwards, his osn, Andy Edwards, Samuel Clarke, Edward Earl, and William Harvey. Amasa Shinn was in Adams County just norht of Kinderhook Township.
Line 2 on page 234 of the 1830 census for Pike County lists a woman 70-80 living with William Harvey. This indicates that Grandmother Sarah Shinn may have accompanied the other Shinns to Illinois, to be near her two living Edwards sons, David and Andrew.(62.) DAVID EDWARDS (8.) (2.) (1.):
b. prob. 1750's, Frederick or Hampshire Co., Va.; d. prior 1786, Hampshire Co., Va.; m. prob. 1770's, Hampshire Co., Va., to ----- ------, parentage unknown; b. date and place not known; d. date and place not known.
CH: (322.) Jesse; (323.) Andrew; (324.) David.
When Thomas Edwards wrote his will on 8 February 1786, he named son David, deceased, and David's three sons named above, (see p. 65).
Sent by Lela Lones
The will of James McBride was written 20 May 1817, probated 15 Mar 1818,
Hampshire Co., Vir.
Sent by Charles House. This is also the line of Heather, from email, 18 Dec 2002. Texasangel05@yahoo.com. Asking for assistance on these families, sent response and waiting to hear back. Larry Anderson
SENT FROM CHARLES HOUSE
Brelsford, Bernard, was born circa 1755 and died in 1843 in Hampshire County. His wife (possibly a second marriage?) was Naomi (Edwards) Owens, daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Hiett) Edwards. Source: Courthouse records.
SENT FROM CHARLES HOUSE
Brelsford, David, died in Hampshire County in May 1850, aged 86 years. This would place his birth year circa 1764. His place of birth not stated, although some researchers have speculated in Pennsylvania. His exact relationship with Bernard, Marjoram and other Belsfords is not known. Source: Mortality Schedule of the 1850 Census, Hampshire County, Va.
Brelsford, Margaret (female), was 86 years old when the 1850 census was taken, meaning a birth year of circa 1764. In the household was Mary Brelsford, age 41 and Milly Brelsford, age 37. Source: 1850 U.S. Census for Hampshire County, Va., Family # 535.
Sent by Charles House.
See also pg. 123 of Historical Records of Old Frederick Co. Va.
by Dr. Wilmer Kerns
Sent by Charles House. Her sister Nancy Edwards McIver married Samuel
Parks following her death. There were children of this marriage, but they are
not known.
Hannah Edwards Park died after the birth of her twin daughters, Mary and
Martha, on 3 Oct 1784, the widower, Samuel Park, son of Andrew Park and Rachel
Mosely, married Hannah's sister, Ann McKeever, on 11 Nov. 1785. (May have been
Nancy Ann, Ann was given in a few of the accounts.) See Edwards book, page 47,
by Lela Lillian Lones, published 1985.