Pocahontas County History Preservation, Digitization, Community

Benjamin Arbogast p. 131, Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County by William T. Price (1901)

This paper is composed of fragmentary notices of one of the early settlers of the Glade Hill neighborhood. Benjamin Arbogast, Senior, the progenitor of a well known branch of the Arbogast relationship, settled early in the century near Glade Hill, on the lands now in possession of Cornelius Bussard, Clark Dilley, and others. In his home were five sons and three daughters: Henry, Solomon, John, Adam, Benjamin, Carlotta, Sally, and Delilah.

Carlotta became Mrs Jonathan Potts, and lived in Upshur County.

Sally became the second wife of Ralph Wanless, near Mt Tabor.

Delilah was first married to Joseph Wooddell, near Green Bank. Her second marriage was with Frederick Pugh, of same vicinity.

In reference to the sons, we have the following particulars, gathered from a variety of sources:

Henry Arbogast married Anna Warwick, on Deer Creek, and settled on a part of the homestead. Their sons Warwick and Newton died while young. Jamieson married Sarah Grimes, and settled on Elk.

Marshall Arbogast married Rachel Nottingham, and lives in Randolph County.

Sally Arbogast became the wife of George Arbogast and lives near Glade Hill.

Margaret was married to Martin Clark Dilley, and lives on part of the homestead.

Minta became Mrs Bud Stalnaker, and lives in Randolph County.

Adam Arbogast p. 122, Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County by William T. Price (1901)

The Arbogast relationship is identified to a marked degree with the history of our Pocahontas people, and justly claims recognition in these short and simple annals. So far as known, the original progenitor of the Arbogasts in Pendleton and Pocahontas was Michael Arbogast, who must have been one of the original pioneers of what is now Highland County, in "Indian Times." He settled there some time previous to 1758. Fort Seybert on South Branch, about twelve miles northeast of Franklin, was the chief place of refuge for all the pioneers in that section when there was danger of being pillaged, slain, or carried into captivity by raiding parties of Indians, led for the most part by Killbuck. Captain Seybert is reported to have made the remark, when his fort was taken in 1758, that if the Arbogasts had been there he could have held the place in spite of the Indians.

Michael Arbogast had seven sons: Adam, George, Henry, John, Michael, David, and Peter,--the two last named were twins. The sons, excepting John, were all very powerful and stalwart in their physique, and were often more than two hundred pounds in weight.

Webmaster's Note: The longest section of this book, simply labeled "Biographic," contains accounts of Pocahontas County families, including family stories as well as information on marriages, births, deaths, and locations of homesteads. Genealogical investigators most often refer to this section, but they may miss information if they confine their research to the section labeled with their forebearer's name. Use of the "search" option on this Web site may uncover references to the person of interest in other sections as well.

Each section is identified with its title and the pages on which it appears in the original book, available as a pdf file.

Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County, West Virginia

by William T. Price

Marlinton, W. VA.
Price Brothers, Publishers
Copyright, 1901

Table of Contents

Section I. Preliminary....1-23
Section II.Geological, Geographical. Climatological....24-49
Section III. Pioneer Methods and Social Customs....50-84
Section IV. NOTES ON FORMATION OF THE COUNTY....85-104
Section V. Biographic....105-557
Section VI. Appendix....558-622

From the Preface:

This volume seems to be the spontaneous outcome of circumstances, or in a sense has simply grown up "without observation." Most of the contents came the compiler's way without ever suspecting their future appearance in book form, by casually noting down what he saw and heard while moving around among the homes of our people, recording interviews with the older venerated persons, or recalling what was suggested during the thirty or forty youthful years of the almost forgotten past, and were published from time to time in the Pocahontas Times.

This portrait of William T. Price is found in his 1901 book, Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County.

The West Virginia Department of Culture and History has a list of published Pocahontas County History resources. They provide links to online versions of two resources,

Harper, Enid. History of Knapp's Creek Community Consisting of the The Hills, Forst, Knapp's Creek and Minnehaha Neighborhoods, Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Morgantown, West Virginia, Agricultural Extension Division, 1924 (On-line version).
Xwv 1. Agr 3. 2: H3.

and

Wilson, Mrs. Stanley. History of Minnehaha Springs Community, Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Morgantown, West Virginia, Agricultural Extension Division, 1928 (On-line version).
Xwv 1. Agr 3. 2: W5.

Another reference on their list is available in its entirety as a pdf file from Google Books: Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County by William T. Price (1901),

Earlier this month, the Archon Database for the Pocahontas County Historical Society went "live." You can now browse descriptions of catalogued holdings, sorted by collection titles and collection creators.

Some of the most interesting material (in my opinion) is located in the Price family collections. I will be digitizing this material starting in April, and making selections available in the Archon database.

Watch this space for further announcements!

• Online Archive. I am in the middle of installing Archon, an "Online Archival Information System," on this server. Once it's up and running, I will load the catalog information for collections of papers currently in the Pocahontas County Historical Society's archive. The next steps will be digitizing those materials, uploading them to the Web, and linking them to the catalog entries. In the meantime, if you'd like to see another collection using Archon, check out The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music at the University of Illinois Archives.
• Content Management System for Pocahontas County History. Once this is in place, site visitors will be able to become active participants by registering as users. "Users" will be able to post comments, contribute to forums, and upload text and images. You'll be able to show us your pictures and tell us your stories, as well as viewing and reading ours.

About the "Pocahontas County Hisory" Web Site

Our Historic Preservation Project aims to promote and document Pocahontas County's local history by identifying and conserving significant papers, artifacts, and places, digitizing these materials, and making them available to a virtual community of students, researchers, and historians. This Web site will present materials as they are digitized. Rather than reading a report on a finished project, like a static history book, you will be able to watch this project as it grows and changes, and before long, you should be able to add your comments, insights, and information.

Our mandate is the preservation, digitization, and sharing of information and tangible materials. These are our working definitions.

I've received some questions regarding records housed in the Pocahontas County Courthouse attic. West Virginia has legislation dictating how counties preserve records, and several people are working to make sure Pocahontas County is in compliance with those regulations. If you'd like to know more about the Public Records Management and Preservation Act, its full text is available at the West Virginia Division of Culture and History web site. The links most likely to answer your questions follow: