Pocahontas County History Preservation, Digitization, Community

John Jordan, p. 500, Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County by William T. Price (1901)

John Jordan, the ancestor of the relationship of that name in Lower Pocahontas, was a very worthy native of Ireland. By occupation he was a tailor, and when he once met a fellow member of the craft after a prolonged separation his friend was very demonstrative in the pleasure the meeting afforded him. In his joyful exhilaration, as a special manifestation of h i s delight, he struck his friend Jordan on the back of h i s hand with a side blow of his own. This friendly lick was so powerful as to inflict a bruise so serious in its effects as to necessitate amputation of the arm just below the elbow. Nevertheless he learned to use a hoe or an axe to a good purpose in after life.

Mr Jordan came to this region as a traveling merchant, dealing in Irish linens and other portable merchandise. He was a "hard money" man in his financial preferences, and converted all paper money he received into silver and gold. Miss Miriam McNeel, daughter of John McNeel, the Levels pioneer, found out in some way that the young merchant had about a half bushel of coin, and it seemed to occur to her mind that if a person disabled as he was could make that much money, he could certainly take good care of her. To the surprise of her friends that a nice sensible' girl as she was should fancy a cripple, she did not discourage the attentions of the hustling young Irishman, and they were happily married.

David James, p. 347, Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County by William T. Price (1901)

David James, Senior, was one of the first settlers of the Droop neighborhood, in Lower Pocahontas. He was from Norfolk, Virginia. It is believed he came here soon after the Revolution, and located for awhile near the head of Trump Run, on property now owned by Richard Callison. He then lived some years at the Rocky Turn, now known as the Irvine Place, where he built a mill. One of the stones is yet to be seen just below the road near where the mill stood.

From the Irvine place he moved on lands now occupied by George Cochran. The house is still standing and furnishes a correct idea of the kind of houses the pioneers lived in. It was here he passed the latter years of his life, and passed away at the age of 104 years. The name and parentage of his wife are not remembered. His family consisted of three daughters and two sons: Nellie, Martha, Sally, David and John. Nellie James was married to Thomas Cochran, second wife, and lived near Marvin.

Martha was married to John Salisbury, and lived on Trump Run, and finally went west. This John Salisbury was a son of William Salisbury, a native of England, who opened the Salisbury settlement on Trump Run. William Salisbury's wife Mary was a native of Scotland. He lived to the age of 104 years, and is to be remembered as one of the pioneers of lower Pocahontas.

Jeremiah Friel, p. 175, Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County by William T. Price (1901)

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.

Joseph Friel married Jane McCollam, and lived on the home place. He served on the first Pocahontas grand jury. His children were Jeremiah, William, George Washington, a Confederate soldier, 31st Virginia Regiment, and died at Stribling Springs in 1862; Hannah, and Mary Ann, now Mrs Joseph Dilley.

John R. Flemmens, p. 274, Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County by William T. Price (1901)

One of the most unique and picturesque characters that figure in our local history was John R. Flemmens, of Laurel Creek. Early in the century residents of the head of Stony Creek saw smoke rising from Red Lick Mountain. At first it was thought to be a hunter's camp. Upon noticing the smoke continuing for some days, curiosity was awakened, and parties went up into the Red Lick wilderness to see what it meant. To their surprise they found a family in camp, arranging for a permanent settlement.

There were five persons, John R. Flemmens and Elizabeth Flemmens, his wife; James and Frederick were the sons, and one daughter, Elizabeth. There were nice horses and several cows ranging about. The family had been there for several weeks, yet no one ever found out when or whence they had come. Had these persons arrived in a balloon from the clouds at midnight, their coming could not have been better concealed than it seemed to have been from the neighbors.

William Nottingham, p. 526, Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County by William T. Price (1901)

For more than a hundred years Nottingham has been a familiar name in our part of West Virginia. The ancestor of the Nottingham relationship was William Nottingham, Senior, a native of England. His wife, whose name cannot be recalled, was of Irish descent. Soon after the Revolution these persons settled in what is now Pocahontas on land at present owned by Uriah Hevener and the heirs of the late Washington Nottingham. Their family consisted of live sons and a daughter. Their names were William, Sampson, James, Jacob, George and Elizabeth. James Nottingham migrated to Tennessee. Sampson Nottingham settled on the upper part of the home place. Jacob Nottingham settled on part of the Glade Hill farm, then went to Braxton County. George Nottingham settled, it is believed, in Lewis County.

William Nottingham, Junior, married Mary Arbogast, daughter of Adam Arbogast, and settled on the farm now held by the family of the late Adam Nottingham. In reference to his family the following particulars have been furnished us by his son, Harvey Nottingham.

Margaret Nottingham married James Moore in the Hills. Mary Moore, her daughter, married Clayton Dilley. She was the mother of A. L. Dilley and F. M. Dilley. A. L. Dilley is remembered as one of the founders of the Pocahontas Herald. William Moore, a son of James and Margaret Moore, was in the Confederate service, and is numbered with the unknown dead.

William Poage, p. 513, Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County by William T. Price (1901)

The Poage relationship claims a place in the annals of our county, and some attention will be given to them in this sketch.

The Poages are of pure Scotch-Irish ancestry. The line of descent can be traced to two brothers, Robert and John Poage, who "proved their importation at their own charges" at Orange Courthouse, 1740. The Pocahontas Poages are the descendants of Robert Poage, who settled between Staunton and Fort Defiance, and was among the first to occupy that attractive portion of the famous Valley of Virginia. His wife was Elizabeth Preston, whose family settled in the vicinity of Waynesboro with the pioneers about 1740. Their son John married Mary Blair and settled near the Poage homestead in Augusta County.

William Poage, one of John Poage's sons, married Margaret Davies and settled in the Little Levels about 1782, at the place where Charles W. Beard now resides. Mrs Poage died in 1843, aged 98 years. Their children were William, George Washington, Moses Hoge, Samuel Davies, and Elizabeth.

William Poage, Junior, married the widow Nancy Gatewood, a daughter of Major Jacob Warwick, and lived at Martin's Bottom. Their daughter Rachel was married to Josiah Beard, of Locust.

John R. Ruckman, p. 159, Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County by William T. Price (1901)

Among the citizens of our county in later years from the forties to the sixties, that took a lively interest in everything that promised to promote the interests of education, morality, and the prosperity of the county generally, John Hartman Ruckman deserves more than a brief notice.

He traced his ancestry to one Samuel Ruckman, a native of England, and born in 1643. The Ruckmans had lived awhile in north east Wales, bordering England, and thence came to Long Island, New York, in 1682. Thomas Ruckman, son of Samuel Ruckman, the Welsh emigrant, was born on Long Island in 1682, and his son James Ruckman, another link in the ancestral chain, was born in New Jersey in 1716. James Ruckman's son, David Ruckman, was born in New Jersey in 1747. David Ruckman is the progenitor of the Ruckman relationship in Highland and Pocahontas Counties. H e came to what is now south east Highland County, Virginia, and settled in lower Back Creek Valley, about 1784. The place is now occupied by William Price Campbell, whose wife is a daughter of David Ruckman, a grandson of the pioneer.

David L. Ruckman p. 489 Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County by William T. Price (1901)

Fifty years ago one of the most active men in lower Pocahontas was David Little Ruckman, Constable of the Levels District. He was tall and wiry in person, quick and nervous in his movements, and usually rode in a rapid trot. He always meant business, and when he went to collect a debt the money or property had to be in evidence. Were an arrest to be made he nearly always found the person that was wanted. His home was in the cove near Marvin, and is now occupied by his grandson, Mathews Ruckman.

Full particulars of his ancestry are given in another chapter. David L. Ruckman was born on Back creek. H e had three brothers who lived to be grown. Samuel Ruckman, whose son Colonel David V. Ruckman is widely known in our county. John Ruckman went to Ohio. James Ruckman settled in Illinois. He had also these sisters: Fannie, who married John Gum. She was the mother of Mrs Samuel Harper, on Knapps Creek, and Mrs Martha Ginger, whose son George W. Ginger now resides in Huntersville, the village blacksmith. Mr Ginger, her husband, was killed during the war. Mary Ann Ruckman went with her brother John to Ohio.

David L. Ruckman came to Pocahontas in 1832 and located at the place already pointed out. He married Priscilla Wade, daughter of Otho Wade of Highland. She was a very superior person in all the relations of life. She died in 1860. Her husband died in 1841, thirteen years after their removal to Pocahontas from their home in lower Highland.

James Rodgers, p. 535, Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County by William T. Price (1901)

Among the worthy industrious persons whose arduous toils and severe privations helped to make our county what it is, deserving of respectful mention was the late James Rodgers, Senior. He was a native of Madison County, born February 13, 1789. His first marriage was with a Miss Jackson of Madison County. The issue of this marriage was seven children. The sons were Robert, whose wife was a daughter of John Smith, one of the pioneers of Stony Creek, Joseph, and Drury. The daughters were Sarah, Elizabeth, Mary, and Tabitha. Respecting these children we have virtually no particulars in hand.

James Rodgers came to Pocahontas in 1824 and settled in the woods on Lewis Ridge, at a spot overlooking the Buckeye Cove. Thus he and his family became identified with the county almost from its organization.

Samuel Price, p. 545, Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County by William T. Price (1901)

What is relied upon as authentic tradition is to the effect that the progenitor of the Price relationship in Greenbrier. Botetourt, Craig, Monroe, and Pocahontas counties was one Samuel Price, who was among the earlier settlers of Augusta County in the vicinity of New Hope. H e was it is believed a native of Wales but had lived in Maryland before coming to Virginia. So far as known his family consisted of three sons, Thomas, Jacob, and Samuel. All three were Revolutionary soldiers and Indian fighters.

Samuel Price, Junior, settled in Greenbrier County, near Savanna Mills, on preempted lands, a part of which is now in the possession of Washington Price, a descendant of the fourth remove. Samuel Price's first wife was Margaret Black, of Albemarle County, and her child red were Samuel (third), William, Jacob, James, Sally, who became Mrs Michael Bright; Mrs Thomas Beard and Mrs Jacob Walkup. The names of Mrs Beard and Mrs Walkup are not known to the compiler. The second marriage of Samuel Price, Jr., was with another Miss Margaret Black, of Augusta County, and a relative of the former wife. Her children were John, whose son Washington has just been named, a daughter who became Mrs Archibald McClintic and went west; Margaret, who became Mrs Hemptonstall. She was the mother of the late Jesse Bright, near Frankfort, W. Va.