Cover Photo: The photo above is of Maryetta (Mowery) Lowe, born in Lewis County in 18740, married William Richard Lowe in 1860, and died in 1928. Mrs. Lowe was a daughter of John Mowery Jr. and was the ancestor of Chip Lewis.
The first issue of ALLEGHENY REGIONAL ANCESTORS was well received, and I would like to thank everyone for their positive comments. Many persons wrote from other areas to express their approval of such a publication dealing with the Allegheny Mountain Region. Some have joined our organization after having seen a copy of the first issue, and it is hoped that this trend will continue!
Many varied things are planned for future issues, most notable an "all genealogy" issue for number four of volume I (our next issue). Many members have approached me and said that they liked the contents of the first issue, and others have suggested that they would like to see more source "records" in the journal instead of feature length, readable articles. While it has been decided that each issue will normally contain some of both formats, it has been decided to produce an issue at the end of this year with no articles at all, and concentrate specifically on source records containing genealogy.
Members, there is still room in this upcoming issue, so lets all submit something for consideration. While the concept of "all genealogy" may not be well defined to some, a few ideas that would be considered favorable might be: family bible records, obituaries, cemetery lists, unpublished passenger lists, naturalization documents, funeral records, and the list could go on forever. I once saw a family record that a lady's husband had made from cigarette packets in prison! Let your imagination stretch! This is YOUR journal, so lets all support it by submitting materials.
Thanks to all of the members and others who have submitted materials for publication. So far nothing has been rejected, but each item is immediately assigned a priority and submitted materials will not necessarily be published on a first come first published basis. Please remember that older materials will be considered most valuable, and items that are previously unpublished will always be assigned a high priority, these also being considered on an item by item basis. Also it is hoped that members will keep an eye out for short genealogy items carried occasionally in the regular media as these will make excellent items for our news section. Cover photos have been submitted and selected for all issues through issue one of next year, but photo submissions are welcome for issues after that.
The materials published in this issue should for the most part explain themselves. I put together the Summerfield article as several members have asked me about that family at various group meetings over the summer. This article is pure family history, and contains almost no genealogy. The article by William H. Rice on regional cemeteries was culled from his 15+ years of intensive research into mortality records, and presents us with much new information on the oldest cemeteries in the region. J. J. Harris has prepared a fine item giving an unusual perspective on his ancestor, Reverend Simeon Harris. The chronological list of marriages performed by Reverend Harris is an excellent item for those with Barbour County interests.
Thanks to those on the publishing committee and everyone else who have worked so hard to get this and the first issue ready for publication. The girls have typed like troopers and we are now ahead of the game on typesetting. Thanks to the folks at the Ink Spot Printing Company for the price consideration and the excellent job of printing the journal.
Queries can still be taken for the next issue up until the time of the December meeting. If no meeting is held in that month (the matter has not been discussed) then queries can still be mailed up to that meeting date. Genealogy items can be accepted (as far as is now known) up until mid December.
Please address all comments, criticisms, suggestions, ideas, etc. to myself or to a member of the publishing committee as this is the only way we can act upon any suggestions the membership may have.
I hope all who read this issue enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed putting it together.......
The ALLEGHENY REGIONAL FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY, although newly formed, is growing fast. We now can boast of almost 90 members, in several states and two countries. Among the states represented in our membership are: West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Georgia, California, Michigan, Tennessee, Utah, Florida, and Indiana. We are now an international group, with one member in Canada. Between the time of this writing and the distribution of the journal there will probably be other states represented. Along with their dues, a number of persons have made sizable donations and to these we express our sincere thanks! The Society's first journal, published in August, was well received by the membership and others. New members are coming in so fast that the publication of the first issue has not depleted our treasury at all. We hope to report a membership of over 100 Persons by next issue!
We in the group must extend our sincere thanks to the RANDOLPH COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY for donating us a roam in their museum building at Beverly for our newly established library! Society volunteers donated their time to prepare the room and we already have acquired a number of interesting items for our collection. The items now in the library include, but are not necessarily limited to: FADED AGES by David Armstrong, donated by the author; two books of Rockingham County Military records (Revolutionary War and 1812) donated by Vera Lewis; an Early Marriages of Maryland book donated by David Armstrong; a WOODFORD METHODIST CHURCH HISTORY (including births, baptism and marriages from the church records) donated by Hallie Kyle; two copies of the HACKERS CREEK JOURNAL donated by Vera Lewis; a copy of the INTER MOUNTAIN ELKINS CENTENNIAL ISSUE donated by David Armstrong, and a copy of our first journal. Thank to all who have donated books to our library. The plan is to eventually establish a location of our own for our collection, but in the mean time we very much appreciate the kindness of the HISTORICAL SOCIETY in lending us the space to get started. Any member who has written a family history or genealogy or has extra copies of any such material are urged to donate copies of the same to our library. Members, let's show our support for this most important venture...
1992 saw the publication of an important regional history, the HISTQRY OF THE MONTROSE Community by Daisy Ferguson Martin. All persons with research interests relating to the northern part of Randolph County will want to look at this book! The publication includes historical notes on the Leading Creek valley, valuable maps of the Montrose area in olden times, a railroad history, historical notes on Montrose area churches, school information including photos, notes on the town of Kerens, and on Montrose area clubs. Of a genealogical nature, Mrs. Martin's history includes material on the Murphy, Curtis, Guye, Ferguson, Cross, Harris, Teets, Martin, and Wilmoth families among others. Also included are records kept by the midwife Sarah Phillips, and these represent a particularly valuable genealogical source previously unavailable. A very limited number of copies of this valuable history are still available and can be ordered from: Carroll Martin, 112 Orchard Street, Elkins, WV 26241; phone (304) 636 0000. The price is $32.00. If any member has ancestry in the community of Montrose, this will be $32.00 well spent!
The Primitive Baptist Cemetery, or "Arnold Hill" Cemetery, one of Randolph County's oldest large cemeteries, located near the Airport, has recently been cleared by local historian William H. Rice. Officials of the Kittle Family Reunion engaged Mr. Rice for this work, which is about 90% complete. Bill reports that he has unearthed about five grave markers from beneath the soil and he expects to uncover others by the time the work is finished. The cemetery is in the best shape it has been in since the early 1980s, according to Rice, and he says this may be a good time for interested persons to visit the site.
The collecting and computerizing of regional cemeteries by our society is progressing well. A number of members have turned in cemeteries for the project, most notably Davis, WV member Tim Turner who has turned in 28 Dry Fork area cemeteries. Other members who have canvassed and submitted cemetery lists include: Vera Lewis, Lori Phillips, Carolyn Bodkins, Phyllis Daniels, Fred & Mary Ware, Carolyn Channel, and Sandy Blake. Thanks to all these members for their participation. Members, let's all follow their example. This time of year is an excellent time to get to those overgrown family grave plots since the foliage will be off for the winter. That Sunday drive in the country can become useful for generations to come if we take the time to stop and record our ancestors grave markings for posterity!
WDNE Radio of Elkins has been especially co-operative with our group and it's formation. The folks at WDNE have aired a number of public service announcements for our society, and in July our President, Marvin Hill, and Vice President, Vera Lewis were interviewed live on air by News Director William H. Rice. The interview, part of the morning radio show, did much to announce our group to the listeners and to promote our July "workshop" which was well attended. All society members should remember WDNE radio and their kindness to our group!
The summer of 1992 saw the passing of Mrs. Ralph (Ollie) Lundsford in Cortland, Ohio, where she made her home for several years. The former Ollie Collett, Mrs. Lunsford was originally from Elkins, WV and was for many years an avid collector and publisher of historical and genealogical materials on the Randolph County region. Her publications include a Lunsford family history and a Schoonover family history, among others, and she was working on numerous projects in recent years. She has collected a good deal of material on the Collett family, and she had a extensive collection of family Bible records of the Allegheny region. The editor of this journal is sorry to learn of the death of Mrs. Lunsford, and hopes the membership will remember her contributions to regional genealogy.
Persons interested in the genealogy and local history of northeastern Pendleton County will want to look at the large map showing the 1898 resurvey of Levi Hollingsworth's 1794 South Fork land grant. In addition to identifying the locations of the boundaries of many early land grants in the region, the map also shows the location of many 1898 Pendleton County homes, roads, and other structures. Due to an exaggerated fear of damaging the document, the Pendleton County Clerk will not allow it to be xeroxed, but says it may be traced, photographed, or sketched. This interesting item can be found on page 562 of Pendleton County deed book 51, and anyone with interests in that area will want to view this document!
During the 1992 Forest Festival the ALLEGHENY REGIONAL FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY was the subject of a window display in the store window of A & G Appliance on Third Street in Elkins. As a result of this display, our list of members has grown.
The display, prepared by member David Armstrong, featured old photos, a 50 generation pedigree chart, an immigration map of Europe, books, memorial cards, and other items relating to family history.
A fine sign promoting the group was prepared by John McCollam. Ella Ruth Montony, David Armstrong and Beverly Fortney loaned a number of pictures and books for the display, and several books were loaned to us by Vera Lewis.
At this writing the festival is still in progress so it is not known how many new members will be gained by this display, but it is thought that the prominent location of it and the resulting press coverage will do much to promote our group. Judges of the window displays, the Junior Women's Club of Elkins, awarded the display second place.
Comments regarding this page to: Deborah Johnson.