Early days in Clay and Nicholas Counties, West Virginia, are recalled through a mixture of colorful tales and factual data in this booklet comprised of excerpts from three rare vintage books. The New 35-page comb-bound booklet is printed on 8 1/2 x 11" paper, with the print size enlarged slightly . The front cover is a Parchtex card stock, protected with a vinyl sheet.
Communities listed for this area by the National Association of Counties include: Clay County -- Bentree, Bickmore, Big Otter, Bomont, Clay (County Seat), Dille, Duck, Fola, Glen, Harrison, Indore, Ivydale, Lizemores, Maysel, Nebo, Ovapa, Pigeon, Procious, Valley Fork, Wallback, Widen. Nicholas County -- Belva, Birch River, Calvin, Canvas, Cottle, Craigsville, Dixie, Drennen, Fenwick, Gilboa, Keslers Cross Lanes, Leivasy, Mount Lookout, Mount Nebo, Nettie, Pool, Richwood, Runa, Summersville (County Seat), Swiss, Tioga. (Some of these towns may not be mentioned in the book.)
The source books include: West Virginia in History, Life, Literature and Industry by Morris Purdy Shawkey (1928); History of West Virginia by Virgil A. Lewis (1889); and Virginia, a Guide to the Mountain State, a 1941 WPA publication.
Among the many topics are: Wilson Cary Nicholas; original trustees of Nicholas County; Forests and Lumbering in West Virginia with picture of plant at Richwood; Clay's famous apple; Summerville and a beautiful lady spy; the ghost and his dog in Haunted Valley; How Swiss got its name; First Clay County Court; a lumber town -- appropriately named Richwood; a lumberjack's meal: Catheads and jerkwater or cow; Spud and Splinter Festival; and other bits of history and trivia. There are pictures of Hominy Creek and the Falls of Grassy Creek, both in Nicholas County.
Attention Genealogists: This booklet contains relatively detailed biographies of many county residents of the late 1800s. These frequently include ancestors, siblings, children, in-laws, affiliations, war records, and business activities, in the course of which they often shed light on area businesses, churches, professions and institutions, and on the events of the day. They include (not in alphbetical order): James I. Finlinson, L. French Herold, John Marshall Wolverton, George W. Summers, Chester W. Seeley, Emerson E. Deitz, Dr. James McClung, Arden L. Craig, Omar Garfield Robinson, Harrison Groves, Perry N. Wiseman, Opha Clark Lewis, Wallace P. Kincaid, Allen E. Dorsey (including his poem "Lindbergh's Flight), Claude J. Bell, George W. Shawyer, John O. McQueen, Alexander N. Breckinridge, A. Lee Stewart, Eugene Peck Alderson, Stuart R. King, Charles E. Stephenson, Gordon G. Duff, James O. Dodrill, Rev. Jacob L. Dotson Jr., William A. Andrews, Oscar Lee Hall, Rev. Ben F. Donley, Dr. Robert A. Hamrick, Dr. Russell S. Hamrick, Paul Hardman, Buren Stephenson, Ralph R. Lockhart, Edward G. Pierson, Mark C. Pugh, William Scott Triplett.
Wouldn't this make a unique gift?
|