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Nicholas Co. <W.Va. Cemeteries INCLUDING RESEARCH PÁTA ON SMITH- JONES-m LLIAMS-FOSTER FAMILIES OF SOUTHERN W.I/A. Helen S. Stinson © 1983 CP__TN- 28 7733 NICHOLAS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA CEMETERIES (Vol.1) Copied from the Original Tombstones by Helen S. Stinson Includes research data on SMITH-JONES- WILLIAHS-FOSTER families of Southern West Virginia Order Copies From: NICHOLAS COUNTY HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, Box 443 Summersville, W.Va. 26651. $13.00 post. pd. OGDEN FAMILY HISTORY r~- n -n tR 539 Twenty Fourfh s r^' °9den, Ulah 84403 i To Granny Copyright 1983 Helen S. Stinson All Rights Reserved PREFACE Effort was made to copy EVERY tombstone in the enclosed cemetery lists, unless indicated otherwise. Some graves (as many as 50% in some cemeteries) were marked only with rocks, or with rusted and broken and unreadable mortuary markers. Some graves had no markers at all. Some tombstones were so worn or broken as to be rendered partially or totally unreadable. Not all cemeteries in a given area were copied since we have not as yet located all of the cemeteries in all areas. It was our good fortune to occasionally be accompanied by a person who knew the names of persons in unmarked graves, or who could supply names of parents or mates. Such added data will be in (parentheses). No attempt was made to copy sentimental inscriptions such as "Gone but not forgotten". A^l information of a historical or genealogical nature was faithfully copied. The tombstone inscriptions did not read exactly as listed herein since it is needful to find a uniform way of copying data. No attempt was made to alter spellings as found on tombstones. If a tombstone contained questionable data, or was in some manner difficult to translate, such listings will be followed by a (?). If data was left out, such as a death date, there will be to indicate missing data. The placing of the dates on tombstones will usually indicate if the date given was a birth or a death date. It is impossible to tell from a tombstone if an infant was stillborn or a live birth. However, if the child was named, this sometimes (though not always) means that it was a live birth. On some tombstones, a woman's maiden name is given (such as "daughter of Zachariah WHITE"). In such instances, her married surname will generally appear first, and her maiden name will be given as part of her middle name, such as : YOUNG, Sally Sue WHITE". She will appear in the index under both her married and maiden names. The middle name of "Bell" is sometimes a woman's maiden name (BELL is a fairly common name in the area). The following symbols or methods will appear in these listings : 1. An asterisk (*) indicates that it is a double or triple marker, meaning that two or more persons shared the same tombstone. 2. When a name is underlined, or a date is underlined, this is to indicate that this is the way the information appeared on the tombstone. 3. b. means "born" and d. means "died". *b/d" means born and died the same year. 4. A date written "-1879-" means that only one date appeared on the marker, usually in the middle of the marker, indicating that this may be a stillborn child. 5. A date written "1925 " means that only one date appeared, usually on the left side of the marker, indicating a year of birth, but no death date was included for whatever reasons, often that the person has not yet died, or that his family did not get around tc putting the death date on the marker. 6. The abbreviation "dau" means daughter. 7. A NICKNAME will usually be offset by quotation marks : "Slugger". Many nicknames were used on tombstones, and not all of those are easy to tell from real names. Some of the most commonly used nicknames are: Polly or Molly for Mary; Sally for Sarah; Jenny for Jane; Hattie for Harriet; Peggy for Margaret; Allie for Alice; Patsy for Martha; Nellie for Eleanor; Betsy or Betty or Lizzie for Elizabeth; Bud for Junior. There was no effort made to draw PLAT MAPS. Most country burials are randomly placed. However, in most of the cemeteries, we copied names as we got to them, as close to row lines as we could figure it out, or as conveniently as the topography would allow. No attempt was made to copy tombstones in alphabetical order (except in the index). People were often buried next to close kin, and sometimes those kinship ties (as in a married daughter being buried next to her parents) can only be determined by proximity of burial sites. UNISEX names are often confusing. If the tombstone indicated "son" or "daughter", or someone with us knew the person, then the gender is indicated in the listing. In W.Va., persons whose names ended in a short "a" sound, as in "Arizona", were sometimes listed on the marker as having a long "e" sound, which would render the name as "Zoney". MILITARY MARKERS were used in preference to mortuary or family tombstones because they are more apt to be the most accurate and complete in giving names and full dates. Not all military ranks and outfit numbers were given in the listings, especially for persons who served in recent wars, because such information can be obtained from military records. If it was a historical war (Civil War, War of 1812, Revolutionary War, or Spanish-American War), then this will be noted in the listing. Many military markers gave only one date, and that is usually the death date. BLOCK LETTERING is very difficult to decipher at times. "G" and "C", "6" and "8", or "3". and "5" are often difficult to distinguish. We made every effort to be accurate in these listings, but being human, some errors may have crept in unawares. The MAP included herein is not intended to be "to scale". It is merely to furnish those not familiar with the county with some idea as to where cemeteries are located in relation to the Gauley River,which furnishes an east-west dividing line. Many of the deeds listed property as being located north or south of the Gauley River. DIRECTIONS to the various cemeteries are given as accurately as we were able to do it, though most of the burial grounds located outside the towns may require a local person to serve as guide in locating the site. FAMILY GENEALOGIES contained at the back of the book are not intended to be complete. Data gathered for more than 10 years, from many sources, has been placed in loose leaf notebooks, and these random notes are often the result of looking for specific families and not all the "shirt tail" relatives. Sources of information will generally be noted. SOURCES of genealogies are numerous, but records utilized most often are courthouse records (vital records, probates, land and property, court records).military records, and Bible records, plus local histories. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to my husband (Dean) who pays for all my travel expenses and supplies, and who patiently tolerates all the clutter associated with putting a book together. Thanks to my mother (Delia Williams Smith), who has been my "Girl Friday". She chalked tombstones where required, brushed off dirt and moss, dug the dirt away from tombstone inscriptions so I could read them, kept an eagle eye on the work lest I overlook anything, furnished another pair of eyes in event there was some question about an inscription, shielded my clipboard from the rains, carried the cemetery tools, and furnished me with room and board during my numerous trips. Her unfailing companionship during these trips has made my work much more pleasant than if I had to work alone. Thanks to Andrew Foster, who furnished his expertise as a guide, and who also chauffered us into the rougher areas in his 4 wheel drive. He graciously gave permission for me to use the Foster family Bible records included herein. Several persons went out of the way to lead me to burial sites: Fred Bussy, Edna Nutter Henderson, Ada Dorsey, my Aunt Gertrude Duffy Shaffer, Rev. Steve Summers, and my cousin Hubert Smith. Filling station attendants at Drennen and Muddlety were helpful with directions. Mr. Robert Campbell, a former Nicholas County schoolteacher who presently resides in Clearwater, Florida, has been helpful in providing me with information about persons who might assist me in locating burial sites and has gone the extra mile in providing me with historical information. The office staff at the Nicholas County Chronicle have been most supportive of my work. Ludella Seabolt is always warm and gracious about providing information as we have requested it. I owe a great debt of gratitude to David K. McGraw of Louisa, Kentucky, who took me by the hand when I was a novice researcher,and who has always gone out of his way to provide me with research assistance. My thanks to all of the above persons. Without their help, this book would not have been possible. In searching for origins of Smith, Jones,and Williams families, it was necessary to utilize some (but not all) of the records of neighboring counties. The intent of including this information in a cemetery book is to make some family researchers aware of the diversity of records, to the end that perhaps some clues might be sifted out of such a vast accumulation of data. By noting each tombstone of a specific surname, in a specific locality, perhaps family relationships may be surmised.

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