Pioneers in Wood County, West Virginia, Vol. 1

PIONEERS IN WOOD COUNTY, W. VA., VOL. I BY JOHN A. HOUSE 1936‘ BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF EARLY SETTLERS IN WOOD COUNTY PIONEERS IN AND NEAR BELLEVILLE. JOSEPH WOOD The foremost character in the early history of the Belleville colony was Joseph wood, founder of the station, and general manager of the colony, which was planted by William Tilton on his vast holdings in Wood, (then Harrison), County, Virginia, in 1785. Tilton, whowas a wealthy Philadelphia merchant, capitolist and land speculator, camewith the party, and remained for a time, but Woodwas his manager, and later became possessor of the lands on which the settlement was made, Joseph Woodcame to wood County, December 16th, 1785, though he had visit ed the spot in the summerbefore, and was several weeks on the way. He married a daughter of James Penthliver, one of his “Pilgrim” colonist party. As Belleville was a part of KanawhaCounty before 1800, there is no rec ord at Parkersburg of the event. After the loss of that part of "the original four thousand acres" included in the claim of Dr. Craik, he movedto the Marietta colony, where he acquired prominence, becoming a judge. Later, Judge Wooddisposed of the ramainder of his lands in the Belleville tract, as shownelsewhere, and remained a citizen of the buckeye state until his death. GEORGE D. AVERY George Dollbeare Avery was the proprietor of the Dr. Craik survey, con sisting of thirteen hundredseventy-four acres of the Belleville bottoms. Averywas, like most of the first settlers of the Belleville colony, a northern man, yet like other northern men who were pioneers of woodCounty; the Spencers, Cooks, Stokelys, and others, he indulged in the ownership of slaves, when living in a state where he could. ‘ I have nothing to show the date of his birth or death. He was a native -of Connecticut, and from there came to Belleville in 1794 with his family which consisted of his wife and two sons of his wife, of whomhe was guardian. These were the Champlins of the later history of the section. A son, George, may have been born after he came to Belleville. His wife died at Belleville before 1806, and was buried in the old Belle ville cemetery, about a half mile below the mouth of Lee Creek, before 1806. He had one son George, who was at home in 1806. As late as 1830, George D. Avery made a deed for the old roadway above the present village. Whether this man, then a resident of the city of Washing~ ton, was the father or son, I have nothing to show. The nameoccurs in the lat er records'of the county, but whether the same family or not, I do not know. .Avery was a NewEnglander, from NewLondon, Connecticut. He came to Belle ‘ ville in 1794. Oneaccount says his sister married Henry L. Prentiss, but that is in error. I believe the connection was that Harry L. Prentiss’ mother was a sister to Avery's wife, as was also Samuel Allen's wife, Esther M. Cressy. 2. PIONEERS IN WOOD COUNTY Avery at once laid out a town, if indeed his town lots were not the same as those of the former proprietors. His lots were_in_two rows, and were one hundred by two hundred.feet. There was one street fronting on the Ohio River, a part of the river road. Back of the lots was a twenty foot alley, and then another row of lots, with probably provision for another street beyond. There was a cross street where the road from the south fork of Lee Creek intersected the river road. Avery also at once launched an immensebusiness for a wild country. Besides his plantation of over a thousand acres, most of which was an unbroken primeval forest, he was proprietor of an “ordinary”, as hotels were then called. He had a boat yard with saw pits for whipsawing the lumber and timbers, and a rope walk for manufacturing cordage. He also had a merchandising establishment, which must have done, or at tempted to do, a vast volumeof trade. As evidence of this, a part of the rec ords we have of his debts for merchandise show two notes, one dated October 8, 1802, to John T. Duryea, a NewYork merchant, for Three thousand five hundred ninety—onepounds, ten shillings, four pence, currency of the State of NewYork, "for goods purchased”. The other was for Eighty-nine hundred seventy-eight dol lars and seventy—nine cents. To.secure these notes, Avery gave a mortgage on about six or eight hundred acres of land, which was to be sold if the notes were not paid by a stated time. ’ . The land was forfeited, and was purchased on February 9th, 1804, by a company of New York business men. W . This was all the land he then possessed, excepting about two hundred thirty acres, which included the village and a saw mill across the hill on the south fork of Lee Creek, which he had built and set in operation. On November8th, he mortgaged a strip of thirty acres on the lower side of his reserve, to secure two debts, a note of Seven hundred twenty-four dol lars and fifty cents, due to Joseph Lewis, which was payable in three years, and One hundred fifty dollars and seventeen cents to AdamDouglass, Nathaniel Davisson, a Clarksburg attorney practising in the early WoodCounty Court was Trustee, and'in time the land was sold to meet the obligation. On the 18th day of December following, another mortgage was given on thirty-three acres adjoining the last to‘one William Ladd, a merchant of the city of Alexandria, District of Columbia, for merchandise to the amountof . Eleven hundred seventy-eight dollars and twenty cents. This piece was sold by William Ladd, then of Boston, but late of Alexandria, and "struck off to. ThomasTurner at public auction",.for the sumof One thousand and ten dollars. (Here William Ladd is named as Trustee, and John G. Ladd as the creditor). Turner also bought the Davisson thirty acres. ‘ , Avery now had the mill on Lee Creek, and one hundred fifty acres of land at the village, all river bottom, and I presume, mostly cleared, as the upper line ran easterly with the "fence" to the back line. Being still in debt, and encumbered, hid wife dead and his business gone, Avery, on the 14th of May, 1806, leased his land to Samuel Weld, formerly, if I am not mistaken, of Pike County, Kentucky. There were two transactions. The first was on May11th, 1806, as the doc ument reads, George D. Avery to Samuel Weld, “doth hereby demise grant and to farm let" his "saw mill and grist mill, together with the one acre of ground which was condemnedfor an abutment,.and also the mill damwith its abutments, with all kinds of privileges, and appurtenances thereto belonging", for a per iod of seven years. ‘c ‘ W l . Weld was to pay to Avery for the saw mill “at the rate of One hundred fifty dollars per year", for the grist mill at the rate of Onehundredfifty PIONEERS IN WOOD COUNTY 3' dollars per year "from the time that the grist mill shall be ready to grind". ' Avery was to finish the grist mill at his own expense, and Weld "to keep allthe premises in good repair and to suffer Avery, his_heirs, assigns, agent, executors, or administrators to enter upon and view the premises from time to time”. h In the second agreement, on May 14th, 1806, Avery leased his land to Weld, described as~— Beginning at the old cabin by the shipyard, thence running easterly with the fence to the back line of Avery°s land, with same southwardly to land con~ veyed to William Ladd, westwardly with same to the line at the road on the Ohio River, with road and fence to beginning. It will be noted fences are mentioned the entire distance on the north and west sides. , » Fromthe operation of this contract, Avery reserved "the house and lots improved by John Pyle; the house and lots formerly owned by Esther Hempstead, Ebenezer Griffing and GuidonSaltonstall, and all the buildings and front lots above the Saltonstall lots to the upper line mentioned“. The land is leased "with all other houses and appurtenances” for a per iod of seven years. Weld-agrees to pay the sumof Three hundred fifty dollars rental a year, three fourths of the amount to be paid in produce, and one fourth in money,He agrees to pay all taxes on the lands, and to keep all buildings and fences in good repair, and to take care of the fruit trees set out "during the said term", also to improve and manage every part of said pre mises "in a good and husband like manner". He is to "board said Avery and his son, George, with meat, drink, and washing and lodging, at the said premises during the said term", and shall permit Avery and his son to at all times "enter upon and view said premises" as they desire. The day before the lease of his land and tavern stand, Avery had given Weld a bill of sale on all his goods, and store fixtures and belongings, house— hold and hotel equipments, farm implements and horses, cattle and farm stock,‘ and products on hand, personal belongings and fixtures appertaining to his mill and boatyard. » _ Eour days earlier, he had given to John Mitchell (May10th, 1806) a bill of sale on his slaves, to.secure a loan of Seven hundred eightywfour dollars.

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