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Yesterday And TodayNicholas County Has Colonial GravesBy SHIRLEY DONNELLYFrom time to time, the question of where Revolutionary War soldiers are buried in this area is put to me.Location of but few graves of the soldiers of the A m e r i c an Revo lution is known i n Fayette and Raleigh C ounties. According to mynotes on Nicholas County, there are a good many to be found in that great empire shire.At Lockwood there is a grave about 300 feet from the highway. As long ago as 33 yearsback there was a concrete wall around it.That grave was marked with a tombstone. This tombstone and wall was erected by J. M. Johnson 10 or 12 years ago. The tombstone inscription was, “A Revolutionary War Soldier, William Johnson, 1755-1805.”ANOTHER GRAVE not farfrom Lockwood is marked with a respectable slab with the following legend: “Isaac Rose, Revolutionary War Soldier. 1753-1829”.That grave is located on land that used to be the farm of James R. Doddrill and may still be the property of someone in the Doddrill family.Grave of William Johnson, mentioned above, was on the farm of Homer Saunders, according to my note on Its datedMarch I, 1938.lutionary War soldiers, many who had served in the Colonial army came to light. At that timethe following Nicholas County men were listed as receiving pensions.However, the neighboring counties, Webster, Clay and Braxton, had not been organized and some of these pensioners could have been living on lands now embraced in that trio of counties.These names were listed as being in Nicholas County: Jesse Carpenter, Abraham Duffield, Jacob Chapman, Jonathan Dunbar, Jacob Fisher, Benjamin Hamrick, Benjamin LeMasters, Jeremiah O’Dell and James Sims. They were granted pensions.SOME OTHERS applied for pensions but were denied them. Among the latter group were Peter Fisher, and Jonathan Windsor. Peter Fisher had not served the required time of six months. Jonathan Windsor did not get a pension because his service in the Revolution was not in a military capacity.There were additional Nicholas County men who rendered service in the Revolution. They were John Johnson, Paul Sum-Smith and Martin Delaney.WHEN CONGRESS passed an act in 1818 pensioning revo-CLAIM WAS that Benjamin LeMasters, named above, came to America with La Fayette. After the Revolution lie settled in Nicholas County at a place known as Bucks Garden.He got land there and reareda family of nearly a dozen girls.He is buried at Bucks Garden.Tsaac Rose is buried on Birch River. James Simms is buried at Swiss. It is thought that: Jonathan Dunbar was buried atthe old graveyard at Old Bethel above Poe.THERE IS AN interesting story about John Jones, listed as coming from Nicholas County territory of today. That Revolutionary soldier was in the battle of Point Pleasant on Oct. 10 1774.That Monday morning of about 200 years ago, Jones was sleeping like a knot on a log when the first shot in that notedbattle was fired. He had takenoff his homespun breeches when he went to sleep Sunday night.When he was aroused from his slumber by the firing of those mount; n rifles he jumped up and grabbed his gun and fought the Indians until theytook off from the field of battle that afternoon. He fought all day before he put on his breeches. Jones came to Nicholas County and bought 200 acres of land from William James on Salem Branch.In September, 1818, he soldthat tract of land to Isaac Fit-zeater. John Jones lived about a mile above the Salem Baptist Church. The creek he lived on was called Jones Fork of Peters Creek. That stream— Jones Fork — is now spoken of as Salem Branch.■N-TOM SMITH came tNicholas County about 179.'hirst he settled in the CrosLancs region, then called Th Meadows. He moved from ther to Twenty Mile Creek, wher he acquired two land grants.There he built a watcipowered grist: mill which wa the first mill on Twenty MileThere he lived for years andied. Location of his grave i unknown to this day.
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Post Herald
Beckley, West Virginia, US
Fri, Jul 02, 1971
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WV, USA 25 Apr 2022
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