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John's faded grave marker

John Cain was born on or about April 11, 1815 in Greene County, PA, the son of James and Mariah (Morley) Cain.

His wife, Ann Elizabeth Earlywine, was born in 1816 in Marshall County, West Virginia, then part of Virginia, the daughter of Jacob and Catherine Earlywine. Her maiden name also has been spelled a variety of ways -- primarily Erlewine and Earliwine but also Erliwine - Earlewine - Earlwin - and Earleywine. 

Ann's Earlywine grandparents were early settlers of the Ohio River Valley circa 1760, coming to the area with the families of Zane and Wetzel.

John and Ann produced 11 children and at least 59 grandchildren, and the number of descendants born among the proceeding generations cannot be counted.

~ The Cains' Life Together ~

The Cains' 11 known children were Jacob Cain, Catherine Jackson, Sarah West, Mariah Richmond, Lydia Ann Jackson, James C. Cain, Susan Richmond, Mary Elizabeth Voorheis, Bell Margaret Cain, Rachel Cain and John Cain. 

Two of the offspring did not survive childhood. Sadly, daughter Rachel died in June 1859, and daughter Bell Margaret succumbed to a croup infection just a few months later, at the age of one year, six months on Aug. 27, 1859. 

Ann's grave marker

The Cain farm was situated on Macedonia Ridge to the north and west of the community of Silver Hill, between the Lynn Camp and Laurel Run tributaries of Fishing Creek, abutting or adjacent to the border line of Marshall and Wetzel Counties, but for legal purposes in Wetzel. By default, this line also is the delineation of the Mason Dixon Line, surveyed in the mid-1760s to legally establish the border of Maryland and Pennsylvania, which also became the boundary between free and slave states. In fact, an original Mason-Dixon marker still stands in Wetzel County, along Route 2.

Thus over the years, census-takers alternately recorded the Cain family as living in one county or the other. The tract was filled with healthy stands of white walnut, hickory, elm, beach and sugar oak trees.

In 1850, when the federal census was enumerated, John and Ann and their seven eldest offspring lived on a farm in Marshall County, WV, in the 33rd District. The census-taker marked that Ann could neither read nor write. 

The 1860 census shows the family laboring as farmers and living in Wetzel County near the post office of Knob Fork. On Dec. 1, 1860, John and Ann agreed to sell a 63-acre tract from their Lynn Camp farm to George C. Sivert for the price of $88.75. Ann could not write her own name, so signed the document with an "X."

When the Civil War broke out, their son Jacob and son in law Charles Richmond served in the Army. So too did John’s brother Joseph Cain (1822-1864), who was captured at Medley Farm and imprisoned in the notorious Andersonville Prison, where he starved to death on April 2, 1864. 

After the end of the war, in March 1865, John and Ann sold a 30-acre parcel from their farm to Silas Richmond (1839-1918), their nephew by marriage and a veteran of the war. Silas -- who was married to Maria (Earlywine) Richmond (1843-1928), daughter of Abraham and Sarah (Cain) Earlywine -- paid them $130 for the land, which was along Lynn Camp Run.

In September 1867, John and Ann, along with their neighbors Joseph M. and Charlotte Jackson, and George and Sarah Yoho, deeded one acre of land to the Wetzel County Board of Education for the establishment of a school in the Proctor District where they lived. It's believed that marked the establishment of the one-room Macedonia School. In later years, it was the subject of a painting by Glen Barnes. 

Catherine received a cash inheritance in about 1866 after the death of her father Jacob Earliwine. In his will, dated Jan. 12, 1866, he bequeathed $35 to each of his children, not only Ann but also her siblings Mary Erlewin, John F. Erlewin, Sarah Erlewin, Joseph Erlewin, Susan Erlewin and George C. Erlewin. The document is on file today at the Marshall County Courthouse in Moundsville. 

John and Ann were members of a local farmer's alliance known as the "P. of H." -- short for the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, Grandview Chapter, No. 66. Fellow members considered him a "worthy brother, whose firm, yet gentle manner has won for him the esteem of all who knew him," said the Wheeling Register. 

Wheeling Register, Feb. 3, 1875

In 1870, the Cains' home was stated as along Pleasant Ridge -- also known as Macedonia Ridge -- north of Silver Hill in Proctor Township, Wetzel County. By that time, their daughters Mariah and Lydia had married, and were living nearby with their husbands and families. Silver Hill was a sleepy farming community of valleys and ridges which grew in the late 1800s due to an oil and gas boom.

Ann passed away at the age of 57 on Oct. 23, 1873. She was laid to rest in the family burying ground along what is now Pleasant Ridge Road in Wetzel County. In fact, the cemetery is about 100 feet of the border between Wetzel and Marshall Counties.

John died at the age of 60 on Jan. 26, 1875. His remains were placed into repose beside his wife’s in the small Pleasant Ridge burial ground. No local newspapers of that era have been found which might contain an obituary. 

However, members of the Grandview Grange, in mourning for their colleague, appointed a committee to write a "Resolution of Respect" statement. The committee, comprised of W.H. Covalt, Jason Clark and W.P. Charnock, sent the resolution to the Wheeling Register and Moundsville Reporter and asked it to be published. The Register complied, and the resolution was printed in the Feb. 3, 1875 edition. In part, it read as follows: 

Resolved, that in the loss of Brother Cain we have lost one whose place can scarcely be supplied, and whose aim it was to promote and guard the interests of his brothers, giving strict attention to his duties and discharging them with ability. He was a faithful, kind, hospitable and upright citizen, punctual to meet his engagements and prompt to respond to the calls of friendship and duty. His faith, true and unshaken, ripened into fullness of assurance and anticipated his departure with no misgivings. Resolved, That we do sincerely sympathize with the family and friends in their bereavement, and assure them that their loss and sorrow is keenly felt by every brother in this grange, and the name of Brother John Cain will ever be cherished and remembered by us.

The Cain gravestones have remained in place for more than 140 years of time. They were photographed by the founder of this website during a visit to Wetzel County in April 1989. Some genealogists have erroneously recorded his month of death as June instead of January.

Three months after John's demise, his children and their spouses, as heirs to his home farm, came to an agreement to sell the tract to Nicholas H. Gatts. The deed was drawn up on April 14, 1875, and the purchase price Gatts agreed to pay was $1,750. With Gatts having fulfilled his payment obligations, the deed was admitted into the Wetzel County records two and a half months later, on June 23, 1875. Today the document may be found in Wetzel County Deed Book 11, page 11.

~ Son Jacob Cain ~

Jacob's grave marker

Jacob Cain (1837-1903) was born on May 21, 1837 in Elm Grove, Marshall County, VA (later West Virginia). He was a veteran of the Civil War, and in adulthood stood five feet, nine inches tall and weighed 180 lbs.

On Feb. 10, 1862, at the age of 25, Jacob married 21-year-old Mary Miller (1840-1916), the daughter of Isaac and Sarah (Carney) Miller, and a native of Silver Hill, Wetzel County, WV. John "Jack" Alley officiated at the wedding ceremony held at the home of Mary's parents in Wetzel County. Among those in attendance, who witnessed the marriage in person, were William and Catharine Carney.

During the Civil War, on March 8, 1865, he traveled to Wheeling to enlist in the Union Army and was assigned to the 1st West Virginia Infantry. Company M. His uncle Joseph Cain and brothers in law Cephus Miller and Levi Miller also served in the Union Army during the conflict.

Jacob saw no action in the war, but is said to have performed "considerable guard and garrison duty." Among specific activities he is known to have engaged in took place in April and May 1865 in a march from Pleasant Valley to Chapel Point. After the war’s end, he was discharged at Wheeling on July 4, 1865. 

They produced seven known children – Jefferson Cain, Wells Cain, Martha Cain, Catherine Cain, Doliver Cain, Emma Cain and Lindsey Cain. Another possible daughter was Elsie Holt, not yet confirmed.

Mary's grave marker

Sadly, son Jefferson died at the age of 15 years, eight months and 28 days in September 1878 in or near Silver Hill, and his remains were placed into rest in the Jolliffe Cemetery. His grave became the start of the family plot, and later his parents and brother Dolliver would join him there in eternal rest.

When the census was taken in 1880, the Cains lived in the vicinity of a number of Miller households in the Center District of Wetzel County. Their farm of 149 acres was said to have been "ruff and hilly, is 7 miles from B+O Rail Road and is 20 miles from the Ohio River," said friends Matthew Carney and H.G. Richmond. 

As his health began to decline in his early 50s, circa 1890, in an effort to obtain a military pension for his service, Jacob made application to the federal government. Local farmer William H. Murphy and carpenter Matthew Carney Jr. said they had worked with and for Jacob over the years and that "they know him to be suffering severely from some trouble in his limbs and joints which we suppose to be rheumatism. We have often heard him complain of his arms, legs and back. We have seen him when we considered [him' entirely unable ... to do more than 1/4 as much work as a sound man." Neighbor Henry Richmond, whose home was a quarter mile away from the Cains, said "I see him very frequently, have worked with him, have heard him complaining of not being able to work much. Have known him at one time not able to leave his house for some time and was confined in his bed for some days...." 

During that time, Jacob received medical treatment in his shoulders, arms, legs and elbow from J.T. Kiger of Littleton, WV. He also was examined by Dr. G.W. Hoskinson of Silver Hill, who wrote that "I find him to be suffering from myalgia or muscular rheumatism, and from acid dyspepsia."

Jacob's profile in Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen

An article in the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer (July 8, 1896) named him as a veteran to whom a pension had been issued. He was profiled in the 1898 book Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen by H.H. Hardesty. 

The federal census of 1900 shows Jacob and Mary, and children Emily and Linzy, living under one roof in the Center District. That year, Emily was teaching school. Residing next door was 34-year-old farmer William Cain and his wife Phoebe, relationship unknown. A few doors away was the family of James and Catharine V. Cain, and children, relationship also undetermined.

Suffering from pneumonia, Jacob's health declined to the point where Dr. W.V. Teagarden and Dr. Earnest were called to their home in or near Rock Port, Wetzel County. With the physicians present, Jacob died at the age of 66 "at high noon" on Dec. 22, 1903, just three days before Christmas. Burial was in the Jolliffe Cemetery in Wetzel County. 

In a brief obituary, the Moundsville Echo said he was an “aged and respected citizen” of Silver Hill. The New Martinsville Evening Dispatch apparently carried no obituary. On his grave marker was etched the following epitaph: "Dearest father thou hast left us. Here thy loss we deeply feel, But it's God who hath behest us, He can all our sorrows heal."

As a widow, Mary remained in their Silver Hill home, and rented it to others on a share payment system. In 1904, her farm was assessed at a value of $748. To further assess the value of her real estate, her friends Henry Richmond and Jefferson Miller, both of Silver Hill, performed an appraisal. They valued her real estate as worth $1,600, her cows at $50, farm rental as $200 and taxes as $16.46. In 1906, friends Matthew Carney and H.G. Richmond, who both lived less than a mile from her home estimated the value of her three cows at $40 and eight hogs at $10, saying in sum "they would not pay more than $85 per year" for the livestock.

She followed her husband to the grave 13 years later, and died of old age on Nov. 10, 1916, at the age of 76. The Wetzel Democrat did not publish an obituary. Mirroring her husband's grave marker, an identical shaft was placed at her final resting place. Inscribed below her name and dates were these words from Scripture: "I know that my redeemer liveth."

The founder of this website visited Jacob’s grave in late August 1982, and photographed it 33 years later in May 2015. In July 1993, Jacob's profile from Presidents, Soldiers, Statesmen was reprinted in the Tri-County Researcher newsletter.

Son Wells Cain (1864-1929) was born on Feb. 26, 1864 in Silver Hill. He married Emma Mary Pyles (1868-1951), daughter of John Alfred and Louisa A. (Covalt) Pyles. Their seven known children were Willard I. Cain, Floanna B. (or "Floy") Truex, Lulu V. Cain, Lester Jacob Cain, Clarence Harold Cain, Bernard C. Cain and one unidentified daughter. Sadly, daughter Lulu contracted a fatal case of tuberculosis at the age of 14 and died in Green Hill, Wetzel County on March 18, 1908. In 1910, the Cains lived on a farm along Limestone Road in Wetzel County's Magnolia District. The Cains' marriage is believed to have ended during the decade of the 1910s. By September 1918, Emma resided near Bellton, Marshall County, and was named as next of kin for two of her sons when registering for the military draft. Circa 1920, when the federal census count was made, Wells boarded in the home of Frank Galey on Silk Run Road in Jefferson Township near Pittsburgh, where he worked as a farm laborer and disclosed to the census-taker that he was "single." He eventually relocated to Harrison County, Ohio, and lived on a farm in Washington Township, near the town of Freeport. Wells died there on April 13, 1929, of heart trouble, at the age of 65. Reported the Wetzel Democrat, "The remains were brought to the Wharton Funeral Home and prepared for burial, and later removed to the home of his daughter Mrs. Chas. Truex of Locust Street, where funeral services were held on April 17th by Rev. Rice of Sistersville." Emma survived him by more than two decades. In 1930, her home was on Reid Ridge in Marshall County's Liberty District. She made her residence in her later years at 63 Linden Avenue in Moundsville. Emma passed away on Nov. 12, 1951, in Moundsville's Reynolds Memorial Hospital. Funeral services were held in the Church of Church on Cedar Avenue, followed by burial in North View Cemetery in New Martinsville. An obituary was printed in the Moundsville Daily Echo, which noted that "three daughters preceded her in death." The Echo named her surviving siblings as J.N. Pyles of Moundsville, Everett Pyles of Silver Hill, Daisy Higgins of Littleton and Virginia Yeater of Huntington.

• Granddaughter Floanna B. Cain (1891-1943) was born in about 1891 in Silver Hill. At the age of 30, on Feb. 20, 1920, she was united in marriage with 43-year-old Charles Henry Truex (1876-1959), son of William Henry and Malinda (Goddard) Truex of Monroe County, OH. The ceremony was held in New Martinsville, Wetzel County by Rev. T.B. Smith, with Gladys Truex and Mary Priest serving as witnesses. When in his early 40s, Charles was of medium height and slender build with blue eyes and balding dark brown hair. At that time he worked as a glass packer for Paden City Glass Company in Tyler County. In 1929, the Truexes home was at 359 Locust Street in New Martinsville. Heartache shook the family with Floanna began to show symptoms of epilepsy and psychosis which led to exhaustion-producing convulsions. After heart disease set in, she was sent for treatment to the West Virginia Asylum for the Insane in Weston. Four days after her arrival, Floanna died at the age of 50 on Feb. 17, 1943. Her remains were returned to New Martinsville for burial. Later, as a widower, Charles relocated to 124 Boston Street in Paden City. He was a longtime glass worker in the ceramics industry in New Martinsville. He died in Wetzel County Hospital at the age of 82 on Aug. 17, 1959, caused by a cerebral hemorrhage. Interment was in North View Cemetery in New Martinsville.

• Grandson Willard I. Cain (1890-1956) was born on April 16, 1890 in Wetzel County. He was tall and of medium build with light blue eyes and black hair. At the age of 20, he lived at home and helped his father work on the home farm. He married Opal ( ? - ? ). His skill was working with pipe lines and products. Circa 1917, he and Opal lived at 114½ Juliana Street in Parkersburg, Wood County, WV, where he was a gas line walker with the Hope Natural Gas Company. Later, he obtained work as a pipefitter with the American Viscose plant of Parkersburg, which manufactured rayon yarns and fibers. Circa 1951, at the death of his mother, he was mentioned in her news obituary and lived in Vienna, WV, with an address of 4505 Seventh Avenue. Suffering from hypertension, Willard suffered a heart attack and died in Parkersburg's St. Joseph Hospital at the age of 66 on Aug. 16, 1956. His remains were transported back to New Martinsville to be placed at rest in the North View Cemetery.

• Grandson Lester Jacob Cain (1892- ? ) was born on or about Aug. 1, 1892 (or 1897) in Marshall County. He was tall and slender with blue eyes and dark hair. At the age of 21, he lived at home with his mother in Belton. His residence in 1951-1960 was in Moundsville.

• Moundsville Daily Echo

  Grandson Clarence Harold Cain (1900-1960) was born on Aug. 16, 1900. As an 18-year-old, he was of medium height and build with brown eyes and black hair, and was a farmer living near Bellton. He married Eunice (?) and had these children -- Harold Cain, Doris Wright and Marie Guzek. He was a steelworker and employed for many years at the Benwood Works of Wheeling Steel, belonging to the United Steelworkers of America Local 1185. They lived in Moundsville in 1951, and their address in 1960 was 63 Linden Avenue in Moundsville. At the age of 59, on Feb. 3, 1960, Clarence was stricken with congestive heart failure and died at home. Burial was in New Martinsville's Northview Cemetery. His widow Eunice signed his official death certificate. He was survived by five grandchildren.

• Grandson Bernard C. Cain (1912- ? ) was born in about 1912. He relocated to Wood County, WV, where he resided in Parkersburg circa 1951-1960.

Daughter Martha Cain (1865-1947) was born on May 7, 1865 in Silver Hill. She never married, but pursued the single life and the work of a seamstress, specializing in making dresses. She is believed to have resided with her spinster sister Emily Cain in Cameron, Marshall County, WV, with their home on Pennsylvania Avenue. She was a member of the Methodist Church in Cameron. When Martha was in her early 80s, her left foot became infected with gangrene. Combined with pneumonia and hardening of the arteries, she was admitted to Wheeling's Ohio Valley General Hospital, where she succumbed on Jan. 16, 1947, at the age of 81. Her remains were committed to the earth in Highland Cemetery in Cameron, Marshall County, WV.

Daughter Catherine Cain (1867- ? ) was born on June 11, 1867. She is lost to history and may have died young.

Daughter Elsie Cain ( ? - ? ) has only been identified through one source, a newspaper obituary of her brother Dolliver in a 1923 edition of the Moundsville Daily Echo. The article reported that they had "another sister, Mrs. Elsie Holt, of Washington..." That's all that is known about her. More will be added here if and when discovered.

Son Doliver Cain (1868-1923) was born on Sept. 15 or Oct. 5, 1868 in or near Silver Hill. He apparently was a lifelong bachelor, having never married. As an adult, while he maintained a home in Cameron, Doliver lived at the Severn Hotel on North Main Street in Wheeling. There, he was employed by the Ackerman Manufacturing Company, which produced automotive supplies. 

On the fateful evening of April 25, 1923, he walked to the John Reed barber shop on Main Street to be shaved. While in the shop preparing for the procedure, perhaps without warning, he experienced acute pain and quickly passed out. The infliction was due to kidney disease, otherwise known as "uremic poisoning." Help was summoned and a Dr. Noome was able to come. Upon arrival at the shop, and after observing Doliver's grave condition, the physician gave instructions that he be rushed to Wheeling Hospital. Reported the Moundsville Daily Echo, "he sank rapidly and never regain[ed] consciousness." He succumbed there later that evening at the age of 54. His sister Emily accompanied the body to Denver, near Cameron, for funeral services and burial at the Jolliffe Cemetery in Silver Hill. The Daily Echo obituary reported that he "had been a resident of the Cameron community for many years...." Emma also provided details for the death certificate, and a prominent marker was erected at the gravesite. The marker was photographed by the founder of this website in May 2015.

Daughter Emily "Emma" Cain (1872-1961) was born on July 5 or 15, 1872 in Wetzel County. In 1900, at the age of 28, she lived at home with her parents and younger brother Linzy, and taught school. She apparently never married, and devoted her life to teaching and to her students in Wetzel County. After the parents' deaths, she shared a home on Cameron's Pennsylvania Avenue with her single sister Martha. The sisters were longtime members of the Cameron First Methodist Church. In about 1907, Emily served as secretary of the Improvement League of Wetzel County, an organization which provided physical maintenance of local schools as well as securing resources such as books. In this role, she filed a lengthy report published in the West Virginia School Journal. As she aged, Emily was admitted to the Greenlawn Nursing Home in Vienna, near Parkersburg, Wood County, WV. She died there on April 8, 1961, at the age of 89. An obituary in the Moundsville Daily Echo said that "Surviving are several nieces and nephews." Her nephew Bernard Cain of Parkersburg was the informant for her certificate of death. Rev. Richard Carpenter preached the funeral sermon, followed by burial in Highland Cemetery in Cameron.

Son Lindsay Cain (1878-1944) was born on Oct. 3, 1878 in Silver Hill. (He is not to be confused with a cousin, Lindsay Ellsworth Cain [1876-1944], son of Jacob Jefferson and Ruth [Johnson] Cain of Woodruff, Marshall County.) He married Mahala Wade (1888-1974). He was tall and stout, with blue eyes and brown hair. Circa 1918, he and Mahala lived near Bellton, Marshall County, and he farmed near Silver Hill. When required to register for the military draft during World War I, he disclosed that he was blind in one eye. In 1920s through the 1940s, they lived on a farm in Smithfield in rural Jefferson County, OH. Suffering from heart valve problems and kidney disease, Lindsay died in Martins Ferry Hospital on Sept. 6, 1944. Burial was in Smithfield's Northern Cemetery. (Both the Wheeling Intelligencer and Moundsville Daily Echo newspapers have been searched for an obituary, with no success.) Mahala survived her husband by three decades. She passed in April 1974 and reposes with her husband.

Macedonia Church Cemetery

~ Daughter Catherine E. (Cain) Jackson ~

Catherine E. Cain (1839-1928) was born on April 22, 1839 in Wetzel County or near Glen Easton, Marshall County. She and her husband are profiled in the 1961 book Ephraim Jackson and His Descendants - 1684-1960, authored by Catherine's grand nephew, Jesse Calvin Cross.

At the age of 31, in 1870, Catherine was not yet married, and lived at home with her parents near Silver Hill, Wetzel County. 

In 1875, when Catherine was 36 years of age, she wed 28-year-old Orange Scott Jackson (1847-1923), son of Joseph Martin and Charlotte "Lottie" (Banning) Jackson. The bride was eight years older than the groom. 

The Jacksons were longtime friends of the Cain and White families of Silver Hill. Orange's half-brother John Josiah Jackson married Lydia's sister Lydia Ann Cain, and Orange's sister Viola Jackson married William Morgan White. 

The couple had three known children -- Bertha White, Alonzo Jackson and Samuel Jackson. 

Ephraim Jackson book

Said the Ephraim Jackson book: 

Orange was a skilled carpenter and devoted part of his employment to the trade. He was a part-time farmer, also operated a Sawmill and Planing-mill, and during the harvesting period he operated a Theshing-machine. Resided near Silver Hill, W.Va.

The 1880 census shows Orange and Catherine and young Bertha residing together in Wetzel County’s Center District, where he was a farmer. That year, 26-year-old farm laborer Wesley J. Jackson boarded in their home. They are believed to have resided near the small community of Board Tree, near Littleton, where their son Samuel was born in 1885. The village was made famous in the 1850s when a railroad tunnel was constructed there by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, linking Baltimore with Wheeling.

When her sister Mariah died in 1910, Catherine was living in Moundsville, WV at the time, and was named in the newspaper obituary.

Orange was stricken with a lesion of his heart and died at Silver Hill on Aug. 23, 1923, at the age of 66. No obituary has been found in the Moundsville Daily Echo.

At the age of 89, her health failing with bronchial pneumonia, Catherine died on Nov. 4, 1928. Burial was in the Macedonia Cemetery near Silver Hill.

Moundsville Journal, 1942

Daughter Bertha May Jackson (1879-1942) was born on May 1 (or June 5), 1879. She married Nicholas Richard White (1876-1948), a son of William and Anna (Debolt) White of Wileyville, Wetzel County. They had six known children: Virtue Elizabeth "Virchie" Wilson, Cora Kathryn Longwell, Homer Edward White, Nellie Olive Little, Delphia Deloris "Della" Wingrove and Orange William White. Sadly, son Orange died of measles at the age of one year, seven months in March 1913. Nicholas was a longtime smelter laborer. In 1928, the Whites resided in Glen Easton and by 1942 had relocated into Moundsville, with their address 407 Baker Avenue. Diagnosed with liver cancer, Bertha was admitted to Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Glendale. She declined steadily for four weeks and died on June 14, 1942, at the age of 63. Her husband was a patient there at the very same time, reported the Moundsville Journal. Her remains were brought to Silver Hill to be placed at rest in the Macedonia Church Cemetery. In an obituary, the Journal noted that she was survived by "a number of grandchildren." Nicholas survived her by six years and resided on Eastern Seventh Street in Moundsville. Suffering from heart disease, he passed into glory on Feb. 24, 1949 (although the date incorrectly is given as "April 1948" in the Ephraim Jackson book). He was buried alone in Moundsville's Montrose (Greenlawn) Cemetery, in Section 45, Row 2.

• Granddaughter Virtue Elizabeth "Virchie" Jackson (1897- ? ) was born in about 1897. At the age of 20, living in Moundsville, she married 17-year-old Edward Wilson (1900- ? ). The ceremony took place on April 21, 1917, with Rev. S.B. Hart of the Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church leading the nuptials. In 1942, 1902 lived in Jacobsburg, OH.

• Granddaughter Cora Kathryn White (1902- ? ) was born in 1902 in Wetzel County. She waited until she was in her early 30s to get married. On Jan. 7, 1934, at the age of 32, she wed 53-year-old S.P. Longwell (1881- ? ). Both were residents at the time of Glen Easton. Rev. C.D. Blum of the Church of Christ officiated. The couple requested that the news of the marriage not be published. Their home in 1942 was in Moundsville.

• Grandson Homer Edward White resided in Cameron in the early 1940s.

• Granddaughter Nellie Olive White married (?) Little. They dwelled in Littleton, Wetzel County.

• Granddaughter Delphia Deloris "Della" White (1904- ? ) was born on Sept. 19, 1904 (or Aug. 9, 1907). When she was age 21, and he 22, Della married Encil R. Wingrove (1903-1985) of Captina, WV. He was the son of John F. and Euphemia (Minor) Wingrove. The ceremony was held on Oct. 20, 1925 at Graysville, WV, led by Rev. E.E. Suite. In the early 1940s, they lived in Long, WV. They are believed to have relocated to Belmont County, OH. Encil died there five days before Christmas on Dec. 20, 1985. Burial was in Powhatan Cemetery in Belmont County. She survived her husband by 14 years. Death took her on Sept. 23, 1999 in Woodsfield, Monroe County, OH. 

Wetzel Democrat, 1964

Son Alonzo Jackson (1881-1964) was born on March 19, 1881 in Silver Hill. He stood 5 feet, 10 inches tall, with grey eyes and dark hair. He was a building carpenter and farmer residing in Silver Hill throughout his adult life. On July 26, 1905, when he was 24 years of age, he wed Rosetta "Ettie" Taylor ( ? - ? ), daughter of Thomas Henry and Charlotte (Custer) Taylor of Holbrook, Greene County, PA. Their only child was Bessie Edrie Jackson. They were members of the Miller's Chapel, Church of Christ. Of Alonzo, said the Ephraim Jackson book, he:

...learned the carpenter trade, starting as an apprentice under his father, and became a skilled carpenter early in life. He has always lived in Silver Hill doing part-time farming and engaged in the work, such as operating saw and planing-mills and threshing-machines, but the greater parts of his life has been devoted to the carpenter trade building homes, churches and general construction work. He is now in his 80th year of age, and said he had retired, but admitted his service was in demand and he is still doing some special work that keeps hi in part-time employment. He lives on his 37½-acre farm which he purchased in 1912 from George Church. A gas well was drilled on the farm from which he receives a rental payment. The well is now used for underground storage of natural gas. They are members of the Church of Christ.

At the age of 38, Alonzo survived a near-death experience in an accident in 1919 that claimed the life of his brother Samuel. They jointly operated a threshing machine and were held in high esteem in the community. In late August 1919, the brothers were riding the thresher together to the farm of Grandison Lemaster to work. While turning the machine up a steep slope, the gear stripped and began to move backward. Samuel jumped off the platform and "landed over two paling fences and was but slightly hurt," said the Moundsville Weekly Echo. Sadly, his brother jumped too but was caught under the moving vehicle with his legs and chest badly cut and "mashed." The brother only lived a short time before dying. Alonzo recovered from the horrific incident and lived another 45 years. He suffered from heart disease and passed away on May 30, 1964, at the age of 83. His daughter Bessie Jackson signed his death certificate. He was interred in Greenlawn Memorial Park in New Martinsville, Wetzel County. Reported the Wetzel Democrat, evangelist L.V. Bevs of Woodsfield officiated at the funeral service.

• Granddaughter Bessie Jackson ( ? - ? ) may not have married. In 1964, she lived at home with her parents in Silver Hill.

Wetzel Democrat, 1964

Son Samuel Jackson (1885-1919) was born on June 19, 1885 in Board Tree, Wetzel County. At the age of 34, on Feb. 8, 1919, he married Amanda Catherine Kirkland (1881-1963), daughter of Joseph W. and Lucinda (Furbee) Kirkland of Wileyville, Wetzel County. They made their first home in Wileyville. Samuel and his brother Alonzo jointly operated a threshing machine and were popular throughout the community. Tragedy separated the newlyweds just six months into their married lives together, during the heavy heat of summer, when Amanda was expecting their first child. On the fateful day of Aug. 26, 1919, Samuel and his brother were en route to work on the farm of Grandison Lemaster near the No. 14 school house, and were riding together on the platform of the thresher. Reported the Moundsville Weekly Echo: 

...The tractor was turning from the road up a very steep bank and into a field to thrash. The gear stripped and the engine dashed back, down a hill so steep that it is barely possible for horses to get up and down, thru a smoke house that was mashed into kindling, then cut off a sugar tree about 18 inches in diameter, which was 165 yards from where it started. The engine is a complete wreck.... The engine narrowly missed the thresher and teams hauling it and the dwelling house in which several people were preparing supper for the threshing crew. [Both men] jumped each way when the machine ran backward. He was caught between the platform and the ground and one leg was cut, the other leg mashed the entire length and his chest mashed. He lived about half an hour. Dr. A.L. Coffield arrived in a few minutes but could only make his last minutes more comfortable. He was conscious until the last.

Burial was in Macedonia Cemetery in Wetzel County. Five months later, his widow delivered a baby son, whom she named Samuel Terrell Jackson. She apparently never remarried. Circa 1960, Amanda made her home in New Martinsville, WV at 241 Leap Street. She died on Nov. 13, 1963, at the age of 82, and was placed into eternal rest beside her husband.

• Grandson Samuel Terrell Jackson (1919-2005) was born on Nov. 29, 1919 in Wileyville, Wetzel County. On May 28, 1938, he wed Wanda Steel (1921-2010), daughter of Wiley and Ida P. (Barth) Steel, in a ceremony held in Pine Grove, WV. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He died on April 16, 2005, with burial in Greenlawn Memorial Park in New Martinsville. Wanda survived for another five years. She slipped away the day after Christmas on Dec. 26, 2010.

~ Daughter Sarah Anne (Cain) West ~

Sarah Anne Cain (1841- ? ) was born in 1841 in Marshall County. 

On March 13, 1860, when she was 19 years of age, Sarah married 29-year-old blacksmith Benjamin F. West (1831-1880), a native of either Greene County, PA or Marshall County. He was the son of William and Elizabeth (Clayton) West. John Alley officiated at their wedding, as he would two years later at the matrimony of Sarah’s older brother Jacob and his wife Mary. 

The couple produced eight children, of whom seven are known – John W. West, Mary A. West, Almenia West, Perry F. West, Bitha Virginia West, Austia Patrick and Earl West. The married names of one of the daughters was Lizzie Williams.

In 1880, their home was in Wetzel County’s Proctor District, with Benjamin continuing his longtime trade as a blacksmith and also farmed. 

Sadly, while working with timber in Meighan, Marshall County, on May 6, 1880, Benjamin was "run over by a rolling log," reported a physician. He suffered traumatic injury and died at the age of 52. He was laid to rest in Lynn Camp Cemetery in Marshall County. No local newspapers of that era have been found which might contain news coverage of the tragedy or an obituary.

When her sister Mariah died in 1910, Sarah was living in Marshall County at the time, and was named in the newspaper obituary. Census records for 1910 show her making her residence with her married son Earl and family. Circa 1915, when her brother James died, Sarah was named in his news obituary in the Moundsville (WV) Daily Echo.

The federal census of 1920 shows the 77-year-old Sarah living in the household of her son 45-year-old Perry in Pultney Township, Belmont County, OH. Next door resided her son Earl and his wife and children.

Moundsville Daily Echo

Sarah's fate after that is unknown.

Son John William West (1867-1940) was born on June 18, 1867 in Marshall County. He married Sarah C. Bridget "Biddy" Crow (1873-1935), daughter of Isaac B. and Mary E. (Lancaster) Crow of Marshall County. Their four sons were Charles West, Fred West, Arthur West and Alex West. They lived in Glen Easton near Moundsville, where John operated a general merchandise store along with his son Alex. They belonged to the Salem Church of Christ on Bowman Ridge. John was "a life-long resident of the Glen Easton section, and was very active in affairs of that section of the county," said the Moundsville Daily Echo. Having endured diabetes for a decade, which led to gangrene in her lower extremities, Bridget died at the age of 61 on March 11, 1935. Upon retirement, they resided in Glen Easton. At the age of 72, suffering from heart problems and hardening of the arteries, John was admitted to Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Glendale, WV. He died 10 days later died on May 2, 1940. Burial was in Salem Cemetery, following funeral services at the home of his son Alex in Glen Easton, and a service preached by Charles Gray. He was survived by 15 grandchildren.

• Grandson Charles West resided on Bowman Ridge in 1940.

• Grandson Fred West lived in 1940 on Bowman Ridge.

• Grandson Arthur West made his home in 1940 on Bowman Ridge.

• Grandson Alex West dwelled in Glen Easton in 1940.

Daughter Mary A. West (1870- ? ) was born in 1870. 

Daughter Almenia West (1873- ? ) was born in 1873. 

Son Perry F. West (1875- ? ) was born on May 16, 1875 in Proctor. He pursued a life as a photographer and then as a farmer, residing in 1908 in West Wheeling, OH. On May 16, 1909, his 33rd birthday, he married 20-year-old Mary E. Horner (1889- ? ), daughter of Clark M. and Mary M. (Robertson) Horner. Rev. A.F. Carter officiated. Perry was 11 years older than his bride, and fibbed about his age on his marriage license so he would appear to be younger. On the license application, he stated his occupation as "photographing." They made their first home on a farm near West Wheeling, Pultney Township, Belmont County, OH. Circa 1920, still in Pultney, Perry worked as a glasshouse laborer and his mother lived under his roof. Residing next door was his married brother Earl and family.

Daughter Bitha Virginia West (1878- ? ) was born in 1878. Nothing more is known.

Daughter Austia Laura "Austa" West (1880-1957) was born in April 1880, although she believed it was 1884. At the age of 17, in about 1897, she wed William Patrick (1873-1919), a native of Michigan and the son of Russian-Armenian immigrants William and Zona Patrick. They had four known children, Virginia Lula Patrick, Zola Edna Patrick, Catherine S. Patrick and William D. Patrick. The family initially lived in Ohio circa 1902 and then returned to Moundsville by 1910. In 1910, William supported the family through his work as a glass burner in a local kiln operated by Fostoria Glass Company. Heartache shook the family on Aug. 31, 1919, when William, stricken with pulmonary tuberculosis, died at the age of 47. His remains were placed into rest in Moundsville's Greenlawn Cemetery. In 1920, the U.S. census shows Austia heading a household in West Wheeling, Belmont County, OH. Living next door were her married brothers Perry and Earl and their broods. After returning to Moundsville, she made her longtime home at 120 Jefferson Avenue. The federal census enumeration of 1930 shows Austia earning a living as a "wrapper" in a glass house and daughter Virginia as a "rub on."  In 1940, she and her unmarried daughter Virginia made their home in Moundsville, with Austia earning a living as a polisher in the local glass factory, and Virginia laboring as a seamstress in a pants factory. She died at the age of 77 on June 18, 1957, after enduring a heart attack. Burial was in Greenlawn Cemetery.

• Granddaughter Virginia Lula Patrick (1902- ? ) was born in about 1902 in Ohio.

• Granddaughter Zola Edna Patrick (1904- ? ) was born in about 1904 in West Virginia. When she was age 18, she was united in marriage with 19-year-old Howard Browne (1903- ? ) of Moundsville. The ceremony was held on March 26, 1921, in Moundsville, by the hand of William T. Schroeder.

• Granddaughter Catherine S. Patrick (1906- ? ) was born on Feb. 21, 1906 in Moundsville. At age 21, she wedded Floyd Postlethwait, age 22, on March 29, 1926, at Moundsville, with Rev. James B. Smith leading the nuptials.

• Grandson William D. Patrick (1911- ? ) was born in about 1911. On Aug 7, 1934, at Wheeling, when he was age 23, he married 22-year-old Wilma I. Wenzel (1911- ? ). Also a resident of Moundsville, she was the daughter of Theodore and Maggie Wenzel. Rev. Frederick W. Cropp Jr., of the First Presbyterian Church, officiated. The marriage ended, and Wilma married again, at the age of 38, on May 18, 1949, to 58-year-old Andrew J. McCardle, son of James A. and Elizabeth McCardle.

Northview Cem, New Martinsville

Son Earl West (1883-1958) was born on Aug. 5, 1882 in Proctor. He had grey eyes and brown hair and was of medium height and build. During his lifetime, he was married three times. On Oct. 12, 1904, when he was 21 years of age, he married his first bride, 17-year-old Estella M. Carr (1887- ? ). She was a native of Leatart, WV and the daughter of Owen and Caroline (Boston) Carr. Rev. Frank Albert Domer officiated. At the time of marriage, Estella lived in Bridgeport, Belmont County, WV. Earl obtained work as a mill hand in West Wheeling, OH. By 1910, they resided on Moundsville's Locust Avenue, with Earl's widowed mother under their roof, but he was unemployed at that time. The Wests had three known daughters: Cora West, Helen West and Glenna West. By 1913, the marriage had crumbled and the couple divorced. Earl moved to Cincinnati, where he held employment as a laborer with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. At age 31, on Oct. 8, 1913, he married a second time, to 40-year-old widow Della (Little) Neininger (1874-1927) who was nine years his senior and the daughter of Kelsey and Mary (Thompson) Little of Barnesville, OH. The ceremony was held in Della's town of residence, Newark, Licking County, OH, on Oct. 8, 1912, presided over by Rev. Don D. Lullis of the Presbyterian Church. Della, who may also have gone by the name "Daisy" -- unproven -- is thought to have brought a son to the marriage, Roy L. Lockwood. Earl was required to fill out a military draft registration in September 1917, during World War I, and he stated that he and Daisy lived in Bellaire, OH and that his occupation was a mill laborer for American Sheet and Tin Plate Company in Bridgeport, Belmont County, OH. When the U.S. census was made in 1920, Earl and Daisy resided next door to his brother and widowed mother in Pultney Township, Belmont County, OH. That year, Earl's occupation was as a "matcher" in a local steel mill. In 1927, their address was 715 Dryden Road in Zanesville, Muskingum County, OH. Sadly, Daisy contracted pulmonary tuberculosis and died at the age of 54, in Zanesville on Feb. 11, 1927. Her remains were placed into repose in Barnesville Cemetery. Earl married a third time, to Adelia Evelyn (?) (1888-1947), a native of Washington County, PA. Circa 1940, they lived in Moundsville at 222 Grant Avenue, and he was named in the Daily Echo obituary of his brother John. That year, he worked as a furnaceman in a local glass factory. Sadly, Adelia suffered from chronic heart disease. She was admitted for treatment at the West Virginia State Hospital in Weston, Lewis County, WV. There, after a stay of four months and 10 days, at the age of 58, she died on March 23, 1947. Her remains were returned to New Martinsville for interment in Northview Cemetery. Later in his career, Earl was a glass worker. In the late 1950s, his home was at 1344½ First Street. At the age of 76, on Sept. 18, 1958, Earl died of a heart attack. Blanche West of Moundsville was the informant for his death certificate. Burial was in Northview Cemetery.

• Granddaughter Cora West (1906- ? ) was born in 1906 in Ohio.

• Granddaughter Helen West (1908- ? ) was born in about 1908 in Ohio.

• Granddaughter Glenna West (1909- ? ) was born in about 1909 in Ohio.

• Step-grandson Roy L. Lockwood (1894- ? ) was born in 1894 in Indiana. Circa 1920, he lived with his mother and stepfather in Pultney Township, Belmont County, OH, and worked as a cigar roller in a cigar factory.

Mt. Nebo Cemetery

~ Daughter Mariah "Jane" (Cain) Richmond ~

Mariah “Jane” Cain (1843-1910) was born on July 5, 1843 in Silver Hill, Wetzel County or Lynn Camp, Marshall County, WV. Her husband was a veteran of the Civil War.

When she was age 15, in about 1858, Mariah joined the local Christian church and maintained her membership for the rest of her long life.

She is not to be confused with a presumed cousin, Maria (Earlywine) Richmond (1843-1928) who was married to Civil War veteran Silas Richmond (1839-1918), which occasionally has tangled our understanding of the family.

Believed to be Charles

At the age of 17, on May 9, 1861, just a month after the Civil War erupted, Mariah was united in marriage with 27-year-old widower Charles Jefferson Richmond (1833-1921). He was the son of David B. and Mary (Farabee) Richmond and a native of Washington or Greene County, PA. The ceremony was held in Wetzel County. There was an 11-year difference in their ages. 

The Cain and Richmond families were close, and Jane's sister Susan married Charles' brother William.

Charles and his first wife Jane (Stewart) Richmond (1834-1860) resided in Silver Hill, where she died of consumption (tuberculosis) at the untimely age of 26 on Nov. (or Oct.) 10, 1860. Thus he brought two sons to the marriage with our Mariah -- Charles Wilson Richmond and James Madison Richmond. Their names and details were inscribed in the family Bible.

They had five offspring of their own –  Ephraim Washington Richmond, Mary Elisabeth Baker Cashner Randolph, Elmer Taylor Richmond, Martha Jane "Jenny" Richmond and Sarah Almira Richmond. 

Sadly, daughter Sarah, whom the family apparently referred to as "S.A.," contracted diphtheria and died at the age of five on March 9, 1896. Her young remains were interred in the family plot at Mt. Nebo Cemetery. Tyler County death records indicate her year of death as 1896 while her grave marker gives the date as 1897.

History of Marshall County

When Charles was age 19, in 1852, he was admitted into membership with the Church of Christ. He "continued to be a faithful worker in the church as long as his health would permit," said the Tyler County (WV) Journal. This affiliation was so important to the family that it was inscribed in writing on his grave marker.

Five months into the new marriage, at the age of 28, with his motherless sons now in the care of his new wife, Charles enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army on Oct. 14, 1861, for a term of three years. He was assigned to the 6th West Virginia Infantry, Company L. During his term of service, he was promoted to corporal. Charles received an honorable discharge on Nov. 12, 1864, having served for more than three years. 

Writing about the 6th West Virginia in the 1903 book Genealogical and Personal History of the Upper Monongahela Valley, historian H.W. Kellogg said: "The regiment suffered severe losses, in killed and wounded, in the numerous engagements, and encounters with guerillas, bushwhackers, and roving bands of the enemy, and from death caused by diseases caused by the exposure and hardships of the service, and there were no more faithful defenders of the Union than the Sixth West Virginia Infantry."

More about his service will be reported here when learned. 

Charles returned home to his wife after the close of the war. 

Mariah's obituary, 1910

The Richmonds grieved over the years when they lost three of their offspring -- son Charles died at age 19 on March 25, 1875 -- son James passed away at age 20 on April 26, 1878 -- and daughter Sarah Almira succumbed at the age of 16 in 1897. The sons were interred beside their mother in a private family plot of graves on the "Yoho farm" said to be not far from the Mt. Joy Cemetery, while the daughter was buried at Mt. Nebo Cemetery in Tyler County.

When the federal census enumeration was made in 1880, Charles and Mariah resided on a farm in the Liberty District of Marshall County. Four of their children, ranging in age from 11 to 17, lived in the household, with son Ephraim, age 17, assisting with farm labor.

Eventually they relocated to Tyler County, where they made their home near the town of Conaway.

Suffering from "lung fever" of three weeks' duration, reported the Journal, Mariah passed away at Conaway on Feb. 13, 1910, at the age of 67. 

All that kind hands and loving words could do was done, but to no avail. She bore her suffering patiently until the Savior called her home, although her suffering was great. Her death was quite a shock to her many friends. It was God's will, not ours that he should remove her from our midst. She joined the Christian church 52 years ago and had lived a consistent member until God called her home." 

Burial was in Mt. Nebo Cemetery near Middlebourne, Tyler County.

Tyler County Journal

In closing the obituary, the local newspaper said that her remains would "await the resurrection morn around the great eternal throne there to sing in endless ages. Where no sickness ever comes, she is waiting now for us to come and again with joy we'll greet her on that eternal morn."

Now widowed, Charles lived for another two years. Despite his Civil War service, evidence shows that he did not file for a pension in his later years.

On Feb. 12 (or 24), 1912 in Conaway, he "died of paralysis," reported the Tyler County Journal. 

He had five strokes and lived only twelve hours after he had the last one. He had been nearly helpless for seven months. His sister and a grandson have been with him during his sickness. He leaves four brothers, one sister, four children, fifteen grand children and one great grand child and many other near relatives and friends to mourn his death.

Farabee genealogy book listing the Richmonds

The next day after Charles' death, his aged remains were placed into eternal repose beside his wife at Mt. Nebo. On his grave marker is etched the date of death as Feb. 24, 1921, but newspaper evidence shows that this was a typographical error, with the "2" and "1" transposed. The correct year of death was "1912" and not "1921."

Mariah and their offspring are spelled out in detail in Louis Thomas Farabee's 1918 book, Genealogy of the Farabees in America. Charles also is listed on a roster of soldiers in the 1925 book History of Marshall County From Forest to Field, authored by Scott Powell. 

Son Ephraim Washington Richmond (1860-1946) was born on Feb. 24, 1862 in Silver Hill. On June 18, 1882, when he was 20 years old, Ephraim married Alice Reed (1862-1947), also age 20, daughter of Samuel and Matilda Reed. The nuptials were led by Rev. George W. Franklin, the same clergyman who officiated at the 1880 marriage of Ephraim's step-uncle and aunt, James C. and Margaret Ellen (White) Cain. The Richmonds had 10 children -- Dora May Richmond, Orestus Albert "Ora" Richmond, Clem Marvin Richmond, Clell Cecil Richmond, Ida Austa Stern, Charles Webster Richmond, Clarence Edward Richmond, Violet Ethel Richmond, and twins Floyd Ellis Richmond and Lloyd Encil Richmond. The Grim Reaper swept away daughter Dora May on March 29, 1885 as she neared her second birthday, and the twins Floyd (in  1906) and Lloyd (1909) as children. They made their home in Silver Hill for many years. The 1900 federal census shows Ephraim as a farmer, with labor assistance from 15-year-old son Ora and 10-year-old son Clem. Ephraim passed into eternity on Feb. 2, 1946 -- details are not yet known. Neither the Wetzel Democrat nor the Moundsville Daily Echo printed obituaries. Alice survived until the following year. She died in Glen Dale Hospital at the age of 85 on Sept. 21, 1947. Both husband wife are interred in the Jolliffe Cemetery in Proctor near Silver Hill.

• Grandson Orestus Albert "Ora" Richmond (1885-1927) was born on March 20, 1885 in Silver Hill. He wed Edna Bradley (1888-1947) of Woodruff, WV. The couple produced three children -- Neil Dwight Richmond, Paul Richmond and Wilda Alice Richmond. As a young man, he pursued a career as an educator and took classes at Fairmont State Normal School in 1909 and West Virginia University in 1910. From 1910 to 1917, he was employed as cashier by the Bank of Pine Grove, a small financial institution founded in 1902 with capital of $25,000. Edna was an educator in her own right and was supervisor of the primary student teaching department at Fairmont State Normal School. Ora was a member of the Cameron Christian Church and the Masons lodge in New Martinsville. In 1918, they lived near Bellton, Marshall County. Ora suffered from epilepsy, and when the illness became serious, and he became an invalid, he went to live with his parents who could provide care while Edna worked. After suffering a stroke, he was admitted to the West Virginia State Hospital for the Insane in Weston, Lewis County, WV. He died there after only a 21 days' stay on Dec. 31, 1927, at the age of 43. His remains were brought back to Denver, WV for burial. Edna outlived her husband by two decades. She died in Virginia in 1964. 

Neil Richmond at work dissecting reptiles,  courtesy Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh

Great-grandson Neil Dwight Richmond (1912-1992) was born on Nov. 17, 1912 in Pine Grove, WV. He was a scientist and spent his career as a scholar of amphibians and reptiles (herpetology and environmental studies). He first was a zoology instructor at Syracuse University from 1935 to 1938 and then at Marshall College from 1938 to 1939 and at Shackelford Farms (1939-1940). After World War II, he was employed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1947-1948. In 1951, he joined the staff of the Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh. Circa 1941, he authored a book A Key to the Reptiles and Amphibians of West Virginia and in 1949 published Mammal Survey of Northwestern Pennsylvania. He died in 1992.

• Grandson Clem Marvin Richmond (1888-1932) was born on June 25, 1888 in Silver Hill or Howard, WV. He was of medium height and slender build with brown hair and eyes. While in young adulthood, he joined the West Virginia State Militia and served for six years, attaining the rank of sergeant. He married Lucy Smith (1894-1956), daughter of Thomas and Minnie (Brock) Smith, on Oct. 19, 1913. He was age 27 at the time, and she 19. In 1917, they lived on the farm of J.E. Watson near Barrackville, Marion County, WV. They returned to Silver Hill and resided there in 1918 and later the Big Run community near Cameron, Marshall County. The couple had a large family of eight sons and daughters -- Rev. Herschel Richmond, Ralph Richmond, Lloyd Richmond, Mildred Goldrove and Alice Mace. They were members of the Memorial Christian Church of Huntington. At the age of 43, Clem was stricken with acute dilatation of his stomach due to blockage of his bowels -- otherwise diagnosed as appendicitis. He was admitted to Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Glendale where he died on Oct. 6, 1932. Burial was in Jolliffe Cemetery in Silver Hill. An obituary was printed in the Moundsville Daily Echo. Lucy survived her husband by 23 years and toward the end of her life resided with her son Ralph in Cameron. She died in May 1956 in Ohio Valley General Hospital. She rests for eternity beside her husband. Their son Herschel was pastor of the Fairmont Christian Church circa 1956. Their daughter Mildred lived in Danville, IL and daughter alice in Kilbuck, OH.

• Grandson Clell Cecil Richmond (1890-1970) was born on Aug. 5, 1890 in Silver Hill or nearby Marshall County. As an adult, he was tall and slender with hazel eyes and dark hair. He married his first wife, Cora Alice Morrison (1896-1982). They had eight known children -- Betty Jo Boyd, Jack Richmond, James "Jimmie" Richmond, Bonnie "Jean" Phillips, Charles Richmond, June Stern, William Richmond and Debbie Jean Richmond. They were members of the Macedonia Methodist Church. Clell was a longtime oil and gas driller. Perhaps drawn by the lure of lucrative jobs in the booming oilfields of Oklahoma, Clell and Cora relocated there, and lived at the corner of 14th and Delaware in the town of Okmulgee. Circa 1917-1918, they were listed as Okmulgee residents in the Farabees book, and also when Clell registered for the military draft during World War I. While in Okmulgee, he was employed by J.W. Hensley. In 1920 they were in Breckinridge, TX and in 1923 in Henrietta, Clay County, TX, where their daughters were born. They must have shuttled back and forth because records show them in Okmulgee in the mid-1930s. At some point Clell returned to West Virginia. After a divorce, he married again, at age 66 in 1956, in Tyler County, to 30-year-old Doris B. Sheplin (1926- ? ). Their home in the late 1960s and '70 was at 508 Tenth Street. Clell died in Moundsville on March 29, 1970, at the age of 79, in Reynolds Memorial Hospital. rev. H. Carl Ross officiated at the memorial service held at the Church of the Nazarene in Moundsville. An obituary in the Moundsville Daily Echo said he was survived by 17 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Fist wife Cora remained behind in Oklahoma after the divorce and in 1971 made her home in Santa Cruz, CA, at 18 Sunset Terrace.

Great-granddaughter Betty Jo Richmond married (?) Boyd and lived in Santa Cruz, CA.

Great-granddaughter Bonnie "Jean" Richmond wed (?) Phillips and resided in Santz Cruz, CA.

Great-granddaughter June Richmond was united in marriage with (?) Stern and made their home in Cameron

Great-granddaughter Debbie Jean Richmond lived at home in 1970.

Great-grandson Jack Richmond lived in California in 1970.

Great-grandson James "Jimmie" Richmond dwelled in 1970 in California.

Great-grandson Charles Richmond resided in California.

Great-grandson William Richmond served in the U.S. Air Force in Louisiana in 1970.

• Granddaughter Ida "Austa" Richmond (1893-1982) was born on May 2, 1893 in Silver Hill. On Dec. 21, 1911, at the age of 18, she was united in marriage with Clarence Arthur Stern (1890-1978). The wedding was held in Carney Run Methodist Church. Their one known daughter was Beulah Artha Stern, born in 1912 in Silver Hill. Circa 1918, when named in the Farabees book, they dwelled in Shamrock near Tulsa, OK, Post Office Box 111. By 1932, when she was named in the Moundsville Daily Echo obituary of her brother Clem, they had returned to Moundsville and were making their residence on Lafayette Avenue. Austa remained in Moundsville as of 1970.

• Grandson Charles Webster Richmond (1897- ? ) was born on Oct. 5, 1897 in Silver Hill. His first wife was Marrie Carrie Roberts, a native of Pine Grove, WV. After her death, he married again, to Mamie Gwendolyn (Strother) Spellman (1907- ? ), daughter of Lloyd and Emma (Cunningham) Strother. Circa 1932, he lived in Pennsboro. By 1965, he had relocated to Shinnston.

• Moundsville Daily Echo

  Grandson Clarence Edward Richmond (1898-1965) was born on Dec. 21, 1898 in Silver Hill. At the age of 20, he was tall and of medium build, with black hair and brown eyes. That year, he was a self-employed farmer near Silver Hill. He married Edna Miller (1897- ? ). Their seven children were John Richmond, Bert Richmond, Ruth Phillips, Maryetta Vucelick, Doris Sesa, Plural Bierman and Dorothy Wood. Clarence was a longtime farmer and dealer in livestock. They were members of the Salem Church of Christ on Bowman Ridge, where they resided for many decades. Following retirement, the couple relocated to Moundsville, making their residence at 25 Oak Avenue. Clarence died on Feb. 15, 1965 in Moundsville's Morris Medical Clinic, at the age of 67. The Moundsville Daily Echo printed an obituary, stating that Clarence was survived by 32 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

• Granddaughter Violet Ethel Richmond (1900- ? ) was born on April 23, 1900 (or 1901) in Silver Hill.

Daughter Mary Elizabeth Richmond (1864- ? ) was born on Aug. 10, 1864 in Silver Hill. At the age of 19, on Sept. 15, 1883, she wed David Frederick Baker (1857-1890). Sometime between 1884 and 1887, they migrated to Nebraska, and settled in the town of Nelson, Nuckolls County. They had two children: John Charles Baker and Virtue Almira Shahan. Sadly, David died in Nelson on Feb. 15, 1890, after six years of marriage. Mary Elizabeth then wed her second spouse, Gottlieb ("Godlip") Cashner (1840-1900), a native of Germany. Their home was in Wheeling, Ohio County, WV, in the rear apartment at 2819 Chap. Street, where Gottlieb earned a living as a shoemaker. The couple produced two children of their own -- Alber Henry Cashner and Alma Ida Cashner. Heartache rocked the family when 60-year-old Gottlieb succumbed of cholera in their Wheeling home on Sept. 18, 1900. His Ohio County death record spelled his name "Gotlieb Castner" and places his burial site as Peninsula Cemetery. (A search has been made for an obituary in the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer proved fruitless.) Mary Elizabeth's third husband was James Fitz Randolph (1850- ? ), from Salem, Harrison County (?), WV. The Randolphs had two more daughters -- Adelaide Bell Randolph and Iva Annette Randolph. Circa 1918, when the Farabees book was published, they were listed as residing in Conway, Middlebourne, Tyler County. Nothing more is known.

• Grandson John Charles Baker (1884- ? ) was born on Aug. 22, 1884 in Marshall County. He married German immigrant Lena Tillie Braun (1880- ? ), who had come to the U.S. from Pietershausen. They had one known daughter, Virtue Ida Marie Baker. They lived in Wheeling in 1918 at 183 18th Street.

• Granddaughter Virtue Almira Baker (1887- ? ) was born on May 17, 1887 in Nelson, NE. She was but three years old when her father died. She and her mother returned to West Virginia. Virtue married William Shahan ( ? - ? ), a native of Independence, Preston County, WV. They had one known daughter, Mary Nell Shahan. They resided in 1918 in Clarksburg, WV.

• Grandson Albert Henry Cashner (1895- ? ) was born on May 6, 1895 in Conaway, Tyler County. In 1918, he lived in Wheeling.

• Granddaughter Alma Ida Cashner (1897- ? ) was born on Dec. 17, 1897 in Conaway. Her home in 1918 was in Conaway, Middlebourne, Tyler County.

• Granddaughter Adelaide Bell Randolph (1903- ? ) was born on Oct. 24, 1903 at Salem, WV. As a young woman, she moved to Martins Ferry, OH. At the age of 24, on Nov. 12, 1927, she wed 23-year-old Luther Bowen (1903- ? ) of Martins Ferry. The ceremony was held in Brooke County, WV, with Rev. Edward T. Carter, of the Baptist Church, officiating.

• Granddaughter Iva Annette Randolph (1905- ? ) was born on March 25, 1905 in Salem.

Son Elmer Taylor Richmond (1866-1941) was born on Dec. 24, 1866. As an adult, he worked as a carpenter and lived in Conaway/Middlebourne, Tyler County, WV. He married Barbara Christine Fiber (1865-1932), daughter of Henry Fiber of Monroe County, OH. They had three children -- Albert Ervin Richmond, Raymond Ward Richmond and Alta Marie Sole. Their son Albert died in infancy in Wetzel County on June 4, 1891. He is believed to have been a Republican in his politics and a justice of the peace in Tyler County's Ellsworth District circa 1916, when his name was printed in the West Virginia Blue Book. Sadly, Barbara died on April 30, 1932. Burial was on the Haught farm near Conaway, Tyler County. At the age of 66, on June 9, 1933, Elmer married his second wife, 64-year-old widow Jennie Bennett of Tyler County. He died of hardening of the arteries at the age of 74 on July 25, 1941. If an obituary was printed, no Middlebourne newspapers of that era are known to exist.

• Grandson Raymond Ward Richmond (1893- ? ) was born on Feb. 5, 1893. He migrated to Oklahoma where he resided in 1915-1918 in the town of Yale.

• Granddaughter Alta Marie Richmond (1904-1972) was born on April 18, 1904 in Conaway, Tyler County. She married Dudley Sole and had two children -- William M. Sole and Peggy Drain. They resided in Moundsville. Alta died on June 4, 1972, with interment in Halcyon Hills Cemetery in Sherrard, WV.

Daughter Martha Jane "Jenny" Richmond (1869- ? ) was born in 1869. She never married, and lived with her parents in their home until their deaths. At her death, she was placed into eternal rest in the Jolliffe Cemetery.

Barker Cemetery, Smithfield, WV

~ Daughter Lydia "Ann" (Cain) Jackson ~

Lydia "Ann" Cain (1845-1911?) was born on April 8, 1845 in Glen Easton, Marshall County. She and her husband are profiled in the 1961 book Ephraim Jackson and His Descendants - 1684-1960, authored by Lydia's grandson, Jesse Calvin Cross.

On Feb. 27, 1868, in a ceremony held at her parents’ home led by Harrison Yoho, 22-year-old Lydia married 21-year-old farmer John Josiah Jackson 1847-1917). Among the witnesses were John and Martha Sear. 

John was the son of Joseph Martin and Thursa (Callahan) Jackson, and was born near Morgantown, Monongalia County, WV. John's mother, a native of Scotland, died when he was in infancy, and he was raised for the first few years by his maternal grandparents, likely in Brooke County, WV. His father brought him back home to Silver Hill, Wetzel County where he then grew to adulthood. 

Ephraim Jackson book,  by Lydia's grandson

The Jacksons were longtime friends of the Cain and White families of Silver Hill. John's half-brother Orange Scott Jackson married Lydia's sister Catherine E. Cain, and John's half-sister Viola Jackson married William Morgan White. John's father is said to have furnished quite a bit of the timber used to build the log Macedonia Methodist Church near Silver Hill, and many members of the Jackson family now rest within the soil of the church yard.

Lydia and John had 11 known children, Charles "Leonard" Jackson, Sarah Elizabeth Jackson, Thirsa Cross, Catasner Jackson, Enos Perry Jackson, Lindsey Elmus Jackson, Joseph L. Jackson, Noah Alexander Jackson, Josiah Jackson, Priscilla Jackson and Carrie Olive Jackson. 

Sadly, son Joseph died in May 1881 at the age of two months, and son Josiah passed away at birth in May 1884. The infants were laid to rest in the Cain family cemetery, presumably the one on Pleasant Ridge near Silver Hill. But this needs to be confirmed.

In 1870, the Jacksons lived next door to Lydia’s parents near Silver Hill. 

In 1880, their near neighbors in Center Township included Lydia’s married siblings Catherine Jackson, James C. Cain, Susan Richmond and Mariah Richmond. 

Wetzel County history

Said the Ephraim Jackson book: 

At an early age [John] started to work helping his father on the farm and also worked with him cutting and logging timbers. He learned to be a carpenter under his father and became skilled in the trade, however, he devoted most of his time to farming and timber work. In 1885, in company with his brother Orange, [they] moved to Smithfield, W.Va., where they were engaged on a construction job. On completion of this work they settled on a farm in this vicinity and operated it in partnership. Later his brother decided to return to Silver Hill, but John remained at Smithfield and made it his permanent residence. He continued to follow the carpenter trade, built a number of residential houses in the town of Smithfield, but later devoted most of his time to farming. His life was that of a devoted Christian. He was a student and teacher of the Bible and always conducted family prayers in the home.

Wetzel County history

In 1901, John was named in John C. McEldowney Jr.'s book, History of Wetzel County, West Virginia. He and L.F. [Lindsey?] Cain were included in a list of prosperous farmers in the community of Smithfield, WV. The town was settled during the 1850s, about 30 miles southeast of the county seat of New Martinsville.

When her sister Mariah died in 1910, Lydia was living at the time in Wallace (Harrison County?), WV, and was named in the newspaper obituary.

Sadly, Lydia died four days before Christmas on Dec. 21, 1911. She was laid to rest in the Barker Cemetery in Smithfield. No listing of her death officially was recorded in West Virginia. (The Wetzel Democrat and Moundsville Daily Echo newspapers for that time period have been searched, but no obituary has been located.)

John survived her by six years. Tragically, at the age of 70, he died on April 17, 1917 in Ohio, after being struck accidentally by a trolley car in Tiltonsville and rushed to City Hospital in Martins Ferry, Belmont County. His broken remains were brought back to Smithfield for interment. While considered newsworthy, no news coverage or obituaries are known to have been published in the Wetzel Democrat or Wheeling Intelligencer.

They rest together under a single grave stone beside their son Perry. The burying ground contains only a few marked stones and is at the top of a very steep hill. The road to the site is overgrown, rutted and blocked with fallen trees. It was an especially strenuous climb for the founder of this website when photographing the graves in May 2015

Above: bird's eye view of Smithfield, WV. Below: Jackson graves circled at the remote Barker Cemetery, Smithfield, as photographed in May 2015.

Fairmont West Virginian

Son Charles "Leonard" Jackson (1869-1931) was born on Feb. 27, 1869. At the age of 25, he married 24-year-old Mary Ann Devine (1870-1945), daughter of John and Mary Jane Devine, on the Fourth of July 1894. The couple produced three known children -- Huldah "Huldie" Jackson, Lucinda "Cinda" Brewer and Stacy S. Jackson. In 1900, their residence was in the Clay District of Wetzel County, where Leonard labored as a farmer. During the decade of the 1900s, they moved to Wetzel County's Church District and continued to farm. Mary Ann had joined the Church of Christ at the age of 18, and she retained this membership for the rest of her long life. The Jacksons enjoyed family connections, and in the late 1920s or early '30s attended the Cain-Jackson Reunion in Mannington, Marion County, WV. The events were organized by Leonard's brother Enos Perry Jackson, who served as president of the annual affair from 1925 to 1942. There always were questions as to whether the Jacksons were related to famed Confederate General Stonewall Jackson, who had been born in nearby Weston, WV. However, according to the book, The Jackson Family, published in 1961 by Jesse Calvin Cross, there was no family connection. Later, Leonard and Mary relocated to 440 Wiley Street in Fairmont, Marion County, WV. There, Leonard was employed a carpenter and a janitor at Fairmont Aluminum Company. They were affiliated with the Church of Christ on Columbia Street. Heartache shook the family when Leonard, overcome with gas fumes, possibly at work, fell backward and fractured the left side of his skull. He was rushed to Cook Hospital, where died on Feb. 23, 1931, just four days before his 62nd birthday. Funeral services were conducted by Rev. .J.M. Rice, and burial was in Daybrook Cemetery, Daybrook, Monongalia County, WV. An obituary was printed in the Fairmont West Virginian. As a widow, Mary Ann lived for another 14 years, staying in her longtime home with her unmarried daughter Hulda. Declining in health due to longstanding heart issues, Mary Ann died at home on May 3, 1945. Their daughter Hulda was the informant for her death certificate.

• Granddaughter Hulda Velrie "Huldie" Jackson (1895-1966) was born in April 1895. She apparently never married. Circa 1931, her home was in Fairmont, Marion County. She died in October 1966 and rests in the Daybrook Cemetery in Monongalia County, WV.

• Granddaughter Lucinda Maud "Cinda" Jackson (1897- ? ) was born in April 1897 in Wetzel County. In 1934, when she was 37 years of age, Cinda married 33-year-old Charles Orvil Brewer (1898- ? ), a fellow native of Wetzel County. The ceremony was held on Sept. 4, 1934, at Fairview, Marion County, and Rev. J.M. Rice officiated. At the time of marriage, both bride and groom resided at the Marion County Home. The couple requested that the news of their marriage not be published. They resided in Pittsburgh circa 1945.

• Grandson Stacy Loman Jackson (1900-1976) was born on March 9, 1900 in Wetzel County, WV. He was tall and of medium build, with light brown eyes and brown hair. Circa 1918, at the age of 18, he lived at Hundred, Wetzel County and worked as a tool dresser for Miller & Robinson just over the county line in Board Tree, Marshall County. When he was 20 years of age, he made his home in Littleton, Wetzel County, On May 24, 1920, when he was age 20, he married 22-year-old Minnie May Aberegg (1898- ? ) of Board Tree, Wetzel County. Rev. A.W. Wagoner of the Church of Christ officiated, with Mary Hostutler and Lovenia Wagoner serving as witnesses. Their two known sons were Floyd Jackson and Ralph Jackson. In 1931, they resided in Burton, Wetzel County. Both sons served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II, and in 1945 son Ralph was a patient in an Army hospital in Bakersfield, CA. By 1945, when Stacy was named in his mother's newspaper obituary, they were in Baltimore, MD. Sadly, Minnie died sometime before 1970. On June 1, 1970, at the age of 70, he wed again, to 69-year-old widow Bonnie Fay (Bock) Miller (1901- ? ), of Mannington, Marion County, daughter of Michael and Claudia (Sapp) Bock. Rev. C.W. Rock, of the Church of Christ of Hundred, WV, officiated. The couple enjoyed six years together. Stacy passed away in Littleton in December 1976.

Daughter Sarah Elizabeth "Lizzie" Jackson (1870-1954) was born on June 1, 1870 in Silver Hill. In about 1887, she married William M. Brewer (1865-1942), the son of Ezra and Hannah (McGill) Brewer of Monongalia County, WV. They were longtime farmers in Smithfield, Wetzel County. They are believed to have borne 17 children -- among them Laura Brewer, Linzy Brewer, Clammie Brewer, Edward Brewer, Altie Brewer, Mary Brewer, Charles Brewer, William Brewer, Ervin Brewer Norval Brewer, Clarence Brewer, Oran Brewer, Clema Brewer, Virginia Brewer and Birchie Brewer. In 1910, their home was along Loman Ridge Road near Jacksonburg, Wetzel County, and by that time Lizzie had borne 14 children. In 1920, when the census again was taken, William earned a living as a farmer and oilfield worker. He was stricken with a cerebral hemorrhage and passed away in Smithfield at the age of 77 on Aug. 16, 1942. While suffering from congestive heart failure in rural Weston, Lewis County, WV, Sarah died on April 6, 1954, at the age of 83, with interment beside her husband in Barker Cemetery in Smithfield. N.O. Brewer signed her death certificate. No obituary is known to have been published in the Fairmont West Virginian.

• Granddaughter Laura Brewer (1891- ? ) was born in about 1891. When she was age 19, on Feb. 3, 1911, she was wed to Claud Wilt (1886-1961) in a ceremony held at the local Methodist Episcopal parsonage in Smithfield. Rev. D.F. Carder led the nuptials. Claud was a native of Gilmer county, WV and the son of J.T. and Alveria (Martin) Wilt. They resided in Roanoke, Lewis County, WV, where Claud was employed by Equitable Gas Company. Tragically, just a few weeks prior to his 75th birthday, he decided to end his life and shot himself in the chest on May 27, 1961. Burial was in the Finster Chapel in Lewis County.

• Grandson Linzy Brewer (1893- ? ) was born in about 1893.

• Grandson Clem "Clemmie" Brewer (1895- ? ) was born in about 1895. On June 15, 1916, when he was age 21, he married 24-year-old Vernie Ice (1893- ? ). Rev. Charles A. Powers of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Smithfield officiated. At the time, they both lived in Smithfield, Wetzel County.

• Grandson Edward Emery Brewer (1897-1961) was born on Aug. 9, 1885 (or 1887). When he was age 20, on Nov. 15, 1917, Edward was united in matrimony with 21-year-old Lucy Hickerson (1898- ? ). Officiating was Rev. R.L. Maness of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with his sister and brother in law Altie and Harry Bogard serving as witnesses. Edward served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War I. He spent his career as an oilfield laborer in and around Wetzel County, making his home in Smithfield. When his father died in 1942, Edward signed the death certificate. He died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 66 on Sept. 6, 1961. His remains were lowered to rest in New Martinsville's North View Cemetery.

• Granddaughter Alta "Altie" Brewer (1898- ? ) was born in about 1898. On Sept. 12, 1914, when Altie was age 16, she married Harry L. Bogard ( ? - ? ) in a ceremony held at Smithfield. Rev. W.C. Strohmeyer officiated. Serving as witnesses for the marriage were Altie's uncle and aunt, Enos "Perry" and Anna (Church) Jackson.

• Granddaughter Mary Brewer (1899- ? ) was born in about 1899.

• Grandson Charles Brewer (1900- ? ) was born in about 1900. He was a farmer at the age of 19, living at home.

• Grandson William Brewer (1902- ? ) was born in about 1902. At the age of 17, he made a living as an oil well laborer in Wetzel County.

• Grandson Ervin Brewer (1905- ? ) was born in about 1905.

• Grandson Norval Brewer (1907- ? ) was born in about 1907.

• Grandson Clarence Vance Brewer (1908- ? ) was born in about 1908 in Wetzel County. He married fellow Smithfield resident Virginia Marie Gilbert ( ? - ? ) on Jan. 25, 1934, when he was age 25 and she 21. Performing the nuptials was Rev. Frank McCamie of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Paden City.

• Grandson Oran A. Brewer (1910- ? ) was born in about April 1910. At the age of 20, he dwelled at home with his parents and worked a farm laborer.

• Daughter Elvira Brewer (1912- ? ) was born in about 1912.

• Daughter Virginia M. Brewer (1914- ? ) was born in about 1914. She and Charles William Kendall ( ? - ? ) were united in marriage on Christmas Day 1932, when she was age 21 and he 33. Rev. A.W. Miller of the Smithfield Methodist Episcopal Church officiated the ceremony held at the church parsonage. Charles previously had been married and divorced, and lived in Mannington, Marion County.

• Daughter Virchie M. Brewer (1917- ? ) was born in about 1917 in Wetzel County. When she was age 19, she married 22-year-old Kenneth Kendall (1914- ? ) of Mannington, Marion County, WV. The ceremony was held on May 4, 1935 by Rev. L.N. Wilfong at a church parsonage in Mannington.

Wetzel Democrat, 1948

Cross graves, New Martinsville

Daughter Thirsa J. Jackson (1872-1934), sometimes spelled "Thursa" and "Theresa," was born on Nov. 25, 1871 in Silver Hill. At the age of 16, apparently fibbing that she actually was 18, she married 22-year-old Lindsay Cross (1864-1948), the son of Jesse and Rebecca (Hibbs) Cross. The ceremony was held on Oct. 3, 1888 at the home of Lindsay's parents in Wetzel County. His name also has been spelled "Lindsey" and "Linzy." The Crosses went on to produce 11 children, born over a 23-year-span between the years 1889 and 1912 -- Dorothy Florence Meyer, Jesse Calvin Cross, John Lewis Cross, Perry Elmer Cross, Delia Forest Shuman, Frank Lester Cross, Edna Vaughn Gorby, Frances Oretta Cross, Everett Edward Cross, Freda Cross and Kerman Ralph Cross. When the federal census was taken in 1900, the Crosses lived in Wetzel County's Center District (Wileyville), where Lindsay earned a living as a farmer. Later, he worked as an oilwell laborer for many years with South Penn Natural Gas. They remained in Wileyville for many years. With her health declining due to heart problems, Thirsa died at the age of 63 on Jan. 28, 1934. Burial was in North View Cemetery in New Martinsville. Lindsay outlived his wife by 14 years, choosing to remain in Wileyville. He suffered from congestive heart failure and kidney ailments, and died at age 84 on Aug. 18, 1948. Burial was in North View Cemetery following funeral services in the Wileyville Church, in a plot of graves jointly populated with the family of their daughter Florence Meyer. Their daughter Delia Shuman of Pine Grove, WV was the death certificate informant. An obituary was printed in the Wetzel Democrat.

• Granddaughter Dorothy "Florence" Cross (1889-1958) was born on July 6, 1889. When she was age 18, on April 6, 1907, she wed 24-year-old Evard E. "Everett" Meyer (or "Myers") (1883-1958) of Wetzel County and the son of John Meyer. His birthdate sometimes has been given as as June 17, 1877. If the latter is true, they were 12 years apart in age. Their known children were Herbert R. Meyer and Odgar P. Meyer. They also are believed to have had several infant children or grandchildren who died in 1935 with burial in the family plot at Northview Cemetery in New Martinsville. In 1920, when the federal census was taken, they lived in the Grant District of Wetzel County, with Florence's 16-year-old sister Edna living under their roof. That year, Evard worked as a gas industry laborer. By 1930, they had migrated to Mannington, Marion County, WV. Their home was located at 704 East Main Street in Mannington in 1948, where Everett was a longtime natural gas company employee. Florence contracted a case of "chronic brain syndrome" and heart disease and in 1954 was admitted to Weston State Hospital in Lewis County, WV. She lingered there for two years and seven months. Sadly, the couple died about a month and a half apart. Everett passed first, at age 80, in Clarksburg, Harrison County, WV, on Jan. 7, 1958. His death occurred in St. Mary's Hospital and was due to kidney disease. Florence succumbed in Weston State Hospital on Feb. 22, 1958. Burial for both was in North View Cemetery in New Martinsville. Son Odgar of Mannington signed his father's death certificate.

• Jesse Calvin Cross

  Grandson Jesse Calvin Cross (1891-1972?) was born on May 23, 1891 near Kodol, WV. On April 8, 1917, at the age of 26, he married 19-year-old Louise Oretta "Lula" Morgan (1898- ? ), the daughter of Irene B. Morgan of New Martinsville. Because Lula was underage, her mother had to sign her consent in writing. The couple produced two known children, Wayne Calvin Cross and Doris Mae Cross. Heartache shook the family when five-year-old son Wayne was killed in Dormont in January 1924 when his skull was crushed when run over by a truck. Jesse began his career with South Penn Oil Company in 1904, when he was age 13. After graduation from Mountain State business College, he joined Hope Natural Gas Company, a subsidiary of Standard Oil of New Jersey, and over the years took on positions of increasing authority in the company's finance area. Starting as field accounting supervisor in West Virginia, he was named assistant chief accountant and then chief accountant. In 1920, their home was in Point Comfort, Harrison County, WV, with Jesse working as a gas company auditor. Circa 1930, the family resided on Mississippi Avenue in Dormont, near Pittsburgh, where he held the position of department head with the oil and gas firm. By 1948, they had returned to West Virginia and were living in Clarksburg.  Jesse was appointed to treasurer of Hope Natural Gas and River Gas Company in 1949 and was elected to the board of these companies, continuing until retirement in 1956. He was a member of the Annuities and Benefits Committee of Consolidated Natural Gas and served as chairman of the General Accounting Committee of the American Gas Association. During his years in Pittsburgh, he was on the governing board of Mt. Lebanon Methodist Church, and after moving to Clarksburg was on the board of First Methodist Church. Active in charity work, he was treasurer of the American Red Cross in Clarksburg. He also belonged to the Rotary Club, the Castle Shannon Country Club, the Clarksburg Country Club and Masonic and Shrine organizations. He was very interested in his family roots, and in 1961 published the book Ephraim Jackson and His Descendants - 1684-1960. In the preface, Jesse explored his research into the question of whether the family was connected to famed Confederate Civil War hero Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, concluding that the answer was "no."

For several years the author has been interested in the history of his mother’s family. As long as he can remember, it has been claimed that our family were of the same ancestry as “Stonewall” Jackson of Civil War fame. This belief was quickly dispelled after making a trip to Charleston, W.Va., to consult Dr. Roy Bird Cook the foremost historian of "Stonewall" Jackson. An examination of his records disclosed there were no connecting links between "Stonewall’s" ancestry and our lineage.

Jesse spent his final years in Monterey, CA. He died there on Nov. 1, 1972, at the age of 80.

• Grandson John Lewis Cross (1893- ? ) was born on Oct. 9, 1893 near Kodol, WV. On Dec. 22, 1914, when he was age 21 and she 22, John married Mary Elizabeth Burdette (1892-1965), daughter of Lewis A. and Margarete Alice (Alexander) Burdette. Their two children were Raymond Walter Cross and Betty Lou Cross. During World War I, John was a member of the First Division, 18th Infantry, Company B. He was wounded at the Battle of Soissons and, following recovery, went back into Germany. After the war, he returned home and joined Hope Natural Gas Company, remaining there for four decades. They resided in Pine Grove, Wetzel County in the 1940s-1960s. Mary passed away in 1965, at the age of 73. Burial was in North View Cemetery in New Martinsville.

• Grandson Perry Elmer Cross (1895- ? ) was born on May 29, 1895 near Kodol, WV. He wed Violet Pearl Postlethwait on Sept. 28, 1919, when he was 24 years of age. She was the daughter of Calvin A. and Della M. (McCoy) Posthlethwait. The couple produced two offspring -- Waleah Neoma Cross and Searoba Delorene Cross. As with his older brothers, Perry went to work in the West Virginia oil fields as a teen. During World War I, he served with the 80th Division, 315th Machine Gun Battalion, Company C. He saw auction in the battles of Artoiz Sector, St. Mehiel and Meuse-Argonne. He made his home in Clarksburg where he was employed by Hope Natural Gas Company for 37 years. Following retirement, they relocated to Florida where they lived in Pelsacola at 4009 North 9th Avenue.

• Granddaughter Delia Forest Cross (1897-1977) was born on Sept. 19, 1897 near Kodol, WV. When she was 21 years of age, on Sept. 16, 1917, she married 33-year-old widower Moses Grover Shuman (1883-1941), son of William F. and Sylvania (Delaney) Shuman of Wileyville. Rev. Samuel Furbee conducted the wedding at his residence. The Shumans lived in Pine Grove and Hastings, Wetzel County. Their six children were Juanita Fredia Shuman, William Jackson Shuman, Bruce Edward Shuman, Esther Lee Shuman, Leslie Wayne Shuman and Barbara Lois Shuman. Moses' source of income over the years was a job as a truck and team foreman. He passed away while working in Hastings on Feb. 26, 1941, of an instantaneous acute heart failure. Burial was in New Martinsville's Greenlawn Cemetery. Flossie Shuman signed his death certificate. Delia lived for a remarkable 36 years as a widow. In about 1961, her address was Pine Grove, Wetzel County. She passed into eternity on March 14, 1977, at the age of 80. Burial was in Greenlawn Cemetery.

• Hope Natural Gas station, Smithfield, WV

  Grandson Frank Lester Cross (1900- ? ) was born on March 6, 1900 near Kodol, WV. At the age of 26, on Nov. 27, 1926, he was united in matrimony with 24-year-old Nellie Kathryn Wade (1902- ? ), daughter of Charles Clarence and Prudence Anne (Haught) Wade. Their four offspring were Mildred Anne Cross, Martha Jane Cross, Carolyn Ruth Cross and Constance Lynn Cross. Frank was employed for 42 years by Hope Natural Gas Company as city plant foreman. He retired at the end of 1960. They lived at 219 Furbee Avenue in Mannington, Marion County.

• Granddaughter Edna Cross (1903- ? ) was born on Nov. 22, 1903 in Pine Grove, Wetzel County. At the age of 16, she lived with her sister and brother in law, Florence and Evard Meyer, in Wetzel County's Grant District. She was married twice. Her first spouse was Charles Harrison Vaughn (1906-1940), with marriage taking place on June 30, 1929. He was a native of Mill Creek, WV and the son of Milton and Virginia (Herron) Vaughn. They had two children, both of whom died in infancy -- Neill Vaughn and Leeta Mae Vaughn. Circa 1940, their home was in Ravenna, Portage County, OH, where Charles worked as a kettle operator in a dye works. Sadly, Charles suffered from heart valve problems and died on March 17, 1940, on his 34th birthday. Burial was in Ravenna. After 18 months as a widow, Edna wed again. Her second husband was Moundsville native Joseph M. Gorby (1890-1956), with the nuptials occurring on Oct. 10, 1941. No children were born of the second marriage, Edna became a widow for a second time upon Joseph's passing on Nov. 14, 1956. She lived in Ravenna, OH and then in 1961 in Leavittsburg, OH.

• Granddaughter Frances Oretta Cross (1906-1908) was born on April 21, 1906. Sadly, she died on Sept. 24, 1908, at the age of two years, five months.  Interment was in New Martinsville's North View Cemetery.

• Grandson Everett Edward Cross (1908- ? ) was born on Jan. 6, 1908 in Wileyville. Circa 1930, census records show that he made his home at age 22 with his married sister Florence Meyer in Mannington, Marion County, WV. In 1934, when he was age 26, Everett married Oda Yoho (1913- ? ), daughter of John and Ida Belle (Moore) Yoho. Their only known child was Eldon Leon Cross. They moved to Ohio and in 1948 dwelled in Newton Falls.

• Granddaughter Freda Cross (1909-1910) was born on Oct. 28, 1909. She did not outlive infancy. She passed away at the tender age of just under nine months on July 18, 1910. She was placed into eternal repose beside her baby sister Frances in her family's plot in North View Cemetery.

• Grandson Kerman Ralph Cross (1912-1956) was born on Feb. 27, 1912 in Wileyville, Wetzel County. As an adult, he relocated to the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, where he obtained work with the J.E. Baker Company of Bunker Hill. At the age of 20, on Dec. 16, 1932, he married 19-year-old Catherine Elizabeth Barnes (1913- ? ), daughter of Joseph S. and Beulah Catherine (Anderson) Barnes. They produced three children -- Barbara Jane Cross, Joseph Elwood Cross and David Glenn Cross. In 1948, their residence was in Middleway west of Charles Town, Jefferson County, WV. Sadly, at the age of 44, he died of hypertension and uncontrolled bleeding on Dec. 5, 1956. The remains were laid to rest in the Masonic Cemetery in Middleway. As a widow, circa 1960, Catherine made her residence in Kearneysville, WV.

Daughter Katie Asneth Jackson (1874-1939) was born on Nov. 11, 1874 in Wetzel County. Her middle name also has been spelled "Ascenith" and "Catasner." At the age of 17, on Jan. 14, 1892, she wed 23-year-old George W. Slider (1868-1927), son of Sidney and Isabelle (Wade) Slider of Littleton, Wetzel County. The ceremony was held at her father's home, presided over by Samuel Starkey. The couple had seven children -- Ernest Thurman Slider, Ovie Virgil Slider, Zona Audrey Slider, Clarence Andrew Slider, Mildred Slider, Arlie Gertrude Slider and Esther Althisa Slider. Sometime between 1893 and 1896, the family relocated from Smithfield to Ohio. Sadly, daughter Mildred died at the age of two months in February 1902, and son Clarence passed away of a cerebral hemorrhage as a 17-year-old on Sept. 10, 1917, with burial in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. The Sliders resided over the years in Warren, Jefferson County, OH, where George was employed as a mine laborer by Y&O Coal. Tragically, while driving in Mt. Pleasant on Dec. 5, 1927, George was involved in a vehicular accident and was killed instantly, according to a physician's post-mortem examination. Afflicted with heart disease and strep throat, Katie passed away on Jan. 31, 1939, at the age of 64, with burial in Highland Cemetery, Mt. Pleasant, OH. Mrs. Raymond Moore of Adena was the informant for Katie's death certificate.

• Grandson Ernest Thurman Slider (1893- ? ) was born on Sept. 6, 1893 in Smithfield, Wetzel County. On July 16, 1923, he was united in matrimony with Madge Virginia Bowers (1900- ? ), daughter of Charles F. and Elizabeth (Bashore) Bowers. They lived at Mt. Pleasant, OH but did not reproduce.

• Grandson Ovie Virgil Slider (1896- ? ) was born on Feb. 9, 1896. Nothing more is known.

• Granddaughter Zona Audrey Slider (1897- ? ) was born on Sept. 17, 1897 in Laurelton, OH. At the age of 19, on April 6, 1917, she married 20-year-old Ross Jack Pastors (1896- ? ), son of John X. and Emma (Bippus) Pastors. They did not reproduce. Circa 1960, their address was 332 Grandview Avenue in Tiltonsville, OH.

• Granddaughter Arlie Gertrude Slider (1909- ? ) was born on May 21, 1909 in Rayland, Jefferson County, OH. On March 3, 1928, when she was age 18, she wed 23-year-old George Homer Calhoun (1905- ? ). He was the son of Andrew and Mary Anna (Terry) Calhoun. They made their home in Mt. Pleasant, OH and had these children -- Walter Andrew Calhoun and Homer Elwood Calhoun.

• Granddaughter Esther Althisa Slider (1912- ? ) was born on Oct. 18, 1912 in Mt. Pleasant, Jefferson County, OH. In 1930, when she was 18 years of age, she married Raymond Francis Moore (1909- ? ), son of George and Nellie (Wharton) Moore. They produced four children -- Lois Eileen Moore, Gail Lorraine Moore, Joan Lowella Moore and Edwin Wayne Moore.

Barker Cemetery, Smithfield, WV

Wetzel Democrat, 1948

Son Enos "Perry" Jackson (1876-1948) was born on Jan. 19, 1876 in Silver Hill. He was short and stout, with blue eyes and brown hair. Early in his career, he was a school teacher in Wetzel County. Then, in about 1912, he was hired by the Dragoo Brothers General Store and remained there for 36 years. Perry was married to Anna Church (1885- ? ) and they had two sons -- Virgil Jackson and Carl Jackson. Perry and Anna eventually divorced, sometime prior to September 1918. During the waning months of World War I, when Perry registered for the military draft, he stated his occupation as clerk for Dragoo Bros. and his next of kin as son Virgil in Smithfield, Wetzel County. From 1925 until 1942, Perry served as president of the Cain-Jackson Reunion, held at Mannington, WV. The reunions ended when World War II gasoline rationing prohibited non-essential automobile travel. Perry was named in the 1931 Fairmont West Virginian obituary of his brother Leonard, and at the time he lived in Smithfield. He was a member of the Methodist Church and remained in Smithfield during the 1940s. Toward the end of his life, he made his home in New Martinsville's Hayes Addition. At the age of 72, while in great pain with gall stones, he suffered a heart attack and died on Sept. 19, 1948. Son Carl was the informant for the death certificate. Burial was in the Barker Cemetery in rural Smithfield, adjacent to the graves of his parents, with an obituary appearing in the Wetzel Democrat. At the top of his tombstone was inscribed the word "Father." His death occurred just one month following the passing of his brother in law Lindsay Cross.

• Grandson Virgil Jackson lived in Brown, WV.

• Grandson Carl Jackson resided in Smithfield, Wetzel County.

Son Lindsey Elmus Jackson (1879-1950) was born on Nov,. 28, 1878 in Marshall County. He married Theola Belle Duncan ( ? - ? ). He was a longtime oil laborer for the South Penn Natural Gas Company. Circa 1950, they lived in Wallace, Marion County, WV. Lindsey died from the effects of hypertension at the age of 72 on Jan. 19, 1950. His remains were placed at rest in Mannington Memorial Park in Marion County. 

Son Noah Alexander Jackson (1882-1956) was born on May 12, 1882. In adulthood, he was of medium build and height, with blue eyes and brown hair. He married Martha Winifred McMillan (or "McMillian"). Circa 1918, they lived in Tiltonsville, Jefferson County, OH, where Noah was a self-employed carpenter. Later, they migrated to California and in 1948 lived in Upland, CA. Eventually he made his home in San Berndardino. Noah died on April 15, 1956, and rests in the Bellevue Mausoleum in Ontario, CA.

Daughter Priscilla Jackson (1886-1940) was born on April 14, 1886 in Smithfield, Wetzel County. She married Clarence Alfred Ashcraft (1875-1932), son of Harrison and Elizabeth (Drain) Ashcraft. They made their residence in Wyatt, Harrison County, WV, where Clarence earned a living as a carpenter with Shinnston Planing Mill Company. In September 1918, Clarence registered for the military draft during World War I and gave Priscilla's name as his next of kin. Sadly, he was felled by a cerebral hemorrhage and died on Aug. 8, 1932. (A search has been made for an obituary in the Fairmont West Virginian, but without a successful result.) As a widow, Priscilla lived in Fairmont, Marion County, WV. Suffering from uterine cancer, Priscilla died at the age of 53 of on March 17, 1940. She is entombed with her husband in the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Wyatt. Signing the death certificate was Thelma Dalmer of Fairmont.

Daughter Carrie Olive Jackson (1889- ? ) was born on Dec. 13, 1889. Nothing more is known.

William and Susan Richmond

~ Daughter Susan Matilda (Cain) Richmond ~

Susan Matilda Cain (1848-1912) was born on Feb. 15, 1848. 

In about 1866, when she was age 17, she married 24-year-old widower and Civil War veteran William M. Richmond (1842-1920), the son of David B. and Mary (Farabee) Richmond of Washington County, PA. 

(The two families were close, and Susan's sister Mariah "Jane" married William's brother Charles.)

William's first wife, Nancy May (1836-1864) had died two years earlier at the untimely age of 28, and he brought a son to the marriage with our Susan, Joseph Henry Richmond.

The couple produced five known children of their own – Margaret Jane Tuttle, Alva “Alvy” Richmond, Elizabeth Richmond, John Nicholas Richmond and Linzy Virgil Richmond. 

During the war, William served with the 4th West Virginia Cavalry, Company L. More about his wartime activity will be added here when learned.

In the 1870s, the family must have shuttled back and forth between the adjacent Wetzel and Tyler Counties, as their son Linzy was born in Tyler County in 1878, yet in 1880, they dwelled in Center Township, Wetzel County, where William earned a living as a farmer. 

By 1900, they had relocated to near Conaway, Tyler County WV, where William continued his labors as a farmer. Their farmhouse was in a remote hollow below the Mt. Nebo Cemetery, about eight miles east of the county seat of Middlebourne. There are several roads to the site, which even today are dirt-paved, rutted, stony and occasionally washed out, with no snow clearance provided in wintertime. In a word, their existence would have been isolated at best. Other than farming, the only other local business activity would have been the placement and installation of gas wells on the hilltops throughout the terrain.

Richmond graves at Mt. Nebo Cemetery.

When her sister Mariah died in 1910, Susan was living in Conaway and was named in the newspaper obituary.

Susan died on March 29, 1912 in Tyler County, at the age of 64. Burial was in the Mt. Nebo Cemetery near Middlebourne, Tyler County. No notation of her passing was recorded in Tyler County records, and no newspaper obituary is known to have been published in the Tyler County Journal. Fortunately, the date of her demise is inscribed on her grave marker which is somewhat legible today.

William survived his wife by eight years and in 1918 lived in Sistersville, Tyler County, WV. Despite his Civil War service, evidence shows that he did not apply for a pension in his later years, unlike most other Union veterans of the war between the states.

He is said to have returned to Marshall County and died there on Feb. 24, 1920 (or 1921). No death record was filed in Marshall County. No obituary appeared in either the Moundsville Daily Echo or the Tyler County Journal.

Farabee genealogy book listing the Richmonds

Six years after her death, Susan along with her offspring were spelled out in detail in Louis Thomas Farabee's 1918 book, Genealogy of the Farabees in America. 

The old mud house on the old Richmond farm near Middlebourne continued to stand until 1983 when. already in a state of collapse, it finally was torn down.

Stepson Joseph Henry Richmond II (1863- ? ) was born on Feb. 16, 1863 in Adeline, Wetzel County. He was only a year old when his mother died, and three years old when Susan Cain become his stepmother. On Feb. 4, 1886, in Tyler County, he married his first wife, Margaret Elizabeth Shaw (1867-1891), daughter of William B. and Rebecca A. Shaw. They had three children -- Sherman Reuel Richmond, Anna Rebecca Ash and William Okus Richmond. Tragically, Margaret died on April 15, 1891, at the age of 24, after just five years of marriage, leaving Joseph with three young children. He wed a second time to Cassandra Crow (1861- ? ) of Marshall County. The couple produced two more offspring of their own -- John Edward Richmond and George Phillip Richmond, both born at Adeline.

Daughter Margaret Jane Richmond (1867-1944) was born on Oct. 3, 1867 in either Wetzel or Marshall County. On Dec. 20, 1893, at the age of 26, she married 18-year-old Daniel A. Tuttle (1875-1942), son of Aaron and Etta (Buchanan) Tuttle of Tyler County. Their children were Junie Octavia Tuttle and Susanna May Higgs, Iva Pearl Moore, Albert Raymond Tuttle, Alma Grace Cecil, Carl Tuttle and Lucinda Irene Deaton. In about 1916, David established a grocery in Martins Ferry, Belmont County, OH. The Farabees book of 1918 lists their residence as Clark's Stop, Sistersville, Tyler County. Daniel was diagnosed with prostate cancer and died at age 67 on July 25, 1942. His death did not generate an obituary in the Tyler County Journal. Suffering from hardening of the arteries and gangrene of her left leg, Margaret died in Martins Ferry on Nov. 30, 1944. Burial was in Riverview Cemetery. Mrs. Robert Higgs of Martins Ferry was the informant for her death certificate. 

• Granddaughter Alma Grace Tuttle (1905-1984) was born on Dec. 10, 1905 in Middlebourne. At a young age, she was united in marriage with James R. Cecil (1897-1971). They had four children -- James R. Cecil Jr., Albert R. Cecil, Daniel J. Cecil and Charles O. Cecil. During World War II, son James (1921-1943) tragically was lost at sea when his ship, the U.S.S. Rowan, was torpedoed and sunk near Salerno, Italy, on Sept. 11, 1943.

Wetzel Democrat

Son Alva “Alvy” Richmond (1869-1951) was born on May 25, 1869 in Marshall County. He was a farmer and also is said to have been a laborer in pottery businesses in New Cumberland, Hancock County, WV and Paden City, Wetzel County. He married Nancy Jane Elder (1862-1938), daughter of James and Edith (Bailey) Elder. They made their home in 1918 in Atwood, WV. Numbering among their children were Lessie Ethel Harvey, Austin Berkley Richmond, Leslie Otis Richmond, Hattie May Fluharty and Ermon Oral Richmond. Nancy Jane may have been a school teacher, and if so was the first instructor in the newly built Silver Hill School circa 1908. They were members of the Methodist church. Stricken with a cerebral hemorrhage, Nancy Jane died on Nov. 9, 1938 in Paden City. The Wetzel Democrat did not print an obituary. Alva spent his retired years in Hastings, Wetzel County. There, he passed into eternity at the age of 81 on Jan. 23, 1951. Interment was in Greenlawn Cemetery in Moundsville, following funeral services in the Evangelical United Brethren Church at Hastings, preached by Rev. Harold West. An obituary in the Wetzel Democrat noted that his survivors included 14 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren.

• Granddaughter Lessie "Ethel" Richmond (1892-1968) was born on Feb. 22, 1892 in New Cumberland, Hancock County, WV. She married Walter Harvey Conley (1891-1980). In 1918, her home was in Gore, OH. They had three known children -- Gertrude Marie Conley, Harvey Earl Conley and Denzil Orval "Oran" Conley. Ethel lived in 1951 in Reader, WV.

Great-grandson Denzil Orval Conley a steelworker, was killed in a stock car track accident on Oct. 4, 1972.

• Grandson Austin Berkley Richmond (1893-1971) was born on July 9, 1893 in Tyler County. At the age of 21, on Sept. 14, 1914, he was united in marriage with 20-year-old Dora Ellen Moore (1884-1965). They had two children -- Chester Arvel Richmond and Opal Moore Stolarik Dotson. Their home in 1914 was in Atwood, WV. He spent 33 years working for Hope Natural Gas Company. In November, while working as a gang foreman, he was helping to repair a high pressure six-inch gas line when it ruptured. The blast threw Austin some 40 feet. His co-worker George Phillips, "with the escaping gas roaring about him, went to search for Richmond in the darkness," reported the Wetzel Democrat. "He found him after a time sitting in a stupor some distance from the blowout. He didn't know where he was nor what had happened, and it was with difficulty that he was induced to get into [Bill] Quigley's car to go to the hospital." In 1951, Austin lived in Hastings, Wetzel County. He died in 1971.

Great-grandson Chester Arvel Richmond owned Richmond Cartage Company Inc. of Craigsville, WV in the 1980s. Chester's wife Eloise (Mullens) Richmond diligently researched her husband's genealogy in the 1970s and mid-1980s. Among her correspondents was Lea Cain McMunn of Mannington, WV and John L. "Jack" McKain of Beaver, PA. She may have based her reports on the 1976 booklet Ohio Valley Richmonds: Their Kith and Kin, by Ethel L. Briggs, and on file today at the Moundsville-Marshall County Public Library. Eloise eventually typed her extensive findings into organized reports, graciously sending a copy to the founder of this website in 1990. Her reports, made into a privately printed book, were dedicated to Hattie May (Richmond) Fluharty. 

• Grandson Leslie "Otis" Richmond (1895-1975) was born on Feb. 15, 1895 at Kidwell, Tyler County. He served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War I and was married four times. He moved to Wellsville, NY, where he worked for Bradley Producing Company. His residence in 1951 was in Wellsville. His son in law (?) Medley, married to Deloris Richmond, lost his life in World War I, although the years don't match up.

• Granddaughter Hattie May Richmond (1896- ? ) was born on May 20, 1896 in Tyler County. She married (?) Fluharty. Her home in 1951 was in Pine Grove, Wetzel County.

• Grandson Erman "Oral" Richmond (1901- ? ) was born on April 16, 1901 in Tyler County. In 1951, his home was in Wellsville, NY.

Humorous Middlebourne postcard

Daughter Elizabeth Helen (or "Ellen") Richmond (1872-1918) was born on Feb. 27, 1872. She never married and is said to have been a "cripple." At the age of 27, in 1900, she was single and a housekeeper, living with her parents in Ellsworth. Later, after their deaths, she moved into the home of her married sister Margaret Jane Tuttle in Sistersville, Tyler County. She died at the age of 46 on Feb. 1, 1918, in Ellsworth, WV. Interment was in Mt. Nebo Cemetery. The Tyler County Journal did not publish an obituary.

Son John Nicholas Richmond (1875-1961) was born on Nov. 28, 1875. As an adult, he was of medium height and stout build, with blue eyes and brown hair. He was united in matrimony with Aldorada "Delia" Glen (1883- ? ). Their children were Kathleen Gertrude Richmond and John Paul Richmond, both born in Tyler County, WV. In 1918, their address was Pursley Ford's Store in Sistersville, Tyler County. There, he worked as a teamster for the Carter Oil Company. Later, for many years, John was proprietor of a hardware store in Martins Ferry, OH. He was named in the 1951 Wetzel Democrat obituary of his brother Alvy. Upon retirement in the early 1960s, they relocated to Punta Gorda, FL. He died there on July 18, 1961. 

Son Lindsay Virgil Richmond (1878-1955) was born on April 10, 1878 in Tyler County. His name often has been spelled "Linzy." He was of medium height and build, with blue eyes and dark brown hair. On March 30, 1907, when he was 29 years of age, Linzy married Annie Lee Mathews (1888-1945), daughter of Jackson and Tabathia (Williamson) Mathews Their four children were Lora Gladys Swiger Nice, Glena Marie Gossett, Russell Bruce Richmond and Hilda Geneve Templeton. The Richmonds lived over the years in Tyler and Wetzel Counties, where Linzy was a longtime self-employed carpenter. During World War I, Linzy was required to register for the military draft. At the time, the family made their home in Paden City, Wetzel County. Circa 1945-1951, their residence was in Middlebourne, Tyler County. Annie was felled by a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 57 and died on March 2, 1945, with burial in Tyler County's Greenwood Cemetery. Linzy lived for another decade. He passed on Aug. 4, 1955.

Moundsville's Greenlawn Cemetery

~ Daughter Mary Elizabeth (Cain) Voorheis ~

Mary Elizabeth Cain (1851-1929) was born on May 28, 1851. She only obtained a little education as a child, and when an adult, while able to read a bit, was unable to write.

When she was about age 21, in 1872, Elizabeth married 20-year-old Gilbert V. Voorheis (1852-1925), sometimes spelled "DeVorhees." Born in Ohio, he was the son of Abigail Voorheis and the presumed stepson of Samuel Stillwell. 

Of their eight (or nine) children, the following are known: Alexander W. Voorheis, Joseph Voorheis, Eleanor "Nora" Lyons, Florence A. Osha, Oraela "Ella" Ernest, Pearl Stilwell and Martha May Voorheis. Heartache shook the family in 1891 when youngest child Martha May died of pneumonia at the age of two.

Moundsville Daily Echo

Circa 1880, when the federal census count was made, the family dwelled in Wetzel County's Center District, with Gilbert earning a living as a farmer. At some point, they lived in neighboring Tyler County, WV, but the details are not yet known. By 1900, they had relocated to the Liberty District of Marshall County, with Gilbert continuing his work as a farm laborer with his 27-year-old unmarried son Walter assisting as a day laborer. 

During the decade between 1900 and 1910, Gilbert was named "keeper" of the Marshall County Infirmary, otherwise known as the "County Home," located on "Poor House Hill" in the Washington District. The 1910 census shows him and Elizabeth living on site, with 25 "inmates" residing there as well. Helping them in their work that year was 13-year-old motherless grandson Selvie ("Sylvia") Voorheis. When her sister Mariah died in 1910, Elizabeth was living in Moundsville, WV at the time, and was named in the newspaper obituary.

Moundsville Daily Echo

After 15 years of living and working at the county home, they retired in about 1920. They then moved to a home at 48 Locust Avenue in Moundsville, where they spent the balance of their lives. One of their sons lived under their roof during that time.

In late 1924, Gilbert was felled by a stroke, and contracted influenza around that same time. After lingering for about a month, he died at age 72 on Jan. 23, 1925. Burial was in Moundsville's Greenlawn Cemetery. In an obituary, the Moundsville Daily Echo reported that "death [was] directly due to a recent stroke of paralysis, although the deceased had been ill from five weeks previous."

As a widow, Elizabeth remained in their Locust Avenue home. Suffering from hardening of the arteries, and the "infirmities of age," she died at home, at the age of 78, on July 9, 1929. 

Her remains were placed into rest in Greenlawn Cemetery in Moundsville, in Section 33, Row 5. Son Zadac Walter Voorheis of Moundsville was the informant for her death certificate. An obituary in the Moundsville Daily Echo noted that she "is survived by two sons and four daughters" and that she and her husband had been "keepers of the county's infirmary for several years." [Find-a-Grave] Her sons Joseph and Walter, and daughter Pearl would later join them in eternal repose together in the family plot at Greenlawn.

Son Alexander W. Voorheis (1868- ? ) was born in about 1868 in West Virginia. At the age of 12, he lived at home with his parents in Wetzel County's Center District and earned income as a laborer. He is believed to have died sometime during the 20-year span between 1880 and 1900. A search of 1900 federal census records show no one by the name, born in West Virginia, living anywhere in the United States.

Moundsville's Greenlawn Cemetery

Moundsville Daily Echo

Son Joseph Albert Voorheis (1870-1944) was born on April 28, 1870 (or 1874, presumably in Wetzel County. He was tall and of medium build, with grey eyes and black hair. He wed Viola Van Horn Evans (1873-1929), daughter of Benjamin and Barbara (Tedrow) Evans of Pennsylvania. They resided in Harts Run, Marshall County and about 1900 moved moved over the state line into Aleppo, Greene County, PA. The Voorheises had at least five children, Goldie May Voorheis, Mona Finch, Verna McCollough, Mary Marie Goudy, Charles Voorheis and Thomas Voorheis. They returned to West Virginia and in the late 1910s their address was 205 Washington Avenue in Moundsville. Making his home in Moundsville circa 1918, he commuted to Midland, Beaver County, PA where he was employed as a policeman with Pittsburgh Crucible Steel Company. In later years, perhaps after the deaths of his parents, they returned to West Virginia and lived in his parents' former home at 48 Locust Avenue in Moundsville. He was a longtime laborer in the Moundsville area. Viola was stricken with pulmonary tuberculosis and died at the age of 56 on Oct. 16, 1929. Joseph survived her by 15 years. In 1930, his occupation was policeman in Moundsville. He had health problems with hardening of the arteries, heart disease and kidneys. He died in the county hospital in Moundsville, at the age of 74, on June 30, 1944. Burial was in Greenlawn Cemetery, Section 33, Row 5. Daughter Goldie Voorheis signed his death certificate.

• Granddaughter Goldie May Voorheis (1896-1980) was born on April 15, 1896 in Harts Run, Marshall County. She apparently never married, and in 1944 her home was in Moundsville. By 1962 she had moved across the state line to Washington, Washington County, PA. She died in June 1980, with burial in New Martinsville's Northview Cemetery.

• Granddaughter Mona Voorheis (1897-1962) was born on May 3, 1897 in Harts Run, Marshall County, as recorded in West Virginia records. As a very young girl, she moved with her parents to Aleppo Township, Greene County, and she grew to adulthood there. On April 5, 1913, when she was age 16, Mona was united in marriage with 22-year-old laborer John Milton Finch (1889-1946), son of William and Lydia Elizabeth (McVay) Finch. Both bride and groom were underage, so their fathers had to grant consent to the union. Justice of the peace R.M. McVay performed the nuptials at the Voorheis home. The family resided in Aleppo Township until 1936, when they relocated to Waynesburg, Greene County. Their home was at 206 South Washington Street. They produced seven children -- Merle Fox, Donna Baysinger, Mildred Swarts, William A. Finch, John J. Finch, Charles R. Finch and Roger L. Finch. John was a longtime laborer in the local oil and gas fields. He was a members of the United Brethren Church of Aleppo, and she of the Assembly of God Church in Waynesburg. They were affiliated with the James Farrell Post of the American Legion. John died of heart problems and hardening of the arteries at the age of 57 on Nov. 29, 1946. Rev. Lew F. Johnston and Rev. H.H. Stansbury officiated at the funeral. An obituary in the Waynesburg Democrat Messenger noted that he "had spent all of his life in Greene County." Sadly, son Roger, a World War II Navy veteran and salesman for Fairmont Food Company, took his own life on July 14, 1961, at the age of 35, in Amwell Township, Washington County, PA. Mona died of cerebral bleeding at the age of 64 on Jan. 30, 1962, in Greene County Memorial Hospital. Burial was in Centennial Cemetery.

• Greetings from Moundsville postcard

  Grandson Charles Voorheis (1900-1945) was born on April 22, 1899 (or 1900) in Greene County. As an adult, he was slender and of medium height, with dark hair and blue eyes. Circa September 1918, he lived at home and worked as a laborer for Fostoria Glass Company. He was twice married. His first bride was Frances V. Kildow (1902-1930), daughter of J.W. and Lottie (Shaw) Kildow of McMechen, WV. The couple relocated to Parkersburg, Wood County, WV. Sadly, pregnant with twins, and afflicted with heart disease, Frances passed away at the age of 27 on April 25, 1930, in Parkersburg, during a traumatic premature birth. Her remains were brought back to Moundsville for interment in Greenlawn Cemetery. Later, Charles married his second bride, Myrtle Rizor (1907- ? ). In about 1931, he relocated to Steubenville, Jefferson County, OH, making a residence at 320 North Street. There, he worked as a shearman for Wheeling Steel Corporation. Charles was burdened with an insufficient supply of blood in his aorta which led to congestive heart failure and kidney failure. He died at the age of 45 on Aug. 25, 1945, in Ohio Valley Hospital in Steubenville. Burial was in Greenlawn Cemetery in Moundsville.

• Granddaughter Verna Voorheis (1898- ? ) was born in about 1898. As a teenager, she lived in Aleppo, Greene County, PA. On Jan. 8, 1913, when she was 15 years of age, she was wed to 18-year-old farmer Orland (or "Orlen") McCollough (1895- ? ), son of G.V. and Harriet McCullough. The ceremony took place in Waynesburg, Greene County, PA, at the home of justice of the peace R.M. McVay. Because Verna and Orlen were so young, they both had to secure consent of their fathers before they could be married legally. They made their home in Aleppo in 1944-1962.

• Granddaughter Mary Marie Voorheis (1903-1957) was born on Nov. 10, 1903 in Greene County, PA. At the age of 18, on Feb. 5,, 1921, she married 21 -year-old Fred Goudy (1899- ? ). He was a native of Proctor, Marshall County and a resident at the time of Proctor, Wetzel County. Rev. H.B. Workman performed the ceremony in Moundsville. The couple had at least one son, Fred Goudy Jr. The Grim Reaper did its deadly handiwork in the fall of 1943. Son Fred Jr., age 13, began to experience abdominal pain, and was diagnosed with peritonitis and appendicitis. He died after just a few days, on Nov. 20, 1943. In 1944, they lived in Warwood, Ohio County, WV. Circa 1957, their residence was at 416 Highland Avenue in Wheeling. Sadly, having suffered for 15 years from kidney atrophy, Marie died at the age of 53 on May 28, 1957. Burial was in North View Cemetery in New Martinsville.

• Grandson Thomas E. Voorheis (1902- ? ) was born in about 1902. When he was in his late 20s, he was employed as a mill worker and lived at 147 West College Street in Canonsburg, Washington County, PA. In 1930, at the age of 28, he married 33-year-old decorator Goldie M. Chambers of Canonsburg. She was the daughter of Clark and Samantha (Berry) Chambers. Officiating was Rev. Lafayette Rexrode of the Presbyterian church, held at the church manse in Amity, Washington County. Thomas resided circa 1944-1962 in Washington, Washington County.

Moundsville Daily Echo

Moundsville's Greenlawn Cemetery

Son Walter Zadac Voorheis (1873-1961) was born on March 20, 1873 in Wetzel County. He was tall and of medium build, with light brown hair and blue eyes. On April 27, 1901, when both were age 28, he married Rosa Jane "Rosie" Thompson (1872-1902), a native of Wetzel County. Rev. W.B. King, of the local Methodist church in Moundsville, oversaw the ceremony. They had one known son, James Sylvia "Jack" Voorheis. The family resided in Balls, Marshall County, and were members of the Church of God at Windy Gap, Greene County, PA. Tragedy shattered this family in 1902, when Rosie became infected with tuberculosis and succumbed at their home in Balls at the age of 30. Reported the Waynesburg Democrat, she "died of that dreaded disease, consumption, leaving evidence that all was well." Funeral services were held by Rev. J.M. Murray, followed by burial in the "Big Run burying ground." Their son Sylvia, age six, was taken in by his grandparents Voorheis who apparently raised him until adulthood. Circa 1918, Walter earned a living as a laborer for R.J. McFadden of Moundsville and resided on the city's Eighth Street. That year, on Sept. 12, 1918, while registering for the military draft during World War I, he disclosed that he had a stiff finger on his right hand. In 1957, at the age of 84, he signed an affidavit so his son Sylvia could obtain a delayed birth certificate. In the 1960s, he lived in his parents' former residence at 48 Locust Avenue in Moundsville. He died of a heart attack at the age of 88 on Aug. 19, 1961, in Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Glen Dale. Entombment was in Greenlawn Cemetery in Moundsville (Section 33, Row 5), following funeral services preached by Rev. Elwood Fleming of the Calvary Church. In an obituary, the Moundsville Daily Echo misspelled his mother's maiden name as "Kane" and said that in addition to his son, survivors included two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

• Grandson James "Sylvia" Voorheis (1896-1965) was born on Oct. 1, 1896 in Marshall County. He was but a boy of six years of age when his mother died and when he was brought into the home of his grandparents, Gilbert and Mary Elizabeth (Cain) Voorheis. As a teenager, in 1910, he lived with his grandparents and helped them oversee the Marshall County Infirmary in Moundsville, otherwise known as the county poor house. In adulthood, he was tall and slender with grey eyes and brown hair. In June 1918, he registered for the military draft during World War I. At the time, he worked for Joe Lazor in Pittsburgh. Within a few months, he joined the U.S. Army and trained at Camp Lee, VA. He married Toy Marie (?) ( ? -1970). He was a policeman in Moundsville at some point in time prior to 1961. In 1957, he lived at 52 Locust Avenue in Moundsville. Sylvia died in October 1965 at the age of 69. Toy outlived him by five years. She passed into eternity in 1970. They rest together in the Voorheis family plot in Moundsville's Greenlawn Cemetery.

Daughter Eleanor "Nora" Voorheis (1879-1951) was born on July 14, 1878 in Wetzel County. As a teenager, she dwelled in Belton, Marshall County. On March 1, 1896, when she was 18 years of age, she was united in marriage with 34-year-old James H. Lyons (1862- ? ) of Deep Valley, Greene County, PA. He was almost twice her age at the time. The ceremony was conducted at the Voorheis home, by the hand of Elder G.C. Thompson. They were members of the Mt. Carmel Church of God. Eleanor and James produced five children -- William Lyons, Sara Ferrell, Porter Lyons, Florence Wendt and Grace Mackey. James passed away in 1935. Eleanor continued to live in Mt. Carmel until about 1949, when she was taken into the home of her married daughter Florence Wendt in Cameron, Marshall County, WV. She died in the Wendt residence on June 2, 1951, at the age of 73. At her death, reported the Waynesburg Democrat Messenger, she was survived by 13 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

• Grandson William Lyons lived in Aleppo.

• Granddaughter Sara Lyons is believed to have wed William E. Ferrell and resided in Pittsburgh, where they both were employed as mail clerks. If so, they had one known daughter, Helen Yeomans.

• Grandson Porter Lyons (1900- ? ) was born in about 1900 in Greene County. As a young adult he lived in Cameron. On Jan. 27, 1923, the 22-year-old Porter was married to 20-year-old Mary V. Wise of Greene County. In 1951, their home was in Cameron.

• Granddaughter Florence Lyons (1902- ? ) was born in about 1902 in Greene County. In 1924, at age 22, she married 28-year-old Harry A. Wendt (1896- ? ) of Marshall County. They lived in Cameron.

• Granddaughter Olive Grace Lyons (1909- ? ) was born in about 1909 in Greene County. In her early 20s, she lived in Cameron, Marshall County. When she was 21 years of age, on Oct. 2, 1930, in Wheeling, she was united in marriage with 26-year-old Parker Mackey (1904- ? ) of Woodruff, WV. In 1951, their residence was in Wheeling, Ohio County, WV.

Moundsville's Greenlawn Cemetery

Daughter Florence Voorheis (1881-1961) was born in September 1881. She married James Fosha (1881- ? ). Her married name also has been misspelled as "Osha" over the years. Circa 1920, she kept a rooming house in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, OH, while James earned a living as a contract fireman. The federal census of 1920 shows six lodgers in their establishment. By 1930, she claimed to be widowed and had moved to Steubenville, Jefferson County, OH. She remained in Steubenville at least through 1944 and circa 1951-1953, her home was in Sebring, Mahoning County, OH. Florence died in 1961 at the age of 80. Her remains were brought back to Moundsville for interment in the Voorheis family plot of graves in Greenlawn Cemetery. The fate of her husband is not yet known and may be lost to history.

Daughter Oraela "Ella" Voorheis (1883-1959) was born on Jan. 24, 1883 in Greene County. When in her early 20s, she made her home in Balls, WV. On March 20, 1904, the 22-year-old Ella married 25-year-old Ross Ernest (1879-1949), son of Peter D. and Emily (Lyons) Ernest of Greene County. He was tall and of medium build, with blue eyes and black hair. At the time of marriage, Ross resided in Marshall County, and also spelled his name "Earnest." The knot was tied at the home of William Richards, with Rev. J.M. Murray of Aleppo, PA presiding. In 1918, during World War I, Ross and Ella lived in Cameron, where he worked as a driller for Earnest Little of New Mattimora, OH. Later, they set up residence in Cameron and remained there for the rest of their lives. Ross was a longtime driller in the oil-laden hills of the region. He suffered from hypertension and died on Dec. 2, 1949, at the age of 70. Ella survived him by a decade. Having been paralyzed by a stroke, she died in Cameron's McConaughey Rest Home at the age of 76 on June 24, 1959. The Moundsville Daily Echo did not publish an obituary. Burial was with her husband in Cameron's Highland Cemetery. Kenneth Ernest of Cameron signed both of their death certificates.

Moundsville Daily Echo

Moundsville's Greenlawn Cemetery

Daughter Pearl Voorheis (1886-1953) was born on April 7, 1886 at Silver Hill, Wetzel County. At the age of 23, living in Moundsville, she wed 21-year-old Charles "Silas" Stilwell (1888-1958?). The ceremony was held on Oct. 26, 1910, at Moundsville, officiated by Rev. John J. Srodes of the Presbyterian Church. Pearl and Silas apparently had no children. When the federal census enumeration was taken in 1920, they lived by themselves in Moundsville, where Silas was employed as a truck driver. The marriage apparently fell apart, and Silas went to Washoe County, NV to file for divorce. The decree was handed down by the Second Judicial District Court of Nevada on Aug. 19, 1929, concluding that Pearl had treated him "in a cruel and human manner, destroyed his home life and happiness, seriously injured his health and threatened to permanently impair the same...." Immediately upon his return to Pennsylvania, Silas went to Washington, Washington County, PA, where he married Cassie H. Guy on Aug. 26, 1929. As a single woman, Pearl boarded in the Moundsville residence of William and Mattie McCarrisher in 1930, according to census records. She supported herself with employment as a press operator for U.S. Stamping Company. She spent 31 years with the company, and was a member of its honorary unit known as the "25 Year Club." In 1953, she lived in Moundsville, in an apartment in the rear of 1316 Center Street. Stricken with cancer of the sinus, she died on Feb. 9, 1953, at the age of 66. Rev. E.P. Schaich of the First Christian Church preached the funeral sermon, followed by burial in Greenlawn Cemetery in Moundsville. An obituary was printed in the Moundsville Daily Echo. Following remarriage, Silas and Cassie Stilwell and moved to Steubenville, Jefferson County, OH, where he died in 1958.

Daughter Martha May Voorheis (1888- ? ) was born on Sept. 16, 1888 in Wetzel County. Dr. E.P. Haught assisted with the birth and later filed a record with Wetzel County officials. Little Martha did not outlive childhood. Sadly, her body wracked by pneumonia, she died on Feb. 4, 1891, at the age of two years, four months.

~ Son John C. Cain ~

Moundsville's Greenlawn Cemetery

John C. Cain (1853-1935) was born on Dec. 19, 1853 in Silver Hill. He spent his entire life as a farmer in Wetzel and Marshall Counties, WV.

When he was age 19, on Oct. 29, 1873 (or Nov. 29, 1874), John married 17-year-old Anna Elizabeth Utter (1857-1931), of near Lynn Camp, Marshall County. The nuptials were celebrated in the home of the bride's parents, French immigrant Joseph Utter and his Wetzel County-born wife Margaret (May) Utter. Rev. John Alley officiated. Anna "was a member of one of the vicinity's pioneer families," noted the Moundsville Journal.

The couple produced six offspring: Catherine Elmira "Ella" White, Joseph W. Cain, Lulu "Irene" Siburt, Oliver N. Cain, Margaret E. "Maggie" Hickman and Cora "Jessie" Taylor Keller. All of them lived into adulthood.

The federal census of 1880 shows this family living in Lynn Camp (Meade District), with John laboring as a farmer. Living next door were Anna's parents and brothers John and Joseph, as well as 17-year-old nephew J.H. Richmond and seven-year-old Josephine Cain. They remained in Lynn Camp for several decades and are listed there in the 1900 federal census. The family were members of the Christian Church.

Moundsville Journal

In about 1903 or '04, when they were in their 40s, John and Anna relocated to Taylor's Ridge, Marshall County, where they dwelled for several more decades. Their farm was comprised of 165 acres. They also owned five town lots in Paden City. 

Anna was considered a "prominent resident" of the ridge, said the Journal.

When his sister Mariah died in 1910, John was living in Captina, Marshall County at the time, and was named in the newspaper obituary. The census enumeration for that year places the Cains in Franklin District, living along Taylor's Ridge Road.

At the death of an elder brother in 1915, John traveled to nearby Pennsylvania to pay his respects. A short article in the Moundsville Daily Echo (Nov. 1, 1915) reported: "John C. Cain of Taylors Ridge passed through here today on his way home from Washington, Pa., where he attended the funeral of his brother James Cain."

Anna endured cirrhosis of the liver and was treated at Reynolds Memorial Hospital in Glendale, Marshall County. She died there on March 6, 1931, at the age of 74 years, two months and two days. Reported the Journal, "She was admitted to the hospital January 15 and had been filing some time previous to that time. Death was attributed to complications and was not altogether unexpected as Mrs. Cain had been in a critical condition for several days." 

Moundsville Daily Echo

Her remains were brought to the home of her daughter Irene Siburt in McMechen, where funeral services were held by Rev. Schmucker of the First Christian Church. Burial followed in Greenlawn Cemetery in Moundsville.

John survived another four years. Toward the end of his life, he resided with his widowed daughter Irene Siburt at 503 Grant Street in McMechen, Marshall County. 

Afflicted with pneumonia, he died at the age of 81 on Feb. 20, 1935. Interment was beside his spouse in Greenlawn Cemetery (Section 7, Row 2), following a funeral service in the Siburts' home preached by Rev. M.W. Phillips of the McMechen Christian Church, with assistance from Rev. Updegraf of the McMechen Church of God. 

An obituary in the Moundsville Daily Echo stated that John "had been ill for a short time of pneumonia." The Echo also noted that he was survived by a dozen grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. [Find-a-Grave] Their grave marker was photographed by the founder of this website in May 2015.

After John's death, his personal property was inventoried for appraisal. Among the farm implements were a hay mowing machine and rake, a cooking store, cream separator, corn sheller and road wagon. Also included were a spring tooth harrow, pair of work harness, a can of roof paint, a hillside plow and a shovel plow. Rounding out the possessions were a cultivator, grain box, grain cradle, pruner and two hand rakes for a total value of $125.90. His farm was valued at $3,000, his Paden City town lots at $225 along with $27.50 on hand in cash and a $45 IOU from Ward Cain.

Moundsville Daily Echo

Daughter Catherine Elmira "Ella" Cain (1874-1967) was born on Oct. 10, 1874 in Marshall County. At the age of 18, on Oct. 23, 1892, in Meighen, Marshall County, Catherine married 19-year-old Charles Berkley White (1873-1949). He was the son of George and Julia (Tole) White of Adaline, Marshall County. Charles was of medium height and stout build, with dark brown eyes and dark brown hair. The Whites had at least three children: Laura A. West, Sloden Audra D. Crowe and Harold "Raymond" White. They were farmers and resided in the Glen Easton and Lynn Camp areas of Marshall County, and were members of the Calvary Methodst Church. The Whites are shown on the 1900 and 1910 censuses, residing next to his parents. In later years, they lived at 1912 Center Street in Moundsville. When Charles' father aged, he moved into the Whites' home in Moundsville and was there in 1930 at the age of 87. In December 1935, Catherine was named in the Moundsville Daily Echo newspaper obituary of her father. The federal census enumeration of 1940 lists Charles and Ella residing in Moundsville but continuing to earn a living as farmers. That year, 1940, their son Raymond dwelled next door. Charles died at home of coronary arthritis, at the age of 76, on Sept. 14, 1949. Burial was in Fork Ridge Christian Church Cemetery. Catherine outlived her husband by 18 years, remaining in their home on Center Street. She died on Oct. 12, 1967. Her remains were placed into eternal repose in the Fork Ridge church cemetery after funeral services preached by Rev. Robert Henson of the Calvary church. The Daily Echo counted eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren among her survivors. 

• Granddaughter Laura W. White (1894- ? ) was born in about 1894. At the age of 24, on Oct. 25, 1917, at Moundsville, she married 19-year-old Henry West (1899- ? ) of Rosbys Rock, Marshall County. Officiating was A.R. Bennett.

• Granddaughter Snowden Audra D. White (1897-1984) was born in about 1897 near Glen Easton. When she was 18 years of age, living in Lynn Camp, Audra married 24-year-old David Edward Crow (1891-1981) of Glen Easton. He was the son of Isaac Benton and Mary Elizabeth (Lancaster) Crow, occasionally spelled "Crowe." Rev. C.I. Travis performed the wedding, held on May 9, 1915. They resided in Moundsville and had two known daughters -- Thelma Cathleen McCracken and Helen L. Bucy. David died in Moundsville in May 1981, concluding a marriage of 66 years' duration. Audra followed him to the grave in April 1984. they are buried in Riverview Cemetery in Moundsville.

• Grandson Harold "Raymond" White (1900- ? ) was born in about 1900 near Glen Easton. In about 1920, he married Rose (1899- ? ). They had no children. The federal census of 1930 and 1940 show the Whites living next door to Raymond's parents in Moundsville, with Raymond earning a living as a foreman and laborer in a local enamel factory, and Rose working as a sales lady in a grocery store.

Moundsville Daily Echo

Son Joseph William Cain (1877-1962) was born on July 15, 1877 on Pleasants Ridge, Marshall County. He was tall and of medium build, with blue eyes and black hair. When in his mid-20s, he lived at Graysville, Marshall County. On Sept. 8, 1904, at the age of 27, Joseph wed 26-year-old Mary L. Mason (1876-1929) of Adaline, Marshall County. She was the daughter of Jerry and Sarah (Richmond) Mason. Officiating at the ceremony was C.W. Stephens of Silver Hill, held at the bride's home. Ironically, Joseph's younger brother Oliver had gotten married just two days earlier -- a coincidence, or not? The couple produced three known children -- Pauline Simmons, Ward Cain and Joseph E. Cain. In September 1918, when registering for the military draft during World War I, Joseph told the registration clerk that he was a farmer and that he and his wife resided in Glen Easton. They continued residing for many years on a farm near Glen Easton and Cameron, Marshall County. In addition to farming, Joseph earned income as an employee of the West Virginia Department of Highways. They were longtime members of the Lynn Camp Methodist Church. Sadly, Mary contracted tuberculosis and died on Oct. 18, 1929, at the age of 56. Joseph survived his wife by a remarkable 33 years. His home in 1931 was in Lynn Camp and by 1935 was in Adaline, Marshall County. He died on Jan. 5, 1962, at the age of 84, of heart disease and senility. Funeral services were preached by Rev. Charles Yates in the Anderson Funeral Home in Cameron. Burial was in Pleasant Ridge Cemetery. An obituary in the Moundsville Daily Echo said that he was survived by 10 grandchildren and a dozen great-grandchildren.

• Granddaughter Pauline Cain (1905- ? ) was born in about 1905. On Dec. 4, 1929, when she was age 24, and living in Glen Easton, Pauline was united in marriage with 29-year-old Russell G. Simmons (1900- ? ) of Howard, Marshall County. Rev. Samuel Charles Jones of the Calvary Church officiated at the nuptials, held in Moundsville. Their home in 1962 was in Cameron.

• Grandson Ward Cain resided in Cameron.

• Grandson Joseph E. Cain relocated to Arizona, where in 1962 he dwelled in Yuma.

Moundsville's Greenlawn Cemetery

Daughter Lulu "Irene" (or "Rena") Cain (1879-1967) was born on April 27, 1879 in Marshall County. When she was age 16, on June 16, 1895, she married 24-year-old James William Sheridan Siburt (1871-1932), son of Barney and Deliah (West) Siburt of Meighen, WV. At the time of marriage, she resided in Adaline and he in Meighen, WV. The presiding minister, F.H. Fair, noted that the ceremony was held "near my residence in Marshall Co." The couple had these known sons -- John Siburt, Ralph H. Siburt and James "Elmer" Dale Siburt. Tragically, son Elmer suffered from heart disease and died at the age of five years, six months on July 24, 1915. James was of medium height and slender build, with brown hair and grey eyes. He was a coal miner at the time of marriage and also earned a living as a farmer. They made their home in 1901 in Ohio, in 1917 in Kausooth, WV and by 1920 in McMechen, Marshall County. James' occupation in 1910 was as a laborer at a gas pumping station and in 1920 as a stable boss in a local coal mine in McMechen. As with the son, he also endured heart disease over the years as his heart valves did not operate properly. He suffered a heart attack in mid-December 1932 and died 10 days later, on Dec. 26, 1932. Interment was in the Cain family plot at Greenlawn Cemetery in Moundsville. Irene survived her husband by more than three decades. Around the time of her husband's death, Irene's aged widowed father came to McMechen to live under her roof, and he died there just a few days before Christmas in 1935. She died in Wheeling, Ohio County, WV on May 2, 1967, and rests for eternity by her husband's side in Section 7, Row 2. No obituary for Irene is known to have been published in the Moundsville Daily Echo.

• Grandson John Siburt (1898- ? ) was born in 1898 in West Virginia. He was unmarried and worked as a salesman at a hardware store in McMechen in 1920.

• Grandson Ralph Harry Siburt (1901- ? ) was born in 1901 in Belmont County, OH. He earned income as a ball boy in a steel mill near McMechen in 1920. At the age of 26, he wed 18-year-old Olive Slonaker of Benwood, Marshall County. The ceremony took place on April 4, 1926 at Benwood.

Northview Cemetery

Son Oliver Nicholas Cain (1884-1959) was born Sept. 10 1884. When he was in his late teens, he lived at home and helped his father as a farm laborer. He was of medium height and slender build, with brown hair and blue eyes. At the age of 21, on Sept. 6, 1904, he married 18-year-old Celia L. Cecil (1887- ? ). He was a resident at the time of Graysville, WV and she of Moundsville. Their one known son was Joseph Elmer Cain. Apparently the marriage did not last long, and in 1913 Oliver filed for divorce in Marshall County (Law and Chancery Case book 13, page 340). Oliver moved back into his parents' dwelling in his mid-20s and earned a living circa 1910 as a farm laborer. He eventually obtained work as a mechanic with Semet Solvay Company in Glendale, Marshall County and moved there. When he was 30, he married again, to 32-year-old Bell Lee Parr (1882- ? ) of New Matamora, OH, who at the time was living in New Martinsville. The wedding ceremony was held on Jan. 27, 1915 in Shadyside, WV by Rev. John Connell of the Presbyterian Church. During World War I, in September 1918, he registered for the military draft, but is not thought to have served. Their marriage ended at some point, but the facts have eluded researchers. He lived in Woodsfield, Monroe County, OH in 1931 and in Paden City, Wetzel County in 1935, when he was named in newspaper obituaries of his parents. He died in 1959, at the age of 75, with burial in Northview Cemetery in New Martinsville.

• Grandson Joseph Elmer Cain (1906-1935) was born on Feb. 26, 1906 in Marshall County. He married Rebecca Hill ( ? - ? ). They resided in Glendale, Marshall County, at the address of 319 Tenth Street. There, Joseph earned a living as an engineer with a coal distillation plant. He and Rebecca may have separated, as in 1935 she maintained a residence in Moundsville at 319 10th Street. Sadly, stricken with bronchial pneumonia of both lungs, he succumbed in less than a week, and died on Sept. 12, 1935. He was buried in Greenlawn Cemetery in Moundsville. Rebecca spent three and a half years as a widow. On April 21, 1939, in Wheeling, she married again. Her second husband was 27-year-old widower Tracy Edwin Hawkins, a native of Shinnston, WV. Rev. W.B. Corlett officiated.

Daughter Margaret E. "Maggie" Cain (1889- ? ) was born in February 1889. Residing in Captina, she waited until she was age 28 to get married. On Jan. 18, 1919, she wed 32-year-old John William Hickman (1885- ? ) of McMechen, WV, the son of Christina Heckman. The ceremony was held at McMechen and led by Rev. Charles C. Wilkinson of the Church of Christ. John was of medium build and height, with blue eyes and dark hair. A year before marriage, he was employed at Bridgeport, Belmont County, OH as an engineer with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. In 1920, the newlyweds boarded in the house of Albert and Carsie Adams in McMechen. Circa 1935, Maggie was named in the Moundsville Daily Echo obituary of her father, and at the time resided in McMechen. Their fates after that are unknown.

Daughter Cora "Jessie" Cain (1892- ? ) was born in February 1892 in Marshall County. When both were age 22, Cora married Harold Cleon Taylor (1893- ? ). He was a native of Moundsville but at the time lived and worked in Akron, OH. They were wed on Christmas Eve 1914 at the home of Cora's parents in Captina. Harold was tall and of medium build, with brown hair and eyes. They are believed to have moved to Kenmore, Summit County, OH, where Harold held a job as an inspector in a rubber factory. When Harold registered for the military draft during World War I, he disclosed his employer as Firestone Rubber Company in Akron. In 1920, they lived on 24th Street in Kenmore. The marriage ended sometime before 1933, but the specific facts are not yet discovered. In the early 1930s, the single Jessie made her home in Wheeling, Ohio County. On May 1, 1933, at the age of 43 and under the name "Mrs. Jessie Cain," Jessie wed again, to 50-year-old Charles Keller (1883- ? ). He was a native of Tyler County, WV. The ceremony was held in Moundsville and officiated by Rev. O.J. Howearth of the Christian Church. The newlyweds lived in Wheeling, and in 1935 Jessie was named in the Moundsville Daily Echo obituary of her father. Their paper trail ends here for now.