Register Report

Notes for Daniel DUSKEY:

General Notes:

Daniel Duskey led the raid against the federal arsenal and post office at Ripley and against the oil depots at Burning Springs during the Civil War. Captured and tried by a federal tribunal, he avoided execution by being pardoned by President Lincoln. He escaped from jail and returned to the war. He was killed when federal troops poisoned the water he and his men had been using. He was born in Pennsylvania in what is now Allegheny County.

We have some conflicting information about where Daniel Duskey was born, was it Allegheny Co. Pa, Lancaster Co. Va., or Ohio?Some information state that Daniel and Martha, Nickname Patsy, children are George, Andrew, Nancy, John, and Mary.This information was camefrom the following web site http://www.rootsweb.com/~hcpd/norman/Duskey.I suspect his information came from the 1850 Census of Gilmer County Virginia shows a Patsy Duskey age 30 with Daniel, George, Andrew, Nancy, John, and Mary.This census says Daniel was from Ohio.The 1860 Census of Calhoun Co., Shows Daniel, Andrew, Nancy, John, Mary E., William, James, George.This also list Daniels birthplace as Allegheny Co., Pa.The 1870 Census of Calhoun list's no Duskey's.

Population schedules of the Eighth Census of the United States, 1860, Roll 1340. Transcribed by LINDA CUNNINGHAM FLUHARTY from

photocopy of National Archives Microfilm Publications, Microcopy No. M653.

1850 Census Gilmer Co

Daniel...40 Farmer B Ohio

Patsy...30b Va

George..9b Va

Andrew..7b Va

Nancy..5b Va

John..4b Va

Mary..2b Va

1860 Calhoun, VA

Duskey, 834

Daniel Duskey...51...Allegheny Co., PA...Farmer

Andrew...18...Lewis...Farmer

Nancy...16...Lewis

John...14...Lewis

Mary E...12...Gilmer

William...9...Gilmer

James...5...Gilmer

George...20...Lewis

Population schedules of the Ninth Census of the United States, 1870, Roll 1685. Transcribed by LINDA CUNNINGHAM FLUHARTY from

photocopy of National Archives Microfilm Publications, Microcopy No. M593.

DISKY/Duskey, See RISER, 413

RISER, 413

Henry...26...Farm Laborer...VA

Precilla...26...Keeping House...VA

George...3...WV

Asbury...1...WV

Daniel DISKY (Duskey?)...56...Farm Laborer...PA

The Below infomation was downloaded from the Calhoun Co. Web Site.

West Virginia In The Civil War

THE MOCCASIN RANGER RAID ON RIPLEY

When active hostilities broke between the sections in the spring of 1861 the central counties of West Virginia were overrun by loosely organized and wholly irresponsible bands of Southern partisans, who made war largely on their own account and spread terror throughout the area. In no section were these irregulars more active than in Calhoun County, where the Moccasin Rangers operated under a half dozen or more self-appointed captains.

Marauding groups such as the Moccasin Rangers, with an interchangeable membership, had a certain nuisance value to the Confederacy in that they terrorized the Union element and kept the fighting men at home to protect their families and property, but generally were not a credit to the Confederate cause. It was a great time to pay off old scores, quarrels about line fences and neighborhood disagreements, and many of the acts of the rangers were more personal than political. They left a wake of looted and burned homes, and rode horses "appropriated" from their loyal Union neighbors.

Daniel Duskey

One section of the Calhoun County Moccasin Rangers was led by Daniel Duskey, a fifty-two-year-old farmer and justice of the peace, who derived his military authority from the fact that in 1857 he had been elected captain of the Third Company, 186th Regiment, Virginia Enrolled Militia, a paper organization that included all men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five in his magisterial district. And in the early days of the war the band led by Duskey achieved widespread notoriety for raids and forays--but were not as murderous as that section of the Moccasins led by Perry Conley, whose fame has been preserved as an outstanding partisan guerrilla leader. Duskey's most spectacular foray was his raid upon the town of Ripley, county seat of Jackson County, on the night of December 19, 1861. This raid led to his downfall and before settlement was reached had reverberations in the seats of Virginia government at Wheeling and Richmond, and in the White House itself. The incident, too, had its effect in causing the Virginia Confederate Government to enact a partisan ranger act giving a legal status to the guerrilla band in order to claim treatment as prisoners of war when captured by Federal troops.

Early in December 1861, Dr. O. G. Chase opened an office at Ripley for the purpose of enlisting a company for Federal service, and had brought in some fifty stands of arms, ammunition, and stores of clothing. Chase had recruited fifteen or twenty men and, for some reason not yet explained, had collected the arms owned by private citizens, rendering them defenseless in the face of rumored raids by partisan rangers. On the afternoon of December 19 he locked the arms and stores in cells in the county jails and marched his men out to Cottageville, announcing on his departure that he would hold the citizens of Ripley responsible if the goods were in any way molested.

At nine o'clock that night Captain Duskey and twelve of his men swooped down upon the defenseless town in true guerrilla style, shooting and yelling. Complete capture of the town was effected, however, without bloodshed--no one was killed and there is no report of any one wounded. The party was composed of Captain Duskey, George Duskey, Alex Groff, Marcelles J. Kester, Thomas Goff, Jacob Varner, Ben Wright, Ephraim B. Carter, George W. Tanner, George Gibson, and three others not named. Part of the company was recruited from neighboring Roane County.

Guards were posted and the main body, trained by months of experience, began to loot the town, and this they did efficiently. The guns and military stores in the jail were taken; they robbed J. L. Armstrong's store (asked that the goods taken be charged to the Confederacy), and lifted some personal possessions from citizens. The raiders found the post office locked and Postmaster John H. Wetzel refused to open it. Captain Duskey announced that he had a key that would open any door--bracing himself, he kicked the door down. Everything of value in the post office, even the letter mail awaiting dispatch or delivery, was taken and Postmaster Wetzel was relieved of all his clothing except that which he was wearing. After securing a good, square meal requisitioned from householders, the party retired, carrying their loot with them.

A few weeks later, Duskey and several of his men were surprised and captured by Federal troops which had been sent into Calhoun County to break up the bushwhacker outfits--the Moccasin Rangers in particular. When the prisoners arrived at Wheeling, Duskey and his son, George, and Jacob Varner were separated from the group, they being the only ones captured who were engaged in the Ripley raid.

The others were sent on to Camp Chase, Ohio, for internment, where, after a short time, some of them took the oath of allegiance, were paroled and returned to their native haunts--only to enlist in cavalry companies then being recruited for Confederate service. Indictments were returned in the United States District Court against the two Duskeys and Varner for the criminal offense of robbing the post office at Ripley.

The laws of war as embodied in the Lieber Code promulgated to the Union forces were observed in this case. That is to say, for the obvious avoidance of unjustifiable cruelty, the rights and customs belonging to those regularly engaging in recognized war were conceded to Confederate prisoners. Thus as a matter of practical wartime policy Confederate officers and soldiers were relieved from individual responsibility for acts which, if performed outside the pattern of war, would have been criminal. The Duskeys and Varner were not regularly enrolled Confederate soldiers and were not recognized as such. Their acts, as members of a marauding band, were individual and therefore amenable to the criminal law.

George Duskey, together with Josiah Parsons, made his escape from the Sprigg House Hospital on the night of April 1 while being treated for some slight illness. Dan Duskey and Jacob Varner were called up for trial before Judge John J. Jackson in the United States District Court at Wheeling on April 14, 1862. The prisoners had counsel; Judge Jackson assigned Major Brown of Wirt County to the defense. He declined on the ground that Duskey was indicted for murder in his county, and that he intended to prosecute him. Two other distinguished attorneys declined. and finally the judge settled on A. B. Caldwell and G. L. Cranmer, both of Wheeling, for the defense.

On entering a plea of not guilty, no denial was made of the facts of the raid on the town or of entering the post office. Attorney Caldwell argued that the affair was an act of war; that Duskey and his men were operating under the authority of Governor John Letcher of the Virginia Confederate Government; that the letters and papers taken from the post office were for the purpose of obtaining information about the movements of Federal troops, and that the offense was political and not criminal in the common acceptance of the law.

The jury evidently was not impressed by the eloquent plea--both Duskey and Varner were found guilty as charged and Judge Jackson sentenced Duskey to four years in the penitentiary and Varner to three years. The penitentiary in Washington, D.C., was designated as the place of confinement, but after a few months in that crowded institution the two prisoners were sent to a prison at Albany, New York. The storm broke a while later, when the War Department and President Lincoln were having some anxious moments about the whole affair, and the prisoners could not be readily found--though they were still in the Albany prison.

In the meantime, on November 25, 1862, Captain William Gramm and Lieutenant Isaac A. Wade, of the Eighth (West) Virginia Infantry, then stationed at Saint Albans, were captured by General John B. Floyd's force while on a scout in the Guyan Valley in Logan County. The eleven enlisted men captured at the same time were treated as prisoners of war; Gramm and Wade were sent to Richmond and turned over to the Virginia State authorities to be held as hostages for the release of Duskey and Varner. The two officers were confined in the state penitentiary at hard labor, and were treated as common felons.

Governor John Letcher dispatched a letter to President Lincoln on January 2, 1863, apprizing him of the action, and threatening further reprisals in event the partisan rangers were not recognized as prisoners of war and accorded treatment as such. The letter aroused the ire of Governor Francis H. Pierpont, of the Restored

Government at Wheeling, who threatened to inaugurate a treat-'em-rough program. "I have made arrangements," he wrote, "to place double the number of rebel Virginia officers of superior and equal rank in a chain gang in Ohio County and set them to breaking stone on the National road until those Virginia officers (Gramm and Wade) are released or exchanged." The case became something of a cause celebre and the correspondence covers many pages of the Records of the Rebellion.

There was a stumbling block in the way of the usual exchange of prisoners. Duskey and Varner were being held in confinement for a criminal act, and not a military offense, and thus it was necessary that a presidential pardon be issued before their release. In the home area, relatives of the men in confinement were circulating petitions praying for their release and it may be said that the loyalty of some of the signers could be considered suspect. The case in Washington batted around from Secretary of War Stanton, to Attorney General Bates, to Secretary of State Seward, to military authorities, and thence to the White House, without much result.

"It was not until recently that the rebel authorities would recognize guerrillas, bushwhackers, and other irregular bands as fit subjects for exchange, and within a few weeks past they have rejected some of this class," wrote Colonel W. Hoffman in reviewing the case. But finally all obstacles were overcome when letters recommending pardon, signed by the twelve jurors, Judge Jackson, E. M. Norton, U.S. marshal, and Benjamin H. Smith, district attorney, were laid on the desk of the president. These recommendations were agreed to by Postmaster General Montgomery Blair. Then the president acted. Picking up one of the petitions on June 1, 1863, he wrote:

"As the Judge, Jury, Marshal, District Attorney & Post Master General join in asking a pardon in this case, I

have concluded to grant it. The Attorney General will please make it out & send it to me. A. Lincoln. "

But still there was confusion. The petition endorsed by Lincoln referred only to Varner who was duly released from the Albany prison June 4, leaving Duskey still in close confinement. The error was corrected on June 13, when the president signed a pardon for both Daniel Duskey and Jacob Varner. Duskey was taken to Fort Monroe, Virginia, for formal exchange, but Varner had vanished.

It was not until July 1 that Captain Gramm and Lieutenant Wade were given their freedom under parole. They were later exchanged, rejoined their regiment and served until demobilized at the end of the war.

Source: Reprinted from Boyd B. Stutter's West Virginia in the Civil War, Education Foundation, Inc., Charleston, West Virginia 25324.

Note: I believe in fairness to a fine family of Calhoun County. We point out that what Dan Duskey did was no more criminal than any other act of war. He was a loyal Virginian and held a captain's commission in the Virginia State Militia. He and the men under him were invaluable to the Confederacy. They knew of all movement of troops and reported them. They also kept the Union Home Guards from harassing the

Confederate people. His action at Ripley was no different from Governor Pierpont of the Restored Government of Virginia taking money from the Exchange Bank of Weston to pay the officers of his government. He used the Seventh Ohio Regiment to arrest the cashier and take the money that was deposited to the account of the State of Virginia for building an insane hospital. The sum was twenty-seven thousand dollars.-R. J. Knotts, Jr.

History of Richardson and Cremo From the Hur Herald

(11/10/99) And Down At Cremo

It is a wonderful thing to step from the door and behold the beauty of a Calhoun autumn, and within a few minutes drive, enjoy the countryside and it's people.

Our wonderful Calhoun writer and sometimes poet, Jeanne Wilson wrote: "Overhead blue so close, had it not been for the hills, I would have had to hold it up, and trees drenched in color. It was too much for eyes so I drank it down in great gulping swallows where it lodged in some uncharted area of my anatomy..."

Right in the Weaver's yard in east Hur, the great oaks and green pines blend, with a view of Rattlesnake Knob, now obscured by the high growing trees. The property divided by Pine Creek Road, traveled so few times a day, that we still turn our heads to see who is going by. It is the business suite of The Hur Herald and the site for boisterous political battles between Hurites who seek to rise to the top in the annual Hur elections, and where Louie Slider and Rick Fitzwater have begged on their knees for votes, right in the middle of the road.

Louie always doing it better, draped in his American flag, wearing his Uncle Sam hat, eating apple pie and leaning against his old Chevy. He puts them to tears, the voters, singing hymns and ditties, after which Fitzwater and Weaver sulk back into their houses with the wisdom of the ages tucked, never to be appreciated, and certainly not to be elected.

The Village of Hur is now a spot on the map, mostly marked by a cemetery and church, reminders of the steady folks who eked a living against the steep hillsides. The Mt. Olive United Methodist Church (originally Methodist Protestant) is a link to the earlier days, marking it's 120th anniversary this year.

The McCoys, the Sturms, and the Reynolds, stalwart storekeepers and citizens in the village are gone, and the last holdout, the fiercely independent and feisty, Scottie McCoy died in 1996, a character to be missed.

The hovering of local folks to hear the gospel songs at the Cremo Community Church down on Rowels, not far from the old post office, store and Knights of Pythias lodge building, which still stands. The village, once called Donze, was held together by the Duskey family, before it took the name of a Cremo cigar.

Dozens of lower Rowel folks return each year to the church's homecoming, organized by Boyd Duskey, a descendent of well-known Civil War rebel, Daniel Duskey, and Lula Hughes, widow of Orville, who sends chills up your spine with her testimony for the Lord, and Bubba Brown, who organizes wiener roasts and hay rides and the like throughout the year.

This night there was ample singing with Alva Starcher's daughter, Brenda, and her husband, Dave Cole, coming all the way from Ohio, the faithful Leonard Hardway and his sister, Grantsville Police Chief, Ed Eisley, and Bubba's group, the Crossroads.

Not far down the creek is the old Cedar Grove Church, long closed, but opened up once a year for those who like to worship around the antiquated wood stove, to sing and worship by the flickering light of oil lamps, the event made possible by Boyd Duskey.

A Cremo landmark, now gone, is Willard Poling's store, from which he delivered goods up and down the lower West Fork by horse and wagon, the counter so busy on Saturday you would have to line up for your goods. Nearby is the steepest of primitive roads, now rocked, over Connolly Hill to the Village of Richardson, the most developed place of commerce this last century, best known for the Richardson Dam and Drs. Commodore and Randall Connolly, father and son physicians, who left the village in 1924.

At Cremo, Rowels Run empties into the lower West Fork of the Little Kanawha, down creek is Goosenest Hill and Duskey Falls, known to be the home of Confederate Daniel Duskey, whose social position was diminished after the war, his name no longer mentioned in census, voter records or written history, he being a dastardly Rebel. It was here that the U.S. government spent millions of dollars, starting about 1930, studying the building a flood control dam, never to be built.

This autumn trip had to include Husk, a ridge top running between Hur and Richardson, about six miles long, once inhabited by 50 families. They are all gone now, not one permanent resident. Besides dozens of Husks, Coons, Tuttles, Goughs, and Carpenters, a German immigrant named Godfrey Fritz built a house on the ridge about 1875, and with his wife, Bertha Wallbrown Fritz, carved a living as a farmer, although he sought work in the Richardson oil and gas field. Godfrey and his wife struggled "with the English," right up to their passing in the 1940's. Fritz's has one school teaching daughter, Lizzie Reynolds, whose duties carried her across the hills on saddle horse. Her son, Eugene, became a teacher, principal and farmer, a prominent resident Hur.

The Fritz house still stands, a pastoral setting beside a pond, with cattle grazing nearby. The place, however, may best be remembered because one of the Carpenter girls froze to death during a blizzard with her husband from Ohio, after World War II.

Near the Fritz farm is Paulcer's Knob, named after Paulcer McCune, a Civil War vet from Hur who hid in a cave after he went AWOL from the rebel army. They came after Paulcer a couple times, but he eluded them, sticking close to the cave, making leather shoes for nearly a year. Paulcer is buried in a small cemetery on the ridge. There are at least six other family cemeteries on the ridge, wherein repose the early families.

And we could not forget "Snuff Box Glory," the early school and church house combination, wherein adults and children practiced their chewin' and rubbin', on all occasions. At the far end of the ridge is the former site of the Pine Grove School, which served the now vanished Village of Richardson.

It was an evening of rapture, not unlike a hundred others. Each one is different, but much the same. Therein lies the beauty of the quiet life around Hur.

Notes for Daniel DUSKEY:

General Notes:

Daniel Duskey led the raid against the federal arsenal and post office at Ripley and against the oil depots at Burning Springs during the Civil War. Captured and tried by a federal tribunal, he avoided execution by being pardoned by President Lincoln. He escaped from jail and returned to the war. He was killed when federal troops poisoned the water he and his men had been using. He was born in Pennsylvania in what is now Allegheny County.

We have some conflicting information about where Daniel Duskey was born, was it Allegheny Co. Pa, Lancaster Co. Va., or Ohio?Some information state that Daniel and Martha, Nickname Patsy, children are George, Andrew, Nancy, John, and Mary.This information was camefrom the following web site http://www.rootsweb.com/~hcpd/norman/Duskey.I suspect his information came from the 1850 Census of Gilmer County Virginia shows a Patsy Duskey age 30 with Daniel, George, Andrew, Nancy, John, and Mary.This census says Daniel was from Ohio.The 1860 Census of Calhoun Co., Shows Daniel, Andrew, Nancy, John, Mary E., William, James, George.This also list Daniels birthplace as Allegheny Co., Pa.The 1870 Census of Calhoun list's no Duskey's.

Population schedules of the Eighth Census of the United States, 1860, Roll 1340. Transcribed by LINDA CUNNINGHAM FLUHARTY from

photocopy of National Archives Microfilm Publications, Microcopy No. M653.

1850 Census Gilmer Co

Daniel...40 Farmer B Ohio

Patsy...30b Va

George..9b Va

Andrew..7b Va

Nancy..5b Va

John..4b Va

Mary..2b Va

1860 Calhoun, VA

Duskey, 834

Daniel Duskey...51...Allegheny Co., PA...Farmer

Andrew...18...Lewis...Farmer

Nancy...16...Lewis

John...14...Lewis

Mary E...12...Gilmer

William...9...Gilmer

James...5...Gilmer

George...20...Lewis

Population schedules of the Ninth Census of the United States, 1870, Roll 1685. Transcribed by LINDA CUNNINGHAM FLUHARTY from

photocopy of National Archives Microfilm Publications, Microcopy No. M593.

DISKY/Duskey, See RISER, 413

RISER, 413

Henry...26...Farm Laborer...VA

Precilla...26...Keeping House...VA

George...3...WV

Asbury...1...WV

Daniel DISKY (Duskey?)...56...Farm Laborer...PA

The Below infomation was downloaded from the Calhoun Co. Web Site.

West Virginia In The Civil War

THE MOCCASIN RANGER RAID ON RIPLEY

When active hostilities broke between the sections in the spring of 1861 the central counties of West Virginia were overrun by loosely organized and wholly irresponsible bands of Southern partisans, who made war largely on their own account and spread terror throughout the area. In no section were these irregulars more active than in Calhoun County, where the Moccasin Rangers operated under a half dozen or more self-appointed captains.

Marauding groups such as the Moccasin Rangers, with an interchangeable membership, had a certain nuisance value to the Confederacy in that they terrorized the Union element and kept the fighting men at home to protect their families and property, but generally were not a credit to the Confederate cause. It was a great time to pay off old scores, quarrels about line fences and neighborhood disagreements, and many of the acts of the rangers were more personal than political. They left a wake of looted and burned homes, and rode horses "appropriated" from their loyal Union neighbors.

Daniel Duskey

One section of the Calhoun County Moccasin Rangers was led by Daniel Duskey, a fifty-two-year-old farmer and justice of the peace, who derived his military authority from the fact that in 1857 he had been elected captain of the Third Company, 186th Regiment, Virginia Enrolled Militia, a paper organization that included all men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five in his magisterial district. And in the early days of the war the band led by Duskey achieved widespread notoriety for raids and forays--but were not as murderous as that section of the Moccasins led by Perry Conley, whose fame has been preserved as an outstanding partisan guerrilla leader. Duskey's most spectacular foray was his raid upon the town of Ripley, county seat of Jackson County, on the night of December 19, 1861. This raid led to his downfall and before settlement was reached had reverberations in the seats of Virginia government at Wheeling and Richmond, and in the White House itself. The incident, too, had its effect in causing the Virginia Confederate Government to enact a partisan ranger act giving a legal status to the guerrilla band in order to claim treatment as prisoners of war when captured by Federal troops.

Early in December 1861, Dr. O. G. Chase opened an office at Ripley for the purpose of enlisting a company for Federal service, and had brought in some fifty stands of arms, ammunition, and stores of clothing. Chase had recruited fifteen or twenty men and, for some reason not yet explained, had collected the arms owned by private citizens, rendering them defenseless in the face of rumored raids by partisan rangers. On the afternoon of December 19 he locked the arms and stores in cells in the county jails and marched his men out to Cottageville, announcing on his departure that he would hold the citizens of Ripley responsible if the goods were in any way molested.

At nine o'clock that night Captain Duskey and twelve of his men swooped down upon the defenseless town in true guerrilla style, shooting and yelling. Complete capture of the town was effected, however, without bloodshed--no one was killed and there is no report of any one wounded. The party was composed of Captain Duskey, George Duskey, Alex Groff, Marcelles J. Kester, Thomas Goff, Jacob Varner, Ben Wright, Ephraim B. Carter, George W. Tanner, George Gibson, and three others not named. Part of the company was recruited from neighboring Roane County.

Guards were posted and the main body, trained by months of experience, began to loot the town, and this they did efficiently. The guns and military stores in the jail were taken; they robbed J. L. Armstrong's store (asked that the goods taken be charged to the Confederacy), and lifted some personal possessions from citizens. The raiders found the post office locked and Postmaster John H. Wetzel refused to open it. Captain Duskey announced that he had a key that would open any door--bracing himself, he kicked the door down. Everything of value in the post office, even the letter mail awaiting dispatch or delivery, was taken and Postmaster Wetzel was relieved of all his clothing except that which he was wearing. After securing a good, square meal requisitioned from householders, the party retired, carrying their loot with them.

A few weeks later, Duskey and several of his men were surprised and captured by Federal troops which had been sent into Calhoun County to break up the bushwhacker outfits--the Moccasin Rangers in particular. When the prisoners arrived at Wheeling, Duskey and his son, George, and Jacob Varner were separated from the group, they being the only ones captured who were engaged in the Ripley raid.

The others were sent on to Camp Chase, Ohio, for internment, where, after a short time, some of them took the oath of allegiance, were paroled and returned to their native haunts--only to enlist in cavalry companies then being recruited for Confederate service. Indictments were returned in the United States District Court against the two Duskeys and Varner for the criminal offense of robbing the post office at Ripley.

The laws of war as embodied in the Lieber Code promulgated to the Union forces were observed in this case. That is to say, for the obvious avoidance of unjustifiable cruelty, the rights and customs belonging to those regularly engaging in recognized war were conceded to Confederate prisoners. Thus as a matter of practical wartime policy Confederate officers and soldiers were relieved from individual responsibility for acts which, if performed outside the pattern of war, would have been criminal. The Duskeys and Varner were not regularly enrolled Confederate soldiers and were not recognized as such. Their acts, as members of a marauding band, were individual and therefore amenable to the criminal law.

George Duskey, together with Josiah Parsons, made his escape from the Sprigg House Hospital on the night of April 1 while being treated for some slight illness. Dan Duskey and Jacob Varner were called up for trial before Judge John J. Jackson in the United States District Court at Wheeling on April 14, 1862. The prisoners had counsel; Judge Jackson assigned Major Brown of Wirt County to the defense. He declined on the ground that Duskey was indicted for murder in his county, and that he intended to prosecute him. Two other distinguished attorneys declined. and finally the judge settled on A. B. Caldwell and G. L. Cranmer, both of Wheeling, for the defense.

On entering a plea of not guilty, no denial was made of the facts of the raid on the town or of entering the post office. Attorney Caldwell argued that the affair was an act of war; that Duskey and his men were operating under the authority of Governor John Letcher of the Virginia Confederate Government; that the letters and papers taken from the post office were for the purpose of obtaining information about the movements of Federal troops, and that the offense was political and not criminal in the common acceptance of the law.

The jury evidently was not impressed by the eloquent plea--both Duskey and Varner were found guilty as charged and Judge Jackson sentenced Duskey to four years in the penitentiary and Varner to three years. The penitentiary in Washington, D.C., was designated as the place of confinement, but after a few months in that crowded institution the two prisoners were sent to a prison at Albany, New York. The storm broke a while later, when the War Department and President Lincoln were having some anxious moments about the whole affair, and the prisoners could not be readily found--though they were still in the Albany prison.

In the meantime, on November 25, 1862, Captain William Gramm and Lieutenant Isaac A. Wade, of the Eighth (West) Virginia Infantry, then stationed at Saint Albans, were captured by General John B. Floyd's force while on a scout in the Guyan Valley in Logan County. The eleven enlisted men captured at the same time were treated as prisoners of war; Gramm and Wade were sent to Richmond and turned over to the Virginia State authorities to be held as hostages for the release of Duskey and Varner. The two officers were confined in the state penitentiary at hard labor, and were treated as common felons.

Governor John Letcher dispatched a letter to President Lincoln on January 2, 1863, apprizing him of the action, and threatening further reprisals in event the partisan rangers were not recognized as prisoners of war and accorded treatment as such. The letter aroused the ire of Governor Francis H. Pierpont, of the Restored

Government at Wheeling, who threatened to inaugurate a treat-'em-rough program. "I have made arrangements," he wrote, "to place double the number of rebel Virginia officers of superior and equal rank in a chain gang in Ohio County and set them to breaking stone on the National road until those Virginia officers (Gramm and Wade) are released or exchanged." The case became something of a cause celebre and the correspondence covers many pages of the Records of the Rebellion.

There was a stumbling block in the way of the usual exchange of prisoners. Duskey and Varner were being held in confinement for a criminal act, and not a military offense, and thus it was necessary that a presidential pardon be issued before their release. In the home area, relatives of the men in confinement were circulating petitions praying for their release and it may be said that the loyalty of some of the signers could be considered suspect. The case in Washington batted around from Secretary of War Stanton, to Attorney General Bates, to Secretary of State Seward, to military authorities, and thence to the White House, without much result.

"It was not until recently that the rebel authorities would recognize guerrillas, bushwhackers, and other irregular bands as fit subjects for exchange, and within a few weeks past they have rejected some of this class," wrote Colonel W. Hoffman in reviewing the case. But finally all obstacles were overcome when letters recommending pardon, signed by the twelve jurors, Judge Jackson, E. M. Norton, U.S. marshal, and Benjamin H. Smith, district attorney, were laid on the desk of the president. These recommendations were agreed to by Postmaster General Montgomery Blair. Then the president acted. Picking up one of the petitions on June 1, 1863, he wrote:

"As the Judge, Jury, Marshal, District Attorney & Post Master General join in asking a pardon in this case, I

have concluded to grant it. The Attorney General will please make it out & send it to me. A. Lincoln. "

But still there was confusion. The petition endorsed by Lincoln referred only to Varner who was duly released from the Albany prison June 4, leaving Duskey still in close confinement. The error was corrected on June 13, when the president signed a pardon for both Daniel Duskey and Jacob Varner. Duskey was taken to Fort Monroe, Virginia, for formal exchange, but Varner had vanished.

It was not until July 1 that Captain Gramm and Lieutenant Wade were given their freedom under parole. They were later exchanged, rejoined their regiment and served until demobilized at the end of the war.

Source: Reprinted from Boyd B. Stutter's West Virginia in the Civil War, Education Foundation, Inc., Charleston, West Virginia 25324.

Note: I believe in fairness to a fine family of Calhoun County. We point out that what Dan Duskey did was no more criminal than any other act of war. He was a loyal Virginian and held a captain's commission in the Virginia State Militia. He and the men under him were invaluable to the Confederacy. They knew of all movement of troops and reported them. They also kept the Union Home Guards from harassing the

Confederate people. His action at Ripley was no different from Governor Pierpont of the Restored Government of Virginia taking money from the Exchange Bank of Weston to pay the officers of his government. He used the Seventh Ohio Regiment to arrest the cashier and take the money that was deposited to the account of the State of Virginia for building an insane hospital. The sum was twenty-seven thousand dollars.-R. J. Knotts, Jr.

History of Richardson and Cremo From the Hur Herald

(11/10/99) And Down At Cremo

It is a wonderful thing to step from the door and behold the beauty of a Calhoun autumn, and within a few minutes drive, enjoy the countryside and it's people.

Our wonderful Calhoun writer and sometimes poet, Jeanne Wilson wrote: "Overhead blue so close, had it not been for the hills, I would have had to hold it up, and trees drenched in color. It was too much for eyes so I drank it down in great gulping swallows where it lodged in some uncharted area of my anatomy..."

Right in the Weaver's yard in east Hur, the great oaks and green pines blend, with a view of Rattlesnake Knob, now obscured by the high growing trees. The property divided by Pine Creek Road, traveled so few times a day, that we still turn our heads to see who is going by. It is the business suite of The Hur Herald and the site for boisterous political battles between Hurites who seek to rise to the top in the annual Hur elections, and where Louie Slider and Rick Fitzwater have begged on their knees for votes, right in the middle of the road.

Louie always doing it better, draped in his American flag, wearing his Uncle Sam hat, eating apple pie and leaning against his old Chevy. He puts them to tears, the voters, singing hymns and ditties, after which Fitzwater and Weaver sulk back into their houses with the wisdom of the ages tucked, never to be appreciated, and certainly not to be elected.

The Village of Hur is now a spot on the map, mostly marked by a cemetery and church, reminders of the steady folks who eked a living against the steep hillsides. The Mt. Olive United Methodist Church (originally Methodist Protestant) is a link to the earlier days, marking it's 120th anniversary this year.

The McCoys, the Sturms, and the Reynolds, stalwart storekeepers and citizens in the village are gone, and the last holdout, the fiercely independent and feisty, Scottie McCoy died in 1996, a character to be missed.

The hovering of local folks to hear the gospel songs at the Cremo Community Church down on Rowels, not far from the old post office, store and Knights of Pythias lodge building, which still stands. The village, once called Donze, was held together by the Duskey family, before it took the name of a Cremo cigar.

Dozens of lower Rowel folks return each year to the church's homecoming, organized by Boyd Duskey, a descendent of well-known Civil War rebel, Daniel Duskey, and Lula Hughes, widow of Orville, who sends chills up your spine with her testimony for the Lord, and Bubba Brown, who organizes wiener roasts and hay rides and the like throughout the year.

This night there was ample singing with Alva Starcher's daughter, Brenda, and her husband, Dave Cole, coming all the way from Ohio, the faithful Leonard Hardway and his sister, Grantsville Police Chief, Ed Eisley, and Bubba's group, the Crossroads.

Not far down the creek is the old Cedar Grove Church, long closed, but opened up once a year for those who like to worship around the antiquated wood stove, to sing and worship by the flickering light of oil lamps, the event made possible by Boyd Duskey.

A Cremo landmark, now gone, is Willard Poling's store, from which he delivered goods up and down the lower West Fork by horse and wagon, the counter so busy on Saturday you would have to line up for your goods. Nearby is the steepest of primitive roads, now rocked, over Connolly Hill to the Village of Richardson, the most developed place of commerce this last century, best known for the Richardson Dam and Drs. Commodore and Randall Connolly, father and son physicians, who left the village in 1924.

At Cremo, Rowels Run empties into the lower West Fork of the Little Kanawha, down creek is Goosenest Hill and Duskey Falls, known to be the home of Confederate Daniel Duskey, whose social position was diminished after the war, his name no longer mentioned in census, voter records or written history, he being a dastardly Rebel. It was here that the U.S. government spent millions of dollars, starting about 1930, studying the building a flood control dam, never to be built.

This autumn trip had to include Husk, a ridge top running between Hur and Richardson, about six miles long, once inhabited by 50 families. They are all gone now, not one permanent resident. Besides dozens of Husks, Coons, Tuttles, Goughs, and Carpenters, a German immigrant named Godfrey Fritz built a house on the ridge about 1875, and with his wife, Bertha Wallbrown Fritz, carved a living as a farmer, although he sought work in the Richardson oil and gas field. Godfrey and his wife struggled "with the English," right up to their passing in the 1940's. Fritz's has one school teaching daughter, Lizzie Reynolds, whose duties carried her across the hills on saddle horse. Her son, Eugene, became a teacher, principal and farmer, a prominent resident Hur.

The Fritz house still stands, a pastoral setting beside a pond, with cattle grazing nearby. The place, however, may best be remembered because one of the Carpenter girls froze to death during a blizzard with her husband from Ohio, after World War II.

Near the Fritz farm is Paulcer's Knob, named after Paulcer McCune, a Civil War vet from Hur who hid in a cave after he went AWOL from the rebel army. They came after Paulcer a couple times, but he eluded them, sticking close to the cave, making leather shoes for nearly a year. Paulcer is buried in a small cemetery on the ridge. There are at least six other family cemeteries on the ridge, wherein repose the early families.

And we could not forget "Snuff Box Glory," the early school and church house combination, wherein adults and children practiced their chewin' and rubbin', on all occasions. At the far end of the ridge is the former site of the Pine Grove School, which served the now vanished Village of Richardson.

It was an evening of rapture, not unlike a hundred others. Each one is different, but much the same. Therein lies the beauty of the quiet life around Hur.

Notes for Daniel DUSKEY:

General Notes:

Daniel Duskey led the raid against the federal arsenal and post office at Ripley and against the oil depots at Burning Springs during the Civil War. Captured and tried by a federal tribunal, he avoided execution by being pardoned by President Lincoln. He escaped from jail and returned to the war. He was killed when federal troops poisoned the water he and his men had been using. He was born in Pennsylvania in what is now Allegheny County.

We have some conflicting information about where Daniel Duskey was born, was it Allegheny Co. Pa, Lancaster Co. Va., or Ohio?Some information state that Daniel and Martha, Nickname Patsy, children are George, Andrew, Nancy, John, and Mary.This information was camefrom the following web site http://www.rootsweb.com/~hcpd/norman/Duskey.I suspect his information came from the 1850 Census of Gilmer County Virginia shows a Patsy Duskey age 30 with Daniel, George, Andrew, Nancy, John, and Mary.This census says Daniel was from Ohio.The 1860 Census of Calhoun Co., Shows Daniel, Andrew, Nancy, John, Mary E., William, James, George.This also list Daniels birthplace as Allegheny Co., Pa.The 1870 Census of Calhoun list's no Duskey's.

Population schedules of the Eighth Census of the United States, 1860, Roll 1340. Transcribed by LINDA CUNNINGHAM FLUHARTY from

photocopy of National Archives Microfilm Publications, Microcopy No. M653.

1850 Census Gilmer Co

Daniel...40 Farmer B Ohio

Patsy...30b Va

George..9b Va

Andrew..7b Va

Nancy..5b Va

John..4b Va

Mary..2b Va

1860 Calhoun, VA

Duskey, 834

Daniel Duskey...51...Allegheny Co., PA...Farmer

Andrew...18...Lewis...Farmer

Nancy...16...Lewis

John...14...Lewis

Mary E...12...Gilmer

William...9...Gilmer

James...5...Gilmer

George...20...Lewis

Population schedules of the Ninth Census of the United States, 1870, Roll 1685. Transcribed by LINDA CUNNINGHAM FLUHARTY from

photocopy of National Archives Microfilm Publications, Microcopy No. M593.

DISKY/Duskey, See RISER, 413

RISER, 413

Henry...26...Farm Laborer...VA

Precilla...26...Keeping House...VA

George...3...WV

Asbury...1...WV

Daniel DISKY (Duskey?)...56...Farm Laborer...PA

The Below infomation was downloaded from the Calhoun Co. Web Site.

West Virginia In The Civil War

THE MOCCASIN RANGER RAID ON RIPLEY

When active hostilities broke between the sections in the spring of 1861 the central counties of West Virginia were overrun by loosely organized and wholly irresponsible bands of Southern partisans, who made war largely on their own account and spread terror throughout the area. In no section were these irregulars more active than in Calhoun County, where the Moccasin Rangers operated under a half dozen or more self-appointed captains.

Marauding groups such as the Moccasin Rangers, with an interchangeable membership, had a certain nuisance value to the Confederacy in that they terrorized the Union element and kept the fighting men at home to protect their families and property, but generally were not a credit to the Confederate cause. It was a great time to pay off old scores, quarrels about line fences and neighborhood disagreements, and many of the acts of the rangers were more personal than political. They left a wake of looted and burned homes, and rode horses "appropriated" from their loyal Union neighbors.

Daniel Duskey

One section of the Calhoun County Moccasin Rangers was led by Daniel Duskey, a fifty-two-year-old farmer and justice of the peace, who derived his military authority from the fact that in 1857 he had been elected captain of the Third Company, 186th Regiment, Virginia Enrolled Militia, a paper organization that included all men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five in his magisterial district. And in the early days of the war the band led by Duskey achieved widespread notoriety for raids and forays--but were not as murderous as that section of the Moccasins led by Perry Conley, whose fame has been preserved as an outstanding partisan guerrilla leader. Duskey's most spectacular foray was his raid upon the town of Ripley, county seat of Jackson County, on the night of December 19, 1861. This raid led to his downfall and before settlement was reached had reverberations in the seats of Virginia government at Wheeling and Richmond, and in the White House itself. The incident, too, had its effect in causing the Virginia Confederate Government to enact a partisan ranger act giving a legal status to the guerrilla band in order to claim treatment as prisoners of war when captured by Federal troops.

Early in December 1861, Dr. O. G. Chase opened an office at Ripley for the purpose of enlisting a company for Federal service, and had brought in some fifty stands of arms, ammunition, and stores of clothing. Chase had recruited fifteen or twenty men and, for some reason not yet explained, had collected the arms owned by private citizens, rendering them defenseless in the face of rumored raids by partisan rangers. On the afternoon of December 19 he locked the arms and stores in cells in the county jails and marched his men out to Cottageville, announcing on his departure that he would hold the citizens of Ripley responsible if the goods were in any way molested.

At nine o'clock that night Captain Duskey and twelve of his men swooped down upon the defenseless town in true guerrilla style, shooting and yelling. Complete capture of the town was effected, however, without bloodshed--no one was killed and there is no report of any one wounded. The party was composed of Captain Duskey, George Duskey, Alex Groff, Marcelles J. Kester, Thomas Goff, Jacob Varner, Ben Wright, Ephraim B. Carter, George W. Tanner, George Gibson, and three others not named. Part of the company was recruited from neighboring Roane County.

Guards were posted and the main body, trained by months of experience, began to loot the town, and this they did efficiently. The guns and military stores in the jail were taken; they robbed J. L. Armstrong's store (asked that the goods taken be charged to the Confederacy), and lifted some personal possessions from citizens. The raiders found the post office locked and Postmaster John H. Wetzel refused to open it. Captain Duskey announced that he had a key that would open any door--bracing himself, he kicked the door down. Everything of value in the post office, even the letter mail awaiting dispatch or delivery, was taken and Postmaster Wetzel was relieved of all his clothing except that which he was wearing. After securing a good, square meal requisitioned from householders, the party retired, carrying their loot with them.

A few weeks later, Duskey and several of his men were surprised and captured by Federal troops which had been sent into Calhoun County to break up the bushwhacker outfits--the Moccasin Rangers in particular. When the prisoners arrived at Wheeling, Duskey and his son, George, and Jacob Varner were separated from the group, they being the only ones captured who were engaged in the Ripley raid.

The others were sent on to Camp Chase, Ohio, for internment, where, after a short time, some of them took the oath of allegiance, were paroled and returned to their native haunts--only to enlist in cavalry companies then being recruited for Confederate service. Indictments were returned in the United States District Court against the two Duskeys and Varner for the criminal offense of robbing the post office at Ripley.

The laws of war as embodied in the Lieber Code promulgated to the Union forces were observed in this case. That is to say, for the obvious avoidance of unjustifiable cruelty, the rights and customs belonging to those regularly engaging in recognized war were conceded to Confederate prisoners. Thus as a matter of practical wartime policy Confederate officers and soldiers were relieved from individual responsibility for acts which, if performed outside the pattern of war, would have been criminal. The Duskeys and Varner were not regularly enrolled Confederate soldiers and were not recognized as such. Their acts, as members of a marauding band, were individual and therefore amenable to the criminal law.

George Duskey, together with Josiah Parsons, made his escape from the Sprigg House Hospital on the night of April 1 while being treated for some slight illness. Dan Duskey and Jacob Varner were called up for trial before Judge John J. Jackson in the United States District Court at Wheeling on April 14, 1862. The prisoners had counsel; Judge Jackson assigned Major Brown of Wirt County to the defense. He declined on the ground that Duskey was indicted for murder in his county, and that he intended to prosecute him. Two other distinguished attorneys declined. and finally the judge settled on A. B. Caldwell and G. L. Cranmer, both of Wheeling, for the defense.

On entering a plea of not guilty, no denial was made of the facts of the raid on the town or of entering the post office. Attorney Caldwell argued that the affair was an act of war; that Duskey and his men were operating under the authority of Governor John Letcher of the Virginia Confederate Government; that the letters and papers taken from the post office were for the purpose of obtaining information about the movements of Federal troops, and that the offense was political and not criminal in the common acceptance of the law.

The jury evidently was not impressed by the eloquent plea--both Duskey and Varner were found guilty as charged and Judge Jackson sentenced Duskey to four years in the penitentiary and Varner to three years. The penitentiary in Washington, D.C., was designated as the place of confinement, but after a few months in that crowded institution the two prisoners were sent to a prison at Albany, New York. The storm broke a while later, when the War Department and President Lincoln were having some anxious moments about the whole affair, and the prisoners could not be readily found--though they were still in the Albany prison.

In the meantime, on November 25, 1862, Captain William Gramm and Lieutenant Isaac A. Wade, of the Eighth (West) Virginia Infantry, then stationed at Saint Albans, were captured by General John B. Floyd's force while on a scout in the Guyan Valley in Logan County. The eleven enlisted men captured at the same time were treated as prisoners of war; Gramm and Wade were sent to Richmond and turned over to the Virginia State authorities to be held as hostages for the release of Duskey and Varner. The two officers were confined in the state penitentiary at hard labor, and were treated as common felons.

Governor John Letcher dispatched a letter to President Lincoln on January 2, 1863, apprizing him of the action, and threatening further reprisals in event the partisan rangers were not recognized as prisoners of war and accorded treatment as such. The letter aroused the ire of Governor Francis H. Pierpont, of the Restored

Government at Wheeling, who threatened to inaugurate a treat-'em-rough program. "I have made arrangements," he wrote, "to place double the number of rebel Virginia officers of superior and equal rank in a chain gang in Ohio County and set them to breaking stone on the National road until those Virginia officers (Gramm and Wade) are released or exchanged." The case became something of a cause celebre and the correspondence covers many pages of the Records of the Rebellion.

There was a stumbling block in the way of the usual exchange of prisoners. Duskey and Varner were being held in confinement for a criminal act, and not a military offense, and thus it was necessary that a presidential pardon be issued before their release. In the home area, relatives of the men in confinement were circulating petitions praying for their release and it may be said that the loyalty of some of the signers could be considered suspect. The case in Washington batted around from Secretary of War Stanton, to Attorney General Bates, to Secretary of State Seward, to military authorities, and thence to the White House, without much result.

"It was not until recently that the rebel authorities would recognize guerrillas, bushwhackers, and other irregular bands as fit subjects for exchange, and within a few weeks past they have rejected some of this class," wrote Colonel W. Hoffman in reviewing the case. But finally all obstacles were overcome when letters recommending pardon, signed by the twelve jurors, Judge Jackson, E. M. Norton, U.S. marshal, and Benjamin H. Smith, district attorney, were laid on the desk of the president. These recommendations were agreed to by Postmaster General Montgomery Blair. Then the president acted. Picking up one of the petitions on June 1, 1863, he wrote:

"As the Judge, Jury, Marshal, District Attorney & Post Master General join in asking a pardon in this case, I

have concluded to grant it. The Attorney General will please make it out & send it to me. A. Lincoln. "

But still there was confusion. The petition endorsed by Lincoln referred only to Varner who was duly released from the Albany prison June 4, leaving Duskey still in close confinement. The error was corrected on June 13, when the president signed a pardon for both Daniel Duskey and Jacob Varner. Duskey was taken to Fort Monroe, Virginia, for formal exchange, but Varner had vanished.

It was not until July 1 that Captain Gramm and Lieutenant Wade were given their freedom under parole. They were later exchanged, rejoined their regiment and served until demobilized at the end of the war.

Source: Reprinted from Boyd B. Stutter's West Virginia in the Civil War, Education Foundation, Inc., Charleston, West Virginia 25324.

Note: I believe in fairness to a fine family of Calhoun County. We point out that what Dan Duskey did was no more criminal than any other act of war. He was a loyal Virginian and held a captain's commission in the Virginia State Militia. He and the men under him were invaluable to the Confederacy. They knew of all movement of troops and reported them. They also kept the Union Home Guards from harassing the

Confederate people. His action at Ripley was no different from Governor Pierpont of the Restored Government of Virginia taking money from the Exchange Bank of Weston to pay the officers of his government. He used the Seventh Ohio Regiment to arrest the cashier and take the money that was deposited to the account of the State of Virginia for building an insane hospital. The sum was twenty-seven thousand dollars.-R. J. Knotts, Jr.

History of Richardson and Cremo From the Hur Herald

(11/10/99) And Down At Cremo

It is a wonderful thing to step from the door and behold the beauty of a Calhoun autumn, and within a few minutes drive, enjoy the countryside and it's people.

Our wonderful Calhoun writer and sometimes poet, Jeanne Wilson wrote: "Overhead blue so close, had it not been for the hills, I would have had to hold it up, and trees drenched in color. It was too much for eyes so I drank it down in great gulping swallows where it lodged in some uncharted area of my anatomy..."

Right in the Weaver's yard in east Hur, the great oaks and green pines blend, with a view of Rattlesnake Knob, now obscured by the high growing trees. The property divided by Pine Creek Road, traveled so few times a day, that we still turn our heads to see who is going by. It is the business suite of The Hur Herald and the site for boisterous political battles between Hurites who seek to rise to the top in the annual Hur elections, and where Louie Slider and Rick Fitzwater have begged on their knees for votes, right in the middle of the road.

Louie always doing it better, draped in his American flag, wearing his Uncle Sam hat, eating apple pie and leaning against his old Chevy. He puts them to tears, the voters, singing hymns and ditties, after which Fitzwater and Weaver sulk back into their houses with the wisdom of the ages tucked, never to be appreciated, and certainly not to be elected.

The Village of Hur is now a spot on the map, mostly marked by a cemetery and church, reminders of the steady folks who eked a living against the steep hillsides. The Mt. Olive United Methodist Church (originally Methodist Protestant) is a link to the earlier days, marking it's 120th anniversary this year.

The McCoys, the Sturms, and the Reynolds, stalwart storekeepers and citizens in the village are gone, and the last holdout, the fiercely independent and feisty, Scottie McCoy died in 1996, a character to be missed.

The hovering of local folks to hear the gospel songs at the Cremo Community Church down on Rowels, not far from the old post office, store and Knights of Pythias lodge building, which still stands. The village, once called Donze, was held together by the Duskey family, before it took the name of a Cremo cigar.

Dozens of lower Rowel folks return each year to the church's homecoming, organized by Boyd Duskey, a descendent of well-known Civil War rebel, Daniel Duskey, and Lula Hughes, widow of Orville, who sends chills up your spine with her testimony for the Lord, and Bubba Brown, who organizes wiener roasts and hay rides and the like throughout the year.

This night there was ample singing with Alva Starcher's daughter, Brenda, and her husband, Dave Cole, coming all the way from Ohio, the faithful Leonard Hardway and his sister, Grantsville Police Chief, Ed Eisley, and Bubba's group, the Crossroads.

Not far down the creek is the old Cedar Grove Church, long closed, but opened up once a year for those who like to worship around the antiquated wood stove, to sing and worship by the flickering light of oil lamps, the event made possible by Boyd Duskey.

A Cremo landmark, now gone, is Willard Poling's store, from which he delivered goods up and down the lower West Fork by horse and wagon, the counter so busy on Saturday you would have to line up for your goods. Nearby is the steepest of primitive roads, now rocked, over Connolly Hill to the Village of Richardson, the most developed place of commerce this last century, best known for the Richardson Dam and Drs. Commodore and Randall Connolly, father and son physicians, who left the village in 1924.

At Cremo, Rowels Run empties into the lower West Fork of the Little Kanawha, down creek is Goosenest Hill and Duskey Falls, known to be the home of Confederate Daniel Duskey, whose social position was diminished after the war, his name no longer mentioned in census, voter records or written history, he being a dastardly Rebel. It was here that the U.S. government spent millions of dollars, starting about 1930, studying the building a flood control dam, never to be built.

This autumn trip had to include Husk, a ridge top running between Hur and Richardson, about six miles long, once inhabited by 50 families. They are all gone now, not one permanent resident. Besides dozens of Husks, Coons, Tuttles, Goughs, and Carpenters, a German immigrant named Godfrey Fritz built a house on the ridge about 1875, and with his wife, Bertha Wallbrown Fritz, carved a living as a farmer, although he sought work in the Richardson oil and gas field. Godfrey and his wife struggled "with the English," right up to their passing in the 1940's. Fritz's has one school teaching daughter, Lizzie Reynolds, whose duties carried her across the hills on saddle horse. Her son, Eugene, became a teacher, principal and farmer, a prominent resident Hur.

The Fritz house still stands, a pastoral setting beside a pond, with cattle grazing nearby. The place, however, may best be remembered because one of the Carpenter girls froze to death during a blizzard with her husband from Ohio, after World War II.

Near the Fritz farm is Paulcer's Knob, named after Paulcer McCune, a Civil War vet from Hur who hid in a cave after he went AWOL from the rebel army. They came after Paulcer a couple times, but he eluded them, sticking close to the cave, making leather shoes for nearly a year. Paulcer is buried in a small cemetery on the ridge. There are at least six other family cemeteries on the ridge, wherein repose the early families.

And we could not forget "Snuff Box Glory," the early school and church house combination, wherein adults and children practiced their chewin' and rubbin', on all occasions. At the far end of the ridge is the former site of the Pine Grove School, which served the now vanished Village of Richardson.

It was an evening of rapture, not unlike a hundred others. Each one is different, but much the same. Therein lies the beauty of the quiet life around Hur.

Notes for Daniel DUSKEY:

General Notes:

Daniel Duskey led the raid against the federal arsenal and post office at Ripley and against the oil depots at Burning Springs during the Civil War. Captured and tried by a federal tribunal, he avoided execution by being pardoned by President Lincoln. He escaped from jail and returned to the war. He was killed when federal troops poisoned the water he and his men had been using. He was born in Pennsylvania in what is now Allegheny County.

We have some conflicting information about where Daniel Duskey was born, was it Allegheny Co. Pa, Lancaster Co. Va., or Ohio?Some information state that Daniel and Martha, Nickname Patsy, children are George, Andrew, Nancy, John, and Mary.This information was camefrom the following web site http://www.rootsweb.com/~hcpd/norman/Duskey.I suspect his information came from the 1850 Census of Gilmer County Virginia shows a Patsy Duskey age 30 with Daniel, George, Andrew, Nancy, John, and Mary.This census says Daniel was from Ohio.The 1860 Census of Calhoun Co., Shows Daniel, Andrew, Nancy, John, Mary E., William, James, George.This also list Daniels birthplace as Allegheny Co., Pa.The 1870 Census of Calhoun list's no Duskey's.

Population schedules of the Eighth Census of the United States, 1860, Roll 1340. Transcribed by LINDA CUNNINGHAM FLUHARTY from

photocopy of National Archives Microfilm Publications, Microcopy No. M653.

1850 Census Gilmer Co

Daniel...40 Farmer B Ohio

Patsy...30b Va

George..9b Va

Andrew..7b Va

Nancy..5b Va

John..4b Va

Mary..2b Va

1860 Calhoun, VA

Duskey, 834

Daniel Duskey...51...Allegheny Co., PA...Farmer

Andrew...18...Lewis...Farmer

Nancy...16...Lewis

John...14...Lewis

Mary E...12...Gilmer

William...9...Gilmer

James...5...Gilmer

George...20...Lewis

Population schedules of the Ninth Census of the United States, 1870, Roll 1685. Transcribed by LINDA CUNNINGHAM FLUHARTY from

photocopy of National Archives Microfilm Publications, Microcopy No. M593.

DISKY/Duskey, See RISER, 413

RISER, 413

Henry...26...Farm Laborer...VA

Precilla...26...Keeping House...VA

George...3...WV

Asbury...1...WV

Daniel DISKY (Duskey?)...56...Farm Laborer...PA

The Below infomation was downloaded from the Calhoun Co. Web Site.

West Virginia In The Civil War

THE MOCCASIN RANGER RAID ON RIPLEY

When active hostilities broke between the sections in the spring of 1861 the central counties of West Virginia were overrun by loosely organized and wholly irresponsible bands of Southern partisans, who made war largely on their own account and spread terror throughout the area. In no section were these irregulars more active than in Calhoun County, where the Moccasin Rangers operated under a half dozen or more self-appointed captains.

Marauding groups such as the Moccasin Rangers, with an interchangeable membership, had a certain nuisance value to the Confederacy in that they terrorized the Union element and kept the fighting men at home to protect their families and property, but generally were not a credit to the Confederate cause. It was a great time to pay off old scores, quarrels about line fences and neighborhood disagreements, and many of the acts of the rangers were more personal than political. They left a wake of looted and burned homes, and rode horses "appropriated" from their loyal Union neighbors.

Daniel Duskey

One section of the Calhoun County Moccasin Rangers was led by Daniel Duskey, a fifty-two-year-old farmer and justice of the peace, who derived his military authority from the fact that in 1857 he had been elected captain of the Third Company, 186th Regiment, Virginia Enrolled Militia, a paper organization that included all men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five in his magisterial district. And in the early days of the war the band led by Duskey achieved widespread notoriety for raids and forays--but were not as murderous as that section of the Moccasins led by Perry Conley, whose fame has been preserved as an outstanding partisan guerrilla leader. Duskey's most spectacular foray was his raid upon the town of Ripley, county seat of Jackson County, on the night of December 19, 1861. This raid led to his downfall and before settlement was reached had reverberations in the seats of Virginia government at Wheeling and Richmond, and in the White House itself. The incident, too, had its effect in causing the Virginia Confederate Government to enact a partisan ranger act giving a legal status to the guerrilla band in order to claim treatment as prisoners of war when captured by Federal troops.

Early in December 1861, Dr. O. G. Chase opened an office at Ripley for the purpose of enlisting a company for Federal service, and had brought in some fifty stands of arms, ammunition, and stores of clothing. Chase had recruited fifteen or twenty men and, for some reason not yet explained, had collected the arms owned by private citizens, rendering them defenseless in the face of rumored raids by partisan rangers. On the afternoon of December 19 he locked the arms and stores in cells in the county jails and marched his men out to Cottageville, announcing on his departure that he would hold the citizens of Ripley responsible if the goods were in any way molested.

At nine o'clock that night Captain Duskey and twelve of his men swooped down upon the defenseless town in true guerrilla style, shooting and yelling. Complete capture of the town was effected, however, without bloodshed--no one was killed and there is no report of any one wounded. The party was composed of Captain Duskey, George Duskey, Alex Groff, Marcelles J. Kester, Thomas Goff, Jacob Varner, Ben Wright, Ephraim B. Carter, George W. Tanner, George Gibson, and three others not named. Part of the company was recruited from neighboring Roane County.

Guards were posted and the main body, trained by months of experience, began to loot the town, and this they did efficiently. The guns and military stores in the jail were taken; they robbed J. L. Armstrong's store (asked that the goods taken be charged to the Confederacy), and lifted some personal possessions from citizens. The raiders found the post office locked and Postmaster John H. Wetzel refused to open it. Captain Duskey announced that he had a key that would open any door--bracing himself, he kicked the door down. Everything of value in the post office, even the letter mail awaiting dispatch or delivery, was taken and Postmaster Wetzel was relieved of all his clothing except that which he was wearing. After securing a good, square meal requisitioned from householders, the party retired, carrying their loot with them.

A few weeks later, Duskey and several of his men were surprised and captured by Federal troops which had been sent into Calhoun County to break up the bushwhacker outfits--the Moccasin Rangers in particular. When the prisoners arrived at Wheeling, Duskey and his son, George, and Jacob Varner were separated from the group, they being the only ones captured who were engaged in the Ripley raid.

The others were sent on to Camp Chase, Ohio, for internment, where, after a short time, some of them took the oath of allegiance, were paroled and returned to their native haunts--only to enlist in cavalry companies then being recruited for Confederate service. Indictments were returned in the United States District Court against the two Duskeys and Varner for the criminal offense of robbing the post office at Ripley.

The laws of war as embodied in the Lieber Code promulgated to the Union forces were observed in this case. That is to say, for the obvious avoidance of unjustifiable cruelty, the rights and customs belonging to those regularly engaging in recognized war were conceded to Confederate prisoners. Thus as a matter of practical wartime policy Confederate officers and soldiers were relieved from individual responsibility for acts which, if performed outside the pattern of war, would have been criminal. The Duskeys and Varner were not regularly enrolled Confederate soldiers and were not recognized as such. Their acts, as members of a marauding band, were individual and therefore amenable to the criminal law.

George Duskey, together with Josiah Parsons, made his escape from the Sprigg House Hospital on the night of April 1 while being treated for some slight illness. Dan Duskey and Jacob Varner were called up for trial before Judge John J. Jackson in the United States District Court at Wheeling on April 14, 1862. The prisoners had counsel; Judge Jackson assigned Major Brown of Wirt County to the defense. He declined on the ground that Duskey was indicted for murder in his county, and that he intended to prosecute him. Two other distinguished attorneys declined. and finally the judge settled on A. B. Caldwell and G. L. Cranmer, both of Wheeling, for the defense.

On entering a plea of not guilty, no denial was made of the facts of the raid on the town or of entering the post office. Attorney Caldwell argued that the affair was an act of war; that Duskey and his men were operating under the authority of Governor John Letcher of the Virginia Confederate Government; that the letters and papers taken from the post office were for the purpose of obtaining information about the movements of Federal troops, and that the offense was political and not criminal in the common acceptance of the law.

The jury evidently was not impressed by the eloquent plea--both Duskey and Varner were found guilty as charged and Judge Jackson sentenced Duskey to four years in the penitentiary and Varner to three years. The penitentiary in Washington, D.C., was designated as the place of confinement, but after a few months in that crowded institution the two prisoners were sent to a prison at Albany, New York. The storm broke a while later, when the War Department and President Lincoln were having some anxious moments about the whole affair, and the prisoners could not be readily found--though they were still in the Albany prison.

In the meantime, on November 25, 1862, Captain William Gramm and Lieutenant Isaac A. Wade, of the Eighth (West) Virginia Infantry, then stationed at Saint Albans, were captured by General John B. Floyd's force while on a scout in the Guyan Valley in Logan County. The eleven enlisted men captured at the same time were treated as prisoners of war; Gramm and Wade were sent to Richmond and turned over to the Virginia State authorities to be held as hostages for the release of Duskey and Varner. The two officers were confined in the state penitentiary at hard labor, and were treated as common felons.

Governor John Letcher dispatched a letter to President Lincoln on January 2, 1863, apprizing him of the action, and threatening further reprisals in event the partisan rangers were not recognized as prisoners of war and accorded treatment as such. The letter aroused the ire of Governor Francis H. Pierpont, of the Restored

Government at Wheeling, who threatened to inaugurate a treat-'em-rough program. "I have made arrangements," he wrote, "to place double the number of rebel Virginia officers of superior and equal rank in a chain gang in Ohio County and set them to breaking stone on the National road until those Virginia officers (Gramm and Wade) are released or exchanged." The case became something of a cause celebre and the correspondence covers many pages of the Records of the Rebellion.

There was a stumbling block in the way of the usual exchange of prisoners. Duskey and Varner were being held in confinement for a criminal act, and not a military offense, and thus it was necessary that a presidential pardon be issued before their release. In the home area, relatives of the men in confinement were circulating petitions praying for their release and it may be said that the loyalty of some of the signers could be considered suspect. The case in Washington batted around from Secretary of War Stanton, to Attorney General Bates, to Secretary of State Seward, to military authorities, and thence to the White House, without much result.

"It was not until recently that the rebel authorities would recognize guerrillas, bushwhackers, and other irregular bands as fit subjects for exchange, and within a few weeks past they have rejected some of this class," wrote Colonel W. Hoffman in reviewing the case. But finally all obstacles were overcome when letters recommending pardon, signed by the twelve jurors, Judge Jackson, E. M. Norton, U.S. marshal, and Benjamin H. Smith, district attorney, were laid on the desk of the president. These recommendations were agreed to by Postmaster General Montgomery Blair. Then the president acted. Picking up one of the petitions on June 1, 1863, he wrote:

"As the Judge, Jury, Marshal, District Attorney & Post Master General join in asking a pardon in this case, I

have concluded to grant it. The Attorney General will please make it out & send it to me. A. Lincoln. "

But still there was confusion. The petition endorsed by Lincoln referred only to Varner who was duly released from the Albany prison June 4, leaving Duskey still in close confinement. The error was corrected on June 13, when the president signed a pardon for both Daniel Duskey and Jacob Varner. Duskey was taken to Fort Monroe, Virginia, for formal exchange, but Varner had vanished.

It was not until July 1 that Captain Gramm and Lieutenant Wade were given their freedom under parole. They were later exchanged, rejoined their regiment and served until demobilized at the end of the war.

Source: Reprinted from Boyd B. Stutter's West Virginia in the Civil War, Education Foundation, Inc., Charleston, West Virginia 25324.

Note: I believe in fairness to a fine family of Calhoun County. We point out that what Dan Duskey did was no more criminal than any other act of war. He was a loyal Virginian and held a captain's commission in the Virginia State Militia. He and the men under him were invaluable to the Confederacy. They knew of all movement of troops and reported them. They also kept the Union Home Guards from harassing the

Confederate people. His action at Ripley was no different from Governor Pierpont of the Restored Government of Virginia taking money from the Exchange Bank of Weston to pay the officers of his government. He used the Seventh Ohio Regiment to arrest the cashier and take the money that was deposited to the account of the State of Virginia for building an insane hospital. The sum was twenty-seven thousand dollars.-R. J. Knotts, Jr.

History of Richardson and Cremo From the Hur Herald

(11/10/99) And Down At Cremo

It is a wonderful thing to step from the door and behold the beauty of a Calhoun autumn, and within a few minutes drive, enjoy the countryside and it's people.

Our wonderful Calhoun writer and sometimes poet, Jeanne Wilson wrote: "Overhead blue so close, had it not been for the hills, I would have had to hold it up, and trees drenched in color. It was too much for eyes so I drank it down in great gulping swallows where it lodged in some uncharted area of my anatomy..."

Right in the Weaver's yard in east Hur, the great oaks and green pines blend, with a view of Rattlesnake Knob, now obscured by the high growing trees. The property divided by Pine Creek Road, traveled so few times a day, that we still turn our heads to see who is going by. It is the business suite of The Hur Herald and the site for boisterous political battles between Hurites who seek to rise to the top in the annual Hur elections, and where Louie Slider and Rick Fitzwater have begged on their knees for votes, right in the middle of the road.

Louie always doing it better, draped in his American flag, wearing his Uncle Sam hat, eating apple pie and leaning against his old Chevy. He puts them to tears, the voters, singing hymns and ditties, after which Fitzwater and Weaver sulk back into their houses with the wisdom of the ages tucked, never to be appreciated, and certainly not to be elected.

The Village of Hur is now a spot on the map, mostly marked by a cemetery and church, reminders of the steady folks who eked a living against the steep hillsides. The Mt. Olive United Methodist Church (originally Methodist Protestant) is a link to the earlier days, marking it's 120th anniversary this year.

The McCoys, the Sturms, and the Reynolds, stalwart storekeepers and citizens in the village are gone, and the last holdout, the fiercely independent and feisty, Scottie McCoy died in 1996, a character to be missed.

The hovering of local folks to hear the gospel songs at the Cremo Community Church down on Rowels, not far from the old post office, store and Knights of Pythias lodge building, which still stands. The village, once called Donze, was held together by the Duskey family, before it took the name of a Cremo cigar.

Dozens of lower Rowel folks return each year to the church's homecoming, organized by Boyd Duskey, a descendent of well-known Civil War rebel, Daniel Duskey, and Lula Hughes, widow of Orville, who sends chills up your spine with her testimony for the Lord, and Bubba Brown, who organizes wiener roasts and hay rides and the like throughout the year.

This night there was ample singing with Alva Starcher's daughter, Brenda, and her husband, Dave Cole, coming all the way from Ohio, the faithful Leonard Hardway and his sister, Grantsville Police Chief, Ed Eisley, and Bubba's group, the Crossroads.

Not far down the creek is the old Cedar Grove Church, long closed, but opened up once a year for those who like to worship around the antiquated wood stove, to sing and worship by the flickering light of oil lamps, the event made possible by Boyd Duskey.

A Cremo landmark, now gone, is Willard Poling's store, from which he delivered goods up and down the lower West Fork by horse and wagon, the counter so busy on Saturday you would have to line up for your goods. Nearby is the steepest of primitive roads, now rocked, over Connolly Hill to the Village of Richardson, the most developed place of commerce this last century, best known for the Richardson Dam and Drs. Commodore and Randall Connolly, father and son physicians, who left the village in 1924.

At Cremo, Rowels Run empties into the lower West Fork of the Little Kanawha, down creek is Goosenest Hill and Duskey Falls, known to be the home of Confederate Daniel Duskey, whose social position was diminished after the war, his name no longer mentioned in census, voter records or written history, he being a dastardly Rebel. It was here that the U.S. government spent millions of dollars, starting about 1930, studying the building a flood control dam, never to be built.

This autumn trip had to include Husk, a ridge top running between Hur and Richardson, about six miles long, once inhabited by 50 families. They are all gone now, not one permanent resident. Besides dozens of Husks, Coons, Tuttles, Goughs, and Carpenters, a German immigrant named Godfrey Fritz built a house on the ridge about 1875, and with his wife, Bertha Wallbrown Fritz, carved a living as a farmer, although he sought work in the Richardson oil and gas field. Godfrey and his wife struggled "with the English," right up to their passing in the 1940's. Fritz's has one school teaching daughter, Lizzie Reynolds, whose duties carried her across the hills on saddle horse. Her son, Eugene, became a teacher, principal and farmer, a prominent resident Hur.

The Fritz house still stands, a pastoral setting beside a pond, with cattle grazing nearby. The place, however, may best be remembered because one of the Carpenter girls froze to death during a blizzard with her husband from Ohio, after World War II.

Near the Fritz farm is Paulcer's Knob, named after Paulcer McCune, a Civil War vet from Hur who hid in a cave after he went AWOL from the rebel army. They came after Paulcer a couple times, but he eluded them, sticking close to the cave, making leather shoes for nearly a year. Paulcer is buried in a small cemetery on the ridge. There are at least six other family cemeteries on the ridge, wherein repose the early families.

And we could not forget "Snuff Box Glory," the early school and church house combination, wherein adults and children practiced their chewin' and rubbin', on all occasions. At the far end of the ridge is the former site of the Pine Grove School, which served the now vanished Village of Richardson.

It was an evening of rapture, not unlike a hundred others. Each one is different, but much the same. Therein lies the beauty of the quiet life around Hur.

Notes for Daniel DUSKEY:

General Notes:

Daniel Duskey led the raid against the federal arsenal and post office at Ripley and against the oil depots at Burning Springs during the Civil War. Captured and tried by a federal tribunal, he avoided execution by being pardoned by President Lincoln. He escaped from jail and returned to the war. He was killed when federal troops poisoned the water he and his men had been using. He was born in Pennsylvania in what is now Allegheny County.

We have some conflicting information about where Daniel Duskey was born, was it Allegheny Co. Pa, Lancaster Co. Va., or Ohio?Some information state that Daniel and Martha, Nickname Patsy, children are George, Andrew, Nancy, John, and Mary.This information was camefrom the following web site http://www.rootsweb.com/~hcpd/norman/Duskey.I suspect his information came from the 1850 Census of Gilmer County Virginia shows a Patsy Duskey age 30 with Daniel, George, Andrew, Nancy, John, and Mary.This census says Daniel was from Ohio.The 1860 Census of Calhoun Co., Shows Daniel, Andrew, Nancy, John, Mary E., William, James, George.This also list Daniels birthplace as Allegheny Co., Pa.The 1870 Census of Calhoun list's no Duskey's.

Population schedules of the Eighth Census of the United States, 1860, Roll 1340. Transcribed by LINDA CUNNINGHAM FLUHARTY from

photocopy of National Archives Microfilm Publications, Microcopy No. M653.

1850 Census Gilmer Co

Daniel...40 Farmer B Ohio

Patsy...30b Va

George..9b Va

Andrew..7b Va

Nancy..5b Va

John..4b Va

Mary..2b Va

1860 Calhoun, VA

Duskey, 834

Daniel Duskey...51...Allegheny Co., PA...Farmer

Andrew...18...Lewis...Farmer

Nancy...16...Lewis

John...14...Lewis

Mary E...12...Gilmer

William...9...Gilmer

James...5...Gilmer

George...20...Lewis

Population schedules of the Ninth Census of the United States, 1870, Roll 1685. Transcribed by LINDA CUNNINGHAM FLUHARTY from

photocopy of National Archives Microfilm Publications, Microcopy No. M593.

DISKY/Duskey, See RISER, 413

RISER, 413

Henry...26...Farm Laborer...VA

Precilla...26...Keeping House...VA

George...3...WV

Asbury...1...WV

Daniel DISKY (Duskey?)...56...Farm Laborer...PA

The Below infomation was downloaded from the Calhoun Co. Web Site.

West Virginia In The Civil War

THE MOCCASIN RANGER RAID ON RIPLEY

When active hostilities broke between the sections in the spring of 1861 the central counties of West Virginia were overrun by loosely organized and wholly irresponsible bands of Southern partisans, who made war largely on their own account and spread terror throughout the area. In no section were these irregulars more active than in Calhoun County, where the Moccasin Rangers operated under a half dozen or more self-appointed captains.

Marauding groups such as the Moccasin Rangers, with an interchangeable membership, had a certain nuisance value to the Confederacy in that they terrorized the Union element and kept the fighting men at home to protect their families and property, but generally were not a credit to the Confederate cause. It was a great time to pay off old scores, quarrels about line fences and neighborhood disagreements, and many of the acts of the rangers were more personal than political. They left a wake of looted and burned homes, and rode horses "appropriated" from their loyal Union neighbors.

Daniel Duskey

One section of the Calhoun County Moccasin Rangers was led by Daniel Duskey, a fifty-two-year-old farmer and justice of the peace, who derived his military authority from the fact that in 1857 he had been elected captain of the Third Company, 186th Regiment, Virginia Enrolled Militia, a paper organization that included all men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five in his magisterial district. And in the early days of the war the band led by Duskey achieved widespread notoriety for raids and forays--but were not as murderous as that section of the Moccasins led by Perry Conley, whose fame has been preserved as an outstanding partisan guerrilla leader. Duskey's most spectacular foray was his raid upon the town of Ripley, county seat of Jackson County, on the night of December 19, 1861. This raid led to his downfall and before settlement was reached had reverberations in the seats of Virginia government at Wheeling and Richmond, and in the White House itself. The incident, too, had its effect in causing the Virginia Confederate Government to enact a partisan ranger act giving a legal status to the guerrilla band in order to claim treatment as prisoners of war when captured by Federal troops.

Early in December 1861, Dr. O. G. Chase opened an office at Ripley for the purpose of enlisting a company for Federal service, and had brought in some fifty stands of arms, ammunition, and stores of clothing. Chase had recruited fifteen or twenty men and, for some reason not yet explained, had collected the arms owned by private citizens, rendering them defenseless in the face of rumored raids by partisan rangers. On the afternoon of December 19 he locked the arms and stores in cells in the county jails and marched his men out to Cottageville, announcing on his departure that he would hold the citizens of Ripley responsible if the goods were in any way molested.

At nine o'clock that night Captain Duskey and twelve of his men swooped down upon the defenseless town in true guerrilla style, shooting and yelling. Complete capture of the town was effected, however, without bloodshed--no one was killed and there is no report of any one wounded. The party was composed of Captain Duskey, George Duskey, Alex Groff, Marcelles J. Kester, Thomas Goff, Jacob Varner, Ben Wright, Ephraim B. Carter, George W. Tanner, George Gibson, and three others not named. Part of the company was recruited from neighboring Roane County.

Guards were posted and the main body, trained by months of experience, began to loot the town, and this they did efficiently. The guns and military stores in the jail were taken; they robbed J. L. Armstrong's store (asked that the goods taken be charged to the Confederacy), and lifted some personal possessions from citizens. The raiders found the post office locked and Postmaster John H. Wetzel refused to open it. Captain Duskey announced that he had a key that would open any door--bracing himself, he kicked the door down. Everything of value in the post office, even the letter mail awaiting dispatch or delivery, was taken and Postmaster Wetzel was relieved of all his clothing except that which he was wearing. After securing a good, square meal requisitioned from householders, the party retired, carrying their loot with them.

A few weeks later, Duskey and several of his men were surprised and captured by Federal troops which had been sent into Calhoun County to break up the bushwhacker outfits--the Moccasin Rangers in particular. When the prisoners arrived at Wheeling, Duskey and his son, George, and Jacob Varner were separated from the group, they being the only ones captured who were engaged in the Ripley raid.

The others were sent on to Camp Chase, Ohio, for internment, where, after a short time, some of them took the oath of allegiance, were paroled and returned to their native haunts--only to enlist in cavalry companies then being recruited for Confederate service. Indictments were returned in the United States District Court against the two Duskeys and Varner for the criminal offense of robbing the post office at Ripley.

The laws of war as embodied in the Lieber Code promulgated to the Union forces were observed in this case. That is to say, for the obvious avoidance of unjustifiable cruelty, the rights and customs belonging to those regularly engaging in recognized war were conceded to Confederate prisoners. Thus as a matter of practical wartime policy Confederate officers and soldiers were relieved from individual responsibility for acts which, if performed outside the pattern of war, would have been criminal. The Duskeys and Varner were not regularly enrolled Confederate soldiers and were not recognized as such. Their acts, as members of a marauding band, were individual and therefore amenable to the criminal law.

George Duskey, together with Josiah Parsons, made his escape from the Sprigg House Hospital on the night of April 1 while being treated for some slight illness. Dan Duskey and Jacob Varner were called up for trial before Judge John J. Jackson in the United States District Court at Wheeling on April 14, 1862. The prisoners had counsel; Judge Jackson assigned Major Brown of Wirt County to the defense. He declined on the ground that Duskey was indicted for murder in his county, and that he intended to prosecute him. Two other distinguished attorneys declined. and finally the judge settled on A. B. Caldwell and G. L. Cranmer, both of Wheeling, for the defense.

On entering a plea of not guilty, no denial was made of the facts of the raid on the town or of entering the post office. Attorney Caldwell argued that the affair was an act of war; that Duskey and his men were operating under the authority of Governor John Letcher of the Virginia Confederate Government; that the letters and papers taken from the post office were for the purpose of obtaining information about the movements of Federal troops, and that the offense was political and not criminal in the common acceptance of the law.

The jury evidently was not impressed by the eloquent plea--both Duskey and Varner were found guilty as charged and Judge Jackson sentenced Duskey to four years in the penitentiary and Varner to three years. The penitentiary in Washington, D.C., was designated as the place of confinement, but after a few months in that crowded institution the two prisoners were sent to a prison at Albany, New York. The storm broke a while later, when the War Department and President Lincoln were having some anxious moments about the whole affair, and the prisoners could not be readily found--though they were still in the Albany prison.

In the meantime, on November 25, 1862, Captain William Gramm and Lieutenant Isaac A. Wade, of the Eighth (West) Virginia Infantry, then stationed at Saint Albans, were captured by General John B. Floyd's force while on a scout in the Guyan Valley in Logan County. The eleven enlisted men captured at the same time were treated as prisoners of war; Gramm and Wade were sent to Richmond and turned over to the Virginia State authorities to be held as hostages for the release of Duskey and Varner. The two officers were confined in the state penitentiary at hard labor, and were treated as common felons.

Governor John Letcher dispatched a letter to President Lincoln on January 2, 1863, apprizing him of the action, and threatening further reprisals in event the partisan rangers were not recognized as prisoners of war and accorded treatment as such. The letter aroused the ire of Governor Francis H. Pierpont, of the Restored

Government at Wheeling, who threatened to inaugurate a treat-'em-rough program. "I have made arrangements," he wrote, "to place double the number of rebel Virginia officers of superior and equal rank in a chain gang in Ohio County and set them to breaking stone on the National road until those Virginia officers (Gramm and Wade) are released or exchanged." The case became something of a cause celebre and the correspondence covers many pages of the Records of the Rebellion.

There was a stumbling block in the way of the usual exchange of prisoners. Duskey and Varner were being held in confinement for a criminal act, and not a military offense, and thus it was necessary that a presidential pardon be issued before their release. In the home area, relatives of the men in confinement were circulating petitions praying for their release and it may be said that the loyalty of some of the signers could be considered suspect. The case in Washington batted around from Secretary of War Stanton, to Attorney General Bates, to Secretary of State Seward, to military authorities, and thence to the White House, without much result.

"It was not until recently that the rebel authorities would recognize guerrillas, bushwhackers, and other irregular bands as fit subjects for exchange, and within a few weeks past they have rejected some of this class," wrote Colonel W. Hoffman in reviewing the case. But finally all obstacles were overcome when letters recommending pardon, signed by the twelve jurors, Judge Jackson, E. M. Norton, U.S. marshal, and Benjamin H. Smith, district attorney, were laid on the desk of the president. These recommendations were agreed to by Postmaster General Montgomery Blair. Then the president acted. Picking up one of the petitions on June 1, 1863, he wrote:

"As the Judge, Jury, Marshal, District Attorney & Post Master General join in asking a pardon in this case, I

have concluded to grant it. The Attorney General will please make it out & send it to me. A. Lincoln. "

But still there was confusion. The petition endorsed by Lincoln referred only to Varner who was duly released from the Albany prison June 4, leaving Duskey still in close confinement. The error was corrected on June 13, when the president signed a pardon for both Daniel Duskey and Jacob Varner. Duskey was taken to Fort Monroe, Virginia, for formal exchange, but Varner had vanished.

It was not until July 1 that Captain Gramm and Lieutenant Wade were given their freedom under parole. They were later exchanged, rejoined their regiment and served until demobilized at the end of the war.

Source: Reprinted from Boyd B. Stutter's West Virginia in the Civil War, Education Foundation, Inc., Charleston, West Virginia 25324.

Note: I believe in fairness to a fine family of Calhoun County. We point out that what Dan Duskey did was no more criminal than any other act of war. He was a loyal Virginian and held a captain's commission in the Virginia State Militia. He and the men under him were invaluable to the Confederacy. They knew of all movement of troops and reported them. They also kept the Union Home Guards from harassing the

Confederate people. His action at Ripley was no different from Governor Pierpont of the Restored Government of Virginia taking money from the Exchange Bank of Weston to pay the officers of his government. He used the Seventh Ohio Regiment to arrest the cashier and take the money that was deposited to the account of the State of Virginia for building an insane hospital. The sum was twenty-seven thousand dollars.-R. J. Knotts, Jr.

History of Richardson and Cremo From the Hur Herald

(11/10/99) And Down At Cremo

It is a wonderful thing to step from the door and behold the beauty of a Calhoun autumn, and within a few minutes drive, enjoy the countryside and it's people.

Our wonderful Calhoun writer and sometimes poet, Jeanne Wilson wrote: "Overhead blue so close, had it not been for the hills, I would have had to hold it up, and trees drenched in color. It was too much for eyes so I drank it down in great gulping swallows where it lodged in some uncharted area of my anatomy..."

Right in the Weaver's yard in east Hur, the great oaks and green pines blend, with a view of Rattlesnake Knob, now obscured by the high growing trees. The property divided by Pine Creek Road, traveled so few times a day, that we still turn our heads to see who is going by. It is the business suite of The Hur Herald and the site for boisterous political battles between Hurites who seek to rise to the top in the annual Hur elections, and where Louie Slider and Rick Fitzwater have begged on their knees for votes, right in the middle of the road.

Louie always doing it better, draped in his American flag, wearing his Uncle Sam hat, eating apple pie and leaning against his old Chevy. He puts them to tears, the voters, singing hymns and ditties, after which Fitzwater and Weaver sulk back into their houses with the wisdom of the ages tucked, never to be appreciated, and certainly not to be elected.

The Village of Hur is now a spot on the map, mostly marked by a cemetery and church, reminders of the steady folks who eked a living against the steep hillsides. The Mt. Olive United Methodist Church (originally Methodist Protestant) is a link to the earlier days, marking it's 120th anniversary this year.

The McCoys, the Sturms, and the Reynolds, stalwart storekeepers and citizens in the village are gone, and the last holdout, the fiercely independent and feisty, Scottie McCoy died in 1996, a character to be missed.

The hovering of local folks to hear the gospel songs at the Cremo Community Church down on Rowels, not far from the old post office, store and Knights of Pythias lodge building, which still stands. The village, once called Donze, was held together by the Duskey family, before it took the name of a Cremo cigar.

Dozens of lower Rowel folks return each year to the church's homecoming, organized by Boyd Duskey, a descendent of well-known Civil War rebel, Daniel Duskey, and Lula Hughes, widow of Orville, who sends chills up your spine with her testimony for the Lord, and Bubba Brown, who organizes wiener roasts and hay rides and the like throughout the year.

This night there was ample singing with Alva Starcher's daughter, Brenda, and her husband, Dave Cole, coming all the way from Ohio, the faithful Leonard Hardway and his sister, Grantsville Police Chief, Ed Eisley, and Bubba's group, the Crossroads.

Not far down the creek is the old Cedar Grove Church, long closed, but opened up once a year for those who like to worship around the antiquated wood stove, to sing and worship by the flickering light of oil lamps, the event made possible by Boyd Duskey.

A Cremo landmark, now gone, is Willard Poling's store, from which he delivered goods up and down the lower West Fork by horse and wagon, the counter so busy on Saturday you would have to line up for your goods. Nearby is the steepest of primitive roads, now rocked, over Connolly Hill to the Village of Richardson, the most developed place of commerce this last century, best known for the Richardson Dam and Drs. Commodore and Randall Connolly, father and son physicians, who left the village in 1924.

At Cremo, Rowels Run empties into the lower West Fork of the Little Kanawha, down creek is Goosenest Hill and Duskey Falls, known to be the home of Confederate Daniel Duskey, whose social position was diminished after the war, his name no longer mentioned in census, voter records or written history, he being a dastardly Rebel. It was here that the U.S. government spent millions of dollars, starting about 1930, studying the building a flood control dam, never to be built.

This autumn trip had to include Husk, a ridge top running between Hur and Richardson, about six miles long, once inhabited by 50 families. They are all gone now, not one permanent resident. Besides dozens of Husks, Coons, Tuttles, Goughs, and Carpenters, a German immigrant named Godfrey Fritz built a house on the ridge about 1875, and with his wife, Bertha Wallbrown Fritz, carved a living as a farmer, although he sought work in the Richardson oil and gas field. Godfrey and his wife struggled "with the English," right up to their passing in the 1940's. Fritz's has one school teaching daughter, Lizzie Reynolds, whose duties carried her across the hills on saddle horse. Her son, Eugene, became a teacher, principal and farmer, a prominent resident Hur.

The Fritz house still stands, a pastoral setting beside a pond, with cattle grazing nearby. The place, however, may best be remembered because one of the Carpenter girls froze to death during a blizzard with her husband from Ohio, after World War II.

Near the Fritz farm is Paulcer's Knob, named after Paulcer McCune, a Civil War vet from Hur who hid in a cave after he went AWOL from the rebel army. They came after Paulcer a couple times, but he eluded them, sticking close to the cave, making leather shoes for nearly a year. Paulcer is buried in a small cemetery on the ridge. There are at least six other family cemeteries on the ridge, wherein repose the early families.

And we could not forget "Snuff Box Glory," the early school and church house combination, wherein adults and children practiced their chewin' and rubbin', on all occasions. At the far end of the ridge is the former site of the Pine Grove School, which served the now vanished Village of Richardson.

It was an evening of rapture, not unlike a hundred others. Each one is different, but much the same. Therein lies the beauty of the quiet life around Hur.

Notes for Daniel DUSKEY:

General Notes:

Daniel Duskey led the raid against the federal arsenal and post office at Ripley and against the oil depots at Burning Springs during the Civil War. Captured and tried by a federal tribunal, he avoided execution by being pardoned by President Lincoln. He escaped from jail and returned to the war. He was killed when federal troops poisoned the water he and his men had been using. He was born in Pennsylvania in what is now Allegheny County.

We have some conflicting information about where Daniel Duskey was born, was it Allegheny Co. Pa, Lancaster Co. Va., or Ohio?Some information state that Daniel and Martha, Nickname Patsy, children are George, Andrew, Nancy, John, and Mary.This information was camefrom the following web site http://www.rootsweb.com/~hcpd/norman/Duskey.I suspect his information came from the 1850 Census of Gilmer County Virginia shows a Patsy Duskey age 30 with Daniel, George, Andrew, Nancy, John, and Mary.This census says Daniel was from Ohio.The 1860 Census of Calhoun Co., Shows Daniel, Andrew, Nancy, John, Mary E., William, James, George.This also list Daniels birthplace as Allegheny Co., Pa.The 1870 Census of Calhoun list's no Duskey's.

Population schedules of the Eighth Census of the United States, 1860, Roll 1340. Transcribed by LINDA CUNNINGHAM FLUHARTY from

photocopy of National Archives Microfilm Publications, Microcopy No. M653.

1850 Census Gilmer Co

Daniel...40 Farmer B Ohio

Patsy...30b Va

George..9b Va

Andrew..7b Va

Nancy..5b Va

John..4b Va

Mary..2b Va

1860 Calhoun, VA

Duskey, 834

Daniel Duskey...51...Allegheny Co., PA...Farmer

Andrew...18...Lewis...Farmer

Nancy...16...Lewis

John...14...Lewis

Mary E...12...Gilmer

William...9...Gilmer

James...5...Gilmer

George...20...Lewis

Population schedules of the Ninth Census of the United States, 1870, Roll 1685. Transcribed by LINDA CUNNINGHAM FLUHARTY from

photocopy of National Archives Microfilm Publications, Microcopy No. M593.

DISKY/Duskey, See RISER, 413

RISER, 413

Henry...26...Farm Laborer...VA

Precilla...26...Keeping House...VA

George...3...WV

Asbury...1...WV

Daniel DISKY (Duskey?)...56...Farm Laborer...PA

The Below infomation was downloaded from the Calhoun Co. Web Site.

West Virginia In The Civil War

THE MOCCASIN RANGER RAID ON RIPLEY

When active hostilities broke between the sections in the spring of 1861 the central counties of West Virginia were overrun by loosely organized and wholly irresponsible bands of Southern partisans, who made war largely on their own account and spread terror throughout the area. In no section were these irregulars more active than in Calhoun County, where the Moccasin Rangers operated under a half dozen or more self-appointed captains.

Marauding groups such as the Moccasin Rangers, with an interchangeable membership, had a certain nuisance value to the Confederacy in that they terrorized the Union element and kept the fighting men at home to protect their families and property, but generally were not a credit to the Confederate cause. It was a great time to pay off old scores, quarrels about line fences and neighborhood disagreements, and many of the acts of the rangers were more personal than political. They left a wake of looted and burned homes, and rode horses "appropriated" from their loyal Union neighbors.

Daniel Duskey

One section of the Calhoun County Moccasin Rangers was led by Daniel Duskey, a fifty-two-year-old farmer and justice of the peace, who derived his military authority from the fact that in 1857 he had been elected captain of the Third Company, 186th Regiment, Virginia Enrolled Militia, a paper organization that included all men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five in his magisterial district. And in the early days of the war the band led by Duskey achieved widespread notoriety for raids and forays--but were not as murderous as that section of the Moccasins led by Perry Conley, whose fame has been preserved as an outstanding partisan guerrilla leader. Duskey's most spectacular foray was his raid upon the town of Ripley, county seat of Jackson County, on the night of December 19, 1861. This raid led to his downfall and before settlement was reached had reverberations in the seats of Virginia government at Wheeling and Richmond, and in the White House itself. The incident, too, had its effect in causing the Virginia Confederate Government to enact a partisan ranger act giving a legal status to the guerrilla band in order to claim treatment as prisoners of war when captured by Federal troops.

Early in December 1861, Dr. O. G. Chase opened an office at Ripley for the purpose of enlisting a company for Federal service, and had brought in some fifty stands of arms, ammunition, and stores of clothing. Chase had recruited fifteen or twenty men and, for some reason not yet explained, had collected the arms owned by private citizens, rendering them defenseless in the face of rumored raids by partisan rangers. On the afternoon of December 19 he locked the arms and stores in cells in the county jails and marched his men out to Cottageville, announcing on his departure that he would hold the citizens of Ripley responsible if the goods were in any way molested.

At nine o'clock that night Captain Duskey and twelve of his men swooped down upon the defenseless town in true guerrilla style, shooting and yelling. Complete capture of the town was effected, however, without bloodshed--no one was killed and there is no report of any one wounded. The party was composed of Captain Duskey, George Duskey, Alex Groff, Marcelles J. Kester, Thomas Goff, Jacob Varner, Ben Wright, Ephraim B. Carter, George W. Tanner, George Gibson, and three others not named. Part of the company was recruited from neighboring Roane County.

Guards were posted and the main body, trained by months of experience, began to loot the town, and this they did efficiently. The guns and military stores in the jail were taken; they robbed J. L. Armstrong's store (asked that the goods taken be charged to the Confederacy), and lifted some personal possessions from citizens. The raiders found the post office locked and Postmaster John H. Wetzel refused to open it. Captain Duskey announced that he had a key that would open any door--bracing himself, he kicked the door down. Everything of value in the post office, even the letter mail awaiting dispatch or delivery, was taken and Postmaster Wetzel was relieved of all his clothing except that which he was wearing. After securing a good, square meal requisitioned from householders, the party retired, carrying their loot with them.

A few weeks later, Duskey and several of his men were surprised and captured by Federal troops which had been sent into Calhoun County to break up the bushwhacker outfits--the Moccasin Rangers in particular. When the prisoners arrived at Wheeling, Duskey and his son, George, and Jacob Varner were separated from the group, they being the only ones captured who were engaged in the Ripley raid.

The others were sent on to Camp Chase, Ohio, for internment, where, after a short time, some of them took the oath of allegiance, were paroled and returned to their native haunts--only to enlist in cavalry companies then being recruited for Confederate service. Indictments were returned in the United States District Court against the two Duskeys and Varner for the criminal offense of robbing the post office at Ripley.

The laws of war as embodied in the Lieber Code promulgated to the Union forces were observed in this case. That is to say, for the obvious avoidance of unjustifiable cruelty, the rights and customs belonging to those regularly engaging in recognized war were conceded to Confederate prisoners. Thus as a matter of practical wartime policy Confederate officers and soldiers were relieved from individual responsibility for acts which, if performed outside the pattern of war, would have been criminal. The Duskeys and Varner were not regularly enrolled Confederate soldiers and were not recognized as such. Their acts, as members of a marauding band, were individual and therefore amenable to the criminal law.

George Duskey, together with Josiah Parsons, made his escape from the Sprigg House Hospital on the night of April 1 while being treated for some slight illness. Dan Duskey and Jacob Varner were called up for trial before Judge John J. Jackson in the United States District Court at Wheeling on April 14, 1862. The prisoners had counsel; Judge Jackson assigned Major Brown of Wirt County to the defense. He declined on the ground that Duskey was indicted for murder in his county, and that he intended to prosecute him. Two other distinguished attorneys declined. and finally the judge settled on A. B. Caldwell and G. L. Cranmer, both of Wheeling, for the defense.

On entering a plea of not guilty, no denial was made of the facts of the raid on the town or of entering the post office. Attorney Caldwell argued that the affair was an act of war; that Duskey and his men were operating under the authority of Governor John Letcher of the Virginia Confederate Government; that the letters and papers taken from the post office were for the purpose of obtaining information about the movements of Federal troops, and that the offense was political and not criminal in the common acceptance of the law.

The jury evidently was not impressed by the eloquent plea--both Duskey and Varner were found guilty as charged and Judge Jackson sentenced Duskey to four years in the penitentiary and Varner to three years. The penitentiary in Washington, D.C., was designated as the place of confinement, but after a few months in that crowded institution the two prisoners were sent to a prison at Albany, New York. The storm broke a while later, when the War Department and President Lincoln were having some anxious moments about the whole affair, and the prisoners could not be readily found--though they were still in the Albany prison.

In the meantime, on November 25, 1862, Captain William Gramm and Lieutenant Isaac A. Wade, of the Eighth (West) Virginia Infantry, then stationed at Saint Albans, were captured by General John B. Floyd's force while on a scout in the Guyan Valley in Logan County. The eleven enlisted men captured at the same time were treated as prisoners of war; Gramm and Wade were sent to Richmond and turned over to the Virginia State authorities to be held as hostages for the release of Duskey and Varner. The two officers were confined in the state penitentiary at hard labor, and were treated as common felons.

Governor John Letcher dispatched a letter to President Lincoln on January 2, 1863, apprizing him of the action, and threatening further reprisals in event the partisan rangers were not recognized as prisoners of war and accorded treatment as such. The letter aroused the ire of Governor Francis H. Pierpont, of the Restored

Government at Wheeling, who threatened to inaugurate a treat-'em-rough program. "I have made arrangements," he wrote, "to place double the number of rebel Virginia officers of superior and equal rank in a chain gang in Ohio County and set them to breaking stone on the National road until those Virginia officers (Gramm and Wade) are released or exchanged." The case became something of a cause celebre and the correspondence covers many pages of the Records of the Rebellion.

There was a stumbling block in the way of the usual exchange of prisoners. Duskey and Varner were being held in confinement for a criminal act, and not a military offense, and thus it was necessary that a presidential pardon be issued before their release. In the home area, relatives of the men in confinement were circulating petitions praying for their release and it may be said that the loyalty of some of the signers could be considered suspect. The case in Washington batted around from Secretary of War Stanton, to Attorney General Bates, to Secretary of State Seward, to military authorities, and thence to the White House, without much result.

"It was not until recently that the rebel authorities would recognize guerrillas, bushwhackers, and other irregular bands as fit subjects for exchange, and within a few weeks past they have rejected some of this class," wrote Colonel W. Hoffman in reviewing the case. But finally all obstacles were overcome when letters recommending pardon, signed by the twelve jurors, Judge Jackson, E. M. Norton, U.S. marshal, and Benjamin H. Smith, district attorney, were laid on the desk of the president. These recommendations were agreed to by Postmaster General Montgomery Blair. Then the president acted. Picking up one of the petitions on June 1, 1863, he wrote:

"As the Judge, Jury, Marshal, District Attorney & Post Master General join in asking a pardon in this case, I

have concluded to grant it. The Attorney General will please make it out & send it to me. A. Lincoln. "

But still there was confusion. The petition endorsed by Lincoln referred only to Varner who was duly released from the Albany prison June 4, leaving Duskey still in close confinement. The error was corrected on June 13, when the president signed a pardon for both Daniel Duskey and Jacob Varner. Duskey was taken to Fort Monroe, Virginia, for formal exchange, but Varner had vanished.

It was not until July 1 that Captain Gramm and Lieutenant Wade were given their freedom under parole. They were later exchanged, rejoined their regiment and served until demobilized at the end of the war.

Source: Reprinted from Boyd B. Stutter's West Virginia in the Civil War, Education Foundation, Inc., Charleston, West Virginia 25324.

Note: I believe in fairness to a fine family of Calhoun County. We point out that what Dan Duskey did was no more criminal than any other act of war. He was a loyal Virginian and held a captain's commission in the Virginia State Militia. He and the men under him were invaluable to the Confederacy. They knew of all movement of troops and reported them. They also kept the Union Home Guards from harassing the

Confederate people. His action at Ripley was no different from Governor Pierpont of the Restored Government of Virginia taking money from the Exchange Bank of Weston to pay the officers of his government. He used the Seventh Ohio Regiment to arrest the cashier and take the money that was deposited to the account of the State of Virginia for building an insane hospital. The sum was twenty-seven thousand dollars.-R. J. Knotts, Jr.

History of Richardson and Cremo From the Hur Herald

(11/10/99) And Down At Cremo

It is a wonderful thing to step from the door and behold the beauty of a Calhoun autumn, and within a few minutes drive, enjoy the countryside and it's people.

Our wonderful Calhoun writer and sometimes poet, Jeanne Wilson wrote: "Overhead blue so close, had it not been for the hills, I would have had to hold it up, and trees drenched in color. It was too much for eyes so I drank it down in great gulping swallows where it lodged in some uncharted area of my anatomy..."

Right in the Weaver's yard in east Hur, the great oaks and green pines blend, with a view of Rattlesnake Knob, now obscured by the high growing trees. The property divided by Pine Creek Road, traveled so few times a day, that we still turn our heads to see who is going by. It is the business suite of The Hur Herald and the site for boisterous political battles between Hurites who seek to rise to the top in the annual Hur elections, and where Louie Slider and Rick Fitzwater have begged on their knees for votes, right in the middle of the road.

Louie always doing it better, draped in his American flag, wearing his Uncle Sam hat, eating apple pie and leaning against his old Chevy. He puts them to tears, the voters, singing hymns and ditties, after which Fitzwater and Weaver sulk back into their houses with the wisdom of the ages tucked, never to be appreciated, and certainly not to be elected.

The Village of Hur is now a spot on the map, mostly marked by a cemetery and church, reminders of the steady folks who eked a living against the steep hillsides. The Mt. Olive United Methodist Church (originally Methodist Protestant) is a link to the earlier days, marking it's 120th anniversary this year.

The McCoys, the Sturms, and the Reynolds, stalwart storekeepers and citizens in the village are gone, and the last holdout, the fiercely independent and feisty, Scottie McCoy died in 1996, a character to be missed.

The hovering of local folks to hear the gospel songs at the Cremo Community Church down on Rowels, not far from the old post office, store and Knights of Pythias lodge building, which still stands. The village, once called Donze, was held together by the Duskey family, before it took the name of a Cremo cigar.

Dozens of lower Rowel folks return each year to the church's homecoming, organized by Boyd Duskey, a descendent of well-known Civil War rebel, Daniel Duskey, and Lula Hughes, widow of Orville, who sends chills up your spine with her testimony for the Lord, and Bubba Brown, who organizes wiener roasts and hay rides and the like throughout the year.

This night there was ample singing with Alva Starcher's daughter, Brenda, and her husband, Dave Cole, coming all the way from Ohio, the faithful Leonard Hardway and his sister, Grantsville Police Chief, Ed Eisley, and Bubba's group, the Crossroads.

Not far down the creek is the old Cedar Grove Church, long closed, but opened up once a year for those who like to worship around the antiquated wood stove, to sing and worship by the flickering light of oil lamps, the event made possible by Boyd Duskey.

A Cremo landmark, now gone, is Willard Poling's store, from which he delivered goods up and down the lower West Fork by horse and wagon, the counter so busy on Saturday you would have to line up for your goods. Nearby is the steepest of primitive roads, now rocked, over Connolly Hill to the Village of Richardson, the most developed place of commerce this last century, best known for the Richardson Dam and Drs. Commodore and Randall Connolly, father and son physicians, who left the village in 1924.

At Cremo, Rowels Run empties into the lower West Fork of the Little Kanawha, down creek is Goosenest Hill and Duskey Falls, known to be the home of Confederate Daniel Duskey, whose social position was diminished after the war, his name no longer mentioned in census, voter records or written history, he being a dastardly Rebel. It was here that the U.S. government spent millions of dollars, starting about 1930, studying the building a flood control dam, never to be built.

This autumn trip had to include Husk, a ridge top running between Hur and Richardson, about six miles long, once inhabited by 50 families. They are all gone now, not one permanent resident. Besides dozens of Husks, Coons, Tuttles, Goughs, and Carpenters, a German immigrant named Godfrey Fritz built a house on the ridge about 1875, and with his wife, Bertha Wallbrown Fritz, carved a living as a farmer, although he sought work in the Richardson oil and gas field. Godfrey and his wife struggled "with the English," right up to their passing in the 1940's. Fritz's has one school teaching daughter, Lizzie Reynolds, whose duties carried her across the hills on saddle horse. Her son, Eugene, became a teacher, principal and farmer, a prominent resident Hur.

The Fritz house still stands, a pastoral setting beside a pond, with cattle grazing nearby. The place, however, may best be remembered because one of the Carpenter girls froze to death during a blizzard with her husband from Ohio, after World War II.

Near the Fritz farm is Paulcer's Knob, named after Paulcer McCune, a Civil War vet from Hur who hid in a cave after he went AWOL from the rebel army. They came after Paulcer a couple times, but he eluded them, sticking close to the cave, making leather shoes for nearly a year. Paulcer is buried in a small cemetery on the ridge. There are at least six other family cemeteries on the ridge, wherein repose the early families.

And we could not forget "Snuff Box Glory," the early school and church house combination, wherein adults and children practiced their chewin' and rubbin', on all occasions. At the far end of the ridge is the former site of the Pine Grove School, which served the now vanished Village of Richardson.

It was an evening of rapture, not unlike a hundred others. Each one is different, but much the same. Therein lies the beauty of the quiet life around Hur.

Notes for Martha SHARP:

General Notes:

1893 LETTER HAS TWO TALES TO TELL

Its Own History and Genealogical Information
by
Norma Knotts Shaffer

Considered by some to be obsessed and by others eccentric, history and genealogy buffs are, above all else, noted for their love of tramping through old cemeteries and "pack ratting" away a varied assortment of seemingly useless trash. Spouses and family members learn early on that those stacks of papers and junk are off limits and adapt to life amidst the clutter and chaos.

Last night's business meeting of the Calhoun Historical Society was followed by an entertaining session of examining a bag full of trash. "Best meeting we've had in ages," was remarked by several of those present as we gleefully examined the bag's contents.

The story of how the trash came to the Society is a story in and of itself. A number of years ago Maxine Burrows (now deceased), wife of James L. Burrows of Pleasant Hill, was on her way to check the status of her favorite hickory tree to see if the nuts had fallen. On her way, she happened across a pile of burning trash which appeared to consist of old papers, letters, ledgers, etc. Curious about the contents she used a stick to pull some of the papers off the fire and after examination realized that the papers were very old. She hurried home to tell her husband of her find, whereupon he grabbed a cardboard box and hurried back to the fire to see if anything was left to salvage. He managed to retrieve approximately one half a large paper grocery bag of papers which he has kept for several years. A few months ago, he brought the bag to me and asked if the Society would have any interest in the contents.

Last night's meeting was the first opportunity the Society had to examine the papers and they truly contain a wealth of information. Documents and papers dating back as early as 1844 are included. By far the greatest prize are three "sheepskin deeds" two dated 1844 when James McDowell was governor of Virginia (West Virginia was not a state until 1863) and one dated 1847 when William Smith was governor and all recorded in Richmond. Several other old deeds were found, one of which may be the tract upon which the new High School/Middle School is built. One letter, dated March 9, 1893, was of particular interest. Truly a great find for the Society and we had a marvelous time examining the papers. Further examination of the papers will follow the business session of next month's meeting of the Society. As always, the public is invited to attend and participate.

And now the rest of the story - the March 9, 1893 letter. The letter was written by Almeda Jeffers, maiden name Myers, and although there is no envelope present she indicates her place of residence to be Soldier, Idaho. Written to Mr. R.G. Linn (law partner and brother-in-law of John M. Hamilton) at Glenville, she provides genealogical information of interest to researchers for some of the very old families in Calhoun County. Of particular interest to Civil War historians interested in Daniel Duskey of Moccasin Ranger fame are the names of the parents of Daniel's wife, Martha (Patsy), as well as her siblings and who they married. A quick look at the 1850 Census for Gilmer County shows most of the families mentioned as having been enumerated by the census taker on September 10, 1850, bringing one to the conclusion that they lived in close proximity to each other. Surnames in the letter include: Myers, Sharp, Collons (Collins), Holbert, Rogers, Jeffers, Wilsan.

Although they may take quite a long time to load, here are the scanned images of the letter. We think you will find it well worth the extra wait. - Norma Knotts Shaffer

Images of this letter are attached in Media

Notes for Martha SHARP:

General Notes:

1893 LETTER HAS TWO TALES TO TELL

Its Own History and Genealogical Information
by
Norma Knotts Shaffer

Considered by some to be obsessed and by others eccentric, history and genealogy buffs are, above all else, noted for their love of tramping through old cemeteries and "pack ratting" away a varied assortment of seemingly useless trash. Spouses and family members learn early on that those stacks of papers and junk are off limits and adapt to life amidst the clutter and chaos.

Last night's business meeting of the Calhoun Historical Society was followed by an entertaining session of examining a bag full of trash. "Best meeting we've had in ages," was remarked by several of those present as we gleefully examined the bag's contents.

The story of how the trash came to the Society is a story in and of itself. A number of years ago Maxine Burrows (now deceased), wife of James L. Burrows of Pleasant Hill, was on her way to check the status of her favorite hickory tree to see if the nuts had fallen. On her way, she happened across a pile of burning trash which appeared to consist of old papers, letters, ledgers, etc. Curious about the contents she used a stick to pull some of the papers off the fire and after examination realized that the papers were very old. She hurried home to tell her husband of her find, whereupon he grabbed a cardboard box and hurried back to the fire to see if anything was left to salvage. He managed to retrieve approximately one half a large paper grocery bag of papers which he has kept for several years. A few months ago, he brought the bag to me and asked if the Society would have any interest in the contents.

Last night's meeting was the first opportunity the Society had to examine the papers and they truly contain a wealth of information. Documents and papers dating back as early as 1844 are included. By far the greatest prize are three "sheepskin deeds" two dated 1844 when James McDowell was governor of Virginia (West Virginia was not a state until 1863) and one dated 1847 when William Smith was governor and all recorded in Richmond. Several other old deeds were found, one of which may be the tract upon which the new High School/Middle School is built. One letter, dated March 9, 1893, was of particular interest. Truly a great find for the Society and we had a marvelous time examining the papers. Further examination of the papers will follow the business session of next month's meeting of the Society. As always, the public is invited to attend and participate.

And now the rest of the story - the March 9, 1893 letter. The letter was written by Almeda Jeffers, maiden name Myers, and although there is no envelope present she indicates her place of residence to be Soldier, Idaho. Written to Mr. R.G. Linn (law partner and brother-in-law of John M. Hamilton) at Glenville, she provides genealogical information of interest to researchers for some of the very old families in Calhoun County. Of particular interest to Civil War historians interested in Daniel Duskey of Moccasin Ranger fame are the names of the parents of Daniel's wife, Martha (Patsy), as well as her siblings and who they married. A quick look at the 1850 Census for Gilmer County shows most of the families mentioned as having been enumerated by the census taker on September 10, 1850, bringing one to the conclusion that they lived in close proximity to each other. Surnames in the letter include: Myers, Sharp, Collons (Collins), Holbert, Rogers, Jeffers, Wilsan.

Although they may take quite a long time to load, here are the scanned images of the letter. We think you will find it well worth the extra wait. - Norma Knotts Shaffer

Images of this letter are attached in Media

Notes for George W. DUSKEY:

General Notes:

Captain George Duskey's Company of Rangers was specifically mentioned in the Virginia legislation transferring state troops to Confederate control. Duskey had served as a private in the Moccasin Rangers. He was paid for service in that unit through July 15, 1862. Duskey then sought and received permission to raise a ranger company, which became Company E, 3rd Virginia State Line. On February 28, 1863, this company was stationed near Lewisburg in Greenbrier County, where its last muster roll as a member of Virginia's irregular forces was made.

1880 Census E. D. 55, Middleton, Lafayette Co., MO. Family History Library Film 1254698, NA Film Number T9-0698, Page Number 359A:

Geo. DUSKY Self M Male W 40 WV Farmer PA ---

Susan DUSKY Wife M Female W 36 MO Housekeeper VA VA

Ernest DUSKY Son S Male W 11 MO Works On Farm WV MO

Claricil DUSKY Son S Male W 8 MO WV MO

Maude DUSKY Dau S Female W 6 MO WV MO

Edwin DUSKY Son S Male W 4 MO WV MO

DUSKY Son S Male W 2 MO WV MO

1860 Calhoun, VA

DUSKEY, 834

Daniel Duskey...51...Allegheny Co., PA...Farmer

Andrew...18...Lewis...Farmer

Nancy...16...Lewis

John...14...Lewis

Mary E...12...Gilmer

William...9...Gilmer

James...5...Gilmer

George...20...Lewis

DUSKEY (DUSKY), George W., Co. A, 3rd Virginia State Line (Moccasin Rangers). Commissioned Captain of Infantry on 18 Sep. 1862. On August's list of Virginia State Line Officers prepared on 27 Jan. 1863. On T. E. Davis' list of Virginia State Line Officers dated 28 Feb. 1863. Private, Co. C, 19th Virginia Cavalry. Born Lewis Co., W.Va. about 1840. Age 20, Calhoun Co. 1860 Census. Captured Wirt Co., W.Va. 15 Dec. 1861. Confined at the Atheneum Prison under heavy guard. Pretended to be ill and was sent to the Sprigg Hill Hospital, Wheeling, W.Va. While there he escaped with a few of his men, including Josiah Parsons, and returned to Calhoun Co., W.Va. and there reorganized the Moccasin Rangers. Enlisted Pocahontas Co., W.Va. 1 Apr. 1863. Absent 31 Dec. 1863 to 31 Aug. 1864. Has one horse; captured Roane Co., W.Va., 20 June 1863. Absent 1 Sep. 1864-31 Oct. 1864,$100 enlistment bounty due. Was reported on 29 Nov. 1864 that Duskey and Lieutenant William A. Gandy were being held in solitary confinement , and to be sentto Ft. Monroe for exchange, 21 Jan. 1865. Reported as being held in the Wheeling City Jail which served as a State prison, 25 Jan. 1865. Duskey being held bycivil authorities, under indictment for treason and robbing the mail (Ripley, W.Va. Post Office). Captured 2 Feb. 1865, no place stated. (This is probably their release date from prison and the time that the military took control of them again.) Confined at Baltimore, Md., then sent to Camp Hamilton. Transportation to Ft. Monroe for Duskey and William Gandy ordered 4 Feb. 1865. Confined at Camp Hamilton, Va. military prison awaiting exchange 6 Feb. 1865. Released 11 Feb. 1865. Post war rosters show service in Co. A. Duskey, apparently an officer at some point during the war was not considered as such by the U.S. Son of Daniel Duskey and brother of Andrew Duskey. C.S.A.

Notes for George W. DUSKEY:

General Notes:

Captain George Duskey's Company of Rangers was specifically mentioned in the Virginia legislation transferring state troops to Confederate control. Duskey had served as a private in the Moccasin Rangers. He was paid for service in that unit through July 15, 1862. Duskey then sought and received permission to raise a ranger company, which became Company E, 3rd Virginia State Line. On February 28, 1863, this company was stationed near Lewisburg in Greenbrier County, where its last muster roll as a member of Virginia's irregular forces was made.

1880 Census E. D. 55, Middleton, Lafayette Co., MO. Family History Library Film 1254698, NA Film Number T9-0698, Page Number 359A:

Geo. DUSKY Self M Male W 40 WV Farmer PA ---

Susan DUSKY Wife M Female W 36 MO Housekeeper VA VA

Ernest DUSKY Son S Male W 11 MO Works On Farm WV MO

Claricil DUSKY Son S Male W 8 MO WV MO

Maude DUSKY Dau S Female W 6 MO WV MO

Edwin DUSKY Son S Male W 4 MO WV MO

DUSKY Son S Male W 2 MO WV MO

1860 Calhoun, VA

DUSKEY, 834

Daniel Duskey...51...Allegheny Co., PA...Farmer

Andrew...18...Lewis...Farmer

Nancy...16...Lewis

John...14...Lewis

Mary E...12...Gilmer

William...9...Gilmer

James...5...Gilmer

George...20...Lewis

DUSKEY (DUSKY), George W., Co. A, 3rd Virginia State Line (Moccasin Rangers). Commissioned Captain of Infantry on 18 Sep. 1862. On August's list of Virginia State Line Officers prepared on 27 Jan. 1863. On T. E. Davis' list of Virginia State Line Officers dated 28 Feb. 1863. Private, Co. C, 19th Virginia Cavalry. Born Lewis Co., W.Va. about 1840. Age 20, Calhoun Co. 1860 Census. Captured Wirt Co., W.Va. 15 Dec. 1861. Confined at the Atheneum Prison under heavy guard. Pretended to be ill and was sent to the Sprigg Hill Hospital, Wheeling, W.Va. While there he escaped with a few of his men, including Josiah Parsons, and returned to Calhoun Co., W.Va. and there reorganized the Moccasin Rangers. Enlisted Pocahontas Co., W.Va. 1 Apr. 1863. Absent 31 Dec. 1863 to 31 Aug. 1864. Has one horse; captured Roane Co., W.Va., 20 June 1863. Absent 1 Sep. 1864-31 Oct. 1864,$100 enlistment bounty due. Was reported on 29 Nov. 1864 that Duskey and Lieutenant William A. Gandy were being held in solitary confinement , and to be sentto Ft. Monroe for exchange, 21 Jan. 1865. Reported as being held in the Wheeling City Jail which served as a State prison, 25 Jan. 1865. Duskey being held bycivil authorities, under indictment for treason and robbing the mail (Ripley, W.Va. Post Office). Captured 2 Feb. 1865, no place stated. (This is probably their release date from prison and the time that the military took control of them again.) Confined at Baltimore, Md., then sent to Camp Hamilton. Transportation to Ft. Monroe for Duskey and William Gandy ordered 4 Feb. 1865. Confined at Camp Hamilton, Va. military prison awaiting exchange 6 Feb. 1865. Released 11 Feb. 1865. Post war rosters show service in Co. A. Duskey, apparently an officer at some point during the war was not considered as such by the U.S. Son of Daniel Duskey and brother of Andrew Duskey. C.S.A.

Notes for Solomon W. LOCKHART:

General Notes:

Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace

S. W. LOCKHART Self M Male W 33 VA Farmer VA VA

Mary E. LOCKHART Wife M Female W 33 VA Keeps House OH VA

Robt. R. LOCKHART Son S Male W 11 WV OH VA

Willie LOCKHART Son S Male W 8 WV OH VA

Oma LOCKHART Dau S Female W 4 WV OH VA

Source Information:

1880 Census Place Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Family History Library Film 1255415

NA Film Number T9-1415

Page Number 184A

1860 Calhoun, VA

DUSKEY, 834

Daniel Duskey...51...Allegheny Co., PA...Farmer

Andrew...18...Lewis...Farmer

Nancy...16...Lewis

John...14...Lewis

Mary E...12...Gilmer

William...9...Gilmer

James...5...Gilmer

George...20...Lewis

Wirt Co., WV Marriages - Lockhart Family

Transcribed from Court House Records 3/26/1992

By: Bonita Woolard-Lock

02/16/1867 S. W. Lockhart (18) born Wirt Co., son of E. S. and Margaret Lockhart to Mary E. Duskey (18)

Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Enumerated August 2,1870

Post Office: Reedy Ripple

Other than N J born in Ohio, all were born in Virginia and West Virginia

1/1

C W Lockhart MW 40 Farmer RE $1400 PE $275

C E FW 34

M L MW 15

E V FW 10

M E FW 6

Temessee FW 1

2/2

Caleb Lockhart MW 20 Laborer

N J FW 19 Born in Ohio

3/3

S W Lockhart MW 21 Farmer RE $300 PE $250

M E FW 21

R R MW 2

Enoch Lockhart MW 45 Farming RE $1200 PE $350

Margaret FW 46

G W MW 24

M F FW 16

J R MW 11

A J MW 9

S M FW 4

Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace

S. W. LOCKHART Self M Male W 33 VA Farmer VA VA

Mary E. LOCKHART Wife M Female W 33 VA Keeps House OH VA

Robt. R. LOCKHART Son S Male W 11 WV OH VA

Willie LOCKHART Son S Male W 8 WV OH VA

Oma LOCKHART Dau S Female W 4 WV OH VA

Source Information:

1880 Census Place Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Family History Library Film 1255415

NA Film Number T9-1415

Page Number 184A

Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Enumerated June 20, 1900

158/158

All born and parents born in West Virginia except Nancy's father born in Pennsylvania

Robert R Lockhart Head MW Jan 1868 32 M 11 yrs Farmer

Nancy C Wife FW Feb 1868 32 M 2/2

Nettie May Dau FW May 1893 7

Ettie May Dau FW May 1893 7

159/159

All born and parents born in West Virginia except Mary's father born in Ohio

Solomon Lockhart Head MW Jul 1848 51 M 33 yrs Farmer

Mary E Wife FW Aug 1848 51 M 8/4

Willis G Son MW Dec 1872

Oma E Dau FW Mar 1876

Charles W Son MW Sep 1882

160/160

All born and parents born in West Virginia

Alfred Lockhart Head MW Sep 1861 38 M 19 yrs Farmer

Sarah C Wife FW Jul 1858 41 M 5/4

Pearl Son MW Feb 1883

Herldie Son MW Dec 1886 18

Nellie Dau FW Jun 1890 10

Della Dau FW Jul 1894 5

Notes for Solomon W. LOCKHART:

General Notes:

Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace

S. W. LOCKHART Self M Male W 33 VA Farmer VA VA

Mary E. LOCKHART Wife M Female W 33 VA Keeps House OH VA

Robt. R. LOCKHART Son S Male W 11 WV OH VA

Willie LOCKHART Son S Male W 8 WV OH VA

Oma LOCKHART Dau S Female W 4 WV OH VA

Source Information:

1880 Census Place Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Family History Library Film 1255415

NA Film Number T9-1415

Page Number 184A

1860 Calhoun, VA

DUSKEY, 834

Daniel Duskey...51...Allegheny Co., PA...Farmer

Andrew...18...Lewis...Farmer

Nancy...16...Lewis

John...14...Lewis

Mary E...12...Gilmer

William...9...Gilmer

James...5...Gilmer

George...20...Lewis

Wirt Co., WV Marriages - Lockhart Family

Transcribed from Court House Records 3/26/1992

By: Bonita Woolard-Lock

02/16/1867 S. W. Lockhart (18) born Wirt Co., son of E. S. and Margaret Lockhart to Mary E. Duskey (18)

Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Enumerated August 2,1870

Post Office: Reedy Ripple

Other than N J born in Ohio, all were born in Virginia and West Virginia

1/1

C W Lockhart MW 40 Farmer RE $1400 PE $275

C E FW 34

M L MW 15

E V FW 10

M E FW 6

Temessee FW 1

2/2

Caleb Lockhart MW 20 Laborer

N J FW 19 Born in Ohio

3/3

S W Lockhart MW 21 Farmer RE $300 PE $250

M E FW 21

R R MW 2

Enoch Lockhart MW 45 Farming RE $1200 PE $350

Margaret FW 46

G W MW 24

M F FW 16

J R MW 11

A J MW 9

S M FW 4

Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace

S. W. LOCKHART Self M Male W 33 VA Farmer VA VA

Mary E. LOCKHART Wife M Female W 33 VA Keeps House OH VA

Robt. R. LOCKHART Son S Male W 11 WV OH VA

Willie LOCKHART Son S Male W 8 WV OH VA

Oma LOCKHART Dau S Female W 4 WV OH VA

Source Information:

1880 Census Place Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Family History Library Film 1255415

NA Film Number T9-1415

Page Number 184A

Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Enumerated June 20, 1900

158/158

All born and parents born in West Virginia except Nancy's father born in Pennsylvania

Robert R Lockhart Head MW Jan 1868 32 M 11 yrs Farmer

Nancy C Wife FW Feb 1868 32 M 2/2

Nettie May Dau FW May 1893 7

Ettie May Dau FW May 1893 7

159/159

All born and parents born in West Virginia except Mary's father born in Ohio

Solomon Lockhart Head MW Jul 1848 51 M 33 yrs Farmer

Mary E Wife FW Aug 1848 51 M 8/4

Willis G Son MW Dec 1872

Oma E Dau FW Mar 1876

Charles W Son MW Sep 1882

160/160

All born and parents born in West Virginia

Alfred Lockhart Head MW Sep 1861 38 M 19 yrs Farmer

Sarah C Wife FW Jul 1858 41 M 5/4

Pearl Son MW Feb 1883

Herldie Son MW Dec 1886 18

Nellie Dau FW Jun 1890 10

Della Dau FW Jul 1894 5

Notes for Solomon W. LOCKHART:

General Notes:

Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace

S. W. LOCKHART Self M Male W 33 VA Farmer VA VA

Mary E. LOCKHART Wife M Female W 33 VA Keeps House OH VA

Robt. R. LOCKHART Son S Male W 11 WV OH VA

Willie LOCKHART Son S Male W 8 WV OH VA

Oma LOCKHART Dau S Female W 4 WV OH VA

Source Information:

1880 Census Place Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Family History Library Film 1255415

NA Film Number T9-1415

Page Number 184A

1860 Calhoun, VA

DUSKEY, 834

Daniel Duskey...51...Allegheny Co., PA...Farmer

Andrew...18...Lewis...Farmer

Nancy...16...Lewis

John...14...Lewis

Mary E...12...Gilmer

William...9...Gilmer

James...5...Gilmer

George...20...Lewis

Wirt Co., WV Marriages - Lockhart Family

Transcribed from Court House Records 3/26/1992

By: Bonita Woolard-Lock

02/16/1867 S. W. Lockhart (18) born Wirt Co., son of E. S. and Margaret Lockhart to Mary E. Duskey (18)

Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Enumerated August 2,1870

Post Office: Reedy Ripple

Other than N J born in Ohio, all were born in Virginia and West Virginia

1/1

C W Lockhart MW 40 Farmer RE $1400 PE $275

C E FW 34

M L MW 15

E V FW 10

M E FW 6

Temessee FW 1

2/2

Caleb Lockhart MW 20 Laborer

N J FW 19 Born in Ohio

3/3

S W Lockhart MW 21 Farmer RE $300 PE $250

M E FW 21

R R MW 2

Enoch Lockhart MW 45 Farming RE $1200 PE $350

Margaret FW 46

G W MW 24

M F FW 16

J R MW 11

A J MW 9

S M FW 4

Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace

S. W. LOCKHART Self M Male W 33 VA Farmer VA VA

Mary E. LOCKHART Wife M Female W 33 VA Keeps House OH VA

Robt. R. LOCKHART Son S Male W 11 WV OH VA

Willie LOCKHART Son S Male W 8 WV OH VA

Oma LOCKHART Dau S Female W 4 WV OH VA

Source Information:

1880 Census Place Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Family History Library Film 1255415

NA Film Number T9-1415

Page Number 184A

Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Enumerated June 20, 1900

158/158

All born and parents born in West Virginia except Nancy's father born in Pennsylvania

Robert R Lockhart Head MW Jan 1868 32 M 11 yrs Farmer

Nancy C Wife FW Feb 1868 32 M 2/2

Nettie May Dau FW May 1893 7

Ettie May Dau FW May 1893 7

159/159

All born and parents born in West Virginia except Mary's father born in Ohio

Solomon Lockhart Head MW Jul 1848 51 M 33 yrs Farmer

Mary E Wife FW Aug 1848 51 M 8/4

Willis G Son MW Dec 1872

Oma E Dau FW Mar 1876

Charles W Son MW Sep 1882

160/160

All born and parents born in West Virginia

Alfred Lockhart Head MW Sep 1861 38 M 19 yrs Farmer

Sarah C Wife FW Jul 1858 41 M 5/4

Pearl Son MW Feb 1883

Herldie Son MW Dec 1886 18

Nellie Dau FW Jun 1890 10

Della Dau FW Jul 1894 5

Notes for William G. LOCKHART:

General Notes:

Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace

S. W. LOCKHART Self M Male W 33 VA Farmer VA VA

Mary E. LOCKHART Wife M Female W 33 VA Keeps House OH VA

Robt. R. LOCKHART Son S Male W 11 WV OH VA

Willie LOCKHART Son S Male W 8 WV OH VA

Oma LOCKHART Dau S Female W 4 WV OH VA

Source Information:

1880 Census Place Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Family History Library Film 1255415

NA Film Number T9-1415

Page Number 184A

Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Enumerated June 20, 1900

158/158

All born and parents born in West Virginia except Nancy's father born in Pennsylvania

Robert R Lockhart Head MW Jan 1868 32 M 11 yrs Farmer

Nancy C Wife FW Feb 1868 32 M 2/2

Nettie May Dau FW May 1893 7

Ettie May Dau FW May 1893 7

159/159

All born and parents born in West Virginia except Mary's father born in Ohio

Solomon Lockhart Head MW Jul 1848 51 M 33 yrs Farmer

Mary E Wife FW Aug 1848 51 M 8/4

Willis G Son MW Dec 1872

Oma E Dau FW Mar 1876

Charles W Son MW Sep 1882

160/160

All born and parents born in West Virginia

Alfred Lockhart Head MW Sep 1861 38 M 19 yrs Farmer

Sarah C Wife FW Jul 1858 41 M 5/4

Pearl Son MW Feb 1883

Herldie Son MW Dec 1886 18

Nellie Dau FW Jun 1890 10

Della Dau FW Jul 1894 5

Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Enumerated April 15, 1910

5/5

Mayberry Subdistrict

All born and parents born in West Virginia

W G Lockhart Head MW 39 M once 7 yrs Farmer

Mrs Eva A Wife FW 27 M once 2/2

Edward L Son MW 6

Bessie F Dau FW 2

Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Enumerated January 5, 1920

20/20

W G Lockhart Head MW 49 M Farmer, General Farm

Eva Wife FW 36 M

Bessie Dau FW 12 S

Edward Son MW 16 S Laborer, Home Farm

Parkersburg, Wood, West Virginia

Enumerated April 7, 1930

237/253

Edward L Lockhart Head MW 27 M at 23

Ethel E Wife FW 28 M at 23

238/254

William G Lockhart Head MW 59 M at 35

Eva Wife FW 48 M at 24

Bessie Dau FW 22 S

Notes for William G. LOCKHART:

General Notes:

Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace

S. W. LOCKHART Self M Male W 33 VA Farmer VA VA

Mary E. LOCKHART Wife M Female W 33 VA Keeps House OH VA

Robt. R. LOCKHART Son S Male W 11 WV OH VA

Willie LOCKHART Son S Male W 8 WV OH VA

Oma LOCKHART Dau S Female W 4 WV OH VA

Source Information:

1880 Census Place Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Family History Library Film 1255415

NA Film Number T9-1415

Page Number 184A

Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Enumerated June 20, 1900

158/158

All born and parents born in West Virginia except Nancy's father born in Pennsylvania

Robert R Lockhart Head MW Jan 1868 32 M 11 yrs Farmer

Nancy C Wife FW Feb 1868 32 M 2/2

Nettie May Dau FW May 1893 7

Ettie May Dau FW May 1893 7

159/159

All born and parents born in West Virginia except Mary's father born in Ohio

Solomon Lockhart Head MW Jul 1848 51 M 33 yrs Farmer

Mary E Wife FW Aug 1848 51 M 8/4

Willis G Son MW Dec 1872

Oma E Dau FW Mar 1876

Charles W Son MW Sep 1882

160/160

All born and parents born in West Virginia

Alfred Lockhart Head MW Sep 1861 38 M 19 yrs Farmer

Sarah C Wife FW Jul 1858 41 M 5/4

Pearl Son MW Feb 1883

Herldie Son MW Dec 1886 18

Nellie Dau FW Jun 1890 10

Della Dau FW Jul 1894 5

Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Enumerated April 15, 1910

5/5

Mayberry Subdistrict

All born and parents born in West Virginia

W G Lockhart Head MW 39 M once 7 yrs Farmer

Mrs Eva A Wife FW 27 M once 2/2

Edward L Son MW 6

Bessie F Dau FW 2

Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Enumerated January 5, 1920

20/20

W G Lockhart Head MW 49 M Farmer, General Farm

Eva Wife FW 36 M

Bessie Dau FW 12 S

Edward Son MW 16 S Laborer, Home Farm

Parkersburg, Wood, West Virginia

Enumerated April 7, 1930

237/253

Edward L Lockhart Head MW 27 M at 23

Ethel E Wife FW 28 M at 23

238/254

William G Lockhart Head MW 59 M at 35

Eva Wife FW 48 M at 24

Bessie Dau FW 22 S

Notes for William G. LOCKHART:

General Notes:

Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace

S. W. LOCKHART Self M Male W 33 VA Farmer VA VA

Mary E. LOCKHART Wife M Female W 33 VA Keeps House OH VA

Robt. R. LOCKHART Son S Male W 11 WV OH VA

Willie LOCKHART Son S Male W 8 WV OH VA

Oma LOCKHART Dau S Female W 4 WV OH VA

Source Information:

1880 Census Place Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Family History Library Film 1255415

NA Film Number T9-1415

Page Number 184A

Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Enumerated June 20, 1900

158/158

All born and parents born in West Virginia except Nancy's father born in Pennsylvania

Robert R Lockhart Head MW Jan 1868 32 M 11 yrs Farmer

Nancy C Wife FW Feb 1868 32 M 2/2

Nettie May Dau FW May 1893 7

Ettie May Dau FW May 1893 7

159/159

All born and parents born in West Virginia except Mary's father born in Ohio

Solomon Lockhart Head MW Jul 1848 51 M 33 yrs Farmer

Mary E Wife FW Aug 1848 51 M 8/4

Willis G Son MW Dec 1872

Oma E Dau FW Mar 1876

Charles W Son MW Sep 1882

160/160

All born and parents born in West Virginia

Alfred Lockhart Head MW Sep 1861 38 M 19 yrs Farmer

Sarah C Wife FW Jul 1858 41 M 5/4

Pearl Son MW Feb 1883

Herldie Son MW Dec 1886 18

Nellie Dau FW Jun 1890 10

Della Dau FW Jul 1894 5

Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Enumerated April 15, 1910

5/5

Mayberry Subdistrict

All born and parents born in West Virginia

W G Lockhart Head MW 39 M once 7 yrs Farmer

Mrs Eva A Wife FW 27 M once 2/2

Edward L Son MW 6

Bessie F Dau FW 2

Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Enumerated January 5, 1920

20/20

W G Lockhart Head MW 49 M Farmer, General Farm

Eva Wife FW 36 M

Bessie Dau FW 12 S

Edward Son MW 16 S Laborer, Home Farm

Parkersburg, Wood, West Virginia

Enumerated April 7, 1930

237/253

Edward L Lockhart Head MW 27 M at 23

Ethel E Wife FW 28 M at 23

238/254

William G Lockhart Head MW 59 M at 35

Eva Wife FW 48 M at 24

Bessie Dau FW 22 S

Notes for Oma Ellen LOCKHART:

General Notes:

Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace

S. W. LOCKHART Self M Male W 33 VA Farmer VA VA

Mary E. LOCKHART Wife M Female W 33 VA Keeps House OH VA

Robt. R. LOCKHART Son S Male W 11 WV OH VA

Willie LOCKHART Son S Male W 8 WV OH VA

Oma LOCKHART Dau S Female W 4 WV OH VA

Source Information:

1880 Census Place Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Family History Library Film 1255415

NA Film Number T9-1415

Page Number 184A

Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Enumerated June 20, 1900

158/158

All born and parents born in West Virginia except Nancy's father born in Pennsylvania

Robert R Lockhart Head MW Jan 1868 32 M 11 yrs Farmer

Nancy C Wife FW Feb 1868 32 M 2/2

Nettie May Dau FW May 1893 7

Ettie May Dau FW May 1893 7

159/159

All born and parents born in West Virginia except Mary's father born in Ohio

Solomon Lockhart Head MW Jul 1848 51 M 33 yrs Farmer

Mary E Wife FW Aug 1848 51 M 8/4

Willis G Son MW Dec 1872

Oma E Dau FW Mar 1876

Charles W Son MW Sep 1882

160/160

All born and parents born in West Virginia

Alfred Lockhart Head MW Sep 1861 38 M 19 yrs Farmer

Sarah C Wife FW Jul 1858 41 M 5/4

Pearl Son MW Feb 1883

Herldie Son MW Dec 1886 18

Nellie Dau FW Jun 1890 10

Della Dau FW Jul 1894 5

Notes for Oma Ellen LOCKHART:

General Notes:

Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace

S. W. LOCKHART Self M Male W 33 VA Farmer VA VA

Mary E. LOCKHART Wife M Female W 33 VA Keeps House OH VA

Robt. R. LOCKHART Son S Male W 11 WV OH VA

Willie LOCKHART Son S Male W 8 WV OH VA

Oma LOCKHART Dau S Female W 4 WV OH VA

Source Information:

1880 Census Place Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Family History Library Film 1255415

NA Film Number T9-1415

Page Number 184A

Reedy, Wirt, West Virginia

Enumerated June 20, 1900

158/158

All born and parents born in West Virginia except Nancy's father born in Pennsylvania

Robert R Lockhart Head MW Jan 1868 32 M 11 yrs Farmer

Nancy C Wife FW Feb 1868 32 M 2/2

Nettie May Dau FW May 1893 7

Ettie May Dau FW May 1893 7

159/159

All born and parents born in West Virginia except Mary's father born in Ohio

Solomon Lockhart Head MW Jul 1848 51 M 33 yrs Farmer

Mary E Wife FW Aug 1848 51 M 8/4

Willis G Son MW Dec 1872

Oma E Dau FW Mar 1876

Charles W Son MW Sep 1882

160/160

All born and parents born in West Virginia

Alfred Lockhart Head MW Sep 1861 38 M 19 yrs Farmer

Sarah C Wife FW Jul 1858 41 M 5/4

Pearl Son MW Feb 1883

Herldie Son MW Dec 1886 18

Nellie Dau FW Jun 1890 10

Della Dau FW Jul 1894 5

Notes for Ruth Gay DUSKEY:

General Notes:

Never Married

Notes for Ruth Gay DUSKEY:

General Notes:

Never Married

Notes for French DUSKEY:

General Notes:

Never Married.

1900 Lee, Calhoun, WV

DUSKEY, 122-122

James...Head...WM...Dec 1858...41...md 15 yrs...Farmer...WV OH WV

Joanna...Wife...WF...Sep 1861...38...8/8...WV WV WV

Mont...Son...WM...May 1885...15...Farm Laborer...WV WV WV

French...Son...WM...Apr 1887...13...Farm Laborer...WV WV WV

Brooke C...Son...WM...Dec 1887...12...Farm Laborer...WV WV WV

George...Son...WM...Jun 1891...8...WV WV WV

Charles...Son...WM...Feb 1893...7...WV WV WV

Amy...Dau...WF...Feb 1895...5...WV WV WV

Daniel...Son...WM...Dec 1896...3...WV WV WV

Mary E...Dau...WF...Nov 1898...1...WV WV WV

French DUSKEY

Birth Date: 5 Apr 1887

Death Date: 15 Oct 1966

Social Security Number: 232-54-1477

State or Territory Where Number Was Issued: West Virginia

North Carolina

Death Residence Localities

ZIP Code: 26140

Localities:

Mt. Zion Cemetery

Amy D. Stutler - 1896 - 1941

Joanna Duskey - 1862 - 1947

James S. Duskey - 1854 - 1946

French Duskey - 1887 - 1966

Bernadine Harden - 1928

Charleston Daily Mail

Thursday, August 4, 1966

French Duskey

SPENCER-Service for French Duskey of Richardson, Calhoun County, will be held Friday at 2 p. m. in Mount Zion Methodist Church, with burial in Mount Zion Cemetery. The Rev. Glendon McKee will officiate.

Mr. Duskey, 79, was a farmer.

Surviving: sisters, Mrs. Tensey Kirby of Clarksburg, Mrs. Myrtle Ritchie and Mrs. Elva Wilson of Parkersburg; brothers, J. E. of Parkersburg, George of Arnoldsburg, Charles of Mount Zion, Mont of Fairmont.

The body is at Vandale Funeral Home.

Notes for French DUSKEY:

General Notes:

Never Married.

1900 Lee, Calhoun, WV

DUSKEY, 122-122

James...Head...WM...Dec 1858...41...md 15 yrs...Farmer...WV OH WV

Joanna...Wife...WF...Sep 1861...38...8/8...WV WV WV

Mont...Son...WM...May 1885...15...Farm Laborer...WV WV WV

French...Son...WM...Apr 1887...13...Farm Laborer...WV WV WV

Brooke C...Son...WM...Dec 1887...12...Farm Laborer...WV WV WV

George...Son...WM...Jun 1891...8...WV WV WV

Charles...Son...WM...Feb 1893...7...WV WV WV

Amy...Dau...WF...Feb 1895...5...WV WV WV

Daniel...Son...WM...Dec 1896...3...WV WV WV

Mary E...Dau...WF...Nov 1898...1...WV WV WV

French DUSKEY

Birth Date: 5 Apr 1887

Death Date: 15 Oct 1966

Social Security Number: 232-54-1477

State or Territory Where Number Was Issued: West Virginia

North Carolina

Death Residence Localities

ZIP Code: 26140

Localities:

Mt. Zion Cemetery

Amy D. Stutler - 1896 - 1941

Joanna Duskey - 1862 - 1947

James S. Duskey - 1854 - 1946

French Duskey - 1887 - 1966

Bernadine Harden - 1928

Charleston Daily Mail

Thursday, August 4, 1966

French Duskey

SPENCER-Service for French Duskey of Richardson, Calhoun County, will be held Friday at 2 p. m. in Mount Zion Methodist Church, with burial in Mount Zion Cemetery. The Rev. Glendon McKee will officiate.

Mr. Duskey, 79, was a farmer.

Surviving: sisters, Mrs. Tensey Kirby of Clarksburg, Mrs. Myrtle Ritchie and Mrs. Elva Wilson of Parkersburg; brothers, J. E. of Parkersburg, George of Arnoldsburg, Charles of Mount Zion, Mont of Fairmont.

The body is at Vandale Funeral Home.

Notes for William RITZHAUPT:

General Notes:

WILLIAM RITZHAUPT Visitors from eastern cities never fail in expressing astonishment at the wonderful growth and prosperity of Guthrie and Oklahoma in general. They are genuinely surprised at the enterprise of our merchants and at the beauty of our stores and public buildings. When in their wanderings through the busy streets of the business section, they come to the Vienna Bakery and Cafe, they are impressed with this fine establishment, of which any metropolis in the land might well be proud. The proprietor, who is a man of wide experience as a caterer, is employed by the leading citizens of this place, and within a few years has won an enviable position in the commercial world.

William Ritzhaupt is the son of Henry and grandson of Ferdinand Ritzhaupt, of Heidelberg, Germany, and, like them, he has followed the trade of a baker since he arrived at maturity His grandfather served under the great Napoleon in the famous march to Moscow, and Henry Ritzhaupt took part in the revolution of 1848. Then, like many others of his fellow-patriots, he fled to England, where he remained until the intense feeling had subsided in his native land. He lived in Southampton during his stay in England and when he went back to Heidelberg he resumed his old occupation and made a success of the business. He served as one of the city councilmen and was looked up to as one of influence and profound judgment. He departed this life when in his fiftieth year, and within a twelvemonth he was followed to the grave by his devoted wife, then forty-five years of age. She was Miss Margareta Klare prior to their marriage, and of their three sons and three daughters two are deceased, two daughters reside in Chicago, Ill., and George in Wisconsin.

William Ritzhaupt is a native of Heidelberg, born July 9, 1863. He was eight years old when he was left an orphan, and then he became a ward of his maternal uncle, who also was a skilled baker and caterer. Before he was sixteen years of age the youth had not only mastered the trades of the relatives mentioned but also had spent about two years in learning that of making confectionery. In the spring of 1880 he sailed for New York City, on the steamship " Meine," and at once went toGallion, Ohio, where he Worked at his trade for about one year. He then went to Chicago and for three years was employed as a fine pastry cook in the Palmer House and for two years was the head pastry cook at the Tremont House.

In 1885 Mr. Ritzhaupt embarked in business on his own account, and for eight months conducted a large and remunerative trade at his location, on Milwaukee avenue, Chicago. Then, selling the bakery to his brother-in-law, he took a position as head, pastry cook at the Transit House, same city, and was connected with that hotel for two and a half years. He then resigned his place in order to take charge of the CentropolisHotel, in Kansas City, Mo. After two years' experience in that venture in which he was quite successful, he disposed of the business and for the next eighteen months was the head pastry cook at the Coates House, in the same city Then again he embarked in the bakery business, and was located on East Twelfth street, Kansas City, for a period. In April, 1894, he came to Guthrie and started. the Vienna Bakery, which now is so justly popular. Until the spring of 1900 this place of business was at No. 111 Harrison avenue but recently he opened his new complete bakery and cafe at the corner of Oklahoma avenue and Broad street. Personally he attended to the building of this substantial store, which is 25x140 feet in dimensions and two stories in height. It is well appointed in every respect and the great ovens, which have a capacity of three hundred loaves of bread at a time, bake from two to three thousand loaves each day in order.to meet the demand. The proprietor has made a great reputation as a manufacturer of ice cream, and his attractive cafe parlors are well equipped with comforts, including fans run by electricity. He makes a specialty of catering for socials, parties and banquets, and invariably gives entire satisfaction to the public.

In 1888 Mr. Ritzhaupt married, in Chicago, Miss Ettie Risser, daughter of Hiram and Anna (Dusky) Risser, natives of West Virginia. She, too, was born in that state, and was left father-less when two years of age. He was financially interested in the oil wells of that region, but Daniel Dusky, grandfather of Mrs. Ritzhaupt, was one of the old planters of the state, and con-tinued to reside on his fine estate until his death, at three score and ten. During the Civil war he and two of his sons were commissioned offi-cers in the Federal army, and one of the sons was killed while fighting for his country. The Dusky family is descended from a Polish gentleman who was exiled during political revolutions, and, coming to this land of the free, took up his abode in West Virginia. After the death of her husband Mrs. Anna Risser married Lewis Wickman who was a leading blacksmith and carriage ofKansas City for some years and in. 1803 came to Guthrie and established a shop here.

The union of Mr. and Mrs. Ritzhaupt has been blessed with three children, namely: Lewis H., George and William, Jr. The wife and mother is a lady of excellent education and attainments, for she completed her higher studies in the St. Joseph Academy at Kansas City and received good school advantages. She is a member of the Christian Church and moves. in the best social circles of this city.

Our subject was influential in organizing the local lodge of the Sons of Herman, and was its president. The society is now known as the Germania Society. He also belongs to the Odd Fellows order and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Religiously, he adheres to the creed in which he was reared, that of the Evangelical Lutherans. Politically, he casts his bailot and influence on the side of the Democratic party.

Notes for William RITZHAUPT:

General Notes:

WILLIAM RITZHAUPT Visitors from eastern cities never fail in expressing astonishment at the wonderful growth and prosperity of Guthrie and Oklahoma in general. They are genuinely surprised at the enterprise of our merchants and at the beauty of our stores and public buildings. When in their wanderings through the busy streets of the business section, they come to the Vienna Bakery and Cafe, they are impressed with this fine establishment, of which any metropolis in the land might well be proud. The proprietor, who is a man of wide experience as a caterer, is employed by the leading citizens of this place, and within a few years has won an enviable position in the commercial world.

William Ritzhaupt is the son of Henry and grandson of Ferdinand Ritzhaupt, of Heidelberg, Germany, and, like them, he has followed the trade of a baker since he arrived at maturity His grandfather served under the great Napoleon in the famous march to Moscow, and Henry Ritzhaupt took part in the revolution of 1848. Then, like many others of his fellow-patriots, he fled to England, where he remained until the intense feeling had subsided in his native land. He lived in Southampton during his stay in England and when he went back to Heidelberg he resumed his old occupation and made a success of the business. He served as one of the city councilmen and was looked up to as one of influence and profound judgment. He departed this life when in his fiftieth year, and within a twelvemonth he was followed to the grave by his devoted wife, then forty-five years of age. She was Miss Margareta Klare prior to their marriage, and of their three sons and three daughters two are deceased, two daughters reside in Chicago, Ill., and George in Wisconsin.

William Ritzhaupt is a native of Heidelberg, born July 9, 1863. He was eight years old when he was left an orphan, and then he became a ward of his maternal uncle, who also was a skilled baker and caterer. Before he was sixteen years of age the youth had not only mastered the trades of the relatives mentioned but also had spent about two years in learning that of making confectionery. In the spring of 1880 he sailed for New York City, on the steamship " Meine," and at once went toGallion, Ohio, where he Worked at his trade for about one year. He then went to Chicago and for three years was employed as a fine pastry cook in the Palmer House and for two years was the head pastry cook at the Tremont House.

In 1885 Mr. Ritzhaupt embarked in business on his own account, and for eight months conducted a large and remunerative trade at his location, on Milwaukee avenue, Chicago. Then, selling the bakery to his brother-in-law, he took a position as head, pastry cook at the Transit House, same city, and was connected with that hotel for two and a half years. He then resigned his place in order to take charge of the CentropolisHotel, in Kansas City, Mo. After two years' experience in that venture in which he was quite successful, he disposed of the business and for the next eighteen months was the head pastry cook at the Coates House, in the same city Then again he embarked in the bakery business, and was located on East Twelfth street, Kansas City, for a period. In April, 1894, he came to Guthrie and started. the Vienna Bakery, which now is so justly popular. Until the spring of 1900 this place of business was at No. 111 Harrison avenue but recently he opened his new complete bakery and cafe at the corner of Oklahoma avenue and Broad street. Personally he attended to the building of this substantial store, which is 25x140 feet in dimensions and two stories in height. It is well appointed in every respect and the great ovens, which have a capacity of three hundred loaves of bread at a time, bake from two to three thousand loaves each day in order.to meet the demand. The proprietor has made a great reputation as a manufacturer of ice cream, and his attractive cafe parlors are well equipped with comforts, including fans run by electricity. He makes a specialty of catering for socials, parties and banquets, and invariably gives entire satisfaction to the public.

In 1888 Mr. Ritzhaupt married, in Chicago, Miss Ettie Risser, daughter of Hiram and Anna (Dusky) Risser, natives of West Virginia. She, too, was born in that state, and was left father-less when two years of age. He was financially interested in the oil wells of that region, but Daniel Dusky, grandfather of Mrs. Ritzhaupt, was one of the old planters of the state, and con-tinued to reside on his fine estate until his death, at three score and ten. During the Civil war he and two of his sons were commissioned offi-cers in the Federal army, and one of the sons was killed while fighting for his country. The Dusky family is descended from a Polish gentleman who was exiled during political revolutions, and, coming to this land of the free, took up his abode in West Virginia. After the death of her husband Mrs. Anna Risser married Lewis Wickman who was a leading blacksmith and carriage ofKansas City for some years and in. 1803 came to Guthrie and established a shop here.

The union of Mr. and Mrs. Ritzhaupt has been blessed with three children, namely: Lewis H., George and William, Jr. The wife and mother is a lady of excellent education and attainments, for she completed her higher studies in the St. Joseph Academy at Kansas City and received good school advantages. She is a member of the Christian Church and moves. in the best social circles of this city.

Our subject was influential in organizing the local lodge of the Sons of Herman, and was its president. The society is now known as the Germania Society. He also belongs to the Odd Fellows order and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Religiously, he adheres to the creed in which he was reared, that of the Evangelical Lutherans. Politically, he casts his bailot and influence on the side of the Democratic party.

Notes for William RITZHAUPT:

General Notes:

WILLIAM RITZHAUPT Visitors from eastern cities never fail in expressing astonishment at the wonderful growth and prosperity of Guthrie and Oklahoma in general. They are genuinely surprised at the enterprise of our merchants and at the beauty of our stores and public buildings. When in their wanderings through the busy streets of the business section, they come to the Vienna Bakery and Cafe, they are impressed with this fine establishment, of which any metropolis in the land might well be proud. The proprietor, who is a man of wide experience as a caterer, is employed by the leading citizens of this place, and within a few years has won an enviable position in the commercial world.

William Ritzhaupt is the son of Henry and grandson of Ferdinand Ritzhaupt, of Heidelberg, Germany, and, like them, he has followed the trade of a baker since he arrived at maturity His grandfather served under the great Napoleon in the famous march to Moscow, and Henry Ritzhaupt took part in the revolution of 1848. Then, like many others of his fellow-patriots, he fled to England, where he remained until the intense feeling had subsided in his native land. He lived in Southampton during his stay in England and when he went back to Heidelberg he resumed his old occupation and made a success of the business. He served as one of the city councilmen and was looked up to as one of influence and profound judgment. He departed this life when in his fiftieth year, and within a twelvemonth he was followed to the grave by his devoted wife, then forty-five years of age. She was Miss Margareta Klare prior to their marriage, and of their three sons and three daughters two are deceased, two daughters reside in Chicago, Ill., and George in Wisconsin.

William Ritzhaupt is a native of Heidelberg, born July 9, 1863. He was eight years old when he was left an orphan, and then he became a ward of his maternal uncle, who also was a skilled baker and caterer. Before he was sixteen years of age the youth had not only mastered the trades of the relatives mentioned but also had spent about two years in learning that of making confectionery. In the spring of 1880 he sailed for New York City, on the steamship " Meine," and at once went toGallion, Ohio, where he Worked at his trade for about one year. He then went to Chicago and for three years was employed as a fine pastry cook in the Palmer House and for two years was the head pastry cook at the Tremont House.

In 1885 Mr. Ritzhaupt embarked in business on his own account, and for eight months conducted a large and remunerative trade at his location, on Milwaukee avenue, Chicago. Then, selling the bakery to his brother-in-law, he took a position as head, pastry cook at the Transit House, same city, and was connected with that hotel for two and a half years. He then resigned his place in order to take charge of the CentropolisHotel, in Kansas City, Mo. After two years' experience in that venture in which he was quite successful, he disposed of the business and for the next eighteen months was the head pastry cook at the Coates House, in the same city Then again he embarked in the bakery business, and was located on East Twelfth street, Kansas City, for a period. In April, 1894, he came to Guthrie and started. the Vienna Bakery, which now is so justly popular. Until the spring of 1900 this place of business was at No. 111 Harrison avenue but recently he opened his new complete bakery and cafe at the corner of Oklahoma avenue and Broad street. Personally he attended to the building of this substantial store, which is 25x140 feet in dimensions and two stories in height. It is well appointed in every respect and the great ovens, which have a capacity of three hundred loaves of bread at a time, bake from two to three thousand loaves each day in order.to meet the demand. The proprietor has made a great reputation as a manufacturer of ice cream, and his attractive cafe parlors are well equipped with comforts, including fans run by electricity. He makes a specialty of catering for socials, parties and banquets, and invariably gives entire satisfaction to the public.

In 1888 Mr. Ritzhaupt married, in Chicago, Miss Ettie Risser, daughter of Hiram and Anna (Dusky) Risser, natives of West Virginia. She, too, was born in that state, and was left father-less when two years of age. He was financially interested in the oil wells of that region, but Daniel Dusky, grandfather of Mrs. Ritzhaupt, was one of the old planters of the state, and con-tinued to reside on his fine estate until his death, at three score and ten. During the Civil war he and two of his sons were commissioned offi-cers in the Federal army, and one of the sons was killed while fighting for his country. The Dusky family is descended from a Polish gentleman who was exiled during political revolutions, and, coming to this land of the free, took up his abode in West Virginia. After the death of her husband Mrs. Anna Risser married Lewis Wickman who was a leading blacksmith and carriage ofKansas City for some years and in. 1803 came to Guthrie and established a shop here.

The union of Mr. and Mrs. Ritzhaupt has been blessed with three children, namely: Lewis H., George and William, Jr. The wife and mother is a lady of excellent education and attainments, for she completed her higher studies in the St. Joseph Academy at Kansas City and received good school advantages. She is a member of the Christian Church and moves. in the best social circles of this city.

Our subject was influential in organizing the local lodge of the Sons of Herman, and was its president. The society is now known as the Germania Society. He also belongs to the Odd Fellows order and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Religiously, he adheres to the creed in which he was reared, that of the Evangelical Lutherans. Politically, he casts his bailot and influence on the side of the Democratic party.