WEST VA. PIONEERS

In Lewis, Harrison, Upshur and Wood

Counties

[From Letter of Roy B. Cook, Huntington, W. Va.,

to G. D. H., of Glencoe, Ills. [sic]]

Early Republicans in Upshur and Lewis

Early in the 30s, a colony of New England folks came to what is no Upshur county and settled on French Creek, among whom was the celebrated Asa Brooks now buried under the Presbyterian church, at Clarksburg, of which he was the founder. This little band was one of the first to promulgate the doctrines of the Republican element in our community, and at that time there was no paper in that section.

A few years later—about 1853—there came to Weston one Benjamin Owens, a foreman in Greeley’s office, who brought with him a Washington hand-press, upon which he and an uncle of mine got out the Weston Herald. Mr. Owens, faithful to his former employer, took his paper, and was almost mobbed for it on several occasions.

In the campaign of 1856 the paper passed to H. J. Tapp, who took a whack at the “dirty seven” who voted the Republican ticket in the French Creek section. This article was one of the most scathing arraignments I ever read; and it brought back an answer from one of the Brooks family that set things on fire for a while.

The Camden Family

Judge Gideon Draper Camden and Johnson Newlon Camden, were not brothers, but uncle and nephew respectively. Gideon D., judge of the Lewis-Harrison circuit; Richard P., farmer, banker and member of the West Virginia legislature in 1866. John Scribner, Sr., merchant, of Sutton and Weston and representative in the West Virginia Assembly (father of my father-in-law, John S. Jr., etc., and father of Johnson Newlon Camden, director of the Standard Oil Company, U. S. Senator, President West Va., and Pittsburgh Railway and Ohio River R. R. Co., and L. D. Camden, of the Standard Oil Company.) These were the most prominet [sic] of the fathers of the elder Camdens, who were all children of Rev. Henry Camden, founder of the M. E. church at Buckhannon and Weston, who married Mary Belt Sprigg, of the Maryland Sprigg family.

The family was divided in the War, as you will note from their political activities. Dr. Tom Camden was arrested and sent to Camp Chase; and then the Union element had him released and made post surgeon at Weston. E. D. and L. D. served in the Confederacy, as did Gideon D., Jr., son of the Judge. J. S. Jr., was too young to take any active part, having been born in 1851: but they used him to carry money from the Weston Exchange Bank to the express office at Clarksburg, in order—so he was told—to evade Pierson’s Rangers, of whom you have no doubt heard.

A Cork-Lined House

Mr. Camden tells me today that the Mr. M. C. Church you mention was a very eccentric man, who for several years made money in the pipe line department of the Camden Consolidated Oil Company or in some connection with the transportation division thereof.

He erected a home—now occupied by the Amblers—which he had lined with cork, so as to retain the heat or cold—as the case might be—and to shut out the air and noise; and that he had furniture made so as to fit in the corners or other breaks in the walls of the rooms.

In later years he lost much of his fortune in some manner, and went to live with a daughter in the South. Another daughter, in executing some political ideas of her father, is said to have made no discrimination between black and white children in the school of music which she conducted.

Clawson, the Wild Man.

You mention in your “Old Gold” Samuel Clawson, the “wild” preacher. In this connection, it may be of interest to you to know that there was erected in the 80’s [sic] a church at home (in Lewis county) known as the Clawson Memorial, and that last week Conference was held therein, which was attended by Mr. Clason’s only living son; and the assembly, in a body, repair to Macpelah [sic] Cemetery, where services were held at the grave of Rev. Clawson. I often wished that I might learn more of this man; but efforts along that line have not been altogether successful. So many of the older ones look upon the efforts of young fellows like me, to preserve the facts about folks of yesterday for those of tomorrow, as efforts that might be put to better use.

_____

Richard L. Brooks, Upshur Co. delegate to the West Va.. Constitutional Convention of 1861-2-3, was doubtless of this stock. G. D. H.

[Retrieved and transcribed by Nanci Headley Kotowski

from The Shinnston News of September 26, 1918, page 1.]