History of West Virginia / Ohio County West Virginia History / Wheeling West Virginia History

Early days in Ohio County, West Virginia, which includes Wheeling and vacinity, are recalled through a mixture of colorful tales and factual data in this 126-page booklet comprised of excerpts from four rare vintage books: Historical Collections of Virginia by Henry Howe (1845); West Virginia in History, Life, Literature and Industry by Morris Purdy Shawkey (1928); History of West Virginia by Virgil A. Lewis (1889); and Virginia, a Guide to the Mountain State, a WPA publication (1941). The booklet is printed on opaque paper, with the print size enlarged as needed to fit the 8 1/2 x 11 size. The front cover is a parchtex card stock, protected with a vinyl sheet. Among the many subjects included are: Formation of the county, Physical features; Early descriptions of Wheeling; Zane's Road and island; two theories on the name "Wheeling"; First Court, Wheeling's first officials; an account of the Siege of Fort Henry in 1777; Simon Girty (villian), Lewis Wetzel and Adam and Andrew Poe (Indian fighters); Second Siege of Fort Henry; the First and Second Wheeling Conventions; How West Virginia became a separate state; Mount De Chantal Academy; Linsly Institute; Central Catholic High School; Archie W. Campbell and the Intelligencer, Earl Williams Oglebay, businessman and philanthropist; Rebecca Harding Davis, authoress; Virgil Lewis, historian; rivalry between Pittsburgh and Wheeling; The Customhouse, St. Joseph's Cathedral, Site of Fort Henry, Oglebay Park, and other Points of Interest (with a small map) in Wheeling; Monument Place, a Georgian Colonial mansion; McCulloch's Leap; a history of First English Evangelical Lutheran Church of Wheeling, M. Marsh and Sons and the Wheeling Stogie; and other bits of history and trivia. Attention Genealogists: This booklet contains relatively detailed biographies of many county residents of yesteryear. These frequently include ancestors, siblings, children, in-laws, affiliations, war records, and business activities, in the course of which they often shed light on the businesses, churches, professions and institutions, and on the events of the day. The biographies include (NOT in alphabetical order): William Ackermann, Earl Adams, J. Bruce Allison, Rev. Charles Aurand, Aaron Bruce Barnett, Oliver Beardmore, George Blackford, Rev. John Bomberger, Joseph Brady, David Allen Burt, William Casey, Joseph Caldwell, Percy Callahan, Clarence Joseph Chapman, Dr. Lydia Herts Cromwell (Mrs. Julian Hearne), Rev. J. Edwin Dale, Howard Davis, Lee Dobbs, Albert Doepken, Charles Dowler, John Ferrell, Rev. William Fields, Oscar Craig Fitz, William Stewart Fulton, Earl Giesey, Andrew James Gilleland, Charles Gillette, Alexander Glass, Harry Gordon, William Grimes, Joseph Handlan, , George Heide, Harry Henderson, Julian Hearne, William Holliday Higgins, Charles Holloway, Herbert Leroy Humphrey, Harry Ingram, William Burriss Irvine, Joseph Jefferson, Michael Jochum, Harry Robert Jungling, Bernard Kaiser, John Kelly, Orion Koller, George Kossuth, George Laughlin, Hugo Laupp, Clyde Law, Martin Luther Law, Rev. Lester Lewellyn, John Lynch, R. H. Mahlke, John Majesky, Arch Metzner, Rev. John Muyskens, Clifford Myers, Johnson Camden McKinley, John Sergent Naylor, George Neal, Charles Nolte, Charles Norteman, Lee Paull, the Rev. Clarence Portz, Rev. James Mease Potter, Will Amick Quimby, Paul O. Reymann, Rev. Charles Robinson, Rev. Harry Satterfield, Herbert Schrader, James Slayton, William Steen, George Steenrod, Ben Stern, Edward Stifel, John David Thomas, Raymond Tomassene, Isaiah Tuttle, Charles Wingerter, Alfred F. Ulrich, Dr. Albert Earl Hennen, Pressley Birger Klein, James Brewer Sommerville, Robert Uriel Drinkard, Harry Anthony Smith, Andrew J. Harness, Rev. John J. Swint, George B. Pelley, Walter H. McClure, Rev. James Thomas McClure and Justus Collins.…