Hi, I will post a little info. here for you all. If you know anyone who claims descent please have them email me as I would love to chat with them. I know of one but that is about all. According to the article in Clarksburg Exponent 2-7-2000 "The covered bridge over McElroy Creek and the Dyeson Gang by Bob Stealey, Ann Mish of Center Point, Doddridge County had booklet for history and one of the articles mentioned "The Daughter of the Elm." She writes "For some years, " she said, "the most profitable adventures of this gang were the running of horses to Pennsylvania. They had a chain of Confederates who received the horses, put them in concealment, passing them from one to another at night, until they reached a safe market place. Horses from 15 miles away would disappear as mysteriously as if swallowed up by the earth. The trips were planned so that the robbers would reach their hiding place before daylight. "One of the exploits that made a good deal of local excitement was the stealing of some fine horses from the farm of Robert Mason, a pioneer on Upper Bingamon. Another was the robbery of 'Old Josie' Boyer, on Tenmile. Tenmile is an extension of Pike Fork into Harrison County. The gang would ride by way of Frank's Run, Talkington Fork, as well as Sycamore Fork. Situated on Frank's Run is a very large cavern, believed to be the one that the Dyeson Gang hid themselves and their horses in." "Many a farm wife has had to prepare "supper" for the band. Believed real names of the Dyeson Gang, given by William Hutson of Sycamore, were: Walt Dye, Lot Dyeson, John Linsy, Limn Johnson, Eli Harbert, Eli Tarbert, Harris Nay, Ray Harris and Blue Bore, Harry Blue." This is one account I have.

Hi, I got it once on library loan in combination with another book. It was on microfilm from Library of Congress. It has number P23 H1444 I don't know how there call system works but allso has second copy on it and 7779. It is in the Harrison Co. Library and you may be able to borrow from there. Good Luck, Sherry

QUARANTINED! for GENEALOGY FEVER The inhabitants of this place have been stricken with GENEALOGY FEVER, a deadly infectious disease. SYMPTOMS: Note papers stuffed in pockets and files; heart palpitations at the sight of gravestones and old trunks filled with letters; bloodshot eyes from excessive microfilm exposure; erratic speech patterns punctuated with pilgrims and princes; cold sweat upon the arrival of the mail. INCURABLE!

Can anyone provide some background on the REAL folks portrayed as characters in the story, "Daughter of the Elm"? I know of a couple people who claim descent from a couple of the characters mentioned in the book, but I will leave that for them to offer. <Sharon><

There was a story in our family about an ancestor who lived in the Shinnston area but don't know if it was true or not. He was a blacksmith and supposedly put shoes on the horses backwards so anyone following would be going in the wrong direction. Charlotte ----- Original Message ----- From: Yeoldentimes@aol.com To: HCGS-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Sunday, March 10, 2002 1:32 PM Subject: Re: [HCGS] Who are real characters? Daughter of the Elm Hi, I will post a little info. here for you all. If you know anyone who claims descent please have them email me as I would love to chat with them. I know of one but that is about all. According to the article in Clarksburg Exponent 2-7-2000 "The covered bridge over McElroy Creek and the Dyeson Gang by Bob Stealey, Ann Mish of Center Point, Doddridge County had booklet for history and one of the articles mentioned "The Daughter of the Elm." She writes "For some years, " she said, "the most profitable adventures of this gang were the running of horses to Pennsylvania. They had a chain of Confederates who received the horses, put them in concealment, passing them from one to another at night, until they reached a safe market place. Horses from 15 miles away would disappear as mysteriously as if swallowed up by the earth. The trips were planned so that the robbers would reach their hiding place before daylight. "One of the exploits that made a good deal of local excitement was the stealing of some fine horses from the farm of Robert Mason, a pioneer on Upper Bingamon. Another was the robbery of 'Old Josie' Boyer, on Tenmile. Tenmile is an extension of Pike Fork into Harrison County. The gang would ride by way of Frank's Run, Talkington Fork, as well as Sycamore Fork. Situated on Frank's Run is a very large cavern, believed to be the one that the Dyeson Gang hid themselves and their horses in." "Many a farm wife has had to prepare "supper" for the band. Believed real names of the Dyeson Gang, given by William Hutson of Sycamore, were: Walt Dye, Lot Dyeson, John Linsy, Limn Johnson, Eli Harbert, Eli Tarbert, Harris Nay, Ray Harris and Blue Bore, Harry Blue." This is one account I have. ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237

Is the book Elm available to read at a lib. some where near Clarksburg. Louise Righman. Yeoldentimes@aol.com wrote: > Hi, > I would love to have it reprinted. > Perhaps the Society should take it on as a fund raiser. > It is a big historical part of Harrison County history. > Thank you, > Sherry > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237

X-Message: #16 Date: Sat, 09 Mar 2002 13:05:52 -0600 From: Karima <Karima@springnet1.com> Subject: Added to the Vermont Web Site - Sixth Vermont Regiment in the Civiil War Good Afternoon, We have a wonderful new addition to the Vermont Web Site which pertains to a Vermont Regiment during the Civil War. "In 1861, Gov. Erastus Fairbanks issued orders for raising and organizing the Sixth Vermont Regiment. In less than two weeks the regiment was raised and ordered to rendezvous at Montpelier." This article describes the history of the Regiment and its members, and was transcribed and submitted to the Vermont Web Site by Charlotte Bromley Croshaw. It can be accessed from the main gateway page, by clicking on the "Latest Additions" button (located in the middle of the page): http://www.rootsweb.com/~vermont/VERMONTGATEWAY.html Best wishes and good luck with your search, Karima List Administrator for: VERMONT Mailing List (VERMONT-L) http://userweb.springnet1.com/quest/VERMONT/VermontWelcome.html VERMONT-L Web Site: http://www.rootsweb.com/~vermont/ ------------------------------

Anyone wishing to order Daughter of the Elm on tape, which I have done, try www.NewRiverGorge.com Irene Dunlevy

Hi, I would love to have it reprinted. Perhaps the Society should take it on as a fund raiser. It is a big historical part of Harrison County history. Thank you, Sherry

Have you considered having it republished again? I would be interested, Tried to buy the tape at the local Barrens and Nobel this week. They don't have it on their list. Jean Smith, Bellefonte, Pa. Yeoldentimes@aol.com wrote: > Hello to all. > I promised to write a bit more so here goes, > > I received this letter in 1999 from Miss Alveta Arcuri in Fairmont WV. > She writes to me, > "My brother Joseph, was a personal friend of Mr. Hall's widow. Before she > died, she gave my brother the copyright and he had more books published and > then when my brother died, it was given to me in his will." " I had more > copies made and I sold them all (1500). I still get many calls for the book." > My brother contacted an agency in Hollywood for a movie but never > materialized. > > Sherry > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237

Hi All, We need to thank Diana Johnson for the material in the newsletter. Yes, she does do a fine job and she is about as busy as a mother would want to be. She works a full time job, has a son in the Army, one a senior in high school playing sports and another younger son, and her mother is also in a nursing home. I like all of the old articles out of the Shinnston News also as I'm sure a lot of us do. Sharon, glad that Mary Virginia is doing better and our prayers are still with her. Ruby

> Here's a good one for you! > > >Here's some history fun for you. Next time you are washing your hands, and >complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think >about how things used to be. > >Here are some facts about the 1500's, which will also shed light on a few >words & well used phrases: > >Most people got married in June, because they took their yearly bath in May >and still smelled pretty good by June. However, as time passed they were >starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body >odor. Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the >house had the privilege of the nice clean water; followed by his sons, and >other men living under the same roof. Then came the women and finally the >children. Last of all were the babies. By then the water was so dirty you >could actually lose someone in it, hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby >out with the bath water." > >Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw, piled high-with no wood underneath. >It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the dogs, cats and >other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became >slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof, thus >came the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs." > >There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house either. This >posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could >really mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet >hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into >existence. The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than >dirt, hence the saying "dirt poor." The wealthy had slat floors that would >get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the >floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they kept adding >more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping >outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way creating a "thresh >hold." > >In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always >hung over the fire. Ever day they lighted the fire and added things to the >pot. They ate mostly vegetables without much meat. They would eat the stew >for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight, then start >over the next day. Often times the kettle contained the same stew for quite >a while, hence the rhyme, "peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas >porridge in the pot nine days old." > >Families that could obtain pork, considered themselves quite special. When >visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was an > was an outward sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon." >Another indication was to cut off a sliver of bacon to share with guests and >sit around to "chew the fat." > >Those with money had plates made of pewter. Unknowingly at the time, food >with a high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, >causing lead poisoning and death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so >for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous. Most >people did not have pewter plates, but had trenchers, a piece of wood with >the middle scooped out like a bowl. Often trenchers were made from stale >bread, which was so old and hard that they could be reused for quite some >time. Trenchers were never washed, and worms and mould got into the wood and >old bread. After eating off wormy, moldy trenchers, one would get "trench >mouth". > >Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the >loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper crust." > >Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes >knock them out for a couple of days. Someone walking along roadside would >often take them for dead, and prepare them for burial. The "deceased" were >laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days, and families would gather >around, and eat, drink and wait to see if the party would wake up, thus began >the custom of holding a "wake." > >England is old and small, and the locals started running out of places to >bury people. They would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a >"bone-house" and reuse the grave. When re-opening coffins, 1 out of 25 >coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside. Realizing they had >been burying people alive came the thought of looping a string around the >wrist of the corpse, through a hole in the coffin, and up through the ground >attached to a bell. Someone had to sit in the graveyard all night (the >"graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by >the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer." > >And that's the truth, folks. >Who said History was boring!

Thank you so much. I believe I have found the ancestor now Sherry

"Prospect Valley Community is situated on Robinson's Run, in Eagle District, Harrison County, about three miles west of Shinnston. It is one of the oldest communities in the district, dating back more than one hundred and fifty years." - from the History of Prospect Valley Community http://www.wvculture.org/history/agrext/prospect.html <Sharon><

I will. The free trial went thought right away

I am a good prospect. Better try me. Jim

Hi, Can anyone tell me exactly where Prospect Valley is and what County? Thank you very much, Sherry

Many thanks to all of the ones that have offered to help with a look up in Wetzel County. One of our members lives there and she has offered to do my lookup for me. All we have to do is ask and someone is willing to help us. That's why if you have a query about the families you are researching, you should post it to the list, because it is likely that someone will be able to help you. Thanks, Ruby

Since I have my notebook out on the Big Elm Farm, I will post a little more for you. I love the story so much, and I have collected a notebook about it. This is from the Wheeling Intelligencer, Novemeber 29,1899 NEW WEST VIRGINIA AUTHOR West Virginia's products are not confined to coal, timber, coke, iron and oil. Many of her sons and daughters shine in the circles of polite literature and ethics and none, we are sure, will take higher rank in these than Mr. Granville Davisson Hall, who announces the publication of a novel from his pen about Christmas, entitled "Daughter of the Elm, a Tale of the Virginia Border Before the War." The Atmosphere of the work is local, the scene being laid in the upper Monongahela Valley, and the work promises to recall forgotten tragedies in which some real people and events figure. Mr. Hall is a graceful and interesting writer, and his debut as a writer of fiction will, no doubt, add to a reputation already secured in the State of his birth and in communities of his former activity. From the Wheeling Intelligencer, December 26,1899 "DAUGHTER OF THE ELM." Some weeks ago the Intelligencer had occasion to anticipate the publication o f the novel written by a West Virginian, who has been long absent from the State, but who has never lost his interest in a community where the power and gracefulness of his pen instructed and interested the people of nearly a generation ago. The book is just now from the press, and after examining its attractive pages, we are sure the reading public will be edified and entertained in perusing the volume. Its power and recommendation to public interest do not lie altogether in the local atmosphere that is imparted to the story told. Nor do the historical facts around which are woven the romantic tale form the basis of its chief merit, for it is clever in plot, graceful in diction and charming in style. The characters who figure in it were real people, and the love story that illumines the pages serves as a foil to the tragical lines. From the Wheeling Intelligencer, December 21, 1899] THE NEW WEST VIRGINIA NOVEL The new West Virginia novel the "Daughter of the Elm," had a big run at Frank Stanton's Old City Book Store yesterday. There are only a few copies left of the first invoice. Those who have read the work pronounce it one of the most entertaining volumes of fiction yet put upon the literary market.

Those are real historic post scripts, Sherry, thanks for sharing! I enjoyed reading that. More, more! <Sharon><