I don't find your original note so I'll try open info. Note interspersed below. ----- Original Message ----- From: Cathy S. Phillips <philly@Euclid.DnE.wvnet.edu> To: <WVBARBOU-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, September 06, 1999 1:38 PM Subject: Re: Nestorville and related places ... > Cheryl or Jan Tarsala wrote: > > > > I would be deeply grateful if someone out there could share their local > > knowledge about VA/WV geography with me. I am absolutely clueless about > > these place names. I look at maps and just don't get it: > > > > I have an ancestor: Daniel RICHMON, b. 1822 in Nestorville. > > What VA county was Nestorville in at that time? If Nestorville was actually developed by that time it would have been in Randolph County. Roughly, but perhaps not precisely, the part of Barbour that is east of the Tygarts Valley River (alias Tygart River) was in Randolph and that west of the river was in Harrison. Taylor is adjacent to the north edge of Barbour. The division there seems to have been similar, but since the river bends sharply west, I'm not sure of how much was in each older county. Records of Taylor residents east of modern Grafton are likely to be in Randolph (at Elkins) and those west of Grafton in Harrison (Clarksburg). And note that the spelling of the family name was rather consistently Nester until well after 1850, so original occupants likely called it Nesterville or perhaps Nestersville. > > > > He had a brother Jesse I. or L., who in later life called himself > > RIGHMAN, b. ca. 1824??? > > There's a marriage record floating around that a Jesse RIGHMAN married > > an Anna Maria STEMPLE whose family was from Aurora, WV. Is that near > > Nestorville at all? Jesse was definitely living in Nestorville during > > the Civil War, so he hadn't moved out of the area. > > Richmon and Richman were pronounced "Rye-ch-man" or close to that. I have a neighbor that uses the Richman and pronounced it that way today. I think this name came from Reichmann, but the "k" became "ch." I guess this is a "relative problem." Early residents of "the Coves" had close ties to those living north in later Taylor and travel on horseback may have been easier than by buggy or auto after they became more common, but the roads remained yet primitive. Many of the Stemples of Aurora did move into (now) Barbour county from about 1835 or 1840 up to 1850. Actually Aurora is very close to the little point of Maryland that touches Tucker county. For a time I suspect there were more Stemples in Randolph than in Preston, but they too moved on, but today we still have many Stemples. > > Finally, the AIS W. Va. 1870 census index has a > > RICHMAN, Jesse L. age 46, in Cove twp., Barbour County > > Is Cove twp. anywhere near Nestorville? Nestorville is in (southedge of) what we call Cove District. Apparently districts were created by the first West Virginia legislature to provide for small court districts. Some federal agencies thought parrishes and districts were both strange, and often Twp gets used in place of the local terms. Cove district is in the shape of a boot with the toe pointing west. Glade and Philippi Districts are south and southwest respectively of Cove district. Part of the dividing line between Cove and Glade is formed by Teter's Creek which runs about east from Nestorville, then follows a creek up the Laurel Mountain, a range which runs all the way from Preston county to the north to present Randolph to the south. From Nestorville the dividing line follows the modern highway westward toward the large flat of land that is northeast of Tacy. From where the road (38) reaches the flat the line runs almost due west to Laurel Creek and then follows north (down stream) to the Tygarts River. The River separates Cove District on the east from Pleasant District on the west. (To complicate things, several years ago the number of districts were reduced, but the old survive because land records used them and people still know them. Only eastern and western for some legal purposes in Barbour today.) Old villages in Cove: Dent, where 92 crosses Sandy creek into Taylor Co. Colebank, one of our classic one lane Mac-a-dam roads goes up Sandy creek to meet a road running from the Shiloh to Preston (Marquess, sp? is the nearest village in Preston). Claude, where a dirt road ran from the "Hardin flat" down Little Cove Run to Sandy creek, where Claude was. Danville, because there was a Danville elsewhere in either WV or VA (one in both now), the post office here was named Kasson, and the latter has largely replaced the name Danville. Moatsville (old) is on Teter's Creek about a mile from the Tygarts River. Moatsville (new) was a trainstop established where Teter's Creek joins the river. Nothing there now except a very old concrete bridge and the road leading up the old railroad track to Arden (not to be confused with Audra at state park on Middle Fork River). Also called "Nickalow" after train stop & ? P.O. Cove Run Station, where Big Cove Run reach railroad. Valley Furnace, immediately east of Nestorville adjacent to Brushy Fork (Creek) at site of Iron smelting furnace built in 1840s by Marsh and Felix Ryan. Financial disaster, but interesting historic reconstruction. This is along State Rt 38, and was major route into (now) Tucker county, but the pass from the head of the hollow to Pifer Mt. (church) or "Texas Mt. Road" was very difficult. Much travel from Cove to Tucker may have used one of two roads that ran from Danville past Shiloh church and then up one of two ridges to the Laurel Range top and then down among the very steep hollows toward Cheat River. There were probably a few other named spots in Cove, but other than churches (Fairview overlooking Tygart River between Moatsville and Laurel Creek, Shiloh, near Danville, Martin Beulah on the flat between Little Cove Run and River, Mt. Morris which was atop a hill looking toward Martin Beulah on one side and the Hardin Flat and Cove on the other, Pink-eye was a well known school between Valley Furnace and Danville, and a few that escape me now) which were commonly used land marks, that's about the extent of civil centers. :-) > > > > Finally, I just read the Nestor obituary and noted the EUB church in > > Nestorville. Can anyone give the full name of this denomination? > > > > Lots of questions, I'm totally out of my league here. > > > > Cheryl Tarsala > > Los Angeles > Cheryl, > I can tell you that Nestorville is in Barbour County, West Virginia > which borders Randolph, Tucker, and I believe Harrison counties. I live > in Randolph Co. and have been researching my husband's Phillips line. I > have been going into that area. I know where the EUB church is but do > not know the correct denomination. Hope this helps. > Cathy >