Hello to all, Recent postings at wvhamsh-l (this is being sent to the Old Frederick list as well) discuss the community or early settlement known as South Branch (French's Station), still shown on present day maps in this manner but apparently consisting of nothing but a couple of building remains today. It is/was located on the east side of the South Branch of the Potomac River at its mouth with the Potomac River. In other words, it is/was a short distance east of the So. Br. mouth on the south side of the Potomac River in Hampshire Co. WV. Following is an on-line map and aerial view of the area: http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=39.5271&lon=-78.5884&size=s&s=25 http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.asp?S=11&T=1&X=1772&Y=10943&Z=17&W=0 I am theorizing that 'South Branch' or 'French's Station' was an early (1740's-1750's) settlement, one of those that Maxwell and Swisher speak of in their "History of Hampshire County West Virginia" (1897), on p. 17: "Prior to the outbreak of the of the French and Indian war in 1755, there were settlements all along the Potomac river..." including within present Hampshire County, WV among others (but few places were named.) Surrounded on three sides by river waters, this South Branch settlement would have been a good location for isolation to Indian attack while a road or bridle-path serviced the area from the southeast, to flatboat, canoe or keel-boat various mercantile items to/from the downstream eastern ports. The land ridge at this point would have served construction of cabins and buildings of trade on high ground for protection from river flooding. Small farms are known to have existed on this ridge in early times, called 'The Point' for obvious reasons if you have viewed the map and aerial photo. While I am interested in history, a genealogical interest of mine on this topic concerns my ancestor, Valentine McDaniel-McDonell-McDonald (spelling variants of various records) who says in his Rev War pension records that he was born *at* South Branch (I wish there had been a comma here) of the Potomac River 11 Jan 1760 as told to him by his parents. Possibly I read too much into this *at* word, but for Val's parents to be so specific about other matters and then tell him he was born *at* (simply to mean somewhere within) the very large, multi-settlement South Branch area doesn't make sense to me. Val was with his parents (father was named Joseph) through the times of their migration to MD and sw PA by 1774, and after his marriage in the 1780's the families migrated together (via flatboat down the Ohio River 1790) to KY>OH so there was plenty of time for them to discuss such matters. One lister (Dan Harris) says that a James FRENCH purchased land in this subject vicinity in 1749 and that this family may have originated 'French's Station.' Other info (see below) indicates there may have been two communities or places of business (South Branch and French's Station) at two separate but very nearby locations at different times, later becoming identified as a single place. I find only one FRENCH name of significance here in Dr. Wilmer Kerns' book, "Historical Records of Old Frederick and Hampshire Counties," Heritage Books 1992, that being Susan Ann FRENCH 1801-1866, d/o John and Elizabeth TAYLOR, and w/o William FRENCH. Another lister, 'Toots,' found from the 1884 West Virginia Gazetteer that the 'South Branch Depot' was listed at this location, with daily mail on the B&O RR, W. N. GUTHRIE being postmaster. Another lister, Elaine, says her gg-f was living in South Branch in 1875 but directing mail be delivered to him at Springfield, on the west side of the So. Br. of the Potomac River, about 10 miles south of the Potomac River. A recently posted biography for James Sloan KUYKENDALL b. 1878, one of the oldest family names in Hampshire County, states that his grandfather, James KUYKENDALL, was accidentally killed at South Branch on the Baltimore and Ohio Railway. >From this on-line source: http://www.brightok.net/~lguthrie/Booktwo.htm and scrolling 'way down' to the information about Newton Brown GUTHRIE and William Newton GUTHRIE (note the latter was the South Branch Postmaster in 1884), we are told that Newton B. GUTHRIE b. 1813, followed the SHANNON family to Hampshire County, VA from Mercersburg, PA, and became a business partner with William Shepard FRENCH sometime prior to 1845, *at South Branch*, which was sometimes called 'The Point' (obviously from the landscape portrayed in the maps above.) Information at this web site is from Lawrence R. Guthrie's book, "American Guthrie and Allied Families" (publication date unknown but likely written during the early 1900's.) This William FRENCH was the husband of Susan Ann TAYLOR FRENCH (described above from Dr. Wilmer Kerns' book.) The Guthrie book describes this FRENCH family as being one of the oldest in the community of South Branch. Newton B. GUTHRIE married the daughter of his business partner, William FRENCH in 1845, the daughter being Elizabeth Hester FRENCH **born 1826 at South Branch.** Elizabeth died in 1849 and "Newton Brown Guthrie married, secondly, June 26, 1855, Mary Ellen Parker, who was born near Springfield, W. Va., Aug. 22, 1833, a daughter of Solomon Dimmit Parker, who was born at Parker's Mill, near Springfield, June 6, 1793; married Oct. 7, 1813, Mary Taylor, a sister of Susan Taylor, wife of William Shepard French." Burning of the Guthrie-French business, and Guthrie home, by Union soldiers is described in the Guthrie book, saying that William FRENCH lived about a mile downstream. "Newton Brown Guthrie died at Springfield, W. Va., May 12, 1885; his widow Mary Ellen, at the same place, Dec. 8, 1902. Children from Newton B. Guthrie's first marriage, both born at South Branch were Susan Maria Guthrie, b. Jan. 11, 1847, and William Newton Guthrie, b. Aug. 25, 1849" (the time of the mother's death.) "William Newton Guthrie (Note: Postmaster at South Branch in 1884), second child of Newton Brown Guthrie and Elizabeth Hester French, was born on the "Old Point Place" farm **west of French's Station**, West Virginia. He married April 14, 1876 (one gives 1875L Susan Kuykendall, who was born near Cumberland, Md., Oct. 1, 1856. She is a daughter of James Kuykendall. (See the Kuykendalls, Allied Families)." William Newton Guthrie died Dec. 25, 1915; his wife Susan, Dec. 10,1916. Their children were "all born at South Branch" during 1876-1896. See http://www.brightok.net/~lguthrie/ for more details, esp the Book Two link above for more family names in Hampshire Co. WV, with credit to Larry Guthrie who scanned the Guthrie public domain book and developed the web pages. The various family names are primarily for the Romney, Springfield and South Branch areas. Does anyone have info that mentions a settlement or community of 'South Branch' or 'French's Station?' To learn a 'South Branch' settlement factually existed during pre-1800 times would be of keen interest. Thanks for any input. Neil McDonald

That would be it. Points is a town/cross roads SE from FRENCH and Levels WV. FRENCH is surrounded to the N and W by the South Branch and Potomac Rivers, and there is only one way to get down to the location....from Points via Levels. Points and Levels are mostly orchard land today. The old building at FRENCH that still stands is on higher ground, say about 30' above water level. The hills directly behind that are very rugged, steep and a couple hundred feet higher.... Levels and Points sit on top of the hills. The current road follows a gulley down from RUGGLE's Rd (Levels) to FRENCH. There is a very scenic overlook of FRENCH's Neck (top of the cliffs along the E side of the South Branch River). FRENCH's Neck is a very long horseshoe in the river, with the entrance and exit of the river from the valley only about 300 yds apart. Most of the eastern boundary of the 'neck' is cliffs 50-150' high running 1000-1500 yards up the river starting just S of the Potomac. The MCLAUGHLIN Cemetary is located in FRENCH's Neck. Check the topo. Knowing that area -- FRENCH/South Branch -- there is simply not much space for separate towns. Flat land in that area is either on top of the hills or river bottoms. I estimate the flat land at FRENCH to be 3-400 acres. Houses there are either on top the ridges or on the river bottoms. At FRENCH, to the W is the South Branch River, across from Green Springs. To the S are cliffs running along the E of the South Branch. To the N, the Potomac. To the E, more rugged land. The B&O crosses the South Branch River between FRENCH to the E and Green Springs to the W. Towns came with railroads and with river traffic (earlier). The railroads replaced the river traffic -- the C&O and Potawmac Canals no longer used. The next 'neck' up the South Branch River is where the MESSICK Farm is located. This is also where the FRENCH-MURPHY Cemetary is located. GUTHRIE and KUYKENDALL lands were further south, up the South Branch River. FRENCHburg is yet further to the SE (near Augusta). FRENCHburg is where the FRENCH's later had their businesses. One of the buildings is supposed to still be standing, today. The Potomac River was used for travel between Alexandria VA to Westernport (Allegany) MD (many more miles upstream). Yet further up South Branch is Romney. William FRENCH's widow, Mary, married James MURPHY ( JM also received land grants from Lord Fairfax). JM was a Searcher and later a Trustee for Romney. I just posted the VA records to the list. And, FRENCH's Tavern was owned by James MURPHY. John>James>William>William. I understand the FRENCH's came from SCT in the early 1700s. Susan Ann TAYLOR was m to Wm F Jr abt 1825, near a hundred years after the beginnings of FRENCH VA. I understand what the books are saying and you have to see the area to understand. For a long time I knew where FRENCH's Station was and I looked for the remains of South Branch. Now I understand. Dan Harris ----- Original Message ----- From: "macbd1" <macbd1@arthur.k12.il.us> To: <WVHAMPSH-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, October 11, 2000 11:20 AM Subject: [WVHAMPSH-L] Re: South Branch and FRENCH's Station (McDonald-French-Guthrie-Shannon-Taylor-Kuykendall-Parker-Blue and others) > Hello to all, > > Recent postings at wvhamsh-l (this is being sent to the Old Frederick list > as well) discuss the community or early settlement known as South Branch > (French's Station), still shown on present day maps in this manner but > apparently consisting of nothing but a couple of building remains today. It > is/was located on the east side of the South Branch of the Potomac River at > its mouth with the Potomac River. In other words, it is/was a short > distance east of the So. Br. mouth on the south side of the Potomac River in > Hampshire Co. WV. Following is an on-line map and aerial view of the area: > http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=39.5271&lon=-78.5884&size=s&s=25 > http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.asp?S=11&T=1&X=1772&Y=10943&Z=17&W=0 > > I am theorizing that 'South Branch' or 'French's Station' was an early > (1740's-1750's) settlement, one of those that Maxwell and Swisher speak of > in their "History of Hampshire County West Virginia" (1897), on p. 17: > "Prior to the outbreak of the of the French and Indian war in 1755, there > were settlements all along the Potomac river..." including within present > Hampshire County, WV among others (but few places were named.) Surrounded > on three sides by river waters, this South Branch settlement would have been > a good location for isolation to Indian attack while a road or bridle-path > serviced the area from the southeast, to flatboat, canoe or keel-boat > various mercantile items to/from the downstream eastern ports. The land > ridge at this point would have served construction of cabins and buildings > of trade on high ground for protection from river flooding. Small farms are > known to have existed on this ridge in early times, called 'The Point' for > obvious reasons if you have viewed the map and aerial photo. > > While I am interested in history, a genealogical interest of mine on this > topic concerns my ancestor, Valentine McDaniel-McDonell-McDonald (spelling > variants of various records) who says in his Rev War pension records that he > was born *at* South Branch (I wish there had been a comma here) of the > Potomac River 11 Jan 1760 as told to him by his parents. Possibly I read > too much into this *at* word, but for Val's parents to be so specific about > other matters and then tell him he was born *at* (simply to mean somewhere > within) the very large, multi-settlement South Branch area doesn't make > sense to me. Val was with his parents (father was named Joseph) through the > times of their migration to MD and sw PA by 1774, and after his marriage in > the 1780's the families migrated together (via flatboat down the Ohio River > 1790) to KY>OH so there was plenty of time for them to discuss such matters. > > One lister (Dan Harris) says that a James FRENCH purchased land in this > subject vicinity in 1749 and that this family may have originated 'French's > Station.' Other info (see below) indicates there may have been two > communities or places of business (South Branch and French's Station) at two > separate but very nearby locations at different times, later becoming > identified as a single place. I find only one FRENCH name of significance > here in Dr. Wilmer Kerns' book, "Historical Records of Old Frederick and > Hampshire Counties," Heritage Books 1992, that being Susan Ann FRENCH > 1801-1866, d/o John and Elizabeth TAYLOR, and w/o William FRENCH. > > Another lister, 'Toots,' found from the 1884 West Virginia Gazetteer that > the 'South Branch Depot' was listed at this location, with daily mail on the > B&O RR, W. N. GUTHRIE being postmaster. Another lister, Elaine, says > her gg-f was living in South Branch in 1875 but directing mail be delivered > to him at Springfield, on the west side of the So. Br. of the Potomac River, > about 10 miles south of the Potomac River. A recently posted biography for > James Sloan KUYKENDALL b. 1878, one of the oldest family names in Hampshire > County, states that his grandfather, James KUYKENDALL, was accidentally > killed at South Branch on the Baltimore and Ohio Railway. > > >From this on-line source: > http://www.brightok.net/~lguthrie/Booktwo.htm > and scrolling 'way down' to the information about Newton Brown GUTHRIE and > William Newton GUTHRIE (note the latter was the South Branch Postmaster in > 1884), we are told that Newton B. GUTHRIE b. 1813, followed the SHANNON > family to Hampshire County, VA from Mercersburg, PA, and became a business > partner with William Shepard FRENCH sometime prior to 1845, *at South > Branch*, which was sometimes called 'The Point' (obviously from the > landscape portrayed in the maps above.) Information at this web site is > from Lawrence R. Guthrie's book, "American Guthrie and Allied Families" > (publication date unknown but likely written during the early 1900's.) > > This William FRENCH was the husband of Susan Ann TAYLOR FRENCH (described > above from Dr. Wilmer Kerns' book.) The Guthrie book describes this FRENCH > family as being one of the oldest in the community of South Branch. Newton > B. GUTHRIE married the daughter of his business partner, William FRENCH in > 1845, the daughter being Elizabeth Hester FRENCH **born 1826 at South > Branch.** Elizabeth died in 1849 and "Newton Brown Guthrie married, > secondly, June 26, 1855, Mary Ellen Parker, who was born near Springfield, > W. Va., Aug. 22, 1833, a daughter of Solomon Dimmit Parker, who was born at > Parker's Mill, near Springfield, June 6, 1793; married Oct. 7, 1813, Mary > Taylor, a sister of Susan Taylor, wife of William Shepard French." Burning > of the Guthrie-French business, and Guthrie home, by Union soldiers is > described in the Guthrie book, saying that William FRENCH lived about a mile > downstream. > > "Newton Brown Guthrie died at Springfield, W. Va., May 12, 1885; his widow > Mary Ellen, at the same place, Dec. 8, 1902. Children from Newton B. > Guthrie's first marriage, both born at South Branch were Susan Maria > Guthrie, b. Jan. 11, 1847, and William Newton Guthrie, b. Aug. 25, 1849" > (the time of the mother's death.) > > "William Newton Guthrie (Note: Postmaster at South Branch in 1884), second > child of Newton Brown Guthrie and Elizabeth Hester French, was born on the > "Old Point Place" farm **west of French's Station**, West Virginia. He > married April 14, 1876 (one gives 1875L Susan Kuykendall, who was born near > Cumberland, Md., Oct. 1, 1856. She is a daughter of James Kuykendall. (See > the Kuykendalls, Allied Families)." > > William Newton Guthrie died Dec. 25, 1915; his wife Susan, Dec. 10,1916. > Their children were "all born at South Branch" during 1876-1896. > > See http://www.brightok.net/~lguthrie/ for more details, esp the Book Two > link above for more family names in Hampshire Co. WV, with credit to Larry > Guthrie who scanned the Guthrie public domain book and developed the web > pages. The various family names are primarily for the Romney, Springfield > and South Branch areas. > > Does anyone have info that mentions a settlement or community of 'South > Branch' or 'French's Station?' To learn a 'South Branch' settlement > factually existed during pre-1800 times would be of keen interest. > > Thanks for any input. > Neil McDonald > > > > > > > > > >