My wife's paternal grandfather, Robert Gordon BARRETT, was a Marshal (don't know whether it was town marshal or U. S. Marshal) in Iager (McDowell County, WV). He moved to War (McDowell County, WV) in 1924, so it would have been, probably between 1914 and 1924. Anyway, according to "family information," he was involved in a shoot-out in which at least one person was killed. It was after this incident that he decided that law enforcement was not for him. Does anyone have any information or know where I might begin to check? Thank you in advance. ---Stephen Phelps.

I was so GLAD to see this posted: >I've not always had success dealing with his staff, either. But one thing >that >really got my attention when I visited the office a couple of years ago >was the lack of fire-safety practices employed in >the records area. Not only do the enployees smoke profusely, there is no >prohibition of smoking for anyome using the stored records. If a fire >ocurrs, remember >that you read about that possibility here. :>) I, too, was at the Courthouse a couple of years ago. I am a former Museum professional and very much concerned about preserving documents of all kinds. I was absolutely appalled to see local attorneys, paralegals, etcl, well dressed, and obviously known to the courthouse officials (everyone first-naming each other) bending over record ledgers WITH LIGHTED CIGARETTES AND AN INCH OF ASH dangling from their mouths as they turned pages. I have researched in more than a dozens states and countless courthouses. I have NEVER seen anything like this. It is a total disregard not only from a fire safety perspective, but smoke is very deteriorating to documents. This reflects a very non-caring attitude about public safety and preserving McDowell's heritage as well. Sandy L. Sandra Lake Lassen Certified Genealogical Records Specialist Living and working in Ashe Co., NC, heart o' the misty mountains

THANKS for your information Gail. This will certainly allow us the opportunity to write a letter of concern. Is this something all of our McDowell List should get behind? or do we just leave it alone? Are there any members of the McDowell County Historical Society on our list? This might be another way for us to ascertain their ideas and input. Maybe they're already on top of the problem! **********THOTS OR COMMENTS ANYONE ON OUR McDOWELL LIST************* ==================================================================== (male)gail bank wrote: Hi: Several messages have recently appeared about poor results when either requesting information by mail or even when going to the county clerk's office. This office is responsible for the county records. My suggestion is to go right to the top person, the Clerk of the County Court. That person is: H.C. "Kit" Lewis, Clerk McDowell County Commission 90 Wyoming St., Suite 109 Welch, WV 24801-2487 I've not always had success dealing with his staff, either. But one thing that really got my attention when I visited the office a couple of years ago was the lack of fire-safety practices employed in the records area. Not only do the enployees smoke profusely, there is no prohibition of smoking for anyome using the stored records. If a fire ocurrs, remember that you read about that possibility here. :>) medbank@showme.missouri.edu (male) Gail Bank, Columbia, MO

Hi: Several messages have recently appeared about poor results when either requesting information by mail or even when going to the county clerk's office. This office is responsible for the county records. My suggestion is to go right to the top person, the Clerk of the County Court. That person is: H.C. "Kit" Lewis, Clerk McDowell County Commission 90 Wyoming St., Suite 109 Welch, WV 24801-2487 I've not always had success dealing with his staff, either. But one thing that really got my attention when I visited the office a couple of years ago was the lack of fire-safety practices employed in the records area. Not only do the enployees smoke profusely, there is no prohibition of smoking for anyome using the stored records. If a fire ocurrs, remember that you read about that possibility here. :>) medbank@showme.missouri.edu (male) Gail Bank, Columbia, MO

In a message dated 98-07-22 19:37:38 EDT, you write: << If a fire ocurrs, remember that you read about that possibility here. :>) >> If a fire happens then we can't do anything because all will be lost. Right now there are records stored in that basement that needs to be organized, files, recorded in leagers. I live to far away to be of much help but I am sure there are some great history buffs out there that would love to find out what those walls are hiding. We can't depend solely on the folks at the McDwoell Co. Historical Society because they are a small group and working people too , however I feel they would be more than happy to spend a couple Saturdays if they had help. First someone should make contact and find out just what, if anything, is in the works. If they would be open to a few folks comming in to help organize. McDowell Co. Genweb has a great host and I am sure some of the info would be welcome on that site. Lot to think about .........my vote is for lending a helping hand but you know my circumstances. My part will have to be from behind this keyboard. Nothing I would like better than camping out with all thise records......like a kid in a candy store. Brenda

Tim (is Gilley your surname?) I appreciate your response to my posting about my experience with the book "Welch and Its People." My intent was to express CAUTION to those who use the information from that book and to point out that it contains a number of errors, irregardless of how well intentioned the author and those who worked on collecting the data were. It has been my observation and experience that many people interested in genealogy of their family are interested primarilly in collecting information from any source. Many are too willing to accept at face-value any information purporting to be information about their family. They often are likely to be unwilling or unable to look at the information as a lead requiring further inquiry and verification before the information can be accepted as an accurate representation of their family history. A reasonable presumption is that an author of a book is presenting accurate information that the author can corroborate. If the source of the information is based on the memory of an individual, it is incumbent on the author to tell the reader that a particular piece of information was told by such-and-such a person. I do not have access to the book but I cannot recall that the book contains a explanation of how the information was collected or whether that information was verified in any way. You are to be commended for making information in the book that pertains to inquiries received. knowing the limitations of the book's accuracy, it might be kinder to the recipient of the information to be alerted to these limitations unless you can personally vouch for the accuracy of the data. I am interested in your charicterization of the book I mentioned, "McDowell County History: A Pictorial History of McDowell County West Virginia." I assume from the credits for the book that it was commissioned or was a project of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Does your comment that the book "...prepared by the well known politicians ...." refers to the DAR, to the authors Mrs Samuesl Solins and Mrs. Paul W. Jones or to both of them? I never knew the authors, their families, or their affiliations and while the DAR has a agenda I have not associated them with the "...demise of the County, or for that matter the demise of the entire Southern Counties of West Virginia ...." The book was published in 1959. I don't know history well enough to comment on whether it was appropriate of possible for the authors to make judgements on the actions and policies of either John L. Lewis or Senator Byrd as regards the economic decline of the County. Tim, this message is not intended as a "flame" but as an explanation of my position and beliefs. I agree with you that the reader of any book must make his/her own judgement of that book. However, I believe it is a responsibility of anyone who shares information about a book to make known that person's opinion and/or knowledge about the strength or weakness of the book mentioned. :-) medbank@showme.missouri.edu (male) Gail Bank, Columbia, MO On Sat, 11 Jul 1998 RGilley331@aol.com wrote: > Gail, While some of what you say is true, majority of items appearing in the > "Welch and it's People" are indeed correct. The mayor and 7 people > collaborated on that effort. I can, say however, if there are inaccurracies > it is because of the questioinaires returned with such shown, or those not > providing questionaires, spoke from memory. Having lived in McDowell County > and in particular Welch proper, and my family knowing a good many of those > and their families listed, this type of publication was long overdue. So > far, any information I have provided from the book, to those requesting > information, while some may not be 100% accurate, those family members > receiving the information provided can make the corrections as necessary. > > The book on McDowell History you quoted, while reflective of the county's > history -prepared by the well known politicians doesn't address the demise of > the County, or for that matter the demise of the entire Southern Counties of > West Virginia or why > West Virginia leads the nation with unemployment. Mr. Byrd's political > machinery on the State and National level didn't help W.Va. either. Is John > L. Lewis also listed as a prominent person worthy of praise? Don't get me > started - enough said. > > No doubt, both books are worthy of anyone's review and discernment. Leave it > to the reader to make the judgment of preference. > > Regards, and Peace. Tim :-}}} >

SissyRZ@aol.com wrote: > > Hi Y'all, > > I agree with Brend Dillon. I have had several replies come back from > McDowell County that say my records can not be found. Has anyone ordered a > death certifcate from them? Do they know what a copy of the ORIGINIAL > document means? That piece of paper they type up for you is not very helpful. > It sounds like going to the courthouse yourself is the only way to get the > information you need. > Susan Ryntz > Researching: Chaffin/Vanhoose/Perdieu/Trent/Lambert/Bailey/Puckett/Roberts and > probably a few I missed off the top of my head.... > > ==== WVMCDOWE Mailing List ==== > %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%> .........................McDOWELL MAILING LIST......................... > Our McDowell Mailin List is sponsored by the RootsWeb Genealogical Data > Cooperative. RootsWeb is funded entirely by you, the genealogical com- > munity. To find out how you can support these and other internet genea- > logy through RootsWeb, why not go ahead and just visit this page: > ........http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html........ > %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Susan, I visited this courthouse last year and asked for a copy of the original death record of one of my relatives, and was told that they could type the info on a form, but they refused to make a copy. Explain that one to me??!!! Barbara

Hi, I've never dealt with McDowell County but I can tell you that if you request records from the state, be prepared to wait. It took 7 weeks to get a copy of a birth certificate. The State Archives in Charleston is alot faster. It only took them 2 weeks to send me a copy of a death certificate. Good luck, Cathy >>Hi Y'all, >> >>I agree with Brend Dillon. I have had several replies come back from >>McDowell County that say my records can not be found. Has anyone ordered a >>death certifcate from them? Do they know what a copy of the ORIGINIAL >>document means? That piece of paper they type up for you is not very helpful. >>It sounds like going to the courthouse yourself is the only way to get the >>information you need. >>Susan Ryntz >>Researching: Chaffin/Vanhoose/Perdieu/Trent/Lambert/Bailey/Puckett/Roberts and >>probably a few I missed off the top of my head.... >> >> >>==== WVMCDOWE Mailing List ==== >>%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% >>.........................McDOWELL MAILING LIST......................... >>Our McDowell Mailin List is sponsored by the RootsWeb Genealogical Data >>Cooperative. RootsWeb is funded entirely by you, the genealogical com- >>munity. To find out how you can support these and other internet genea- >>logy through RootsWeb, why not go ahead and just visit this page: >>........http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html......... >>%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% >> >> > >

I believe the original document is there at the courthouse, but is maintained in a separate file. I actually knew someone that let me look at and make a correction on a name on one of the certificate. But the certificate they type up is all the information they normally let you have access to. It comes directly from the death register book. You can get a copy of the "real" certificate from vital statistics in Charleston in most all cases. SissyRZ@aol.com wrote: > > Hi Y'all, > > I agree with Brend Dillon. I have had several replies come back from > McDowell County that say my records can not be found. Has anyone ordered a > death certifcate from them? Do they know what a copy of the ORIGINIAL > document means? That piece of paper they type up for you is not very helpful. > It sounds like going to the courthouse yourself is the only way to get the > information you need. > Susan Ryntz > Researching: Chaffin/Vanhoose/Perdieu/Trent/Lambert/Bailey/Puckett/Roberts and > probably a few I missed off the top of my head.... > > ==== WVMCDOWE Mailing List ==== > %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% > .........................McDOWELL MAILING LIST......................... > Our McDowell Mailin List is sponsored by the RootsWeb Genealogical Data > Cooperative. RootsWeb is funded entirely by you, the genealogical com- > munity. To find out how you can support these and other internet genea- > logy through RootsWeb, why not go ahead and just visit this page: > ........http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html......... > %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hi Y'all, I agree with Brend Dillon. I have had several replies come back from McDowell County that say my records can not be found. Has anyone ordered a death certifcate from them? Do they know what a copy of the ORIGINIAL document means? That piece of paper they type up for you is not very helpful. It sounds like going to the courthouse yourself is the only way to get the information you need. Susan Ryntz Researching: Chaffin/Vanhoose/Perdieu/Trent/Lambert/Bailey/Puckett/Roberts and probably a few I missed off the top of my head....

I've had a good experience in the McDowell County Courthouse. A helpful person there is "Missy" in the records room. I called and spoke to "Missy" and gave her an approximate date and a name and within an hour when I called her back she had looked it up and was happy to share her findings of the details of my grandmother's death. To get a certificate she requested I mail the fee and she would mail it to me. I decided it was worth the trip to get it quickly and look for other info. While there I found marriage, death, birth, military service, etc. The books are large and dusty. They have a copy machine in the room and charge a small fee to copy a complete page of the book or about $2.50 to type an "official" certificate for births, deaths, etc. I didn't have time to explore the basement but Missy told me that deeds, land, will, and maybe other books were located there. She also said the census records are located at the public library. Wear old clothes, be prepared to lift heavy items from overhead and to STAND at a counter to write your info. The floor is concrete and painful after a short time. If you have allergies beware that in addition to the dust and musty smell, the complete courthouse is being remodeled and there is sawdust (or worse) flying! But the treasures I found were worth the discomfort! My McDowell-Wyoming lines are BISHOP/MULLINS/FLANAGAN and BEEMAN/PLEMMONS/CLARK. Anybody have info to trade?? Visit with us at the MULLINS (and their kin) family reunion: Twin Falls State Park, AUGUST 1, 1998. Bring a covered dish and your soft drink and join the fun! Becky Beeman-Shumaker Glenn Belcher wrote: > > Good Evening List, > It appears we've run onto an area that needs looking into in Welch > I have no personal experience with researching there. For those who > do, nows the time to speak up. Brenda has encountered problems with > her research. How many others have a good or bad experience doing a > search in Welch. Does someone know of a representative at the court > house who we could check with for their guidelines and availablility > to research material. Maybe there is some rhyme or reason for this? > McDowell ListOwner.....Glenn > ==================================================================== > I agree however It is very difficult to get any McDowell records > I speak from my experience and I have heard this from many others. > The records at the courthouse are not kept and organized . It's hard > to find things. No place to work.If you snail-mail for a record they always come back > that the record isn't found, and you know very well > it is there or should be. > Please don't flame me for saying this but there is a problem with getting information > out of this county and perhaps WE can all figure > out a way to make a difference. Brenda Collins Dillon > ==================================================================== > > ==== WVMCDOWE Mailing List ==== > %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% > .........................McDOWELL MAILING LIST......................... > Our McDowell Mailin List is sponsored by the RootsWeb Genealogical Data > Cooperative. RootsWeb is funded entirely by you, the genealogical com- > munity. To find out how you can support these and other internet genea- > logy through RootsWeb, why not go ahead and just visit this page: > ........http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html......... > %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Irony of ironies. . . My great great grandfather, John Frank JOHNSON, actually WAS the clerk of McDowell court in the late 1800s. His son James Nathan, my great grandfather, was his assistant for a few years. Now, in McDowell census records, John Frank was listed as "illiterate" in 1870, but was the clerk in 1880. Hmmm. . . with limited skills of written language, did he start some very bad record-keeping procedures that remain today? %-} Perhaps I should (tongue in cheek) apologize for my ancestors' continuing failures in this regard! Rees Chapman

Good Evening List, It appears we've run onto an area that needs looking into in Welch I have no personal experience with researching there. For those who do, nows the time to speak up. Brenda has encountered problems with her research. How many others have a good or bad experience doing a search in Welch. Does someone know of a representative at the court house who we could check with for their guidelines and availablility to research material. Maybe there is some rhyme or reason for this? McDowell ListOwner.....Glenn ==================================================================== I agree however It is very difficult to get any McDowell records I speak from my experience and I have heard this from many others. The records at the courthouse are not kept and organized . It's hard to find things. No place to work.If you snail-mail for a record they always come back that the record isn't found, and you know very well it is there or should be. Please don't flame me for saying this but there is a problem with getting information out of this county and perhaps WE can all figure out a way to make a difference. Brenda Collins Dillon ====================================================================

Hello McDowell County List, I wanted to send a word of appreciation on Gail's comments about some printed material. I've also encountered mistakes done by book authors. The sad thing is that this so called "historical account or genealogy", is considered fact now. PLEASE REMEMBER....WE MUST! DOCUMENT...DOCUMENT DOCUMENT...AND VERIFY...VERIFY...VERIFY! LEST WE TO FALL INTO THIS TRAP YOUR McDowell County Mailing List Ownerr and Moderator: Glenn Belcher ======================================================================= I've noticed a number of references to "Welch and its people". I want to give a notion of CAUTION when you read this book. My ancestors, BANK and OFSA are mentioned. Those references are full of inaccuracies. It's also likely that many of the other item in the book are also inaccurate I was told by someone who claimed to know the author of book that she got anecdotal information by talking to people who had some knowledge of the people listed. It was mainly hearsay information with little if any checking of the facts through any documents or other proceedures. Again, suggest caution and be wary of accepting the accuracy of the information about your family that appears in the book. There is another book that I recently located that tells a wonderful story of McDowell county. The book is "McDowell Co. History A Pictorial History of McDowell County West Virginia," by Mrs. Samuel Solins and Mrs. Paul W. Jones, (c) Daughters of the American Revolution. I secured the book through inter-library loan. The volume I received was in the collection of Applachian State University. I hope the above information is helpful.

Gail, While some of what you say is true, majority of items appearing in the "Welch and it's People" are indeed correct. The mayor and 7 people collaborated on that effort. I can, say however, if there are inaccurracies it is because of the questioinaires returned with such shown, or those not providing questionaires, spoke from memory. Having lived in McDowell County and in particular Welch proper, and my family knowing a good many of those and their families listed, this type of publication was long overdue. So far, any information I have provided from the book, to those requesting information, while some may not be 100% accurate, those family members receiving the information provided can make the corrections as necessary. The book on McDowell History you quoted, while reflective of the county's history -prepared by the well known politicians doesn't address the demise of the County, or for that matter the demise of the entire Southern Counties of West Virginia or why West Virginia leads the nation with unemployment. Mr. Byrd's political machinery on the State and National level didn't help W.Va. either. Is John L. Lewis also listed as a prominent person worthy of praise? Don't get me started - enough said. No doubt, both books are worthy of anyone's review and discernment. Leave it to the reader to make the judgment of preference. Regards, and Peace. Tim :-}}}

Hi: I've noticed a number of references to "Welch and its people". I want to give a notion of CAUTION when you read this book. My ancestors, BANK and OFSA are mentioned. Those references are full of inaccuracies. It's also likely that many of the other items in the book are also inaccurate. I was told by someone who claimed to know the author of the book that she got anecdotal information by talking to people who had some knowledge of the people listed. It was mainly hearsay information with little if any checking of the facts through any documents or other proceedures. Again, I suggest caution and be wary of accepting the accuracy of the information about your family that appears in the book. There is another book that I recently located that tells a wonderful story of McDowell county. The book is "McDowell County History: A Pictorial History of McDowell County West Virginia," by Mrs. Samuel Solins and Mrs. Paul W. Jones, (c) Daughters of the American Revolution. I secured the book through inter-library loan. The volume I received was in the collection of Applachian State University. I hope the above information is helpful. medbank@showme.missouri.edu (male) Gail Bank, Columbia, MO

someone posted this evening on the subject, but in my haste I deleted along with other listings. Please repost, so I can follow-up. Thank you. Tim :-}}}

Kentucky Obituaries, 1787-1854, ed. by G. Glenn Clift, 1977. [my caps] Joshua COLLINS, of Versailles, lately of Philadephia. A resident of Versailles, KY, since 1816. Died March 16, 1825. Major Valentine PEERS, of Maysville. Died at the residence of his son-in-law, Lewis COLLINS, Saturday, June 19, 1830. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. William B. COLLINS, of Louisville, formerly of Lexington. Died in August, 1830. Apparently, there was a cholera epidemic in early 1833 in KY. Mrs. Mary COLLINS is listed as dying - but no dates. Joseph PALMER, of Winchester. Stabbed and killed by Joel V. COLLINS, in the summer of 1833. William F. TAYLOR, adopted son of Willis COLLINS, of Winchester, KY. Died at the residence of William TAYLOR, at Point Coupee, LA, on October 2, 1835, age 19 years. Foster COLLINS, of Bourbon County. Died Feb. 22, 1847, age 70 years Thomas COLLINS, of Lexington. Died Apr. 28, 1851. ======================================================= following KY 1790 Tax List Census - COLLINS Surname: first name County Tax List Date Bartlet Fayette 8/4/1789 Bartlet Fayette 11/10/1789 Bartlet Woodfird 5/29/1790 Edward Bourbon 3/1791 Elisha Fayette 6/29/1789 Elisha Woodford 5/29/1790 Jas. [James] Lincoln 1/30/1790 Jeremiah Fayette 6/29/1789 Joel Fayette 5/6/1789 Jno. [Joseph] Fayette 2/27/1790 Joseph Fayette 6/3/1789 Joseph Fayette 2/27/1790 Joseph, Jr. Fayette 6/29/1789 Joseph Woodford 5/5/1790 Josiah Fayette 8/4/1789 Josiah Woodford 5/15/1790 Robert Bourbon 3/1791 Robt. Fayette 12/4/1789 Stephen Fayette 3/19/1790 Wm. Nelson 11/12/1790 Hope somebody finds this helpful. Brenda

This supplements mine earlier with regards to the Welch Perdues and the parents of Alfred, James and Roy Lee Perdue. The Father was Frank Perdue, now buried in Rocky Mt. N.C., I do not know which cemetery. The Mother - Ruby (Hodges) Perdue is now 94 and living in Gladehill, Va. James and Mary Bell Perdue are now separated. Both live in the Roanoke, Va., area. Katrina C. Perdue - daughter also is in Roanoke. Son- Robert Lee is in Houston, Tx. and is known to take on the name of "John Mark". That drains me on the Perdues. Regards and Peace. Tim :-}}}

Tim, This may be a brick wall breaker for me! This sounds a little too coincidental to pass up! This Fletcher Collins sounds a lot like mine with some slight differences. This information was given to me by Clyde Collins, who would be Fletcher's nephew. He is about 85 and perhaps his memory has played tricks on us both. I have parents named Nancy Essie Basham and Merriatt Collins for Fletcher. My Fletcher was said to have been born in Va,but the family did live in Hensley,WV area. My Fletcher married Nannie Barlow. Children of my Fletcher and Nannie are: Marie, Eleanor, Cindy, Robert, Fletcher Jr., Ray Edward ( married to Sadie Amos), and Howard Collins. Too many similarities to ignore! Perhaps the reason I haven't found anything is because I have been looking for wrong people. Does anyone have anything more on any of the above or below people? > > In the "Welch and its People" book, there are the following listed: > > Ben F. Collins, Dr. Claude R. Collins, Edward Collins, Jr, and Fletcher > Collins. > > Fletcher Collins was born Feb. 12, 1884 in Monroe County, Wva. Son of Will and > Esssie Broomfield Collins. Fletcher married Nannie Brewster, born > 04-16-1889 in Rush, Ky, the daughter of John and Nancy Secton Barker Brewster. > > In 1908 they resided in Twin Branch. He an employee of Laughlin Steel Co, and > retired in 1953 due to ill health. Nannie was a charter member of First > Church of God, Davy, Wva. He died 01-7-1956, she died 03-27-1985, both buried > at the Iaeger Mem. Cemetary, Roderfield, Wva. > > Flether/Nannie's off-spring: Marie, Mrs. John Wirt, Detroit, MI; Eleanor, Mrs > Alfred Stone, Marytown; Mrs. Edward Crawford and Cynthia, Mrs. Carmen > Brewster, both of High Springs, Fl.; Robert :"Bobby" - Twin Branch; Fletcher, > Jr. High Springs, Fl.; > James Howard, Ft. Lauderdale, Fl, and Ray Edward, Bedford Va. All as of 1985. > Sherry Crawford Dansher@tkdyer.com