Life is Good...until it is not!

     Today, I will continue the comparison of our June 2016 trip to Union, West Virginia in search of the DeHart homestead and DeHart Cemetery with my aunt's trek from 1988.
     Great Expectations shared a few photos, a few similarities and the differences to our route to Union, West Virginia.
     My aunt's notes had  a very detailed map of the way they went to find the DeHart land. 

We left the Confederate Monument and started driving south. Knowing that Knobs Road was on the north side of Union, we came upon it quickly. Is this great, or what?  We followed this road as my aunt described as narrow, winding and with lots and lots of trees. We marveled at how Bonnie and Al had driven these mountain roads in a motorhome. She described the road as having houses on both sides of the road. We, too, saw houses. She said they continued going up around corners with a house built along the road every once in a while. I thought there were quite a few houses. This should have been a clue that maybe we didn't go far enough out of town, but I figured in 28 years the area could have built up some.

 

     Later, as I reflect, I think we should have driven on farther out of Union. However, when we came to a road that went off to the right, I was sure we should take it. The road got narrower and was actually awful.  We kept thinking of Bonnie and Al in their motorhome.  This one lane narrow mountain road was a challenge even for us 28 years later in our car. We drove on.  Along the way the only life we saw was a man in his farmyard moving hay bales with his tractor. We drove on. Finally, we concluded that we should have driven farther up Knobs Hill Road. Eventually finding a spot in the road where we could turn around, we retraced our route.  I took some pictures of the thick trees, the no trespassing signs and the narrowness of the road.  As we passed the farmstead, we decided to stop and ask the fellow if he knew the name DeHart.  He did not know anything helpful since his family was not originally from the area. He pointed to the house just a few yards away and said that Mrs. Reynolds might know since she had always lived around the area.

     I walked up the little knoll to her home. She was very kind and welcoming and fit many West Virginia stereotypes that I could think of.  She was sorry her late husband was not there because he knew all the history of the area.  I was sorry her late husband wasn't there to spend the long hours of each day with her.  Her existence seemed very lonely.

     After gathering what little information we had, we were ready to head back to Knobs Road, take a right and continue on searching for the DeHart Cemetery.  We were close. We just knew it.  Life was good.

     And then it wasn't. We had a problem. My husband had turned the car off so he could join me while talking to our farmer friend.  Back in the car, it wouldn't start.

County Road 10/7

Mrs. Reynold's home

 

 And it wouldn't start. And it wouldn't start. The car is 1.5 years old. Why wouldn't it start?  Our farmer friend, John, and my husband tried everything they could think of doing.  Soon, I felt like John was our new best friend.

 

     As with the adventure of Bonnie and Al, we wondered if we would ever find the cemetery or get acquainted with the little town of Union, West Virginia.  It looks like there is another episode to this adventure.

Great Expectations (Our trip to West Virginia)

     The DeHart family was my focus for many posts in April and May of 2016.  On May 2, I started a series about my aunt and uncle's trip from Oregon to West Virginia in the summer of 1988. They went by motorhome in search of the original DeHart property and DeHart cemetery near Union, West Virginia.  My aunt kept a journal of that trip, and I shared their adventure from her perspective in the following posts: A Dream Come True,  This is all DeHart Land, Civil War Country, Another Try, Success, and lastly Should I Go?
      Should I Go? asked the question if I should follow in my aunt's footsteps. After all, my husband and I were going to Ohio the third week of June for a small family reunion of his siblings.  Union, West Virginia appeared to only be about four hours away from our Ohio destination. At first we thought of going after our Ohio stay, but luckily we decided to go before. (The horrible flood in West Virginia occurred on the same day we would have arrived).
       We started our side trip in Charleston, West Virginia.  It is a beautiful city with the Capitol building topped with a gold plated dome.  We enjoyed the lovely vistas of a state billed as "Almost Heaven". I just might have to agree that it is. 
      We left our hotel early and drove on the turnpike going south until we came to Beckley, West Virginia. We were able to turn east on Interstate Highway 64 toward Lewisburg and Highway 219.  This is where our trek began to diverge from my aunt's. She says, "... the Interstate didn't open until the 15th of July so they told us the highway we should take was #3.

       The 1988 map shows Highway 64 under construction and gives a good look at the winding little highway #3. She gives a good description of this drive in A Dream Come True.  We did not have to endure those ups and downs, curves and switchbacks, and fences coming up to the road. Instead, we had a scenic drive to Lewisburg on the Interstate. Life was good.
     Lewisburg seemed like a charming little town. This quaint little burg was obviously filled with history, but we had no time to stop.  We headed south to Union.
     I was counting down the miles, (about 20 of them), enjoying the views and breathlessly anticipating the opportunity to experience Union, West Virginia where my great-grandmother was born and oldest known DeHart ancestor, 4th great-grandfather, Abraham, had obtained his deed from 1824.  Abraham's son, Samuel and his wife Sophia raised their family around Union.  At least six of their sons were confederate soldiers including our direct line from George Jackson DeHart, father of my great-grandmother, Emma Susan DeHart Borden. I actually knew my great-grandmother. To see where the DeHarts and especially my great-grandmother had lived was a dream come true just as my aunt had said.


      The first thing we saw upon entering Union on the north side of town was a memorial to the Confederate Soldiers of Monroe County. I couldn't wait to stop. My aunt's pictures and mine are almost identical.


1988- My uncle standing at the opening.

2016- It looks like more white fence has been added.

 

Just to prove I was there.



(to be continued) 

Civil War Country

For the last several weeks, I have been focusing on the DeHart family.  The posts from May 2 and May 10  have taken a glimpse at the notebook kept by my aunt in 1988, when she and her husband went in search of the original homestead of Abraham DeHart.  They traveled from Oregon to West Virginia on this adventure.  The first two segments can be reviewed in A Dream Come True and This is all DeHart Land.  This post called Civil War Country picks up near the end of their first day to find the DeHart Cemetery. I have also put Aunt Bonnie's journal writing in italics.

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We stopped at a gas station and wanted to fill our water tank .  The man that worked there told us to go to his house and fill the tank. Also we could stay the night next to his house. We did fill the tank, but thought we'd go out on the highway on the other side of town.  The road went through the town.  We had spotted a cemetery upon a hill so we found the road up to it.   It also was on a knob.  We drove around the cemetery and stopped to look at the head stones, but we couldn't find any names we were seeking.  As we were walking around we spotted a white fence and wide path leading up to a statue all fenced in so we came down and got on the main highway which lead out of town to the north.  Winding through town a church was on the corner of the road and a parking spot, so we stopped and walked up to the statue.  It was of General Lee.  He had been to Union during the Civil War.  A lot of the war was fought through this part of the country.

(Note from Margie)
Remember my 2nd great grandfather, George Jackson DeHart, and at least 5 of his brothers were Confederate Soldiers of Monroe County.

(Back to the journal)

 We came back and went out north about 2 miles and there was a rest stop so we pulled in for the night.  We could see the Knob's Mountain at a distance.  We made our dinner and watched T.V. for a while. We started talking about our day.  After being at the knobs and talking to people and everyone's story was the same.  The cemetery was not far from where the house was.  The first man said he had played around headstones as a kid.  Ed Raddcliff said all of  Knobs was DeHart land.  He, himself, was born and raised near his own home.  We knew we'd go back to the mountain and look around again.

After waking up and fixing our breakfast, we decided to stop back in town and go into some stores to see what we could find.  We wanted some cards of Union. One little shop had cards with the
word Union printed on it, but there were no cards with pictures of the town.  The drug store didn't have any but it did have a small soda fountain with 3 stools.  The little gal said they didn't open it on Sat.  We told them our story about why we were in Union and she told Al if he wanted stop in later she'd fix him his soda, but not to say where he'd gotten it.  Like any small town everyone we would talk to seemed interested in our story. (The town of Union was there when A. Dehart got his deed of trust on his land in 1824).
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So after looking around in Union, taking some photos and talking to a few residents, they go for another try at finding the DeHart Cemetery.  I bet they find it this time. How about you?

"This is all DeHart land"

Our story left off with Bonnie and Al driving up the mountainside to Knob's Road. The first segment of this adventure can be read in A Dream Come True.

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So on up we went to the top of this mountain, found our sign, and a house on the corner.  By this time we were about 5 to 6 miles out of town.  We parked and Al went to the door and this man came out.  Al told him who we were and we were looking for the DeHart settlement and cemetery.  And he said, "This is all DeHart land".  "What do you want to know?"

The man's name was Ed Raddcliff and he had lived in his house since 1928, but he was raised over the little Knob where his folks lived.  He had roamed over all the Knob growing up and yes, he knew where the house had been and the cemetery was there along with trees, weeds and still some stones. The last DeHarts to live there were two old maids.  He could remember bringing groceries and stuff out from town and meeting them and giving them theirs.  Then they'd go on home with their things in their wagon.  When one of the women died, she was buried there.  The other one moved away.  The house was made of log and rock or slate.  He couldn't tell us much more.  From his place on Knob's Rd. he told us where to go and then he told Al, he'd take and show him where the house had been.  So down the road he drove about 1/2 mile and went down a dirt road path, across a hayfield, passed a pond and to the edge of timber looking down into a valley.  A highline runs through the trees now and looking down into the valley, you could see what was left of a house.  He showed Al where the road started to go down to the house.  So back to the motorhome they came.  Al thanked the old man and off we went to find what we'd hoped to see.

 Down the road we went, found a place to park and started walking down this road or lane. Trees were on both sides and over top.  We walked and came out on a clearing of maybe 30 or 40 acres.  We crossed a road at the edge of a pond and then went across a hayfield that had been cut.  We were walking kinda uphill.  As we were walking, a young deer came out of the timber and kept looking at us.  As we kept walking he still kept coming and watching us.  As we crossed the hayfield to our left a wagon road started to go down to where we wanted to go.  We found the road and not far ahead was a locked gate. Over we went.  The road was a dirt wagon road halfway or so up this Virginia mountain. The road was cut out and steep above. Trees were on both sides, over our heads and rock or shale cliffs along the side.  The road went down and then it made a turn and went back the other way like a switch back on a mountain road.  As we were walking along there were trees fallen down. We crawled under. Of course it was a dirt road with vines crawling up the trees with huge leaves on them. 

Now this is a walk in the woods!

 As we walked along we were thinking, "Why did they live down here when they could have lived at the top. Why?" There was a lot of clearing down here, maybe 20 acres. An old run down barn was away from the house ruins.  We walked to where the house had stood.  A pipe stuck out of the ground. I had a stick which Al had broke off for me to use for  walking. It was about 5 ft. long.  The pipe was free, so we thought it had been a cave next to the house.  The fireplace had been out of some rock and roughly 3 ft. It was still there.

Now this Ed Raddcliff said the cemetery was there but with trees and weeds, where do we start looking? We looked under trees and through weeds.  I took my stick and pushed at the weeds.  We looked every where we could and still couldn't find our cemetery.  Al went one way and I went another.  We couldn't find it.  After a few hours and with very high temperatures we felt real bad we could not find the cemetery that we thought would be here.

So we started back up our wagon trail.  We'd found where the house had been but really disappointed about the cemetery.  We took lots of pictures of the valley and mountains in the distance. We wondered what had been cleared years ago in the 1800's. Abraham DeHart's deed of trust was from 1824.  Back on the wagon road, we walked out, over the locked gate, across the hayfield, down our little dirt lane and to the motor home.  It was hot but looked so good.  We started our way down off Knobs Mountain on the one lane winding road and found a rest stop outside of Union.

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I am sure they were very disappointed not to be able to find that cemetery. Whatever will they do next? Traveling across the entire country to only find weeds and trees. Stayed tuned. The story is not over.

A Dream Come True

When my cousin dropped off my Aunt Bonnie's files, I did not anticipate finding this story in one of her notebooks.  This is what she wrote in her notebook about a trip she took to find the old DeHart place in West Virginia in 1988.  I will try to transcribe it as closely as I can, but there are just some spellings, expressions, and sentences I will have to modify. There are many, many pages so I will share the story in segments.

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A dream come true - we're on our way to the place my grandma was born. I've been finding out some things from the Historical Society and was sent maps and other information about the DeHart settlement and cemetery on Knobs Mt. outside Union, West Virginia.  So in June of 1988 my husband, Al, and I drove out to see what we could find.

Our trip was going fine and at Beckley, W.V. we got on the turnpike which would take us to highway 219 and we'd go south 20 miles and come to our town of Union. But, the turnpike didn't open until the 15th of July so they told us the highway we should take was #3.  As we only had 50 miles to Union, we knew it wouldn't take long.  As we left the town of Beckley, we didn't think the highway would be as bad since the highest Mt. is only 5,000 ft.  We started our short trip to Union only to find the road, our half isn't quite as wide as our motor home. Not only was it a narrow road but it was up and down and on further a sign pointing straight left and we'd get around the curve and another sign would be pointing straight right.  Timber lined both sides of the road with a little town every few miles, small towns that had been there forever with fences coming up to the road.  I took a few pictures as we thought Union would be older than what we were seeing. 

As we'd come to the bridges, they were all one lane bridges When we came to Highway 219 going up to Union, it was a good wide highway, anyway wide enough for our motorhome.

We got into the town of Union at about 11:00 a.m., on Friday, July 2, 1988.  Still a one street small town, but more up to date then we'd seen since we'd left Beckley.  We went to the Historical Society, and it was closed.  The man had gone to Charlotte to see his family. So here we are.  How do we know how to find the DeHart place?  The map I had didn't say what road or how far out.  We found the Watchman's Newspaper office and we walked in. It was an office like you'd see in the old western movies.  The editor wasn't there but would be back soon, the gal said.  So we walked  down a block or two and then went back, and he was there.  We told him our story and why we were there.  He didn't know much but we showed him our map and he said if we'd go up the main street and Knob's Road would go off to the left.  Follow it and it would take us up to where we wanted to go.  Also he said it was a one lane blacktop road going up and a winding road, but he thought we could make it O.K.  So we start out to find the Knob's Rd. sign, make our left, and start out and up.  Of course near town there are lots of houses and as we go higher, there are fewer houses.  Of course we have more trees the higher we go, more curves and up and down hills.  As we get out a few miles, we meet speeding cars coming down.  We have one tire on the blacktop road and one on the edge of the road.  There's a shop of sorts and we pull into the driveway.

A car was getting ready to leave with a couple of young men in it. Al told them we were looking for the DeHart land.  One of the men told him to keep going up and we'd come to Knob's Road and his uncle or great uncle lived on the corner. He could tell us what we wanted to know.

(to be continued)...........................................................................

Will they find the DeHart place? Will they end up in a situation like in the movie Deliverance? These ups and downs on the mountain roads, the thick timber, and the desolate nature of the area are making me nervous. Well, maybe I exaggerate just a little.

Dehart Children (continued)...finally

December 11, 2015 I wrote about the children of George Jackson DeHart (1835-1916) and his first wife, Sarah Frances Skaggs ( 1845-1885). They are my great-great grandparents.  This post can be re-read at The DeHart Children.  The first five children: James Floyd (1861-1920), Fletcher C. (1865-1867), Virginia Alice (1866-1950), Oto C. (1867-1969), and Emma Susan.
 
Emma Susan, child number 5, is my direct line. She was born in 1869 and died in 1956 at age 87 which incidentally is the age her grandson, Vern (my dad), was at death.  She was featured in the post Emma Susan DeHart Borden published April 19, 2016.

Of George and Sarah's nine children, I have told what I know about the first five and promised to finish the telling of the others.
James Floyd
Fletcher
Virginia Alice
Oto
Emma
...
Daniel
William
George
Mae
...And from his second marriage
John Cavet
Mary Carolina


FINALLY, I am ready to finish.
 
I have been studying about George Jackson DeHart, his siblings, his parents (Samuel and Sophia), his Civil War soldier brothers, as well as his grandfather, Abraham, a revolutionary soldier. It has captured me, but I need to finish the summary of his immediate family.

It appears that the family moved west shortly after Emma Susan was born in 1869. The 1870 census states they lived in Township 5, Range 9, Madison, Illinois. The post office is listed as Upper Alton. If you are familiar with the area, you see that they lived near St. Louis on the east side of the Mississippi River.

By December 21, 1871, the family lived in or near Danvers, Illinois. Danvers is not far from Bloomington.  There their next child was born.

# 6. Daniel B Dehart (1871-1877)

# 7. William LeRoy Dehart (1875-1876)

     One thing about all these babies is that we can follow the moves of George and Sarah across the prairie. William was born in Grant City, Iowa.

Emma Susan was about eight when her brother, Daniel, died. Undoubtedly, she also witnessed the birth and death of her brother, William. He was part of her life from when she was 6 to 8. What a sad childhood for this little girl.

Child # 8 George Frank DeHart (1882-1965)
Child # 9 Elizabeth Mae DeHart (1883-1974)

Click on the Elizabeth Mae DeHart link above to read more about her.

Baby Mae was only about 2 when her mother died. Her older sister, Emma Susan, was about 16 so was probably a big help along with Alice, age 19.

George remarried Miss Sarah Caroline Corey in 1888. They had two children, John Cavet (1888- ) and Mary Carolina DeHart (1891-1918).  It was for the health of Mary Carolina that the DeHarts moved to Texas.

There is still a lot to learn about the DeHarts. My aunt Bonnie, granddaughter of Emma Susan, was a very active genealogist specifically interested in her grandmother's history. She took a trip from her home in Oregon to Monroe County, West Virginia in 1988 to discover where Emma Susan DeHart was born.

Next, I will be sharing her journal from that trip

          

    

DeHart

The surname DeHart has always been one of my favorite ancestral names. Who knows why or why we have these types of preferences or maybe I am the only one. I knew a few names from this family before doing much research.  My understanding was that Abraham DeHart started our line in this country and fought in the Revolutionary War. It is through him that many relatives have obtained the proper documentation for membership in Daughters of the American Revolution. It has been suggested that he may have even come to the colonies with Lafayette. Family lore is such fun.
 
Proving or disproving is not on my current to do list. However, I am curious about the DeHart Lineage. It is generally accepted that Abraham was married to Christina Ensninger. I say generally accepted because after surfing around on the web, I found a site for the DeHart Family.  I find that there might be some debate on this. I will need to continue my research.  However, for now, I wish to share the information I found on a family group sheet written by the great granddaughter of George Jackson DeHart (my 2nd great grandfather. I will italicize the name of George Jackson DeHart in the rest of this writing to clarify that he is my direct ancestor.

     This group sheet starts with the son of Abraham, Samuel DeHart born in 1807 in Monroe County, West Virginia.  He died in 1882 after spending his whole life in the state of West Virginia where he lived close to his father, Abraham DeHart.  Samuel married Sophia Spade in 1829. 

Samuel and Sopia Spade DeHart had 10 children. I have added their statistics to my Legacy Database, but do not intend to detail that information in my Cousins post at this time. I will share their names and birthdates however. Isaac (1830), William Calahill (1833), Catharine (1842),  George Jackson (1835), John L. (1837), Corneluis L. (1838), Michael Alexander (1840), James Robert (1843), Mary S. (1846), and Joseph (not sure of birthdate)

I found a few interesting pieces of information about these individuals. Isaac married Minerva Susan Skaggs, William C. married Elizabeth M. Skaggs, and George Jackson married Sarah Francis Skaggs. I assume these Skaggs girls were sisters, but I have yet to investigate.

All of Samuel and Sophia's children were born in Monroe County, West Virginia.

Isaac, William C. and George Jackson all moved to Iowa at some point in time. George Jackson DeHart went on to Texas eventually.

Isaac, William C., George Jackson, John L., Michael Alexander, and James Robert were all confederate soldiers in the Civil War.

James Robert DeHart and his brother, Michael Alexander DeHart enlisted on the same day, April 17, 1862. John L. DeHart enlisted April 30, 1862. William C. also joined in 1862 although I have not found the exact date.  Great, Great, Great Grandma Sophia must have felt a profound sorrow with at least six of her sons gone to fight for the south.

Investigating war records is not a part of genealogy that I have researched much. I have found that each young DeHart brother took the amnesty oath when the war came to its end. I look forward to finding out more about these Civil War soldiers, the sons of Samuel and Sophia DeHart, my 3rd great grandparents.

William C. DeHart

Here is the obituary copy which I found in my Aunt Bonnie's papers that I mentioned in the post Those Collaterals. Remember, I said it was the first thing I looked at in those documents.  William C. DeHart was a brother to my 2nd great grandfather George Jackson DeHart. Enjoy this read. I don't really even know how to describe the flowery language. It is just very different from obituaries of today and even of some other obituaries which are as old.

Obituary

 

     William C. DeHart was born in Union, Monroe County, West Virginia January 24, 1832; died at the family home near Lake City, Iowa March 9, 1912 thus making his earth habitation 80 years, 1 month and 15 days.  He was one of a family of ten children, all of whom were professed Christians and four of them had preceded him to the celestial shore.

     He was reared on a farm among the hills and the then wilds of West Virginia, where educational advantages were very meager.  Yet in the midst of these circumstances he resolved to make the very best of his life, and by lending his influence to the noble things of his day soon won for himself the respect and esteem of all who knew him.  While yet a boy he became a friend to all and a welcome visitor in every home.  When he arrived at his maturity he had equipped himself with those noble virtues that so beautifully fitted him for the noble life that he so well spent in service to his fellow beings.

     He was married to Miss Elizabeth Skaggs of his own community in October, 1853.  To this union were born two children and they were a happy family until God in his infinite wisdom saw fit to call his loving companion to the Heavenly city.  This occurred near the beginning of the great Civil war when he, like other noble citizens of his day, was not disobedient to "his country's call".  Loyal and brave, he shouldered his musket and marched in defense- I say it, yes I will - marched in defense of his country.  This I say because he was associated with a people who were loyal and brave sons of the South, who were fighting for what honest hearts told them was a righteous cause.  During the war he was captured and for months suffered the hardships of prison life until about a month before the surrender, he was released, being more dead than alive

    April 15, 1863 he was again married, to Miss Mary E. Cooper of Pulaski county, Virginia, who proved to him a loving and affectionate companion the remainder of his life's journey.  To this union were born three children, who together with the two children by former marriage, have been a great pleasure to him during the declining years of his life.

     In 1866 he moved to Somers county, West Virginia, where he lived until the fall of 1887, when he moved to Iowa, stopping on a farm about five miles from Lake City, where he lived until 1900, then moved to the present home, where he passed a happy life until the Lord saw fit on Saturday morning about 11 o'clock to open the wings of the cherubim and call him home.

     In his early life he became a Christian and voluntarily enlisted in the Master's service.  As a Christian soldier he was a welcome visitor in every home  His presence brought peace to the troubled, pleasure to the distressed and comfort to the sorrowing.  His ear was sensitive to the call of his neighbor, his eye was keen and could see afar off the welfare of his brethren.  His feet were always ready to go upon errands of mercy.  Such noble characters never die, but "Oh, how are the mighty fallen."

     For many months he has been growing weaker and more tired, patiently ,but anxiously awaiting the summons that would call him to his reward.  He was confined to his bed for only a few days.  Kind and loving hands did all that could be done for his comfort and to restore him, but his race was run, his earthly end had come, and without a struggle he steeped into the chariot of death and the horseman bore him to the arms of Jesus.
    
     He leaves to mourn his loss a loving and devoted wife, five affectionate children-Sam DeHart of Ottumwa, Mrs. Rose Boyer of Lowell, West Va., Rufus DeHart, Martin DeHart and Mrs. Allie Sievert all of near Lake City.  Also there are sixteen grandchildren and six great grandchildren, a large family connection and a multitude of sorrowing friends, with all of whom we want to sympathize in this their sad hour of bereavement.
     The parting indeed is hard to bear, but let us be comforted in the knowledge that our loss is his gain, and should he be permitted to speak to us at this moment we might hear him say, "Nay, do not weep, my joy is complete and you will all come soon."
     A large body of friends gathered at the family residence Monday at one o'clock and accompanied the sorrowing friends to the Baptist church, where the funeral services were conducted by the pastor, Rev. T.A. Searcy, from whence the remains were followed to Lake City cemetery and there laid in the silent city of the dead.


Whew!

I am thinking about my grandmother, the one pictured in the Featured Post, on the right hand side of the page.  William was the brother of her grandfather, George Jackson DeHart.  William died in 1912 when my grandmother was around 12, and they lived in the same small community. I don't think it is too much of a leap to assume she knew her great-uncle. I almost get the chills when I think of someone I knew knowing these ancestors whom I am just discovering.

The Featured Post changes periodically. I mentioned that my grandmother is pictured there. However, this will not be the case eventually when another post is featured.