The Truth About The Civil War, The South and Slavery

UPDATE:  SINCE WRITING THIS POST I HAVE BEEN UNFRIENDED AND HARASSED BY MANY AND SO i UNPUBLISHED IT.  PEOPLE ARE JUST GOING CRAZY WITH THE RACE AND SLAVERY ISSUE AND CANNOT OR WILL NOT ACCEPT THE TRUTH. I THINK IT IS TIME TO RE-POST THIS BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE WANT TO CHANGE HISTORY AND TAKE DOWN MANY MEMORIALS TO THOSE THEY SAY LOST.  WHEN THAT HAPPENS EVERYONE LOSES.
SO I AM RE-PUBLISHING THIS ARTICLE IN FULL TODAY, AUGUST 3, 2017

This article starts with my rant that I posted on my Face Book Timeline.  

My Rant on prejudice and History and .....This USA is going crazy.  Now because someone shoots down a couple of people in a church, they now come to the conclusion that a Confederate Flag is the cause of it and that it should be taken off of any government articles.  Now they are saying that the flag means some kind of racial thing.  Do people realize that they are the ones that are racist for wanting history changed and some deleted altogether?  They are going to change more than just the flag.  There was a culture in society in the south and it was not all about loyalties.  The rich may have been, but there were lots more to the south than that.  There were regular people that lived day to day and were not famous for anything.  Will you also consider or deflame those who did help with the cause and their livelihood that were black too and how about any of the whites that were in history for the same cause and I mean for both sides and cross overs?  Do you all THINK about what you are doing?  Isn't the destroying of a part of our nation the same thing that ISIS is doing and those leaders of Islam that don't care for us?  Where is all this HATE coming from and is HATE really logical in this world today? I am seeing, and really despise that, a mob mentality, not a single one has any reality going for them.

http://www.sodahead.com/

It really has become a them and us type of mob mentality spread by mis-information and hatred brought on by something that did not even start with the Confederate flag at all.


It really comes to Dylann Roof's shooting people in a church, in the south. The "SOUTH" has been a part of these states and people and culture for the last 200+ years.  All the media is doing is wiping mud and coloring all the good things that the south has given us.  This article is going to bring up some of those things and perhaps people will get some education here because they sure as heck are not getting it in their "PUBLIC" school system.  How can we learn from the past if we keep shoving it under peoples noses and then turn around and call everything that we ever learned a total lie?  How can we shove, into a pit, a part of our history that made us into these "UNITED" States of America?

Have we forgotten all those Northerners AND Southerners that contributed to both side of the free the slave issues?  People that died because of their beliefs about people not being slaves on both side of the coin.  Slavery wasn't the whole issue and not every had slaves.  Some of the people in the south were people just like you and me just living day to day.  Only the rich could afford a slave and politics was also heavily into the Civil War. It was not everyone who believe in one side or the other.  Some didn't even care, just as it is today and people are just trying to get by and have families and so on and so forth.

In the comments on my face book post there was one that constantly let or told everyone that they thought that the flag was evil and stood for slavery and the Civil War was fought on that only.  They got really upset and said that they were going to leave the conversation when they found out that whites were holding up that this flag and it's (their) meaning.  The mis-information floors me at times.

First Union Battle Flag of the Civil War
http://galleryhip.com/union-army-flag.html

Many events that may have started The Civil War was started included the need for Civil Rights for all and not for the elite, John Brown's Raid, economics and power and greed. It was not totally about slavery.  The South was already in the process of releasing their slaves because they were following Russia's slave freeing at the time and that was just before the Civil War started.  The first group that spoke out about the slaves and how they did not like the idea was from the North, by the Quaker religion.  Funny that they were the ones that came to this country wanting to be and do as they pleased and not be persecuted for it.  The come here and do that persecuting to someone else. The Civil War was started and was about taxation and economics and State rights (to own slaves or not).  Northerners also had slaves too, though they weren't called that.  The differences was that the South was more of an agriculture hub (cotton), while the North was more about Industrial growth.  It is easy to see the complications here and it is also just as easy to see that they were intertwined with each other.  The North made machinery that the south needed and the South were feeding and clothing the nation at the time.  The slavery issue came long before the Civil War and according to Wikipedia it was more about social norms of a differing kind of people:

"Arguments that slavery was undesirable for the nation had long existed, and early in U.S. history were made even by some prominent Southerners. After 1840, abolitionists denounced slavery as not only a social evil but a moral wrong. Many Northerners, especially leaders of the new Republican Party, considered slavery a great national evil and believed that a small number of Southern owners of large plantations controlled the national government with the goal of spreading that evil. Southern defenders of slavery, for their part, increasingly came to contend that blacks actually benefited from slavery, an assertion that alienated Northerners even further."

One of my commenter's also said that the flag that is in question was a battle flag of the South.  Well there were battle flags of the North too throughout the Civil War.  In battle, the purpose of a flag is to help identify who is who. Who is on your side, and who is on the other side. Nothing more but people think it is more.

There were three different battle flags the South used. I only found these two:

Battle Flag for the Army of Tennessee

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/Confederate_Flag.htm

Confederate National Flag

In March of 1861, those who supported a flag similar to that of the United States prevailed, 

and the "Stars and Bars" 

became the official National flag of the Confederacy.

Now to the political players that fed into all this.  As I looked them up there were more whites than blacks, but that is here nor there.  The war and the flags were not about Racism and I cannot stress this enough. Each regiment in the war and on both sides had their own battle flag and they were all different and specific to their company.  So to say that this one flag is about race is wrong, completely wrong.

Dividing Line of North and South

For some clarification: There were whites an black on both sides, not just the one side where most of the history you see floating around speaking of racism.  It was not about race. For the sake of not writing a book about this, I am only going to list a few.

This map shows the division of North and South.  It is also called the Mason Dixon Line.

"Through the first half of the 19th century the Mason-Dixon Line represented the line of freedom for tens of thousands of blacks escaping slavery in the south. The Underground Railroad provided food and temporary shelter at secret way-stations, and guided or sometimes transported northbound slaves across the Line.  The spirituals sung by these slaves included coded references for escapees: the song "Follow the drinking gourd" referred to the Big Dipper from which runaways could sight the North Star; the River Jordan was the Mason-Dixon Line; Pennsylvania was the Promised Land.  After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 allowed slave owners to pursue their escaped slaves into the north, the line of freedom became the Canadian border, "Canaan" in the spirituals, and abolitionists created Underground Railroad stops all the way to Canada. "   ---A brief history of the Mason-Dixon Line, John Mackenzie, APEC/CANR, University of Delaware

Freed Slaves in The Union Army 

July 17, 1862 was the first Colored Troop to fight in the Union Army.  They thought that being those slaves that made  it to freedom would have made a bigger impact on the morale's of the Confederacy.  Martin Delaney and Frederick Douglass were the first two freed slaves in this troop. 200,000 African Americans served in the Union Army during the Civil War and more than 10,000 died in the Civil War serving in the Union.

The movie "Glory", trailer below, is about the first formal unit of the Union Army, made up of these African American freed slaves, during the American Civil War

Other Key Players In The Civil War

There were African American women who also served in the United States Colored Troop regiments.  One was a nurse, laundress and school teacher, Suzy Baker.  After the Civil War she went on to help build a branch of the Women's Relief Corps that served veterans.

Suzy Baker

White men who were confederates also helped free the slaves.  One was Granville Hall.  He was born in Harrison County Virginia, which is now part f West Virginia,  His father was indicted for subscribing to an Antislavery newspaper.

Granville Hall

Hinton Helper

Henry Ruffner

A bit of proof that the Civil War was more than about civil rights and slavery.  In 1847 Ruffner stated that slavery was taking jobs from white laborers.  He also stated the the older free states were beginning to grow economically while those in the older slave states prosperity was beginning tp show signs of stagnating.  Hinton Helper stated that the "Plain Folk of the Old South" were being oppressed by the rich slave owners.  He believed that the abolitionists were the South's true friends.

Black Slave Owners As Well As White Ones

Whites were not the only ones who owned slave and they were not the only slave in the South.  Northerner also had slaves.  African Americans's also owned slave.  The three most historical Black Slave Owners were: Willima Ellison, born April Ellison.  She took the name of her former slave owner and bought slaves to work on her land in South Carolina. Marie Therese Matoyer freed slave and bought her husband and then they produces 6 children of that union in Louisiana. Anthony Johnson was the first black to come to the states and was the first slave in Virginia. There is lots to red about this and the beginning/roots of the slavery in America on this site: The Black Slave Owners

 Women Spies

Belle Boyd

There was also a famous lady Confederate Spy and her name was Maria Isabella Boyd.  She went by the name of "Belle" Boyd.  She had deep southern roots as her well-to-do family lived there.She was young enough (18 years old) to not be noticed as much but she did have an arrest record.   When a Union soldier came into their home and was drunk and talked rudely to her mother Belle took a gun and killed the man.  She was only 17 years old.  She was not arrested as the investigator deemed that she was in the right to kill him.  That began her career as a Rebel Spy. She transported information and supplies to the Confederate Troops.

There was also a couple of other woman spies in the Civil War. One was Emma Edmonds and another Elizabeth Van Lew.

Elizabeth Van Lew

Elizabeth Van Lew, a native of Richmond, VA who had attended a Philadelphia Quaker school, was an ardent opponent of slavery and pro-Union. “Crazy Bet” as she was known in Richmond because she used to sing and talk to herself while going down the street.  She freed a slave before the war started and employed her as a house servant in the home of Jefferson Davis.

Emma Edwards

Emma Edmonds dressed up as a man to to get into the Michigan Volunteer Company and then would go out and spy as a woman.  Sneaky one wasn't she?

And finally, John Brown, who was the biggest push for the start of the Civil War, when he raided Harper's Ferry. 

John Brown

 He was a big part of the Underground Railroad in hiding slave and bringing them to their freedom.  He had started his own army which he called the  Provisional Army and had 21 followers.  5 of them were African Americans and 16 of them were white.  They came from a variety of backgrounds.He was all over the territories and Virginia too.  He killed 5 in the Kansas Territory before moving his followers to Maryland where they planned their ambush on Harper's Ferry.  It was his goal to take the fort and he did tell Frederick Douglas of his plans to do so.  Frederick Douglas told him that he would not get out of that alive.  He was hoping that all the slaves of those men that were in Harper's Ferry would join up with his followers, but he was very disappointed when they did not.  He killed many people and held many people hostage in that town.  He also took over many of the buildings that included, Hall's Rifle Works and the armory and arsenal that was in Harper's Ferry.  When he got there and started his raid, someone got word out of what he was doing and the US Marines came in to take control.  It was Robert E. Lee that finally came in.  John's fatal mistake was when he seized the B & O Railroad for 5 hours.

John Brown's Fort at Harper's Ferry National Park
in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia

He took hostages and held them in the fire engine house in Harper's Ferry.  That is how it got the name of John Brown's Fort.  General Lee asked them to stand down and drop their weapons and they refused.  General Lee had his Marines storm the Fire House and a few were killed.  John Brown was convicted of murder and reason against the Commonwealth of Virginia on December 2, 1869.
John Brown had hoped that he would be able to "free all the slaves in the South" with this maneuver.  General Robert E. Lee thought that he was a madman.

Another devastating raid during the Civil War that you may want to read: StonewallJackson, The Roundhouse of Martinsburg, West Virginia & the Civil War  

Anti-Establishment

The more and more that I read on this flag and what certain groups of people put into it I come to realize what it really means and why it has such a bad symbolism.

As history unfolds and we learn more and more and the events of today, the flag symbolizes rebellion.  Rebellion of what?  Rebellion of a way of life that the wealthy Southerners relished in.  The rich had their plantations and had to work them to produce their crops and make money.  The only way that they saw to do this was to have slaves.  They didn't pay taxes on these slaves and they became their property.  A slave owner owned the children of the women slaves.  It was a profitable business.  Many did not see it that way in the South and also in the North.  After the Mexican/American War in 1850, 11 years prior to the onset of the Civil War, slavery became an issue to the new territories.  Another compromise was the Missouri Compromise (1820),  was a federal statute that regulated slavery in the western territories.  That raised some issues and there was yet another compromise. In January 1854, it was repealed and the new compromise, the Kansas/Nebraska Act, which opened up the territory and allowed any white male to decide if he wanted slaves or not. That caused some issues as well and slavery states and territories became to be spotted through out the newly developing United States.  That was problem that President Lincoln faced and had to deal with and find a solution for.  Along with that he was also involved in making a new state, which at the time had some interesting issues about the Union and Confederate of their own.  You can read "West Virginia's Battle To Become A New State" on this blog.

People don't like those who are rebellious and are Anti-Establishment. Other words for this are; anarchist, freedom fighter, heretic, nonconformist, resistance fighter and revolt, take as stand.  It bucks the system that everyone "must" follow.  The United States at the time just before the Civil War were wanting a complete Unity.  With all these slavery issues and territories and the economics of the states, The North just wanted some peace and have the whole of the land be UNITED.  That wasn't happening with the states that were seceding from that very Union.  So they had to ruffle some feathers, so to speak, and it caused so much uproar to so many people's, but it had to be done. So this flag represents this strife and this anti-establishment and kind of like, dig your heals in, attitude. It causes people to become outraged with what they associate the symbol of that Confederate flag.

For a person to use it as a suggestive to be racist, like Dylann Roof did, is a powerful statement.  Though he did use it and put that hatred into people's minds has nothing to do with the Civil War or that Flag perse'.  The hatred and the anger should point to the person and not a material symbol.  He said that he wanted to start a Civil War and instead of ignoring him we are starting a Civil War, just like he wants.  That is crazy!

He used an old symbol to illicit hatred in these United States.  Those in Charleston, South Carolina have said they don't feed hate.  You could have fooled me!  This is exactly what they are doing. Can't you see what the people who are calling Racism for this flag are doing?  You are no better than Dylann Roof.

It has been a little over 200 years and we still have not learned a thing or even become a UNITED States.  Not even close.

United We Stand, Divided We Fall.  I don't think that we will ever be United because we put too much into symbols to stop and Love Our Neighbor.

____________________________________________________________________

Sources:

RAID ON HARPERS FERRY, History.net

Origins of the American Civil War, Wikipedia

Civil-War-Espionage-and-Intelligence

A brief history of the Mason-Dixon Line

SonoftheSouthnet

A Town Divided By The Civil War Gerrardstown, West Virginia

History In The Making - Gerrardstown, WV

The Town Of Gerrardstown, WV




Gerrardstown Town Historical Marker
Source: Debra Allen



Historical PackHorse Road

Source: Debra Allen



Mills Gap at the top of North Mountain where Route 51 (Historical Pack Horse Road), Route 45 (Apple Harvest Drive) and Route 20 meet.
Source: Debra Allen


This is the quaint town that I live in. It is located at the foot of North Mountain and also just on the other side of the mountain in Berkeley County, West Virginia. I live on the other side of North Mountain.
Originally Gerrardstown was named Middletown by german immigrant by the name of John Mills, Jr. in 1787.
During the Civil War many things changed for this small town. In 1863 the states split up from Virginia into West Virginia.
There are two main mountains here, North Mountain and Apple Pie Ridge. Apple Pie Ridge runs parallel with North Mountain. Apple Pie Ridge is named such for the many orchards that adorn the mountain sides. The soil was rich and fertile and that brought many farmers here. We have many orchards that grow many varieties of apples and peaches. You will see many Cattle and Horse farms and also a few with Goats. One of the local farm market is now raising Buffalo, Steer, Goats, Pigs along with the huge variety of apples, berries, pumpkins and other fruits and vegetables.
One of the earliest roads that was made is Pack Horse Road, and the older part is still partially there, (picture on right). It is now Route 51 that starts from Charlestown. WV and continues through Gerrardstown, over the top of the mountain named Mills Gap and down into Back Creek Valley.


North Mountain at Gerrardstown and Mills Gap.




East of North Mountain. Route 51 runs along the side of that mountain to the gap on the right of it where it meets Route 45 and Route 20.
Source: Debra Allen
A Legend About Some Gold?
Legend has it that two men in Braddock's Army had a couple of payloads of gold they were carrying. They decided to bury it because of an impending Indian Raid and the thought that they marked the area pretty well. Well when things calmed down and they came back a few years later the area was quite different and the never found that stash of gold. During the French and Indian War there were lots of skirmishes and raids in the area and it was difficult to stay there. On one occasion, at the last Indian Massacre, the Indians killed many and took a few to be sold as slaves. One woman was sold to a Canadian trader by the name of Jean Baptiste Plata. He fell in love with her, brought her back to Middletown (which is now Gerrardstown) married her. Her brother, George, killed him shortly after the wedding and she became very ill. After ten years she married William Cleery and they moved to Morgantown. Her name was Isabella Stockton.


Hays-Gerrard House, First Baptist Minister



John Gerrard House
John Hays and family were the first baptist settlers to come to live in the Gerrardstown area in1743.




John Hays was built his first house in Gerrardstown and then Reverend John Gerrards bought it, used it as a home and a church. It is still there.
Source: Debra Allen
The first Baptist preacher was Reverend John Gerrard. He acquired much land from Lord Fairfax and bought the John Hays house hence the name Hays-Gerrard house.
He built a big plantation and later sold it to his son, David. David then platted out the town and it did prosper a great deal. David changed the town's name from Middletown to Gerrardstown in 1784. It has been that name ever since.
***An interesting note about this historical house is there there are drawers under all the windows.



The Corner Store in Gerrardstown WV Excerpt from "The Gerardstown times." (Gerardstown [i.e. Gerrardstown] W. Va.) 1871-1905

The Corner Grocery Store




The Corner Store
Source: Debra Allen
It is on the corner of Mountain Street (now Route 51) and Congress Street (now Virginia Line Road). This store originally had 2 stories. It was torn down and this small store was built in it's place in 1845 and changed owners in 1867 and the new owner did not sell as wide a range of goods as the original owner.
The original name was Then Corner Store, then became the "Cheap Store" but eventually became The Corner Store again. It has changed owners a couple of time in the last 10 years.
During it's first phase when it was a 2 story building the Masonic Lodge held their meetings in the 2nd story of the store. The first newspaper was published there in Gerrardstown in that 2nd story building. The name of the newspaper was "The Gerrardstown Times" and was published in 1870.



Churches of Gerrardstown
Methodist Churches of Gerrardstown







Apple Chapel was originally Methodist Episcopal Church
(Southern)
Source: Debra Allen


Apple Chapel was renovated in 2008. Originally it was The Methodist Episcopal Church on the southern corner behind the Corner Store. During the Civil War the church members were divided on the different sides of the war and the new church formed leaving this one unfinished. That was until someone decided to finish it in all it's beautiful handwork and splendor and named it Apple Chapel. Occasionally there will be an event or meeting












This used to be the northern Methodist Episcopal Church.
Source: Debra Allen



The Presbyterians arrived in Gerrardstown in 1794, but it was not until 1797 when they started having regular service. That was when Reverend Joseph Glass came. The cemetery and the church are a Historical Landmark. This is not the original church. This one was built in 1892 after two other churches were built. The second one was deemed unsound and then they built this new one that still stands and is in use today.

The Methodists were the last denomination to settle in Gerrardstown. The first settlers were Baptists. The Methodists would have their services with the Presbyterians until this church was being built in the year 1833. The new church was built on Mountain Road in 1957. It still stands and is still in use.
The South and Northern Methodist spilt in the Civil War along the political lines of the state. Among other churches there were Lutheran and several other reformation churches. None of them are standing today. What is left of them is just the Lutheran Cemetery.
***Historical Note: President Lincoln's bodyguard is buried in this cemetery.




The Earl McCormick House





The Earl McCormick House 2013
Source: Debra Allen
This house is a house of add ons because each owner would add a section onto the existing house. The original is thought to be built around 1822. The two most noted additions were made in 1905 and 1920. The picture that I took here is 2013. You can see the many additions on the outside. On the inside there is a large hall in the center that has a gorgeous spiral staircase in it. I am not sure what is left in the ten room house because the current owners did some upgrading in the last three years. This house has had many owners in it's time but it got the name The McCormick house because they were the occupants that lived there the longest.


The James Bell House



The James Bell House a.k.a The Tavern




The James Bell House 2012
Source: Debra Allen
This is the only house that is still standing that was used as a tavern and Inn in Gerrardstown. It was bought by Mr. James Bell in 1796. The previous owner was Justus Gerrard who bought it from Daniel Thomas.
The original owner was Jesse and Sarah Payne. The original part of the log cabin was one room with a second story. The bottom was divided into four rooms and had 2 fireplaces. Early in the 19th century was when it was used on the bottom level as an Inn and Tavern. It was expanded and later was used as an antique shop, a pool house and currently it is a private residence.
There are several other buildings on this piece of property. Some are still standing and some have fallen apart. The most notable one is the building behind this one that was used as a residence, a wagon makers and a harness shop. Another house sit behind this house and is a log home used as a smokehouse and the original hardware is still there and intact.
There were a couple of other taverns and Inns but there isn't much information about them anymore. Too bad they do not have anything in this town anymore. There used to be a Bed and Breakfast and we did have family stay in it one night but it has since been sold and is now a private residence,




Wiest Store
Just in the last two years the antique store owner had moved everything out and closed it up.
It was built in 1854 as a commercial property. The glass windows in the front used to be a porch area. It was built by Phillip Jacob Wiest who arrived in Gerrardstown in the year 1852. He had a few occupations as he was a farmer, a cabinet maker and an undertaker. It was like the stores that you see in old westerns and like on "Little House On The Prairie" with everything from groceries, equestrian things to fabrics.
Eventually Phillip's son, John, took over running the grocery store part and then later the entire business His father continued the undertaking business and made caskets in a building on the back of the property.
This store was operational for 124 years. Records showed that they used a bartering system for those who needed caskets to bury their loved ones.
My husband and I were in that building a few years ago when it was an antique shop. The floors were wooden, not like the kind or feel like they are today. There was a large staircase that in the back of the building. I definitely took you back in time as you walked around the building.


Sources and Other Related Information
"The Berkeley Journal" that was written in 1991 by the Berkeley County Historical Society.
----------------------------------------------------------------

© Debra K. Allen a.k.a Lady Guinevere

I researched and wrote this article. Please do not copy and paste any part of this article, picture included for your own use. I will find you and report you for stealing. It is my right to change any information therein at any time and/or change the location of my article.

A Poor House

Poor House Farm Park Fishing Sign




The begging walk and the sign in front of the trail around the 5 acre pond.
Source: Debra Allen
Poor House Farm Park
Our Start
On Saturday we took a drive to the park that is near us. I took many pictures. It was quiet out there because they had the pond area blocked off because someone was going to be having a wedding that day. It is a gorgeous place to have a wedding that is for sure and you can bank on that. Well we got to walk through it and I took some very nice pictures. I, at first, did not think that they would turn out well. I was very pleasantly surprised when I got home and uploaded them onto my computer so that I could see them. They are gorgeous, if I say so myself. Now, I used a digital camera for all these pictures. I do have a much more powerful camera but I keep forgetting how to load the film in it. The last time that I did that, I took three rolls of photos and when I went to have them developed there was nothing on the film. I followed the directions and everything. I took off the protector even. I wasted all the precious time and all that money. So I don’t use that one anymore. I wish that I could but maybe some other day.


Used to be Mountainside Group Home






This house was used as the Group Home up until the year 2001 when the County took it over to make it part of the Park.
Source: Debra Allen


Poor House Farm Park has an interesting history with it.
One of the houses has been used as a Mental Health Facility Group Home.
That closed a few years ago, and the name of that was Mountainside Group Home.
It was part of the Eastridge Mental Health Facility’s program.



Poorhouses
Poorhouses were pre-welfare times. They were used to house those who could not pay their taxes and give the tax payers an alternative means to support the poor. These places were managed by an elected official of the town where the poorhouses were located. The manger or overseer title was “Poor Master.” It was only here that there would be people who would be in long term need of housing. For those who did not need such long term facilities they were given a relief, but had to ask for it. It was run similar to the Welfare System that we have today, only there was no such thing as homelessness unless they were caught begging in public places. They would be turned out to live individually…..homeless. I think that this was the real reason why people shun the homeless today. Hmmm, would we need to bring this type of help back? I wonder. We do have homeless shelter, but not everyone can accommodate the amount of those who have become homeless in this generation.


Poor House Farm Park 5 Acre Pond




A view of the Pond and the surrounding mountain and trees.
Source: Debra Allen
Origins of Landowners
An article that I found on the internet here, History of Poorhouses, tries to clear up the differences between debtors prison and poor houses and states, “One misconception should be cleared up here; they were nottechnically "debtors' prisons." Someone could owe a great deal of money, but if they could still provide themselves with the necessities for remaining independent they might avoid the poorhouse.”
Poor House Farm was on 400 acres of land west of Martinsburg, WV. It was owned by Davey Crockets Grandparents. David and Elizabeth Crocket were granted the 400 acres of land by Lord Fairfax in 1766. As the story goes that land changed hands many times over. Eventually through all the transfers it finally ended up being owned by John and Elizabeth Emmert. Most of the houses that were on the piece of land now known as Poor House Farm Park were made of logs. Eventually they were made of limestone. I do not know if they were re-built or just layered in the stone. They are re-building or re-furbishing the house that used to be the group home for the county.
The Football Field





Poor House Farm Park Football Field back-dropped near the mountain.
Source: Debra Allen
Today's Poor House Farm Park
The Emmert’s sold 140 acres to the Berkeley County in 1850 and in 1960 the Stewart house was built using bricks. When the state decided to begin the Welfare Program the poorhouses were outdated. Soon after that the houses were leased to private residents. The Mountainside House was a group home up until the year 2001 when the county took back all the land and started making it into the lovely park that it is today.
Poor House Farm Park





Houses and buildings
Source: Debra Allen
Just Sharing
There is so much to do there and yet
I just wanted to take a leisurely walk through the park with my husband and our dog.
The surroundings are so peaceful and serene and
I just love taking pictures and sharing them with others.
So you do enjoy the pictures that I am sharing.
Recreation In Poor House Farm Park
The park now consists of:
· One Large pavilion
· One medium pavilion
· 5 miles of hiking that meanders through a beautiful wooded area
· Emmert Field youth football complex
· Practice fields for soccer and base/soft ball
· Volleyball court in sand
· 18 hole disk golf course
· Henry Equestrian Arena
· A 5 acre pond filled with trout
Other Pictures That I took On My Walk




The Gazebo
Source: Debra Allen










The local residents.
Source: Debra Allen






More Information About Poor House
· HISTORY of Poorhouses
Poorhouses promised to be a much more efficient and cheaper way to provide relief to paupers.
· The Barn at Poor House Farm

· Find A Grave: Poor House Farm Cemetery #1, #2, #3





© Debra K. Allen a.k.a Lady Guinevere

I researched and wrote this article. Please do not copy and paste any part of this article, picture included for your own use. I will find you and report you for stealing. It is my right to change any information therein at any time and/or change the location of my article.

West Virginia’s Battle To Become A New Independent State

West Virginia State Seal


West Virginia State Seal
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/
Introductory
Western Virginia was part of the Confederate state of Virginia up until right about around the Civil War. The Civil War was more than about slavery and who owned who and what and who could do what to whom and so on and so forth. It was about livelihoods and commerce and economics, land and living on that land. It was about industry and wealth of the major players and it was about independence too. The independence that I will be talking about in this article is the way and when and how West Virginia became its own independent state in the Union.
There were many brothers who fought brothers and fathers who fought their sons and sons who fought their fathers in the bloody Civil War, but non such as when West Virginia became a state in the union. Some of this is confusing to me to write about and I will try to not confuse you as I try to explain this to you.


West Virginia: The Road to Statehood
How It All Began
It was in the state of Virginia that the subject and ownership of slave became a huge issue and it began to tear the people apart. This division lasted for several years and when things began to calm down that is when the state of West Virginia started forming.
With the battle of Fort Sumter and President Lincoln calling for volunteers did the talk of secession from the union come about. All delegates were in accordance before then. All hell broke loose and the federal government was the coercion that President Lincoln planned to use. Though it was not possible to do such against a state. Virginia came to vote on this and become a state in the new Confederate States of America for the South.. The nation as it stood before the civil was was more like two than one. There was the North called the Union and then there was the split that the South wanted and that was how the Confederate States came to be, only it did not last. Virginia wanted to secede from the northern states. The trouble started when those who lived in the western part of Virginia had 2/3rds of the vote to not secede from the Union.
It was then that the union and the confederates wanted to keep hold of the proposed state. You will be surprised to find out that it was not coal as it is today. It was the farmland and the salt as the products of West Virginia had at the time. The biggest push or resource was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Virginia did not want to give this up as it was valuable in bring resources into the most powerful southern state of Virginia also known as the Old Dominion. Retaining this part of the state was a strategical part of the Confederacy because they thought that it would preserve the high standards and morale’s that the South prided themselves on before the Civil War began.


Harpers Ferry, West Virginia




Harpers Ferry, WV
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/




John Brown

John Brown
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
When John Brown, a passionate abolitionist, seized the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry it threw the South into a panic. John Brown planned on using the guns and ammo to give to the slaves of Northern Virginia. The Underground Railroad was being use at that time and maybe a little bit before that. There were many places slaves were helped along the way to their freedom. Many did not make it but many also did. This is that backbone to our nation’s real beginning and the spark to our very own freedom.





Watch the History Channels video on Slavery and Black History in America:
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery




The first colony to acquire slaves


Start Of Slavery In America
Slavery started in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. They were brought from Africa. They were brought to increase the production of such crops as Tobacco and cotton that was mainly grown in the South. They did not just pick up the Africans as in regular people. They picked and chose those who were in high status and the strongest which had an effect on Africa jeopardizing the strength of the African Nation. The Dutch sent over a ship and brought the first 20 slaves to America just after 1619. It is estimated that by the 1800’s there were more than 6 million slaves in the South alone. Most were farmers, household workers and the like. There has been movies that depicted how it was in the north and in the south. Two most noteworthy ones are: Gone With The Wind and North and South. Though they be more romantic they do have lots of historical facts to them.


West Virginia Culture







The push to abolish slavery really came about because the north were having pains of remembering how the British treated them and how they suppressed them as well. This is the real crux of the situation. That is why many from Western Virginia did not want to be included in the slave trade of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It had come a very tumultuous time in the states and the president had to do something. The very livelihood of both north and south were tearing apart and tearing the nation apart as well. Frances and Julia Pierpont, who resided in the Western Counties of Virginia, thought up a plan to keep those who lived in the Western part of Virginia to stay loyal to the Union of the North. That stirred up lots of emotions and loyalties and fights and it changed the whole nation at the time. Western Virginia did not depend on slavery for their economic growth and presence. It was a different way of life altogether.



West Virginia and the Civil War





Many people who lived in the Eastern Panhandle were split in the decision to be North or to be part of the South. The deciding factor was where the Baltimore and Ohio Railway lay. That was what decided where the boundaries of the new state of West Virginia would be. This is when the president sent in the troops for the Civil War. Virginia was one of the states that did not want to lose its way of life and they wanted to stay as they were which the first colony in the Americas was. They had the power and prestige and the political intuitiveness. In 1851 was when the first Wheeling Convention was held. It was there that the Western Virginians, representing 24 counties in the Western part of Virginia decided they wanted to become their own state..



West Virginia Counties



Map Of The current West Virginia County
Source: http://geology.com/


The Split of Counties
Virginia was part of all the counties except that of what is now known as the Northern Panhandle which included the city of Wheeling. They were not part of Virginia but of Ohio.

The B&O Railroad traversed the top of the state starting at Baltimore, Maryland crossing the western panhandle of Maryland and going across to the Ohio River which was about 300 miles of tracks. They went through mountains, over mountains and over rivers to get there. It took many men to build those tracks. Some $43,000 was being paid to the railroad company to send mail back and forth over the lines.
You can learn lots more here: http://www.borail.org/
When the western part of Virginia split off from the commonwealth, the Eastern Panhandle was formed. The new counties were now known as Morgan, Berkeley and Jefferson counties in the new state of West Virginia. The Northern Panhandle, that was in the state of Ohio, also split off and became the counties of Hancock, Brooke, Ohio and Marshal Counties in West Virginia. West Virginia became a brand new state on June 20, 1863. The first Governor of the new state was Arthur I. Boreman.


Without the Civil War and the changes in the thinking and livelihood of the people during the war, we would not have a Wild and Wonderful West Virginia. I am glad that we do. It is a wonderful state with many things to do and see.



© Debra K. Allen a.k.a Lady Guinevere

I researched and wrote this article. Please do not copy and paste any part of this article, picture included for your own use. I will find you and report you for stealing. It is my right to change any information therein at any time and/or change the location of my article.

Oil City, Pennsylvania The First Oil in the USA

Oil City, PA

Photo Credit:   Mine.  This is my husband’s Parents house when they lived there.

My Husband’s family lived there for many years and the lived in a house that was 100 years old.  Oil City is situated on the Allegheny River Creek in Venango County, Pennsylvania. They took us on a tour of the area and it was all dismantled and the buildings that were there were all falling down. 

Oil City was the first to have an Oil Well on its land. It was the first to produce and refine petroleum in the United States.  It was in 1859 when Colonel Edwin Drake first built upon the Oil reserves there.  At that time it is said that the oil literally sat on top of the earth.  He was the first to drill that oil out of the ground.  In its heyday they shipped more than one million barrels of oil in a single year. 

When Oil was there the town was full of well off people.  There were also those who were workers in the oil plants that were also not so well to do.  They lived in a place called Pithole located on Oil Creek.  In 1866 is when the banks collapsed and that is when the petroleum industry in Oil City and Pithole started to crumble.  Many people left the area.  The population dropped from 20,000 to just 2,000 in one year.

You can take a tour on the Oil City/Titusville Railroad and see all the places where Oil Was first refined in the United States at +http://www.octrr.org/

© Debra K. Allen a.k.a Lady Guinevere

I researched and wrote this article. Please do not copy and paste any part of this article, picture included for your own use. I will find you and report you for stealing.  It is my right to change any information therein at any time and/or change the location of my article.