News articles from Wayne County Newspaper Submitted by June White and Wayne County News,who gave permission to research its old editions, and Nina Johnson, resident genealogist at Cabell County Library. December 2001 This file contains: BLOSS FAMILY MRS. CLARK'S LINEAGE COUPLE, 67 YEARS OLD, ARE MARRIED OBIT OF DUNLOW WOMAN, AGE 104 County's First Rural High School OBIT OF Eliza Ann Clark WHITES CREEK WOMAN MAKES A FARM RECORD FIRST WILL IN COUNTY RECORDED STATE LEGISLATURE THREE PRISONERS ESCAPE Catherine Enslow, 105 years old ******************************************************** ONLY SIXTEEN LIVING DESCENDANTS OF BLOSS FAMILY IN CONTRAST WITH MRS. CLARK'S LINEAGE OF 469 The story of the few descendants of a prominent Wayne County family has been received by this paper this week which is a counter report to the story of Mrs. Eliza Ann Clark, of Lick Creek, which was published in our issue of January 22nd. It will be recalled that Mrs. Clark had a total of 469 descendants, 381 of whom were living at the time of her death a few weeks ago. Mrs. Clark probably had more direct descendants than any other person in this county. In contrast with this long lineage is the history of the Bloss family who have been life long residents of this county, living in the Lavalette neighborhood. Ezekiel S. Bloss and his wife Martha Ann Morris Bloss were born on lower Twelve Pole in this county a little more than one hundred years ago. They were married on December 13, 1838. To the union were born nine children, five of whom died young. The late E. S. Bloss, one of the descendants, was for many years Circuit Clerk in this county. The four living members of this family are John L. Bloss of Huntington, age 69, who has one son Harry C. Bloss; E. M. Bloss, of Dickson, this county, age 67, who has one daughter, Mrs. Addie Turner of Dickson; H. M. Bloss, of Huntington, age 63, who has two daughters, Mrs. Pearl Ferguson and Mrs. Jennie Dempsey, both of Huntington; and V. A. Bloss, of Dickson, age 57. There are eight great grandchildren, making in all a total of only sixteen living descendants of this old family, which is said to be the smallest family of the county, considering its age. These sixteen descendants, taken in contrast with the 381 members of the family of Mrs. Clark, indicate what is believed to be the largest and smallest families in the county. Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia February 5, 1920 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIRST LOVE TRIUMPHS; COUPLE, 67 YEARS OLD, ARE MARRIED The marriage of Mrs. Mary Ann Spurlock, of Wayne, to B. G. Chapman, who has recently been located at Radnor, on Saturday, January 24th, was the climatical chapter of a romance which began more than forty years ago. Both the bride and groom are 67 years of age. They were each other's first sweetheart while they were still in their teens many years ago. But fate somehow decreed that they drift apart. Other romances were soon underway which later resulted in the marriage of Mrs. Spurlock (then Miss Mary Ann Ferguson) to Burwell Spurlock and following that the marriage of Mr. Chapman to Miss Belle Spurlock, daughter of the late Jesse Spurlock. But Mrs. Spurlock's husband and Chapman's wife both died some years ago. And so the thread of the love-in-youth was picked up a few months ago when the two became sweethearts again after a lapse for nearly half a century. The marriage, which was performed at the home of Mrs. Spurlock in Wayne by Rev. J. H. Walker at 9:00 Saturday evening January 24th, was kept a secret until this week. Mr. and Mrs. Chapman will make their home here. Both of them are well known in this county. The bride is the daughter of the late Burwell Ferguson and the groom a son of the late Billie Chapman. Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia February 5, 1920 DUNLOW WOMAN, AGE 104, IS VICTIM OF PARALYTIC STROKE Mrs. Jane Neace, whose age extended four years beyond the century mark, died Saturday afternoon at four o'clock at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Kelly, Dunlow, this county. Old age coupled with a mild stroke of paralysis suffered a week ago was the cause of death. She is believed to have been the oldest woman in southern West Virginia. Mrs. Neace was born in Russell County, Virginia, in 1816. She married George W. Neace, a prominent farmer and cattle dealer, when she was twenty-one years of age. During the trying period of the Civil War, her husband was active in the discouragement of the strong rebel sentiment existing in Russell County. Immediately upon the outbreak of hostilities, he enlisted in the Union army. Citations commending him for bravery in action were made in several official reports. He was honorably discharged with the rank of captain when the Union army was disbanded following Lee's surrender at Appomatox Court House. During the strife Mrs. Neace served as a self-appointed nurse, and her accounts of hotly contested battles which she witnssed from near vantage points and of the heroic work of the women of the country in ministering to the wounded and dying have held little groups of friends spellbound for hours at a time. Shortly after the close of the war, the family moved to Wayne County, West Virginia, where they have resided since. Until the illness which resulted in her death, Mrs. Neace has been in excellent health, and her abhorrence to doctors was a trait which often amused her friends. She walked with a firm step, her body held erect, and even in her last days refused to use a walking stick. In spite of her advanced age she was always insistent in doing a part, at least, of her own housework. She attributed her health to her outdoor life in Virginia. She is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Kelly, Dunlow, and four sons, George, John, and Newton [of] Huntington and William Neace who lives at Mount Union. Funeral services were held at the home of Mr. Neace at three o'clock Monday afternoon. Burial was made at the Barbour cemetery, near Mount Union. Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia September 23, 1920 ************************************************************* County's First Rural High School The Ceredo District High School building...is the home of the first rural high school ever established in this county. Since the founding of this school at Buffalo, other Junior High Schools have been established at Westmoreland, Fort Gay, and Wayne. The Buffalo school building was built by the board of education after a hard local fight. The first principal was a professor from Ohio who resigned at the end of the first month. Prof. T. B. McClure was later high school principal and J. Floyd Harrison principal of the grades and assistant high school teacher. The following year Bertha Plymale was principal with Mr. Harrison again principal of the grades and assistant in high school work. During the next two years L. E. Cox served as principal with J. F. Hussell as assistant. This year the faculty is made up of G. W. Hypes, principal, J. F. Hussell and Miss Pansey Staley. The school has grown from a third class to a second class high school. In the school equipment is included a barn, for the benefit of students who ride, a baseball field, a basket-ball court, tennis court, garden, etc. The school is well attended and popular with students living within a radius of several miles of Buffalo. Incidentally, it might be added that this school supports a stong Parent Teacher Association. Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia January 22, 1920 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WAYNE COUNTY WOMAN, AGE 94, DIES LEAVING 381 LIVING DESCENDANTS With the death of Mrs. Eliza Ann Clark, who died. . . on Lick Creek a few days ago, is the passing of one the most remarkable women in Wayne County on account of the fact that she is possibly survived by more descendants than any other person who has ever lived in the county. Before she died, she was the oldest representative of five living generations. Mrs. Clark is the mother of 11 children, 4 living; 101 grandchildren, 82 living; 313 great-grandchildren, 255 living; and 44 great-great grandchildren, 40 living. That is a total of 469 descendants, 381 of whom are living. At the time of her death, Mrs. Clark was 94 years old, but despite her advanced age, she was active almost until the last. She read small print and did intricate sewing without the benefit of eyeglasses and was able to walk several miles a day to visit relatives to within a few days of her death. Mrs. Clark, who is the widow of David Clark, was born in . . . Virginia. She was a member of the United Baptist Church for over 40 years. Her descendants are found in every section of Wayne County. Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia January 22, 1920 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHITES CREEK WOMAN MAKES A FARM RECORD A concrete example of just what progressive poultry farming is may be seen in the following report of Mrs. Victoria Rigg, wife of Chas. Rigg of Whites Creek, this county, which has been made at the request of County Agent R. T. Gray. Explanatory to reading the report, it should be said that the egg yield of the hens is not represented as high as it actually was, since dogs and crows are responsible for the loss of dozens of eggs during the year. The report indicates only the exact expenditures and receipts, exclusive of losses of any kind. If there are any others in the county who can produce better reports than this one, Wayne County News will be glad to receive them. Mrs. Rigg's report, which will be read with interest by hundreds of folks in this county, is a complete record of her flock for the entire year just closed and reads as follows: Hens January 1st, 1919. . . . . . 80 Sold November 1st, 1919. . . . . 25 Hens January 1st, 1920. . . . . 63 Av. No. hens during year. . . . . 74 No. eggs laid during year. . 10,611 Av. eggs per hen. . . . . . . . . . . .141 Highest price received for eggs. .60 cents per . . .(Copy runs out) Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia January 22, 1920 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia September 16, 1920 NOTE: Because the left column of the copied article unavoidably darkened, it was difficult to read, and so it was necessary to surmise some words in the article and in the first seven lines of the will. FIRST WILL IN COUNTY RECORDED IN 1846; IS PRESERVED BY CLERK [From] amongthe hundreds of. . .[records] preserved in the office of the county clerk of Wayne county is the first will that was ever put on record in that office. The will of James Loar was written and recorded in 1846--move than seventy-four years ago. Some of the particularly interesting features of the first will ever recorded in Wayne county [include]: It was recorded four years after the county of Wayne was established by. . . dividing [from] Cabell county. . .at that time a county in the state of Virginia. The negro slaves were willed to the heirs of James Loar in the same way that horses and cattle are left in a will nowadays. The maker of this will bequeathed his soul to God as well as his worldly goods to relatives. This is a form seldom found in present-day wills. Not a single punctuation mark of any kind is found in this will. **************************** June 1846 By the Grace of God Amen I James Loar of the county of Wayne and the state ofVirginia being in feeble health but of sound mind and disposition do publish this last will and testament after giving and bequeathing my soul to Him that gave it and my body to its mother earth to dispose of my worldly goods and property My plows I give and bequeath unto my brother Peter Loar of Mepauni in that he owes me for a black [man] and child and for both in money. . .and to A. J. Loar and Harmon of Wayne Virginia my brothers my undivided. . .farm in Wayne Virginia consisting of one hundred and thirty three acres more or less being the farm where my widow lives and the same farm where lived my father Also two hundred acres adjoining said farm belonging to me known as the back land also 70 acres joining said two hundred acre patented to be by the State of Virginia and all the interest I may have to any lands in the county of Wayne and State of Virginia I also give unto my brothers A. J. Loar and Herman Loar all my interest in the negroes and their increases that was left to us by my father name to wit Betsey Sanford William George Meriah Barbara Isaac Rhoda Eli Fannie Melinda and Jeremiah said negroes being with us at this time I also give and bequeath my undivided interest in all the hogs sheep cattle horses corn oats hay wheat farming utentials wagons carts gears and all other things on the farm we claim in common to A. J. Loar and Harmon Loar I also give to them James H. Burke son of Ben Burke and Elizabeth Burke a negro girl named Jenny about four years old and I also give to the said Andrew J. Loar and Harmon Loar all my notes and accounts and money I have they paying all my just debts I also give and bequeath Harmon and A. J. Loar to give unto James Anderson out of the property I have given to them the sum of two hundred dollars when they arrive at the age of twenty one to pay the interest of said sum toward his schooling until they finish his education or stop going to school and it is to be kept for him until he arrives at the age of twenty one but if the said James Anderson should die before he arrives at the age of twenty one the said sum of two hundred dollars and its interest to go back to A. J. Loar and Harmon Loar I don't wish any administrator in my estate I request of Harmon and A. J. to pay all my just debts and authorize them to collect all debts due to me but if it should be necessary to appoint I appoint Harmon and A. J. Loar my executors as witness my hand and seal this 16th day of July 1848 James Loar Witness Daniel D. Jones W. T. Nichols Ben Burke **************************************************** Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia September 16, 1920 STATE LEGISLATURE HOLDS EXTRA SESSION THIS WEEK As Wayne County News goes to press this week the State Legislature again is convening in extra session at Charleston for the purpose of making provision for the registration of West Virginia women, thus making it possible for them to participate in the November election. At this time it is not known what will be the action of the legislature; however, it is conceded that a fight will be waged between the suffragist and anti forces. Delegate A. F. Wysong, of Mercer county, who led the anti-suffrage forces in the last extra session of the legislature and is again on the job in Charleston, declares that he is heading a movement for the purpose of thwarting the enfranchisement of women this fall. Wysong is a Republican member of the legislature. ********************************************** Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia September 16, 1920 NOTE: Names of prisoners omitted. COAT IS HUNG OVER HOLE IN BRICK WALL OF JAIL; THREE PRISONERS ESCAPE Three prisoners confined to the Wayne County jail dug through the brick wall on the north side of the building at dusk Saturday night and made good their getaway. An opening was made just below one of the windows. The work moving the brick from the wall was done just before dark Saturday and was kept concealed by hanging an overall coat over the hole. The prisoners were in the habit of hanging their clothing from the window to dry after washing and for that reason the jailor Adkins never suspected the hole behind the coat until after the three had escaped. [One of] those who gained their freedom [was jailed for] grand larcency, and [two] were serving misdemeanor sentences for trespassing. Jailor Lee Adkins entered the hall just as the third man went through the hole in the wall. By arriving at this time he prevented wholesale delivery of the prisoners. The [three] prisoners escaped just before the electrical storm Saturday night and are still at large. WESTMORELAND WOMAN IS 105, WELL, ACTIVE BUT WON'T VOTE Catherine Enslow, reporter on the staff of the Huntington Herald Dispatch, invaded Wayne County last Saturday to interview Mrs. Hanna Runyon Blankenship, age 105, who lives in Westmoreland; and who expresses herself as avowedly against woman suffrage. Mrs. Blankenship's views in regard to woman suffrage are a vivid contrast to the jubilancy that is manifest generally by women over their recent enfranchisement. Miss Enslow tells the story of Mrs. Blankenship's interview as follows: "I do not think that women have any right at the polls a- muddling up the politics, running for office and all that sort of thing. A woman's place is in her home raising her children and caring for her husband, not messing around tending to a man's business." This speaker snorted contemptuously as she derided the woman's right agitation and the recent victory of womankind in securing constitutional suffrage. Seated on the little porch in front of her home in Westmoreland, Mrs. Hanna Runyon Blankenship, a little spirited for all her 105 years, smiled at her own vigor and then settled with a sigh, "They didn't gallivant around like they do now when I was a little girl," she said. "We use to shear sheep and spin the wool for winter clothing--we always had a new suit for Christmas--run the house and do the chores. Now I pick greens every year and peddle them in the nearby towns to get money to clothe myself. I never had any time for such a pack of foolishness as voting and running for office and all that nonsense." Mrs. Blankenship, who says she is 105 by her own knowledge and that of God, is perhaps the oldest woman in West Virginia. At all odds she is one of the oldest in the United States. She is too, probably one of the most active of the centenarian family. Born in 1815, while Andrew Jackson was gaining a reputation at New Orleans and John Paul Jones was giving a few lessons in naval warfare, Mrs. Blankenship has spent most of her life within the call of the Alleghenies. Quaint, old-fashioned, active and keen-minded, she still is here a living monument of another day, of staidness and of the many qualities that are becoming rare in this day of new thought radicalism. With her "youngster," Mrs. Susie Mays, who says she is only 73, and Mrs. Maggie Loar, Mrs. Blankenship lives in a three-room house near the Westmoreland church. She is proud of her activity. With ill concealed glee she recited the details of a three-mile walk accomplished only yesterday. That there were four trestles to be crossed made no difference to Mrs. Blankenship, for she stepped across these as quickly and as spryly as any twelve year-old Huck Finn. Then lighting her inevitable pipe, for Hanna Blankenship smokes a pipe and is proud of it, she smoked in silence for a few minutes and then launched into a recital of her life history: "I was born in Pike County, Ky., in 1815. My mother died when I was two years old, but my father lived to be 104. "We lived in Pike County for several years, and from there my father fetched us to Little Sandy. From Little Sandy we moved to Virginia, and there I met Condie Blankenship, my husband. I was married at 20, up Tug River at the mouth of Kaney. We then moved to Boyd County, Kentucky, and lived near Catlettsburg, where I raised my children. Pa died there and was buried in England Hills on the 'plat' just above our house. He has been dead 50 years. "I'm a member of the hardshell Baptist church and was baptized at the mouth of Blackberry Creek on Tug River. When I got old enough to write my name in the book of Christ, that was the church I joined. "I got my religion all of a sudden. While I was making a cap for one of my babies, the Lord came to me. When I got religion, there was such a change in me the people all thought I was sick. I 'uster go to church a heap too. The Lord is as near my house as any church house. "Everybody thought I was lonely and asked me why I never married again, but I just told them I could never stand to see another man whop the children. Pa and me lived together a long time and never had a fuss or a word. "God forgive me; no, I do not dance. All my family danced but me. I never danced. Others would take us all to dances, but I would sit back. My father was the awfullest man to dance you ever saw. He would rather dance than eat, and when they danced the Virginia reel, he would get in such a big way a-dancin', instead of reelin' across the floor he would get down and roll across. "I liked the outdoor sports, though. I uster be the greatest horseback rider in our part of the country. I never swam much, but I could row a boat and paddle a canoe as good as anyone. I like to ride in automobiles too, better than on a street car. "As for riding one of the aeroplanes, no madam! Don't talk to me about gettin' up there. When I git up there that far in the air, I want the Lord to be taking me. "Up until the last few months, I was right poorly, but now I feel fine. Eat more than ever. I ain't had a tooth in my head for thirty years or longer, and I can't bite my food, but I cut it and eat it that-a-way. "I've never worn glasses either. I can see out of only one eye and thank God I can see out of it. That's the reason they won't let me go far away from home alone, so I have to always take my grandson, Walter Blair, 'cause he can watch for the automobiles. I love my children and grandchildren, and I love a child better than anything in God's world." With a clear, sweet voice, just to show me she could, Mrs. Blankenship launched on a song of long ago: A-walking and a-talking A-walking was I; I will meet my sweet William, I will met him er die; Meeting is a pleasure, Parting is grief; A unconstant lover is worse than a thief. A thief will rob you and bring you to the grave, The grave will consume you And turn you to dust, Not one man in ten thousand will do for to trust. Mrs. Blankenship's pipe died out, and the story stopped. She smiled as she tapped the bowl of her pipe against the side of the porch to dump the ashes. "You know," she continued slowly, "I see a lot of nonsense about women smoking. I think it is all right for women and young girls to smoke a pipe. But I do not think young girls should smoke a cigarette. They are vulgar and besides they shorten life. I have lived a hundred and five years, and I think my long life has been due to the fact that I smoked a pipe. They steady one's nerves. So, young lady, if you will, smoke a pipe, but keep away from those paper cigars. "No, I did not like smoking at first. But my husband chewed tobacco all the time, and I couldn't stand it. Some of the other women told me if I smoked a pipe I could stand my husband chewing. "And," she concluded, "it never made me sick, not even once." Mrs. Blankenship has an excellent memory, for one who has so many years to remember. Hard times are nothing new to this woman who has lived through half a dozen wars and recalls high prices with each one. With all she is joyful, and has more pep than some of the eighty and ninety year old persons who scoff at being young enough to be her children. Never a Sunday passes without her devotional, she says, for she is, if anything, a believer in the Almighty. "Another thing, young lady," concluded the woman, "when you get married, don't think you're too good to raise a family. That is the trouble with all this new-fangled stuff of women running around and voting and all such nonsense. Why I had 8 children, and three of them are still living. Those three are more than some of the new-fangled families nowadays. More'n that, I have twenty-six grandchildren, eighteen great-grandchildren and several great-great-grandchildren. So you see that nonsense don't run in this family." Mrs. Blankenship, unable to conquer her wanderlust, even at 105, is visiting her son today in Wayne County. She will remain there three weeks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DUNLOW WOMAN, AGE 104, IS VICTIM OF PARALYTIC STROKE Mrs. Jane Neace, whose age extended four years beyond the century mark, died Saturday afternoon at four o'clock at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Kelly, Dunlow, this county. Old age coupled with a mild stroke of paralysis suffered a week ago was the cause of death. She is believed to have been the oldest woman in southern West Virginia. Mrs. Neace was born in Russell County, Virginia, in 1816. She married George W. Neace, a prominent farmer and cattle dealer, when she was twenty-one years of age. During the trying period of the Civil War, her husband was active in the discouragement of the strong rebel sentiment existing in Russell County. Immediately upon the outbreak of hostilities, he enlisted in the Union army. Citations commending him for bravery in action were made in several official reports. He was honorably discharged with the rank of captain when the Union army was disbanded following Lee's surrender at Appomatox Court House. During the strife Mrs. Neace served as a self-appointed nurse, and her accounts of hotly contested battles which she witnssed from near vantage points and of the heroic work of the women of the country in ministering to the wounded and dying have held little groups of friends spellbound for hours at a time. Shortly after the close of the war, the family moved to Wayne County, West Virginia, where they have resided since. Until the illness which resulted in her death, Mrs. Neace has been in excellent health, and her abhorrence to doctors was a trait which often amused her friends. She walked with a firm step, her body held erect, and even in her last days refused to use a walking stick. In spite of her advanced age she was always insistent in doing a part, at least, of her own housework. She attributed her health to her outdoor life in Virginia. She is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Kelly, Dunlow, and four sons, George, John, and Newton [of] Huntington and William Neace who lives at Mount Union. Funeral services were held at the home of Mr. Neace at three o'clock Monday afternoon. Burial was made at the Barbour cemetery, near Mount Union. Wayne County News Wayne, West Virginia September 23, 1920