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Edmond West, Sr.

Edmond West, Sr.

Male Abt 1731 - 1787  (56 years)    Has more than 100 ancestors and 99 descendants in this family tree.

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  • Name Edmond West 
    Suffix Sr. 
    Birth Abt 1731  [1
    Gender Male 
    Death 5 Dec 1787  Lewis County, Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Siblings 5 Siblings 
    Person ID I432070  Geneagraphie
    Last Modified 10 Feb 2003 

    Father Scarburgh West,   b. Abt 1703, Accomack County, Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1760, Accomack County, Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 57 years) 
    Mother Mary Parker,   b. Abt 1702, Accomack County, Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Abt 1770, Accomack County, Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 68 years) 
    Marriage Abt 1722  Accomack County, Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F171042  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Mary Goodison,   b. 6 Aug 1738, Wentworth, Yorkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Marriage 15 Feb 1759  Wentworth, Yorkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Joseph West,   b. Abt 1758   d. Yes, date unknown
    +2. Alexander West,   b. 11 Aug 1760   d. 20 Jun 1834, Lewis County, Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 73 years)
     3. Eleazor West,   b. 1762   d. Yes, date unknown
     4. Mary West,   b. 1763   d. Yes, date unknown
    +5. Elizabeth West,   b. 1764   d. 9 Jan 1844 (Age 80 years)
     6. Olive West,   b. 1765   d. Yes, date unknown
    +7. Edmond West, Jr.,   b. 1767, Ripponden, Yorkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1814, Lewis County, Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 47 years)
    +8. Adah West,   b. 20 Dec 1770   d. Yes, date unknown
     9. William West,   b. 1775, Lewis County, Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 8 Dec 1787, Lewis County, Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 12 years)
     10. Thomas West,   b. 1778, Lewis County, Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown
    +11. Charles West,   b. 1786, Lewis County, Virginia, USA Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Aft 1850 (Age 65 years)
     12. John West   d. Yes, date unknown
    Family ID F171031  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 10 Feb 2003 

  • Notes 
    • There are a number of indicators that suggest that Edmond West, Sr. returned to England about 1759 to marry and have children. He then came back to Virginia soon enough to move his family to Hackers Creek, (in What is now) West Virginia, about 1773.

      1. Edmond West (1805-1884), son of Edmond West, Jr., told the census taker in 1880 that his father was born in England.

      2. A number of researchers have concluded that Edmond West, Sr's wife was named "Mary". International Genealogical Index (IGI) Batch # M108022 lists the marriage of an "Edmund West" to Mary Goodison on February 15, 1759. at Wentworth, Yorkshire, England.

      3. IGI Batch # P017911 lists the christening of "Mary West" (with father as "Edmund West") at Ripponden, Yorkshire, England on June 12, 1763. It also lists the christening of "Edmund West" (with father as "Edmund West") at the same place on August 26, 1767.

      4. The 1782 Census shows "Alexander West" (with 3 persons in his household) and "Edmond West" (with 7 persons in his household) living near each other in Monongalia County, Virginia. Hacker's Creek was in that county at the time. This must have been Edmond West, Sr. and his son Alexander. There were no other Wests shown in that County, so Edmond's other sons must not yet have formed separate households. At that time, there were a total of 10 Wests in the area.

      5. The 1785 Census for Harrison County, Virginia showed the same two names, Edmond with 8 persons in his household, and Alexander with 5 persons in his household. Edmond is still probably Edmond Sr. since he did not die until 1787. It would follow that Edmond Jr. was not yet the head of a household, which would be compatable with him having been born in 1767 (age 18 in 1785). Note! The 1790 and 1800 censuses are not available for Virginia because they were destroyed when the British sacked Washington, D.C. in 1812.

      6. The 1820 Census was the only Census that listed the number of "Foreigners - Not Naturalized". That Census for Lewis County showed Moses West (Edmond Jr's son) with 4 in his household, including 1 foreigner; Charles West (son of Edmond Sr.) with 7 and 2, respectively; John West (probably the son of Edmond Sr.) with 4 and 1, respectively; and Alexander West with 10 and 5, respectively. Therefore, there were a total of 25 persons living in those households, of whom 9 were foreigners.

      WEST VIRGINIA (1689 - 1814)

      A Historical Perspective

      "1Wars broke out between the French and the British in North America from 1689 to 1763. These four wars grew out of European conflicts, but also resulted from local problems.
      Both Great Britain and France wanted to extend their possessions in North American, mainly because of the fur trade. British colonies in North America spread along the Atlantic Coast in a narrow strip east of the Appalachian Mountains. French settlements lay north of the British colonies, along the Saint Lawrence River and the Great Lakes, and eventually spread southward along the Mississippi River. The British claimed all the territory that stretched inland from their colonies along the coast. The French claimed all the land drained by the rivers they had explored. Both French and British colonists had the support of Indian allies and regular troops from their home countries. The wars resulted in Great Britain's final victory over France.
      The first of the four wars was named King William's War (1689-1697), which ended by the signing of the "Treaty of Ryswick". By this treaty, both sides surrendered all the American territory that they had gained during the war. The colonial possessions of both sides remained almost unchanged. Queen Anne's War (1702-1713) ended with the signing of the "Peace of Utrecth". By the terms of the treaty, France surrendered to Great Britain the Hudson Bay region, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. France kept only Cape Breton Island and the islands of the Saint Lawrence. The boundaries of what Britian had won were so vaguely defined that they invited renewed fighting. King George's War (1744-1748) ended with the signing of the "Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which provided for each side to give back what it had won in the war.'

      'The last French and Indian War (1754-1763) was the most important conflict over French and British possessions in North America. Unlike the three earlier wars, which began in Europe and then spread to America, this struggle broke out first in America. Its European counterpart, the Sevens Years War, began two years later, in 1756.'

      Territorial rivalries had become more intense as British and French settlements expanded over the years. The two countries could not agree on the boundaries. Importantly, both countries claimed the vast area between the Allegheny and the Mississippi River.

      'In 1747, the French explorer Celoron de Bienville traveled through the Ohio valley to reinforce France's claim there. The first Ohio Company sent Christopher Gist to survey the same area in 1750. In 1753 the French built a chain of forts along the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania. Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie of Virginia sent George Washington to the French commander of the new forts, protesting against French occupation of the area. But the French refused to leave. In 1754, Washington led a small force of colonial troops to force the French to withdraw. They were attacked and defeated near Fort Duquesne (now Pittsburgh) in the first battle of the war. Meanwhile, representatives of seven colonies met in Albany, N.Y., to discuss plans for joint military action. Benjamin Franklin also proposed a plan for political union for the colonies, but delegates did not adopt it. After many battles were fought over the next four years with wins by both sides, a short but decisive battle was fought over possession of Quebec ending in British victory. The war, however, continued until the British took Montreal in 1760. By the terms of the "Treaty of Paris", signed in 1763, Great Britain received Canada and all French possessions east of the Mississippi River. The Spanish territory of Florida also went to Great Britain. Spain received all French land west of the Mississippi, together with the Isle of Orleans, which included the city of New Orleans and controlled the mouth of the Mississippi. France kept only two small parts of its great colonial empire in North America, Two tiny islands south of Newfoundland, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, were left to France as unfortified fishing stations. The Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe were returned to France as part of the bargain. Spain remained Great Britain's only rival in North American."

      The following was taken from the "CHRONICLES OF BORDER WARFARE". The author collected stories from relatives of those who actually experienced frontier life even earlier than the 1753 visit of George Washington to French commanders asking them to abandon their forts, to 1795. Some of those who actually experienced the incidents were still alive in 1831, including Alexander West, son of Edmond West, Sr., who died in 1834. It should be remembered when reading excerpts I present from the book that "now" means in the year 1831. The book and a catalog of other genealogy books available can be obtained from Heritage Books, Inc. 1540-E Pointer Pl., Bowie MD 20716, 1-800-398-7709. In 1763 the British, of course, still controlled all facets of life in America, including settlement policies. Sign posts were erected along the frontier citing King George III's proclamation that all settlements west of the 1763 "Treaty of Paris" line would stop because the line marked the dividing line between the English and the six Indian Nations. The treaty with those six Indian Nations was signed in 1765.
      From the CHRONICLES, page 89, "The comparative security and quiet, which succeeded the "Treaty of Paris" (and the treaty of 1765, with the six Indian Nations) contributed to advance the prosperity of the Virginia frontiers. The necessity of congregating in forts and blockhouses, no longer existing, each family enjoyed the felicities of its own fireside, undisturbed by fearful apprehensions of danger from the prowling savage, and free from the bustle and confusion consequent on being crowded together. No longer forced to cultivate their little fields in common, and by united exertions of a whole neighborhood, with tomahawks suspended from their belts and rifles attached to their plow beams, their original spirit of enterprise was revived and while a certainty of reaping in unmolested safety, the harvest for which they had toiled, gave to industry, a stimulus which increased their prosperity, it also excited others to come and reside among them - a considerable addition to their population, and a rapid extension of settlements, were the necessary consequence. It was during the continuance of this exemption from Indian aggression, that several establishments were made on the Monongahela and its branches, and on the Ohio river. These were nearly contemporaneous; the first however, in order of time, was that made on the Buchannon - a fork of the Tygart's valley river was induced by a flattering account of the country given by two brothers; who had spent some years in various parts of it, under rather unpleasant circumstances.' -----------
      (Pages 92/93) " In the fall of the enduing year (1768), Samuel Pringle and several others who wished to examine for themselves, which had been so long occupied by the Pringles alone. Being pleased with it, they, in the following spring, with a few others, repaired thither, with the view of cultivating as much corn as would serve their families the first year after their emigration. And having examined the country, for the purpose of selecting the most desireable situations; some of them proceeded to improve the spots of their choice. John Jackson (who was accompanied by his sons, George and Edward) settled at the mouth of Turkey Run. (Edward Jackson was the grandfather of the famous Rebel General of the South, Stonewall Jackson. His name is widely used to name landmarks in Lewis County) --- and John Hacker higher up on the Buchannon river. ---- The others of the party (William Hacker, Thomas and Jessee Hughes, John and William Radcliff and John Brown) appear to have employed their time exclusively in hunting; neither of them making any improvements of land for his own benefit. Yet were they of very considerable service to the new settlement.'
      --------
      "Soon after this, other emigrants arrived under the guidance of Samuel Pringle. Among were John and Benjamin Cutright, who settled on the Buchannon, where John Cutright the younger now lives; and Henry Rule who improved just above the mouth of Fink's run. Before the arrival of Samuel Pringle, John Hacker had begun to improve the spot which Pringle had chosen for himself. To prevent any unpleasant result, Hacker agreed that if Pringle would clear as much land, on a creek which had been recently discovered by the hunters, as he had on the Buchannon, they could exchange places. Complying with this condition, Pringle took possession of the farm on Buchannon, and Hacker of the land improved by Pringle on the creek, which was hence called Hacker's Creek. This occurred in 1768."
      The CHRONICLES, (page 97): "There was at this time, a considerable accession to the settlements on Buchannon and Hacker's Creek. So great was the increase of population in this latter neighborhood, that the crops of the preceding season did not afford more than on third of the breadstuff, which would be ordinarily consumed in the same time, by an equal number of persons. Such indeed was the state of suffering among the inhabitants, consequent on this scarcity, that the year 1773 is called in the traditionary legends of the day, the starving year; and such were the exertions of William Lowther to mitigate that suffering, and so great the success with which they were crowned, that his name has been transmitted to their descendants, hallowed by blessings of those, whose wants he contributed so largely to relieve. William Lowther was the son of Robert, and came with his father to the Hacker Creek settlement in 1772. He soon became one of the most conspicuous men in that section of country; while his private virtues and public actions endeared him to every individual of the community. During the war of 1774 and subsequently, he was most active and efficient defender of that vicinity, against insidious attacks of the savage foe; and there were very few if any scouting parties proceeding from thence, by which the Indians were killed or otherwise much annoyed, but those which were commanded by him.'
      (Pages 104/105) "In the year 1774, the peace, which had subsisted with but little violation since the treaty of 1765, received an interruption, which checked for a while the emigration to the North Western frontier; and involved its infant settlements in a war with the Indians. This result has been attributed to various causes. Some have asserted that it had its origin in the murder of some Indians on the Ohio river both above and below Wheeling, in the spring of that year. Others suppose it to have been produced by the instigation of British emissaries, and the influence of Canadian traders.
      That it was not caused by the murders at Captina, and opposite the mouth of Yellow Creek, is fairly inferrible from the fact, that several Indians had been previously murdered by the whites in a period of the most profound tranquillity, without having led to a similar issue; or even given rise to any act of retaliation, on the part of the friends or countrymen of those, who had been thus murdered.
      At different periods of time, between the peace of 1765, and the renewal of hostilities in 1774, three Indians were unprovokedly killed by John Ryan, on the Ohio, Monongahela and Cheat rivers.'
      ------
      "The Bald Eagle was an Indian of notoriety, not only among his own nation, but also with inhabitants of the North Western frontier, with whom he was in the habit of associating and hunting. In one of his visits among them, he was discovered alone, by Jacob Scott, William Hacker and Elijah Runner, who, reckless of the consequences, murdered him, solely to gratify a most wanton thirst for Indian blood. After the commission of this most outrageous enormity, they seated him in the stern of a canoe, and with a piece of journey-cake thrust into his mouth, set him afloat in the Monogahela. In this situation he was seen descending the river, by several, who supposed him to be as usual, returning from a friendly hunt with whites in the upper settlements, and who expressed some astonishment that he did not stop to see them. The canoe floating near to the shore, below the mouth of George's creek, was observed by a Mrs. Province, who had it brought to the bank, and the friendly, but unfortunate old Indian decently buried. Not long after the murder of the Bald Eagle, another outrage of a similar nature was committed on a peaceable Indian, by William White; and for which he was apprehended and taken to Winchester for trial. But the fury of the population did not suffer him to remain there awaiting that event. - the prison doors were forced, the irons knocked off him he again set at liberty.'

      Geopolitical background of Lewis County, West Virginia

      The counties of West Virginia were created long before the State was created; the area was known as Northwestern Virginia. That area was first divided into districts, and subsequently into counties. Monongalia County was created out of the District of West Augusta in 1776. County seat is now Morgantown, West Virginia. Harrison County was created out of Monongalia County in 1784. County seat is now Clarksburg, West Virginia. Lewis County was created out of Harrison County in 1816. County seat is now Weston, West Virginia. The State of West Virginia was created out of Virginia in 1863 because that area of Virginia supported the Union during the Civil War. The "West" Fort was built on the site of what is now the Town of Jane Lew, in the Hackers Creek area of Lewis County, West Virginia. Regardless of the locale mentioned in historical records because of name changes, the area in which the Wests lived remained the same.

      Frontier Forts

      The author in "The History of Lewis County" uses the West fort to describe the typical frontier fort as follows, "To every student of pioneer history the terms of fort, stockade, block-house and station are perfectly familiar, but yet many writers use them indiscriminately, as though they were synonymous, when such is far from being the case. A fort was a stockade enclosure embracing cabins, etc., for several families. Block-houses often formed two or more of its corners. A station was a parallelogram of cabins united by palisades, so as to present a continued wall on the outer side, the cabin doors opening into a common square on the inner side. A block-house was a square double-storied structure, the upper story projecting over the lower about two feet, which space was left so that the inmates could shoot from above upon an enemy when attempting to scale the walls. But one door opened into these rude and peculiar structures, and that was always very strong, so as to defy an entrance by any ordinary means of assualt --- (The West Fort) stood upon the eminence about 300 yards south by west from the (present) town of Jane Lew. It was built by and named for Edmund West, a distinguished pioneer who followed John Hacker to this region. Owing to its location it became a special point of attack for the savages, and many were the attempts made at its reduction, one of which was planned and led on by the celebrated Chief Tecumseh."

      When reading the rest of this chapter, try conjuring up the visions of what you saw in movies about frontier life in the 1700's and the 1950's TV series of Daniel Boone on the "Wild Frontier". Edmond West Sr. was a contemporary of Daniel Boone, who was born on November 2, 1734, near Reading Pennsylvania. Daniel Boone built his Fort Boonesborough in 1775, about the same time Edmond West Sr. built his in Hackers Creek, Lewis County, West Virginia. Maybe Daniel Boone just had better "press" and more friendly Indians.

      Edmond West Sr's Family in Lewis County, West Virginia

      In 1773, Edmond West Sr. moved his family, to Hacker's Creek, in an area where settlers were under sporadic attacks from hostile Indians in those settlements west of the 1763 treaty line. Shortly after arrival, they built a fort, as had many of their neighbors that had preceded them into the area, to protect them from those Marauding bands of Indians. That fort is commemorated by current residents of the town of Jane Lew.

      The war of 1774, brought on by these and other atrocities perpetrated against the Indians by the whites in violation of the treaty of 1765, lasted until 1795. Our ancestors landed right in the middle of problems caused by their predecessors. Thomas West (according to LDS records) was born to Edmond West Sr. and his wife Mary in 1778. I'm not sure when their other son, John, was born. However, he does appear later in the 1810 U.S. Census. Both John and Thomas were mentioned in Edmond West Sr's will in 1784, and his 12 year old son, William, was killed by the Indians in 1787. The CHRONICLES make no mention of the Wests until 1778. Then, West's Fort is mentioned as a haven to other settlers as a routine situation.


      (Page 176) "In the last of April (1778) a party of about twenty Indians came to the neighborhoods of Hacker's Creek and the West Fork (of the river). At this time the inhabitants of those neighborhoods had removed to West's Fort, on the creek and to Richard's Fort on the river; and leaving the women and children in them during the day, under the protection of a few men; the others were in the habit of performing the usual labors of their farms in companies, so as to preserve them from attacks of the Indians. A company of men, being thus engaged, the first week of May, in a field, now owned by Minter Bailey, on Hacker's Creek, and being a good deal dispersed in various occupations, some fencing, others clearing, and a few ploughing, they were unexpectedly fired upon by the Indians, and Thomas Hughes and Jonathan Lowther shot down; the others being incautiously without arms fled for safety. Two of the company, having the Indians rather between them and the West's Fort, ran directly to Richards', as well for their own safety as to give the alarm there. But they had been already apprized that the enemy was at hand. Isaac Washburn, who had been to (the) mill on Hacker's Creek the day before, on his return to Richards' Fort and near to where Clement's mill now stands, was shot from his horse, tomahawked and scalped. The finding of his body, thus cruelly mangled, had given them the alarm, and were already on their guard, before the two men from Hacker's Creek arrived with their intelligence of what had been done there. The Indians then left the neighborhood without effecting more havoc; and the whites were too weak to go in pursuit and molest them.'

      (Page 180) "About the middle of June (1778), three women went out from West's Fort, to gather greens in a field adjoining; and while thus engaged were attacked by four Indians, lying in wait. One gun only was fired, and the ball from it, passed through the bonnet of Mrs. Hacker, who screamed aloud and ran with the others toward the fort. An Indian having in his hand a long staff, with a spear in one end, pursuing closely after them, thrust it at Mrs. Freeman with such violence that, entering her back just below the shoulder, it came out at her left breast. With his tomahawk, he cleft the upper part of her head, and carried it off to save the scalp.
      The screams of the women alarmed the men in the fort; and seizing their guns, they ran out, just as Mrs. Freeman fell. Several guns were fired at the Indian while he was getting her scalp, but with no effect. They served however, to warn the men who went out, that danger was at hand; and they quickly came in. Jesse Hughes and John Schoolcraft (who were out) in making their way to the fort, came very near two Indians standing by the fence looking towards the men at West's, so intently, that they did not perceive one near them. They however, were observed by Hughs and Schoolcraft, who, avoiding them, made their way in, safely. Hughs immediately took up his gun, and learning the fate of Mrs. Freeman, went with some others to bring in the corpse. While there, he proposed to go and show them, how near he had approached the Indians after the alarm had been given, before he saw them. Charles and Alexander West, Elias Hughs, James Brown and John Sleeth, went with him.' (I'm not sure how Charles West fits into the picture since he was not included in the 1784 will of Edmond West Sr - perhaps, he died before 1784.) The CHRONICLES continue. "Before they had arrived at the place, one of the Indians was heard to howl like a wolf; and the men with Hughs moved on in the direction from which the sound proceeded. Supposing that they were then near the spot, Jesse Hughs howled in like manner, and being instantly answered, they ran to a point of the hill and looking over it, saw two Indians coming toward them. Hughs fired and one of them fell. The other took to flight. Being pursued by the whites, he sought shelter in a thicket of brush; and while they were proceeding to intercept him at his coming out, he returned by the way he had entered, and made his escape. The wounded man likewise got off. When the whites were in pursuit of the one who took flight, they passed near to him who had fallen, and one of the men was for stopping and finishing him; but Hughs called to him, "he is safe - let us have the other," and they all passed forward. On their return, however, he was gone; and although his free bleeding enabled them to pursue his track readily for a while, yet a heavy shower of rain soon falling, all trace of him was quickly lost and could not be afterwards regained.'

      (Page 198) "In North Western Virginia, the frequent inroads of small parties of savages in 1778, led to greater preparations for security, from renewed hostilities after the winter should have passed away; and many settlements received a considerable accession to their strength, from the number of persons emigrating to them. In some neighborhoods, the sufferings of the preceding season and the inability of the inhabitants, from the paucity of their numbers, to protect themselves from invasion, led to a total abandonment of their homes. The settlement on Hacker's Creek was entirely broken up in the spring of 1779, - some of its inhabitants forsaking the country and retiring east of the mountains; while others went to the fort on Buchannon, and to Nutter's fort, near Clarksburg, to aid in resisting the foe and in maintaining possession of the country. When the campaign of that year opened, the whole frontier was better prepared to protect itself from invasion and to shield its occupants from the wrath of the savage enemy, than it had ever been, since it became the abode of white men. There were forts in every settlement, into which the people could retire when danger threatened, and which were capable of withstanding the assaults of savages, however furious they might be.'

      Continued in Notes for Mary Goodison

  • Sources 
    1. [S1400] Early LEWIS & HARRISON CO. W.VA. FAMILIES, (Page 45E, vol III,).



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