Preston & Taylor Counties,

West Virginia

New --Page Booklet

Early days in Preston and Taylor Counties in WV are recalled through a mixture of colorful tales and factual data in this booklet comprised of excerpts from four rare vintage books: Historical Collections of Virginia by Henry Howe (1845); West Virginia in History, Life, Literature and Industry by Morris Purdy Shawkey; History of West Virginia by Virgil A. Lewis; and Virginia, a Guide to the Mountain State, a WPA publication (1941). The booklet is printed on 60# opaque paper, with the print size enlarged as needed to fit the 8 1/2 x 11 size. The front cover is a parchtex card stock, protected with a vinyl sheet.

Past or present towns include: (some are not mentioned in the booklet)
Preston: Kingwood, Reedsville, Rowlesburg, Bruceton, Mason Town, Cascade, Terra Alta (formerly Cranberry) & Greer, Albright, Amboy, Arthurdale, Aurora, Brandonville. Bretz, Bruceton Mills, Corinth, Cuzzart, Eglon, Hazelton, Hopemont, Horse Shoe Run, Independence, Manheim, Masontown, Newburg and Tunnelton Taylor: Pruntytown (formerly Williamsport), Grafton, Blueville, Fetterman, Flemington, Rosemont, Simpson, Thornton, and Wendel.

Among the many subjects included are: physical features, early court officals, importance of the northern panhandle, the Kingwood tunnel and the B & O Railroad in the Civil War; Newspapers and other publications; Agricultural crops; the "Buckwheat Belt", Cheat River, Rock Forge, the ghost of a twice-born town; newspapers, Tygarts Reservoir Dam, etc.

Attention Genealogists: This booklet contains relatively detailed biographies of many county residents of the late 1800s. They frequently include ancestors, siblings, children, in-laws, affiliations, war records, and business activities, in the course of which they often shed light on the businesses, churches, professions and institutions, and on the events of the day. The biographies include: PRESTON: Dr. Barrack S. Rankin, Dr. Brooke A. Rees, Charles E. Trembly, William M. O. Dawson, Newton Montgomery, Melvin C. Snyder, Robert D. Harman, Arthur G. Clayton, Frank J. Pyle, James D. Browning, William G. Conley, Marshall C. Bowermaster, Millard W. Harris, William A. Smith, and Phra E. Kercheval. TAYLOR: Ralph H. Cline, Harold A. Rice, Charles Brinkman, Thomas K. Faherty, Charles H. Warder, J. Guy Allender, Ole Everett Wyckoff, and Jed W. Robinson.

Wouldn't this make a unique gift?