ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA MEMORIES
This site has photographs and genealogical information about southern West Virginia families including the Vest family of White Oak Mountain, Smith family of Abraham in Richmond District, the Gadd and Cochran families, and the Biars family of West Virginia and Ohio. A whole bunch of cousins contributed to this site. Thank you! The aerial photo above, taken in 1985, is my childhood home, the Earl and Golda Smith farm on Route 3, Hinton Road, White Oak Mountain, Raleigh County, W.Va. The yellow house was built by my grandparents, Leonard and Stella Vest.

Link to my e-mail address. I'd love to hear from you.   

IN MEMORY
A page with links to obituaries of those with a connection to the families on West Virginia Memories. Recent entries: Becky Ann Farley, 58, Cool Ridge, W.Va., died 23 Dec 2011. Mrs. Farley was a granddaughter of Augustus Biars and wife Myrtle Bragg. Anthony “Tony” Fakess, 91, of Beckley, W.Va., passed away on 19 Dec 2011, in Beckley. He was married to Ida Vest Fakess who died in 2009. David Glen Smith, 56, of Layland, W.Va., died 14 Dec 2011. He was a grandson of Glenville Everett Smith and wife Lucinda Gwinn.  Della Ruby Smith Plumley, 85, Beckley, Raleigh County, W.Va., passed away on 07 Nov 2011. Mrs. Plumley was a daughter of William Silas Smith and wife Della Bowling and a granddaughter of General Marion Smith and wife Frances Plumley.Steven Eugene Biars, 61, of Portsmouth, Ohio, died 03 Oct 2011 at Southern Ohio Medical Center. He was a grandson of John Phillip A.  Biars.  David Arnold Smith, of Grafton, W.Va., died on 26 Aug 2011. This is a huge loss to the genealogy community. His cousin and friend Russell Bennett has written a tribute. Go to In Memory.

WHAT'S NEW
  • Passing Through Sandstone, a new documentary by film-maker Jon Averill recreates the death of Samuel Richmond during the Civil War. “The main focus of the movie is a man named Samuel Richmond who came from the founding family of this area, and who was one of the large land owners around here around the time of the Civil War,” said Averill.“He was a staunch Union supporter in what became a pretty heavily Confederate-dominated area. And he was bush-whacked, assassinated during the war." (Register-Herald, Suzanne Higgins, West Virginia Public Broadcasting, 12 Jan 2012) Passing Thrugh Sandstone: YouTube trailer.

    Information from     Billy Richmond in a 1968 article on the deaths of Arthur Richmond and Samuel Richmond: Richmond District In A Time To Shoot Or Be Shot, Post-Herald, 14 Nov 1968, Page 11. Part 1  Part 2


  • Gadd page 2 (Gadd and Martin families) -- Added information about Annie Gadd's children. (26 Dec 2011)  Ride the rails - Retired railroader takes one more trip, 22 March 1983. Article about Walter "Scotty" Hatcher. (Added 02 Nov 2011) Added photos of Noah Levi Gadd's marker and the Gadd tombstone in Athens Cemetery, W.Va. (14 Aug 2011) Links to Find a Grave pages for siblings  Freddie, Leola and Carlos Gadd. New photos of their tombstones in Talcott Cemetery have been added. (27 July 2011) Thanks, Dale M.
  • Random Quotations. Quotes on various subjects, added just because I like them. Updated 27 Dec 2011.
  • Vest Page 3 -- Added obituaries for Sarah Justice Vest and son Wayne Vest. (17 Dec 2011) Added new photo of the marker for the Bennett family -- Fred, Verna and son Ralston -- in the New Salem Cemetery. (26 Oct 2011)
  • Mystery photos -- Identified: under Keatley-Martin photos, James Earnest Austin and wife Capadocia (Kate) Caperton - sister of Maude and Julia Caperton from Pride (now Speedway ), W.Va. (11 Dec 2011) And Charles Emerson Ford. (12 Dec 2011). Shared photos from the Keatley-Martin collection. Includes a couple of pictures of a brass band from Herndon, W.Va. (22 July 2011)
  • Smith Sr. -- Added revised research notes on the deaths of four Smith children in 1898 (under General Marion Smith) and an obituary for Jasper Smith. (10 Dec 2011)
  • Vest Page 1 -- Added information about Martha Vest Kelly. Thank you, Bennie. (07 Dec 2011) Added information about the family of Lucinda Vest and husband Samuel Henry Smith. Thank you, Vera. (10 Sept 2011) Made a correction and added a picture of Rhoda Kelly Bateman and husband Peter Fred Berry. (11 July 2011)
  • The Barns of Summers County -- the book and 2012 calendar -- are available for purchase. See information and links at the bottom of this page.
  • Resources -- Added links to West Virginia Will Books, 1756-1971 at Family Search (thank you, Laurie, for this tip) and to an index to a collection of genealogical compilations and unpublished family histories at West Virginia University. (08 Dec 2011)
  • Smith-Biars Page 1 -- Nellie Smith birthday honoree (Added 01 Nov 2011) New tombstone photos for George W. Washington Jr., Emily Vandall Smith, Emma Biars, Arthur and Rufina Smith, Kay Golda Smith Fox and Euell Fox, Wayne Smith, Bessie Smith Arthur and Oliver Arthur, Pearl Smith Gwinn and Hubert Gwinn. (Added 26 Oct 2011) Photos of the old Abraham Post Office building and the Smith home in 2011. (Added 27 Oct 2011)
  • Smith Page 1 -- Added pictures of tombstones for Bertha Jane Smith and husband Wade Surbaugh, Greenbrier Cemetery, Hinton, W.Va. (13 Aug 2011)
  • Shoebox -- Added photo of Mandeville School, 1910, Summers County. (30 July 2011) Photo of Mose Bunch, a man who was a slave to the Hight family of Summers County. Picture of Liberty School at Speedway, Mercer County. Article about Angelo Kessinger. (Added 22 July 2011) All shared by a Keatley family researcher, Daryl Lynn.
  • West Virginia Talk -- Added several phrases from Lincoln County that were shared by Joel. (29 July 2011)

BARNS OF SUMMERS COUNTY
Phyllis Campbell Whitley has been reseaching and photographing old Summers County, W.Va., barns built before 1950. (Mrs. Whitley originally contacted West Virginia Memories about a site near Indian Mills with three pre Civil War barns. The present owners believe the original owners were named Via.) The 2012 barn calendar and the book, Barns of Summers County, are now available for purchase. Barn Lady site.  Barn Lady e-mail. Order the calendar and book. Articles about the project: Barns of Summers County, Hinton News, 16 June 2009.  Sunday Profile: Phyllis Campbell Whitley by Sarah Plummer, Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va., 09 Jan 2011. Barn Lady captures memories of W.Va. barns, by Kathryn Gregory, The Charleston Gazette, W.Va. Reprinted in the Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, W.Va., 07 March 2011.

Giving credit where credit is due
If you've shared a photo and I haven't given you credit, please e-mail.  If you use photos from West Virginia Memories, please include this site address: http://wva.homestead.com I want more cousins to find their way here. And if you have photos or information to share or if you just want to say hello, I am always glad to get e-mail. Corrections are welcomed.


Smith Farm on White Oak Mountain, W.Va.