Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1888-01-11

Nathan Wilson Alexander and Otho Alex
ander reside with their mother in Green
bier.
THE HANNA FAMILY.
David, the founder of the family in
America, came over from Ireland to Vir-
ginia, about II. He left five sons, Joseph,
James, David, William and John.
Joseph died ON Spring Greek, Greenbrier
county; William lived and died in Nicholas
county; John went to Lawrence county,
Ohio, where he died, leaving a family
James married Miss Eliza Gillian, of Staun-
ton. Virginia. Their children were David
and Nathan, twins, born the day of Corn
wallis surrender at Yorktown, Joseph,
James, William, Andrew, Jane, Nancy and
Betsy.
I Captain David Hanna, son OF James,
married Margaret, the youngest daughter
of Colonel John Wilson, as above stated
and their genealogies given.
John Hanna died on Spring Creek,
Greenbrer county, leav ng family. Joseph
went to Ohio in 1919. and died there
James died young. William went to Iowa
and left a family, and Andrew died in
Greenbrier leaving a family.
or the daughters. Jane married Mr..
James Mcmillan, of Greenbrier, and left a
large family; Nancy married Mr.. William
Mccoy, and moved to Missouri, where
they left a large family; and Betsy married
Mr.. Alexander Kernes, of Monroe county,
and left family.
On the death of Mr.. John Welch, an
early Surveyor of Greenbrier county, Capt.
David Hanna was appointed in his stead.
In those early days of frontier settlements,
land entries, surveys, &C., this was very
important, responsible and lucrative office.
| So active was the business that Capt.
Hanna and his deputies were kept almost
constantly employed in locating and survey
ing lands, while his wife, who possessed, in
large measure, the business and executive
qualities of her Wilson and Alexander an
cestors, aided him by attending to the office
duties and so expert and familiar did she
become, from long experience in all ordi-
nary questions relating to land entries,
surveys and titles, that she was regarded as
very good land lawyer, and her informa-
ton and opinions were often sought. She
was not only proficient in her Office duties,
but she took charge of and successfully
managed their farm, to which her husband
could give but little attention, and, with
all, she was noted for her superior house,
keeping and general domestic qualities.
For many years Capt. Hanna was
Magistrate under the Old Virginia County
Court system, in which position he proved
himself most active, useful and satisfac-
tory officer.
| He is believed to have been the first
person to bring to public notice the superior
smithing and coking qualities of the Little
Sewell coal, the development of which, on
New river, has now assumed such extern
sive proportions. In politics, Capt. Hanna
was an sold line Whig," and felt lively
interest in the political questions of the
day. Gle died June l6, 1859
THE eREENBRIER RAID OF ITS. =.
Mrs. Hanna's notes contain much that is
interesting in relation to the attack on
Donnally Fort in the Spring of IT'S. Sub.
stantially, they are in accordance with, and
corroborative of, the published accounts of
Colonel John Stewart and others, and
need not here be given in full.
| Mrs. Hanna had her facts from eye-wit-
nesses of and personal participants in the
events related, among whom were William
| McClung, Mr.. Hughart and others, and are
no doubt accurate.
| The elevation assembled by Hammond
and Pryor, the brave messengers sent from
The Fer. at Point Pleasant &c notify the
Gresnbrier settlements of the movements
of the Indians, was a high point called
''Elk Knob" from the fact that the last
elk killed in the Greenbrier region was
killed on it. This Knob is on the Little
Sewell Mountain, and is part of the estate
now owned by Mrs. Elizabeth Gillian Alex
ander.
| AS is we'll known, Hammond and Pryor
from. this point discovered the Indians
down below them in the Meadow River
Valley and succeeded in fanking and pass
ing them, and in reaching Donnally's Fort
in time to notify and save the settlements.
In passing the house of a Mr.. Hughart
they found his wife sick in bed, but being
notified of the approach of the Indians Mrs.
Fl. was put upon sled and hauled to the
| Fort, her two daughters following on foot.
| An interesting incident not mentioned
elsewhere, think, is that these two daugh-
ters of Mr.. Hughart, who were in the Fort
at the time of the attack, which was about
early daylight, sprang out of bed, and in
only their night clothes, not taking time to
dress, made themselves useful to the male
defenders of the Fort. One moulded bull
lets, while the other re loaded the rifles as
fast as discharged and handed them back
to the men. They deserve to be remem-
bered with Betty Zane, the brave heroine
of Wheeling and others.
| Dick Pointer, the colored servant of Col.
Donnally, got hold of a musket during the
attack; but, as he was not accustomed to
shooting at such game he was little un-
certain as to whether he should fire until
he appealed to Marse Andrew, who yelled
back to him, yes shoot, d--n you,
shoot and shoot he did, and it was claim
ed with good effect.
| In the neighborhood of Donnally's Fort
on ridge between the houses of Mccoy
and Blake was small fort, called the Nc
Coy Blake Fort. On Muddy creek, too,
there was a local fort called Hamilton's
Fort. Neither of these Forts, l think, are
mentioned in any of the published accounts
of the GIeenbrier raids.
On the morning of the attack on Donnal-
ly's Fort, two men who were out from the
McCoy-Blake Fort heard the firing, and
not knowing of the presence of Indians in
the settlement, supposed it was shooting
match going on and went on towards Don
nally's Fort. They were discovered by the
Indians as they approached through rye
field, fired on and both killed. Their
names were Alexander Ochiltree and
Thomas Burns, both Scotchmen. Their
names suggest relationship, one to the
somewhat renowned and eccentric Hon.
Thomas Ochiltree, of Texas, and the other
to the immortal "Bobby" Burns. I am
told that there are descendants of both still
| living in Greenbrier.
| To recapitulate, in short, the history of
the interesting old book referred to in the
beginning of this article and of its owners.
1t was published in Dublin, Ireland, in
1702. 1t was brought over to America by
William Wilson in 1929, and by him to
Augusta county, Virginia in 1853. 1t was
in the Wilson cabin, when attacked by the
Indian-Jaekson River-raid 1853 and es-
capped many other border dangers.
1t was left by William Wilson, ST., to his
son, Col. John Wilson; by him to his
daughter, Mrs. Margaret Hanna, of Green
brier county; and by her, to her daughter,
Mrs. Elizabeth Gillian Alexander, of Little
Sewell Mountain, Greenbrier county, by
whose kindness it is sent to the writer,
through the courtesy of Mr.. s. NJ. Camp
bell, of Fayette county, a gentleman who
takes lively interest in all matters relating
to the early settlement and history of Vir-
ginia and West Va.
Mr.. Campbell is on educator of large ex-
perience in West Virginia and thinks that
many of the tables, forms &c, of this book
are SO plain, practical and useful that they
might, with advantage, be adopted in the
staudard school hooks of this dav