The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1903-09-09

| NAkucON lOA "a PAO ooAhH uhO Htoh eft<>s
he should not have his house pulled
down over his head. But when his
guest in stammering apology, declar-
ed his act the extreme OF awkward
ness and in the same breath said his
good bye, the response was charac-
teristic of the man. Eyes, yes 1t
was id awkward; good bye, good
bye"
The date of this incident can be
fixed Ey letter now in the posses
sion of Mrs. Joseph Moreland who
is a daughter of the late Thomas
Brown, fer many years prominent
lawyer of Kingwood in the adjoining
county of Preston.
Mr.. Brown and Mr.. Gay married
sisters and it was Mr.. Brown who
provoked the wrath OF his esteemed
relative by his unjustifiable awk-
wardness. The letter is character
istic OF the frank and generous
disposition of the man who wrote it.
1t is given as an evidence of the
existence of that porch at an early
date:
MoRaANTowN, June 27, 1854.
Thos. Brown ESQ.
| Dear Sir:-I have been vexed snd
disturbed in mind ever since you
left on yesterday, fearful that what
Isaid in my petulant and unguarded
manner respecting the injury done
the porch might have given you
offense. Now my dear sir / wish
you to understand that there is no
man living / would be more upwil-
ling to offend than you. Nor is
there any for whom l entertain a
higher regard than do for you, and
whose good opinion am still anxious
to retain. / am truly sorry that
any thing l may have said at that
time should be considered as in
tended to offend you, and hope that
this explanation will be sufficient to
remove any cause of offense that
may have been given.
Yours most respectfully,
MATHEW GAY.
The porch is said to have been an
old one at the time of this incident,
but was repaired and remodeled by
Mr.. Gay afterwards.
The house-and no doubt the old
porch, was there at the date of the
Whiskey Insurrection, and was then
the residence of Col. William Nc
Cleary, who was then a Collector of
Revenues for the Government. It'll
is related in the Cen tennial Paper
above referred to that ION the night
OF August 9, 1874 about thirty men
BACKED themselves, and in disguise
came TO Morgantown, surrounded
the house of the Revenue Collector,
and with riotous demonstrations
threatened his life and property"
And it is well authenticated history
that Col. McCleary was the Revenue
Collector referred to, and that he
owned and occupied this property
at that time.
Col. McCleary was the uncle of
Mr. Gay-was lawyer OF note, and
with him Mr.. Gay studied the pro-
fession and began the practice of it.
The following bit of romance in
connection with the history of Col.
McCleary whose wife before marriage
was Isabella Stockton may be in
teresting:
"When Isabella Stockton was
quite child she was taken by the
Indians and carried into captivity. |
She was kept by the savages for a |
time and was then ransomed by a |
wealthy French Canadian and was
educated in Canada at Catholic |
school. Her she matured into a
beautiful and accomplished young
woman, and her charms won the
affection of her Canadian benefactor,
who it seems was young and hand
some, as well as rich. She recipro-
Gated his love and plighted her faith |
before returning to her Virginia |
home to ask the consent of her
parents to her marriage In Berkeley |
county Virginia beau became dis |
tractedly in love with her. BUT she
was true TO her first love and reject |
ed his suit. She failed to obtain |
the consent of her parents to her
marriage with the French Canadian-
because Of the hatred o: Virginians
at that time against the French. |
But wed her French lover she would |
He came and taking her from her
fair Virginia home by stealth, they
set out upon their journey through |
the wilderness, with buoyant hopes
and romantic anticipations of a
marriage and conjugal happiness
amid the scenes of their youthful
courtship.
"But true love seldom runs smooth. |
The blood of her relatives boiled |
over at the idea of her alliance wirh |
a French Canadian and the Virginia
lover was ready to pursue his hated
rival. The command of the father
was to bring back the daughter
dead or alive.
sThe lovers had reached the banks
OF the Susquebanna river where they |
went into camp, expecting to spend |
the night and resume their journey
next day, when their pursuers came
upon tueiu. nc ueVOLeQ lovers |
refused to be separated and her
rejected Virginia beau, wanting but
the opportunity to wreak his ven
geance, levelcd his piece, and in the
presence of the devoted Isabella, shot
the Frenchman down.
Isabella Stockton returned in
sorrow to her home in Virginia where
after term of mourning, she was
wooed and won by Col. McCleary
and brought to Morgantown. Here
she lived until the day If her death |
in the house in which the writer
sits"-the house on the old More
lar d corner lately stripped of its
porch.
Col. McCleary died in this house
in 1921 upon which 1t passed into
the possession Of Mr.. Gay.
Mr.. Gay occupied it until his
death and his widow and heirs until
1881 when it was acquired by Joseph
Moreland who owned and occupied
it for Just 20 years. 1t then passed
into the hands Of its present owners.