Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1919-05-01
MIR. LANG's LETTER
Ed. Progressive:


and as we passed the little mining
/ town of Dartmoor we noticed the
lights of the inhabitants Of that place
and also at Junior and as we looked
across the river on the west side, as
wen as the main town, we remem-
bered very wildly when but two
houses were there, at this now impor-
tant mining town, that of Mr.. Ben
iamin Rowe on the east side oil the
river and Mr.. Baiedy Latham, on the
usest side We recalled attending
the funeral service of Mrs. Latham
who had been an invalid for more
than 30 years and the Rev Joseph
Teter. if our memory serves right,
nreached the funeral discourse IN
l.June 1865. some time after her death,
and we with our sainted mothers and
others of our neighbors on the wa
ters of Beaver Creek, attended the
funeral There was nothing unusual
in that but in the manner in which
we were clothed, walking proudly IN
the crowd barefooted with pants
made Of tow linen with the shives
scratching our limbs, at every step
as the BOYS of those days will re-
member and linen shirt, which was
made of the same material except it
was made of the finer part of the
flax vet both woven scrupulously clean.
Our head was crowned with hat
made Of ryestraw by some Of our
neighbor women, yet it was neat. We
often tell our children and our grand
children that their feelings would
have been shocked to have been clad
in garments Of that day, after having
been used to ready made clothing OF
the present time. AS we passed
Harding the forked flames Of the coke
ovens leaped in fantastic fashion
from the mouths of the ovens as they
reduced the coal to coke. Before we
reached Roaring Creek Junction we
beheld the lights of the houses that
crowned the hill where the late Craw-
ford Scott lived and reared his fam
ily and we recalled the marriage OF
Mr.. SCOTS eldest son Marshal to my
eldest sister Margaret on Dec. 70, ~
50. She was living at that time at
Mr.. Solomon Coffman's some 3 miles
from the home of Mr.. Scott. The
weather was intensely cold and the
river was frozen over, and the ground
was covered with 10 or IL inches of
snow. The river could not be cross
ed at the fording, and the only way
was to cross on foot at deep hole
below the mouth Of Roaring Creek.
Twenty five or thirty persons came
over, the men walking before the wo-
, men making a road in the snow
After the marriage ceremony by the
Rev. Joseph Teter the crowd returned
to the home of Mr.. Scott where 75
or 100 persons had congregated and
; the rest of the day was spent in
feasting up on the good things that
had been prepared for the occasion
About one year from that time, the
writer spent the first night with Mr.
and Mrs Scott on their farm one mile
north of Coalton. The wagon hac
previously taken their household
goods to the house, except part Of
one beadstead which Mr.. Scott anc
the writer carried through the woods
and fields some three miles, while
: my sister rode horse up the rough
Roaring creek road
The house was rough log cabir
with chimney and no window at that
time The meals were cooked by the
t open fire place which furnished the
T only light in the day time, except
when the door was open. In after
years Mr.. Scott built commodious
double log house on the road that
leads to Coalton. 1t was here that
! Mr. and Mrs. Scott lived and raised
their family until they sold their
farm and moved to Belington. Mr.
Crawford Scott had the forethought
to buy a tract of land in that vicin-
ity which he divided between -four
of his sons, Marshal, Richard, Ber-
nard and Thomas and these lands
were held until the development Of
the coal brought about by the con-
slant and impatient writings Of
Claude of Coalton." Let us right
here say that Mr.. Phillips could not
have bequeathed his library to any
one more deserving and one who is
! better qualified from inherited traits
than my friend Cam Hart, for whom
we have the kindest feeling for the
recent as well as former flowers, he
has strewn in our pathway.
W. S. LANG.
Nasto,villa w Va