BISHOP: Among pioneers of Pocatalico, later Reedy.
This is the family of the author of this book. Each of the Colonies had an ancestor of a notable of this name as appears in American Biographies.
We can trace our ancestry no further back than to the country on the head waters of the Roanoke River, Virginia. There, in a section then Montgomery County, George Bishop married Miss Ann Boothe, about the year 1776. George and Ann made their first home where married; later passed further westward and lived in what later was Russell County, Virginia, in which place the younger ones of their children were born and reared. The names of all -- Rachel, Nancy, Margaret Pauline "Polly", Sarah Ann, John, James and two daughters whose names are lost to us, they being she who married a Mr. Lester, and was mother of that James Lester, popular horseman of near Ripley, years 1850 to 1870, the other of unremembered name, she who became the wife of Moses Hunt and lived in Russell County, Virginia, some years before and after the year 1830. Further of these:
Rachel Bishop married Armstead Harper in Russell County, and came tc the Pocatalico country among its first settlers.
Nancy married David Keen in Russell County, about the year 1825. These are the parents of that James Keen, early settlers in Geary District.
Sarah Ann married Charles Drake, in Russell County, about the year 1830. They came soon to Big Sandy and their spent their lives and reared a family. See name, "Drake."
John Bishop, son of George and Ann (Boothe) Bishop, married in Russell County, Virginia, Miss Elizabeth (Mutter), born "in Virginia," father said; yet from the name Mutter and possession by the Bishops of an old leather bound Bible printed in Low Dutch, in which are re-corded in English, names and births of "Mutters," we are persuaded this grea~grandmother was of the settlements of the Shenandoah Valley, a daughter of a German or Flemish family, they were weavers of fine fabrics. However, the Bishops were of dark complexion, the women handsome brunettes. In the Bishop family was handed down a special knowledge of fine metal working, such as excellency of temper-ing tool steel, alloying, welding and chasing; knowledge, which if prop-erly commercialized would have netted a fortune. An incident in point: when the Huffmans or McGrews of Parkersburg and Elizaboth mill fame, invented the band-saw about the year 1868, the great ribbon of steel on striking a hard knot, would break or sever itself where it had been joined; they had heard of John Bishop's skill in metals and came to Long Bottom, Ohio, where he (John Bishop II) then had a barrel factory, and got him to go with them to their mill and join or weld their refractory band saw.
He did this for them and handed them the formula for the mere re-compense of twenty dollars. In the meantime Pittsburgh men who had visited and admired the bits, planes and edged tools of his factory, all of which he had made and tempered with his own hand, had obtained and carried away to their steel works at Pittsburgh all John Bishop knew cf working of steel; not having paid a cent for it. His notions of the "cavalier bountiful" overrode the more practical.
Returning to the family tree:
John and Elizabeth Bishop, his wife, lived most of their married career on Big Sandy about where Pikeville is now; to them were born there the following sons and daughters: Aaron, Ann, George, John, Moses, Rachel and Cydnie, born respectively, within the years 1822 to 1842.
In the year 1843, John and Elizabeth, with their family migrated to this Pocatalico River; she fell sick here and died in a short time after arrival. The older girls kept the pioneer cabin home a few years, marry-ing and leaving one at a time. The pioneer home was sold and John with his younger two boys and two daughters next have their home at Minersvill, Ohio; in the meantime John has united in marriage with Miss Susan Utt; of this marriage, were born one daughter and two sons; their names: Caroline, Wilburn and Melvin D., now (1927) of Ravenswood, W. Va. For marriages of the older members of this family ',f John Bishop I, see Chapter IV of this book.
Rachel Bishop married John Blackburn in Jackson County; lived during the Civil War in Ravenswood and were of the first home builders and home owners in the City of Huntington, where both died kaving some grandchildren: Blackburns. Cydnie married Lewis Anderson, son of "Andy" on Strait Fork Sandy, three miles east of Ravenswood, spent their lives there.
Moses Bishop married Eliza Lester on Reedy, daughter of John Lester (first) and ______ (King) his wife, about the year 1853; they made their first home at Pomeroy, Ohio, where the wife and mother Eliza died about 1868, leaving the following named children: Mary, Harvey, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Wilk or Wilkin W. Moses then and there made another marriage; this time to a Miss Martha Campbell; this was right after the close of the Civil War, and the family made their residence for some years following at Long Bottom, Ohio, where the family grew op and scattered. The last we heard of Wilk, he was a resident and established hardware dealer in Los Angeles, California. Of Moses's second marriage a daughter named Nora was born at Long Bottom.
John Bishop, son of John and Elizabeth Bishop, father of the author of this compilation and book, was born in Pike County, Kentucky, on the 19th day of February, 1830; married on Reedy, year 1854, Sarah Roach, daughter of William and Delilah (Carney) Roach, pioneers on Middle Fork of Reedy, at that time. They made their home first at Murraysville, where John was the blacksmith for the great Jack Flesher board yard there. He enlisted as a volunteer in the Union Army and served through it-up the Kanawha and over into Virginia, through most of the battles and was of the western wing of the Army of the Potomac when Ceneral Lee surrendered. He returned; his family in the meantime having moved over into Long Bottom Village. Lived here until 1870, then brought us all to Middle Reedy where, on mother's in-heritance of the Roach farm we became farmers all; John bought ad-joining pieces of lands and made a good farm. The sons and daughters of John and Sarah (Roach) Bishop, named in order of their births are as follows: Charles Remington, Frances Roxana, William Henry, Eliza-beth "Libbie," Jesse Edmond and Ettie May. Their marriages: Charles Remington married Miss Palmira Jane Candler of Reedy, January 16, 1875, she a daughter of John W. Candler of Right Reedy. Remington and Jane's residence now (1927) is Cottageville, West Virginia, where he has been railway station agent for fifteen years; they have reared two daughters whose names are Nannie (Mrs. Jesse Straight now), and Pearl (wife of Reverend Nida).
The daughters, Frances Roxana and "Libbie," died in youth; their tombstones mark their burial places in the cemetery at Long Bottob, Ohio.
William Henry Bishop, son of John and Sarah (Roach) Bishop, was born at Murrayville, December 14, 1860; had first primer lessons in Ohio schools at Long Bottom; was sent to subscription schools at Reedy; be-came a school teacher in Roane's corps; principal of the Town of Spencer schools, 1884-1885, studied law at Spencer under John G. Schilling and J. W. C. Armstrong, was admitted to the bar 1885; attended Peabody Normal at Nashville, Tennessee, 1886-7; was three and three-fourth years instructor of civilization to the Jicarilla Apaches of New Mexico; returned 1890; resumed practice of law in Spencer, here married Miss Gertrude Duling, July 7, 1892 (see family Duling) ; was elected and served one term as prasecuting attorney for the county; one term, 1924-26 as delegate for Roane County in the State Legislature; is author of two books on State Municipal Law; and is author of this county history.
The children of William H. and Gertrude (Duling) Bishop are Monad A., born in Spencer, June 19, 1893; graduated from Marshall College, Huntington; taught school; married Mr. Raymond A. Lee, October 3, 1014; he served overseas in the World War; was mustered out a second lieutenant; is now captain in the reserves. Sarah Christine, born May 10, 1900; graduated from Spencer high school; took courses in music and art at Cincinnati Conservatory; taught in the public schools; married Mr. Cecil 0. Snyder, of Bedford County, Pennsylvania, at home in Spencer, August 6, 1924.
Ettie May Bishop, daughter and youngest child of John and Sarah (Roach) Bishop, was born on Reedy, 1871; was sent to Marshall Col-lege, Huntington, West Virginia, became a teacher; married James A. Criss, of Harrison County, West Virginia, in Spencer, on the 22nd day of March, 1893; her age 22, his 27; they made their home in Sutton, Braxton County, West Virginia, where she was a teacher for some terms, and there died, 1909, leaving an only child, his name Harry Bishop Criss; he served overseas in the World War; returned carrying some small pieces of shrapnel in the thick of his thigh, yet not adjudged a cripple or invalid.
Jesse Edmond Bishop, youngest son of John and Sarah (Roach) Bishop, was born at Long Bottom, Ohio, 1869; was a "store keeper" at Reedy a short time; married Miss Martha Curfman, June 15, 1893; his age then 25, her's 18; she was born on Lower Reedy, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Cain) Curfman, Mary being a daughterof Rev. Thomas H. Cain the pioneer preacher of Reedy history. J. Edmond and Martha have resided in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the last fifteen years; they have brought up one child, a son, Carl Bishop.
Source: History of Roane County, West Virginia, 1774-1927, William H. Bishop, Esq., p 448-451
Submitter: Sandy Spradling, October 1, 1999
