U.S. Data Repository -- USGenNet Inc. -- Please read the U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on the following page: History and Progress of the County of Marion, West Virginia by George A. Dunnington, Publisher 1880 CHAPTER IV, The Characteristics and Hardships of The Early Settlers. As soon as it was known east that this field of wealth lay west of the mountains, that "the land could be had for the taking up." and that settlements had been commenced here, hundreds flocked in from different parts of Eastern Virginia and Maryland. The spirit of emigration began to develop itself, and the motives which have since induced the peopling of our far West prompted the adventurer to overcome his youthful attachments, and wend his way into this dreary waste to assist in the foundation of what is now a powerful and progressive State. As has been well said, "former homes, encircled by the comforts of civilization, endeared by the grateful recollections of by-gone days. and not unfrequently as the spot where their tenants had first inhaled the vital fluid, were readily exchanged for the variety of untried being, the new scenes and changes which were to be passed before the trees of the forest could be supplanted by the fruits of the field, or society be reared in the solitude of the desert." With the same cheerfulness, hardihood, and adventurous daring that characterized the pioneers years before in the laying of the corner stone of this vast empire, these brave men and women faced the hardships and dangers that presented themselves, and surmounted them all in a comparatively brief space of time. It was a natural consequence of their situation that their morals should suffer, and that their manners should become rough and uncouth. This has been the state of things in all new colonies. Some of the early settlers, according to Doddridge, took the precaution to come over the mountains in the spring, to raise a crop of corn, leaving their families behind, and then return and bring them out in the fall. Others, whose families were not large, brought their wives and children with them in the spring. Sometimes, those who took the latter course would suffer for it, for the Indian meal they brought over the mountains with them would be expended too soon, and they were obliged to live without bread until the corn was ready to pull. Venison and the breast of the wild turkey then served them as a substitute for bread, and the flesh of the bear was denominated meat. But this was a hard way to live--it did not satisfy the cravings of the stomach, "which seemed to be always empty, and tormented with a sense of hunger.--"Light" bread was a luxury they seldom indulged in or could get hold of, as was also butter. The venerable William Haymond, in a letter to Luther Haymond, in 1842, referring to the manners of living of the early settlers, as he remembered them, said: "I remember brother John and myself went to Ruble's mill, in Pennsylvania, distant eleven miles, and remained all night. Next morning, when we were on our horses to start for home, Ruble, or some other person, brought each of us a piece of light bread spread with butter. This I thought such a great feast that I have it in my mind to this day." Of course, in these primitive times there were no carpenters, tailors, cabinet-makers, shoemakers, weaver, or any of the tradesmen who are now considered indispensable to a community. Every family was under the necessity of doing everything for itself. Hand- mills were used in most of the houses, with which each family ground its own corn. Their clothing was all of domestic manufacture. Linsey was the most substantial cloth they could make, and the women did the weaving. Every family tanned its own leather, made its own shoes and manufactured its own clothing. In short, these were the days of bridle-ways, pack-saddles, rope-bridles, tread-mills, wooden plows, and flails. Almost every house contained a loom and a spinning wheel. All the women knew how to knit, spin, weave and sew, and with rare exceptions, they all wore narrow-skirted flannel dresses. The men were usually habited in deer or coon- skin caps, red flannel jackets or hunting shirts, blue linsey breeches and moccasins. They knew nothing of our present McAdamized roads and elegant mud-pikes, neither had they any conception of the luxury of a cushioned saddle, a leather bridle, a nice buggy or a fine carriage; or the iron plow, threshing machine, reaper or stearn mill. The nearest place where supplies could be procured was east of the mountains, and it was often that the barest necessities of life were suffered for when extremely heavy snows or freshets prevented any communication between the settlements and the stores. As stated in the beginning of this chapter, the manners of society were very rude in those days. As an illustration of this, it may be in place to give an account of how a marriage was conducted. As a general rule the settlers married quite young, and, with very rare exceptions, their's were "real love matches." On this account their marriages proved mostly happy ones. The whole neighborhood would turn out en masse to a wedding, and considering the fact that a marriage celebration was about the only gathering "which was not accompanied with the labor of reaping, building a cabin; or planning some scout or campaign," this is not surprising. The ceremony usually took place before dinner, which was a substantial feast of beef, pork, venison and bear meat, potatoes, cabbage and other kinds of vegetables. The tables would perhaps be constructed of a large slab of timber, hewed out with a broad-axe, supported by four sticks set in augur holes, and its furniture would consist of pewter dishes, wooden bowls and trenchers. The spoons were of pewter and often much battered. If knives were scarce, the scalping knives were brought from their sheathes and used to supply the deficiency. After dinner the dancing would commence and last until the next morning, while occasionally the jug would be passed around among the company. The figures of the dances were three and four handed reels, or square sets and jigs. The mazy waltz, the enchanting polka, or the enlivening schottische they knew nothing of. About nine or ten o'clock a deputation of young ladies would steal off the bride and put her to bed. The bridal chamber was usually in the loft of the cabin, and was reached by a ladder instead of a pair of stairs. The floor of the loft or chamber above was generally made of clap-boards loosely laid down and without nails. The ladder leading up stairs was hidden from view, being in a corner of the room, curtained off with hunting shirts, petticoats and other clothing, so the exit of the bride was unnoticed. After this a deputation of young men in like manner made way with the groom, whom they would place beside his bride, and the dance would continue. If seats were scarce, it was customary, and considered the height of gallantry, for the young men to offer their laps to the young ladies. and the girls accepted the proffered seats with perfect propriety. Occasionally during the night, the bottle would be sent up the ladder to the couple in the loft, and it would often be accompanied with refreshments of other kinds; such as bread; beef, pork and cabbage. The feasting and dancing would last for several days, until the company, from sheer exhaustion, would return to their homes to rest. Such was the rude state of society in Marion county a hundred years ago.