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Hi Jack and others,
The interesting part of your stated connections is that IF G. T. Clindining
was correct in the lineages he printed, we are ALL related to Stewarts.
However, I just don't know if there are connections here or not. I have not
spent any time researching that time period in those locations.
I have been in contact for the last two days with a gentleman who is
descended of William Clendenin of NC. He is attempting to prove that his
William is the William mentioned in the 1764 will of a William Clendining
of Co. Down.
Sharon
----------
> From: FUTBOFAM(a)aol.com
> To: SharonBryant(a)worldnet.att.net
> Cc: Stewart-L(a)Rootsweb.com; Clendinen-L(a)Rootsweb.com
> Subject: Re: Family Connection(Straw Grasping)
> Date: Saturday, October 31, 1998 4:54 PM
>
> In a message dated 98-10-30 05:11:27 EST, you write:
>
> << Don Clendenin wrote: >> ...
> page 262: 16 families came to America from Londonderry, Ireland in 1719
> under the leadership of Rev. James McGrefor. They spent the winter in
> Falmouth, now Portland, Maine~ next spring they moved to the village of
> Nutfield, established a Presbyterian Church. Members were: James
McKeen,
> John Barrett (or Barnett), Archibald Clendinen, John Mitchell, James
> Sterett, James Anderson, Randall Alexander, James Gregg, James Clark,
James
> Nesbitt, Allen Anderson, Robert Wear, John Morrison, Samuel Allison,
Thomas
> Steele, John Stuart, and their families. . .they were of the Scotch
> families
> that left Argylshire, Scotland in 1619 to settle in Northern Ireland.
> (Copied 10/26/98 for Clendenin- L(a)rootsweb.com)<< >>
> I have a Clendenon interest as well as a Stewart/Mitchell interest in
that
> time period.
>
> Could you possible shed any light on a possible connection of
Stewart/Mitchell
> or my Clendenon's.
>
> John Stewart(Stuart)b. abt 1710 Bassllymena, N. Ire & d. 1784 MA. Mar'd
1st 9
> Mar 1734-5 to Susanna Mitchell d/o Andrew & Abigail Atwood Mitchell. Re:
1923
> Stewart clan Mag.
>
> Robert Clendenon b. abt 1696 & d. 1744 Chester Co, PA m. Alice__?. Had
Isaac &
> Rebecca.
> Isaac b. 21 Jan 1720 PA & d. Aug 1771 Berks Co, PA m. 1st Phebe Nichols
1754 &
> 2nd Elizabeth Barger 8 Apr 1762. My Clendenon's were Quaker.
>
> Jack Stewart(futbofam(a)aol.com)
In a message dated 98-10-30 05:11:27 EST, you write:
<< Don Clendenin wrote: >> ...
page 262: 16 families came to America from Londonderry, Ireland in 1719
under the leadership of Rev. James McGrefor. They spent the winter in
Falmouth, now Portland, Maine~ next spring they moved to the village of
Nutfield, established a Presbyterian Church. Members were: James McKeen,
John Barrett (or Barnett), Archibald Clendinen, John Mitchell, James
Sterett, James Anderson, Randall Alexander, James Gregg, James Clark, James
Nesbitt, Allen Anderson, Robert Wear, John Morrison, Samuel Allison, Thomas
Steele, John Stuart, and their families. . .they were of the Scotch
families
that left Argylshire, Scotland in 1619 to settle in Northern Ireland.
(Copied 10/26/98 for Clendenin- L(a)rootsweb.com)<< >>
I have a Clendenon interest as well as a Stewart/Mitchell interest in that
time period.
Could you possible shed any light on a possible connection of Stewart/Mitchell
or my Clendenon's.
John Stewart(Stuart)b. abt 1710 Bassllymena, N. Ire & d. 1784 MA. Mar'd 1st 9
Mar 1734-5 to Susanna Mitchell d/o Andrew & Abigail Atwood Mitchell. Re: 1923
Stewart clan Mag.
Robert Clendenon b. abt 1696 & d. 1744 Chester Co, PA m. Alice__?. Had Isaac &
Rebecca.
Isaac b. 21 Jan 1720 PA & d. Aug 1771 Berks Co, PA m. 1st Phebe Nichols 1754 &
2nd Elizabeth Barger 8 Apr 1762. My Clendenon's were Quaker.
Jack Stewart(futbofam(a)aol.com)
Don Clendenin wrote: >> ...
page 262: 16 families came to America from Londonderry, Ireland in 1719
under the leadership of Rev. James McGrefor. They spent the winter in
Falmouth, now Portland, Maine~ next spring they moved to the village of
Nutfield, established a Presbyterian Church. Members were: James McKeen,
John Barrett (or Barnett), Archibald Clendinen, John Mitchell, James
Sterett, James Anderson, Randall Alexander, James Gregg, James Clark, James
Nesbitt, Allen Anderson, Robert Wear, John Morrison, Samuel Allison, Thomas
Steele, John Stuart, and their families. . .they were of the Scotch
families
that left Argylshire, Scotland in 1619 to settle in Northern Ireland.
(Copied 10/26/98 for Clendenin- L(a)rootsweb.com)<<
I have another reference to this settlement that indicates Archibald
Clendenin's wife was named Miriam and that the birth records for their
children show up as early as 1720 in the local records.
Could this be the same Arch as Archibald Sr. of Virginia?
Anyone willing to take this on as a research project?
Sharon
mmediately after the excape of Mrs. Hannah Dennis, whom they (the
Indians) were so unwilling to lose, induced the supposition that the
raid was made in pursuit of her and another source that I fail to
identify tonight suggested that Ann Clendenins determination to escape
had been in part caused by the stories that Hannah Dennis had told.
The only other source that I read but did not use in this narrative
is that found in
Memoir of Indian Wars, and other occurrences; by the late Colonel
Stuart, of Greenbrier. Presented to the Virginia Historicl and
Philosophical Society, by Chas. A. Stuart of Augusta, son of the
narrator. With an Introduction by Otis Rice Reprinted by McClain
Printing Company Parsons WV 1971. This was presented on January 15,
1833 by the son. The father, Col John Stuart, had settled in the
Greenbrier region in 1769 about ten miles northwest of Lewisburg. He
served as County Clerk of the newly formed Greenbrier County (1778) from
1780 until 1807. The first meeting was held in his home. When he
resigned, he was succeeded by his son Lewis. So this account is written
by a man who was living in the area of the massacre as early as 6 years
after the event. Remember that Ann Clendenin returned to the area to
live with her second husband, so probably this man actually knew Ann.
In one part of the narrative he says She told me she returned that
night, in the dark, to her own house, a distance of more than ten miles,
and covered her husbands corpse with rails, whch lay in the yard, where
he was killed in endeavoring to excape over the fence, with one of his
children in his arms;... So it is quite possible that he had heard the
story first hand.
His narrative is fairly short and not as painted with details as Ann
Royalls and Ruth Daytons, and I have chosen to outline it here at the
end. He says:
The chief settlements were on Muddy Creek. About sixty Indians
introduced themselves under the mask of friendship at Muddy Creek and
after accepting their hospitality, killed the men and made prisoners of
the women and children. Thence they passed over into the Levels, where
some families were collected at the house of Archibald Clendenin. There
were between fifty and one hundred persons gathered. Again they accepted
hospitality and proceeded to kill the men and take prisoners of the
women and children. Conrad Yolkhom only escaped, by being some distance
from the house, when the outcries of the women alarmed him.
At Clendenins a scene of much cruelty was performed; and a Negro
woman, who was endeavoring to escape, killed her own child, who was
pursuing her crying, lest she maight be discovered by its cries.
The rest pretty much agrees with the other tales--including the part
where they lash her with her husbands scalp and that she escapes at
Keeneys Knob when she gives her infant to a fellow prisoner to carry.
There is no bear in this version--she just hides in a thicket until they
pass. However, the infant is taken by the heels and thrown against a
tree and then thrown into the path to be trampled. The story then
ends with the quote above in the introduction to this narrative.
reached her desolate habitation. When she came in sight of the farm,
she heard (or thought she heard) wild beasts, howling in every
direction; she thought she heard
voices of all sorts, and saw images of all shapes moving through the
cornfield; in short, these sights and sounds so intimidated her, that
she withdrew to a spring in the forest, and remained there till
morning. She then approached the place, and found the body of her
husband wiht his eyes picked out, lying where it was when the Indians
left him. She threw a buffalo hide over it, and vainly tried to cover
it with earth; but her strength was so much exhausted for want of food
and sleep that she found herself unequal to the task. She continued her
route toward the settled part of the country, travelling at night only;
in nine days she arrived at Dickinson's on the Cowpasture river with
very little to eat. 17
When she got as far as Howard's Creek, not more than ten miles
from where Lewisburg now is, she met several white men. These men had
heard that every soul was killed, and were coming to drive away the
cattle and whatever else was left by the Indians. Among these men was
one who was heir in-law of her family; he was displeased that she had
escaped. This wretch offered her no sort of consolation, nor any
relief, whatever. Some of the men gave her a piece of bread, and a cold
duck but she lost it before eating it. 18 Handley says that at the
ford on the Greenbrier River she paused to rest and bathe her bruised
and brier scratched body, and was wondering if she could survive
starvation and fatigue for the thirty miles which still lay between her
and civilization. ....she was roused by the sound of approaching
horses. Hiding behind some bushes until they came into view, she was
overjoyed at the sight of some of her late husbands relatives among the
group of riders. She...was taken back when they showed disapointment at
finding her alive. Relying on Conrad Yolkhams report that Clendenin
and all his immediate family were dead, they had come to take possession
of his farms, and were disconcerted on finding his wife still alive.
Somewhat reluctantly, they gave her food and permitted her to share a
ride on one of the horses back to Fort Young. This is the only account,
however, which alludes to their actually helping her on her way at all.
One can imagine the thoughts of this lone woman, her stark terror
of what lay behind, her distorted imagination picturing every sound a
footfall and every shadow an Indian. Fear, grief, thirst, hunger,
exhaustion, exposure, sleeping without shelter--all these she must have
experienced, but she fought them all and won, and after nine days of
travel, reached a settlement on Cow pasture River in safety 19
Unknown to Ann, a negro man and his wife, working in the
Clendenin fields at the time of the massacre, had made their escape, the
woman in her fright and panic killing her young infant for fear its
cries would lead to their capture. Reaching safety at the Jackson River
settlement, they spread the news of the massacre. The story soon
reached the ears of Clendenin relatives, and a party composed of the
"heirs-at-law"--the phrase is Anne Royall's--and others lost on time in
setting out for the scene.Thinking the family destroyed, their chief
objective was the salvage of any cattle
#
or belongings that might have been spared by the Indians.20
Mrs. Clendening arrived safe in her old neighborhood. She married
a Mr. Rogers,
the father of Mrs. Maiz (Anns daughter by this second marriage who was
the main informant for Ann Royalls version of the narrative--Ruth Woods
Dayton refers to her as Mrs. Mays which seems a much more likely
spelling to me...). Later they moved back to where her first husband
was killed--peace being restored; and on looking about the old premises,
she found the dish and flesh-fork where she dropped it, on the day her
husband was killed.21
Ann's half-brother returned before the general ransom of the
prisoners. He informed Ann that an old Indian and woman, who had lost
all their children, adopted her little son, and was very fond of it, the
child likewise being fond of them. But one day, the old man displeased
with his wife, on some account, told the child, whom she was sending for
water, not to go, if he did he would kill him; the squaw said she would
kill him if he did not. The child stood still no knowing what to do;
at length, the old man went out to the field, and the child , glad of an
opportunity to please its mother, picked up the vessel and set off to
the spring, but the old man seeing him from where he was, walked up
behind him, and knocked out his brains.
About 1770 a treaty was signed with the Indians and the captives
were released. Ann Clendenin's daughter, Jane was returned to her. The
daughter was seven years with the Indians; when she was brought to her
mother as her child, she disowned her, saying "it was not hers," and the
child was leaving when Ann thought to check for a mark on her body that
convinced her that indeed it was her child. But it was a long time
before she felt any attachment for this child.22
There are a few more naratives that I have read
reference to that I hope to read at some time: The massacre is
graphically described by Hon. H.L. Holcomb, of Portsmouth Ohio. This
narrative told by John Ewing after his captivity has been preserved in
the Ewing family. Also I am in the process of reading the Statement
made by James Wade that is recorded in the Draper Manuscript MSS 12CC
11-12 in which Archibald is described as So scarified by past
encounters with Indians that he looked like an old raccoon dog...
In addition I am going to add the following story that could be
the beginning of the story of the Clendenin Massacre....In the summer of
1763, Thomas Athol and three other men arrived at the house of
Archibald Clendenin. Under their protection was....Hannah Dennis who
had been captured three years before by a party of Shawnees and taken to
Ohio. The Clendenins gave her shelter and cared for her. When she was
able to travel they put her on a pack horse and sent her on to her
relatives at Fort Young on the Jackson River. 23 Mr. Hale24 gives a
very good account of Hannah Denniss escape from the Indians. He then
narrates the tale of the Clendenin massacre and concludes: These
melancholy events, occuring so
Well, I know of some of them. I am working on a line of Clendinens from
Ireland who settled in Ontario, Canada; I just don't have it all on the web
site yet.
As soon as I can .....
Sharon
----------
> From: DebbyC3(a)aol.com
> To: CLENDINEN-L(a)rootsweb.com
> Subject: [CLENDINEN-L] More Clendenins.
> Date: Wednesday, October 28, 1998 11:57 AM
>
> Hi again, I had a free search from Family Tree Maker, so I had them do it
on
> Adam Clendenin, born 1740. From the Ancestral File from FHL. They didn't
find
> Adam but they did send me these Clendenins.
>
> Adaline Clendenin [AFN:NXP4-J3], female born 1830 in Bald Knob, Boone, WV
> This is wrong Boone wasn't formed yet, I believe it should be Logan, VA.
> Spouse: Amos Workman. Adaline is the Daughter of Alexander McNeely and
Mary
> Clendenin.
>
> Adam Clendenin [AFN:12C8-6CP], male, born about 1810 in Markham, Ont.
Father
> was William Clendening, Mother was Susanah Stover, Spouse was Barbara
Kester.
>
> Adam Clendenin [AFN:1L27-KR4], male, born 1822 in Salem, IL, Spouse was
> Elizabeth Jane McReynolds.
>
> Agnes Clendenning [AFN:WNBX-BW], female, born 1859 of Lansdowne, Leeds,
ON.
> Father, Joshua Clendenning, mother was Christina Landon.
>
> Albert Clendenen [AFN:1NDH-NQP], male born 29 June 1881 in Bonham, Texas.
> Father was Albert J. Clendenen, Mother was Molly Heartsfield.
>
> Albert J. Clendenen [AFN:1NDH-N25], male, born 21 August 1847 in Georgia.
> Father was A.W.T. Clendenen, mother was Eliza V. Rogers, Spouse was Molly
> Heartsfield.
>
> Alexander Clendenin [AFN:RHM6-49], male, born 1754 in Augusta, VA. Father
was
> Charles Clendenin, mother was unknown, spouse was Catherine Spencer.
>
> Alexander Clendenin [AFN:1HFR-ZGG], male, born 1778 in York, SC. Father
was
> Thomas Clendenin, mother was Margaret.
>
> Alexander Clendenning [AFN:WNBX-4V], male, born 1871 of Lansdowne, Leeds,
On.
> Father was Andrew Clendening and mother was Margaret Cockrane.
>
> Alexander Lochlan Clendenan [AFN:C2XX-Z8], male born 1876 in
Collinsville,
> Madison, IL. Spouse was Carolyn Virginia Huntington.
>
> Alice Clendenin [AFN:14B3-1N2], female born 1770 Botetourt, VA. Spouse
was
> Ferdinand Hamilton. Wel, we know who this is, the dau of Adam Clendenin.
>
> Alice Clendenning [AFN:1672-66P], female born 1858 in Paola, Kansas,
spouse
> was Marchbanke Tallman.
>
> Alice Clendenning [AFN:WNC4-F7], female, born 1862 of Lansdowne, Leeds,
On.
> Father was Andrew Clendenning, mother was Mary Ann.
>
> Almira Clendenning, {AFN:12C8-%WT], female, born 9 August 1893 in
Minneapolis,
> MN. Father was David Clendening, Mother was Margaret McBride, Spouse was
Elmer
> Vincent Litchfield.
>
> Alva Clendenin {AFN:DP1T-TP], female, born 1872, spouse was Poindexter
Carney.
>
> Amanda Regina Clendenin, born 16 May 1841 in Greenville, Mercer,
Pennsylvania.
> Father was John Clendenen, Mother was Margeret Hamilton, spouse was Clark
A.
> Miller. [AFN:KWD7-DP].
>
> Codes: AFN=Ancestral File Number. For additional information [including
> complete LDS ordinance dates] see the Individual Record for each person
listed
> above.
>
> Copyright, 1987, July 1996 by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints.
>
> Hope someone knows them.
> Debby
>
>
> ==== CLENDINEN Mailing List ====
> Have you seen the Clendinen Family Research web page?
> http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~clendin
>
In a message dated 10/28/98 4:39:45 PM Eastern Standard Time,
mosesm(a)earthlink.net writes:
> but I have been to Greenbrier County where it happened twice...
Don't forget to ask about the gloves Jane made, they will let you hold them if
you are a Clendenin desc. I did and also my niece who was 7 at the time!!
Cool!
Sandy in Fla
I sent photos of the site of the Clendenin Massacre to George McSwain.
Here is what the monument says on it, George:
Pontiac's War
Massacre of white families on Muddy Creek and of the Clendenins near
here by a band of Shawnee Indians let by Chief Cornstalk, in 1763,
completed the destruction of the early settlements in the Greenbrier
Valley.
It is found 2 miles Southwest of Lewisburg. Directions for finding it
are: Take U.S. Route 60 East from Lewisburg. Turn left on Haufnagle
Road (there is a gas station at the intersection. The monument is
enclosed by a fence as you can see in the photo. THere is a beautiful
big farm on the same side of the road (the west side) You cannot miss
it....
I could not seem to make the footnotes work so I hope they will appear
here:
1. Greenbrier Pioneers and Their Homes by Ruth Woods Dayton Published
by West Virginia Publishing Company , Charleston WV 1942 pp.225-235.
2. This information is from a manuscript written by Harry H Handley for
the Journal of the Greenbrier Historical Society Volume II, Number 2,
October 1970 , PP 5-13.
3. Dayton
4. This information is from Chronicles of Border Warfare or a History
of the Settlement of the Whites of North Western Virginia and of the
Indian Wars and Massacres in that section of the State with Reflections,
Anecdotes, &c. by Alexander Scott Withers a New Edition edited and
annotated by Reuben Gold Thwaites, Secretary ot the Wisconsin Historical
Society, With the addition of a Memoir of the Author, and several
Illustrative Notes by the late Lyman Copeland Draper 1908 pp93-96.
5.this account is from a book called Sketches of History, Life, and
Manners in the United States by Anne Royall (1826) Anne traveled from
Huntsville, Alabama through Virginia and on up through Washington DC,
Philadelphia, NY, Boston...with a bit ot travel information and stories
about the places that she stopped. She begins the narrative with the
statement that "Having been advised to try the mineral waters in
Virginia for my health, I set out on horseback from St. Stephens,
Alabama......" Which makes me think that the reason for her including
this narrative of our ancestors, was a stop at the White Sulphur
Springs--a renowned spa where southerners gathered to take the waters
summer after summer. She credits her story to Mrs. Maiz who she says is
a daughter of Ann McSwain Clendenin. She says: I had the relation from
her (Ann Clendening) daughter, Mrs. Maiz, who now lives near this place,
which is likewise confirmed by several others. Her relation begins as
follows: pp.61-66.
6. Indian Warfare and massacres on the Virginia Frontier by Dale Payne
p.21
7.This information is from a manuscript written by Harry H Handley for
the Journal of the Greenbrier Historical Society Volume II Number 2
October 1970 PP 5-13.
8. This information comes from the Draper Manuscripts. Draper Mss 21 U
(microfilm edition 1980) State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Mr.
Draper credits Ann McSwain Clendenins daughter (I assume this to be the
Mrs. Maiz who Anne Royall says was Ann Clendenin's daughter) from her
second marriage with having supplied the information.
9. This information comes from the Draper Manuscripts. Draper Mss 21 U
(microfilm edition 1980) State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Mr.
Draper credits Ann McSwain Clendenins daughter (I assume this to be the
Mrs. Maiz who Anne Royall says was Ann Clendenin's daughter) from her
second marriage with having supplied the information.
10. Royall
11. Dayton
12. Draper Manuscripts
13. Dayton
14. Dayton
15. This information was found at the Greenbrier Historical Society
Archives. It is labeled Of the Destruction of the settlement of
Greenbrier, Virginia together with the capture and surprising conduct of
Mrs. Clendenin, who was among those who escaped the tomahawk of the
indians at that Massacre. It then has a note saying Whether the
following was ever in print, except as it stands in Mr. Martins
Gazateer of Virginia, I ahve never learned......it was extracted from
memoirs of Indian wars on the western frontiers of Virginia,
communicated to the Philosophical Society of Virginia, by Charles A.
Stuart, Esq of Augusta County...then at the end of the narrative it says
Ref. Indian captiveties or l Life in the Wigwam; being true narratives
of captives who have been carried away by the Indians, from the frontier
Settlements of the United States, from the Earliest Period to the
Present Time. By Samuel G. Drake, Pub, Miller, Orton, and Mullgan 1855
New York and Auburn. (I may want to follow up on this source...)
16. Royall
17. Royall
18. Royall
19. Dayton
20. Dayton
21. Royall
22. Royall
23. Withers
24. Trans-Alleegheny Pioneers by John P. Hale Edited by Harold J.
Dudley, Historical Sketches of the First White Settlements West of the
Alleghenies 1748 and after, Published by Roberta Ingles Steele,
Radford, Virginia , 1971 pp.243-246.
briskly in the yard as he had cut more wood to repleninsh the fire.
Little Jane and her three year old brother John played near by, and Ann
was in the cabin tending the baby and talking to an old lady guest who
had arrived early and was sitting on the doorstep as she stirred the
batter for the corn pone which was to be cooked and eaten hot along
with the elk meat, and dried fruit and buttermilk fresh from the
springhouse under the hill.
The scene became tense upon the arrival of the Indians. As Ann
came into the courtyard to see what was happening an Indian killed the
old woman . Then Clendenin grabbed his small son and tried to clear a
rail fence. One of the Indians fired a shot which passed through his
body and killed both him and his small son. Ann was seized , tied and
gagged. The boys in the cornfield came in and John Ewing and Dick
Pointer were seized. Conrad Yolkham being a bit older and more
suspicious made his way to his horse which was hobbled in the woods some
distance away and rode away as fast as possible upon realizing what was
happening , not stopping until he reached Fort Young, now Covington VA.
where he reported that the Indians had ambushed the Clendenins and all
were killed, and only he had escaped.
And still other sources, ( Chronicles of Border Warfare and Indian
Warfare and Daytons book) have a large group of people gathered at the
Clendenins home to partake in the feast and with curiosity to see the
friendly Indians. Ruth Dayton says that as many as 75-100 people had
gathered and as many as fifty died. Withers says that the roasting
elks and the novelty of being with Friendly Indians soon drew the whole
settlement to Clendenins house. I have not done enough research to
have an opinion on this as yet--the first question that pops into my
mind is has Charles and his family moved to this area yet? If they have,
and there is a large gathering why were they not in attendance...Perhaps
they were still back at Cowpasture at this time and thus spared. I need
to check those facts out.
During the massacre, while Ann Clendenin was berating an Indian,
he flouted the scalp of her husband in her face, she asked him to kill
her also-- even spitting in his face to provoke him to do so. So he
raised his tomahawk to strike a fatal blow. Her brother, John Ewing,
among the prisoners said to the Indian: "Oh, never mind her , she is a
foolish woman." "Yes, responded the Indian--She damn fool, too." The
Indians then plundered and fired the house, and departed taking
prisoners. Among the prisoners were Ann, her three children, and her
half-brother, John Ewing. 8 The account given in a Bible in the
possession of one of the descendants of Ann McSwain by her second
husband, John Rodgers, is as follows: "John Ewing was captured with his
half-sister when Archibald Clendenin was killed. Samuel Ewing and Dick
Pointer (col) escaped, being in the field at work when the gun was fired
that killed Clendennin giving them notice of the approach of the
Indians" 9
Ewing has since said that Clendening might have saved his life,
had he not been
#
encumbered with the child; he started to run, and was making an effort
to cross a fence that was near the door, which separated the house from
a field of Indian Corn, which had he gained, he would have eluded the
pursuit of the Indians;it being the
month of June, the corn was high enough to have concealed him, but was
killed while in the act of rising the fence; he fell on one side and the
child on the other. 10
After the terrible carnage of fifty or more victims at the
Clendenin home and the firing of the cabins, the Shawanoes assembled
those of the women and children who had not been killed and made their
way over Muddy Creek Mountain to Muddy Creek where they joined another
small band of Indians and the survivors of the Muddy Creek massacre the
day before. The Indians made camp and busied themselves with chores and
hunting to await the return of the Indians who had continued their raid
to Carr's Crossing, in Rockbridge County. 11
While the women and children were for a while entrusted to a
single old warrior Mrs. Clendenin conceived the idea of escaping, and
thought before broaching the matter to her sister prisoners, she would
ascertain whether this old Indian understood English. (Ann Royall's
version says that the Indians took Ewing with them. And that they were
gone three days.) And as he made no response, she concluded that he was
ignorant of the English language. (Ann Royall's version says that she
tried to get the other women to assiat her to kill the old Indian and
make their escape. But they refused to aid her) And so she spoke freely
to the other women prisoners, but they were too timid to take any such
risk. At length they heard the noise of an approaching party. The old
Indian having charge of the prisoners, sprang to his feet and
exclaimed in English at his joy in hearing his comrades returning with
the spoils of their attack on Kerr's Creek in now Rockbridge County;
and Mrs. Clendennn discovering by this exclamation that the old Indian
had by his silence deceived her as to his knowledge of the English
language , now expected to be killed, in perhaps some horrible manner,
for her plot to escape. But no allusion was made to the matter. She
resolved to watch an opportunity to escape.12
After return with more captives and booty, the Indians placed
the prisoners in the center, with Indians in the front, the belled
horses and one guard in the rear, and started on the exhausting journey
of 175 miles or more over the mountains back to the Indian towns in
Ohio, leaving the Greenbrier region completely depopulated for about
seven years.13
When the party had traveled about ten miles and as they
were crossing Keeneys Knob, Mrs. Clendenin asked a woman near her to
carry her child for a little while. She thought the child would be
spared; she knew that if she took it along and were caught, they would
doubtless both be killed.14 ( Handley says Keeneys Mountain and Draper
says Keelys Knob) she, unobserved, darted to one side, and hid herself
under a shelving rock. Soon after the Indians had passed, she heard
some heavy footsteps; and expecting she had been missed, and was now
pursued, and would be discovered she bent her head forward to receive
the expected fatal stroke. In imagination, she already felt the fatal
tomahawk on her head. And timidly making her eyes to her foe, she
beheld a large bear standing over her, who seemed quite as much alarmed
as herself--the animal gave a great snort, and darted off at full
speed. it explains that the opportunity was rendered more favorable by
the manner in which the Indians at the time were marching. They had
placed the prisoners in the centre, and dividing themselves into two
companies, one marched before them and the other followed in the rear,
having each flank open, and this gave her the desired chance of
escape.15
The Indians missing her after some time, laid her child on the
ground, and would go off from it for some distance, thinking its cries
would induce her to return; they would torture and beat it, saying "make
the calf bawl and the cow will come." At length they killed it and went
on without her. 16 She remained under the rock until dark, when she
sought her way back. Other sources say that an Indian grabbed the
child by its heels and brutally killed it against a tree, throwing its
body on the ground to be trampled by the horses. Withers says the
Indian grabbed the child by the heels, beat out its brains against a
tree and the narrative mentioned in footnote #15 says ...and taking the
infant by the heels, dashed out its brains against a tree! and as though
this was not enough, the miscreant throwing it down into the van, the
whole company marched over it, the hoofs of the horses tearing out its
bowels, and the feet of the Indians tracked the ground as they went with
its blood!
All of the versions seem to have a bear incident in them at this
next point. Ann Royalls version retold above has Ann Clendenin remain
under the rock after the bear goes off until dark when she starts on her
trip back towards home. Ruth Dayton also has Ann hiding under a rock.
She then says that the Indians pursue her until their attention is
diverted by a bear when they abandon their search for her in their
eagerness to hunt and kill the bear. Handleys version says that the
Indians followed her and just as she was in dispair, she saw ahead of
her a hollow tree which as she approached a large bear ran from the
hollow and took off into the woods. Quickly she crawled into the hollow
left by the bear and lay quietly. In a matter of moments she heard the
Indians. One Indian even stood on the fallen trunk. But all went
swiftly after the bear whose trail they had mistakenly taken for hers.
She lay for a long time fearing the Indians would return and pick up her
own trail if she left the log, but eventually night came on and she
decided she could get away unnoticed.
She travelled all night, and concealed herself by day. The
second day she
Although the Clendenins that figure in the Massacre at the Big
Levels in Greenbrier County are not my direct ancestors, I feel the need
to include this in my family history narative because I am quite
convinced that this tragedy was a major factor in Charles (brother or
uncle to Archibald Jr.), and his childrens decision to persevere in
their efforts to construct a fort at the present site of Charleston WV
and without a doubt it was a major factor causing them to fight in the
battle of Point Pleasant. I can imagine that the massacre put fear in
the hearts of these families and added to their desire to provide forts
to protect white settlers from further atrocities from the hands of what
they must have considered savages after an incident of such violence.
Before coming to Greenbriar, Archibald, about 1756, had married
Anne McSwain (born 1732), and they had three children--the eldest, Jane,
who was about four years old, a son, and an infant born either just
before or just after their arrival. Anne McSwain's father had died when
she was a baby, and her mother had then married a Mr. Ewing, to which
union was born a son John Ewing, who evidently accompanied the
Clendenins, making his home with them, and who has been frequently
thought to have been one of their own children. 1
Remember that this was the most western outpost of civilization
for these people at this time. In 1745 twelve individuals, under the
name of the Greenbrier Land Company had made appication to the
Governor's Council of Virginia for permission to take up 100,000 acres
of land on "the waters of the Greenbrier" . John Lewis made some of the
surveys after November 1750. Of the one hundred or more surveys made by
the Lewises in the Greenbrier Valley, was one for 360 acres in the name
of Archibald Clendenin Sr. and another for the same acreage in the name
of George See. These tracts were adjoining, and both were eventually
acquired by Archibald Clendenin, Jr.-- the first by inheritance from his
father and the second by assignment from See. Archibald and his family
were living on the survey by 1759 and by 1762, Archibald had been
appointed constable by the Augusta County Court. By June 1763, there
were more than thirty families living on Muddy Creek and in the Big
Levels area.2
Archibald Clendenin, a brave man and mighty hunter, had taken
particular pains to exhibit all possible signs of friendliness to the
bands of Indians constantly roaming through this rich hunting ground.
Having lived in the region a year, with no indication of Indian
hostility to arouse his fears, he felt he was succeeding in his efforts
to win their friendship. But the Indians were only waiting for the
opportune moment.3 The Indians came apparently as friends, and the
French war having been terminated by the treaty of the preceding spring,
the whites did not for an instant doubt their sincerity. They were
entertained in small parties at different houses, and every civility and
act of kindness were extended to them. On June 27, 1763, Mr. Clendenin
had just returned from a very successful hunting trip on which he had
killed three fine elk, when a band of sixty Shawnoes (Shawnees), a
particularly cruel tribe, led by their young chief,
#
Cornstalk, appeared.4
The Indians began at Muddy Creek and killed Yokum and several
others, captured the women and children, plundered the houses and burnt
them to ashes. After this, they came to Clendening's who had heard
nothing of the hostility. When the came into the house, they asked for
something to eat; but Mrs. Clendening was suspicious of them, from the
circumstances of their being painted different form what she had ever
seen before. She expressed her fears to her husband in a low voice, but
he replied "No danger." Mrs. Clendening was in the process of boiling
the bones from the game that Archibald had brought home from his hunt in
a large pot under a shed or scaffold, constructed near the house, for
that purpose. She therefore gave her infant to her husband, and taking
a large pewter dish and flesh-fork in her hand, repaired thither to
bring some for the Indians. But just as she turned the corner of the
house, she heard Archibald exclaim "Lord have mercy on me." She dropped
the dish and fork, and turning back, saw an Indian with the scalp of her
husband in his hand; he held it by the long hair, and was shaking the
blood from it. She rushed upon him, and in a fit of "phrenzy",
requested him to kill her, likewise, spitting in his face to provoke him
to do so.5 Mrs. Clendenin was a woman of little fear and long on
courage. She began to lash out at the Indians with her tongue, although
the tomahawk was drawn back and held over her head, and she was lashed
about the face with the bloody scalp of her dead husband, she showed no
fear and remained defiant.6
Dr. Handley tells the story a bit differently. 7 Clendenin had
returned the afternoon before from a successful hunt on which he had
bagged a fat elk, and as was the custom in that frontier community the
word had gone around to the neighbors that come noontime boiled elk meat
with all the "fixins" could be had by one and all. This was no excuse
for shirking the day's chores and the three teenaged boys, John Ewing,
who was Ann's half-brother, Conrad Yolkham and a negro boy named Dick
Pointer, were sent out to the cornfield a quarter mile away from the
cabin to chop weeds until the arrival of the guests.
By mid-morning Clendenin had a large iron kettle containing the
elk meat boiling
#
Dear List, Dore Sutton asked me about the story of the massacre for
herself and her cousin 10/13/98.....I suggested that I might send her
my version...more than 10 days later I am still working on my version.
I have to QUIT!!!! I am more than 2000 e-mail messages behind.... I have
snuck off to the NEW MARSHALL LIBRARY and every other library around an
embarrassing number of times--to where I am sure they say "here comes
the crazy lady researching that Clendenin Massacre....AGAIN!!! Not only
that, but I have been to Greenbrier County where it happened twice...I
am sending it out tonight as is--not the final version...but the rough
draft. Let me say to you--every one of you--if you want to make a
Clendenin trip into the past into Greenbrier County, I highly recommend
the week before Halloween!!!We bicycled the Greenbrier River Rails to
Trails trail this weekend and it is GORGEOUS!!! The e-mail that follows
is my compilation of the massacre in its first version--anyone wanting
the final version let me know and I'll send it on when I finish reading
everything that I want to read....Marsha in WV P.S. If I have promised
anyone else anything, please remind me--just give me a bit of time as I
am still more than 2000 messages behind, and I am going to probably read
them in order....I'll get to it at some time, however....
Hi again, I had a free search from Family Tree Maker, so I had them do it on
Adam Clendenin, born 1740. From the Ancestral File from FHL. They didn't find
Adam but they did send me these Clendenins.
Adaline Clendenin [AFN:NXP4-J3], female born 1830 in Bald Knob, Boone, WV
This is wrong Boone wasn't formed yet, I believe it should be Logan, VA.
Spouse: Amos Workman. Adaline is the Daughter of Alexander McNeely and Mary
Clendenin.
Adam Clendenin [AFN:12C8-6CP], male, born about 1810 in Markham, Ont. Father
was William Clendening, Mother was Susanah Stover, Spouse was Barbara Kester.
Adam Clendenin [AFN:1L27-KR4], male, born 1822 in Salem, IL, Spouse was
Elizabeth Jane McReynolds.
Agnes Clendenning [AFN:WNBX-BW], female, born 1859 of Lansdowne, Leeds, ON.
Father, Joshua Clendenning, mother was Christina Landon.
Albert Clendenen [AFN:1NDH-NQP], male born 29 June 1881 in Bonham, Texas.
Father was Albert J. Clendenen, Mother was Molly Heartsfield.
Albert J. Clendenen [AFN:1NDH-N25], male, born 21 August 1847 in Georgia.
Father was A.W.T. Clendenen, mother was Eliza V. Rogers, Spouse was Molly
Heartsfield.
Alexander Clendenin [AFN:RHM6-49], male, born 1754 in Augusta, VA. Father was
Charles Clendenin, mother was unknown, spouse was Catherine Spencer.
Alexander Clendenin [AFN:1HFR-ZGG], male, born 1778 in York, SC. Father was
Thomas Clendenin, mother was Margaret.
Alexander Clendenning [AFN:WNBX-4V], male, born 1871 of Lansdowne, Leeds, On.
Father was Andrew Clendening and mother was Margaret Cockrane.
Alexander Lochlan Clendenan [AFN:C2XX-Z8], male born 1876 in Collinsville,
Madison, IL. Spouse was Carolyn Virginia Huntington.
Alice Clendenin [AFN:14B3-1N2], female born 1770 Botetourt, VA. Spouse was
Ferdinand Hamilton. Wel, we know who this is, the dau of Adam Clendenin.
Alice Clendenning [AFN:1672-66P], female born 1858 in Paola, Kansas, spouse
was Marchbanke Tallman.
Alice Clendenning [AFN:WNC4-F7], female, born 1862 of Lansdowne, Leeds, On.
Father was Andrew Clendenning, mother was Mary Ann.
Almira Clendenning, {AFN:12C8-%WT], female, born 9 August 1893 in Minneapolis,
MN. Father was David Clendening, Mother was Margaret McBride, Spouse was Elmer
Vincent Litchfield.
Alva Clendenin {AFN:DP1T-TP], female, born 1872, spouse was Poindexter Carney.
Amanda Regina Clendenin, born 16 May 1841 in Greenville, Mercer, Pennsylvania.
Father was John Clendenen, Mother was Margeret Hamilton, spouse was Clark A.
Miller. [AFN:KWD7-DP].
Codes: AFN=Ancestral File Number. For additional information [including
complete LDS ordinance dates] see the Individual Record for each person listed
above.
Copyright, 1987, July 1996 by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Hope someone knows them.
Debby
Hi guys, here are a few tidbits on several Clendenins. Maybe someone will be
able to connect with them. Found all of it on the Internet.
1850 Augusta County Census, page # 317A
36-1436
Clendenin, Nancy age 48, female, W.L. Asylum, listed as Insane.
This would place her birthdate cir 1802, I wonder who she belongs to?
Alexander McNeely, born 6 October 1797, married 1821, died 1867 in Boone, WV.
His wife, Mary Clendenin, born 16 September 1799 in Giles, VA. [This should be
Montgomery, VA]. This is the dau of Robert of Giles, but at least someone
found her birthdate.
Genevieve R. Clark, born May 10, 1911; Died 26 September 1983, dau of Cecil
Saunders and Beulah Clendenin. Buried in Clark cemetery in Kanawha, WV.
Located on Kelley's Creek, 8 i/2 miles from Sissonville High School.
7th WV Infantry from Kanawha, WV
Daniel Clendenin, Company D, Wheeling, WV
James Clendenin, Company D, Graysville, OH.
And the most exciting:
Civil war Draft, 1863
1st-Sub District, Kanawha, VA/WVa
J.B. Clendenin, 1861 list of those drafted. This is John Buren Clendenin, son
of Archibald S. J.B. Clendenin is my 2nd -great-grandpa.
Debby
Three brothers immigrated from Scotland to the USA in 1700's. There names
were (1) John, (1a)Peter, and (1b) Samuel C(G)lendenin/C(G)lendennon). I
know nothing more about Peter and Samuel but would love to find them.
1. John C(G)lendenin/(C(G)lendennon married a Sarah Sturgeon and had the
following children:
2.Nancy Ann C(G)lendenin born 1880 in Philadelphia, PA
She married William Henderson (son of John Henderson and Martha
Long)
on 21 Jun 1797 in Mifflin Co., PA. She died in Guernsey Co., OH in
1860.
William Henderson died 31 Aug 1860 in Guernsey Co., OH.
William and Nancy Ann had the following children:
3. Martha (Patty) Henderson
3. John G. Henderson
3. Sarah Henderson
3. Thomas Henderson born 15 Dec 1804
3. William Henderson
3. Rachael Henderson
3. Margaret (Peggy) Ann Henderson married Jesse Jarvis (born
in Maryland)
3. George Washington Henderson
3. Maria Jane Henderson
3. David Henderson
3. Elizabeth Henderson born 21 Apr 1820 in Guernsey Co., OH
3. Simpson Henderson
3. Thomas Henderson
2.Margaret C(G)lendenin - married a Stevens
2.Rachel C(G)lendenin - married Samuel Robinson
2.Charlotte C(G)lendenin - was said to have drowned
2.John C(G)lendenin
I am looking for info on the parents and ancestors of Nancy Ann
C(G)lendenin. For the sake of simplicity, I am spelling the name only one
way with either a C or G but I have info that says it may be Glendennon but
no proof. Strangely enough I have found Sarah Sturgeon but the Sturgeon
family has not information on her husband.
Eleanor Myers
myersel(a)battelle.org
1750 00 00 History of Alamance, by Miss S. W. Stockard, Raleigh, N.C. 1900.
Chapt. VIII
"Joseph Clendenen had seven sons as follows: 1. William mar. Miss Bradshaw.
2. Alex mar. Miss Freshwaters and went to Virginia. 3. George mar. Polly
Albright. 4. Chas. mar. Miss Strayhorn. 5. Fisher mar. Miss Cook. 6.
David. 7. Joseph went to Park Co., Ind. Judge Jesse Turner, by Mrs.
Rebecca Turner (his wife) "The near ancestors of the subject were of
Scotch-Irish stock. James Turner, the paternal grandfather and William
Clendenen, the maternal grandfather, were natives of County Down, Ireland,
from whence they immigrated to Lancaster Co., Pa. about 1750. James Turner
moved to Orange Co., N.C. about 1755, and William Clendenin about 1758.
(Copied for Clendinen- L(a)rootswewb.com 10/25/98)
1719 00 00 "East Tennessee Pioneers" by Olga James Edwards & Ina Edwards
Johnson
page 219 (notes) Isabell Clendennin Rankin b. Aug. 30, 1796 m. John Wear
Wilson Nov. 11, 1818. (most of this book is about the Wear family- no names
I'm searching.)
page 262: 16 families came to America from Londonderry, Ireland in 1719
under the leadership of Rev. James McGrefor. They spent the winter in
Falmouth, now Portland, Maine~ next spring they moved to the village of
Nutfield, established a Presbyterian Church. Members were: James McKeen,
John Barrett (or Barnett), Archibald Clendinen, John Mitchell, James
Sterett, James Anderson, Randall Alexander, James Gregg, James Clark, James
Nesbitt, Allen Anderson, Robert Wear, John Morrison, Samuel Allison, Thomas
Steele, John Stuart, and their families. . .they were of the Scotch families
that left Argylshire, Scotland in 1619 to settle in Northern Ireland.
(Copied 10/26/98 for Clendenin- L(a)rootsweb.com)
Here's your answer:
Go to their web site:
www.familytreemaker.com
Down the left side of the page (yeah, it's busy) find under "Genealogy
Community" the click-able title "Contact a WFT Contributor"
Touch that with you mouse and follow the directions and fill in the
form. You will need to provide a "code" off of either your WFT program
CD or one of the WFT CDs. In a few days they email you the address.
Whenever I've done it, it is a snail mail address...
Hope this helps.
--Steve Slesinger
Melbourne, FL
Can someone tell me how to find the email address of an individual who has
submitted a family tree to FTM online?
I have to confess my ignorance here, but have come across several
individuals who have Clendinen information but can't figure out how to
contact them.
Help! Thanks,
Sharon