Harrison County WV Genealogy – Access Genealogy

Biography of John P. Brady

John P. Brady. Since he was fifteen years of age John P. Brady had had a varied and extensive experience as an oil worker. He began in his native state of Pennsylvania, and had been in most of the important oil fields of the country. For the past few years he had had his home at Havans, and is one of the leading individual producers in that section. His birth occurred at Parkers Landing in Pennsylvania on June 3, 1876. His people, however, were early settlers of Ohio. His grandfather Barney Brady was born in County Cavan, Ireland, came to … Read more

Ankrom, Edward Conway – Obituary

Halfway, Oregon Edward Conway Ankrom, 85, a longtime Halfway resident, died Dec. 22, 2000, at St. Elizabeth Health Services. His memorial service will be Thursday at 1 p.m. at the Halfway Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. President Lon Nalder of the LDS Church will officiate. Disposition was by cremation at the Eastern Oregon Pioneer Crematory. Mr. Ankrom was born Sept. 17, 1915, at Salem, W.Va., to Connie Eli Ankrom and Bertha Maude Matheny. While he was a young boy he, along with his family, moved to Augusta, Ill., where they lived until he was six years old. From … Read more

Biography of H. Titchenal

H. Titchenal, of Santa Ana, was born in Harrison County, West Virginia, January 2, 1817, a son of John R. and Rebecca (Harbertt) Titchenal, both natives of West Virginia. His father, a black-smith by trade, moved to Missouri in 1819, and in 1833 to the vicinity of Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he died January 16, 1831. The second of his nine children, the subject of this sketch, and a sister, are the only surviving members of the family. Mr. Titchenal was brought up to the life of a stock-raiser. From 1835 to 1852 he followed his calling, and also mercantile … Read more

Biography of R. A. Traver

R. A. Traver, of the firm of Traver & Nixon, manufacturers of and dealers in brooms, brushes, etc., Charleston; was born in Schenectady Co., N. Y., Aug. 19, 1837; he was raised on a farm; in 1856, he removed with his parents to Brooklyn, N. Y., where, for two years, he was employed as a book-keeper for A. W. Hendrickson & Co., coal-dealers; in 1858, he went to Harrison Co., W. Va., where he was engaged in farming and carpentering till 1867; he then came to Clark Co., Ill., and engaged in the broom business, but soon afterward removed to … Read more

West Virginia Naturalization Records

Naturalization to become a U.S. citizen was a two-part process: the Declaration of Intent to Naturalize, or First Papers, and the Naturalization Record (including the Naturalization Petition), or Final Papers. The First Papers were normally filed five years before the Final Papers because of the five-year residency requirement to become a citizen. No centralized files existed before 1906. In 1906 federal forms replaced the various formats that had been used by the various courts. Copies were sent to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), creating a central file for naturalization papers. The INS is now known as the U.S. Citizenship … Read more

The Wilson Family of West Virginia

This brief history has been gleaned from old family records, correspondence with other members, and histories of Ritchie, Barbour, Harrison and Randolph Counties, West Virginia. The first known ancestor was David Wilson, who was born in Scotland about 1650; he had a son David, born about 1685, who was forced to flee from Scotland to Ireland owing to his being on the losing side in the Scotch Rebellion of 1715. His son William (b. Nov. 19, 1722; d. June 12, 1801) came to America about 1736; married Elizabeth Blackburn, also of Scotch-Irish descent, about 1746, and settled on Trout Run near Moorefield, Hardy County, W. Va. The Land Office at Richmond shows that he and his sons patented many tracts of land in what is now Hampshire, Hardy, and Grant Counties. Nothing further is known of him as to where he lived and died.