Kellison Family

Jacob S. Kellison and Sarah Ann Morrison).

 

The Kellison family holds a deep, rooted place in the history of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, primarily establishing their presence in the early 19th century and anchoring themselves in areas like Mill Point, Little Levels, and later Jacox.

While the surname is relatively rare globally, it became uniquely concentrated in Pocahontas County over the generations, shifting with the county's transformation from rugged pioneer farmland to a logging and agricultural hub.

The Pioneer Generation: Edward Kellison and Mary Arbaugh

The definitive branch of the Pocahontas County Kellisons trace back to Edward Kellison (born c. 1783–1787) and his wife, Mary Arbaugh (born c. 1788).

Edward and Mary settled in the region back when it was still part of Bath/Greenbrier County, Virginia, before Pocahontas County was formally established in 1821. They raised a large family whose descendants spread across the county's distinct districts. Their children intermarried with other foundational local families (including the Ruckers and McCombs), weaving the Kellisons tightly into the county's genealogical fabric.

Major Historic Branches in the County

The family footprint expanded significantly through Edward and Mary’s sons, particularly John J. Kellison and William S. Kellison.

1. The John J. Kellison Branch (Mill Point & Little Levels)

Born in 1817, John J. Kellison married Susan Laura Thomas in Pocahontas County in 1844. They became prominent fixtures of the Little Levels District and Mill Point.

• A Massive Household: John and Susan had at least ten children, including Joseph Allen, Mary, William, Elizabeth, Madora, Laurell, John W.S., Daniel Luther, George Mathias Clinton, and Virginia.

• The Legacy: This branch was deeply embedded in the agricultural development of the Little Levels area throughout the post-Civil War era. John J. Kellison lived to see the turn of the century, passing away in March 1900 in Mill Point, where he is buried.

2. The William S. Kellison Branch

Another anchor of the family was William S. Kellison, who married Sarah Rucker (and later Rebecca Rucker McComb). His household included children like Rachel, Martha, Elizabeth, and Nancy B. Kellison. This branch solidified the family’s presence in the central and southern portions of the county during the mid-to-late 1800s.

20th Century Adaptations: Farming and Community Life

As the 1900s progressed, the Kellisons adapted to changing economic realities in the mountains, expanding into the timber-heavy regions like Green Bank and the high plateau lands of Jacox (which historically boasts one of the highest concentrations of the Kellison surname in the state).

Historical records and community archives paint a picture of a family deeply involved in local farm heritage and civic life:

• Agricultural Roots: Federal Extension and 4-H records from the early 1920s highlight young family members like Forest Kellison and Susie Kellison earning regional recognition for livestock and poultry management under early county agricultural programs.

• The Civic Narrative: Into the mid-and-late 20th century, members of the family remained active in local culture. For instance, Jeanne Kellison was a well-remembered face in regional community theater and the county's annual Pioneer Days theatrical productions during the 1970s.

Today, whether tied to old homesteads near the Greenbrier River or the high ridges of Jacox, the Kellison name remains a definitive marker of Pocahontas County’s enduring pioneer lineage.

  

Burgess Family

 

The Burgess family is woven directly into the early frontier history of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, with records establishing them as true pioneer settlers of the region before the turn of the 19th century.

The Pioneer Era: Pre-1800 Settlements

Historical land and court records place the earliest members of the Burgess family in the Hillsboro and Mill Point areas (historically known as the Little Levels of the Greenbrier).

• Nathan Burgess: Documented on historical rolls as a pre-1800 pioneer settler of the Hillsboro/Mill Point area. He lived alongside other foundational families of the county, such as the McNeels and Kinnisons. On August 20, 1803, Nathan married Martha "Patsy" Kinnison in Bath County, Virginia (from which parts of Pocahontas were later formed). The Kinnisons were extensive landowners in the Little Levels; several branches of both families eventually migrated westward to Jackson County, Ohio, in the early 1800s.

• John Burgess, Jr.: Appears alongside Nathan on early regional pioneer rosters for the same district, indicating multiple closely related households managing adjacent mountain homesteads.

The Civil War Era & Late 19th Century

As the county developed, the family line solidifies in census and marriage records through branches that remained deeply rooted in the rugged terrain of the Edray and Spruce Mountain districts.

The Line of David M. Burgess

• David Matthew Burgess (b. ~1821/1832): A prominent figure in mid-to-late 19th-century Pocahontas County records. He married Mary Elizabeth Kellison (b. ~1852), connecting the Burgess line to another storied local family—the Kellisons (specifically the lineage of Jacob S. Kellison and Sarah Ann Morrison). David and Mary raised their family in the high-altitude lumber and farming zones of the county.

20th Century: The Edray and Marlinton Branches

The lineage moving into the modern era is heavily defined by the large family established by David's son in the Edray District.

The Line of William Downey Burgess

• William Downey Burgess (1883–1961): Born in the historic community of Spruce in Pocahontas County. He spent his life as a resident of the Edray District and the Marlinton area.

• Marriage and Descendants: In 1910, he married Jessie Charity McCune (1894–1976), who was originally from neighboring Webster County. Together, they raised a large family of fourteen children (at least six sons and eight daughters), making the Burgess name a staple of the local workforce, agricultural community, and civic life throughout the mid-20th century. Notable children from this generation included Henry Arnold Burgess (1918–2006) and Hannah Mae Burgess (1929–2011, later Critchfield).

Research Tip for Local Records: Because Pocahontas County was formed in 1821 from parts of Bath, Pendleton, and Randolph counties, genealogical records for the earliest generations (like Nathan and John Jr.) are frequently found in the Bath County, Virginia courthouse or within William T. Price's definitive text, Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County. Local vertical surname files and microfilm for later generations (1850 onward) are maintained in the Heritage Room at the McClintic Library in Marlinton.

 

To trace the deep roots of the Burgess family even further, we have to look closely at the earliest pioneer data preserved by regional oral histories, early tax lists, and the extensive cross-county land transactions before West Virginia became its own state.

Deep Pioneer Roots: The 18th-Century Connections

While Nathan Burgess and John Burgess, Jr. are listed on the foundational pre-1800 settler rolls for what became Pocahontas County, regional family logs—including detailed accounts compiled by David Burgess in the 19th century and preserved by local historians—reveal a tightly knit network of early familial alliances:

• The Mayse and Young Alliances: The earliest generations of the Burgess family were deeply tied to the foundational settlements at Mill Point.

  • Mary Burgess married her cousin, James Young, settling originally in Augusta County. Their son, William Young, went on to serve as a soldier in the War of 1812.

  • Nancy Burgess married William Mayse and settled permanently at Mill Point. Mayse was historically recognized as one of the very first blacksmiths to operate in that part of the county, establishing an essential frontier trade that supported the local agricultural expansion.

Geographic Distribution & Local Land Ties

As the 1800s progressed, the family's presence branched out across specific geological and economic zones of the county:

Era	Primary Districts	Associated Local Industries	Key Intermarriages
Late 1700s–Early 1800s	Little Levels, Mill Point, Hillsboro	Frontier Blacksmithing, Early Homesteading	Kinnison, Mayse, Young
Mid-1800s	Edray District, Frost, Green Bank	High-Altitude Farming, Early Timbering	Kellison, Morrison
Late 1800s–Mid-1900s	Spruce, Marlinton, Edray	Regional Logging, Railroad Workforce, Civic Trade	McCune, Critchfield

Sorting the Early Records

If you are cross-referencing these lines in early Appalachian court documents, keep these specific historical boundary shifts in mind:

1. The Bath County Gap (1791–1821): Because Pocahontas County wasn't officially formed until 1821, early family actions—such as Nathan Burgess's 1803 marriage to Martha Kinnison—were recorded in Warm Springs, Virginia (the county seat of Bath County).

2. The Pendleton and Randolph Overlaps: Families living in the northern and eastern stretches of the county (near Green Bank, Dunmore, or Frost) often appear in early Pendleton or Randolph County land grants before 1821.

3. The Spruce Mountain Dispersal: By the time the timber boom hit communities like Spruce and Marlinton in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, branches like that of William Downey Burgess became heavily concentrated in the Edray district, shifting from traditional pioneer farming into the regional industrial workforce.

Archival Note: To trace the explicit land deeds or wills of the earliest frontier Burgesses, researchers typically consult the Greenbrier County Records (for entries predating 1791) and the Bath County Deed Books, before moving into the Pocahontas County Court Clerk's archives in Marlinton for the post-1821 generations.

 

To unpack the deeper branches and lesser-known historical footprints of the Burgess family in Pocahontas County, we have to look past general census listings and dig into specific homestead plots, military records, and the internal tracking of the Edray and Spruce Mountain lines.

The 19th-Century Civil War Micro-History

During the Civil War, the mountains of Pocahontas County were a heavily contested, dangerous borderland characterized by guerrilla skirmishes and shifting military occupations (especially around Huntersville, Marlinton, and the Greenbrier River bridge). The Burgess family, like many families in the Little Levels and Edray districts, found themselves split or directly impacted by the conflict.

• David Matthew Burgess's Era: Born in the early 1830s, David came of age during a period when families were actively establishing deep-woods homesteads in the more rugged, high-altitude terrain north of Marlinton. His marriage to Mary Elizabeth Kellison solidified a network of kinship with families who managed the high gaps and ridges.

• The Guerrilla Environment: Local court files from the post-war era reveal how families in the Edray and Elk districts had to continuously navigate property destruction, livestock raids, and the structural collapse of local government between 1861 and 1865, forcing many lines to temporarily retreat deeper into the ridges or western counties before returning to rebuild.

The Industrial Boom: The Transition to Spruce

By the late 1890s and early 1900s, the economic landscape of Pocahontas County shifted dramatically from isolated mountain farming to massive industrial logging operations, driven by the arrival of the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company (WVP&P) and the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railroad.

• The Community of Spruce: This is where William Downey Burgess (1883–1961) laid down deep roots. Located at an elevation of over 3,800 feet near the birthplace of the Cheat River, Spruce was a legendary, isolated logging town. It was completely dependent on the heavy rail lines that hauled spruce and hemlock logs off the mountainsides.

• The Workforce Shift: William Downey Burgess and his sons transitioned into this rigorous industrial environment. Working in the woods or on the logging lines required immense physical endurance, navigating extreme winter weather and dangerous terrain.

The Fourteen Children of William Downey & Jessie McCune

The expansive family established by William Downey Burgess and Jessie Charity McCune in 1910 effectively populated several branches of the surname across the region. Tracing their fourteen children reveals a clear picture of mid-20th-century Appalachian migration and local legacy:

• Henry Arnold Burgess (1918–2006): Born in Marlinton, Henry represents the generation that served in World War II. After his military service in the U.S. Army, like many young men from the timber counties during the post-war industrial shifts, he migrated up the industrial corridors to western Pennsylvania (settling near Mercer/Grove City), where he worked for decades in industrial manufacturing (Quality Tools Corp. and SATEC Systems) while remaining a passionate woodsman.

• Paul Dorsey Burgess (1932–2019): Paul chose to remain deeply rooted in the home county. He lived out his life as a well-known face in Marlinton, preserving the immediate local presence of the family name.

• The Sibling Network: The remaining brothers—Lloyd Salis, Ed, Asa, and Pat—alongside sisters like Bertha (Robinson), Alice (Ramp), and Hannah Mae (Critchfield)—created a family network that stretched from the home tracking in Marlinton and Pennsboro out into the industrial centers of Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Geographic Namesakes & Property Markers

For researchers trying to pin down physical land ties in the county's geography:

• Cochran Cemetery (Onoto): Located rurally outside Marlinton/Edray, this historic cemetery serves as the final resting place for William Downey Burgess, Jessie, and several close kin. It stands as a primary physical focal point for the 20th-century branch of the family.

• The Edray Property Lines: Throughout the 1930–1950 agricultural censuses, the Burgess holdings are consistently mapped adjacent to traditional Edray families (such as the Hammons, Cochran, and Sharp lines), marking their participation in the small-scale mountain farming that supplemented their primary income from timbering and civil trade.

Methodology Tip for Further Tracking: To bridge the gap between the pre-1800 Nathan Burgess line (who left for Ohio) and the mid-century David Matthew Burgess line, look directly into the Pocahontas County Land Grant Index (Chancery Court Records) under the Kellison and Morrison partition suits. These civil suits frequently map out exactly who inherited which high-ridge plots when a patriarch died without a formal will.

Alderman Family

 

The roots of the Alderman family in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, form a classic Appalachian pioneer story, tracing back from colonial New England through the rugged mountains of the Virginia frontier.

The definitive lineage that established the family name in the Allegheny Highlands began with a single adventurous couple in the late 18th century.

1. The Progenitor: Ezekiel Alderman Sr. (1772–1863)

The story of the West Virginia branch begins with Ezekiel Alderman Sr., born in Simsbury, Hartford County, Connecticut Colony, to Daniel Alderman and Thankful Griffin. Descended from the early English settlers of New England, Ezekiel chose a different path, migrating south down the Great Wagon Road to the western frontier of Virginia.

• Marriage: On July 17, 1791, Ezekiel married Elizabeth Holcomb (1771–1863) in Greenbrier County, Virginia.

• Settlement: They established their homestead in the rugged, heavily forested borderlands between Greenbrier and what would become Pocahontas County, heavily anchoring themselves near the Anthony Creek basin and the Marlinton area.

• Burial: Ezekiel and Elizabeth lived long, resilient lives into their 90s. Ezekiel is buried in the historical Alderman Cemetery in Marlinton, Pocahontas County.

2. The Second Generation: Branching Across the County

Ezekiel and Elizabeth raised a large family whose names populate the early census records of Pocahontas County (specifically the 1850 "District 47" census, before West Virginia achieved statehood in 1863). Two of their sons deeply rooted the lineage locally:

Branch A: Timothy Alderman (c. 1799/1806–1862)

Timothy spent his life farming the rocky, rich soil of Pocahontas County.

• Marriage: He married Elizabeth Jane Dixon Rider (also recorded as DeRyder) on March 2, 1843.

• Tragic End: Historical and genealogical records note that Timothy's life met a violent, abrupt end when he was murdered on January 22, 1862, amidst the lawlessness and bitter local divisions of the Civil War era in the mountains.

• Children: Timothy and Elizabeth Jane brought up a large family in District 47, including Alcinda, Johnson D., Richard Uriah, Octavius M., Elisha Gilbert, William Carvasso, Noah S., and Elizabeth Jane.

Branch B: Daniel Alderman (c. 1800/1802–1888)

Daniel settled intensely along the Anthony Creek waterway, running a farm that straddled the Pocahontas and Greenbrier county lines.

• Marriage: He married Susannah "Susan" Wade (1807–1880), the daughter of pioneer John Wade, on February 7, 1826.

• Legacy: Their large household became a fixture of the regional agricultural economy. Their children included James Couther, John Anderson, Daniel H. (who later became prominent locally), Leonard, George W., Anderson, Mary, and Priscilla.

3. The Third Generation: Community Anchors

As the late 19th and early 20th centuries brought industrialization, logging, and railroads to Pocahontas County, the grandchildren of Ezekiel Alderman became central figures in local civic life, agriculture, and infrastructure.

William Carvasso Alderman (1854–1943)

Son of the ill-fated Timothy Alderman, William Carvasso is a towering figure in the family's late-19th-century history.

• Life: Born and raised in Pocahontas County, he bore witness to the transformation of the region from an isolated wilderness to a booming timber empire. He lived much of his life around Huntersville and later Minnehaha Springs.

• Marriage: He married Phebe Jane Alderman in 1876, further consolidating the family lines.

• Resting Place: Passing away at the age of 88 in 1943, he was laid to rest in the Alderman Cemetery in Marlinton, bridging the family's pre-Civil War pioneer days with modern 20th-century West Virginia history.

4. Local Landmarks & Historical Footprints

The geography of Pocahontas County still carries the structural memory of the Alderman family’s two centuries of residency:

• The Alderman Cemeteries: There are multiple family burial grounds preserved in the county's landscape. The main Alderman Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Marlinton. Another notable pioneer cemetery is the Alderman-Wade Cemetery, located further out near the pristine waters of the North Fork of Anthony Creek, a testament to the early intermarriages that built these mountain communities.

• Civic Roles: By the late 1800s, members of the family had moved from simple subsistence farming into vital civic roles, serving as local Justices of the Peace, school trustees, and community leaders who helped guide the county through its post-war reconstruction and early educational organizing.

   

  To reconstruct the full, granular layout of the Alderman family history in Pocahontas County, we have to look directly at the primary source data—the census tracks, the land records, and the military alignments that define the lineage from the early 1800s onward.

  The precise genealogy of how a Connecticut-born family became embedded in the hills of West Virginia breaks down through these key family lines and structures.

  1. The Pioneer Anchor: From Simsbury to Douthards Creek

  While Ezekiel Alderman Sr. (1772–1863) and his wife Elizabeth Holcombe migrated into the Virginia mountains around 1814, their permanent physical footprint settled at the "Home Place" on Douthards Creek, located near Minnehaha Springs.

  From this geographical base, the family expanded along the county borders. Ezekiel’s sons split the family into two major, parallel mountain empires that populated the 1850 federal census for District 47, Pocahontas County:

  Branch One: The Line of Timothy Alderman (1799–1862)

  Timothy Alderman established his farm firmly in the local district, marrying Elizabeth Jane Dixon DeRyder (Rider).

  The 1850 Federal Census records Timothy as a 50-year-old farmer with a rapidly growing household. His direct descendants became central to the rural workforce of late-19th-century Pocahontas:

  • Alcinda L. Alderman (b. 1843)

  • Johnson D. Alderman (1845–1903) – Later a prominent local farmer.

  • Richard Uriah Alderman (b. 1847) – Named for older regional pioneer lines.

  • Octavius M. Alderman (b. 1849)

  • Elisha Gilbert Alderman (b. 1852)

  • William Carvasso Alderman (1854–1943) – Maintained deep ties to the Huntersville and Minnehaha Springs farming communities.

  • Noah S. Alderman (b. 1856)

  Branch Two: The Line of Daniel Anderson Alderman (1802–1883)

  While Timothy farmed near the county seat lines, his brother Daniel Anderson Alderman pushed directly into the timber-rich basin of Anthony Creek, marrying Susannah "Susan" Wade (1807–1880).

  Daniel's household in the 1850 and 1860 censuses shows an extensive network of sons who would later branch out into Greenbrier and Jackson counties:

  • James Couther Alderman (1827–1915) – Married Sedan Ellen Helmick; his line includes Charles Wesley, Silas D., and Robert E. Lee Alderman, who remained active in regional agriculture and early industrial timber work.

  • John Anderson Alderman (b. 1829)

  • Daniel H. Alderman (1834–1917) – A central civic figure whose sons, John D. Alderman (a farmer and local Justice of the Peace) and Jasper特 Floyd Alderman (who later served as a West Virginia State Senator), left deep marks on regional politics.

  • Leonard Alderman (b. 1836)

  • George W. Alderman (b. 1838)

  • Anderson Alderman (b. 1841)

  2. Cross-Referencing the Pioneer Intermarriages

  The survival of the Alderman lineage in the 19th century relied heavily on strategic community alliances. If you trace the maternal lines back, the family connects directly to the oldest pioneer stock in the region:

  Pioneer Surname	Local Connection Point	Historical Impact
  Wade	Susannah Wade (m. Daniel Alderman, 1826)	Connected the family to the vast John Wade land tracts along the North Fork of Anthony Creek.
  DeRyder / Rider	Elizabeth Jane DeRyder (m. Timothy Alderman, 1843)	Linked the family to the early foundational settlers of the historic Huntersville district.
  Helmick / Buzzard	Sedan Ellen Helmick (m. James C. Alderman)	Deepened connections to the high-altitude farming families along Knapps Creek and the Frost Road.

  3. The Physical Remnants: Mapping the Cemeteries

  The physical lineage can still be verified on the ground through the historical burial plots scattered across the county topography:

  • The Main Alderman Cemetery (Marlinton): Located on the hillside terrain near town, this plot serves as the resting place for Ezekiel Sr., Elizabeth, and the core mid-19th-century members of the family.

  • The Anthony Creek Pioneer Plots: Located further south near the North Fork water gap, these smaller plots hold the hand-carved stone markers of the Daniel Alderman branch and the interconnected Wade and Buzzard lines.

  • The Sharp Cemetery Connections: Later generations o(including 20th-century descendants like Maggie Wade Alderman) are interred in family plots like the Sharp Cemetery, mirroring the late-1800s migration from remote creek basins to established towns along Route 219.

     

    To map out the intricate, structural layer of the Alderman family history in Pocahontas County, we can break down the raw archival footprints across the late-19th and early-20th-century generations. This deeper view details exactly how the family expanded across the county’s remote districts, managed specialized land holdings, and split into distinct modern lines.

    1. Local Census Topology: District 47 to the Huntersville Magisterial District

    When examining the mid-19th-century Federal Census records for Pocahontas County, the family transitioned from a single immigrant household into localized clusters. In the 1850 and 1860 censuses for District 47 (prior to West Virginia statehood), the family heads were systematically categorized by their agricultural production value and real estate land holdings.

    Following the Civil War, the county reorganized into localized districts. The Alderman family split geographically across two distinct mountain zones:

    • The Huntersville District: This area housed the descendants of Timothy Alderman. They were heavily concentrated around Minnehaha Springs, Douthards Creek, and the high slopes of Beaver Dam Mountain.

    • The Greenbrier Border Zone: The descendants of Daniel Anderson Alderman established themselves along the upper reaches of Anthony Creek, operating close to the physical county line. This branch frequently intermarried with families from White Sulphur Springs and Lewisburg.

    2. Expanded Descent of James Couther Alderman (1827–1915)

    As the eldest son of Daniel Anderson Alderman and Susannah Wade, James Couther Alderman anchored a massive third-generation lineage that moved directly into the late-19th-century industrial farming and timber workforce. His marriage to Sedan Ellen Helmick united two foundational mountain lineages, producing an extensive household that populated the Knapps Creek and Frost regions:

    • Silas D. Alderman (1852–1917)

    • Rebecca Alderman (b. 1854)

    • Mary S. Alderman (b. 1858)

    • Charles Wesley Alderman (1859–1944) – Remained an active agricultural and civic presence in the county for over eight decades.

    • William Alderman (1862–1935) – Born during the peak of the regional Civil War conflict.

    • Sarah S. Alderman (1864–1883)

    • Lillie Mae Alderman (b. 1866)

    • Robert E. Lee Alderman (1869–1949) – Named during the intense post-war Reconstruction era in the Allegheny mountains.

    3. Civic and Political Projections

    By the late 1800s and early 1900s, members of the Daniel H. Alderman branch (1834–1917) shifted away from purely self-sustaining subsistence farming and took on influential roles in local and state governance:

    • John D. Alderman: Operating as a prominent farmer near the regional borders, he served for years as a local Justice of the Peace, handling land boundary conflicts, small claims, and community magistrate duties during the county's rapid population growth.

    • Jasper Floyd Alderman: He entered regional politics directly, expanding the family's influence out of the immediate county borders to serve as a West Virginia State Senator representing Jackson County, demonstrating the family's transition into the state’s formal legislative legal structures.

    4. The Pioneer Cemetery Ledger

    The physical presence of these generations remains sharply visible across the county's historic topography. Family mapping projects track several key resting places:

    The Main Alderman Cemetery (Marlinton)

    Situated on the hillside terrain overlooking the Greenbrier River basin, this central cemetery holds the primary pioneer markers:

    • Ezekiel Alderman Sr. (1772–1863)

    • Elizabeth Holcombe Alderman (1771–1863)

    • William Carvasso Alderman (1854–1943)

    The Sharp Cemetery & Mountain Plots

    As family lines branched out along the Frost Road and toward Huntersville, 20th-century descendants—including prominent matrons like Maggie Wade Alderman (1875–1959), wife of Timothy S. Alderman—were interred in common community burial grounds like the historic Sharp Cemetery, reflecting the tight physical proximity and inter-family alliances that sustained the county’s mountain communities across two centuries.

     

    To round out the micro-level history of the family in Pocahontas County, we can trace the exact architectural lines of the fourth and fifth generations, alongside the legal and property milestones that defined how the Aldermans adapted into the 20th century.

    1. The Post-Civil War Recovery: Elizabeth Jane's Administration

    When Timothy Alderman was killed on January 22, 1862, he left no valid will, throwing his property into the complex care of the local county court during the chaos of the war.

    • Wartime Survival: His widow, Elizabeth Jane DeRyder Alderman, managed to preserve their acreage near Huntersville despite heavy troop movements along the Huntersville-Warm Springs Turnpike.

    • The 1870 Agricultural Rebound: By the 1870 Federal Census, Elizabeth Jane appears as the head of household, managing the farm with her teenage sons, including a 16-year-old William Carvasso Alderman. The census notes that despite regional economic devastation, the family had successfully restocked their livestock and kept their core acreage intact.

    • The Loss of Baby Elizabeth: Archival records show that during this tumultuous period, the family also lost their youngest daughter, Elizabeth Jane Alderman Jr. (1859–1862), compounding the household's wartime grief.

    2. Expanded Detail of the Solomon Alderman Branch

    While Timothy and Daniel Anderson Alderman are the most prominent sons of Ezekiel Sr. in Pocahontas records, their younger brother Solomon Alderman (1810–1864) established a third parallel mountain branch.

    • The Household Structure: Solomon farmed the rugged terrain on the eastern side of the county. According to early family registers compiled by genealogist William Alderman Parker, Solomon's household consisted of three sons and four daughters.

    • Wartime Passing: Solomon passed away in 1864 during the final, leanest year of the Civil War. His children subsequently integrated into the expanding timber economies of the Greenbrier Valley, with several lines migrating westward into Jackson County or down into the industrial tanneries of Greenbrier County.

    3. The 20th Century Industrial Shift: The Marlinton Transition

    The arrival of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad along the Greenbrier River in 1899–1901 completely upended the traditional Alderman way of life. For nearly a century, the family had been isolated, high-altitude subsistence farmers and small-scale millers on Douthards Creek and Anthony Creek.

    • From Farms to Town: Between 1900 and 1920, the fifth generation of Aldermans began selling off portions of their ancestral mountain timber tracts to large industrial logging conglomerates like the Pocahontas Lumber Company and the West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company.

    • Urbanization: Progeny of Charles Wesley Alderman (1859–1944) and Johnson D. Alderman (1845–1903) left the isolated creek valleys to move into the newly incorporated municipal boundaries of Marlinton. Here, they became merchants, railway workers, and carpenters, directly constructing the historic wood-frame and brick buildings that still stand in the town today.

    4. The Modern Archival Trail

    For researchers tracking this lineage directly through the local repositories, the definitive legal trail is preserved at the Pocahontas County Courthouse in Marlinton:

    • Deed Books (Pre-1863 & Post-1863): Chronologically log the slow subdivision of Ezekiel Sr.'s original pioneer homestead on Douthards Creek near Minnehaha Springs down through Timothy and Daniel's lines.

    • The Land Markings: These original deeds are highly sought after by local historians because they clearly outline the early 19th-century wilderness borders of southeastern Pocahontas County, using classic metes-and-bounds descriptions linked to natural mountain springs, gap crossings, and old-growth timber stands.