Notable Families

 

Family Name	Patriarch/Progenitor	Primary Settlement Location	Notable Descendants	Occupations/Civil Roles	Military Service/Affiliations	Historical Impact or Legacy	Source
Arbogast	Adam Arbogast	Arbovale; Greenbrier River and Deer Creek flats	A. Arbogast, James C. Arbogast, C.P. Arbogast, Evelyn S. Arbogast	Postmaster (community namesake), farmers, landholders	Captain James C. Arbogast (Confederate, 31st Virginia Infantry, Co. G); presence of guerrilla activity during Civil War	Gave name to Arbovale; namesake of Arbovale Post Office; involved in major land title wars (1897); holders of large agricultural tracts	[1-4]
Baxter	John William Baxter	Little Levels District; Edray District; Little Back Creek	Colonel John Morgan Baxter, William Baxter, Sr., Joseph M. Baxter, George Baxter, Pearl S. Buck	Colonel Commandant of Militia, original Justice (1822), Member of VA House of Delegates, County Surveyor, educator, county schoolmaster	Colonel Commandant (John Morgan); Joseph M. Baxter (Union, Kanawha Valley); George Baxter (Confederate, died as POW at Elmira)	Helped found Pocahontas County (1821); amassed the county's largest library; primary agents of governance and education; intermarried with Moores and Poages	[5, 6]
Hamilton	Andrew Hamilton, Sr. (Immigrant); Major William J. Hamilton (Frontier)	Muddy Creek (Blue Sulphur Springs area) and Back Creek	Major William J. Hamilton, John Hamilton, Davis Hamilton, Adam G. Hamilton, Thomas Bird Hamilton	High Sheriff, land scouts, militia leaders, agricultural innovators, hotel/saloon operator, attorney	Battle of Point Pleasant (1774), Defense of Fort Donnally (1778), Captain of Indian Spies, 25th Virginia Infantry (Confederate)	Major Hamilton planted the first corn crop in the county; developed 'Hamilton Hill' in Marlinton; original owners of the farm where Robert E. Lee's horse Traveller was foaled	[7]
Ervine / Irvine	Edward Ervine	Back Creek (at the mouth of the Long Draft) and Green Bank District	Benjamin Franklin Ervine, Edward Harris Irvine Sr., L.S. Ervine, Dolan Irvine, Alfred C. and Louise M. Ervine	Magistrate (Edward Ervine), educator, silversmith, County Commissioner, landowners	Confederate Army (Benjamin Franklin Ervine), 27th Virginia Infantry 'Shriver Greys' (Edward Ervin), 'Revolutionary sire' ancestry	Edward Ervine was a founding member of the first County Court in 1821; family defined early legal and administrative norms; long-term leadership spanning to 21st century	[8, 9]
Herold	Christopher Herold (German origin)	Dougharts Creek (Douthard’s Creek); Elk River headwaters	Henry Herold, Christopher Herold, Jr., Andrew Herold, Winston Herold	Dominant economic force on Dougharts Creek; milling operations (sawmills and grist mills), builders	Displaced/suffered losses during the Civil War	Accumulated immense landed estates; Winston Herold built the Allegheny Lodge (1915); legacy tied to the timber and resort eras of Minnehaha Springs	[6]
Jackson	John Jackson and Elizabeth Cummins	Jackson River Settlements and Buckhannon	George Jackson, Edward Jackson, William Lowther 'Mudwall' Jackson, Jacob Beeson Jackson, Ryan Jackson	Governor of West Virginia, U.S. Congressmen, U.S. District Court Judge, Circuit Judge, Assistant Prosecutor	Brigadier General in Confederate Cavalry (William Lowther Jackson), Virginia Militia, units in Jones-Imboden Raid	Architectural pillar of the trans-Allegheny region; deep geographic connection through the naming of the Jackson River; pioneers in railroads, timbering, and banking	[10]
Taylor	William Taylor / Oldham Taylor	Dunmore, Green Bank Area; Hillsboro, Mill Point; Swago	Daniel Taylor, J. Alfred Taylor, William Taylor (Mayor of Lewisburg), Rachel Taylor	Ferry operators, farmers, Speaker of WV House, U.S. House of Reps, Mayor, feed dealer	Daniel Taylor (Dunmore's War/Revolution); 31st Virginia Infantry members; WWI Veterans	Transformed 'wilderness paradise' into structured society; leading voice in Democratic Party (J. Alfred); active in modern sustainable agriculture	[3]
Bennett	Joseph Bennett (c. 1740–1810)	Green Bank and Huntersville Districts	Patrick Henry Bennett (1877–1945), Peter Bennett (1856–1919), Jonathan M. Bennett	Literate and valued education, agriculture, Auditor of Virginia (Jonathan M. Bennett)	Progenitor's father served with General Braddock; descendants divided in Civil War (18th and 19th VA Cavalries or Union sympathies)	Helped define the region's genealogy through intermarriage with families like the Arbogasts and Mullenaxes; part of the agricultural fabric of northern Pocahontas	[11]
Burr	Frederick Burr and Sarah Tribbett	Burr Valley (now Watoga State Park)	John Burr, William Burr, Henry Silas Burr, Paul Burr	Millers, farmers, woodsmen, and teachers	Confederate service: Frederick, George, and William Burr (Co. I, 25th VA Infantry); J. Austin Burr (Co. A, 14th VA Cavalry)	Established community infrastructure through milling (John Burr rebuilt water-powered mill in 1830); historical naming of Burr Valley and Burr Cemetery	[12]
Kinnison	Charles, Jacob, and James Kinnison	Little Levels	Amos Kinnison, John Barlow Kinnison, Davis Kinnison, Doctor Morgan Kinnison	Woodworkers, blacksmiths, magistrates, physicians, Indian Spies	Dunmore's War, Revolutionary War (Jacob Kinnison), Civil War (K. Davis Kinnison, William Kinnison, John Ariel Kinnison)	Naming of Kennison Mountain; construction of defensive structures and original cabins in the Little Levels	[13]
Sharp	William Sharp Sr.	Frost vicinity, Douthards Creek, Edray District, and Brown's Mountain	William Sharp Jr., Ellen Sharp, Fred Sharp, Susan Sharp	Agriculture, pioneer farmers	Marched in communal units during the Civil War alongside the Ervines	Formed a social and political bloc through intermarriage with the Ervine and Burr families; Fred Sharp is the subject of the Marlinton Post Office mural	[8, 12, 14, 15]
Wilfong	George Michael Wilfong and Elizabeth	South Fork Valley (and Pendleton County)	Major George Wilfong, John Wilfong, Vardry Pinkney Wilfong	Soldiers, landowners, surveyors, sheriffs, school superintendents	Revolutionary War (Major George Wilfong - 2nd Rowan County Regiment, John Wilfong)	Stewardship of land near Simpson Bridge; founding the free school system in Catawba region; participants in the Battle of Kings Mountain	[16]
Gibson	David Gibson the Pioneer	Gibson's Knob (near Hillsboro) and Elk River	David Gibson Jr., Dr. David Gibson, Colonel James Gibson, Forest Gibson	Farmers, physicians, surgeons, distinguished military leaders	Confederate Army (Colonel James Gibson - 20th Virginia Cavalry), Union Army (relative branches)	Founding of Mary's Chapel; establishing a major religious and social center on the Upper Elk River	[17]
Schoolcraft	James Schoolcraft (formerly Calcraft)	Huntersville; Buckeye; Knapps Creek	John Schoolcraft Jr., Edward Johnson Schoolcraft, Todd Schoolcraft, James Schoolcraft (Buckeye)	Indian Spies, farmers, landscape architect (Todd Schoolcraft)	Revolutionary War Spies (John Jr.); Lord Dunmore's War (John, James, Matthias); Militia service	Survived the 1779 Fink's Run Massacre; modern legacy in Marlinton infrastructure (Discovery Junction); hybrid British/Palatine heritage	[18]
Ewing	James Ewing	Knapps Creek (formerly Ewing's Creek); Swago Run; Williams River headwaters	William 'Swago Bill' Ewing	Pioneer settlers, land speculators	William Ewing (Revolutionary War Veteran)	William was the first white child born in the county (1756); namesake of the Williams River	[19]
Alderman	Ezekiel Alderman Sr.	Douthards Creek and Minnehaha Springs	Timothy Alderman, Daniel Alderman, Solomon Alderman, Lessie Alderman	Agriculture, craftsmanship, woodworking, smithing, hospitality waystation providers	Ezekiel Alderman Jr. served in War of 1812; family navigated Civil War partitions	Pioneer generation in the Allegheny Mountains; established the 'Home Place' near limestone springs; descendants integrated into the Richwood timber boomtown	[14]
Burgess	John Burgess, Senior	Little Levels	Nancy Burgess Mayse, Nathan Burgess, David M. Burgess, William Downey Burgess	Weavers, gunsmiths, blacksmiths, delegate to the 1872 WV Constitutional Convention, magistrates	War of 1812 (William Young), Civil War (Captain William Mayse, Cornelius Burgess, James Burgess)	Participants in the 1872 West Virginia Constitutional Convention; transitioning from artisanal labor to state-wide leadership	[20]
Sheets	John Sheets	Green Bank and Arbovale	Jacob Sheets, Henry E. Sheets, Jacob Asbury Sheets, Bob Sheets	Gunsmiths, farmers, educators, historical preservationists	Virginia Militia, Civil War gunsmith mobilization (Jacob Sheets), modern military service (Lewis Wayne Sheets)	Preservation of Fort Warwick; conversion of flintlock rifles for Civil War defense; leadership in local cemetery associations	[21]
Moore	Moses Moore (hunter and scout)	Greenbrier River (above Marlinton)	Aaron Moore, Catherine Jane Moore, John Moore, James Moore, Samuel Moore, Thomas Moore, Henry Moore, William D. Moore, George C. Moore, Eliza Moore, Melinda Moore	Rail splitters, farmers, and timber family connections	Not in source	Cleared more than a thousand acres of wilderness land; established a vast kinship network connecting early families like Baxter and McNeill	[12]
Stulting	Cornelius Stulting ('Mynheer')	Dutch Bottom (Williams River); Hillsboro (Little Levels)	Pearl S. Buck (Great-granddaughter)	Religious refugees/community leaders, farmers	Not in source	Established a Dutch utopian enclave in 1847; built the historic twelve-room Stulting house in Hillsboro	[19]
Beard	John Beard (Settler); Josiah Beard (Pocahontas Progenitor)	Beard Heights and Locust Creek	Josiah Beard, James Henry Moffet Beard	First Clerk of Pocahontas County, land management	Not in source	Josiah Beard established family tradition of civil service; built the Richard Beard House (1890); Beard Heights now serves as the county's healthcare center	[15]
Hull	Not in source	Arbovale; Deer Creek valley; Gum's Mountain	J.R. Hull, Felix H. Hull	Agricultural backbone, supporters of local academies, timber rights litigants	Captain Felix H. Hull (Confederate, 31st VA Infantry, Co. E)	Instrumental in defining property lines of Green Bank District; often disputed timber rights during 1890s boom	[1-3]
Yeager	Not in source	Green Bank District; Traveler's Repose (Bartow)	John Yeager	Massive landholders, political and business power, surveyor (John Yeager)	Traveler's Repose served as a Civil War site	Managed famous Traveler's Repose stagecoach stop; utilized intermarriage strategy to maintain land bloc; central to 1897 timber land disputes	[1, 2]
McLaughlin	Not in source	Deer Creek hollows; High ground around Arbovale	David McLaughlin	Defensive farmers, social leadership in churches, SWA Board Member (modern)	Not in source	Known for longevity on the land (150+ years); lived in tight 'census clusters' to share labor/equipment	[1, 2, 22]
Daugherty / Douthard	Michael Daugherty (Ireland origin)	Dougharts Creek valley; Minnehaha Springs	Not in source	Pioneer settlers, land patent holders	Not in source	Namesake of Dougharts Creek (Douthat/Douthard Creek); among the first permanent settlers with VA patents	[6]
Hammons	Not in source	Williams River (mouth of Little Laurel Creek)	Edden Hammons, Burl Hammons, Maggie Hammons Parker	Fiddlers, banjo players, carriers of archaic Appalachian oral tradition	Not in source	Primary subjects of ethnographic study (Library of Congress); preserved unique musical styles and folklore of the wilderness	[19]
Meck	Not in source	Green Bank/Arbovale corridor	Jacob Meck, Malinda Meck	Private developers, owners of JacMal Properties LLC and Allegheny Disposal	Not in source	Involved in industrial/storage land expansions and the 2026 solid waste transfer station development	[4, 23, 24]
Cutlip	David Cutlip (the Gottlieb ancestor)	Little Levels	Henry Cutlip, George William Cutlip, Johnsey Remus Cutlip, Lola Cutlip	Farmers (yeomanry), laborers, miners	Union Army (William Cutlip), Confederate Army (Jackson Cutlip, Henry T. Cutlip, Benjamin Cutlip)	Stewardship of the Little Levels; preservation of traditional music and dance in West Virginia	[25]
Adkisson	Daniel Adkisson	Spruce Flats and Swago (headwaters)	Abel Adkisson	Subsistence and small-scale farming	Not in source	Among the first white pioneers of Scotch-Irish descent to establish an agricultural footprint on high-altitude meadows	[26]
Burns	John M. "Jack" Burns	Green Bank	Mary Alice Burns	Craftsman, businessman, principal developer of property commercial utility	Not in source	Established a woodworking shop and foundational infrastructure for the Green Bank Storage units	[4]
Slaven	Not in source	Marlinton area	Not in source	Operators of Slaven's Tin Shop	Not in source	Historic fixtures in Marlinton contributing to early 20th-century character; property became part of modern waste management infrastructure