The Friel family is a long-standing lineage in Pocahontas County, with the family history deeply intertwined with the development of the Greenbrier Valley, particularly around Thorny Creek and the Marlinton area.
Historical Timeline: The Friel Family in Pocahontas County
| Period | Milestone |
| Early 1800s | Jeremiah Friel, the recognized pioneer of the family, establishes a homestead on the Greenbrier River at the mouth of Thorny Creek. |
| 1821 | Pocahontas County is officially formed from Bath, Randolph, and Pendleton counties. The Friel family is documented as early residents during this administrative transition. |
| 1830s–1850s | Family expansion occurs along the Greenbrier River. Records mention the "Josiah Friel cabin" and activities near the river crossing at Joseph Friel’s property. |
| 1861 | John Friel (son of Jeremiah) dies in December 1861 during the Civil War. Though exempt from military service due to his age, he was involved in the conflict and lost his life on the Alleghany Mountain. |
| 1875 | Joseph Newton Friel (born 1853) marries Virginia C. Duncan. This branch of the family becomes prominent in the "Brush Country" near Marlinton. |
| 1877 | Jasper Enoch Friel marries Martha Jane Slayton, further cementing the family's presence in the Edray and Huntersville districts. |
| 1890s | As the county seat shifts to Marlinton, the Friel family remains active in the local community; descendants, including M.A. Friel, assist historians in documenting the family's contributions for early county history projects. |
| 1922 | Death of Joseph Newton Friel, noted as a "good citizen" and a member of one of the county’s oldest families. He is laid to rest in the Sharp graveyard. |
Research Notes for Your Investigation
Key Locations: The family’s geographic anchor was Thorny Creek and the Greenbrier River, specifically near the areas that would later be encompassed by the development of Marlinton.
Documentation: Much of the primary information regarding the lineage (specifically the work of Jeremiah Friel) is preserved in Historical Sketches of Pocahontas County. If you are analyzing land records, check the Thorny Creek deeds, as these correlate with the earliest Friel land patents.
Associations: The Friel family frequently appears in records alongside the Sharp and Moore families, both through marriage and shared burial grounds.
Would you like me to pull the specific land patent records for the Thorny Creek tracts or help you cross-reference the Friel descendants with the 1880 census data we discussed previously?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To facilitate your analysis of the region's social and land-holding hierarchy, I have compiled a Kinship Matrix for the primary households identified in the 1880 Federal Census for Pocahontas County.
1880 Kinship Matrix: Friel, Sharp, and Moore Households
Districts: Huntersville & Edray
| Surname | Household Head | Occupation | Spouse/Notes |
| Sharp | Silas Sharp | Farmer | Foundational lineage; associated with early Edray district landholdings. |
| Sharp | S.M. Sharp | Farmer | Part of the extensive Sharp network documented throughout the county. |
| Moore | James C. Moore | Farmer | Frequent land-use associate of the Sharp and Friel families. |
| Moore | Sheldon Moore | Farmer | Documented household in the vicinity of Huntersville. |
| Friel | [Representative] | Farmer | Historically clustered at Thorny Creek/Greenbrier River. |
Research Application
These households represent the "baseline" population active during the final decade of the Huntersville seat. When you correlate these names against the 1890s Deed Books (specifically those detailing the assembly of plots for the new town of Marlinton), you can effectively map the displacement or transition of these families from independent agriculturalists to residents of the emerging county seat.
Next Steps for Your Investigation:
Cross-Reference: If you are tracking the transition to Marlinton, watch for these specific names appearing as "Grantors" in deeds dated 1890–1895.
ndex to see if they sold property specifically to the development group led by John T. McGraw.Land Record Search: You can utilize these head-of-household names in the County Clerk's deed i
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John T. McGraw’s land assembly in "Marlin’s Bottom" during 1890–1891 was the foundational event for the founding of Marlinton. While specific deed-by-deed sales are documented in the Pocahontas County Deed Books (held by the County Clerk), historical records confirm the following regarding the context of these acquisitions:
The "Marlin's Bottom" Land Assembly
The Scale of Acquisition: McGraw began aggressively purchasing acreage in 1890 in an area where, historically, only about five families resided. This land was specifically targeted for its strategic location for a C&O Railway connection.
Family Involvement: The Friel, Sharp, and Moore families, being long-standing landowners along the Greenbrier River and Thorny Creek, held the tracts that McGraw needed to assemble the town plot.
Direct Sales: It is highly probable that your ancestors in these families were among those who sold their acreage to the Pocahontas Development Corporation (the entity McGraw formed to build the town). Because these families owned the primary river-bottom land, they were the "sellers" upon which the town's geography was built.
Displacement vs. Opportunity: The records often frame these sales as the catalyst for the county seat move in 1891. Whether these sales were voluntary or driven by the looming industrial development is a central point for your investigative research.
How to Verify the Sales
To determine exactly which plots the Friel, Sharp, or Moore families sold to McGraw, you should consult the Grantor/Grantee Indices at the Pocahontas County Clerk's office for the years 1890–1895.
Grantor Index: Search under the surnames (e.g., "Friel, Jeremiah" or "Sharp, Silas") for the Grantor (seller) index.
Grantee Index: Search under "McGraw, John T." or "Pocahontas Development Corporation" as the Grantee (buyer).
Cross-Reference: Where a Friel, Sharp, or Moore name appears as a Grantor and McGraw or the Development Corporation appears as the Grantee in the same year, you have identified the specific land transfer.
No comments:
Post a Comment