Selected Families and Individuals


Joseph PARSONS [Parents] was born 1755 in Queen Ann Co. MD. He married Elizabeth BUSH on 14 Jan 1804 in Harrison Co., VA.

Other marriages:
MOTTS, Matilda

Fought against Indians during Rev. War, entered service abt 1777,
issued pension Dec 31 1833. Moved to Jackson Co (WV) about 1800.
There is apparently no proof first wife was Matilda, the children
listed of this marriage are thought to be correct and there may
have been others, specifically a George Parsons

John House:
The name of Joe's Run was derived from Joe Parsons, a wild and picturesque character who came to Mill Creek from the settlements on the Buckhannon, about the same time the other Parsons did. Just what relation he was to them does not fairly appear, some call him a cousin to Captain Billy, others just first cousin once removed, and others make the kinship still more distant.

He was a hunter only, and did not try to permanently locate on a farm or earn a living, other than by hunting and trapping. His wife is said to have been a wild untamed creature named Mat, who, though scalped and left for dead by the Indians at the destruction of the Buckhannon fort, was not half so easily killed as that, but recovering, came to Mill Creek and lived for many years more. There is much confusion as to Joseph Parsons and his son, who is universally known as "Devil Bill", for both led wild roving lives without a fixed habitation, simply building a pole cabin and "squatting" at a place as long as suited their convenience.

The cabin of Joe Parsons is said to have stood on the left of the creek, near the old ford below the Center View Church, but whether it was there or across the point on the run itself, it could have given a name to the stream, for the other Parsonses at Sycamore, if hunting among the hills at its head, would naturally have distinguished it from the other streams by the appellation Joe's Run.

This cabin was built about 1812, or not long thereafter, and was standing in 1828.

Joe Parsons afterward squatted at the mouth of Little creek, farther up stream.

About 1820, he was living on what is now the Knopp farm, at that place, and there we lose sight of him.

The only one of his children of whom there is now any knowledge is the aforementioned Devil Bill. He lived the same wandering, vagrant life his father had before him. When game became scarce he substituted fishing and digging "sang" for the old means of livelihood. He wore garments of skins and furs, when obtainable, or coarse linen or woolens, and lived in rude pole huts, sometimes without floor or door, and with rudest and scantest of furniture and utensils, even utilizing, as one informant says, large chips for plates. He appears to have been thoroughly imbued wit the "camping out" spirit. Every few years, he would make a pilgrimage to the West Fork, Cherry or Birch Rivers, to hunt fish and "sang", the family walking and carrying their household goods on their backs.
Parents: William PARSONS and Martha HUGHES.

Elizabeth BUSH was born 1755. She married Joseph PARSONS on 14 Jan 1804 in Harrison Co., VA.

They had the following children:

  M i Edward PARSONS was born 1805. He died 1853.
  M ii Joseph W. PARSONS was born 1807. He died after 1845.
  F iii Mary Ann Polly PARSONS was born 1810.
  F iv Christina PARSONS was born 1812 and died 1854.
  F v Martha Patty PARSONS was born 1817.
  M vi Paulcer B. PARSONS was born Jul 1823.
  M vii Peter M. PARSONS was born 24 Nov 1825.

Thomas COTTRELL Jr. married Mary Ann Polly PARSONS.

Mary Ann Polly PARSONS [Parents] was born 1810. She married Thomas COTTRELL Jr..


Jacob MCELWAIN [Parents] was born 1810 in Pendleton Co., VA. He died 1893 in Calhoun Co., WV and was buried in Rush Cemetery. Jacob married Christina PARSONS.

Other marriages:
NICHOLS, Rebecca
MCCUNE, Daniel

Notes About The Wayne Family

Obtained From Joseph Wayne, Grandson of Tunis
(Note from EDNA (WAYNE) ROTH, c1930: I took the information down in shorthand as Uncle Joe talked and can't make out Rebecca's last name. Her maiden name was obviously Nicholas (Nichols), and Grandpa was her second husband. Uncle Joe made no reference to the marriage of his brother Henry mentioned in the first paragraph, so I don't know whether he was killed in the war or not.)

"My name is Joseph Wayne. I am the son of Jacob Wayne. Jacob Wayne was the son of Tunis Anthony Wayne. Tunis Anthony Wayne was the son George Wayne, who was a brother to Mad Anthony Wayne. My grandfather and great-grandfather both served in the battle of Point Pleasant under the generalship of Mad Anthony. My oldest brother, Leroy, in 1861 joined the Union army. My brother Henry joined the Rebel army. Jacob, my younger brother, joined the army about 1862. Another brother, Thomas, was a cripple and he always stayed home.

http://www.rootsweb.com/~wvcalhou/jacob.htm

Christina PARSONS [Parents] was born 1812. She died 1854 in Calhoun Co., VA. Christina married Jacob MCELWAIN.

Descendants of
Jacob and Christina (Parsons) Wayne

Leroy, Henry and Jacob were soldiers of the Civil War. Henry joined Company "A", 19th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry, Confederate Army. He was captured in Calhoun County, West Virginia on November 1, 1863 and was sent to Wheeling, West Virginia, then to Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio. There he died August 16, 1864 of typhoid fever. He is buried in grave #207 in the cemetery at Camp Chase. Leroy was in Company "F", 9th Regiment, West Virginia Volunteers. Jacob was in Company "F", 11th Regiment, West Virginia Volunteers. Jacob was a fifer like his great uncle, Thomas, who fought in the Revolutionary War. Leroy and Jacob both fought for the union cause. They both lived most of their lives in the state of West Virginia, living in Meigs County, Ohio for a few years after the war.
Source: http://www.rootsweb.com/~wvcalhou/jacob.htm


Peter MCCUNE married Martha Patty PARSONS on 9 Apr 1840.

Martha Patty PARSONS [Parents] was born 1817. She married Peter MCCUNE on 9 Apr 1840.


Paulcer B. PARSONS [Parents] was born Jul 1823. He married Statira CONNOLLY on 11 Oct 1842.

Statira CONNOLLY [Parents] was born 1825 in Kanawha Co., VA. She died 1856 in Gilmer Co., VA. Statira married Paulcer B. PARSONS on 11 Oct 1842.


Peter M. PARSONS [Parents] was born 24 Nov 1825. He married Mary Polly GEORGE on 3 Apr 1846.

Other marriages:
BOOKER, Minerva

Mary Polly GEORGE married Peter M. PARSONS on 3 Apr 1846.


Peter M. PARSONS [Parents] was born 24 Nov 1825. He married Minerva BOOKER after 1846.

Other marriages:
GEORGE, Mary Polly

Minerva BOOKER married Peter M. PARSONS after 1846.


John S. PARSONS [Parents] was born 1818 in VA. He married Elizabeth GOOD.

John Parsons, married Elizabeth Good, daughter of Jacob Good. He lived on the Middle fork of Poca.
Source: History of Mill Creek and Sandy Valley and its Early Settlement; Compile by John A. House; 1906; http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~bbriggs/title.htm#01

PARSONS, John S., private, 42, (Hunter); he mustered in Ripley, 8\1\63; son of William (Devil Bill) and Elizabeth (Freeman) Parsons, Poca married Elizabeth daughter of Jacob Good, 3\14\1844.

Elizabeth GOOD was born 1828 in VA. She married John S. PARSONS.

They had the following children:

  M i John PARSONS Jr. was born 1843.

PARSONS, John Jr., private, 10, (Hunter); he mustered in Ripley, 8\1\63, son of John S. and Elizabeth (Good) Parsons, Poca.

Thomas SHAVER married Dorothy PARSONS on 6 Jul 1854 in Jackson Co., VA.

Dorothy PARSONS [Parents] was born 1837 in VA. She married Thomas SHAVER on 6 Jul 1854 in Jackson Co., VA.


Henry C. PARSONS [Parents] "Fuzzy" was born 1836 in Jackson Co., VA. He married Sarah Ann BOWYER on 12 Feb 1857 in Roane Co., VA.

Sarah Ann BOWYER was born 1840 in Monroe Co., VA. She died 1910 in Jackson Co., WV. Sarah married Henry C. PARSONS on 12 Feb 1857 in Roane Co., VA.

They had the following children:

  M i Dr. Travis Ignatius PARSONS.
  M ii Clarence PARSONS.
  M iii George Fleet PARSONS.
  M iv Ballard Rosset PARSONS was born 1862 in Ripley, Jackson County., VA.
  M v Eugene Andrew Fleu PARSONS.
  F vi Mary Ellen PARSONS.

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