Walter Stalnaker *
Birth: 11 Sep 1837, Lewis Co., West Virginia, USA
Death: 1 Oct 1903, West Virginia, USA
Father: Samuel Stalnaker *
Mother: Elizabeth "Betsy" McWhorter *
- Married Rulina S. Waggoner * on 23 Dec 1861
- Child 1: Elizabeth Ann Stalnaker * 22 Oct 1862 - 17 Aug 1895 m. Alexander Morrison Hersman *
- Child 2: Eunice Virginia Stalnaker 2 Apr 1864 - AFT 1920 m. William Critchfield (Crihfield)
- Child 3: George Whitman Stalnaker 23 Feb 1866 - 26 Aug 1945 m. Priscilla Morford
- Child 4: Mary Olive Stalnaker 16 Nov 1867 - 3 Jul 1922 m. Marcellus Davis
- Child 5: Elwood Artimus Stalnaker 16 Jul 1869 - 20 Feb 1945 m. Sarah Nichols
- Child 6: Spencer Clebert Stalnaker <1871> - 11 Feb 1952 m. Amanda B. Marks
- Child 7: Dessie Julia Stalnaker Oct 1873 - m. (1) Jonah Westfall m. (2) Alexander Morrison Hersman *
- Child 8: Walter Ebert Stalnaker 5 Mar 1876 - 1 Jul 1947 m. Victoria S. Parsons
- Child 9: Ida May Stalnaker <1879> - m. Thomas P. Skeens (Skeen)
- Child 10: Robert Hughes Stalnaker 26 Jan 1881 - 25 Apr 1967 m. Lenora E. Coon
Notes: The family moved to Upper Spring Creek, Roane Co., WV, in the spring of 1875. By the 1900 Ce nsus, Walter and Rulina, with a grandson, Russell, are living in Washington District, Calhou n Co., near his brother, Levi. The family scattered in this period. Elizabeth died in 1896 , Walter, Eunice, and Ida, all still unmarried, went to Wirt Co., Dessa married Jonas Westfal l and moved to Jackson Co. Only George, Mary, and Elwood stayed in Roane Co. Walter, Spencer , Robert, and Ida all settled in Washington District of Jackson Co. by 1910. Dessa, widowed , lived with her uncle and aunt, George and Virginia Waggoner Stalnaker, back in Roane County .
BURIAL: Was not able to find his grave in the Hebron cemetery at Speed.
From Hardesty's History of Calhoun County
WASHINGTON DISTRICT Washington District was named in honor of Washington, the founder of th e American republic, the defender of justice, and the advocate of the rights of men. Alread y the capital city of the greatest republic the world has seen, had been named in honor of hi m, already had a vast territory on the Pacific coast been christened in memory of him, alread y had his honored name been bestowed upon eighteen counties in various states of the Union; b ut what of that? Was it any reason why a little spot up in the pure and transparent atmospher e of the Allegheny Mountains, should not bear the honored name? The committee who partitione d the county thought not, and so Washington district was checkered on the map of Calhoun Coun ty as the most southern one of its sub-divisions. The district is bounded on the north by Lee , east by Gilmer and Braxton Counties, south by Clay, and southwest and west by Roane County . The surface is mountainous, the lofty summits of which are the culminating points of the we stern spurs thrown off from the Alleghenies. These hills and mountains are filled with excell ent building stone, and scattered over the surface is a limestone which, when collected and b urned, makes an excellent fertilizer, Iron ore appears in several localities, doubtless a con tinuation of the celebrated Elk River black band ore, which contains the highest percentage o f any of the West Virginia deposits. Bituminous coal has been discovered at several points, b ut has not been developed. Despite the broken and rugged condition of the surface, the soil i s very fertile and good crops of cereals and grasses are produced even on the mountain tops . Here is to be found some of the finest timber in the state: the towering oak and the loft y poplar have grown to an enormous size. But the woodman's ax is being applied, and rapidly t hese monarchs, monuments of ages gone by, are being swept away. The West Fork of the Little K anawha flows in a north by west direction through the district, and its tributaries and sub - tributaries, together with Beech Fork, a branch of Henry's Fork, constitute the drainage. B eech Fork flows nearly parallel with the West Fork at Henry's Fork postoffice, on the line be tween Calhoun and Roane Counties. Left Hand Fork, with Bear Run, its principal tributary, flo ws west and empties into the West Fork; White Oak Creek flows north and falls into the same . FIRST SETTLER The first settler was Peter McCune, who, with his family, found a home in th e valley of the West Fork, in the lower part of this district, in the year 1815. Here, the sa me year, he erected the first cabin in what is now Washington district. It was constructed o f small logs or poles, such as he could handle himself, for he had no one to assist him. As o ne stands and gazes upon the the spot he wonders what the motive could have been that prompte d a man to remove his family into such a wilderness as this was seventy years ago. But he wa s not the only one influenced by such a wilderness as this was seventy years ago. But he wa s not the only one influenced by such a motive. The solitude of his mountain retreat was soo n after disturbed, for Anthony Parsons, Barnabas Cook, Dr. George Conley, Thomas Cottrell, th ree families of the name of Truman, and Thomas P. Brannan, all sought and found homes on th e West Fork. The first birth that occurred was that of a child of Peter and Margaret McCune , born a short time after their arrival. The first wedding was a double one, two taking plac e at the same time and place, the high contracting parties being Thomas Barnhouse and Mary Bu sh, and Thomas Cottrell and Mary Parsons. The officiating clergyman was the Rev. William Hack er. The first grist mill was erected by Job Truman about the year 1828. It was a small fram e building. At first they only ground corn, but later added machinery for grinding wheat. The y bolt their flower by hand to this day - 1883. The Poling brothers now have a steam grist mi ll and saw mill, and do a driving business. Thomas Jarvis erected the first saw mill in 1845 . It was an old-fashioned "sash" saw. FIRST SCHOOL The first school was taught by Dr. Georg e Conley in the year 1835. The house was a small cabin, erected according to the style of arc hitecture employed in building all the early pioneer school houses. It was located on the rig ht fork of the West Fork. Old waste houses continued to be used for school purposes until 185 9, when the Hon. Absalom Knotts, once a distinguished member of the general assembly of Virgi nia, caused a hewed log house, 18 x 20 ft square, to be erected at his own expense. There ar e now ten public school buildings, of which seven are hewed log, and three are frame. In 188 2 there were 557 pupils enrolled in the schools taught in these houses. The first sermon wa s preached in 1830 by Barnabas Cook, a minister of the Christian church from Ohio. Eight year s, howver, passed away before a society was organized, but in 1836 the Rev. George Martin o f the M. E. Church formed a class at the house of Thomas Jarvis. Among the names there enroll ed upon the classbook were those of Joseph Knotts, Mary Knotts, Thomas Jarvis, Alsa Jarvis, C aleb Jarvis, Dianna Jarvis, Hannah Hardway, Patrick Conley, and Tarleton Vaughan and wife. Th ere is not today a church building in the district, but notwithstanding there are eight organ izations, all of which worship in school houses. Of these there are eight organizations, al l of which worship in school houses. Of these there are M. E. South, with a aggregate members hip of 132; Revs. John A. Black and William Bays are the present ministers. The Baptists hav e two congregations, and a membership of 100; Daniel Huffman is the pastor. The M. E. Church , also have two societies, and forty members; the present minister is the Rev. David R. Polin g. There is one Old School Baptist congregation, numbering thirty, with Rev. Hugh Burns as pa stor. The first Sabbath School was organized in 1847 by the Rev. Abijah Wedge. There are tw o at present in the district, viz: the Beech Fork and Town Hall schools. Of the former Willia m Boggs is superintendent, and of the latter Oscar Harshman is superindendent, ans Simon A. K notts, Mary Molholm anf Minorca Knotts are. Perryville, laid out by Perry Molholm in 1882, i s the only village in the district.
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