'sWilliam White (Father)
William White, son of Grafton White, a Revolutionary War Patriot, and Margaret Denny, was born in Baltimore County, Maryland, on August 15, 1783. He was the fourth great grandson of Stephen White who went to Maryland in 1659. Grafton White bought 1,050 acres of land in Dunkard Creek, Monongalia County, Virginia in January 1809. William White and Mary Darling were married by Joseph Shackelford on Christmas Day, 1809 in Monongalia County. They moved to the Dunkard Creek property around 1820 with four of their children and built the log cabin that stands today on the Reunion grounds. William was a teacher, farmer, surveyor, weaver and church leader at the “Old” Mt. Tabor church near Jollytown, Pennsylvania. He was the father of ten sons and one daughter. In 1850 he was living near several of his many sons on what came to be known as “White Creek”. William died March 2, 1860, and is buried in the White Family cemetery on the Reunion grounds.
Mary Darling White (Mother)
Mary Darling White, daughter of James and Rachel Darling, was born in Kent County, Delaware, September 30, 1791. Her father died when she was three years old. Her mother then moved to Fayette County, Pennsylvania and settled near Geneva, where they lived until her mother’s death, when she was ten years old. She married William White on December 25, 1809, in Monongalia County, West Virginia. She had eleven children, ten boys and one girl. After her husband’s death in 1860, she lived with her children, sometimes with one and then with another. She died on September 28, 1878, and is buried in the White family cemetery next to her husband. She wrote her Autobiography and it is included in full among the documents on this website.
Children:
Stephen
John Darling
Michael
William (died age 15)
Thomas
Joseph S.
Lydia Ann
Richard A
Simon L
Daniel
Stephen White
Stephen White was born on October 21, 1810, in Monongalia County, Virginia. When he was about ten years old, Stephen moved with his family to the head of Dunkard Creek. He married Sarah A. Bradford on November 9, 1829, in Deep Valley, Pennsylvania. Stephen died April 2, 1885, in Deep Valley, Greene County, Pennsylvania. Sarah A. Bradford was born October 1, 1811, in Springhill Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of John Bradford (1787-1855) and Mary Ditterline (1793-1837). She died in 1864, in Greene County, Pennsylvania.
Stephen White and Sarah A. Bradford had nine children:
Mary Jane White– born June 5, 1831, in Jollytown, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died April 20, 1917, in Aleppo Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania. Married Jacob Moore on October 25, 1849, in New Freeport, Greene County, Pennsylvania.
James White– born November 17, 1832, in Springhill, Greene Co., Pennsylvania; died April 20, 1862, in Greene County, Pennsylvania. Married Cassandra Shriver in 1856.
William White– born May 10, 1835, in Greene County, Pennsylvania; died October 31, 1921, in Augusta, Woodruff County, Arkansas. Married Phoebe Ann Hupp on April 3, 1856, in Cameron, Marshall County, Virginia.
Sarah White– born January 28, 1837, in Springhill, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died 1864. Married Isaac R. Jobes on March 26, 1854.
Harriet White– born November 21, 1838, in Springhill, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died 27 March 27, 1862, in Greene County, Pennsylvania.
Margaret Jane White– born October 21, 1840, in Springhill, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died January 29, 1923, in West Finley Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. Married Dr. Thomas Carpenter on March 5, 1865, in Greene County, PA.
Bradford White– born March 29, 1842, in Springhill, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died May 31, 1934, in Arlington, Reno County, Kansas. Married: 1) Catherine Stewart on March 6, 1865; 2) Sarah Bissett on December 23, 1880.
Lydia Ann White-- born July 16, 1846, in Deep Valley, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died August 26, 1870, in Deep Valley, Greene County, Pennsylvania. Married Dennis Franklin Berdine, Sr., on February 23, 1865, in New Freeport, Greene County, Pennsylvania.
Elizabeth White-- born September 5, 1850, in Deep Valley, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died about 1881, in Springhill Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania. Married Johnson Berdine on May 11, 1869, in Greene County, Pennsylvania.
On March 25, 1865, Stephen married a second time, in Greene County, Pennsylvania, and his new bride was Lucinda “Lucy” Booher Wright, a widow, who was born October 1, 1831. She already had six children that Stephen helped raise. She died July 8, 1879, at the age of 47. They had four children together:
Lucinda “Lucy” White– born February 10, 1866, in Deep Valley, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died 1895. Married Milton Ellwood Rinehart.
John Darling White– born November 28, 1867, in Deep Valley, Greene County, Pennsylvania;
died February 4, 1951, in Princeton, Mercer County, West Virginia. Married Mary Chaffin.
Joseph Shackleford White– born November 17, 1869, in Deep Valley, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died May 18, 1938, in Burton, Wetzel County, West Virginia. Married Edith Franklin.
Montezuma Z. White– born September 6, 1872, in Deep Valley, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died May 10, 1945, in Williamson, Pike County, West Virginia. He married: 1) Emma Spillman; 2) Pearlie; and 3) Nellie Clark Lynch.
Stephen is buried with his second wife, Lucinda Booher Wright, in Deep Valley, Pennsylvania, behind a blue house on state route 3010. The land was once part of Stephen White’s farm.
Obituary of Stephen White, dated April 3, 1885. An Old Citizen Dead
Deep Valley, Greene Co., PA– Stephen White, an old and respected citizen, died yesterday after a brief illness of one week. On (the) Friday before his death he was going about his work of feeding and, when near his stable, he had a paralytic stroke. He fell, lying some time before being found. He could not speak, and when removed to his house, remained in a comatose state until he died. He was 75 years old, being the oldest son of William and Mary White of upper Monongalia County, West Virginia. He leaves 9 children. All of his brothers and his sister raised large families. Like other men, Stephen White had his friends, and likewise his enemies, but it would probably not even do him justice to say that he had done more for the community in which he lived than any other man who ever lived in it. Being one of the first settlers, he came here when there was no church, when vice and immorality reigned supreme. Being a kind and generous man as well as a faithful Christian, he began at once... to educate and train the people, and it has been said that in the course of a few years, he had worked a powerful revolution. He built school houses in the township and hired teachers, sometimes almost at his own expense he bought Sunday school libraries; built churches and paid the preachers for preaching; in fact, he was a father and a friend to all who came to him. People taking advantage of his generosity rendered him poor in money but rich in friends. He went to his last resting place followed by the prayers of all who knew him. Perhaps no man ever died who, were he to take a retrospective view of his life, could look back on a life more consecrated.
Signed, J.H.R.
Martha “Ella” White Spragg, in the same essay she wrote about William and Mary Darling White, mentioned that Stephen founded a school near his first home around Maidsville and Morgantown, and also built a church on the farm in Dunkard Creek, naming it Bethel. Ella also mentioned that Stephen became a miller or a “millwright” and operated a mill on his first farm in Dunkard, near his parents and siblings, but later moved to Deep Valley, in Greene County, Pennsylvania, where he also operated a farm and mill. According to Ella,
Stephen, the first born, learned to be a millwright, settling here (The White Settlement) on a hill with a mill of his own, afterward moving to Deep Valley, PA, where he owned and operated a large flour mill for many years, grinding flour for the whole White tribe, also boarding them for a day or two while the grist was being ground. There was great rejoicing in the family when father (Ella’s father, John Darling White), would come home from the mill, having been gone two whole days and a night.
Reminisces Of The Whites, Martha Ella White Spragg, p. 2.
John Darling White
John Darling White was the second son of William White and Mary Darling White. He was born on November 18, 1812 probably on his grandfather, Grafton White's farm near Maidsville, Virginia, across the Monongahela River from Morgantown, Virginia. He moved with his wife and several other brothers to western Monongalia County, Virginia around 1820. He married Elizabeth Sanders, daughter of John and Esther (Griffin) Sanders, on September 18, 1834, in Monongalia County, Virginia. John was said to be one of the oldest and best known members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in his part of the state. He was converted in the first prayer meeting held on the head of Dunkard Creek. The meeting was held in his father's home and his mother led the meeting. John and Elizabeth spent the first few years of their married life in Jollytown, Greene County, Pennsylvania, just a few miles north of his parents’ home across the Mason-Dixon line. Later, around 1845, John and Elizabeth built a home and moved to a farm near St. Cloud, Virginia where John owned and operated a blacksmith shop. They had nine children. The first four were born near Jollytown. The last five were born near St. Cloud. They were all born before West Virginia seceded from Virginia and became an independent state in 1863. The Oak Forest Methodist Church was built on a part of his farm in 1882. Elizabeth died March 5, 1868. John died December 9, 1894. They are buried at the cemetery adjoining the Oak Forest Church.
James Grafton White
James Grafton White was born on March 21, 1815, in Morgantown, Virginia, and was the third of eleven children of William and Mary (Darling) White. James married Mary Cotton on September 5, 1835. They settled in what was called Wise Run atop Mount Tabor near Wadestown, Virginia. Their four children were Eliza, Stephen, Cassandra and John Wesley. The original Mount Tabor School log building was built on their farm and later moved a short distance away. It was known by most at that time as the White School, since a majority of its teachers, not surprisingly, were Whites. James was Commissioner of Schools for Number 10 Western District of Virginia for 16 years, as well as very active in the organizing and leadership of the Mount Tabor Methodist Episcopal Church. I’m told you can see his walking stick still hanging on the wall of the church. The Methodist Episcopal Church split in 1844 over the issue of slavery. Mount Tabor Methodist Episcopal Church was abolitionist. The branch that supported slavery tacked the word “South” onto its name. Mary died at age 50, on October 1, 1865, and James at age 69, on May 24, 1884. They are buried in the White cemetery above the White reunion grounds in the Battelle District of Monongalia County.
Michael White
Michael White was the fourth son of William White and Mary (Darling) White. He was born on February 27, 1817, in Morgantown, West Virginia. He married Mary Ann Russell in 1839. They had seven children: Henry Solomon, William Thomas, Lydia Ann, Catherine (died young), Israel Charles, and John, who died as an infant. His wife Mary died on May 23, 1852, in Monongalia County, West Virginia. Michael then married Jane Sharpnach in 1853. They had no children. Michael’s farm was very close to the Pennsylvania line below Oak Forest Church. It was said that he was very strong and could out chop any man in chopping wood. In 1863, Michael was a member of the Commission to divide Monongalia County into Townships, later changed into Districts. In honor of Rev. Gordon Battelle, he suggested the name Battelle for the most western district. Michael died on December 30, 1868, in Monongalia County, West Virginia. Michael and Mary and are both buried in the White family cemetery on the hill near the log cabin.
William White
William White was the fifth son of William White and Mary (Darling) White. He was born on July 27, 1819 and according to Mary Darling White's biography, he died of measles in his teens..
Thomas White
Thomas White was the sixth son of William White and Mary (Darling) White. He was born April 13, 1821, in the log cabin that stands in the Reunion Grounds in western Monongalia County, Virginia, where his parents had moved around 1820. He married Cynthia Hennen on August 31, 1843. They had eight children: John, William Thomas, Fletcher, Joseph, James, Morgan, and Cynthia Mary. Cynthia died February 14, 1862, shortly after giving birth to their eighth child, who died a week later. Thomas rode his horse over to where Cynthia’s niece, Rebecca Hennen, was living in May 1862, and asked her to marry him, saying he would return in two weeks for her answer. She accepted his proposal and they were married June 26, 1862. They had eight children: Milton, Lydia Ann, Harriett, Sarah May, Simon, Levi, Homer, and Alexander. Thomas was a farmer and stock raiser. He was also the first President of the White Family Reunion. When Thomas died on August 23, 1905, the Reunion, that had been scheduled for August 30, 1905, was delayed until 1906, in his honor. Thomas, Cynthia, Rebecca, and several of their children are buried in the Thomas White cemetery on a hill on his portion of his father’s farm.
Joseph Shackelford White
Joseph Shackelford White was born on April 10, 1823, in Monongalia County, Virginia. He married Elizabeth Lemmon, daughter of William and Nancy Lemmon. Elizabeth was born in 1825, in Greene County, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth Lemmon and Mary Jane Lemmon, who married Joseph Shackelford White, were sisters. They had nine children. Joseph and Elizabeth bought 149 acres from William and Mary White on Dunkard Creek for $200. This was the end of the farm adjoining the Pennsylvania State line. Joseph was the Treasurer for the township in 1866. The Mt. Tabor Methodist Church was built in 1883 on a portion of the Joseph White farm. James G. White paid the heirs of Joseph for the property for the church. Joseph died in February 1878, in Monongalia County, West Virginia. Both he and his wife are buried in the White Family Cemetery on the White farm.
Lydia Ann White Eakin
Lydia Ann White was born on March 25, 1825, in Monongalia County, Virginia the only daughter of William White and Mary Darling. She had ten brothers. She married James Eakin on March 26, 1846, in Greene County, PA. James and Lydia built a log home in Wise (now Wana), Virginia* where James was a farmer. A cousin reported that their log home was still being lived in and looked great in 1989. Lydia and James had eleven children. Their first child, Mary, died in infancy in 1848. Their last children, twins, Emmaline and Josephine, were born in 1867. In 1900 Lydia, a widow, age 75, was living with three of her adult children: Harriet, Stephen, Cephas, and her niece, Becky. Becky’s mother, Rebecca, wife of Lydia’s brother Daniel White, died shortly after her birth. Lydia and her daughter Harriet, raised Becky. Lydia and James were members of the Dunkard Valley Baptist Church. Lydia died December 17, 1906, in Wana, West Virginia and was buried with James in the Eakin-Wana Cemetery off the Jollytown Road in Greene County, Pennsylvania.
*In 1904, the Post Office asked that the name of the town Wise, West Virginia, be changed because of confusion with the town of Wise in Virginia. The West Virginia town renamed their town “Wana,” after a popular song of the time.
Richard Armstrong White
Richard Armstrong White was the seventh son of William White and Mary Darling. He was born on January 14, 1827, in the old log cabin in Monongalia County, Virginia. He married Rhoda Moore probably around 1849. Richard and Rhoda had ten children. They lived on a road between the William White Farm and Wadestown, known as West Warren in 1886. Richard was a farmer. He served as a Captain in the West Virginia Union militia for Monongalia County, West Virginia, during the Civil War. He was later the Inspector of Elections for Battelle District, West Virginia 1865-1867. Richard died on June 20, 1868, in Monongalia County, West Virginia. Rhoda died on February 21. 1925. They are buried in the William White cemetery above the Reunion grounds.
Simon Lauch White
Simon was born on September 25, 1829, in Battelle District, Monongalia County, Virginia. On September 25, 1851, Simon married Mary Jane Lemmon, daughter of William and Nancy Lemmon. Mary was born March 26, 1831, in Greene County, Pennsylvania. Mary Jane Lemmon and Elizabeth Lemmon, who married Joseph Shackelford White, were sisters. Simon and Mary had two children, Daniel and William James. Simon lived on the western portion of his parent's land. After William White died in 1860, Simon received a portion of the farm for taking care of his mother, Mary Darling White. Mary died on May 17, 1870, in Monongalia County, West Virginia. She is buried in the William White Family cemetery near where the log cabin is presently located.
Simon served as the Postmaster in Maple, West Virginia, from the time it was established on January 6, 1867, until it was closed on January 15, 1915. The Post Office was located in Simon's house, the original William and Mary Darling White log cabin built in 1820.
On February 13, 1871, Simon married Sarah Rush. Sarah was born September 23, 1842, and died on June 11, 1911. Her parents were John Rush and Mary Duvall. Sarah and Simon had three children: Mary; Charles, who died as an infant; and John Wesley. Sarah and their daughter, Mary, are buried in the Mt. Tabor cemetery located on a hill near the White Family Reunion grounds.
Simon died on September 29, 1916, in Monongalia County, West Virginia.
Daniel White
Daniel White was the eleventh and youngest child of William and Mary Darling White. He was born on December 11, 1831, in Monongalia County, Virginia. On August 10, 1851, he married Rebecca Stiles, born January 4, 1832, died July 18, 1875. They had twelve children. One child, George, born April 10, 1866, only lived a couple of months until his death on June 6, 1866. He and his wife, Rebecca, were living in Monongalia County, West Virginia during the 1860 Census and his mother, Mary Darling White was living with him. His father, William White, had died in March of 1860. Daniel may have been living at the William White homestead at that time.
On September 25, 1861, Daniel enlisted in Company N of the 6th (West) Virginia Volunteer Infantry and served until June 18, 1865. Daniel was the First Sergeant of Company N. He developed a problem with "piles" in February 1864, when they were fighting between Webster and Philippi, West Virginia. He developed a heart problem on May 17, 1864, between Fairmont and Worthington, West Virginia. Daniel was wounded in the left knee at Morgantown, West Virginia on April 15, 1865.
After Rebecca Stiles' death, Daniel married Martha Lynch on April 7, 1877. Daniel and Martha had one child, Claude White, born on February 15, 1878. Martha died on August 29, 1878. On July 1, 1880, Daniel married his third wife, Rebecca Belle Huey. They had no children.
Daniel received a pension from the United States, from March 21, 1883 to November 5, 1904, for his Army service. He lived in Aleppo Township, Green County, Pennsylvania for some years. He moved to Milton, West Virginia before the first White Reunion in 1889.
Daniel White died on August 5, 1904, in Milton, West Virginia.
William White, son of Grafton White, a Revolutionary War Patriot, and Margaret Denny, was born in Baltimore County, Maryland, on August 15, 1783. He was the fourth great grandson of Stephen White who went to Maryland in 1659. Grafton White bought 1,050 acres of land in Dunkard Creek, Monongalia County, Virginia in January 1809. William White and Mary Darling were married by Joseph Shackelford on Christmas Day, 1809 in Monongalia County. They moved to the Dunkard Creek property around 1820 with four of their children and built the log cabin that stands today on the Reunion grounds. William was a teacher, farmer, surveyor, weaver and church leader at the “Old” Mt. Tabor church near Jollytown, Pennsylvania. He was the father of ten sons and one daughter. In 1850 he was living near several of his many sons on what came to be known as “White Creek”. William died March 2, 1860, and is buried in the White Family cemetery on the Reunion grounds.
Mary Darling White (Mother)
Mary Darling White, daughter of James and Rachel Darling, was born in Kent County, Delaware, September 30, 1791. Her father died when she was three years old. Her mother then moved to Fayette County, Pennsylvania and settled near Geneva, where they lived until her mother’s death, when she was ten years old. She married William White on December 25, 1809, in Monongalia County, West Virginia. She had eleven children, ten boys and one girl. After her husband’s death in 1860, she lived with her children, sometimes with one and then with another. She died on September 28, 1878, and is buried in the White family cemetery next to her husband. She wrote her Autobiography and it is included in full among the documents on this website.
Children:
Stephen
John Darling
Michael
William (died age 15)
Thomas
Joseph S.
Lydia Ann
Richard A
Simon L
Daniel
Stephen White
Stephen White was born on October 21, 1810, in Monongalia County, Virginia. When he was about ten years old, Stephen moved with his family to the head of Dunkard Creek. He married Sarah A. Bradford on November 9, 1829, in Deep Valley, Pennsylvania. Stephen died April 2, 1885, in Deep Valley, Greene County, Pennsylvania. Sarah A. Bradford was born October 1, 1811, in Springhill Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of John Bradford (1787-1855) and Mary Ditterline (1793-1837). She died in 1864, in Greene County, Pennsylvania.
Stephen White and Sarah A. Bradford had nine children:
Mary Jane White– born June 5, 1831, in Jollytown, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died April 20, 1917, in Aleppo Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania. Married Jacob Moore on October 25, 1849, in New Freeport, Greene County, Pennsylvania.
James White– born November 17, 1832, in Springhill, Greene Co., Pennsylvania; died April 20, 1862, in Greene County, Pennsylvania. Married Cassandra Shriver in 1856.
William White– born May 10, 1835, in Greene County, Pennsylvania; died October 31, 1921, in Augusta, Woodruff County, Arkansas. Married Phoebe Ann Hupp on April 3, 1856, in Cameron, Marshall County, Virginia.
Sarah White– born January 28, 1837, in Springhill, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died 1864. Married Isaac R. Jobes on March 26, 1854.
Harriet White– born November 21, 1838, in Springhill, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died 27 March 27, 1862, in Greene County, Pennsylvania.
Margaret Jane White– born October 21, 1840, in Springhill, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died January 29, 1923, in West Finley Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. Married Dr. Thomas Carpenter on March 5, 1865, in Greene County, PA.
Bradford White– born March 29, 1842, in Springhill, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died May 31, 1934, in Arlington, Reno County, Kansas. Married: 1) Catherine Stewart on March 6, 1865; 2) Sarah Bissett on December 23, 1880.
Lydia Ann White-- born July 16, 1846, in Deep Valley, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died August 26, 1870, in Deep Valley, Greene County, Pennsylvania. Married Dennis Franklin Berdine, Sr., on February 23, 1865, in New Freeport, Greene County, Pennsylvania.
Elizabeth White-- born September 5, 1850, in Deep Valley, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died about 1881, in Springhill Township, Greene County, Pennsylvania. Married Johnson Berdine on May 11, 1869, in Greene County, Pennsylvania.
On March 25, 1865, Stephen married a second time, in Greene County, Pennsylvania, and his new bride was Lucinda “Lucy” Booher Wright, a widow, who was born October 1, 1831. She already had six children that Stephen helped raise. She died July 8, 1879, at the age of 47. They had four children together:
Lucinda “Lucy” White– born February 10, 1866, in Deep Valley, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died 1895. Married Milton Ellwood Rinehart.
John Darling White– born November 28, 1867, in Deep Valley, Greene County, Pennsylvania;
died February 4, 1951, in Princeton, Mercer County, West Virginia. Married Mary Chaffin.
Joseph Shackleford White– born November 17, 1869, in Deep Valley, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died May 18, 1938, in Burton, Wetzel County, West Virginia. Married Edith Franklin.
Montezuma Z. White– born September 6, 1872, in Deep Valley, Greene County, Pennsylvania; died May 10, 1945, in Williamson, Pike County, West Virginia. He married: 1) Emma Spillman; 2) Pearlie; and 3) Nellie Clark Lynch.
Stephen is buried with his second wife, Lucinda Booher Wright, in Deep Valley, Pennsylvania, behind a blue house on state route 3010. The land was once part of Stephen White’s farm.
Obituary of Stephen White, dated April 3, 1885. An Old Citizen Dead
Deep Valley, Greene Co., PA– Stephen White, an old and respected citizen, died yesterday after a brief illness of one week. On (the) Friday before his death he was going about his work of feeding and, when near his stable, he had a paralytic stroke. He fell, lying some time before being found. He could not speak, and when removed to his house, remained in a comatose state until he died. He was 75 years old, being the oldest son of William and Mary White of upper Monongalia County, West Virginia. He leaves 9 children. All of his brothers and his sister raised large families. Like other men, Stephen White had his friends, and likewise his enemies, but it would probably not even do him justice to say that he had done more for the community in which he lived than any other man who ever lived in it. Being one of the first settlers, he came here when there was no church, when vice and immorality reigned supreme. Being a kind and generous man as well as a faithful Christian, he began at once... to educate and train the people, and it has been said that in the course of a few years, he had worked a powerful revolution. He built school houses in the township and hired teachers, sometimes almost at his own expense he bought Sunday school libraries; built churches and paid the preachers for preaching; in fact, he was a father and a friend to all who came to him. People taking advantage of his generosity rendered him poor in money but rich in friends. He went to his last resting place followed by the prayers of all who knew him. Perhaps no man ever died who, were he to take a retrospective view of his life, could look back on a life more consecrated.
Signed, J.H.R.
Martha “Ella” White Spragg, in the same essay she wrote about William and Mary Darling White, mentioned that Stephen founded a school near his first home around Maidsville and Morgantown, and also built a church on the farm in Dunkard Creek, naming it Bethel. Ella also mentioned that Stephen became a miller or a “millwright” and operated a mill on his first farm in Dunkard, near his parents and siblings, but later moved to Deep Valley, in Greene County, Pennsylvania, where he also operated a farm and mill. According to Ella,
Stephen, the first born, learned to be a millwright, settling here (The White Settlement) on a hill with a mill of his own, afterward moving to Deep Valley, PA, where he owned and operated a large flour mill for many years, grinding flour for the whole White tribe, also boarding them for a day or two while the grist was being ground. There was great rejoicing in the family when father (Ella’s father, John Darling White), would come home from the mill, having been gone two whole days and a night.
Reminisces Of The Whites, Martha Ella White Spragg, p. 2.
John Darling White
John Darling White was the second son of William White and Mary Darling White. He was born on November 18, 1812 probably on his grandfather, Grafton White's farm near Maidsville, Virginia, across the Monongahela River from Morgantown, Virginia. He moved with his wife and several other brothers to western Monongalia County, Virginia around 1820. He married Elizabeth Sanders, daughter of John and Esther (Griffin) Sanders, on September 18, 1834, in Monongalia County, Virginia. John was said to be one of the oldest and best known members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in his part of the state. He was converted in the first prayer meeting held on the head of Dunkard Creek. The meeting was held in his father's home and his mother led the meeting. John and Elizabeth spent the first few years of their married life in Jollytown, Greene County, Pennsylvania, just a few miles north of his parents’ home across the Mason-Dixon line. Later, around 1845, John and Elizabeth built a home and moved to a farm near St. Cloud, Virginia where John owned and operated a blacksmith shop. They had nine children. The first four were born near Jollytown. The last five were born near St. Cloud. They were all born before West Virginia seceded from Virginia and became an independent state in 1863. The Oak Forest Methodist Church was built on a part of his farm in 1882. Elizabeth died March 5, 1868. John died December 9, 1894. They are buried at the cemetery adjoining the Oak Forest Church.
James Grafton White
James Grafton White was born on March 21, 1815, in Morgantown, Virginia, and was the third of eleven children of William and Mary (Darling) White. James married Mary Cotton on September 5, 1835. They settled in what was called Wise Run atop Mount Tabor near Wadestown, Virginia. Their four children were Eliza, Stephen, Cassandra and John Wesley. The original Mount Tabor School log building was built on their farm and later moved a short distance away. It was known by most at that time as the White School, since a majority of its teachers, not surprisingly, were Whites. James was Commissioner of Schools for Number 10 Western District of Virginia for 16 years, as well as very active in the organizing and leadership of the Mount Tabor Methodist Episcopal Church. I’m told you can see his walking stick still hanging on the wall of the church. The Methodist Episcopal Church split in 1844 over the issue of slavery. Mount Tabor Methodist Episcopal Church was abolitionist. The branch that supported slavery tacked the word “South” onto its name. Mary died at age 50, on October 1, 1865, and James at age 69, on May 24, 1884. They are buried in the White cemetery above the White reunion grounds in the Battelle District of Monongalia County.
Michael White
Michael White was the fourth son of William White and Mary (Darling) White. He was born on February 27, 1817, in Morgantown, West Virginia. He married Mary Ann Russell in 1839. They had seven children: Henry Solomon, William Thomas, Lydia Ann, Catherine (died young), Israel Charles, and John, who died as an infant. His wife Mary died on May 23, 1852, in Monongalia County, West Virginia. Michael then married Jane Sharpnach in 1853. They had no children. Michael’s farm was very close to the Pennsylvania line below Oak Forest Church. It was said that he was very strong and could out chop any man in chopping wood. In 1863, Michael was a member of the Commission to divide Monongalia County into Townships, later changed into Districts. In honor of Rev. Gordon Battelle, he suggested the name Battelle for the most western district. Michael died on December 30, 1868, in Monongalia County, West Virginia. Michael and Mary and are both buried in the White family cemetery on the hill near the log cabin.
William White
William White was the fifth son of William White and Mary (Darling) White. He was born on July 27, 1819 and according to Mary Darling White's biography, he died of measles in his teens..
Thomas White
Thomas White was the sixth son of William White and Mary (Darling) White. He was born April 13, 1821, in the log cabin that stands in the Reunion Grounds in western Monongalia County, Virginia, where his parents had moved around 1820. He married Cynthia Hennen on August 31, 1843. They had eight children: John, William Thomas, Fletcher, Joseph, James, Morgan, and Cynthia Mary. Cynthia died February 14, 1862, shortly after giving birth to their eighth child, who died a week later. Thomas rode his horse over to where Cynthia’s niece, Rebecca Hennen, was living in May 1862, and asked her to marry him, saying he would return in two weeks for her answer. She accepted his proposal and they were married June 26, 1862. They had eight children: Milton, Lydia Ann, Harriett, Sarah May, Simon, Levi, Homer, and Alexander. Thomas was a farmer and stock raiser. He was also the first President of the White Family Reunion. When Thomas died on August 23, 1905, the Reunion, that had been scheduled for August 30, 1905, was delayed until 1906, in his honor. Thomas, Cynthia, Rebecca, and several of their children are buried in the Thomas White cemetery on a hill on his portion of his father’s farm.
Joseph Shackelford White
Joseph Shackelford White was born on April 10, 1823, in Monongalia County, Virginia. He married Elizabeth Lemmon, daughter of William and Nancy Lemmon. Elizabeth was born in 1825, in Greene County, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth Lemmon and Mary Jane Lemmon, who married Joseph Shackelford White, were sisters. They had nine children. Joseph and Elizabeth bought 149 acres from William and Mary White on Dunkard Creek for $200. This was the end of the farm adjoining the Pennsylvania State line. Joseph was the Treasurer for the township in 1866. The Mt. Tabor Methodist Church was built in 1883 on a portion of the Joseph White farm. James G. White paid the heirs of Joseph for the property for the church. Joseph died in February 1878, in Monongalia County, West Virginia. Both he and his wife are buried in the White Family Cemetery on the White farm.
Lydia Ann White Eakin
Lydia Ann White was born on March 25, 1825, in Monongalia County, Virginia the only daughter of William White and Mary Darling. She had ten brothers. She married James Eakin on March 26, 1846, in Greene County, PA. James and Lydia built a log home in Wise (now Wana), Virginia* where James was a farmer. A cousin reported that their log home was still being lived in and looked great in 1989. Lydia and James had eleven children. Their first child, Mary, died in infancy in 1848. Their last children, twins, Emmaline and Josephine, were born in 1867. In 1900 Lydia, a widow, age 75, was living with three of her adult children: Harriet, Stephen, Cephas, and her niece, Becky. Becky’s mother, Rebecca, wife of Lydia’s brother Daniel White, died shortly after her birth. Lydia and her daughter Harriet, raised Becky. Lydia and James were members of the Dunkard Valley Baptist Church. Lydia died December 17, 1906, in Wana, West Virginia and was buried with James in the Eakin-Wana Cemetery off the Jollytown Road in Greene County, Pennsylvania.
*In 1904, the Post Office asked that the name of the town Wise, West Virginia, be changed because of confusion with the town of Wise in Virginia. The West Virginia town renamed their town “Wana,” after a popular song of the time.
Richard Armstrong White
Richard Armstrong White was the seventh son of William White and Mary Darling. He was born on January 14, 1827, in the old log cabin in Monongalia County, Virginia. He married Rhoda Moore probably around 1849. Richard and Rhoda had ten children. They lived on a road between the William White Farm and Wadestown, known as West Warren in 1886. Richard was a farmer. He served as a Captain in the West Virginia Union militia for Monongalia County, West Virginia, during the Civil War. He was later the Inspector of Elections for Battelle District, West Virginia 1865-1867. Richard died on June 20, 1868, in Monongalia County, West Virginia. Rhoda died on February 21. 1925. They are buried in the William White cemetery above the Reunion grounds.
Simon Lauch White
Simon was born on September 25, 1829, in Battelle District, Monongalia County, Virginia. On September 25, 1851, Simon married Mary Jane Lemmon, daughter of William and Nancy Lemmon. Mary was born March 26, 1831, in Greene County, Pennsylvania. Mary Jane Lemmon and Elizabeth Lemmon, who married Joseph Shackelford White, were sisters. Simon and Mary had two children, Daniel and William James. Simon lived on the western portion of his parent's land. After William White died in 1860, Simon received a portion of the farm for taking care of his mother, Mary Darling White. Mary died on May 17, 1870, in Monongalia County, West Virginia. She is buried in the William White Family cemetery near where the log cabin is presently located.
Simon served as the Postmaster in Maple, West Virginia, from the time it was established on January 6, 1867, until it was closed on January 15, 1915. The Post Office was located in Simon's house, the original William and Mary Darling White log cabin built in 1820.
On February 13, 1871, Simon married Sarah Rush. Sarah was born September 23, 1842, and died on June 11, 1911. Her parents were John Rush and Mary Duvall. Sarah and Simon had three children: Mary; Charles, who died as an infant; and John Wesley. Sarah and their daughter, Mary, are buried in the Mt. Tabor cemetery located on a hill near the White Family Reunion grounds.
Simon died on September 29, 1916, in Monongalia County, West Virginia.
Daniel White
Daniel White was the eleventh and youngest child of William and Mary Darling White. He was born on December 11, 1831, in Monongalia County, Virginia. On August 10, 1851, he married Rebecca Stiles, born January 4, 1832, died July 18, 1875. They had twelve children. One child, George, born April 10, 1866, only lived a couple of months until his death on June 6, 1866. He and his wife, Rebecca, were living in Monongalia County, West Virginia during the 1860 Census and his mother, Mary Darling White was living with him. His father, William White, had died in March of 1860. Daniel may have been living at the William White homestead at that time.
On September 25, 1861, Daniel enlisted in Company N of the 6th (West) Virginia Volunteer Infantry and served until June 18, 1865. Daniel was the First Sergeant of Company N. He developed a problem with "piles" in February 1864, when they were fighting between Webster and Philippi, West Virginia. He developed a heart problem on May 17, 1864, between Fairmont and Worthington, West Virginia. Daniel was wounded in the left knee at Morgantown, West Virginia on April 15, 1865.
After Rebecca Stiles' death, Daniel married Martha Lynch on April 7, 1877. Daniel and Martha had one child, Claude White, born on February 15, 1878. Martha died on August 29, 1878. On July 1, 1880, Daniel married his third wife, Rebecca Belle Huey. They had no children.
Daniel received a pension from the United States, from March 21, 1883 to November 5, 1904, for his Army service. He lived in Aleppo Township, Green County, Pennsylvania for some years. He moved to Milton, West Virginia before the first White Reunion in 1889.
Daniel White died on August 5, 1904, in Milton, West Virginia.