Germans, and to this day the German language is in general use, though the English language is now generally understood, and also spoken by the inhabitants. It was laid off by Peter Stover.

Staunton, in the county of Augusta, was laid off by William Beverly, Esq. and established by act of the general assembly in November, 1761. The first settlers were principally Irish.

In March, 1761, Woodstock, then in the county of Frederick, was established by law. Jacob Miller laid off twelve hundred acres of land, ninety-six of which were divided into half acre lots, making one hundred and ninety-two building lots-the remainder into streets and five acre lets, commonly called out lots. This town appears to have been originally laid out upon a larger scale than any of our ancient villages. Like the most of our towns it was settled exclusively by Germans, and their religion, customs, habits, manners and language, were for a long time preserved, and to this day the German language is generally in use by the inhabitants.

Mecklenburg (Shepherdstown,) then in the county of Frederick, now in Jefferson, was established by law in the month of November, 1762.This village is situated immediately on the bank of the Cohongoroota (Potomac) about twelve miles above Harpers-Ferry. It was laid off by the late Capt. Thomas Shepherd, and was first settled chiefly by German mechanics. It is remarkable for its being the place where the first steam bout was ever constructed in the world. Mr. James Rumsey, in the year 1788, built a boat, which was propelled by steam against a brisk current. 'There are some of the remnants of the machinery now to be seen, in the possession of Capt. Haines, in that place.

His

Romney, in the county of Hampshire, was laid off by the late lord Fairfax, and established by law in the month of November, 1762. lordship laid off fifty acres into streets and half acre lots; but the town improved but slowly. It does not contain more than fifty families at this time. It is nevertheless a place of considerable business; has a bank, printing office, several stores and taverns. The new Parkersburg turnpike road passes through it, which will doubtless, when completed, give it many great advantages.

In February, 1772, Fincastle, in the county of Betetourt, was established. Israel Christian made a present of forty acres of land to the justices of Botetourt court, for the use of the county. The court laid off the said forty acres of land into lots, and applied to the legislature to have the town established by law, which was done accordingly.

In October, 1776, first year of the commonwealth, the town of Bath, at the warm springs, in the county of Berkeley, (now the seat of justice for Morgan county,) was established, and laid off by act of assembly.

Preamble. "Whereas it hath been represented to this general assembly, that the laying off fifty acres of land in lots and streets for a town at the warm springs, in the county of Berkeley, will be of great utility, by encouraging the purchasers thereof to build convenient houses for accommodating numbers of infirm persons, who frequent those springs yearly for the recovery of their health; Be it enacted, &c. that fifty acres of land adjoining the said springs, being part of a larger tract of land, the

property of the right honorable Thomas lord Fairfax, or other person or persons holding the same by a grant or conveyance from him, be and the same is hereby vested in Bryan Fairfax, Thomas Bryan Martin, Warner Washington, the Reverend Charles Mynn Thruston, Robert Rutherford, Thomas Rutherford, Alexander White, Philip Pendleton, Samuel Washington, William Ellzey, Van Swearingen, Thomas Hite, James Edmundson, and James Nourse, gentlemen, trustees, to be by them, or any seven of them, laid out into lots of one quarter of an acre each, with convenient streets, which shall be and the same is hereby established a town, by the name of Bath."

The author has been the more particular in making the foregoing extract from the act of the legislature, because this appears to be the first instance under our republican government in which the legislature took the authority of establishing and laying out a town upon the land of private individuals, without the consent of the owner of the land. It is possible lord Fairfax assented to the laying off of this town; but if he did, there is nothing in the language of the act which goes to show it.

In the month of October, 1777, Lexington, in the county of Rockbridge, was established. Extract from the law: "And be it further enacted, that at the place which shall be appointed for holding courts in the said county of Rockbridge, there shall be laid off a town, to be called Lexington, thirteen hundred feet in length and nine hundred in width.*And in order to make satisfaction to the proprietors of the said land, the clerk of the said county shall, by order of the justices, issue a writ directed to the sheriff, commanding him to summon twelve able and disinterested freeholders, to meet on the said land on a certain day, not under five nor over ten days from the date, who shall upon oath value the said land, in so many parcels as there shall be separate owners, which valuation the sheriff shall return, under the hands and seals of the said jurors, to the clerk's office; and the justices, at laying their first county levy, shall make provision for paying the said proprietors their respective proportions thereof; and the property of the said land, on the return of the said valuation, shall be vested in the justices and their successors, one acre thereof to be reserved for the use of the said county, and the residue to be sold and conveyed by the said justices to any persons, and the money arising from such sale to be applied towards lessening the county levy and the public buildings for the said county shall be erected on the land reserved as aforesaid." From this it appears that the name of the town was fixed by law before the site is marked out.

Moorefield was also established in the month of October, 1777, in the county of Hampshire, now the seat of justice for the county of Hardy.— Extract from the act of assembly: "Whereas it hath been represented to this present general assembly, that the establishing a town on the lands of Conrad Moore in the county of Hampshire, would be of great advantage to the inhabitants, by encouraging tradesmen to settle amongst them; Be it therefore enhcted, &c. that sixty-two acres of land belonging to the said Conrad Moore, in the most convenient place for a town,

*This was truly upon a small scale.

Be, and the same is hereby vested in Garret Vanmeter, Abel Randall, Moses Hutton, Jacob Read, Jonathan Heath, Daniel M'Neil, and George Rennock, gentlemen, trustees, to be by them, or any four of them, laid out into lots of half an acre each, with convenient streets, which shall be and the same is hereby established a town, by the name of Moorefield."

Martinsburg was established in the month of October, 1778. Extract from the law: "Whereas it hath been represented to 'this present general assembly, that Adam' Stephen, Esq. hath lately laid off one hundred and thirty acres of land in the county of Berkeley, where the court house now stands, in lots and streets for a town, &c.; Be it enacted, &c. that the said one hundred and thirty acres of land laid out into lots and streets, agreeable to a plan and survey thereof made, containing the number of two hundred and sixty-nine lots, as, by the said plan and survey, relation thereunto being had, may more fully appear, be and the same is hereby vested in James M'Alister, Joseph Mitchell, Anthony Noble, Jas. Strode, Robert Carter Willis, William Patterson and Philip Pendleton, gentlemen, trustees, and shall be established a town' by the name of Martinsburg. This town was named after the late Col. T. B. Martin.

Tradition relates that an animated contest took place between the late Gen. Adam Stephen and Jacob Hite, Esq., in relation to fixing the seat of justice for this county; Hite contending for the location thereof on his own land, at what is now called Leetown, in the county of Jefferson, Stephen advocating Martinsburg. Stephen prevailed, and Hite became so disgusted and dissatisfied, that he sold out his fine estate, and removed to the frontier of South Carolina. Fatal remove! He had not been long settled in that state, before the Indians murdered him and several of his family in the most shocking and barbarous manner.* It is said that the evening before this bloody massacre took place, an Indian squaw, who was much attached to Mrs. Hite, called on her and warned her of the intended massacre, and advised her to remove with her little children to a place of safety. Mrs. Hite immediately communicated this intelligence to her husband, who disbelieved the information, observing, "the Indians were too much attached to him to do him any injury." The next morning, however, when it was fatally too late to escape, a párty of Indians, armed and painted in their usual war dress, called on Hite, and told him they had determined to kill him It was in vain that he pleaded his friendship for them, and the many services he had rendered their nation :' their fell purpose was fixed, and nothing could appease them but his blood, and that of his innocent, unoffentling and helpless wife and children. They commenced their operations by the most cruel tortures upon Mr. Hite, cutting him to pieces, a joint at a time; and whilst he was thus in' the most violent agonics, they barbárously murdered his wife and several'

*Col. James Hite, of Jeferson county, related this tradition to the" author.

Mrs. Hite was the sister of the late Col. J. Madison, of Orange county, Virginia, and of course aunt to ex-president Madison.

V

of her little offspring. After Mr. Hite, his wife, and several of the children were dispatched, they took two of his daughters, not quite grown, and all his slaves as prisoners. They also carried off what plunder they chose, and their booty was considerable.

Mr. Hite kept a large retail store, and dealt largely with the Creek and Cherokee tribes. It is said a man by the name of Parish, who went to Carolina with Hite, and to whom Hite had been very friendly, growing jealous of Hite's popularity with the Indians, instigated the savages to commit the murder. About the year 1784 or 1785, the author saw the late Capt. George Hite, (who had been an officer in the revolutionary army,) and who had just returned from an unsuccessful search after his two young sisters, who were taken captives at the time of the murder of his father. He had traversed a great part of the southern country, among the various tribes of Indians, but never could hear any thing of them. Capt. Hite, some short time after the war of the revolution, recovered a part of his father's slaves, who had been taken off by the Indians, one of whom is now owned by Maj. Isaac Hite, of Frederick county. This woman brought home an Indian son, whom the author has frequently seen, and who had all the features of an Indian. A part of Hite's slaves are to this day remaining with the Indians, and are kept in rigorous slavery. In the winter of 1815-16, the author fell in with Col. William Triplett, of Wilkes county, Georgia, who informed him, that in the autumn of the year 1809 he was traveling through the Creek country, and saw an old negro man who told him he was one of Jacob Hite's slaves, taken when his master and family were murdered in South Caro lina. He further informed Col. Triplett, that there were then sixty negroes in possession of the Indians, descended from slaves taken from Hite, the greater number of whom were claimed by the little Tallapoosa king.

In October, 1778, the town of Abingdon was established in Washington county.

In the month of May, 1780, the town of Harrisonburg, in the county of Rockingham, was established. It appears that Mr. Thomas Harrison had laid off fifty acres of his land into lots and streets, and the legislature simply confirmed what Mr. Harrison had done, without appointing trustees for the town, as was the usual practice: The privileges, however, granted by law to the citizens of other incorporated towns, were given to the inhabitants of Harrisonburg.

In the month of October, 1782, the town of Lewisburg, in the county of Greenbrier, was established. The act of assembly appropriates forty acres of land at the court house, to be laid off into half acre lots and streets. Samuel Lewis, James Reid, Samuel Brown, Andrew Donnelly, John Stuart, Archer Matthews, William Ward, and Thomas Edgar, gentlemer, were appointed trustees.

In October, 1785, Clarksburg, in the county of Harrison, was estab» lished. Wm. Haymond, Nicholas Carpinert, Jolin Myers, John M'All§, and John Davison, gentlemen, were appointed trustees.

In the same month and year, Morgantown, in the county of Monongalia, was established. The act appropriates fifty acres of land, the

property of Zackquell Morgan, to be laid off into lots and streets for a town: Samuel Hanway, John Evans, David Scott, Michael Kearnes, and James Daugherty, trustees.

In October, 1786, Charlestown, in the county of Berkeley, (now the seat of justice for the county of Jefferson,) was established. This town was laid off by the late Col. Charles Washington, a brother to the illustrious Gen. George Washington, on his own land. Eighty acres were divided into lots and streets; and John Augustine Washington, William Drake, Robert Rutherford, James Crane, Cato Moore, Magnus Tate, Benjamin Rankin, Thornton Washington, Wm. Little, Alexander White, and Richard Ranson, were appointed trustees. This town bears the christian name of its proprietor.

In the year 1787, Frankfort, in Hampshire county, was established. One hundred and thirty-nine acres of land was laid off into lots and streets, with out-lots, by John Sellers. John Mitchell, Andrew Cooper, Ralph Humphreys, John Williams, sen., James Clark, Richard Stafford, Hezekiah Whiteman, and Jacob Brookhart, trustees.

In the month of October, 1787, the town of West-Liberty, in the county of Ohio, was established. Sixty acres of land was laid off into lots and streets by Reuben Foreman and Providence Mounts. Moses Chapline, George M'Cullough, Charles Willis, Van Swearingen, Zachariah Sprigg, James Mitchell, and Benjamin Briggs, were appointed

trustees.

In the same month and year, Middletown, in the county of Berkeley, (commonly called Gerrardstown,) was established. This town was laid off by the late Rev. Mr. David Gerrard, and contained one hundred lots. William Henshaw, James Haw, John Gray, Gilbert M'Kewan, and Robt. Allen, were appointed trustees.

The same year and month, the town of Watson, (commonly called Capon Springs,) in the county of Hampshire, was established-twenty acres of land to be laid off in lots and streets. Elias Poston, Henry Fry, Isaac Hawk, Jacob Hoover, John Winterton, Valentine Swisher, Rudolph Bumgarner, Paul M'Ivor, John Sherman Woodcock, and Isaac Zane, gentlemen, trustees.

In 1788, Front Royal was established, in the county of Frederick. Fifty acres of land, the property of Solomon Vanmeter, James Moore, Robert Haines, William Cunningham, Peter Halley, John Smith, Allen Wiley, Original Wroe, George Chick, William Morris, and Henry Trout, was laid out into lots and streets; and Thomas Allen, Robert Russell, William Headly, William Jennings, John Hickman, Thomas Hand, and Thomas Buck, gentlemen, trustees.

The same year and month, Pattonsburg, in the county of Botetourt, on James river, was established. Crowsville, in Botetourt, was established at the same time.

In 1790, Beverly was laid off and established a town at Randolph court-house.

Frontville, at the Sweet Springs, and Springfield, in the county of Hampshire, were severally laid off and established in October, 1790.

In October, 1791, Darksville in Berkeley, Keisletown in Rockingham,