History of Wetzel County, West VirginiaThe History of Wetzel County runs from the year of 1772 to the present time. The author has used great pains in securing the most important events during that time, and has succeeded as far as the interesting matter is concerned, though there may be a few incidents left out for the want of data. The most important ones have been secured. There may be incidents in the history of the county that would not only speak bad of the morality of the county, but would bring back remembrances of unhappy day's, and things that would sadden the pages of Wetzel's History. Wetzel county for years has been suffering with a name that she does not deserve, and she is gradually blotting it out. In the history of the county there are a great many men whose lives should have been mentioned in the book but were not, from the fact that the author could not secure anything concerning them. The author has put in four mouths in securing information and in writing this history. It does not require very much of an education to write a book of this kind. You can see that when glancing over the pages.
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Read the Book - Free Download the Book - Free ( 10.5 MB PDF) In the year of 1772 the four Zane brothers settled at the mouth of Wheeling creek; with them came an honest, brave, but rough old German, by the name of John Wetzel, the father of Louis, the bold, wary and tireless Indian hunter of West Virginia, whose name was a household word throughout the State. He was also the father of four more sons and two daughters. His sons were Martin, George, John and Jacob, The two daughters were Susan and Christina. The latter books of Indian wars which contain the story of John Wetzel, say he was killed up Wheeling creek, but the old Border Books, whose authors have talked with the notorious Louis Wetzel, say that his father was killed near Captina in 1787. "On his return from Middle Island, Creek, himself and companion," says the author of the Western Border, "were in a canoe paddling slowly near the shore of the Ohio river, when they were hailed by a party of Indians, and ordered to land; this they of course refused, when immediately they were fired upon and Wetzel was shot through the body. Feeling himself mortally wounded, he directed his companion to lie down in the canoe, while he (Wetzel) so long as strength remained, would paddle the frail vessel beyond the reach of the savages; in this way he saved the life of his friend, while his own was ebbing away fast. He died soon after reaching the shore at Baker's Station, a few miles north from where he was shot." |