On Tuesday, I posted a very tragic story of a young girl who was killed during a ghost hunt in Doddridge County. As I was trying to find just what legend from West Virginia folklore she was trying to track down, I ran across the story of the John England Family who lived in the area known as Smithsburg. The England house, built by John and his sons prior to 1800, stood at the mouth of England's Run, which of course, takes its name from the family. But, the story wasn't recorded until 100 years later.
In 1901, a man named Lewis Edwin (Ned) Jones published a book called The History of Smithsburg. Ned was the son of Thomas A. and Catherine Luella Jones. Thomas was a failed businessman from Baltimore. He came to present-day Doddridge County with his wife and kids in 1824, originally settling in an area known as Buckeye Bottom. However, he had to sell that property to pay off an old debt from his Baltimore days, and thus needed to find a place to live...cheap.
The solution was to move to the "Old England Place," that homestead built by John England. But why was this property available for such an affordable price? Well, the England family MIGHT have been haunted by a peddler they murdered...and after they each died in their own uniquely tragic way, they too might still be left to wander the land. In his book, Jones tells the story as told to him by his father. Here's an excerpt:
Arrival of John England
"But for the present, I must write of another house more ancient and of equal importance which stood at the mouth of England's Run, built by a man by the name of England and his sons. This house and outbuildings was a departure in design and magnitude from all the buildings in the settlement, and at the time of which I write was not occupied because of its having gotten a bad name by the wicked deeds said to have been committed by the Englands, who were undoubtedly a dark, mysterious people. The crimes alleged to have been committed, or rather the allegation, was not without foundation, but the evidence that they were committed was circumstantial rather than positive.
Foul Play
"It will be borne in mind, this house, when first built, stood in the midst of a dense forest without a break for miles around on every side, and that these people were as much alone as if they had lived on some desolate island in the middle of the sea. Remember that at that time there was no highway except the Indian trail which connected their camping ground, which was just below the mouth of England's Run, with the Ohio River, and you will understand that any crime, however bad, might have been committed here with impunity and with almost perfect safety. The crime charged was the murder of a peddler who was making his way from the trading post through the forest to the Ohio River, putting up for the night at the Englands and never was heard of afterwards. It was alleged that his horse was found many days after wandering in the forest by some hunters who happened that way, and suspecting foul play, they went to England’s and found conclusive evidence that the man had been robbed and murdered and from something they saw concluded that he had been buried under the barn floor. The tradition goes on to say that the Englands became morose and demented because of being haunted by the spirit of the murdered peddler.
Mysterious Deaths
"Be that as it may, they were a fated people and died in singular ways. One of them at shearing time threw himself up on the shears and died; another one fell from an upper porch and broke his neck; and another was thrown from a horse and killed. His grave is just at the top of the hill east of S. 0. Jones’ house just beside the road. This grave was plain to be seen forty years afterwards, and thus they perished one by one till all were dead, and for these reasons the house was supposed to be haunted, and as the people of those days were a little superstitious, the house was left without an occupant for many years, or in other words, the people shunned it on account of the ghost of the Englands which were said to hold high carnival nightly. I am only telling the truth, for I have heard men of sense
and education say that there were so many strange noises and midnight rackets that one could not live in the house. I do not mean to have it understood that the stories about the ghosts were but simply to carry the idea that the settlers were a little superstitious as learned people are today."
Information for today's blog comes from an article by Jennifer Wilt, for the Doddridge Independent.
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