WILLIAM HUMPHREY
William Humphrey was the first permanent settler at Willis Branch-Pax area in Fayette County, WV. William was born in Bedford County, Virginia around 1787. He married Mary "Polly" Jarrell. His cabin was located beside the road near the mouth of Willis Branch, at the crossing of trails near the Big Painted Trees.
According to Neil Darlington's book "Cabins on the Loup", William probably lived on Coal River before settling on Paint Creek. In 1819 he was on a committee with John Harvey, Gibson Jarrel, and Martin Petry to view a road from John Harvey's place down Coal River. He probably came to Paint when he bought the lower half of the Pearis-Christian Survey of 930 acres from William Christian, the tract on which his cabin was built. The date of this transaction is unknown, presumably because it was made during the period 1824-1832 when this area was in the jurisdiction of Logan County, whose early records were destroyed.
William operated a gristmill located on Willis Branch below his cabin. According to "Cabins on the Loup", William also served at various times as road viewer and road surveyor after the formation of Fayette County. In the 1830's he had charge of the entire length of the Coal River Road from Coal River at the mouth of Toney Fork to the Bluestone Road at present Oak Hill.
William and his wife Mary are listed in the 1850 Fayette Co. census. William's occupation is farmer. They are 63 and 55 year of age. Living with them is Elizabeth Humphrey, age 29, Elijah Humphrey, 23, and Lewis Humphrey, 20. Also shown living with William is their daughter Mary, 16 and her hussband, William Poteet, 28.
JARRELL HUMPHREY
William's son, Jarrell was born in 1825. Census records indicate he was born in what is now West Virginia. He married Jane Miller on December 20, 1849 in Fayette Co., WV. They are listed in the census of 1850 in Fayette Co. with a real estate value of $1,000.
In 1860, Jarrell and Jane are shown with their children in the census records, still in Fayette Co. He is a farmer with real estate valued at $1,00 and personal property at $250.00. Jarrell and Jane are listed in the census records of 1870 and 1880 in Fayette Co. He is shown as a farmer both times.
Jarrell, with his brothers Lewis and Elijah, and brothers-in-law William Poteet and John Lafferty were assigned to the Coal River Road in 1850. In 1855, Jarrell Humphrey was on the crew working the lower precinct of the Packs Branch Road, and in the same year, Jarrell and Lewis Humphrey were on a committee appointed by the court "to view a proposed road beginning near the house of William Humphrey and leading to the county line so as to intersect the Raleigh Road". This was the road leading up Paint Creek by Jarrell's house.
Jarrell and Jane had eight children. Jarrell died in 1889 at the age of 64. Jane died September 8, 1895 at the age of 68. They are buried in the cemetery on Knob Branch Road in Pax, Fayette Co., WV. Their daughter, Mary Isabella, married Alexander Craddock.
Back to Main PageCreated on ... January 17, 2004