The Song of Mary Entler Herrington by Jim Surkamp.

8275 words

TRT: 9:24 Video link: (Part 1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHpY5t6uCPc

TRT: 15:28 Video link: (Part 2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoCabOYe9fU&feature=youtu.be

Images in Flickr: 27 https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimsurkamp/14385156139/in/photostream/

With support from American Public University System (apus.edu). (The sentiments expressed do not in any way reflect modern-day policies of APUS, and are intended to encourage fact-based exchange for a better understanding of our nation’s foundational values.

https://web.archive.org/web/20190710014458/https://civilwarscholars.com/2014/07/the-song-of-mary-entler-herrington-by-jim-surkamp/

The Song of Mary Louise Entler Herrington (1840-1932)

CHAPTERETTES
Prelude
Flag Dangerous:
Carry the Secret Mail:
The Sad Fate of the Great Western:
A Wartime Shepherdstown Each Day:
A Sidetracked Mission:
“Fraternizing” With the Enemy:
Peacetime – Eternal Tide of Memories:
The Eyes of Age:

About the end of the heydays of a great inn; about the innkeeper’s feisty, adventurous – amorous – young daughter during the Civil War who lived to tell about it and see her family’s inn perish.

PRELUDE:

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The 1850s in Shepherdstown: Good Times for Joseph and Mary Entler

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The Entlers boarded travelers and stabled their teams by the score in their Great Western Inn on Shepherdstown’s German Street.

As Mary Louise Entler Herrington (hereafter “MLH”) told it:
After my father bought it in 1809, he hung a large sign swung across the pavement at the east corner of the house. A heavy post at the curb supported one side and the other side was fastened to the house. In the middle of the sign in large letters that were plainly visible for squares up and down the street was the word, “INN”, and just below that, ‘JOS. ENTLER”.

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For many years it was a welcome abode to the weary traveler, for then all traveling was by wagon and carriage from Ohio and Kentucky to Baltimore and Washington, where their produce was sold and groceries and other commodities were taken back. All these white-covered wagons were placed in the large grounds and the weary horses were comfortably bedded down and fed in the large stone stables by good trusty colored men.

The house was a quaint, 52-foot-long weatherboard house with massive stone steps to both front doors and stone trimmings and steps to the front cellars and long massive stone stiles or (carriage stepping stones).

The dining room was 34-feet-long. The ice house was under the dining room and was filled every winter with twenty-five, four-horse wagon loads of ice, which lasted until fall. The ice was from the Potomac River.

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The large fireplace was in the kitchen that also had the cranes and pothooks and hangers.

Seventeen rooms were in the house and many also had large old-fashioned fireplaces and were finished with high-paneled mantelpieces.

In the 1850s children remembered the fancy carriages, with many horses pulling, making the smart, sharp turn from the main street to the lane leading to the rear stables.

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All circuses stopped at this inn and pitched their tents in the large lot arranging the cages of wild animals around the circle inside and all other wagons outside the tent.

Joseph Entler moved his family to Wingert (Wingerd Cottage) in 1858 and leased out the Great Western. Then that all ended – and, so did the Great Western.

FLAG DANGEROUS:

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Twenty-one-year-old Mary Louise Entler – in an act of defiance – and several friends sat in chairs in the big hall of Wingerd Cottage sewing . . and sewing – ripping stars from an American flag mailed to them from New Orleans, that once waved from a ship of Rezin Davis Shepherd’s, as he perhaps thought such a flag might be more trouble to have in New Orleans, as the new war boiled over and Louisiana seceded from the Union in early 1861.

Mary Licklider, a niece, recalled how Mary Entler Herrington retold her past before dying in 1932:

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A U.S. flag, probably made of wool bunting fabric was given to four or five young girls (young girls at the time), by Mr.

33_my dear, old, and devoted friend, Rezin Davis Shepherd copy


Rezin Shepherd who lived in New Orleans. In the summer he lived at Wild Goose Farm. The flag was one from one of his vessels. It was sent to us by Mr. James Shepherd and was to be converted into a Confederate flag, a work that was dangerous at the time, being in disputed territory. We could work only when our men were in the lines and had to be very cautious then.

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My father Joseph Entler owned and lived at Wingert (Wingerd Cottage) during the war and there the flag was made. The location off from town and the large wide hall were ideal places for the work, which took many anxious weeks to complete.

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It was very tedious to rip every seam of the stripes in such a way as not to ravel the bunting.

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Every star was ripped from the blue field, and then to sew all the red together and all the white to form the bars red, white, and red.

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Of course we had a surplus of stars as the Confederacy was young.

After many weeks of work, the flag was finished and a beautiful Confederate flag was ready to be sent through the line to Company B. It was hidden away awaiting a safe transfer. (Mary’s brother – Cato Moore Entler – was with Company B of the 2nd Virginia Infantry).

MLH recalled an investigation in the fall of 1861:
I heard the tramp of cavalry and clank of swords and sabers. I looked out the window and saw the cottage was surrounded by “Yankee” cavalry.

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Oh, the flag, what was to be done with it? I heard the officer read orders to my father to search his premises thoroughly for contraband goods. My father seemed to be protesting against the search. But that gave me a little time to take the flag from its hiding place in a chest. The house was surrounded. I could not get out to hide it.

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I pulled a dress from the wall and put the flag in it and threw the dress carelessly across the back of a chair. Skirts were very wide with deep facings upon them. I put the little flags that we wore on our dresses and letters under the carpet.

My door was pushed open by Capt. Horner of Col. Coles’ Cavalry and the search began. Every bureau drawer and closet was searched, even the grandfather clock where reposed letters to go through the lines. But they were too deep in the bottom of the old clock to be detected. Everything was handled but the blue-striped dress hovering over its precious treasure. It was too insignificant to attract their notice and they gave up the search, but rather in a bad humor. The flag was safe and sent to Company B. That flag would be readily recognized by its many seams and its homemade marks. Now what became of that flag is a mystery.

Due to confusion created by units carrying different flags after 1st Manassas, the 30th of October 1861 saw Governor Letcher present every Virginia regiment with a bunting flag. Another private group in Charles Town had had a regimental flag made for the 2nd Virginia infantry regiment that the unit reportedly carried into battle at First Manassas/Bull Run, but was smuggled back to the Rutherfords in Charles Town.

CARRY THE SECRET MAIL:

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March, 1862

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MLH recalled:
We collected all letters and concealed them by carefully sewing them between the ruching and dress. It required neatness and patience to make the work look innocent of anything contraband. We started on our march one bright beautiful morning but the roads being soft and muddy and we being not yet accustomed to marching could not get over much ground as rapidly as Stonewall Jackson’s men. The first night was spent at the home of Mr. Foley where another mail was collected. Another bright morning blessed our errand and when the purple shades of evening were gathering in the west we entered Charles Town as leisurely and passed the Union soldiers as indifferently as though we were out for an evening stroll. What a triumph it would have been for them to have secured that mail; how they would have gloated over every sacred sentence in those letters. My heart thrilled with fear at the thought although apparently so indifferent to their presence.

THE SAD FATE OF THE GREAT WESTERN HOTEL:

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December 26, 1862: The 12th Pennsylvania cavalry – The Bull Run Racers – crossed over the river ford into town and the (Federal-sympathcizing) refugees all came back from Maryland with a fire in their eyes and revenge for Mort Cookus’ blood (who was shot and killed by Andrew Leopold near Dam No. 4 on November 19th. (The refugees) declared that every Southern man’s house should be burned down. – Gallaher in “The Shepherdstown Register.”

MLH:
The property was a hotel (in market for rent at the time). It was taken possession of and occupied by a Pennsylvania Cavalry Company. The extensive grounds in which were apple trees and vegetables were trampled and all the fencing destroyed.

WARTIME SHEPHERDSTOWN EACH DAY:

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MLH recalled:
1863 still finds our town disputed territory and a veritable “deserted village” – old men, women, and children with a very few Union men . . . In time of war when both armies have fallen back, a town presents a most desolate and forlorn appearance-the old people, women and children have no definite plans. They stand about in groups writing and talking of the latest battle or the expected skirmishes. Their homes are places to retire from inclement weather rather than to adorn – the table to satisfy hunger rather than the delightful board where sweet companionship mingled with health-giving food.

No systematic housekeeping, no aim, no object in performing any household duties. All energy was concentrated in doing for the soldiers. “When our boys come home we will do thus and so” was the oft repeated phrase. Sometimes at the dead of night the report of a pistol shot would warn us that the rebels were in town. But when daylight came we saw only the blue coats patrolling the streets, and they would leave as mysteriously as the rebels.

THE SIDETRACKED MISSION:

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May – 1863 – Mary Entler’s Dangerous Mission Gets Sidetracked

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NOTE Raider Andrew Leopold, whose sister, Sally Zittle, was a friend of Mary Entler, had been captured in late April, 1863 near Berryville and taken to a jail, awaiting trial for murder and other crimes.- JS

MLH:
A beautiful May morning, balmy air waiting the perfume of flowers over the country submerged in war. Sparkling dew drops resting in the bosom of such blossoms like tiny tear drops-weeping for the sad hearts made sad by war. God sends beautiful days in war as well as peace- we must remember that.

A young prepossessing girl introduced herself to me on this May morning as a sister of Andrew Leopold. She told me her brother had been captured by the Yankees and was confined in Fort McHenry, MD, and that the entreaties of her widowed mother had induced her to try to get through the Federal lines to have an interview with (Confederate) General J.E.B. Stuart in regard to having her brother exchanged as a prisoner of war. . . She had been sent to me by a southern woman who knew I had carried letters through to Charles Town and thought I would accompany the young lady to that place, and acquaint her with friends who would assist her through the lines. I hesitated a moment and she said with tears that his mother had a message from Baltimore that if some powerful influence was not brought to bear immediately that her brother would be executed as a guerilla. That decided the matter.

We started off in a one horse carriage for Charles Town. She as a traveler was attired in a brown suit with a cape to match trimmed with quilling around it and a brown straw hat with a veil. I was to spend the day only and was dressed in a blue “Dolly Varden” pattern dress, blue silk bonnet with wide turn over cuffs and concealed in the lining of these cuffs were slips of paper with names of prominent Southern sympathizers who we were to call upon for any assistance. Before starting we concluded it would be better to go under fictitious names – she as Lucy Hamilton, and I as Louise Hamilton, her cousin. And with hearts filled with hope we started off that bright May morning on our errand of mercy.

Charles Town was reached in good time. We stopped where we were directed at Mrs. L’s and urged for safety to stay all night here-Lucy to start next morning southward and I to return home would arouse no suspicion. The next morning was quite as beautiful and arrangements were completed when I found she was getting timid about starting off alone. She entreated me to go just as far as Berryville and then she thought she would feel brave enough to travel alone. It was a big undertaking for two young girls as the country was then all excitement and confusion. I finally agreed to go to Berryville. We knew exactly where to stop and whom to see. All was planned before starting from home. I will never forget how beautiful Berryville looked the morning we drove up to the hotel. It was a village embowered in beautiful green trees, blooming flowers. The bees humming in the nectar-laden flowers produced that lazy, peaceful quiet that is so soothing to tired nerves. We made our arrangements with the proprietor and took a stroll through the pretty, cool looking streets.

We met Union soldiers and plenty of them but we did not feel any fear of our plans failing. In the evening we called upon the family next to the hotel and had music until late that night. Next morning while arranging to separate we were visited by a Yankee officer saying he wished to know here were were going, and that we must take the oath. At first we refused to take the oath but when we consented to take it he would not let us, but placed us under arrest. What a frustrating of all our plans. How my heart ached for that poor girl. How she had built her hopes on securing the release of her brother on this venture.

Under arrest by the Federals, Gen. Milroy flabbergasted:

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MLH:
Winchester reached, we were taken to the head-quarters of General Milroy where we found women, young and old, proud and defiant, now arguing their claims and proclaiming their grievances. One delicate, forlorn-looking widow relating to the General how his men, the Yankees, had taken her cows, her only means of support for her children. He turned from her quickly to my friend and me – if there had been the least disposition on my part to be humble – his exclamation put that feeling to flight and aroused a very rebellious state of mind. “What in the devil are you doing here? If it were not for the women running around the country we would not have so much trouble.” My companion started up with surprise. “General, we did not want to come here. We did not start for this place. Your officers brought us here.” He ran fingers through his mass of snow white hair already standing straight up like the quills of a porcupine and out of the audience chamber he strode without another word. He presented a fine physique, tall, well-proportioned, erect in carriage, a wealth of snow-white hair which suggested from its stand-up appearance that his fingers had a fashion of roaming there when troubles were to be, and plans and problems of great magnitude to be wrought out.

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FRATERNIZING WITH THE ENEMY:

June – 1863:

We were soon before the Provost Marshall at Martinsburg awaiting his orders. Next morning we were taken to General Kelly at Harper’s Ferry to await further orders. We were assigned to the best boarding house in the town adjoining the General’s headquarters where a great many of the officers boarded. We had a guard to watch our movements and prevent our escape if we thought of anything of the kind. We were allowed to walk around the town accompanied by the guard and sometimes were invited by officers, to whom we were introduced, to attend concerts and places of amusements but the guard invariably followed behind to the disgust of our gallants. Lucy and I ignored the guard altogether. We did not care how tired he became running over the old hills of Harper’s Ferry after us and many were the taunts and comments we overheard about “secesh” (Confederate-sympathizing) prisoners.

“Miranda!” and the voice startled us – for it came from under the ground – a cottage, vine-clad and embowered in trees and bushes right under our feet on the slope of a hill. (The voice then said: “Here comes the two ‘secesh’ prisoners again trailing that poor tired guard after them as unusual. He looks like he is ready to drop. Much I would follow behind them over these hills.” She lived there under the hill with her beautiful daughter. She had lots and lots of beautiful flowers but not one would she give us after we humbled ourselves to ask for one because we were rebels.

At Harper’s Ferry with your five mountains, your bright Potomac, your smiling languid Shenandoah, your historic Jefferson’s Rock and romantic stone steps leading to the temple of God – St. Peter’s Church. In the yard of this church, high above the streets and houses of Harper’s Ferry, the Fifth New York Regiment Band discoursed sweet music every Sunday evening of the six weeks Lucy and I were prisoners. The sweet strains of the “Mocking Bird” as only Henry Frunkenfield could render them, echoed from Loudoun Heights across the great Shenandoah over the beautiful rock-ribbed Potomac of Maryland Heights, back again the mountain breezes wafted them though the streets and windows as if a hundred mocking birds were trilling their soul-felt song.

As a piece of fun, we were dressed in fantastic costumes, slipped down a stairway, of which the General had no knowledge to the kitchen, to dance for the cook and her black “Topsy”. The guard was told that we were about to make our escape. He hunted the house over for his prisoners and when he found us he did not recognize us for some time, our disguise was so complete. Two guards questioned us until they were finally convinced that we were not attempting an escape.

Sabbath days and week days were all the same at Harper’s Ferry during the war. The soldiers and citizens would promenade the streets. The crowds would send forth their martial airs, dignified and soul-stirring also their merry dance tunes. But this one Sabbath day seemed so different from all others that we had spent at that place. The day was declining and from the description of an Italian sunset, I think the sunset of this evening far surpassed any such Italian scene. The golden rays touched the tree tops and they looked like burnished gold. The strains of music came from the high rocks where St. Peter’s Church rests peacefully. Darts and streaks of gold tips of trees on the mountain tops – the birds twitter and call to their mates in low tones. There is a hush as if all nature were bowed in silent prayer as the twilight settles over the valley. The beauty of this Sabbath will never fade from my memory. It was my last one there as a prisoner. The stillness was soon changed to wild confusion and excitement.

Mary Entler Jumps Sides:

MLH:
I took the oath of allegiance to the United States in June, 1863 in Baltimore, Maryland to Col. Fish who was in command there at the time. I have passed from Gen’l Lockwood commander at H. Ferry 1863 also from Gen’l Stevenson.

MLH:
late August, 1864 – afterwards Company H., 116 Ohio Infantry, Capt. Peters and Col. Washburns Regiment occupied it, and every partition in the front bedrooms were destroyed. Every mantel piece (they were colonial) all but two were burned. The floor in the garrett of the back building was also destroyed. Enough of new window sash and door frames for a house was stored too. cistern and well floors destroyed and cistern filled with bee hives and rubbish. A fine dressed stable with 25 partitioned off, with board partitions-upper story divided off for grain and sleeping quarters for oster. All was torn out and this weakened the roof so that when a snow came it collapsed. A brick carriage house met the same fate. My father Joseph Entler was an old man at the time, and was never after that financially able to put back what was destroyed by the United States soldiers.

PEACETIME – ETERNAL TIDE OF MEMORIES:

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MLH married on February 15, 1865 in Frederick, Maryland Walter L. Herrington, a ticket-agent on the B&O Railroad at Harper’s Ferry.

1870:
They lived in her parents’ home of Wingerd Cottage, her parents having been forcibly retired from inn-keeping. Mary’s husband worked as a photographer then, that same year, died an untimely death.

1910: MLH had a dry goods and milliners shop on the south side of German Street.

1914: Mary Herrington paid in trust to George Beltzhoover the remaining western half of the lot of the once Great Western Hotel for $400, a sum to be paid to Nellie M. Entler. – December 5, 1914, Deed Book 111, p. 505. – Jefferson County Clerk.

1920:
Mary Herrington was seventy-nine years old, living in Shepherdstown with her seventy-two-year-old-sister, Julia M. Miller, and brother, sixty-nine-year-old Lewis Little.

On June 20th MLH sold the dual-lot Great Western Inn to relative Harry T. Licklider on the condition that she could still live in the inn her natural life with her brother, “the said Home to consist of four rooms of the first floor and five rooms, including a summer kitchen and garden.” Two years later Licklider fell in arrears with the Swift Corporation and was sued and forced to sell the Great Western lands to pay off the debts. So the inn was gone from the family but MLH could live there, literally, on borrowed time.

She recalled:
Only the walls of the stables remain today in ruins, covered with Virginia Creeper to screen the ugly scars of the Civil War.

1930:
Mary L. Herrington was listed as eighty-nine years old but with her brother, Lewis Little, now listed as head of their house of the south side of German Street between King and Princess Streets near the center of the block, assessed at about $4,000. Mary A. Licklider & Mary Herrington 1930 Census with her interviewer Mary A. Licklider living next door at the home of Edward Licklider, Mary’s father.

1932:
Mary Louise Herrington died March 27, 1932, having given much of these recollections to Mary A. Licklider, a descendant of Mary’s brother, Cato Moore Entler. Her marker is in Elmwood Cemetery. That summer, the new owner of the Great Western began massive alterations and reductions.

References:

Matthew M. Neely was U.S.Senator from West Virginia, from 1922-1928, then from 1931 to and thru the year Mary Entler Herrington died in 1932.
wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 20 May 2014.

Letter to Senator Neely of WV
from Mary Louise Entler Herrington; Concerning Damages to Property During the Civil War

Hon. Neely,
I wish you to put before Congress a claim for damages to property by U.S. soldiers during the Civil War. The property was a hotel (in market for rent at the time). It was taken possession of and occupied by a Pennsylvania Cavalry Company. The extensive grounds in which were apple trees and vegetables were trampled and all the fencing destroyed; afterwards Company H., 116 Ohio Infantry, Capt. Peters and Col. Washburns Regiment occupied it, and every partition in the front bedrooms were destroyed. Every mantel piece (they were colonial) all but two were burned. The floor in the garrett of the back building was also destroyed. Enough of new window sash and door frames for a house was stored too. cistern and well floors destroyed and cistern filled with bee hives and rubbish. A fine dressed stable with 25 partitioned off, with board partitions-upper story divided off for grain and sleeping quarters for oster. All was torn out and this weakened the roof so that when a snow came it collapsed. A brick carriage house met the same fate. My father Joseph ENTLER was an old man at the time, and was never after that financially able to put back what was destroyed by the United States soldiers. I am sole survivor and think it but just and right that the United States Government should pay me an old woman now to repair it. (Signed) Mary L. ENTLER HERRINGTON. (A postscript was added): I took the oath of allegiance to the United States in Jun 1863 in Baltimore, Maryland to Col. Fish who was in command there at the time. I have passed from Gen’l Lockwood commander at H. Ferry 1863 also from Gen’l Stevenson. My grandfather, Philip ENTLER was a Revolutionary soldier, my father Joseph ENTLER was a soldier in the War of 1812 and helped defend Baltimore and Washington. My husband, Walter HERRINGTON was a Royal Arch Mason and United States Assistant Revenue Assessor under President Johnson for some time. If these facts have any weight in this matter I am glad.

Description of House

An Ancient Landmark Being Changed August, 1932 – The Shepherdstown Register (undated)
Joseph ENTLER (my father) conducted it as an inn. The house is a quaint 52′ long weather board house with massive stone steps to both front doors and stone trimmings and steps to the front cellars and long massive stone stiles or carriage stepping stones as were used in ancient days. The dining room is 34 feet long. Seventeen rooms in the house and large old fashioned fireplaces in many of the rooms and finished with high paneled mantelpieces. The large fireplace in the kitchen which was used for cooking and had the cranes and pothooks and hangers. The ice house was under the dining room and was filled every winter with twenty-five four horse wagon loads of ice, which lasted until fall. The ice was from the Potomac River. After Joseph ENTLER bought it in 1809, he opened it as an inn. a large sign swung across the pavement at the east corner of the house. A heavy post at the curb supported one side and the other side was fastened to the house. In the middle of the sign in large letters that were plainly visible for squares up and down the street was the word, “INN”, and just below that, ‘Jos. ENTLER”. For many years it was a welcome abode to the weary traveler, for then all traveling was by wagon and carriage from Ohio and Kentucky to Baltimore and Washington, where their produce was sold and groceries and other commodities were taken back to the states and intermediate points. All these white covered wagons were placed in the large grounds and the weary tired horses were comfortably bedded down and fed in the large stone stables by good trusty colored men.

All circuses stopped at this inn and pitched their tents in the large lot arranging the cages of wild animals around the circle inside and all other wagons outside the tent. Seventeen rooms in the house and large old fashioned fireplaces in many of the rooms and finished with high paneled mantelpieces. All were destroyed but two during the Civil War, when occupied by Union Troops. The bedrooms above are still numbered as in the days when the late the large fireplace in the kitchen which was used for cooking before cook stoves were introduced has still the cranes and pothooks and hangers as the good old cooks used to handle. The ice house is under the dining room and was filled every winter with twenty-five four horse wagon loads of ice, which lasted until fall. The ice was from the Potomac River. This house and ground adjoining on the east extended to within a few feet from the corner below Trinity Episcopal Church all was the property of Cornelius Wynkoop, who sold it to Levi Gooding, 17 Oct 1801. Charles Harper had an interest in it. Joseph ENTLER (my father), bought Harper’s interest Jun 22nd., 1809. The 17th. of Feb 1812 the interest in the property was deeded to Joseph ENTLER from Levi Gooding, which has been the family over 100 years. Philip ENTLER, Joseph ENTLER’S father was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and told his son the building was a barracks in that war, and all ground which extended on the east beyond the Episcopal Church was used by Revolutionary soldiers as drilling and practice grounds and was used also in the War of 1812-14. After Joseph ENTLER bought it in 1809, he opened it as an inn. a large sign swung across the pavement at the east corner of the house. A heavy post at the curb supported one side and the other side was fastened to the house. In the middle of the sign in large letters that were plainly visible for squares up and down the street was the word, “INN”, and just below that, ‘Jos. ENTLER”. For many years it was a welcome abode to the weary traveler, for then all traveling was by wagon and carriage from Ohio and Kentucky to Baltimore and Washington, where their produce was sold and groceries and other commodities were taken back to the states and intermediate points. All these white covered wagons were placed in the large grounds and the weary tired horses were comfortably bedded down and fed in the large stone stables by good trusty colored men. Only the walls of the stables remain today in ruins, covered with Virginia Creeper to screen the ugly scars of the Civil War. All circuses stopped at this inn and pitched their tents in the large lot arranging the cages of wild animals around the circle inside and all other wagons outside the tent. On one occasion an elephant died and left a baby elephant. Years after the occurrence, the same circus came to town, and the baby remembered the place where its mother died and was buried in the lot and it’s grief was pitiful site.
entlerd originally shared this, 14 Apr 2010 story at ancestry.com
trees.ancestry.ca 4 March 2006 Web. 1 July 2014. (Subscription membership required for access).
reocities.com 18 October 2000 Web. 1 July 2014.

History of Confederate Flag made in Shepherdstown by Mary Louise Entler Herrington:
Copied from the original by Mary A. LICKLIDER, 16 Feb 1938
It may be interesting to the Shepherdstown Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and others also to know the facts about a flag that was made and sent through the line in 1861 to our own Company B.

A U.S. flag was given to four or five young girls (young girls at the time), by Mr. Rezin Shepherd who lived in New Orleans. In the summer he lived at Wild Goose Farm. The flag was one from one of his vessels. It was sent to us by Mr. James (Hervey) Shepherd and was to be converted into a Confederate flag, a work that was dangerous at the time, being in disputed territory. We could work only when our men were in the lines and had to be very cautious then. My father Joseph ENTLER owned and lived at Wingerd Cottage during the war and there the flag was made. The location off from town and the large wide hall were ideal places for the work, which took many anxious weeks to complete. It was very tedious to rip every seam of the stripes in such a way as not to ravel the bunting. Every star was ripped from the blue field and then to sew all the red together and all the white to form the bars red, white, and red. Of course we had a surplus of stars as the Confederacy was young. After many weeks of work the flag was finished and a beautiful Confederate flag was ready to be sent through the line to Company B. It was hidden away awaiting a safe transfer. I heard the tramp of cavalry and clank of swords and sabers. I looked out the window and saw the cottage was surrounded by Yankee Cavalry. Oh, the flag, what was to be done with it? I heard the officer read orders to my father to search his premises thoroughly for contraband goods. My father seemed to be protesting against the search. But that gave me a little time to take the flag from its hiding place in a chest. The house was surrounded. I could not get out to hide it. I pulled a dress from the wall and put the flag in it and threw the dress carelessly across the back of a chair. Skirts were very wide and deep facings upon them. I put the little flags that we wore on our dresses and letters under the carpet. When my door was pushed open by Capt. Horner of Col. Coles’ Cavalry and the search began. Every bureau drawer and closet was searched, even the grandfather clock where reposed letters to go through the lines. But they were too deep in the bottom of the old clock to be detected. Everything was handled but the blue striped dress hovering over its precious treasure. It was too insignificant to attract their notice and they gave up the search, but rather in a bad humor. The flag was safe and sent to Company B, but all inquires after the war failed to locate it. There was an exchange of flags several years ago. That flag would be readily recognized by its many seams and its homemade marks. Now what became of that flag is a mystery. It went through the lines and was received by the company. I believe I am the only one living who helped to make the flag and saved it from being captured by Capt. Horner, its first Yankee assailant.
– entlerd originally shared this to Deron’s Original Family Tree
trees.ancestry.ca 4 March 2006 Web. 1 July 2014.

“CEOS told of Early Stories of Shepherdstown by Jim Price” – Spirit of Jefferson Farmer’s Advocate – Jun 8, 2000, p. 7.
The Great Western Hotel had nineteen rooms and was owned by Joseph Entler, and was more like a truck stop where drovers and drivers and passengers of Conestoga wagons stayed. In 1858 Joseph Entler moved his family to Wingerd Cottage (the home of Cindy and Bob Keller) and leased the hotel out.
news.google.com 25 March 2002 Web. 1 July 2014.

Born in Shepherdstown, Jefferson, Virginia, USA on 24 Aug 1821 to Joseph Entler and Mary Ellen Rickard. Cato Moore married Mary Ellen Bowen and had 9 children. He passed away on 6 Apr 1902 in Shepherdstown, Jefferson, Virginia, USA.
records.ancestry.com 22 January 2009 Web. July 1, 2014.

1st Maryland Cavalry, U.S.A. (Originally organized as the 1st Potomac Home Brigade Cavalry, “Cole’s Cavalry” was formed under the guidance of Henry A. Cole (from Frederick, Maryland). Company C was recruited primarily from Emmitsburg, Maryland and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and was commanded by Capt. John Horner;
wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 20 May 2014.

Due to confusion created by units carrying different flags after 1st Manassas the 30th October 1861 saw Governor Letcher present every Virginia regiment with a bunting flag. Another private group in Charles Town had a regimental flag made for the 2nd Virginia Infantry regiemnt that they reportedly carried into batle at First Manassas/BullRun
2ndvirginiacsa.tripod.com 16 May 2013 Web 1 July 2014.

Gallaher, D.C. (December, 1996). “Fragments of a Diary of Shepherdstown Events During the War 1861-1865.” Magazine of the Jefferson County Historical Society, vol. LXII. Print.

Mary Entler’s brother:
ENTLER, CATO MOORE: b. 1822. Confectioner. enl. 6/18/61 at Winchester in Co. B as Pvt. sick at Manassas Hosp. 10/21/61. To Chimborazo #5, 1/13/61; diarrhea. To Gen. Hosp. Farmville, 5/7/62; torpor of liver. Returned to duty 7/16/62; however, last official entry shows him absent sick 6/30-10/31 1862. – Frye, Dennis “2nd Virginia Infantry Regiment,” Lynchburg, Va: H. E. Howard. Print. More . . .

Mary L. Herrington was listed as eighty-nine years old but with her brother, Lewis Little, now listed as head of their house of the south side of German Street between King and Princess Streets near the center of the block, assessed at about $4,000. Mary A. Licklider & Mary Harrington 1930 Census with her interviewer Mary A. Licklider living next door at the home of Edward Licklider, Mary’s father.
NARA T626. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930.
Roll: 2536
State: West Virginia
County: JEFFERSON
Browse Description: SHEPHERDSTOWN TOWN
Enumeration District: 19-9
Description: SHEPHERDSTOWN TOWN
Sheet Number: 4b
fold3.com footnote.com(fold3.com) 21 October 2010 Web. 20 May 2014.

116th Ohio Infantry
The most likely time in which the 116th Ohio visited the Great Western Inn was during late August, 1864:
Left Ohio for Parkersburg, Va., October 16; then moved to Clarksburg and Buckhannon. Moved to New Creek November 9, and to Moorefield December 12. Duty at Moorefield, Va., December 15, 1862 to January 10, 1863. Moorefield January 3. At Romney until March 17. Near Romney February 16. At Winchester, Va., until June. Operations in Shenandoah Valley April 20–29. Scout toward Wardensville and Strasburg April 20. Scout to Strasburg April 25–29. Bunker Hill June 13 (Companies A and I). Battle of Winchester June 13–15. Retreat to Harper’s Ferry, W. Va., June 15–16, 1863; then to Washington, D.C., July 1–4, and joined Army of the Potomac at Frederick, Md., July 5. Pursuit of Lee to Manassas Gap, Va., July 5–24. Wapping Heights, Va., July 23. At Martinsburg, W. Va., August 4, 1863 to April 29, 1864. Skirmish at Hedgesville October 16, 1863 (detachment). Sigel’s Expedition from Martinsburg to New Market April 29-May 16, 1864. Battle of New Market May 15. Advance on Staunton May 24-June 6. Piedmont June 5. Occupation of Staunton June 6. Hunter’s raid on Lynchburg June 10-July 1. Lynchburg June 17–18. ***Ordered to the Shenandoah Valley July. Battle of Kernstown-Winchester, July 24. Sheridan’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign August 7-November 28, 1864. Charlestown August 21, 22, and 29. Berryville September 3, Battle of Winchester, Opaquan Creek September 19, 1864. Fisher’s Hill September 22. Cedar Creek October 13, Battle of Cedar Creek October 19. Duty at Opequan Crossing November 18 to December 19. Moved to Washington, D.C., December 19; then to Aiken’s Landing, Va. Siege of Petersburg and Richmond December 27, 1864 to April 2, 1865. Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9, Hatcher’s Run March 29-April 1. Fall of Petersburg April 2. Pursuit of Lee April 3–9. Rice’s Station April 6. Appomattox Court House April 9. Surrender of Lee and his army. Duty at Richmond, Va., until June.
wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 20 May 2014.

Baldau, Catherine. “House Arrest: Mary Entler’s Adventure in Harpers Ferry.” in “The Harpers Ferry Anthology – Civil War-era Stories by Park Rangers and Volunteers.” (2011). Harpers Ferry, WV: The Harpers Ferry Historical Assocation. Print.

Joseph Entler household 1870 Census p. 506.
United States. Bureau of the Census; United States. National Archives and Records Service. (1965). “Population schedules of the ninth census of the United States, 1870, West Virginia [microform] (Volume Reel 1689 – 1870 West Virginia Federal Population Census Schedules – Jackson and Jefferson Counties).” Washington, D.C.: Gov’t Printing Office. Print.

United States. Bureau of the Census; United States. National Archives and Records Service. (1965). “Population schedules of the ninth census of the United States, 1870, West Virginia [microform] (Volume Reel 1689 – 1870 West Virginia Federal Population Census Schedules – Jackson and Jefferson Counties).” Internet Archives: Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music, and Wayback Machine. 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 10 Sept. 2010.
More . . .

Joseph Entler, Jr. household with MLH, Potomac District p. 26
United States. Bureau of the Census; United States. National Archives and Records Service. (197-). 10th census, 1880, West Virginia [microform] (Volume Reel 1405 – 1880 West Virginia Federal “Population Census Schedules – Jefferson (cont’d: ED 4, sheet 23-end) and Kanawha (part: EDs 1-61, sheet 26) Counties).” Washington, D.C.: Gov’t Printing Office. Print.

United States. Bureau of the Census; United States. National Archives and Records Service. (197-). 10th census, 1880, West Virginia [microform] (Volume Reel 1405 – 1880 West Virginia Federal “Population Census Schedules – Jefferson (cont’d: ED 4, sheet 23-end) and Kanawha (part: EDs 1-61, sheet 26) Counties).” Internet Archives: Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music, and Wayback Machine. 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 10 Sept. 2010.

1900 United States Federal Census about Mary L Herrington
Name: Mary L Herrington
Age: 60
Birth Date: May 1840
Birthplace: West Virginia
Home in 1900: Shepherdstown, Jefferson, West Virginia
Race: White
Gender: Female
Relation to Head of House: Sister
Marital Status: Widowed
Father’s Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Mother’s Birthplace: West Virginia
Mother: number of living children: 0
Mother: How many children: 0
Name Age
Joseph Entler, Jr 72
Annie E Entler 65
Mary L Herrington 60
Julia M Miller 53
Maurice Miller 16
Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: Shepherdstown, Jefferson, West Virginia; Roll: 1761; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 0048; FHL microfilm: 1241761
search.ancestry.com 10 July 1998 Web. 1 July 2014.

Mary Herrington was seventy-nine years old, living in Shepherdstown with her seventy-two-year-old-sister, Julia M. Miller and brother, sixty-nine-year-old Lewis Little.
1920 United States Federal Census about Mary L Herrington
Name: Mary L Herrington
[Mary L Herington]
Age: 79
Birth Year: abt 1841
Birthplace: West Virginia
Home in 1920: Shepherdstown, Jefferson, West Virginia
Race: White
Gender: Female
Relation to Head of House: Head
Marital Status: Widowed
[Widow]
Father’s Birthplace: Pennsylvania
Mother’s Birthplace: West Virginia
Household Members:
Name Age
Mary L Herrington: 79
Julia M Miller 72
Lewis J Little 69
Source Citation: Year: 1920; Census Place: Shepherdstown, Jefferson, West Virginia; Roll: T625_1952; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 74; Image: 555.
search.ancestry.com 10 July 1998 Web. 1 July 2014.

Suit in favor of Swift & Company against H. T. Licklider, in which Licklider sold to discharge and pay off said decree: ”The certain house and land on the east side of Princess Street in Shepherdstown . . . designated on the plat of said town as the north west corner of Lot No. 127, said lot fronting on said street 40 feet by 98 feet deep on said alley and known as the site of the business of “The Licklider Corporation.” Also, two certain adjoining parcels of real estate of which the late Joseph Entler died seized and possessed and situate on the south side of German Street in Shepherdstown, designated on the Plat of said town as Lot No. 14 and bounded as follows: No. 1 consisting of a vacant lot of land fronting on said street 33 feet by about 206 feet deep to a public alley in the rear, No. 2 consisting of the adjoining lot of land and the large weather-boarded dwelling thereon, the said lot fronting on said street about 60 feet more or less by about 206 feet to a public alley in the rear, subject to a life estate of Mary L. Herrington in part of same and being the same real estate conveyed to Harry T. Licklider by deed from Mary L. Herrington and others by deed dated June 29, 1920. – Lis Pendens, October 14, 1922, Deed Book 122, Page 140, – Jefferson County, WV Clerk. (NOTE: The life estate deed states that Mary Herrington sold the two adjacent lots to Licklider on the condition that she and, as long as Herrington approves, Licklider to allow, provide and maintain free of any charge and expense to her said “Dwelling for and during her natural life: the said Home to consist of four rooms of the first floor and five rooms, including a summer kitchen and garden.” – July 6, 1920, Deed Book 119, Page 82, Jefferson County Clerk.

“Historically, milliners, typically female shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of garments for men, women, and children, including hats, shirts, cloaks, shifts, caps, neckerchiefs, and undergarments, and sold these garments in their millinery shop.” wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 20 May 2014.

116th Ohio Infantry – compiled by Larry Stevens. References for this Unit
ohiocivilwar.com 17 August 2000 Web. 1 July 2014.

Mary L. Herrington was listed as eighty-nine years old but with her brother, Lewis Little, now listed as head of their house of the south side of German Street between King and Princess Streets near the center of the block, assessed at about $4,000. Mary A. Licklider & Mary Harrington 1930 Census with her interviewer Mary A. Licklider living next door at the home of Edward Licklider, Mary’s father.
NARA T626. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930.
Roll: 2536
State: West Virginia
County: JEFFERSON
Browse Description: SHEPHERDSTOWN TOWN
Enumeration District: 19-9
Description: SHEPHERDSTOWN TOWN
Sheet Number: 4b
fold3.com. footnote.com(fold3.com) 21 October 2010 Web. 20 May 2014.

“In the Realms of Rest: M. L. Herrington,“ The Shepherdstown Register,” March 31, 1932.

Image Credits:

Montage of images of people in Shepherdstown during the Civil War – Historic Shepherdtown Commission.

Harper’s Weekly September 6, 1862, p. 569
sonofthesouth.net start date unavailable Web. 1 July 2014.

The first flag of the 11th Pennsylvania Reserves

detail of woman sewing flag
etsy.com 18 May 2001 Web. 1 July 2014.

Battle flag of the 28th North Carolina Infantry.

Stuart’s Horse Artillery Flag
jeffctywvmuseum.org 9 November 2004 Web. 1 July 2014.

The 33rd Indiana Volunteer Infantry
33rdindiana.org 20 June 2011 Web. 1 July 2014.

Remains of U.S. Infantry colors from President Lincoln’s box on the night he was assassinated. medicalmuseum.mil 2 June 2012 Web. 1 July 2014.

Flag of the type carried by the Treasury Guard and other infantry regiments during the Civil War. medicalmuseum.mil 2 June 2012 Web. 1 July 2014.

Ohio Department of the Adjutant General, “National Colors of the Black Brigade of Cincinnati,” in Ohio Civil War 150 | Collections & Exhibits, Item #1490. ohiocivilwar150.org/omeka 25 September 2009 Web. 1 July 2014.

Ohio Department of the Adjutant General, “Guidon of the 27th U.S.C.T.,” in Ohio Civil War 150 | Collections & Exhibits, Item #1489. ohiocivilwar150.org/omeka 25 September 2009 Web. 1 July 2014.

Flag of the Rockbridge Rifles
Original Author: W. H. Horstmann & Sons of Philadelphia
Created: ca. 1860
Medium: Silk flag with oil-painted seal
Courtesy of The Museum of the Confederacy
encyclopediavirginia.org 8 November 2006 Web. 1 July 2014.

Alfred Lee : Dolly Varden
Dolly Varden / words by Frank W. Green ; music by Alfred Lee
Philadelphia : Lee & Walker, between 1872 and 1875
Plate no.: 131819.4
Color: Portrait of a young woman in a Dolly Varden dress / T. Sinclair & Son Lith.
Box 25, no. 7. library.upenn.edu/collections 7 March 2003 Web. 1 July 2014.

Hotchkiss, Jedediah, “[Map of Loudoun County and part of Clarke County, Va., Jefferson County and part of Berkeley County, W. Va., and parts of Montgomery and Frederick counties, Md.]..”
memory.loc.gov/ammem/ 14 October 2004 Web. 1 July 2014.

One-horse buggy
David Hunter Strother, “At Hancock Depot, Aug. 1st, 1857. West Virginia and Regional History Collection. Act, No.:P.95.30.387pg26c

Dicken’s Dolly Varden by William Frith.
Owner/Location: Victoria and Albert Museum – London (United Kingdom – London)
Dates: 1842
Artist age: Approximately 23 years old.
Dimensions: Unknown
Medium: Painting – oil on canvas
Entered by: Member Irene on 22 December 2013.
the-athenaeum.org 23 May 2002 Web. 1 July 2014.

Shepherdstown and Charles Town, Va.
Brown, Howell S. “Map of Jefferson County, Virginia From Actual Surveys With Farm Limits, 1852.” Magazine of the Jefferson County Historical Society Vol. XLV. (1979): pp. 1-7. Print.

Brown, S. Howell. (1852). “Map of Jefferson County, Virginia from actual survey with the farm limits.” United States. The Library of Congress: American Memory. “Maps Collection.” 27 Oct. 2009 Web. 10 Sept. 2010.

Andrew T. Leopold – Courtesy Horace Mewborn, Jr.

Robert_H._Milroy
wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 20 May 2014.

Woman pouring from watering can
Marmion, Annie P. (1959) “Under Fire: An Experience in the Civil War.” William Vincent Marmion, Jr. ed.

Rezin Shepherd-Shepherd University

Elderly woman
Crayon, Porte (Strother, D. H.). “The Mountains. Pt. VI.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Volume 45, Issue: 270, November 1872, pp. 801-816. Print.

Crayon, Porte. (November, 1872). “The Mountains. Pt. VI.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. p. 803. (SEE REFERENCES)

Gate to farm house
Strother, David H. “Rural Pictures.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, New York, NY: Harper and Bros. Volume 20, Issue: 116, January, 1860. pp. 166-180. Print.

Strother, David H., (Jan., 1860). “Rural Pictures.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. p. 166 (SEE REFERENCES).

Ring on woman’s finger
Strother, David H., “Virginia Illustrated.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, New York, NY: Harper and Bros. Volume 13, Issue: 75, (Aug., 1856). pp. 303-323. Print.

Strother, David H., “Virginia Illustrated.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. p. 323.(SEE REFERENCES)

Cook in kitchen
Strother, David H., “Virginia Illustrated.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, New York, NY: Harper and Bros. Volume 12, Issue: 68, (Jan., 1856). pp. 158-179. Print.

Strother, David H., “Virginia Illustrated.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. p. 177 (SEE REFERENCES)

Horses in stable eating hay
Strother, David H., “Virginia Illustrated.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, New York, NY: Harper and Bros. Volume 11, Issue: 63, (Aug., 1855). pp. 289-311. Print.

Strother, David H., “Virginia Illustrated.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. p. 293 (SEE REFERENCES)

Federal cavalry standstill
“Battles and Leaders. Vol. 1.” (1887). Robert Underwood Johnson, Clarence Clough Buel (Ed.). New York, NY: Century Co. Print.

“Battles and Leaders Vol. 1.” Internet Archives: Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music, and Wayback Machine. 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. p. 600.

Searching for Arms. Drawing by Adalbert John Volck, circa 1890-1896, glc00493.05. (Image: Gilder Lehrman Collection) civilwar.org 15 May 1998 Web. 1 July 2014.

Additionsal Image Credits for the Videos:

Young Woman at a Piano by George Goodwin Kilburne, 1880.

Detail The Effect of the Rebellion of the Homes of Virginia – Harper’s Weekly, 24 December, 1864. pp. 824-825.

William Stebbins Fish – Maryland Historical Society. Maryland Historical Magazine, (Summer, 1999). Vol. 94. p. 132.

Polish stables in Gdansk
wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 25 October 2014.

The Homecoming by E.L. Henry

Title: [Civil War envelope showing soldier standing at attention in camp with message “Our Union defenders”]. Date Created/Published: [between 1861 and 1865]. memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html 4 May 1999 Web. 20 May 2014.

mantels colonial
research.history.org 23 March 2006 Web. 25 October 2014.

Pen and Ink by Edwin Graves Champney. Image courtesy of the Outer Banks History Center.
obxentertainment.com 8 April 2009 Web. 25 October 2014.

Matthew_M._Neely
wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 25 October 2014.

Headpiece for ‘Good for the Soul’ – Howard Pyle
wikiart.org 30 May 2008 Web. 25 October 2014.

Christmas Boxes in Camp Christmas 1861: Published Harpers Weekly January 4, 1862. (Not used)
hoocher.com 4 April 2009 Web. 25 October 2014.

Sunday Morning in Virginia: 1887 Winslow Homer
hoocher.com 4 April 2009 Web. 25 October 2014.

Girl in the Orchard: 1874 by Winslow Homer
hoocher.com 4 April 2009 Web. 25 October 2014.

The Reaper: 1878 by Winslow Homer
hoocher.com 4 April 2009 Web. 25 October 2014.

porcupine
awf.org 19 June 1998 Web. 25 October 2014.

Union officers eating during the Civil War. (Library of Congress photo)
blog.timesunion.com 10 December 2005 Web. 25 October 2014.

Strother, David H., “The Mountains. Pt. IV.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, New York, NY: Harper and Bros. Volume 44, Issue: 267, (Aug, 1872). pp. 347-366. Print.

Strother, David H., “The Mountains. Pt. IV.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. pp. 347-366. (SEE REFERENCES)

hanged silhouette
Harper’s New Monthly Magazine Volume 0019 Issue 109 (June 1859)
Title: Artist’s Excursion. Illustrated By Porte Crayon [pp. 1-19],

document oath of allegiance
spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com 21 January 2013 Web. 25 October 2014.

Henry_Hayes_Lockwood
wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 25 October 2014.

Death Record of W. L. Harrington in 1874
wvculture.org 2 March 2000 Web. 25 October 2014.

Mary Entler 1920 Census, West Virginia, Jefferson County
archive.org 9 August 2002 Web. 25 October 2014.

(Not used) Foraging was resorted to, to a considerable extent. Turkeys, Geese, Chickens were taken whenever found; corn-cakes, bread, ham, and smoked sides with butter, apple butter, and in fact everything that was eatable was procured, sometimes by paying cash and at other times by promises to pay when change could not be made. (Courtesy Bradley Forbush)
13thmass.org 29 May 2002 Web. 25 October 2014.