Today, I’m going to share some information from the McVeys of Fayette County, West Virginia, a book I wrote around 2002. There were two distinct McVey families, but they were distantly related—stretching several generations back to James McVey of Franklin County, Virginia. Marylu Walker of Oak Hill was a big help in gathering information and photos, and she escorted me to hard-to-find cemeteries. I also collaborated with Kimberly Clear on parts of the McVey information, and some of the research had been done by Becky Shuff. If you are closely related, please comment with additional information or corrections.
Aaron McVey (1812-1886) was an only child, reared and educated in Franklin County, Virginia. He moved to Indiana, where he apparently met Mediann. Their marriage is recorded in both Indiana and in Fayette County, Virginia. (I am reviewing my records to see my source for that. It was confusing.) He was trained as a tanner, a trade he pursued after moving to Ansted. During the Civil War he was an abolitionist and a supporter of the Union.
At first he lived in a home in Ansted but later sold it to Col. George Imboden, the first mayor of Ansted. The home was one of very few not destroyed during the Civil War. It is now the headquarters for the Fayette County Historical Society and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Aaron McVey Home—Photo courtesy of Felipe Barrera
Deed records in Fayette County show that he obtained extensive amounts of land from 1845 to 1866. He enlisted the help of his children in farming it. The land included the area that is now Hawks Nest State Park. Some of the land was later sold to the railroad.
Aaron was enumerated in the census records of Fayette County from 1850-1880. He is buried in the usually inaccessible Eastman Cemetery, near Hawks Nest, Fayette County, West Virginia.
The following information is from A Record of the Settlement of Loup Creek, originally at Fayette County Footprints, MyFamily.com:
"Aaron W McVey bought 1400 acres from J.J. Coleman on the south side of Loup Creek, adjoining the land of Wm. F. Moseley at the lower and extending far up the creek above the John Treadway place, which was taken from it. Mountainward, it reached to the top or beyond and joined the Reed patent on Mossy.
McVey, who occupied the vanguard position on the creek in 1858, had come from Indiana circa 1845 and first settled on the turnpike at Mt.Cove, or Ansted. Originally, he was from eastern Virginia--the son of George McVey of Franklin, Virginia. He was a tanner and farmed on Loup Creek, where he raised fine corn and fat hogs. The ruins of the old McVey house, with its huge cross stones, 20" thick and 65" long, are all that remain at the head of Loup Creek. In this house in 1860, the eldest daughter, Caroline, was married to Lewis W Woolwine of Mt. Cove. About 1864, Mr. McVey returned to Ansted, but his daughter remained. They first lived in a house which stood just across the branch from the McVey house, then on a 31-acre tract bought of McVey adjoining Moseley. The house stood in a hollow back of Norman Foster's. In 1874 he bought the Wm. Woodrum place and in 1878 the Hans Settle place--both at the mouth of White Oak. He then added the Sylvester Treadway place, making a farm of 100 acres. Woolwine farmed and sold goods.
Census-1860 for Mcvey--AW McVey-48, Mediann-36, Augustus-14, Laura E.-11, Newton-2/12. Another, Jennie, was named West Virginia for the new state. Lewis Woolwine-36, Mary C.-28, George-9, Laura-8, Harriet-6."
Tomorrow, I will tell more about Aaron’s and Mediann’s children and include a few photos.
Thank you so much for sharing this information. It all corresponds with what I have except I always thought that Aaron and Mediann met and married in Indiana. I'm not sure where I got that information. It confirms what I have heard, but was not sure about concerning the owning of the house that is now The Fayette County Historical Society. It was nice to hear you mention Mary Ann Walker. I have only talked to her once or twice in my life, even though we lived in the same town for years. I would love to share this information with my McVey-Butner group. Is this sharable? By the way, do you have any information on the Ballards, Thomas (not the policeman) and Dorothy? Dorothy had a dress shop In Oak Hill for years. My daughter, Jennifer, is married to their son Thomas L. Ballard. I have a story I would love to share with you about Aaron and Mediann that Irene Fitzwater Campbell, my 3rd cousin, gave me. How do I send that to you, if you are interested?