I have several Southern WV Settlers subscribers who have recent Hamrick ancestors, but I do not yet know exactly how they are connected to each other. My second cousin, Lisa Fox B., is the granddaughter of Thomas Winston Hamrick, who married my grandmother’s sister. I remember Thomas Winston Hamrick because he visited my grandma’s house, and we also visited his house. He was a kind and gentle man, who served as a cook in the U.S. Army during World War I and was the father of four children.
I am not sure how Thomas’s father, Elisha Hamrick, fits in with the other Hamricks I will be mentioning in this newsletter, but I have a feeling it will become clear eventually. Lisa is the one who sent me this intriguing news article about a man called Eli “Rimfire” Hamrick. The indication is that the article was published in 1967, as was the book mentioned. I won’t summarize the article for you. It’s best for you to read it for yourself, so you’ll understand what follows.
You can purchase the book mentioned on Amazon for $79.98, or you can read it for free at this link: Rimfire, West Virginia’s Typical Mountaineer. Eli Chapman “Rimfire” Hamrick is also mentioned in the online West Virginia Encylopedia. However, to really understand what this is all about, you need to read David Sibray’s article at WVExplorer.com called “Haunting Statue Recalls Roll (sic) of W.Va. Mountaineer in Civil War.” Notice that Eli’s brother Ellis Hamrick also was used as a model for the statue.
This version (below) of Eli “Rimfire” Hamrick was posted on Find-a-Grave and is obviously simply a colorized version of the one in the article.
The Find-a-Grave contributor1 included this short paragraph about Eli Hamrick: “Rimfire Hamrick, a West Virginia Mountaineer . . . was a game warden and a well known character in the hills of West Virginia. He posed for the statue of the Mountaineer, which stands on the capitol grounds in Charleston, West Virginia.”
Jeff Hamrick, another subscriber to Southern WV Settlers, was kind enough to share his tree with me, and he had the Hamrick ancestry of “Rimfire” since both Jeff and “Rimfire” are descendants of William Frizzly Hamrick.
Using both Jeff’s records and data from Find-a-Grave, I have pieced together the Hamrick line of Eli “Rimfire” Hamrick. It is as follows: (Note that all data should be verified with primary sources.)
Hamrick Ancestry of Eli and Ellis Hamrick:
1. Patrick Hamrick (1684-1764) m. Margaret Ingles (1689-1734)
2. Benjamin Hamrick (1727-1793) m. Mary Sias
3. Benjamin Hamrick (1755-1842) m. Nancy McMillion
4. William Frizzly Hamrick (1789-1851) m. Jeanette Gregory
5. Benjamin “Kelly Ben” Hamrick (1834-1906) m. Naoma Mollohan
6. Eli Chapman “Rimfire” Hamrick (1868-1945) m. Zella Jane Cogar- Hamrick-Lee. His brother Ellis Richmond Hamrick (1879-1932) m. Georgianna Ambler.
Benjamin “Kelly Ben” Hamrick and Naoma Mollohan had many other children, as you can see in the photo below, which was posted on Findagrave by Al Norvick.2
In case you would like more information on your own Hamrick ancestors, I am posting below links to Hamrick grave memorials in several different WV counties and in Virginia.
Hamrick Burials in Virginia (in order of birth)
Hamrick Burials in Webster County, West Virginia
Hamrick Burials in Greenbrier County, West Virginia
Hamrick Burials in Braxton County, West Virginia
Hamrick Burials in Nicholas County, West Virginia
Hamrick Burials in Kanawha County, West Virginia
Hamrick Burials in Fayette County, West Virginia
Hamrick Burials in Summers County, West Virginia
Hamrick Burials in Raleigh County, West Virginia
I’d like to thank Lisa and Jeff for sharing their information since I had never heard of this man and had no idea that this statue on the Capitol grounds existed. I like the way West Virginia has honored both sides of the Civil War with statues on the Capitol grounds since there are outstanding examples of loyalty and character on both sides of that conflict.
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7959263/eli-chapman-hamrick: accessed 06 July 2023), memorial page for Eli Chapman “Rimfire” Hamrick (28 Mar 1868–1 Apr 1945), Find a Grave Memorial ID 7959263, citing Hamrick Family Cemetery, Webster Springs, Webster County, West Virginia, USA; Maintained by Patty Weikart (contributor 46815402).
I'm happy to contribute in any way I can. Thanks for this very interesting post!
Thank you for sharing this ❤️