Notes on Lost Trails and Forgotten People

These are my notes on Lost Trails and Forgotten People: The Story of Jones Mountain, by Tom Floyd (The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, Washington, D.C., 2nd edition, revised, 1985). This book is one of several that are devoted to telling the lives and histories of the people who lived on the land that now comprises the Shenandoah National Park. Lost Trails and Forgotten People relates to a portion of the Park encompassed within Madison County, Virginia.

This book talks about a number of my ancestors. It is gratifying to find detailed information about one's ancestors in a published book, and the author of Lost Trails and Forgotten People has done a great service, I think, in publicizing the lives of some of the nineteenth-century residents of central Virginia. Too often, authors focus on the "important" (that is, wealthy) families in an area, and ignore the farmers and others who gave birth to most of the nation. This book's departure from that pattern is refreshing and appreciated.

Nevertheless, some of this book's statements about my ancestors are inconsistent with my own research. Each of the book's statements about my ancestors is quoted below, followed by the results of my research on that line. Clicking on one of the bracketed numbers in my research results will take you to a source reference at the bottom of this page.

If you know of any errors in my research, please e-mail me!

McDANIEL/BREEDEN

The next two paragraphs are quoted from Lost Trails and Forgotten People: The Story of Jones Mountain, by Tom Floyd (The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, Washington, D.C., 2nd edition, revised, 1985), page 44:

"It was to this wild and rugged country that Irishman Zachariah McDaniel came in the early 1800s, migrating east from the Shenandoah Valley. As a young man, Zachariah often climbed the steep pitch to the forested area at Laurel Gap, where he met an Indian girl named Osby. Her family, apparently descendants of the Manahoecs, lived below the gap on the Laurel Prong. A courtship blossomed between Zachariah and Osby, and they were married about 1815. Later, they moved to a house below Cat Knob, known in the early years as Big Cat Knob, in the upper Conway valley. There, in his later years, Zachariah presided as patriarch of the McDaniel family.

"Zachariah's son Stacy lived in a log house on cleared land near the mouth of Bootens Run. Stacy's first wife died young. Later, he married Adalein Breeden, who was born in the Conway valley about 1818. Adalein left her mark on the area, bearing eighteen children and living to the age of 105. Today, a cemetery is located on a flat above the former site of Stacy and Adalein McDaniel's home."

This excerpt contradicts my research regarding both my fourth great-grandfather, Zachariah McDaniel, and my third great-grandmother (and Zachariah's daughter-in-law), whose name is usually written "Ophelia Adaline Breeden" in the records. I'll discuss the issues in relation to Ophelia Adaline Breeden first, since those are the most obvious problems. Most importantly, Adaline (as she was apparently called) bore Stacy McDaniel only eight children, not eighteen.[1] This error may have arisen because Stacy had been married before, to Jane S. Meadows, who had borne him seven or eight children.[2] But the fact that not all of Stacy's children were borne by Adaline is apparent from the record of his marriage to Jane Meadows; from the ages of his first children compared to the date of his marriage to Ophelia Adaline Breeden; and from Adaline's absence from Stacy's household in the census records until 1870. Another respect in which Lost Trails and Forgotten People contradicts my research regarding Ophelia Adaline Breeden is in saying that she lived to be 105, whereas my research indicates that she died at about eighty-six years of age.[3]

As to Zachariah McDaniel, the book's significant incompatibility with my research is its statement that Zachariah married "an Indian girl named Osby." According to county records, Zachariah McDaniel married Nancy Lamb, daughter of William Lamb, on November 30, 1818, in Rockingham County, Virginia.[4] It's puzzling and unfortunate that Lost Trails and Forgotten People says nothing about this recorded marriage. I have seen no record of any other marriage, and I have no reason to believe that Nancy was known as "Osby," or that she had any Native American ancestry. Additionally, Zachariah's War of 1812 pension application file, which also documents the marriage to Nancy Lamb, says nothing about any prior wife.

Granted, Nancy's nickname could conceivably have been "Osby," and the name "William" could conceivably (I suppose) have been the given name of a Native American -- or, perhaps, William married a Native American (thus making Nancy/Osby at least half "Indian"). Alternatively, Zachariah was a bit old -- about twenty-four -- when he married Nancy, so she could have been his second wife. Another researcher told me (in August 2002) that her grandmother, who was a great-great-granddaughter of Zachariah McDaniel, maintained that Zachariah had married an Indian woman named Osby. However, this oral history seems a bit too far removed, generationally, to be considered a primary source (especially given that other oral history in the same line is so inaccurate as to Ophelia Adaline Breeden's age at death and how many children she bore). I should hasten to add that I would be delighted to have some Native American ancestry; I just wouldn't accept it without some real evidence.

GOODALL

The next five paragraphs are quoted from Lost Trails and Forgotten People: The Story of Jones Mountain, by Tom Floyd (The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, Washington, D.C., 2nd edition, revised, 1985), pages 42-43:

"Philander Goodall's record was one for the book. Born in 1794, he arrived in the area shortly after 1817, when he married Mourning Marshall. The couple first settled on a flat above the Rapid Ann about a quarter mile downstream from the present-day Hoover Road. There, Philander made his start with two apple trees and some seed for orchard grass. He acquired some level ground, cultivated the soil, and produced good crops. Philander had a good head for business. He saved his money, bought more land, and sold at a good profit.

"In later years, Philander Goodall acquired several other parcels of land, including the cabin tract and large holdings on the Staunton River Road. Eventually, the Goodalls moved downstream to a tract on the present-day national park boundary, known for the next century as the Goodall Farm. Here, Philander and Mourning reared twelve children, two of whom they named Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.

"Mourning Goodall died in the forty-eighth year of their marriage. Seven years later, when he was seventy-eight, Philander married Catherine (Jemima) Gallehugh, who was twenty-four. Catherine bore her husband two children, Joe and Annie, the first of whom was born when Philander was eighty.

"The young wife Catherine died before the children were ten years old, but Philander outlived her by another eight years. When he was ninety-four, he executed his last will. Written without legal flourishes, it was one of the shortest wills in the history of Madison County, yet it involved extensive properties. Philander bequeathed all of his land and other belongings to Joe and Annie, his teen-aged children.

"Philander Goodall died in 1890 at the age of ninety-six. He was buried in the family cemetery on the Goodall Farm."

Compared to the McDaniel and Breeden problems, the book's definite errors in this excerpt are quite minor; in fact, as genealogy research goes, most of them would probably be considered insignificant.

Philander Goodall, my fourth great-grandfather, was born in January 1796 (not 1794), and he married Mourning Marshall on August 3, 1818 in Madison County, Virginia (rather than 1817).[5] They did have twelve children, and two of them were Benjamin Franklin Goodall and Thomas Jefferson Goodall.[6] Philander was about 76 (not 78) when he married Jemima Catharine Gallehugh, and she was about 30 years old when they married (rather than 24).[7] Philander's second wife bore him two children, the first of whom was born when Philander was 77 (not 80).[8] Philander died at the age of 94 (rather than 96).[9]

I must confess some ignorance as to the book's statements regarding Philander's land holdings. Nevertheless, based on what I do know, I would not be surprised if they are correct. For example, I know that he owned land in Orange County, which was not where he lived.

I also do not know about some of the book's details on Philander's activities, such as the statement that he started his first homestead with "two apple trees and some seed for orchard grass." It strikes me that this kind of detail may have come from oral tradition. However, if oral tradition was also the source for Adaline's longevity and the number of children she bore, or for the identity of Zachariah's wife, those apparent errors may arouse a little skepticism as to the book's details regarding Philander's activities.

Have I given the publisher and author of Lost Trails and Forgotten People a chance to comment on these issues? Yes! Read about it after the endnotes.

1. Stacy McDaniel and Ophelia Adaline Breeden were married on July 10, 1862, in Page County, Virginia (per Page County Marriage Records, volume I, page 76). By the time of the 1880 census, when she was forty-one, they had only seven children: Sirguna, age 17 (born, therefore, in 1863); Wesley A., age 15; Mittie (nickname of Ophelia Adaline McDaniel, my second great-grandmother), age 13; Rhoda C., age 11; Reuben, age 6; Margaret A., age 4; and Lucy J., age 2 (per 1880 Census, Madison County, Virginia, E.D. 117, sheet 22). An eighth child, Mildred, was born later in 1880, according to Mildred's 1896 marriage license in Madison County. Ophelia Adaline Breeden had also borne one child by her first husband, William Waller Vaughn, before marrying Stacy (per 1860 Census, Page County, Virginia, page 722). The marriage to Mr. Vaughn had occurred in 1856 (per Page County Marriage Records, volume I, page 48), but, according to the 1860 census, Adaline was already a widow only four years later. (Click here to return to the text.)

2. The 1850 census for Rockingham County, Virginia (page 184), lists four children in the home of Stacy and Jane McDaniel; the 1870 census includes one child in Stacy's home who was born well before Stacy and Adaline were married (Madison County, page 92), so that child was apparently borne by Jane; and two other children appear in county marriage records as daughters of Stacy and Jane. Family tradition places yet another child (the eighth) in the family of Stacy McDaniel and Jane Meadows, but I have found no evidence for that connection. (Click here to return to the text.)

3. According to the Page County, Virginia, census for 1850 (dwelling #127), Adaline was born about 1839; according to the Page County census for 1860 (page 722), she was born about 1841; according to the Madison County, Virginia, census for 1870 (page 92), she was born about 1838; according to the record of her marriage to William Waller Vaughn, she was born about 1839; according to the record of her marriage to Stacy McDaniel, she was born about 1839; and, according to her gravestone in the Flint Hill Cemetery, Oakton, Fairfax County, Virginia, she was born in 1833. Since the gravestone contradicts all of the other records, which are in general agreement, I believe the gravestone is in error as to her birth year. The gravestone says that she died in 1925, which I believe is reliable. (Click here to return to the text.)

4. Rockingham County, Virginia Marriages, 1778-1850, by John Vogt and T. Wm. Kethley, Jr. (Iberian Publishing Co.), page 153. (Click here to return to the text.)

5. Philander's birth date of January 1796 is given in The Ancestors of & Family History of the Late Job Goodall and Sarah McRoberts Embree Goodall [Descendants of Josiah Goodall of New England and Virginia], by William Washington Walker Goodall (unpublished manuscript Oct. 1908). The writer was Philander's nephew -- that is, the son of Philander's brother, Job Goodall. My transcription of this manuscript history is posted on the Web here. The date of Philander's marriage to Mourning Marshall is in his War of 1812 pension application file in the National Archives, Washington, D.C. (Click here to return to the text.)

6. The William Washington Walker Goodall history (see note 5) says that Philander's first wife had twelve children, and it names most of them, including "Frank" and "Thomas." Nine of the children are listed in the 1850 census for Madison County (page 83), including "Franklin" (age 12) and "Thomas J." The 1870 census for Madison County (page 61) includes a "Benjamin F." (age 30) in the home of Philander Goodall. The obituary of Benjamin Franklin Goodall, born on February 14, 1840, says that he was a son of Philander Goodall. In January 2000, a son of Job Goodall, half-brother of Thomas J. Goodall, told me that Thomas's middle name was Jefferson. (Click here to return to the text.)

7. According to Philander's War of 1812 pension application file, they married on November 27, 1872, when Jemima Catharine Gallehugh was 30 years old. (Click here to return to the text.)

8. According to Philander's War of 1812 pension application file, Job Goodall, oldest child of Philander Goodall and Jemima Catharine Gallehugh, was born in October 1873. (Click here to return to the text.)

9. According to his War of 1812 pension application file, Philander Goodall died on May 27, 1890. (Click here to return to the text.)

Have I given the publisher and author of Lost Trails and Forgotten People an opportunity to comment on these issues? Yes!

Here's a copy of my e-mail to the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club:

"From: [email protected]

"To: [email protected]

"Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 22:38:17 -0500

"Subject: Lost Trails and Forgotten People

"Your e-mail address appears as the main contact person on the Web site of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (http://patc.simplenet.com/).

"Your book _Lost Trails and Forgotten People_ mentions a few of my ancestors. Much of the information is more or less correct, but some significant statements in the book appear to be incorrect. Most significantly, the book says, on page 44, that my third great-grandmother, Adalein Breeden, had 18 children and lived to the age of 105. My research tells me that she had only nine children (one by her first husband and eight by her second husband), and that she died at the age of 87 [upon re-evaluating my evidence while working on this Web page, I decided that this should read "at the age of 86" (see note 3 in the endnotes)]. Also on page 44, the book says that my fourth great-grandfather, Zachariah McDaniel, married 'an Indian girl named Osby.' Although I would be very pleased to have some Native American ancestry, my research tells me that Zachariah married Nancy Lamb, daughter of William Lamb, which the book does not mention.

"I am preparing to post a page on my Web site (http://va.genealogy.homepage.com/), pointing out these and other, less significant errors in _Lost Trails and Forgotten People_. Before doing so, however, I wanted to give the PATC an opportunity to share with me any evidence for these three statements -- that is, that Adalein Breeden bore 18 children; that she lived to 105; and that Zachariah McDaniel married 'an Indian girl named Osby.'

"Also, I have been unable to locate an e-mail address for the author of this book, Mr. Tom Floyd. Could you please either forward this message to him, or send me his e-mail address?

"FYI, I plan to include a copy of this e-mail in my Web page.

"Thank you.

"Scott Simpson"

I received two responses to this e-mail within the next two days, in which the publisher essentially told me that they were unable to respond substantively and that they did not have an e-mail address for the author, but gave me the author's snail-mail address.

I mailed a letter to the author on November 22 or 23, 1999. Here is an excerpt from that letter:

"I am writing about your book Lost Trails and Forgotten People. Thank you very much for writing that book, which includes a few of my ancestors. It's always exciting to find detailed information about my ancestors in a published book. I also appreciate your writing about some of the less-wealthy residents of central Virginia in the nineteenth century.

"I have recently corresponded with ... the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club about your book. Copies of my e-mail to [the PATC], and of [their] two responses to me, are enclosed. The planned Web page referred to in my e-mail to [the PATC] has now been posted on my Web site; a copy of that page is also enclosed.

"Could you please respond to the questions posed in my e-mail to [the PATC]? That is, what were your sources for the statements that Adalein Breeden bore eighteen children; that she lived to 105; and that Zachariah McDaniel married "an Indian girl named Osby"? I would be very interested in whatever information you may have along these lines.

"I receive inquiries about the Breeden, McDaniel, and Goodall material in your book approximately once a year. My posting a Web page on this subject was prompted, in part, by a desire to avoid the need to explain the contradictions between the book and my own research, each time I receive such an inquiry....

"I may decide, at some point, to put a copy of this letter in my Web page.

"Thank you very much for your time."

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This page was last updated on May 18, 2004.

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