As one turns into the main street of Shepherdstown from the railway station, a charming old house meets the eye. Set close to the street, with well-preserved colonial doors and windows, a harmonious front portico, the very bricks themselves in color and shape tell of ancient lineage. Mrs. George Billmyer lives in this commodious and beautifully preserved old house, and six generations of her kindred have lived there. Some account of these ancestors follows, but we shall begin with the earliest known owners of the house as far back as 1781, when we know that it was the most fashionable and best hotel in Shepherdstown.
    The place, which consisted of parts of two lots, then belonged to Cornelius Wynkoop, who sold, according to an old deed, "the brick house generally occupied as a tavern," to Rawleigh Morgan, February 27th, 1800. This shows that the present house was standing one hundred and thirty years ago, for it is not likely that a smaller one would have brought the good price that it brought then--three thousand dollars. These were the days that prompted the witticism that Washington could throw a dollar across the Potomac "because a dollar went further in those days," and three thousand dollars represented a good deal of money. Cornelius Wynkoop had bought the house and the two lots from Peter Woltz and Elizabeth, his wife, and from Philip Fisher and Sarah, his wife, in 1781 and 1792, respectively. As yet we have no exact data to prove when the house was built, but some future research might discover this by diligent looking over old deeds and papers.

    The German element in the settlement of the Valley of Virginia is beginning to receive proper attention from historians, but that there was a notable, though small, migration of Hollanders has been somewhat overlooked. Even Joost Heydt,

whose name was afterwards phonetically spelled Jost Hite, has been said to have been a German and Alsatian, when his name would refute such a paternity,--though of course he may have emigrated from one of those countries. And it seems certain that a Hollander was, if not the first, certainly among the first to penetrate into the Valley, for John VanMeter, "The Indian Trader," was of Dutch parentage. The use of the word "Van" in this county as a Christian name, too, would indicate that there were Dutch families in the Valley, i.e., Van Banks and Van Harp, etc. Among them was the Wynkoop family, with numerous descendants in Pennsylvania and Virginia today. Their first American ancestor was a certain Cornelius Wynkoop, who is said to have migrated from Utrecht, in the United Dutch Netherlands, to New York, prior to 1655, thence to Albany, and finally to the vicinity of Kingston, N. Y. His wife was Marie Janse Langedyck, and they had seven children, five of them sons, whose numerous descendants in Pennsylvania and Virginia are collected and classified in a book published in 1904 by Richard Wynkoop, of Brooklyn, N. Y. (Knickerbocker Press). It is a carefully compiled piece of social research, and an interesting record of Dutch immigrants, showing that the Wynkoops intermarried with families who bear the most familiar Dutch names, viz: Ten Broeck, Ten Eyck, Brouwer, Broeck, DeWitt, Van Vliet, Beekman, Bogardus, etc. The famous Anneke Janse (Bogardus), whose numerous descendants gave the Trustees of Trinity Church so much trouble with the claim to the ground upon which the church is built, has descendants of this family name.
    The first Cornelius Wynkoop had a son, Gerrit. This name is pronounced in Dutch Garret, and time has gradually changed the spelling to Garret. Geert was also a variant of this name, pronounced Gart, like the a in fate. Garret Wynkoop married Hillitke (Helena) Fokker, who went by her stepfather's name Eltinge, and he had so far prospered by the year 1727 that he bought 500 acres of land in Bucks County, Pa., where a large number of his descendants live to this day. This couple had nine children. One daughter married Isaac VanMetre and moved to the South Branch of the Potomac in Virginia, and a son is believed to have married Sarah DuBois. This con-

nection is an interesting one, since the wife of the first Thomas Shepherd was Elizabeth VanMetre, whose mother was a DuBois, both families having come from Kingston, N. Y. So there was probably some acquaintance among these families before they set out to explore and settle in the Valley. Gerrit Wynkoop had a son Gerrit, born 2nd of November, 1702, who married Susannah VanVliet, and this brings us to the Virginia Wynkoops, for their son Adrian Wynkoop and his wife, Sarah Randall, came on horseback from Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary War and settled near what is now the dividing line between Berkeley and Jefferson counties on the Martinsburg road. He was taxed for 377 acres. Part of the original house in which he lived is still standing and the farm is now owned by Mr. Cross. Their son Garret Wynkoop and his wife, Sarah Martin, were the grandparents of the late Mr. Adrian Wynkoop, of Charles Town, where his widow now lives. They were the parents of Mrs. Llewellyn Potts, of Shepherdstown, Mr. Adrian Wynkoop and Mr. Brooks Wynkoop, of New York, Mrs. John Lucas, of California, and Mr. Francis Wynkoop, of Denver.
    We now turn back to Cornelius Wynkoop, who owned the "tavern" of which we write. He was apparently well-to-do, for he owned three houses in Shepherdstown at the time he lived in this old house, and we learn that he paid a premium for $3,000 insurance on his houses when the first fire insurance company of Virginia was organized. His name appears as early as 1785 in old Rumsey papers in the writer's possession. He was a shareholder in the "Potowmack Company," of which George Washington was president. This was the company which engaged James Rumsey to superintend the removal of obstructions to navigation in the Potomac, and Wynkoop was apparently interested in Rumsey's invention, for he, with Moses Hoge, John Mark, Benoni Swearingen, John Morrow and Joseph Swearingen attested on December 13, 1787, to "The experiment made by Mr. James Rumsey with his steamboat on Potomac River on Tuesday, the 11th day of December, 1787. It was with great pleasure we saw her advance against the current with about three tons on board, at the rate of four miles an hour, without an oar, or anything but the force of steam to generate or assist the motion." The Wynkoop genealogy states

that this Wynkoop was said to have removed to Loudoun county, and the compiler thinks that he was a first cousin of the Adrian Wynkoop mentioned heretofore. Other members of the Wynkoop family were friends of Rumsey, for a Benjamin Wynkoop, of Philadelphia, was a member of the Rumseian Society formed in Philadelphia in 1788 to help Rumsey in his stay in England. Benjamin Wynkoop and Joseph Wynkoop were also witnesses to Rumsey's will, which he made just before he left this country.
    Members of another branch of this family were interested in John Fitch's invention of a steamboat, and apparently Rumsey was much displeased that his rival should engage the endorsement of cousins of his friends. This brings us to a visitor to the old house known as the Wynkoop tavern.

    A recent researcher has spoiled the romance tradition wove about the Billmyer house by showing that it was not built to its present size till 1792 and a smaller structure stood in its place when John Fitch arrived in 1789 to make inquiries about James Rumsey's steam boat, and, perhaps, get a glimpse of it. We know that Fitch did come to Shepherdstown for that purpose (Rumsey was far away in England) and that he went to this "tavern," where he met Charles Morrow, Rumsey's brother-in-law, who treated Fitch with scant courtesy, so that Fitch evidently feared that he would meet with personal violence, and the inquisitive inventor thought it wise to shorten his stay. Whether he got a chance to look at Rumsey's boat is not known. A legend grew up from this incident that indignant citizens threatened Fitch with tar and feathers and that they were prevented by Major Henry Bedinger, but it rests upon no other foundation than the above incident.

    Part of the old deed reads as follows:
    "This indenture, made this 27th of February, in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred between Cornelius Wynkoop and Hannah, his wife, of the County of Berkeley, and State of Virginia, of the one part, and Rawleigh Morgan

of the same place of the other part, witnesseth, that for and in consideration of the sum of three thousand dollars, they do hereby acknowledge, and thereof do release, acquit, and discharge the said Rawleigh Morgan, his heirs, Executors and Administrators, by these presents, they, the said Cornelius Wynkoop and Hannah, his wife, have granted, bargained and sold, and by these presents do grant, bargain and sell, unto the said Rawleigh Morgan and his heirs, a certain lot or parcel of land situated on German Street in Shepherd's Town, on which the brick house stands generally occupied as a tavern, which said lot or parcel of land is bounded as follows: Beginning on German Street in the middle of lot No. 27 and running thence with German Street eighty-five feet ten inches to another corner in Lot No. 26, thence at right angles with said German Street two hundred and six feet to the beginning; which said lot or parcel of land, hereby intended to be conveyed, is composed of one half of lot No. 27 purchased by Cornelius Wynkoop from Peter Woltz and Elizabeth his wife, by deed bearing date the 20th of March, 1781, and of one-third part of lot No. 26, purchased by said Cornelius Wynkoop from Philip Fisher and Sarah, his wife, by deed bearing date the 20th day of February, 1792, both which deeds are duly admitted of record in the county court of Berkeley, reference being thereto had will more fully appear, &c. Signed, Sealed and Delivered In Presence of
                                          Cornelius Wynkoop
                                          Hannah Wynkoop
                                                         (Seal)
    Geo. Cunningham,
    Zebulon Warner,
    A Wagennen, Jr.

    Far away from the sea where ships carried letters back and forth to their native land these early colonists were more cut off from civilization than the settlers in Tidewater, Virginia, Manhattan and Philadelphia and other parts of Pennsylvania. Their lives of hard struggles with nature, wild beasts and Indians precluded any possibility of the leisure that makes for his-

torical recording. Consequently, we have a great deal of mere legend unsupported by real evidence. There are, however, several important studies which should be in the collections of the Historical Society, and I hope they will soon be there if they are not already.
    Of one noted family in the Valley we have very meager records. The name Morgan itself indicates Welsh parentage, and the most famous general in the Revolutionary army of this pioneer region bore that name. Mrs. Anna Morgan Getzendanner says that he was a nephew of the first Morgan who settled in Shepherdstown and came with him from New Jersey. In Mrs. Dandridge's book, "Historic Shepherdstown," appears all that I can learn about this early pioneer family.

    While the German and Dutch settlers were undoubtedly the first to make homes in the Valley, they were soon overshadowed by the English-speaking people who took up lands and proceeded to make it legally an English colony. Among the earliest of these was Richard Morgan, of Welsh parentage, who came from New Jersey to Virginia about 1734. The little log house which is pointed out as his first residence is still standing, and should be preserved as one of the oldest houses in the Valley and as a typical pioneer home. There is no proof that it is the oldest house in the village. I doubt whether any house can be proved to have that honor.
    Richard Morgan, however, did not live in it very long, for his will, proved in 1763, shows that he was a large land owner, and as his will states that he leaves his youngest son his "home plantation," we know that he must have lived at the beautiful place near town where descendants of his lived for generations. I refer to the home of the late Col. William A. Morgan, which is now owned by Dr. Morison.
    Richard Morgan's grandson, the Raleigh (spelled Rawleigh in old deeds) who bought the old house in 1800, must have been well-to-do, for, as we have noted before, he paid three thousand dollars for the house. He was the son of Richard Morgan's oldest son, Captain William Morgan, whose wife was Drusilla Swearingen according to "Historic Shepherdstown."

    In the deed his wife is named Elizabeth, and we judge from this that she was his second wife, for earlier deeds in the possession of Mrs. Billmyer give his wife's name as Lydia, and it is known that he married a Lydia Swearingen. Mrs. Billmyer thinks that his second wife's name was Elizabeth Claggett.
    In "Historic Shepherdstown" we are told that there were two "Rawleigh" Morgans, one a nephew of the other. One of them was elected Lieutenant in the company raised by Capt. Abram Shepherd for the Revolutionary army, and there is a thrilling story of how a Raleigh Morgan was bravely rescued from Indian massacre at the time of St. Clair's defeat by James Glenn on November 4, 1791. It must have been the elder Rawleigh Morgan who bought the house from Cornelius Wynkoop.
    A Raleigh Morgan represented Jefferson county on the House of Delegates in 1811. The widow of this Raleigh Morgan outlived her husband for many years. She was a Miss Richards, and lived in the house where Mr. Armistead Lucas now lives. She was a lively and handsome dame and wore a turban in the style of Dolly Madison to the day of her death. Her granddaughters, the Misses Parran, were noted for their beauty.
    It should be possible by further research to find out the exact facts concerning the identity of these two Raleigh Morgans and their connection. Documentary evidence, however, shows that Eleanor Morgan, daughter of the Raleigh Morgan who bought the Wynkoop house, married Walter Bowie Selby, who in turn bought the house from his father-in-law.

    In the year 1795 a young man named Walter Bowie Selby was keeping a store of general merchandise in Shepherdstown in the building which used to be on the site of the present Reinhart building. His account book owned by his descendants shows that he had a lucrative business. (At one time he sold a "Dutch Oven" to Mr. Adrian Winecoop for 12 shillings, 10 pence). This Walter Bowie Selby was born April 20th, 1771, and is said to have come from Maryland, place and date unknown. His middle name, well known as a Maryland surname,

would seem to corroborate this. Eleanor Morgan, daughter of Raleigh Morgan, was born January 17th, 1782, but the date of her marriage to Walter Bowie Selby is unknown to the writer. The list of their children as is follows:

William Morgan Selby, born February 7th, 1799.
Walter Bowie Selby, Jr., born April 24th, 1801.
Thomas Swearingen Selby, born May 24th, 1803.
Eliza Claggett Selby, born September 2nd, 1805.
John Claggett Selby, born February 17th, 1808.
Eleanor Morgan Selby, born September 8th, 1810.
Sarah Ellen Selby, born May 15th, 1812.
Henry Swearingen Selby, born November 25th, 1814.
James Monroe Selby, born June 28th, 1817.

    Many Canadian supporters joined the American forces during the Revolution, and among them was a young man,

John Francis Hamtramck, son of Charles David Hamtramck and Marie Ann Bertin, who were married in Quebec November 26, 1753. This Charles David Hamtramck was the son of David Hamtramck and Adele Ganik, of Luxembourg, Diocese of Treves, Germany.
    The first John Francis Hamtramck, who was the father of the Shepherdstown citizen, became a "soldier before he was a man," it was said. He was famous in the regions near the Northwestern posts around Detroit during the Revolution and afterwards. He was Captain in the 9th Company, Fifth Regiment of New York, and after the war was appointed Captain in the U. S. Infantry Regiment, rising steadily until he became Major and Commandant of Fort Wayne in 1792. Then his regiment resuming its old designation, he was Lieutenant-Colonel until he became full Colonel in 1802. One of his most noted actions was to take possession of Detroit when word was received that the British were about to evacuate the posts they held in the United States. The town of Hamtramck in Michigan is named after him. He married a Miss McKenzie, sister of Sir William McKenzie, and also a sister of the wife of Governor Taylor of Ohio.
    His son, John Francis Hamtramck, was born April 19, 1798. He was only five years old when his father died and he was placed under the guardianship of William Henry Harrison of Tippecanoe fame and brief presidential honor.
    So the boy grew up in the atmosphere of war, and it is said that he served as a sergeant in Zachary Taylor's expedition up the Mississippi river in 1814. Later he entered West Point and graduated in 1819. From 1826 to 1831 he was Indian Agent for the Osage Nation. About the year 1825 he came to a ball in Shepherdstown, given in the old house whose history we are relating, and then and there fell in love with Eliza Claggett Selby, the oldest daughter of Walter Bowie Selby, and married her December 27, 1825. He was a young widower at the time, having two small daughters, Julia and Mary by name, by his first wife, who was a Miss Williamson, of Maryland. After his marriage to Miss Selby he and his wife lived in St. Louis, where two of their children were born, but in 1832 they returned to Shepherdstown, which was thereafter their home.

They had six children, but only two by this second wife grew to maturity. His second wife dying, he married her sister, the Sarah Ellen Selby mentioned before. Their son, Selby Hamtramck, was in the Civil War and died a prisoner in Fort Delaware. The second wife's daughters, Florence and Eliza, well remembered by all the older generation in Shepherdstown, made the old house a pleasant and hospitable place in their day. Florence inherited the house. She married Mr. James Harvey Shepherd, of New Orleans and Shepherdstown, and the present owner is her daughter.
    Eliza Hamtramck married Mr. Luke Tiernan Williamson of Baltimore and had two daughters. John Francis. Hamtramck apparently had ample means. He owned several houses in Shepherdstown. One of them was the house now owned by Mr. Homer Malone. The family probably lived there until Walter Bowie Selby died, when they moved into the old house.
    When the Mexican war started, John F. Hamtramck became a soldier again in earnest--he was already the Captain of the County Militia, the Hamtramck Guards. In 1842 he was Colonel of the famous Virginia Regiment which has recently been celebrating its various military glories in Richmond. From March 8th, to July 20, 1848, he was Military Governor of Saltillo, Mexico. When he returned from Mexico he brought a Mexican pony for his children and he introduced the tomato to this county. Tomatoes were, as we know, called "Love Apples" at first and looked upon as a luxury. A rare, dark, velvety rose which people have admired and propagated since, he also brought back with him from his Southern travels. He was mayor of the village from 1850 to 1854 and Justice of the Peace from 1853 until his death in 1858. He must have been a gay and amusing gentleman. Stories were told of his wit and humor long after his death. The Mexican pony was once borrowed by the Methodist minister, which resulted in the cleric's being tossed off the pony's back in a very jerky manner indeed. And when Major Hamtramck was reproached by the minister for the animal's antics, he replied: "At least, Sir, you must acknowledge that I have helped to spread the Gospel." Incidentally, his French Canadian ancestry probably accounts for the Major's being a Catholic. He was also a singer, The writer has

often heard an imitation of his favorite song, which he used to give with gusto, accompanying himself on the guitar to one of Moore's Melodies.

"Lesbia hath a beaming eye,
But no one knows for whom it beameth:
Right and left its arrows fly,
But what they aim at no one dreameth.
Sweeter 'tis to gaze upon
My Nora's lid that seldom rises;
Few its looks, but every one,
Like unexpected light surprises.
Oh, my Nora, Creina, dear,
My gentle, bashful Nora Creina,
Beauty lies
In many eyes,
But love in yours, my Nora Creina."

"'Twas thus the Major seized Old Tip
And held him struggling in his grip,
Exclaiming with impassioned air,
"Fellow Citizens this is Pa-a!"

in a house where six generations of their family have lived successively.
    A family which has moved only once or twice for a hundred and thirty years would be likely to have well-preserved and well-cared for old furniture, as well as interesting documents. Old pictures hang upon the walls, two certificates signed by George Washington. The old bell rope which summoned servants is still hanging in one of the rooms, but it no longer tingles as of yore, modern housekeeping ways making it only a relic.
    A curious old paper is "Dowery," in which Col. Hamtramck's third wife is secured by her father in the possession of personal property, throws light upon the former legal attitude toward the property rights of women.

    This Indenture made this 28th day of November, 1837, between Walter B. Selby, of the first part, Sallie Selby of the second part, and John F. Hamtramck, of the third part, all of Shepherdstown, in Jefferson County, Virginia.
    Whereas, the said Walter B. Selby some years since gave to his eldest daughter by way of advancement, sundry articles of furniture and other personal property, intending the residue of his household furniture for his youngest daughter, Sally, and having promised the same to her: Now this indenture witnesseth, that the said Walter B. Selby, in fulfillment of that promise and intention, and in consideration of the love and affection which he bears his said daughter Sally, the aforesaid party of the second part, and for the further consideration of the sum of one dollar to him in hand paid by the said John F. Hamtramck, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged--has granted, bargained and sold and by these presents does grant, bargain and sell unto the said John F. Hamtramck all the personal property contained in the annexed schedule, To Have and To Hold the same to the said John F. Hamtramck, his Executors, Adm's, and Assigns, to his and their only use and behoof forever. In Trust, however, for the following use and purposes, and none other--that is to say, to permit the said Sally Selby to have use, and enjoy and dispose of the same as

she may think proper and that he will, whenever required by said Sally Selby, by writing under her hand and seal attested by two witnesses, transfer the legal title to such person and to such uses as she may direct, but that she and she alone is to have any right to dispose of the same in the event of her marriage, it being the desire and intention of the said Walter B. Selby and the purpose of this trust is to give her the exclusive use and disposition of said, property without the control and interference of any husband that said Sally may hereafter have, and the said John F. Hamtramck for himself, his executor and administrator hereby covenants well and faithfully to execute the trust created.
    In testimony Whereof the said Walter B. Selby & John F. Hamtramck have hereunto set their hand & seal the day & year first herein written.
                                          Walter B. Selby (Seal)
                                          J. F. Hamtramck (Seal)
    (N. B. The party of the second part, Sally Selby, being a woman, does not sign the paper.)

Schedule referred to in the annexed deed:
3 Feather beds, bolsters, pillows, blankets, House linen, complete.
1 Mahogany dressing Table.
1 Wardrobe.
2 Mahogany Bureaus and contents.
2 Doz. Green Chairs.
1 Green Settee.
2 High Post Bedsteads.
1 Acorn Bedstead.
2 Parlour Tables.
2 Dining Tables (Mahogany).
1 Breakfast Table (Mahogany).
2 Sideboards (Mahogany).
Tin Covers, etc.
1 cloack and passage Lamp.
1 Cloth table cover.
2 Straw Chamber Mats
1 Stair Carpet.
1 Candle Stand.

1 Pair of Parlour Andirons & 2 Pair of Shovel & Tongs.
2 large poplar Bureaus.
2 Parlour Fenders.
1 Chamber Fender
1 pr. of small brass andirons.
1 pr. plain brass shovels & tongs.
1 Cast Iron stove & pipe.
1 Sheet Iron Stove.
1 Family Bible.
1 cow.
1 sett handsome dinner china.
1 Doz. cut glass tumblers.
1 doz. cut glass wine glasses.
2 handsome knotted counterpanes.
1 Preserving Kettle.
1 Large Copper kettle for washing.
1 Mahogany Knifebox.
4 Brass Candlesticks.
1 Parlour Hearth Rug.
1 Book case and contents.
Kitchen Furniture complete.
1 Large Traveling Trunk.
2 Waiters or Tea Trays.
1 pr. Chamber shovel & tongs.
2 small chamber glasses.
1 Sleigh.
1 Gig and harness.
1 Horse.
1 Desk & Cookcase.

Given under our hand & seal, this fourth day of December, 1837.
                                        David Snively (Seal)
                                        John Quigley (Seal)

Source:

Pendleton, Helen Boteler, "The Wyncoop, Morgan, Selby, Hamtramck Families," Magazine of the Jefferson County Historical Society, Charles Town, West Virginia, Vol. VIII, (December 1942), pp. 4-18.