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Amie Evaline Sexton-Silcott:
Amie Evaline Sexton was born on Sunday, May 29, 1836, at French Creek, Lewis County, Virginia, now Upshur County, West Virginia. She was the daughter of Augustus W. Sexton (1792-1870) and Anna Young Sexton (1796-1880), both of whom were born in Massachusetts and were part of the significant migration of settlers from New England to western Virginia after 1800. Amie Sexton Silcott was the youngest of five children. Her siblings included: Louisa Anna Sexton Hays (1822-1899); Freeman Sexton (1827-1911); Worthington Sexton (b. 1829); and Almira Emmaline Sexton Farmington (1834-1900).
Anna Young Sexton was the first school teacher in French Creek, and Augustus Sexton taught in schools for more than forty years. Amie's oldest sister, Louisa, was a teacher before her marriage, as was her brother. Born into a family that valued education, it's likely that Amie began her education at an early age. When school wasn't in session she studied various subjects on her own.
Since Amie's father was away during the winter months teaching, and her mother was busy managing a farm, it seems probable that Louisa, who was fourteen years older than Amie, looked after her. In May 1849 Louisa married Peregrine "Perry" Hays of Gilmer County and moved to Glenville. In June, Amie joined her on a visit. Thereafter she spent most of her remaining life with or near Louisa.
From an early age Amie liked to write letters and poetry, which was sometimes published in local newspapers. Amie first taught in Glenville at age sixteen. She later taught at schools in Harrison and Calhoun counties.
In 1859 Amie married George W. Silcott (1830-1903), the county clerk of Calhoun County. They built a home at Arnoldsburg, then the county seat. Their daughter, Ella Louise "Nellie" Silcott was born in 1860. When the Civil War broke out George Silcott supported the Confederate cause. Captured and later exchanged at Vicksburg in 1863, he returned to the Confederate army under General W. L. Jackson. In December 1864 Amie traveled to Monroe County to see her husband. She returned to Arnoldsburg in April 1865.
Amie Sexton Silcott fell ill after her return and in July 1865 she was too sick to get out of bed. Her health continued to decline and on November 30, 1865, she died of "Lung fever". She was buried at Arnoldsburg.
(Based on article authored by Hunter Armentrout that appeared in the Calhoun Chronicle in 2007.)
Minter Jackson:
Minter Jackson speculated on land in central western Virginia (West Virginia). Milton Norris conducted surveys of and drew plats for some of these lands, and in some cases, Jackson sold lands to Norris a year after he had surveyed them. Just before the Civil War Jackson moved to Marion, Virginia, in southwestern Virginia, where he was involved in banking.
(Information from Hunter Armentrout.)
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Hunter Armentrout, Collector, Gilmer County Historical Records, A&M 3659, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.
Papers of historian and collector Hunter F. Armentrout of Gilmer County, West Virginia, primarily documenting the history of the Gilmer County region in the 19th century. Collection chiefly contains correspondence, writings, financial papers, and photographs, One major component of the collection includes the letters of Amie Evaline Sexton Silcott (1836-1865), a member of the Sexton family from New England who settled in western Virginia. Her letters contain much information regarding life in Upshur, Gilmer, and Calhoun Counties before and during the Civil War (transcriptions are available). There are also letters of her immediate family as well as other members of the Hays, Young, and Sexton families (circa 1840-1890). Other materials include Armentrout's research notes, land speculation papers of Minter Jackson (ca. 1840-1860), a local World War II era newsletter (1942-1945), court documents regarding distribution of abolitionist literature (1857), and photographs regarding Glenville Normal School (ca. 1880-1920).
Two Accessions to Map Collection: 1) Farm Line Maps of North-Central West Virginia (16 maps and 1 index map); 1958-1961 (The maps show boundaries of properties and names of owners, and location of oil and gas wells, for Gilmer County and surrounding areas in the counties of Calhoun, Ritchie, Doddridge, Lewis, and Braxton. The legend on the index map includes a key for symbols that identify the following on the maps: gas wells, oil wells, gas and oil wells, gas wells with a "show of oil", and locations of abandoned gas or oil wells.) 2) Map of Roane and Calhoun Counties with Grantsville and Spencer, West Virginia; 2006 (Includes roads and cities.)
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
This series includes research notes and other materials as compiled by Hunter F. Armentrout chiefly related to Amie Sexton Silcott, including detailed listings and transcripts of her letters as well as a chronological listing of the letters (note that this chronological order was broken down by the donor and re-filed alphabetically but that the numerical annotations were retained). Research materials also include Sexton and Young family genealogies; information about Butler, Pennsylvania, and Arnoldsburg, West Virginia; and genealogy of the Burr, Gould, Hays, Haymaker, and Silcott families.
This series contains two groupings, A. and B., that were organized by collector Hunter Armentrout. Letters in Correspondence A. are arranged in alphabetical order by correspondent and include the incoming and outgoing letters of Amie Sexton Silcott (1836-1865), as well as letters to and from her close family members, including her parents, Augustus and Annie Young Sexton; her sisters, Almira Sexton Farmington and Louisa Sexton Hays; and her daughter, Ella Louis "Nellie" Silcott. Letters chiefly date from 1840 to 1880, though many are undated.
Incoming letters to Amie Sexton Silcott are organized by correspondent; letters written by Silcott are organized in chronological order from 1849 to 1865. Silcott's letters contain much information regarding life in Upshur, Gilmer, and Calhoun counties before and during the Civil War. (A paper copy of transcriptions of letters authored by her is available in box 1, folders 4 and 5; a compact disc containing a Word file of transcriptions of her letters is filed in box 1, folder 3b; another electronic copy of same is filed with the Curator of Manuscripts.)
Amie Silcott's letters chiefly include news about friends and family; her delicate health; the weather; household activities (chores, sewing, reading, gardening, and cooking); social activities (church, visits with friends, and parties); nature and her physical surroundings (Butler, Pennsylvania; Glenville and Arnoldsburg, West Virginia); education; and marriage. Topics related to the Civil War include Silcott's allegiance to the South; news of friends and family in the Confederate army; and the impact of war on her home. Significant items include an 1859 letter in defense of slavery and an 1864 letter about her desire for peace and the sacrifices of soldiers.
Letters in Correspondence B. are also arranged in alphabetical order by correspondent. Many folders contain only one or two items and most items date from 1840 to 1890. These letters were written or received by members of the Farnsworth, Hays, Sexton, Silcott, and Young families--including Moses Farnsworth, Amy Hays Haymaker, Peregrine Hays, Samuel Hays, Augustus Sexton, Elizabeth Sexton, Nellie Silcott, Henry Young, Lydia Young, and Robert Young, as well as other friends and relatives. Researchers are encouraged to consult both groupings of correspondence as letters to or from various family members can be found in each section.
Letters in Correspondence A. are arranged in alphabetical order by correspondent and include the incoming and outgoing letters of Amie Sexton Silcott (1836-1865), as well as letters to and from her close family members, including her parents, Augustus and Annie Young Sexton; her sisters, Almira Sexton Farmington and Louisa Sexton Hays; and her daughter, Ella Louis "Nellie" Silcott. Letters chiefly date from 1840 to 1880, though many are undated.
Incoming letters to Amie Sexton Silcott are organized by correspondent; letters written by Silcott are organized in chronological order from 1849 to 1865. Silcott's letters contain much information regarding life in Upshur, Gilmer, and Calhoun counties before and during the Civil War. (A paper copy of transcriptions of letters authored by her is available in box 1, folders 4 and 5; a compact disc containing a Word file of transcriptions of her letters is filed in box 1, folder 3b; another electronic copy of same is filed with the Curator of Manuscripts.)
Amie Silcott's letters chiefly include news about friends and family; her delicate health; the weather; household activities (chores, sewing, reading, gardening, and cooking); social activities (church, visits with friends, and parties); nature and her physical surroundings (Butler, Pennsylvania; Glenville and Arnoldsburg, West Virginia); education; and marriage. Topics related to the Civil War include Silcott's allegiance to the South; news of friends and family in the Confederate army; and the impact of war on her home. Significant items include an 1859 letter in defense of slavery and an 1864 letter about her desire for peace and the sacrifices of soldiers.
Letters in Correspondence B. are also arranged in alphabetical order by correspondent. Many folders contain only one or two items and most items date from 1840 to 1890. These letters were written or received by members of the Farnsworth, Hays, Sexton, Silcott, and Young families--including Moses Farnsworth, Amy Hays Haymaker, Peregrine Hays, Samuel Hays, Augustus Sexton, Elizabeth Sexton, Nellie Silcott, Henry Young, Lydia Young, and Robert Young, as well as other friends and relatives. Researchers are encouraged to consult both groupings of correspondence as letters to or from various family members can be found in each section.
This series chiefly contains the poetry and penmanship exercises of the Sexton sisters, Almira Sexton Farmington, Louisa Sexton Hays, and Amie Sexton Silcott, as well as writings by their uncle, Loyal Young, and Silcott's daughter, Ella Louise "Nellie" Silcott. Where materials could be identified by author, including a six-page 1851 diary and poetry written by Amie Sexton Silcott, items are arranged in alphabetical order according to creator. Some items are dated between 1847 and 1855, but much of this material is undated and its authors are unknown.
This series primarily contains receipts, bills, deeds, and tax tickets from the 1850s to the 1880s. Some documents are related to Augustus and Annie Young Sexton, and these have been separated from the general financial materials.
This series includes correspondence, financial records, photographs, land speculation records pertaining to lands, Jackson genealogy information, and some papers of Walter Jackson that extensively document Minter Jackson's land speculation in north central western Virginia (now West Virginia) in the 1840s and 1850s.
This series contains advertisements and circulars, almanacs from 1883 and 1902, Confederate currency, the entire run of the newsletter "Horse's Mouth," regarding Glenville residents in World War II, and mostly undated pamphlets, probably from the late nineteenth century or the early twentieth century.
This series is composed of miscellaneous subject files that contain information related to: the distribution of abolitionist literature in Gilmer County (3 pages, 1857); the Civil War in Gilmer County; land speculation in Lewis County; and the Buckhannon and Little Kanawha Turnpike (1854).
The photographs in this series are primarily of the Glenville Normal School but also include a photograph of Hunter Armentrout.
This series consists of an unidentified lock of hair.