Some Early History of the Tricketts in Monongalia County, West Virginia

This information was taken verbatim (some punctuation marks were added to improve readability) from a story written in 1988 by Kenneth R. Trickett (1922-present) in order to preserve the flavor and style of his writing.

Kenneth R. Trickett

I have always heard that all the Tricketts in the United States are descendants of three Trickett brothers who came over from England in the 1700s. One brother settled in Monongalia County, West Virginia, one in the Midwest, and one in the South. I have found information which verifies part of this.

Among the early settlers in Monongalia County were Joseph and Margaret Trickett, who were married April 9, 1782, and settled in Monongalia County soon afterwards. Joseph Trickett was born in London, England, August 18, 1755, and came to America in 1780.

All of my Trickett lineage—father, grandfather, great grandfather, etc.—were from Monongalia County, in or near the community of Halleck. Joseph and Margaret Trickett settled near the little town of Smithtown, about 12 miles south of Morgantown, which was not many miles from where the community of Halleck was established in the early 1800s. I am not sure just where Smithtown was, since there is no Smithtown in that area now.

Joseph Trickett was my great-great-grandfather. I was born—and lived my first 15 years—in the vicinity of Halleck.

Monongalia County was created by the Virginia General Assembly in October 1776. This area west of the Allegheny Mountains was known as the Western Frontier. The early settlers used the logs, as they cleared their land, to build their homes. Their main concerns, in the beginning, were to build their homes and to clear enough land to start planting their crops—mainly corn—between the stumps. The homes were widely separated and the only communication was by foot paths through the forest. They had no stores nor anyplace to buy food and supplies; therefore, they had to raise their food and hunt for deer and wild animals for meat.

The greatest menace facing the early settlers were the Indians. Farmers, toiling in corn fields or flax patches, were frequently attacked and killed. Indians may have been waiting, concealed by the forest, along paths to springs and other sources of water, knowing that the settlers would have to make trips to get water. Cattle were driven off or killed. This danger was with them until about 1795. Besides the Indian attacks and raids, there were no physicians in the county. By 1786, a few physicians were visiting the county from nearby Pennsylvania counties. Many people died at a young age for want of medical aid.

By 1786, the first primitive school houses were beginning to appear. Before this, school was held in the cabin of a settler, inside a fort, or even outside, beneath the trees. Because books were few, courses of instruction were limited to the "three Rs," reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic, and the Bible.

There were no Post offices or regular mail delivery for nearly twenty years after Monongalia County was established. Letters written and received were carried by personal messengers. The United States Post Office was established by an Act of Congress on September 22, 1789. It was not until 1794 that the first postal route was established to Monongalia County. This route ran from Hagerstown through Hancock, Old Town, and Cumberland, Maryland, to Morgantown, thence into Pennsylvania, terminating at Brownsville. The route was approximately 190 miles in length. The mail carrier traveled by horseback and at first made the round trip once a week.

For many years, the only roads on the Western Frontier were trails, for horses, along the ridges or across the hills and mountains made by buffaloes or old Indian trails. The first road fit for wagon traffic, across the Alleghenies to Morgantown, was completed in 1789. This road ran from Winchester by way of Romney to Western Port. From Western Port, it crossed the Alleghenies via the later towns of Oakland and Terra Alta, crossing the Cheat River, then climbed to where Kingwood was being built, and on to Morgantown.

River transportation was also very important to the early settlers even before there were any roads. The canoe, patterned after those of the Indians, was capable of carrying several people. Later, the flatboat was developed which could carry loads up to fifty tons.

The city of Morgantown was established in 1785 and for many years was called Morgans Town for its founder, Zackquill Morgan. Morgantown has been the seat of Monongalia County since its beginning. It is also the home of West Virginia University, which was previously the Agriculture College of West Virginia. The Agricultural College was established in 1867 and changed to West Virginia University in 1868.

At the time of Joseph Trickett, Monongalia County was still part of the state of Virginia. By 1860, problems between east and west in Virginia were coming to a head. Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States on November 6, 1860. On April 17, 1861, a special convention of the Commonwealth of Virginia voted for secession from the Union. All the counties west of the Alleghenies immediately called a convention with delegates from each county. They voted to request a division of the state that would sever them from all future connections with eastern Virginia. On May 29, 1862, the constitution of the proposed new state, to be known as West Virginia, was presented to the Senate of the United States, requesting its admission to the Union. It was passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives and sent to President Abraham Lincoln. On April 20, 1863, President Lincoln issued a proclamation admitting West Virginia to the Union sixty days later. On June 20, 1863, West Virginia became the thirty-fifth state admitted to the Union. This was just about one year after my grandfather, Edson Trickett, was born and about twenty years before my father, Ira Trickett, was born. Monongalia County entered the Civil War in April 1861, as part of the state of Virginia and emerged, in April 1865, as a part of the state of West Virginia.

I have given you above some of the more important information in the development, and life, in Monongalia County, West Virginia, in its first one hundred years. Also the beginning of the Trickett name in America. Some other Tricketts are mentioned in the history of Monongalia County as follows:

(You may notice that some of the Trickett names below are spelled with only one 'T' on the end of the name. It could be that they preferred to spell their name that way or the 'T' could have been erroneously left off in the writing and printing of records and books. I have seen my name written many times, by someone who does not know how to spell it, with only one 'T.')

In the War of 1812 with Great Britain, another Joseph Trickett was a volunteer in a company under Captain James Hurry. He served as a private from May to August 1814. He could be the Joseph Trickett who was one of the first settlers in the community of Halleck.

Mary Trickett married Dr. Robert Travis, a physician who came to the county in 1803. They settled at Smithtown about 1828 for the practice of medicine. Dr. Travis also kept a store in Smithtown. Mary Trickett died May 16, 1851, near Smithtown, at the age of 46.

Thomas S. Tricket started a tailoring business in Morgantown in 1830.

During the Civil War, John J. Trickett, Company C, Fourteenth West Virginia Infantry, was wounded at Cloyd Mountain, May 9, 1864, and died in enemy hands, June 3, 1864.

In 1864, Harmon Tricket served as Sergeant in Company E, Seventeenth West Virginia Infantry.

Since the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, the majority of the people in Monongalia County were in favor of the Union (North). It was dangerous to speak out in favor of the South, so most Confederate sympathizers worked under cover. Several were in the Confederate service in the First Brigade of the Second Division of Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's Corps, and fought in all the battles of the Army of Northern Virginia from 1861 to 1865. Among them was Edward Trickett, a private in Company A, Twentieth Virginia Cavalry. Later, in 1866, he was elected County Assessor of the Eastern District.

Leebrick
Johannes
John
Daniel
George
William
Frank
Joyce Marie