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Note: 6b 1. Copied from page 83 and 84 of The Callaghan Mail: The following statement is by Mrs. Ann E. Callaghan Few, the daughter of John Callaghan and granddaughter of Dennis. It begins: "My grand- father Dennis O'Callaghan came from Dublin Ireland to America at the age of 19. He ran away from home and worked for his passage and traveling expenses on the sailing ship. His papers or Indentures were carefully preserved by his wife and children for at that time convicts were sent to America and they didn't intend anyone should say he was a convict. His mother came from Scotland and was a Scotch Presbyterian. He was an only son and had five sisters. He lived some years at Fredericksburg, Virginia where he married Margaret Atkinson in 1780. Their first child, Julia, remained with her grandmother when he and family moved to Bath County, western Virginia. John their first son was born in 1787 and died in 1862. John married at Fredericksburg, Va., Maria Holiday Pulliam in 1829. Dennis and Margaret had seven sons and four daughters. Their children were John, Charles, William, Thomas, Beston, Dennis, Oliver, Mary, Ellen and two Julias. John, Charles, and Oliver resided in Virginia, the other four sons emigrated to eastern Missouri. My grand- father, Dennis Callaghan had 1,400 acres of land and all of his sons had a portion of it. Uncle Charles lived near us; his farm joined my fathers. My Cousin Julia, a little older that I, read to grandmother, the English plays as they called Shakespeare. My grandmother had a small trunk. This trunk is one of the first things I remember. My brother, Jakey, who died, never had a proper name. My father wrote that letter to me when I was visiting at Aunt Julia Yates, four miles from Harpers Ferry, Va. Their postoffice was a small place called Halltown. The first Julia married an Englishman by the name of Yates and went to England to reside. Yates was the original Lord Eglenby and after resid- ing some years in England they returned to America. The youngest child and daughter of Dennis and Margaret Callaghan was named Julia after the first Julia. In 1844 a Mrs. Pearson of Fredericksburg visited her sister who was Margaret Atkinson, wife of Dennis Callaghan. They claimed to be lineal descendents of Pocahontas, the Indian. Mrs. Pearson had two daughters, one named Mary and one Pocahontas. Dennis dropped the O. and the grandsons have omitted the G. and wrote the name Callahan. Janet, the daughter of Julia married a Mr. Beal. Their son, John Yates Beal was aunt Julia Yates grandson. He attended school in England, was a lawyer but the Civil War changed his plans, he joined the confederate cause, became a spy and was shot. It has been said that John Wilkes Booth was his friend and it was because president Lincoln refused to liberate him from prison that he (JWB) revenged himself by firing the fatal shot which ended the life of Lincoln. Margaret Atkinson Callaghan died about 1846 or 1847 aged 87. She was paralized on one side and [was] confined to bed seven years and seven months. Her mind was bright and clear and all her callers and grandchildren had to read to her." The above material and the John Callaghan letter was given to the writer (Harold H. Haines, author of The Callaghan Mail) by Mrs. E.L. Hessen- mueller who was the daughter of Mrs. Ann E. Callaghan Few. 2. Copied from page 149 of Emigrants to Pennsylvania, 1641-1819, edited by Michael Tepper (1975): "Nathaniel Ambler assigns Dennis Callaghan (a servant from Ireland in the Snow George) to Lewis Davis of Chester county yeoman, for five years from August 2nd 1746. Consideration 14 pounds: 10/ customary dues." (THIS IS PROBABLY NOT MY DENNIS CALLAGHAN BECAUSE HE IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN BORN ABOUT 1750) 3. Copied from Botentourt County History Before 1800, Vol. 4: page 13-14: "This day came before me Sampson Sawyers, a Justice for said County, Mary Talbort and made oath that in the year 1787, I was imployed by Mssrs. JOHN ATKINSON and DENIS CALLAGHAN to wash at the Sweet Springs, and I have was sope put into my hands which they said was bought of William Scott. And upon trial I found that the sope was not good and made information to J. ATKINSON and CALLAGHAN that I could not wash with it, and your deponant further sayeth that when Mrs. Scott, wife to said William Scott came to the Sweet Springs in order to look at this sope, and made trial of it in my presence, and of Mrs. Tipton, and Mrs. Scott acknowledged that there was three pints of meale put into the sope and your deponant told said Mrs. Scott that she would rather have one pound of good sope than six of hers. Your deponant further sayeth that she is of the opinion that there was more meale in than three pints and sayeth that it was not merchantable sope and that if Mr. Callaghan told said Scott that if he would take the sope and make it good, that he would take it from him and your desponandt further sayeth not. Sworn before me this 8th day of November 1788: Sampson Sawyer The answer of William Scott to the Bill of Injunction obtained against him by Dennis Callaghan. This Defendent saving to himself all manner of benefit of Exceptions to the many uncertaintities and imperfections in complete Bill set forth, answereth saith, that true it is in March 1787, as well as he now recollects, he sold to the complainant Soap at 9 shillings per pound; that it was delivered in the following parcels, 56 at one time, 50 at another and afterwards came to another agreement for 50 pounds more, and 40 at another .... at the time he delivered the first parcel, the complainant desired his wife, Mrs. Callaghan, to go and examine the Soap and see whether it was of good quality, who after a little, returned and appeared to be satisfyed in every respect, except that it was Sharp. Your respondent replied that new soap was generally or always so. The Complainant weighed it and directed your respondent to bring in the rest. Your respondant never heard any complaints of bad quality of the soap for upwards to two months after the said Callaghan had returned from Richmond and the people began to convene at the Springs. When the complainant informed your respondent that the soap was not good, your respondent proposed leaving the quality to any women of character in the neighbourhood, who were judges, which the complainant refused, and would let it be judged by no person except Mary Talbott, his washwoman, who your respondent is informed was in partnership with the said Callaghan, and had purchased a considerable quantity of soap her- self. Your respondent believes that no complaint would have been made of the quality of the soap if the complainants expectation had been answered in the company which frequented the Spring, but finding the company far short of his expectations and less washing business to be done than the provisions laid in by himself, and the said Mary Talbott was adequate so the objection was made to the quality. This respondent denies that there was such artifice used, to his knowledge as the complainant alledges to make the soap appear saleable, and prays that he may have the benefit of his judgement at Law, and that the Injunction may be dissolved; Signed, William Scott: Botetourt Co: The above answer sworn to and subscribed before me this 11th day of March 1789: Pat. Lockhart. Page 65: "After 1770 the Courts were required to issue licenses to merchants, and among those applying for licenses were DENNIS CALLAGHAN, Thomas King, Matthew Harvey, John McCreary ----- at Red Springs," Page 71: "From Letters From The South...1816, by James Kirk Paulding, Volume I, Page 176: The country through which we were now passing, it very near the summit of the great ridge of mountains which divides the waters that run to the east from those that run to the west. We were now, consequently, on the highest land between the Atlantic and the Mississippi. At DENNIS CALLAGHAN'S where we breakfasted, there is a little stream which joins the James River, and eventually mingles with the ocean," ----- Pages 71-72: "From THE VIRGINIA SPRINGS: P. 92: The present proprietor of this establishment, MR. CALLAGHAN, who keeps an excellent house at very reasonable charges, was born here in 1788, and is the son of that worthy and facetious Hibernian DENNIS CALLAGHAN, who settled in this valley in 1787. The farm now consists of nine hundred and fifty acres, much of which is good land and well improved, and produces good beef, mutton, fowls, eggs, butter, cream, corn, tomatoes, potatoes and bread, all of which fill their allotted posts upon the table very agreeably to the eye and to the appetite. We dined, supped, slept and [breadfasted] very satisfactorily, being charged one dollar and a quarter apiece. Pauldings description of DENNIS CALLAGHAN: "But I must not forget honest little DENNIS CALLAGHAN, who is neither muscleman, nor oysterman; and at any rate would much rather have the in- side of an oyster than its shell, I'll swear for him. DENNIS is a sort of old man of the mountain, as well known in these parts as Dennis Bulgruddery was on Muckslush Heath. He is an Irishman, honey, true blue, pluck, liver and lights, midriff and all; and settled in this place about the time the oyster shells did, I believe, for the memory of man runneth not to the contrary of his being here. How he got here, the Lord only knows; but here he is, and here he is likely to remain, and flourish, for no traveler passes his door without calling; either because it is the only house of entertainment for many miles, or because DENNIS is a most petulant wag, and withal a very honest fellow, which, for a publican is prodigious. He may be known by being a little fellow, dressed in a long swing-tailed coat with buttons about the size of a pewter plate; a pair of breeches, made very loose, for reaons which I shall keep to myself, ornamented with kneebuckler of massy workmanship, and four-square or near about - I won't be positive. He has a mighty way of pulling up his galligaskins (Galluses?) with one hand, and drawing the sleeve of the other across his nose at the same time, I suppose because it tickles him. His stockings were of mixed woolen, and had in them a pair of small jolly, short, long, thick, spindle legs, that precipitated themselves into his shoes by means of two feet at the end of them; which said feet were rather short, but made up in breadth what they wanted in length. He wears a que of some two or three dozen hairs, which in their primitive institution seem to have been black, but are now like Hamlet's Senior's bears, "a sable silver". As DENNIS will doubtless be remembered by posterity, I thought it well to be particular in giving a description of him, which will become valuable as he shall become extinct. We inquired of DENNIS, if we could get breakfast, being pretty sharp set with a ride of fourteen good honest long miles. "Breakfast!" said he, with infinite gravity...."you can't get beakfast here, I don't keep tavern any more." "However," said he, after enjoying our perplexity - 'am just going to breakfast myself, and you are welcome to go snacks'. In a little time we had an excellent one; and, when we were going away, Oliver very gravely thanked him for his hospitality, without offering to pay. This made DENNIS look rather blue, for he thought it was carrying the joke a little too far. However we paid him at length in silver, at which he expressed no small astonishment, not having seen any in a long time. We got to the White Sulphur Spring to dinner; and, as drinking the waters was one of the principal objects of my journey, we shall probably spend some days there. Good bye." 4. Copied from Augusta County, Virginia Records: P. 358, Augusta County Order Book I6. "Catherine Kelly, orphan of James Kelly, to be bound to DENNIS CALLAHAN." Sep. 15, 1778. P. 435. Augusta County Order Book 16. ..."DENNIS CALLAGHEN, captain of patrollers, 1 night, 10 lbs tobacco; DENNIS CALLAGHEN, captain of patrollers (20 April to 24 May)." Oct. 20, 1778. 1779. DENNIS O'CALLAGHAN was listed in a Militia Company raised at Staunton, Virginia (as being in a list of militia that was paid off at Pittsburg.) He was also listed in the Court Records of Augusta County, VA as having participated in patrol duty.....as seen below.... P. 527. Return of patroling done by the patrol of Staunton from May 24 until June 26, 1782: Patrolled June, at night, viz: William Blair, Francis Mora, Anthony Mustoe, David Greiner, DENNIS CALAGHAN; June 6th and 8th, Blair, Mora, Mustoe; June 18th, Blair, Mora, Mustoe and Greiner. Sworn to by Capt. William Blair, 28th June. Return of the patrol of Staunton from April 20, 1782: April 20th, Wm. Blair (Captain), Francis Mora, Anthony Mustoe, DENNIS CALLAGHAN; April 24th, 28th, 30th Blair, Mora, CALLAGHAN, Mustoe; May 4th, 8th and 12th, Blair, Mora, Mustoe; May 22d, Blair, Mora, Mustoe and David Greiner. Sworn to by Blair, May 24. P. 425. Augusta County Order Book 16. "Catherine Kelly, orphan, to be bound to Robert Burns, vice DENNIS CALLACHAN." August 23, 1782. P.284. 1786 -- June 7, Frederick Ript and Mary Savage; surety, DENNIS CALLAGHAN. P. 25. August 1791: Cowdon vs. Handley. -- Settlement of Samuel Wilson's estate. Ejectment. John Griffin and Elizabeth Griffin, his wife, gave up to Martha Cowdon all the right he had in the land in the right of his wife, Elizabeth. The property was occupied by Martha and DENNIS CALLAHAN. Margaret Matthews disposes 9th June, 1791, that some years ago her late husband, Robert Reed, was not willing to accept a title to the land from John Griffin and Elizabeth, his wife, until Mrs. Martha Cowdon would relinquish her dower therein. P. 320. 1797--November 22. Chas. Wallace Wadsworth and Alex. Wason, suret. Chas. Wallace Wadsworth and Sally Callaghan, daughter of DENNIS CALLAGHAN. P. 431. List of Tithables for the Town of Staunton to be collected at $4 each to be applied to the Repair of Streets, 1779-1780. Samuel Armstrong: Thos. Hughes, Wm. Boyer, Michael Boyer, John Abney, Jno. Bowers, DENNIS CALAHAN, Jno McDonagh----------" P. 24. September, 1800: Thomas Fife vs. DENNIS CALLAGHAN -- from Bath. Land on Dunlap's Creek. Entry of documents, John Le Moyner. 5. Copied from Callaghan, Virginia by Michael J. O'Brien, pages 45-57, Journal of the American Irish Historical Society, Vol. 26 (1927). O'Brien, I believe, uses records and information that point to two different Dennis Callaghan families. One of these is the Dennis and Martha Callaghan of Augusta county, VA and the other, the one I am most interested in, is that of Dennis and Margaret Callaghan of Bath/Alle- ghany county, VA. "A glance at an large-scale map of the United States shows numerous places bearing Irish names." "On the line of the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad in Alleghany County, Virginia, sixteen miles east of the nationally known resort, White Sulphur Springs, there is a station cal- led Callaghan, where trains stop only "on signal" and which is seldom or never heard of outside its immediate vicinity." "Callaghan is situated on the east slope of the Alleghanies near the junction of three streams, Dunlap Creek, Ogle Creek and Little Ogle Creek, where they fall into the James River, and five miles above Callaghan lies Oliver Mountain, supposed to have been named for Oliver Callaghan (a son of Dennis Callaghan.) Time was when the village of Callaghan was a much livelier place than it is now, and small and unimportant though it is, it perpetuates in its simple way the name of one of the pioneers of the Alleghanies, a man who served the country of his adoption when she was waging a bloody struggle for her independence. His name was Dennis Callaghan, or O'Callaghan, and his story deserves a place in the annals of the American Irish. The first entry relating to this Irish pioneer that I have been able to find in the public records, is in a "Memorandum of Agreement between Sampson and George Mathews and their servants," dated November 21, 1772, on file at the Augusta County courthouse in Staunton, Va. [Will Book No. 5, p. 45, Augusta County, Va.] The "servants" are therein named Dennis Callaghan, Mary Jackson and John Welsh. In those days "servants" did not mean people employed in domestic service only, since laborers, mechanics, husbandmen and all who labored with their hands, and who were indentured for a certain term of years to pay for the cost of their transportation over seas, were called "servants," and the records show that the immigrant ancestors of many prominent American families of the present day began life in this country as "indentured servants." How long Dennis Callaghan remained in service is unknown, but, that he was enterprising enough to embark in some business for himself after the expiration of the period of his indentures, is apparent from an order of the Court dated September 15, 1778, directing that "Catherine Kelly, orphan of James Kelly, be bound to Dennis Callahan." [Order Book XVII, Augusta County Court] And under an order at the Court dated August 23, 1782, "Catherine Kelly, orphan, was bound to Robert Burns, vice Dennis Callahan." [Order Book XVII] He is described as "a britches-maker by trade" and in 1780 he is listed among the "Tithables for the Town of Staunton." [Court records, Augusta County] No definite information seems to be obtainable as to his Revolutionary services, but the records show that in 1779 he was one of a company of militia raised in Staunton, and his name so appears in the books of the State Auditor's office at Richmond and in a "List of Militia paid off at Pittsburg." [Auditor's Account Book, XVII A, p. 176] He is also mentioned in the court records of Augusta County in a "Return of Patrolling done by the Patrol of Staunton from May 24th to June 26th, 1782, sworn to be Captain William Blair," and there is another entry in the records of the court under date of November 19, 1782, referring to "Dennis Callaghan, Captain of Patrollers in Augusta County." [Order Book XVII, Augusta County Court] The fact that he was a "Captain" would make it appear that he was popular with the people of the town. The "Patrollers" were a body of men with a sort of independent commission, organised to watch the movements of the Indians and the Tories, ward off attacks on the settlements and who sometimes acted as scouts for the regular troops. Dennis Callaghan married Martha Cowden, [THIS IS PROBABLY THE DENNIS CALLAGHAN OF AUGUTA COUNTY, VA AND IS NOT DENNIS CALLAGHAN WHO MARRIED MARGARET ATKINSON AND WHO LIVED IN BATH/ALLEGHANY COUNTY, VA.] by whom he had three sons, Oliver, John and Charles, and probably a fourth son named Dennis, and three daughters, Mary, Margaret and Sally. I have found no entry of the marriage, but a passage in a deed dated July 17, 1785, recorded in Augusta County, [Deed Book No. 25, p. 106] shows that in 1775 he was living at Staunton with his wife, Martha. On April 4, 1786, Mary and Margaret Callaghan were married at Staunton to Edward Stewart and Alexander Wills, respectively, and on November 22, 1787, Sally Callaghan became the wife of Charles Wallace Wadsworth. As of June 7, 1786, Callaghan is recorded as surety on the marriage bond of "Mary, daughter of Patrick Savage, and Frederick Ript"' in the April session of the Augusta County Court in 1790 he filed a suit against John Patterson and Andrew Anderson, and in September, 1800, a case entitled "Thomas Fife vs. Dennis Callaghan," involving a dispute over lands on Dunlap Creek, was filed in the County Court. [AGAIN, THE ABOVE, I BELIEVE, IS A MIXTURE OF RECORDS OR EVENTS WHICH BELONG TO TWO PEOPLE NAMED DENNIS CALLAGHAN]. There is no entry of a land grant to his name at the Land Office in Richmond, and the only record I could find showing that Dennis Callaghan owned land was in 1793, when he bought from Hugh McDonald and Mary, his wife, seventy-six acres on Ogle Creek in Bath County. This land was surveyed for McDonald in the year 1773, though as early as 1751 Hugh McDonald is mentioned as one of the builders of a road through what is now Alleghany County. In the "Annals of Bath County" it is also shown under the year 1793, that Dennis Callaghan bought lands "on Ugly Creek" from one John Dickenson for a consideration of 5 pounds, and in these "Annals" Callaghan is listed among "Heads of Families" of Bath County in the year 1791. When Alleghany was established as a separate County it was taken partly from Bath, Botetourt and Monroe Counties. There is nothing to indicate the exact time of Dennis Callaghan's settlement at the place that now bears his name, though it is probable it was about the time he acquired the lands on Ogle Creek. This local- ity was then a wilderness where the beasts of the forest roamed at will, and was known as "Forks of Dunlap," and the Callaghans were one of the first white families known to have settled there permanently. On the old emigrant trail from eastern Virginia and Pennsylvania to the settle- ments beyond the Alleghanies, Dennis Callaghan built his cabin, and here, on what might be called the very frontiers of civilization, he lived and toiled. For some years there were neither schools nor churches; for neighbors he had the woodsmen and trappers, and his only contact with the outside world was an occasional traveler or an emigrant family who came that way and stopped at his house for rest or refreshment. Where the road crossed Dunlap Creek seemed a favorable spot for a wayside inn, and at this place Dennis Callaghan established a tavern, which became a famous lodging place in the stage coach days. When more peaceful times settled down in these regions, travel on this road became very frequent and it is said that "hundreds of wagons and thousands of emigrants" passed through there in the late years of the eighteenth century, on their way to the country west and south. [Centennial History of Alleghany County, by Oren F. Morton; Dayton, Va., 1923] Callaghan's tavern or "half-way" house was always an objective on these journeys, and thus the pioneer of the district became one of the best known persons in all that territory. The site of the tavern is called "Old Callaghan"; it is about two miles from where Callaghan station now stands and the old building where Dennis Callaghan catered to the wants of "man and beast" is still intact. [THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN IN 1927! NOTHING REMAINS TODAY, 1989, OF THE BUILDINGS]. He is said to have lived there for nearly thirty years, and he is men- tioned several times in the early part of the last century in letters and journals written by travelers crossing the Alleghanies from Virginia to Ohio and Kentucky. In a series of "Letters from Virginia to a Northern Man," in the Analectic Magazine in 1813, the writer referred to "Dennis Callaghan, one of the pioneers of the Alleghanies," at whose house he was entertained on his journey to Greenbrier County, West Virginia, in the year 1808. Another reference to the Callaghans says: "Dennis Callaghan was famous as the landlord of a turnpike tavern. His son, Oliver, was the first Clerk of Alleghany. Margaret Callaghan, a widow, died in 1847, her will mentioning John and Mary as her children and William Y. Callaghan as a grandson. [Centennial History of Alleghany County] In 1822, when Alleghany was set off and County officials were appointed, we find Oliver Callaghan was selected as its first County Clerk. In a rare little book entitled "Memorials of old Virginia Clerks," [Compiled by F. Johnson, County Clerk of Roanoke County; Lynchburg, Va., 1888] Oliver Callaghan is thus referred to: "Oliver Callaghan, or O'Callaghan, as his father, Dennis O'Callaghan, spelled his name and had it printed on the sign of the celebrated tavern that he kept so long, not far from White Sulphur Springs in Greenbrier, was the first Clerk of Alleghany County." He served for nine years in the dual capac- ity of County Clerk and Clerk of the Circuit Court, and in 1831 he remov- ed to Fincastle County, Virginia, where he conducted a newspaper called the Fincastle Democrat for about twenty years. At the first meeting of the County Court of Alleghany County at Covington Va., on March 18, 1822, John Callaghan, son of Dennis, was sworn in [as] one of the four Justices; in 1824 he "built a road from the bend of Jackson's River to Botetourt County"; in 1834 he was Sheriff and five years later John and Charles Callaghan are listed among the Justices of Alleghany County. All of which shows that the Irish aptitude for politics was not absent in the Callaghan family. In 1835 Callaghan was one of the four post offices in the entire County, and since it was established in the general store and tavern operated by the Callaghan family, I have no doubt that one of them was the postmaster. And in the early years of the last century, whenever any local affair was held, such as a "ball" or a political gathering, Callaghan's tavern usually was the place of meeting. More than a hundred years ago there was a toll gate at Callaghan, where the highway crossed the river, and the stage coach which ran from Staunton to Lewisburg had its stopping place at Callaghan's tavern. Although there is no record of the place or date of Dennis Callaghan's birth, and no historical writer of the district mentions it, there can be no doubt that he was a native of Ireland and in all likelihood of the County of Cork." 6. Dennis Callaghan bought of Hugh McDonald and Mary, his wife, 70 acres on Ugly, surveyed 1773. Price 100 pounds. From p. 14, A Centennial History of Alleghany County, Va by Oren F. Morton. 7. CALLAGHAN STAND & 'MILTON HALL,' COVINGTON, VIGINIA (This information may be found in: Scott-Mason Family Renunion by Howard Rivercomb Hammond). Oliver Callaghan was the son of Dennis Callaghan, owner of the Callaghan Stand, the famous stage coach inn five miles west of Covington. The inn welcomed many a weary traveler over the years. The story goes that [travelers] could always tell when they were getting near the inn because of the wonderful aroma from the kitchen! Nearby is the Callaghan cemetery where members of the Callaghan family are buried along with other local people. In the cemetery is buried the father of Sam Houston of Texas fame. It was reported that on one of his trips from Washington to Texas, Sam Houston and his party stopped at the inn. His father got very sick and died while there. He was buried in the Callaghan cemetery rather than the family trying to transport his body back to Texas. In another part of the cemetery is buried a servant girl who worked for the Milton family. The inn caught on fire and she had escaped initially, but she made another dash back into the building and never made it out again. Her stone reads, "Eliza Jane from England, met her death in the fire at Callaghan House Dec. 29, 1873, aged 19 years." This print of Milton Hall and the Callaghan Stand was taken from a print in the possession of Mrs. Dottie Kessler who lives in Fincastle, Va. The original oil painting from which it was photographed belongs to a relative. Mrs. Kessler is a direct descendent of Dr. Thomas Miller, who was the Miltons personal family physician who came with Lord Milton and his family when they left England and settled in the area. One of Dr. Miller's daughters was an artist and was the one who did the paint- ing of Milton Hall and the Callaghan Stand. When the Milton family left the area and returned to England, Dr. Miller took his family and moved to Fincastle. Their new residence was 'Santillane" which had a bit of history behind it as well. 'Milton Hall,' the former home of Lord Milton and his wife, is presently a bed and breakfast inn. The brick building still maintains its stately appearance and the grounds are very lovely as well. The Callaghan Stand has long since become history. After it burned down there was nothing left to show that it existed. Mrs. Groves, who lives on the former Callaghan property, said that the inn once stood directly behind her house. Interstate 64 runs behind the former site of the inn and separates the viewer from the lovely 'Milton Hall' which lies to the left of the former inn. 8. Copied from page 92 of Historical Sketches of the Allegheny Highlands by G. Arritt (1982): CALLAGHAN TAVERN. (published March 13, 1955) One of the more renowned taverns in Alleghany County was that operated by Dennis Callaghan located five miles west of Covington on a tract of land which today includes Milton Hall. The doughty little Irishman was known far and wide during the era of the stage coach for his hospitality and genial disposition. He was a native of Dublin, Ireland and ran away from his home and worked his passage to America on a sailing vessel. He settled for some time in Augusta County where he served in the militia during the Revolutionary War. He and his wife, the former Margaret Atkinson of Fredericksburg, came to Alleghany County, at that time part of Bath County, in 1790. He purchased several tracts of land and patented others, and in 1792 opened the renowned Callaghan Tavern. Many travelers of that period wrote of their visits through the coun- try and many prominent personages wrote of their pleasant encounters with Dennis Callaghan. The road passing the tavern was first known as the Great Road and later was called the Staunton and Kanawha Turnpike and it was for many years the main and only highway from the Piedmont section of Virginia across the Alleghanies to the waters of the Kanawha and Ohio rivers. Some travelers stopped at Warm Springs or vicinity for the night but all tried to make it to Callaghan's for breakfast since it was for many years the only place of public entertainment for miles around. Travel through the mountains by stage and private carriage was by no means a luxury trip to the hearty [;] meals and the solicitude of the kindly Callaghan family for the comfort of their guests [came] as a welcome break in the journeys of wayfarers. Here, tended by the gentle hands of the women of the household, died Major Houston, father of Sam Houston who made his mark in the Southwest and for whom the city of Houston, Texas was named. Dennis Callaghan had 11 children, six sons and five daughters. At the death of the tavern keeper, his son, John, took over the management and operated the tavern until the coming of the railroads made it unprofit- able. Several of his children migrated to the west but there are de- scendants still living here. One son, Oliver Callaghan, was the first clerk of the court of Alleghany County when it was formed in 1822. Later he lived in Fincastle. Miss Julia Callaghan Steele, a descendant, had this to say regarding the stage lines which operated in the area during Dennis Callaghan's time: "I remember hearing much of Mr. Jeems I.A. Trotter, who had charge of the stage lines for many years and perhaps established it. He was evidently an indigent sort of an individual as the following true incident would indicate." "Many years ago when the stages carried the mails through the Alleghany Mountains, one terribly cold winter the mountain roads were frozen over for some time and in such a fearful condition that it was impossible to get through. The postal authorities wrote Jeems asking why he did not get the mails through more regularly. The following is his reply, the original can be seen framed in the office of the Post Master General in Washington, D.C." "'If the gabel end of Hell was to blow out and rain fire and brimstone for forty days and forty nights, it wouldn't thaw out Cheat Mountain so I could get your g-- d---- mail through.' Signed: Jeems I.A. g-- d--- to h--- Trotter." 9. Copied from page 79 of Historical Sketches of the Alleghany Highlands by G. Arritt (1982). CALLAGHAN (published July 4, 1976). About five miles west of Covington, its houses clustered around what was once called the "Great Road," then the "Staunton and Kanawa Turn- pike," is the little community of Callaghan. This was the only highway for many years from the Piedmont section of Virginia across the Alleghanies to the waters of the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers. In 1792 Dennis Callaghan, lately come from Dublin, Ireland, and his wife opened the renowned Callaghan Tavern. The tavern was known far and wide for its good food and pleasant hospitality. One writer of the times noted that "its fried chicken made our mouths water at a distance of 200 miles." At the death of Dennis Callaghan, his son, John, took over the running of the tavern until the coming of the railroad made it unprofitable to operate. It was purchased in 1871 by the Honorable Laura Maria Theresa Fitswilliam, Viscountess of Milton, the wife of Earl Fitswilliam. Soon after their arrival, a part of the old tavern was burned and one member of the Milton household lost her life in the flames. Callaghan Tavern was added to from time to time and was at times used to house the guests which overflowed from "Wood Hall." Parts of it were still standing as late as 1915. The Miltons built a 17 room house on the same tract of land, but on another site as the tavern, and called it Milton Hall. The brick was handmolded and baked on the Marshall farm near Callaghan and only the exterior walls are of brick, but the partitions are also of brick which has been plastered. In 1889 Ellen Shafer Hollins Rumbold, former Baltimore Belle, and wife of Captain Henry E.W. Rumbold, also a native of England, purchased the property. Today Milton Hall is one of the most imposing dwellings to be found anywhere and is owned by Nace Wiley and family. (Since sold to another party). Hugh McAllister, now deceased, lived in the structure for many years. Around 1818 the Dixie Tavern was built about two miles farther west on the "Great Road." It was a busy stage coach stop, too, in its hey day being run for many years by the father of the late David N. Byer. The crumbling building, known by some as the "Long Burnt House" was destroyed by fire near the turn of the century. The land on which the oldest church in the community, Fletcher Chapel, is built was deeded by Samuel Brown in 1852. He was sheriff of Alleghany County and the great grandfather of Dunlap E. Brown. The original land grant by the King of England to the Browns is still in the family." 10. Copied from page 11 of The Callaghan Mail: "Dennis Callaghan married Margaret Atkinson at Fredericksburg, Virginia in the year 1786. The following is a copy of their marriage bond: Know all men by these presents that we Dennis Callahan and John Atkinson are held and firmly bound unto his excellency, Edmd. Randolph Esqr. Governor of the commonwealth of Virginia, & his successors in the sum of fifty pounds the payment whereof will & truly to be made. We bind ourselves, our heirs exors', &c jointly & severally firmly by these presents with our seals and dated the 27th day of December 1786. The condition of the above obligation is such that whereas there is a marriage shortly intended to be had and solominized between the above Dennis Callahan and Margaret Atkinson. If there shall be no lawful cause to obstruct, then this obligation to be void --- Else to remain in full force & virtue, sealed and delivered in the presence of Dennis Callahan (seal) and John Atkinson (seal)." SOURCES INCLUDE: Journal of the American Irish Society 26:45-57 (1927). Centennial History of Allegheny County, Virginia (1923), pages 93, 127. Aritt, G. (1982) Historical Sketches of Allegheny Highlands, pages 79, 92, 127. Manuscript, 11 pages, typed, about Callaghan, VA and the VA Callaghans/ Callahans. Obtained from F.M. Groves, Rt. 3, Box 84, Covington, VA 24426; Mrs. Groves lives at Callaghan, VA on the site of the old Callaghan Tavern. Another copy of this manuscript was received from John G. Callihan, Jr. of 101 Brierwood Dr., Hurricane, WV 25526. Will of Margaret Callaghan dated 5 Oct 1838, proved Oct 1848; Allegheny co., VA Will Book 2:365-366. Brown, W.G. (1954) History of Nicholas County, WV, pages 297-298. VA Mag. Hist. Biog. 55:307 (1947). Haines, Harold H. (1949. 3rd ed.) The Callaghan Mail. A copy of this book was found at the MO Hist. Soc. Library in Columbia, MO. Marr. Rec. City of Fredericksburg and of Orange,Spotsylvania and Stafford counties, VA, 1722-1850, 2nd ed. Fisher, Theresa, A. page 29. Callaghan, Brooks B. (1929) Dennis O'Callaghan and Descendants, Meadow Bridge, WV. Callaghan, Brooks B. unpublished manuscript that was the basis for his 1929 booklet, Dennis O'Callaghan and Descendants. Sehulster, Marjorie. Information submitted by her to The WorldConnect Project at RootsWeb.com: Early Settlers Mass, Pa, Va. .
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