Thursday, August 12, 1926
The opportunity to appear once more before the Scotch clan of the Waughs is very much appreciated by me. The descendants of James Waugh, the soldier of the Revolutionary War, are gathered together in this year of the sesquicentennial in his honor, 150 years since he shouldered his mountain rifle and marched away as part of the Augusta Troops to fight for the independence of America. And since then, his descendants have proved themselves to be true and steadfast American citizens, upholding the cause of freedom, supporters of the doctrine of equality, liberty and justice and, above all, sincere and militant supporters of the Christian religion.
Not long ago, I hunted out the beautiful little hollow in the hills that James Waugh, the pioneer, chose for his home in the Allegheny mountains, as one of those indomitable men engaged in the winning of the west. It is a lovely spot where the waters of Thorny Creek and Browns Creek come close together. In the beginning James Waugh and his neighbors called their settlement Richlands. The observer is moved yet by the beauty of the surroundings. And we can well imagine James Waugh looking down on the lovely valley that became his home and can realize the vision that came to him as he gazed at what was to become his abiding place. The history of America is the story of the pioneer and the emigrant. It is a place of bright color and high romance, for on this farmstead, and through James Waugh, for the first time on earth, man made here a home. Valor blazed the path. Hope laid the foundation of his house. Love set up the gates of it. The name of that man was James Waugh and his still bolder mate, Mary Waugh.
It was Mary Waugh who kept the homestead in the Hills the three years or more of James Waugh’s service in the continental army, we have few if any incidents. But enough is shown in the fact that with four small children that she kept the home fires burning in a frontier home, in a section of the country at all times subject to Indian raids, and that after the war was over that James Waugh survived the conflict for many years and enjoyed the blessings that followed a victorious peace.
See that their memories never perish from the earth, for those who live in memory shall never die.
On the occasion of our meeting here today, recalls the tradition of the devout Rev. John Waugh, whom many of us remember with such respect and esteem. The Civil War left this county desolate and divided. At the end of a bitter address by a stranger to this section at a place near here, Rev. John Waugh arose and said, “I had one son in the Union Army, and another son in the Confederate Army. The war is over. Let us have peace. I would not want to live in any country where we could not meet in some pleasant place at a basket dinner.”…
FORGERS
Kenton Wilfong and Mac Phillips, two young men, who were raised on Buffalo Mountain in Green Bank District, were before Squire Smith on charges of passing forged checks.
They were held on four counts for grand jury and are now in jail in Elkins.
Phillips and Wilfong came to town Monday morning and began to make the rounds here at banking hours, cashing and trying to cash checks for various amounts with the name of Withrow McClintic forged to them.
They were successful on getting money on four checks, the total amounting to over $150. Officer C. K. Butler and Harper Barrett overhauled them at Mt. Grove, and Wilfong was arrested and brought back. The officers did not then know that Phillips was implicated, and he got away. Afterwards Phillips was followed to Highland County, and he was arrested on Tuesday.
It is understood that the Sheriff of Highland County was also looking for Wilfong and Phillips. They had passed forged checks on some Monterey merchants last Saturday.
