Place:Monongalia, West Virginia, United States

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source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Monongalia County, known locally as Mon County, is located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,822, making it West Virginia's third-most populous county. Its county seat is at Morgantown. The county was founded in 1776. Monongalia County is included in the Morgantown, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the largest county in North-Central West Virginia. It is part of the Pittsburgh media market.

Contents

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Monongalia County takes its name from the Monongahela River. The name Monongalia may be a misspelling of Monongahela. Alternatively, the conventional Latinate ending "-ia" (designating "land of..." or "country of..." — as in Arabia, Bolivia or Colombia) may have been added to Monongahela (i.e., "Land of the Monongahela").

Monongalia County was formed in 1776 when Virginia's remote District of West Augusta was divided into three counties: Ohio, Yohogania and Monongalia, all named for their most prominent rivers. Ohio County then encompassed most of the western region of the district bordering the Ohio River, including parts of what is now southwestern Pennsylvania. Yohogania County consisted of much of what is now southwestern Pennsylvania and the present counties of Hancock and the northern part of Brooke in West Virginia. Monongalia County also encompassed what are now the counties of Tucker, Randolph, Harrison and Barbour in north-central West Virginia, as well as parts of what are now Washington, Greene and Fayette Counties in Pennsylvania. In 1780, in his Notes on the State of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson gave the militia enrollment of what was then the vast Monongalia County at 1,000 troops.

In 1863, West Virginia's counties were divided into civil townships, with the intention of encouraging local government. This proved impractical in the heavily rural state, and in 1872 the townships were converted into magisterial districts. Monongalia County was divided into seven districts: Battelle, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Grant, Morgan, and Union. After a century of relative stability, in the 1970s Monongalia's seven historic magisterial districts were consolidated into three new Districts: Central, Eastern, and Western.

Timeline

Date Event Source
1774 Court records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1774 Probate records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1776 County formed Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1776 Land records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1790 First census Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
1796 Marriage records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1850 No significant boundary changes after this year Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
1853 Birth records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1863 Effective date for move from Virginia to West Virginia Source:Wikipedia

Population History

source: Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
Census Year Population
1790 4,768
1800 8,540
1810 12,793
1820 11,060
1830 14,056
1840 17,368
1850 12,387
1860 13,048
1870 13,547
1880 14,985
1890 15,705
1900 19,049
1910 24,334
1920 33,618
1930 50,083
1940 51,252
1950 60,797
1960 55,617
1970 63,714
1980 75,024
1990 75,509

Research Tips

Monongalia County was created in 1776 when the District of West Augusta, Virginia, was divided into the counties of Monongalia, Yohogania and Ohio. In 1863 it became part of the state of West Virginia.

Monongalia County is located in northern West Virginia. It borders Fayette and Greene Counties, Pennsylvania. The county seat is Morgantown.

Text from Monongalia County, Virginia Page

[Monongalia County, Virginia was redirected here in conformance to the WeRelate "1900 rule".]

Monongalia County, Virginia, said to be the Mother of Many Counties, was established in 1776 from the District of West Augusta, Virginia. It later became part of West Virginia when it was established in 1863. The County Seat is located in Morgantown, West Virginia.

The following material was copied from Monongalia, West Virginia GenWeb site:

1776 - Monongalia, Ohio, and Yohogania Counties were created from the District of West Augusta of Augusta County, VA. The northern portion of Monongalia, the northeastern portion of Ohio, and and all of Yohogania were also known as Westmoreland County, PA which was also mother to several counties. The area that was the northwest corner of Monongalia became Washington County, PA in 1781, and Greene County, PA in 1796. The area that was the northeast corner of Monongalia became Fayette County, PA in 1783. The first courts of Monongalia were held on Phillips' Choice, the plantation of Theophilus Phillips, near New Geneva in Springhill Township, Fayette County, PA.

1779 - The first county seat was located at Mifflintown, present-day Woodbridgetown, near Rubles Mill in Georges Township, Fayette County, PA, but soon after the boundary dispute between Virginia and Pennsylvania was resolved. When they realised the county seat was no longer in the county, it was moved to what is now Morgantown.

1784 - Harrison County was formed from Monongalia and Ohio Counties.
1787 - Randolph County was formed from Harrison County.
1798 - Wood County was formed from Harrison and Kanawha Counties.
1816 - Lewis County was formed from Harrison and Randolph Counties.
1818 - Nicholas County was formed from Greenbrier, Kanawha and Randolph Counties.
1818 - Preston County was formed from Monongalia and Randolph Counties.
1821 - Pocahontas County was formed from Pendleton, Randolph, Greenbrier and Bath Counties.
1831 - Fayette County was formed from Kanawha, Greenbrier, Nicholas and Logan Counties.
1831 - Jackson County was formed from Kanawha, Mason and Wood Counties.
1836 - Braxton County was formed from Kanawha, Lewis, Nicholas and Randolph Counties.
1842 - Marion County was formed from Harrison and Monongalia Counties.
1843 - Barbour County was formed from Harrison, Lewis and Randolph Counties.
1843 - Ritchie County was formed from Harrison, Lewis and Wood Counties.
1844 - Taylor County was formed from Harrison, Barbour and Marion Counties.
1845 - Doddridge County was formed from Harrison, Tyler, Ritchie and Lewis Counties.
1845 - Gilmer County was formed from Lewis and Kanawha Counties.
1848 - Wirt County was formed from Wood and Jackson Counties.
1850 - Raleigh County was formed from Fayette County.
1851 - Pleasants County was formed from Ritchie, Tyler and Wood Counties.
1851 - Upshur County was formed from Randolph, Barbour and Lewis Counties.
1856 - Calhoun County was formed from Gilmer County.
1856 - Roane County was formed from Kanawha, Jackson and Gilmer Counties.
1856 - Tucker County was formed from Randolph County.
1858 - Clay County was formed from Braxton, Kanawha and Nicholas Counties.
1860 - Webster County was formed from Braxton, Nicholas and Randolph Counties.
1863 - West Virginia was formed from Virginia

A traditional account by historian Glenn D. Lough claims that the first settlers, Pompey Leggit and his wife Jenny Duvall Leggit, homesteaded at Rivesville in present-day Marion County in 1694. With them were Jenny's brother, John Duvall, the William Burris family, and the Bozarth family. The families are said to have moved on to Philippi in present-day Barbour County by 1704, a site they abandoned in 1721. The Leggit's sons, Thomas and George Leggit, established a trading post at Lowsville in 1766.

Other early settlers in the mid-1700s in the original Monongalia County were the families of: Wendell Brown (at present-day Brownsville, Fayette County, PA); David Tygart and Robert Files (near present-day Beverly, Randolph County, WV); the Eckerlin brothers (Dunkard Bottom near Kingwood, Preston County, WV); and Thomas Decker at the mouth of Deckers Creek, present Monongalia County. Others in the Decker party included these surnames: Zern or Zorn, Falls, Thorn, Westfall, Cox, Statler or Stradler.


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