Person:David Tygart (1)

David Tygart was one of the Early Settlers of Augusta County, Virginia

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Tygart's Valley

Tygart's Valley, then in Augusta County in 1753. was named for this David Tygart.

1.   .

   Robert Files (1715-1753); who, along with his brother-in-law David Tygart, moved beyond the legal limit of the Virginia colony into modern day West Virginia– which was reserved by treaty for the native population. Robert, his wife Elizabeth (Tygart) and their clan settled in a small valley at the junction of what is now known as the Tygart River and Files Creek (Map of Robert’s Settlement), where they held a small farm. In the winter of 1753, the farm came under the attack of a local native tribe; and Robert, Elizabeth, and five of their six children were all caught and killed. Only their son John Adam Files escaped; and fled to David Tygart’s cabin to warn his uncle and his family. With the Tygarts, John fled the frontier, back to Virginia-proper.
   
   http://temporaryhero.com/2013/05/29/the-matter-of-jeremiah-franklin-files-and-his-ancestry/

2.   .

   The Tygart Valley was named before the river, for the David Tygart family who settled with the Robert Files family south of present Beverly in 1753. The river was subsequently named for the valley and has been identified by several other names in the 250 years since its settlement. It was once frequently referred to as the East Fork of the Monongahela River.
   
   http://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/805

3.   Bosworth, Albert S. A history of Randolph County, West Virginia, from its earliest exploration and settlement to the present time. (Elkins, West Virginia?: A.S. Bosworth?, 1916?)
   pg. 267.

   Tygarts Valley River was named for David Tygart, who settled on its banks near Beverly, in 1753. In the early records of the county the name is spelled Tygers. After the massacre of the Files family, Tygart abandoned the Valley. However, a family by the name of Taggart was among the first permanent settlers of the county and tradition says they were of the same stock as the David Tygart family. It is therefore probable that the name of the Valley and river should be Taggart rather than Tygart.

4.   .

   Randolph County was and is the largest county in the state. Randolph County has ten magisterial districts: Beverly; Dry Fork; Huttonsville, Leadsville; Middle Fork; Mingo; New Interest; Roaring Creek; Valley Bend; and Whitmer. The current county encompasses 1,080 square miles; this decrease over its original size was due to parts of the original county being taken for the formation of other counties. It is composed of several parallel mountain ranges with intervening valleys and watersheds. The population of the county in 1830 was 5,000 persons; in 1870 it was 5,563; in 1880, 8,102; in 1890, 11, 633; in 1900, 17,670; in 1910, 26,028; and in 1920 it was 26,804.
   
   Two of the earliest settlement families in the Beverly area were the Robert Files and David Tygart families in 1753. The Files family settled where Files Creek meets the Tygart Valley River and built a log cabin. The Tygart family located a short distance up the valley. In the fall of 1754 a Files boy returned home to find his family being killed by Native Americans and the home place being burned. He fled to the Tygart's home and the pioneers fled. For the duration of the French and Indian wars no other settlers arrived in the area. By 1768 some settlers returned but they were few.
   
   http://www.historicbeverly.org/bevhist2.htm