Leading Families
In a very early day Jonathan Dunbar settled on land on Backus Branch. It is thought that his house stood on land now owned by H. E. Backus. We do not know the exact date of his settling here but the court records show that he had part in the first circuit court of Nicholas County in 1818, also that Alexander Brown was in attendance at this court, so we must conclude that the Browns and Dunbars both came to this community prior to the year 1818.
We do not know much of Jonathan Dunbar who settled on Backus Branch except that he raised a family. One son, Jonathan, lived on the head of the Mason Branch above the Charles W. King property. He married a daughter of William Legg who lived on Laurel Creek. They raised a large family of daughters. The two sons died of tuberculosis when young. One daughter, Mary, married Clark Grose and settled in the community. Another daughter, Talitha A., married John Cavendish, lived in the community for a number of years, but finally moved to Montgomery, West Virginia, where she still lives. The other daughters married but finally left the community. Jonathan Dunbar died at about the close of the Civil war. A daughter of Jonathan Dunbar, Sr., married Dr. William Brown who lived on the Backus Branch. The other members of Jonathan Dunbar, Senior's, family moved out of the community.
[After the Civil War] B. F. Legg moved to the Jonathan Dunbar place and lived there for a number of years then moved with his family, except two of his sons, Gordon and Newmen, to Virginia where he died a few years ago. B. F. Legg and his wife were Baptists but they worked with other churches in the Sunday School work and community prayer meetings.
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