The Roane County Historical Society, Inc., met Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 7 p.m. at the Roane County Library with fifteen members present. Rick Greathouse, President, called the meeting to order. Jack Nida led the opening prayer and the pledge to the American Flag was recited.
Susan Tucker, Recording Secretary, read the minutes from the June meeting which were approved as read.
Carol Board-Westfall, Treasurer, reported a balance of $19,824.61 in the society’s treasury.

Linda Cottrell Liss, Membership & Corresponding Secretary, reported membership at 202 which includes two new members. She has also responded to several pieces of correspondence and contacted members by email who have not paid dues for the new fiscal year, 2011-12.

Board-Westfall reported three new books have been added to the society’s library:
1. “Historic Photos of West Virginia” by Swick
2. “Images of America – Mason County” by Bolte
3. “Baltimore & Ohio Railroad of West Virginia” by Withers

In the absence of Johanna Nutter, Genealogy Fair Chairperson, Board-Westfall reported that the society has started receiving calls regarding reservations for table space for the September 24th genealogy fair..

Liss reported that she has not heard back from the landowner where the Civil War marker for T. J. Cottrill is found. The marker is located along the road in a remote area up McKown’s Creek in Roane Co. just as reported earlier. It is quite heavy and the road very rough. Jack Nida volunteered to meet with the Liss’s to retrieve the marker soon.

Board-Westfall reported that two of the 16 church plaques have been installed. She needs help with this since the churches are located all over the county. Jack Nida volunteered to help her with the installation. She also reported that the plaque commemorating Harry C. Woodyard’s service as Roane County Congressman is being designed and hopefully will be ready for dedication by the October 2011 Black Walnut Festival.

Board-Westfall reported that:
1. A set of West Virginia Heritage Encyclopedias & Supplements have been donated to RCHS through the Fields estate.
2. Several old photos and an old Spencer High School Rupicola was donated to
the history library
3. The Historical Society’s microfilm reader machine has been repaired

President Greathouse is still working to schedule speakers for upcoming meetings, in particular one from “Preservation Works” and one from Daughters of the American Revolution [DAR] or Sons of the American Revolution [SAR].

Patty Wyatt reported that she has completed organizing the notebook of old obituaries from the society’s library. It is available in the history library.

Report from the Committee on Nominations: Slate of officers for the 2011-12 fiscal year.

President – Richard I. “Rick” Greathouse
1st Vice President – Anthony Hofstad
2nd Vice President – Jack Nida
Recording Secretary – Susan Tucker
Treasurer – Carol Board-Westfall
Membership/Corresponding Secretary – Linda Cottrell Liss

Motion was properly made and seconded to accept and elect the slate of officers as presented. The motion carried unanimously.

The meeting adjourned with refreshments being served to Board-Westfall, Greathouse, Bernard and Patty Wyatt, Liss, Hazel Gandee, Okey and Mary Young, Jean and Jack Nida, Tucker, Phyllis Counts, Wilma Rhodes, Brenda Whited and Peggy Starcher.
The next meeting of the R.C.H.S. is scheduled for Thursday, August 25th, 7 p.m. at the library. All members are urged to attend and guests are always welcome.

The Roane County Historical Society met on Thursday, June 23, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. at the Roane County Library with eighteen members and guests present.
Rick Greathouse, President, called the meeting to order and welcomed those present. Anthony Hofstad led the opening prayer and the pledge to the American flag was recited. The minutes from the May meeting were approved as read.

The Roane County Historical Society, Inc. met on Thursday, May 26, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. at the Roane County Public Library. Rick Greathouse, President, called the meeting to order and welcomed those present. The opening prayer was led by Anthony Hofstad and the pledge to the flag was recited. Minutes from the April meeting were read and approved as read. Carol Board-Westfall, Treasurer, gave her report which reflects a $19,556.53 working balance.

Linda Liss, Membership Secretary/Corresponding Secretary, reported that the present membership stands at 198, reflecting the loss of one member since the April report. Dues for the 2011-12 fiscal year are $12 & due by July 1, 2011.

Carol Board-Westfall reported the purchase of three books to be added to our library:
1. Charleston Then & Now
2. Postcards of Charleston
3. Great Ohio River Flood of (1937)

The Spring Issue [Vol. 18 #3] of “The Roane County Journal” was mailed in early May.

No report at this time on the 17th Annual Genealogy Fair scheduled for Saturday, September 24th at the Heritage Park Community Building. Johanna Nutter is Chairperson of this event.

Linda Liss reported that she has been working on identifying the Civil War marker found in rural Roane County near Walton. The marker is for Thomas Jefferson Cottrill who was from Harrison Co., WV and identified as buried at the I.O.O.F. Cemetery at Clarksburg, WV. He died in 1897 and as far as known the Civil War marker had never been installed in the cemetery. The cemetery owner/groundskeeper is willing to install the marker if it can be retrieved and returned to the cemetery. Attempts are being made to identify the owner of the land on McKown’s Creek where the marker is located.

Linda Liss reported that she had attended the 2011 Awards Assembly at Roane County High School on Tuesday, May 24th. At that time she presented the $500. Essay Scholarship Award to Miss Shelby L. Montgomery of Gandeeville, WV, who wrote an essay on her Montgomery family. Miss Montgomery has been invited to attend our June meeting and tell us a bit about her research and future plans. She will be added as an honorary member of the R.C.H.S.

Carol Board-Westfall reported that she still needs to contact officials at the courthouse about putting a plaque up honoring Roane County’s only Congressman, Harry Chapman Woodyard. She will continue to work on this project for 2012. She also reported that the 2011 Roane County church plaques have not been installed yet.

According to RCHS by-laws it is the time of year for us to be thinking about election of officers for 2011-12. A Nominating Committee will need to be formed in June to nominate officers to be elected at the July meeting.

June 2011 is our annual birthday celebration month. Cake/ice cream will be served.

Jack Nida reported that he had picked up the boxes of volumes of “The Virginia Genealogist” magazine that had been donated to the R.C.H.S.

The meeting adjourned with refreshments being served to members: Phillip J. Miller, Rick Greathouse, Anthony Hofstad, Jean Nida, Jack Nida, Carol Board-Westfall, Melissa Swisher, Betty Moore, Denver Gandee, Marvin D. Stemple, Peggy Starcher, Brenda Whited and Linda Liss.

Submitted by Linda Liss
Secretary Pro-tem

The Roane County Historical Society, Inc. met on Thursday, April 28, 2011 at the Roane County Library for their regular monthly meeting with twelve members present. Rick Greathouse, President, called the meeting to order. Mr. Denver Gandee led the opening prayer and the pledge to the American flag was recited. Susan Tucker, Recording Secretary, read the minutes from the March meeting and Carol Board-Westfall gave the Treasurer's report.

Linda Liss, Corresponding & Membership Secretary, reported that cards had been sent where needed. Members present signed a sympathy card for the family of Rev. Willis E. Anderson, long-time member of the R.C.H.S., who died April 26, 2011.
Liss reported the present membership at 199, which includes four new members: Betty J. (Koon) Moore, Peggy L. (Keffer) Starcher, Brenda M. (Golden) Whited, and Nancy L. Mullins.

Liss reported on an inquiry about a Civil War grave marker that had been found recently beside a remote Roane County road near Walton. The marker was for T. J. Cottrill who served the Union - Co E, 12 WVa Infantry. He has been identified as Thomas Jefferson Cottrill, b. c-1837 and died 8 Jan 1897 in Harrison Co., WV, son of Thomas Cottrill and Delilah Loughery Records indicate that he was buried at the I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Clarksburg. How the marker wound up in Roane County is a mystery. Anyone having information about this marker or how/why it made its way to Roane County, please contact Mrs. Liss at WVRoots@aol.com

Society member, John Sagert of Florida, was present. He was in West Virginia researching the Sinnett family. In particular he is looking for the final resting place (cemetery) for John S. Patrick Sinnett [1787-1869] who is known to have served as the first postmaster (about 1856) of the Walton, Roane Co., WV area. Where was that first post office located?
Mr. Sagert donated a copy of his book, "The Sinnett Family Tree" to the society's library.

Linda Liss reported on the R.C.H.S. 2011 Essay Scholarship. To encourage young people to learn of their family genealogy, the society is presenting a $500 scholarship to a deserving Roane County High School senior who writes an essay on their family history. This year's $500 scholarship goes to Miss Shelby Lynn Montgomery of Gandeeville, Roane County, who wrote about her Montgomery ancestors. The scholarship will be presented to Miss Montgomery during the high school's, May 24th awards ceremony.

Carol Board-Westfall brought and displayed the plaques for Roane County churches and the Goad house plaque from our 2011 project recognizing structures 100 years old or older. Photos of the plaques were taken to include in the society's library. She also reported that she had received information on Roane County Congressman, Harry Chapman Woodyard. She will proceed on working out details for this 2012 plaque project.

The meeting adjourned with refreshments being served to Susan Tucker, Rick Greathouse, Carol Board-Westfall, Marvin Stemple, John Sagert, Linda Liss, Hazel Gandee, Denver Gandee, Phillip "PJ" Miller, Brenda Whited, Patty Wyatt and Bernard Wyatt.
The next scheduled meeting of the R. C. H. S. will be held on Thursday, May 26th at 7:00 p.m. at the Roane County Public Library. Members are urged to attend and guest are always welcomed.
For more information, contact Linda Liss at WVRoots@aol.com

In 2009 the Roane County Historical Society, Inc. took on an ongoing project to commemorate and recognize pre-1910 (100 year old) buildings and homes in Spencer, Roane Co., WV. To that end eighteen buildings and homes have been recognized and bronze plaques have been installed identifying their place in Spencer's history. A walking tour brochure has been prepared to aid those wishing to see the structures first-hand.