Timelines

peter burr house

June 27 1751

Peter Burr

Peter Burr receives a land grant for 480 acres adjoining Captain Thomas Rutherford's property, which includes the area of present day Bardane. You can view the original land grant online here.

The home Peter Burr built on his land is now the oldest standing wood frame home in West Virginia, having been built in 1751, and has been structurally unchanged for over 200 years. For more information, visit the Peter Burr Soceity.

horatio gates e1533296266516

1764

Horatio Gates

General Horatio Lloyd Gates, a British soldier who served as an American General during the Revolutionary War, makes his home on 659 acres at Traveler's Rest, near Kearneysville in present day Jefferson County where he was a local justice and a lieutenant colonel in the militia. Later, in 1790, he freed his slaves and moved to New York.

Learn more about Horatio Gates, or view the National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for Traveler's Rest.

Timeline Help

A chronological listing of historical events which may have affected the lives of residents in eastern Jefferson County and surrounding areas.
1Where is this information from?
The vast majority of these accounts are taken from newspaper articles of local papers of the time period.
2How can I apply this information to my own research?

We use this timeline to help us understand the events that may have affected or shaped a person's life. Here are some ideas as to how this timeline may help your further your own research:

  • View events that may have affected a particular ancestor or their family members.
  • Uncover events which an ancestor may have participated in, leading to more sources of information.
  • Discover more about the history and culture of the area in which an ancestor lived.
  • Evaluate possible concerns and popular pastimes of an ancestor.
3I want to view a timeline of events in a specific area.
Click on "Location" in the "Filter by" bar. This will drop down a list of locations which currently have happenings in the timeline. Clicking on a location will show only events related to that specific area. Note that clicking on a county or state will show all happenings related to any location within that county (and any county within a state).
4I want to see timeline items between two years.
Click on "Years" in the "Filter by" bar. This will drop down a form which accepts a starting year and an ending year. Filling out both fields will display timeline items which took place in and between the two years. Filling out only one field will display all timeline items beginning at or ending on the years inputted.