West Virginia Pioneers
Jesse David Hughes
1750 - 1829 (79 years)-
Name Jesse David Hughes Born 1750 South Branch of the Potomac, Hardy Co, WV 
[1] Gender Male Died Oct 1829 Ravenswood, Jackson County, West Virginia, USA [1] Notes
This sketch taken from "Pioneers of Jackson County", by John House, it appears in the section
"Lower Sandy Valley".
Jesse Hughes
Jesse Hughes, the renowned scout and Indian fighter, spent the last years of his life on the Ohio River, near the mouth of Big Sandy. He first bought land at Sandyville, but lost it through a former patent.
It would appear that Hughes came to this section a few years before the closing of Indian hostilities. He had three daughters, Nancy, Agnes, Massie and Luraine. Nancy and Massie were hunting cows on Turkey Run, which enters the river a mile above Ravenswood, when they were discovered by a party of Indians, who made a capture of the latter, and carried her off and kept her in captivity for two years. After the Treaty of Greenville brought peace to the border settlements, Jesse went in search of his daughter, but did not at first recognize her, as she was dressed in Indian fashion, with rings in her ears, mouth, and on all her fingers, her face and body smeared with paint, and she carried a bow and arrows.
Nancy Hughes married George W. Hanshaw, who lived in a cabin on the site of the house occupied a few years since by W.S. Proctor, on the old Proctor farm, above Ravenswood.
Jesse Hanshaw, who lived near the mouth of Mill Creek, was born there about 1830.
G.W. Hanshaw at one time owned the Blake, or Varner farm on Sandy.
Jesse Hughes' other daughter, Luraine, was married to Uriah Sayre, and lived at the mouth of Ground Hog, on the Ohio side of the river.
Her daughter, Lura Sayre, married Lafayette Cozart, of Jackson County, who relates that his wife's grandfather, Jesse Hughes, after he became old, wandered off into the woods. He was found on either Tureky or Lick Run, and though not dead when found, died very soon after. He was buried on the Proctor farm, some say, at the "old graveyard" but it is uncertain whether the exact site of the grave can now be located.
Massie Hughes, daughter of Jesse and heroine of the Indian capture married Uriah Gandee, Jr, and lived near Gandeeville. It is said that the wife of the famous Indian fighter, Grace Tanner Hughes, spent the last years of her life with them, and at her death in 1839, was buried there.
There are numerous persons in Jackson and adjoining counties who claim descent from Jesse Hughes, or his near relatives.
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From Fran:
"When Jesse returned to WV he no longer had home, pension, nor the youth and strength to eke out a living. He went to Ravenswood where he lived, first with his son, Thomas, and then with his daughter, Nancy Agnes Hanshaw, on Turkey Run, north of Ravenswood. One day he took his rifle and went squirrel hunting. When he didn't return his family searched for him and found him reclining against a chestnut tree ... gone forever, October 1829, at 79 years of age."
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His middle name may be David, but I don't remember the source for the data.
Person ID I3059 WVPioneers Last Modified 1 Dec 2016
Father Thomas Hughes, b. Between 1717 and 1727, Dist. of W. Augusta Co., VA , d. 4 May 1778, Hackers Creek, Harrison Co, Va (Age ~ 61 years) Mother Susannah [Mary ?] Baker, d. Yes, date unknown Married 1741 [2] Notes
Hughes, Elias VA MONONGALIA CO. 36 1782 05-00 (Tanner connections)
Hughes, Thomas VA MONONGALIA CO. 1782 06-00
Don Norman and "The Hughes Family" state that he was married twice, first to Mary Baker, who d bef 1759, and 2nd to Susanna, who died 1784
Joy Hughes Jacoby has children:
Deborah 1742
Sidney "Sudna" 1744
James 1746
Sarah 1749
Jesse 1751
Susannah 1753
Thomas 1754
Mary 1755
Job jacob 1756
Elias 1757
Martha 1759
Family ID F1438 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family Grace Tanner, b. 1753, Hackers Creek, Va , d. 18 Jan 1842, Roane County, West Virginia, USA (Age 89 years) Married 1772 [3] Notes
Mason Co tax list
Jesse Hughes Sr 1805-06-07-09-10-11-12-13-14
1820 Mason, VA
Jesse Hughes
1m 0-10
1m 45+
3f 0-10
2f 10-16 Nancy
3f 16-26
1f 45+
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"Jackson County in the Wars"
Revolutionary Soldiers
Jesse Hughes, Sr. Although it is commonly believed that Hughes served in the Continental Army, no proof of such service is extant. He spent his most active years on Hacker's Creek, present Lewis County, where he was a leader in the warfare with the Indians. He is listed on the Kanawha county tax list for 1801 and on that of Mason county for 1805-1814. and the censuses of 1810 & 1820. On the Personal Property tax list for Jackson county in 1831. He died on Big Sandy Creek, Jackson County, 1829 and is buried in the Proctor Cemetery at Ravenswood.
The wife of Jesse Hughes Sr was Grace Tanner. Children: Martha (1773-1834) married Jacob Bonnett, 1792; Rachel, married William Cottrell; Sudna, married Elijah Runner, and died near Sandyville; Elizabeth married James Stanley, lived and died on Mud Run, near Sandyville; Massie (Massa) married Uriah Gandee Sr, who died in 1855, died in Roane county, May 30, 1883; Nancy Agnes, married George W Hanshaw and lived in Jackson co; Louraney, married Uriah Sayre and lived in Meigs county, OH; Thomas lived on the Ohio below Ravenswood; William, married Rebecca staats and lived near Ripley; Jesse, jr, married Susanna Mock in 1800 and lived in Jackson county - he was deceased in 1850.
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Jesse served in the Harrison County militia, was an Indian trader and became one of the most famous of the frontier scouts of his time. A payroll of Captain William Lowthers Company of VA militia credits Jesse with 132 days service in Lord Dunmore's Ohio Campaign in 1774.
In 1778, a party of Indians murdered Jesse's father, Thomas Hughes and in 1787, another party of Indians led by the white renegade, Leonard Schoolcraft, captured Jesse's daughter. Although Jesse was able to purchase his daughter's freedom the following year, the two incidents turned Jesse and his brother Elias into implacable enemies of the Indians.
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Harrison co marriages:
1794 - William Cottrall and Rachel Hughes
1795 - Benjamin Cox and Mary Hughes
1795 - William Bibby and Deborah Hughes
1800 - Jesse Huse and Susana Mock
1800 - James Stanley and Elizabeth Huse
1808 - Samuel Childers and Rebecca Hughes
1816 - William Childers and Nancy Hughes
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Pg. 25 Edward C.Smith's History of Lewis Co, WV
Jesse HUGHES chose a tract of land near mouth of Jesse's run (known as Jesse Hughes' run in early records) on his first visit to Hacker's creek in 1769, built cabin and settled there after his marriage to Miss Grace Tanner in 1770 or 1771. The records of Monongalia Co. court show that a grant was made to him in 1781 of "400 acres on Hacker's creek, to include his settlement made in 1770."
Children 1. Jesse Hughes, Jr, b. 1771, d. Yes, date unknown 2. Martha Hughes, b. Dec 1773, d. Dec 1834 (Age ~ 61 years) 3. Rachel Hughes, b. Abt 1775, Hackers Creek, Harrison Co, Va , d. 16 Jul 1860, Roane County, West Virginia, USA (Age ~ 85 years)4. Sudna Hughes, b. Abt 1778, d. Bef 6 May 1823 (Age ~ 45 years) 5. Elizabeth Hughes, b. 1782, d. Yes, date unknown 6. Thomas Hughes, b. Abt 1784, Virginia, USA , d. Yes, date unknown7. William Jonathan D Hughes, b. 13 Sep 1785, d. 14 Jun 1847 (Age 61 years) 8. Mercy 'Massie' Hughes, b. Abt 1790, Harrison County, West Virginia, USA , d. 30 May 1883 (Age ~ 93 years)9. Nancy Agnes Hughes, b. 1809, Harrison County, West Virginia, USA , d. Yes, date unknownFamily ID F1032 Group Sheet | Family Chart
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Sources