Before my grandmother died, my Uncle encouraged her to write out her life
\nstory, which was a very good idea. She wrote about 100 pages of her
\nhistory, what life was like growing up on a farm in West Virginia, and as
\nmuch family history as she knew.<\/p>\n
A couple years ago, I transcribed her handwritten sheets and started doing
\nsome genealogical research to flesh out her descriptions. My eventual
\ngoal would be to put it into book form, with copious annotations and a
\ncomprehensive family tree.<\/p>\n
There is a particular relative that she talks about a fair amount, and
\nthat is Henry Dunkle, my great-great-great grandfather.<\/p>\n
The story she tells is that he was born to a woman whose name was probably
\nSarah Edens (daughter of Edward Edens, Sr., one of the first settlers
\nthere) and a man who may have also been named Henry Dunkle. The father
\nran off as soon as he discovered “Sarah” was pregnant. Henry grew up to
\nbe a schoolteacher. He eloped with a 15 year old student in a rowboat
\ndown the Ohio in January. She died from pneumonia 3 days after they were
\nmarried. He returned to the Davis Creek area of West Virginia and
\ncontinued as a schoolteacher. He is mentioned as being the first county
\nsuperintendant of the first Barboursville Free School in a history of the
\narea in 1867. He married a “distant” cousin, Catherine Edens, and had some
\nkids. He died during the 1913 flood of the area. His journal he had kept
\nhis entire life was washed away in that flood as well.<\/p>\n
So that’s my grandmother’s story.<\/p>\n
However, on the web, I found someone who had transcribed all the
\ntombstones in the Edens and Dunkle cemetary in WV, and it says that Henry
\nC. Dunkle’s (1838-1913) parents were James and Permilia(?). It also says
\nthat his wife, Mary “Catherine” Edens was the daughter of Edward Edens,
\nSr.<\/p>\n
So either he married his aunt and they got his parents wrong on the
\ntombstone, or my grandmother got some wires crossed.<\/p>\n
So, I really want to solve these 150 year old mysteries. Who were Henry’s
\nparents? Did his father skip town? Who was the 15 year old he eloped
\nwith? Why on earth would the school system hire this guy (who ran off
\nwith one of his students to her eventual demise) to be superintendent?
\nWere they that<\/i> hard up for teachers?<\/p>\n
And if my grandmother is mixing up her stories, who do<\/i> the stories
\nbelong to?<\/p>\n
My first step was to write a letter to the West Virginia Archives in
\nCharleston, WV requesting a copy of the West Virginia School
\nJournal<\/i> from 1867, which is supposed (according to my grandmother) to
\nhave a picture of Henry and an article about him. Perhaps they have an
\nexplanation of why they hired a pedophile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Before my grandmother died, my Uncle encouraged her to write out her life story, which was a very good idea. She wrote about 100 pages of her history, what life was like growing up on a farm in West Virginia, … Continue reading