Samuel Ervin

Samuel Sr's tombstone

Amy, bless you! This is such a wonderful find. It seems this would finally prove that the reference to Samuel in Larkin's "The Pioneer History of Meigs County " really does refer to our Samuel and his son Thomas:

"Samuel Ervin built a cabin near the site of what is known as the "Horton boatyard" in 1807, being the first settler of the town of Pomeroy. Amos Partlow came in 1809 and built his cabin about where the Excelsior Salt Works are situated, and that was the second house. The third cabin was erected by Frank Hughes on the ground where the court house stands, and John Mason put a cabin on Sugar run, being the fourth dwelling house in Pomeroy. Mr. Ervin vacated his house in favor of John Bailey and built another cabin at the mouth of Kerr's run; lived there in 1815, when he sold to Nathan Clark, who was therefore about the fifth settler of the town of Pomeroy.
Some of the above mentioned improvements were sold to other parties. Clark sold his improvement to Robert Bailey or Randall Stivers, who afterwards sold to Major Dill. Nial Nye bought a lot of Dill and built the first store house, where he kept the first post office in Pomeroy in 1827. Mr. John Knight bought the improvement made by Mr. Ervin of a Mr. Miles, and Samuel Grant bought the Partlow improvement.
Robert Bailey, Elihu Higley, John Bailey, David Bailey, Hedgeman Hysell, Leonard Hysell and Elam Higley met at the house of Samuel Ervin and from there started to Gallipolis and volunteered under General Tupper to serve in the War of 1812.
Thomas Ervin, Robert Bailey, David Bailey and John Bailey were pioneer keelboat men, who boated salt from Kanawha to Pittsburg, the boat being owned by P. Green and Jack Allen.
The first public road cut through the woods from Gallipolis to Chester was opened by Samuel Ervin, Asahel Cooley and Hamilton Kerr. [Note: The date of this road is not given, but there were settlements on Leading creek and at Athens as early as at Chester, and may have been opened as early by way of these settlements from Gallipolis to Athens.] It should be borne in mind that many roads were barely marked out for horse or foot men that were never opened for teams. Mr. Thomas Matthews settled in Chester in 1798 or 1799, and he told me (Larkin) while we were in company passing over the hill on the Rutland road to Middleport that there was where he and Hamilton Kerr and some other men whose names are forgotten located a road to Shade river, crossing Leading creek where the K. & M. Railroad crosses that stream, running immediately up the point of that hill and following the ridge all the way west of Middleport and Pomeroy, but that road was never opened for teams. S.C.L.
Mr. Ervin stated that in 1814 the Ohio river was very high, so that his father, Samuel Ervin and family, were compelled to leave the cabin and take shelter in a cave, where they lived seven days and nights, in much discomfort, as it was in the month of February."

I would love to contribute to having this stone restored if you can find someone to do it. Thank you again.