8. | Thomas BAYS was born in 1796 in MD (son of John Franklin Fielding BAYS and Mary Ann KNIGHT); died in 1880 in Fayette Co., WV. Notes:
[Helmick's from online.FTW]
[Fair Sabra & Abraham Helmick.FTW]
[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 5, Ed. 1, Tree #1718, Date of Import: Feb 6, 2000]
Birth and death dates are approximate. The three Bays brothers appeared in the Loop (WV) before the formation of Fayette Co., but their cabins were located in diverse parts of that area - Thomas, on the present Country Club Road; William, on Cassady Branch of Laurel Creek; and Isaac, on Crooked Run.
In 1826, Thomas and Isaac Bays worked as chainmen on the surveys made by
Francis Pinnell in the Loop when it was under the jurisdiction of Logan County.
The place chosen by Thomas Bays for his homestead was on the headwaters of Wolf Creek, then called Wolfpen Creek, athwart the old Loup Creek Road across Rich Mountain. There he found acres and acres of good rolling terrain suitable fo farming and stock raising and waiting to be cleared. The original Loup Creek Road passed through this homestead to a junction with the Bluestone Road at the site of present Oak Hill, but that was somewhat out of the way for inhabitants who had business at the new county seat at Vandal's. In 1837, on petition of Loup Creek citizens, Thomas Bays was appointed on a committee of viewers to locate a new road "from the top of Rich Mountain where Loop Creek Road crosses, to intersect the Bluestone Road at the most convenient and practicable point toward Vandal's" (Fayetteville).
We do not know when Thomas and Nancy died. They appear on the Fayette Co. 1860 Census - Thomas's age is given as 64 and Nancy is 58. She is also listed as being a Midwife. There are also three children listed: Martha, 18, who married Lewis Blake; Henry C., 14, and James F., age 4.
In 1994, I visited Oak Hill, WV, in search of the burial place of Thomas and Nancy. I was told by Randy Steele of Kentucky that they were buried in the Brenneman Cemetery. I did not find the Brenneman Cemetery but later found that it is now know as the Lundale Farm. Merry Hanning of Oak Hill visited the Lundate Farm in 1995 but did not find any evidence of graves. She said it was overgrown with weeds and she was unable to find any markers.
While I was in Oak Hill, I drove down the street called Country Club Rd. I later found out after reading the book "Cabins in the Loop" that Thomas and Nancy had once lived on that same road.
If you have corrections, or comments please contact me, Terry Pogue at t_pogue@hotmail.com
Thomas married Nancy Ann LINEGAR in 1818 in WV. Nancy (daughter of Isaac LINEGAR and Rebecca RUNNELLS) was born in 1801 in Bath Co., VA; died in 1880 in Fayette Co., WV. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]
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