The Big Sandy Valley: A History of the People.......

The Big Sandy Valley watershed

I recently came  across an interesting book published in 1883, written by William Ely.

'The Big Sandy Valley: A History of the People and Country from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time'

The Big Sandy Valley, which is today situated mostly in Eastern Kentucky, encompasses all or part of sixteen counties in Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia.

"This regional history consists primarily of biographical and genealogical sketches of the families of the Kentucky counties - Boyd, Lawrence, Elliott, Morgan, Magoffin, Martin, Floyd, Johnson, Pike, Perry, and Knox"

"William Ely born in December, 1833, in Western Pennsylvania, and was educated at Westminster College, New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, continuing there for three years. He then followed teaching for six or seven years, when, in 1859, he began the study of law in the office of Moore and Gallup, at Louisa, procuring his license in 1860.

In August, 1862, he was elected county attorney of Lawrence County, Ky. He entered the army as a private in September, 1862. At the organization of his company, in November of the same year, he was commissioned second lieutenant of the same, and at the organization of the regiment (Thirty-ninth Kentucky volunteers) February 16, 1863, he was promoted to first lieutenant and adjutant of the regiment, in which capacity he served to November 1864, when he was promoted to major of his regiment.

His first appearance in Kentucky was as principal of Big Sandy Academy, at Catlettsburg, in October 1857. Many of the prominent young men of the Sandy Valley were students under him, notably the Moore boys, the Richardsons, Prichards, Burgesses, Pattons; also, S.G. Kinner, our Commonwealth's attorney, and many others. In Johnson County, where he lives, he has been deputy collector internal revenue, United States commissioner, county school commissioner, and county judge. Judge Stewart is married but has no children. He owns and occupies a beautiful homestead in Paintsville. In politics he is a Republican. In religion he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church."

Good news is this book can be both viewed and downloaded for personal research.

Here are two different formats:

Transcribed version can be found here: The Big Sandy Valley

The scanned version of the book can be found here: Scan of The Big Sandy Valley