Elizabeth (Knotts) McGee, Second Wife of John P. Custer

This information is sent by Freda Blake Bradley, direct descendant of this admirable pioneer.

From the MAGEE FAMILY in John House's "Pioneers of Jackson County": In the low gap between the waters of Beatty's Run and Copper Fork, up on a slope overlooking the pike, and a deep cut, through which the railroad passes, is an old hewed log house, weatherboarded and grown old and weatherbeaten a second time, which was built by Jephtha Mcgee, in 1847, and the house of his wife, the late Elizabeth Knotts Magee Custer for fifty eight years. A large beech tree standing in the front yard, three feet in diameter, well proportioned, and with a magnificent spreading top, was when Magee cleared the ground and cut the top out of it to make it branch out, "a tall slim sapling, about as thick as a stovepipe". When I visited the old lady, in September 1904, and enjoyed a pleasant hour, talking of pioneer days, she expressed herself as greatly attached to the tree and wished it to stand as long as she might live. A little over a year later, she was in her grave, but the tree is (August, 1907) still hale and vigourous . Shame to the hand that is ever raised against it.

From "Some Early City, Village, County Burying Grounds" by John House. Cemetery visits made in 1903, 1904, and 1905 by Mr. House: "The Magee Chapel, M.E.S. stands on a point above the Railroad and is about a mile below Sandyville Bridge. It was built in the Centennial year and is a neat and commodious building and pleasantly located. The graveyard lies above it. It is irregular in shape and contains about an acre. It is well fenced with barbed wire and the boundaries were considerabley extended when the new fence was put up. There is a nice shade on the north side of White Oak, Black Oak, and hickory trees. Second growth, I should think, but of good size. The top point is nearly level, sloping gently to the east, in the northeast corner, a steep bank has been included within the bounds of the fence and there is fresh dirt on it, caused I think, by the dumping of dirt from the graves. After visiting the churchyard, I returned a short distance to where lives an old lady, Mrs. Elizabeth Custer and spent a pleasant hour in conversation with her. Mrs. Custer was born Knotts, on the second day of July 1816, and was well started in her eighty-ninth year. She was raised in Preston County, where in 1834, she married Jeptha Magee and moved to Sandy Valley. They lived on Daniel Sears' place at Sandyville and seven years on the Joe Leap Farm. In 1847, Magee bought land where she now lives and put up the house she yet lives in. It has been weather boarded and has a wide old fashioned porch in front, cool and shady on which the old lady was seated. She was very communicative and seemed glad to have someone to talk to, someone who had come ten miles just to talk with her. She said it seemed like people didn't pay much attention to her, that she had outlived her time. What the present generation talked about did not interest her and the young people did not like to talk about old times. She was well prepared, intelligent and quite sorry for her age. She is living with some of her grandchildren perhaps. The house is at the head of the little runs, in a low gap, one of them is a tributary of Copper Fork, the other of Beatties run. In the yard is a magnificent beech tree, three feet in diameter with wide spreading top. The old lady is quite attached to this tree which was about as thick as a stove pipe when they moved there in the woods, fifty-seven years of age. She told me much of the first settlers, of their customs and hardships and victories. She said the graveyard was opened some years before the church was built, but it is of comparatively recent date, yet there are many old people buried there, some of them pioneers. The first grave was that of a daughter of William Ables, and the next, of a man named Baker, who was killed by lightning in a barn at Joe Leap's. He was no kin to the Leroy Bakers. The oldest dates are in the side of the cemetery next to the church."

Freda Blake Bradley also sent a copy of the following document.

This agreement made this 18th day of August 1897 between James F. Blake and Mollie Blake his wife, parties of the first part and Elizabeth Custer party of the second part, Witnesseth, That whereas the said Custer has heretofore conveyed to said first parties a tract of 50 acres of land situated in Ravenswood District of Jackson County, West Virginia, on which all parties now reside: Now therefore, in consideration of the premises and for said land, the said first parties hereby agree and bind themselves with the said Elizabeth Custer to keep, board, clothe, and care for, in sickness and health, the said Elizabeth Custer, so long as she may live: furnishing to her, at all times a comfortable home on said land, and supplying all her necessities as her age and condition in life reasonabley require: and on her death to pay her funeral expenses and in a reasonable time, to erect at her grave a monument at a cost not exceeding $50. And this agreement is executed in duplicate. Witness the following signatures & seals the day and date above written. James F. Blake (seal) Mollie A. Blake (seal) Elizabeth Custer (seal)

Elizabeth (Knotts) McGee Custer, Hardy Pioneer of Jackson County.

Elizabeth (Knotts) McGee Custer

Elizabeth at her home with some members of her family.
Some Information About John Peter Custer

John Peter Custer was the son of Mark Custer,Sr. and the brother of Mark Custer,Jr. He was the uncle of Alonzo Milton Custer.

1850 Census Jackson Co., VA: 198-202 Custer John P. age 33 Miller at Sandyville b. Berkeley County; Charlette (Seckman) age 33; Melissa J. Custer age 7 born Tyler Co., VA,; George N. Custer age 6 born Tyler Co., VA,; Sylvester B. Custer age 5 born Tyler Co., VA.

1860 Census Jackson Co., VA: 840-792 John P. Custer age 42 farmer on Trace Fork of Sandy born VA; Charlotte (Seckman) 42 born PA; George 15 born VA

1870 Census Jackson Co., WV: 77-77 John P. Custer age 52 farmer on Trace Fork born Berkeley Co.,; Elizabeth age 54

1880 Census Jackson Co., WV: 286-288 John P. Custer age 62 farmer born Berkeley Co., WV; Elizabeth 64; Okey C. Grant age 11 nephew (s/o Chapman Grant and Margaret Custer Grant m. 16 Aug 1866 Jackson Co., WV); Holman, H. age 33 domestic born WV; Lucy? Grant 14 waiter born WV (Charles L. Grant). Margaret Custer MacFarland Grant was the sister of John P. Custer.

Home Guard during the War Between the States.

From John House's "Pioneers in Jackson County": "John Custer married first a Seckman, a sister of Squire Sayre's wife. He lived on the Sarver Farm, on Big Lick, which he sold to Old Jimmy Harper. He was living there in 1858. He married next Elizabeth, widow of Jephtha Magee. He lived after his second marriage at the home of his wife, beyond Independence."
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