LIVIA SIMPSON-POFFENBARGER, LL. D.

(Mrs. George Poffenbarger)

President, Point Pleasant Battle Monument Commission.
State Historian, National Society, Colonial Dames of America,
resident in West Virginia.
Founder and Honorary Life Regent, Colonel Charles Lewis Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.
Life Member, Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society.

POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
BATTLE OF POINT PLEASANT OCTOBER 10, 1774
FIRST BATTLE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

While on its face there is no politics in the Battle of Point Pleasant, it is tremendous from the point of gratitude when we consider that of the 1122 now known men of the Battle of Point Pleasant there were at least nine hundred fifty men of that battle who reproduced themselves by a family of an average of nine children for the three generations following and an average of five and three for the two generations following thereafter.

1774

It is reasonable to presume that of the 1122 known men of the battle of whom forty-four were killed, that there were 950 men at least who reproduced themselves at a time when the average family of children was nine, of whom an average of seven in each generation lived to maturity and reproduced themselves with the following results:

Of these 950 men who reproduced themselves through seven surviving children, there would be at the—

FIRST GENERATION, average of seven. . . . . . . . . 6,850

A generation averaging 38 years.

1812

SECOND GENERATION, average of seven. . . . . 47,950

1850

THIRD GENERATION, average of five. . . . . . . . . 335,950

1888

FOURTH GENERATION, average of five. . . . . . 1,679,750

NUMBER OF DESCENDENTS LIVING

1936

It is reasonable to believe that the number of descendants yet living who were of the Fourth Generation (1888) with a then average of a family of five children would have resulted in that year in 1,679,750, there would yet survive

five percent, or a total of . . . . . . . . . . . . 839,870

1926

FIFTH GENERATION, average of three would result in 8,719,000. 1/10th of whom now deceased 7,947,000

1926-36

One-fourth of a generation averaging three to a family would result in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,926,360

A grand total of persons yet surviving the men of the Battle of Point Pleasant of . . . ... . . . . . . . .10,713,230

Of course, this number is largely distributed throughout the United States, with Virginia and Kentucky sharing largely.

NATIVE-BORN CITIZENS

West Virginia boasts of a larger percent of citizens of native born descent than any state of the Union. It is easy to realize what a large proportion of them descend from men of the battle who will point with pride wherever they reside, not only to their own ancestors, but to their commander, Colonel, later Brigadier General, Andrew Lewis, who with his blood kin and his in-laws, together with their blood kin and their in-laws, neighbors and friends, were because of their Scotch-Irish fighting blood, their high ideals, their educational achievement, the most forceful men for resisting not only Indian invasion but English oppression.

To refer to ones sires having fought under Andrew Lewis is as great a distinction and pride as is that of the Frenchmen who yet boast "My sires fought under Napoleon."