Jonas Friend - Patriot Bio
Sunday January 26 2020
Jonas Friend (A114435) was born in Harpers Ferry, Virginia between 1724 and 1725. Of Swedish descent, he was one of the earliest settlers in both Pendleton and Randolph Counties. His father, Israel Friend, was probably the first permanent settler in the area along the upper Potomac. In 1727, Israel was appointed by the Governor of Maryland to set up a meeting with the Indians and he secured a deed from the Chiefs of the Five Nations for extensive lands on Antietam Creek.
Jonas was employed as a carpenter and assisted in the rebuilding of Fort Seybert in Pendleton County, Virginia. During Dunmore’s War he led a company of 20 men at the Battle of Point Pleasant. He also served as a Corporal in the French and Indian War.
Jonas married Sarah Skidmore sometime before 9 Sept 1754 when they executed a deed in Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia. This land represented his inherited share of his father’s land. Sarah was born about 1732 in Murderkill Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, the daughter of Joseph and Agnes Caldwell Skidmore. Joseph Skidmore also served during the French and Indian War. Jonas and Sarah had eight children: Joseph, Andrew, Nancy, Sarah, Mary, Elizabeth, Jonas and Gabriel.
Jonas moved to the Tygart River Valley in what would become Randolph County, Virginia by 1772. He, his son, Joseph, his father-in-law, Joseph Skidmore, and three others built Friends Fort located on Leading Creek near Elkins, Virginia. The fort was built for protection from the Indians. In 1784 he was appointed surveyor of the public highway, serving as chain carrier for the first surveys of Randolph County, Virginia.
During the American Revolution, Jonas raised a company of volunteers that supported General George Rogers Clarke. In addition, his brother-in-law, Abel Westfall and his son, Joseph Friend (A042647), both served as Captains during the Revolution. Captain Joseph Friend signed vouchers to several citizens who supported the Monongalia County Virginia volunteers on their march west to join Clarke.
In 1776 Jonas joined the inhabitants of the Tygart River Valley in signing a petition to the House of Delegates requesting three companies of rangers be sent to protect them. In April 1781 a suspected Indian was spotted in the shadows outside Friend’s Fort. Jonas believed it was one of the settlers so no action was taken, even though one man wanted to send out an alarm. The next day a raiding party descended and killed three men in the Clarksburg, Virginia area. They then moved to the Leading Creek area, destroying a colony of six families. This was the most disastrous Indian visitation on record in the Valley and Jonas condemned himself for not sounding the alarm.
Jonas Friend’s contributions to the growth of this country include Commissioner of the Peace (1774), Commissioner of Justice (1781), Pendleton County Constable (17 Nov 1767), and Overseer of Roads in Harrison County (1784). He was appointed Gentleman Justice for Augusta County (1775-1781) and became one of the first two representatives of the Virginia county government system west of the Alleghenies.
Jonas Friend lived to be about 77 years of age. He suffered from dementia in his final years as stories have been told that he believed he was still a soldier. He would walk about as if on picket duty and would occasionally raise his gun and pretend to fire it. He would then exclaim “there is now one Red Coat less!” It is believed he died on 15 November 1807 at Friend's Fort and his wife Sarah, died the following year. Both are buried at Friend’s Fort in Randolph County, West Virginia.
My family line starting with my Grandmother (Generation 3):
Gen 3: Hazel Julia Brooks Betler Houchin
Gen 4: Richard Thomas Brooks & Landona Belle Curry
Gen 5: John McAvoy Curry & Sabina Conrad
Gen 6: Jacob Peter Conrad & Elizabeth M. Alkier
Gen 7: John Conrad & Elizabeth Currence
Gen 8: John B. Currence & Nancy Friend
Gen 9: Jonas Friend & Sarah Skidmore
Jonas was employed as a carpenter and assisted in the rebuilding of Fort Seybert in Pendleton County, Virginia. During Dunmore’s War he led a company of 20 men at the Battle of Point Pleasant. He also served as a Corporal in the French and Indian War.
Jonas married Sarah Skidmore sometime before 9 Sept 1754 when they executed a deed in Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia. This land represented his inherited share of his father’s land. Sarah was born about 1732 in Murderkill Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, the daughter of Joseph and Agnes Caldwell Skidmore. Joseph Skidmore also served during the French and Indian War. Jonas and Sarah had eight children: Joseph, Andrew, Nancy, Sarah, Mary, Elizabeth, Jonas and Gabriel.
Jonas moved to the Tygart River Valley in what would become Randolph County, Virginia by 1772. He, his son, Joseph, his father-in-law, Joseph Skidmore, and three others built Friends Fort located on Leading Creek near Elkins, Virginia. The fort was built for protection from the Indians. In 1784 he was appointed surveyor of the public highway, serving as chain carrier for the first surveys of Randolph County, Virginia.
During the American Revolution, Jonas raised a company of volunteers that supported General George Rogers Clarke. In addition, his brother-in-law, Abel Westfall and his son, Joseph Friend (A042647), both served as Captains during the Revolution. Captain Joseph Friend signed vouchers to several citizens who supported the Monongalia County Virginia volunteers on their march west to join Clarke.
In 1776 Jonas joined the inhabitants of the Tygart River Valley in signing a petition to the House of Delegates requesting three companies of rangers be sent to protect them. In April 1781 a suspected Indian was spotted in the shadows outside Friend’s Fort. Jonas believed it was one of the settlers so no action was taken, even though one man wanted to send out an alarm. The next day a raiding party descended and killed three men in the Clarksburg, Virginia area. They then moved to the Leading Creek area, destroying a colony of six families. This was the most disastrous Indian visitation on record in the Valley and Jonas condemned himself for not sounding the alarm.
Jonas Friend’s contributions to the growth of this country include Commissioner of the Peace (1774), Commissioner of Justice (1781), Pendleton County Constable (17 Nov 1767), and Overseer of Roads in Harrison County (1784). He was appointed Gentleman Justice for Augusta County (1775-1781) and became one of the first two representatives of the Virginia county government system west of the Alleghenies.
Jonas Friend lived to be about 77 years of age. He suffered from dementia in his final years as stories have been told that he believed he was still a soldier. He would walk about as if on picket duty and would occasionally raise his gun and pretend to fire it. He would then exclaim “there is now one Red Coat less!” It is believed he died on 15 November 1807 at Friend's Fort and his wife Sarah, died the following year. Both are buried at Friend’s Fort in Randolph County, West Virginia.
My family line starting with my Grandmother (Generation 3):
Gen 3: Hazel Julia Brooks Betler Houchin
Gen 4: Richard Thomas Brooks & Landona Belle Curry
Gen 5: John McAvoy Curry & Sabina Conrad
Gen 6: Jacob Peter Conrad & Elizabeth M. Alkier
Gen 7: John Conrad & Elizabeth Currence
Gen 8: John B. Currence & Nancy Friend
Gen 9: Jonas Friend & Sarah Skidmore