By James Russell Barnes Originally published by the Tazewell Counry Historical Society Newsletter, Sept. 1995 The "Warren Family History" was written by my wife's great-grandfather, Hoyt G. Warren of Tazewell, Va. in 1910. It describes the life and times of his family from the Revolutionary War to the early 1900's. I am attempting to verify the historical accuracy of the places and events recorded by Hoyt. A portion of the family history describes a journey made by Johnston Warren, my wife's great-great grandfather. He accompanied Dr. William P. Floyd, under the command of Edward Beale, on a U.S. Government expedition out west to repair a wagon road in the fall of 1858. They were appointed by the brother of Dr. Floyd, John B. Floyd, then Secretary of War and former Governor of Virginia. Edward Beale had made several trips traversing the continent during his explorations. The information contained in the family history by Hoyt Warren listed several individuals' names that were instrumental in determining on which trip Johnston Warren was a participant: Edward Beale, Dr. William Floyd, two Indian scouts; Little Al and Dick, and the lone woman, Mrs. Hogspeth (the wife of a civil engineer). My initial intent was to try to pinpoint the location of a canyon that was supposedly named after Johnston Warren by Edward Beale in honor of his finding water in a time of need. The information recounted in the family history is quite sketchy in its description of the itinerary of the journey although he went into somewhat more detail in the occurrence of events. Several historical documents and books produced a wealth of information concerning the illustrious career of Edward Fitzgerald Beale, Naval Lieutenant, Explorer (a lifelong friend of Kit Carson), Government Surveyor, Indian Agent, Rancher, Civil war Brig. General (Brevet), and Ambassador to Austria. It was a pleasant suprise to find a chapter in one of these documents stating that in 1858, Edward Beale was at his home in Chester, Pa. awaiting notification that funds were to be allocated by Congress to effect repairs on a U.S. wagon road from Ft. Smith, Arkansas to the Colorado River boarding Arizona and California. Upon receiving notification that funds had been allocated, he assembled the following people: Dr. William Floyd, surgeon and aide; Little Axe, misspelled as "Little Al" in the Warren history, (a Shawnee Indian) as scout; and Richard Brown, also known as "Dick" (a Delaware Indian), as a hunter. Both Indians had accompanied Beale on previous expeditions. This passage in the book indicated precisely that this was the trip on which they were participants. After identifying the precise dates of the undertaking, I then accumulated books, manuscripts, journals and Congressional records that provided insight on the day-by-day accounts of the trip.They described hunting activities, descriptions of the landscape, the availability of raw materials for construction, game, water, trading and fights with the indigenous population along the route. Dr. Floyd, in his personal journal, made mention of the old woman, named Hedgspeth (spelled Hogspeth in the family history) that had run her wagon into deep mud, causing quite a problem. (Floyd's journal is incomplete, missing the last days of the trip) At the completion of the road work in 1859, Johnston accompanied Edward Beale to his home in Chester, Pa. for three weeks before returning to his home in Tazewell, Va. Johnston honored Edward Beale by naming his next son "Truxton Beale Warren", born in 1861 after Truxton Beale, the son of Edward Beale. I have very little information concerning William Floyd other than his family affiliation with the former Governor, John Floyd. I have recently obtained several pre-civil war bank notes issued by the Trans-Alleghany Bank of Virginia at Jeffersonville. One of the bills, dated Nov. 19, 1853, has the signature of "William P. Floyd" as bank president. In my investigations of the aforementioned events, I have not found any reference to the location of "Johnston's Canyon", my original goal.Sources of Information:
Edward Fitzgerald Beale. A Pioneer in the Path of Empire,
by Stephen Bonsal (Available through the inter-library loan system
from the University of Arkansas Library)
Edward F. Beale and the American West, by Gerald Thompson
Quarterdeck and Saddlehorn, the Story of Edward F. Beale, 1822-1893, by Carl Briggs and Clyne Francis Trudell
Life of Kit Carson, by Edward S. Ellis
Report to Congress- Wagon Road, Ft. Smith,Ark.,to the Colorado River, 1858-1859, by Edward F. Beale
(Obtained from the University of Virginia Library on microfilm)
The Journal of DR. William P. Floyd- Tazewell, VA., Beale's Wagon Road Expedition, Sept. 1858 - May 1859
(Obtained from the Huntington Library, San Marino, California)
Note: A copy has been provided to the Tazewell County Public Library.
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