The Shadow
The 34th annual Boggs Reunion was held Sunday, July 11 at Blue Bend Picnic Shelter, Blue Bend, W.Va. There were approximately 40 guests and family members in attendance.
James Boggs was born in Londonderry, Ireland. He was the son of the first generation of Livingstons who came to Ireland from Scotland to escape religious persecution. They settled in the lowlands near Londonderry and were known as the Livingstons of Bog. The name Livingstons was dropped and the name Boggs was born. James married Rebecca Moray and they traveled to New Castle, Del. in 1724.
They had seven children, one being James Charles Boggs who married Margaret Sharp in 1751 in Wilmington, Del.
They moved to Bath County in 1764 and from there they moved to Spring Lick Creek in Greenbrier County, Va. (now West Virginia.), where they had a grist mill and a saw mill.
There they settled and raised 11 children and one being Ezekiel, born in 1860. He married Margaret Boggs (probably a cousin), and also had 11 children, all settled in the Greenbrier and Pocahontas County area. One of their sons James married Jane White on February 7, 1821 and they settled on Allegheny Mountain, Greenbrier County, near the present day state line of West Virginia and Virginia, on 400 acres of land, a gift from her father.
They had three children, two girls and one boy. The boy, William M. Boggs was born in 1827 and died 1864.
This reunion reflects the descendants of William M. Boggs and his wife Sarah Ann Patience Piles Boggs’ children. Their children were George Allen Boggs and wife Mary Ella M. Piles Boggs; James Aiken Boggs and wife Emma Bell Stull Boggs; Emma Jane Boggs and husband James H. Vance; William Wassan Boggs and wife Susanna Hoke Boggs; and Steward John Boggs and wife Sophronia Anna Ramsey Boggs.
Mr. William M. Boggs was a confederate soldier in Edgars Battalion, 26th Battalion, Virginia Infantry, E Company. He was involved in battles in White Sulphur Springs, Lewisburg and the Skirmish at Tuckwillers Tavern, Battle of Droop Mountain, fought in the Battle of New Market and the Battle of Cold Harbor, near Richmond.
It was during the Battle of Cold Harbor that William M. Boggs was captured by the Union army and taken as a prisoner of war.
The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought June 3, 1864 near Gaines Farm, Richmond, Va. He was taken to Point Lookout, Md., and imprisoned and from there taken to Elmira, N.Y. It was on the way to Elmira that he was involved in the historic train wreck at Shiloh, Pa.
In this wreck, William M. Boggs was hurt, he sustained a broken leg and being in a poor state of health, he never fully recovered. On December 19, 1864 he died in the Elmira Prison, Elmira, N.Y. refusing to take the oath of allegiange to the union, which would have freed him.
Mr. William M. Boggs’ descendants meet every year in July to celebrate the independence and freedom that he lived and died for.
Linda Stull Boggs, president, called the group together and welcomed everyone. A few announcements were made. The blessing for the meal was given by Mr. Wilson Boggs of W.Va. A wonderful meal and great fellowship was had by all.
Loved ones that had passed away were recognized.
Prizes were awarded for the following:
Oldest attending: Wilson Boggs, 90 years of West Virginia.
Youngest attending: Jovanni Ortega, 2 months old that day, of Sumter, S.C.
Married longest: Dick and Violette Boggs Wyatt, 54 years of WhiteSulphur Springs, W.Va.
Traveled the fartherest to attend: Kayla Welch, 390 miles, of Sumter, S.C.
Jar of Skittles to Cassidy Swift. Door prizes awarded to John Wyatt, Agnes Surbaugh, and Matthew Wyatt of White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.; Susan Halsey, and Kayla Welch, Sumter, S.C.; Noah Boggs and Cameron Boggs of Crawley, W.Va.; Nancy McCarty, Second Creek, W.Va.; Tommy Boggs, King George; and Amanda McCarty of Ronceverte, W.Va.
Horse Shoe throwing contest winners were Chuck Halsey of Sumter, S.C., and Greg Boggs of Crawley, W.Va. They both received a trophy.
