Friday Nov. 1st, 1861

William from Chillicothe, Kate, who went to town today and Lucy came on the evening train.  It began to rain about sunset.  It was dark and muddy getting from the station.  
The question of forming the new state of Kanawha has been submitted to the vote of the people of western Virginia who appear to be almost a unit in favor of the measure.  In Wood county the vote stood 1011 to 45 in favor of the measure.  
William and Lizzie were married twelve years ago today.


Peggy's comments:
There were about 20 years difference in the ages of William and Lizzie Cutler.  Lizzie was 17 when she married William in 1849.  By 1861, Lizzie had given birth to 5 children, and only 2 were still living.

The northwestern counties of Virginia seceded from Virginia when it seceded from the United States.  Kanawha was the proposed name for the new state (it was the name of a river and also a Native American term meaning "place of white stone".)  The vote was held on October 24, 1861 with a large majority of those voting in favor of becoming a new state.

1862 Map Showing the
Proposed State of Kanawha
Frank Leslie's Pictorial History of the
American Civil War, 1862 (Ma61- 25)