The Early Justus Family of Buchanan County

The Early Justus Family of Buchanan County

By Ed Talbott, III

From: Buchanan County Times Past, Issue # 5, Winter 2000, Pages 18-20.

Note: Permission was given by Ed Talbott, III for this information to be posted in this blog. We appreciate Mr. Talbott sharing this information with the public. A copy of Buchanan County Times Past is at the Buchanan County Public Library in Grundy, VA.

Simeon “Simmy” Justice, Jr. was born about 1777 and was the son of Simeon Justice, Sr. and married Elizabeth Turley. Simeon married Keziah Salisbury about 1807 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Keziah went by the nicknames of “Prisa” and “Kizzie” at various times in her life. She was the daughter of Richard Salisbury and Polly Milton of Pittsylvania Count, VA. Richard Salisbury had served during the American Revolution.

Sometime before 1810, Simeon and Keziah moved to Beaver Creek in Floyd County, Kentucky and started a family. About 1836 the entire Justice family moved to Guesses Fork in Buchanan County, VA. Simeon and several of his sons received large land grants in Guesses Fork and across the ridge on Panther Creek in McDowell County, WV. Simeon possibly died prior to 1850 and Keziah died on November 23, 1855. They are probably buried in the Old Justus family cemetery on the right hand fork of Guesses Fork as three of their children are also buried there. Time as long since worn away and most of the markings on the fieldstones there are gone.

There has been some speculation that Guesses Fork could have originally been called Justice’s Fork. Ed believes that the name was originally Gist’s Fork for the explorer Christopher Gist who probably traveled through Buchanan County in 1750. Knox Creek was well populated prior to the 1836 arrival of the Justice family and the large hollow of Guesses Fork almost certainly would have been named prior to that.

The Next Blog will include their children.