JOSEPH DIMMIT FLEECE, 1827-1899 West Virginia to Ohio. The purpose of Stray Branches is to bring forth stories that are little known or to call attention to new facts and resources that may have been difficult to find in the past. Overview. Joseph was born in 1827 in what is now Morgan County, West Virginia, county seat Martinsburg. However, when he was born it was actually Berkeley County, Virginia, county seat Berkeley Springs. Berkeley Springs, Virginia is now also in West Virginia. The two towns are about 25 miles from each other. To further complicate things Berkeley Springs (the city) used to be known as Bath, named in honor of England's spa city of Bath because of the hot springs but was changed to Berkeley Springs in 1802. So early Fleece records sometimes say Bath, Virginia. "George Washington slept there" is in fact, true, but the subject of another story. Joseph's middle name of Dimmit supposedly comes from the maiden name of a grandmother. This ...
Little-known or new information about some of our most interesting ancestors. Be sure to click the three bars on the right to see the list of archived blogs. Also - BLOGS ARE COPYRIGHTED. Please contact me for permission because I'm doing some tracking studies. I will almost always grant permission :-)