James Barnes Westfall b. 16 Nov 1829 Upshur County, West Virginia, USA d. 28 Mar 1870 Ritchie County, West Virginia, USA: Smith Family Tree

James Barnes Westfall

1829 - 1870 (40 years)

Name	James Barnes Westfall [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
Birth	16 Nov 1829	Upshur County, West Virginia, USA [1, 5, 6, 9]
	(Note: Upshur County was in Virginia until 1863)
Gender	Male
Census	1850	Ritchie County, West Virginia, USA [5]
	Age: 20; Son of Eliz and John W Westfall (Note: Ritchie County was in Virginia until 1863)
FSID	L7GN-TB2
Military Service	Abt 1863	West Virginia, USA [1, 3, 4, 7]
	Union Army - War of the Rebellion: 2nd LT, Company E, 6th Regiment, West Virginia Infantry
Death	28 Mar 1870	Ritchie County, West Virginia, USA [1, 6]
	Cause: Accidental Freezing
	James died after swimming in the river in an effort to dislodge a log jam at Webb's Mill. ... The river was in flood stage and bitterly cold. The U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules Index states the cause of death as "frozen".
Burial	Smithville Cemetery, Smithville, Ritchie, West Virginia, USA [1]
		Smithville Cemetery Smithville, Richie, West Virginia Find a Grave: #77616
Person ID	I26722	A Tree Called Smith
Last Modified	21 Jul 2025

Father	John Wesley Westfall, b. 3 Nov 1798, Virginia, USA d. Mar 1865, Smithville, Ritchie, West Virginia, USA (Age 66 years)
Relationship	natural
Mother	Elizabeth Simon, b. 4 Dec 1797, Lewis County, West Virginia, USA d. Aft 1880, Ritchie County, West Virginia, USA (Age > 84 years)
Relationship	natural
Marriage	7 Feb 1819	Lewis County, West Virginia, USA [2, 9, 10, 11]
	(Note: Lewis County was in Virginia until 1863)
Family ID	F2384	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family Martha Jane Zickafoose, b. 14 Oct 1828, Virginia, USA d. 21 Oct 1915, Mariposa County, California, USA (Age 87 years)

Marriage 1850 Ritchie County, West Virginia, USA [2, 12]

(Note: Ritchie County was in Virginia until 1863)

Children

	1. James David Westfall, b. 2 Feb 1865, Ritchie County, West Virginia, USA d. 15 Oct 1952, Merced, Merced, California, USA (Age 87 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	2. Sampson Wesley Westfall, b. 28 Sep 1851, Ritchie County, West Virginia, USA d. 14 Jun 1925, Mariposa County, California, USA (Age 73 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	3. Mary Catherine Westfall, b. 16 Jul 1858, Ritchie County, West Virginia, USA d. 7 Feb 1937, Ritchie County, West Virginia, USA (Age 78 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	4. Reverend Rev Charles Kuykendall 'CK' Westfall, b. 2 Jan 1856, Ritchie County, West Virginia, USA d. Jul 1917, Mariposa County, California, USA (Age 61 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	5. Sarah E Westfall, b. 6 Jul 1853, Ritchie County, West Virginia, USA d. 9 Feb 1935, Mariposa County, California, USA (Age 81 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]
	6. Malinda Jane Westfall, b. 15 Dec 1860, Virginia, USA d. 12 Oct 1949, Fresno County, California, USA (Age 88 years) [Father: natural] [Mother: natural]

Family ID F11776 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Last Modified 21 Jul 2025

Event Map

	Birth - 16 Nov 1829 - Upshur County, West Virginia, USA
	Census - Age: 20; Son of Eliz and John W Westfall (Note: Ritchie County was in Virginia until 1863) - 1850 - Ritchie County, West Virginia, USA
	Marriage - 1850 - Ritchie County, West Virginia, USA
	Military Service - Union Army - War of the Rebellion: 2nd LT, Company E, 6th Regiment, West Virginia Infantry - Abt 1863 - West Virginia, USA
	Death - Cause: Accidental Freezing - 28 Mar 1870 - Ritchie County, West Virginia, USA

= Link to Google Earth

Ancestors

~j Campbell-M
Campbell Male Ancestor

Sources

[S7837] Smith, Julie Campbell, Find a Grave - Ancestor (Campbell): WESTFALL James B, (Name: SmithLC.com;), WESTFALL James Barnes 1829-1870 (Veteran).
Husband of Martha Jane Zickafoose. James died after swimming in the river in an effort to dislodge a log jam at Webb's Mill. His son, Sampson, was with him. The river was in flood stage and bitterly cold. The U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules Index states the cause of death as "frozen". James' parents were John Wesley Westfall & Elizabeth Simon. His paternal grandparents were Joel Westfall & Elizabeth White. His maternal grandparents were Leonard & Christine Simon. After his death two of James' three living sons went to Mariposa County California to be near their Uncle Joel Westfall. One son, Charles, went to Kansas and became a minister. When his brothers visited him in Kansas, they decided to all three visit their mother in West Virginia. They talked her into moving to California. The only child who did not eventually go to California was my g grandmother, Mary Catherine. Martha is buried in the family plot on the ranch that belonged to her daughter, Sarah, & husband, William Thomas (Tom), Nutter off what is now Highway 49 South & Kemble Road in Mariposa County California. James was a sergeant in the Union Army, Company E, 6th Regiment, West Virginia Infantry during the Civil War.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/43388582/james-barnes-westfall
[S274] Ancestry.com, West Virginia, Marriages Index, 1785-1971, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT ; Date: 2011;).
[S153] National Archives and Records Administration, U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT ; Date: 2000;).

U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934
[S1119] National Park Service, U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT ; Date: 2007;).
[S9910] Ancestry.com, 1850 United States Federal Census, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Lehi, UT, USA; Date: 2009;), Year: 1850; Census Place: Western District, Ritchie, Virginia; Roll: M432_973; Page: 229B; Image: 47.

1850 United States Federal Census
Year: 1850; Census Place: Western District, Ritchie, Virginia; Roll: M432_973; Page: 229B; Image: 47
[S1424] Ancestry.com, U.S., Federal Census Mortality Schedules Index, 1850-1880, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT ; Date: 1999;).
[S156] Historical Data Systems, comp, U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT ; Date: 2009;).
[S259] Ancestry.com, West Virginia, Births Index, 1804-1938, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT ; Date: 2011;).
[S12] Ancestry.com, Geneanet Community Trees Index, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Lehi, UT ; Date: 2022;).
[S273] Ancestry.com, Virginia, Compiled Marriages, 1740-1850, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT ; Date: 1999;).
[S7791] Smith, Julie Campbell, Find a Grave - Ancestor (Campbell): SIMON Elizabeth Westfall, (Name: SmithLC.com;), SIMON Elizabeth Westfall 1797-1880.
Elizabet Simon and John Westfall married 7 February 1819 in Lewis County in what is now West Virginia
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/44447841/elizabeth-westfall
[S8271] Smith, Julie Campbell, Find a Grave - Ancestor (Campbell): ZICKAFOOSE Martha Westfall, (Name: SmithLC.com;), ZICKAFOOSE Martha Jane Westfall 1828-1915.
Martha Zickafoose and James Westfall married in 1850 in what is now Ritchie County in West Virginia
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/44369571/martha-jane-westfall

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James Barnes Westfall

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