Jesse's Run was named for Jesse Hughes

As described in "A History Of Lewis County" by Edward C. Smith in 1920.

Jesse Hughes was born probably on Jackson river, in what is now, western Virginia, about the year 1750.
With his parents he moved to the South Branch of the potomac, where he lived until he joined the party which
followed Samuel Pringle to examine the land in the vicinity of the sycamore in the Buckhannon valley. He
became a hunter at first and roamed the wilds, becoming acquainted with every feature of the geography of
of the section. In 1771, he married and settled on a clearing at the mouth of Jesse's run. It will be remembered
that he was one of the men connected with the massacres at Bulltown and the Indian camp.

 He first became prominent on the border in the year 1778, from which time he was one of the mainstays in the protection of the settlements. His pony was constantly kept tied in the lean-to adjoining his house ready for instant use in warning settlers of the near approach of Indians. His vigilance saved many lives.

Jesse Hughes is described by McWhorter as being rather tall and slender. He could not have weighed
more than 145 pounds at any time in his life. His countenance was hard, stern and unfeeling; his eyes were
cold, cruel and vicious "like a rattlesnake's", according to the statement of a contemporary. "No Indian,
no matter how peaceful, nor how good his record, was safe in his presence." He murdered young and old alike, under circumstances which would hardly be equaled in bloodthirsty ferocity by the worst savage. An old woman that knew him said he was desperately wicked, superstitious, cruel and vindictive. He is said often to
have given away to abuse of his family. So uncontrolled were his passions, and so bad his reputation among his own people that he never attained leadership in the community.
He is said on one occasion to have decoyed an, Indian almost to his own door by promising to go hunting with him, and then shot the unsuspecting savage from ambush. At another time, while he was on his way down the Monongahela in a canoe he saw an Indian boy playing with some white children. Only the interference of his companion kept him from taking the Indian boy into the canoe and then drowning him in the river. He was one of the most terrible enemies of  the Indians to be found anywhere on the frontier. 
He could trail with any Indian that lived on the border, and, though not a dead shot like some 
of the other settlers, his skill in stalking Indians and game caused him to have a better record 
at the end of the day than any of his fellows. Though he was by far the best trailer on the 
frontier, though he was more than a match for the Indian in cunning, though he seemed to have an 
intuition as to the plans of the Indians, and though his plans for following them were nearly always adopted, he was never placed in command of any important expedition. He served for a short time as ensign of a company of scouts, but seemed never to have had any of the men under him.
The ability to command men is not usually possessed by men of his temperament. His temper was too fiery,
his passions too fierce for him to retain the respect which was necessary to keep frontiersmen attached to a 
leader. Yet it is said that he had many friends, and that he was generous to those who had gained his confidence.
During the year 1778, the settlers collected within the fort  early in the spring, and only went out in large 
groups to work the fields of the different farms in turn. At least two Indian attacks were during 
the year. Early in May the male population were working in a field near the fort, when the report of firearms
at the edge of the clearing broke the stillness. Jonathan Lowther, a brother of William Lowther, and Thomas
Hughes, father of Jesse and Elias Hughes fell at the first volley. The other men of the party, all of whom 
had incautiously come to the field without their arms, ran to the fort for safety, with the exception of two,
who were cut off by the Indians. They escaped by running to Richards' fort, where they gave the alarm.
The Indians had already been in that community and had murdered one of the settlers on his way home from Hacker's creek. The settlers where too weak to pursue the Indians, who left Hacker's creek at once after taking the scalps of the men they had killed.
The Indians probably lost more by the attack than they gained; for the murder of the elder Hughes intensified, if possible, the hatred of the Hughes brothers for the Indians, and caused them to take an oath "to fight Injuns as long as they lived and could see to fight them" an oath which was only to well carried out.
The Indians made a bolder assault on West's fort early in the next month. Three women who had gone out from the fort for the purpose of gathering greens the field adjoining, were fired upon by a party of four Indians who were lying in ambush. The shot failed to take effect, and the women ran screaming toward the fort closely pursued by one warrior. He overtook a Mrs. Freeman, and thrust a spear into her back with such force that it penetrated completely through her body. Though fired at several times from the fort, he then coolly secured
the scalp and carried it away with him. Jesse Hughes and others happened to be outside the fort at the time 
without their guns. As Hughes and John Schoolcraft were proceeding cautiously toward the fort they noticed two Indians standing by a fence, closely watching the fort for an opportunity to kill some of the refugees. Hughes and Schoolcraft passed on without attracting their attention. Later when a party went out of the fort for the purpose of bringing in the body of Mrs. Freeman, Hughes went to the spot where he had seen the Indians. At that moment from a point farther in the woods there came a sound like the howling of a wolf; Hughes answered it. The sound was repeated. This time the party located it, and running to a point of land they saw two Indians. Hughes fired once, but succeeded only in wounding the Indian. Others in the party wished to stop and finish him, but Hughes called to them to leave him alone and follow him in pursuit
of the unwounded warrior. By doubling on his track like a fox, the Indian succeeded in eluding his pursuers. Meanwhile the wounded warrior had also gotten away, and Hughes was forced to return to the fort
without a scalp hanging from his belt.

If you visited this page without going through my  "Home Page" 

There are two ways to navigate my site:

If your browser supports JAVA and Frames, please click here to go to my Home Page...Java and Frames

If you prefer non-frames, select this link...No Frames

Both sites are best viewed with Internet Explorer