Alexander Scott Withers

author

Alexander Scott Withers

1792–1865

Best known for an early history of the Appalachian frontier, this Virginia-born writer, lawyer, and judge helped preserve stories of settlement and conflict in what is now West Virginia.

1 Audiobook

Chronicles of border warfare : or, A history of the settlement by the whites, of north-western Virginia, and of the Indian wars and massacres, in that section of the state

Chronicles of border warfare : or, A history of the settlement by the whites, of north-western Virginia, and of the Indian wars and massacres, in that section of the state

by Alexander Scott Withers

About the author

Born in 1792, he became a lawyer and later served as a judge, building his life in the trans-Appalachian region during the early years of the United States. He is remembered most for writing Chronicles of Border Warfare, a book that gathered accounts of frontier life, violence, and settlement in the upper Ohio Valley.

That work became an important source for later historians because it preserved local traditions and memories that might otherwise have been lost. While parts of it reflect the limits and attitudes of its time, it still holds a lasting place in the historical literature of early western Virginia and present-day West Virginia.

He died in 1865, leaving behind a reputation as one of the early writers who tried to record the region's past while it was still close to living memory.