Bedicheks in Buffalo -- A Day in Putnam County
- Karen Derrick-Davis
- Oct 12
- 8 min read
Back to my Bedichek First Arriver and my 3rd great-grandfather, Frederick Augustus (1809-1891).
Frederic Bezdíček arrived in New York in 1837 at the age of 28, a skilled cabinetmaker from Bern, Switzerland. His life story is one of continual migration across the US -- like many immigrants -- eventually landing in Central Texas and is buried there. For reasons unknown, his first (documented) stop after New York was Ripley, Virginia (now West Virginia). In 1840, he joined the well-established Jividen clan (likely of French descent) by marrying Mahulda.
Their first two children, Frederick Augustus, Jr. and James Madison, were born in Ripley before the family relocated 30 miles and over several hills to Buffalo in Putnam County and on the significant Kanawha River (pronounced kə-NAW by locals) in 1845. Mary Mahulda, the third Bedichek child was born in Buffalo.
I did as much research as possible before arriving, but knew I'd have to hit the ground running on my one full day of trapsing around Putnam County. Since the Bedicheks were only in Buffalo about a dozen years, the information about their time there is limited.
First Stop: Buffalo Academy
While rereading the Bedichek section of my cousin Pauline Cooney's 1979 family history book, I noted that James Madison attended the Buffalo Academy as a young boy. A quick internet search revealed the building is still standing and is in fact listed on the historic registry. After spending a free (!) night camping at St. Albans' public park (the closest spot we could find to Buffalo), we struck out to Buffalo Academy. It was fun to imagine little Fred and James running up the steps of the school in this tiny river town. Frederick evidently believed in the power of education for his children. The school had only just opened in 1848, so the Bedichek children were some its first students. Over the years, the school has served various educational roles, as the high school, an elementary and administrative offices. It has been preserved well and is in great shape.
Next Stops: Libraries, Buffalo Town Hall, Putnam County Offices
Before arriving in Buffalo, I had found the Bedicheks on one census, two deeds, a couple court records, and one newspaper article. Census records are helpful for validating or discovering a town where an ancestor lived, but many census lists do not identify an actual address, just a "district" or other such description of an area. The Bedicheks were recorded on only one Putnam County census. Since Mahulda died in 1849, within 4 years of arriving in Buffalo, she does not appear in Putnam County census records at all. On the 1850 census, Frederick is a widow with three children (7, 5, and 4) living in "District 46" of Buffalo, Putnam County.
Starting the Search for Lot #2
The only record of a property purchase in Putnam County is from 1852 for "a parcel of land, situated in the second or lower end and lower ward of the Town of Buffalo...it being number two..." Frederick is taxed on "Lot 2" in 1853. He then sells Lot #2 in 1858 after he has already moved from Buffalo to Missouri.
At first, I thought perhaps the family lived on this lot, but there is no mention of "improvements" or buildings on the lot when he sells it. Perhaps the family lived on rented land and Frederick had visions of building on this lot and moving the family there. Either way, it was the best descriptor I found for land he actually owned and the family may have lived on, so I focused my attention there.
Behind Buffalo Academy is the little Buffalo Town Hall, so off I trotted to the small white more modern building. I was in luck, arriving just 30 minutes before it closed at noon (I don't always think of every detail to check before arriving at a destination...). ;) The gentleman there, though he'd been a resident for 70 years (!) did not know where Lot 2 might have been. Oh, well. I then pinned my hopes on the libraries and government offices.
One more interesting twist... Family lore and Pauline's book note that Frederick moved from Buffalo to Missouri after his house and mill burned to the ground. I found no evidence of his owning a mill, but last year, I did find proof of the fire in a Richmond, VA newspaper. In 1856, Casey the shoemaker, set fire to the Bedichek house and others. Was this house on Lot 2??
I even found the court proceedings where Elisha Casey was charged with a felony for the arson. Reading too many of these old handwritten docs makes a person cross-eyed after awhile. Luckily, AI is getting pretty good at transcribing them.
Learning from past experience, I know that libraries can often have books that are more helpful than the government offices' original documents. So, I made some calls to find out which Putnam County library had a "local history" collection. Surprisingly, it was not the library in the Putnam County seat of Winfield, so good thing I called. I headed to the Teays Valley library about 17 miles from Buffalo.
The library had some great books with photos and historical information about Buffalo. They also had a treasure of books created by volunteers who had catalogued and indexed burials in every cemetery in the county. I searched for Frederick's wife, Mahulda's, grave, but did not find it. I imagine she was buried in Ripley (Jackson County), where she was from and her parents lived, though I have yet to find a record of it. There were many Jividen's listed -- proving that Mahulda's family was deeply embedded in the area for generations.
Map Sleuthing
Unfortunately, it can be very difficult and sometimes impossible to find the current location of a property from an old description, even if it is a "legal" description.
In the clerk's office, there were only four historic maps of Buffalo -- which I found quite surprising and unfortunate. However, two looked promising.
This area, the "Buffalo Extension," could have been called the "lower end." It also showed some of Mrs. Narrett's land holdings. Since Frederick bought Lot 2 from Mrs. Narrett and the description of parcel is "east of the turnpike," I thought the series of lots below the Kanawha River Turnpike seemed likely candidates.
The other map from 1909 has a Lot 2 on it, but is the right one?? The map is titled, "South Buffalo," which could mean the "lower end." Another turnpike is identified and Lot 2 appears "east" of it.
I poured over the maps more closely. At first, I wondered if the two maps were actually of the same location, just different orientations. I closely compared the maps to each other and to Google maps satellite view. Eventually, I determined the maps were definitely of different areas. The current location of the map from 1909 was easier to find. The map from 1887 was understandably more difficult to match to current maps, but I did find it.
Both maps had lots oriented "east of the turnpike" and contained clues that made them good candidates. Which was Frederick's lot?? My helper at the clerk's office suggested I work my way forward through deeds -- probably an obvious move for a more experienced genealogist, but one that I didn't automatically think of doing. If I could find the 1887 owner of Lot 2 and match it to either map, I could connect the dots to Bedichek.
I got comfortable at a computer and started tracing Lot 2 forward from Frederick Bedichek, hoping I could eventually find the owner in 1887 and at least match that name to one of the names on the 1887 map. I started with the information I had from the deed documenting Frederick's sale of Lot 2 in 1858 to Julia Montondon. I found successive deeds where Lot 2 changed hands until the trail ran cold in 1875 with A E Neal's purchase. The 1887 map had no "Neal" lot -- dead end.
After consideration, I put my money on Lot 2 on the 1909 map because the map is of an area south of the historic downtown area, which seems a likely "lower end." The 1887 map, though it says "Buffalo Exension," the whole map is of an area north of the historic downtown, which does not seem to be the "lower end." This is in no way definitive or scientific, but is the conclusion I can make for now.
I headed to Lot 2 on the 1909 map and pulled into the parking lot of Stokes Supermarket (just a small corner store). The church on the map is still there but nothing else in the immediate area appears to remain from that time period. I popped inside of Stokes to chat with the woman at the counter. She said the building had been moved there in 1951. She knew nothing else of the history of the property.
Another Bedichek in Buffalo
Frederick's sister, Malani, also immigrated to the US and settled in Buffalo, living there until her death in 1877. She married a man named Frederick Schmitter (eventually changed to Smithers). Unfortunately, I found no record of her death or burial in Buffalo -- though I found her family on several censuses (1850, 1860 & 1870). More research is needed!
Citizenship
Not only did Frederick Bedichek become a land owner and begin paying taxes, he also achieved the milestone of US citizenship -- no test, just a renunciation of his allegiance to Switzerland, an oath to the US constitution and a character witness who vouched he had lived with "good moral character attached to the principles of the constitution."
Last Ditch Efforts
I made one last stop at the Buffalo schools administration building in hopes of finding some history of the Academy -- maybe old class rosters or school programs...no luck.
I also stopped at the very little Buffalo public library, but the librarian there had few resources and the librarian was not from "this side of the river," so she had no personal knowledge of Buffalo.
Genealogy Tip
When searching documents, remember that names are often inconsistent. Not only is Frederick Augustus Bedichek mispelled as Bedechak (understandable), but Malani's name changes are even more convoluted. Malani married a man named Schmitter. Over the course of three censuses, her first name, as well as their last name changed -- Smelley (forget to cross the t's?) to Schmitter and Malinda to Malina. By noticing the names of the children (which were quite unique) and tracking the ages of all family members, I could tell these were the same people. Not only the census changed, but on her will, her name was spelled in Malena!
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On to searching for Greers in Kentucky!
Good