It’s funny how simple statements can spark or jog a memory of certain events. It is one of the wonders of our humanity that I seem to take advantage of quite often. I was in a situation like that this past week when I was thinking about this article. My wife mentioned to me one morning that she had a dream we were traveling around the country like gypsies asking for a piece of paper to write on. That reminded me of one of my absolute favorite pieces of Ohio Valley lore, that of the gypsies who wandered our area in the first half of the 20th century.

In the 1890s, and quite possibly earlier, traveling groups of gypsies frequented our area, traveling together in different tribes crisscrossing the country. According to an article written by Jane Kraina for the West Virginia Encyclopedia, part of the West Virginia Humanities Council, “Gypsies are thought to have originated in India, later becoming nomads traveling through Europe. They appeared there by the 15th century. Gypsies often call themselves Roma, and their language called Romany is still spoken. Most American Gypsies came during the big migration from Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”

By the end of the 1800s the groups were nomadic traveling the U.S. An early report in the Steubenville Herald on Nov. 10, 1893, reported that “A party of Gypsies, comprising about 30 people, 12 wagons, and 51 horses passed through Cadiz Friday on their way to winter quarters.” Often Gypsy tribes would travel in covered wagons elaborately painted before the advent of the automobile. Krania writes that each clan of gypsies had a chief or “Kumpanias” who was in charge of that particular tribe or group. It was in Weirton in November 1931 the chief, or “King,” of the Marks clan of Gypsies died at their camp on Kings Creek, setting off a chain of events that made such an impression on our community that it has been passed down in local lore for nearly 90 years.

In the winter 1998 edition of Goldenseal Magazine, Kraina and Mary Zwierzchowski wrote of the “Death of a Gypsy King,” and it is captivating. Zeke Marks, who was reported to be 75 years old at the time of his death, died of bronchial pneumonia, and his family went all out for his funeral as was gypsy custom. They contacted relatives far and wide to come to Weirton for the funeral. John Mankowski, who featured prominently in the Goldenseal article due to the fact that the group was camped on his father’s farm, remembered, “The King was laid out in a big tent, about where the baseball field is now. I went to see him. There was gold in the casket, a shaving kit and a loaf of bread.” Handling the Weirton events was Schwerha’s Funeral Home. The building is still there and located on the corner of Pennsylvania and Crawford avenues.

The funeral of this chief, according to the article, attracted more than 10,000 local folks, including my grandmother, Angela Kaminski, looking to get a glimpse of the gypsy culture. Using contemporary accounts of the funeral in The Weirton Daily Times, the Goldenseal article recounts that “the king’s body lay in state in a bronze casket, unkempt and unshaven with a red bandanna tied lightly around his chin. A knitted scarf sealed his mouth. His ankles were bound with rope. He lay there in death’s grip, hands clasped to his chest, clutching a $5 gold piece. The gold coin is for safe passage across the river Styx. A wine jug was tucked under his right arm and a shaving kit under his left.” At his feet were other possessions but also “four paid bills — for a cemetery plot, vault, monument and suit of clothes — showing that ‘he leaves this world a square man.”

Surely the locals of Weirton were fascinated by this strange event. I would encourage those interested in reading more about the funeral to check out the fascinating article.

With the curiosity surrounding the Gypsies, there also was a fair amount of fear about approaching the group while they camped. It was often thought that they would abduct children. While mostly unfounded, there was a Steubenville family that was the victim of a gypsy abduction.

According to the Steubenville Herald-Star, in December 1917, Jimmie Mahfood went out to play from his Wells Street home in Steubenville but he never returned. It was suspected that a band of Gypsies who had been camping near town had abducted the child, since right before news broke of the disappearance, they broke camp and moved on. The search lasted for years but no evidence ever surfaced of the whereabouts of the child. Around 1927, the Mahfood family heard of a band of Gypsies traveling in the west with a “white” boy but it could not be proven it was little Jimmie. In 1935, miraculously, Jimmie was reunited with his Steubenville family. Jimmie recounted that he overheard his Gypsy captors talk about his abduction and he was inspired to find his true family.

While the group was traveling through Steubenville, Jimmie escaped and eventually made his way back to the Mahfood family, who never gave up hope after all those years. It was proven that this was Jimmie because he had identifying scars on his body due to the fact that when he was less than a year old, due to an illness, Jimmie had an operation in Pittsburgh, leaving the distinctive marks.

Although the gypsies have all but disappeared from our area, the stories and folklore of that time live on. Gypsies also were known for their foresightedness and their ability to read palms and tell fortunes. So it seems apropos that this article was inspired from a dream. And maybe that piece of paper we are asking for was to write this article. Perhaps they are trying to tell us to remember.

(Zuros is director of operations at Historic Fort Steuben and the Steubenville Visitors Center.)

(Zuros is director of operations at Historic Fort Steuben and the Steubenville Visitors Center.)