As a professional historian, I hear a lot of family history and lore. Folks often develop their love for history after learning about or discovering their own family history. All of it to me is fascinating, because whether your ancestors came to America recently or a few hundred years ago, there is always a story to tell. Looking through the past in our family’s history, it is so fascinating to discover all the connections, too.

In my family, I can say that all but one of my great grandparents were born overseas and came to this country in the early 20th century for a better life. Their sacrifice of leaving their homeland, friends and family behind was certainly a sacrifice that I benefit from every day. My one sole “American” great-grandmother was born from a family that has been in this country from the earliest days of settlement as far back as the 1630s. As her family established themselves in this new land, they took part in many important events that have gone down in history books.

One such event was the battle of Point Pleasant which took place on Oct. 10, 1774. This past week marked the 250th anniversary of the battle. Some say it was the first battle of the Revolutionary War, but that is up for debate among historians.

The battle took place at Point Pleasant, W.Va., then Virginia, as the culmination of Lord Dunmore’s War. Lord Dunmore, or John Murray, 4th Earl Dunmore was the last colonial governor of the state of Virginia, and he worked hard to assert Virginia’s claim to the western frontier along the Ohio River, specifically, and protect settlers in those areas from hostile Native Americans. So, after the events in April 1774 that led up to the death and retaliation of Mingo Chief Logan’s family, Dunmore, believing that fighting had commenced on the frontier, declared war against the tribes in the west.

Dunmore raised two armies that marched west from Virginia, one commanded by Andrew Lewis and one by Lord Dunmore himself. Lewis was to march from present day Lewisburg, W.Va., to the mouth of the Kanawha River where it emptied into the Ohio River at Point Pleasant, and Dunmore was to march to Fort Pitt, which he renamed Fort Dunmore after himself, and march south along the Ohio to meet Lewis. When Lewis reached Point Pleasant though, the battle was about to begin without the aid of Dunmore and his men.

Cornstalk, leader of the Shawnee, attacked Lewis with a force of around 900 warriors and lost many. By the end of the day, Cornstalk was defeated and Lewis claimed victory. Among the soldiers fighting with Lewis that day, many went on to fight in the American Revolution. Lewis reportedly lost 75 men in the fighting and one of those men was an ancestor of mine named Isaac VanBibber. He was wounded during the battle and died the next day on Oct. 11, 1774, from his wounds. Isaac and his two other brothers, Peter and John, fought at the battle as well. John is my sixth great-grandfather. He survived the battle and lived in Charleston, W.Va., until his death in 1820 at the age of 86.

Lord Dunmore did eventually meet up with Lewis and together they marched up the Scioto River and signed a treaty at Camp Charlotte officially ending the fighting. Dunmore on his way south did pass through our community along the river, and even though 250 years have passed, we still commemorate the event. I would venture to say that this was the last time such a large army would march in our area until the three companies of the First American Regiment set up Fort Steuben more than a decade later.

It’s very hard for me as a historian to not be interested in my genealogy and that extends to my wife’s family as well. My wife grew up in New York City and had never been here to our area until we got together, but looking back at her family, it turned out that they were one of the earliest settlers in Brooke County in the late 18th century and later in Harrison County.

We discovered the story while researching her family and came across a reference to the Steubenville Land Office. For those who are unaware, Steubenville was the home to the first federal land office in the Northwest Territory from 1800-1840. The land office was the first stop for a settler who wished to settle in Ohio in those days. A settler would stop at the land office and pick out a track of land and purchase it, often sight unseen.

My wife’s ancestor, Abel Johnson, purchased land from the Steubenville Land Office in the first decade of the 19th century for his sons and moved them out to Harrison County from his home near Colliers. He and his wife, Anne, stayed here and lived out the rest of their days in our area. They are both buried at St. John’s Church cemetery along Eldersville Road where they were early members as far back as 1800. It always seemed providential that my wife would have an ancestor here and now would be living here more than 200 years later, connecting her further to the place she now calls home.

Whether your family history starts way back with the Pilgrims or with your grandparents stepping off the boat from the old world, you have a story and a history to tell. Share those stories with those you love and hopefully they will be passed down to your descendants and future generations. That is a story they would love to hear.

(Zuros is a historian and Ohio Valley native)