Thomas Buffington

Thomas Buffington and the Savage Grant

In 1772, a grant of 28,628 acres, including much of the current Cabell County, was made to John Savage and 60 other persons for military service during the French and Indian Wars (1754-1763). William Buffington of Hampshire County purchased lot 42 of the Savage Grant from John Savage and willed it to his two sons, On December 1818 the tract allotted to the original grant of William Buffington, 3,423 acres, was confirmed to Thomas and William Buffington, Jr. . Thomas Buffington and his brother, Jonathan, came to present-day Cabell County in 1796.
Jonathan Buffington, returned to his home on the Guyandotte and found the bodies of his entire family, except a little girl, lying on the ground scalped. He concluded his child was left to live and had been captured by the Indians. He followed them and he himself was taken and was held prisoner for years. He finally returned to Cabell County, but no trace of his baby girl has ever been found. Source: Wayne County News April 10, 1924
Thomas and his wife, Anna Cline, built a house on the point overlooking the Ohio River in 1800. He received a license to operate a ferry across the Guyandotte River. Around 1802, Thomas obtained a license to run a ferry across the Ohio River to present day Proctorville. He was one of the first trustees of the town of Guyandotte.
On Dec. 31st, 1871 Peter Cline Buffington (grandson of Thomas Buffington) was elected as the first mayor of Huntington. Several other Buffington family members have held that position over the years.