Hi Arnold, I too went to grade school in the forties. I graduated in fifty one. Should have graduated in fifty. I believe Shelia Kay Kinney married Sammy Moran. I think she died young.
Arnold, my dad taught eighth grade at West Union Grade School. His name was Cletus Cox. I went to school with Tommy Mossburg’s sister, Sarah. My sister Yvonne and I have mineral rights in the Meathouse Fork area of the Greenbrier District in Doddridge County. We have a lease with JayBee Oil and just recently ratified that lease to include Antero for the Marcellus Shale.
Nostalgia, yes it’s good to sway a little from the normal content of this forum to talk a about life in a small town. I was born in West Union but my Dad was in the Navy so off to San Diego where I spent most of my life, however we did move back to West Union, once in 1946-47 and again in 1950-51,so I do remember some names, the old Theater, the after football game at Michael’s Drugs and of course the flood where so many lives were lost. Yes, LYR I do remember Cletus Cox, never had him as a teacher, but do remember. Mary I was a Sophomore at DCHS, in 1950-51. Jacqueline, Eddie Gum that I remember lived in West Union. So I find it interesting that something 8-10,000 ft in the ground, called SHALE can bring back peoples names, lots of memories, and that we do live in a small World afterall.
Arnold and LYR - My grandfather had a younger brother, James from his marriage to Zelma, they had a son named James too and they lived in West Union. I am sure we are related in some fashion. I am hoping to make the family reunion this year so I might reconnect with some of these folks! LYR - my leases are for Meathouse Fork area of Greenbrier too! The family farm was also named Greenbrier. Yep… small world indeed
Must be Arnold. We Gums are from Salem. My dad, Charles Gum, went to grade school/high school in a one-room school house in Salem and then onto Salem college before moving to Pittsburgh for his masters degree. I never lived there, but spent a lot of my childhood on that farm as my dad and his father Aubra Gum were very close. They are both buried there now…in Mt. Olive cemetery. My dad was born in 1926.
Thanks for your work contacting legislators, I am in Oklahoma with royalty in Doddridge, Gilmer, Tyler and Braxton with my cousins, I try to keep up with what is going on out there. I appreciate this forum and read most all the posts.
DT, Thanks for your work with contacting Legislators, I did send E-mail’s but will they listen as I live out of the State of WV.? Now DT, you would’t take away an ole man’s fun (Ancestors.com) in trying to renew some of his roots, would you? ha,ha.
Thanks again for emailing and thanks for the Dotson info. There are a lot of Dotsons in Ritchie.
Hate to interrupt this sites version of Ancestors.com but this is important. Forced pooling/integration bill HB4558 fizzled out and SB578 looked to be in trouble also. That is a good thing for mineral owners. I emailed every Senator and House of Delegate member. Did any one else???
Mr. Stuart, SortByName.com is what I used to chase down some of our people. It’s amazing how big some of those families were back then. Hate to say but there were a lot of cousins who married cousins?? I looked for a long time and whew, it sure can give you a headache for sure. My wife’s grandpa was superintendent of schools years ago in Ritchie Co. I did not know they even had one back then. lol.
Getting back to business as DT would say, The weekly Report came out today and there were some permits issued in Greenbrier, Doddridge County, never know could be one of your PARTIALS Jacqueline.
Back to ancestors again, DT who was the sup. of schools in Ritchie? I have a distant cousin who was, many years ago, a Marsh.
And, Thanks! for emailing people. I didn’t this time but have a few other times. These Forced Pooling bills come up regularly. And I also live out of state but most of the time with an email they don’t know where you live. A few have written back asking my mailing address (to verify my WV residence which I couldn’t do).
Yeah Nancy, i sent about 50 emails and let them know we had a lot of forum members watching too. Thomas Austin Dotson was superintendent back in the early 1900’s in Ritchie
Depends on the language in the lease. if they give you 17% and take a lot of it back in deductions then that’s not good. Make sure you get changes in the lease before you sign anything. You can go to the top of the page on this site and get some ideas In the mineral help section.
Mary, as DT say’s, Understanding the lease and the language in the contract is important, if one has an Attorney at hand and can help you right away, that would be the thing to do, however ( my thoughts only) sometimes getting an Attorney is not only expensive but very time consuming, and this is why it could take a long time to have a well drilled, we have heard a lot of complaints on this forum about once signing a lease, not hearing back from the lessee for years, could be they are waiting for people to sign leases, anyway Mary, I just signed a lease for $2000.00 Ac and 16% Royalty, located near Eibs Camp in New Milton District.
Yesterday I had a call from an Antero land man wanting to lease one acre mineral rights for 2000.00 and a small portion of a second acre for around 460.00. 17percent for both. Are the amounts acceptable or should I hold out for a better price. Thank you. M.L.S.
Mary Lee, I don’t know what the going rate is now, but whatever they call and offer you is not what you should take. You always need to ask for a LOT more and they will negotiate with you. Remember, the royalty percent is the most important number and you need to get that one as high as you can.
Arnold, I have some leases on Eibs Camp with Antero. Part of Tract 6-4. I also got $2000 per net acre and 16%. royalty. Not too concered about the royalty since my share is a little less than .5 Acre net. It seems to me that when dealing with such small amounts of net acreage, the bonus money becomes more important than the Royalty Percentage. For example: .5 ac as part of a 400 acre pool. .5/400=.00125*.16=0.0002 So, at 4.00 per mmcf my share would be 400*.0002=.08 That means that the well would have to produce 12.5 mmcf for me to make $1. And that is with no post production costs. $2000* .5=$1000 bonus money up front. The well would have to produce 1,250,000,000cf for me to realize $1000. Now, if I had 100 net acres in that 400 acre pool, the 16% would be a lot more important.
DT, I sent an email to everyone that was on the list provided on the defeat Forced Pooling Bill 4558 site, I’m glad it bit the dust, I hope SB578 does also!
Does anyone know where Straightfork is located? I think it’s somewhere around West Union, but not sure. was following Arnold Stuart, Mary Lee Shinn Scalf, Jacqueline Gum, & LYR’s Childhood memories. My parents had a farm at Straightfork about half way up hen my Father James Howard Reed got out of the Army after WWII. There was a guy named Fleet Cox that lived at the bottom of Straightfork & at the top was a Church & Cemetery my Grandfather James Leeman Reed is buried there.