Peter VanBebber was born ca 1740 in Maryland, son of Peter and Anna VanBebber. The family resided in Pennsylvania before moving to Virginia. In 1756 in Luenburg (Halifax) County Virginia, Peter married Margery Bounds. The Bounds being close neighbors of the VanBebbers. Margery named her son John Jesse after her two brothers. He is later known in life and records as Jesse. The VanBebbers left Halifax County settling in Botetourt (Greenbrier) County, Virginia, about 1771. Peter VanBebber built a blockhouse known as Vanbebber's Fort on Wolf Creek. Several members of the family joined the Army of Colonel Andrew Lewis in 1774 and fought in the Battle of Point Pleasant. Isaac VanBebber was killed in the battle after replacing Colonel Charles Lewis, who had been wounded. Isaac was buried beside Colonel Charles Lewis. The VanBebbers assisted Colonel Andrew Lewis in the building of Fort Blair. In 1776 they helped build Fort Randolph under direction of Captain Matthew Arbuckle.

The families of Peter and John VanBebber, Isaac Robinson and Bridgetts, and George Dixon moved to the border shortly after this date for their names appear on a petition to the Governor of Virginia in 1781 having lived in the area when the garrison was maintained at Fort Randolph. It was during this time of Indian raids that Isaac Robinson, husband of Bridgett VanBebber, and brother-in-law of the VanBebbers, was killed on Crooked Creek (Mason County). The VanBebbers and others had defended the early settlement from Indian attacks. They had an agreement with Andrew Lewis who gave each an acre lot in the Town of Point Pleasant. Peter VanBebber resided on the south side of the Kanawha River. He died in 1796. His sons, Jesse and James, were appointed administrators of his estate in 1797. He left his wife and children, Peter, Jesse, Sophronia, Eleanor, Nancy, James, Matthias, Jacob, Joseph, and Olive. Margery VanBebber lived with her son, Peter, on the French Grant. When he moved to Indiana she went to Missouri where she lived with her daughter, Olive Boone. She died at the age of 104 years and was buried in Nathan Boone Cemetery. Jesse VanBebber was born 1759, in Halifax County, Virginia. He was the only child to remain in Mason County. He fought in the Battle of Point Pleasant with his father, uncles and cousins in the Southern Division under Colonel Andrew Lewis. He served as a Ranger in the defense of Point Pleasant and the Kanawha Valley. When he retired from the Virginia Militia he held the rank of Captain. He married Rachel Greenlee, daughter of Alexander and Anna (Henry) Greenlee, in Gallia Township, Washington County, Ohio, in 1799. Jesse VanBebber built the first cabin on Thirteen Mile Creek, VanBebber district, now Union District. His anecdotes were first published by Henry Howe in 1845 after Howe interviewed him at his home. He died 1852. His widow received a pension for his services. Their children were Isaac and Elizabeth. Elizabeth married Joseph Smith and after his death married Richard Tillis. Submitted by Anna Lutz.

History of Mason County, West Virginia 1987. Pg. 410.