Elihu Gregg- The Hills Keep Score

In 1869, the courthouse in Kingwood, Preston County, West Virginia, burned — taking with it wills, deeds, marriage bonds, guardianships, and countless records that genealogists still wish they had today.

Elihu Gregg was arrested for the courthouse arson, escaped custody, was later recaptured, sentenced, pardoned, and eventually returned to Preston County after more trouble with the law. By 1887, over eighty years old, he was found dead in the mountains with a bullet wound in his chest.

This song is part outlaw ballad, part genealogy lament — a story about burned records, lost family lines, and the way the hills have a long memory.

Created by Kin & Coal
Lyrics and historical research by Shirley Radabaugh
Vocals and music created with modern digital and vocal tools

Newspaper clippings used in this video were drawn from historical coverage in South Branch Intelligencer, The Cincinnati Enquirer, West Virginia Argus, The Philadelphia Times, The Daily Register, The Milwaukee Sentinel, and The Boston Globe, spanning 1869–1887.

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Видео Elihu Gregg- The Hills Keep Score канала Kin and Coal