Henry Gore was killed by the Indians on New River at the mouth of Indian Creek when he was 35 years of age. This has got to be my favorite granny story. The sources for these claims are contained in two letters, both of which were written by Dr. Charles S. Goar. the first letter was dated 21 March 1925 and was addressed to his cousin, Mrs. Flossie Goar Cooper:

Sometime ago I wrote to my sister, Mrs. M. T. Maze, of Harrisburg, Pa. who had my grandfather's, James Goar, family Bible, asking her to send it to me. I had not seen it since I was a boy. I was hoping to find the record of my great grandfather, Henry Goar, but was disappointed, as there was no record of him. I know that he was killed while sitting on a rock, on the bank of New River, W. Va., while whetting his hunting knife. He was only 35 years of age when he was killed. Sitting with him was Capt. Matthew Farley. As I remember, from a statement given to me orally by my father, they were brother's-in-law. My great grandfather had just remarked that he expected to take some Indian's scalp with that knife, when there was a crack of a gun and he fell over dead. Capt. Farley jumped into New River, diving, and when he came up the Indians shot at him. He again dived, came up and floated on his back. The Indians thought they had killed him because he was floating on his back like a dead fish. Now, whether this man Matt Farley, was the one whom you have mentioned and whether he was a soldier in the continental Army, or later, I do not know.

The second letter was dated 4 November 1931 and was addressed to Joseph E. Goar:

A statement given to me by my father, Henry Goar, a grandson of the above mentioned, Henry Gore, was as follows: "His grandfather, Henry Gore, was killed by the Indians, while sitting on a flat rock, talking to Captain Matt Farley. They were on a river's bank, Farley escaped by jumping into the river and diving. When he came up for air, the Indians shot at him. Capt. Farley was far enough over in the river that they did not hit him, but he could hear the Indians saying he was dead, as he was swimming on his back like a dead fish. Capt. Farley called his company together the next morning, and went in search of Henry Gore. They found the body on the flat rock where he was sitting while talking to Capt. Farley when the crack of the gun was heard. The burial of the body was unknown to the narrator."

Keeping in mind that Henry Gore died on 1 April 1791, the following two references should be of interest:

About three miles from Clayton Post Office at this time lived a family by the name of Griffith. Thomas, the head of the family, having been killed by the Indians in 1780, and is the last recorded victim of the savages in this county (History of Summers County by James H. Miller, page 95).

Perhaps the last visit of the redskins to Indian Creek took place about 1785, and it did not have a tragic result (History of Monroe County by Oren F. Morton, pages 52, 53).

Based on these two references it is obvious that neither Henry Gore nor anyone else could have been killed by Indians six years after the last Indians were in the area. If Henry was 35 years of age when he died, his birth would have been in 1756 which, of course, contradicts the Christ Church Parish Register. Further, Henry Gore and Matthew Farley never knew each other and they certainly were not brothers-in-law. Based on all available evidence, Henry Gore died on his farm adjacent the present site of New Market, Virginia on 1 April 1791.

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