Rip Van Winkle (1910 film) Catskill Mountains hundreds of years before, and had never been heard of since. The gnomes give Rip some magic schnapps to drink, and under its influence he goes to sleep for 20 years. When he awakes, he is an old man and in ragged clothes. His dog is dead, and his rifle has rusted away. He makes his way as best he can back to the village, and his own home. But there no one knows him. He finds his wife married to another man, his daughter grown to womanhood, and most of his old friends dead and gone. Rip,
Peter G. Van Winkle the Van Winkles had moved to Parkersburg, Virginia (now West Virginia). They had three children who survived to adulthood before Julia Van Winkle's death: Rathbone Van Winkle (1834 - 1870), Godwin Van Winkle (1836 - 1883), and Mary Van Winkle Blackford (1838 - 1927). After further studies locally with lawyer and General John Jay Jackson Sr., Van Winkle began his legal practice in Parkersburg in 1835. He was president of the town board of trustees from 1844 until 1850. In 1850, Wood County voters also elected him to represent at the Virginia State constitutional convention in 1850. He was treasurer