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GENEALOGY 
M61W 

v.a 


"West  Virginia 


AND  Its  People 


THOMAS   CONDIT   MILLER 


AND 

HU    MAXWELL 


f  7  S"     /  VOLUME    II 

■a. 


NEW    YORK 

Lewis  Historical  Publishing  Company 
1913 


,is  Historical  riiu, 
1913 


1205993 


Family  and   Personal    History 


The  name  of  Caldwell  is  an  honorable  one  in  Ameri- 
CALDWELL  can  annals.  No  family  made  a  brighter  record  for 
patriotism  and  personal  bravery  during  the  war  of 
the  Revolution,  and  in  the  trying  pioneer  times  when  the  states  were 
coming  into  shape  on  new  soil.  From  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf  and  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  this  family  now  extends,  growing  out  of  the 
sturdy  parent  stock.  They  have  left  their  imprint  wherever  the  Eng- 
lish language  is  spoken,  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances,  and  it 
may  be  truthfully  said  that  their  record  has  been  an  enviable  one. 

The  earliest  mention  of  the  Caldwell  family  relates  to  three  brothers 
John,  Alexander  and  Oliver — who  were  seamen  on  the  ^^lediterranean, 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  fifteenth  centur)-.  These  brothers  had  an  estate 
named  Mount  Arid,  near  Toulon,  in  France.  During  the  reign  of  Fran- 
cis I.  of  France,  they  in  time  of  religious  persecution,  being  Huguenots, 
were  forced  to  leave  France  for  a  refuge  in  Scotland,  in  which  country 
they  purchased  an  estate  from  a  Bishop  named  Douglass,  near  Solway 
Firth.  This  purchase  was  made  with  consent  of  King  James  I.  of  Eng- 
land, on  condition  that  "the  said  brothers,  John,  Alexander  and  Oliver, 
late  of  Mount  Arid,"  should  have  their  estate  known  as  "'Cauldwell."  and 
when  the  king  should  require,  they  should  each  send  a  son,  with  twenty 
men  of  sound  limbs,  to  aid  in  the  wars  of  the  king. 

An  heirloom  is  a  cup,  from  which  it  is  seen  that  the  estate  took  its 
name  from  a  watering  place.  The  cup  represents  a  chieftain  and  twenty 
mounted  men,  all  armed,  and  a  man  drawing  water  from  a  well,  with  the 
words  underneath,  "Ale.xander  of  Cauldwell ;"  also  a  fire  burning  on  a 
hill,  over  the  words  "Mount  Arid,"  and  a  vessel  surrounded  by  high 
waves.  Joseph,  John,  Alexander,  Daniel,  David  and  Andrew,  of  Cauld- 
well, went  with  Oliver  Cromwell  (whose  grandmother  was  Ann  of 
Cauldwell,)  to  Ireland,  of  which  he  was  the  lord  governor.  After  his 
promotion  to  the  protectorate  of  England,  they  remained  in  his  interest 
in  Ireland  until  the  restoration  of  Charles  II. 

John  Caldwell,  son  of  the  above  named  John  Caldwell,  in  about  1742 
settled  in  Lunenburg,  now  Charlotte  county,  \"irginia.  where  he  was  sub- 
sequently joined  by  relatives,  forming  what  was  known  as  "Caldwell 
Settlement"  for  many  years.  His  son,  James  Caldwell,  was  the  cele- 
brated "Fighting  Parson  of  the  Revolution."  He  was  born  in  Charlotte 
county,  Virginia,  about  1743,  graduated  from  Princeton  in  1759,  and  was 
ordained  in  1762.  He  served  as  chaplain  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution. 
and  acted  as  commissary  to  the  troops  in  Xew  Jersey.  He  was  killed 
by  a  shot  from  a  sentinel,  at  Elizabethtown  Point.  New  Jersey,  Novem- 
ber 24th,  1781.   It  is  of  him  that  Bret  Harte  wrote: 

"Nothing  more  did  I  say?     Stay  one  moment;  you've  heard 

Of  Caldwell,  the  Parson,  who  once  preached  the  Word 

Down  at  Springfield?    What.  No?    Come — that's  bad,  why  he  had 

All  the  Jerseys  aflame!     And  they  gave  him  the  name 

Of  'the  Rebel  High  Priest.'    He  stuck  in  their  gorge. 

For  he  loved  the  Lord  God — and  he  hated  King  George!'' 

"Why,  just  what  he  did!     They  were  left  in  the  lurch 

For  the  want  of  more  wadding.     He  ran  to  the  church, 

Broke  the  door,  stripped  the  pews,  and  dashed  out  in  the  road 

With  his  arms  full  of  hymn-books,  and  threw  down  his  load 

At  their  feet !     Then  above  all  the  shouting  and  shots. 

Rang  his  voice — 'Put  Watts  into'em !     Boys,  give'em  Watts !' 


6  WEST  VIRGINIA 

And  they  did.     That  is  all.     Grasses  spring,  flowers  blow, 
Pretty  much  as  they  did  ninety-three  years  ago. 
You  may  dig  anywliere  and  you'll  turn  up  a  ball, 
But  not  always  a  Hero  like  this,  and  that's  all." 

Space  cannot  be  given  in  this  work  for  even  a  brief  mention  of  the 
different  and  numerous  settlements  of  Caldwells  in  America,  and  of 
their  intimate  and  honorable  associations  with  the  ecclesiastical,  military, 
civil,  industrial  and  commercial  affairs  of  their  country. 

However,  as  they  were  among  tlie  very  earliest  pioneers  in  the  settle- 
ment of  the  Northern  Pan  Handle  of  Virginia,  it  is  proper  to  give  some 
account  of  the  Caldwells  who  settled  at  what  is  now  the  city  of  Wheel- 
ing, in  Ohio  county.  West  Mrginia    (formerly  Virginia). 

This  branch  of  the  Caldwells  were  from  Northern  Ireland,  and  are 
the  descendants  of  one  John  Caldwell,  a  merchant  at  Enniskillen,  Ire- 
land, who  was  born  at  Preston,  in  Ayrshire,  Scotland,  and  died  in  1639. 
The  following  notes  respecting  the  descendants  of  this  John  Caldwell 
were  made  in  1895,  by  Mr.  Alexander  W.  Caldwell,  grandson  of  Alfred 
Caldwell,  the  elder,  hereinafter  mentioned,  who  was  born  in  Wheeling, 
West  Virginia,  but  now  a  resident  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  that  is  to  say: 

"At  the  Revolution  (of  1688-9),  Sir  James  Caldwell's  services  were  of  the  high- 
est importance,  as  appears  by  the  following  case  enclosed  in  a  petition  to  King 
William. 

'"The   State   of  the   Case   of   Sir   James   Caldwell,   Bart. 

"  'That  he  staid  in  Ireland  in  all  the  late  troubles  at  and  near  Enniskillen  till 
the  end  of  the  year  1689,  and  raised  and  maintained  a  regiment  of  foot  .and  two 
troops  of  horse  at  his  own  charge  and  kept  the  same  at  the  great  passes  at  Belleck 
and  Donegal,  between  Connaught  and  the  province  of  Ulster,  which  was  of  such 
consequence  that  it  hindered  communication  between  the  enemies  in  the  said 
province  of  Connaught  (which  were  very  numerous)  from  joining  or  recruiting 
those   besieging  Londonderry. 

"  'That  the  said  Sir  James  Caldwell  was  besieged  by  a  detached  party  from 
Col.  Sarsfield  of  about  the  number  of  two  thousand  foot  and  three  troops  of 
dragoons  about  the  3rd  of  May,  1689,  and  was  forced  to  send  to  Enniskillen,  Castle 
Hume  and  other  neighboring  garrisons  for  relief,  which  came  on  the  8th  of  May 
and  joined  the  forces  which  Sir  James  Caldwell  had,  who  then  fought  the  enemy 
near  St.  James's  House  and  routed  them,  killing  about  a  hundred  and  twenty  and 
took  seventy  prisoners,  two  cannon,  many  small  arms  and  about  forty  horses  from 
the   enemy. 

"  'That  the  said  Sir  James  Caldwell  also  placed  his  son  Hugh  Caldwell  in 
the  garrison  of  Donegal  over  three  companies  of  foot  and  a  troop  of  horse,  being 
the  next  garrison  to  Londonderry  the  Protestants  were  possessed  of.  which  was 
of  such  consequence  that,  if  the  enemy  had  been  masters  of  it,  the  whole  country 
about   Enniskillen   must   have   submitted   to   them. 

"  'That  the  said  Hugh  Caldwell  had  several  ofTers  of  money  and  preferment 
from  the  Duke  of  Berwick  to  surrender  the  place,  but  always  told  him  he  would 
defend  it  to  the  last ;  as  appears  afterwards  by  the  defense  he  made  against  the 
Duke,  who  attacked  him  with  1.500  men,  burnt  sonic  part  of  the  town,  but  was 
beaten  off  with  considerable  loss,  which  Col,  Luttrel  can  give  an  account  of,  as  also 
of  the  said  Sir  James's  vigilant  and  faithful  behavior  in  the  defense  of  that 
country, 

"  'That  the  said  Sir  James  Caldwell  went  in  an  open  boat  from  Donegal  to 
Major  ricneral  Kirk,  by  sea.  forty  leagiies  on  the  most  dangerous  coast  in  that 
kinKdiiui,  not  li.ivlti'^'  any  other  way  to  have  communication  with  him.  to  acquaint 
him  with  lliP  coiiiliiinn  of  that  country,_  to  which  he  was  tlieii  ,1  stranger,  and  to 
get  arms  and  amniunition  from  him,  which  were  greatly  wanting  to  arm  the  naked 
men  in  the  country.  Some  time  after  the  said  James  Caldwell  was  sent  back  with 
Colonel  Wolseley,  Colonel  TiflFany  and  Colonel  Wynne  and  some  ammunition  by 
the  said  Major  General,  who  then  gave  tlie  said  Sir  James  a  commission  to  be 
colonel  of  foot  and  a  troop  of  horse  independent,  as  by  the  said  commissions  will 
appear ;  that  within  four  or  five  days  after  they  landed  their  men  were  forced  to 
fight  Lieutenant  General  Macarty  and  obtained  a  great  victory  a.gainst  him  as  has 
been  heard.'  (On  comparison  with  Macaulay's  account  of  this  war  in  his  His- 
tory of  England,  it  is  found  that  the  battle  of  Newton  Butler  is  here  referred  toL 

"  'That  the  said  Sir  James  met  Duke  Schombcrg  when  he  landed  at  Carrick- 
fergus  and  staid  the  siege  of  that  place;  and  afterwards  went  to  Dundalk  with  the 


WEST  VIRGINIA  7 

Duke,  and  staid  that  campaign  with  him  till  about  a  week  before  he  decamped, 
which   the   now   Duke   Schomberg   will  certify. 

"  'That  the  said  Sir  James  Caldwell  expended  in  money,  arms,  provisions  and 
other  necessaries  to  support  those  troops,  which  were  raised  for  the  King's  ser- 
vice, and  what  he  lost  by  the  destruction  of  his  town,  houses,  iron-mills,  stud  of 
horses  and  stock  of  black  cattle  and  other  essential  losses  amounted  to  about  ten 
thousand   pounds. 

"  'That  the  said  Sir  James's  second  son  also  suffered  very  much  by  cattle 
and  provisions  taken  from  him  by  our  own  army  at  Bally  Shannon,  for  the  main- 
tenance of  that  garrison,  without  which  they  could  not  have   sustained. 

"  'That  the  said  James  Caldwell  had  after  the  campaign  at  Dundalk  a  regi- 
ment of  dragoons  and  a  regiment  of  foot  quartered  in  his  house  and  town  of 
Beileck.  which  did  him  much  damage  and  destroyed  many  things  which  he  with 
so  much  difficulty  saved  from  the  enemy. 

"  'That  also  the  said  Sir  James's  daughter,  Elizabeth,  conveyed  several  quan- 
tities of  powder  from  Dublin  by  his  commands  to  Enniskillen  and  other  garrisons 
thereabout,  to  the  hazard  of  her  life,  as  may  appear  by  my  Lord  Capel's  report  upon 
a   reference  to  him.'  " 

"The  truth  of  the  above  statement  was  supported  by  various  docu- 
ments from  the  Lord  Lieutenant  and  other  officers  of  the  King.  His 
majesty,  in  recompense  of  his  services,  bestowed  upon  him  in  custodian 
for  seven  years  the  whole  of  the  forfeited  Bagnal  estate,  then  let  for 
£8000  per  annum ;  at  the  end  of  which  time  it  was  to  be  restored  to 
the-  Bagnal  family  and  Sir  James  was  to  be  otherwise  provided  for." 
Richard  Ryan's  "Biographia  Hibernia,"  vol.   i,  pp.  364,  et  scq. 

Sir  James  Caldwell  died  in  1716. —  (Burke,  z'idc  infra.) 

A  great-grandson  of  John,  the  merchant  of  Enniskillen,  Henry  Cald- 
well, was  lieutenant  commander  of  the  British  army  for  the  defense  of 
Quebec.  Charles,  his  brother,  was  aide-de-camp  to  Gen.  Wolfe.  Sir 
John  of  Castle  Caldwell,  treasurer-general  of  Canada,  died  at  Tremont 
House,  Boston.   1842.      (Caldwell  Records,  p.  76). 

The  son  of  the  last  mentioned  John  Caldwell,  James  Caldwell,  Esq.. 
settled  at  Ross  Beg,  afterwards  called  "Castle  Caldwell,"  county  Fer- 
managh, Province  of  Ulster,  and  was  created  a  baronet  of  Ireland,  June 
23rd,  1683.  He  married  Catherine,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Hume,  Baronet 
of  Castle  Hume,  county  of  Fermanagh.  (J.  B.  Burke's  "Peerage  and 
Baronetage"  (1851),  p.  163.  See  "Caldwell  Records"  by  Augustine  Cald- 
well, p.  76). 

A  later  Sir  James  Caldwell,  before  he  succeeded  to  the  title  and  es- 
tates, was  a  colonel  of  horse  in  the  service  of  the  Great  Empress  of  Aus- 
tria, Maria  Theresa,  and  was  by  her  made  Count  of  Milan,  in  Italy. 

The  seat  of  the  Caldwells,  at  Castle  Caldwell,  was  a  very  beautiful 
one.  The  ruin  of  the  castle  itself  at  this  day  is  one  of  the  sights  of  Ire- 
land. On  one  side  of  it,  towards  Lake  Erne,  were  the  gardens,  and  on 
the  other  was  a  beautifully  wooded  park  which  extended  practically  from 
the  ruins  of  the  old  castle  to  the  railroad  running  across  Ireland  from 
Bundoran  on  the  west  coast  to  Dundalk  on  the  east.  A  chapel  stood  in 
the  park,  of  which  only  some  of  the  walls  now  remain,  although  the  fam- 
ily graves  are  still  intact  in  the  crypt.  On  the  side  of  the  park,  next  to 
the  railroad,  is  the  park  entrance  or  lodge,  which,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  railroad  track  passes  over  the  old  arch  gate,  is  still  in  a  fine  state  of 
preservation. 

During  the  reign  of  George  IV,  he  and  his  court  were  entertained  at 
Castle  Caldwell,  and  the  expense  incurred  by  the  then  Baronet  started 
the  loss  of  fortune  that  has  culminated  in  the  whole  estate  passing  out  of 
the  Caldwell  blood  and  name. 

A  curious  relic  is  to  be  seen  from  the  railroad,  opposite  the  station  at 
Castle  Caldwell,  in  the  shape  of  a  gigantic  marble  fiddle  that  was  a  tomb 
stone  in  the  churchyard,  near  the  chapel,  over  the  remains  of  a  fiddler, 


8  WEST  \IRG1XIA 

who  had  been  in  the  service  of  the  later  Sir  James  Caldwell.     On  this 
tombstone  the  following  is  inscribed : 

"To  the  memory  of  Dennis  McCabe.  Fidler,  who  fell  out  of  the  St.  Patrick 
Barge  belonging  to  Sir  James  Caldwell,  Bart.,  and  Count  of  Milan.  &  was  drown'd 
off  this   Point,   August  ye   I3thr  1770. 

"Beware   ye   Fidlers   of   ye    Fidler   fate 
Ne'et  tempt   ye   deep   lest   ye   repent  too   late 
You  ever  have  been  deem'd  to   water  F'oes 
then  shun  ye  lake  til!  it  with  whiskey  flows, 
on    firm    land   only    exercise    your    skill 
there  you  may  play  and  safely  drink  3'our  fill." 

Four  generations  of  the  Caldwells  lived  in  the  old  castle  at  one  time, 
a  consideration  of  which  causes  one  to  cease  to  wonder  at  their  loss  of 
property. 

A  descendant  of  John  Caldwell,  the  merchant  of  Enniskillen,  and  of 
his  son  Sir  James  Caldwell,  was  his  grandson,  James  Caldwell,  who  was 
born  in  Ulster,  Ireland,  in  1724,  and  who  settled  at  Wheeling,  Ohio 
county,  Virginia,  in  1772.  In  1769  such  grandson  left  Ireland  with  his 
wife  Elizabeth  (nee  Alexander,  who  was  born  in  1737,  and  to  whom  he 
was  married  in  1752,)  with  nine  children,  and  on  the  long  passage  over, 
another  was  born  to  them.  They  landed  at  Havre  de  Grace,  Alaryland, 
in  the  last  mentioned  year,  and  after  a  short  stay  in  that  place  moved  to 
Baltimore,  Maryland,  at  which  city  another  son  was  born,  who  was 
named  James,  and  is  hereinafter  described  as  James  the  younger,  his 
father  being  designated  as  James,  the  elder.  Among  their  children  born 
in  Ireland  was  one  John,  who  was  a  young  man  when  the  family  arrived 
in  America,  and  who  had  received  his  education  before  their  departure 
from  their  old  home  in  Ulster,  in  the  county  of  Tyrone,  near  Castle  Cald- 
well, which  is  situated  in  the  county  of  Fermanagh,  very  close  to  the 
Tyrone  border.  This  son,  John,  was  an  engineer  and  surveyor  by  profes- 
sion. Two  other  sons  \vere  born  in  this  country  besides  James,  Alexan- 
der, a  distinguished  lawyer,  who  became  a  judge  of  the  United  States 
Court,  for  the  Western  District  of  \'irginia,  and  Joseph,  who  was  born 
during  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  who  throughout  a  long  life  occupied 
a  most  prominent  and  honoralile  position  in  the  business  and  social  life 
of  Wheeling. 

The  records  of  (Jhin  count)-,  N'irginia  (now  West  \'irginia)  show 
tliat  Col.  Robert  Woods,  county  surveyor,  surveyed,  March  28th,  1781, 
for  James  Caldwell  (the  elder),  four  hundred  acres  fronting  on  the 
Cihio  river  and  Wheeling  creek,  including  his  settlement  made  thereon  in 
the  year  1772.  and  that  the  next  day  Col.  Woods  surveyed  an  adjoining 
four  hundred  acres  for  James  Caldwell,  the  elder,  on  the  south  of  the 
four  hundred  at  the  junction  of  the  Ohio  river  and  W'heeling  creek,  in- 
cludini'  the  said  Caldwell's  settlement,  made  thereon  in  the  year  1772. 
(See  Survey  Book  of  Ohio  county,  \'irginia,  No.  i,  page  44.)  These 
tw'O  surveys  for  four  hundred  acres  each  extended  from  Wheeling  creek 
along  the  Ohio  river  to  Caldwell's  run,  and  embraced  a  large  portion  of 
the  land  on  which  the  city  of  \\'lieeling  now  stands.  In  the  same  Survey 
Book,  at  page  19,  it  appears  that  Col.  \\'oods  surveyed  for  Ebenezer 
Zane  a  tract  of  four  hundred  acres,  on  the  Ohio  river,  and  north  side  of 
Wheeling  creek,  including  his  settlement  made  in  the  year  1774.  In  the 
same  Survey  Book,  at  ])age  32,  it  appears  that  Col.  Woods  also  surveyed 
for  Jonathan  Zane  one  hundred  and  forty  acres  next  to  and  north  of  the 
survey  of  Ebenezer  Zane  before  mentioned,  which  survey  for  Jonathan 
Zane  included  his  scttlciuent   made  in    177^'.  and  calk  for  a  corner  to  a 


WEST  VIRGINIA  9 

It  will  be  seen  from  these  surveys,  on  the  strength  of  which  patents 
were  granted  by  the  Commonwealth  of  \'irginia  to  James  Caldwell, 
Ebenezer  Zane  and  Jonathan  Zane,  signed  by  Patrick  Henry,  Governor  of 
Virginia,  that  James  Caldwell's  actual  settlement  in  what  is  now  the  city 
of  Wheeling,  was  made  in  1772,  that  of  Ebenezer  Zane  in  1774,  and 
that  of  Jonathan  Zane  in  1776. 

The  corner  of  James  Caldwell,  spoken  of  in  the  Jonathan  Zane  sur- 
vey, is  on  Wheeling  creek,  in  what  is  now  the  town  of  Fulton,  James 
Caldwell  having  a  right  to,  and  subsequently  receiving  a  patent  for  the 
land  subsequently  known  as  the  Steenrod  property,  extending  from  the 
western  line  of  Fulton  to  the  Woods  property,  at  Woodsdale. 

James  Caldwell,  the  elder,  was  a  man  of  great  importance  in  the 
pioneer  days.  As  will  be  seen  by  an  inspection  of  Order  Book  No.  i  of 
Ohio  county,  A'irginia,  at  pages  i  and  2,  on  January  6th,  1777,  at  Black's 
Cabin  (now  in  the  village  of  West  Liberty),  Ohio  county,  \'irginia.  the 
first  court  in  that  county  was  organized,  under  an  order  of  the  general 
assembly  of  the  Commonwealth  of  \'irginia,  and  David  Sheepherd,  Silas 
Hedge,  William  Scott  and  James  Caldwell,  were,  by  virtue  of  a  certain 
writ  of  dcdiiiiiis  potestatiiui,  sworn  in  as  justices  of  the  peace,  and  the 
said  Sheepherd  swore  in  Zachariah  Sprigg,  Thomas  Waller  and  David 
McClain  as  justices  of  the  peace,  and  the  said  Sheepherd,  Hedge,  Scott, 
Caldwell,  Sprigg,  Waller  and  JNIcClain  took  their  seats  on  the  bench  and 
proceeded  with  the  business  of  the  court.  Among  other  things,  on  the 
said  6th  day  of  January,  1777,  and  the  day  following,  such  county  court 
proceeded  to  consider  the  subject  of  the  organization  of  the  militia  of 
the  county,  and  recommended  to  the  governor  of  the  state  of  \'irginia  the 
names  of  officers  for  the  militia,  from  county  lieutenant  and  colonel  down 
to  and  inclusive  of  the  ensigns. 

James  Caldwell,  the  elder,  seems  to  have  had  a  great  desire  for  the 
acquisition  of  land,  acquiring  title  to  thousands  of  acres  not  only  in  and 
about  the  city  of  Wheeling  but  in  the  lower  portion  of  what  was  then  the 
county  of  Ohio,  in  the  state  of  A'irginia,  along  what  is  known  as  the  Long 
Reach,  now  in  Tyler  county,  and  Middle  Island  creek  and  its  tributaries, 
now  in  the  counties  of  Tyler  and  Wetzel.  He  left  a  will  dated  April 
22nd,  1802,  in  which  he  disposes  of  his  large  landed  property  as  well  as 
of  his  personalty.  It  is  recorded  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  county 
court  of  Ohio  county,  ^^'est  Mrginia,  in  Will  Book  No.  i,  commencing  at 
page  64. 

Besides  taking  his  oath  as  a  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  common- 
wealth of  Virginia,  under  the  appointment  of  Patrick  Henry,  Governor 
of  Virginia,  James  Caldwell,  the  elder,  took  about  the  same  time,  after 
the  outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
Commonwealth  of  \irginia,  and  of  repudiation  of  all  fealty  to  George 
III.,  King  of  Great  Britain.  While  Mrginia  was  in  full  rebellion  against 
British  rule,  in  January,  1777,  as  stated,  James  Caldwell,  the  elder,  took 
civil  office  under  the  rebel  government  of  that  commonwealth  as  one  of 
the  gentlemen  justices  of  the  peace  who  constituted  the  first  county 
court  of  Ohio  county,  Mrginia,  a  position  which  he  held  thereafter 
throughout  the  Revolutionary  War.  He  was  active,  as  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  that  court,  in  the  work  of  military  organization  of  the  people  of 
the  western  section  of  Mrginia.  He  was  nominally  a  civil  officer,  but  to 
he  a  civilian  during  such  time  in  the  locality  where  he  resided,  on  the 
western  border  of  A'irginia,  meant  also  to  be  a  soldier  engaged  in  more 
or  less  active  warfare  by  day  and  by  night,  during  the  whole  war  period 
from  1775  to  1783,  and  meant  in  his  case  that  he  was  one  of  what  has 
been  aptly  termed  by  an  able  author :  "The  Rear  Guard  of  the  Revolu- 
tion."    During  that  period  the  region  in  which  he  lived  was  a  constant 


lo  WEST  MRGINIA 

theater  of  war  with  the  Indians,  armed  by  the  British,  and  nnder  their 
influence,  and  aided  by  them  by  frequent  co-operating  expeditions  of 
Tory  forces,  and  occasionally  of  British  regulars,  from  the  Canadian 
posts.  These  Indians  were  as  much  the  mercenary  soldiers  of  Great 
Britain  as  the  Hessians  and  Waldeckers  in  the  East.  He  took  part  in 
the  defense  of  Fort  Henry  during  its  siege  in  September,  1777,  together 
with  his  oldest  son,  John  Caldwell,  who  helped  build  the  Fort. 

The  family  of  James  Caldwell,  the  elder,  at  the  time  of  his  emigra- 
tion, consisted  of  his  wife,  Elizabeth;  his  son,  John,  born  January  22. 
1753;  his  daughter,  Ann,  born  May  17,  1755;  Mary,  born  May  27,  1756: 
Sarah,  born  December  28,  1758;  Frances,  born  December  15,  1760; 
Jeanette,  born  December  10,  1762;  Lovel)',  born  April  6,  1764;  Eliza- 
beth, born  August  15,  1765;  and  Jane,  born  September  13,  1767,  dying 
young.  A  son.  Samuel,  was  born  at  sea,  March  lo,'  1769,  during  the  pas- 
sage. Four  more  children  were  born  in  America,  viz :  James,  born  No- 
vember 30,  1770,  at  Baltimore,  Maryland:  Susanna,  born  December  30, 
1772;  Alexander,  born  November  i,  1774:  and  Joseph,  born  August  8. 
1777,  making  fourteen  children  in  all. 

James  Caldwell,  the  elder,  died  at  Wheeling,  in  the  year  1804,  at  his 
residence  on  Main  street,  on  the  site  of  the  lot  now  occupied  by  the  resi- 
dence of  Dr.  L.  S.  Spragg,  on  the  east  side  of  such  street,  between 
Eighth  and  Ninth  streets,  and  directly  opposite  the  List  family  home- 
stead. His  house  was  removed  comparatively  a  few  years  ago  to  make 
way  for  the  erection  of  the  present  residence  of  Dr.  Spragg.  The  joists 
were  of  walnut  logs,  and  the  nails  used  in  the  house  construction  had  all 
been  forged  by  hand  by  blacksmiths,  and  resembled  the  nails  used  in 
the  shoeing  of  horses  at  the  present  time. 

His  death  probably  occurred  in  August  of  1804,  as  his  will  was  ad- 
mitted to  probate  on  the  3rd  day  of  September  of  that  year,  as  is  shown 
by  order  book  of  the  county  cinu't  <it  (  >hio  comity,  \'irginia,  No.  9,  at 
page  261. 

He  was  a  man  of  determined  tLni])erami.nt.  and  great  courage,  as  is 
shown  by  the  fact  of  his  emigration  from  Europe  to  this  country  at  so 
early  a  date  as  1769,  bringing  with  him  a  wife  and  his  numerous  family 
of  children  of  all  ages,  and  in  moving  them  to  what  was  then  the  extreme 
West,  and  in  a  country  subject  to  incur-ions  of  hostile  savages.  Tlie 
records  of  the  county  court  of  <  )l-.ici  county.  \\'est  \'irginia,  contain  evi- 
dence of  his  resolute  character. 

After  he  had  been  for  many  years  president  of  the  county  court,  he 
v/as,  August  2nd,  1802,  acting  as  foreman  of  a  grand  jury  therein,  and 
the  court,  desiring  the  presence  of  one  of  his  grand  jurors,  ordered  the 
grand  juror  to  come  from  the  grand  jury  room  into  the  court.  The  fore- 
man, who  had  been  so  long  a  member  of  this  august  tribunal,  the  county 
court  of  Ohio  county,  Virginia,  seemed  to  have  had  but  little  re.spect  for 
the  then  members  of  the  bench,  and  positively  refused  to  permit  the  grand 
juryman  to  leave  the  jury  room  in  obedience  to  the  court's  summons. 
The  result  was  that  James  Caldwell,  the  elder,  foreman  of  the  grand- 
jury,  was  fined  for  his  contcmiit.  by  ilie  cam.  in  the  ^uni  <'f  three  dollars, 
and  required  to  pay  the  costs  incident  l^  ilu'  procecdin.t;-.  (See  Order 
Book  of  the  County  Court  of  Ohio  cnuniw  Xo.  S,  at  page  i()2. ) 

In  Order  Book  No.  8  of  the  Count\  (  nnrt  ni  (  )hio  county,  at  page  85. 
appears  an  order  authorizing  the  taking  of  !lu-  lotimony  of  James  Cald- 
well, the  elder,  in  perpetual  memory  thai  lli^  nephew.  James  Caldwell, 
son  of  Samuel,  was  the  oldest  son  of  the  said  ."^anniel.  and  in  this  order 
it  recites  that  James  Caldwell,  the  elder,  was  formerly  of  the  countv  of 
Tyrone,  in  the  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain.  On  page  8<)  of  the  s:\ine  1  )r- 
dn-    i;o,,k.   Ihr  d(i"iHtion   is  ,,rdrrvd   to  be  lin.nglu   into  court.  ;ind   lo  be 


WEST  VIRGINIA  it 

recorded  in  perpetual  memory.  These  proceedings  show  that  James 
Caldwell,  the  elder,  came  from  the  comity  of  Tyrone. 

Before  the  Revolutionary  War,  the  British  authorities  erected,  at 
intervals  along  the  Ohio  river,  below  Fort  Duquesne,  built  by  the  French 
at  Pittsburg,  a  number  of  forts  or  stockades  for  the  purpose  of  holding 
the  very  desirable  valley  of  the  Ohio  from  the  French,  as  well  as  for 
places  of  refuge  in  event  of  Indian  forays  against  the  settlers.  Among 
these  was  a  fort  at  Wheeling,  constructed  under  the  direction  of  Lord 
Dunmore,  Royal  Governor  of  Mrginia,  by  John  Caldwell,  (son  of  James 
Caldwell,  the  elder),  and  Ebenezer  Zane.  the  elder,  the  fortification  being 
laid  out  by  John  Caldwell.  The  west  and  south  sides  thereof  were  pro- 
tected by  precipitous  gravel  banks  which  would  expose  any  assailing 
party  to  the  view  and  fire  from  the  port.  It  was  first  called  Fort  Fin- 
castle,  but  when  the  Revolution  broke  out  the  name  was  changed  to  Fort 
Henry  in  honor  of  Patrick  Henry,  the  Rebel  Governor  of  Virginia. 

John  Caldwell  was  always  fond  of  the  woods,  and  was  a  great  hunter 
and  Indian  fighter.  He  was  badly  wounded  in  the  leg  on  the  west  slope 
of  Wheeling  Hill,  when  scouting,  during  one  of  the  Indian  attacks  upon 
Fort  Henry,  and  this  wound  caused  him  to  limp  slightly  for  the  balance 
of  his  life. 

Among  the  other  landed  possessions  of  James  Caldwell,  the  elder, 
was  that  portion  of  AMieeling  Island  lying  south  of  a  line  running  west 
across  the  Island  from  the  center  of  Wheeling  creek,  which  included  all 
of  what  is  now  popularly  known  as  "Stone  Town"  and  the  West  Vir- 
ginia'Exposition  Grounds.  His  right  to  this  part  of  the  Island  was  sold 
by  him  to  Ebenezer  Zane,  the  elder,  who  procured  a  patent  for  the  whole 
of  the  Island,  after  purchasing  the  right  of  James  Caldwell,  the  elder. 

James  Caldwell,  the  younger — One  of  the  sons  of  James  Caldwell, 
the  elder,  was  called  for  his  "father,  receiving  the  old  Caldwell  name  of 
James.  While  a  mere  lad,  he  was  in  Fort  Henry  during  the  last  siege 
thereof,  and  helped  mould  bullets  with  his  mother  and  the  other  women, 
for  the  use  of  the  riflemen  who  defended  it  against  the  British  and  In- 
dians. He  was  born,  as  hereinbefore  stated,  at  Baltimore,  Maryland. 
November  30th,  1770.  His  death  occurred  at  Beemer's  Tavern,  at  the 
southwest  corner  of  }ilain  and  Ninth  streets,  in  Wheeling,  in  May  of 
1838.  He  left  a  large  estate  for  that  day,  which  was  disposed  of  by  his 
will,  dated  May  3rd,  1838,  and  which  was  admitted  to  probate  and  rec- 
ord by  the  circuit  court  of  Ohio  county,  \^irginia,  on  the  31st  day  of  the 
same  month  and  year. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  previous  century,  James  Caldwell,  the  young- 
er, left  his  home  at  Wheeling  and  moved  to  St.  Clairsville,  in  the  state  of 
Ohio,  where  he  pursued  the  business  of  a  merchant  for  quite  a  number 
of  years.  The  rapid  development  of  the  section  of  the  country  in  which 
lie  lived  impressed  upon  him  the  necessity  for  greater  banking  facilities, 
and  he  devoted  the  later  years  of  his  life  exclusively  to  banking.  He 
was  president  for  quite  a  period  and  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  of  the 
Merchants'  and  ^Mechanics'  Bank  of  Wheeling,  one  of  the  predecessors 
of  what  is  now  the  National  Exchange  Bank  in  that  city. 

He  married  Anne  Bucher  (anglicized  to  Booker),  of  Winchester, 
A'irginia,  the  daughter  of  Jacob  Bucher,  a  Revolutionary  soldier  of  Ger- 
man stock,  and  Anna  Mary  Whetzel.  his  wife,  also  of  the  same  race.  Ja- 
cob Bucher  or  Booker  was  a  man  of  means,  as  is  shown  by  the  public 
records  at  Winchester.  A^irginia,  and  by  the  distribution  of  his  property 
made  in  his  will,  which  is  there  recorded.  The  exact  date  of  the  mar- 
riage of  James  Caldwell,  the  younger,  we  cannot  state. 

He  was  a  man  of  fine  business  capacity,  and  very  highly  respected 
both  in  Ohio  and  in  the  portion  of  A^irglnia,  in  which  he  died.    He  was  a 


12  WEST  MRclXIA 

widower  at  the  time  of  his  death,  boarding  at  Beemer's  Hotel,  and  giving 
his  attention  to  the  management  of  the  bank  of  which  he  was  president. 
Being  quite  a  pohtician,  he  filled  many  official  positions  in  the  state  of 
Ohio.  He  was  one  of  the  members  of  the  constitutional  convention  of 
1802,  which  formulated  the  first  constitution  of  the  state  of  Ohio,  and 
served  a  number  of  years,  to  wit:  1811-1812:  and  1819-1824,  in  the  sen- 
ale  of  that  state,  when  the  capital  was  at  Chillicothe,  and  was  clerk  of 
the  court  in  Belmont  county  from  1806  to  1810.  A  Democrat  in  politics, 
he  was  a  member  from  Ohio  in  the  Thirteenth  Congress,  and  was  re- 
elected and  served  during  the  Fourteenth,  from  the  district  of  which  Bel- 
mont county  was  a  part.  He  was  a  member  of  the  important  standing 
committee  on  claims,  post  offices  and  post  roads,  and  public  expenditures. 
James  Caldwell,  the  younger,  and  his  wife,  were  buried  at  St.  Clairsville. 
Pielmont  county.  Ohio. 

Alfred  Cafdzi'cU.  the  elder — One  of  the  children  of  James  Caldwell, 
the  younger,  and  Anne  Booker  Caldwell,  his  wife,  was  Alfred  Caldwell, 
the  elder,  who  was  born  June  4th,  1817,  at  St.  Clairsville.  Ohio.  After  re- 
ceiving good  preliminary  instruction  he  entered  Washington  College,  at 
Washington.  Pennsylvania,  now  Washington  and  Jefferson  University, 
as  a  sophomore,  in  November  of  1833.  and  took  the  full  remaining 
course,  graduating  from  that  institution  with  the  degree  of  A.  B..  in  the 
class  of  1836.  Among  his  classmates  were  the  distinguished  theologian. 
Rev.  James  I.  Brownson.  D.  D.,  of  Washington.  Pennsylvania :  the 
equally  distinguished  physician,  Robert  Hazlett  Cummins,  M.  D.,  of 
Wheeling ;  the  distinguished  lawyer  of  Pittsburg.  George  P.  Hainilton ; 
and  many  others  too  numerous  to  mention.  After  graduation  from 
Washington  College  he  entered  the  law  department  of  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, and  at  the  commencement  of  that  high  institution.  August  29th. 
1838,  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  His  diploma  from  Har- 
vard is  signed  by  his  very  distinguished  instructors,  Josiah  Ouincy.  Jo- 
seph Story  and  Simon  Greenleaf.  men  whose  names  are  known  in  every 
civilized  land. 

He  commenced  the  practice  of  law  at  WHieeling.  \'irginia.  and  had 
resumed  practice,  after  an  absence  of  about  six  years,  at  the  time  of 
h's  death,  which  occurred  at  his  residence,  in  Wheeling,  West  \'irginia. 
May  3rd,  1868.  Although  he  died  in  his  fifty-first  year,  his  life  was  a 
most  active  one.  Indefatigable  in  his  efforts  in  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession of  law.  he  always  occupied  an  important  position  in  the  commun- 
ity in  which  he  lived,  both  socially  and  politically.  His  integrity,  learning 
and  legal  ability  earned  him  the  patronage,  respect  and  confidence  of  his 
fellow  citizens,  demonstrated  by  his  repeated  elections  to  important  po- 
litical offices,  and  the  very  extensive  legal  practice  that  he  always  enjoyed. 

He  was  married,  August  i6th,  1839,  to  Martha,  daughter  of  George 
Baird,  Esq..  of  Washington.  Pennsylvania,  and  after  her  death,  which 
occurred  in  1859.  he  married  Miss  Alice  Wheat,  of  \Mieeling.  who  sur- 
vived him.  By  his  first  marriage  he  had  nine  children,  (one  of  whom 
died  in  infancy),  and  five  by  his  second  marriage.  The  eight  children  of 
his  first  marriage  who  survived  their  father,  and  the  five  of  the  second. 
are  all  of  them,  in  1913.  still  living,  which  fact  demonstrates  the  vigor 
of  their  race. 

He  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city  of  Wheeling.  Mrginia.  in  January 
of  1850.  defeating  Hon.  Sobieski  Brady,  who  was  his  immediate  pre- 
decessor in  that  office.  Tn  January  of  185 1  he  was  again  elected  mayor  of 
that  city,  over  George  T.  Tingle.  Esq.,  who  served  for  many  years  as 
secretary  of  the  WHieeling  Gas  Company.  Declining  candidacy  for  the 
mayorality  again  until  1856.  he  was  at  the  election  of  that  year,  as  well 
as  that  of  the  following  year,  again  chosen  mayor  of  the  city,  serving  for 


WEST  \IRG1XIA  13 

tlie  years  1856  and  1857.  So  great  was  his  popularity  that  no  candidate 
could  be  induced  to  run  against  him  at  the  last  two  elections.  As  mayor 
of  the  city  of  Wheeling,  he  rigidly  administered  the  laws,  holding  may- 
or's court,  and  compelling  an  obedience  by  the  rougher  element  to  the 
ordinances  of  the  city. 

In  1856  Alfred  Caldwell,  the  elder,  running  as  an  independent  candi- 
date against  Col.  Jones  of  Brooke  county,  a  Democrat,  was  elected  to  the 
senate  of  the  state  of  Virginia.  He  then  had  a  strong  sympathy  with  the 
new  Republican  party,  which  soon  ripened  into  a  full  union  with  it.  His 
attendance  in  the  senate  at  Richmond  was  a  most  tempestuous  experi- 
ence. Having  previously  made  himself  obnoxious  to  the  dominant  fac- 
tions in  the  Virginia  senate  by  his  endorsement  and  circulation  of  Help- 
er's "Impending  Crisis,"  an  offense  which  cost  John  Sherman  the  speak- 
ership of  the  House  of  Representatives  at  Washington.  He  was  without 
support  from  any  associate  in  the  senate,  and  had  only  two  or  three  of 
his  way  of  thinking  in  the  house.  He  ardently  advocated  and  voted 
for  every  bill  for  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  slaves,  and  by 
his  bold  and  persistent  advocacy  of  union  principles,  and  denunciation  of 
slaveholding  and  slave  owners,  earned  the  intense  enmity  of  that  class  of 
Mrginians  which,  on  numerous  occasions,  most  seriously  threatened  to 
result  in  personal  violence  to  Mr.  Caldwell.  The  war  spirit  had  reached 
to  its  height ;  the  forces  were  organized  and  drilled ;  debate  was  as 
acrimonious  as  it  was  useless :  and  this  man,  with  sufficient  nerve  to 
stand  up  for  the  Union,  had  to  forego  even  the  courtesy  of  recognition, 
as  well  as  encounter,  scorn  and  danger.  On  almost  every  public  ques- 
tion that  came  before  the  senate  of  Virginia,  when  he  was  a  member,  the 
journal  shows  votes  of  thirty  against  one,  and  that  one,  the  Senator 
from  Ohio  county.  He  was  uniformly  designated  in  the  Richmond  pa- 
pers as  an  "Abolitionist."  ?vlr.  Caldwell  was  a  member  of  the  delegation 
from  Virginia  in  the  National  Republican  Convention  at  Chicago  in  i860, 
being  selected  as  the  chairman  of  such  delegation.  He  earnestly  advo- 
cated in  the  Virginia  delegation,  the  selection  of  j\Ir.  Lincoln  rather  than 
Mr.  Seward,  as  the  Republican  party  candidate  for  president,  on  the 
ground  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  a  sectional  man,  and  that  he  would 
make  a  better  run  than  the  courtly  and  distinguished  \Mlliam  H.  Seward. 

Mr.  Lincoln,  early  in  1861,  appointed  Mr.  Caldwell  consul  of  the 
United  States  at  Honolulu,  Island  of  Oahu,  one  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 
These  Islands  at  that  time  constituted  the  independent  Kingdom  of  Ha- 
waii. This  consulate  was  one  of  the  most  important  and  lucrative  posi- 
tions in  the  gift  of  the  government.  At  the  time  'Sir.  Caldwell  was  con- 
sul, which  was  from  the  summer  of  1861  until  that  of  1867,  a  period  of 
six  years,  the  port  of  Honolulu  was  the  rendezvous  of  the  whaling  fleet 
of  the  Pacific,  and  the  place  where  hundreds  of  American  whale-ships 
discharged  cargoes  and  shipped  men  for  new  cruises.  These  vessels  or- 
dinarily staid  from  their  home  ports  in  New  England  for  periods  of 
five  years  at  a  time,  shipping  home  in  other  vessels,  periodically,  the 
whale  oil  and  bone  they  had  succeeded  in  obtaining.  A  large  marine  hos- 
pital belonging  to  the  LTnited  States  government,  for  the  aid  and  assist- 
ance of  sick  and  destitute  American  seamen,  was  under  the  care  and 
charge  of  Mr.  Caldwell  as  consul;  while,  in  addition,  he  was  ex-officio 
navy  agent,  and  had  in  his  charge  great  quantities  of  coal  and  other  nav- 
al stores  belonging  to  his  government.  Broken  in  health,  he  returned  to 
his  home  in  Wheeling,  West  \'irginia,  in  the  summer  of  1867,  resuming 
in  a  measure  the  practice  of  his  profession,  but  was  removed  by  death 
on  the  3rd  day  of  May,  1868.  His  remains  were  interred  in  Mt.  W'ood 
Cemetery,  in  the  city  of  Wheeling. 

Before  his  departure  for  Honolulu,  he  earnestly  advocated  the  for- 


14  WEST  VIRGINIA 

mation  of  a  new  state  out  of  what  is  now  the  state  of  West  Virginia,  and 
the  separation  of  the  counties  now  composing  West  Virginia  from  the 
state  of  Virginia.  However,  his  absence  from  the  United  States  pre- 
vented him  from  taking  the  active  part  that  he  undoubtedly  would  have 
taken  in  the  formation  of  the  new  state.  Mr.  Caldwell,  while  at  Hono- 
lulu, was  not  only  the  consular,  but  also  in  fact  the  diplomatic  officer  of 
Ihe  United  States.  During  the  whole  period  of  his  residence  there,  the 
minister  of  the  United  States  was  a  gentleman  little  fitted  for  the  per- 
formance of  the  duties  of  a  diplomatic  position,  and  it  fell  to  the  consul, 
who  was,  by  education  and  legal  practice,  better  qualified  to  direct  the 
minister  in  all  diplomatic  questions  that  arose,  and  to  formulate  the  dip- 
lomatic documents  for  the  minister's  signature.  The  emoluments  of  the 
consul  were  far  greater  than  the  salary  and  allowances  made  by  the  gov- 
ernment to  its  minister  at  Honolulu,  and,  as  may  be  anticipated,  a  bet- 
ter quality  of  public  servant  usually  occupied  the  position  of  consul  than 
that  of  minister. 

During  the  Civil  War  in  this  country  in  1864,  a  British  warship  came 
into  the  port  of  Honolulu  and  asked  for  a  supply  of  coal  from  Consul 
Caldwell,  out  of  the  stores  belonging  to  the  United  States  government, 
under  his  control.  Like  all  friends  of  the  Union,  he  had  a  hearty  and 
abiding  dislike  for  the  British  at  that  time.  He  promptly  refused  the 
request  of  the  British  commander,  and  the  British  authorities  at  Hon- 
olulu for  this  coal  supply,  saying  that  he  did  not  feel  justified  in  giving 
a  British  ship  any  portion  of  naval  stores  belonging  to  the  government  of 
the  United  States.  Within  a  week  after  this  refusal,  a  Russian  warship 
steamed  into  the  harbor  of  Honolulu,  short  of  coal.  It  will  be  recalled 
that  Russia,  during  our  Civil  War,  was  the  firm  and  consistent  friend  of 
the  government  of  the  United  States.  On  request  of  the  Russian 
commander.  Consul  Caldwell  supplied  this  Russian  warship  with  all  the 
coal  desired,  and  promptly  reported  to  Secretary  of  State  Seward,  in 
charge  of  the  state  department,  at  Washington,  that  he  had  refused  coal 
to  the  British  ship  of  war,  but  had  supplied  liberally  the  Russian  war 
vessel.  He  received  a  reply  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  containing  most 
effusive  compliments  for  his  judgment  and  good  sense  in  supplying  coal 
to  the  Russian  war  vessel,  and  thereby  cementing  the  good  feeling  which 
had  always  existed,  as  Mr.  Seward  stated,  between  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment of  Russia  and  the  United  States  of  America.  No  mention,  how- 
ever, was  made  concerning  the  refusal  of  coal  to  the  British  steamer,  the 
emphatic  approval  of  his  action  in  the  case  of  the  Russian  vessel  being 
sufficient  evidence  to  the  consul  that,  while  not  putting  the  fact  upon  pa- 
per, the  State  Department  was  satisfied  and  admitted  the  propriety  of  his 
action  respecting  the  other  ship. 

Mr.  Caldwell,  soon  after  his  marriage  in  1839,  erected  a  residence, 
which,  with  its  garden  and  stable  yard,  occupied  the  ground  upon  which 
now  stands  the  Scottish  Rite  Cathedral,  at  the  corner  of  Fourteenth  and 
Byron  streets,  in  the  city  of  Wheeling. 

Martha  Baird,  the  first  wife  of  Alfred  Caldwell,  the  elder,  was  from 
Revolutionary  stock.  Her  people  came  originally  from  Chester  county, 
Pennsylvania,  to  the  western  portion  of  that  state,  and  her  ancestors  set- 
tled at  what  was  then  called  Catfish  Camp,  now  the  city  of  Washington, 
in  the  county  of  Washington  and  state  of  Pennsylvania.  The  Bairds 
were  Scotch,  and  of  that  branch  of  the  Baird  family  known  as  the 
Bairds  of  Auchmedden.  Her  grandfather,  John  Baird,  resided  in  Ches- 
ter county,  Pennsylvania,  just  previous  to  1758.  He  married  in  1756, 
Catharine  McClain.  of  Kennett  Square,  in  that  county,  (who  died  at 
Washington,  Pennsylvania,  November  2-8th,  1802),  and  they  had  an  only 
child,  Absalom  Baird,  who  was  born  at  Kennett  Square  in  1757.     John 


WEST  \1RGINIA  15 

Eaird  joined  the  army  in  1758,  which  moved  against  the  French  Post  of 
Fort  Duquesne,  under  Forbes.  He  was  an  ensign  (second  heutenant)  in 
Capt.  Work's  company  of  the  Second  battahon  of  the  Pennsylvania  reg- 
iment, and  was  present  with  his  command,  under  Col.  Grant  of  the  High- 
landers, at  Grant's  defeat  and  at  the  capture  of  the  fort.  He  was  severe- 
ly wounded  in  that  action.  His  commission  as  ensign  was  dated  March 
i3tli,  i/SS.  (See  vol.  ii  of  the  Pennsylvania  Archives,  2nd  series,  page 
481). 

He  was  promoted  to  the  office  of  lieutenant  in  the  same  company,  to 
date  from  April  13th,  1760,  subsequent  to  the  capture  of  Fort  Duquesne. 
(See  page  520  of  the  same  volume).  He  died  at  a  fort  on  the  Susque- 
hanna river.  (See  same  volume,  page  523).  The  only  child  of  John 
Baird,  Absalom  Baird,  was  raised  by  his  mother,  who,  being  a  lady  of  ed- 
ucation, taught  school  for  the  support  of  herself  and  young  son.  He  re- 
sided with  his  mother,  at  Kennett  Square,  in  Chester  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  upon  arriving  at  a  suitable  age  was  sent  to  a  famous  acade- 
my at  Pequa,  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  then  conducted  by  an 
eminent  educator.  Dr.  Robert  Smith,  where  by  thorough  study  he  pre- 
pared himself  to  enter  upon  a  course  in  medicine.  The  outbreak  of  the 
American  Revolution  found  him  a  physician  ready  for  practice.  He, 
soon  after  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  entered  the  mili- 
tary service  in  the  Pennsylvania  militia,  as  an  ensign  in  a  company  raised 
by  the  physician  with  whom  he  had  been  studying  his  profession.  Sub- 
sequently, he  entered  the  service  as  a  surgeon's  mate  (assistant  surgeon), 
and  served  as  such  in  the  field  and  the  hospitals  established  at  different 
points  along  the  Hudson  river  for  the  American  army,  and  was  for  a 
long  time  stationed  at  one  thereof  at  Fishkill,  New  York. 

On  the  20th  of  March,  1780,  he  became  surgeon  of  Baldwin's  Artil- 
lery Artificer  Regiment  in  the  Continental  service,  and  retired  with  his 
regiment  when  it  was  disbanded  on  the  29th  day  of  March,  1781.  He 
died  at  Washington,  Pennsylvania,  October  27th,  1805.  (See  Heitman's 
"Historical  Register  of  Officers  of  the  Continental  Army,  during  the 
War  of  the  Revolution,  April,  1775,  to  December,  1783,"  page  71.) 

His  mother,  Catharine  McClain  Baird,  died  at  his  home  in  Washing- 
ton, Pennsylvania,  on  the  28th  day  of  November,  1802. 

After  leaving  the  army,  Dr.  Absalom  Baird  married  Susanna  Har- 
lan Brown,  at  Wilmington,  Delaware,  in  the  Old  Dutch  Reformed  Church. 
His  wife  died  at  Washington,  Pennsylvania,  November  i6th,  1802.  Dr. 
Baird  had  six  children,  two  daughters  and  four  sons. 

After  his  regiment  was  disbanded  under  an  act  of  Congress,  he  re- 
turned to  Chester  county  and  settled  at  Kennett  Square,  and  there  ener- 
getically practiced  medicine  until  November  of  1786,  when  he  moved  to 
Washington,  Pennsylvania,  then  called  Catfish  Camp,  In  his  new  loca- 
tion he  practiced  his  profession  and  soon  reached  eminence  as  a  leader  in 
the  community.  He  was  commissioned  by  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania, 
justice  of  the  peace,  and  was  colonel  and  county  lieutenant  of  the  militia, 
brigade  inspector,  member  of  the  state  senate  and  then  of  the  house  of 
representatives,  sheriff  of  Washington  county,  and  trustee  of  the  Wash- 
ington Academy,  from  which  sprung  Washington  College,  chartered  in 
1806,  and  which,  after  a  union  with  Jefferson  College  in  1865,  is  now 
the  Washington  and  Jefferson  University, 

Of  the  four  sons  left  by  Dr,  Baird,  John,  the  eldest,  followed  him  in 
the  medical  profession,  but  died  early.  The  second  son  was  George,  who 
was  born  at  Kennett  Square,  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  October 
28th,  1785,  and  taken  by  his  parents  to  their  new  home  in  Washington, 
at  the  age  of  eleven  months.    The  third  and  fourth  sons  were  Thomas  H. 


i6  WEST  VIRGINIA 

and  William,  both  of  whom  became  eminent  and  successful  lawyers,  and 
the  former  also  a  distinguished  judge. 

Dr.  Baird  married  a  second  wife,  a  lady  named  2^Iargaret  Darrah, 
who  followed  his  remains  to  the  grave  in  the  year  succeeding  their  mar- 
riage. 

During  his  military  career  in  the  Revolutionary  army,  Dr.  Absalom 
Baird  was  present  with  the  American  forces  at  the  storming  of  Stony 
Point,  under  the  command  of  General  Anthony  Wayne  (Alad  Anthony), 
and  when  the  General  was  wounded  in  the  assault  on  the  British  works, 
Dr.  Baird  rendered  him  the  necessary  surgical  aid. 

No  more  graphic  and  life  like  pictures  of  the  condition  of  society 
and  the  people  in  this  country  and  of  the  poverty  and  privations  they 
endured  in  the  cause  of  Independence  can  be  found  anywhere  than  in 
the  private  letters  passing  between  Dr.  Absalom  Baird  and  his  mother 
during  and  immediately  after  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  struggle. 
These  letters  present  a  view  of  conditions  that  existed  far  more  graphic 
than  any  history  of  the  times  can  do.  The  familiar  style  of  the  corres- 
pondence appeals  strongly  to  the  imagination  and  perception  of  any  one 
reading  it.  These  letters  have  been  preserved  in  the  family,  and  copies 
of  them  are  possessed  by  many  of  Dr.  Baird's  descendants.  Among 
these  descendants  was  one  who,  like  his  grandfather,  was  distinguished 
in  the  medical  profession. 

Allusion  is  here  made  to  Dr.  George  Baird,  his  grandson,  who  was  a 
graduate  of  Washington  College,  Pennsylvania,  and  of  the  medical  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  at  Philadelphia.  He  prac- 
ticed his  profession  in  the  city  of  Wheeling,  with  credit  to  himself  and 
che  great  advantage  of  the  people  of  that  city.  No  more  popular  man 
nor  one  more  esteemed,  ever  lived  in  that  community.  Practically  all 
his  business  life  he  was  prominent  in  official  positions,  both  in  the  council 
of  the  city  and  in  the  board  of  education,  also  serving  as  the  city's  may- 
or in  1863,  His  genial  manner  and  sympathetic  charity  endeared  him 
more  especially  to  the  poorer  people  of  Wheeling,  and  left,  on  his  death, 
lasting  memories  of  his  repeated  acts  of  kindness. 

George  Baird,  son  of  Dr.  Absalom  Baird,  was  educated  both  in  math- 
ematics and  the  classics  in  Washington  Academy,  which  in  1806  became 
Washington  College.  Mr.  George  Baird  was  an  instructor  for  a  time  in 
the  early  history  of  the  college,  and,  owing  to  his  scholarly  attainments, 
he  was  many  years  afterwards  invited  to  take  place  in  the  college  facul- 
ty, as  Professor  of  Latin,  but  declined  it. 

William  Baird,  son  of  Dr.  Absalom  Baird,  was  the  father  of  Brevet 
Major  General  Absalom  Baird,  of  the  regular  army,  a  graduate  of  West 
Point,  who  was  inspector  general  of  the  United  States  army  during  Mr. 
Cleveland's  first  administration  as  president.  During  the  war  General 
Baird  was  full  major  general  of  volunteers,  and  commanded  a  corps  un- 
der General  Sherman  in  his  campaigns  in  the  south. 

On  the  25th  of  October,  181 1,  Mr.  George  Baird  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Jane  W^ilson,  at  Washington,  Pennsylvania,  the  lady  be- 
ing the  (laughter  of  John  and  Catharine  Wilson,  of  Washington.  George 
Baird  and  Catharine  Wilson  Baird,  his  wife,  were  the  father  and  mother 
of  the  before  mentioned  Martha  Baird  Caldwell. 

The  Wilsons  were  a  Scotch-Irish  family  who  originally  belonged  in 
the  county  of  Derry,  near  Killowen,  on  the  River  Bann.  just  across  from 
Coleraine.  in  northern  Ireland.  John  Wilson  and  his  wife,  whose  maid- 
en name  was  Cunningham,  emigrated  to  this  country  from  Ireland  with 
their  first-born  child,  in  1786,  leaving  Ireland  June  25th,  1786.  Catha- 
rine Cunningham  Wilson  was  the  daughter  of  Giristopher  Cunningham 
and  Mary,  his  wife,  who  are  buried  in  the  yard  of  the  Episcopal  church 


WEST  VIRGINIA  17 

at  Killowen,  of  which  church  he  was  a  vestryman  and  afterwards  one 
of  the  two  church  wardens.  His  name  is  to  be  found,  signed  by  him,  in 
the  church  records  preserved  in  the  safe  of  the  old  Episcopal  church  at 
Killowen.  On  the  slab  which  marks  their  last  resting  place  is  the  coat- 
of-arms  of  the  Cunninghams. 

After  residing  some  three  years  in  Philadelphia,  John  Wilson  and 
wife  settled  in  Washington,  Pennsylvania,  in  1789,  anil  thereafter  lived 
at  Washington  until  their  deaths,  honored  and  respected  by  the  whole 
community.  Their  numerous  descendants  are  among  the  most  promi- 
nent people,  in  almost  every  walk  of  life,  in  Western  Pennsylvania.  Airs. 
Catharine  Cunningham  Wilson  died  in  the  eighty-ninth  year  of  her  age, 
on  the  15th  of  December,  1857.  She  lived  to  be  the  mother  of  four 
generations  of  descendants.  Her  children  numbered  twelve,  her  grand- 
children seventy-three,  her  great-grandchildren  one  hundred  and  twelve, 
and  her  great-great-grandchildren  five,  in  all,  making  two  hundred  and 
two.  Ten  grandsons  and  two  great-grandsons  bore  her  remains  to  the 
grave,  and  about  sixty  of  her  descendants  united  with  a  large  company 
of  neighbors  in  paying  her  the  last  tribute  of  esteem. 

Too  much  cannot  be  said  of  the  lovely  character  of  their  daughter, 
Jane,  the  wife  of  George  Baird,  Esq.  She  was  the  mother  of  fourteen 
children.  Of  her  it  has  been  well  said:  "She  openeth  her  mouth  with 
wisdom,  and  in  her  tongue  is  the  law  of  kindness.  She  looketh  well  to 
the  ways  of  her  household,  and  eateth  not  the  bread  of  idleness.  Her 
children  arise  up  and  call  her  blessed ;  her  husband,  also,  and  he  praiseth 
her." — (Prov.  3!  :26-.'8;.  Here  was  a  most  remarkably  unselfish  na- 
ture, and  to  mention  her  name  among  those  who  knew  her  is  to  call  forth 
only  words  of  praise. 

The  oldest  of  the  children  of  Alfred  Caldwell,  the  elder,  and  Martha 
Baird  Caldwell,  his  wife,  is  Brevet  Lieutenant  Colonel  George  Baird 
Caldwell,  who,  for  a  long  period,  practiced  law  at  the  Ohio  county.  West 
Virginia,  bar,  residing  in  the  city  of  Wheeling,  and  who  has  held  a  num- 
ber of  important  offices,  both  military  and  civil.  Graduating  from  Wash- 
ington College  as  an  honor  man  of  his  class,  he  was  studying  law  in  the 
office  of  the  firm  of  eminent  lawyers,  Acheson  &  Wilson,  at  Washington, 
Pennsylvania,  when  the  war  broke  out. 

Colonel  Caldwell,  before  attending  college,  attended  what  was  known 
as  Scott's  school,  in  the  city  of  Wheeling,  and  afterwards  that  excellent 
institution  known  as  the  Morgantown  Academy,  at  Alorgantown,  Alonon- 
galia  county,  Virginia. 

When  the  first  call  was  made,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  for  what 
was  known  as  the  "three  months  men"  by  the  United  States  government, 
George  B.  Caldwell  left  his  law  studies  and  took  the  field  as  a  member  of 
the  1 2th  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  being  appointed  a  corporal  in  his  com- 
pany, and  although  small  in  size,  he  did  his  full  duty  during  this  term  of 
enlistment.  Upon  returning  home,  his  regiment  having  been  discharged, 
he  immediately  re-enlisted  at  Washington  in  the  looth  Pennsylvania  Reg- 
iment, known  as  "The  Round  Head  Regiment."  With  this  regiment  he 
went  under  Gen.  Benham  to  South  Carolina  and  took  part  in  an  abortive 
attempt  by  that  general  to  storm  the  Confederate  works  in  and  about  the 
city  of  Charleston.  By  request  of  the  loyal  governor  of  \'irginia,  Mr. 
Caldwell,  after  a  service  of  eighteen  months  in  the  ranks,  was  honorably 
discharged  from  the  Pennsylvania  troops  by  proper  authority,  for  the 
purpose  of  receiving  a  commission  in  a  loyal  Virginia  regiment  being 
organized,  and  which  was  afterwards  known  as  the  "Twelfth  West  \'ir- 
ginia."  He  was  commissioned  first  lieutenant  and  adjutant  of  this  new 
regiment,  and  served  with  it  until  practically  the  close  of  the  war,  when 
he  was  honorably  discharged  from  the  service  on  account  of  a  reduction 


i8  WEST  MRGIXIA 

of  tlie  army,  and  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  as  an  attor- 
ney-at-law  in  the  city  of  Wheeling,  serving,  in  all,  nearly  four  years  as  a 
soldier. 

While  with  his  commanders,  Gen.  Thoburn  and  Col.  Curtis  of  his 
own  regiment,  making  reconnaissance,  just  before  the  battle  of  Fisher's 
Hill,  (called  Mount  Hope  by  the  Confederates),  a  Confederate  battery 
of  lield  artillery,  securing  the  range  to  where  this  clump  of  Union  officers 
was  gathered  on  an  eminence,  threw  a  shell  into  their  midst,  which  car- 
ried off  one  leg  of  the  horse  upon  which  Adjutant  Caldwell  was  riding. 
The  next  day  he  went  into  action  on  foot.  As  he  was  near  one  end  of 
the  Union  line,  which  had  pushed  forward  and  covered  ground  faster 
than  the  rest  of  the  assailants,  he  was  one  of  the  earliest  to  scale  the 
Confederate  works,  and  found  himself  almost  alone  when  he  jumped 
down  amid  the  enemy.  While  shouting  his  commands  to  the  Confed- 
erates, who  were  throwing  down  their  arms  and  surrendering,  to  get  over 
the  works  in  the  direction  from  which  he  had  come,  and  behind  the  Un- 
ion lines,  a  private  soldier,  who  had  scaled  the  works  long  after  he  had 
done  so,  stooped  down,  right  at  the  adjutant's  feet,  and  picked  up  a 
Confederate  flag  or  stand  of  colors,  encased  in  a  black  oil-cloth  case, 
which  had  been  for  some  minutes  lying  at  the  officer's  feet,  unobserved 
by  him.  A  sergeant  of  his  regiment  called  to  him  and  asked  him  to  take 
the  colors  from  this  soldier  who  had  picked  them  up,  saying  that  the>- 
rightfully  belonged  to  the  adjutant,  whose  foot  was  almost  on  them,  and 
who,  as  stated,  had  been  in  the  works  long  before  the  man  who  picked 
the  flag  up.  He  refused  to  take  the  captured  colors  from  the  enlisted 
man  who  had  picked  them  up,  because,  as  he  always  said,  he  would  not 
have  it  charged  to  him  that  he  had  exercised  his  power  as  an  officer  over 
an  enlisted  man  in  such  a  case,  however  much  justification  he  might 
have  for  it. 

Colonel  Caldwell  has  received,  under  act  of  Congress,  three  brevet? 
for  his  military  services,  to  wit:  the  brevets  rank  of  captain,  major  and 
lieutenant  colonel. 

He  took  part  in  the  celebrated  Hunters  Raid,  and  for  a  long  period 
served  as  assistant  adjutant  general  of  the  second  Brigade  of  the  First 
Division  of  Gen.  Crook's  corps  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  under  Sheri- 
dan. He  was  in  numerous  engagements  during  the  war,  and  it  can  Ix 
truthfully  said  that  his  military  record  was  without  reproach,  and  of  th;- 
very  highest  order  of  merit. 

After  he  left  the  army,  he  was  for  a  time  deputy  marshal  of  the 
United  States  for  West  Virginia,  and  assistant  district  attorney  of  the 
United  States  for  West  Virginia,  under  Hon.  Nathan  Goft,  United 
States  Attorney  for  West  Virginia,  since  a  distinguished  judge  of  the 
circuit  court  of  appeals  of  the  United  States  for  the  Fourth  Circuit,  and 
now  a  senator  from  West  Virginia,  in  the  United  States  senate.  Colonel 
Caldwell  also  served  as  a  member  of  the  council,  and  for  two  years  as 
city  solicitor  of  the  city  of  Wheeling.  He  was  always  an  ardent  Republi- 
can, and  in  the  campaign  of  1880  he  was  that  party's  candidate  for  attor- 
ney general  of  the  state,  but  failed  of  election  owing  to  the  fact  that  his 
party  was  greatly  in  the  minority  at  the  time. 

Colonel  Caldwell  has  now  retired  from  the  practice  of  his  profession, 
in  which  he  was  markedly  successful,  achieving  a  competence  for  him- 
self and  family. 

Alfred  Caldzi'cll,  the  younger — Alfred  Caldwell,  the  younger,  was  the 
fourth  child  and  second  son  of  Alfred  Caldwell,  the  elder,  and  ]\'Iartha 
Baird,  his  wife.  He  was  born  at  Wheeling,  Virginia,  July  14th,  1847. 
and  educated  at  Prof.  Harding's  Academy  at  Wheeling,  in  tlie  West  Lib- 
ortv  Acadenn-  in  Ohio  countv.  A^irginia.  at  Oahu   College,  near   Hono- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  19 

lulu.  Hawaiian  Islands,  and  at  Yale  College,  taking  the  degree  of  Ph. 
B.  at  Yale  in  1867.  He  studied  law  in  his  father's  law  office  in  Wheel- 
ing, being  admitted  to  the  Wheeling  bar  in  1868,  a  few  months  after  at- 
taining his  majority.  On  September  14th,  1871,  he  was  married  to  Laura 
Ellen  Goshorn,  daughter  of  ^^■illiam  Scott  Goshorn,  and  Priscilla  Jane 
Goshorn,  his  wife. 

The  Goshorn  family  is  an  old  and  prominent  family  of  Ohio  county, 
Virginia.  Mrs.  Goshorn  was  from  Martinsburg,  Berkeley  county,  \"ir- 
ginia.  Joseph  Scott,  one  of  the  ancestors  of  William  Scott  Goshorn.  was 
a  Revolutionary  soldier,  and  the  family  originally  lived  in  and  about 
Shade  \''alley,  near  jMiffiin.  Pennsylvania,  from  which  point  they  moved 
to  the  Ohio  Valley,  settling  upon  a  farm  upon  ]\[cMahon's  creek,  which 
flows  into  the  Ohio  river  at  Bellaire,  Belmont  county,  Ohio,  and  which 
farm  they  purchased  from  James  Caldwell,  the  younger,  hereinbefore 
mentioned. 

The  head  of  the  family,  when  they  arrived  in  the  Ohio  Valley,  was 
Mr.  John  Goshorn,  the  father  of  William  Scott  Goshorn,  and  a  man  who 
became  a  prominent  merchant  and  citizen  of  Wheeling.  John  Goshorn 
fiad  entirely  too  much  energy  and  initiative  in  his  composition  to  remain 
long  on  the  farm  on  McMahon's  creek.  Accordingly,  he  left  this  farm, 
and,  having  married  a  Miss  Mary  Farrier,  moved  with  his  wife  to 
Wheeling,  where  he  commenced  merchandising  in  a  building  still  belong- 
ing to  his  family,  although  about  one  hundred  years  have  passed  since  he 
first  started  his  store  upon  the  property.  His  remarkable  energy,  fore- 
sight and  honesty  caused  him  to  prosper,  and  the  advance  he  made  from 
small  beginnings,  at  the  time  in  which  he  lived,  stamped  him  as  a  most 
remarkable  man.  When  we  consider  the  difficulties  surrounding  the 
transaction  of  business,  the  uncertainty  as  to  money,  the  poor  means  of 
transportation,  the  length  of  time  it  required  to  obtain  any  reliable  infor- 
mation about  markets  and  prices,  and  the  infinite  number  of  minor  diffi- 
culties from  bad  roads,  and  the  generally  crude  and  unsettled  condition 
of  the  community,  a  man  who  could  achieve  success  under  such  circum- 
stances, if  he  existed  today,  would  probably  belong  to  the  class  of  very 
rich  men  that  we  call  merchant  princes.  He  accumulated  a  large  estate, 
which  he  left  to  his  son,  William  Scott  Goshorn. 

Mr.  William  Scott  Goshorn  was  a  man  of  fine  ability  and  sterling 
character.  He  was  well  educated,  having  attended  Washington  College, 
and  for  a  very  considerable  number  of  years  was  associated  with  his 
father  in  mercantile  pursuits,  but,  riever  having  felt  the  spur  of  necessity 
for  great  exertions  upon  his  part,  and  having  received  from  his  father 
ample  means  for  the  support  of  himself  and  family,  he  was  not  as  active 
as  his  father  had  been  before  him.  However,  he  filled  a  number  of  im- 
portant public  positions  for  many  years  in  the  city  of  Wheeling,  and  the 
duties  of  any  office  that  he  undertook  were  always  conscientiously  and 
faithfully  ])erformed  b}'  him.  He  was  for  a  number  of  years  a  member  of 
the  council  of  the  city  of  Wheeling,  and  served  as  a  deputv  sheriff  of  the 
county,  and  was  also  an  assessor  of  the  city.  He  was  scrupulously  hon- 
est in  his  deahngs,  and,  although  tenacious  of  his  rights,  he  was  a  just 
man,  and  always  respected  the  rights  of  others.  The  remains  of  these 
Goshorns  are  now  resting  in  their  family  plot  in  Mt.  Wood  Cemetery  at 
Wheeling,  West  Virginia. 

Alfred  Caldwell,  the  younger,  and  Laura  Ellen  Goshorn,  his  wife, 
have  had  eight  children,  to  wit :  William  Goshorn  Caldwell,  born  July 
3rd,  1872,  who  graduated  from  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School  of  Yale 
University  in  1895,  receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Philosophy; 
Jane  Caldwell,  born  February  5th,  1874,  who  was  married  to  Otto 
Schroll,   a  native  of   Columbus,  Ohio,    and    a    graduate    of    the    Ohio 


20  WEST  \qRGINIA 

State  University,  a  civil  engineer  by  profession,  on  November  14th,  1894, 
(Mr.  Scliroll  is  now  the  superintendent  of  the  Pennsylvania  Lines  West, 
at  Toledo,  Ohio)  ;  Laura  Belle  Caldwell,  born  July  i8th,  1875,  and  married 
to  Armistead  Davis  Mead,  of  Leatherwood,  Ohio  county,  West  Virginia ; 
Helen  Baird  Caldwell,  born  September  2nd,  1876,  married  to  Morgan 
Ott  Hart,  and  now  a  resident  of  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Martha  Baird  Cald- 
fred  Caldwell,  born  December  15th,  1883;  and  Isabel  Goshorn  Caldwell, 
well,  born  June  15th.  1879;  Mary  Caldwell,  born  January  4th,  1881  ;  Al- 
born  June  iSth,  1887,  and  who  was  married  to  Mr.  George  N.  Flynn. 
These  eight  children  were  born  at  Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  and  are  all 
living  except  Alfred  Caldwell  and  Isabel  Goshorn  Caldwell,  both  of 
whom  are  now  deceased. 

Up  to  the  time  of  and  for  a  short  period  after  the  death  of  his 
mother,  which  occurred  in  1859,  young  Caldwell  attended  a  school  con- 
ducted by  that  admirable  instructor,  Prof.  Hugh  Wilson  Harding,  in  an 
academy  in  the  old  Atheneum  building  (afterwards  a  military  prison 
during  the  Civil  War),  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Sixteenth  and  Market 
streets,   Wheeling. 

In  the  summer  of  i860  he  was  sent,  although  still  a  young  lad,  to  the 
Academy  at  West  Liberty,  conducted  by  Prof.  Andrew  F.  Ross,  a  fine 
scholar,  who  had  been  previously  professor  of  ancient  languages  in 
Bethany  College.  The  breaking  out  of  the  war  in  1861  and  the  political 
campaign  which  was  raging  in  the  fall  of  i860,  caused  excited  state  of 
the  community,  preventing  the  scholars  at  this  academy  from  receiving 
the  benefit  from  the  instruction  which  they  otherwise  would  have  done. 

After  one  year  at  the  West  Liberty  Academy,  he  went  with  his  fath- 
er, Alfred  Caldwell,  the  elder,  from  Wheeling  to  Honolulu,  on  the  Ha- 
waiian Islands,  his  father  having,  as  hereinbefore  stated,  been  appointed 
by  Mr,  Lincoln,  consul  at  that  port.  There  being  no  transcontinental 
railway  lines  at  that  day,  Consul  Caldwell  and  such  of  his  family  as  were 
with  him  were  compelled  to  travel  to  his  post  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama,  across  the  Isthmus  by  the  then  recently  constructed  Panama 
Railroad  from  Colon  (then  called  Aspinwall)  to  the  city  of  Panama  on 
the  Pacific.  From  Panama  they  traveled  by  an  old  steamer  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, from  which  port  they  were  compelled  to  take  a  small  sailing  bark, 
of  about  five  hundred  tons,  to  Honolulu.  For  three  years  Alfred -Cald- 
well, the  younger,  resided  with  his  father  at  Honolulu,  attending,  during 
that  period,  Oahu  College  at  Punahou,  then  about  four  miles  from  the 
city  of  Honolulu. 

His  vacation  time  was  spent  upon  a  cattle  ranch  on  the  further  side 
of  the  Island,  and  over  the  mountains  from  Honolulu.  At  this  college  he 
was  under  the  instruction  of  at  least  one  very  capable  professor,  who  had 
charge  of  the  classes  in  Latin  and  Greek.  The  college  was  a  co-educa- 
tional institution,  supported  by  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, for  the  education  of  the  children  of  the  missionaries  on  the  Ha- 
waiian Islands.  At  the  termination  of  three  years  he  graduated  from 
this  college,  and,  being  yet  under  seventeen  years  of  age,  his  father  de- 
termined that  he  would  better  return  to  the  United  States  and  enter 
some  reputable  institution  of  learning,  rather  than  remain  idle  at  Hono- 
lulu. 

Owing  to  the  mild  climate  of  these  semi-tropical  Islands,  the  rigor  of 
the  sun  shining  thereon  being  always  mitigated  by  the  trade  winds,  a  so- 
journ at  Honolulu  was  an  unalloyed  delight.  There  were  few  wheeled 
vehicles  in  Honolulu  at  that  time,  and  the  usual  method  of  travel  was  on 
horseback.  Young  Caldwell  had  to  ride  on  one  of  the  fine  saddle  horses 
then  to  be  had  on  the  Islands,  the  four  miles  from  his  father's  residence 
in  the  city,  to  the  college  each  morning  and  back  each  afternoon,  and  dur- 


WEST  MRGIXIA  21 

ing  vacation  times,  upon  the  cattle  ranch,  he  was  in  the  saddle  from 
about  daylight  until  dusk  with  the  cow-boys,  helping  them  attend  to  their 
duties. 

Upon  arriving  at  the  college  it  was  the  custom  of  the  students  who 
came  from  the  city  of  Honolulu  to  turn  their  horses  loose  in  an  enormou.-i 
field  containing  probably  seventy-five  acres  of  ground,  surrounded  by  a 
stone  wall,  in  which  space  the  horses  would  graze  until  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon,  when  they  would  be  driven  by  a  native  Hawaiian  on  horse- 
back into  a  large  stone  corral.  Every  boy  student  had  to  go  into  this  cor- 
ral, pick  his  horse  out  from  among  the  plunging  twenty  or  more  horses, 
and  lasso  him  over  the  head.  At  first  this  was  hard  work  for  young 
Caldwell,  by  reason  of  his  being  entirely  unaccustomed  to  throwing  the 
rope,  but  no  assistance  would  be  offered  him  by  any  of  the  other  students, 
whose  delight  it  was  to  watch  his  unsuccessful  efiforts.  It  was  not  long, 
however,  before  he  became  skillful  enough  to  pick  his  horse  out  with  a 
rope,  from  amidst  the  plunging,  running  mass.  At  that  day  to  be  thrown 
from  a  horse  on  the  Islands  was  considered  a  disgrace,  for  every  one, 
male  and  female,  was  a  skillful  rider. 

The  long  distances  between  the  residences  of  the  }0ung  white  people 
at  Honolulu  prevented  much  visiting,  and  as  for  boyish  plays  and  amuse- 
ments, they  could  only  be  indulged  in  when  at  the  institution,  during  the 
short  recesses.  Therefore,  practically  the  only  way  for  a  student  to  em- 
ploy his  time  was  in  close  application  to  his  books,  and  at  no  period  of 
his  life  did  young  Caldwell  advance  so  rapidly  and  acquire  as  much  edu- 
cation in  the  same  space  of  time  as  during  his  sojourn  at  Honolulu. 
Among  his  classmates  were  some  wdio  have  since  become  quite  distin- 
guished. Among  others  may  be  mentioned  the  Hon.  Sanford  B.  Dole, 
who  afterwards  became  the  first  president  of  the  Hawaiian  Republic, 
subsequently  the  Governor  of  the  Territory  of  Hawaii,  and  who  is  now 
the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Islands. 

Very  shortly  after  the  commencement  exercises  at  Oahu  College,  in 
the  early  summer  of  1864.  young  Caldwell,  who  was  then  not  yet  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  left  Honolulu  for  San  Francisco,  on  the  clipper  bark 
"Yankee,"  a  sailing  vessel  of  about  five  hundred  tons.  The  w^inds  being 
unfavorable,  (one  long  calm  being  encountered,)  the  vessel  had  to  run 
out  of  her  usual  course  and  far  to  the  north,  resulting  in  quite  a  change 
of  climate  from  that  of  the  islands.  The  boys  on  this  bark  had  no  wool- 
en clothing,  being  dressed  in  the  duck  and  nankeen  which  they  had  been 
accustomed  to  wear  at  Honolulu.  Even  wdien  they  put  on  three  and  four 
suits  of  their  light  cotton  clothing,  they  still  suft'ered  from  the  cold.  This 
was  soon  remedied  at  San  Francisco,  however,  by  the  purchase  of  heav- 
ier clothing.  After  a  short  stay  at  San  Francisco,  young  Caldwell  left 
those  of  his  classmates  who  had  come  over  with  him  from  Honolulu,  and 
took  passage  on  an  old  leaky  steamer  called  the  "Uncle  Sam,"  for  Pana- 
ma. From  the  time  the  vessel  left  San  Francisco  until  its  arrival  at  Pan- 
ama, its  pumps  were  kept  continuously  working,  and  it  was  only  after 
several  sleepless  nights  that  he  was  able  to  get  any  rest,  on  account  of 
the  noise  made  by  the  pumping  machinery. 

In  July  of  1864,  the  vessel  ran  into  the  port  of  Acapulco,  in  western 
Mexico,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  a  fresh  supply  of  coal,  lying  in  the 
harbor  for  between  three  or  four  days,  before  laborers  could  be  obtained 
to  coal  the  steamer.  Finally,  such  labor  was  procured  by  the  use  of 
some  colored  sailors  from  the  United  States  sloop  of  war  "St.  }^Iary." 
The  coal  was  brought  to  the  side  of  the  steamer  in  a  lighter  in  gunny 
bags,  and  was  carried  aboard  in  such  bags,  on  the  backs  of  these  negro 
sailors.  While  at  Acapulco,  some  of  the  fighting  between  Juarez,  the 
JMexican  leader's  forces  and  the  French,  supporting  the  Emperor  ?ilaxi- 


22  WEST  VIRGINIA 

milian,  was  witnessed.  Back  of  Acapulco  is  a  high  range  of  hills  or 
mountains,  covered  with  a  growth  of  trees  and  thickets,  which  har- 
bored the  Mexican  guerillas.  The  French  had  possession  of  the  city  or 
town,  and  of  the  fort  that  stood  at  one  end  of  it,  and  in  and  near  the 
fort  were  thick  clumps  of  cactus  or  prickly  pear.  Three  French  war 
vessels  were  lying  in  the  harbor.  Every  night  the  Mexicans  would  creep 
down  close  to  the  fort,  amid  the  cactus,  getting  near  enough  for  a  good 
shot,  and  kill  a  French  sentry  at  the  gate  of  the  fort,  or  on  the  parapet. 
At  the  sound  of  the  shot  the  French  military  would  rush  into  ranks,  and 
a  sergeant  or  lieutenant,  with  a  squad  of  ten  to  fifteen  men,  would  be 
ordered  out  to  reconnoiter  and  find  the  cause  of  the  firing  and  the  loss 
of  their  comrade.  This  squad  was  sure  to  run  into  a  Mexican  ambu's- 
cade  at  close  quarters,  where  the  machete  could  be  brought  to  play.  The 
French  would  almost  uniformly  rush  back  to  the  fort  in  confusion,  after 
a  serious  loss.  Again,  the  Mexicans  would  build  huge  bonfires  on  the 
mountain  side  behind  the  city,  which  would  attract  the  fire  of  the  French 
ships,  who  would,  as  long  as  tb.e  fires  lasted,  continue  shelling  them.  It 
is  unnecessary  to  say  that  sleep  was  an  impossibility  in  such  surroundings. 

At  Panama  the  "Uncle  Sam"  was  left,  and  young  Caldwell,  with  a 
party,  landed  in  a  whale-boat,  the  rest  of  the  passengers  and  baggage 
awaiting  until  the  tide  was  up,  so  that  they  could  make  a  landing  at  the 
depot  dock  of  the  Panama  railroad,  in  a  small,  light  draft  steamer.  The 
passage  over  the  Isthmus,  on  the  Panama  railroad,  cost  at  that  time,  in 
gold,  the  sum  of  twenty-five  dollars,  for  about  forty  miles  of  travel.  This 
gold  was  worth  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  in  greenbacks  for  each  dollar 
in  gold.  The  baggage  was  carefully  weighed,  and  for  every  pound  over 
fifty  that  a  passenger's  baggage  weighed,  he  paid  ten  cents  in  gold  or  sil- 
ver. These  prices,  viewed  at  the  present  day,  seem  tremendous.  From 
Colon,  or  Aspinwall,  steamer  was  taken  for  New  York,  which  passed 
through  what  is  called  the  Windward  channel,  and  around  the  eastern 
end  of  Cuba.  The  passage  from  Central  America  was  made  with  lights 
out  at  night,  for  fear  of  capture  by  a  Confederate  vessel.  This  made 
things  rather  monotonous,  as  the  passengers  were  absolutely  prevented 
from  reading  at  night.  The  passage  from  Honolulu  to  ^\'heeling  occu- 
pied eight  weeks. 

After  arriving  at  Wheeling,  young  Caldwell,  desired  to  enter  the 
army.  ■  In  the  latter  part  of  September  or  early  in  October,  1864,  hap- 
pening to  meet,  accidentally,  in  the  streets  of  Wheeling,  an  old  friend, 
Colonel  W.  B.  Curtis,  of  the  Twelfth  West  Virginia  Regiment,  then 
acting  brigadier  general,  he  was  invited  by  Colonel  Curtis  to  accompany 
him  to  the  front,  an  invitation  which  he  very  cheerfully  and  gratefully 
accepted.  They  reached  the  colonel's  brigade  at  Martinsburg,  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  proceeded  from  there  to  Winchester,  from  which  point,  after 
a  very  short  delay,  they  started,  with  a  large  wagon-train,  up  the  She- 
nandoah A'^alley.  The  march  had  proceeded  some  miles  up  the  valley 
when  the  command  heard  a  tremendous  cannonading  in  their  front,  and 
in  a  short  time  were  mixed  up  with  all  the  uproar,  turmoil  and  confusion 
of  the  great  battle  of  Cedar  Creek.  The  first  thing  done  by  the  brigade 
commander  was  to  detail  four  companies  of  his  own  regiment,  two  on 
each  side  of  the  main  pike,  in  skirmish  order,  to  intercept  the  soldiers 
rushing  down  the  valley  in  front  of  the  enemy. 

At  the  same  time,  Brigade  Commander  Curtis  sent  tme  of  his  aides 
back  to  Winchester  to  inform  General  Sheridan,  who  was  in  that  city, 
that  a  general  engagement  was  going  on.  This  aide  conveyed  the  first 
information  to  General  Sheridan  of  that  fact.  Young  Caldwell,  with  his 
brother  and  Colonel  Curtis,  the  brigade  commander,  were  on  horseback 
in  the  center  of  the  pike,  near  the  line  formed  by  the  deployed  companies. 


WEST  \-IRGlXIA  23 

with  the  residue  of  the  brigade  in  their  rear.  The  army  wagons  had 
made  two  clay  roads  close  to  and  parallel  with  the  main  limestone  pike 
tliat  ran  up  and  down  the  Shenandoah  \'alley.  In  due  time,  after  the 
aide  had  been  dispatched  with  the  news  of  the  engagement  to  General 
Sheridan,  a  cloud  of  dust  arose  in  the  rear  of  the  brigade  and  out  of  it 
rode  Sheridan,  on  his  celebrated  black  horse,  which  was  well  tired  out, 
covered  with  foam,  and  throwing  quantities  of  it  from  his  bit  as  he 
tossed  his  head.  The  General  had  his  uniform  coat  upon  the  pommel 
of  his  iMcClellan  saddle,  and  a  knit  jacket,  at  that  time  called  an  Afghan 
jacket,  over  his  vest.  His  hat  was  pulled  down  over  his  eyes,  and  he 
looked  neither  to  the  right  nor  the  left,  but  straight  between  his  horse"s 
ears,  as  he  went  by  the  little  clump  of  horsemen.  P.ehind  him,  some  lit- 
tle distance,  came  his  staff  officers,  and  behind  them  a  small  cavalry  es- 
cort. 

The  fact  that  the  commanding  general  was  passing,  of  itself  excited 
the  attention  and  curiosity  of  young  Caldwell,  but  he  never  dreamed  at 
that  time  that  this  ride  of  Sheridan's  would  be  commemorated  by  Thom- 
as Buchanon  Reed's  poem,  or  become  a  matter  of  important  history. 

The  battle  started  on  the  19th  day  of  October.  1864.  and  the  incidents 
seen  by  young  Caldwell  at  that  time  will  never  be  effaced  from  his 
memory.  Space  will  not  suffice  to  chronicle  all  his  experiences  on  this 
occasion.  After  remaining  with  his  friend.  Colonel  Curtis,  and  his 
brother,  until  winter  was  coming  on  apace,  he  returned  to  Wheeling,  per- 
fectly contented,  after  what  he  had  seen  of  war  and  its  horrors,  to  seek  a 
quieter  occupation  than  that  of  soldiering. 

Just  before  Christmas  in  1864  he  went  to  Xew  Haven.  Connecticut, 
and  presented  himself  for  exainination  for  admission  to  the  Sheffield 
Scientific  School  of  Yale  Callege.  since  of  Yale  University.  He  was  exam- 
ined in  some  branches  by  Prof.  Gilman,  afterwards  the  celebrated  organ- 
izer and  president  of  Johns  Hopkins  University,  and  a  member  of  the 
\>nezuelan  Commission.  It  spoke  well  for  the  training  he  had  received 
at  Oahu  College,  that,  although  for  six  months  he  had  never  opened  a 
school  book,  he  was  able  to  pass  all  the  examinations,  and  enter  the  insti- 
tution the  last  half  of  the  freshman  year,  being  the  youngest  of  his  class. 

His  father  having  returned  to  Wheeling  from  the  Hawaiian  Islands, 
after  his  graduation  from  Yale,  in  1867,  young  Caldwell  commenced  the 
study  of  law,  in  his  father's  office,  being  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  Decem- 
ber of  the  following  year,  1868,  very  shortly  after  he  became  of  age. 
For  a  long  number  of  years  thereafter,  he  has  been  actively  engaged  not 
only  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  but  in  political  struggles.  The  first 
office  he  held  was  that  of  clerk  of  the  First  Branch  of  the  Council  of  the 
city  of  Wheeling,  to  which  he  was  elected  early  in  the  year  1868,  and 
which  office  he  held  until  the  fall  of  1875,  when  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  state  senate  of  West  A'irginia  from  the  First  Senatorial  District, 
serving  at  the  sessions  in  1875  and  1877.  As  a  member  of  the  senate  he 
was  one  of  the  court  of  impeachment  which  tried  the  impeachments  of 
the  auditor  of  the  state  and  of  the  state  treasurer,  in  1876.  the  auditor 
being  acquitted  and  the  state  treasurer  convicted  and  removed  from  of- 
fice. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  city  council  of  \Mieeling.  serving  first  in 
the  second  branch  and  afterwards  for  quite  a  number  of  years  in  the 
lirst  branch.  In  January  of  1881  he  was  elected  city  solicitor  of  his  na- 
tive city  (city  attorney),  and  served  the  two  years  term  of  1881  and 
1882.  in  1884  he  was  elected  attorney  general  of  the  state  of  AA^est  \^ir- 
ginia.  at  the  general  state  election  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  and  re-electerl 
at  the  general  election  in  the  year  1888.  serving  two  full  terms,  from 
March  4th,   1883,  to  March  4th.  1803.     He  was  f(,r  a  long  time  a  mem- 


24  WEST  \'IRGIXIA 

IxT  of  the  board  of  education  of  ^^'heeling.  ami.  as  such  member,  the 
chairman  of  the  first  committee  which  had  in  charge  the  public  library  of 
the  city  of  Wheeling.  He  drafted  the  necessary  legislation  to  authorize 
taxation  to  raise  the  necessary  funds  for  the  support  and  maintenance  of 
the  library,  and  did  the  major  part  of  the  work  to  secure  the  adoption 
by  the  legislature  of  the  bill  prepared  by  him  for  such  purpose.  As 
chairman  of  such  committee,  in  conjunction  with  the  Hon.  John  M. 
Birch,  who  was  then  city  superintendent  of  the  schools  of  Wheeling, 
and  the  Hon.  Henry  H.  Pendleton,  who  was  then  clerk  of  the  board  of 
education,  he  prepared  the  rules  and  regulations  for  the  government  of 
the  public  library  of  the  city  of  Wheeling,  under  which  this  library  was 
launched  upon  a  successful  career.  It  was  only  after  a  strenuous  debate 
in  the  board  of  education  and  by  a  majority  of  one  vote,  that  the  ver) 
proper  rule,  for  the  benefit  of  the  working  people  who  were  entitled  to 
enjoy  the  library  that  it  should  be  open  to  their  use  on  Sabbath  after 
noons,  was  made  one  of  the  rules  to  govern  the  library  management,  a 
rule  which  has  never  since  been  changed,  although  adopted  in  the  first 
jilace  by  such  a  slender  majority. 

Alfred  Caldwell,  the  younger,  became  a  Democrat  in  politics  when  he 
arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  in  1868,  because  of  his  strenuous 
disapproval  of  the  reconstruction  legislation,  and  especially  of  the  op- 
pressive and  unconstitutional  test  oath  statutes  passed  by  the  Republi 
cans  in  the  legislature  of  ^^'est  A'irginia.  He  remained  affiliated  with  the 
Democratic  party  until  the  national  election  in  1896.  In  that  year  the 
doctrine  of  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of  silver  at  a  ratio  of  sixteen 
lo  one  was  made  part  of  the  platform  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  was 
ardently  advocated  by  its  nominee  for  the  presidency,  the  Hon.  W.  J. 
Bryan,  of  Nebraska.  Being  in  radical  disagreement  with  the  views  on 
the  silver  question,  expressed  in  the  National  Democratic  platform  of 
1896,  and  entertained  by  its  presidential  nominee,  Mr.  Caldwell  allied 
himself  with  a  number  of  prominent  Democrats  in  A\'est  Mrginia,  in  an 
eflfort  to  form  an  organization,  which  might,  in  the  future,  be,  the}- 
hoped  a  nucleus  for  the  Democratic  party  to  rally  around  when  it  would 
return  to  sanity,  after  the  inevitable  defeat  it  seemed  bound  to  receive. 

Prior  to  the  election  of  delegates  to  the  Democratic  national  conven- 
tion of  1896,  which  met  at  Chicago,  he  had  been  a  candidate  for  the  po- 
sition of  candidate-at-large  from  West  Virginia,  to  that  convention,  but. 
although  practically  offered  an  election  as  delegate  if  he  would  consent 
to  abide  by  and  recognize  instructions  to  vote  for  the  free  and  unlimited 
coinage  of  silver  at  the  ratio  before  mentioned,  he  declined,  in  a  Demo- 
cratic convention  held  at  Clarksburg,  West  Virginia,  to  sacrifice  his  prin- 
ciples, and  by  voting  for  free  silver,  help  to  bring  untold  calamities  upon 
liis  fellow-countrymen.  He  did,  however,  that  year  attend  as  a  delegate- 
at-large  from  West  Virginia,  the  national  Democratic  convention 
held  at  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  September  2nd,  1896,  which  last  mentioned 
convention  was  known  as  the  "Gold  Bug  Convention."  His  fellow  dele- 
gates, although  the  state  was  fully  represented,  honored  him  by  choosing 
iiim  chairman  of  the  delegation,  and  also  a  member  of  the  committee  on 
resolutions. 

The  committee  on  resolutions  of  the  Indianapolis  Convention  had  as 
its  chairman  United  States  Senator  \'ilas.  of  \\'isconsin,  and  in  its  mem- 
bership some  of  the  ablest  men  of  the  nation,  such  as  Governor  Roswell 
P.  Flower,  George  F.  Bear,  president  of  the  Reading  Railroad  Com- 
pany, Comptroller  of  the  Currency  Echols,  and  other  men  of  national 
repute,  too  numerous  to  mention. 

As  usual,  the  preparation  of  a  platform  was  delegated  to  a  sub-com- 
mittee of  fi\-e.  of  which   Comptroller  Echols  was   the  chairman.     This 


WEST  A'IRGIXIA  25 

committee,  in  due  time,  reported  a  series  of  resolutions  to  compose  the 
platform,  which  were  carefully  and  skillfully  prepared,  but  it  seemed  to 
Air.  Caldwell  that  the  resolution  dealing  with  the  money  question  and 
the  coinage  of  silver,  the  very  crucial  matter  for  which  the  convention 
had  been  assembled,  was  couched  in  such  language  as  to  be  fairly  sus- 
ceptible of  two  different  interpretations,  one  thereof  distinctly  at  vari- 
ance with  the  real  views  of  the  Convention.  After  vainly  attempting  to 
get  some  member  of  the  committee,  of  national  reputation,  to  move  an 
amendment  so  as  to  properly  express  the  sentiments  of  the  committee  on 
the  money  question,  and  thereby  obviate  the  bitter  criticism  which  it 
seemed  to  him  would  surely  follow,  from  the  regular  Democratic  news- 
papers and  speakers,  Mr.  Caldwell  moved  a  substitute  for  the  commit- 
tee's report,  respecting  the  money  question,  which  precipitated  quite  a 
vigorous  and  continued  debate  in  which  Comptroller  Echols  and  his  fel- 
low members  of  the  sub-committee  were  upon  the  one  side  and  Mr.  Cald- 
well on  the  other.  The  result,  however,  was  that  his  substitute  was 
adopted  by  an  overwhelming  vote  in  the  committee,  and  was  the  money 
plank  in  the  platform  of  that  National  Convention  in  1896.  Since  the 
last  named  year,  Mr.  Caldwell  has  been  an  Independent  in  politics,  affili- 
ating mainly  with  the  Republican  party,  but  not  feeling  bound  to  the  sup- 
port of  its  candidates  unless  they  meet  with  his  approval. 

At  the  last  national  election,  in  1912,  he  cast  his  vote  for  the  present 
president,  Woodrow  ^^'ilson,  not  because  of  any  decided  disapproval  of 
;Mr.  Taft  or  his  administration,  but  because  he  desired  to  give  as  marked 
a  demonstration  of  his  disapproval  of  Theodore  Roosevelt  and  his  candi- 
dacy as  it  was  possible  to  do.  by  trying  in  an  humble  way  to  enhance  the 
majority  in  the  state  of  ^^'est  \"irginia  that  it  was  inevitable  President 
\\''ilson  would  receive. 

Ever  since  his  admission  to  the  bar  in  1868,  to  the  present  time,  he 
has  been  actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  in  the  state  and  federal 
courts  of  West  A'irginia. 


The    Dawson    family    is    very    numerous    in    the    United 
DAWSOX     States,  members  therof  being  found  in  every  state  in  the 

Union,  east,  west,  north  and  south,  also  in  Canada.  The 
earliest  ancestor  known  of  the  line  here  under  consideration  was  one 
who  was  with  Cromwell  in  Ireland,  where  he  gained  an  estate  by  his 
military  service.  Early  in  colonial  days  some  of  his  descendants  came  to 
this  country. 

(I)  John  Dawson,  ^andfather  of  Ex-Governor  Dawson,  was  a 
farmer  and  blacksmith,  which  occupations  he  followed  near  the  village 
of  Dawson,  Maryland,  where  he  lived  and  died,  and  where  he  reared  a 
large  family.  He  was  a  ^Methodist  class  leader,  and  a  man  of  influ- 
ence  in  his   neighborhood.     He  married  Ravenscroft    (sometimes 

written  Ravenscraft),  and  among  their  children  were:  i.  Francis  Ra- 
venscroft, of  whom  further.  2.  Hanson  B.,  who  was  clerk  of  the  circuit 
court  of  Hampshire  county  for  many  years,  and  died  at  Romney,  Sep- 
tember 6,  1876,  leaving  a  widow,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Daniel  Shobe. 
and  a  niece  of  the  late  General  Fairfax,  of  Preston  county,  \^'est  \'ir- 
ginia.  3.  Nancy,  widow  of  Rolin  Dayton,  of  Keyser.  ^^'est  Virginia, 
and  mother  of  the  late  Colonel  James  Dayton,  who  fought  under  General 
Grant  at  Vicksburg.  4.  Samuel  R..  who  was  pastor  of  the  old  Fourth  ■ 
Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Wheeling,  but  on  account  of 
throat  .trouble  retired  from  the  active  ministry  and  settled  on  a  farm  at 
Ellenboro.  but  preached  occasionalh' :  he  died  in  February,   1892. 


26  WEST  MRGIXIA 

(  II  I  Francis  Ravenscroft,  eldest  child  of  John  and  (  Ravens- 
croft )  Dawson,  and  father  of  Ex-Governor  Dawson,  after  completing 
his  studies,  learned  the  trade  of  blacksmith  with  his  father,  becoming 
proficient  therein.  During  young  manhood  he  served  as  a  clerk  for  the 
late  Samuel  Brady,  who  owned  an  extensive  plantation,  a  large  number 
of  slaves,  and  conducted  a  profitable  business  in  the  vicinity  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Brady,  Maryland.  Later  Mr.  Dawson  conducted  stores  at  Bloom- 
ington,  Maryland,  and  Piedmont,  West  Virginia,  from  which  he  derived 
large  profits,  and  in  1858  he  removed  to  Terra  Alta,  later  to  Bruceton 
Mills,  and  subsequently  to  Ice's  Ferry.  He  was  a  man  of  prominence  in 
the  communities  in  which  he  resided,  and  won  and  retained  the  good  will 
and  respect  of  his  neighbors.  He  was  a  class  leader  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  this  being  the  religious  belief  of  the  greater  portion 
of  his  ancestors,  both  on  the  paternal  and  maternal  sides,  and  he  was 
zealous  and  active  in  all  branches  of  the  work  connected  therewith.     Mr. 

Dawson  married  Leah,  daughter  of  John  and (Kight)  Kight.    Both 

the  Dawson  and  Kight  families  are  very  numerous  in  the  region  of 
Bloomington,  Westernport  and  Dawson,  in  Maryland,  and  Piedmont 
and  Keyser.  in  West  \'irginia,  where  the  two  states  are  divided  mere)}' 
by  the  small  stream  of  the  headwaters  of  the  Potomac  river. 

Children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dawson:  i.  Penelope,  widow  of  E.  Clark 
Jones,  of  Terra  Alta,  where  she  now  resides.  2.  John  Henry,  a  well 
known  steamboat  captain,  of  Parkersburg,  where  he  died  in  1879.  3- 
Nancy  Catharine,  widow  of  George  E.  Guthrie,  and  mother  of :  D. 
Sherman  Guthrie,  of  Chicago,  Illinois;  the  Rev.  Charles  E.  Guthrie.  D. 
D.J  pastor  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Wilkes-Barre, 
Pennsylvania ;  William  V.  Guthrie,  publisher  of  the  Methodist,  of  Bal- 
timore, ^Maryland ;  and  Wade  H.  Guthrie,  the  state  printer,  of  Charles- 
ton, West  Virginia.  4.  Mariam,  married  Joseph  Goodrich,  both  of  whom 
are  now  deceased.  5.  David  S.,  of  California.  6.  Francis  Marion, 
who  served  as  a  soldier  in  the  civil  war,  in  the  Seventeenth  West  A-^ir- 
ginia  Infantry  Regiment  of  Volunteers,  and  who  resides  in  Toledo. 
Ohio.  7.  William  Mercer  Owens,  of  whom  further.  The  father  of 
these  children  died  in  1881,  aged  eightv  vears,  and  his  wife  died  in  Au- 
gust,  1857. 

(Ill)  William  Mercer  Owens  Dawson,  Ex-Governor  of  West  Vir- 
ginia, youngest  child  of  Francis  Ravenscroft  and  Leah  (Kight)  Daw- 
son, was  born  in  Bloomington,  Alleghany,  now  Garrett  county,  IMary- 
land,  May  21,  1853.  In  the  fall  of  1863  he  accompanied  his  father  to 
Terra  Alta.  where  he  went  to  reside,  and  there,  by  working,  in  the  cooper 
shop  (which  trade  he  learned)  morning  and  night,  he  supported  himself 
and  attended  school  in  the  first  free  school  held  in  Terra  Alta  (then 
called  Portland,  and  pieviously  to  that  was  known  as  Cranberry  Sum- 
mit) in  a  little  log  school  house,  which  was  equipped  with  slab  benches. 
He  resided  in  Terra  Alta  for  many  years,  working,  successively,  in  the 
cooper  shop,  as  clerk  in  stores,  and  as  teacher  during  the  winter  months. 
In  the  fall  of  1873  he  removed  to  Kingwood.  the  county  seat  of  Pres- 
ton county,  where  he  became  editor  of  TIic  Preston  County  Journal,  the 
Republican  paper  of  the  "banner"  Republican  county  of  the  state,  which 
he  later  purchased,  and  which  he  conducted  until  1891,  when  he  dis- 
posed of  the  same.  Under  Mr.  Dawson's  editorship  and  control  the  paper 
became  a  leading  state  weekly  and  was  exceedingly  prosperous.  ]\Ir. 
Dawson  abandoned  the  newspaper  business  in  order  to  devote  his  atten- 
tion to  the  practice  of  law,  for  which  he  had  been  preparing  himself 
for  several  years.  In  addition  to  his  law  business,  which  was  extensive 
and  lucrative,  he  was  a  very  successful  partv  manager.  From  boyhood 
he  had  lieen  active  in  politics.     At  a  convention  of  the  Republican  jiarty 


lk<(^lA;/W(/^-ov^ 


\\"EST  \  IRGIXIA  27 

held  in  Kingwood  in  1874  he  was,  on  motion  of  the  late  William  G. 
Brown,  lather  of  William  G.  Brown,  the  present  (^igi2)  congressman 
from  the  second  West  \'irginia  district,  elected  chairman  of  the  Republi- 
can committee  of  Preston  county. 

The  fine  showing  the  Republicans  made  in  the  state  in  1888  led  the 
leaders  of  the  party  to  look  with  hope  to  the  campaign  of  1892,  and  in 
looking  for  a  leader  for  the  state  committee  they  were  attracted  to  jMr. 
Dawson  by  his  very  successful  work  in  Preston  county.  Early  in  1891 
they  offered  him  the  management  of  the  party.  Mr.  Dawson"  was  un- 
decided whether  to  accept  it  or  not,  but  finally  accepted  provided  he 
was  given  full  authority  and  control.  This  was  arranged  by  electing 
him  secretary  of  the  state  committee,  with  a  resolution  giving  him  full 
control  at  a  meeting  of  the  committee  held  at  Martinsburg  in  Decem- 
ber, 1891.  He  was  formally  elected  chairman  at  the  state  delegate  con- 
vention held  at  -\lartinsburg  m  May,  1892.  and  resigned  the  chair- 
manship in  1904  on  his  nomination  for  the  office  of  governor.  As  head 
of  the  state  committee  he  conducted  the  campaigns  of  1892-94-96-98- 
1900-02.  The  chairman  of  the  National  Committee  pronounced  Mr. 
Dawson's  organization  to  be  without  a  superior  in  any  state.  Certain  it 
is  that  he  never  lost  a  battle  except  the  one  of  1892,  when  his  party 
failed  everywhere,  but  held  up  better  in  West  Virginia  than  in  most 
states.  Mr.  Dawson's  last  work  as  an  organizer  was  that  of  chairman 
of  the  Roosevelt  state  committee  of  West  Virginia  of  1912.  The  pub- 
lic offices  held  by  Mr.  Dawson  were :  Alayor  of  Kingwood,  member  of 
the  state  senate,  1881-89,  clerk  of  the  house  of  delegates  in  1895,  secre- 
tary of  state,  1897-1905,  governor  of  West  Virginia,  1905,  1909.  He 
was  nominated  Republican  candidate  for  state  senate  from  the  dis- 
trict composed  of  Preston  and  Monongalia  counties  in  1880  and  1884 
unanimously.  He  was  the  youngest  member  of  the  body,  there  being 
only  one  other  Republican  among  the  number.  He  was  a  leader  almost 
from  the  first,  industrious  and  painstaking,  acting  on  the  principle  that 
he  was  bound  to  support  any  measure  for  the  good  of  the  state,  whether 
it  came  from  Democratic  or  Republican  sources.  He  was  an  active 
member  of  the  finance  and  other  important  committees,  and  served  on 
the  special  joint  committees  to  investigate  the  public  printing,  to  prepare"^ 
the  appropriation  bills,  to  revise  the  taxation  system  of  the  state  and  on 
others.  It  was  in  1881  that  he  introduced  an  elaborate  bill  in  the  sen- 
ate, to  create  a  railway  commission  of  three  members  with  power  to 
fix  rates,  prevent  unjust  discrimination,  etc.  His  speech  on  the  ques- 
tion was  widely  read,  and  was  commended  by  nearly  every  newspaper  in 
the  state,  and  opposed  by  none.  The  measure  gave  rise  to  considerable 
discussion  in  the  senate,  and  was  naturally  strongly  opposed  by  the  rail- 
way people.  The  bill  was  carried  over  to  the  adjourned  session  of  18S2, 
and  although  finally  defeated  in  the  senate,  it  received  more  votes  in  that 
body  than  any  other  similar  bill  has  ever  received. 

Under  the  first  constitution  of  West  Virginia  the  office  of  secretary  of 
state  was  filled  by  election,  but  this  was  changed  in  the  second  and  present 
constitution,  and  the  office  was  filled  by  appointment  of  the  governor,  un- 
til an  amendment  which  took  effect  on  March  4,  1905.  (at  the  end  of  Mr. 
Dawson's  second  term)  made  the  office  elective  again.  On  March  4,  i8<)7. 
Governor  Atkinson,  at  the  unanimous  request  of  a  caucus  of  the  Republi- 
can members  of  the  legislature,  appointed  ^Mr.  Dawson  to  that  office,  and 
in  1901  he  was  re-appointed  by  Governor  White  at  the  beginning  of  his 
term.  The  secretary  of  state  is  an  important  officer,  for  in  addition  to  1je- 
ing,  when  appointed  by  the  governor,  the  right  hand  man  of  the  chief 
executive  and  his  confidential  adviser,  he  has  charge  of  the  corporation 
records,  attests  all  the  official  acts  of  the  governor  and  is.  cx-ofRcio.  sec- 


28  WEST  MKCiJXIA  ,      • 

retary  of  the  board  of  public  works,  superintendent  of  public  printing,  cus- 
todian of  the  state's  stationery,  keeps  and  sells  all  the  books  (court  re- 
ports, acts  of  the  legislature,  etc.)  printed  by  the  state.  Being  a  lawyer, 
a  practical  printer,  having  had  experience  in  the  stationery  business,  and 
having  had  also  a  business  training  as  clerk  and  bookkeeper  in  large 
stores,  Mr.  Dawson  was  well  qualified  for  the  office.  He  thoroughly 
systematized  its  business,  prepared  an  elaborate  index  of  the  record  books 
of  the  office  on  an  original  plan,  cut  down  largely  the  cost  of  the  public 
printing  and  stationery,  rendered  valuable  services  to  the  board  of  public 
works  in  the  annual  assessments  of  corporation  property,  and  mastered 
every  detail  of  the  office  so  that  he  could  fill  the  position  of  any  of  the 
clerks.  He  also  completed  and  published  several  editions  of  the  corpora- 
tion laws  of  the  state,  with  annotations  and  forms.  He  had  the  law 
amended  so  as  to  require  the  secretary  of  state  to  make  monthly  reports 
and  payments  into  the  state  treasury  instead  of  semi-annual  payments. 
But  his  chief  accomplishment  was  the  getting  through  the  legislature  of 
1901  what  is  known  as  the  "Dawson  Corporation  Law."  This  was  not  a 
thorough  reversion  of  these  laws,  but  was,  as  the  title  of  the  bill  stated,  a 
measure  to  increase  the  revenues  of  the  state  by  raising  the  annual  license 
tax  on  charters  of  corporations  and  increasing  certain  fees  paid  by  them. 
The  first  effort  to  get  the  law  enacted  failed,  but  the  second  efifort,  by  per- 
severance and  hard  work,  and  after  a  bitter  fight,  was  successful.  This 
measure  increased  the  revenues  of  the  state  from  license  taxes  on  corpor- 
ations from  about  $80,000  annually  to  about  $400,000  annually.  The  leg- 
islature of  1901,  without  opposition  and  by  practically  a  unanimous  vote, 
adopted  a  joint  resolution  creating  a  state  tax  commission  of  five  mem- 
bers, to  revise  the  tax  laws  and  report  to  the  next  legislature.  Governor 
.Albert  B.  White,  William  P.  Hubbard,  John  H.  Holt,  Henry  G.  Davis,  L. 
Judson  Williams,  and  John  K.  Thompson,  two  Democrats  and  three  Re- 
publicans. They  made  a  preliminary  and  a  final  report,  the  latter  accom- 
panied by  bills  to  carry  out  their  recommendations.  These  reports  are 
able  practical  discussions  of  the  question  of  taxation.  The  reports  and 
the  bills  were  placed  before  the  legislature  of  1903  by  Governor  White. 
They  were  bitterly  opposed  by  the  corporate  interests,  which  had  a  large 
and  able  lobby  at  the  session.  Governor  WHiite  and  Mr,  Dawson  earnest- 
1\'  urged  consideration,  and  the  adoption  of  the  main  features  at  least,  but 
the  legislature  refused.  It  was  upon  the  question  of  consideration  of  the 
matter  that  Mr.  Dawson  became  a  candidate  for  the  Republican  nomina- 
tion for  governor. 

It  was  late  in  February,  1903.  that  the  contest  began.  Every  news- 
paper espoused  one  side  or  the  other,  and  in  every  neighborhood  the  mat- 
ter was  discussed.  Xearly  every  county  was  contested  for  by  Mr.  Daw- 
son and  his  opponent,  Mr.  Charles  F.  Teter,  of  Barbour  county,  and 
many  of  the  counties  instructed  their  delegates.  The  Republican  state 
committee  was  pretty  evenly  divided.  The  division  everywhere  between 
those  for  "Tax  Reform,"  as  the  issue  had  become  known,  and  those  op- 
posed, became  deeper,  wider,  more  fixed  and  more  bitter  as  the  time  for 
the  holding  of  the  state  convention  at  Wheeling  in  July,  1904,  drew  near. 
It  was  the  plan  of  ]\Ir.  Dawson's  managers  to  nominate  the  candidate  for 
governor  on  the  first  day.  Many  of  the  delegates  were  farmers  and  oth- 
ers who  could  not  remain  away  from  their  business  many  days :  and  on 
the  part  of  his  opponents,  it  was  planned  to  refer  all  the  contests  to  a  cre- 
dentials committee  and  thereby  consume  several  days'  time,  and  thus 
wear  out  ]\Ir.  Dawson's  country  delegates.  The  "Tax  Reform"  forces 
were  able  to  defeat  an  adjournment  of  the  convention  until  they  had 
nominated  the  candidate  for  governor,  and  Mr.  Dawson  was  duly  nomi- 
nated in  the  evening  of  the  first  dav.  after  which  the  convention  adjourned 


WEST  \'IRGJNIA  29 

until  the  following  morning.  After  the  bitterest,  the  most  intense  and  ex- 
citing campaign  ever  waged  in  the  state  since  the  days  of  the  civil  war, 
Mr.  Dawson  was  elected  governor,  together  with  all  the  other  Republican 
nominees  for  the  state  otifices.  The  legislature  elected  was  also  largely 
Republican  in  both  branches.  Immediately  after  his  inauguration  Gover- 
nor Dawson  set  to  work  to  carry  out  the  platform  on  which  he  was  elect- 
ed and  the  pledges  he  had  made  as  a  candidate.  Under  the  laws  of  West 
Virginia  the  board  of  public  works,  consisting  of  the  elective  state  offices, 
fixes  the  value  for  taxation  of  oil,  gas,  railroad,  and  other  corporate  prop- 
erty. Governor  Dawson  was  the  head  of  this  board,  and  he  caused  the 
valuation  of  these  properties,  as  well  as  the  coal  property  of  the  state 
to  be  enormously  increased.  The  state  levy  for  state  and  state  school  pur- 
poses had  been,  for  more  than  a  decade,  thirty-five  cents  on  each  $100  of 
assessed  valuation.  It  was  reduced  to  twenty  cents  in  1905 ;  to  eight  and 
a  half  cents  in  1906;  to  five  cents  in  1907;  to  four  and  a  half  cents  in 
1910;  to  two  and  a  half  cents  in  191 1,  and  is  now  but  one  cent  (in  1912). 
Local  levies  were  also  greatly  reduced. 

In  the  campaign  of  1906  the  battle  was  again  fought,  largely  on  "Tax 
Reform,"  that  is,  on  the  new  tax  laws.  'Sir.  Dawson  took  the  stump  and 
made  the  "key  note"  speech,  urging  the  people  to  vote  for  Republican 
candidates  for  the  legislature  if  they  desired  to  retain  and  improve  the 
"new  tax  laws."  The  Republican  majority  in  this  "ofif  year"  was  practi- 
cally as  large  as  in  the  preceding  presidential  year,  something  that  seldom 
happens. 

The  administration  of  Governor  Dawson  was  a  busy  one.  Two  ex- 
tra sessions  of  the  legislature  were  called  by  him  to  enact  needed  leg- 
islation. The  achievements  of  this  four  years  as  chief  executive  are 
many  and  large,  and  it  is  believed  not  equalled  by  any  other  administra- 
tion in  the  state.  The  principal  measures  were:  A  thorough  revision 
of  the  new  tax  laws,  including  the  taxation  of  leaseholds,  the  revision  of 
the  inheritance  tax  law,  raising  the  rates  and  making  more  certain  the 
payment  of  the  taxes;  the  imposition  of  new  license  taxes:  the  increase 
of  the  rates  of  certain  other  license  taxes,  and  providing  means  for  the 
more  certain  collection  of  all  these  taxes ;  the  budget  law,  being  a  statute 
requiring  every  authority  or  body  levying  taxes  to  make  up  and  publish 
a  yearly  budget,  stating  therein  the  resources  and  liabilities  of  the  body, 
each  purpose  for  which  any  part  of  a  tax  was  to  be  levied,  and  the 
amount  thereof,  and  giving  to  any  taxpayer  the  right  to  be  heard  in  op- 
position to  any  such  item:  the  creation  of  the  bureau  in  the  tax  commis- 
sioner's department  of  public  accounting,  whereby  it  is  provided  that 
the  books,  records  and  accounts  of  everybody  and  officer  handling  pub- 
lic moneys  shall  be  inspected  and  checked  up  by  experts,  and  prescrib- 
ing a  uniform  system  for  keeping  such  records  and  accounts,  a  law  that 
has  already  saved  very  many  thousands  of  dollars  of  public  moneys,  in  ad- 
dition to  systematizing  and  simplifying  the  conduct  of  public  business; 
a  comprehensive  new  statute  respecting  the  paving  and  sewering  of  the 
streets  of  cities  and  town  :  reduction  of  the  fees  of  sheriiif's  and  other 
county  officers,  and  providing  that  a  percentage  of  such  fees  be  paid  into 
the  county  treasuries :  a  law  creating  a  state  school  book  commission  to 
choose  a  uniform  series  of  such  books  for  use  throughout  the  state, 
which  was  done  by  the  commission  in  June.  1012:  fixing  a  definite  term 
of  office  for  notaries  public ;  a  thorough  and  complete  revision  of  the 
laws  of  the  state  respecting  all  kinds  of  insurance,  and  making  the  audi- 
tor the  state  insurance  commissioner  to  execute  these  laws;  creation  of 
the  office  of  state  fire  marshal:  statutes  simplifying  the  election  ballot 
law,  embodying  a  corrupt  parties  act  and  a  better  law  for  registration 
of  voters;  the  enactment  of  the  uniform  and  comprehensive  negotiable 


30  WEST  MRGIXIA 

instruments  law;  enlargement  of  the  duties  of  the  attorney  general;  a 
thorough  revision  of  the  pharmacy  law,  and  the  purchase  by  the  state 
of  the  great  prehistoric  mound  at  Moundsville. 

Governor  Dawson  appointed  commissions  to  levise  the  school  laws, 
the  laws  pertaining  to  the  inspection  of  coal  mines,  the  road  laws  and  the 
game  laws.  The  legislature  enacted  substantially  the  bills  prepared  by 
the  commissions.  Another  measure  of  great  importance  was  that  cre- 
ating the  state  board  of  control  and  the  state  board  of  regents.  This 
act  not  only  abolished  about  one  hundred  offices,  but  has  resulted  in  bet- 
ter efficiency  in  the  public  institutions ;  has  practically  taken  them  out  of 
party  politics,  and  resulted  in  large  savings  of  the  public  moneys.  An- 
other unique  measure  advocated  by  Governor  Dawson  and  passed  dur- 
ing his  administration  is  that  which  withholds  yearly  from  the  annual 
distributable  school  fund,  a  certain  portion  for  the  benefit  of  the  poorer 
school  districts,  whereby  they  are  enabled  to  have  at  least  the  minimum 
term  of  free  school  each  year,  as  well  as  assured  of  funds  sufficient  to  have 
needed  school  houses,  a  reform  of  great  practical  benefit  to  these  poor  dis- 
tricts. In  addition  to  these,  many  minor  changes  and  improvements  were 
made  to  the  statutes  of  the  state,  the  greater  part  of  which  were  prepared 
by  Governor  Dawson  himself,  who  is  regarded  as  an  expert  draughts- 
man, which  have  resulted,  as  intended,  in  increased  efficiency  and  in  re- 
duction of  expenses  in  the  carrying  on  of  the  public  business.  During 
the  last  six  months  of  his  term.  Governor  Dawson  was  compelled  to 
abstain  from  all  but  mere  routine  work,  owing  to  ill  health,  which  he 
finally  overcame.  Governor  Dawson's  regular  messages  to  the  legisla- 
ture were  the  longest  ever  written  by  a  West  Virginia  governor,  and 
in  them  he  discussed  a  number  of  matters  of  wide  range,  and  made 
many  proposals  of  changes  in  the  laws  of  the  state  and  many  new  en- 
actments. In  these,  as  well  as  in  his  work  generally,  Governor  Dawson 
is  distinctly  a  "Progressive."  Since  his  retirement  from  the  office  of 
governor,  Mr.  Dawson  has  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  at  Charleston. 
In  church  relation  he  is  a  Presbyterian,  and  a  worker  in  the  Young 
Men's    Christian    Association. 

Governor  Dawson  married  (first)  in  1879,  Lwda,  daughter  of  John 
T.  Neff,  of  Kingwood.  She  died  in  1894,  leaving  a  son,  Daniel.  Gov- 
ernor   Dawson   married    (second)    in    1899,    Maude,    daughter    of   

and  Jane  Brown,  of  Kingwood,  by  whom  a  daughter  was  born.  April  4, 
1901.  Daniel,  child  of  his  first  wife,  was  educated  in  the  Charleston 
high  school  and  the  West  Virginia  University,  from  which  latter  insti- 
tution he  graduated  in  1904,  after  which  he  took  a  one  year  course  at 
Harvard  University.  He  later  graduated  from  the  law  department  of 
the  West  Virginia  University,  and  is  now  practicing  his  profession  in  the 
City  of  Huntington,  West  Virginia. 


This  is  an  old  and  highly  respected  family  whose  history 
GAINES     runs  all  through  the  ancestral  lines  of  the  Old  Dominion 

State,  and  five  generations  of  which  will  here  be  noticed, 
especially  that  portion  of  genealogy  and  family  history  relating  to  Con- 
gressman Joseph  H.  Gaines,  who  is  of  the  fourth  generation,  and  who  is 
d  great-grandson  of  the  Gaines  family  of  Culpeper  county,  Virginia.  This 
family  was  prominent  among  the  slave-holding  aristocracy  of  antr-bcHnui 
days  in  old  Virginia,  who  possessed  the  sturdy,  sterling  qualities  of  highly 
educated,  cultivated  and  high-minded  men  and  women,  found  at  that  day 
in  that  portion  of  \'irginia.  That   family  of  Gaines  had  within  its  home 


WEST  MRGIXIA  31 

circle  a  son  called  Ludwell  Graham,  who  became  a  somewhat  celebrated 
minister  of  the  Presbyterian  faith. 

(II)  Rev.  Ludwell  Graham  Gaines,  son  of  the  family  above  men- 
tioned as  having  resided  long  in  Culpeper  county,  was  born  and  reared  in 
that  county  and  obtained  a  good  education,  including  a  course  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  North  Carolina,  located  at  Chapel  Hill,  that  state.  After  his 
graduation,  he  took  up  theology  and  became  a  widely  known  and  influen- 
tial Presbyterian  minister,  of  exceptional  pulpit  power.  He  became  bit- 
terly opposed  to  the  system  of  human  slavery  and  removed  to  Ohio,  in 
which  state  he  continued  his  ministry,  dying  at  an  advanced  age.  His 
wife's  maiden  name  was  Douglass;  she  attended  to  the  duties  devolving 
upon  wife  and  mother,  living  to  a  venerable  age,  and  finally  passed  away 
while  residing  in  Hamilton  county,  Ohio.  Children :  Theophilus,  of 
whom  further;  John  Douglass;  WiUiam;  Mary.  Of  these  children,  John 
D.  Gaines  graduated  from  a  Cincinnati  medical  college,  and  now  resides 
at  California,  Ohio,  where  he  is  a  well  known  and  highly  respected  citi- 
zen, is  married,  but  has  no  issue ;  William,  his  brother,  also  became  a  doc- 
tor, married,  and  is  now  deceased ;  Mary,  the  only  sister,  died  soon  after 
her  marriage. 

(III)  Major  Theophilus  Gaines  son  of  Rev.  Ludwell  G.  Gaines  and 
wife,  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1824.  He  graduated  from  the  Cincinnati  Law 
School;  became  assistant  prosecuting  attorney  in  his  home  county,  Ham- 
ilton, and  at  Lincoln's  first  call  for  seventy-five  thousand  men  to  put 
down  the  rebellion  in  1861,  organized  a  company,  later  known  as  Com- 
pany F,  Fifth  Regiment  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  he  being  elected  and 
commissioned  captain  of  his  company.  Later  in  the  civil  war  he  re- 
enlisted,  and  while  with  his  regiment  in  "Virginia,  in  1863,  was  detailed 
as  assistant  judge  advocate  and  remained  in  that  position  until  the  end 
of  the  war,  holding  the  rank  of  a  major.  After  the  conflict  had  ended 
he  returned  to  resume  more  desirable  and  peaceful  occupations.  He 
moved  to  Fayette  county.  West  Virginia,  where  he  was  prosecuting  at- 
torney several  years.  He  also  practiced  law  at  various  times  in  Nicholas, 
Clay,  Braxton  and  Webster  counties,  this  state.  He  was  prosecuting 
attorney  for  one  or  more  of  the  counties  just  enumerated.  He  was  ap- 
pointed by  President  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  as  pension  agent  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  serving  for  four  years.  In  1890  he  was  a  candidate  for 
congress  from  the  third  district  of  West  Virginia,  but  was  defeated. 
Many  years  he  was  active  in  party  politics,  being  of  the  Republican 
party.  He  was  a  member,  and  at  one  time  an  elder,  of  the  Presbyterian 
church :  he  also  held  membership  with  the  IMasonic  fraternity.  He  mar- 
ried in  Clermont  county,  Ohio,  Ariadne  Stockton,  probably  a  native  of 
Ohio,  who  died  at  Fayetteville,  West  Virginia,  aged  forty  years.  Her 
husband  survived  her  many  years,  and  died  March  11,  1898,  aged 
seventy- four  years.  Children:  i.  Ludwell  Graham  (second  of  that 
name),  born  in  Hamilton  county,  Ohio;  graduated  in  law,  became  prose- 
cuting attorney  of  Fayette  county.  West  Virginia ;  was  later  a  judge 
of  the  criminal  courts,  and  was  on  the  bench  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
in  Fayetteville;  married  ]\Iartha  Ebersole.  born  in  California,  Ohio,  now 
residing  in  Fayetteville,  having  one  son,  Ebersole.  2.  Margaret  Kath- 
erine,  wife  of  W.  C.  Lawrence,  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  engaged  in  com- 
mercial pursuits;  they  have  three  children:  i.  Theophilus.  born  t886, 
residing  at  Columbus,  ii.  Wyman  C,  a  graduate  of  Princeton  College  in 
the  class  of  1909 ;  now  an  attorney-at-law  at  Logan,  West  Virginia,  iii. 
Julian  H.,  a  high  school  graduate.  3.  Nathanial  W.,  died  in  t888.  un- 
married.   4.  Hon.  Joseph  Holt,  of  whom  further. 

(IV)  Hon.  Joseph  Holt  Gaines,  youngest  child  of  ^Major  Theo- 
philus and  Ariadne  (Stockton)   Gaines,  was  born  in  Washington,  D.  C, 


2,2  WEST  MRGIXIA 

May  3,  1864.  He  received  his  primary  education  in  the  common  pubhc 
schools  of  Fayetteville,  West  Virginia,  later  studied  in  the  preparatory 
school  of  the  West  Virginia  University,  graduating  in  1886  from  Prince- 
ton College,  New  Jersey,  with  the  degree  of  A.  B.  In  1887  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  at  Fayetteville,  and  at  once  entered  into  active  legal 
practice  there,  going  to  Charleston  in  1895,  where  he  has  practiced 
ever  since.  But  not  alone  in  legal  matters  has  this  man  excelled  in  life's 
contest,  but  also  in  political  circles  has  he  become  quite  distinguished.  As 
early  as  when  he  resided  in  Fayetteville,  he  was  chosen  chairman  of  the 
Republican  county  committee.  In  1897  he  was  appointed  United  States 
district  attorney  by  President  \\'illiam  McKinley.  He  held  this  posi- 
tion until  1900.  during  which  year  he  was  elected  to  a  seat  in  the  fifty- 
seventh  congress  of  the  United  States,  where  he  made  a  most  enviable 
record ;  was  placed  on  various  and  important  committees,  including  in- 
ter-state and  foreign  commerce,  ways  and  means,  etc.,  and  always  showed 
marked  ability  in  handling  public  measures  and  men,  for  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  masses.  He  was  repeatedly  re-elected  to  a  seat  in  congress, 
his  last  term  expiring  [March  4,  igii,  since  which  time  ;\Ir.  Gaines  has 
resumed  the  practice  of  law.  He  is  a  fine  reader  of  human  nature,  full 
of  courage  to  carry  forward  his  heartfelt  convictions  and  never  afraid 
to  throttle  the  measures  of  a  dishonest  man,  in  either  public  or  private 
life.  He  has  now  only  reached  the  threshold  of  a  useful  career,  with  a 
most   flattering   future  in  view. 

He  was  married,  November  23,  1898,  to  Marjorie  Lewis  Gentry,  born 
at  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  1877 ;  educated  at  Mt.  de  Chantel,  West 
Virginia,  near  the  city  of  Wheeling.  Children:  Joseph  Holt  Jr.,  Stock- 
ton T.,  Richard  K..  Marjorie  L.,  .Ann  B..  and  Hallie. 


History  discloses  the   fact   that   this   Linn   family  came   from 
LINN     good  old  Scotch-Irish  ancestry,  and  that  among  its  scions  were 

revolutionary  soldiers,  eminent  judges,  attorneys,  physicians 
and  politicians,  of  much  more  than  the  ordinary  ability  and  influence,  es- 
pecially in  the  states  of  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  the  Virginias,  and 
Missouri.  Later  generations  intermarried  with  the  New  England  family 
of  Newcombs :  hence  the  following  narrative  will  treat,  to  some  extent 
of  both  families,  which  include  the  well  known  attorney-at-law  in  West 
\'irginia  and  Charleston,  Robert  G.  Linn. 

(I)  Joseph  Linn,  of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  was  born  in  1725,  and  died 
April  8.  1800.  He  married  Martha  Kirkpatrick,  a  native  of  the  city  of 
Belfast.  Ireland,  born  in  1728:  died  [March  7,  1791,  daughter  of  Andrew 
Kirkpatrick.  Joseph  Linn  was  an  adjutant  in  the  Second  Regiment  of 
Sussex  [Militia,  of  A'irginia,  during  the  revolutionary  struggle,  Aaron 
Hankinson  being  the  colonel.  Joseph  and  Martha  (Kirkpatrick)  Linn 
had  four  sons  and  four  daughters:  i.  Alexander,  born  in  1753,  married 
Hannah,  daughter  of  Nathan  and  Uphamy  (Wright)  Armstrong.  2. 
David,  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Brigadier-General  Aaron  Hankinson. 
and  they  had  eight  children  among  whom  were :  Alexander,  married  and 
removed  to  Ohio ;  Mattie,  married  Jacob  Shepherd ;  Polly,  unmarried : 
Margaret,  married  a  Mr.  Shepherd :' Aaron,  married  Eliza  Hankin- 
son, and  settled  in  Finleyville.  Pennsylvania.  3.  Andrew,  mentioned  be- 
low. 4.  Margaret,  married  Hon.  Joseph  Gaston,  paymaster  of  the  Sus- 
sex Militia,  during  revolutionary  war  days.  3.  Mary.  6.  .Ann.  married 
Jacob  Hull.  7.  Martha,  married  (first)  Isaac  Schaeffer,  (second)  Joseph 
Desmond;  she  died  in  1830,  and  was  buried  at  Sandusky,  Ohio:  the  Rev. 
Isaac  Desmond  was  her  son.     8.   Tohn,  married  in   1791,  Martha  Hunt, 


WEST  VIRGINIA 


33 


daughter  of  Lieutenant  Richard  Hunt ;  children  :  Ehzabcth,  married  Rev. 
Edward  Allen;  Sarah,  married  Nathan  Armstrong  Shafer;  Andrew,  mar- 
ried Isabelle  Beardslee ;  Mary  Ann,  married  Rev.  Benjamin  I.  Lowe; 
Caroline,  married  Dr.  Roderick  Byington ;  Alexander,  a  doctor  at  Deck- 
ertown,  married  Julia  Mbbert ;  William  H.,  who  was  also  a  physician. 
The  father  of  these  children,  John  Linn,  was  appointed  to  the  court  of 
common  pleas  of  Sussex  county,  Virginia,  in  1805,  serving  until  his  death 
in  1823.  He  was  twice  a  member  of  congress  and  died  at  Washington, 
D.  C,  during  his  second  term.  He  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian 
church  at  Hardyston. 

(II j  Andrew,  son  of  Joseph  Linn,  was  born  in  1759,  and  died  in 
1799.  He  studied  medicine  at  Log  Goal.  He  married  Ann  Carnes,  of 
Blandensburg,  Maryland,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  five  children : 
I.  Robert,  mentioned  below.  2.  Margaret,  married  Major  William  T. 
Anderson,  of  Newton.  3.  Mary,  married  David  Ryerson.  4.  Martha, 
married  (first)  Hugh  Taylor,  and  (second)  Richard  R.  Morris,  of  New 
York.    5.  Alexander,  settled  at  Easton,  Pennsylvania. 

(HI)  Robert,  son  of  Andrew  Linn,  was  born  April  20,  1781.  He 
probably  came  to  Virginia  from  Pennsylvania  about  1810,  and  located  in 
what  was  then  Harrison  county,  now  in  Marion  county.  West  Virginia, 
where  he  died  September  9,  1834.  He  was  by  occupation  a  farmer  and 
miller.  He  married  Catherine  Lyon,  born  in  Pennsylvania,  October  18, 
1788.  He  and  his  family  resided  at  Linn's  Mills.  Children :  Mary  Jane, 
married  Smith  M.  Hensill,  and  died  in  Portland,  Oregon ;  Priscilla,  mar- 
ried Newton  Maxv/ell :  Nancy,  married  Newton's  brother,  Milton  Max- 
well, of  Butler,  Pennsylvania ;  Sarah,  married  Isaac  Courtney ;  Louisa, 
married  Dr.  John  T.  Cooper,  of  Parkersburg;  Benjamin,  married  Sarah 
Shriver ;  and  Robert,  mentioned  below. 

(IV)  Robert  (2),  son  of  Robert  (i)  and  Catherine  (Lyon)  Linn, 
was  born  in  Marion  county.  West  Virginia,  while  it  was  yet  within  Old 
Virginia,  December  27,  1813,  and  died  December  7,  i860.  He  studied 
law  in  the  office  of  Hon.  Edgar  C.  Wilson,  of  Morgantown,  Virginia,  and 
was  subsequently  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Pruntytown,  Taylor  county,  in 
1846;  later  he  practiced  law  in  Gilmer  county.  West  Virginia.  For  four 
terms  in  succession  he  served  as  prosecuting  attorney,  having  been  elected 
on  the  W'hig  ticket,  and  he  was  serving  in  that  office  at  the  date  of  his 
death.  He  held  other  offices  of  trust  and  importance,  in  which  he  served 
with  faithfulness  and  much  ability.  He  was  among  the  best  known  men 
of  his  section  and  bore  the  esteem  of  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 
Mr.  Linn  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  married  in  Fair- 
mont, West  Virginia,  Sophronia  S.  Newcomb,  born  in  Greenfield,  Massa- 
chusetts, in  1816,  daughter  of  Ebenezer  (2)  and  Sophronia  (Smith)  New- 
comb  (see  Newcomb  VI).  She  was  a  woman  of  rare  intelligence  and 
refinement,  and  a  lifelong  worker  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  She  was 
only  two  years  of  age,  when  her  family  removed  to  Fairmont :  hence  her 
life  was  largely  spent  in  what  is  now  West  Mrginia,  and  she  died  in  Au- 
gust, 1890.  Children:  i.  Mary  S.,  born  September  21,  1841,  married 
Newton  B.  Bland,  who  died  in  March,  1896 ;  she  died  January  28,  1910, 
leaving  three  children :  Robert  Linn  Bland,  now  an  attorney  at  Weston, 
West  Virginia,  who  married  and  has  four  children ;  George  Linn  Bland, 
assistant  cashier  of  the  Citizen's  National  Bank  of  Weston ;  Hattie,  of 
Weston,  West  Virginia.  2.  Nancy  Catherine  Lyon,  born  May  3,  1845, 
married  Marion  T.  Brannon,  of  Glenville,  West  Virginia ;  she  has  three 
living  children:  Hon.  Linn  Brannon,  ex-judge  of  the  circuit  court:  Alice, 
of  Fairmont;  Howard  R.,  a  bank  cashier  of  Glenville.  3.  Robert  G.. 
mentioned  below. 

(V)  Robert  G.,  son  of  Robert  (2)  and  Sophronia  (Newcomb)  Linn, 
3 


34  WEST  VIRGINIA 

was  born  April  6,  1849,  ^t  Glenville.  West  \irginia  (then  Virginia)  and 
Mas  reared  and  educated  as  most  youths  of  his  time  were,  commencing  in 
the  common  schools  and  later  at  VVitherspoon  Institute.  When  eighteen 
years  of  age,  he  became  assistant  clerk  in  the  circuit  clerk's  office,  at 
Clarksburg,  where  he  remained  three  years.  In  1869  he  entered  the  Cin- 
cinnati Law  School,  graduating  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws,  in 
1870.  His  instructors  at  law  school  were  Ex-Governor  Hoadley,  Bellamy 
Storer,  and  H.  A.  Morrill.  After  his  graduation  he  took  up  law  practice  at 
Glenville,  the  town  of  his  birth,  where  he  became  prosecuting  attorney, 
serving  one  term.  He  was  two  years  in  Gilmer  county,  and  twelve  in 
Calhoun  county,  West  Virginia,  where  he  served  two  years  as  prose- 
cuting attorney.  He  then  returned  to  Glenville,  in  March,  1884,  and  re- 
mained there  until  1900,  being  associated  in  law  with  Hon.  John  S. 
Withers.  In  1900  he  went  to  Charleston,  Kanawha  county,  this  state, 
where  he  now  resides  and  practices  his  profession.  He  has  been  asso- 
ciated, as  partner  in  law  business  in  Charleston,  with  George  Byrne, 
now  of  the  Manufacturers'  Record,  and  also  with  William  E.  R.  Byrne, 
his  present  law  partner,  having  also  his  son,  Robert  Linn,  as  a  member 
of  the  firm.  Mr.  Linn  maintains  offices  at  Sutton,  Weston  and  Glen- 
ville, this  state,  having  partners  in  each  locality.  From  1873  to  1907, 
he  had  for  a  partner,  Hon.  John  M.  Hamilton,  w^th  offices  at  Grants- 
ville,  Calhoun  county.  It  goes  almost  without  sayjng,  that  Mr.  Linn  has 
to  do  with  much  of  the  important  legal  business  in  this  section  of  \A'est 
Virginia,  having  so  many  sub-offices,  the  important  cases  pass  through 
his  hands  for  final  investigation.  Politically,  he  is  a  Democrat.  In 
religious  faith,  he  is  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  In  fraternal  connec- 
tions, he  is  numbered  among  the  members  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  at  Glenville. 

He  married  at  Weston,  West  Virginia,  June  12,  1876,  Alary  Hamil- 
ton, who  was  born,  reared  and  educated  at  that  place.  Her  parents  were 
Dr.  J.  M.  and  Mary  (Lorentz)  Hamilton,  her  mother  being  the  daughter 
of  John,  and  the  granddaughter  of  Jacob  Lorentz,  of  pioneer  fame  in  this 
state.  John  Lorentz  married  Mary  Reger;  both  are  now  deceased.  The 
children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Linn,  probably  not  in  order  of  birth,  were:  i. 
Ernest,  died  young.  2.  George,  died  June  22,  1908,  while  a  law  stu- 
dent at  the  University  of  West  Virginia.  3.  Edna,  born  June  25.  1878. 
educated  at  Wilson  College,  Pennsylvania:  taught  in  normal  schools, 
is  now  at  home.  4.  Mary,  born  April  25,  t88o.  educated  at  the  Normal 
School  of  Glenville,  West  Virginia,  and  Hollister  Seminarv,  Roanoke, 
Virginia,  now  at  home.  5.  Harriet,  born  March  30.  1884:  graduated  first 
in  high  school,  then  from  the  Glenville  Normal  School,  and  later  as  a 
trained  nurse  at  Washington,  D.  C.  6.  Robert,  born  July  25.  1882,  grad- 
uated at  the  law  school  of  the  University  of  West  Virginia,  in  the  class 
of  190^,  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws:  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
the  same  year,  and  has  been  associated  in  law  business  with  his  father. 
at  Charleston,  ever  since.  7.  Ruth,  born  October  25,  1S86.  is  fitting 
herself  as  a  trained  nurse,  at  Washington.  D.  C.  8.  John  Hamilton, 
born   December  6.    1892.  now  in  high  school. 

CTlie   Newcomb   Line"). 

.As  above  referred  to,  the  Linn  and  Newcomb  families  are  intermar- 
ried, and  this  fragment  of  the  Newcomb  genealoo-v  naturallv  finds  a  place 
here:  ,  -  .    __  ,^^ 

(I)  Francis  Newcomb,  born  in  England.  1605,  came  to  the  Ameri- 
can colonies.   1635.   with  his  wife,  whose  name  was  Rachel. 

fll)   Peter,    son    of    Francis    and    Rachel    Newcomb.    was    born    in 


WEST  VIRGINIA  35 

Braintree,  jMassachusetts,  March  16,  1648;  married,  April,  1672,  Susanna 
Cutting,  daughter  of  Richard  Cutting,  of  Watertovvn,  Massacliusetts. 

(III)  Jonathan,  son  of  Peter  and  Susanna  (Cutting)  Newcomb, 
was  born  in  Braintree,  Massachusetts,  March  i,  1685,  married  Deborah 
;  and  their  children  included  Benjamin,  of  whom  below. 

(IV)  Benjamin,  son  of  Jonathan  and  Deborah  Newcomb,  was 

born  at  Braintree,  Massachusetts,  /\pril  9,  1719,  removed  to  Norton, 
Massachusetts,  and  died  in  1801.  He  married,  November  24,  1743,  Mary, 
daughter  of  John  and  Mercy  Everett,  of  Dedham. 

(V)  Rev.  Ebenezer  Newcomb,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Mary  (Everett) 
Newcomb,  was  born  at  Norton,  Massachusetts,  in  November,  1754:  he 
was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  also  a  farmer  and  a  Baptist  minister.  He 
fought  in  the  war  for  national  independence,  being  a  member  of  Cap- 
tain A.  Clapp's  company.  He  died  February  13,  1829.  Ele  married 
Wealthy  Willis,  February  23,  1779,  and  she  died  May  11,  1818. 

(VI)  Ebenezer  (2),  son  of  the  Rev.'  Ebenezer  (i)  and  Wealthy 
(Willis)  Newcomb,  was  born  October  22,  1785  ;  was  a  carpenter,  and 
cabinet  maker.  He  removed  from  Greenfield,  Massachusetts,  to  Fair- 
mont, Virginia,  now  in  West  Virginia,  where  he  died  in  1859.  He  mar- 
ried Sophronia  Smith,  born  December  24,  1792.  Their  daughter,  So- 
phronia,  born  December  6,  1816,  died  in  August,  1890.  She  was  a  na- 
tive of  Deerfield,  Massachusetts,  came  to  Virginia,  with  her  parents  when 
two  years  of  age;  she  married  Robert  (2)  Linn  and  became  the  mother 
of  Robert  G.  Linn  (see  Linn  V).  s  j^ /~\  ^-  -^  ^ 

j  205993 


Among  the  names  that  will  endure  long  after  life's 
Mc^^'HORTER  work  is  completed,  is  that  of  Honorable  Henry  Clay 
}iIcWhorter,  of  the  city  of  Charleston,  West  A^ir- 
ginia,  whose  entire  life  is  a  fine  example  for  those  of  the  rising  genera- 
tion, who  seek  the  best  in  life,  and  hope  to  succeed  at  useful  and  high- 
minded  callings,  as  has  Judge  McWhorter.  While  he  is  not  a  native  of 
West  A'irginia,  his  whole  career  as  youth  and  man  has  been  spent  on 
the  soil  of  this  commonwealth.  He  was  born  February  20,  1836,  in  Mar- 
ion county,  Ohio,  the  son  of  Fields  and  Margaret  M.  (Kester)  McWhor- 
ter, both  natives  of  Harrison  county,  Virginia,  in  that  part  now  within 
West  Virginia.  At  the  age  of  six  years  the  parents  removed  to  Harri- 
son county.  His  father  was  a  physician  and  served  in  the  Union  cause 
from  Missouri.  Henry  C.  of  whom  this  narrative  will  especially  treat, 
did  not  have  the  present-day  educational  advantages  of  the  splendid  free 
school  system,  as  his  3'outh  was  spent  before  such  facilities  had  spread  in 
this  country,  to  any  extent.  He  was  taught  at  private  schools  and  by  pri- 
vate tutors,  and  by  such  means  was  prepared  to  enter  the  old  Institute  at 
Ravenswood,  Jackson  county,  after  which  he  chose  law  for  his  profession 
and  had  made  some  headway  in  the  study  of  this  science,  when  his  plans, 
like  those  of  many  thousands  of  young  men — North  and  South — were  all 
changed  by  the  coming  on  of  the  terrible  civil  war.  He  closed  his  books 
and  enlisted,  September  16,  1861,  as  a  private  in  Company  B,  Ninth 
Virginia  Volunteer  Infantry.  He  was  mustered  as  second  lieutenant  Sep- 
tember 30,  1861.  and  on  March  i,  1862.  became  captain  of  Company  G, 
serving  until  1863  :  he  was  in  many  severe  engagements  and  saw  hard  mil- 
itary service,  sustaining  injuries  which  incapacitated  him  physically  for 
further  field  service ;  but  he  was  retained  in  provost  duty,  until  the  end  of 
the  war,  when  he  was  chief  clerk  in  the  enrollment  office  of  the  third  dis- 
trict of  West  Virginia.  After  the  war,  Captain  McWhorter  resumed  his 
law  study  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Charleston,  in  1866.     His  pro- 


36  WEST  MRGINIA 

fessional  career  has  extended  over  a  long  period  in  which  he  has  served 
in  various  pubHc  capacities  of  honor  and  trust,  never  once  betraying  his 
feUow  citizens.  He  was  city  solicitor  of  Charleston,  and  in  1869  was 
elected  prosecuting  attorney  for  Kanawha  county,  and  was  for  many 
years  deputy  clerk  of  the  United  States  district  court ;  also  a  councilman 
in  the  municipality  of  Charleston.  In  1896  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  supreme  court  of  appeals  for  West  Virginia,  which  took  him  from  the 
active  practice  of  his  profession,  for  the  time  being.  He  was  on  the  su- 
preme bench  twelve  years,  after  which  he  traveled  for  pleasure  and  to  re- 
cruit his  health,  and  then  resumed  practice  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  H. 
C.  &  L.  E.  McWhorter. 

Politically,  Judge  McWhorter  is  a  Republican,  and  still  active  in  par- 
ty councils.  He  represented  Roane  county,  West  Virginia,  in  the  legisla- 
ture in  1865,  and  Kanawha  county  in  1866-67-68  and  again  in  1885-87. 
In  1866,  he  was  chairman  of  the  judiciary  committee  and  in  1868,  Speak- 
er of  the  House.  During  the  "Grant,  Colfax  and  Peace"  political  cam- 
paign of  the  autumn  of  1868,  he  was  a  delegate-at-large  to  the  Chicago 
Republican  National  Convention  that  nominated  U.  S.  Grant  for  presi- 
dent ;  he  was  postmaster  at  Charleston  ;  also  at  Spencer,  Roane  county, 
holding  the  latter  office  when  the  war  broke  out.  He  is  an  ardent  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church ;  was  delegate  from  West  Vir- 
ginia conference  twice  to  General  Conferences ;  also  to  numerous  conven- 
tions of  his  church ;  he  has  been  for  many  years  president  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  the  West  Virginia  Wesleyan  College,  at  Buckhannon,  and 
at  the  last  meeting  of  the  West  Virginia  Wesleyan  College  Trustees  at 
Buckannon,  West  Virginia,  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.D.  was  conferred 
upon  Judge  McWhorter.  He  has  served  on  several  charitable  boards  and 
in  times  of  dire  calamity  has  been  foremost  in  helping  to  provide  aid  and 
comfort  for  unfortunate  sufTerers.  He  was  one  of  the  Electors  repre- 
.senting  the  Judiciary  for  the  "Hall  of  Fame"  in  1905,  and  has  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  the  first  president  of  the  Independent  board  of  educa- 
tion in  Charleston  district.  He  is  prominent  in  Free  mason  circles,  being 
a  member  of  the  Knights  Templar,  Eastern  Star  and  Shriners  degrees  of 
this  order ;  also  is  connected  with  the  Ohio  Commandery  of  the  military 
order  of  the  Loyal  Legion. 

He  married  (first)  Mary  Hardman,  in  Spencer,  Roane  county,  De- 
cember 16,  1857.  She  died  April  22.  1878.  There  were  four  children  by 
this  marriage,  one  of  whom,  Alma,  died,  aged  nineteen  years ;  the  others 
are:  Margaret  Lea,  now  Mrs.  F.  L.  Flagg,  of  Pittsburgh:  Minnie  S.,  un- 
married, principal  of  Kanawha  school,  Charleston ;  Romeo  Chapin,  of 
New  Jersey,  painter.  On  May  8,  1879,  Judge  McWhorter  married  (sec- 
ond) Eliza  McWhorter;  she  died  September  i,  1881,  leaving  one  child, 
Henry,  who  died  in  infancy.  On  January  8,  1885,  he  married  (third) 
Lucy  M.  Clark,  who  died  August  15,  iQoo.  On  May  18,  1904,  he  mar- 
ried (fourth)  Caroline  M.  (Hutchins)  Gates,  who  died  July  7,  1912. 


Thomas  Laidley,  the  emigrant,  reached  New  York  in 
LAIDLEY     1774.     He  was  a  son  of  James  Laidlaw,  and  was  born 

in  .Ayrshire,  Scotland,  January  i,  1756.  This  difference 
in  the  name  is  not  so  great  in  pronunciation  as  in  spelling  and,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  Thomas,  when  coming  into  the  colonies  of  Great  Britain, 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  take  the  side  of  the  colonies  against  England, 
and  being  a  subject  of  the  latter  government,  he  may  have  considered  it 
safer  to  be  known  as  Laidley,  as  they  would  have  had  some  trouble  in  es- 
tablishing him  as  a  British  subject.    It  is  said  that  in  the  civil  war  one  of 


WEST  VIRGINIA  n 

the  Laidleys  of  Virginia  changed  his  name  to  Laidlaw.  to  distinguish 
himself  from  the  Union  men  who  were  known  as  Laidlevs :  but  this  may 
have  been  a  whim,  without  any  good  reason  for  the  change.  It  is  stated 
that  Thomas  was  engaged  in  aiding  Washington  in  New  Jersey  and  Penn- 
sylvania, was  engaged  at  the  battle  of  Trenton  and  other  battles,  and  was 
in  command  of  a  grm-boat  on  the  Delaware,  and  was  at  one  time  the  stew- 
ard in  charge  of  a  hospital  (see  Penn.  Archives,  3rd  Series.  \'ol.  XXIII, 
pp.  81-2-3-4).  Washington  did  not  hesitate  to  say  "put  none  but  Amer- 
icans on  guard  to-night."  And  we  imagine  that  he  was  no  military  man, 
being  fresh  from  the  old  country  ;  but  he  was  however,  ready  and  willing  to 
work  anywhere  that  he  could  do  the  most  good.  It  has  come  down  as  fam- 
ily tradition  that  he  was  engaged  in  the  revolution  with  Washington  in  New 
Jersey  and  in  Pennsylvania,  in  1776-1777.  We  know  that  he  was  in  Lan- 
caster, Pennsylvania,  in  1778,  and  that  he  fell  back  from  Philadelphia 
when  the  British  occupied  Philadelphia.  He  married  Sarah  Osborn,  June 
18,  1778,  at  Lancaster.  Pennsylvania.  His  wife  was  born  in  Philadelphia, 
October  12,  1762,  and  her  parents  were  residents  of  New  Jersey. 

After  the  war  was  over  he  settled  and  lived  for  several  years  again 
in  Philadelphia,  where  his  oldest  child  was  born  July  20,  1781,  while  all 
the  other  children  were  born  at  Morgantown.  He  had  established  him- 
self as  a  merchant  at  2vIorgantown  in  1783,  and  a  Mr.  iXIeans  was  his 
store-keeper.  ]Mr.  William  Haymond  says  that  he  was  going  to  Wil- 
liamsburg on  one  occasion  and  they  sent  by  him  $200  in  gold,  to  pur- 
chase land  office  Treasury  Warrants.  V^'e  read  that  his  was  the  first  store 
in  ]\Iorgantown,  and  that  he  was  induced  to  invest  in  real  estate  in  said 
place.  His  name  appears  as  a  tax-payer  on  tithables,  on  horses  and  cat- 
tle in  1786,  on  the  list  returned  by  Joseph  Jenkins  for  said  year.  He  took 
out  patents  for  land  in  1786  as  follows:  For  2,000  acres  on  Hughes  Run, 
1,375  acres  on  Grigsby  Run,  5,000  acres  on  Slab-Camp  Fork.  2,000  acres 
on  Buchanons  river,  4.000  acres  on  Hughes  river  in  two  tracts,  6,000 
acres  adjoining  Henry  Banks,  875  acres  on  White  Day  Creek,  and  two 
tracts  on  Monongalia  river,  and  he  also  purchased  twelve  lots  in  Mor- 
gantown. 

Thomas  Laidlej-  represented  Monongalia  as  a  delegate  in  1788.  Mr. 
Wiley  on  page  zj^,  says  he  was  the  delegate  in  1797  and  1800.  He  re- 
moved from  Morgantown  to  a  farm  near  Farmington,  on  White  Day 
Creek,  and  soon  afterwards  to  a  farm  where  he  resided  near  his  son, 
Leander  S.  Laidley,  in  IMarion  county.  He  removed  to  Cabell  county,  in 
1809,  but  did  not  remain  long  there :  he  then  removed  to  Marion  county 
and  in  1828  went  to  Cabell  county  to  live  with  his  son,  John  Laidley, 
where  he  died,  Alarch  17,  1838.  His  wife  died  in  1844.  It  is  said  that 
his  coming  west  was  induced  by  Albert  Gallatin  who  settled  at  New 
Geneva,  and  Laidley  at  Morgantown. 

Children:  i.  James  Grant,  of  whom  further.  2.  Sarah  F.  B.,  born  in 
jMorgantown,  May  3,  1787,  died  in  1848;  she  married  Jehu  L.  Davis.  Their 
son,  Alpheus  Davis,  died  in  1902,  aged  eighty-four  years.  3.  Eliza  Stuart 
born  in  Morgantown,  May  31,  1789,  died  in  1828;  she  married,  in  1826, 
Boaz  Fleming  of  Monongalia  county,  born  1758,  died  1830.  Child,  Eliza 
Diarex,  born  1828,  in  Marion  county;  she  lived  in  Cabell  county  with  her 
uncle  John,  where  she  attended  school,  and  later  lived  with  her  aunt  Jane, 
in  Fairmont.  She  married,  November  14,  i860,  George  W.  Honsaker ; 
he  died  in  1895,  aged  seventy-four  years.  4.  John  Osborn,  of  whom 
further.  5.  Thomas  H..  of  whom  further.  6.  Jane  B.,  born  in  Morgan- 
town  January  26,  1796,  died  in  1879.  7.  Leander  S.  of  whom  further.  8. 
Edmond  J.  F.,  born  October  3.  1800,  died  in  1815.  9.  Corrinne,  born  Jan- 
uary 6.  1803,  died  September  30,  1805.  in  Morgantown. 

(Ill)   James  Grant,  son  of  Thomas  Laidley,  was  born  in  Philadelphia, 


^8  WEST  VIRGINIA 

July  20,  1781,  and  died  in  Parkersburg  in  1821.  He  read  law  in  Peters- 
burg and  Richmond  and  settled  in  Wood  county  in  1801,  representing 
said  county  as  delegate  in  the  session  in  1809-10,  and  perhaps  others.  He 
organized  a  ritle  company,  was  made  captain  and  sent  to  the  northwest 
during  the  war  of  1812,  and  later  breveted  major.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  bar  of  Monongalia,  Wood,  and  other  western  counties  and  was  pros- 
ecuting attorney  of  Wood  county. 

He  married  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  March  15,  1806,  Harriet  Ouar- 
rier;  she  died  in  Qiarleston  in  1875.  Children:  i.  Alexander  T.,  born 
April  14,  1807,  died  in  Charleston  in  1895.  His  only  son,  Richard  Q., 
was  a  captain  of  Kanawha  riflemen,  C.  S.  A.,  and  died  in  1873.  2.  Cor- 
inne,  born  April  14,  1807.  3.  James  Madison,  born  January  9,  1809.  He 
was  lawyer,  banker,  and  saltmaker,  and  was  in  the  legislature  in  1848-49. 
He  left  a  large  family;  one  son.  Professor  George  S.  Laidley,  has  been 
superintendent  of  Charleston  schools  for  years. 

(Ill)  John  Osborn  Laidley,  known  as  John  Laidley  of  Cabell  coun- 
ty, son  of  Thomas  Laidley,  was  born  in  Morgantown,  April  28,  1791,  and 
died  in  April,  1863.  He  received  a  limited  education,  but  in  1810,  he  was 
editing  the  Monongalia  Gazette.  In  1813,  January  term,  G.  H.  Neal, 
clerk  of  Wood  county,  certified  that  John  O.  Laidley  was  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  was  a  man  of  good  character,  a  citizen  of  Virginia  and 
had  resided  within  said  county  of  Wood  for  the  ten  months  last  past. 
On  the  14th  day  of  June,  1813,  Daniel  Smith,  D.  Carr  and  James  Allen, 
judges,  certified  that  they  had  examined  John  O.  Laidley  touching  his  ca- 
pacity, fitness  and  ability,  and  found  him  duly  qualified  to  practice  law, 
and  "these  are  therefore  to  permit  the  said  John  O.  Laidley  to  practice 
as  an  attorney  at  law  in  the  courts  of  this  commonwealth,  14  June,  1813. 

Daniel    Smith        Seal 
D.  Carr  Seal 

James  Allen  Seal" 

He  went  to  Cabell  county,  with  John  Samuels,  and  located  at  Bar- 
boursville,  the  county  seat,  remaining  but  a  short  while  ;  they  then  went  to 
Norfolk  and  there  united  with  Captain  Samuel  Kennedy's  Artillery  Com- 
pany of  Monongalia  county.  Here  they  remained  until  the  close  of  the 
war.  After  the  war  was  over  they  returned  to  Barboursville.  John  Laidley 
was  appointed  prosecuting  attorney  and  John  Samuels  was  made  clerk  of 
the  courts,  and  they  both  continued  in  said  offices  the  rest  of  their  lives. 
John  O.  Laidley  was  in  the  leigslature  from  Cabell  county  in  session  of 
1819-1820,  also  in  1823-1824,  and  1824-1825.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Virginia  convention  of  1829-30.  In  1828  he  removed  from  Barboursville 
to  the  Ohio  river  about  halfway  from  Guyandotte  to  where  Marshall 
Academy,  now  Marshall  College,  was  afterwards  located.  It  was  in  1834 
that  said  academy  was  built  and  the  school  opened,  and  no  one  did  more 
to  have  the  same  commenced  than  did  Mr.  Laidley.  In  said  Academy 
there  was  a  chapel  set  apart,  which  the  neighborhood  found  convenient 
to  attend  every  Sunday  morning;  the  Southern  Methodist  or  the  Presby- 
terian found  a  minister  there  at  all  times  and  the  same  congregation  was 
always  on  hand,  no  matter  whom  the  minister  might  be.  John  O.  Laidley 
was  a  Democrat  and  when  the  civil  war  came  on,  he  was  warmly  opposed 
to  secession  insisting  that  it  was  wrong  and  suicidal  to  the  south.  He  was 
confirmed  in  the  Episcopal  church,  but  was  equally  at  home  in  any 
church  where  prayer  was  wont  to  be  made. 

He  married  in  1816,  Mary  Scales  Hite  of  North  Carolina  ;  she  was  a 
descendant  of  Jost  Hite  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  Their  children  were: 
Amacetta,  wife  of  Hon.  George  W.  Summers  of  Kanawha  county;  Lou- 
ise, wife  of  W.  H.  Euffington  of  Cabell  county;  Theodore,  was  educated 
at  West  Point,  and  when  he  died  was  colonel  in  the  Ordnance  Depart- 


U)^.  <^.^^ 


ctUx^ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  39 

ment,  U.  S.  A. :  Albert,  was  a  merchant,  lawyer,  speculator,  and  elected  to 
the  legislature  in  i860:  he  sold  to  C.  P.  Huntington  the  land  on  which  the 
city  of  Huntington  was  built :  Thomas  M.,  was  a  physician,  residing  in 
Texas  :  Ulysses  ;  Sally  ;  John  ;  Eliza  ;  James  ;  William  Sydney,  of  whom 
Huntington.  In  religious  belief  this  family  was  about  equally  divided  be- 
further  ;  George  S. :  Helen  and  Leander :  all  of  whom  are  deceased  ex- 
cept William  Sidney  and  his  sister,  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Burks,  who  resides  in 
tween  the  Methodists,  Presbyterians  and  Episcopalians,  and  in  political 
adhercnces  about  equally  divided  between  the  Union  and  secessionism. 

(Ill)  Thomas  H..  son  of  Thomas  Laidley,  was  born  in  September, 
1793,  in  Morgantown.  He  was  never  strong  in  his  young  days,  attend- 
ing the  schools  when  he  was  able  +0  and  was  also  taught  at  home ;  he 
studied  medicine  in  Parkersburg.  and  with  Dr.  McLain,  of  JMorgantown, 
and  also  with  a  doctor  in  Clarksburg.  He  removed  to  Carmichael's, 
Greene  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1826,  and  continued  to  practice  there  un- 
til 1875.  His  son,  Dr.  John  B.  Laidley,  became  his  partner  in  1856  and 
the  father  retired  in  1875.  He  was  a  very  quiet  man  but  had  the  courage 
of  his  own  corn-ictions,  and  was  on  the  right  side  of  all  moral  questions. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  jMethodist  Episcopal  church ;  he  was  stern  and 
austere  commanding  respect,  but  he  was  also  kind  and  affectionate;  he 
was  known  as  a  Democrat.  In  April,  1828,  he  married  Sarah  Barclay, 
who  proved  a  devoted  wife  and  mother.  Children :  Dr.  John  B. :  Nerval, 
born  1829,  died  1902  :  Eliza  A.,  born  1832,  died  1879.  married  J.  J.  Col- 
lier ;  James  Madison,  born  1835,  moved  to  Missouri ;  Thomas  H.,  born 
1837,  married  and  had  a  son,  Thomas  H.  Jr.,  born  1873;  Wilbur  Fiske, 
born  1839,  married  and  moved  west;  Charles  H..  married  and  went  to 
Iowa;  Alvin  D..  married  a  Miss  McClintock,  and  he  died  in  1892;  Leoni- 
das  H.,  born  1844.  married  in  1880,  and  was  a  physician  in  St.  Louis,  and 
is  now  deceased;  Mary  married  a  Mr.  Randolph,  and  she  died  in  1891 ; 

Sarah  Maggie,  born  1850,  married  (first)  Leonard,  and  ("second) 

Henry  Lewis,  in  Iowa.  !\Iany  of  these  children  moved  west  and  several 
are  deceased. 

(Ill)  Leander  S..  son  of  Thomas  Laidley.  was  born  in  ]\Iorgantown, 
February  20.  1798.  He  sold  goods  for  a  while,  and  was  a  stock  raiser, 
farmer  and  trader ;  he  was  also  a  justice  of  the  peace.  He  married  Eliza- 
beth Morgan  of  Manon  county,  born  September,  1799.  Their  children 
were:  Cordelia  G.,  born  1819,  died  1871,  married  C.  T.  Dana,  1838,  who 
died  in  1850;  Serena  E.,  born  1821,  married  Philemon  Rice  in  1847;  ^^6" 
lissa  A.,  born  1823.  married  J.  S.  Hawkins;  Phylena  E.,  born  1825,  mar- 
ried John  Pritchard,  in  1847;  Louise  V.,  born  1827,  married  (first)  Wil- 
liam Burns,  and  (second)  Rev.  N.  M.  Dillon;  Napoleon  D.,  born  1829, 
died  1845  ;  Helen  Mar,  born  1831,  married  W.  H.  Armstrong  in  i860,  she 
died  in  1895  ;  Narcissa  M.,  born  1833,  married  B.  B.  Dillon  in  1882.  she 
died  in  1900;  George  S.,  born  1835,  died  in  Iowa  in  1886;  IMartha  S., 
born  1839,  married  William  Rex,  she  died  in  1888:  Agnes  Hunter,  born 
1 84 1,  married  L.  E.  Burgo^me  in  1866. 

( lY)  Hon.  William  Sydney  Laidley,  son  of  John  Osborn  and  Mary 
Scales  (Hite)  Laidley.  was  born  June  27,  1839,  at  "Lamartine,"  the 
Laidley  homestead  in  Cabell  county,  Virginia.  He  is  descended  from 
Baron  Jost  Hite,  Strassburg,  Germany,  with  also  a  mingling  of  Eng- 
lish and"  French  blood  in  his  veins,  from  the  Scales  and  Du  Bois  families, 
and  to  some  of  these  nationalities  he  is  indebted  for  his  humor  and  his 
artistic,  literary  and  refined  tastes.  His  schoolmates  dubbed  him  "Doc," 
remembering  that  old  saying  "the  seventh  son  must  be  a  doctor."  He  at- 
tended school  at  Marshall  College  until  nearly  grown  to  manhood,  then 
went  to  North  Carolina,  to  assist  his  brother.  Colonel  T.  T.  S.  Laidley, 
commander  of  the   arsenal   at  Favetteville.   North   Carolina.     After  his 


40  WEST  \'IRGIXIA 

father's  death  in  1863,  Mr.  Laidley  came  to  Kanawha  county,  at  the  su- 
Hcitation  of  his  brother-in-law,  Judge  George  W.  Summers,  where  he  en- 
tered his  law  office  and  read  law  with  him  until  1865,  when  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar,  and  the  firm  of  Summers  and  Laidley  was  formed.  This 
partnership  did  not  last  for  many  years,  as  the  Judge's  health  failed,  and 
in  1868  he  died.  Then  Mr.  Laidley  and  Colonel  W.  H.  Hogeman,  a 
talented  young  lawyer  from  New  York,  formed  the  new  firm  of  Laidley 
and  Hogeman,  this  continued  for  seventeen  years.  Besides  their  general 
practice,  they  were  attorneys  for  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  railroad,  and 
interested  themselves  in  public  matters  of  importance — legal,  social  and 
political.  In  1885,  Colonel  Hogeman  died  and  Mr.  Laidley  was  again  left 
alone,  lamenting  the  loss  of  a  congenial  friend  and  able  partner.  He  de- 
clined all  proposals  of  new  partnership,  remaining  in  the  office  alone  up  to 
the  present  time,  and  now  his  son  is  associated  with  him,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Laidley  &  Laidley.  Mr.  Laidley  has  been  a  resident  of  Kana- 
wha county  almost  fifty  years,  and  has  seen  the  many  changes  that  have 
swept  over  Charleston,  noting  how  the  little  village  grew  to  the  beautiful 
cosmopolitan  city  of  to-day,  and  he  has  ever  been  interested  in  her  wel- 
fare, doing  his  full  share  to  help  the  home  of  his  adoption.  He  has  fol- 
lowed his  profession  industriously,  especially  practicing  with  pleasure  and 
success  in  the  Appellate  courts  of  the  state,  yet  has  found  time  to  serve 
the  town,  county  and  state  as  an  official.  He  has  been  a  councilman  in 
Charleston  for  many  years.  He  was  elected  judge  of  the  county  court 
in  igoo,  when  every  other  Democrat  was  defeated.  During  his  term  of 
office  the  new  court  house  was  erected,  the  road  to  Sissonville  rebuilt,  and 
many  other  permanent  improvements  made,  thus  showing  the  wisdom  and 
good  management  of  the  court.  He  resigned  before  the  term  of  office 
for  which  he  was  elected  had  expired.  He  was  elected  to  the  state  legis- 
lature of  West  \^irginia,  serving  in  1872-73.  Ever  a  staunch  Democrat 
serving  his  party  when  and  where  he  could,  never  bitter  or  vindictive,  he 
always  had  many  friends  among  his  opponents.  For  many  years  he  was 
either  chairman  or  secretary  of  the  County  Democratic  Executive  Com- 
mittee and  had  much  to  do  with  the  success  of  his  party.  In  the  councils 
of  the  church  he  has  been  well-known,  too.  Many  times  he  was  sent  as 
a  delegate  to  the  Diocesan  Councils  and  to  the  National  Council — the  gen- 
eral Convention  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church.  As  a  man,  he  is 
quiet  and  unassuming,  genial  in  manner,  with  a  keen  sense  of  humor  and 
fine  appreciation  of  a  good  joke.  He  is  clear  and  concise  in  his  argu- 
ments, honest  and  true  in  his  dealings  with  all  men,  inheriting  his  father's 
integrity  and  love  of  justice,  and  disgusted  with  all  that  men  and  women 
know  as  mean  and  tricky,  a  great  reader  of  excellent  literature,  always 
happy  with  his  books.  He  is  especially  fond  of  historic  research.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Historical  Society  of  his  county,  as  long  as  it  ex- 
isted ;  was  the  editor  and  chief  writer  of  the  Historical  Maga::ine;  and  in- 
sistently urged  others  to  write  for  that  publication.  Many  valuable  his- 
torical items  would  have  been  lost  to  the  state  and  the  city  of  Charleston 
had  it  not  been  for  his  genius  in  this  particular.  In  igii  he  edited  the 
history  of  Kanawha  county. 

He  has  never  sought  an  office,  but  when  elected  he  has  served  honestly 
and  ably,  thinking  only  of  the  good  of  others,  of  the  public  at  home  and 
the  nation,  and  never  of  his  own  aggrandizement.  He  has  long  lieen,  and 
is  today,  an  exceptional  man  and  truly  worthy  citizen. 

He  married  Septem.ber  20.  1869,  Virginia,  daughter  of  Judge  J.  H. 
Brown.  The  following  children  were  born  :  i.  Mary  Louise,  married  Henry 
Bradford  Clarkson :  no  issue.  2.  Amacetta  V.,  married  Henry  W.  Good- 
win, now  deceased :  no  issue.  3.  Dora,  died  aged  twenty  years.  4.  Lucy 
B.,  married  foe  Lane  Stern  :  thev  have  five  children  :  Marv  L.,  Joe  Lane 


WEST  VIRGINIA  41 

(a  daughter)  L.  Henry.  Anne,  Virginia.  5.  Madeline,  unmarried.  6. 
Dorothy,  unmarried.  7.  William  Sydney,  Jr.,  is  an  attorney  in  the  office 
of  his  father.  8.  Janet,  unmarried.  0.  Douglas,  twin  with  Janet,  died  in 
infancy. 


Pennsylvania  has  furnished  many  of  the  highly  successful 
CAPITO  business  men  of  present-day  West  \'irginia,  and  a  consid- 
erable number  of  capitalists  of  the  state  have  had  their 
birthplace  in  foreign  lands  or  been  sons  of  foreign-born  ancestry.  Among 
the  prosperous  men  of  this  type  may  be  named  the  Capitos.of  Charleston, 
Kanawha  county.  The  banking  interests  of  this  city, — West  Virginia's 
seat  of  justice  and  government, — are  in  the  hands  of  careful,  conservative 
financiers,  including  Charles  Capito.  the  president  of  the  Kanawha  Na- 
tional Bank. 

(T)  Godfrey  Capito,  his  father,  was  a  native  of  (jermany.  In  1856  he 
went  to  ;\Iason  City,  West  A'irginia,  from  Pittsburgh.  He  became  a  well 
known  and  highly  respected  business  man  of  Mason  City,  at  first  follow- 
ing the  blacksmith's  trade,  but  later  engaging  in  the  brewing  business,  in 

which  he  was  quite  successful.     He  married  Catherine  ,  and  had  a 

son,  Charles. 

(II)  Charles,  son  of  the  German  emigrant,  Godfrey  Capito.  was  born 
in  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  November  i,  1849.  He  was  only  seven  years 
of  age  when  the  family  removed  to  ]Mason  City,  this  state.  There  he  had 
the  advantages  of  the  public  schools,  which  later  was  supplemented  by  a 
six-year  course  at  Concordia  College,  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana.  After  grad- 
uating he  returned  and  engaged  in  business  at  Mason  City  for  several 
years,  up  to  iS"^,  first  being  in  the  drug  business  and  later  in  a  grocery. 
Wishing  to  increase  his  opportunities  he  moved  to  Charleston,  in  which 
city  he  has  resided  ever  since.  For  eleven  years  he  was  engaged  in  the 
fancy  grocery  trade  at  Charleston,  also  handling  large  quantities  of  fresh 
vegetables  in  market  style.  His  next  business  enterprise  was  that  of  a 
wholesale  liquor  dealer,  from  which  he  retired  in  1903.  In  later  years  he 
became  interested  in  the  banking  business  of  his  adopted  city.  Since  Sep- 
tember I,  1910,  he  has  been  president  and  one  of  the  directors  in  the  Kan- 
awha National  Bank,  of  which  he  was  a  director  from  its  start  in  1891. 
This  is  one  of  the  safe  and  solid  financial  institutions  of  the  city  of 
Charleston.  He  has  been  officially  connected  with  other  large  enterprises, 
being  equally  prominent  in  the  Kanawha  Valley  Building  &  Loan  Asso- 
ciation. He  has  ever  been  an  active  and  useful  citizen,  and  while  accumu- 
lating a  handsome  competency  for  himself,  has  always  worked  for  the 
general  prosperity  of  others  of  his  city  and  county.  For  a  period  of  elev- 
en years  he  has  been  the  president  of  the  Charleston  chamber  of  com- 
merce, which  speaks  much  for  his  business  sagacity  and  general  business 
ability.  Politically  he  was  a  Democrat  up  to  1893,  since  which  date  he  has 
voted  the  Republican  ticket.    He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

He  married,  April  26,  1877,  Sophia  Benz.  Children :  Gustave.  a  prac- 
ticing physician  of  Charleston ;  Bertha ;  Henry,  a  prominent  business  man 
of  Charleston,  and  superintendent  of  the  Diamond  Coal  and  Ice  Com- 
pany: Kate,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years.  The  Capito  family 
have  a  large  amount  of  Charleston  and  Kanawha  county  property,  and 
own  one  of  the  finest  residences  in  the  city,  located  at  No.  1605  \'irginia 
street,  and  Mr.  Capito  still  holds  hi^  former  residence  at  No.  221  on  the 
same  street. 


42  WEST  VIRGINIA 

The  English  residence  of  this  family  was  at  Saffron 
CHURCHAIAN  Waldron,  Essex  county.  Several  persons  of  this 
name  came  to  Pennsylvania  about  the  same  time. 
Little  is  known,  save  of  one  of  these,  John  Churchman.  George  Church- 
man, an  immigrant  to  Pennsylvania,  was  a  relative  of  John  Churchman ; 
Susanna  Churchman,  of  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  was  married,  in 
Pennsylvania,  in  i6go,  George  anfl  John  Churchman  being  among  the 
witnesses. 

John  Churchman,  the  founder  of  this  family,  was  born  about  1665, 
died  in  1724.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  emigrated  to  Darby,  Delaware 
county,  Pennsylvania,  coming  to  America  under  the  care  of  Thomas  Car- 
ey. In  the  family  of  Thomas  Carey,  there  was  a  daughter  Hannah,  then 
a  child  of  six  years,  who  afterward  was-the  wife  of  John  Churchman.  He 
settled  at  Chester,  Pennsylvania,  but  in  1704  removed  to  the  woods  of 
Nottingham,  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  and  his  family  were 
among  the  first  settlers,  tie  married,  in  1696,  Hannah,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Carey,  who  was  born  about  1676,  died  September  22,  1759.  Chil- 
dren:  George,  born  July  13,  1697,  died  April  29,  1767;  Dinah,  June  7, 
1699,  married  Messer  Brown;  Susanna,  July  13,  1701,  married  William 
Brown;  John,  7\ugust  29,  1703,  died  September  28,  1703;  John,  June  4, 
1705,  died  July  24,  1775,  married,  November  27,  1759,  Margaret  Brown; 
Thomas,  November  16,  1707-08,  died  April  8,  1788;  Miriam,  August  25, 
1710,  married  James  Brown;  Edward,  September  14,  1713,  died  in  De- 
cember. 1732-33;  Sarah,  March  17,  1716,  died  August  2,  1750,  married 
Joseph  Trimble;  William,  November  29,  1720,  married  Abigail  Brown. 

Several  of  the  descendants  of  this  John  Churchman  were  noted  per- 
sons. Among  his  sons  the  most  famous  was  John,  the  second  born  of 
this  name.  He  and  his  wUe  were  both  Quaker  ministers,  and  he  spent 
four  years  in  Great  Britain,  on  a  religious  visit.  But  his  grandson,  great- 
grandson  of  the  immigrant,  also  named  John,  was  the  most  distinguished 
of  the  family.  Like  several  other  of  the  descendants  of  the  immigrant 
John,  he  was  a  surveyor ;  he  was  also  an  eminent  geometrician,  and  de- 
spite lack  of  opportunities  his  native  ability  gained  him  honor  for  scien- 
tific research  and  attainments  in  learned  circles  both  in  America  and  in 
Europe.  Twice  he  visited  Europe;  he  died  at  sea  returning  from  his 
second  European  journey,  coming  from  St.  Petersburg,  Russia. 

Apparently  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  early  bearers  of  this  name  in  Amer- 
ica were  Quakers.  Among  the  early  settlers  of  the  valley  of  Virginia, 
who  were  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  this  name  is  found. 

(I)  John  Knight  Churchman,  probably  a  descendant  of  John  Church- 
man, the  immigrant,  was  born  in  Augusta  county,  Virginia,  in  1789,  died 
in  1870.  He  was  for  twenty  years  sherifl:'  of  Augusta  county.  Child, 
Vincent  Tapp,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Dr.  Vincent  Tapp  Churchman,  son  of  John  Knight  Churchman, 
was  born  at  Staunton,  Augusta  county,  Virginia,  about  1824,  died  in  Jan- 
uary, 1872.  He  was  a  large  man,  weighing  over  three  hundred  pounds. 
By  profession,  he  was  a  physician  and  surgeon,  and  he  served  in  this  ca- 
pacity, in  the  Confederate  army  throughout  the  war  between  the  States. 
He  also  had  charge  of  the  recruiting  division  at  Staunton.  He  married 
Margaret,  daughter  of  John  Graham,  who  died  in  1897.  Her  father  was, 
through  most  of  his  life,  a  hotel  proprietor  at  Greenville,  Augusta  county, 
A^irginia,  and  he  died  at  that  place.  Children :  Alice,  married  J.  C.  Mat- 
thews, of  Charleston,  West  Virginia;  Vincent  Tapp,  of  whom  further; 
Henry  Jouette,  a  druggist  at  Springfield,  Ohio ;  John  Franklin,  deceased : 
Anna,  deceased ;  Margaret,  deceased  ;  Graham,  deceased. 

(III)  Dr.  Vincent  Tapp  (2)  Churchman,  son  of  Dr.  Vincent  Tapp  (i) 
and  Margaret    f Graham')   Churchman,  was  born  at  Greenville,   \'irginia. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  43 

August  31,  1867.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Greenville,  and  after- 
wards the  Staunton  Military  Academy,  Staunton.  At  the  University  of 
A'irginia  he  began  his  study  of  medicine,  and  this  study  he  prosecuted  also 
at  the  Jefferson  Medical  College,  Philadelphia,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  1889.  He  practiced  first  at  Alderson,  Monroe  county,  West  Virginia, 
where  he  remained  for  two  years.  During  this  time  he  was  engaged  in 
general  practice.  Dr.  Churchman  then  took  a  further  course,  of  fifteen 
months'  duration,  at  Jefferson  Medical  College,  specializing  in  diseases  of 
the  eye,  ear,  nose  and  throat.  At  the  end  of  this  study,  in  1892,  he  came 
to  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  and  has  from  that  time  been  engaged  in 
this  special  practice.  He  has  the  largest  practice  in  West  Virginia  in  these 
specialties.  Dr.  Churchman  is  also  keenly  interested  in  horses,  and  has 
taken  a  leading  part  in  the  holding  of  many  successful  horse  shows  at 
Charleston.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Free  and  Accepted  iMasons.  In  po- 
itics,  he  is  a  Democrat.  He  is  a  Presbyterian.  He  married,  at  Charles- 
ton, November  i,  1906,  Janet,  born  at  Prince,  West  A'irginia,  daughter 
of  John  Kay.  Her  father  is  an  immigrant  from  Scotland,  now  living  at 
Leon,  ]\Iason  countv,  W^est  Virginia,  \\here  he  is  a  farmer :  her  mother  is 
deceased.    Children :  \'incent  Tapp,  Margaret  Christina. 


At  least  two  of  the  authorities  on  surnames — antl  it  is 
HUDSON  singular  and  unusual  to  find  such  a  measure  of  agree- 
ment among  them — state  that  this  name  is  a  patronymic 
for  Roger,  being  directly  derived  from  its  nickname  Hodge  or  Hod.  The 
best  known  of  this  name  to  visit  American  shores,  and  probably  the  first, 
though  his  purpose  was  not  for  settlement,  was  Henry  Hudson,  who  al- 
though he  commanded  a  Dutch  expedition  and  is  often  called  on  account 
of  his  Dutch  associations  Hendrick  Hudson,  was  himself  an  Englishman; 
the  Hudson  river,  mainly  in  the  state  of  New  York,  perpetuates  his  name. 

A  probable  line  of  ancestry  for  the  present  family,  through  about  two 
hundred  years,  is  as  follows.  There  is  some  difference  in  the  authorities 
consulted  with  regard  to  the  early  record,  and  the  connection  between 
these  persons  and  the  recent  ancestors  is  conjectural,  yet  it  is  based  on 
probable  evidence. 

fl)  Charles  Hudson,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  died  in  174S.  He  was  of  Hanover  county,  Vir- 
ginia, and  it  is  almost  certain  he  never  lived  in  Albemarle  county,  Vir- 
ginia ;  he  was,  however,  one  of  the  earliest  patentees  in  this  county,  his 
first  entry  being  made  in  1730,  on  the  Hardware  river.  The  land  covered 
by  this  entry  was  below  Carter's  bridge,  and  it  was  of  two  thousand  acres 
in  extent ;  other  grants  followed  this  first  one,  in  the  same  vicinity.  This 
land  embraced  RIount  Air,  which  was  one  of  the  seats  of  the  Hudson 
family  for  more  than  one  hundred  years.  The  stream  entering  the  Hard- 
ware river,  from  the  south,  below  Mount  Air,  was  formerly  known  as 
Hudson's  creek.  In  1735,  Charles  Hudson  took  a  patent  in  another  re- 
gion also,  but  this  latter  land  he  sold  two  years  later.  His  wife's  sur- 
name was  probably  Royall.  Children  :  William  :  John,  of  whom  further ; 
Christopher  ;  Mary,  married  John  Wingfield  ;  Elizabeth,  married  Nicholas 
Johnson ;  Rebecca,  married  Robert  Wathen  :  Sarah,  married  Richard  Hol- 
land :  Ann,  married  Joseph  Lewis. 

fll)  John,  son  of  Charles  Hudson,  died  about  1768;  his  will  was 
proved  in  Albemarle  county,  Virginia,  January  12,  1769.  He  lived  on  the 
lower  Hardware  river.  He  married  Anne .  Children  :  Charles,  mar- 
ried Jane  Lewis;  John,  died  in  1801 ;  Christopher,  of  whom  further; 
Mary,  married  Gaines ;  Anna  Maria. 


44  WEST  VIRGINIA 

(III)  Christopher,  son  of  John  and  Anne  Hudson,  died  in  1825.  He 
was  a  captain  in  the  state  mihtia ;  in  1800  he  was  appointed  a  magistrate, 
but  he  resigned  four  years  later.  His  residence  was  at  Mount  Air.  He 
died  possessed  of  more  than  five  thousand  acres  of  land.  He  married 
Sarah,  daughter  of  David  and  Elizabeth  Anderson ;  her  father  and  moth- 
er came  from  Hanover  county,  \'irginia,  and  settled  in  Albemarle  coun- 
ty. Children :  Eliza  y\nderson,  married  George  Gilmer ;  Ann,  married 
William  Tompkins ;  Anderson,  of  whom  further. 

(IV)  Anderson,  son  of  Christopher  and  Sarah  (Anderson)  Hudson, 
was  born  near  Lynchburg,  Virginia.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  served  in 
the  war  of  181 2.     Child,  Samuel,  of  whom  further. 

(V)  Samuel,  son  of  Anderson  Hudson,  was  born  in  Virginia,  about 
1816,  died  in  1888.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  settled  in  Kanawha  county, 
''irginia.     Child,  Anderson,  of  whom  further. 

(VI)  Anderson  (2),  son  of  Samuel  Hudson,  was  born  in  Kanawha 
county,  Virginia,  on  his  father's  farm,  in  November,  1840,  died  December 
13,  1907.  He  continued  to  reside  on  the  farm.  In  the  latter  part  of  the 
civil  war,  being  a  Union  man,  he  served  in  the  Seventh  West  Virginia 
Cavalry,  Company  M.  He  married  Roxie.  born  in  Kanawha  county,  Vir- 
ginia, in  March,  1851,  now  living  at  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  daughter 
of  Henry  Hiram  Holstein,  who  was  born  in  Botetourt  county,  Virginia, 
died  in  1897,  at  the  age  of  seventy  years ;  he  was  a  Union  soldier  in  the 
civil  war,  serving  in  an  Indiana  regiment,  and  was  a  prisoner  in  Libby 
prison.  Children  of  Anderson  and  Roxie  (Holstein)  Hudson,  all  living: 
James  Frank,  of  whom  further;  Cecile,  married  R.  L.  Dickinson,  of 
Pratt,  West  Virginia ;  Cora  B.,  single,  and  living  with  her  mother  at 
Charleston  ;  Bertram  A.,  living  at  Charleston,  and  now  money  order  clerk 
in  the  postoffice ;  Joseph  A.,  living  at  Charleston,  was  formerly  a  travel- 
ing salesman  for  the  Kanawha  Drug  Company,  and  is  now  assistant  post- 
master at  Charleston. 

(VII)  James  Frank,  son  of  Anderson  (2)  and  Roxie  (Holstein) 
Hudson,  was  born  in  Kanawha  county,  West  Virginia,  on  the  old  Hud- 
son homestead  farm,  December  14,  1869.  After  having  attended  the  local 
schools,  he  went  to  Barboursville  College,  Barboursville,  Cabell  county, 
\A'est  A''irginia.  After  this  he  taught  school  for  three  years  in  his  native 
county,  and  in  1900  came  to  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  and  entered  the 
grocery  business.  For  two  years  he  was  engaged  in  this  business,  having 
his  own  store.  For  the  next  four  years  thereafter  he  was  chief  deputy 
for  John  A.  Jarrett.  sheriff  of  the  county,  and  he  was  then  appointed  tax 
assessor,  under  C.  W.  Dillon,  of  Kanawha  county,  according  to  the  "Daw- 
son law."  This  was  in  1905,  and  he  was  the  first  assessor  appointed  after 
this  law  went  into  effect  in  that  year.  After  one  year  in  this  position  he 
left  political  activity  of  this  sort,  temporarily.  For  five  years  he  was 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  th.e  Elk  City  Sand  and  Lime  Company.  On 
March  29,  1909,  Mr.  Hudson  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Charleston, 
West  Virginia,  by  President  Taft,  and  this  position  he  still  holds,  in  191 2. 
He  is  a  strong  Republican,  and  was  formerly  decidedly  active  in  politics. 
For  eight  years,  until  1908,  he  was  a  member  of  the  Republican  county 
committee  for  Kanawha  county :  within  this  period  he  was  acting  chair- 
man for  four  years  and  secretary  for  six  years,  holding  both  these  posi- 
tions during  two  years.  From  1906  to  1908  he  was  also  a  member  of  the 
congressional  committee  of  the  party,  and  from  1908  to  1910  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Republican  senatorial  committee.  His  church  is  the  First 
Presbyterian.  He  married,  in  Kanawha  county.  November  28,  1893,  Sal- 
lie,  born  in  Kanawha  county,  daughter  of  Enos  and  Mary  (Calvert)  Jar- 
rett. Her  father  was  a  farmer  in  this  county;  he  is  deceased,  but  her 
mother  is  living  at  Charleston,  having  attained  the  age  of  eighty-three 


WEST  VIRGINIA  45 

This  is  an  old  New  England  family,  and  is  represented  in 
STILES     West  Virginia  by  Hon.  Maynard  F.   Stiles,  of  Charleston, 
Kanawha  county,  where  he  has  resided  about  eighteen  years. 
The  following  sketch  treats  of  the  genealogy  and  biography  of  his  imme- 
diate family. 

(I)  William  Stiles,  the  great-grandfather,  was  of  Massachusetts 
stock  and  an  early  resident  of  Vermont,  in  which  state  he  probably  died. 
But  little  is  now  known  of  his  career,  other  than  that  he  married  and  had 
a  son,  named  Asahel,  and  other  children. 

(II)  Asahel,  son  of  William  Stiles,  was  born  in  Tunbridge,  A'ernKJUt, 
where  the  active  years  of  his  life  were  spent,  he  dying  at  tlie  age  of  forty- 
five  years.  November  8,  1812,  he  married  Nancy  Bradford,  a  native  of 
\'ermont,  and  descendant  of  old  Governor  Bradford  of  the  Plymouth  Col- 
ony. She  was  born  1788,  and  died  in  her  native  state,  aged  seventy-two 
years.  Her  parents  were  Timothy  and  Edith  (Howe)  Bradford,  the 
mother  being  a  descendant  of  a  brother  of  Lord  William  Howe,  and 
daughter  of  William  and  Edith  (Livingstone)  Howe.  Generally,  the 
Stiles  family  were  agriculturists,  with  now  and  then  a  professional  man 
and  a  tradesman.  They  were  usually  large  robust  men  and  women,  which 
was  also  true  of  the  Bradfords,  and  to  this  is  doubtless  due  the  fact  that 
Maynard  F.  Stiles  has  attained  the  height  of  six  feet  and  four  inches,  and 
weighs  two  hundred  and  thirty  pounds.  Asahel  Stiles  and  wife  had  chil- 
dren as  follows:  i.  Clarissa  A.,  married  a  Mr.  Fairchild.  2.  Clarinda  M., 
married  J.  F.  Sanders.  3.  Asahel  B.,  of  whom  further.  4.  Nancy  B., 
married  Riley  F.  Cudworth.  5.  David  L.,  married  Augusta  French,  an 
aunt  of  Associate  Justice  Harlan's  wife ;  and  lived  in  Rochester,  New 
York.  6.  John  M.,  went  to  Chicago,  and  was  a  merchant  tailor  many 
years,  dying  at  an  advanced  age ;  he  married  and  left  children.  7.  Wil- 
liam L.,  resided  in  Springfield,  Vermont,  where  he  died  an  old  man ;  mar- 
ried and  his  son,  Frank  Stiles,  is  now  editor  and  publisher  of  the 
Springfield  Reporter.  8.  Baxter  Bradford  Stiles,  settled  in  Denver,  Colo- 
rado, in  1859,  and  became  a  prominent  citizen  and  business  factor,  as  well 
as  an  eminent  lawyer ;  he  was  three  times  elected  mayor  of  Denver,  he 
married,  but  had  no  issue.  9.  Malvina,  died  in  infancy.  10.  Maynard  F., 
died,  single,  aged  less  than  fifty  years ;  he  practiced  law  in  Iowa  and  at 
Memphis,  Tennessee,  and  later  was  a  cotton  planter  in  Arkansas ;  He 
was  also  elected  judge  of  Hardin  county,  Iowa. 

(III)  Asahel  Bradford  Stiles,  was  born  in  Tunbridge,  Vermont,  May 
24,  1817.  His  life  was  largely  spent  in  his  native  state  as  a  thrifty  New 
England  farmer,  but  for  a  few  years  he  was  engaged  in  mercantile  pur- 
suits, in  the  city  of  Boston,  Massachusetts.  His  early  life  was  devoted  to 
hard  work,  for  when  only  sixteen  years  of  age  his  father  died,  and  the 
care  of  supporting  the  family  fell  to  his  lot.  He  succeeded,  however,  in 
fairly  educating  the  other  children  of  the  family,  at  the  same  time  spar- 
ing odd  moments  in  which  to  study  himself  ;  thus,  when  fully  grown  to 
manhood,  he  was  well  informed  for  his  day  and  generation.  Politically 
he  was  a  Democrat,  and  a  good  speaker,  and  made  his  influence  felt  on 
the  stump,  in  various  campaigns,  and  during  the  stirring  times  of  the 
civil  war.  Before  1861  he  was  in  full  accord  with  the  "Douglas  Demo- 
crats," and  worked  for  the  election  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas  for  president, 
when  a  candidate  against  Mr.  Lincoln.  In  his  religion  he  was  liberal,  as 
Vi'ill  be  understood  when  it  is  said  that  he  was  a  Universalist  and  a  work- 
er in  both  the  church  and  Sunday-school  of  that  denomination.  He  also  led 
the  choir.  He  married,  April  5,  1843,  '"^  Brookfield,  Vermont.  Abigail  Lov- 
ett  Adams,  born  November,  1822,  in  Brookfield,  died  November,  1884.  Her 
parents  were  Captain  Thomas  and  Mary  (Warner)  .\dams.  The  former, 
born  August  19,  1788,  died  at  Brookfield,  \'ermont,  September  20,  1843: 


46  WEST  VIRGINIA 

married,  May  22,  1814,  Mary  Warner,  born  September  25,  1795.  died 
February  22,  1892,  in  Brookfield,  Vermont.  An  ancestor  of  hers.  Major 
Ames  Walbridge,  served  gallantly  in  the  revolutionary  war.  Her  cousin, 
Colonel  Seth  Warner,  was  a  comrade-in-arms  of  Colonel  Ethan  Allen, 
and  second  in  command  of  the  "Green  Mountain  Boys"  in  the  contest  be- 
tween Vermont,  then  called  the  New  Hampshire  Grants,  and  New  Hamp- 
sliire  and  New  York  which  claimed  the  territory.  The  struggle  was  sus- 
pended when  the  revolutionary  war  called  all  loyalists  to  operate  against 
England.  The  paternal  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Mary  (Warner)  Adams 
was  Major  Reuben  Adams,  born  October  22,  1761,  died  August  30,  1833, 
who  married  Abigail  Lovett,  December  4,  1783.  She  was  born  March 
10,  1761,  died  October  26,  1841.  Asahel  Bradford  Stiles  and  wife  had 
children:  i.  Darwin  Lysander,  born  in  Vermont,  April  26,  1844:  married 
in  Vermont,  Fidelia  Lincoln,  died  in  1910,  leaving  one  child,  Winona, 
who  married  Herbert  Rood.  2.  Isabelle  C,  October,  1846;  married 
Thomas  O.  Lynch,  and  resides  in  Denver,  Colorado.  They  have  a  son. 
Edward  Asahel,  an  actor  and  singer  of  note,  who  married  Belle  Dale, 
the  daughter  of  a  prominent  Salt  Lake  City  lawyer.  3.  Imogene  Olivia, 
November,  1850,  at  Tunbridge,  Vermont :  married  Ora  H.  Goodale,  and 
.esides  at  South  Royalton,  Vermont.  He  died  in  1908,  leaving  children : 
Ernest  C,  died  aged  twenty-nine  years;  Grace,  wife  of  Dr.  H.  H.  Hay- 
wood, of  Randolph,  Vermont;  and  Gertrude  (a  twin  sister  of  Grace), 
married  Clarence  I.  Cate,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts.  4.  Maynard  French, 
of  whom  further.  S-  Fannie  Susan,  November  15,  i8s7,  died  unmarried 
in  1882. 

(IV)  Hon.  Maynard  French  Stiles,  son  of  Asahel  B.  and  Abigail 
Lovett  (Adams)  Stiles,  was  born  at  Tunbridge,  Vermont,  May  7,  1854. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  in  his  native  town  until  fourteen  years  of 
age,  then  became  a  pupil  at  the  Green  Mountain  Institute,  at  .South 
Woodstock,  A^ermont,  subsequently  entering  Phillips-Exeter  Academy, 
Exeter,  New  Hampshire,  graduating  after  a  three  years'  course,  in  1873. 
During  the  same  year  he  entered  Harvard  University,  taking  an  academic 
course  and  graduating  with  the  class  of  1877.  Having  decided  to  become 
an  attorney,  he  took  up  the  study  of  law  under  John  Converse,  of  Boston, 
Massachusetts;  but  a  few  years  later  caught  the  western  fever,  and 
wended  his  way  to  the  mining  section  of  Colorado,  when  the  names  of 
Ruby  Camp,  Irwin,  Gothic,  Crested  Butte,  Gunnison  and  Leadville,  all 
now  in  geography  and  mining  reports,  lured  the  adventurer  to  "the  West" 
and  to  hoped-for  fortune.  He  was  attracted  with  thousands  of  others  to 
that  famous  gold  and  silver  mining  country,  and  passed  through  many  in- 
teresting and  not  a  few  trying  experiences  in  that  wild,  new  country.  He 
became  a  police  judge  at  Irwin,  having  for  his  district  as  much  territory 
as  is  contained  in  Massachusetts.  His  office  and  court  room  were  known 
as  the  "Arsenal."  For  two  years  he  held  the  position  of  city  attorney  at 
Crested  Butte.  Upon  leaving  Colorado  he  went  to  Los  Angeles,  Califor- 
nia. In  California  Mr.  Stiles  practiced  law  and  in  1888-89  h^'d  the  office 
of  city  auditor  and  ex-officio  clerk  of  the  city  council.  In  the  autumn  of 
1891  he  returned  to  Boston,  Massachusetts,  where  he  entered  into  a  law 
partnership  with  Samuel  W.  Clififord.  Two  years  later  he  went  to 
Charleston,  West  Virginia,  where  for  sixteen  years  he  was  engaged  in 
representing  claimants  of  the  great  Robert  Morris  grant,  patented  to 
Robert  Morris  of  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  the  litigation  concerning 
which  was  known  to  lawyers  as  the  "Great  King  Land  Case."  Since  the 
settlement  of  those  matters,  Mr.  Stiles  has  paid  special  attention  to  land 
cases.  He  is  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  prominent  lawyers  of  the  state. 
Politically  he  is  a  Democrat  and  a  leader  in  his  party.  He  and  his  family 
attend  the  Kanawha  Presbyterian  Church.  He  married,  in  Gunnison,  Col- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  4- 

orado,  in  1884,  Ellen  S.,  daughter  of  Benjamin  F.  and  Eliza  A.  (Trow- 
bridge) Field,  natives  of  Wisconsin,  but  of  New  England  ancestry.  Her 
father  was  the  inventor  of  many  useful  manufacturing  processes,  espec- 
ially relating  to  straw-board  and  paper-making  in  general.  He  was  of 
the  noted  Field  family,  from  which  came  Cyrus  W.  Field  of  Atlantic 
cable  fame,  and  the  merchant  prince  of  this  name  in  this  country.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Stiles  have  no  children  of  their  own,  but  adopted  one  known 
as  Tomasa  Stiles,  born  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  December  19,  1890.  She 
was  well  educated  at  the  schools  of  Charleston,  and  is  a  young  lady  of  re- 
finement and  high  culture.  Her  sister  is  the  wife  of  T.  S.  Clark,  of  the 
law  firm  of  Chilton,  McCorkle  &  Chilton. 


The  names  Mathews  and  Matthews,  very  probably 
MATHEWS     variant    spellings    of    one    family    name,    were    already 

common  in  Maryland  and  Virginia,  in  the  earliest  col- 
onial times,  and  among  them  those  of  men  of  great  distinction.  The  two 
names  are  frequently  mentioned  in  the  state  censuses  of  Virginia  in  1782 
to  1785.  Two  Mathews  lines  are  mentioned  in  A'irginia,  one  descending 
from  Samuel  iMathews,  who  settled  in  that  colony  as  early  as  1622,  and 
the  other  from  another  emigrant  ancestor  who  came  to  Augusta  county 
about  1737.  There  is,  however,  still  no  direct  evidence  to  connect  either 
of  these  with  the  family  herein  discussed. 

(I)  Thomas  Mathews  was  living  in  Queen  Anne's  county,  Maryland, 
in  18 18,  when  his  son,  James  R.,  was  born.  If  he  was  in  that  county  in 
1790,  he  was  not  then  the  head  of  a  family,  for  he  is  not  named  in  the 
census.  A  Thomas  Mathews  is  named  in  that  census,  as  living  in  Mont- 
gomery county ;  and  there  are  two  more  of  the  name  Thomas  Matthews, 
one  living  in  Talbot,  the  other  in  Charles  county.  Children  of  Thomas 
Mathews :  James  Ridgeway,  of  whom  further ;  John,  emigrated  to  Ohio ; 
Captain  George :  and  a  daughter. 

(II)  James  Ridgeway,  son  of  Thomas  ^lathews,  was  born  in  Queen 
Anne's  county,  Maryland.  January  29,  1818,  died  June,  1892.  Removing 
from  Maryland  he  settled  in  Marshall  county,  Virginia.  Children :  Chris- 
topher Columbus,  of  whom  further :  Senator  Samuel  Wiley :  and  Mary 
\'irginia,  died  in  childhood. 

(HI)  Sergeant  Christopher  Columbus  Mathews,  son  of  James 
Ridgeway  Mathews,  was  born  in  Marshall  county,  Virginia,  November 
15,  1843.  In  ths  civil  war  he  saw  hard  service  in  many  battles,  and  was 
promoted  first  to  corporal,  afterward  to  sergeant  of  Company  A,  Twelfth 
Regiment  West  Virginia  Volunteer  Infantry.  He  was  with  Sheridan  in 
the  Shenandoah  campaign,  including  the  battles  of  Berryville,  Opequan 
and  Fisher's  Hill.  From  1893  to  1897  he  was  sheriff  of  Marshall  county. 
At  Moundsville.  Marshall  county,  West  Mrginia,  where  he  now  lives,  he 
served  as  a  member  of  the  city  council  for  four  years.  He  has  been  cash- 
ier of  the  Marshall  County  Bank.    He  is  a  prominent  Republican. 

He  married.  September  14.  1865,  Esther  Jane,  daughter  of  John  and 
Margaret  (Ingram)  Scott.  Her  parents  were  immigrants  from  Ireland, 
having  left  county  Armagh  about  1833,  very  shortly  after  their  marriage 
Mrs.  Mathews  is  an  honored  member  of  the  Ladies  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic.  Children :  William  Burdette.  of  whom  further ;  John 
Ingram,  born  January  3,  1869,  died  November,  1886:  IMadge  Ridgeway, 
married  Frank  D.  Sigaboose,  of  Moundsville. 

(IV)  William  Burdette,  son  of  Sergeant  Christopher  Columbus  and 
Esther  Jane  (Scott)  Mathews,  was  born  in  Marshall  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia, August  27,  1866,  on  the  farm  in  the  Round  Bottom,  which  he  now 


48  WEST  VIRGINIA 

owns.  The  ownership  of  this  farm  has  been  vested  in  only  five  men,  the 
first  being  George  Washington,  who  was  given  a  patent  for  the  tract,  of 
which  this  farm  is  a  part,  from  the  state  of  Virginia  in  1784.  He  sold  the 
land  in  1798,  for  ten  dollars  an  acre,  to  Colonel  Archibald  McClean  of 
.Alexandria,  Virginia,  who  sold  it  to  his  son  H.  J.  McClean,  in  1841,  for 
twenty  dollars  per  acre.  He  in  turn  sold  it  to  C.  C.  Mathews  in  1877,  ^or 
eighty  dollars  per  acre,  and  in  1912  Mr.  Mathews  sold  it  to  his  son,  Wil- 
liam B.  Mathews,  for  one  hundred  dollars  per  acre.  Thus  in  one  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  years,  it  has  only  been  transferred  four  times. 

William  Burdette  Mathew'S  attended  the  local  public  schools,  the 
Moundsville  high  school,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1883,  and 
Waynesburg  College,  Waynesburg,  Greene  county,  Pennsylvania,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1886.  In  1890  he  entered  Columbian,  now 
George  Washington  University,  Washington,  D.  C,  to  take  a  course  in 
law.  He  there  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws  in  1891,  and 
Master  of  Laws  in  1892.  For  four  years  he  practiced  in  Washington. 
Returning  then  to  Moundsville  he  practiced  at  that  place  for  a  short  time. 
In  1897  he  came  to  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  which  is  still  his  place  of 
residence.  Here  he  accepted  the  chief  clerkship  in  the  state  auditor's  of- 
fice, and  served  under  auditors  LaFollette  and  Scherr.  In  1902  he  was 
appointed  assistant  attorney-general  of  West  Virginia,  under  Attorney- 
General  Freer,  and  this  position  he  held  until  he  was  appointed  clerk  of 
the  supreme  court  of  appeals  of  the  state.  This  office  he  holds  to  the 
present  time  (1912).  He  also  served  four  years  in  the  city  council  of 
Charleston. 

He  is  a  stockholder  and  director  in  the  Capital  City  Bank ;  the  Con- 
solidated Casualty  Company ;  the  United  Savings  &  Annuity  Company ; 
and  both  the  building  associations,  and  three  land  companies,  of  Charles- 
ton. He  is  a  member  of  several  Masonic  bodies.  He  is  now  trustee  of 
the  Local  Camp,  at  Charleston,  of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 
Besides  these  he  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  past  captain  of  the  Sons  of  Veterans,  and  a  member  of  the  Edge- 
wood  Country  Club.  He  is  a  Republican.  When  the  state  league  of  Re- 
publican clubs  met  at  Parkersburg,.  in  1900,  he  was  president,  and  was  a 
McKinley  and  Roosevelt  elector  the  same  year.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mathews 
are  Methodists.  Mr.  Mathews  was  a  delegate  to  the  general  conference 
of  the  church  at  Chicago,  in  May,  1900,  and  at  Los  Angeles,  in  ^lay, 
1904;  a  delegate  also  to  the  Fourth  Ecumenical  Methodist  Conference, 
at  Toronto,  Canada,  in  October,  191 1.  His  public  spirit  is  shown  by  his 
work  as  director  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and  the  Union 
Mission  Settlement. 

William  Burdette  Mathews  married.  October  25,  1900,  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Rev.  Edgar  Brown  and  Sarah  Frances  (Young)  Blundon,  of 
Charleston,  who  was  born  in  Tyler  county.  West  Virginia.  Her  father 
was  a  major  in  the  federal  army,  and  after  the  war  became  a  Methodist 
minister.  Mrs.  Blundon  now  resides  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mathews.  Chil- 
dren:  Sarah  Esther,  born  December  29.  1902;  Elizabeth,  July  18,  1905; 
John  Ingram,  and  Edgar  I'.lunddn.  twins.  February  24,  1909,  both  died 
in  infancy. 


This  family  originally  resided  in  England.  There  were 
SHEPHERD     three  of  the  name  wdio  came  together  from  England, 

one  settling  in  Virginia,  one  in  North  Carolina  and  one 
in  Texas.  The  following  narrative  will  treat  especially  of  the  generations 
in  this  country  down  to  and  including  Hon.  Adam  Robert  Shepherd,  pres- 
ent judge  of  the  Kanawha  county  court. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  49 

{1)  Robert  Shepherd  was  born  just  at  the  close  of  the  war  for  na- 
tional independence,  and  died  in  the  year  1888.  He  accompanied  his  par- 
ents from  one  of  the  colonies  to  what  is  now  West  Virginia,  they  settling 
at  Charleston,  Kanawha  county.  He  was  a  successful  farmer  and  stock 
raiser,  and  was  the  owner  of  a  fine  farm  in  Union  district.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  was  highly  esteemed  by 
his  neighbors.  He  married  Mary  Good,  a  member  of  a  prominent  Vir- 
ginia family,  who  survived  her  husband  six  years.  Children:  i.  John, 
of  whom  further.  2.  B.  King,  born  in  New  Salem ;  reared  and  educated 
there ;  married  Louisa  Aultz,  of  Kanawha  county,  Virginia ;  resided  in 
Charleston,  West  Virginia,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farming.  3.  James 
Robert,  born  in  Salem,  Virginia ;  resided  on  the  old  homestead  in  Union 
district :  married  Eliza,  daughter  of  Robert  Young,  an  early  settler  of 
Charleston. 

(II)  John,  eldest  child  of  Robert  and  Mary  (Good)  Shepherd,  was 
born  in  Roanoke  county,  Virginia,  in  1833,  died  ^larch  17,  191 1,  in 
Charleston,  West  A'irginia.  He  taught  school  in  Roanoke  county  and 
Charleston  for  thirty  years,  being  highly  successful  in  that  calling,  and 
acquired  a  reputation  for  great  knowledge  and  wisdom.  He  was  also  in- 
terested in  the  nursery  business  for  a  number  of  years.  He  resided  in 
South  Charleston,  and  during  his  leisure  time  made  a  special  study  of  the 
Kanawha  valley.  During  the  civil  war  he  served  in  the  capacity  of  rev- 
enue collector.  He  was  active  in  the  work  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  was  a  Republican  in  politics  until  the  last  fifteen  years  of  his 
life,  when  he  transferred  his  allegiance  to  the  Prohibition  party.  He 
married  Louisa  A.,  born  in  Kanawha  county,  Virginia,  about  1841,  died 
April  6,  1907,  daughter  of  Adam  and  Patsey  (Samuels)  Aultz.  She  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  her  native  county,  and  was  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Adam  Aultz  was  a  member  of  an  old 
and  honorable  family  of  Rockbridge  county,  \'irginia.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  church,  and  a  Republican,  and  was  known  as  a  man  of 
sterling  qualities  and  very  temperate  habits.  Both  he  and  his  wife  lived 
to  over  eighty  years  of  age,  the  latter  dying  in  1890  at  the  home  of  her 
daughter,  Mrs.  Shepherd,  in  Charleston.  Children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shep- 
herd:  I.  Clark  W.,  born  1863;  educated  in  the  public  schools,  at  Wesley- 
an  University,  Ohio,  where  he  graduated,  graduating  also  from  the  Medi- 
cal College  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  in  1888,  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine ;  practiced  his  profession  at  Spring  Hill :  married  Lucy  Tisdale, 
of  Lunenburg  county,  Virginia ;  had  one  son,  Tisdale.  2.  L.  Ella,  born 
in  Charleston,  1865  ;  educated  in  the  public  schools:  engaged  as  teacher  in 
the  schools  of  her  native  city.  3.  Adam  Robert,  of  whom  further.  4. 
Mattie,  born  1869 :  wife  of  C.  L.  Pauley,  of  Raleigh,  West  Virginia,  em- 
ployed with  the  Raleigh  Coal  Company.  5.  J.  King,  born  1872 ;  educated 
in  schools  of  Charleston  ;  serves  as  deputy  sh.eriff  of  Kanawha  county ; 
unmarried. 

(III)  Hon.  Adam  Robert  Shepherd,  son  of  John  and  Louisa  A. 
(Aultz)  Shepherd,  was  born  in  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  April  7,  1868. 
He  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  native  city.  In  early  life  he  en- 
gaged in  the  nursery  business  with  his  father,  and  continued  along  the 
same  line  for  twenty  years.  In  1894  he  embarked  in  the  general  mer- 
chandizing business  on  his  own  account,  at  Spring  Hill,  and  has  success- 
fully conducted  the  same  up  to  the  present  time  (1913).  He  has  always 
evinced  a  keen  interest  in  politics,  and  been  honored  by  appointment  and 
election  to  various  important  positions  of  trust  by  his  fellow  citizens.  He 
is  a  staunch  adherent  of  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party,  and  has 
served  as  delegate  to  state  and  county  conventions.  He  served  as  secre- 
tary  of   the    Eighth    Senatorial    District:   was   appointed   postmaster   of 


50  WEST  \1RGINIA 

Spring  Hill,  West  N'irginia,  by  the  late  President  \\illiam  AlcKinley,  in 
the  spring  of  1897,  and  ably  filled  that  position  until  lyoo,  when  he  was 
elected  to  the  office  of  county  assessor  for  a  term  of  four  years  ;  in  1906 
he  was  elected  to  the  legislative  branch  of  the  West  Virginia  general  as- 
sembly, where  he  served  two  years;  in  1908  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  county  court,  his  term  to  expire  in  1914.  He  has  discharged  the  dut- 
ies of  these  various  oflices  with  fidelity  and  impartiality,  and  year  by  year 
has  constantly  grown  in  public  estimation.  The  citizens  of  Kanawha 
county  will  ever  be  thankful  for  their  wise  selection  of  Judge  Shepherd, 
who,  aided  by  others,  has  succeeded  in  putting  the  county  finances  on  a 
solid  financial  footing.  He  is  a  member  of  Washington  Lodge,  No.  58, 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  JMasons,  of  St.  Albans ;  Spring  Hill  Lodge, 
No.  140,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  which  he  has  been  treas- 
urer also  for  more  than  fifteen  year? ;  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

Mr.  Shepherd  married,  June  29,  1899,  in  Charleston,  West  Virginia, 
Elizabeth  F.,  born  in  Richmond,  in  1878,  daughter  of  the  late  Robert  El- 
lett.  Mrs.  Shepherd  is  a  member  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Rich- 
mond. They  arc  the  parents  of  one  child,  Ellett  Xorthcott,  born  January 
7.  1901. 


Colonel  Ellsworth  Rudesill,  whose  activity  in  business 
RL'DESILL  and  politics  has  made  him  notable  all  over  the  country, 
comes  of  an  Ohio  family,  whose  lines  of  ancestry  have 
been  traced  across  the  Atlantic,  although  not  given  here.  Columbus 
Rudesill,  his  father,  was  born  in  Ohio  about  1836,  died  at  Chardon,  Ohio, 
February  i,  191 1.  He  was  of  German  extraction.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Republican  party,  and  attended  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  mar- 
ried Frank  E.  Bentlev.  also  horn  in  Ohio,  hut  descended  from  a  family  of 
English  ancestry.  She  is  still  li\ing.  Their  only  child  was  Colonel  Ells- 
worth Rudesill. 

Colonel  Ellsworth  Rudesill,  son  of  Columbus  and  Frank  E.  (Bentley) 
Rudesill,  was  born  October  10,  1861,  near  Akron,  Ohio,  and  was  named 
in  honor  of  a  young  Laiited  States  army  officer  who  was  one  of  the  first 
to  be  killed  in  the  civil  war.  His  early  education  was  received  in  Akron, 
and  he  graduated  from  the  Akron  high  school.  He  then  became  his 
father's  partner  in  the  latter's  establishment  at  Gallipolis,  Ohio,  where  he 
dealt  in  crockery  and  queensware.  By  the  time  he  was  twenty-five  years 
old,  his  father  had  transferred  this  business  to  Charleston.  The  store  was 
located  on  Ivanawha  street  from  1888  to  1900,  when  it  was  removed  to 
Capitol  street,  and  took  the  firm  name  of  Rudesill  &  Mead.  From  that 
year  until  1907  it  continued  prosperously,  and  was  incorporated  finally 
in  the  last  mentioned  year ;  and  two  years  later  closed  its  doors  to  trade. 
Li  1909  Colonel  Rudesill  became  census  supervisor  for  the  third  congres- 
sional district.  West  Virginia,  which  included  ten  counties.  His  work 
was  highly  praised  by  the  Washington  officials  of  the  census  department, 
one  of  whom  sent  the  following  testimonial :  "I  desire  at  this  time  to  con- 
gratulate you  upon  your  successful  conduct  of  your  duties  as  superintend- 
ent of  census.  They  have  been  performed  to  the  satisfaction  of  this  of- 
fice and  to  your  own  credit.  Your  work  has  been  arduous  and  difficult 
and  the  results  clearly  show  wisdom  of  your  selection  of  supervisors." 
About  191 1  he  was  state  agent  for  West  Virginia  for  the  Guarantee, 
Trust  &  Banking  Company,  of  Atlanta,  Georgia,  an  investment  bonding 
company,  but  has  since  given  up  his  connection  with  this  firm.  His  pres- 
ent interests  are  with  the  Cnited  Savings  and  .Annuity  Company,  for 
which  he  is  director  of  the  agency  in  Charleston.  His  Inisiness  ex]ierience 
is  very  wide  and  he  is  well  known  and  successful  in  the  work  ho  under- 


WEST  \1RGINIA  51 

takes.  Politically  Colonel  Rudesill  has  held  many  important  offices,  and 
has  helped  make  history  in  the  state  of  West  \'irginia.  He  was  elected  in 
1903  to  the  state  legislature  by  the  Republicans,  and  served  one  term.  In 
Alarch,  1904,  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Charleston,  served  one  term,  and 
u  inning  higli  encomiums  for  his  executive  ability.  At  various  times  he 
has  been  made  delegate  to  conventions  in  county  and  state.  E.\-Governor 
White  appointed  him  on  the  state  board  of  asylums,  of  which  he  was  pres- 
ident for  eight  years,  and  did  important  work  in  connection  with  this 
body.  Colonel  E.  Rudesill  is  a  charter  member  of  the  Charleston  Lodge, 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  has  served  as  exalted  ruler 
for  three  terms.  He  is,  with  his  wife  and  two  older  children,  connected 
with  the  Episcopal  church  in  Charleston. 

Colonel  E.  Rudesill  married  at  Gallipolis,  Ohio,  Alice  Cromley,  born 
reared  and  educated  in  Gallipolis,  daughter  of  Francis  A.  and  Alary  E. 
(Williams)  Cromley.  Francis  A.  Cromley,  born  in  Pennsylvania,  died 
in  Charleston,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four  years.  He  was  attached  to  the 
quartermaster's  department  of  the  Federal  army  during  the  civil  war. 
In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat :  and  fraternally,  connected  with  the  Ma- 
sons and  Odd  Fellows.  He  married  Mary  E.  Williams,  at  fronton,  Ohio. 
Her  parents  were  Welsh,  and  she  was  born  on  shipboard,  while  they 
were  coming  across  the  Atlantic  to  America ;  her  education  was  received 
in  Kentucky,  but  after  her  marriage  she  lived  in  Ohio,  where  she  died  in 
her  fortieth  year. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rudesill  have  the  following  children:  Frank  Ells- 
worth, born  in  Ohio,  graduated  from  the  Charleston  high  school,  now  as- 
sistant manager  of  the  Daily  Mai!  of  that  city,  and  successful  in  business ; 
Alice  M.,  graduated  at  the  age  of  seventeen  from  the  Charleston  high 
school :  Donald  Bentley,  still  attending  school. 


The  Preston  family  came  originally  from  England,  and 
PRESTOX     in  the  early  days  of  the  colony  settled  in  Bedford  county, 

\'irginia,  and  like  all  others  of  that  time  took  up  tilling 
of  the  soil  of  that  state.  The  introduction  of  the  cultivation  of  tobacco  by 
John  Rolfe  had  given  a  tremendous  impetus  to  agriculture,  and  the  first 
fortune  of  a  million  dollars  accumulated  in  this  country  was  made  in  the 
production  and  shipping  of  tobacco  at  Falmouth,  Virginia. 

(I)  Stephen  Preston,  the  first  of  the  present  line  of  whom  definite 
information  is  to  be  had,  was  born  October  15,  1794,  in  Bedford  county, 
but  lived  the  greater  part  of  his  life  at  Glade  Hill.  Virginia,  in  the  house 
in  which  later  his  grandson,  Benjamin  Spottswood  Preston,  was  born. 
The  house  is  standing  at  the  present  day  and  is  still  owned  by  the  Pres- 
ton family.  He  enlisted  in  the  service  of  his  country  in  the  war  of  1812. 
He  followed  the  occupation  of  farming,  dying  March  22,  1864,  at  the  age 
of  seventy  years.  He  married  Frances  Turner  by  whom  he  had  children : 
Stephen  B.,  of  whom  further,  Christopher  P.,  Benjamin,  Mary.  Lottie 
and  Frances. 

(II)  Stephen  Brooker,  son  of  Stephen  Presttjn,  was  born  at  Glade 
Hill.  Virginia,  November  22.  1838,  and  died  January  15,  1907.  He  was  a 
farmer  and  spent  most  of  his  life  near  Glade  Hill.  \'\nien  the  war  be- 
tween the  states  broke  out  he  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  army  and 
served  throughout  the  entire  period  of  its  duration ;  he  was  appointed  as 
sergeant  of  Company  K,  Tenth  Virginia  Cavalry.  He  married  Isabelle 
Frances  Arrington,  born  near  Glade  Hill,  December  4,  1840,  and  died  De- 
cember 30,  1903.  They  had  eleven  children  of  whom  seven  are  now  liv- 
ing: John  W.,  M.  D.,  lives  in  Roanoke,  Virginia;  Stephen,  D.  D.  S. :  Ben- 


52  WEST  VIRGINIA 

jamin  Spottswood,  of  whom  further :  D.  G.,  M.  D.,  lives  at  Burnwell, 
West  Virginia;  Christopher  B.,  M.  D.,  lives  at  Kingston,  West  Virginia; 
H.  Tate,  is  a  telegraph  operator  in  West  Virginia  ;  Annie  M.,  married 
F.  W.  Finley,  of  Williamsburg,  Kentucky.  Those  that  died  were:  John 
W. ;  child  died  unnamed ;  James  B.,  aged  five  years ;  Maggie,  aged  three 
years. 

(Ill)  Dr.  Benjamin  Spottswood  Preston,  son  of  Stephen  Brooker 
Preston,  was  born  January  2,  1874,  at  Glade  Hill.  He  attended  as  a  boy 
the  local  schools  of  Glade  Hill,  and  then  graduated  in  pharmacy  from  the 
University  College  of  Medicine,  Richmond,  Virginia,  in  1897,  and  for 
a  year  afterwards  followed  that  profession  at  Richmond  and  Rocky 
Mount,  Virginia.  He  then  took  up  the  study  of  medicine  at  the  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons  at  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and  was  graduated 
with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  from  that  institution  in  1902,  en- 
tering upon  medical  practice  at  Burnwell,  West  Virginia,  and  remaining 
there  for  several  years.  After  this  he  decided  to  take  up  further  ad- 
vanced work,  and  spent  a  year  in  London,  England,  and  in  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts, studying  post-graduate  courses.  He  then  came  in  1909  to 
Charleston,  West  X'irginia,  and  has  been  there  ever  since.  He  is  a  stock- 
holder and  a  director  in  Keeny's  Creek  Colliery  Company,  and  stockhold- 
er in  the  Beckley  Electric  Light  &  Power  Company.  The  main  offices 
of  the  former  company  are  at  Winona,  West  Virginia,  and  those  of  the 
latter  at  Beckley,  West  Virginia.  Dr.  Preston  is  a  Democrat  in  politics. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  church,  and  fraternally,  a  member  of  the 
York  Rite  Masonic  fraternity,  and  is  also  a  Noble  of  the  Mystic  Shrine ; 
he  belongs  also  to  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

Dr.  Preston  married,  January  25,  191 1,  Danna  Kate,  daughter  of  Dr. 
E.  S.  Rogers,  now  practicing  at  Knoxville,  Tennessee.  They  have  one 
child,  Betty  Arrington,  born  December  17.  191 1. 


The  first  Alderson  who  emigrated  to  America  in  1718 
ALDERSON  was  known  as  the  prodigal  son ;  his  father  was  a  Bap- 
tist minister  of  Yorkshire,  England.  His  only  son, 
John,  became  enamored  with  a  young  lady,  but  the  match  was  opposed  by 
the  parents,  and  the  father  gave  him  two  hundred  pounds  ($1000.00)  to 
travel  on  the  continent.  Young  John  spent  this  without  getting  outside 
of  England.  He  was  induced  to  come  to  America  by  Mr.  Curtis,  who 
was  just  sailing  there  with  a  colony  for  a  settlement  in  New  Jersey. 
Young  Alderson  became  a  Baptist  minister.  He  married  a  daughter  of 
Mr.  Curtis,  and  preached  in  Bethel  church.  New  Jersey ;  afterwards 
moved  to  Germantown,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1755  settled  on  Linnville 
creek,  nine  miles  below  Harrisonburg,  in  the  valley  of  Virginia,  and  pur- 
chased a  farm  adjoining  Mr.  Linkhorn,  the  father  or  grandfather  of 
Abraham  Lincoln.  Here  he  preached  many  years,  and  afterwards  moved 
to  Fincastle,  Botetourt  county,  Virginia,  in  1780,  where  he  died. 

(I)  Squire  Joseph  Alderson,  the  first  of  the  line  here  under  consider- 
ation, died  in  1845.  He  married  and  among  his  children  was  Lewis  A., 
of  whom  further. 

(II)  Rev.  Lewis  A.  Alderson,  son  of  Squire  Joseph  Alderson,  mar- 
ried Eliza  Floyd  Coleman,  daughter  of  Captain  John  Coleman,  of  Locust 
Grove,  Amherst  county,  Virginia,  the  old  ancestral  homestead  of  the 
Colemans,  which  has  been  in  possession  of  the  Coleman  family  over  two 
hundred  years.  After  the  death  of  his  father,  in  1845,  Rev.  Lewis  A. 
Alderson,  fell  heir  to  an  extensive  plantation  on  the  north  side  of  Green- 
brier  river   in   Greenbrier  county,  Virginia,   in   which   part   the   town   of 


^^y&yn^CLv^  iMdv 


^i^yt-Ptr" 


WEST  VIRGINIA  53 

North  Alderson  is  now  situated.  Among  the  children  of  Rev.  Lewis  A. 
Alderson  was  Joseph  Coleman,  of  whom  further. 

(Ill)  Major  Joseph  Coleman  Alderson,  eldest  son  of  Rev.  Lewis  A. 
Alderson,  was  born  in  Amherst  county,  Virginia,  October  29,  1839.  There 
young  Alderson  was  taught  by  private  instructors  until  about  seventeen 
years  of  age,  when  he  entered  the  old  Lewisburg  Academy,  and  during 
the  school  years  of  1859-60  and  the  fore  part  of  1861,  he  attended  Alle- 
gheny College  at  Blue  Sulphur  Springs,  West  Virginia.  He  was  in  the 
graduating  class  on  April  17,  1861,  the  day  that  Virginia  passed  the  ordi- 
nance of  secession  and  seceded  from  the  Union.  Mr.  Alderson  being  ani- 
mated with  the  doctrine  of  states  rights,  and  believing  as  he  did  in  pro- 
tecting the  rights  of  his  native  soil,  he  left  school  and  tendered  his  ser- 
vices to  the  Confederate  army,  as  a  member  of  the  "Greenbrier  Cavalry," 
the  finest  body  of  men  and  horses  in  the  commonwealth,  as  later  stated  by 
Governor  Letcher,  of  Virginia.  He  was  promoted  from  a  private  to  sec- 
ond and  then  to  first  lieutenant  of  his  company,  and  refused  further  pro- 
motion, preferring  to  stay  with  the  young  men  of  patriotism  who  had  en- 
listed with  him  in  the  cause  so  dear  to  their  young  hearts.  He  took  part 
in  the  terrible  campaigns  in  Eastern  Tennessee,  in  the  never-to-be-for- 
gotten winter  of  1863-64,  under  General  W'illiam  E.  Jones,  when  Long- 
street  had  General  Burnside,  of  the  Federal  forces,  surrounded  in  Knox- 
ville.  Lieutenant  Alderson  often  had  command  of  the  five  companies 
making  up  the  Thirty-sixth  Battalion  of  Virginia  Cavalry.  His  com- 
mand was  half-clothed  and  many  shoeless,  yet  it  marched  or  fought  near- 
ly every  night  and  nearly  every  day  during  those  three  months  of  the 
coldest  weather  ever  known  in  that  section  of  the  country,  when  the 
temperature  was  frequently  far  below  zero.  Longstreet  said ;  "Jones' 
brigade  had  performed  more  actual  service  that  winter  than  all  the  arm- 
ies of  the  Confederacy,"  as  most  of  the  others  were  in  winter  quarters. 

The  command  to  which  Major  Alderson  belonged  was  made  the  es- 
cort of  honor  at  the  burial  of  General  "Stonewall"  Jackson.  At  Gettys- 
burg he  had  the  distinction  of  delivering  the  first  orders,  on  the  Confed- 
erate side,  at  the  opening  of  that  terrible  battle,  in  which  engagement  he 
saw  severe  fighting.  He  was  midst  the  shot  and  shell  and  bleeding  sol- 
diers who  fell  on  every  side  of  him.  In  all  that  great  war  he  participated 
in  more  than  one  hundred  battles  and  skirmishes,  some  of  which  were 
desperate.  In  three  engagements  he  had  hand  to  hand  sabre  fights,  and 
was  twice  wounded,  at  Hagerstown,  Maryland,  July  6,  1863,  and  July  12, 
1864,  at  a  point  near  his  birthplace,  in  Amherst  county,  Virginia,  where  he 
was  captured  by  General  Duffe's  advance  guards  and  later  sent  as  a  pris- 
oner of  war  to  Camp  Chase,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  nine  months,  un- 
til exchanged.  While  there,  six  months  of  the  time,  he  was  placed  on 
one-third  rations  of  cornmeal  and  salt  fish,  under  the  rules  of  retaliation 
in  warfare.  When  he  was  finally  exchanged  in  February,  1865,  though 
reduced  in  flesh  to  almost  a  skeleton,  he  mounted  his  horse,  as  soon  as 
able  to  ride,  and  started  for  his  old  company,  but  when  within  a  few 
miles  of  Appomattox  Court  House  on  the  morning  of  the  loth,  he  was 
informed  of  the  final  surrender  of  General  Robert  E.  Lee.  During  all 
the  four  years'  service,  Major  Alderson  only  had  eight  days  leave-of-ab- 
sence,  except  when  in  prison  and  hospital. 

When  the  war  ended  he  went  to  Atchison,  Kansas,  and  during  the 
years  1865-66-67  he  had  charge  of  the  middle  division  of  the  famous 
Butterfield  Overland  Freight  and  Express  Company,  from  Atchison  to 
Denver,  Colorado,  up  the  Kaw  and  Smokey  Hill  rivers  and  on  over  the 
plains.  His  division  extended  two  hundred  and  sixty  miles,  through  the 
worst  Indian  and  "Bufifalo  region  of  the  far  west.  The  hostile  Indians 
finally  broke  up  the  company  which  was  capitalized  at  three  million  dol- 


54  WEST  VIRGINIA 

lars,  by  murdering  its  employes,  capturing  and  burning  their  property 
and  stealing  their  live  stock.  ]\Iajor  Alderson  rightly  believes  that  the 
same  kind  Providence  that  kept  him  from  death  in  the  many  battles 
of  the  war  between  the  states  also  kept  him  from  being  killed  among 
the  hostile  bands  of  Indians  on  the  western  plains.  In  the  autumn  of 
1867  he  returned  to  Atchison,  Kansas,  where  his  father  had  given  him  a 
farm  about  five  miles  out  from  that  city.  He  planted  the  first  grove  of 
trees  planted  in  Kansas,  in  1858,  while  there  on  a  visit.  This  land  he 
tilled  for  two  years,  and  it  has  ever  since  been  known  as  "Alderson's 
Grove."  In  1869  Mr.  Alderson  settled  in  West  Virginia,  where  he  em- 
barked in  the  general  insurance  business  at  Wheeling,  in  which  he  con- 
tinued for  twenty-seven  years,  his  agency  being  the  leading  one  in  the 
state.  By  much  tact  and  a  great  amount  of  work,  he  succeeded  in  build- 
ing up  a  splendid  insurance  busines,  having  associated  with  him  for  a 
time  Governor  G.  W.  Atkinson,  now  of  the  court  of  claims,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

In  1888  !\Iajor  Alderson  commenced  to  buy  coal,  gas  and  timber 
lands  in  this  state,  along  the  Norfolk  and  Western  railroad ;  also  in 
Boone,  Raleigh  and  Wyoming  counties.  Some  of  these  valuable  lands 
he  has  sold  long  ago,  while  others  he  still  possesses  and  they  have  come 
to  be  very  valuable.  In  1907  he  wrote  a  work  on  the  timber,  gas  and 
coal  resources  of  West  Virginia,  which  booklet  had  a  wide  circulation 
and  was  the  means  of  many  capitalists  coming  here  for  investments 
which  have  proved  very  profitable.  He  holds  broad,  liberal  views  upon 
all  living  questions  and'  is  noted  for  his  integrity,  enterprise  and  gener- 
osity. No  man  in  the  commonwealth  could  possibly  be  more  charitable  to 
those  in  need  and  distress  than  he  has  been.  Though  he  has  alway  been  a 
popular  citizen,  he  has  never  been  induced  to  hold  political  public  office, 
preferring  rather  to  aid  others  to  secure  such  places  of  honor  and  im- 
portance. However,  he  was  induced  to  hold  the  position  of  director  of 
the  West  A'irginia  Penitentiary,  under  Governors  Alathews  and  Jack- 
son, but  resigned  under  Governor  Wilson.  In  1888  he  was  a  West  Vir- 
ginia commissioner  at  the  Ohio  Valley  Centennial,  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
and  at  the  celebration  of  the  inauguration  of  George  Washington  as  the 
first  president,  at  New  York  City,  April  17,  1889.  In  1893,  under  Gov- 
ernor McCorkle's  administration,  he  represented  West  Virginia  at  the 
meeting  of  the  southern  governors,  in  a  great  gathering  held  for  the  pur- 
pose of  inducing  desirable  immigration  to  the  southern  section  of  the 
IJnion.  In  1880  ^ilajor  Alderson  founded  Mountain  Lake  Park,  and  in 
1894  Loch  Lynn  Heights — two  noted  summer  resorts  on  the  Baltimore  & 
Ohio  railroad,  in  ^Maryland,  located  in  Garrett  county.  He  was  also  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  prosperous  towns  of  Williamson  and  Bellepoint. 

He  married  (first)  February  25,  1874,  Mary,  eldest  daughter  of  Ex- 
Governor  Samuel  Price,  of  Lewisburg,  West  Virginia.  She  died  at 
Mountain  Lake  Park,  Maryland,  August  15,  1895.  He  married  (sec- 
ond) December  29.  1904,  Mary  Kirker,  of  Wellsburg,  West  A^irginia, 
whose  father  was  INIajor  William  H.  Kirker,  of  Confederate  army,  and 
whose  grandfather  Major  John  S.  Calvert,  was  treasurer  of  \'irginia 
many  years,  and  killed  in  1870  by  the  falling  of  the  gallery  of  the  old 
capital  building  at  Richmond,  West  Virginia.  They  now  reside  at  a 
beautiful  home  at  No.  1212  Kanawha  street.  Charleston.  While  Major 
.\lderson  has  never  had  children  of  his  own.  he  has  helped  to  care  for 
and  educate  those  of  other  people. 


WEST  \'IRGINIA  55 

This  distinctively  West  \'irginian  family  was  promi- 
ALDERSOX  nent  in  the  pioneer  days,  and  the  Aldersons  were 
among  the  first  white  settlers  west  of  the  Alleghenies 
George  Alderson  was  the  first  pioneer  Baptist  minister  west  of  those 
mountains,  and  organized  the  Missionary  Baptist  Church  in  that  re- 
gion. Rev.  Joseph  Alderson,  in  1775,  cut  out  the  first  wagon  road  across 
the  mountains,  extending  as  far  west  as  the  Greenbrier  river.  Seven- 
teen years  before  that  date,  among  the  voters  in  Frederick  county,  Vir- 
ginia, was  Rev.  John  Alderson.  Alderson.  Monroe  county,  West  Vir- 
ginia, was  named"  for  one  of  this  family.  In  more  recent  times  the  Al- 
derson family  has  given  men  of  eminence  to  West  \'irginia  and  to  the 
nation  ;  among  these  is  John  Duffy  Alderson,  who  has  been  three  times  a 
member  of  the  United  States  congress  for  the  third  district  of  his  state. 
{ I )  Curtis  Alderson,  a  descendant  of  John  Alderson,  mentioned  in 
preceding  sketch,  settled  on  Lick  creek,  at  the  foot  of  Keeney's  Knob, 
and  built  a  two-story  log  house.  The  place  is  known  to  the  present  day 
as  the  Curtis  Alderson  place,  despite  changes  of  ownership.     He  had  a 

large    family,   including:     Lina    ^Mims.   married    (first)    Dunsmore, 

(  second)  Peters ;  Asa,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Asa,  son  of  Curtis  Alderson,  died  at  an  advanced  age,  about 
1882.  He  lived  on  Keeney's  Knob  mountain,  in  what  is  now  Summers 
county.  West  Virginia,  where  he  had  a  tract  of  one  hundred  acres  of 
land.  A  notable  Virginia  law  suit  had  to  do  with  this  land,  which  Cap- 
tain A.  A.  Miller  claimed  as  belonging  to  himself.  In  the  first  contest, 
^Mderson  was  successful:  but  Miller  obtained  from  the  circuit  court  a 
su])ersedeas  and  a  judgment  in  his  favor :  on  appeal  to  the  supreme  court 
of  appeals  of  A'irginia  the  case  was  finally  decided,  in  1859,  in  Alderson'.s 
favor.  Mr.  Alderson  afterward  sold  this  land,  and  removed  to  Green- 
brier.    Child.  Samson  Isaac,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  Samson  Isaac,  son  of  Asa  Alderson,  was  born  in  what  is  now 
Summers  county.  West  \^irginia,  about  1841.  He  is  now  living  at  As- 
bury,  Greenbrier  county,  West  Mrginia,  and  is  a  farmer.  He  was  a  vol- 
unteer in  the  Confederate  army,  in  the  civil  war.  but  on  account  of  ill 
health  served  only  one  year.  He  married  Martha,  daughter  of  Andrew 
Hedrick,  who  was  born  near  Asbury,  about  1845,  died  in  1909.  Her 
father,  a  farmer,  was  a  native  of  Greenbrier  county.  Mrginia,  now  Sum- 
mers countv.  ^^'est  \'irginia,  and  died  in  young  manhood.  Children  of 
Samson  Isaac  and  ^Martha  ( Hedrick)  Alderson  :  William  A.,  deceased : 
Charles  Marion,  of  whom  further:  Granville  Smith,  now  living  at  Aider- 
son,  owns  the  Alderson  Academy:  George,  deceased:  Edward  M..  now- 
living  at  Mansfield.  Ohio,  a  dealer  in  automobiles:  Cora  Belle,  single,  liv- 
ing at  Asburv:  Ella  ;\I..  single,  living  at  Asburv :  Tennie.  deceased,  mar- 
ried J.  D.  Bias. 

(iV)  Charles  jXIarion,  son  of  Samson  Isaac  and  Martha  (Hedrick) 
Alderson.  was  born  in  Greenbrier  county.  West  A'irginia,  June  18,  1867. 
He  attended  the  local  schools  and  afterward  the  Concord  State  Normal 
School.  In  1891  he  graduated  from  the  University  of  Nashville,  Nash- 
ville. Tennessee :  this  course  was  followed  by  a  law  course  at  the  Uni- 
\-ersity  of  West  X'irginia.  from  which  he  graduated  in  1893.  He  has 
practiced  law  from  that  time  at  Charleston.  West  A'irginia.  For  nearly 
four  years  he  was  in  the  office  of  Joseph  Chilton :  he  then  formed  the 
present  law  firm,  which  is  now  practicing  under  the  name  of  Enslow, 
Fitzpatrick,  Alderson  &  Baker.  He  is  one  of  the  owners,  the  only  own- 
er bv  the  name  of  Alderson.  of  the  Alderson-Stephenson  building,  at 
Charleston,  the  most  modern,  costly  and  tallest  building  of  its  character 
in  the  state  of  West  A'irginia:  it  is  fourteen  stories  in  height.  Mr.  Al<ler- 
son  is  a  stockholder  and  director  in  the  HoUey  &  Stephenson  Coal  and 


56  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Coke  Company,  the  Horse  Creek  Neck  Coal  &  Land  Company,  and 
other  commercial  corporations.  He  is  a  Mason,  being  a  member  of  all 
bodies  from  the  Blue  Lodge  to  the  Shrine.  He  is  a  Democrat.  His 
church  is  the  First  Presbyterian.  He  married,  at  Charleston,  May  20, 
1903,  Mary  Comstock,  born  at  Charleston.  Her  father,  a  physician,  is 
deceased;  her  mother,  also  deceased,  was  of  the  famous  Ruffner  family. 
Children:  Mary  Elizabeth,  born  November  2,  1904;  Martha,  May  20, 
1907;  Charles  Marion,  February  13,  1909. 


The  Brooks  family,  of  which  this  narrative  will  treat,  is 
BROOKS     an  old  Connecticut  family,  now  represented  in  West  Vir- 
ginia   by   the    Walter    B.    Brooks    family,    of    Charleston, 
Kanawha  county.     Five  generations  in  the  United  States  are  here  men- 
tioned briefly. 

(I)  Mr.  Brooks,  the  English  immigrant  to  the  colonies  of  New  Eng- 
land, whose  Christian  name  is  not  now  known,  had  a  son  John. 

(II)  John  Brooks,  son  of  the  immigrant,  married  a  Connecticut 
young  lady,  who  lived  to  the  extreme  old  age  of  ninety-six  years.  It  is 
related  that  she  had  the  honor  of  dancing  with  General  George  Wash- 
ington, in  Boston,  just  prior  to  his  becoming  the  first  president  of  the 
United  States.  She  was  then  a  young  woman.  John  Brooks  and  wife, 
just  mentioned,  had  four  sons :  Charles ;  Chauncey,  of  whom  further : 
Frederick,  of  whom  further ;  and  Joh.n,  who,  after  marriage,  remained 
with  his  widowed  mother  on  the  old  homestead. 

(III)  Chauncey,  son  of  John  Brooks,  left  his  native  state  and  settled 
in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  where  he  became  a  very  wealthy  man,  leaving 
an  estate  worth  six  million  dollars.  He  was  the  first  president  of  the 
Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  and  head  of  four  extensive  whole- 
sale establishments  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  where  he  was  a  noted  char- 
acter. He  was  twice  married  and  had  a  large  family  of  children,  seven 
being  by  his  first  marriage.  Two  of  his  sons  served  in  the  Confederate 
army.  Charles,  one  of  the  three  who  emigrated,  settled  in  New  York 
City,  married  and  had  a  family. 

(HI)  Frederick,  brother  of  Chauncey,  and  son  of  John  Brooks, 
when  a  young  man  set  out  for  Tennessee,  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  in 
business;  but  at  Manassas  Junction,  Virginia,  en  route,  he  chanced  to 
meet  a  very  interesting  and  attractive  young  lady,  with  whom  he  fell  in 
love,  and  they  soon  married.  This  changed  his  whole  course  in  life.  He 
settled  down  at  that  place  for  a  time  and  conducted  a  store.  His  wife's 
maiden  name  was  Frances  Oden.  In  1816  he  went  to  the  Kanawha  Val- 
ley, Virginia,  where  he  purchased  salt  property,  and  in  1818  settled  at 
the  Salt  Licks,  four  miles  east  on  the  Kanawha  river.  He  there  engaged 
in  the  production  of  salt.  A  few  years  later  he  removed  to  the  present 
site  of  Qiarleston,  Kanawha  county,  this  state,  and  purchased  a  block 
of  log  houses,  on  the  spot  now  marked  by  the  crossing  of  Brooks  and 
Kanawha  streets.  In  1857  he  purchased  a  large  plantation  in  Kenluck}-, 
upon  which  he  lived  throughout  that  long  protracted  period  of  the  civil 
strife.  Though  like  the  other  members  of  the  Brooks  family  he  held 
slaves,  his  sympathies  were  with  the  union  cause,  and  when  victory  was 
finally  declared  in  favor  of  the  north,  he  felt  it  no  great  hardship  to  sur- 
render the  right  to  his  human  chattels :  at  least,  he  made  the  financial  sac- 
rifice willingly.  Others  members  of  the  Brooks  family  entered  the 
Southern  confederacy,  and  were  slaveholders  as  long  as  the  law  of  the 
land  permitted  it.  Frederick  Brooks  died  on  his  Kentucky  plantation,  in 
1869.  aged  seventv-seven  vears.     He  was  always  an  active  man  of  af- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  57 

fairs  and  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  to  which  denomination 
most  of  the  Brooks  people  belonged.  In  politics  he  was  really  a  Whig, 
and  a  party  worker.  His  wife  died  in  Kanawha  county,  this  state,  some 
years  after,  aged  ninety-four  years.  She  was  the  daughter  of  James 
and  Frances  (Skinner)  Oden,  her  mother  being  a  daughter  of  General 
Skinner  of  the  revolutionary  war,  who  was  such  a  prominent  soldier. 
She  reached  the  age  of  ninety-six  years.  Her  youngest  son,  Major 
James  Oden,  was  born  when  she  was  fifty-eight  years  of  age,  and  was 
noted  for  his  daring  energy  as  displayed  in  the  war  between  the  states. 
Frederick  Brooks  and  wife  had  seven  sons  and  one  daughter,  all  of 
whom  reached  maturity.  All  seven  sons  are  now  deceased,  together  with 
their  wives.  The  only  one  remaining  of  the  family  in  Charleston,  West 
V'irginia,  in  direct  line  of  descent,  is  Walter  Booth  Brooks.  Among  the 
children  was  William  Chauncey,  of  whom  further. 

(IV)  William  Chauncey,  second  son  of  Frederick  and  Frances 
(Oden)  Brooks,  was  born  in  Loudon  county,  Virginia,  October,  1820, 
died  in  Kanawha  county.  West  \'irginia,  September  30,  1881.  He  chose 
law  for  his  profession  and  was  educated  at  Princeton  (New  Jersey)  Col- 
lege ;  but  subsequently  he  left  the  law  and  engaged  in  salt  making,  then 
a  very  proiitable  industry  and  one  he  followed  many  years.  He  became 
part  owner  of  two  boats,  the  "Blue  Wing"  and  the  "Blue  Ridge,"  that 
carried  his  salt  to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  where  he  did  a  large  business 
as  a  commission  merchant  and  spent  his  active  life.  Politically  he  was 
originally  a  Whig,  but  never  cared  to  be  called  Republican  or  Democrat. 
He  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  frequently  spoke  in 
public  meetings.  When  he  died  his  funeral  procession  was  made  up 
largely  of  more  than  two  thousand  men  and  women  in  his  employ  at  his 
extensive  salt  works.  This  is  given  to  show  the  almost  universal  respect 
with  which  he  was  held  by  the  people  who  knew  him  best.  In  Giarles- 
ton,  he  married  Lavinia  Virginia  Patrick  Brigham,  of  an  old  family  of 
Virginia,  but  who  originally  resided  in  Boston,  Massachusetts.  She  was 
born  in  Kanawha  county,  A'irginia,  in  1825,  died  in  Denver,  Colorado, 
October,  1894.  They  were  the  parents  of  thirteen  children,  seven  dying 
in  infancy;  the  others  were:  i.  \\'alter  B.,  of  whom  further.  2.  Alethia 
B.,  deceased;  was  the  wife  of  Charles  Small,  of  Denver,  Colorado,  and 
left  two  children:  Lavinia  and  Charles.  3.  Fannie,  became  the  wife  of 
B.  L.  James,  of  Denver,  Colorado.  4.  William,  a  mine  owner  in  ^Mexico, 
where  he  has  succeeded  well  in  his  operations;  unmarried.  5.  Nona,  un- 
married, resides  at  Denver,  Colorado.  6.  Henry  F.,  also  in  Denver,  ex- 
tensively engaged  in  manufacturing  enterprises  of  the  city;  married  Lulu 
McNamara,  of  that  city;  they  have  no  issue.  William  Brigham.  ]\Irs. 
Brooks'  father,  settled  in  Kanawha  county,  engaged  in  the  salt  business 
and  in  it  accumulated  a  handsome  competency. 

(\')  Walter  B.,  son  of  William  Chauncey  and  Lavinia  V.  P.  (Brig- 
ham) Brooks,  was  born  May  i,  1846,  in  Kanawha  county,  Virginia.  He 
was  educated  in  a  college  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  in  which  city  he  later 
engaged  in  the  tobacco  business.  After  five  years  he  engaged  in  the 
salt  industry,  and  continued  in  it  for  ten  years  with  his  father,  until  it 
liad  come  to  be  no  longer  a  profitable  enterprise.  He  with  other  mem- 
bers of  his  family,  still  owns  eight  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  salt  and 
coal  lands  adjoining  Charleston.  Then  he  again  entered  the  tobacco 
trade  at  Danville,  and  at  Greensboro,  North  Carolina,  .-\fter  seventeen 
years  thus  engaged,  he  removed  to  Oiarleston,  West  Virginia,  where  he 
has  since  resided.  He  is  the  executor  for  the  Dr.  Hale  estate ;  also  secre- 
tary, treasurer  and  general  manager  for  the  Rosin  Coal  Land  Company, 
owning  eighteen  hundred  acres  of  land  adjoining  the  city  of  Charleston. 


58  WEST  VIRGINIA 

rulitical!}'   Mr.   Brooks  votes  an   independent  ticket.      Both   at   Danville 
and  in  Charleston  he  has  served  as  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church. 

He  married,  at  Maysville,  Kentucky,  Mary  E.  Blatterman,  a  refined 
lady,  born  in  that  city,  daughter  of  George  W.  and  Eleanor  (Collins) 
Blatterman.  Her  father  was  born  in  London,  England,  in  1820,  died 
March  24,  1912,  at  the  home  of  his  daughter,  in  Charleston,  West  Vir- 
ginia. His  wife  lived  until  1903,  when  she  was  seventy-six  years  of  age. 
She  came  from  Kentucky.  The  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brooks 
are:  i.  George  B.,  born  January  17,  1877:  now  an  accountant  in  Charles- 
ton, West  Virginia :  married  Mary  Hasell  McCoy,  of  Wilmington,  North 
Carolina.  2.  Edwaid  S.,  August  25,  1878.  died  in  infancy.  3.  Eleanor 
Collins,  February  21,  1880;  unmarried.  4.  William  Chauncey,  February 
9,  1883,  died  in  infancy.  5.  Walter  Booth  (2),  March  26,  1884;  now 
with  the  Cabin  Creek  Coal  Company.  6.  Goldsborough  R.,  November  22, 
1887.  died  in  infancy.  Mrs.  Brooks  and  her  surviving  children  are  con- 
nected w^ith  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Charleston.  Mr.  Brooks  is  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  being  in  the  Commandery. 


The  Geary  family  is  uf  Irish  extraction,  the  first  American 
GEAR'i'     ancestor  having  come  to  the  country  in   1820. 

(I)  Matthew  Geary,  the  first  American  settler  of  the 
name,  was  born  in  county  Down,  Ireland,  and  was  a  weaver  by  trade.  He 
came  to  America  as  a  young  man,  and  settled  at  the  Salt  Licks  on  the 
Kanawha  river,  A'irginia,  where  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  salt, 
— a  commodity,  which  in  the  days  before  the  present  extensive  use  of  re- 
frigeration and  consequent  employment  of  fresh  meat,  was  of  the  utmost 
importance.  He  not  only  made  the  salt,  but  also  the  barrels  in  which  it 
was  shipped.  He  sold  his  product  to  a  man  named  RufFner,  with  whom 
he  was  associated  for  a  great  many  years.  In  the  long  journeys  through 
the  wilderness  in  quest  of  staves  for  his  barrels  he  met  Almira  Ashley, 
who,  in  1825,  five  years  after  he  first  reached  America,  became  his  wife. 
Her  father  was  John  Ashley,  who  had  come  in  1810.  when  she  was  four 
years  old,  to  Roane  county,  \^irginia,  and  settled  in  the  dense  wilderness 
at  a  place  which  afterwards  became  known  as  Osborne's  iMills.  So  few 
were  the  inhabitants  of  that  region  at  the  time  that  he  was  the  fourth 
settler.  For  nine  years  from  the  date  of  their  marriage  Matthew  Geary 
and  his  wife  lived  on  the  Kanawha  river,  after  which  they  removed  to 
Osborne's  Mills  and  there  they  lived  the  rest  of  their  lives. 

He  was  one  of  four  men  appointed  to  divide  Roane  county  into  dis- 
tricts, and  one  of  these  divisions  was  named  Geary  district  in  his  honor. 
He  served  also  as  a  justice  of  the  peace,  acting  in  that  capacity  until  the 
day  of  his  death.  He  became  the  owner  of  a  tract  of  land  of  over  30,000 
acres,  and  was  greatly  interested  in  public  improvements  of  every  kind, 
lie  was  in  a  large  measure  responsible  for  the  building  of  the  turnpike 
between  Charleston  and  Point  Pleasant.  The  office  of  justice  of  the 
peace,  which  he  held  for  so  many  years,  was  in  those  days  a  position  of 
much  greater  scope  than  later,  including  a  wide  jurisdiction  that  involved 
almost  everything  connected  with  preservation  of  law  and  order.  A  post 
of  this  kind  with  such  extended  powers  requires  a  man  of  sound  judg- 
ment and  of  sterling  common  sense,  and  in  ^Matthew  Geary  they  were 
found  united  to  a  remarkable  rectitude.  It  is  said  that  no  decision  of  his, 
made  during  his  whole  long  tenure  of  office,  was  ever  reversed.  Though  a 
member  of  no  church,  Mr.  Geary's  whole  conduct  of  life  was  based  upon 
the  golden  rule,  and  he  was  once  heard  to  say,  "The  golden  rule  is  my 
religion."  Those  who  knew  him  testify  most  unstintingly  to  his  having 
lived  up  to  that  creed.     He  never  shirked  a  duty  nor  ever  failed  to  heli> 


WEST  X'JRGIXIA  59 

any  case  of  need  that  came  under  his  notice.  He  took  William  Hall,  af- 
terward father  of  Hon.  Grant  Hall  of  Kanawha  county,  whose  parents 
died  when  he  was  eight  years  old,  and  brought  him  up  as  an  own  son, 
deeding  him  at  death  one  hundred  acres  of  land.  This  is  only  one  of  a 
number  of  similar  acts  of  generosity  which  have  been  told  of  him  by 
Hon.  B.  J.  Taylor,  who  is  well  acquainted  with  the  leading  facts  of  his 
life.  Another  friend,  Mr.  John  Slack,  who  knew  him  well,  adds  the 
following  testimony  to  his  worth :  "Mr.  Geary  was  at  least  fifty  years 
ahead  of  his  time, — a  man  of  much  force  of  character  and  a  natural  lead- 
er. He  had  a  remarkable  concentration  of  mind,  and  could  make  a  state- 
ment or  tell  a  good  story  in  fewer  words  and  more  to  the  point  than  most 
men.  He  was  not  only  smart  but  honest,  and  though  he  had  no  early 
education  he  was  a  wide  read  man."  Such  a  man  and  citizen  was 
this  pioneer,  who  played  a  man's  part  in  the  building  up  and  civilizing 
of  the  Kanawha  valley.  It  was  in  no  spirit  of  self-glorification,  but 
merely  conscious  of  the  rectitude  of  his  life,  that  led  him  to  exclaim  be- 
fore he  passed  away,  "The  God  I  served  will  not  condemn  me  I"  He  dierl 
January  24,  1865,  being  nearly  seventy-three  years  old.  ;\Ir.  Geary  was 
a  Republican  in  politics,  and  during  the  period  of  civil  strife  an  ardent 
supporter  of  the  union.  He  almost  lived  to  see  his  hopes  realized  and 
the  union  restored.  His  wife  survived  him  many  years,  dying  October 
8,  1894,  -aged  eighty-seven  years.  She  was  of  the  same  sturdy,  heroic 
type  of  pioneer  as  her  husband.  It  is  upon  the  lives  of  such  as  they  that 
tlie  best  elements  of  the  republic  have  been  built.  She  was  a  member  of 
the  ]\Iethodist  church,  and  was  a  devout  Christian  woman,  beloved  and 
honored  by  all. 

;\Iatthew  Geary  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of  fifteen  children, 
nine  of  whom  lived  to  be  heads  of  families.  Of  their  descendants  there 
are  now  living  seven  children,  seventy-nine  grandchildren  and  thirty-two 
great-grandchildren,  in  various  states,  and  representing  probably  every 
vocation  except  that  of  the  law. 

(II)  William  Alexander,  son  of  Matthew  and  Almira  (Ashley) 
Geary,  was  born  in  1846,  on  his  father's  farm  at  Osborne's  Mills,  Big 
Sandy  creek,  Geary  district,  Roane  county.  West  \'irginia.  He  has  lived 
all  his  life  in  the  homestead  where  he  was  born,  of  which  he  is  the 
owner.  He  married,  and  has  nine  living  children,  of  whom  W.  B.  Geary 
is  one  of  the  youngest. 

(III)  W.  B.,  son  of  William  Alexander  Geary,  was  born  September 
5.  1883,  at  Osborne's  Mills.  Roane  county.  West  A'irginia.  His  early  ed- 
ucation was  gained  in  the  country  schools,  where  he  gave  evidence  of  the 
energy  and  self-reliance  that  have  marked  his  mature  life.  At  the  age 
of  sixteen,  with  money  he  had  earned  himself,  he  entered  upon  a  course 
of  study  at  the  State  Normal  School  in  Athens,  Mercer  county,  West 
Mrginia.  Upon  leaving  school  he  obtained  a  position  with  W.  L.  Gwinn, 
a  merchant,  subsequently  entering  the  employ  of  the  Foster  Hardware 
Company,  of  Huntington.  West  \'irginia.  Latterly  he  became  connected 
with  the  Charleston  Hardware  Company,  and  made  himself  during  two 
years  master  of  all  the  details  of  the  hardware  business.  This  position 
he  resigned  in  order  to  accept  the  presidency  of  the  Perfect  Gas  Stove 
Manufacturing  Company.  After  two  years  he  sold  his  interest  in  this 
firm  and.  after  buying  Jarrett  &  Kehoe's  shoe  business,  opened  the  Dia- 
mond Shoe  Store,  now  at  215  Capitol  street,  which  is  considered  one  of 
the  finest  retail  shoe  houses  in  the  state.  In  February,  1909,  Mr.  Geary 
built  and  opened  the  Fleetwood  Hotel,  at  219  Capitol  street,  and  in  July, 
1910,  took  charge  of  and  became  sole  proprietor  of  the  Elk  Hotel,  at  the 
Kanawha  and  Michigan  railroad  station.  On  October  26,  1912,  with  an 
associate,  R.  L.  Walker,  he  opened  to  the  public  one  of  the  finest  depart- 


6o  WEST  VIRGINIA 

ment  stores  in  West  Virginia.  This  was  formerly  a  business  conducted 
by  Starrett  Brothers.  As  reorganized  under  the"  new  management,  the 
store  has  been  entirely  refitted  and  stocked  with  the  choicest  goods  that 
New  York  and  other  eastern  markets  can  afford,  and  the  opening,  on  Oc- 
tober 26,  1912,  was  one  of  the  notable  local  events,  one  which  will  be 
long  remembered.  The  style  of  the  present  firm  is  Walker,  Geary  & 
Company. 

Mr.  Geary  is  also  the  owner  of  some  valuable  real  estate  in  Charles- 
ton, and  is  interested  in  rich  oil  leases  in  the  Blue  Creek  oil  regions. 
These  properties  and  various  other  business  enterprises  give  ample  scope 
to  the  energy  and  ability  which  are  the  keynotes  to  Mr.  Geary's  character, 
and  his  success  in  his  various  undertakings  has  given  him  place  in  the 
foremost  rank  of  the  younger  business  men  of  his  city. 


The  Child  family  which  later  was  found  in  Alobile,  Ala- 
CHII.D     bama,  came  originally   from  New   England,  George  Gilbert 

Child  having  been  born  at  Higganum,  Middlesex  county, 
Connecticut.  He  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  in  Mobile,  having  been 
engaged  there  in  the  cotton  business  throughout  his  life-time. 

(II)  George  Gilbert  (2),  son  of  George  Gilbert  (T)  Child,  was  born 
in  Mobile,  in  1839,  and  is,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years  (T912),  liv- 
ing retired  in  Staunton,  Virginia.  He  also  was  engaged  for  a  number 
of  years  in  the  cotton  business,  and  at  the  same  time  largely  interested 
in  banking.  When  the  war  broke  out  between  the  states,  he  entered  the 
Confederate  army,  and  served  throughout  the  entire  period  with  the 
Fifty-fifth  Alabama  Regiment.  He  married  Christine,  born  in  Mobile, 
in  1839,  daughter  of  Cfesar  De  Pras,  who  had  come  from  the  island  of 
San  Domingo,  in  the  West  Indies,  and  had  settled  in  Mobile.  She  died 
in  1907  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight.  George  Gilbert  (2)  and  Christine  (De 
Pras)  Child  were  the  parents  of  four  children,  all  of  whom  are  living: 
Gilbert,  born  in  1862,  a  salesman  in  Charleston,  West  Virginia ;  John  Ce- 
cil, of  whom  further ;  Latham,  born  1868,  a  merchant  at  Stuart's  Draft, 
Virginia ;  and  Annie  De  Pras,  widow  of  Junius  R.  Fishburne,  who  lives 
at  Staunton,  Virginia. 

(III)  John  Cecil,  son  of  George  Gilbert  (2)  and  Christine  (De  Pras) 
Child,  was  born  February  14,  1864,  at  Mobile,  Alabama.  When  he  was 
four  years  old  he  was  brought  by  his  parents  to  Staunton,  Virginia,  and 
here  he  passed  his  boyhood,  and  gained  his  elementary  education  in  the 
schools  of  the  town.  He  then  went  to  Lexington,  \'irginia,  and  entered 
the  engineering  school  of  \^^ashington  and  Lee  University,  receiving  h'n 
degree  in  1887.  His  first  work  when  he  left  college  and  entered  upon 
the  active  practice  of  engineering  was  with  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  rail- 
road, and  the  Central  Georgia  railroad.  A  year  later  he  came  to  Elmo, 
West  Virginia,  July  4,  1888,  and  took  up  the  work  of  a  mining  engineer. 
Fle  remained  there  for  a  year,  and  then  went  to  Thurmond,  Fayette 
county.  West  Virginia,  remaining  there  also  for  one  year.  He  then 
formed  a  connection  with  the  Otto  Marmet  Coal  &  Mining  Company  of 
Putnam  county.  West  Virginia,  an  association  which  lasted  eleven  years. 
In  1906  he  came  to  Charleston,  and  establishing  himself  there  has  since 
built  up  an  important  and  extensive  engineering  business.  Mr.  Child  is 
a  member  of  the  Masonic  order  and  is  affiliated  with  the  Presbyterian 
church. 

He  married,  June  25,  1895,  at  Paterson,  New  Jersey,  ^Madeline  Ward, 
born  in  Lancashire.  England.  Her  parents  were  Charles  and  Jane  (Nor- 
bury)  Ward,  who  had  come  from  England  and  settled  in  New  Jersey. 
Mr.  Ward  was  a  silk  weaver.     Mr.  ami  Mrs.  Child  have  two  sons:  John 


£?,:x:^^^i/i^-^€^^^^2i:;^??2'-__ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  6i 

Ward,  born  August  8,  1896,  at  Raymond  City,  West  Virginia,  and  now 
attending  the  Cliarleston  High  School;  George  Gilbert,  Jr.,  born  Novem- 
ber 17,  1898,  also  in  a  public  school  in  Charleston. 


Shannon  Butt,  the  first  member  of  tliis  family  of  whom  we 
BUTTS  have  any  definite  information,  emigrated  from  England  and 
settled  in  Botetourt  county,  Virginia.  He  later  removed  to 
Alonroe  county,  where  he  died  aged  fifty-two  years.  He  spelled  his 
name  "Butt,"  and  his  brother  was  the  father  of  Major  Archibald  Butt, 
military  aide  to  President  Taft,  who  perished  in  the  disaster  to  the  "Ti- 
tanic" in  the  spring  of  1912.  He  married  a  Miss  Reece.  Among  his 
children  was  A.  Henry,  referred  to  below. 

(II)  Dr.  A.  Henry  Butts,  son  of  Shannan  and (Reece)  Butt,  was 

born  in  Newel!  county,  Virginia,  about  1834,  died  there  February  7, 
1906,  aged  seventy-two  years.  He  was  a  physician  and  served  as  a 
surgeon  in  the  Confederate  army  throughout  the  civil  war.  After  the 
close  of  hostilities  he  returned  to  his  home  and  remained  in  active  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  until  his  death.  He  married  Mattie,  born  in  Pales- 
tine, Greenbrier  county.  West  Virginia,  about  1844,  now  living  in  Charles- 
ton, West  Virginia,  daughter  of  Charles  Hines.  Children :  Hettie,  mar- 
ried B.  F.  Kebler,  M.  D.,  now  living  in  Dayton,  Virginia ;  Charles  S.,  a 
physician,  now  living  in  Newport  News,  Virginia ;  J.  Fleetwood,  a  sur- 
geon dentist,  now  living  in  Charleston,  West  Virginia ;  Frank  R.,  re- 
ferred to  below  ;  Mary,  married  W.  W.  McDonough,  a  surgeon  dentist, 
now  living  in  Oklahoma. 

(HI)  Dr.  Frank  R.  Butts,  son  of  Dr.  A.  Henry  and  ?\Iattie  (Hines) 
Butts,  was  born  in  Greenville,  West  Virginia,  July  9,  1873.  He  received 
his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  and  in  the  Shenandoah  Institute 
at  Shenandoah,  Virginia.  He  then  removed  to  Kansas  City,  Missouri, 
and  entered  the  drug  business,  in  which  he  remained  for  eight  years, 
when  he  took  up  the  study  of  dentistry  at  the  University  of  Maryland  in 
Baltimore,  Maryland,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1902.  He  then  settled 
in  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  where  he  is  now  living  and  actively  prac- 
ticing his  profession.  He  is  independent  in  his  political  views,  voting  for 
principal  irrespective  of  party.  He  is  a  Presbyterian  in  religion,  and  is 
a  member  of  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  married,  in 
Bushville,  Maryland,  September  10,  1902,  Edna,  born  in  Carter,  Ohio, 
daughter  of  J.  E.  and  Anna  Oglesby.  Her  parents  are  still  living  in  Car- 
negie, Pennsylvania. 


John   Leicester   Sehon,   first   member  of   this   family   about 
SEHON     whom   we   have   definite   information,   was  born   in   Hardy 
county,   Virginia.     Afterward   having   removed   to   Clarks- 
burg, he  was  there  clerk  of  the  court.     He  married  Fanny  Waggener, 
of  Berkeley  county,  Virginia.     Child:  John  Leicester  (2),  of  whom  fur- 
ther. 

(II)  John  Leicester  (2),  son  of  John  Leicester  (i)  and  Fanny 
(Waggener)  Sehon,  was  born  at  Clarksburg.  He  was  a  farmer.  He 
married,  in  1823,  Agnes,  daughter  of  Colonel  Andrew  and  Margaret 
Lynn  (Stuart)  Lewis,  who  was  born  in  Mason  county,  Virginia,  in  1805 
(see  Lewis  IV).  Children:  Fanny;  Margaret  Lynn,  married  Valentine 
Horton  ;  Andrew  Lewis ;  John  Leicester ;  Sarah  Elizabeth  ;  Stuart ;  Co- 
lumbus, born  May  3.  1841,  married  Agnes  Lewis;  Edmund,  of  whom 
further ;   Agnes.  j>^ 

(III)  Edmund,  son  of  John  Leicester  (2)  and  Agnes  (Lewis)  Sehon, 


b2  WEST  VIRGINIA 

was  born  in  Mason  county,  A'irginia,  September  14,  1843.  His  education 
was  received  at  West  Chester  and  Chester,  Pennsylvania,  he  attending 
tlie  Pennsylvania  academy.  Being  admitted  to  the  bar  he  practiced  law 
for  ten  years,  in  Greenbrier  and  Mercer  counties,  West  Virginia,  from 
1866  to  1870,  after  that  year  in  Mason  county,  West  Virginia.  But  in 
1892  he  removed  to  Huntington,  West  Virginia,  and  organized  the  whole- 
sale grocery  business  of  Sehon,  Stevenson  and  Company,  which  has  since 
that  time  been  his  principal  business.  While  still  living  in  Mason  county, 
Mr.  Sehon  had  been  secretary  of  the  Kanawha  Lumber  and  Furniture 
Company.  He  has  always  been  a  Democrat.  From  1868  to  1870  he  was 
prosecuting  attorney  for  Greenbrier  and  Mercer  counties.  In  1872  he 
was  appointed  director  of  tlie  penitentiary,  and  served  four  years :  he 
held  the  same  position  also  from  1880  to  1884.  In  1875  he  was  elected  to 
the  state  legislature.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Episcopal 
church. 

He  married,  in  Greenbrier  county,  June  30,  1870,  Elizabeth  Jane, 
daughter  of  William  Robertson  and  Lucy  Ann  Margaret  (Bradford) 
Stuart,  who  was  born  in  Greenbrier  county,  February  20,  1845.  Her 
father  was  a  Greenbrier  county  farmer.  Children :  Lucy,  born  Septem- 
ber 2,  1874,  married  John  M.  McCoach ;  John  Leicester.  September  23, 
1876,  married  Lillian  (jragard ;  Bessie,  February  4,  1879,  married  Mor- 
gan Nelson  Cecil. 

(The  Lewis  Line. ) 

Besides  the  name  Lewis,  there  are  similar  French  and  German  names, 
Louis  and  Ludwig  respectively,  the  former  of  which  has  often  been 
changed  into  Lewis  by  Frenchmen  settling  in  England.  It  is  possible 
that  all  the  Lewises  were  originally  French,  the  name  being  equivalent  to 
Louis ;  it  is  stated  that  the  name  Louis  is  found  in  France  centuries  be- 
fore Lewis  in  England.  Nevertheless,  there  is  said  to  be  a  Welsh  name 
Llew,  meaning  light,  found  among  the  Britons  who  fought  the  Romans 
before  the  coming  of  our  Lord.  The  names  Louis  and  Lewis  are  really 
much  too  common  to  allow  of  probable  proof  of  unity  of  origin.  The 
name  Lewis  is  borne  by  many  large  families  in  England  and  Wales,  and 
it  is  asserted  that  this  name  was  as  common,  by  comparison,  in  Wales, 
for  several  centuries  before  the  discovery  of  America,  as  Smith  is  in 
the  United  States  to-day.  A  large  number  of  families  of  this  name  have 
emigrated  from  Great  Britain  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  their 
descendants  are  numerous.  There  is,  however,  some  reason  to  believe 
that  two  of  the  Virginia  Lewis  immigrants  were  closely  related,  and  that 
the  present  ancestor  was  of  the  same  Welsh  family  stock  as  they.  While 
there  are  some  traditional  errors,  some  confusions,  some  uncertainties, 
about  the  Virginia  Lewises, — as  the  story  that  they  are  descended  from 
three  brothers,  sons  of  a  French  Huguenot  refugee  who  settled  in  Eng- 
land and  was  made  a  field  marshal  in  the  English  army,  an  earl  and  a 
baron,  but  who,  in  fact,  died  without  issue, — the  genealogy  of  this  family 
is  happily  much  better  preserved  and  much  clearer  than  that  of  all  but  a 
very  few  southern  families.  While  it  is  not  certainly  known  that  the 
present  family  is  connected  by  origin  with  any  of  the  other  Virginian 
families  of  the  same  name,  the  members  of  these  families  have  always 
claimed  relationship,  and  marriages  between  the  posterity  of  this  immi- 
grant and  the  posterities  of  others  named  Lewis  have  been  so  frequent 
that  the  families  are  now  largely  merged. 

(I)  Andrew  Lewis,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  certain  information,  lived  in  Ireland.  He  married  Mary  Calhoun 
(or  Calahan).  Cliildren  :  At  least  two  sons,  including  John,  of  whom 
further. 


WEST  VIRGIXIA  63 

(II)  John,  son  of  Andrew  and  Mary  (Calhoun)  Lewis,  the  immi- 
grant, was  born  in  Donegal  county,  Ireland,  in  1678,  died  near  Staunton, 
Augusta  county,  Virginia,  February  i,  1762.  In  Ireland  he  was  a  pros- 
perous and  respected  esquire,  holding  a  freehold  lease  for  three  lives  of 
a  valuable  farm,  and  having  tenants  under  him.  In  self-defense  he  killed 
his  landlord.  On  account  of  the  difit'erence  of  station  and  of  influence,  it 
was  judged  prudent  that  he  should  flee  the  country,  although  he  is  said 
to  have  sent  a  statement  of  the  affair  to  the  authorities.  He  fled  in  dis- 
guise, and  took  a  ship  for  Oporto.  Portugal,  where  his  wife's  brother 
was  a  merchant.  He  arrived  at  Oporto  in  1729,  and  remained  there  only 
a  short  time,  a  few  years  at  most.  His  first  American  settlement  was  in 
Pennsylvania,  whence,  in  1732,  he  came  into  the  unbroken  wilderness  of 
Augusta  county,  then  embracing  the  greater  part  of  northwestern  Vir- 
ginia. Of  this  whole  region,  "Irish  John"  Lewis,  as  he  was  called,  was 
strictly  the  pioneer.  His  coming  was  probably  to  escape  detection  and 
arrest,  on  account  of  his  trouble  in  Ireland ;  later,  however,  it  is  stated,  a 
pardon  was  given  him  in  Great  Britain,  and  the  King  granted  him  a  large 
portion  of  western  Virginia.  John  Lewis  came  into  this  beautiful,  but 
then  wild,  region  as  a  member  of  the  party  of  Joist  Hite,  which  was 
formed  to  settle  on  the  forty  thousand  acres  granted,  two  years  before,  to 
the  Van  Meters,  by  warrant  from  the  governor  of  Virginia.  As  the  first 
white  settler  of  the  later  Augusta  county,  though  the  region  was  then 
part  of  Orange  county,  he  seems  to  have  been  the  leader,  and  practically 
the  law-giver,  of  the  community  which  soon  grew  up  about  him.  He 
seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  culture  and  literary  taste,  and  it  is  evident 
that  this  early  forest  community  had  much  of  this  character.  He  was  a 
man  of  courage,  industry,  wisdom  and  excellent  morals.  His  wisdom 
was  sufficient  not  to  try  to  do  everything  by  himself,  but  select  suitable 
helpers.  He  had  evidently  not  been  impoverished  by  his  flight  from  Ire- 
land ;  on  the  contrary,  he  was  a  man  of  wealth  and  given  to  hospitality.  A 
token  of  his  foresight  and  energy  is  shown  by  his  urging  and  obtaining, 
at  that  very  early  day,  the  widening  and  improvement  of  the  road  to 
Goochland.  "Meeting-houses"  were  early  established.  John  Lewis' 
first  settlement  was  made  a  mile  east  of  the  present  site  of  Staunton,  and 
he  called  the  place  "Eellefonte,"  a  name  which  shows  both  his  scholarship 
and  his  appreciation  of  scenic  beauty.  He  built  a  stone  dwelling,  which 
formed  one  side  of  Fort  Lewis.  By  1738  there  were  clearly  a  number 
of  inhabitants  west  of  the  mountains.  In  1745  the  new  county  of  Au- 
gusta was  formed,  and  Mr.  Lewis  was  one  of  the  first  magistrates  and  at 
the  head  of  the  court.  He  was  also  the  founder  of  the  town  of  Staunton, 
at  the  time  of  the  organization  of  Augusta  county.  He  married  Mar- 
garet Lynn,  said  to  have  been  daughter  of  a  Scotch  laird,  born  July  3, 
1693,  died  near  Staunton,  in  1773.  Children,  all  except  the  last  born  in 
Ireland:  i.  Samuel,  born  in  1716,  died  unmarried.  2.  Thomas,  of  whom 
further.  3.  Andrew,  born  in  June,  1720,  died  in  1781  ;  married,  in  1749, 
Elizabeth  Givens ;  was  the  commanding  officer  at  the  battle  of  Point 
Pleasant,  and  served  as  brigadier-general  in  the  early  part  of  the  revolu- 
tion :  many  members  of  the  continental  congress,  including  lohn  .\dams, 
had  favored  his  selection  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  revolutionary 
forces,  and  Washington  held  him  in  high  estimation  for  his  abilities  and 
merits.  4.  William,  born  November  17.  1724,  died  in  November,  1811; 
married,  April  8.  1734.  Anne  Montgomery.  3.  Margaret,  born  in  1726, 
died  unmarried.  6.  Anne,  born  in  1728,  died  unmarried.  7.  Charles,  of 
whom   further. 

CIII)  Thomas,  son  of  John  and  Margaret  (Lynn)  Lewis,  was  born 
in  Ireland,  April  27,  1718.  Being  short-sighted  he  was  less  prominent  in 
Indian  warfare  than  the  other  brothers.     He  was  colonial  surveyor  of 


64  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Augusta  county;  a  member  of  the  house  of  burgesses;  a  member  of  the 
\'irginia  convention  of  1776;  and,  in  1777,  one  of  the  commissioners  of 
the  confederation,  to  treat  with  the  Indian  tribes  who  had  been  defeated 
at  Point  Pleasant.  He  was  a  man  of  much  learning  and  ability,  and  his 
library  was  one  of  the  largest  and  best  in  the  colony.  He  married,  Janu- 
ary 26,  1749,  Jane,  daughter  of  William  Strother,  of  Stafford  county, 
Virginia.     Children:   i.  John,  born  November  i,   1749,  died  unmarried. 

2.  Margaret  Anne,  born  July  5,  1751 ;  married  (first)  McClanahan, 

(.second)  William  Bowyer.  3.  Agatha,  of  whom  further.  4.  Jane,  born 
August  8,  1755,  died  in  1790;  married  Thomas  Hughes.  5.  Andrew,  born 
October  16,  1757,  died  unmarried,  in  1810.  6.  Thomas,  born  January 
26,  17O0,  died  in  1847;  unmarried.  7.  Mary,  born  August  5,  1762,  died 
in  1829 ;  married  John  McElhany.  8.  Elizabeth,  born  January  24,  1765  ; 
married,  in   1783,  Thomas  Meriwether  Gilmer.     9.  Anne,  born  October 

8,    1767;    married    (first)    Doutiiat,    (second)    French.      10. 

Frances,  born  May  17,  1769,  died  in  1845;  married  Layton  Yancey.     11. 

Charles,  born  November  8,  1772,  died  in  1832;  married Yancey.  12. 

Sophia,  born  October  18,  1775 ;  married  John  Carthrae.  13.  William 
Benjamin,  born  August  8,  1778,  died  in  1842;  married  M.  Hite. 

(Ill)  Colonel  Charles  Lewis,  son  of  John  and  Margaret  (Lynn) 
Lewis,  was  born  in  Virginia,  in  what  was  afterward  .\ugusta  county, 
March  i.  1736,  died  October  10,   1774. 

In  the  colonial  army  he  was  a  favorite  officer,  and  one  of  the  most 
skillful  in  border  warfare.  Once  he  was  captured  by  the  In- 
dians, and  escaped  by  outrunning  them.  The  battle  of  Point 
Pleasant,  in  which  he  met  his  death,  was  one  of  the  greatest  of 
frontier  battles,  remarkable  in  the  personnel  of  each  side,  and  in  its  is- 
sues. The  penumbra  of  the  revolution  was  over  the  country,  and  Eng- 
lish agents  were,  at  least  so  it  is  supposed,  already  dealing  with  the  In- 
dians, to  secure  their  support  in  the  coming  troubles  for  the  crown  and 
against  the  colonists.  A  defeat  at  Point  Pleasant  would  have  gravely 
weakened  the  strength  of  the  colonists ;  hence  this  battle  has  been  re- 
garded as  the  first  struggle  of  the  revolution,  and  as  surpassing  in  real 
significance  any  of  the  revolutionary  contests  except  Sarotoga  and  York- 
town.  The  Indians,  who  threatened  the  settlers  beyond  the  mountains, 
were  the  very  flower  of  their  race.  No  fair  man  can  read  today  without 
shame  and  indignation  of  the  actions  of  many  of  the  early  white  settlers, 
whether  in  Virginia  or  New  York,  who  even  long  after  the  revolution 
surpassed  in  treachery  and  cruelty  the  worst  of  which  the  red  men  were 
accused.  The  principal  Indian  leader  in  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant 
stands  out  in  history  as  honorable  for  military  ability,  humanity  and 
character ;  and  a  few  years  after  the  battle,  when  he  was  disposed  to 
accept  the  inevitable  and  to  be  a  faithful  friend  of  the  whites,  he  was 
foully  murdered.  This  was  Chief  Cornstalk,  and  other  Indian  leaders 
of  distinction  were  associated  with  him.  Perhaps  no  other  battle  between 
white  men  and  Indians  has  been  so  stubbornly  fought,  nor  on  so  nearly 
equal  terms.  Colonel  Charles  Lewis  with  three  hundred  men  formed 
the  right  line  of  the  colonial  army,  and  met  the  Indians  at  sunrise ;  his 
brother.  General  Andrew  Lewis,  was  leader  of  the  whole  colonial  army. 
Colonel  Charles  Lewis  sustained  the  first  attack  and  was  mortally 
wounded  in  the  first  fire ;  he  died  soon  after  being  carried  to  the  rear. 
The  battle  lasted  nearly  all  day ;  it  was  terminated  by  an  attack  on  the 
Indians  from  the  rear.  Chief  Cornstalk,  who  had  opposed  the  war, 
shortly  afterward  on  behalf  of  the  Indians  arranged  terms  of  peace,  the 
other  chiefs,  who  had  formerly  overruled  his  judgment,  seeing  the  hope- 
lessness of  further  fighting.  It  is  notable  that  this  great  battle  was 
fought  on  lands  which  Brigadier-General  Lewis  had  patented  two  years 


WEST  MRGIXIA  65 

before,  and  which  had  been  surveyed  for  him  by  George  Washington. 
(Colonel  Charles  Lewis  and  others  who  died  in  the  battle  were  buried  on 
the  point  between  the  Ohio  and  Kanawha  rivers.  The  remains  of  Colo- 
nel Lewis  have,  however,  been  removed.  Lewis  county,  now  in  West 
\irginia,  is  named  for  him.  Colonel  Charles  Lewis  married  Sarah  Mur- 
ray, of  Bath  county,  \'irginia,  born  August  i,  1743,  half-sister  of  Colo- 
nel ("ameron,  of  the  same  county.  Children:  I.  Elizabeth,  born,  October 
17,  1762,  died  unmarried.  2.  Margaret,  born  March  29,  1765;  married 
■ Pryor.  ,t,.  John,  born  November  .4,  1766,  died  in  1843:  married  Ra- 
chel Miller.  4.  Alary,  born  November  10,  1768.  died  unmarried.  5. 
Thomas,  born  February  25,  1771,  died  unmarried.  6.  Andrew,  of  wJKim 
further.  7.  Charles,  born  Septemlx-r  11,  1774,  died  in  1803;  married,  in 
1798,  Jane  Dickinson. 

(IV)  Agatha,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Jane  (Strother)  Lewis,  was 
born  May  18,  1753,  died  in  1836,  She  married  (first)  Captain  John 
Frogg,  who  died  in  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant,  October  10,  1774;  (sec- 
ond) Colonel  John  Stuart,  of  Greenbrier  county,  Virginia,  who  had 
fought  in  the  same  battle.  Children,  all  except  the  oldest  by  second  hus- 
band:  I.  Elizabeth,  born  in  1773:  married  Isaac  Estill.  2.  Charles,  born 
in  1775;  married Robertson.  3.  Lewis,  born  in  1777;  married  Sar- 
ah Lewis.  4.  Margaret  Lynn,  born  in  1779,  died  about  1863;  married 
Andrew  Lewis,  of  whom  further.     5.  Jane,  married  Robert  Crockett. 

( IV)  Colonel  .\ndrevv  Lewis,  son  of  Colonel  Charles  and  Sarah 
(Alurray)  Lewis,  was  born  September  27,  1772,  died  in  1833.  In  1801 
he  removed  to  Mason  county,  Virginia ;  his  home  in  that  county  he 
named  "X'iolet  Lawn."  He  married  Alargaret  Lynn,  daughter  of  Colo- 
nel John  and  Agatha  (Lewis)  Stuart,  born  in  1779,  of  whom  above. 
Children:  i.  Charles  Cameron,  died  in  1836,  unmarried.  2.  Agnes,  born 
in  1805;  married,  in  1823,  John  Leicester  Sehon  (see  Sehon  II).  3. 
John,  born  in  1807,  died  in  181 1,  4.  Elizabeth,  died  in  1812.  5.  Mary  J.. 
"born  in  181 1,  died  in  1835:  married,  in  1833,  Charles  R.  Baldwin.  6. 
Jijhn  Stuart,  died  April  13,  1902:  married,  in  1837,  Mary  F.  Stribling. 
7.  Margaret,  died  in  1819.  8.  Sarah  Frances,  born  in  1817;  married  Dr, 
Thomas  Creigh.  g.  Elizabeth,  born  in  1819:  married,  in  1841,  B.  S. 
Thompson.      10.   Andrew,  died   young. 


The  Shawkey  family  is  of  German  origin,  the  grand- 
SHAWKEY  parents  of  the  Hon.  Morris  P.  Shawkey  having  come 
from  Bremen,  Germany,  in  1839. 

(II)  George  Shawkey,  son  of  the  immigrant,  was  born  in  Bremen, 
Germany,  in  1834,  and  when  five  years  old  was  brought  to  this  country. 
Flis  parents  located  at  Sigel,  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  where  the  father 
went  into  the  lumbering  business  on  a  small  scale  and  farming.  George 
Shawkey  spent  his  life  in  this  place,  acquiring  a  competence.  By  hard 
work  and  economy  he  was  able  to  give  to  his  children  the  best  educational 
advantages.  He  was  exempted  from  military  duty  in  the  civil  war  by  an 
injury.  He  married  Annie  Elizabeth  Witherspoon,  born  in  1840,  in  Ve- 
nango county,  Pennsylvania,  and  they  are  both  still  living  (1912).  Mrs. 
Shawkey,  on  her  mother's  side  comes  from  the  old  Siverly  family  of 
Philadelphia,  while  on  her  father's  side  she  is  the  great-granddaughter  of 
John  Witherspoon,  who  was  president  of  Princeton  College,  to  whose 
memory  a  statue  was  unveiled  in  Washington,  D.  C,  in  191 1.  xA.s  a  rep- 
resentative from  New  Jersey,  a  leading  statesman  of  the  revolutionarv 
period,  and  as  a  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  his  portrait 
hangs  in  Independence  Hall  in  Philadelphia,  Three  brothers  of  Mrs. 
Shawkey  served  in  the  Union  army,  one  of  these  with  the  rank  of  cap- 

5 


66  WEST  \-IRGIXIA 

tain.  (Jeorge  and  Annie  Elizaljctli  (  W'itherspoon )  Sliawkey  had  born  to 
them  nine  children,  and  only  one  of  wiioni,  a  boy  who  died  in  infancy,  ii 
deceased.  One  of  these.  Dr.  Arthur  .\.  Shawkey,  is  at  present  practicing 
medicine  in  Charleston,  West  \'irginia. 

(Ill)  Hon.  Morris  Purely  Shawkey,  son  of  George  and  Annie  Eliza- 
beth (W'itherspoon)  Shawkey,  was  born  February  17,  1868,  at  Sigel. 
rcnnsylvania.  His  early  education  was  gained  at  the  country  schools  of 
the  neighborhood,  he  going  from  these  to  Bellevue  Academy.  The  next 
step  was  Oberlin  College,  leaving  which  he  matriculated  at  the  Ohio  Wes- 
tern University,  and  received  the  baccalaureate  degree  in  1894.  In  1901;) 
he  received  the  degree  of  ]\Iaster  of  Arts,  which  was  conferred  by  the 
same  institution.  Upon  leaving  college  he  taught  school  for  a  time  in 
Pennsylvania  and  Kansas,  and  served  for  a  year  in  Reynolds,  Nortli 
Dakota,  as  superintendent  of  schools,  gathering  in  all  these  places  a 
fund  of  information  in  educational  matters  and  methods  that  later  was 
to  prove  of  great  value  to  him.  Some  of  this  harvest  of  ideas  he  was 
able  to  put  into  practical  use  when  he  became  head  of  the  normal  depart- 
ment of  the  Wesleyan  College,  at  Buckhannon,  West  Mrginia.  He  came 
to  Charleston  in  1897,  ^"^  ^°^  eight  years  he  acted  as  chief  clerk  of  the 
department  of  schools.  A  wide  and  critical  knowledge  of  literature,  and 
an  intimate  and  practical  acquaintance  with  the  needs  of  schools  have 
enabled  Mr.  Shawkey  to  do  valuable  work  in  the  revision  of  text  books. 
He  early  began  this  work,  being  hardly  out  of  college  when  he  introduced 
important  alterations  in  the  school  books  he  used.  When  Rand,  McNally 
&  Company,  map  publishers  and  engravers,  of  Chicago  and  New  York, 
issued  the  revised  edition  of  their  grammar  school  geography,  Mr.  Shaw- 
key was  asked  to  write  the  West  \'irginia  supplement.  In  1902  he  was 
elected  to  the  state  legislature,  and  during  his  term  in  that  body  was 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  education.  In  1906  he  was  elected  county 
superintendent  of  schools  of  Kanawha  county.  West  \'irginia.  Two  years 
after  this,  in  1908,  he  was  made  state  superintendent  of  schools,  which 
responsible  position  he  still  holds  (1912). 

While  Mr.  Shawkey's  energies  have  been  largely  given  to  educational 
work,  he  has  also  taken  part  in  some  business  enterprises  of  note.  In  1906 
lie  found  the  Kanawha  Savings  &  Loan  Association,  and  has  been  a  di- 
rector and  is  still  a  stockholder  in  the  same.  He  started  in  igii/.  the 
IVcst  J'irginia  Educator,  and  has  been  the  managing  editor  ever  since.  In 
his  political  afifiliations  Mr.  Shawkey  is  a  Republican:  and  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

He  married  in  1902.  Elizabeth  L.  Carver,  born  in  1874,  near  Wilkes- 
Barre,  Pennsylvania,  daughter  of  John  Carver,  one  of  the  leading  coal 
operators  of  West  Virginia.  Mr.  Carver  died  in  Charleston.  March  i, 
1912,  but  Mrs.  Carver  died  when  her  daughter  was  still  a  very  young 
child.  ]\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Shawkey  have  three  children:  ]Morris  Carver,  born 
March  8,  1904,  John  ^^'itherspoon,  born  December  5,  1907:  Leonard  .\s- 
bury,  born  May  7,  1909. 


Charles  Cameron  Lewis,  the  first  member  of  this  famii\' 
LEWIS  of  whom  we  have  definite  information,  was  born  in  Kana- 
wha Salines,  (now  Maiden  1  Kanawha  county,  West  Vir- 
ginia, April  15,  1839.  He  received  his  early  education  under  the  tuition 
of  George  Taylor  and  David  Lewis  RuiTner,  and  then  entered  the  employ 
of  his  grandfather.  Colonel  William  Dickinson,  as  a  clerk  in  the  mer- 
cantile and  salt  business,  remaining  with  him  until  i860,  when  he  formed 
a  partnership  in  the  salt  business  with  his  father,  John  D.  Lewis.  In  1870 
he  became  cashier  of  the  Kanawha  Valley  Bank  in  Charleston,  West  Vir- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  67 

ginia,  and  was  later  elected  its  president,  continuing  in  that  position  until 
i88<:),  when  he  retired  from  active  business.  He  is  a  Presbyterian  in 
religion,  and  a  Democrat  in  politics.  He  married,  in  Charleston,  West 
\  irginia,  October  19,  1864,  Elizabeth  Josephine,  daughter  of  Nathaniel 
\  inable  Wilson,  of  Prince  Edward  county,  \'irginia.  Children:  Charles 
(  aineron,  referred  to  below;  John  Dickinson,  now  a  wholesale  grocer  in 
N Ml- folk,  Virginia;  Virginia  Wilson,  married  Charles  Stanley  Stacy,  of 
Richmond,  Virginia;  Elizabeth  Josephine,  married  Ashby  Lee  Biedler, 
of  New  York  City ;  Anne  Dickinson,  married  Howard  Spafford  Jdhn- 
son,  of  Charleston,  West  Virginia. 

(II)  Colonel  Charles  Cameron  (2),  Lewis,  son  of  Charles  Cameron 
(i)  and  Elizabeth  Josephine  (Wilson)  Lewis,  was  born  in  Charleston, 
West  Virginia,  August  28,  1865.  He  received  his  education  at  the  Kana- 
wha ]\Iilitary  Institute,  and  Hampden  Sidney  College,  Virginia,  and  then 
became  treasurer  of  the  Kanawha  &  Ohio  railroad,  remaining  with  the 
company  for  three  years.  In  1889  he  entered  the  employ  of  P.  H.  Noyes 
&  Co.,  wholesale  grocers,  as  bookkeeper,  the  company  being  comprised 
of  his  father  and  P.  H.  Noyes,  and  in  1895  was  admitted  to  a  partnership 
in  the  firm  which  became  Lewis.  Hubbard  &  Company.  In  1907  he  be- 
came president  of  the  company.  He  served  the  military  arm  of  his  state 
from  his  youth  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  colonel.  He  is  a  Presbyterian  in 
'.  tligion,  and  a  Democrat  in  politics.  He  married,  in  Giles  county,  \'irginia, 
November  6,  1889,  Laura,  daughter  of  Charles  Henry  Payne.  Children: 
Charles  Cameron  (3),  born  August  16,  1890;  Andrew  Payne,  July  4, 
1893;  Frank  Payne,  June  12,  1896;  Margaret  Lynn,  July  26.  1902;  John 
Dickinson,  July  3,  1905. 


Hon.  Cornelius  Clarkson  Watts,  a  member  of  the  law  firm 
WATTS     of  Watts,  Davis  &  Davis,  of  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  and 

who  was  United  States  attorney  for  West  Virginia  during 
both  of  Cleveland's  administrations,  was  born  at  Amherst,  Virginia,  April 
23,  1848,  son  of  James  D.  and  Lucy  A.  (Simms)  Watts. 

Cornelius  C.  \\^atts  attended  the  schools  of  his  native  county  where  he 
resided  until  1861,  w'hen  he  removed  with  his  parents  to  Albermarle 
county.  During  his  early  boyhood  he  enlisted  during  the  last  year  of  the 
war  for  military  service  in  the  Confederate  army  and  served  under 
Colonel  Mosby  until  the  close  of  the  civil  war.  He  then  completed  his 
interrupted  education,  at  the  LTniversity  of  Virginia,  studied  law  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar.  In  1870  he  became  a  citizen  of  West  Virginia  and 
entered  into  practice  in  Wyoming  county,  and  one  year  later  was  elected 
prosecuting  attorney  for  that  county,  resigning  in  1875,  when  he  removed 
to  Charleston,  where  he  has  since  continued  to  reside.  In  1880  he  was 
elected  attorney-general  of  West  Virginia,  on  the  Democratic  ticket.  In 
August,  1886,  he  was  appointed  by  the  late  President  Cleveland,  United 
States  attorney  for  the  district  of  West  A'irginia.  was  removed  by  the 
late  President  Harrison  because  of  his  prosecution  of  election  fraud  cases, 
but  was  reappointed  in  the  second  administration  of  President  Cleveland, 
serving  in  this  office  until  1896,  when  he  resigned  in  order  to  accept  the 
nomination  of  the  Democratic  party  for  governor  of  West  Virginia. 
General  Watts  won  important  cases  for  the  state  in  contests  with  some 
of  the  most  brilliant  legal  minds  in  the  country,  and  the  resulting  legisla- 
tion has  contributed  largely  to  general  prosperity.  One  notable  case 
deserves  perpetuation  in  these  records,  both  on  account  of  its  far-reaching 
importance  and  also  on  account  of  the  distinguished  professional  men 
against  whom  General  ^^'"atts  was  opposed,  and  won.  It  was  the  great  tax 
suit  against  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  railroad,  which  was  appealed  to  the 


68  WEST  \IRGIXIA 

United  States  supreme  court,  in  which  he  was  tlie  special  counsel  for 
West  \'irginia.  The  talent  arrayed  against  him  included  such  men  as 
Senator  Edmonds,  of  Vermont,  William  J.  Robertson,  of  Virginia,  Judge 
James  H.  Ferguson,  and  Colonel  William  H.  Hegeman,  of  the  highest 
legal  ability.  General  Watts  recovered  not  only  the  sum  of  $200,000  for 
the  state  and  counties  through  which  the  road  passed,  but  established  the 
right  to  the  state  of  West  Virginia  to  collect  forever  taxes  from  this  and 
all  other  roads  operating  and  doing  business  in  the  state.  After  retiring 
from  public  life  he  resumed  his  law  practice  at  Charleston,  and  since 
1905  has  been  the  senior  member  of  the  above  named  firm,  which  main- 
tains its  offices  in  the  Citizens'  National  Bank  Building. 

Like  many  southern  born  gentlemen,  General  Watts  is  fond  of  horses, 
and  he  takes  a  pardonable  pride  in  being  the  owner  of  the  trotting  horse, 
General  Watts  (3),  2.o6.)4,  a  world  record,  establish  in  1907  for  three- 
year-olds.  He  owns  and  lives  at  Breezemont,  in  Charleston,  a  beautiful 
home  which  stands  on  an  eminence  that  commands  a  magnificent  view  of 
the  city. 

General  Watts  married,  October  i,  1871,  Ella  AI.  Shumate,  at  Beck- 
ley,  West  Virginia.  They  had  a  number  of  children,  those  living  at  the 
present  time  (1912)  being  as  follows:  Lillian  A.,  wife  of  Arnold  Kiene, 
of  Los  Angeles,  California ;  Charles  E.,  a  resident  of  Charleston ;  Flor- 
ence E.,  wife  of  Roy  O.  Conch,  of  Florida:  Blackburn,  married  Laura 
Williamson  and  they  reside  in  Charleston :  Xarcissa,  now  attending 
college :  Lulu,  now  attending  college :  Frederick  Arnold,  attending  school 
at  Lewisburg,  West  \'irginia. 


Hon.  Julius  .\.  de  Gruyter,  who  has  filled  two  terms 
DE  GRL'YTER     as   the   mayor   of    Charleston,    West    \'irginia,    was 

born  January  9,   1864,  in  Montgomery  county,  Vir- 
ginia, son  of  'SI.  F.  and  Julia  (Crockett)  de  Gruyter. 

He  grew  up  in  his  native  city,  closely  identified  with  all  her  inter- 
ests, from  the  time  of  receiving  his  education  in  the  public  schools.  He 
showed  great  talent  for  business  at  an  early  age.  and  took  an  interest  in 
the  municipal  government  which  made  him  popular  among  his  fellow 
voters.  Very  successful  in  his  business  connections  he  early  attracted 
attention  as  a  capable  man  suitable  for  public  office,  and  was  nominated 
to  a  civic  position  before  attaining  his  majority.  He  has  since  then  re- 
ceived other  honors,  among  them  the  election  to  the  mayoralty,  which 
he  filled  to  the  utmost  satisfaction  of  the  citizens  of  Charleston.  Such 
prosperity  attended  his  regime,  especially  among  business  interests,  that 
his  re-election  was  inevitable,  and  he  was  invited  to  remain  in  the  office 
whose  responsibilities  he  so  thoroughly  understood.  He  is  considered 
one  of  West  Virginia's  most  representative  men.  In  the  line  of  insur- 
ance he  has  become  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  de  Gruyter  &  Frasier, 
whose  other  member  is  R.  L.  Frasier.  Their  offices  are  situated  at  No. 
122VS  Capitol  street,  opi^osite  the  L^nited  States  postoffice,  in  Charleston. 
Their  business  deals  with  all  kinds  of  insurance,  including  personal  acci- 
dent, health,  employers'  liability,  fire,  rents,  bonds,  elevator,  steam  boiler, 
plate  glass,  tornado,  and  bank  burglary,  every  kind  of  disaster  that  could 
overtake  either  a  man  or  his  estate.  The  affairs  of  the  Goshorn  Hard- 
ware Company  also  occupy  his  attention,  and  he  is  secretary  and  treas- 
urer of  the  firm.  Mr.  de  Gruyter  is  a  member  of  the  Edgewood  County 
Club  and  Charleston  Gun  Club. 

Air.  de  Gruyter  married,  in  1889,  Mary  Noyes,  Their  home  in 
Charleston  is  situated  at  No.  1398  Kanawha  street.  They  have  four 
children:     Elizabeth   Stuart,   married   C.   M.   McVay ;    lulius  A.,    Jr.,   in 


WEST  VIRGINIA  69 

high  school:  Alary  Xoyes  and  juHa  Lewis,  twins.     The  family  belongs  to 
the  Presbyterian  church. 


The  immigrant  ancestor  of  this  branch  of  the  Broun  fam- 
l'.I\()l'X     ily  in  America  was  William  Broun,  who.  with  his  brother 

Robert,  came  over  from  Scotland,  and  settled  in  this  coun- 
tr\-  about  1740,  one  brother  locating  in  Virginia,  the  other  in  South  Caro- 
lina. Robert  Broun,  the  elder  brother,  was  a  physician,  born  in  171 1. 
He  settled  on  a  plantation  near  Georgetown,  South  Carolina,  where 
he  practiced  his  profession.  He  married  Elizabeth  Thomas,  of  South 
Carolina,  daughter  of  Edward  Thomas,  and  granddaughter  of  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Thomas,  the  first  missionary  sent  to  South  Carolina  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts. 
Dr.  Broun  died  November  25,  1757,  and  was  buried  in  the  graveyard  of 
St.  James  Church,  about  fifteen  miles  from  Charleston,  South  Carolina, 
where  many  other  members  of  the  family  and  their  connections  lie  bur- 
ied. The  children  of  Dr.  Robert  Broun  and  his  wafe  Elizabeth  were  as 
follows :  Elizabeth,  who  married  John  Nowell ;  JNIary,  married  Mr. 
Locock ;  Margaret,  married  Richard  Lord ;  Archibald,  married  Mary 
Deas;  Ann,  married  (first)  Captain  Cusack,  (second)  John  Huger ; 
Jane,  married  Mr.  Saunders :  Johanna.  Archibald,  the  only  son,  was  a 
captain  in  the  revolutionary  war,  and  was  wounded  at  the  siege  of  Sa- 
vannah. He  successful!}'  performed  an  important  mission  to  France  to 
procure  a  loan,  and  after  the  termination  of  the  war  settled  as  a  planter 
on  Cooper  river,  dying  in  1797.  His  widow  who  was  pensioned,  died 
at  the  age  of  ninety-five  years ;  and  his  son,  Archibald,  was  a  merchant 
in  Charleston  until  the  year  1833,  when  he  moved  with  his  family  to 
Mobile,  Alabama.  Ann,  the  widow  of  Captain  Cusack,  became  through 
her  second  marriage  to  John  Huger,  one  of  the  progenitors  of  the  numer- 
ous family  by  that  name  in  South  Carolina,  whose  immigrant  ancestor 
was  Daniel  Huger.  John,  one  of  the  four  sons  of  this  Daniel  Huger 
was  born  June  5,  1744,  died  January  22,  1804.  He  was  twice  married, 
having  by  "his  fiVst  wife,  Charlotte  Motte,  four  children,  and  four  also 
by  his  second  wife,  Ann  (Broun)  Cusack.  By  their  various  intermar- 
riages these  descendants  of  Dr.  Robert  and  Elizabeth  Broun  are  akin 
thus  to  the  Huger,  Deas,  Singleton,  Lesesne,  Manning,  Sinkler  and  other 
South  Carolina   families,  and  to  the  Harleston  family  of  Alabama. 

(I)  William  Broun,  younger  of  the  two  immigrant  brothers,  came  to 
America  about  1740,  and  settled  in  Northern  Neck,  A'irginia,  where  he 
practiced  his  profession  of  law.  He  was  the  son  of  George  and  Mar- 
garet Broun,  of  Scotland,  but  the  date  of  his  birth  is  not  given.  He  re- 
mained in  Virginia  during  the  entire  period  of  the  revolution,  practicing 
law  in  Northern  Neck  both  before  and  after  the  war.  On  October  20, 
1771,  he  married  Janetta,  daughter  of  Dr.  Joseph  AIcAdam,  who  mar- 
ried, in  1744,  Sarah  Ann  Gaskins,  widow  of  John  Pinckard.  Children 
of  Dr.  Joseph  McAdam  were:  George  Thomas,  married  Sarah  Eustace 
Gaskins ;  Sarah  Conway,  married  Edwin  Conway,  the  executor  of  Col- 
onel Edwin  Conway,  and  had  issue  Sarah  Ann,  who  married  Colonel 
Ewell ;  Elizabeth,  w'ho  married  Lindsay  Opie,  and  had  issue  Ann,  Jan- 
etta, and  Leroy :  Janetta,  married  William  Broun,  as  above.  The  father 
of  Dr.  Joseph  IMc Adam  w-as  Joseph  ]\Ic.\dam.  who  married  Janet  Muir, 
on  July  30,  1712,  in  Lancaster  county.  Their  children  were:  James, 
born  April  21,  1713;  John.  Alarch  18,  1715;  James,  October  8,  1717;  Jo- 
seph, May  28,  1719.  became  a  phvsician,  resided  on  Coan  river,  in  North- 
umberland county.  \'irginia.  and  married  Sarah  .Ann  (Gaskins)  Pinck- 
ard.   as    aforesaid:    Hugh.    July    3.    1720;    Charles.    November   8,    1722; 


70  WEST  \IRG1N1A 

RoIiLTt,  September  hS,  1723.  The  old  family  Llible  containing  this  rec- 
ord was  printed  in  London  in  1698,  and  is  now  in  the  possession  of 
Thomas  L.  Broun.  Among  the  members  of  the  McAdam  family  may 
be  mentioned  John  L.  McAdam,  the  road  builder  and  originator  of  the 
"macadamized  roads"  that  have  made  the  name  famous,  who  was  born 
in  Scotland  in  1756,  passed  his  youth  in  the  United  States,  and  returned 
to  Scotland  to  successfully  introduce  there  and  in  England  his  system  of 
road-making.  He  then  introduced  the  system  in  France,  and  finally  died 
at  Moffatt,  in  Dumfriesshire,  Scotland,  in  1836.  The  McAdam  family 
is  of  Scottish  descent,  their  genealogy  being  given  in  Burke's  "Peerage 
of  Great  Britain."  On  the  maternal  side  Janetta  Mc.\dam  was  de- 
scended as  follows:  (I)  William  Ball,  born  in  London  in  1615,  died  at 
Millenbeck,  in  Lancaster  county,  Virginia,  in  1680;  married  Hannah 
Atherold.  (  H  )  Joseph,  son  of  William  Ball,  was  born  May  24,  1649, 
died  in  Lancaster  county,  Mrginia,  in  171 1.  He  married  (first)  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  of  William  Romney,  of  London,  and  had  children :  Han- 
nah, Elizabeth,  Esther,  Ann,  and  Joseph.     He  married    (second)    Mary 

Johnson,   widow  of  Johnson,   of   Lancaster   county,   Virginia,   and 

had  a  daughter,  Mary,  who  became  the  mother  of  George  Washington, 
^ni)  Ann  Ball  married  Colonel  Edwin  Conway,  whose  father,  Edwin  Con- 
way, was  the  great-grandfather  of  President  Madison,  and  whose  grand- 
father, Edwin  Conway,  of  county  Worcester,  England,  came  to  Virginia 
in  1640.  having  married  Marion  Eltonhead  in  England.  The  English 
House  of  Conway  sprang  from  Sir  Edward  Conway,  of  county  War- 
wick, who  became  a  peer  of  the  realm,  and,  by  marriage  into  the  house 
of  Seymour,  acquired  the  title,  arms  and  property  of  the  duke  of  Som- 
erset. (lA')  Mary  Conway,  daughter  of  Colonel  Edwin  and  Ann  (Ball) 
Conway,  married  Thomas  Gaskins,  of  the  fourth  generation  of  that  fam- 
ily, the  name  being  originally  spelled  Gaskoyne.  (V)  Sarah  Ann  Gas- 
kins,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Mary  (Conway)  Gaskins.  married  Dr. 
Joseph  McAdam,  in  July,  1744.  (VI)  Janetta  IMcAdam,  their  daughter, 
married  William  Broun,  as  aforesaid. 

The  children  of  William  and  Janetta  (McAdam)  Broun  were:  i. 
George  McAdam,  born  January  8.  1773.  2.  Ann  Lee,  November  8,  1775. 
3.  Thomas,  October  4,  1779;  married,  October  9.  1807,  Elizabeth  G., 
daughter  of  Charles  and  Sarah  Lee,  of  Cobb's  Hall,  in  Northumberland 
county,  Mrginia,  and  had  issue :  a.  William  Waters,  born  August  27, 
1808.  b.  Sarah  Elizabeth,  September  20,  1810:  married  William  Ed- 
wards, c.  Charles  Lee,  March  i.  1813;  became  a  physician,  d.  Jane 
Ann,  married  Samuel  .\twill.  e.  Edwin,  September  10.  1819.  f.  Judith 
Lee,  July  26,  1823;  married  Octavius  Lawson.  4.  Edwin  Conway,  of 
whom  further. 

(H)  Edwin  Conwav.  son  of  William  and  Janetta  (McAdam)  Broun, 
was  born  March  9,  1781.  He  married  (first)  ]\Iaria  (Crane)  Hale, 
widow  of  John  Hale,  and  daughter  of  Colonel  Crane,  of  Northern  Neck 
Virginia.  Thev  had  issue  as  follows:  i.  George  ]\Ic.Adam,  born  Sep- 
tember 7,  1808'  2.  James  William.  June  23,  1810.  3.  Harriet  Ann,  Oc- 
tober 2,  1812:  married  Stephen  Garland  Bailey.  4.  Edwin  Conway, 
August  28.  1818.  Edwin  Conway  Broun  married  (second)  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Dr.  James  Channell.  tradition  says  of  Philadelphia,  and 
granddaughter  of  William  S.  Pickett,  of  Fauquier  county.  \'irginia.  The 
Pickett  family  is  descended  from  the  immigrant.  George  Pickett,  who 
came  over  from  France  and  settled  in  Westmoreland  county,  A^irginia, 
where  he  resided  in  1680.  He  had  a  son,  AVilliam  Pickett,  whose  will 
was  recorded  in  the  clerk's  office  of  Fauquier  county,  A'irginia.  Novem- 
ber 24.  1766.  He  left  five  sons  and  two  daughters,  among  whom  were 
AMlliam.   Alnrtin,  and   Marv   Ann,   who  married,   in    1766.  Rev.   William 


WEST  \1RGIXIA  71 

Marshall,  a  Baptist  preacher  of  Westmoreland  county,  \'irginia,  and 
moved  to  Kentucky.  Rev.  Mr.  Marshall  was  an  uncle  of  Chief  Justice 
Marshall.  Among  the  descendants  of  William  Pickett,  first  of  the  name, 
was  also  General  George  E.  Pickett,  one  of  the  noted  Confederate  gen- 
erals of  the  civil  war,  who  also  distinguished  himself  in  the  war  with 
Mexico.  He  was  born  in  Richmond  in  1825,  died  at  Norfolk  in  1875, 
and  had  engaged  in  business  in  Richmond  after  the  civil  war.  The 
children  of  Edwin  Conway  Broun  and  his  second  wife,  Elizabeth  Chan- 
nell,  were:  i.  Alaria.  born  October  11,  1820;  married  Rev.  Fouchee  C. 
Tebbs.  2.  James  Channel!,  May  15,  1822.  3.  Thomas  Lee,  of  whom 
further.  4.  Susan  Jane,  October  12,  1825;  married  Joseph  M.  Stevens. 
5.  William  Leroy,  October  i,  1827,  in  Loudoun  county,  Virginia,  died 
at  Auburn,  Alabama,  January  23,  1902.  He  became  one  of  the  fore- 
most educators  of  the  south,  having  been  president  of  the  Alabama  Poly- 
technic Instittite  for  over  eighteen  years,  until  his  death.  C'nder  his 
supervision  the  Institute  became  a  pioneer  and  a  model  for  all  southern 
technical  schools,  and  to  him  chiefly  is  due  the  development  of  industrial 
and  technical  training  in  the  south ;  his  work  along  that  line  having  been 
the  most  constructive  and  educational  since  the  war  of  secession.  He 
had  been  graduated  from  the  L'niversity  of  Virginia  in  1850;  taught 
in  Virginia,  Mississippi,  and  at  the  University  of  Georgia,  where  he  was 
also  president  of  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College;  was  profes- 
sor of  mathematics  at  the  Vanderbilt  University,  and  at  the  University 
of  Texas;  all  before  his  presidency  of  the  Alabama  Polytechnic  Insti- 
tute where  his  great  work  was  done.  During  the  war  he  rose  to  the 
rank  of  lieutenant-colonel  in  the  ordnance  department  of  the  Confeder- 
ate army,  and  while  there  he  made  many  interesting  and  valuable  experi- 
ments, some  of  which  he  later  described  in  the  army  service  journals.  6. 
James  Conway,  April  i,  1829.  7.  Anne  Eliza,  November  5,  1830.  8. 
Sarah,  June  7,  1832.  9.  Elizabeth  Ellen,  April  18,  1834.  10.  Joseph 
McAdam,  December  23,   1835. 

(Ill)  Major  Thomas  Lee  Broun,  son  of  Edwin  Conway  and  Eliza- 
beth (  Channell )  Broun,  was  born  in  Loudoun  county,  \'irginia,  on  De- 
cember 26,  1823.  He  is  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Virginia,  and 
m  1850  and  1851  studied  law  under  the  Hon.  George  W.  Summers,  in 
Charleston,  and  with  Albert  G.  Jenkins.  He  was  admitted  to  the  Kana- 
wha bar  in  January,  1852^  practicing  law  there  and  in  Boone  county,  and 
appearing  in  the  state  supreme  court  of  appeals  and  in  the  United  States 
court  of  Charleston.  Forming  a  partnership  with  George  S.  Patton,  he 
continued  practice  under  the  firm  name  of  Broun  &  Patton.  In  1857  he 
was  appointed  attorney  for  the  Coal  River  Navigation  Company,  and 
was  elected  its  president  to  succeed  W.  S.  Rosecrans,  standing  among 
the  foremost  of  West  Virginia's  land  lawyers.  He  is  himself  a  large 
owner  of  mining  and  timber  lands  on  Coal  river,  in  company  with  a 
syndicate  of  non-resident  capitalists.  Except  for  the  time  of  his  ser- 
vice in  the  civil  war  and  four  years  after  its  close,  he  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  what  became  West  Virginia,  since  the  year  1850.  He  has  al- 
ways been  an  active  Democrat.  Prior  to  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  he 
was  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Kanazuha  Valley  Star,  of  Charleston,  a 
red  hot  Democratic  journal.  In  April,  1861,  he  enlisted  in  the  Confed- 
erate army  as  a  private  in  the  Kanawha  Riflemen.  Captain  George  S. 
Patton's  Company ;  and  afterward  became  major  of  the  Third  Regiment 
of  Infantry,  in  Wise's  Legion.  In  1862  he  was  transferred  to  Dublin 
Depot  as  quartermaster  and  commandant  of  that  post.  He  was  badly 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Cloyd  ^Mountain,  Pulaski  county,  May  9.  1864, 
but  continued  in  service  throughout  the  war.  He  has  ever  since  kept  in 
touch   with   his   surviving  comrades,   having  delivered   an   address  before 


72  WEST  \'lR(ilXlA 

a  large  concuurse  of  Confederate  veterans,  at  Camp  Patton's  request,  on 
their  Memorial  Day,  June  6,  1888.  It  was  to  Major  Broun  that  Gen- 
eral Lee  was  indebted  for  his  famous  war  horse,  "Traveller."  This 
horse  was  raised  by  Mr.  Johnson,  near  the  Blue  Sulphur  Springs,  in 
Greenbrier  county,  X'irginia,  now  West  Virginia,  and  was  sold  to  Ma- 
jor Broun.  As  a  colt  he  took  the  first  premium  at  the  Lewisburg  fair 
in  1859  and  i860,  under  the  name  of  "Jeflf  Davis,"  and  was  four  years 
old  in  1 861.  General  Lee  seeing  him  first  in  West  \'irginia  and  then  in 
South  Carolina,  was  greatly  pleased  with  his  appearance  and,  though 
refusing  to  accept  him  as  a  gift,  purchased  him  from  Major  Broun  at 
a  nominal  price.  Changing  his  name  to  "Traveller,"  the  General  rode 
him  throughout  the  remainder  of  the  war,  and  often  in  Lexington  after- 
wards, and  was  followed  to  the  grave  by  the  faithful  steed. 

In  June,  1866,  Major  Broun  married,  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  Mary 
Morris,  daughter  of  Colonel  Edmund  Fontaine,  the  first  president  of  the 
Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Railroad  Company  (see  Fontaine  III).  He  imme- 
diately afterward  removed  to  New  York  City,  where  he  resided  for 
four  years  practicing  his  profession,  the  test  oath  at  the  close  of  the 
war  preventing  him  from  doing  this  in  his  own  state.  After  this  he 
renewed  his  residence  permanently  in  Charleston,  devoting  his  atten- 
tion to  land  law  and  his  own  landed  interests.  Major  Broun  and  his 
wife  were  the  parents  of  three  children:  i.  Louisa  Fontaine,  married 
Malcolm  Jackson,  and  had  two  children :  Thomas  Broun  and  Anna 
Arbuthnot.  2.  Edmund  Fontaine,  married  Sue  Peyton  Kent,  of  Wythe 
county,  Virginia;  they  have  two  children:  Edmund  Fontaine,  Jr.,  and 
\"irginia  Peyton.  3.  Ann  Conway,  married  Philip  Sidney  Powers,  ami 
had  three  children :     Thomas  Broun,  Louisa  Fontaine  and  Ann  Conway. 

( The    Fontaine    Line. ) 

Doubtless  there  is  no  family  in  \'irginia  around  which  clusters  so 
much  of  romance  and  historic  interest  as  that  of  Fontaine,  which  sprang 
from  the  martyred  Huguenot,  Jean  de  la  Fontaine,  who  was  born  in  the 
province  of  Maine,  France,  near  the  borders  of  Normandy,  in  the  year 
1500.  Coming  to  \'irginia  early  in  the  eighteenth  century  and  inter- 
marrying with  such  prominent  families  as  Spotswood,  Maury,  \Mns- 
ton,  Claiborn  and  others,  their  history  is  intimately  woven  with  the  ex- 
citing events  of  the  period  just  previous  to  the  revolution.  The  original 
name  "Fountain"  was  evidently  one  of  location,  that  is,  John  of  the 
Fountain  or  Jean  de  la  Fountain,  the  "de  la"  being  a  sign  of  nobility. 
So  we  find  him  in  the  king's  service  during  the  reigns  of  Francis  L. 
Henry  II.  and  Francis  II.,  until  Charles  IX.,  when  he  resigned.  The 
"de  la"  however,  was  retained  until  about  1633,  when  it  was  dropped  by 
his  grandson,  James  (2).  under  the  persecution.  Jean  de  la  Fontaine 
had  two  sons,  James  ( i )  and  Abraham.  The  eldest  son,  James  ( i  ) , 
died  in  1633,  leaving  a  son  James  (2),  born  in  1628,  who  also  left  a  son 
James  (3),  born  in  1658,  and  lived  at  Jenonville.  France.  This  James 
(3)  becaine  a  Protestant  preacher,  and  being  persecuted  for  his  faith, 
escaped  from  France,  landing  in  England  in  7685.  He  married,  in  1686, 
Elizabeth  Boursiquot.  and  lived  in  Bridgewater,  but  eventually  moved 
to  Dublin,  Ireland,  where  he  died.  He  left  the  following  children:  i. 
James  (4),  came  to  Virginia  in  1717.  2.  Aaron,  died  in  Ireland.  3. 
Peter,  became  a  minister  and  settled  in  Westover  parish,  on  the  James 
river,  Virginia ;  was  a  great  pacificator  during  the  Indian  troubles,  and 
endeavored  to  keep  the  colony  loyal  to  the  English  rule.  He  had  seven 
children,  of  whom  the  eldest  daughter  married  Isaac  Winston,  the  im- 
migrant of  that  noted  family ;  descendants  of  the  others  are  scattererl 
throughout  the  state.     4.  Moses,  settled  in  London.     5.  Francis,  became 


WEST  MRGIXIA  73 

a  minister  and  came  to  Mrginia  with  his  wife  in  1719.  6.  John,  came 
to  Massachnsetts  in  1714.  but  returned  to  England.  7.  Mary  Ann,  mar- 
ried, in  1716,  Matthew  Maury,  of  Castle  Gascony,  France,  and  came 
to  Mrginia  with  her  husband  and  infant  son  in  1719.  This  son  became 
the  celebrated  Rev.  James  Maury,  first  pastor  of  old  Walker's  Church, 
Albemarle,  and  the  progenitor  of  the  Maury  family  in  America.  Mat- 
thew Fontaine  Maury,  whose  brilliant  service  in  the  Confederate  navy, 
and  whose  "Physical  Geography  of  the  Sea"  have  made  his  name  famous, 
is  a  lineal  descendant  of  this  old  Huguenot   family.     8.   Elizabeth. 

The  arms  of  the  Fontaine  family  are:  Argent,  a  fesse  embattled  be- 
tween two  elephants'  heads,  erased,  with  tusks  depressed  in  chief:  in  base, 
three  masted  ship,  with  sails  and  pennant  spread.  The  crest  is :  An 
elephant's  head,  erased,  with  tusks  depressed.  Colonel  William  Fontaine 
of  the  revolutionary  army  had  children:  i.  ^^^illiam,  died  unmarried. 
2.  Charles,  died  unmarried.  3.  John,  died  unmarried.  4.  Alexander 
Rose,  died  unmarried.  5.  Louisa,  died  unmarried.  6.  Peter,  died  un- 
married. 7.  James,  of  "Rock  Castle,"  died  1872;  married  Juliet  JMorris, 
of  "Sylvania,"  and  had  the  following  children:  a.  William  ]\Iorris.  b. 
James,  died  young,  c.  Peter,  married  Mrs.  Lydia  Laidley,  and  had 
children:  James  Morris;  Betsy  Quarrier,  died  young;  and  Keith  Niles. 
d.  Nancy,  died  young,  e.  Susan  Watson,  married  Berkeley  Alinor,  and 
had  children :  James  Fontaine ;  Berkeley ;  and  Charles  Landon  Carter, 
died  young,  f.  John  Dabney,  died  young,  g.  Charles,  died  unmarried, 
h.  Maury,  died  unmarried,  i.  Joseph  jMorris.  j.  Sally  Rose.  8.  Edmund 
Fontaine,  of  whom  further.  9.  Sarah  Rose,  died  in  1863  ;  married  Alex- 
ander Fontaine  Rose ;  children :  a.  Edmund  Fontaine,  married  Betty 
Maury,  and  had  children :  Alexander,  John,  Robert  and  Sarah  Fon- 
taine, b.  Louisa  Fontaine,  married  John  Potts,  of  Washington,  D.  C 
and  had  children :  Rose,  Douglas.  Alorris  Templin  and  Elizabeth  Haw- 
ley,  c.  Lawrence  Berrv,  married  Eliza  Welford,  and  had  children: 
Lawrence  and  Susan  Welford.  d.  Charles  Alexander,  married  ]\Iary 
Eliza  Rutherford,  and  had  children :  Samuel  Rutherford ;  and  Charles 
Alexander,  married  Logic  Childs.  and  had  children  :  Rutherford,  Hugh, 
and  Charles. 

( n)  Edmund  Fontaine,  son  of  Colonel  William  Fontaine,  died  in 
1869.  He  was  of  "Beaver  Dam."  He  married  Maria  Louisa  Shackleford, 
and  had  the  following  children  :  i.  Betsy  Ann  :  married  Thomas  H.  De- 
Witt,  and  had  the  following  children  :  a.  Louisa  Fontaine,  died  young,  b. 
Edmund  Fontaine,  c.  Mary  Brown,  married  William  H.  Adams,  and  had 
children:  Helen,  .\nthony  Crece  and  Fontaine  DeWitt.  d.  Nora  Brax- 
ton, died  young.  2.  William  ^Morris,  died  young.  3.  Sarah  Lousia,  died 
young.  4.  Jane  Catherine,  married  Ricliard  Hardway  ^Meade ;  had  chil- 
dren :  a.  Edmonia  Fontaine,  died  young,  b.  Lila,  married  Benjamin 
B.  Valentine,  c.  Richard  Hardway,  married  Eleanor  Prior  Adkins,  and 
had  one  child,  Richard  Hardway.  d.  Louise  Fontaine,  married  Clar- 
ence Cadot.  e.  Kate  Fontaine,  f.  Marianne  Skelton,  5.  Mary  ]\Ior- 
ris.  of  whom  further.  6.  Edmund,  a  Confederate  soldier,  killed  at  the 
battle  of  IManassas.  7.  Lucy,  married  Chiswell  Dabney.  and  had  chil- 
dren: John  Edward,  Chiswell.  Louisa  Fontaine,  Lucv,  Elizabeth  Towles 
and  Edmund  Fontaine.  8.  John  Boursiquot,  married  Elizabeth  ^^'ins- 
ton  Price;  was  a  soldier  in  the  Confederate  army,  and  killed  in  battle: 
left  one  daughter,  Ellen  Stuart,  who  married  Albert  Sidnev  Morton  and 
had  children  :  Stuart  Fontaine,  Ellen  Price,  D'Arcy  Paul.  Albert  Sid- 
ney and  an  infant  girl. 

(HI)  Mary  ^lorris.  daughter  of  Edmund  Fontaine,  married  IMajor 
Thomas  L.  Broun,  of  Charleston,  \\'est  \'irginia.     (see  Broun  HI). 


74  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Henry  Keller,  the  first  member  of  this   family   vi  whom 
KliLLER     we    have    any    definite    information,    was   born    in    Center 

connty,  Pennsylvania,  in  1811,  died  there  in  1884,  aged 
seventy-three  years.  He  was  a  grandson  of  Jacob  Keller,  a  private 
soldier  in  the  revolutionary  war,  who  afterwards  owned  a  mill  and  plan- 
tation near  Boalsbiirg,  Pennsylvania.  Henry  Keller  was  a  foiindryman. 
He  married  Margaret  Schneck,  born  in  1813,  died  in  1890.  Among  his 
children  were:  Sarah  J.,  now  living  at  Boalsburg,  Pennsylvania;  So- 
phia C.  married  Rev.  George  C.  Hall,  of  Wilmington,  Delaware;  Benja- 
min Franklin,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Benjamin  Franklin,  son  of  Flenry  and  Margaret  (Schneck) 
Keller,  was  born  in  Boalsburg,  Pennsylvania,  April  21,  1857.  He  re- 
ceived his  early  education  in  the  public  and  high  schools  of  his  native 
town,  and  in  the  Pennsylvania  State  College,  from  which  he  graduated  in 
1876.  He  then  taught  school  in  his  native  county  for  three  years,  at  the 
end  of  which  time  he  took  up  the  study  of  law  at  Columbia  University 
at  Washington,  D.  C.  graduating  in  1882.  He  then  entered  the  service 
of  the  United  States  government  in  Washington,  being  employed  on  the 
tenth  United  States  census  and  in  the  War  Department  and  the  Depart- 
ment of  Labor.  In  1891  he  removed  to  Bramwell,  West  \'irginia,  and 
entered  into  the  active  practice  of  his  profession,  in  which  he  continued 
for  ten  years,  when  he  was  appointed  United  States  District  Judge  for 
the  Southern  District  of  West  Mrginia,  which  office  he  still  holds.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  the  Knights  Templar, 
and  the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  a  member 
of  the  German  Reformed  church. 

He   married,   at   Danville,    Pennsylvania,    October   2S,    1887.    Mercy   J. 
Baldv.      No   children. 


This  surname  is  derived  fnim  I'.laauw,  the  Dutch  word  for 
BLUE  "blue,"  which  in  both  the  full  form  and  often  in  shortened 
forms  of  spelling,  is  found  in  the  early  Dutch  church  rec- 
ords. In  1698  for  New  York  City  the  name  is  given  as  "Blau,"  with 
a  number  of  later  entries.  The  name  Blue  has  certainly  been  in  New 
Jersey  since  early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  judging  by  the  names 
of  those  with  whom  members  of  this  family  married,  they  were  of 
Dutch  extraction.  A  similar  name  is  found  in  the  Dutch  church  records  of 
the  region  about  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey.  Isaac  Blue,  of  the  New 
Tersey  family,  is  found  several  times  recorded  on  the  rolls  of  revolutionary 
companies.  Two  other  forms  of  the  name  are  found  in  this  state,  in  the 
Blew  family,  of  Bridgeton,  which  is  of  more  recent  and  German  origin  ; 
while  the  name  Bleu  seems  to  come  from  France. 

Spreading  from  the  place  of  early  emigration  into  neighboring  states, 
the  Pennsylvania  archives  from  1768  give  both  Blue  and  Blew.  One 
very  early  reference  is  found  in  \'irginia,  the  name  of  one  Edward  Blew, 
who  came  there  in  1642.  Part  of  the  Dutch  stock  which  had  settled  in 
-Vew  Jersey,  thus  one  branch  spread  into  Virginia,  and  a  later  branch 
mto  Pennsylvania.  Three  brothers  came  from  New  Jersey  into  Vir- 
ginia,— John,  LTriah  and  Michael  Blue.  The  two  latter  settled  near  Shep- 
herdstown,  JefTerson  county,  and  Blue's  Gap.  in  the  Shenandoah  river 
region,  was  perhaps  named  for  some  member  of  that  branch  of  the  fam- 
ily. John  Ijlue  settled  about  five  miles  north  of  Romney,  and  was 
the  founder  of  the  Blue  family  in  Hampshire  county.  As  he  may  have 
come  as  earlv  as  1725.  he  must  have  been  among  the  first  settlers  in  that 
region,  this  being  earlier  than  the  usually  accepted  date  of  settlement. 

Another  Tohn  Blue,  lielonging  to  the  Blue  family  of  North  ami  Smitli 


WEST  VIRGINIA  75 

Carolina,  served  in  the  revolution.  This  line  was  of  Scotch-Irish  origin, 
and  Lower,  the  authority  on  British  surnames,  gives  Blue  as  a  name 
found  in  Scotland,  but  never  met  with,  so  far  as  he  knows,  in  England. 
This  Carolinian  John  Blue  is  the  great-grandfather  of  two  distinguished 
men  of  the  present  day :  One,  \'ictor  Blue,  was  a  naval  officer  during 
the  Spanish-American  war,  and  won  honors  in  scouting  about  Santiago 
de  Cuba ;  while  his  brother,  Dr.  Rupert  Blue,  has  accomplished  valuable 
work  in  connection  with  the  United  States  Marine  Hospital  Service. 

The  family  herein  discussed  are  probably  descended  from  John  Blue, 
who  settled  at  Romney,  about  1725,  and  from  whom,  as  above  stated,  the 
Blues  of  Hampshire  county,  West  Virginia,  are  the  descendants. 

( I )  Stephen  Blue,  born  in  Hampshire  county,  and  died  at  Prunty- 
town,  Taylor  county,  West  Virginia,  in  1850,  is  the  first  of  this  particu- 
lar branch  of  the  family.  He  was  a  school  teacher  and  contractor.  He 
married  Ann  Burdette.  Among  his  children  was  George  Frederick,  of 
whom   further. 

(II)  George  Frederick,  sen  of  Stephen  and  Ann  (Burdette)  Blue, 
was  born  in  Pruntytown,  West  Virginia.  He  is  still  living  in  Kansas 
City,  Missouri.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  he  enlisted  at  Webster, 
West  \''irginia,  in  the  federal  army  as  a  member  of  the  Fourth  \'irginia 
Cavalry.  He  was  captured  at  Snowy  Creek,  and  confined  in  Libby 
prison.  After  exchange  of  prisoners  he  re-entered  the  service,  and  served 
until  the  close  of  hostilities.  He  was  in  the  later  campaigns  in  West 
A'irginia,  and  served  under  General  Sheridan  at  the  battle  of  Winches- 
ter, and  under  General  Grant  at  Appomattox.  After  the  resumption  of 
peaceful  occupations,  and  the  mustering  out  of  the  army,  he  was  em- 
ployed in  railroad  work  and  has  now  retired  from  active  business. 

He  married  Mary  Martha,  daughter  of  Charles  Cameron  and  Har- 
riet (Bosworth)  See,  born  near  Huttonsville,  Randolph  county.  West 
Virginia,  died  in  1880.  Her  father,  Charles  Cameron  See,  was  the  son 
of  Adam  See,  a  lawyer  of  the  county  of  Randolph,  and  a  member  of  the 
old  Virginia  assembly,  who  married  Margaret  Warwick.  Harriet  Bos- 
worth was  a  daughter  of  Squire  Bosworth.  Children  of  George  F.  and 
Mary  'SI.  (See)  Blue:  Frederick  Omar,  of  whom  further;  Grace,  mar- 
ried Louis  Brydon,  now  living  in  Grafton,  Taylor  county.  West  \'irginia  : 
and  three  other  children,  now  deceased. 

(III)  Frederick  Omar,  son  of  George  Frederick  and  Mary  Martha 
(See)  Blue,  was  born  in  Grafton,  Taylor  county,  \\'est  \'irginia,  No- 
vember 25,  1872.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  graded  and 
high  schools  of  his  native  town,  and  in  1891  began  the  study  of  law  in 
the  offices  of  Dayton  &  Dayton,  in  Philippi,  West  Virginia.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  December,  1893.  He  then  formed  an  association 
with  Alston  G.  Dayton,  and  entered  upon  the  active  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession, in  which  he  still  continues.  On  March  i.  191 1,  he  was  ap- 
pointed state  tax  commissioner  of  West  Virginia,  and  is  now  living  in 
Charleston,  West  Virginia.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  and  one  of  the  direc- 
tors of  the  First  National  Bank  in  Philippi.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  a  Baptist  in 
religion. 

He  married,  in  Philippi,  ^^'est  A^irginia,  November  26,  1895,  Mar- 
garet J.,  daughter  of  Judge  William  T.  and  Columbia  (Jarvis)  Ice.  born 
in  Philippi.  Children:  Frederick  AA'illiam,  born  June  29.  1897:  Thomas 
.Arthur.  June  22.  1909. 


-6  WEST  MRGINIA 

George  W.  McClintic,  a  member  of  the  legal  firm  of 
McCLINTIC  Mollohan,  McClintic  &  Mathews,  son  of  William  H. 
and  Mary  (Mathews)  McClintic,  was  born  January 
14,  1866,  in  Pocahontas  county,  West  Virginia,  a  descendant  of  an  old 
Scotch  family  that  came  to  America  in  colonial  times.  The  emigrant 
first  settled  in  Pennsylvania,  but  later  members  of  the  family  moved  to 
\'irginia.  One  member,  Robert  McClintic,  who  was  a  revolutionary  sol- 
dier, died  from  the  result  of  a  wound  received  at  the  battle  of  Guilford 
Court  House. 

(II)  William  H.  McClintic  was  a  native  \"irginian,  son  of  ?^Ioses 
and  Mary  ( Daggs )  McClintic,  who  were  also  natives  of  Virginia,  re- 
sided and  died  in  the  same  familiar  neighborhood,  and  were  sturdy  sup- 
porters of  the  Presbvterian  faith.  They  had  five  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters. 

William  H.  McClintic,  who  was  born  in  Bath  county,  Virginia,  in  1825, 
died  January  20,  i8y2,  in  West  \'irginia,  was  a  farmer.  He  enlisted  in 
defense  of  the  soutliern  confederacy  in  the  civil  war,  in  the  Nineteenth 
\'irginia  \'olunteers.  Confederate  army,  under  Colonel  W.  L.  Jackson, 
and  later  under  Colonel  William  P.  Thompson,  of  Wheeling,  West  \'ir- 
ginia.  His  regiment  sufifered  much  in  the  rigors  of  the  campaign,  but 
Air.  McClintic  never  received  a  wound  or  was  captured.  He  married,  in 
Pocahontas  county,  Mary,  daughter  of  Sampson  (3)  Mathews.  The 
]\Iathews  family  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  Virginia  valley,  and  the  im- 
migrant, John  Alathews,  came  over  in  1737.  His  son,  Sampson  Mathews, 
also  had  a  son  Sampson,  whose  son  Sampson  was  Mrs.  McClintic's 
father.  Intermarriages  in  this  family  also  give  her  son  descent  from 
Jacob  Warwick  and  Thomas  Edgar,  noted  men  of  that  early  day,  who 
also  earned  celebrity  on  the  battle  field.  William  H.  McClintic  had  sev- 
eral children:  i.  Lockhart  Mathews,  graduated  from  the  University 
of  Virginia,  now  a  lawyer  practicing  at  Marlinton.  2.  Edgar  D.,  for  a 
time  attending  one  of  the  \'irginia  colleges,  now  a  government  employee 
in  the  assay  office  at  Seattle,  Washington.  3.  Hunter  H.,  died  when  a 
young  man.  4.  Withrow,  a  farmer  of  Pocahontas  county.  5.  ( ieorge 
W.,  of  whom  further. 

nil)  George  W.,  son  of  W^illiam  H.  McClintic,  received  his  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Arts  from  the  Roanoke  College  at  the  age  of  seventeen, 
graduating  with  the  class  of  1883.  His  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws  was 
bestowed  upon  him  in  1886  when  he  was  graduated  with  the  class  of  that 
year  from  the  University  of  Virginia's  department  of  law.  The  law 
prevented  his  being  admitted  to  the  bar  for  another  year,  as  he  was  still 
under  age,  but  in  1887  he  received  his  recognition  as  a  lawyer  at  the  bar 
of  West  Virginia.  Moving  temporarily  to  Colorado  during  the  year 
1887,  he  practiced  law  in  Pueblo,  but  soon  returned  to  Charleston.  Here 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  Wesley  Mollnhan  under  the  firm 
name  of  Mollohan  &  McClintic.  Later  Mr.  William  Gordon  ]\Iathews 
became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Mollohan,  McClintic  &  Mathews.  Mr. 
I\Iollohan  died  September  25,  1911,  Init  the  junior  members  continued  to 
jjractice  under  the  same  firm  name.  Air.  AlcClintic  has  achieved  higli 
place  in  the  ranks  of  Masonry.  He  is  a  member  of  Ancient  Free  and 
.Accepted  Masons,  Kanawha  Lodge,  Xo.  20:  and  past  high  priest  of 
Chapter  No.  13,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  past  grand  master  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  West  Mrginia :  past  commander  of  Kanawha  Commandery. 
No.  4,  Knights  Templar :  and  oast  potentate  of  Beni  Kedem  Temple, 
Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  and  his  wife  attend  the  Presbyterian 
church.  Mr.  ATcClintic  married,  in  1907,  at  Charleston,  Ethel,  daughter 
of  Edward  Boardman  Knight,  of  Charleston. 


WEST  \IRG1N1A  77 

The  Williams  family  is  of  Welsh  urigm  and  immi- 
WTLLIAMS  grated  to  America  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  Thomas  was  among  the  first  settlers  of  \'ir- 
gmia  west  of  the  AUeghanies,  and  for  him  the  present  town  of  Williams- 
burg, Greenbrier  county,  \Vest  \'irginia.  is  named.  He  settled  at  that 
place  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  was  killed  by  the 
Indians  near  the  time  of  Braddock's  campaign  against  Fort  Duquesne. 
His  widow,  Nancy,  and  two  infant  children,  David  and  Nancy,  were 
carried  into  captivity  by  the  Indians,  but  were  surrendered  at  the  jjeace 
treaty  made  with  the  Indians  by  Colonel  Bouquet  in  the  year  1764.  He 
left  five  children :  John,  familiarly  known  as  "Captain  Jack,"  a  great 
Indian  fighter;  Thomas,  who  was  killed  in  the  Battle  of  Point  Pleasant; 
Richard;  David,  of  whom  further;  and  Nancy.  The  mother  and  infant, 
daughter  were  separated  while  with  the  Indians,  for  about  nine  years; 
and  it  a  familiar  family  tradition  that,  when  the  white  prisoners  were 
surrendered,  the  mother  had  great  difficulty  in  identifying  her  daughter, 
and  was  enabled  to  do  so  only  by  singing  to  her  a  familiar  lullaby,  this 
awakened  the  child's  recollections  of  its  mother.  Nancy,  the  child,  mar- 
ried a  man  by  the  name  of  Jones  and  bore  children.  Nancy,  the  widow, 
married  a  Air.  Cavendish  and  had  children  by  him.  "Captain  Jack," 
Thomas,  and  Richard  fought  in  the  Battle  of  Point  Pleasant  under  Cap- 
tain Robert  McClenachan.  Richard  and  "Captain  Jack"  married  and 
settled  in  Greenbrier  county,  and  they  both  left  a  number  of  children. 

(  II )   David,  son  of  Thomas  Williams,  was  married  three  times.     By 

his  first  wife,  AlcCoy,  he  had  a  daughter.   Sarah,  who  married  a 

-McCoy;  by  his  second  wife, McMillion,  he  had  six  children:  Nancy, 

who  married  a  McPherson ;  Elizabeth,  who  married  a  Hughart ;  Pollie, 
who  married  a  Jefifries ;  Elijah;  John,  of  whom  further;  and  David. 
By  his  last  wife,  Rebecca  Knight,  he  had  seven  children:  Sibbia,  Mar- 
garet, Martha,  Malinda,  Rebecca ;  and  two  sons,  Charles  and  James,  He 
died  in  1836,  at  the  age  of  about  eighty  years. 

( III )  John,  son  of  David  Williams,  was  born  in  Greenbrier  county, 
\\'est  Mrginia,  about  1790.  He  served  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  died  in 
Greenbrier  county  in   1862.  or  1863.     He  was  married  three  times.     By 

his  first  wife.  Maze,  he  left  no  children;  by  his  second  wife.  \'ir- 

ginia  Knight,  he  left  eight  sons:  Simon  Bolivar.  Albert  Gallatin,  of 
whom  further ;  George  Washington,  Benjamin  Franklin,  William  Ken- 
ney,  Thomas  Marion,  John  David,  and  James  Harvey;  by  his  third  wife. 
Martha  Allen,  he  left  one  son.  Allen. 

(I\')  Albert  Gallatin,  son  of  John  Williams,  was  born  in  Green- 
brier county,  now  West  Mrginia.  in  183 1.  and  died  in  that  county  in 
1904.  He  was  a  farmer  and  cattle  raiser,  and  was  twice  married.  His 
firsi  wife  was  Nancy  Donnally,  a  descendant  of  "Captain  Jack"  Wil- 
liams; by  her  he  had'  three  children:  James  Brysnn,  who  died  in  1885, 
Luther  Judson,  of  whom  further,  and  John  B<ili\ar.  After  the  death 
of  his  first  wife,  in  1862,  he  married  Elizabeth  Ddnnally,  widow  of  John 
Donnally ;  she  was  the  mother  of  two  children  by  her  first  marriage : 
James  Allen  who  died  in  1888,  and  Mary  Martha  "who  married  Rev.  D. 
C.  Hedrick.  By  the  second  marriage  there  were  four  children :  Dora 
B..  who  married  R.  E.  Thrasher;  Elizabeth  Jane  (Jennie")  ;  Thomas  M., 
a  physician  and  surgeon,  now  living  in  Palo  Alto.  California;  and  How- 
ard E.,  who  was  nominated  in  1912  by  the  Republican  party  as  a  candi- 
date for  commissioner  of  agriculture  of  West  \'irginia. 

CV)  Hon.  Luther  Judson  Williams,  son  of  Albert  Gallatin  and  Nanc\- 
(Donnally)  W^illiams.  was  born  in  ^^'illiamsburg.  Greenbrier  conntv. 
West  Mrginia.  October  18.  1836.  He  received  his  earh-  education  in 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  county  and  at  the  Universitv  of  \\'est 


78  WI'Sl    NIRGIXIA 

X'irginia;  taught  schoul  in  (jrtenbricr  C(.)unty  fur  twelve  year<,  and  dur- 
ing the  summer  vacations  worked  on  his  father's  farm.  After  he  was 
married  he  studied  law  at  the  University  of  Virginia,  in  1887-1888;  he 
then  obtained  license  to  practice  law  in  Virginia,  and  was  shortly  after- 
ward admitted  to  practice  in  West  \'irginia.  He  located  in  Lewisburg  in 
1888,  and  has  since  been  practicing  his  profession.  From  1900  to  1902 
he  served  on  the  "West  Virginia  Tax  Commission ;"  was  a  member  of 
the  board  of  regents  of  the  West  Virginia  University  from  1903  to 
1908,  and  resigned  that  office  upon  his  election,  in  1908,  as  a  judge  of 
the  supreme  court  of  appeals  of  West  Virginia,  for  a  term  of  twelve  years, 
which  office  he  now  holds.  He  is  a  member  of  Greenbrier  Lodge,  No. 
42,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  a  Republican  in  politics  and  a 
Methodist  in  religion.  He  married  three  times:  (first)  in  1883.  Minnie 
J.  Patterson,  who  was  born  in  Greenbrier  county  in  1863,  and  died  in 
September,  1892;  (second)  in  September,  1894,  3\Iary  (Dice)  Leonard, 
widow  of  William  E.  Leonard.  She  died  in  May,  1906,  leaving  one  child, 
Alice  E.,  a  child  of  her  first  marriage.  In  September,  1909,  he  married 
(third)  Harriet  Louise  Peck,  born  in  Brooklyn,  New  York.  He  has  two 
sons:     Russell  Lowell,  and  Forrest  Gray,  children  of  his  first  wife. 


The  development  of  the  great  mineral  resources  of  West 
CLARK     Mrginia  has  called  into  action  many  talented,  energetic  men, 

who  have  been  drawn  hither  from  almost  every  state  in  the 
L'nion.  Among  such  real  captains  of  industry  is  James  M.  Clark,  of 
New  Jersey,  whose  genealogical  and  personal  history  is  here  briefly  out- 
lined : 

(I)  Samuel  Clark,  born  in  England,  settled  on  Long  Island  in  1680. 

(II)  Thomas  Clark^  son  of  Samuel  Clark,  came  from  England  with 
the  father  in  1680. 

(III)  William  Clark,  son  of  Thomas  Clark,  settled  in  Westfield, 
New  Jersey,  some  time  before  1730. 

(IV)  Captain  Charles  Clark,  son  of  William  Clark,  spent  his  entire 
life  in  Westfield,  New  Jersey. 

(V)  Captain  William  (Tlark,  son  of  Captain  Charles  Clark,  was 
born  in  1756:  fought  in  the  revolutionary  war,  was  captured  by  the 
British  and  imprisoned  in  the  "Old  Sugar  House  Prison,"'  on  Manhat- 
tan Island,  and  died  September  28,  1853.  ^g^d  ninety-seven  years,  three 
months  and  eleven  days,  as  shown  by  the  head-stone  at  his  grave.  The 
stone  has  inscribed  near  the  base  "I  would  not  live  alway".  Dr.  Wil- 
liam A.  Clark,  of  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  has  a  cane  made  from  the  wal- 
nut timber  taken  from  the  old  prison  in  which  his  great-grandfather  was 
imprisoned.  When  the  building  was  torn  down  canes  were  made  from 
the  material  and  presented  to  all  surviving  prisoners.  Captain  \\'illiam 
receiving  the  one  now  at  Trenton. 

(\^I)  Andrew  H.,  son  of  Captain  \\'illiam  Clark,  spent  his  life  in 
Westfield,  New  Jersey. 

(VII)  James  Lawrence,  son  of  .Anrlrew  H.  Clark,  was  born  Janu- 
ary 22,  1818,  in  Westfield,  New  Jersey,  where  his  life  was  largely  spent, 
dying  March  4,  1903.  By  occupation  he  was  a  farmer  and  builder, 
also  a  mason  in  New  York  City.  Politically  he  was  a  Republican,  and 
in  church  faith  a  Presbyterian.  He  married  Hannah  Margaret  Johns- 
ton, born  in  New  York  City,  June  20,  1832.  She  was  always  an  active 
church  worker  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  of  which  William  Clark  (III) 
was  one  of  the  founders  in  1730.  She  died  December  12,  T911.  The 
children  of  Jame^  L.  and  Hannah  I\Targaret  (Johnston)  Clark  were: 
I.  Marv  Gray.     2.  Tames  M.,  of  whom  further.     3.  Estelle  M.,  married 


,  m.  -^6.^ 


WEST  \^IRGIXIA  79 

M.  A.  Harris;  they  have  one  son,  Robert  Johnston  Harris.  4.  Lawrence 
A.,  married  Jean  Starr;  one  child,  Jean  AIcKair  Clark.  5,  Emma  J.,  who 
died  in  1888. 

(\'ni)  James  ^Montgomery,  son  of  James  L.  and  Hannah  M.  (Johns- 
ton) Clark,  was  born  April  6,  1866,  at  Westtield,  Xew  Jersey.  He  re- 
ceived his  education  in  \\'estfield,  and  later,  in  April,  1887,  he  went  to 
West  \'irginia,  where  he  accepted  a  position  on  the  engineering  corps  of 
his  cousin,  Robert  R.  Goodrich,  M.  E.,  who  was  educated  at  the  Massa- 
chusetts Institute  of  Technology,  at  Boston.  Young  Clark  filled  various 
positions  of  subordinate  work,  until  1890,  when  he  entered  the  firm  of 
Goodrich  &  Clark,  engineers,  and  worked  in  McDowell  county,  West 
\'irginia.  This  continued  until  1892,  when  Mr.  Clark  established  an  in- 
dependent business  of  his  own,  at  Kanawha  Falls,  since  which  time  he 
has  had  much  to  do  with  the  development  of  this  section  of  the  country. 
When  he  first  came  to  the  state  it  was  only  producing  four  million  tons 
of  coal  per  year,  but  the  report  of  1910  shows  a  production  of  sixty 
million  tons.  The  present  firm  of  Clark  &  Krebs  was  organized,  at 
Kanawha  Falls,  January  i,  1900,  and  they  subsequently  removed  to 
Charleston.  West  Virginia,  in  1908.  Both  Mr.  Clark  and  his  partner 
have  a  thorough  and  practical  knowledge  of  the  geologv'  of  the  coal- 
bearing  sections  of  the  Virginias  and  Kentucky.  They  employ  many 
highly  competent  assistants.  Politically  Mr.  Clark  is  a  Republican,  but 
takes'  no  part  in  campaign  work,  simply  casts  his  vote  with  that  organ- 
ized party. 

He  was  married,  September  18,  1895,  to  Pattie  Farley,  of  Kanawha 
Falls,  Fayette  county,  ^^'est  \'lrginia.  Their  children  are :  James  Mont- 
gomery Jr.,  born  JMarch  27,  1897;  Lawrence  Willis,  born  July  31.  1902; 
Francis  Alden,  born  November  17,  1903:  Nancy  Margaret,  born  August 
27,  1905.  The  children  are  all  now  (1913)  attending  the  public  schools 
of  Charleston.  Mr.  and  ]\Irs.  Clark  are  members  of  the  First  Presbyter- 
ian church  at  Charleston. 


The  Krebs  family  has  been  in  America  for  about  one  cen- 
KREBS     tury.     Nicholas  Krebs  was  a  native  of  Alsace-Lorraine  when 

it  was  a  part  of  the  kingdom  of  France,  and  served  in  the 
French  wars  as  a  soldier  under  Emperor  Napoleon.  He  came  to  Amer- 
ica after  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  spending  eight  months  on  his  journey, 
and  finally  in  1816  settled  in  the  Ohio  valley.  He  died  there  in  1855.  at 
the  age  of  seventy  years.  He  married,  and  left  a  widow,  who  sur- 
vived liim  many  years  and  died  in  Monroe  county,  Ohio.  Of  their  eight 
daughters,  four  are  still  living,  and  their  only  son  was  John  \\'..  of 
whom  further. 

(H)  John  W.,  only  son  of  Nicholas  Krebs,  was  born  in  Monroe 
county,  Ohio,  in  1840,  died  in  Wetzel  county.  West  AMrginia,  in  1908. 
He  had  removed  thither  in  1869,  and  was  a  farmer  and  carpenter.  He 
attended  the  Lutheran  church,  and  adhered  to  Republican  principles  in 
politics.  He  married,  in  1867,  Elizabeth  Hubacher,  who  is  yet  living  in 
Wetzel  county,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years.  Their  children  were:  i. 
Emma,  born  in  August,  1868;  married  A.  L.  Sidell,  and  lives  in  Wetzel 
county;  they  have  eight  children.  2.  Charles  E..  of  whom  further.  3. 
George  R.,  March  17,  1872:  graduated  from  West  Virginia  State  LTni- 
versity  in  1899:  is  junior  member  of  the  firm  of  Clark  &  Krebs;  mar- 
ried, iqo2,  Lettie  Carr,  and  they  have  five  children.  4.  Mary  Ellen, 
1874.  died  April.  1894.  3.  Lenora  B.,  October  i,  1876;  married  G.  H. 
Farmer,  of  Wetzel  county,  and  they  have  five  children,  f).  Jesse  D., 
July  7,   1878;  superintendent  of  a   Fayette  county  coal  company:  mar- 


8o  WEST  VIRGINIA 

ricd  Elizabeth  ^mith ;  the}-  have  one  bun.  7.  John  A.,  1880;  a  farmer 
in  Wetzel  county.  8.  Le'slie  W..  May  20.  1883,  a  teacher  in  Wetzel 
county. 

(Ill)  Charles  E.,  son  of  John  \\  .,  and  Elizabeth  (  llubacher  )  Krebs, 
was  born  May  ly,  1870,  in  Wetzel  county,  West  Virginia.  Demg  of  a 
scientific  turn  of  mind  he  took  all  possible  advantage  of  his  course  of 
study  at  the  New  Martinsville  high  school,  and  himself  taught  school 
during  the  following  three  years.  Having  earned  sufficient  money  to 
defray  his  expenses  at  the  West  \"irginia  University,  he  entered  the 
technical  department  of  that  institution  to  study  engineering,  and  was 
graduated  in  1894,  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science  in  civil  engin- 
eering. His  first  active  employment  was  with  a  company  known  as  the 
Coal  &  Coke  Railroad  Company,  with  whom  he  worked  for  three  years 
in  the  engineering  department,  and  during  that  period  filled  the  position 
of  transit-man  and  later  that  of  construction  engineer.  He  then  entered 
into  a  business  agreement  with  his  present  partners  in  the  firm  of  Clark 
&  Krebs.  They  located  their  headquarters  at  Kanawha  Falls,  Fayette 
county,  West  Virginia,  and'  soon  became  well  known  as  a  reliable  civil 
and  mining  engineering  firm  in  the  New  River  coal  field.  They  next 
located  in  Charleston,  in  Kanawha  county,  in  1908.  The  following  year 
Mr.  Krebs  received  an  appointment  on  the  West  Virginia  State  Geologi- 
cal Survey  as  assistant  to  the  state  geologist,  Dr.  I.  C.  White,  in  the 
southern  section  of  the  state.  In  this  field  his  natural  adaptability  tc 
scientific  research  work,  field  investigation  and  experiment  has  strongly 
manifested  itself,  and  won  him  high  commendation  from  his  superiors. 
Still  connected,  however,  with  the  engineering  firm  of  Clark  &  Krebs, 
he  has  added  greatly  to  their  prestige,  and  they  have  gained,  largely 
through  his  progressiveness  and  ability,  high  standing  as  mining  engin- 
eers in  the  three  states  of  Virginia,  West  \'irginia  and  Kentucky.  Mr. 
Krebs  has  completed  a  detailed  report  of  the  following  counties :  Jack- 
son, Mason,  Putnam,  Cabell,  Lincoln,  Wayne  and  Kanawha.  In  poli- 
tics he  supports  the  Republican  party.  As  a  believer  in  the  principles 
of  Masonry,  he  has  afSliated  with  various  branches  of  the  order,  and 
is  also  a  member  of  Beni  Kedem  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  No- 
bles of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  at  Charleston.  He  and  his  wife  are  Pres- 
byterians in  religion. 

^It.  Krebs  married  (first)  in  i8y8,  in  Clay  county,  W'est  \'irginia, 
Donnie  Carr,  born  in  1876,  died  in  April,  1902;  (second),  in  1905,  Jose- 
phine Stephens,  of  Wetzel  county.  West  \'irginia.  Their  only  son, 
Gregory  C,  was  born  December   12.    1906. 


Edward   Wallace   Knight,   of  Charleston,   is  a  descendant 
KNIGHT     of  old  and  honored   New  England  ancestry.     His  grand- 
father,   Asa    Knight,    married    Melinda    Adams. 
(II)   Edward  Boardman,  son  of  Asa  and   Melinda    (.Adams)    Knight, 
was  born  in  Hancock,  New  Hampshire,  August   16,   1834,  died  Decem- 
ber 17,  1897.     He  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  the  class  of  1861. 
was   admitted   to   the   bar  of   his   native   state   in   September,    1863,   and 
practiced    for  a   short  time   in   New   London,   and   Dover,    New    Hamp- 
shire.    He  settled  in  Charleston,  \\'est  Virginia,  in  April,   1865,  and  be- 
came a  member  of  the  firm  of  Smith  &  Knight,  and  later  of  Knight  & 
Couch,    the    latter    connection    continuing   until    the    retirement    of    Mr. 
Knight  from  active  practice,  January  i,  1892.     He  served  in  the  capac- 
ity of  citv   solicitor  of  Charleston   for  a  number  of  years.     He  was  a 
menilur  fnmi  Kanawha  county  of  the  constitutional  convention  of  1872- 
-3.  tlic  only  political  position  he  could  be  induced  to  accept.     He  was 


WEST  VIRGINIA  8i 

a  staunch  Democrat  in  politics.  He  married  ( tirst )  September  15,  1804, 
Hannah  Ehzabeth  White,  born  in  Xewport,  New  Hampshire,  died  in 
September,  1878.  He  married  (secondj  February  13,  1882,  ]\Iary  Ehz- 
abeth White,  who  survives  him.  Children  of  first  wife:  Edward  Wal- 
lace, of  whom  further;  Harold  Warren,  of  Charleston,  West  \  irginia  ; 
Alary  Ethel,  wife  of  George  W.   McClintic,  of  Charleston. 

(Illj  Edward  Wallace,  son  of  Edward  B.  and  Hannah  E.  (White) 
Knight,  was  born  April  30,  1866,  at  Newport,  New  Hampshire.  He 
attended  the  local  schools  of  Charleston,  later  entering  and  graduating 
from  Dartxnouth  College,  class  of  1887.  He  read  law  in  the  office  of 
Knight  &  Couch,  of  which  his  father  was  a  member,  and  was  admit- 
ted to  the  West  \  irginia  bar  in  May,  1889.  From  that  time  until  Jan- 
uary 1,  1892,  he  was  employed  by  Knight  &  Couch,  and  then  entered 
into  partnership  with  James  F.  Brown  and  Malcolm  Jackson,  who  were 
conducting  business  under  the  style  of  Brown  &  Jackson,  and  formed 
the  firm  of  Brown,  Jackson  &  Knight,  which  has  continued  up  to  date. 
In  1902  Mr.  Knight  was  appointed  general  counsel  of  the  railroads 
successively  known  as  the  Deepwater,  Tidewater  and  Virginian,  and 
from  1891  to  1894  was  a  member  of  the  city  council  of  Charleston.  He 
is  a  stockholder  and  director  in  the  Kanawha  Valley  Bank  and  is  inter- 
ested in  sundry  business  enterprises  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  a  Democrat  and  a  member 
of  the  Alasonic  orders. 

Mr.  Knight  married,  January  25,  1893,  Mary  Catherine  Dana,  daugh- 
ter of  J.  E.  and  Alaria  S.  Dana,  the  latter  of  whom  is  deceased.  Chil- 
dren :  Edward  Dana,  born  March  it,,  1894;  Elizabeth  S.,  August  3, 
1897;  Ethel,  July  22.   191 1. 


James   Carr,    father  of   Hon.    Robert   Stuart   Carr,   was  born 
C.-\RR     in  county   Down,   Ireland,  and   when   a  young  man  came  to 

America,  in  1818.  He  moved  in  i860,  from  Guernsey  county, 
Ohio,  to  Point  Pleasant,  West  Virginia,  and  there  engaged  in  pursuit  of 
his  trade  as  mechanic  and  plasterer.  In  this  place  he  lived  until  1865, 
when  he  removed  to  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  where  he  died  in  1900. 
He  married  Margaret,  daughter  of  Robert  Stuart,  who  was  born  in 
county  Down,  Ireland,  and  had  come  also  in  181 8  to  America,  locating 
in  Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  where  he  had  gone  into  farming.  James  and 
Margaret  (Stuart)  Carr  had  six  children,  who  are  all  still  living  (1913)  : 
1.  Mary  Jane,  married  Thomas  Scott,  of  San  Francisco,  California.  2. 
Robert  Stuart,  of  whom  further.  3.  William,  of  Seattle,  Washington. 
4.  Eleanor,  living  unmarried  in  San  Francisco.  5.  James  Monroe,  a  den- 
tist in  Charleston.     6.  Joseph  S.,  a  dentist  in  Charleston. 

(  II)  Hon.  Robert  Stuart  Carr,  son  of  James  and  Margaret  (Stuart) 
Carr,  was  born  in  Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  November  14,  1845.  He  was 
brought  by  his  parents  at  the  age  of  four  years  to  Point  Pleasant,  and 
here  received  his  first  school  training.  When  a  young  man  he  accom- 
panied his  father  to  Charleston,  and  very  soon  afterwards  got  a  clerk- 
ship in  a  general  merchandise  store.  His  experience  in  this  line  and  his 
ambition  led  him  after  a  time  to  start  in  the  mercantile  business  on  his 
own  account,  continuing  in  this  for  about  eight  years.  In  1882  he  sold 
out  in  order  to  go  into  the  transportation  business  on  the  Kanawha,  Ohio 
and  Mississippi  rivers,  handling  a  large  amount  of  freight  sent  from  the 
coal  mines  to  New  Orelans.  He  is  responsible  for  the  organization  of 
the  Ella  Lavman  Tow  Boat  Company,  of  which  he  was  the  president. 
This  company  did  a  very  large  and  important  part  of  the  transportation 
of  that  region.  Mr.  Carr  has  also  been  interested  verv  largely  in  local 
6 


)^-2  WEST   XIRGIXIA 

real  estate.  Althmigh  a  man  wlmse  vdutli  had  few  educational  advan- 
tages, innate  force  of  character  and  sound,  clear,  native  sagacity  have 
placed  him  m  the  front  rank  of  men  who  have  been  useful  to  the  state. 
Not  only  has  his  business  resource  and  grasp  of  conditions  enormously 
helped  m  the  development  of  Kanawha  valley,  but  his  political  services 
have  been  such  as  to  make  his  name  a  respected  one  through  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  state.  He  has  in  his  political  affiliations  been  guided 
by  principles,  rather  than  by  party  lines.  He  has  the  rare  courage  to 
have  been  willing  to  change  political  allegiance  in  order  to  follow  the 
dictates  of  his  conscience.  He  was,  between  1878  and  1880,  connected 
with  what  was  called  the  Greenback  party,  in  which  he  had  as  associates 
some  of  the  best  men  of  the  country.  He  later  became  a  Democrat,  but 
left  that  party  convinced  of  the  vital  importance  to  the  people  at  large 
of  the  principles  of  the  Labor  party.  He  was  elected  in  1879  to  the  city 
council  of  Charleston,  serving  in  that  body  for  three  years,  and  at  the 
end  of  that  time  being  elected  county  commissioner  and' serving  as  presi- 
dent of  the  board.  In  1886  he  was'elected  on  the  Labor  ticket,  as  dele- 
gate of  the  Ninth  West  \'irginia  District  to  the  state  senate,  and  in  the 
election  overcame  the  normal  Democratic  majority  of  twelve  hundred 
votes.  In  the  session  of  1889  he  was  elected  president  of  the  state  sen- 
ate and  served  in  this  capacity  through  two  sessions.  In  1904  he  was 
the  Democratic  candidate  for  state  treasurer.  He  is  as  the  present  time 
a  member  of  the  Democratic  state  executive  committee  of  the  Ninth  Sen- 
atonal  Di.strict.  In  preparation  for  the  great  World's  Fair  at  Chicago  in 
1893  be  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  commissioners  for  the  state  of 
West  \"irginia.  Always  keenly  alive  of  the  vital  importance  to  the  state 
of  its  educational  system,  he  has  served  for  fourteen  years  on  the  board 
of  regents  for  the  state  normal  schools.  In  all  of  these  ofiFices  the  work 
of  Mr.  Carr  lias  been  marked  by  the  highest  devotion  and  efficiency. 

Mr.  Carr  married,  in  1870,  in  Charleston,  Julia  E.,  daughter  of  John 
and  Elizabeth  Wilson.  Mrs.  Carr  is  a  native  of  Charleston.  They  have 
a  son :  Frederick  N.,  born  in  1872 ;  graduated  at  Swarthmore  College, 
Pennsylvania,  and  afterwards  studied  law  at  the  Lmiversity  of  Virginia, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  He 
is  now  a  practicing  attorney  in  Charleston. 


,  .  Dr.  Harry  Hopple  Young,  son  of  William  A.  and  Anna 
YOl  NG  M.  (Hopple)  Young,  was  born  in  Cincinnati,  September 
17,  1877.  The  public  schools  of  Cincinnati  furnished  his 
early  education,  which  was  continued  at  the  Central  LTniversity  of  Ken- 
tucky. Having  chosen  the  profession  of  medicine,  he  entered  Ohio 
Medical  College,  whence  he  was  graduated  in  1900.  For  a  year  and  a 
half  he  was  resident  physician  at  Christ  Hospital,  Cincinnati,  and  then 
entered  into  partnership  with  Dr.  Schooffield  in  Charleston.  Dr.  Young 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Charleston  General  Hospital  and  he 
and  his  partner  are  closely  associated  with  its  administration.  In  a  bus- 
iness way.  Dr.  Young  is  medical  director  of  the  Southern  States  Mutual 
Life  Insurance  Companv.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the  Masons 
and  the  Elks. 

Dr.  Young  married,  in  Charleston,  November  10,  1904,  Mazie  M. 
Couch,  a  native  of  Charleston,  and  daughter  of  George  S.  and  Laura 
fMcAf aster)  Couch,  who  are  both  living.  Thev  have  two  children:  Ma- 
zie Hopple,  born  November  20,  1906:  and  George  William,  Tanuarv  4 
1911. 


WEST   \  IRHIXIA  83 

John  Laing,  the  American  founder  of  this  family,  was  born 
LAING     in  Scotland,  died  in  Alercer  county,  Pennsylvania.     He  was 

a  miner.  In  June,  1867,  he  emigrated  from  Falkirk,  near 
G^isgow,  Scotland,  and  settled  at  Hermitage,  a  mining  settlement  near 
Shavon,  Mercer  county,  Pennsylvania.  Por  some  years  he  worked  in  the 
mines  of  this  county.  He  married  Margaret  Bouey.  Child :  Ale.xander, 
of  whom  further. 

(H)  Alexander,  son  of  John  and  Margaret  (Bouey)  Laing,  was 
born  near  Glasgow.  He  also  was  a  miner  and,  coming  to  the  United 
States  with  his  father,  worked  first  for  some  years  in  the  mines  of  Mer- 
cer county,  Pennsylvania,  and  afterward  in  those  of  Mahoning  county, 
Ohio.  In  1884  he  came  into  Fayette  county.  West  A'irginia.  The  min- 
ing development  of  this  state  was  then  very  new.  In  the  industrial  de- 
velopments which,  for  good  and  for  evil,  have  transformed  the  aspect 
and  life  of  West  Virginia,  Alexander  Laing  was  a  pioneer.  He  married 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Morrison)  McAlpin, 
also  born  in  Scotland;  there  her  father  lived  and  died.  She  now  lives 
with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  W.  T.  Green,  at  Charleston,  West  Virginia. 
Children:  Margaret,  died  in  infanc}-;  Janet;  John  (2);  of  whom  fur- 
ther ;  James  M. ;  Elizabeth  ;  Margaret ;  Mary  ;  Alexander  \\'. ;  Bessie  ; 
William;  Annie.     All  are  living  except  the   oldest. 

(Ill)  John  (2),  son  of  Alexander  and  Elizabeth  (McAlpin)  Laing, 
was  born  at  Falkirk,  Scotland,  August  24,  1865.  When  less  than  two 
years  old  he  was  brought  by  his  father  to  America.  He  attended  school 
at  Sharon,  Pennsylvania,  but  left  school  at  nine  years  of  age,  and  then 
entered  the  mines  in  what  was  known  as  the  Spearman  shaft,  Mercer 
county.  From  that  time  his  work  has  been  in  connection  with  the  min- 
ing of  coal.  He  went  with  his  family  to  Ohio,  and  came  with  them  to 
West  Virginia.  From  1884  to  1891  he  worked  in  the  mines  of  the  New- 
river  and  Kanawha  districts ;  then ;  giving  up  underground  work,  he  ac- 
cepted a  position  as  clerk  in  the  store  of  the  Rush  Run  Coal  Company,  in 
Fayette  county.  He  was  later  advanced  to  the  position  of  bookkeeper, 
and  had,  as  additional  duty,  charge  of  the  company's  payrolls.  In  Jan- 
uary, 1892,  being  then  twenty-six  years  old,  he  took  charge  of  the  mine 
of  the  Red  Ash  Coal  Company,  as  mine  foreman :  and  five  years  later 
was  advanced  to  the  position  of  mine  superintendent  of  the  Red  Ash 
mine,  and  two  other  of  the  earlier  mines  on  the  New  river.  In  1898  he 
was  made  superintendent  of  the  mines  of  the  Rush  Run  Coal  Company. 
Three  years  later  all  these  companies,  with  several  others  in  the  Xew 
river  district,  were  consolidated,  and  he  was  appointed  superintendent  of 
the  combination,  which  was  known  as  the  New  River  Smokeless  Coal 
Company.  It  was  under  the  active  management  of  Ferdinand  Howald, 
one  of  the  early  settlers ;  but  when,  in  1905,  he  retired  from  mining,  hav- 
ing accumulated  a  considerable  fortune,  Mr.  Laing  was  appointed  to  suc- 
ceed him  as  general  manager  of  the  combination.  In  the  latter  part  of 
the  same  year,  the  entire  holdings  of  this  company  were  sold  to  the  Gug- 
genheim interests,  of  New  York  City.  Mr.  Laing  resigned  from  the 
new  organization  and,  with  a  part  of  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  his 
interests,  organized  the  Wyatt  Coal  Company,  in  Kanawha  county.  He 
also  purchased  four  mines  on  Cabin  creek,  from  the  Cardiff  Coal  Com- 
pany ;  and  these  mines,  known  as  Horton  Number  One.  Horton  Number 
Two,  Oakley  and  Berlin,  are  still  being  operated  under  his  personal  man- 
agement. He  also  organized,  in  1908,  the  MacAlpin  Coal  Company, 
which  operates  mines  in  Raleigh  county.  West  Virginia,  on  the  lines  of 
the  Virginian  and  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  railways ;  of  which  company 
he  is  president  and  general  manager.  In  191 1  he  organized  the  Mc- 
Gregor Coal  Company,  which  leases  three  thousand  six  hundred  acres 
in  Logan  county,  ^^'est  \'irginia.     In  1912  he  organized  the  McCaa  Coal 


8-j  WEST   VIRGINIA 

Company,  which  works  in  Gilmer  county,  West  \irginia,  having  a  lease 
of  one  thousand  acres  on  the  Coal  and  Coke  railway ;  and  of  this  com- 
pany, likewise,  he  is  president  and  general  manager. 

Having  thus  been  raised  from  boyhood  in  the  mines,  having  been  a 
miner  before  he  did  clerical  work,  and  having  worked  in  this  capacity 
also  before  he  became  a  large  mine  owner,  Mr.  Laing  knows  the  mining 
business  thoroughly,  and  understands  the  men  who  do  the  work  and 
their  point  of  view.  He  has  been  loyal  to  his  friends,  and  has  not 
rrached  his  position  by  climbing  over  others  and  pushing  them  aside. 
Cn  December  22,  1908,  he  was  sworn  in  as  chief  of  the  Department  of 
Mines  of  West  Virginia,  and  has  filled  this  position  to  the  satisfaction 
uf  both  operators  and  miners.  The  work  has  been  both  congenial  and 
pleasant ;  he  has  had  the  co-operation  of  the  governor  and  other  state 
officers,  and  harmonious  relations  with  those  with  whom  he  has  had  to 
deal.  Although  he  feels  that  his  efforts  have  been  successful,  he  does 
not  intend  to  accept  reappointment  after  the  expiration  of  his  present 
term,  July  i,   1913. 

Mr.  Laing  has  also  a  number  of  banking  interests.  He  is  a  stock- 
holder in  the  Capitol  City  Bank,  Charleston,  in  which  city  he  makes 
his  residence ;  also,  a  stockholder  and  director  in  the  National  City  Bank, 
of  Charleston.  He  is  a  director  of  the  New  River  Banking  and  Trust 
Company,  at  Thurmond,  West  Virginia,  and  of  the  Bank  of  Mullins, 
Mullins,  West  Virginia.  He  is  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason  ;  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  and  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  Mr.  Laing 
is  a  member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church,  at  Charleston. 

He  married,  at  Hanover,  York  county,  Pennsylvania,  October  6, 
1904,  Margaret  Slagle,  daughter  of  William  and  Margaret  (Stein") 
Slagle,  born  at  Hanover.  Her  family  is  of  Pennsylvania  German  stock ; 
her  father  now  lives  with  Mr.  Laing,  her  mother  is  deceased.  Children 
of  John  and  ^largaret  (Slagle)  Laing:  Louisa  \^andersloot.  born  De- 
cember  30,    1905;   Gertrude   Elizabeth,   May    16.    1907. 


Hon.  Samuel  Lightfoot  Flournoy,  father  of  R.  Parke 
FLOURNOY     Flournoy,   was  born   in   Chesterfield   county,   Virginia, 

November  23,  1846,  son  of  Richard  W.  and  Sarah 
(Parke)  Flournoy.  During  his  early  boyhood  and  young  manhood  years 
he  resided  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  attending  its  public  schools,  acquiring 
an  excellent  education,  which  was  supplemented  later  by  a  classical 
course  in  Hampden-Sidney  College,  from  which  institution  he  was  grad- 
uated with  honors  in  1868.  In  1863,  during  the  progress  of  the  war 
between  the  states,  he  enlisted  his  services  in  the  Confederate  army  and 
served  faithfully  and  well  during  his  term  of  enlistment.  For  four 
years  after  his  graduation  he  served  in  the  capacity  of  teacher,  a  voca- 
tion for  which  he  was  thoroughly  qualified.  In  the  meanwhile  prepar- 
ing for  the  profession  of  law.  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  his  native 
state  in  1873.  He  at  once  entered  upon  the  active  practice  of  his  chosen 
calling,  and  his  thorough  knowledge,  coupled  with  his  high  character  as 
a  man.  won  merited  distinction.  He  was  equally  prominent  in  the  po- 
litical field,  serving  twice  as  member  of  the  West  Virginia  state  senate, 
being  elected  first  in  1885  and  re-elected  in  t88o.  During  his  tenure  of 
office  he  was  a  member  of  the  following  committees:  judiciary,  privileges 
and  elections,  federal  relations,  immigration  and  agriculture,  and  pub- 
lic printing.  About  the  year  1873  ^^  took  up  his  residence  in  Romney, 
Hampshire  county.  West  Virs;inia,  and  in  1890  removed  to  Charleston, 
^ame  state.  He  served  as  mayor  of  Romney  for  three  terms,  this  fact 
clearly   demonstrating  his   popularity   and   efficiency.      Senator   Flournoy 


WEST  VIRGINIA  85 

married,  April  10,  1875,  Frances  A.  White,  born  April,  1843,  daughter 
of  John  B.  and  Frances  A.  (Streit)  White.  She  survives  her  husband, 
whose  death  occurred  January  28,  1904.  Children:  R.  Parke,  of  whom 
further;  Harry  L.,  city  auditor  of  Charleston;  Samuel  L.,  a  graduate 
of  the  University  of  Virginia  Law  School,  admitted  to  the  bar  in  191 1, 
now  engaged  in  practice  at  Charleston ;  Alexander  W.,  employed  by  the 
Kentucky  &  West  Virginia  Oil  &  Gas  Co.,  as  a  bookkeeper. 

(II)  R.  Parke,  eldest  son  of  Hon.  Samuel  L.  and  Frances  A.  (White) 
Flournoy,  was  born  December  29,  1875,  in  Romney,  West  Virginia.  He 
attended  the  schools  of  Romney,  and  later  pursued  a  course  in  the  Law 
School  of  the  University  of  West  Virginia,  graduating  therefrom  in  the 
class  of  1899,  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Law.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  of  Kanawha  county  in  1899,  and  at  once  engaged  in  a  general 
practice  in  the  city  of  Charleston,  with  offices  in  the  Kanawha  Banking 
&  Trust  Company  Building.  He  possesses  the  attributes  of  a  suc- 
cessful practitioner  of  law, — integrity  of  character,  judicial  instinct  and  a 
rare  appreciation  of  the  two  sides  of  every  question. 


Michael  Donovan,  a  well  known  and  successful  farmer 
DONOVAN  of  ^\'ellsville,  New  York,  was  born  in  the  county  of 
Cork,  Ireland,  and  came  to  this  country  in  his  early 
manhood.  Having  followed  agricultural  pursuits  in  his  native  country, 
he  engaged  in  the  same  occupation  upon  his  arrival  in  this  country,  when 
he  settled  at  Wellsville.  He  married  Josie  O'Leary,  also  a  native  of 
county  Cork,  Ireland,  and  they  have  had  children :  James ;  Michael  Jr. ; 
Anna,   unmarried;   Patrick  Andrew,   of  whom   further;  John,   deceased. 

(II)  Patrick  Andrew,  son  of  Michael  and  Josie  (O'Leary)  Dono- 
van, was  born  in  Wellsville,  New  York,  April  30,  1871.  He  acquired 
his  education  in  the  public  and  high  schools  of  his  native  town  and,  at 
the  age  of  twenty  years,  became  a  telegraph  operator  at  Peekskill,  New 
York,  in  the  service  of  the  New  York  Central  railroad.  Subsequently 
he  accepted  a  position  with  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  in  turn  resigning 
this  in  order  to  engage  in  traveling,  which  occupied  nine  years  of  his 
time.  For  the  following  three  years  he  was  then  engaged  in  the  elec- 
tric supplies  business,  and  in  1900  settled  in  Charleston,  West  Virginia, 
where  he  established  the  gas  and  electric  supplies  business,  with  which 
he  is  at  present  connected,  in  the  Arcade.  It  has  grown  to  be  the  largest 
concern  of  its  kind  in  the  city,  having  a  wholesale  trade  wdiich  embraces 
all  the  southern  portion  of  ^^'est  \'^irginia,  and  its  scope  is  constantly  in- 
creasing. ^Ir.  Donovan  has  remarkable  business  energy  and  executive 
ability,  and  is  connected  with  a  number  of  other  business  enterprises. 
He  is  the  treasurer  and  a  director  of  the  Elk  Gas  &-  Oil  Company,  and 
president  of  the  Dunbar  Art  Glass  Company.  His  political  support  is 
given  to  the  Democratic  party,  while  his  religious  association  is  with  the 
Catholic  church. 

Mr.  Donovan  married  (first)  Jennie  Conlon,  who  died  April  8,  1904, 
leaving  a  son.  Charles  A.,  born  April  3.  1004.  He  married  (second) 
in  Charleston,  May  21.   1012.  Jusie  \Veeks.  born  in   Philadelphia. 


The  Clay  family  ranks  among  the  oldest  and  most  honored 
CLAY     in  the  state  of  Virginia,  having  been  seated  there  in  the  year 

1613,  when  John  Clay,  the  pioneer  ancestor,  came  to  the 
New  World  from  Wales.  From  the  three  sons  of  this  emigrant  de- 
scended all  the  Kentucky  Clays,  including  Henry  Clay,  the  great  Ameri- 
can   statesman,   born   in    Hanover   county   A'irginia,    1777.   died   June   29, 


86  WEST   \IR(iL\IA 

il)  General  Green  Clay,  the  ancestor  of  the  line  here  under  con- 
sideration, and  the  first  of  the  name  to  locate  in  the  state  of  Kentucky, 
settled  in  Madison  county,  near  the  present  town  of  Richmond,  his  home 
later  becoming  known  as  "\\'hitehaH".  He  served  as  a  private  in  the 
revolutionary  war  and  the  war  of  1812,  displaying  both  courage  and  for- 
titude, characteristics  inherited  by  his  descendants.  Among  his  children 
was  General  Cassius  ^I.  Clay,  a  noted  character  of  his  day,  and  Brutus 
Junius,  of  whom  further. 

(IIj  Brutus  Junius,  son  of  General  Green  Clay,  was  a  resident  of 
Bourbon  county,  Kentucky,  removing  there  from  Aladison  county,  his 
father's  place  of  residence.  He  followed  the  occupation  of  agriculture, 
to  which  he  added  the  breeding  of  blooded  stock,  in  both  of  which  he 
was  highly  successful.  He  was  a  man  of  public  spirit  and  enterprise, 
and  was  chosen  to  represent  the  Ashland  district,  made  famous  by 
Henry  Clay,  in  the  thirty-eighth  congress.  He  married  (first)  Amelia 
Field,  and  (second)  Anne  Field,  her  sister.  Children  of  first  wife:  i. 
Martha,  married  Henry  B.  Davenport,  of  Jefferson  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia. 2.  Christopher  Field,  a  farmer,  who  lived  and  died  in  Bourbon 
county,  Kentucky.  3.  Green,  a  graduate  of  A''ale  College,  served  as  sec- 
retary to  his  uncle  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  later  as  secretary  of  legation  ^1 
Minister  Marsh  in  Italy ;  for  many  years  he  owned  and  cultivated  a 
plantation  in  Mississippi,  and  now  resides  on  his  farm  at  Mexico,  Mis- 
souri. 4.  Ezekiel  Field,  of  whom  further.  Child  of  second  wife:  5. 
Cassius  Marcellus.  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  served  for  several  terms 
in  the  Kentucky  legislature,  was  president  of  the  last  constitutional  con- 
vention of  Kentucky,  a  farmer,  and  owner  of  "Auvergne",  the  home 
place  of  his  father,  near  Paris,  Kentucky. 

(HI)  Ezekiel  Field,  youngest  child  of  Brutus  Junius  and  Amelia 
(Field)  Clay,  was  born  in  Bourbon  county.  Kentucky,  in  1841.  He  at- 
tended the  schools  in  the  vicinity  of  his  home  and  completed  his  studies 
at  Bacon  College,  Harrodsburg,  Kentucky.  During  the  war  between  the 
states  he  displayed  his  patriotism  by  enlistment  in  the  Confederate  army, 
serving  first  as  captain  and  later  as  colonel  of  cavalry,  for 
the  greater  part  of  the  time  under  General  Humphrey  Marshall.  He 
was  twice  wounded,  the  second  time  being  taken  prisoner  and  incarcer- 
ated at  Johnson's  Island,  undergoing  the  privations  and  suft'erings  of  that 
dreadful  period.  After  peace  was  declared  he  returned  to  private  life 
and  gave  his  attention  to  farming  and  breeding  thoroughbred  horses, 
conducting  his  operations,  which  were  successful  and  remunerative,  at 
his  home,  "Runnymede",  in  Bourbon  county,  Kentucky.  He  married 
IMary,  daughter  of  John  T.  and  Elizabeth  (Buckner)  Woodford,  de- 
scendants of  Virginia  ancestors.  Children:  i.  Ezekiel  Field  Jr.,  a  grad- 
uate of  Yale  College,  class  of  1892.  now  a  farmer  in  Bourbon  county, 
Kentucky.  2.  Woodford,  a  graduate  of  Princeton  College,  class  of 
1893,  now  devoting  his  attention  to  the  breeding  and  racing  of  thorough- 
bred horses.  3.  Brutus  J.,  a  graduate  of  Princeton  College,  class  of 
1896,  studied  law  at  the  University  of  \'irginia.  now  a  practicing  lawyer 
of  Atlanta,  Georgia.  4.  Buckner,  of  whom  further.  5.  Amelia,  mar- 
ried Samuel  Clay,  a  descendant  of  a  different  branch  of  tlie  family.  6. 
Mary  Catesby,  unmarried,  resides  at  home. 

(  I\' )  Buckner,  fourth  child  of  Ezekiel  Field  and  Mary  (Woodford) 
Clay,  was  born  in  Bourbon  county.  Kentucky,  December  31,  1877.  •^^" 
ter  a  ]ireparatory  education  in  the  private  schools  of  his  neighborhood, 
he  matriculated  in  the  Kentucky  University,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  the  class  of  1897.  The  year  following  his  graduation  he  devoted  to 
the  occupation  of  farming,  and  then  entered  the  law  department  of  the 
University  of  \'irginia,  and  graduated  therefrom  in   1900.     He  then  lo- 


WEST    \IR(,I\IA  87 

cated  in  l^aris,  Kentucky,  where  he  engaged  in  a  general  practice  of 
his  profession,  and  in  January.  1903,  removed  to  Atlanta.  Georgia,  and 
was  later  admitted  to  practice  in  that  state ;  but  in  June.  1903.  he  took 
up  his  residence  in  Charleston.  West  \'irginia,  to  enter  the  law  office  of 
Flournoy.  Price  &  Smith.  In  January.  1907,  he  became  a  member  of 
the  firm,  the  name  being  changed  to  that  of  Price,  Smith.  Spilman  & 
Clay,  and  this  connection  has  continued  to  the  present  time  (  kjij  ).  Mr. 
Clay  is  a  Democrat  in  politics. 


James  Patrick  Clark,  a  prominent  business  man  of 
CLARK  Charleston,  in  which  city  he  has  resided  for  a  number  of 
years,  traces  his  ancestry  to  Patrick  Clark,  who  was  acci- 
dentally killed  in  Scotland,  and  whose  widow,  after  remarriage,  came  to 
the  L'nited  States,  locating  in  Mason  City.  West  X'irginia.  where  her 
death  occurred. 

(  II )  Patrick  F..  son  of  Patrick  Clark,  was  a  native  of  England,  al- 
though of  Irish  ancestry,  and  died  at  Shawnee,  Ohio,  in  August,  1888, 
at  the  age  of  fifty-two  years.  He  was  interested  in  the  coal  business  for 
a  number  of  years  and  was  a  mining  expert ;  but  in  1874  engaged  in 
the  mercantile  business  at  Shawnee,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
days.  During  the  civil  war  he  was  twice  drafted  for  service,  and  his 
brother,  James  Clark,  lost  his  life  in  that  memorable  struggle.  He  mar- 
ried (first)  Margaret  Daley,  whose  death  occurred  at  the  early  age  of 
twenty-three  years,  and  (  second  )  Annie  Foster.  Children  of  first  wife : 
Mary,  wife  of  John  T.  Joyce,  of  Corning,  Ohio;  Frank,  an  electrician,  of 
Shawnee.  Ohio;  James  Patrick,  of  whom  further;  Catherine,  widow  of 
S.  R.  Grant,  of  Shawnee.  Children  of  second  wife:  F'atrick.  Ellen, 
Michael,  Charles.  Cecelia.  Gertrude,  Thomas,  John  and  Emmett. 

(Ill)  James  Patrick,  son  of  Patrick  F.  and  Margaret  (Daley)  Clark, 
was  born  at  Pomeroy,  (Dhio,  April  15.  i860.  He  received  but  a  meagre 
education,  being  obliged  to  earn  his  own  livelihood  at  an  early  age,  but 
by  observation  and  travel  became  well  informed  on  a  variety  of  sub- 
jects, At  nineteen  years  of  age  he  crossed  the  Rocky  ^Mountains,  as  a 
member  of  the  construction  gang  engaged  in  building  the  Denver  &  Rio 
Grande  railroad  through  the  Black  Canyon  of  Colorado,  and  he  remained 
west  for  a  number  of  vears  afterward,  principally  engaged  in  mining.  He 
also  followed  the  latter  occupation  upon  his  return  to  the  east,  until 
1882.  when  he  embarked  in  business  at  Trimble.  Athens  county,  Ohio, 
Two  years  later  he  removed  to  Columbus,  in  the  same  state,  where  he 
engaged  in  business  for  almost  a  year ;  then  removed  to  Murray  City, 
where  he  continued  for  two  years  more.  After  this  he  located  in  Gal- 
lipolis.  Ohio,  where  he  conducted  his  business  for  more  than  one  year.  In 
1890  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Charleston.  West  Mrginia.  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  wholesale  liquor  business,  prior  to  that  traveling  for  sev- 
eral leading  business  concerns.  Mr.  Clark  has  presented  in  his  quiet  and 
unobstrusive  way  a  phase  of  successful  business  life  which  we  do  not 
often  see.  and  one  that  illustrates  the  fundamental  principles  of  a  true 
life.  Permanent  success  does  not  grow  out  of  mere  activity,  persever- 
ance and  prompt  action,  but  personal  virtue,  combined  with  these,  and 
these  characteristics  have  been  fully  emphasized  in  the  career  of  ]\Ir. 
Clark,  who  has  been  an  active  factor  in  the  development  of  his  adopted 
city,  contributing  liberally  to  every  charitable  and  benevolent  enterprise. 
He  had  invested  his  capital  wisely  and  judiciously  in  the  purchase  of  real 
estate  in  Charleston,  and  is  now  the  owner  of  the  following  pieces  of 
property:  Stag  Hotel,  containing  fifty  rooms,  where  are  his  business 
Cjuarters ;   a   drugstore  on   the   corner   of   .Smith   and    Capital    street ;   the 


88  WEST  \'IRGIXIA 

Ruth  drugstore  building;  a  fine  residence  on  Lee  street,  and  another  on 
AfcCorkle  Hill,  south  side;  eight  dwellings  containing  eight  rooms  each: 
twenty  smaller  properties,  together  with  many  vacant  lots  within  the  city 
limits,  which  are  increasing  in  value  rapidly.  On  July  22,  1901,  he  pur- 
chased the  James  F  .Brown  block.  Nos.  24.  26  and  28  Summer  street,  a 
three-story  brick  building,  which  he  occupies  as  a  wholesale  and  retail 
store,  where  is  also  operated  one  of  the  finest  barber  shops  in  the  city.  On 
July  22,  1908,  he  purchased  the  handsome  residence  of  Captain  James  Sintz 
at  Spring  Hill,  and  he  and  his  family  have  resided  there  ever  since.  Mr. 
Clark  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Sacred  Heart  Roman  Catholic 
Church  at  Charleston.  He  is  in  favor  of  the  principles  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  but  casts  his  vote  for  the  candidate  whom  he  considers  best 
capable  of  filling  the  office,  irrespective  of  party  affiliation. 

Mr.  Clark  married,  February  3,  1885,  Margaret  Geoghan,  of  Mas- 
sillon,  Ohio,  daughter  of  William  and  Ellen  Geoghan.  Children :  Mary, 
wife  of  Dr.  W.  P.  Kuntz,  of  Huntington,  West  \'irginia;  ^largaret : 
Leo  :  A'irginia  ;  Joseph  Staunton  ;  Julia  ;  Evelyn  ;  James  ;  Agato. 


The  surname  Doolittle  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  in 
DOOLITTLE     England,  having  originated  in  Normandy  a  thousand 

years  ago.  It  is  perhaps  anglicized  from  de  Dolieta ; 
Dolieta  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  place  on  the  Norman  coast.  The 
first  American  immigrant  spelled  it  Dowlittell ;  today  it  is  almost  in- 
variably written  Doolittle.  There  are  now  very  few  of  this  name  in 
England,  but  in  the  LTnited  States  this  family  is  widerspread,  being  es- 
]5eciallv  numerous  in  Connecticut,  New  York  and  Ohio.  Nearly  all 
.American  Doolittles  are  descended  from  Abraham  Doolittle. 

(I)  Abraham  Doolittle,  the  founder  of  this  family,  was  born  in  the 
latter  part  of  1619  or  early  part  of  1620,  died  August  11,  1690.  He  was 
in  Boston  as  early  as  1640,  and  removed  to  New  Haven  before  1642. 
In  1644,  despite  his  youth,  he  was  the  chief  executive  officer  of  the  New 
Haven  colony.  Seven  times  he  was  deputy  to  the  general  assembly  at 
Hartford.  He  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  white  man  to  explore  the 
forests  which  then  lay  beyond  the  Quinnipiac  river.  In  1669  he  was 
elected  as  one  of  a  commission  of  three  to  manage  the  affairs  of  a  new 
settlement,  which  was  incorporated  the  following  year  as  Wallingford. 
He  was  several  times  the  representative  of  Wallingford  at  the  general 
court  in  Hartford,  and  held  other  offices  there.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  church  at  Wallingford,  and  sergeant  of  the  first  train 
band.  He  married  (first)  in  England,  Joane,  daughter  of  James  .\llen. 
of  Kempston,  county  of  Bedford,  England:  (second)  July  2,  1663.  Abi- 
gail, daughter  of  John  Moss,  who  was  born  April  10,  1642,  and  died 
November  5,  1710.  Children,  first  six  by  first,  others  by  second  wife:  t. 
Sarah,  married  William  Abernethy.  2.  .Abraham  (2),  of  whom  further. 
3.  Elizabeth,  born  April  12,  1652,  married  Dr.  John  Brockett.  4.  ]\Iary. 
born  February  22,  1653,  died  young.  S-  John,  born  Tune  14,  1655:  mar- 
ried (first)  February  13,  1682,  Mary  Moss,  (second)  January  29.  1717, 
Grace  Blakesley.  6.  .Abigail,  baptized  May  22,  1659,  died  young.  7. 
Samuel,  born  July  7,  1665,  died  September  25,  1714;  married  Mary  Corn- 
wall. S.  Joseph,  born  February  12,  1667.  died  May  15,  173^:  married 
(first)  April  24,  1690,  Sarah  Brown,  fsecond)  October  2=;,  1720,  Eliza- 
beth Ilolt.  9.  Abigail,  born  Februarv  26,  1669,  married,  about  1603, 
William  Fredericks.  to.  Ebenezer.  born  Tuly  6,  1672,  died  December 
6.  171 1  :  married,  .April  fi.  i(i07.  Hannah  Hill.  11.  Alary,  born  AFarch  4, 
1674,  died  before  ifSoo.  t2.  Daniel,  born  December  20.  1675,  died  ATay 
II,  T755;  married  (fir^f  )  Alay  3,  U'^-jR.  Hannah  Cornwall,  (second)  Feb- 


WEST  \1RGINIA  89 

ruary  17,  1737,  JNIary  Andrews.  13.  Theophilus,  born  July  28,  1678,  died 
March  26,  1740,  married  (first)  January  5,  1698,  Thankful  Hall,  ( sec- 
ond;, Elizabeth  Howe. 

(llj  Abraham  {2),  son  of  Abraham  (i)  and  Joane  (Allen)  Doo- 
little,  was  born  at  New  Haven,  February  12,  1649,  '^^^^  November  10, 
1732.  In  1672  he  was  elected  constable  of  Wallingford.  He  married 
(first)  November  9,  1680,  Mary,  daughter  of  William  and  Sarah  Holt, 
who  died  probably  in  1688;  (second)  February  12,  1689,  Ruth  Lathrop; 
(third)  June  5,  1695,  Elizabeth,  born  in  February,  1678,  and  died  Au- 
gust 2/,  1736,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Mary  Thorp.  Children,  four  by 
first  wife,  none  by  second,  six  by  third  marriage:  i.  John,  born  August 
13,  1681,  died  in  November,  1746;  married,  February  28,  1705,  Mary 
Fredericks.  2.  Abraham,  born  March  27,  1684;  married,  August  10, 
1 7 10,  Mary  Lewis.  3.  Sarah,  born  February  5,  1686.  4.  Susannah, 
born  April  15,  1688.  5.  Thorp,  born  February  15,  1697,  died  young.  6. 
Samuel,  born  JMarch  14,  1698.  7.  Joseph,  born  May  13,  1700,  died  De- 
cember 15,  1726.  8.  Elizabeth,  married,  January  31,  1734,  George  Arm- 
strong. 9.  Thomas,  of  whom  further.  10.  Lydia,  born  June  26,  1710: 
married,  November  28,  1734,  John  Joyce  or  Royce. 

(HI)  Thomas,  son  of  Abraham  (2)  and  Elizabeth  (Thorp)  Doolit- 
tle,  was  born  at  Wallingford,  New  Haven  county,  Connecticut,  May  17, 
1705.  He  married,  May  2/.  1729.  Sarah,  born  at  ^^'allingford,  Decem- 
ber 15,  1704,  daughter  of  William  and  Mary  (Peck)  Abernethy.  She 
probably  married  (second)  April  9,  1740,  David  Brockett.  She  was  a 
great-granddaughter  of  Abraham  (i)  Doolittle.  Children:  Anne,  born 
December  12,  1730,  married  Ebenezer  Parker;  Samuel,  born  December 
29,  1731,  died  January  ir,  1732:  Jemima,  born  December  31,  1732.  died 
May  23,  1764:  Esther,  l)(_irn  August  30.  1734;  Thomas,  of  whom  fur- 
ther. 

(IV)  Thomas  (2),  son  of  Thomas  (i  )  and  Sarah  (.Abernethy)  Doo- 
little, was  born  at  \\'allingford.  ]\Iarch  5,  1736.  He  settled  at  Bethlehem, 
Litchfield  county,  Connecticut.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Ciitteau,  who  died  in  1796.  Children:  i.  Thomas.  2.  .Abner,  of  whom 
further.    3.  Sarah.    4.  Thomas,  born  November  21,  1767;  married  (first) 

Frisby,  (second)  ]\Irs.  Johnson.     5.  Ephraim,  born  March  12,  1770, 

married  Polly  Green.  6.  David,  born  June  4,  1772,  died  in  1824.  mar- 
ried Lucy  Clapp.     7.  Waitstill,  died  before  1807,  married  . 

iV)  Abner.  son  of  Thomas  (21  and  Sarah  (Gitteau)  Doolittle,  was 
born  at  Woodbury.  Litchfield  county.  Connecticut,  June  19,  1765.  died 
at  Canadice.  Ontario  county.  New  York,  November  24,  1826.  He  re- 
moved, in  1795.  to  Middletown.  Rutland  county,  \"ermont :  in  1815  he 
was  living  at  Poultney.  Rutland  .county,  \'ermont ;  and  in  1825  he  went 
to  Canadice.  Children:  Thomas,  married,  October  19,  1814,  Zeruah 
Rudd :  Asa;  Sheldon,  of  whom  further;  William,  died  in  1831  :  mar- 
ried Rebecca  HpII;  .Alvah,  born  September  22.  i8or,  died  January  16, 
1892.  married    (first)    Esther  Ashley,    (second)    Abigail  Thompson. 

(\T)  Rev.  Sheldon  Doolittle,  son  of  Abner  Doolittle,  was  born  at 
Poultney,  ^'ermont,  Alay  5.  1798,  died  at  Almond,  Portage  county.  Wis- 
consin, March  9,  i860.  He  studied  medicine  with  his  uncle.  Dr.  David 
Doolittle.  and  graduated  at  the  Rensselaer  Medical  School  in  tSiq.  He 
removed  to  Allegany,  New  York,  near  Olean.  Giving  up  his  medical 
work,  he  became  a  ^Methodist  minister.  He  served  first  at  .Almond,  .Allegany 
county.  New  York,  afterwards  in  Cattaraugus  county,  finally  in  Portage 
county.  \\^isconsin.  He  married,  in  1821.  at  Plattsburg,  New  York. 
Lerny  Winters,  who  was  born  at  Plattsburg  in  t8oo;  she  survived  him 
about  two  years.  Children:  i.  .Sheldon,  born  at  Rutland,  A'ennont,  .Au- 
gust 22.  1822,  diefl  at  r)nvx.  California.  December.  1900;  married  Melissa 


ito  WEST   MRGIXIA 

.  2.  John,  born  Uctober  24,  1824;  died  at  St.  James,  Minnesota,  Janu- 
ary 31.  1904;  married  Susan  Carroll,  at  Burns,  New  York.  3.  Edson, 
born  January  23,  1827.  4.  Lamberton,  of  whom  further.  5.  William  W., 
burn  December  25,  1831.  6.  Lewis  Coburn,  died  1855  at  the  age  of 
twenty-two.  7.  Eliza,  born  May  10,  1837;  married  Samuel  Brown;  she 
died  in  Wisconsin,  November  25,  1868.  8.  Augustus  Erank,  died  in 
1858.  9.  A  son,  died  young.  10.  Charles  E.,  born  June  8,  1844;  mar- 
ried Nancy  S.  Shaw. 

(\'IIj  Lamberton,  son  of  Rev.  Sheldon  and  Lerny  (Winters)  Doo- 
little.  was  born  at  Olean,  Cattaraugus  county,  New  York,  January  22, 
1829,  and  died  at  Huntington,  Cabell  county.  West  \'irginia,  July  25, 
1909.  In  the  civil  war  he  served  three  years,  enlisting  in  1862  in  the 
Ninth  New  York  Cavalry;  shortly  after  enlistment  he  was  assigned  to 
the  commissary  department.  For  many  years  he  was  a  clerk  in  the 
treasury  department  at  Washington.  In  1876  he  was  appointed  a  rev- 
enue collector,  and  served  two  years.  He  was  badly  wounded,  while 
breaking  up  an  illicit  still  in  the  mountains,  being  shot  in  the  arm  and 
leg  my  men  in  ambush.  His  son  Edward  was  with  him  at  the  time.  He 
married  Chloe  Ann,  born  in  Steuben  county.  New  York,  June  14,  1831, 
and  died  at  Huntington,  March  11.  1901.  daughter  of  James  Sturdevant^ 
who  was  of  Connecticut  birth,  a  farmer,  and  lived  seventy-two  years. 
Children:  i.  Edward  Sturdevant.  of  whom  further.  2.  Frank  Leslie, 
living  at  Huntington.  3.  James,  died  in  infancy.  4.  Anna  L.  5.  Wil- 
liam, died  in  infancy.     6.  Rebecca  May. 

(\"III)  Judge  Edward  Sturdevant  Doolittle,  son  of  Lamberton  and 
Chloe  Ann  ( Sturdevant )  Doolittle,  was  born  at  Wausau,  Marathon 
county,  Wisconsin,  August  24,  1854.  When  he  was  five  years  old,  his 
parents  returned  to  their  native  state.  New  York,  where  he  lived  five  years 
in  Castile,  Wyoming  county,  then,  till  he  was  eighteen,  in  Steuben  county, 
where  his  father  had  a  farm.  He  attended  the  local  country  schools 
and  afterward  Franklin  Academy,  Prattsburg,  Steuben  county.  New 
York.  When  he  was  eighteen,  his  father  sold  his  farm,  and  the  family 
came  to  Huntington.  Here  he  attended  ^Marshall  College,  and  finished 
the  normal  course  in  1874  when  he  graduated  under  Champ  Clark  who 
was  then  president  of  the  college.  For  five  years,  Judge  Doolittle  taught 
school  in  Cabell  and  Wayne  counties.  He  was  principal  after  this  of  a 
school  at  Barboursville,  Cabell  county,  and  of  a  graded  school  at  Mil- 
ton, Cabell  county;  in  the  winter  of  1882.  he  was  principal  of  a  school 
at  Guyandotte,  now  within  the  limits  of  Huntington.  During  this  period 
of  teaching  he  was  studying  law,  and  in  1880  he  was  examined  by  three 
judges  of  the  court  of  appeals  and  admitted  to  the  bar.  His  practice  of 
law  began  in  Huntington  in  1882;  at  first  he  w-as  alone,  afterward  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Doolittle  &  Bryan.  For  two  terms,  in  1883  and 
1884,  he  was  mayor  of  Guyandotte;  the  great  flood  of  the  Ohio  river  in 
1884  came  within  his  term.  In  the  autumn  of  1896  he  was  elected  judge 
of  the  old  eighth  judicial  circuit,  comprising  the  counties  of  Cabell,  Lin- 
coln, Logan,  Wayne  and  Mingo ;  this  ot¥ice  he  held  for  eight  years,  till 
the  fall  election  of  1894,  when  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  new  sixth  cir- 
cuit, consisting  of  Cabell,  Lincoln  and  Putnam  counties.  This  oflice  he 
still  holds,  (December,  1912").  Judge  Doolittle  is  a  member  of  the  Benevo- 
lent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  His  political  affiliations  are  with  the 
Republican  party.  His  religion  is  of  the  Presbyterian  faith.  He  mar- 
ried (first)  Alice,  daughter  of  Dr.  Frank  Murphy  of  Cabell  county  who 
died  in  1890;  (second)  in  Cabell  county,  October,  1894,  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  John  ]\IcChesney.  Her  father  was  a  farmer  of  Cabell 
county,  and  died  at  the  age  of  seventy  years ;  her  mother  also  is  de- 
ceased.    Children,  first  six  bv  first,  others  bv  second  wife:     Bessie,  died 


J^-y^y^^o^y^Ji^ttL^, 


WEST   MRGIXIA  91 

in  infancy;  Florence  Bryan,  died  in  infancy;  Maude  Harrison,  married 
Claude  R.  Murray,  now  lives  at  Williamson,  West  \'irginia ;  Anna  Love, 
married  Elmer  F.  Ohlson,  lives  in  Canal  Zone,  Panama ;  Chloe  Julia, 
married  George  Donald  Miller,  of  the  First  National  Bank,  Hunting- 
ton; Alice  Murphy,  at  present  (1913)  attending  a  school  for  nurses  in 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania  ;  Mac  ;  Jean  ;  Elizabeth. 


Jacob  Barr,  descended  from  Germans  who  had  settled  in 
BARR  Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  Washington  county,  in  that  state, 
died  at  an  advanced  age  in  Putnam  county,  \\'est  Virginia.  He 
removed  to  the  latter  county  some  years  after  his  marriage,  and  he  and 
his  wife  were  devoted  adherents  of  the  ]\Iethodist  church.  He  married 
Sarah  Miller,  who  also  died  at  an  advanced  age.  They  had  several  chil- 
dren. 

(H)  Walter  S.,  son  of  Jacob  and  Sarah  ( ^Miller )  Barr,  was  a  lad 
when  his  parents  removed  to  Putnam  county.  West  \'irginia.  The  large 
estate  of  his  fatiier,  on  which  his  boyhood  and  young  manhood  days 
were  spent,  very  naturally  gave  him  an  especial  interest  in  agricultural 
pursuits,  and  these  have  engaged  the  greater  portion  of  his  time.  From 
his  earliest  years,  however,  he  has  taken  a  more  than  ordinary  interest 
in  all  matters  concerning  the  general  public  welfare,  and  is  at  the  pres- 
ent time  very  capably  filling  the  office  of  sheriff  of  Putnam  county.  He 
married,  in  Putnam  county,  Mctoria  Middleton.  native  of  \'irginia, 
daughter  of  W'illiam  Jackson  and  Catherine  { Rippetoe)  jMiddleton,  the 
former  of  whom  died  in  1910,  and  the  latter  in  1909.  Both  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Baptist  church.  Children  of  Mr.  and  ^Irs.  Barr:  i.  Charles, 
died  in  childhood.  2.  Harry  S.,  of  whom  further.  3.  Hugh,  at  present 
serving  as  deputy  sheriff' ;  married  Lillian  West.  4.  Russell,  living  at 
home ;  married  Mayme  Howell. 

(  HI )  Harry  S..  son  of  \\'alter  S.  and  Mctoria  (  Middleton )  Barr,  was 
born  at  Winfield,  Putnam  county,  \\'est  \"irginia.  C)ctober  31,  1876.  His 
education  was  an  exceedingly  liberal  one.  After  four  years  tuition  at 
Huntington,  where  he  attended  ^larshall  College,  he  matriculated  at 
the  Ohio  Dental  College,  Cincinnati,  and  was  graduated  in  the  class  of 
1901.  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Dental  Surgery.  He  immediately 
established  himself  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Charleston,  West 
Virginia,  where  his  careful  and  thorough  work  and  conscientious  meth- 
ods have  been  rewarded  with  a  large  and  constantly  increasing  practice, 
and  he  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  leaders  of  his  profession.  Dr.  Barr 
is  a  Knight  Templar,  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason  and  a  Shriner. 

Dr.  Barr  married,  at  Charleston.  Laura,  daughter  of  \\'arwick  B.  and 
Mrginia  (  Alitchell)  Spencer,  both  born  in  \nrginia.  ?^Irs.  Barr  was  born 
at  Hockingport,  Ohio,  but  received  her  education  in  Charleston.  W'est  A'ir- 
ginia,  to  which  town  her  parents  had  removed  while  she  was  still  a 
child.  'Sir.  Spencer  had  been  engaged  in  the  wholesale  produce  trade  in 
Charleston,  for  a  number  of  vears  prior  to  his  death  in  that  town,  in 
1906.  With  his  father  he  made  the  attempt  to  cross  the  prairies  in  1849, 
in  a  "prairie  schooner",  in  order  to  go  to  California:  but  his  father. 
Jonathan  Spencer,  died  while  on  the  way.  His  son  interred  him  in  the 
wilderness,  planting  small  spruce  shoots  around  the  lonely  grave,  which 
have  now  grown  into  stately  trees.  ^Mrs.  Spencer  lives  in  Charleston, 
and  is  a  devout  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  Children  of  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Barr:  Charles  H..  born  August  14.  1904:  Walter  Bradford.  August  10, 
T9ofi:  Robert  Spencer.  October  11.  191 1. 


92  WEST   \IRGIN1A 

William  A.   Haley  was  born  in  the  state  of  Virginia,  and 
HALEY     late  in   life   removed   with   his   family  to   Kentucky,   where 
his  last  years   were  spent.     He  married  Mary  Allen,   also 
a  native  of  Virginia.     They  had  six  children. 

(II)  Rev.  Littleberry  J.  Haley,  son  of  WilUam  A.  and  Mary  (Allen) 
Haley,  was  born  in  Virginia.  He  is  now  living  in  retirement  on  his  farm  in 
Louisa  county,  Virginia,  on  Elk  creek.  He  became  a  student  at  Rich- 
mond College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  with  the  degree  of  Master 
of  Arts,  then  matriculated  at  the  LJniversity  of  Virginia.  He  would  un- 
doubtedly have  been  graduated  from  this  institution,  with  the  highest 
honors,  had  not  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  between  the  states  closed 
the  university  and  cut  short  his  successful  career  in  it.  He  became  a 
minister  in  the  Baptist  church,  where  his  brilliant  mental  attainments 
made  him  a  leader  in  the  denomination.  After  forty  years  of  active  min- 
istration in  his  calling,  he  retired  to  farm  life.  The  public  atl'airs  of  his 
state  and  country  commanded  much  of  his  attention,  and  for  a  time  he 
served  as  member  of  the  legislature  of  the  state  of  Virginia,  and  for  a 
period  of  twenty  years  held  the  office  of  county  superintendent  of  schools. 
Rev.  Mr.  Haley  married  Mary  Long,  a  native  of  Spottsylvania  county, 
\'irginia.  Children:  i.  Nannie,  married  Dr.  George  H.  Cook.  2.  Fan- 
nie, deceased,  married  W.  W.  Boxley.  3.  William  A.,  a  railroad  con- 
tractor living  at  Clifton  Forge,  Virginia;  married  Champ  Bumpass,  and 
has  five  children.  4.  Littleberry  J.,  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  at 
Birmingham,  Alabama,  where  he  also  resides.  5.  Dr.  Jeter  G.,  de- 
ceased ;  was  engaged  in  medical  practice  in  Hinton,  West  Virginia ;  sur- 
\-ived  by  his  widow  and  three  children.  6.  John  Long,  a  farmer  in  North- 
ampton county,  Virginia ;  married  Anna  Thomas.  7.  John  C,  a  railroad 
contractor  living  at  Salem,  Virginia ;  married  Flossie  Chisholm,  and 
has  one  son.     8.  Dr.  Peter  A.,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  Dr.  Peter  A.  Haley,  youngest  child  of  Rev.  Littleberry  J,  and 
Mary  (Long)  Haley,  was  born  in  Louisa  county,  \^irginia,  September  20, 
1874.  His  elementary  education  was  acquired  in  the  public  and  high  schools, 
after  which  he  matriculated  at  William  and  Mary  College,  at  Williams- 
burg, Virginia,  later  becoming  a  student  at  the  University  College  of 
Medicine  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  from  which  institution  he  was  gradu- 
ated in  1899,  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  He  immediately  en- 
gaged in  the  active  practice  of  his  profession,  having  selected  Hinton, 
West  Virginia,  as  a  suitable  town  for  this  purpose,  and  remained  there 
until  1903,  when  he  removed  to  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  in  which 
city  he  has  since  that  time  been  established.  He  has  made  a  special  study 
of  the  diseases  of  the  eye,  ear,  nose  and  throat,  and  has  become  an  au- 
thority in  this  branch  of  medical  practice.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons  and  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 
He  also  belongs  to  the  board  of  council  of  the  State  Medical  Associa- 
tion ;  is  a  member  of  the  national,  state  and  county  associations,  and  is 
connected  with  a  number  of  other  prominent  medical  organizations.  He 
and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Baptist  church. 

Dr.  Haley  married  in  Caroline  county,  Virginia,  Lula  Mahon,  a  native 
of  that  countv,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Lizzie  fButler)  Mahon.  Chil- 
dren:    William  Allen  and  John  Bagbv. 


Joseph    Falone  was  a  native  of  Corsica.      In  early  man- 
F.\Lr)NE     hood  he  decided  that  the  new  world  ofifered  better  facili- 
ties for  advancement  than  the  old.     He  accordingly  came 
to  this  countr\-  with  his  wife,  remaining  but  a  short  time  in  New  York, 
then   taking  up  ri'^-iileiicc  in   Cincinnati.      He  is  still  activeh-  engaged  in 


WEST   \"IR(.IXIA  93, 

business  there  and  is  highly  respected  in  the  community.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  Italy  to  Alarcellina  Rossano,  born  in  Rosina,  Italy,  died  in  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio,  leaving  an  only  son.  She  was  a  daughter  of  the  famous 
sculptor  and  engraver,  Rossano,  whose  works  have  been  greatly  admired, 
one  being  a  fine  statue  of  the  Madonna  in  the  cathedral  at  Milan,  Italy. 

(11)  Louis  J.,  son  of  Joseph  and  Marcellina  (Rossano)  Falone,  was 
born  in  New  York  City,  October  10,  1876.  His  education  was  acquired 
in  the  public  and  parochial  schools  of  his  native  city,  and  he  early  dis- 
played a  bright  and  intelligent  mind.  It  had  been  the  desire  of  his  father 
that  he  should  establish  himself  in  the  clothing  trade,  and  he  was  appren- 
ticed to  learn  it.  This  line  of  business  did  not,  however,  appeal  to  him, 
mining  operations  appearing  to  afford  better  opportunities,  and  being 
more  in  accord  with  his  tastes  and  inclinations.  In  order  to  carry  out 
his  ideas  he  pursued  the  technical  course  of  studies  carried  on  under  the 
auspices  of  the  International  Correspondence  School,  at  Scranton,  Penn- 
sylvania, becoming  a  proficient  mining  engineer.  As  a  means  of  recrea- 
tion in  contrast  to  his  arduous  studies  he  had  become  interested  in  base- 
ball, soon  became  an  expert  player,  and  thus  had  opportunities  opened 
to  him,  which  enabled  him  to  make  his  name  well  known  in  the  annals 
of  baseball  history.  For  some  seasons  he  played  with  independent  teams, 
then  all  through  the  season  of  1902  was  kept  busy  with  an  offer  made 
him  in  the  city  of  Charleston.  Before  becoming  so  closely  indentified  with 
baseball  work,  Mr.  Falone  had  been  assistant  head  usher  in  the  Grand 
Theatre,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  for  a  period  of  ten  years,  and  was  an  active 
member  of  the  Cincinnati  Gymnasium  and  the  Athletic  Association  for 
seven  years.  After  his  successful  season  of  1902,  Mr.  Falone  decided 
to  retire  permanently  from  the  strenuous  exertions  of  the  baseball  field, 
and  engage  in  another  line  of  business.  Selecting  the  Arcade  building, 
Qiarleston,  West  Virginia,  as  a  suitable  location,  he  opened  a  cigar  store, 
and  met  with  immediate  success.  This  became  so  marked  that  it  seemed 
advisable  to  extend  his  operations,  and  he  added  a  pool  table  and  room 
to  his  store  in  1906,  increasing  the  accommodations  two  years  later.  His 
patronage  is  a  large  and  lucrative  one,  and  he  is  ready  to  adopt  all  feasi- 
ble new  ideas  which  tend  to  the  welfare  and  comfort  of  his  patrons,  his 
own  personality  being  not  the  least  attraction  of  his  place.  Mr.  Falone 
owns  some  valuable  real  estate  in  Charleston.  His  friends  are  numerous 
and  he  is  connected  with  a  number  of  associations,  among  them  the 
Knights  of  Columbus  and  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
of  Charleston.  Mr.  Falone  is  a  devoted  Roman  Catholic,  the  teachings 
of  which  denominatirin  wire  iu'-tillcd  into  him  in  ^■(lUtl^. 

He  married  Dorotln-  Edinunds,  a  native  of  C)hio. 


The    Humphreys    family    has    been    well    known    in 
HUMPHREYS     Kanawha   county.   West   Mrginia,    for   many   years, 

some  members  having  been  leaders  in  business  and 
financial  matters,  and  held  in  high  esteem  in  affairs  of  public  interest. 
The  family  came  from  Virginia  originally,  and  two  generations  have  now 
resided  in  Kanawha  county. 

(T)  James  Spicer  Humphreys  was  born  near  Charlottesville,  Albe- 
marle county,  Virginia,  died  at  his  home  in  Charleston,  West  \^irginia, 
July  10,  1912.  In  early  manhood  he  settled  at  Sissonville.  Kanawha 
county,  where  he  was  occupied  as  a  carpenter  for  some  years.  He  was, 
however,  possessed  of  excellent  executive  ability,  and  it  was  not  a  very 
long  time  before  he  engaged  in  business  as  a  contractor,  in  which  line  of 
industry  he  met  with  deserved  success.  Subsequently  he  became  inter- 
ested in  mercantile  business,  continuing  in  this  until  about  twenty  years 


94 


WEST  \IRGINIA 


prior  to  his  death,  when  he  retired  from  active  business  hfe.  For  a 
number  of  years  he  and  his  wife  resided  with  their  son,  Albert  ].,  where 
lie  devoted  much  time  to  reading.  He  was  an  earnest  student  of  history 
and  a  deep  thinker.  Fair-minded  and  deHberate  in  his  judgment,  his  ad- 
vice was  sought  by  friends  and  acquaintances,  and  his  opinions  carried 
weight  throughout  the  community.  While  he  never  aspired  to  holding 
public  office,  he  was  a  stanch  supporter  of  Democratic  principles,  and 
his  religious  affiliations  were  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  south. 
Mr.  Humphreys  married  Cynthia  Martin,  also  a  member  of  the  South 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  who  is  now  in  her  seventy-fourth  year, 
and  resides  with  her  son. 

( II )  Albert  J.,  son  of  James  Spicer  and  Cynthia  ( Martin )  Hum- 
phreys, was  born  in  Poca  district,  Kanawha  county,  West  Virginia,  Jan- 
uary 9,  1863.  He  acquired  his  elementary  education  in  the  public  free 
schools,  and  then  became  a  student  at  the  State  Normal  School,  at  Leb- 
anon, Ohio.  Coming  to  Charleston,  about  1890,  he  engaged  in  business, 
and  his  father,  James  S.  Humphreys,  located  in  Charleston  about  two 
years  later.  Here  he  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  mercantile 
affairs  in  all  branches,  and  his  foresight  and  business  acumen  soon 
placed  him  in  the  foremost  rank,  a  position  he  has  had  no  difficulty  in 
maintaining.  His  active  mind  was  not,  however,  satisfied  with  one  field 
of  endeavor,  and  banking  affairs  soon  engaged  his  attention.  He  is  at 
present  vice-president  and  managing  director  of  the  Elk  Banking  Com- 
pany, of  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  an  institution  which  was  called  into 
life  in  1904,  by  himself  in  association  with  Harrison  B.  Smith,  its 
president.  Its  capitalization  is  fifty  thousand  dollars,  its  surplus  ten 
thousand  dollars,  and  its  deposits  amount  to  more  than  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  From  its  inception  this  business  enterprise  has  run 
a  successful  course,  with  a  constantly  increasing  amount  of  business, 
and  they  now  own  the  building  in  which  their  offices  are  located,  at  the 
corner  of  Tennessee  avenue  and  Charleston  street.  In  public  matters 
Mr.  Humphreys  has  been  a  very  able  worker,  having  served  two  terms 
as  a  member  of  the  city  council,  two  years  as  a  member  of  the  city  board 
of  aft'airs,  and  held  the  office  of  vice-president  of  the  latter  body.  His 
progressive  views,  combined  with  careful  and  deliberate  consideration 
of  every  question  of  importance,  have  won  for  him  the  good  opinion  of 
those  best  able  to  judge  in  the  community.  In  political  matters  he  is 
a  Democrat,  and  his  fraternal  affiliations  are  with  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  having  attained  the  high- 
est branch  in  the  last  named  organization. 

Mr.  Humphreys  married  Gertrude,  born  in  Kanawha  county,  a 
daughter  of  ex-Judge  Leroy  and  Lethia  (Keeney)  Harless,  both  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Ex-Judge  Harless  resided  and 
died,  October  5,  191 1,  in  Charleston,  where  his  wife  died  in  1894.  Mrs. 
Humphreys  is  also  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 


Representatives  of  both  sides  in  the  civil  war  controversy 
WARTH     appear  in  the  family  history  of  Henry  Clay  Warth. 

( I  )  Robert  A.  Warth,  the  first  member  of  the  family  of 
whom  we  have  definite  information,  was  a  native  \"irginian,  born  at  New- 
ton, Roane  county,  now  in  West  ^^irginia,  and  living  in  Jackson  county. 
West  Virginia,  until  his  death  at  the  age  of  ninety-two  years.  Although  a 
farmer  he  also  had  a  large  cooper's  shop.  One  of  his  sons,  Charles,  made 
a  record  in  the  army  of  the  Confederacy,  and  received  wounds  in  battle 
while  under  the  command  of  General  "Stonewall"   Jackson. 

(II)   John  A.  \\'arth,  son  of  Robert  A.  Warth,  was  also  a  child  of 


WEST   VIRGINIA  95 

Virginia,  born  about  1847.  He  moved  to  Warth's  Ijcittuni,  Jackson 
county,  and  later  to  Gallipolis  Ferry,  Mason  county,  West  \'irginia, 
after  the  separation  of  the  states.  He  is  still  living  on  his  estate,  a 
farmer,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  He  married  Anna  Starcher,  born 
in  Virginia,  and  now  (  1913)  fifty-six  years  of  age,  daughter  of  William 
Starcher,  a  school  teacher,  who  died,  aged  sixty-six  years,  at  Logan, 
Ohio.  Mr.  Starcher's  young  manhood  was  dedicated  to  the  Union 
cause,  and  he  survived  to  serve  with  the  armies  of  General  U.  S.  Grant 
all  through  the  long  and  bitter  contest  of  1861-1865.  Mr.  and  ]\Irs. 
Warth  have  had  four  children,  all  yet  living:  Myrtle,  born  about  1876, 
married  William  Hall,  and  resides  at  Ocean  \'iew,  Mrginia ;  Henry  Clay, 
of  whom  further;  Arthur,  born  about  1882,  a  veterinary  surgeon,  lives 
at  Liberty,  Missouri ;  Mar}-  Belle,  unmarried,  a  teacher  at  Pottsville. 
Pennsylvania. 

(Ill)  Henry  Clay  Warth.  son  of  John  A.  Warth,  was  born  on  his 
father's  farm,  February  11,  1878.  After  attending  the  county  schools, 
he  desired  further  education  and  therefore,  in  1896,  came  to  Hunting- 
ton to  attend  I\Iarshall  College,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1900.  A 
further  course  of  study  at  Oberlin  College,  Ohio,  brought  him  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  1905,  and  that  of  Bachelor  of  Laws 
was  conferred  in  1907  by  the  L^niversity  of  Virginia.  Removing  to 
Huntington  he  first  took  as  his  law  partner  Herbert  Fitzpatrick,  with 
whom  he  opened  an  office,  but  in  1908  the  agreement  was  dissolved,  and 
Mr.  Warth  practiced  law  one  year  independently,  after  which  he  entered 
into  a  partnership  with  C.  W\  Lively,  which  continued  until  191 1,  when 
Mr.  Lively  moved  from  Huntington  to  Oklahoma.  On  July  i,  191 1,  Mr. 
Warth  joined  forces  with  F.  \^'.  AlcCullough,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Warth  &  McCullough.  which  firm  is  still  in  existence,  their  offices  being 
located  in  the  Parsons  Building,  on  Third  avenue. 

Such  a  progressive  man  as  ]\Ir.  Warth  is  necessarily  interested  in 
many  different  lines.  He  is  president  of  the  financial  institution  in  West 
Huntington,  known  as  the  Central  Banking  Company,  whose  constantly 
increasing  deposits  now  amount  to  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The 
many  factories  in  that  part  of  the  city  bring  it  large  patronage.  !\Ir.  Warth 
is  also  president  of  the  ]\Iutua!  Land  Company  of  Huntington.  The 
Democratic  party  is  favored  by  Mr.  Warth's  support,  and  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  the  community  is  a  Republican  stronghold  at  the  fall  election  of 
1912.  Mr.  Warth  was  elected  to  the  West  Virginia  state  legislature  from 
Cabell  county.  His  religious  denomination  is  the  Congregational :  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Order  of  Elks,  and  of  the  legal  fraternity.  Delta  Chi. 

Henry  Clay  Warth,  married.  July  18,  1899,  in  Huntington,  Ruth  Par- 
sons, a  daughter  of  \"ermont.  who  has  lived  ever  since  babyhood  in  West 
Virginia.  Her  father  was  one  of  Huntington's  leading  men,  Chester  F. 
Parsons,  who  died  aged  seventy-three,  in  189.S.  He  was  a  public-spirited 
man,  a  philanthropist,  who  made  his  fortune  in  wholesale  and  retail 
hardware.  Mrs.  Warth's  mother,  Mandana  S.  Parsons,  died  April  26. 
1912,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two,  Henry  King  Warth.  the  only  child  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henry  Clay  Warth.  was  born  .\ugust  30.   1906. 


This  family  is  of  German  origin  and  was  for  many  years 
STOLLE     prominent  in  business  in  Brunswick,  Germany.     The  first 

of  this  family  to  settle  in  West  Alrginia  was  Edward  C. 
Stolle,  who  was  born  in  Brunswick,  Germany,  in  181 2.  For  some  time 
he  studied  for  the  Catholic  priesthood,  but  becoming  interested  in  other 
matters  he  gave  up  his  studies  and  learned  the  jewelers'  trade.  In  1852 
he  came  to  this  country  and  worked  at  his  trade  in  Baltimore,  Maryland, 


96  WEST  VIRGINIA 

until  1854,  when  he  located  in  Charleston,  West  A'irginia,  opening  a 
jewelry  business  on  Kanawha  street,  where  the  hotel  St.  Albert  is  now- 
located.  He  continued  in  business  until  his  death,  April  20,  1887,  having 
changed  his  location  to  No.  11  Summer  street.  In  1856  he  went  to  Germany 
for  his  family,  returning  in  October  of  the  same  year.  He  was  one  of 
the  most  prominent  business  men  of  Charleston,  and  highly  respected 
for  his  integrity  and  thrift.  He  married  Augusta  Schmitt,  a  native  of 
Brunswick,  Germany,  who  died  in  Charleston.,  West  Virginia,  November 
29,  1895.  Fourteen  children  were  born  to  them  of  whom  eleven  died  at 
an  early  age.  The  children  surviving  were:  Mary,  Gustave  and  Agnes, 
who  reside  in  Charleston. 

jMary,  eldest  daughter  of  Edward  C.  and  Augusta  Schmitt  Stolle, 
married  Anton  Wurlitzer,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  she  is  now  deceased. 
She  had  a  daughter,  Emma,  who  married  A' ictor  Tischler ;  they  have 
three  children,  one  son  and  two  daughters :  Edna.  Verie  and  Anton. 

Gustave,  son  of  Edward  C.  and  Augusta  (Schmitt)  Stolle,  was  born 
in  Brunswick,  Germany,  March  25,  1844.  He  attended  the  public  and 
private  schools  of  his  native  city,  and  located  in  Charleston,  West  Vir- 
ginia, in  1856 ;  and  in  the  same  year  became  a  partner  of  his  father  in 
the  jewelry  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Stolle  &  Son  one  of  the  old- 
est business  concerns  in  the  city.  Since  his  father's  death  he  has  contin- 
ued the  business  alone.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church,  and  in 
politics  is  a  Republican.  He  is  a  member  of  Fernbank  Lodge,  No.  155, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  has  served  as  its  past  grand ; 
also  to  Kanka  Lodge,  No.  26,  Knights  of  Pythias,  being  past  chancellor, 
and  to  the  Encampment  of  the  same  order  of  which  he  is  past  chief 
patriarch.  He  married  at  Jackson,  Ohio,  October  24,  1870,  Kate,  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  and  Catherine  (Flaherty)  Manning.  She  was  born  near 
Richmond,  \'irginia,  in  1848,  and  removed  with  her  parents  to  Charles- 
ton, West  \'irginia,  in  1861. 


Arthur  Burke   Koontz.  a  practicing  lawyer  at  the   Kana- 
K("^OXTZ     wha  county  bar,  residing  in  Charleston,  born  in  Nicholas 

county,  West  \'irginia,  January  29,  1885,  was  son  of  John 
and  Alice  (Groves)  Koontz,  and  is  of  German  descent.  His  grandfather, 
James  Koontz,  the  first  of  the  name  in  West  \'irginia,  settled  in  Green- 
brier (now  Nicholas)  county,  coming  from  Pennsylvania,  the  former 
home  of  his  wife,  Rebecca  Longanecker.  Besides  John,  the  father  of  Ar- 
thur B.  Koontz,  they  had  several  other  children :  Samuel,  died  at  St. 
Albans,  West  \'irginia :  Middleton,  a  farmer  in  Nicholas  county ;  Allen, 
died  while  traveling  by  boat  from  St.  Louis  to  Maiden ;  Hannah,  married 
Willis  Nichols,  now  deceased,  whom  she  survives,  living  near  Zela, 
Nicholas  county;  Sarah,  married  Donally  Van  Bibber,  whom  she  sur- 
vives, a  widow;  Eliza,  deceased,  married  John  Legg;  Jeanette,  married 
Anthony  Rader,  of  Nicholas  county. 

John,  son  of  James  Koontz,  was  born  T^'cbruary  10,  1835,  and  died 
July  4,  191 1.  He  was  an  influential  citizen  and  business  man  of  Nicholas 
county,  where  he  lived  all  his  days.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and 
served  as  sheriff  one  term.  He  married  Alice,  daughter  of  John  and 
Catherine  (Duffy)  Groves.  Her  parents,  lived,  on  a  farm  in  Nicholas 
county;  their  children,  besides  Alice  (Groves)  Koontz  were:  David,  died 
in  Nicholas  county ;  John,  elected  several  times  from  Nicholas  county  to 
the  West  Virginia  assembly ;  Alfred,  a  farmer  and  school  teacher,  now 
living  at  Huntington,  West  \'irginia ;  Mary,  married  .Alexander  Dunbar, 
living  at  Kessler's  Cross  Lanes,  now  a  widow  ;  Elizabeth,  married  Nathan 
Neil,  now  a  widow  anfl  living  near  Drennen  ;  Belle,  married  Rev.  G.  W. 


WEST  MRGIXIA  97 

Young,  D.  D..  of  Louisville,  Kentucky,  who  has  done  important  work  in 
connection  with  the  National  Anti-Saloon  League  for  fourteen  years, 
and  of  which  he  is  now  the  secretary. 

The  children  of  Mr.  and  Airs.  John  Koontz  were:  i.  Louis  Kossuth, 
at  one  time  a  manufacturer  in  Pittsburgh,  then  connected  with  mines  in 
Goldfield,  Nevada,  where  he  lives ;  he  married  Ada  Halstead.  2.  Dr. 
James  William,  who  graduated  from  Kentucky  School  of  Medicine,  now 
a  practicing  physician  at  Greenville,  Kentucky:  married  Martha  Frey,  of 
Owensboro,  Kentucky.  3.  Luther  \"aughn,  president  of  First  National 
Bank  of  Clendenin,  \\est  Mrginia,  and  connected  with  many  Kanawha 
county  business  enterprises :  married  Edith,  daughter  of  David  F.  Os- 
borne. 4.  Arthur  Burke,  of  whom  further.  5.  Patrick  Duffy,  now  at 
the  L'niversity  of  Michigan,  Ann  Arbor,  JMichigan.  6.  Rouena  Cath- 
erine, married  Dr.  A.  L.  Alorris,  and  is  now  deceased.  7.  Lulu  Maude 
lives  at  home :  a  teacher.  8.  .-\da  Blanche,  lives  at  home :  a  teacher,  g. 
Gertrude,  married  L.  S.  Tulley,  and  is  now  deceased.  All  of  this  family, 
except  Arthur  Burke,  have  been  teachers  in  the  public  schools. 

Arthur  Burke  Koontz  received  his  first  instruction  under  the  tutelage 
of  his  elder  brother  Luther  V.  Koontz,  who  was  then  a  teacher  in  Nicho- 
las county.  He  afterwards  attended  the  Summersville  school,  and  later 
entered  Marshall  College,  where  he  graduated  in  1907.  The  same  year 
he  entered  Yale  University,  and  was  graduated  from  the  law  department 
in  1910.  In  January.  191 1,  he  opened  a  law  office  in  the  Alderson-Ste- 
phen  building  in  Charleston.  He  is  a  member  of  Phi  Alpha  Delta  law 
fraternity. 


William  Magoon,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about 
MAGOON     whom  we  have  definite  information,  was  born  in  Cana- 
ada,  and  also  died  in  Canada,  at  the  age  of  ninety.     He 
was  a  lumberman.     Child :  William  R.,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  William  R.,  son  of  William  Magoon,  was  born  November  22, 
1834.  He  was  in  the  lumber  business,  but  retired  twenty-five  years  ago, 
and  now  lives  at  Manistee,  Manistee  county,  Michigan.  He  is  a  great 
reader.  He  married  Eliza  Jane,  born  March  3,  1839,  and  living  (1913) 
at  Manistee,  daughter  of  Edward  Secor.  Her  father  was  in  the  banking 
and  produce  business  at  Racine,  Wisconsin,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of 
sixty.  Children:  i.  Henry  Walton,  born  in  1857,  died  in  January,  1908. 
2.  Olive  Qarissa,  born  September  5,  1859,  died  May  26,  1892;  married 
G.  M.  Ramsdell :  children:  James  Walter,  born  December  23,  1881  ; 
Frank  M.,  born  January  21,  1884:  Harry  N.,  born  February  15,  1887: 
Clara  Lucile,  born  January  22,  1889.  3.  William  Wallace,  of  whom 
further.  4.  Edith  A.,  born  May  22,  1864,  died  May  27,  1884.  5.  Emily 
R.,  born  January  18,  1866:  married  J.  V.  Mcintosh,  lives  at  Traverse 
City,  Michigan,  child:  Donald  A.,  born  February  26,  1894.  6.  Arthur, 
born  July  20,  1868,  died  June  20,  1894.  7.  Eliza  Jane,  born  February 
20,  1871  ;  married  T.  B.  Jones,  lives  at  i\Ianistee ;  children:  Marion  R., 
born  August  19,  1892;  Harry  N.,  born  June  24,  1894;  Helen  Elizabeth, 
born  November  18,  1902. 

(III)  William  Wallace,  son  of  William  R.  and  Eliza  Jane  (Secor) 
Magoon,  was  born  at  Manistee,  Michigan,  March  31,  1862.  He  attended 
the  public  school  at  Manistee.  For  seven  years  he  was  in  mercantile  life 
at  this  place,  being  manager  of  a  general  supply  store,  dealing  in  meats 
flour,  hay,  etc.,  in  carload  lots.  Having  worked  formerly  six  years  in 
the  lumber  woods,  driving  teams,  he  now  left  the  mercantile  business,  and 
became  manager  of  a  lumber  camp  in  Kentucky,  cutting,  drawing,  and 
marketing  the  lumber  for  Michigan  parties.     This  continued  three  years, 

7 


08  WEST  MRGINIA 

until,  ill  1891,  he  came  to  Huntington,  West  Virginia,  and  built  the  fac- 
tory now  owned  by  the  Central  Veneer  Company,  but  originally  intended 
for  an  excelsior  plant.  In  September  of  the  following  year  he  entered  the 
employment  of  the  Consolidated  Light  and  Railway  Company,  as  book- 
keeper. He  remained  with  them  till  1900,  being  promoted  to  the  position 
of  superintendent,  and  finally  to  that  of  secretary  and  general  manager. 
When  he  first  entered  their  employment,  nothing  but  horse-cars  were 
operated.  In  1904  he  went  to  Cincinnati,  with  the  great  lumber  concern 
of  C.  Crane  &  Company,  as  their  sales  manager.  In  1907  he  returned  to 
Huntington,  and  assumed  the  general  management  of  the  Ohio  Valley 
Electric  Railway  Company  and  subsidiary  companies.  He  has  rebuilt 
the  entire  property.  Mr.  Magoon  is  also  a  stockholder  in  the  First 
National  Bank.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  He  is  a  member  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church.  He  married,  at  Maysville,  Mason  county,  Ken- 
tucky, in  1892,  Claudia,  daughter  of  Josiah  and  Hannah  (McMath) 
Webb,  who  was  born  at  Moscow,  Clermont  county,  Ohio.  Her  father 
w'as  an  old  steamboat  captain  on  the  Ohio  river,  and  owner  of  packets ; 
he  died  in  1901 ;  his  grandfather  was  a  general  in  the  revolution.  Her 
mother,  Hannah  (McMath)  Webb,  is  now  (1913)  living  at  Vanceburg, 
Lewis  county,  Kentucky,  and  has  reached  the  age  of  seventy- four.  Mr, 
and  Mrs.  Magoon  have  no  children. 


The  name  Valentine  is  said  to  mean  robust,  powerful 
\'ALENTINE     showing  the  same  root  as  the  Latin  valeo.  This  name 

was  used  by  the  ancient  Romans ;  a  saint  and  a  pope 
have  borne  it ;  and  its  derivative,  A^alentinian,  was  the  name  of  three 
Roman  emperors.  It  is  found  in  almost  all  countries  of  southern  and 
central  Europe :  in  these  countries  it  appears  both  as  a  Christian  name 
and  as  a  surname.  Basil  Valentin,  a  medieval  monk  and  alchemist, 
among  other  claims  to  fame,  was  the  discoverer  of  antimony.  In  the 
United  States  this  name,  though  not  common,  is  widely  spread.  There 
are  three  comparatively  large  families  in  this  country,  and  other  Valen- 
tines not  connected  with  any  of  these.  It  is  possible  that  the  lineage  of  all 
may  meet,  in  the  early  Middle  Ages,  in  Holland  or  Germany ;  the  Irish 
Valentines  have  a  family  tradition  of  Dutch  origin,  about  six  centuries 
ago. 

(I)  Valentine,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 

have  definite  information,  lived  in  Jessamine  county,  Kentucky,  and  died 
suddenly  of  cholera  at  the  age  of  fifty.    Child :  Richard,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Rev.   Richard   Valentine,   son  of  A^alentine,   was   born  in 

Jessamine  county.  November  8,  1823,  died  in  1908.  For  fifty-two  years 
he  was  a  preacher,  mostly  in  Kentucky.  During  the  war  he  was  minister 
of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Lexington,  Fayette  county,  Kentucky. 
In  each  of  the  Presbyterian  congregations  of  that  city,  there  was  a  seri- 
ous division  of  sentiment  in  regard  to  the  issues  of  the  war;  in  1869  the 
matter  was  settled  by  a  readjustment,  those  from  each  congregation  who 
favored  the  Union,  of  whom  Mr.  Valentine  was  one  of  the  leaders,  form- 
ing one  congregation,  and  those  who  had  favored  the  South  another, 
the  ministers  all  resigning,  to  leave  the  field  clear  for  harmonious  re- 
arrangement. The  last  ten  years  of  his  life  Mr.  \'alentine  lived  in  Hunt- 
ington, Cabell  county.  West  Virginia.  He  married  Sallie  W.,  daughter 
of  William  J.  Smith,  who  was  born  at  Newcastle,  Henry  county,  Ken- 
tucky, in  1826,  and  died  in  April,  1904.  Her  father  was  born  about  1780, 
and  died  in  1865.  He  was  a  large  landowner  of  Henry  county  and  a 
slaveholder;  he  was  engaged  in  stock-raising,  and  was  the  first  president 


WEST  MRGINIA 


99 


of  the  railroad  from  Lexington  to  Louisville,  which  road  passed  through 
one  thousand  acres  of  his  land.  Children  of  Rev.  Richard  and  Sallie  W. 
(Smith)  \'alentine:  Hallie  \'.,  married  William  Holderby,  resides  at 
Huntington :  Lida.  married  James  E.  Johnson,  resides  at  Huntington : 
Martha  B.,  resides  at  Huntington:  John  Watson,  of  whom  further; 
Mamie,  married  D.  L.  Hunter,  resides  at  Maysville,  Kentucky ;  Katie, 
married  Harry  Parker,  resides  at  Georgeton,  Ohio :  Fannie,  married  Wil- 
liam Stephens,  resides  at  Georgeton,  Ohio ;  Beatrice,  deceased,  married 
R.  A.  Jack. 

(HI)  John  Watson,  son  of  Rev.  Richard  and  Sallie  W.  (Smith) 
Valentine,  was  born  at  Newcastle,  Kentucky,  June  24,  i860.  His  early 
education  was  received  at  Lexington,  to  which  place  his  parents  removed 
when  he  was  seven  years  old.  At  Augusta,  Bracken  county,  Kentucky, 
in  1876,  his  parents  having  then  moved  to  that  place,  he  became  clerk  in 
a  dry  goods  store,  in  which  position  he  remained  until  he  was  twenty- 
cne.  In  1882  he  came  to  Huntington,  and  entered  the  employment  of 
Harmason,  Jack  &  Company,  as  a  clerk  in  their  general  drygoods  store. 
Six  years  later  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Thomas  S.  Garland,  to  deal 
in  dry  goods,  under  the  firm  name  of  Garland  &  Valentine.  Withdraw- 
ing in  1894,  he  opened  the  J.  W.  Valentine  &  Company  general  dry- 
goods  store :  two  years  later  he  went  into  partnership  with  W.  H.  New- 
comb,  under  the  name  of  Valentine  &  Newcomb ;  and  in  the  following 
January  he  went  alone,  as  The  J.  W.  Valentine  Company.  In  October, 
191 1,  the  present  firm.  The  Valentine-Crow  Company,  was  formed.  Thus 
Mr.  Valentine  has  been  for  thirty-five  years  engaged  in  business,  and 
thirty  years  of  this  period  have  been  passed  at  Huntington.  When  he 
came  here  the  population  of  Huntington  was  only  thirty-five  hundred. 
His  store  is  the  largest  in  West  Virginia,  and  has  a  very  high-class  trade, 
being  of  a  thoroughly  metropolitan  character.  It  occupies  five  floors, 
forty  thousand  dollars  is  invested,  and  thirty  people  are  employed.  Mr. 
Valentine  is  already  regarded  as  a  business  pioneer.  He  is  also  president 
of  the  Thornburg  Manufacturing  Company,  manufacturers  of  house  fin- 
ishings, doors,  frames,  etc.,  at  Huntington ;  and  he  has  some  profitable 
oil  and  gas  interests.  He  is  a  Republican,  and  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church.  He  married,  at  Augusta,  Kentucky,  January  28,  1885, 
Darling,  daughter  of  James  W.  and  Elizabeth  (Marshall)  Armstrong, 
who  was  born  and  brought  up  at  Augusta.  Her  father,  who  died  about 
twenty-five  years  ago,  was  a  wholesale  and  retail  grocer ;  his  widow  sur- 
vived him  by  ten  years.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Valentine  have  no  children. 


A  person  of  distinction  professionally,  and  politically,  is 
HOLT     Judge  John   Herrimon   Holt,  being  a   Bachelor  of  Laws  of 

"Georgetown  LTniversity,  a  Master  of  Laws  of  Yale,  the  son 
of  a  jurist,  and  himself  a  successful  practitioner  of  the  state  for  nearly 
twenty-five  years.  Important  enough  to  have  been  the  Democratic  nomi- 
nee for  governor  of  West  Virginia,  and  a  candidate  for  the  United  States 
senate,  thus,  a  notable  of  the  state.  He  comes  of  good  old  West  Virginia 
descent. 

(I)  Jonathan  Holt,  his  grandfather,  was  born  in  West  Virginia,  in 
1789,  when  it  was  still  part  of  the  "Old  Dominion."  He  died  at  the 
age  of  eighty-eight  years,  at  West  Mil  ford,  Harrison  county.  His  life 
was  devoted  to  preaching  the  gospel,  his  faith  being  that  of  Wesley.  He 
married -,  and  had  a  son,  Homer  A. 

(II)  Judge  Homer  A.  Holt,  son  of  Jonathan  Holt,  was  born  at 
Parkersburg,  Virginia,  in  1832,  died  about  1903.  He  made  his  home  at 
Lewisburg,  Greenbrier  county,  this  state,  and  was  a  prominent  lawyer 


loo  WEST  VIRGINIA 

there.  He  was  made  judge  of  the  circuit  for  a  period  of  about  sixteen 
years,  and  a  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  appeals  for  six  years,  making 
a  total  of  over  twenty-two  years  on  the  bench.  His  first  appointment 
was  received  from  Governor  Fleming,  who  designated  him  to  fill  out 
the  unexpired  term  of  Judge  Snyder.  He  was  a  man  of  property  and 
fortune,  owning  slaves,  but  wah  liberal-minded  enough  to  set  them  free. 
His  sentiments  were,  however,  southern.  Accordingly,  we  find  him  a 
supporter  of  the  "lost  cause"  and  bearing  arms  in  its  defense.  He  was 
m  the  Sixteenth  Virginia  Cavalry,  in  the  confederate  service,  and  was 
injured  at  Gettysburg.  He  was  twice  taken  prisoner,  being  con- 
fined at  one  time  in  Camp  Chase,  and  at  another  in  Johnson's  Island,  both 
of  which  were  trying  experiences.  He  married  Mary  Byrne,  born  in 
Braxton  county,  Virginia,  about  1836,  daughter  of  John  Byrne,  a  farmer 
of  old  \'irginia.  JNIary  (Byrne)  Holt  is  still  living  at  Lewisburg,  a  strong, 
aciivc,  hardy  woman,  of  the  old-fashioned  sort,  still  an  excellent  horse- 
back rider.  Of  their  children,  four  in  number,  three  are  living:  i.  John 
Herrimon,  of  whom  further.  2.  Fannie,  married  O.  M.  Wiatt,  and  de- 
parted this  life  ten  years  ago.  3.  Robert  B.,  a  farmer,  banker  and  promi- 
nent citizen  of  Lewisburg.  4.  Nina,  married  Judge  Charles  Dice,  who 
presides  over  the  circuit  court  of  Greenbrier  and  Pocahontas  counties. 

(Ill)  Judge  John  Herrimon  Holt,  son  of  Judge  Homer  A.  Holt,  was 
born  in  Sutton,  Braxton  county,  Virginia,  August  10,  i860.  He  was 
educated,  as  to  preliminaries,  in  the  local  schools  of  his  birthplace,  and 
later  went  to  Randolph-Macon  College  in  old  Virginia.  From  that  in- 
stitution he  went  to  the  University  of  Virginia,  and  there  studied  law, 
passing  thence  to  Georgetown  College  and  later  to  Yale,  where  he  finally 
attained  the  rank  of  M.  L.  He  began  legal  practice  as  one  of  the  firm  of 
Frame  &  Holt,  in  Wheeling,  West  Virginia.  In  1890  he  settled  in  Hunt- 
ington, and  has  made  his  home  there  and  maintained  an  office  ever  since. 
He  began  as  one  of  the  law  firm  of  Campbell  &  Holt,  and  so  continued 
for  twelve  years.  The  firm  of  Campbell,  Holt  &  Duncan  was  then 
formed,  and  in  1904  the  present  firm  of  Holt  &  Duncan,  which  has  a 
numerous  and  profitable  clientele.  Judge  Holt  is  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity,  having  been  admitted  as  such  in  August,  191 1.  In  poli- 
tics a  Democrat,  he  was  nominated  on  their  ticket  as  candidate  for  the 
state  board  of  appeals,  but  was  defeated.  He  was  also  nominee  for 
governor  of  the  state,  and  also  for  the  United  States  senate.  In  religious 
faith  he  is  an  Episcopalian. 

He  married,  at  W'heeling.  West  \'irginia,  in  1888,  Effie  Ewing,  a  na- 
tive of  that  city.  Her  father,  Dallas  Ewing,  now  deceased,  was  a  promi- 
nent lawyer  of  that  place,  and  married  Emeline  Anderson,  who  is  still 
living  at  Wheeling,  aged  seventy  years.  Children:  i.  Homer  E.,  gradu- 
ate of  the  University  of  Maryland,  with  the  degree  of  LL.B. ;  admitted 
to  practice  in  the  courts  of  the  state,  November,  1912;  now  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Holt,  Duncan  &  Holt.  2.  Dorcas,  educated  at  the  Academy 
of  Mount  Notre  Dame.  Reading,  Ohio.  3.  Helen,  an  attendant  at  that 
institution.    4.  Klea,  an  attendant  at  the  same  institution. 


The    family   tradition   is   that   three   brothers   came 

BUFFINGTON     from   Whales,   one   settled   in   Pennsylvania,   one   on 

the  south  bank  of  the  Potomac  river  and  one  near 

Parkersburg,  Virginia,  on  what  is  known  as  Buffington  Island.     Richard 

Buffington,  the   founder  of  this  family,  was  born  about   1654,  and  died 

in  January  or  February,  1747-8.     In  1667  he  was  at  Upland,  Delaware 

county,  Pennsylvania.     He  married   (first)  Ann  -,  (second)  Frances, 

widow  of  John  Grubb,  (third)   Alice  Palmer,  who  survived  him.     Chil- 


>1^ 


^i//f^^ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  loi 

dren:  Ann,  married  Benjamin  Hickman;  Ruth,  married  Ezekiel  Harlan; 
Richard,  died  in  1741,  married  Phebe  Grubb ;  Thomas,  died  in  December, 

1739,  married   (first)   Ruth  Cope,   (second)   Ann  ;  William,  said  to 

have  died  without  issue,  therefore  probably  not  the  Mrginia  settler; 
John,  married  Sarah  Arnold :  Hannah,  married  Jeremiah  Dean ;  Mary, 
married  Charles  Turner;  Elizabeth,  died  in  1748-9,  married  (first)  Peter 
Collins,  (second)  John  Freeman;  Lydia,  married  George  ^lartin ;  Abi- 
gail, born  in  September,  1721,  died  in  April,  1813,  married  (first)  Ed- 
ward  Seed,    (second)    David   Fling;   Joseph,   died   November    17,    1785; 

Alice,  died  July  19,  1775,  married  (first)  McArthur,  (second)  James 

Hance. 

(I)  William,  probably  a  descendant  of  Richard  Buffington,  came 
from  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  in  Hampshire  county,  Virginia,  before 
1757.  His  will  was  dated  in  March,  1784,  and  recorded  in  August  of 
the  same  year.  He  purchased  of  Captain  John  Savage,  in  1772,  his  in- 
terest in  the  Savage  grant,  of  Virginia.  He  married  ^lary  .  Chil- 
dren: Joel;  Thomas,  of  whom  further;  William;  David;  Richard;  Jo- 
nathan, whose  family,  except  perhaps  one  child,  was  massacred  and  he 
himself  was  kept  captive  many  years  by  the  Indians ;  Susanna ;  Ruth ; 
Mary. 

(II)  Thomas,  son  of  William  and  Mary  Bufiington,  was  born  in 
1751,  and  died  in  1836.  He  was  a  surveyor.  He  built  on  the  point,  just 
below  the  Guyandotte.  He  married,  in  1775.  Ann  Cline.  Of  their  twelve 
children,  only  five  reached  maturity  :  William,  of  whom  further ;  Thomas, 
died  unmarried ;  Susan,  died  young,  married  Martin  Hull ;  Rebecca,  mar- 
ried John  Russell ;  James,  married  Eleanor  Lane,  moved  to  Ohio. 

(III)  William,  son  of  Thomas  and  Ann  (Cline)  Buffington,  was 
born  in  1787,  and  died  in  1858.  He  was  a  farmer  and  large  landowner, 
having  slaves.  In  his  younger  days  he  was  also  a  surveyor.  He  served 
as  a  colonel  in  the  militia.  He  married  Nancy,  daughter  of  Nathaniel 
and  Mary  Scales,  who  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  in  1795,  and  died  in 
1882.  Children:  Peter  Cline,  of  whom  further;  Amanda,  born  in  1816, 
died  in  1873,  married  Michael  Tierman ;  William  Henry,  born  in  1818, 
died  in  1899;  Dr.  Thomas  J.,  born  in  1821  ;  Mary  Jane,  born  in  1824, 
died  in  1886.  married  William  H.  Hagan :  James  H.,  born  in  1829;  Dr. 
John  N.,  born  in  1832,  died  in  1878,  married  (first)  ;\Iaria  Thompson, 
(second)   Julia  Garland. 

(IV)  Peter  Cline,  son  of  William  and  Nancy  (Scales)  Buffington, 
was  born  in  Guyandotte.  Cabell  county,  Mrginia,  in  September,  1814, 
died  .\pril  18,  1875.  He  attended  Kenyon  College,  Ohio,  and  was  a 
landowner  and  surveyor.  .^11  the  land  between  Seventeenth  and  Twenty- 
fourth  streets,  in  Huntington,  West  \'irginia,  was  formerly  part  of  his 
farm.  He  organized,  and  was  president  of  until  his  death,  the  Bank  of 
Huntington,  now  the  Huntington  National  Bank.  In  1864  he  was  elected 
to  the  state  legislature.  When  Huntington  was  incorporated  as  a  city  he 
was  the  first  mayor.  He  was  also  commissioner  of  forfeited  and  delin- 
quent lands.  In  all  public  aflfairs  he  was  active.  He  enlisted  in  the  For- 
est Hill  Regiment,  Confederate  Army,  and  was  appointed  quartermaster, 
and  breveted  colonel.  He  married  (first)  Eliza  Stannard,  widow  of 
Colonel  Nicholas  Stannard.  By  her  first  marriage  she  had  two  children 
Columbia  and  Georgia  Ella,  both  deceased.  He  married  (second)  Louisa 
Garland,  who  was  born  in  Northumberland  county.  \'irginia,  November 
28,  1841.  Children,  three  by  first,  others  by  second  marriage:  i.  Willie 
Anna,  married  W.  B.  Tennant.  now  lives  in  Richmond,  a  widow,  and  has 
three  sons  and  two  daughters,  all  living.  2.  Eugenia,  deceased ;  married 
Henrv  Baskerville,  of  Richmcind  :   son  :  Henrv.  married,  living  in  Rich- 


I02  WEST  VIRGINIA 

mond.     3.  Dr.  E.  S.    4.  Garland.     5.  Juliette,  married  F.  B.  Enslow,  of 
Huntington.    6.  Peter  Cline  (2),  of  whom  further. 

(V)  Peter  Cline  (2),  son  of  Peter  Cline  (i)  and  Louisa  (Garland) 
Buffington,  was  born  on  his  father's  farm,  where  the  C.  and  O.  Hospital 
now  stands,  August  6,  1868.  Marshall  College  is  also  near  this  place.  He 
attended  Marshall  Academy  and  Randolph-Macon  College,  Ashland,  Han- 
over county,  Virginia,  having  first  prepared  himself  in  the  public  schools. 
When  he  was  twenty-one  years  old,  he  entered  into  the  clothing  business, 
in  the  firm  of  Northcott  &  Buffington ;  after  about  five  years  he  continued 
the  same  kind  of  business,  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Buffington  Broth- 
ers &  Gwynn,  for  three  years ;  thereafter,  till  1896,  as  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Buffington,  Shiveley  &  Company.  Retiring  from  the  clothing 
trade,  he  traveled  for  five  years  for  the  Lovell  &  Buffington  Tobacco  Com- 
pany, of  Covington,  Kentucky,  of  which  his  uncle,  James  H.  Buffington, 
was  founder.  In  May,  1905,  he  formed,  with  Charles  W.  Blair,  the  in- 
surance firm  of  Blair  &  Buffington,  412  Tenth  street,  Huntington;  and 
this  is  his  present  occupation.  Mr.  Buffington  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  West  Virginia  state  legislature  and  served  during  the  sessions  of 
191 1.  He  became  a  candidate  for  sheriff,  nominated  at  the  Democratic 
primaries,  held  in  Huntington,  June  14,  1912,  and  November  5,  1912, 
was  elected  to  that  office,  taking  office  January  i,  1913,  for  a  period  of 
four  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Beta  Theta  Pi,  a  college  fraternity, 
the  Royal  Arcanum,  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  the  Modern 
Brotherhood  of  America,  and  several  business  orders.  He  is  a  Democrat. 
In  religion  he  sympathizes  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Qiurch,  South. 
He  married,  at  Athens,  Georgia,  November  21,  1896,  Pauline,  daughter 
of  Dr.  Hugh  H.  and  Caro  (Yancey)  Harris,  who  was  born  and  brought 
up  at  Athens.  Her  parents  have  both  been  some  years  deceased.  Chil- 
dren:  Caro  Louise,  born  January  17,  1899.  now  attending  !\Iarshall  Col- 
lege: Peter  Cline  (3),  born  May  24.  1905.  now^  attending  the  Emmons 
School. 


To  those  who  know  Huntington,  \^'est  Virginia, 
HARSHBARGER     the  name  of  Harshbarger  has  special  significance. 

It  represents  to  them  the  name  of  one  of  Hunt- 
ington's most  enterprising  and  substantial  men  of  business :  also  the  name 
of  one  of  the  principal  office  holders,  one  now  serving  a  second  term  in 
the  office  of  sheriff'  of  Cabell  county. 

The  first  of  this  Harshbarger  stock  to  appear  in  this  country-  was  Wil- 
liam Harshbarger,  paternal  grandfather  of  the  sheriff.  He  was  a  Ger- 
man by  birth  and  was  drowned,  many  years  ago,  in  Mud  river,  Cabell 
county.  He  was  a  farmer  and  blacksmith,  one  of  the  sturdy,  robust 
Teutons  who  have  done  so  much  toward  the  settling  and  upbuilding  of 
our  country.  Mr.  Harshbarger's  grandfather  on  the  maternal  side  was 
James  Garrett,  a  A'irginian.  He  was  a  farmer  also ;  he  lived  and  died 
in  Lincoln  county,  and  passed  away  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight. 

Mr.  Harshbarger's  father  was  David  Harshbarger,  a  farmer  and  flour 
mill  man.  He  was  born  in  Botetourt  county.  Virginia,  October  11,  181 1, 
and  died  March  4,  1898.  He  must  have  been  a  man  of  some  standing 
in  his  community  for  the  records  show  him  a  candidate  for  sheriff.  His 
wife  was  Mary  J.  Harshbarger.  She  also  was  a  Virginian,  and  lived  to 
be  seventy-five  years  of  age,  dying  in  1896.  There  were  eight  children  in 
this  family:  Henry,  Ellen,  George  W.,  Mary,  Alice,  Ira  J.,  of  whom 
further,  Maggie  J.,  and  Sammie.  Except  Alice  and  Sammie,  these  all 
survive.  Both  father  and  mother  had  been  married  liefore ;  the  above 
includes  onlv  the  children  of  their  second  uninn. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  103 

Ira  Jefferson  Harshbarger  was  the  sixth  child  of  the  above  marriage. 
He  was  born  at  Barboursville.  Cabell  county,  November  30,  1858.  His 
father  was  then  running  the  hotel  at  that  place.  \\'hcn  he  was  four  years 
of  age,  his  father  moved  to  the  faim  at  what  is  now  Ona  Station,  Cabell 
county.  West  \"irginia.  Here  he  attended  the  county  schools  until  he 
had  reached  the  age  of  fifteen,  ^\•hen  the  family  moved  to  ^lilton,  and 
there  he  finished  his  schooling.  He  worked  on  the  farm  then  until  he  was 
twenty-one.  His  father  then  gave  him  an  interest  in  the  farm,  and  in  the 
cattle-raising  business.  He  continued  thus  engaged  until  he  was  thirty 
\-car-  old,  in  1888.  Then  he  went  into  the  flour  mill  business  at  Milton 
with  a  half-brother,  John.  Together  they  ran  a  model  roller  mill  there 
fni  a  couple  of  years.  Then  George  W.,  Ira's  own  brother,  bought  John 
<iui  in  1900,  and  so  the  business  continued  two  years  more.  The  firm 
then  became  Harshbarger  Brothers ;  today  it  is  the  Harshbarger  Mill 
Ci'mpan}-.    The  mill  has  been  overhauled  and  is  now  entirely  modern  and 

In  i8y8,  Mr.  Harshbarger  took  up  the  oil  line  as  a  side  issue,  so  to 
speak,  and  it  has  brought  him  wealth.  He  leased  some  6,500  acres  of  land 
and  organized  the  Milton  Oil  &  Gas  Company.  Then  he  went  on  and 
drilled  three  wells,  and  organized  the  Cabell  Oil  &  Gas  Company,  which 
again  was  consolidated,  in  1903,  with  the  Harshbarger  Oil  &  Gas  Com- 
pany, a  concern  that  had  struck  oil  and  gas.  The  Cabell  company  went  in 
also'  under  his  management,  and  drilled  three  wells.  One  of  these  turned 
out  to  be  a  gas  well.  He  then  drilled  in  the  first  oil  well  to  south  of  the 
Little  Kanawha  river.  Here  a  vast  new  and  prolific  territory  was  opened 
up.  The  Harshbarger  company  has  drilled  now  some  thirty  wells,  and 
has  thus  brought  to  ^Milton  at  least  one  thousand  additional  inhabitants. 
The  Company  has  now  fifteen  producing  oil  wells,  and  eight  producing 
gas  wells.  It  is  capitalized  at  $600,000,  with  Mr.  Harshbarger  as  presi- 
dent and  general  manager  of  the  company.  He  is  a  large  stockholder, 
in  the  Harshbarger  mill,  which  is  capitalized  at  $50,000  paid  in,  and  does 
a  business  of  $250,000  a  year. 

Mr.  Harshbarger  organized  also,  in  1903,  the  Bank  of  ]\Iilton.  He  is 
president  of  that  institution  and  its  heaviest  stockholder.  He  is  president 
too,  of  the  Milton  Drilling  Company  which  does  business  to  the  amount 
of  $75,000  annually.  He  is  also  president  and  practically  sole  owner  of 
the  Fought  Oil  &  Gas  Company,  and  is  a  very  large  owner  of  realty,  both 
in  Huntington  and  Alilton  He  has  various  other  business  concerns  of  im- 
portance, and  is  heavily  interested  in  the  First  National  Bank  of  Hunting- 
ton, also  in  Guinn  Brothers'  mill,  and  the  H.  R.  Wiley  China  Company. 
He  is  a  director  of  the  Home  Building  Savings  &  Loan  Company,  presi- 
dent of  the  L'nited  Investment  &  Loan  Company,  and  is  part  owner  in 
the  Jackson  ^Milling  Company,  of  Jackson,  Ohio. 

Mr.  Harshbarger  is  a  Knight  of  Pythias;  by  religious  faith,  of  the 
Methodist  persuasion;  in  politics,  a  staunch  Republican.  He  is  of  note 
in  the  party  as  the  holder  of  the  most  important  public  office  of  the  coun- 
tv.  that  of  sheriff,  being  as  prominent  in  that  regard,  as  he  is  in  the  world 
of  business.  He  is  now  serving  his  second  term  of  four  years  in  this 
position.  He  married,  in  1881,  at  Bridgeton,  Indiana,  Clara  M,  Crooks, 
daughter  of  Dr.  James  M.  Crooks,  now  deceased.  They  have  three  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  Hattie  L.,  born  in  1882  ;  Maude,  born  in  1886;  and  Har- 
rison M..  born  in  1888. 


104  WEST  VIRGIXIA 

The  name  Davis  or  Davies  is  Welsh,  meaning  originally 
DAVIS     "son  of  David,"  thus  being  exactly  equivalent  to  Davidson 

and  Dawson.  It  is  one  of  the  most  common  names,  both  in 
Great  Britain  and  in  the  United  States.  To  trace  all  of  this  name  to  one 
stock  would  probably  be  impossible,  as  the  name  may  well  have  been  used 
in  many  different  families  having  an  ancestor  named  David. 

(I)  Benjamin  Davis,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  was  a  farmer  of  Wayne  county,  Virginia,  and 
owned  a  health  spring,  called  the  "Davis  Spring."  He  took  part  in  the 
battle  of  Point  Pleasant.     Child :  Marshall,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Marshall,  son  of  Benjamin  Davis,  was  born  in  Wayne  county, 
about  1812,  and  died  in  i860.  He  resided  in  Wayne  county,  and  was  a 
farmer  all  his  life.  For  a  short  time,  also,  he  had  a  store  at  Wayne 
Court  House,  Wayne  county.  He  married  Mary  J.,  daughter  of  William 
Morris,  who  was  born  in  Wayne  county  before  1800,  and  died  in  1878. 
Her  father  was  born  on  the  Kanawha  river,  and  lived  eighty-two  years ; 
he  married  a  sister  of  Rev.  Mr.  Burwell  Spurlock,  one  of  the  famous 
Virginia  preachers  of  his  day,  and  whose  family  were  prominent  in  politi- 
cal and  business  life.  Children  of  Marshall  and  Mary  J.  (Morris)  Davis  : 
William  M.,  living  retired  at  West  Huntington,  West  Virginia ;  Valen- 
tine Beamer,  of  whom  further ;  Octavia,  married  Noah  Adkins,  a  widow, 
living  at  Huntington ;  Rebecca,  married  Simpson  Ferguson,  living  in 
Wayne  county,  on  a  farm ;  James,  deceased :  Sarah,  deceased ;  Allen,  de- 
ceased :  Almeda,  deceased :  Louisa,  deceased ;  Stephen  ]\Iarshall.  de- 
ceased :  .Adelaide,  deceased. 

(HI)  Valentine  Beamer,  son  of  Marshall  and  Mary  J.  (Morris) 
Davis,  was  born  at  the  old  Davis  homestead,  Wayne  county,  Virginia. 
August  29,  1846.  He  had  little  opportunity  of  schooling,  but  attended 
to  some  extent,  the  schools  available  at  that  time  which  were  not  free. 
Until  his  marriage,  he  stayed  on  the  farm,  and  also  dealt  in  stock  on  his 
own  account.  He  continued  these  lines  of  business  after  marriage,  and 
still  deals  in  stock,  beside  owning  a  farm  ten  miles  south  of  Huntington. 
In  1871,  he  started  a  general  store  at  Bowen,  Wayne  county,  and  he  still 
holds  an  interest  in  this.  He  is  thus  the  oldest  merchant  in  the  county. 
At  various  times  he  has  run,  at  Bowen,  a  flour  and  corn  mill,  a  sawmill, 
and  a  blacksmith  shop,  conducting  all  these  simultaneously  and  under  the 
same  head.  Twenty-seven  years  ago  he  established  a  meat  market  at 
Huntington,  still  maintaining  his  residence  near  Bowen.  He  removed  to 
Huntington  with  his  family  eight  years  ago.  His  sons,  Otis,  Claude  and 
Walter  had  already  been  fifteen  years  at  Huntington,  conducting  the 
steadily  growing  business.  The  store,  at  first  only  a  meat  market,  has 
developed  into  a  meat  and  grocery  store,  and  now  there  are  three  stores, 
two  on  Third  avenue,  and  one  on  Ninth  street.  The  business  is  the  larg- 
est of  its  kind  in  the  state ;  meats  are  handled  at  wholesale,  as  well  as  at 
retail.  Mr.  Davis  holds  stock  in  the  Union  Savings  Bank  and  the  Hunt- 
ington Banking  and  Trust  Company,  also  in  a  wholesale  grocery  estab- 
lishment in  Cincinnati.  He  is  a  Democrat,  and  a  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  South.  He  married  (first),  in  Wayne  county.  De- 
cember 29,  1864,  Cynthia  A.,  daughter  of  Jefiferson  Bowen,  who  was 
born  at  Bowen  in  1844,  and  died  in  1907.  Her  family  were  the  pioneers 
of  this  part  of  the  state,  and  Bowen  received  its  name  from  them.  Be- 
fore the  counties  were  divided  as  at  present,  her  father  acted  as  sheriff  of 
the  whole  region,  though  her  grandfather  actually  held  the  office.  Jeffer- 
son Bowen  lived  to  the  age  of  fifty-eight.  Mr.  Davis  married  (second), 
at  Guyandotte,  Cabell  county,  June  27.  icjoS.  Nancy,  daughter  of  \\'illiam 
Seamonds,  who  was  born  in  Cabell  county,  in  1848.  Her  father,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  about  fifty-eight,  was  a  farmer  in  Cabell  county.    Chil- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  105 

dren,  all  by  first  marriage:  i.  Walter,  born  in  1866,  died  in  1908:  mar- 
ried Nannie  Crump  and  had  two  children,  Ada  and  Clarence.  2.  Otis, 
born  in  1867,  now  general  manager  of  the  store :  married  Emma  Rosen- 
steel  and  has  one  child,  Lillian.  3.  Ida.  deceased  ;  married  G.  H.  Crump, 
of  Huntington.  4.  Claudius,  born  about  1874,  married  ?\Iaggie  Blanch- 
ard :  one  child,  Claude  Austin.  He  is  connected  with  the  store.  5. 
Vaught,  born  in  1876,  died  in  1907. 


Charles  William  Tliornhurg's  ancestry  is  the 
THORN  BURG  straightest  American  and  West  Virginian  on  both 
sides.  His  grandfather  on  the  paternal  side  was 
David  Thornburg,  a  farmer  of  Elm  Grove,  Ohio  county.  West  Virginia, 
who  died  there  at  an  advanced  age.  His  father,  Moses  Sheppard  Thorn- 
burg, was  a  farmer  also,  and  a  life-long  resident  of  Elm  Grove.  He 
died  in  Cabell  county.  West  Virginia,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five,  when 
Charles  William  Thornburg,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  but  three 
years  old.  His  mother  was  Caroline  Handley,  born  near  Blue  Sulphur 
Springs,  Cabell  county,  and  had  reached  the  age  of  seventy-four  when 
she  died,  April  25,  1900.  Mr.  Thornburg  is  one  of  a  family  of  five  chil- 
dren, of  whom  three  are  now  living:  Sallie,  now  Mrs.  Moses  Darling,  of 
Miller's,  Ohio;  Lizzie  R.,  now  Mrs.  G.  R.  Mayberry,  of  Guyandotte, 
Huntington  ;  and  Charles  William,  of  whom  further.  Those  who  are 
deceased  are  Handley  and  Fannie,  both  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 

Charles  William  Thornburg  was  born  December  28,  1866,  on  the 
old  Thornburg  homestead,  situated  on  Guyon  river,  in  Cabell  county, 
about  a  mile  southwest  of  Barboursville.  As  a  boy  he  attended  the  local 
schools,  and  later  took  a  course  at  the  Holbrook  Institute,  Lebanon,  Ohio. 
When  he  had  finished  this  course  he  found  employment  as  a  schoolmas- 
ter in  Cabell  county.  This  profession  he  followed  for  seven  years,  mak- 
ing his  home  at  Guyandotte  from  the  time  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age. 
His  next  employment  was  in  the  furniture  line,  with  W.  H.  H.  Holswade, 
with  whom  he  remained  for  ten  years.  He  then  embarked  in  the  insur- 
ance line,  forming,  for  that  purpose,  a  partnership  with  A.  W.  Wernin- 
ger,  which  lasted  three,  years.  When  this  relation  was  dissolved,  he  con- 
nected himself  with  Cameron  L.  Thompson,  in  the  same  business.  By 
the  admission  of  a  new  member  in  1909,  the  firm  became  Thompson, 
Thornburg  &  Watts.  This  firm  takes  a  leading  place  in  the  insurance 
business  of  Huntington  and  surrounding  towns. 

Mr.  Thornburg  is  a  Democrat  in  politics.  He  served  three  terms  in 
the  office  of  city  clerk,  while  he  lived  at  Guyandotte,  and  two  terms  of 
six  vears  each  on  the  board  of  education  there.  He  takes  active  part  in 
fraternal  affairs  as  a  Mason,  Knight  Templar,  and  Shriner.  He  is  past 
master  of  Western  Star  Lodge  No.  11,  Guyandotte  and  past  eminent  com- 
mander of  Huntington  Commandery  No.  9,  Knights  Templar.  He  is  a 
member  of  Johnson  Memorial  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  and 
is  one  of  the  trustees  of  that  body  and  a  member  of  the  official  board. 

I\Tr.  Thornburg,  married,  September  5,  1893,  at  Culpeper,  Virginia, 
Josephine  Harris,  of  that  place.  Her  father  was  T.  B.  Harris,  who  had 
been  in  the  insurance  line  at  Culpeper,  from  the  time  of  the  war  between 
the  states.  He  served  in  that  war,  in  Pickett's  Brigade,  of  the  Confeder- 
ate army.  Mrs.  Thornburg's  mother  died  when  she  was  but  an  infant. 
The  Thornburgs  have  two  children,  both  living:  Charles  Irving,  born  Sep- 
tember II,  i8(^:  and  Josephine,  born  November  6,  uSqq.  Both  are  now 
attendants  at  Marshall  College,  in  Huntington. 


loTj  WEST   \  IRGINIA 

Samuel  C.  Walker  was  born  in  Frederick  county,  Vir- 
\\"ALKER  ginia,  and  there  spent  his  life.  He  married  Elizabeth 
Streit,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Elizabeth  (Streit)  Wilson, 
and  granddaughter  of  the  Rev.  Christian  and  Susanna  (Barr)  Streit. 
Rev.  Christian  Streit  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  January,  1749,  and  was 
graduated  from  the  college  of  Philadelphia  in  1768.  He  studied  theology 
under  the  preceptorship  of  the  famous  Lutheran  minister.  Rev.  Peter 
.Aluhlenburg,  of  Philadelphia,  and  when  the  latter,  in  December,  1775,  or- 
ganized the  Eighth  X'irginia  Regiment,  Christian  Streit  was  commissioned 
its  chaplain.  He  continued  to  serve  as  chaplain  in  the  Continental  army, 
until  taken  prisoner  by  the  British  at  the  surrender  of  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  July,  1777.  ]\Ir.  and  ;\Irs.  Walker  had  children:  Streit;  Eliza- 
beth ;  Samuel  C,  served  as  a  private  in  the  Union  army,  and  is  at  present 
a  government  inspector  at  San  Francisco,  California,  and  has  his  perma- 
nent home  in  Barbour  county.  West  Virginia ;  Henry  Streit,  of  whom 
further ;  Allie,  killed  in  battle  while  serving  as  a  captain  under  General 
Early  in  the  confederate  army ;  Charles ;  Evelina,  married  John  Smith,  a 
prosperous  and  prominent  farmer  in  Green  county,  Virginia. 

(H)  Henry  Streit,  son  of  Samuel  C.  and  Elizabeth  Streit  (Wilson) 
Walker,  was  born  in  Winchester,  Frederick  county,  A'irginia,  May  31. 
1840,  died  in  1891.  His  educational  advantages  were  unusually  excellent 
ones,  as  he  attended  institutions  at  Winchester  and  Morgantown,  and 
then  the  Washington  College,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  graduated  as  vale- 
dictorian of  his  class  at  the  last-named  institution,  and  was  the  recipient 
of  the  highest  honors  awarded  there.  For  a  time  he  studied  law,  then 
followed  the  natural  bent  of  his  inclinations,  into  the  field  of  journalism, 
where  his  career  was  eminently  successful.  The  JI' heeling  Daily  Regis- 
ter was  then  the  leading  Democratic  organ  of  that  section  of  the  country, 
and  in  1865,  but  two  years  after  being  graduated,  he  became  its  editor. 
When  Charleston  became  the  capital  of  Kanawha  county  he  removed  to 
that  town,  and  for  a  period  of  ten  years  ably  conducted  the  papers  he 
had  founded  in  the  interests  of  his  party.  His  brilliant  mind  was  always 
in  the  van  in  all  movements  tending  toward  progress  and,  while  a  candi- 
date for  legislative  and  congressional  honors  in  1875,  1878  and  1880,  he 
only  failed  of  election  because  of  internal  dissensions  in  his  party.  His 
influence  on  public  affairs,  however,  was  strong  and  wide-spread,  and 
turned  the  tide  of  battle  in  many  an  important  issue.  He  served  as  pub- 
lic printer  for  West  Virginia  in  1871-2.  In  1885  he  was  appointed  sec- 
retary of  the  state  for  West  Virginia,  under  Governor  Wilson,  where  he 
served  one  year  over  his  full  term,  retiring  with  honor  and  distinction, 
March  3,  1889.  Public  education  was  one  of  the  numerous  interests 
which  were  greatly  benefited  by  the  attention  given  them  by  Mr.  Walker, 
and  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  regents  of  the  West  Virginia 
University  for  a  period  of  thirteen  years.  The  cultivation  of  his  valua- 
ble farm  in  Virginia  occupied  the  greater  part  of  his  time  during  later 
years,  and  he  paid  especial  attention  to  the  growing  of  fine  stock. 

Mr.  Walker  married,  1868,  Emma,  born  in  Wetzel  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia, ]\]arch  24,  1848,  daughter  of  George  W.  and  Elizabeth  (Horn- 
brooke)  Bier.  Children:  i.  Emma  E.,  born  in  Charleston,  West  Virginia, 
August  6,  1871  ;  married  H.  L.  Prichard.  of  Charleston.  2.  Philip  George, 
of  whom  further. 

(HI)  Lieutenant  Philip  George  Walker,  only  son  and  youngest  child 
of  Henry  Streit  and  Emma  (Bier)  Walker,  was  born  in  Charleston,  West 
Virginia,  September  8,  1872.  His  college  preparatory  education  was  ac- 
quired at  the  Pantops  Academy,  near  Charlottesville,  Virginia,  after 
which  he  became  a  student  at  Princeton  L'niversity  and  was  graduated 
from  the  academic  department  in   1S95.     Taking  up  the  study  of  law  at 


^;^7-y  ^//7r^/d-r_ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  107 

the  University  of  \'irginia,  he  was  admitted  td  the  bar  in  1897,  ^"^  be- 
gan the  practice  of  law  in  Charleston,  West  \'irginia,  in  which  he  has  con- 
tinued up  to  the  present  time.  He  is  the  owner  of  a  fine  farm  in  the 
Shenandoah  Valley,  and  he  and  his  mother  have  been  very  successful  in 
its  cultivation.  During  the  Spanish-American  war  Mr.  Walker  enlisted 
as  a  private  in  Company  B,  First  West  Virginia  Volunteer  Infantry; 
was  assigned  to  Company  E  and  commissioned  second  lieutenant,  May 
16,  1898,  and  advanced  to  a  first  lieutenancy,  January  10,  1899.  He  also 
served  as  aide  to  Brigadier-General  John  A.  Wiley,  commanding  the 
Second  Division,  First  Army  Corps.  Mr.  Walker  is  a  stanch  supporter 
of  the  Democratic  party,  and  his  religious  affiliations  are  with  the  Pres- 
byterian church.  He  is  a  member  of  Beta  Theta  Phi  fraternity  of  the 
University  of  Virginia,  ami  of  the  Edgewood  Country  Club. 

(The  Schley  Line). 

Mrs.  Walker  is  descended  from  the  Schley  family  as  follows: 
fl)    Nicholas  Schley,  married  Eve  Bregetta. 

(II)  John  Thomas,  son  of  Nicholas  and  Eve  (Bregetta)  Schley,  was 
the  founder  of  the  Schley  family  in  America,  and  estabhshed  the  First 
Evangelical  Reformed  Church,  in  the  colony  of  Monocacy,  prior  to  1745. 
In  1745  he  surveyed  and  laid  out  the  town  of  Frederick,  jMaryland,  the 
compass  used  by  him  being  still  in  the  possession  of  the  Schley  family 
in  that  town,  built  the  first  house,  and  in  it  was  born  his  daughter,  Eve 
Catherine,  being  the  first  child  born  in  the  town.  He  was  the  first  teach- 
er in  the  Evangelical  Reformed  church  in  Frederick,  and  for  forty-five 
years  was  its  mainstay.  Of  good  education  and  keen  discernment,  he 
was  a  well  known  figure  in  the  political,  military  and  ecclesiastical  his- 
tory of  the  state  of  Maryland.  The  large  and  influential  family  of 
Schleys  in  this  country  is  descended  from  him.  This  family  furnished 
guns  for  the  revolution  from  private  funds  and  also  two  hundred  pounds 
of  lawful  currency  to  relieve  the  necessities  of  Boston.  The  following 
extracts  are  of  historical  interest:  "At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Fred- 
erick County  this  20th  day  of  June,  1774,  John  Thomas  Schley  (with 
these)  were  appointed  a  committee  to  receive  and  answer  letters  and  in 
any  emergency  to  call  a  meeting;"  Schafif's  History,  Vol.  II.     "Nov.  i8th, 

1774.  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Committee  to  represent  Freder- 
ick County  and  to  carry  into  execution  the  resolutions  agreed  on  by  the 
American   Continental   Congress ;"   ibid,   page    164.      "On   January  24th, 

1775,  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Observation  with 
full  powers  to  prevent  any  infraction  of  the  American  Congress,  and 
carry  into  effect  the  resolutions  of  that  body."  These  committees  were 
known  as  the  committee  of  correspondence  and  the  committee  or  coun- 
cils of  safety  ;  ibid,  page  174.  John  Thomas  Schley  married  Margaret 
von  Wintz. 

(III)  Eve  Catherine,  daughter  of  John  Thomas  and  Margaret  (von 
Wintz)   Schley,  married  Philip  Bier. 

(IV)  Philip,  son  of  Philip  and  Eve  Catherine  (Schley)  Bier,  mar- 
ried Patience  Elliott. 

(V)  George  W.,  son  of  Philip  and  Patience  (Elliott)  Bier,  married 
Fllizabeth  Hornbrooke,  and  had  children:  i.  Emma,  who  married  Henry 
Streit  Walker,  as  mentioned  above.  2.  Philip  George,  born  at  Wheeling, 
West  Virginia,  November  21,  1841  ;  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  D, 
Twelfth  Regiment,  West  A'irginia  \'olunteer  Infantry,  and  was  killed  at 
the  battle  of  Cedar  Creek.  1864,  at  which  time  he  was  captain  in  the 
I'nited  States  \'olunteers  and  acting  as  assistant-adjutant-general  on  the 
staff  of  Major-General  Crook.  He  had  also  held  the  same  rank  on  the 
staffs  of  Major-Generals  Sigel  and  Hunter.     The  "C(intemporary  Biog- 


io8  WEST  VIRGINIA 

raphy  of  West  Mrginia"  says  :  "While  endeavoring  to  rally  the  retreat- 
ing Union  troops  near  Middletown,  about  thirteen  miles  from  Winchester, 
October  19,  1864,  he  was  mortally  wounded  and  died  from  the  effects  of 
the  wound  the  same  day." 


To  the  fraternity  of  traveling  salesmen  traversing 
THORNBURG  this  district,  Edgar  Horace  Thornburg  is  well 
known,  not  only  by  his  long  service  in  that  occupa- 
tion, but  as  one  of  the  heads  of  their  order,  in  a  territory  covering  four 
states.  He  is  also  distinguished  as  a  live  business  man.  Air.  Thornburg 
is  of  old  West  \'irginia  stock.  His  paternal  grandfather  was  Thomas 
Thornburg,  a  farmer  of  Berkeley  county,  West  Virginia,  who  died  there 
at  seventy  years  of  age.  His  maternal  grandfather,  Henry  H.  Miller, 
was  a  West  Virginian,  who  was  eighty  years  old  at  his  death ;  he  was  very 
active,  and  was  a  river  man  and  merchant,  long  resident  at  Gnyandotte, 
and  so  partisan  a  Confederate  in  civil  war  times  that  the  Yankees  burnt 
his  storehouse  and  all  his  effects.  He  passed  away  at  Cincinnati,  where 
he  had  long  been  engaged  in  the  commission  line. 

dl)  Collins  Unseld,  son  of  Thomas  Thornburg,  was  a  native  of 
Berkeley  county.  He  was  a  school  teacher  in  public  schools  for  the  most 
part,  and  for  a  time,  assistant  at  Marshall  College.  His  wife,  Mr.  Thorn- 
burg's  mother,  was  Lenore  Chapman  Miller,  a  native  of  Missouri ;  her 
parents  located,  nearly  seventy  years  ago,  at  Guyandotte  (now  Hunting- 
ton), and  here  she  has  remained  ever  since.  She  is  now  in  her  seventieth 
year.  Children  of  Collins  U.  and  Lenore  C.  (Miller)  Thornburg,  all  liv- 
ing, are :  Harry  Collins,  of  Huntington ;  Charles  Miller,  of  the  same 
place:  Lida  Marie,  unmarried,  of  the  same  place;  Edgar  Horace,  of 
whom  further;  Frances  Belle:  and  Frank  Bruner,  who  are  twins:  and 
Lenore  Chapman,  now  Mrs.  A.  H.  Yarbrough,  of  Atlanta,  Georgia. 

(Ill)  Edgar  Horace,  son  of  Collins  L'nseld  Thornburg,  was  born  in 
Berkeley  county.  West  \'irginia,  on  the  old  Thornburg  homestead,  his 
father's  farm,  September  2,  1872.  His  early  education  was  obtained  in 
the  local  schools,  and  later  in  those  in  and  near  Huntington.  He  re- 
mained on  the  farm  assisting  his  father  until  he  was  of  age.  Then  he 
began  his  business  career  in  the  C.  &  O.  shops.  Then,  after  studying 
shorthand,  he  went  with  the  Emmons  Hawkins  Hardware  Company  of 
Huntington,  West  \'irginia,  in  1893,  ^""^l  remained  in  that  capacity  about 
ten  years,  for  a  time  in  office  work,  and  later  on  the  road.  He  was  a 
salesman  with  the  crmcern  for  seven  years.  He  then  became  associated 
with  the  Standard  Oil  Company  for  four  years.  Then,  in  1906,  he  or- 
ganized the  Huntington  Hardware  Company,  which  was  consolidated 
three  years  later  with  the  Foster,  Mead  Hardware  Company,  a  corpora- 
tion of  Huntington,  He  had  been  secretary  of  the  Huntington  company, 
and  began  in  the  same  position  with  the  new  concern,  after  consolidation. 
Later  on  he  became  general  manager  of  the  corporation  and  still  holds 
that  office.  He  is  also  a  director  of  the  l^nion  Transfer  Company,  of 
Huntington. 

Mr.  Thornburg  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  ;  a  member  of  the  Southern 
Methodist  church  ;  and  a  Free  Mason.  He  is  grand  councillor  of  the 
Commercial  Travelers'  Association,  for  the  district  embracing  the  two 
A'irginias,  Kentucky  and  Maryland.  He  married  in  Huntington,  .'\pril 
21,  1899,  Bertha  M.  McGlathery,  born  in  Altoona.  Pennsylvania,  in 
]March,  1876.  Her  father,  Lewis  S.  McGlathery  still  survives  and  re- 
sides with  I\Ir.  Thornburg.  Her  mother.  Katherine  McGlathery.  died 
July  3,  IQII.     Two  children  \^•ere  born  of  this  union:  Paul  Lewis,  born 


WEST  MKGINIA  109 

June  15,   1900,  now  attending  public  school  here;  and  Catherine  Lenore, 
born  January  7.   1909. 


Charles   Russell    Wyatt    is   of   old    \irgniia    stock    on    both 
W'YATT     sides  of  the  family.     His  grandfather  on  the  paternal  side, 
William  R.  B.  Wyatt,  was  born  in  Gloucester  county,  Vir- 
ginia, and  died  there  at  the  age  of  seventy-five.    He  was  a  farmer. 

(II)  Richard  Wyatt,  son  of  William  R.  B.  Wyatt.  was  born  in  Caro- 
line county,  Virginia,  in  1832.  His  life  was  brief  compared  with  those  of 
his  immediate  forbears;  he  died  April  30,  1881,  at  the  age  of  forty-nine. 
His  life,  however,  had  not  been  uneventful.  Before  the  war  he  lived 
and  worked  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  employed  there  in  a  clerical  capacity. 
During  the  war  he  served  with  the  famous  Richmond  Howitzers,  a 
crack  corps  of  the  southern  capital,  which  saw  no  little  serious  fighting 
and  earned  a  martial  name  and  fame.  After  the  war  he  went  to  farming 
in  his  native  state. 

His  wife  was  Mary  Eubank,  daughter  of  Joseph  C.  Eubank,  who 
lived  and  died  in  Middlesex  county,  in  the  old  Dominion  state  and  was 
seventy  when  he  passed  away.  He,  too.  was  in  the  agricultural  line.  Mrs. 
Richard  Wyatt  was  born  in  Essex  county,  Virginia,  in  1837,  died  in  April, 
1895,  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight.  Children  :  Charles  Russell,  mentioned  be- 
low ;  Belle  L.,  now  resident  in  Richmond,  \irginia.  and  the  wife  of  Jo- 
seph E.  Willard,  of  that  city. 

(III)  Charles  Russell  Wyatt.  son  of  Richard  Wyatt,  was  born  in 
Caroline  county,  Virginia,  December  5,  1867.  He  was  named  after  the 
distinguished  Charles  W.  Russell.  The  family  made  its  home  in  Middle- 
sex county,  when  he  was  but  two  years  old,  and  there  he  was  brought 
up  and  received  the  elements  of  education  in  the  common  schools.  Later,, 
in  his  younger  manhood,  he  studied  law  at  the  University  of  Virginia, 
and  received  his  degree  and  license  to  practice  in  1892.  He  had  helped 
his  father  on  the  farm  until  his  twentieth  year.  In  1887.  he  came  to 
Huntington,  and  found  employment  with  the  Adams  Express  Com- 
pany. It  was  in  1891  that  he  took  up  his  law  studies;  that  year  he  was 
enabled  to  take  a  course  at  the  University  of  A'irginia. 

Mr.  Wyatt  has  led  a  busy  life,  not  as  a  lawyer  only,  but  in  a  business 
way  and  in  public  affairs  as  well.  He  has  been  especially  interested  in 
the  development  of  Huntington.  He  is  vice-president  of  the  American 
National  Bank,  one  of  the  city's  important  financial  institutions,  vice- 
president  of  the  American  Bank  &  Trust  Company,  vice-president  also 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Table  Company.  Politically  he  is  a  Democrat,  and 
prominent  enough  in  that  party  to  have  been  its  candidate  for  prosecut- 
ing attorney  in  1908.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order,  and  attached 
to  the  Presbyterian  faith. 

Mr.  Wyatt  married,  November  3,  1897,  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  Sarah 
P.  Sloan,  a  native  of  that  city,  born  July  i,  1869,  daughter  of  Captain 
John  A.  Sloan,  who  was  an  officer  in  the  Confederate  service,  and  died 
several  years  ago.  Her  mother,  Morton  W.  Sloan,  lives  with  the  Wyatt 
family  in  Huntington.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wyatt  have  three  children,  all 
living,  namely:  Charles  R.,  Jr.,  born  October  8,  1898,  now  at  school; 
Morton  W.,  born  June  19,  1900;  and  Joseph  W.,  born  May  26,  1902. 


Timothy    Scanlon.    the    first    member    of    this    family    in 
SCANLON     America,    was    born    in    county    Kerry,    Ireland,    about 
1804.  and  died  in    i860.     At  the  age  of   forty-four   he 
came  with  his  family  to  America,  and  settled  at  Harrisonburg,  Rocking- 
ham county,  Virginia.     In  America  he  was  a  railroad  contractor.     He 


no  WEST  VIRGINIA 

married,  in  Ireland,  Nora  ?\lahone\',  who  \va^  born  in  County  Kerry, 
Ireland,  about  1819,  and  died  in  1901.  Children:  P.  J.,  living  in  Lin- 
coln county,  West  \'irginia :  Nora,  married  Charles  Dyer,  lives  at  Mont- 
gomery, West  \''irginia ;  Margaret  C,  married  John  Lee,  lives  at  Hunt- 
ington ;  Timothy  Samuel,  of  whom  further ;  and  five  deceased. 

(II)  Timothy  Samuel,  son  of  Timothy  and  Nora  (Mahoney)  Scan- 
Ion,  was  born  at  Harrisonburg,  Virginia,  October  15,  1858.  While  he  was 
an  infant,  his  father  removed  to  Covington,  Alleghany  county,  Virginia, 
and  when  he  was  five  years  old  the  family  went  to  Kanawha,  West  Vir- 
ginia. Here  he  attended  the  public  schools,  and  also  earned  money  to 
take  him  to  the  college  at  Staunton,  Augusta  county,  Virginia.  Then  he 
went  into  southwestern  Kentucky,  and  worked  for  a  year  as  weighmas- 
ter  at  a  coal  mine.  After  this  he  entered  the  employment  of  the  Chesa- 
peake &  Ohio  railroad,  at  Hinton,  Summers  county,  West  Virginia.  First 
he  was  clerk  at  the  station,  then  for  fifteen  months  he  was  a  brakeman, 
after  this  he  was  conductor  for  two  years,  then  for  three  years  yardmas- 
ter  at  Hinton.  He  next  was  made  trainmaster  over  the  mountains  and 
held  this  position  for  two  years.  In  1881  he  settled  at  Huntington,  Ca- 
bell county,  West  Virginia,  and  engaged  in  the  shoe  business,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  T.  S.  Scanlon  &  Company.  Four  years  later  he  owned 
the  store  by  himself,  and  he  continued  in  this  business  until  April,  1907. 
Since  that  time  he  has  been  a  general  contractor,  engaged  mostly  in 
municipal  work,  street-paving  and  sewer  work.  He  is  a  stockholder  and 
now  (1913)  vice-president  of  the  Huntington  Chair  Company.  He 
helped  to  organize  the  LInion  Savings  Bank  and  Trust  Company  in  1897, 
and  has  been  vice-president  since  its  organization.  The  plan  on  which 
the  Huntington  Chamber  of  Commerce  is  based  was  devised  by  him, 
and  he  was  for  eight  years  its  secretary.  In  politics  Mr.  Scanlon  is  a 
Democrat,  and  an  active  one,  during  campaigns,  he  speaks  for  the  party 
all  over  the  state,  and  has  a  recognized  position  as  a  speaker.  He  has 
been  city  treasurer  of  Huntington,  and  for  two  terms  a  member  of  the 
city  council,  and  since  the  adoption  of  the  commission  form  of  govern- 
ment for  Huntington,  Mr.  Scanlon  w^as  elected  one  of  said  board,  which 
is  composed  of  four  members.  He  was  once  nominated  for  state  senator. 
Being  made  president  of  the  West  Virginia  Colored  Orphans'  Home  and 
Industrial  School,  Mr.  Scanlon  obtained  from  the  legislature  an  appro- 
priation of  money  for  teachers'  salaries ;  in  fact,  he  brought  it  to  its  pres- 
ent position  of  usefulness  and  service.  Having  been  himself  an  orphan 
from  a  tender  age.  he  has  great  pity  for  orphans,  and  has  cared  for  and 
raised  twenty-one  orphans  in  his  own  home.  He  has  also  helped  many 
wayward  girls  to  better  lives.  For  fifteen  years,  he  has  been  a  member 
of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks ;  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Columbus,  and  state  president  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hi- 
bernians. For  ten  years  he  was  state  lecturer  of  the  Modern  Woodmen. 
Mr.  Scanlon  is  a  Roman  Catholic. 

He  married,  at  Huntington,  June  15,  1886,  Jennie  V.,  daughter  of 
John  and  Elizabeth  Drusilla  (Stewart)  White,  who  was  born  at  Guyan- 
"dotte.  Her  father  is  deceased,  her  mother,  now  (1913)  seventy-seven 
years  old,  is  living  with  Mr.  Scanlon.  Children:  Nora  Drusilla,  died  in 
infancy;  Charles  ^ilartin,  born  September  23,  1890,  living  at  home. 


Gary  Nelson  Davis,  son  of  Rev.  Dabney  Carr  Terrell  and 

DAVIS     Mary    (Anderson)    Davis,    was   born   in    Albemarle   county, 

Virginia,  October  25,  1875.    He  attended  the  private  schools 

of  that  county  and  the  Episcopal   High   School,   near   Alexandria,   \'ir- 

ginia.     After  this,  he  taught  school  for  seven  years,  mostly  at  the  Epis- 


/Ul^^^^r^ 


WEST  MRrJNIA  iii 

copal  High  School.  In  June,  1904,  he  graduated  in  law  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  Virginia.  He  has  been  admitted  to  the  bar.  both  in  Virginia 
and  in  West  \'irginia.  Till  October.  1905,  he  practi'-.ed  at  Fayettevilie, 
Fayette  county,  West  \^irginia,  and  then  entered  the  firm  of  Campbell, 
Heffley  &  Davis,  which  was  dissolved  in  1909,  when  the  firm  of  Camp- 
bell, Brown  &  Davis  was  formed.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  and  in 
religious  faith,  an  Episcopalian.  He  married,  at  Ocean  Springs,  Jackson 
county,  Mississippi,  in  April,  1910.  Roberta,  daughter  of  Robert  and 
]\Iatilda  (Staples)  Lewis,  who  was  born  at  Ocean  Springs.  Her  father 
a  prominent  lumber  dealer  at  that  place,  died  when  she  was  a  child ;  her 
mother  is  living  at  Ocean  Springs.  Mr.  and  Airs.  Davis  have  one  child, 
Ora,  born  November    18,    1912. 


Bradlc}-  Waters  Foster  has  long  been  a  resident  of  Hunt- 
FOSTER     ington   (some  forty  years  or  more)   and  he  is  one  of  the 

most  substantial  business  men  of  the  place.  He  is  inter- 
ested in  a  great  number  of  its  enterprises,  and  is,  in  various  ways,  a 
leading  citizen.  On  his  father's  side,  he  traces  back  to  old  New  England 
stock,  and  on  the  mother's  side,  to  revolutionary  ancestry.  His  maternal 
great-grandfather,  a  Massachusetts  man,  raised,  equipped  and  held  com- 
mand of  a  regiment  in  the  war  for  independence.  His  grandfather  on 
the  father's  side,  was  Joseph  Foster,  who  died  at  Dixfield,  Maine. 

(II)  Joseph  S.,  son  of  Joseph  Foster,  was  born  in  Winslow,  Kenne- 
bec county,  in  the  Pine  Tree  State,  was  a  farmer,  and  lived  there  until 
his  death  at  eighty-six  years  of  age.  His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Sarah  K.  Holman,  lived  to  the  age  of  sixty-five.  Her  father,  Ebenezer 
Holman,  was  born  in  the  Old  Bay  State,  but  moved  to  Maine  and  settled 
there.  There  he  married  and  there  passed  away  at  the  ripe  old  age  of 
one  hundred  and  two  years.  Joseph  S.  Foster  had  four  children,  of 
whom  Bradley  Waters  Foster  was  the  second,  being  the  only  son.  Of 
the  others,  one  became  Mrs.  E.  A.  Abbott  of  Mexico,  ^Vlaine,  another  be- 
came Mrs.  M.  A.  Waite,  of  Dixfield,  Maine,  and  the  third,  Georgiana,  is 
deceased. 

(III)  Bradley  Waters,  son  of  Joseph  S.  Foster,  was  born  in  Winslow, 
Kennebec  county,  Maine,  December  2,  1838.  His  parents  moved  to  Ox- 
ford county,  in  the  same  state,  when  he  was  four  years  old,  and  there  he 
was  brought  up  and  received  his  early  schooling,  helping  his  father  on 
the  farm  till  he  reached  majority.  He  then  located  in  the  town  of  Lewis- 
ton,  Maine,  and  went  into  business.  He  started  in  the  grocery  and  provi- 
sion line  there,  in  1859,  as  one  of  the  firm  of  Foster  &  Durgin,  and  so 
continued  about  four  years,  and  then  set  out  on  his  own  account  at  Co- 
hoes,  Albany  county.  New  York.  In  1871  he  came  to  Huntington,  and 
opened  a  hardware  store,  which  he  conducted  without  a  partner.  This 
was  the  origin  of  what  is  now  the  Foster,  Mead  Hardware  Company,  a 
corporation,  the  most  important  concern  of  the  kind  in  this  part  of  the 
country,  and  Mr.  Foster  is  its  president.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers 
and  is  still  on  the  board  of  directors  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Hunt- 
ington, an  institution  now  twenty-eight  years  old.  He  assisted  in 
the  organization,  and  is  vice-president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Kenova,  Wayne  county.  West  Virginia,  and  he  was  also  one  of  the  or- 
ganizers, and  is  president,  of  the  Huntington  Banking  &  Trust  Company. 
He  is  also  president  of  the  Huntington  Land  Company,  and  of  the  Hunt- 
ington Kenova  Land  Company.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Newbury  Shoe 
Company,  and  president  of  the  Huntington  Chair  Company ;  President  of 
the  McColm  Granite  Company,  and  vice-president  of  the  Huntington 
Stove  and  Foundry  Company,  and  stockholder,  since  its  organization,  in 


112  WEST  VIRGINIA 

the  street  railway  company.  A  man,  it  will  be  seen,  of  many  investments, 
of  substance  and  property,  of  energy  and  enterprise,  he  is  one  of  the  first 
citizens  of  the  place.  Mr.  Foster  is  a  progressive  man,  notwithstanding 
his  years,  and  has  built,  at  the  corner  of  Fifth  avenue  and  Eleventh 
street  in  Huntington,  a  new  concrete  residence.  This  is  the  sort  of  man 
that  has  made  Huntington  flourish.  He  served  on  the  board  of  the  Wes- 
ton and  Spencer  Insane  Hospital,  in  all  about  ten  years ;  and  also  assisted 
in  founding  a  private  city  hospital  in  Huntington,  West  Virginia.  Mr. 
Foster  holds  politically  to  Republican  doctrine.  He  has  been  a  member 
of  the  Huntington  city  council  several  times.  In  a  religious  way,  he  gives 
allegiance  to  the  Presbyterian  faifli. 

Mr.  Foster  married  at  Oneonta,  New  York,  in  1868,  Mary  Leonora 
Huntington,  a  niece  of  the  great  railroad  man,  the  late  Collis  P.  Hunting- 
ton, after  whom  the  town  of  Huntington  was  named.  Her  mother,  Har- 
riet S.  Huntington  died  three  years  ago. 


Franklin  Tapp  Geiger,  the  first  member  of  this  family 
GEIGER     about   whom  we  have  definite    information,  was    born    in 

Pennsylvania,  and  died  during  the  Mexican  war.  His  life 
w-as  passed  at  Staunton,  Augusta  county,  Virginia,  where  he  was  a  mer- 
chant.    Child,  William,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  William,  son  of  Franklin  Tapp  Geiger,  was  born  at  Staunton, 
November  30,  1845.  Fo''  twenty  years  he  was  a  teacher  in  the  institute 
for  the  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind,  at  Staunton.  He  married  Fannie,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Churchman,  who  was  born  in  1843,  ^rid  died  in  1908  (see 
Churchman  line).  William  Geiger  is  now  living  at  Huntington,  retired, 
with  his  son,  John  Churchman.  Children :  John  Churchman,  of  whom 
further ;  Henry  J.,  an  Episcopalian  clergyman,  at  Hickman,  Fulton  coun- 
ty, Kentucky,  Nancy  T.,  living  at  Millborough,  Bath  county,  Virginia ; 
William,  died  in  the  United  States  service  at  Manila,  Philippine  Islands, 
having  been  appointed,  by  President  McKinley,  a  first  lieutenant  in  the 
Fourteenth  Infantry,  regular  army;  and  four  others,  all  deceased. 

(III)  Dr.  John  Churchman  Geiger,  son  of  W'illiam  and  Fannie 
(Churchman)  Geiger,  was  born  at  Staunton,  March  31,  1877.  He  at- 
tended the  local  schools  and  Roanoke  College,  and  then  went  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Virginia,  from  which  he  graduated  in  medicine  in  1901.  This 
was  followed  by  a  special  course  at  the  Philadelphia  Polyclinic,  in  dis- 
eases of  the  eye,  ear,  nose,  and  throat.  He  practiced  first  for  a  year  at 
Charleston,  West  Virginia,  then,  in  1902,  came  to  Huntington,  and  is  a 
close  specialist  in  the  lines  mentioned.  Dr.  Geiger  is  a  member  of  the 
Modern  Woodmen,  and  a  Democrat.  In  religious  belief  he  is  an  Epis- 
copalian. He  married  at  Baltimore,  Maryland,  November  15,  1906,  Mar- 
cella  May,  daughter  of  Marcellus  and  Mary  Lorenz,  who  was  born  at 
Baltimore.  Her  parents  were  West  A^irginians ;  her  father  was  a  travel- 
ing salesman,  and  died  twelve  years  ago ;  her  mother  is  now  living  at 
Baltimore,  and  has  reached  the  age  of  sixty-nine.  Children  of  Dr.  Geiger : 
Elizabeth,  born  September  17,  1909;  Marcella  May,  born  December  2. 
1911. 

(The  Churchman   Line). 

The  English  residence  of  this  family  is  at  Saffron  Waldron,  Essex 
county.  The  first  American  residence  of  the  family  was  in  Pennsylvania 
and  they  have  been  very  prominent,  both  in  Virginia  and  in  West  Vir- 
ginia. 

John  Churchman  came  to  Darby,  Delaware  county,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1682.  There  were  also  among  early  immigrants  a  relative,  George  Church- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  113 

man;  and  a  Susanna  Churchman  was  married  in  1690.  So  far  as  known, 
all  the  American  Churchmans  are  descended  from  John.  He  settled  at 
Chester,  Delaware  county,  Pennsylvania,  and,  in  1704,  moved  to  Notting- 
ham, Chester  county,  and  died  in  1724.  He  married,  in  i6g6,  Hannah, 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  Cerie,  who  was  born  about  1676,  and  died 
September  22,  1759.  John  Churchman  had  come  to  this  country  in  the 
care  of  Thomas  Cerie ;  his  future  wife  was  then  a  child  of  six.  Children : 
George,  born  July  13,  1697,  died  April  29,  1767:  Dinah,  born  June  7, 
1699,  married  Messr.  Brown;  Susanna,  born  July  13,  1701,  married  Wil- 
liam Brown;  John,  born  August  29,  1703,  died  September  8,  1703;  John, 
born  June  4,  1705,  died  July  24,  1775,  married,  November  27,  1729,  Mar- 
garet Brown;  Thomas,  born  November  16,  1707-8,  died  April  4,  1788; 
Miriam,  born  August  25,  1710,  married  James  Brown;  Edward,  born 
September  14,  1713.  died  in  December,  I/;^2-t,\  Sarah,  born  JMarch  17, 
1716,  died  August  2,  1750,  married  Joseph  Trimble;  William,  born  No- 
vember 29,  1720,  married  Abigail  Brown. 

.Several  of  the  early  descendants  were  noted  in  various  ways.  One 
was  a  scientist;  there  were  several  surveyors;  John  (2),  the  son  born  in 
1705,  became  a  Quaker  preacher. 

John  Churchman,  the  father  of  Mrs.  William  Geiger,  was  born  in 
Augusta  county,  Virginia.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  was  sheriff  of  Au- 
gusta county.  During  the  civil  war,  he  was  a  southern  sympathizer ;  and 
lost  heavily  by  the  war.     In  religious  belief  he  was  an  Episcopalian. 


Most  persons  bearing  this  name  are,  it  is  probable,  of 
WILLIAMS     Welsh  descent.     The  name  is  very  common  in  Wales, 

England  and  the  United  States.  Other  Welsh  forms 
of  the  same  name  are  Gwilym  and  Gwilliam.  It  seems  well  established 
that  the  family  name  of  Oliver  Cromwell's  family  was  at  first,  Williams, 
but  was  changed  in  the  reign  of  King  Henry  the  Eighth  ;  so  that,  for  some 
time,  both  surnames  were  in  use  for  the  same  persons  of  this  stock. 
Many  Williams  families  are  entitled  to  coats-of-arms. 

(I)  Joseph  Williams,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom 
we  have  definite  information,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  and  died  in  Gal- 
lia county,  Ohio.  He  was  a  farmer  and  merchant.  Child  :  Isaiah  S.,  of 
whom  further. 

(II)  Isaiah  S.,  son  of  Joseph  Williams,  was  born  in  Gallia  county, 
Ohio,  about  1838,  died  in  1898.  He  was  a  farmer.  He  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Sylvester  McDaniel,  born  about  1840,  died  in  1888.  Her 
father  was  born  in  Virginia,  the  family  home,  and  was  a  farmer.  Chil- 
dren :  Roma  W.,  married  T.  J.  Evans,  and  lives  in  Gallia  county ;  Elmer 
S.,  living  at  Loveland,  Clermont  county,  Ohio,  a  mail  agent ;  Edwin  Earl, 
of  whom  further ;  Charles,  died  at  the  age  of  seven. 

(III)  Edwin  Earl,  son  of  Isaiah  S.  and  Mary  (McDaniel)  Williams, 
was  born  on  his  father's  farm  in  Gallia  county,  Ohio,  July  28,  1869.  He 
attended  the  local  schools  ;  then  went  to  Lebanon,  Warren  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  attended  the  National  Normal  University,  and  graduated  with 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws,  in  1889.  The  following  year  he  began 
the  practice  of  law  at  Huntington,  West  Virginia.  For  one  year  he  was  a 
member  of  the  partnership  of  Hecox  &  Williams,  after  which  he  prac- 
ticed alone  for  three  years.  In  1894,  he  went  into  partnership  with  Paul 
W.  Scott;  January  i,  1897,  H.  T.  Lovett  was  added  to  the  firm,  which 
then  took  the  name  of  Williams,  Scott  &  Lovett.  Mr.  Williams  is  a 
stockholder,  director  and  secretary  of  the  Buffalo  Land  and  Coal  Com- 
pany ;  a  director  of  the  Home  Building  and  Savings  Company,  of  Hunt- 
ington, and  of  several  other  companies.     For  two  terms,  eight  years  in 


114  WEST   VIRGINIA 

all,  he  was  prosecuting  atlurney  of  Cabell  count_v.     He  is  a  member  of  the 
lienevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks;  and  a  Republican  in  politics. 

He  married,  in  Covington,  Kentucky,  June  19,  1907,  Nellie,  daughter 
of  Z.  T.  and  Rebecca  (Smith)  Wellington,  born  at  Huntington.  Her 
parents  are  living,  her  father  being  now  postmaster  at  Guyandotte,  West 
\'irginia.     Air.  and  Mrs.  Eihvin  E.  Williams  have  no  children. 


This  name  is  said  to  have  existed  in  England  from 
BRONSON  Xorman  times,  but  apparently  i^  of  infrequent  occur- 
rence. Unless  perhaps  in  Connecticut,  it  can  hardly  be 
called  a  common  name  in  any  part  of  the  United  States,  so  far  as  known 
to  us.  Yet  the  name  Brunson,  presumably  a  variant  form  of  the  same 
family  name,  existed  in  South  Carolina  before  the  revolutionary  war. 
In  the  census  of  1790  it  was  found  in  Clarendon,  Claremont,  and  Edge- 
field counties  and  Cheraw  district.  South  Carolina. 

( I)  John  L.  F.  Bronson,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom 
we  have  definite  information,  was  born  in  South  Carolina,  died  at  the 
age  of  fifty-eight  years.  Before  the  civil  war  he  was  a  slaveholder.  He 
fought  in  the  Confederate  army,  and  was  with  Lee  at  the  surrender  at 
Appomattox.  He  thereafter  lived  at  Catlettsburg,  Boyd  county,  Ken- 
tucky, and  had  there  a  good  farm.  He  married  Louisa  Salyer,  who  was 
born  at  Thoms  Creek,  Johnson  county,  Kentucky,  in  1852,  and  now  lives 
at  Williamson,  West  \' irginia.  Children :  Charles  Howe,  of  whom 
further ;  Carrie,  married  Gov.  H.  D.  Hatfield ;  William  M.,  now  owns  a 
furniture  store  at  Williamson;  Wade  Hampton,  member  of  the  firm  of 
Stokes  &  Bronson,  at  Williamson. 

( II )  Charles  Howe,  son  of  John  L.  F.  and  Louisa  (  Salyer )  Bron- 
son, was  born  in  Pike  county,  Kentucky,  near  ^^^il!ianlson,  November  7. 
1872.  He  attended  the  common  schools.  For  a  while  he  worked  for 
the  Norfolk  &  Western  railroad.  January  i,  1909,  he  came  to  Hunting- 
ton, Cabell  county,  \\'est  Virginia,  and  established  the  Greater  Hunting- 
ton Realty  Company,  of  which  he  is  president.  He  is  also  a  director  in 
the  Kenova  and  Huntington  Land  Company.  He  is  a  Democrat,  and 
has  twice  been  elected  clerk  of  the  circuit  court  of  Mingo  county.  West 
Virginia.  He  was  the  first  person  elected  to  that  position  and,  at  the 
.expiration  of  his  term  of  six  years,  was  re-elected  for  a  like  term,  with- 
out opposition,  thus  holding  the  office  from  1897  to  1908.  He  is  a  direc- 
tor in  the  Mount  Hope  Hospital  at  Huntington.  Mr.  Bronson  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  order  and  affiliates  with  Huntington  Lodge,  No.  53. 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Wayne  Chapter,  No.  18;  Hunting- 
ton Commandery,  No.  9;  Lodge  of  Perfection,  No.  4,  Scottish  Rite:  and 
Benni-Kedam  Temple.  .Ancient  .\rabic  Order  of  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine. 

Mr.  Bronson  married,  at  ("luyandcitte.  West  A'irginia.  in  1901,  Lillian, 
daughter  of  John  Edwin  and  Anna  Robertson,  born  in  Logan  county. 
West  Virginia.  Her  father,  who  died  in  1901,  was  in  the  mercantile 
business  in  Logan  county,  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Nighbert  &  Robert- 
son. Her  mother  in  now  living  at  Maple  Heights,  in  Huntington.  Chil- 
dren, all  living:  .Xnna  Myree,  born  in  IQOI  :  Charles,  1903;  Lillian,  IQ06; 
John  Edwin,  an  infant. 


Peter  Heffley,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about 
HEFFLEY     whom  we  have  definite   information,  came   from   Berks 

county,  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  at  Berlin,  Somerset 
county,  I'ennsylvanin.  .Among  his  children  was  George,  of  whom 
further. 


'  ,^. 


/r^'\Q.  'JbX^-^^^-jvoa 


WEST   X'IRGIXIA  115 

(11)  George,  son  of  P'eter  Heffley.  was  born  at  Berlin.  Pennsylvania, 
about  1804,  died  in  1886.  He  lived  at  Berlin,  and  was  a  blacksmith.  He 
married  Julia  A.,  daughter  of  Henry  Poorbaugh.  Their  children  were: 
Peter  born  November  15.  1833,  married,  in  1836.  Rebecca  Walker; 
Henry,  of  whom  further;  and  eight  others. 

(HI)  Henry,  son  of  George  and  Julia  A.  (Poorbaugh)  Heffley,  was 
born  at  Berlin,  Pennsylvania,  June  25,  1841,  He  is  now  living  at  Somer- 
set, Somerset  county,  Pennsylvania,  retired.  During  the  civil  war  he  was 
busy  running  a  wagon  train  on  the  plains  of  Nebraska  and  westward. 
For  over  thirty  years  afterward  he  was  a  clothing  merchant  at  Somerset. 
He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  Roberts,  born  at  Somerset,  No- 
vember 7,  185 1.  Her  father,  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth,  lived  for  most 
of  his  life  at  Somerset ;  he  was  a  carriage  maker,  and  also  served  as  a 
collector  of  internal  revenue.  Children:  i.  George  Roberts,  of  whom 
further.  2.  Susan  J.,  married  A.  W.  Kinzer,  and  lives  at  Jenkins,  Ken- 
tucky ;  her  husband  is  auditor  for  the  Consolidation  Coal  Company,  3. 
Caroline  Uhl,  living  at  home.  4.  Margaret,  died  in  1886,  in  infancy.  5. 
Grace  G.,  living  at  home. 

(IV)  George  Roberts,  son  of  Henry  and  Elizabeth  (Roberts)  Hef- 
fley, was  born  at  Somerset,  Pennsylvania.  December  3,  1878.  He  attended 
the  local  schools,  and  then  went  to  the  Ohio  Wesieyan  University,  Dela- 
ware, Delaware  county,  Ohio,  graduating  in  the  class  of  1902,  with  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Law.  He  took  the  course  in  law  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  West  Virginia,  at  Morgantown,  and  received  therefrom  the  de- 
gree of  LL.B.  He  is  a  member  of  the  college  fraternity.  Beta  Theta 
Pi,  and  the  law  fraternity.  Delta  Chi,  at  Morgantown.  In  1905  he  came 
to  Huntington  and  entered  into  the  practice  of  law.  His  office  is  at  the 
Walton  Building  on  Ninth  street.  The  practice  of  law  is  his  main  and 
life  work;  but  he  has  stock  in  the  West  Virginia  Rail  Mill,  and  the  J.  M. 
Park  Drug  Company  at  322  Ninth  street,  Huntington.  At  the  present 
time,  he  is  secretary  of  the  Retail  Business  Men's  Association  of  Hunt- 
ington. He  is  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  at  Huntington, 
and  of  the  Westmoreland  Country  Club  of  Cabell  county.  Fraternally 
he  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  Progressive  Republican;  in  religion,  a  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church. 

He  married,  June  6.  191 1.  Sadie,  daughter  of  Dr.  C.  R.  and  IMary 
(Bloss)  Enslow,  of  Huntington. 


Henry  Simms  is  one  of  the  most  noted  of  the  younger  ele- 
SIM]\IS  ment  at  the  bar  of  Huntington.  He  is  also  one  of  the  busi- 
est and  most  prosperous ;  being  now,  at  the  early  age  of 
twenty-seven  years,  a  leading  man.  He  comes  of  excellent  old  \^irginia 
stock.  His  paternal  grandfather.  Robert  Marshall  Simms.  was  of  Eng- 
lish lineage,  born  in  Culpeper  county,  Virginia,  in  1813,  died  at  Scary, 
West  Virginia,  in  1891.  He  was  an  extensive  farmer  and  planter,  and 
in  the  good  old  days,  an  owner  of  slaves,  but  he  gave  them  all  their  free- 
dom when  the  civil  war  came  on. 

(IT)  Henry  Clay,  son  of  Robert  Marshall  Simms,  was  born  June  to, 
1846,  in  Kanawha  county,  Virginia.  He  was  a  distinguished  lawyer  and 
public  man  and  took  a  prominent  part  in  many  affairs  of  the  civil  war 
time,  and  after,  until  he  died,  December  6,  1906.  He  was  hardly  more 
than  a  boy  when  the  civil  war  came  on.  Youth  as  he  was  however,  he 
served  in  the  ranks  of  the  south,  and  after  the  fighting  was  over  was 
prominent  in  Camp  Garnett,  Confederate  Veterans.  His  activity 
involved  him,  in  1865,  in  an  unpleasant  adventure.     That  year,  while  at 


ii6  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Fairmont,  un  his  way  from  Charleston,  this  state,  to  Alorgantown,  he 
was  arrested.  The  charge  was  most  serious:  that  he  was  nothing  less 
than  an  accompHce  of  Booth  in  the  killing  of  Lincoln!  Fortunately  fur 
him  he  was  easily  able  to  disprove  it.  Henry  Clay  Simms  was  a  graduate 
of  Harvard  Law  school  and  a  very  successful  practitioner.  He  settled 
in  Huntington,  as  long  ago  as  1873.  He  filled  the  office  of  city  attorney 
of  Huntington  for  one  term,  with  credit.  He  was  a  Democrat,  and  high 
in  the  party  councils.  In  1880  he  was  a  delegate  from  West  Virginia  to 
the  National  Nominating  Convention  of  that  party,  which  was  held  at 
Cincinnati. 

He  married  Catherine  Lyons,  of  Pittsburgh,  born  in  i860.  Her 
father,  William  A.  Lyons,  was  a  native  of  New  York.  He  was  the  son 
of  William  Lyons,  a  native  of  the  north  of  Ireland,  of  whom,  however, 
the  family  tradition  is  rather  dim.  William  A.  Lyons  migrated  from  his 
native  state  to  Pennsylvania,  and  embarked  in  business  at  Allegheny, 
now  part  of  Pittsburgh,  many  years  ago.  He  died  there  at  the  age  of 
sixty-two  years.  Mrs.  Simms  lives  here  on  the  old  home  place  of  the 
family  in  Huntington.  They  had  three  children :  Henry,  of  whom 
further ;  Mary,  now  Mrs.  George  W.  Keller,  of  Huntington ;  and  Robert 
I/Iarshall,  who  is  a  student  at  Marshall  College,  Huntington. 

(HI)  Henry,  son  of  Henry  Clay  Simms,  was  born  in  Huntington, 
May  7,  1885.  His  early  education  was  obtained  in  private  schools  and 
by  private  tutors.  In  his  later  youth,  he  attended  Marshall  College,  tak- 
ing there  an  academic  course,  and  graduating  in  1901,  at  sixteen  years  of 
age.  From  there  he  went  to  the  University  of  West  Virginia,  at  Mor- 
gantown ;  here  he  remained  four  years,  and  in  June,  1905,  received  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws,  and  the  same  fall  was  admitted  to  the 
Cabell  county  bar,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty  years.  He  was  at  that  time 
the  youngest  lawyer  in  the  state.  He  began  his  professional  career  with 
his  father's  firm,  Simms  &  Enslow,  and  the  following  year,  1906,  upon 
the  death  of  his  father,  formed  a  partnership  with  F.  B.  Enslow  as 
Simms  &  Enslow.  This  partnership  continued  until  1907,  when  he 
joined  in  a  partnership  with  Frank  Enslow,  Jr.,  and  Lewis  A.  Staker. 
This  partnership  still  continues  and  is  one  of  the  most  flourishing  legal 
firms  in  this  part  of  the  country. 

Mr.  Simms  is  a  Democrat,  and  on  November  13,  1912,  was  elected 
prosecuting  attorney  of  Cabell  county.  West  Virginia,  on  the  Democratic 
ticket.  His  business  interests  embrace  stock  in  the  Huntington  National 
Bank,  and  the  Huntington  Land  Company ;  also  in  the  Guyon  Oil  Com- 
pany, of  which  he  is  a  director ;  in  the  Elizabeth  Oil  &  Gas  Company : 
and  the  Strain  Lock  Automatic  Injector  Company.  He  is  exalted  ruler 
of  Huntington  Lodge,  No.  313,  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
and  is  of  the  Episcopalian  faith. 


This  family  came  originally  from  Surry  county,  Virginia. 
WILSON     wdiere   William   Wilson,   a    farmer,   was   born.      He    died 

while  yet  a  young  man. 
(II)  Joseph  J.,  son  of  William  Wilson,  was  born  in  Surry  county, 
died  in  1903,  at  the  age  of  fifty-five  years.  He  was  a  cadet  at  the  Vir- 
ginia Military  Institute,  and  fought  on  the  Confederate  side  in  the  battle 
which  occurred  at  Newmarket,  during  the  war  between  the  states,  when 
the  Union  forces  marched  upon  the  place.  He  was  a  farmer  all  his  life 
as  his  father  had  been  before  him.  He  married  Lucy  Adams,  now  living 
at  Smithfield,  at  the  age  of  fifty-six  years.  She  is  descended  from  slave- 
holding  ancestry  on  both  sides  of  the  family,  being  the  daughter  of  John 
Adams,  of  Smithfield,  Virginia,  a  boatman,  peanut  merchant  and  slave- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  117 

holder  in  his  native  state,  who  died  in  1877.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson  had 
three  children:  i.  John  A.,  died  July  16,  1903,  at  the  age  of  thirty  years. 
2.  Blair  Pegram.  of  whom  further.  3.  William  Ricks,  now  thirty-four 
years  old,  manager  of  the  Glenwood  Inn,  a  hotel  in  Kenova,  West  Vir- 
ginia. 

(Ill)  Blair  Pegram,  son  of  Joseph  J.  and  Lucy  (Adams)  Wilson, 
was  born  at  Smithfield,  Virginia,  February  16,  1875.  He  was  educated 
primarily  at  the  local  public  schools,  finishing  at  private  schools  in  Rich- 
mond. He  then  entered  the  real  estate  business  in  Newport  News,  Vir- 
ginia, remaining  from  1898  to  1903.  He  came  to  Huntington  in  the  lat- 
ter year  and  established  the  present  real  estate  firm  of  the  Blair  P.  Wil- 
son Company.  The  firm  has  prospered  greatly,  and  Mr.  Wilson  has  be- 
come known  as  one  of  the  most  progressive  young  business  men  of  this 
city.  Among  the  firm's  enterprises  are  the  Dupont  Place  Improvement 
Company,  Westmoreland  Land  Company,  Suburban  Land  Company,  Riv- 
erview  Land  Company,  Kenova-Huntington  Land  Company,  and  Boule- 
vard Improvement  Company.  Mr.  Wilson  is  a  Democrat,  and  a  member 
of  the  Order  of  Elks.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Huntington  chamber 
of  commerce.     He  is  also  a  communicant  of  the  Episcopal  church. 

On  June  4,  1898,  he  married,  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  Mallory  Flor- 
ence Shield,  a  native  of  Hampton,  Virginia.  Her  parents.  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Mallory  Shield,  died  during  her  infancy.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson  have  no 
children.  Mr.  Wilson  is  regarded  as  one  of  our  rising  citizens,  and  is 
popular  and  highly  esteemed:  he  is  a  golf  player  and  an  enthusiastic  au- 
tomobilist. 


This  family  is  of  Virginia  ancestry,  James  P.  Tate  having 
TATE  been  born  in  Louisa  county,  that  state,  seventy  years  ago,  and 
has  been  deceased  for  the  last  five  years.  He  was  by  trade 
a  tanner.  During  the  war  between  the  states  he  furnished  shoes  to  the 
soldiers  of  the  Confederate  army.  He  became  a  railroad  man  after  the 
war,  and  from  1872  to  1905  was  connected  with  the  Chesapeake  & 
Ohio  railroad.  He  married  Lavinia  S.  Wash,  now  living  in  Huntington 
at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years,  daughter  of  William  J.  Wash,  who  was 
born  on  the  old  Wash  homestead  in  Virginia,  where  he  died  during  the 
war  at  the  age  of  sixty  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  P.  Tate  had  four 
children:  i.  Lee  A.  D..  of  whom  further.  2.  Cora  P.,  unmarried,  and 
residing  with  her  mother.  3.  Ernest,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty  years.  4. 
Enos.  twin  of  Ernest,  died  in  infancy. 

(II)  Lee  A.  D.,  son  of  James  P.  and  Lavinia  S.  (Wash)  Tate,  was 
born  June  13,  1867,  at  Beaverdam  Station.  Hanover  county.  Virginia. 
At  the  age  of  six  years  he  removed  with  his  parents  to  Charleston,  West 
Virginia,  where  his  earliest  education  was  received,  and  completing  it  at 
Shelton  College,  St.  Albans,  West  \'irginia.  He  came  to  Huntington  on 
the  19th  of  February,  1884,  entering  the  oi-fice  of  the  Chesapeake  & 
Ohio  railroad  shops  in  a  clerical  capacity,  and  remaining  for  two  years  in 
that  position.  He  then  went  on  the  railroad  as  fireman  and  engineer, 
running  one  of  the  company's  engines  for  five  years.  Leaving  the  employ 
of  the  railroad  company,  he  became  a  salesman  with  Northcott  &  Buffing- 
ton  in  1890,  continuing  with  them  in  this  capacity  until  January,  1903, 
when  he  became  a  partner  in  the  firm.  Upon  the  withdrawal  of  Mr.  Buf- 
fington  from  the  partnership,  the  style  of  the  firm  became  G.  A.  North- 
cott &  Company:  becoming  known  later,  February  19,  1910,  as  the  North- 
cott, Tate,  Hagy  Company.  Under  this  name  it  is  at  present  the  leading 
firm  in  this  line,  having  the  largest  store  in  West  \'irginia.  Mr.  Tate  is 
well  known  as  one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  this  place.     Though  a 


]i8  WEST  VIRGINIA 

mt-niber  of  the  Democratic  party  he  is  iii<lependent  in  his  views,  votiii;; 
always  for  the  best  man.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Johnson  Memorial 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South. 

On  November  22,  1893,  h^  married,  at  Paintsville,  Kentucky,  Lina  V. 
Preston,  born  there  on  March  4.  1869.  She  is  the  daughter  of  John  D. 
Preston,  a  soldier  in  the  Union  army  during  the  war.  He  was  engaged 
for  a  long  while  in  the  timber  business,  but  is  now  living  retired  at 
Paintsville.  He  married  Sarah  Brown,  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Tate,  who  is 
also  resident  in  Paintsville.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tate  have  one  child:  Mamie 
Ruth,  born  October  16.  1895  :  now  attending  high  school  in  this  city. 


This    is    one    of    the    oldest    families    in    this    l(jcality, 
NEWT'ERRY     tracing  its  ancestry  in   Virginia  to  Henry  Newberry, 

who  lived  and  died  in  that  state.  There  is  a  refer- 
ence in  the  old  Rappahannock  county  records  as  to  the  disposition 
between  the  years  1664  and  1673,  of  certain  "lands  bought  of  Mr.  Henry 
Newberry",  he  probably  being  one  of  the  progenitors.  The  Henry  New- 
berry first  referred  to  was  the  father  of  Tivis  W.  Newberry,  who  was 
born  in  \irginia  in  1824.  He  was  a  prominent  politician  in  that  state,  a 
lawyer,  and  a  merchant ;  and  was  a  member  of  the  state  senate,  beside 
holding  minor  positions.  He  is  now  living  in  retirement,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-eight  years,  in  Inez,  Martin  county.  Kentucky,  where  he  has  been 
a  member  of  the  county  school  commission.  During  the  civil  war  he 
was  a  southern  sympathizer,  having  been  previously  a  slave  holder ;  and 
supplied  quantities  of  provisions  to  the  soldiers  of  the  south.  His  wife, 
who  was  Miss  Lucy  Powers,  is  also  living  at  the  age  of  eighty-three 
years.  She  is  daughter  of  John  W.  Powers  who  lived  to  the  age  of 
ninety  years,  and  died  in  Wise  county,  Virginia ;  he  was  a  farmer,  and 
was  a  Union  sympathizer,  though  too  old  at  the  time  of  the  war  to  take 
active  part  in  hostilities  or  render  military  service.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  New- 
berry became  the  parents  of  seven  children,  all  of  whom  are  now  living: 
I.  Mary,  now  Mrs.  Allen  Copley,  of  Inez,  Kentucky.  2.  Emma,  now 
jNIrs.  Philip  Cassady,  of  Inez,  Kentucky.  3.  Jennie,  now  Mrs.  H.  C. 
Osborn,  of  Milton,  West  Virginia.  4.  S.  XX'.,  of  Inez.  Kentucky.  5- 
Josie.  now  Mrs.  Thomas  Staton,  of  Pikesville.  Kentuck}-.  ().  Jeff,  of 
whom  further.     7.  J.  C,  of  Inez,  Kentucky. 

( III )  Jefif,  son  of  Tivis  \\'.  and  Lucy  ( Powers )  Newberry,  was  born 
May  2.  1861.  in  Wise  county,  Virginia,  on  his  father's  farm  at  the  old 
Newberry  homestead.  His  parents  removed,  when  he  was  in  his  infancy, 
to  Martin  county.  Kentucky,  and  there  his  early  childhood  and  youth 
were  passed.  His  education  was  received  at  the  county  schools,  and  at 
the  conclusion  of  his  studies  he  entered  mercantile  business  on  his  own 
account  at  Inez,  opening  a  general  store.  He  continued  this  for  about 
fourteen  years,  and  in  1895,  came  to  Huntington.  West  Virginia,  where 
he  established  a  wholesale  hat  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Jeff 
Newberry  and  Company.  This  lasted  for  two  years,  when  he  removed 
to  Catlettsburg,  Kentucky,  and  under  the  name  of  Newberry  and  Crum, 
opened  a  wholesale  grocery  business ;  which  in  1901  he  abandoned, 
returning  to  Pluntington  and  establishing  the  Newberry  Shoe  Company, 
a  wholesale  manufacturing  enterprise:  he  was  the  first  man  to  manufac- 
ture a  welt  shoe  in  West  Virginia.  In  the  year  1910,  Mr.  Newberry  sold 
out  his  interest  in  the  company ;  and  in  the  following  year  established  the 
present  firm.  The  Jeff  Newberry  Company,  wholesale  dealers  in  shoes, 
located  at  1025  Third  Avenue,  this  city.  The  business  has  prospered 
and  Mr.  Newberry  has  become  one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of 
Huntington,      Pie   is   a   stockholder  and   director   in   the   Union   Savings 


WEST  MRGIXIA 


[19 


Bank,  and  owns  extensive  coal  lands  and  real  estate  in  Kentucky,  being 
well  known  as  a  Mason  and  a  member  of  the  order  nf  Elks.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  the  Southern  Methodist  Church,  and  in  his  political 
opinions  is  a  Democrat. 

Mr.  Newberry  has  been  twice  married;  his  first  marriage  was  to  Miss 
Lina  Price,  who  died  about  seven  years  ago.  By  her  he  had  four  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  i.  Dixie  May,  now  Mrs.  J.  D.  IVIcClintock,  of  Salt  Lake 
City.  Ctah.  2.  Alyrtle,  now  Mrs.  Carl  Hess,  of  Huntington.  3.  Horner, 
died  at  Catlettsburg,  Kentucky.  4.  L.  Frazier,  now  attending  school  in 
Huntington.  Mr.  Newberry's  second  marriage  occurred  on  November 
19.  1908,  to  Miss  Lottie  Lallance,  in  Huntington;  she  is  a  native  of  this 
place,  the  daughter  of  J.  B.  and  Charlotte  Lallance.  Mr.  Lallance,  who 
is  a  building  contractor  in  Huntington,  is  now  sixty-five  years  of  age; 
his  wife  residing  here  also  at  tlie  age  of  sixty-two.  Mr.  Newberry  has 
Ud  children  by  his  second  marriage. 


The  earliest  known  ancestiir  (if  this  (Jd  family,  which  is  of 
MAl'I^IN  Huguenot  descent,  was  Ciabriel  .Maupin,  a  P'rench  officer, 
who  incurred  the  king's  displeasure  on  account  of  his  re- 
ligious belief,  and  fled  from  France  to  England  in  1699,  with  his  wife  and 
one  son,  Gabriel,  taking  refuge  with  his  father-in-law.  Earl  Spencer,  an 
English  nobleman.  He  remained  in  England  for  some  months,  during 
which  time  a  second  son,  Daniel,  was  born  in  1700.  The  family  emi- 
grated to  A'irginia  in  this  same  year,  1700,  and  settled  in  Williamsburg. 
There  w-as  also  a  daughter,  Mary,  but  it  is  not  known  wdien  she  was  born 
nor  what  became  of  her.  It  appears  that  Gabriel  ?\laupin  died  in  1719  or 
1720,  in  Virginia,  as  his  will,  dated  September  2,  17 19,  with  a  codicil, 
was  proven  in  general  court  at  the  capital,  April  20,  1720.  His  wife,  Mary, 
was  executrix  :  how  long  she  survived  her  husband  is  not  known.  The 
two  sons,  Gabriel  and  Daniel,  removed  to  Albemarle  county,  some  time 
previous  to  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Gabriel  seems  to  have 
lived  in  the  vicinity  of  Free  L'nion,  dying  in  the  year  1794.  His  wife's 
name  was  ilarah,  and  his  sons  were  Thomas,  Bland,  Daniel  and  Gabriel. 
Descendants  of  this  branch  of  the  family  are  now  living  in  A'irginia,  Dr. 
Maupin,  of  Portsmouth,  possesses  a  complete  list  of  the  great  grandchil- 
dren of  Gabriel  Maupin,  and  the  family  tree  of  tlie  elder  branch  of  the 
family  down  to  within  the  last  generation. 

(H)  Daniel,  younger  son  of  Gabriel  Maujiin,  born  in  1700,  remained 
in  Albemarle  county  until  his  death  in  1788.  In  1748  he  obtained  a 
patent  for  land  on  Moorman's  river,  and  entered  more  than  fifteen  hun- 
dred acres  in  the  Whitehall  neighborhood.  His  wife  was  Margaret  Via, 
and  they  had  ten  children,  seven  sons  and  three  daughters,  as  follows : 
I.  Thomas,  of  whom  little  is  known.  2,  Gabriel,  married  Ann  Ballard. 
Children:  Daniel;  Thomas;  David;  Matthew;  Gabriel;  John;  Bland; 
Judith ;  Susan ;  Peggy ;  Ann  ;  Fanny ;  Joel.  3.  Daniel,  married  Mary 
Elizabeth  ( or  Betsy  )  Dabney,  the  name  being  originally  d'Aubigne.  Chil- 
dren ;  Daniel ;  Cornelius  ;  John  ;  Sally  ;  ]\Iary  ;  Frances  ;  Betsy  ;  Peggy.  4, 
John,  married  Fanny  Dabney  (or  d'Aubigne),  Children:  Peggy;  Sally; 
Daniel ;  John  ;  Cornelius  ;  Thomas,  married  Peggy  Maupin  ;  William  ; 
Gabriel;  Robert;  Jennings;  Frances;  Carr ;  Dabney.  5.  Margaret  (or 
F'eggy),  married  Robert  Miller  and  had  children,  one  of  whom,  Sarah, 
married  Jennings  Maupin,  son  of  John.  6.  William,  of  whom  further. 
7.  Zachariah,  married  Sally  Jarvinan  (or  Jarman?),  Children:  Daniel; 
Thomas  ;  Zachariah  :  William  ;  Ambrose  ;  Jesse  ;  Frances  ;  Catherine  : 
Elizabeth ;  Alpha.  8.  Jesse,  married  Lucy  Jones,  Children  :  Cyrus,  and 
about  ten  others.     The  family  moved  south,  perhaps  to  Georgia,  towards 


I20  WEST  VIRGINIA 

the  close  of  the  eigliteenth  centur}'  and  were  lost  to  sight.  9.  Jane,  mar- 
ried Samuel  Rea,  and  had  children.  10.  Mary,  married  Matthew  Mul- 
lin  (or  Mullins),  and  had  children. 

(III)  William,  son  of  Daniel  and  Margaret  (Via)  Maupin,  married 
Mildred  White.  Their  children  were:  i.  John,  married  (first)  Mary 
Michie,  (second)  Nancy  Cobbs.  2.  William  Chapman,  married  Magda- 
len Ford.  3.  Thomas,  married  (first)  Catherine  White,  (second)  Mary 
Clackson.  4.  Amos,  married  Sarah  Ayers.  5.  Chapman  White,  married 
Mary  Spencer.  He  was  appointed  a  magistrate  of  Albemarle  county  in 
1835,  and  died  in  1861.  Children:  a.  Isabella  White,  married  Tandy  Key 
Jones,  b.  Dr.  Socrates,  married  Sally  Hay  W'ashington :  was  professor 
of  chemistry,  first  in  Hampton  Sidney  College,  and  afterwards  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Virginia;  died  from  injuries  in  consequence  of  a  runaway  acci- 
dent in  Lynchburg,  in  187 1.  c.  Lysander,  no  record  of  marriage,  d. 
Addison,  married  Lucy  Hart :  had  his  residence  before  the  war  on  Carr's 
Hill,  adjoining  the  University ;  his  son,  J.  Addison  Maupin,  of  Richmond, 
\'irginia,  was  author  of  the  Maupin  bill,  of  recent  notoriety,  e.  William 
Amos,  married  Jane  Smith,  f.  Mary  Chapman,  married  Lodwick  A. 
Moorman,  g.  Mildred  Ann,  married  Thomas  P.  Mitchell.  6.  Mildred, 
married  Chapman  White.  7.  Pegg\-,  married  Thomas,  son  of  her  uncle 
John  Maupin.  8.  Lucy,  married  David  Keblinger.  9.  Lucinda.  10. 
Nancy.     11.  (Iverton.  There  is  no  record  of  marriage  for  these  last  three. 

The  descendants  of  Gabriel  and  Daniel  Maupin  seem  to  have  been  in 
their  generations  an  industrious,  quiet,  unambitious  people,  though  in 
several  instances  the  name  has  been  prominently  represented  by  various 
branches.  The  names  of  Daniel,  William  and  Cornelius  Maupin  appear 
on  the  pension  list  of  revolutionary  war  soldiers,  they  being  in  all  proba- 
bility brothers  and  sons  of  John,  the  son  of  Daniel.  In  the  list  of  fifty- 
six  names  of  the  Albemarle  county  militia,  in  actual  service  for  the  pro- 
tection and  defense  of  the  frontier  against  Indians,  September,  1758, 
there  appear  the  names  of  Daniel,  John  and  William  Maupin ;  and  in 
the  Albemarle  County  Declaration  of  Independence,  in  1779,  are  given 
the  names  of  Samuel  Rea  and  Henry  Mullins,  who  married  daughters  of 
Daniel  Maupin,  the  immigrant.  The  members  of  the  family  have  usually 
been  attached  to  the  Methodist  church,  a  Daniel  Maupin  having  been  an 
original  trustee  of  Austin's  or  Bingham's  meeting-house :  and  another 
Daniel  and  his  wife,  Hannah,  in  1834,  giving  the  ground  for  Mount 
Moriah,  near  Whitehall,  which  indeed  for  many  years,  commonly  went 
by  the  name  of  Maupin's  meeting-house.  This  Daniel  seems  to  have 
been  the  third  son  of  John,  as  shown  above :  his  third  wife  was  Hannah 
Harris,  born  Jamison.  The  families  of  the  old  stock  were  generally  so 
numerous,  containing  hardly  ever  less  than  ten  children,  and  the  same 
names  were  so  often  repeated  in  the  different  households,  that  it  is 
nearly  impossible  at  this  date  to  trace  accurately  their  various  lines  of 
descent;  they  frequently  intermarried  among  themselves,  and  with  the 
Harrises,  Jarmans  (or  Jarvinans)  and  \Mas,  and  the  descendants  are 
widely  scattered  over  the  west,  particularly  in  Kentucky,  Missouri  and 
West  Virginia. 

(IV)  Thomas,  probably  son  of  William  Maupin,  Daniel  IMaupin's 
son,  was  born  in  Albemarle  county,  \'irginia.  He  became  a  pioneer  set- 
tler and  farmer  of  the  Kanawha  valley,  dying  at  the  age  of  seventy-two 
years.  This  was  either  Thomas,  son  of  William,  or  Thomas,  son  of  John, 
who  married  William's  sister,  Pegg}'.  Thomas,  son  of  William,  married 
twice:  (first)  Catherine  White,  (second)  Mary  Clarkson.  Among  the 
children  of  Thomas  Alaupin  was  Chapman  \Y. :  the  name  Chapman 
White,  as  well  as  Chapman,  and  White,  severally,  occurring  in  the  family 
of  William,  as  shown  above. 


WEST  MRGIXIA  121 

iV)  Chapman  W.,  son  of  Thomas  Alaupin,  pioneer  of  the  Kanawha 
valley  here  referred  to.  was  born  in  Kanawha  county  in  181 1,  died  in 
1900.  He  was  a  farmer  and  southern  sympathizer,  being  also  a  slave- 
holder. He  married  ]\Iatilda  F.  Hope,  born  at  Owensville.  Kentucky,  in 
1823,  died  in  1905,  daughter  of  Thomas  Hope,  a  native  of  Ireland,  who 
came  to  this  country  as  a  young  man  and  established  himself  as  a  hotel 
Keeper;  he  died  while  still  comparatively  young.  ]\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Chap- 
man W.  Maupin  had  eight  children,  of  whom  six  are  now  living:  i. 
Fannie,  now  Mrs.  C.  C.  Cranford,  of  Huntington,  West  Virginia.  2. 
Thomas  H.,  of  Idaho.  3.  Lucy  M.,  now  Mrs.  J.  T.  Doyle,  of  Hunting- 
ton. 4.  Albert  B.,  of  whom  further.  5.  Alary,  now  Mrs.  G.  E.  Sampson, 
of  Huntington.  6.  Shelby  W.,  died  in  Nevada  in  1910.  7.  William  R., 
living  in  Hinton,  West  Virginia.  8.  James  H.,  died  in  infancy.  The 
names  of  Lucy  and  Mary  are  those  of  the  sister  and  wife  respectively  of 
Thomas  Maupin,  son  of  William,  who  was  Daniel  Maupin's  son. 

(Yl)  Albert  Becker,  son  of  Chapman  W.  and  Matilda  F.  (Hope) 
Maupin,  was  born  on  his  father's  farm,  the  old  Maupin  homestead,  in 
Cabell  county,  near  Ona,  West  \'irginia,  April  14,  1852.  His  education 
was  acquired  in  the  local  public  schools  and  at  Marshall  College,  Hunt- 
ington. Afterward  he  became  a  civil  engineer  and  miner  in  Missouri  and 
Colorado,  continuing  thus  for  fourteen  years,  until  1891.  He  then  returned 
to  Huntington,  where  he  has  since  been  interested  in  civil  engineering, 
railroad  and  municipal  work.  Since  1906  he  has  been  in  charge  of  the 
major  portion  of  municipal  improvements  in  Huntington.  In  1897  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  L.  W.  Leete,  and  in  1907  the  Leete-Maupin 
Engineering  Company  was  incorporated.  Air.  Maupin  is  an  extremely 
public-spirited  man,  and  prominent  in  business  and  commercial  circles  in 
this  city.  He  is  one  of  the  very  few  leading  men  of  the  city  who  were 
born  here.  As  a  member  of  the  Democratic  party  his  influence  has  been 
beneficial  in  municipal  afTairs.  and  he  is  well  known  also  as  a  member  of 
the  Order  of  Elks.     Air.  Alaupin  has  never  married. 


Charles  Richard  Wilson  is  one  of  the  most  enterprising 
WILSON  and  energetic  business  men  of  Huntington.  He  has  risen 
from  a  railway  clerkship  to  a  high  place  among  men  of 
atTairs  in  the  community,  and  reached  success  by  intelligent  and  per- 
sistent effort.  His  grandfather  on  the  father's  side  was  Asa  Lee  Wilson, 
born  in  Chesapeake,  Ohio,  over  the  river,  opposite  Huntington.  He  was 
a  millwright  and  farmer,  and  lived  to  be  seventy-seven  years  of  age. 

(II)  John  T.  Wilson,  son  of  Asa  Lee  Wilson,  is  still  living  in  Hunt- 
ington, at  the  age  of  sixty-six  years  (  1912).  He  was  in  the  real  estate 
business  at  that  place  for  many  years,  and  served  a  term  as  sheriff'  of 
Cabell  county.  He  had  several  brothers  in  the  Confederate  army.  One 
of  them.  Lemuel,  was  several  times  wounded,  and  another.  Harvev.  was 
killed. 

Air.  \\'ilson  married  Alary  .Amizetta  ATcAIahon,  daughter  of  Wayne 
A'cAlahon,  a  A'irginian  by  birth,  who  lived  to  be  eighty-four  years  old; 
he  was  keeper  of  the  Guyan  Bridge  during  the  civil  war.  She  was  born 
in  \"irginia,  and  lived  at  Alonticello,  Thomas  Jefferson's  home ;  she  is 
now  in  her  sixty-second  year.  _  Air.  and  Airs.  Wilson  have  had  three 
children,  all  living:  ATamie  S.,  the  wife  of  Senator  G.  .A.  Northcott.  of 
Huntington ;  Charles  Richard,  of  whom  further  ;  Garnet  Blanche,  now 
the  wife  of  Dr.  J.  N.  Alincey,  of  Mineral  Wells,  in  the  state  of  Texas. 

CIII)  Charles  Richard  Wilson,  son  of  John  T.  \\llson.  was  born  in 
Cabell  county,  October  7.  1-872.  His  early  schooling  was  obtained  in  the 
local  institutions,  and  continued  later  in  ATarshall  College.     He  finished 


122  WEST  \IRGIXIA 

liis  studies  in  1890,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  and  began  Hfe  in  the  position 
of  assistant  postmaster  of  Huntington,  under  C.  L.  Thompson,  when  the 
population  of  the  place  was,  perhaps,  eight  thousand.  He  left  this  place 
to  take  a  position  as  clerk  in  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  railway  shops, 
remaining  thus  employed  for  something  over  ten  years.  Then  he  became 
the  chief  clerk  of  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  at  Coving- 
ton. Kentucky,  an  important  station,  situated  opposite  Cincinnati.  Here  he 
continued  for  two  years,  and  then  came  back  to  Huntington  as  chief  clerk 
for  the  company  there.  This  position  he  filled  for  three  years  more, 
until  1906,  then  resigned  and  established  himself  in  his  present  line, 
founding  the  concern  known  as  the  Wilson  Sand  iS:  Supply  Company, 
with  offices  at  Thirteenth  street  and  the  river  front,  a  ctmcern  which  has 
met  with  marked  success. 

Mr.  Wilson  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  is  a  stockholder,  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  the  Wilson  Ballast  Company,  of  Tongs,  Kentucky,  a 
company  that  employs  from  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  men.  It  is 
engaged  in  the  production  of  railroad  ballast,  and  has  a  capacity  of  one 
thousand  cubic  yards  of  crushed  limestone  daily.  The  Chesapeake  & 
Ohio  railroad  takes  its  entire  product.  Mr.  Wilson's  company  is  the 
largest  producer  of  sand  and  gravel  along  the  Ohio  river  between  Cincin- 
nati and  Pittsburgh.  Its  ec|uipment  for  this  purpose  comprises  two 
powerful  dredge  boats,  a  tow  boat  and  ten  great  sand  barges.  Its  appar- 
atus pumps  gravel  and  sand  up  from  the  bottom  of  the  Ohio  river.  This  is 
washed  and  screened  and  separated,  sand  from  gravel,  in  different  grades, 
the  sand  loaded  automatically  on  one  boat  and  the  gravel  on  another  for 
transportation,  the  unloading  is  done  bv  a  clam  shell  hoist.  It  is  a  highly 
ingenious  and  modern  plant. 

Mr.  Wilson  is  a  Baptist,  though  his  wife  is  of  the  Presbyterian  faith. 
He  married,  in  Huntington,  June  6,  1894,  Inez  Estelle  Healy,  born  in 
Medina,  New  York,  October  6,  1874,  daughter  of  Rev.  James  E.  Healy, 
Presbyterian  pastor,  at  Maben,  West  Virginia ;  her  mother  died  when 
she  was  an  infant.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson  have  two  children:  Clara 
Healy,  born  in  Medina,  New  York,  June  7,  1896;  Alice  Low,  born 
November  19,  1899;  both  are  now  (  1913 )  at  .school.  Mr.  Wilson 
recently  built  a  very  fine  new  home,  where  he  resides  at  No.  1400  Fifth 
avenue.    Huntington. 


The  earliest  progenitor  of  this  family  in  .\merica  came 
RODGERS     over  from  Ireland  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania.     .\  son. 

James  Rodgers,  born  to  him  at  Franklin,  in  that  state, 
became  a  farmer,  preacher  and  temperance  lecturer,  dying  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  eighty-four  years. 

(Ill)  David  R.,  son  of  James  Rodgers,  was  born  in  (\-tober,  1838, 
also  at  Franklin.  Pennsylvania.  He  is  now  seventy-four  years  of  age. 
hale  and  hearty,  and  still  in  the  oil  business  in  which  he  has  been  engaged 
ever  since  oil  was  first  found  in  Pleasantville,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  caji- 
tain  in  the  Eighty-third  Pennsylvania  Regiment  during  the  civil  war. 
,erving  until  the  close  of  hostilities,  and  was  several  times  wounded.  .\t 
the  battle  of  Gettysburg  he  was  in  the  thick  of  the  fight,  and  captured 
Colonel  R.  M.  Powell.  He  married  Julia  A.,  daughter  of  William  Por- 
ter, a  native  of  Boston,  who  owned  a  farm  in  Pleasantville  upon  which 
oil  was  found  at  an  early  date.  Mrs.  Rodgers  is  now  sixty-nine  years  of 
age.  She  and  her  husband  had  four  children,  all  of  whom  are  now  living : 
I.  William  James,  of  whom  further.  2.  ]^Iarshall  C,  living  in  Pittsburgh. 
3.  LaVerne".  living  in  Pittsburgh.  4.  Clara  .\..  unmarried,  living  in  Pitts- 
burgh. 


WEST  MRGINIA  123 

(1\')  William  James,  son  of  David  i\.  and  Julia  A.  (Porter)  Rod- 
gers,  was  born  at  Silver  Creek,  Xew  York,  l-'ebruar)-  z"] ,  18O7.  His  early 
education  was  acquired  at  Butler,  Butler  county,  Pennsylvania,  where 
his  parents  removed  when  he  was  six  years  old :  and  he  completed  his 
studies  at  Teil  College.  Greenville,  Pennsylvania.  He  entered  business 
life  at  the  early  age  of  thirteen  years,  engaging  with  his  father  in  oil, 
in  which  he  has  ever  since  been  interested.  His  first  work  was  in  Butler 
county;  after  which,  in  1891,  he  went  to  Pittsburgh,  where  he  remained 
lor  three  years.  Going  from  there  to  Marietta.  Ohio,  he  continued  for 
thirteen  years.  In  1907  he  came  to  Huntington  and  located  in  the  terri- 
tory from  which  oil  is  produced  for  the  Guyan,  Hamlin,  and  Wayne  Oil 
Companies.  He  is  now  president  of  the  Guyan  and  Wayne  Oil  Com- 
panies, and  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Hamlin  Oil  Company.  These 
companies  were  all  formed  by  himself  and  F.  B.  Emslow,  with  whom 
he  became  associated  as  soon  as  he  came  to  Huntington.  Mr.  Rodgers 
has  prospered  greatly  in  his  business  enterprises  and  is  now  one  of  the 
leading  citizens  of  Huntington.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Democratic  party, 
and  belongs  to  the  Order  -of  Elks,  and  is  a  Mason  in  high  standing. 

He  married,  January  10,  1891,  at  Jamestown,  New  York,  Mary  N. 
Bailey,  a  native  of  that  city.  Her  father,  now  living  at  Jamestown,  is 
retired  ;  and  her  mother,  whose  Christian  name  she  bears,  is  also  a  resi- 
dent there.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rodgers  have  no  children. 


Mr.  James  Walsh  Hughes,  a  leading  coal  operator  of  this 
HCGHES  part  of  the  country,  has  also  been  postmaster  of  Hunting- 
ton for  eleven  years,  and  is  the  father  of  Congressman 
James  A.  Hughes,  representative,  in  the  national  councils,  of  the  district 
of  which  Huntington  is  so  important  a  part. 

Mr.  Hughes  is  of  Irish  birth  and  breeding.  He  was  born  in  the  west 
of  the  Emerald  Isle,  September  16,  1834,  and  has  reached,  therefore,  the 
age  of  seventy-eight  years.  He  was  raised  as  a  youth  in  Ireland,  where 
he  went  to  school  and  married,  March  27,  1854,  Ellen  McXulty,  a  native 
also  of  the  "old  sod".  Their  honeymoon  was  the  trip  to  America,  an 
arduous  voyage  in  that  day,  by  packet,  sometimes  a  matter  of  months, 
though  but  a  few  days  and  vastly  more  luxurious,  now.  They  started 
in  the  fall  of  1854,  fifty-eight  years  ago,  and  located  first  in  Canada. 
With  them,  at  that  time,  was  Airs.  Hughes'  father,  .\nthony  McXulty, 
a  farmer,  long  since  passed  awav ;  also  her  mother,  Xellie  ( O'Mallev ) 
McXulty. 

John  Hughes,  father  of  James  Walsh  Hughes,  was  the  first  of  this 
family  to  settle  in  Huntington.  He  was  a  farmer  like  his  forbears,  and 
died  here  aged  seventy  years,  at  "three  score  and  ten'"  as  the  proverb 
has  it,  a  good  old  significant  age.  The  mother  of  James  W.  Hughes  was 
Marv  (Walsh)  Hughes,  long  since  dead.  The  parents  were  of  prolific 
old  country  blood,  and  had  six  children,  of  whom  three  are  living,  among 
them  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

James  Walsh  Hughes  was  twenty  years  old  when  he  came  to  this  side 
of  the  water.  He  was  thirty-nine  years  old.  when  he  came  to  Hunting- 
ton, drawn  by  its  early  development  and  prospects.  July  25,  1873.  His 
first  employment  hereabouts  was  in  the  coal  mining  line ;  he  managed 
oiierations  of  the  Starr  Furnace. Company,  Kentucky,  for  something  like 
fifteen  years.  This  brings  us  to  March  2.  1901,  when  he  was  appointed, 
by  President  McKinley,  postmaster  of  Huntington,  then  beginning  its 
use.  In  this  office  he  came  in  touch  naturally  with  the  business  interests 
of  the  city,  and  devoted  himself,  there  is  uniform  testimony,  to  its 
ad\anceinent.      He  has  been  prominent  also  in  other  ways,  as  a  man  of 


124  WEST  VIRGINIA 

family  and  a  citizen,  and  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Huntington  Bank  and 
Trust  Company.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  an  Episcopalian  by 
denomination. 

He  is  the  father  of  eight  children,  four  now  living,  as  follows:  i. 
James  Anthony,  the  congressman  above-referred  to,  an  able  and  success- 
ful man  of  West  Mooreland.  2.  John  George,  of  Ashland,  Kentucky. 
3.  Edwin  Stephen,  of  Catlettsburg,  Kentucky.  4.  Arthur  Marcus,  of 
Louisa,  Kentucky.  James  W.  Hughes'  wife,  Ellen  (McNuIty)  Hughes, 
who  came  over  from  Ireland  with  him,  died  here  in  1898. 


Hansford  Watts,  a  Virginian,  born  in  Tazewell  county  of 
\\^'\TTS  the  Old  Dominion,  who  died  in  1900,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
nine, — born  therefore  in  181 1, — wa^  the  paternal  grand- 
father of  our  subject.  He  was  a  farmer  of  Wayne  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia, pretty  much  all  his  life,  following  this  vocation  there  except  in 
war  time,  near  Lavalette.  He  was  a  wheel-horse  of  the  confederacy,  in 
the  days  of  the  Rebellion,  from  first  to  last  "in  the  thick  of  it,"  as  one  of 
Sam  Vinson's  command.  The  maternal  grandfather  of  Mr.  Watts  was 
Jesse  Maynard.  He  was  of  Wayne  county,  also,  and  likewise  attached 
to  the  soil.  He  too  was  a  soldier  of  the  "gray,"  and  served  it  with  devo- 
tion and  heroism.  He  died  at  the  age  of  eighty  years  in  the  old  Watts 
home. 

(II)  Harrison  Watts,  still  living  on  a  small  farm  in  the  outskirts  of 
Huntington,  at  the  age  of  seventy  years,  is  Mr.  Watts'  father.  He  served 
also  under  the  stars  and  bars,  though  for  a  short  time,  being  hardly 
more  than  a  boy  during  the  war  between  the  states.  His  wife  was  Sarah 
(Maynard)  Watts,  born  in  Wayne  county.  West  Virginia,  died  there  in 
October,  1904,  at  the  age  of  sixty-four  years.  Of  their  issue,  numbering 
seven,  five  are  still  living:  Alderson,  of  Huntington  ;  Dr.  Alvis  J.,  also  of 
that  city;  Charles  N.,  a  member  of  the  police  force  there;  Hansford,  of 
whom  further;  Jessie  Mary,  died  at  the  age  of  eighteen  in  1887;  and 
Harrison,  died  in   1902. 

(III)  Hansford  Watts  (known  as  "Hans")  was  born  in  Wayne 
county.  West  Virginia,  February  4,  1873,  on  his  father's  fann,  East 
Lynn,  the  old  Watts  homestead.  His  earlier  schooling  was  acquired  in 
that  part  of  the  country.  When  the  boy  was  seventeen  years  old,  about 
1890,  the  father  bought  a  flour  mill  at  Wayne  Court  House,  Wayne 
county,  West  Virginia,  and  moved  the  family  there.  In  this  mill  our 
subject  was  employed.  He  was  head  miller  there,  until  he  came  of  age 
in  1894.  Then  he  received  an  appointment  in  the  Federal  service,  and 
abandoned  the  milling  line.  This  appointment  was  that  of  Deputy 
L'nited  States  Marshal  in  McDowell  county,  under  Marshal  S.  S.  Vin- 
son. He  held  this  place  with  credit  until  1896.  That  year  brought  him 
CO  Huntington,  and  embarked  him  in  the  hotel  business  with  Walter 
Davis.  They  established  together  the  Hotel  Adelphi,  and  with  its  man- 
agement Mr.  Watts  was  successfully  identified  for  something  like  five 
years. 

Then  he  started  the  Hans  Watts  Jewelry  store  in  Huntington,  on 
Third  Avenue,  between  Ninth  and  Tenth  streets.  That  was  in  1901. 
The  following  year  the  building  was  torn  down,  the  goods  were  removed 
to  Ashland,  Kentucky,  where  the  business  was  continued.  Mr.  Watts 
went  then  into  the  hotel  business  again,  and  in  1906  into  the  real  estate 
business,  at  first  by  himself  for  a  year,  and  then  as  one  of  the  firm  of 
Thompson,  Thornb'urg  &  ^^'atts,  at  No.  313  Ninth  street,  the  original  con- 
cern, the  Hans  \\^atts  Realty  Company,  still  continuing.     Mr.  Watts  is  a 


WEST  MRGIXIA  125 

Democrat,  an  Elk  and  a  member  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Baptist  congrega- 
tion.    He  is  a  man  of  family  and  substance. 

He  married,  at  Wayne  Court  House,  Wayne  county,  his  former 
home,  July  20,  1889,  Jennie  Booton,  a  native  of  the  place.  Her  father, 
JMcFarland  Booton,  was  a  prominent  Wayne  county  cultivator  of  the 
soil.  He  is  nowr  living,  in  Huntington,  the  life  of  a  man  retired  from 
business.  Her  mother,  Margaret  (Saunders)  Booton,  is  with  him.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  W^atts  have  two  children,  both  living;  Vickers  Booton  Watts, 
born  April  10,   1902;  and  Margaret  Vivian,  November  17,  1904. 


This  family  name  was  originally  spelled  (  )'Xeal,  the  prefix 
NEAL  being  dropped  in  familiar  usage,  after  the  immigrant  ances- 
tor had  reached  America.  Thomas  Neal,  or  O'Neal,  ran 
away  from  home  when  he  was  a  mere  lad.  He  settled  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  Kanawha  salt  mines,  later  moving  to  the  Ohio  country,  where  he  mar- 
ried and  reared  a  family.  Among  his  children  was  a  son.  Elliott,  of 
whom  further. 

(H)  Elliott,  son  of  Thomas  Neal  nr  (  )'Neal.  was  born  in  Lawrence 
county,  Ohio,  and  died  in  1892.  aged  sixty-three  years.  He  was  a  resi- 
dent and   farmer   in   his   home   county.      He   married   .   and   had   a 

son,   Thomas   J.,   of   whom    further. 

(HI)  Thomas  J.,  son  of  Elliott  Neal,  was  born  in  1852,  died  in  1904. 
He  was  a  merchant  and  general  storekeeper  in  the  town  of  Bradrick. 
Ohio,  for  fifteen  years  or  more  of  his  life.  He  married  Alice  Langdon, 
born  about  1855.  died  in  1892,  daughter  of  Elijah  Langdon.  also  a  farm- 
er of  Ohio,  who  departed  this  life  in  1889.  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight  years. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  J.  Neal  had  two  children:  i.  Dr.  William  Elmer, 
of  whom  further.  2.  Leonard  B.,  who  died  of  fever  in  the  Philippines, 
having  been  a  soldier  in  the  Spanish-American  war,  a  regular  of  Com- 
pany I.  Second  Regiment  I'nited  States  Army,  and  holding  the  rank  of 
corporal.  He  was  a  rising  man  when  his  career  was  cut  short  by  death 
in  1900. 

(IV)  Dr.  William  Elmer  Neal.  son  of  Thomas  J.  Neal.  was  born  in 
Lawrence  county,  Ohio,  October  14,  T875,  on  his  grandfather's  farm. 
He  attended  school  as  a  boy  in  the  home  district,  and  after  a  course  at  the 
Proctorville  high  school,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1894.  engaged  in 
teaching  school.  This  he  followed  for  six  years  in  Ohio  and  Kentucky. 
In  1900  he  graduated  from  the  National  Normal  University,  Lebanon, 
Ohio,  and  from  there  proceeded  to  the  Medical  College  of  Ohio  to  study 
for  his  profession.  He  graduated  from  that  institution  in  1906.  After 
spending  part  of  1906-07  in  the  Good  Samaritan  Hospital  in  the  Queen 
City,  he  began  practice.  The  first  three  years,  1907  to  1910.  he  put  in  at 
Proctorville,  Ohio,  coming  then  to  Huntington,  where  he  opened  an  of- 
fice at  No.  ioo3;4  Third  avenue.  He  entered  at  once  into  an  active  and 
profitable  career,  which  is  expanding  and  progressing  day  by  day.  He 
has  had  business  experience,  also,  having  been  manager  for  five  years  of 
his  father's  store  at  Bradrick. 

Dr.  Neal  is  a  Republican,  though  taking  no  active  part  here  in  poli- 
tics. He  is  a  Mason,  an  Odd  Fellow,  a  member  of  the  Elks,  and  the 
Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle.  He  also  belongs  to  the  Cabell  County 
Medical  Society,  the  West  Virginia  State  Medical  Society  and  the  Amer- 
ican Medical  Association,  being  also  president  of  the  Cabell  County  Or- 
ganization. In  1913  he  became  a  member  of  the  Huntington  Chamber  of 
Commerce.  In  the  Greek  letter  fraternities,  he  has  affiliated  himself  with 
Nu  Sigma  Nu.    His  religious  belief  is  that  of  the  Methodist  church. 

Dr.  Neal  married,  September  11,  1912,  Susan,  daughter  of  L.  A.  and 
Ruth  (Garden)  Witten,  who  was  born  in  Monroe  county,  Ohio. 


126  WEST   X'lRGIXIA 

There  are  supposed  tn  be  at  least  three  Emmons  tami- 
EMAl()i\S     hes  in  the  United  States:    One  of  Dutch  origin  found  in 

Xew  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania:  one  English, 
(lesceniled  from  William  Emmons,  who  came  from  England  about  1 718, 
and  settled  first  at  Taunton,  Alassachusetts,  afterward  near  Litchfield, 
Litchfield  county,  Connecticut :  and  the  third,  also  English,  whose  ances- 
tor settled  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island.  Erom  the  second  of  these  families 
have  come  several  distinguished  men. 

(I)  Carlton  Emmons,  the  first  mem1)er  of  this  family  about  whom 
we  have  definite  information,  was  born  in  New  ^'ork  state,  and  lived  to 
the  age  of  seventy-five.  He  was  a  farmer.  Child:  Delos  White,  of 
whom  further. 

(II)  Delos  White,  son  of  Carlton  Emmons,  was  born  at  Oneonta, 
Otsego  county,  New  York,  about  1829,  died  at  Huntington,  Cabell  coun- 
ty, West  Virginia,  in  1905.  He  succeeded  John  J.  Gould  in  a  tanning  busi- 
ness in  a  Fulton  county,  New  York,  village,  which  village  was  afterward 
named  from  him,  Emmonsburg;  the  tanning  business  was  the  chief  in- 
dustry of  the  place.  Here  he  was  postmaster  and  kept  a  general  store. 
Eor  twenty-five  years  he  was  associated  with  CoUis  P.  Huntington.  He 
selected  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Huntington,  West  Virginia,  and 
named  it  after  Air.  Huntington.  His  sons  have  erected  a  ten-thousand- 
dollar  mausoleum  to  his  memory,  in  Spring  Hill  cemetery,  Huntington. 
He  married  Mary  J.,  born  in  183 1,  daughter  of  Asa  Stoddard,  now 
(1913)  living  at  "Pleasant  View,"  the  Emmons  homestead  in  Huntington. 
She  is  a  sister  of  the  first  Mrs.  CoUis  P.  Huntington,  and  a  relative  of  the 
famous  lecturer,  John  L.  Stoddard :  her  father  was  a  farmer  near  Litch- 
field, Connecticut,  and  had  a  large  family.  Children  of  Delos  White  and 
Mary  J.  (Stoddard)  Emmons;  all  living  at  Huntington:  Arthur  Stod- 
dard, of  whom  further :  Collis  Huntington,  engaged  in  the  hardware  busi- 
ness ;  Carlton  D.,  engaged  in  the  hardware  business :  Julius  A.,  engaged  in 
the  real  estate  business ;  Elizabeth  S.,  who  owns  the  big  Watts  store  at 
Huntington  and  other  valuable  properties. 

(III)  Arthur  Stoddard,  son  of  Delos  White  and  Mary  J.  (Stoddard) 
Emmons,  was  born  at  Oneonta,  New  York.  August  5,  1852.  He  attended 
school  at  Fairfield.  Herkimer  county.  New  York,  and  at  Utica.  He  helped 
his  father  in  the  general  store  and  postoffice  at  Emmonsburg,  and  was 
with  him  in  business  ten  years  in  all.  Coming  then  to  West  Virginia,  he 
was  for  three  years  with  the  construction  department  of  the  Chesapeake 
&  Ohio  railroad,  at  various  points,  supervising  the  moving  of  cars  and 
locomotives,  on  barges,  from  Parkersburg  to  Huntington.  Afterward, 
he  was  in  the  service  of  this  railroad  as  engineer,  car  distributor,  conduc- 
tor, way  master,  traveling  auditor,  ticket  agent  at  Richmond,  Virginia, 
for  three  years,  and  general  purchasing  agent  for  nine  years,  making  a 
total  of  nineteen  years'  service.  In  1890  he  purchased  an  interest  in  a 
wholesale  hardware  business,  the  Emmons-Hawkins  Company,  the  larg- 
est in  West  Virginia,  of  which  he  is  vice-president :  and  at  this  time  he 
fixed  his  residence  at  Huntington.  During  the  past  three  years,  he  has 
built  the  Hotel  Arthur,  at  Third  avenue  and  Twenty-second  street,  of 
which  he  has  retained  the  ownership.  Two  years  ago  he  erected  the  ele- 
gant and  modern  Emmons  Apartments,  at  Third  avenue  and  Twelfth 
street.  Mr.  Emmons  is  a  member  of  tlTe  Benevolent  and  Protective  Or- 
der of  Elks,  and  of  the  National  Union  of  Commercial  Travelers.  He 
is  a  Democrat.  In  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  he  is  treasurer  and  a 
deacon.  He  married,  at  Little  Falls,  Herkimer  county.  New  York,  Ma}' 
S,,  daughter  of  Henry  I.  and  Sarah  (Sherwood)  Petrie,  of  Emmons- 
burg; her  parents  are  both  deceased.  Mrs.  Emmons  has  taken  an  active 
and  leading  part  in  social  and  charitable  affairs,  and  for  fifteen  years  was 


^^^^c^-Z^^T^S^^^^^'^^^^^^z^'^z;^^ 


WEST   \IK(iIXIA 

president  of  the  Ladies"  Aitl  Society  of  the  First    rre>bvterian   Chu; 
They  have  no  children. 


Frederick  Cliarles  Prichard  is  known  as  one  of  the 
PRICHARD     foremost  men  in  the  development  of  the  coal  fields  of 

\'irginia  and  Kentucky,  and  is  descended  from  families 
native  to  the  soil  of  both  states.  His  grandfather,  Lewis  Prichard.  spent 
his  whole  life  in  Boyd  county.  Kentucky,  as  a  farmer  and  skn'chrildcr, 
and  died  there  at  the  age  of  eighty-one  years. 

(II)  Dr.  Lewis  Prichard,  son  of  Lewis  Prichard,  was  born  in  Boyd 
county,  Kentucky,  near  Catlettsburg,  and  is  still  living  in  Charleston. 
West  Virginia.  He  is  still  the  president  of  the  Charleston  National 
Bank,  and  is  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Huntington  Banking  &  Trust 
Company  of  Huntington,  although  he  has  now  attained  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-three years.  During  civil  war  times,  he  sympathized  with  the 
cause  of  the  Confederacy.  His  wife,  Sarah  Belle  ^lead.  born  in  Green- 
up county,  Kentucky,  was  the  daughter  of  Henry  Armstead  and  Betsey 
( Powell )  Mead.  Mr.  Mead,  a  native-born  Virginian  and  slaveholder, 
died  at  the  age  of  ninety-three  in  Kentucky,  where  he  moved  as  a  young 
man,  and  had  become  prominent  in  agricultural  pursuits.  Dr.  Lewis 
Prichard  and  his  wife  had  three  children:  Henry  Lewis,  and  Armstead 
Mead,  who  are  now  living  in  Charleston :  and  Frederick  Charles,  of 
whom   further. 

(III)  Frederick  Charles  Prichard.  son  of  Dr.  Lewis  Prichard.  was 
born  March  21.  1871,  in  Grayson,  Carter  county,  Kentucky.  His  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools  of  his  birthplace  was  supplemented  by  a  course 
in  civil  engineering  at  the  University  of  Notre  Dame,  Indiana,  from  1887 
to  1 89 1.  His  business  career  began  in  the  Charleston  National  Bank,  of 
Charleston,  West  Virginia,  of  which  institution  his  father  was  president, 
and  his  brother  Henry  L.,  was  cashier.  He  remained  in  this  position 
until  1895,  when  he  entered  the  grocery  business  in  the  employ  of  Lewis, 
Hubbard  &  Company,  wholesale  grocers  of  Charleston,  with  whom  he 
remained  until  1898.  Starting  an  independent  mercantile  line,  he  moved 
to  Poca,  Putnam  county.  West  Mrginia.  There  he  also  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  using  his  knowledge  of  civil  engineering  by  assisting  the  Mar- 
mot-Smith Coal  Company  at  their  mines  near  Poca,  and  other  engineer- 
ing work.  In  July,  1900,  he  became  superintendent  of  the  White  Oak 
Fuel  Company,  a  large  coal  plant  in  Fayette  county,  controlling  five 
thousand  acres  of  coal.  In  this  connection,  one  of  his  engineering  feats 
was  the  sinking  of  the  first  deep  circular  shaft  in  that  countv,  its  dimen- 
sions being  twenty-two  feet  wide  by  four  hundred  feet  deep.  After 
serving  this  company  for  a  period  of  thirteen  months,  he  sold  his  interest 
in  the  concern  and  formed  a  combination  with  his  present  partner, 
Houghton  A.  Robson.  organizing  the  Falls  Colliery  Coal  Company,  of 
which  Mr.  Prichard  was  chosen  president.  Having  realized  on  these 
mines,  the  partners  invested  in  coal  lands  of  Fayette,  Boone  and  Raleigh 
counties,  West  Virginia,  and  thev  rode  on  horseback  to  make  survey  of 
mineral  territory  in  Wise,  Dickerson  and  Russell  counties.  \^irginia,  and 
eastern  Kentucky,  also.  About  1902  they  established  three  mines  of 
their  own  on  Cabin  Creek,  under  the  corporate  name  of  the  Belleclaire 
Coal  Company.  These  they  sold,  in  February,  1907,  to  the  Cabin  Creek 
Consolidated  Coal  Company,  which  is  now  operating  them.  After  this 
insurance  and  real  estate  engaged  the  attention  of  Messrs.  Prichard  and 
Robson.  first  in  the  development  of  Charleston,  and  after  October,  1909, 
in  Huntington ;  in  February,  1909,  they  had  purchased  the  lot  on  which 
stands  the  ten-story  building  of  the  Huntington  Banking  &  Trust  Com- 


128  WEST  VIRGINIA 

pany.  This  building,  begun  October  28,  1909,  and  completed  by  March, 
191 1,  cost  about  three  hundred  thousand  dollars.  It  was  built  of  rein- 
forced concrete,  every  carload  of  which  was  specially  tested,  and  the 
building  is  open  on  all  four  sides  to  daylight. 

The  Huntington  Banking  &  Trust  Company  was  incor])orated  Decem- 
ber 6,  1910,  and  after  its  stock  had  been  put  on  sale,  February  i,  191 1, 
without  solicitation,  there  was  in  two  months  an  over-subscription  of 
fifty  thousand  dollars.  Its  prosperity  is  shown  by  capital  stock  and  aver- 
age deposits,  each  figuring  at  three  hundred  thousand.  On  May  22, 
191 1,  its  opening  day,  forty-five  thousand  dollars  was  deposited,  and  two 
weeks  later  a  total  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  thousand  was  shown  in 
the  statement  called  for  on  June  7,  191 1.  Its  officers  are:  B.  W.  Foster, 
president ;  R.  Switzer  and  F.  C.  Prichard,  vice-presidents ;  and  C.  P. 
Snow,  cashier ;  and  Mr.  Prichard's  father,  Dr.  Lewis  Prichard,  is  asso- 
ciated with  his  son  among  the  directors  of  the  concern. 

]\Ir.  Prichard  is  a  member  of  the  Huntington  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
treasurer  of  the  Foster-Mead  Hardware  Company,  secretary  and  treas- 
urer of  Loar-Berry  &  Company,  wholesale  grocers,  and  treasurer  of  the 
Hughes  Ellis-Boyd  Tobacco  Warehouse  Company  of  Huntington,  West 
Virginia ;  also  secretary  of  the  Deardorff-Sister  Company,  of  Hunting- 
ton ;  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Mercantile  Land  Company,  which 
has  valuable  improved  property  on  9th  street  and  6th  avenue,  Huntington. 

Frederick  Charles  Prichard  is  decidedly  in  favor  of  casting  his  ballot 
for  the  political  candidate  whose  character  is  best  suited  to  the  office  in 
question.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  and  the  United 
Commercial  Travellers.  He  attends  the  First  Presbyterian  Church.  On 
October  24,  1894,  he  married,  at  La  Porte,  Indiana,  Alice  Clare  Wilson, 
a  native  of  that  town,  whose  father  and  mother,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hardy 
Wilson,  now  live  in  Michigan  City,  Indiana.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  C.  Prichard 
have  no  children. 


Dr.  John  Harness  Steenbergen.  is  of  pioneer  an- 
STEENBERGEN     cestry.      His  paternal  grandfather.  General   Peter 

H.  .Steenbergen.  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Mason  county,  and  was  a  veteran  of  the  second  war  with  Great  Britain. 
He  came  to  Alason  county,  Virginia,  as  early  as  1804,  and  finally  settled 
there  in  180S.  He  was  a  farmer  and  stock  breeder  there,  and  acquired 
his  title  of  colonel  first,  and  of  general  in  the  war  of  1812.  He  sur- 
vived to  a  good  old  age,  dying  there  about  1865,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
two  years. 

(II)  John  William  Steenbergen,  son  of  General  Peter  H.  Steenber- 
gen, is  still  living  at  the  age  of  eighty-one  years.  He  resides  on  the  old 
family  estate,  "Poplar  Grove  Farm,"  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railway. 
Mason  county.  West  Virginia,  which  road  has  a  station,  known  as  Galli- 
polis  Ferry  and  trains  stop  there  regularly,  under  an  agreement  made 
many  years  ago.  He  has  been  a  farmer  there  during  the  greater  part  of 
his  career,  and  is  a  graduate  of  the  Virginia  Military  Institute,  Lexing- 
ton, class  of  1849.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Isaac  Van  Meter;  he  was 
born  in  Lexington,  Kentucky,  on  the  old  family  place.  He  was  a  farmer 
of  the  "Blue  Grass  State,"  and  had  sons  who  fought  under  the  Confeder- 
ate "Stars  and  Bars."  She  died  in  1898,  at  the  age  of  fifty-four  years. 
There  were  six  children,  all  of  whom  are  living  and  all  are  married. 
Children :  William,  of  Point  Pleasant,  West  Virginia ;  and  Peter  H.,  of 
the  same  place:  Isaac  V..  of  Columbia.  Missouri:  Frances,  now  Mrs. 
Clyde  Johnson,  of  Louisville.  Kentucky:  Charles  L.,  of  Paris,  Kentucky, 
and  John  Harness,  of  whom  further. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  129 

(III)  Dr.  John  Harness  Steenbergen  was  born  in  Mason  county, 
West  Virginia,  November  4,  1883,  on  his  father's  farm,  at  Galhpolis  Fer- 
ry, known  as  "Poplar  Grove  Farm."  He  received  his  rudimentary  edu- 
cation in  private  schools  until  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age.  He  was  then 
sent  to  the  Gallia  Academy,  Gallipolis,  Ohio,  and  there  remained  until 
he  graduated  in  1900.  The  following  year  he  went  to  Washington  and 
Lee  University,  at  Lexington,  Virginia,  and  there  took  a  special  course 
in  chemistry.  In  1904  he  entered  the  state  university  of  West  X'irginia, 
at  Morgantown,  and  remained  there  as  a  student  of  medicine,  for  two 
years.  Thence  he  proceeded  to  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons, 
at  Baltimore,  Maryland,  from  which  he  graduated,  with  the  medical  de- 
gree, of  Doctor  of  Medicine,  in  1908.  He  had  been  an  interne  of  the 
Mercy  Hospital  that  city,  while  still  a  student  and  after  his  graduation 
was  appointed  to  a  place  in  that  institution  as  resident  physician.  Here 
he  served  a  year  and  then,  in  1909,  established  himself  in  Huntington. 

In  the  fall  of  1910,  he  formed  a  partnership  here  with  Dr.  J.  A.  Guthrie. 
The  following  spring  they  opened  their  hospital  at  Sixth  avenue  and 
Sixth  street,  one  of  the  best  equipped,  most  modern  and  up-to-date  in 
the  land.  It  is  especially  prepared  for  surgical  operations  and  has  a 
most  expert  scientific  staff.  This  continued  until  June,  1912,  when  Dr. 
Steenbergen  sold  his  interest  and  has  since  practiced  alone. 

Dr.  Steenbergen  takes  a  lively  interest  in  politics,  but  endeavors  to 
preserve,  as  to  its  issues,  an  open  mind.  He  is  an  Elk,  and  a  Mason,  a 
member  of  the  Blue  Lodge  and  Ben  Hur,  a  member  of  several  Greek  let- 
ter college  fraternities,  and  in  religious  faith  a  Presbyterian.  He  mar- 
ried, September  20,  191 1,  Jessie  J.  Fitch,  who  was  born  in  Morgantown. 
Her  father.  Dr.  James  P.  Fitch,  and  her  mother  also  are  natives  of  Mor- 
gantown. 


Jean  Frederick  Smith,  of  Huntington,  ex-prosecuting  attor- 
SMITH     ney  for  Cabell  county,  in  addition  to  being  a  leader  in  his 

profession  is  prominently  identified  with  a  number  of  the 
principal  financial  institutions  and  business  interests  of  the  city  of  which 
he  has  long  been  one  of  the  foremost  residents. 

(I)  Henry  Smith  (the  German  form  of  the  name  being  Schmidt), 
grandfather  of  Jean  Frederick  Smith,  was  born  in  Berlin,  Prussia,  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States,  settling  on  Long  Island,  New  York,  and 
died  shortly  after  arriving  in  his  adopted  country. 

(II)  Adolphus  H.,  son  of  Henry  .Smith,  was  born  in  Berlin,  and  at 
the  age  of  fourteen  vears  accompanied  his  mother  to  the  United  States 
whither  his  father  had  preceded  them.  His  youth  and  early  manhood 
were  passed  on  Long  Island,  and  he  is  now  a  farmer  at  Pedro,  Ohio. 
During  the  civil  war  he  served  fifteen  months  in  the  Union  army. 
Adolphus  H.  Smith  married  Nellie  Ellen,  daughter  of  John  O.  Moore, 
who  came  from  Scotland  and  settled  at  Ohio  Furnace,  and  three  chil- 
dren were  born  to  them :  Myrtie  M. ;  Ada  O. ;  Jean  Frederick,  mentioned 
below.  Mrs.  Smith  died  five  years  ago,  and  I\Tr.  Smith  is  now  sixty-five 
years  old. 

fill)  Jean  Frederick,  son  of  Adolphus  H.  and  Nellie  Ellen  (Moore) 
Smith,  was  born  May  4,  1874,  at  Powellsville,  Ohio.  He  received  his 
education  in  the  local  schools,  and  after  leaving  school  found  employ- 
ment in  the  Furnace  store,  twenty  miles  from  Ironton,  remaining  seven 
vears.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  entered  the  Law  School  of  the  West 
Virginia  State  LTniversity,  at  !\Torgantown,  West  Virginia,  graduating 
in  June,  1900.  He  at  once  opened  an  office  in  Huntin,gton,  where  he  has 
since  continuously  practised,  acquiring  a  large  clientele  and  building  up 

9 


13<J  WEST   \IRGIXIA 

a  reputation  founded  on  close  application,  extensive  and  profound  knowl- 
edge of  the  law  and  a  high  degree  of  ability  as  a  practitioner.  In  July, 
191 1,  he  was  elected  vice-president  of  the  State  Bar  Association  of  We.-t 
Virginia. 

JNIr.  Smith  is  a  director  in  the  Suburban  Land  Company  and  tlu- 
Swan  Printing  and  Publishing  Company,  and  a  stockholder  in  the  Hunt- 
ington Kenova  Land  Company,  the  Wiley  China  Company,  the  Union 
Savings  Bank  and  Trust  Company,  and  in  various  oil  companies.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  was  elected  by  his  party  to  the  office  of 
prosecuting  attorney  for  Cabell  county,  entering  upon  the  discharge  of 
his  duties  January  i,  1909.  In  his  administration  of  the  office  he  proved 
himself  at  once  an  able  lawyer  and  a  public-spirited  citizen,  his  term 
expired  January  i,  1913.  His  fraternal  affiliations  are  with  Masonry  in 
all  its  branches,  the  Mystic  Shrine,  the  Knights  Templar,  the  Benevolent 
and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  Independent  Order  Odd  Fellows,  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 

Mr.  Smith  has  already  won  laurels  at  the  bar,  but  a  man  who  has  not 
yet  completed  his  fourth  decade  has  still  before  him  the  larger  portion  of 
his  career,  and  when  the  past  is  filled  with  accomplishment  it  is  reason- 
able to  predict  even  greater  results  for  the  future. 


One  of  the  most  progressive  and  clear-headed  business  men 
BELL     of   Huntington  is  Homer   Beli,  treasurer  of  the  well  known 

firm  of  Sehon,  Stevenson  &  Company.  JNIr.  Bell  is  a  descend- 
ant of  ancestors  who  have  been  for  generations  resident  in  Virginia  and 
West  Virginia,  giving  to  both  states  useful  and  public-spirited  citizens. 

(I)  William  Bell,  grandfather  of  Homer  Bell,  was  born  on  the  home- 
stead in  Nicholas  county,  now  West  Virginia,  where  he  passed  his  life  as 
a  farmer.    He  died  about  1896,  aged  eighty-one  years. 

(II)  Samuel,  son  of  William  Bell,  was  born  on  the  ancestral  farm, 
and  like  his  father  devoted  himself  to  its  cultivation.  During  the  war 
between  the  states  his  sympathies  were  with  the  south.  He  married 
Maria,  a  native  of  Nicholas  county,  daughter  of  Winston  Shelton.  who 
was  also  born  in  that  part  of  the  state  which  is  now  West  Virginia :  he 
was  a  farmer  and  merchant  at  Winston,  the  town  having  been  named  in 
his  honor :  throughout  the  war  he  served  as  captain  of  infantry  in  the 
Confederate  army,  three  of  his  sons  also  bearing  arms  in  the  southern 
cause.  Samuel  Bell  and  his  wife  were  the  parents  of  the  following  chil- 
dren:  I.  Homer,  mentioned  below.  2.  John  A.,  of  Nashville,  Tennessee. 
3.  A^ina  \L.  wife  of  Dr.  S.  F.  Roberts,  of  Wheeling,  West  Mrginia.  4. 
Robert  C,  of  New  Orleans,  Louisiana.  3.  xAnnie,  lives  with  her  mother, 
in  Huntington.  6.  Katie  B.,  wife  of  Frank  Frame,  of  Sutton,  West  Vir- 
ginia. 7.  Richard  W.,  of  El  Reno,  Oklahoma.  8.  Nora,  wife  of  Harry 
H.  Huff,  of  Gassaway,  West  Virginia.  Samuel  Bell  died  on  his  farm, 
March  6,  1901,  aged  sixty-one  years. 

(HI)  Homer,  eldest  child  of  Samuel  and  Maria  (Shelton)  Bell,  was 
born  January  15,  1868,  on  the  old  homestead  in  Nicholas  county.  He  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  local  schools,  in  which  he  afterward  taught  for 
three  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  feeling  desirous  of  larger  oppor- 
tunities for  mental  culture  than  he  had  hitherto  enjoyed,  he  came  in  1888 
to  Huntington,  and  entered  Marshall  College,  remaining  one  year,  and 
afterward  teaching  for  two  years  in  Fayette  and  Kanawha  counties.  In 
1891  Mr.  Bell  returned  to  Huntington  and  obtained  a  position  in  the 
Huntington  National  Bank  which  he  retained  five  years.  He  then  be- 
came bookkeeper  for  the  Emmons-Hawkins  Hardware  Company,  remain- 
ing with  them  about  two  years.     In  1897  he  entered  the  service  of  the 


SS  LILLIAN  BELL  TO  TOUR  EUROPE 
TH    PARTY    FROM    WARD-BELMONT 


MISS   LILLIAN    BELL 


Lillian  Bell,  daughter  of  Mr. 
rs.  Homer  Bell,  of  Sixth  avenue, 
lil  from  Quebec,  Canada,  June 
:h  a  party  of  twelve  former 
ates  of  Ward-Belmont  College 
shville,    on    a    summer    tour    of 

ided  in  the  foreign  itinerary 
by  the  young  ladies  are  Eng- 
Bcotland,  France,  Italy,  Switzer- 
md  Belgium.  Of  the  especial 
of  interest  they  will  visit  the 
ield  of  Flanders,  which  they  will 
by  automobile,  is  particularly 

B  Bell  is  a  graduate  of  Ward-Bel- 
of  the  class  of  1919,  and  since 
ommencement  has  devoted  her 
LO  teaching  in  the  grade  schools 
intington.     She   will  leave   this 


city  Jun?  13  for  Quebec,  and  plans  to 
return  during  the  latter  part  of  Sep- 
tember. 


WEST  MRGINIA  131 

firm  with  which  he  is  now  associated,  tlie  style  being  then  Sehon,  Blake 
&  Stevenson,  wholesale  grocers.  At  the  time  of  the  tire  in  INIarch,  1901, 
he  resigned  his  position  in  order  to  open  a  wholesale  grocer)'  store  under 
the  firm  name  of  Blake,  Bell  &  Company.  At  the  end  of  fifteen  months 
he  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  business,  and  returned  in  October,  1902, 
to  his  former  employers,  then  Sehon,  Stevenson  &  Company.  In  April, 
1908,  when  the  company  was  incorporated,  Mr.  Bell  was  advanced  to  the 
position  of  treasurer.  Generously  interested  in  everything  pertaining  to 
the  welfare  and  advancement  of  his  home  city,  all  projects  having  that 
ond  in  view  are  sure  of  his  hearty  co-operation.  He  is  a  stockholder  in 
the  Huntington  National  Bank,  and  his  sound  judgment  in  regard  to 
financial  aflfairs  causes  him  to  be  frequently  consulted  on  the  subject  by 
his  friends  and  neighbors.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  afifiliates  with 
the  IVlasonic  fraternity.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Baptist 
Church. 

Mr.  Bell  married,  December  29,  1897,  at  Rushville,  Indiana,  Lotta, 
born  at  that  place,  October  6,  1872,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Franklin  and 
Charlotte  Morris,  the  former  a  farmer  and  a  pioneer  of  Rushville ;  he 
survived  his  wife,  and  died  in  March,  1901,  his  funeral,  by  a  singular 
coincidence,  occurring  on  the  day  which  witnessed  the  death  of  ^Ir. 
Bell's  father.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bell  are  the  parents  of  one  daughter :  Lil- 
lian Alice,  born  December  19,  1898,  and  now  attending  school  in  Hunting- 
ton. Mr.  Bell's  assured  position  as  a  business  man  and  financier  is  due 
to  innate  ability  enforced  by  untiring  industry,  indomitable  energy  and 
undeviating  adherence  to  the  strictest  principles  of  integrity. 


There  are   numerous   families   of  this  name   in  the   United 
WOOD     States,    and    the    immigrant    ancestors    came    from    several 

parts  of  England.  It  is  highly  probable  that  there  is  no  one 
ancestor  for  all  of  this  name,  as  it  is  one  that  may  easily  have  been  applied 
to  many  persons  and  many  families. 

(I)  Rev.  Charles  Washington  Wood,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the 
early  pioneer  families  of  the  Old  Dominion  Virginia,  was  born  in  Bed- 
ford county,  and  lived  to  the  age  of  eighty-two  years.  His  father  dying 
while  he  vvas  an  infant,  Charles  W.  Wood  was  brought  up  by  his  step- 
father, and  knew  little  about  his  father.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years 
he  was  overseer  of  slaves  on  a  farm.  Later  in  life  he  became  a  preacher. 
He  married  Mary  Ann  Ore,  born  in  Bedford  county,  who  lived  to  be 
eighty-two  years  of  age.  Her  father  was  a  native  of  England.  Chil- 
dren: I.  Sarah  Katherine,  married  L.  C.  Reynolds,  of  Danville,  Pittsyl- 
vania county,  Virginia.  2.  John,  died  in  1906,  married  Sallie  Gardner. 
3.  Laura  Elizabeth,  married  J.  H.  Fuller,  of  Callands,  Pittsylvania  coun- 
ty, Virginia.  4.  Melissa  E.,  died  about  1895,  married  J.  R.  Bailey.  5. 
Matthew  Lawrence,  of  whom  further.  6.  Missouri  Alice,  married  D. 
Edmunds,  of  Yanceyville,  Caswell  county,  North  Carolina.  7-8.  Two 
others,  deceased. 

(Ill")  Rev.  Matthew  Lawrence  Wood,  son  of  Rev.  Charles  Washing- 
ton and  Mary  Ann  (Ore)  Wood,  was  born  in  Bedford  county,  Virginia, 
October  23,  1858.  The  family  moved  to  Pittsylvania  county  when  he 
was  eleven  years  old.  Here  he  had  his  first  education.  Afterward  he 
attended  Richmond  College,  Richmond,  Virginia,  from  which  he  gradu- 
ated in  1884,  and  the  Southern  Baptist  Theological  Seminary,  at  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky.  His  first  pastorates  were  two  churches  in  Charles  City 
countv,  Virginia,  beginning  in  June,  1885.  After  one  year  he  assumed 
charge  of  the  ^^'est  End  Baptist  Church,  Petersburg,  Dinwiddle  county, 
Virginia,  where  he  remained  two  years.     From  this  place  he  removed  to 


132  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Newport  News  ,and  there  he  remained  eight  years.  For  the  next  ten 
years  he  was  at  Staunton,  Augusta  county,  Virginia.  In  October,  1905, 
he  came  to  Huntington,  and  has  had  charge  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Baptist 
Church  since  that  time.  There  were  then  five  hundred  and  eighty-eight 
members;  the  membership  is  now  nearly  one  thousand,  composed  of  the 
leading  business  and  social  element  of  Huntington.  The  congregation  is 
a  wealthy  one,  and  they  have  a  fine  building.  Mr.  Wood  is  a  Mason,  a 
Knight  Templar,  and  a  member  of  the  IMystic  Shrine.  He  is  a  Democrat. 
He  married  (first)  December  22,  1886,  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  Bessie 
Hoge,  a  native  of  Richmond,  who  died  at  Staunton,  December  22,  1896; 
(second)  December  20,  1902,  at  Washington,  D.  C,  Mary  Emma, 
daughter  of  John  W.  and  Martha  (Gregory)  Fitzgerald,  who  was  born 
in  Pittsylvania  county,  November  19,  1868.  Her  parents  now  live  in 
Pittsylvania  county,  where  her  father  is  a  farmer.  Children,  three  by 
first,  two  by  second  marriage:  i.  Lawrence  Curry,  born  December  17, 
1889;  now  with  the  Atlas  Portland  Cement  Company,  at  Chicago,  Illi- 
nois. 2.  Charles  Rowland,  born  September  13,  1890;  educated  at  Deni- 
son  University,  Granville,  Licking  county,  Ohio;  now  with  the  IVilliam- 
son  Daily  Nezvs,  Williamson,  West  Virginia.  3.  Miriam,  born  March 
23,  1895;  graduate  of  Huntington  high  school,  in  the  class  of  1912.  4. 
John  Edmund  Fitzgerald,  born  October  19,  1903.  5.  Matthew  Leland, 
born  April  8,  1907. 


This  is  a  Teutonic  name,  denoting  occupation  or  locality. 
SEAMAN     There  are  Seamans  in  Norfolk  county,  England,  entitled 

to  arms.  Captain  John  Seaman,  the  founder  of  this 
family,  came  from  England  about  1645.  Two  years  after  this  date,  he 
was  one  of  the  proprietors  of  Hempstead,  Long  Island,  New  York.  He 
was  a  magistrate  of  Hempstead  under  the  Dutch  government,  and  held 
office  also  under  the  short  restoration  of  Dutch  rule.  He  was  a  land- 
holder under  the  first  English  patent  of  Hempstead.  Apparently  he  was 
a  Quaker  in  rehgion.  His  will  was  iiroved  March  25,  1695.  He  married 
(first)  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  Strickland,  (second)  Martha,  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  and  Martha  (Youngs)  Moore.  Children,  five  first-named 
by  first,  others  by  second  wife;  John,  married  Hannah  Williams;  Jona- 
than, of  whom  further:  Benjamin,  married  Martha  Titus:  Solomon, 
died  1733,  married  Elizabeth  Linnington ;  Elizabeth,  married  John  Jack- 
son :  Thomas ;  Samuel,  married  Phebe  Hicks ;  Nathaniel,  married,  in 
1695,  Rachel  Willis:  Richard,  born  in  1673,  died  in  1749.  married,  in 
1693,  Jane  Mott ;  Sarah,  married  John  Mott :  Martha,  married  Nathaniel 

Pearsall :  Hannah,  married  Carman ;  Deborah,  married  Kirk ; 

,  married Carman  :  ]\Tary.  married  Thomas  Pearsall ;  one  other. 

(II)  Jonathan,  son  of  Captain  John  and  Elizabeth  (Strickland)  Sea- 
man, married  Jane  .  Children :  David,  married  Temperance  Wil- 
liams:  Jonathan  (2),  of  whom  further;  John,  married  Hannah  Wil- 
liams ;  Joseph ;  Caleb. 

(III)  Jonathan  (2),  son  of  Jonathan  (i)  and  Jane  Seaman, 
removed,  as  also  did  his  brother  Joseph,  to  Kakiat,  Rockland  county. 
New  York,  in  or  soon  after  171 1.  His  will  was  proved  in  1755.  He 
married  Elisabeth  Denton.  Children:  Jonathan  (3).  who  went  to  Vir- 
ginia, and  left  one  son  and  one  daughter;  Jonas,  married  Jane  D.  Moss, 
went  to  Virginia,  had  seven  sons  and  seven  daughters ;  Jecaniah,  married 
Rachel  Secor;  John;  Elisabeth,  married  John  Palmer;  Martha,  married 
Michael  Vandervort ;  Phebe,  married  Samuel  Coe ;  Hannah,  married 
William  Coe.     From  this  Jonathan   (2),  by  his  son  Jonathan  or  by  his 


WEST  VIRGINIA 


133 


son  Jonas,  we  suppose  John   Seaman,   of  whom   further,  to  have  been 
descended. 

(V)  John  Seaman  was  born  at  WheeHng,  Virginia,  in  1786,  and  died 
in  1873.  His  father  had  served  in  the  revolution  and  the  wars  against 
the  Indians.  He  married  Elizabeth  Harrison,  who  was  born  in  Harrison 
county,  Kentucky.     Child :  Harrison,  of  whom  further. 

(VI)  Harrison,  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Harrison)  Seaman,  was 
born  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  December  23,  1812,  died  January  6,  1896.  He 
was  a  farmer  in  Missouri,  in  which  state  most  of  his  life  was  passed.  He 
married  Louisa,  born  in  Goochland  county,  ^'"irginia,  in  181 5,  died  in 
1905,  daughter  of  William  Bates.  Her  father  lived  to  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-eight :  his  father,  also  named  William,  was  with  Lewis  in  the  signifi- 
cant battle  of  Point  Pleasant ;  in  this  great  struggle,  the  Indians  were  led 
by  the  brave,  skillful,  humane  and  admirable  chief,  Cornstalk;  they  were 
utterly  defeated  after  a  hard  fight,  October  10,  1774.  Children  of  Harri- 
son and  Louisa  (Bates')  Seaman:  Elizabeth,  married  W.  L.  C.  Ruther- 
ford ;  Hulda,  married  J.  M.  S.  Rouse ;  Cynthia,  married  John  Lipes ; 
William  Jackson,  of  whom  further ;  John ;  Anna,  married  H.  B.  Beck- 
ner;  Robert  H.,  born  in  1856,  married,  January  3,  1883,  Anna  L.  Brook- 
ing; Lucy,  married  Julius  C.  IMcReynolds. 

fVH)  William  Jackson,  son  of  Harrison  and  Louisa  (Bates)  Sea- 
man, was  born  on  his  father's  farm,  near  Labelle,  Lewis  county,  Mis- 
souri, March  16,  1848.  He  attended  country  schools,  and  afterward 
LaGrange  College,  LaGrange,  Lewis  county,  Missouri,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  1875.  In  1899  he  graduated  from  the  American  School  of 
Osteopathy,  at  Kirksville,  Adair  county,  Missouri.  He  had  taught  school 
for  fifteen  years,  and  been  a  civil  engineer,  in  Missouri,  for  nine  years. 
He  now  has  a  large  practice  at  Huntington,  Cabell  county,  West  Vir- 
ginia, having  offices  in  the  Vinson-Thompson  Building,  Nos.  401  and 
402.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Blue  Lodge  of  Masons  and  of  the  Owls. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Bap- 
tist Church.  He  married,  at  Elsberry,  Lincoln  county,  Missouri,  May 
24,  1882,  Annie,  born  at  Elsberry.  daughter  of  Benjamin  M.  and  Vir- 
ginia (Harvey)  Vance.  Her  father,  a  farmer,  was  born  in  1823,  and 
died  in  1891 ;  her  mother  died  in  1900.  Mrs.  Seaman  is  also  a  graduate 
of  LaGrange  College,  in  the  class  of  1878,  and  of  the  American  School 
of  Osteopathy,  in  the  class  of  1900.  Child :  Milton  Vance,  born  July  10, 
1884 ;  he  is  solicitor  for  the  Bell  Telephone  Company,  at  Huntington. 


This    is    one    of    the    numerous    names    which    originally 
WTLSO\     marked  a  man  as  the  son  of  his  father;  in  this  case,  the 

name  of  the  father  from  whom  the  surname  started  would 
be  William ;  the  name  is  therefore  equivalent  to  Williamson  or  Williams. 
For  the  Scotch  Wilsons  descent  is  claimed  from  a  Danish  prince,  and  it 
is  said  that  the  family  has  been  established  from  a  remote  period  in  the 
Orkney  Islands.  There  are  probably  hundreds  of  families  of  Wilsons  in 
America,  having  no  common  ancestor,  or  at  least  no  common  American 
ancestor.  The  Wilsons  in  America  before  1700  would  make  a  long  list, 
extending  from  Maine  southward.  The  name  is  very  common  in  Penn- 
sylvania, from  which  the  present  family  came  into  West  A-^irginia,  and- 
elsewhere ;  and  Pennsylvania  has  received  immigrants  of  this  name  from 
Scotland  and  Ireland. 

(I)  Samuel,  the  first  member  of  the  present  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  was  horn  in  Pennsylvania,  and  died  in  Cabell 
county.  West  A^irginia,  about  1853,  where  the  greater  part  of  his  life 
had  been  passed.     He  was  a  carpenter  and  boat  builder,   and  had   his 


134  WEST  VIRGINIA 

homestead  and  farm  near  Blue  Sulphur  Springs  and  Barboursville.  He 
married  Hester  Lee,  of  Virginia,  who  is  said  to  have  been  of  the  family 
from  which  General  Robert  E.  Lee  sprung.  Child :  Asa  Lee,  of  whom 
further. 

(IIj  Asa  Lee,  son  of  Samuel  and  Hester  (Lee)  Wilson,  was  born  in 
Ohio  in  1817,  and  died  in  Huntington,  Cabell  county.  West  Virginia,  in 
June,  1896.  Here  he  had  lived  the  major  part  of  his  life,  and  was  a  con- 
tractor for  building  houses  and  bridges.  His  sympathies  in  the  civil  war 
were  with  the  south.  He  married  (first)  Mary,  daughter  of  Reuben  and 
Jestine  (Keeton)  Sandridge,  who  was  born  in  Virginia;  she  died  in  1852. 
Her  father  was  a  Virginian,  and  lived  and  died  at  Huntington ;  her  moth- 
er died  about  1870,  being  nearly  one  hundred  years  old,  and  was  a  pen- 
sioner. Children  of  Asa  Lee  and  Mary  (Sandridge)  Wilson:  Elizabeth, 
married  Dr.  Satterfield.  lives  in  Oklahoma ;  Lemuel,  a  farmer  of  Fudge 
Creek,  Cabell  county,  was  a  Confederate  soldier,  one  of  the  rangers  at- 
tached to  the  Eighth  Virginia  cavalry,  served  throughout  the  war,  and 
was  wounded  in  two  battles;  Fannie,  married  Newton  Keenan  (deceased). 
of  Huntington ;  John  Thomas,  of  whom  further ;  Emily,  married  T.  W. 
Flowers,  of  Huntington ;  Martha  Ellen,  living  at  Huntington ;  Eliza,  de- 
ceased. Mr.  Wilson  married  (second)  Mary  Ann  (Doolittle)  Harsh- 
barger.  Children  by  second  marriage :  Lillian,  married  T.  F.  Gentry,  of 
Huntington ;  Margaret,  married  Harry  Ball,  of  Carrollton,  Missouri ; 
Georgia,  died  by  drowning;  Hester  deceased,  married  Joseph  Blanchard. 

(Ill)  John  Thomas,  son  of  Asa  Lee  and  Mary  (Sandridge)  Wilson, 
was  born  in  Cabell  county,  West  \'irginia,  November  30,  1845.  He  was 
brought  up  on  the  old  homestead  farm,  and  educated  in  the  subscription 
schools  of  the  neighborhood,  and  until  he  was  twenty-three  years  old, 
helped  his  father  on  the  farm ;  he  then  entered  into  contracting.  The 
Chesapeake  and  Ohio  railroad  was  being  built  at  that  time  through  this 
district,  and  for  three  years  he  was  engaged  in  general  teaming  work  in 
connection  with  this  railroad  building ;  then  in  1873  he  moved  to  Hunting- 
ton, and  farmed ;  the  land  on  which  he  farmed  then  is  now  residential 
property.  At  this  he  continued  only  one  year,  when  he  entered  the  em- 
ployment of  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  railroad,  and  for  twelve  years  he 
was  inspector  of  cars.  While  he  was  thus  employed,  he  served  four 
terms  of  one  year  each  in  the  city  council  of  Huntington ;  being  later 
vilected  constable  for  the  Guyandotte  district,  for  a  four-year  term,  he 
left  the  railroad  service,  and  in  1893  he  was  elected  first  deputy  sheriff, 
and  served  four  years  in  this  capacity.  In  1897  he  entered,  into  partnership 
with  F.  D.  Boyer,  under  the  name  of  Wilson  &  Boyer,  and  dealt  in  real 
estate,  and  three  years  later  when  this  firm  was  dissolved,  Mr.  Wilson  con- 
tinued in  the  same  business  under  his  own  name  only,  and  he  has  since 
been  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business,  buying  and  selling.  He  is  inter- 
ested in  the  Wilson  Sand  and  Supply  Company,  which  business  is  man- 
aged by  his  son,  C.  R.  Wilson.  He  has  stock  in  the  First  National  Bank, 
the  Huntington  Banking  &  Trust  Company,  and  the  Huntington  Land 
Company.  In  the  building  occupied  by  Sehon  and  Stevenson,  wholesale 
grocers,  he  has  a  one-third  interest,  and  the  Kreider  building,  on  Third 
avenue,  is  owned  by  him.  Mr.  Wilson  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  he 
IS  a  member  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Baptist  Church.  He  married,  near  ( )na 
Station,  Cabell  county,  January  28,  1869.  Mary  Amizetta,  daughter  of 
General  McMahon,  who  was  born  in  Cabell  county.  Her  father  died 
about  eighteen  years  ago,  and  her  mother,  whose  name  was  also  Mary, 
died  earlier.  Children :  Mamie  Saline,  married  G.  A.  Northcott,  of 
Huntington  ;  Charles  R.,  whose  sketch  appears  elsewhere  in  this  work  ; 
Garnet  B..  married  Dr.  J.  N.  Alincev.  of  Mineral  Wells,  Palo  Pinto  coun- 
ty, Texas. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  135 

The  name  Donaldson  is  said  to  be  equivalent  to  Mac 
DONALDSON     Donald,  not  only  in  meaning,  but  as  being  actually 

the  same  family's  name.  The  clan  MacDonald  is 
one  of  the  oldest  and  most  important  in  Scotland,  its  chiefs  being  de- 
scended from  Somerled,  thane  of  Argyle,  sometimes  styled  "King  of  the 
Isles,"  who  flourished  in  the  twelfth  century.  Donald  is  a  well  known 
personal  name.  The  neighborhood  of  Newville,  Cumberland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  was  settled,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  by  numerous  Scotch- 
Irish  families.  The  following  seems  a  probable  line  of  descent  to  the 
Rev.  Newton  Donaldson,  of  Huntington,  Cabell  county.  West  Virginia. 
The  name  of  the  father  of  Andrew  and  William  Donaldson  who  re- 
sided in  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  is  not  definitely  known.  He 
was  from  northern  Ireland  and  came  to  America  before  the  revolutionary 
war.  His  son,  William  was  a  prosperous  farmer  and  served  as  a  captain 
in  the  revolution.  He  has  numerous  descendants  in  Cumberland  county 
by  the  names  of  Stewart,  ^McLaughlin,  Myers  and  Dunlap. 

( II)  Andrew,  son  of Donaldson,  was  thirteen  years  old  when  his 

father  moved  to  America.  He  married  Isabella  Sproat,  and  her  brother 
married  Eve  Donaldson,  sister  of  Andrew.  The  house  in  which  Andrew 
lived,  near  Newville,  is  still  preserved.  He  removed  from  Cumberland 
county  and  settled  in  Slippery  Rock  creek,  in  Butler  county.  Child : 
John,  of  whom  further.  Andrew  had  a  brother,  name  unknown,  who 
went  west. 

(III)  John,  oldest  son  of  .Andrew  Donaldson,  was  born  near  New- 
ville, June  17,  1788,  died  June  26,  1861.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  in  18 15 
he  removed  from  Slippery  Rock  creek,  to  the  township  of  Rockland, 
Venango  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  seven  years  later  to  Richland,  in  the 
same  county.  He  married,  ^lay  31,  1810,  Nancy  Adams,  born  .April  25, 
1787,  in  ]\IifBin  county,  Pennsylvania.  Children :  Isabella ;  Ann,  died  in 
infancy;  Ann  M. ;  Sarah;  William  A.,  of  whom  further;  Andrew;  John; 
Samuel,  born  July  9.  1825,  married,  February  13,  1850,  Sarah  E.  Myers; 
Josiah. 

(IV)  \\'illiam  A.,  son  of  John  and  Nancy  ('Adams)  Donaldson,  was 
born  in  \'enango  county,  Pennsylvania,  October  20,  1819,  and  all  his  life 
he  has  been  a  farmer.  He  still  lives  in  \'enango  county,  and  is  in  posses- 
sion of  his  faculties,  despite  his  great  age.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter 
of  James  Hall,  born  October  31.  1820,  in  Venango  county,  died  August 
18.  1891.  Her  father  was  a  farmer  of  Venango  county,  who  died  in  the 
ninetieth  year  of  his  age.  Children:  i.  Cyrus,  born  IMay  5,  1843,  died  in 
Iowa,  September  16,  1879:  a  physician.  2.  Emma,  died  in  infancy.  3. 
John  H.,  born  September  28,  1847,  ^  farmer  in  Venango  county.  4. 
Juliet,  born  October  10,  1849,  a  graduate  of  Edinboro  State  Normal, 
taught  several  vears,  now  living  at  home.  5.  Heber.  a  lawyer,  born  Sep- 
tember 20,  1851,  died  INIarch  31.  1909.  6.  Newton,  of  whom  further.  7. 
Elma,  born  .April  i,  1856,  a  graduate  of  Edinboro  State  Normal,  a  mis- 
sionary in  India.     8.  James  ;\I.,  died  in  infancy. 

(A')  Rev.  Newton  Donaldson,  D.  D.,  son  of  William  and  Sarah 
(Hall)  Donaldson,  was  born  on  his  father's  farm  in  A'enango  county,  De- 
cember 13,  1853.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  the  county,  then  went 
to  Corsica  academy,  and  afterward  to  Washington  and  Jefferson  Col- 
lege, from  which  he  graduated  with  the  degree  of  .A.  B.,  in  1879.  After 
teaching  for  a  year  and  a  half  in  Cross  Creek  academy,  W' ashington  coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania,  he  entered  the  Western  Theological  Seminary,  in  Pitts- 
burgh. From  this  institution  he  graduated  in  the  spring  of  1883.  In  the 
summer  of  the  same  year,  he  received  the  degree  of  .A.  AI.  from  Wash- 
ington and  Jetiferson  College,  and  this  college  also  conferred  upon  him  the 
degree  of  D.  D.  in  1905. 


136  WEST  VIRGINIA 

The  summer  of  1882  was  passed  in  home  mission  work  in  Iowa.  His 
lirst  regular  charge  was  at  Washington,  Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  where 
]ie  remained  for  four  and  one-half  years.  The  next  six  years  were  passed 
at  Bellevue,  Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania.  In  1893  he  came  to  Hunt- 
ington, Cabell  county,  West  Virginia,  and  assumed  charge  of  the  First 
Piesbyterian  Church.  During  this  period  its  membership  has  increased 
from  two  hundred  to  six  hundred  and  twenty-five  (1913).  In  1896  the 
present  building  was  erected,  which  is  valued  at  over  forty  thousand  dol- 
lars ;  it  has  a  fine  pipe  organ  and  excellent  equipments.  Preparation  is 
now  being  made  to  build  an  annex  for  Sunday-school  purposes.  Dr.  Don- 
aldson, in  1905,  was  moderator  of  the  synod  of  \''irginia,  at  Richmond. 
Since  that  year  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the 
Union  Theological  Seminary. 

Dr.  Donaldson  married,  in  Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania,  Septem- 
ber 25,  1883,  Lizzie  J.,  daughter  of  John  and  Isabella  '(Dunn)  Martin, 
who  was  born  in  Pittsburgh.  Both  her  parents  have  been  dead  for  many 
years.  Children:  i.  Dwight  M.,  born  December  16,  1884;  a  graduate  of 
Washington  and  Jefferson  College,  has  spent  three  years  teaching  in  In- 
dia; at  the  present  time  studying  at  the  Western  Theological  Seminary. 
2.  William  W.,  born  December  25,  1885  ;  now  a  student  at  Western  Re- 
serve Medical  College,  Cleveland,  Ohio.  3.  Mary  Lois,  now  a  senior  at 
Mt.  Holyoke  College,  South  Hadley,  Massachusetts. 


James  Daniel,  the  first  member  of  this  family  of  whom  we 
DANIEL     have  definite  information  was  a  planter  and  slaveholder  in 
Orange  county,   Virginia.      His  w'ife's  name  is  unknown. 
Among  his  children  was  Beverly  Ragland,  referred  to  below. 

(II)  Beverly  Ragland,  son  of  James  Daniel,  was  born  in 
Orange  county,  Virginia,  about  1823,  and  died  in  1900,  aged  seventy- 
seven  years.  He  was  in  affluent  circumstances  and  owned  a  large  plan- 
tation with  a  quantity  of  slaves,  and  served  in  the  Confederate  army 
during  the  war  between  the  states.  He  married  Mar}^  daughter  of  Lewis 
Andrews  of  Orange  county,  born  about  1831,  and  died  in  1894,  aged 
sixty-three  years.  Children :  Zachary  C,  now  living  in  Augusta  county, 
Virginia;  James  B.,  now  living  in  Orange  county.  Virginia;  Elizabeth, 
died  unmarried,  aged  forty-eight  years:  Sarah  T.,  married  H.  C.  Eddins 
of  Washington,  D.  C. :  Lewis  Andrews,  referred  to  below. 

(III)  Lewis  Andrews,  son  of  Beverly  Ragland  and  Mary  (An- 
drews) Daniel,  was  born  on  his  father's  farm  in  Orange  county,  Vir- 
ginia, May  2,  i860.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools  and  at  Green  Level  Academy  in  Spottsylvania  county,  ^'irginia. 
He  worked  upon  his  father's  farm  until  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age 
and  then  went  to  Kentucky  in  the  employ  of  a  railroad  contractor,  being 
placed  in  charge  of  a  gang  of  prisoners  (with  the  office  of  warden  of  the 
prison),  from  the  penitentiary  who  were  working  upon  the  railroad.  He 
then  entered  the  hotel  business  in  Hinton,  West  Virginia,  remaining 
there  for  some  years,  and  was  twice  elected  mayor  of  that  town.  Mr. 
Daniel  came  to  Huntington  in  1894  and  has  been  connected  almost  con- 
tinuously in  the  hotel  business  since;  he  has  been  president  of  the  L.  .\. 
Daniel  Hotel  Company  for  seven  years,  who  are  the  proprietors  of  the 
Florentine  Hotel,  one  of  the  leading  American  plan  hotels  of  West  Vir- 
ginia. ^Tr.  Daniel  is  a  director  of  the  .American  National  Bank  and  the 
American  Bank  &  Trust  Company  of  Huntington.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Christian  church  and  a  Democrat  in  politics.  He  married  in  Lynch- 
burg, \^irginia,  June  3.  1885.  Mattie,  daughter  of  Charles  W.  and  Vir- 
ginia fPulliaml  AlcCue,  born  in  Albemarle  countv.  Mrginia.  Children: 
Ri'tb:  Marv:  Anna  Belle:  Ouida. 


WEST  VIRGINIA 


137 


William    Moffatt,    the   first   member   of    this    family    of 
MOFFATT     whom  we  have  definite  information,  was  born  in  Vir- 
ginia, and  died  in  Tennessee  in  1859.     He  married  Han- 
nah Lacy,  born  in  Bedford  county,  Tennessee,  about  1832,  and  died  in 
1889,    ^g^d   fifty-seven    years.      Children:    Hopkins    L.,    now    deceased; 
Elizabeth,  married  Thomas  Drane;  James  Andrew,  referred  to  below. 

(II)  James  Andrew,  son  of  William  and  Hannah  (Lacy)  Alofifatt, 
was  born  in  Bedford  county,  Tennessee.  He  received  his  early  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools  and  worked  on  his  father's  farm  until  twenty 
years  of  age.  He  then  entered  the  employ  of  the  Bell  Telephone 
Company  in  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  remaining  with  them  for  two 
years.  He  was  then  employed  for  one  year  by  the  Clifton  Coal  and 
Coke  Company  in  Hopkins  county,  Kentucky,  and  for  four  years  there- 
after by  the  Louisville  Coal  and  Coke  Company  in  Mercer  county,  West 
Virginia.  For  some  years  after  he  was  a  contractor,  and  in  the  hotel 
business  in  Kentucky  and  West  \'irginia,  and  in  December,  191 1,  became 
a  member  of  the  L.  A.  Daniel  Hotel  Company  in  Huntington,  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Florentine  Hotel.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Christian  church  and  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Riasons  and  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  Elks.  He  married,  in 
McDowell  county.  West  Virginia,  November  26,  1893,  Sophia  E.,  daugh- 
ter of  Joseph  and  Mattie  (Hutchinson)  Meek,  born  in  Lawrence  county, 
Kentucky.     No  children. 


It  is  supposed  that  all  the  Taylors  are  descended  from  a 
TAYLOR     brave   Norman  baron  named  Taillefer,   who  lost  his  life 

at  the  battle  of  Hastings  in  1066.  His  death  called  out 
an  expression  of  anguish  from  the  Normons,  in  which  William  the  Con- 
queror is  said  to  have  joined.  The  modern  form  of  the  name  is  grad- 
ually approached,  and  is  first  found  about  1350.  There  were  Taylor 
settlers  in  New  England,  New  Jersey,  and  several  parts  of  the  south. 
The  best  known,  though  not  the  only  notable,  representative  of  the 
family  in  this  country  was  President  Zachary  Taylor,  who  was  of  Vir- 
ginian descent.  The  present  family  is  descended  from  John  Taylor,  an 
early  Carolinian.  The  immediate  family  has  been  of  much  prominence 
in  Granville  county.  North  Carolina. 

(I)  Robert  Taylor,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  was  born  in  Granville  county,  North  Carolina, 
and  died  in  1850.  He  was  a  farmer;  was  twice  married,  and  became  the 
lather  of  five  children:  Isabella,  Richard  T.,  by  first  wife;  Charles  Henry 
Kennon,  of  whom  further,  Archibald,  and  Leonidas  C,  by  second  wife. 

(II)  Charles  Henry  Kennon,  son  of  Robert  Taylor,  was  born  in 
Granville  county  in  1817,  and  died  at  Huntington,  Cabell  county.  West 
^'irginia,  in  1901.  He  was  a  farmer  and  a  slaveholder.  He  served  in  the 
North  Carolina  legislature,  both  in  the  senate  and  in  the  house.  He  mar- 
ried Martha  A.,  daughter  of  Dr.  Thomas  A.  Reild.  who  died  in  1896. 
being  over  sixty  years  old.  Her  father,  a  native  of  Mecklenburg  county, 
X'irginia,  practiced  medicine  in  his  early  life,  but  was  afterward  a 
farmer;  he  died  just  after  the  war,  at  the  age  of  seventy.  Children: 
Thomas  Wallace,  of  whom  further ;  Ella,  married  James  A.  Marrow, 
lives  in  Granville  county ;  Martha,  married  Benjamin  Johnson,  lives  at 
Huntington ;  \\'illiam  Leonidas,  living  at  Mempliis,  Tennessee ;  Charles 
Wister,  now  mayor  of  Marianna,  Lee  county,  Arkansas ;  Fernando,  liv- 
ing at  Alexandria.  \'irginia ;  Marietta,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-two ; 
Massillon,  killed  in  the  war,  on  the  retreat  from  Gettysburg;  Henry, 
accidentallv  killed  during  the  war. 


138  WEST  MRGINIA 

(III)  Judge  Thomas  Wallace  Taylor,  son  of  Charles  Henry  Kennon 
an<l  Alartha  A.  (Feild)  Taylor,  was  born  in  Mecklenburg  county,  North 
Carolina,  September  23,  1842.  He  attended  the  academies  at  Oxford, 
Granville  county,  Xorth  Carolina,  and  spent  five  years  at  J.  H.  Horner's 
academy.  Going'  then  to  the  University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel 
Hill,  Orange  county,  he  remained  till  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  when  he 
joined  the  Twelfth  North  Carolina  Infantry,  Company  B.  On  June  27, 
1862,  he  was  wounded  in  the  leg,  at  the  battle  of  Gaines"  Mill,  and  on 
account  of  the  resultant  disability  was  discharged  from  the  army.  At 
the  close  of  the  war  he  entered  the  University  of  Virginia,  from  which 
he  graduated  in  law  in  June,  1867.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Delta  Psi 
college  fraternity.  In  the  spring  of  1874  he  came  to  Huntington,  and  at 
first  practiced  law  alone.  Afterward  he  became  a  member  of  the  law 
firm  of  Hoge,  Harvey  &  Taylor.  In  1884  he  was  elected  magistrate,  and 
he  served  for  twelve  years  as  justice  of  the*  peace.  In  1896  he  resumed 
the  practice  of  law  alone.  Six  years  ago  he  was  elected  judge  of  the 
criminal  court  of  Cabell  county,  and  this  position  he  still  holds.  The 
I'niversity  of  North  Carolina  conferred  upon  him  the  honorary  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  May  30,  191 1.  Judge  Taylor  is  a  Democrat.  He 
is  a  Presbyterian,  and  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  married, 
at  Staunton,  Augusta  county,  A'irginia,  about  1872,  Maria  L..  daughter 
of  Charles  Scott  and  Virginia  (Crump)  Trueheart,  who  was  born  at  Pow- 
hatan. Powhatan  county,  Virginia,  in  1842.  Her  father,  deceased  before 
the  marriage,  was  a  farmer,  near  Richmond ;  her  mother  was  a  daughter 
of  Dr.  William  Crump,  minister  to  Chile  during  the  administration  of 
President  Tyler.  Children :  Charles  Trueheart.  whose  sketch  follows : 
Harvey  C. ;  Martha,  married  R.  M.  Baker  (see  Baker  sketch  below)  :  and 
three  others,  deceased,  who  were  William  C,  died  aged  four  years ; 
Thomas  W.,  and  Powhatan. 


Dr.  Charles  Trueheart  Taylor,  son  of  Judge  Thomas  Wal- 
TAYLOR     lace  (q.  v.)  and  Maria  L.   (Trueheart)  Taylor,  was  born 

at  Weldon,  Halifax  county.  North  Carolina,  August  8, 
1872.  In  childhood  he  came  to  Huntington  with  his  parents,  and  attended 
the  common  schools  of  Huntington  and  Marshall  College.  After  this  he 
went  to  the  Central  University,  Richmond,  Madison  county.  Kentucky, 
and  the  Hospital  College  of  ^Medicine,  Louisville,  Kentucky,  graduating 
from  the  latter  institution  in  1897.  Returning  the  next  year  to  Hunting- 
ton, he  was  elected  city  clerk,  where  he  served  one  term,  and  then  re- 
turned to  Louisville  to  the  Grey  Street  Infirmary,  where  he  served  as  in- 
terne ;  and  also  took  a  post-graduate  course.  In  1900  he  began  practice 
in  Huntington.  In  January,  191 1.  he  entered  the  partnership  of  Hogg, 
Taylor,  Pritchard,  and  Rader,  with  offices  on  the  second  floor  of  the  Rob- 
son-Pritchard  Building.  In  191 1,  Dr.  Taylor  with  others,  took  over  the 
Huntington  Hospital  to  what  is  now  knov.-n  as  the  Huntington  General 
Hospital.  This  is  one  of  the  oldest  institutions  of  its  kind  in  Huntington, 
and  has  been  equipped  with  the  latest  facilities  for  the  care  of  its  inmates : 
it  amply  accommodates  forty  patients.  Dr.  Taylor  is  a  member  of  the 
Huntington  Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  West  \'irginia  State  Medical  So- 
ciety, and  the  Cabell  County  Medical  Society,  and  besides  the  city  clerk- 
ship in  1898,  he  has  been  city  physician  of  Huntington  since  1907.  Dr. 
Taylor  is  a  Mason  and  a  member  of  the  ^Mystic  Shrine ;  also  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias :  he  is  past  exalted  ruler  of  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks,  at  Huntington,  and  head  physician  for  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America  of  the  State  of  West  A'irginia:  a  member' of  the 
Maccabees,  the  Ancient  Order  of  I'nited  Workmen,  and  the  Owls ;  also  of 


/^ti<J^  .  ^^^£^r^ 


e  •  7.  ^^^>-. 


WEST  VIRGINIA 


139 


the  college  fraternity,  Phi  Delta  Theta.  He  was  a  member  of  old  Com- 
pany I,  West  Virginia  National  Guards.  In  politics  Dr.  Taylor  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat, and  in  religion  he  is  a  Presbyterian.  He  married,  at  Huntington, 
December  11,  1901,  Bernice.  daughter  of  James  Stevenson,  who  was 
born  at  Beverly,  Washington  county,  Ohio,  in  1878,  and  died  January  27, 
191 1.  Her  father  was  born  in  county  Tyrone,  Ireland,  in  1832,  and  died 
in  1907;  he  came  to  America  at  the  age  of  twelve.  Children:  Bernice, 
born  January  15,  1903:  Charles  Trueheart,  Jr.,  born  August  11,  1905. 


Rollins  Mahon  Baker  is  of  note  as  a  leading  member  of  the 
BAKER  Huntington  bar.  He  hails  from  the  Ohio  side  of  the  river, 
and  traces  his  lineage  back  to  old  New  England  stock.  His 
grandfather,  on  the  paternal  side,  was  Nicholas  Baker,  born  at  Cape 
Cod,  ;\Iassachusetts,  who  became  a  farmer  of  Athens,  Ohio,  and  mar- 
ried the  daughter  of  John  White,  a  native  of  Connecticut,  a  scout  and 
early  settler  at  Fort  Harmer.  He  died  at  .\thens  at  the  age  of  sixty-five 
years. 

(II)  Colonel  George  W.  Baker,  son  of  Nicholas  Baker,  was  born  in 
Athens,  Ohio,  in  1839,  died  there  in  1906,  aged  sixty-seven  years.  He 
was  a  prominent  man  of  the  place ;  its  postmaster,  county  clerk  and  coun- 
ty treasurer,  held  office,  in  fact,  there  nearly  all  his  life.  He  had  a  civil 
war  record  also,  having  served  with  distinction  on  the  Federal  side.  He 
was  a  captain  in  the  Thirty-ninth  Ohio  Regiment,  and  later  rose  to  be 
major  and  lieutenant  colonel.  He  was  at  Corinth,  the  siege  of  Vicksburg, 
and  at  Island  No.  10.  and  was  among  the  first  of  the  troops  sent  into  JMis- 
souri.  He  served  also  at  Nashville,  and  at  the  siege  of  ^Mobile,  and  was 
with  the  Red  River  expedition  of  General  Banks.  He  served,  indeed,  all 
through  the  war,  and  saw  not  a  little  hard  fighting. 

Colonel  Baker  married  Amanda  (Mahon)  who  survived  to  a  ripe  old 
age.  Her  death  occurred,  December  31,  191 1,  when  she  was  eighty-three 
years  of  age.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Daniel  Mahon  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  1820.  He  was  a  contractor  doing  business  on  an  extensive 
scale,  and  was  the  builder  of  the  first  locks  and  dams  on  the  Kentucky 
river.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Baker  had  four  children :  Anna  B.,  who  is  unmarried 
lives  in  Athens,  Ohio:  a  daughter  who  became  ]\Irs.  Murtland  Reed,  lives 
at  Uhrichsville,  Ohio :  Edward  H.,  died  at  forty-five  years  of  age :  Rol- 
lins ;\Iahon  Baker,  mentioned  below. 

(Ill)  Rollins  Mahon  Baker,  son  of  Colonel  George  W.  Baker,  was 
born  in  Athens,  Ohio,  May  14,  1871.  As  a  boy  he  attended  the  Athens 
schools,  receiving  therein  the  elements  of  an  education.  In  later  youth 
he  took  a  course  at  Ohio  University,  and  then  began  the  study  of  law. 
This  he  did  in  the  same  office  in  which  he  is  now  a  partner.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  the  spring  of  1897,  and  has  been  in  active  practice 
ever  since.  In  1908  he  entered  the  well  known  law  firm  of  Simms,  En- 
slow,  Fitzpatrick  &  Baker,  of  Huntington:  he  is  now  C1913)  of  Enslow, 
Fitzpatrick,  Alderson  &  Baker,  which  has  a  very  profitable  practice  and 
most  extensive  clientele.  Mr.  Baker,  like  his  father,  is  a  Republican  in 
politics.  He  has  been  a  referee  in  bankruptcy  for  twelve  years,  a  posi- 
tion of  judicial  character  and  great  responsibility,  which  he  has  filled  with 
credit.  He  belongs  to  the  Elks,  and  his  religious  faith  i";  the  Presbyter- 
ian. 

Mr.  Baker  married  at  Meckienberg,  \'irginia.  in  1896,  ^lartha  Taylor, 
a  native  of  that  state.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Thomas  W.  Taylor,  judge 
of  the  criminal  court  of  Huntington.  The  children  of  this  union  arc : 
Virginia  Scott,  born  in  March,  T902;  and  Thomas  Taylor,  born  Marcli 
31,  1908. 


I40  WEST  VIRGINIA 

This  family  is  probably  of  North  of  Ireland  stock. 
McCLINTOCK     There    were    McClintocks    in    Cumberland    county, 
Pennsylvania,   about   the   middle   of   the   eighteenth 
century,  some  of  whose  descendants  have  been  prominent  in  Ohio. 

(I)  Alexander  McClintock,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about 
whom  we  have  definite  information,  was  born  in  Kentucky,  and  lived 
for  part  of  his  life  in  Nicholas  county,  Kentucky.  Throughout  his  life 
he  was  a  farmer.  Children:  John  T.,  of  whom  further;  and  Joseph  B., 
who  was  a  farmer  at  Cynthiana,  Kentucky,  and  was  a  breeder  of  fine 
horses  and  stock. 

(II)  John  T.,  son  of  Alexander  McClintock,  was  born  about  1836, 
and  died  February  18,  1874.  In  the  civil  war  he  was  a  Confederate 
soldier,  and  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Cynthiana,  Kentucky.  He 
resided  at  Cynthiana,  Harrison  county,  Kentucky,  and  was  a  lawyer  at 
that  place.  He  married  Laura  Starr,  who  was  born  about  1840,  and  died 
about  1878.  Before  her  marriage,  she  lived  at  Port  Huron,  Michigan. 
Children:  Elizabeth,  born  about  1872,  married  Charles  X.  Fithian,  who 
is  a  jeweler,  and  resides  at  Paris,  Bourbon  county.  Kentucky:  John 
Thomas,  of  whom  further. 

(Ill)  John  Thomas,  son  of  John  T.  and  Laura  (Starr)  McClintock, 
was  born  in  Harrison  county,  Kentucky.  March  19,  1874,  a  month  after 
his  father's  death,  and  his  mother  died  when  he  was  four  years  old.  He 
was  educated  at  the  Central  L^niversity  of  Kentucky,  which  was  then  at 
Richmond,  Madison  county,  Kentucky ;  and  it  is  now  united  with  Center 
College.  Continuing  to  reside  in  Richmond,  he  was  for  two  years  a 
farmer,  then  entered  the  saddlery  business,  in  which  he  was  occupied  for 
four  years.  After  this  he  went  to  New  York,  and  spent  one  year  in  the 
credit  department  of  Bradstreet's  Mercantile  Agency.  The  experience 
which  he  thus  gained  enabled  him  to  open  a  branch  for  the  Bradstreet 
company  at  Charleston,  West  Virginia.  Here  he  spent  one  year,  and  in 
August,  1906,  he  removed  to  Huntington,  West  Virginia;  from  that  time 
he  has  been  the  credit  man  of  the  firm  of  Watts  &  Ritter,  the  leading 
wholesale  dry  goods  firm  in  West  Virginia.  He  is  also  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  the  Peerless  Overall  Company,  of  Huntington.  Mr.  McClin- 
tock is  vice-president  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  at  Huntington,  and 
has  been  one  of  the  chief  promoters  of  the  five-cent  gas  movement ;  this 
is  expected  to  do  great  things  for  Huntington,  and,  indeed,  to  be  the 
greatest  step  in  commercial  progress  yet  made  at  Huntington.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Delta  Kappa  Epsilon  college  fraternity  and  order  of 
L'nited  Commercial  Travellers.  Mr.  McClintock  is  an  active  Republican. 
While  he  lived  at  Richmond,  Kentucky,  he  was  the  county  chairman  for 
IMadison  county.  In  the  election  of  1900  he  was  the  Republican  nominee 
for  presidential  elector,  representing  the  Eighth  Congressional  District 
of  Kentucky.     He  is  a  deacon  in  the  Presbj'terian  church. 

He  married,  at  Little  Rock,  .\rkansas,  February  24,  1897,  Rose  Frank 
Vickers.  who  was  born  at  Little  Rock.  Her  father  has  been  dead  many 
years :  her  mother,  formerly  of  Marietta,  Ohio,  lives  now  with  Mr. 
McClintock.  Children :  Laura  Starr,  born  in  1899,  died  December  23, 
1907;  Mary,  died,  in  infancy,  in  October,  1907;  John  Thomas,  born 
April  4.   1909. 


This  name  appears  to  be  a  double  patronymic  :  per- 

l\lcWTLLT.\MS     haps   it    is   an   English   or  A^'elsh    name,   afterward 

changed  to  the  Scotch   form. 

(I)   John   Mc\\'illiams.  the  first  member  of  this   family  about  whom 

;e  have  definite  information,  was  born  in  .Augusta  county,  \'irginia.  about 


WEST  \'IRGIXIA 


141 


1804,  and  died  in  1892.  He  was  a  farmer;  he  served  in  the  Mexican  war. 
Child:  Benjamin  Franklin,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Benjamin  Franklin,  son  of  John  JMcWilliams,  was  horn  in  the 
Shenandoah  X^alley,  Mrginia,  about  1820-21,  and  died  about  1865. 
Throughout  his  business  life  he  was  a  railroad  man.  In  the  civil  war  he 
was  an  assistant  quartermaster  in  the  Federal  army,  and  was  killed  in  the 
war.  He  married  Elizabeth  Bailey,  who  was  born  in  Preston  county, 
Virginia,  about  1825,  and  died  in  1865  ;  her  mother  was  of  the  Pell  fam- 
ily, and  was  also  granddaughter  of  a  Fairfax.  Children :  Thomas,  died 
at  the  age  of  twenty-three;  Mary  Agnes,  died  at  the  age  of  fifty;  Benja- 
min, died  in  infancy ;  Hezekiah  Bailey,  now  living  at  Houston,  Texas ; 
Robert  White,  of  whom  further ;  Samantha,  married Lime,  deceased. 

(III)  Robert  White,  son  of  Benjamin  Franklin  and  Elizabeth 
(Bailey)  McWilliams,  was  born  in  Harrison  county,  Virginia,  near 
Bridgeport,  November  18,  1854.  In  his  infancy,  the  family  removed  to 
Grafton,  Taylor  county.  Here  he  attended  the  free  schools,  and  thus  re- 
ceived his  whole  education,  so  far  as  this  has  been  acquired  from  schools, 
or  except  by  personal  study.  When  he  was  eighteen  years  old  he  entered 
Davis'  general  store  at  Grafton  as  a  clerk,  and  here  he  remained  two 
years.  For  a  year  he  was  a  clerk  for  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad,  at 
Piedmont,  Mineral  county,  West  Virginia ;  then  he  bought  a  book  store  at 
Grafton,  and  this  business  he  conducted  for  one  year.  After  this  he 
spent  a  year  in  California,  with  the  Spring  A'alley  Water  Company,  and 
then,  for  another  year,  was  in  British  Columbia,  where  he  helped  to  build 
a  new  railroad,  the  first  railroad  out  of  \"ictoria,  B.  C.  Returning  to  the 
United  States,  he  had  charge  in  Montana  of  the  construction  of  ninety 
miles  of  the  Montana  Central  railroad,  thus  he  was  occupied  for  another 
year.  It  was  in  1887  that  he  came  to  Huntington,  West  Virginia,  his 
present  home,  and  for  the  first  two  years,  was  a  clerk  for  his  brother, 
Hezekiah  Bailey  McWilliams,  in  the  latter's  clothing  store.  Mr.  McWil- 
liams  has   been   active   in   politics,    favoring  the   Democratic   party.      In 

1895  he  was  elected  city  clerk  of  Huntington,  which  office  he  held  for 
one  year;  the  following  year  he  was  elected  circuit  and  criminal  clerk  of 
Cabell  county,  and  he  is  now  serving  his  third  term  in  this  office.     In 

1896  he  was  the  only  Democrat  who  was  elected  in  the  county,  (the  coun- 
ty is  now  normally  Republican)  by  a  plurality  of  about  three  hundred, 
and  in  that  year  President  McKinley  carried  Cabell  county  by  a  plurality 
of  seventy-eight.  Mr.  McWilliams  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks.     He  is  a  Congregationalist  in  religion. 

He  married,  at  Oakland,  Garrett  county,  Maryland.  June  5,  1875,. 
Elma  v.,  daughter  of  John  Locke,  who  was  born  in  Barbour  county,  Vir- 
ginia, on  her  father's  farm.  Her  father  died  in  1894,  at  the  age  of  eighty: 
her  mother  had  died  prior  to  her  husband's  death.  Children,  all  living: 
Lola,  married  George  L.  Shore,  lives  at  Covington,  Kentucky ;  Lottie 
Lee,  married  Richard  O.  Hall,  lives  at  Charlottesville,  Albemarle  county, 
Virginia ;  Jessie  Gertrude,  married  Howard  R.  Sinsel,  lives  at  Hunting- 
ton;  Robert  L..  born  in  1880;  Dei  Gratia,  married  Arthur  Peters,  de- 
ceased, and  she  now  lives  with  her  father ;  Cheston  Delawter,  born  in 
1882,  lives  at  Huntington ;  Walter  Buffington,  born  in  18S7.  helps  his 
father  in  the  capacity  of  chief  deputy;  Clare  Locke,  born  in  1894,  living 
at  home. 


William  Bruce  Smith,  a  well  known  architect  and  highly 
SMITH  esteemed  citizen  of  Huntington,  comes  of  that  hardy,  enter- 
prising,  north  of  Ireland   stock,   which   has  contributed   so 

largely  to  the  upbuilding  and  development  of  the  best  interests  of  our 

country. 


1  M  WEST  VIRGINIA 

James  Smith,  father  of  William  Bruce  Smith,  was  a  native  of  the 
north  of  Ireland,  and  while  still  a  boy  was  brought  by  his  parents  to  the 
United  States.  The  family  settled  on  a  farm  in  Clearfield  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  James  Smith  was  all  his  life  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits. At  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  he  enlisted  in  a  company  com- 
manded by  Captain  Altz,  of  Pittsburgh,  and  served  in  the  defense  of  the 
Union  throughout  the  four  years'  conflict.  Mr.  Smith  married  Margaret 
Isenberg,  a  native  of  Huntingdon  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  follow- 
ing children  were  born  to  them:  Belle,  married  David  B.  Defenbaugh; 
John  L. :  Daniel  L:  Katherine,  married  Hewitt  Isenberg;  Annie,  married 
William  McClure ;  McCIellan,  of  Huntington,  Cabell  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia ;  and  William  Bruce,  mentioned  below.  All  these  children,  with  the 
exception  of  the  two  youngest,  are  now  living  in  Huntingdon  county, 
Pennsylvania.  James  Smith,  the  father,  died  in  1892,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-one,  and  the  mother  passed  away  in  1902,  being  then  eighty-four 
years  old. 

William  Bruce,  son  of  James  and  Margaret  (Isenberg)  Smith,  was 
born  March  7.  1864,  in  Huntingdon  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
received  his  earliest  education  in  the  local  schools.  Later  he  went  to 
Chicago,  where  he  attended  the  high  school,  and  also  learned  the  trade  of 
a  carpenter  and  stair-builder.  He  lived  twenty-three  years  in  Chicago, 
and  during  the  first  four  years  of  that  period  followed  his  trade,  but 
after  that  studied  architecture,  and  was  for  a  time  associated  with  J.  W. 
Shroeder,  the  well  known  architect  of  that  city.  Later  Mr.  Smith  went 
into  business  for  himself,  and  for  twelve  years  prospered  in  his  under- 
taking. In  1904  he  came  to  Huntington  and  opened  his  present  office  in 
the  American  Bank  Building.  Mr.  Smith  has  superintended  the  erection 
of  a  number  of  important  structures,  among  them,  the  Siegel-Cooper 
Building  of  Chicago  and  the  fronts  of  Carson  Pirie  Scott  &  Com- 
pany's Building,  also  the  Libby  McNeil  &  Libby  Building,  of  Chicago. 
In  politics  Mr.  Smith  is  an  avowed  adherent  of  the  Republican  party. 
He  affiliates  with  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  the  Benevolent  Protective 
Order  of  Elks  and  is  a  member  of  the  Northern  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  Mr.  Smith  is  a  self-made  man.  In  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion he  has  superintended  the  construction  of  many  notable  edifices,  and 
in  doing  so  he  has  been  the  architect  of  his  own  fortune. 

Mr.  Smith  married,  November  16,  18S4,  in  Chicago,  Lizzie,  a  native 
of  that  city,  daughter  of  the  late  Samuel  and  Hannah  B.  McMeekim. 
RTr.  McMeekim  was  for  many  years  engaged  in  the  railroad  business  in 
Chicago.  Mrs.  McMeekim  died  in  1907,  in  Huntington.  Of  the  five 
children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  four  are  now  living:  Clarence, 
draughtsman  in  his  father's  office :  Florence :  Cora :  and  Leonora. 


The   Hicks    family   numbers   among   its   members   men   who 
HTCK.S     have     successfully  ci^mbined     professional     attainment  with 
creditable  public  service,  and  are  numbered  among  the  most 
valued  citizens  of  Huntington. 

(I)  Kelly  Hicks,  the  first  member  of  whom  we  have  definite  infor- 
mation, was  a  native  of  Virginia,  the  owner  of  an  extensive  farm  and  a 
large  number  of  slaves,  which  he  disposed  of  before  the  war  with  the 
states.  He  served  as  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  during  the  civil 
war  was  a  northern  sympathizer.  Mr.  Hicks  was  six  feet  three  inches  in 
height,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  had  passed  his  eighty-fourth  year. 

(II)  Bryant  D.,  son  of  Kelly  Hicks,  was  born  at  Winfield,  Putnam 
county,  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  May  11,  1846.  He  was  for  many 
years  engaged  in  business  as  a  farmer  and  timberman.     During  the  civil 


WEST  MRGIXIA  143 

war  he  enlisted  in  the  L'nion  army.  He  married  Salena,  born  in  Put- 
nam county,  daughter  of  WilHam  Hanshaw,  a  native  of  Indiana,  who  re- 
moved to  \\'est  \'irginia,  where  he  engaged  in  business  as  a  coal  operator 
and  died  in  1909,  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine.  Mr.  and  ]Mrs.  Hicks  were 
the  parents  of  the  following  children :  Squire,  died  in  infancy ;  Ira  Clay, 
mentioned  below;  William  K.,  editor  of  the  Putnam  Herald  Dispatch; 
Wesley  D.,  a  physician  of  San  Antonio,  Texas :  Irene,  living  in  Hunting- 
ton, widow  of  Clark  Lorentz  :  Charles  F.,  a  leading  state  surgeon  and 
superintendent  of  the  Welsh  Miners'  Hospital,  jMingo  county;  J.  Oscar, 
mentioned  below ;  Oliver  E.,  a  dentist  of  San  Antonio,  Texas ;  Marietta, 
living  in  Huntington:  Earl,  studying  dentistry  at  the  Ohio  (Cincinnati) 
Dental  College.  Mrs.  Hicks  died  January  9,  1895,  at  the  age  of  forty- 
four,  and  Mr.  Hicks,  having  retired  from  business,  is  now  living  in  Hunt- 
ington. 

(Ill)  Dr.  Ira  Clay  Hicks,  son  of  Bryant  D.  and  Salena  (Hanshaw) 
Hicks,  was  born  June  2t),  1808,  at  \Mnfield,  Putnam  county.  West  \'"ir- 
ginia.  He  received  his  preparatory  education  in  the  common  schools  of 
his  native  place,  afterward  studying  at  Marshall  College.  He  taught  two 
years  in  Kanawha  county  and  seven  years  in  Putnam  county,  having  re- 
ceived, in  his  county  examination,  one  hundred  per  cent  in  every  topic 
upon  which  he  was  questioned,  the  second  instance  of  the  kind  on  record 
in  such  an  examination.  He  was  employed  during  one  term  in  instruct- 
ing teachers.  In  1895  Dr.  Hicks  entered  the  College  of  Physicians  and 
Surgeons,  Baltimore,  remaining  until  1897,  after  which  he  passed  an 
examination  by  the  state  board,  being  one  of  the  successful  five  out  of 
the  eleven  candidates,  among  whom  there  were  only  two  under-graduates. 
In  September,  1895,  Dr.  Hicks  began  practice  at  Hurricane,  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  later  returned  to  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  grad- 
uating in  1898  as  vice-president  of  his  class.  After  receiving  his  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Medicine  Dr.  Hicks  returned  to  Hurricane,  where  he  re- 
mained eleven  years,  building  up  a  large  practice  and  establishing  an  en- 
viable reputation.  In  April,  1907,  he  came  to  Huntington,  where  his  pro- 
fessional prestige  has  been  greatly  augmented.  In  1900  andigoi  Dr.  Hicks 
took  a  post-graduate  course  at  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons, 
Baltimore,  and  in  1902  took  a  similar  course  at  Johns  Hopkins  Univer- 
sity, also  doing  post-graduate  work  in  1903.  For  ten  years  he  held  the 
position  of  surgeon  for  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  railroad,  his  valuable 
services  being  most  highly  commended  by  Dr.  C.  W.  P.  Brock,  chief  sur- 
geon for  the  railroad. 

In  1892  Dr.  Hicks  was  elected  to  the  office  of  county  assessor  of  Put- 
man  county,  being  the  only  successful  Republican  candidate  at  that  elec- 
tion. From  1904  to  1908  he  was  one  of  the  representatives  of  his  party 
in  the  state  senate.  While  Dr.  Hicks  has  accomplished  much  profession- 
ally, the  versatility  of  his  talents  has  enabled  him  to  represent  his  fellow 
citizens  in  a  position  of  public  responsibility,  and  as  physician  and  legis- 
lator his  attainments  and  services  have  met  with  merited  recognition  and 
reward.  He  affiliates  with  the  Scottish  Rite  Masons,  having  taken  four- 
teen degrees ;  is  a  Knight  Templar  and  a  Shriner,  being  identified  with 
Beni  Kedam  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine :  is  also  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and 
the  Junior  Order  of  United  Ame'-ican  Mechanics.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Dr.  Hicks  married,  March  31,  1895,  at  Winifrede,  Kanawha  county, 
West  Virginia,  Helen  H.,  born  in  that  county,  March  12,  1876,  daughter 
of  Dr.  James  A.  and  Melinda  R.  (Ballard)  Diddle,  who  were  married 
April  I,  1868.  Dr.  Diddle  was  born  August  13,  1843,  ™  Monroe  county, 
Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  and  practiced  medicine  for  many  years  at 


144  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Winifrede,  passing  away  July  22,  1909.  Mrs.  Diddle  was  born  October 
3,  1853,  and  was  a  native  of  the  same  county  as  her  husband.  Her  death 
occurred  May  24,  1905.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hicks  are  the  parents  of  <ine 
daughter,  Xilpha  Irene,  born  May  31,  1897,  now  attending  Marshall  Col- 
lege. The  home  of  Dr.  Hicks  and  family  is  situated  on  the  corner 
of  Fifth  avenue  and  Tenth  street,  in  one  of  the  finest  brick  residences 
in  Huntington. 

(Ill)  Dr.  J.  Oscar  Hicks,  son  of  Bryant  D.  and  Salena  (Hanshawj 
Hicks,  was  born  April  23,  1880,  at  Winlield,  Putnam  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia. Until  the  age  of  sixteen  he  attended  the  local  schools,  at  the  same 
time  assisting  his  father  on  the  farm.  During  the  ensuing  six  years  he 
was  engaged  in  teaching  in  the  county  schools,  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
became  principal  of  the  Raymond  city  school.  Throughout  this  period  he 
pursued  the  study  of  medicine,  and  in  1906  graduated  from  the  Ken- 
tucky School  of  Medicine  at  Louisville.  During  his  last  two  years  at 
college  he  served  as  an  interne  in  the  Louisville  City  Hospital.  In  1904 
Dr.  Hicks  came  to  Huntington  and  entered  upon  the  active  practice  of 
his  profession,  making  a  specialty  of  gynaecology  and  nervous  diseases. 
In  1910  he  took  a  post-graduate  course  at  Louisville  University,  and  in 
191 1  another  at  Tulane  University.  He  has  already  made  for  himself 
an  enviable  position  in  the  ranks  of  his  professional  brethren.  In  his 
profession  Dr.  Hicks  has  already  accomplished  much,  but  the  larger 
part  of  his  career  is  yet  to  come,  and  a  past  so  rich  in  attainment  prom- 
ises even  greater  results  in  the  future.  In  politics  Dr.  Hicks  is  a  Repub- 
lican. He  is  an  extensive  owner  of  residence  property.  His  fraternal  af- 
filiations are  with  the  Blue  Lodge,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
the  Knights  Templar,  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  and 
the  Modern  Woodmen.  Mrs.  Hicks  is  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
church. 

Dr.  Hicks  married  Anice  D.,  born  October  15,  1887,  in  Getaway,  Ohio, 
daughter  of  Dr.  A.  C.  Burns,  a  pioneer  physician  of  Huntington,  who 
died  in  January,  1908,  aged  sixty  years.  His  widow,  Diana  (Templeton) 
Burns,  is  now  living  with  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hicks  in  Huntington.  Dr.  Hicks 
and  his  wife  had  one  child.  Rex  Burns,  born  February  13,  1912,  died 
October  22,  1912. 


One  of  the  most  popular  citizens  of  Huntington 
YONDER  HAAR     is  George  Vonder  Haar,  who  has  been  for  many 

years  prominently  associated  with  the  hotel  busi- 
ness in  this  city.  Mr.  Vonder  Haar,  as  his  name  denotes,  is  of  German 
ancestry,  and  possesses  many  of  the  salient  characteristics  of  the  sturdy 
and  persevering  stock  from  which  he  sprang. 

(I)  Theodore  vonder  Haar,  father  of  George  Vonder  Haar,  was 
born  in  the  province  of  Hanover,  Germany,  and  in  1848  was  brought  by 
his  parents  to  the  LTnited  States.  They  settled  in  Cincinnati,  where  Theo- 
dore learned  the  shoemaker's  trade  which  he  followed  all  his  life  in  that 
city.  He  married  Margaret  Fehring,  and  they  became  the  parents  of 
four  children :  George,  mentioned  below ;  William  J.,  cigar  salesman  in 
Cincinnati ;  Edward  J.,  picture  enlarger ;  Catherine.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  von- 
der Haar  both  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine,  the  former  in  1905,  and  the 
latter  in  1908. 

(II)  George  Vonder  Haar,  eldest  child  of  Theodore  and  Margaret 
(Fehring)  vonder  Haar,  was  born  October  28,  1869,  at  Lebanon,  Ohio, 
and  later  moved  with  his  parents  to  Cincinnati,  where  he  received  his 
education.  After  leaving  school  he  became  clerk  in  a  hat  store  in  Cin- 
cinnati.    At  the  end  of  five  years  he  resigned  his  position  and  in   1888 


WEST  VIRGINIA 


145 


came  to  Huntington,  where  he  has  ever  since  been  connected  with  the 
hotel  business.  In  November,  1906,  he  assumed  his  present  position  in 
the  Frederick  Hotel.  As  a  public-spirited  citizen  he  ever  takes  a  gener- 
ous interest  in  any  project  for  the  advancement  of  the  best  interests  of 
Huntington.  He  is  identified  with  the  Democratic  party,  affiliates  with 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  church. 

Mr.  Vonder  Haar  is  a  self-made  man.  He  has  combined  enterprise 
and  energy  with  strict  integrity,  and  to-day  there  is  no  man  in  Hunting- 
ton more  respected  or  better  liked  than  George  Vonder  Haar. 


William  Blackwell  i\Iiles,  a  long-time  resident  of  Hunting- 
MILES     ton,    where   he   has   been    for   many   years   associated   as   a 

machinist  with  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  railroad,  is 
descended  from  ancestors  who  have  been  for  several  generations  resident 
in  Virginia. 

(I)  Drury  Miles,  grandfather  of  William  Blackwell  Miles,  was  all 
his  life  a  farmer  in  Virginia,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  lacked  but  a 
few  days  of  completing  his  hundredth  year. 

(II)  Marcus  Elkins,  son  of  Drury  Miles,  was  born  in  Cumberland 
county,  Virginia,  and  when  a  young  man  served  throughout  the  civil  war 
in  the  quartermaster's  department  of  the  Confederate  army.  After  the 
return  of  peace  he  engaged  in  the  railroad  business.  He  married  Han- 
nah Maria,  born  in  Hanover  county,  Virginia,  daughter  of  Albert  Jones, 
also  a  native  of  that  county,  where  he  was  a  capitalist  and  an  extensive 
owner  of  farm  property.  He  died  in  1872,  at  an  advanced  age.  Of  the 
four  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Miles,  two,  Sheldon  and  Lizzie,  are 
deceased.  Those  living  are:  William  Blackwell,  mentioned  below;  Mrs. 
George  Burks,  of  Huntington.  The  parents  of  these  children  are  both 
deceased,  Mr.  Miles  having  been  seventy-three  years  old  at  the  time  of 
his  death. 

fill)  William  Blackwell,  son  of  Marcus  Elkins  and  Hannah  Maria 
(Jones)  Miles,  was  born  May  27,  1865,  in  Buckingham  county,  Virginia. 
During  his  early  childhood  his  parents  moved  to  Hanover  county  and 
subsequently  to  Richmond,  settling  in  the  autumn  of  1872  in  Huntington. 
It  was  here  that  Mr.  Miles  grew  up  and  was  educated,  finally  attending 
Marshall  College.  He  began  his  business  career  in  the  shops  of  the 
Chesapeake  and  Ohio  railroad,  where  he  served  an  apprenticeship  as  a 
machinist.  Since  completing  his  term  Mr.  Miles  has  remained  with  the 
railroad,  and  it  is  sufficient  testimony  to  his  industry,  integrity  and  ability 
to  say  that  he  is  now  associated  with  them  in  the  capacity  of  a  head 
machinist.  He  has  extensive  coal  interests  in  Logan  county.  Mr.  Miles 
is  one  of  those  citizens,  valuable  wherever  found,  who  by  energy  and 
perseverance  in  their  chosen  callings,  combined  with  strict  adherence  to 
the  principles  of  integrity,  advance  the  material  prosperity  of  the  com- 
munity and  help  to  maintain  a  high  standard  of  business  probity.  In 
politics  Mr.  Miles  is  a  Democrat.  He  has  taken  every  degree  in  Masonry, 
and  also  affiliates  with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  church. 

Mr.  Miles  married.  February  13,  1891,  at  Rockwood.  Ohio.  Etta,  born 
in  Logan  county,  daughter  of  the  late  John  Edwin  and  Ann  Avis  Robert- 
son, his  wife.  Mrs.  Robertson  is  now  living  in  Huntington.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  l\Iiles  are  the  parents  of  one  child:  AVilliam  Clarence,  born  1895. 
now  a  student  at  Clifton  Forge  (\^irginia)   Seminary. 


14^'  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Dr.  Tlioinas  Diigan,  during  the  comparatively  short  dura- 
DUGAN     tion  of  his  residence  in  Himtington,  has  built  up  for  him- 
self an  enviable  reputation  as  a  dentist  and  gained  many 
warm  friends  among  his  fellow  citizens.     He  comes  of  a  notably  sturdy 
and  energetic  stock,  in  ability  and  character  commanding  the  respect  of 
all. 

(I)  Thomas  Dugan.  grandfather  of  Dr.  Thomas  (2)  Dugan,  of 
Huntington,  was  born,  accordmg  to  one  tradition,  in  Ireland,  and  accord- 
ing to  another  in  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania.  When  a  young  man  he  re- 
moved to  Portsmouth,  Ohio,  where  he  engaged  in  mercantile  business, 
later  becoming  a  leading  banker  of  that  city.  He  was  president  of  the 
Farmers'  National  Bank  of  Portsmouth,  and  loaned  the  money  with 
which  the  site  of  the  city  of  Huntington  was  purchased.  He  married 
Levenia  Mackoy,  born  in  Kentucky,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  two 
children:  i.  James  S.,  of  whom  further.  2.  Fannie,  became  the  wife  of 
J.  C.  Adams,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Portsmouth,  and  died  in  1885,  at  the 
age  of  thirty-two  years,  leaving  two  children  :  Earl  and  William,  now  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  fire-arms  and  fire-works  in  Portsmouth.  The 
steamer  "Fannie  Dugan"  was  named  in  compliment  to  Mrs.  Adams,  and 
her  father,  Thomas  (i)  Dugan,  gave  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for 
the  silver  to  be  used  in  casting  its  bell,  and  also  presented  the  piano  to 
form  part  of  its  equipment.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  a  sudden  one  oc- 
curring in  1873,  '"IS  ^^'^s  in  the  prime  of  life.  The  old  Dugan  residence 
still  stands  in  Portsmouth,  on  the  corner  of  Chillicothe  and  Eighth 
streets,  and  is  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  colonial  architecture  extant. 
Mrs.  Dugan  died  in   1894,  in  Huntington. 

(II)  James  S.,  son  of  Thomas  (i)  and  Levenia  (Mackoy)  Dugan, 
was  born  December  26,  1850,  at  Portsmouth,  Ohio.  In  1886  he  came  to 
Huntington,  where  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century  he  has  been  in  the 
.service  of  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Railroad  Company.  He  married 
Lizzie  W.  Gore,  born  February  18,  1852,  in  Portsmouth,  Ohio,  daughter 
of  John  Gore,  a  farmer,  who  died  in  young  manhood.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Du- 
gan are  the  parents  of  the  following  children:  Levenia:  Thomas  (2),  of 
whom  further;  Walter  L.,  of  Seattle,  Washington;  Mathias  W.,  of  Hunt- 
ington ;  Fannie ;  Charlotte,  wife  of  George  Moore,  of  Huntington ;  Pearl ; 
Alice,  wife  of  Warren  Johnson,  of  Huntington:  Irwin;  and  Elizabeth, 
freshman  in  the  high  school. 

(III)  Dr.  Thomas  (2)  Dugan,  son  of  James  S.  and  Lizzie  W.  (Gore) 
Dugan,  was  born  ]\Iay  6,  1879,  o"  his  father's  farm,  the  old  Dugan 
homestead,  also  known  as  "Elm  Bank."  He  was  seven  years  old  when 
the  family  moved  to  Guyandotte,  now  the  fifth  ward  of  Huntington,  leav- 
ing Greenup  county,  Kentucky,  where  the  farm  was  situated.  It  was  here 
that  the  boy  received  his  education,  and  in  1896  entered  the  shops  of  the 
Chesapeake  &  Ohio  railroad  as  an  apprentice  to  the  trade  of  machinist, 
remaining  until  1901,  when  he  went  to  Missoula,  Montana,  and  there  for 
one  year  worked  at  his  trade  in  the  service  of  the  Northern  Pacific  rail- 
road. His  next  removal  was  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  was  associated 
for  one  year  with  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad,  and  then  proceeded  to 
Mexico,  finding  employment  at  different  places  with  the  Mexican  Central 
railway.  At  the  end  of  another  year  he  went  to  Texas,  and  after  a  time 
turned  his  face  homeward,  arriving,  after  his  wanderings,  once  more 
in  Huntington.  Here  he  again  entered  the  service  of  the  Chesapeake  & 
Ohio  railroad,  and  later  became  master  machinist  of  the  United  States 
Coal  &  Oil  Company,  at  Holden,  West  Virginia.  This  position  he  re- 
tained until  1908,  when  he  began  the  study  of  dentistry,  graduating  in 
191 1.  He  immediately  opened  an  office  in  Huntington  and  from  the 
outset  has  met  with  marked  success,  building  up  a  large  and  steadily 


WEST  \IRGIXIA  147 

increasing  practice.  In  politics  Dr.  Dugan  is  a  Democrat.  His  fraternal 
affiliations  are  with  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
church.  Dr.  Dugan's  professional  career  opened  under  favorable  auspices 
and  the  success  which  he  has  already  achieved  warrants  bright  anticipa- 
tions for  the  future. 


Huntington  has  no  more  stirring  business  man  than 
MOSSMAN     Guy  Mott  Mossman,  treasurer  and  general  manager  of 

the  well  known  firm  of  the  Mossman  Brothers  Com- 
pany. Mr.  Mossman,  though  not  a  native  of  Huntington,  has  been  for 
the  last  fifteen  years  numbered  among  her  most  esteemed  citizens  and  is 
closely  identified  with  many  of  her  leading  interests. 

(I)  John  Mossman,  grandfather  of  Guy  Mott  Mossman,  was  born 
in  Avon,  county  Cork,  Ireland,  when  a  young  man  he  emigrated  to  the 
United  States,  settling  in  Orange,  New  Jersey.  His  trade  was  that  of  a 
weaver.  During  the  civil  war,  though  past  the  age  of  enlistment,  he  ren- 
dered valuable  service  by  drilling  all  the  recruits  in  his  neighborhood,  an 
office  for  which  he  was  well  fitted,  having  served  in  Ireland  as  a  captain 
of  the  King's  Guard.  He  married  Grace  O'Dell,  a  native  of  Passaic, 
New  Jersey,  and  their  sons  served  in  the  Union  army.  Mr.  Mossman 
died  in  Gallia  county,  Ohio,  where  he  had  lived  many  years,  having 
reached  the  age  of  seventy-seven.  His  wife,  at  the  time  of  her  death, 
was  about  seventy  years  old. 

(II)  Albert,  son  of  John  and  Grace  (O'Dell)  Mossman,  was  born 
March  3,  1828,  in  Gallia  county,  Ohio,  and  followed  the  calling  of  a 
farmer.  He  was  a  member  of  the  state  militia.  He  married,  March  10, 
1853,  Mary  Elizabeth  Watts,  born  December  15,  1832,  in  Gallia  county, 
daughter  of  James  and  Margaret  (Waddell)  Watts.  James  Watts  was 
born  in  1800,  at  White  Sulphur  Springs,  Greenbrier  county,  Virginia, 
now  West  Virginia,  and  his  wife,  Margaret  Waddell,  was  born  in  Poca- 
hontas county,  Virginia.  James  Watts  was  the  son  of  a  revolutionary 
soldier,  himself  a  Virginian.  James  Watts  was  a  farmer  and  died  in 
1885.  His  wife  died  aged  forty-seven  years.  They  were  the  parents  of 
thirteen  children.  Of  the  seven  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Albert 
Mossman  the  following  are  living:  Dr.  E.  J.  Mossman,  of  Point  Pleasant, 
West  Virginia;  John  W.,  of  Huntington;  Daniel  Andrew;  Lillian  T., 
wife  of  Louis  A.  Womeldorfif,  a  farmer  of  Bidwell,  Ohio;  and  Guy 
Mott,  of  whom  further.  The  father  of  the  family  died  in  1892,  and  the 
mother  passed  away  in  1902. 

(III)  Guy  Mott,  son  of  Albert  and  Mary  Ehzabeth  (Watts)  Moss- 
man, was  born  March  5,  1874,  in  Gallipolis,  Ohio,  where  he  received  his 
education  in  the  public  schools  and  at  the  Gallia  Academy.  After  leav- 
ing school  he  was  for  six  years  identified  with  the  dry  goods  business  in 
his  native  place,  first  as  clerk  and  later  as  proprietor.  On  February  14, 
1896,  he  came  to  Huntington,  and  at  once  took  charge  of  the  dry  goods 
establishment  formerly  conducted  by  G.  W.  Cox.  The  business,  which 
had  become  involved  in  difficulties,  was  by  Mr.  Mossman's  energy  and 
astuteness,  extricated  and  placed  on  a  firm  basis,  and  Mr.  Mossman  then 
became  one  of  the  agents  for  the  Prudential  Insurance  Company.  After 
holding  this  position  thirteen  weeks  he  was  promoted  to  that  of  assistant 
superintendent,  a  more  speedy  advancement  to  this  office  than  had  ever 
been  known  in  the  history  of  the  company.  For  two  years  and  a  half 
Mr.  Mossman  served  as  assistant  superintendent,  and  on  June  20,  1899, 
he  and  his  brothers,  Daniel  Andrew  and  John  W.,  founded  the  Mossman 
Brothers   Company,   now  the  largest  organization   of  its  kind   in  West 


148  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Virginia.  The  firm  deals  in  general  supplies,  both  wholesale  and  retail, 
and  has  storage  capacity  for  over  two  hundred  cars.  The  entire  control 
of  the  product  of  this  extensive  business  devolves  upon  Mr.  Mossman, 
neither  of  his  brothers  having  ever  taken  an  active  part  in  its  manage- 
ment, and  the  high  position  which  the  house  holds  in  the  commercial 
world  is  wholly  due  to  his  individual  efforts.  Mr.  Mossman  is  a  director 
and  stockholder  in  the  Huntington  Stove  &  Foundry  Company,  and  a 
stockholder  in  the  Union  Savings  Bank  &  Trust  Company,  as  well  as  in 
several  other  similar  organizations.  His  political  principles  are  those 
upheld  by  the  Democratic  party,  and  his  fraternal  affiliations  are  with  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  Modern  Woodmen  of 
America,  the  United  Commercial  Travellers  and  the  Royal  Arcanum.  Mr. 
Mossman  is  also  a  member  of  the  Huntington  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
and  vice-president  of  the  Merchants'  Association  of  Huntington;  has  tak- 
en an  active  part  in  the  Ohio  River  Improvement  Association  since  it  was 
first  inaugurated.  He  is  a  member  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

Mr.  Mossman  married,  November  \f>.  1903,  Effie  E.  Hollberg,  born 
October  16.  1881,  in  Jackson,  Ohio,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Catheryne 
(Nagle)  Hollberg.  Mr.  Hollberg  served  throughout  the  civil  war  in  the 
army  of  General  Sherman,  participated  in  many  battles  and  was  once 
wounded.  Under  both  Cleveland  administrations  he  held  the  office  of 
postmaster  of  Jackson,  Ohio,  where  he  is  now,  at  the  age  of  seventy 
years,  engaged  in  business  as  a  coal  operator.  Mrs.  Hollberg  died  some 
years  ago.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mossman  are  the  parents  of  two  sons:  Donald 
Hollberg,  born  November  14,  1905  ;  and  Guy  Mott,  Jr.,  March  14,  1908. 
The  presence  in  any  community  of  a  man  of  Mr.  Mossman's  caliber  im- 
parts to  its  commercial  life  an  impetus  and  vigor  which  are  a  guarantee 
of  future  prosperity. 


William  IMilltr,  immigrant  ancestor  of  this  branch  of  the 
MILLER     Miller  family  in  America,  was  a  tanner  and  a  planter  of 

Ipswich,  Massachusetts,  in  1638.  He  came  to  this  country 
from  England,  probably  about  1635,  although  he  may  have  lived  in  Ger- 
many a  few  years  previous.  In  1643  and  1646  he  served  as  a  soldier 
against  the  Indians.  He  resided  in  Ipswich  in  1648,  and  in  1654  was  one 
of  the  twenty-three  original  settlers  of  Northampton,  Massachusetts.  He 
lived  on  King  street  in  that  town,  and  died  there  July  15,  1690.  He  ac- 
quired a  plantation  at  Northfield  in  1672  and  settled  there,  but  returned 
to  Northampton  probably  on  account  of  the  Indian  war.     He  married 

Patience  ,  who  died,  very  aged,  at  Northampton.  March   16,   1716. 

The  Northampton  records  say  that  she  was  a  skilled  physician  and  sur- 
geon. Children:  John,  married,  March  24,  1670,  Mary  Alvord ;  Mary, 
married  (first)  December  18,  1672,  Obadiah  Williams,  (second)  Novem- 
ber 28,  1677,  Godfrey  Nims:  Rebecca,  died  August,  1657.  Born  at 
Northampton:  Patience,  September  15,  1657;  William,  November  30, 
1659:  Mercy,  February  8,  1658;  Ebenezer,  mentioned  below;  Mehitable, 
July  ID,  166^3 ;  Thankful,  April  25,  1669;  Abraham,  January  20,  1671. 

(II)  Ebenezer,  son  of  William  Miller,  was  born  at  Northampton, 
June  7,  1664,  died  there  December  23,  1737.  He  was  called  a  husband- 
man. He  married,  in  1688,  Sarah  Allen,  born  July  28.  1668,  died  August 
4,  1748,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Hannah  (Woodford)  Allen,  of  North- 
ampton. Children,  born  at  Northampton:  Sarah,  born  1689;  Mary.  1690; 
John,  January  12.  1692,  died  October  23,  1696;  Ebenezer.  mentioned  be- 
low; Captain  Jonathan;  Hannah,  August  20,  1700;  Patience;  Joseph, 
June  4,  1705;  Aaron,  November  6,  1707-08;  John,  1711-12. 

(III)  Ebenezer  (2),  son  of  Ebenezer  (i)  Miller,  was  born  at  North- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  149 

ampton,  Massachusetts,  August  15,  1696,  died  February  2f>,  1777.  He 
married  (first)  May  8,  1725,  Hannah  Burt,  and  (second)  November  15, 
1754,  Mrs.  EHzabeth  (Denning)  Norton.  His  second  marriage  is  re- 
corded at  Avon,  town  of  Farmington,  Connecticut,  in  the  church  records 
(p.  13,  vol.  iv,  "Bailey's  Early  Conn.  Marriages").  She  was  then  of 
Farmington.  In  Avon  we  find  also  the  marriages  of  his  children  or 
grandchildren:  Jonathan,  married,  September  24,  1761,  Sarah  North; 
Elisha,  married  (first)  October  18,  1764,  Sarah  Fowler,  and  (second) 
November  18,  1778,  Abigail  Bunnell;  Ebenezer,  married,  September  25, 
1788.  Diantha  Hutchinson.     His  son  Noah  is  mentioned  below. 

(IV)  Noah,  son  of  Ebenezer  (2)  Miller,  was  born  about  1735,  in 
Farmington,  Connecticut.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  revolution  from  July 
15,  1780,  to  December  9,  1780,  among  the  levies  enlisted  in  the  Second 
Regiment  in  1779  and  1780  for  short  terms,  and  was  in  the  second  com- 
pany, Lieutenant  Colonel  Hart,  Second  Connecticut  Regiment,  Colonel 
Zebulon  Butler  (p.  186,  vol.  xii,  "Conn.  Hist.  Society,  Revolutionary 
Rolls").  He  married,  at  Avon,  Farmington,  April  9,  1760,  Ann  Buel.  In 
Farmington,  in  1790,  the  first  federal  census  shows  as  heads  of  families 
Anna,  Job,  Reuben,  Solomon,  Ebenezer  and  Noah,  who  had  in  his  fam- 
ily two  males  over  sixteen,  two  sons  under  sixteen  and  three  females. 
Noah  Miller  was  a  prominent  citizen,  a  builder  and  contractor.  He  is 
said  by  descendants  to  have  been  one  of  the  finest  looking  men  in  Con- 
necticut.   His  son  James  is  mentioned  below. 

(V)  James,  son  of  Noah  Miller,  was  born  in  Farmington,  Connecti- 
cut, in  1780.  When  about  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  married  Sarah, 
daughter  of  Abner  Messenger,  a  soldier  of  the  revolution  under  General 
Washington  in  1782  (Connecticut  in  the  Revolution).  Abner  Messenger 
married  a  Miss  Pike,  who  was  a  cousin  of  General  Pike.  About  a  year 
after  his  marriage  James  Miller,  together  with  his  father-in-law,  Abner 
Messenger,  went  to  the  Muskingum  Valley  in  the  tide  of  emigration  that 
went  west  of  the  Allegheny  mountains  about  that  time.  Abner  Messen- 
ger settled  in  what  is  now  Preston  county,  W^est  Virginia,  and  died  there 
at  an  advanced  age,  his  descendants  now  being  numerous  in  that  section. 
James  Miller,  contracting  malaria  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  and  becoming  dis- 
couraged with  the  western  country,  started  back  to  Connecticut,  but  find- 
ing a  good  opening  at  ]\Iorgantown,  Virginia,  opened  a  coopering  estab- 
lishment at  that  place,  that  being  his  trade,  and  employed  a  number  of 
hands  in  his  shop.  A  few  years  later  he  went  to  Greensboro,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  Albert  Gallatin  had  established  a  glass  plant,  the  first  one 
west  of  the  Allegheny  mountains.  About  1837  he  moved  to  Middletown 
(now  Fairmont),  Virginia,  where  he  continued  in  the  coopering  business, 
and  also  conducted  a  ferry  between  Fairmont  and  Palatine,  in  which  lat- 
ter town  he  bought  the  first  laid-out  lots  and  to  which  he  removed  in  1839. 
His  first  wife,  Sarah  Messenger,  having  died,  he  married  a  Mrs.  Hirons, 
of  the  Pricket  Creek  settlement,  and  a  few  years  later  he  and  his  step- 
son purchased  a  farm  upon  which  he  resided  until  his  death,  March  19, 
1856.  He  was  an  exemplary  citizen,  and  a  class  leader  in  the  Methodist 
church.  His  first  wife  died  in  Palatine  in  1839;  his  second  wife  survived 
him.  To  his  first  marriage  five  sons  and  five  daughters  were  born :  Noah 
Buel,  who  died  in  infancy  ;  Abner  Amherst ;  Samuel  B. ;  James  ;  William 
Edmund;  Emily,  married  Jesse  Core;  Ann,  wife  of  Daniel  Gantz ;  Abigail 
Pike,  married  Thomas  Pickens,  of  Ohio :  Sarah,  wife  of  M.  D.  Purnell ; 
Mary,  married  L.  D.  Fox.     .-Ml  these  are  now  deceased. 

(VI)  Wilham  Edmund,  son  of  James  and  Sarah  (Messenger)  Mil- 
ler, was  born  at  Morgantown,  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  July  29, 
1822,  died  at  Fairmont,  November  19,  191 1.  He  was  reared  principally 
at  Greensboro,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  received  his  education  at  a  private 


I50  WEST  VIRGINIA 

school.  He  learned  the  trade  of  cooper  of  his  father,  which  he  followed 
until  1841,  when  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  handrolls  for  domes- 
tic spinning  of  cloths  and  flannels,  at  Barnesville.  Five  years  later  he 
turned  his  attention  to  the  flouring  mill  business,  which  he  conducted  up 
to  1863,  in  which  year  he  secured  the  flouring  mill  at  Nuzum's  Mill,  where 
he  remained  two  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  returned  to  Barnes- 
ville. where  he  managed  the  woolen  mills  of  the  Barnesville  Manufactur- 
ing Company  until  1888,  being  a  director  and  serving  as  president  of  thai 
company.  Politically  Mr.  Miller  was  a  staunch  Republican,  and  an  offi- 
cial in  the  Methodist  Protestant  church,  a  teacher  in  the  Sunday-school 
fifty-seven  years  or  more,  as  well  as  its  captain  of  a  Marion  county  vol- 
anteer  militia  company  that  ofTered  its  services  to  the  country  during  the 
Mexican  war,  but  was  not  called  into  active  service.  On  October  21, 
1847,  ^Ir.  Miller  married  Nancy  Jeretta,  daughter  of  Thomas  Hall,  a 
prominent  citizen  of  the  county  and  an  upright  Qiristian  gentleman.  She 
died  August  19,  1907.  Thomas  Hall  was  born  in  Delaware,  January  11, 
1779,  and  was  brought  by  his  father,  Asa  Hall,  to  the  Forks  of  Cheat 
river  in  1782.  He  was  ordained  a  ruling  elder  in  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  1815,  at  Morgantown,  Virginia,  and  later  purchased  a  farm 
near  Houlttown,  on  which  he  erected  a  flouring  mill  in  1828.  He  died  of 
erysipelas  July  28,  1869.  He  was  twice  married,  (first)  to  Jane  Ben- 
nett, 1799,  and  (second)  Elizabeth  Stewart,  1813.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mil- 
ler were  born  six  children :  Professor  Thomas  Condit  Miller,  of  whom 
further ;  Charles  Albert,  a  teacher ;  Anna  Belle,  a  teacher ;  Buena  Vista ; 
Richard  S.,  now  deceased ;  Mattie  A. 

(VII)  Professor  Thomas  Condit  Miller,  son  of  William  Edmund  Mil- 
ler, was  born  in  Fairmont,  Virginia,  now  W^est  Virginia,  July  19,  1848.  He 
received  his  early  education  in  private  schools.  Among  his  instructors  was 
Dr.  William  R.  White,  who  afterward  was  the  first  state  superintendent 
of  free  schools  of  West  Virginia.  The  civil  war  interrupted  the  course 
of  his  studies.  For  a  year  he  served  in  the  Home  National  Guard  under 
United  States  officers,  and  when  but  sixteen  years  old  enlisted  in  Com- 
pany E,  Seventh  Regiment,  West  Virginia  Volunteer  Infantry,  April  i, 
1865,  and  served  until  July  10,  1865,  when  he  was  honorably  discharged. 
He  then  resumed  his  studies,  attending  the  Fairmont  Academy  and  high 
school,  teaching  between  terms  after  November,  1867.  After  the  State 
Normal  School  was  opened  at  Fairmont  he  was  enrolled  as  a  student  and 
completed  the  prescribed  course  under  Principal  J.  G.  Blair.  Among  his 
other  instructors  there  was  Professor  J.  C.  Gilchrist,  who  graduated  from 
Antioch  College  when  Horace  Mann  was  president.  He  afterward  spent 
a  year  in  Adrian  College.  Michigan,  but  on  account  of  ill  health  gave  up 
his  college  course  during  the  junior  year.  He  has  since  then  continued  in 
school  work.  For  a  period  of  twenty-one  consecutive  years  he  was  prin- 
cipal of  the  Fairmont  high  school,  after  having  five  years'  experience  as  a 
teacher  in  country  schools.  His  devotion  to  the  Fairmont  high  school, 
and  his  success  as  a  teacher  brought  him  attractive  offers  from  various 
parts  of  the  state,  and  from  other  states.  In  1893  he  finally  resigned  to 
accept  the  position  of  principal  of  the  preparatory  department  of  the 
West  Virginia  University,  and  he  afterward  received  the  appointment 
of  professor  of  pedagogy  in  the  university,  in  which  position  he  served 
with  ability  and  fidelity  for  eight  years.  He  resigned  when  elected  state 
superintendent  of  free  schools  in  igoo  and  was  re-elected  at  the  end  of 
his  term,  serving  from  igoi  to  1909.  In  the  election  of  1904  he  received 
more  than  25,000  plurality,  the  largest  vote  ever  received  by  a  candidate  in 
West  Virginia  except  that  of  President  Roosevelt.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Republican.  Under  the  first  state  constitution  he  was  for  a  time  town- 
ship clerk.     Since  1909  Professor  Miller  has  been  principal  of  Shepherd 


WEST  VIRGINIA  15] 

College  Normal  School,  Shepherdstown,  West  Mrginia.  He  is  a  popular 
institute  lecturer  and  has  probably  addressed  as  many  eilucational  gather- 
ings in  the  state  as  any  other  man,  and  he  has  also  visited  and  spoken  at 
institutes  in  Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  Tennessee,  Ohio  and  Kentucky. 
He  is  a  member  of  ^Meade  Post,  No.  6,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and 
was  assistant  quartermaster-general  of  the  Department  of  ^^■est  \'irginia 
for  several  years.  He  has  held  about  every  position  on  the  state  depart- 
ment and  in  the  local  post  and  served  on  the  staff  of  the  commander-in- 
chief  a  number  of  times  ;  also  as  patriotic  instructor  for  West  X'irginia. 
It  v.'as  largely  through  his  influence  and  efforts  that  the  monuments  now 
standing  in  honor  of  the  fallen  heroes  of  his  state  on  the  battlefield  at 
Gettysburg  were  erected.  In  1866  he  joined  the  Methodist  Protestant 
chiirch.  and  since  then  has  devoted  much  time  and  energy  to  the  denomi- 
nation, now  being  a  member  of  the  general  conference.  For  twenty 
years  he  was  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  and  he  has  been  presi- 
dent of  the  State  Sunday  School  Association.  He  was  a  member  of  Lin- 
coln Lodge.  Good  Templars,  and  has  always  been  active  in  the  temper- 
ance movement.  He  is  a  member  of  the  National  Education  Association 
and  a  member  of  its  National  Council ;  of  the  ,\merican  Historical  Asso- 
ciation, and  of  the  National  Geographic  Society. 

He  married,  September  6,  1876,  at  Fairmont,  Drusilla  C.  Hamilton, 
born  at  Fairm<jnt,  Jvme,  1847,  daughter  of  Elmus  and  Louisa  S.  ( Hamil- 
ton) Hamilton.  She  had  brothers:  James  B..  William  S.  and  John  S. 
Hamilton,  and  a  sister  Paulina  B.  Pierpont.  The  Hamilton  family  is  prom- 
inent in  Fairmont.  Children  of  Air.  and  ]\Irs.  ^^liller:  i.  Archie  Hamilton, 
born  November  4,  1877;  now  engaged  in  clerical  work.  2. Dwight  Edmund, 
born  October  5,  1879 :  engaged  in  clerical  work.  3.  Dana  Paul,  born  Oc- 
tober 6,  1883,  died  September  i,  1907.  4.  Pauline  Barns,  born  June  14, 
1887 ;  married  Henry  C.  Capito,  and  resides  in  Charleston,  West  Virginia. 


The  Rev.  Urban  \'.  W.  Darlington,  of  the  Meth- 
DARLINGTON  odist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  and  pastor  of  a  con- 
gregation of  that  denomination  in  Huntington,  is 
a  scion  of  an  ancient  stock  numerously  represented  in  both  England  and 
Scotland.  John  Darlington.  K.  L..  late  of  Netherwood,  Ilkley,  York- 
shire, England,  and  other  members  of  the  English  branch  of  the  family, 
rfiade  use  of  a  coat-of-arms,  a  copy  of  which  is  in  the  possession  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Darlington,  of  Huntington.  Peter  Darlington,  founder  of  the 
American  branch  of  the  Darlingtons,  came  from  Edinburgh,  Scotland, 
and  settled  in  New  York,  though  at  what  period  is  not  stated. 

(I)  James  H.,  father  of  Rev.  Urban  V.  W.  Darlington,  was  born 
October  14,  1804,  in  L'niontown,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was 
the  proprietor  of  a  hotel  at  Graefenberg,  Shelby  county,  Kentucky,  in 
the  days  when  stage  lines  furnished  the  only  means  of  conveyance  for 
transient  guests.  Mr.  Darlington  was  the  owner  of  one  of  these  stage 
lines.  He  married  Kitty  Pemberton,  born  February  23,  1826,  in  Frank- 
lin county,  Kentucky,  and  of  the  twelve  children  born  to  them  the  fol- 
lowing are  now  living:  Sarah,  of  Louisville.  Kentucky;  Susan  K.. 
widow  of  Owen  Tinsley,  living  in  Huntington,  with  her  brother,  Urban 
V.  W. ;  James  S..  a  farmer  of  Franklin  county.  Kentucky:  John,  a  farm- 
er of  the  same  county ;  Annie  L.,  wife  of  John  Storts,  of  Louisville, 
Kentucky :  Jennie,  wife  of  H.  B.  Lowen,  of  Indiana :  Robert,  a  mechanic 
of  Louisville,  Kentucky:  and  Urban  V.  W..  of  whom  further.  Mr. 
Darlington,  father  of  the  family,  died  at  Graefenberg,  December  30, 
1879:  the  mother  survived  many  years,  passing  away  at  the  same  place, 
November  25.  1905.  in  the  eightieth  year  of  her  age. 


1 3-'  WEST  VIRGINIA 

(II)  Rev.  Urban  V.  W.  Darlington,  son  of  James  H.  and  Kitty 
(Pemberton)  Darlington,  was  born  August  3,  1870,  in  Shelby  county, 
Kentucky,  where  he  received  his  preparatory  education  in  the  common 
schools.  He  studied  at  Wesleyan  College  for  the  ministry  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  South,  and  on  September  22.  1895,  in  Winchester, 
Kentucky,  was  ordained  a  deacon  by  Bishop  A.  G.  Haygood.  On  Sep- 
tember 23,  1899,  he  was  made  an  elder  by  Bishop  E.  R.  Hendrix.  His 
first  charge  was  in  Washington,  Kentucky,  where  he  remained  four 
years,  afterward  spending  one  year  at  Millersburg,  Kentucky,  and  then 
lour  years  at  Covington,  Kentucky.  During  another  four  years  he  was 
stationed  at  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia.  These  successive  pastorates 
were  made  by  Mr.  Darlington  periods  of  earnest  work  not  unfruitful  in 
results.  In  September,  1909,  Mr.  Darlington  came  to  Huntington  to  as- 
sume the  duties  of  his  present  pastorate,  and  since  that  time  the  congrega- 
tion has  been  increased  by  the  addition  of  three  hundred  and  six  mem- 
bers. This  augmentation  has  rendered  necessary  the  erection  of  a  new 
church.  In  October,  191 1,  the  old  structure  was  taken  down,  and  the 
new  edifice,  costing  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  will  probably  be  com- 
pleted by  May,  1913.  It  is  to  have  a  most  thorough  equipment,  includ- 
ing a  pipe  organ.  In  politics  Mr.  Darlington  is  independent  of  party 
considerations,  casting  his  vote  for  the  man  who,  in  his  judgment,  repre- 
sents the  highest  principles  and  is  best  fitted  to  carry  them  out.  He  affil- 
iates with  the  Masonic  order. 

Mr.  Darlington  married,  October  30,  1901,  in  ?\Iillersburg,  Kentuck)-, 
Lyda  Clarke,  born  at  that  place,  March  27,  1871,  daughter  of  Charles  C. 
and  America  (Nunn)  Clarke,  the  former  a  farmer  of  Millersburg.  Mrs. 
Clarke  died  June  16,  1888,  and  the  death  of  Mr.  Clarke  occurred  July  31, 
1908.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Darlington  became  the  parents  of  two  children : 
Lyda  Clarke,  born  August  29,  1902;  and  Urban  V.  W.  (2),  June  17, 
1906.  Mrs.  Darlington  passed  away  December  14,  191 1.  Mr.  Darling- 
ton's present  work  is  one  of  great  usefulness,  his  influence,  both  as  pastor 
and  citizen,  tending  greatly  to  strengthen  and  advance  the  best  interests 
of  Huntington,  a  fact  to  which  his  home  city  accords  the  most  thorough 
and  appreciative  recognition. 


Stuart  Hampton  Bowman,  of  Huntington,  president  of 
BOWMAN     the   Bowman   Realty   Company,   is   not  only  one   of  the 

city's  most  progressive  business  men,  but  has  been  for  a 
number  of  years  prominently  identified  with  the  state's  educational  in- 
terests, and  has  filled  with  ability  more  than  one  office  of  political  trust 
and  responsibility. 

Captain  Adam  Coleman  Bowman,  father  of  Stuart  Hampton  Bow- 
man, was  born  May  i,  1839,  in  Randolph  county,  Virginia,  now  West 
Virginia,  and  during  the  war  between  the  states  was  a  captain  in  the 
Confederate  service.  He  was  twice  wounded,  but  served  the  entire  four 
years,  in  the  infantry  and  also  in  the  cavalry,  under  General  J.  E.  B. 
Stuart.  Captain  Bowman  married  Tacy  J.  Wilmoth,  born  May  i,  1856,  in 
Randolph  county,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  three  children :  Stuart 
Hampton,  mentioned  below  ;  Thomas  B.,  of  the  Bowman  Realty  Com- 
pany :  and  Maud,  now  living  in  Huntington.  Captain  Bowman  died  .Au- 
gust 25,  1909,  and  his  widow  now  resides  in  Huntington. 

Stuart  Hampton,  son  of  Captain  .Adam  Coleman  and  Tacy  J-  {\\'\\- 
moth)  Bowman,  was  born  June  28,  1876,  at  Valley  Furnace,  Barbour 
county,  West  Virginia,  and  received  his  earliest  education  in  the  schools 
of  his  native  place,  afterward  attending  the  Fairmont  State  Normal 
School  and  graduating  thence  in  1893.     His  high  averages  in  his  exami- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  153 

nations  won  for  him  the  honor  of  valedictorian.  The  succeeding  year 
was  spent  by  Mr.  Bowman  in  teaching  in  the  schools  of  Barbour  county, 
and  in  1895  he  was  awarded  a  scholarship  at  the  Peabody  Normal  Col- 
lege, Nashville,  Tennessee,  graduating  from  that  institution  with  the  de- 
gree of  Licentiate  of  Instruction.  In  1896  he  graduated  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Nashville  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  In  1897  Mr.  Bow- 
man was  an  assistant  teacher  in  the  Fairmont  State  Normal  School,  and 
in  1898  he  graduated  from  West  Virginia  University,  taking  for  the  sec- 
ond time  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  His  experience  as  an  instruc- 
tor during  these  early  years  was  destined  to  influence  in  no  small  measure 
the  course  of  his  future  public  career. 

In  the  autumn  of  1898  Mr.  Bowman  was  elected  on  the  Democratic 
ticket  to  represent  Barbour  county  in  the  West  \'irginia  legislature,  and 
served  as  chairman  of  the  committee  on  education,  being  then  as  always 
active  in  school  legislation.  Meanwhile,  he  pursued  the  study  of  law  and 
in  1900  was  awarded  a  license  to  practice  law  in  the  courts  of  West  Vir- 
ginia. The  same  year  he  was  renominated  for  the  legislature,  but  was 
defeated  by  a  few  votes,  sharing  the  fate  which  overtook  the  other  candi- 
dates of  his  party  in  that  year  of  Republican  triumph.  In  1902  he  was 
again  nominated,  being  elected  this  time,  by  a  good  round  majority.  Short- 
ly after  the  expiration  of  his  term  Mr.  Bowman  opened  a  law  office  at 
Philippi,  West  Virginia,  and  entered  upon  the  practice  of  the  profession, 
but  his  inclinations  led  him  to  engage  in  the  negotiation  of  transactions 
in  real  estate,  and  it  was  not  long  before  he  gave  his  whole  attention  to 
this  business.  In  1904  Mr.  Bowman  was  appointed  by  Governor  Atkin- 
son a  member  of  the  State  Board  of  Regents  of  West  Virginia  State 
Normal  Schools,  and  served  several  years,  being  re-appointed  by  Gover- 
nor White,  and  later  by  Governor  Dawson.  By  reason  of  his  experience 
both  as  an  instructor  and  a  legislator  Mr.  Bowman  took  special  interest 
in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties,  and  was  influential  in  securing  ap- 
propriations for  additional  buildings  and  for  increasing  the  salaries  of 
teachers  in  the  schools.  In  1906  he  came  to  Huntington  and  founded  the 
Bowman  Realty  Company,  now  the  leading  organization  of  its  kind  in  this 
city.  The  members  of  his  firm  are :  Stuart  Hampton  Bowman,  presi- 
dent ;  L.  H.  Cammack,  secretary ;  and  T.  B.  Bowman,  field  manager.  In 
addition  to  doing  a  local  business  the  company  have  originated  and  car- 
ried into  successful  operation  an  organization  for  handling  real  estate  sub- 
divisions by  special  advertising  campaigns,  in  public  and  private  sales,  in 
any  section  of  the  United  States,  having  operated  extensively  in  the 
southern,  central  western  and  middle  states. 

Mr.  Bowman  is  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  George 
Peabody  College  for  Teachers,  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  the  institution  in 
which  the  unexpended  funds  left  by  the  late  George  Peabody  for  the 
])romotion  of  education  in  the  south  are  now  being  concentrated.  Mr. 
r)Owman  also  belongs  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Morris-Harvey 
College,  at  Barboursville,  West  Virginia.  In  1913  he  was  the  nominee 
of  the  Democratic  party  for  State  Senator  in  the  Fifth  Senatorial  District 
but  was  defeated  by  about  100  votes  in  a  total  of  over  19,000  votes,  hav- 
ing to  contest  with  the  combined  forces  of  the  Republican  and  Progres- 
sive parties  in  the  district.  He  affiliates  with  the  Masonic  fraternity,  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  the  Phi  Kappa  Psi  college 
society.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

Mr.  Bowman  married,  November  16.  1904,  Florence,  born  January 
10,  1881,  at  Ceredo,  West  Virginia,  daughter  of  William  L.  and  Isabel 
(Frizzell)  Mansfield.  Mr.  IMansfield  was  born  December  3,  1857,  near 
Wayne  Court  House,  and  is  now  living  in  Huntington,  being  business 
manager  of  the  Herald  Dispatcli.  the  leading  morning  paper  of  southern 


154  WEST  VIRGINIA 

West  \'irginia.  For  several  years  he  was  a  Democratic  leader  in  the  leg- 
islature. Airs.  Mansfield  was  born  March  4,  1861,  in  \'anceburg,  Ken- 
tucky, and  died  April  14,  191 1.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bowman  have  no  children. 


No  list  of  the  names  of  the  leading  business  men  of  Hunt- 
PARKER  ington  would  be  complete  without  that  of  Percy  Cadzy 
Parker,  who,  during  the  short  time  that  he  has  been  a  res- 
ident of  our  city,  has  established  a  well  founded  reputation  for  sagacity 
and  enterprise. 

Penjamin  Parker,  grandfather  of  Percy  Cadzy  Parker,  was  a  native 
of  Pennsylvania,  whence  he  migrated  to  Aleigs  county,  Ohio,  where  he 
engaged  in  farming  during  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

Freeman  Scott,  son  of  Benjamin  Parker,  was  born  in  Meigs  county, 
Ohio,  and  served  throughout  the  civil  war  in  the  Union  army,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Fourth  Regiment,  West  Mrginia  Infantry,  participating  in  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg  and  in  many  other  important  engagements.  His 
brother,  Erastus  Parker,  fighting  on  the  same  side,  was  wounded  at  Get- 
tysburg. After  the  return  of  peace  Freeman  Scott  Parker  worked  at  his 
trade,  which  was  that  of  a  carpenter.  He  married  Nancy  Jane,  born 
March  8,  1853,  in  Athens  county,  Ohio,  daughter  of  David  Shields,  also 
a  native  of  that  county,  where  he  led  the  life  of  a  farmer,  dying  in  1890, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-four.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parker  were  the  parents  of  six 
sons :  Guy  Albert,  justice  of  the  peace  at  Tupper's  Plains,  Ohio ;  Fred- 
erick Ardan,  killed  at  Pontiac,  Illinois,  while  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty 
as  baggage-master  on  the  Chicago  and  Alton  railroad ;  Percy  Cadzy, 
mentioned  below ;  Ivan  Ernest,  of  Tupper's  Plains,  Ohio ;  Carl  Erzy,  a 
potter  of  Huntington ;  and  Hal  H.,  a  decorator  and  paperhanger  of 
Parkersburg,  West  Virginia.  Freeman  Scott  Parker,  the  father  of  these 
children,  died  in  1890,  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  forty-nine,  the 
cause  of  his  death  being  a  bronchial  affection  which  he  had  contracted 
during  his  service  in  the  army.  His  widow  is  now  living  at  Tupper's 
Plains,  Ohio. 

Percy  Cadzy,  son  of  Freeman  Scott  and  Nancy  Jane  (Shields)  Park- 
er, was  born  April  27,  1874,  at  Tupper's  Plains,  Meigs  county,  Ohio,  and 
received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  and  the  academy  of  his  na- 
tive place.  After  finishing  his  course  of  study  he  went  to  Kansas  City, 
Missouri,  where  for  five  years  he  held  a  position  in  the  shipping  depart- 
ment of  a  wholesale  commission  firm.  He  then  returned  home  for  a  year, 
and  at  the  end  of  that  time  went  to  Parkersburg,  West  A'irginia,  where 
he  established  a  wall-paper  business  which  he  conducted  for  eleven 
years.  On  December  10,  1910,  he  came  to  Huntington  and  opened  a 
store  on  Eleventh  street,  but  on  November  20,  191 1,  removed  to  his  pres- 
ent finely  appointed  place  of  business  on  Ninth  street,  in  the  Fifth  Ave- 
nue Hotel  Building.  He  carries  here  a  much  larger  stock  than  ever  be- 
fore, having  two  basement  store-rooms  completely  filled  with  supplies. 
Mr.  Parker  has  already  become  a  potent  factor  in  the  business  world  of 
Huntington,  and,  as  an  astute  and  progressive  merchant  of  unquestion- 
able integrity  in  all  his  methods,  and  with  an  assured  reputation  for  fair 
dealing,  he  is  destined,  as  the  years  go  on,  to  count  more  and  more  influ- 
entially  in  the  commercial  life  of  our  city. 

In  politics  Mr.  Parker  is  a  Republican.  He  affiliates  with  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America,  the  Royal  Americans  and  the  Tribe  of  Ben  Hur. 
holding  in  this  last-named  organization  the  office  of  Supreme  Keeper  of 
the  Inner  Gate.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Johnson  Memorial  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South. 


WEST  AaRGIXIA  155 

Mr.  Parker  married    (first)   Alaggie  ,  and  he  married    (second) 

November  28,  1902,  at  Parkersburg,  Lillian  E.,  born  July  i,  1881,  al 
Washington,  West  Virginia,  daughter  of  Wallace  and  Emma  (Harwood) 
Edelen,  both  natives  of  Wood  county,  West  Virginia.  Mr.  Edelen  was 
a  farmer  and  died  several  years  ago.  His  widow  is  now.  at  the  age  of 
fifty-five,  living  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parker  in  Huntington,  yir.  Parker 
has  one  child,  Hazel  Loretta,  by  his  first  marriage. 


One  of  Huntington's  best  known  business  men  is  Virgil  Lee 

HAGY     Hagy,  of  the  Northcott-Tate-Hag)'  Company,  a  firm  of  well 

established   reputation.     Mr.   Hagy  has  been   for  more   than 

fifteen  years  a  resident  of  Huntington  and  is  closely  identified  with  our 

city's  business  interests. 

(I)  Samuel  Hag\',  grandfather  of  A'irgil  Lee  Hagy,  was  born  in  Bos- 
wall,  Switzerland,  and  came  with  his  parents  to  the  United  States,  set- 
tling near  Newark,  Ohio,  where  he  passed  his  life  as  a  farmer,  dying  at 
the  age  of  sixty-five. 

(H)  Jacob,  son  of  Samuel  Hag>-,  was  born  in  1837,  at  Etna,  Ohio. 
He  was  a  boot  and  shoemaker.  He  served  throughout  the  civil  war  as  a 
member  of  the  band  of  the  Eighty-eighth  Regiment  Ohio  Volunteer  In- 
fantry. His  wife  was  ^largaret  Abvert,  born  in  1838,  at  Washington. 
Pennsylvania.  The  following  children  were  born  to  them :  Virgil  Lee, 
mentioned  below  ;  Minnie  M.,  wife  of  Wallace  \'ickel,  a  farmer  of  Petas- 
kala,  Ohio;  James,  died  in  1897;  Carrie  A.,  wife  of  Charles  Kochen- 
dorfer,  a  farmer  of  Newark,  Ohio;  Harley  S.,  a  merchant  of  Columbus, 
Ohio;  Ollie.  wife  of  Vincent  Singer,  also  of  Columbus,  Ohio.  Jacob 
Hagy,  the  father,  has  retired  from  business  and  is  now  living  with  his  wife 
at  Etna,  Ohio. 

(HL)  Virgil  Lee,  son  of  Jacob  and  Margaret  (Abvert)  Hagy,  was 
born  June  21,  1865,  at  Columbus,  Ohio.  He  received  his  earliest  educa- 
tion in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  city,  afterward  attending  Pro- 
fessor Holbrook's  school  at  Lebanon,  Ohio.  After  completing  his  course 
of  study  he  served  a  four  years'  apprenticeship  as  a  custom  cutter,  with 
George  T.  Scott,  a  noted  cutter  of  Newark,  Ohio.  Upon  the  expiration 
of  his  time  Mr.  Hagy  went  to  Pittsburgh  and  there  worked  at  his  trade, 
removing  after  a  short  time  to  Steubenville,  Ohio,  where  he  followed  his 
trade  for  seven  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  in  January,  1896.  he 
came  to  Huntington,  becoming  cutter  and  manager  of  the  tailoring  depart- 
ment of  the  establishment  of  G.  A.  Northcott.  In  1901  he  was  admitted 
to  membership  in  the  firm,  the  present  style  of  which  is  the  Northcott- 
Tate-Hag}'  Company.  In  the  sphere  of  politics  Mr.  Hagy  is  identified 
with  the  Democratic  party.  He  affiliates  with  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks  and  with  several  fraternal  insurance  organizations, 
including  the  Royal  Arcanum,  the  Modern  Woodmen,  the  Woodmen  of 
the  World,  and  others.  He  is  a  member  of  the  German  Reformed  church. 
As  a  sagacious  and  honorable  business  man  and  a  public-spirited  citizen, 
Mr.  Hagy  is  one  of  those  whose  presence  and  work  in  any  community 
invariably  make  for  its  substantial  progress  and  betterment. 

Mr.  Hagy  married,  September  5,  1887.  in  Newark,  Ohio,  Eliza,  born 
July  17,  1869,  in  Philadelphia,  daughter  of  William  and  Rosa  Floyd.  Mr. 
Floyd,  who  was  prominently  associated  with  the  Newark  (Ohio)  branch 
of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad,  died  in  1895  ;  his  widow  passed  away 
in  1906.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hagy  are  the  parents  of  one  daughter:  Zanfry 
M.,  born  August  3,  1890. 


156  WEST  VIRGINIA 

The   Butcher   family  migrated    from   England   and   first 
BUTCHER     settled  in  or  near  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  where  the 
name  appears  several  times  in  the  United  States  census, 
1790,  in  Lancaster  and  Montgomery  counties. 

(I)  Samuel  Butcher,  Sr..  migrated  from  Lancaster  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, to  near  Bloomfield,  Cameron  parish,  in  Loudoun  county,  Virginia, 
then  Prince  William,  afterwards  Fairfax  county,  long  before  the  revolu- 
tionary war.  His  wife's  name  was  Susannah,  who  died  in  1801  in  Lou- 
doun county.  His  will  was  probated  in  Loudoun  county,  1778.  He  owned 
a  large  plantation  there.  He  donated  land  for  and  built  a  Baptist  church 
near  his  home.  They  had  eight  children :  John,  married  Susannah  Lewis ; 
Susannah,  born  1754.  married  James  Grady;  Mary,  married  Benjamin 
Overfield ;  Elsa,  married  John  Price ;  Hannah,  married  Jenkins  Phillips ; 
Elizabeth,  married  John  Buskin ;  Samuel,  of  whom  further ;  Jane,  mar- 
ried Joseph  Hickman. 

(II)  Samuel  (2).  son  of  Samuel  (i)  Butcher,  was  born  March  28, 
1756,  and  died  in  Wood  county,  Virginia  (now  West  \lrginia).  May  2, 
1847.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  revolutionary  war  and  some  time  after 
the  war,  before  1800.  moved  west  from  Loudoun  county,  Virginia,  locat- 
ing first  in  Randolph  county,  on  the  Tygarts  Valley  river,  in  the  bend, 
near  the  new  city  of  Elkins.  and  erected  a  mill  on  the  river,  near  where 
the  State  Odd  Fellows  Home  is  now  situated.  He  owned  a  large  farm 
here,  which  he  conveyed  July,  1815,  to  Levi  Ward.  He  had  moved  his 
family  to  Wood  county,  Virginia,  shortly  before  this,  locating  across  the 
Little  Kanawha  river,  opposite  the  mouth  of  Walkers  creek,  in  Butch- 
er's Bend,  where  two  of  his  sons,  Thomas  and  Peyton,  had  preceded  him, 
and  in  the  neighborhood  where  his  married  daughters  had  located.  He 
married  Hannah,  born  August  16,  1761,  died  February  2,  1844,  in  Wood 
county,  Virginia,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  L'ree  (Humphrey)  Drake, 
and  niece  of  Colonel  Thomas  Humphrey,  of  Washington's  staff.  He 
declined  to  apply  for  a  pension  because  the  applicant  must  state  that  he 
owned  less  than  $5,000  worth  of  property.  His  children  were:  i.  Eli, 
of  whom  further.  2.  Uree,  born  January  27,  1782;  married  Richard  H. 
Reeder  in  1801  in  Randolph  county,  and  migrated  to  Wood  county,  X'ir- 
ginia,  where  they  lived  to  a  great  age  and  had  thirteen  children.  3.  Thom- 
as, born  April  3,  1784;  married  Susan  Peadro  in  1807  in  Randolph  coun- 
ty and  removed  to  Wood  county,  on  the  Little  Kanawha :  had 
ten  children,  one  of  whom,  Edwin  Samuel  Butcher,  is  still 
living  (191 2)  at  the  age  of  ninety-two.  4.  Peyton,  born  June 
28,  1786;  married  Elizabeth  Renick  in  1810,  moving  from  Ran- 
dolph county  to  Wood  county.  They  had  eight  children.  5.  Tasy, 
born  1787;  married  (first)  John  Peadro  in  1813  in  Randolph  county,  and 
moved  to  Wood  county:  eight  children;  married  (second)  Seth  Harmer. 
6.  John  Humphrey,  born  in  1788;  married  (first)  Nancy  Overfield,  (sec- 
ond) Mary  Glasscock ;  he  resided  in  Loudoun  county,  Virginia ;  six  chil- 
dren. 7.  Bailiss  Grigsby,  born  in  1790;  married  (first)  Patsy  McNeal, 
(second)  Susan  Rust;  two  children  by  first  wife.  8.  Susannah,  born 
April  22,  1798;  married  Atwell  D.  Vaughn,  of  Wood  county;  eleven 
children.  9.  Anna  W.,  born  August  15,  1800;  married  (first)  Abraham 
Pribble,  of  Wood  county,  (second)  John  Vaughn,  of  Wood  county:  five 
children.  10.  Deborah,  born  January  26,  1804;  married  Hiram  Pribble, 
of  Wood  county;  seven  children.  11.  Hannah,  born  in  1805;  married 
Daniel  Kincheloe.  of  Wood  county ;  ten  children. 

(III)  Eli,  son  of  Samuel  (2)  Butcher,  was  born  .August  15,  1779, 
in  Loudoun  county,  Virginia.  He  remained  in  Randolph  county,  to 
which  his  father  removed  from  Loudoun,  and  thence  to  Wood,  and  be- 
came a  prominent  merchant  at   Beverly,  the  county  seat  of  Randolph. 


WEST   MRGINIA  157 

Before  his  father  removed  from  Loudonn,  Eli  learned  the  trade  of  joiner 
or  furniture-maker  and  was  very  efficient.  One  or  more  pieces  of  this 
handiwork  made  for  his  own  pleasure  are  still  in  use.  About  the  time  of 
the  formation  of  Barbour  county  he  became  the  owner  of  valuable  prop- 
erty at  Booths  Ferry,  now  Philippi,  and  moved  there,  but  after  a  few- 
years  sold  out  and  returned  to  Beverly  and  built  a  country  home  on  his 
farm  near  the  town  and  resided  there  the  remainder  of  his  life.  After 
the  Black  Hawk  Indian  war,  1840,  he  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  on 
the  Mississippi  river,  north  of  Rock  Island,  and  several  of  his  children  lo- 
cated there. 

On  September  27,  1804,  he  married  (first)  Elizabeth  Hart,  daughter 
of  Edward  and  Nancy  Hart.  She  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  March  11, 
1780,  and  died  October  24,  1823,  leaving  surviving  her,  nine  children,  as 
follows:  I.  Emily,  born  June  26,  1805:  married  Adam  See,  October  3, 
1822,  and  in  1852  removed  to  California  with  a  large  family.  2.  Edith  A., 
born  October  16,  1806;  married,  June  27,  1823,  Hugh  Daily,  who  died 
near  Cordova,  Illinois,  August  27,  1840;  she  died  February  20,  1869, 
near  Cordova,  Illinois,  leaving  seven  children.  3.  Burrell  B.,  born  Au- 
gust 30,  1808:  married  Julia  Ann  Rightmire ;  he  died  March  8,  1841, 
near  Cordova,  Illinois,  leaving  wife  and  two  children.  4.  Thursey,  born 
May  24,  1810:  married  Jonathan  Arnold,  February  18,  1827.  and  died  in 
Randolph  county,  June  5,  1828,  leaving  no  child  surviving.  5.  John  Hugh, 
born  May  24,  1812,  died  unmarried,  July  6,  1850,  of  cholera,  on  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  on  the  way  to  California.  6.  Mariah,  born  May  26, 
1815;  married  John  Ashford,  of  Kentucky,  September  12,  1833;  she  died 
in  Lyons,  Iowa,  December,  1893.  7.  Theodore,  born  July  26,  1817;  mar- 
ried Eunice  Stalnaker,  March  i,  1836,  and  died  in  Comanche,  Iowa. 
February  27,  1893,  leaving  one  son.  Burns.  8.  Rufus,  born  August  8, 
1819,  died  September  11,  1839,  at  Cordova,  Illinois,  unmarried.  9.  Ed- 
ward Grady,  born  September  i,  1822;  married  (first)  Sallie  Wilson,  at 
Clinton,  Iowa;  she  died  April  12,  1878;  he  married  (second)  Susan  E. 
(Booth)  Teachore,  January  15,  1882,  and  died  January  11,  1892,  at  his 
home  in  Comanche,  Iowa;  three  children.  Eli  Butcher  married  (second) 
Margaret,  daughter  of  Daniel  Hart,  who  was  son  of  John  Hart,  the  sing- 
er, April  18,  1825.  She  was  born  September,  1791,  and  died  November  3, 
1867,  at  Beverly,  West  Virginia.  By  this  marriage  he  had  four  children, 
one  of  whom  died  in  infancy:  the  surviving  children  were:  i.  Eli  Baxter, 
of  whom  further.  2.  Fountain,  born  October  21,  1827;  married  (first) 
Lee  Ann  Hamilton;  four  children;  married  (second)  Almira  Ruder; 
three  children;  died  February  i,  1893.  3.  Creed  W.,  born  February  6, 
1834;  married  Amanda  Daniels,  and  died  January  30.  1895,  leaving  nine 
children. 

(IV)  Eli  Baxter,  son  of  Eli  Butcher,  was  born  February  i,  1826, 
and  died  ]\Iarch  25,  1862.  He  became  a  merchant  and  took  charge  of  a 
store  near  Huttonsville,  when  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  for  his 
father,  and  about  the  time  he  was  married  bought  out  his  father  and  be- 
came a  very  prosperous  merchant,  and  a  popular  man  of  high  standing, 
being  frequently  called  to  serve  in  public  and  semi-public  positions.  The 
war  between  the  states  resulted  in  the  loss  of  his  store  and  a  large  amount 
of  property,  as  well  as  the  destruction  by  fire,  after  his  death,  of  his 
large  and  valuable  buildings,  including  his  dwelling  house,  store,  barns, 
etc.,  by  order  of  a  Federal  officer,  setting  the  widow  and  her  four  infant 
children  in  the  public  road. 

He  married,  October  28,  1852,  Elizabeth,  born  at  Huttonsville,  July 
23,  1836,  daughter  of  Moses  and  Mary  (Haigler)  Hutton  (see  Hutton 
III).  The  children  are  as  follows:  i.  Bernard  L..  of  whom  further.  2. 
Florence  May,  born   May  30,   1856,  at  Huttonsville ;  married  Jared  L. 


158  WEST  VIRGINIA 

\'N'amsley,  August  7,  1880,  son  of  Captain  Jacob  S.  and  Minerva  (Hamil- 
ton) Wamsley.  3.  Mary  Hart,  born  April  10,  1858,  at  Hnttonsville ;  mar- 
ried, May  13,  1879,  E.  D.  Wamsley,  son  of  Captain  Jacob  S.  and  Minerva 
(Hamilton)  Wamsley,  at  Beverly,  West  Virgima.  4.  Ida  Miller,  born 
July  19,  i860,  at  Huttonsville,  West  Virginia:  married,  October  9,  1888, 
at  Beverly,  John  C.  Arbogast,  son  of  Frank  and  Mary  (Beard)  Arbo- 
gast ;  they  have  eight  children,  and  reside  at  Asheville,  North  Carolina. 

(V)  The  Hon.  Bernard  L.  Butcher,  son  of  Eli  Baxter  Butcher,  was 
born  September  12,  1853,  near  Huttonsville,  Randolph  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia. He  was  reared  in  Randolph  county,  receiving  his  early  education 
in  the  Huttonsville  Academy  and  the  public  schools ;  and  then  attended 
the  Fairmont  State  Normal  School,  from  which  he  graduated  with  the 
class  of  1874.  During  his  continuance  in  the  Normal  School  and  for  a 
year  afterward,  he  studied  law  with  the  late  Judge  Alpheus  F.  Hay- 
mond,  of  Fairmont,  and  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  law  in  Randolph 
county  in  the  fall  of  1875.  and  has  been  in  active  practice  since  that  time. 
He  became  owner  and  editor  with  V.  B.  Trimble,  of  the  Randolph  Enter- 
prise in  1875-76. 

He  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  Randolph  county  in  the  fall 
of  1876,  and  served  the  term  of  four  years  acceptably  to  the  people  of 
that  county.  During  this  time  he  was  also  a  member  of  the  board  of 
regents  of  the  State  Normal  Schools,  being  appointed  in  1877  by  Gover- 
nor Henry  M.  Mathews.  His  interest  in  the  public  schools  and  the  State 
Normal  Schools  brought  him  to  the  attention  of  the  educational  leaders 
and  others,  and  he  was  nominated  and  elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket 
in  1880  for  state  superintendent  of  free  schools,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
seven,  and  served  the  term  of  four  years,  removing  from  his  home  at 
Beverly  to  Wheeling,  then  the  capital  of  the  state.  During  his  term  of 
office  important  progress  was  made  in  educational  development.  The 
Normal  Schools  were  re-established  in  public  favor  and  the  appropria- 
tions made  permanent  and  greatly  increased.  He  re-established  the 
ScJiool  Journal:  obtained  legislation  providing  for  the  education  of  col- 
ored teachers :  established  Arbor  Day  in  the  schools  of  the  state  in  1882, 
being  the  first  state  east  of  the  Mississippi :  and  did  many  things  to  make 
the  schools  of  the  state  more  uniform,  and  stimulated  the  eflforts  to  pro- 
vide better  houses  and  better  teachers.  His  term  of  office  was  aptly 
termed  a  "revival  of  education"  in  the  state. 

About  the  close  of  his  term  of  office,  or  early  in  1886,  he  was  ap- 
pointed permanent  secretary  of  the  Business  Men's  Development  .Asso- 
ciation of  the  State,  presided  over  by  the  late  United  States  Senator 
Johnson  N.  Camden ;  he  continued  in  that  position  for  some  time,  prepar- 
ing, printing  and  distributing  literature  in  relation  to  the  resources  of  the 
state  and  the  advantages  for  investors  and  those  seeking  homes  in  the 
state.  The  association  was  the  beginning  of  the  great  development, 
which  has  since  come,  of  the  natural  resources  of  the  state  of  West  Vir- 
ginia :  bringing  in  large  capital  for  investment  and  for  development,  es- 
pecially in  coal,  oil,  gas,  and  timber,  resulting  in  extensive  railroad  build- 
ing. Mr.  Butcher  was  actively  engaged  with  others  for  several  year.s 
during  the  succeeding  period,  until  about  1893,  in  the  purchase  of  large 
boundaries  of  timber  and  coal  lands,  having  removed  to  Beverly  from 
Wheeling  in  the  meantime. 

In  1892  he  was  elected  one  of  the  presidential  electors,  voting  for 
Grover  Cleveland  for  president.  The  following  year,  1893,  he  was  one 
of  the  jurors  in  the  Forestry  Department  of  the  World's  Fair  at  Chicago, 
and  spent  several  weeks  there,  during  the  fair,  assisting  in  advertising 
the  attractions  of  the  state.  He  moved  about  that  time  to  Fairmont, 
where  he  has  since  resided,  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law. 


WEST   VIRGIXIA  159 

He  has  always  been  actively  identified  with  the  ailvancenient  of  pub- 
lic education,  being  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Public  Library  for  many 
years ;  trustee  of  Davis  and  Elkins  College :  and  was  for  ten  years  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  regents  of  the  State  Colored  Institute,  near  Charles- 
ton, West  \'irginia,  which  has  grown  to  be  a  great  indu-trial  and  educa- 
tional institution  for  the  colored  race. 

In  1901  he  was  appointed  referee  in  bankruptcy  by  the  late  Judge 
John  J.  Jackson,  judge  of  the  United  States  district  court,  and  has  been 
reappointed  from  time  to  time  by  his  successor.  Judge  Alston  G.  Dayton. 
In  1906  he  was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  of  Marion  county  for  judge 
of  the  intermediate  court,  but  declined  the  nomination. 

He  was  active  in  the  organization  of  the  Marion  County  Law  Library 
and  the  ?vIarion  County  Historical  Society,  having  been  a  member  of  the 
State  Historical  Society  for  a  long  time.  He  has  been  for  many  years 
a  member  of  the  Pre.sbyterian  church,  in  which  he  is  an  elder ;  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  fraternity:  and  a  director  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association. 

Mr.  Butcher  has  been  an  active  Democrat  and  taken  a  prominent  part 
in  the  councils  of  his  party,  both  state  and  local,  and  has  a  wide  circle  of 
acquaintances  and  friends. 

He  married,  January  23.  1878.  Mary  Ellen,  born  September  7,  1856, 
in  Marion  county.  West  Virginia,  daughter  of  Daniel  H.  and  Hannah 
(Bunner)  Ayers.  They  were  married  at  her  home  in  Palatine,  now 
Fairmont,  Marion  county,  ^^"est  A'irginia.  They  had  four  children,  one 
dying  in  infancy:  i.  Willa  Hart,  born  October  8,  1878,  at  Beverly;  teach- 
er ;  married  John  L.  Lehman.  Esq..  of  Fairmont,  West  Virginia,  April 
23,  1909:  died  November  11.  191 1.  2.  Samuel  Hutton,  born  June  12, 
1881,  in  Fairmont:  attorney-at-law  :  married  Mary  Williams.  April,  191 1. 
3.  Birch  L.,  born  in  Wheeling,  June  23.  1883  :  civil  engineer ;  unmarried. 

(The    Hutton    Line). 

The  Hutton  family,  into  which  Eli  Baxter  Butcher  married,  is  of 
Welsh  origin  and  first  settled  near  Moorefield,  on  the  south  branch  of 
the  Potomac,  Virginia,  where  they  became  prominent  land-owners,  es- 
pecially Colonel  Moses  Hutton. 

(II)  Jonathan,  son  of  Colonel  Moses  Hutton,  and  grandfather  of 
Elizabeth  (Hutton)  Butcher,  was  born  in  the  South  Branch  Valley  of 
the  Potomac,  near  Moorefield,  June  3,  1769,  and  married  Mary  Trout- 
wine,  May,  1790:  soon  after  they  moved  west  to  the  Tygarts  Valley,  set- 
tling at  what  soon  became  Huttonsville.  in  Randolph  county.  He  became 
a  leading  man  of  that  county  and  a  large  landowner.  He  had  a  large 
family,  who  intermarried  with  the  leading  families  of  that  time  in  Ran- 
dolph county,  as  follows :  Elizabeth,  married  Andrew  Crouch :  Moses, 
of  whom  further:  Catherine,  married  Charles  C.  See;  John  A.,  married 
Dorothy  See ;  Abram,  married  Ann  Wilson ;  Mary,  married  Washington 
J.  Long. 

(III)  Moses  (2),  son  of  Jonathan  Hutton,  was  born  August  13, 
1795.  on  the  South  Branch.  He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Jacob  and 
Christina  (Harper)  Haigler.  They  had  a  large  family,  who  inter-mar- 
ried with  leading  families  of  that  region,  as  follows:  Alfred,  married 
Caroline  Ward :  Mary  Ann,  married  Thomas  B.  Scott ;  Elizabeth,  mar- 
ried Eli  B.  Butcher  (see  Butcher  IV)  ;  Colonel  Elihu,  married  Sophronia 
Woodford;  Eugenus,  who  was  a  Confederate  soldier,  killed  in  battle  near 
Winchester,  Virginia,  1864 :  Virginia,  married  Lee  M.  Ward :  Mozella, 
married  W.  Scott  Woodford. 


i6o  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Charles  Mabry  Wallace,  whu  has  since  1895  ranked  aa 
WALLACE     one  of  the  leading  jewelers  of  Huntington,  is  a  son  of 

New  England  who  has  found  a  profitable  and  congenial 
field  for  his  energies  and  talents  among  the  mountains  of  West  Virginia, 
and  has  identified  himself  with  the  leading  interests  of  his  home  city. 

(I)  Edmund  Wallace,  grandfather  of  Charles  Mabry  Wallace,  was 
born  in  Londonderry,  New  Hampshire,  where  his  father  had  settled  on 
emigrating  from  his  native  Scotland.  Edmund  Wallace  was  a  cooper  by 
trade,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  had  nearly  completed  three  score  and 
ten  years. 

(II)  George  E.,  son  of  Edmund  Wallace,  was  born  August  16,  1836, 
in  Castine,  Maine.  He  served  throughout  the  civil  war  in  Company  A, 
Twenty-sixth  Regiment  Maine  Volunteer  Infantry.  At  the  battle  of  Irish 
Bend,  Louisiana,  he  was  in  the  hottest  of  the  fight,  sustaining  injuries 
which  ultimately  caused  his  death.  He  married  Ellen,  daughter  of  Isaac 
Deering,  a  farmer  of  Waldo  county,  Maine,  and  a  lay  preacher  of  the 
Baptist  church,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight.  Mr.  Wallace,  in  his 
latter  years,  retired  from  business,  making  his  home  in  Los  Angeles, 
where  he  died  February  14,  1904.  Mrs.  Wallace,  now  seventy-seven 
years  old,  resides  with  her  son  in  Huntington.  Of  the  children  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wallace  but  two  lived  to  maturity  :  Charles  Mabry,  men- 
tioned below  ;  Mabel,  who  died  February  6,  1909,  in  Los  Angeles,  Cali- 
fornia, aged  forty  years. 

(III)  Charles  Mabry,  son  of  George  E.  and  Ellen  (Deering)  Wal- 
lace, was  born  July  i,  1864,  on  his  father's  farm,  in  Waldo  county,  Maine, 
and  was  nine  years  old  when  his  parents  moved  to  Belfast,  the  county 
seat.  It  was  there  that  the  boy  received  his  education.  After  leaving 
school  he  studied  law  for  one  year,  but  his  natural  bent  was  for  mercan- 
tile life,  and  his  father,  perceiving  this,  left  him  free  to  follow  his  inclina- 
tion. Accordingly,  he  served  an  apprenticeship  of  two  years  and  five 
months  with  a  jeweler  in  Belfast,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time,  being  then 
twenty-one  years  old,  he  set  out  to  seek  his  fortune.  He  went  first  to 
Richmond,  Maine,  and  then  to  Littleton,  New  Hampshire,  where  he 
spent  three  years  and  a  half.  He  next  migrated  to  Nashua,  New  Hamp- 
shire, remaining  two  years,  and  then  going  to  Whitefield,  in  the  same 
state,  and  living  there  three  years.  During  all  this  time  he  was  working 
as  a  journeyman,  acquiring  a  store  of  experience  which  was  to  stand  him 
in  good  stead  in  after  years.  On  April  i,  1895,  Mr.  Wallace  came  to 
Huntington,  and  opened  the  store  on  Third  avenue  which  he  has  ever 
since  conducted,  carrying  as  complete  a  line  as  can  be  found  in  the  city. 
In  Huntington  Mr.  Wallace  has  found  not  only  the  commercial  prosper- 
ity of  which  he  was  in  quest,  but  also  a  geniality  and  friendliness  which 
long  ago  assured  him  that  our  city  rejoiced  to  welcome  this  northern 
stranger  who  has  for  many  years  been  numbered  among  her  most 
esteemed  residents.  In  the  sphere  of  politics  Mr.  Wallace  is  identified 
with  the  Independent  Democrats.  He  affiliates  with  the  Masonic  bodies, 
including  the  Knights  Templar,  the  Scottish  Rite  Masons,  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Mystic  Shrine. 

Mr.  Wallace  married,  June  13,  1888,  in  Belfa.st,  Maine,  Mary  J.,  born 
June  25,  1866,  in  Waldo  county,  daughter  of  .A-llen  J.  and  Adelaide  Sim- 
mons. Mr.  Simmons  is  a  farmer  of  Waldo  county,  where  he  and  his  wife 
are  now  living.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wallace  are  the  parents  of  one  son  :  Frank 
Charles,  who  was  born  June  5,  1891,  attended  the  local  schools  and  Mar- 
shall College,  and  is  now  serving  an  apprenticeship  in  his  father's  store. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  i6i 

Few   residents  of  Huntington   are  more  closely  and  promi- 
FROST     nentl\-  identified  with  the  city's  most  vital  business  interests 

than  is  Ellis  Porter  Frost,  and  none,  it  may  be  safely  as- 
rcrted  without  fear  of  contradiction,  is  more  devoted  to  the  furtherance 
of  all  that  tends  to  promote  the  welfare  of  his  fellow  citizens. 

Nathan  Frost,  grandfather  of  Ellis  Porter  Frost,  was  a  native  of 
Scotland,  and  emigrated  to  Alaryland,  where  he  was  the  first  pioneer  of 
Allegany  county.  He  was  the  first  discoverer  of  coal  within  the  limits  of 
the  county,  finding  it  on  his  own  land.  He  was  one  of  the  leading  citi- 
zens of  that  region  in  his  day  and  generation,  and  the  town  of  Frostburg, 
now  celebrating  its  hundredth  anniversary,  was  named  in  his  honor. 

(II)  Mesach,  son  of  Nathan  Frost,  was  born  in  Frostburg,  Maryland, 
and  was  for  twenty-two  years  in  the  service  of  the  Adams  Express  Com- 
pany. He  married  Sidney  Snyder,  also  a  native  of  Frostburg,  daughter 
of  John  Stoyer,  who  attained  to  the  unsual  age  of  ninety-two,  and  grand- 
daughter, on  the  maternal  side,  of  John  Christian  Frederick  Heyer,  the 
first  American  missionary  to  India.  In  that  land  Mr.  Heyer  spent  all 
the  active  years  of  his  life,  devoting  his  wealth  to  the  cause  of  missions 
and  erecting  many  buildings  for  missionary  purposes.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Frost  were  the  parents  of  three  children  :  Ellis  Porter,  mentioned  below  ; 
Haidee,  died  in  September,  1900,  aged  twenty-two  years :  and  Hazel  Ann, 
born  April  15,  1884,  now  of  Clarksburg,  West  Virginia.  The  mother 
of  the  family  died  in  November,  1900,  aged  thirty-seven,  and  the  father 
passed  away  July  6,  1907,  at  the  age  of  fifty-two. 

(III)  Ellis  Porter,  son  of  Mesach  and  Sidney  Snyder  (Stoyer) 
Frost,  was  born  February  16,  1880,  in  Lonaconing,  Maryland,  and  at- 
tended the  schools  of  Baltimore  and  Huntington,  his  parents  having  re- 
sided in  both  these  cities.  They  came  to  Huntington  in  1891,  and  here, 
when  his  school  days  were  over,  Ellis  Porter  was  employed  for  five 
years,  in  a  clerical  capacity  by  the  Adams  Express  Company,  afterward 
serving  them  four  years  on  the  road.  He  then  went  to  Louisville.  Ken- 
tucky, where  for  nine  months  he  held  the  position  of  assistant  agent  for 
the  same  company,  going,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri, 
where,  for  a  brief  period,  he  was  cashier  for  the  company.  In  1902  he 
returned  to  Huntington  and  established  his  present  business  on  Third 
avenue,  steadily  prospering  until  December  31,  191 1,  when  his  building, 
with  its  entire  equipment,  was  destroyed  by  fire. 

Among  the  many  enterprises  and  interests  to  which  Mr.  Frost  devotes 
his  energies,  the  real  estate  business  holds  a  foremost  place,  and  he  is 
an  extensive  owner  of  undeveloped  property  in  Huntington.  He  is  treas- 
urer and  director  in  the  Home  Piuilding  &  Savings  Company  and  the 
Huntington  Development  &  Gas  Company,  secretary  and  part  owner  of 
the  Columbia  Gas  Stove  Company  and  a  stockholder  in  several  other  in- 
dustries, including  membership  in  the  firm  of  Thompson-Thornburg- 
Watts  &  Frost,  and  also  in  the  Hans-Watts  Realty  Company.  In  politics 
]\Ir.  Frost  is  a  Republican.  He  affiliates  with  the  i\Iasonic  fraternity  and 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

;\Ir.  Frost  married,  November  4,  1902,  in  Huntington,  Bertha  Lewis, 
a  native  of  that  city,  daughter  of  the  late  Charles  Robinson,  associated 
with  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Railroad,  and  ^Matilda  (McCreery)  Rob- 
inson, his  wife,  who  is  now  living  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frost  in  Hunting- 
ton. The  family  of  Mr.  and  l\Irs.  Frost  consists  of  three  children  :  Jack 
Pritchard,  born  August  16,  1903 :  Charles  Mesach,  born  February  IQ, 
1905  ;  and  Hazel  Anne,  born  April  16,  1909. 

With  the  qualities  of  a  progressive  and  sagacious  business  man  Mr. 
Frost  combines  those  of  a  truly  public-spirited  citizen  and  bv  his  en- 
terprising disposition,  clear  forethought  and  accurate  judgment,  has  im- 


i62  WEST  MRGIXIA 

])arted  an  impetus  to  the  entire  commercial  and  industrial  life  of  Hunt- 
ington, causing  his  success  to  minister  not  to  his  personal  prosperity  and 
well-being  alone,  but  to  advance  the  progress  and  hasten  the  improvement 
of  the  city  which  is  his  home  and  the  center  of  his  interests. 


No  business  man  of  Huntington  is  better  known  or  more 
VINSON     highly  esteemed  than  is  William  Sampson  Vinson,  proprie- 
tor of  the  Fountain  Drug  Store.     Mr.  Vinson  is  a  repre-  I 
sentative  of  a  family  which,  for  half  a  ceiuury,  has  taken  a  prominent  , 
part  in  the  afifairs  of  Cabell  county.  j 

(I)  William  \''inson,  grandfather  of  William  Sampson  Vinson,  was  I 
a  farmer  and  large  slaveholder  in  Tennessee,  but  lost  all  his  property  dur-  \ 
ing  the  war  between  the  states.  The  latter  years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  j 
Missouri  and  it  was  there  he  died.  ! 

(II)  Dr.  Bennett  Clay  \'inson,  son  of  William  Vinson,  was  born  in  ] 
Gallatin,  Tennessee.  He  was  educated  in  St.  Louis,  studying  for  the  i 
medical  profession.  After  practicing  for  a  few  years  in  that  city  he  I 
came,  during  the  war,  to  Milton,  West  \^irginia,  which  he  made  his  home  i 
for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  For  a  quarter  of  a  century  he  was  one  of  I 
the  best  known  physicians  of  Cabell  county,  and  also  took  a  leading  part  j 
in  local  politics,  serving  one  term  in  the  state  legislature  as  representative  j 
of  his  county,  having  been  elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket.  Dr.  Mnson  i 
married  Mary  Frances,  daughter  of  Captain  William  Simmons,  who  i 
came  as  a  boy  from  Baltimore  to  Guyandotte,  and  was  a  leading  cabinet  f 
maker  and  bridge-builder  of  Cabell  county.  The  family  have  now  in  | 
their  possession  specimens  of  his  superior  workmanship.  His  son,  Colo-  ' 
nel  Simmons,  was  well  known  throughout  the  county.  Children  born  to  j; 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Vinson :  i.  Grace  Clara,  wife  of  W.  O.  Walton,  of  Hunt-  f 
ington.  2.  William  Sampson,  of  whom  further.  3.  Frances  V.,  wife  of  !| 
W.  T.  Cooley,  of  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah.  4.  Bennett  Clay,  Jr.  5,  6  and  7.  ji 
Charles  C,  Lulu  Maud  and  James  A.,  are  deceased.  Dr.  Vinson  died  J: 
August  2,  1888,  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  forty-nine  years,  and  || 
his  widow,  now  seventy-two  years  old,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  vigorous  |i 
health,  resides  with  her  son,  William  Sampson  X'inson,  in  his  beautiful 
home  on  Fifth  avenue. 

(HI)  William  Sampson,  son  of  Dr.  Bennett  Clay  and  ;\Iary  Frances 
(Simmons)  Vinson,  was  born  February  16,  1870,  in  Milton,  Cabell  county. 
West  Virginia.  He  received  his  preparatory  education  in  the  local  schools, 
afterward  studying  at  Marshall  College  and  Dunsmore  College,  Staunton, 
Virginia.  Mr.  Vinson  began  his  business  career  as  a  clerk  in  Boggess'  drug- 
store, in  Huntington,  remaining  over  five  years  and  acquiring  that  thorough 
knowledge  of  all  branches  of  his  chosen  calling  which  has  constituted  the 
foundation  of  his  success.  In  1898  Mr.  Vinson  went  into  business  for  him- 
self, on  the  same  site  on  Ninth  street  which  he  has  ever  since  continuously 
occupied.  His  establishment  is  known  as  the  Fountain  Drug  Store  and 
Mr.  Vinson  from  the  beginning  has  been  the  sole  proprietor.  His  suc- 
cess, as  his  long  record  testifies,  has  consisted  not  in  material  profit  alone, 
but  in  the  building  up  of  an  enviable  reputation  for  integrity  and  fair 
dealing.  Mr.  Vinson  is  a  stockholder  in  a  number  of  business  organiza- 
tions of  this  city,  including  the  Sand  &  Gravel  Company.  He  is  also 
much  interested  in  real  estate,  being  part  owner  of  the  elegant  Vinson- 
Walton  Building,  and  of  a  large  amount  of  other  business  property.  He 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  West  Virginia  State  Pharmaceutical  As- 
sociation, serving  for  a  number  of  years  as  its  treasurer,  and  during  191 1 
holding  the  office  of  president.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  affiliates 
with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  is  a  member  of 


WEST  MRGIXIA  163 

the  Baptist  church.  To  the  traditions  of  professional  and  pohtical  dis- 
tinction which,  in  Cabell  county,  are  associated  with  the  name  of  \'inson, 
William  Sampson  \'inson  has  added  the  reputation  of  an  able  and  hon- 
orable business  man. 


The  progenitor  of  this  family  in  .\merica  was  William 
WALTON  Walton,  an  English  jeweler  and  diamond  setter,  who  was 
born  in  1832,  and  came  over  from  England  in  the  year 
1865,  with  his  wife  and  four  eldest"  children.  They  settled  in  Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania,  where  Mr.  Walton  followed  his  trade  and  ultimately  en- 
gaged in  business  for  himself,  becoming  so  successful  that  he  was  able 
to  retire  some  ten  years  prior  to  his  death.  He  was  one  of  Pittsburgh's 
most  prominent  and  influential  citizens,  becoming  a  tire  commissioner  and 
very  active  in  the  iire  department  of  that  city.  He  died  in  September, 
1898,  at  the  age  of  sixty-six  years,  while  on  a  visit  to  his  son,  W.  O. 
Walton,  in  Huntington,  West  Virginia.  Mr.  Walton  married  Martha 
Allen,  also  born  in  England,  and  now  living  in  her  eighty-second  year,  at 
the  family  residence  in  Pittsburgh.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Walton  were  the  par- 
ents of  six  children,  the  two  youngest  having  been  born  in  Pittsburgh  after 
the  family  had  removed  to  this  country.  These  children  are  as  follows : 
I.  Francis  Henry,  married  Josephine  McMasters:  four  children:  Thomas 
McMasters,  Francis  Richmond,  David,  Elsie.  2.  Mary,  married  Luther 
L.  Smith,  of  Chicago,  Illinois;  four  children:  Benjamin,  Richard,  Mark, 
Elizabeth.  3.  William  O.,  of  whom  further.  4.  Nellie,  married  Marshall 
L.  Jenkins,  deceased;  she  is  living  in  Pittsburgh  and  has  three  children; 
Marguerite,  Edith,  Walton.  5.  Martha,  married  George  K.  Anderson; 
two  children :  Marguerite  and  Helen.  6.  John,  who  died  in  Mexico ;  he 
was  at  one  time  deputy  sheriff  of  Cabell  county.  West  Virginia. 

(H)  William  O.,  son  of  William  and  Martha  (Allen)  Walton,  was 
born  in  England,  February  15,  1858.  He  came  to  America  with  his  par- 
ents when  he  was  seven  years  of  age,  and  resided  in  Pittsburgh.  His 
education  was  received  at  the  old  seventeenth  ward  school  house  in  that 
city,  and  at  the  Westminster  College,  .^fter  completing  his  studies  at 
the  college  he  became  connected  with  the  Lyons  Lumber  Company,  of 
Huntington,  West  A'irginia,  later  associating  himself  with  the  firm  of 
Lawrence,  Johnson  &  Company,  of  Philadelphia,  who  were  lumber  and 
timber  operators ;  he  remained  with  them  for  eighteen  years.  In  1900 
he  began  operating  in  timber  and  coal  lands,  not  only  in  West  Virginia, 
but  in  adjoining  states,  and  has  become  so  successful  that  it  now  requires 
all  of  his  time  to  look  after  his  various  interests.  He  has  become  con- 
nected with  many  of  the  varied  industries  of  Huntington  and  owns  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  real  estate,  erecting  in  the  year  1904  the  office  build- 
ing known  as  the  Walton  Building  on  Ninth  street  between  Fourth  and 
Fifth  Avenues.  Mr.  Walton  is  a  member  of  the  Republican  party,  and 
in  the  year  1896  was  a  candidate  for  sheriff  of  Cabell  county :  he  was 
elected  for  a  term  of  four  years,  being  the  first  Republican  sheriff  ever 
elected  in  that  county.  He  is  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason,  Knights 
Templar,  and  a  Shriner,  and  is  also  a  member  of  Blue  Lodge,  No.  390, 
McCandleless,   of   Pittsburgh,    Pennsylvania. 

Mr.  Walton  married.  May  22,  1883,  Clara  Grace  Vinson,  a  native  of 
Lincoln  township,  Benton  county.  Missouri,  daughter  of  Dr.  Bennett  Clay 
Vinson,  a  sketch  of  whom  appears  elsewhere  in  this  work.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Walton  have  eight  children,  as  follows :  Mary  Martha :  Grace  Maud,  mar- 
ried J.  Coleman  Alderson ;  WilHam  Bennett:  Ethel  Vinson,  married  Tunis 
Dils,  of  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  has  one  child,  Grace  Walton  Dils ; 
Lawrence  Johnson  ;  Daniel  Porter :  Vinson  Oliver :  William  O.,  Jr.  All 
of  the  children  were  born  in  Cabell  county,  West  Virginia. 


i64  WEST  MRGIXIA 

As  one  of  the  originator;  of  commission  government  in 
POLLOCK  practical  form  in  the  city  of  Huntington,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  original  "Big  Four,"  now  in  tenure,  Lester  \ 
Pollock  is  todaj'  commissioner  in  charge  of  street  and  wharves.  He  i-  a 
man  of  striking  personality,  eager,  energetic,  full  of  life,  and  appearuiL; 
much  younger  than  his  actiial  count  of  years.  In  his  services  to  the  city  -i 
Huntington  he  stands  pre-eminently  in  the  public  esteem. 

]\Ir.  Pollock  was  born  in  Cincinnati.  Ohio.  December.  1870.  and  of  the 
forty  odd  years  which  thus  stand  to  his  account  one  would  hardly  gi\e 
him' credit' for  more  than  twenty-five  upon  the  first  impression.  .After 
having  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Cincinnati,  he  im- 
mediately entered  business  life  in  the  employ  of  one  of  the  large  whole- 
sale shoe  stores  of  that  city,  and  has  made  his  own  way  in  the  world  ever 
since.  His  ability  was  manifest  at  once:  he  was  started  out  on  the  road 
with  a  trunk  full  of  samples  and  told  to  make  good,  which  he  did.  ami 
continued  to  do  straight  along  for  the  following  eight  years.  After  tint 
he  went  to  Pittsburgh  where  he  entered  the  steel  and  iron  business.  ■ 
hibiting  the  same  aptitude  there  that  had  helped  him  in  the  shoe  busin.  - 
When  he  had  mastered  the  details  of  the  new  business,  he  removed  • 
Huntington,  West  Mrginia.  where  he  erected  the  plant  of  the  West  \  ir- 
ginia  Rail  Alill.  one  of  the  largest  independent  concerns  of  the  kind  in  tlic 
L'nited  States,  in  which  he  still  holds  a  place  on  the  board  of  directorship  ; 
this  is  in  steady  operation  here  today,  employing  a  large  force  of  men. 

He  became  recognized  as  a  thoroughly  progressive  business  man  and 
prominent  in  Huntington  politics,  being  a  thorough  and  out-spoken  mem- 
ber of  the  Republican  party.  It  was  while  he  was  one  of  the  executive 
heads  of  the  \\'est  A'irginia  Rail  Company  that  he  first  entered  municipal 
politics,  and  three  years  ago  he  undertook  the  task  of  securing  a  commis- 
sionership,  pro^^ng  eminently  successful  not  only  in  the  attainment  of  the 
ofiSce,  but  in  the  wisdom  with  which  he  has  administered  its  duties.  He 
has  exhibited  no  partisanship,  but  has  demanded  an  impartial  distribution 
of  public  offices,  and  has  shown  himself  to  be  fair-minded  and  progressive 
in  civic  attairs  in  the  best  sense  of  the  words.  He  is  a  strong  believer  in 
public  improvements,  and  has  advocated  the  excellent  plans  of  paving 
and  sewer  improvements  which  have  been  put  into  effect  by  the  commis- 
sion. He  has  also  given  his  aid  to  the  cause  of  regulating  public  ser- 
vice corporations,  and  to  the  developing  of  a  better  understanding  be- 
tween them  and  the  city. 

During  the  period  he  served  on  the  board  of  commissioners,  the  ex- 
penses of  the  department  of  health  and  the  poor  had  been  cut  in  half, 
though  he  has  never  failed  to  help  the  absolutely  needy,  and  improve- 
ments and  the  expenditures  in  streets  and  wharves  have  proven  the  same. 
His  method  of  picking  out  really  worthy  cases  is  unique ;  when  one  of 
the  apparently  poor  applies  for  help,  the  applicant  is  offered  a  good  posi- 
tion at  the  West  \'irginia  Rail  Mill,  paying  well  but  requiring  hard  work. 
In  this  way  the  fraudulent  seekers  of  public  benefactions  are  eliminated, 
as  only  about  one-half  of  one  per  cent,  report  for  duty.  Mr.  Pollock  ad- 
heres to  the  principles  of  his  political  party  with  the  same  tenacity  that 
marks  his  adheience  to  business  of  every  kind  in  which  he  engages:  be- 
fore his  appointment  to  the  commissionership  he  had  been  made  chair- 
man of  the  Republican  county  executive  committee.  He  has  proved  him- 
self in  every  way  an  able  public  official,  a  good  citizen,  and  a  loyal  friend. 
Mr.  Pollock  is  a  member  of  Huntington  Lodge,  Xo.  113,  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks,  also  L'nited  Commercial  Travellers.  Royal 
Arcanum,  Independent  Order  of  Red  Men  and  Ancient  Order  of  L'nited 
Workmen. 


//  J'f/(/      Uf(C(.) 


WEST  MRGIXIA  165 

Mr.  Pollock  married,  Alarch  12,  1905,  Rosa  B.  Eiseman ;  one  child, 
Anyce.  Mr.  Pollock  and  wife  are  members  of  the  Jewish  Congregation 
of  Huntington,  and  he  is  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Temple. 


In  the  death  of  Virgil  A.  Lewis,  which  occurred  at  his  home 
LEWIS  in  Mason  City  on  December  5,  1912,  West  Virginia  lost 
one  of  her  most  useful  citizens,  and  a  most  prominent  liter- 
ary character.  Besides  his  work  as  an  author,  he  had  filled  many  posi- 
tion,^ of  honor  and  trust,  and  for  the  last  seven  years  had  rendered  most 
efficient  service  to  the  state,  and  in  fact  to  the  entire  upper  Ohio  Valley 
as  stace  historian  and  archivist  of  West  Virginia.  As  thus  intimated,  his 
work  was  net  limited  to  his  own  state,  because  he  kept  in  active  touch 
with  all  the  material  and  historical  development  of  the  territory  known 
as  the  Trans-Alleghany  region. 

Born  in  Mason  county,  Virginia  (now  West  Virginia)  in  1848,  his 
early  opportunities  for  securing  an  education  were  limited.  That  was 
before  there  was  a  regular  system  of  free  schools,  and  even  the  pri- 
vate schools  were  limited  and  not  very  numerous.  However,  young 
Lewis,  eager  for  gaining  knowledge,  attended  such  schools  as  he  could 
reach  in  his  own  community,  and  when  but  a  lad  crossed  the  river  daily 
to  school  in  Ohio  for  quite  a  length  of  time,  sometimes  amidst  the  dan- 
ger of  drift  and  floating  ice.  At  an  early  age  he  found  employment  in 
a  printing  office  and  became  quite  proficient  in  this  line  of  work,  but  he 
said  that  the  inspiration  he  received  to  become  an  editor  and  author  was 
an  incentive  for  all  his  future  efforts.  Even  in  more  mature  manhood 
he  was  denied  the  privilege  of  a  full  college  education,  but  he  applied 
himself  sc  faithfully  and  diligently  to  every  task  he  undertook,  that  it 
may  be  said  that  he  was  an  educated  man  in  the  true  sense  of  the  term. 

Having  determined  to  pursue  a  literary  career,  it  was  very  natural 
that  the  ambitious  young  man  should  become  a  teacher,  and  he  entered 
upon  this  work  when  only  seventeen  years  of  age,  meanwhile  continuing 
his  historical  investigations  and  gathering  material  for  what  has  since 
become  recognized  as  the  standard  school  history  of  West  Virginia.  In 
1892  he  founded  the  Southern  Historical  Magazine  at  Charleston,  and  from 
1893-1897  was  the  editor  and  publisher  of  the  West  Virginia  School  Jour- 
nal, this  being  the  period  during  which  time  he  served  as  state  superin- 
tendent of  schools  of  West  \"irginia,  having  been  elected  to  that  position 
for  the  full  term  of  four  years  in  the  fall  of  1892.  While  occupying  this 
important  educational  position,  Mr.  Lewis  labored  earnestly  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  schools  of  the  state,  and  decided  advancement  was 
made  under  his  administration.  He  issued  a  Manual  containing  a  course 
of  study  for  the  public  schools,  which  became  the  basis  for  the  present  ex- 
cellent course  outlined  by  the  state  board  of  education.  As  one  of  the 
five  elective  officers  of  the  state  at  that  time,  he  was  a  member  of  the 
board  of  public  works,  and  represented  the  board  in  many  important  in- 
terests, once  at  a  great  industrial  congress  at  Asheville,  North  Carolina. 
He  was  also  a  member  and  secretary  of  the  West  Virginia  Commission 
to  the  Jamestown  Exposition  in  1907. 

Although  regularly  admitted  to  the  bar,  Mr.  Lewis  never  gave  much 
attention  to  the  practice  of  law,  preferring  what  was  to  him  the  more 
pleasant  fields  of  literary  endeavor,  and  historical  investigation.  In  1890 
he  organized  the  West  Virginia  Historical  and  Antiquarian  Society,  and 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Southern  Education  .Association,  the  National 
Geographic  Society,  the  Ohio  \"alley  and  the  Mississippi  historical  socie- 
ties, the  National  Historical  Society,  and  other  historical  and  educational 
organizations  of  this  character. 


i66  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Recognizing  the  value  of  books  as  educational  tools  to  be  used  in  the 
school  room,  Mr.  Lewis  devoted  a  good  deal  of  time  to  the  writing  of 
volumes  which  contain  much  valuable  historical  material  which  otherwise 
might  have  been  lost,  and  which  have  found  a  place  not  only  in  the  li- 
braries of  our  own  state,  but  on  the  shelves  of  historical  societies  all  over 
the  country.  In  1889  he  issued  a  "History  of  West  Virginia";  in  1891, 
the  "Life  and  Times  of  Anne  Bailey,  the  Pioneer  Heroine  of  the  Great 
Kanawha  Valley"  ;  in  1896  a  graded  course  of  study  for  the  country  and 
village  schools;  in  1903  the  story  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase;  in  1904, 
"Early  Educators  of  West  \'irginia" ;  in  1905,  "Civil  Government  of 
West  Virginia";  and  in  1909,  "History  of  the  Battle  of  Point  Pleasant," 
and  other  pamphlets  and  sketches  of  great  historic  value,  many  of  them 
being  addresses  delivered  on  notable  occasions  in  various  parts  of  the 
.state.  Mr.  Lewis  was  a  popular  institute  instructor,  and  when  among  a 
body  of  teachers  always  emphasized  the  necessity  of  the  study  of  local 
history  as  the  foundation  of  one's  historic  knowledge. 

On  October  31,  1886,  Mr.  Lewis  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Stone, 
who  with  three  children,  two  daughters  and  a  son,  survives  him.  He  was 
interested  in  the  leading  fraternal  bodies,  being  a  Mason,  a  Knight  Tem- 
plar, and  a  member  of  the  Lodge  of  Perfection  of  the  Scottish  Rite,  a 
member  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  and  a  past  grand  chancellor 
of  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  was  recently  elected  to  his  second  term  of 
six  years  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
Orphans'  Home,  of  which  body  he  was  chairman. 

From  the  date  of  the  admission  of  West  Virginia  into  the  Union  in 
1863,  there  had  been  accumulating  at  the  capital,  first  at  Wheeling,  then 
at  Charleston,  a  mass  of  material  of  great  historic  value.  Some  of  this 
bad  been  secured  from  the  Mother  State  at  Richmond,  other  from  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  new  state,  but  there  was  but  little  classification,  and 
these  valuable  records  were  not  properly  cared  for.  For  a  time  this  ma- 
terial was  under  the  control  of  the  West  Virginia  Historical  and  Anti- 
quarian Society,  and  occupied  an  upper  room  at  the  capitol  building  at 
Charleston  where  a  good  number  of  volumes  of  various  kinds  were  col- 
lected, and  also  where  some  of  the  best  of  the  state's  exhibits  that  were 
returned  from  the  Centennial  at  Philadelphia  in  1876,  from  Chicago  in 
1893,  and  from  St.  Louis  in  1904,  were  stored  in  a  somewhat  promiscuous 
manner.  Finally  it  became  apparent  that  if  this  material  were  to  be  pre- 
served and  made  usable,  some  provision  must  be  made  for  it,  and  now  the 
historic  insight  of  Virgil  A.  Lewis  manifested  itself  in  a  very  definite 
manner.  In  1905  he  prepared  a  bill  providing  for  the  creation  of  a  De- 
partment of  Archives  and  History,  which  should  be  located  on  the  third 
floor  of  the  Capitol  Annex,  which  was  then  nearing  completion,  and 
should  be  in  charge  of  a  competent  custodian,  who  was  to  be  known  as 
state  historian  and  archivist.  The  legislature  adopted  this  measure,  and 
the  law  went  into  effect  in  May,  1905,  and  not  long  afterwards  the  gov- 
ernor appointed  Mr.  Lewis  to  this  important  position.  This  appointment 
was  all  the  more  appreciated  by  Mr.  Lewis,  and  also  by  the  general  imb- 
lic,  because  his  political  affiliations  dififered  from  those  of  Governor  \\'il- 
liam  M.  O.  Dawson,  who  selected  him.  However,  the  appointment  was 
approved  all  over  the  state,  and  Mr.  Lewis  entered  upon  his  duties  with 
the  cordial  support  of  all  who  had  any  interest  in  preserving  our  history, 
and  some  of  the  evidences  of  our  material  progress,  .\lthough  the  appro- 
priation for  the  installation  of  the  new  department  was  somewhat  limited, 
Mr.  Lewis  set  to  work  in  earnest,  and  the  transformation  he  made  in  a 
short  time  was  indeed  remarkable.  The  books  were  classified,  the  ex- 
hibits properly  arranged,  portraits  and  historic  paintings  were  secured 
and  put  into  position  on  the  walls  and  elsewhere,  and  the  entire  floor, 


WEST  VIRGINIA  167 

with  an  area  of  over  six  thousand  square  feet,  tilled  with  a  collection  that 
is  very  creditable  to  a  state  no  older  than  is  West  \irginia.  Here  for 
nearly  eight  years  ]\Ir.  Lewis  worked  early  and  late,  even  to  the  injury  to 
his  health,  in  arranging  and  systematizing  the  accumulation  of  fifty  years 
of  historic  material.  Visitors  from  other  states  are  amazed  at  what  he 
accomplished  in  so  short  a  time,  and  have  congratulated  the  state  upon 
having  an  archivist  so  capable  and  efficient.  His  work  was  truly  monu- 
mental, and  this  department  will  stand  throughout  the  years  to  come  as 
a  memorial  to  one  of  the  most  faithful,  energetic,  and  broad-minded  citi- 
zens who  ever  lived  in  the  commonwealth. 

Speaking  at  the  grave  of  Mr.  Lewis,  Hon.  Stuart  F.  Reed.  Secretary 
of  State,  and  a  lifelong  friend  of  the  deceased,  said  : 

".At  the  bier  of  our  loved  ones  philosophy  falters  and  the  priests  and  sages  of 
earth  are  dumb.  This  would  indeed  be  sad!  But  I  rejoice  that  another  thinker  has 
suggested  that  above  the  tomb  Hope  catches  the  gleam  of  a  star,  and  listening  Love 
hears  the  rustle  of  a  wing.  My  friend  had  traversed  many  of  the  mutations  of  time. 
He  was  approaching  the  sacred  seventies,  bringing  with  him  into  this  rushing  hurly- 
burly,  materialistic  age.  the  rare  graces  and  sweet  mannerisms  of  the  old-time  gentle- 
man. 

"While  his  memory  will  live  in  the  literature  enriched  by  his  tireless  pen  and  his 
name  be  perpetuated  in  the  volumes  that  find  a  resting  place  in  many  libraries 
throughout  our  land,  the  most  precious  will  be  the  memorials  enshrined  in  the  hearts 
of  those  who  knew  hiiri — the  recollection  of  his  grateful  and  generous  impulses.  To 
do  for  him  the  slightest  favor  and  be  rewarded  with  his  expression  of  unreserved 
gratitude  and  good  will  was  enough  to  fill  one's  soul  with  an  almost  inexpressible 
delight.    He  is  gone — 

"  '.A  celestial  hand  has  beckoned  him. 
Another  call  been  given. 
And  glows  once  more  with  angel  steps 
The  path  that  reaches  Heaven.'  " 


The  Emmons  family  of  this  city  trace  their  ancestry 
EMMONS  back  to  Major  Asa  Emmons,  a  native  of  Connecticut, 
born  in  1773,  dying  about  1824.  He  was  engaged  to  a 
large  extent  in  the  lumber  business,  also  owning  several  woolen  mills  and 
saw  mills  in  New  York,  where  he  removed  when  a  young  man.  He  be- 
came prominently  connected  with  New  York  politics,  and  served  as  major 
of  the  state  militia.  About  1804  he  married  Eunice  Prentice,  and  they 
had  five  children,  among  whom  was  Carlton,  of  whom  further. 

dl)  Carlton,  second  son  of  IVlajor  Asa  and  Eunice  (Prentice)  Em- 
mons, was  born  in  Otsego  county.  New  York,  in  1806.  He  spent  his  life 
on  a  farm,  dying  in  possession  of  a  six  hundred  acre  tract  of  land  which 
his  son  preserved  just  as  his  parents  left  it,  having  all  work  continued  upon 
it  during  his  lifetime.  ]\Ir.  Emmons  acted  as  town  supervisor  of  Oneonta 
New  York,  for  a  number  of  years,  and  was  recognized  as  a  most  worthy 
and  patriotic  citizen.  He  died  in  1880.  In  1827  he  married  ]Maria  Fair- 
child,  who  died  in  1875,  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven  years.  Their  children 
were :  Delos  White,  of  whom  further ;  and  Roxy  A.,  married  T.  T.  Alden, 
now  deceased. 

(Ill)  Delos  A\'hite.  son  of  Carlton  and  Maria  (Fairchild)  Emmons, 
was  born  at  Oneonta.  Otsego  county.  New  York.  December  17,  1828.  He 
left  college  when  he  was  about  nineteen  years  of  age  and  spent  the  next 
several  years  on  his  father's  farm.  When  about  twenty-two  years  old  he 
entered  mercantile  business  at  Aldenville,  Pennsylvania,  continuing  thus 
for  four  years.  He  subsequently  removed  to  Herkimer  county.  New 
York,  locating  on  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Emmonsburg.  which 
was  named  after  him.  Here  he  bought  a  tannery,  which  for  thirteen 
years  he  conducted  in  connection  with  other  New  York  parties.     In   1870 


i68  WEST  VIRGINIA 

he  came  to  West  Virginia,  and  became  associated  with  the  late  Colhs  P. 
Huntington  in  the  building  of  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  railroad,  acting  as 
construction  agent  for  the  western  extension  of  the  road  from  White 
Sulphur  Springs  to  the  Ohio  river,  and  as  agent  for  a  syndicate  of  New 
York  capitalists.  He  selected  the  site  and  was  the  founder  of  the  pres- 
ent city  of  Huntington,  buying  twenty  farms  in  Cabell  county,  consisting 
of  about  five  thousand  acres.  A  year  later  the  capitalists  organized  them- 
selves into  the  Central  Land  Company  of  West  Virginia,  and  Mr.  Em- 
mons was  elected  general  superintendent.  He  retained  this  position  for 
eighteen  years,  resigning  in  1888.  During  the  period  of  Mr.  Emmons' 
residence  in  Huntington,  which  lasted  for  the  remainder  of  his  life,  he 
was  prominently  identified  with  its  material  prosperity  and  was  deeply 
interested  in  its  progress  and  various  activities.  He  was  a  director  in 
the  First  National  Bank,  the  Bank  of  Huntington,  the  Electric  Light  & 
Street  Railroad  Company,  and  the  Ensign  Manufacturing  Company.  He 
was  president  of  the  Fitzgerald  Prepared  Plaster  Company,  and  helped 
to  organize  the  Huntington  Illuminating  &  Fuel  Gas  Company.  He  was 
also  one  of  the  first  councilmen  of  his  adopted  city.  Mr.  Emmons  was 
very  prominent  in  Masonic  circles,  and  was  a  thirty-third  degree  Mason. 
He  was  raised  to  the  degree  of  Master  Mason  in  Little  Falls  Lodge,  No. 
181,  in  Little  Falls,  New  York;  and  to  that  of  Royal  Arch  Mason  in 
Guyandotte  Chapter,  No.  10,  Guyandotte,  West  Virginia.  On  August  9, 
1886,  he  was  created  Knight  Templar  and  Knight  of  Malta,  in  Hunting- 
ton Commandery,  No.  9,  Huntington,  West  Virginia ;  and  in  May  1887, 
he  was  elected  eminent  grand  treasurer  of  the  Grand  Commandery.  His 
death  occurred  on  April  19,  1905.  In  1851,  Mr.  Emmons  married  Mary 
J.,  daughter  of  William  Stoddard,  of  West  Cornwall,  Connecticut.  They 
"had  five  children:  Arthur  S. :  Collis  H. ;  Carlton  D.,  of  whom  further; 
L  Alden,  and  Elizabeth  S. 

(IV)  Carlton  D.,  son  of  Delos  White  and  Mary  J.  (Stoddard)  Em- 
mons, was  born  at  Oneonta,  New  York,  in  the  year  1858.  He  came  to 
Huntington  in  1870,  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years,  and  attended  what  is 
now  Marshall  College  for  four  years.  He  then  went  to  a  literary  in- 
stitute in  New  York  state.  Upon  reaching  maturity  he  entered  the  office 
of  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  railroad  at  Huntington,  remaining  there  for 
six  years.  He  then  purchased  an  interest  in  the  firm  of  C.  F.  Parsons  & 
Son,  dealers  in  hardware,  which  firm  later  became  known  as  Parsons  & 
Emmons ;  the  style  was  subsequently  changed  to  Emmons  &  Marr, 
and  still  later  became  known  as  Emmons,  Hawkins  &  Company.  In 
1899  the  business  was  finally  incorporated  under  the  firm  name  of  the 
Emmons-Hawkins  Hardware  Company,  doing  the  same  business  and  at 
the  same  offices.  Since  this  time  the  company  has  greatly  prospered  and 
handles  a  large  and  ever  increasing  trade,  all  of  the  members  of  the  firm 
being  progressive  and  public  spirited  men.  Mr.  Emmons  is  a  Democrat 
in  his  political  opinions,  and  he  and  his  family  are  attendants  of  the 
Episcopal  church.  He  is  a  very  popular  man  socially,  being  a  member  of 
the  Guyandotte  Club,  and  prominent  as  a  Mason  and  Shriner,  also  belong- 
ing to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  the  Order  of  Elks. 

His  wife  was  Minnie  Gibson,  born  in  Westfield,  Chautauqua  county, 
New  York.  They  have  four  children,  all  born  in  Himtington :  i.  Bessie 
married  C.  M.  Gohen.  2.  Delos  C,  a  graduate  of  West  Point,  and  a 
lieutenant  in  the  Ignited  States  armv.     3.  Marian.     4.  Howard. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  169 

The  Graham  family  was  founded  in  America  by   Hum- 

GRAHAM     phrey  Graham,  born  in  Scotland  or  the  north  of  Ireland, 

where  he  grew  to  maturity,  and  whence  he  immigrated 

to  America  in  the  colonial  epoch  of  our  national  history.     He  settled  on 

a  farm  in  Pennsylvania  and  there  resided  during  the  remainder  of  his 

life.     He  married,  and  among  his  children  was  John,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  John,  son  of  Humphrey  Graham,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in 
the  eighteenth  century.  Pie  was  a  farmer  by  occupation,  and  prominent 
in  the  public  affairs  of  his  home  community.  He  married  Elizabeth 
Buchannan,  and  they  were  both  devout  members  of  the  Presbyterian 
church.  Children  :  jNIary  ;  Jane  ;  Frank  ;  James  ;  William  T.,  of  whom 
further. 

(III)  William  T.,  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Buchannan)  Graham, 
was  born  in  Mercer  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1825,  died  in  1891.  He 
was  a  contractor  and  builder,  and  decidedly  successful  in  all  his  business 
enterprises.  His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Lucy  A.  Rodgers,  was 
born  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1830,  daughter  of  John  and 
Lucy  Ann  Rodgers,  her  father  being  a  son  of  James  Rodgers,  and  her 
mother  a  daughter  of  John  Allison.  James  Rodgers  and  John  Allison 
were  both  gallant  soldiers  in  the  war  of  the  revolution.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
William  T.  Graham  were  married  in  1849.  They  were  both  devout  com- 
municants of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church.  Mrs.  Graham  died  in 
1895.  Children:  Hiram  R. ;  Elizabeth  J.:  William  B. ;  Gertrude  D, ; 
John  T.,  of  whom  further. 

(IV)  John  T.  (christened  Jonathan  T. ),  son  of  William  T.  and  Lucy 
.A..  (Rodgers)  Graham,  was  born  at  Oil  City,  \'enango  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, December  11,  1865.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
his  native  place  and  also  received  instniction  in  the  normal  schools  and 
under  private  tutors.  In  early  manhood  he  decided  upon  law  as  his  life 
work  and  accordingly  began  the  study  of  that  profession  in  the  law- 
office  of  H.  C.  Graham,  in  Oil  City,  Venango  county.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  Pennsylvania  state  bar  in  Venango  county  in  1891,  and  immedi- 
ately thereafter  located  in  Wayne  county.  West  Virginia,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  the  general  practice  of  law  until  1900.  He  then  came  to 
Huntington,  where  he  has  since  resided  and  where  he  controlled  a  large 
and  lucrative  law  practice  up  to  1912,  when  he  was  elected  judge  of  the 
sixth  judicial  circuit.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  In  1894  he  was 
elected  to  fill  the  office  of  prosecuting  attorney  of  Wayne  county,  that 
office  having  been  vacated  by  the  death  of  the  former  incumbent.  Mr. 
Graham  has  gained  success  and  prestige  through  his  own  endeavors,  and 
thus  the  more  honor  is  due  him  for  his  earnest  labors  in  his  exact'- 
profession  and  for  the  precedence  he  has  gained  in  hi';  chosen  vocation. 
^W.  Graham  i?  financiallv  interested  in  the  .^merican  Bank  &  Trust  Com- 
pany and  the  American  National  Bank  at  Huntington,  in  both  of  which 
important  institutions  he  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors.  He 
^vns  at  one  time  president  of  the  former  concern,  but  withdrew  from 
that  office  in  TO08.  In  a  fraternal  way  he  is  a  valued  and  appreciative 
member  of  the  time-honored  ]\Tasonic  order  and  of  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks.  While  not  formally  connected  with  any  re- 
lieious  organization.  Mr.  Graham  attends  and  gives  his  support  to  the 
I\Tethodist  Episcopal  church,  of  which  his  wife  and  son  arc  most  zealous 
members. 

In  1895,  ^'^^-  Hraham  married  ]\Tarv  L.  Chapman,  born  in  Kentucky, 
daughter  of  the  Inte  Rev.  John  R.  Chapman.  Mr.  and  TMrs.  Graham 
have  one  son :  William  Carl,  born  at  Huntington,  West  '\''irginia.  Febni- 
arv  6.  T90T. 


I/O  WEST  MRGIXIA 

The  surname  Love  is  derived,  according  to  the  best  authority 
LO\'E  on  British  surnames,  not  from  love,  but  from  the  word  loup 
(wolf),  and  appears  in  the  Hundred  Rolls,  evidently  having 
been  a  surname  from  about  A.  D.  1200.  From  Loupell  is  derived  Lovell 
in  a  similar  way.  A  very  ancient  Love  coat-of-arms  is  described:  Azure 
a  lion  rampant  argent.  Crest :  A  hand  holding  an  annulet  proper.  Vari- 
ous other  coats-of-arms  of  the  Love  family  are  described  by  Burke. 
The  principal  seats  of  this  family  in  England  are  at  Basing.  Hampshire ; 
Norton  and  Goadhurst,  Hampshire  and  O.xfordshire :  Sevenoaks,  county 
Kent ;  Kirksted,  county  Norfolk,  and  at  Agnow,  county  Northampton. 

The  first  American  immigrant  of  the  name  was  in  Boston  in  1633, 
but  he  appears  to  have  left  soon.  It  is  not  kiiown  whether  he  went  back 
to  England  or  not,  but  there  is  evidence  that  he  left  descendants  in  Bos- 
ton. Thomas  Love,  of  Boston,  married,  September  23,  1752,  Hannah 
Thurston.  John  Love,  of  Boston,  died  in  1714;  another  John  Love  died 
there  in  1756,  and  a  ]\Iargaret  Love  in  1759.  Wichie  Love  died  in  Bos- 
ton in  1724,  and  his  son,  Oilliam  Richie,  of  Ritchie,  had  a  guardian  ap- 
pointed in  1730  and  died  in  1758.  Robert  Love,  of  Boston,  died  in  1777. 
Hezekiah  Love,  of  Taunton,  was  a  juror  in  the  county  court  at  Plymouth 
in  1650,  but  no  descendants  are  known. 

Before  the  revolution  two  of  the  Boston  Love  family  moved  to  Meck- 
lenburg county,  A'irginia.  The  date  is  given  in  some  records  as  1674.  If 
this  date  is  correct  they  were  probably  sons  of  the  first  settler,  but  possibly 
grandsons.    The  names  are  not  known,  however. 

(II)  Charles  Love,  a  descendant  of  the  Boston  Love  family,  was 
born  in  Mecklenburg  county,  Mrginia,  probably  as  early  as  1750.  He 
married  Susan  Chiles,  of  Childs.  With  his  two  sons,  William  and  Daniel 
and  three  daughters,  he  removed  to  Kanawha  county,  Mrginia,  now  in 
West  A'irginia,  in  1805.  In  1814  he  and  his  two  sons  removed  to  Mud 
River  valley,  where  they  settled  and  lived  the  remainder  of  their  lives. 
Children  of  Charles  and  Susan  Love:  Mrs.  Rolfe,  Mrs.  Burton.  Mrs. 
Hampton,  Mrs.  Shortridge,  Charles,  .^llen.  \\'illiam.  mentioned  below; 
Daniel,  married  Cynthia  Anna  Chadwick. 

(III)  William,  son  of  Charles  Love,  was  born  in  Mecklenburg  coun- 
ty, Virginia,  December  30,  1781.  He  married,  June  16.  1803,  Susan  E. 
Brame,  born  in  Alecklenburg  county,  March  2,  1785.  Children:  i.  Mar- 
tha A.,  born  May  24,  1804,  died  May  18,  1845,  in  Iowa:  married,  March 
19,  1822,  Luke  W.  Bilkips.  2.  Elizabeth  L.,  born  January  2,  1806:  mar- 
ried, November  10,  1825,  Martha  Ellison.  3.  Charles  T..  born  .\pril  26, 
1807.  died  May  18,  1854:  married,  February  23,  1841,  Lucretia  Jane 
Creath.  4.  May  I.,  born  October  18,  1808,  died  February  4,  1896,  in  Illi- 
nois; married,  March  18,  1828,  Albert  Eastham.  5.  William  A.,  men- 
tioned below.  6.  Elisha.  born  December  22,  181 1,  died  May  9,  1847: 
married,  October  27,  1831,  B.  A\'.  Maupin.  7.  Sophia  P.,  born  October 
16,  1813.  died  in  Huntington,  West  \'irginia,  March  9,  1895;  married, 
December  22,  1836,  Edmund  C.  Rece.  8.  Lewis  L.,  born  July  25,  1815; 
married,  August  9,  1838,  Emily  Eastham.  g.  Allen,  born  March  17,  1817, 
died  June  3,  1849,  unmarried.    Three  others  died  in  infancy. 

(iV)  William  A.,  son  of  WiUiam  Love,  was  born  April  28,  1810,  in 
A'irginia.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools,  and  followed  farm- 
ing all  his  life  in  Putnam  county,  Mrginia.  He  married  (first)  Alay  30, 
1832,  Eliza  Morris,  wdio  died  February  3,  1838,  daughter  of  John  Mor- 
ris: he  married  (second)  .\ugust  8,  1839,  [Margaret  Handley :  marrie<l 
(third)  December  6,  1842,  Elizabeth  Shelton.  Children  by  first  wife:  i. 
Peter  E..  mentioned  below,  2.  John  W.,  a  soldier  in  the  federal  army, 
killed  in  the  civil  war.  Child  by  second  wife:  3.  ^Margaret,  married 
Charles   Shoemaker.     Children  by  third  wife:  4.   Susan  Virginia,   mar- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  171 

ried  Samuel  Moore.  5.  Eliza,  married  John  O.  Morris.  6.  Charles,  died 
in  infancy.  7.  Daughter,  died  in  infancy.  8.  Daughter,  died  in  infancy. 
9.  Nancy,  married  Bales  Kade.  10.  Minnie,  married  Samuel  Moore,  he 
being  the  husband  of  her  deceased  sister,  Susan  V.  11.  Marietta,  married 
P.  B.  Reynolds. 

(V)  Peter  E.,  son  of  William  A.  Love,  was  born  in  Cabell  county, 
Virginia,  now  in  West  \'irginia,  June  13,  1833.  He  was  a  farmer  in 
Cabell  county  during  his  active  life.  Died  November  28,  1912,  aged 
seventy-nine  years,  in  Huntington,  West  Virginia.  He  married  Ann  A. 
Simmons,  born  near  Milton,  West  Virginia,  died  December  18,  1910, 
aged  seventy-seven  years,  daughter  of  William  Simmons.  Children, 
born  in  Cabell  county,  West  Virginia:  i.  Charles  A.,  married  Edith 
Beniall.  2.  John  W.,  married  Kate  Jackson.  3.  Cornwalsy,  married 
Mamie  Dundass.  4.  James  S.,  (deceased)  ;  married  Agnes  Sedinger.  5. 
Thomas  L.,  deceased;  married  Catherine  Heriford.  6.  L.  Lewis,  M.  D., 
married  (first)  Anna  Love;  (second)  a  Aliss  Underwood.  7.  Allen  \'., 
married  Lillian  Tozier.  8.  Henry  Edward,  mentioned  below.  9.  Mollie 
E.,  married  W.  G.  Williams.     10.  Annie  E.,  married  S.  E.  Reynolds. 

(VI)  Henry  Edward,  son  of  Peter  E.  Love,  was  born  near  Bar- 
boursville,  Cabell  county.  West  Virginia,  December  19,  1870.  Lie  re- 
received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  and  afterward  attended 
Barboursville  College.  After  following  fanning  for  a  number  of  years, 
he  was  for  a  time  a  general  merchant  at  Barboursville.  In  1902  he  came 
to  Hunington  and  engaged  in  the  livery  stable  business  for  about  five  years. 
He  sold  out  to  devote  all  his  attention  to  the  automobile  business  and 
since  then  he  has  had  a  large  and  flourishing  trade.  In  1905  he  built 
his  present  garage,  the  first  in  Huntington.  He  is  a  dealer  in  all  kinds 
of  automobiles  and  conducts  a  general  automobile  business.  He  is  one 
of  the  prominent  merchants  of  the  town.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  of  Huntington.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  and  his 
family  attend  the  Baptist  church.  Mr.  Love  married,  October  23,  1893, 
Minnie  F.  McCommas.  born  near  Barboursville,  Cabell  county.  West 
Virginia,  daughter  of  Jefiferson  McCommas.  Children,  born  in  Cabell 
county:     Paul  E.,  Amelia  A.,  Mildred  Bess.  Milton  H. 


The  Fitch  family  is  of  very  old  English  stock.  The  name 
FITCH  was  spelled  Fytche,  Ffytche,  Fytch,  Ffytch,  Ffitch  and  in 
various  other  ways  in  the  early  records.  The  German  names 
Fichts,  Ficht  and  Fecht  are  presumably  of  the  same  origin.  One  branch 
of  the  English  family  is  traced  to  John  Fitch  whose  son  William  was  Vw- 
ing  at  Fitch  Castle,  parish  Waddington,  in  the  northwest  part  of  county 
Essex  in  the  year  1294.  Various  branches  in  England  bore  coats-of- 
arms.  At  Hudsell,  county  Essex,  and  Eltham  andMt.  Maseal,  county 
Kent,  the  Fitch  family  bears :  \^ert  a  chevron  between  three  leopards' 
heads  or.  Crest :  .\  leopard's  head  cabossed  or  in  the  mouth  a  sword 
proper  hilt  gules. 

At  Windham,  Walter,  county  Essex,  the  family  bears  the  same  arms 
with  a  bordure  gules  and  this  crest :  A  leopard  passant  proper  sustain- 
ing an  escutcheon  vert  charged  with  a  leopard's  head  or.  Another  crest : 
Two  swords  in  saltire  gules  enfiled  with  a  leopard's  head  or.  .^t  Rams- 
den,  county  Essex :     Same  arms  with  bordure  bezantee. 

.'\n  old  armorial  of  the  family :  Vert  a  chevron  between  three  leop- 
ards' faces  or.  Crest :  A  leopard's  face  or  pierced  with  a  sword  in  bend 
sinister  proper  and  pomel  of  the  first.  The  family  at  Thnrpe  Hall, 
countv   Lincoln,   a  branch   of  the   famih-   of  Danbui-\-   Place  and   W'noi]- 


172  WEST  VIRGINIA 

lawn,  Walter,  county  Essex,  bears  same  arms  as  the  preceding.  Crest: 
A  leopard  passant  proper,  holding  an  escutcheon  vert  charged  with  a 
leopard's  face  or.     Motto :  Spcs  jurat. 

Several  of  the  name  came  early  to  New  England.  Thomas  Fitch  was 
of  the  Fitch  family  of  Essex,  mentioned  above,  and  inherited  an  estate 
at  Braintree  in  that  county.  He  married,  August  8,  1611,  Annie  Pew 
or  Pugh,  and  after  he  died  she  came  to  America  where  two  sons  were 
already  located.  Children:  Thomas,  settled  at  Norwalk,  Connecticut, 
one  of  the  wealthiest  citizens,  from  whom  in  three  generations  each  bear- 
ing the  name  of  Thomas,  descended  Governor  Thomas  Fitch  (governor 
1754-60)  ;  Joseph,  settled  in  Norwalk,  Northampton,  Massachusetts,  and 
Hartford  and  Windsor,  Connecticut;  James,  born  December  24,  1622, 
at  Bocking,  county  Essex,  England,  pastor  of  the  church  at  Saybrook 
and   Norwich,   Connecticut. 

Many  other  Fitch  families,  among  them  the  branch  for  which  the 
city  of  Fitchburg,  Massachusetts,  was  named,  are  descended  from 
Zachary  Fitch,  who  came  to  Lynn,  Massachusetts,  in  1633,  ^^i^  later 
settled  at  South  Reading  in  that  colony ;  was  deacon  of  the  church  in 
1645;  selectman.  Sons:  Benjamin,  Joseph,  Samuel,  Jeremiah,  Thomas, 
John. 

According  to  family  tradition  tlie  Kentucky  family  of  Fitch  is  de- 
scended from  the  Connecticut  or  Massachusetts  pioneers  mentioned  above. 
We  are  able  to  locate  the  family  first  in  North  Carolina  in  the  Orange 
district  of  Orange  county.  In  1790  the  first  federal  census  shows  just 
two  Fitch  families  in  the  state,  the  heads  of  which  were  Thomas  and 
^^'illiam. 

(I)  James  Fitch,  son  of  ^^'illiam  or  Thomas  Fitch,  of  Orange  county. 
North  Carolina,  was  one  of  the  Kentucky  pioneers. 

(II)  Benjamin,  son  of  James  Fitch,  was  born  in  Kentucky,  where  he 
lived  and  died.  During  his  active  life  he  was  a  farmer.  He  married 
Olive  Eurris,  also  a  native  of  Kentucky.  They  had  nine  children :  John 
L. ;  Lace:  Lemuel  G.,  mentioned  below;  Martha;  Rev.  Joseph,  presiding 
elder  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  for  many  years  in  Kentucky : 
Malinda:  ]\Iary ;  Nancy;  Elizabeth. 

(III)  Lemuel  G.,  son  of  Benjamin  Fitch,  was  born  in  Kentucky,  and 
is  still  living  in  Columbus,  Ohio,  a  retired  farmer.  He  married  Anna 
Trumbo,  born  at  Bath  county,  Kentucky,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Mary 
Thompson  (Northcott)  Trumbo.  They  had  three  children:  i.  Marvin 
Dulaney,  M.  D..  a  physician  in  Columbus,  Ohio;  married  Blanche  Bunn, 
of  Columbus,  and  has  one  child,  Gertrude  Elizabeth.  2.  Sallie  Trumbo, 
married  ^lax  Owens,  now  living  in  Portsmouth,  Ohio,  and  had  one  child, 
Emma  Helen  Owens.     3.  Dr.  Frederick  A.,  mentioned  below. 

(IV)  Dr.  Frederick  A.  Fitch,  son  of  Lemuel  G.  Fitch,  was  born  in 
Kentucky,  September  8,  1872.  He  received  his  early  education  at  the 
Kentucky  Wesleyan  Academy  at  Winchester,  Kentucky.  He  was  a  med- 
ical student  at  the  George  Washington  University,  Washington,  D.  C, 
and  afterward  an  interne  at  the  Emergency  Hospital,  Washington,  D.  C. 
In  January,  1907,  he  began  to  practice  at  Huntington.  West  Virginia,  as 
a  physician  and  surgeon,  and  he  has  continued  with  flattering  success  to 
the  present  time.  In  191 1  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Cabell  County 
Medical  Society  and  his  service  in  that  office  increasing  the  membership 
and  in  administering  its  affairs  was  so  satisfactory  that  he  was  given  the 
unusual  honor  of  a  re-election  in  1912.  He  is  secretary  of  the  Hunting- 
ton General  Hospital,  state  medical  examiner  of  the  general  office  of  the 
Royal  Arcanum,  member  of  the  American  Medical  Association.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  Cabell  Council,  Royal  .Arcanum,  of  which  he  has  been 
regent,  and  of  Huntington  Lodge,  No.   113,  Benevolent  and  Protective 


WEST  NIRGINIA 


[75 


Order  of  Elks.  Before  he  entered  upon  his  profession  he  worked  for 
four  3'ears  as  a  mail  clerk  on  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  railroad,  and  while 
he  was  a  student  in  Washington  he  was  employed  in  the  Bureau  of  En- 
graving and  Printing,  office  of  the  custodian  of  the  dies,  rolls  and  pla'tes 
used  in  printing  money.     In  politics  he  is  an  independent  Republican. 

Dr.  Fitch  married,  November  27,  1895,  Bessie,  daughter  of  ex-Con- 
gressman Samuel  J.  and  Mary  (Thomas)  Pugh,  granddaughter  of  Judge 
G.  M.  Thomas,  who  was  also  a  congressman  from  Kentucky  and  a  solici- 
tor of  the  internal  revenue  department  during  the  administration  of  Pres- 
ident McKinley.  He  was  appointed  by  President  Garfield  United  States 
District  Attorney  without  solicitation.  Mrs.  Fitch  is  a  member  of  the 
Christian  church.  Children:  i.  Anita  Morton,  born  in  Kentucky,  Octo 
ber  22,  1897.  2.  Mary  Anola,  born  in  Kentucky,  August  5,  1899.  3. 
Frederick  Arthur  Jr.,  born  at  Washington,  D.  C,  July  27,  1906.  4. 
Genevieve  Pugh,  born  at  Huntington,  \A'est  Virginia,  March  11,  1908. 


Davis  Levi  Barlow,  of  Huntington,  president  of  the  Ohio 
BARLOW  Valley  Printing  and  Stationery  Company,  has  been  for 
many  years  prominently  identified  with  the  educational 
and  financial  interests  of  West  Virginia,  and  has  also  served  his  com- 
munity in  the  arena  of  politics.  Mr.  Barlow  comes  of  old  pioneer  stock, 
his  ancestors  having  been  for  a  century  and  a  half  resident  in  Virginia. 

(I)  Alexander  Barlow  came  from  England  and  settled  in  Bath  coun- 
ty, Virginia.  During  the  revolutionary  war  he  enlisted  in  the  Continental 
army  and  was  never  heard  of  after  the  battle  of  Brandywine,  this  fact 
giving  rise  to  the  opinion  that  he  was  one  of  those  who  fell  in  that! 
famous  engagement.  Alexander  Barlow  married,  in  England,  Barbara 
Rowse,  who  accompanied  him  to  this  country  and  shared  the  vicissitudes 
of  his  lot. 

(H)  John,  only  son  of  Alexander  and  Barbara  (Rowse)  Barlow,  was 
born  in  Bath  county,  Virginia.  He  removed,  when  a  young  man,  to  Poca- 
hontas county,  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  purchased 
of  Thomas  Brock  a  piece  of  land  on  Red  Lick  mountain,  which  he  paid 
for  in  venison  at  fifty  cents  a  saddle.  There  the  pioneer  founded  a  home 
for  himself  and  his  descendants.  He  married,  in  1806,  Martha  Waddell. 
Their  sons  were :  William,  Alexander,  James,  John,  Nathan,  Josiah, 
Henry,  mentioned  below,  Amos,  George,  Andrew.  Their  daughters  were : 
Elizabeth,  who  became  the  wife  of  the  late  William  Baxter;  Miriam,  who 
became  Mrs.  Samuel  Auldridge ;  Mary  Ann,  who  married  James  Auld- 
ridge ;  Ellen,  who  died  at  the  age  of  four  years ;  and  an  unnamed  daugh- 
ter who  died  in  infancy.  John  Barlow,  the  father,  died  in  1866,  on  the 
homestead,  leaving  to  his  children  not  worldly  possessions  alone,  but  the 
richer  legacy  of  an  unstained  name. 

(HI)  Henry,  the  seventh  son  of  John  and  Martha  f Waddell)  Bar- 
low, was  born  February  21,  1827,  on  the  homestead.  For  forty  years 
he  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Barlow  &  Moore,  at  Edray,  West 
Virginia.  This  house  is  still  in  existence,  the  name  remaining  unchanged. 
While  carrying  on  merchantile  business  Mr.  Barlow  operated  largely  as 
a  farmer  and  grazier,  ablv  and  industriously  assisted  by  his  sons.  Long 
before  a  bank  was  considered  feasible  for  Pocohontas  county  he  vir- 
tually performed  the  services  of  a  banker,  and  when  banks  were  at  last 
organized  he  was  among  the  first  directors.  He  was  an  enthusiast  in  the 
cause  of  public  schools  and  served  for  years  on  the  Edray  board  of 
education.  For  a  long  period  he  was  an  interested  visitor  of  the  Teach- 
ers' Institutes  for  Pocahontas  county,  and  would  make  humorously  char- 
actertistic  remarks  when  speaking  of  his  services  as  a  "Member  of  the 


174  WEST  \'IRGINIA 

Board  of  Ignorance."  Mr.  Barlow  was  for  more  than  half  a  century  a 
devoted  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  exercising  at  the 
same  time  the  greatest  liberality  of  sentiment  and  action  toward  those 
of  other  denominations.  Those  who  knew  him  intimately  say  that  dur- 
ing his  whole  religious  life  he  was  never  known  to  refuse  aid  to  any 
Christian  church  in  his  neighborhood.  It  has  also  been  said  of  him 
that  "he  was  a  man  who  always  desired  peace,  and  because  he  many 
times  aided  in  making  peace  between  others  he  was  often  called  a  peace- 
maker." 

Mr.  Barlow  married  (first).  January  30,  1855,  Rachel  Cameron,  born 
June  2,  1836,  daughter  of  Elliot  Hickman,  of  Bath  county,  Virginia,  and 
their  children  were :  Rachel  and  Evaline,  who  died  in  childhood ;  Alice, 
who  married  George  K.  Gay,  of  Buckhannon,  West  Virginia;  and  John 
Elliot,  a  merchant  of  Edray.  Mrs.  Barlow  died  in  1861,  and  Mr.  Barlow 
married  (secondj  September  22,  1862,  Nancy  Jane  Matilda,  born  Au- 
gust 19,  1841,  in  Pochahontas  county,  daughter  of  William  and  Matilda 
Cassell.  By  this  marriage  Mr.  Barlow  became  the  father  of  the  fol- 
lowing children :  Cammie ;  Amos  Neal ;  William  Anderson  ;  Regina 
Ruth,  who  married  James  N.  White,  of  Bridgewater,  Mrginia ;  Davis 
Levi,  mentioned  below ;  Page  Dameron,  a  practising  physician  of  Wheel- 
ing, West  Virginia ;  Asa  Clark ;  Effie  Florence,  who  married  Joel  E. 
Peck;  Albert  Wickline,  died  at  the  age  of  five  years;  and  an  unnamed 
daughter  who  died  in  infancy.  The  mother  of  these  children  died  June 
20,  1906.  The  death  of  Mr.  Barlow  occurred  February  19,  1909,  two 
days  before  the  completion  of  his  eighty-second  year.  One  who  knew 
him  well  wrote  of  him:  "His  life  was  pure.  He  spoke  no  evil  word  of 
any  one ;  always  gentle,  unobtrusive,  kind  and  gracious,  a  gentleman 
without  a  blemish." 

(IV)  Davis  Levi,  son  of  Henry  and  Nancy  Jane  Matilda  (Cassell) 
Barlow,  was  born  February  16,  1869,  on  the  old  Barlow  homestead  in 
Pocahontas  county.  West  Virginia.  He  received  his  early  education 
in  the  common  schools  of  the  neighborhood,  afterward  attending  the 
normal  school  at  Athens,  West  \'irginia,  and  graduating  in  1891.  He 
was  then  for  twelve  years  a  teacher  in  the  schools  of  his  native  county, 
and  during  the  latter  half  of  this  period  held  the  office  of  county  super- 
intendent of  schools.  After  ceasing  to  act  as  an  instructor  he  was  for 
a  short  time  engaged  in  farming  and  lumbering,  and  still  maintains  in- 
terests along  both  these  lines.  He  is  the  owner  of  the  old  Barlow  home- 
stead where  his  father  and  grandfather  died  and  where  the  former  was 
born,  and  is  deeply  attached  to  his  ancestral  acres,  desiring  that  they 
should  always  remain  in  the  possession  of  the  family.  In  the  autumn 
of  1910  l\Ir.  Barlow  came  to  Huntington,  and  in  January.  191 1,  he  estab- 
lished his  present  business  on  Ninth  street,  having  a  fine  store  with  the 
most  complete  and  modern  equipment,  the  printing  department  being  in 
the  basement.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Huntington  Banking  and  Trust 
Company,  and  when  he  first  came  to  Huntington  was  extensively  inter- 
ested in  real  estate,  now  holding  considerable  property  throughout  the 
city.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Order  of  Owls,  a  fraternal  insurance  or- 
ganization. Like  his  father,  Mr.  Barlow  is  an  adherent  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  in  1907  represented  Pocahontas  county  in  the  house  of 
representatives  of  West  Virginia,  being  also  elected  for  the  special  ses- 
sion of  1908.  Mr.  Barlow's  record  as  an  enlightened  instructor,  an  able 
business  man  and  a  wise  legislator  is  in  all  respects  in  accord  with  the 
traditions  of  an  honorable  ancestry. 

Mr.  Barlow  married,  June  t8,  1895,  in  Pocahontas  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia. Lula  F.,  born  in  that  county,  December  ti,  1872,  daughter  of  A.  T. 


/x/a^'iS   c\,  AiPfiWcvyT: 


WEST  \'IRGINIA  175 

and  jMary  C.  (Gayj  Moore.  Airs.  Moore  died  in  June,  H)0(<,  aged  si.xty- 
two,  and  her  husband  is  now  Hving  on  his  farm  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
eight.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barlow  have  no  children. 


This  family  name  was  originally  Rees  and  was  brought  to 
RECE     America  by  David  Rees.  born  about   1689  and  coming   from 

Montgomeryshire,  Wales,  near  the  English  border,  prior  to 
1733.  The  earliest  deed  of  which  there  is  any  record  found  of  David 
Rees  as  a  land  owner,  bears  date  of  August  10,  1733,  when  he  bought  one 
hundred  acres  in  Alston's  branch  in  Little  Creek  Hundred,  Delaware. 
He  is  known  to  have  lived  in  Kent  county,  as  did  some  of  his  sons.  He 
figured  in  several  land  transactions,  the  last  date  being  February  26, 
1752,  when  he  deeded  to  his  son  John,  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  and 
a  half  acres.  His  purchase  amounted  to  eight  hundred  and  ten  and  a 
half  acres  of  which  over  half  were  conveyed  to  sons  Thomas  and  John. 
He  died  between  the  year  1752,  the  date  of  his  last  conveyance,  and  Feb- 
ruary 15,  1755,  when  his  widow  Mary  Rees  released  her  dower  rights  to 
sons,  Thomas  and  John.  Children:  W^illiam,  Jeremiah,  Thomas,  John, 
who  were  young  men  at  the  time  of  the  family  emigration.  The  presump- 
tion is  strong  that  the  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania,  family  was  founded 
by  a  great-grandson  of  David  Rees,  the  Welsh  emigrant.  The  name  is 
found  in  Pennsylvania  spelled  Rees,  Reese  and  Rece ;  the  latter  a  more 
recent  form,  none  of  the  earliest  family  using  that  form.  The  earliest 
record  of  this  branch  is  of  Allen  Rece,  of  the  fourth  generation. 

(IV)  Allen  Rece  was  born  in  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania,  1759,  died 
1837.  He  was  a  wagoner  in  the  continental  army  and  his  wife  drew  a 
pension  until  her  death.  He  settled  at  Bradford,  Pennsylvania.  He  mar- 
ried, in  1780,  Mary  Clymer,  born  in  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania,  1763, 
died  1858.  Children:  Joseph,  born  1782,  married  Mary  Harmon;  Abia, 
of  whom  further:  Sarah,  born  1798,  married  Nathan  Everett.  In  1791, 
accompanied  by  wife  and  two  sons,  Allen  Rece  migrated  to  the  Kanawha 
Valley,  \''irginia,  where  his  only  daughter  Sarah,  was  born  in  Teays  Val- 
ley, where  he  settled  in  1797.  In  1803  he  moved  on  a  farm  three  and  a 
half  miles  from  Barboursville  in  Cabell  county,  now  West  \''irginia, 
where  he  died  as  did  his  eldest  son  Joseph. 

(V)  Abia,  second  son  of  Allen  Rece,  was  born  in  Bradford,  Pennsyl- 
vania, February  15,  1784,  died  near  Alilton,  West  \"irginia,  1878.  He  fol- 
lowed the  family  removals  in  X'irginia  until  manhood,  then  spent  his  lat- 
ter years  on  his  farm  near  Milton.  He  married  Elizabeth  Harmon,  sister 
of  the  wife  of  his  brother.  Joseph  Rece.  She  was  born  1785,  died  Febru- 
ary, 186 1.  Children:  i.  Joseph,  died  in  infancy.  2.  Edmund  C,  of  whom 
further.  3.  Harvey,  born  November,  181 1:  married  Rebecca  Snodgrass. 
4.  John  M.,  born  October  16,  1813:  married  (first)  Lucretia  A.  Love, 
who  died  1847;  married  (second)  Miriam  Shelton,  a  sister  of  the  third 
wife  of  William  A.  Love.  5.  George  W.,  born  1816,  died  in  1901  ;  mar- 
ked Virginia  Jordan,  who  died  in  1903.  6.  John  C,  born  1819.  7.  War- 
ren P.,  born  1824:  married  (first)  in  1846.  Martha  Simmon,  who  died  in 
1848:  married  (second)  Elizabeth  Handley;  married  (third)  Melvina 
Bonham.  who  survives  him.  8.  Joseph  .A.,  born  1827,  died  in  April, 
1903  :  married  Ann  Wheeler,  who  survives  him.  Two  other  children  died 
in  infancy. 

(VI)  Edmund  C,  second  son  of  Abia  and  Elizabeth  (Harmon)  Rece, 
was  born  November  28,  1810,  died  near  Milton,  W'est  \'irginia,  July  16, 
1885.  He  learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  which  he  follewed  all  his  life. 
He  married.  December  22,  1836,  Sophia  P.  Love,  born  October  16,  1813, 
died  at  Huntington,  West  Virginia,  Alarch  9,  1895.     Children:  i.  Charles 


ijO  WEST  N'IRGIXIA 

A.,  of  whom  further.  2.  Eugenia  H.,  born  1841,  died  1844.  3.  Alice  L., 
born  May  24,  1845 ;  married  James  A.  Rece,  her  second  cousin ;  chil- 
dren:  Clarence,  born  1876,  died  July,  1901 ;  Susan,  born  1878,  unmar- 
ried; Virginia,  born  1881,  married  Lewis  Mason.  4.  T.  Heber,  born 
May  6,  1847,  died  May  30,  1887 ;  he  served  in  the  Confederate  army  as 
a  private  in  Company  D  Eighth  Regiment,  Virginia  Cavalry ;  he  married 
Edna  E.  iMorris ;  children:  William  L.,  born  December,  1871,  married 
Norma  Keenan  ;  Edmond  C,  born  1873,  married  Kathlyn  Ellis  and  has 
Ellis  H.,  born  June  25,  1900,  and  A.  Louisa,  born  1903 ;  Ellen,  born  1878, 
married  W.  W.  Stevens ;  John  C,  born  1880,  married  Mary  Giddings, 
of  Missouri,  and  has  Helen;  Clyde,  born  1882,  died  1887;  Lena  Mary, 
born  1884,  unmarried;  Ashby  S.,  born  1876.  5.  Edgar,  born  1850,  died 
in  childhood.  6.  William  A.,  born  1853,  died  in  infancy.  7.  Virginia  S., 
born  July  9,  i860,  married  William  T.  Gitt,  who  died  in  1908. 

(VII)  Charles  A.,  eldest  son  of  Edmund  C.  and  Sophia  P.  (Love) 
Rece,  was  bom  October  27,  1837.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  (now)  Cabell  county,  West  Virginia,  and  learned  the  carpenter's 
trade  under  the  instruction  of  his  father,  with  whom  he  worked  until 
the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war.  When  Virginia  seceded  from  the  Union 
he  followed  her  fortunes,  enlisted  in  1862  in  Company  D,  Eighth  Regi- 
ment Virginia  Cavalry,  and  served  until  the  surrender  at  Appomattox, 
although  at  that  time  he  was  a  paroled  prisoner  with  exchange  papers 
in  his  possession.  He  enlisted  as  a  private  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  first 
lieutenant.  He  surrendered  at  Christenburg,  Virginia,  and  then  soon 
afterward  located  in  the  state  of  Kentucky,  where  he  engaged  in  the  mill- 
ing business.  In  1870  he  moved  to  Missouri  where  he  worked  at  carpen- 
tering and  farming.  In  1890  he  came  to  Huntington,  West  Virginia, 
where  he  has  since  lived,  engaged  in  building.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  Order  and  of  the  Society  of  Confederate  Veterans.  He  is  a 
Democrat  in  politics,  and  in  religious  faith  a  Baptist.  He  married  Mary 
J.  Pulley,  born  in  Kentucky,  May  8,   1841,  died  March  5,   1910,  without 


The  Tooley  family  is  an  old  and  honored  one  in  Virginia 
TOOLEY     and  West  Virginia.     The  original  progenitor  of  the  name 

in  America  came  here  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  dur- 
ing the  long  intervening  years  to  the  present  time,  in  1913,  the  successive 
generations  have  been  most  successfully  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits, 
and  several  representatives  of  the  name  have  achieved  honor  and  distinc- 
tion in  the  various  learned  professions. 

(II)  Charles  (2),  son  of  Charles  (i)  Tooley,  was  born  in  Virginia. 
He  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  received  his  educational  training  in  the 
schools  of  the  locality  and  period.  As  a  young  man  he  settled  in  what  is 
now  Lincoln  county.  West  Virginia,  there  engaging  in  farming  opera- 
tions during  the  remainder  of  his  lifetime.  He  married  Bettie  Mitchell, 
likewise  a  native  of  Virginia,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  twelve 
children,  whose  names  are  here  entered  in  their  respective  order  of  birth : 
Nancy,  James,  George  W..  Samuel.  Millie  Ann,  Elizabeth,  Sallie,  Oba- 
diah,  (Tharles,  mentioned  below ;  Polly,   John  and  Mandv  Jane. 

(III)  Charles  (3),  son  of  Charles  (2)  and  Bettie  (Mitchell)  Tooley, 
was  born  in  Cabell  county,  Virginia,  November  13,  1839,  and  died  in 
Wayne  county,  West  Virginia,  July  22,  1898.  He  was  engaged  in  farm- 
ing operations  during  the  entire  period  of  his  active  career  and  achieved 
unusual  success  as  an  agriculturist  and  stock-raiser.  He  married  (first) 
Martha  Massie.  horn  in  Lawrence  county,  Ohio,  in  1844,  a  daughter  of 
Moses  and  Rebecca  (Dillon)  Massie;  she  died  in  Wayne  county.  West 
Virginia.     He  married    (second)    Melissa  Hay.   who  was  born   in   Vir- 


WEST  \"IRGIN1A  177 

ginia,  and  who  is  now  living  in  the  slate  of  Washington.  Children:  Dr. 
George  Washington,  mentioned  below ;  Moses,  deceased ;  Laura ;  Oba- 
diah;  Squire;  Aiasten  M.  Squire;  William,  deceased;  Mary,  deceased; 
James;  Benjamin;  Henry;  Ida;  and  two  other  children  who  died  in  in- 
fancy. 

(IV'j  Dr.  George  Washington  Tooley,  son  of  Charles  {^)  and  Mar- 
tha (Massie)  Tooley,  was  born  in  Cabell  county,  \irginia,  now  West 
Virginia,  September  8,  1859.  He  passed  his  boyhood  and  youth  on  the  old 
home  farm,  in  the  work  and  management  of  which  he  early  began  to 
assist  his  father.  His  preliminary  educational  discipline  was  obtained 
in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  place  and  this  training  was  later  sup- 
plemented by  a  course  of  study  in  the  Eclectic  College,  at  Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin,  in  the  medical  department  of  which  excellent  institution  he 
was  graduated  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1896,  duly  receiving  the  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  Subsequently  he  took  a  post-graduate 
course  in  the  Kentucky  School  of  Aledicine,  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  in 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1900. 

Dr.  Tooley  initiated  the  active  practice  of  his  profession  first  at 
Tooley,  and  then  at  Queens  Ridge  and  later  at  Dingess,  West  Vir- 
ginia. He  was  appointed  in  1896  assistant  surgeon  for  the  Norfolk  & 
Western  Railroad  Company,  and  he  served  in  that  capacity  with  the  ut- 
most efficiency  for  three  years  and  eight  months.  In  1903  he  went  to 
Logan  county  and  for  the  ensuing  two  years  practised  at  Logan  Court 
House.  On  January  i,  1905,  he  came  to  Huntington,  West  Virginia, 
where  he  has  since  maintained  his  home  and  where  he  controls  a  large 
and  lucrative  patronage.  In  connection  with  the  work  of  his  profession 
Dr.  Tooley  is  a  valued  and  appreciative  member  of  the  Cabell  County 
Medical  Society,  the  West  Virginia  State  Medical  Society  and  the  Amer- 
ican Medical  Association.  He  is  a  stalwart  Democrat  in  politics  and  while 
a  resident  of  Mingo  county  was  chairman  of  the  Democratic  executive 
committee  of  the  county  from  1898  to  1900.  He  was  also  president  of 
the  Mingo  county  board  of  health  for  two  years. 

In  a  fraternal  way  Dr.  Tooley  is  affiliated  with  a  number  of  important 
organizations  in  his  home  state.  He  is  connected  with  Dunlow  Lodge, 
No.  141,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  which  he  has  passed  all 
the  official  chairs  and  is  past  grand.  In  1898  he  joined  the  Encampment 
of  the  Odd  Fellows  at  Wayne  Court  House,  and  in  1910  he  was  admit- 
ted to  Huntington  Encampment,  No.  47.  On  November  13,  1894,  he 
became  a  member  of  Pearl  Castle.  No.  19,  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle, 
of  Dingess,  West  Virginia,  and  in  the  following  year  he  was  made  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  that  organization,  being  elected 
grand  high  priest  of  the  state.  In  1896  he  was  elected  grand  chief  of  the 
state  of  West  Virginia  in  the  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle.  In  1901  he 
represented  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Golden  Eagle  of  West  Virginia  in 
the  Supreme  Lodge  which  met  at  Youngstown,  Ohio,  that  year.  He  was 
again  elected  in  1905  in  the  city  of  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia,  as  grand 
chief  of  the  state,  and  in  1906  he  became  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Law,  which  latter  position  he  still  retains.  He  is  affiliated  with  the  Wood- 
men of  the  \\'orld,  being  a  member  of  Reese  Camp.  No.  66.  of  Hunting- 
ton :  and  in  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  he  is  a  member 
of  Huntington  Lodge.  No.  313.  He  is  likewise  connected  with  Hunting- 
ton Lodge,  No.  347.  Loyal  Order  of  Moose,  of  which  he  is  secretary. 

Dr.  Tooley  has  married  three  times.  On  February  21.  1877  he  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Virginia  Copley,  a  daughter  of  Josiah  and  SalHe 
(Marcum)  Copley,  and  a  native  of  Wayne  county.  West  Virginia.  By 
this  union  there  were  three  children,  whose  names  are  here  entered  in 
their  respective  order  of  birth :     Charles,  William  Thomas  and  John,  the 


178  WEST  \'IRGINIA 

last  mentioned  having  died  February  22,  1902,  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
years.  In  1892,  in  Wayne  county,  Dr.  Tooley  was  married  to  Matilda 
Hunt.  There  were  no  children  born  to  this  marriage.  In  1901  he  mar- 
ried Florence  Brumfield,  a  native  of  Lincoln  county,  West  X'irginia,  and 
daughter  of  Paris  and  Kizey   ( Rainey  )   Brumfield. 


This  name   is  supposed   to  have   taken  its   origin  with 
FREEMAN     some  one  who  desired  to  indicate  his  position  as  a  free 

man.  xAt  an  early  date  one  John  le  Freeman  is  found. 
The  family  is  probably  not  of  Norman  origin.  The  name  is  found  several 
times  in  old  German  chronicles  and  in  the  Scandinavian  sagas.  Distinct 
houses  of  this  name  in  England  and  in  Ireland  have  almost  identical 
arms ;  so  that,  though  they  are  numerous,  it  is  probable  that  they  have 
a  common  origin. 

So  far  as  the  records  show,  the  first  person  of  this  name  in  Virginia 
was  a  Captain  Bridges  Freeman,  who  was  burgess  from  Pasbehaighs  in 
1629-30,  and  held  other  offices.  Bridges  Freeman,  justice  in  James  City 
in  1680,  was  probably  his  son ;  not  all  Virginian  Freemans,  however,  are 
his  descendants.  \'irginia  had  at  least  two  revolutionary  soldiers  of  this 
name.  Captain  Samuel  Freeman,  of  Richmond,  Virginia,  who  lived  from 
1795  to  1870,  was  a  prominent  citizen  for  many  years. 

(I)  Richard  Valery  Freeman,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about 
whom  we  have  definite  information,  was  born  at  Richmond,  Virginia, 
about  1857,  died  at  Huntington,  West  Virginia,  November  zj,  1889. 
His  father  and  mother  both  lived  in  Richmond.  He  was  an  engineer  on 
the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  railroad,  and  was  killed  by  a  wreck,  two  miles 
from  Huntington.  He  married  Maria  Hagan,  who  now  makes  her  home 
at  Huntington.  Children,  all  born  at  Huntington :  Blanche,  married 
James  Alexander  Pack,  child,  Richard  Freeman,  born  at  Huntington ; 
Charles  Wilkerson,  of  whom  further ;  Annie  \''. 

(II)  Charles  Wilkerson,  son  of  Richard  Valery  and  Maria  ( Hagan _) 
Freeman,  was  born  at  Huntington,  West  Virginia,  October  i,  1887.  His 
education  was  begun  at  Huntington,  and  he  graduated  from  the  Hunt- 
ington high  school  in  1905.  He  then  attended  the  University  of  West 
Virginia,  at  Morgantown,  and  graduated  from  its  law  department  in 
1909.  In  that  year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  in  the  same  year  he 
began  to  practice  at  Huntington.  He  is  forging  ahead  in  his  profession 
and  is  a  jiromising  lawyer.     He  is  a  Democrat. 


This  family  traces  its  origin  in  this  country  to  the  state  of 
POTTS     Maryland,  where  Benjamin  Potts,  a  farmer,  was  born  in  the 

latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  He  removed  to  \'ir- 
ginia  about  the  beginning  of  the  following  century,  or  some  little  time 
previous,  and  continued  his  avocation  of  farming  in  the  new  surround- 
ings for  the  support  of  his  growing  family.  He  married  Elizabeth  Cleek  ; 
children  :  John,  Jacob,  Mathias  C,  of  whom  further :  Jonathan,  Samuel, 
Elizabeth,  child,  whose  name  is  not  known. 

(II)  Mathias  C,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Elizabeth  (Cleek)  Potts,  was 
born  March  6,  1806,  in  Virginia.  He  was  a  farmer  all  his  life,  being 
politically  a  member  of  the  Democratic  party.  He  became  a  leading  man 
in  the  community,  holding  a  prominent  position  for  many  years  in  the 
affairs  of  Randolph  county.  Virginia,  now  West  \'irginia,  and  dying  in 
the  possession  of  the  high  esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens,  in  Huntington, 
in  the  year  1881.  He  married  Rachel  McCabe,  born  in  Bath  county,  Vir- 
ginia, died  in  1878  at  die  age  of  seventy  years.     Her  parents  were  both 


WEST  MRGIXIA  179 

natives  of  Ireland,  having  immigrated  to  tliis  country  and  made  their 
new  home  in  Virginia.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mathias  C.  Potts  became  the  par- 
ents of  six  children :  Benjamin  FrankHn,  Samuel  Warwick,  James  New- 
ton, of  whom  further ;  Lanty  G.,  Eliza  Jane,  Mathias  P.  H. 

(Ill)  James  Newton,  son  of  Mathias  C.  and  Rachel  (;McCabe)  Potts, 
was  born  in  Pocahontas  county,  Virginia,  now  West  Mrginia,  September 
14,  1838.  When  he  was  eight  years  of  age  his  parents  removed  to  Ran- 
dolph county  and  there  he  received  his  earliest  education,  remaining  on 
the  farm  until  he  was  twenty-three  years  of  age.  At  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  between  the  states  he  enlisted  in  the  Eighteenth  Virginia  Cavalry, 
Company  G,  of  the  Confederate  troops,  as  a  lieutenant,  becoming  adju- 
tant of  his  regiment  and  serving  for  four  years.  At  the  close  of  the  war 
he  settled  in  the  town  of  Huntersville  where  he  engaged  in  mercantile 
pursuits,  and  later  removed  to  Williamsville,  Virginia,  following  the  same 
line  of  business.  On  October  i,  1871,  he  came  to  Huntington,  West  \"ir- 
ginia,  conducting  a  grocery  business  here  for  some  years  ;  he  then  en- 
gaged in  real  estate  and  insurance,  in  which  line  he  has  met  with  much 
success,  and  has  become  one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  the  town. 
In  politics  Ml.  Potts  is  a  member  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  has  been 
very  active  in  the  ])ublic  affairs  of  Huntington.  He  has  often  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  city  council,  having  been  for  four  years  city  clerk,  and  for  two 
years  a  judge  of  the  police  court. 

He  is  a  member  of  Camp  Garnet,  the  Confederate  A^eteran  x-\ssocia- 
tion,  and  is  adjutant  of  the  camp;  also  adjutant  of  Second  Regiment 
United  Confederate  Veterans,  of  which  Wayne  Ferguson  is  command- 
ant. ?ilr.  Potts  is  a  very  prominent  member  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Baptist 
Church  of  Huntington;  he  was  one  of  the  thirteen  charter  members  when 
the  church  was  organized  in  1877,  only  four  of  these  charter  members 
being  still  alive,  three  of  them  being  members  of  his  family.  He  is  now 
senior  deacon  of  this  church,  his  wife  and  family  all  being  members,  and 
for  seventeen  years  successively  he  has  been  superintendent  of  the  Sun- 
day school.  He  is  also  president  of  the  Guyandotte  Baptist  Sunday 
school  convention  which  responsible  post  he  has  held  for  the  last  thirty- 
two  years,  and  for  the  past  fifteen  years  he  has  been  elected  moderator 
of  the  Guyandotte  District  Baptist  Association. 

Mr.  Potts  married  Margaret  Stewart,  a  native  of  Cedar  Grove,  Rock- 
bridge county,  \'irginia,  daughter  of  Harry  and  \'irginia  (Collins)  Stew- 
art. She  is  a  consistent  member  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Baptist  Church. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Potts  have  two  children:  i.  Harry  Stewart,  married  Etta 
Eversole  and  has  two  children :  Helen  Margaret  and  Rachel  Virginia.  2. 
Margaret,  married  Rudd  Taylor  Neal  and  has  one  child,  ^Margaret  Stew- 
art. 


Charles  L.  Brown,  of  Ravenswood,  West  Virginia,  is  de- 
BROWN  scended  from  pioneer  stock.  His  great-grandfather,  Wil- 
liam Brown,  a  native  of  Marjdand,  having  married  Pa- 
tience Marvel,  of  Delaware,  settled  in  the  Ohio  Valley  in  the  year  1773. 
In  .\pril,  1776,  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  his  family,  in  that  exposed 
country  where  the  savages  were  being  incited  by  emissaries  of  Great 
Britain  to  wage  a  war  of  extermination  against  white  settlers,  he  left 
his  cabin  in  the  wilderness  and  returned  with  his  family  to  Delaware; 
entered  the  Continental  army  and  served  during  the  war  for  indepen- 
dence, and  in  1785  returned  to  Western  Virginia  and  settled  in  what  is 
now  Brooke  county,  and  where  he  was  a  prominent  man ;  served  as  a 
member  of  the  county  court,  was  the  sheriff  of  the  county,  and  for  many 
years  was  a  member  of  the  legislature. 


i8o  WEST  VIRGINIA 

(II)  It  was  in  Virginia  that  Joseph  Brown,  son  of  WiUiam  Brown, 
was  born  (in  1792)  and  reared.  He  married  Rachel  Hood,  a  native  of 
Baltimore  county,  Maryland,  and  like  his  father  chose  the  occupation  of 
farming,  and  lived  a  long,  honorable  and  useful  life,  and  died  as  he  had 
lived,  triumphing  in  the  glad  promises  of  the  Christian's  faith,  in  July, 
1882,  having  passed  the  ninetieth  year  of  his  age.  He  is  buried  beside  his 
wife,  who  with  him  for  sixty  years  had  adorned  the  divine  doctrines  of 
the  Master  within  the  folds  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  They 
reared  and  educated  a  family  of  nine  sons  and  one  daughter,  all  of  whom 
they  lived  to  see  happily  married  and  settled  in  life,  except  their  third 
son,  James  Marvel  Brown,  who  gave  up  his  life  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
years  in  defense  of  the  honor  of  his  country,  in  her  war  with  Mexico, 
in    1847. 

(Ill J  Judge  Robert  S.  Brown,  son  of  Joseph  Brown,  was  born  April 
6,  1828.  He  was  brought  up  on  the  farm,  and  early  inured  to  the  toils  and 
hardships  that  attend  this  honorable  but  arduous  vocation.  He  attended 
in  winter  such  schools  as  the  country  then  afforded;  he  was  fond  of 
reading,  and  devoted  the  moments  of  leisure  spared  from  labor  to  the  per- 
usal of  such  books  as  his  father's  ample  library  afforded.  The  develop- 
ment of  this  inclination  of  mind  being  observed  by  his  parents,  induced 
them  to  aid  him  with  the  means  of  obtaining  a  classical  education,  and 
he  entered  Bethany  College,  Brooke  county,  Virginia,  in  1845  ;  he  chose 
the  profession  of  law,  and  commenced  its  practice  at  Elizabeth,  Wirt 
county,  Virginia,  in  April,  1849.  He  soon  secured  a  liberal  and  lucra- 
tive practice ;  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney,  and  re-elected  to  that 
office  both  in  Wirt  and  Roane  counties  until  he  went  on  the  bench  as 
judge  of  the  circuit  in  which  he  resided. 

Prior  to  the  war,  like  his  ancestors,  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  voted 
for  John  C.  Breckenridge  for  president,  in  i860;  but  when  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  elected,  actuated  by  those  high  qualities  of  patriotism  and  sound  com- 
monsense,  for  which  he  was  at  all  times  noted,  he  at  once  declared  his 
fixed  purpose  to  support  the  administration  of  the  president  constitu- 
tionally elected,  and  opposed  those  who  made  the  great  tragic  effort 
to  break  up  our  national  unity.  He  was  an  early  and  active  advocate, 
and  liberal  promoter  of  the  counter  revolution  set  on  foot  by  the  loyal- 
ists of  Western  Virginia  at  Wheeling,  which  resulted  in  the  formation 
of  the  new  state  of  West  Virginia,  and  it  is  confidently  believed  and  as- 
serted that  no  man  contributed  more  of  his  time,  talents  or  means  to 
achieve  that  happy  result  for  the  people  of  his  state  than  did  Robert  S. 
Brown. 

In  1864  Mr.  Brown  was  chosen  elector  for  the  third  congressional 
district  of  his  state,  and  cast  his  vote  for  the  re-election  of  President 
Lincoln;  in  May,  1868,  he  sat  as  a  delegate  in  the  Chicago  convention, 
served  on  the  committee  on  resolutions  that  prepared  the  party  platfonn 
on  which  General  Grant  was  nominated,  and  as  elector-at-large,  with 
Hon.  A.  W.  Campbell,  of  Wheeling,  canvassed  and  carried  his  state  for 
the  Republican  ticket.  On  the  first  day  of  January,  i8fr),  he  went  on  the 
bench  as  judge  of  the  tenth  judicial  circuit  of  West  A'irginia.  composed 
of  the  counties  of  Jackson,  Roane,  Calhoun  and  Gilmer,  to  which  office 
he  had  been  elected  with  unusual  unanimity,  for  the  term  of  six  years. 
He  brought  to  the  judicial  office  the  same  intelligent  zeal  and  industry 
that  had  always  characterized  liis  conduct  of  other  affairs,  and  was  uni- 
versally regarded  as  a  most  able,  learned  and  impartial  judge.  Declin- 
ing a  re-election,  his  voluntary  retirement  was  marked  by  meetings  of 
the  bar  and  people  in  every  county  of  his  circuit,  who  in  their  published 
resolutions  declared  their  respect  and  esteem  for  him  as  a  man,  confi- 
dence in  him  as  an  able,  honest  and  upright  judge,  and  regret  at  his  re- 


.i^ckk-J?^^!^ 


~^^  ^^  ^i.--^^-'^lc7    <==^ .    (:yC^^^<2^-^:?^T^,c/-~'-^ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  iSi 

tirement  from  office.  In  1878  Judge  Brown  was  elected  to  the  state  sen- 
ate by  an  overwhelming  majority,  and  served  therein  four  years.  His 
standing  in  that  body  may  be  inferred  from  the  following  editorial  no- 
tice in  a  leading  newspaper  in  his  state,  in  January,  1879: 

"Judge  Brown  is  a  man  of  strong  character,  and  as  a  born  leader  has  spent  a 
life  of  public  service ;  he  stands  confessedly  forward  in  the  body  of  which  he  is  now 
a  member.  His  character  and  ability  mark  him  out  as  a  prominent  man.  He  is 
upon  many  of  the  important  committees,  and  his  dictum  is  always  listened  to  with 
interest.  He  has  retired  from  active  practice  of  the  law,  and  devotes  his  time  when 
at  home  to  his  large  property  interests ;  his  home  farm  at  Ravenswood  is  one  of  the 
largest  and  finest  on  the  Ohio  river." 

Before  the  war  the  Odd  Fellows'  Lodges  in  Western  Virginia  be- 
longed to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Virginia,  and  on  the  re- 
turn of  peace  the  Grand  Lodge  of  West  Virginia  was  organized,  and 
Judge  Brown  joined  Ravenswood  Lodge,  No.  15,  in  1865;  he  passed  its 
several  chairs,  and  in  1877  represented  it  in  the  State  Grand  Lodge ;  was 
successively  elected  grand  warden,  deputy  grand  master,  and  grand  mas- 
ter;  and  in  October,  1881,  was  elected  one  of  its  representatives  to  the 
Sovereign  Grand  Lodge  for  the  term  of  two  years;  met  with  that  august 
body  in  Baltimore,  and  in  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  at  the  session  of 
1883. 

He  was  united  in  marriage,  October  2,  1849,  with  Anna  H.,  eldest 
daughter  of  Ephraim  Wells,  Esq.,  a  prominent  and  wealthy  citizen  of 
Jackson  county,  Virginia,  who  served  the  public  as  presiding  justice  of 
the  county  court  of  Jackson  county  for  two  terms,  and  filled  with  credit 
many  other  positions  of  honor  and  trust.  Mr.  Wells,  in  1835,  had  bought 
(at  five  dollars  per  acre)  from  Dr.  Peter,  (husband  of  Martha  Custis)  a 
devisee  of  George  Washington,  a  large  tract  of  land  on  the  Ohio  river 
adjoining  the  town  of  Ravenswood,  and  moved  on  it  from  Brooke  coun- 
ty, in  March,  1836.  It  was  then  all  in  woods,  as  was  in  fact  at  that  time 
nearly  all  the  land  in  Jackson  county.  This  land  had  been  patented  to 
George  Washington  by  King  George  III.  in  1772.  Mr.  Wells  had  in  years 
of  great  labor  and  perseverance  cleared  out  and  improved  a  large  part  of 
this  land,  and  in  R'larch,  1866,  sold  it  to  Judge  Brown  for  one  hundred 
dollars  per  acre  for  the  whole  tract,  which  shows  the  great  rise  in  the 
price  of  land  in  that  section.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown  were  the  parents  of 
the  following  children  still  living:  William  J.,  Ephraim  W.  and  Charles 
L.,  of  whom  the  two  former  are  farmers. 

(IV)  Hon.  Charles  L.  Brown,  youngest  son  of  Judge  Robert  S.  and 
Anna  H.  (Wells)  Brown,  was  born  in  Elizabeth,  Wirt  county,  A'irginia, 
June  20,  1859.  He  was  graduated  from  Bethany  College  on  his  nine- 
teenth birthday,  June  20,  1878.  On  November  5,  1879,  he  represented  the 
alumni  of  the  Neotrophian  Society  of  that  college  at  the  anniversary  cele- 
bration, having  been  elected  as  the  alternate  of  Hon.  John  C.  New,  of 
Indiana.  After  reading  law  for  a  year  in  his  father's  office,  Mr.  Brown 
attended  law  lectures  at  the  University  of  Virginia,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  February  26,  1880,  and  entered  upon  practice  in  the  various 
courts  of  Jackson  and  adjoining  counties,  and  the  West  Virginia  supreme 
court  of  appeals.  Some  years  ago  he  relinquished  the  active  practice  of  his 
profession,  since  which  time  his  counsel  has  been  largely  demanded  by 
important  industrial  and  financial  interests.  A  Democrat  in  politics,  in 
August,  1882,  he  was  nominated  a  candidate  for  the  West  Virginia 
house  of  delegates  by  his  party  convention  of  Jackson  county,  and  at  the 
October  election  defeated  the  Republican  candidate,  running  ahead  of 
his  ticket,  and  receiving  more  votes  than  any  candidate  in  the  county  at 
that  election.  In  the  ensuing  session  he  served  as  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee on  federal  relations,  and  as  a  member  of  the  committees  on  the 


lS_'  WEST  X'lRGIXIA 

judiciary,  of  counties,  and  of  municipal  corporations,  his  being  called  to 
such  important  duties  being  eloquent  attestation  of  his  ability,  such  as  is 
rarely  bestowed  by  legislative  assemblies  upon  one  so  young  (then  only 
twenty-three  years  of  age),  and  during  his  first  experience  among  law- 
makers. The  house  journal  with  its  record  of  his  bills  introduced  and 
enacted  into  laws,  as  well  as  his  extensive  committee  work,  show  that 
this  confidence  was  in  no  way  misplaced.  In  1884  he  was  elected  state 
senator  and  served  four  years  with  usefulness  and  distinction.  Mr. 
Brown  is  a  member  of  Ravenswood  Lodge,  No.  15,  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows. 

Mr.  Brown  married,  November  20,  1884,  Frances,  daughter  of  Hon. 
Campbell  Tarr,  a  distinguished  citizen  of  Brooke  county.  To  them  has 
been  born  a  daughter,  Helen  M.,  now  wife  of  Fred  H.  Fowler,  of  Balti- 
more, Maryland,  and  of  which  marriage  has  been  born  a  daughter,  Eliza- 
beth, Mr.  and  Mrs,  Brown  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
The  family  home  is  near  Ravenswood,  Jackson  county.  West  \^irginia ;  it 
was  formerly  owned  by  his  father,  and  is^  on  part  of  the  General  Wash- 
ington lands.  Mr,  Brown  is  a  prominent  and  successful  farmer  as  well 
as  a  capable  lawyer. 


A  member  of  the  bar  whose  reputation  belongs  not  to 
PRICKETT     his  own   town  and  county  alone  but  extends   through- 
out his  entire  section  of  the  state  is  Nathaniel  Camden 
I'rickctt,  of   Ravenswood.     Mr.   Prickett  numbers  among  his  ancestors 
some  of  those  sturdy  pioneers  to  whose  courage  and  endurance  later  gen- 
erations are  so  greatly  indebted. 

(I)  John  Titchnel  Prickett,  father  of  Nathaniel  Camden  Prickett,  was 
born  February  15,  1812.  He  was  a  farmer  in  Marion  county,  Virginia.  At 
the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war  he  was  appointed  assessor  of  his  county. 
He  married  Susanna  M.  Morgan,  born  March  6,  1814,  and  was  a  direct 
descendant  of  David  Morgan,  of  Wetzel  county,  Virginia.  In  the  old  fam- 
ily Bib!e  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Prickett  is  the  following  entry  of 
the  marriage  of  his  father  and  mother:  "John  T.  Prickett,  of  Monon- 
galia county,  Virginia,  and  Susanna  M,  ^Morgan,  of  Tyler  county,  Vir- 
ginia, on  14th  day  of  October,  1834,  at  Uriah  Morgan's  house,  by  James 
S.  West."  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Prickett  were  the  parents  of  the  following  chil- 
dren:  I.  Edwin  M.,  born  July  23,  1835.  2,  Sanford  H.,  born  December 
27,  1839,  died  June  8,  1885.  3.  Charles  F.,  born  January  25,  1844; 
served  in  Confederate  army  under  Jenkins"  command,  and  later  edited 
the  Mountaineer,  he  died  in  June,  1909.  4.  Isaiah  T.,  born  February  6, 
1847.  5,  Nathaniel  Camden,  mentioned  below.  6.  Isabel  Anne,  born 
August  29,  1855.  John  Titchnel  Prickett,  the  father,  died  September  20, 
1897,  and  the  mother  survived  him  but  a  few  months,  passing  away  Jan- 
uary 27,  1898. 

(II)  Nathaniel  Camden,  son  of  John  Titchnel  and  Susanna  M.  (Mor- 
gan) Prickett,  was  born  April  30,  1853,  in  Marion  county,  Virginia.  He 
received  his  early  education  in  the  public  and  high  schools  of  Jackson 
county,  afterward  entering  the  West  A'irginia  University,  where  he  com- 
pleted his  course  in  1875.  His  professional  training  was  received  in  the 
office  of  Judge  Alpheus  Haymond  during  the  years  1876-77.  In  the  lat- 
ter year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  after  which  he  at  once  removed  to 
Ravenswood,  opened  an  office  and  entered  upon  the  active  practice  of  his 
profession.  Throughout  his  entire  career,  thus  far,  he  has  practised  con- 
tinuously in  this  town,  acquiring  a  large  clientele  and  building  up  an  en- 
viable reputation  as  a  learned  cotmsellor  and  astute  practitioner.  For 
many  years  Mr.  Prickett  was  attorney  for  the  town  of  Ravenswood,  and 


WEST  \'1RGIXIA  183 

in  1879  he  held  the  office  of  deputy  county  assessor.  Since  n)o~,  he  has 
been  attorney  for  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad.  He  was  at  one  time 
state  fish  commissioner,  an  office  which  has  since  been  abolished.  In  the 
fall  election  of  1912  Mr.  Prickett  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of 
Jackson  county.  West  Virginia,  on  the  Democratic  ticket  in  the  face  of  a 
strong  Republican  opposition.  Mr.  Prickett  has  always  taken  an  active 
interest  in  the  welfare  and  improvement  of  his  home  town,  and  every 
project  tending,  in  his  judgment,  to  the  promotion  of  that  end  has  not 
failed  to  receive  his  hearty  co-operation.  His  professional  career  has  thus 
far  covered  a  period  of  more  than  three  decades  and  is  coeval  with  his 
residence  in  Ravenswood.  His  record  shows  that  both  as  a  lawyer  and  a 
citizen  he  has  steadily  and  consistently  furthered  the  advancement  of  her 
best  interests. 

3ilr.  Prickett  is  a  member  of  the  State  Bar  Association,  and  affiliates 
with  Ashton  Blue  Lodge,  No.  12,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  in 
which  he  has  held  all  the  offices.  In  1908-09  he  was  grand  chancellor  of 
the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  he  has  held  all  the  offices  in  the  local  lodge 
(if  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  His  standing  in  his  fraternal 
as  well  as  in  his  professional  relations  is  deservedly  high. 

:\Ir.  Prickett  married,  March  29,  1878,  Ruth  E.,  daughter  of  Captain 
Jiihn  Johnson,  of  Sandyville,  West  A'irginia.  The  home  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Prickett  contains  a  number  of  interesting  heirlooms,  among  them  a 
powder-horn  made  from  a  bullock's  born,  and  owned  and  used  by  Levi 
Morgan,  brother  of  Zackwell  and  David  ^Morgan.  A  lineal  descendant  of 
the  last-named  of  this  trio  of  bold  frontiersmen.  ]\Ir.  Prickett  cherishes 
with  just  pride  every  relic  of  their  adventurous  lives,  which  have  yielded 
results  so  greatly  to  the  benefit  of  future  generations. 


Charles  Leon  Mcintosh,  president  of  the  Bank  of 
McIXTOSH  Ravenswoiid,  is  a  member  of  the  famous  clan  ]\Icin- 
tosh,  a  sept  of  the  clan  Chattan.  Tradition  tells  us  that 
the  Macintoshes  descend  fi^m  two  brothers,  ]\luirach  yihor  and  Dhai 
Dhu,  sons  of  Gillicattan  }ilhor,  chief  of  the  Confederation.  Dhai  Dhu  left 
issue  who  are  represented  by  Davidson  of  Invernahaven.  They  are  the 
clan  Kay  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  and  Inch  of  Perth.  The  chiefs  of  the  Mac- 
intoshes have,  beyond  question,  maintained  their  supremacy  for  nearly 
five  hundred  years.  Moy  is  said  to  have  come  into  possession  of  William, 
seventh  ^Macintosh  of  that  ilk,  in  1336,  as  a  gift  from  David,  Bishop  of 
Murray. 

James  the  First  appointed  Macintosh  of  that  ilk  captain  of  the  castle 
of  Inverness,  after  the  battle  of  Harlaw,  in  141 1.  In  1526  Lachlan,  the 
i^aird  of  [Macintosh,  was  slain  by  James  Malcolmson,  who  with  his  fol- 
lowers fled  to  an  isle  in  the  lake  of  Rothiemwichus,  but  were  apprehended 
by  the  Macintosh  kindred  and  were  all  cut  to  pieces.  In  the  geography  of 
the  clans.  1873,  Lachlan  [Macintosh  is  noted  as  having  been,  in  1587,  "Cap- 
tain of  the  Clan  Chattan."  In  1624  the  [Machintoshes  to  the  number  of 
five  hundred  attacked  the  Earl  of  Murray's  people,  and  captured  his  house 
of  Pettie,  now  the  castle  of  Stuart. 

Lachlan  Macintosh,  who  died  in  1704,  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
Lachlan,  who  died  without  issue  in  1731.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  kins- 
man. William  [Macintosh,  of  Daviol,  who  also  died  without  issue,  in  1741, 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  brother,  Aeneas,  created  a  baronet  by  King 
George  the  Third.  The  baronet  dying  without  issue,  the  chieftainship  de- 
volved on  his  kinsman,  the  Hon.  Angus  iMacintosh,  resident  in  Canada. 
He  died  in  1833  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Alexander,  who  died  in 
1861,  and  was  father  of  Alexander,  who  died  in  1876.  and  of  Alfred,  at 


i84  WEST  MRGIXIA 

present  "The  Macintosh."  The  Hue  of  descent  of  Charles  Leon  Mcin- 
tosh, of  Ravenswood,  is  traced  from  Sir  Angus  Mcintosh  (or  Macin- 
tosh), who  had  three  sons:  Alexander,  Angus,  and  John,  mentioned  be- 
low. 

(II)  John,  son  of  Sir  Angus  Mcintosh,  was  born  in  Scotland.  Sep- 
tember 5]  1812.  In  early  manhood  he  emigrated  to  Canada  whence  he 
came  to  Virginia.  He  served  in  the  Alexican  war  and  in  the  Confederate 
army,  and  was  a  Democrat  in  politics.  He  married  Catharine  Keeney, 
by  whom  he  became  the  father  of  a  son  and  a  daughter:  John  Angus, 
mentioned  below :  Selinda,  who  became  the  wife  of  Colonel  Charles  Har- 
pold,  of  the  Federal  army  and  died  in  1892.  Mr.  Mcintosh  died  in  ]\Iay, 
1889,  and  his  widow  passed  away  January  i,  1894. 

(III)  John  Angus,  son  of  John  and  Catharine  (Keeney)  Mcintosh, 
was  born  m  1844.  near  Ripley,  Jackson  county,  Virginia  (now  West  Vir- 
ginia). In  his  youth  he  served"  under  "Stonewall"  Jackson,  in  the  Con- 
federate army,  and  was  among  those  who  did  not  lay  down  their  arms 
until  the  close  of  the  four  years'  conflict.  He  was  once  captured,  but  at  a 
time  when  all  the  consumptives  in  the  prison  were  allowed  their  freedom 
he,  wrapped  in  a  blanket,  took  his  place  with  the  others  and  thus  escaped, 
making  the  best  of  his  way  to  the  Confederate  lines.  In  1869  he  engaged 
in  the  hardware  business  in  which  he  was  very  successful.  His  political 
principles  were  those  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  he  was  appointed  by 
the  late  Governor  ]\lcCorkle  president  of  the  penitentiary.  His  home, 
after  the  war,  was  in  Jackson  county  and  few  men  have  exercised  a  wid- 
er or  more  beneficial  influence.  His  intellect  was  of  a  high  order  and  by 
diligent  study  he  became  a  brilliant  scholar.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  at  Ravenswood,  and  for  twenty-five 
years  served  as  president  of  the  West  Virginia  Conference  for  Foreign 
Missions.  He  was  one  of  the  five  original  charter  members  of  the  Bank 
of  Ravenswood  and  served  as  its  vice-president  and  president  for  about 
fifteen  years.  Mr.  Mcintosh  married  Ella  D.  Smith,  and  the  following 
children  were  born  to  them:  Mary;  Alice,  deceased:  Frederick  Freling- 
huysen:  Charles  Leon,  mentioned  below.  The  death  of  ~Sh.  Mcintosh, 
which  occurred  April  5,  1906,  deprived  the  community  of  one  who  for  his 
benevolence,  kindness  of  heart  and  consistent  Christian  life,  had  been 
most  sincerely  loved  and  highly  respected  by  his  neighbors  and  fellow 
citizens.  Mrs.  Mcintosh,  mother  of  Charles  Leon  ]\IcIntosh,  took  an  ac- 
tive part  in  the  cause  of  temperance  and  she  served  with  distinction  fif- 
teen years  as  vice-president  of  the  West  Virginia  \A'omen's  Christian 
Temperance  Union. 

(IV)  Charles  Leon,  son  of  John  Angus  and  Ella  D.  (Smith)  Mcin- 
tosh, was  born  December  25,  1876,  at  Ravenswood,  West  Virginia.  He 
received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town,  after- 
ward entering  West  Virginia  LTniversity  from  which  he  graduated  in 
1899  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  He  was  engaged  in  the  hard- 
ware business  until  1907,  and  in  1908  was  elected  to  the  presidency  of 
the  Bank  of  Ravenswood.  He  adheres,  as  did  his  father  and  grandfather, 
to  the  Democratic  party.  As  business  man,  financier  and  citizen,  Mr. 
Mcintosh  has  worthily  supplemented  the  records  of  his  father  and  grand- 
father, maintaining,  as  they  did,  the  noble  traditions  of  their  illustrious 
race. 

Mr.  Mcintosh  married.  June  18,  1907,  Mary  A'irginia  McLane,  whose 
ancestral  record  is  appended  to  this  sketch,  and  they  are  the  parents  of 
the  following  children  :  Charles  J. :  Margaret  Ellen  :  Josephine  :  Jean  ; 
Charles  Leon,  junior. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  185 

(The    McLane    Line). 

(I)  Joseph  Alan  McLean,  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Mary  Virginia  (Mc- 
Lane) Mcintosh,  was  born  Marcli  26,  1820,  and  married,  in  1841,  ]\iary, 
born  October,  1823,  daughter  of  William  and  Mary  Ann  f  McLure') 
Lazur  (see  iMcLure),  the  former  born  1797,  died  1872.  Mr.  IMcLean 
died  January  15,  1894,  surviving  his  wife  many  years,  her  death  hav- 
ing occurred  November  23,   1850. 

(II)  Charles  Henry  McLane,  son  of  Joseph  Alan  and  Mary  (Lazur) 
McLean,  was  born  September  2,  1843,  ^"d  married,  August  22,  1868, 
Mary  Kelly,  born  December  26,  1847.  He  changed  the  name  to  Mc- 
Lane. 

(Ill)  Mary  Virginia,  daughter  of  Charles  Henry  and  Mary  (Kelly) 
McLane,  was  born  in  Cassville,  Monongalia  county,  West  Virginia,  and 
became  the  wife  of   Charles  Leon  ]\IcIntosh,   as  mentioned  above. 

(The    TvIcLure    Line). 

(I)  Andrew  McLure,  founder  of  the  West  Virginia  branch  of  the 
family,  was  born  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  and  about  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century  emigrated  to  the  American  colonies. 

(II)  Lieutenant  Abdiel  McLure,  son  of  Andrew  McLure,  was  born 
June  8,  1 75 1,  in  Cumberland  county,  and  was  first  lieutenant  in  the 
Pennsylvania  Flying  Camp,  commanded  by  Captain  James  AlcConnell 
and  Colonel  Frederick  Watt.  Lieutenant  McLure  enlisted  and  soon  after 
was  captured  at  Fort  Washington.  He  was  removed  to  Long  Island 
on  one  of  the  prison  ships,  where  he  remained  until  he  was  exchanged. 
Lieutenant  McLure  married  I\Iary  Cummins,  who  was  born  September  6, 
1747,  ^t  Belfast,  Ireland ;  his  death  occured  in  1828,  at  Wheeling,  Virginia. 

(III)  Andrew  (2),  son  of  Lieutenant  Abdiel  and  Mary  (Cummins) 
McLure,  was  born  August  8,  1775 ;  married,  April  17,  1797,  !Mary 
Foreman,  born  October  9,  1777,  died  September  21,  1852,  Andrew  (2) 
McLure  died  November  3,   1840. 

(IV)  Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  Andrew  (2)  and  Mary  (Foreman) 
McLure,  was  born  April  5,  1800,  and  was  married,  in  1822,  to  William 
Lazur,  as  mentioned  above  fsee  McLane  line),  ^frs.  Lazur  died  in 
1867. 


This  is  an  old  colonial  family,  the  ancestry  being  trace- 
WILSON  able  to  Miles  Standish,  the  Puritan  captain  of  the  Ply- 
mouth settlement  in  1620,  the  stalwart  old  pilgrim  well 
known  to  every  generation  since  those  perilous  times,  partly  because 
of  his  military  prominence  which  was  the  first  in  New  England,  and 
partly,  in  the  present  generation,  because  of  Longfellow's  immortal  poem, 
"The  Courtship  of  Miles  Standish."  The  worthy  Puritan  captain  was 
twice  married;  his  first  wife.  Rose  Standish,  who  came  over  with  him 
in  the  "Mayflower,"  died  in  the  early  days  of  the  colony;  before  1627 
he  espoused  his  second  wife,  Barbara,  by  whom  he  left  a  number  of 
children.  He  was  a  great  fighter  and  councilman  in  those  stirring  times, 
continuing  in  the  military  service  of  the  colony  all  his  life  and  com- 
manding the  Plymouth  troops,  and  at  one  time  returning  to  England  for 
a  brief  period  as  the  representative  of  the  young  colony  at  the  English 
court.  Among  the  Mayflower  pilgrims,  companions  of  Miles  Standish. 
there  came  also  a  family  of  Wilsons,  members  of  the  English  sect  of 
Separatists,  who  fled  to  Holland  in  1608,  and  whose  progenitor  was 
Roger  Wilson,  a  member  of  Pastor  John  Robinson's  church.  The 
descendants  of  this  pilgrim  family  are  scattered  throughout  New  Eng- 
land,  chiefly  in   Maine   and   Massachusetts,   and   the  progenitors   of  the 


iS(.  WEST  A'IRr.IXIA 

family  under  consideration  are  probably  to  be  found  among  them.  Lieu- 
tenant John  Wilson,  son  of  Roger  Wilson,  who  was  born  in  Scrooby, 
England,  in  1631,  became  a  soldier  in  King  Philip's  war,  dying  in 
Woburn,  Massachusetts,  in  1687.  He  was  twice  married;  his  first  wife, 
Susannah  Mills  or  Miller,  dying,  and  his  second  wife,  Rebecca,  surviv- 
ing him  and  dying  in  Rehoboth,  Massachusetts,  in  the  year  1749. 

(I)  The  first  definitely  known  progenitor  of  the  family  treated  of 
in  this  sketch  was  Joseph  Wilson,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  who  mar- 
ried Jerusha  Driscow.  Children :  Nathaniel,  Gowan,  Stillman,  Joel, 
Otis,  Seward,  Putnam,  \^'illiam.  John,  Mary.  Relief,  Asa,  of  whom  fur- 
ther; Joseph. 

(II)  Asa.  srin  of  Joseph  and  Jerusha  (Driscow)  Wilson,  was  born 
in  Columbia  Falls,  :\Iaine,  died  at  ".Marietta.  ()hio.  in  1880.  at  the  age  of 
..eventy- eight  years.  He  was  a  farmer  all  his  life.  He  married  Rebecca 
Newell  Joy.  born  in  Ellsworth.  IMaine.  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Abigail 
(Green)  Joy,  and  granddaughter  of  Colonel  Green,  who  took  command 
at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Plill  after  General  Warren  had  been  killed.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Asa  Wilson  had  five  children,  two  of  whom  are  now  living : 
Benjamin  Joy,  of  whom  further ;  Asa  Putnam,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Wayne 
county,  W'est  Virginia. 

(III)  Benjamin  Joy,  son  of  .\>^a  and  Rebecca  Newell  (Joy)  Wilson, 
was  born  in  Brewer,  Maine.  January  i.  1840.  He  remained  in  the  home 
of  his  birth  until  he  was  five  years  of  age.  when  his  parents  removed  to 
Ellsworth,  ]\Iaine.  where  he  received  his  early  schooling;  and  where  they 
resided  for  fourteen  years,  from  1845  to  1859.  The  family  then  removed 
to  Virginia,  making  their  home  at  what  is  now  Burning  Springs,  ^^'irt 
county,  West  Virginia,  where  Benjamin  J.  Wilson  operated  in  the  oil  fields 
and  there  remained  until  1863,  when  they  again  moved  and  settled  at 
^Marietta,  Ohio.  Here  Benjamin  Joy  Wilson  began  operations  in  gas  and 
oil  fields,  continuing  for  awhile,  then  went  to  Lincoln  county 
and  in  1881  came  to  Cabell  county.  West  Virginia.  His  en- 
terprises met  with  great  success,  and  he  now  operates  gas  and  oil  lands  in 
five  counties  in  this  state  and  Ohio,  beside  which  he  has  an  extensive  busi- 
ness in  timber  and  lumber.  He  later  made  his  home  in  Huntington,  and 
has  continued  to  prosper  in  his  various  undertakings.  He  has  been  the 
organizer  and  promoter  of  several  oil  companies  which  have  become  great 
producers,  and  he  has  also  added  the  general  insurance  business  to  the  list 
of  his  interest.  ■Mr.  Wilson  has  now  become  a  very  prominent  figure  in 
the  commercial  and  industrial  circles  of  Huntington,  as  well  as  in  political 
ranks,  where  he  is  a  staunch  member  of  the  Republican  party.  He  is 
also  well  known  socially  and  is  very  popular  among  his  friends. 

Though  Mr.  Wilson  has  been  twice  married,  he  has  no  children  to  in- 
herit his  name.  His  first  wife  was  Lucy  Hyde  Cunningham,  daughter  of 
Jonathan  and  Mary  Cunningham.  His  second  wife  was  Annie  Shelton. 
daughter  of  Raleigh  and  Elvira  Shelton. 


^Miller  is  one  of  the  very  common  American  names,  found 

MILLER     in  all  parts  of  the  country,   from  which  it  is  not  safe  to 

conclude  anything  about   family,  nor  even  about  national 

origin.     The   present   family  illustrates   this   fact,   being  of  known   and 

traceable  German  ancestry. 

On  September  5,  1749,  there  landed  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware 
river  five  hundred  and  fifty  foreigners,  from  several  German  states  and 
cities,  who  had  sailed  from  Rotterdam.  Holland,  more  than  one  month 
before.  Most  of  these  remained  in  Pennsylvania,  but  some  removed  into 
Virginia,   where    fellow-countrymen   were   already   settled.     These   early 


WEST  MRGIXIA  187 

German  settlers  of  \'irginia  are  said  to  liave  had  a  distinction,  perhaps 
unique,  among  early  American  immigrants,  in  the  fact  that  nearly  all 
could  read  and  write. 

(I)  Ulrich  Mueller,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom 
we  have  definite  information,  was  a  burgher  of  Zweibrucken. 

(II)  Jacob,  son  of  Ulrich  Mueller,  the  immigrant,  was  born  about 
1698,  died  in  May,  1776.  He  stayed  first  in  York,  Pa.,  after  his  coming 
to  America.  Later,  with  his  wife  and  six  children,  he  crossed  into  \'ir- 
ginia,  by  way  of  the  old  Packhorse  ford,  just  east  of  Shepherdstown, 
Maryland,  and  early  in  1752  he  settled  in  the  Shenandoah  valley.  On 
April  2d  of  that  year.  Lord  Fairfax  granted  him  four  hundred  acres  on 
Narrow  Passage  river,  near  the  border  between  Frederick  and  Augusta 
counties.  He  bought  other  lands,  and  received  two  more  grants  from 
Lord  Fairfax,  so  that  by  1766  he  was  owner  of  nearly  two  thousand 
acres  in  one  of  the  finest  parts  of  the  valley.  Twelve  hundred  acres  he 
laid  out  in  a  town,  which  he  called  ^Nluellerstadt ;  when  in  1761  this 
was  made  a  town,  George  ^^'ashington,  then  a  burgess  from  Frederick 
county,  had  the  name  changed  to  \\'oodstock.  His  will  refers  to  books 
in  English  and  '"Dutch,"  probably  meaning  German.     He  married  P.ar- 

bara  .     Children  :     L'lrich  :  Jacob  :  Barbara,  married Brubaker  : 

Christian,  of  whom   further ;  Susannah ;  Alary ;  Martin. 

(III)  Christian  ]\Iiller,  son  of  Jacob  and  Barbara  Mueller,  was 
born  at  Zweibrucken,  in  1744.  died  at  Woodstock,  April  28,  1836.  From 
August,  1780,  to  May.  1781,  he  was  sergeant  in  a  company  of  Virginia 
continental  soldiers.  A  newspaper,  published  at  the  time  of  his  death, 
states  that  he  was  the  last  revolutionary  soldier  in  the  Shenandoah  val- 
ley, and  that  his  funeral  was  the  largest  ever  seen  in  Woodstock.  He 
married,  in  1771,  Catharine  Wiseman,  born  in  1746.  died  in  ATay.  1837. 
Children:  John,  of  whom  further;  Henry,  married,  in  1815.  Anne  Clen- 
denin ;  eight  others,  of  whom  two  died  young. 

(I\')  John,  son  of  Christian  and  Catharine  (\\'iseman)  ]\liller.  was 
born  at  Woodstock.  A'irginia.  Alay  31.  1781.  died  March  19.  1846.  In 
1795  he  went  to  the  Great  Kanawha  valley:  his  father  gave  him  forty 
pounds  in  money,  and  some  advice  as  never  to  be  security  for  anyone, 
as  he  had  been  to  his  sorrow,  and  to  be  honest  and  fair  in  all  things.  For 
d  time  he  stopped  at  Fort  Clendenin.  where  he  met  a  girl  whom,  ten 
years  later,  he  married.  He  settled  at  Gallipolis,  Ohio,  an  old  French 
town,  four  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Kanawha.  Here  he  found  but 
two  other  persons  who  could  speak  Engli.sh ;  he.  therefore,  learned 
French.  As  he  already  understood  German  also,  this  made  him  master 
of  three  languages.  He  was  a  hatter  at  Gallipolis  until  1810,  when  he 
became  a  farmer.  In  that  year  he  removed  across  the  Ohio  river  to  the 
A'irginia  side,  and  built  a  brick  house,  said  to  have  been  the  first  brick 
residence  in  Mason  count}^  Nine  years  later  he  removed  again,  to  Teay's 
valley,  where  he  bought  one  thousand  acres  on  the  Richmond  and  Lexing- 
ton turnpike :  to  this  he  added  several  hundred  acres,  and  he  continued  in 
farming.  Henry  Clay,  Marshall,  and  other  distinguished  men  are  said 
to  have  been  his  guests,  in  the  free  hospitality  of  the  time.  He  moved 
for  the  last  time  in  1831,  and  settled  in  the  Kanawha  valley,  about  four 
miles  from  Point  Pleasant.  Here  he  purchased  two  farms.  Locust  Hill 
and  Beech  Hill,  about  nine  hundred  acres  in  all,  part  of  the  George  Wash- 
ington grant  in  1772.  He  owned  about  twenty-five  slaves.  For  over  forty 
years,  he  was  a  J\Iaster  Alason.  and  he  was  a  charter  member  of  Morning 
Dawn  Lodge,  at  Gallipolis. 

~Sh.  ]\Iiller  married  (first)  January  26,  i8oi''i.  Sophia,  born 
March  27.  1783.  died  April  17.  1823,  daughter  of  'S\a\or  \V'\\- 
liam     and     ]\Iargaret     CHandlev")     Clendenin.      ATaior     William     Clen- 


i88  WEST  MRGINIA 

denin  was  a  private  at  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant,  afterward 
major  in  the  Kanawha  militia,  of  which  his  brother  George  was 
colonel,  and  Daniel  Boone  lieutenant-colonel.  Three  times  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Virginia  assembly  for  Kanawha  county,  and  he  held  other 
offices.  About  1790  he  settled  opposite  Gallipolis.  In  1804  he  carried  the 
petition  to  the  assembly,  asking  the  organization  of  Mason  county,  and  he 
was  the  first  representative  of  this  county.  In  1772  Lord  Dunmore  gave 
Major  Thomas  Bullitt  a  patent  for  a  large  tract  of  land  on  the  Great 
Kanawha  river;  fourteen  years  later  he  met  George  Clendenin  at  Rich- 
mond, and  sold  him,  from  this  grant,  the  present  site  of  Charleston,  West 
A'irginia,  then  in  Greenbrier  county,  Virginia.  George  Clendenin  settled 
there,  probably  either  in  the  fall  of  1786  or  in  the  spring  of  1787,  being 
the  first  settler  within  the  limits  of  Charleston.  He  built  a  fort  on  the 
river  bank,  which  took  his  name,  not  later  than  1787.  The  name  of  the 
new  settlement,  formerly  Charlestown,  was  probably  suggested  by  him  in 
honor  of  his  father.  (This  is  not  the  account  given  by  some,  but  is  prob- 
ably correct;  he  is  not  known  to  have  had  a  brother  named  Charles). 
Mr.  Miller  married  (second)  October  23,  1823,  Sallie.  born  January  6, 
1797,  died  January  26,  1872,  daughter  of  Colonel  John  and  Elizabeth 
(Stodghill)  "Henderson,  of  Henderson,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kanawha. 
Children,  five  by  first,  six  by  second,  wife  :  i.  Christopher,  born  December 
6,  1806 ;  married,  in  1830.  Letitia  Hamilton.  2.  William  Clendenin,  of 
whom  further.  3.  Charles  Clendenin,  born  February  23,  181 1,  died 
]\Iarch  13,  1898;  married,  in  1831,  Eleanor  Cantrell.  4.  Henry  Harrison, 
born  in  December,  1813;  married,  in  1837,  Eliza  Chapman.  5.  ]\Iargaret, 
born  November  25,  1818,  died  August  19,  1859;  married,  December  12, 
1837,  Thomas  Thornburg.  6.  Nancy,  born  October  i,  1827;  married, 
September  16,  1852,  Rev.  Stephen  Kisling  Vaught.  7.  James  Henderson, 
born  June  6,  1829,  died  February  19,  1898;  married,  March  27,  185 1, 
Harriet  E.  Craig.  8.  Anne  Eliza,  born  November  8,  1831,  died  July  16, 
1854;  married.  November  13,  1850,  James  Robert  Buffington.  9.  Mary 
Caroline,  born  February  20,  1834,  died  in  December.  1899 ;  married,  May 
24,  1859,  Absalom  P.  Chapman.  10.  Rhoda  James,  born  October  13, 
1836:  married,  July  25,  1855,  Edmund  Chancelor.  11.  Sarah  Emily, 
born  November  20,  1839:  married,  September  18,  1870,  Hunter  Ben 
Jenkins. 

(V)  William  Clendenin,  son  of  John  and  Sophia  (Clendenin)  IMiller, 
was  born  in  Mason  county,  Virginia,  January  26,  1809.  died  July  27,  1886. 
He  was  the  pioneer  merchant  at  Barboursville,  Cabell  county,  Virginia, 
and  was  the  leading  spirit  in  his  time  of  public  improvements  at  this 
place.  He  had  here  one  of  the  most  elegant  and  hospitable  homes  in  the 
county,  built  of  brick,  with  fourteen  rooms  and  four  halls.  The  leading 
business  block,  the  lock  and  dam  and  the  old  court  house  and  jail  were 

built  by  him.     He  married,  March  6,  1838,  Eliza,  daughter  of  and 

Marie  Therese  Sophie  Clotilde  Raisoh  (De  la  Geneste)  Gardner,  who 
was  born  at  Greenup,  Kentucky;  she  died  in  1888.  A  few  years  before 
the  French  revolution,  her  grandfather,  Marquis  Maison  De  la  Geneste, 
left  France  and  settled  in  Santo  Domingo,  West  Indies.  There  he  pur- 
chased three  sugar  plantations  and  hundreds  of  negroes.  His  only  child, 
Marie  Therese  Sophie  Clotilde  Raison,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  was  mar- 
ried to  Joseph  Gardner,  a  merchant  trader,  sailing  out  of  Boston,  He 
was  related  to  General  Putnam.  He  sold  his  ships,  and  settled  on  a 
plantation  in  Santo  Domingo,  In  1796  occurred  the  insurrection  of  the 
slaves.  By  the  aid  of  a  slave  they  escaped  to  a  United  States  vessel  and 
were  landed  in  Philadelphia.  They  went  to  Pittsburgh  by  stage  coach, 
and  took  passage  on  a  boat  loaded  for  New  Orleans,  purposing  to  set- 
tle among  the  French,  in  Louisiana.     The  water  was  low  in  the  Ohio, 


'/fu     .  //n.rnr// 


WEST  \'IRGINIA  189 

and  the  boat  ran  aground  near  Greenup.  Changing  their  purpose,  they 
rented  the  largest  house  in  that  place  and  opened  an  inn.  From  Santo 
Domingo  they  had  brought  some  jewelry  and  two  slaves;  the  French 
government  afterward  gave  them  a  partial  indemnity.  Children  of  Wil- 
liam Clendenin  and  Eliza  (Gardner)  Miller:  i.  Charles,  deceased.  2. 
George  F.,  married  Kate  Davidson,  granddaughter  of  Governor  Noble,  of 
Indiana,  he  now  lives  in  Indianapolis.    3.  John  William,  of  whom  further. 

4.  Joseph  S.,  married  Florence  Tice,  he  lives  at  Kenova,  West  Virginia. 

5.  Eugenia,  married  B.  H.  Thackston,  they  live  at  Huntington.  6.  Flor- 
ence Gardner,  married  George  F.  Miller,  they  live  at  Huntington. 

(\'I)  John  William,  son  of  William  Clendenin  and  Eliza  (Gardner) 
Miller,  was  born  at  Barboursville,  A^irginia,  February  27,  1845.  He  at- 
tended Marshall  College  until  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war,  and  private 
schools  subsequently.  His  first  business  position  was  at  Richmond,  Ken- 
tucky, where  he  was  clerk  in  a  store  for  two  years.  He  then,  at  the  same 
place,  started  a  store  of  his  own  and  conducted  this  for  four  years.  In 
1868  he  returned  to  Barboursville,  where  he  has  continuously  lived  from 
that  time,  being  engaged  in  farming  and  the  live  stock  business.  He  owns 
a  farm  a  mile  south  of  Barboursville.  He  is  a  Democrat,  and  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  He  married,  at  Richmond, 
Kentucky,  November  20,  1865,  Annie  E.,  born  in  Kentucky,  January  8, 
1847,  daughter  of  Albert  A.  Curtis..  Her  father  was  paymaster  in  the 
federal  army  for  Kentucky  troops  during  the  civil  war,  and  for  four 
years  was  a  member  of  the  Kentucky  legislature.  He  died  about  1886,  his 
wife  a  year  earlier.  Children  of  John  William  and  Annie  E.  (Curtis) 
Miller:  i.  Frank,  deceased.  2.  William  C,  a  farmer  at  Barboursville.  3. 
Albert  M.,  deceased ;  he  was  a  conductor  on  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  rail- 
road, and  was  killed  by  his  train ;  married  Nina  Parker,  of  Lexington. 
Kentucky;  had  one  son,  John  W.  4.  Bessie  A.,  living  at  home;  she  is  a 
teacher  of  art  in  Morris-Harvey  College.  5.  Joseph  T.,  deceased;  mar- 
ried  and  left  two  children ;  Virginia  and  Charles.    6.  Annie  Coelina, 

married  Earl  E.  Spencer,  of  Barboursville ;  children :  Annie  Virginia  and 
Earl  Edwin.  7.  Thomas  E.,  a  merchant  at  Branchland  postoffice,  Lincoln 
county,  West  Virginia. 


Hu  Maxwell,  well  known  as  an  historical  writer,  was 
MAXWELL  born  at  St.  George,  in  what  is  now  West  Virginia,  Sep- 
tember 22,  i860,  son  of  Rufus  and  Sarah  Jane  (Bonni- 
field)  Maxwell.  He  is  chiefly  of  Scotch  descent.  His  ancestors  were 
in  this  country  two  hundred  years  ago ;  members  of  the  family  fought  in 
the  French  and  Indian  wars,  in  the  revolution,  and  some  were  slain  in  the 
Indian  wars  that  concerned  the  region  now  known  as  West  Virginia. 

Mr.  Maxwell's  first  sixteen  years  were  spent  upon  a  farm.  His  edu- 
cation was  looked  after  by  his  parents,  who  were  college  people — a  rare 
thing  in  that  section  in  that  day.  He  spent  four  years  in  study  prepara- 
tory to  a  place  as  engineer  in  the  navy,  but  abandoned  this  effort  on 
account  of  defective  eyesight  which  would  not  have  met  the  prescribed 
tests.  The  following  two  years  were  given  principally  to  cutting  logs  in 
the  forest.  In  the  meantime  he  taught  school  four  months,  and  wrote  a 
history  of  "The  Conquest  of  the  Ohio  Valley,"  for  which  he  was  unable 
to  find  a  publisher.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  began  newspaper  work 
to  the  extent  of  meeting  expenses  of  travel.  He  went  to  New  Orleans, 
thence  to  California  by  way  of  Mexico,  then  spent  a  year  in  the  west — 
some  time  in  the  Sierra  ^Nevada  mountains,  remote  from  settlements, 
visited  the  Colorado  and  Mojave  deserts,  and  then  went  to  some  of  the 
Pacific  Islands.    During  that  year  he  wrote  "Idyls  of  the  Golden  Shore," 


lyo  WEST  VIRGINIA 

a  volume  of  poems  on  California  subjects  which  was  subsequently  pub- 
lished by  Putnam's  Sons,  of  New  York.  In  1884  he  returned  to  West 
\'irginia,  and  bought  a  small  weekl)'  newspaper,  the  Tucker  County  Pio- 
neer, which  cost  him  two  and  a  half  years  of  arduous  effort,  and  which 
he  then  abandoned  as  a  failure.  He  turned  again  to  the  wilds,  and  went 
to  British  America  with  the  purpose  of  descending  the  Mackenzie  river 
to  the  Arctic  ocean,  but  plans  miscarried,  and  when  he  reached  the  mouth 
of  the  Red  River  of  the  North,  and  not  finding  the  parties  who  were  to 
meet  him  there,  he  turned  west,  crossed  the  Rocky  mountains  at  the  head 
of  the  Saskatchewan  river,  and  reached  the  Pacific  ocean  opposite  Van- 
couver Island.  Much  of  the  two  thousand  mile  overland  journey  was 
made  with  a  single  companion.  He  followed  the  coast  as  far  as  south 
Oregon,  and  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  river  up  five  hundred  miles  from 
the  sea.  He  also  undertook  to  reach  the  crater  of  Mt.  Shasta,  but,  suf- 
fering from  an  accident,  was  unable  to  do  so.  The  next  two  years  he 
spent  in  California,  exploring  the  mountains  with  a  special  view  to  de- 
termining the  history  of  the  former  glaciers,  and  their  influence  upon 
the  geology  and  timlDer  of  that  region.  During  this  time  he  was  much 
with  Indians,  partly  learned  their  language,  and  made  a  dictionary  of 
that  of  the  Digger  Indians,  ascertaining  that  it  contained  1263  words, 
nearly  half  of  which  were  of  Spanish  or  English  origin.  He  returned 
east,  then  California  again.  He  was  engaged  in  newspaper  work  almost 
continuously  for  the  next  five  years,  and  in  connection  with  it  during  two 
summers  studied  the  forests  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  range,  to  determine 
their  influence  upon  the  stream  flow  upon  which  irrigation  depended,  and 
this  marked  the  beginning  of  the  agitation  favoring  forest  protection  and 
which  some  years  later  culminated  in  the  organization  of  the  United 
States  Forest  Service.  During  this  time  he  was  appointed  a  delegate  to 
the  International  Irrigation  Congress,  which  he  attended.  He  was  a 
pioneer  in  forest  investigation,  and  his  conclusions  have  been  fully  sus- 
tained by  more  extensive  studies  since  made  by  the  government. 

Returning  east  in  1896,  Mr.  Maxwell  engaged  in  writing  and  publish- 
ing local  histories  of  Hampshire,  Randolph  and  Barbour  counties,  and 
then  relinquished  such  work  on  account  of  the  large  development  of  com- 
mercial printing,  which  taxed  the  capacity  of  his  printing  house.  During 
this  period  he  wrote  a  history  of  West  \^irginia  which  was  adopted  as 
a  text  book  in  the  public  schools  of  the  State.  He  became  editor  of  the 
Morgautozvn  Chronicle  at  its  founding,  and  continued  for  three  years, 
then  resigning  to  accept  his  present  position  of  expert  in  the  United  States 
Forest  Service.  He  served  as  such  for  two  and  a  half  years  in  Washing- 
ton, and  was  then  transferred  to  Chicago.  He  has  represented  West  Vir- 
ginia in  all  the  important  waterways,  irrigation  and  conservation  con- 
gresses. In  1908  he  was  appointed  chairman  of  the  West  Virginia  Con- 
servation Commission,  and  assisted  in  the  preparation  of  a  report  which 
was  published  by  the  state.  In  1910  the  College  of  William  and  Mary 
published  his  "Use  and  Abuse  of  Forests  by  Virginia  Indians."  The 
national  government  has  published  various  of  his  reports  and  mono- 
graphs, among  them  being  "Surface  Conditions  and  Stream  Flow," 
Wood  Using  Industries  of  Massachusetts,"  and  also  of  Maryland,  Michi- 
gan, Louisiana,  Texas  and  Florida,  and  many  others  on  kindred  subjects. 

Mr.  Maxwell  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  in  religion  inclines  to 
Methodism.  He  married,  in  California,  Miss  .\nna  Humphreys.  Their 
children  are:  Selbv  Frederick,  Marian,  Anna,  and  Alexander  Wilson. 


WEST  \'1RGIXIA 


lyi 


Samuel  C.  Bell  was  brought  from  Ireland,  where  he  was 
BELL  born,  to  America,  by  his  parents  when  he  was  seven  years 
old.  He  married  a  German  lady  and  settled  at  Clifton  Furn- 
ace about  eight  miles  from  the  present  site  of  Morgantown,  in  IVIonon- 
galia  county.  West  Virginia.  His  children  were :  Samuel,  William, 
John,  Henry,  George,  Anna,  Agnes  and  ]\Iargaret.  William  Bell  emi- 
grated to  the  state  of  Tennessee  and  was  the  progenitor  of  the  Bell  fam- 
ily in  that  state.  John  Bell  was  never  married  and  lived  to  old  age  in 
Monongalia  county.  Henry  Bell  removed  to  IMarion  county.  West  \'ir- 
ginia,  where  he  lived  to  old  age.  George  Bell  removed  to  near  Wheel- 
ing, West  Virginia,  where  he  raised  a  family  and  lived  to  old  age.  Anna 
Bell  never  married  and  lived  all  her  life  at  Morgantown,  West  Virginia. 
Agnes  Bell  died  in  her  infancy.  Margaret  Bell  married  Samuel  G.  Stev- 
ens, who  located  in  Calhoun  county,  West  A'irginia,  where  they  raised  a 
large  family,  and  she  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age. 

(H)  Samuel,  son  of  Samuel  C.  Bell,  was  born  in  Monongalia  county, 
West  Virginia,  in  1812.  He  served  both  as  constable  and  justice  of  the 
peace  in  Calhoun  county,  and  at  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  he  joined 
the  Confederate  army  in  1862.  After  being  engaged  in  several  impor- 
tant battles,  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Union  forces,  and  together 
with  a  number  of  other  Confederate  prisoners  was  imprisoned  at  Alton. 
Illinois,  where  he  died  in  March,  1863,  from  the  effects  of  the  ill  treat- 
ment of  his  captors.  He  married  Susan  Stevens,  whose  father  was  a 
Frenchman  and  whose  mother  was  a  Scotch  lady.  They  located  in  Cal- 
houn county,  West  Virginia,  sometime  prior  to  the  outbreak  of  the  civil 
war.  They  had  the  following  children :  Samantha  Ann,  married  Wil- 
liam T.  Haverty;  Drusilla,  married  Isaac  T.  Law;  William  Edgar,  of 
whom  further :  Henry  Perry :  Margaret  Virginia,  married  ]\Iarshall  W. 
Trippett. 

(IID  \\'illiam  Edgar,  son  of  Samuel  and  Susan  (Stevens)  Bell, 
was  horn  March  8,  1847.  Being  the  oldest  of  the  two  sons  of  his  father, 
the  care  of  his  widowed  mother  fell  largely  on  him  upon  the  death 
of  his  father  in  March,  1863,  and  during  the  fierce  struggles  of  the  civil 
war  and  for  some  years  after  its  close  he  worked  long  and  hard  to  keep 
their  family  together  and  to  provide  for  their  needs.  Early  in  life  he 
learned  the  trade  of  shoemaker  and  for  many  years  he  supplied  a  large 
trade  with  boots  and  shoes.  William  Edgar  Bell  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  for  a  long  number  of  years,  and 
it  has  long  been  a  tradition  in  the  family  that  a  member  of  this  family 
signed  the  first  charter  for  the  first  Odd  Fellows  Lodge  in  Ainerica,  be- 
ing Washington  Lodge  No.  i.  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  instituted  .April 
26,  1810,  and  chartered  by  a  number  of  the  Past  Grands  of  the  order  in 
England.  On  December  23.  1866,  he  married  Rachel  Rebecca,  daughter 
of  Hiram  and  Matilda  CKnight)  Ferrell.  whose  father  was  reared  in 
Monongalia  county  and  was  of  Irish-Scotch  descent,  and  he  was  one  of 
the  pioneer  citizens  of  Calhoun  county,  having  settled  in  that  county 
when  there  were  not  more  than  a  half  dozen  families  living  in  the  entire 
territory  now  covered  by  the  county.  Mr.  Bell  was  formerly  engasred  in 
the  mercantile  business  in  Calhoun  county,  but  removed  to  Point  Pleas- 
ant, in  IMason  county.  West  Virginia,  in  1911,  where  he  and  his  wife 
still  live.  His  children  were:  Matilda  Virginia,  married  Asberrv  Pol- 
ing, a  farmer  no\v  residing  near  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia :  Samuel 
Paris,  of  whom  further;  Hiram  Prince,  who  was  a  minister  in  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  South,  and  died  at  Cedarville,  West  A-^irginia. 
August  26,  1896:  Perry  Pious,  a  merchant  at  Point  Pleasant,  West  Vir- 
ginia: Robert  Pierre,  editor  of  the  Point  Pleasant  Register,  of  Point 
Pleasant,  West  Virginia. 


192  WEST  VIRGINIA 

(IVj  Samuel  Paris,  son  of  William  Edgar  and  Rachel  Rebecca 
(Ferrell)  Bell,  was  born  at  Grantsville.  Calhoun  county.  West  Virginia, 
July  23,  1870.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools,  and 
at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  began  teaching  school.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years  he  was  elected  county  surveyor  for  Calhoun  county,  and  was 
re-elected  to  the  same  position,  but  before  his  second  term  expired  he 
resigned  his  office  to  enter  actively  in  the  practice  of  law.  He  read  law 
while  he  was  teaching  school,  afterwards  entering  the  office  of  Hon. 
J.  IM.  Hamilton,  now  United  States  congressman  from  the  fourth  dis- 
trict of  West  Virginia.  He  studied  law  under  Mr.  Hamilton  for  some 
time,  and  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  the  law  in  February,  1897, 
and  remained  in  the  office  with  Mr.  Hamilton  until  January  i,  1905. 
At  this  time  a  law  partnership  was  formed  with  A.  G.  Matthews,  with 
offices  at  Grantsville,  West  \'irginia,  which  continued  until  1910,  when 
a  law  partnership  was  formed  with  the  Hon.  Walter  Pendleton,  of 
Spencer,  West  Virginia,  under  the  firm  name  of  Pendleton,  Matthews  & 
Bell,  with  offices  at  Point  Pleasant,  Mason  county,  Spencer,  Roane 
county,  and  Grantsville,  Calhoun  county,  and  at  which  time  Mr.  Bell 
removed  to  Point  Pleasant,  West  Virginia,  where  he  still  resides. 

He  was  at  one  time  the  editor  of  the  Calhoun  Chronicle,  published  at 
Grantsville,  West  Virginia,  and  is  at  the  present  time  editor  of  the  Lay- 
man's Herald,  the  official  organ  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  in  West  Virginia,  and  which  is  published  at  Sutton,  West  Vir- 
ginia. He  is  a  member  of  the  following  fraternities :  Eureka  Lodge,  No. 
40,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Grantsville.  West  Virginia; 
Point  Pleasant  Lodge,  No.  33,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of 
Point  Pleasant,  West  Virginia ;  Kanawha  Encampment,  No.  65,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  Dodrill,  West  Virginia ;  Miriam  Rebe- 
kah  Lodge,  No.  i,  of  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia;  Parkersburg 
Canton,  No.  7,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  Parkers-  . 
burg,  \^'est  Virginia;  Spencer  Lodge,  No.  55,  Knights  of  Pythias, 
of  Spencer,  West  Virginia ;  and  Shawnee  Tribe,  No.  25,  Im- 
proved Order  of  Red  Men,  of  Dodrill,  West  Virginia.  He  was 
grand  master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  of  West  Virginia,  in 
the  years  1905  and  1906,  and  represented  the  Grand  Lodge  of  West  Vir- 
ginia in  the  Sovereign  Grand  Lodge  at  its  sessions  held  at  Saint  Paul, 
Minnesota,  in  1907,  and  at  Denver,  Colorado,  in  1908.  He  was  the  Demo- 
cratic nominee  for  the  office  of  judge  of  the  circuit  court  of  the  fifth  judi- 
cial circuit  in  West  Virginia,  in  the  campaign  of  1912,  but  was  defeated 
in  the  general  election,  along  with  the  rest  of  his  ticket  in  the  state, 
although  he  ran  more  than  a  thousand  votes  ahead  of  his  ticket  in  that 
circuit. 

He  was  married  July  12,  i8c;3,  to  Ona  Belle,  daughter  of  Minter  J. 
and  Mary  (Rutherford)  Stump,  of  Stumpton,  Gilmer  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia. His  wife  was  born  November  i,  1877,  at  Normantown,  Gilmer  coun- 
ty, West  Virginia,  and  her  ancestors  were  the  first  settlers  of  Central 
West  Virginia,  and  many  of  them  have  reached  positions  of  prominence, 
both  in  county  and  state.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bell  have  the  following  children; 
Myrtle  Lucretia,  born  March  11,  1895;  Holly  Page,  February  21,  1897; 
Wilmea  Kate,  March  18,  1899;  William  Wade.  December  20,  1900;  Vir- 
gil Millard,  January  31,  1903;  Samuel  Paris  Jr.,  April  17,  1906;  Mattie 
Eunice,  June  11,  1908;  Mary  Elizabeth,  July  31,  1910. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  193 

Huntington  has  no  more  aggressive  business  man  than 
BICKEL  Robert  Allen  Bickel,  representative  of  the  Home  Life  In- 
surance Company,  of  New  York.  Un  his  father's  side 
Mr.  Bickel  comes  of  Pennsylvania  stock,  while  through  his  mother  he  is 
a  descendant  of  ancestors  who  made  their  home  in  Uld  Kentucky. 

(I)  Robert  S.  Bickel,  grandfather  of  Robert  Allen  Bickel,  was  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  spent  the  active  period  of  his  life  at  Point 
Pleasant,  West  Virginia,  in  the  merchant  tailoring  business.  He  died 
in  1905,  aged  eighty  years. 

(IIj  Anthony,  son  of  Robert  S.  Bickel,  was  born  at  Point  Pleasant, 
West  Virginia.  He  conducted  a  drugstore  in  his  native  place.  He  mar- 
ried Jennie  Borders,  born  at  Catlettsburg,  Kentucky,  daughter  of  Allen 
P.  and  Louisa  (Mayo)  Borders,  and  granddaughter  of  Archibald  Bor- 
ders, a  pioneer  settler  of  Sandy  Valley,  Lawrence  county,  Kentucky. 
He  was  a  large  slaveholder  and  filled  the  office  of  judge.  Allen  P.  Bor- 
ders was  born  in  Lawrence  county,  and  was  a  farmer  and  merchant. 
He  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years.  His  wife  belonged  to  one  of 
the  prominent  families  of  the  Big  Sandy.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bickel  were 
the  parents  of  two  children :  Robert  Allen,  of  whom  further ;  and  a 
daughter  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Bickel  died  in  1877,  at  the  early 
age  of  twenty-four  years,  and  his  widow  later  married  William  D.  Roffe, 
by  whom  she  had  one  child:  Hildegarde,  wife  of  H.  A.  Scholze,  of 
Steubenville,  Ohio.  Mr.  Roflre  died  December  4,  1912,  and  his  widow 
resides  at  Louisa,  Kentucky. 

(Ill)  Robert  Allen,  son  of  Anthony  and  Jennie  (Borders)  Bickel, 
was  born  May  19,  1876,  at  Point  Pleasant,  West  Virginia,  and  was  still 
an  infant  when  his  parents  moved  to  Lawrence  county,  Kentucky.  It 
was  there  that  he  received  his  education,  and  on  leaving  school  he  became 
a  clerk  in  the  store  conducted  by  his  grandfather  at  George's  Creek, 
Lawrence  county,  retaining  the  position  eight  years.  At  the  end  of  that 
time,  being  then  about  twenty-two  years  old,  he  went  to  Washington, 
D.  C,  where,  after  serving  four  years  as  clerk  in  a  hotel,  he  became 
cashier  for  the  firm  of  Armour  &  Company.  From  Washington  Mr. 
Bickel  returned  to  Louisa,  Lawrence  county,  and  there  engaged  in  the 
insurance  business  until  October,  1910,  when  he  came  to  Huntington  as 
representative  of  the  Home  Life  Insurance  Company,  of  New  York. 
He  has  charge  of  the  business  of  the  southern  half  of  West  Virginia 
and  of  eighteen  counties  in  Eastern  Kentucky.  A  large  portion  of  Mr. 
Bickel's  attention  has  been  given  to  the  real  estate  business,  and  in  addi- 
tion to  being  the  owner  of  numerous  residence  lots  in  Huntington  he  still 
retains  considerable  business  property  at  Lousia,  Kentucky.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  Democrat.  His  fraternal  affliations  are  with  Apperson 
Lodge,  No.  195,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Louisa,  Kentucky,  and 
is  a  member  of  the  Scottish  body :  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks ;  the  Huntington  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the  Southern  West 
Virginia  Life  LTnderwriters  Association.  He  is  a  member  of  the  South- 
ern  Methodist   Episcopal  church. 

Mr.  Bickel  married,  January  10.  1903,  at  fronton.  Ohio,  Sue  M.  ^Hi- 
lies,  a  native  of  Lawrence  county,  Ohio.  Mr.  Millies  has  been  many 
years  deceased  and  his  widow  is  still  living  at  Ironton.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Bickel  are  the  parents  of  three  children:  Roberta  A.,  born  January  20. 
1905:  Florence  Louisa,  May  3,  1909;  and  Hildegarde  May,  October  27, 
1910.  Brief  as  has  been  ]\Ir.  Bickel's  residence  in  Huntington  he  has 
proved  himself  to  be  the  type  of  man  whose  presence  is  an  advantage 
to  any  community,  an  able  and  upright  business  man,  and  a  progressive 
and   public-spirited   citizen. 


194  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Ransom  Whitten,  the  first  member  of  this  family  of 
WRITTEN  whom  we  have  definite  information,  was  born  October 
1 6,  1 791,  on  his  father's  farm  near  Lynchburg,  Camp- 
bell county,  Virginia,  died  April  30,  1868,  in  Hannan  district  of  Mason 
county.  West  Virginia.  About  1840  he  settled  on  the  Ohio  river  at 
what  is  now  the  town  of  Glenwood,  but  remained  only  a  short  time,  as 
fever  was  very  prevalent  and  the  country  rough  and  mountainous.  He 
finally  secured  a  large  tract  of  land  nine  miles  beyond  his  first  location, 
where  he  engaged  in  farming  and  established  an  inn,  which  soon  became 
well  known  and  which  was  called  the  "Whitten  Inn  at  the  Cross  Roads." 
He  married  Sarah  Hannan,  born  in  Hannan  district.  Mason  county.  West 
Virginia,  February  2,  1789,  died  May  4,  1862.  Child:  John  William, 
mentioned  below. 

(II)  John  William,  son  of  Ransom  and  Sarah  (Hannan)  Whitten, 
was  born  in  Mason  county,  Virginia,  December  15,  1824,  died  January 
12,  1862.  He  was  a  farmer  and  was  a  southern  sympathizer;  he  was 
taken  prisoner  and  confined  in  the  jail  at  Point  Pleasant,  and  after  liis 
release,  returned  to  his  home,  where  shortly  afterwards  he  contracted 
pneumonia  and  died.  He  married  Mellinda  Atkinson,  daughter  of  Arch- 
ibald D.  and  Jane  (Adams)  Campbell,  born  February  16,  1840.  Her 
father,  who  was  born  August  6,  1808,  and  died  November  8,  1868.  in 
Brooke  county,  Mrginia,  was  the  son  of  Robert  Campbell  who  emigrated 
from  Ireland.  Her  mother,  who  was  born  July  8,  1807,  and  died  Novem- 
ber 17,  1885,  in  Hannan  district,  Mason  county.  West  Virginia,  was  the 
daughter  of  Alexander  Adams,  who  was  born  near  Paris,  Washington 
county,  Pennsylvania.  Child  of  John  William  and  Mellinda  Atkinson 
(Campbell)  Whitten:    John  Lamar,  mentioned  below. 

(III)  Judge  John  Lamar  Whitten,  son  of  John  William  and  Mellinda 
Atkinson  (Campbell)  Whitten,  was  born  in  Mason  county,  West  Vir- 
ginia, February  5,  1861.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools  and  at  the  Point  Pleasant  Academy.  He  later  attended  the  Na- 
tional Normal  University  at  Lebanon,  Ohio.  He  taught  school  for  four 
years  in  the  Hannan  district,  and  then  studied  law  in  the  offices  of  J.  B. 
Menager  and  Charles  E.  Hogg,  the  latter  is  now  dean  of  the  Law  Scho(5l 
of  the  LTniversity  of  West  Virginia.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
West  \'irginia  in  1883,  and  in  the  same  year  was  elected  superintendent 
of  the  schools  for  Mason  county,  which  office  he  filled  so  satisfactoril}- 
that  he  was  re-elected  in  1885.  L'pon  the  expiration  of  his  second  term 
as  superintendent  of  schools  he  entered  into  active  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion and  continued  until  1890,  when  he  removed  to  Washington.  D.  C. 
and  was  employed  for  two  years  in  census  work,  meanwhile  in  1891,  ac- 
quiring the  degree  of  Master  of  Laws  from  the  University  of  George- 
town, D.  C.  He  then  returned  to  Point  Pleasant  and  resumed  the  prac- 
tice of  law.  In  1896  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  for  Mason  coun- 
ty for  four  years,  and  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  was  re-elected  and 
served  in  that  office  until  the  death  of  Judge  Frank  Guthrie,  when  he  was 
appointed  by  Governor  White  to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term  of  Judge  Guth- 
rie as  judge  of  the  circuit  court,  which  comprised  Mason,  Putnam  and 
Kanawha  counties  and  was  known  as  the  seventh  judicial  court.  During 
the  few  months  that  he  acted  as  circuit  judge  he  despatched  a  large 
amount  of  business  that  had  accumulated  during  the  illness  of  Judge 
Guthrie,  and  tried  many  important  cases.  Five  of  his  decisions  were  ap- 
pealed to  the  supreme  court  which  sustained  Judge  Whitten  in  each  case. 
Mr.  Whitten  was  appointed  referee  in  bankruptcy  under  Judge  Keeler. 
and  still  holds  that  office.  In  March,  1909,  he  was  elected  mayor  of 
Point  Pleasant  and  was  re-elected  in  March,  191 1,  by  an  overwhelming 
majority.     It  was  during  his  tenure  of  office  that  he  officiated   at   the 


WEST  VIRGINIA  195 

memorable  unveiling  of  the  Battle  Monument  erected  in  commemoration 
of  the  victory  of  the  Virginia  colonial  troops  comprising  the  left  wing  of 
Lord  Dunmore's  army,  and  under  command  of  General  Andrew  Lewis, 
over  the  United  Indian  Nations  commanded  by  the  renowned  Shawnee 
chief,  Cornstalk,  the  battle  being  fought  October  10,  1774,  and  the  monu- 
ment unveiled  in  1909.  Mr.  Whitten  is  a  member  of  Mount  Zion  Bap- 
tist Church  at  Upland,  Mason  county.  West  Virginia :  West  Virginia  Bar 
Association ;  Lodge  No.  t,t,.  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  having 
held  the  ofti'ce  of  noble  grand ;  Oriental  Lodge  No.  49,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  in  which  he  has  held  the  office  of  chancellor  commander ;  Catalpa 
Camp  No.  4883,  iModern  Woodmen  of  America,  and  the  National  Union. 
He  married,  April  18,  1888,  Mary  Rachel,  daughter  of  Henry  and 
Ann  Eliza  (Newman)  Gwinn.  Her  father  was  an  extensive  farmer  and 
timber  dealer  and  was  for  several  years  a  member  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion of  Hannan  district,  Alason  county,  West  \'irginia :  his  children  were, 
Othniel  Edward,  William  Walter,  C.  Eugene,  Mary  Rachel,  referred  to 
above.  Van  H. ;  Minnie  Anderson,  married  W.  D.  Holloway ;  i\Iartena  E., 
married  E.  F.  Wickline ;  D.  Byrd.  Children  of  John  Lamar  and  Mary 
Rachel  (Gwinn)  Whitten:  Rudolph  Gwinn,  born  March  10,  1889;  Ann 
Eliza,  born  April  15,  1891,  who  graduated  in  191 1  from  the  Shenandoah 
Collegiate  Institute  and  College  of  Music,  and  is  now  (1913)  studying 
at  the  New  England  Conservatory  of  Music  in  Boston,  Massachusetts ; 
Mellinda  L.,  born  June  29,  1893;  John  Lamar  Jr.,  born  June  5,  1898; 
Othniel  Edward,  born  September  i,  190 1. 


James    Mitchell,    the    founder    of    the    family    in    this 
MITCHELL     country,    was    a    North   of    Ireland    Presbyterian.      He 

was  an  orphan,  was  apprenticed  by  his  uncle,  and 
learned  the  trade  of  wheelwright  and  loommaking.  Becoming  of  age 
and  marrying,  he  and  his  wife  decided  to  try  their  fortunes  in  the  new 
world  across  the  sea,  and  accordingly  sailed  from  Western  Ireland, 
intending  to  land  in  New  York,  but  their  ship  was  delayed  by  severe 
storms,  and  it  was  not  until  six  weeks  after  setting  sail  that  they  were 
landed  at  Philadelphia,  They  possessed  in  money  only  one  pound  sterl- 
ing upon  landing.  He  worked  in  the  ship  yards  for  a  time  and  then  went 
to  Pittsburgh,  where  he  engaged  in  making  looms  and  spinning  wheels. 
After  the  local  market  had  become  supplied  with  these,  he  built  a  boat, 
and  packing  his  possessions  in  it.  drifted  down  the  Ohio  river  and 
landed  at  Racine,  Ohio,  a  Presbyterian  colony,  and  purchased  a  farm 
in  Virginia,  where  the  town  of  Spillman  now  stands.  The  farm  has 
lately  been  purchased  by  Senator  Camden  for  its  valuable  coal  deposits. 
He  still  continued  to  make  looms  and  spinning  wheels,  and  was  accus- 
tomed to  load  them  in  canoes  and  carry  them  to  Charleston,  where  he 
found  a  ready  sale  for  them.  Mr.  Mitchell  had  married  in  Ireland,  be- 
fore coming  to  America,  Mary  Anderson.  Child :  Thomas,  mentioned 
below. 

fll)  Thomas,  son  of  James  and  Mary  f Anderson)  Mitchell,  was 
born  November  18.  1815.  He  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  farm- 
ing at  West  Columbia,  on  a  farm  that  was  purchased  by  his  father  in 
1804.  He  married  Barbara,  daughter  of  .Samuel  and  Margaret  (Eck- 
ard)  Sommerville,  of  Mason  county,  who  was  born  in  May.  1824.  Her 
father  fought  in  the  war  of  1812.  Children  of  Thomas  and  Barbara 
(Sommerville)  Mitchell,  all  living  in  1012:  Rebecca  Jane,  born  in  May, 
1844;  James  Samuel,  born  in  November,  1847;  Man-  Margaret,  born 
in  1840:  Robert  Edwin,  mentioned  below;  Ann  Catherine,  born  in  1855; 


196  WEST  VIRGINIA 

tohn  Thomas,  born  in  1859;  Claudius  Jamison,  born  in  1863;  and  Wil- 
am  Calvin,  born  in  1866. 

l^III)  Robert  Edwin,  son  of  Thomas  and  Barbara  (Sommerville) 
Alitchell,  was  born  February  25,  1852,  near  West  Columbia,  Mason 
county.  West  Virginia.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools  and  during  the  years  1872  and  1873,  was  a  student  at  Tuppers 
Plains  Seminary.  He  then  attended  the  National  Normal  School  at 
Lebanon,  Ohio,  completing  his  course  in  1875,  ^"d  in  1877  was  a  can- 
jidate  for  superintendent  of  schools.  In  1878  he  was  a  candidate  for 
clerk  of  the  county  court  against  Colonel  J.  P.  R.  B.  Smith,  but  was  de- 
feated. He  then  taught  school  for  six  years  in  West  Columbia,  Clif- 
ton and  Point  Pleasant  until  in  1884  he  was  elected  clerk  of  the  cir- 
cuit court,  which  office  he  held  for  three  consecutive  terms  until  1903. 
He  was  then  appointed  assistant  cashier  of  the  Point  Pleasant  National 
Bank,  and  served  in  that  capacity  for  four  years,  when  in  1908  he  re- 
signed to  again  become  a  candidate  for  clerk  of  the  county  court 
against  Colonel  J.  P.  R.  B.  Smith,  his  opponent  of  thirty  years  before 
for  the  same  position.  This  time,  however,  Mr.  Mitchell  was  elected, 
and  he  still  holds  the  office.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  is  a 
member  of  Mintern  Lodge,  No.  19,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  of 
Oriental  Lodge,  No.  49,  Knights  of  Pythias.  Mr.  Alitchell  married,  in 
November,  1885,  Emma  Estella  Mallory.  of  Racine,  Ohio.  Child:  Eva 
Louise,  born  January  5,  1888,  who  graduated  in  June,  1910,  from  Ohio 
University  at  Athens,  Ohio,  and  married  Frank  B.  Gullum,  of  Colum- 
bus, Ohio,  professor  of  chemistry  in  the  high  school  of  that  city  (1913). 


The  progenitor  of  this  West  Virginia  family  was  James 
JOHNSTON  Johnston,  born  in  Scotland,  died  in  this  country  at 
the  age  of  ninety  years,  having  been  a  farmer  all  his 
life.  He  established  himself  about  the  beginning  of  the  last  century  on  a 
farm,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  distant  from  the  present  city  of  Hunting- 
ton. Here  he  prospered,  owing  to  his  industry,  application  and  sturdy 
Scottish  spirit ;  so  that  the  old  homestead  has  been  handed  down  to  his 
descendants  who  for  generations  have  been  born  there. 

(II)  William  L..  son  of  James  Johnston,  was  born  on  the  old  place, 
about  1806,  died  in  the  winter  of  1871.  He  followed  in  his  father's  foot- 
steps and  became  a  farmer  also,  being  in  addition  a  millwright.  During 
the  civil  war  he  was  a  southern  sympathizer,  but  does  not  appear  to  have 
taken  any  very  active  part  in  hostilities.  His  wife  was  Mary  McGinnis, 
a  native  of  Cabell  county,  daughter  of  Edmund  McGinnis,  a  minister  of 
the  southern  Methodist  church,  who  lived  for  the  greater  part  of  his  life 
in  West  Virginia,  but  died  in  Texas.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnston  had  chil- 
dren:  I.  Frederick  William,  of  Amarillo,  Texas.  2.  Marcellus  Logan, 
died  in  Texas  ten  years  ago.  3.  James  Edmund,  of  whom  further.  4. 
Mary,  wife  of  Robert  L.  Day,  an  architect  in  Huntington. 

(III)  James  Edmund,  son  of  William  Logan  and  Mary  (McGinnis) 
Johnston,  was  born  August  21,  1852,  at  the  old  family  homestead.  His 
mother  died  when  he  was  very  young;  and  when  twelve  years  of  age  his 
grandfather,  then  an  old  man  of  ninety  years,  also  died  at  the  old  home 
which  he  had  established  for  the  family.  During  the  harassing  times  of 
the  civil  war  the  boy  was  able  to  obtain  little  or  no  education.  When 
about  nineteen  years  of  age,  however,  he  entered  Marshall  College ;  but 
his  father  dying,  he  was  obliged  to  leave  and  take  upon  his  shoulders  the 
burden  of  life.  He  began  work  in  the  store  of  Laidley  &  Johnston,  of 
which  his  father  had  been  one  of  the  partners,  and  clerked  in  the  estab- 
lishment for  ten  years.    In  the  fall  of  1881  he  began  business  on  his  own 


^9^c> 


WEST  VIRGINIA  197 

account  as  a  furniture  dealer  and  undertaker,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Hagen  &  Johnston.  He  continued  thus  for  some  time,  finally  associating 
with  himself  J.  Alden  Emmons,  and  giving  the  business  the  new  name  of 
Johnston  &  Emmons.  This  lasted  for  ten  years.  On  May  i,  1897,  the 
Johnston  Undertaking  Company  was  established,  Mr.  Johnston  being  the 
sole  proprietor  and  doing  the  largest  and  best  business  of  this  kind  in 
Huntington.  He  is  a  man  well  known  in  commercial  and  industrial  cir- 
cles and  has  become  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  this  place.  He  is  pop- 
ular and  influential  among  fraternal  organizations,  being  a  member  of 
the  Masons,  and  also  of  the  following  orders:  Odd  Fellows,  Elks,  Knights 
of  the  Golden  Eagle,  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  Knights  of  Pythias 
and  Junior  Order  of  American  Mechanics.  As  a  politician  Mr.  Johnston 
is  independent  in  his  views,  voting  as  he  pleases,  regardless  of  party.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  as  befits  his  Scottish  ancestry. 

Mr.  Johnston  married  (first)  thirty-five  years  ago,  Anna  Laidley,  of 
Charleston.  West  Virginia,  by  whom  he  had  three  children:  i.  Archie 
Lynn,  thirty-two  years  of  age,  living  in  Cincinnati ;  a  sales-manager  for 
the  Electric  Railway  Equipment  Company.  2.  Frederick  William,  thirty 
years  of  age ;  a  teller  in  the  Kanawha  National  Bank,  of  Charleston,  West 
Virginia.  3.  ^lildred  Mrginia,  living  at  home.  Mr.  Johnston's  (second) 
wife  was  Lida  Valentine,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Richard  and  Sallie 
(Smith)  Valentine,  both  deceased:  the  marriage  occurred  twenty  years 
ago  at  Georgetown,  Ohio,  Mrs.  Johnston  having  been  born  in  Lexington, 
Kentucky.  There  is  but  one  child  by  this  last  marriage :  4.  Edmund  \'al- 
entine,  born  December  29,  1895  ;  received  his  primary  education  in  the 
local  schools :  now  attending  ^ilarshall  College,  being  in  the  sophoinore 
class  ;  his  afternoons  are  devoted  to  the  assistance  of  his  father  in  busi- 
ness. 


George  Tippett,  the  founder  of  this  family  in  this  coun- 
TIPPETT     try,   was   born   April    17,    1806,   in   Alanchester,   England, 

and  died  May  2,  1852,  in  Cumberland,  Maryland.  Among 
the  records  of  the  early  English  Tippetts  extant,  are  John  Tippett,  who 
married   Florence  Kellowe  at   St.   Wren's   Cathedral,  London,   June   22, 

1609;  and  Tippett,   nephew  of   Sir  John   Tippett,   surgeon   in  the 

navy,  married  Elizabeth  Evelyn  at  Deptford,  England,  in  1683. 

(I)  George  Tippett  was  a  stone  mason,  sculptor  and  plasterer  by 
trade  and  for  a  number  of  years  was  engaged  in  the  railroad  business, 
and  as  a  contractor  and  constructor  of  roads.  He  married  (first),  April 
12,  1826,  Grace  Deeble  Zelland,  who  died  in  England,  March  20.  1830. 
He  married  (second),  March  21,  1833,  at  Harper's  Ferry.  Virginia, 
Sarah  Elizabeth  Ways,  daughter  of  James  and  Sarah  Elizabeth  (Ways) 
McNair,  who  died  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  June  18,  1862.  The  grandfather 
of  Sarah  Elizabeth  (Ways)  McNair,  Basil  Ways,  married  Cecilia,  daugh- 
ter of  Daniel  Driscoll,  whose  wife  was  a  descendant  of  the  distinguished 
Carroll  and  "Marshall  families,  of  the  "Old  Dominion."  Her  father 
was  Samuel  Driscoll  Ways,  and  her  mother  Susan  Walling,  a  descendant 
of  distinguished  Holland-Dutch  ancestry-  Children  of  George  Tippet, 
three  by  first  marriage:  i.  Elizabeth,  born  October  22.  1827.  2.  James, 
born  October  13,  1829.  3.  Charles.  4.  Susan  Catharine,  born  Febru- 
ary 21,  1834;  died  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  December  30.  1880, 
unmarried.  5.  George  Ways,  referred  to  below.  6.  \\'illiam  Sylvester, 
born  at  Berkeley,  Virginia,  November  14,  1837,  died  at  Wheeling.  West 
Virginia,  in  1881,  married  Margaret  Pershing:  children:  Katherine, 
married  Charles  Beckerline :  Annie,  married  William  Graham  Jr. :  Henry, 
died   at   Wheeling,  West   Virginia.      7.    Samuel   Driscoll,   born   at   Han- 


igS  WEST  VIRCINIA 

cuck,  Alarylaiul,  December  ii,  1S43  ;  married  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  April 
5,  1866,  Elizabeth  Atwell ;  children:  Flora  Atwell,  married  at  Oakland, 
California,  George  W.  Kenneth,  no  children;  Margaret,  died  October 
3,  1902,  married  at  Lockland,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  Sherman  T.  Cooper, 
children,  Helen  and  Sherman  O. ;  Martha,  married  Robert  W.  Spang- 
ler,  children,  Ralph  and  Lois,  died  young:  William  Morrison,  married 
at  La  Grange,  Chicago,  Illinois,  Elaine  Kearney,  no  children. 

(II)  George  Ways,  son  of  George  and  Sarah  Elizabeth  Ways  (Mc- 
Nair)  Tippett,  was  born  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  January  30,  1836,  and 
died  in  Point  Pleasant,  West  Virginia,  J^Iay  19,  1902.  He  received  his 
early  education  in  the  pay  schools  and  St.  Patrick's  Catholic  school,  of 
Cumberland,  Maryland,  and  in  January,  1847,  ^t  the  age  of  eleven  years 
entered  the  printing  office  of  The  AUcghanian  and  served  a  four  years'  ap- 
prenticeship at  the  printer's  trade.  May  2,  1855,  he  removed  to  Point 
Pleasant,  West  Virginia,  where  he  resided  up  to  the  time  of  his  death. 
On  coming  to  Point  Pleasant,  he  entered  the  office  of  the  Independent 
Rcl'iiblican  and  served  as  a  compositor.  February  22,  1862.  he  began  the 
publication  of  the  Weekly  Register  and  continued  its  owner,  manager 
and  editor,  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  accomplishing  in  the  newspaper 
field,  more  than  an  ordinary  success.  In  1880,  he  was  elected  to  the 
West  Virginia  house  of  delegates  from  Mason  county,  serving  during 
the  sessions  of  1881-1882,  and  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  committee 
on  elections  and  privileges,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  printing  and 
contingent  expenses,  was  on  the  committee  on  executive  offices  and  li- 
brary, and  was  also  a  member  of  the  Congressional  apportionative  com- 
mittee. In  politics  he  was  an  earnest  and  zealous  Democrat  and  with 
his  wide  experience  and  unquestionable  ability,  wielded  a  large  influ- 
ence in  the  councils  of  his  party.  He  was  a  progressive  and  representa- 
tive citizen,  held  several  minor  offices  of  honor  and  trust,  and  manifested 
much  interest  in  education,  being  a  member  of  the  board  that  built  the 
high  school  building  in  Point  Pleasant,  an  edifice  for  which  he  fought 
for  years  through  the  columns  of  his  paper,  and  no  doubt  gaining  for  the 
town  that  much  needed  and  excellent  institution.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Episcopal  church  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

He  married,  September  11,  1856,  Sarah  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam and  Ann  Risk  of  Rockbridge  county,  Virginia.  Children :  James 
Piell,  referred  to  below:  William  Ruffner,  born  January  30,  1859;  Charles 
Augustus,  born  December  9,  1861  :  Henry  Emerson,  born  January  9, 
1863:  Georgiana,  born  May  11.  1866;  Kate  Lisetta,  born  ?vlarch  5,  1868; 
Frank  Burner,  born  Alarch  i,  1870;  Edith  Blair,  born  ]\Iay  16,  1872; 
Clififord  Carlisle,  born  September  21,  1874. 

(HI)  James  Bell,  son  of  George  Ways  and  Sarah  Elizabeth  (Risk) 
Tippett,  was  born  in  Point  Pleasant,  West  Mrginia,  March  25,  1858.  He 
received  his  early  education  in  public  and  normal  schools,  and  then,  un- 
til he  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  was  employed  in  his  father's  office  where 
he  learned  the  printer's  trade.  He  then  became  a  salesman  for  the  dry 
goods  firm  of  Harmison  &  Company,  remaining  with  them  for  three 
years,  from  which  time  he  was  engaged  in  the  retail  business,  in  general 
store  keeping,  and  for  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life  in  the  furniture 
and  undertaking  business.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  foremost  colleges 
of  embalming  and  sanitation  in  the  United  States,  holding  his  diploma 
since  1891,  and  was  the  first  licensed  embalmer  in  the  state  holding  a 
certificate.  He  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  West  \'irginia  State 
Board  of  Embalmers  by  Governor  G.  W.  Atkinson,  and  was  president  of 
the  board,  serving  a  four  years  term  of  his  appointment.  In  1888  he 
established  the  general  fire  and  life  insurance  agency  known  as  the  Tip- 
pett  &   Hutchinson   Agency,   which   was   sold   in   January,    1910,   to   the 


WEST  \IRGINIA 


199 


Point  Pleasant  Trust  Company.  IMr.  Tippett  was  vici.'-i)resident  of  the 
Point  Pleasant  Council  of  Boy  Scouts;  a  stockholder  in  the  Merchants 
National  Bank  of  Point  Pleasant ;  secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trade ;  and 
also  president  of  the  Point  Pleasant  Building  and  Loan  Association.  He 
was  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  in  1890,  was  a  candidate  for  circuit  clerk, 
against  R.  C.  ^litchell.  the  Republican  candidate  for  re-election,  but  was 
defeated  by  thirteen  votes.  He  was  again  the  Democratic  candidate  for 
sherilif  of  Mason  county  in  1904,  and  was  defeated  by  James  JMcDermit 
by  thirty-eight  votes,  the  county  being  strongly  Republican  and  in  that 
year  giving  a  majority  of  over  eight  hundred.  For  over  thirty-five  years 
he  had  been  active  as  an  organizer  in  his  party,  rarely  missing  attendance 
at  both  state  and  district  conventions,  generally  as  a  delegate,  and  was 
commissioned  as  assistant  Sergeant-at-arms  of  the  National  Democratic 
Convention  at  Baltimore,  Maryland,  in  191 2,  through  the  courtesy  of 
tlon.  John  T.  ^McGraw,  the  national  committeeman  from  Grafton,  West 
\'irginia.  Mr.  Tippett  was  a  Mason,  being  a  member  of  Minturn  Lodge 
No.  19,  of  Point  Pleasant.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  No.  33,  and  past  grand  member  of  Fidelity 
Encampment  No.  57 :  Knights  of  Pythias  No.  49,  and  a  Knight  of 
Khorassan.  He  was  a  Southern  Presbyterian  in  religion,  and  a  deacon  in 
the  church  at  Point  Pleasant.     He  died  January  16.   1913. 

Mr.  Tippett  married  (first),  in  October,  1879,  Lida  J.,  daughter  of 
Benjamin  and  Martha  Day,  of  Five  Mile  Post  Office,  in  the  Arbuckle 
district.  She  died  in  November.  1898.  He  married  (second)  Cornelia 
Denver,  daughter  of  Dr.  Laban  Franklin  Campbell  and  Ida  Lewis  (Men- 
ager)  Campbell,  of  Point  Pleasant.  (See  Campbell  and  ^lenager  Lines). 
Child,  James  Campbell,  born  April  17,  1906. 
(The  Campbell  Line). 

Dr.  Laban  Franklin  Campbell,  son  of  W^illiam  Reed  and  Eliza  Ball 
(Cartmell)  Campbell,  was  born  in  Frederick  county,  X'irginia,  ^May  20, 
1840,  and  died  in  Norfolk,  Virginia,  April  18,  1910,  and  is  buried  in  the 
family  burying  ground  in  Point  Pleasant,  West  Virginia.  He  received  his 
early  education  in  the  academies  of  Winchester,  Leesburg,  and  Romney, 
Virginia,  and  attended  his  first  course  of  medical  lectures  in  Winchester 
until  the  outbreak  of  the  war  between  the  states,  when  he  entered  the 
Confederate  army  ;  enlisting  in  Company  C,  Thirteenth  Mrginia  Infantry, 
and  served  throughout  the  war.  In  the  summer  of  1864,  he  was  taken 
prisoner  and  sent  to  Camp  Chase  in  Ohio,  where  he  was  held  until  .\pril 
1865.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  entered  the  school  of  medicine  of  the 
L^niversity  of  ^Maryland,  finishing  his  course  and  graduating  in  1867. 
Immediately  afterward  he  located  in  Point  Pleasant  where  he  attained  a 
position  of  prominence  and  influence  in  professional  and  social  circles. 
L'nder  President  Cleveland's  administration  he  was  medical  examiner 
for  pensions,  and  was  a  member  of  the  West  Virginia  Medical  Associa- 
tion and  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  married,  in  187 1.  Ida 
Lewis,  daughter  of  Lewis  Bobin  and  Cornelia  ( Steenbergen)  Menager, 
born  May  6,  1848.  Children:  Cornelia  Denver,  referred  to  above,  mar- 
ried, December  3,  1902,  James  Bell  Tippett;  Louis  Reed;  Archibald 
Menager;  Laban  Franklin  Jr. 

(The  .Menager  Line).* 

Claudius  Roman  Menager,  the  founder  of  this  family  in  this  coun- 
try, was  born  in  Normandy,  and  died  in  Gallipolis,  Ohio,  January  17. 
1835.     He  and  Mary  Bobin,  whom  he  subsequently  married,  were  both 


*This  Sketch  was  prepared  by  the  late  Ella  S.  Neale. 


200  WEST  VIRGINIA 

among  the  five  or  six  hundred  well  educated  emigrants  of  good  families, 
skilled  in  various  fine  crafts  and  little  fitted  for  pioneer  life,  who  left 
France  in  1789  to  settle  in  America  on  land  purchased  through  agents 
of  the  Scioto  Society.  It  is  a  matter  of  history  how  they  disembarked 
from  five  ships  at  Alexandria  to  find  themselves  defrauded  of  their 
money,  and  their  titles  to  land  not  legal.  After  much  delay  the  agents 
agreed  to  furnish  them  means  for  transportation  to  Ohio,  and  they  trav- 
eled by  wagons  through  the  valley  of  Virginia,  thence  to  Brownsville, 
Pennsylvania,  and  on  to  the  Ohio  river,  landing  in  Gallipolis,  October  10, 
1790.  Mr.  Menager  became  a  merchant  and  with  his  wife,  who,  brave 
hearted  and  true,  aided  him  in  every  way,  accumulated  what  was  re- 
garde-l  in  those  times  as  a  considerable  fortune.  After  St.  Clair's  defeat 
the  Indians  made  a  raid  upon  the  settlers,  running  off  all  the  stock,  de- 
stroying what  they  could  not  carry  away,  and  killing  all  who  were  out- 
side of  the  garrison ;  but  nothing  daunted,  these  pioneers  began  anew, 
cooking  food  for  the  troops  who  were  sent  to  disperse  the  Indians  and 
protect  the  people,  until  they  finally  became  independent  in  fortune  and 
lived  to  a  ripe  old  age.  Mr.  Menager  married  at  Gallipolis,  Ohio  (his 
marriage  said  to  be  the  first  in  the  town)  March  16,  1790,  Mary  Bobin, 
and  among  his  children  was,  Lewis  Bobin,  referred  to  below. 

(II)  Lewis  Bobin,  son  of  Claudius  Roman  and  Mary  (Bobin)  Men- 
ager, was  born  at  Gallipolis,  Ohio,  April  9,  1803,  and  died  in  Point  Pleas- 
ant, West  Virginia,  June  6,  1870.  He  was  educated  at  Athens,  Ohio, 
and  was  for  many  years  a  merchant  in  his  native  town,  but  after  his 
second  marriage  he  decided  to  try  rural  life,  and  purchasing  a  farm  in 
Mercer's  Bottom,  resided  there  until  his  children  required  educational 
advantages,  when  he  moved  to  Point  Pleasant,  where  he  lived  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death.  He  was  a  man  of  the  highest  type  of  honor  and  in- 
tegrity, and  a  versatile,  brilliant  conversationalist.  He  married,  July  11, 
1847,  Cornelia,  daughter  of  Peter  Higgins  and  Maria  B.  (Jordan)  Steen- 
bergen,  bom  January  23,  1818,  died  January  17,  1897.  Children:  Ida 
Lewis,  born  ilay  6.  1848.  married  Dr.  Laban  Franklin  Campbell,  re- 
ferred to  above;  James  Bobin,  born  i8so:  Julius  Lvnn.  born  in  18^3. 


Benjamin    Franklin    McElfresh,  the   first   member  of 
McELFRESH     this    family   of   whom   we   have   definite   information, 

was  of  Scotch-Irish  origin.  He  was  born  in  1829.  in 
Wheeling,  West  Mrginia,  and  died  in  1905.  He  was  a  minister  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  married  about  1855.  Amanda,  daughter 
of  Benjamin  Franklin  and  Dolly  Ann  (Newel)  Knight,  who  was  born 
in  1830,  and  died  in  1892.  Her  father  was  a  son  of  John  Knight  of  New 
Hampshire,  and  was  a  captain  in  the  Federal  army  in  the  civil  war ;  her 
mother  came  from  Maine :  their  children  were :  Amanda,  referred  to 
above,  Daniel,  Benjamin  Franklin  Jr.,  who  fought  in  the  Federal  army 
during  the  civil  war,  was  sheriff'  of  Meigs  county,  Ohio,  for  two  terms  and 
commissioner  for  two  terms:  Sarah,  now  deceased.  Children  of  Benja- 
min Franklin  and  Amanda  (Knight)  McElfresh:  Franklin,  born  in  1857: 
Ida,  now  deceased :  Zenas,  born  in  1867 :  Edward,  referred  to  below. 

Dr.  Edward  McElfresh,  son  of  Benjamin  Franklin  and  Amanda 
(Knight)  McElfresh,  was  born  December  7,  1869,  in  Hanover,  Licking 
county,  Ohio.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  at 
Chester,  Ohio,  and  then  took  up  the  study  of  medicine,  graduating  from 
the  Starling  Medical  College  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  in  1893.  He  continued 
his  studies  for  six  months  after  graduating  under  Dr.  Rine  at  Longbot- 
tom,  Ohio,  and  then  took  a  post-graduate  course  at  the  New  York  Post 
Graduate  College.     He  practiced  his  profession  for  three  years  in  Hen- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  201 

derson,  and  in  June,  1897,  opened  an  office  in  Point  Pleasant,  where  he 
is  still  located.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  has  been  a  member  of 
the  United  States  Pension  Examining  Board  since  1897;  he  is  also  a 
stockholder  in  the  Merchants'  National  Bank.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
American  Medical  Association,  of  the  West  Virginia  State  Medical  Asso- 
ciation and  of  the  Cabell  county,  West  \'irginia.  Medical  Association.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  Minturn  Lodge  No.  19,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  being  past  master  of  Blue  Lodge  of  Point  Pleasant ;  Point  Pleas- 
ant Chapter  No.  7,  Ro3-al  Arch  Masons,  of  which  he  is  past  high  priest ; 
of  Franklin  Commandery  No.  17,  Knights  Templar,  and  is  a  member 
of  Oriental  Lodge,  Knights  of  Pythias  of  Point  Pleasant ;  also  of  the 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 

He  married,  March  24,  1898.  at  Longbottom,  Ohio,  Carrie  Eunice, 
daughter  of  Marvin  A,,  and  Irene  (Shumway)  Stewart,  who  was  born 
March  23,  1870,  in  Jackson  county,  West  Virginia.  Her  father  came  to 
New  York  with  his  parents  when  quite  young.  He  was  a  merchant  at 
Longbottom,  and  served  during  the  civil  war  as  captain  in  the  Sixty- 
third  Ohio  Infantry.  His  children  were:  Emma,  Josephine,  Bertha  May, 
Carrie  Eunice,  referred  to  above,  Winona,  Belle.  Child  of  Dr.  Edward 
and  Carrie  Eunice  (Stewart)  McElfresh,  Marvin  Stewart,  born  Au- 
gust 7,  1900. 


The  progenitor  of  the  Brown  family  here  under  consid- 
BROWN     eration  was  Rev.  Lee  C.  Brown,  a  Presbyterian  minister, 

who  lived  for  many  years  in  Wythe  county,  Virginia,  his 
native  state,  and  whose  ministry  there  extended  over  a  period  of  fifty 
years.  He  married  Pauline  Hoge.  also  a  native  of  Virginia,  and  they  had 
four  children  :  Robert,  a  Confederate  soldier,  killed  at  the  battle  of  Get- 
tysburg; Douglas  B.,  of  whom  further;  James;  and  Randall. 

(II)  Lieutenant  Douglas  B.  Brown,  son  of  Rev.  Lee  C.  and  Pauline 
(Hoge)  Brown,  was  born  in  ^^^•the  county,  Virginia.  He  followed  the 
i-ocation  of  a  teacher.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  he  enlisted  as  a 
private  in  the  Twenty-fourth  Virginia  Infantry,  and  became  quartermas- 
ter, with  the  rank  of  lieutenant,  serving  with  the  Confederate  troops 
throughout  the  entire  war.  He  is  a  staunch  Democrat  in  his  political 
convictions,  and  in  his  younger  days  was  a  member  of  the  state  legisla- 
ture. He  married  Mary  A.  Lindsey,  born  in  Carroll  county,  \^irginia, 
daughter  of  Henry  Lindsey.  They  had  five  children :  Robert  Lee ; 
Charles  Huntington  :  Elizabeth  Gertrude ;  William  Henry ;  and  Douglas 
Walter,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  Douglas  Walter  Brown,  son  of  Lieutenant  Douglas  B.  and 
Mary  A.  (Lindsey)  Brown,  was  born  at  Hillsville,  A'irginia,  August  11. 
iS/fi.  He  was  educated  in  the  city  schools  of  Washington,  D.  C..  after 
which  he  studied  law  with  Captain  Frank  S.  Blair,  in  Wytheville,  Vir- 
ginia, and  with  his  uncle.  Judge  Randall  Brown.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1897,  coming  to  West  Virginia  in  1898,  and  settling  in  Mingo 
county.  Here  he  practiced  his  profession  for  over  ten  years,  becoming 
in  1909  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Campbell,  Brown  &  Davis,  at  Hunting- 
ton. A  sketch  of  Mr.  Campbell,  one  of  the  members  of  this  firm, 
appears  elsewhere  in  this  work.  Mr.  Brown  is  a  member  of  the  Hunting- 
ton chamber  of  commerce,  and  is  a  stockholder  in  various  concerns.  Mr. 
Brown  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  opinions :  and  he  and  his  family  are 
all  attendants  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

His  wife,  who  was  Mary  G.  Williams,  born  in  Pomeroy,  Ohio,  is  a 
daughter  of  John  E.  ^^^illiams.     Mr.  and  Mrs.   Brown  have   four  chil- 


202  WEST  VIRGINIA 

clren ;  Walter  Lindsey,  born  in  Williamson  :  John  E.  W.,  born  in  Wil- 
liamson :  Flora  G.,  born  in  Huntington ;  and  Charlotte,  born  also  in 
Huntington. 


John  Barbee.  the  first  member  of  this  family  of  whom  we 
IIARBEE     have  detinite  inf'ji  mation.  settled  in  \'irginia.     He  was  of 
French-Huguenot  ancestry.     His  wife's  name  is  unknown. 
Among  his  children  was  Russel,  referred  to  below. 

(II)  Russel,  son  of  John  Barbee,  was  a  farmer,  and  a  manufacturer 
and  tanner  of  leather.  He  married  Nancy  Britten.  Children :  Gabriel ; 
Britton  •  Connor  :  William  ;  Andrew  Russel,  referred  to  below  ;  Samuel ; 

a  daughter,  married    (first)   Settle,  and    (second)   Hardy;  a 

daughter,  married  Bryan  ;  a  daughter,  married  Humphreys, 

M.   D. :  a  daughter,  married  Douglas:  a   daughter,   married  John 

Bean. 

(III)  Dr.  Andrew  Russel  Barbee,  son  of  Russel  and  Nancy  (Brit- 
ton) Barbee,  graduated  in  185 1  from  the  medical  department  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania.  In  1859,  during  the  excitement  of  the 
John  Brown  raid,  he  organized  a  volunteer  company  of  militia  under 
"the  laws  of  the  state  of  \'irginia,  and  when  the  state  seceded  in  1861. 
the  company  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  service  as  Company  A  of  the 
Twenty-second  A'irginia  Regiment,  and  he  commanded  it  as  captain.  On 
May  2,  1862,  he  was  promoted  to  be  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  same  regi- 
ment and  served  in  that  capacity  until  retired  for  disability,  he  having 
been  wounded  in  the  battle  of  Dry  Creek,  August  26,  1863.  When  recov- 
ered of  his  wounds,  he  was  assigned  to  duty  in  the  medical  department 
of  the  Confederate  army  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  mar- 
ried, in  1852,  Margaret  Ann  Gillespie,  daughter  of  Dr.  John  J.  and  Ann 
(Arthur)  Thompson.  Her  father  was  born  at  Woodstock,  Virginia,  Oc- 
tober 2j,  1808,  and  died  May  16,  1881  :  he  graduated  in  1832  from  the 
medical  department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  West  Virginia  in  1871-1872,  and 
of  the  legislature  of  West  Virginia  in  1872-1873,  and  was  the  son  of 
John  and  Ann  (Gillespie)  Thompson,  and  the  grandson  of  William 
Thompson,  born  in  1724,  and  died  in  1815,  who  married  Elizabeth  Hues- 
ton.  Children  of  Andrew  Russel  and  Margaret  Ann  Gillespie  (Thomp- 
son )  Barbee :  John ;  Mary  Blanche,  married  C.  W.  Harper :  Kate  Louise, 
married  (first)  John  Andrew  ?^IcCulloch.  and  (second)  John  Samuel 
Spencer :  William ;  Ann  Rebecca,  married  O.  E.  Darnell :  Hugh  Arthur, 
referred  to  below. 

(IV)  Dr.  Hugh  Arthur  Barbee.  son  of  Dr.  Andrew  Russel  and 
Margaret  Ann  Gillespie  (Thompson)  Barbee,  was  born  in  Point  Pleas- 
ant, West  Virginia,  January  31,  1874.  He  received  his  early  education 
in  the  public  schools  and  the  high  school  at  Point  Pleasant,  and  the 
college  preparatory  school  at  Greenwood,  Virginia.  He  then  entered 
Princeton  University  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  and  later  took  up  the 
study  of  medicine  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  the  same  school  in 
which  his  maternal  grandfather.  Dr.  John  J.  Thompson,  and  his  father 
also  took  their  degrees.  He  graduated  in  1895  with  the  degree  of  Doc- 
tor of  Medicine,  since  which  time  he  has  been  in  active  practice  of  his 
profession  at  Point  Pleasant,  \\'est  Mrginia.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics  and  has  been  a  first  lieutenant  of  the  West  A'irginia  National 
Guard  for  one  year,  and  since  1903  has  been  secretary  of  the  West  \'ir- 
ginia  state  board  of  health.  He  is  a  member  of  Minturn  Lodge,  .Ancient 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  a  member  of  the  Royal  Arch  ]\lasons,  and 
of  Franklin  Commandery.   Knights  Templar.     He  is  also  a  member  of 


WEST  VIRGINIA  203 

Beni  Kedam  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  Xoble?  uf  the  Mystic 
Shrine  of  Charleston,  and  of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  as  well 
as  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  of  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows.  He  married  in  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  December 
18,  1901,  Mary  Esther,  daughter  of  John  and  Caroline  Mann  (Lewis) 
Byers,  born  in  Pittsburgh,  December  2,  1875.  Her  father  was  a  civil 
engineer,  and  his  children  were:  Morton  Lewis,  born  Alarch  22,  1867; 
Mary  Esther,  referred  to  above,  and  Maxwell  Cunningham,  born  Febru- 
ary 2,  1877.     Dr.  and  Mrs.  Barbee  have  no  children. 


The  family  of  which  Samuel  Preston  Smith,  a  representa- 
SMITH     five  citizen  of  Charleston,  and  sheriff  of  Kanawha  county. 
West  X'irginia,  is  a  member,  ranks  among  the  old  and  highly 
honored  families  of  the  south,  where  they  have  resided  for  many  years. 

(I)  Thomas  Preston  Smith,  the  earliest  known  ancestor  of  the  fam- 
ily, was  a  native  of  Virginia,  in  which  state  he  lived  a  useful  life,  his 
death  occurring  when  he  was  well  advanced  in  years.  He  was  a  prosper- 
ous farmer  at  Louisa  Court  House,  Louisa  county,  \'irginia.  Prior  to 
the  war  between  the  states  he  was  a  man  of  large  estate,  but  the  freeing 
of  the  slaves  and  the  depreciation  in  the  value  of  land  in  that  section  sud- 
denly deprived  him  of  his  resources.  He  married  Lucy  Barrett,  a  native 
of  Greenbrier  county,  Virginia,  died  in  Louisa  county,  same  state.  Chil- 
dren:  Charles  Ballard,  of  whom  further;  Frank  P.,  a  farmer  of  Louisa 
county,  Mrginia;  Frederick,  deceased:  Sallie  (Mrs.  Marshall),  who  re- 
sides in  Mrginia :  ;\lel  \'irginia.  deceased,  was  wife  of  Frederick  Roddy, 
also  deceased. 

(II)  Charles  Ballard,  son  of  Thomas  Preston  and  Lucy  (Barrett) 
Smith,  was  born  in  Louisa  county,  Virginia,  in  1847,  died  in  1892.  In 
early  life  he  came  to  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  and  was  employed  as  a 
contractor  with  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  railroad  for  a  number  of  years. 
He  then  studied  law,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  attained  an  excellent 
reputation  among  his  professional  brethren.  From  1884  to  1890  he  served 
as  circuit  clerk,  and  later  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  Kanawha 
county  on  the  Republican  ticket,  serving  in  that  capacity  at  the  time  of 
his  death.  He  served  throughout  the  entire  period  of  the  war  between 
the  states,  in  the  Confederate  army,  attaining  the  rank  of  lieutenant, 
which  fact  demonstrates  his. bravery  and  excellent  qualifications  as  a  sol- 
dier. He  married  Mary  S.  McConihay,  a  native  of  \'irginia,  of  Scotch- 
Irish  ancestry,  daughter  of  Samuel  ]\IcConihay,  whose  death  was  the  re- 
sult of  an  accident.  Airs.  Smith  is  living  at  the  present  time  (1912)  in 
Morgantown,  West  Virginia.  She  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  to  which  her  husband  also  belonged.  Children:  Mel  \'ir- 
ginia,  deceased  :  Samuel  Preston,  of  whom  further ;  Walter  F.,  of  Charles- 
ton, connected  with  the  Newbury  Shoe  Company:  Linda  S.,  wife  of 
John  William  Field,  of  West  Hamlin,  West  X'irginia ;  Helen  Barrett, 
wife  of  Charles  H.  Smith,  of  Morgantown.  West  \'irginia :  Lillian,  wife 
of  George  W.  Statelier,  of  Black'sburg,  \'irginia :  Frederick  AI.,  now  at- 
tending the  L'niversity  at  Alorgantown. 

(III)  Samuel  Preston,  son  of  Charles  Ballard  and  Mary  S.  (McConi- 
hay) Smith,  was  born  in  Kanawha  county.  West  Mrginia,  at  what  is 
now  East  Bank,  March  21,  1875.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of 
Charleston  and  thus  acquired  a  practical  education.  His  first  employment 
was  as  clerk  in  a  country  store  at  Peerless,  Kanawha  county,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  for  three  years.  He  then  accepted  a  clerkship  in  the 
office  of  the  circuit  clerk,  Mr.  Black,  where  he  remained  for  two  years, 
after  which  he  filled  a  similar  position  in  the  office  of  the  prosecuting  at- 


204  WEST  VIRGINIA 

torney,  and  later  became  chief  clerk  under  E.  W.  Staunton,  then  county 
clerk,  remaining  for  six  years.  From  1906  to  1909,  inclusive,  he  was  as- 
sistant bank  commissioner,  and  in  January,  1909,  was  elected  sheriff,  on 
the  Republican  ticket,  his  term  to  expire  January  i,  1913.  This  election 
made  him  also  county  treasurer.  He  is  discharging  the  duties  of  this  im- 
portant office  in  a  manner  which  shows  him  to  possess  all  the  attributes  of 
a  successful  office  holder,  his  administration  being  noted  for  efficiency  in 
every  detail.  In  addition  to  his  public  duties,  he  is  extensively  interested 
in  oil  and  real  estate  in  various  counties  as  well  as  locally.  This  brief 
resume  of  Sheriff'  Smith's  many  spheres  of  activity  proves  that  he  is  a 
man  of  ability  and  enterprise,  a  leading  factor  in  all  that  pertains  to  the 
growth  and  development  of  his  section  of  the  state. 

Mr.  Smith  married,  in  Jefferson  county.  West  Virginia,  June  19,  1902, 
Amelia  Deavenport  ^Manning,  a  native  of  Jefferson  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia, daughter  of  Captain  Frank  Jack  and  Laura  A.  Manning,  the  form- 
er of  whom,  now  deceased,  was  a  captain  in  the  Confederate  army,  and 
the  latter  is  now  living  at  Charleston,  West  Virginia.  She  is  also  a 
granddaughter  of  Captain  Manning,  of  the  United  States  navy,  who  was 
commander  of  the  vessel  that  carried  the  first  United  States  minister  to 
Russia.  Mr.  and  ]^Irs.  Smith  have  one  child,  Samuel  Preston  Jr.,  born 
April  19,  1912.     ^Irs.  Smith  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church. 


Michael  Fadeley,  the  founder  of  this  family  came  from 
FADELEY     Germany  and  landed  in  Virginia.     His  wife's  name  is 
unknown.     Among  his   children   was   John,   referred   to 
below. 

(II)  John,  son  of  Michael  Fadeley,  was  a  farmer,  a  Republican  in 
politics  and  a  Methodist  in  religious  faith.  He  inarried  Rebecca  Fultz, 
who  lived  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley  near  Newmarket,  Virginia,  until 
1845,  when  they  moved  to  Mason  county.  Children:  Joshua,  deceased: 
IVIoses,  deceased ;  George,  deceased ;  Mary ;  Isaac ;  Lydia ;  John,  served 
in  the  Federal  army,  Company  I,  Thirteenth  Virginia  Infantry,  in  the 
civil  war,  and  died  from  fever  in  a  Federal  army  hospital  in  Claraville, 
Maryland :  Eli,  referred  to  below. 

(III)  EH,  son  of  John  and  Rebecca  (Fultz)  Fadeley,  married  Delana 

Jane,  daughter  of  Marshall  Baker  and  (Milligan)  Tucker.     Child: 

John  Melvin,  referred  to  below. 

(lA^)  Dr.  John  Melvin  Fadeley,  son  of  Eli  and  Delana  Jane  (Tucker) 
Fadeley,  was  born  December  28,  1877  in  Wyoma,  W^est  Virginia.  He 
received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Mason  county  and 
the  Point  Pleasant  High  School,  and  in  May,  1905,  graduated  from  the 
Maryland  Medical  College  at  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and  since  that  time 
has  been  associated  with  Dr.  E.  J.  Mossman  in  the  practice  of  medicine 
in  Point  Pleasant.  West  Virginia.  He  was  city  health  officer  1910-1911. 
and  has  been  coroner  of  Mason  county  since  1909.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Point  Pleasant  Band,  the  Junior  Order  United  American  Mechanics ; 
the  Knights  of  the  IMaccabees^  and  the  Mason  County  Medical  Society. 

He  married,  August  2,  1902,  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  Tillie  J.,  daughter 
of  Elias  and  Martha  (Cunningham)  Hoft'man. 


The  founders  of  this  family  in  America  were  ^lichael 
DOWER     and  Patrick  Francis  Dower,  who  emigrated  from  Ireland. 

Michael  settled  in  Brooklyn,  New  York.  Patrick  Francis 
Dower  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1840.  He  settled  in  Mason  county,  West 
Virginia,  and  was  a  farmer ;  he  was  a  Roman  Catholic  in  religion  and  a 


WEST  VIRGINIA  205 

Democrat  in  politics.  He  married,  March  5.  1867,  Alaria  Theresa, 
daughter  of  John  J.  and  Annie  jM.  (McNanee)  Weaver,  who  was  born  in 
1850,  in  Mason  county.  West  Virginia.  Children:  John  James,  referred 
to  below;  George  W. :  [Margaret  A.;  Mary  E. :  Patrick  \'. :  Stanton  M.; 
Susan  T.,  now  deceased;  Albert  A.;  Jerome  A.;  Agnes  T. ;  Francis  M.; 
Josephine  E. ;  Michael,  now  deceased. 

(II)  John  James,  son  of  Patrick  Francis  and  Maria  Theresa  (Weav- 
er) Dower,  was  born  February  8.  1868,  in  Hartford,  }iIason  county, 
West  Virginia.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  and 
has  had  a  merchandise  store  at  Graham,  West  Virginia,  since  he  was 
twenty  years  of  age.  He  was  railroad  agent  at  Graham  from  1890  to 
1905,  and  at  the  same  time  agent  for  the  Adams  Express  Company.  He 
left  Graham,  January  i,  1905,  and  went  to  Parkersburg,  West  A'irginia, 
as  salesman  for  the  Starr  Grocery  Company,  resigning  to  go  to  Letart  to 
assist  in  managing  the  store  of  W.  E.  Hayman  &  Company,  Mr.  Hay- 
man  being  engaged  in  a  large  lumber  deal.  He  remained  for  one  year 
and  then  entered  the  wholesale  grocery  business  in  Point  Pleasant,  be- 
coming stockholder  and  a  member  of  the  firm.  He  was  appointed  trav- 
elling salesman,  and  in  1912  was  promoted  to  vice-president  and  general 
manager,  which  position  he  now  holds.  He  was  postmaster  at  Graham 
for  four  years  during  Cleveland's  second  administration,  and  was  assist- 
ant postmaster  for  sixteen  years.  He  was  raised  a  JMason  in  Clifton 
Lodge,  No.  23,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  at  Mason  city,  and 
Point  Pleasant  Chapter,  No.  7,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  also  Franklin  Com- 
mandery,  No.  17,  Knights  Templar,  of  Point  Pleasant,  and  is  a  member  of 
Evergreen  Lodge,  No.  137,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  Let- 
art,  West  Virginia. 

He  married,  June  7,  1899,  at  Letart,  \\"est  Mrginia,  Carrie  Belva, 
daughter  of  Algernon  and  Ellen  (Harte)  Luce,  who  was  born  Decem- 
ber ID.  1880.  Her  father  was  a  farmer  and  served  with  the  Pennsyl- 
vania troops  for  four  years  during  the  civil  war.  Children  of  John 
James  and  Carrie  Belva  (Luce)  Dower:  Theresa  Averil,  born  May  21, 
1900;  Ellen  M.,  March  23,  1902;  Mary  Florence,  November  11,  1906; 
John  James,  Jr.,  May  15,  1908,  and  Opal  Louise,  born  September  14, 
1912. 


John  'S\.  [NlcCulloch,  the  first  member  of  this  family 
McCULLOCH     of  whom  we  have  definite  information  was  a  farmer 

on  the  Kanawha  river  section  about  five  miles  above 
Point  Pleasant.  He  married  Mary  Bryan.  Children:  ]\Iaggie;  ?\lary; 
Sarah ;  John  Andrew,  referred  to  below ;  Charles  E. 

(II)  John  Andrew,  son  of  John  M.  and  Mary  (Bryan)  IMcCuUoch, 
was  a  farmer,  and  died  in  July,  1882.  He  married  Kate  Louise,  daughter  of 
Dr.  Andrew  Russel  and  ^largaret  Ann  Gillespie  (Thompson)  Barbee. 
Children :  John  Frederick,  born  November  8,  1878 ;  Charles  Russel.  re- 
ferred to  below. 

(III)  Charles  Russel,  son  of  John  .Andrew  and  Kate  Louise  (Bar- 
bee)  McCulloch.  was  born  in  Southside,  Mercer  county.  \\^est  \'irginia, 
January  25,  1880.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools 
at  Point  Pleasant,  West  Virginia,  and  attended  the  Episcopal  high  school 
at  Alexandria,  Virginia,  from  1893  to  1897,  later  attending  the  West 
Virginia  University.  LTpon  leaving  this  institution  he  took  a  course  at 
the  Eastman  Business  College,  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  graduating 
from  this  institution  about  1899.  He  then  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Standard  Oil  Company  at  Charleston.  West  A'irginia,  remaining  with 
them  for  several  vears,  when  he  removed  to  Point  Pleasant  and  entered 


20b  WEST  VIRGINIA 

the  West  Virginia  Malleable  Iron  Company,  continuing  with  them  up 
to  the  present  time,  being  now  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  company. 
He  is  an  Episcopalian  in  religion,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Greek  letter  fra- 
ternity, Chi  Sigma  Chi.  of  the  Episcopal  high  school  of  .Alexandria,  and 
he  is  also  a  member  of  Huntington  Lodge,  No.  313,  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks. 

He  married,  in  Point  Pleasant,  September  26,  1906.  Neida  Chancellor, 
daughter  of  Charles  Clendenin  and  Catherine  (Parsons)  Bowyer,  born 
at  Point  Pleasant,  September  24,  1884.  Her  father  is  cashier  of  the 
Merchants  National  Bank,  and  had  two  children,  Irene  K.,  born  in  1881, 
and  Neida  Chancellor,  referred  to  above.  Child  of  Charles  Ru.ssel  and 
Neida  Chancellor  ( Bowyer)  McCulloch :  Samuel  Bowyer,  born  May 
14.  1909- 


John  Hutchinson,  first  member  of  this  family  of 
HUTCHINSON  whom  we  have  definite  information,  was  born  in 
1755.  His  ancestor  emigrated  from  Scotland  be- 
tween 1725  and  1740,  and  settled  first  in  Pennsylvania,  later  removing  to 
Augusta  county,  Virginia.  He  served  in  the  revolutionary  war  and  was 
with  General  Washington  at  Valley  Forge.  He  was  a  Presbyterian  in 
religion  and  a  Whig  in  politics,  and  served  in  the  Virginia  legislature 
from  Greenbrier  county,  during  his  term  being  instrumental  in  having 
Monroe  county  set  off  from  Greenbrier  county.  After  the  formation 
of  Monroe  county,  Mr.  Hutchinson  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  courts, 
which  position  remained  in  his  family  for  three  generations  until  after 
the  civil  war.  At  his  death,  his  son  John  was  thus  appointed,  serving 
many  years,  and  his  grandson  George  W.  Hutchinson  held  the  office  un- 
til 1865.  The  name  of  his  wife  is  unknown.  Among  his  children  was 
Isaac,  referred  to  below. 

(II)  Isaac,  son  of  John  Hutchinson,  was  born  in  Augusta  county, 
Virginia,  September  13,  1781.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  lived  near  the  town 
of  Union.  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia.  He  was  a  Whig  in  politics  and 
a  Presbyterian  in  religion.  He  married,  November  10,  1807,  Margaret 
Hutchinson,  his  cousin,  of  .A.ugusta  county,  Virginia.  Children :  George 
W.,  born  May  23,  1816:  John  Lewis,  of  whom  further. 

'  (III)  John  Lewis,  son  of  Isaac  and  Margaret  (Hutchinson)  Hut- 
chinson, was  born  in  Union,  Monroe  county,  Virginia.  December  26, 
1821.  He  was  a  merchant  and  at  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war,  enlisted 
as  a  member  of  the  Monroe  Artillery,  but  on  account  of  injury  to  his 
eyes  was  transferred  to  the  quartermaster's  department,  in  which  he 
served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  then  took  charge  of  the  Red  River 
Tobacco  Warehouse  at  Clarksville,  Tennessee,  and  was  later  in  the  tobac- 
co business  in  Kentucky  and  in  Indiana,  spending  the  last  fifteen  years 
of  his  life  at  Henderson,  West  Virginia.  He  married.  May  29,  1855, 
Mary  Ella,  daughter  of  John  Givens  Henderson,  of  Henderson,  Mason 
county.  West  Virginia,  born  May,  1832.  Her  father's  ancestors  emi- 
grated from  Scotland  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  fin- 
ally settled  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kanawha  river  upon  land  granted  in  1785 
to  her  great-grandfather.  Colonel  John  Henderson,  of  Greenbrier  county 
for  services  in  the  Indian  wars,  which  land  still  remains  in  the  possession 
of  the  family.  John  Givens  Henderson  was  a  farmer.  He  was  deputy 
sheriff  under  his  uncle  John  Henderson,  and  enlisted  under  General 
Steenbergen  to  serve  in  the  war  of  1812.  Children  of  John  Lewis  and 
Mary  Ella  (Henderson)  Hutchinson  :  Charles  Andrew,  born  March  23, 
1856,  now  living  in  Pullman,  Michigan ;  Robert  Bruce  Lee,  of  whom 
further;  Margaret,  January  15,  1862,  died  in  infancy:  Mary  Eliza,  Sep- 


^^^^ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  207 

tember  19,  1865,  died  in  infancy;  Isaac  Sterling,  April  25,  1868,  died 
aged  twenty  years  ;  John  Henderson,  of  whom  further. 

( IVjRobert  Bruce  Lee, son  of  John  Lewis  and  Mary  Ella  (Henderson) 
Hutchinson,  was  born  in  L'nion,  Monroe  county,  West  X'irginia,  Septem- 
ber 28,  1858.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  attended  the 
West  Virginia  State  L'niversity ;  then  engaged  in  farming,  and  devoted 
a  considerable  time  to  the  culture  of  fruit.  For  the  past  twenty  years  he 
has  been  engaged  in  real  estate  and  insurance  business.  He  is  assistant 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Point  Pleasant  Trust  Company,  and  han- 
dles the  two  latter  lines  for  this  county.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  poHtics, 
and  was  appointed  by  Governor  Glasscock,  a  member  of  Mason  County 
Board  of  Review '  and  Equalization ;  is  a  member  of  Point  Pleasant 
Lodge,  No.  ^2,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows:  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  church. 

(IV)  John  Henderson,  son  of  John  Lewis  and  ^lary  Ella  (Hender- 
son) Hutchinson,  was  born  at  Henderson,  Mason  county,  \\'est  Mrgmia, 
July  26,  1871.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  Point  Pleasant, 
West  \'irginia,  schools  and  Dinwiddie  school  at  Greenwood,  Mrginia,  and 
later  graduated  from  Dunsmore  Business  College  at  Staunton,  Mrginia. 
He  entered  the  brokerage  and  insurance  business  in  Chicago,  Illinois,  and 
later  removed  to  Point  Pleasant,  where  he  is  now  bookkeeper  and  assist- 
ant manager  of  the  Point  Pleasant  Water  and  Light  Company.  He  is  a 
Presbyterian  in  religion  and  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  is  a  member  of 
Minturn  Lodge,  No.  19,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  secretary  of 
Point  Pleasant  Chapter,  No.  7,  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  and  recorder  of 
Franklin  Commanderv,  No.  17,  Knights  Templar.  He  is  also  a  member 
of  the  Point  Pleasant'  Golf  Club. 


The   ancestors  of  this    family   emigrated   to   X'irginia    from 
BEALE     England  in  1617.     One  of  the  progenitors  of  the  family  in 

West  Virginia  was  William  Beale,  a  farmer,  who  was  born 
in  Charleston,  Kanawha  county,  in  the  >-ear  1820.  He  was  a  well  to  do 
merchant  and  justice  of  the  peace,  beside  being  a  slaveholder;  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  civil  war,  however,  he  remained  neutral.  Dr.  A.  J.  Beale, 
a  half -uncle,  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  cause,  and  fought  throughout 
the  entire  war.  An  uncle  of  William  Beale's  mother,  John  Wilson,  was 
another  gallant  soldier  of  earlier  days,  having  been  an  officer  in  the  revo- 
lutionary war  and  present  at  the  battle  of  Yorktown  when  Cornwallis 
surrendered ;  this  fact  stands  recorded  on  the  tombstone  above  his  grave 
at  the  old  homestead  of  the  Beale  family  at  Mercer's  Bottom,  now  Apple 
Grove,  in  Mason  county.  West  Virginia.  William  Beale  died  in  1872. 
He  married  Lavina  Ann  Moore,  born  in  Mercer's  Bottom,  and  by  her 
had  seven  children  of  whom  four  are  now  living.  Children;  i.  ]ilargaret, 
now  Mrs.  Charles  Franklin,  of  New  Orleans,  Louisiana.  2.  Charles 
Moore,  of  IMuskogee,  Oklahoma.  3.  Fannie,  now  Mrs.  Reynolds,  of 
New  Orleans.  4.  John  Morgan,  of  whom  further.  The  children  who 
died  were ;  5.  Robert  Wilson.  ■  6.  Ella  Augusta.  7.  William  Clinton. 
Mrs.  William  Beale  survived  her  husband  and  married  again,  becoming 
the  wife  of  Captain  A.  T.  Suiter;  she  is  now  living  at  Guyandotte,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-eight  years. 

(II)  John  Morgan,  son  of  William  and  Lavina  Ann  (Moore)  Beale, 
was  born  June  28,  1865,  at  the  old  homestead  at  IMercer's  Bottom.  Mason 
county.  West  Mrginia.  He  was  only  seven  years  of  age  when  his  father 
died,  and  accompanied  his  mother  when  she  left  the  old  farm  and  went 
to  Proctorville,  Ohio.  Here  he  received  his  early  education ;  and  at  the 
conclusion  of  his  studies  in   1880,  became  a  clerk  in  a  general  store  in 


2o8  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Proctorville.  He  continued  thus  for  nearly  three  years,  when  he  changed 
his  occupation  and  for  the  following  year  taught  school.  In  1884  he  came 
to  Guyandotte,  now  Huntington,  and  for  two  more  years  managed  a  store ; 
he  then,  in  1886,  established  his  present  general  store  on  his  own  account 
and  under  his  own  name,  located  on  Main  and  Bridge  streets.  He 
proved  very  successful  in  this  business,  and  in  1891,  assisted  in  the  organ- 
ization of  the  wholesale  grocery  firm  of  Sehon,  Blake  and  Company,  pur- 
chasing all  of  their  goods  but  never  relaxing  in  his  attention  to  his  own 
store.  Mr.  Beale  is  considerably  interested  in  Huntington  real  estate, 
owning  various  properties  thereabouts  ;  and  for  a  brief  period  was  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  cigars.  Mr.  Beale  was  instrumental  in  the 
organization  of  the  "Guyandotte  Centennial  and  Cabell  County  Home 
Coming  Association."  the  object  of  which  was  defined  as  being  the  cele- 
bration of  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  foundation  of  the  town 
of  Guyandotte :  and  Mr.  Beale  was  elected  president  of  the  association. 
He  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Democratic  party  and  twice  received 
the  nomination  to  the  house  of  delegates  of  West  Virginia ;  twice  also 
has  he  been  a  member  of  the  council  of  Guyandotte.  Mr.  Beale  is  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South;  and  is  also  well 
known  in  Masonic  circles. 

In  the  year  1890  Mr.  Beale  married,  in  Guyandotte,  Miss  Maggie  E. 
McGinnis,  the  accomplished  daughter  of  Dr.  Allen  B.  McGinnis,  who 
died  in  1898.  Her  mother  was  Miss  Elizabeth  Thornburg,  who  died  in 
191 1  at  the  age  of  seventy  years.  Mrs.  Beale  was  born  in  Bland  county. 
Virginia,  and  is  descended  from  two  of  the  most  prominent  and  esteemed 
families  of  Cabell  county.  West  Virginia ;  her  grandfathers,  on  both  sides, 
served  in  the  legislature  and  occupied  other  positions  of  trust  and  honor. 
Mrs.  Beale,  who  is  naturally  endowed  with  a  literary  mind  and  possesses 
culture  and  refinement  to  a  rare  degree,  is  a  member  of  the  Daughters 
of  the  American  Revolution,  being  entitled  to  this  distinction  by  her  an- 
cestry on  both  sides. 


Edward  C.  Bauer,  the  first  of  this  name  to  make  his  home 
BxAUER  in  this  country,  was  a  native  of  Heilbroun,  Germany,  and 
came  to  this  country  about  1847  with  his  wife,  Margaret 
Kattenbaum,  who  was  also  born  in  Heilbroun.  By  trade  he  was  a  shoe- 
maker, and  both  he  and  his  wife  were  devoted  adherents  of  the  Reformed 
Church.  They  were  the  parents  of  seven  sons,  of  whom  but  the  eldest 
and  youngest  are  now  living:  Robert,  the  owner  of  a  stationery  store  in 
Cincinnati,  and  Edward  Christian,  of  whom  below. 

(II)  Edward  Christian,  youngest  son  of  Edward  C.  and  Margaret 
(Kattenbaum)  Bauer,  was  born  August  10,  1865,  in  Cincinnnati,  Ohio. 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  city,  and  has  supple- 
mented this  early  training  by  carefully  selected  reading  in  later  life  and 
by  close  observation.  After  leaving  school  he  was  engaged  in  various 
capacities  in  his  native  city  in  the  meat  and  fish  business,  and  obtained 
a  thorough  and  practical  knowledge  of  all  its  details.  This  thorough  bus- 
iness equipment  was  about  his  only  capital  when  he  came  to  Charleston, 
West  Virginia,  in  1888,  and  it  was  with  a  borrowed  capital  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars  that  he  laid  the  foundation  of  the  magnificent  or- 
ganization, known  as  the  Bauer  Meat  and  Fish  Company,  Nos.  28-30 
Capitol  street,  Charleston,  of  which  he  is  the  president  and  treasurer. 
The  annual  business  done  by  this  corporation  is  $125,000,  and  its  scope  is 
constantly  increasing.  The  business  was  incorporated  in  the  summer  of 
1907,  with  William  J.  Buck  as  vice-president  and  one  of  the  directors, 
and  G.  R.  Edgar  as  secretary,  both  considered  among  the  most  practical 


"^.^-^zZcy 


WEST  VIRGINIA  209 

business  men  of  the  city.  Only  the  finest  stock  of  every  kind  is  handled 
and  they  cater  to  the  highest  class  of  trade.  It  is  mainly  owing  to  the 
personal  energy,  and  initiative  of  Mr.  Bauer  that  the  business  has  made 
the  progress  it  has.  as  he  is  always  ready  to  adopt  new  methods  and 
ideas,  if  their  practicability  can  be  proven.  He  takes  an  active  part  in 
the  public  affairs  of  the  city,  giving  his  political  support  to  the  Republi- 
can party,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce.  His  fraternal 
affiliations  are  with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and 
he  is  a  charter  member  and  treasurer  of  the  local  lodge.  He  and  his 
wife  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

Mr.  Bauer  married  Clara  Bentz,  who  was  born  and  educated  in 
Charleston,  West  \'irginia.  Her  father.  Henry  Bentz,  was  born  in  Ger- 
many, and  upon  coming  to  America,  made  his  home  in  Charleston.  He 
married  a  German  lady  of  that  city,  ami  they  have  spent  their  lives  there, 
where  thev  are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church. 


Oratio  L.  Davis  was  born  in  Warren  county,   Pennsylvania, 
DAA'IS     August  28,  1861.     He  was  educated  in  his  native  county  and, 

up  to  the  age  of  thirty-one  years,  resided  there.  He  then 
removed  to  the  state  of  Indiana,  where  he  learned  the  art  of  making  car- 
bon black.  Lentil  1903  he  was  closely  indentified  with  this  manvtfacture 
in  Indiana,  then  removed  to  West  Virginia,  where  he  continued  in  the 
same  field  of  industry.  Mr.  Davis  established  himself  in  business  in 
Kanawha  county.  West  Virginia,  in  1907,  being  one  of  the  organizers  of 
the  Eastern  Carbon  Black  Company,  which  is  located  in  Big  Sandy  Dis- 
trict, at  Barren  Creek,  on  Elk  river.  This  company  was  incorporated 
with  George  H.  Morrill.  Jr,.  of  Norwood,  Massachusetts,  as  president; 
Frederick  P.  Bagley,  secretary  and  treasurer ;  Oratio  L.  Davis,  vice-pres- 
ident and  general  manager;  and  .Alton  N.  Davis,  of  Charleston, ,  West 
Virginia,  as  assistant  manager.  Mr.  Davis  is  one  of  the  very  few  men 
who  have  brought  the  art  of  manufacturing  carbon  black  to  a  high  state 
of  perfection,  and  the  corporation  of  which  he  is  the  manager  supplies 
some  of  the  most  important  concerns.  In  politics  he  is  a  staunch  sup- 
porter of  Democratic  principles,  and  he  and  his  wife  are  attendants  at  the 
Christian  church.  His  fraternal  affiliations  are  with  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  the  Masonic  Or- 
der, in  which  he  has  taken  high  rank,  being  a  Knight  Templar  and  a 
Noble  of  the  Mystic  Shrine. 

Mr.  Davis  married  in  Warren  county,  Pennsylvania,  Louetta  Reigh- 
ner.  born  in  Clarion  county  in  the  same  state.  Children  :  Williemav,  Carl 
A.,  Ralph  P.,  and  Jim  T.  ' 


The  ancestry  of  Hon.  Edward  C.  Colcord  bears  the  usual 
COLCORD     New   England  stamp  of  bravery  in  revolutionary  times, 
the  first  of  the   Colcords  coming  from   England  to  the 
colonies  before  the  beginning  of  tlie  war  for  independence. 

(I)  John  C.  Colcord  lived  to  a  good  old  age  in  mountainous  Vermont. 

( II)  John,  son  of  John  C.  Colcord,  was  also  a  native  Vermonter,  was 
a  farmer  all  his  life,  and  died  aged  nearly  eighty  years.  He  was  inter- 
ested in  politics  both  in  his  immediate  vicinity  and  throughout  the  coun- 
try during  the  turbulent  period  preceding  the  civil  war.  At  that  time  he 
was  elected  from  Franklin  county  to  the  state  legislature  of  \'ermont. 
and  served  one  term.  His  wife  was  Sylvia  Prudentia,  born  near  Bing- 
hampton.  New  York,  daughter  of  Eben  E.  Bowman.  Her  father  was  a 
prominent  contractor,  connected  with  the  Erie  railroad  construction  work. 

14 


2IO  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Mrs.  Colcord  is,  like  her  husband  of  long-Uved  stock,  and  still  lives  at  the 
age  of  ninety  years,  enjoying  the  companionship  of  the  family  of  one 
of  her  sons,  with  whom  she  resides.  John  Colcord  and  his  wife  had 
children:  Edward  Clark,  of  whom  further:  F.  C,  died  when  a  young 
man:  Herbert  B.,  a  farmer,  still  living  on  the  old  farm  in  Vermont: 
John  C,  living  in  Newburg.  Oregon,  where  he  is  cashier  of  a  bank;  and 
Hannah,  married  Edward  Libbv,  living  at  Enosburg  Falls,  \^ermont. 

(Ill)  Hon.  Edward  Clark  Colcord,  son  of  John  and  Sylvia  P.  (Bow- 
man) Colcord,  was  born  September  4,  185 1,  in  Franklin  county,  Ver- 
mont. The  public  schools  of  his  neighborhood  in  Vermont  provided  his 
early  education ;  but  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years  he  left  home,  and 
joined  an  engineering  corps  then  going  on  an  expedition  into  the  north- 
west, which  in  1868  was  still  an  untracked  wilderness  so  far  as  white 
men  were  concerned.  The  large  forests  clothing  the  mountains  so  thick- 
ly in  the  far  west  attracted  his  attention  and  he  became  actively  interested 
in  lumbering  about  1872,  and  at  the  end  of  forty  years  is  still  connected 
with  this  line  of  trade.  He  temporarily  resided  at  Eau  Claire,  Wiscon- 
sin, and  later  in  Williamsport,  Pennsylvania.  In  1889  he  came  to  St. 
Albans,  West  A^irginia,  where  he  erected  and  still  operates  several  mills. 
His  operations  on  some  of  his  timber  property  in  Raleigh  cnunty,  are 
also  important.  Politically  he  has  always  expressed  his  belief  in  the 
platforms  of  the  Republican  party.  His  activity  in  political  matters 
since  coming  to  St.  Albans  has  justified  the  body  of  voters  in  selecting 
him  for  one  of  their  standard-bearers.  Several  municipal  offices  were 
filled  by  him  to  the  very  great  satisfaction  of  public  and  officials  before 
his  election  to  the  legislature.  But  by  1900  he  had  become  a  figure  of 
state  importance,  and  in  that  year  he  received  his  first  term  of  member- 
ship in  the  West  \'irginia  house  of  delegates.  This  was  followed  in 
1902  by  a  four-year  term  in  the  senate  of  the  state.  In  1908  he  was  not 
permitted  to  drop  out  of  politics,  but  was  returned  for  another  term  to 
the  house  of  delegates.  .A  man  of  strong  and  magnetic  character,  who 
has  made  a  deep  and  permanent  mark  to  the  benefit  of  state  government. 
Mr.  Colcord  impresses  every  one  who  meets  him  and  wins  their  approba- 
tion and  respect.  Besides  serving  as  delegate  to  the  state  legislature,  he 
is  at  present  also  an  energetic  worker  on  the  county  board  of  equaliza- 
tion. Through  his  many  business  interests.  Senator  Colcord  has  become 
connected  with  various  associations  which  belong  to  the  social  side  of 
life.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Lumbermen's  Association.  In  Masonry  he 
is  connected  with  Washington  Lodge,  No.  58,  Free  and  Accepted  ^la- 
sons,  at  St.  Albans ;  Tyrian  Chapter,  No.  14,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  at 
Giarleston :  Kanawha  Commandery,  Knights  Templar,  and  St.  Albans 
Lodge.  No.  119,  Inde]5endent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

Hon.  Edward  C.  Colcord  married,  in  1883,  Mary  Agnes  McManigal. 
of  Williamsport,  Pennsylvania.  They  have  had  the  following  interesting 
family:  I.  Edward  Clark  (2),  a  draftsman,  manager  of  the  .Atkinson 
Foundry  &  Machine  Shop  in  St.  Albans ;  married  Gertrude  Rock,  and 
has  one  son:  Edward  Clark  (3).  2.  Francis  C,  a  civil  engineer,  operat- 
ing in  Raleigh  county.  West  Virginia.  3.  Sylvia  Prudentia.  4.  Eugene 
L.,  connected  with  an  engineering  corps  busy  in  Raleigh  county.  5.  Alary 
Agnes,  at  school.  6.  Tristram  Coffin.-  7.  William  .\llison,  also  at  school 
Senator  Colcord's  record  is  one  to  be  eminently  proud  of,  and  his  remark- 
able work  in  the  two  houses  of  the  West  A'irginia  legislature  is  a  mat- 
ter of  record,  well-known  to  all. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  211 

Remington  Breckinridge \\'hite,  the  first  member  of  this  fam- 
WHITE     ily  about  whom  we  have  definite  information,  was  born  in 

Freemansburg,  West  A/'irginia,  March  20,  1854,  and  died 
in  1S83.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  and  then 
W'  irked  upon  his  father's  farm  and  assisted  him  in  his  extensive  lumber 
hii^iness.  In  1883  he  removed  to  Doddridge  county,  West  Virginia, 
where  he  purchased  a  farm  and  resided  until  his  death.  He  married 
Melinda  Ellen,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Mary  (  Sandy")  Knight,  of  Knight, 
West  Virginia.  She  married  (second),  in  1898,  H.  A.  Cox,  of  West 
Union,  West  Virginia ;  children :  Frederick  Raymond,  Silas  Lehman,  and 
Arthur  Glen.  Children  of  Remington  Breckenridge  and  Melinda  Ellen 
(Knight)  White:  Wilson  Henry  Stout,  born  December  i,  1881  ;  Hor- 
ance  Laban,  mentioned  below:  ^lary  Jane,  born  October  4,  1884:  Ada 
Columbia,  born  May  3,  1886. 

(II)  Horance  Laban,  son  of  Remington  Breckinridge  and  ^lelinda 
Ellen  (Knight)  White,  was  born  at  Knight,  Doddridge  county,  West 
Virginia,  May  5,  1883.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools,  and  after  pursuing  a  course  of  study  at  Salem  College,  West 
Virginia,  he  taught  school  for  three  years  in  Doddridge  county.  He  then 
entered  the  State  Normal  School  at  Glenville,  being  graduated  in  1904, 
after  which  he  taught  for  two  years  in  the  graded  and  high  schools  of 
West  Virginia,  and  then,  with  the  purpose  of  preparing  himself  for 
higher  work,  he  entered  the  West  Virginia  LTniversity  at  Morgantown, 
and  graduated  in  June,  191 1,  with  the  degree  of  A.  B.  While  at  the 
University  he  distinguished  himself  as  an  efificient  debater  and  was 
elected  president  of  the  LTniversity  Debating  Association,  and  he  was  a 
member  of  the  team  that  won  the  debating  contest  with  the  LTniversity 
of  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania :  also  while  at  the  university,  during  the 
absence  of  one  of  the  professors,  he  was  appointed  as  a  substitute  to  the 
position  for  a  period  of  six  months.  In  1909  he  was  appointed  superin- 
tendent of  schools  for  Williamstown,  and  served  as  such  for  two  years, 
meanwhile,  continuing  his  studies  at  the  university.  In  191 1  he  was 
appointed  superintendent  of  schools  at  Spencer,  West  Virginia,  which 
position  he  now  holds.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Pi  Kappa  Alpha  fratern- 
ity :  and  the  LTniversity  of  West  Virginia,  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation, and  also  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  at  Mari- 
etta. He  was  raised  a  Mason  in  Moriah  Lodge,  Ancient  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons,  of  Spencer,  West  Virginia,  and  he  is  a  member  of  Camp- 
bell Lodge,  No.  loi,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 


John  D.   Keister,  the  first  member  of  this   family  about 

KEISTER     whom   we   have   definite   information,   was   born   at   Oak 

Flat,  now  Brandywine.  Pendleton  county,  Virginia,  about 

1815.  and  died  about  1896.     Children:  John  D..  of  whom  further:  Susan, 

Sarah,  Polly  and  Jennie,   (these  four  are  deceased)  :  Margaret,  Andrew 

J.,  and  William  C. 

(II)  John  D.  (2),  son  of  John  D.  (i)  Keister.  was  born  about  1843. 
He  is  living  at  Brandywine  and  is  a  farmer.  In  the  civil  war,  he  was  a 
member  of  Company  K,  Sixty-second  Regiment  Confederate  Army,  un- 
der General  Imboden.  He  was  wounded  in  the  battle  of  Berryville.  \^ir- 
ginia.  In  the  battle  of  Newmarket,  A'irginia,  his  company  went  into  bat- 
tle with  forty-four  men  and  came  out  with  twenty-two.  He  served  two 
terms  as  a  member  of  the  legislature  of  West  Virginia.  1909-1911.  He 
married  Mary  S.,  born  at  Fort  Seybert,  Pendleton  county,  Virginia,  about 
1845,  slaughter  of  Jacob  Trumbo,  a  farmer  who  lived  and  died  at  Oak 
Flat,  Pendleton  county ;  he  was  born  about  1806,  died  about  1893.     Chil- 


212  WEST  VIRGINIA 

dren  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Keister ;  i.  Walter  Dyer,  of  whom  further.  2. 
Emma,  married  J.  M.  Smith  ;  lives  at  South  Branch,  near  Franklin,  Pen- 
dleton county.  West  Virginia.  3.  J.  Jjownian,  born  in  1874,  died  at 
Huntington,  Cabell  county.  West  \irginia.  in  1901.  4.  Myra  D.,  died  in 
Richmond,  Virginia,  July  31,  191 1.  in  the  hospital,  where  she  was  a  nur^e 
5.  Elmer  L..  a  farmer  at  Brandywine.  living  on  the  old  homestead  with 
his  parents. 

(Ill)  Waher  Dyer,  son  of  John  D.  (2)  and  Mary  S.  (Trumbo) 
Keister,  was  born  at  Oak  Flat,  Pendleton  county,  West  Virginia,  Novem- 
ber 24.  1867.  Having  attended  the  public  schools  of  Pendleton  county, 
he  took  a  lausiness  course  in  the  commercial  department  of  Kentucky 
University,  at  Lexington,  Kentucky,  and  for  five  years  he  taught  school 
in  Pendleton  county.  In  1891  he  came  to  Huntington,  the  place  of  his 
present  residence.  For  the  next  six  years,  he  was  employed  in  a  drug 
store,  after  which  he  entered  the  partnership  of  Keister  &  McCullough, 
but  eighteen  months  later  sold  his  interest  to  Mr.  McCullough  and  took  a 
position  with  Biggs-Watts  &  Company,  wholesale  drygoods  dealers.  He 
was  with  this  firm  three  years,  and  then  became  bookkeeper  for  Sehon, 
Stevenson  &  Company,  wholesale  grocers.  After  two  years  in  this  posi- 
tion he,  in  1903,  entered  the  employment  of  Gwinn  Brothers  &  Com- 
pany as  bookkeeper.  From  January  first  to  the  following  May  he  held 
this  position ;  the  company  was  then  re-organized,  and  he  became  treas- 
urer. Two  years  later  he  was  also  made  secretary,  and  since  1908  he  has 
held  the  triple  position  of  secretary,  treasurer  and  manager.  Gwinn 
Brothers  &  Company  are  the  leading  merchant  millers  and  dealers  in 
grain  and  hay  in  the  western  part  of  West  Virginia.  Mr.  Keister  is  a 
stockholder  also  in  the  Huntington  Banking  and  Trust  Company.  He  is 
owner  of  three  important  pieces  of  real  estate.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  and  in  political  belief  is  a  Democrat. 
Since  1895  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Central  Christian  Church  at 
Huntington ;  for  fourteen  years  he  has  been  treasurer  and  for  ten  years 
an  elder  of  this  church.  He  married  in  Huntington,  in  October,  1895. 
Lena,  daughter  of  John  H.  and  Virginia  (Doss)  Weaver,  who  was  born 
in  Ht-nry  county,  Virginia,  May  30.  1871.  Her  mother  died  in  her  early 
childhood  ;  her  father  is  living  at  Birmingham,  Alabama,  where  he  is  a 
cimtractor  and  builder.  Children  :  Mary  Lee,  born  September  10,  1898 : 
Jessie  Elizabeth,  born  July  19,  1901. 


Thomas  Carpenter,  the  first  member  of  this  family 
CARPENTER  about  whom  we  have  definite  information,  was  born 
in  Gallia  county,  Ohio,  in  October,  1796.  He  was  a 
son  of  Jesse  Carpenter  and  a  nephew  of  Basil  Wright,  both  of  whom 
were  soldiers  in  the  war  of  1812.  By  occupation  he  was  a  farmer,  and  in 
religion  a  Methodist  Protestant.  He  married  Sarah  Wright,  who  was 
born  in  1812.  on  Fork  Lick  of  the  Big  Elk  River,  and  died  July  23,  1872, 
in  Roane  county.  West  \'"irginia.  Children :  John,  married  Bridget  Rey- 
nolds and  removed  to  New  Brighton,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  died ;  Eliza, 
married  Hiram  Chapman  :  James,  mentioned  below. 

(II)  James,  son  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  (Wright)  Carpenter,  was 
born  March  7,  1838,  on  Storer  Fork  of  Rudy,  in  what  was  then  Jackson 
county,  \"irginia.  \^nien  six  years  of  age  he  removed  with  his  parents 
to  Charles  Fork  of  Spring  Creek,  six  miles  south  of  Spencer,  West  Vir- 
ginia, where  he  resided  until  his  death  in  May,  1908.  He  served  for 
eight  years  in  Captain  Donaldson's  company  in  the  Federal  army.  He 
was  a  Republican  in  politics  and  a  Methodist  Protestant  in  religion  ;  and 
he  was  a  school  trustee  for  a  number  of  terms,  and  trustee  of  Hundley 


WEST  VIRGINIA  213 

Chapel,  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church,  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He 
married,  December  2,  1857,  Rachel,  daughter  of  Robert  R.  and  Elizabeth 
(Heinzman)  Raines,  born  April  10,  1839,  in  Harper  District,  now  Roane 
county.  West  \'irginia.  Her  father  was  born  in  Pendleton  county,  \^ir- 
ginia,  and  her  mother  in  Lewis  county,  \'irginia.  They  settled  in  Jack- 
son, now  Roane  county,  in  1838,  where  Mr.  Raines  died  in  1863,  and  his 
wife  died,  March  6,  1882.  Children  of  James  and  Rachel  (Raines)  Car- 
penter: Daniel  W.,  born  April  4,  1859,  died  October  23,  1862;  Mary  D., 
born  September  8,  i860;  George  B.,  born  December  16,  1861  ;  Martha  P., 
born  November  11,  1863,  died  March  10.  1910;  Anna  M.,  born  October 
15,  1865;  Barbara  E.,  born  N'ovember  27,  1867;  John  B.,  born  May  26, 
1870:  Sarah  E.,  born  December  29,  1872;  Thomas  D.,  born  June  17, 
1875,  now  deceased;  Harvey  H..  born  January  15,  1878;  Eliza  R.,  born 
March  17,  1880;  and  Walter  Audas,  mentioned  below. 

(Ill)  Walter  Audas,  son  of  James  and  Rachel  (Raines)  Carpenter, 
was  born  near  Spencer,  West  \'irginia,  January  31,  1884.  He  obtained 
his  early  education  in  the  public  schools,  and  in  June,  1901,  graduated 
from  the  Spencer  Summer  Normal  School  with  the  highest  grade  of  his 
class,  of  which  he  was  president.  He  was  awarded  at  the  time  a  gold 
medal  with  first  honors  in  debate.  In  the  same  year  he  received  a  first 
grade  certificate  to  teach  school,  and  in  1905  received  a  state  certificate, 
having  made  one  of  the  highest  grades  in  the  state.  He  taught  school  for 
many  years,  commencing  when  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  teaching  for 
six  terms  near  Spencer,  and  two  months  at  a  private  school  nearby ;  and 
in  1905  he  was  made  secretary  of  the  board  of  education  of  Spencer  dis- 
trict. He  was  then  appointed  principal  of  the  Dingess  graded  school  at 
Dingess,  ]\Iingo  county.  West  \'irginia.  In  1908  he  was  ofi^ered  the  same 
position  at  an  increased  salary,  but  he  declined  in  order  to  become  a  candi- 
date for  the  office  of  clerk  of  the  county  court  of  Roane  county,  and  after 
making  a  vigorous  and  surprising  campaign,  on  June  6,  1908,  he  won  the 
nomination  over  three  opponents  by  a  handsome  majority.  He  was 
elected  on  November  8,  1908.  after  one  of  the  hardest  fought  political 
battles  ever  waged  in  Roane  county  and  assumed  the  office  on  January  i, 
1909,  enjoying  the  distinction  of  being  the  youngest  county  clerk  in  West 
Mrginia.  In  1912  he  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  state  convention  to 
select  delegates  to  the  National  Convention  at  Chicago,  instructed  for 
Roosevelt.  He  is  a  member  of  Spencer  Lodge,  No.  55,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  of  which  he  has  been  chancellor,  commander,  and  is  now  a  past 
chancellor  and  a  member  of  the  uniform  rank.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Knights  of  Golden  Eagles,  and  a  past  consul  of  the  Modern  Wood- 
men of  America.  Mr.  Carpenter  was  active  in  the  organization  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Spencer,  having  served  as  secretary  of  all  the 
meetings  up  to  and  including  its  establishment,  and  was  a  stockholder  and 
one  of  the  directors  of  the  bank.  He  became  a  member  of  the  Protestant 
Methodist  church  when  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  was  secretary  for 
two  vears  of  the  Inter-denominational  Sunday  School  Association  of 
Spencer  district ;  he  was  for  two  years  secretary  of  the  Methodist  Pro- 
testant conference  of  the  Spencer  circuit,  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  an- 
nual conference  at  Morgantown  in  August,  1909.  At  present  he  is  sec- 
retary of  the  quarterly  conference  of  Spencer  Station  and  is  superintend- 
ent of  the  Sunday  school  at  Spencer.  He  married,  at  Clarksburg.  West 
Virginia.  March  30,  1910,  Mary  Gertrude,  daughter  of  William  P.  and 
Anna  Brown  (Rockhold)  Pool,  born  January  13,  1891.  near  Spencer. 
Children;  Ruth  Elaine,  born  January  3,  191 1;  William  Audas,  born  Jan- 
uary 23,   1912. 


?I4  WEST  VIRGINIA 

George    Schwender.    the    founder   of   the    family   in 

SCHWENDER     this   country   came    from   Germany.     He    settled   at 

Martin's    Ferry,    West   Virginia,   and   was    a   grape 

grower.     His  wife's  name  is  unknown.     Among  his  children  was  Michel 

George,  referred  to  below. 

(II)  Michel  George,  son  of  George  Schvvender,  was  born  at  Mar- 
tin's Ferry,  West  \'irginia.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools,  and  later  worked  in  his  father's  vineyard.  When  eighteen  years 
of  age  he  went  to  Wheeling,  West  A'irginia,  and  entered  the  employ  of 
the  Riverside  Iron  Works,  remaining  with  the  company  for  seventeen 
f^ears  and  by  his  industry  and  perseverance  rose  from  the  position  of  an 
;)rdinary  laborer  to  be  one  of  the  most  responsible  employees  of  the 
company.  In  1 891.  he  removed  to  Roane  county,  and  took  up  farming, 
purchasing  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  and  later  one  hundred 
md  seventy  acres  more,  all  of  which  he  brought  to  a  high  state  of  culti- 
fation.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Amalgamated  Iron  Workers  .Associa- 
tion, and  took  an  active  part  in  promoting  the  interests  of  the  association. 
He  married  Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  Jane  Dowler, 
who  was  born  in  1854.  Children:  i.  Minnie,  married  James  J.  Harlow; 
children:  Carlos,  Pearl,  Elsie  May,  Mabel.  2.  William  Wiley,  referred 
to  below.  3.  Joseph  Melvin,  referred  to  below.  4.  Maud  May.  5.  .\ddie 
Bell,  married  Alexander,  son  of  Robert  Short :  child,  Kenneth. 

(III)  William  Wiley,  son  of  Michel  George  and  Mary  Ann  (Dow- 
ler) Schwender,  was  born  at  Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  August  i,  1879. 
He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public  school  at  Triplett,  West 
Virginia.  When  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  became  a  commercial  trav- 
eler, and  two  years  afterwards  settled  in  Spencer,  West  Virginia,  where 
he  entered  the  dry  goods  business,  in  which  he  is  still  engaged.  He  is  a 
member  of  Spencer  Lodge,  No.  55,  Knights  of  Pythias,  has  held  every 
office  in  the  lodge,  and  has  represented  the  lodge  in  the  Grand  Lodge  for 
the  past  two  years.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Moriah  Lodge,  No.  38, 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  iMasons.  He  married,  November  2,  1904, 
Rebecca  Lupton.  daughter  of  John  C.  and  A.  A.  (Simmons)  Campbell. 
Children :  William  Campbell,  born  July  28,  1905 ;  Paul  George,  born 
December  28,  1907:  Harry  Chambers:  Ruth  Elizabeth. 

(Ill)  Joseph  Melvin,  son  of  Michel  George  and  Mary  .Ann  (Dowler) 
Schwender,  was  born  at  \'\'heeling,  A^'est  Virginia,  August  3,  1883.  He 
received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools,  and  then  taught  school 
for  two  years,  and  entered  the  Mountain  State  Business  College,  apply- 
ing himself  so  diligently  to  his  studies  that  he  graduated  from  the  insti- 
tution in  four  months.  He  then  entered  the  employ  of  the  Spencer  Mill 
Company,  resigning  after  four  years  service  to  accept  an  appointment  in 
the  Roane  County  Bank,  which  position  he  still  holds.  He  is  a  Republi- 
can in  politics,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  of  the 
Modern  W'oodmen  of  America.  He  married,  December  9,  1909,  Olive 
Mae,  daughter  of  John  Nelson  Robey  of  Spencer.    No  children. 


This  familv  is  of  ancient  origin,  antedating  the  Elizabethan 
SIMMS  period,  and  residing  in  Daventry.  Northamptonshire,  Eng- 
land. The  first  of  this  familyof whom  record  is  made  was  the 
Earl  of  Northampton,  who  was  granted  a  coat-of-arms  in  1592.  The 
name  of  the  family  at  this  time  was  variously  spelled,  Symes,  Symmes 
and  Simms.  The  progenitor  of  this  family  in  .America  was  Sir  John 
Simms,  who  settled  at  an  early  date  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  In 
the  churchyard  of  St.  Peter's  Church  in  that  city  is  a  gravestone  bearing 
the  Simms  coat-of-arms.    The  name  of  the  familv  in  .America  is  various- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  215 

1\  >pelled,  Sims  and  Simms.  Descendants  of  Sir  John  Simms  settled  in 
Maryland,  \'irginia.  West  A'irginia  and  other  southern  states,  taking  a 
prominent  part  in  the  development  of  their  various  communities.  A 
branch  of  this  family  settled  on  the  Kanawha  river  in  ^^'est  Virginia. 
The  family  in  West  Virginia  has  been  conspicuous  for  its  adherence  to 
the  church  and  for  its  patriotism. 

(I)  P.  William  Simms.  a  descendant  of  the  \"irginia  branch  of  the 
family,  was  born  on  the  Gauley  river.  West  \'irginia,  February  2,  1804. 
and  died  in  1895.  He  was  a  farmer  and  blacksmith.  He  married  Eliza- 
beth Dorsey,  who  was  born  in  Greenbrier  county,  West  Mrginia.  Eight 
children  were  born  to  them,  of  whom  four  died  young:  the  surviving  chil- 
dren are :  Franklin  Pilcher,  mentioned  below ;  Melitus,  now  a  farmer,  re- 
sides in  Nicholas  county.  West  Virginia :  John  D..  a  farmer,  resides  near 
Summerville,  West  \'irginia :  William  B.,  a  farmer,  resides  in  Nicholas 
county. 

(II)  Franklin  Pilcher,  son  of  P.  William  and  Elizabeth  (Dorsey) 
Simms.  was  born  near  Delva  on  the  Gauley  river.  West  \'irginia,  in  183 1. 
He  engaged  extensively  in  farming  until  a  few  years  ago,  when  he  retired 
from  active  labor  and  went  to  live.with  his  son,  Meredith  J.  Simms,  but 
he  still  owns  a  farm  in  Nicholas  county.  West  Virginia.  He  .married 
Eliza  Simms  born  in  1845,  died  October  2,  igio.  Thirteen  children  were 
born  to  them,  of  whom  five  died  young:  the  surviving  children  are:  Alere- 
dith  J.,  mentioned  below:  Lawrence:  Dora,  now  ]\Irs.  Hendrick,  resides 
in  Greenbrier  county.  West  \'irginia :  Emma,  now  ]\Irs.  Hill,  resides  in 
Nicholas  county,  ^^' est  Mrginia ;  Charles,  resides  in  Tennessee :  Homer, 
resides  in  Nicholas  county.  West  Virginia :  Letha,  resides  in  ;\Iontgomery, 
^^'est  Virginia  and  Robert,  resides  in  Tennessee. 

(III)  Meredith  J.,  son  of  Franklin  Pilcher  and  Eliza  Simms,  was 
born  on  a  farm  near  Sims,  Nicholas  county,  \\'est  A'irginia,  April  g,  18^12. 
In  1873  h^  removed  to  Fayette  county.  West  Virginia,  where  he  attended 
the  public  schools.  In  1886  he  went  to  Montgomery,  West  Virginia, 
where  he  secured  a  position  as  bookkeeper  for  the  Straugham  Coal  Com- 
pany. This  position  he  held  until  1889,  when  he  was  appointed  postmas- 
ter by  President  Harrison,  retaining  the  office  four  years  and  was  subse- 
quently for  ten  years  engaged  as  a  wholesale  bottler :  he  also  engaged  in 
the  mercantile  business  several  years,  meeting  with  marked  success.  He 
is  president  of  the  Montgomery  &  Cannelton  Bridge  Company,  which 
erected  the  fine  bridge  at  Alontgomery,  costing  $90,000.  He  has  been 
a  director  of  the  Montgomery  National  Bank  four  years,  and  its  presi- 
dent two  years.  This  bank  was  established  in  1901  with  a  capital  of 
$25,000  which  was  later  increased  to  $75,000.  Its  total  deposits  in  June, 
1912,  were  $310,963.11.  S.  H.  ^Montgomery  served  as  its  first  president. 
The  present  officers  of  the  bank  are :  M.  J.  Simms,  president ;  J.  \V. 
Montgomery  and  S.  H.  Montgomery,  vice-presidents :  R.  L.  Matthews, 
cashier:  A.  G.  Newby,  assistant  cashier:  and  O.  J.  Henderson,  chairman 
of  the  board  of  directors.  Robert  L.  Matthews,  cashier  of  this  bank,  is 
a  son  of  Levi  W.  Alatthews.  Air.  Simms  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and 
was  delegate  to  the  national  Republican  convention  which  nominated 
^^'illiam  McKinley  for  president  in  1896,  and  William  H.  Taft  in  1912. 
He  is  now  serving  his  fourth  term  as  county  commissioner,  making  a  to- 
tal service  of  twenty-four  years,  the  longest  time  the  office  has  been  held 
in  the  state.    He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

He  was  married  in  St.  .\lbans.  West  \'irginia.  January  3,  1887,  to 
.\lwilda,  daughter  of  William  and  Mary  (DeFore)  Ramson.  Five  chil- 
dren have  been  born  to  them :  Forrest  DeFore,  December  29,  1887 :  Ira 
Ramson.  December  22.  1889,  resides  in  Texas:  Mary  Alabel,  born  in 
1891,   died   September   20,    1894:   Maud   Meredith.    May    13,    1895:   and 


2i6  WEST  \'IRGIX1A 

Agnes  Eugene,  June  28.  1897.  ?\lrs.  Simnis  was  liorn  in  Jackscjn  county, 
West  Virginia,  December  2^5,  1860.  Her  father  is  of  English  descent  and 
her  mother's  family  is  of  Huguenot  stock. 


This    is    a    family    of    English    descent,    prominent    in    the 
NL'TTER     pioneer  days  of  Harrison  county.  Mrginia.     Three  fami- 
lies of  this  name,  or  branches  of  the  one  family,  have  set- 
tled in  various  parts  of  Ritchie  county. 

(I)  Thomas  Nutter,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information  (perhaps  the  immigrant),  entered  his  home- 
stead of  four  hundred  acres,  about  two  miles  from  Clarksburg,  on  the 
west  side  of  Elk  creek,  and  on  the  road  to  Buckhannon,  in  1775,  and  pre- 
empted one  thousand  acres  adjoining.  On  this  tract  was  built  Nutter's 
fort,  which  was  a  harbor  of  refuge  for  the  neighbors  in  the  Indian  wars, 
and  in  these  wars  he  was  personally  active.  The  census  of  1782  shows 
that  he  then  had  eight  children.  Some  of  his  descendants  are  still  in  Har- 
rison county ;  they  have  spread  to  other  West  \'irginian  counties  and  to 
other  states.  The  following  Nutter  marriages  were  probably  among  his 
children:  Rachel,  married.  May  4.  1785,  Isaac  Richards;  Christopher, 
married,  June  28,  1785,  Rebecca  Moorehead :  John,  probably  the  John 
of  whom  further,  married,  October  2.  1786.  Elizabeth  Cottrill  ;  Mary, 
married,  August  31,  1790,  Richard  Hall. 

(II)  John,  son  of  Thomas  Nutter,  was  the  father  of  Antlrew.  of 
whom  further,  and  of  John. 

(HI)  Andrew,  son  of  John  and,  probably,  Elizabeth  (Cottrill)  Nut- 
ter, was  born  in  Harrison  county,  Virginia,  about  1793.  At  the  age  of 
seventeen  he  enlisted,  and  he  saw  service  in  the  war  of  181 2.  having  part 
in  the  engagement  of  Fort  Defiance  on  the  Maumee  river.  He  married 
Malinda,  daughter  of  \^'illiam  and  Anna   (Douglass)   Willis.     Children: 

Willis,  of  whom  further ;  John  ;  Andrew  ;  Julia,  married  ^^'arren  : 

Nancy,   married   — ■ —   Hart;    Malinda.    married   Hart;    Elizabeth, 

married  Hart ;  Sarah,  married  Watson. 

(lA^)  Willis,  son  of  Andrew  and  Alalinda  (Willis)  Nutter,  was  born 
in  Doddridge  county,  Virginia.  He  married  Julia  Richards,  of  Harri- 
son county,  Mrginia.     Child,  Thomas  E.,  of  whom  further. 

(V)  Thomas  E..  son  of  Willis  and  Julia  (Richards)  Nutter,  was 
born  in  Doddridge  county,  \'irginia,  died  in  1886.  He  was  in  his  main 
occupation  a  farmer,  but  for  a  time  was  engaged  in  mercantile  business. 
In  the  civil  war  he  served  his  country  as  a  member  of  the  Sixth  Regi- 
ment West  Virginia  \'olunteer  Infantry.  He  married  Sarah  A.,  daugh- 
ter of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  (A'angrift)  Allender,  of  Ritchie  county.  Chil- 
dren: Okey  E.,  of  wdiom  further;  Emma  F..  married  Lee  Prnnty  ;  Lola 
G.,  married  Benjamin  Wilson;  Elizabeth  H..  married  F.  F.  Ross;  Eva 
M.,  married  Porter  Tharp. 

{\"l)  (^key  E.,  son  of  Thomas  E.  and  Sarah  A.  (Allender)  Nutter, 
was  1)1  irn  at  \\'hite  Oak,  Ritchie  county.  West  Virginia,  June  17,  1875. 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  in  the  business  college  at 
Parkersburg.  from  which  he  was  graduated  September  17,  1897.  For 
eight  terms  thereafter  he  taught  school.  In  1902  he  was  one  of  three 
contestants  for  the  Republican  nomination  for  the  circuit  clerkship,  and 
was  defeated  in  a  very  close  contest,  receiving  every  vote  in  his  home  pre- 
cinct save  one.  In  1903  he  was  made  cashier  of  the  state  bank  at  Pull- 
man, Ritchie  county.  In  1904  he  was  elected  as  sheriff  of  his  county, 
and  he  entered  on  tln'  <hities  of  this  office,  January  i.  1903.  and  served 
four  years.  He  was  tlie  \.  mngest  man  who  had  ever  held  die  shrievalty 
in  this  countv.  but  his  administration  was  remarkable  for  executive  aliil- 


WEST  A'IRGIXIA  217 

ity  and  efficiency.  At  the  end  of  his  term  he  was  able  immediately  to 
turn  over  to  his  successor  the  whole  amount  due  the  various  county  and 
district  funds.  According  to  the  tax  commissioner  none  of  the  fifty-five 
sherififs  of  the  state  had  a  better  record  in  general  than  "Sir.  Nutter,  and 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  collecting  of  taxes  and  the  returning  of  delin- 
quents, his  record  was  the  best  of  them  all.  At  the  expiration  of  his  term 
he  bought  a  farm  of  seven  hundred  acres,  and  he  lived  on  this  for  one 
year.  He  then  moved  to  Pennsboro.  Ritchie  county.  West  Virginia,  and 
since  January,  igio.  he  has  been  president  of  the  First  National  Bank  at 
this  place.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and  of 
the  Maccabees.  Air.  Nutter  married.  August  5,  1898,  Ada.  daughter  of 
John  and  Henrietta  Miller.  Children  :  Darrell,  born  July  6.  1899:  Mabel, 
July  6,  1903. 


It  will  be  noted  that  this  old  Mrginian  family  has  been 
WEEKLEY     settled   for  a  century  in  Tyler  county,  now  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  that  it  has  branched   from  that  county  into 
Ritchie  county ;  but  another  branch  of  the  family  has  been  established  in 
Ritchie  county  since  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  also  having  come 
hither  from  Tyler  county.     The  family  is  of  English  origin. 

(I)  Jacob  Weekley,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  was  born  in  Fauquier  county,  Virginia.  From 
that  county  he  came  to  Tyler  county,  where  he  was  a  farmer,  and  erected 
the  first  brick  building  in  the  county.  For  a  time  he  lived  at  Middle  Island, 

afterward  at  Arnold's  creek.     He  married  Williamson.     Children  : 

Daniel,  of  whom  further;  Alartha.  Caroline.  Eliza.  Isaiah,  John,  William 
AI.,  George  W..  Malinda. 

(II)  Daniel,  son  of  Jacob  and (Williamson)  \\'eekley,  was  born 

in  Tyler  county,  A'irginia,  Alay  4,  1826,  died  August  24,  1909.  All  his 
life  he  was  a  farmer  and  dealer  in  stock,  and  he  was  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative men  of  his  town  :  but  he  sold  his  farm,  and  moved  to  Salem, 
Harrison  county.  West  A'irginia.  where  he  lived  a  retired  life  to  the  time 
of  his  death.  He  was  a  member  and  one  of  the  staunch  supporters  of 
the  United  Brethren  church.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam and  Alartha  Pratt,  who  died  Alarch  27,  1897.  Children:  1.  AA'il- 
liam  AI..  minister  of  the  United  Brethren  church,  now  officiating  in  Kan- 
sas City,  Alissouri.  2.  Sarah  E..  married  Clay  Heckert.  3.  Alartha.  de- 
ceased. 4.  Ellen,  deceased.  5.  Laura  C,  married  Frank  Wildwood. 
6.  George  AI..  of  whom  further.  7.  Agnes,  married  J.  R.  Grove.  8. 
Alartin  Luther,  minister  of  the  Lmited  Brethren  church,  and  now  preach- 
ing in  New  York  City.  9.  ]\Iilton  L..  assistant  cashier  of  the  Citizens' 
National  Bank,  Pennsboro,  West  A'irginia.  10.  Effie  AI..  married  Alvin 
Davis,  of  Charleston,  AA^est  A'irginia. 

(III)  George  AI..  son  of  Daniel  and  Elizabeth  (Pratt)  AVeekley, 
was  born  in  Tyler  county.  AA'est  A'irginia,  December  26,  1863.  He 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  in  the  Classical  School  Academy  at 
Buckhannon,  West  A'irginia,  beiiig  graduated  from  this  institution  in 
1884.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  went  to  Kansas  and  there  he  taught 
school  for  eighteen  months.  A  short  stay  in  Nebraska  followed,  and  from 
that  state  Air.  Weekley  went  to  Alontana,  where  he  remained  for  six 
years  on  a  cattle  ranch.  Then  he  returned  to  his  native  state,  and  for  two 
vears  he  had  the  charge  of  his  father's  farm.  Having  sold  this  farm,  lie 
came  to  Pennsboro,  Ritchie  countv.  West  A'irginia,  and  organized  the 
Pennsboro  Grocery  Company,  the  first  wholesale  grocery  firm  at  Penns- 
boro. He  was  manager  of  their  business  for  four  years,  but  in  11)05  t'ls 
store  was  destroved  bv  fire.     For  about  one  vear  Air.  \\'eeklcv  then  had 


2i8  WEST  MRGINIA 

charge  of  the  Pennsboro  Mill  «S:  Feed  Company.  In  1905  he  accepted  the 
position  of  assistant  cashier  in  the  Citizens'  National  Bank,  at  Pennsbord. 
and  in  191 1  he  was  advanced  to  the  position  of  cashier.  He  married, 
July  8.  1902.  ]\Iyrtle.  daughter  of  Peniah  and  Sophronia  (Cunningham) 
be])ue.     Child.  Paul  K.,  born  May  2,  1903. 


This  very  common  name,  found  in  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
\MLSUX     try,  is  not  the  exclusive  possession  of  a  single  family,  but 

is  the  common  surname  of  many  quite  distinct  families. 
Among  those  bearing  tliis  name  in  tlie  United  States  many  have  won 
distinction  in  religious,  civil,  and  military  affairs.  The  present  family 
is  of  the  Scotch-Irish  stock. 

( I )  William  Wilson,  the  founder  of  this  family,  was  born  in  Ire- 
land, November  16,  1722,  and  died  in  Shenandoah  county,  Virginia,  June 
12,  1801.  He  was  the  son  of  Davis  Wilson,  and  grandson  of  David  Davis 
Wilson,  of  Scotland.  About  1755  he  came  to  America  and  settled  in 
Shenandoah  county.  Virginia.  He  married  Elizabeth  Blackburn,  born 
in  Ireland,  February  2,  1725,  died  in  Shenandoah  county,  Virginia,  Sep- 
tember 2,  1806.  Children:  i.  Benjamin,  born  November  30,  1747,  dicl 
January  2,  1828 :  he  was  a  man  of  great  prominence,  soldier  of  the  revolu- 
tion, member  of  the  A'irginia  legislature,  delegate  to  the  convention  whicli 
ratified  the  constitution  of  the  United  States;  married  (first)  Septem- 
ber 4,  1770,  Anne  Ruddel,  (second)  December  15,  1795,  Phebe  David- 
son; was  the  father  of  thirty  children.  2.  Archibald,  born  June  13,  1749. 
3.  David,  born  September  8,  1751.  4.  William,  born  February  8,  1754. 
5.  John,  of  whom  further.  6.  Mdses.  Ijcirn  May  I.  1758,  died  in  1760.  7. 
Aloses,  born  April  8.  1761.  8.  James,  born  July  25,  1763.  9.  Solomon, 
born  luly  2,  1766.  10.  Elizabeth,  twin  of  Si:ilomon.  11.  Margaret,  born 
April"  7,  1768. 

(II)  John,  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Blackburn)  Wilson,  was 
born  in  Shenandoah  county,  Virginia,  April  12,  1756,  died  at  Beverly, 
Randolph  county,  Virginia.  He  was  the  oldest  of  the  children  born  in 
America.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  was  engaged  in  a  desperate  Indian 
fight  at  Wheeling,  in  which  he  was  severely  wounded.  His  home  was 
at  Beverly,  where  he  served  for  more  than  thirty  years  as  clerk  of  the 
county  court.  He  married  Mary  Wathin.  Children:  i.  Archibald,  of 
whom  further.  2.  John,  married  Charlotte  Dotson.  3.  Dorcas,  married 
Augustus  IModisette.  4.  Blackburn.  5.  Temperance,  married  Moses 
Thompson.     6.  Mary,  married  G.  W.   Shinn. 

(III)  Archibald,  son  of  John  and  ^lary  (Wathin)  Wilson,  was 
born  in  Randolph  county,  A'irginia,  near  Beverly,  in  1801,  died  in  Ritchie 
county.  West  A'irginia,  in  1866.  In  1828  he  came  from  Harrison  county, 
Virginia  (now  Taylor  county.  West  Virginia),  and  settled  in  Ritchie 
county  near  Oxford :  ten  years  later  he  moved  to  the  Edmund  Taylor 
farm,  at  the  mouth  of  Lynn  Camp,  on  the  north  fork  of  Hughes  river, 
and  there  he  lived  the  remainder  of  his  days.  He  was  a  man  of  marked 
ability,  and  one  of  the  prominent  citizens  and  leaders  of  his  time.  For  a 
time  he  taught  school,  and  he  was  the  first  county  surveyor  of  Ritchie 
county.  When  the  new  state  was  formed  and  its  first  constitutional  con- 
vention was  held,  he  was  among  its  members,  and  it  was  he  who  first  sug- 
gested that  the  counties  be  divided  into  districts  for  educational  pur- 
poses ;  he  was  the  author  of  a  resolution  to  this  end,  and  a  provision  of 
this  character,  though  perhaps  not  that  suggested  by  him,  was  made  a 
part  of  the  constitution  of  the  state.  He  was  interested  in  the  erection 
of  the  United  Brethren  church  at  Pennsboro,  Ritchie  county,  and  both 
he  and  his  wife  are  buried  in  its  cemetery.    He  married  Elizabeth,  daugh- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  219 

ter  of  Barton  Hudkins,  of  Simpson's  Creek,  Taylor  countv,  \'irginia, 
who  was  born  about  1809,  died  in  1892.     Children:   i.  H.  X.,  deceased. 

2.  A.  B.,  deceased.  3.  John  Marshall,  born  September  16,  1827 ;  mar- 
ried Rebecca  Clayton ;  twelve  children,  all  of  whom  lived  to  manhood 
and  womanhood.  4.  Barton  H.,  deceased.  5.  Leroy  P..  of  whom  further. 
6.  Temperance,  married  T.  W.  Ireland.  7.  Josephine,  married  Jesse  Ham- 
mond. 8.  W.  S.  9.  Eveline,  married  Smith  Bee.  10.  Love,  married 
Alexander  Pruntv.  11.  Elizabeth,  deceased;  married  C.  '\l.  Collins.  12. 
Bazil  H. 

(IV)  Leroy  P..  son  of  Archibald  and  Elizabeth  (Hudkins)  Wilson, 
was  born  near  Oxford,  Ritchie  county,  \'irginia.  September  18,  1834, 
died  at  Pennsboro,  January  15,  1905.  For  a  number  of  years  after  his 
marriage  he  resided  on  a  farm  on  the  Lorama  railroad,  but  he  afterward 
made  his  home  at  Pennsboro.  His  business  interests  were  quite  varied 
and  in  these  he  was  successful,  being  one  of  the  leading  business  men  of 
his  county.  One  of  his  chief  characteristics  was  honesty,  and  he  was  a 
man  of  many  friends.  Beside  being  a  farmer,  he  dealt  in  cattle  and  was 
also  a  clothing  merchant.  The  first  bank  organized  in  the  county  had 
Mr.  Wilson  for  its  president,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  vice- 
,)resident  of  the  First  National  Bank  at  Pennsboro.  He  was  a.  member 
of  the  Free  and  Accepted  ^Masons,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men.  In 
political  life  he  was  prominent,  as  a  Democrat.  He  married,  in  Febru- 
ary, 1862.  Virginia  S.,  daughter  of  John  and  Zilpha  Rinehart,  of  Boyd, 
Maryland.     Children:     i.    Archie   J.      2.    ^linnie,   married    S.    M.    Hoff. 

3.  James  Boyd,  of  whom  further.  4.  Agnes.  5.  John  [Marshall.  6.  Ben- 
jamin F.  7.  Lee.  8.  Okey  J.,  physician,  practicing  in  Oklahoma.  9. 
Anna,  married  Hall  Hamilton.  10.  Zilpha  Boppell,  graduate  and  Doctor 
of  Philosophy  of  the  Northwestern  LTniversity,  Evanston.  Illinois.  11. 
Susan,  married  A.  L.  Davis.    One  other  child,  predeceased  the  father. 

(V)  Dr.  James  Boyd  Wilson,  son  of  Leroy  P.  and  Virginia  S.  (Rine- 
hart) Wilson,  was  born  in  Ritchie  county,  West  A'irginia,  near  Penns- 
boro. February  11.  1866.  After  receiving  a  public  school  education,  he 
spent  two  years  in  the  medical  department  of  ^Maryland  College,  but  he 
finished  his  medical  course  at  the  L'^niversity  of  Louisville,  from  which 
he  received,  March  13,  1893,  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  He  came 
to  Pennsboro.  April  3  of  the  same  year,  and  has  practiced  continuously  at 
this  place.  His  medical  and  surgical  practice  is  now  large.  For  twelve 
years  he  was  surgeon  for  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  Company.  He 
is  examiner  for  several  insurance  companies,  including  the  New  York 
Life  and  the  Northwestern.  Dr.  Wilson  is  a  member  of  the  Ritchie 
County  Medical  Society,  of  the  West  Virginia  Medical  Society,  and  of 
the  American  Medical  Association.  In  1896  he  was  medical  examiner  for 
pensions.  Beside  his  medical  activity,  although  he  has  not  gone  actively 
otherwise  into  business,  he  is  a  director  of  the  First  National  Bank  at 
Pennsboro.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Free  and  .\ccepted  Masons, 
the  Knights  Templar,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  the  Eastern  Star,  in 
which  he  was  for  three  years  fnaster  of  Harmony  Lodge.  Dr.  Wilson 
married  (first)  October  26,  1893,  Alice  M.,  daughter  of  Melville  and 
Cornelia  Sherwood,  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  who  died  October  24.  1908. 
Children:  Melville  Sherwood,  born  August  13,  i8c)8;  Ernest  Leroy,  Jan- 
uary 17,  1907.  Dr.  Wilson  married  (second)  Februarv  24.  1913,  ^Irs. 
Olive  Bond. 


220  WEST  MRGINIA 

This  name  is  borne  by  many  famiHes  in  all  parts  of  the 
HILL     United  States.     Richard,  the  first  of  this  family  of  whom  we 

have  definite  information,  died  about  1842.  He  is  commonly 
believed  to  have  come  from  North  Carolina,  soon  after  the  revolutionary 
armies  were  disbanded,  to  the  Greenbrier  valley,  Virginia.  As  a  scout  and 
vigilant  defender  of  the  forts  he  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  the 
pioneers  of  what  is  now  Pocahontas  county,  West  \'irginia.  From  the 
Indians  he  had  many  narrow  and  remarkable  escapes.  He  settled  on 
Hill's  creek  and  entered  a  large  body  of  land.  He  married  Nancy, 
daughter  of  John  and  Alartha  (Davis)  McNeel.  Children:  Elizabeth, 
married  John  BrufTe}- ;  Martha,  married  George  Gillilan ;  Margaret,  mar- 
ried Samuel  Gillilan ;  Thomas,  married  Anne  Cackley,  was  once  asses- 
sor of  the  county,  and  had  two  sons :  George  and  Richard  Valentine, 
both  Confederate  soldiers,  the  former  serving  in  Captain  McNeel's  cav- 
alry ;  John,  married  Elizabeth  Poage :  Abraham,  married  Sallie  Burr ; 
Isaac,  married  Jennie  Edmiston  ;  William,  married'  Ann  Ray :  Joel,  of 
whom  further;  George,  married  (first)  Martha  Edmiston,  (second)  Re- 
becca Cruikshanks. 

(II)  Joel,  son  of  Richard  and  Nancy  ( AIcNeel)  Hill,  was  born  in 
Pocahontas  county  in  1807.  He  married  Rebecca  Livesay,  of  Green- 
brier county,  \'irginia.  Children  :  Mary  Frances,  married  Sherman  H. 
Clark :  Ann  Eliza,  married  Oscar  Groves ;  Martha,  married  Mansfield 
Groves ;  Melinda,  married  Levi  Gay :  Caroline,  married  D.  A.  Peck ; 
Lucy,  married  William  Curry;  Allen  Austin,  was  in  the  Confederate 
army,  in  Missouri,  and  was  killed  by  sharpshooters;  Richard  Washing- 
ton, of  whom   further. 

(III)  Richard  Washington,  snn  of  Joel  and  Rebecca  (Livesay)  Hill, 
was  born  in  Pocahontas  county,  April  12,  1845.  He  lived  formerly  cm 
the  iKiniestead,  but  is  now  living  retired,  with  his  wife,  in  Albemarle 
ciiunty,  \'irginia.  He  has  been  a  farmer  and  stockman.  He  has  also  been 
active  in  politics  and  is  a  Democrat.  In  1896  he  was  elected  sheriff  of 
Pocahontas  county  and  served  in  that  capacity  for  four  years.  He  mar- 
ried Margaret  Watts,  of  Greenbrier  county.  Children :  Frank  Raymond, 
of  whom  further:  Joel  Forrest,  born  January  28,  1876;  Glenna  Rachel, 
now  Mrs.  W.  D.  Pence,  born  December  28,  1879:  Anthony  Bunger,  born 
July  I,  1884;  and  David  Hendrix.  born  December  20,  1890. 

(IV)  Frank  Raymond,  son  of  Richard  Washington  and  ^Margaret 
(Watts)  Hill,  was  born  in  Pocahontas  county,  October  20,  1873.  He 
graduated  in  1898  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  from  Randolph- 
Macon  College.  During  his  college  course,  he  was  active  in  the  Wash- 
ington Literary  Society  and  he  represented  Randolph-Macon  College  in 
the  intercollegiate  oratorical  contest  of  1897.  In  1900  he  graduated  in 
law  from  the  L'niversity  of  Virginia  and  was  admitted  to  the  West  \^ir- 
ginia  bar  on  November  9,  in  that  year.  He  has  practiced  in  state  and  fed- 
eral courts,  and  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  young  lawyers  in  the  state 
and  as  an  excellent  public  prosecutor.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Pocahontas 
County  Bar  Association  and  of  the  State  Bar  Association.  In  Masonry, 
he  has  held  all  the  chairs  in  Pocahontas  Blue  Lodge ;  and  he  is  a  member 
of  the  Chapter,  Commandery,  Temple  and  Shrine,  at  Charleston,  West 
Virginia.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hill  are  both  active  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  she  being  a  member  of  the  Ladies'  Aid  and 
other  societies.  In  1906  he  was  elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  prose- 
cuting attorney  of  Pocahontas  county,  to  fill  an  unexpired  term :  in  190S 
he  was  re-elected  for  a  full  term;  and  now  (1912)  he  is  a  candidate  for 
another  election  to  this  office.  He  has  regularly  attended  state,  district, 
and  other  conventions  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  is  influential  in  its 
councils.     He  served  as  deputy  sheriff  under  his  father. 


WEST  A'lRGINIA  221 

Mr.  Hill  married  Delia,  daughter  of  A.  M.  and  Lydia  (McNeel) 
Edgar.  Her  father  was  born  where  Ronceverte,  West  Virginia,  now 
stands.  He  was  in  "Stonewall"  Jackson's  brigade,  and  was  captain  of 
Company  E,  Twenty-seventh  Virginia  Infantry,  Confederate  army,  at 
Cold  Harbor  he  was  taken  prisoner.  He  is  now  a  Pocahontas  county 
stockman.  Children  of  Frank  Raymond  and  Delia  (Edgar)  Hill:  Glenna 
Elizabeth,  born  March  3,  1902,  Alargaret  Lydia,  born  October  15,  ICJ04; 
Francis  Edgar,  born  July  3,  1906;  Rebecca  Watts,  born  (Dctober  23,  1908, 
and  Martha  Washington,  born  February  24,  1912. 


This  name,  also  often  spelled  Sharpe,  is  a  common  name  in 
SHARP  the  United  States  and  not  confined  to  any  particular  section. 
1 1 )  John  Sharp,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about 
whom  we  have  definite  information,  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  but  had 
settled  in  Virginia  before  the  revolutionary  war.  Much  later,  after  a 
residence  of  some  years  in  Rockingham  county,  \'irginia,  he  removed  to 
Pocahontas  county,  reaching  Frost  in  1802,  and  settled  at  that  place.  He 
was  owner  of  extensive  landed  possessions.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were 
earnest  supporters  of  religion.  He  married  Margaret  Blaine,  who  lived 
near  Rawley  Springs ;  she  was  a  relative  of  John  S.  Blaine,  a  pioneer 
Presbyterian  minister.  Children :  Margaret,  married  Henry  Dilley ; 
Anna,  married  Daniel  ]\IcCollam ;  Isabella,  married  Alexander  Rider ; 
Elizabeth,  married  Rev.  James  \\'anless :  Rosa,  married  Rev.  William  J. 
Ryder ;  Mary,  married  William  Hartman  :  John,  married  Rebecca  Moore ; 
Robert,  died  young :  Daniel,  married  Alargaret  Palmer ;  James,  married 
]\Iargaret  Wanless  ;  William,  of  whom  further ;  Joseph,  married  Elizabeth 
Lightner. 

(II)  William,  son  of  John  and  Margaret  (Blaine)  Sharp,  lived  near 
Frost.  He  married  Margaret  Nesbitt.  of  Rockbridge  county,  \'irginia. 
Children :  Mary  Paulina,  married  Stephen  Wanless ;  Eliza  Jane,  married 
David  Hannah ;  John,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  John  (2),  son  of  William  and  ^Margaret  (Nesbitt)  Sharp,  also 
lived  near  Frost.  He  married  Elizabeth  Slaven  Wade,  of  Highland 
county.  During  the  civil  war,  she  supported  the  children,  paid  off  mort- 
gages on  the  land  and  came  through  the  conflict  out  of  debt.  Children : 
Charles  Osborne  Wade,  of  whom  further ;  William  Alexander  Gilmer, 
married  Nancy  Elizabeth  Arbogast ;  John  Benjamin  Franklin,  married 
Mary  Alice  Gibson ;  Aaron  Uriah  Bradford,  died  at  the  age  of  seven  : 
Matilda  Ursula,  died  at  the  age  of  sixteen  months;  Margaret  Ann,  died 
at  the  age  of  sixteen  years:  Martha  Ellen,  married  Abram  Sharp;  Mari- 
etta Emmaretta  Virginia,  married  Thomas  R.  Kellison. 

( I\')  Charles  Osborne  Wade,  son  of  John  (2)  and  Elizabeth  Slaven 
(Wade)  Sharp,  was  born  at  Frost,  about  1845,  'I'ld  died  June  29,  1892. 
Enlisting  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  in  Company  I,  Third  West  Virginia 
Cavalry,  he  served  to  the  end  of  the  civil  war.  For  four  years  he  was 
deputy-sheriff  of  Pocahontas  county,  under  J.  F.  Wanless.  He  was  an 
.extensive  farmer  and  stockman  and  always  an  active  Republican.  He 
married  Mary  Amanda  Grimes,  who  survives  him  and  is  living  on  the 
Sharp  homestead.  Children:  i.  Hannibal  Hamlin,  deceased.  2.  Charles 
Hanson,  was  formerly  engaged  in  railroad  work  in  the  west  and  was 
later  superintendent  of  steam  shovels  in  the  Culebra  Cut,  Panama,  Canal 
Zone.  He  died  in  August,  1907,  at  Culebra,  Panama,  Canal  Zone.  3. 
David  Franklin,  is  a  railroad  engineer  and  lives  at  Wichita,  Kansas.  4. 
George  Winters,  of  whom  further.  5.  Summers  Hedrick,  twin  brother 
of  George  Winters,  born  June  20,  1880.  He  graduated  from  Marshall 
College  in  1907,  studied  law  in  the  University  of  Michigan  and  was  ad- 


222  WEST  VIRGINIA 

mitted  to  practice  in  the  courts  of  this  state  in  1910.  He  is  now  prosecut- 
ing attorney  of  Pocahontas  county.  He  is  a  Mason,  Knight  of  Pythias, 
and  a  member  of  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  married 
Grace  Stewart  of  Tulsa,  Oklahoma.  6.  Austin  John,  remains  with  his 
mother  on  the  old  homestead.  He  married  Icy  Shrader ;  children :  Styrl 
and  Roscoe.  7.  Trudie  Montgomery,  married  B.  B.  Williams,  who  is  at 
this  time  county  superintendent  of  schools.  8.  Icy  Amanda,  married 
Hevener  Dilley.  9.  Esta  ]\Iadora,  is  a  stenographer  and  resides  at  Buck- 
hannon.  West  Virginia. 

(V)  George  Winters,  son  of  Charles  Osborne  Wade  and  Mary 
Amanda  (Grimes)  Sharp,  was  born  June  20,  1880.  He  attended  school 
at  Concord  Normal  and  graduated  from  Marshall  College  in  1907.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  In  Masonry  he  has  held  the 
chair  of  worshipful  master  of  Marlinton  Lodge,  No.  127,  and  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Beni-Kedem  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  Nobles  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine,  Charleston,  West  Virginia.  He  was  elected  clerk  of  the 
circuit  court  of  Pocahontas  county  in  1908,  which  position  he  holds  at  this 
time.  He  married.  August  17.  1909,  Beatrice,  daughter  of  L.  C.  and 
Mary  (Wilson)   Groves,  of  Summersville,  West  Virginia.     No  children. 


This  name  is  found  in  various  parts  of  the  United  States 
MORRIS     and  has  been  borne  by  several  persons  of  distinction   in 
various    walks   of    life.      The   present    family,    it    will    be 
noted,  produced  soldiers  of  credit  in  the  civil  war. 

(I)  Ephram  Morris,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  moved  from  Maryland  into  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania.   He  was  by  trade  a  tailor.    He  married Roseberry.  Children : 

John,  a  captain  in  the  Union  army  in  the  civil  war ;  Matthias,  Asia, 
Thomas,  a  colonel  in  the  Union  army,  killed  at  Snicker's  Ferry ;  Martha, 
Sarah.  Catharine.  Phoebe,  James  F.,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  James  F.,  son  of  Ephram  and  (Roseberry)    Morris,  was 

born  in  Greene  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1840,  and  has  resided  ever  since 
in  Greene  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  farmer  and  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative men  of  his  community.  His  church  was  the  Christian.  He 
married  Maria,  daughter  of  Samuel  D.  Bayard,  who  died  January  26, 
Thomas,  a  colonel  in  the  Union  army,  killed  at  Snicker's  Ferry ;  Martha, 
George  Lloyd,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  George  Lloyd,  son  of  James  F.  and  ^Maria  (Bayard)  Morris, 
was  born  at  Holbrook.  in  Green  county,  Pennsylvania,  July  3,  1870.  His 
education  was  received  in  the  public  schools,  including  the  state  normal 
school  at  Edinburg,  Erie  county,  Pennsylvania,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  1889.  Thereupon  he  engaged  in  mercantile  business  at  Rodgersville. 
Pennsylvania,  in  which  he  continued  for  five  years.  Selling  this  business, 
he  became,  for  six  years,  a  traveling  salesman.  In  the  fall  of  1900  he 
came  to  Middlebourne,  Tyler  county.  West  A^irginia.  and  accepted  a  po- 
sition as  cashier  of  the  First  National  Bank,  which  position  he  still  holds. 
In  1902  he  was  made  and  still  is,  one  of  the  directors  of  the  same  bank. 
He  was  also  among  the  promoters  of  the  Aliddlebourne  Water  Company, 
and  is  a  stockholder  therein ;  also,  he  is  first  vice-president  of  the  board 
of  trade  at  Middlebourne.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 
Mr.  Morris  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  church.  He  married  (first)  in 
February.  1897.  Laura  Mason,  who  died  in  1907:  he  married  (second)  in 
1909,  Martha,  daughter  of  E.  J.  and  Emily  Clark. 


WEST  MRGi: 


J23 


The  progenitors  of  this  family  in  West  \'irginia  came 
THOMPSON  originally  from  Culpeper  county,  \''irginia,  in  the  year 
1815,  when  Philip  R.  Thompson  settled  at  the  home- 
stead which  is  now  St.  Albans ;  he  owned  large  tracks  of  land  and  lived 
there  imtil  his  death  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years.  He  built  the  house 
in  which  he  resided,  and  in  which  his  children  and  grandchildren  were 
born.  He  became  a  prominent  man  in  the  Democratic  party,  serving  for 
eight  years  as  member  of  congress  from  Culpeper  county,  prior  to  his 
moving  to  Kanawha  county.  Mr.  Thompson  was  twice  married,  having 
issue  by  both  wives.  His  first  marriage  was  to  a  Miss  Davenport,  by 
whom  he  had  several  children  ;  his  second  marriage  was  to  Sarah  Eliza- 
beth Slaughter,  of  Culpeper  county,  daughter  of  Robert  Slaughter,  of 
the  Grange.  There  were  five  sons  and  four  daughters  by  this  marriage, 
of  whom  the  sons  were:  Robert  A.,  Francis,  Dr.  John,  Benjamin  S.,  of 
whom  further,  and  William  Henry. 

(H)  Benjamin  S.,  son  of  Philip  R.  and  Sarah  E.  (Slaughter)  Thomp- 
son, was  born  at  Coalsmouth,  Kanawha  county,  A'irginia,  now  St.  Albans, 
March  26,  1818.  He  was  a  graduate  of  William  and  Mary  College 
where  he  studied  law,  and  up  to  the  time  of  the  civil  war  lived  on  the 
farm  where  he  was  born.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  he  joined  the  Con- 
federate army,  first  as  captain  A.  O.  M.  of  the  Thirty-sixth  Regiment  Vir- 
ginia Infantry,  later  assigned  to  Barton's  brigade  of  Stephenson's  divi- 
sion, and  became  quartermaster  with  rank  of  major,  continuing  until  the 
close  of  hostilities.  After  the  war  he  moved  to  Flemingsburg.  Kentucky, 
and  entered  mercantile  business  in  which  he  remained  until  about  the 
year  1880,  when  he  removed  to  Hinton,  West  Virginia,  and  for  eight 
years  was  postmaster  of  the  town.  He  came  to  Huntington  in  1897,  re- 
tiring from  active  business,  and  continuing  a  resident  of  this  city  until 
his  death,  December  29,  1907.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Democratic 
party.  He  married  Elizabeth  Lewis,  born  in  Mason  county,  Virginia, 
October  19,  1819,  died  in  Huntington,  July  21,  1907,  daughter  of  Andrew 
and  Margaret  (Lynn)  Lewis,  and  granddaughter  of  Colonel  Charles 
Lewis,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant,  Mrginia,  October 
10,  1774.  l\Ir.  and  ]\'Irs.  Thompson  had  six  children:  Cameron  Lewis,  of 
whom  further ;  Margaret  Lynn,  married  Dr.  John  Harvey,  late  professor 
of  languages  at  the  West  Virginia  L^niversity :  John  S.,  died  unmarried; 
Fannie  Lewis,  died  unmarried:  Elizabeth,  died  young;  \\'illiam  Rootes, 
of  whom  further. 

(HI)  Cameron  Lewis,  son  of  Benjamin  S.  and  Elizabeth  (Lewis) 
Thompson,  was  born  at  Coalsmouth,  now  St.  Albans,  West  \'irginia, 
April  22,  1842.  His  early  education  was  received  at  home  from  private 
tutors ;  later  he  attended  the  academy  at  Greenbrier  county  up  to  the  time 
of  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war.  He  then  enlisted,  April  17,  1861,  in  the 
Confederate  army,  as  a  private  in  Company  H,  of  the  Twenty-second 
Virginia  Infantr}'.  He  served  throughout  the  war,  being  present  at  the 
surrender  of  his  regiment  at  Appomattox  Court  House,  April  9,  1865,  he 
being  then  a  captain  on  General  Terry's  stafif.  After  the  war  he  settled 
in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where  for  five' years  he  continued  to  represent  a  local 
house  in  the  capacity  of  commercial  traveler.  He  then  removed  to  Ken- 
tucky, where  until  1872  he  engaged  in  merchandise,  returning  then  to 
West  Virginia  and  locating  at  Hinton,  where  he  entered  the  newspaper 
business  and  established  and  operated  the  Mountain  Herald,  now  known 
as  the  Independent  Herald.  He  continued  thus  for  thirteen  years,  study- 
ing law  meanwhile.  In  1885  he  came  to  Huntington  and  purchased  the 
Huntington  Advertiser,  a  weekly  newspaper,  and  in  1889  started  the 
Daily  Advertiser  which  he  ran  for  seven  years.  He  was  appointed  post- 
master of  Huntington  by  President  Cleveland  in  1888,  to  fill  out  an  un- 


224  WEST  VlRCilXIA 

cunipleted  term  of  fifteen  months.  In  the  year  1893  he  went  to  Charles- 
ton, West  \'irginia,  and  until  1897  was  in  charge  of  the  insurance  de- 
partment of  the  state.  He  then  returned  to  Huntington,  engaging  in  the 
insurance  and  real  estate  business  here  and  continuing  with  much  success 
ever  since.  He  has  at  various  times  had  different  partners,  the  firm  now 
being  known  as  Thompson.  Thornburg  &  Watts,  and  doing  a  very  exten- 
sive business.  In  his  political  convictions  Mr.  Thompson  is  an  adherent 
of  the  Democratic  party,  and  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  control  of  the 
city,  representing  the  third  ward.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Confederate 
Veterans"  Association,  and  is  a  pmminent  member  and  senior  warden  of 
the  Episcopal  church. 

He  married  Elizabeth  Frances  Weather^,  born  in  Washington  county, 
Kentucky,  daughter  of  Edward  Worthington  and  Susan  (Ferguson) 
Weathers.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thompson  have  no  children. 

(HI)  Hon.  William  Rootes  Thompson,  son  of  Benjamin  S.  and  Eliz- 
abeth (Lewis)  Thompson,  was  born  September  14,  1856,  at  the  old  home- 
stead, Coalsmouth,  now  St.  Albans,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Coal  river,  in 
Kanawha  county.  West  Virginia.  He  received  his  early  education  in 
Kentucky,  and  later  attended  West  Mrginia  University,  taking  a  course 
in  the  law  department  and  graduating  in  the  year  1879.  He  was  the 
first  graduate  of  the  law  school  at  the  University.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  immediately  after  his  graduation ;  he  removed  to  Hinton,  West 
Virginia,  and  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession,  continuing  in 
that  place  until  1892.  At  the  first  general  election  following  his  gradua- 
tion and  removal  to  Hinton,  he  was  named  as  prosecuting  attorney  of 
Summers  county,  and  he  was  the  first  assistant  district  attorney  in  West 
Virginia,  having  been  appointed  to  serve  as  such  under  General  C.  C. 
Watts  during  the  first  administration  of  President  Cleveland,  from  1880 
to  1884.  In  1888  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  house  of  delegates 
from  Summers  county.  He  was  a  member  of  the  legislature  during 
the  session  of  1891,  serving  on  the  judiciary  committee,  and  as  chairman 
of  the  railroad  committee.  In  the  year  1892  Mr.  Thompson  came  to 
Huntington  and  entered  into  the  partnership  of  Vinson,  McDonald  & 
Thompson  :  a  year  later  George  McDonald,  the  second  member  of  the 
firm,  died,  the  business  being  continued  under  the  name  of  Vinson  & 
Thompson,  as  at  present.  The  senior  member  of  the  firm  is  Mr.  Taylor 
Vinson,  a  sketch  of  whom  follows.  Mr.  Thompson  was  a  delegate  to  the 
Democratic  national  convention  at  Denver  which  nominated  Bryan  in 
1908,  but  has  never  held  office  in  Cabell  county.  In  1904  his  name  was 
presented  to  the  state  convention  for  governor,  but  after  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  convention  battles  in  the  history  of  the  party,  the  honor  fell 
elsewhere.  When  last  year  the  matter  of  choosing  Democratic  United 
States  senators  arose,  Mr.  Thompson's  name  was  suggested  in  many 
parts  of  the  state,  although  he  was  at  no  time  a  candidate.  Believing  this 
to  be  the  year  of  Democratic  victory,  however,  both  in  state  and  nation, 
he  consented  to  be  a  candidate  for  nomination  to  the  governorship  of 
West  Virginia  in  the  campaign  of  191 2,  was  nominated  by  acclamation  at 
the  Democratic  convention  held  in  Huntington,  West  Mrginia,  July  16, 
1912,  but  was  defeated.  Beside  his  known  ability  as  a  lawyer  and  busi- 
ness man  he  is  a  man  of  pleasing  and  impressive  personality ;  his  manner 
and  bearing  are  distinguished  and  graceful,  and  he  is  at  all  times  cordial 
and  approachable.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order,  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
also  a  member  of  the  Guyandotte  Club. 

Mr.  Thompson  married  Sallie  Huie,  of  San  Francisco,  California, 
daughter  of  Dr.  George  W.  Huie,  formerly  of  Kentucky  and  West  Vir- 
ginia, who  went  to  California  in  1849,  3"<^i  h^s  practiced  medicine  there 


<^^^v^-^ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  225 

c\'er    since :   her   mother   was    Sarah    Elizabeth    Thompson,    daughter   of 
j   Robert  A.  Thompson,  an  uncle  of  William  R.  Thompson.     Mr.  and  Airs. 
Thompson  have  one  child.  Robert  Cameron  Thompson,  born  at  Hunting- 
ton. July  25.    1900. 


The  family  name  of  Vinson  is  familiar,  not  alone  in  Cabell 
VINSON  and  Wayne  counties,  West  Virginia,  but  in  the  "Old  Do- 
minion," and  in  North  Carolina,  where,  in  this  country,  it 
most  hkely  originated.  Out  of  these  two  states  came,  at  all  events,  the 
forerunners  of  the  Vinsons  of  West  Virginia,  more  particularly  those  of 
Taylor  \'inson,  leading  lawyer  and  man  of  afifairs,  of  Huntington,  that 
state,  a  notable  industrial  center,  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kanawha 
river,  near  the  northwestern  state  line.  "Sir.  Taylor  Vinson's  lineage  is 
emphatically  southern. 

(I)  James  Vinson,  the  first  of  the  line  here  under  consideration  of 
whom  there  is  information,  was  a  Carolinian.  He  came  from  the  old  col- 
ony of  North  Carolina  to  Wayne  county,  Virginia,  as  a  boy,  and  died 
there  at  a  ripe  old  age  in  1845.  His  vocation  was  farming.  He  married 
and  among  his  children  was  Samuel  S.,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Captain  Samuel  S.  Vinson,  son  of  James  \'inson,  was  born  in 
\\'a}ne  county.  West  Virginia,  in  the  family  homestead,  April  14,  1833. 
He  was  a  farmer  and  lumberman,  and  followed  these  lines  with  ability  and 
success.  In  the  civil  war  crisis  his  sympathies  were  southern,  and  he  exem- 
plified them  very  naturally  by  enlistment  and  service  in  arms  on  the  Con- 
federate side  as  a  captain  of  the  Eighth  \'irginia  Cavalry.  In  this  service 
he  was  wounded,  captured  and  taken  to  Frankfort,  Kentucky,  toward  the 
close  of  the  war,  and  confined  two  months  in  a  Federal  prison  of  the  Blue 
Grass  state.  He  was  also  in  the  battle  of  Winchester,  which  has  passed  in- 
to song  and  story  through  Buchanan  Reid's  verses,  on  "Sheridan's  Ride," 
and  in  all  the  principal  engagements  in  which  his  superior.  General  Jones, 
engaged.  He  was  a  cavalry  captain  in  this  service  in  the  old  Virginia 
Eighth.  Captain  Vinson  married  Mary  Dameron,  born  in  Wayne  county. 
West  Virginia,  in  1835.  She  still  survives,  and  lives  at  the  advanced  age 
of  seventy-seven  at  the  old  homestead- of  the  family  in  Wayne.  Chil- 
dren: Taylor,  of  whom  further.  Belle,  now  Mrs.  James  A.  Hughes,  of 
Huntington:  Mary,  now  Mrs.  Donald  Clark,  who  lives  in  Westmoreland; 
Josie.  married  John  P.  Bromley,  of  Wayne  county,  and  died  in  1885; 
Boyd,  died  in  1909:  Lindsay  T.,  of  whom  further  (probably  not  in  order 
of  birth). 

Samuel  Dameron,  father  of  Mary  (Dameron)  Vinson,  was  born  and 
raised  in  Wayne  county,  Virginia.  He  was  the  son  of  one  of  the  first 
settlers  in  that  county,  Moses  Dameron,  first  of  his  line  in  Virginia.  The 
date  of  his  arrival  is  uncertain,  like  many  early  events  and  records.  Sam- 
uel Dameron  was  a  farmer.  He  was  born  in  1812.  and  died  at  ninety- 
four,  in  1906 :  he  came  of  a  hardy,  long-lived  race. 

(III)  Taylor,  son  of  Captam  Samuel  S.  ^'inson,  was  born  December 
22,  1857,  in  \\'ayne  county,  West  A'irginia,  on  his  father's  farm,  the  old 
Vinson  place  or  homestead.  He  attended  the  local  school  as  a  boy  and 
was  then  sent  to  Bethany  College,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1878. 
From  there  he  went  to  the  Law  School  of  the  University  of  Virginia, 
and  then  to  the  Boston  University  Law  School  spending  a  year  in  study 
at  each  place.  In  the  year  1886  he  received  his  license  to  practice  law 
in  the  supreme  court  of  his  home  state.  He  located  first  in  his  profession 
at  Ceredo,  Wayne  county.  West  Virginia,  and  remained  there  a  year. 
Then  he  was  drawn  to  Huntington  by  the  superior  opportunities  there  af- 
forded and  established  himself  in  that  city  in  1887.    Huntington  then  had 

15 


226  WEST  VIRGINIA 

perhaps  ten  thousand  people ;  it  has  probably  four  times  that  number  now. 
Air.  Vinson  began  the  practice  of  law  there.     He  has  met  with  uncommon 
success,  not  alone  in  his  profession,  but  in  a  business  way  as  well.     His 
ofifices  are  in  the  Mnson-Thompson  building,  one  of  the  most  modern 
structures  of  the  city.     It  was  built  by  him,  with  his  partner,  William  R. 
Thompson,  in   1909,  and  is  one  of  the  architectural   ornaments   of  the 
place.     Mr.  Mnson  is  a  stockholder  and  is  active  in  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Huntington.    He  is  a  director  and  general  counsel  of  the  United 
States  Coal  &  Oil  Company,  a  director  in  the   Kentland  Coal   &  Coke 
Company,  and  attorney  for  the  Ohio  Valley  Electric  Railway  Company, 
which   runs  the  street  car  line  of  Huntington,   and  operates   thirty-five     | 
miles  of  track  between  Huntington  and  Irontown.  He  has  interested  him-     I 
self  also  in  town  promotion.     With  W.  J.  ^^'illiamson  he  organized  the     j 
town  called  after  that  gentleman,  and  with  J.  L.  Caldwell  the  town  of     ' 
Central  City.     He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  an  Elk,  and  a  member  of     j 
the  Christian  church.  1 

Mr.  \'inson  married,  January  18,  1901,  i\Iary,  daughter  of  the  late 
R.  B.  Chaffin,  of  Richmond,  \'irginia.  Mrs.  Vinson  is  a  native  of  Rich- 
mond. Her  father,  who  died  in  1905,  was  in  his  time  the  leading  real 
estate  man  of  his  city.  Her  mother,  Sarah  (Harvie)  Chaffin,  is  still  a 
resident  of  Richmond.  The  Vinsons  have  two  children:  Ta}'lor,  b(irn  i 
February  i,  1904,  Blair,  born  July  3,  1907. 

(Ill)  Dr.  Lindsay  T.  \'inson,  son  of  Captain  Samuel  S.  \'inson,  was 
born  on  his  father's  farm  in  Lawrence  county,  Kentuck}-,  August  28, 
1874.  The  old  homestead  is  still  intact  and  in  the  A'inson  family.  When 
he  was  five  years  old  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Wayne  county.  West 
Virginia,  where  he  received  the  first  of  his  education.  He  attended 
Marshall  College,  Huntington,  West  Virginia,  and  the  University  of 
West  Virginia,  at  Morgantown,  Monongalia  county,  taking  the  first 
course  in  medicine  given  by  this  institution.  Then  he  studied  in  the  med- 
ical department  of  the  University  of  Cincinnati  and  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  the  Central  University  of  Kentucky.  In  1901  he  graduated  from 
the  Hospital  College  of  Medicine,  after  which  he  spent  a  year  at  Parkers- 
burg,  Wood  county.  West  Virginia,  as  an  interne  in  St.  Luke's  Hospital. 
For  three  years  he  had  charge,  in  the  surgical  department,  of  the  Norfolk 
&  Western  railroad,  (new  line  construction)  for  the  section  west  of 
Williamson.  One  year  was  passed  in  Europe,  at  the  University  of  Lon- 
don and  other  European  schools.  Since  1906  Dr.  \'inson  has  practiced  at 
Huntington,  Cabell  county.  West  Mrginia.  His  office  is  in  the  Mnson- 
Thompson  building,  with  Dr.  Kessler,  and  he  is  connected  with  the 
Kessler  Hospital.  He  is  local  surgeon  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad, 
coroner  of  Cabell  county,  also  inspector  of  schools  for  the  board  of  edu- 
cation for  the  city  of  Huntington,  West  Mrginia.  Dr.  Vinson  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  a  Alason.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  in  religion  a  Campbellite. 

He  married,  at  Huntington,  October  23,  1901.  Willie  May,  daughter 
of  William  P.  and  Hallie  \'.  Holderby.  Her  paternal  grandfather  was 
the  oldest  pioneer  of  Huntington,  and  gave  the  grounds  for  Marshall  Col- 
lege;  her  father  is  deceased  but  his  widow  is  living  at  Huntington,  at 
the  age  of  sixty.  Child  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  \'inson,  Lindsav,  born  .\ugust 
I,  1907- 


This  family  is  of  German  origin,  Solomon  Fischer  having 
FISCHER     come   from  Germany  to   Bradford,   Pennsylvania,   in   the 

year  1883,  bringing  with  him  a  son.  the  rest  of  the  fam- 
ily coming  later.  He  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  in  Bradford  and 
continued  therein  with  success  until  two  years  prior  to  his  death,  which 


WEST  VIRGINIA  227 

occurred  in  1908 ;  his  widow  is  still  living  in  the  old  home  at  Bradford, 
being  now  sixty-three  years  of  age.  Their  ten  children,  seven  boys  and 
three  girls,  are  also  all  hving.  Two  of  the  sons,  Edwin  N.  and  Herbert, 
are  mentioned  below :  one  son  is  in  Chicago :  one  son  and  daughter  in 
New  York  City ;  one  daughter  in  Cleveland,  Ohio ;  and  the  remainder 
make  their  home  in  Bradford,  Pennsylvania. 

Edwin  N.  Fischer,  son  of  Solomon  Fischer,  was  born  in  Germany  on 
September  11,  1867.  The  little  education  which  he  was  enabled  to  ac- 
quire was  obtained  in  Germany  before  the  family  removed  to  this  coun- 
try, for  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years  he  began  the  work  of  making  his 
own  way  in  the  world  by  entering  a  dry  goods  store  in  the  old  country. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  accompanied  his  father  to  America  and  ob- 
tained employment  in  a  dry  goods  store  in  Olean,  New  York.  He  con- 
tinued his  clerkship  in  this'  establishment  for  a  period  of  four  years  and 
then,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  started  in  business  for  himself  at  Johns- 
town, Pennsylvania.  This  was  in  August,  1889.  after  the  great  flood  of 
that  year.  For  two  years  and  a  half  Air.  Fischer  continued  operations  in 
Johnstown,  after  which  he  returned  to  Olean  and  again  attempted  to  do 
a  dry  goods  business  in  that  city.  He  remained  there  for  another  two 
years  and  a  half,  after  which  he  came  to  Sistersville  and  estabhshed  him- 
self in  a  promising  dry  goods  business  in  this  place,  locating  in  the 
^^'elles  Block.  This  establishment  has  grown  to  be  the  largest  store  in 
the  city,  occupying  three  floors  and  conducting  a  larger  trade  in  its  spec- 
ial line  than  any  dry  goods  concern  between  Parkersburg  and  Wheeling. 
The  great  success  with  which  his  labors  have  been  rewarded  is  due  to 
the  integrity  and  fair-mindedness  of  Mr.  Fischer's  business  methods. 
He  has  acquired  a  position  of  prominence  in  the  community  and  has 
become  the  owner  of  a  considerable  amount  of  real  estate  in  and  around 
Sistersville.  He  is  now  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Tyler  County  Bank ; 
is  interested  in  many  manufacturing  enterprises  and  in  a  number  of  oil 
companies.  As  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  he  is  a  thirty-second 
degree  Mason,  a  Shriner,  and  also  belongs  to  the  order  of  Elks.  Politi- 
cally he  is  a  member  of  the  Republican  party.  He  is  a  man  who  has 
made  no  great  noise  or  stir  in  the  world,  but  has  quietly  pursued  his  own 
even,  purposeful  way.  considering  his  success  as  a  merchant  all  the  nota- 
bilitv  that  he  desires.  On  February  20,  1900,  Mr.  Fischer  married  Kate 
Josephs,  born  in  Titusville.  Pennsylvania,  September  7.  1873 :  she  is  a 
daughter  of  A.  Josephs,  of  Bradford,  Pennsylvania,  a  retired  dry  goods 
merchant,  and  was  educated  in  Bradford.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edwin  N. 
Fischer  have  the  following  children:  Leonora  D.,  born  in  Sistersville, 
July  8,  1901 ;  Virginia  Joy.  born  August  20,  1902;  Jerome  M..  born  Feb- 
ruary 16,  1904;  and  Gladys  A.,  born  December  3.  1909. 

Herbert  Fischer,  son  of  Solomon  Fischer,  and  brother  of  Edwin  N. 
Fischer,  was  born  April  3.  1873,  also  in  Germany.  He  was  educated  at 
the  Bradford,  Pennsylvania,  common  and  high  schools,  having  come  to 
America  with  his  mother  at  the  age  of  twelve  years,  his  father  preceding 
them.  The  first  work  which  he  performed  was  as  a  newsboy,  and  in 
such  occupation  he  continued  for  three  years,  when  he  entered  mercan- 
tile business  in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Galland,  of  Bradford,  with  whom  he 
continued  for  seven  years.  With  a  strong  desire  then  to  enter  the  dry 
goods  business,  he  engaged  with  i\Ir.  S.  Anerhaim,  of  Bradford,  and  re- 
mained in  his  employ  for  a  period  of  eight  years.  .A.fter  this  he  came  to 
Sistersville  and  entered  into  business  with  his  brother.  Edwin  N.  Fischer, 
with  whom  he  remained  until  1909.  In  this  year  he  started  in  business 
on  his  own  account,  opening  a  gentlemen's  clothing  and  furnishing  store 
in  which  he  has  become  very  successful,  and  in  the  brief  time  which  has 
elapsed  since  he  opened  the  store  his  trade  has  so  grown  that  it  is  now 


228  WEST  VIRGINIA 

the  largest  in  this  Hne  in  the  city.  He  is  a  popular  man  among  his  custo- 
mers, with  whom  his  relations  are  always  pleasant,  so  that  they  have  be- 
come, indeed,  his  best  friends.  His  energy,  ability  and  square  dealing  are 
unmistakably  shown  in  the  success  which  has  attended  his  efforts.  Like 
his  brother  he  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  like  him  also,  is  strongly 
mterested  in  INIasonic  organizations.  He  is  a  member  of  the  order  of 
Elks ;  of  the  Scottish  Rite,  and  the  Shriners,  being  a  thirty-second  de- 
gree Mason.  Mr.  Herbert  Fischer  married  on  February  i6,  1909,  Fan- 
nie Wolinsky,  who  was  born  in  Ohio  on  May  18,  1883;  she  is  a  daughter 
of  Nathan  Wolinsky,  of  Canton,  Ohio,  a  jeweler  by  trade.  j\Ir.  and 
Mrs.  Herbert  Fischer  have  one  child.  Saulbert  }\Iarvin  Fischer,  born  in 
Sistersville  on  December  27,  191 1. 


The  representative  of  this   family  in  \\"est  \'irginia, 
HOSKINSOX     so  well  known   for  the  energy  and  push   which  has 

brought  him  into  the  front  ranks  of  the  profession 
which  he  has  chosen,  is  Dr.  Jefferson  C.  Hoskinson,  born  in  Monroe 
county,  Ohio,  on  May  31,  1877.  He  is  the  son  of  Azariah  Hoskinson,  a 
farmer  of  that  county,  whose  death  occurred  in  the  year  1895  ;  and  Han- 
nah (Hissom)  Hoskinson,  who  passed  her  entire  life  in  Ohio  and  was  a 
devout  member  of  the  Methodist  church. 

The  young  man  passed  his  early  years  in  the  locality  of  his  birth,  re- 
ceiving an  ordinary  but  thoroughly  fundamental  education  in  the  com- 
mon schools  of  the  county.  He  was  gifted  with  unusual  ambition,  how- 
ever, and  resolved  that  he  would  prepare  himself  for  better  things  in 
life  than  his  prospects  then  indicated,  the  first  thing  necessary  to  his  ad- 
vancement being  the  acquisition  of  a  more  far-reaching  education.  In 
this  he  persisted  with  extraordinary  application  and  effort,  working  in 
the  oil  fields  the  while  as  foreman  of  the  Carter  Oil  Company.  He  con- 
tinued thus  for  about  eight  years  and  in  1906  was  enabled  to  commence 
upon  a  professional  education  at  the  Ohio  College  of  Dental  Surgery,  in 
Cincinnati,  Ohio.  After  a  three  years'  course  in  which  his  usual  dili- 
gence and  purposefulness  brought  the  inevitable  reward,  he  received  on 
May  13,  1909,  his  certificate  as  Doctor  of  Dental  Surgery.  He  began 
the  practice  of  his  profession  in  the  same  year,  locating  himself  in  Sep- 
tember at  Sistersvillle,  West  Virginia.  Here  he  exerted  himself  to  the 
utmost  and  the  proficiency  and  skill  which  he  displayed  soon  resulted  in 
a  large  practice  which  increases  yearly,  placing  him  well  in  the  van  of  the 
profession  hereabouts.  He  has  made  a  most  excellent  impression  upon 
the  community,  and  numbers  among  his  patrons  the  wealthiest  and  most 
influential  of  the  citizens  of  Sistersville.  His  reputation  as  a  clever  and 
successful  practitioner  is  well  established  in  professional  circles  in  this 
state  and  he  is  an  important  member  of  the  West  Virginia  State  Dental 
Society.  In  his  political  opinions  Dr.  Hoskinson  is  a  member  of  the 
Independent  party :  and  is  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason  and  is  also  one 
of  the  Shriners.     Dr.  Hoskinson  is  unmarried. 


William  Harvey  Cottle  was  born  in  Monroe  county.  West 
COTTLE     Virginia,   in    1826,   and   died  at    Beckley,   Raleigh   county, 
this  state,  November  12,  1901,  aged  seventy-five  years.   He 
was  a  shoemaker  by  occupation  and  worked  at  that  trade  during  the  en- 
tire period  of  his  active  career. 

(II)  George  Washington,  son  of  William  Harvey  Cottle,  was  born 
in  Monroe  county.  West  Virginia,  in  1852,  and  he  is  engaged  in  farming 
operations  on  an  extensive  estate  in  Raleigh  county,  this  state.     He  mar- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  229 

ried  Pricie  Alassey,  a  daughter  of  Steele  Massey,  a  farmer,  who  died  in 
Raleigh  county,  in  1870.  Mrs.  Cottle  was  born  in  1858  and  is  still  living. 
Of  the  nine  children  born  to  the  Cottles  seven  are  living  (1912),  as  fol- 
lows :  William  L.,  mentioned  below ;  Nora  Rosetta,  is  the  wife  of  H.  D. 
Rudolph,  of  Oswald,  West  Virginia;  Lee  Berta,  lives  at  home  in  Mat- 
ville,  this  state ;  Effie  May,  is  at  home ;  Ada  Belle,  is  a  nurse  in  the  Davis 
Memorial  Hospital,  at  Elkins,  West  Virginia;  Lena  Frances,  is  at  home; 
and  Wavie  Arizona,  is  a  nurse  at  Davis  Memorial  Hospital. 

(Ill)  Dr.  William  Lacey  Cottle,  son  of  George  Washington  and 
Pricie  (Massey)  Cottle,  was  born  in  Raleigh  county.  West  Virginia, 
June  12,  1877.  When  a  mere  child  his  parents  removed  to  a  farm  near 
Matville,  this  state,  and  in  the  public  schools  of  that  place  young  William 
L.  was  educated.  He  worked  on  the  home  farm  and  in  the  saw  mills  con- 
ducted by  his  father  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  twenty-two  years. 
In  1903  he  entered  the  Ohio  College  of  Dental  Surgery,  affiliated  with  the 
L'niversity  of  Cincinnati,  and  three  years  later  was  graduated  in  that  in- 
stitution with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Dental  Surgery.  His  first  experi- 
ence in  dental  work  was  as  assistant  to  Dr.  S.  S.  Sutphin,  of  Beckley, 
West  Virginia,  in  whose  employ  he  was  for  one  year,  beginning  Septem- 
ber I,  1902.  His  first  independent  w^ork  as  a  dentist  was  at  Lawson, 
Raleigh  county,  this  state,  where  he  remained  for  one  year.  August  10, 
1907,  he  came  to  [Mount  Hope  and  here  he  has  met  with  unqualified  suc- 
cess as  a  dentist,  his  offices  being  in  the  Garrett  &  McNabb  Building.  His 
political  convictions  coincide  with  the  principles  promulgated  by  the  Re- 
publican party  and  in  a  fraternal  way  he  is  affiliated  with  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America. 

On  September  10,  1908,  was  celebrated  the  marriage  of  Dr.  Cottle 
to  Miss  Electa  Shackleford,  who  was  born  in  West  Virginia  and  who  is 
a  daughter  of  Charles  R.  Shackleford,  a  Methodist  Episcopal  minister. 
Rev.  Shackleford  was  born  ]\Iay  12,  1847,  in  Burton's,  Tishimingo  coun- 
ty. [Mississippi,  and  is  one  of  the  oldest  preachers  of  the  gospel  in  the 
state.  He  is  now  pastor  at  Harrisville,  Ritchie  county.  West  Virginia. 
His  wife,  Martha  (Smith)  Shackleford.  was  born  January  24,  1847.  at 
Kesler's  Cross  Roads,  Nicholas  county.  West  Virginia,  and  died  when 
]\Irs.  Cottle  was  a  girl  of  but  twelve  years.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Cottle  have 
one  son,  William  Lacey,  Jr..  born  September  7,  1909. 


David   Brackman  is  the  first  member  of  this   family 
BR.A.CKMAX     about    whom    we    have    definite    information.      Child, 
William  W.,  of  whom   further. 

(II)  William  W.,  son  of  David  Brackman,  made  his  home  in  Green- 
brier county.  West  \'irginia.  He  was  always  a  farmer.  He  married 
Mary  C,  daughter  of  .\ndrew  and  Frances  (Cofifman)  Sydenstricker, 
who  was  born  April  i,  1839,  and  died  March  26,  1913.  Her  father  was 
the  son  of  David  Sydenstricker  and  of  the  same  family  as  John  M. 
Sydenstricker,  who  was  a  candidate  for  governor  of  West  Mrginia  in 
1892,  and  was  afterward  state  commissioner  of  labor.  Frances  (Cof?- 
manj  Sydenstricker  is  the  daughter  of  John  Cofifman,  whose  parents, 
Isaac  aiid  Esther  CofTman.  settled  in  Greenbrier  county  about  1765. 
Children  of  William  W.  and  Mary  C.  (Sydenstricker)  Brackman:  John 
A.,  graduate  of  [Marshall  College,  now  a  railroad  man,  living  at  Alle- 
ghany, \'irginia;  Mason  Clark,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  Mason  Clark,  son  of  \Mlliam  W.  and  Mary  C.  (Sydenstricker) 
Brackman,  was  born  in  Greenbrier  county  September  23,  1879.  He  at- 
tended the  free  schools  and  then  entered  the  Concord  State  Normal 
School,   at  Athens,  West  Virginia,    from  which  he  graduated   in    1896. 


230  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Alter  teaching  for  several  years  he  entered  the  law  department  of  the 
University  of  West  \"irginia,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1902,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  state  bar  the  same  year.  He  taught  school  then  for  one 
year  more,  in  Greenbrier  county,  but,  in  1903,  he  settled  at  Beckley, 
Raleigh  county,  West  Virginia,  for  the  practice  of  law.  Here  he  has 
continued  to  reside  and  to  practice.  His  reputation  as  a  lawyer  is  vei  \ 
high,  and  he  is  counsel  for  the  Winding  Gulf  Colliery  Company  and  li  ir 
other  corporations.  He  is  a  member  of  the  State  Bar  Association.  I  Il- 
ls a  member  of  \\'hite  Pine  Lodge,  No.  37,  Knights  of  Pythias;  is  a  pa-i 
master  of  Beckley  Lodge,  No.  95,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Mason-, 
and  is  now  serving  his  second  term  as  its  secretary.  He  was  one  of  tlic 
organizers  of  Beckley  Chapter,  No.  38,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  and  is  its 
secretary.  In  politics,  also,  Mr.  Brackman  is  active,  being  a  Democratic 
leader  and  chairman  of  the  Democratic  executive  committee:  this  posi- 
tion he  has  now  (1912)  held  for  six  years.  He  has  served  on  the  town 
council  of  Beckley  and  is  now  recorder  of  the  town;  he  is  also  commis 
sioner  of  chancery,  and  is  at  this  time  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  the 
house  of  delegates  in  the  state  legislature.  ]\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Brackman  are 
communicants  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church.  He  married,  October  (1, 
1909,  Nellie  B.,  daughter  of  DeKalb  and  Jane  Hughes,  of  Ben  Lomond, 
West  Virginia.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brackman  have  no  children. 


Ebenezer   Davies   was   born   in    South   Wales   in   the   year 
DA\'IES     1794-     He  was  reared  and  educated  in  his  native  land  and 

lived  there  until  after  his  marriage.  He  immigrated  to 
America  in  the  antc-bdhim  days  and  settled  in  Lancashire  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, where  he  maintained  the  family  home  until  after  the  close  of 
the  civil  war.  He  then  removed  to  Coal  Creek,  Tennessee,  where  he 
was  engaged  in  farming  operations  until  his  death  in  1869,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-five  years.  The  maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Ann  Phillips;  she 
was  likewise  a  native  of  South  Wales  and  she  bore  her  husband  several 
children,  among  whom  was  Thomas  Phillips,  mentioned  below. 

(II)  Thomas  Phillips,  son  of  Ebenezer  and  Ann  (Phillips)  Davies, 
was  born  in  South  Wales,  March  i,  1848.  As  a  boy  he  attended  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  his  native  place  and  in  1864,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years, 
he  came  to  America  to  join  his  parents,  who  had  come  here  several 
years  earlier.  He  lived  in  the  vicinity  of  Columbia,  Lancashire  county, 
Pennsylvania,  for  a  time  and  there  was  employed  in  the  rolling  mills.  In 
1869  he  came  to  West  Virginia  and  located  at  Cannelton,  in  Kanawha 
county,  where  he  was  boss  driver  in  the  mines.  In  1872  he  opened  up 
the  first  coal  mine  in  Fayette  county  and  operated  the  same  for  the  en- 
suing fifteen  years.  In  1873  ^^  organized  a  company  of  working  men, 
known  as  the  Coal  \'alley  Coal  Company,  and  of  this  concern  he  was 
president  for  the  ensuing  fifteen  years,  during  the  last  three  of  which 
he  was  sole  owner.  At  that  period  Montgomery  was  called  "Coal  \'al- 
ley."  Mr.  Davies  has  witnessed  this  city  grow  from  the  time  of  its 
founding,  when  its  present  site  was  a  mere  corn  patch.  For  many  years 
past  Mr.  Davies  has  been  deeply  and  sincerely  interested  in  public  af- 
fairs, giving  freely  of  his  aid  and  influence  in  support  of  all  measures 
and  enterprises  projected  for  the  good  of  the  general  welfare.  He  is  a 
stalwart  Republican  in  his  political  convictions  and  in  1882  was  elected  a 
representative  in  the  ^^'est  Virginia  legislature  and  he  served  as  assem- 
blyman again  in  1884.  In  1886  he  was  honored  by  his  fellowmen  with 
election  to  the  state  senate,  holding  record  as  the  first  Republican  to  en- 
ter the  senate  from  this  district.  He  introduced  Bill  No.  41.  to  establish 
a  state  hospital  at  the  town  of  Alderson,  but  the  bill  did  not  pass ;  and 


e^^^ 


WEST  MRGIXIA  231 

another  bill  to  establish  a  preparatory  school  for  students  who  wished  to 
enter  the  University  of  West  Virginia ;  this  latter  bill  passed  and  the 
school  is  now  located  at  Montgomery.  Mr.  Davies  served  with  the  ut- 
most loyalty  and  efficiency  as  a  member  of  the  city  council  of  Montgom- 
ery for  six  years  and  in  1896  was  elected  mayor  of  this  city.  He  has 
been  called  the  "Invincible  Old  War  Horse  of  the  Republican  Party," 
because  he  has  won  all  his  fights  for  office  in  a  normally  Democratic  dis- 
trict. As  mayor  of  ^Montgomery  he  accomplished  a  great  deal  in  the 
way  of  public  improvements  and  his  administration  was  characterized  bj 
honorable  dealings  and  faithful  service  to  the  good  of  his  constituents. 

Mr.  Davies  has  been  a  valued  and  appreciative  member  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  since  1869  and  he  is  likewise  affiliated 
with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  ]\len,  the  Or- 
der of  Owls  and  the  time-honored  Masonic  fraternity.  In  religious  mat- 
ters he  is  a  zealous  Baptist.  He  is  a  man  of  fine  mentality  and  broad  hu- 
man sympathy,  always  courteous,  kindly  and  affable,  and  those  who 
know  him  personally  accord  him  the  highest  esteem.  His  life  has  been 
exemplary  in  all  respects  and  he  has  ever  supported  those  interests  which 
are  calculated  to  uplift  and  benetit  humanity,  while  his  own  splendid 
moral  worth  is  deserving  of  the  highest  commendation.  In  Montgom- 
ery was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Davis  to  Ann  Williams,  who 
was  born  in  South  Wales  and  died  October  25,  1900,  aged  fifty-two 
years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davies  never  had  any  children  of  their  own,  Init 
they  reared  four  adopted  children. 


Jacob    Hess,   the   first   member   of    this    famil\-   of   whom    we 
HESS     have  definite  information,  was  a  farmer  in  Hofienheim.   I'.a- 
den,    Germany.      His    wife's    name    is    unknown.      Children: 
Jacob,  referred  to  below :  Rosa,  married  Carl  Ludwig. 

(II)  Jacob  (2),  son  of  Jacob  (i)  Hess,  was  born  in  1806.  He  was 
a  wine  manufacturer  in  Hoffenheim,  Baden,  Germany,  growing  his  own 
grapes,  and  was  a  councilman  for  many  years.  He  married,  about  1832, 
Catharine,  daughter  of  Jacob  Schweitzer  of  Hoffenheim.  born  in  1801. 
Children:  Elizabeth,  married  Jacob  Peufifer,  a  brewer;  Susanna,  married 
Ludwig  Laubinger,  a  brewer ;  Carl,  married  Lena  Kope,  of  Hoffenheim ; 
Jacob:  Mary,  married  Alfred  Schick,  a  jeweler  in  Sinsheim :  Charles 
Frederick,  referred  to  below :  Philip. 

(III)  Charles  Frederick,  son  of  Jacob  (2)  and  Catharine  (Schweitz- 
er) Hess,  was  born  July  17.  1854,  in  HoiTenheim.  Baden,  Germany,  and 
is  now  living  at  Point  Pleasant,  West  Virginia.  He  is  the  founder  of 
his  family  in  this  country.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  com- 
mon schools  at  Hofienheim.  and  completed  his  education  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Heidelberg,  Germany.  He  came  to  Pomeroy,  Ohio,  in  1872,  and 
entered  the  drug  business,  which  he  continued  until  1876,  when  he  spent 
one  }'ear  in  Germany.  He  returned  to  this  country  and  settled  at  Point 
Pleasant  and  commenced  the  manufacture  of  brick,  and  later  cement 
blocks,  and  contracting,  a  business  which  in  1906  he  greatly  enlarged  and 
in  which  he  still  continues.  He  is  an  Episcopalian  in  religion,  a  Demo- 
crat in  politics,  was  a  councilman  1901-1907,  and  has  been  a  member  of 
the  County  Board  of  Health  for  three  years.  He  is  a  charter  member 
of  Oriental  Lodge  No.  49,  Knights  of  Pythias,  was  elected  colonel  of 
the  Second  Brigade  of  West  Mrginia,  and  quartermaster-general  of  the 
state  of  West  Virginia.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Rheine  Lodge,  No.  33, 
Independent  C)rder  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  Pomeroy.  Ohio :  ]\Iinturn  Lodge, 
No.  19,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Point  Pleasant  Chapter, 
No.    7,    Royal    Arch    Mason,    Franklin    Commandery,    No.    17,    Knights 


232  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Templar,  also  of  Reni  Kedam  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  Nobles 
of  the  Mystic  Shrine  of  Charleston,  and  trustee  of  Point  Pleasant  Lodge 
of  the  Knights  of  Honor. 

He  married,  June  17,  1877,  '"  Pomeroy,  Ohio,  Josephine,  only  child 
of  Joseph  and  Anna  (Assman)  Hein.  who  was  born  in  New  York  City, 
February  28,  1854.  Her  father  was  born  in  Kissingen,  Germany.  He 
emigrated  to  this  country  and  fought  during  the  civil  war,  under  Gen^ 
eral  Rosecrans,  as  a  member  of  the  Eleventh  Battery,  Ohio  Artillery, 
being  present  at  the  battle  of  Chattanooga  and  Lookout  Mountain.  He 
was  superintendent  of  the  high  school  in  Pomeroy,  Ohio,  from  1866  tn 
1869.  later  owning  a  brewery  and  removing  to  Point  Pleasant,  where 
lie  owned  considerable  property  in  1878.  Children  of  Charles  Frederick 
and  Josephine  (Hein)  Hess:  i.  Josephine,  born  February  4,  1878,  mar- 
ried Clarence  Stewart ;  children,  Virginia  and  Eleanor.  2.  Freda,  twin 
with  Josephine,  born  February  4,  1878,  married  C.  C.  Tippett  of  Point 
Pleasant :  children,  Joseph,  Bernie  and  Roderick.  3.  Carl  Frederick, 
born  1880,  married  iNIertie,  daughter  of  Jefferson  Newberry  of  Hunting- 
ton. 4.  Frank,  born  1882,  married  Daisy,  daughter  of  W.  W.  Baker,  of 
Hamlen.  5.  Alvena.  born  in  1884.  married  Clarence  E.  Whitney,  who 
is  in  the  L^nited  States  government  employ  at  Lock  28,  Ohio  River  Lock 
and  Dams,  and  is  stationed  near  Huntington.  6.  Frederick  Hiram,  born 
in  1886,  resides  in  Texas. 


This  is  in  all  probability  by  far  the  most  common  name  in 
SMITH     the  United   States,   and  there  is   evidence   that   it  has   long 

been  in  this  position.  English  names  are  frequently  names 
of  occupation,  and  smiths,  of  one  sort  and  another,  are  numerous  in  any 
community.  Hence,  when  surnames  came  into  vogue,  this  would  natur- 
ally be  born  bv  many  families,  of  no  traceable  relation  one  to  another. 
It  may  be  noted  that  there  are  some  names  also  indicating  special  varie- 
ties of  smiths  :  of  these.  Goldsmith  is  the  best  known.  To  all  the  Eng- 
lish Smiths,  which  would  have  made  a  numerous  body,  other  nationalities 
have  added  a  quota ;  for  similar  names,  Schmidt  and  Smit,  are  found  m 
German  and  Dutch,  and  the  latter,  at  least,  is  the  true  ancestral  spelling 
of  the  name  of  a  considerable  body  of  American  Smiths  of  the  present 
time.  From  one  source  and  another,  the  name  has  become  common  in 
all  parts  of  the  L''^nited  States,  and  it  might  almost  be  said  in  every  com- 
munity in  the  country. 

(I)  Jacob  Smith,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  was  born  in  Greenbrier  county,  Virginia.  All 
his  life  he  was  a  farmer,  living  in  that  county  and  Raleigh.  Child,  James 
of  whom  further. 

(II)  James,  son  of  Jacob  Smith,  was  born  in  Raleigh  county,  \'ir- 
ginia,  in  1840.  He  w-as  a  farmer  and  stockman.  He  married  Susan, 
daughter  of  Jacob  Bennett,  who  was  born  in  Raleigh  county.  Her  fath- 
er, a  farmer  and  stockman,  was  a  native  of  Greenbrier  county.  Child, 
Jackson,  of  whom  further.' 

(III)  Jackson,  son  of  James  and  Susan  (Bennett)  Smith,  was  born 
in  Raleigh  county.  West  Virginia,  October  21.  1868.  He  attended  both 
public  and  private  schools  :  and  for  eighteen  years  was  engaged  in  school 
teaching  in  Raleigh  county.  He  was  a  very  popular  teacher  and  has  con- 
tinued to  enjoy  this  popularity  in  other  spheres  of  action.  He  is  a  Re- 
publican, but  not  active  in  party  politics.  In  1902.  he  was  elected  clerk 
of  the  circuit  court,  taking  office  on  the  first  day  of  Tanuary.  in  the  fol- 
lowing year.  Six  years  later,  he  was  re-elected,  having  been  nominated 
by  the  Republican  party.    He  married  Minnie  May  Hurt,  a  teacher  in  the 


WEST  \'IRGINIA 


233 


public  schools.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  are  members  of  the  Christian 
church,  and  he  is  a  deacon.  Children:  Aubrey  Overton,  a  graduate  of 
the  Beckley  Institute,  in  the  class  of  1912,  afterwards  deputy  circuit 
clerk  and  now  a  student  in  the  Wesleyan  College  at  Buckhannon :  Thelma 
Harland,  a  student  at  the  Beckley  Institute ;  Loy  Ogden,  a  student  at 
the  Beckley  Institute ;  Guy  Wilfred,  a  student  at  the  Beckley  Institute ; 
Orliffe  Jaxon,  a  student  at  the  Beckley  Institute :  Wendell  Ware,  a 
student  at  the  Becklev  Institute :  Alma  Evelvn. 


This  family  is  of  English  origin.  The  name  is  said  to  have 
W.A.RD     stood  in  the  roll  of  Battle  Abbey.     Yet  Ward  is  probably  an 

Anglo-Saxon  word,  and  as  a  name,  one  of  that  class  which 
were  taken  from  occupations.  It  is  doubtful  at  least,  whether  all  the 
Wards  form  one  family.  A  frequent  spelling  of  this  name  is  Warde. 
Both  in  England  and  in  Ireland  the  Ward,  or  Warde  name  is  found. 
In  America  a  large  family  is  descended  from  Andrew  Warde,  who  was 
made  a  freeman  of  Watertown,  Massachusetts,  in  1634,  His  descend- 
ants are  in  all  parts  of  the  country  and  most  of  them  omit  the  final  "e." 
They  have  long  been  strongly  represented  in  the  neighborhood  of  New 
York  City  and  in  Westchester  county.  New  York.  Another  Ward  fam- 
ily, smaller,  but  distinguished,  is  of  somewhat  later  American  origin 
and  Rhode  Island  is  its  center.  There  is  a  Virginian  Ward  family,  set- 
tled by  1634,  and  connected  with  Henrico  county :  its  ancestor,  Seth 
Ward,  was  probably  a  relative  of  Bishop  Seth  Ward,  of  the  Church  of 
England.  They  have  been  notably  fond  of  the  Christian  name  Seth. 
nearly,  if  not  quite  to  the  present  time,  giving  it  in  various  instances  to 
oldest  sons. 

(I)  Thomas  Ward,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  came  to  Raleigh  county,  \'irginia,  about  1855, 
and  engaged  in  farming.  He  married  Harriet  Morgan.  Child,  Gilbert, 
of  whom  further. 

(II)  Gilbert,  son  of  Thomas  and  Harriet  (Morgan)  Ward,  was  a 
farmer  in  Raleigh  county.  He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Timothy  and 
Nellie  (O'Neil)  Fitzpatrick,  her  parents  being  immigrants  from  Ire- 
land, who  had  settled  in  Raleigh  county.    Child,  C.  I\I.,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  C.  M.,  son  of  Gilbert  and  ]\Iary  (Fitzpatrick)  Ward,  was  born 
in  Raleigh  county,  ^^'est  \'irginia,  February  3,  1879.  He  attended  both 
private  and  free  schools,  and  prepared  himself  for  school  teaching,  which 
he  followed  in  Raleigh  county  for  six  years.  In  1904.  he  entered  the 
law  department  of  Grant  University  and  graduated  therefrom  in  1906, 
receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  Thereupon,  he  took  a  grad- 
uate course  of  one  year  in  the  law  department  of  the  University  of  West 
\'irginia.  In  1907  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  he  entered  in  that 
year  the  law  firm  of  Farley,  Sutphen  &  Ward,  at  Beckley,  Raleigh  coun- 
ty. West  Virginia,  the  firm  is  now  Farley  &  Ward.  He  is  a  member  of 
tlie  West  Virginia  State  Bar  Association.  From  1903  to  1905,  he  was 
a  member  of  the  examining  board  for  teachers  in  his  county.  He  is  a 
Democrat  and  at  this  writing  (191 2).  is  Democratic  candidate  for  pros- 
ecuting attorney  of  the  county.  He  married,  September  16,  1908,  Nel- 
lie, daughter  of  John  and  Catharine  (Kennedy)  Collins,  who  died  March 
13,  1910.  Her  parents  lived  in  Ohio  county.  West  A'irginia,  and  she  was 
a  graduate  of  the  high  school  at  Hinton,  Summers  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia.  and  of  the  Concord  Normal  School,  Athens,  West  ^^irginia.  Child. 
John  Collins. 


234  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Thomas  G.  ]\IcKell  was  born  in  Chillicothe.  Ross  county. 
McKELL  Ohio,  in  1845,  and  he  lived  in  the  above  city  during  the 
entire  period  of  his  Hfetime.  He  died  in  1904.  aged  fift>- 
nine  years.  He  was  engaged  in  the  queensware  business  at  Chilhcothe 
and  was  president  of  the  Central  National  Bank  in  that  city  from  the 
time  of  its  foundation  until  his  death.  His  wife  was  Jean  D.  Dun  in  her 
girlhood  and  she  is  still  living,  aged  sixty-eight  years,  her  home  being 
in  Chillicothe.  There  were  two  children  born  ti)  Mr.  and  )ilrs.  AIcKell, 
namely:  William,  mentioned  below;  and  John  1)..  burn  in  1873.  '*  ''" 
attorney  in  Chillicothe. 

(II)  William,  son  of  Thomas  G.  and  Jean  D.  (Dun)  AIcKell,  wa^ 
born  in  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  March  i,  1871.  As  a  boy  he  attended  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  place  and  for  a  time  he  went  to  school  in  Lawrence- 
ville,  New  Jersey.  His  collegiate  education  was  obtained  in  Yale  Uni- 
versity, in  the  scientific  department  of  which  institution  he  was  grad- 
uated as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1893.  Immediately  after  the  gradua- 
tion he  came  to  Glen  Jean,  where  he  at  once  became  treasurer,  which 
position  he  still  holds,  of  the  McKell  Coal  &  Coke  Company,  of  which 
John  D.  McKell  is  president;  and  Thomas  Nichol.  general  manager.  In 
1909  he  organized  the  Bank  of  Glen  Jean,  which  began  business  August 
nth  of  that  year.  This  substantial  and  reliable  institution  has  a  capital 
stock  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  and  its  surplus  and  profits,  June  14,  191  j, 
amounted  to  $19,906.63.  The  official  corps  of  the  bank  is  as  follows  : 
William  IMcKell.  president ;  C.  B.  Lee,  vice-president ;  and  J.  E.  Drum- 
heller,  cashier.  This  institution  is  the  designated  depository  for  the 
state  of  West  Virginia  and  the  United  States  Postal  Savings. 

In  politics  Mr.  McKell  is  a  Republican.  He  is  an  essentially  repre- 
sentative citizen  of  Fayette  county  and  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  lead- 
ing business  men  of  Glen  Jean.  He  has  shown  his  faith  in  the  future  nf 
West  Virginia  by  locating  in  this  state  and  by  investing  considerable 
money  in  local  enterprises.     ]\Ir.  McKell  is  unmarried. 


Dr.  Lawrence  C.  Montgomery  was  born  in  Fav- 
MONTGOMERY     ette  county,  Vi'est  Virginia,  in  the  town  of  Mon't- 

gomery,  July  17,  1873.  Henry  Montgomery,  his 
great-grandfather,  came  to  Fayette  county  in  a  very  early  day  with  Gen- 
era! Andrew  Lewis,  who  made  so  man}'  successful  campaigns  against 
the  Indians.  John  Carlin  Montgomery,  first  mayor  of  the  town  of  Mont- 
gomery, is  the  father  of  Dr.  Lawrence  C.  ^Montgomery. 

Dr.  Montgomery  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Fayette  coun- 
ty and  in  the  University  of  A'irginia.  He  studied  medicine  in  the  Medi- 
cal College  of  Ohio,  at  Cincinnati,  now  the  University  of  Cincinnati,  and 
he  was  graduated  in  that  institution  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1897, 
duly  receiving  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  He  initiated  the  active 
practice  of  his  profession  in  Montgomery  and  here  has  since  maintained 
his  home  and  business  headquarters.  His  medical  practice  has  grown  to 
extensive  proportions  and  he  is  renowned  as  one  of  the  most  thoroughly 
equipped  and  most  skillful  doctors  in  the  entire  county.  His  fraternal 
connections  are  with  the  Benevolent  &  Protection  Order  of  Elks,  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Eagles.  Dr.  Montgomery  has  ever  mani- 
fested a  deep  and  sincere  interest  in  all  matters  affecting  the  general  wel- 
fare of  his  home  town.  He  it  was  who  organized  a  fire  department  of 
fourteen  well  trained  men  and  had  the  usual  equipment,  consisting  of 
reels,  hose,  ladders  and  chemical  engines,  installed.  He  is  a  Republican 
in  politics  but  has  no  time  for  public  office  of  any  description,  all  his  at- 
tention being  devoted  to  his  ever  increasing  medical  practice. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  235 

At  Lewisburg,  Greenbrier  county,  West  \'irginia,  December  it,.  1897. 
Dr.  ^lontgomery  was  united  in  marriage  to  Pattie  Alderson  Feamster, 
a  native  of  Lewisburg.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  ^^lontgomery  have  three  children, 
whose  names  and  respective  dates  of  birth  are  as  follows :  John  Carlin. 
February  4,  1899:  Janice  Aleredith.  September  3,  1901  ;  and  Lawrence 
Carlin,  December  7,  1903.  Dr.  and  ^Irs.  Montgomery  are  devout  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian  church,  in  the  faith  of  which  denomination  they 
are  rearing  their  children. 


John  Wesley   Dillon   was   born   in   the   commonwealth   of 
DILLON     \^irginia,  and  there  grew  up  and  was  educated.    He  was  a 
farmer  in  Bland  county.  Mrginia,  during  the  major  por- 
tion of  his  active  career,  and  he  married  Docia  Evans,  a  cousin  of  the 
late  Admiral  "Fighting  Bob"  Evans.     They  had  a  number  of  children, 
among  them  being  the  Hon.  Charles  Wesley,  mentioned  below. 

(II)  Charles  Wesley,  son  of  John  Wesley  and  Docia  (Evans)  Dil- 
lon, was  born  in  Bland  county,  Virginia,  February  8,  1865.  He  grew  up 
on  the  old  parental  homestead,  and  his  rudimentary  educational  training 
was  obtained  in  the  district  schools  of  his  native  place.  Subsequently 
he  attended  the  Virginia  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  College,  now 
known  as  the  Virginia  Polytechnic  Institute,  at  Blacksburg,  Virginia. 
Mr.  Dillon's  first  work  after  assuming  the  active  responsibilities  of  life 
was  that  of  farm  hand  in  A'irginia.  Later  he  worked  with  the  grade  con- 
struction crew  on  the  Norfolk  &  Western  railroad,  which  was  then  being 
built  from  Radford  to  Pocahontas,  A^irginia.  In  1886  he  located 
in  Fayette  county,  West  Virginia,  where  he  secured  employment 
as  a  country  school  teacher,  having  previously  passed  the  examina- 
tions required  by  the  school  board.  For  the  ensuing  two  years  his  work- 
ing hours  were  given  over  to  teaching,  and  all  his  spare  time  was  de- 
voted to  reading  law.  In  1888  he  entered  the  law  office  of  the  late  L.  G. 
Gaines,  of  Fayetteville,  under  whose  able  preceptorship  his  progress  was 
so  rapid  that  he  v.-as  admitted  to  the  Fayetteville  bar  in  that  same  year, 
with  the  Hon.  Joseph  Holt  Gaines.  He  immediately  entered  upon  the 
active  practice  of  his  profession  at  Fayetteville,  where  his  rise  to  promi- 
nence has  been  swift  and  sure.  In  1892  he  was  honored  by  his  fellow- 
citizens  with  election  to  the  office  of  prosecuting  attorney  of  Fayette 
county,  and  he  was  re-elected  to  that  office  in  1896,  discharging  his  offi- 
cial duties  in  that  connection  with  such  great  efficiency  that  his  fame 
spread  throughout  the  county  and  other  sections  of  the  state.  In  regard 
to  his  next  position,  that  of  state  tax  commissioner,  the  following  para- 
graphs, which  appeared  in  an  article  published  in  the  Fayette  Journal, 
February  22,  191 2.  are  considered  worthy  of  reproduction  here,  the 
same  describing  faithfully  the  political  conditions  existing  at  that  time. 

"In  politics.  Mr.  Dillon  had  interested  himself  in  the  progressive  march  of  the 
Republican  party,  and  in  West  Virginia,  where  ascendancy  hid  been  brought  about 
by  the  overturning  of  the  old  and  decadent  methods  of  the  Democracy  and  the 
establishment  of  modern  and  progressive  ideas  of  popular  government,  he,  along 
with  the  other  young  leaders  of  the  party,  took  advance  steps  in  advocacy  of  the 
laws  for  the  assessment  and  taxation  of  property  and  the  collection  of  the  taxes  of 
the  people,  which  would  insure  a  more  nearly  equal  distribution  of  the  burden.  This 
great  movement  culminated  in  the  authorization  of  the  State  Tax  Commission,  a 
body  of  men  taken  from  the  most  prominent  walks  of  life,  whose  efforts  resulted 
prirnarily  in  the  enactment  of  the  present  uniform  tax  laws  which  are  now  being 
copied  and  adopted  in  other  states  and  which  have  resulted  in  the  equal  distribution 
of  the  tax  burdens  and  saving  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  to  the  people. 

"Mr.  Dillon  was  a  strong  advocate  of  this  new  system,  and  from  the  sturnp  was 
a  great  factor  in  determining  the  influence  in  favor  of  its  final  adoption.  With  the 
advent  of  the  administration  of  Governor  White,  he  saw  the  perfection  of  this  new 


236  WEST  MRGINIA 

system,  and  the  creation  of  the  office  of  Stnte  Tax  Commissioner.  The  duties  of 
the  office  required  unusual  accomplishments,  mature  legal  knowledge,  and  an  almost 
unlimited  amount  of  executive  ability.  For  the  inauguration  of  this  new  and  untried 
system,  the  chief  executive  of  the  state  labored  long  and  earnestly  in  the  selection  of 
a  person  upon  whom  the  duties  should  fall.  In  the  light  of  development  and  promi- 
nence of  young  men,  the  investigation  and  consideration  of  those  of  maturer  years, 
and  the  general  casting  about  for  the  medium  through  which  to  launch  the  outcome 
of  the  most  important  legislation  within  the  history  of  the  state,  and  the  most 
momentous  to  the  Republican  party,  the  choice  fell  upon  the  young  and  vigorous 
Fayette  county  attorney,  and,  when  the  duty  was  cast  upon  him,  he  undertook  the 
work  with  the  vigor  and  ability  which  had  characterized  his  efforts  in  the  past,  and, 
when  he  had  fully  mastered  the  intricacies  of  the  new  system,  put  the  vast  fiscal 
machinery  of  the  state  into  full  execution,  organized  the  department  in  consonance 
with  the  laws  formulated  by  the  astute  leaders  of  thought  in  the  state,  the  people 
very  soon  realized  that  the  new  system  possessed  the  merit  claimed  for  it,  and  it 
has  constantly  grown  in  favor  until  to-day  it  stands  as  the  chief  monument  of  Repub- 
lican success  in  West  \^irginia. 

"It  would  be  saying  too  much  to  write  that  in  Mr.  Dillon  the  then  Governor 
White  found  the  only  available  person  for  the  important  duty  made  necessary  by  the 
enactment  of  the  laws  proposed  by  the  state  tax  commission.  But  it  is  only  just 
to  declare  that  in  Mr.  Dillon  was  found  the  man  pre-eminently  fitted  by  experience, 
temperament  and  general  surroundings  to  take  up  the  initial  duties  involved  and  to 
carry  out  the  full  purpose  and  scope  of  the  new  legislation.  Unwise  interpretation 
of  these  laws  would  have  resulted  disastrously  to  the  administration,  the  party 
responsible  for  their  enactment,  and  for  the  new  commissioner.  So  clear  and  com- 
prehensive were  the  applications  of  the  new  laws,  so  wisely  were  they  administered 
and  so  carefully  were  the  unusual  interpretations  announced  and  promulgated  that 
the  transit  on  from  the  old  system,  almost  primitive  in  character,  to  the  modern  and 
fairer  methods  soon  found  the  people  in  one  acclaim  for  approval,  albeit  the  pessi- 
mist, who  must  assume  the  negative  in  all  things  in  order  to  maintain  an  existence." 

Mr.  Dillon  assumed  charge  of  the  ofifice  of  State  Tax  Commissioner 
in  the  fall  of  1904,  and  he  filled  that  office  with  the  utmost  efficiency  for 
the  ensuing  three  years.  In  April,  1907,  he  resigned  from  that  position 
and  returned  to  Fayetteville,  where  he  again  took  up  the  practice  of  law. 
His  prominence  in  the  public  eye  as  prosecuting  attorney  and  as  state 
tax  commissioner  brought  innumerable  clients  to  him  and  he  has  figured 
prominently  in  many  of  the  most  important  litigations  in  the  state  and 
federal  courts.  In  1908  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Republican  national 
convention  in  Chicago,  that  nominated  William  H.  Taft  for  president 
and  James  S.  Sherman  for  vice-president.  In  the  spring  of  191 2  he  was 
urged  to  accept  the  candidacy  for  governor  of  West  Virginia.  In  the 
spring  of  1912  he  was  urged  to  make  the  race  in  the  state-wide  primary 
for  the  nomination  for  governor  on  the  Republican  ticket.  This  was  a 
most  spirited  contest  and  the  first  state-wide  primary  election  for  the 
nomination  of  candidates  to  fill  state  offices  ever  held  in  W^est  \''irginia. 
The  said  primary  resulted  in  the  nomination  of  Hon.  H.  D.  Hatfield  for 
governor,  who  was  elected  in  the  general  election  by  a  large  plurality. 
Mr.  Dillon  loyally  supported  the  nominee  in  the  general  election,  and  the 
Republican  ticket,  and  made  an  active  canvass  in  the  campaign  of  191 2 
for  the  election  of  the  entire  state  ticket.  Following  is  a  concluding 
paragraph  taken  from  some  of  Mr.  Dillon's  campaign  matter: 

"I  believe  in  a  strict  enforcement  of  all  laws,  and  -that  every  officer,  high  and 
low.  should  measure  up  to  the  full  responsibilities  of  his  duties.  That  those  admin- 
istering public  affairs  should  'tand  for  civic  righteousness,  for  the  highest  ideals  in 
citizenship  and  for  those  things  which  make  for  the  moral  development  of  our 
people  as  well  as  their  material  advancement." 

His  candidacy  was  endorsed  by  many  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Fay- 
ette county  and  of  remote  sections  of  the  state.     One  of  the  oldest  and 
most  powerful   Republicans  of   Fayette  county  gave   out   the   following 
statements  as  an  encouragement  for  the  people,  unfamiliar  with  his  per-        ij 
sonality,  to  vote  for  him : 


WEST  MRGINIA  237 

"The  announcement  of  Mr.  Dillon  for  governor  suits  me  exactly.  I  like  that 
man,  and  I  admire  his  courage  and  character.  When  a  man  without  the  aid  of 
powerful  influences  can  forge  his  way  from  the  cornfield,  the  railroad  grade,  the 
school  room  and  the  dingy  office  of  the  country  barrister  to  the  places  of  trust  and 
responsibility  attained  by  Charles  Dillon,  and  then  make  good  in  every  one  of  them, 
the  Republican  party  can  make  no  possible  mistake  in  elevating  him  to  its  leadership. 
I  shall  take  great  pleasure  in  voting  for  Mr.  Dillon  for  governor  and  in  doing  so.  I 
believe  I  am  voting  for  the  man  best  fitted  to  bear  the  standard  of  the  Republican 
party  to  victory  in  the  approaching  campaign." 

In  the  spring  of  1900,  Mr.  Dillon,  assisted  by  E.  L.  Nuckolls,  com- 
piled and  had  published  the  book  entitled  the  "West  Virginia  Pocket 
Code."  The  same  contains  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  the 
constitution  of  West  Virginia,  all  the  statutes  of  a  general  nature  con- 
tained in  the  West  A'irginia  Code  of  1891,  with  all  amendments  by  the 
acts  of  the  legislature  since  the  adoption  of  the  code  of  1891,  together 
with  a  complete  index  to  the  code  and  to  all  new  laws  of  a  general  na- 
ture, passed  by  the  legislature  since  1891.  It  also  contains  the  United 
States  bankruptcy  law.  passed  by  congress  in  1898,  with  index  thereto. 
This  book  was  compiled  as  a  digest  to  the  West  \'irginia  Reports,  and  is 
of  invaluable  assistance  to  the  practicing  attorney,  being  a  remarkable 
time   saver. 

Mr.  Dillon  was  appointed  in  1909  by  the  governor  as  one  of  the  com- 
missioners to  represent  his  state  in  the  national  organization  known  as 
the  Commission  on  Uniform  State  Laws,  which  organization  meets  an- 
nually and  just  preceding  the  date  of  the  meeting  of  the  American  Bar 
Association  and  at  the  same  place.  He  is  still  a  member  of  this  commis- 
sion, and  also  a  inember  of  the  Ainerican  Bar  Association,  and  takes 
great  interest  in  the  proceedings  of  these  associations.  He  is  also  a  Mas- 
ter ]\Iason.  a  Knight  Templar  and  a  Shriner.  holding  membership  in 
Beni-Kedam  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine,  of  Charleston,  \^'est  Virginia.  No  citizen  in  Fayette  county  is 
more  respected  than  he  and  no  man  more  fully  enjoys  the  confidence  of 
the  people  or  more  richly  deserves  the  esteem  in  which  he  is  held.  Hon- 
orable in  business,  loyal  in  citizenship,  charitable  in  thought,  kindly  in  ac- 
tion, true  to  every  trust  confided  to  his  care,  his  life  represents  the  high- 
est type  of  Christian  manhood. 


This  name  is  found  in  many  parts  of  the  United  States  of 
]\IOORE     America  and  has  been  borne  by  a  number  of  persons  of 

distinction,  in  both  secular  and  religious  activities.  The 
present  family  has  long  been  settled  in  what  is  now  the  state  of  West 
Virginia,  but  came  into  \'irginia  from  Maryland. 

(I)  Alonzo  Moore,  the  first  inember  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  lived  in  Maryland.  It  is  not  known  whom  he 
married,  but  he  had  a  son  Philip,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Philip,  son  of  Alonzo  Moore,  was  born  in  Maryland.  Coming 
into  Virginia,  he  settled  at  Jake's  run,  in  Monongalia  county,  where  he 
lived  from  that  time  and  was  owner  of  a  large  tract  of  land.  The  name 
of  his  wife  is  not  known,  but  he  had  a  son  William,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  William,  son  of  Philip  Moore,  was  born  in  1807.  and  died  in 
1884.  In  1840  he  came  from  Monongalia  county  into  Tyler  county.  Vir- 
ginia. He  was  a  carpenter  and  farmer  and  was  one  of  the  first  persons 
growing  fruit  in  Tyler  county.  He  married  (first)  Rebecca  Sine:  (sec- 
ond) Ellen  — — .  (third)  Anna  Johnson.  Among  his  fifteen  children  was 
William  Nelson,  of  whom  further. 

(1\')  William  Nelson,  son  of  William  and  Rebecca  (Sine)  :\[o(ire. 
was  born  in  Monongalia  county.  \'irginia.  August  i.  1829.  and  is  yet  liv- 


238  WEST  VIRGINIA 

ing.  When  he  was  about  eleven  years  old,  he  came  with  his  parents  into 
Tyler  county.  There  he  was  a  fanner  and  for  a  number  of  years  he 
was  a  member  of  the  county  court.  He  married  Lucinda,  daughter  of 
Daniel  and  Elizabeth  (Morris)  Sweeney,  who  died  September  16.  1907. 
Children :  Charles,  A'irginia,  married  D.  C.  Smith  :  Sarah,  married  A.  N. 
Fordyce ;  Mary  E.,  married  J.  W.  Stewart :  Margaret,  Kit  Carson,  of 
whom  further. 

(V)  Kit  Carson,  son  of  William  Nelson  and  Lucinda  (Sweeney) 
Moore,  was  born  at  Joseph's  Mills,  Tyler  county,  West  Virginia,  Octo- 
ber 16,  1874.  His  education  was  received  in  the  public  schools,  in  West 
Mrginia  academy  at  Buckhannon,  the  West  Liberty  Normal  School  and 
the  University  of  West  A^irginia,  wherefrom  he  graduated,  in  1900,  with 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  For  one  year  he  practiced  law  at  Sis- 
tersville.  West  A-^irginia,  after  which  time  he  came  in  1902,  to  ]\Iiddle- 
bourne,  and  here  he  now  has  a  large  and  successful  practice.  In  1908 
Mr.  Moore  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  county.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He  married,  in 
1906,  Edna,  daughter  of  Dr.  E.  B.  and  Mary  E.  (Smith)  Conaway. 
Children :  Richard  C,  born  September  9.  1907  :  Mary.  A^'irginia.  born  Au- 
gust  13,   1909. 


This   is    a    well-known    pioneer   name   in    what   is    now 
HICKMAN     West  A^irginia,  and  has  been  borne  by  several  Ameri- 
cans of   distinction.      Some  at  least  of  the  persons  of 
this  name  in  America  are  said  to  be  of  German  descent,  and  the  present 
family  is  of  this  origin. 

(I)  Hickman,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 

have  definite  information,  came  from  Germany  to  America.     The  name 
of  his  wife  is  not  known,  but  he  had  a  son,  Adam,  of  whom  further, 

(II)  Adam,    son    of   Hickman,    married    Mercy    Pickering,    of 

Masschusetts.     Children:  George,  John,  Benjamin,  Elias  and  David,  of 
whom   further. 

(III)  David,  son  of  Adam  and  Mercy  (Pickering)  Hickman,  was 
born  in  1812  and  died  in  1863.  He  was  a  member  of  the  militia,  and  his 
duty  in  this  office  on  one  occasion  took  him  across  the  state  to  Norfolk. 
Later,  he  was  county  clerk  of  Tyler  cotmty,  A''irginia.  He  married  Nancy, 
daughter  of  Daniel' and  Elizabeth  Wells.  Child.  David  (2),  of  whom 
further. 

(lA^)  David  (2),  son  of  David  (i)  and  Nancy  (AVells)  Hickman. 
was  born  at  Middlebourne,  Tyler  county,  A^irginia,  October  8,  1844.  His 
education  was  received  in  the  common  schools  of  Middlebourne,  Sis- 
tersville,  and  West  L^nion.  He  served  as  deputy  county  clerk  under  his 
father,  until  the  latter's  death.  In  1864  he  was  appointed  clerk  of  the 
board  of  supervisors  and  held  this  oflfice  until  1868.  In  that  year  he  was 
elected  recorder  of  Tyler  county  and  this  office  was  retained  by  him  until 
the  new  constitution  went  into  effect,  in  1873.  From  1873  to  1902  he 
was  county  clerk.  Further,  he  has  served  several  terms  as  councilman 
of  Middlebourne.  He  was  a  director  of  the  First  National  Bank  at  Mid- 
dlebourne and  the  Bank  of  Middlebourne.  He  married,  September  19, 
1866,  Sarah  E.  Boreman,  daughter  of  AV.  I.  and  Martha  E.  (Stealey) 
Boreman,  Children  :  ^^lartha  B.,  born  July  25,  1867,  married  Lloyd  E. 
Smith;  Francis  R.,  born  January  11,  1871,  of  whom  further:  Catharine 
B.,  born  January  20,  1877,  married  John  A.  George. 

(V)  Francis  R..  son  of  David  (2)  and  Sarah  E.  (Boreman)  Hick- 
man, was  born  at  Middlebourne,  January  11,  1871.  His  life  has  been 
mainly  spent  at  the  place  of  his  birth  and  he  was  formerly  active  in  pub- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  -239 

lie  life,  after  the  manner  of  his  father  and  grandfather.  For  several 
years  he  was  deputy  clerk  of  the  county  court  of  Tyler  county  and  for 
several  years  also  he  was  deputy  clerk  of  the  circuit  court  under  J.  G. 
Rlayfield.  But  Mr.  Hickman  has  now  for  ten  years  been  better  known 
in  Middlebourne  and  elsewhere  by  his  banking  connections;  on  March  i, 
1903,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  the  position  of  assistant-cashier  of  the 
First  National  Bank,  and  he  remained  in  this  position  for  about  four 
years,  until  June  i,  1907.  when  he  was  elected  cashier  of  the  same 
bank,  and  this  position  ]\Ir.  Hickman  still  holds.  He  married,  January 
10,  1905,  Martha  Blayne  Spencer.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hickman  have  no  chil- 
dren. 


A  physician  of  fine  professional  education  and  wide  ex- 
ENGLE  perience  in  far  separated  parts  of  the  world,  yet  a  native 
of  the  place  where  he  is  now  practicing,  is  Dr.  Paul  Engle, 
of  Middlebourne,  Tyler  county,  \\'est  Mrginia.  He  is  a  representative 
of  an  old  and  prominent  family  of  this  section,  which,  like  so  many  oth- 
ers in  the  northern  counties  of  West  \^irginia,  came  hither  from  Western 
Pennsylvania. 

(I)  Christian  Engle,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  came  from  Greensboro,  Pennsylvania,  in  the 
pioneer  days  of  Northwestern  \'irginia,  and  settled  at  Middlebourne.  He 
was  a  gunsmith.  In  the  life  of  the  \^irginian  community  where  he  had 
settled,  he  held  a  prominent  place.  Here  he  served  for  a  time  as  deputy 
county  clerk,  and  for  fifty  years  he  held  the  ofiice  of  circuit  clerk  of  the 
county.  He  married  Amy,  daughter  of  Peter  Hartley.  Children :  Laura, 
married  Robert  Martin ;  Peter,  Lydia,  Nancy,  married  William  Hatch  ; 
Benjamin  A.,  of  whom  further ;  Ezra. 

(II)  Benjamin  A.,  son  of  Christian  and  Amy  (Hartley)  Engle,  was 
born  at  Middlebourne,  Tyler  county,  \'irginia,  June  22,  1848,  and  died  at 
Middlebourne,  October  3,  1912.  While  he  held  the  office  of  deputy 
clerk  of  the  county,  he  was  engaged  in  the  study  of  law  and  in  1874  he 
was  admitted  to  tlie  bar.  From  that  time  to  his  death,  he  was  practicing 
law  at  Middlebourne.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 
Order  of  Elks.  Mr.  Engle  married  Nancy  E.,  daughter  of  Judge  Stealey. 
Children:  Paul,  of  whom  further:  Thomas  S.,  born  January  2,  1876,  de- 
ceased ;  Amy,  married  I.  M.  Underwood. 

(III)  Dr.  Paul  Engle,  son  of  Benjamin  A.  and  Nancy  E.  (Stealey) 
Engle,  was  born  at  Middlebourne,  May  8,  1874.  His  early  education 
was  received  partly  in  the  public,  and  partly  in  private  schools.  For  his 
professional  studies,  he  went  first  to  the  University  of  Maryland,  was 
graduated  and  received  therefrom  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine,  as 
a  member  of  the  class  of  1901.  Dr.  Engle  soon  took  further  graduate 
study  at  the  Polyclinic  Medical  College  in  Philadelphia  in  the  year  1905. 
having  been  engaged,  between  his  graduation  and  that  time,  in  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  at  ^Middlebourne.  On  leaving  the  Polyclinic  ;\Iedi- 
cal  College,  he  went  to  London,  England,  and  took  advanced  work  in  the 
^Metropolitan  Clinic.  For  a  few  years  Dr.  Engle  practiced  in  Los  .\ngeles, 
California,  and  he  was.  in  1910-1911.  in  the  city  hospital  there.  But  he 
returned  to  Middlebourne  in  191 1,  and  is  now  successfully  engaged  in 
practice  at  this  place,  and  holds  the  office  of  health  physician.  Dr.  En- 
gle is  a  member  of  the  city  council  also.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Free 
and  Accepted  ^lasons.  Dr.  Engle  married.  April  18,  1907,  Bessie  I., 
daughter  of  Solomon  and  iMary  Shoup.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Engle  have  no 
children. 


240  WEST  VIRGINIA 

While  the  origin  of  surnames  is  a  subject  about  which  few 
HILL     undisputed  statements  can  be  made,  there  is  a  large  group  of 

English  surnames  which  it  is  natural  to  regard  as  adopted 
from  local  characteristics,  whether  belonging  to  nature  or  to  the  work  of 
man,  such  as  Hill,  Wood,  Lake,  Pond.  Forest,  Park,  Hall ;  and  many  of 
these  are  found  also  in  a  plural  or  possessive  form,  as  Hills,  Woods, 
Parks,  Waters,  and  the  like.  The  name  Hill  is  by  no  means  uncommon 
among  Americans  of  British  descent,  and  has  been  borne  by  a  number  of 
persons  of  distinction. 

(I)  Thomas  Hill,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  came  in  1825,  from  Marion  county,  Virginia, 
to  Tyler  county,  \'irginia.  In  Tyler  county  he  was  a  successful  farmer. 
He  married  Margaret  ;  child,  Lycurgus.  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Lycurgus,  son  of  Thomas  and  Margaret  ( )  Hill,  was  born 

at  McKim,  Tyler  county,  Virginia,  in  1837,  and  died  in  March,  1902.  He 
was  a  farmer  and  later  a  harness-maker.  In  religion  he  was  a  member 
and  one  of  the  staunch  supporters  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
He  married  Louisa,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Minerva  (Miner)  Lantz,  who 
died  in  November,  1903.  Children:  Fienjamin,  Minerva,  married  Waldo 
Broadwater ;  Lettie,  married  Harvey  Alarsh :  Lina  F.,  married  N.  D. 
Marsh  ;  Thomas  P.,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  Thomas  P.,  son  of  Lycurgus  and  Louisa  (Lantz)  Hill,  was 
born  in  Tyler  county,  West  Virginia,  August  24,  1873.  His  education 
was  begun  in  the  public  schools,  including  the  high  school  grades,  and  he 
afterward  attended  the  state  normal  school  at  Glenville,  West  Virginia. 
Then  he  studied  law  at  the  L'niversity  of  West  A'irginia,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar.  In  1904  he  came  to  Middlebourne,  Tyler  county.  West 
Virginia,  where  he  has  since  that  time  made  his  home,  and  been  engaged, 
with  success,  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  and  he  is  also  a  director  of 
the  First  National  Bank  of  IMiddlebourne.  Mr.  Hill  has  taken  an  active 
interest  in  educational  matters  also.  In  1902  he  was  elected  to  the  house 
of  delegates  of  this  state,  and  two  years  later  he  was  elected  state  sena- 
tor. During  his  term  in  the  senate,  he  served  as  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee on  education,  and  through  his  influence  the  whole  body  of  school 
laws  of  the  state  was  revised.  Of  the  first  law  establishing  a  county 
high  school  in  the  state  of  West  Virginia,  Mr.  Hill  was  the  author,  and 
the  first  school  of  this  character  was  established  in  Tyler  county  at 
Middlebourne.  In  1894.  he  was  chosen  county  superintendent  of  schools 
for  this  county;  and  he  is  at  the  present  time  (1913)  principal  of  the 
public  school  at  Middlebourne.  He  is  a  member  of  the.  Knights  of 
Pythias.  Mr.  Hill's  church  is  the  Methodist  Episcopal.  He  married. 
June  30,  1901,  Cora,  daughter  of  S.  A.  and  Dorcas  (Stoucking)  Allen. 
Qiildren  :  Earl,  born  August  3,  1902:  Pearl,  born  May  21,  1904:  Freder- 
ick, born  June  11,  1907;  Thomas  P.,  born  June  25,   191 1. 


This  name  is  found  in  various  parts  of  the  country  and 
CARTER     the  present  family  is  of  Virginia  origin. 

(I)  Henry  Carter,  the  first  member  of  this  family 
about  whom  we  have  definite  information,  lived  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Virginia,  afterward  in  what  is  now  Upshur  county.  West  Virginia.     He 

married ,  and  had  a  child,  Henry  Emerson,  of  whom  further. 

(II)   Henry  Emerson,  son  of  Henry  and  Carter,  was  born  at 

Sago,  L^pshur  county,  Mrginia,  in  1838,  and  died  in  1879.  He  was  a 
Methodist  preacher.  Mr.  Carter  married  Samantha,  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam and  Nancy  Reed,  who  died  February  21,  1910.  Children:  Mar- 
doinus  L.,  Florence  May.  married  J.  G.  ]\Iayfield :  Dora  J.,  married  L.  L. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  241 

Swan:  Georgiana  E.,  married  J.  C.  Mayfield;  Edward  E..  William  H., 
married ;  Olin  C,  of  whom  further. 

(Ill)  Olin  C.  son  of  Henry  Emerson  and  Samantha  (Reed)  Carter, 
was  born  at  Sago,  Upshur  county.  West  \'irginia.  May  12,  i8(k).  He 
attended  the  public  schools,  and  for  seven  years  thereafter  was  engaged 
in  school  teaching.  After  this,  he  attended  the  state  normal  school  at 
Eairmont.  But  changing  his  plans  for  a  career,  and  determining  to  en- 
ter the  practice  of  the  law,  he  then  attended  the  law  department  of  the 
University  of  West  Virginia,  and  he  was  graduated  therefrom  in  i8g6, 
when  he  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  Shortly  after  his 
graduation,  he  came  to  Middlebourne,  Tyler  county.  West  \'irginia, 
where  he  has  lived  since  that  time,  and  been  successfully  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  Two  years  later,  in  1898,  he  entered  the  firm 
of  Boreman  &  Carter  and  this  firm  has  continued  unbroken  to  the  present 
time.  Mr.  Olin  C.  Carter  married,  at  Middlebourne,  in  September,  1903, 
Mary  F.  McCay,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Minerva  McCay.  Child,  Vir- 
ginia L.,  born  October  27,  1907. 


It  would  probably  be  difficult  to  find  an  extended  part  of 
SMITH     the   United   States,  north,   south,  east,  or  west,   where  this 

surname  would  not  be  the  most  common  in  occurrence  of 
all,  It  has  existed  in  America  from  the  earliest  times,  has  long  borne  a 
relative  frequency  at  least  comparable  to  that  which  it  now  has,  and  has 
been  brought  to  this  country  continually  by  new  immigrants.  Beside 
the  Smiths  of  British  origin,  much  the  largest  portion  of  the  whole, 
there  are  other  Smiths  of  Dutch  descent,  whose  name  was  originally 
Smit  or  Smitt,  and  of  German  descent.  The  reason  for  the  frequency 
of  this  name  is  to  be  sought  in  its  origin.  While  there  is  much  disagree- 
ment among  students  of  the  subject  concerning  the  origins  and  meanings 
of  surnames,  many  English  surnames  certainly  seem  to  be  names  of  oc- 
cupation, at  first  designating  the  bearer  as  a  man  following  such  a  trade 
or  profession,  and  it  is  natural  to  assign  Smith  to  this  class  of  names.  As 
"smiths"  are  necessary  to  the  maintenance  and  prosperity  of  any  com- 
munity, with  the  possible  exception  of  the  exclusively  agricultural.  Smith 
would,  with  the  passing  of  trade  names  into  surnames,  quite  naturally 
have  become  at  once  a  very  common  family  name,  and  not  the  name  of  a 
single  family,  nor  that  of  a  few  families,  but  from  the  very  first  the  com- 
mon surname  of  many  families.  Variant  forms  of  this  name,  of  much  less 
frequent  occurrence,  are  Smyth  and  Smythe.  Names  pointing  to  more 
specialized  occupations,  very  much  less  frequent,  are  such  as  Goldsmith 
and  Arrowsmith.  It  may  be  added  that  many  persons  of  the  Smith  name 
have  gained  distinction,  for  there  have  been  a  large  number  of  states- 
men and  publicists  in  this  country  bearing  this  surname. 

( I)  John  Smith,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we  have 
definite  information,  lived  in  Greene  county,  Pennsylvania.  The  name 
of  his  wife  is  not  known,  but  he  had  a  son  Isaac,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Isaac,  son  of  John  Smith,  came  from  Greene  county.  Pennsyl- 
vania, to  Tyler  county,  A'irginia,  and  in  this  state  he  was  a  farmer.     He 

married  ,   daughter  of   Samuel   S.   Birkhead.     Her   father  was  the 

first  county  clerk  of  Tyler  county.     Child,  David  M.,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  David  M.,  son  of  Isaac  and  (Birkhead)  Smith,  was  born 

near  Centerville,  Tyler  county,  Virginia.  He  was  a  merchant  at  Center- 
ville,  till  he  retired  from  business  activity.  In  his  young  manhood,  he 
was  on  two  occasions  elected  assessor  of  the  county.  He  married  Mar- 
garet, daughter  of  Dr.  Samuel  and  Amanda  (Wells)  Morey,  who  died 
in  1879.     Child:  Harrv  W.,  of  whom  further. 

16 


242  WEST  VIRGINIA 

(IV'j  Harry  W.,  son  of  David  Al.  and  Margaret  (AloreyJ  Smith, 
was  born  at  Centerville,  September  i,  1868.  Having  attended  the  pubhc 
schools,  he  went  for  further  study  to  the  University  of  West  \'irginia. 
In  1894  j\lr.  Smith  was  appointed  deputy-sheriff  of  Tyler  county,  and 
he  served  for  two  years.  In  1897  he  bought  the  Tyler  County  Star,  one 
of  the  leading  newspapers  of  this  county,  which  is  still  owned  by  him. 
Since  1909  he  has  been  postmaster  of  Middlebourne.  He  is  a  member  o. 
the  P>ee  and  Accepted  Masons  and  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  Mr. 
Smith  is  a  Republican.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  active  in  its  work,  being  a  class  leader  and  teacher  in  the 
Sunday  school  of  this  denomination  at  Middlebourne.  He  married, 
December  25,  1901,  Alary,  daughter  of  A.  S.  and  Helen  (Snodgrass) 
McDougal.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  have  no  children. 


Dr.    Lewis    Van    Gilder    Guthrie,    superintendent   of   the 
GUTHRIE     West  Virginia  Asylum,  at  Huntington,  is  a  representa- 
tive  of   the   American   branch   of   a    family   of    Scottish 
origin,  the  members  of  which,  in  the  successive  generations,  have  ren- 
dered  distinguished  service  as   soldiers,   statesmen  and  members  of   the 
learned  professions. 

John  Guthrie,  the  original  American  ancestor  of  Dr.  Guthrie,  emi- 
grated from  Edinburgh.  Scotland,  and  located  in  Boston,  Massachusetts. 
in   1682. 

(II)  Francis  Guthrie,  son  of  Dr.  Nathan  G.  Guthrie,  and  grand- 
father of  Dr.  Guthrie,  was  born  in  New  York  state,  died  at  the  venerable 
age  of  eight-four  years.  He  was  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  for  forty  years  he  labored  zealously  and  continuously  in 
West  Virginia. 

(III)  Francis  A.,  son  of  Francis  Guthrie,  was  born  April  12,  1840, 
in  Tyler  county,  Virginia.  He  was  a  college  student  in  Meadville,  Penn- 
sylvania, when  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  changed  the  current  of  his 
life.  He  volunteered  as  a  private,  enlisting  September  10,  1861,  was 
promoted  a  sergeant,  November  2,  of  the  same  year,  and  again  promoted 
in  July,  1862.  The  following  November  he  was  made  first  lieutenant, 
and  on  March  30,  1863,  was  promoted  to  captain  of  Company  E,  One 
Hundred  and  Eleventh  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteer  Infantry.  He 
remained  in  the  army  throughout  the  war  and  saw  much  active  service. 
After  the  return  of  peace  he  studied  at  Ann  Arbor  University,  grad- 
uating from  the  Law  School,  and  settled  at  Point  Pleasant,  West  Vir- 
ginia, where  he  successfully  practised  his  profession.  In  1880  he  was 
elected  by  a  very  large  majority  judge  of  the  seventh  judicial  circuit,  was 
re-elected  in  1888  for  another  term  of  eight  years,  and  for  a  third  term 
in  1896.  He  also  served  a  term  as  state's  attorney.  In  politics  Judge 
Guthrie  was  a  Republican.  He  married  Clara,  daughter  of  Amocy  V'an 
Gilder,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  who  passed  his  life  as  a  fanner  in  Ches- 
hire, Ohio.  Judge  Guthrie  died  in  1904,  at  his  home  at  Point  Pleasant, 
leaving  a  record  of  forty  years'  honorable  professional  and  public  ser- 
vice. In  early  manhood  he  served  his  country  on  the  battlefield,  while 
the  long  years  of  his  maturity  were  devoted  to  the  maintenance  and  exe- 
cution of  her  laws. 

(IV)  Dr.  Lewis  Van  Gilder  Guthrie,  only  child  of  Francis  .-V.  and 
Clara  (Van  Gilder)  Guthrie,  was  born  January  8,  1868.  at  Point  Pleas- 
ant, West  Virginia.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  schools  of 
the  neighborhood,  then  studying  at  the  Polytechnic  College  at  Rlacksburg. 
V'irginia,  and  afterward  at  Roanoke  College,  Virginia.  On  leaving  that 
institution  he  entered  The  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  of  Bal- 


z^- 


^ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  243 

timore,  and  while  an  undergraduate  was  appointed  assistant  resident 
pliysician  at  the  Maternity  Hospital,  and  graduated  in  18S9  with  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  He  at  once  began  practice  at  Point 
Pleasant,  and  during  the  nine  years  that  followed  acquired  a  large  con- 
nection and  built  up  an  enviable  reputation.  On  June  i,  1897,  Dr.  Guth- 
rie was  appointed  superintendent  nt  the  Second  Hospital  for  the  Insane 
at  Spencer,  West  Virginia,  and  after  filling  this  position  four  years  re- 
signed in  order  to  accept  his  present  office,  on  June  4.   1901. 

Dr.  Guthrie  has  been  markedly  successful  both  in  his  profession  and 
in  his  business  undertakings.  While  a  resident  of  Spencer  he  was  presi- 
dent of  the  Bank  of  Spencer,  and  has  served  as  a  director  or  officer  in 
numerous  Huntington  corporations,  and  is  at  present  vice-president  of 
the  First  National  P>ank  of  Huntington.  In  politics  Dr.  Guthrie  is  a 
Republican.  His  first  political  appointment  was  during  the  Harrison 
administration  when  he  was  appointed  local  pension  examining  surgeon. 
He  affiliates  with  the  Point  Pleasant  Blue  Lodge  and  Chapter  of  Ma- 
sons and  Huntington  Commandery,  No.  9. 

Dr.  Guthrie  married,  June  15,  1889.  at  Point  Pleasant,  Margar(t 
Lynn,  a  native  of  that  place,  daughter  of  Judge  John  W.  English,  of  the 
court  of  appeals,  and  his  wife,  Fannie  (Lewis)  English.  The  latter  died 
in  T900,  and  Judge  English,  now  over  eighty  years  old,  is  living  in  re- 
tirement at  Point  Pleasant.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Guthrie  are  the  parents  of  two 
daughters:  Kathleen  Lewis,  now  the  wife  of  Frank  W.  McCullough,  of 
Huntington;  and  Fannie  Elizabeth,  eleven  years  old.  The  home  of  Dr. 
Guthrie  is  a  residence  set  aside  for  the  superintendent  of  the  institution, 
and  while  situated  in  the  delightful  seclusion  aflForded  by  the  beautiful 
grounds  is  actually  but  a  short  distance  from  the  business  center  of  Hunt- 
ington. 

The  West  A^'irginia  .\sylum  was  originallv  the  ^^''est  Virginia  .Asylum 
for  Incurables,  and  was  authorized  bv  the  legislature  of  1897.  Tn  loor 
it  was  deemed  expedient  to  convert  it  into  an  institution  for  the  insane, 
with  a  department  for  epileptics  and  imbeciles,  and  thenceforth  its  de- 
velopment was  rapid.  The  legislature  of  t90.'^  changed  the  name  from 
.A.svhim  for  Incurables  to  West  A^irginia  Asylum.  Dr.  Guthrie  and  others 
being  strongly  in  favor  of  substituting  the  word  "hospital"  for  that  of 
"asylum."  the  suggestion  meeting,  however,  with  unreasonable  opposi- 
tion. The  institution  is  situated  on  a  site  consisting  of  thirty  acres  of 
land  donated  to  the  state  by  the  city  of  Huntington,  the  contour  of  the 
ground  affording  a  natural  drainage  and  suitable  sites  for  the  buildings, 
which  are  surrounded  bv  natural  forests  of  more  than  a  thousand  mag- 
nificent trees.  For  the  last  twelve  vears  Dr.  Guthrie  has  presided  with 
distingtu'shed  success  over  this  jreat  institution,  wisely  directing  its  work 
of  benevolence  and  meeting;  with  fc^rethoucrht  and  decision  the  responsi- 
bilities of  his  important  office.  The  present  population  of  the  institution 
('1QT2)  is  five  hundred  and  fifty. 


Powell  Hooper  was  born  in  Buckingham  county,  A^'irginia, 
HOnPER     in  1840.  and  died  there  in  1892,  aged  fifty-two 'years.    He 

was  a  farmer  bv  occupation  and  during  the  entire  period 
of  the  civil  war  was  a  loyal  soldier  in  the  Confederate  ranks.  He  partici- 
pated in  several  important  battles  and  for  many  months  was  confined  in  a 
hospital  as  the  result  of  iniuries  received  at  the  front.  He  married  Wil- 
lie .Ann  Holman,  who  was  likewise  born  in  Buckingham  county.  A^'irginia. 
and  who  is  now  a  resident  of  .Albemarle  county,  A^irginia  :  she  is  fifty- 
eight  years  old.  There  were  seven  children  born  to  !\Tr.  and  Mrs.  Hoop- 
er, namely:   Eugene,  died  in  infancy:  John  Holman,  is  a  farmer  in  Albe- 


244  WEST  VIRGINIA 

marie  county,  Virginia:  George  Lewis,  maintains  his  home  in  Kentucky; 
Ellen  Powell,  is  the  wife  of  H.  S.  Holman,  of  Cartersville,  Virginia; 
Tandy  Holman,  mentioned  below  :  Dollie  M..  married  Harry  Culberth,  of 
Dillwyn,  X'irginia :  William  Powell,  is  a  resident  of  Fayetteville,  West 
Virginia. 

(II)  Tandy  Hdman,  sun  nf  I'.iwell  and  Willie  Ann  (Holman) 
Hooper,  was  born  in  Buckingham  county,  \irginia,  June  12,  1878.  He 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  place  and  subsequently 
pursued  a  commercial  course  in  a  business  college  at  Richmond.  He  was 
reared  to  the  invigorating  discipline  of  the  old  home  farm  and  early  be- 
came associated  with  his  father  and  brothers  in  the  work  and  manage- 
ment of  the  same.  He  remained  at  liome  until  he  had  reached  his  nine- 
teenth year  and  in  1898  came  to  West  Virginia,  locating  at  Glen  Jean, 
where  he  worked  in  a  general  store  for  several  years.  In  the  latter  part 
of  the  year  1905,  he  came  to  Oak  Hill,  in  Fayette  county,  and  here  ac- 
cepted the  position  of  cashier  of  the  Merchants  &  Miners  Bank,  which 
opened  its  doors  for  business  January  i,  1906.  This  bank  has  a  capital 
and  surplus  of  seventy-five  thousand  dollars  and  deposits  amounting  to 
over  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Its  official  corps  is  as  follows : 
George  W.  Jones,  president ;  J.  S.  Lewis,  vice-president,  and  Tandy  H. 
Hooper,  cashier.  The  board  of  directors  consists  of  the  above  officers 
and  in  addition  to  them,  R.  Mankin,  George  M.  Jones,  W.  L.  Lee,  J. 
Clapperton,  Jr.,  J.  P.  Staton,  S.  W.  Price  and  R.  H.  Dickinson.  In  poli- 
tics Mr.  Hooper  owns  a  stalwart  allegiance  to  the  principles  and  policies 
for  which  the  Democratic  party  stands  sponsor,  and  in  a  fraternal  way 
he  is  afifiliated  with  Oak  Hill  Lodge,  No.  120,  Free  and  Accepted  ]\Iasons, 
of  which  he  is  master  ( 1912).  In  his  religious  faith  he  is  a  devout  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  At  Scarbro,  West  Vir- 
ginia, was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Hooper  to  Josephine  Dillard, 
who  was  born  in  the  vicinity  of  Montgomery,  Fayette  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia. Her  parents  have  been  dead  for  many  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hooper  have  two  children:  Frank  Powell,  born  May  12,  1904,  and  ]\Iary 
Ann,  born  September  10,  1905. 


This  name,  while  not  of  the  greatest  frequency  of  occur- 
LONG  rence,  is  found  in  various  parts  of  the  LTnited  States.  Prob- 
ably the  best-known  American  bearer  of  this  name  has  been 
John  D.  Long,  of  Massachusetts,  at  one  time  secretary  of  the  navy  of 
the  L'nited  States.  The  present  family  has  been  established  now  for 
three  generations  in  Tyler  countv.  West  Virginia,  and  came  into  this 
state  from  Western  Pennsylvania.  A  family  of  this  name,  of  Irish  des- 
cent, was  settled  in  Fayette  county.  Pennsylvania,  before  the  revolu- 
tion :  several  members  of  the  family  took  part  in  that  conflict,  and  some 
members  of  this  family  moved  from  Fayette  into  Greene  county.  It 
seems  probable  that  the  present  family  is  of  this  stock. 

(I)  George  Long,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  was  born  in  Greene  county,  Pennsylvania. 
With  his  wife  he  came  into  Tyler  county,  Virginia,  and  here  he  was  a 
prosperous  farmer.  He  married  Lydia  Johnson.  Children:  Ely  B., 
Rachel  M.,  married  Jefiferson  Davis;  Elizabeth,  married  Elias  Wells; 
Ruth,  married  Benjamin  Clovi ;  Caroline,  married  ^^^  A.  Flesher; 
George  W.,  Sarah  E..  and  Johnson  G.,  of  whom  further. 

(Tl)  Johnson  G.,  son  of  George  and  Lvdia  (Johnson")  Loncf,  w'as 
born  on  the  homestead  in  T^der  county,  Virginia,  March  13,  1845.  ^^ 
is  one  of  the  successful  farmers  of  the  county,  and  has  held  many  pub- 
lic offices  in  his  district.     In  the  civil  war,  he  enlisted  in  Company  E, 


WEST  MRGINIA  245 

Fourteenth  Regiment,  West  \irginia  \'olunteer  Infantry.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  His  church  membership  is  in 
the  Christian  church,  of  which  he  is  one  of  the  strong  supporters.  He 
married  Angeline,  daughter  of  Enos  Smith,  who  died  December  24,  1909. 
Children:  Will  E.,  of  whom  further;  Mattie  F.,  married  Emerson 
Hill;  Mary  A.,  married  J.  H.  Robinson;  O.  Key,  W.  O.,  Minnie  G.,  de- 
ceased, married  R.  J.  Meade:  Myrtle  B.,  married  F.  C.  Gorrell ;  Maud  B. 
and  Golden  R. 

(HI)  \\'ill  E.,  son  of  Johnson  G.  and  Angeline  (Smith)  Long, 
was  born  in  Tyler  county.  West  Virginia,  April  25,  1870.  His  educa- 
tion was  received  in  the  public  schools  and  in  the  Mountain  State  Busi- 
ness College,  at  Parkersburg.  His  early  life  was  spent  on  the  farm 
where  he  was  born,  and  here  he  worked  until  he  accepted  a  position  with 
the  Eureka  Pipe  Line.  In  this  employment  Mr.  Long  remained  for  eight 
years.  He  has  been  constable  of  his  district.  Then  he  was  elected  as- 
sessor, and  he  served  eight  years  in  this  position.  In  1908  he  was  elected 
sheriff  of  the  county.  He  has  been  sergeant-at-arms  of  the  state  senate 
also,  in  1906.  He  is  director  of  a  bank  at  Middlebourne  and  director 
of  the  Fire  Association.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  the  Knights  of  Pythias  at  Middlebourne.  and  the  Benevo- 
lent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  at  Sistersville.  At  Middlebourne  he 
makes  his  home.  His  religion  is  that  of  the  Christian  church.  His 
grandfather  built  a  church  of  this  denomination  on  his  farm,  and  Mr. 
Long  is  a  member  of  the  congregation  which  worships  in  this  building. 
On  January  i.  1913,  Mr.  Long  retired  to  his  farm,  where  he  has  built  a 
nice  new  house  and  barns  and  has  one  of  the  finest  up-to-date  farms  in 
the  county.  He  married,  .\pril  25,  1898,  Lucy  M.,  daughter  of  John  and 
Adeline  Seckma.     Child.  ^label,  born  June  27.  1900. 


John  Brown,  a  native  of  Mrginia,  was  a  prominent  farmer 
r,ROA\'X     in   Albntgomery  county,  that  state,  during  his  active  life. 

His  demise  occurred  in  Montgomery  county  in  1836.     He 
married  and  had  a  son  Charles  C,  mentioned  below. 

(11)  Charles  C.  son  of  John  Brown,  was  born  at  Christiansburg, 
Montgomery  county,  Virginia,  in  1826,  and  he  died  at  Mount  Hope, 
West  \'irginia,  in  1910.  aged  eighty-four  years.  He  was  a  mechanic  by 
trade  and  lived  in  IMount  Hope  for  half  a  century.  For  four  years  he 
was  a  mounted  soldier  in  the  Confederate  army  and  during  the  three  days 
of  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  was  despatch  bearer.  He  participated  in 
many  other  important  battles  of  the  civil  war  but  was  never  seriously 
wounded.  It  is  worthy  of  note  here  that  Mr.  Brown  was  a  total  ab- 
stainer, never  having  touched  liquor  in  his  life.  He  was  highly  esteemed 
as  a  worthy  citizen  at  Mount  Hope  and  his  death  was  uniformly  mourned 
throughout  Fayette  county.  He  married  Martha  M.  Blake,  a  native  of 
Mount  Hope  and  a  resident  of  this  city  (1912)  :  she  is  seventy-seven 
years  old.  Her  father.  William  Blake,  was  one  of  the  old  pioneer  farmers 
in  Fayette  county  and  when  he  came  to  this  district  had  a  grant  of  sev- 
enteen thousand  acres  of  land  in  the  vicinity  of  Mount  Hope.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Brown  had  seven  children,  one  of  whom,  Annie,  is  deceased,  her 
death  having  occurred  in  1879,  aged  eighteen  years.  The  other  children 
are :  William  Henry,  a  farmer  near  Shady  Spring,  West  A^irginia ;  ^lol- 
lie  J.,  wife  of  Charles  Pack,  of  Shady  Spring;  Elizabeth  Cecille,  now  Mrs. 
A.  "D.  Moseley.  of  ^^lount  Hope ;  Arrie  M.,  wife  of  Cabbell  Moseley,  of 
Mount  Hope:  Charles  Milton,  mentioned  below;  and  Rosie  F.,  widow 
of  A.  P.  Bailey,  conducts  the  Central  Hotel  at  ^Nfount  Hope  and  is  the 
owner  of  considerable  property  in  this  city. 


246  WEST  A'IRGINIA 

(III)  Dr.  Charles  ^^Jilton  Brown,  son  of  Charles  C.  and  Martha  AI. 
(Blake)  Brown,  was  born  at  Mount  Hope,  Fayette  county,  West  Virginia 
I'^bruary  i8,  1870.  His  preliminary  educational  training  was  obtained 
in  the  Mount  Hope  public  schools  and  in  the  University  of  Louisville,  in 
which  institution  he  studied  medicine.  He  was  licensed  to  practice  med- 
icine in  West  Virginia  in  1896  and  in  that  year  located  at  Jumping 
Branch.  Summers  county.  Subsequently  he  attended  the  Maryland  Med- 
ical College,  at  Baltimore,  and  was  graduated  therein  as  a  member  of  the 
class  of  1902,  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Aledicine.  He  has  since  been 
engaged  in  medical  work  at  Mount  Hope  and  is  held  in  high  renown  here 
as  an  unusually  skilled  physician  and  surgeon.  His  professional  ser- 
vice has  been  prompted  by  a  laudable  ambition  for  advancement  as  well 
as  by  deep  sympathy  and  humanitarian  principles  that  urge  him  to  put 
forth  his  best  efforts  in  the  alleviation  of  pain  and  suffering.  He  has 
gained  recognition  from  his  contemporaries  as  one  of  the  representative 
doctors  in  West  A^irginia  and  the  trust  reposed  in  him  by  the  public  is 
indicated  by  the  liberal  patronage  awarded  him.  He  is  a  Democrat  in 
politics  and  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  church. 

In  1893.  at  Mount  Hope,  Dr.  Brown  married  Ida  Lee  Turner,  who 
was  born  in  Fayette  county.  West  Virginia,  daughter  of  William  and 
Jane  (Bragg)  Turner,  the  former  of  whom  is  deceased  and  the  latter  of 
whom  is  a  resident  of  Mount  Hope.  Mr.  Turner  was  born  in  Scotland 
and  was  a  mine  foreman  prior  to  his  death.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Brown  became 
the  parents  of  seven  children,  of  whom  Charles  William  died  in  infancy. 
Those  living  are:  Maude  A.,  Iris  L.,  Gladys  F.,  Regina  V.,  Hercules  A. 
i  nd  Maxine. 


David    B.    Smith,    the    distinguished   public    man    and    state 
SMITH     senator,    a    man   of    commanding   influence   throughout   his 

state,  was  born  near  Baltimore,  Maryland,  April  13,  1861. 
Mis  career  was  a  remarkable  instance  of  the  success  for  himself,  and  of 
wide  and  wholesome  power  in  the  community,  achieved  thiough  a  reso- 
lute will  and  an  energy,  ambition,  and  ability  that  never  faltered  at  the 
most  serious  obstacles.  Though  he  died  one  of  the  leading  men  of  the 
state,  he  had,  through  the  reverses  of  war,  begun  life  without  means. 
Through  sheer  pluck  he  made  his  way  up  to  the  highest  positions  in  the 
state  and  wielded  an  influence  second  to  none.  He  was  the  son  of  L.  J. 
Smith,  who  served  on  the  Confederate  side  in  the  civil  war  and  lost 
everything. 

A  few  years  of  the  boy's  early  childhood  were  spent  in  the  public 
schools,  but  it  soon  became  necessary  for  him  to  go  to  work.  Thus  at 
the  age  of  nine  years  he  went  out  into  the  world  to  support  himself  and 
help  support  his  father's  family.  His  first  work  was  as  a  helper  in  a  har- 
vest field,  doing  his  tasks  among  the  men  employed  there  so  as  to  gain  him 
the  commendation  of  the  man  in  charge.  From  being  a  farm  hand  he 
went  into  the  employ  of  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  be- 
ginning in  the  round-house  wiping  engines.  From  that  he  passed  on  to 
the  coal  bin  where  he  shovelled  coal,  becoming  next  a  machinist's  helper 
and  soon  mastering  the  machinist's  trade.  He  then  fired  a  locomotive, 
and  finally  became  a  locomotive  engineer.  He  was  only  fifteen  years  old 
when  he  went  into  the  machine  shops  of  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Railroad 
Company,  and  was  seventeen  when  in  1878  he  secured  the  place  of  fire- 
man with  the  road.  He  held  the  responsible  position  of  locomotive  engi- 
neer for  thirty-two  years,  running  during  that  time  many  special  trains 
in  which  rode  directors  and  noted  visitors  of  the  road.  On  many  occa- 
sions he  was  entrusted  with  the  specials  on  which  were  Morgan,  Depew, 


/),/3. 


z 


WEST  MRGINIA  247 

\'anderbilt,  Astor,  Ingalls,  Huntington,  Harriman  and  many  others  of  the 
distinguished  railroad  men  of  the  country.  He  hauled  Mr.  Bryan  on  his 
speaking  tour  through  the  state,  and  in  1900  j\Ir.  Smith  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Colonel  Roosevelt  on  his  speaking  tour  through  Kentucky 
and  West  \'irginia.  He  had  charge  of  Colonel  Roosevelt's  special  train  at 
that  time  and  from  then  on  was  a  warm  personal  friend  and  ardent  sup- 
porter of  Colonel  Roosevelt.  In  all  the  long  years  of  his  career  as  a  loco- 
motive engineer.  Air.  Smith,  who  was  a  total  abstainer,  never  had  a  blot 
against  him  and  left  an  absolutely  clean  record.  Upon  leaving  the  service 
of  the  company  in  whose  employ  he  had  been  so  long,  .Mr.  Smith  went  out 
'o  California.  His  stay  there  was,  however,  short,  and  after  a  few  months 
in  the  west  he  returned  to  Huntington,  West  A'irginia,  where  he  lived 
until  his  death.  As  a  business  man  he  put  the  same  qualities  into  play 
he  had  shown  in  his  earlier  manhood  in  the  exacting  employ  of  a  great 
railroad.  He  had  great  executive  ability  and  a  remarkable  intuition  of 
human  character.  It  was  owing  to  this,  probably,  that  he  met  with  such 
success  as  an  organizer  of  business  projects.  Xot  only  did  he  represent 
several  lines  of  insurance  with  noteworthy  success  but  he  organized  and 
carried  into  a  prosperous  career  the  Huntington  Stove  Company  and 
also  the  National  Produce  and  Feed  Company. 

A  Republican  in  his  convictions,  IMr.  Smith  carried  into  politics  the 
whole-souled  enthusiasm  and  tireless  activity  that  were  characteristic  oi 
the  man.  He  served  in  various  high  official  positions,  being  a  council- 
man of  Huntington  and  holding  a  seat  in  that  body  for  two  terms,  and 
being  twice  elected  to  the  legislature.  In  1908  he  was  elected  to  the  state 
senate  to  serve  until  1912.  In  all  these  offices  he  left  a  record  that  was 
not  only  above  reproach  but  was  one  full  of  the  intense  and  unselfish  ac- 
tivity of  the  man.  He  was  elected  by  acclamation  as  one  of  the  "Big  Six" 
delegates-at-large  to  the  Republican  National  Convention  at  Chicago. 
While  a  member  of  the  lower  house  he  was  always  one  of  the  floor  lead- 
ers and  was  appointed  to  serve  on  the  most  important  committees.  It  be- 
came remarked  that  any  measure  that  he  favored  always  was  carried 
through.  To  him  belongs  a  large  share  of  the  credit  for  the  tax  laws  of 
\\'est  Virginia  which  are  considered  among  the  best  in  the  country.  To 
him  was  due  also  the  ingenious  move  which  successfully  carried  through 
the  Prohibition  amendment  permitting  the  people  to  vote  on  the  liquor 
question  in  1912.  Noted  for  his  promptness,  regularity  in  attendance, 
and  hard  work  he  was  as  conspicuous  for  the  definite  and  clear  cut  stand 
he  took  on  any  subject  and  for  his  fair  dealing  and  courtesy  to  an  oppo- 
nent. .  His  early  interest  in  Colonel  Roosevelt  and  his  policies  has  been 
mentioned.  He  became  a  strong  adherent  of  Progressive  principles, 
and  was  an  important  factor  in  carrying  the  state  for  Roosevelt.  He  had 
been  known  so  long  as  a  strong  Progressive  that  it  was  inevitable  that  he 
should  be  sent  as  the  delegate  of  the  West  Mrginia  Progressive  Conven- 
tion to  the  Progressive  Convention  at  Chicago,  August  5,  1912.  He  was 
thus,  strangely  enough,  a  delegate  to  two  national  conventions  in  one  year. 
In  his  own  phrase  he  "attended  the  funeral  of  one  party  and  the  birth  of 
another."  'Sir.  Smith  was  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason  and  belonged 
also  to  the  Odd  Fellows.  He  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the  Baptist 
church  and  earnest  and  active  in  church  work  of  all  kinds ;  he  was  a  dea- 
con in  this  church  for  a  number  of  years.  Not  only  a  religious  man  Mr. 
Smith  exerted  a  powerful  influence  along  moral  lines  among  the  men  of 
the  railroad  and  elsewhere.  He  discouraged  both  by  precept  and  exam- 
ple the  use  of  tobacco  and  alcohol,  and  always  strongly  advocated  with 
the  men  their  saving  their  money  to  buy  homes. 

Mr.  Smith  married,  February  24,  1885.  at  Huntington,  Lizzie  B. 
^^V)ody,  a  native  of  Putnam  county.  West  \"irginia,  where  she  was  born 


248  WEST  MRGIXIA 

on  Christmas  day,  1867.  Her  father,  Samuel  Woody,  has  been  dead 
twenty-eight  years.  Her  mother,  Margaret  (  Carr  j  Woody,  now  seventy- 
five  years  old,  makes  her  home  with  her  daughter  in  Huntington.  One 
son  was  born  to  Senator  and  Mrs.  Smith,  George  Edward,  who  died 
twenty-five  years  ago. 

In  the  prime  of  life  and  in  the  full  flush  of  the  honors  he  had  so 
justly  won.  Senator  Smith  died  suddenl)-,  January  20,  1913.  Beloved  and 
revered  not  only  by  the  smaller  community  in  which  he  had  made  his 
home,  but  throughout  the  state  at  large,  his  death  has  left  a  void  that 
will  not  soon  be  filled.  His  life,  though  one  of  splendid  and  useful 
achievement,  was  one  of  still  greater  promise.  His  was  a  striking  and 
lovable  personality,  and  one  whose  value  to  the  state  it  would  be  hard  to 
overestimate.  The  death  of  a  man  of  this  type  is  an  enduring  loss  to 
the  community  that  mourns  him  and  among  the  wider  circles  of  the 
human  brotherhood  whom  he  served  with  such  zeal  and  fidelity  he  will 
long  be  remembered  as  an  example  of  dauntless  courage,  of  unselfish  de- 
votion to  the  public  good,  and  of  the  highest  graces  of  Christian  man- 
hood. 


r)f  staunch  Irish  extraction,  this  family  traces  its  an- 
McGUIRE     cestry  to  Edwin  Alciiuire.  who  was  born  in  Ireland  and 

immigrated  to  America  as  a  young  man.  locating  in 
Summers  county.  West  \'"irginia.  He  was  a  farmer  and  stockman  and 
died  in  Summers  county  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  3'ears. 

(II)  Morris,  son  of  Edwin  McQuire,  was  born  in  Albemarle  count}', 
Virginia.  His  entire  active  career  was  devoted  to  mining  enterprises 
but  since  1910  he  has  lived  retired  at  Lewisburg,  West  \'irginia,  where 
he  is  the  owner  of  an  attractive  residence  property.  His  birth  occurred 
in  May,  1855.  His  wife,  who  was  Janet  Kay  in  her  maidenhood,  was 
born  near  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  August  31,  1857.  Her  father,  Thomas 
Kay,  was  likewise  born  in  Scotland  and  came  to  America  with  his  fam- 
ily in  1869,  settling  first  in  Pennsylvania,  later  in  ^Maryland  and  event- 
ually in  West  Mrginia.  He  was  a  brick  mason  by  trade  and  was  also  in- 
terested in  farming  operations  during  his  lifetime:  he  died  in  Fayette 
county,  West  Mrginia.  aged  seventy-seven  years.  Mrs.  McQuire  was 
a  girl  of  but  twelve  years  when  she  accompanied  her  parents  to  Amer- 
ica. Her  marriage  to  Mr.  AIcGuire  was  solemnized  at  Quinnimont.  West 
Mrginia,  in  1880.  and  this  union  was  prolific  of  five  children,  all  of 
whom  are  living  at  the  present  time,  namely:  Thomas  E..  mentioned 
below ;  Jessie  Kay,  is  a  teacher  in  the  Mount  Hope  public  schools :  Mor- 
ris J.,  is  a  dentist  by  profession  and  lives  in  Ohio :  Jean,  is  a  teacher  and 
lives  at  home :  and  Ethel  Grace,  now  attending  school  at  Lewisburg. 
Jessie  K.  and  Morris  J.  were  graduated  in  the  Concord  Xormal  School, 
nt  .'\thens,  \\'est  \^irginia.  and  Jean  was  graduated  in  Huntington  Col- 
lege. 

(III)  Dr.  Thomas  E.  McGuire.  son  of  Morris  and  Janet  (Kay)  Mc- 
Guire.  was  born  at  Quinnimont,  Fayette  county,  \\'est  A'irginia,  Sep- 
tember 24,  1881.  He  was  educated  in  the  Quinnimont  public  schools  and 
for  several  years  attended  the  Concord  Normal  School,  at  .Athens,  West 
\'irginia.  As  a  youth  he  decided  upon  the  medical  profession  as  his  life 
work  and  with  that  object  in  view  entered  the  Maryland  Afedical  Col- 
lege, at  Baltimore,  in  which  he  was  graduated  in  IQ04.  with  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  His  first  work  as  a  physician  and  surgeon  w;i-; 
at  Sun.  West  ^^i^ginia,  where  he  was  assistant  to  Dr.  A.  F.  Haynes  for 
n  period  of  two  vears  at  the  end  nf  which.  Janunrv  i.  lOC^.  he  came  to 
Mount   Hope,  his  offices  being  in   the   Rank  of   Mount  Hope   Building. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  249 

On  April  22,  19 13,  Dr.  McGuire  removed  to  Yolyn,  Logan  county,  West 
Virginia,  where  he  is  a  physician  and  surgeon  for  several  of  the  large  coal 
companies  located  in  that  district.  He  is  well  deserving  of  the  splendid 
success  he  is  gaining  in  his  professional  work  for  his  equipment  was 
unusually  good,  and  he  has  continually  extended  the  scope  of  his  labors 
through  the  added  efficiency  that  comes  from  keeping  in  touch  with  the 
marked  advancement  that  has  been  made  by  members  of  the  medical 
fraternity  in  recent  years.  He  is  a  member  of  several  representative 
medical  organizations  and  in  politics  is  a  Republican.  He  is  a  stock- 
holder in  the  Bank  of  Mount  Hope  and  is  a  stockholder  and  director 
in  the  Warner  Real  Estate  Company.  In  the  Masonic  order  he  has  com- 
pleted the  circle  of  the  Scottish  Rite  branch,  having  reached  the  thirty- 
second  degree.     In  religious  matters  he  is  a  Presbyterian. 

Dr.  McGuire  married,  June  11,  1913.  Josie  ]\I.  Fulton,  daughter  of 
S.  B.  Fulton,  of  Huntington,  West  \'irginia,  land  agent  for  the  Ritter 
Lumber  Company  of  Huntington.   West  Virginia. 


Man}'  of  the  sterling  and  representative  families  of  West 
HORAX  \'irginia  trace  their  ancestry  to  staunch  Irish  extraction. 
Patrick  D.  Horan  was  born  and  reared  in  Ireland  and  im- 
migrated to  America  as  a  young  man.  settling  in  Summersville,  West  Vn- 
ginia,  whence  he  later  removed  to  Louisville,  Kentucky.  He  was  a  teach- 
er by  occupation,  was  a  Republican  in  politics  and  in  religious  matters 
was  a  devout  communicant  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  His  wife, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Mary  Catherine  Duffy,  was  born  at  Summers- 
ville, West  \''irginia,  where  was  solemnized  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Horan. 
There  were  eight  children  born  to  this  union :  Theodore  B.,  mentioned 
below  ;  Andrew  J.,  Thomas  C,  ]\largaret,  Minnie,  Patrick  C,  R.  Emmet 
and  Beirne. 

dl)  Theodore  Rrannon.  sin  of  Patrick  D.  and  Mary  Catherine 
(Duffy)  Horan,  was  born  in  Louisville,  Kentucky.  He  was  indebted  to 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  place  for  his  early  educational  training, 
and  after  reaching  years  of  maturity  devoted  his  attention  to  the  study  of 
law.  coming  to  West  ^'irginia  where  for  many  years  he  was  prosecuting 
attorney  in  both  Webster  and  Nicholas  counties.  He  married  .Agnes 
Rowena  Thornton,  a  native  of  Summersville,  West  \'irginia,  and  daugh- 
ter of  Patrick  and  Catherine  Thornton,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  Ire- 
land. Children ;  Tliomas  Brownson,  deceased  ;  Alary  -Alice.  John  Spald- 
ing, mentioned  below ;  Daisy,  Irene,  Grace  and  Patrick  Dana. 

(Ill)  John  Spalding,  third  child  of  Theodore  B.  and  Agnes  Rowena 
(Thornton)  Horan.  was  born  at  Webster  Springs.  West  A'irginia,  No- 
vember 12,  1884.  He  was  educated  in  the  Summersville  Normal  School, 
at  Summersville.  \\'est  A'irginia.  pursued  a  business  course  in  the  Capital 
Cit}-  Commercial  College,  at  Charleston,  West  A'irginia,  and  in  June, 
191 1,  was  graduated  in  the  law  department  of  Georgetown  University,  at 
A\'ashington,  D.  C.  duly  receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  His 
first  responsible  work  was  that  of  teaching  school  in  the  public  schools 
of  West  A^irginia  and  he  followed  that  vocation  for  a  period  of  four 
years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he  accepted  a  position  with  the  law  firm 
of  Brown,  Jackson  &  Knight  in  Charleston.  In  1908  he  became  private 
secretary  to  Hon.  Joseph  H.  Gaines,  member  of  congress  from  the  third 
congressional  district.  He  retained  the  latter  position  for  the  ensuing 
four  years  and  thereafter  was  employed  in  a  similar  capacity  by  Senator 
Hitchcock,  of  Nebraska,  for  four  months,  during  which  time  he  was  like- 
wise a  student  in  Georgetown  L'niversity.  at  Washington.  He  was  a  resi- 
dent of  the  "Capitol  City"  for  fi>ur  \ears  and  in  iQii  came  to  Alontgom- 


2SO  \\'"EST  A'IRGINIA 

cry,  West  Virginia,  where  lie  initiated  the  active  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion and  where  he  is  rapidly  gaining  distinction  as  an  able  attorney  and 
♦■lell  fortified  counselor.  In  June,  1912,  he  was  nominated  on  the  Re- 
publican ticket,  for  the  house  of  delegates  from  Fayette  county,  West 
Virginia.  His  career  is  a  splendid  example  of  what  may  be  accomplished 
by  young  manhood  that  is  consecrated  to  ambition  and  high  purposes.  He 
is  a  self-made  man  and  is  recognized  throughout  this  community  for  his 
high  order  of  ability  and  his  conscientious  dealings  with  his  clients.  He 
met  with  many  obstacles  in  obtaining  his  professional  education  but  in- 
stead of  discouraging  him  his  hardships  spurred  him  onward,  giving  him 
a  momentum  and  force  which  have  resulted  since  the  period  of  his  first 
struggles  in  steady  progress  and  success  and  have  brought  him  the  esteem 
of  both  the  judiciary  and  associate  attorneys.  J\lr.  Horan's  political  alle- 
giance is  given  to  the  Republican  partw  in  the  local  councils  of  which  he 
is  an  active  worker. 

November  16,  1910,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Horan  to  Winifred 
Sullivan,  the  ceremony  being  performed  at  Washington,  D.  C.  Mrs. 
Horan  was  born  at  Antigo,  VVisconsin,  and  she  is  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Mary  Sullivan,  the  former  of  whom  is  a  carpenter  by  trade.  There  are 
three  children  in  the  Sullivan  family:  Winifred,  Mary  and  Helen.  ]\lr. 
and  2^1  rs.  Horan  have  one  child,  John  Sullivan  Horan,  whose  birth  oc- 
curred November  11,  1911.     The  Horans  are  devout  Catholics. 


Andrew  Jackson  O'Neal  was  born  in  Raleigh  county.  West 
O'NEAL     \"irginia,  in  1847,  and  died  in  1885,  aged  thirty-eight  years. 

He  was  a  prominent  farmer  in  Raleigh  county  during  his 
lifetime.  His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Frances  Harper,  was  like- 
wise born  in  Raleigh  county  and  she  is  now  living  at  Fayetteville  aged  fif- 
ty-five years.  In  1902  Mrs.  O'Neal  married  James  M.  Page.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  O'Neal  had  six  children:  Candis,  was  the  wife  of  Ambrose  Dan- 
iels at  the  time  of  her  demise  in  1902:  Emma,  is  the  wife  of  I.  W.  Haw- 
kins, of  Fayetteville;  Virginia,  married  Savannah  Anderson  and  they 
live  at  Barboursville,  West  Virginia;  Lacy  Burke,  mentioned  below;  Al- 
bert J.,  is  quartermaster  in  the  LTnited  States  army  and  is  located  at  New 
Orleans,  Louisiana;  and  Ollie,  died  at  the  age  of  twelve  years. 

(H)  Lacy  Burke,  son  of  Andrew  Jackson  and  Frances  (Harper) 
O'Neal,  was  born  at  Beckley,  Raleigh  county.  West  Mrginia,  May  10, 
1882.  His  father  died  when  he  was  a  mere  baby  and  while  he  was  yet 
a  young  boy  he  began  to  work  in  order  to  help  support  his  widowed 
mother  and  the  other  children.  Mrs.  O'Neal  removed  with  her  family 
to  Fayette  county  when  Lacy  B.  was  thirteen  years  old.  Soon  there- 
after he  became  a  trapper  boy  in  the  Loop  Creek  mines  and  after  being 
employed  in  that  manner  for  one  year  he  came  with  his  mother  to  Fay- 
etteville. Here  he  entered  the  Fayetteville  Academy  and  after  leaving  this 
n^stitution  he  worked  his  way  through  the  Capital  City  Commercial  Col- 
lege, at  Charleston,  the  Hampden-Sidney  College,  in  Virginia,  and  the 
West  A^irginia  University,  in  the  law  department  of  which  last  institution 
he  was  graduated  in  1909,  with  the  Bachelor  of  Laws  degree.  \MiiIe 
studying  law  he  defrayed  his  expenses  by  working  as  bookkeeper  and 
stenographer  for  two  years  and  by  acting  as  deputy-clerk  under  WU- 
liam  Grafton  in  1903-04-05.  His  first  legal  experience  was  obtained  in 
Fayetteville,  where  he  practised  law  for  one  year,  at  the  expiration  of 
which  he  came  to  Montgomery,  here  entering  into  a  partnership  alliance 
with  Alexander  L.  Anderson,  the  firm  of  Anderson  &  O'Neal  being  one 
of  the  representative  law  combinations  in  Fayette  county.  These  yonng 
lawyers  are  well  known   for  their  energy  and  for  their  devotion  to  the 


WEST  \^IRGIXIA  .  251 

interests  of  their  clients  and  they  have   figured  prominently   in   several 
important  litigations  in  the  state  and  federal  courts. 

Politically,  Air.  O'Neal  is  an  unswerving  Republican  and  while  he  is 
not  an  aspirant  for  the  honors  or  emoluments  of  public  office  he  is  ever 
on  the  alert  and  enthusiastically  in  sympathy  with  all  measures  and  en- 
terprises projected  for  the  good  of  the  general  welfare.  His  fraternal 
connections  are  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Modern  Woodmen  of 
America  and  also  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles.  He  was  reared  a 
Presbyterian  and  is  a  member  of  the  church  of  that  denomination  in 
Montgomery.     Mr.   O'Neal  is  unmarried. 


For  generations  back  representatives  of  this  family  have 
DAVIS  lived  in  Ohio.  The  forefathers  were  pioneers  in  the  "Buck- 
eye" state,  but  early  records  concerning  the  ancestry  have 
been  lost  track  of  and  it  is  impossible  to  trace  the  genealogy.  Joseph 
Davis,  grandfather  of  Hon.  Thomas  J.  Davis,  present  mayor  of  Mont- 
gomery, was  a  prominent  farmer  on  the  Ohio  river,  in  Ohio,  during  his 
lifetime.     He  married  and  had  a  son  Joseph,  mentioned  below. 

(II)  Joseph  (2),  son  of  Joseph  (i  )  Davis,  was  born  at  Minersville. 
Meigs  county,  Ohio,  March  29,  1844,  and  died  January  13,  1912,  aged 
sixty-eight  years.  He  was  a  miner  by  occupation  and  lived  most  of  his 
life  in  Ohio,  coming  to  Montgomery,  West  Virginia,  in  1896,  and  here 
engaging  in  the  mining  of  coal  for  W.  R.  Johnson,  at  Crescent.  He  had 
a  brother  Benjamin  who  was  a  Union  soldier  throughout  the  civil  war. 
Mr.  Davis  married  Jane  Thomas,  a  native  of  Syracuse,  Ohio,  where  her 
birth  occurred  November  28,  1856.  She  survives  her  honored  husband 
and  is  now  living  with  her  son,  Thomas  J.  Davis,  of  Montgomery.  Chil- 
dren born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davis :  Thomas  J.,  mentioned  below  ;  Ben- 
jamin, born  March  23,  1879,  is  engaged  in  the  undertaking  business  at 
Montgomery;  Joseph,  born  January  23,  1881,  died  in  infancy;  Alary 
Ann,  born  Januarj'  28,  1882,  is  the  wife  of  James  Frasier,  of  Eagle, 
West  Virginia;  Edward,  born  April  21,  1885,  died  April  14,  191 1;  El- 
len, born  May  19,  1887,  is  the  wife  of  S.  O.  Norton,  of  Montgomery; 
Flossie,  born  March  21,  1890,  is  the  wife  of  E.  F.  Kincaid,  of  Mont- 
gomery; and  Bertha,  born  January  15,  1894,  is  the  wife  of  C.  P.  Champe, 
of  Alontgomery. 

(HI)  Thomas  J.,  son  of  Joseph  (2)  and  Jane  (Thomas)  Davis,  was 
born  at  Hartford  City.  Alason  county.  West  \'irginia.  February  27,  1876. 
He  received  but  very  meager  educational  advantages  in  his  youth  and 
at  the  age  of  ten  years  began  to  dig  coal  with  his  father  in  the  vicinity 
of  his  birthplace.  In  1896,  at  the  age  of  twenty  years,  he  accompanied 
his  father  to  Montgomery  and  for  the  two  ensuing  years  was  engaged  in 
the  mining  of  coal  for  'W.  R.  Johnson,  at  Crescent.  In  1898  he  entered 
the  employ  of  Carver  Brothers,  of  Edgewater,  and  mined  coal  for  them 
for  four  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  period  he  engaged  in  the 
restaurant  business  at  Montgomery.  In  the  spring  of  1902  he  was  ap- 
pointed justice  of  the  peace  of  the  Kanawha  district  by  the  Fayette 
county  court  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  Eustace  Hundley,  who  had 
just  tendered  his  resignation.  In  the  following  autumn  he  was  elected  for 
a  full  term  to  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace,  he  was  re-elected  in  1904 
and  again  in  1908,  and  is  serving  in  that  capacity  at  the  present  time.  In 
1904  he  was  chosen  secretary  of  the  board  of  education  of  Kanawha  dis- 
trict and  he  has  since  been  incumbent  of  that  position,  ever  manifesting  a 
deep  and  sincere  interest  in  all  that  tends  to  the  betterment  of  educational 
facilities  in  this  section  of  the  state. 

A  staunch  Republican  in  his  political  convictions,  Air.  Davis  has  long 


252  _  WEST  \IRGIXIA 

been  active  in  the  local  councils  of  his  party.  In  1905  he  became  candi- 
date for  the  office  of  mayor  of  Montgomery.  After  an  exciting  cam- 
paign he  won  the  election  from  Hon.  J.  C.  Montgomery,  a  pioneer  here, 
who  had  been  mayor  for  the  twelve  preceding  terms.  In  1906  Mr.  Davis 
was  opposed  in  the  office  by  L.  G.  Custer  but  was  elected  over  him  by 
a  majority  of  two  hundred  and  forty  votes.  In  1907  he  was  re-elected 
without  opposition,  ex-mayor  ^Montgomery,  his  first  opponent,  appear- 
ing in  the  Republican  convention  and  oiifering  the  motion  that  amounted 
to  an  endorsement  by  all  parties.  In  1908  he  defeated  J.  C.  Peters  by  a 
majority  of  two  hundred  and  eighteen  votes,  and  in  1909  was  again 
elected  without  opposition,  as  he  was  also  in  the  following  year.  In 
191 1  he  received  a  majority  of  three  hundred  and  ten  votes  over  his 
opponent,  O.  P.  Jameson,  a  prominent  and  influential  citizen  in  Mont- 
gomen,'.  He  has  proved  a  most  capable  administrator  of  the  municipal 
affairs  of  Montgomery  and  during  his  regime  many  important  im- 
provements have  been  established  here.  He  is  interested  in  a  number  of 
business  enterprises  of  considerable  importance  in  Fayette  county.  He 
is  president  of  the  Fayette  Bottling  &  Ice  Company  and  is  a  heavy  stock- 
holder in  the  Montgomery  Ice  Cream  &  Bottling  Works;  he  is  likewise 
a  stockholder  in  the  West  Mrginia  Insurance  Agency,  of  which  impor- 
tant organization  he  was  president  for  three  years,  and  he  is  a  director  in 
the  Montgomery  &  Cannellton  Bridge  Company.  He  is  an  energetic  and 
progressive  business  man  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  his  rise  to  a 
position  of  prominence  in  the  commercial  and  official  world  of  Fayette 
county  is  entirely  the  result  of  his  well  applied  endeavors,  no  one  having 
ever  helped  him  in  a  financial  way.  In  regard  to  his  future  as  a  public 
man  the  following  appreciative  and  prophetic  words  are  here  incor- 
porated : 

In  politics  Mr-  Da-\is  is  an  enthusiastic  Republican,  and  has  become  so  promi- 
nent as  one  of  its  leaders  in  his  own  section  that  the  voters  of  the  entire  county  are 
being  attracted  by  his  personality,  his  splendid  record  in  oflficial  life,  and  look  to  him 
as  the  logical  candidate  for  nomination  for  the  office  of  sheriff  in  the  ne.xt  campaign. 
Without  disparagement  to  any  others  who  may  aspire,  it  must  be  said  that  from  mine 
pit  to  mine  mouth,  and  from  mine  mouth  to  his  present  place  of  prominence  in  the 
afifairs  of  his  community,  "Tom"  Davis  has  made  good  in  every  department  and  is 
recognized  as  one  of  the  most  useful  as  well  as  substantial  citizens  of  this  great 
county. 

Mr.  Davis  has  been  sheriff  of  Fayette  count\-  since  November.  1912. 

November  16,  1894,  ^Ir.  Davis  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Cook, 
daughter  of  George  and  Henrietta  Cook,  who  are  now  living  on  a  farm 
near  Shawnee,  Ohio.  There  were  three  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Davis,  as  follows  :  Bessie,  died  at  the  age  of  two  years :  Pearl,  died  in 
infancy,  as  did  also  Joseph.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davis  are  held  in  high  esteem 
"by  their  fellow  citizens  and  are  renowned  for  genial  hospitality  and  at- 
tractive entertainment. 


Of  Scotch  origin,  the  Duncan  famil)'  was  founded  in  Vh- 
DUNC.AX     ginia,  in  the  early  colonial  epoch  of  our  national  history. 

The  name  of  the  emigrant  ancestor  is  not  known,  in  fact, 
but  little  can  be  learned  of  the  early  generations  of  this  family  in  the  Old 
Dominion  commonwealth.  The  paternal  grandfather  of  Dr.  Harry  An- 
drew Duncan,  of  Oak  Hill,  \\'est  \^irginia,  was  a  native  of  Amherst 
county,  \'irginia,  and  he  lived  in  his  native  state  until  1845,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Fayette  county.  West  \'irginia,  becoming  a  prosperous  farmer 
in  the  vicinity  of  Oak  Hill,  .\miing  his  children  was  .\rthur  B,,  men- 
tioned below. 


WKST  \  IRGINIA  253 

(II)  Arthur  B.  Duncan  was  born  in  Amherst  county.  \'irginia,  in 
1843,  ''rid  he  was  but  two  years  of  age  when  the  parental  h(ime  was  es- 
tablished in  Fayette  county,  this  state.  He  is  now  living  on  the  old  farm 
on  which  his  father  settled  in  1845  ^"d  which  is  eligibly  located  two 
miles  distant  from  Oak  Hill.  He  was  a  Confederate  soldier  and  experi- 
enced unusual  hardships  during  the  war.  He  was  wounded  in  the  Seven 
Days'  battle  at  Richmond  and  still  suffers  from  injuries  received  at  that 
time.  For  a  long  period  after  that  engagement  he  was  confined  in  an 
army  hospital.  Subsequently  he  was  captured  by  the  enemy  and  im- 
prisoned for  many  months  at  Camp  Chase.  He  is  an  ordained  minister 
in  the  Brethren  church  and  in  addition  to  his  religious  work  conducts  the 
old  farm  on  which  he  maintains  his  home.  He  is  sixty-nine  years  of  age 
but  is  still  hale  and  hearty,  his  kindly  voice  and  cheerful  personality  mak- 
ing him  a  decidedly  welcome  visitor  in  the  homes  of  his  many  friends  and 
acquaintances.     He  married  Annie  Sanger,  who  was  born  in  Virginia,  in 

•  1841,  and  who  is  a  daughter  of  Henry  Sanger,  a  farmer  in  Fayette 
county,  this  state,  for  some  years  prior  to  his  demise.  Children :  Homer, 
deceased ;  William  H.,  a  railroad  employee,  is  a  resident  of  Roanoke,  Vir- 
ginia:  Samuel  E.,  is  engaged  in  the  music  business  at  Oak  Hill;  Susie, 
died  as  a  young  girl ;  Arthur  J.,  lives  on  a  farm  near  Oak  Hill  and  is  a 
rural  mail  carrier ;  Harry  A.,  mentioned  below :  James  A.,  operates  a 
farm  located  a  mile  and  a  half  from  Oak  Hill ;  Mary,  died  at  the  age  of 
three  years ;  Sallie,  is  the  wife  of  Ray  Singer,  of  Thurmond. 

(III)  Dr.  Harry  Andrew  Duncan,  son  of  Arthur  B.  and  Annie 
(Sanger)  Duncan,  was  born  at  Oak  Hill,  West  Mrginia,  January  17, 
1878.  He  assisted  his  father  in  the  work  and  management  of  the  home 
farm  until  he  had  reached  his  eighteenth  year,  in  the  meantime  attending 
the  common  schools  of  Fayette  county  during  the  winter  terms.  He  also 
attended  the  Fayette  Academy  for  a  time  and  thereafter  taught  school 
for  five  years  in  this  county.  In  1901,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years, 
he  was  matriculated  as  a  student  in  the  University  College  of  Medicine 
at  Richmond,  \'irginia,  in  the  dental  department  of  which  excellent  insti- 
ution  he  was  graduated  with  honors  in  1904,  duly  receiving  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Dental  Surgery.  While  in  Richmond  he  was  president  of  the 
local  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and  on  his  graduation  was  ten- 
dered a  professorship  in  the  college.  He  did  not  accept  the  latter  but  re- 
turned to  Oak  Hill  and  immediately  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. He  controls  an  extensive  patronage  at  Oak  Hill  and  in  the  terri- 
tory normally  adjacent  to  this  city.  Since  igo6  he  has  had  offices  in  the 
Merchants  &  Miners  Bank  Building  which  are  thoroughly  equipped  with 
all  the  modern  appliances  for  up-to-date  dental  work.  He  makes  a  spec- 
ialty of  inlay  work,  crowais,  bridges,  plate  work,  fillings  of  all  kinds,  treat- 
ing, orthodentia,  extracting  and  general  surgery  of  the  mouth. 

At  Oak  Hill,  in  the  fall  of  1904,  Dr.  Duncan  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Willia  Yonce  Haynes,  a  native  of  Montgomery  county,  \'irginia,  and 
a  daughter  of  James  C.  and  Susan  Virginia  Haynes,  the  former  of  whom 
is  deceased  and  the  latter  is  living  on  the  old  Haynes  homestead  in  Mont- 
gomery county ;  this  estate  has  been  in  the  family  for  over  one  hundred 
and  twelve  years.  Mrs.  Haynes  is  sixty-seven  years  of  age  (1912).  Two 
children  were  born  to  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Duncan,  but  one  of  whom  is  living 
at  the  present  time,  namely,  Harry  Andrew,  Jr.,  whose  birth  occurred 
April  18,  1907. 


254  WEST  VIRGINIA 

The  name  Strickling  may  have  been  changed  in  spell- 
STRICKLING  ing  since  tlie  days  of  the  emigrant,  who  probably 
brought  the  name  in  its  original  form,  Strickland, 
from  England.  Changes  in  orthography  are  frequent  in  the  early  records. 
The  earliest  known  member  of  this  family  served  in  the  revolutionary 
army,  and  his  son  Henry  Strickling,  is  reported  as  living  in  Virginia,  a 
cultivator  of  the  soil,  who  may  have  come  from  England  with  his  father. 
The  maternal  grandfather  of  James  Henry  Strickling,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  David  Bates,  a  farmer  of  Monroe  county,  Ohio.  Several  of 
his  sons  enlisted  in  the  Union  army  during  the  civil  war. 

William  Strickling,  son  of  Henry,  was  of  Virginia  birth,  and  died  in 
1892,  aged  sixty-two  years,  at  his  old  hime  in  Doddridge  county.  West 
Virginia.  He  was  both  a  physician  and  a  minister,  combining  his  two 
lines  of  work  successfully  in  that  rugged  and  unsettled  country.  His 
wife,  Matilda  Bates,  was  born  in  Monroe  county,  Ohio,  and  is  still  livmg, 
at  tlie  age  of  eighty-four  years,  in  Doddridge  county.  Their  nine  chil- 
dren, all  living  are:  Alary,  who  married  R.  P.  Findley;  Albert  E..  and 
Flavins  E.,  of  West  Union,  West  Virginia ;  John  A.,  of  Alvy,  West  Vir- 
ginia ;  Leander  B.,  and  Newton  R.,  of  Deep  Valley,  the  same  state  ;  David 
B.,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania ;  James  Henry,  of  whom  further ;  and 
Lawrence,  who  is  in  the  United  States  navy. 

In  the  last  year  of  the  civil  war,  on  February  26,  1865,  James  Henry 
Strickling  was  born  at  the  old  Strickling  homestead,  in  Doddridge  county. 
West  Virginia.  Studying  first  in  the  local  public  schools,  he  then  at- 
tended Bethany  College,  West  Virginia,  taking  the  Bachelor  of  Arts  de- 
gree in  1889,  and  the  post-graduate  Master  of  Arts  in  1891.  For  three 
years  thereafter  he  conducted  Harrodsburg  Academy,  at  Harrodsburg, 
Kentucky,  while  devoting  his  leisure  hours  to  the  study  of  law.  His 
true  career  commenced  with  his  admission  to  the  bar  at  Harrodsburg, 
about  1894. 

The  following  decade  was  spent  in  the  practice  of  law  at  Middle- 
bourne,  West  Virginia.  After  1904,  he  removed  to  Sistersville,  and  while 
engaged  there  in  his  professional  pursuits,  he  was  elected  and  served  two 
terms  in  the  state  legislature,  and  in  1909  he  attained  the  important  post 
of  speaker  in  the  West  \'irginia  House.  That  same  year  in  the  month  of 
May,  he  came  to  Fluntington  and  under  the  firm  name,  Xeal  &  Strickling, 
formed  a  partnership  with  George  I.  Neal.  Mr.  Strickling's  political  suc- 
cess is  due  to  his  remarkable  legal  attainments,  as  well  as  a  sturdy  adher- 
ence to  the  tenets  of  the  Republican  party.  His  wife  belongs  to  the  old 
Presbyterian  church,  but  he  has  joined  the  Christian  sect.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

His  marriage  to  Rosa  C.  Lewis  of  Harrodsburg,  Kentucky,  occurred 
December  27,  1902,  in  that  city.  She  was  born  June  13,  1868,  and  was 
the  daughter  of  George  Lewis,  belonging  to  a  family  of  LTnion  sympa- 
thizers, who  died  when  she  was  quite  young.  Her  mother,  Hannah 
Lewis,  who  came  of  Confederate  stock,  died  in  1905.  The  children  of 
James  Henry  and  Rosa  C.  (Lewis)  Strickling  are  both  boys:  Charles  \\'i\- 
liam,  born  January  3.   1904,  and  George  Lewis,  April   13,    1907. 


The  Townsend  or  Townshend  families  of  .Amer- 
TOM^NSHEXD  ica  are  said  to  be  of  mixed  Saxon  and  Norman  de- 
scent. The  family  is  of  great  antiquity  in  the 
county  of  Norfolk.  England.  \\'alter  Atte-Townshende,  son  of  Sir  Lud- 
ovic  de  Townshende,  a  Norman  nobleman,  flourished  soon  after  the 
Conquest.  Sir  Ludovic  de  Townshende  perhaps  married  Elizabeth  de 
Hauteville,  sole  heiress  of  the  manors  of  Raynham :  but  de  Hauteville 


c<^ 


^/  {0U.<UA^ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  255 

is  also  claimed  as  one  of  the  numerous  equivalents  of  Townsend,  of  which 
equivalents  further.  The  seat  of  the  English  marquis  and  viscount 
Townshend  is  Raynham,  in  the  county  of  Norfolk,  and  the  American 
Townsends  have  been  fond  of  this  name ;  witness  Raynham,  a  residence 
at  Uverbrook,  Pennsylvania;  Little  Raynham,  a  residence  at  Oyster 
Bay,  Long  Island;  and  Raynham  as  a  local  name  in  or  near  New  Haven, 
Connecticut. 

Of  the  forms  of  this  name,  Atte-Townshende  shows  a  probable 
meaning  of  the  name.  Other  forms,  attempts  at  translation,  rather  than 
transliterations,  into  Latin,  found  in  ancient  deeds,  are:  Ad-Finem- 
Villae,  Ad-Exitum-Villae,  Ad-Caput-Villae,  and  De-Alta-Ville.  (This 
last  is  an  equivalent,  in  poor  Latin,  for  de  Hauteville).  Other  old  Eng- 
lish forms,  less  startling  in  character,  are  Tunneshend  and  Towneshende. 
In  fact  it  is  claimed  that  fifty-seven  forms  of  this  name  have  been  found. 
The  Atte  seems  to  have  been  dropped  in  the  fourteenth  century.  The 
tendency  today  is  strongly  towards  Townsend;  but,  about  1580,  the  chief 
of  the  family  at  Raynham  re-inserted  the  h,  probably  rejecting  the  mean- 
ing expressed  in  some  of  the  Latin  forms  alaove,  and  thinking  the  addi- 
tion to  point  to  the  correct  derivation,  as  his  family  were  the  land  holders. 
Among  the  noted  men  of  this  name,  Charles  Townshende  was  Chancel- 
lor of  the  Exchequer,  in  Lord  North's  cabinet,  under  King  George  III. 
of  Great  Britain. 

Arms :  azure ;  a  chevron  ermine,  between  three  escallops  argent. 
Crest:  a  stag,  passant;  proper.     Motto:    Hacc  gcncri  incrementa  fides. 

(I)  The  American  ancestor  of  the  branch  of  the  Townshend  fam- 
ily under  present  consideration,  was  Samuel  Townshend,  who  was  born 
in  England,  in  November,  17 14.  He  died  in  Prince  George's  county. 
IMaryland,  October  30,  1804.  His  wife,  Anna,  died  March  24,  t8oi.  His 
children  were:  i.  Volinda.  died  December  16.  1777.  2.  Samuel,  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Hodskin.  and  died  February  5.  1805;  their  children  were: 
;\Iargaret,  married  Theodore  Wall :  Daniel ;  Hodskin,  married  Miss 
Lumsden,  and  their  children  were :  William  Lumsden,  Henry,  Edith, 
Richard  Wellington,  Smith,  Alfred,  Doc,  Mary  Ann,  married  a  ]\Ir. 
Lighter,  and  Annie,  married  ^Ir.  Bray.  3.  Leonard,  of  whom  further. 
4.  Elizabeth,  married  Mr.  Taylor,  died  April  14,  1818.  5.  Marv,  mar- 
ried Mr.  Burch,  died  April  17.  1833,  and  had  children:  Samuel,  Fran- 
cis, Elizabeth,  married  Mr.  Blacklock,  of  Kentucky.  6.  Annie,  married 
Mr.  Wright,  died  September  27.  1823.  7.  Eleanor,  died  October  24, 
1829.  8.  Frank,  died  at  sea,  January  i,  1780,  and  was  buried  on  Long 
Island.  9.  John,  born  November  i,  1765,  died  May  14,  1846.  "He  was 
taken  with  a  troubled  mind  September  14,  1794,  which  continued  till  the 
time  of  his  death."  10.  William,  married  and  his  children  were:  Eliz- 
abeth, married  Mr.  Grififin :  Annie,  married  James  Tunille;  Rebecca, 
married  Noble  Burch ;  jMary ;  Samuel,  married  Miss  Washington :  Tru- 
man :  Belt:  Jeremiah;  Priscilla :  Grafton;  John  T. :  Ellen  W..  married 
Mr.  Harrison.     The  will  of  Samuel  Townshend  is  as  follows: 

In  the  name  of  Gnd.  .\men.  I.  Samuel  Townshend,  of  Prince  Georare's  county. 
Maryland,  being  in  good  health  and  sound  mind  and  understanding,  considering  the 
uncertainty  of  life,  and  being  desirous  of  settHng  mv  worldly  affairs  do  make  this 
my  last  will  and  testament  in  manner  and  form  following: 

First.  T  give  mv  soul  to  Almighty  God  that  gave  it,  hoping  for  mercy  for  the 
sake  of  my  blessed  Saviour  and  Redeemer  Jesus  Christ,  and  my  body  to  the  earth  to 
be  buried  as  my  executors  shall  think  proper.  Now  concerning  my  worldly  property. 
First.  I  want  my  debts  paid  out  of  it  that  I  owe  in  this  country.  Then  the  debts 
that  T  owe  to  some  persons  which  lived  in  London.  England,  in  the  year  of  Our  Lord, 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  thirty-six.  Now  these  are  the  names  as  follows,  as 
well  as  T  can  remember:  To  Richard  Colson  Wallen  Mareen  Fenchar's  Street  at  the 
corner  of  Reed  Lane  at  the  Sign  of  the  Anchor.  Tliirty-four  pounds.  To  one  ]\Iayor. 
a  brewer  in  Crastered  Fryer's  Street.  Twenty-four  Pounds.     Crissen  name  forgot. 


256  WEST  VIRGINIA 

To  a  barber  living  in  the  Street  against  Rotheriff  Stairs  (name  forgot),  fifteen 
shillings.  To  another  barber  living  in  Old  Gravel  Lane  (name  forgot)  One  Pound 
Ten  shillings.  He  married  the  daughter-in-law  of  Mr.  Childs  in  the  same  Street. 
Their  son  is  Grayer.  He  lived  agains  the  charity  school.  Five  shillings  pay  him. 
He  kept  an  alehouse.  To  another  barber  (name  forgot)  Twenty  Shillings,  living 
in  the  Street  facing  Merchant  Taylors.  To  widow  Burton  five  shillings,  living  in 
Bishop  against  the  church  grove.  To  James  Riggens  Five  Shillings,  the  keeper  of 
the  Black  Bay  Alehouse  keeper.  To  Miss  Croger,  Milk  Street,  (Theapside,  Five 
Shillings.  To  Miss  Powers,  Five  Shillings,  distillers  in  Chadwell  Dock  Stairs. 
These  debts  that  f  owe  the  above  mentioned  people  if  they  be  dead  pay  their  heirs  or 
executors. 

Now  to  my  loving  children. 

First.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  son  William  Townshend,  one  negro  man 
Sandy  and  one  cow  and  calf,  to  him  and  his  heirs  forever. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  daughter  Annie  Wright  those  two  negroes  she 
has  with  her,  Sarah  and  Ary  and  two  barrels  of  corn  and  one  horse,  to  her  and  her 
heirs   forever. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  grandson,  Samuel  Burch,  one  negro  named 
Harrison,  to  him  and  his  heirs  forever. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  daughter  Eleanor  Townshend,  three  negroes 
named  as  follows:  Ary,  Margarette  and  Jeremy,  one  horse,  one  cow  and  calf,  one 
bed  .and  furniture  and  table,  half-doz.  chairs  with  all  the  increase  to  her  and  her 
heirs  forever. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  son  Samuel  Townshend,  one  gold  ring  to  him 
and  his  heirs   forever. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  son-in-law,  Benj.  Burch,  one  gold  ring  to  him 
and  his  heirs  forever. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  son  Leonard,  Townshend  one  gold  ring  to  him 
and   his   heirs    forever. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  son  John  Townshend,  all  the  land  whereon  I 
now  live,  being  part  of  Piscattaway  Forest  and  one  tract  of  land  called  Fault  Enlarge- 
ment enlarged  containing  six  hundred  acres  more  or  less  to  his  heirs  and  assigns  for- 
ever, fee  simple. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  son  John  Townshend  nine  negroes  by  names : 
Littie,  Ned,  Jerry,  Priss,  Henson,  Charles,  Anthony,  Kate,  Hannah,  to  him  and  his 
heirs  forever  with  their  future  increase. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  son  John  Townshend  all  my  household  furni- 
ture except  the  above  mentioned  legacies  and  likewise  kitchen  furniture. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  son  John  Townshend  all  the  stock  of  horses, 
cows  and  oxen  except  the  above  mentioned  legasses. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  son  John  Townshend,  all  my  crops  of  tobacco, 
corn  and  fodder,  carts  and  cider,  casks  and  all  the  plantation  utensils  and  all  my  pro- 
visions that   is  owned  by  me. 

Item.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  my  sons  William  and  John  Townshend,  two 
negroes  named  Sal  and  Sofy  to  be  equally  divided  between  them  as  they  can  agree. 

Now  concerning  my  daughter  Eleanor  Townshend's  property  that  I  have  willed 
her.  If  she  gets  married  her  husband  shall  not  sell  her  property  from  her  heirs,  if 
she  have  any.  If  he  doth  my  children  hereaftei  named  shall  take  them  from  him. 
If  she  never  marries  her  property  after  her  death  shall  be  divided  between  my  sons 
Leonard  and  John  and  William  as  follows.  Either  of  my  three  sons  that  shall  take 
and  maintain  her  shall  have  two-thirds  of  her  property  after  her  death  and  the  other 
third  to  be  equally  divided  between  the  other  two. 

I  appoint  to  my  son  John  Townshend  to  be  my  executor  to  see  this  my  last  will 
and  Testament  executed  revoking  all  others. 

Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  this  the  twentieth  day  of  January  Eighteen 
Hundred  and  Four. 

Samukl  Townshend. 

Sinned  and  sealed  and  registered  in  the  presence  of  William  leffries,  ,'Vquilla 
Wils.ni,  Lenny  Dawin. 

(IT)  Leonard,  son  of  Samuel  Townshend,  married  (first)  Ellen 
Young,  and  of  this  marriage  was  born  one  son.  Singleton,  of  whom  ■ 
further.  Leonard  Townshend  inarried  (second)  Eleanor  Cant,  born 
February  q,  1771,  and  of  this  marriage  were  born:  John  Leonard  and 
(leorge  Samuel.  The  brothers  and  sisters  of  Eleanor  Gant,  not  in  order 
of  birth:  James,  and  Priscilla.  twins,  born  February  14.  1754:  Priscilla, 
married  Jeremiah  Belt;  P.etsey  H.,  born  December  17,  1775:  George, 
born  October  I,  1757:  -'Xnn.  born  .\pril  13,  1750:  William  P..  born  Feb- 
ruary TO,  1761  ;  Charlotte,  born  March  8,  1762;  Joseph,  born  August  12, 


WEST  MRGIXIA  25;) 

1765;  Edward,  born  January  22,  1767;  Wholsworth  H.,  born  November 
27,  1768;  Eleanor,  of  previous  mention. 

(III)  Singleton,  son  of  Leonard  and  Ellen  (Young)  Townshend, 
was  born  October  7,  1760.  He  married,  October  15,  1812,  Catherine 
Belt.  Their  children  were:  i.  Unnamed  child,  born  and  died  July  24, 
1813.  2.  Jeremiah  L.,  born  July  7,  1814,  married  Tabitha  Hoye,  April 
25,  1843.  3-  Priscilla  E.,  born  December  22,  1816,  married  Thomas  R. 
King,  November  i,  1836.  4.  Ann  M.,  born  August  20,  1819,  married, 
November  i,  1836,  John  Armstrong.  5.  George  R.,  born  May  10,  1822; 
died  December  31,  1825.  6.  Singleton  L.,  of  whom  further.  7.  Adeline 
F.,  born  April  19,  1829;  died  July  20,  1830.  8.  Louisa  E.,  born  Febru- 
ary 16,  1831  ;  died  December  17,  1889.  9.  Mary,  born  March  13,  1834. 
Catherine  (Belt)  Townshend  was  the  daughter  of  Jeremiah  and  Pris- 
cilla (Gant)  Belt.  Jeremiah  Belt  married  (first),  in  1772,  Eliza  Skinner. 
Their  children  were:  Eleanor,  born  May  10.  1773,  married  Erasmus 
West;  Mary,  born  May  21,  1775,  married  Mr.  Johnson;  Eliza  (Skinner) 
Belt  died  in  1775,  and  Jeremiah  Belt  married  (second),  in  1775,  Susan 
Magruder,  who  died  in  1777.  Their  child  was:  Elizabeth,  born  in 
September,  1776.  Jeremiah  Belt  married  (third)  in  1777,  Priscilla 
Gant,  born  February  14,  1754,  who  died  in  1796.  Their  children  were:. 
Ann,  born  in  1778,  married  Mr.  Morrison;  Charlotte,  born  in  1780,  and 
married  Mr.  Jones;  Louisa,  born  1782,  married  Mr.  Praetor;  Fidelia, 
born  in  1786,  married  J\Ir.  Townshend;  Thomas  D.,  born  June  20,  1787; 
Priscilla  C.,  born  December  9,  1789,  married  Mr.  Jameson;  Tobias,  born 
in  1791  ;  Maria,  born  in  1793,  married  Mr.  Boone;  Catherine,  of  previ- 
ous mention,  who  married  Singleton  Townshend;  twins,  born  in  1795. 
Jeremiah  Belt  married  (fourth)  in  1796,  Anne  West,  who  lived  until 
1856.  Their  children  were:  Sarah,  born  in  1797,  married  Mr.  Boone: 
Harriet  W.,  born  September  3,  1799,  married  Mr.  Philpot.  Jeremiah 
Belt  died  December  31,    1819. 

(IV)  Singleton  L.,  son  of  Singleton  and  Catherine  (Belt)  Towns- 
hend, was  born  March  29,  1825.  He  married,  January  31,  1854,  Mary 
Elizabeth  Jones.  Their  children  were:  i.  Thomas,  born  June  14,  1855; 
died  March  19,  1857.  2.  Francis  Singleton,  born  November  28,  1856; 
died  in  1865,  being  run  over  by  a  car.  3.  William  Playford,  of  whom 
further.  4.  Arthur,  born  July  3,  i860,  married,  June  20,  1890,  Susan  O. 
Hamill;  children:  Jesse  Frederick,  born  March  8,  1892,  William  Dwight, 
born  August  15,  1893,  Helen  Elizabeth,  born  June  25,  1895,  Arthur, 
born  April  24,  1904.  5.  Catherine,  born  December  24,  1861,  died  at 
Parkersburg,  West  Virginia,  February  13,  1907;  married  in  December, 
1886,   Marshall  Wellington   Crane  and  had  child,   Marshall  Wellington, 

born  September  19,  1887.  6.  Leonard  Elsworth,  born  July  21,  1864; 
died  March  17,  1899,  from  heart  disease.  7.  Robert  Clay,  born  Decem- 
ber 2S,  1865.  8.  Mary  Odell,  born  April  23,  1868;  married.  September  14, 
i892,"Alonzo  D.  Naylor;  children:  Playford,  born  February  i,  1897, 
Singleton  Townshend,  born  February  16,  1900,  Rebecca  Davis,  born 
February  14,  1904.  Mary  Drake,  born  June  27.  1901,  and  Justus.  9. 
George  Smith,  born  February  24.  1870;  died  October  10.  1887.  10.  Ern- 
est, born  June  17.  1872.  married,  January  i,  1899,  Margaret  C.  Leary : 
children :  Margaret  Katherine,  born  April  2,  1902.  Elizabeth  Rebecca, 
born  Tune  8.  1904.  Eleanor  Ellsworth,  born  August  5.  1906,  Ernest  Mar- 
ion, born  August  12.  1908.  11.  Edith  Dorsey.  born  April  29,  1875.  mar- 
ried. Tune  29.  1904.  Charles  Dorsey  Smith;  children:  Elizabeth  Hamil- 
ton, born  T"ly  ^-  IQ06.  Edith  Dorsey.  born  December  2.  1908.  Ara 
Townshend.  born  February  13.  1909. 

Marv  Elizabeth  (Jones)  Townshend  was  the  daughter  of  Thomas 
Anderson  and  Catherine  (Smith)  Jones.     He  served  in  the  war  of  1812. 

17 


258  WEST  \-lRGINIA 

He  married,  October  29,  1818,  Catherine,  daughter  of  George  and  Mary 
(Frickj  Smith.  Mary  Frick  was  the  daughter  of  Peter  and  Barbara 
Frick,  who  were  natives  of  Germany.  Their  daughter  Mary  was  born 
in  Bahimore,  Maryland.  The  children  of  Thomas  Anderson  and  Cath- 
erine (Smith)  Jones  were:  George  Smith,  born  October,  1819,  died 
December,  1901 ;  Benjamin  Franklin,  born  September  11,  1821,  died 
October,  1895;  William  Playford,  born  December  12,  1822,  died  Janu- 
ary 27,  1892;  Thomas  Anderson,  born  June  6,  1824,  died  January  16, 
1894;  Mary  Salome  Eaton,  born  August  26,  1826;  Odel  Providence 
Eaton,  born  October,  1829;  Mary  Elizabeth,  born  November  8,  1831, 
died  October  3,  1908;  Louis  Edwin,  born  February,  1834;  John  Henry, 
born  April  9,  1836;  Charles  Adolphus,  born  June  19,  1838,  died  in  1845: 
Silas  Ogden,  born  June   11,   1841. 

(V)  William  Playford,  son  of  Singleton  L.,  and  Mary  Elizabeth 
(Jones)  Townshend,  was  born  at  Oakland,  Garret  county,  Maryland, 
April  22,  1858,  and  died  March  8,  1891,  in  the  place  of  his  birth.  He 
was  a  lawyer  by  profession  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  prose- 
cuting attorney  for  the  state  of  Maryland.  In  his  political  convictions  he 
was  a  Republican.  He  married  Martha  Jane,  daughter  of  Enos  D.  and 
Margaret  fRae)  Kepner,  who  was  born  at  Oakland,  Garret  county, 
Alaryland,  and  who  in  1906  married  (second)  John  S.  Alexander  of 
Morgantown,  West  Virginia,  and  lives  in  Morgantown,  West  Virginia. 
Their  children  were:     Earle  Veitch,  of  whom  further,  and  Margaret. 

(VD  Earle  Veitch,  son  of  William  Playford  and  Martha  Jane 
(Kepner)  Townshend,  was  born  at  Oakland,  Maryland,  September  8, 
1884.  He  received  his  early  education  in  Maryland,  first  attending  the 
public  school,  and  afterward  Tome's  Institute,  Port  Deposit,  Maryland, 
Later,  he  attended  Taylor  University,  and  after  this  the  University  of 
West  Virginia  at  Morgantown,  and  while  at  West  Virginia  University 
he  was  made  a  member  of  the  Kappa  Alpha  fraternity.  He  graduated 
from  the  law  department  of  this  institution  with  the  class  of  1905.  In 
the  same  vear  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  the  next  year  he  began  to 
practice  in  Huntington,  West  Virginia.  Huntington  has  continued  to  be 
his  place  of  residence  from  that  time,  where  he  has  been  engaged  in  the 
general  practice  of  the  law.  In  1909  he  became  a  partner  in  the  firm  of 
Townshend  &  Devol,  his  law  partner  being  Brenton  A.  Devol.  July  9. 
1912,  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  William  E.  Glasscock,  a  member 
of  the  state  board  of  directors  of  the  West  Virginia  Humane  Society. 
Mr.  Townshend  is  also  secretary  of  the  West  Virginia  Child  Labor  Com- 
mission. He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  is  in  his  political 
principles  a  Republican. 


This  ancient  and  honored  family  traces  its  lineage 
BR.'\NDEBURY     Irnck  to  the   eighteenth   century'  in   West   \'irginia 

and  \"irginia. 
(I)  Henry  Brandyberry,  (early  spelling)  was  born  in  Virginia  about 
the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century.  After  reaching  years  of  maturity  he 
was  captain  of  a  company  and  was  probably  connected  with  the  state  mi- 
litia. He  later  removed  to  Ohio,  settling  in  Gallia  county,  where  he  pur- 
chased land  from  the  government.  Clearing  it,  he  engaged  in  farming 
during  the  remainder  of  his  active  career.  He  was  a  noted  violinist  and 
musician,  and  was  the  owner  of  a  very  valuable  violin,  which  he  disposed 
of  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars :  this  instrument  was  afterward  sold 
for  five  hundred  dollars.  He  married  Mary  Blagg,  a  representative  of 
the  old  Blagg  familv  of  \Mrginia,  members  of  which  were  noted  as  steam- 
boat navigators  on  the  Ohio  river  in  the  pioneer  days.     Children  :  Wil- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  259 

liam,  of  whom  further :  Nancy :  Betsey  and  Catherine,  twins.     All  are 
deceased. 

(II)  William  Brandebury.  son  of  Henry  and  Mary  (Blagg)  Brandy- 
berry,  was  born  in  Gallia  county,  Ohio,  in  1825,  died  in  1907.  He  was  a 
carpenter  by  trade  and  was  likewise  engaged  in  farming  in  his  native 
place,  where  he  grew  to  manhood  and  passed  practically  his  entire  life. 
He  was  class  leader  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  Gallia  county, 
for  more  than  fifty  years.  He  married  Rose  Ann  Noel,  born  in  Gallia 
county,  Ohio,  in  1835,  daughter  of  Edmund  and  Mary  (Godfry)  Noel, 
her  father  having  been  born  in  Virginia,  whence  he  and  his  wife  jour- 
neyed to  Ohio  in  a  covered  wagon.  Mr.  Noel  purchased  a  tract  of 
eighty  acres  of  government  land  in  Gallia  county,  paying  a  dollar  and  a 
quarter  an  acre  for  the  same.  His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  John  and  Irene 
(Foley)  Godfry.  Mr.  Godfry  was  English  by  birth,  a  Tory  in  political 
conviction,  and  a  soldier  in  Lord  Cornwallis'  army  at  the  time  of  the  lat- 
ter's  surrender.  He  was  a  noted  sword  fencer  and  after  the  revolution- 
ary war  settled  in  Virginia,  whence  he  later  removed  with  Edward  and 
Mary  Noel  to  Ohio.  William  and  Rose  Ann  (Noel)  Brandebury  became 
the  parents  of  eleven  children,  nine  of  whom  were  living  in  1912:  i.  Syl- 
vester M.  2.  William  W.  3.  Henry  Andrew,  of  whom  further.  4.  Mar- 
tha Wymer,  who  died  in  1866.  5.  Charles  Eddy.  6.  George  Franklin. 
7.  Amantha.  8.  James  Robert.  9.  Rome,  who  died  aged  seventeen  years, 
about  1885.  10.  ]\Iinnie  Dell.  11.  Thomas.  Mrs.  Brandebury  died  in 
1896,  aged  sixty-one  years. 

(III)  Dr.  Henry  Andrew  Brandebury,  son  of  William  and  Rose 
Ann  (Noel)  Brandebury,  was  born  in  Gallia  county,  Ohio,  September 
18,  1856.  He  received  his  early  educational  training  in  the  district  schools 
of  his  native  county,  and  this  discipline  was  later  supplemented  with  a 
classical  course  in  Rio  Grande  College,  at  Rio  Grande,  Ohio.  For  five 
years  after  leaving  college  he  was  principal  of  the  Gallipolis  high  school, 
and  in  1889  he  was  matriculated  as  a  student  in  the  The  Medical  College 
of  Ohio  at  Cincinnati,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1891.  Immedi- 
ately after  completing  his  medical  course  Dr.  Brandebur)'  came  to  Hunt- 
ington, West  \'irginia,  where  he  initiated  the  active  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion and  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  has  had  three  post-graduate 
courses  in  Medicine  in  New  York  and  Chicago.  Dr.  Brandebury  is  af- 
filiated with  the  Cabell  County  Medical  Society,  the  West  Virginia  State 
Medical  Society  and  the  American  Medical  Association,  and  his  alma 
mater  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  in  1900.  In 
politics  he  is  an  uncompromising  supporter  of  the  principles  and  policies 
for  which  the  Progressive  party  stands  sponsor,  and  is  at  present  (1912) 
the  first  chairman  of  a  Cabell  county  executive  committee  of  the  Pro- 
gressive party.  He  was  the  incumbent  of  the  office  of  mayor  of  Hunting- 
ton for  two  terms,  from  1899  to  1901.  He  has  also  been  a  member  of  the 
city  council  for  several  terms  and  at  the  present  time  (1912)  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  citizens'  board  of  Huntington. 

Dr.  Brandebury  married  in  1887  Ida  Belle  Haning,  born  at  Albany, 
Athens  county,  Ohio,  .\pril  8.  i860,  and  died  February  10.  1904.  ^Irs. 
Brandebury  was  graduated  from  Rio  Grande  College,  Ohio,  in  1883,  and 
from  Hillsdale  College,  ^Michigan,  in  1885.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Ira 
Z.  and  Irene  (Wood)  Haning,  her  father  being  a  free-will  Baptist  min- 
ister of  note  in  southern  Ohio  for  many  years.  They  are  the  parents  of 
two  daughters :  Helen  Gertrude,  studying  at  the  University  of  Michigan, 
horn  which  she  will  graduate  (classical  course)  with  the  class  of  1914: 
Henrietta,  a  graduate  of  the  Huntington,  West  Virginia,  high  school, 
with  the  class  of  191 3,  and  will  graduate  from  Marshall  College,  with  that 
of   1914. 


26o  WEST  VIRGINIA 

The  first  of  the  Parsons  family  of  whom  the  name  is 
PARSONS  known  was  Jonathan  Parsons,  but  of  him  nothing  is 
known  beyond  the  fact  that  he  hved  in  New  Hampshire, 
and  had  a  son  Samuel,  mentioned  below. 

(IIj  Samuel,  son  of  Jonathan  Parsons,  is  the  first  of  whom  there 
is  definite  information  in  the  records  of  the  family.  He  was  a  native 
of  New  Hampshire,  and  at  an  early  age  crossed  the  Green  Mountains 
into  Vermont,  making  the  journey  by  means  of  the  primitive  ox  team  of 
that  time.  He  first  settled  at  ]\Ioquam  where  he  purchased  a  tract  of 
wild  land,  and  improved  and  cultivated  this  for  several  years.  He 
then  moved  to  St.  Albans,  X'ermont.  going  from  thence  to  Burlington 
in  the  same  state.  Here  he  engaged  in  what  were  in  those  days  build- 
ing operations  on  a  large  scale.  He  was  a  captain  in  the  train  band  and 
during  the  war  of  1812  fought  in  the  battle  of  Plattsburg.  He  was  a 
Whig  in  his  political  beliefs,  and  later  joined  the  ranks  of  the  Repub- 
lican party.  His  religious  preferences  were  for  the  tenets  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church.  He  married  a  Miss  Sanborn,  also  a  native  of 
New  Hampshire,  and  of  this  marriage  the  following  children  were  born : 
Jethro,  of  whom  further;  Josiah ;  Chester;  Chandler;  Paulina;  Ara- 
minta ;  Mahala,  and  several  who  died  in  childhood.  Samuel  Parsons 
died  about   1872,  aged  eighty-six  years. 

(IIIj  Jethro,  son  of  Samuel  Parsons,  was  born  in  St.  Albans,  Ver- 
mont, and  died  in  1896,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six  years.  He  was  brought 
up  on  his  father's  farm,  and  upon  reaching  man's  estate  purchased  a 
farm  and  cultivated  it  for  many  years.  He  was  a  man  of  good  business 
ability  and  succeeded  so  well  in  his  chosen  occupation  that  at  the  time 
of  his  death  he  was  accounted  a  rich  man.  He  was  a  Republican  in  his 
political  beliefs,  but  took  only  a  good  citizen's  part  in  political  matters. 
He  married  Comfort  Weeks,  a  native  of  Sheffield,  Vermont,  and  they 
had  the  following  children:  i.  Henry  Chester,  who  was  captain  of 
Company  L,  First  Vermont  Cavalry,  during  the  civil  war  and  was 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  2.  John  Haines,  who  enlisted  when 
President  Lincoln  issued  his  call  for  three  months'  men,  and  after  that 
term  expired  re-enlisted  in  Company  L.  First  Vermont  Cavalry,  and  was 
commissioned  quartermaster's  sergeant.  He  died  of  wounds  received 
in  battle,  in  Washington,  D.  C.  3.  Catherine,  died  unmarried.  4.  War- 
ren Jethro,  of  whom  further. 

(IV)  Warren  Jethro.  son  of  Jethro  and  Comfort  (Weeks)  Parsons, 
wa.r  born  in  St.  Albans,  A^ermont,  April  i,  1846.  His  first  schools  were 
the  -"ublic  ones  of  his  native  town,  leaving  which  he  engaged  in  farming 
and  f-ollowed  this  occupation  until  he  was  twenty-five  years  of  age.  In 
1870  he  moved  to  Virginia,  settling  on  a  farm  near  Barboursville,  and 
cultivating  this  for  a  year.  In  1872  he  moved  to  Huntington,  West  A'ir- 
ginia,  and  engaged  in  the  business  of  real  estate,  moving  buildings,  mill- 
ing, etc.  He  later  purchased  much  real  estate  and  is  today  the  owner 
of  a  large  amount  of  that  kind  of  property.  His  whole  time  is  devoted 
to  the  management  of  these  properties.  He  is  stockholder  in  the  Union 
Savings  Rank  and  in  the  Central  Banking  Company.  He  is  a  Republi- 
can in  politics,  and  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  First  Congre- 
gational Church,  Mr.  Parsons  being  trustee  of  the  congregation.  He 
married,  October  12,  i86q.  Etta  E.,  daughter  of  Weeks  Graves,  who 
is  a  native  of  Vermont.  Two  children  were  born  to  them :  John  Weeks, 
of  whom  further ;  Roy,  who  died  in  infancy. 

(V)  Dr.  John  Weeks  Parsons,  son  of  Warren  Jethro  and  Etta  E. 
(Graves)  Parsons,  was  born  at  Huntington,  West  Virginia,  August  5, 
1873.  He  prepared  at  the  local  public  schools  for  Marshall  College,  after 
which  he  took  a  course  at  Oberlin  College,  Oberlin,  Ohio.  This  was  fol- 


WEST  MRGINIA  261 

lowed  by  study  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  from  which  he  received 
in  1896  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science,  and  two  years  later  that  of 
Doctor  of  Dental  Surgery.  For  six  years  after  his  leaving  the  university 
he  practised  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  but  in  1905  he  returned  to  Huntington 
and  has  since  practised  there,  occupying  offices  at  Ninth  street  and  Third 
avenue.  He  ranks  high  in  his  profession  and  has  a  large  and  exclusive 
practice  among  the  people  of  Huntington.  Dr.  Parsons  is  also  vice- 
president  of  the  Central  Banking  Company,  at  West  Huntington,  and  is 
a  stockholder  in  the  Mutual  Land  Company.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  C)rder  of  Elks.  In  his  political  views  he  is  a 
Republican,  and  in  his  religious  faith  a  Congregationalist.  Dr.  Parsons 
is  president  of  the  Huntington  Dental  Association,  and  he  is  a  member 
of  the  Pan-Hellenic  Society. 

He  married  at  Elgin,  Illinois,  September  28,  1898.  Catherine,  born 
in  Elgin.  Illinois,  in  1873,  daughter  of  Louis  H.  and  Carrie  J.  Yar- 
wood,  the  former  who  died  about  1910,  was  an  early  settler  in  Elgin, 
and  was  an  artist  of  exceptional  ability.  Her  mother  is  still  living  in  El- 
gin (1913)  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight.  The  children  of  Dr.  John  W'eeks 
and  Catherine  (Yarwood)  Parsons  are:  Janet  Etta,  \\'arren  Jethro, 
and  John  Yarwood. 


This  family  is  of  Scotch  origin.  The  name  Dougal  was 
AIcDOL'GAL     originally  Dhu   Gal,  meaning  black   stranger.     In   the 

early  history  of  Scotland,  the  clan  McDougal  owned 
and  ruled  all  the  islands  near  the  western  coast  of  the  Highlands.  They 
are  said  to  have  been  a  fierce,  stubborn,  but  courageous  and  warlike  race, 
and  are  found  in  the  thirteenth  century  in  opposition  to  the  Crown.  1306 
led  by  McDougal  of  Lorn,  they  fought  against  Robert  Bruce  in  the  battle 
of  Methven,  and  were  entirely  victorious.  At  this  time  Bruce  lost  to  the 
McDougals  the  '"Brooch  of  Lorn,"  which  was  afterward  stolen  from  the 
headquarters  of  the  clan,  but  has  in  recent  time  been  restored.  For  a 
few  months  after  this  defeat  of  Bruce,  the  clan  McDougal  ruled  Scot- 
land ;  but  Bruce,  having  gathered  together,  reorganized,  and  encouraged 
his  defeated,  but  not  conquered  troops,  crushed  and  overthrew  the  clan 
in  battle  in  Arg}'leshire.  Their  numbers  were  greatly  depleted  in  the  en- 
gagement ;  the  victor  stripped  them  of  their  possessions  of  land  except  the 
district  of  Lorn ;  and  the  clan  has  never  recovered  its  pristine  strength. 
The  Ritchie  county.  West  A'irginia,  family  of  the  name  McDougal  is  de- 
scended from  the  Scottish  clan  McDougal. 

(I)  William  McDougal,  the  founder  in  America  of  the  present  fam- 
ily, came  from  the  district  of  Lorn,  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  in 
1762,  and  settled  in  Mrginia.  He  was  a  Presbyterian  minister,  and  was 
soon  made  the  minister  of  a  small  band  of  Scotch  Presbyterians,  at  the 
place  where  Alorgantow-n  has  been  built,  in  Monongalia  county,  \'irginia. 
In  1781  he  returned  temporarily  to  the  Highlands,  leaving  his  three  chil- 
dren in  the  care  of  some  of  his  flock  in  Mrginia.  When  he  returned  to 
America  he  settled  in  Kentucky,  and  he  bore  a  prominent  part  in  the 
foundation  of  a  Presbyterian  school  at  Danville,  Kentucky,  which  is  now 
Center  College.  In  1804  he  went  on  horseback  from  Danville  to  Alarion 
county,  \^irginia,  to  see  for  the  first  time  since  he  had  left  them  twenty 
years  before  in  their  childhood  his  children  by  his  first  marriage,  desiring 
to  induce  them  to  come  and  live  near  him  in  Kentucky :  he  offered  them 
large  possessions,  but  could  not  persuade  them  to  leave  their  homes  and 
return  with  him.  On  the  contrary  his  son,  probably  displeased  by  his 
father's  long  separation,  positivelv  refused  to  return  with  him  under  any 
consideration,  and  they  separated  finally,  rcmaininp;  fjuite  apart,  in  mu- 


262  WEST  VIRGINIA 

tual  unbroken  silence,  thenceforth.  William  McDougal  married  (first)  in 
America,  in  1774,  Brand,  who  died  about  1780;  (second)  in  Scot- 
land,   .  Children  by  first  wife :  John,  of  whom  further ;  Sarah,  mar- 
ried    Deviess ;  Margaret,  married  Samuel  Dudley. 

(II)  Rev.  John  McDougal,  son  of  William  and  (Brand)  Mc- 
Dougal, died  at  Dunkard  Mill  run,  Marion  county,  Virginia,  in  186 1. 
Here  he  had  lived  the  greater  part  of  his  life,  having  moved  to  this 
place  before  his  father  came  to  see  him,  as  recounted  above.  He  was  an 
ordained  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  was  also  a 
stock  raiser  and  the  owner  of  much  land.  He  married,  in  1798,  Mar- 
garet Hilary,  who  died  at  Dunkard  Mill  run,  in  1861.  Thus  this  couple 
had  more  than  sixty  years  of  married  life,  and  died  in  the  same  year. 
Children  :  William,  deceased  ;  Elizabeth,  deceased,  married  John  Amos ; 
Mary,  deceased,  married  William  Toothman ;  Jonathan,  died  in  infancy; 
Sarah,  died  young;  Osbourne,  of  whom  further;  John  Fletcher;  Nancy, 
deceased,  married  Charles  Sturm  ;  Enos  Hilery,  born  June  4,  1824,  died 
March  29,  1875,  married,  August  17,  1848,  Miranda  Price. 

(HI)  Osbourne,  son  of  Rev.  John  and  Margaret  (Hilery)  McDou- 
gal, came  to  Ritchie  county,  Virginia,  in  1845,  and  settled  on  a  farm  at 
the  mouth  of  Beeson,  a  stream  in  the  county,  and  there  lived  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life.  He  married  Sarah  Brumage,  who  survived  him. 
Children:  Thomas;  Elias  Cole,  of  whom  further;  Charles;  Simon;  Jo- 
seph, deceased;  Enos,  died  in  the  civil  war,  a  Union  soldier;  Sarah,  died 
young;  Alcinda,  deceased,  married  Wigner. 

(IV)  Elias  Cole,  son  of  Osbourne  and  Sarah  (Brumage)  ]\IcDou- 
gal,  was  born  in  Marion  county,  Virginia,  1829,  died  in  West  Virginia, 
1877.  At  about  the  age  of  sixteen  he  came  with  his  father  into  Ritchie 
county,  where  he  thereafter  lived.  His  home  was  near  Pennsboro,  and 
he  was  one  of  the  representative  men  of  his  community.  Throughout 
his  life  he  was  engaged  in  farming.  He  married  Berchena,  daughter 
of  William  and  Eliza  (Marshall)  Lawson.  She  was  a  native  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  came  across  the  mountains  with  her  mother  at  the  age  of 
twelve ;  she  is  now  living  at  Pennsboro.  Children :  Enos  E. ;  Marcus 
M. ;  John  O.,  of  whom  further;  William  Lee;  Ellen  H.,  married  Harry 
Cannon ;  Charles  W. 

(V)  John  O.,  son  of  Elias  Cole  and  Berchena  (Lawson)- ^McDougal, 
was  born  in  Ritchie  county,  Virginia,  June  27,  1862,  He  received  a  com- 
mon school  education,  and  was  engaged  in  farming  until  1884.  After 
serving  one  term  as  deputy  sheriflf,  he  returned  to  his  farm.  He  was  a 
breeder  of  Polled  Angus  cattle,  and  made  a  specialty  of  fruit  raising 
also.  January  i,  1912,  he  was  appointed  cashier  of  the  First  National 
Bank  at  Pennsboro,  and  he  still  holds  this  position.  The  business  of 
the  bank  has  increased  in  this  short  period  by  more  than  fifty  thousand 
dollars.  In  President  Cleveland's  first  administration,  Mr.  McDougal 
was  postmaster  of  Pennsboro.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Woodmen  of  the 
World  and  of  the  Maccabees.  He  married,  June  27,  1883,  Ingaba,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Marshall  and  Rebecca  (Clayton)  Wilson  (see  Wilson  III). 
Children  of  John  Marshall  and  Rebecca  (Clayton)  Wilson :  Sherman, 
deceased;  Quincy  A.,  deceased;  Josephine,  deceased,  married  Howard 
Broadwater;  Lehman;  William;  .A.lpheus:  Benjamin  F. ;  Lincoln;  John; 
Hooper:  Creed;  Ingaba.  married  John  O.  ]\TcDougal.  Children  of  John 
O.  and  Ingaba  (Wilson)  McDougal:  Ora.  born  May  18.  1884:  Ola, 
Februars'  13,  1886:  Bettie,  December  31.  t8ot.  died  April  6,  tqo6:  John. 
July  6,  1900. 


>- — 


WEST  VIRGINIA  263 

.  L.   Christopher  Massey  represents  in  the  ]>resent  genera- 
MASSEY     tion  one  of  the  old  and  honored  families  of  Virginia,  dat- 
ing hack  more  than  a  century,  during  which  time  the  va- 
rious members  have  been  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties,  in  the 
professions,  the  trades,  in  church  relations  and  in  politics. 

(I)  William  Massey,  known  as  "Uncle  Billie"  Massey,  the  first  of  the 
name  of  whom  we  have  definite  information,  was  a  native  of  A'irginia, 
and  died  in  1885  in  Raleigh  county,  West  Virginia,  whither  he  had  re- 
moved during  the  civil  war.  He  gained  a  comfortable  livelihood  by  the 
tilling  of  the  soil,  and  was  active  and  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  com- 
munity.    He  married  JMattie  .     Children:  Steel,  of  whom  further; 

Jackson  ;  Henry  ;  Floyd  ;  William  ;  Clark  :  Ruhama,  deceased,  was  the 
widow  of  John  Bradford ;  Martha,  widow  of  Elam  Scarborough  ;  Mrs. 
Larkin  E.  Allen,  who  resided  in  Raleigh  county,  West  Virginia. 

(II)  Steel,  son  of  William  Massey,  was  born  in  Raleigh  county.  West 
Virginia,  died  in  the  prime  of  life.  He  was  brought  up  on  his  father's 
farm,  and  being  inured  to  that  labor  followed  it  throughout  the  active 
years  of  his  life.  He  was  respected  by  his  neighbors  and  acquaintances, 
and  his  untimely  death  was  deeply  deplored.  He  married  Caroline  Cant- 
ley,  also  a  native  of  Raleigh  county,  who  married  (second)  James  F. 
Jones,  and  they  are  residing  at  }ilasseysville,  \^'est  Virginia ;  they  had  two 
t-hildren :  Virginia,  deceased,  who  was  the  wife  of  W.  H.  Clay,  and  Eliza 
J.,  wife  of  Squire  J.  L.  Clay,  of  Raleigh  county.  Children  of  Mr.  and 
?ylrs.  Massey:  George  W.,  of  whom  further;  Henry,  a  farmer  in  Raleigh 
county ;  Mary,  deceased. 

(III)  George  W.,  son  of  Steel  and  Caroline  (Cantley)  Massey,  was 
born  in  Raleigh  county.  West  A^irginia,  in  185 1,  died  in  November,  1895, 
also  in  the  prime  of  life.  He  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  his  ancestors, 
making  agriculture  his  life  work,  and  was  the  owner  of  an  excellent 
property  which  is  still  in  the  possession  of  his  family.  He  took  an  active 
interest  in  politics,  believing  that  interest  the  duty  of  every  good  citizen, 
and  was  an  active  factor  in  every  movement  for  the  betterment  and  im- 
provement of  the  community  in  which  he  resided.  He  married,  in  Ra- 
leigh county,  West  Virginia,  Lydia  Rosabelle  Acord,  born  near  Charles- 
ton, West  A'irginia,  daughter  of  William  C.  Acord,  Esq.,  of  Raleigh 
county.  Children:  i.  Romanza.  married  Lewis  H.  Pettry ;  children:  One 
son  and  four  daughters.  2.  L.  Christopher,  of  whom  further.  3.  Robert 
L.,  a  farmer  near  Charleston;  married  (first)  Lucy  Snodgrass,  (second) 
Twila  Pringle ;  has  three  children.  4.  Mary  J.,  twin  with  Robert  L.,  wife 
of  Robert  L.  Hopkins,  of  iMercer  county.  West  Virginia ;  two  sons  and 
three  daughters.  5.  Lura  B.,  wife  of  R.  L.  Williams,  of  Masseysville.  6. 
Arizona,  wife  of  C.  W,  Tabor,  postmaster  at  Saxton,  West  Virginia.  7. 
Calvin  W.,  now  (1912)  of  Houston,  Texas;  married  Josephine  Brad- 
ford ;  one  son  and  tw'O  daughters.  8.  Virginia  A.,  a  teacher  in  the  public 
schools.  9.  Ettie,  died  in  childhood.  'Sirs.  Massey  married  (second) 
William  G.  Daniels  (deceased)  of  an  old  pioneer  family  of  Raleigh  coun- 
ty. West  \'irginia. 

(IV)  L.  Christopher,  son  of  George  W.  and  Lydia  Rosabelle 
(Acord)  Massey,  was  born  in  Raleigh  county.  West  Virginia,  April  26, 
1878.  The  public  schools  of  the  neighborhood  and  the  Concord  Nor- 
mal School  afforded  him  the  opportunity  of  acquiring  a  practical  edu- 
cation, and  for  thirteen  years  after  completing  his  studies  he  devoted  his 
attention  to  teaching.  He  then  became  manager  for  the  Black  Band 
Coal  &  Coke  Company,  and  in  1903,  while  serving  in  that  capacity  was 
appointed  a  justice  of  the  peace  to  fill  out  an  unexpired  term.  In  1905 
he  was  nominated  by  the  Republican  party  and  elected  to  the  state  leg- 
islature, serving  for  two  years,  and  was  then  appointed  a  member  of  the 


264  WEST  VIRGINIA 

board  of  education,  having  always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  pubhc 
school  system.  In  1907  he  served  as  chairman  of  the  senatorial  com- 
mittee for  the  eighth  senatorial  district  and  is  now  chairman  of  the  third 
congressional  district  committee,  consisting  of  ten  counties.  In  1908  he 
was  elected  county  clerk,  to  serve  for  six  years,  his  incumbency  of  office 
being  noted  for  the  utmost  efficiency  and  capability.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  church,  as  is  also  his  wife,  and  he  is  active  in  the  work 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  He  is  a  member  of  Kanawha 
Lodge,  No.  20,  Free  and  Accepted  Alasons;  also  Chapter,  Commandery 
and  Shrine ;  of  Spring  Hill  Lodge,  No.  140,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  of  Spring  Hill;  of  Tiskelwah  Chapter,  Order  of  the  Eastern 
Star,  of  which  he  is  worthy  patron  ;  and  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks,  of  Charleston. 

Mr.  Massey  married,  ]\Iarch  i,  1904,  in  Kanawha  county,  West  \'ir- 
ginia,  Mary  J.,  born  and  reared  near  Charleston,  daughter  of  Captain  J- 
W.  and  Josephine  (Walker)  ;\Iatthews,  (the  former  of  whom  was  a  Con- 
federate" army  officer  during  the  civil  war),  and  granddaughter  of  Guy  P. 
Matthews,  who  served  as  a  soldier  in  the  Confederate  army.  Children: 
Guy  Matthews,  born  February  13,  1906:  Eustace  Lee.  born  January   15. 


Hon.  James  F.  Brown,  actively  and  prominently  identi- 
BRO\\'N  fied  with  the  professional  and  business  life  of  Kanawha 
county,  West  Virginia,  is  a  worthy  representative  of  an 
old  family,  ancient  and  honorable  in  the  history  of  Old  A'irginia. 

William  Brown,  the  emigrant  ancestor,  came  to  the  new  world  from 
England  about  1636,  and  settled  in  Prince  William  county,  Virginia, 
where,  and  in  adjoining  counties,  his  descendants  resided  for  several 
generations. 

Dr.  Benjamin  Brown,  one  of  his  descendants,  removed  from  there  to 
the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  where  Huntington  now  stands,  then  part  of  Kan- 
awha county,  later  Cabell  county,  in  1805,  and  his  son,  James  H.  Brown, 
was  born  in  Cabell  county.  West  \'irginia,  December  25,  1818,  died  at 
Charleston,  West  \'irginia',  October  28,  1900.  He  graduated  from  Au- 
gusta College,  Kentucky,  in  1842,  and  later  in  the  same  year  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar.  In  1848  he  moved  to  Kanawha  county,  then  A^irginia. 
and  ever  after  made  Charleston  his  home.  He  was  an  old  time  Demo- 
crat :  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  campaign  of  1844,  advocating  the  an- 
nexation of  Texas,  the  then  paramount  issue:  in  1854-55  was  a  delegate 
to  the  state  convention  nominating  Henry  A.  \\'ise  for  governor :  in  1855 
was  candidate  for  state  senator:  in  1861  member  of  the  legislature  and 
upheld  the  L^nion,  and  also  of  the  convention  which  formed  the  new 
state  and  framed  its  first  constitution  and  was  prominent  and  forceful 
in  its  deliberations  and  actions;  in  1861-62  was  elected  and  commissioned 
judge  of  the  eighteenth  judicial  circut  of  A^rginia,  from  which  he  re- 
signed :  during  his  service  as  circuit  judge  no  appeal  was  ever  taken  from 
his  decisions:  in  1863  he  was  elected  to  the  supreme  court  of  appeals, 
served  eight  years  ;~  in  1875  was  caucus  nominee  of  his  party  for  Ignited 
States  senate^  and  in  1883'  and  1886  its  nominee  for  congress,  also  was 
elected  to  the  legislature  in  1882,  and  was  an  acknowledged  leader  of  the 
house.  He  married  (first)  Louisa  M.  Beuhring.  who  died  in  1872,  daugh- 
ter of  the  late  Hon.  Frederick  G.  L.  Beuhring,  of  Cabell  county:  mar- 
ried (second)  Sallie  S..  daughter  of  the  late  W.  D.  Shrewsbury,  Esq.. 
who  died  in  January,  191 1. 

James  F.  Brown  was  born  Mnrch  7.  1852.  He  obtained  his  early  edu- 
cation  in   the  local   schools,   and   later   entered   the   West  A'irginia   I'ni- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  265 

versity,  graduating  in  1873.  Two  years  later  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
and  ever  since  has  been  in  active  practice,  his  professional  work  extend- 
ing not  only  widely  over  his  own  state  but  into  other  states  and  to  the 
supreme  court  of  the  United  States.  As  a  lawyer  he  has  gained  a  high 
reputation,  the  firm  of  which  he  is  a  member,  Brown,  Jackson  &  Knight, 
being  one  of  the  strongest  legal  combinations  in  the  state.  During  his 
long  term  of  service  in  the  city  council  the  village  of  Charleston  was 
changed  to  a  city,  and  many  forward  movements  were  inaugurated, 
among  them  the  paving  system,  the  sewerage  of  the  town,  the  construc- 
tion of  a  City  Hall,  institution  of  water  works,  introduction  of  street 
cars,  erection  of  the  Keystone  Bridge  across  the  Elk  river,  and  the 
Charleston  and  South  Side  Bridge,  over  the  Kanawha,  in  all  of  which  he 
was  a  prominent  factor.  His  only  personal  campaign  was  in  1882,  when 
during  his  absence  he  was  nominated  by  his  party  (the  Democrats)  as 
one  of  three  members  to  be  elected  to  the  legislature.  For  the  same  po- 
sition his  father  was  nominated  by  the  opposing  party.  After  an  earn- 
est but  dignified  campaign  the  result  showed  both  elected,  and  both  served 
in  the  same  public  body.  In  1890  he  was  appointed  to  the  board  of  re- 
gents of  the  State  University,  and  continued  in  that  position  under  four 
successive  governors,  notwithstanding  the  change  meanwhile  in.  the  po- 
litical control,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  University  expanded, 
new  buildings  commenced,  fuller  equipment  provided,  and  the  attend- 
ance of  less  than  two  hundred  at  the  time  of  his  appointment  advanced 
to  more  than  twelve  hundred  at  the  end  of  his  service.  Likewise  he 
noted  the  growth  in  the  population  of  Kanawha  county  from  fifteen 
thousand  to  more  than  eighty-one  thousand,  and  Charleston  advance 
from  a  rural  village  of  one  thousand  and  fifty  to  be  the  capital  city  of  a 
new  state.  Mr.  Brown  is  the  vice-president  of  the  Kanawha  Valley 
Bank,  one  of  the  leading  financial  institutions  of  the  state,  also  of  the 
Southern  States  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company,  and  is  an  active  fac- 
tor in  many  other  of  the  live  enterprises  of  that  section. 

Mr.  Brown  married,  September  13,  1877,  at  Marietta,  Ohio.  Jennie 
M.,  born  in  Marietta.  Ohio.  ^lay  5.  1854,  daughter  of  the  late  John  M. 
Woodbridge,  for  many  years  a  leading  merchant  of  Marietta,  and  his  wife 
Abigail  Elizabeth  (Darling)  \\^oodbridge.  also  deceased.  Children:  Louise 
Beuhring,  born  June  30,  1878.  wife  of  Oscar  P.  Fitzgerald;  Jean  Mor- 
gan, born  October  q,  1880:  Elizabeth  Woodbridge,  born  October  g,  1882, 
wife  of  Angus  W.  McDonald;  Ceres,  born  December  31.  1884:  Ruth 
Dannenberg,  born  July  25,  1889;  Benjamin  Beuhring,  born  March  14, 
iSg"^.  now  attending:  Princeton  University. 


The  late  Charles  Thistle,   for  a  number  of  years  identi- 
THISTLE     fied  with  the   mercantile   interests  of   Sistersville,   and   a 

life-long  and  mo?t  highly  respected  citizen  of  that  place, 
was  a  son  of  Sampson  Thistle,  of  honored  memory,  and  Dorinda  This- 
tle, his  wife. 

Charles  Thistle  wa^  born  .\pril  29,  1861.  in  Sistersville,  received  his 
education  in  the  schools  of  his  native  place,  and  at  the  Commercial  School, 
Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania.  The  years  of  his  early  manhood  were  devoted 
to  mercantile  business,  from  which  eventually  he  withdrew,  bestowing 
thereafter  his  whole  attention  on  his  individual  property  interests.  He 
was  recognized  as  a  man  of  superior  business  ability  and  a  public-spirited 
citizen,  ever  moved  by  a  generous  interest  in  the  welfare  and  advance- 
ment of  his  native  city,  and  lending  his  hearty  co-operation  to  any  pro- 
ject which  in  his  judgment  would  further  her  truest  progress.  In  poli- 
tics he  was  a  Democrat,  but  neither  sought  nor  desired  office,  his  unas- 


266  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Sliming  disposition  inclining  him  to  prefer  the  quiet  life  of  a  private  citi- 
zen. Kindly  and  genial  in  his  nature,  he  was  a  man  of  many  friends.  His 
fraternal  affiliations  were  with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks.  He  attended  the  Presbyterian  church  and  no  good  work  done  in 
the  name  of  charity  or  religion  appealed  to  him  m  vain.  ;\Ir.  Thistle  died 
June  26,  1903,  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  forty-two,  leaving  a 
memory  which  is  still  cherished  in  the  hearts  of  his  many  friends. 
Throughout  his  entire  life  he  was  identified  with  his  native  place,  and 
the  Thistle  Building,  which  his  widow  has  caused  to  be  erected  as  a  fitting 
and  enduring  memorial  of  his  honorable  career,  will  perpetuate  his  name 
in  the  years  to  come.  This  structure,  which  is  one  of  the  finest  in  Sis- 
tersville,  is  now  occupied  by  the  Tyler  County  Bank  and  constitutes  a 
most  appropriate  monument  to  a  man  of  Air.  Thistle's  many  sterling  qual- 
ities and  true  dignity  of  character. 

Mr.  Thistle  married,  December  25.  18S8.  Louisa  A.,  born  January  12. 
1865,  in  Sistersville,  daughter  of  George  and  Julia  (  Schaal)  Graham.  Mr. 
Graham  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  but  came  as  a  young  man  to  the  United 
States  and  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Sistersville,  where  he  followed 
the  cooper's  trade  to  the  close  of  his  life,  his  death  occurring  March  4, 
1895.  Mrs.  Graham  was  of  German  ancestry.  Air.  and  Mrs.  Thistle 
were  the  parents  of  the  following  children:  Sampson,  born  April  14, 
1890,  now  studying  electrical  engineering  at  the  Ohio  State  University, 
Columbus,  Ohio;  Margaret,  born  July  28,  1894.  now  a  student  at  Whea- 
ton  Seminary.  Norton,  Massachusetts;  and  \'irginia  Maud,  born  Decem- 
ber 14,  1896,  attending  the  Sistersville  High  School. 


\>ry  little  is  certain  about  this  name,  except  its  Teu- 
HARD\MCK     tonic  origin.     There  are  many  parishes  of  this  name  in 

England,  but  derivation  of  the  family  name  therefrom 
is  not  certain,  as  a  similar  name  is  found  in  ("lerman,  and  the  meaning  may 
be  something  like  "warlike." 

(I)  Richard  Hardwick,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom 
we  have  definite  information,  was  born  in  Kentucky,  and  lived  to  be 
eighty  years  old.  His  farm  was  in  Lawrence  county,  Kentucky.  He  had 
four  sons  fighting  for  the  L'nion.  in  the  civil  war,  among  whom  was  John, 
of  whom  further. 

(II)  John,  son  of  Richard  Hardwick.  was  born  in  Lawrence  county, 
Kentucky,  in  1837.  He  was  a  I'nion  Mildier.  and  served  throughout  the 
civil  war,  in  the  Fourteenth  Kentuckv  Infantry;  that  he  was  in  the  very 
thick  of  the  fighting  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  he  was  twice  wounded. 
He  is  now  living  on  the  old  farm  in  Wayne  county.  West  Virginia,  the 
Hardwick  homestead.  He  married  Isabelle,  daughter  of  Lazarus  Vinson, 
who  was  born  in  Lawrence  county.  Kentucky,  in  1852,  and  died  Septem- 
ber II,  1883.  Her  father,  also  born  in  Kentucky,  was  a  lumberman,  and 
died  in  1897,  aged  seventy  years.  Children;  Lazarus,  deceased;  Richard, 
of  whom  further  ;  Daniel  B. :  George,  deceased  ;  William  ;  John  ;  Mav. 

(III)  Dr.  Richard  Hardwick,  son  of  John  and  Isabelle  (Mnson) 
Hardwick,  was  born  on  his  father's  farm  in  Wayne  county.  West  \"n- 
ginia,  May  7,  1870.  He  was  educated  at  Louisa,  Lawrence  county,  Ken- 
tucky, and  at  Barboursville,  Cabell  cnunty,  West  Mrginia,  at- 
tending, at  the  latter  place,  the  institution  now  known  as  Morris  Harvey 
College.  From  this,  he  entered  the  Eclectic  Medical  Institute,  in  Cincin- 
nati, from  which  he  graduated  in  1898.  For  seven  years  he  practiced  at 
Davis,  Tucker  county.  West  \'irginia,  after  which  he  took  a  graduate 
course  at  the  New  York  Polyclinic  Aledical  School.  Two  years  later,  he 
went  to  Cincinnati  again,  and  in  1907  he  graduated  from  the  University 


WEST  VIRGINIA  267 

of  Cincinnati.  The  following  year  he  came  to  Huntington,  Cabell  county, 
West  Virginia,  and  from  this  time  he  has  had  the  same  office,  at  Four- 
teenth street,  corner  of  Washington  avenue.  West  Huntington.  Dr.  Hard- 
wick  is  a  Mason,  and  has  taken  all  degrees  as  far  as  the  commandery.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Democrat,  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  church.  Dr. 
Hardwick  married,  in  Greene  county.  West  Virgmia,  January  8,  1902, 
Mollie,  daughter  of  Sinclair  and  Sarah  (Plymale)  Roberts,  who  was 
born  in  Greene  county,  October  23,  1874.  Her  father  who  died  July 
2,  1912,  had  reached  the  age  of  sixty-three,  and  her  mother,  born  Decem- 
ber 12,  1855,  is  living  at  Kenova,  West  \''irginia.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hardwick 
have  one  child :  Merlin  \''inson,  born  October  26,  1902. 


Allen  Garrett,  a  native  of  Virginia,  was  reared  and  edu- 
GARRETT     cated  in  the  Old  Dominion  commonwealth  and  there  de- 
voted his  attention  to  agricultural  operations  until  death 
called  him,  at  a  very  old  age.     He  married  Mary  Nixon,  of  Virginia, 
who  lived  to  the  great  age  of  one  hundred  years.     They  were  the  par- 
ents of  twelve  children,  of  whom,  Benjamin  F.,  is  mentioned  below. 

(II)  Benjamin  Franklin,  son  of  Allen  and  Mary  (Nixon)  Garrett, 
was  born  in  Buckingham  county,  Virginia,  March  4,  1844,  and  he  is 
now  living  at  Maxwelton,  Greenbrier  county.  West  Virginia,  where  he 
has  long  been  a  prominent  and  successful  farmer.  He  was  a  Confeder- 
ate soldier  towards  the  close  of  the  civil  war  and  served  in  a  battery  of 
artillery.  His  wife,  Ann  Jane  McFeeters,  prior  to  her  marriage,  was 
born  in  Derry  county,  Ireland,  and  came  to  America  with  her  parents 
when  she  was  a  child  nine  years  of  age.  The  McFeeters  family  lo- 
cated at  Conshohocken,  Pennsylvania,  and  there  the  father,  John  Mc- 
Feeters, was  foreman  of  a  rolling  mill  for  forty  years.  He  was  born 
in  Ireland  and  died  in  Conshohocken  at  the  age  of  ninety-five  years. 
His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Mary  Orr,  was  likewise  a  native  of 
Ireland.  John  and  William  McFeeters,  sons  of  John  McFeeters,  were 
both  gallant  soldiers  in  the  Union  army  in  the  civil  war  and  the  latter, 
William,  continued  to  serve  in  the  United  States  army  after  the  close  of 
hostilities  between  the  north  and  the  south,  participating  in  numerous 
Indian  wars  and  serving  in  all  thirty  years,  in  fact,  until  retired  on  ac- 
count of  the  age  limit.  "William  McFeeters  is  now  living  with  his  family, 
in  Philadelphia.  Mrs.  B.  F.  Garrett  is  now  sixty-six  years  of  age  and 
she  and  her  husband  reside  at  Maxwelton,  this  state.  They  had  nine 
children,  seven  of  whom  are  living:  John  E.,  mentioned  below;  WW- 
Ham  S.,  of  Scarbro,  West  Virginia ;  Mary  J.,  wife  of  Otho  Alexander, 
of  Mount  Hope ;  Isabel,  unmarried,  lives  at  home ;  Allen,  a  resident  of 
Glen  Jean,  West  Virginia;  Ida,  unmarried,  at  home;  and  Robert  T..  of 
Maxwelton,  West  \'irginia.  The  two  children  deceased  were:  Nellie 
Ellen  and  Frank. 

(III)  John  Edward,  son  of  Benjamin  Franklin  and  Ann  Jane  ('Mc- 
Feeters) Garrett,  was  born  in  Buckingham  county,  \'irginia.  December 
30.  1866.  When  six  years  of  age  he  came  to  Greenbrier  county.  West 
Virginia,  with  his  parents,  and  there  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  the  locality  and  period.  He  came  to  Fayette  county  in  1889  and  lo- 
cated at  Thurmond  Mountain,  which  place  represented  his  home  until 
1899.  when  he  settled  in  Mount  Hope.  For  several  years  he  was  fore- 
man of  the  Thurmond  Coal  Company  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years 
he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  of  Fayette  county,  serving  in  that 
capacity  for  the  ensuing  eight  years.  At  the  age  of  thirty  years  he 
started  a  general  store  at  Macdonald  and  conducted  the  same  with  splen- 


268  WEST  VIRGINIA 

did  success  for  three  years.  He  is  now  president  of  the  Warner  Real 
Estate  Company,  president  of  the  Paintsville  Development  Company, 
Paintsville,  West  Virginia,  and  is  a  heavy  stockholder  in  the  Electric 
Light  &  Power  Company  of  Beckley,  West  Virginia.  He  is  the  most 
extensive  dealer  in  real  estate  at  ]\Iount  Hope  and  in  addition  to  his  local 
land  interests  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Harrah  Land  &  Coal  Company,  of 
Charleston,  which  owns  thirteen  thousand  acres  of  land  in  Buchanan 
county,  Virginia.  His  political  convictions  are  in  accord  with  the  prin- 
ciples promulgated  by  the  Republican  party  and  since  1902  he  has  been 
the  efficient  incumbent  of  the  office  of  mayor  of  Mount  Hope.  Mr.  Gar- 
rett manifests  a  deep  and  sincere  interest  in  educational  matters  and  is 
a  member  of  the  Mount  Hope  board  of  education.  In  the  time-honored 
Masonic  order  he  has  passed  through  the  circle  of  the  York  Rite  branch, 
being  a  Knight  Templar.  He  is  a  Presbyterian  in  his  religious  faith  and 
is  a  liberal  contributor  to  various  charitable  organizations.  No  man  com- 
mands a  higher  place  in  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  fellow  citi- 
zens than  does  he. 

On  January  22,  1889,  ^f""-  Garrett  married  Minnie  E.  Burdette,  of 
Gatewood.  Thomas  Burdette,  father  of  Mrs.  Garrett,  died  in  1896,  aged 
fifty-eight  years:  he  was  a  farmer  and  school  teacher.  His  wife,  ]Mar- 
inda  Burdette,  survives  him  and  makes  her  home  at  Oak  Hill ;  she  is 
sixtv  years  of  age.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Garrett  have  five  children  :  Patrick  H., 
Dennis  A.,  John  B..  Annie  J.  and  Paul. 


Enoch  Baker,  of  Huntington,  though  not  of  native  lineage, 
BAKER     can  boast,  if  he  would,  of  good  old  Anglo-Saxon  stock.    He 

hails  originally  from  one  of  the  maritime  provinces  of  Cana- 
da, Old  Nova  Scotia,  but  has  been  a  resident  of  this  country  for  nearly 
fifty  years.  He  has  distinction  as  a  property  owner,  also,  and  is  one  of 
the  solid  and  successful  business  men  of  the  place. 

(I)  John  Baker,  was  born  in  Nova  Scotia,  and  cultivated  the  old  fam- 
ily fa'-iri,  in  a  fruitful  belt  at  Melville  Square,  Annapolis  county.  He 
died  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years. 

(II)  Ward  Baker,  son  of  John  Baker,  died  December  9,  1889,  in 
Nova  Scotia,  aged  eighty-four  years.  He  was  a  prominent  and  prosperous 
farmer  there  all  his  days.  His  wife  was  Hannah  Grimes,  also  a  Nova 
Scotian.  who  died  in  1880  aged  seventy-four  years;  her  father  was  James 
Grimes,  who  lived  and  died  in  Nova  Scotia,  also,  passing  away  there 
when  eighty  years  old.  Ward  Baker  was  father  of  nine  children :  Isaiah, 
deceased;  Obadiah,  living  in  Indianapolis;  Timothy,  deceased;  Joseph, 
now  living  in  Nova  Scotia;  James,  living  in  Denver,  Colorado;  Enoch,  of 
whom  further ;  Charles,  now  living  on  the  old  home  place ;  Mary  Frances, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  four;  and  David  Albren,  died  in  infancy. 

(IH)  Enoch  Baker,  son  of  Ward  Baker,  was  born  May  5,  1842.  mi 
the  old  home  place  of  the  family  in  .Annapolis  county.  He  went  to  schdul 
and  remained  there,  working  on  the  farm,  until  his  nineteenth  year ;  then 
he  struck  out  to  seek  his  fortune.  Gold  had  been  found  in  Nova  Scotia, 
and  his  first  experience  was  in  the  diggings  on  the  Atlantic  shore  of  the 
province;  here  he  remained,  with  no  great  .success,  for  a  year.  In  1862, 
at  the  age  of  twenty,  he  went  to  Boston,  and  remained  there,  following 
his  trade,  that  of  carpenter,  for  seven  years;  in  the  summer  varying  this 
rin)ili)ynient  with  mowing  grain.  In  1869  he  migrated  west  as  far  as  Jn- 
(liaiia|iolis.  and  here  worked  at  the  carpenter's  trade,  and  took  building 
contracts.  For  four  years  he  prospered  there,  but  in  the  panic  of  1873. 
he  lost  all  his  money.  He  struggled  on  again,  however,  poor  enough,  but 
not  disheartened.    In  September,  1877,  he  came  to  West  Virginia  and  en- 


(^^-^.^-.^^  ^i2^y^^^ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  269 

tered  into  the  timber  business,  continuing  in  that  line  until  1884,  and  then 
spent  a  year  in  Williamson.  In  1886,  he  came  to  Huntington,  and  settled. 
Here  he  has  since  made  his  home,  and  has  been  engaged  extensively, 
and  on  the  whole  successfully,  in  the  real  estate  business. 

Mr.  Baker  is  now  well-to-do,  has  numerous  interests  here,  and  is  much 
respected.  Though  now  in  his  seventy-first  year,  he  is  hale  and  hearty,  a 
vigorous  man,  exhibiting  the  spirit,  if  not  the  physique,  of  his  younger 
days,  when  he  was  a  champion  with  both  the  axe,  and  as  a  mower.  He 
can  recall  the  time,  when  they  hunted  moose  and  bear  in  his  native  coun- 
try, pursuing  "bruin,"  his  brother  and  he  with  axes. 

Mr.  Baker  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  a  Baptist  in  religious  faith. 
He  has  been  raised  a  Mason  in  Corinthian  Lodge,  in  old  Concord,  Massa- 
chusetts. He  belongs  also  to  the  ^lodern  Woodmen,  and  the  Knights  of 
Pythias.  He  married,  in  Huntington,  on  Christmas  Day,  1906,  Anna 
native,  of  West  Virginia.     No  children  have  blest  this  union. 


Among  the  honored  and  representative  families  of  Vir- 
BLEDSOE     ginia  and  West  Virginia  must  be  mentioned  the  Bledsoe, 
the  members  of  which  have  ever  been  noted   for  their 
excellent  characteristics  and  their  unswerving  loyalty. 

(I)  Thomas  A.  Bledsoe,  the  first  of  the  line  here  considered,  was  a 
native  of  Virginia,  and  his  death  occurred  in  Staunton,  Virginia,  in 
1888,  aged  sixty  years.  He  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  the  city 
of  Staunton  and  was  an  active  factor  in  all  projects  that  advanced  its 
welfare  and  growth.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  National 
Valley  Bank  of  Staunton,  served  at  first  in  the  capacity  of  cashier,  later 
appointed  vice-president,  which  responsible  position  he  filled  for  many 
years,  his  tenure  of  office  being  noted  for  efficiency  and  thoroughness. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  a  Democrat  in  poli- 
tics. He  married  Edmonia  Page,  a  native  of  East  Virginia,  who  is  living 
at  the  present  time  (1912),  residing  with  her  son,  Thomas  A.,  as  is  also 
his  half-sister,  S.  Belle  Bledsoe.  Five  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Bledsoe,  one  of  whom  died  in  infancy  and  William  Randolph  died 
in  191 1.  The  surviving  members  of  the  family  are:  Edmund  Page,  a 
physician,  practicing  his  profession  at  Little  Rock.  Arkansas ;  Thomas 
Alexander,  of  whom  further ;  Rosewell  Page,  a  student  at  the  Laiiversity 
of  Wisconsin. 

(II)  Thomas  Alexander,  son  of  Thomas  A.  Bledsoe,  was  born  in 
Staunton,  Mrginia,  May  4,  1882.  He  acquired  a  practical  education  in 
the  private  and  public  schools  of  Staunton,  and  he  pursued  advanced 
studies  at  ^^'ashington  and  Lee  University,  from  which  institution  he  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  1901.  The  following  two  years 
he  was  engaged  in  teaching  at  Locust  Dale  Academy,  and  at  the  expira- 
tion of  this  period  of  time  returned  to  Washington  and  Lee  L^niversity 
and  took  the  law  course,  graduating  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Laws  in  1905.  In  September  of  that  year  he  located  in  Charleston,  West 
Virginia,  and  began  practice  with  T.  R.  English,  later  becoming  a  part- 
ner in  the  firm  of  Little,  Page,  Cato  &  Bledsoe  and  is  now  associated  with 
Henry  S.  Cato  under  the  firm  name  of  Cato  &  Bledsoe.  The  success  he  has 
achieved  in  his  profession  is  due  largely  to  the  zeal  he  displays  in  the 
cases  entrusted  to  him  and  to  the  fact  that  he  possesses  all  the  attributes 
of  a  successful  lawyer,  integrity  of  character,  the  judicial  instinct  and  a 
rare  appreciation  of  the  two  sides  of  every  question.  He  has  also  taken 
an  active  interest  in  the  councils  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  in  1012 
received  the  nomination  for  attorney-general,  an  office  for  which  he  is 
well  qualified.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  of  the 


270  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Benevolent    and    Protective    Order    of    Elks.      Mr.    Bledsoe    is    unmar- 
ried. 


This  family  is  of  German  origin,  residing  in  Switzerland. 
MOHLER  The  progenitor  of  the  Mohler  family  of  Pennsylvania 
and  Virginia,  Ludwig  Mohler,  came  to  this  country  from 
Switzerland  on  the  ship,  "Thi.stle,"  August  29,  1730,  and  located  in 
Ephrata  township,  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  had  three  sons, 
George,  Jacob  and  Henry.  In  1736  John  Whit  conveyed  to  Henry 
Mohler  one  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land  in  the  above  town.  In  1764 
Henry  Mohler,  and  in  1767  Jacob  Mohler,  built  houses  in  Lancaster, 
which  are  now  standing  and  still  owned  by  members  of  the  family.  The 
Mohler  family  of  Virginia  are  direct  descendants  of  the  Pennsylvania 
family,  several  members  having  moved  to  Virginia  many  years  ago. 

(I)  The  first  progenitor  nf  the  Mohler  family  of  Augusta  county, 
Virginia,  was  John  Mohler.  He  married  and  had  a  son  Jacob,  of  whom 
further. 

(II)  Jacob,  son  of  John  ^lohler.  was  born  in  Virginia.  He  married 
Polly  Fischer.  Their  children  were :  Daniel  Freeman,  of  whom  further ; 
Mary. 

(III)  Daniel  Freeman,  son  of  Jacob  and  Polly  (Fischer)  Mohler, 
was  born  on  Meadow  Run,  Augusta  county,  Virginia.  March  17,  1829, 
died  in  Millboro,  Virginia,  April  5,  1896,  and  was  buried  at  Parnassus, 
Augusta  county,  Virginia.  He  engaged  for  several  years  in  farming  and 
later  became  prominent  in  the  lumber  industry.  During  the  first  two 
years  of  the  civil  war  he  constructed  wagons  for  the  Confederate  govern- 
ment, and  later  assisted  in  the  manufacture  of  iron  for  the  government. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  saw  mill  owners  in  Augusta  county.  He  was  at 
first  a  Whig  in  politics  and  later  a  Republican.  He  was  an  active  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  He  married,  April  13,  1851, 
Elizabeth  Ellen, born  on  a  farm  near  Parnassus,  Augusta  county,  Virginia, 
March  19,  1827,  died  December  8,  1892,  daughter  of  William  and  Eliza- 
beth (Rankin)  Silling.  Nine  children  were  born  to  them:  William  Ed- 
ward, of  whom  further ;  Minor  F.,  born  November  14,  1853 ;  James  K., 
July  25,  1855;  Emma,  June  11,  1857:  Florence.  September  6,  1859:  John 
N.,  July  10,  1861  :  Thomas  Howard,  of  whom  further;  Fannie,  I\Iay  28, 
1867 :  J.  Charles,  of  whom  further. 

(IV)  William  Edward,  son  of  Daniel  Freeman  and  Elizabeth  Ellen 
(Silling)  Mohler,  was  born  in  .A.ugusta  county,  Virginia,  July  14,  1852. 
He  attended  school  in  Augusta  and  Rockingham  counties,  Virginia.  At 
an  early  age  he  became  identified  with  the  lumber  business.  He  operated 
for  some  time  a  lumber  mill  in  Alderson,  West  Virginia.  In  1882  he  re- 
moved to  St.  Albans,  West  Virginia,  and  soon  became  connected  with 
many  business  enterprises  in  that  city  and  in  other  localities  in  the  state. 
In  1888  he  with  his  father  and  brothers  formed  the  Mohler  Lumber  Com- 
pany and  built  an  extensive  plant  at  Lock  Seven.  He  is  an  extensive  real 
estate  owner  in  St.  Albans ;  stockholder  in  the  Boone  County  Bank  at 
Madison  ;  president  and  manager  of  the  St.  Albans  Water  &  Electric 
Light  Company :  president  and  director  of  the  St.  Albans  Building  Com- 
pany. He  is  a  director  of  the  Kanawha  National  Bank  of  Charleston,  the 
South  Side  Foundry  &  Machine  Works  of  Charleston  and  the  Herald 
Publishing  Company  of  St.  Albans.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  and  a  liberal  supporter  of  its  many  benevolences.  He  is  also  con- 
nected with  several  mining  and  transportation  companies  in  Mexico. 
He  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and  served  for  some  time  in  the 
city  council.     He  married   (first)   Maggie  Lynch,  a  native  of  Greenbrier 


WEST  VIRGINIA  271 

county,  West  Virginia,  February  18,  1880.  He  married  (second)  Jennie 
A.  Reeves,  a  native  of  Augusta  county,  Virginia,  November  19,  1884, 
who  died  April  8,  1905.  Their  children :  Reba  Reeves,  married  W.  D. 
Hereford,  and  resides  in  Oklahoma  City,  Oklahoma ;  Daniel  N. ;  Ruth  E. 
He  married  (third)  May  14,  1908,  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  W.  A.  and 
Leonora  Alexander,  of  Frazier's  Bottom,  Putnam  county. 

(IV)  Thomas  Howard,  son  of  Daniel  Freeman  and  Elizabeth  Ellen 
(Silling)  Mohler,  was  born  at  Long  Meadow,  Augusta  county,  Virginia, 
May  2,  1863.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county,  and 
at  an  early  age  became  identified  with  his  father  in  the  lumber  business. 
He  removed  to  St.  Albans,  West  Virginia,  in  1882,  and  in  November, 
1884,  he  removed  to  Williamsburg,  Kentucky,  where  he  was  yard  man- 
ager for  the  Kentucky  Lumber  Company  for  seven  years.  On  October 
9,  1891,  he  returned  to  St.  Albans,  at  which  place  he  still  resides,  and 
became  associated  with  his  father  and  brothers  in  the  Mohler  Lumber 
Company,  later  incorporated  in  the  extensive  lumber  mills  at  Lock  Seven. 
He  is  interested  in  coal  mining  and  has  served  for  several  years  as  presi- 
dent of  the  Gamoca  Coal  Company  on  Gauley  river.  He  is  also  a  stock- 
holder in  the  Charleston  National  Bank,  and  has  served  for  some  years 
as  director  and  treasurer  of  the  St.  Albans  Water  &  Electric  Light  Com- 
pany. He  is  a  member  of  the  Congregational  church  of  Williamsburg, 
Kentucky.  In  politics  he  is  a  Prohibitionist,  and  has  served  for  several 
years  as  a  town  councilman.  He  married,  at  St.  Albans,  West  Virginia, 
July  16,  1884,  Lavinia,  born  on  the  Calvert  homestead  on  Upton's  creek, 
Kanawha  county,  West  Virginia,  February  29,  1864,  daughter  of  John 
Wesley  and  Adeline  (Calvert)  Campbell.  Her  father  was  a  farmer. 
He  served  for  four  years  in  the  L'nion  army,  being  honorably  discharged 
at  the  close  of  the  war.  The  children  born  to  her  parents  were :  La- 
vinia, James  A.,  John  Mills,  Franklin  A..  Emma,  Myron  G.,  Lucy.  One 
child  was  born  to  Thomas  Howard  and  Lavinia  (Campbell)  Mohler: 
Edith,  September  11,  1886,  at  Williamsburg,  Kentucky;  educated  at  Wil- 
liamsburg, Kentucky,  Marshall  College,  Huntington,  West  Virginia,  and 
Oberlin  (Ohio)  Conservatory  of  Music;  married  Robert  Cornell  Sweet, 
at  St.  Albans,  West  Virginia,   February   15,    191 1. 

(IV)  J.  Charles,  son  of  Daniel  Freeman  and  Elizabeth  Ellen  (Sill- 
ing) Mohier,  was  born  in  Augusta  county,  ^^irginia.  May  27,  1870.  He  was 
educated  in  the  schools  of  his  native  county  and  Kanawha  county.  West 
Virginia.  He  has  been  associated  with  the  Mohler  Lumber  Company 
since  its  organization  in  1888,  and  has  served  for  several  years  as  secre- 
tary and  treasurer  of  the  company.  He  is  connected  with  several  com- 
panies, being  a  stockholder  in  the  Bank  of  St.  Albans,  a  stockholder  and 
director  in  the  Citizens  National  Bank  of  Charleston.  He  is  a  member 
and  steward  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  of  Charles- 
ton ;  and  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  Masonry,  having  attained  all  the 
degrees  given  in  the  state.  He  is  past  master  of  his  lodge  and  past  high 
priest  of  his  chapter.  He  has  made  his  home  in  Charleston  since  1903. 
He  married.  September  17,  1894,  Lena,  daughter  of  William  R.  and 
Henrietta  (Shelton)  Blackwood,  of  Kanawha  county.  West  Virginia. 
Their  children  are:  Madeline  W.,  born  January  14,  1896,  Dorothy  E., 
November  20,   1902. 


Although  the  exact  line  of  descent  has  not  yet  been  definitely 
DAY     determined,  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  fact  that  John  Day, 

first  of  the  line  herein  given,  is  a  descendant  of  the  George 
Day  who  was  one  of  the  Milford  signers  of  the  fundamental  agreement  of 
the  original  settlers  of  Newark.  New  Jersey.    This  George  Day  was  born 


272  WEST  VIRGINIA 

probably  about  1640,  and  died  some  time  prior  to  1685.  He  marrieU. 
Mary,  daughter  of  Sergeant  Edward  and  Elizabeth  (Roosa)  Riggs,  who 
survived  him,  and  married  (second)  Anthony  Oliff  or  Olive,  whose  home- 
stead was  on  the  Orange  Mountain,  within  the  present  limits  of  Llewellyn 
Park.  Children  of  George  and  Mary  (Riggs)  Day:  i.  Paul,  born  in 
Newark,  1668  or  1669,  died  there  about  1712;  married  Phebe  (said,  but 
on  very  inconclusive  evidence)  Phebe  Roosa,  his  cousin.  2.  George,  died 
about  1720 ;  married  his  second  wife  before  171 1.    3.  Samuel,  died  1715; 

married  Abigail .    A  complete  list  of  the  children  of  these  three  sons 

of  George  Day  has  not  yet  been  obtainable,  and  it  is  known  from  the  rec- 
ords that  there  were  other  children  than  the  ones  whose  names  have  been 
discovered  and  whose  lines  have  been  traced.  From  one  of  these  John 
Day  "of  Newark  mountains"  (i.  e.  Orange  Mountain),  is  probably  de- 
scended. 

(I)  John  Day,  "of  Newark  Mountains,"  as  he  is  designated  in  the 
register  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  at  Morristown,  New  Jersey,  is 
the  first  member  of  this  family  of  whom  we  have  definite  information. 
He  was  born  September  7,  1748,  and  although  the  date  of  his  death  is 
unknown,  he  and  his  wife  were  both  living  as  late  as  1803,  when  their 
names  appear  in  a  deed  recorded  in  Essex  county,  New  Jersey.  John 
Day  married,  in  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Alorristown,  New  Jersey, 
June  4,  1771,  Mary  Ludlum,  who  was  born  October  27,  1749,  died  April 
7,  1818.  Children:  i.  Rachel,  born  September  4,  1772,  died  July  5,  1825; 
married  Deacon  Bethuel,  son  of  Joseph  and  Patience  (Pierson)  Pierson. 
2.  Elizabeth,  born  August  i,  1774.  3.  Sidney,  August  5,  1776,  died  De- 
cember 2,  1817.  4.  David,  born  October  2,  1778.  5.  Abraham,  July  24, 
1780,   died  February  9,   183 1  ;  married,  and  left  at  least  two  children  : 

Moses ;  and  Cornelia,  who  married  Allison.     6.  William,  of  whom 

further.  7.  Barnabas,  born  April  21,  or  July  19,  1784,  died  between 
March  22,  1856,  and  July  10.  1864,  in  Reading,  Hamilton  county,  Ohio ; 
married  (first)  Nancy,  daughter  of  James  and  Phebe  (Force)  Agens,  and 

(second)  about  1855,  Catherine ,  who  survived  him.    8.  Sarah,  born 

May  8,  1788,  died,  February  15,  1812:  unmarried.  9.  Mary,  born  April 
15,  1791. 

(II)  William,  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Ludlum)  Day,  of  Newark 
Mountains,  New  Jersey,  was  born  August  18,  1782,  died  February  28^ 
1863,  at  Montclair,  New  Jersey.  He  was  baptized  in  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Morristown,  New  Jersey,  September  22,  1782,  and  the 
will  of  his  brother,  Barnabas  Day,  dated  Reading,  Hamilton  county^ 
Ohio,  March  22,  1856,  leaves  a  legacy  to  the  "children  or  issue  per 
stirpes  of  my  brother,  William  Day."  He  married  Sarah  Brookfield, 
born  April  8,  1788,  died  June  3,  1857.  Children:  i.  Deborah,  born 
July  28,  1807,  died  November  26,  1858.  2.  Mary  C,  born  November  17. 
1808,  died  January  10,  i860,  married,  November  14,  1829,  Edward 
Crane.  3.  Edwin  G.,  born  December  8,  1810,  died  April  19,  1825.  4. 
Elizabeth,  born  June  13,  1813,  died  November  11,  1819.  5.  Louisa,  born 
March  31,  1816,  died  November  6,  1870:  married,  December  9,  1836, 
James  Bacon ;  children :  Edward,  Caroline,  Eliza  and  Fanny.  6.  La- 
vinia,  born  May  5,  1818:  married,  August  3,  1836,  Seth  Hulbert.  7. 
Sidney  Brookfield,  of  whom  later.  8.  Sarah  FJizabeth,  born  July  6,  1825, 
died  December  14.   1883  ;  married  May  28,   1855,  Stephen  Rodgers. 

(III)  Sidney  Brookfield,  .son  of  William  and  Sarah  (Brook- 
field) Day,  of  Newark  and  Orange,  New  Jersey,  was  born  in  Orange, 
August  T,  1820,  died  in  Gallatin,  Tennessee,  January  4.  1895.  He  mar- 
ried, in  Newark,  New  Jersey,  September  t,  1847,  Rebecca  Morehouse 
Lum,  daughter  of  Moses  and  Nancy  (Morehouse)  Lum,  who  was  born 
in  Newark.  June  20,  1822,  died  at  Gallatin,  Tennessee,  January  6,  1901. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  273 

(See  Lum  \'.J.  He  removed  with  his  family  from  Orange,  New  Jersey,  to 
Macon,  Georgia,  in  1848,  where  he  estabhshed  a  jewelry  business  which 
he  conducted  up  to  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war.  A  short  time  previ- 
ous to  the  beginning  of  the  war  he  removed  his  family  to  his  former  home 
in  New  Jersey,  at  what  was  then  West  Bloomfield,  since  changed  to 
Montclair,  New  Jersey,  leaving  his  business  in  charge  of  his  brother-in- 
law,  Stephen  Rodgers.  While  arranging  for  his  family  in  New  Jersey, 
he  was  notified  that  the  municipal  authorities  of  Macon,  Georgia,  had 
seized  his  stock  of  goods.  He  returned  to  Macon  and  made  application 
to  the  authorities  for  the  stock.  He  was  notified  that  if  he  would  take 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Confederacy  and  bear  arms  for  her,  his 
property  would  be  restored.  Not  being  willing  to  fight  against  the  United 
States,  he  returned  to  his  family  in  New  Jersey,  and  his  property  was 
turned  into  the  use  of  the  Confederate  Government.  He  then  removed 
from  Montclair,  New  Jersey,  and  purchased  a  farm  near  Rochester, 
New  York,  where  he  resided  until  1882.  He  afterward  moved  to  Gal- 
latin, Tennessee,  where  he  and  his  wife  resided  until  death. 

Children  of  Sidney  Brookfield  and  Rebecca  (Lum)  Day:  i.  Maria 
S.,  born  at  Macon,  Georgia,  January  21,  1849,  "^i^d  December  17,  1912; 
married  Lewis  H.  Morey,  (Presbyterian  minister),  of  San  Antonio, 
Texas,  August  26.  1874.  Children:  i.  Sidney  L.,  born  July  19,  1875, 
married,  June  18,  1903,  Irene  M.  Palm,  of  Austin,  Texas,  ii.  Addie  M., 
born  May  23,  1877,  died  November  23,  1877.  iii.  Elizabeth  M.,  born 
September  27,  1878.  iv.  Harry  M.,  born  June  11,  1884.  2.  Laura  L., 
born  December  27,  1850,  at  Macon  Georgia,  died  July  26,  1869,  in  girl- 
hood. 3.  Frederick  S.,  born  May  26,  1852,  at  Macon,  Georgia,  now  liv- 
mg  in  Gallatin,  Tennessee:  married,  October  26,  1876,  Harriet  A.  Clark, 
of  Deposit,  New  York,  born  February  18,  1853.  Children:  i.  Laura  M., 
born  November  16,  1877,  married  January  n,  1906,  Joseph  Chilton,  of 
Te.xas.  ii.  Mabel  C,  born  September  27,  1878,  now  at  Gallatin,  Ten- 
nessee, iii.  James  C  born  November  21,  1879,  died  April  11,  1890.  4. 
Robert  L.,  of  whom  further.  5.  Theodore  S.,  born  September  30,  1855, 
at  Macon,  Georgia :  now  a  Presbyterian  minister  at  Red  Creek,  New 
York;  married,  March  4,  1885,  Mary  Osborne,  of  Seneca  Falls,  New 
York,  born  June  10,  1856,  died  August  13,  1902.  Children:  i.  Elbert  O.. 
born  Januarv  19,  1886.  ii.  Margaret  H.,  born  August  22,  1887.  He  af- 
terward married,  in  1906,  Lena  Hugo,  born  April  13,  1875.  Children: 
Richard  Hugo,  born  September  18,  1907,  and  Theodore  C,  born  March 

10,  1909.  6.  William  A.,  born  November  30,  1857,  at  Macon  Georgia; 
now  living  in  Livonia,  New  York:  married  (first)  Edith  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Sylvester  C.  and  Harriet  (Herrick)  Lincoln,  and  widow  of 
Willard  Walter  Rusk;  he  married  (second)  Millie  Short,  of  Livonia, 
New  York.  Children  by  first  wife:  i.  Myrtle  Louise,  born  May  26, 
1885,  married  .August  9,  1905.  Clifford  D.  Webster ;  children  by  this  mar- 
riage:     Helen  E.,  born  December  i,   1906,  and  Hazel  E.,  born  January 

11,  1909.  ii.  Cora  Amanda,  born  May  14,  1887;  she  is  now  living  with 
her  uncle,  Robert  L.  Day,  at  Huntington.  West  Virginia;  she  at- 
tended and  graduated  from  the  public  high  school  at  Huntington,  after- 
ward she  graduated  from  Marshall  College.  Huntington,  and  is  now 
teaching  in  the  Huntington  public  schools,  iii.  Ruth  Ethel,  born  Sep- 
tember 22.  1890,  now  living  at  Gallatin.  Tennessee.  7.  Harriet  L..  born 
December  4,  1859,  at  Macon.  Georgia:  now  living  at  Red  Creek,  New 
York,  with  her  brother,  Theodore  S.  Day :  unmarried. 

(IV)  Robert  Lum,  son  of  Sidnev  Brookfield  and  Rebecca  Morehouse 
(Lum)  Dav,  was  born  in  Macon,  Georgia.  October  g,  i8c;3,  and  is  now 
living  in  Huntington,  West  Virginia.  .At  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  he 
removed  with  his  parents  to  Montclair,  New  Jersey,  afterward  to  Livon- 

18 


274  WEST  VIRGINIA 

ia,  New  York.  He  received  his  early  education  in  ihe  public  schools  and 
at  the  State  Normal  School  at  Geneseo,  New  York.  After  his  gradua- 
tion Mr.  Day  taught  school  for  five  years.  He  then  entered  the  field  of 
civil  engineering,  afterward  contractor  and  builder.  He  removed  to  Hunt- 
ington, West  Virginia,  where  since  1900  he  has  been  an  architect.  He  has 
offices  in  the  Frederick  Hotel  building,  and  makes  a  specialty  of  fire- 
proof construction,  having  erected  the  Miller  and  Ritter  building,  and 
the  Twentieth  street  bank  building,  in  Huntington,  also  the  city  hall  and 
jaii  in  Catlettsburg,  Kentucky. 

In  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Huntington  he  is  senior  deacon. 

He  married.  October  23,  1884,  Mary  M.,  daughter  of  William  L.  and 
Mary  (McGinnis)  John.ston,  born  March  I,  1855  (see  Johnston  I\"). 
Children:  i.  Florence  L.,  born  August  31,  1885,  died  May  6,  1887.  2. 
Sidney  Logan,  born  December  4,  1887.  He  has  lived  with  his  parents  at 
Huntington,  West  \'irginia.  He  attended  and  graduated  from  the  pub- 
lic high  school :  also  afterward  Marshall  College,  at  Huntington,  West 
Virginia.  He  then  entered  the  architectural  department  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Institute  of  Technology  at  Boston,  Massachusetts,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  June,  1912.  He  is  now  employed  with  Messrs.  Garber  & 
Woodward,  of  Cincinnati.  Ohio,  working  on  the  34-story  building  of  the 
Union  Central  Life  Insurance  Company  of  Cincinnati. 

(The   Lum    Line). 

(I)  Samuel  Lum.  the  first  member  of  this  family  of  whom  we  have 
definite  information,  was  born  about  1690,  in  Bridgehampton,  Long  Isl- 
and, died  in  j'/Ti2-;3,t,.  in  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey.  He  is  said  to  have 
been  a  grandson  of  Samuel  Lum,  who  was  born  in  England,  June  13, 
1619,  whose  three  sons  Jonathan,  Matthew  and  Samuel,  Jr.,  emigrated 
to  America  and  settled  in  Connecticut,  from  where  it  is  also  said  Samuel 
Jr.,  removed  to  Long  Island.  Samuel  Lum,  of  Bridgehampton,  Long 
Island,  and  Elizabethtown,  New  Jersey,  married  Martha,  who  is  said  to 
have  been  a  Clark,  and  who  married  (second)  Benjamin,  son  of  Benja- 
min and  Bethia  (Condit)  Lyon,  of  Connecticut  Farms.  Children:  i. 
John,  of  whom  further.  2.  Samuel  (2),  born  about  1726-27.  died  in 
1756;  lived  at  Bottle  Hill,  now  Madison,  New  Jersey;  married  Martha 
Day.    3.  David,  born  about  1729.    4.  Hannah.    5.  Mary,  born  about  1732. 

(II)  John,  son  of  Samuel  and  Martha  (Clark)  Lum.  was  born  March 

20,   1726.  died  after   1800.     He  married  Elizabeth  .  who  was  born 

February  10,  1734.  Children  :  i.  Stephen,  of  whom  further.  2.  Mary, 
born  August  9,  1756,  died  in  182-5  '•  married  Matthew  Harrison.  3.  John 
Clark,  born  December  26.  1759,  died  August  4,  1838:  married  Ruth  Bak- 
er. 4.  Amos,  born  April  12.  1762.  5.  Elizabeth,  born  January  18,  176(1, 
died  in  1850.  6.  .Susanna,  born  December  13,  177T.  7.  Elizabeth  Harri- 
son, born  March  20,  1775. 

(III)  Stephen,  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  Lum,  was  born  in  Connecti- 
cut Farms,  New  Jersey.  January  26,  1754.  After'  his  marriage  he  re- 
moved to  New  Providence,  New  Jersey,  where  he  bought  from  Closes 
Miller  a  farm  situated  south  of  M.  Stites'  bark  mill.  He  married  Abigail 
Thompson.  Children:  i.  Moses,  of  whom  further.  2.  Amos,  married 
Fanny  Morehouse,  sister  of  his  brother  Moses'  wife.  3.  John,  married 
Mrs.  Osborne,  a  widow.  4.  Betsey,  unmarried.  5.  Stephen  M..  married 
Betsey  Frazee.     6.  Obadiah,  died  about  1830 ;  married. 

(IV)  Moses,  son  of  Stephen  and  Abigail  (Thompson)  Limi,  was 
born  in  New  Providence,  New  Jersey,  in  February,  1780,  and  died  in 
Newark,  New  Jersey,  October  18,  1849.  He  removed  from  New  Provi- 
dence to  Newark.  He  married.  May  13,  1810.  Nancy,  daughter  of  Simeon 
Morehouse  and  Rebecca  .     Children:   i.  Isaac,  died  in  infancv.     2. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  275 

Amos,  born  August  13,  1812;  married,  June  29,  1836,  Amanda  Walker. 
3.  Stephen,  born  September  17,  1816;  married,  September  26.  1838,  Cath- 
erine Conkling.  4.  Rebecca  Morehouse,  of  whom  further.  5.  Elias 
Riggs,  born  JMay  3,  1826,  died  February  7,  1830.  6.  David,  born  (October 
I,  1832,  died  October  24,  1834. 

(V)  Rebecca  Morehouse,  daughter  of  Moses  and  Nancy  (More- 
house) Lum,  was  born  in  Newark  or  New  Providence,  New  Jersey,  June 
20,  1822,  died  January  6,  1901,  at  Gallatin,  Tennessee.  She  married  Sid- 
nev  Brookfield,  son  of  William  and  Sarah  (Brookfield)  Day.  (See  Day 
III). 

(The  ^lorchonsc  Line). 

The  grandparents  of  Rebecca  Morehouse,  (who  married  Sidney 
Brookfield  Day)  by  her  mother  were — Simeon  Morehouse,  born  May  3. 

1751,  died  May  4,  1836,  married  Rebecca  ,  born  June  6,  1753,  died 

February  16,  1839.  Of  this  marriage  eleven  children  were  born:  i.  James 
born  October  22,  1778,  died  October  12,  1784.  2.  Betsey,  born  December 
31,  1779.    3.  Hannah,  born  August  4,  1781.    4.  David,  born  April  i,  1783. 

5.  Samuel,  born  August  11,  1784.  6.  .\mos,  born  April  15,  1786.  7. 
James,  born  November  15,  1787.  8.  Hannah,  born  September  22,  1790. 
9.  Nancy,  of  whom  further.  10.  Francis,  born  November  2y,  1794.  11 
Mary,  born  April  17,  1799. 

(I)   Nancy  Morehouse,  daughter  of  Simeon  Morehouse  and  Rebecca 

,  was  born  July  26,  1792,  died  July  31,  1873.     She  married.  May  13, 

1 8 10,  Moses  Lum.     (See  Lum  IV). 

(The   Johnston    Line). 

(I)  John  Johnston,  the  first  member  of  this  family  of  whom  we  havf 
definite  information,  lived  in  county  Antrim,  Ireland,  and  died  Octobei 

30,  181 1.  He  married,  in  1785,  Sarah  Linn,  who  died  August  15,  1840. 
Children:  i.  James,  of  whom  further.  2.  William,  born  May  28,  1788 
died  May  4,  1833;  married,  in  1825,  Nancy  Kilberth.  3.  Ehzabeth,  born 
May  3,  1790,  died  May  18,  1829;  married,  April  21,  1818,  Abraham 
Alexander.  4.  John,  born  May  23,  1792,  died  November  20,  1792.  5. 
Jane,  born  December  18,  1793,  died  August  14,  1840:  married,  in  1813, 
William  Kyle,  born  1790,  died  October,  1847.    6.  Samuel,  born  February 

6,  1796,  died  in  1816.  7.  Ann,  born  July  27,  1798,  died  October  30,  1846; 
married,  in  1822,  Watson  B.  Poage.  8.  John,  born  January  24,  1800, 
died  July  24,  1865 ;  married,  in  1824,  Mary  Campbell.  9.  Benjamin, 
born  May  5,  1803,  died  July  4,  1863;  married.  May,  1830,  ^landana 
Greene.     10  Robert,  born  "February  4,  1809,  died  March  3,  1809. 

(II)  James,  son  of  John  and  Sarah  (Linn)  Johnston,  was  born  in 
Ireland,  May  19,  1786,  died  }*Iay  22,  1869.  He  married,  March  17,  1817, 
Martha  Logan,  born  November,  1791,  died  .August  22,  1847.  On  or 
about  1818,  James  and  Martha  (Logan)  Johnston,  with  other  kin  and 
friends,  came  to  America.  They  first  stopped  in  Canada,  afterwards 
moved  to  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  for  a  short  time :  they  then  passed 
down  the  Ohio  river  on  a  flat  boat  and  in  1821  bought  and  located  on  a 
tract  of  land  where  now  is  the  city  of  Huntington,  \\'est  A'irginia.  at  which 
place  most  of  their  family  were  born  and  where  they  remained  until 
death.     Children:    i.    Ehzabeth   A.,  born   February   18,    1818,   died  July 

31,  1897:  married.  May  14,  1850,  John  B.  Hite,  born  June  29,  1805, 
died  May  9,  1880:  children:  i.  James  W.,  born  December  8,  1852,  died 
May,  1853.  ii.  John  B.,  born  November  30,  1855.  iii.  Martha  A.,  born 
June  6,  1859;  married,  December  31,  1879,  A.  A.  Fisher,  born  Novem- 
iber  4,  1853:  one  child,  Clifford  K.,  born  November  21,  1880.  2 
William  L.,  of  whom  further.  3.  Samuel,  born  February  18,  1823,  died 
September  28,  1823.    4.  Sarah  J.,  bom  September  18,  1824,  died  January 


276  WEST  VIRGINIA 

I,  1906.  5.  John  L.,  born  July  11,  1828,  died  November  22,  1906;  mar- 
ried, May  12,  1859,  Mary  J.  Kinkead,  born  July  6,  1834,  died  May  5, 
1906;  one  child,  Maggie  P.,  born  February  2,  1872,  died  January  28, 
1888.  6.  Marcella  A.,  born  September  8,  1830,  died  September  29,  1875; 
married,  November  24,  1857,  Albert  Pogue,  died  April  25,  1858;  one 
child.  Alberta  M.,  born  September  3,  1858.  7.  Martha  H.,  born  August 
6,  1833,  died  July  31,  1908.  8.  Mary  A.,  born  June  10,  1836,  died  Feb- 
ruary 24,  1837. 

(III)  William  L.,  son  of  James  and  Martha  (Logan)  Johnston,  was 
born  July  18,  1820,  died  December  2-],  1872.  He  married  (first)  May  26, 
1848,  Mary  McGinnis,  born  November  22,  1825,  died  May  30,  1857.  He 
married  (second)  April,  1858,  Susan  L.  Gould,  born  June  15,  1828,  died 
November  12,  1905.  Children,  five  by  first  marriage:  i.  Frederick  W., 
born  February  16,  1849.  2.  Marcellus  L.,  born  October  2,  1850,  died 
January  7,  1902.  3.  James  E.,  born  August  21,  1852;  married  (first)  De- 
cember 16,  1880,  Anna  Laidley,  died  February.  1891 ;  (second)  July, 
1894,  Alida  Valentine.  Children,  four  by  first  marriage:  A.  Linn,  born 
February  27,  1882;  Frederick  W.,  born  August  7,  1883;  Maxwell  D., 
born  February  17,  1885,  died  October  28,  1891  ;  Mildred  V.,  born  Novem- 
ber 19,  1889:  Edmond  V.,  born  December  29,  1895.  4.  Mary  M.,  of 
whom  further.  5.  Emma,  born  July,  1856,  died  May,  1857.  6.  Ada  P., 
born  June  20.  1861.  7.  Elizabeth  G.,  born  May  3,  1863.  8.  Anna  L.,  born 
lune  27,  1865.  9.  Emma  L..  twin  of  Anna  L.,  born  June  27,  1865,  died 
Vugust  22.  191 1.  ID.  Stephen  G.,  born  May  9,  1868;  married.  May  9, 
^895,  Nellie  Collier,  born  May  9,  1869:  children:  Susan,  born  April  19, 
1897;  Howard,  born  September  17,  1900;  Miriam,  born  August  27,  1903; 
Arthur,  born  June  i,  1909. 

(IV)  Mary  M.,  daughter  of  William  L.  and  Mary  (McGinnis)  John- 
ston, was  born  at  Huntington,  West  Virginia,  March  i,  1855.  She  mar- 
ried, October  23,  1884,  Robert  Lum,  son  of  Sidney  Brookfield  and  Re- 
becca (Lum)  Day.  She  attended  the  public  schools  at  Huntington,  West 
Virginia,  afterward  graduated  at  Marshall  College,  located  at  Hunting- 
ton, West  Virginia.     (See  Day  IV). 


The   great    empire   of   Germany   has   contributed   its    fair 
KELLER     quota   to   the   upbuilding   of   this   great   American    nation 

and  among  its  representatives  in  this  country  are  to  be 
found  successful  men  in  every  walk  of  life,  from  the  professions  to  the 
prosperous  farmer.  The  Keller  family  in  America  was  founded  by 
Conrad  Keller,  a  native  of  Germany,  who  immigrated  to  this  country  in 
young  manhood  and  settled  in  the  valley  of  Virginia.  He  was  a  farmer 
by  occupation  and  reared  to  adult  age  a  family  of  three  sons,  one  of 
whom  settled  in  Pennsylvania,  the  second  in  Indiana,  and  the  third, 
Abraham  by  name,  in  Gallia  county,  Ohio. 

(II)  Abraham,  son  of  Conrad  Keller,  was  born  in  Virginia  and  grew 
up  on  his  father's  farm,  early  familiarizing  himself  with  the  rudiments 
of  agriculture.  As  noted  in  the  previous  paragraph,  he  removed  to  Gallia 
county.  Ohio,  where  he  achieved  prominence  as  an  eminently  successful 
farmer.  He  was  a  strong  Union  sympathizer  during  the  civil  war  period 
and  four  of  his  sons.  Stephen  G.,  Robert,  Conrad  and  William,  were 
gallant  and  faithful  soldiers  in  the  Union  ranks.  His  eldest  son,  George^ 
had  three  sons  in  the  Union  army  and  a  brother.  Louis,  who  had  estab- 
lished his  home  in  Missouri  in  the  ante-bellum  days,  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Confederate  service.  This  splendid  contribution  of  young  manhood  to 
uphold  the  cause  considered  just  reflects  great  glory  on  the  name  of  Kel- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  277 

ler  and  instills  pride  in  every  American  heart  for  the  patriotism  of  our 
forefathers. 

(III)  Stephen  Gates,  son  of  Abraham  Keller,  was  born  on  the  old 
Keller  homestead  in  Gallia  county,  Ohio,  and  after  reaching  man's  estate 
he  devoted  his  attention  to  diversified  agriculture  and  stock  raising  in  the 
"Buckeye"  state.  .\s  already  noted,  he  was  a  soldier  in  the  Union  army 
while  the  civil  war  was  in  progress  and  he  passed  practically  his  entire 
life  in  Ohio.     He  married  and  had  a  son  Floyd,  mentioned  below. 

(IV)  Floyd,  son  of  Stephen  Gates  Keller,  was  born  in  Gallia  county, 
Ohio,  October  6,  1856.  He  grew  up  on  the  home  farm  and  attended  the 
common  schools  of  his  native  place.  Later  he  supplemented  his  early 
educational  training  with  a  course  of  study  in  the  Gallipolis  Academy  and 
with  attendance  in  the  National  Normal  School,  at  Lebanon,  Ohio.  Af- 
ter leaving  school  he  lived  with  his  father  on  the  farm  until  he  had 
reached  his  thirty-fourth  year,  when  he  came  to  West  Virginia  and  en- 
gaged in  stock  raising  in  Mason  county.  Sad  to  say  this  venture  proved 
disastrous.  In  1890  he  settled  in  Powellton,  Fayette  county,  and  as- 
sumed the  position  of  payroll  clerk  for  the  Mt.  Carbon  Coal  Company, 
Ltd.,  in  the  employ  of  which  concern  he  remained  for  many  years.  For 
several  years  he  was  postmaster  of  Powellton  and  in  1893  he  was  asso- 
ciated with  Colonel  S.  Dixon  in  the  opening  and  development  of  the 
Macdonald  mines  in  the  capacity  of  storekeeper  at  Macdonald.  In  1894 
he  returned  to  Powellton  and  again  entered  the  employ  of  the  Mt.  Car- 
bon Company,  Ltd.,  remaining  with  that  company  from  the  above  year 
until  1908,  during  which  period  he  also  served  a  term  as  mayor  of  Powell- 
ton. He  has  been  a  resident  of  Fayette  county  for  twenty-two  years  and 
during  eighteen  years  of  that  period  has  worked  for  the  Mt.  Carbon 
Company. 

A  staunch  Republican  in  his  political  convictions,  Mr.  Keller  has  par- 
ticipated actively  in  public  affairs  in  Fayette  county  for  many  years  past. 
In  the  fall  of  1908  he  was  shown  the  appreciation  of  his  fellow  citizens 
by  election  to  the  office  of  clerk  of  the  circuit  and  criminal  courts.  He 
has  served  with  unusual  efficiency  in  this  responsible  office  and  in  addi- 
tion to  discharging  the  duties  connected  with  it  has  also  been  a  member  of 
the  city  council  of  Fayetteville  and  has  served  on  the  board  of  managers 
of  the  Fayetteville  Cemetery  Association.  He  also  stands  high  in  the 
Masonic  order.  He  served  on  the  district  board  of  education  for  sev- 
eral years  and  when  elected  clerk  of  the  circuit  and  criminal  court  was 
president  of  the  board.  Mr.  Keller  manifests  a  deep  and  sincere  interest 
in  all  matters  that  he  thinks  will  contribute  to  the  material,  social  or  moral 
improvement  of  the  community,  and  he  stands  in  the  foremost  rank  of 
those  to  whom  Fayette  county  owes  its  development  and  present  posi- 
tion as  one  of  the  leading  districts  of  West  Virginia.  His  life  is  char- 
acterized by  upright,  honorable  principles  and  it  also  exemplifies  the 
truth  of  the  Emersonian  philosophy  that  "the  way  to  win  a  friend  is  to 
be  one".  His  genial,  kindly  manner  wins  him  the  high  regard  and  good 
will  of  all  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact  and  the  circle  of  his  personal 
friends  is  limited  only  by  that  of  his  acquaintances. 

May  9,  1882,  Mr.  Keller  married,  Miss  Annie  Guthrie,  a  sister  of  A. 
S.  Guthrie.  While  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Keller  have  never  had  any  children  of 
their  own  they  have  raised  three  children  and  gave  them  good  educa- 
tional advantages.  The  Keller  home  is  on  Maple  avenue  and  i-  \' ■■■ 
scene  of  many  attractive  social  gatherings. 


278  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Dr.  Thomas  Waterman  Moore,  a  physician  and  surgeon 
MOORE  of  West  Virginia,  comes  of  old  Mrginia  stock.  His  great- 
grandfather, the  founder  of  the  family,  was  Joseph  Moore, 
whose  wife,  Mary  Eleanor  Alorgan,  was  a  near  relative  to  General  Dan- 
iel Morgan,  a  gallant  companion  of  Washington  in  the  Braddock  cam- 
paign, and  who  figured  in  Burgoyne's  defeat  and  later  in  the  victory  of 
the  Carolina  Cowpens. 

Thomas  Moore,  the  grandfather  of  Dr.  Moore,  was  born  and  raised 
in  the  Virginia  valley.  Becoming  a  cabinet-maker  his  industrious  char- 
acter kept  him  from  the  field  of  politics.  In  religious  belief  he  was  a 
Presbyterian.  He  married  in  1824,  Augusta  Page,  member  of  another 
family  distinguished  in  later  days ;  their  three  children  were :  Vincent 
Morgan,  mentioned  below,  Mary  Ellen,  and  Charles  Page  Thomas,  late 
judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  West  Virginia. 

Of  the  third  generation,  Vincent  Morgan  Moore  was  born  at  Staun- 
ton, \'irginia,  October  7,  1826.  A  Presbyterian  like  his  father,  and  a 
merchant  in  the  field  of  labor,  he  yet  took  an  interest  in  the  ferment  of 
politics  that  tilled  the  early  states  in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, and  affiliated  with  the  Whig  party,  becoming  a  Democrat  later.  He 
married,  at  Haverhill.  Ohio,  November  23,  1865,  Addie  Marion  Moore, 
she  being  a  daughter  of  John  Moore  and  Elizabeth  Chambers,  of  Scotch 
English  descent.  She  was  born  at  Ohio  Furnace.  Ohio,  February  28, 
1841.  Their  children  were:  Thomas  Waterman,  of  whom  further;  Car- 
rie Beale,  born  August  8,  1868;  Charles  Vincent,  August  17,  1873;  and 
Mary  Waring,  December  6,  1875. 

Dr.  Thomas  Waterman  Moore,  son  of  A'incent  ^Morgan  Moore,  was 
born  in  Catlettsburg,  Boyd  county,  Kentucky,  October  4,  1866.  His  early 
education  was  obtained  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town.  After 
holding  the  position  of  druggist  at  the  National  Military  Home  at  Day- 
ton, Ohio,  from  his  twentieth  to  his  twenty-fifth  year,  he  graduated  in 
1893  at  the  Medico-Chirurgical  College  in  Philadelphia,  thus  perfecting 
himself  in  the  study  of  medicine,  his  life  work.  From  1893  to  1897,  he 
practiced  at  Everett,  Pennsylvania,  and  then  removed  to  Huntington, 
West  Virginia,  to  become  one  of  its  leading  physicians,  and  has  resided 
there  for  the  past  sixteen  years.  He  has  specialized  in  eye,  ear.  nose  and 
throat  afflictions,  and  has  taken  a  post-graduate  course  in  New  York, 
1897,  and  in  Vienna.  Austria,  1900  and  191 1. 

His  profession  has  led  him  to  become  a  member  of  the  American 
IMedical  Association,  and  the  West  Virginia  State  ^ledical  Association, 
and  a  Fellow  of  the  American  Laryngological,  Rhinological  and  Otologi- 
cal  Society,  and  of  the  American  Academy  of  Ophthalmology  and  Oto- 
Laryngology.  The  high  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  fellow  practition- 
ers, as  well  as  by  those  who  are  fortunate  enough  to  be  numbered  among 
his  clients,  is  shown  by  his  election,  in  1909-1910,  to  the  jiresidency  of 
the  West  Virginia  State  Medical  Association. 

Although  a  Republican,  he  has  never  held  office.  In  the  field  of  busi- 
ness, he  has  interested  himself  in  the  First  National  Bank  of  Kenova,  of 
which  he  is  a  director,  and  he  was  elected  a  director  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Huntington,  West  Mrginia.  Leaving  the  church  of  his  ances- 
tors, he  became  an  Episcopalian,  and  has  been  a  vestryman  in  the  Hunt- 
ington church  for  the  past  nine  years.  .A.s  a  Mason,  a  Knight  Templar, 
and  a  Shriner.  he  has  shown  his  superiority  of  character  and  intellect, 
and  attained  the  rank  of  eminent  commander  of  Huntington  Command- 
ery.  No.  9,  Knights  Templar,  in  1906-1907.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Guyandot  Club,  and  the  Elks. 

Dr.  Moore  married,  at  .A.lgona,  Iowa,  on  June  28,  1899,  Harriet  Pren- 
tice Hallock,  who  was  born  October  11.  1872.  at  Catskill.  New  York.  Her 


WEST  VIRGINIA  279 

father,  Joseph  Hallock,  was  a  lawyer;  he  married  Su-.an  Ensign,  and  had 
another  daughter.  Josephine.  Dr.  Thomas  Waterman  and  Harriet  Pren- 
tice (Hallock)  Aloore  have  two  children:  Joseph  Hallock.  born  July  7, 
iy02;  and  Thomas  \\'aterman.  Jr.,  born  December  20.  1906. 


While  this  name  is  not  of  frequent  occurrence,  it  seems 
COXAW'AY     to  be  borne  by  more  than  one  family  in  West  \'irginia, 

and  even  to  have  been  borne  by  two  families  in  Alonon- 
galia  county.  ( )ne  of  these  families  is  recorded  to  have  been  of  the 
Scotch-Irish  race,  and  this  is  probably  true  of  all  of  the  name  in  this  sec- 
tion. The  present  family  has  long  been  settled  in  Tyler  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  could  easily  be  descended  from  one  of  the  Monongalia  county 
families,  or  from  the  people  of  southwestern  Pennsylvania. 

(I)  Eli  Conaway,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  was  born  in  Tyler  county.  \'irginia.  In  this 
county  his  life  was  passed,  and  he  was  a  farmer.  He  married  Perthena 
A.  (RufTner)  Wells.    Child,  Charles  I.,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Charles  I.,  son  of  Eli  and  Perthena  A.  (RulYner-Wells)  Cona- 
way, was  born  in  Tyler  county.  Mrginia.  in  1844,  and  died  February  16, 
1894.  He  was  one  of  the  representative  business  men  of  his  community, 
and  was  both  a  merchant  and  a  farmer.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons.  He  married  Elizabeth  \'irginia.  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam and  Adaline  Stealey.  Children:  i.  Orrin  Bryte.  of  whom  further; 
William  R.,  Thomas  C,  Felix  G.,  ;\Iax,  Archie  R.,  Kate,  Maud  B..  mar- 
ried Creed  L.  Morris,  she  died  in  1903 ;  Eli,  died  in  infancy ;  May.  died 
in  infancy. 

(III)  Orrin  Bryte,  son  of  Charles  I.  and  Elizabeth  X'irginia  (Stea- 
ley) Conaway,  was  born  in  Tyler  county,  West  \'irginia.  near  Center- 
ville,  June  21,  1879.  His  education  was  begun  in  the  public  schools,  and 
further  prosecuted  in  the  West  Virginia  Wesleyan  College,  at  Buckhan- 
non,  where  he  studied  until  1900,  in  which  year  he  was  graduated.  He 
then  entered  the  University  of  West  Virginia,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  the  class  of  1903,  and  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  Having 
thus  laid  a  foundation  of  general  study,  Mr.  Conaway  continued  to  study 
in  the  state  university,  in  the  law  department,  and  in  1906  he  received  the 
Bachelor's  degree  in  this  department  also.  After  his  law  graduation,  he 
came  to  Middlebourne,  Tyler  county.  West  Virginia,  and  here  he  has 
practiced  from  that  time,  with  success,  and  now  has  a  large  legal  practice. 
He  has  been  prosecuting  attorney  of  Tyler  county,  also  mayor  of  Middle- 
bourne.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  Modern  Woodmen 
of  America,  and  Phi  Kappa  Psi.  Mr.  Conaway  is  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  is  serving  on  the  ofiicial  board  of  the 
congregation  at  jNIiddlebourne.  He  married,  March  8.  191 1.  Maud  K., 
daughter  of  Joseph  and  Frances  Carpenter.  Child.  Helen  K.,  born  Janu- 
ary II,  1912. 


There  are  in  England  several  families  liearing  the  name 
PARKS  Park.  Parke  or  Parks.  At  various  times  a  number  of  coats- 
of-arms  have  been  granted  in  Great  Britain  to  persons  of 
one  of  these  surnames.  ^loreover,  these  names  seem  to  be  quite  probably 
not  always  of  the  same  origin,  but  to  have  come  from  several  very  distinct 
and  diverse  origins.  Sometimes  the  surname  was  probably  derived  from 
residence  near  a  park ;  in  this  case,  the  name  was  formerly  spelled  .At- 
Park  or  .\-Park.  It  is  thought  that  in  some  cases  the  name  is  a  deriva- 
tive of  Peter,  and  thus  belonging  to  the  same  class  cif  surnames  as  Per- 


28o  WEST  VIRGINIA 

kins,  Peirce,  Pearson.  Parkinson,  and  many  others.  Again,  two  places 
in  Normandy  bear  names  sufficiently  similar  to  this,  to  have  given  rise  to 
such  a  family  name.  It  will  thus  be  seen  at  once  that  family  unity  could 
hardly  be  argued  for  persons,  on  the  mere  strength  of  common  possession 
of  one  of  these  surnames.  There  are  a  number  of  families  in  the  United 
States  of  America  bearing  these  names. 

(I)  Ely  Parks,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we  have 
definite  information,  lived  in  Tyler  county,  \'irginia.  He  married  Mary 
Stackpole.  Children:  Lloyd  Wilson,  of  whom  further;  W.  H..  F.  M., 
Sarah,  Thomas  N.,  Taylor  and  David. 

(II)  Dr.  Lloyd  Wilson  Parks,  son  of  Ely  and  Mary  (Stackpole)  Parks, 
was  born  in  Tyler  county,  Virginia,  in  1858.  He  studied  medicine  at  the 
Starling  Medical  College,  Columbus,  Ohio.  For  the  last  twenty  years  he 
has  been  engaged  in  general  practice  at  Atwood,  Tyler  county,  West  Vir- 
ginia. Dr.  Parks  has  always  been  an  active  Republican,  and  he  was  for 
one  term  a  member  of  the  state  legislature  of  West  Virginia.  He  mar- 
ried Samantha,  daughter  of  Andrew  and  Pleasy  (Headley)  Haught.  Chil- 
dren:  John  C. ;  Charles  L.,  of  whom  further;  Angie,  deceased;  Maggie 
M,,  deceased;  Stella  C,  married  Perry  Robinson;  Mary,  married  William 
Valentine ;  Landis,  died  at  the  age  of  two ;  Dana,  at  home. 

(III)  Dr.  Charles  L.  Parks,  son  of  Dr,  Lloyd  Wilson  and  Samantha 
(Haught)  Parks,  was  born  at  Oxford,  Ritchie  county.  West  A'irginia,  De- 
cember 31,  1878.  The  beginning  of  his  education  was  made  in  the  public 
schools.  Then  he  attended  Wesleyan  College,  Buckhannon,  West  \'h- 
ginia,  and  went  for  professional  study  to  the  Western  LTniversity  of 
Maryland,  from  whose  medical  department  he  was  graduated  in  1904, 
four  years  after  his  college  graduation.  Until  1908,  he  was  thereafter 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  at  Atwood,  then  for  a  short  time  he 
was  at  Wick ;  also  in  Tyler  county.  West  Virginia.  In  the  spring  of  1909 
he  came  to  Middlebourne,  the  county  seat  of  Tyler  county  and  here  he 
now  has  a  large  practice.  Dr.  Parks  is  a  member  of  the  Tyler  County 
Medical  Association  and  of  the  West  Virginia  Medical  Association.  He 
is  an  active  Republican,  and  a  member  of  the  state  committee  of  his  party. 
He  married,  in  1904,  Mona  G.,  daughter  of  Valentine  and  Caroline 
(Davis)  Langfitt.  Children:  Carlton  Langfitt,  born  ]\Iay  30,  1905,  and 
Siegre  Wilson,  born  March  13,  1913. 


Frank  Herman  Tyree,  of  Huntington,  now  holding  the  of- 
TYRFE     fice  of  United  States  marshal,  and  the  incumbent  in  recent 
years  of  other  positions  of  special  trust  and  responsibility,  is 
a  representative  of  an  ancient  Huguenot  family,  which  has  been  for  sev- 
eral generations  resident  in  \'irginia  and  Kentucky. 

(I)  Zachariah  Tyree,  first  known  of  this  line,  was  born  in  \^irginia, 
died  at  the  venerable  age  of  ninety  years.  He  was  a  grandson  of  the  an- 
cestor who  emigrated  from  France.  Zachariah  Tyree  went  as  a  young 
man  to  Olive  Hill,  Kentucky,  and  there  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
He  was  a  lay  preacher,  and  for  thirty  years  held  the  office  of  deputy 
county  clerk. 

(II)  John  Milton,  son  of  Zachariah  Tyree,  was  born  at  Olive  Hill. 
Carter  county,  Kentucky.  .\t  the  age  of  sixty-seven  he  is  living,  retired 
from  business,  at  Grayson  with  his  wife,  three  years  younger  than  him- 
self. For  many  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  hotel  business.  During  the 
civil  war  he  enlisted  in  the  Fortieth  Kentucky  Mounted  Infantry,  and  be- 
fore the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service  was  twice  wounded,  once  at 
Salt  Works,  Kentucky.  r)n  one  occasion  he  was  taken  prisoner  and  was 
lined  up  with  his  fellow  captives  to  be  shot,  but  was  providentially  saved 


WEST  VIRGINIA  281 

at  the  last  moment.  He  married  Temperance  J.  Osenton,  born  at  Old- 
town,  Kentucky,  daughter  of  Henry  (known  as  "Buck")  Osenton,  a  na- 
tive Kentuckian,  who  lived  and  died  within  the  limits  of  his  state.  He  was 
a  storekeeper  and  slaveholder,  but  was  impoverished  by  the  civil  war. 
Throughout  the  whole  period  of  conflict  he  was  a  most  ardent  sympathiz- 
er with  the  southern  cause.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  fifty-eight 
years  old.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Milton  Tyree  were  the  parents  of  three 
children:  Frederick  W.,  a  physician  of  Grayson,  Kentucky:  Frank  Her- 
man, of  whom  further :  Gertrude. 

(Ill)  Frank  Herman,  second  son  of  John  Milton  and  Temperance  J. 
(Osenton)  Tyree,  was  born  January  25,  1873,  ^t  Grayson,  Carter  county, 
Kentucky,  where  he  received  his  education  in  the  common  schools.  After 
leaving  school  he  was  employed  for  a  time  by  the  C.  and  O.  railroad  as  a 
laborer,  at  a  compensation  of  a  dollar  a  day.  He  was  then  seventeen 
years  old,  and  was  speedily  recognized  as  possessing  capabilities  which 
fitted  him  for  a  higher  position,  in  consequence  of  which  he  was  in  a  few 
months  made  shipping  clerk  in  the  shops  at  Huntington,  on  the  western 
division  of  the  railroad.  After  remaining  there  five  years  and  a  half  he 
was  appointed  chief  of  police  of  Huntington,  and  filled  this  office  from 
1897  to  1901.  From  1901  to  1906  he  was  a  member  of  the  United  States 
Secret  Service,  and  for  four  years  was  the  personal  guard  of  President 
Roosevelt.  When  an  attempt  was  made  to  assassinate  the  chief  magis- 
trate at  Sagamore  Hill,  in  1904,  Mr.  Tyree  was  in  charge  of  the  details 
that  frustrated  the  design.  He  has  ever  remained  a  loyal  friend  to  the 
ex-president,  and  during  his  many  years  of  experience  has  encountered 
many  schemes  that  looked  shady,  that  he  foiled  with  precision.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1906,  he  became  United  States  marshal,  being  a  personal  appoint- 
ment of  President  Roosevelt,  who  had  expressed  a  desire  for  Mr.  Tyree 
to  have  the  office.  For  obvious  reasons  President  Roosevelt  had  a  pref- 
erence in  this  appointment  of  one  who  was  so  highly  competent  to  handle 
the  business  of  a  marshal.  Mr.  Tyree"s  personality  is  such  that  whoever 
has  come  in  contact  with  him  has  felt  him  to  be  the  man  for  the  place. 
Fie  is  indeed  a  useful  citizen,  strong  in  action  and  with  a  character  of 
unimpeachable  integrity.  In  the  sphere  of  politics  Mr.  Tyree  is  identified 
with  the  Progressive  Republican  party,  supporting  with  his  vote  and  in- 
fluence the  principles  advocated  by  the  organization.  He  affiliates  with  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church. 

Mr.  Tyree  married,  August  i<j,  1803,  at  Ripley.  Xew  York.  Clara  J., 
"born  June,  1875,  in  Huntington,  daughter  of  Henry  M.  and  IMelissa  A. 
(Butt)  Burdick.  Mr.  Burdick  was  an  old  resident  of  Huntington,  where 
he  was  for  many  years  engaged  in  the  drug  business.  During  the  civil  war 
he  served  in  the  (Jnion  army,  and  was  the  first  man  to  raise  the  American 
flag  in  Huntington.  The  courage  required  to  do  this  may  be  inferred 
from  the  fact  that  the  banner  was  afterward  riddled  with  bullets.  Mr. 
Burdick  died  in  1887,  and  his  widow  is  now  living  in  Huntington.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Tyree  have  one  son,  Harold  Burdick,  born  June  11,  1894,  and 
now  a  student  at  the  Virginia  Military  Institute  at  Lexington,  Virginia. 

Among  Mr.  Tyree's  most  cherished  possessions  is  one  which  will  be 
equally  valued  by  his  descendants  and  handed  down  from  generation  to 
generation  as  a  priceless  heirloom.  It  is  a  signet  ring  which  President 
Roosevelt  presented  to  Mr.  Tyree  when  the  latter  resigned  his  position  as 
personal  guard  of  the  chief  magistrate.  \Anthin  the  circlet  is  the  inscrip- 
tion:  "From  President  Roosevelt.  Xmas,  1905."  It  was  given,  so  the 
president  said,  "In  remembrance  of  the  good  times  we  have  had  to- 
gether." 


282  WEST  \'1R(;IXIA 

The  Hereford  famil\',  which  has  been  known  in  \'ir- 
HEREFORD  ginia  and  West  N'irginia  for  a  number  of  generations, 
has  been  a  particularly  notable  one  for  the  number  of 
its  members  who  have  been  engaged  in  professional  work,  especially  dis- 
tinguishing themselves  in  the  medical  field. 

(I)  Dr.  Thomas  P.  Hereford,  whose  death  occurred  in  Putnam  coun- 
ty, where  he  had  achieved  a  high  rank  in  both  medicine  and  the  world  of 
literature,  w^as  one  of  four  brothers,  all  of  whom  were  physicians.  He 
married  (second)  Lacey.  Children:  Dr.  Marion  Rush,  who  prac- 
ticed medicine  at  Somersville,  Nicholas  county,  West  Virginia,  and  died 
there  at  the  age  of  eighty- four  years;  Sydenham,  of  whom  further;  Wil- 
liam P.,  was  a  physician  at  Wellington,  Virginia,  four  miles  from  Man- 
assas Junction,  and  died  there  at  the  age  of  eighty-six  years  ;  Thomas,  was 
clerk  of  the  courts  of  Prince  William  county,  Virginia ;  and  daughters, 
Jane,  Willie,  Maria,  Caroline  and  Susannah,  all  of  whom  married. 

(H)  Dr.  Sydenham  Hereford,  son  of  Dr.  Thomas  P.  Hereford,  was 
born  in  Farquier  county,  Virginia,  June  5,  181 1,  and  died  at  Red  House, 
Kanawha  A'alley,  December  21,  1884.  Until  he  had  attained  the  age  of 
twenty-five  years  he  resided  in  his  native  county,  where  he  had  received 
his  education,  then  removed  to  the  Kanawha  \'alley,  where  he  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  the  medical  profession.  In  1870  he  retired  from  this  and 
engaged  in  mercantile  business  at  Red  House,  in  \vhich  he  was  activeh- 
interested  until  1882,  then  living  retired  from  business  activities  until  his 
death.  While  he  never  aspired  to  holding  public  office  for  the  sake  of  the 
pecuniary  gain,  he  yielded  to  the  solicitations  of  his  fellow  citizens,  who 
were  the  best  judges  of  his  fitness  for  the  office,  and  was  elected  treasurer 
of  his  district  in  1869.  Dr.  Hereford  married  (first)  Lavinia  S.  Floweree, 
born  in  1817,  died  at  Red  House,  January  13,  1863.  He  married  (sec- 
ond) Mary  Burford,  of  Buffalo,  West  Virginia,  who  is  also  deceased. 
Children  of  the  first  marriage:  i.  Thomas  Patterson,  who  was  a  physi- 
cian, and  served  as  surgeon  in  the  Confederate  army  during  the  civil  war; 
was  also  for  a  time  coroner,  and  for  twenty  years  postmaster  at  Elm- 
wood,  Mo.;  he  married  Maria  Jamison.  2.  Arieanna  Elizabeth,  who  died 
at  St.  Albans,  March  25,  1896,  \vas  the  wife  of  J.  H.  McConahy.  3.  Cas- 
sius  Dade,  of  whom  further.  4.  Henry  Clay,  who  died  in  i8g6  or  1897,^ 
was  engaged  in  mercantile  business  on  Davis  creek.  Kanawha  county,  and 
married  Clara  Wooley,  of  Gallipolis,  Ohio ;  their  only  daughter,  Ethel, 
married  L.  \'.  Thomas,  a  merchant  of  Cannelton,  \\'est  Mrginia.  Chil- 
dren of  the  second  marriage :  5.  Ada  B.,  deceased,  married  R.  B.  Burke, 
chief  engineer  of  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  railroad.  6.  MoUie,  married 
Qiarles  Robinson  and  lives  at  Red  House,  Putnam  county.  7.  John  Ran- 
dolph, born  December  25,  1868,  is  a  dealer  in  staple  and'  fancy  groceries 
in  Charleston,  West  Virginia:  he  married  Mary  Alice,  a  daughter  of  the 
late  J.  C.  Thomas.    8.  Louise. 

(HI)  Cassius  Dade,  second  son  and  third  child  of  Dr.  Sydenham 
and  Lavinia  S.  (Floweree)  Hereford,  was  born  in  Mason,  now  Putnam, 
county,  Virginia,  on  what  was  known  as  the  Ruffner  farm,  two  miles 
west  of  Red  House,  November  14,  1846.  He  received  a  substantial  edu- 
cation in  the  district  schools  and  those  of  Red  House,  and  upon  its  com- 
pletion obtained  a  clerkship  in  1864  with  Captain  McCauslin,  at  Point 
Pleasant,  with  whom  he  remained  for  a  period  of  five  years.  The  west 
appearing  to  him  to  off^er  better  opportunities  to  an  energetic  young  man 
he  then  went  to  Missouri,  w-here  he  served  as  clerk  in  a  store  for  three 
years,  and  after  six  months  in  business  in  association  with  a  partner,  he 
sold  his  interests  and  removed  to  St.  Albans,  in  August,  1872.  He  es- 
tablished himself  in  the  grocery  business,  carrying  a  complete  line  of 
staples  and  fancy  groceries,  and  conducting  the  business  personally   for 


WEST  VIRGINIA  283 

twelve  years.  At  the  end  of  this  period  he  had  been  so  successful  in  his 
management  and  policy  that  he  decided  to  branch  out  into  general  mer- 
chandizing, and  for  thirty-seven  consecutive  years  he  was  thus  success- 
fully engaged.  Since  September,  1909,  he  has  practically  retired  from 
this  field,  but  he  is  still  active  in  managing  his  other  business  interests, 
which  are  important  and  numerous.  He  is  one  of  the  oldest  business 
men  in  St.  Albans,  and  the  city  owes  much  of  its  growth  and  progress 
to  the  indefatigable  energy  and  up-to-date  ideas  and  methods  of  ]vlr. 
Hereford.  His  real  estate  holdings  consist  of  forty  houses,  including 
residences  and  business  sites,  and  a  number  of  plots  of  unimproved 
ground.  He  also  owns  the  undertaking  business  at  St.  Albans,  which 
has  been  under  the  management  of  W.  A.  White  for  the  past  seventeen 
years,  and  Mr.  White  also  superintends  his  other  property.  Mr.  Here- 
ford was  the  organizer  of  the  Bank  of  St.  Albans,  and  has  been  its  first 
and  only  president,  his  name,  capital  and  sound  business  judgment,  hav- 
ing been  the  mainstay  of  the  institution  since  its  inception.  Since  it 
commenced  business  in  1900,  it  has  gained  and  retained  the  confidence 
of  a  large  circle  of  depositors,  and  is  considered  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant and  safest  financial  institutions  in  the  county.  The  political  af- 
filiations of  Mr.  Hereford  are  with  the  Democratic  party,  and  he  is 
a  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  He  has  frequently  filled  local  offices, 
greatly  to  the  benefit  of  the  community,  was  a  member  of  the  city  coun- 
cil, and  in  1892  served  as  mayor,  in  which  capacity  he  furthered  many 
excellent  measures.  His  fraternal  connections  are  as  follows :  member 
of  Lodge  No.  202,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  St.  Al- 
bans; Lodge  No.  119.  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Ivanhoe ; 
Lodge  No.  71,  Knights  of  Pythias;  \\'ashington  Lodge,  No.  58,  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons ;  and  to  all  the  grades  of  the  Masonic  fraternity, 
including  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrme. 

-Mr.  Hereford  married,  August  17,  1875,  Anna  ]\Iay,  daughter  of 
Rev.  Edward  C.  and  Mary  E.  Roth,  at  Higginsville,  Missouri.  Rev. 
Dr.  Roth  who,  with  his  wife,  died  in  Missouri,  was  connected  with  the 
Baptist  denomination  as  a  minister  for  half  a  century.  He  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  of  German  parentage,  and  was  a  man  of  great  scholarly  at- 
tainment. The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hereford  were:  i.  Henry 
Kendall,  died  in  infancy.  2.  \\'illiam  Delafield.  a  practicing  physician  at 
Macon,  Georgia,  married  Sallie  E.  Handley,  of  Scott,  West  Virginia.  3. 
Cassius  D.,  died  at  the  age  of  seven  months.  4.  Walter  Donaldson,  a 
lawver  in  Oklahoma  Citv.  Oklahoma,  married  Reba  Reives,  a  daughter 
of  \Mlliam  E.  Mohler.  of  St.  Albans,  \\'est  \'irginia.  5.  Herbert  Roth, 
is  at  present  a  student  at  the  \\'ashington  and  Lee  L'niversity. 


.\ndrew  Showen.  founder  of  the  famil\    in  this  country, 
SHO\\'EN     came  from  Llessen  Cassel,  Germany,  in    iji)2.     His  first 

settlement  was  in  the  .Shenandoah  valley,  of  \irginia.  By 
trade  he  was  a  farmer,  and  carried  on  this  occupation  all  his  life.  He 
married  in  Germany,  and  at  the  time  of  his  emigration  was  accompanied 
to  this  country  by  his  family.  His  wife's  name  is  not  known.  He  is 
thought  to  have  adhered  to  the  tenets  of  the  German-Lutheran,  or  the 
Reformed  church,  .\mong  his  children  were:  John,  of  whom  further: 
\\'illiam :  Peter ;  and  Elizabeth,  who  married  John  Keyes. 

(II)  John,  son  of  Andrew  Showen,  was  born  in  the  Shenandoah  val- 
ley of  \'irginia,  January  30,  1800,  died  November  3,  i8.S4-  Like  his  fath- 
er he  was  a  tiller  of  the  soil.  He  and  his  family  were  Baptists.  He  mar- 
ried Sophia  Swope,  on  October  31,  1822.  She  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  of 
German  parentage,  born  August  2^,,  1801,  died  October  4,   1875.     They 


284  WEST  VIRGINIA 

were  the  parents  of  fourteen  children:  James  A.,  born  October  24,  1824; 
Nancy  J.,  November  7,  1827,  married  John  Haynes,  of  Greenbrier  coun- 
ty, Virginia,  now  West  Virginia ;  Wilham  P.,  of  whom  further ;  Jacob  H., 
born  December  5,  1833,  died  December  31,  1862;  Elizabeth  C,  April  27, 
1835;  John  M.,  January  3,  1839;  Ann  Eliza,  December  19,  1843,  died 
August  24,  1850;  Lewis  E.,  July  26,  185 1;  and  several  children,  who 
died  in  infancy. 

(III)  William  Preston,  son  of  John  and  Sophia  (Swope)  Showen, 
was  born  in  Greenbrier  county,  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  October  29, 
1831,  died  November  7,  1875.  He  followed  farming  all  his  life.  He 
married,  in  1863,  Nancy,  daughter  of  William  and  Sarah  (Gofif)  Parsons. 
Her  father  was  born  March  4,  1800,  died  in  June,  1891,  and  her  mother 
was  born  I-'ebruary  6,  1800.  He  came  from  Ireland,  and  landed  at  Cheat 
river,  Tucker  county.  Virginia,  when  his  daughter.  Nancy,  was  fifteen 
years  of  age.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  in  later  life  became  a  member  of 
the  county  court.  The  children  of  William  Preston  and  Nancy  (Par- 
sons) Showen :  Jacob  Jennings,  of  whom  further ;  John  R.,  Lewis  P., 
Lando  L.,  Mary  J.  and  Victoria. 

(IV)  Jacob  Jennings,  son  of  William  Preston  and  Nancy  (Parsons) 
Showen,  was  born  at  Reedyville,  West  Virginia,  July  14,  1864.  He 
received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools,  and  later  took  up  farm- 
ing until  lie  was  twenty-eight  years  of  age.  He  then  followed  the  trade 
of  a  carpenter  for  ten  years,  when  he  established  a  livery  stable  and  seven 
years  later  became  a  hauling  contractor  in  the  oil  and  gas  fields  of  Roane 
county,  in  which  business  he  is  still  engaged.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics 
and  was  elected  a  member  of  the  board  of  education  of  Roane  county  in 
1888.  He  is  a  member  of  Spencer  Lodge,  No.  55,  Knights  of  Pythias ; 
Lodge  No.  253,  Modern  Woodmen  of  America ;  and  Lodge  No.  198, 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  at  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia. 

He  married,  August  22,  1892,  Alberta,  daughter  of  N.  B.  Armstrong, 
of  Penicl,  Roane  countv.  West  Virginia.  Child  :  Lepha,  born  November 
8.   1893. 


The  earliest  member  of  this  family  in  America,  was  Ephraim 
DAVIS     Davis,  born  in  Concord,  Massachusetts,  May  22,  1705,  died 
in   Rutland,    Massachusetts,   October    10,    1778. 

(II)  Samuel,  son  of  Ephraim  Davis,  was  born  in  Rutland,  Massa- 
chusetts, March  15,  1746,  died  in  Rutland,  Massachusetts,  in  1798-99.  He 
was  for  many  years  a  resident  of  Rutland,  Massachusetts,  and  enlisted 
as  a  private  in  the  Continental  army  for  service  in  the  revolutionary 
war,  beginning  as  a  corporal  and  ending  his  military  career  as  a  colonel. 
He  had  a  son  Samuel,  mentioned  below. 

(III)  Samuel  (2).  son  of  Samuel  (i)  Davis,  was  born  at  Rutland, 
Massachusetts,  September  9,  1774.  He  grew  up  and  was  educated  in  hi? 
native  place  and  went  to  Ouincy,  Illinois,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  city  he 
became  a  prosperous  farmer.  He  reached  Illinois  in  183 —  and  lived  in 
that  state  during  the  residue  of  his  life,  dying  there  August  22,  1835.  He 
was  a  contributor  to  the  Bunker  Hill  monument  and  saw  La  Fayette 
there.     He  married  and  had  a  son  George  P.,  mentioned  below. 

(IV)  George  Francis,  son  of  Samuel  (2)  Davis,  was  born  in  Bos- 
ton and  passed  his  boyhood  and  youth  on  his  father's  farm  in  Illinois. 
\Mnen  he  had  reached  his  legal  majority  he  went  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
where  he  gained  prestige  as  one  of  the  big  pork  packers  of  that  city,  in 
fact,  the  third  largest.  He  was  president  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and 
the  Board  of  Trade  of  Cincinnati  and  in  1861  was  known  as  a  mer- 
chant prince  there.  He  was  a  business  man  of  remarkable  ability  and 
without  any  aid  whatsoever  won  the  high  place  he  occupied  in  the  finan- 


\ 


^ 


0-Zl/^J^-<i^^-- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  285 

cial  and  business  world  of  Cincinnati.  He  died  July  9,  i88i,  aged  sixty- 
one  years.  He  married  Nancy  Wilson,  who  was  born  at  Marble  Head, 
Massachusetts,  in  1822,  died  April  25,  1899,  aged  seventy-seven  years. 
She  was  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Wilson,  a  rope  manufacturer,  who  died 
in  Granville,  Ohio,  in  the  late  sixties.  Children:  i.  George  Francis,  is 
seventy  years  of  age  (1912J  and  maintains  his  home  in  Buffalo,  New 
York.  2.  Wiliam  Henry,  is  sixty-eight  years  of  age  and  lives  in  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio;  he  was  a  member  of  Company  K,  Eighty-third  Ohio  Volun- 
teer Infantry  during  the  civil  war  and  participated  in  the  battle  of  Vicks- 
burg  and  in  other  sanguinary  struggles  marking  the  progress  of  the  war. 
3.  Edward,  died  in  infancy.  4.  May  Hudson,  died  in  1870,  aged  eighteen 
years.  5.  Gilman  R.,  mentioned  below.  6.  Arthur  Wilson,  aged  fifty-six 
years,  is  a  resident  of  Cmcinnati.  7.  Walter  Park,  died  in  Brooklyn,  New 
York,  in  1892,  in  his  thirty-third  year. 

(V)  Dr.  Gilman  R.  Davis,  son  of  George  Francis  and  Nancy  (Wil- 
son) Davis,  was  born  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  August  24,  1854.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  that  city  and  completed  a  classical 
course  in  Dennison  University,  at  Granville,  Ohio.  In  1875  he  was  a  stu- 
dent in  the  University  of  Rochester,  but  a  short  time  later  en- 
tered the  Miami  Medical  College,  of  Cincinnati,  in  which  he  was  grad- 
uated as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1878,  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine.  He  then  took  a  post-graduate  course  in  the  New  York  Home- 
opathic Medical  College,  in  which  he  took  the  supplemental  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine  in  1879.  He  initiated  the  active  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession at  fronton,  Ohio,  where  he  lived  for  a  period  of  twenty  years, 
and  where  he  was  health  officer  and  coroner  of  Lawrence  county  for  two 
terms  each.  His  health  having  broken  he  was  forced  to  seek  a  change  of 
climate  and  came  to  the  mountain  regions  in  1902,  locating  at  Macdon- 
ald,  in  Fayette  county.  West  Virginia.  Here  he  controls  a  large  and 
representative  patronage  and  a  great  deal  of  his  time  is  devoted  to  his 
duties  as  surgeon  for  several  coal  companies  in  this  section.  He  is  of 
the  "regular"  school  of  medicine  and  in  connection  with  his  work  is  a 
valued  member  of  the  Fayette  County  Medical  Society,  the  West  Vir- 
ginia State  Medical  Society,  and  the  American  Medical  Association.  Dr. 
Davis  is  past  master  of  Macdonald  Lodge.  No.  103,  Ancient  Free  & 
Accepted  Masons,  and  in  politics  is  an  uncompromising  Republican.  All 
his  attention  is  devoted  to  his  ever  increasing  medical  practice  and  he 
is  recognized  as  one  of  the  ablest  physicians  and  surgeons  in  Fayette 
county.     He  and  his  wife  are  Presbyterians  in  their  religious  faith. _ 

On  September  14.  1882,  was  celebrated  the  marriage  of  Dr.  Davis  to 
Alice  Mather,  who  was  born  at  Ironton.  Ohio.  March  16,  1858,  and  who 
is  a  daughter  of  the  late  Richard  Mather,  whose  demise  occurred  in  April 
191 1.  Mr.  Mather  was  cashier  of  the  Second  National  Rank  of  Ironton 
from  1862  until  his  death.  The  Mathers  are  descended  from  an  old 
aristocratic  Massachusetts  family.  Mrs.  Davis'  mother,  Harriet  Stimson 
Mather,  was  a  native  of  Milford,  New  Hampshire,  and  she  passed  to 
eternal  rest  in  1909.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Davis  are  the  parents  of  one  daugh- 
ter, Harriet  Mather,  who  is  now  the  wife  of  Frank  D.  Drumheller,  of 
Thurmond,  West  Virginia.  Mr.  Drumheller  is  cashier  of  the  New  River 
Banking  &  Trust  Company,  of  Thurmond. 


The  Dews  family  has  long  been  prominent  in  the  Virginias, 
DEWS     representatives   of   the   name   having   figured    importantly    in 

business  and  public  affairs  during  the  past  few  generations. 
William  Dews  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  where  he  passed  his  entire  life 
and  where  he  was  an  extensive  and  influential  farmer.  He  had  a  son 
Samuel  Stone,  mentioned  below. 


286  WEST  VIRGINIA 

(II)  Samuel  Stone,  son  of  William  Dews,  was  born  in  Halifax 
county,  Virginia,  in  1835.  He  was  reared  to  the  invigorating  discipline 
of  his  father's  farm  and  remained  at  the  parental  home  until  he  had 
reached  his  twenty-fifth  year,  when  he  came  to  West  Virginia  and  located 
in  the  vicinity  of  Ansted,  Fayette  county.  He  served  as  captain  of  Com- 
pany C,  Twenty-second  Virginia  Infantry,  Confederate  army,  and  saw 
hard  service  throughout  the  entire  period  of  the  civil  war,  participating 
in  many  important  battles  marking  the  progress  of  hostilities.  He  was 
wounded  twice,  was  prisoner  of  war  for  several  months  and  was  in  the 
sanguinary  Seven  Days  battle.  He  married  Mollie  Moore,  likewise  a  na- 
tive of  Halifax  county,  Virginia.  She  is  a  daughter  of  William  JMoore, 
who  was  born  in  Virginia,  where  he  lived  until  i860  when  he  cam;e  to 
West  Virginia,  here  residing  until  his  death,  aged  eighty-nine  years ;  he 
was  a  farmer.  [Mrs.  Dews  is  living,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years. 
and  she  and  her  husband,  who  is  the  same  age,  are  now  residents  of 
Mount  Hope:  he  is  a  retired  farmer.  JMr.  and  Mrs.  Dews  became  the 
parents  of  eight  children:  William,  deceased;  Nannie  J.,  is  a  popular  and 
successful  teacher  in  the  Mount  Hope  high  school :  Laura  J.,  deceased  ; 
Brackenridge,  deceased;  Robert  S.,  maintains  his  home  at  Halifax,  \'ir- 
ginia ;  j\lay,  is  unmarried  and  lives  at  Huntington,  West  \'irginia :  Josc|>li 
H.,  mentioned  below:  and  Mattie,  is  the  wife  of  B.  W.  \\^alker,  of  Caper- 
ton,  West  Virginia. 

(III)  Joseph  H.,  son  of  Samuel  Stone  and  Mollie  (Moore)  Dews, 
was  born  in  Fayette  county.  West  Mrginia,  January  21,  1875.  He  worked 
on  his  father's  farm  until  he  had  reached  his  seventeenth  year  and  during 
the  winter  terms  was  a  pupil  in  the  neighboring  district  schools.  In  1892 
he  became  interested  in  coal  mining  and  for  the  ensuing  six  years  devoted 
his  attention  to  that  line  of  enterprise.  At  the  expiration  of  that  period 
he  went  to  southwestern  Tennessee,  where  he  worked  in  a  general  store 
for  three  years.  He  then  came  to  Mount  Hope,  which  city  has  since  repre- 
sented his  home,  and  here  was  employed  in  a  general  merchandise  store 
for  several  years.  In  February,  1908,  in  companv  with  J.  R.  Charleton, 
he  established  a  mercantile  business  under  the  firm  name  of  Dews  & 
Charleton.  the  original  stock  of  goods  being  stored  in  a  room  twenty  by 
thirty  feet  in  lateral  dimensions.  So  rapid  has  been  the  progress  of  this 
enterprising  concern  that  it  now  owns  one  of  the  largest  mercantile  es- 
tablishments in  the  county  and  it  is  calculated  that  an  annual  business  of 
forty  thousand  dollars  is  controlled.  Their  low  prices  and  the  splendid 
qirality  of  their  goods  have  built  up  their  trade  and  have  brought  them 
appreciative  customers  from  every  section  of  the  county.  Messrs.  Dews 
and  Charleton  are  enterprising  young  business  men  who  are  ever  on  the 
alert  to  advance  all  measures  and  projects  tending  to  promote  the  general 
welfare  of  their  home  community.  In  politics  Mr.  Dews  is  an  ardent 
Democrat  and  in  a  fraternal  way  he  is  a  Mason,  an  Odd  Fellow  and  an 
Eagle.  He  and  his  wife  are  Methodists  in  their  religious  faith  and  they 
are  popular  in  connection  with  the  best  social  aftairs  of  Mount  Hope, 
where  their  attractive  home  is  renowned  for  most  generous  hospitality. 

Mr.  Dews  has  been  twice  married.  His  first  w^ife  was  Dora  Collins, 
whom  he  married  in  southwestern  Tennessee  in  1898.  By  this  union 
there  was  one  son,  Samuel  Edwin,  born  October  21,  1899.  Mrs.  Dews 
was  summoned  to  eternal  rest  October  21,  1903.  On  December  28.  1904. 
Mr.  Dews  married  (second)  Florence  Sevy,  the  ceremony  being  per- 
formed at  Corliss.  West  \^irginia.  Mrs.  Dews  is  a  daughter  of  George 
Sevy.  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser  in  the  vicinity  of  Corliss.  Mr.  Sevy  was 
a  gallant  soldier  in  Company  C,  Twenty-second  Regiment,  Confederate 
army,  this  being  the  company  commanded  by  Captain  Samuel  S.  Dews, 
mentioned  above.     Mr.  Sevy  was  captured  by  the  Union  soldiers  and  im- 


WEST  MRGIXIA  287 

prisoned  for  many  months  and  he  took  part  in  several  important  battles. 
Mrs.  Dews'  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Rebecca  Amick,  is  a  native 
of  Fayette  county,  West  \'irginia,  and  she  and  her  husband  are  now  liv- 
ing on  a  farm  near  Corliss.  Three  children  came  of  the  second  mar- 
riage of  Mr.  Dews,  namely:  Kathleen  Grey,  born  November  10,  1905; 
Francis,  died  November  24,  191 1,  aged  three  years  and  seven  months; 
and  Joe  Heber,  born  August  6,  19 10. 


This  family  was  founded  in  America  in  colonial  days, 
SNYDER  the  original  progenitor  of  the  name  in  this  country  hav- 
ing come  hither  from  England.  One  of  his  descendants, 
Esquire  John  Snyder,  w^as  born  and  grew  up  in  Pennsylvania,  in  which 
commonwealth  he  resided  until  about  the  year  1800,  when  he  came  to 
Charleston,  West  Virginia.  From  that  city  he  later  removed  to  Queen 
Shoals,  where  his  demise  occurred  in  1872,  at  a  good  old  age.  He  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Booker,  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth,  and  to  them  were  born  the 
following  children :  David,  Alilton,  Betsey,  John,  Phillip  W.,  mentioned 
below,  Mary,  Daniel,  Susan  and  Catherine. 

(II)  Phillip  W.,  son  of  John  and  (Booker)   Snyder,  was  born 

in  West  Virginia,  in  1805.  He  was  an  agriculturist  in  the  vicinity  of 
Queen  Shoals  during  most  of  his  lifetime  and  at  the  time  of  the  incep-  • 
tion  of  the  civil  war  was  captain  of  a  company  in  the  Confederate  army 
for  several  years.  He  was  married  three  times,  his  first  wife  having  been 
Anna  Liza  Brawley,  who  was  of  English  descent  and  who  was  born  on 
Muddy  creek,  in  Greenbrier  county.  West  Virginia.  His  second  wife 
was  Anna  Liza  Martin  and  his  third  wife,  Henrietta  Griffith.  Chil- 
dren: John,  Jennie,  DeWitt  Clinton,  mentioned  below:  ^Mary  Frances, 
Anna  Liza  and  Josephine. 

(III)  DeWitt  Clinton,  son  of  Phillip  W.  and  Anna  Liza  (Brawley) 
Snyder,  was  born  in  Kanawha  county.  West  Virginia,  in  1844,  and  he  is 
now  living  in  retirement  at  Barboursville.  West  \"irginia.  He  was  a 
prominent  contractor  and  builder  until  his  retirement  from  active  par- 
ticipation in  business  affairs.  At  the  time  of  the  outbreak  of  the  civil 
war  he  enlisted  as  a  soldier  in  the  Twenty-Sixth  \'irginia  Battalion,  un- 
der General  Robert  E.  Lee,  having  been  a  member  of  Company  A,  com- 
manded by  Captain  John  A.  Swan,  under  Colonel  Edgar.  He  partici- 
pated in  the  following  battles:  Droop  JMountain,  New  Market.  Cold 
Harbor,  Lynchburg.  Frederick  City.  Kernstown,  Winchester,  Charles- 
town,  Mart'insburg,  Fishers  Hill  and  the  second  battle  of  Winchester,  in 
which  last  engagement  he  was  captured,  September  19,  1864,  and  held 
prisoner  at  Point  Lookout  for  six  months.  In  the  battle  of  Cold  Har- 
bor, or  Gaines'  Farm,  forty-six  men  in  Company  A  answered  roll  call 
and  the  following  morning  but  three  of  those  gallant  fighters  were  left. 
DeWitt  Clinton  Snyder  married  Rachel  Elizabeth  McCTlung,  who  was 
born  in  Greenbrier 'county.  West  Virginia,  in  1847:  she  is  still  living. 
Her  father  was  Curlev  John  McClung.  of  Irish  descent  but  a  native  of 
Greenbrier  county,  this  state.  Children:  .Annie,  is  the  wife  of  John  W. 
Warden,  of  Thacker.  West  Virginia:  Phillip  M..  mentioned  below:  Mol- 
lie  E..  is  the  wife  of  L.  L.  Stone,  of  Pikeville.  Kentucky:  Samuel  A.._a 
resident  of  Huntington.  West  Virginia,  married  Kittie  Crusan :  Wil- 
liam Arthur,  is  associated  with  his  brother  Samuel  A.  in  the  conduct  of 
the  Carolina  Pine  Lumber  Company,  at  Huntington:  Mamie,  is  the  wife 
of  Thomas  F.  George,  of  East  Bank,  West  Virginia:  Thomas  Hubert, 
mentioned  below:  Nellie  H.,  is  the  wife  of  Latelle  Graney.  of  Mount 
Hope,  West  Virginia;  Fannie,   is  .unmarried  and  resides  in   Barbours- 


288  WEST  VIRGINIA 

ville,  with  her  parents;  and  Vivian  is  also  unmarried  and  hves  at  Bar- 
boursville. 

(IV)  PhilHp  Melancthon,  son  of  DeV\  itt  CHnton  and  Rachel  Eliza- 
beth (McClung)  Snyder,  was  born  on  the  Crawley  farm,  near  Rupert,  | 
in  Greenbrier  county,  West  Virginia,  December  12,  1869.  As  a  boy  he 
attended  the  local  schools  and  his  iirst  work  was  carrying  water  for  a 
railroad  gang.  While  still  a  youth  he  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  and  I 
at  the  age  of  twenty  years  began  contracting  on  his  own  account  at  Se- 
well,  in  Fayette  county,  this  state.  He  remained  at  Sewell  until  1892 
and  then  made  his  headquarters  at  Thurmond,  where  he  was  a  contrac- 
tor until  1894,  when  the  family  removed  to  Mount  Hope.  Mr.  Snyder 
has  lived  in  this  city  since  that  time  and  it  is  but  just  to  say  that  his  bus- 
iness enterprise  and  energy  have  done  much  to  build  up  this  place,  both 
materially  and  in  a  public  way.  He  is  a  business  man  of  unusual  execu- 
tive ability  and  is  financially  and  officially  interested  in  numerous  enter- 
prises of  great  scope  and  importance.  He  is  president  of  the  Snyder 
Construction  Company,  which  was  incorporated  in  1904  and  which  has 
built  one-third  of  the  towns  in  the  Kanawha  and  New  River  districts, 
that  is,  most  of  the  territory  covered  by  Kanawha  and  Fayette  counties. 
This  company  employs  an  average  of  between  sixty  and  seventy-tive  men 
and  in  the  busy  season  has  employed  as  many  as  one  hundred  and  seven- 
ty-five mechanics  and  carpenters.  The  Snyder  Construction  Company  has 
built  all  but  two  of  the  elegant  new  buildings  erected  in  Mount  Hope  in 
recent  years  and  the  same  includes  three  schools,  one  hotel,  twenty-five 
business  buildings  and  twenty  residences.  This  is  the  best  built  town  of 
its  size  in  West  Virginia. 

Mr.  Snyder  has  been  president  of  the  Bank  of  Mount  Hope  since  the 
time  of  its  establishment,  March  17,  1902,  this  substantial  institution  be- 
ing the  first  bank  at  Mount  Hope  and  the  second  in  the  county.  The  first 
cashier,  F.  H.  Denning,  died  in  1903.  Otherwise  the  official  corps  has 
remained  unchanged  since  the  time  of  incorporation.  The  original  stock 
of  this  bank  was  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  but  since  1906  it  has  been 
eighty-five  thousand  dollars.  The  present  bank  building,  erected  after 
the  fire  of  1910,  is  strictly  fire-proof,  reinforced  concrete  and  is  the  best 
of  its  kind  in  Fayette  county.  Mr.  Snyder  is  also  president  of  the  Long 
Branch  Coal  Company,  of  Mount  Hope;  is  president  of  the  Carolina 
Pine  Lumber  Company,  of  Hi.uitington,  West  Virginia ;  is  president  of 
the  Snyder-Carter  Company,  which  concern  operates  a  line  of  stores  in 
various  towns  in  Fayette  county ;  is  president  of  the  P.  M.  Snyder  Lum- 
ber Company,  which  operates  a  mill  in  Fayette  county ;  and  is  secre- 
tary and  treasurer  of  the  Harrah  Coal-Land  Company,  of  Charleston, 
which  owns  thirteen  thousand  acres  of  land  in  Buchanan  county,  Vir- 
ginia. In  politics  Mr.  Snyder  is  an  uncompromising  Democrat.  It  is 
worthy  of  note  here  that  in  1900,  without  solicitation  on  his  part,  he  was 
nominated  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  for  the  office  of  sheriff.  He  carried 
his  district  by  three  hundred  and  eighty  votes  and  at  the  same  time  the 
late  President  McKinley  carried  that  district,  Republican,  with  two 
thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety-four  votes.  Fraternally,  he  is  a  Ma- 
son and  a  member  of  the  Hoo  Hoos.  He  is  a  Methodist  and  his  wife  was 
reared  a  Baptist. 

At  Russellville,  West  Virginia,  Mr.  Snyder  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Lana  C.  Walker.  The  ceremony  was  performed  April  25,  1894. 
l\Irs.  Snyder  was  born  at  Russellville,  October  20,  1872,  and  she  is  a 
daughter'  of  James  M.  and  Frances  (Moore)  Walker,  both  of  whom 
are  now  living  at  Russellville,  where  Mr.  Walker  is  a  prominent  mer- 
chant;  he  was  a  soldier  in  the  Confederate  ranks  during  the  entire  period 
of  the  war  between  the  states,  was  severely  wounded  and  was  at  one  time 


WEST  VIRGINIA  289 

taken  prisoner.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Snyder  have  four  children :  Ronald,  born 
April  8,  1895,  is  attending  school  at  Mount  Hope;  Thelma,  born  March 
13,  1897,  is  likewise  in  school,  as  is  also  Jannes,  born  August  20,  1903; 
and  Phillip  M.,  Jr.,  is  the  baby.  Every  Snyder  family,  as  far  back  in  the 
generations  as  is  recorded,  has  had  a  "Phillip." 

(IV)  Thomas  Hubert,  son  of  DeWitt  Clinton  and  Rachel  Elizabeth 
(McClung)  Snyder,  was  born  at  Glencoe,  in  Greenbrier  county,  West 
Virginia,  April  18,  1883.  As  a  child  he  accompanied  his  parents  to 
Russellville,  Fayette  county,  and  there  was  reared  to  maturity  and  edu- 
cated. In  1897  the  family  home  was  established  in  Mount  Hope. 
Thomas  H.  Snyder  completed  his  early  educational  discipline  with  a  com- 
mercial course  in  the  Mountain  State  Business  College,  at  Parkersburg, 
and  after  leaving  that  institution  entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  to  learn 
the  trade  of  carpenter  and  contractor.  The  first  salary  he  drew  was  a 
dollar  a  day.  In  1902  he  was  deputy-sheriff  under  his  brother  and  in 
1904  the  Snyder  Construction  Company  was  incorporated  under  the 
laws  of  the  state  of  West  Virginia.  Of  this  concern  Phillip  M.  Snyder 
is  president  and  Thomas  H.  Snyder  is  secretary  and  manager.  The  com- 
pany controls  a  very  extensive  and  lucrative  business  in  Fayette  county 
and  in  recent  years  has  grown  to  large  proportions.  Mr.  Snyder  is  a  di- 
rector in  the  Bank  of  Mount  Hope ;  is  vice-president  of  the  Snyder-Car- 
ter Company,  general  merchants  at  Thurmond  and  Mount  Hope ;  and  is 
a  stockholder  in  the  Carolina  Pine  Lumber  Company,  at  Huntington, 
West  Virginia,  this  being  a  wholesale  and  retail  lumber  concern.  He  is 
a  Democrat  in  his  political  convictions  and  in  fraternal  matters  is  affili- 
ated with  Beni-Kedem  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  the  Nobles  of 
the  Mystic  Shrine,  at  Charleston.  He  is  likewise  connected  with  the 
Hoo  Hoos.  On  September  18,  1912,  Mr.  Snyder  married  Miss  Carrie 
Ethel  Stephenson,  a  native  of  Fayette  county.  West  Virginia,  where 
her  birth  occurred  January  30,  1893.  She  is  a  daughter  of  William  H. 
and  Nancy  (Warren)  Stephenson,  who  live  at  Kilsyth,  in  Fayette 
county,  where  he  is  buyer  for  the  McKell  Company  stores. 


Dr.  John  D.  Myers,  of  Huntington,  who  has  been  for  many 
MYERS     years  a  leader  of  the  medical  profession  in  West  Virginia,  is 

a  representative  of  a  family  which  has  been  resident  in  the 
Old  Dominion  ever  since  the  revolutionary  period  and  has  given  to  the 
commonwealth  many  useful  and  loyal  citizens. 

(I)  John  Myers,  the  first  of  the  line  herein  recorded,  was  born  July 
25,  1779,  in  Loudoun  county,  Virginia,  died  September  30,  1853,  in  Lou- 
doun county,  having  so  far  as  known  passed  his  entire  life  there.  He 
married,  in  1802,  Charlotte  Miller,  a  native  of  Frederick  City,  Maryland. 

(II)  John  H.,  son  of  John  and  Charlotte  (Miller)  Myers,  was  born 
in  1810,  in  Loudoun  county,  Virginia,  died  in  Lexington,  Virginia,  in 
1869.  He  was  a  student  at  Georgetown  College,  District  of  Columbia. 
He  afterward  engaged  in  mercantile  business  at  Winchester,  Lewisburg 
and  Lexington,  also  devoting  time  and  attention  to  agriculture.  He  is  en- 
titled to  the  distinction  of  having  established  at  Lexington  the  first  bank 
of  issue,  and  he  was  also  politically  prominent,  serving  a  term  as  mayor 
of  the  city.  From  1852  to  1857  ^e  was  treasurer  of  Washington  College, 
now  Washington  and  Lee  L^niversity,  and  for  over  thirty  years  he  was  an 
active  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  Myers  married  (first)  in 
183 1.  Matilda  R.,  daughter  of  Dr.  Archibald  Houston,  of  Rockbridge 
county,  a  kinsman  of  General  Samuel  Houston,  of  Texas.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Myers  were  the  parents  of  one  child :  Matilda  Rowe,  born  July  19,  1832, 
died  in  1862.     In  1834  Mr.  Myers  married   (second),  Martha,  daughter 

19 


290  WEST  VIRGINIA 

of  the  Rev.  Daniel  Blain,  born  in  1773,  in  Abbeyville  district,  South  Caro- 
lina, and  his  wife,  Martha  (Hanna)  Blain,  a  native  of  Lexington,  Vir- 
ginia. The  Rev.  Daniel  Blain  was  a  minister  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
and  in  1802  became  Professor  of  Latin  in  Washington  College,  filling 
the  chair  until  his  death  which  occurred  March  19,  1814.  By  his  second 
marriage  Mr.  Myers  became  the  father  of  the  following  children:  i. 
Mary  Miller,  born  October  10,  1837,  died  January  11,  1863  ;  married  Rev. 
Henry  M.  White,  a  Presbyterian  minister;  no  children.  2.  Louisa  Libbey, 
born  November  5,  1839,  died  August  7,  1859.  3.  John  D.,  mentioned  be- 
low. 4.  Henry  H..  born  August  i,  1843,  died  August  14,  1901  ;  married 
Mary  E.  Nelson.  Children  :  Alexander  Nelson  ;  Harry  W.,  a  missionary 
in  Japan  ;  Martha  B.,  Charles,  Franklin.  Mildred.  5.  Charlotte  North. 
born  August  12.  1844,  died  July  15,  1871.  6.  Susan  Harrison,  born  Sep- 
tember 26,  1847,  died  May  19,  1904;  married  Rev.  W.  H.  F.  Wallace, 
of  South  Carolina ;  children :  Mary  Blain,  Henry,  William  Gordon.  Su- 
san. 7.  Elizabeth  Preston,  born  March  12,  1850:  married  Judge  John  .A. 
Lacey,  of  Washington,  D.  C. ;  children :  Rev.  John  Alexander,  of  the 
Presljyterian  ministry ;  Susan  Myers,  Sallie  Carruthers,  Elizabeth.  8. 
Samuel  Blain,  born  October  5,  1852,  died  in  1853. 

(Ill)  John  D..  third  child  and  eldest  son  of  John  H.  and  Martha 
(Blain)  Myers,  was  born  September  4,  1841,  in  Lewisburg,  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  was  eight  years  old  when  his  parents  moved  to  Lexington,  \'ir- 
ginia,  where  he  received  his  education  at  Washington  and  Lee  University, 
(then  Washington  College),  and  at  William  and  Mary  College.  In  1861 
he  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  army  as  lieutenant  and  drill-master,  subse- 
quently serving  in  various  capacities.  For  a  time  he  was  a  member  of 
the  famous  "Stonewall  brigade."  serving  with  it  in  Jackson's  Valle}'  cam- 
paign of  1862,  and  later  he  participated  in  the  arduous  series  of  engage- 
ments known  in  history  as  the  "Seven  Days'  Battle."  During  the  last  two 
years  of  the  war  he  was  a  member  of  the  First  A'irginia  Cavalry,  under 
Fitzhugh  Lee  and  General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart.  After  the  close  of  hostilities 
Dr.  Myers  matriculated  at  the  University  of  Mrginia,  entering  the  medi- 
cal class,  and  graduating  in  1866  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  IMedicine. 
He  immediately  began  the  active  work  of  his  profession,  practising  assid- 
uously for  the  next  three  years  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  going  to  New 
York  City,  where  he  took  a  course  at  Bellevue  Hospital,  taking  a  special 
course  in  surgery  from  that  institution.  Dr.  Myers  then  returned  for  a 
time  to  his  native  county,  afterward  removing  to  Missouri,  where  he 
remained  some  years.  In  1883  he  turned  his  face  eastward  and  took  up  his 
abode  in  Fayette  county.  West  Virginia,  five  years  later  settling  in  Hunt- 
ington, where  he  has  since  practiced  with  signal  success.  He  is  ex-vice-pres- 
dent  of  the  West  \'irginia  State  Medical  Society  and  also  of  the  Hunting- 
ton Medical  Society.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Central  Missouri  State  Med- 
ical Society,  and  was  for  many  years  surgeon  for  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio 
railroad.  He  affiliates  with  the  Masonic  order  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  Four  years  of  Dr.  Myers'  early  manhood  were 
spent  in  the  camp  and  on  the  battlefield,  contending  for  a  cause  which  he 
believed  to  be  a  just  one.  His  life  has  since  been  devoted,  for  more  than 
forty  years,  to  the  alleviation  of  suffering  and  the  advancement  of  medi- 
cal science.  He  has  the  record  of  a  brave  soldier  and  an  able  and  high- 
minded  physician. 

Dr.  ]\Iyers  married,  in  1865,  Martha  Harris,  born  near  Bremo  Bluff. 
Fluvanna  county.  \'irginia,  daughter  of  Dr.  George  Payne  Holman,  born 
in  1810,  died  in  1891.  and  his  wife,  Martha  F.  (Scruoggs)  Holman,  born 
in  1820,  died  in  1869.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Myers  are  the  parents  of  the  follow- 
ing children:  i.  George  Holman,  born  February  3,  1866,  died  July  18,  1891  ; 
married  Elizabeth  S.  Ficklen ;  no  children.    2.  John  Henry,  born  May  26, 


^t^ 


^.^ -7-^^-/^7'/&^///^X-^^^^^ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  291 

1867,  died  November  7,  1905;  married  Mrs.  Ida  B.  Harris,  nee  Crush; 
children :  John  Henry  and  Dorothy.  3.  Martha  Blain,  born  January  23, 
1869,  died  April  18,  1872.  4.  Mary  Louise,  born  November  25,  1870. 
5.  William  Lacey,  born  March  13,  1873,  died  June  30,  igoo.  6.  Bernard 
Reynolds,  bom  December  10,  1876;  married  (first)  Catherine  Banks,  de- 
ceased; one  child,  Glen  K. :  married  (second)  Winifred  Clark.  7.  Char- 
lotte North,  born  September  5.  1882.  died  April  15.  1889.  8.  Clara  Lib- 
by,  born  July  12,  1884;  married  Rev.  C.  E.  Butler,  a  Lutheran  minister 
of  Des  Aloines,  Iowa. 


Iuds;e  George  Poffenbarger,  lawver  and  jur- 
POFFENBARGER  "ist,  ""residing  at  Point  Pleasant,  Mason  county, 
West  Virginia,  was  born  in  that  county  at  a 
point  on  tlie  south  side  of  the  Kanawha  river  and  about  opposite  the  vil- 
lage of  Brighton,  November  24,  1861.  By  close  application  and  hard 
work  in  the  short  periods  permitted  him  in  the  common  schools  and  utili- 
zation of  odd  hours  at  home,  he  acquired  sufficient  learning  to  enable  him 
to  obtain,  in  1880.  a  teacher's  certificate  and  employment  as  a  teacher.  For 
seven  years  thereafter  he  divided  his  time  between  teaching,  attendance 
at  school  and  study  at  home.  A  portion  of  this  time  was  spent  at  Rio 
Grande  College,  Rio  Grande,  Ohio.  At  the  close  of  the  last  school  hf 
taught,  in  the  spring  of  1887,  he  obtained  his  license  to  practice  law  an( 
was  admitted  in  the  circuit  and  supreme  courts.  His  legal  knowledge  wa* 
acquired  by  study  at  home  under  the  supervision  of  Judge  John  W.  Eng 
lish,  whom  he  succeeded  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Appeals 
January  i,  1901.  Being  regular  nominees  of  rival  political  parties  foi 
that  position  in  the  election  of  1900.  they  were  direct  competitors  for  i| 
each  polling  about  the  strength  of  his  party,  and  Judge  Poffenbarger  pre 
vailing  along  with  his  associates  on  the  ticket. 

He  had  previously  obtained  prominence  in  the  state  by  reason  of  hi: 
political  services  and  affiliations.  After  his  admission  to  the  bar  in  1887, 
he  spent  about  ten  months  in  Colorado,  Wyoming  and  New  Mexico.  Re 
turning  in  March,  1888,  he  became  the  same  year  the  Republican  candi- 
date for  sheriff  of  his  county,  and  was  elected  by  a  majority  slightly  above 
that  given  in  the  county  for  Benjamin  Harrison,  the  candidate  for  presi- 
dent. He  thus  became  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-six  years  the  incumbent 
of  the  highest  and  most  responsible  office  in  his  county  and  the  local 
leader  of  his  party.  On  the  expiration  of  his  term,  December  31,  1892, 
he  began  the  practice  of  law,  but  continued  to  be  active  and  forceful  in 
politics,  and  thus  acquired  a  wide  and  influential  acquaintance  throughout 
the  state,  and  easily  obtained  the  nomination  of  his  party  for  judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Appeals,  and  election  to  that  office  in  1900.  In  this 
position  he  has  acquitted  himself  so  well  that  his  friends  found  no  diffi- 
culty in  affecting  his  nomination  for  the  same  office  again  and  as  his  own 
successor  in  1912,  and  he  was  re-elected  by  a  handsome  plurality.  His 
second  term  began  January  i,  1913.  and  will  expire  December  31,  1924. 
Only  one  other  man  has  ever  been  re-elected  to  a  place  on  that  bench  after 
having  served  a  full  term.  No  other  man  ever  held  the  office  of  sheriff  of 
Mason  county  at  so  early  a  period  in  life,  and  he  was,  at  the  time  of  his 
election  to  the  bench  of  the  supreme  court,  3'ounger  than  any  other  per- 
son who  had  then  been  so  honored. 

His  judicial  record  is  an  enviable  one.  He  has  a  vigorous,  analvtical 
and  discriminative  mind,  and  is  independent,  impartial  and  fearless  in  the 
rendition  of  decisions  and  delivery  of  opinions.  Within  the  period  of  his 
service  as  a  member  of  the  court,  its  procedure  and  methods  of  operation 
have  been  greatly  altered  and  improved,  and  in  this  work  of  reform  and 


292  WEST  VIRGINIA 

progress  he  has  been  very  potential.  In  the  appHcation  of  legal  principles 
to  concrete  cases,  he  endeavors  to  convince  and  conclude,  not  by  precedent 
and  authority  alone,  but  also  by  reasoning  based  upon  legal  principles  and 
philosophy  and  analogies  of  law.  Accordingly,  his  opinions  are  always 
read  with  interest  and  pleasure.  One  of  his  most  elaborate  and  carefully 
prepared  opinions  is  the  one  delivered  in  Conley  v.  Coal  &  Coke  Railway 
Co.,  67  W.  Va.  129,  of  which  the  Central  Lazv  Jouriia!,  in  its  issue  of 
May  27,  1910,  says  : 

"But  with  greater  interest  still  do  we  follow  the  reasoning  on  this  subject  in 
an  opinion,  which,  taken  all  in  all,  is  one  of  the  ablest  judicial  expositions  of  prin- 
ciples on  all  subjects  it  treats  it  has  been  our  opportunity^  to  read.  We  especially 
commend  those  parts  of  the  opinion  which  demonstrate,  with  faultless  logic,  that  a 
State  is  not  such  in  the  sense  of  the  Eleventh  Amendment,  when  its  officers  are 
prohibited  Ijy  the  courts  from  enforcing  an  unconstitutional  statute  and  when 
equity  may  enjoin  the  enforcement  of  a  criminal  statute.  These  are  examples  of  the 
sustained  logic  of  a  master,  proceeding  as  easily  and  naturally  on  the  elevated 
plane  he  has  placed  himself  as  others  of  us  do  in  the  ordinary  walks  of  life." 

Judge  Pofifenbarger  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  the  Sons 
of  the  Revolution,  and  the  I.  O.  O.  F.,  secret  order. 

He  was  united  in  marriage  on  May  10,  1894,  with  Miss  Livia  Nye 
Simpson.  Their  temperaments  are  .'^o  blended  as  to  make  theirs  a  happy 
vnion,  and  call  forth  the  best  efforts  of  each  other,  and  they  have  been  of 
immeasurable  aid  in  mutual  development. 

First  Generation. — The  children  of  Judge  and  Mrs.  Pofifenbarger  con- 
stitute, in  this  genealogical  plan,  the  first  generation,  and  are:  Nathan 
Simpson  Poffenbarger,  born  August  4,  1898;  Perry  Simpson  Poffen- 
barger,  born  Nov.  24,  1899. 

Second  Generation. — Judge  George  Pofifenbarger,  born  November  24, 
:'S6i,  son  of 

Third  Generation — Clinton  Pofifenbarger,  a  farmer,  residing  at  Beech 
Hill  in  Mason  county.  He  was  born  in  Arbuckle  district,  September  15, 
1832.  He  has  been  not  only  a  successful  farmer,  but  he  and  his  family 
have  been  leading  spirits  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  their  com- 
munity. Mr.  Poffenbarger,  while  in  the  prime  of  life,  held  many  ofifices 
of  trust  in  his  district.  He  married  Sarah  Lewis,  who  was  born  April  6, 
1832,  died  March  15,  1898,  and  is  buried  at  Pine  Grove,  in  Arbuckle  dis- 
trict.    Clinton  Pofifenbarger  is  the  son  of 

Fourth  Generation. — Paternal :  Henry  Pofifenbarger,  born  in  Washing- 
ton county,  Maryland,  near  Hagerstown ;  was  a  soldier  of  the  war  of 
1812,  having  enlisted  in  Augusta  City,  Virginia,  in  Captain  Brisco  G. 
Baldwin's  company.  In  1816  he  emigrated  to  Ohio.  He  was  three  times 
married:  i.  Margaret  Von  Person;  2.  Lydia  Gilliland :  3.  Margaret  Ann 
Martin. 

This  line  is  traced  from  the  marriage  of  Lydia  Gilliland,  who  was 
born  June  8,  1813,  married,  November  30,  1832,  died  November  26,  1849. 
Henry  Pofifenbarger,  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church,  was  not  only  a 
pillar  of  strength  in  his  church  and  a  leading  citizen,  but  was  one  of  the 
most  enterprising  men  in  the  Kanawha  Valley.  He  was  not  only  a  skilled 
blacksmith  at  a  time  when  all  farm  implements  were  made  by  hand,  but 
operated  a  grist  mill,  was  a  successful  farmer,  and  bought  the  first  thresh- 
ing machine  ever  brought  to  the  Kanawha  Valley. 

Sarah  Lewis,  of  the  third  generation,  was  the  daughter  of  George 
Lewis,  farmer,  residing  in  Robinson  district.  Mason  county,  Virginia, 
married,  January  27,  1831,  .\nn  Pullin.  George  Lewis  died  March.  1862: 
Ann  (Puilin)  Lewis  died  June,  1869. 

Fifth  Generation — Paternal:  John  Pofifenbarger,  of  Washington  coun- 
ty, Maryland,  was  a  prosperous  inan  and  skilled  artisan.     He  operated 


WEST  VIRGINIA  293 

such  large  blacksmith  shops  and  their  forges  gave  out  such  volumes  of 
smoke,  that  the  village  built  up  around  his  works  was  called  Smoke 
Town,  which  is  yet  extant.  In  his  will  he  appointed  his  son  Henry  as  one 
of  the  administrators  of  his  estate.  No  marriage  records  being  then  re- 
corded in  Maryland,  we  find  by  his  will  that  his  wife's  name  was  Mary, 
maiden  name  unknown,  as  is  disclosed  in  the  previous  records  of  the 
family  where  for  three  other  generations  the  wife  was  Mary,  surname 
before  marriage  unknown. 

William  Gilliland,  born  1789.  married  Ann  Edmunston,  daughter  of 
his  step-mother,  both  of  Pocahontas  county,  Virginia,  who  settled  in  Ma- 
son county  in  1808,  where  all  their  children  were  born. 

Maternal:  John  Lewis  married  Eliza  Edwards,  July  22,  1795,  in 
Monroe  county,  Virginia,  now  West  \'irginia,  and  located  near  their  par- 
ents later  in  Mason  county. 

Jonathan  Pullin,  son  of  James  Peoples  Pullin,  married  Sallie  Callahan, 
in  Bath  county,  Virginia,  in  1810. 

Sixth  Generation — Paternal :  Valentine  Pofifenbarger,  of  Washing- 
ton county,  Maryland,  married  Mary .    First  settlement  of  his  estate 

following  his  death  occurred  January  2,  1779. 

James  Gilliland,  born  in  Augusta  county,  Virginia,  died  February  14, 
1844,  aged  ninety-nine  years,  in  Greenbrier  county,  having  been  a  revolu- 
tionary soldier,  serving  first  as  a  private,  promoted  to  a  lieutenant,  for 
which  on  February  5,  1834,  he  was  granted  a  pension  of  $78.22  per  an- 
num. His  wife  was  Lydia  Armstrong,  a  member  of  one  of  the  best  known 
families  in  Augusta  county,  \'irginia. 

James  Edmiston,  a  revolutionary  soldier,  settled  in  Greenbrier  coun- 
ty, Virginia,  where  he  died  October  7,  1817,  married  Jane  Smith,  emi- 
grant from  Ireland,  who  after  her  husband's  death  became  the  second 
wife  of  James  Gilliland  above  mentioned,  whose  son  William  had  mar- 
ried her  daughter  Ann,  and  thus  became  the  stepmother  of  her  son-in-law 
and  the  stepmother-in-law  of  her  own  daughter,  without  violating  any 
law  of  the  state  or  nature. 

Maternal :  Benjamin  Lewis  was  the  progenitor  of  a  large  family  in 
Mason  county,  \'irginia,  where  with  his  wife  Nancy  he  located  in  1792, 
coming  from  Greenbrier,  where  with  his  brothers  George  and  John  and 
sister,  Mrs.  Van  Orzel,  he  had  located  following  the  revolutionary  war, 
he  having  served  as  a  sergeant  in  Captain  Spotswood's  company,  loth 
Virginia  Regiment,  commanded  by,  successively  Colonel  Edward  Stevens, 
Major  Samuel  Howe  and  Colonel  John  Green.  He  enlisted  November 
29,  1776,  discharged  July  5,  1778. 

Arthur  Edwards,  born  in  Augusta  county,  Virginia,  August  16,  1744, 
married,  January  15,  1775,  Jane  Withrow,  born  at  Germantown,  Penn- 
sylvania, 1751,  thence  to  Lick  Run,  Virginia,  North  Branch  of  the  Shen- 
andoah, and  in  1785  removed  to  Greenbrier  county,  Virginia,  on  Indian 
creek,  now  Monroe  county,  thence  in  1801  to  lands  in  Mason  county, 
Virginia,  eight  miles  above  Point  Pleasant,  on  the  Ohio.  He  died  in 
1820,  his  wife  in  1830,  and  are  buried  in  the  Barnett  cemetery  on  Kana- 
wha Three  Mile.     Arthur  Edwards  was  a  revolutionary  soldier. 

Seventh  Generation — Paternal :  George  Poffenbarger,  emigrant.  Sep- 
tember 29,  1733.  from  Germany  in  ship  "Pink  Mary,"  brought  his  wife 
and  four  children,  and  other  children  were  born  in  America.  They  landed 
at  Philadelphia  and  became  founders  of  families  in  that  state,  and  their 
descendants  are  now  numerous  throughout  the  states.  This  line  is  traced 
through  their  son,  Valentine,  who  settled  in  Washington  county,  Mary- 
land. ' 

Nathan  Gilliland.  of  Augusta  county,  \'irginia.  married  . 

Matthew  Edmiston,  emigrant  from  Scotland  to  Chester  county,  Penn- 


294  WEST  VIRGINIA 

sylvania,  thence  to  Augusta  county.  \'irginia,  about  1740.  He  was  the 
father  of  six  sons — Robert,  Andrew,  Jolm,  James,  WilHam  and  Samuel ; 
and  of  two  grandsons  who  were  revolutionary  soldiers  and  distinguished 
themselves  at  Kings  Mountain.  This  line  is  traced  from  James  Edmis- 
ton.  The  family  traces  back  to  Sir  David  Edmiston,  cupbearer  to  King 
James  I.  and  to  Sir  James  Edmiston,  standard  bearer  of  the  Royal  colors 
at  the  battle  of  Sheriffmuir.  The  family  in  the  two  Virginias  have  been 
eminent.  Among  them  was  Judge  Matthew  Edmiston,  member  of  both 
houses  of  the  \'irginia  General  Assembly,  member  of  West  Virginia  Con- 
stitutional Convention,  1872;  and  in  1866  was  appointed  member  of  the 
West  Virginia  Supreme  Court  of  Appeals,  dying  June  29,  1887. 

Maternal :  Hugh  Edwards,  born  in  Wales,  emigrated  to  Pennsylvania 

early  in  life,  married  ,  and  reared  a  large  family  before  settling  in 

Augusta  county,  \irginia.  where  he  died  in  1752.  survived  by  one  daugh- 
ter and  seven  sons. 

Eighth  Generation — I'aternal ;  Samuel  Gilliland.  emigrant  (Scotch- 
Irish)  to  America,  married  in  Pennsylvania  before  locating  in  \'irginia  in 
1740,  Elizabeth  Smith. 

The  family  is  traced  back  to  Scotland,  where  in  the  sixteenth  century 
they  were  prominent  in  the  Highland  wars.  The  name  was  then  spelled 
Mac  Gillyshallon.  Fairbriens  Crests  also  gives  the  name  as  Gillon,  Gilli- 
land, Gillisclond ;  and,  in  Northumberland,  Gillisland. 

Mrs.  Livia  Simpson-PofTenbarger,  wife  of  Judge  Poffenbarger,  is 
not  only  the  most  widely  known  of  any  woman  in  West  Virginia,  but  en- 
joys an  acquaintance  with  eminent  men  and  women  that  is  nation  wide. 

She  has  been  connected  with  newspaper  work  for  many  years,  having 
since  December,  1888,  been  the  publisher  of  the  State  Gazette,  a  Republi- 
can newspaper  at  Point  Pleasant.  The  paper  has  at  all  times  been  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  forceful  papers  of  the  state.  Mrs.  Poffenbarger  has 
been  active  in  politics  and  is  an  adviser  in  the  eminent  councils  of  her 
party.  Among  the  monuments  to  her  energy  in  her  home  town  is  a 
splendid  federal  building  for  which  the  government  appropriated  $112, 
500,  the  largest  appropriation  ever  allowed  for  any  town  of  the  size  in  the 
United  States.  Through  her  efforts  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
officially  recognized  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant  as  the  first  battle  of  the 
American  Revolution,  and  appropriated  $10,000  to  aid  in  the  erection  of 
the  monument  now  marking  the  historic  spot.  She  was  the  founder  of 
the  Col.  Charles  Lewis  Chapter,  D.  A.  R.,  the  largest  chapter  of  that  or- 
ganization in  West  Virginia.  That  chapter,  on  its  tenth  anniversary,  con- 
ferred upon  her  the  office  of  honorary  life  regent.  She  organized  the 
Point  Pleasant  Development  Company,  founders  of  North  Point  Pleasant, 
a  suburb  of  Point  Pleasant.  She  has  aided  in  organizing  substantial  bus- 
iness firms  and  civic  organizations.  She  secured  appropriations  from  her 
state  totaling  $10,000,  and  secured  an  additional  $8,000  for  Tu  Endie  Wei 
Park,  and  made  the  dedicatory  speech  on  October  10,  1901,  when  10,000 
people  assembled  to  honor  the  heroes  of  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant.  She 
was  the  organizing  force  behind  the  30,000  people  assembled  when  the 
Rattle  Monument  was  unveiled  on  October  9,  1909.  .^side  from  her 
duties  as  wife  and  mother  and  publisher,  she  is  the  author  of  a  number 
of  family  histories,  and  of  "The  Battle  of  Point  Pleasant,  the  First  Bat- 
tle of  the  .American  Revolution,"  whose  history  is  recognized  by  the 
patriotic  societies  as  the  most  complete  of  that  battle  extant,  and  the  facts 
and  argument  contained  in  that  volume  were  those  upon  which  Con- 
gress and  the  legislature  of  \\'est  \Mrginia  based  recognition  of  the 
claims  for  that  historic  epoch.  Mrs.  Poiifenbarger  is  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church.  National  Historical  Society,  National  Geographical 
Society.    Woman's    National    Press    .Association,    the    vice-president    for 


WEST  VIRGINIA  295 

West  \'irginia  Republican  Editorial  Association,  organizing  general  of 
the  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Pilgrims,  member  National  Genealogical  So- 
ciety, National  Woman's  Rivers  and  Harbors  Congress,  (3hio  \'alley  His- 
torical Society.  Ohio  Archeological  and  Historical  Society,  besides  hold- 
ing membership  in  a  number  of  family  associations  of  the  East. 

Her  lines  of  descent  are  from  the  most  eminent,  tracing  largely  back 
to  founders  of  New  England,  thence  to  Continental  Europe  through  well 
established  unbroken  lines  back  to  986. 

Lina  Simpson  Poffenbarger  was  born  at  Pomeroy,  C)hio,  ]\Iarch  i, 
1862.  daughter  of  CJeorge  Perry  Simpson  and  Phebe  Almeda  Kennedy, 
his  wife,  a  granddaughter  of  Judge  Norton  Simpson  and  wife  Lina  Nye, 
and  of  James  Kennedy  and  Alarie  Marguerite  A'on  Schriltz.  Judge  Nor- 
ton Simpson  descended  from  Andrew  Simpson,  Boston,  1727,  and  of  Jo- 
siah  Simpson,  revolutionary  soldier.  James  Kennedy  descended  from 
Robert   Kennedy,   Lancaster,   Pennsylvania,    1733. 

The  Pilgrim  Xcz^'s  Letter,  official  publication  of  the  Sons  and  Daugh- 
ters of  Pilgrims,  under  date  of  June,  191 1,  says  of  her  lineage: 

"She  is  also  a  member  of  the  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Pilgrims,  holding  the 
banner  record  for  eligibility  to  the  society,  through  sixty-one  emierant  ancestors 
prior  to  1650,  and  forty-five  native  ancestors  prior  to  1692;  a  total  of  one  hundred 
and  six  ancestors  on  each  of  whom  she  can  claim  membership  with  the  Society. 
The  list  of  these  ancestors  is  as  follows,  namely:  Ensign  John  Nye.  married  Oc- 
tober 25.  1710;  Sarah  Cook;  Ichabod  Hinckley,  born  August  8.  1680;  Caleb  Nye 
took  oath  of  Fidelity  1678;  Elizabeth  Atwood  16 — ;  George  Cook  16 — ;  Sarah 
Place  16—;  Ensign  John  Hinckley,  born  May  26,  1644;  Bethia  Lothrop,  born  July 
25,  1649;  William  Bassett.  born  1679;  Abigail  Bourne,  born  July  22,  1684;  Thomas 
Sawyer,  emigrant  1646;  Marie  Prescott  16 — :  Thomas  Gardiner,  16 — ;  Mary  Por- 
ter, 16-—;  Daniel  Howland ;  Mary  Sampson:  Zoeth  Howland ;  Henry  Howland, 
emigrant  1633:  Mary  Howland.  died  1674;  Josiah  Grant,  born  November  19.  1668; 
Rebecca  Miner,  born  September  1672;  Ebenezer  Williams,  born  December  6,  1666; 
Mary  Wheeler,  born  November  22,  i668;  John  Breed,  born  June  18,  1663;  Mercy 
Palmer,  born  1668;  Samuel  Prentice,  born  1680;  Esther  Hammond  16^;  Benja- 
min Nye,  born  May  4,  1620,  emigrant  1635 :  Katherine  Tupper,  born  i&— ,  emigrant 
1635;  John  Atwood.  emigrant  1636;  Sarah  Masters-in.  emigrant  1636;  Fran- 
cis Cook,  16 — :  (?)  or  Thomas  Cook.  16 — .  (?):  Enoch  Place,  emi- 
grant 1631 ;  Sarah  Place,  emigrant,  1631 ;  Samuel  Hinckley,  emigrant  1635 ;  Sarah 
Hinckley,  emigrant.  1635:  Thomas  Lothrop,  born  1621  :  Sarah  (Earned)  Ewer, 
emigrant  1634:  Colonel  William  Bassett.  born  1656;  Elisha  Bourne,  born  1641 ;  , 
Patience  Skiff,  born  March  25.  1652;  John  Prescott.  emigrant  1646;  Thomas 
Gardiner.  16 — :  Margaret  Frier  16 — :  John  Porter  16 — :  Thomas  Sampson  16 — ; 
Samuel  Grant,  born  1631.  Mary  Porter,  born  1638:  Ephraim  Miner,  baptized  May 
I.  1642;  Hannah  Avery,  born  1644:  Samuel  Williams,  born  1632;  Theodore  (Hof- 
grove)    Park,    married    March    2.    1654:    Allen    Breed,    born    1626.    emigrant    1630: 

Mary   Breed,   born   1630;    Gershom    Palmer,   born   .   emigrant    1628;    Ann 

Dennison.  born  May  20,  1649;  Thomas  Prentice,  born  June  22.  1650;  Sarah  Stan- 
ton, born  1675;  Nathaniel  Hammond.  16 — :  Captain  Thomas  Tupper.  emigrant 
1635;  Ann  Tupper.  emigrant  1635:  Richard  Masterson.  emigrant  16--:  Rev.  John 
Lothrop.  emigrant  1635;  William  Earned,  emigrant  1630:  Goodith  Earned,  emi- 
grant 1630;  William  Bassett,  born  1624;  Mary  Burt,  born  16 — ;  Richard  Bourne, 
emigrant  1636:  Bathsheba  Hallet.  emigrant  1636;  James  Skiff,  emigrant  16 — ; 
Henry  Howland,  emigrant  1633:  Mary  Howland,  emigrant  1633:  Matthew  Grant, 
emigrant  1630;  Priscilla  Grant,  emigrant  1630:  Thomas  Miner,  born  in  England, 
1608.  einigrant  1628;  Grace  Palmer,  born  in  England  1608.  emigrant  1628;  Cap- 
tain James  Avery,  born  1620.  emigrant  1642 ;  Joanna  Grennslade,  born  1622 ;  Ben- 
jamin Hammond,  emigrant  1643;  Robert  Williams,  born  in  England  1598.  emi- 
grant 1635 ;  Elizabeth  Stalham.  emigrant  1635 ;  Thomas  Park,  emigrant  November 
29.  1630;  Dorothy  Thompson,  born  July  5.  1624:  Thomas  Wheeler,  emigrant  1635; 
Mary  Wheeler,  married  1645;  Allen  Breed,  emigrant  16,30;  Walter  Palmer,  born 
1585,  emigrant  1538:  2.  Rebecca  Short;  Captain  George  Dennison.  emigrant  1631 ; 
Ann  Boreodell.  emigrant  1645 ;  Captain  Thomas  Prentice,  born  1621.  emigrant 
1650;  General  Thomas  Stanton,  emigrant  163S ;  .A-nn  Lord,  died  1688.  emigrant 
1635;  Abraham  Sampson,  emigrant  1629:  William  Bassett.  emigrant  1621 :  Eliza- 
beth Tilden.  162 — ;  High  Burt  16 — :  .Andrew  Hallett,  emigrant  1637;  Christopher 
Avery,  born  1590.  emigrant  1646:  Robert  Park,  emierant  Jime  12.  1630:  Martha 
Chapen.  1630;  .\lice  Thompson  (widow)  164 — ;  William  Dennison.  born  1603; 
Margaret   (Chandler)   Monk.     Number  of  emigrant  ancestors,  prior  to  1650.  sixty- 


296  WEST  VIRGINIA 

one ;  number  of  native  ancestors,  prior  to  1692,  forty-five.  Total  number  of  eligible 
ancestors  for  membership  in  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Pilgrims,  one  hundred  and 
six." 

Since  which  time  a  search  of  the  records  have  added  to  this  remarka- 
ble list  of  ancestors  the  names  of  John  Porter  (i)  and  Anna  White,  his 
wife;  Robert  White  and  wife,  Bridget  Alger,  and  Thomas  Tilden,  1623, 
a  total  of  emigrant  ancestors  of  sixty-six,  and  ancestors  in  America  prior 
to   1692,    III. 

Crossing  the  waters,  the  line  is  extended  to  Thomas  Nye,  married, 
1583,  Margaret  Mrynge.  of  London :  William  Hammond,  of  England, 
married  Elizabeth,  sister  of  William  Penn,  London. 

The  Miner  Line  being  Thomas  Miner,  emigrant  born  1608,  married 
Grace  Palmer ;  Clement  Miner,  married  Sarah  Pope ;  Thomas  Miner, 
married  Bridget  Heme;  Lodowick  Miner,  married  Anna  Dyer;  William 
Miner,  died  1359,  making  an  imbroken  line  for  eigiiteen  generations  in  n 
period  of  over  five  hundred  years.  The  Nyes  trace  back  to  the  Bishop 
of  Roskelde,  Denmark,  1316,  thence  to  Herold  Blontoud,  died  985,  whose 
daughter  married  Styribion,  son  of  Olaf,  King  of  Sweden ;  through 
Charles  the  Bold,  the  Bassetts  trace  a  direct  line  to  Thurston  de  Bassett, 
Justice  of  all  England,  and  are  direct  descendants  of  Henrv  I.  and  King 
Charles  the  Bold,  880. 


The  great  bod)-  of  Dutch  immigrants  into  what  is  now  the 
RL^CKER     Ignited   States   settled  in   and  near  the  present   states  of 

New  York  and  New  Jersey,  and  came  to  these  shores  in 
the  spirit  of  miHtary  adventure  and  with  the  purpose  of  founding  a  great 
colony.  In  the  present  family  we  have,  however,  the  instance  of  a  later 
Dutch  immigrant,  submitting  not  by  force  to  the  greater  might  of  Britain, 
but  willingly  settling  within  the  territory  of  the  English  colonial  empire 
of  the  day. 

(I)  .\mbrose  Rucker,  the  founder  of  this  family,  was  born  in  Hol- 
land, March  I,  1679,  and  died  in  Goochland  county,  Virginia,  June  19. 
1756.  He  was  a  great-grandson  of  the  distinguished  Admiral  DeRuyter, 
who  was  noted  for  bravery,  learning,  and  courtesy.  Ambrose  Rucker 
landed  in  America  at  the  age  of  twenty-two.  He  was  shipwrecked  on 
the  voyage,  and  clung  to  the  timbers  for  three  days  before  he  was  picked 
up.  As  might  be  inferred  from  this,  he  was  a  man  of  great  strength.  His 
height  was  six  feet  six  inches,  but  he  was  well  and  proportionately  built. 
He  married,  July  21.  1708,  Dorcas  Sorrel  Waller  (whose  mother's  name 
was  Sorrel).     Child:  Reuben,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Reuben,  son  of  Ambrose  and  Dorcas  Sorrel  (Waller)  Rucker, 
was  born  at  Norfolk,  \'irginia,  April  3,  1715,  and  died  in  Goochland 
county,  February  17,  1783.  He  was  a  wealthy  farmer  and  tobacco  raiser. 
He  married.  May  25,  1750,  Mary  Clifton  Hedly  (whose  mother  was  a 
Garland).     Child:  Ambrose,  of  whom  further. 

(HI)  Ambrose,  son  of  Reuben  and  Mary  Clifton  (Hedley)  Rucker, 
was  born  at  Norfolk,  November  9,  1755,  and  died  in  Amherst  county,  Vir- 
ginia, December  14,  1806.  His  home  was  in  Amherst  county.  In  the 
revolutionary  war  he  held  the  rank  of  colonel.  He  married,  July  4,  1773, 
Margaret,  daughter  of  Colonel  John  and  Mary  Jane  (Dawson)  McDaniel. 
whose  father  and  maternal  grandfather  were  revolutionary  officers. 
Child:  Ambrose  (2),  of  whom  further. 

(I\')  Ambrose  (2),  son  of  Ambrose  (i)  and  Margaret  (McDaniel) 
Rucker,  was  born  in  Amherst  cotmt\-,  September  2.  \~J~ .  and  died  in  Am- 
herst county,  February  23.  183(1.  In  that  muntv  he  made  liis  humc.  He 
was  a  wealthy  farmer  therein.     He  serve.l  as  cjiief  justice  of  the  comity 


WEST  VIRGINIA  297 

court.  In  the  war  of  1812  he  was  captured.  He  married.  August  i,  1799, 
EHzabeth,  daughter  of  Captain  William  and  Mary  Ann  (Gaines)  Parks. 
From  another  daughter  of  Captain  William  Parks,  the  wife  of  William 
Parks  Ruckcr  (see  paragraph  (\'I),  this  sketch)  was  descended.  A 
warm  and  intimate  friendship  always  existed  between  the  Parks  and 
Washington  families,  and  this  was  strengthened  by  the  marriage  of  An- 
drew, youngest  brother  of  Captain  William  Parks,  to  George  Washing- 
ton's niece  and  protegee.  The  Ruckers  of  the  present  day  are  also  of 
hkjod  kin  with  General  Washington  through  the  Lewises.  Child  of  Am- 
brose (2)  and  Elizabeth  (Parks)  Rucker :  Clifton  Hedly,  of  whom 
further. 

(V)  Clifton  Hedley,  son  of  Ambrose  (2)  and  Elizabeth  (Parks) 
Rucker,  was  born  in  Amherst  county,  January  31,  1807,  and  died  in  Am- 
herst county,  March  20,  1838.  He  was  finely  educated.  He  made  his 
home  at  Lynchburg,  Virginia,  where  he  was  a  wealthy  merchant  and  to- 
bacconist, one  of  the  leading  business  men  of  that  place.  He  married, 
January  13,  1831,  Mary  Jane  Starke,  daughter  of  Captain  James  Staples, 
of  Stone  Wall,  Appomattox  county,  Virginia.  She  was  a  descendant  of 
the  Bradfords,  Spottswoods,  and  Starkes ;  General  John  Starke,  of  the 
revolution,  and  Governor  Spottswood,  the  first  colonial  governor  of  Vir- 
ginia, were  her  great-uncles.     Child:  William  Parks,  of  whom  further. 

(VI)  William  Parks,  son  of  Clifton  Hedly  and  Mary  Jane  Starke 
(Staples)  Rucker,  was  born  at  Lynchburg,  November  9,  1831,  and  died  at 
Lewisburg,  West  Virginia,  January  3,  1905.  He  was  educated  at  Laurel 
Hill  Academy,  Amherst  county,  Virginia ;  Valley  Union  Seminary,  Bote- 
tourt county,  Virginia ;  the  LTniversity  of  Virginia,  and  Jefferson  Medical 
College,  Philadelphia.  He  practiced  medicine  for  a  time  at  Alvon,  Green- 
brier county,  Virginia,  and  afterward,  from  1855  to  1862,  at  Covington, 
Alleghany  county,  Virginia.  At  Covington  he  became  well-known  and 
popular  as  a  physician  throughout  that  part  of  the  state,  and  in  his  exten- 
sive practice  he  traveled  over  all  its  roads.  He  also  was  interested  in  pub- 
lic improvements  and  became  president  of  the  Covington  &  Lexington 
Turnpike  Company.  Although  he  was  a  large  slave  owner  he  was  a 
staunch  Unionist,  believing  neither  in  secession  nor  in  revolution.  His 
L'nionism,  before  and  in  the  early  days  of  the  civil  war,  brought  him  into 
many  controversies  and  difficulties  with  his  fellow  townsmen.  He  had 
always  been  a  Whig :  in  the  election  of  i860  he  made  many  speeches 
for  the  Bell  and  Everett  ticket,  and  was  one  of  the  "assistant  electors" 
selected  by  the  central  executive  committee  of  the  state.  In  the  spring  of 
1861,  with  Hon.  John  Minor  Botts  and  General  John  J.  Jackson,  he  ad- 
dressed the  people  of  the  state,  boldly  advocating  LTnionism  while  the 
Richmond  convention  was  debating  secession.  This  incurred  for  them 
the  special  political  antagonism  of  Governor  Letcher  and  his  adherents. 
Shortly  after  this  he  left  Covington  in  an  effort  to  reach  the  LTnion  lines, 
and  came  as  far  as  Nicholas  county ;  but,  finding  no  Union  troops  in  that 
section,  and  fearing  that  he  would  be  killed  by  bushwhackers,  he  returned 
safely  to  Covington.  In  the  following  July,  he  received  through  Post- 
master General  Montgomery  Blair  and  his  old  friend,  John  Minor  Botts, 
appointment  as  postmaster  of  Covington,  and  was  to  send  in  the  names 
of  all  disloyal  postmasters  in  that  section  that  these  might  be  removed. 
For  various  reasons  he  could  not  accept  this  appointment,  and  he  wrote 
a  letter  to  Mr.  Botts  explaining  the  situation ;  but  the  postmaster  refused 
to  forward  the  letter,  and  it  never  reached  its  destination. 

Dr.  Pucker's  outspoken  denunciations  of  the  secessionists  finally  re- 
sulted in  his  being  attacked  by  a  mob.  but  he  defied  them  with  a  bowie- 
knife  and  pistol  and  indulged  in  some  fiery  speaking.  February  27,  1862, 
he  left  Covington,  and  went  to  the  camp  of  Colonel  Crook,  of  the  36th 


298  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Ohin  Infantry :  he  engaged  with  the  army  as  chief  of  the  secret  service  of 
the  Mountain  Department,  and  was  afterwards  appointed  provost-mar- 
shal of  Crook's  brigade.  His  duties  were  important  and  confidential,  and 
his  knowledge  of  the  country  was  of  great  value.  He  was  a  daring  scout 
and  raider.  His  most  notable  achievement  in  this  line  was  the  burning, 
under  orders  of  General  Fremont,  of  the  Cow  Pasture  bridge ;  with  sev- 
enty-five men  under  his  leadership  this  was  successfully  accomplished, 
and  the  loss  of  the  bridge  seriously  crippled  the  movements  of  the  Con- 
federates and  cut  off  their  supplies.  His  fame  went  through  the  Confed- 
eracy as  a  bridge-burner.  hor?e-stealer,  corn-stealer,  etc.  July  25,  1862, 
he  and  several  other  Union  officers  were  surprised  and  captured  at  Sum- 
mersville,  Nicholas  county.  Dr.  Rucker  was  taken  to  the  headquarters  of 
(leneral  McCausland,  at  Salt  Sulphur  Springs.  Here  he  was  surrounded 
by  a  guard  of  seven  men  with  loaded  muskets  and  fixed  bayonets ;  a  spec- 
ial forging  was  made  for  his  security,  an  iron  bar  extended  between  his 
wrists,  around  which  were  welded  and  riveted  strong  iron  bands,  which 
were  hammered  on  the  anvil  after  being  put  on  him.  He  was  kept  under 
the  strictest  surveillance,  not  to  be  spoken  to,  nor  allowed  any  privileges. 
Lieutenant  Duffy,  who  has  since  the  war  been  auditor  of  West  \'irginia. 
being  on  one  occasion  officer  of  the  day,  broke  the  order  to  the  extent  of 
giving  him  some  clean  clothing,  though  with  hardly  a  word.  Several  phy- 
sicians from  Covington  and  other  places  and  Hon.  Allen  T.  Caperton.  in- 
terceded for  him.  General  McCausland  began  to  think  that  Dr.  Rucker 
was  not  so  bad  a  man  as  he  had  thought,  and  revoked  his  harsh  orders, 
also  parted  from  him  kindly  when  Dr.  Rucker  was  taken  away,  but  he 
was  still  under  strict  guard.  He  was  committed  as  a  prisoner  of  war, 
but  Governor  Letcher  and  his  adherents  demanded  that  he  be  held  for 
treason  and  taken  to  Covington  for  trial,  before  the  circuit  court  of  Alle- 
ghany county.  There  were  ten  indictments  against  him,  one  of  these  be- 
ing for  murder ;  but  he  had  already  been  tried  and  acquited  on  this 
charge,  and  the  court  held  that  he  could  not  be  tried  again.  On  the  other 
counts,  which  included  treason,  his  effort  to  secure  a  prompt  trial  was 
unsuccessful  and  the  case  was  continued  indefinitely.  By  direction  of 
Lincoln  and  Stanton,  General  Milroy  made  a  special  effort  to  release  him  ; 
afterward.  General  Crook  made  a  similar  attempt.  To  avoid  his  release, 
the  Confederates  changed  him  from  prison  to  prison ;  in  all,  he  was  in  ten 
prisons.  Retaliation  for  his  harsh  treatment  was  practiced  on  a  Dr. 
Green.  Helped  by  unknown  friends.  Dr.  Rucker  finally  escaped  from  Pitt- 
sylvania county  jail,  near  the  North  Carolina  line,  October  18,  1863.  Wear- 
ing a  Confederate  lieutenant's  uniform,  and  having  a  pretended  authoriza- 
tion under  an  assumed  name  for  special  duty,  he  was  carried  by  a  waitng 
buggy  to  Lynchburg ;  in  Lynchburg,  he  was  presented  with  a  fine  horse. 
Governor  Letcher  oiiEered  a  reward  of  $5,000  for  his  capture,  alive  or  dead. 
.\t  Covington  he  was  recognized  and  nearly  captured,  but  escaped  afoot 
by  a  ruse.  When  he  was  almost  in  safety  a  very  bitter  secessionist  recog- 
nized him;  but,  from  old  friendship,  he  not  only  did  not  disclose  his  pres- 
ence but  lent  him  a  horse  and  sent  his  brother-in-law  to  accompany  and 
assist  him  on  his  way,  the  Confederates  being  then  in  close  pursuit.  Fin- 
ally November  7th,  twenty  days  after  his  escape.  Dr.  Rucker  reached  the 
L'nion  lines.  He  was  completely  disabled,  suffering  w^ith  rheumatism  and 
nervously  broken  down,  and  was  carried  in  an  ambulance  to  Charleston. 
Thence,  w-hen  he  was  in  better  health,  he  went  to  Parkersburg,  intending 
to  visit  his  wife  and  family  at  ^.larietta,  Ohio,  where  they  had  been  cared 
for  by  the  government.  Stanton,  however,  summoned  him  from  Parkers- 
burg peremptorily  to  Wa.shingnton,  as  information,  which  only  he  could 
give,  was  much  needed.  Soon  he  was  in  the  field  again  with  Crook,  and 
he  was  made  major  of  the  Thirteenth  West  Virginia  Infantry.     He  was 


WEST  MRCINIA  299 

on  staff  duty  with  Crook,  Sigel,  and  Hunter.  Near  the  close  of  the  war, 
he  resigned  his  commission.  Long  afterward,  he  met  Governor  Letcher 
again,  and  he  assured  Dr.  Rucker  that  it  was  never  intended  to  deprive 
him  of  his  hfe,  but  that,  for  mihtary  reasons,  it  had  been  purposed  to 
keep  him  in  jail  as  long  as  possible. 

Upon  leaving  the  army  he  settled  on  his  Nicholas  county  plantation ; 
here  he  dealt  in  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep,  and  bought  and  sold  timber,  oil, 
and  coal  lands.  Having  read  law  before  his  medical  course,  he  now  en- 
gaged in  its  practice.  He  was  a  thorough  lawyer  and  a  fine  orator,  and 
had  an  extensive  and  diversified  legal  practice.  In  1870,  he  removed  to 
Lewisbiu'g.  For  two  years  he  was  prosecuting  attorney  in  Greenbrier 
county,  and  for  another  term  of  two  years  in  Pocahontas  county.  In 
1889  he  was  made  postmaster  at  Lewisburg.  At  various  times  since  the 
war  he  was  questioned  by  the  L'nited  States  War  Department  in  regard 
to  important  historical  events  in  which  he  took  part. 

Major  Rucker  married.  October  2S.  1852,  Margaret  Ann,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Hazelwood  and  ^Margaret  Parks  (Fiurks)  Scott.  She  was  of 
Highland  Scotch  descent;  her  grandfather.  Captain  William  Scott,  served 
in  the  revolution.  She  was  a  great-granddaughter  of  Captain  William 
Parks,  from  whom  Dr.  Rucker  also  was  descended :  he  was  sent  by  Wash- 
ington, in  the  revolution,  to  drive  out  the  Indians  in  North  Carolina.  The 
Roys  and  McGregors,  of  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  were  also  among 
Mrs.  Rucker's  ancestors.  Children:  i.  Hedly  Scott,  of  whom  further. 
2.  William  Waller,  married  Fanny  Applegate ;  he  is  a  member  of  the 
L'nited  States  house  of  representatives,  from  Missouri.  3.  James  Thom- 
as, married  Ida  Gertrude  Rifife.  4.  Edgar  Parks,  died  April  21,  1908;  he 
was  at  one  time  attorney-general  of  West  Virginia ;  his  death  occurred  at 
the  Episcopal  Hospital,  Washington,  D.  C.  and  he  was  buried  at  the 
Rucker  homestead,  Lewisburg,  West  \'irginia,  twn  days  later;  he  mar- 
ried Maud  Applegate. 

(\TI)  Hedly  Scott,  son  of  Major  William  Parks  and  Margaret  Ann 
(Scott)  Rucker,  was  born  at  Lynchburg,  September  13,  1853.  His  fath- 
er was  then  residing  at  the  old  Scott  homestead.  He  attended  Marietta 
Academy,  and  studied  law  with  his  father.  In  1873  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  at  Keytesville,  ;\Iissouri,  where  he  practiced  for  six  years.  Com- 
ing then  to  Huntersville,  West  \'irginia,  to  conduct  a  case  for  "assault  to 
kill,"  and  securing  the  acquittal  of  his  client,  he  was  urged  to  remain, 
and  decided  to  do  this.  Thus,  in  1879,  he  opened  an  office  at  Huntersville, 
which  was  then  the  county  seat.  When  the  court  house  of  Pocahontas 
county  was  in  1892  removed  to  Marlinton,  Mr.  Rucker  also  removed  to 
that  place.  He  has  had  a  very  active  practice,  both  civil  and  criminal, 
and  has  been  engaged  in  many  notable  cases  He  is  a  member  of  the 
County  and  State  Bar  Associations,  also  of  the  American  Bar  Associa- 
tion. In  Masonry,  he  is  a  member  of  the  chapter.  Mr.  Rucker  has  al- 
ways been  active  in  politics.  L'ntil  1884  he  was  a  Democrat.  From  that 
year  he  has  been  a  Republican,  and  he  is  now  an  advanced  Progressive. 
He  has  been  considered  for  several  offices,  and  was  at  one  time  within 
one  vote  of  the  nomination  for  judge  of  the  circuit  court;  on  this  occa- 
sion, he  withdrew  his  name,  to  preserve  harmony  between  the  counties  in 
the  district. 

He  married  Lizzie  Camm,  daughter  of  Dr.  Samuel  B.  and  Sallie  Don- 
ald (Patterson)  Scott,  who  was  born  in  Bedford  county,  Virginia.  Her 
father  was  the  son  of  Roy  and  Elizabeth  Jane  (Burks)  Scott;  her  mother 
the  daughter  of  David  and  Elizabeth  (Camm)  Patteson.  Bishop  Camm, 
of  Virginia,  and  Judge  Burks,  of  the  supreme  court  of  Virginia, 
were  relatives.  Children:  i.  Willie  Parks,  married  John  M.  Standifer, 
of  Thornwood,  West  Virginia ;  she  is  a  graduate  of  the  Lewisburg  Fe- 


300  WEST  VIRGINIA 

male  Institute  and  of  Marshall  College,  Huntington,  West  Virginia; 
child :  John  Scott.  2.  Margaret  Donald,  married  Henry  W.  Payne,  of 
Academy,  West  Virginia ;  she  is  a  graduate  of  the  Lewisburg  Female  In- 
stitute and  of  Marshall  College.  3.  Jessie  Waller,  married  Paris  D. 
Yeager ;  he  lives  at  Marlinton,  where  he  is  in  the  insurance  business,  and 
is  business  manager  of  the  Independent;  she  is  a  graduate  of  the  Lewis- 
burg Female  Institute  and  of  Marshall  College;  child:  William  Beard. 


The  tradition  of  this  family  is  that  their  ancestors  were 
McCLINTIC     formerly   settled   in   Scotland   and   removed   from  that 

country  to  Ireland,  from  which  latter  country  they  came 
to  America.  In  this  instance,  the  weight  of  accessible  evidence  tends 
to  cont:rm  the  family  belief;  in  Burke's  "Dictionary  of  the  Landed  Gen- 
try" a  similar  statement  is  made  with  regard  to  one  of  the  Irish  families 
of  this  name.  This  family  and  its  branches  are  found  in  Carlow  and 
other  counties  of  Ireland,  and  Burke  states  that  their  ancestors  came  from 
Argyleshire  about  1597.  Another  work  speaks  of  a  McClintock  ancestor 
originally  of  Scotland,  who  settled  in  Ireland  in  the  time  of  EHzabeth. 
Curiously,  in  O'Hart's  "Irish  Pedigrees"  almost  the  only  mention  of  this 
name  is  in  a  list  of  Huguenot  families;  in  this  instance,  the  name  was 
probably  adopted  in  their  new  country.  Apparently  the  name  in  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  is  always  spelled  McClintock,  and  that  is  also  the 
prevailing  spelling  in  the  United  States. 

There  must  have  been  many  immigrants  to  America  bearing  this 
name.  It  is  not  possible  at  present  to  trace  relations  among  them,  if  such 
existed.  Between  the  present  family  and  the  McClintocks  of  Chillicothe, 
Ohio,  there  is  said  to  be  a  decided  physical  resemblance.  The  vowel  of 
the  last  syllable  was  changed  to  "i"  for  a  time  in  the  Chillicothe  family, 
but  without  dropping  the  final  "k ;"  they  have  returned  however  to  the 
former  spelling.  About  1800  the  name  was  too  common  in  Cumberland 
county,  Pennsylvania,  to  allow  of  the  drawing  of  genealogical  inferences 
from  Christian  names.  The  name  is  also  found  in  the  records  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, New  Hampshire,  and  Maine;  in  Medford,  Massachusetts, 
there  was  a  William  McClintock  by  1757.  Confining  attention  now  to  the 
family  under  immediate  consideration,  it  must  be  said  that  our  informa- 
tion rests  largely  on  tradition,  and  that  some  things  are  uncertain,  or 
even  matters  of  variance  among  the  descendants.  Further  investigations 
may,  it  is  therefore  possible,  in  time  bring  facts  to  light  which  will  correct 
this  account  in  some  points. 

(I)  Alexander  McClintock,  the  founder  of  this  family,  came  from 
Ireland  to  America  in  1725.  After  living  a  while  in  Pennsylvania  the 
family  began  to  scatter,  and  descendants  are  now  to  be  found  in  Ohio, 
Illinois,  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Oklahoma,  Texas,  Washington,  and  Cali- 
fornia, as  well  as  in  the  Virginias.  Among  the  children  of  the  immigrant 
was  William,  of  whom  further ;  it  is  also  probable  that  Joseph,  born  in 
Ireland,  1701,  died  1793,  married  Elizabeth  Lawrence,  from  whom  Pro- 
fessor W.  D.  McClintock,  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  is  descended,  and 
Samuel,  were  among  his  children. 

(II)  William  IMcClintic,  son  of  Alexander  McClintock,  was  born  in 
Ireland,  in  1717,  and  died  in  1801.  Some  time  between  1766  and  1774  he 
removed  from  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  in  what  is 
now  Bath  county,  then  Botetourt  county,  Virginia.  He  was  probably 
the  one  who  changed  the  form  of  the  surname  ;  his  brothers  who  remained 
in  Pennsylvania  preserved  the  older  spelling;  and,  even  in  this  line,  all 
deeds,  marriage  licenses,  and  similar  documents  show  the  original  form 
until  about  1790.     The  Virginia  McClintics,  at  least,  have  been  Presby- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  301 

terians,  and  in  all  probability  tbe  ancestor  was  of  this  religion.  William 
McClintic  married  Nancy  Shanklin.  Children:  William  (2),  of  whom 
further ;  Robert,  married  Jane  Mann ;  Joseph ;  Alexander,  born  Febru- 
ary 12,  1765,  married  Sarah  Mann;    Nancy;    Margaret;   Jane.     Three  of 

his  sons  married  daughters  of  William  and  (Hamilton)   Mann; 

these  girls  were  raised  on  one  of  the  best  farms  on  Jackson's  river,  only 
a  few  miles  below  the  McClintock  farm,  purchased  by  their  father  in 
1762  (deed  on  record  in  Augusta  county,  Virginia). 

(III)  William  (2)  McClintic,  son  of  William  (i)  and  Nancy  (Shank- 
lin) .McClintic,  was  born  in  1759,  and  died  in  1786.  He  served  in  the 
revolutionary  war,  in  Captain  Andrew  Wallace's  company,  Eighth  Vir- 
ginia Regiment,  Colonel  James  Wood  in  command.  This  service  was  in 
the  years  1778-79,  he  being  discharged  February  16,  in  the  latter  year. 
But  he  was  in  service  again  at  the  battle  of  Guilford  Court  House,  March 
16,   1781,  and  received  wounds  which  were  the  cause  of  his  death  five 

years  later.     He  married,  in  1782,  Alice,  daughter  of  William  and  — 

(Hamilton)  Mann,  who  was  born  in  1762,  and  died  in  1858.  Children: 
William,  born  January  2,  1783,  married  Nancy  Shanklin:  ]\Ioses,  of 
whom  further. 

(IV)  Moses,  son  of  William  (2)  and  Alice  (Mann)  McCHntic,  was 
born  in  Bath  county,  Virginia.  He  married  Ann  Daggs.  Children :  Wil- 
liam Hunter,  of  whom  further ;  ■ ,  born  about  1827,  married 

McCormick. 

(V)  William  Hunter,  son  of  Moses  and  Ann  (Daggs)  McClintic, 
was  born  in  Bath  county,  Virginia,  August  8,  1825.  Settling  in  Poca- 
hontas county,  (West)  Virginia,  he  was  a  prominent  stock  man.  He  mar- 
ried Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Sampson  Lockhart  and  Nancy  (Edgar) 
Mathews,  who  was  born  in  Pocahontas  county,  Virginia;  she  died  in 
1910.  Her  father  was  the  first  surveyor  of  the  county.  Children :  Henry 
Hunter,  died  in  April,  1901  ;  Withrow,  a  stock  man  and  farmer  in  Poca- 
hontas county ;  George  W.,  a  prominent  lawyer  at  Charleston,  West  Vir- 
ginia;    Edgar;    Lockhart  Mathews,  of  whom  further. 

(IV)  Lockhart  ^Mathews,  son  of  \\'illiam  Hunter  and  ^lary  A. 
(Mathews)  McClintic,  was  born  at  Mill  Point,  Pocahontas  county,  Vir- 
ginia, April  12,  i860.  He  graduated  in  1881  from  Roanoke  College,, 
receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  Three  years  later  he  received 
from  the  University  of  Virginia  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws,  and  the 
same  year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  From  that  time  he  has  been 
engaged  in  general  legal  practice  at  Marlinton.  He  is  counsel  for  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Marlinton ;  for  the  Cherry  River  Boom  and 
Lumber  Company ;  for  the  Warn  Lumber  Company ;  and  for  other  cor- 
porations. Also,  he  is  local  attorney  for  the  West  Virginia  Pulp  and 
Paper  Company  and  for  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Railway  Company.  In 
the  First  National  Bank  he  is  also  a  director,  and  he  is  a  director  in  the 
Mountain  View  Orchard  Company.  The  Mountain  View  Orchard  Com- 
pany is  just  planting  the  first  commercial  orchard  in  Pocahontas  county ; 
they  have  seven  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land,  and  on  this  are  plant- 
ing twenty  thousand  fruit  trees.  Mr.  McClintic  has  also  timber  and  graz- 
ing lands.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  the  chapter 
at  Lewisburg,  and  the  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine  at  Charleston :  he  is 
also  a  member  of  Marlinton  Lodge,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
and  of  the  lodge  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  at 
Grafton,  West  Virginia.  In  politics  he  is  a  very  active  Democrat,  widely 
known  throughout  the  state,  and  has  attended  every  state  convention  of 
his  partv  since  1888.  In  that  year  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of 
Pocahontas  county,  and  he  served  three  terms  in  this  office;  in  1901  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  house  of  delegates  of  the  state.     He  is  a 


302  WEST  VIRGINIA 

member  of  the  standing  committee  of  the  State  Bar  Association,  and  was 
for  one  term  its  vice-president.     He  and  his  family  are  Presbyterians. 

Mr.  JMcClintic  married  Alhe  N.,  daughter  of  Randolph  and  Margaret 
(WoodellJ  Slaven.  Her  father  is  a  stockman  of  Pocahontas  county. 
Children:  Mary  M.,  a  graduate  of  the  Lewisburg  Female  Institute,  and 
now  at  home;  John  H.,  who  graduated  in  1912  from  Hampden- 
Sidney  College,  receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  and  expects  to 
study  law  at  the  University  of  Virginia;  Alice  J.,  born  in  1904;  George 
L.,  who  at  the  age  of  twelve  was  thrown  from  a  riding  horse  and 
died  in  a  few  hours. 


This  family  is  of  English  ancestry,  dating  back  to  the 
BRADLEY  year  1183.  In  that  year  Lord  Hugh,  Bishop  of  Durham, 
at  the  feast  of  St.  Cuthbert,  in  Lent,  had  an  inventory 
of  the  revenues  in  his  Bishopric.  In  this  inventory  mention  is  made  of 
Roger  de  Bradley,  who  held  forty  acres  of  land  at  Bradley.  Again 
in  1437  mention  is  made  of  Bradleys  of  Bradley.  In  a  will,  proved 
March  23,  1437,  mention  is  again  made  of  a  Bradley.  It  appears  that 
this  name  was  given  to  many  localities  in  England  and  today  towns  in 
several  counties  of  England  bear  this  family  name.  In  1539  we  find  that 
John  Bradley  was  Bishop  of  Shaftesbury.  The  Bradley  family  of  Ac- 
worth  was  the  first  to  preserve  their  genealogy,  and  in  the  year  1667  were 
given  the  right  to  a  coat-of-arms.  The  first  name  mentioned  in  this 
family  record  was  John  Bradley,  of  county  Ebor,  ensign  in  the  army  of 
Henry  VIII.  in  his  expedition  to  Bolloigue,  France.  Thomas  Bradley, 
a  great-great-grandson  of  Ensign  John  Bradley  was  the  first  to  immi- 
grate to  America.  He  was  a  prosperous  merchant  in  the  Virginia  colony 
and  the  progenitor  of  many  descendants  bearing  this  name  in  the  south- 
ern state. 

(I)  Joshua  Bradley,  a  representative  of  this  prominent  old  Vir- 
ginia family,  was  born  and  reared  in  the  Old  Dominion  commonwealtn, 
whence  he  removed  to  West  Virginia  as  a  young  man,  settling  on  the 
Coal  river,  in  Raleigh  county.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  and  died 
in  Raleigh  county.  He  married  and  had  a  son  George  William,  mentioned 
below. 

(II)  George  William,  son  of  Joshua  Bradley,  was  born  in  Raleigli 
county,  Virginia,  and  passed  his  boyhood  and  youth  on  his  father's  farm 
on  Coal  river.  He  lived  in  the  county  of  his  birth  until  quite  aged  and 
then  removed  with  his  family  to  Kanawha  county,  where  his  demise 
occurred,  at  a  venerable  age.  He,  like  his  father,  was  an  agricultural- 
ist.    Among  his  children  was  a  son  Elijah,  mentioned  below. 

(III)  Elijah,  son  of  George  William  Bradley,  was  born  on  the  Brad- 
ley farm,  in  Raleigh  county,  Virginia,  August  6,  1841.  He  early  became 
associated  with  his  father  in  the  work  and  management  of  the  old  home- 
stead and  received  his  educational  training  in  the  neighboring  district 
schools.  His  entire  active  career  was  devoted  to  farming  operations  and 
stock  raising,  but  he  is  now  living  retired  at  Launa,  in  Raleigh  county : 
a  Republican  in  politics  but  never 'aspired  to  office.  He  married  Miranda 
A.  Wiley,  a  native  of  Giles  county,  Virginia,  where  she  was  born  Au- 
gust 12,  1855,  daughter  of  William  Wiley,  who  was  born  in  Ireland. 
Mrs.  Bradley  is  still  living  and  she  and  her  husband  became  the  par- 
ents of  the  following  children:  Everett  B.,  mentioned  below:  Belle, 
born  August  30,  1876,  died  in  1878:  James  M.,  born  October  23,  1870, 
is  a  dentist  at  Logan  Court  House,  Logan  county  ^^'■est  Virginia:  Ber- 
tha E.,  bom  March  27.  1882,  is  a  nurse  at  the  Spencer  Insane  Asylum: 
Elijah' W.,  born  April  4,  1885:  is  a  resident  of  Launa,  West  Virginia: 
Albert  S.,  born  Mav  3.  1889,  is  a  graduate  of  the  Cincinnati  College  of 


WEST  VIRGINIA  303 

Pharmacy  and  is  a  clerk  in  his  brother  Everett's  drug  store  at  Mount 
Hope. 

flV)  Everett  Byron,  son  of  Elijah  and  Miranda  A.  fWiley)  Bradley, 
was  born  near  Jarrold's  \'alley,  Raleigh  county.  West  A'irginia,  !\[arch  4, 
1874.  After  completing  the  curriculum  of  the  public  schools  of  his  na- 
tive place  he  entered  the  Concord  State  Normal  School,  at  Athens,  West 
Virginia,  and  subsequently  attended  the  University  of  Maryland,  at 
Baltimore,  in  the  pharmacy  department.  He  has  been  a  registered  pharm- 
acist in  the  state  of  \A'est  Virginia  since  1901,  in  which  vear  he  came  to 
Fayette  county,  settling  in  Glen  Jean,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the  retail 
drug  business  for  ten  years,  during  the  last  six  months  of  which  period 
he  also  conducted  a  drugstore  at  Thurmond.  He  came  to  Mount  Hope  in 
1909  and  here  opened  an  up-to-date  drugstore,  which  was  destroyed  by 
fire  at  the  time  of  the  burning  of  the  city,  March  24,  1910.  In  the  follow- 
ing June  he  was  ready  for  business  in  a  temporary  building  at  the  east 
end  of  the  Garrett  &  McNabb  block.  He  remained  in  the  latter  place  un- 
til October,  1910,  when  he  settled  permanently  in  his  spacious  quarters 
at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Center  streets,  in  the  west  end  of  the  Garrett 
&  McNabb  block.  His  prescription  department  is  recognized  as  one  of 
the  best  in  the  state.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Long  Branch  Coal  Com- 
pany, and  Trapp  Hill  Telephone  Company  and  the  Warner  Company. 

Politically,  Mr.  Bradley  is  an  unswerving  supporter  of  the  Republi- 
can party  and  while  he  has  no  time  nor  aspirations  for  public  office  of 
any  description  he  manifests  a  keen  interest  in  all  matters  projected  for 
the  good  of  the  general  welfare  and  gives  freely  of  his  aid  and  influence 
in  forwarding  progress  and  prosperity.  In  a  fraternal  way  he  is  a  Mason 
and  he  was  reared  in  the  faith  of  the  Missionary  Baptist  church.  Mr. 
Bradley  is  unmarried. 

fIV)  Dr.  James  Millard  Bradley,  son  of  Elijah  and  Miranda  A. 
f\\'iley)  Bradley,  was  born  in  Launa,  Raleigh  county,  ^^'est  A'irginia. 
October  23,  1879.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county 
and  completed  his  preparation  for  college  at  Beckley  Seminary.  In 
1901  he  entered  the  dental  department  of  the  University  of  Cincinnati, 
and  graduated  with  distinction  in  1904.  In  1907  he  worked  in  Logan, 
West  Virginia,  where  he  has  practiced  his  profession  to  date;  he  has 
built  up  an  extensive  practice  and  is  considered  the  leading  dentist  of  the 
county.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church  ;  the  Masonic  Lodge ;  the 
Royal  Arch  Masons ;  fourteenth  degree  Scottish  Rite :  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  married, 
March  29,  191 1,  Nevada  Marie,  daughter  of  Frederick  C.  Kellerman. 
Mrs.  Bradley  was  born  in  Shamokin,  Pennsylvania,  July  15,  1885.  Her 
father  was  bom  in  Germany,  September  to,  i860,  and  came  to  America 
in  1872,  first  locating  in  BufTalo,  New  York.  At  the  age  of  fourteen 
years  he  began  working  in  the  coal  mines,  in  which  line  of  work  he 
has  continued  to  date.  About  1880  he  removed  to  Shamokin,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  he  resided  for  several  years.  He  later  located  in  Logan, 
West  Virginia.  Mr.  Kellerman  through  industry  and  business  ability 
gained  promotion.  He  is  now  superintendent  of  the  Gav  Coal  &  Coke 
Company  of  Logan  county.  West  Virginia.  He  was  married  in  1882  to 
Catherine  Zimmerman,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  traces  her  ancestrv  to  the 
early  Dutch  settlers  in  that  state.  Six  children  were  born  to  Frederick 
C.  and  Catherine  Kellerman:  Raymond  Elmer,  married  Gertrude  Shade: 
Franklin  Abraham :  Ether  Susan,  married  George  Miller,  and  resides 
at  Gay,  West  Virginia :  Frederick  Nooman ;  Milan  Warren :  Nevada 
Marie,  married  Dr.   Tames  M.  Bradlev,  mentioned  above. 


304  WEST  VIRGINIA 

A  family  which  in  two  successive  generations  has  held  a 

ZEX'ELY     place  of  prominence  in  the  journalistic   realm  in   Ritchie 

county,  West  X'irginia,  is  that  of  Zevely.     The  founder  of 

this  family,  the  grandfather  of  Van  A.  Zevely,  was  born  in  Switzerland, 

and  was  a  Moravian  missionary ;  he  came  to  the  American  colonies  and 

was  an  officer  in  the  revolutionary  war. 

(I)  Edmund  S.  Zevely,  son  of  the  immigrant,  was  born  at  Salem, 
North  Carolina,  in  1818,  and  died  at  Cairo,  Ritchie  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia in  April,  1884.  His  education  was  begun  in  the  common  schools, 
and  he  was  a  graduate  of  two  universities.  In  his  native  state  he  entered 
into  the  journalistic  profession  with  the  publication  of  the  Greensboro 
Beacon,  in  1836.  His  newspaper  work  was  carried  on  in  four  states, 
North  Carolina,  Maryland,  Ohio,  and  West  Virginia.  In  April,  1877,  he 
lounded  the  Ritchie  Democrat  and  Beacon  Light  at  Cairo,  West  Virginia, 
and  this  paper  was  published  by  him  until  his  death,  he  being  then  the 
oldest  newspaper  man  in  this  state,  Mr.  Zevely  also  held  positions  un- 
der the  government  of  the  United  States.  The  first  postage  can- 
celing stamp  made  in  the  United  States  was  manufactured  by  him,  and 
he  was  engaged  in  this  manufacture  at  Cumberland,  Maryland,  for  twen- 
ty-five years.  He  married  Charlotte  Hinkle,  who  was  born  in  1820,  and 
died  in  1886.  Children:  Van  A.,  of  whom  further;  John  H.,  deceased; 
Malvina,  married  S.  H.  Soyster ;  Zabina,  deceased,  married  Dr.  Lee  Eld- 
er; May,  married  H.  N.  Sharp. 

yil)  Van  A.,  son  of  Edmund  S.,  and  Charlotte  (Hinkle)  Zevely,  was 
born  at  Cumberland,  Maryland,  May  14,  1856.  Having  attended  for  a 
few  years  the  public  schools,  he  began  at  the  age  of  eleven  to  learn  the 
business  of  printing.  In  1877  h^  came  with  his  father  to  Cairo ;  but  two 
years  later  he  went  to  Volcano,  Wood  county.  West  Virginia,  and  started 
the  paper  called  The  Walking  Beam.  In  a  short  time  he  was  burned  out 
and  returned  to  Cairo.  After  his  father's  death  his  paper  passed  into 
the  son's  hands,  and  he  continued  its  publication  at  Cairo  till  1889 ;  then 
he  moved  it  to  Pennsboro,  and  shortened  the  name  to  The  Beacon  Light. 
He  published  this  paper  at  Pennsboro  for  about  four  years,  after  which 
he  moved  to  Lincoln  county,  West  Virginia,  publishing  a  paper  in  that 
county  for  several  years.  His  health  then  necessitated  his  temporary 
abandonment  of  newspaper  work,  and  he  returned  to  Cairo,  where  he 
conducted  one  of  the  best  job  printing  offices  in  West  Virginia.  In  1909 
he  became  the  editor  of  the  Cairo  Enterprise,  which  is  now  the  Republi- 
can newspaper  of  Cairo.  In  all,  Mr.  Zevely  has  been  interested  in  news- 
paper publication  in  this  state  for  twenty-seven  years.  Since  1900  he 
has  held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace. 


It  is  said  that  this  family  is  of  German  origin,  the  name  hav- 
DICE     ing  formerly  been  written  Deiss,  and  that  three  brothers  came 

from  York  county,  Pennsylvania,  to  the  present  Pendleton 
county.  West  Virginia.  Of  these,  Mathias  Dice  served  in  the  French 
and  Indian  war,  and  he  at  least  arrived  in  Pendleton  county  in  1757. 

(I)  George  Dice,  the  first  member  of  this  line  about  whom  we  have 
definite  information,  died  in  1772.  Coming  from  York  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, he  settled  at  Forty  Seybert  and  Friend's  run.  Child:  George 
(2),  of  whom  further. 

(II)  George  (2).  son  of  George  (i)  Dice,  died  in  1798.  He  married 
Mary  A.,  daughter  of  John  Dice;  she  was  his  cousin.  She  married  (sec- 
ond)   ,  and  removed  to  Ohio.  Children  of  George  (2)  Dice:  John,  of 

whom   further;  Reuben,  bom  August  31,    1780,  died   February  4,    i860. 


WEST  MRGIXIA  305 

married  Eveline  E.  Fisher:  Phoebe,  married  ( lirst )  EHas  Harper,  (sec- 
ond )  Teter. 

(Ill)  John,  son  of  George  (2)  and  ]\Iary  A.  (Dice)  Dice,  was  born 
near  Franklin,  Virginia,  May  10,  1788.  He  married  Mary  Cunningham, 
daughter  of  Isaac  and  Mary  (Anglin)  Hinkle,  who  was  born  near  Cir- 
cKville,  Pendleton  county.  May  17,  1790.  Children:  Elizabeth  A„  born 
December  15,  1810,  died  February  23,  1835,  married  Samuel  Johnson; 
I  iiiirge  W.,  born  February  17,  1812,  died  March  9,  1900,  married  Frances 
r.card;  Mary  A.:  Phoelae  J.,  born  January  26,  1815,  died  March  23, 
ii)oo,  married  John  M.  Jones;  Isaac  H.,  born  June  20,  1816,  died  Feb- 
ruary 8,  1897,  married  Mary  A.  Dice;  Catharine  J.,  born  May  24, ,1818, 
tliedAugust  17,  1861,  married  Henry  M.  Masters:  Hannah,  born  August 
3,  1819,  died  June  20,  1864,  married  John  B.  Moomau  ;  John  Cunning- 
iiam,  of  whom  further:  Reuben  B.,  married  Luc}-  A.  Diggs. 

I  I\")  Rev.  John  Cunningham  Dice,  son  of  John  and  ]\lary  Cunning- 
ham (Hinkle)  Dice,  was  born  near  Franklin,  November  8,  1820,  and  died 
:ii  I  pperville,  \"irginia.  April  5.  1892.  He  was  a  self-educated  man.  For 
f'Tty-four  years  he  was  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
Si  'uth  and  served  at  Staunton,  Virginia,  and  Salem,  Virginia,  and  Wash- 
iu-iim,  D.  C.  For  two  periods  of  four  years  each  he  was  presiding  elder 
(if  the  Moorfield,  ^^'est  Virginia  district;  and  for  another  four  years  he 
was  presiding  elder  of  the  Rockingham,  Virginia,  district,  and  for  a  like 
piriiid  of  the  Loudoun,  A'lrginia,  circuit.  He  was  also  for  four  years 
presiding  elder  of  the  Lewisburg,  West  \'irginia,  district.  He  served 
pastorates  at  Hillsboro,  Virginia,  and  Rockville,  Maryland.  He  is  buried 
in  Thornrose  cemetery,  Staunton,  Virginia.  He  married  Sallie  A.  A., 
datighter  of  Stephen  Calvert  and  Alary  Jane  (Chalmers)  Roszell,  who 
was  born  in  Baltimore,  [Maryland,  October  8,  1834,  and  died  at  Staun- 
ton, Virginia.  She  was  granddaughter  of  two  ministers;  her  father  was 
tla  son  of  Rev.  Stephen  George  and  Mary  (Calvert)  Roszell,  and  her 
nicither  was  the  daughter  of  Rev.  John  and  Mary  Chalmers,  of  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  born  at  Washington,  in  1801.  Children:  John  Calvert,  of 
whom  further ;  Charles  Samuel,  of  whom  further ;  Alary  C,  deceased, 
married  Judge  L.  J.  Williams,  of  Lewisburg,  now  a  judge  of  the  West 
Virginia  supreme  court  of  appeals,  at  Charleston  ;  Lucy  Lee,  married 
John  F.  Estill,  lives  at  Covington,  Virginia:  Alice  Virginia,  married  .A. 
Brooke  Lawson,  lives  at  L'pperville,  \'irginia:  Roszella,  married  R.  M. 
Peach,  lives  at  Upperville. 

(V)  Hon.  John  Calvert  Dice,  son  of  Rev.  John  Cunningham  and 
Sallie  A.  A.  (Roszell)  Dice,  was  born  at  Hamilton,  Virginia,  September 
27,  1872.  His  early  education  was  received  under  a  tutor.  After  gradu- 
ating from  the  high  school  at  Staunton  he  again  studied  under  a  tutor 
for  two  years,  .\fter  this  he  attended  Randolph-Macon  College  at  Ash- 
land, Virginia.  For  twelve  years  he  taught  school  in  Virginia  and  West 
A'irginia  and  for  two  years  was  principal  at  Lewisburg,  West  Virginia. 
Then  for  three  years  he  was  private  secretary  to  Hon.  Joseph  E.  Willard, 
lieutenant-governor  of  A^irginia.  He  has  now  (1912)  been  for  twelve 
years  engaged  in  general  insurance  business  at  Lewisburg.  From  1907 
to  1909  he  was  mayor  of  Lewisburg.  He  served  for  six  years  as  presi- 
dent of  the  board  of  education  at  Lewisburg,  and  for  four  years  as  a 
member  of  the  county  board  of  examiners.  In  1910  he  was  elected  to  the 
state  house  of  delegates :  among  his  committee  assignments  was  the 
chairmanship  of  the  fish  and  game  committee :  and  he  was  chairman  of 
the  Democratic  steering  committee  of  the  house.  He  declined  to  continue 
in  the  office  of  mayor,  and  is  now  a  candidate  for  re-election  to  the  legis- 
lature, being  one  of  those  under  consideration  for  the  speakership  of 
the  house  in  the  event  of  the  Democrats  controlling  that  body.     Having 


3o6  WEST  \'IRGIXIA 

been  appointed  by  (jovernor  Glasscock  a  member  of  the  commission  to 
codify  existing  laws  relating  to  workmen's  liability  and  compensation  and 
to  draft  a  bill  on  the  subject  for  consideration  by  the  legislature.  i\Ir. 
Dice  has  devoted  time  and  travel  to  the  study  of  this  question.  He  is 
a  director  in  several  corporations,  and  a  member  of  the  insurance  com- ' 
mittee  of  the  State  Board  of  Trade.  He  is  a  Mason,  a  member  of 
Greenbrier  Lodge,  \o.  42,  at  Lewisburg;  Ronceverte  Chapter,  Xo.  21,' 
R.  A.  M.,  at  Ronceverte;  Greenbrier  Commandery,  No.  15,  K.  T.,  Lew- 1 
isburg;  and  Bene  Kedem  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  i\L  S.,  Charleston.  He  | 
married,  in  November,  1900,  Jane  Stuart,  daughter  of  John  S.  and  Susan  j 
( McElhenney )  Price.  Mrs.  Dice  is  president  of  Lewisburg  chapter, 
LTnited  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy,  and  state  registrar  of  the  same 
order.    No  children. 

(V)  Charles  Samuel,  son  of  Rev.  John  Cunningham  and  Sallie  A. 
A.  (Roszell)  Dice,  was  born  at  Rockville,  Maryland,  May  13,  1876.  His 
early  education  was  received  under  a  tutor  and  at  the  schools  at  Staun-  I 
ton,  Virginia.  He  later  attended  the  Randolph-Macon  academies  at  Bed- 
ford City  and  Front  Royal,  \'irginia,  and  Randolph-Macon  College  at 
Ashland,  ^*irginia.  He  entered  the  law  department  of  Washington  and 
Lee  University,  and  graduated  in  June,  1896.  Thereupon  he  came  to 
Lewisburg,  where  he  has  continuously  resided  from  that  time.  First, 
he  entered  the  law  office  of  Judge  L.  J.  Williams,  his  brother-in-law : 
when,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  he  became 
Judge  Williams"  law  partner,  and  he  remained  with  him  until  his  eleva- 
tion to  the  supreme  bench,  from  which  time  2\Ir.  Dice  practiced  alone. 
Judge  Dice  is  a  member  of  the  West  Mrginia  State  Bar  Association, 
in  which  he  is  active,  and  also  of  the  American  Bar  Association.  He 
has  been  counsel  for  the  Lewisburg  Bank,  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  Rail- 
way Company,  the  Meadow  River  Lumber  Company,  the  Lewisburg  & 
Ronceverte  Railway  Company,  the  Gauley  Coal  Land  Company,  and 
other  business  concerns.  Besides  his  legal  activities,  he  has  several  busi- 
ness interests.  In  April,  191 1,  he  was  appointed  judge  of  the  Twentieth 
Judicial  Circuit,  to  fill  an  unexpired  term  ending  January  i,  1913;  he 
was  not  thirty-five  years  old  when  he  was  appointed  to  this  position,  and  | 
is  the  youngest  man  wdio  ever  sat  upon  the  circuit  bench  of  West  \'ir- 
ginia.  He  was  elected  to  succeed  himself,  for  a  term  of  eight  years  at  the 
general  election  in  November,  1912.  Like  his  brother,  he  is  a  member  of 
Greenbrier  Lodge,  No.  42.  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  Lewisburg;  Ronceverte 
Chapter,  No.  21,  R.  A.  M.,  Ronceverte;  Greenbrier  Commandery,  No. 
15,  K.  T.,  Lewisburg;  and  Beni  Kedem  Temple,  Alystic  Shrine,  at 
Charleston,  West  \'irginia.  In  politics  the  brothers  are  of  opposite  par- 
ties. Judge  Dice  is  a  Republican,  and  a  very  active  supporter  of  the 
party.  For  several  years  he  was  chairman  of  the  Republican  count\ 
committee.  He  has  been  a  candidate  for  attorney  general  of  the  statr. 
Judge  Dice  married  Nina,  daughter  of  Judge  Homer  A.  Holt.  Her  failui- 
was  for  many  years  on  the  circuit  bench  in  the  circuit  which  inchuKd 
Greenbrier  and  Pocahontas  counties,  and  was  afterwards  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  supreme  court  of  appeals  of  West  Virginia.  Mrs.  Dice  i^  a 
member  of  the  L'nited  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy.  Her  church  1- 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.     No  children. 


The  Petty  family  of  Monongalia  and  Marion  counties,  Wr^t 
FETT^'     \'irginia,  of  which  we  suppose  the  Ritchie  county  family  t^ 

be  an  ofl^shoot  or  related  stock,  is  said  to  be  of  German 
origin  and  td  have  come  from  New  Jersey  to  Monongalia  county,  \'ir- 
ginia,  by  way  of  Fayette  county,   Pennsylvania.     John  Petty  settled   in 


tj. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  307 

Grant  district.  Alonongalia  count)-,  and  moved  tlience  to  what  is  now 
Clay  district,  in  the  same  county :  and  he  was  among  the  pioneers  in  the 
development  of  Monongalia  county. 

(I)  Calvin  D.  Petty,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  died  at  Harrisville,  Ritchie  county,  \\'est  \'ir- 
ginia,  in  1879.  His  life  was  spent  at  Harrisville,  and  by  trade  he  was 
a  painter.  He  married  Elizabeth  Yeager.  who  died  in  1879.  Children: 
Harry  W. ;  May,  married  Clark  Jamieson ;  Lulu,  married  Walter  New- 
land;  Edward;  Anna  (twin  of  Edward),  married  Addison  Main;  Flor- 
ence, married  Richard  McGee:  Frank  C,  of  whom  further.  Two  others 
died  in  infancy. 

(II)  Frank  C,  son  of  Calvin  D.  and  Elizabeth  (Yeager)  Fetty,  was 
born  at  Harrisville,  April  25,  1877.  Both  his  father  and  his  mother  died 
in  1879,  leaving  him  an  infant  of  two  years  old.  His  education  was  re- 
ceived in  the  public  schools  at  Cairo,  Ritchie  county.  West  \'irginia.  Hav- 
ing finished  his  school  days  he  went  to  work  for  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
Railroad  Company  as  clerk  at  Cairo,  and  held  this  position  for  five  years. 
In  1902  he  was  promoted  to  be  agent  at  Cairo,  for  the  same  railroad,  and 
in  this  position  also  he  remained  for  five  years.  Leaving  the  Baltimore 
&  Ohio  railroad,  he  accepted  a  position  July  i.  1907,  as  auditor  with  the 
Cairo  &  Kanawha  Railroad  Company,  and  in  this  he  has  remained  to  the 
present  time.  Mr.  Fetty  has  had  to  make  his  own  way,  and  he  is  today 
one  of  the  representative  men  of  Cairo.  In  1907  and  again  in  1908  he 
was  elected  a  councilman  of  Cairo,  and  he  was  mayor  of  Cairo  in  1909. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

Mr.  Fetty  married,  April  12,  1903,  May,  daughter  of  Columbus  and 
Etta  (Haddox)  Riddle,  of  Moundsville,  West  \'irginia.  She  is  a  grand- 
daughter of  the  late  Jonathan  Hewey  Haddox,  of  Smithville.  Cairo,  and 
Harrisville.     Child:    Charlotte   Pearl,  born  January  10.   1905. 


This  family  is  of  English  origin,  and  was  settled  in  New 
MARTIN     Jersey  in  colonial  times.     Several  revolutionary  soldiers  of 

this  name  came  from  New  Jersey,  and  at  least  two  Martin 
families  of  New  Jersey  descent  are  now  to  be  found  in  Ritchie  county. 
West  Virginia.  The  grandfather  of  Festus  Hanks  Martin,  of  Pennsboro, 
in  this  county,  was  \\^illiam  Martin,  of  Harrison  county,  Virginia,  whom 
we  suppose  to  have  been  Colonel  William  Martin,  of  Clarksburg;  on  this 
hypothesis  his  biography  is  here  written. 

(I)  William  Martin,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  was  born  in  New  Jersey.  October  10,  1763,  and 
died  August  25,  1851.  In  the  revolution  he  served  from  New  Jersey,  in 
the  commissary  department,  and  was  present  at  the  storming  of  Stony 
Point.  He  was  a  very  early  settler  and  merchant  at  Clarksburg,  Harrison 
county,  Virginia,  a  man  always  prominent  in  public  affairs,  and  having  the 
respect  and  trust  of  his  neighbors.  He  held  the  office  of  sheriff"  of  Har- 
rison county,  and  for  a  long  time  he  was  a  justice  of  the  peace.  He  owned 
land  near  Romines  Mills,  in  Harrison  county.  The  name  of  his  wife  is 
not  known,  but  he  had  a  son  James,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  James,  son  of  \\"illiam  Martin,  was  born  in  Harrison  countv. 
Virginia,  and  died  in  Ritchie  county.  Mrginia,  in  1856.  With  his  young 
wife  he  came,  April  15,  1815.  to  Pennsboro,  Ritchie  county,  and  settled 
in  the  stone  house  where  they  passed  the  rest  of  their  lives.  This  house 
is  at  the  western  end  of  Pennsboro,  the  oldest  landmark  in  Ritchie  county, 
interesting  and  picturesque.  Its  walls  are  two  feet  thick,  made  of  flag- 
rock  in  all  sizes  and  shapes,  the  pieces  being  held  together  by  cement.  The 
house  contains  twelve  rooms  belonging  to  the  original  building;    twelve 


3o8  WEST  VIRGINIA 

more  have  been  added,  and  it  is  now  used  for  a  hotel.  In  this  house 
James  Martin  kept  the  first  postoffice  in  Ritchie  county,  estabhshed  in 
1820;  a  small  desk  furnished  sufficient  room  for  the  mail  of  that  day. 
He  was  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  community.  He  married  Edith 
Davidson,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Phebe  (Davidson)  Wilson,  who  was 
born  November  9,  1799,  and  died  about  1876.  Her  father  was  a  native 
of  Ireland,  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Blackburn)  Wilson;  he  was 
born  November  30,  1747,  and  died  January  2,  1828.  In  1774,  in  an  expe- 
dition against  the  Indians,  he  held  the  rank  of  lieutenant ;  he  was 
appointed  a  captain  in  the  A-^irginia  forces  in  the  revolution,  and  in  1781 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  colonel.  He  was  on  one  occasion  a  listener  to 
the  oratory  of  the  great  Indian  chief,  Cornstalk,  whom  he  declared  to  be 
fully  the  equal  of  any  speaker  ever  heard  by  him,  not  excepting  Patrick 
Henry.  Before  the  organization  in  1784  of  Harrison  county,  he  was  for 
several  sessions  a  member  of  the  legislature  from  Monongalia  county,  and 
he  became  clerk  of  the  county  court  of  the  new  county  at  its  organization. 
Later  he  was  county  clerk  of  Randolph  county,  Virginia.  In  1788  Colonel 
Wilson  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  which  ratified  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States.  He  finally  moved  to  Clarksburg,  and  there  died. 
He  married  (first)  September  4,  1770,  Anne  Ruddel,  who  was  born  Sep- 
tember 20,  1754,  and  died  June  18,  1795;  (second),  December  15,  1795, 
Phebe  Davidson.  By  the  first  marriage  Benjamin  Wilson  was  the  father 
of  twelve  children,  by  the  second  of  eighteen.  Children  of  James  and 
Edith  Davidson  (Wilson)  Martin:  i.  William,  deceased.  2.  Benjamin 
W.,  deceased.  3.  John  W.,  died  1916.  4.  Susan,  married  Thomas  Wat- 
son. 5.  Lafayette,  deceased.  6.  James,  deceased.  7.  Marshall  M., 
deceased ;  married  Harriet  Smith.  8.  Mary,  deceased ;  married  W.  L. 
Dunnington.  9.  Margaret,  died  1853.  10.  Harriet  M.,  born  April  5,  1843, 
died  August  4,  1901  ;  married  M.  P.  Kimball.  11.  Festus  Hanks,  of 
whom  further. 

(Ill)  Festus  Hanks,  son  of  James  and  Edith  Davidson  (Wilson)  Mar- 
tin, was  born  at  Pennsboro,  in  the  stone  house,  September  i,  1840.  His 
education  was  received  in  the  subscription  schools,  and  he  worked  in  hi? 
boyhood  on  the  farm.  In  1859  he  was  appointed  assistant  circuit  clerk 
under  T.  W.  Watson.  He  held  this  position  until  i860,  then  returned 
to  the  farm.  For  about  five  years  he  was  engaged  in  agriculture  and  tlie 
timber  business;  then  he  went  to  Burning  Springs,  Wirt  county.  West 
Virginia,  and  was  there  engaged  till  1869  in  the  oil  business.  Selling 
this  interest  and  returning  to  Pennsboro,  Mr.  Alartin  took  a  contract  in 
timber  and  staves,  which  continued  to  1872.  Going  to  \'olcano.  Wood 
county,  he  again  engaged  himself  in  oil.  In  1878  he  returned  to  Penns- 
boro, and  from  that  year  to  1880  he  ran  the  grist  mill.  He  is  now  a  gen- 
eral wholesale  dealer  in  hides  and  wool.  Today  he  is  one  of  the  most 
prominent  citizens  of  Pennsboro,  and  is  the  oldest  living  native  of  this 
place.  In  1871  he  was  elected  county  superintendent  of  free  schools,  but 
his  moving  to  AA^ood  county  a  few  months  later  caused  his  resignation  of 
this  position.  He  was  appointed  by  Governor  Jackson  in  1882  to  revalue 
the  land  of  the  first  district  of  Ritchie  county.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  and  a  charter  member  of  the  Penn.sboro  lodge  of  this 
order.  Mr.  Martin  is  a  member  of  the  ]\Iethodist  Protestant  church,  lie 
married,  February.  1869.  Harriet  \\,  daughter  of  Jonathan  Dye,  who  died 
in  February,  1897.  At  the  time  of  her  marriage,  she  was  a  resident  of 
Marietta,  Ohio.  Children  :  Campbell  D. ;  Festus  Hall :  Edith  D..  mar- 
ried Silas  F.  Smith;  Susan,  married  J.  L.  Silcott;  Charles,  died  in 
infancy;    Catharine. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  309 

Cunningham   is   an   Irish   name   which  has   existed 

CUNNINGHAM     in   \"irginia   from  colonial  days,   and   in   Harrison 

county,    now    West    Virginia,    since    shortly    after 

the  revolution.     It  is  probable  but  not  certain  that  the  present  family  is 

connected  with  this  stock. 

(I)  John  Cunningham,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom 
we  have  definite  information,  married  Sarah  King.  Children  :  Joseph, 
of  whom  further ;  James  Larkin.  married  Elizabeth  Fox ;  John,  married 
Mahala  McCray. 

(II)  Joseph,  son  of  John  and  Sarah  (King)  Cunningham,  died  in 
Ritchie  county.  West  Virginia,  in  the  summer  of  1890.  During  the  spring 
of  1857  he  came  from  jMarion  county,  Virginia,  into  Ritchie  county,  and 
settled  on  Gnat's  run,  on  a  farm.  He  married  Lavinia  ilcCray  (sister  of 
his  brother  John's  wife),  who  died  February  10,  1904.  Children:  Har- 
riet, married  L.  S.  Sill ;  Rebecca,  married  D.  N.  Hayhurst ;  Jane,  mar- 
ried W.  A.  Duckworth :  Angelina,  married  Jefferson  3ilarsh  :  Sarah,  mar- 
ried W.  J.  Collins  ;  Mary,  married  D.  Z.  Taylor  ;  Ellen ;  Robert ;  Andrew, 
deceased:  Joseph  Hart  Benton,  of  whom  further;  James  FrankHn,  de- 
ceased. 

(III)  Joseph  Hart  Benton,  son  of  Joseph  and  Lavinia  (McCray) 
Crnningham.  was  born  in  Clarion  county,  Virginia,  October  5,  1846.  In 
1857  he  was  brought  by  his  parents  into  Ritchie  county.  Here  he  has  al- 
ways been  engaged  in  farming;  he  has  also  raised  stock,  and  has  been 
interested  in  oil,  forming  a  company  to  engage  in  this  business.  He  mar- 
ried Clarinda,  daughter  of  Enoch  and  Mary  Ann  (Cline)  Marsh.  Chil- 
dren :  J.  Eddy,  born  August  i,  1874 ;  Emma  Jane,  born  May  6,  1877,  mar- 
ried Frederick  McCullough ;  Charles  Ramer,  of  whom  further ;  Gertrude 
died  in  infancy;  Sheban  Alarsh,  born  March  7,  1881. 

(IV)  Charles  Ramer.  son  of  Joseph  Hart  Burton  and  Clarinda 
(Marsh)  Cunningham,  was  born  in  Ritchie  county,  West  \''irginia,  May 
21.  1878.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  for  two  years  he 
taught  school.  Then  in  1898  he  engaged  himself  in  mercantile  business 
at  Mole  Hill,  Ritchie  county,  where  he  remained  for  eighteen  months.  A 
year  was  spent  at  Ellenboro,  Ritchie  county,  also  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness. Coming  to  Pennsboro  first  in  July,  1900,  he  erected  a  building  and 
started  in  the  grocery  business  with  his  brother  Sheban  ]\Iarsh  Cunning- 
inam.  In  the  following  year  he  sold  his  interest  in  this  business  to  E.  J. 
Norris,  and  in  November  1901,  in  company  with  Alva  Wigner.  he 
Dought  two  hundred  acres  of  timber  land  near  Ellenboro.  Having  cut 
the  timber  the  following  year,  he  went  back  into  the  store  at  Pennsboro 
with  his  brother,  repurchasing  the  interest  which  he  had  sold  to  Mr.  Nor- 
lis.  About  a  year  later,  in  April,  1904,  he  sold  his  half  interest  to  Jame.s 
Hickman  and  J.  H.  Hickman.  The  same  year  Mr.  Cunningham  took  a 
position  as  assistant  cashier  in  the  Citizens'  Bank,  at  Pennsboro.  July  i, 
1905,  he  left  the  bank,  and  he  took  the  management  of  the  Pennsboro 
Mill  and  Feed  Company,  in  which  he  continued  until  1906.  With  others 
in  July,  1906,  he  went  to  Gallipolis,  Ohio ;  they  bought  a  tract  of  land 
and  promoted  the  town  of  KanaXiga.  The  next  spring  they  began  the 
building  of  a  street  car  line  from  Kanauga  to  Gallipolis,  which  was  fin- 
ished in  the  same  year.  This  company  was  called  the  Kanauga  Traction 
Company,  and  on  its  line  the  first  gasoline  street  car  in  the  United  States 
was  operated,  but  the  road  was  electrified  in  1908.  The  promoters  sold 
their  interest  in  December,  1908;  but  Mr.  Cunningham,  who  was  secre- 
tary and  treasurer  of  the  company,  promoted  and  sold  lots  on  this  tract 
until  June,  1910.  He  then  returned  to  Pennsboro  and  was  again  engaged 
in  mercantile  business  in  partnership  with  Clyde  Wigner,  whose  interest 
he  afterward  bought.     !\Ir.  Cunningham  is  largely  interested  in  the  oil 


310  WEST  VIRGIXIA 

business  also;  he  is  a  director  in  the  First  National  Bank  of  Pennsboro, 
and  treasurer  of  the  American  Undercurrent  System.  He  is  a  member 
of  Harmony  Lodge,  No.  59.  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  of  Odell  S. 
Long  Chapter,  No.  25,  Royal  Arch  Masons. 

He  married  in  June,  19CX),  Blanche,  daughter  of  Spencer  and  Mary 
(Moore)  Wigner.  Children:  Gertrude,  born  April  11,  190 1  ;  Frank, 
December  24,  1902;  Ramer,  October  10,  1910.  died  September  9,  191 1. 


William  B.  Wilcox,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about 
WILCCiX  whom  we  have  definite  information,  married  Lucinda 
,  and  had  a  son,  Daniel  W.,  of  whom  further. 

(H)  Daniel  \\'.,  son  of  William  B.  and  Lucinda  Wilcox,  was  born 
in  Doddridge  county.  Virginia,  in  1843.  He  was  a  young  farmer  at  the 
beginning  of  the  civil  war.  When  he  was  eighteen  years  old  he  enlisted 
in  the  Union  army,  in  Company  A,  Fourteenth  A'irginia  Infantry.  After 
the  conclusion  of  the  war,  he  returned  to  his  home  in  Taylor  county. 
West  A'irginia,  and  was  again  engaged  in  farming:  he  reached  his  home 
on  the  morning  of  the  Fourth  of  July,  1865.  He  married  Lucinda, 
daughter  of  Isaac  and  Mary  (Roth)  Holmes.  Children:  John:  Ira: 
Chalmers :  Tempa,  married  Lydia  Archer :  Goldie,  married  Charles 
Hintzman :  David  W'alter,  of  whom  further. 

(Ill)  David  Walter,  son  of  Daniel  W.  and  Lucinda  (Holmes)  Wil- 
cox, was  born  at  Sistersville,  Tyler  county.  West  Virginia,  ^larch  13, 
1881.  His  education  was  received  in  the  public  schools,  including  the 
normal  school  at  Middlebourne,  Tyler  county.  West  Virginia.  For  six 
years  until  1908  he  was  engaged  in  the  oil  business.  In  1908  and  1909 
he  was  a  wholesale  grocer  at  Pennsboro,  Ritchie  county,  West  Virginia. 
In  1909  and  1910  Mr.  Wilcox  was  in  mercantile  business.  In  191 1  he 
entered  the  service  of  Armour  &  Company,  and  he  was  in  their  employ- 
ment as  a  traveling  salesman  for  one  year.  Since  April,  1912,  he  has 
been  engaged  in  the  grocery  and  meat  business  at  Pennsboro,  and  has  a 
good  business.  Mr.  Wilcox  is  a  member  of  the  Wholesale  Grocers'  As- 
sociation. Fraternally,  he  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  ]\Jodern  Woodmen  of  the  World, 
and  the  Modern  ]Maccabees.    He  is  a  Methodist  Episcopalian. 

Mr.  Wilcox  married.  November  25.  1904,  Leslie  L.,  daughter  of  Eber 
and  Tabitha  ]\Iason.  Children:  Helen  Wonena,  born  July  21,  1906; 
Pauline,  born  July  14,  1908:  Audra,  born  July  28,  1910:  Opal,  born  July 
2,  1912. 


This  is  one  of  the  older  Irish  families  of  America,  members 
DUTY     of  which  have  been  noted  for  hardihood,  industry  and  hon- 
esty,  and    was    settled    in    Ohio   before   its   establishment    in 
northwestern  Mrginia. 

( I )  Mark  Duty,  the  first  member  of  this  family  of  whom  we  have 
definite  information,  was  the  author  of  an  arithmetic  which  was  used  in 
the  schools  of  his  day,  and  the  remarkable  fact  about  it  is  that  he  pre- 
pared it  after  he  had  become  blind,  his  wife,  Eliabeth  Duty,  writing  at 
his  dictation.  Children:  .\ndrew  W.,  of  whom  furher;  Jennie:  Eliza- 
beth, married  Piatt  R.  Spencer,  the  author  of  the  Spencerian  penman- 
ship system. 

(II)  Andrew  W.,  son  of  ^lark  and  Elizabeth  Duty,  removed  from 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  to  Tyler  county,  \'irginia,  where  lie  was  among  the 
pioneers,  and  he  was  also  the  first  surveyor  of  that  county.  He  married 
Martha  .\nkman,  of  Tyler  county,  \'irginia.  Children  :  Flarm  N.,  IMary, 
Joseph,  John  R. :  Andrew  W.,  of  whom  further:  Elizabeth.  Martha. 


WEST  VIRGINIA 


3" 


(III)  Andrew  W.  (2).  son  of  Andrew  W.  (i)  and  .Martha  (Ank- 
man)  Duty,  was  born  in  Tyler  county.  Virginia,  May  12,  1832,  died  in 
Garrett  county,  Maryland,  September  21,  1909.  He  was  engaged  in  mer- 
cantile business  and  in  agricultural  pursuits.  In  the  civil  war  he  served 
as  first  sergeant  of  Company  E.  Fourteenth  Regiment  West  Mrginia 
\'olunteer  Infantry,  and  was  later  promoted  to  sergeant-major  of  the 
regiment.  He  was  wounded  in  the  battle  of  Qoyd  Mountain,  May  9, 
1864,  being  captured  by  the  Confederates  in  that  battle,  and  was  for  six 
and  one-half  months  a  prisoner  at  Andersonville.  He  served  in  the  ca- 
pacity of  justice  of  the  peace  for  forty  years.  From  his  young  manhood 
he  was  a  member  of  the  United  Brethren  church,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  he  was  a  class  leader  and  was  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school 
of  that  denomination  at  Centerville.  Tyler  county,  \'irginia.  He  married 
Hannah  Eleanor,  daughter  of  Michael  Kern  and  Jemima  (Upton)  Jones. 
Children  :  Michael  Kern,  of  whom  further ;  James  W..  Ellen  E..  Ellis 
T..  Ida  A..  Daniel  D. 

(I\')  Michael  Kern,  son  of  Andrew  W.  (2)  and  Hannah  Eleanor 
(Jones)  Duty,  was  born  in  a  cabin  on  Hickory  Cabin  run.  Tyler  coun- 
ty. \'irginia,  December  8,  1855.  The  cabin  was  of  unhewn  logs,  with  a 
puncheon  floor,  and  with  only  one  window  and  one  door.  He  grew  into 
sturdy  manhood  amidst  rugged  environments  and  aspired  to  high  things 
in  life.  His  education  received  at  his  mother's  knee  was  lasting,  nor  was 
his  education  in  the  branches  neglected.  He  attended  common  school, 
the  State  Normal  School  at  Fairmont.  West  Virginia,  and  pursued  a 
course  of  law  at  the  University  of  Arkansas,  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated with  honors,  receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws  in  1891.  He 
earned  the  money  for  his  education,  having  to  make  his  own  way  in 
the  world  and  acquire  knowledge  by  his  own  efforts  and  means.  He 
then  returned  to  \Vest  \'irginia.  settling  in  Ritchie  county,  where  he  has 
been  prominent  in  educational,  political  and  business  circles.  When  he 
had  attained  the  age  of  thirty-five  he  had  taught  forty-three  terms  of 
school.  His  interest  in  education  and  fitness  to  serve  resulted  in  his  be- 
ing chosen  principal  of  the  Pennsboro  schools,  in  w'hich  capacity  he 
served  for  twelve  vears.  and  for  two  years  he  served  as  superintendent 
of  the  schools  of  Ritchie  county.  Until  1910  he  practiced  law.  but  since 
then  has  devoted  his  entire  time  and  attention  to  his  private  business  in- 
terests. In  1901  he  purchased  the  narrow-gauge  railroad  from  Penns- 
boro to  Harrisville.  which  he  has  renamed  the  Lorama  railroad,  in  honor 
of  his  wife,  and  which  in  1907  he  extended  to  Pullman:  he  has  been 
president  and  general  manager  of  this  road  since  1901.  He  has  been  a 
director  in  the  Citizens'  National  Bank  at  Pennsboro,  and  the  first  news- 
paper of  that  place  was  started  by  him. 

Mr.  Duty  is  honored  and  esteemed  in  Pennsboro  and  is  a  recognized 
leader  in  Ritchie  county.  He  was  formerly  a  Democrat,  but  since  1896 
lias  been  a  staunch  adherent  of  Republican  principles.  He  was  elected 
to  the  office  of  mayor  of  Pennsboro  and  served  with  credit  for  five  terms, 
his  strength  of  character,  the  vigor  w-ith  which  he  executed  his  public  ser- 
vice, and  his  conscientious,  cleancut  methods  giving  him  a  leverage  that 
moved  to  higher  honors  in  public  life.  In  1906  Mr.  Duty  concluded  to  go 
to  Charleston  and  help  enact  wholesome  laws  for  the  state,  so  he  made 
known  his  desire  to  a  few  of  his  friends  and  made  the  race.  He  won 
with  ease,  through  his  splendid  personality  and  fitness,  and  at  the  follow- 
ing session  in  1907  he  made  his  initial  bow  before  the  Solons  of  the  state 
and  began  his  work  in  a  business-like  manner.  It  was  soon  learned  by 
his  colleagues  that  he  was  a  man  of  action  and  high  aims,  and  it  also  be- 
came generally  known  that  he  believed  in  good  government  properly  ad- 
ministered.    He  was  untiring  in  his  efforts  to  pass  laws  for  the  general 


I 

312  WEST  VIRGINIA  [ 

welfare  of  the  masses  rather  than  a  special  class.     At  the  first  session   | 
many  good  laws  were  created  that  bore  the  marks  of  Air.  Duty's  wise    i 
statescraft,  and  for  the  passing  of  these  he  worked  loyally  and  energetically. 
He  served  on  two  important  committees  in  that  session,  humane  institu- 
<ions,  and  public  buildings.    Rendering  such  efficient  service  to  his  people, 
he  was  again  sent  as  a  representative  in   1908.  and  in  that  session  per- 
formed eiTective  work.     In   191 2  he  was  elected  United  States  senator, 
and  since  his  appointment  has  gone  as  far  as  human  limitations  would  per- 
mit him  to  go  in  carrying  out  platform  pledges,  and  the  record  is  clear    | 
on  that  point.     On  the  several  committees  he  was  among  the  active    and    \ 
influential,  ever  at  his  post  and  showing  an  evident  fondness  for  work    I 
and  a  zeal  that   impressed   his   associates.     His   committee   assignments 
were :  Mines  and  mining,  penitentiary,  chairman  federal  relations,  banks    I 
and  banking,  judiciary,  and  serving  on  the  commission  to  examine  and    I 
report  on  the  coal  industry  of  the  state.     He  has  always  had  the  confi- 
dence and  support  of  his  colleagues,  for  they  knew  him  to  be  honest  and 
sincere  in  his  le^^islative  work,  and  this  gave  him  an  advantage  in  carry- 
ing measures  of  import  to  the  state  to  successful  ends.     Mr.  Duty  is  a 
ready,  interesting  and  humorous  speaker,  and  even  in  his  legal  pleadings 
his  humor  was  not  lacking.     He  is  a  Royal  Arch  and  Scottish  Rite  Ma- 
son, and  is  the  author  of  a  ]Masonic  text  book. 

Mr.  Duty  married  Lorama,  daughter  of  Dr.  James  B.  and  Jennie  L. 
Crumrine. 


Francis  Marion  Thompson,  the  first  member  of  this 
THOAIPSOX     family  about  whom  be  have  definite  information,  was 

born  January  I,  1844.  He  was  a  farmer  in  Roane 
county,  West  Virginia,  and  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  army  at  the  com- 
mencemnt  of  the  war  between  the  states,  serving  under  General  Beaure- 
gard. He  was  present  at  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg  and  many  other  con- 
flicts, and  was  taken  prisoner  and  confined  for  nine  months  at  Point 
Lookout,  Maryland,  but  was  exchanged,  and  rejoining  his  regiment,  served 
until  the  close  of  the  war  when  he  returned  to  his  farm.  He  married 
Susan  Sophia,  daughter  of  James  A.  Daniell.  Her  father  came  from 
the  vicinity  of  London,  England,  and  landed  at  Boston.  He  lived  for  many 
years  in  different  parts  of  Massachusetts,  and  finally  settled  in  Roane 
county.  West  \^irginia.  Francis  M.  Thompson's  wife  was  a  Baptist,  and 
his  sympathies  werewith  that  church  ;  in  politics  he  was  a  Democrat.  Chil- 
dren of  Francis  Marion  and  Susan  Sophia  (Daniell)  Thompson:  Ste- 
phen Blackmore,  mentioned  below ;  William :  Robert  I.. :  Rosil  G. ; 
Charles  W.  and  Homer  F. 

(II)  Stephen  Blackmore.  son  of  Francis  Marion  and  Susan  Sophia 
(Daniell)  Thompson,  was  born  at  Spencer,  West  Virginia,  July  5,  1867. 
He  received  his  early  education  in  the  schools  of  Roane  county,  and  then 
attended  the  Normal  School,  and  after  receiving  his  license,  taught  for 
five  years  in  various  schools  in  Roane  county.  He  then  settled  in  Spencer, 
and  in  1890  was  elected  deputy  clerk  of  the  county  court,  holding  that 
offi'ce  until  1898,  when  he  resigned  to  become  cashier  of  the  Roane  County 
Bank,  which  position  he  now  holds.  He  is  a  INIethodist  in  religion  and  a 
Democrat  in  politics,  and  was  for  four  years  a  member  of  the  town  coun- 
cil, the  first  two  years  of  which  term  he  served  as  recorder,  and  the  last 
two  years  as  treasurer  of  that  body.  He  is  a  past  grand  of  Campbell 
Lodge  No.  101.  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  a  member  of  the 
State  Grand  Lodge  of  the  order.  He  married.  October  iS.  180,:;.  Ida  May. 
daughter  of  Jordan  and  Bathshcba  (Knox")   McAIillan.     Children:    Ron- 


-^^ 


t:^ 


WEST  VIRGIN  I A 

aid  Eugene,  born  August  23,   1894:    Ida   Kathleen,  born  September 
1896;    and  Marion  Clermont,  born  November  22.   1899. 


As  president  of  the  Trimble  &  Lutz  Supply  Company,  engaged 
LUTZ  in  the  wholesale  dealing  of  plumber's  supplies,  gas  fixtures 
and  supplies,  steamfitting  goods,  etc.,  in  Wheeling,  George  \\\ 
Lutz  is  contributing  his  quota  to  the  industrial  prestige  of  his  native  city, 
and  is  known  as  one  of  its  progressive,  reliable  and  representative  busi- 
ness men.  The  name  which  he  bears  has  been  identified  with  business  and 
civic  activities  in  Wheeling  for  nearly  fifty  years,  and  has  ever  stood 
exponent  of  staunch  and  worthy  citizenship. 

George  W.  Lutz  was  born  in  the  old  Home  Hotel  on  Market  street, 
in  the  city  of  Wheeling,  on  the  17th  of  July,  1855,  and  is  a  son  of  Sebas- 
tian and  Anna  ( Truschler)  Lutz,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Alsace 
Lorraine,  of  staunch  German  lineage,  and  the  latter  of  whom  was  born 
in  Swartzwald.  Germany.  Sebastian  Lutz  came  to  Wheeling  in  1833  and 
here  established  the  old  Llome  Hotel,  which  under  his  regime  became 
one  of  the  most  popular  hostelries  of  this  section  of  the  state,  and  which 
he  successfully  conducted  until  his  death  in  1865,  at  the  age  of  fifty-one 
years.  The  older  inhabitants  of  Wheeling  well  remember  this  sterling 
citizen,  whose  integrity  and  honesty  gained  for  him  the  respect  and  con- 
fidence of  the  community  in  which  he  maintained  his  home  for  more  than 
a  score  of  years.  His  wife  survived  him  by  a  number  of  years,  and  was 
forty-one  years  of  age  when  she  was  summoned  to  the  life  eternal,  both 
having  been  consistent  members  of  the  Catholic  church.  Of  their  children, 
three  sons  and  one  daughter  are  living,  and  all  still  reside  in  Wheeeling, 
George  W.,  of  this  review,  is  the  first  of  the  three  sons ;  he  has  two 
brothers,  William  J.  and  John  J.  Lutz.  The  only  sister,  Sophia,  is  the 
wife  of  George  Hook,  president  and  treasurer  of  the  Germania  Half  Dol- 
lar Savings  Bank  of  this  city,  and  also  secretary  of  the  West  Virginia 
Exposition  and  State  Fair  Association,  which  has  done  much  to  exploit 
the  fine  resources  and  manifold  attractions  of  the  state. 

George  W.  Lutz  is  indebted  to  the  private  and  night  schools  of  W'heel- 
ing  for  his  earlv  educational  discipline,  and  this  city  has  been  his  home 
and  the  scene  of  his  business  activities  during  the  entire  course  of  his  inde- 
pendent career.  In  1871  he  was  employed  by  the  firm  of  Trimble  & 
Hornbrook,  which  built  up  a  prosperous  business  in  the  handling  of 
plumbing,  gas  and  steamfitting  supplies:  later  the  enterprise  was  con- 
ducted under  the  firm  name  of  Trimble  &  Lutz  until  1893,  when  the  death 
of  Mr.  Trimble  severed  the  long  continued  and  pleasing  relations.  The 
full  management  of  the  business  devolved  upon  Mr.  Lutz.  and  as  a  mat- 
ter of  commercial  expediency  and  for  the  purpose  of  expanding  the 
scope  of  the  enterprise  he  effected  the  incorporation  of  the  Trimble  & 
Lutz  Supply  Company,  of  which  he  has  been  president  and  of  which 
H.  H.  Hornbrook  is  vice-president  and  Harry  A.  Ebbert  is  secretary  and 
treasurer.  The  company  has  large  and  well  equipped  quarters  at  112-122 
Nineteenth  street,  and  the  business  is  now  one  of  wide  and  substantial 
ramifications,  with  a  reputation  that  figures  as  its  best  commercial  asset. 

Mr.  Lutz  takes  a  vital  interest  in  all  that  tends  to  foster  the  material 
and  social  advancement  and  precedence  of  his  native  city,  and  is  essentially 
liberal  and  progressive  both  as  a  citizen  and  as  a  business  man.  Though 
never  a  seeker  of  political  preferment,  he  gives  a  staunch  allegiance  to  the 
Democratic  partv,  and  his  religious  faith  is  indicated  by  his  membership 
in  the  St.  Joseph  Cathedral  Catholic  Church.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of 'Columbus,  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the 
Arion  Society,  and  also  of  the  Ft.  Henry,  the  Carroll  and  the  Country 


314  WEST  MRGIXIA 

clul)>.  Ill  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  he  served  as 
exalted  ruler  in  1902.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Security  Trust  Company,  the 
Gee  Electric  Company,  and  the  Wheeling  Tile  Company,  and  has  also 
served  as  president  of  the  Board  of  Trade  for  three  terms. 

Air.  Lutz  was  the  father  and  promoter  of  the  New  Market  Audi- 
torium, to  which  he  gave  of  his  time  and  money,  and  has  carried  the  same 
to  a  successful  issue.  He  was  chosen  president  of  the  organization,  and 
his  motto  all  through  has  been,  "built  for  the  people  by  the  people,"  which 
motto  is  chiseled  in  the  cornerstone.  The  Associated  Charities  and  Play- 
ground Association  were  both  fathered  by  him  and  brought  to  a  success- 
ful issue  by  the  Board  of  Trade. 

Mr.  Lutz  was  married,  July  25,  1878,  to  Miss  Lugene  E.  Hornbrook. 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Triphena  Plornbrook.  Mrs.  Lutz  is  a  consistent 
member  of  St.  Luke's  Church. 


The  Bond's  Creek  region  in  Ritchie  county,  West  \'ii- 
McGregor  glnla,  one  of  the  most  fertile  regions  in  this  county.  1 
practically  contemporaneous  in  its  white  settlement  wit 
the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  settlement  was  at  first  slowl . 
made,  and  the  settlers  who  came  from  time  to  time  during  the  first  halt' 
of  the  century  were  from  various  parts  of  the  world,  without  formci' 
acquaintance,  and  with  no  previous  bond  of  sympathy. 

( 1 1  John  McGregor,  the  founder  of  this  family,  was  born  near  Edin- 
burgh, Scotland.  January  24,  1777,  and  died  at  L^niontown,  Fayette  county, 
Pennsylvania,  January  3,  1832.  He  was  brought  up  near  Edinburgh,  and 
there  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade.  In  1812,  with  his  wife  and  little 
son,  he  came  to  America,  and  they  landed  in  Philadelphia  after  a  voyage 
of  six  months.  They  lived  in  Philadelphia  until  April,  1819,  when  they 
went  to  Pittsburgh  in  an  emigrant  wagon.  Floating  down  the  Ohio  river, 
and  using  the  old  road,  they  came  to  Bond's  Creek,  where  they  established 
their  permanent  home  and  reared  one  of  the  most  prominent  families  of 
Ritchie  county.  West  Virginia.  Here  Air.  McGregor  followed  his  trade. 
On  account  of  bad  health  he  went  in  1830  to  Uniontown  to  consult  a 
physician,  who,  however,  was  unable  to  cure  him.  He  was  buried  at 
LTniontown,  in  the  old  Presbyterian  churchyard.  He  married,  in  1809, 
Susanna  Blakeley,  of  Glasgow,  Scotland.  Children:  i.  James,  born 
August  16.  1810.  died  in  1874:  married  Jane  Morrison.  2.  John,  born- 
May  14,  1813,  died  in  1886;  married,  September  11,  1834,  Delilah  Alar- 
tin.  3.  David,  of  whom  further.  4.  Susan,  born  Alarch  5,  1817,  died 
in  1876:  unmarried.  5.  William,  (q.  v.  ).  6.  Jeanette,  born  in  1821,  died 
in  1904:  married  Leonard  S.  Hall.  7.  Thomas,  born  September  19,  1823, 
died  in  1903:  married  twice.  8.  Joseph,  born  Alay  11,  1825,  died  in  1898; 
married  Eliza  Jane  Alartin.  9.  Alexander,  born  March  7,  1827,  died  in 
young  manhood.  Two  other  children,  Thomas  and  Elizabeth,  died  in 
infancy. 

(11 )  David,  son  of  John  and  Susanna  (  Blakeley)  AIcGregor,  was  born 
in  Philadelphia.  June  4,  1815,  and  died  December  7,  1891.  In  his  early 
childhood  he  came  to  Bond  Creek  with  his  parents.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
two  he  moved  to  Cairo.  Ritchie  countv,  W'est  Virginia,  where  he  formed 
a  mill  partnership  with  \\'illiam  Lowther.  In  1838  he  became  the  sole 
owner  of  the  mill  property,  and  in  connection  with  it  he  had  a  store.  The 
postofiice  was  also  kept  at  the  mill.  In  1850  he  erected  another  mill  at 
Cairo,  and  a  store  in  the  same  building.  For  several  years  he  operated 
both  mills  and  both  stores.  He  afterward  sold  one  of  these  properties, 
but  he  continued  in  mercantile  business  at  Cairo  till  his  old  age.  At  the 
time  of  the  outbreak  of  civil  war  he  had  a  colonel's  commission  in  the 


WEST  VIRGINIA 


315 


\'irginia  militia,  and  he  was  offered  a  colonelcy  in  each  of  the  contending 
armies,  but  declined.  From  1878  to  1882  he  represented  his  senatorial 
district  in  the  West  \  irginia  legislature,  being  thrice  elected.  He  was  a 
charter  member  of  the  Kate  Barclay  Lodge,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  which  was  organized  in  November.  1848,  and  a  charter  member 
of  the  Good  Templars  lodge  instituted  at  Cairo  in  1870.  He  was  grand 
worthy  chief  of  the  latter  order,  and  organized  many  lodges  through  the 
state.  During  the  greater  part  of  his  life  he  followed  the  Democratic 
party,  but  in  1884  he  was  the  Prohibitionist  nominee  for  governor.  In 
church  circles  also  he  was  prominent,  being  a  member  of  the  Hughes 
River  Presbyterian  Church,  and  he  was  one  of  the  earliest  presidents  of 
the  Sunday  school  organization  of  his  county.  He  married  (  first )  March 
17,  1842.  Katharine,  daughter  of  William  and  Frances  (  Piatt)  McKin- 
ney,  who  died  at  Cairo.  September  11.  1863;  (second)  November  i,  1864, 
Matilda,  died  February  2-,  1913,  daughter  of  Jesse  and  Feba  Lowther ; 
she  married  ( first )  ^laxwell  Lowther.  Children,  first-named  three  by 
first,  others  by  second  wife:  Frances  S..  married  I.  S.  Hallam ;  William 
A.,  died  in  infancy;  John  P.,  died  in  infancy;  Lillian  B..  married  Robert 
Wilson ;  David  G.,  of  whom  further ;  Rob  Roy,  Nettie  Pauline,  F.  Her- 
bert, Leila  Bertha. 

(Ill)  David  G.,  son  of  David  and  IMatilda  ( Lowther-Lowther ) 
McGregor,  was  born  at  Cairo,  February  19,  1869.  His  education  was 
received  in  the  public  schools.  For  a  while  he  was  engaged  in  farming. 
In  the  winter  of  1891  and  in  1892  he  was  in  Iowa,  and  there  he  worked 
as  a  carpenter.  Returning  to  Cairo,  he  became  interested  m  oil,  and 
pumped  the  first  wells  in  the  Cairo  oil  fields.  In  1896  he  was  manager 
for  Major  A.  C.  Hawkins  in  the  oil  fields.  He  has,  however,  returned  to 
his  earlier  industrial  interest,  agriculture,  and  in  the  soundest  way.  being 
both  a  practical  and  a  theoretical  farmer,  interested  in  the  scientific  study 
of  agriculture  and  the  improvement  of  farming.  In  1903  he  took  charge 
of  his  father's  estate,  and  after  its  settlement  he  engaged  himself  in 
farming  and  dairying,  breeding  full  blooded  Guernsey  cattle.  At  the 
present  time  he  is  conducting  a  large  dairy  on  scientific  principles,  and  he 
was  the  first  man  to  ship  milk  out  of  Ritchie  county.  Being  interested  in 
the  dissemination  of  sound  principles  of  farming,  he  organized,  on  Feb- 
ruary 19,  191 1,  the  Agricultural  School  at  Cairo,  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  State  College.  Afterward  he  organized  the  Grant  District  Farming 
Club,  and  of  this  organization  Mr.  McGregor  is  president.  The  ultimate 
future  of  West  Virginia  is  presumably  to  be  agricultural,  and  in  agricul- 
ture, even  more  than  in  its  wonderful  mineral  wealth,  is  to  be  found  the 
inilu>trial  backbone  of  the  state.  \\'hile  agriculture  has  so  keenly  interested 
Mr.  McGregor,  he  has  other  commercial  and  financial  interests.  He  is  a 
director  and  vice-president  of  the  Cairo  Mercantile  Business,  and  presi- 
dent of  the  Greer  Supply  Company.  In  1908  he  was  superintendent  of 
the  Kanawha  \'alley  Railroad  Company.  Since  1902  he  has  been  one  of 
the  directors  of  the  Bank  of  Cairo,  and  in  191 1  was  chosen  its  president. 
For  one  term  he  was  mayor  of  Cairo.  Since  he  was  twenty-one  years  old 
he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  he  is 
a  member  of  the  Ancient  Free  and  .Accepted  ]\Iasons.  Cairo  Lodge.  No. 
114:  Royal  Arch  Alasons,  Odell  S.  Long  Chapter.  No.  25.  at  Penns- 
boro ;  Knights  Templar,  Calvary  Commandery.  No.  3  ;  and  is  a  thirty- 
second  degree  Mason. 

David  G.  McGregor  married,  in  i8')5.  Fmma.  daughter  of  John  and 
Elizabeth  Douglass.  Children:  Jean,  born  September  10,  1898 ;  Jeanette, 
April  19.  1907. 


3i6  WEST  VIRGINIA 

(II)  William  McGregor,  son  of  John  McGregor  (q.  v.  i 
McGregor  and  Susanna  (Blakeley)  McGregor,  was  born  in  Phila- 
delphia, October  25,  1818,  and  died  at  Salem,  Har- 
rison county,  West  Virginia,  December,  1903.  In  his  infancy  he  was 
brought  by  his  parents  from  Philadelijhia  to  Pittsburgh,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  thence  to  Bond's  Creek.  In  1838  he  purchased  4,000  acres  of 
land  on  this  creek  at  a  tax  sale  for  seven  cents  an  acre ;  at  that  time  the 
whole  county  and  state  tax  on  the  entire  tract  was  but  forty  cents.  A 
substantial  part  of  this  large  tract  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the  family. 
He  married,  April  24.  1844,  Elizabeth  Gregg,  daughter  of  Samuel  G.  and 
Rachel  (Hudkins)  Hall,  who  was  born  in  Barbour  county,  Virginia,  Sep- 
tember 25,  1825.  and  (lied  at  Cairo,  Ritchie  county,  West  Virginia,  at  the 
home  of  her  son.  Winfield  Scott  McGregor.  May  3,  1910.  Her  family 
had  a  notable  record  in  the  civil  war,  five  of  her  brothers  enlisting  in  the 
conflict,  three  for  the  Union,  two  as  Confederates.  Children:  i.  Harlan 
P.  2.  Virginia,  died  1895 ;  married  John  L.  Cottrell.  3.  Anna,  married 
G.  F.  Carroll.  4.  J.  B.  5.  Homer,  deceased ;  graduate  of  Marietta  Col- 
lege and  Union  Theological  Seminary,  Cincinnati.  Presbyterian  minister. 
6.  W.  Burns.  7.  I.  Clyde.  8,  Rose,  married  Theodore  Furbee.  9.  Win- 
field  Scott,  of  whom  further.  10.  Mary,  married  James  Chestnut.  11. 
Indiana,  died  in  infancy. 

(Ill)  Winfield  Scott,  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  Gregg  (Hall) 
McGregor,  was  born  in  Ritchie  county,  Virginia,  March  13,  186 1.  He 
received  a  public  school  education  in  his  native  county.  His  business 
career  began  with  a  position  as  clerk  in  a  store.  From  this  beginning 
he  has  gradually  and  steadily  progressed  until  he  has  reached  a  place  of 
prominence  in  the  business  affairs  of  his  county.  For  twelve  years  after 
leaving  his  clerkship  he  was  a  traveling  salesman.  He  is  now  a  director 
and  vice-president  of  the  Citizens'  National  Bank  at  Pennsboro,  Ritchie 
county.  April  i,  191 1,  he  was  made  vice-president  and  general  manager 
of  the  Greer  Supply  Company,  at  Cairo,  and  these  offices  he  still  holds. 
Mr.  McGregor  is  also  largely  interested  in  farming.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  F.  M.  and  Isabella  (Amett)  Trip- 
lett.    Children :    Donald,  Rose  M.,  Elizabeth  G..  William  F.,  Isabel.  Ralph. 


This  is  one  of  the  older  Irish  families  of  West  A'irginia. 
FERRELL     The  name  Ferrell.  in  other  parts  <if  the  country,  has  bo- 
come  one  of  great  prominence  in  manufacturing  circles. 

(I)  Thomas  Ferrell,  the  founder  of  this  family,  was  born  in  Ireland, 
near  Gillgall.  Coming  to  the  United  States  of  America,  he  made  settle- 
ment at  Morgantown,  Virginia.  The  name  of  his  wife  is  not  known,  but 
he  had  a  son,  Thomas  G.,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Thomas  G.,  son  of  Thomas  Ferrell,  was  born  near  Morgantown; 
he  died  in  the  civil  war.  He  was  a  prosperous  farmer.  Moving  to  Cal- 
houn county.  Virginia,  he  was  the  first  man  to  raise  wheat  in  that  county: 
it  was  threshed  by  horses  walking  on  it,  and  fanned  with  a  sheet.  In  the 
war  he  enlisted  as  a  Union  soldier,  and  died  in  the  struggle.     He  married 

Bunner.     Children  :     Franklin,  of  whom  further  :    Robert ;    James  ; 

Eliza;  Ann,  married  J.  S.  Wolverton ;  Amanda,  married  Lindey  Stevens; 
Sarah,  married  Sturgeon  Price. 

(III)  Franklin,   son   of  Thomas    G.    ami    (Bunner)     Ferrell, 

was  born  near  Morgantown.  in   1833,  and  died  in   i8q6.     He  also  was 
a  farmer,  and  a  soldier  for  the  defense  of  the  Union,  enlisting  in  the  nth 
Mrginia  Regiment.     After  three  years'   service  he   was   honorably   dis-   { 
charged.     He  married  Susan,  daughter  of  William  Webb,  who  died  in   | 


WEST  MRGINIA  317 

1899.  Children :  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant,  of  whom  further ;  Thomas, 
William,  James,  George,  Randolph,  Emery,  Ella,  Dorcas,  Helen. 

(IV)  Dr.  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant  Ferrell,  son  of  Franklin  and  Susan 
(Webb)  Ferrell,  was  born  in  Calhoun  county,  \\'est  \"irginia,  August  28, 
1865.  He  attended  the  public  schools,  and  took  the  course  of  the  Balti- 
more University  School  of  Medicine,  from  which  he  was  graduated  and 
received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  in  1893.  The  same  year  he 
began  practicing  at  Burning  Springs,  Wirt  county,  West  Virginia,  and  in 
1898  came  to  Cairo,  Ritchie  county,  West  Virginia,  where  he  has  remained, 
and  acquired  a  large  and  successful  practice.  Dr.  Ferrell  is  a  member  of 
the  Ohio  Valley  Medical  Association  and  of  the  West  Virginia  Medical 
Association.    He  is  a  member  of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 

He  married,  in  1896,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  D.  A.  Roberts.  Children: 
Gloria,  born  October  16,  1900,  died  in  1905  ;  Margaret,  born  September 
26,  1904. 


John  ]\IcCue,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom 
McCUE     we  have  definite  information,  was  born  at  or  near  Staunton. 

Virginia,  and  died  in  Nicholas  county,  Virginia,  September 
22,  1862.  Early  in  his  life  he  came  into  what  is  now  the  state  of  \A'est 
Virginia,  and  here  he  was  engaged  in  farming.  He  was  the  only  man  in 
Nicholas  county  who  voted  for  Abraham  Lincoln  for  president  of  the 
United  States.  Not  being  allowed  to  vote  after  he  reached  the  polls,  he 
went  home  and  fetched  his  gun  and  compelled  the  acceptance  of  his  vote. 
But  this  vote  cost  him  his  life,  for  it  was  on  account  of  it  that  his  home 
was  surrounded  by  bushwhackers,  and  he  was  called  to  his  door  and  shot 
down  in  cold  blood  September  2,  1862;  after  killing  him,  they  robbed  his 
house.  He  married  Melinda  McClung.  Children,  thirteen,  including 
Fielding  of  whom  further. 

(H)  Fielding,  son  of  Jc'-n  and  Melinda  (McClung)  ^IcCue,  was  born 
in  Nicholas  county,  Virginia,  April  22,  1852.  He  has  always  been  a 
farmer  and  stock  raiser.  He  married  Lydia,  daughter  of  John  H.  and 
Letitia  (Groves)  Rader.  Children:  Anthony  Fielding,  of  whom  further; 
Wallace  Arnold,  born  October  30,  1887,  "ow  engaged  in  the  raising  of 
blooded  horses  and  cattle. 

.  (HI)  Anthony  Fielding,  son  of  Fielding  and  Lydia  (Rader)  McCue, 
was  born  in  Nicholas  county,  West  Virginia,  June  9,  1884.  Lie  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  and  at  Wesleyan  College,  Buckhannon,  West 
\'irginia.  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1904 ;  two  years  later  he  was 
graduated  also  from  the  LTniversity  of  West  Virginia,  in  the  law  depart- 
ment. Since  that  time  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  at 
West  Union,  Doddridge  county.  West  Virginia.  November  5,  1912,  he 
was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  Doddridge  county  for  a  term  of  four 
years.  Lie  is  a  member  of  the  Delta  Taw  Delta  fraternity ;  of  Gamma 
Delta  Chapter.  Morgantown,  West  \'irginia  ;  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  the  Modern  Woodmen  of 
America. 

He  married,  October  20,  1909,  Alice,  daughter  of  William  L.  and 
Elizabeth  McLane,  of  West  Union.  West  \'irginia.  Child  :  Alan  ^IcLane 
McCue,  born  September  13,  191 1. 


Among  the  leaders  of  the  medical  profession  in  \\'est 
VICKERS     A'irginia   must   be   numbered   Dr.    Robert    Evan    \'ickers, 

of  Huntington.  Dr.  Vickers  comes  of  old  \'irginia 
stock  and  has  been  for  thirty-one  years  prominently  identified  with  the 
advancement  of  the  medical  profession  in  his  native  state  and  his  home 
city. 


3i8  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Griffin  Evan  \'ickers,  grandfather  of  Robert  Evan  \'ickers,  was  born 
in  Botetourt  county,  \'irginia,  and  removed  to  Kanawha  county,  where 
he  engaged  in  farming  and  was  also  interested  in  the  manufacture  of  salt. 
He  married  Mrginia  Allen,  of  Charlottesville,  Virginia :  their  son  Leon- 
ard, is  mentioned  below.  Airs.  X'ickers  was  but  fifty  years  old  at  the 
time  of  her  death,  and  her  husband  passed  away  in  1905,  at  the  venerable 
age  of  ninety-three. 

Leonard,   son  of   Griffin   Evan   and   Virginia    (Allen)    Vickers,   was 
born  in  1835,  in  Kanawha  county,  and  was  a  manufacturer  of  salt.     He 
married  Mary  M.,  a  native  of  Kanawha  county,  daughter  of  James  Eras- 
mus and  Emily  (Moles)  Tucker.     Mr.  Tucker  was  born  near  Richmond, 
Virginia,  and  removed  to  Missouri,  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of    j 
his  life.     He  was  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  salt,  and  died  imme-    i 
diately  after  the  close  of  the  war,  being  then  eighty-six  years  old.     Mrs,    , 
Tucker  passed  away  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vickers    | 
were  the  parents  of  a  son :  Robert  Evan,  mentioned  below.     Mr.  Mckers    j 
died  in  early  manhood,  passing  away  March  9,  1858,  when  only  twenty-    ; 
three  years  of  age.     His  widow,  who  became  the  wife  of  F.  N.  Roberts,    | 
is  now  living  at  Hamlin,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years.  I 

Dr.  Robert  Evan  Mckers,  only  child  of  Leonard  and  Mary  M.  1 
(Tucker)  \'ickers,  was  born  December  3,  1857.  at  ]\Ialden,  Kanawha  I 
county,  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  and  was  but  three  months  old  when  ; 
death  deprived  him  of  his  father.  The  boy  received  his  preparatory  edu-  I 
cation  in  the  public  schools  of  Maiden  and  Charleston,  afterward  taking  ■ 
a  normal  course  at  Hamlin.  During  the  next  four  years  he  was  engaged  j 
in  teaching  in  the  schools  of  his  native  county,  and  at  the  end  of  that  j 
time  entered  the  Kentucky  School  of  Medicine  at  Louisville.  In  1884  he  j 
graduated  from  the  Medical  School  of  the  University  of  Maryland,  sub-  j 
sequently  taking  a  post-graduate  course  at  Bellevue  Medical  School,  New  ; 
York,  and  in  1888  receiving  from  that  institution  the  degree  of  Doctor  I 
of  Medicine.  j 

Dr.  Vickers  first  began  practice  in  1882,  at  Griffithsville,  West  Vir-    1 
ginia,  under  the  authorization  of  a  state  certificate,  and  after  graduating    I 
came  to  Huntington,  where,  on  the  last  day  of  the  year  1888,  he  entered    ' 
iipon  the  active  practice  of  his  profession,  in  which  he  has  since  been  con-    , 
linuously  engaged.     He  now  devotes  the  greater  part  of  his  attention  to    ; 
surgery,  and  for  the  last  eighteen  years  has  annually  given  a  portion  of    ! 
iiis  time  to  post-graduate  work  in  New  York  and  Baltimore.     He  has    I 
long  been  in  possession  of  an  extremely  extensive  and  profitable  practice.    ', 
To  Dr.  \'ickers  belongs  the  distinction  of  having  opened  the  first  hospi-    ■ 
tal  in  Huntington  ;  this  he  did  in  1892,  the  institution  being  known  as  the     | 
R.  E.  \'ickers  Private  Hospital,  and  in  1910  he  opened  the  Mount  Hope 
Hospital.     He  is  president  of  the  state  board  of  health.     In  politics  Dr. 
VHckers  is  a  Republican.    He  is  a  Scottish  Rite  Mason,  a  Knight  Templar 
and  a  member  of  the  Mystic  Shrine  at  Charleston.     His  religious  affilia- 
tions are  with. the  Protestant  Episcopal  church.     He  has  always  taken 
an  interest  in  the  welfare  and  improvement  of  his  home  city  and  has  been 
connected  with  many  important  public  and  business  enterprises.   Asa  med- 
ical practitioner  Dr.  X'ickers  enjoys  the  confidence  and  ailfection  of  a  large 
number  of  his  fellow  citizens,  and  as  the  founder  of  two  hospitals  his  name 
and  work  will  long  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance. 

Dr.  Vickers  married,  February  18,  1889,  in  Huntington,  \'ictoria,  a 
native  of  that  place,  daughter  of  J.  L.  and  \"irginia  (Hanley)  Thornburg. 
Mr.  Thornburg  was  born  in  1835,  in  Cabell  county,  and  was  for  many 
years  a  prominent  civil  engineer,  having  laid  out  the  city  of  Huntington. 
He  died  in  1883  and  his  widow  is  now  living  in  Huntington.  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Vickers  are  the  parents  of   four  children :    One  who  died  in  in- 


/l'^cyuj:^2x^W, 


WEST  MRGIXIA  3[.) 

fancy :  Ruth  Lois,  died  at  the  age  of  two  years :  James  Leonard,  now 
fourteen  years  old ;  and  Lola  \irginia,  now  eleven  years  oltl.  Dr.  \'ick- 
ers'  residence,  which  he  built  in  1890.  is  on  Fifth  avenue,  and  is  one  of 


the  finest  in  the  citv. 


This  name  which,  in  both  its  forms.  Stuart  and  Stewart,  is 
STL'ART     of  very  frequent  occurrence  and  is  found  in  various  parts 

of  the  L'nited  States  of  America,  and  which  is  especially 
notable  in  history  as  the  name  of  a  great  family  in  England,  the  family 
of  several  reigning  kings  and  of  unsuccessful  claimants  of  the  throne,  has 
long  been  found  in  Harrison  county,  Virginia,  of  which  county  Walter 
Stuart,  of  West  L'nion,  Doddridge  county.  West  \'irginia,  is  a  native. 

Walter  Stuart,  son  of  Charles  and  Letitia  (Radclitf)  Stuart,  was  born 
in  Elk  district,  Harrison  county.  West  Virginia,  January  25,  1879,  about 
two  miles  from  the  village  of  Romines  Mills,  in  that  county.  His  educa- 
tion was  begun  in  the  common  schools  of  Harrison  county,  but  he  has 
attended  also  the  University  of  West  \'irginia,  the  L'niversity  of  Virginia, 
and  Lebanon  L'niversity,  Lebanon,  Ohio,  receiving  a  classical  education. 
From  Lebanon  L'niversity  he  was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1906,  and  then 
received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  For  three  years  he  was  a 
teacher  in  ^^'est  \'irginia,  in  his  native  county,  and  in  Lewis  county,  in  the 
common  schools.  After  his  college  graduation,  from  1906  to  1908  Mr. 
Stuart  was  principal  of  the  Brooksville  (Kentucky)  high  school;  and 
from  1909  to  191 1  he  was  teacher  of  Latin  and  mathematics  in  ]\Ieridian 
College,  Meridian,  Texas.  On  July  i,  191 1,  Mr.  Stuart  became  editor 
and  business  manager  of  the  JVcst  Union  Record,  of  West  L^nion,  Dod- 
dridge county,  \\'est  Virginia,  and  here  he  has  lived  since  that  time, 
engaged  in  newspaper  work  and  job  printing. 


This  family  is  of  Xew  Jersey  descent,  and  is  said  to  have  as 
COX  an  English  ancestor  Dr.  Daniel  Cox,  of  London,  a  relative  of 
Queen  Anne,  and,  in  her  reign,  physician  to  the  royal  family.  In 
regard  to  the  early  history  of  this  family  there  is  evidently  some  confu- 
sion. The  following  account  gives  only  such  statements  as  may  reasonably 
be  judged  probably  correct,  except  in  regard  to  the  dates  and  ages  of  the 
earliest  generations ;    in  these,  error  is  to  be  suspected. 

(I)  Philip  Cox,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we  have 
definite  information,  was  born  about  1685,  and  died  in  Xew  Jersey,  in 
1797.  He  married  Hannah  Trembly.  Of  their  children,  the  youngest 
son,  and  the  only  son  who  had  a  family,  was  Isaac,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Isaac,  son  of  Philip  and  Hannah  (Trembly)  Cox,  was  born  in 
Xew  Jersey,  in  1731,  and  died  in  1838.  He  came  to  Harrison  county,  Vir- 
ginia, and  settled  at  the  mouth  of  Kincheloe's  creek.  He  married  Sarah 
Sutton,  of  Xew  Jersey.  Children :  Philip,  of  whom  further ;  John ; 
Sarah,  married  John  Tingley :    Hannah,  married  Joseph  Smith  :    Isaac. 

(III)  Philip,  son  of  Isaac  and  Sarah  (Sutton)  Cox,  was  born  probably 
in  New  Jersey,  in  1760,  and  died  in  Ritchie  county,  Mrginia,  in  1854. 
Both  he  and  his  wife  died  at  the  home  of  their  son,  Daniel  \'.  Co.x.  He 
married  Christiana  Stille,  who  was  born  about  1764,  and  died  in  1856. 
Children :  Isaac  P. ;  John  ;  David  S. ;  Hannah  :  Philip,  born  July  20, 
1800.  died  December  19,  1876,  married  Su-an  Kniseiey  :  Huldah,  mar- 
ried Hezekiah  D.  Tharpe ;  Sarah,  married  Timothy  Tharpe ;  James  S. ; 
Levi ;   Daniel  V.,  of  whom  further. 

(IV)  Daniel  V.,  son  of  Philip  and  Christiana  (Stille)  Cox,  was  born 
in  Harrison  county,  Virginia,  March  10,  1809.     In  1835  he  settled  at  the 


I 

320  WEST  VIRGINIA  { 

mouth  of  Bone  creek,  in  what  is  now  Ritchie  county;   and  ten  years  later 
moved  to  Slab  creek,  Ritchie  county,  Virginia,  being  the  tirst  settler  at  the  I 
forks  of  this  stream.     With  his  brother  Philip,  he  was  the  first  merchant  ' 
at  the  mouth  of  Bone  creek.     He  was  partner  in  the  first  tailor  shop,  so 
far  as  known,  in  the  county.    From  the  time  of  the  organization  of  Ritchie  i 
county  till  his  death,  he  was  colonel  of  militia.    He  was  a  man  of  unusual  ' 
courage.    Early  in  the  civil  war  he  recruited  a  company  of  volunteers  for 
the  defense  of  the  Union,  but  his  failing  health  prevented  his  own  active 
service:  two  of  his  sons,  however,  John  M.,  and  W.  Taylor,  bore  arms 
for  the  country.     He  married  Mahala  Ward,  of  Harrison  county,  Vir-  j 
ginia,  who  was  born  in  1812  and  died  in  1899.     Children :     W.  Floyd ;  ' 
Louisa,  married  William  Bane:  Pliram  C.  of  whom  further:  J.  G. :  John 
M.,  deceased;  Daniel  S. ;  W  .Taylor  :  W.  E.,  died  young;  Alvin  W.,  died  j 
young  ;    Philip,  died  young. 

I  \' I  Hiram  C.,  son  of  Daniel  \'.  and  ]\Iahala  (Ward)  Cox,  was  born 
at  the  forks  of  Slab  creek,  in  1840,  and  died  at  Pullman,  Ritchie  county,  j 
West  Virginia,  April  6,  1900.     He  entered  into  mercantile  life  before  the  1 
civil  war,  in  partnership  with  his  brother,  W.  Taylor  Cox.  having  a  store 
at  Auburn,  Ritchie  county.    At  the  close  of  the  war  he  sold  his  interest  to  } 
his  brother  and  settled  on  a  farm.    There  he  lived  until  1892,  after  which  ' 
he  lived  at  Pullman.    He  married  Martha  A.,  daughter  of  John  and  Eliza- 
beth (Pritchard)   Harris,  who  died  at  Richwood,  Nicholas  county.  West 
Virginia,  in  1907,  at  the  home  of  her  son,  Crawford  Cox.  ' 

(VI)  S.  Steele,  son  of  Hiram  C.  and  ]\Iartha  A.  (Harris)  Cox,  was 
born  on  a  farm  near  where  Pullman  now  stands,  May  10,  1869.  He 
attended  the  public  schools  of  Ritchie  county,  and  until  he  was  twenty-two 
years  old  worked  on  the  farm  with  his  father.  Then  he  was  for  two  years  | 
clerk  in  th.e  general  store  of  Dr.  B.  F.  Richards,  at  Pullman.  For  a  year 
he  lived  again  on  the  farm;  then  he  married  and  worked  for  two  year-; 
in  the  store  of  his  father-in-law.  C.  H.  Hall.  He  and  E.  E.  Hall,  liN 
brother-in-law,  then  bought  the  store  and  carried  on  the  business  as  Cox 
&  Hall.  Mr.  Cox  sold  his  interest  to  his  partner  in  1896  and  moved  to 
Ashley,  Doddridge  county.  West  Virginia,  where  he  took  charge  of  a  stor. 
for  Wesley  McCormick.  Two  years  later  he  and  his  brother,  D.  Elli- 
Cox,  bought  the  store,  forming  the  partnership  of  Cox  Brothers ;  and  lie 
continued  in  this  business  until  September,  1899,  selling  his  interest  at  that 
time  to  his  brother.  Settling  at  West  Union,  Doddridge  county,  Virginia. 
he  entered  the  wagon,  buggy,  and  feed  business,  under  the  name  of  Cm 
Brothers.  This  name  was  not  changed  when,  in  1901,  he  took  W.  I 
Parrish  into  partnership.  In  January,  1903,  the  business  was  incorporatt.l 
under  the  name  of  The  Cox  Brothers  Company,  and  Mr.  Cox  was  chosan 
general  manager.  This  position  he  still  holds,  and  West  Union  is  still 
his  home.  Here  he  is  a  member  of  the  school  board,  and  for  three  term- 
he  was  town  councilman.  ]\Ir.  Cox  is  a  Methodist,  a  trustee  of  the  con- 
gregation at  West  Union,  and  a  member  of  its  official  board. 

He  married  Cora  F.  Hall,  daughter  of  C.  E.  and  Katheren  Hall. 
Children:  Estie  B.,  Guy  H.,  Hayse  R.,  Mabel  Gladis,  Burnice  C,  and  S 
Steele  Jr.,  all  of  which  are  living'except  Mabel  Gladis,  who  died  of  spina! 
fever  at  the  age  of  about  two  years. 


This  name  is  found  in  several  counties  of  England,  nota- 
BAXTER     bly  Norfolk  and  Wilts.     This  name  and  the  name  Baker 

are  probably  of  similar  origin  and  meaning.  One  John 
Baxter  had  head  rights  in  Lower  Norfolk,  ^'irginia,  in  April,  1664:  one 
William  Baxter,  from  \'irginia,  was  in  Maryland  from  1744  to  1770. 
Despite  these  early  instances  of  the  occurrence  of  the  name  among  Vir- 


WEST  VIRGINIA 


321 


ginians.  Baxter  is  not  a  special  \  irginia  name.  A  Baxter  family  settled 
in  Bucks  county.  Pennsylvania,  perhaps  as  early  as  1682.  The  name 
seems  to  have  died  out  in  that  county.  There  was  also  a  Daniel  Baxter 
a  weaver,  who  came  from  Ireland,  married  in  New  Jersey,  and  died  in 
Greene  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  1808,  having  lived  there  about  thirty 
years.  There  were  other  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  and  Alaryland  Bax- 
ters at  early  dates.  It  seems  to  us  most  probable  that  the  present  fam- 
ily is  descended  from  one  of  these  stocks,  the  Bucks  county  family  being 
again  a  more  probable  source  than  the  Greene  county,  Delaware,  or 
^Maryland  Baxters. 

(I)  Colonel  John  Baxter,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about 
whom  we  have  definite  information,  was  the  first  of  the  family  in  the 
present  Pocahontas  county,  West  A'irginia.  His  residence  was  at  Sul- 
phur Spring.  He  was  the  first  colonel  of  the  127th  Regiment.  In  the  or- 
ganization of  the  county  he  was  a  leader,  and  he  held  a  prominent  place 
in  the  early  history  of  the  county.  When  the  county  was  organized  he 
administered  the  oaths  of  office  to  the  other  members  of  the  first  court, 
in  1822.  For  many  years  he  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  a  member 
of  the  Pocahontas  county  court.  He  did  much  work  in  framing  business 
papers,  and  frequently  adjusted  disputes  out  of  court.  His  library  was 
the  largest  and  the  best  in  the  county.  While  he  was  a  regular  attendant 
at  religious  services,  he  made  no  religious  profession  until  late  in  life. 
He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  William  and  Margaret  Moore;  his  wife 
survived  him  but  a  few  weeks.  Children :  Jane,  married  John  Aloore ; 
Martha,  married  Henry  Duncan ;  Sarah,  married  William  Duncan ;  Wil- 
liam, of  whom  further ;  Joseph :  John ;  George.  Two  of  these  sons  died 
in  the  civil  war,  giving  their  lives  for  what  they  believed  to  be  right ; 
George  was  a  Confederate  soldier,  while  Joseph  fought  for  the  Union. 

(II)  William,  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Moore)  Baxter,  was  born  on 
Little  Back  Creek,  in  1808,  and  died  in  September,  1881.  He  cleared  the 
ground  and  made  a  pleasant  home  in  the  forest.  He  was  a  diligent  read- 
er, having  read  most  of  the  books  in  his  father's  library,  and  improved 
his  opportunities  for  education.  He  was  a  school  teacher ;  the  Baxter 
family  is  noted  in  Pocahontas  county  for  school  teaching,  and  this  repu- 
tation probably  began  with  the  present  representative  of  the  family.  He 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  and  Martha  (Waddell)  Barlow. 
Children  :  George,  of  whom  further ;  Samuel ;  William ;  Marv,  married 
John  R.  ^loore. 

(III)  George,  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Barlow)  Baxter,  was 
born  in  Pocahontas  county,  February  28,  1842,  and  died  April  2"].  1908. 
For  several  years  he  taught  school.  Afterward  he  became  a  surveyor, 
and  he  was  for  about  twenty-five  years  the  surveyor  of  the  county.  He 
was  an  active  Democrat.  He  married  (first)  Sarah,  daughter  of  James 
R.  Poage.  of  Pocahontas  county,  who  died  about  1880;  (second)  Mar- 
garet J.  Cassell,  of  Pocahontas  county.  Children,  first-named  six  by 
first,  others  by  second,  wife:  i.  Adam  O.,  of  whom  further.  2.  John 
Willis,  formerly  a  school  teacher,  now  chief  clerk  for  the  United  States 
Leather  Company.  3.  William  E.,  died  unmarried,  at  Fort  Wayne,  In- 
diana ;  he  was  an  engineer  in  the  service  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company.  4.  Birdie  Elizabeth,  married  H.  A.  Smear;  she  was  before 
marriage  a  teacher.  5.  Allie  B.  F.,  married  J.  H.  Patterson,  of  Hender- 
son. North  Carolina ;  she  also  was  a  teacher  before  her  marriage.  6. 
Georgia  A.,  married  Ernest  Harper,  of  Pocahontas  county ;  he  is  a  stock- 
man. 7.  Frank;  is  associated  with  his  half-brother,  Adam  O.  Baxter.  8^ 
Harry,  now  a  student  at  the  .Staunton  Business  College.  Staunton.  \"ir- 
ginia.     9.     ]\Iyrtle,  a  school  teacher.      10.  Bessie,  living  with  her  motlier 


322  WEST  VIRGINIA 

on  the  old  Baxter  homestead,     ii.  Mabel,  a  teacher.     12.  Edith,  livin 
with  her  mother. 

(IV)  Adam  O.,  son  of  George  and  Sarah  (  Poage)  Baxter,  attended  j 
the  public  schools  and  afterward  learned  civil  engineering  and  surveying. 
These  he  studied  with  his  father,  with  whom  he  was  associated  until  his 
death.  He  has  succeeded  to  the  business,  and  now  has  a  large  corpora- 
tion and  individual  business  in  Pocahontas  and  adjoining  counties.  Among 
the  corporations  by  whom  he  is  regularly  employed,  he  is  engineer  and 
surveyor  for  the  Campbell  Lumber  Company  and  for  the  St.  Lawrence 
Lumber  Company.  His  offices  are  in  the  First  National  Bank  Building. 
He  is  senior  deacon  in  JMarlinton  Lodge  of  Masons,  and  has  held  all 
chairs  in  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  lodge  and  encampment. 
He  is  a  Democrat,  but  not  active. 

He  married  Lena,  daughter  of  Samuel  B.  ]\Ioore.  Her  father  is  now 
(1912)  assessor  of  Pocahontas  county;  she  is  a  member  of  the  Alethodi-t 
Episcopal  Church,  South.     Child;  Kathleen,  born  August  6,  1910. 


The  pioneers  of  Pocahontas  county  represented  maii_\- 
McCARTY     races.     The  present  family,  of  Irish  origin,  is  one  of  the 

oldest  families  in  the  county.  Timothy  McCarty,  the 
founder  of  this  family,  was  born  in  Ireland.  He  settled  on  Knapp's 
creek,  Pocahontas  county,  at  some  time  before  the  revolution,  thus  being 
one  of  the  earliest  settlers  within  what  is  now  Pocahontas  county,  and 
one  of  the  veritable  pioneers  of  western  Virginia.  In  the  revolution  he 
was  a  soldier.  He  married  (first)  Nancy  Honeyman ;  (second)  Jano, 
daughter  of  James  and  Mary  Waugh.  Children:  Daniel,  married  Eliz:i- 
beth  Moore;  Preston;  Justin;  James;  Thomas;  two  other  sons  by  tir-t 
marriage.  All  these  sons  by  the  first  marriage  served  in  the  war  of  iSu. 
and  only  Daniel  returned  to  Pocahontas  county  to  live;  Eli,  married  Mar- 
garet Moore;  Reuben;  Samuel,  married  Phoebe  Aloore ;  Jacob,  of  wh"in 
further ;  Nancy,  married  Robert  McClary ;  Jane,  married  Harvey  Case- 
bolt;  Martha;  Sally,  married  Ezekiel  Boggs ;  Isaac;  two  other  sons  and 
two  other  daughters  by  the  second  marriage. 

(II)  Jacob,  son  of  Timothy  and  Jane  (Waugh)  McCarty,  died  in 
Pocahontas  county.  West  Virginia,  about  1890.  He  served  in  the  leyi-- 
lature  of  West  \'irginia.  He  married  (first)  Amy  Boggs,  (second)  Han- 
nah Brock,  of  Droop  Mountain.  Children,  all  except  last-named  two  by 
first  wife;  Samuel  Allen,  of  whom  further;  Elizabeth,  married  Henry 
Morrison ;  Mahala ;  Melissa,  married  Thomas  Taylor ;  Julia,  married 
Alfred  F.  Propst;  Franklin,  married  Eliza  Alderman;  George  W.,  mar- 
ried Rebecca  Hollondsworth ;   Nancy,  married  Noah  McCoy. 

(III)  Samuel  Allen,  son  of  Jacob  and  Amy  (Boggs)  McCarty.  was 
born  December  14,  1843.  He  was  a  stockman  in  Pocahontas  county.  He 
and  his  wife  are  still  residing  on  the  old  homestead.  In  the  civil  war  he 
was  a  Union  man,  and  served  in  the  Home  Guards,  and  also  as  a  member 
of  the  state  troops  occupying  the  Ohio  valley.  In  politics  he  has  always 
been  a  Republican.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Morgan  Anderson, 
who  was  born  in  Nicholas  county,  Virginia,  April  29,  1845.  Children  :  I. 
Columbus  J.,  of  whom  further.  2.  Thomas  M.,  born  September  9,  1870; 
he  was  ordained  in  1907  as  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
having  been  a  conference  worker  for  nine  or  ten  years  prior  to  his  ordina- 
tion, and  is  now  pastor  at  Amma,  Roane  county.  West  Virginia,  where  he 
has  his  wife  and  nine  children;  he  married  Ruth  Ann,  daughter  of  C.  F. 
Eagle,  of  Pocahontas  county.  3.  Samuel  E.,  born  September  19,  1872;  is  a 
minister  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church,  and  is  now  filling  a  confer- 
ence assignment  at  Hacker's  Valley,  Webster  county.  West  Virginia ;  mar- 


WEST  VIRGINIA 


323 


ried  Mabel  A.  Lewis,  of  Ohio;  four  children.  4.  Margaret  R.,  born  Sep- 
tember 15,  1874;  married  Frank  Thompson;  he  is  a  stockman  at  Eka- 
laka,  Montana.  5.  James  H.,  born  January  30,  1877;  he  is  a  school 
teacher  and  a  farmer  in  Pocahontas  county;  married,  August  20,  1912, 
Nina  M.  Auldridge.  6.  Amy  Susan,  born  July  29,  1879,  died  December 
2,  1906;  married  Ulysses  H.  Nottingham,  of  Bear  Creek,  Montana;  at  her 
death,  she  left  a  son,  James  Robert,  eleven  days  old. 

(IV)  Columbus  J.,  son  of  Samuel  Allen  and  Elizabeth  (Anderson) 
McCarty,  was  born  July  10,  1868.  He  attended  the  free  schools.  After 
his  school  days  he  learned  the  trade  of  machinist.  He  has  nevertheless 
continuously  been  engaged  in  farming  from  the  time  when  he  had  learned 
his  trade  to  the  present  day.  He  is  a  Republican,  but  has  never  been  very 
active  in  politics.  He  was  once  nominated  for  justice  of  the  peace  in  the 
Little  Levels  district,  but  defeated ;  in  1908  he  was  elected  county  clerk. 
Mr.  McCarty  is  a  Baptist,  but  his  wife  is  active  in  the  work  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  South. 

He  married  Margaret  Clementine,  daughter  of  William  S.  and  Julia 
Ann  (Whitman)  Hull,  of  Greenbrier  county.  West  Virginia.  The  Hull 
family  has  set  a  good  example  to  many  other  families  in  the  Virginias  and 
throughout  the  south  and  elsewhere,  in  that  for  some  years  it  has  been 
engaged  in  searching  out  the  family  genealogy.  Children :  Erma  Adeline, 
born  August  10,  1908;  Margie  Elizabeth,  June  5,  191 1. 


The  ancestor  of  the  present  family  is  said  to  have  been 
BOWYER     of  Alsace-Lorraine ;  and  there  is  some   reason  to  think 

that  the  name,  Bowyers,  probably  of  the  same  stock,  may 
be  of  Huguenot  origin.  Yet  this  name  is  found  also  in  Great  Britain, 
where  it  is  supposed  to  be  a  name  of  occupation,  a  "bowyer"  having 
been  one  who  made  bows  for  archery.  There  have  been  Bowyers,  pre- 
sumably descended  from  the  same  immigrant  ancestor  as  the  present 
family,  in  Augusta  and  Botetourt  counties,  Virginia ;  and  the  name  is 
found,  probably  an  offshoot  from  the  present  family,  in  Cass  county,  In- 
diana, to  which  county  it  will  be  noted  that  one  of  the  present  line  re- 
moved; the  Cass  county  Bowyers,  however,  take  their  Greenbrier  coun- 
ty, Virginia,  ancestry,  not  apparently  from  Peter  Bowyer,  though  per- 
haps from  his  son,  Louis. 

(I)  Anthony  Bowyer,  the  founder  of  this  family,  was  of  Alsace- 
Lorraine.  He  must  have  come  to  America  about  the  middle  of  the  sev- 
enteenth century.     Child,  Anthony,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Anthony  (2),  son  of  Anthony  (i)  Bowyer,  had  a  son  Jacob,  of 
whom  further. 

(III)  Jacob,  son  of  Anthony  (2)  Bowyer,  lived  at  Reading,  Pennsyl- 
vania.    Child,  Peter,  of  whom  further. 

(IV)  Peter,  son  of  Jacob  Bowyer,  was  born  about  1760,  or  earlier, 
and  died  in  Cass  county,  Indiana,  October  10,  1850.  Although  but  a 
mere  lad  at  the  beginning  of  the  revolutionary  war,  he  enlisted  as  a  priv- 
ate in  a  Pennsylvania  Artillery  Company,  under  Captain  Trumbull,  and 
served  as  a  "matross."  For  this  service,  he  was  granted  a  pension,  on 
May  15,  1828.  This  company  was  connected  with  the  Second  Pennsyl- 
vania Regiment  of  Artillery,  commanded  by  Colonel  Preston.  On  July 
12,  1776,  he  was  appointed  first  lieutenant,  and  he  was  promoted  to  cap- 
tain. May  9,  1777,  his  service  extending  throughout  the  war.  At  some 
later  time,  he  removed  to  Cass  county,  Indiana,  and  in  1840.  he  received 

a  grant  of  land.     He  married    (first)    Eva  ,    (second),  August   16, 

1793,   Catharine    Shellman,   who   was   born   September   29,    1773.      It   is 
not  known  when  she  died,  but  she  was  living  in  November,  1852,  being 


324  WEST  \^IRGINIA 

then  in  her  eightieth  year.  Children,  first-named  two  by  first,  others  by 
second,  wife:  EHzabeth,  born  October  14,  1791  :  Jacob,  April  13,  171),^; 
John,  of  whom  further;  Daniel,  November  23,  1795;  William,  Novem- 
ber 7,  1797;  Pauline,  October  19,  1799:  Lewis,  January  15,  1801,  wlm-e 
son  was  a  rear  admiral  in  the  United  States  navy:  Madeline,  December 
26,  1803 :  Anna,  June  10,  1805 :  Catharine,  March  23,  1807 :  Peter,  Octo- 
ber 10,  1808;  Christina,  Julv  7.  181 1;  Adam,  ;\Iav  18,  1814:  Susanna, 
February  8,  1816. 

(V)  John,  son  of  Peter  and  Catharine  (  Shellman)  Bowyer,  was  born 
in  Greenbrier  county.  A'irginia.  April  26,  1794,  and  died  at  Winfield,  Put- 
nam county.  West  \'irginia,  December  18,  1878.  When  he  was  a  small 
boy,  his  parents  moved  to  what  is  now  Sewell  Station.  Greenbrier  coun- 
ty, West  Virginia.  At  the  age  of  seventeen,  he  enlisted,  for  the  war  of 
1812,  in  Captain  John  AlcClung's  Greenbrier  Company,  and  was  ap- 
pointed regimental  ensign.  After  the  war,  he  was  appointed  by  Presi- 
dent Monroe.  United  States  marshal  for  the  western  district  of  \'ir- 
ginia,  and  he  held  this  position  for  twelve  years.  Children :  George 
Crawford,  of  whom  further:  Maria,  married  John  Cantrell  Miller. 

(VI)  General  George  Crawford  Bowyer,  son  of  John  Bowyer,  was 
born  in  Greenbrier  county,  A'irginia,  March  18,  1829,  and  died  Febru:irv 
4,  1906.  He  lived  at  Winfield,  Putnam  county.  West  Virginia,  and  \\:i- 
a  farmer  and  merchant,  and  was  called  General  Bowyer,  a  title  received 
from  his  services  in  the  Virginia  State  Militia.  He  married,  March  23, 
1853,  Mary  Sophia,  daughter  of  Charles  Clendenin  and  Eleanor  Jemima 
(Cantrell)  Miller;  her  father,  Charles  Clendenin  Miller,  was  the  son  of 
John  Miller,  who  was  born  at  Woodstock,  in  the  Shenandoah  valley, 
Virginia,  in  1781,  and  Sophia  (Clendenin)  Miller,  daughter  of  Captain 
William  Clendenin,  who  was  wounded  in  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant ;  he 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  Charleston,  Kanawha  county.  West  Virginia, 
was  sheriff  of  Kanawha  county,  and  in  1803,  was  elected  to  represent 
that  county  in  the  Virginia  legislature.  Charles  Clendenin  Miller  was 
born  February  23.  181 1,  and  died  March  13,  1898.  He  was  prominent 
in  Mason  county.  West  Virginia,  as  a  merchant,  farmer,  and  banker. 
From  1834  to  1846,  he  was  high  sheriff  of  the  county,  afterward  he  was 
state  senator  from  his  district.  From  1843  to  1879,  he  was  president  of 
the  Merchants'  National  Bank  of  Point  Pleasant,  West  Virginia,  being 
its  first  president.  In  1879,  he  removed  to  "Spring  Hill,"  his  country 
home,  about  a  mile  from  Point  Pleasant,  one  of  the  handsomest  places  on 
the  Kanawha,  at  that  time  containing  about  three  thousand  acres,  an  at- 
tractive specimen  of  the  old-time  A'irginia  mansion.  He  married  (first) 
December  i,  1831,  Eleanor  Jemima,  daughter  of  John  Cantrell,  who  died 
August  31,  1854.  Her  father  was  the  son  of  a  sister  of  Captain  William 
Clendenin:  he  was  a  major  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  was  for  several 
years  a  member  of  the  Virginia  assembly.  He  married  (second)  Vir- 
ginia, daughter  of  Jacob  and  Sarah  (Wilson)  Middlecoflf.  Children, 
first  named  six  by  first,  others  by  second,  wife:  i.  John  Cantrell,  born  Oc- 
tober I,  1832,  married  (first)  Amanda  Handley,  (second)  Maria  Bow- 
yer. 2.  Mary  Sophia,  born  ]\Iay  23,  1835,  married.  INIarch  23,  1853,  Gen- 
eral George  Crawford  Bowyer,  of  whom  above.  3.  Eleanor  Bertha,  born 
April  9,  1838,  married  (first)  Robert  Buffington,  (second)  Frank  Dash- 
ner.  4.  George  William,  born  June  18,  1842,  died  young.  5.  Alargaret 
Eliza  Florence,  born  starch  7,  1847,  married  John  Dashner.  6.  Charles- 
anna  Rosina  Maria,  born  November  11,  1851,  married  E.  S.  Bright. 
7.  Blanche  Cantrell,  married  Rankin  Wiley.  8.  Edith  Clendenin,  married 
(first)  Benjamin  Stephens,  and  (second)  Dr.  J.  H.  Wade,  of  Ashland. 
Kentucky. 

Children   of   General   George   Crawford   and   Mary  Sophia    (Miller) 


WEST  VIRGINIA 


325 


Bowyer:  JNIary  Ella,  bora  August  30,  1854,  died  July  21,  1892;  Charles 
Clendenin,  of  whom  further;  George  Cantrell,  born  JNIay  14,  1858; 
Blanche  B.,  January  13,  1861,  died  January  20,  1888,  married,  September 
29,  1880,  William  J.  O'Neill;  Jennie  C.,  January  15,  1863,  married,  at 
Lakeland,  Florida,  April  17.  1893,  Lawrence  A.  Christy,  and  had  one 
child,  Paul  Bowyer,  born  JNIay  21,  1900;  John  C,  June  24,  1865,  died 
May  13,  1891 ;  Frederick  C,  October  i,  1867,  died  in  November,  1873; 
Grace  C,  November  11,  1869,  married,  June  3,  1895,  Archibald  J.  Martin; 
Demmie  C,  September  21,  1872,  married,  June  16,  1896,  Stanley  J.  Lowe, 
and  had  children :  Mrginia  Cameron,  born  April  6,  1897,  Edward  Bow- 
yer, born  August  23,  1899,  ^"d  Stanley  Jerome,  born  April  10,  1907 ; 
Frank  C,  February  4,  1875,  married,  January  29,  1899,  Clyde  M.  Ball, 
and  had  children:  Grace  Christine,  born  November  18,  1899,  and  George 
Chancellor,  born  September  4,  1903. 

(VII)  Charles  Clendenin,  son  of  General  George  Crawford  and  Mary 
Sophia  (Miller)  Bowyer,  was  born  in  Putnam  county,  \'irginia,  April 
6,  1856.  His  first  school  training  was  received  at  the  public  schools.  On 
April  7,  1873,  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Merchants'  National  Bank,  at 
Point  Pleasant,  Mason  county,  West  Virginia,  and  he  has  been  with  this 
bank  from  that  time.  He  is  a  member  of  ]Minturn  Lodge,  No.  19,  Ancient 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  Franklin  Commandery,  No.  17,  Knights 
Templar,  and  Beni  Kedem  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  Nobles  of 
the  Mystic  Shrine  of  Charleston,  \\'est  A'irginia.  He  is  a  Republican.  Mr. 
Bowyer  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church.  He  married,  September  17, 
1879,  Catharine  B.,  daughter  of  William  A.  and  Elsie  (Watkins)  Parsons, 
who  was  born  at  Parkersburg,  Wood  county,  West  Virginia.  Children: 
Irene  Kenton,  born  November  i,  1880;  Neida  Chancellor,  born  September 
24,  1884,  married  September  26,  1906,  Charles  Russell  McCulloch,  of 
Point  Pleasant,  child.  Samuel  Bowyer,  born  at  Point  Pleasant.  ]\Iav  14, 
1909. 


Hon.  George  E.  Boyd,  who  is  very  well  known  in  legal  circles 

BOYD     in  West  Mrginia,  has  been  a  resident  of  Wheeling  since  1850. 

He  was  born  in  Cumberland,  Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  in  1839. 

The  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  November.  1812. 
He  removed  from  Ohio  to  \Mieeling  in  1850,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the 
wholesale  dry' goods  business  with  ^h.  Ott.  After  Mr.  Ott's  death  he 
carried  on  the  business  alone  until  1858,  when  he  went  to  Philadelphia, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  banking  business.  He  remained  in  Philadelphia 
until  1867,  when  he  moved  to  Chase  City,  Mecklenberg  county,  Mrginia. 
He  died  in  1902.  His  wife  has  been  dead  for  three  years.  They  enjoyed 
sixty-four  years  of  married  life.  His  children  are  living  in  New  York 
City  and  in  New  Jersey.  One  son,  John  W.  Boyd,  deceased,  was  for 
many  years  engaged  in  the  wholesale  grocery  business  in  \\'heeling,  and 
George  E.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  has  always  lived  in  this  city  since 
he  first  came  here. 

George  E.  Boyd  received  his  primary  education  in  Wheeling,  and  in 
1858,  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  was  graduated  from  Washington  and 
Jefferson  College.  He  then  attended  the  Cincinnati  Law  School  and  gradu- 
ated from  that  institution  in  i860.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Ohio 
county  in  December,  1861.  Judge  Boyd  at  once  took  up  the  general  prac- 
tice of  law.  His  father-in-law,  Hon.  Alfred  Caldwell,  was  appointed 
consul  at  Honolulu,  and  until  1867  Judge  Boyd  carried  on  the  business 
under  the  name  of  Caldwell  &  Boyd.  In  1867  Judge  Boyd  went  to  New 
Martinsville,  Wetzel  county,  West  Mrginia,  where  he  remained  five  years. 
During   1871-72  he  acted  as  prosecuting  attorney   for  that  county.     In 


326  WEST  VIRGINIA 

1872  he  returned  to  Wheeling  and  practiced  here  until  1876,  when  he  was 
elected  to  the  bench  as  judge  of  the  county  court.  He  served  in  this 
office  until  1881.  when  he  was  chosen  judge  of  the  circuit  court,  and  served 
in  this  capacity  until  January  i,  1889.  During  this  time  Judge  Boyd 
turned  over  some  of  his  legal  business  to  Hon.  Joseph  F.  Paull.  Since 
1889  Judge  Boyd  has  followed  the  general  practice  of  law.  He  has  always 
had  a  large  and  lucrative  practice,  and  has  met  with  great  success  in  his 
chosen  profession.  He  is  well  known  in  Wheeling  and  in  this  section  of 
West  \'irginia,  having  won  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  all  who  have 
come  in  contact  with  him. 

Judge  Boyd  married  a  daughter  of  Hon.  Alfred  Caldwell.  He  has  a 
son,  G.  E.,  who  was  graduated  from  the  law  department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  West  Virginia  in  1886,  after  which  he  attended  the  law  school  of 
the  University  of  Virginia.  Judge  Boyd's  son,  Alfred  C.,  deceased,  was  a 
newspaper  man.  His  daughter,  Beulah,  is  the  wife  of  Charles  M.  Ritchie, 
of  Fairmont,  West  Virginia. 


Dr.  Wade  Hampton  Young,  one  of  the  leading  physicians 
YOUNG     and  surgeons  of  this  section  of  the  country,  owes  to  his  own 

inherent  talents  and  industry  the  prominent  position  which 
he  enjoys.  He  is  a  native  of  this  state,  in  which  he  has  passed  his  life 
and  in  which  his  many  professional  triumphs  have  been  won :  and  his 
heart  is  with  its  people  whose  honor  and  esteem  he  has  so  merited  and  ob- 
tained. He  was  born  February  8,  1879,  at  Troy,  Gilmer  county,  West 
Virginia,  son  of  Aaron  B.  Young,  born  April  6,  1832,  a  farmer  and  stock 
dealer  of  Gilmer  county,  and  his  wife,  Samantha  (McGinnis)  Young. 
Mrs.  Young,  his  mother,  is  now  about  fifty  years  of  age,  and  has  had 
fourteen  children  beside  the  doctor,  who  is  the  eldest. 

Dr.  Young  received  his  education  in  the  county  schools  primarily, 
graduating  afterwards  from  the  Glenville  Normal  School  in  1900.  He 
then  entered  the  College  of  Medicine  of  the  University  of  Virginia,  in 
Richmond,  and  was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1905.  During  the  last  year 
in  college  he  was  in  training  in  the  Home  in  Incurables ;  and  after  he 
obtained  his  degree  he  began  regularly  the  practice  of  his  profession  at 
Ben's  Run.  West  Mrginia.  Here  he  remained  for  five  years,  until  in  the 
fall  of  1910  he  came  to  Sistersville.  He  has  built  up  a  very  extensive 
practice  in  this  place,  making  a  specialty  of  children's  diseases,  to  which 
he  devoted  his  chief  attention  while  in  college.  The  success  with  which 
lie  has  met  in  his  practice  has  been  such  that  the  doctor  has  been  able  tO 
repay  with  interest  the  money  which  he  was  compelled  to  borrow  in  or- 
der to  pursue  his  education ;  and  he  is  proud  of  the  fact  that  he  can  be 
called  a  self-made  man  in  every  respect.  He  now  holds  the  position  of 
surgeon  to  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad,  having  received  the  appoint- 
ment in  1905,  at  which  time  he  was  the  youngest  surgeon  on  the  road; 
and  he  is  a  member  of  the  American  Medical  Association,  the  West  Vir- 
ginia Medical  Association,  and  the  Medical  Associations  of  the  Little 
Kanawha  and  Ohio  Valley,  and  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railway  Sur- 
geons. Dr.  Young  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church  of  this  place,  and 
is  a  prominent  Freemason,  thirty-second  degree;  and  also  a  member  of 
the  Knights  of  Pythias.     He  is  a  Democrat  in  his  political  opinions. 

On  October  18,  1905,  Dr.  Young  was  married  to  Miss  Ella  Morris,  a 
daughter  of  McClellan  B.  jMorris.  a  prominent  attorney  of  Glenville,  and 
one  of  West  Virginia's  Republican  state  senators,  the  family  being  of 
Scotch-Irish  ancestry.  Mrs.  Young  was  born  at  Glenville,  April  7, 
1884,  and  is  a  graduate  of  the  normal  school  of  that  place.  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Young  are  the  parents  of  two  children — Alice  Conrad  Young,  born  Octo- 
ber 21.  1907,  and  Robert  Morris  Young,  Ijorn  August  15,  1909. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  2,27 

Charles  Xatlianiel  Kimball,  of  the  well  known  law  firm 
KIMBx-\LL     of  Kimball  &  Sugden,  of  Sistersville,  comes  of  ancient 

Xew  England  lineage,  and  is  himself  a  representative  in 
the  ninth  generation  of  Kimballs  of  America,  each  generation  having  in 
turn  given  to  the  nation  many  good  and  useful  citizens.  The  military 
record  of  the  family  is  a  very  full  one.  The  great-great-grandfathers  of 
Charles  X.  Kimball,  on  both  sides,  served  in  the  colonial  army  during  the 
revolutionary  war;  his  paternal  great-grandfather,  Sterry  Kimball,  fought 
in  the  war  of  1812 ;  his  grandfathers  on  both  sides  participated  in  the  Black 
Hawk  war,  and  two  great-uncles  served  in  the  Alexican  war. 

( I )  Richard  Kimball,  the  first  of  the  line  of  whom  we  have  record, 
was  born  in  Rattlesden,  Suffolk  county,  England,  in  1595  and  died  at  Ips- 
wich, Alassachusetts,  June  22,  1675.  He  sailed  for  America  from  Ips- 
wich, Suffolk  county,  England,  April  10,  1634,  in  the  ship  "Elizabeth," 
William  Andrews,  master,  and  landed  at  Ipswich,  Massachusetts,  and  after 
a  short  period  spent  in  that  town  removed  to  \\'atertown,  Massachusetts. 
In  1637  he  returned  to  Ipswich,  Alassachusetts,  where  the  remainder  of  his 
life  was  spent,  and  where  his  will,  dated  March  5,  1674-5,  is  recorded. 
He  married  Ursula  Scott,  daughter  of  Henry  Scott,  at  Rattlesden.  Ursu- 
la's mother,  and  brother  Thomas  Scott,  accompanied  Richard  and  Ursula 
to  America  in  the  "Elizabeth." 

(II)  John,  son  of  Richard  and  Ursula  (Scott)  Kimball,  was  born  in 
Rattlesden,  England,  163 1,  and  died  at  Ipswich,  Massachusetts,  ]\Iay  6, 
1698.  He  came  to  America  with  his  parents  in  1634.  He  married,  1655, 
Mary  Bradstreet,  born  in  1633,  who  came  to  America  with  her  parents 
in  the  same  ship  as  the  Kimballs. 

( III )  John  {  2),  son  of  John  (  i  1,  and  Mary  (  Bradstreet )  Kimball,  was 
born  at  Ipswich,  Massachusetts,  March  16,  1668,  and  died  in  Preston, 
Connecticut,  May  4,  1761.  He  removed  to  Stonington,  Connecticut,  in 
1726,  and  from  thence  to  Preston,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  He  married,  at  Watertown,  Massachusetts,  December  2,  1692, 
Sarah,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Sarah  ( Whipple )  Goodhue. 

( I\' )  Jacob,  son  of  John  (2)  and  Sarah  (Goodhue)  Kimball,  was 
born  at  Ipswich,  jMassachusetts,  October  12,  1706,  and  died  in  Preston, 
Connecticut,  May  4,  1788,  his  will  being  dated  January  25,  of  that  year. 
He  married,  February  24,  1730,  ^lary  Parke,  born  June  6,  171 5,  and  left 
ten  children  whose  average  age  at  the  time  of  death  was  eighty-six  and 
seven-tenths  years. 

(\ )  Daniel,  son  of  Jacob  and  Mary  (Parke)  Kimball,  was  born  at 
Preston,  Connecticut,  September  15,  1752,  and  died  near  Bologna,  Xew 
York,  about  1835.  August  17,  1781,  he  sold  land  at  Xorwich,  Connecticut, 
and  removed  to  ^Montgomery  county,  Xew  York,  in  1783.  He  marrie  1, 
in  Preston,  Connecticut,  June  24,  1773,  Mary  Sterry. 

(\'I)  Sterry,  son  of  Daniel  and  Mary  (Sterry)  Kimball,  was  born  at 
Preston,  Connecticut,  August  19,  1782,  and  died  at  Wellsboro,  Tioga 
county,  Pennsylvania.  December  8,  1845.  He  served  in  the  war  of  1812 
in  Captain  Xathaniel  F.  Adams'  company.  Fourth  United  States  Infantry, 
Colonel  Robert  Purdy  commanding.  His  place  of  residence  was  succes- 
sively at  Cato,  Scipio,  Marcellus,  Lysander,  in  Xew  York,  and  finally  in 
Wellsboro.  He  married  Phoebe  Pearce,  born  April  5.  1786,  died  Decem- 
ber 19,  1868. 

(VII)  Chester,  son  of  Sterry  and  Phoebe  (Pearce)  Kimball,  was 
born  in  ^ilontgomery  county,  Xew  York,  December  11,  1807,  and  died 
in  Ansonia,  Pennsylvania.  September  24,  1845.  His  military  service  was 
throughout  the  Black  Hawk  war  in  Company  G,  Fifth  United  States  In- 
fantrv.  He  married,  Xovember  29,  1835,  Ann  Marie  Ter  Bush,  born 
in  Albany  county,  Xew  York,  August  25,  1808,  died  February  29,   1876. 


328  WEST  VIRGINIA 

(VIII)  Chester  Frayer,  son  of  Chester  and  Ann  :\Iarie  (Ter  Bush) 
Kimball,  was  born  at  Homer,  Cortlandt  county.  New  York,  April  30, 
1842,  and  died  at  Wellsboro,  Pennsylvania,  January  26,  1907.  Upon  the 
outbreak  of  the  civil  war  he  was  among  the  first  to  respond  to  the  call 
to  arms,  and  served  until  its  close.  He  enlisted  August  6,  1861,  in  Com- 
pany E,  First  Pennsylvania  Rifles,  the  famous  "Bucktail"  regiment,  par- 
ticipated in  the  battle  of  Drainsville,  \'irginia,  December  30.  1861,  and 
went  through  the  Peninsular  campaign  under  General  ]\IcClellan :  was  in 
the  second  Bull  Run,  South  Mountain :  was  wounded  at  Fredericksburg, 
Virginia,  and  was  honorably  discharged  November  17,  1865.  At  the 
close  of  the  war  he  went  to  Missouri  and  later  to  Wellsboro,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  the  remainder  of  his  life  was  passed.  He  married,  in  Park- 
ville,  Missouri,  December  20,  1870,  Sarah  ^vlargaret  Boydston,  daughter 
of  Nathaniel  Christian  Boydston,  born  in  Buchanan  county,  Missouri, 
April  I,  1850,  died  in  Benton  county,  Iowa,  May  18,  1878. 

(IX)  Giarles  Nathaniel,  son  of  Chester  Frayer  and  Sarah  Margaret 
(Boydston)  Kimball,  was  born  at  Parkville,  Missouri,  September  20, 
1872,  and  was  but  six  years  of  age  when  death  deprived  him  of  a  moth- 
er's love  and  care.  His  preparatory  education  was  acquired  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  and  Wellsboro,  Pennsylvania, 
and  in  his  earlier  years  he  was  devoted  to  the  sports  of  baseball  and 
football,  his  love  for  outdoor  sports  increasing  with  added  years,  enabling 
him  to  become  noted  as  a  sprinter  and  to  win  numerous  medals  and 
prizes  in  athletic  contests.  He  was  graduated  from  the  ^^'ellsboro  high 
school  in  1890,  and  took  up  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Elliott  & 
Watrous,  of  Wellsboro.  was  admitted  to  the  bar  I\Iarch  30,  1894,  and 
subsequently  became  a  member  of  the  firm  under  the  style  of  Elliott. 
Watrous  &  Kimball.  In  January,  1897,  he  entered  Phillips  Academy, 
Andover,  Massachusetts,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1899,  then 
became  a  student  at  the  Harvard  Law  School,  class  of  1902.  Upon  leav- 
ing the  Harvard  Law  School  he  went  to  Chicago,  intending  to  establish 
himself  permanently  in  that  city.  He  entered  the  law  office  of  Huston  & 
Sullivan,  but  at  the  end  of  a  very  short  time  received  an  advantageous 
offer  from  The  Carter  Oil  Company  to  look  after  their  interests  in  West 
Virginia,  and  went  to  Sistersville,  in  which  town  he  has  since  resided. 
Mr.  Kimball  has  been  admitted  to  practice  in  the  supreme  court  of  the 
L^nited  States,  in  the  Federal  courts  and  in  the  supreme  court  of  West 
Mrginia,  as  well  as  in  almost  all  of  the  other  courts  throughout  the  state. 
In  1910  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Walter  Sugden.  who  was  a  class- 
mate at  .Andover.  the  firm  name  being  Kimball  &  Sugden,  making  a 
specialty  of  corporation  law.  and  having  achieved  an  enviable  reputation 
in  that  section  of  the  state. 

Since  he  became  a  voter.  ]Mr.  Kimball  has  supported  the  Republican 
party,  but  has  consistently  refused  to  hold  public  office,  until  repeated 
urging  due  to  the  insistent  demand  for  reform  and  a  "cleaning  up"  in 
Sistersville,  caused  his  acceptance  of  the  mayoralty  nomination,  and  he 
is  now  acting  very  efficiently  as  mayor  of  Sistersville.  He  has  been  an 
active  leader  in  the  parish  work  of  St.  Paul's  Protestant  Episcopa, 
Church,  and  is  at  present  junior  warden.  His  fraternal  affiliations  are  as 
follows :  Member  of  Phoenix  Lodge  No.  -/^i-  Ancient  Free  and  .Accepted 
Masons;  Sistersville  Chapter  No.  27.  Royal  Arch  Masons:  Trinity  Com- 
mandery.  Knights  Templar :  Osiris  Temple.  Ancient  .Arabic  Order  of 
Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  Wheeling,  West  X'irginia ;  and  a  thirty- 
second  degree  Scottish  Rite  Mason. 

Mr.  Kimball  married  in  St.  Paul's  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  Bos- 
ton, Massachusetts.  July  3.  1904,  Mary  J.  McGlinchey.  born  in  Portland. 
IMaine,   March   i,   1876,  and  they  have  children:   Chester  Fraver,  born 


WEST  VIRGINIA  329 

May  9,  1907:  Mary  Boydston,  January   10.  1909:  Walter  Sugden,  June 
29,  191 1.     All  were  born  in  Sistersville. 


Ezra  L.  Benton,  chief  engineer  of  the  Parkersburg  and 
BENTON     Ohio  Valley  Electric  Railroad  Company,  and  a  resident  of 

Sistersville.  comes  of  old  colonial  stock,  his  ancestors  hav- 
ing been  numbered  among  the  pioneers  who  left  the  stamp  of  their  individ- 
uality on  the  wild  regions  which  they  helped  to  subdue. 

(I)  Levi  Benton,  great-grandfather  of  Ezra  L.  Benton,  was  among 
the  first  settlers  of  what  was  known  as  the  "Genesee  country,"  subse- 
quently making  a  home  for  himself  in  Yates  county.  The  town  of  Ben- 
ton was  named  in  honor  of  this  sturdy  pioneer. 

(II)  Levi  Benton,  son  of  Levi  Benton. 

(III)  Henry  P.,  son  of  Levi  Benton,  was  one  of  the  original  corps 
of  engineers  who  surveyed  the  old  Erie  railroad  leading  from  New  York 
City  west,  and  he  also  assisted  in  its  construction.  Several  county  maps 
were  made  by  him.  Mr.  Benton  married  Clarissa  T.,  daughter  of  Andrew 
A.  Norton,  an  outline  of  whose  career  is  appended  to  this  sketch,  and 

[  they  became  the  parents  of  several  children,  of  whom  the  only  one  living 
I  is  Ezra  L.,  mentioned  below.  An  elder  son,  Henry  N.  Benton,  served  in 
'  the  LTnion  army  during  the  civil  war,  and  after  his  discharge  re-enlisted, 
ultimately  laying  down  his  life  for  his  country.  Henry  P.  Benton,  the 
.  '  father,  died  in  1892,  surviving  his  wife,  who  had  passed  away  in  1886. 
I  (IV)  Ezra  L.,  son  of  Henry  P.  and  Clarissa  T.  (Norton)  Benton,  was 

I  bom  February  19,  1848,  in  Erie  county.  Ohio,  and  received  his  earliest  edu- 
I  cation  in  the  common  schools,  afterward  attending  the  Angelica  (New 
'  York)  Academy,  and  also  that  of  Elmira,  New  York.  At  the  time  of  the 
outbreak  of  the  civil  war  he  was  preparing  for  Harvard,  but,  with  many 
other  youths  of  that  period,  imbibing  the  spirit  of  military  ardor  which 
then  pervaded  the  country,  he  abandoned  his  studies,  and  in  1861  enlisted 
under  the  two-year  call  in  the  23d  New  York  Volunteer  Infantry,  Colonel 
Henry  C.  Hofifman.  Company  F,  Captain  William  P.  Dingleday.  Mr.  Ben- 
ton participated  in  the  battles  of  Cedar  Mountain.  South  Mountain,  Antie- 
tam.  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run,  the  first  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  and 
several  smaller  engagements.  He  was  honorably  discharged  at  Elmira,  at 
the  expiration  of  his  term  of  enlistment.  After  his  return  home,  Mr.  Ben- 
ton engaged  in  the  drug  business,  but  finding  the  confinement  injurious  to 
his  health,  he  educated  himself  for  the  profession  of  civil  engineering, 
which  he  has  since  continuously  practiced.  For  five  years  he  was  emploved 
by  the  government,  and  was  at  one  time  in  business  with  his  father,  in 
association  with  whom  he  surveyed  several  railroads.  Mr.  Benton  has 
practiced  his  profession  in  all  its  branches.  He  was  once  on  the  Cape  Fear 
River  Survey.  His  political  affiliations  are  with  the  Socialists,  and  he  is  a 
nu'inher  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church. 

Mr.  Benton  married  Minnie  A.  Marsh,  a  native  of  Bellaire,  Ohio, 
wliii  died  June  7,  1905,  leaving  no  children.  The  military  record  of  Mr. 
Benton's  youth  has  been  supplemented  by  many  years  of  professional  labor. 
.\ndrew  A.  Norton,  father  of  Mrs.  Clarissa  T.  (Norton)  Benton  ,and 
grandfather  of  Ezra  L.  Benton,  was  an  old-time  merchant  of  Alleghany 
county,  New  York,  where  he  also  held  interest  in  a  potash  factory.  Mr. 
Norton  served  in  the  army  during  the  war  of  1812,  and  on  one  occasion 
was  captured  and  taken  with  others  to  the  Niagara  river,  where  the  pris- 
oners and  their  guards  embarked  on  flatboats,  the  former  being  compelled 
to  wield  the  oars.  On  the  way  down  the  river  the  captives  sprang  from 
their  seats  and  overpowered  their  guards,  binding  them  securely,  hand  and 
fo.)t.  They  then  rowed  to  the  opposite  shore,  and  on  landing  made  good 
their  escape. 


330  WEST  VIRGINIA 

William  Seiber,  president  of  the  Central  \'eneer  Company,    , 

SEIBER     is  one  of  Huntington's  most  progressive  business  men  and    i 

public-spirited  citizens.     For  more  than  fifteen  years  Mr.    i 

Seiber  has  been  prominently  identified  with  every  movement  which  has    ' 

tended  to   further  the  material  welfare  and  permanent  improvement  nf    , 

our  city. 

Peter  Seiber,  father  of  William  Seiber,  was  born  in  1834,  in  Baden  L'.a-  ■ 
den,  Germany,  and  was  the  son  of  a  farmer  who  passed  his  entire  life  in  tlu' 
Fatherland,  having,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  entered  his  one  hundredth 
year.  Peter  Seiber.  as  a  young  man,  served  in  the  Germany  army,  and  : 
emigrated  to  the  United  States  about  the  close  of  the  civil  war;  he  had  [ 
expected  and  desired  to  enlist  in  the  Federal  army,  but  arrived  after  the  I 
termination  of  the  conflict.  He  settled  at  once  in  Cincinnati  and  opened  I 
a  shoe  shop  which  he  conducted  many  years.  He  married  Caroline  Huber  I 
also  a  native  of  Baden  Baden ;  her  father  was  a  farmer  and  a  soldier  in  | 
the  German  army,  who,  at  his  death,  left  a  large  estate.  The  following  \ 
children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seiber :  Mary,  died  in  infancy ;  Wil-  ' 
liam,  mentioned  below,  Peter,  Andrew  G.,  and  Cliarles  J.,  all  of  Hunt-  1 
ington ;  and  Katie,  living  in  Cincinnati.  Mrs.  Seiber  died  in  1901.  at  the  1 
age  of  fifty-six,  and  her  husband  passed  away  C)ctober  31,  1910,  being  ! 
then  seventy-six  years  old.  1 

William,  son  of  Peter  and  Caroline  (Huber)  Seiber,  was  born  Febru-  ] 
ary  5,  1869,  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  received  his  education  in  the  puMic 
and  parochial  schools  of  his  native  city.  His  first  employment  was  a^  a 
farm  hand  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  and  little  more  than  a  year  later  In- 
entered  the  service  of  the  E.  D.  Albro  Company,  veneer  and  lumlur 
dealers  of  Cincinnati.  He  remained  with  them  fifteen  years,  acquiring;  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  business  and  during  the  last  three  years 
holding  the  position  of  manager.  In  the  spring  of  1894  he  came  to 
Huntington  and  established  the  present  plant  for  J.  H.  ]\Ioore,  serving 
as  its  manager  for  one  year.  At  the  end  of  that  time  the  Central  Veneer 
Company  was  organized,  and  under  the  able  leadership  of  ^Ir.  Seiber  has 
proved  a  signal  success.  The  company  employs  about  forty  men  and  its 
operations  are  never  materially  afi'ected  by  the  disturbances  which,  frum 
time  to  time,  agitate  the  business  world.  The  plant  has  been  greatly  im- 
proved this  year  (1913);  machinery  costing  upwards  of  fifteen  tlnni- 
sand  dollars  was  installed,  and  the  factory  also  greatly  enlarged.  ^Iv. 
Seiber  is  a  director  and  stockholder  in  the  Central  Banking  Compaii\, 
and  a  stockholder  in  the  American  National  Bank. 

He  has  been  in  the  past  identified  with  many  important  enterprise^ ; 
being  nine  times  elected  mayor  of  Central  City,  and  during  his  incum- 
bency the  town  was  paved,  lighted,  sewered  and  in  every  way  much  im- 
proved. This  progress  imparted  an  impetus  to  the  town  of  Huntingtun 
proper,  and  it  was  then  that  factories  began  to  be  established  there.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Huntington  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  is  president  and 
treasurer  of  the  Huntington  Baseball  Club,  in  the  Mountain  State  League 
believing  that  a  good  club  adds  to  the  prestige  of  the  city.  He  also  lu- 
longs  to  the  United  Commercial  Travelers,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the 
Knights  of  Columbus  and  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks ; 
he  was  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  building  of  the  new  Elks"  club- 
house, and  has  for  three  terms  held  the  office  of  exalted  ruler  in  the  or- 
ganization.    He  is  a  member  of   St.  Joseph's  Roman   Catholic  Church. 

Mr.  Seiber  is  one  of  those  men  who  carry  with  them  an  atmosphere 
of  enterprise,  and  the  success  with  which  Huntington  has  kept  step  in  the 
march  of  progress  has  been  greatly  aided  by  his  public-spirited  efforts. 

He  married,  October  15.  1895,  i"  Cincinnati,  Catharine,  a  native  of 
that  city,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Mary  (i\Iiller)  Doll.     Mr.  Doll  served 


WEST  VIRGINIA  331 

throughout  the  civil  war  in  the  Union  army,  and  died  in  1906,  at  the  age 
of  sixty-eight.  His  widow,  who  is  now  sixty  years  old,  is  living  in  Cin- 
cinnati. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seiber  have  two  children:  Marie  ^largaret,  born 
August  I,  1896;  and  William  Joseph,  born  January  5,  1898.  now  assist- 
ing his  father  as  stenographer  and  bookkeeper. 


Few  men  can  look  back  upon  a  more  varied  and  enterpris- 

RUSSELL     ing  business  career  than  can  Eli  Wells  Russell,  of  Sisters- 

ville.  He  has  not  only  a  mercantile  but  also  a  military  and 

naval    record,    having   been    identified    during    the    civil    war    with    both 

branches  of  the  Confederate  service. 

William  Russell,  father  of  Eli  Wells  Russell,  came  as  a  young  man 
from  Ireland,  and  was  among  the  early  settlers  of  Sistersville.  He  was 
accompanied  by  his  brother,  Joshua  Russell,  who  also  settled  in  that  vil- 
lage. The  brothers  married  sisters,  daughters  of  Charles  Wells,  a  native 
of  Ireland,  who  was  the  proprietor  of  a  hotel  and  the  owner  of  several 
neighboring  farms.  He  bestowed  on  his  two  daughters,  who  married  the 
Russell  brothers,  the  principal  part  of  the  land  on  which  Sistersville  has 
since  been  built.  William  Russell  and  his  wife  became  the  parents  of  a 
son,  Eli  Wells,  mentioned  below.  Mrs.  Russell  was  the  youngest  of 
twenty-two  children. 

Eli  Wells,  son  of  William  and  Betsey  (  Wells  )  Russell,  was  born  March 
12,  1836,  in  Sistersville,  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  and  received  his 
education  at  the  Wheeling  (West  Virginia)  high  school,  graduating  in 
1855.  His  first  employment  was  as  a  reporter  for  the  Wheeling  Argus, 
and  he  maintained  his  connection  with  the  paper  until  1858,  when  it  went 
out  of  existence.  In  1859  he  went  to  Ashland,  Kentucky,  and  for  one  year 
held  a  position  in  a  general  store  owned  by  his  cousin,  John  Russell.  At 
the  end  of  that  time  he  returned  to  Sistersville  and  obtained  employment 
on  a  flatboat  carrying  produce  from  that  place  to  Xew  Orleans.  In 
April,  1 861,  when  the  whole  country  was  startled  by  the  news  that  Fort 
Sumter  had  been  fired  upon,  the  boat  on  which  Mr.  Russell  was  employed 
was  in  Xew  Orleans,  and  those  in  charge  at  once  sold  both  cargo  and 
boat  and  returned  to  Sistersville.  In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  Mr. 
Russell  enlisted  in  the  27th  X'irginia  Regiment,  commanded  by  Colonel 
Grigsby,  and  forming  part  of  "Stonewall"  Jackson's  brigade,  remaining  in 
the  service  until  the  death  of  General  Jackson.  He  then  entered  the 
Confederate  navy  and  served  under  Admiral  Semmes  until  the  close  of  the 
war.  During  his  career  as  a  soldier  and  sailor  he  participated  in  all  the 
important  battles  and  was  several  times  wounded. 

When  peace  was  restored,  ]Mr.  Russell  returned  to  the  old  home,  and  a 
little  later  removed  to  Cabell  county,  West  Virginia,  where  for  two  years 
he  conducted  a  store,  selling  out  at  the  end  of  that  time  and  returning  to 
Sistersville.  He  there  operated  a  saw  mill  situated  on  a  farm  of  which 
he  was  the  owner,  and  supplied  the  lumber  to  build  the  first  three  houses 
erected  in  Huntington,  West  \'irginia,  conveying  it  thither  in  a  wharf 
boat.  In  1890  Mr.  Russell  removed  to  Wheeling,  where  for  four  years 
he  was  engaged  in  the  produce  business,  returning  at  the  end  of  tliat 
time  to  Sistersville,  which  has  since  been  his  permanent  home.  His  polit- 
ical affiliations  are  with  the  Democrats,  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church. 

Mr.  Russell  married,  in  April,  1876,  Radial  Cotton,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  a  son  and  two  daughters:  i.  Charles,  born  in  1877,  resides  in 
Ohio,  directly  across  the  river  from  Sistersville,  on  the  old  homestead  of 
one  hundred  and  eighty  acres  which  has  been  in  the  family  for  more  than 
one  hundred  years ;    the  farm  has  four  producing  oil  wells  which  are  tlie 


332  WEST  VIRGINIA 

source  of  a  considerable  monthly  revenue.  2.  Alfaretta,  now  wife  of  B. 
William  Miller,  of  Oklahoma.  3.  Virginia,  married  William  McCluskey, 
also  of  Oklahoma. 

After  many  years  of  change  and  endeavor  Mr.  Russell  is  now  enjoying 
a  well  earned  period  of  repose,  and  Sistersville  is  proud  of  this  worthy  sol- 
dier citizen. 

It  is  thought  probable  that  this  family  is  descended  from 
LEWIS     John  Lewis,  the  great  Augusta  pioneer  of  1720.    John  Lewis 

came  to  America  from  Dublin,  Ireland,  about  1720;  he  may 
have  been  of  Welsh  or  Huguenot  origin.  Henry  Lewis,  grandfather  of 
John  Edward  Lewis,  of  Oak  Hill,  was  born  near  Richmond,  Virginia, 
where  he  grew  up  and  where  he  was  a  prominent  farmer  during  the 
greater  part  of  his  lifetime.  He  participated  in  many  of  the  early  wars 
with  the  Indians  and  lived  to  be  a  very  old  man.  His  son,  Jesse  Lewis, 
is  mentioned  below. 

(II)  Jesse,  son  of  Henry  Lewis,  was  born  in  Buckingham  county, 
Virginia,  and  died  June  fi,  1888.  He  was  a  mere  youth  at  the  time  of  the 
inception  of  the  civil  war,  and  volunteered  as  a  soldier  in  the  Confederate 
army,  but  was  considered  too  young  for  service.  He  was  a  farmer  and 
stock  man  in  Buckingham  county.  He  married  Annie  E.  Anderson,  who 
survives  him  and  who  is  now  living  at  Toga,  \''irginia,  aged  sixty-three 
years.  Air.  and  Mrs.  Lewis  became  the  parents  of  two  children:  James 
Henry,  born  in  1870,  is  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  on  the  old  home- 
stead at  Toga,  Virginia ;  and  John  Edward,  mentioned  below. 

(III)  John  Edward,  son  of  Jesse  and  Annie  E.  (Anderson)  Lewis, 
vvas  born  in  Buckingham  county,  Virginia,  May  i,  1873.  He  received  his 
rudimentary  educational  training  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  place, 
and  in  early  life  assisted  his  father  in  the  work  of  the  farm.  In  1891,  at 
the  age  of  eighteen  years,  he  was  appointed  deputy  treasurer  of  Buck- 
ingham county,  and  served  in  that  capacity  with  unusual  efficiency  for 
the  ensuing  four  years.  In  1895  he  engaged  in  the  general  merchandise 
business  at  Toga,  and  there  resided  for  two  years,  at  the  expiration  of 
which  he  removed  to  Fayette  county,  West  \'irginia,  and  settled  at  Mount 
Hope.  He  conducted  a  general  store  at  Mount  Hope  until  1904,  when  he 
established  the  family  home  in  Oak  Hill,  where  he  had  previously  pur- 
chased his  present  store.  He  now  associated  with  R.  R.  Thomas  in  con- 
ducting a  furniture  and  undertaking  establishment  in  this  city,  the  firm 
being  that  of  Lewis  &  Thomas.  A  fine  stock  of  goods  is  carried  by  these 
enterprising  business  men  and  a  large  trade  is  controlled.  In  1906  Mr. 
Lewis  became  one  of  the  organizers  of  a  wholesale  dry-goods  and  no- 
tions store,  at  Richmond,  \'irginia,  which  was  incorporated  under  the 
laws  of  the  state  of  A'irginia  in  that  year,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $300,000 
this  enterprise  being  known  under  the  name  of  the  Anderson,  Lewis, 
Gray  Company.  Mr.  Lewis  is  vice-president  of  the  above  concern,  and 
it  is  largely  due  to  his  ef¥orts  that  it  has  grown  to  be  one  of  the  big 
stores  of  its  kind  in  that  section  of  the  state.  He  has  been  extensively 
interested  in  coal  lands  in  West  Mrginia,  and  was  a  stockholder  in  the 
Merchants  &  Aliners  Bank  of  Oak  Hill.  He  helped  organize  the  Oak 
Hill  Hardware  Company,  of  which  he  was  president  until  1907.  He  is 
a  devout  Baptist  in  his  religious  faith,  and  in  political  matters  is  a  stal- 
wart supporter  of  Republican  principles  and  policies. 

February  6,  1899,  ^^^-  Lewis  married  Miss  Mary  Mahood,  who  was 
born  in  Virginia,  a  daughter  of  Chester  B.  and  Maggie  (Huddleston) 
Mahood,  both  of  whom  are  now  living  in  Oak  Hill.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lewis 
have  one  child,  John  Edward  Jr.,  whose  birth  occurred  in  February.  1903. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  333 

Eli  Xutter,  of  West  Union,  West  \'irginia,  descends  in  a 
NUTTER  straight  line  from  English  ancestry.  His  emigrant  fore- 
father and  founder  of  the  Nutter  family  in  America  prob- 
ably came  from  Dorsetshire,  England,  in  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  as  the  name  occurs  in  the  list  given  of  one  of  the  hundreds  above 
Jamestown,  Virginia.  A  Nutter  was  assigned  to  guard  duty  to  protect 
the  scattered  settlements  from  Indian  surprises  and  to  give  specific  aid  to 
the  women  and  children.  As  the  Eastern  Shore  of  \'irginia  became  thickly 
settled  a  Nutter,  like  many  other  pioneers  of  his  day,  sought  a  home 
further  in  the  interior  of  the  province.  At  the  call  to  arms  for  recruits  for 
the  continental  army  several  Nutters  responded,  and  two  from  Harrison 
county,  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia.  Three  families  of  this  name,  or 
branches  of  the  same  family,  have  settled  in  Ritchie  county. 

(Ij  Thomas  Nutter,  the  great-grandson  of  the  emigrant,  in  1775 
entered  his  homestead  of  four  hundred  acres  about  two  miles  from  Clarks- 
burg, on  the  west  side  of  Elk  creek,  and  on  the  road  to  Buckhannon ;  later 
he  pre-empted  one  thousand  acres  adjoining.  On  this  tract  was  built  Nut- 
ter's fort,  or  block  house,  which  proved  a  safe  refuge  for  the  community 
during  the  Indian  wars.  As  the  census  of  1782  shows  that  he  had  eight 
children  he  must  have  married  before  plunging  into  the  wilderness.  From 
him  descend  many  families  of  the  name  in  Harrison  county.  The  rec- 
ords give  the  following  Nutter  marriages,  and  it  is  believed  that  they  were 
his  children  and  those  of  his  wife,  whose  name,  unfortunately,  has  not 
been  preserved  to  her  descendants.  Children :  Rachel,  married.  May  4, 
1785,  Isaac  Richards;  Christopher,  married  Rebecca  Morehead,  June  28, 
1785;  John,  of  whom  further;  Mary,  married  Richard  Hall,  August  31, 
1790.  All  of  these  names  are  today  among  the  prominent  ones  of  West 
Virginia  as  they  were  in  that  day,  proving  that  the  Nutter  family  ranked 
with  the  best. 

(II)  John,  son  of  Thomas  Nutter,  was  born  in  Virginia  before  the 
revolutionary  war,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  he  and  his 
brothers  participated  with  other  patriots  in  the  struggle  for  independence. 
He  married  Elizabeth  Cottrill,  October  2,  1786.  The  Mrginia  records 
show  that  there  were  several  Cottrills  on  the  roster  of  the  \'irginia  com- 
panies in  the  continental  army,  and  they  were  doubtless  her  brothers, 
cousins  or  uncles.    Among  their  children  was  Andrew,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  Andrew,  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Cottrill)  Nutter,  was  born 
in  Harrison  county,  Virginia,  about  1795.  When  only  seventeen  years  of 
age  he  enlisted  and  saw  service  in  the  war  of  1812,  thus  keeping  up  the 
family  tradition  that  the  Nutter  family  was  always  to  the  fore  when  their 
country  needed  them.  He  was  in  the  engagement  of  Fort  Defiance  on  the 
Maume  river,  and  saw  fighting  in  other  places.  He  married  Malinda, 
daughter  of  William  and  Anna  (Douglas)  WilHs.  Children:  Willis,  of 
whom  further;  John;  Andrew;  Julia,  married  a  Mr.  Warren;  Nancy, 
married  a  Mr.  Hart ;  Matilda,  married  a  Mr.  Hart :  Elizabeth,  married  a 
Mr.  Hart ;  Sarah,  married  a  Mr.  Watson.  The  Nutter  and  Hart  families 
were  close  neighbors,  thus  accounting  for  three  sisters  marrying  three 
brothers. 

(IV)  Willis,  son  of  Andrew  and  Malinda  (Willis)  Nutter,  was  born 
in  Harrison  county.  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  September  15,  1815, 
and  was  killed  by  the  falling  of  a  tree,  March  8,  i860.  He  was  a  pros- 
perous farmer,  and  enjoyed  the  distinction  of  being  the  best  deer  hunter 
in  his  section.  He  was  a  constable  for  over  sixteen  years,  filling  the  posi- 
tion to  the  utmost  satisfaction  of  the  community.  He  married  Juliet 
Richards,  of  Harrison  county,  like  himself  of  emigrant  and  pioneer  stock. 
Children:  Mary  Catherine,  born  December  20.  1839,  died  February  23, 
1871  ;    Andrew  Jackson,  born  November  28,   1841  ;    Thomas  E.,  born  in 


334  WEST  VIRGINIA  I 

Doddridge  county,  Virginia,  October  i8,  1843,  died  in  1886;  Willis  Floyd,  ' 
born  December  16,  1845;  Nancy  Adaline  Columbia,  born  March  28,  1848,  I 
died  June  20,  1851;  Philander  Austin,  born  September  21,  1850;  Eli,  of  | 
whom  further;  William  Franklin,  born  November  3,  1855,  died  Octo-  1 
ber,  1874.  i 

(V)   Eli,  son  of  Willis  and  Juliet   (Richards)  Nutter,  was  born  July    | 
16,   1853,  in  Doddridge  county,   X'irginia,  now   West  Virginia.     He  re-    i 
ceived  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  the  county.     He  then  be-    ' 
gan  farming  and  worked  on  one  farm  eighteen  years,  and  through  his 
frugality  and  excellent  management  was  enabled  to  purchase  seven  hun- 
dred acres,  which  he  cleared,  improved  and  on  which  he  lives  at  the  pres- 
ent time   (1913).     He  was  bereft  of  his   father  when  he  was  only  six 
years  old,  and  virtually  since  that  time  has  made  his  own  way  in  the    1 
world.    There  is  no  man  in  his  community  that  has  a  higher  standing  as 
a  man,  a  citizen  or  friend.    He  is  a  staunch  Republican,  has  been  a  mem-    , 
ber  of  the  school  board  for  a  number  of  years,  and  on  November  5,  1912, 
he  was  elected  sheriff  of  Doddridge  county,  and  holds  the  office  at  this 
time.     He  married,  December  19,  1878,  Mary  Frances  Maxwell,  daugh- 
ter of  William  and  Mary   (Vanort)    Maxwell.     Children:   i.  Lyda  Idel, 
born  August  18,  1880 ;  married  David  Kehoe.    2.  Susie  Alice,  born  March 
3,   1883,  married  Amos  P.  Haught.     3.  William  Lewis,  born   March  3, 
1883  (twin).     4.  Eli  Marshall,  born  September  19,  1884;  deputy  sheriff 
under   his    father;   married   Marie   A.   Leggett.      5.  Chester   Bliss,   born 
May  6,  1886;    married  Gatha  G.  Sutler.     6.  Mary  Alartha,  born  August 
14,  1887 ;  married  Boyd  Lee  Dotson.     7.  Carrie  Fay,  born  November  2, 
1888;  married  Hedric  Chestine  Stinespring.     8.  Nellie  May,  born  April 
26,  1890;  married  Victor  Goff"  Stinespring.     9.  Dollie  Jane,  born  Decem- 
ber 13,  1892.     10.  Juliet  Grace,  born  January  23,  1895.     11.  Bessie  Isa- 
bel, born  December  6,   1896.      12.   Frankie  Virginia,  born   December  3, 
1898.     13.  Lucy  Maxwell,  born  March  2,    1901. 


Alartinsburg  has  been  indebted  for  many  of  its  ablest 
MINGHINI     officials  to  descendants  of  foreign  nationalities,  and  in 
the  case  of  the  present  mayor  holds  its  obligation  to  that 
oldest  and  most  distinguished  of  European  countries,  Italy. 

Dr.  William  Edward  jMinghini,  born  at  JNIiddleway,  Jeft'erson  county. 
West  X'irginia,  June  25,  1867,  is  the  son  of  Joseph  L.  and  Lydia  A. 
(Sencindiver)  ]\Iinghini ;  and  on  the  paternal  side  a  descendant  of 
Italian  ancestors.  His  great-grandfather  was  an  Italian  nobleman  and  an 
officer  in  the  Italian  army,  and  also  a  personal  friend  of  General  Charles 
Lee,  of  American  revolutionary  fame.  His  father,  Joseph  L.  Alinghini,  who 
was  a  cabinetmaker  and  undertaker,  enlisted  at  the  outbreak  of  the  civil 
ivar  in  Company  D,  Twelfth  X^irginia  Cavalry,  which  was  subsequently 
ordered  to  burn  Hall's  rifle  factory  at  Harper's  Ferry.  For  two  years 
and  a  half  he  was  a  scout  for  General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  and  saw  strenuous 
service  at  Chancellorsville,  Kelly  Ford,  Fredericksburg,  Mine  Run,  and 
other  engagements.  At  Kelly  Ford,  where  Major  John  Pelham  was 
wounded,  he  carried  this  officer  off  the  field,  remaining  with  him  until 
his  death.  Joseph  L.  Minghini  has  now  retired  from  business.  Dr. 
Minghini's  maternal  grandfather  was  a  colonel  in  the  confederate  army; 
the  Sencindivers,  his  mother's  family,  were  prominent  people  in  Berkeley 
county  and  Martinsburg,  one  of  them  being  a  deputy  sheriff  of  the  circuit 
court  and  others  influential  residents  at  Arden. 

Dr.  Minghini  received  his  early  education  at  the  public  schools  in 
Jeft'erson  county.  West  Virginia,  and  Baltimore,  being  educated  in  his 
profession  at  the  University  of  Maryland,  from  which  he  was  graduated 


4<  ^^--^^^^-..^-vr- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  335 

with  honors  in  1893,  receiving  his  degree  of  D.  D.  S.  Since  that  time  he 
has  engaged  in  dental  practice  in  Alartinsburg,  and  in  connection  with  pro- 
fessional pursuits  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  municipal  affairs.  He  is 
one  of  the  best  equipped  dentists  in  West  Virginia,  having  in  his  office  the 
most  approved  modern  appliances  for  use  in  his  practice.  In  1899  he  was 
appointed  on  the  West  \'irginia  State  Board  of  Dental  Examiners,  and 
has  filled  every  office  of  any  consequence  in  that  body,  having  been  secre- 
tary, treasurer  and  finally  president. 

Dr.  Minghini  has  been  mayor  of  the  city  of  ^lartinsburg  since  1904, 
when  he  defeated  the  Republican  candidate,  who  was  also  mayor  at  the 
-time,  by  a  large  majority.  This  was  considered  a  great  tribute  to  his  per- 
sonal popularity,  as  he  is  politically  a  Democrat  and  ]\Iartinsburg  is  a 
Republican  town ;  his  administration  has  proved  a  very  successful  one, 
laws  being  strictly  enforced  and  good  order  being  maintained  in  all  depart- 
ments. He  has  been  a  delegate  to  Democratic  conventions,  and  has  been 
offered  other  political  honors  all  of  which,  however,  he  has  refused.  He 
has  always  taken  great  interest  in  Masonry.  He  is  past  master  of  Blue 
Lodge  ;  past  high  priest  of  the  Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  past  eminent 
commander  of  the  Palestine  Commandery,  No.  2 ;  and  a  member  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine  at  Wheeling.  He  is  a  member  in  high  standing  of  the 
Episcopal  church.  He  is  an  automobile  enthusiast,  owning  a  large  garage 
and  supply  department;  he  organized  the  Martinsburg  Auto  Club,  and 
owned  the  first  automobile  in  town.  He  also  organized  the  Berkeley 
Land  Company,  which  has  sold  part  of  its  holdings  to  the  La  Belle  Steel 
and  Iron  Works.  He  is  an  ex-trustee  of  the  City  Hospital.  In  the  prime 
of  life,  well  educated,  enterprising,  successful  in  political  and  in  social  life, 
Dr.  Minghini,  brilliant  professional  man  and  mayor  of  the  city,  has  a  most 
promising  outlook  before  him. 

On  October  3,  1899,  Dr.  Minghini  married  Viola  Marie  Pitcher,  of 
Baltimore,  the  descendant  of  an  old  and  distinguished  iMaryland  family, 
and  a  descendant  of  Roger  Williams  and  also  of  Mollie  Pitcher  of  Revo- 
lutionary fame.    They  have  one  child,  Lorraine,  born  May  30,  1903. 


The  name  Garner,  while  not  common,  is  found  in  several 
GARNER  states.  The  present  family  came  into  Virginia  from  Penn- 
sylvania ;    but  the  name  is  found  also  in  \'irginia  and  in 

Kentucky.     It  has  also  been  used,  but  only  as  a  variant  of  Gardner,  in 

the  Hingham,  Massachusetts,  family,  of  that  name. 

(I)  Hezekiah  E.  Gamer,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom 
we  have  definite  information,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  and  lived  to 
about  seventy  years  of  age.  His  life  was  largely  lived  in  Virginia,  though 
after  the  war  he  removed  to  Indiana.  He  was  a  farmer,  a  slaveholder, 
and  served  throughout  the  entire  conflict  in  the  war  between  the  states, 
his  sympathy  being  with  the  Southern  cause.  His  wife  died  at  the  age  of 
forty-nine.  Both  these  deaths  were  due  to  typhoid  fever,  and  they  occur- 
red about  the  same  time,  1870.  Children:  James  Arthur,  of  whom 
further;  William  H.,  of  Los  Angeles,  and  three  died  in  childhood. 

(II )  James  Arthur,  son  of  Hezekiah  E.  Garner,  was  born  at  Leesburg, 
Louden  county,  \'irginia,  September  17,  1863:  when  he  was  five  years 
old,  the  family  removed  to  Jay  county,  Indiana.  As  he  was  only  seven 
years  old,  when  his  father  and  mother  died,  he  lived  with  relatives  on  a 
farm,  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  fifteen,  and  he  attended  school  in 
Jay  county.  But  when  he  was  fifteen,  he  went  into  a  hardware  store,  at 
Redeky,  Jay  county,  Indiana,  as  clerk,  remaining  there  four  years.  Going 
to  Richmond,  Wayne  county,  Indiana,  he  traveled  for  several  years,  from 
that  place,  for  a  wholesale  hardware  firm.   Then,  at  Evansville.  Indiana,  he 


336  WEST  MRGINIA 

entered  the  employment  of  the  Southern  News  Company,  and  remained 
fourteen  years  in  their  employment,  there  and  at  other  points.  In  1890, 
he  came  to  Huntington,  Cabell  county,  West  Virginia,  and  for  the  first 
ten  years,  was  still  in  the  employment  of  the  Southern  News  Company. 
In  1900  he  established  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  lunch  stands,  of  which  he 
has  three :  one  at  Huntington,  one  at  Hinton,  Summers  county,  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  one  at  Maysville.  Mason  county,  Kentucky.  He  was  one  of 
the  charter  members  of  the  Huntington  Land  Company,  of  which  he  is  a 
director,  and  is  a  director  in  the  Union  Savings  Bank  &  Trust  Company, 
and  in  the  Sehon  and  Stevenson  Company,  wholesale  grocers.  He  is  an 
active  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  at  Huntington,  and  is  sec- 
retary and  treasurer  of  the  Huntington  Automobile  and  Good  Roads 
Association.  His  fraternal  order  is  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks.  He  is  a  Republican.  Mr.  Garner  married,  at  Huntington,  May 
12,  1891,  Arabella  Cassidy,  who  was  born  in  Lawrence  county,  Ohio; 
she  is  a  Methodist  in  religious  faith.  Her  father  was  a  farmer,  and  has 
been  dead  many  years  ;  her  mother  is  also  deceased.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Garner 
have  no  children. 


George  Rissler,  son  of  Thomas  Rissler,  was  born  in  Ches- 
RISSLER  ter  county,  Pennsylvania,  January  17,  1787.  His  ances- 
tors emigrated  to  America  from  the  Province  of  West- 
phalia, Germany,  shortly  after  the  religious  wars  that  devastated  that 
country  in  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century.  In  1794  his  parents 
with  their  children  migrated  to  Virginia  and  settled  near  Winchester,  in 
the  Shenandoah  Valley.  There  were  six  sons  and  three  daughters  in  the 
family,  all  of  whom  except  George  emigrated  to  Ohio,  Indiana  or  Ken- 
tucky between  the  years  1812  and  1820,  those  settling  in  Indiana  taking 
their  parents  with  them. 

In  early  life  George  Rissler  was  a  miller  and  operated  mills  in  Freder- 
ick and  Jefferson  counties,  Virginia,  until  1828,  when  he  purchased  a  farm 
near  Kabletown,  Jefferson  county,  \'irginia,  where  he  resided  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  He  married.  May  15,  1817,  Mary  Roland,  a  mem- 
ber of  a  Welsh  family  who  had  settled  first  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Mary- 
land, later  near  Winchester,  Mrginia.  Children:  i.  John  Gordon,  born 
April  24,  1818;  he  left  home  in  1843  ''"d  went  to  Cooper  county.  Missouri, 
where  he  engaged  successfully  in  farming  and  banking  until  his  death  nt 
Beaman,  Pettis  county,  Missouri,  July  11,  1903;  he  married  (first)  .Sarah 
Ann  C.  Walker,  born  in  Missouri,  December  19,  1825,  died  July  26,  185S  : 
he  married  (second)  Elizabeth  Jane  Longan,  of  Pettis  county,  Missouri, 
born  June  25,  1825,  died  October  4,  1888:  children  of  first  wife;  i. 
George  Winston,  born  July  17,  1846,  died  July  14,  1870;  ii.  Nancy  Eliza- 
beth, born  January  17,  1848,  died  December  7,  1852;  iii.  Mary  Jane,  born 
March  20,  1850.  died  November  i,  1851  :  iv.  Samuel  Walker,  born  March 
14,  1852,  died  March  30,  1877;  v.  William  Henry,  born  July  17,  1853, 
died  at  Lamonte,  Missouri,  September  25,  1909;  vi.  John  Smith;  vii. 
Ailcy  Roberts,  born  March  9.  1858,  died  November  28,  1868;  children  of 
second  wife:  viii.  Augustin  Knight,  born  October  9.  i860,  died  March  5, 
1862;  ix.  Charles  McClellan ;  x.  Martha  Emma.  2.  William,  born  June 
22,  1820;  went  to  the  California  gold  fields  with  a  company  of  prospectors 
from  Jefferson  county.  Mrginia,  in  1849,  ^nd  remained  on  the  Pacific 
coast  six  years ;  returning  to  Virginia  he  resumed  farming  at  Dry  Bridge 
Farm;  he  married,  November  22,  1870,  Elizabeth  C.  Tavenner.  in  Cooper 
county,  Missouri,  and  in  1873  ^^^^  ^^P  ^i'^  residence  in  that  state;  their 
only  child,  Bessie  C.  married,  October  26,  1898,  James  William  Walker, 
in  Cooper  county,  Missouri.     3.  Mary  Catherine,  born  February  6,  1822 ; 


WEST  \IRGINIA  337 

married,  May  23,  1848,  Francis  B.  S.  Morrow,  of  Jefferson  county,  Vir- 
ginia;  children:  i.  Almida,  married,  April  3,  1874,  in  Berkeley  county, 
West  \'irginia,  Harrison  D.  Kilmer ;  ii.  Edgar,  died  at  age  of  six  months ; 
iii.  Minerva,  married.  February  13,  1883,  David  R.  Hudgel,  and  died  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1898;  iv.  Francis  B.  S.,  married.  September  19,  1895.  Alattie  A. 
Smith,  of  Clarke  county.  Mrginia ;  v.  Mary  Mrginia ;  vi.  Roberta,  mar- 
ried, December  13,  1884,  Warner  W.  Vanmeter,  and  died  near  Van 
Clevesville.  Berkeley  county,  West  \'irginia,  February  10,  1899;  vii.  Wil- 
lard,  married,  April  13.  1885.  Ida  Blessing,  of  Charles  Town.  West  \'ir- 
ginia,  and  resided  in  Loudoun  county,  \'irginia ;  the  father  of  these  chil- 
dred  died  March  6,  1896,  at  his  home  in  Berkeley  county.  West  \^rginia, 
where  he  engaged  in  farming  from  the  time  of  his  marriage ;  his  wife 
died  November  19,  1901.  4.  Thomas,  born  November  20.  1823.  died 
December  11,  1824.     5.  Gabriel,  born  September  14.  1825,  died  October 

5,  1825.  6.  Rebecca  E.,  born  September  14,  1825,  unmarried;  after  the 
death  of  her  father  she  resided  with  her  sister,  Mrs.  ^Morrow,  in  Berkeley 
county,  ^^'est  A'irginia.  where  she  died  January  21,  1888.  7.  George  Lewis, 
born  October  11.  1827;  was  a  farmer  and  a  lifelong  resident  of  Jefferson 
county.  West  Virginia:  married.  November  29.  1854,  Francina  Dudrear, 
of  Frederick  county,  ^Maryland ;  children:  Thomas  L.,  \\'illiam  D.,  George 
C,  (jcrtrude  ]\L,  S.  G.  ^L,  John  P.  and  Gerard  M. :  all  the  children 
resided  in  Jefferson  county,  ^^'est  Mrginia,  except  George  C.  who  emi- 
grated to  Missouri  in  1877  and  became  a  prosperous  merchant  at  Buckner 
m  that  state;  Gertrude  M.  married  Robert  H.  Phillips,  of  Charles  Town. 
^^'est  \'irginia,  and  died  in  June.  191 1.  leaving  four  daughters.  8.  Samuel 
L.,  of  whom  further.  George  Rissler,  father  of  these  children,  died  Octo- 
ber 6.  1865,  and  his  wife,  born  April  14,  1789.  died  at  Dry  Bridge  Farm 
in  Jefferson  county,  A'irginia,  October  14,  1848. 

( III  )  Samuel  L.,  youngest  son  of  George  and  [Mary  (  Roland  )  Rissler, 
was  born  in  Jefferson  county,  Virginia.  September  30.  1830,  died  Septem- 
ber 5,  1905.  The  active  years  of  his  life  were  devoted  to  farming,  from 
which  occupation  he  derived  a  comfortable  livelihood.  He  served  in  the 
civil  war.  acting  as  private  in  the  Stonewall  Brigade.  Confederate  States 
army.  He  married,  November  4.  1857,  Sarah  J.,  daughter  of  David  and 
Joanna  Johnston,  of  Jeff'erson  county,  Virginia.  Children;  i.  Margaret 
Ruth,  married.  December  5.  1882,  S.  Lee  Phillips,  of  Charles  Town.  West 
XHrginia.  2.  Samuel  L.  Jr.,  engaged  in  the  grain  business  at  Pleasant 
Green.  Missouri.  3.  William  B..  cashier  of  the  Bank  of  Pleasant  Green, 
Missouri,  and  ex-county  clerk  of  Cooper  county,  Missouri.  4.  George 
David,  died  January  2.  1910:  he  was  a  farmer  in  Jefferson  county.  West 
\'irginia.      5.    Charles,   a   resident   of   Jefferson   county.   West   Virginia. 

6.  Robert  C.  editor  and  publisher  of  The  Fanners  Advocate  at  Charles 
Town,  West  Virginia.  7.  Annie  M.,  married  Charles  H.  Phillips,  of  Ber- 
r\ville.  Mrginia.  8.  Frances,  died  February  28.  1889.  aged  seventeen 
years.  9.  Sarah,  twin  of  Frances,  died  in  infancy.  10.  Warren  H.,  a 
farmer  in  Jefferson  county.  West  Virginia.  11.  Donna  G..  residing  with 
her  mother  in  Jefferson  county.  West  Virginia. 


The  Carter  family  of  \''irginia  has  been  famous,  through 
CARTER     succeeding  generations,  since  three  of  the  name  found  their 

way  into  the  Province  of  ^^irginia  and  there  settled.  Giles 
Carter  landed  on  the  ^'lrginian  soil  at  Jamestown  in  1612.  He  came 
from  Gloucestershire,  England,  and  located  in  Henrico  county,  some  miles 
above  Jamestown,  where  he  established  himself  and  soon  had  a  consider- 
able estate.  In  1615  John  Carter  arrived  at  Jamestown  from  Norfolk. 
England,  and  located  in  or  near  Jamestown.     Later  he  also  went  up  the 


338  WEST  VIRGINIA 

James  river  to  the  Berkeley  Hundred,  where  he  took  up  land,  cleared 
and  planted  tobacco  on  it.  He  was  successful  from  the  beginning,  and 
in  1620  he  not  only  had  a  large  estate  but  also  owned  one  of  the  few 
negro  slaves  that  had  been  brought  into  Virginia  the  year  before.  He  also 
had  a  number  of  indentured  servants  as  well  as  Indians,  who  were  willing 
to  work  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year  for  a  home  when  the  winter  came 
on.  Virginia,  the  mother  colony  of  the  thirteen,  rapidly  filled  up,  and 
maintained  her  importance  as  the  first  and  most  aristocratic  of  the  subse- 
quent sisterhood  of  provinces.  During  the  early  colonial  period  large  fam- 
ilies were  the  rule,  and  being  dependent  almost  wholly  upon  agriculture, 
the  division  of  land,  with  each  new  generation  that  sprang  up  in  Virginia, 
reduced  the  probability  of  the  success  of  those  descendants  who  remained 
on  the  home  plantations.  The  result  was  a  constant  migration,  of  those 
not  heirs  to  large  estates,  away  from  the  tide  water  region  to  the  back 
counties  and  later  to  new  states  and  territories.  Thus  it  happened  that 
some  of  the  descendants  of  John  Carter,  of  Berkeley  Hundred,  left  the 
family  nest  and  sought  other  homes  in  what  is  now  \Vest  Virginia. 

(I)  Henry  Carter,  lineal  descendant  of  John  Carter,  English  emigrant 
to  Virginia  in  161 5,  was  born  in  the  tide  water  region.  He  moved  to 
Upshur  county,  in  the  western  part  of  Virginia,  now  known  as  West  \'ir- 
ginia.    Among  his  children  was  Henry  Emerson,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Rev.  Henry  Emerson  Carter,  son  of  Henry  Carter,  was  born  at 
Sage,  Upshur  county,  \^irginia,  in  1838,  died  in  1879.  He  became  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  while  yet  a  youth,  and  on 
reaching  maturity  was  ordained  as  a  minister  of  that  denomination,  and 
during  the  remainder  of  his  life  was  an  earnest,  consistent  Christian,  doing 
good  in  his  work  and  greatly  beloved  by  the  congregations  which  had  the 
good  fortune  to  be  served  by  him.  He  married  Samantha  Reed,  who  died 
February,  1910.  Children  :  Florence  May,  married  J.  G.  Mayfield  ;  Dora 
J.,  married  L.  L.  Swan ;  Georgia  E.,  married  J.  C.  ]\iayfield ;  Edward  E. ; 
William  H.,  of  whom  further;  Olin  C,  born  in  Sage,  Upshur  county, 
West  Virginia,  May  12,  1869,  married,  September,  1903,  at  Middlebourne, 
West  Virginia,  Mary  F.  McKay. 

(III)  William  H.,  son  of  Rev.  Henry  Emerson  and  Samantha  (Reed) 
Carter,  was  born  in  Centerville,  West  Virginia,  January  29,  1879.  He 
received  his  preparatory  education  in  the  public  school  of  his  native  town 
and  finished  at  the  West  Virginia  Conference  Seminary  at  Buckhannon. 
He  then  entered  the  law  department  of  the  West  Virginia  University, 
graduating  therefrom.  In  1905  he  moved  to  Philippi,  West  Virginia, 
where  he  established  himself  in  his  profession,  remaining  until  1912.  In 
that  year  he  went  to  Middlebourne,  West  Virginia,  and  immediately  there- 
after he  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  circuit  court  to  fill  a  vacancy,  which 
position  he  holds  at  the  present  time  (1913).  He  was  member  at  large  of 
the  council  at  Philippi  for  one  year,  and  in  that  capacity  did  notable  work. 
He  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  progressive  citizens  in  every  town  in 
which  he  makes  his  home,  and  commands  the  esteem  and  respect  of  his 
fellow  citizens.  He  married,  October  28,  1908,  Frances  S.,  daughter  of 
C.  K.  Switzer.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carter  have  one  child,  Kenwood  Switzer, 
born  September  20,  1909. 


George  Washington  Hardman,  the  first  member  of  this 
HARDM.\N     family  of  whom  we  have  definite  information  lived  in 

Calhoun  county,  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  and  was 
a  son  of  Joseph  Hardman  whose  father  was  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of 
the  country  on  the  border  line  of  Pennsylvania  and  West  Virginia.  George 
Washington   Hardman  had  three  brothers,  James,  Thomas  and   Benja- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  339 

min.  He  married  Rachel  Goff.  Children  :  Sylvester,  referred  to  below ; 
Dorcas,  married  Levi  Ball ;  Cassett;  Columbus;  George  Washington,  Jr., 
vi'ho  was  sheriff  of  Calhoun  county,  and  has  been  prominent  for  many 
years  in  the  politics  of  his  district,  receiving  the  Democratic  nomination  for 
congress  in  1908;  Orlando,  at  one  time  a  member  of  the  State  Senate 
of  West  \'irginia :  \'erna,  married  Albert  Pearcy ;  Alarcellus ;  Terome ; 
Allen. 

(II)  Sylvester,  son  of  George  Washington  and  Rachel  (Gofif)  Hard- 
man,  was  born  in  Calhoun  county.  West  Virginia,  August  22,  1836.  He 
was  a  farmer  and  breeder  of  cattle,  and  an  extensive  dealer  in  timber.  At 
the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  he  was  drafted  into  the  Federal  army  but  did 
not  see  active  service.  He  was  a  member  of  the  West  Virginia  state  sen- 
ate in  1893  and  1895.  He  married,  March  20,  1872,  Martha,  daughter  of 
George  and  Susanna  (Horton)  Crow,  born  January  15,  1844,  in  Monroe 
county,  Ohio.  Her  father  was  born  March  26,  1804,  in  Greene  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  died  in  1900.  He  was  a  son  of  Martin  and  Elizabeth 
(Cackler)  Crow,  and  in  1832  removed  to  Illinois,  near  Chicago,  which  he 
described  as  a  "small  village  with  two  taverns."  He  later  removed  to 
Jackson  county,  Virginia,  and  became  prominent  in  politics,  being  twice 
elected  to  the  Legislature  at  Richmond.  He  served  in  the  Confederate 
army,  until  being  wounded,  and  after  leaving  the  hospital  he  purchased 
cattle  for  the  Confederate  government  until  general  amnesty  had  been 
granted  by  President  Lincoln.  After  the  war  he  was  elected  to  the  West 
Virginia  state  legislature  at  Charleston.  His  wife,  Susanna,  was  the 
daughter  of  Moses  Horton  who  was  born  in  Dublin,  Ireland,  and  their 
children  were  Michael:  Dorinda :  William,  who  served  as  captain  of 
Company  B,  Twenty-second  Virginia  Infantry,  in  the  Confederate  army, 
during  the  civil  war ;  Jane ;  Martha,  referred  to  above ;  George  B.,  for 
eighteen  years  county  clerk  of  Jackson  county ;  Charles  Horton.  Chil- 
dren of  Sylvester  and  Martha  (Crow)  Hardman :  Ira  R.,  Susanna,  mar- 
ried W.  B.  Petty :  Charles  Crow  :  Owen  Ruby,  referred  below. 

(III)  Owen  Ruby,  son  of  Sylvester  and  Martha  (Crow)  Hardman, 
was  born  near  Spencer,  West  Virginia,  January  27,  1885.  He  received 
his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  and  later  pursued  a  course  of 
study  at  the  Mountain  State  Business  College  at  Parkersburg,  West  Vir- 
ginia. He  then  formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother,  Charles  Crow 
Hardman,  in  farming  and  the  raising  of  pure  bred  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs 
and  the  shipping  of  live  stock,  and  they  became  extensive  dealers  also  in 
wool,  country  produce  and  merchandise,  with  headquarters  and  offices 
in  Spencer,  West  Virginia.  He  is  a  member  of  Moriah  Lodge  Ancient 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  of  the  Benevolent  Protec- 
tive Order  of  Elks  and  of  the  Grange. 


This  family  can  be  traced  back  to  a  period  prior  to  the 
ARNOLD  revolution,  at  which  time  the  family  home  was  in  Penn- 
sylvania. Their  coming  into  (West)  Virginia  was  in  the 
first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  According  to  the  best  conjecture 
and  to  tradition  in  the  family,  the  family  was  settled  in  New  Jersey  before 
its  migration  to  Pennsylvania,  and  the  name  Arnold  has  long  been  found 
in  that  colony  and  state.  They  were  descended,  or  were  of  the  same 
family  as  the  Rhode  Island  stock  of  that  name.  Finally,  it  is  not  improb- 
able that  Jonathan  Arnold,  with  whom  our  historical  account  will  begin, 
was  the  son  of  Richard  Arnold,  who  died  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia 
in  1820,  leaving  a  large  family.     This  was  the  only  family  of  Arnolds 


340  WEST  VIRGINIA 

residing  in  that  section  at  the  time  mentioned  in  the  history  of  Chester 
county. 

(I)  Jonathan  Arnold,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  moved  in  1765,  with  two  brothers,  Andrew  and 
Jesse,  from  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  to  the  western  part  of  that  col- 
ony, and  made  settlement  at  Fort  Redstone,  now  Brownsville,  Fayette 
county,  Pennsylvania.  He  married,  before  1765,  Rachel  Scott.  Children: 
Samuel,  Benjamin,  Levi,  Jonathan,  William,  of  whom  further,  James, 
Rachel,  Hannah,  Sarah.  The  said  James  and  William  were  twin  brothers. 
(It  may  be  mentioned  as  an  interesting  incident  that  in  a  genealogical  chart 
of  this  branch  of  the  Arnold  family,  on  file  in  the  Congressional  Library 
in  Washington,  extending  back  to  the  eleventh  century,  inscriptions  arc 
copied  from  four  tombstones  in  England  of  about  the  i6th  century — and 
about  three  of  the  four  bear  the  same  family  names  above  given,  viz : 
William  Arnold,  born  1587,  James  Arnold,  died  1631,  Sarah  Arnold, 
born  1623). 

(II)  William,  son  of  Jonathan  and  Rachel  (Scott)  Arnold,  was 
brought  up,  and  had  his  own  residence,  in  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania. 
There  he  was  a  farmer.  He  married  Hulda  Knotts.  Their  eldest  son  was 
Jonathan,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  Jonathan  (2),  son  of  William  and  Hulda  (Knotts)  Arnold,  was 
born  in  Greene  county,  Pennsylvania,  March  27,  1802,  died  July  20^ 
1883.  About  1822  he  settled  at  Beverly,  Randolph  county,  Virginia,  and 
there  he  lived  the  remainder  of  his  days.  At  his  new  home  he  established 
a  tannery,  but  after  a  few  years  he  changed  his  business,  entering  into 
cattle  grazing  and  speculating.  In  his  ventures  he  was  usually  successful ; 
he  was  a  man  of  conservative  disposition,  sound  in  judgment,  and 
of  undisputed  integrity,  kindhearted,  sympathetic,  and  considerate,  yet 
uncompromisingly  stern  against  dishonesty.  As  a  friend,  he  was 
trustworthy  and  dependable.  He  was  an  ardent  Whig,  and  for 
years  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  party  in  Randolph  county.  He 
neither  sought  nor  would  accept  office,  but  he  was  a  leader 
in  many  political  battles,  and  with  great  success.  At  first  he  was  strongly 
opposed  to  the  attempt  to  secede,  and  he  voted,  in  1861,  against  the  rati- 
fication of  the  ordinance.  But  he  was  in  opposition  to  the  subsequent 
course  of  the  national  government,  and  believed  the  attitude  of  the  South- 
ern States  to  be  more  nearly  in  accord  with  the  constitution.  Therefore, 
while  he  took  no  active  part,  his  later  attitude  was  more  in  sympathy  with 
the  Confederate  States.  The  formation  of  the  new  state  met  his  strong 
opposition  and  he  voted  against  it.  In  the  autumn  of  1863  he  was  arrested 
by  the  United  States  authorities,  on  a  general  charge  of  disloyalty,  and  was 
held  prisoner  until  near  the  close  of  the  war.  Though  he  was  soon  paroled 
within  narrow  limits,  he  was  not  allowed  to  return  to  his  home  until  a 
short  time  before  his  release.  In  his  later  days  he  was  a  Conservative 
Democrat.  Mr.  Arnold  was  the  possessor  of  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
carefully  selected  libraries  in  this  part  of  the  country.  Being  endowed  by 
nature  with  an  unusually  retentive  memory,  he  became  a  man  of  excep- 
tional information. 

He  married  (first  I  in  1827,  Thursa,  daughter  of  Ely  Butcher,  who  died 
a  few  years  later;  (second)  in  1841,  Phoebe  Ann,  daughter  of  Solomon 
Collett,  who  died  in  a  few  months:  (third)  in  September,  1844,  Laura 
Ann,  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Julia  Beckwith  (Neale)  Jackson,  of 
Clarksburg,  Harrison  county,  Virginia.  She  was  the  only  sister  of  Thomas 
Jonathan  Jackson,  known  to  fame  and  history  as  Stonewall  Jackson,  the 
redoubtable  Confederate  leader.  Children,  one  by  first  marriage,  died  in 
infancy,  others  by  third  marriage:  Thomas  Jackson,  of  whom  further: 
Anna   Grace,  died  in    1878,  married   C.   H.   Evans  in    1866:    Stark  W. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  341 

Arnold,  born  December  20,  1851,  died  October,  1898.  married,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1880,  Elizabeth  Gohen ;  one  other,  the  youngest,  died  in  infancy. 
Stark  W.  Arnold  was  active  in  public  affairs  in  W'est  \'irginia.  was  prose- 
cuting attorney  of  Upshur  county,  a  member  of  the  state  senate  and  after- 
ward became  a  minister,  officiating  in  New  York. 

(IV)  Thomas  Jackson,  son  of  Jonathan  (2)  and  Laura  Ann  (Jack- 
son) Arnold,  was  born  at  Beverly,  \'irginia,  November  3,  1845.  At  the 
age  of  thirteen  he  was  sent  to  school  at  Lexington.  Virginia,  making  his 
home  with  his  uncle,  Thomas  Jonathan  ("Stonewall")  Jackson.  In  1863- 
64  he  attended  school  at  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia,  under  Rev.  William 
L.  Hyland.  He  began  the  study  of  law  at  Beverly  in  1865,  and  afterward 
took  a  course  in  law  and  equity  at  Washington  and  Lee  University,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  1867,  receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws. 
The  next  year  he  entered  on  the  practice  of  law  at  Beverly,  and  in  the  fall 
of  the  year  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney.  He  was  re-electd  in  1870 
and  1872,  his  majority  at  each  re-election  being  increased  from  that 
received  in  the  previous  contest.  The  last  of  these  elections  was  for  a  term 
of  four  years,  under  the  new  state  constitution  and  his  services  thus 
extended  to  the  year  1876.  In  1880  Mr.  Arnold  moved  to  San  Diego,  Cal- 
ifornia, where  he  practised  law  until  1886.  He  was  then  appointed  Col- 
lector of  the  Port  by  President  Cleveland  and  was  allowed  to  remain  in 
this  office  more  than  a  year  under  President  Harrison.  According  to  his 
Republican  successor,  he  filled  the  office  with  integrity  and  fidelity.  His 
decisions  on  close  questions  were  usually  sustained  by  the  department,  and 
several  suggestions  made  by  him  were  adopted  as  department  rules  of 
administration.  Mr.  Arnold  did  not  lose  his  interest  in  West  Virginia 
despite  his  removal  to  a  distant  part  of  the  country;  he  made  frequent 
visits  home,  and  was  interested  in  an  effort  to  establish  a  Confederate 
home  in  Tygart's  \'alley.     In  religion  he  is  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

He  married.  June  i,  1876,  Eugenia,  born  at  Lexington,  Virginia,  April 
30th,  1852,  daughter  of  Daniel  Harvey  and  Isabel  (Morrison)  Hill.  Her 
father  was  one  of  two  distinguished  Confederate  officers  of  the  name  Hill, 
each  of  whom  attained  the  rank  of  lieutenant-general  in  the  Confederate 
service.  Daniel  Harvey  Hill  was  born  in  York  district.  South  Carolina, 
July  12,  1 82 1,  and  graduated  from  the  United  States  Military  Academy  at 
West  Point  in  1842.  He  distinguished  himself  in  the  war  with  Mexico, 
and  was  breveted  captain  and  major  therein.  Resigning  his  commission  in 
February,  1849,  ^^  ^^'^*  made  professor  of  mathematics  in  Washington 
College,  Lexington,  \'irginia ;  but  afterward,  from  1854,  he  was  engaged 
in  educational  work  in  North  Carolina.  At  the  beginning  of  the  civil  war 
he  was  made  colonel  of  a  Confederate  infantry  regiment,  and  by  success- 
sive  promotions  he  was  made  brigadier-general,  major-general  and  lieuten- 
ant-general. He  was  prominent  in  the  battles  of  Big  Bethel,  Fair  Oaks, 
the  Seven  Days  battle,  the  second  Bull  Run  campaign.  South  Mountains, 
and  the  battle  of  Antietam.  In  1863  he  was  sent  to  the  west  as  lieuten- 
ant-general, and  he  commanded  a  corps  in  Bragg's  army  at  Chicamauga. 
On  April  26,  1865,  he  surrendered  with  Johnston.  For  about  three  years 
he  conducted  at  Charlotte.  North  Carolina,  a  magazine.  Tlic  Land  Jl'c 
Lore.  He  then  returned  to  educational  work  in  Arkansas  and  Georgia. 
His  death  occurred  at  Charlotte,  North  Carolina.  September  21,  1889. 
His  wife  was  Isabel  ]\Iorrison.  of  North  Carolina.  Children  of  Thomas 
Jackson  and  Eugenia  (  Hill )  Arnold :  Isabel.  Daniel  Harvey  Hill,  of 
whom  further ;   Thomas  Jackson.  Eugene  H. 

(Y)  Daniel  Harvey  Hill,  son  of  Thomas  Jackson  and  Eugenia  (Hill) 
Arnold,  was  born  at  Beverly,  West  Mrginia,  January  18,  1879.  His  edu- 
cation has  been  received  at  Davidson  College,  in  North  Carolina  ;  Wash- 
ington and  Lee  University ;    and  in  the  L^niversity  of  Michigan,  at  Ann 


342  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Arbor,  Michigan.     From  the  Washington  and  Lee  University  he  received 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  1900.    He  has  been  engaged  since  1902 
in  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  the  city  of  Elkins.     Here  he  is  a  suc- 
cessful lawyer  and  an  energetic  and  leading  citizen,  interested  in  public 
affairs  and  civil  welfare.    In  business  circles  also  Mr.  Arnold  is  a  man  of 
standing,  and  he  is  a  director  of  the  People's  National  Bank,  of  Elkins. 
As  the  grandson  of  one  eminent  Confederate  soldier  and  the  grandnephew 
of  another.  Air.  Arnold  is  much  interested  in  the  history  of  the  Southland 
and  its  heroic  records,  but  not  as  one  belonging  to  the  past  and  unmindful 
of  the  duties  and  affairs  of  present  American  life.     He  is  a  member  of 
the  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  and  of  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks.     In  political  affairs  he  is  active,  and  is  an  upholder 
of  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party.     His  church  membership  is  in 
the    Presbyterian   body.      Mr.    Arnold    married,    at    Monticello,    Florida, 
October  24,  1906,  Mary  Ann,  born  at  Monticello,  November  29,  1884,  died   jl 
at  Elkins,   September  i,   1909,  daughter  of  James  and  Mary   (Hansell)    i 
Denham.  Her  father  served  in  the  Confederate  army  in  the  civil  war.  and   I 
was  afterward  a  merchant  and  planter,  living  at  Monticello.     Mr.  Arnold   \ 
has  no  children.  | 


The  story  of  honorable  and  w^ll  directed  enterprise   i| 

RC)BERTSON     crowned  with  merited  success  is  one  which  the  world   |i 

is  never  tired  of  hearing,  and  therefore  the  record  of   : 

the  life  of  the  late  John  Edwin  Robertson,  for  many  years  a  prominent    ' 

business  man  and  honored  citizen  of  Logan,  Logan  county.  West  Virginia,    1 

is  replete  with  interest  and  inspiration  for  the  readers  of  this  volume.  1 

John  Edwin  (i)  Robertson,  father  of  John  Edwin  (2)  Robertson,  of  \ 
Logan,  came  from  Amelia  county,  Virginia,  and  settled  in  Logan  county  | 
when  the  latter  was  in  its  infancy.  He  was  a  lawyer  and  was  the  first  i 
cleric  of  Logan  county.  He  married  Chloe  Ann  Stone,  and  by  her  had  [ 
six  children,  including  John  Edwin,  mentioned  below.  Only  one  child,  1 
Sidney,  of  Arkansas,  now  living.  I 

John  Edwin  (2),  son  of  John  Edwin  (i)  and  Chloe  Ann  (Stone)  Rob- 
ertson, was  born  February  9,   1830,  in  Logan  county,  and  was  but  nine    1 
years  old  when  death  deprived  him  of  his  mother.    He  was  then  received    ' 
into  the  family  of  one  of  his  sisters  who  lived  at  Barboursville,  Cabell    ; 
county,  and  in  his  new  home  attended  school  for  one  year.     His  father    1 
then  placed  him  in  Marshall  College,  and  on  leaving  that  institution  he    ! 
went  to  Alexandria,  Louisiana,  where  for  three  years  he  was  employed  in    \ 
the  store  of  his  brother  Henry.     In  1849.  being  then  nineteen  years  old, 
he  sought  the  gold  fields  of  California,  making  one  of  the  great  host  who    '< 
have  passed  into  history  as  "Forty-niners."     Mr.  Robertson  remained  in 
the  land  of  his  quest  until  1861,  when  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  called 
him  back  to  West  \irginia.     He  enlisted  in  the  Border  Rangers,  of  Jen- 
kins' Brigade,  and  fought  for  the  Confederacy  throughout  the  four  years'    ; 
conflict,  taking  part  in  many  important  engagements.     At  the  end  of  the 
war  he  returned  to  Logan  county  and  settled  in  the  town  of  Logan,  open- 
ing a  general  store  which  he  conducted  until  a  few  years  previous  to  his 
death.     Prosperity  attended  his  enterprise,  bringing  large  financial  returns, 
while  his  honorable  methods  and  fair  dealing  secured  for  him  an  enviable 
reputation  for  integrity.    He  was  also  extensively  interested  in  timbering. 
Mr.  Robertson  closed  his  useful  and  eventful  career  in  the  sixty-ninth  year 
of  his  age,  passing  away  September  24,   1898.     His  death  deprived  the 
community  of  an  honorable  business  man  and  an  upright  citizen,  a  kind 
neighbor,  a  steadfast  friend  and  an  aft'ectionate  husband  and  father,  a  man 
admirable  in  all  the  relations  of  life. 


^o/>n  (^.  .C/^o/'fi-fiOH  (J fir/) 


WEST  \IRGIXIA  343 

]\Ir.  Robertson  married,  September  i6,  1863,  in  Logan.  Ann  Avis,  (^see 
Avis  line).  They  had  eight  children  of  whom  the  following  are  living: 
Sidney  B.,  born  August  3,  1864,  now  conducting  a  wholesale  grocery  store 
in  Logan,  West  \'irginia;  May  Augusta,  wife  of  Okay  Hayship.  of  Hunt- 
ington; Ettie,  wife  of  W.  B.  Miles,  of  Clifton  Forge,  Virginia;  and 
Lillian,  wife  of  Charles  H.  Bronson.  The  deceased  were:  Chloe  Ann, 
born  July  25,  1866,  died  February  9,  1882;  John  Edwin,  born  April  17, 
1868,  died  February  21,  1886;  Anna,  born  December  8,  1877,  married, 
June  6,  1900,  B.  O.  Howland,  and  died  in  1903 ;  and  George  L.,  born 
November  30,  1879,  died  June  26,  1906. 

(The   .\vis   Line). 

George  Avis,  father  of  Mrs.  Ann  (Avis)  Robertson,  was  born  in 
England,  April  22,  1818,  and  on  June  6,  1835.  embarked  for  the  United 
States.  He  settled  in  Logan,  where  he  engaged  in  business  as  a  carpenter 
and  mason.  George  Avis  married,  January  4,  1838,  Elizabeth,  born  June 
15,  1819,  daughter  of  Philip  and  Elizabeth  Ellis.  Mr.  Ellis  was  born 
November  5,  1785,  and  his  wife  on  December  9,  of  the  same  year.  Mrs. 
Ellis  died  in  March,  1852.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Avis  were  the  parents  of  the 
following  children  :  Harriet,  born  August  22,  1839  ;  Hugh  C,  born  June 
6,  1842;  Byrl,  born  August  7,  1844;  Ann,  mentioned  below;  Thomas, 
born  January  17,  1849;  Elizabeth,  born  July  21.  1851 ;  Alinerva,  born 
January  14,  1854;  and  George,  born  May  12,  1861,  died  August  8,  1861. 
The  mother  of  these  children  died  May  16,  1861,  and  the  father  passed 
away  .April  7,  1862. 

Ann,  daughter  of  George  and  Elizabeth  (Ellis)  Avis,  was  born  January 
17.  1847,  and  married  John  Edwin  Robertson,  as  mentioned  above.  Since 
her  widowhood  Mrs.  Robertson  has  lived  alone  in  her  beautiful  home  on 
Third  avenue,  which  is  one  of  the  finest  residences  in  Huntington. 


Dr.  Alfred  J.  Fox,  the  first  member  of  this  family  of  whom  we 
FOX     have  definite  information,  was  a  son  of  David  Fox,  who  was 

born  in  this  country  and  whose  ancestors  came  from  Germany. 
Alfred  J.  Fox  was  a  physician  and  practised  his  profession  in  Lincoln 
county.  North  Carolina,  and  also  for  many  years  tilled  the  pulpit  of  the 
Lutheran  church  at  his  home,  where  he  died  in  June.  1884.  He  married 
Lydia  Bost.  Children:  i.  Junius  B.,  a  Lutheran  clergyman,  died  in 
Staunton,  Virginia.  2.  L.  A.,  professor  at  Roanoke  College,  Virginia.  3. 
John  Francke,  referred  to  below. 

I  HI  )  Dr.  John  Francke  Fox,  son  of  Dr.  Alfred  J.  and  Lydia  (Bost) 
Fox.  was  born  in  Lincoln  county.  North  Carolina,  .\pri!  7.  1863.  He 
received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools,  and  in  1882  entered  the 
University  of  Virginia.  He  graduated  from  the  L'niversity  of  New  York 
City,  1886.  and  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  ijrofession  in  Lin- 
coln county.  North  Carolina,  remaining  there  for  three  years,  when  he 
removed  to  Basic  City,  Virginia.  In  1892  he  settled  in  Bluefield,  West 
Virginia,  and  was  appointed  surgeon  to  the  Norfolk  &  Western  railroad, 
which  position  he  still  occupies.  In  1902  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
Dr.  St.  Clair  and  established  the  Bluefield  Sanatorium  which  will  accom- 
modate twenty  patients.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Medical  Asso- 
ciation, of  the  West  \'irginia  Medical  .Association,  and  also  is  a  member 
of  the  American  Medical  .Association.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent 
Protective  Order  of  Elks,  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  a  Lutheran  in  religion. 
He  married,  in  1893,  in  .Augusta  county,  Mrginia,  .Anna  F.,  daughter  of 
Captain  E.  .A.  Fulcher.  born  December  16,  1866.  Children:  i.  Frank 
Fulcher,  born  September  15,  1894.     2.  Edwin  .Alfred,  born  Alay  4,  1897. 


344  WEST  VIRGINIA 

John  A.  (2)  Sanders,  son  of  Colonel  John  A.  (  i )  Sand- 
SANDERS     ers,  the  first  member  of  this   family  of  whom  we  have 

definite  information,  was  born  in  Wythe  county,  \'irginia, 
in  1822,  died  there  in  187 1.  He  was  a  farmer,  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and 
a  Methodist  in  religion.  He  married  Sallie,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Mary 
(Clapman)  McDonald,  born  in  1832  in  Oceana,  Wyoming  county.  West 
Virginia.  Children:  i.  Joseph  M.,  referred  to  below.  2.  Lettie  \'ir- 
ginia,  married  ^I.  F.  Matheny.  3.  Walter,  married  \'icie  Greever.  4.  Jnhn 
Otway,  died  in  1895;  married  Ida  Cook.  5.  Bettie  Foster,  married  Jame- 
Hamaker.    6.  Clement  Augustus,  died  in  1889. 

(Ill)  Judge  Joseph  M.  Sanders,  son  of  John  A.  (2)  and  Sallie  (.Mc- 
Donald) Sanders,  was  born  in  Wytheville,  Wythe  county,  Virginia,  August 
26,  1866.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools,  and  in 
1886  began  the  study  of  law  under  the  Hon.  S.  F.  Watts  and  latcr 
entered  the  office  of  Henry  C.  Alderson  at  Tazewell,  Virginia,  where  he 
remained  until  he  obtained  his  license  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
Tazewell,  in  1887.  He  practised  for  a  short  time  in  Graham,  \'irginia, 
removing  September  26,  1888,  to  Bluefield,  West  Mrginia,  where  he  a>n- 
tinued  in  active  practice  of  his  profession  until  1896,  when  he  was  elected 
judge  of  the  circuit  court  of  the  ninth  judicial  circuit  of  West  Virginia. 
This  office  he  held  for  eight  years  when  he  was  renominated  by  acclama- 
tion to  succeed  himself,  but  before  the  election  occurred  he  was  nom- 
inated for  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  appeals  of  West  Virginia,  and 
was  elected  to  the  office  in  1904.  He  continued  in  this  office  until  October, 
I,  1907,  when  he  resigned  and  forming  a  partnership  with  his  two  brothers- 
in-law,  Z.  W.  and  George  P.  Crockett,  under  the  firm  name  of  Sanders 
&  Crockett,  resumed  and  still  continues  the  practice  of  his  profession  at 
Bluefield,  West  Virginia.  He  is  a  Methodist  in  religion,  and  a  Republi- 
can in  politics. 

He  married,  at  Graham,  Tazewell  county,  \'irginia,  December  19, 
1888,  Mamie  M.,  born  at  Graham.  February  2',  1868,  daughter  of  Robert 
G.  and  Margaret  Eliza  (  \\'itten  )  Crockett.  Children:  i.  Maggie  McDon- 
ald, born  October  29,  1889,  died  September  3,  1892.  2.  Raymond,  born 
July  I,  1891.  3.  Sarah  McDonald,  born  June  7,  1893.  4.  Mamie  Crockett, 
born  June  24,  1895.  5.  Joseph  M.  Jr.,  born  July  5,  1898.  6.  Annie  Vir- 
ginia, born  September  27,  1900.  7.  Kathleen,  born  October  22,  1902.  8. 
Esther,  born  May  16,  1904.  9.  Robert  Crockett,  born  July  16.  1907.  10. 
Zachariah  W.,  born  October  31,  iQii. 


George  M.  McCulloch  was  born  in  Montgomery 
McCULLOCH     county,   Virginia,   IMarch   7,    1853,   son  of   Benjamin 

McCulloch,  and  grandson  of  Redman  and  Nancy 
(McDonald  )  Eakin.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools 
and  later  graduated  from  the  Montgomery  county  high  school.  At  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  he  entered  mercantile  life  as  a  clerk,  remaining  so  occu- 
pied for  eight  years,  and  then  opened  a  general  store  of  his  own  in  which 
he  continued  for  eight  years  more,  until  1897,  when  he  became  president 
of  the  Flat  Top  Insurance  Company  of  Bluefield,  West  \'irginia,  which 
position  he  still  holds.  He  has  also  been  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Bluefield  Building  and  Loan  As.sociation  since  1885,  and  has  also  been  a 
stockholder  and  one  of  the  directors  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Blue- 
field  since  1884.  He  is  interested  in  various  other  Mercer  county  enter- 
prises. He  is  director  of  tlie  Georgia  Lumber  Company,  the  Bluefield 
Hardware  Company  and  holds  stock  in  many  other  important  companies 
in  the  state.  He  is  a  Methndist  in  religiim.  ami  a  member  of  the  Masons, 
tlie  Mystic  Shrine,  and  the   nenevi.'cnt  an.l   I'n.tec'ive  <  )rdcr  of  Elks.  He 


WEST  VIRGINIA  345 

married  Cretia  H..  daughter  of  Madison  McCulIoch.  Children:  i.  Edward 
M.,  born  in  Hinton,  \\'est  Mrginia,  who  was  educated  at  the  Virginia 
Polytechnic  Institute  at  Blacksburg,  Mrginia,  and  is  now  in  the  clothing 
"business  in  Bluefield,  West  Mrginia.  2.  George  W.,  born  in  Bluefield, 
West  V'irginia ;  now  a  student  at  Culver  Military  Academy  at  Culver, 
Indiana. 


The  Hare  family  is  of  Huguenot  origin,  and  emigrated  from 
HARE     France  to  the  Barbados.     About  the  year  1710  they  removed 

to  South  Carolina,  where  they  remained  for  a  number  of 
years,  and  then  travelled  northward  until  they  reached  the  southern  border 
of  North  Carolina,  where  they  settled  near  the  present  city  of  Fayette- 
ville.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  revolutionary  war  there  were  in  this 
family  eight  sons  and  three  daughters,  all  born  in  South  Carolina,  and 
among  them  Joseph  Hare,  referred  to  below. 

(I)  Joseph  Hare  was  born  in  1749.  The  great  Tory  or  Loyalist  upris- 
ing in  the  spring  of  1776  in  the  neighborhood  of  Fayetteville,  under  the 
leadership  of  General  McDonald,  united  the  patriot  forces  of  the  section 
under  Colonel  Richard  Caswell,  and  Joseph  Hare  was  attached  to  this 
command.  Colonel  Caswell,  learning  that  a  body  of  Loyalists  numbering 
fifteen  hundred  was  preparing  to  march  to  Wilmington,  entrenched  his 
troops  at  Moore's  Creek  Bridge,  and  in  a  battle  which  was  fought  Febru- 
ary 27,  1776,  completely  routed  the  Loyalists,  killing  and  capturing  a  large 
number  of  them,  including  their  commander.  At  the  expiration  of  his 
term  of  service  in  1779,  Joseph  Hare  removed  to  the  New  River  valley, 
and  finally  settled  on  Wolf  creek  in  what  is  now  Giles  county,  Mrginia. 
He  became  a  distinguished  Indian  fighter  and  scout  and  took  part  in  nearly 
all  the  skirmishes  along  the  border  between  1779  and  1794,  among  them 
that  on  Pond  fork  of  Little  Coal  river  in  the  early  autumn  of  1783  with 
the  band  of  Indians  which  a  few  days  previously  had  attacked  the  family 
of  Mitchell  Clay,  killing  his  son  and  daughter,  and  carrying  his  youngest 
son  Ezekiel  into  captivity.  Joseph  Hare  was  also  a  member  of  Captain 
Thomas  Shannon's  company,  with  which  in  February,  1781,  he  marched 
to  North  Carolina  and  took  part  in  the  engagement  at  Wetzell  jMills. 
March  6,  1781,  and  in  the  battle  on  ]\Iarch  15,  1781,  at  Guilford  Court 
House.  Joseph  Hare  died  in  1855,  aged  one  hundred  and  five  years.  He 
married  (first)  in  April,  1789,  Nannie,  daughter  of  Mitchell  and  Phoebe 
(BelcJier)  Clay.  He  married  (second  )  Phoebe,  daughter  of  Uriah  Purdue. 
The  Purdues  were  of  French  origin.  Child  of  Joseph  and  Phoebe 
(Purdue)  Hare:     William  H.,  referred  to  below. 

(II)  William  H.,  son  of  Joseph  and  Phoebe  (Purdue)  Hare,  was  a 
native  of  West  \'irginia.  He  married  Sallie,  daughter  of  James  and 
Susan  (Hughes)  French.  Among  his  children  was  Joseph,  referred  to 
telow. 

(III)  Joseph  (2),  son  of  William  H.  and  Sallie  (French)  Hare,  was 
born  in  West  Mrginia,  and  died  there.  He  married  Julia  Duncan.  Chil- 
dren:  Hamilton,  killed  in  the  battle  of  Piedmont,  \'irginia,  June  5,  1864: 
Joseph  H.,  referred  to  below  :  James  H.,  Lieura,  Julia,  .\lice.  Mollie,  Sue. 

(IV)  Dr.  Joseph  H.  Hare,  son  of  Joseph  (2)  and  Julia  (Duncan) 
Hare,  was  born  in  Giles  county,  \'irginia,  died  in  Bluefield,  in  1907.  He 
was  an  eminent  physician  and  a  prominent  citizen  of  Bluefield  for  many 
years.  He  married  Mary  J.  Barnett.  Children:  Oaka  S.,  referred  to 
below ;  Julia  Alice :  John  Hampton,  M.  D. ;  Cordie  Belle,  married  E.  D. 
Stafford ;  Nannie  Kate,  married  Richard  Wainwright :  ^label  Lee : 
Theresa ;  Hobart  A. 

(V)  Dr.  Oaka  S.  Hare,  son  of  Dr.  Joseph  H.  and  Mary  J.  (Barnett) 


346  WEST  MRGINIA 

Hare,  was  born  in  Jackson  county,  West  Virginia,  November  22,  1880.  He 
received  his  early  education  in  the  pubhc  schools  of  his  native  county,  and 
in  the  high  school  at  Bluefield,  West  Virginia.  In  1900  he  entered 
the  Maryland  Medical  College  at  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and  graduated 
in  1904.  He  then  commenced  the  active  practice  of  his  profession 
in  Bluefield,  West  \"irginia.  where  he  is  now  living.  He  is  pres- 
ident of  the  board  of  health  of  Bluefield,  and  is  a  member  of 
the  Mercer  County  Medical  Society.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  W'est  Virginia  State  Medical  Society,  and  a  member  of  the  Ameri- 
can Medical  Association.  He  is  a  member  of  the  chamber  of  commerce  of 
Bluefield.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 
He  is  Republican  in  politics,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  church.  He 
is  unmarried. 


Dr.  Isaac  Richard  Le  Sage,  of  Huntington,  who  has  been, 
LE  SAGE     for  a  number  of  years,  recognized  as  one  of  the  leadini.; 

physicians  of  West  Virginia,  is  descended,  as  his  name 
denotes,  from  ancestors  whose  nationality  was  that  of  one  whose  heroic 
life  record  is  closely  interwoven  with  the  most  momentous  period  of  our 
history.  General  de  Lafayette.  IMichael  Le  Sage,  great-grandfather  of 
Dr.  Isaac  Richard  Le  Sage,  was  born  in  Paris,  France,  and  married  Sophia 
Duval,  a  native  of  the  same  city,  where  both  passed  their  entire  lives. 

(II)  Jules  F.  M.,  son  of  Michael  and  Sophia  (Duval)  Le  Sage,  was 
born  in  1811,  in  Paris,  France,  and  in  his  early  manhood  served  in  the 
French  campaign  in  Algiers.  Soon  after  he  emigrated  to  the  United 
States,  and  lived  for  a  time  in  Philadelphia,  later  removing  to  New  York, 
where  he  engaged  in  business  as  a  hat  and  bandbox  manufacturer.  In 
1 85 1  he  came  to  Cabell  county,  West  Virginia,  and  there  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  In  politics  he  was  a  Whig  and  during  the  civil 
war  served  in  the  LTnion  army,  afterward  identifying  himself  with  the 
Republican  party.  He  was  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  Icarian  Society 
that  settled  at  Nauvoo,  Illinois,  in  the  early  forties.  In  religion  he  was  a 
Roman  Catholic.  He  married,  in  1834,  in  Philadelphia,  ]\Iary  M.  Belle- 
mere,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  two  sons :  Francis  J. :  and  Joseph 
A.,  mentioned  below.  The  town  of  Le  Sage  is  understood  to  have  been 
named  in  honor  of  Jules  F.  M.  Le  Sage. 

(III)  Joseph  a",  son  of  Jules  F.  M.  and  Mary  M.  (Bellemere)  Le 
Sage,  wasborn  in  August,  1838,  in  Philadelphia,  and  spent  his  early  man- 
hood on  a  farm  at  Le  Sage,  West  Virginia.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  civil 
war  he  enlisted  in  the  Union  army,  and  after  the  expiration  of  his  term  of 
service  moved  to  Ironton,  Ohio,  where  he  engaged  in  business  as  a  contrac- 
tor and  builder.  He  married  Mary  C.  E.,  born  October,  1839,  in  Page 
county,  Virginia,  daughter  of  Isaac  C.  and  Esther  (Keyser)  Dovel,  both 
natives  of  that  county.  Mrs.  Dovel  was  a  daughter  of  Andrew 
Keyser  who  accompanied  General  Braddock  on  his  ill-fated  expedition  to 
Fort  Duquesne.  Mr.  and  Airs.  Le  Sage  have  two  sons:  Isaac  Richard, 
mentioned  below:  and  Joseph  C,  born  February  2,  1871,  at  Ironton, 
Ohio. 

(IV)  Dr.  Isaac  Richard  Le  Sage,  elder  son  of  Joseph  .\.  and  Mary  C. 
E.  (Dovel)  Le  Sage,  was  born  .\pril  12,  1866,  at  Le  Sage,  Cabell  county. 
West  Virginia,  and  received  his  earlier  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
Ironton,  Ohio,  later  becoming  a  student  at  Marshall  College,  Huntington, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1884.  His  professional  training  was  obtained 
at  the  Ohio  Medical  College,  Cincinnati,  that  institution  conferring  upon 
him.  in  1888,  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  After  graduating  Dr. 
Le  Sage  spent  six  months  in  Illinois,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1889  returned 


WEST  VIRGINIA  347 

to  Huntington,  where  he  has  since  continuously  practised,  acquiring  large 
and  lucrative  connections  and  building  up  a  most  enviable  reputation.  In 
1897  he  became  president  of  the  board  of  health,  and  also  city  physician, 
serving  ten  years  in  both  these  very  responsible  offices.  Dr.  Le  Sage  is  a 
member  of  the  West  Mrginia  State  Medical  Society,  and  treasurer  of  the 
Cabell  County  Medical  Society.  He  affiliates  with  Huntington  Lodge,  No. 
53,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Huntington  Chapter,  No.  6,  Royal 
Arch  Masons,  and  Huntington  Lodge  of  Perfection,  No.  4,  Ancient  and 
Accepted  Scottish  Rite.  He  is  identified  with  the  Republican  party  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  As  physician,  friend  and  neighbor 
Dr.  Le  Sage  is  heartily  appreciated  in  Huntington,  where  his  entire  pro- 
fessional career  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  thus  far  been  passed, 
a  fact  in  which  his  home  city  takes  a  justifiable  pride.  Dr.  Le  Sage  mar- 
ried, December  22,  1897,  at  Gap  Mills,  Monroe  county.  West  Virginia, 
Mary  E.,  born  March  12,  1870,  at  Sweet  Chalybeate,  Virginia,  daughter  of 
Andrew  J.  and  Eliza  Humphreys,  who  are  the  parents  of  three  other  chil- 
dren:  William  J.,  Leonidas  W.,  and  Rose  I.  Humphreys.  Mr.  Humph- 
reys was  a  farmer,  and  during  the  war  between  the  states  served  in  the 
Confederate  army.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Le  Sage  have  one  son :  William  Dovel 
Le  Sage,  born  March  31,  1899. 


This    surname    is    English    in    origin.      A    "horner"    is    a 
HORNOR     manufacturer  of  horn,  and  in  the  old  days  in  England, 

as  elsewhere,  a  manufacturer  of  horn  was  rather  a  con- 
siderable personage  for  in  those  times  horn  was  applied  to  many  uses 
for  which  glass  and  other  materials  are  used  at  the  present  day.  The 
history  of  "Americans  of  Royal  Descent"  shows  that  families  bearing 
the  name  of  Hornor  are  descendants  of  Edward  the  Third  of  England, 
of  Robert  Bruce  of  Scotland,  and  of  some  of  the  ancient  kings  of  Ire- 
land. There  is  mention  in  English  records  of  Sir  John  Hornor,  Knight 
of  Cloford,  who  married  (first)  Lady  Ann  Spike.  There  were  other 
Hornors.  too,  bearing  titles,  occupying  exalted  positions,  and  distin- 
guished both  in  peace  and  war. 

(I)  John  Hornor,  the  immigrant  ancestor  in  America  of  the  Hornor 
family  here  dealt  with,  was  born  near  Newcastle,  England,  died  near  the 
present  town  of  Bordentown,  New  Jersey,  April  2^,  1759.  He  arrived 
in  this  country.  November  i,  1683.  on  the  ship  "Providence,"  Captain 
Robert  Hopper,  captain,  which  cast  anchor  at  Burlington,  New  Jersey, 
bringing  with  him  Mary  (  Pearcy )  Hornor,  his  wife,  and  their  ten  chil- 
dren, the  youngest  being  five  years  old.  John  Hornor  appears  to  have 
been  a  man  of  culture  and  of  means.  He  selected  a  irnct  of  land,  then 
partially  improved,  on  a  beautiful  eminence  commanding  noble  views  of 
the  Delaware,  near  White  Hill,  one  mile  south  of  the  present  town  of 
Bordentown  in  the  state  of  New  Jersey.  He  settled  there  and  resided 
there  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  When  he  died  he  was  interred  in  the 
old  burying  ground  of  the  Honors,  which  is  still  preserved  and  is  near 
the  town  of  Hornorville.  He  was  an  intimate  friend  of  William  Penn, 
and  like  him,  a  Quaker,  as  the  majority  of  his  descendants  continued  to 
be.  John  F.  Hagerman  in  the  "History  of  Princeton  and  its  Institutions" 
says : 

John  Horner  came  to  Princeton  from  Piscataway  in  1696.  He  settled  on  the 
property  which  he  purchased  in  that  year  of  Dr.  John  Gordon,  consisting  of  a 
tract  of  land  embraced  between  the  road  leading  from  Queenstown  to  the  Aque- 
duct Mill  on  one  side  and  the  road  now  known  as  Washington  Street  on  the  other 
side,  and  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  main  street  of  Princeton  :  on  the  south  by 
Millstone  River   and   Stone   Brook,   covering  about   four  hundred   acres.     This   in- 


348  WEST  VIRGINIA 

eludes  the  farm  now  held  by  Joseph  Olden  and  Alexander  Gray,  formerly  known  as 
the  Sergeant  farm  and  the  Hamilton  farm,  and  the  several  lots  on  the  south  side  of 
the  street  which  has  now  been  built  on.  Mr.  Hornor  was  an  enterprising  man  and 
by  buying,  selling,  and  exchanging  lands  he  contributed  much  to  the  growth  of 
the  village. 

And  again: 

John  Hornor  belonged  to  the  Society  of  Friends  and  his  name  is  entitled  to 
be  honored  in  the  history  of  Princeton  College.  It  was  he  who  joined  with  John 
Stockton  and  Thomas  Leonard,  in  a  bond  for  one  thousand  pounds  to  secure  the 
planting  of  the  College  there.  John  Horner  gave  them  ten  acres  of  land  for  the 
College  and  he  sold  them  ten  acres  adjoining  the  seven  acres  which  had  been  given 
it.  He  was  present  and  assisted  in  laying  the  corner  stone  of  this  College  in 
1754.  It  was  John  Horner,  John  Stockton,  Thomas  Leonard,  assisted  some  by  Na- 
thaniel Fitz-Randolph,  who  accepted  this  property  of  the  Trustees  of  the  College 
to  remove  that  institution  to  Princeton  provided  the  trustees  should  receive  ten 
acres  of  cleared  land  and  two  hundred  acres  of  wooded  land  and  one  thousand 
pounds  of  proclamation  money.  They  complied  promptly  with  these  conditions  by 
securing  to  the  College  the  land  and  money  required.  He  must  have  lived  to  an 
advanced  age  and  he  must  have  been  a  man  of  considerable  wealth.  He  certainly 
exhibited  a  liberal  mind  when  he,  a  Quaker,  bestowed  his  money  and  favors  upon 
a  College  which  was  understood  to  be  Presbyterian  and  whose  Charter  provided 
for  the  teaching  of  Divinity  in  it.  From  this  college  there  were  descendants 
bearing  his  name  through  nearly  five  generations  in   Princeton. 

(II)  Isaac,  youngest  son  of  John  and  jMary  (Pearcy)  Hornor,  was 
born  at  Tadcaster,  England,  in  1678.  He  was  in  his  sixth  year  when  he 
accompanied  his  parents  to  America,  He  married  (first)  Ehzabeth 
Sykes,  of  Chesterfield,  New  Jersey:  (second)  Eleanor,  daughter  of  Sam- 
uel Bowne.  Children  by  first  wife :  Rachel  and  Elizabeth  ;  by  second 
wife:  John,  born  in  1719,  died  in  1753;  Mary,  in  1721,  died  in  1786: 
Samuel,  mentioned  below;  Joseph,  in  1726;  Elizabeth,  in  1729,  died  1766; 
Isaac  Jr,,  in  1732,  died  in  1822:  Benjamin  and  Amy  (twins),  in  1737, 
the  former  died  in  1823,  and  the  latter  in  1807. 

(III)  Samuel,  second  son  of  Isaac  and  Eleanor  (Bowne)  Hornor, 
was  born  near  Bordentown,  New  Jersey,  March  i,  1724,  died  in  1766. 
The  eldest  son  of  John  Hornor.  the  immigrant  ancestor,  bore  his  father's 
name,  but  dying  childless  he  left  his  estate  to  his  youngest  brother.  Isaac 
the  father  of  Isaac,  aforementioned,  who  entailed  to  his  eldest  son  by 
his  second  wife,  who  was  John  Hornor,  the  third  of  the  name.  Samuel 
Hornor  had  considerable  property  in  the  same  neighborhood.  He  mar- 
ried, in  1740,  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey.  Mary  Leonard.  The  children 
were:  John,  mentioned  below:  Amy,  born  January  10,  1754;  Samuel. 
March  "17.  1756:  Sarah.  July  2~ .  1757,  married  a  ^Nlr.  Springer:  Joseph, 
January  30,  1763. 

(IV)  John  (2),  eldest  son  of  Samuel  and  Hilary  (Leonard)  Hornor, 
was  born  near  Bordentown,  New  Jersey,  October  27,  1750.  died  in  1819. 
He  was  very  much  interested  in  the  growth  and  development  of  Prince- 
ton University  and  gave  largely  of  his  own  means  and  induced  others  to 
give,  Hagerman's  "History  of  Princeton  and  its  Institutions"  says : 
"After  the  death  of  Samuel  Hornor  the  survivors  of  the  family  were  at 
what  we  know  as  Queenstown.  This  place  was  formerly  called  Jugtown, 
a  name  given  to  it  because  the  Hornors  had  a  pottery  there  for  many 
years  and  jugs  were  manufactured.  Since  then  it  is  called  Queenstown." 
John  Hornor  married,  July  27,  1777.  Patty  or  Patsey,  daughter  of  John 
"Richards,  of  Falmouth.  The  children  were:  John,  born  April  29,  1778, 
died  1848:  Samuel.  August  8.  1779;  IVIarv  Leonard.  Tanuarv  21.  1781  ; 
Amelia  Richards.  July  8.  1783:  William  R.  R..  February  28.  1787:  Maria. 
July  18.  1789;  James  Yard,  mentioned  helnw. 

(V)  James   Yard,  youngest   son   of   John    (2)    and   Patty  or   Patsey 


WEST  VIRGINIA 


349 


(Richards)  Hornor.  was  bom  April  9,  1793,  at  Stone  House  Mountain, 
Culpeper  county,  \'irginia,  died  August  9,  1872,  at  his  home  in  Clarks- 
burg, West  Virginia,  being  buried  in  his  own  graveyard  on  the  farm  at 
Lumberport,  West  Virginia.  When  a  lad  of  seventeen  years  he  enlisted 
in  the  war  of  1812.  and  drew  a  pension  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He  was 
postmaster  at  Lumberport.  He  was  a  successful  merchant  and  farmer, 
and  took  part  in  all  the  affairs  of  the  early  history  of  Harrison  county. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  trustee  of  the  early  schools. 
His  youth  and  early  manhood  were  spent  in  his  native  place,  but  after  he 
had  been  married  some  years  he  moved  his  family  to  Clarksburg,  West 
Virginia.  James  Yard  Hornor  married  (first)  Dollie  or  Polly  Oloman 
Ferguson,  who  was  from  Culpeper  county  or  Falmouth.  \'irginia.  He 
married  (second)  ]\Iary  Asson.  daughter  of  Captain  David  and  Sarah 
(Wamsley)  Robinson  (see  Robinson  VI).  Children  of  second  mar- 
riage :  ]\Iary  Richards.  Amelia  Sarah.  Frederick  Mortimer.  Susan  Mar- 
garet, Almira  Louise.  James  David. 

(\'I)  Almira  Louise,  daughter  of  James  Yard  and  Mary  Asson 
(Robinson)  Hornor.  was  born  July  21.  1844.  at  the  old  home  in  Lum- 
berport. Harrison  county,  \'irginia,  now  West  Virginia.  She  married 
(first )  Dr.  Edward  R.  Davis,  son  of  Rezin  and  Ann  Pollard  Pindal 
(Britten)  Davis:  he  died  March  17,  1872.  She  married  (second)  Octo- 
ber 3.  1883,  Judge  Gideon  Draper  Camden,  of  Clarksburg,  who  was 
prominent  as  a  lawyer  in  \'irginia.  and  died  April  21,  1891.  She  mar- 
ried (third)  June  24,  1897.  in  Clarksburg.  West  \'irginia,  the  Hon. 
George  W.  Atkinson,  at  that  time  governor  of  West  \'irginia,  becoming 
a  resident  of  Giarleston,  the  capital  of  the  state.  When  Governor  At- 
kinson's term  of  office  was  ended  he  was  appointed  L'nited  States  attor- 
ney for  the  southern  district  of  West  Mrginia.  Four  years  later  Gover- 
nor Atkinson  was  appointed  by  President  Roosevelt  an  associate  judge 
of  the  United  States  court  of  claims  at  the  city  of  Washington,  where  he 
and  his  wife  have  resided  since  April  25,  1906.  Children  by  first  mar- 
riage: I.  Edward  R..  born  February  11,  1869.  died  October  25,  1910; 
married,  January  25,  1902,  Garnet  Amelia,  daughter  of  Charles  A.  and 
Mary  (Rhodes)  Hornor,  of  Clarksburg,  West  Virginia,  there  being 
three  sons,  Edward  R.,  James  and  Robert  Rhodes,  all  living  at  Clarks- 
burg, West  A^irginia.  2.  James  Hornor.  married.  October  19.  1892,  Edna 
daughter  of  the  Hon.  Matthew  G.  and  Elizabeth  (McCleary)  Holmes,  of 
Clarksburg:  children:  Elizabeth,  died  at  birth.  Ewing  McCleary  and 
Louise    (twins),  Virginia.  James.  Edward.  John  Holmes. 

Mrs.  Atkinson  is  a  member  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution, the  Daughters  of  the  War  of  1812.  the  American  Pioneers  of 
Parkersburg.  West  Mrginia.  the  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy,  Stone- 
wall Jackson  Chapter,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  the  Mothers  of  the 
World,  the  Daughters  of  the  Spanish  War  Veterans,  the  Robinson 
Genealogical  Society  of  the  World,  and  the  Civic  Club  of  Clarksburg, 
West  X'irginia. 

(The  Robinson   Line). 

The  surname  Robinson  in  its  origin  merely  stands  for  the  "son  of 
Robin."  Robin  was  a  mediaeval  diminutive  or  nickname  for  Robert,  ex- 
amples being  Robin  Goodfellow.  Robin  Hood,  and  so  on  in  England. 

(I)  John  Robinson,  the  immigrant  ancestor  of  the  Robinson  family 
in  America  here  dealt  with,  was  born  in  Cleasby,  Yorkshire.  England, 
died  at  New  Charles  Parish.  York  county.  Virginia.  IMarch  i.  1688.  He 
came  with  his  brother  to  America  sometime  about  the  year  1620.  He 
married  (first)  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Christopher  Potter,  of  Cleasby. 
Children :  John.  William,  Beverly.  Moncure,  Samuel,  Anthony,  men- 
tioned below ;  James,  Peter  R.,  Mary,  Margaret,  Sarah.  Anna. 


350  WEST  VIRGINIA 

(IIj  Anthony,  sixth  son  of  John  Robinson,  was  born  May  i,  i6<S2, 
at  New  Charles  Parish,  York  county,  Virginia,  died  November  ii,  1727. 
He  married  and  had  children :  Moncure,  James,  Peter,  Samuel,  Anthony, 
John,  William,  mentioned  below  ;  Beverly. 

(III)  William,  seventh  son  of  x-\nthony  Robinson,  was  born  at  New 
Charles  Parish,  York  county,  Mrginia.  He  married  Mary  Margaret 
Webb.     Children:  Benjamin,  mentioned  below;  six  other  children. 

(IV)  Benjamin,  son  of  William  and  Mary  Margaret  (Webb)  Rob- 
inson, married  Margaret  Mary  Asson,  who  was  a  widow  of  J.  Wilkinson. 
Children ;  Elizabeth,  married  Henry  Cofifman ;  Felix,  married  a  sister  of 
Governor  Wood,  of  \'irginia ;  David,  mentioned  below ;  Margaret,  mar- 
ried Colonel  John  Somerville ;  ]\Iary,  married  Dr.  Caleb  Boggess ;  Mag- 
dalene, married  John  Boggess;  Benjamin  Jr.,  died  unmarried;  John, 
married  Rebecca  Wamsley ;  Susan,  married  Alburtus  Boggess ;  Malinda. 
married  George  Wamsley  Boggess;  William  Marshall,  married  Emily 
Stringer,  of  Virginia. 

(V)  David,  second  son  of  Benjamin  and  Margaret  Mary  (Asson) 
Robinson,  was  born  September  13,  1788,  died  May  13,  1853.  He  mar- 
ried Sarah  Wamsley,  sometimes  called  Wormley,  March  16,  1809,  daugh- 
ter of  Captain  David  Wamsley,  who  lived  in  Augusta  county,  Virginia. 
Captain  David  Wamsley  married  Sarah  Delay,  came  to  Virginia  and  set- 
tled on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Charlie  Hood  and  his  brother,  Harry,  at 
Shinnston,  West  Virginia.  The  children  of  Captain  David  and  Sarah 
f Wamsley)  Robinson  were:  Maloina  F.,  married  Dudley  H.  Rogers, 
child,  Sarah  E.,  married  Taylor  E.  Fortney ;  ]\Iary  Asson,  mentioned  be- 
low ;  Susan  Rebecca,  Sarah  Elizabeth,  Fernando  Asson,  Margaret  Asson, 
Amanda,  David  Wamsley  Asson,  married  Sarah  Webster. 

(VI)  Mary  Asson,  second  daughter  of  Captain  David  and  Sarah 
(Wamsley)  Robinson,  married  James  Yard  Hornor  (see  Hornor  V), 
who  was  then  a  widower  with  six  children. 


The  ancestors  of  this  branch  of  the  Nichols  family  came 
NICHOLS     from   England  and   settled   in   Pennsylvania  many  years 

before  the  revolutionary  war.  Thomas  Nichols  married 
Margaret  Morgan  and  they  had  the  following  children :  William,  see 
forward ;  Thomas,  killed  at  the  battle  of  Brandywine ;  James,  died  at 
Catfish  Falls,  Pennsylvania ;  Isabella,  married  JMichael  Beary ;  Mary, 
married  John  Snider ;  Margaret. 

(II)  William,  son  of  Thomas  and  Margaret  (Morgan)  Nichols,  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania,  died  near  Fairmont,  Virginia,  now  West  \^irginia, 
November  30,  1843.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Rangers 
from  1778  to  1783,  during  the  revolutionary  war;  this  organization  furn- 
ished its  own  guns  and  ammunition.  He  married  Jane,  daughter  of 
Henry  McClelland,  who  emigrated  from  .Scotland,  and  she  was  born  on 
the  ocean.  She  died  May  16,  1838.  Children ;  Henry,  see  forward ; 
Thomas,  married  and  settled  in  Pittsburgh ;  Margaret,  married  James 
Fitzmorris ;  Anna,  married  Reason  Fowler ;  Priscilla,  married  Patrick 
Clelland ;  Mary,  married  Matthew  Gilmore ;  Isabella,  married  George 
McCray. 

(III)  Henry,  son  of  William  and  Jane  (McClelland)  Nichols,  was 
born  in  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  October  11,  1791,  died  January  5, 
1873,  and  is  buried  in  the  cemetery  near  the  Baptist  church  of  which  he 
and  his  wife  were  very  devout  members,  at  Barrackville,  about  three 
miles  from  Fairmont,  West  Virginia.  He  moved  to  a  farm  on  Buffalo 
creek,  in  what  was  then  Monongalia  county,  \'irginia,  which  is  now 
Marion  county.  West  \'irginia,  about  the  year  1826,  but  continued  his 


WEST  VIRGINIA  351 

occupation  as  an  iron  moulder  at  Oliphant  Furnace,  leaving  there  Satur- 
day evening  and  returning  Sunday  night,  for  several  years.  He  married, 
July  3,  1815,  Nancy  McClelland,  born  January  15,  1796,  in  Fayette  coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania,  died  June  8,  1865,  buried  in  the  same  cemetery  with 
her  husband.  She  was  no  relation  to  the  above-named  persons  of  the  same 
name.  Children :  James  William,  see  forward ;  Jane  Isabella,  born  Oc- 
tober 24,  1819,  married  Felix  S.  Wilcox;  Ann  Eliza,  born  December  20, 
1820,  married  John  M.  King:  Mary  Collins,  January  14,  1823,  married 
James  Shriver ;  Sarah  Ann.  born  April  2,  1825.  married  John  A.  Heck; 
William  Alexander,  born  November  23,  1827,  married  Mary  Ann  Pin- 
del  ;  Priscilla  McClelland,  born  September  23,  1829,  married  Jesse 
Sharp;  Larken  McClelland,  born  IMay  9,  1831,  married  Mary  Sinclair; 
Henry  McClelland,  born  February  20,  1833,  not  married,  killed  in  the 
civil  war;  John  Robinson,  born  IMay  i,  1835,  married  Laretta  Wilson; 
Thomas  Luther,  born  ]\Iay  12,  1840,  died  in  infancy;  Elsey  Steenrod, 
born  June  11,  1841,  never  married. 

(IV)  James  William,  son  of  Henry  and  Nancy  (McClelland)  Nich- 
ols, was  born  in  Fayette  county,  near  Oliphant  Furnace,  Pennsylvania, 
November  24,  1816,  died  in  Fairmont,  West  Virginia,  March  17,  1871. 
He  was  a  miller  by  trade  and  followed  this  all  his  life  in  and  around 
Fairmont.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church,  and 
taught  a  class  in  its  Sunday  school  from  early  manhood  until  his  death. 
In  politics  he  was  a  Republican.  He  married,  April  18,  1843,  Mary  B. 
Fleming,  born  July  9,  1825,  died  August  18,  1906,  daughter  of  William 
B.  and  Hannah  (Miller)  Fleming.  Hannah  Miller  was  the  daughter  of 
Peter  and  Mary  Miller.  Peter  Miller  was  born  in  Woodbury,  New  Jer- 
sey, May  15,  1759,  enlisted  in  the  Continental  army,  and  participated  in 
the  battles  of  White  Plains  and  Long  Island,  New  York.  It  is  not  known 
when  he  moved  to  Virginia,  but  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  owned  the 
land  now  composing  the  fifth  ward  of  the  city  of  Fairmont.  Children  of 
James  William  and  Mary  B.  (Fleming)  Nichols:  i.  William  Henry,  died 
in  infancy.  2.  Francis  Edmond,  see  forward.  3.  Ella  P.,  married  John 
Fenton  Clayton;  died  February  4,  1879,  in  Greeley.  Colorado,  buried  at 
Grafton,  West  Virginia ;  had  two  sons :  Edward  Rowland,  now  mana- 
ger of  the  Maryland  Coal  Company  in  Harrison  county.  West  Virginia, 
and  Frank  Wilson,  died  in  infancy.  4.  Laura  Emma,  married  Charles 
L.  Maulsby;  now  residing  in  California;  children:  Anna  Clayton  and 
Thomas  Nichols  }\Iaulsby.  5.  Minnie,  married  Charles  W.  Walker;  died 
August  8,  1888;  children:  Kephart  Nichols,  and  one  daughter,  died  in 
infancy.    6.  Anna  Pratt,  died  May  5,  1898. 

(V)  Francis  Edmond,  son  of  James  William  and  Mary  B.  (Flem- 
ing) Nichols,  was  born  September  20,  1846,  about  one  mile  from  the  city 
of  Fairmont,  West  Virginia.  He  received  his  education  at  the  only 
schools  in  existence  in  this  section  at  that  day,  the  private  subscription 
schools,  one  of  which  was  taught  by  Dr.  W.  R.  White,  and  it  was  a  most 
excellent  educational  institution  for  those  days.  Later  Dr.  White  was 
state  superintendent  of  public  schools  in  West  Virginia.  He  was  also 
a  noted  Methodist  Episcopal  minister.  After  leaving  the  school  room, 
Mr.  Nichols  followed  bookkeeping  for  many  years,  and  was  with  several 
well  known  business  houses.  His  next  step  in  business  life  was  his  ap- 
pointment as  mail  clerk,  on  the  line  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad, 
his  regular  run  being  between  Grafton  and  Cliicago.  He  followed  this 
work  for  twelve  years,  until  he  resigned  in  1884  to  take  up  a  more  inde- 
pendent work,  that  of  insurance,  in  which  he  is  still  engaged  but  at  pres- 
ent confines  himself  to  fire  exclusively.  His  spacious,  well-fitted  offices 
are  in  the  new  Masonic  Temple.  He  has  now  twenty-six  companies  for 
which  he  is  agent,  doing  both  city  and  farm  insurance  business.     He  is 


352  WEST  VIRGINIA 

'lirector  in  the  Home  Savings  Bank  and  the  National  Bank  of  Fairmont. 
Pohtically  he  is  a  Repubhcan,  but  has  never  aspired  to  nor  been  induced 
to  hold  public  office,  preferring  to  attend  strictly  to  his  private  business. 
He  is  a  far  advanced  Free  Mason,  having  reached  the  thirty-second  de- 
gree of  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite.  He  has  held  all  the 
chairs  in  the  local  lodges,  .\ncient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Chapter 
and  Commandery,  and  been  the  secretary  of  the  local  bodies  at  Fairmont 
for  more  than  thirty  years,  except  the  Blue  Lodge,  of  which  he  has  been 
the  secretary  since  1904.  He  belongs  to  Crusade  Commandery,  No.  6, 
Knights  Templar,  and  the  Scottish  Rite  bodies  at  Wheeling.  He  is  now 
holding  the  office  of  grand  recorder  of  the  Grand  Commandery  of  West 
Virginia,  having  held  this  important  office  since  1904.  Mr.  Nichols  is 
charter  member  of  the  newly  organized  County  Club  of  Fairmont,  and  he 
with  his  family  holds  membership  in  the  Methodist  Protestant  church,  of 
which  society  he  is  a  trustee.  He  also  belongs  to  the  Sons  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, of  which  he  is  the  state  treasurer. 

He  married  (first)  Emma  \'.  Steele,  September  25,  1889;  she  died 
August  9,  1893,  leaving  one  daughter,  ^lary  Louise,  born  January  12, 
1892,  graduated  at  the  high  schools  of  Fairmont,  her  native  city,  and 
later  attended  Walnut  Lane  School,  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  from 
which  she  graduated  in  191 1.  He  married  (second)  August  30,  1899, 
Laura,  daughter  of  R.  C.  and  Mary  (Lott)  Dunnington,  of  Fairmont, 
West  Virginia.  Mrs.  Nichols'  father  was  in  the  mercantile  business,  but 
during  the  latter  part  of  his  life  in  the  insurance  business,  died  in  1904; 
his  wife  died  at  Fairmont  in  the  spring  of  191 1.  Mrs.  Nichols  is  one  of 
seven  children.  I\Iary  Louise,  only  child  of  Francis  E.  Nichols,  is  now 
an  enthusiastic  member  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution, 
being  eligible  by  connecting  back  to  men  of  service  in  that  great  struggle, 
on  her  paternal  and  maternal  sides  from  the  Nichols  and  Miller  branches. 
Her  connection  with  this  body  is  at  Fairmont,  West  Virginia,  being  a 
worthy  member  of  William  Haymond  Cliapter.  The  Fleming  genealogy 
is  given  elsewhere  in  this  work,  and  will  complete  the  connection  be- 
tween the  Nichols  and  Fleming  lines. 


This  Perry  family  is  an  old  Maryland  fainily,  members  of 
PERRY     which  removed  to  the  \'irginias,  and  some  are  now  residing 

at  Halltown,  West  Virginia,  Dr.  W.  E.  Perry  being  of  this 
branch  of  the  Perry  family.  Nothing  back  of  the  grandfather  of  Dr. 
Perry  is  definitely  known  concerning  the  history  of  this  line  of  Mary- 
land settlers. 

(I)  John  (probably)  Perry  was  a  Maryland  farmer  before  the  civil 
war.  He  was  of  Mechanicstown,  where  he  finally  died,  aged  seventy- 
two  years.  Politically  he  was  a  Republican.  He  and  his  wife  were  par- 
ents of  children  as  follows :  John.  James,  Jacob  Stokes,  Henry,  Marion 
and  one  other.  Marion  never  married.  They  are  now  all  deceased  except 
the  son,  Jacob  Stokes,  of  whom  later.  The  family  was  of  the  LTnited 
Brethren  religious  faith. 

(II)  Jacob  Stokes,  son  of  John  (probably)  Perry,  was  born  January 
8,  1827.  He  spent  his  early  years  in  and  about  Mechanicstown,  Mary- 
land, where  he  was  born.  He  attended  the  public  schools.  He  became  a 
contractor  and  builder,  also  carried  on  an  undertaking  establishment  at 
Mechanicstown.  Politically  he  was  a  Republican,  but  never  wanted  or 
held  public  offices.  He  married  Alartha  Ann  Geesey.  of  whom  but  little  is 
now  known  concerning  her  ancestry.  lioth  reside  at  Walkersville  at 
the  present  time  (1913).  he  aged  eighty-five  years,  and  she  aged  seventy- 
eight  years.     She  is  a  member  of  the  United  Brethren  church,  of  which 


WEST  VIRGINIA  353 

her  husband  was  steward.  Jacob  Stokes  Perry  and  wife  had  nine  chil- 
dren :  Washington  Everett,  of  whom  further ;  James  Pleasant,  married  a 
Miss  Shank ;  Katie  Idaho,  married  James  W.  Long :  John  Jacob,  mar- 
ried three  times ;  William  K.,  married  Mollie  Barrick,  issue  one  child; 
Mattie  L.,  married  Earnest  Greagory :  three  died  in  infancy. 

(Ill)  Dr.  Washington  Everett  Perry,  son  of  Jacob  Stokes  and  Mar- 
tha A.  (Geesey)  Perry,  was  born  near  Walkersville,  Frederick  county, 
Maryland,  October  5,  i860.  He  attended  the  public  schools,  thus  lay- 
ing well  the  foundation  for  his  education  which  was  to  extend  into  the 
higher  branches  and  into  a  professional  career.  He  was  a  student  one 
year  at  Dayton  \'irginia  College:  two  years  at  Baltimore  (Maryland)  Col- 
lege of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  when  two  years  made  the  complete 
course  in  medicine.  He  has  been  engaged  in  medical  practice  ever  since. 
Politically  he  votes  the  Democratic  ticket.  He  holds  a  membership  in  the 
Modern  Woodmen,  at  Harper's  Ferry :  in  the  Patriotic  Order  of  the 
Sons  of  America  and  the  Eagles,  being  a  member  of  Aerie  No.  1136,  at 
Brunswick,  Maryland. 

He  married,  IMay  13,  1890,  Annie  Leon  Gibson,  born  in  Jefferson 
county.  West  Virginia,  December  25,  1867,  daughter  of  John  Gibson,  of 
Fauquier  county,  \'irginia,  a  farmer,  died  in  Baltimore,  and  buried  near 
Charles  Town,  West  Virginia,  December  2"],  1907.  In  1865  he  married 
?ilar\  Elizabeth  Trussell  and  they  had  eight  children:  Annie  L.,  married 
Dr  i  'erry  :  Manly  D.,  unmarried  :  Harry  G.. unmarried,  said  to  be  the  first 
rural  )nail  carrier  in  the  Lnited  States;  Emma  B.,  married  Dr.  Wilson,  of 
Califiirnia:  Mary  E.,  unmarried;  three  died  in  infancy.  Children  of  Dr. 
\\':i-liington  E.  and  Annie  L.  (Gibson)  Perry:  Gilbert  Everett,  born  No- 
vcmtuT  18,  1891,  graduated  from  Powhatan,  1913  :  John  L.,  born  Septem- 
ber n,  1893.  now  attending  Strayer"s  College,  JBaltimore :  Mary  M.  E., 
born  June  21,  1901,  now  attending  Charles  Town  graded  and  high  school. 


The    population     of    West    \'irginia     is     fundamentally 
OVERTON     A'irginian,  but  the  lack  of  intercourse  and  mutual  un- 
derstanding between  the  sections  of  the  old  state  was  at 
:he  bottom  of  the  demand  for  a  division.  The  Overton  family  has,  how- 
ever, in  comparatively  recent  times  come  across  the  Alleghany  barrier, 
ind  is  a  Virginian  family  almost  to  the  present  generation. 

(I)  Benjamin  Overton,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom 
^ve   have    definite    information,   was   born    in    \'irginia.      He   served    his 

ountry  in  the  war  of  1812.     He  married  Geeter.     Child,  John  P., 

)f  whom  further. 

(II)  John    P.,    son   of   Benjamin   and   (Geeter)    Overton,   was 

)orn  in  Amelia  county,  Virginia,  August  29,  1840.  L'ntil  1876  he  was  a 
ailroad  man,  and  after  that  for  about  thirty  years  he  was  engaged  in 
arming.  In  1907  he  retired  from  business  life  and  settled  at  Parkers- 
)ur2;,  VVest  A'irginia,  which  is  now  his  home.  He  married  Rose  Ann, 
laut^htcr  of  James  T.  Dolan.  Children:  i.  John  Edward,  of  whom 
urtlier.  2.  Rebecca  C,  married  Thomas  Golden.  3.  Mary  Agnes.  4. 
ames  B.  5.  Thomas  S.  6.  Joseph  A.  7.  Ellen,  married  John  ^^''.  Wes- 
er.     8.  William.     9.  Henry,  in  India.     10.  Richard. 

(III)  John  Edward,  son  of  John  P.  and  Rose  Ann  (Dolan)  Over- 
on,  was  born  in  Ritchie  county,  West  Virginia,  October  10,  1869.  He 
^ras  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and  took  a  business  course  at  Dela- 
ware, Ohio,  being  graduated  in  1893.  For  the  next  three  years  he  was 
uditor  of  the  Cairo  &  Kanawha  Railroad  Company,  and  since  1896  he 
as  been  engaged  in  mercantile  business  at  Cairo,  Ritchie  county.  West 
Hrginia.     Beside  this  mercantile  interest,  he  has  large  holdings   in   oil 

23 


354  WEST  VIRGINIA 

and  gas  and  is  overseer  and  manager  of  the  Cairo  Insurance  and  Real 
Estate  Agency.  In  the  Bank  of  Cairo  Mr.  Overton  is  a  director  and  the 
secretary  of  the  board  of  directors.  Under  the  new  tax  laws  of  West 
Virginia  he  was  the  first  tax  commissioner,  and  in  this  office  he  served 
for  two  years.  In  February.  191 1,  he  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Cairo. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  and  Parkersburg  Lodge,  No.  198,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Or- 
der of  Elks. 

.  He   married,   in    1896,   Ada    Millslagel.      Children :     Myrtle,   born   in 
1897;  John. 


Colonel  John  O.  Dickinson,  capitalist,  banker  and  j 
DICKINSON  long  one  of  Charleston's  representative  men,  belongs  | 
to  one  of  the  interesting  old  families  of  the  Virginias,  i 
This  family  traces  descent  from  Joseph  Dickinson,  who  may  have  been  ! 
born  in  Bedford  county.  Mrginia,  April  11,  1742,  his  death  being  defi-  ] 
nitely  fixed  as  having  occurred  September  16,  1818.  in  Virginia,  on  his  [ 
plantation  on  Goose  creek  in  Bedford  county.  There  are  records  to 
prove  that  he  was  a  man  of  sterling  qualities  and  that  he  was  worthy  to  j 
be  the  ancestor  of  his  present  descendants.  He  married  Elizabeth  Wool-  1 
bridge,  born  January  11,  1744,  was  married  j\Iarch  6,  1769,  and  died  No-  j 
vember  7,  1818.  For  many  years  they  were  leading  members  of  the  ; 
Goose  Creek  Baptist  Church.  I 

The  following  were  children  born  to  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  Dickinson.  ! 
The  eldest,  Edna,  born  September  15,  1770.  married  Joseph  Stratton;  1 
they  came  to  what  is  now  West  Virginia,  and  they  died  and  were  buried  j 
near  the  mouth  of  Hughes  creek.  William,  of  whom  further.  Nancy,  | 
born  October  20,  1773,  married  Jeiifrey  Robertson  and  they  lived  in  Bed-  1 
ford  county.  Sally,  born  September  15,  1776.  married  Joseph  Shrews- 1 
bury,  and  they  came  to  Kanawha  county.  Pleasant,  born  April  15.  1785,  ' 
lived,  married  and  died  in  Franklin  county.  Virginia.  ; 

(II)  William,  son  of  Joseph  Dickinson,  was  born  January  7,  1772.  I 
He  became  associated  with  Joel  Shrewsbury  first  as  a  tobacco  merchant  • 
in  Bedford  county  and  after  their  marriage  they  came  with  their  wives  ' 
to  the  Kanawha  A^alley,  the  growing  of  tobacco  being  somewhat  inter-  ■ 
rupted  by  the  disturbance  incident  to  the  war  of  1812.  About  this  date  1 
they  located  in  what  was  called  the  "Salines,"  now  Maiden,  Kanawha  | 
county,  on  the  Kanawha  river,  after  a  few  years  spent  at  a  point  now  ' 
known  as  Dickinson.  Here  the  salt  wells  were  dug  and  the  furnaces  1 
started  of  the  Dickinson  &  Shrewsbury  Company  and  during  many  years  1 
afterwards  they  largely  controlled  the  salt  industry  and  developed  the  { 
business  into  a  leading  one  of  the  state.  They  continued  in  business  un-  j 
til  about  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war,  when  they  dissolved  partnership ; 
and  the  death  of  William  Dickinson  followed  in  the  succeeding  Novem-  [ 
ber.  I 

(III)  William  (2).  son  of  William  (i)  Dickinson,  was  born  in  Bed-' 
ford  county.  Virginia.  January  i,  1798.  He  was  brought  up  and  mar- 
ried there,  coming  to  Kanawha  county  in  1861,  after  which  he  became; 
selling  agent  of  the  output  of  his  father's  salt  mills,  having  his  headquar- 
ters  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  where  he  remained  until  he  decided  to  j 
give  up  active  business  responsibilities  to  a  large  extent.  He  returned ; 
then  to  Maiden  and  thereafter  until  his  death  on  November  8,  1881,  hisi 
time  was  occupied  in  looking  after  one  salt  furnace  and  the  family's  large  1 
landed  possessions.  He  resided  at  that  time  on  the  Dickinson  farm,  lying 
fifteen  miles  up  the  Kanawha  river,  and  which  is  locally  known  as  the 
Dickinson-Shrewsbury  homestead.     He  was  a  Whig  and  later  a  Denm- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  355 

crat,  casting  his  vote  for  Bel!  and  Everett  wlien  that  ticket  was  in  the 
field  for  national  consideration.  Like  his  father  he  had  high  qualities  of 
business  ability. 

He  was  married  in  early  manhood  to  Margaret  C.  (jray.  a  daughter  of 
John  Gray,  of  Bedford  county.  Mrs.  Dickinson  survived  until  1859.  She 
was  a  devoted  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  was  a 
woman  of  most  engaging  personality.  She  was  the  mother  of  two 
daughters  and  two  sons:  Mary,  Jane,  Henry  C,  John  O.  Alary,  who 
died  in  Kanawha  county,  was  survived  for  some  years  by  her  husband, 
John  A.  E.  Winkler.  Jane  was  the  wife  of  John  A.  Cobb  and  at  death 
left  three  daughters. 

(IV)  John  O.,  son  of  William  (2)  Dickinson,  the  only  member  of  his 
parents"  family  surviving,  was  born  in  Bedford  county.  Virginia,  No- 
vember 20,  1831.  He  grew  to  manhood  on  his  father's  plantation,  and 
early  had  duties  assigned  him  in  looking  after  the  extensive  farming 
operations  and  in  directing  the  work  of  the  slaves.  When  the  civil  war 
broke  out  he  was  ready  to  shoulder  his  musket  with  the  first  detail  of 
soldiers  called  out  but  was  restrained  until  a  favorable  opportunity  came 
for  him  to  leave  home.  In  the  spring  of  1862,  when  his  brother,  Cap- 
tain Henry  C.  Dickinson,  was  in  camp  in  Albemarle  county,  he  decided 
to  join  him  and  taking  a  horse  from  his  stable  was  soon  on  the  way, 
subsequently  enlisting  in  Company  .\,  Second  Virginia  Cavalry,  with  his 
brother  as  his  captain.  Colonel  Bradford  being  in  command  of  the  regi- 
ment. He  proved  himself  a  good  and  reliable  soldier  and  took  part  in 
many  serious  battles  before  he  was  captured  near  Green  Court  House, 
Virginia,  after  which  he  was  confined  in  the  Federal  prison  at  Fort 
Delaware  until  the  close  of  the  war. 

Mr.  Dickinson  then  came  to  the  Kanawha  Valley  and  his  success  in 
business  life  is  a  source  of  pride  to  his  fellow  citizens.  Although  the 
adverse  fortunes  of  war  fell  upon  him  and  his,  he  was  of  the  manly 
fiber  that  enabled  him  to  put  aside  much  of  the  past  and  to  plan  hopefully 
for  the  future.  He  is  the  only  one  of  the  many  salt  makers  of  this  val- 
ley who  has  continued  in  the  industry  and  made  it  profitable.  He  is  one 
of  the  largest  land  owners  in  this  section  and  his  properties  are  rich  in 
mineral  and  gas.  He  is  extensively  interested  in  the  production  of  coal 
and  is  president  or  otherwise  otificially  connected  with  numerous  coal  com- 
panies of  the  state.  Mr.  Dickinson  was  one  of  the  original  stockholders 
of  the  Kanawha  Valley  Bank,  the  largest  banking  institution  of  the  state, 
which  was  founded  and  incorporated  in  1867.  At  that  time  his  father 
was  president,  and  both  he  and  his  brother,  Henry  C.  Dickinson,  were 
directors.  For  many  years  past  Mr.  Dickinson  has  been  president  of 
this  bank,  and  in  this  as  in  his  other  business  enterprises  he  has  displayed 
the  indispensable  characteristics  which  contribute  to  financial  success. 
His  whole  business  career  has  been,  more  or  less,  a  series  of  successful 
undertakings,  and  his  time  and  attention  have  been  so  continuously  en- 
gaged that  public  office,  along  the  path  of  politics,  has  attracted  him  not 
at  all.  He  is  a  Democrat  from  rearing  and  conviction  but  his  activity 
goes  no  further  than  to  performing  the  full  duties  of  citizenship.  He  has 
been  identified  with  the  Masonic  fraternity  since  early  manhood. 

Mr.  Dickinson  was  married  during  the  civil  war  to  Margaret  D.  Lewis 
born  in  1843.  in  Kanawha  county,  A^irginia,  where  she  has  always  lived. 
She  is  a  daughter  of  John  D.  and  a  sister  of  Charles  C.  Lewis.  Six  chil- 
dren were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dickinson,  of  whom  a  partial  record  is 
as  follows :  William  and  Mosby,  both  of  whom  died  in  manhood,  both 
having  been  graduates  of  a  military  institute  and  brilliant  students :  John 
Lewis,  of  whom  further :  Charles  C,  who  has  charge  of  his  father's  salt 
furnaces  at  Maiden,  is  a  graduate  of  the  above  military  school  in  the 


356  WEST  VIRGINIA 

class  of  1895,  and  married  Nellie  Alderson.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dickinson  are 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Maiden. 

(V)  John  Lewis,  son  of  John  O.  Dickinson,  was  born  at  Kanawha 
Salines,  now  Maiden,  January  26,  1870.  He  attended  the  public  schools 
and  then  became  a  student  in  the  Virginia  Military  Institute  in  the  class 
of  1890.  Later  he  was  entrusted  with  the  operating  of  his  father's  salt 
furnace  at  Maiden,  where  he  remained  for  some  time.  He  then  came  to 
Charleston  and  served  through  the  clerical  positions  preliminary  to  be- 
coming cashier  in  1896  of  the  Kanawha  Bank.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
board  of  directors  of  this  solid  old  financial  institution,  one  that  stands 
foremost  in  capitalization  in  the  state.  In  politics  Mr.  Dickinson  is  a 
Democrat  and  he  has  long  made  the  city's  best  interests  his  own.  He  has 
been  treasurer  of  the  Charleston  Chamber  of  Commerce  since  its  organi- 
zation and  has  been  one  of  its  most  active  promoters.  He  is  prominent 
in  Masonry  and  is  past  eminent  commander  of  the  commandery  and  be- 
longs to  Beni-Kedem  Temple,  Mystic  Shrine. 

Mr.  Dickinson  was  married  in  the  city  of  Charleston  to  Maude  Hub- 
bard, daughter  of  John  and  Statia  Hubbard,  the  former  of  whom  is  de- 
ceased. Mrs.  Dickinson  was  born  at  Maiden,  and  was  educated  at 
Charleston  and  at  Miss  Mason's  Seminary,  near  Philadelphia.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Dickinson  have  had  five  children  born  to  them :  Mary  Lewis,  Anna: 
Statia  H.,  Nell  Carmichael.  Doras  Laidley  and  Rebecca  Grey.  Mr.  Dick- 
inson and  family  are  members  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  at 
Charleston,  in  which  he  is  a  deacon. 


Richard  J.   Wood,   son  of  John   Richard   and   Lucinda    (de    j 
WOOD     Hart)    Wood   and   grandson   of    Richard   Wood,   a    son   of    1 

John  Wood,  who  came  from  Bedford  county,  Virginia,  and  I 
settled  in  Patrick  county,  Virginia,  was  born  October  4,  1828,  and  is  now  1 
living  in  Floyd,  Virginia.  He  was  a  farmer,  but  has  retired  from  active  ( 
business  pursuits.  During  the  civil  war  he  was  a  member  of  the  51st  j 
Virginia  Regiment  in  the  Confederate  army,  attained  the  rank  of  cap-  I 
tain,  and  served  throughout  the  war,  part  of  the  time  under  the  command  j 
of  General  Floyd.  He  married  Anna  Judith  Shortt,  born  November  5,  ^ 
1834.  Children:  Jefiferson  P..  born  1857;  Daniel  Hillsman,  1861 ;  ] 
George  Bunnion,  1863;  Greenville  Darius,  1867;  Amos  DeRussia,  re-  \ 
ferred  to  below  ;  Sparrel  Asa,  born  1872 ;  Robertson,  1877.  ' 

(11)  Di.  Amos  DeRussia  Wood,  son  of  Richard  J.  and  Anna  Judith    • 
(Shortt)  Wood,  was  born  in  Floyd  county,  Virginia,  May  16,  1869.     He 
received  his  early  education  at  Oxford  Academy  at  Floyd,  Virginia,  and    . 
then  entered  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  at  IBaltimore,  Mary- 
land, from  which  he  graduated  in  1893,  and  commenced  the  active  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  at  Martinsville,  Virginia.     Later  he  took  a  post- 
graduate course  at  Johns-Hopkins  Hospital  in   Baltimore,  and  also  the 
post-graduate    courses    at    the    New    York    Polyclinic    Hospital    and    the 
New   York  Opthalmic  and   .-\ural   Institute  in   New   York  City,   and   in 
1898  removed  to  Rocky  Mount.  Virginia.    In  1908  he  settled  in  Bluefield, 
West  Virginia,  where  he  is  now  living  and  practicing  his  profession.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Mercer  County  Medical  Society,  the  West  Virginia 
State  Medical  Society,  the  Virginia  State  Medical  Society  and  the  Amer- 
ican Medical  Association.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks.     He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  a  Presbyterian  in  religion. 
He  married,  June  25,  1909,  at  Portland,  Oregon,  Anna  Chapman,  daugh-   , 
ter  of  David  Emmons  and  Sarah  Elizabeth   (Pearis)   Johnston,  born  in   ■. 
Princeton,  West  Virginia,  May  25,   1876 ;  her  mother,  Sarah  Elizabeth 


^^2^'^^  s^-Q^o^-, 


WEST  VIRGINIA  357 

Pearis,  was  born  October  31,  1842,  and  is  a  member  of  the  family  from 
which  the  town  of  Pearisburg,  the  county  seat  of  Giles  county,  \'irginia, 
takes  its  name.  Children  of  David  Emmons  and  Sarah  Elizabeth  (Pear- 
is)  Johnston:  Loula  Adeline,  born  January  18,  1869,  married  F.  L.  A. 
Wilson.  M.  D.,  of  Bluefield,  West  \'irginia  :  Daniel  Howe,  November  4, 
1872;  Georgia  \'irginia,  January  4,  1874:  Anna  Chapman,  referred  to 
above. 

Amos  DeRussia  and  Anna  Chapman  (Johnston)  Wood  have  one 
daughter:    Sara  Pearis,  born  July  25,  1912. 

David  Emmons  Johnston  was  born  at  Pearisburg,  Giles  county,  Vir- 
ginia, April  10,  1845,  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry. 

His  great-grandfather,  David  Johnston,  was  born  in  the  year  1726,  in 
Fermanagh  county,  Ireland,  and  came  to  America  when  he  was  only  ten 
years  old,  as  cabin  boy  of  the  ship.  He  married  Nannie,  daughter  of 
Richard  Abbott,  of  Culpeper,  Mrginia. 

David  Johnston  Jr.,  grandfather  of  Judge  Johnston,  was  born  in  the 
year  1768,  and  married  Mrs.  Sallie  Chapman  Miller.  They  had  three 
children,  of  whom  Oscar  Fitzalon  Johnston,  father  of  Judge  Johnston, 
was  the  oldest. 

Oscar  Fitzalon  Johnston  was  born  in  1807,  and  married  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Isaac  French.  He  was  a  prosperous  farmer  and  business 
man  of  Giles  county.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  house  of  dele- 
gates of  \'irginia  from  Giles  county  in  1841.  At  his  death,  his  son  David 
E.,  then  but  a  small  boy,  was  left  mostly  to  the  care  of  his  uncle,  Chap- 
man I.  Johnston,  of  Pearisburg. 

David  Emmons  Johnston  attended  the  schools  of  Pearisburg  and 
Rev.  James  W.  Bennett's  school  in  ?\Ionroe  county  up  to  the  breaking 
out  of  the  civil  war.  Volunteering  as  a  private  soldier,  in  April,  1861, 
at  the  age  of  sixteen,  he  joined  Company  D,  Seventh  Regiment  of  Vir- 
ginia Infantry.  This  regiment  was  a  part  of  the  famous  Stonewall 
Jackson's  brigade.  He  served  all  through  the  war,  was  elected  sergeant 
major,  December  10,  1862,  and  was  wounded  in  the  battle  of  Williams- 
burg, May  5,  1862,  and  also  at  Gettysburg  in  the  third  day's  fight,  in 
"Pickett's  Charge"  and  left  on  the  battle-field  seriously  wounded,  and 
was  twice  captured — at  Gettysburg,  and  at  Sailor's  Creek,  the  latter 
occurring  three  days  before  Lee's  surrender  at  Appomattox.  At  the 
close  of  the  war  he  engaged  in  teaching  school  and  reading  law,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar,  locating  at  Princeton,  West  Virginia,  in  1867.  On 
February  6,  1867,  he  married  Sarah  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Daniel  Howe 
and  Louisa  Adeline  Pearis  In  1872  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney 
of  Mercer  county,  over  Judge  R.  C.  McClaugherty.  He  has  always  been 
a  loyal  Democrat  and  prominent  in  his  party.  He  was  elected  to  the 
state  senate  in  1878,  where  he  served  with  distinction.  In  1880  he  was 
elected  judge  of  the  eighth  judicial  circuit  of  West  Virginia,  which  office 
he  held  for  the  term  of  eight  years.  Upon  his  retirement  from  the 
bench,  he  formed  a  partnership  with  the  late  Dr.  J.  W.  Hale,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Johnston  &  Hale,  and  this  firm  enjoyed  a  large  and  lucra- 
tive practice,  being  one  of  the  most  prominent  law  firms  in  Southern 
M'est  Virginia,  In  1893  Judge  Johnston  removed  from  Princeton  to 
Bluefield,  where  he  resided  for  fifteen  years,  devoting  most  of  his  time  to 
the  practice  of  his  profession.  For  seventeen  years  he  was  the  attorney 
for  the  Norfolk  &  Western  Railway  Company.  In  1898  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  congress  from  the  fifth  congressional  district,  in  a  district 
with  a  large  Republican  majority. 

In  1872  Judge  Johnston  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  New  River 
Railroad.  Mining  &  ^Manufacturing  Company,  of  which  Dr.  John  B.  Rad- 
ford was  president.    The  charter  was  granted  by  the  legislature  of  Vir- 


358  WEST  VIRGINIA 

ginia,  and  the  authorized  capital  stock  was  $2,000,000.00.  It  gave  the 
company  the  right  to  construct  a  railroad  from  New  River  Depot  in 
Pulaski  county,  A'irginia,  to  some  point  in  Mercer  county.  West  Virginia, 
near  Camp  Creek,  and  made  ample  provisions  for  building  branch  roads 
in  Mercer  and  other  counties.  The  charter  of  the  New  River  Railroad, 
Mining  &  Manufacturing  Company  was  acquired  by  the  Norfolk  &  Wes- 
tern Railroad  Company,  and  in  1881  it  began  the  construction  of  its  New 
River  branch. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Pocahontas  coal  fields,  he  was  one  of  the 
ffjrganizers  of  the  Bluestone-Flat  Top  Coal  Company,  which  later  was 
known  as  the  Flat  Top  Coal  Company.  This  company  acquired  and 
owned  twenty  thousand  acres  of  coal  lands  in  the  section  near  Bluestone 
river  and  Flat  Top  mountain.  These  lands  were  sold  for  $105,000.00 
and  from  them  were  formed  the  following  companies :  Bluestone  Coal 
Company,  Crane  Creek  Coal  Company,  Indian  Ridge  Coal  Company, 
Wide  Mouth  Coal  Company,  Flat  Top  Coal  Company,  and  Rich  Creek 
Coal  Company.  During  his  residence  in  Bluefield  he  was  largely  inter- 
ested in  its  material  development,  and  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
following  prominent  Bluefield  corporations :  Flat  Top  Grocery  Company, 
Bluefield  Telephone  Company,  Bluefield  Hardware  Company,  Bluefield 
Building  &  Loan  Association,  and  State  Bank  of  Bluefield.  West  Vir- 
ginia. In  1908  Judge  Johnston  moved  with  his  family  to  Portland,  Ore- 
gon, and  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  that  city,  where  he 
now  resides.  In  religion  Judge  Johnston  is  a  Baptist,  and  has  been  prom- 
inent in  his  denomination  for  many  years.  He  has  always  been  a  leader 
in  the  moral  welfare  of  his  county  and  state,  and  although  he  has  en- 
gaged in  many  fierce  political  battles  which  tried  men's  consciences,  he 
has  always  borne  himself  as  a  high-toned  Christian  gentleman,  and  has 
been  respected  as  such  by  his  bitterest  political  adversaries. 

Judge  Johnston  is  the  author  of  two  books  :  "Four  Years  a  Soldier," 
a  rare  pen  picture  of  the  late  civil  war  as  seen  and  experienced  by  a 
private  in  the  ranks,  the  early  part  of  which  is  with  Stonewall  Jackson  in 
the  \'alley  Campaign — later  with  Lee.  up  and  down  the  Chickahominy 
■ — before  Richmond,  Gettysburg  and  C.  &  C. :  and  "A  History  of  the 
Middle  New  River  Settlements  and  Contiguous  Territory,"  a  book  of 
much  research  and  real  worth. 


Sampson  Thistle,  grandfather  of  Mrs.   Maud    (Thistle) 
THISTLE     Neuenschwander,  was  a  farmer  and  passed  his  life  upon 

his  estate  near  New  Martinsville.  Sampson  (2)  son  of 
Sampson  (i)  Thistle,  was  born  Alay  18,  1823,  at  New  Martinsville, 
W'est  Virginia,  died  in  1890.  He  received  his  education  in  the  common 
schools.  As  a  young  man  he  entered  mercantile  life  in  Sistersville.  built 
up  a  large  business  and  was  very  prosperous.  He  was  associated  with 
his  brother  Archibald,  the  firm  name  being  A.  &  S.  Thistle,  .\fter  the 
death  of  Sampson.  Archibald  Thistle  conducted  the  business  alone  until 
his  own  death,  which  occurred  in  1896.  Sampson  Thistle  was  a  worthy 
citizen,  respected  by  all  for  his  many  sterling  qualities,  while  his  cheer- 
ful disposition  and  his  readiness  to  look  upon  the  bright  side  of  every 
situation  caused  him  to  be  much  beloved.  He  was  a  man  of  great  kind- 
ness of  heart,  quick  to  extend  a  helping  hand  to  those  less  fortunate 
than  himself  and  to  speak  words  of  encouragement  and  cheer  to  those 
whose  strength  was  failing  in  the  battle  of  life. 

Sampson  Thistle  married  Dorinda  ^^'ells.  and  they  were  the  parents 
of  a  son  and  a  daughter:  i.  Charles,  was  for  several  years  engaged  in 
mercantile  business.     He  married  .Adeline  Graham  bv  whom  he  became 


WEST  VIRGINIA  359 

the  fatlier  uf  three  children,  and  his  death  occurred  June  20,   1903.     2. 
Aland,  who  became  the  wife  of  Wilham  J.  Neuensch wander. 


.\  man  whose  personal  history  is  interesting,  as  being  that 
AlARTIX  (if  a  life  greatly  altered  by  the  civil  war,  and  who  has 
achieved  a  high  position  in  the  world  of  commerce  which 
he  first  entered  through  necessity,  is  Charles  Carroll  r^Iartin,  the  banker 
,and  wholesale  grocer  of  Parkersburg,  West  \'irginia.  In  Parkersburg, 
West  Virginia,  as  well  as  elsewhere  in  this  wonderful  state  there 
are  two  elements  of  population,  diverse  in  origin,  but  now  harmoniously 
blended :  the  old  and  original  \'irginian  stock,  and  the  later  comers, 
largely  of  immediate  or  remote  New  England  origin.  Air.  Martin  is  a 
\'irginian,  his  great-grandfather  having  crossed  the  Alleghanies  and  set- 
tled in  Monongalia  county.  Despite  the  distinction  always  existing  in 
America,  having  its  roots  in  England  itself,  and  probably  deeply  underly- 
ing the  civil  war,  between  the  settlers  of  New  England  and  those  of  the 
South,  there  are  too  many  family  names  found  in  common  among  the  im- 
migrants to  both  sections  to  allow  the  belief  of  great  separation  in  blood 
or  in  family  position  and  characteristics :  some  of  these  names  are  so 
distinctive  that  the  New  England  and  Virginia  immigrants  must  be 
judged  probably  rather  closely  related.  Martin  is  not  one  of  these  de- 
cidedly infrequent  and  significant  names,  but  it  is  noteworthy  that  it  is 
found  as  a  Northern  name  also. 

(I)  Presley  Martin,  the  son  of  the  A'irginian  pioneer,  who  crossed 
the  mountains  of  Monongalia  county,  lived  on  Crooked  run,  in  that 
county,  not  far  from  Morgantown.  He  married  Margaret  Carter.  Child, 
Benjamin  Franklin,  of  whom  further. 

(IIj  Benjamin  Franklin,  son  of  Presley  and  Margaret  (Carter) 
Martin,  was  born  on  Crooked  run,  near  Morgantown.  He  married  Eliza 
daughter  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Tomlinson)  Harkness.  Her  grand- 
parents, both  paternal  and  maternal,  had  come  from  Maryland,  and  set- 
tled on  the  flats  of  Grave  Creek,  now  jNIoundsville,  \\"est  Virginia,  early 
in  the  eighteenth  century.  When  they  had  reached  that  point  the  In- 
dians were  so  hostile  that  they,  with  others,  had  to  return  to  Maryland 
and  it  was  two  years  before  they  again  ventured  to  occupy  the  block- 
house which  they  had  in  their  first  settlement  built  at  Grave  Creek.  Chil- 
dren of  Benjamin  and  Eliza  (Harkness)  Alartin :  Charles  Caroll,  born 
October  2.  1840.  at  New  Martinsville,  Wetzel  county,  Virginia:  Samuel 
R..  of  whom  further. 

(Ill)  Samuel  R..  son  of  Benjamin  Franklin  and  Eliza  (Harkness) 
Alartin,  was  born  in  Virginia.  In  his  young  manhood  he  moved  to  Mis- 
souri, but  in  1865  returned  to  West  \'irginia  and  is  now  living  at  New 
Martinsville,  Wetzel  county.  West  \'irginia.  where  he  is  president  of  the 
New  Martinsville  Bank. 


This   is  one  of  the  old   Protestant    families   of   the  county, 
APPEL     hailing  direct   from  Germany,  where  at  Hesse-Cassel,  John 
Appel,  the  earliest  progenitor  of  whom  anything  is  definitely 
known,  was  born.     He  was  a  carpenter  and  joiner,  of  whom  little  is  re- 
corded except  that  he  spent  his  life  in  the  place  of  his  birth,  dying  at 
about  ninety  years  of  age,  and  that  he  and  his  family  were  Lutherans. 
His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  is  not  known,  also  died  at  Hesse-Cassel. 
There  were  seven  children  born  to  the  pair,  none  of  whom  are  now  living. 
(II)   John    (2).  son  of  John   (i)   Appel.  was  born   March   18,   1827, 
at   Hesse-Cassel.   Cjermany,   died   at   Cumberland,    Alaryland,    September 


36o  WEST  VIRGINIA 

15,  1910,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years.  He  grew  to  manhood  in  the 
old  home  and  received  his  education  at  private  schools  in  the  vicinity. 
He  followed  his  father's  calling  in  the  old  country.  After  coming  to 
the  United  States  he  worked  at  the  same  trade  for  awhile  here,  and  then 
went  into  the  merchandise  business  in  which  he  continued.  He  wa>  a 
member  of  the  Republican  party,  but  was  not  prominent  in  politics.  He 
was  a  deacon  in  the  Lutheran  church,  of  which  he  and  all  of  his  family 
were  members.  He  married  (first)  Frederica  Hetzel,  probably  a  native 
of  Berlin  and  an  immigrant  to  this  country  from  Germany  with  the  re- 
mainder of  her  family.  Her  father  was  Philip  Hetzel,  who  becamr  .1 
merchant  tailor  in  Cumberland,  Maryland,  where  he  died  at  the  age  nf 
about  seventy-five  years.  Besides  Mrs.  John  Appel  he  had  the  following 
children  who  are  still  living:  i.  John  J.  Hetzel,  married  Anna  Barndnl- 
lor ;  lives  at  Martinsburg,  West  Virginia ;  eight  children.  2.  Mary, 
married  George  Schaffer,  lives  at  Cumberland,  Maryland;  ten  children,  j 

3.  Matilda,  married  John  Bauer ;  two  children ;  she  is  now  deceased. 
Mrs.  John  Appel  died  at  Cumberland,  Maryland,  at  the  age  of  thirty-two 
years,  having  been  the  mother  of  five  children,  all  of  whom  with  one  ex- 
ception are  now  living:  the  names  are  as  follows:  i.  Daniel  Frederick, 
secretary  of  the  new  England  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company;  resides 
in  Boston,  Massachusetts  ;  married  Mary  Horn ;  two  children.  2.  John 
Joshua,  married  Ella  Miller ;  lives  in  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  where  he  is 
in  the  real  estate  and  fire  insurance  business.    3.  George,  died  unmarried. 

4.  Philip    Melancthon,    of    whom    further.      5.    Elizabeth    Ella,    married 
Harry  JMiller,  a  merchant,  and  lives  at  Hagerstown,  Maryland.  Mr.  John    \ 
Appel  married  (second)   Anna  Myers. 

(Ill)    Philip  Melancthon,  son  of  John   (2)   and  Frederica   (Hetzel) 
Appel,  was  born  at  Cumberland,  Maryland,  October  6,  1864.     He  pas>cd  ; ; 
his  early  life  in  Cumberland,  receiving  his  education  at  private  schools  ;| 
there,  after  which  he  entered  business  life  in  the  employ  of  the  National  |] 
Tube  Works,  of  McKeesport,  Pennsylvania.     Later  he  became  connected  I 
with  a  tannery  operated  by  J.  B.  Hoyt  &  Company,  of  Paw  Paw,  Wi-t  : 
Virginia,   for  twenty  years.     After  the  termination  of  his   engageuKiit 
with  the  tannery,  he  traveled  for  a  wholesale  grocery  house  of  Alartin-- 
burg,  West  Virginia ;  and  then  returned  to  Paw  Paw,  where  he  entered 
the  merchandise  business  in  which  he  has  now  been  engaged  for  the  jia-t 
two  years.     ISlr.  Appel  is  a  member  of  the  Republican  party,  in  whiih 
he  has  been  politically  prominent,  having  been  mayor  of  the  city  of  Paw 
Paw  for  seven  years  during  his  former  residence  here.     He  is  also  well 
known  in  Masonic  circles,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Junior  Order  of  Amer- 
ican Mechanics  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  in  which  he  has  passed  all 
chairs.     He  and   his   family   are  members   of   the   Methodist   Episcopal 
church. 

He  married,  August  6,  1889,  Laura  Kate  Hedding,  born  Novemher 
15,  1868,  near  Warfordsburg,  Fulton  county,  Pennsylvania.  Her  father 
was  Noah  Hedding,  a  native  of  Academia,  Pennsylvania,  who  became 
a  merchant  at  Paw  Paw  where  he  also  practiced  law,  dying  at  the  age  ^f 
sixty-nine  years ;  her  mother.  Prudence  ( Tabeer)  Hedding.  was  born  at 
Hainesville,  West  Virginia,  and  is  still  living.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hedding 
were  the  parents  of  five  children:  i.  Laura  Kate,  married  Philip  M.  Ap- 
pel. 2.  Addie  Hughes,  married  S.  S.  Buzzerd ;  four  children.  3.  Janie> 
W.,  married  Minnie  A.  Kauft'man ;  two  children.  4.  Lilly  Eastboni, 
married  H.  W.  Disher.  5.  Elwood  Hooper,  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Appel  had  seven  children,  five  of  wh(im  are  still  living:  Guy  Hed- 
ding, Margaret  Prudence.  Helen  \'iola.  Philip  Melancthon  Jr..  Anna 
Hetzel. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  361 

This  name,  is  also  less  frequently  spelled  Coxe,  is  not  of  very 
COX  frequent  occurrence  in  the  United  States,  but  has  been  borne  in 
this  country  by  several  persons  of  distinction.  At  the  time  of 
our  first  information  concerning  the  present  family,  it  was  settled  in  the 
Panhandle  of  Virginia,  now  the  Northern  Panhandle  of  West  Virginia, 
where  the  old  Virginia  extended  up  into  the  North,  a  mere  strip  between 
the  states  of  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio. 

(I)  Cox,  the  first  member  of  this  family  of  whom  we  have  defi- 
nite information,  died  at  Wellsburg,  Brooke  county,  Virginia,  where  his 

life  was  mainly    spent.     He    married    .    Child,    Friend,    of    whom 

further. 

(II)  Friend,  son  of Cox,  was  born  at  Wellsburg,  Virginia,  died 

at  New  Martinsville.  About  the  time  of  his  marriage  he  moved  into 
Wetzel  county,  Virginia,  and  settled  at  New  Martinsville.  Here  he  was 
the  first  merchant  in  the  place,  became  a  large  land  owner,  and  was  a 
prominent  farmer.  For  twenty-four  years  he  held  the  office  of  county 
clerk  of  Wetzel  county.  He  married  Susan,  daughter  of  Samson  and 
Susan  Thistle,  who  died  at  New  Martinsville.  Children:  David  H.,  of 
whom  further;  Friend,  deceased:  Lina  Russell,  married  Josephus  B. 
Clark ;  Agnes,  married  Curtis  Priest ;   Ella,  married  Rev.  John  Jackson. 

(III)  David  H.,  son  of  Friend  and  Susan  (Thistle)  Cox,  was  born  at 
New  Martinsville,  Virginia,  August  21,  1846.  His  education  was  received 
in  the  subscription  schools,  and  he  entered  early  into  business  life.  Until 
1895  he  was  engaged  in  the  timber  business,  and  also  owned  a  saw  mill. 
In  that  year  he  became  interested  in  oil  production  and  is  still  active  in 
this  field.  Beside  these  interests,  he  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
glass  plant  at  New  Martinsville  and  is  a  stockholder  therein,  also  vice- 
president  and  a  stockholder  in  the  New  Martinsville  Bank.  In  1892  he 
was  elected  sherifl^  of  Wetzel  county,  on  the  Democrat  ticket,  and  he 
held  this  office  for  four  years.  Mr.  Cox  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  South.  He  married,  in  1867,  ^lartha,  born  in  Wetzel 
county,  Virginia,  died  November  30,  1907.  daughter  of  Samuel  R.  and 
Cynthia  Robinson.     Children :     Samuel  R.,  Charles,  Thistle.  Frank  W. 


This  family  is  of  Dutch  descent,  but  came  into  West  Vir- 
ROMINE  ginia  from  that  hive  of  trans-AUeghany  pioneers,  the  val- 
ley of  Virginia.  Peter  Romine,  the  first  of  this  family  to 
settle  in  what  is  now  West  \'irginia,  came  from  the  valley  of  Virginia.  In 
his  new  home  he  was  a  farmer,  and  also  followed  the  trade  of  cooper. 
He  married  Molly  Maddox.     Child,  Thomas,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Thomas,  son  of  Peter  and  Molly  (Maddox)  Romine,  was  born 
in  Wood  county,  \''irginia.  in  181 5,  died  in  1892.  He  was  a  farmer,  and 
also  a  manufacturer  of  brooms.  His  church  was  the  Baptist,  and  for 
thirty  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Sunday  school.  He  married  (first) 
Nancy  Rowland,  (second)  Hannah  Mitchell.  Children,  all  by  first  wife: 
Mary  Francis.  Matthew  N..  George  Rowland,  of  whom  further :    Eliza  J. 

nil)  George  Rowland,  son  of  Thomas  and  Nancy  (Rowland) 
Romine,  was  born  at  Ouakertown,  Wood  county,  Virginia,  April  2,  1846. 
His  education  was  received  in  the  subscription  schools.  In  1856  he  went 
to  work  m  a  tobacco  shop,  earning  four  cents  a  day.  Afterward,  until 
he  was  twelve  years  old.  he  worked  on  his  father's  farm,  and  for  the  next 
five  years  he  worked  in  various  ways  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  home. 
When  he  was  seventeen  years  old  he  walked  two  hundred  miles  in  order 
to  join  the  Confederate  army,  and  enlisted  in  Company  F,  Seventeenth 
Virginia  Cavalry.  He  was  made  prisoner.  November  12.  1864,  and  taken 
to  Point  Lookout,  where  he  was  kept  until  July,  1865.     Returning  to  his 


362  WEST  \'IRGINIA 

home  he  went  to  work  on  a  farm,  but  the  next  year  he  went  to  the  Big 
Kanawha  river,  near  Red  Hills,  and  rented  a  farm  for  one  year.  In  the 
spring  of  1867  he  came  to  Parkersburg,  West  Mrginia,  and  worked  there 
until  February,  1868.  Then  he  went  to  Big  Pond  Creek,  Wood  county, 
as  superintendent  of  a  farm.  After  his  marriage,  in  December,  1870,  he 
rented  this  farm,  and  built  on  it  a  new  ten-room  house.  Two  years 
longer  he  worked  this  farm,  then  he  moved  on  to  his  father-in-law's 
farm.  Later  he  moved  to  Gavin's  Fork,  Jackson  county,  to  a  farm,  and 
built  on  it  a  new  house ;  there  he  was  for  fourteen  years  engaged  in  farm- 
ing and  the  shipping  of  cattle.  He  then  entered  the  lumber  business.  In 
1899  hs  moved  to  his  other  farm,  his  grandfather's  homestead,  in  Wood 
county.  Having  acquired  an  interest  in  a  planing  mill  at  Parkersburg,  he 
ran  this  mill  five  years.  In  1902  he  built  a  house  on  Avery  street,  Park- 
ersburg, and  here  he  now  lives,  retired  from  business.  In  1890  he  was 
elected  county  commissioner  of  Jackson  county,  West  Virginia,  and  he 
served  in  this  office  for  six  years.  He  was  school  trustee  for  twenty^five 
years.  He  married  (first)  December,  1870,  Ellen  Flinn,  who  died  in  1876; 
(second)  1877,  Victoria  Flinn.  Children,  two  by  first,  others  by  second, 
wife:  Victoria,  Kate,  Edna,  married  Samuel  Jew-ell;  John  Wesley,  of 
whom  further;    Dixie,  Trixie.  Thomas,  Lucy. 

(IV)  John  Wesley,  son  of  George  Rowland  and  \'ictoria  (Flinn) 
Romine,  was  born  at  Flinn,  West  \'irginia,  February  20,  1881.  Having 
first  attended  the  public  schools,  he  studied  at  Washington  and  Lee 
University,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1904  with  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Arts.  On  his  graduation  he  entered  into  business;  for  one 
year  he  was  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  with  his  father.  In  1905  he 
iDCcame  a  traveling  salesman  for  the  Barr  and  Mills  Company  of  Zanes- 
ville,  Ohio.  Since  1908  he  has  been  one  of  the  younger  business  men  of 
Parkersburg,  engaged  in  the  wholesale  lumber  business.  The  year  fol- 
lowing his  entrance  into  this  business  he  took  into  partnership  G.  L.  Dud- 
ley, and  they  conduct  their  business  under  the  name  of  the  J.  W.  Romine 
Lumber  Company.  Mr.  Romine  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks.     His  church  is  the  Baptist.     He  has  not  married. 


With    tlie    settlement    and    development    of    every    new 
BEXXETT     country  there  are  always  men  of  superior  intellect  and 

business  training,  who  take  a  deserved  place  as  leaders, 
some  in  one  role,  some  in  another,  but  as  a  rule  the  ancestry  of  such 
men  has  liad  a  large  part  in  shaping  the  destinies  of  such  characters  and 
leaders.  The  Bennett  family  is  no  exception  to  such  a  rule.  Its  early 
ancestors  were  from  England  and  were  possessed  of  the  sterling  traits  of 
character  found  in  many  of  the  English  who  first  settled  the  United 
States,  before,  durmg,  and  after  the  formation  of  the  federation  of  states. 
1 1 )  Joseph  Bennett,  the  first  of  the  line  here  under  consideration, 
was  born  in  Xew  Jersey,  his  father  having  emigrated  (it  is  believed) 
from  London,  England,  and  served  with  General  Braddock.  Later  he 
settled  in  Pendleton  county.  \'irginia,  where  he  died. 

(II)  William,  son  of  Joseph  Bennett,  was  born  in  Pendleton  county, 
Virginia.  1775.  died  in  1857.  In  1797  he  purchased  land  in  Lewis  county 
from  George  Jackson.  He  married  Rebecca,  daughter  of  James  McCally 
(or  McCauley),  an  ex-captain  in  the  British  marine  who  resigned  to  join 
the  colonists  in  the  revolutionary  war,  and  who  lived  the  latter  part  of  his 
life  with  William  P)ennett,  and  he  and  his  estimable  wife  were  buried  on 
the  old  farm,  ^^■illiam  Bennett  came  to  Lewis  county  in  171;".  became 
])rominent.  and  --erxcd  on  the  fir^t  grand  jury  e\-er  empaneled  in  the 
.-ountv. 


'^^^^^^t^ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  363 

(III)  Jonathan  McCally,  youngest  child  of  William  and  Rebecca 
(JMcCally)  Bennett,  was  born  in  Lewis  county,  West  Virginia,  October 
4,  1816,  died  October  28,  1887.  After  obtaining  such  schooling  as  the 
locality  and  times  afforded,  he  was  appointed  deputy  to  the  county  clerk, 
and  was  afterwards  a  deputy  sheriff  of  his  county.  He  finished  his  edu- 
cation by  a  wide  range  of  reading.  He  studied  law  and  in  1843  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar.  He  became  the  first  prosecuting  attorney  of  Gilmer 
county.  He  formed  partnership  with  Gideon  D.  Camden,  who  later  was 
a  member  of  the  legislature,  judge,  and  candidate  for  the  United  States 
senate,  but  was  defeated.  This  partnership  continued  until  1852,  when 
Mr.  Camden  was  elevated  to  the  bench.  In  1846  Mr.  Bennett  was  elected 
fir.^t  mayor  of  Weston.  In  1852  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature,  taking 
the  seat  vacated  by  his  partner.  Mr.  Camden.  When  his  term  expired 
he  was  appointed  auditor  of  public  accounts  for  the  state  by  Governor 
Wise,  which  responsible  position  he  held  until  1865.  making  an  enviable 
record  as  an  official.  To  ^Ir.  Bennett  is  largely  due  the  fact  that  Weston 
is  the  site  of  the  Hospital  for  the  Insane.  In  1833  he  was  defeated  for 
nomination  for  congress  on  the  Democratic  ticket  by  only  a  small  margin. 
At  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  he  was  in  Richmond,  being  then  auditor 
of  the  state  of  Virginia,  and  continued  as  such  until  the  close  of  the 
war.  It  had  been  his  distinction  to  be  instrumental  in  securing  the 
appointment  of  "Stonewall"  Jackson  to  cadetship  at  West  Point,  and 
also  to  the  position  of  brigadier-general  in  the  Confederate  States  army, 
and  General  Jackson  tendered  him  a  position  on  his  staff. 

Returning  to  Weston  he  resumed  his  law  practice,  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  state  senate,  and  was  one  of  the  commissioners  appointed  to 
negotiate  with  Virginia  relative  to  the  division  of  the  state  debt,  preparing 
the  most  comprehensive  review  of  the  subject  which  has  ever  been  made. 
He  was  president  of  the  Weston  &  Buckhannon  railroad,  and  held  with 
credit  manv  prominent  positions  of  trust  and  honor  in  the  old  and  new 
state.     He  was  an  Odd  Fellow  of  high  rank. 

Mr.  Bennett  married  Margaret  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Captain  George 
W.  Jackson,  who  was  born  February  9,  1791,  died  in  Lewis  county  in 
1876,  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812,  who  was  appointed  first  lieutenant 
of  the  Nineteenth  Regiment  of  Infantry.  United  States  army,  by  Presi- 
dent James  Madison,  on  July  6.  181 2.  and  later  attained  the  rank  of  cap- 
tain. His  father.  George  Jackson,  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia  con- 
vention which  adopted  the  federal  constitution.  He  was  also  for  years  a 
member  of  congress  from  \'irginia.  and  a  member  at  the  time  of  the 
Burr  and  Jefferson  contest  for  the  prp=''^en^v.  Caotain  George  W.  Jack- 
son was  a  brother  of  John  G.  Jackson,  first  United  States  district  judge 
for  the  western  district  of  Virginia,  whose  first  wife  was  a  sister  of 
Dolly  Aladison,  and  his  marriage  was  the  first  ever  celebrated  in  the  White 
House.  His  second  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Postmaster-General  Aleigs 
of  Ohio,  and  also  governor  of  that  state.  Two  sons  and  two  daughters 
were  born  to  Jonathan  McCally  and  ^Margaret  E.  Bennett:  i.  Gertrude, 
wife  of  Dr.  Fleming  Howell,  of  Clarksburg,  noted  physician  and  author, 
a  graduate  in  1879  ^''om  Long  Island  College,  Brooklyn.  New  York:  has 
served  as  an  officer  in  the  county,  state  and  national  medical  associations 
and  societies.  2.  Mary  Lee,  wife  of  Hon.  William  D.  Bowe,  of  Baltimore, 
Maryland,  a  son  of  the  late  Governor  Bowe.  and  an  ex-member  of  the 
state  senate.  3-4.  William  George  and  Louis,  of  whom  further  mention 
is  made. 

(ly }  Hon.  William  George  Bennett,  ex-judge,  and  a  large  land 
owner  in  this  section  of  West  Mrginia.  son  of  Jonathan  McCally  and 
Margaret  Elizabeth  fjackson)  Bennett,  was  born  January  3,  1847.  at 
Weston,  West  Virginia.  Judge  Bennett  obtained  his  early  education  under 


364  WEST  VIRGINIA 

private  tutorship  and  at  private  schools  in  Richmond,  Virginia.  In  iSfiG 
he  graduated  from  the  Virginia  MiHtary  Institute.  During  his  sojourn 
there  he  saw  something  of  the  civil  war.  He  participated  in  the  battle  of 
New  Market,  witnessed  the  engagements  about  Lynchburg,  and  was  on 
the  firing  line  when  Brigadier-General  Hunter  destroyed  the  Institute 
buildings. 

He  graduated  from  the  law  department  of  the  University  of  Virginia 
in  1869  with  the  degree  of  LL.B.  He  was  the  first  member  and  fir^t 
presiding  officer  of  the  Alpha  Tau  Omega  fraternity,  president  of  the 
first  congress  of  the  same,  and  assisted  in  organizing  the  University  of 
Virginia  Chapter,  which  still  flourishes.  He  later  organized  a  cliapter  in 
Weston.  After  graduating  in  law  Judge  Bennett  came  to  Weston  and 
established  a  very  extensive  legal  practice  in  both  criminal  and  civil 
branches.  In  his  numerous  criminal  cases  he  has  never  had  but  one 
criminal  convicted  of  felony  whom  he  defended.  He  was  elected  circuit 
judge  as  a  Democrat  in  a  strong  Republican  district  in  1889  for  the  term 
of  eight  years,  and  re-elected  in  1898,  retiring  from  the  bench  in  Janu- 
ary, 1905.  As  an  evidence  of  its  appreciation  of  a  just  judge,  the  bar 
presented  him  with  a  magnificent  gold  watch.  He  was  defeated  only  by  I 
a  small  margin  in  1892,  when  a  candidate  for  governor  of  West  Virginia. 
He  was  nominated  by  the  Democratic  party  for  justice  of  the  state  su- 
preme court  of  appeal  in  1900,  and  at  the  general  election  received  a 
thousand  more  votes  than  any  man  on  his  ticket.  In  1912  he  was  the 
nominee  of  his  party  for  the  same  position.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the 
first  Democratic  state  convention,  and  has  attended  every  convention 
since  then,  and  has  been  chairman  of  the  Democratic  state  executive 
committee. 

Judge  Bennett  has  been  a  successful  business  man  as  well  as  a  suc- 
cessful lawyer.  He  was  one  of  the  promoters  and  organizers  of  the 
Clarksburg  &  Weston  narrow  gauge  railroad,  and  one  of  its  directors 
and  its  attorney  for  many  years.  He  was  also  connected  in  like  manner 
with  the  Weston  &  Buckhannon  railroad.  While  yet  a  young  lawyer  he 
was  on  the  State  Board  of  Hospitals  for  the  Insane,  and  was  appointed 
commissioner  to  assess  railroads  for  taxation. 

Judge  Bennett  is  probably  the  largest  owner  of  farm  lands  in  Lewis 
county.  He  owns  six  farms  comprising  over  two  thousand  acres,  and 
his  "Riverside  Farm"  is  known  throughout  the  entire  country.  He  is  an 
extensive  breeder  of  fine  blooded  cattle  and  standard  bred  horses.  He 
is  a  director  of  the  American  Association  of  Trotting  Horse  Breeders,  and 
director  of  American  Trotting  Register  Association.  He  enters  his  horses 
in  the  meets  in  West  \'irginia,  Ohio,  Kentucky  and  other  states  and  at  dis- 
trict races,  ^^'hile  he  still  follows  law  practice,  his  special  delight  is  in 
horses.  He  owns  a  fine  breeding  and  training  farm  at  Beltsville,  Hilary- 
land.  He  joined  the  Free  and  Accepted  ;Masons  at  Weston  in  1872,  be- 
ing a  member  of  Weston  Lodge,  No.  10,  and  has  held  most  of  the  offices 
in  that  body.  He  has  been  grand  master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  West 
Virginia,  grand  high  priest  of  the  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  and  grand 
commander  of  the  Grand  Commandery  of  West  \'irginia.  William  G. 
Bennett  Lodge,  No.  46,  of  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  INIasons,  at  ^^'alk- 
ersville.  West  Virginia,  was  named  after  him.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

Judge  Bennett  married,  in  1872,  Alice,  daughter  of  the  late  Judge 
John  Brannon,  of  Weston,  by  whom  six  children  were  born:  i.  John 
Brannon,  born  April  13.  1873;  educated  at  Episcopal  high  school,  Alex- 
andria, Virginia :  attended  Washington  and  Lee  L'niversity  and  Univer- 
sity of  West  Virginia :  graduated  in  the  law  department  of  the  last  named 
University  with  the  degree  of  LL.B.,   i8q6,  being  admitted  to  the  \\'est 


WEST  VIRGINIA  365 

Virginia  bar  the  same  year ;  is  now  in  individual  practice  at  Weston.  2. 
William  George  Jr.,  died  when  less  than  two  years  of  age.  3.  Hunter  M., 
born  November  30.  1876:  graduated  B.  L.  from  University  of  Notre 
Dame.  South  Bend,  Indiana.  1897.  and  after  regaining  his  health  grad- 
uated with  the  degree  of  LL.B.  from  the  University  of  West  Virginia, 
1903,  and  was  admitted  to  the  state  bar ;  is  now  practicing  for  himself  at 
Weston.  4.  William  Bland,  born  September  10.  1883  ;  educated  at  Fish- 
burn  Military  Academy  and  at  the  Virginia  Military  Institute ;  now  the 
active  farmer  of  the  Bennett  family.  5.  Margaret,  educated  at  Female 
Seminary,  Winchester,  ^''irginia,  and  at  Mrs.  Reed's  School,  New  York; 
is  now  the  wife  of  Robert  Grain,  a  Baltimore  lawyer  and  a  prominent 
Democratic  politician.  6.  Bertha,  educated  at  Forest  Glenn  Seminary, 
Washington,  D.  G. :  now  the  wife  of  T.  T.  \^andergift.  a  large  indepen- 
dent oil  operator  of  Garlyle.  Illinois. 

Goncerning  the  Brannon  family  of  which  Mrs.  Bennett  is  a  member, 
it  may  be  stated:  Alice  (Brannon)  Bennett  is  the  daughter  of  Judge  John 
Brannon,  of  Weston,  by  his  wife,  Amanda  (Bland)  Brannon. 
Mrs.  Bennett's  great-grandfather  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  a 
soldier  in  the  revolutionary  war.  Her  grandfather.  Robert  Brannon, 
born  in  Berkeley  county,  Virginia,  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
married  Gatherine  Gopenhover,  of  Frederick  county,  Virginia,  both  dy- 
ing at  Winchester,  A'irginia,  in  1851.  Judge  John  Brannon  was  edu- 
cated at  Winchester  (Virginia)  .\cademy.  studied  law  there,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  Winchester  bar  in  1846 ;  a  year  later  he  located  in  Wes- 
ton, West  Virginia:  he  was  a  member  of  the  legislature  in  1852-56:  mem- 
ber of  state  senate,  1856-61  :  initiated  legislation  creating  Insane  Hospi- 
tal at  Weston:  elected  circuit  judge  in  1872,  serving  until  1881.  He  was 
a  brother  of  Judge  Henry  Brannon.  who  was  a  judge  of  the  supreme 
court  of  appeals  of  West  Virginia  for  twenty-four  years. 

Anianda  (Bland)  Brannon,  wife  of  Judge  Brannon.  was  born  in 
Harrison  county,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Mary  (Newlon)  Bland. 
Thomas  Bland  removed  in  1817  to  Lewis  county,  where  he  died  in  1868. 
He  was  a  mem.ber  of  the  constitutional  convention  of  Mrginia :  served 
under  General  Harrison  in  the  war  of  1812:  was  deputy  sheriiT  and 
sheriflf  of  Lewis  county.  West  Virginia.  His  son.  Dr.  William  J.  Bland, 
was  his  deputy  sheriff  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  and  two  years  later 
entered  the  Medical  Gollege  of  Louisville,  Kentucky,  graduating  in  1842: 
in  1843  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Weston,  continuing  until 
1861,  when  he  went  to  Richmond  and  was  made  surgeon  of  the  Thirty- 
first  \"irginia  Infantry,  and  later  became  chief  surgeon  of  General  Wil- 
liam L.  Jackson's  cavalry  brigade.  He  served  during  the  entire  civil  war, 
except  such  time  required  at  Richmond  as  member  of  the  house  of  dele- 
gates. He  resumed  practice  in  Weston,  continuing  until  1892,  when  he 
removed  to  Glarksburg.  From  1881  to  1889  he  was  superintendent  of 
the  Insane  Hospital  at  Weston,  and  is  an  ex-president  of  the  West  Vir- 
ginia State   Medical  Society. 

CIV)  Hon.  Louis  Bennett,  youngest  son  of  Jonathan  McGally  and 
Margaret  Elizabeth  (Jackson)  Bennett,  was  born  at  Weston,  West  Vir- 
ginia, November  27,  1849.  He  attended  the  private  and  public  schools 
of  Weston  and  Richmond.  \'irginia,  and  was  appointed  a  midshipman  in 
the  Gonfederate  States  navy  in  1865.  After  the  war  he  attended  the 
Collegiate  Preparatorj'  School  of  Judge  Richard  Goleman  at  Fredericks- 
burg, Virginia.  Later  he  entered  the  University  of  Virginia,  graduating 
there  in  law  in  1871.  He  then  accepted  the  private  secretaryship  of  Pro- 
fessor Gharles  S.  Lewis,  state  superintendent  of  West  Virginia  free 
schools.  He  was  committee  clerk  in  the  state  senate  and  while  there  was 
appointed  principal  of  the  State  Normal  School  at  Glenville,  West  Vir- 


366  WEST  \'IRGIXIA 

ginia,  which  position  he  retained  three  years,  resigning  to  take  up  the 
legal  practice  at  Weston.  But  he  abandoned  this  idea  for  a  year  to  become 
principal  of  the  Weston  high  school,  having  been  appointed  such  without 
his  solicitation  or  knowledge.  He  then  took  up  law  in  earnest  and  soon 
acquired  a  large  and  successful  practice,  from  which  his  other  large  and 
increasing  business  interests  have  in  late  years  practically  caused  him  to 
retire. 

He  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  for  Lewis  county  in  1880  and 
re-elected  in  1884.  In  1890  he  was  elected  member  of  the  West  Virginia 
house  of  delegates  as  a  Democrat,  and  was  made  its  speaker  in  1891.  He 
has  held  many  offices  of  trust  and  honor  with  signal  credit,  and  has 
come  to  be  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  party  of  his  choice 
in  West  Virginia.  He  has  more  than  once  been  spoken  of  as  the  proper 
man  for  United  States  senator.  In  1904  he  was  a  Parker  and  Davis 
elector-at-large,  and  in  1908  the  Democratic  nominee  for  governor,  but 
was  defeated,  though  he  led  his  ticket  by  a  large  vote.  He  is  among 
the  largest  landowners  in  the  state  and  partly  through  his  realty  has 
derived  a  large  fortune.  He  is  also  extensively  interested  in  coal  and  in 
oil  and  gas  wells,  from  which  he  realizes  a  handsome  income.  Always 
loyal  to  his  home  city  and  county  he  has  ever  taken  a  leading  place  in  all 
that  tends  to  add  to  their  progress  and  welfare,  and  he  is  ever  ready  to 
aid  and  co-operate  with  those  of  less  affluent  circumstances.  He  has  sev- 
eral large  well  improved  farms  in  the  state,  and  delights  in  fine  stock  of 
all  kind.  His  is  truly  a  busy  life,  and  he  gives  personal  attention,  wherever 
possible,  to  each  of  his  many  business  interests.  He  is  president  of  the 
Lewis  County  Bank ;  president  of  the  Weston  Electric  Light,  Power  & 
Water  Company,  and  president  and  director  of  many  other  banks  and  cor- 
porations. He  ranks  high  in  Masonry,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  church.  Despite  his  business  activities  he  nevertheless  finds 
time  to  enjoy  the  lighter  side  of  life,  his  principal  pleasure  being  found  in 
travel  with  his   family. 

In  1889  Mr.  Bennett  married  Sallie,  daughter  of  the  late  James  and 
Ruth  Maxwell.  James  Maxwell  was  a  prominent  merchant  and  banker 
at  Wheeling,  West  Virginia.  They  have  had  three  children :  James 
Maxwell,  deceased:  Agra,  who  after  graduating  at  St.  Mary's  Hall, 
Burlington,  New  Jersey,  completed  her  education  in  Paris  and  was  pre- 
sented at  the  first  court  of  King  George  Y. :  Louis  Jr.,  a  student  at  St. 
Luke's  School  preparatory  to  college. 


John  Peadro,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom 
PEADRO     we  have   definite  information,   died   in  Randolph   county, 

Virginia,  in  1831.  He  was  a  farmer  in  that  county.  His 
death  was  due  to  an  accident  on  the  railroad.  He  married  Tacy  Butcher. 
Children :  John  Washington,  of  whom  further ;  Henry,  Mandeville, 
Lafayette,  Anne,  Elizabeth, 

(IT)  John  Washington,  son  of  John  and  Tacy  fButcher)  Peadro,  was 
born  in  Randolph  county,  Virginia,  in  1830,  died  May  30,  1902.  From 
Randolph  county  he  moved  into  Wood  county,  Virginia.  He  was  engaged 
in  contracting  and  built  bridges  and  large  buildings.  For  four  years  he 
was  assessor  of  Wood  county.  He  married  Amelia  L.,  daughter  of 
Thomas  H.  and  Sallie  (Saunders)  Brooks;  he  died  in  1867,  and  she 
died  in  1875.  Children:  John  Thomas,  of  whom  further;  Lucy  L., 
died  in  1900;   Rose  A.,  married  Speed  S.  Goodloe. 

(Ill)  John  Thomas,  son  of  John  Washington  and  Amelia  L.  (Brooks) 
Peadro,  was  born  in  Wood  county,  Virginia,  February  8,  1857.  He  was 
educated  in  a  subscription  school  and  m  the  public  schools  of  Parkersburg, 


WEST  MRGINIA  367 

West  Virginia.  For  many  years,  from  1879,  he  was  in  the  service  of  the 
Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  and  in  1897  he  was  promoted  to  be 
local  agent  at  Parkersburg,  which  position  he  held  for  two  years.  In  1901 
he  entered  into  the  fire  insurance  business,  at  Parkersburg,  and  in  this 
Mr.  Peadro  is  still  engaged.  For  a  number  of  years  he  was  assessor  of 
Parkersburg,  having  been  first  appointed  to  this  oiifice  in  1899.  In  this 
capacity  he  made  in  1900  a  re-assessment  of  the  Parkersburg  district. 
He  was  a  charter  member  of  the  Blennerhassett  Club. 

Mr.  Peadro  married,  November  10,  1908,  Daisy  Mathiot,  daughter  of 
Andrew  Clark  and  Ruth  Anne  (Dorsey)   Stephenson. 


Members  of  the  Williams   family  have  figured  promi- 
WILLIAMS     nently    in    business    life    in    various    sections    of    Ohio^ 

Ebenezer  Williams  was  born  in  Llanon  Caermarthen, 
Wales.  April  15,  1816,  died  August  22.  1886.  During  his  lifetime  he  was 
actively  engaged  in  coa!  mining  and  in  general  merchandising  in  Meigs 
county.  Ohio.  He  was  very  successful  until  1884  when  heavy  floods 
damaged  all  his  merchandise  and  flooded  his  mines.  He  married  Mary 
Thomas,  who  died  January  5.  1888.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  \\'illiams  had  eleven 
children,  John  E..  mentioned  below,  and  Gwennie,  who  was  the  wife  of 
David  Lewis,  of  Minersville.  but  is  now  divorced,  being  the  sole  surviv- 
ors at  this  time. 

(IT)  John  E..  son  of  Ebenezer  and  Mary  (Thomas)  Williams,  was 
born  at  Minersville.  Ohio,  .\pril  26,  1850.  He  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools  of  his  native  place  and  as  a  young  boy  began  to  work  in 
his  father's  mines.  He  learned  the  business  from  the  bottom  up.  begin- 
ningn  by  digging  coal  and  ditches  and  driving  mules.  He  displayed  so 
intelligent  an  interest  in  mining  and  was  so  ambitious  for  advancement 
that  he  soon  became  thoroughly  familiar  with  every  phase  of  that  in- 
dustry and  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years  began  clerking  in  the  store,  at 
nineteen  took  charge  of  a  coal  office  in  Portsmouth,  Ohio,  at  twenty- 
one  took  full  charge  of  his  father's  business.  In  the  year  1884  every- 
thing was  swept  away  by  the  immense  floods  in  Ohio,  all  the  mines  were 
drowned,  the  timber  destroyed  and  the  goods  in  the  store  damaged.  This 
caused  the  business  to  fail  in  1885  and  Mr.  Williams  compromised  with 
his  father's  creditors  on  a  basis  of  sixty  cents  for  a  dollar.  He  fought 
out  the  debt,  gradually  paid  it  up  and  in  due  time  built  up  a  new  business 
for  himself  out  of  the  wreckage.  Prior  to  1893  he  was  the  owner  of  a 
.inely  equipped  store,  a  prosperous  coal  mine,  several  barges  and  a  tow 
boat.  He  also  leased  and  operated  a  large  salt  furnace.  In  1893  the 
financial  panic  brought  things  to  a  crisis  with  him  and  about  that  time 
the  duty  was  taken  off  coal  and  salt.  This  combination  of  circumstances 
again  caused  failure,  but  I\Tr.  Williams  rose  bravely  to  the  emergency  and 
with  the  passage  of  time  managed  to  recuperate  his  finances.  In  1897 
he  came  to  Williamson  and  three  years  later  managed  to  obtain 
an  option  on  some  valuable  lands  in  West  Virginia.  This  proved  a  great 
investment  and  he  is  again  practically  independent.  January  2,  1910.  he 
opened  up  the  finest  grocery  store  in  Williamson  and  now  controls  the 
greater  of  the  first  class  trade  of  this  place.  He  is  the  owner  of  some 
valuable  real  estate  in  Williamson,  and  has  coal-land  interest  in  the  state. 
His  persistency  and  determination  to  succeed  in  spite  of  all  obstacles 
that  beset  his  path  show  him  to  be  a  man  of  unusual  strength  of  character 
and  of  sterling  integrity.  He  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  convictions. 
and  in  religious  matters  believes  in  the  Presbyterian  faith.  In  a  fraternal 
way  he  has  passed  through  the  circle  of  the  York  Rite  branch  of  Mason- 
ry, being  a  Knight  Templar.   Although  he  does  not  take  an  active  part  in 


368  WEST  MRGIXIA 

public  affairs  he  is  ever  on  the  alert  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  advance 
progress  and  prosperit}'  and  he  is  known  as  one  of  the  most  enterprising 
citizens  in  Williamson,  where  he  is  honored  and  esteemed  by  all  with 
whom  he  has  come  in  contact. 

On  February  8,  1876,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Williams 
to  Flora  Alice  Glidden,  born  in  Portsmouth.  Ohio,  in  185 1,  daughter  of 
Joseph  Mills  and  Eliza  (Young)  Glidden.  Children:  Elzie  Young,  now 
Mrs.  Harry  E.  Wolf,  of  New  Albany,  Indiana-;  [Mary  Glidden.  now  Mrs. 
D.  W.  Brown,  of  Huntington.  West  \'irginia ;  and  John  E.  Jr.,  who  is 
connected  with  his  father  in  the  grocery  business  at  Williamson. 


The  present  family  has  been  settled  in  what  is  now  the 
MARSHALL     state  of  West   Virginia    from  a  time   anterior  to  the 

close  of  the  revolutionary  war.  Aaron  Marshall,  the 
first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we  have  definite  information,  is 
thought  to  have  been  a  soldier  under  General  Washington  at  Fort  Brad- 
dock,  and  to  have  settled,  in  1760,  in  W'ashington  county,  Pennsylvania. 
In  1780  he  settled  in  Hancock  county,  Virginia,  on  what  was  known  as 
Johnson's  survey.  On  this  tract  of  eight  thousand  one  hundred  acres  his 
was  the  fourth  house.  The  deed  was  made  by  John  Gibson,  who  held 
power  of  attorney  from  Johnson  Gibson :  and  Johnson  Gibson  was  the 
man  to  whom  Logan,  the  Indian  chief,  is  said  to  have  made  his  famous 
speech.  Whom  Aaron  ^Marshall  married  is  not  known,  but  he  had  a  son, 
John,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  John,  son  of  Aaron  Marshall,  was  born  in  1782,  died  in  1859.  He 
lived  in  Hancock  county,  Virginia.  The  name  of  his  wife  is  not  known, 
but  he  had  a  son,  James  G.,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  James  G.,  son  of  John  Marshall,  was  born  at  FairA'iew,  Hancock 
county,  Virginia,  November  21,  1826,  died  October  6,  1902.  He  was  an 
attorney,  and  for  twenty-four  years  was  prosecuting  attorney  of  Han- 
cock county.  He  was  a  Republican.  He  married  Lavina  Miller.  Chil- 
dren :  Erastus  Dryden,  an  attorney  at  Chester,  West  \'irginia ;  Oliver 
Sheriden,  of  whom  further;    Ila  May. 

(IV)  Oliver  Sheriden,  son  of  James  G.  and  Lavina  (Miller)  Mar- 
shall, was  born  at  Fairview,  A'irginia,  September  24,  1850.  He  is  a  grad- 
uate of  Bethany  College,  class  of  1878,  and  has  been  a  trustee  of  this  col- 
lege since  1881.  He  has  served  three  terms  in  the  state  senate,  and  in 
1899  was  president  of  the  senate.  In  1892  he  was  delegate  to  the  national 
convention  of  his  political  party,  the  Republican.  His  church  is  the  Chris- 
tian. He  married.  September  8,  1880,  Elizabeth,  born  at  Wellsburg,  West 
Virginia,  daughter  of  Campbell  and  Nancy  (Hammond)  Tarr.  At  the 
time  of  the  outbreak  of  attempted  secession,  her  father  was  a  delegate  to 
the  Richmond  convention,  from  Brooke  county,  but  he  withdrew  when  Vir- 
ginia desired  to  secede,  and  he  was  prominent  in  the  conventions  which 
resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  new  state,  and  was  the  first  treasurer 
of  West  Virginia,  and  was  treasurer  of  the  provisional  government.  Chil- 
dren :     John,  of  whom  further ;   Olive,  deceased. 

(V)"  John  (2),  son  of  Oliver  Sheriden  and  Elizabeth  (Tarr)  Marshall, 
was  born  at  New  Cumberland,  West  Virginia,  July  28.  1881.  He  has 
received  an  excellent  college  education.  Bethany  College  has  conferred 
upon  him  both  the  baccalaureate  and  the  master's  degrees,  in  arts,  and  in 
1903  he  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  .\rts  from  Yale  LTniversity. 
His  legal  studies  were  made  at  the  LTniversity  of  West  Virginia,  from 
which  he  has  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  Mr.  Marshall  is  one  of 
the  prominent  and  rising  young  men  of  Parkersburg,  active  in  many  of 
its  diverse  business  enterprises  and  already  holding  an  important  place 


WEST  VIRGINIA  369 

in  public  life.  He  is  a  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Moss,  Marshall  &. 
Forrer,  formed  Jamiary  i,  1913.  He  is  a  director  in  the  Smoot  Adver- 
tising Company,  Parkersburg  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Ohio  Valley  Pub- 
lishing Company,  Parkersburg  Publishing  Company,  Electric  Supply  Com- 
pany, of  Parkersburg,  United  States  Roofing  &  Tile  Company,  and  other 
business  concerns  of  Parkersburg.  In  January,  1910,  he  was  appointed 
assistant  United  States  attorney.  He  is  a  member  of  two  Greek  letter 
college  fraternities,  Beta  Theta  Pi,  and  the  law  fraternity.  Delta  Chi.  He 
is  a  member  also  of  the  Union  Society  of  the  Civil  War  and  of  the 
Country  Club  of  Parkersburg.  His  political  party  is  the  Republican.  He 
and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Christian  church. 

He  married,  at  Wheeling.  West  \'irginia,  January  25,  1906,  Rebecca 
Cooper,  born  at  Wheeling,  daughter  of  Joseph  Fry  and  Emma  ( Senseney ) 
Paull.  She  is  a  descendant  of  Colonel  Fry,  of  revolutionary  fame;  her 
grandfather,  James  Paull,  was  a  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  West 
\lrginia,  and  Judge  Fry  was  her  great-grandfather.  Joseph  Fry  Paull, 
her  father,  is  president  of  the  V/heeling  Stamping  Works  and  of  the 
Fidelity  Investment  &  Loan  Association,  of  WTieeling.  Children  of 
John  and  Rebecca  Cooper  f Paull)  Marshall:  John  Jr.,  born  February 
22.  1908;   Joseph  Paull,  May  20.  1912. 


This  common  name  is  borne  by  many  families  in  the  United 
HALL     State  and  even  in  the  state  of  West  Virginia.     Many  persons 

of  eminence  have  borne  this  surname,  including  a  notable  list 
of  distinguished  ministers.  The  present  family  had  a  remarkable  record 
of  activity  in  the  civil  war,  and  affords  an  excellent  illustration  of  the 
way  in  which  families  were  conscientiously  divided  on  its  issues.  Special 
note  should  also  be  made,  in  any  account  of  this  family,  of  John  S.  Hall, 
who  lost  his  sight  as  a  result  of  sickness  incurred  on  the  "^larch  to  the 
Sea"  with  Sherman,  and  in  spite  of  this  handicap  was  a  teacher  in  the 
public  schools,  a  poet,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 

(I) ■  Hall,  the  founder  of  this  family,  died  at  an  advanced  age 

at  Duck  Creek  Bridge,  not  far  from  Baltimore,  Maryland.  He  was  a 
farmer  in  the  northern  part  of  England.  His  wife,  whose  name  is  not 
known,  and  whom  he  married  before  coming  to  America,  was  of  Scotch 
birth  or  descent :  she  also  lived  to  an  advanced  age.  and  died  at  Duck 
Creek  Bridge.  Among  their  several  children  was  Samuel,  of  whom 
further. 

(II)  Samuel  Hall,  son  of  Hall,  was  a  soldier  in  the  American 

revolution.  He  and  his  wife  died  at  old  age,  only  two  days  apart,  and 
were  buried  in  the  same  grave.  Their  sons  crossed  the  Alleghany  moun- 
tains, and  settled  in  Pendleton  county,  Virginia,  on  the  south  branch  of 
the  river  Potomac,  and  in  their  new  home  they  were  engaged  in  farming. 
Children  :  Thomas,  a  soldier  of  the  revolution  ;  Joseph,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  Joseph,  son  of  Samuel  Hall,  was  born  about  1741,  died  in 
1821.  After  the  death  of  his  first  wife  he  moved  to  Harrison  county, 
Virginia.  He  married  (first)  Barbara  Dickenson,  (second)  Elizabeth 
(Riger)  Talbot,  who  survived  him,  and  lived  to  the  age  of  eighty-seven. 
Children,  first-named  five  by  first,  others  by  second,  marriage :  David, 
John,  of  whom  further;  Samuel,  Thomas,  Nancy.  Catharine,  Jacob  R., 
Enoch,  Philip,  Phoebe. 

(IV)  John,  son  of  Joseph  and  Barbara  (Dickenson)  Hall,  married 
Elizabeth  Gregg.  Children :  Louis  Chestine.  Samuel  G..  of  whom  fur- 
ther ;  Thomas.  Nancy.  Elizabeth. 

(V)  Samuel  G.,  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Gregg)  Hall,  was  born 
in  Harrison  county,  Virginia,  in   1803,  died  in   Indiana,  in    1846.     The 

24 


370  WEST  VIRGINIA 

days  of  his  youth  and  young  manhood  were  spent  in  Harrison  county ; 
the  first  nineteen  years  of  his  married  Hfe  were  spent  in  Barbour  and  Ty- 
ler counties,  Virginia,  and  in  1842  they  moved  to  what  was  the  next  year 
formed  into  Ritchie  county,  Virginia,  taking  up  their  residence  on  a 
farm  at  the  mouth  of  JDog  Comfort,  on  Bond's  creek,  but  two  years 
later  they  moved  to  Indiana.  Mr.  Hall  is  buried  at  New  Buffalo,  Michi- 
gan. Mrs.  Hall,  with  her  three  youngest  children,  returned  in  1849  to 
Bond's  creek,  where  she  lived  until  1874:  from  that  year  the  remainder 
of  her  life  was  passed  at  St.  Mary's,  Pleasants  county.  West  Virginia. 
Samuel  G.  Hall  married,  in  1823,  Rachel,  daughter  of  Barton  and  Naomi 
(Ingraham)  Hudkins.  Her  father,  the  son  of  an  immigrant  from  Eng- 
land, himself  born  in  Randolph  county,  Virginia,  moved  to  Harrison 
county,  Virginia,  now  Barbour  county.  West  \'irginia,  and  thence  to  what 
is  now  Ritchie  county,  where  he  was  the  first  settler  on  White  Oak,  but 
soon  moved  to  the  Bond's  creek  side.  Barton  Hudkins  was  a  soldier 
in  the  war  of  1812.  Children  of  Samuel  G.  and  Rachel  (Hudkins)  Hall: 
I.  Leonard  Stout,  of  whom  further.  2.  Elizabeth  Gregg,  born  Septem- 
ber 25,  1825,  died  May  3,  1910:  married,  April  24,  1844,  William  Mc- 
Gregor. 3.  Simon,  living  in  Indiana ;  a  Union  soldier.  4.  Naomi,  de- 
ceased ;  married  Jacob  Bosler.  5.  Sarah  A.,  married  S.  P.  Howell :  they 
live  in  Indiana.  6.  Mary  J.,  lives  at  St.  Marys ;  unmarried.  7.  Nannie  P., 
lives  at  St.  Marys,  for  forty-four  years  she  was  a  school  teacher  in  \\'est 
Virginia  and  in  Indiana :  in  1883-84  she  was  principal  of  the  school  at  St, 
Marys,  the  only  woman  who  has  ever  held  this  office :  for  more  than  fifty 
years  she  has  been  a  Sunday  school  teacher ;  for  seventeen  years  she 
was  president  of  the  Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  at  St. 
Marys :  unmarried.  8.  Sacharissa,  deceased ;  married  Amos  Gorrell.  9. 
Rebecca,  deceased:  married  Wilbert  Rider.  10.  William  W.,  died  Sep- 
tember 28,  1884;  a  Union  soldier,  serving  in  Company  F,  Fourteenth 
Regiment  West  \''irginia  Volunteer  Infantry :  after  the  civil  war  he  set- 
tled in  Wetzel  county.  West  Virginia,  where  he  read  law  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar :  in  1870  he  moved  to  St.  Marys,  and  there  he  was 
prosecuting  attorney  fourteen  years.  11.  Allen  S.,  died  at  Fort  Sill, 
Indian  Territory,  in  1880:  he  was  a  Confederate  soldier,  and  he  and  his 
brother  William  W.  were  engaged  on  opposite  sides  in  seven  battles,  as 
they  found  in  comparing  notes  after  the  war.  12.  John  S.,  born  Septem- 
ber 15,  1845:  he  was  anxious  to  fight  for  the  defense  of  the  Union  in 
the  civil  war,  but  his  mother  strongly  objected:  however,  in  1863,  he 
slipped  away  from  home,  and  enlisted  as  a  teamster  in  the  Fourth  Bri-I 
gade  of  Tennessee:  he  started  from  Murfreesboro  with  Sherman,  on  hisj 
great  march,  but  was  taken  with  sickness  at  the  beginning  of  the  journey,-;' 
for  over  six  months  he  was  in  a  hospital  at  Nashville,  Tennessee,  and 
although  he  recovered,  his  sight  was  destroyed  by  his  sickness :  from 
1864  to  1868  he  attended  the  Institution  for  the  Blind,  at  Columbus, 
CJhio,  being  a  classmate  of  Chaplain  Cowden,  of  the  United  States 
house  of  representatives :  returning  from  Columbus  to  West  Virginia, 
he  passed  the  examination,  and  received  a  certificate  for  life  to  teach 
school,  which  he  did  for  seven  years  at  Highland  and  Cairo  in  Ritchie^ 
county ;  in  1877  he  wrote  a  novel,  which  was  published  in  serial  form  in 
the  lVct::cl  Messenger :  for  some  years  he  was  active  in  the  newspaper 
field,  as  editor  and  owner  of  a  paper,  first  called  the  Observer,  afterward 
the  Oracle,  at  St.  Marys,  but  he  sold  the  paper  early  in  1885  :  while  he 
was  teaching  school  he  studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  practice,  but 
has  never  appeared  before  the  courts :  Mr.  Hall  is  also  a  poet :  he  is  a 
Presbyterian,  elder  of  the  congregation  at  St.  Marys :  Democrat,  and  an 
active  political  worker,  having  been  chairman  of  the  county  committee 
and  served  in  conventions. 


WEST  \IRGIXIA  371 

( \'l )  Leonard  Stout,  son  of  Samuel  G.  and  Rachel  (  Hudkins )  Hall, 
was  born  in  Harrison  county.  Mrginia.  August  29,  1824,  died  at  New 
Martinsville.  Wetzel  county.  \\'est  Mrginia.  Xovember  18.  1875.  Before 
the  civil  war  he  was  a  member  of  the  \'irginia  legislature,  and  he  was  a 
delegate  to  the  Richmond  convention,  in  which  he  voted  for  the  passage 
of  the  ordinance  of  secession.  During  the  conflict  he  took  an  active  part 
in  the  affairs  of  the  Confederacy,  at  Richmond,  although  he  was  not  a 
soldier.  After  the  surrender  of  General  Lee.  he  moved  back  to  West 
Virginia  and  resumed  his  profession,  the  law.  He  practiced  at  various 
times  in  his  life  in  Wetzel,  Tyler,  Pleasants,  Ritchie,  Wood,  Marshall, 
and  other  counties  of  the  present  state  of  West  Virginia.  He  was  a  Dem- 
ocrat, and  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  married, 
April  13,  1846,  Jeanette,  born  in  1821,  died  at  Wheeling,  West  Virginia, 
April  21,  1904,  daughter  of  John  and  Susanna  (Blakeley)  McGregor. 
Her  father  and  mother  were  natives  of  Scotland :  for  fuller  account  see 
sketch  of  David  G.  McGregor  in  this  work.  Children  of  Leonard  Stout 
and  Jeanette  (McGregor)  Hall:  i.  Septimius.  born  February  14,  1847; 
member  of  the  constitutional  convention  of  West  Mrginia  in  1872,  after- 
ward served  in  each  branch  of  the  state  legislature ;  married  Fanny 
Anshutz.  2.  William  McGregor,  born  January  6.  1851,  died  June  6.  1906; 
lawyer  at  Xew  Martinsville ;  married  Sarah  Pemberton.  3.  Susan  B.. 
born  January  21.  1855;  married  James  W.  Xewman.  4.  Samuel  Bruce, 
of  whom  further.  5.  Ada  B..  born  September  26,  1859:  married  Wilbur 
P.  Baggs.   ^ 

(VH)  Samuel  Bruce,  son  of  Leonard  Stout  and  Jeanette  (McGregor) 
Hall,  was  born  at  Xew  Martinsville,  October  28.  1856.  His  early  years 
were  spent  at  Xew  Martinsville,  where  he  attended  the  common  schools : 
for  further  studies  he  attended  college  at  Waynesburg.  Pennsylvania,  and 
afterward  the  LTniversity  of  Virginia,  where  he  studied  law.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1880,  and  has  practiced  law  continuously  from 
that  time  at  Xew  Martinsville.  Mr.  Hall  also  has  important  business  and 
banking  interests  at  Xew  ^lartinsville  and  elsewhere.  He  is  a  director 
in  the  Xew  Martinsville  Grocery  Company  and  in  the  Crescent  Mill  Com- 
pany, also  of  Xew  Martinsville.  Among  his  banking  interests  are  those 
in  the  First  Xational  Bank,  of  Xew  Martinsville,  and  the  First  Xational 
Bank,  of  Sardis,  Ohio.  The  bank  at  New  Martinsville  he  was  instru- 
mental in  organizing,  and  he  was  its  first  president ;  he  is  still  a  member 
of  the  board  of  directors,  and  is  a  director  of  the  First  Xational  of  Sardis 
also.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  several  other  banks.  He  is  a  Mason,  and 
has  held  a  large  number  of  offices  in  this  order.  In  politics  Mr.  Hall  is  a 
Democrat,  and  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Xew  Ivlartinsville  board  of 
education  and  held  other  local  offices.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  commu- 
nicants of  the  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Hall  married,  May  11,  1887,  Kate 
Eveline,  born  at  Powhatan  Point,  Belmont  county.  Ohio,  daughter  of 
Thc'iidore  and  Lucy   (Davis)   Hornbrook.     Her  father,  formerly  a  mer- 

1   chant,  is  now  living  at  X'ew  Martinsville ;   her  mother  is  a  native  of  Mon- 

f  roe  county.  Ohio.     Children :     Kent  Bruce,  born  June  14.   1888 ;    Lucy. 

t:  February  4,    1890,    died   December   9,    1894:    William    McGregor.   July 

■  12,  1895'. 


While  this  family  is  of  Connecticut  colonial  origin,  its  south- 
JACOBS     ern  movement  began  with  the  American  founder:   it  was  in 

New  Jersey  in  the  time  of  the  revolution,  and  in  Mary- 
land very  shortly  thereafter,  and  the  present  state  of  \\"est  Mrginia  has 
been  its  home  for  about  sixty  years.  The  family  is  of  Welsh  descent,  as 
might  be  supposed  from  the  name,  for  this  name  is  one  of  the  class  of 


Z-72  WEST  VIRGINIA 

patronymics,  which  formerly,  according  to  the  usage  of  ancient  Greece, 
often  found  also  among  the  Dutch  immigrants  to  America,  and  preserved 
to  modern  times  in  Greece  and  Russia,  designated  merely  the  immediate 
parentage  of  the  bearers.  As  might  be  expected,  this  mode  of  designation 
was  found  to  be  insufficient,  and  surnames  came  into  use.  While  true 
surnames  were  used  among  the  ancient  Romans,  their  introduction  into 
England  dates  only  from  the  middle  ages,  the  exact  time  being  uncer- 
tain; and  in  Wales  they  were  of  much  later,  almost  modern,  introduction. 

(I)  Zachariah  Jacobs,  the  founder  of  this  family,  was  of  Welsh 
descent.  About  1740  he  came  to  the  American  colonies,  and  settled  in 
Connecticut.  Twenty  years  later  he  moved  into  New  Jersey.  It  is  not 
known  whom  he  married,  but  he  had  a  son,  Jacob,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Jacob,  son  of  Zachariah  Jacobs,  came  with  his  father  to  New 
Jersey  in  1760.  He  was  a  captain  in  the  New  Jersey  line,  in  the  revolu- 
tion, and  was  with  General  \\^ashington  at  Valley  Forge.  The  name  of  his  | 
wife  is  not  known,  but  he  had  a  son,  Gabriel,  of  whom  further.  I 

(III)  Gabriel,  son  of  Jacob  Jacobs,  was  born  in  New  Jersey,  July  7, 1 
1781,  died  in  Allegany  county,  ^Maryland,  October  11,  1848.  He  married! 
Margaret  Jackson,  born  May  27,  1783,  died  October  20,  1855.  Children,! 
twelve,  of  whom  one  died  in  infancy.  To  all  these  children  Biblical  names] 
were  given,  and  the  youngest  son  was  Cephas,  of  whom  further.  j 

(IV)  Cephas,  son  of  Gabriel  and  Margaret  (Jackson)  Jacobs,  was! 
born  in  Allegany  county,  Maryland,  January  8.  1826,  died  at  Morgtantown,j 
West  Virginia,  February  2,  1902.  He  was  brought  up  on  a  farm,  and 
received  the  education  possible  in  his  circumstances.  Until  1853  he  was  a; 
farmer  in  the  county  of  his  birth,  and  then  he  came  into  Preston  county,] 
Virginia.  There  he  continued  farming  for  sixteen  years.  In  1869  he-'i 
moved  into  Monongalia  county.  West  Virginia,  where  he  bought  a  farm,!] 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Monongahela  river,  opposite  Morgantown ;  herej 
he  was,  until  1891,  actively  and  successfully  engaged  in  agriculture.  In; 
July,  1892,  he  moved  into  Morgantown.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  | 
and  was  president  of  the  First  National  Building  &  Loan  Association,! 
of  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  and  a  director  in  the  Second  National  Bank' 
of  Morgantown.  He  was  a  member  of  Morgan  Lodge,  No.  4,  Free  andH 
Accepted  Masons,  at  Morgantown.  Mr.  Jacobs  was  a  Republican,  and| 
he  served  for  two  terms  as  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  Grant  district,! 
Monongalia  county.  West  Virginia.  He  was  a  Methodist,  and  a  member'! 
of  the  official  board  of  the  congregation  at  Morgantown.  Cephas  Jacobs! 
married,  April  10,  1851,  Ann,  daughter  of  Abner  and  Nancy  (Cor-; 
bus)  Ravenscraft.  Children:  i.  Thomas  Perry,  of  whom  further. 
2.  William  L.,  born  December  16.  1854:  married,  September  13,  1877, 
Nora  Belle  Koontz.  3.  James  G.,  born  July  21,  1858,  died  November 
21,  1858.  4.  Margaret  Virginia,  born  September  20,  i860;  married, 
December  25,  1883,  Rev.  George  M.  Kelly.  5.  Elmer  F.,  born  June-  ti, 
1866;  married,  March  7,  1895,  Ella  Wood. 

(V)  Thomas  Perry,  son  of  Cephas  and  .\nn  (Ravenscraft)  Jacobs.,, 
was  born  in  Allegany  county,  Maryland,  January  27,  1852.  When  he 
was  onl'  about  a  year  old  his  father  moved  into  Preston  county.  Vir-, 
ginia,  and  there  he  attended  the  old  Preston  Academy.  At  the  Univer- 
sity of  West  Virginia  he  took  a  full  collegiate  course,  being  graduated 
June  18,  1874,  as  the  first  honor  man  and  valedictorian  of  his  class,  re- 
ceiving also  what  at  tlie  English  universities  is  called  a  "double  first."  He 
studied  law  at  the  L^niversity  and  with  Berkshire  &  Sturgiss,  of  Mor- 
gantown. and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1875.  In  the  same  year  he  es- 
tablished himself  in  Wetzel  county.  West  Virginia,  and  herein,  at  NeWi 
]\Iartinsville.  h.e  has  lived  since  that  time.  His  practice  has  been  very 
successful   and  distinguished.     Five  terms  he  has   served  as   mayor  oi' 


^€> 


T-     ^^ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  373 

New  Martinsville,  and  in  1888  he  was  elected  judge  I  }f  the  circuit  court  of 
the  old  fourth  judicial  district.  Since  the  expiration  of  his  term  in  that  of- 
fice he  has  been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law.  and  at  the  present  time 
(1913)  he  is  referee  in  bankruptcy.  In  1900  he  conducted  the  summer 
law  school  at  the  University  of  West  A^irginia,  and  he  was  chosen  for 
the  same  position  in  the  following  summer,  but  was  compelled  to  decline 
on  account  of  professional  engagements.  In  1903  Mr.  Jacobs  was  elected 
dean  of  the  University  Law  School,  but  declined  the  honor  on  account 
of  his  professional  engagements  and  the  inadequacy  of  the  salary.  He 
was  appointed  regent  of  the  University  by  Governor  White,  and 
appointed  for  a  second  term  by  Governor  Dawson.  Mr.  Jacobs  is  a  Re- 
publican, and  represented  the  first  congressional  district  of  West  Vir- 
ginia in  the  Republican  national  convention  in  which  James  G.  Blaine 
was  nominated  in  1884,  for  president  of  the  L'nited  States. 

He  married,  November  27,  1877,  Eugenia  Alice,  daughter  of  Adam 
and  Elizabeth  Baush,  of  Piedmont,  West  A'irginia.  They  are  the  par- 
ents of  two  daughters. 


Charles  C.  Lee  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Virginia,  in  1817, 
LEE     and  was  engaged  in  diversified  agriculture  in  his  native  place 
during  the  major  portion  of  his  active  career.     He  died  in  1880 
at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years. 

(II)  Captain  William  P.  F.  Lee,  son  of  Charles  C.  Lee,  was  born  in 
Franklin  county,  Virginia,  in  1839,  and  he  passed  away  February  25, 
191 1,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years.  He  was  reared  under  the  sturdy 
discipline  of  the  home  farm,  and  was  educated  at  Trinity  College,  North 
Carolina,  where  he  was  a  student  at  the  time  of  the  outbreak  of  the  civil 
war.  He  volunteered  for  service  in  the  Confederate  ranks  and  became 
captain  of  a  company  vmder  General  Jackson,  serving  under  that  famous 
soldier  in  most  of  the  important  battles  fought  in  the  Virginia  valley. 
He  participated  in  the  sanguinary  battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  there  was 
wounded  and  eventually  captured  by  the  Union  forces  and  imprisoned  on 
Johnson's  Island,  Ohio,  where  he  was  held  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
After  the  close  of  hostilities  he  engaged  in  farming  enterprises  in  Frank- 
lin county,  Virginia,  and  in  1906  retired  to  the  town  of  Martinsville, 
where  his  demise  occurred.  His  noble  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Nannie  S.  Barrow,  survived  him  for  a  little  more  than  two  years,  hav- 
ing died  March  14,  1913,  at  the  age  of  seventy-one  years.  She  was  a 
daughter  of  Benjamin  F.  Barrow,  a  native  of  Henry  county,  Virginia, 
and  a  most  estimable  Christian  woman.  Concerning  the  seven  children 
born  to  Captain  and  Mrs.  Lee,  the  following  brief  data  is  here  incor- 
porated: Annie  Page,  died  in  infancy;  Charles  B.,  a  physician  and  sur- 
geon of  note  at  Glen  Jean,  West  Virginia;  Robert  R.,  likewise  a  physi- 
cian by  profession  and  is  located  at  Martinsville,  Virginia;  Lula,  wife  of 
R.  W.  Younger,  of  Lynchburg,  Virginia  ;  Annie,  wife  of  W.  C.  Turner, 
of  Roanoke,  Virginia;  William  L.,  mentioned  below;  Susie,  living  with 
her  sister,  Mrs.  Turner. 

(III)  William  L.,  son  of  Captain  William  P.  F.  and  Nannie  S.  (Bar- 
row) Lee,  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Virginia,  May  10,  1879.  He 
grew  up  on  his  father's  farm,  his  early  educational  training  having  been 
obtained  in  the  district  schools  of  the  time  and  locality.  As  a  youth  he 
attended  Ham])den-Sidney  College,  and  completed  his  academic  educa- 
tion at  Emory  and  Henry  College,  Virginia.  In  June,  1902,  he  was  grad- 
uated from  the  law  department  of  the  L'niversit}-  of  Virginia  with  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  He  entered  upon  the  active  practice  of  his 
profession  at  Rocky  Mount,  \  irginia,  where  for  two  years  he  was  asso- 


374  WEST  VIRGINIA 

ciated  in  his  work  with  L.  W.  Anderson,  Esq..  and  in  October,  1904,  lie 
came  to  Fayetteville.  where  for  the  ensuing  two  years  he  was  engaged  in 
practice  independently.  In  the  year  1906  he  entered  into  a  partnership 
with  R.  T.  Hubard  jr.,  the  firm  name  being  Hubard  &  Lee,  and  their 
jjractice  was  a  decidedly  successful  one,  representing  a  number  of  the 
large  interests  of  that  section  of  the  country.  j\Ir.  Lee  continued  a  mem- 
ber of  this  firm  until  his  elevation  to  the  bench  of  the  circuit  court  in 
lanuary,  1913.  In  November,  1912,  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  elev- 
enth judicial  circuit,  and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  was  a  Denin- 
crat  and  that  the  circuit  was  a  Republican  one.  he  received  one  of  the 
largest  majorities  any  judge  has  ever  received  in  the  state,  and  has  the 
distinction  of  being  the  youngest  circuit  judge  in  it.  As  a  lawyer  he  is 
of  pronounced  ability  and  he  is  making  a  splendid  record  on  the  bench, 
fudge  Lee  is  unmarried.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
order,  and  is  a  man  of  mark  in  all  the  relations  of  life. 


This  family  is  of  English  ancestry,  James  Taylor  Sugden 
SUGDEN  having  been  born  in  Yorkshire.  England,  October  5,  1837. 
He  came  to  America  when  about  twenty  years  of  age  and 
settled  in  New  York  City,  becoming  the  foreman  in  the  worsted  depart- 
ment of  the  carpet  mills  of  an  old  established  firm.  He  continued  with 
them  for  a  few  years,  after  which  he  removed  to  Thompsonville,  Con- 
necticut, and  subsequently  to  Amsterdam,  New  York.  In  the  year  1870 
he  entered  into  partnership  with  a  Mr.  Maxwell,  manufacturing  knit 
goods,  but  about  1900  he  sold  out  and  retired  from  business.  Politically 
he  is  a  Republican,  having  held  several  ofifices  in  local  politics.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Sugden  married  Elizabeth  L.  Smith, 
born  in  Thompsonville,  Connecticut,  December  19,  1849.  They  had 
three  children:  i.  Walter  Smith,  of  whom  further.  2.  May,  born  August 
7,  1882,  at  Amsterdam.  New  York,  deceased.  3.  Gilbert  Taylor,  born 
September  24,  1884,  at  Amsterdam,  New  York;  he  resides  in  Buffalo, 
New  York,  and  is  assistant  superintendent  in  the  malleable  iron  depart- 
ment of  the  firm  of  Pratt  &  Letchworth. 

(II)  Walter  Smith,  son  of  James  Taylor  and  Elizabeth  L.  (Smith) 
Sugden,  was  born  April  9,  1880,  at  Amsterdam,  New  York.  He  attended 
the  schools  of  his  native  city,  and  in  1898  was  graduated  with  his  class 
at  the  high  school.  He  then  went  to  Phillips  Academy  at  Andover,  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1899.  After  this  he  entered 
Harvard  University,  matriculating  in  1903.  He  took  a  subsequent  course 
at  Harvard  Law  School,  receiving  his  degree  in  the  year  1906.  He  came 
to  Sistersville  in  the  year  of  his  graduation,  1906,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  the  year  1907.  With  Charles  N.  Kimball,  a  former  classmate  at 
Andover  Academy,  he  formed  a  partnership  in  19 10,  making  a  specialty 
of  corporation  law,  this  being  a  branch  for  which  Mr.  Sugden  finds  him- 
self particularly  well  adapted.  The  firm  are  now  attorneys  for  the  Carter 
Oil  Company,  the  Southern  Oil  Company,  and  the  American  Oil  and 
Development  Company,  and  have  a  constantly  increasing  clientele. 

While  at  Harvard  Mr.  Sugden  was  extremely  popular.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Institute  of  1770;  the  D.  K.  E.,  the  famous  Greek  letter 
fraternitv  established  in  1770,  whose  requisites  were  good  fellowship  and 
cuhure:'of  the  Hasty  Pudding  Club;  T.  N.  E. ;  and  the  \'arsity  Chib. 
Mr.  Sugden  has  always  been  a  great  athlete:  true  to  the  inherited 
instincts  of  his  English  and  Scotch  ancestry,  he  is  a  great  foot  ball  player, 
and  while  at  Harvard  played  centre  with  the  foot  ball  squad  as  a  fresh- 
man, and  in  the  fall  of  the  years  1902  and  1903,  centre  also  on  the  \'ar- 
sity  team.     In  1903  he  became  manager  of  the  Harvard-Lacrosse  team, 


WEST  VIRGINIA  373 

and  was  instrumental  in  bringing  from  England  the  Oxford  and  Cam- 
\  bridge  picked  team,  arranging  the  schedule  for  their  tour  of  the  L'nited 
States  in  1903.  Later  he  coached  for  two  years  the  foot  ball  team  at  the 
Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  and  during  the  last  few  years 
has  officiated  as  referee  in  the  important  foot  ball  games  played  in  this 
state.  Mr.  Sugden  is  loyal  in  other  respects  to  the  traditions  of  England, 
where  many  of  his  father's  family  still  reside ;  he  is  a  vestryman  in  the 
Episcopal  church  and  orthodox  in  his  religious  views.  Politically  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Republican  party ;  he  was  delegate  from  the  Fourth  con- 
gressional district  of  West  Virginia  to  the  Republican  National  Conven- 
tion held  in  Chicago,  June  18,  1912,  and  also  delegate  to  the  National 
Progressive  Convention,  August  6,  1912.  He  is  a  thirty-second  degree 
Mason,  a  Shriner,  and  a  member  of  the  Scottish  Rite;  also  belongs  to 
the  following  lodges :  Phoenix  Lodge,  No.  73,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons ;  Sistersville  Chapter,  No.  27,  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  Trinity  Com- 
niandery.  No.  14,  Knights  Templar;  Consistory  of  West  Virginia,  No.  i, 
A\'lieeling;  and  Osiris  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  Nobles  of  the 
A! \ Stic  Shrine,  Wheeling.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  University  Cub, 
Wheeling,  West  \'irginia.  and  Harvard  Club  of  Western  Pennsylvania, 
of  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania. 


Berkeley    Springs   has   no   more   progressive   business 
ROCKWELL     man  than  William  Albert   Rockwell,  one  of  the  pio- 
neers of  the   fruit  packing  industry,  and  closely  and 
prominently  identified  for  a  number  of  years  with  the  leading  interests, 
both  financial  and  social,  of  his  home  town. 

( I )  Tolbert  Rockwell,  was  bom  near  Berkeley  Springs,  Virginia, 
and  spent  his  life  as  a  farmer  in  his  native  county.  He  served  as  a  sol- 
dier in  the  war  of  1812,  and  in  politics  was  a  Democrat,  but  never  held 
public  office.  He  married  Sarah  Wicks,  and  the  following  cliildren  were' 
born  to  them:  i.  William,  married  Jane  Adamanther ;  two  children, 
John  William  and  Sarah  Betrock.  2.  John,  married  Susan  Mendenhall ; 
sixteen  children.  3.  Elias,  mentioned  below.  4.  Edward  J.,  married 
Maggie  Hoover ;  four  children.  5.  Charles,  died  at  the  age  of  seventeen. 
6.  Rhoda,  married  Samuel  Michael ;  twelve  or  fourteen  children.  7. 
Lotta,  married  John  Grace ;  twelve  children.  8.  Elizabeth,  married 
George  Michael :  ten  children.  9.  Phoebe,  became  the  wife  of  Edward 
Rider :  seven  children.  10.  Tillie.  married  John  Kerns ;  three  children. 
The  three  daughters  last-named  are  all  living  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Berkeley  Springs.  The  mother  of  the  family,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  died  in  Berkeley  Springs,  and  the  father 
passed  away  in  Morgan  county,  at  the  venerable  age  of  ninety-two. 

(II)  Elias,  third  child  and  third  son  of  Tolbert  and  Sarah  (Wicks) 
Rockwell,  was  born  December  2,  18 — ,  near  Berkeley  Springs,  Virginia. 
He  received  his  education  in  the  district  schools  of  his  native  county. 
Like  his  father,  he  followed  agricultural  pursuits,  and  adhered  to  the 
Democratic  party,  but  never  held  political  office.  He  served  as  a  soldier 
in  the  civil  war  for  a  term  of  three  years,  enlisting  in  1861  and  in  1864 
receiving  an  honorable  discharge.  He  married  Maggie  Kiefer,  born  near 
Frederick  City,  Maryland,  daughter  of  George  and  Anna  Maria  (Gruby) 
Kiefer,  the  latter  a  native  of  Germany.  George  Kiefer  was  a  farmer  in 
Maryland  and  \\'est  \'irginia  and  died  in  ^Morgan  county,  aged  eighty- 
two  or  eighty-three.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rockwell  were  the  parents  of  the 
following  children:  i.  Flora,  married  William  Widmyer,  of  Morgan 
county,  West  X'irginia  :  six  children:  Isa,  wife  of  Charles  Webber,  has 
three  children,  Helen.   Edna  and  \'irginia:   INIaggie.  married    (first)    Ir- 


376  WEST  VIRGINIA 

win  Weber,  by  whom  she  had  one  child,  (second)  John  Ament,  no  chil- 
dren ;  Eugene,  married  May  Zimmerman  ;  Carrie,  married  John  Furnnw, 
children,  Clyde  and  Baby;  Estella,  married  Manas  Weber,  no  children; 
William,  single.  2.  George  Talbot,  died  young  and  unmarried.  3. 
Charles   H.,  died   in   infancy.     4.   Edward   Lee,   of   California ;   married 

(first)  Ella  Roberts;  four  children;  married  (second)  .     5.  William 

Albert,  mentioned  below.  6.  Lila  M..  married  David  L.  Harrison,  of 
Baltimore ;  three  children,  all  unmarried :  Ethel,  Lesley,  James.  7  Ber- 
tha, married  Joseph  P.  Hovermaie,  of  Berkeley  Springs ;  children ;  Nel- 
lie, Maggie,  Marion,  Jennie,  Silas,  Joseph,  John,  Anna.  8.  Charles  H., 
married  Edith  Widmyer ;  one  child,  Harry.  Elias  Rockwell  died  in 
Morgan  county.  West  Virginia,  March  17,  1903.  He  was  sixty-seven 
years  old  and  survived  his  wife.  Both  were  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  Mr.  Rockwell  serving  as  steward. 

(Ill)  William  Albert,  fifth  child  and  fourth  son  of  Elias  and  Mag- 
gie (Kiefer)  Rockwell,  was  born  May  13,  1865,  near  Berkeley  Springs, 
West  Virginia.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  the  neighborhood.  He 
began  his  active  life  by  assisting  his  father  on  the  farm,  afterward  going 
to  Baltimore  where  he  was  employed  in  the  shops  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  Company.  Later  he  had  charge  of  steam  heating  and  filled  the 
position  of  gateman  at  the  L^nion  Station.  After  returning  from  Balti- 
more to  his  native  place  Mr.  Rockwell  turned  his  attention  to  fruit  pack- 
ing, discerning  in  that  industry  a  field  hitherto  uncultivated  in  that  part 
of  the  country,  and  in  1899,  with  characteristic  enterprise  and  foresight, 
he  engaged  in  that  line  of  business.  The  undertaking  prospered,  his 
trade  increased  and  he  now  ships  his  product  to  the  middle  and  western 
states.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Berkeley  Springs  Mutual  Telephone 
Company  and  the  Bank  of  ?vIorgan  County,  being  also  a  stockholder  in 
both  corporations.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat,  but  the  only  office 
which  he  has  ever  accepted  is  that  of  town  councilman,  which  he  held 
for  two  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, in  which  he  has  passed  all  chairs.  He  and  his  wife  attend  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Mr.  Rockwell  is  a  fine  type  of  the  ener- 
getic, enterprising  business  man,  a  man  useful  wherever  found,  furnish- 
ing an  example  of  the  spirit  of  progress  combined  with  unquestioned 
integrity,  and  greatly  needed  in  every  community. 

Mr.  Rockwell  married,  September  15,  1887,  Elizabeth  Widmyer,  and 
the  following  children  have  heen  born  to  them:  i.  Lillie  May,  a  student 
at  Goucher  College,  Baltimore.  2.  Harry  Penington,  died  in  infancy.  3. 
Charles  Berman,  attended  the  City  College,  Baltimore,  graduated  in  1913: 
4.  and  5.  Albert  Leroy  and  William  Roscoe,  twins.  6.  Elias  Smith.  Alford 
Berman  Widmyer,  father  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Widmyer)  Rockwell,  was 
born  near  Berkeley  Springs,  where  he  is  still  living,  engaged  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits.  He  married  Sarah  Ann  Michael,  who  was  also  born  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Berkeley  Springs,  and  they  became  the  parents  of 
the  following  children:  i.  Elizabeth,  wife  of  William  A.  Rockwell.  2. 
George  Samuel,  died  in  infancy.  3.  Ella,  married  William  Keyes ;  chil- 
dren ;-  Odra,  married  Frank  Johns  and  has  one  child ;  Lola ;  Mamie ; 
Elmer  R. ;  Dorothy;  Norman.  4.  Carrie,  died  in  infancy.  5.  John,  died 
in  infancy.  6.  Edith,  married  Charles  H.  Rockwell :  rme  cliild,  Harry. 
7.  Pearl,  died  in  in  fane  v. 


The    family    of    which   Lewis    Largent,    mayor   of    Paw 

LARGENT     Paw,   is   a'  worthy  representative,   was    founded   in   this 

country  in   1600,   in   which  year  his  ancestor  emigrated 

from  France  with  a  colony  which  made  settlement  in  North  Carolina. 

John  Largent,  a  descendant  of  the  ancestor  above  named,  came  to 


WEST  VIRGINIA  377 

Hampshire  county,  Virginia,  in  1700,  and  settled  on  Cacapon  river  in  the 
extreme  end  of  said  county.  His  first  wife  was  of  Welsh  extraction,  and 
this  marriage  was  followed  by  three  others,  having  born  to  him  of  these 
four  marriages  eighteen  sons  atjd  six  daughters,  who  by  natural  drift 
scattered  over  a  wide  scope  of  territory,  married  and  not  infrequently, 
though  far  removed,  returned  and  remarried,  until  the  name  of  I.argent 
became  a  familiar  one  in  that  portion  of  Virginia.  Not  a  few  of  these 
ancestors  were  men  of  valor  and  native  talent,  and  participated  in  the 
early  wars  for  independence  and  previously  in  the  pioneer  conflict  with 
the  redman.  The  line  to  Mayor  Largent  is  traced  through  James,  son  of 
John ;   Lewis,  son  of  James ;    Joseph,  son  of  Lewis. 

Lewis  Largent  was  born  at  Forks  of  Cacapon,  Hampshire  county, 
Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  October  13,  1838.  He  was  reared  at  the 
Forks,  near  the  junction  of  Cacapon  and  North  rivers,  and  near  this 
point  in  the  early  settlement  of  the  country  was  a  fort  where  refuge  was 
had  from  hostile  Indians,  also  from  this  location  can  be  seen  Candy's 
Castle,  looming  up  from  its  base  on  the  bank  of  Cacapon  river,  seven  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet,  affording  some  very  romantic  scenery.  Tradition  says, 
one  Caudy  took  shelter  in  the  crevices  of  this  gigantic  rock  when  pursued 
by  the  Indians,  and  when  they  approached  on  a  narrow  ledge,  Caudy 
pushed  them  ofif  to  certain  death  hundreds  of  feet  below.  When  the 
civil  war  broke  out  Joseph  Largent,  father  of  Lewis  Largent,  was  in 
favor  of  the  Union,  and  his  sons  imbibed  that  sentiment:  Lewis  evaded 
the  sharp  watch  of  the  Confederates,  and  in  1861  crossed  the  Potomac 
river  and  went  to  Illinois,  where  many  of  his  relatives  had  previously  set- 
tled, and  during  his  stay  there  saw  many  regiments  of  Illinois  troops  leave 
for  the  front  in  defense  of  the  LTnion.  Among  them  was  the  Eleventh 
Illinois  Cavalry,  under  command  of  the  noted  Colonel  Robert  G.  Inger- 
soU,  the  skeptic,  who  was  captured  at  the  battle  of  Pittsburg  Landing  or 
Shiloh  ;   when  he  was  exchanged  he  resigned  and  left  the  service. 

When  Lewis  Largent  returned  to  his  native  state  he  located  in  Paw 
Paw,  Morgan  county,  where  he  was  engaged  with  a  mercantile  firm  for 
some  time.  Later  he  went  to  }iIontana  Territory,  going  by  rail  to  Corinne. 
Utah,  thence  by  stage  up  the  Malad  Valley,  forty  miles  west  of  Salt  Lake, 
passing  across  Idaho  into  Montana,  seven  hundred  miles  by  stage,  and 
locating  at  Sun  river  with  his  cousin,  John  Largent.  At  this  time  buflfaloes 
by  thousands  roamed  over  that  vast  unoccupied  region,  and  antelopes 
were  seen  in  herds  like  great  flocks  of  sheep.  Lo !  the  poor  Indian  was 
also  there,  still  maintaining  many  of  his  natural  characteristics.  Subse- 
quently IVIr.  Largent  returned  to  his  native  state  and  entered  the  postal 
service,  running  on  postal  cars  between  Washington,  D.  C,  and  Grafton, 
West  Virginia. 

In  1878  Mr.  Largent  represented  Morgan  county  in  the  West  Vir- 
ginia legislature  and  secured  some  very  beneficial  legislation  in  the  inter- 
ests of  public  education.  In  1879  he  organized  the  mercantile  firm  of 
Largent  &  Williamson,  conducting  an  extensive  and  lucrative  business  at 
Paw  Paw.  In  1888  he  again  represented  Morgan  county  in  the  West 
Virginia  legislature  and  aided  in  the  submission  of  a  constitutional  Pro- 
hibition amendment,  which  was  defeated  at  the  polls.  He  was  sheriff  of 
Morgan  county  from  1892  to  1896:  later  he  served  as  president  of  the 
board  of  education  of  his  district,  where  twenty  public  schools  were  cared 
for  and  comfortable  buildings  provided ;  was  appointed  a  deputy  United 
States  marshal  for  the  District  of  Columbia ;  did  service  in  the  supreme 
courts  of  the  district  in  1908  and  1909  during  the  pendency  of  the  Gomp- 
ers,  Mitchell  and  Morris,  and  other  important  cases.  He  was  a  delegate 
to  the  International  Grand  Lodge  of  the  World  of  the  Independent  Order 
of  Good  Templars  at  its  session  held  in  DesMoines,  Iowa,  in  1893,  where 


378  WEST  MRGIXIA 

sixteen  languages  were  represented,  and  whicli  assembly  was  presided 
over  by  Dr.  Oronhyatekha,  a  full-blooded  Mohawk  Indian,  a  man  of 
remarkable  ability,  tact  and  gentility.  In  191 1  he  was  re-elected  mayor 
of  Paw  Paw,  in  which  capacity  he  is  serving  at  the  present  time,  active 
and  earnest  in  all  that  tends  to  the  interests  of  his  adopted  town.  At  the 
present  time  he  is  retired  from  active  business  pursuits.  He  is  a  Repub- 
lican in  politics. 

Charles  Edward  W'cntling's  descent  is  German  on  one 
W'EXTLIXG     side, — the  father's,  and  on  the  other,  good  old   Penn- 
sylvania-American   stock. 

(I)  Jacob  Wentling  came  from  the  old  countr)-,  where  he  had  been 
a  hatter.  He  was  a  young  man  when  he  came,  was  a  Whig  in  politics, 
but  so  far  as  known  held  no  office.  He  died  near  Centerville,  Bedford 
county,  Pennsylvania,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years.  He  married 
(first)  a  Miss  Brandt,  (second)  a  Miss  James,  but  the  particulars  are 
indefinite.  By  these  two  unions  he  had  nine  children:  1.  Elizabeth,  mar- 
ried William  Laney.  2.  Nancy,  married  Henry  Bruner.  3.  Cinderella, 
married  Lenox  Ash.  4.  Sarah,  married  Joseph  Growden.  5.  Cornelia, 
married  a  Mr.  Hoffman.  6.  William  Henry,  of  whom  further.  7.  John, 
married  (first)  a  Miss  Davis,  (second)  Emily  Mackelfish.  8.  George, 
died  unmarried.  9.  Samuel,  married  Maggie  Bruner.  Of  these  only 
Samuel,  the  youngest,  survives.  He  lives  on  the  old  home  place  in  Bed- 
ford county,  Pennsylvania. 

(II)  William  Henry,  son  of  Jacob  Wentling,  was  born  near  Center- 
ville, Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  educated  there  in  the  dis- 
trict schools.  He  followed  the  business  of  farming  and  huckstering  for 
a  livelihood.  He  was  a  Democrat  politically,  but  not  an  office  seeker.  He 
was  of  military  proclivities,  however,  belonged  to  the  citizen  soldiery, 
and  was  buried  with  military  honors  just  before  the  civil  war.  He  died 
in  Bedford  county.  Pennsylvania,  March  11,  i860,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
nine  years.  He  married  Elizabeth  .Ann  Huffman,  born  near  Cumber- 
land, Allegany  county,  Maryland.  December  19,  1833,  died  August  17, 
1871,  at  the  age  of  thirty-eight,  daughter  of  Edward,  a  farmer,  and 
Sophia  (Rizer)  Huffman.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wentling  had  three  children: 
I.  William  Franklin,  married  Jennie  Davis;  lives  in  Cumberland,  Mary- 
land, with  a  family  of  ten  children.  2.  Francis  Marion,  died  at  the  age 
of  twenty  years.     3.  Charles  Edward,  of  whom  further. 

(Ill)'  (Tharles  Edward,  son  of  William  Henry  Wentling,  was  born 
near  Centerville,  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania,  January  28.  1858.  He 
remained  there,  living  with  Sophia  Huffman,  his  grandmother,  farming 
and  going  to  school  until  his  sixteenth  year.  He  then  attended  schools 
in  Allegany  county,  Maryland,  and  in  Hampshire  county.  West  \'ir- 
ginia,  until  in  his  young  manhood  he  came  to  Paw  Paw  to  live.  Here  at 
first  he  followed  the  tannery  line :  then  he  clerked  for  Wilson  &  Fisher ; 
then  he  engaged  in  business  under  the  name  of  Wentling  &  Hinkle,  in  the 
merchandising  line.  This  firm  continued  with  success  for  five  years  when 
C.  E.  Wentling  became  its  .successor.  Mr.  \\'entling  is  a  Republican  and 
takes  an  active  interest  in  politics.  He  has  been  mayor  of  Paw  Paw  two 
years,  and  is  now  a  member  of  the  district  school  board.  He  is  an  Odd 
Fellow,  who  has  honored  all  the  chairs.     He  is  of  the  Methodist  faith. 

He  married,  August  14,  1878.  Miranda  Cothern  Dickens,  whose 
father,  Thomas  Dickens,  was  a  farmer  of  Centerville,  Bedford  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  father  of  seven  children.  Mr.  Wentling  and  wife 
are  the  parents  also  of  that  numl)er,  namely:  i.  Ethel,  wife  of  Lambert 
Henderson,  of  Elko,  Nevada.     2.  Mamie  Elizabeth,  married  Gilliert  H. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  379 

Friend,  of  Cumberland,  Alaryland ;  two  children.  3.  Oliver,  married 
Clara  Shadd,  and  lives  in  Paw  Paw.  4.  Mary  Eliza,  of  Elko,  Nevada. 
S.  Grace.    6.  Atlee  P.     7.  Ruth.     The  last  three  still  remain  at  home. 


Nathaniel   Lewis   was  a  native  of   \\  ales,    from  whence  he 
LEWIS     came  to  this  country,  settling  in  ^Massachusetts.     He  mar- 
ried and  had  a  son  Asa,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Asa,  son  of  Nathaniel  Lewis,  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts. 
He  came  to  Baltimore  after  his  school  days ;  went  from  thence  to 
Frederick  county,  Maryland,  and  then  to  Hancock,  Maryland, 
where  he  was  in  business  for  a  number  of  years.  He  put  in  the  locks  on 
the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  canal.  He  was  a  Whig  in  politics,  but  never  held 
office,  and  he  died  at  Willet"s  Run,  West  Virginia,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
two.  He  married  (first)  in  ^Massachusetts,  ;  (second)  in  Mary- 
land, Hannah  Barnes,  a  native  of  Towsontown,  a  suburb  of  Baltimore. 
Her  father  was  Bruce  Barnes,  a  farmer  of  Baltimore  county.  She  had 
four  brothers  of  whom  Joshua,  the  second,  was  sheriff  of  Baltimore 
county  for  eleven  years.  The  children  of  Asa  Lewis  and  his  wife  Han- 
nah numbered  ten,  and  were  named  as  follows:  i.  Sally,  died  in  infancy. 
2.  Alary,  died  in  infancy.  3.  Samuel  Alter,  married  twice  and  had  one 
child  by  the  first  union,  and  four  by  the  second.  4.  Rose  Ann,  died  un- 
married.    5.  Asa,  married   (first)  ;  six  children;  married   (second) 

Ann  (Lickity)  Lewis;  six  children;  still  lives  with  her  children  in  Paw 
Paw.  6.  Joshua  D.,  of  whom  further.  7.  John  W.,  married  Mary  Syp- 
hole;    thirteen  children.     8.   Nannie  J.,  wife  of   M.   Frank   Kissler.     9. 

James  T.     10. ,  now  deceased.    Of  these  sons  and  daughters,  all  but 

Asa  and  Joshua  D.  have  passed  away.  The  mother  died  in  Paw  Paw,  at 
the  age  of  seventy-two  years. 

( III )  Joshua  Decatur,  son  of  Asa  Lewis,  was  born  in  Hancock,  Wash- 
ington county,  Maryland,  November  25,  1841,  so  that  he  is  now  in  his 
seventy-third  year.  His  earlier  years  were  spent  in  Morgan  county.  West 
Virginia.  He  went  to  pay  school  as  a  boy  at  Great  Cacapon,  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  on  finishing  there  commenced  his  career  in  the  railroad  line 
with  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio.  He  was  with  that  company  forty-two  years, 
and  is  now  retired  with  a  pension  for  faithful  service,  a  fact  of  which  he 
is  justly  proud.  He  conducts  at  present  a  store  in  Paw  Paw.  Mr.  Lewis 
is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order.  He  is  a 
member  also  of  the  Evangelical  Association,  and  subscribes  to  that  form 
of  religious  faith. 

Mr.  Lewis  married,  November  7,  t8"2,  .^nn  Elva  Luttrell,  born  March 
I,  1851,  in  Canady.  Alorgan  county.  \\i, st  \  irginia,  daughter  of  Leon- 
ard Luttrell,  a  cooper,  formerly  of  Timber  Ridge,  Frederick  county,  Vir- 
ginia, who  was  killed  by  a  train  at  Paw  Paw  at  the  age  of  eighty-four 
years.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth  ( Youngblood )  Luttrell,  born  near  IBerke- 
ley  Springs.  Air.  and  Mrs.  Lewis  are  the  parents  of  eight  children:  i. 
Rose  Ann,  married  John  Thomas  ;  lives  at  Davis,  West  Virginia  ;  no  chil- 
dren. 2.  James  Harrison,  deceased.  3.  Martha  Elizabeth,  deceased ; 
married  Robert  Kidwell,  who  lives  in  Paw  Paw ;  e.ight  children.  4. 
Joshua  Bayson,  deceased.  5.  John  Oliver,  deceased.  6.  Floyd  Sylvester, 
after  various  experiences  in  the  railroad  and  manufacturing  lines,  is 
now  a  barber  in  New  York.  7.  Lizzie  ( )rrena,  resides  at  home.  8.  Maude 
Malinda,  resides  at  home. 


38o  WEST  VIRGINIA 

The   observant   traveler   from   Grafton   to   Parkersburg, 
LA]\IBERT     over  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  line,  forming  part  of  their 

route  from  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and 
Washington  to  Cincinnati,  Louisville,  and  St.  Louis,  while  noting  the 
hills  and  tunnels,  will  have  his  attention  arrested  by  a  sign  inviting  him 
to  make  his  abode  at  Lamberton  and  grow  up  with  the  place.  The  found- 
er of  Lamberton  is  a  descendant  of  old  Virginia,  though,  as  so  often  oc- 
curs, the  same  name  is  found  in  the  New  England  states  also.  The  name 
is  an  old  one  in  Great  Britain.  In  this  instance,  however,  the  interest  is 
chiefly  in  the  very  newest  and  latest,  the  intensely  modern,  whatever  the 
background  of  antiquity  on  which  the  family  history  rests  may  be. 

CI)  Isaac  C.  Lambert,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom 
we  have  definite  information,  was  born  in  A'irginia,  in  that  part  which  is 
still  Virginia,  and  died  at  Ellenboro,  Ritchie  county.  West  Virginia.  Com- 
ing in  1844  from  Harrison  county  into  Ritchie  county  he  settled  at  Ellen- 
boro. He  married  Katharine  Crable.  Children:  i.  Joseph,  born  July  31, 
1821,  died  in   1906:  married,   September    i,    1846,   Margaret  Lynch.     2. 

David,  of  whom  further.    3.  Aladison.    4.  M.  M.     5.  Anna,  married 

Maxwell.      6.    \'irginia.    deceased ;    married   Byrd.      7.    Katharine, 

married  Lynch.     8.  Elizabeth,  deceased :  unmarried. 

(II)  David,  son  of  Isaac  C.  and  Katharine  (Crable)  Lambert,  was 
born  in  the  valley  of  Virginia.  He  married  Katharine  Sunner.  Child, 
Isaac  Henry,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  Isaac  Henry,  son  of  David  and  Katharine  (Sunner)  Lambert, 
was  born  in  Virginia,  in  1848,  died  in  1907.  In  his  young  manhood  he 
bought  a  farm  and  here  he  raised  stock ;  he  was  also  interested  in  the 
oil  development.  He  had  the  reputation  of  being  the  hardest  working 
man  in  Ritchie  county.  He  married,  in  1876,  Mary  A.,  daughter  of 
David  and  Jane  (  Marsh)  McGinnis,  of  Mole  Hill,  Ritchie  county.  West 
Virginia.  Children:  i.  Harry  L.,  of  whom  further.  2.  Emma,  born  in 
1883.  3.  Thomas,  born  in  1885  ;  teacher  in  the  high  school  at  Pennsboro. 
4.  Levi,  born  in  1889.     5.  Oscar  P.,  born  in  1890. 

(IV)  Harry  L.,  son  of  Isaac  Henry  and  Mary  A.  (McGinnis)  Lam- 
bert, was  born  at  Pennsboro,  Ritchie  county,  West  Virginia,  July  14, 
1882.  For  sixteen  years  he  lived  on  a  farm,  and  he  received  a  common 
school  education.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  started  in  business  for  him- 
self, at  Middlebourne,  Tyler  county.  West  Virginia,  working  in  a  drug 
store  for  one  dollar  a  week  and  his  board.  In  that  position  he  remained 
for  six  months.  Then  he  came  to  Cairo,  Ritchie  county.  West  Virginia, 
in  the  employment  of  the  Bufifalo  Oil  Company.  Later  he  organized  a 
company,  holding  the  controlling  interest  in  the  stock  and  drilled  a  num- 
ber of  dry  holes.  Leases  which  he  held  enabled  him  to  come  out  even 
from  this  venture.  Abandoning  the  oil  business,  he  went  into  the  manu- 
facture of  suspenders,  with  a  capital  of  sixty-five  dollars.  In  one  year 
he  cleared  eight  hundred  dollars.  The  next  year  he  opened  a  millinery 
store,  and  in  three  years  he  had  lost  in  this  business  all  that  he  had 
gained  in  the  suspender  business.  On  June  i.  1903,  he  went  to  Philippi, 
Barbour  county.  West  Mrginia.  and  within  twenty-four  hours  he  sold 
ten  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  stock  in  the  suspender  business,  having 
organized  a  company,  to  forty-eight  people.  For  six  years  he  lived  at 
Philippi.  During  the  first  year  of  his  residence  there  he  invested  twenty- 
five  dollars  in  a  pool  room  and  bowling  alley,  and  in  five  years  he  cleared 
eleven  thousand  dollars.  During  this  period  he  opened  a  number  of 
amusement  places  of  similar  nature  and  all  were  profitable.  He  also 
purchased  a  large  number  of  bankrupt  stores,  and  made  money  in  every 
instance.  The  first  of  these  he  purchased  on  credit  and  by  careful  busi- 
ness management  was  enabled  to  meet   the  obligation  before  the  same 


WEST  VIRGINIA  381 

came  due,  besides  making  a  clear  profit  of  over  one  thousand  dollars  in 
one  week's  time.  For  a  while  he  owned  more  stores  in  West  X'irginia 
than  any  other  man. 

Disposing  of  his  interests  in  these  stores,  Mr.  Lambert  moved  to 
Pennsboro  and  opened  one  large  store.  Later,  in  1909,  he  organized  the 
Lambert  Oil  &  Gas  Company.  The  first  well  drilled  was  a  dry  hole,  and 
he  had  hard  work  to  persuade  the  others  in  the  company  to  drill  another 
well.  However,  a  second  drill  was  made,  and  resulted  in  a  good  gas 
well :  the  company  was  able  soon  to  pay  monthly  dividends.  IMr.  Lam- 
bert organized  another  oil  company  in  the  same  year,  known  as  the  No 
Name  Oil  Company,  which  drilled  a  good  gas  well  on  property  owned 
by  himself;  he  is  now  president  and  manager  of  this  company. 

At  Pennsboro  he  made  several  efforts  to  boom  the  town,  and  organ- 
ized a  board  of  trade.  But  not  finding  the  people  sufficiently  responsive 
to  his  efforts,  he  determined  to  build  a  town  of  his  own,  as  he  already 
had  his  own  gas  company  and  fuel.  For  a  site  he  bought  the  farm  of 
his  uncle,  G.  W.  Lambert,  known  as  the  old  Lambert  homestead.  Then 
he  began  the  quest  for  factories.  In  1910  he  met  a  man  with  a  patent 
known  as  the  Undercurrent  System  of  Electric  Traction.  This  is  for 
use  on  transportation  lines,  and  does  away  with  the  overhead  wires  and 
poles  and  all  danger  in  the  street  car  business ;  the  current  is  conveyed 
imder  the  cars,  and  connections  are  made  by  the  aid  of  electric  magnets 
and  broken  gravitation.  The  inventor  of  this  patent  was  without  funds 
at  that  time ;  Mr.  Lambert  contracted  with  the  Undercurrent  Company  to 
give  them  a  free  site  for  a  factory  and  to  furnish  their  fuel  and  finance 
the  company.  In  191 1  he  began  to  raise  the  money.  In  that  year,  on  the 
fourth  of  July,  a  celebration  was  held  on  the  site  of  Lamberton  with  a 
sale  of  lots.  Many  thousands  of  people  were  present,  and  the  sale  was  a 
success.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  financing  had  been  difficult,  the  pres- 
ident of  the  company  and  the  inventor  undertook  to  possess  the  com- 
pany;  but  Mr.  Lambert  contested  the  matter  in  the  courts  and  in  a  few 
months  the  company  was  in  better  condition  than  before.  Its  president 
is  H.  T.  Scott :  Mr.  Lambert  is  first  vice-president ;  Fred  Gardener,  sec- 
ond vice-president :  C.  R.  Cunningham,  treasurer ;  J.  G.  Young,  secre- 
tary; A.  W.  Barnhart,  master  mechanic.  The  authorized  stock  is  now 
one  million  dollars.  The  company's  proposition  has  shown  remarkable 
development.  .A  large  concrete  block  power  plant  has  been  erected  and 
equipped  with  up-to-date  machinery  used  in  generating  electric  power  to 
operate  a  standard  street  car  demonstration  of  the  Undercurrent  system 
and  the  proposed  manufacturing  plant.  The  company  has  several 
hundred  feet  of  standard  track  upon  which  a  regular  street  car  is  oper- 
ated, being  fully  equipped  with  the  L'ndercurrent  system.  This  clearly 
demonstrates  the  merits  of  the  invention  and  is  most  convincing.  The 
public  interest  is  increasing  daily  and  crowds  coming  to  inspect  the  car 
in  operation  say  the  proposition  to  the  invester  is  one  of  unlimited  possi- 
bilities. Lamberton  is  the  first  town  in  the  county  of  Ritchie  to  have 
paved  streets,  electric  light  plant,  street  cars,  underground  telephone  ser- 
vice and  full  sewerage  system,  and  is  second  in  having  its  water  plant  in. 
It  is  Mr.  Lambert's  intention  to  make  it  a  complete  and  model  city  in 
every  respect. 

In  July,  1903,  he  married  Leona,  daughter  of  G.  W'.  and  Mallie 
(Hammer)  Weekley,  who  was  born  at  Pennsboro,  August  30,  1883. 
Children :  Carroll  Douglass,  born  August  26,  1904,  and  James  Nevin, 
born  October  25,  1906. 


382  WEST  VIRGINIA 

John  Fleming  Shore,  of  Aliddlebourne,  West  Virginia,  de- 
SHORE     scends  from  English  ancestry,  the  first  one  of  the  name  to 

come  to  the  New  World  being  Jonathan  Shore.  He  was  a 
passenger  on  one  of  the  small  sailing  vessels  that  infrequently  plied  be- 
tween London  and  America.  He  most  probably  landed  at  Jamestown,  at 
that  time  the  port  of  entry  into  Virginia.  Later  he,  or  his  son,  moved  to 
what  is  now  known  as  Petersburg,  Virginia,  and  there  established  him- 
self. 

(I)  Simeon  Shore,  a  descendant  of  the  emigrant,  Jonathan  Shore, 
was  for  years  a  prosperous  blacksmith  in  Petersburg,  Virginia.  Seeing 
better  opportunities  in  the  western  part  of  the  state  he  moved  thence,  to 
what  is  now  Harrison  county.  West  \'irginia.  Among  his  children  was 
Albert,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Albert,  son  of  Simeon  Shore,  was  born  in  Fairmont,  Virginia, 
now  West  Virginia.  He  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  believing  with  Ben- 
jamin Franklin  that  "he  who  has  a  trade  has  an  estate."  He  was  known 
for  miles  around  for  the  thoroughness  of  his  work  and  his  desire  to 
please  his  patrons.  He  also  combined  farming  with  blacksmithing,  the 
dual  occupation  paying  him  handsomely.  He  was  a  devout  Christian  and 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church,  and  contin- 
ued one  of  its  staunch  supporters  until  the  day  of  his  death.  He  mar- 
ried the  widow  of  John  Patterson,  and  the  daughter  of  David  Morris. 
Among  his  children  was  John  Fleming,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  John    Fleming,  "son    of    Albert    and   ( Morris- Patterson) 

Shore,  was  born  in  Shinntown,  Harrison  county,  now  West  Virginia, 
Augi.ist  14,  1856.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  school  at  Shinntown, 
the  Fairmont  Normal,  and  Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  Massachusetts. 
On  leaving  school  he  engaged  in  the  book  and  stationery  business  at 
Clarksburg,  West  Virginia,  for  four  years.  Disposing  of  his  interest  he 
moved  to  Arizona,  where  he  entered  the  mining  business,  remaining  two 
years.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time  he  returned  to  Clarksburg,  and  in 
1 89 1  was  appointed  deputy  postmaster  at  Clarksburg,  which  position  he 
held  for  three  years,  when  he  resigned  and  went  to  Muncy,  Indiana. 
Later  he  again  returned  to  Clarksburg,  accepted  the  position  as  clerk  in 
the  Traders  Hotel  and  was  made  manager  of  the  same  in  a  short  time. 
In  this  position  he  continued  until  he  was  offered  that  of  general  book- 
keeper in  the  Traders  Bank,  which  he  held  until  1901,  when  he  came  to 
Middlebourne  as  cashier  of  the  Middlebourne  Bank.  He  remained  with 
this  institution  six  years,  and  on  resigning  came  once  again  to  Clarks- 
burg. In  1909  he  went  to  Middlebourne  and  became  largely  interested  in 
real  estate.  He  was  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  Clarksburg  &  Northern 
railroad,  and  is  one  of  its  directors.  He  is  vice-president  of  the  Bank 
of  Middlebourne;  president  of  the  Tyler  Brick  and  Tile  Company;  was 
mayor  and  was  instrumental  in  getting  the  streets  paved  and  sewers  put 
in,  and  in  building  of  the  water  works.  He  is  president  of  the  Board  of 
Trade  and  president  of  the  Tyler  County  Fair  Association. 

On  July  19,  1893,  he  married  (first)  Cora  Pattersgn,  now  deceased, 
daughter  of  Wesley  and  Rebecca  Patterson;  he  married  (second)  the 
widow  of  I.  C.  Powell,  and  daughter  of  W.  N.  and  Mary  .A.  Jemison. 


The  Morgan  family  is  an  old  and  well  known  one  in 
MORGAN     the  annals  of  American  history,  the  founder  of  the  name 

in  this  country  having  come  hither  from  Ireland  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Settlement  was  made  in  the 
Shenandoah  \''alley  of  the  Old  Dominion  commonwealth  and  subse- 
quently different  members  of  the  name  emigrated  westward  to  Kentucky 


WEST  VIRGINIA  ^,83 

and  Missouri.  The  widely  renowned  General  John  Morgan  is  of  this 
family.  While  a  great  deal  has  been  written  concerning  the  Morgan 
genealogy  this  particular  branch  of  the  family  has  not  been  traced. 

(I)  Daniel  B.  Morgan,  son  of  A.  J.  Morgan,  was  born  in  the  state 
of  Kentucky,  in  the  year  1849.  He  is  a  resident  of  Libbie,  Kentucky, 
where  he  is  a  prominent  merchant  and  the  present  incumbent  of  the 
office  of  postmaster.  His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Lucinda  A.  Lo- 
gan, died  December  3,  1893.  Children:  i.  Harry  L.,  a  physician  and 
surgeon  by  profession ;  resides  at  Harris,  Kentucky.  2.  T.  W.  a  farmer 
in  the  vicinity  of  Libbie,  Kentucky.  3  and  4.  H.  H.  and  W.  J.,  physi- 
cians and  surgeons,  maintain  their  homes  at  Manchester,  Ohio.  5.  Laura 
A,,  a  trained  nurse  at  Los  Angeles,  California.  6.  Cora  J.,  wife  of  Rob- 
ert Liles,  a  farmer  in  Kentucky.  7.  Dr.  D.  Edward,  mentioned  below. 
8  and  9.  Libbie  A.  and  Oscar  13.,  teachers,  live  at  home.  10.  Robert,  a 
student  in  the  Williamsburg  (Kentucky)   College. 

(II)  Dr.  D.  Edward  Morgan,  son  of  Daniel  B.  and  Lucinda  A.  (Lo- 
gan) Morgan,  was  born  in  Lewis  county,  Kentucky,  January  14,  1885. 
His  preliminary  educational  training  was  obtained  in  the  public  schools  of 
Lewis  county,  and  for  four  terms  he  was  a  student  in  the  Ohio  Mechanics 
Institute,  and  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  College  at  Cincinnati, 
Ohio.  He  was  graduated  in  the  Eclectic  Medical  College,  at  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1908.  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine.  He  served  as  interne  at  Seton  Hospital,  Cincinnati,  for  one 
year,  and  he  attended  the  Cincinnati  Hospital  Clinic  during  two  separate 
years.  He  initiated  his  active  practice  in  Maysville,  Kentucky,  in  1908, 
and  there  was  resident  physician  and  surgeon  for  the  ensuing  three  years, 
at  the  end  of  which,  in  191 1,  he  removed  to  Matewan,  West  Virginia, 
here  associating  himself  with  the  Mining  Camp  Coal  Company.  Seven 
months  later  he  resigned  his  position  with  the  above  coal  company  and  in 
July,  1912,  established  himself  in  an  individual  medical  practice  at  Mate- 
wan.  His  efforts  at  the  alleviation  of  human  pain  and  suffering  have 
met  with  splendid  success  and  he  now  controls  an  extended  and  lucra- 
tive patronage.  He  is  medical  examiner  for  the  New  York  Life  and 
other  insurance  companies.  In  February,  1913,  was  elected  health  officer 
for  the  town  of  Matewan.  Dr.  Morgan  served  as  secretary  of  the  Mason 
County  Medical  Society  during  1908-09,  and  he  is  a  valued  and  appre- 
ciative member  of  the  Mason  County.  Kentucky,  Kentucky  and  West 
Virginia  State  Medical  societies,  and  of  the  State  and  National  Eclectic 
Medical  Associations.  He  is  president  of  the  eastern  auxiliary  of  the 
Kentucky  State  Medical  Society.  In  a  fraternal  way  he  is  affiliated  with 
the  time-honored  Masonic  order,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
the  Junior  Order  of  LTnited  American  Mechanics,  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
and  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America.  Although  not  active  in  local 
politics,  he  votes  the  Democratic  ticket,  and  in  religious  matters  is  a  de- 
vout member  of  the  Christian  church. 

January  10,  1908,  Dr.  Alorgan  married  Senta  Tedesche,  whose  birth 
occurred  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  January  28,  1883.  She  was  graduated  as 
a  nurse  in  the  Cincinnati  Hospital,  in  1905,  and  for  one  year  had  charge 
of  the  Associated  Charities  in  Cincinnati,  in  which  city  she  did  private 
nursing  for  three  years.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Morgan  have  one  daughter.  Orpha 
Lucille,  born  at  Maysville,  Kentucky,  August  8,  1909. 


This  name  has  been  borne  by  a  number  of  persons  of  dis- 
MORRIS     tinction  in  various  walks  of  life  in  the  United  States  :  for 
examples:  By  an  Episcopalian  bishop  of  Oregon  ;  a  I'nited 
States  senator  from  Ohio :  and  a  governor  of  Connecticut. 

(I)    Micah  A.  Morris,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom 


384  WEST  VIRGINIA 

we  have  definite  information,  made  his  home  in  Wetzel  county,  Virginia, 
in  1842.  He  married  EHzabeth  Smith.  Child,  Anthony  T.,  of  whom 
further. 

(II)  Anthony  T.,  son  of  Micah  A.  and  Elizabeth  (Smith)  Morris, 
was  born  in  Wetzel  county,  Virginia,  December  11,  1846,  died  August 
26,  1906.  In  the  civil  war  he  served  his  country  from  August  11,  1864, 
to  June  10,  1865,  as  a  private  in  Company  P,  Sixth  Regiment  West  Vir- 
ginia \'olunteer  Infantry.  In  1876  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace 
of  Center  district,  Wetzel  county,  and  he  served  for  four  years,  being 
president  of  the  court.  He  was  re-elected  in  1880,  and  served  two  years, 
but  resigned  in  1882  to  take  up  the  practice  of  law,  which  he  followed 
through  the  remainder  of  his  life,  in  Wetzel  and  adjoining  counties.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1882.  Beside  his  legal  practice,  Mr.  Morris 
was  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser  on  a  large  scale.  He  was  a  member  of 
Philip  G.  Bier  Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  He  married,  March 
22,  1865,  Tabitha  E.  Delancey.  Children  :  Franklin  M.,  born  January  4, 
1866,  died  Alay  4,  1876;  Sylvania,  May  9,  1868,  died  July  23,  1873; 
Amanda  A.,  July  22,  1870 ;  Flora  E.,  January  20,  1873,  died  March  2, 
1873  ;  Pressley  D.,  of  whom  further ;  Mary  E.,  October  7,  1876,  died 
December  8,  1904;  Clark  J.,  January  21,  1879;  Eliza  J.,  September  22, 
1881  ;  Riley  J.,  .A.pril  3,  1884;  Matilda  M.,  July  4.  1886:  Cynthia,  Octo- 
ber 10,  1888;  Newman  A.  F.,  December  11,  1891 ;  Romeo,  November 
6,  1895. 

(III)  Pressley  D.,  son  of  Anthony  T.  and  Tabitha  E.  (Delancey) 
Morris,  was  born  in  Wetzel  county,  West  Virginia,  February  16,  1874. 
His  education  was  received  in  the  public  schools  and  in  the  University 
of  West  Virginia.  In  1898  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  in  the  spring 
of  the  following  year  he  moved  to  New  Martinsville,  Wetzel  county. 
West  Virginia,  where  he  was  engaged  with  his  father  in  the  practice  of 
law,  continuing  until  his  father's  death.  He  then  formed  a  partnership 
with  Moses  R.  Morris,  a  Veteran  of  the  civil  war.  and  at  one  time  prose- 
cuting attorney  of  Wetzel  county.  This  partnership  was  dissolved  Janu- 
ary I.  1913,  by  reason  of  the  election,  in  the  fall  of  1912,  of  Pressley  D. 
Morris  to  be  judge  of  the  second  judicial  circuit  of  West  Virginia.  From 
1906  to  the  time  of  his  assuming  the  office  of  judge  he  was  commissioner 
of  chancery.  Judge  Morris  is  a  director  of  the  Wetzel  County  Bank.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons.  In  politics  he  is 
a  Republican,  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  church,  and  of  the 
official  board  of  the  congregation  at  New  Martinsville,  where  he  still 
has  his  home. 

He  married,  in  1895,  Nancy  Virginia,  born  June  24.  1873,  daughter  of 
Michael  and  Nancy  (Morgan)  Barr.  Michael  Barr  is  a  native  of  Marion 
county,  (West)  Virginia,  son  of  Nicholas  and  Sarah  (Jones)  Barr. 
born  November  15,  1836.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  was  brought  by  his 
parents  into  Wetzel  county,  where  he  has  since  that  time  lived.  His 
marriage  occurred  March  13,  i860.  Children  of  Michael  and  Nancy 
(Morgan)  Barr:  Nicholas,  born  March  8,  1861  :  Achilles,  June  7,  1862; 
Roland,  September  30.  1863 ;  Eliza,  July  30,  1865 ;  Sarah  M.,  June  19, 
1867:  Samuel,  July  4,  1869;  Mary  B.,  April  20,  1871  ;  Nancy  Virginia, 
married  Pressley  D.  Morris;  Delia  E.,  May  5,  1875;  Maria,  May  i,  1878; 
John,  September  ig.  1880:  Samantha,  born  May  24,  1883,  died  May  31, 
1883.  Children  of  Pressley  D.  and  Nancy  Virginia  (Barr)  Morris:  Ida 
T.,  Russell  A.,  Warren  F..  Thomas  W.,  Michael  D..  Eugene,  Chester, 
Moses   Tavennor. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  385 

This  family  is  from  the  large  German  element  which  has 
KREPS  borne  a  leading  part  in  making  the  history  and  determining 
the  character  of  Pennsylvania.  At  the  time  of  our  earliest 
knowledge  of  the  ancestral  history,  the  family  is  found  in  southeastern 
IVnnsylvania.  One  notable  member  of  this  family,  Rev.  John  M.  Krebs, 
D.  D.,  a  Presbyterian  minister  in  New  York  City,  changed  the  spelling 
of  the  surname  to  Krebs,  believing  that  to  be  the  correct  form. 

(I)  Michael  Kreps,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
ha\'e  definite  information,  was  by  trade  a  hatter.  He  established  himself 
in  business  in  the  town  of  Lebanon,  then  part  of  Lancaster  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  being  an  industrious  and  frugal  man  prospered.  The  name 
of  his  wife  is  not  known,  but  he  had  children:  Jacob,  of  whom  further; 
William,  twin  of  Jacob,  born  in  1772,  died  in  1822;  Catharine,  married 
Rev.  Jacob  Schnee ;  Polly;  Alichael. 

(II)  Jacob,  son  of  Michael  Kreps,  was  born  at  Lebanon.  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  1772.  He  was  brought  up  to  his  father's  trade.  Marrying  a 
young  woman  whose  parents  had  moved  a  short  time  before  from  Dau- 
phin county,  Pennsylvania,  to  Pittsylvania  county,  Virginia,  he  had  to 
make  a  journey  of  three  hundred  miles  to  claim  his  bride.  For  four  or 
five  years  after  his  marriage  he  remained  at  Lebanon,  but  about  1798  he 
settled  at  Greencastle,  Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania.  There  he  con- 
tinued in  his  business  many  years,  employing  a  number  of  men,  and  he 
made  several  business  excursions  south  to  dispose  of  his  stock.  He  mar- 
ried, in  1794,  Catharine,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Margaret  Hetterick. 
Children :  William,  John,  Charlotte,  Michael,  Jacob  Fordney,  of  whom 
further ;  Albertus,  Augustus. 

(III)  Jacob  Fordney,  son  of  Jacob  and  Catharine  (Hetterick)  Kreps, 
was  born  at  Greencastle,  Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania,  June  7,  1806, 
died  at  West  Newton,  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  in  May, 
1888.  While  there  is  some  discrepancy  among  our  sources  of  informa- 
tion both  with  regard  to  the  place  and  with  regard  to  the  date  of  his 
birth,  the  statement  here  made  seems  the  best  attested.  In  his  boyhood 
he  accompanied  his  father  on  one  of  his  business  trips  into  the  south,  and 
at  that  time  he  formed  decidedly  unfavorable  judgments  with  regard  to 
slavery,  from  which  he  never  changed.  His  opportunities  of  education 
were  probably  as  good  as  the  circumstances  permitted ;  from  the  age  of 
four  to  the  age  of  thirteen  he  was  kept  in  school  most  of  the  time,  and 
during  the  last  two  years  of  this  period  he  acquired  some  knowledge  of 
grammar  and  geography,  these  studies  having  just  been  introduced  into 
the  course.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  was  placed  in  a  hardware  store  at 
Hagerstown,  Maryland,  with  his  LTncle  William,  and  he  remained  there 
until  1822.  Then  he  returned  to  his  home  in  Franklin  county  and  learned 
his  father's  trade.  When  he  was  twenty-one  he  started  on  a  trip  to  make 
and  sell  hats,  and  went  to  Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati,  and  several  points  in 
Kentucky,  traveling  some  months.  The  steamer  on  which  he  took  pas- 
sage for  Wheeling  on  his  return  was  the  scene  of  an  accident  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Guyandotte,  when  the  boilers  collapsed  and  killed  or  injured 
many  persons.  For  two  years  he, carried  on  his  trade  at  Greensburg, 
Westmoreland  county.  Pennsylvania,  but  in  December,  1831.  he  returned 
to  Greencastle,  where  he  was  for  many  years  engaged  in  various  lines  of 
business,  including  railroading  and  mercantile  business.  During  the  ad- 
ministration of  President  Polk,  he  was  also  postmaster  of  that  place.  In 
1849  h^  moved  to  West  Newton,  and  he  there  engaged  the  following  year 
in  the  foundry  business:  later  he  was  a  merchant.  Throughout  his  life 
he  was  one  of  the  leading  men  of  the  county.  He  presided  over  the 
first  war  meeting  held  in  his  part  of  the  county,  and  rendered  several 
patriotic  services  to  his  country  during  the  civil  war ;  five  of  his   sons 

25 


386  WEST  \IRGIXIA 

were  volunteers.  In  1863  he  was  appointed  commissioner  to  visit  the 
Pennsylvania  regiments  attached  to  Rosecrans'  army  in  Tennessee,  and 
in  1864  he  was  commissioner  to  visit  the  Pennsylvania  regiments  in  front 
of  Richmond  and  Petersburg  and  take  their  votes.  At  times  he  held 
local  offices,  membership  in  the  borough  council  and  school  board,  and  in 
1869  he  was  a  member  of  the  state  legislature.  The  Freedman's  Aid  So- 
ciety was  an  object  of  special  interest  to  him  later.  He  was  a  Republican. 
In  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  he  was  licensed  as  a  local  preacher. 

He  married,  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  January  20, 
1831,  Eliza,  born  at  Greensburg,  in  1812,  died  in  1887,  daughter  of  Adam 
and  Elizabeth  (or  Hannah)  (Weber)  Turney.  Her  maternal  grand- 
father. Rev.  John  Weber,  was  a  pioneer  of  the  Reformed  church  in 
Westmoreland  county.  Children:  i.  Catharine,  married  J.  O.  Robinson. 
2.  George  Rippey.  3.  Hannah,  married  A.  E.  Dravo.  4.  John  W.  5. 
Francis  A.  M.  6.  Adam  Turney,  of  whom  further.  7.  David  Dempsey. 
8.  William  A.,  born  November  2^.  1846:  married,  September  22,  1875, 
Lucetta  Taylor,  9.  Elizabeth,  died  in  infancy.  10.  Jacob  Emery,  died  in 
infancy. 

(IV)  Adam  Turney,  son  of  Jacob  Fordney  and  Eliza  (Turney) 
Krcps,  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Pennsylvania,  December  31,  1842. 
In  the  civil  war  he  served  three  and  one-half  years  as  a  private  in  the 
Fifteenth  Pennsylvania  Cavalry,  the  One  Hundred  and  Forty-fifth  Penn- 
sylvania \'olunteers.  For  a  time  he  was  first  lieutenant  in  the  Ninety- 
second  Regiment,  United  States  Colored  Infantry.  Among  the  battles  in 
which  he  had  part  were  Antietam  and  Chancellorsville.  Settling  at 
Green\ille,  Alercer  county,  Pennsylvania,  he  was  a  manufacturer  of  en- 
gines and  saw  mills.  Later  he  moved  into  West  Virginia,  and  here  he 
was  engaged  in  the  timber  and  lumber  industry  and  was  a  producer  of  oil 
and  gas.  He  was  a  Republican  and  a  Methodist,  a  trustee  of  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Parkersburg.  He  married,  at  Green- 
ville, Alice,  born  in  Mercer  county,  August  8,  1849,  daughter  of  John 
Knapp  and  Eunire  ( Brooks-Hunstable)  Hamblin  (see  Hamblin  III). 
Children  of  Adam  Turney  and  Alice  (Hamblin)  Kreps :  i.  John  Jacob 
born  January  31,  1871,  died  in  September,  1894.  2.  Qiarles  Albert,  of 
whom  further.  3.  Adam  Turney,  born  September  25,  1880:  living  at 
Muskogee,  Oklahoma :  married  Florence  Frame.  4.  Alice  Catharine, 
born  August  2^,  1882:  married  Marshall  P..  Weir.  5.  William  Augustus. 
born  December  2.  1884:  unmarried. 

(V)  Charles  Albert,  son  of  Adam  Turney  and  Alice  (Hamblin) 
Kreps,  was  born  at  Greenville,  Mercer  county,  Pennsylvania,  January 
25,  1875.  He  was  graduated  from  the  high  school  of  his  native  jjlace, 
January  22,  1892.  In  June,  1899,  he  graduated  from  Marietta  College,  - 
Marietta,  Ohio,  receiving  therefrom  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  His  j 
legal  studies  were  made  at  George  Washington  University,  of  which  he 
is  a  graduate,  receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws,  in  the  class  of  ] 
1903.  Six  months  after  his  graduation  in  law.  in  November,  1903.  Mr.  j 
Kreps,  having  in  the  meantime  passed  the  bar  examinations  for  admis- 
sion in  West  Virginia  and  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  began  professional  j 
practice  at  Parkersburg.  and  here  he  has  since  lived,  engaged  in  general! 
legal  practice.  He  is  well  known  in  this  city,  both  professionally  and  in 
political  affairs.  Mr.  Kreps  is  a  member  of  the  Greek  Letter  fraternities,] 
Delta  LTpsilon,  at  Marietta  College,  and  Phi  Delta  Phi,  at  the  law  school! 
of  George  Washington  L^niversity.  In  Masonry  he  is  a  member  of 
Mount  Olivet  Lodge,  No.  3,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Jerusa- 
lem Chapter,  No.  3,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  Calvary  Commandery,  No.  3, 
Knights  Templar;  Purnell  Lodge  of  Perfection,  Ancient  and  Accepted! 
Scottish  Rite;  and  Odell  S.  Long  Chapter,  Rose  Croix,  all  of  Parkers-; 


WEST  VIRGINIA  387 

burg.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Graduates'  Club,  of  New  York  City.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  at  the  present  time  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Republican  committee  of  Wood  county.  West  Virginia ;  filling  a  vacancy, 
acting  as  chairman.  On  January  i,  1912,  he  was  appointed  assistant 
prosecuting  attorney.  Mr.  Kreps  is  a  member  of  the  Alethodist  Episco- 
pal church.     He  is  unmarried. 

The    Hamblin    Line. 

The  name  Hamblen,  Hamblin,  or  Hamlin,  usually  spelled  at  the  pres- 
ent time  in  the  last  manner,  is  supposed  to  be  of  Germanic  origin,  but  the 
name  has  long  been  found  in  New  England,  and  Alice  (Hamblin)  Kreps 
seems  to  have  been  of  old  New  England  ancestry  in  many  lines.  Hame- 
lin  is  still  a  common  name  in  France,  and  is  found  among  F'rench  Cana- 
dians. Several  of  the  name  are  said  to  have  gone  in  the  army  of  Wil- 
liam the  Conqueror  to  England  in  1066,  and  the  name  has  since  been 
common  in  England.  Anciently  spelled  Hameline,  a  later  form  was 
Hamlyn,  and  other  forms  are  found.  Several  of  this  name  have  come  to 
America  from  England,  with  a  few  from  Ireland  and  Scotland,  and 
some  from  France.  They  settled  in  New  England  and  the  south  ;  the 
name  has  been  found  in  New  Jersey,  but  that  family  is  thought  to  be  of 
New  England  descent.  One  family  is  especially  associated  with  Con- 
necticut, and  is  probably  related  to  the  Cape  Cod  family.  By  far  the 
largest  family  of  the  name  is  of  Cape  Cod,  Massachusetts,  descent,  the 
immigrant,  James,  having  come  from  London,  England,  and  settled  at 
Barnstable,  Massachusetts,  in  1639.  To  this  family  it  is  most  probable 
that  the  Hamblins  now  under  consideration  pertain.  From  it  have  come 
Hannibal  Hamlin,  vice-president  of  the  United  States  with  Lincoln,  and 
Rev.  Cyrus  Hamlin,  the  founder  of  Robert  College,  Constantinople, 
Turkey. 

(I)  John,  or  Simeon,  Hamblin,  the  first  member  of  the  present  line 
about  whom  we  have  definite  information,  is  said  to  have  been  born  in 
Maine:  he  was  a  pioneer  of  Esse.K  county,  New  York.  His  wife  was 
Lois  (Knapp)  Hamblin,  probably  daughter  of  Ebenezer  and  Elizabeth 
(Mason)  Knapp,  who  was  born,  presumably  in  Massachusetts,  June  16, 
1743- 

(II)  Samuel,  son  of  John  (or  Simeon)  Hamblin.  was  born  May  7, 
1777,  it  is  said  in  Connecticut,  and  died  in  Licking  county,  Ohio,  in  1838. 
He  married  Rhoda,  daughter  of  James  Smith,  also  said  to  be  a  native  of 
Connecticut.     After  his  death  she  came  to  Mercer  county,  Pennsylvania. 

(III)  John  Knapp,  son  of  Samuel  Hamblin,  was  born  at  Washing- 
ton, Essex  county.  New  York,  March  2,  1809.  In  1829  he  settled  at 
Unionville,  Licking  county,  Ohio,  and  in  that  county  he  was  a  school 
teacher  two  years.  Afterward  he  had  charge  of  a  furnace  store  in  the 
same  county  for  three  years,  and  still  later  had  a  similar  position  in 
Cleveland,  Ohio.  In  1835  he  returned  east,  going  to  Wilmington,  Essex 
county.  New  York,  but  after  his  marriage  went  immediately  to  Lake 
county,  Ohio.  There  he  lived  until  March,  1838,  when  he  moved  to 
Greenville,  Mercer  county,  Pennsylvania.  In  that  town  he  opened  the 
first  foundry,  and  he  was  engaged  in  this  business  almost  continuously 
for  about  fifty  years.  He  was  a  Republican.  Mr.  Hamblin  married 
(first)  at  Wilmington,  New  York,  September  20,  1835,  Elizabeth  Hic- 
kok,  born  in  Essex  county.  New  York,  September  10,  1810,  died  in  No- 
vember, 1846:  (second)  in  April,  1848,  Eunice  (Brooks)  Hunstable. 
born  July  4,  1808,  died  April  6,  1888,  daughter  of  Pelatiah  and  Eunice 
(Gleason)  Brooks.  She  was  a  maternal  granddaughter  of  Phineas  Glea- 
son,  who  married  ^Margaret,  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  (Crawford) 
Kelso.      Children   of   John    Knapp    Hamblin,    first-named    five    by    first, 


388  WEST  VIRGINIA 

others  by  second,  marriage.     Henry  M. :  Alary  E.,  married  Thal- 

imer ;  Samuel ;  Harriet,  married Donaldson ;  Emeline,  married  

McClelland;  Albert;  Alice,   married   Adam   Turney   Kreps,    (see   Kreps 
IV)  ;  J.  Charles. 


The  name  of  Harper  is  one  which  has  become  well  and 
HARPER     favorably  known  throughout  the  United  States,  owing  to 

the  popularity  of  the  various  remedies  in  use  in  veteri- 
nary surgery  which  are  manufactured  by  Dr.  E.  B.  Harper,  of  Eliza- 
beth, West  \'irginia,  known  as  the  Dr.  Harper  Remedy  Company. 

(I)  The  grandparents  of  Dr.  Harper  were  natives  of  Ireland  and 
emigrated  from  that  country  to  Canada.  From  there  they  migrated  to 
Armstrong  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  they  founded  a  homestead  and 
spent  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  Among  their  children  was  a  son, 
John,  see  forward  ;  and  another  son,  Robert,  who  was  an  ofificer  in  the 
Union  army  during  the  civil  war,  and  died  in  Andersonville  prison. 

(II)  John  Harper,  son  of  the  preceding,  was  one  of  the  exploiters  of 
the  great  oil  fields  about  Oil  City,  and  when  the  oil  gave  out  in  that  sec- 
tion he  removed  to  Crawford  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  has 
resided  since  that  time.  He  married  Mary  Wilson,  also  of  Irish  descent, 
and  also  raised  in  Armstrong  county. 

(III)  Dr.  Ervin  B.  Harper,  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Wilson)  Harper, 
was  born  on  Watson  Run,  Crawford  county,  Pennsylvania,  April  i, 
1875,  not  long  after  his  parents  had  removed  to  the  east  shore  of 
Cdnneaut  Lake.  His  education  was  gained  in  the  public  schools,  as  he 
says  "I  attended  the  country  school  every  day  in  winter,  and  went  fish- 
ing every  day  in  summer."  His  parents  having  removed,  in  1887,  to 
what  was  then  known  as  Evansburg,  but  is  now  known  as  Conneaut 
Lake,  he  became  a  student  at  the  high  school  of  that  section,  and  was 
graduated  with  honor  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years.  From  his  earliest 
years  he  had  had  an  intense  love  for  animals  and  displayed  skill  in  alle- 
viating their  sufiferings,  so  that  it  was  but  natural  that  he  should  turn 
to  the  profession  of  veterinary  surgery  as  his  life  work,  and  he  looked 
about  for  the  means  to  gratify  this  laudable  ambition.  Horses  had  had 
an  especial  attraction  for  him,  and  he  sought  and  found  employment  in  a 
racing  stable.  He  was  consistently  employed  in  this  line  until  1898,  at 
which  time  he  matriculated  at  the  Ontario  Veterinary  College,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  with  honor  in  the  class  of  1900.  The  great  oil 
fields  of  Sistersville,  West  Virginia,  appeared  to  offer  a  proper  opening 
and  Dr.  Harper  was  successful  from  the  very  outset  of  his  career,  his 
efforts  being  appreciated  by  the  famous  horsemen  of  that  section  of  the 
country.  From  there  he  went  to  the  Elk  Fork  oil  field,  where  his  suc- 
cess was  equally  unquestioned,  and  from  there  to  the  Sand  Fork  oil 
field,  in  which  is  the  largest  well  in  West  Virginia.  It  yielded  twenty- 
four  thousand  barrels  of  oil  every  twenty-four  hours.  The  large  hospi- 
tal which  Dr.  Harper  erected  in  this  field  was  an  unqualified  success,  but 
this  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1902,  and  a  number  of  valuable  horses  per- 
ished in  the  flames.  This  was  a  very  serious  loss  to  Dr.  Harper,  who  then 
engaged  in  the  stallion  business,  disposing  of  his  stock  in  the  states  of 
Oregon,  Washington,  California,  Texas,  Oklahoma,  Missouri  and  Ar- 
kansas. His  profession,  however,  had  powers  of  attraction  superior  to 
any  other  calhng,  and  Dr.  Harper  returned  to  West  Virginia  and  com- 
menced the  manufacture  of  veterinary  remedies  to  be  used  by  the  farm- 
er and  stockman  and  for  which  there  appeared  to  be  a  popular  demand. 
He  commenced  manufacturing  on  a  moderate  scale,  but  so  excellent  were 
his  preparations  and  the  results  achieved  by  their  means,  that  he  has  been 


WEST  A'IRGINIA  389 

compelled  to  increase  his  output  from  year  to  year,  until  he  now  has  the 
finest  plant  of  its  kind  in  the  state  of  \\'est  Virginia. 


Charles  Nelson  Matheny,  a  well-known  lawyer  and 
MATHENY  business  man  of  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia,  is  de- 
scended from  old  families  of  northwestern  Virginia, 
now  West  Virginia,  and  has  among  his  relatives  of  pioneer  days  some  of 
the  most  noted  of  the  frontier  settlers  and  Indian  fighters. 

(I)  Noah  Matheny,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  lived  in  Marion  county,  Virginia.  He  mar- 
ried   .     Child,  William  Henry,  of  whom   further. 

(H)  William  Henry,  son  of  Noah  Matheny,  was  born  in  Marion 
county,  Virginia.  There  he  was  brought  up,  but  he  afterward  moved  to 
Wetzel  county,  thence  again  to  Jackson  county.  He  married  Drusilla 
Ann,  daughter  of  Morgan  and  Susanna  C  Martin)  Morgan.  This  Mor- 
gan Morgan  lived  at  Pine  Grove.  Wetzel  county,  Virginia,  and  was  com- 
monly known  as  "Spy  Mod  Morgan,"  Mod  being  an  abbreviation  of 
Morgan,  and  the  "Spy"  being  an  appellation  earned  in  the  border  war- 
fare, in  which  he  and  his  brothers  Levi  and  David  had  been  prominent. 
The  American  ancestor  of  the  Morgan  family,  also  named  Morgan  Mor- 
gan, was  born  in  Wales  and  educated  in  London.  England :  he  was  a 
military  man,  hence  known  as  Colonel  Morgan,  and  a  minister  of  the 
Church  of  England.  In  Delaware,  where  he  settled  for  a  time,  being 
there  engaged  in  business  at  Christiana,  he  married  Catharine  Garretson ; 
soon  after  his  marriage  he  moved  to  the  valley  of  Virginia,  and  he  es- 
tablished a  church  at  Winchester,  of  which  he  and  his  son,  Morgan  Mor- 
gan Jr.,  were  the  ministers  for  many  years.  Two  others  of  the  sons  of 
Morgan  Morgan  Sr.  are  of  specail  note:  David,  born  at  Christiana,  Dela- 
ware, May  12,  1721,  married  Sarah  Stevens,  a  Quaker  woman  of  Penn- 
sylvania, moved  with  his  father  to  the  valley  of  Virginia,  owned  a  farm 
near  Winchester,  assisted,  in  1748,  in  the  determination  of  the  boundary 
between  Virginia  and  Maryland,  moved  for  a  short  time  into  Pennsyl- 
vania, but  finally  settled  in  Clarion  county,  Virginia,  about  six  miles  north 
of  Fairmont ;  and  Zacquil  or  Zackwell,  well  known  in  pioneer  history  as 
the  founder  of  Morgantown,  (West)  Virginia.  "Spy  Mod  Morgan" 
did  not  marry  until  he  was  over  fifty  years  old,  and  he  had  two  children, 
one  of  whom  was  Drusilla  Ann.  married  William  Henry  Matheny.  Chil- 
dren of  William  Henry  and  Drusilla  Ann  (Morgan)  Matheny:  Charles 
Nelson,  of  whom  further;  Susanna  ^Martin. 

(Ill)  Charles  Nelson,  son  of  William  Henry  and  Drusilla  Ann  (Mor- 
gan) Matheny,  was  born  at  Pine  Grove,  Wetzel  county,  Virginia,  June 
27,  1861.  With  his  parents  he  moved  to  Jackson  county,  West  Virginia, 
in  the  spring  of  1865,  and  in  that  county  he  attended  the  common  and 
select  schools  until  he  was  sixteen  years  old.  Then  he  studied  at  the 
State  Normal  School.  Fairmont,  West  Virginia,  and  after  finishing  his 
course  at  this  institution  he  was  for  a  number  of  years  a  teacher.  Then 
he  began  the  study  of  law  under  Robert  F.  Fleming,  at  that  time  judge 
of  the  fifth  judicial  circuit  of  the  state  of  \A^est  Virginia.  He  passed  an 
examination  under  Judges  Guthrie,  Jackson  and  Fleming,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1888.  At  first  he  practiced  in  Jackson  county.  West 
Virginia:  but  in  1892  he  moved  to  St.  Marys,  West  Virginia,  and  in 
1901  came  to  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia,  where  he  has  since  that  time 
lived.  Mr.  Matheny  is  largely  interested  also  in  the  oil  business.  He  is 
a  Republican,  and  was  for  one  term  postmaster  of  St.  Marys  under 
President  McKinley. 

He  married  (first)  in  1883.  Electa  Ann  Swallow,  who  died  November 


390  WEST  VIRGINIA 

29,  1895;  (second)  March  18,  1897,  Frederica,  daughter  of  Samuel  A. 
Barkvvill,  of  St.  Marys,  West  Virginia;  she  married  (first)  John  W. 
Porter,  who  was  clerk  of  the  county  court  of  Pleasants  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  died  February  11,  1895.  Samuel  A.  Barkwill  was  an  immi- 
grant from  England,  who  came  to  the  L'nited  States  about  1840. 


The  ancestral  line  of  this  family  is  not  traceable  to  the 
IREL.AXD  country  of  the  same  name,  although  circumstances  point 
to  a  connection  with  other  families  by  the  name  of  Ire- 
land that  are  of  Irish  ancestry.  There  has  been  handed  down  through 
generations  a  tradition  to  the  effect  that  the  founder  of  the  family  in 
this  country  was  a  lad  of  unknown  parentage  and  name,  his  mother  and 
father  having  been  lost  at  sea,  and  he  himself  reared  on  shipboard  by 
the  captain  and  crew  ;  because  of  a  suggestion  in  his  appearance  of  Irish 
nationality,  he  was  dubbed  "Ireland"  and  the  name  clung  to  him  for 
lack  of  a  better.  After  he  had  grown  to  manhood,  he  left  the  vessel  on 
one  occasion  as  it  lay  at  anchor  in  an  eastern  harbor  of  this  country, 
and  charmed  by  the  land  which  he  thus  visited  for  the  first  time,  he  made 
his  home  here  and  prospered. 

(I)  The  earliest  actually  known  progenitor  of  the  family  in  this  coun- 
try was  William  Ireland,  supposed  to  be  a  descendant  of  the  above-named 
lad  ;  he  was  a  native  of  Maryland,  and  with  his  son  Alexander,  also  a 
native  of  Maryland,  migrated  to  Harrison  county.  West  Virginia,  dying 
near  Clarksburg.  (II)  Alexander,  son  of  William  Ireland,  grew  to 
manhood  in  the  vicinity  of  Clarksburg,  having  a  half-sister  who  became 
Mrs.  Sheets.  He  married  Elizabeth  Ragan,  the  daughter  of  a  revolu- 
tionary soldier  of  German  lineage.  She  was  born  at  West  Milford  in 
1771,  died  in  Tyler  county,  September  7,  1855,  af  the  age  of  eighty-four 
years.  About  the  year  1818  .Alexander  Ireland,  with  his  family,  re- 
moved from  the  vicinity  of  Clarksburg  and  made  his  home  just  above 
the  mouth  of  Otterslide,  on  the  farm  that  was  formerly  designated  as  the 
Joshua  Davis  place,  now  a  part  of  the  Flannagan  homestead.  Here  he 
remained  until  some  time  in  the  early  thirties,  when  he  removed  to  Tyler 
county,  where  he  died  July  18,  1843,  aged  seventy-one  years.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Ireland  were  the  parents  of  the  following  named  children,  whose 
descendants  are  now  scattered  throughout  the  Union:  i.  John,  married 
(first)  Agnes  Maxwell,  (second)  Amy  Joseph.  2.  Jacob,  married  Mar- 
tha Wells :  he  was  the  only  one  of  the  brothers  and  sisters  who  died 
childless.  3.  Thomas,  of  whom  further.  4.  Jonathan,  married  Jane 
Rose,     5.   Jesse,   married   Sarah   Wells.     6.   Alexander,   married    Sarah 

Bond.     7.  William,  married  .     8.  Mary,  married  Robert  Doak.     9, 

Eliza,  married  Alexander  Doak.  10.  Sarah,  married  Alexander  Low- 
ther,  of  Oxford,  living  and  dying  in  Ritchie  county.  11.  Margaret,  mar- 
ried Thomas  Bond.     12.   Priscilla.  married  William  Wells. 

(Ill)  Thomas,  son  of  Alexander  and  Elizabeth  (Ragan)  Ireland, 
was  the  first  pioneer  to  find  a  home  on  the  Middle  Fork  of  Hughes  river. 
In  October,  1820,  he  was  married  to  Katherine,  daughter  of  Robert  Low- 
ther,  the  eldest  son  of  Colonel  William  Lowther.  Shortly  after  his  mar- 
riage he  took  up  his  residence  on  this  river,  near  its  confluence  with  the 
South  Fork,  on  the  farm  that  is  now  the  property  of  his  son,  George  M. 
Ireland.  Here  he  prospered  as  a  farmer  and  the  remainder  of  his  life 
was  passed  there.  He  was  a  man  of  great  integrity  and  was  one  of  the 
pillars  of  the  White  Oak  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  he  and  his  wife 
being  among  the  charter  members.  Their  children  were:  I.  Robert,  who 
went  to  Kansas  where  he  died  in  1870,  and  where  his  family  still  reside. 
2.  Alexander,  residing  in  Ohio.     3.  John  C,  died  in  Doddridge  county. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  391 

4.  Albert,  died  in  childhood,  in  the  year  1849.  5.  .Mortimer,  a  superan- 
nuated minister  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church,  living  at  Worthing- 
ton.  Marion  county.  6.  George  Monroe,  of  whom  further.  7.  Thomas 
W..  deceased;  was  a  prominent  minister  of  the  Methodist  Protestant 
church ;  was  a  resident  of  Morgantown :  he  was  at  one  time  a  teacher  in 
Ritchie  county,  and  served  a  term  as  county  superintendent.  8.  James 
Franklin,  who  went  to  Colorado  many  years  ago,  where  he  still  resides. 
9.  Elizabeth,  died  at  a  good  old  age.  10  and  11.  Catharine  and  Susan, 
who  live  with  their  brother,  George  M.,  at  Pullman.  12.  Sarah,  now  Mrs. 
Maulsby,  of  West  Union. 

(I\')  George  Monroe,  son  of  Thomas  and  Katherine  (Lowther)  Ire- 
land, was  born  January  2,  1839,  in  Ritchie  county.  West  Virginia.  He 
became  a  farmer  and  stock  dealer.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  in 
1 86 1,  he  enlisted  in  Company  E,  Sixth  Virginia  \'olunteers,  and  served 
all  throughout  the  war  as  captain  of  that  company.  He  became  a  prom- 
inent man  in  his  own  home  district,  of  which  he  was  supervisor  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Pullman  State 
Bank  at  Pullman,  becoming  its  first  president.  He  is  also  a  prominent 
man  in  religious  circles,  being  an  influential  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  and  active  in  Sunday  school  work.  Mr.  Ireland  inar- 
ried  Mary  Ellen,  daughter  of  Andrew  Law.  of  Ritchie  county ;  she  was 
the  teacher  of  the  first  free  school  in  the  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ireland 
had  the  following  children:  i.  Anzonetta.  married  Zeri  Z.  Amos.  2. 
Albert  Law.  a  Methodist  minister;  married  Minnie McKeill.  3.  Paul  Mon- 
roe, a  lawyer ;  married  Julia  Blair.  4.  George  Boyd,  deceased.  5.  Wil- 
liam I'orter.  a  farmer;  married  Laura  Pritchard.  6.  Lucretia  Ellen, 
married  Fred  A.  Hall.  7.  Ritchie  .\lexander.  a  physician.  8.  Alonzo 
Dixon,  of  whom  further.  9.  Emery  Ison.  born  at  the  old  homestead  on 
the  Middle  Fork  river,  June  10,  1874;  graduate  of  the  University  of 
Morgantown ;  after  his  graduation  he  entered  the  L'nited  States  geologi- 
cal survey  and  is  now  topographer  at  Washington  ;  he  is  a  civil  engineer ; 
he  is  a  member  of  the  Washington  Society  of  Engineers  and  the  Ameri- 
can Geographical  Society;  he  married,  December  15,  1909,  Elizabeth, 
daughter  Lee  W.  Funk,  of  Washington  City. 

(V)  Alonzo  Dixon,  son  of  George  Monroe  and  Mary  Ellen  (Law) 
Ireland,  was  born  in  Ritchie  county.  West  \'irginia,  January  16.  1870. 
His  education  was  acquired  in  the  public  schools  and  Fairmont  Normal, 
after  which  he  attended  the  National  Penn  Arch  Hall,  in  Ohio,  and  West 
Virginia  L^niversity.  where  he  was  graduated  in  the  law  department  in 
1895,  receiving  his  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  He  began  the  practice 
of  his  profession  at  Harrisville.  Ritchie  county,  and  here  he  organized 
the  People's  Bank  in  189S,  becoming  the  assistant  cashier.  He  after- 
wards received  the  appointment  of  official  stenographer  to  the  circuit 
court  of  the  fourth  judicial  district.  In  1901  he  came  to  Parkersburg, 
engaging  in  the  practice  of  law,  and  on  January  i,  1903,  he  was  appointed 
deputy  clerk  of  the  county  court,  resigning  the  position  after  five  and  a 
half  years'  service  in  order  to  accept  the  post  of  secretary  to  the  Tri- 
State  and  Investment  Security  Company.  On  April  i.  191 1,  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  Harry  D.  Perkins,  the  style  of  the  law  firm  being 
Ireland  &  Perkins;  they  have  a  large  and  growing  practice,  and  Mr.  Ire- 
land has  become  one  of  the  most  influential  men  hereabouts.  He  owns  a 
large  farm  where  he  makes  a  specialty  of  raising  fruit  and  blooded 
stock.     He  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

On  May  7.  1896.  Mr.  Ireland  married  Lucy  Burdette.  daughter  of 
Stephen  and  Frances  \'ictoria  Davidson.  They  have  one  daughter  liv- 
ing. Dorothy  Davidson,  born  March  I.  1904;  annther  child  died  in  in- 
fancy. 


392  WEST  VIRGINIA 

This  is  an  old  name  in  what  is  now  West  Virginia,  and  per- 
CASTO     sons  bearing  the  name  are   found  in   various  parts  of   the 
state.     Among  these  have  been  and  are  many  engaged  in 
professional  callings,  medicine  and  the  law. 

(I)  William  Casto,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  settled  on  a  farm  near  Ripley,  Jackson  county, 
Virginia,  which  farm  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the  family.  He  mar- 
riad  .     Qiild,  Levi,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Levi,  son  of  William  Casto,  was  born  near  Jane  Lew,  Lewis 
county,  Virginia,  April  i,  1808,  died  January  2-j,  1880.  Throughout  his 
life  he  was  a  farmer.  He  married  Hannah,  born  August  3,  1813,  died 
January  23,  1891,  daughter  of  William  Carney.  Children:  i.  Arrilla, 
married  Jacob  Heyre.  2.  James  H.  3.  George  B.  4.  Absalom  H.  5. 
Francis  A.  6.  David  C,  born  August  31,  1850:  he  received  his  early 
education  in  the  public  schools,  and  was  for  eight  years  a  school  teacher ; 
on  June  24,  1874,  he  was  graduated  from  the  LTniversity  of  Ohio,  and  he 
then  accepted  the  position  of  superintendent  of  schools  at  Elizabeth, 
Wirt  county,  West  Virginia ;  in  1877  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  but  he 
still  taught  school  for  a  short  time  ;  for  two  years  he  taught  at  Burning 
Springs,  \A'irt  county.  West  Virginia,  and  he  was  from  1877  to  1881 
county  superintendent  of  schools  of  Wirt  county ;  from  1881  he  has  been 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  law,  and  since  1896  he  has  been  a  resident  of 
Parkersburg.  West  \'irginia ;  he  married  Lucy  Clyde  Dorr :  children : 
Lillian  D.,  born  November  23,  1878,  died  January  22,  1913,  married. 
May,  1906,  Robert  T.  Stealey ;  Dorr,  a  lawyer  at  Parkersburg,  practic- 
ing with  his  father,  one  of  the  United  States  commissioners  for  the  dis- 
trict of  West  Virginia.  7.  Charles  Evertt,  of  whom  further.  8.  Clare- 
mont  E.  T.,  of  whom  further.     Six  other  sons,  deceased. 

(III)  Charles  Evertt,  son  of  Levi  and  Hannah  (Carney)  Casto, 
was  born  at  Ripley,  Jackson  county,  Virginia,  December  16,  1852.  At 
one  time  he  was  a  school  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  Kanawha 
county.  West  A'irginia ;  later  he  bought  the  old  home  farm,  on  which  he 
has  since  passed  his  life.  He  married  Alargaret  L.,  daughter  of  William 
and  Fanette  Rose.  Children:  i.  Thomas  J.,  a  physician;  David  C,  pros- 
ecuting attorney  of  Writ  county.  West  Virginia ;  Okey  J.,  of  whom 
further ;  \"erta,  married  Theodore  Staats :  Ruby,  married  E.  E.  Staats ; 
Bessie,  married  C.  L.  Chenoweth  :  Mabel,  married  Clarence  Rathbone : 
Nellie. 

(Ill)  Dr.  Claremont  E.  T.  Casto,  son  of  Levi  and  Hannah  (Car- 
ney) Casto,  was  born  in  Jackson  county,  Virginia,  November  30.  1854, 
died  at  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia,  October  14,  1912.  His  education 
was  begim  in  the  public  schools,  and  further  prosecuted  at  Miami  Col- 
lege, from  which  he  was  graduated  and  received  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Medicine  in  1875.  Dr.  Casto  went  after  his  graduation  to  Rockport, 
Wood  county.  West  Virginia,  where  he  practised  his  profession  for 
twenty-six  years.  This  long  period  of  service  was  followed  by  a  period 
of  five  and  one-half  years  at  Belleville,  Wood  county.  West  \^irginia, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  and  surgery.  Finally,  in 
1906,  he  came  to  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia,  where  he  acquired  a  large 
practice.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Free  and  .Accepted  Masons.  Dr. 
Casto's  religion  was  the  Methodist  Episcopal.  He  married,  in  1875, 
Tennessee,  daughter  of  Michael  and  Emily  (McCoy)  Crow,  of  Jackson 
county,  West  Virginia.  Children:  i.  Donza  Clarence,  born  January  2, 
1877;  physician,  graduate  of  the  Baltimore  Medical  College;  he  was 
at  the  time  of  his  father's  death  practicing  with  him,  and  has  continued 
to  practice  at  Parkersburg;  married  Willa  F.   Michael.     2.  Emma,  born 


WEST  VIRGINIA  393 

July  3,  1880:  married  G.  C.  HoUiday.  t,.  Charles  Evertt,  born  August 
"14,  1883. 

(IV)  Dr.  Okey  J.  Casto,  son  of  Charles  Evertt  and  Margaret  L. 
(Rose)  Casto,  was  born  at  Ripley,  March  31,  1880.  He  acquired  his 
education  in  the  public  schools,  including  the  high  schools  at  Ripley  and 
at  Fayette,  Fayette  county,  West  Virginia.  He  then  studied  at  the 
Barnes  Medical  College  at  St.  Louis  and  at  the  Maryland  Medical  Col- 
lege, Baltimore,  Maryland,  from  which  he  was  graduated  May  14,  1902, 
After  his  graduation  he  established  himself  at  Elizabeth,  Wirt  county, 
West  Virginia.  Here  Dr.  Casto  has  practiced  medicine  and  surgery  with 
success,  and  now  has  a  large  practice.  He  has  served  as  a  member  of 
the  town  and  county  boards  of  health,  also  inspector  of  schools.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

Dr.  Casto  married.  May  14,  1905,  Elosha,  daughter  of  Francis  and 
Marian  Hodge.     Child.  Charles  Francis,  born  May  14,  1909. 


This  is  one  of  the  oldest  pioneer  names  of  the  vicinity  of 
BUKEY     Parkersburg,  West  \'irginia.  In  August,  1799,  shortly  after 

the  formation  of  Wood  county,  Virginia,  Harman  Blenner- 
hassett,  Hezekiah  Bukey  and  Daniel  Kincheloe  were  recommended  as  gen- 
tlemen qualified  to  be  justices,  and  with  the  excption  of  the  ill-fated  Blen- 
nerhassett  they  served  in  this  office.  Charles  A.  Bukey,  a  present  repre- 
sentative at  Parkersburg  of  this  old  Wood  county  family,  affords  in  his 
business  career  a  remarkable  illustration  of  the  value  of  continuity  and 
permanence,  as  he  is  now  and  has  been  without  intermission  connected 
with  the  same  institution  as  he  entered  in  young  manhood,  at  the  outset  of 
his  business  life,  but  not  in  the  same  position,  having  been  repeatedly  pro- 
moted, from  a  minor  rank  to  one  of  high  responsibility. 

(I)  Van  Hartness  Bukey  was  born  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  died  in  Wash- 
ington, District  of  Columbia.  His  life,  nevertheless,  was  mainly  passed 
in  what  is  now  West  Mrginia.  The  widow  is  now  living  at  Parkersburg, 
West  Virginia. 

(II)  Charles  Alexander,  son  of  \'an  Hartness  Bukey.  was  born  at 
Parkersburg,  West  Virginia,  November  30,  1861.  In  this  city  he  was 
brought  up,  and  his  home  has  always  been  in  the  county.  In  the  schools  of 
the  city  and  county  he  received  a  good  education.  At  the  age  of  nineteen 
he  entered  the  service  of  the  Parkersburg  National  Bank,  and  with  this 
institution  he  has  been  connected  ever  since.  Having  thus  been  now  for  al- 
most thirty-two  years  in  its  service,  he  is  nearly  the  senior  of  all  the  bank- 
ing ofificials  of  the  eleven  banks  of  this  city.  In  this  bank  he  has  held 
various  desks,  and  finally,  in  1904,  was  made  cashier,  and  the  present 
time  he  remains  in  this  position.  Mr.  Bukey  is  a  conservative  and  thor- 
ough business  and  financial  man.  whose  judgment  is  much  sought  and 
greatly  valued  in  banking  and  other  circles.  While  he  has  given  close  and 
strict  attention  to  the  affair  entrusted  to  his  ofificial  care,  he  has  not 
neglected  the  duties  of  good  citizenship,  yet  he  has  not  taken  an  active 
part  in  the  contests  of  political  lif.e.  Air.  Bukey  is  a  member  of  Trinity 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  of  Parkersburg.  In  the  work  and  wor- 
ship of  this  church  he  has  given  particular  and  active  interest  to  its  musi- 
cal affairs,  and  he  is  himself  a  valuable  member  of  the  choir  and  of  the 
music  committee. 

Charles  Alexander  Bukey  married,  at  Parkersburg.  October  26.  1902, 
Emily  Smith,  born  at  Parkersburg.  October  19,  1871,  daughter  of 
Charles  S.  and  Ella  Despard.  The  Despard  family  is  of  Huguenot  ori- 
gin. In  the  present  day  it  is  a  well-known  family  at  Parkersburg,  and 
the  wife  of  United   States   Senator   Nathan   Goff   is   a   member  of  this 


394  WEST  \IRGIXIA 

family.      Child   of   Charles    Alexander    and     Emily     Smith     (Despard) 
I'lUkc)- :    Mary   Ellen,  bcirn  at   I'arkersburg,   March   21,    1907. 


Judge  John  Thomas  Simms  is  of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  the 
SIMMS     eldest    son    of    Robert    C.    and     Sarah     Katherine    (Jones) 

Simms,  and  a  lineal  descendant  of  Edward  Simms,  one  of 
three  brothers  who  emigrated  from  Scotland  to  America  in  the  early  col- 
onial days,  and  settled  finally  in  Culpeper  county,  Virginia.  Edward 
Simms  was  a  planter  in  these  early  days,  and  during  the  war  of  the  revo- 
lution was  a  soldier  in  the' continental  army. 

Judge  John  Thomas  Simms  was  born  at  .\nsted.  Fayette  county, 
West  Virginia.  May  10,  1875.  his  parents  having  removed  to  that  section 
shortly  before  his  birth.  His  boyhood  and  early  manhood  were  spent  on 
the  farm,  and  he  obtained  the  usual  elementary  training  accorded  to  the 
boys  of  that  section.  He  attended  the  public  schools  in  the  vicinity  of 
his  birthplace,  but  by  far  the  most  important  part  of  his  education  was 
obtained  at  the  Summersville  Normal  School  and  the  Fayetteville  Acad- 
emy. He  was  graduated  from  the  normal,  commercial  and  scientific  de- 
partments, became  a  teacher  in  the  last-mentioned  institution,  and  later 
its  principal.  In  the  meantime  he  had  taken  up  the  study  of  law  at  the 
University  of  West  Virginia,  was  graduated  in  June,  1903,  and  admitted 
to  the  bar.  He  commenced  at  once  to  practice  his  profession  at  Fay- 
etteville, the  county  seat  of  his  native  county,  and  still  resides  there.  In 
19 10  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  criminal  court  of  Fayette  county.  West 
\'irginia,  and  is  serving  in  that  official  capacity  at  the  present  time.  1913. 
As  a  jurist  Judge  Simms  evinces  the  highest  capacity  for  original  investi- 
gation and  interpretation  of  the  law.  His  mind  early  became  skilled  in 
logical  reasoning,  which  enables  him  to  solve  a  complex  legal  problem  as 
easily  as  he  would  demonstrate  a  proposition  in  Euclid.  He  is  an  active 
member  of  the  State  and  American  Bar  associations.  In  political  mat- 
ters Judge  Simms  is  Republican,  and  up  to  the  time  of  his  elevation  to 
the  bench  was  prominent  in  the  politics  of  his  state.  His  fraternal  affilia- 
tions are  with  the  Masonic  order  and  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  In 
religious  belief  he  and  his  family  are  Presbyterians. 

The  following  statements,  summing  up  the  character  of  Judge  Simms 
as  an  educator  and  lawyer,  are  considered  worthy  of  reproduction  here : 

"Mr.  Simms  as  a  student  always  impressed  his  teachers  with  his  aptness,  thor- 
oughness and  evident  industry.  As  a  teacher,  he  was  recognized  as  a  leader  in 
educational  matters  and  was  fast  forging  to  the  front  when  he  chose  to  abandon 
this  field  and  entered  the  profession  of  the  law.  As  a  lawyer,  he  is  ranked  as  among 
the  best  and  has  been  identified  with  much  of  the  important  litigation  of  southern 
West  Virginia.  As  a  jurist,  he  has  already  gained  an  enviable  reputation  for  his 
ability,  fairness  and  judicial  capacity." 

Judge  Simms  married.  December  2R.  1903.  Eugenia  .A.,  daughter  of 
the  Hon.  John  D.  Alderson.  of  Summers\-ille.  Xichnlas  county.  West 
Virginia.     They   have  three   sons. 


A    fornicr    [irominent     citizen     of     Parkersburg, 
SMITH-BURCHE     West  \'irginia,  who  although  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury has  gone   since  he  passed   from   our  midst 
has  by  no  means  been  forgotten,  was  Beverly  Smith,  a  native  of  Mrginia. 
He  was  born  in  Fauquier  county.  October  28.  1809. 

In   1836,  immediately  after  his  first  marriage.   Mr.   Smith  settled  at 
Wheeling,  Virginia,  and  there  he  was  teller  of  the  Northwestern  Bank  of 


\U^. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  395 

Virginia.  When  branches  of  this  bank  were  estabhshed  at  I'arkersburg 
and  at  ]\Iorgantown,  Air.  Smith  was  appointed  cashier  of  the  Parkers- 
burg  branch,  about  1839,  and  he  held  this  office  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
a  period  of  about  twenty-eight  years,  but  before  that  time  the  bank  had 
become  the  Parkersburg  National  Bank.  Mr.  Smith  was  one  of  Park- 
ersburg's  best  citizens,  and  probably  did  more  for  the  city  and  its  pro- 
gress than  any  other  person  of  his  time.  It  is  doubtful  whether  any  other 
person  enjoyed  to  an  equal  extent  the  confidence  and  good  will  of  the 
people  of  this  city.  He  was  associated  with  every  one  of  its  interests, 
and  commanded  the  respect  and  friendship  of  all  the  people,  irrespective 
of  class  and  condition,  and  was  a  man  of  enterprise  and  public  spirit. 
In  financial  matters  he  was  regarded  as  the  highest  authority  in  the  com- 
munity. But  his  qualities  of  heart  and  character  were  fully  equal  in 
extent,  as  they  were  superior  in  worth,  to  his  mental  and  business  traits. 
In  all  his  dealings  he  was  honest,  faithful  and  courteous,  and  he  had  the 
greatest  confidence  reposed  in  him  by  all.  He  was  ever  ready  to  lend  a 
word  of  encouragement  or  do  a  deed  of  kindness.  To  any  industrious 
and  energetic  person  he  was  ready  to  give  assistance,  and  he  sometimes 
extended  his  hand  to  help  those  who  were  not  successful  in  showing  that 
they  deserved  his  assistance.  The  estimation  in  which  he  was  held  in 
Parkersburg  was  shown  in  many  ways.  Among  others  during  his  life, 
he  was  several  times  elected  a  councilman  of  the  city,  and  at  the  last 
election  before  his  death  he  was  the  nominee  of  both  parties  and  re- 
ceived nearly  all  the  votes.  Until  the  disruption  of  the  party,  Mr.  Smith 
wa^  an  enthusiastic  Whig:  he  then  became  a  Republican,  and  was  a  loyal 
and  zealous  upholder  of  the  country  in  the  time  of  strife.  Although  he 
wrn  not  a  member  of  any  church,  he  was  a  regular  attendant  at  services, 
and  lived  an  upright  and  consistent  Christian  life,  in  his  domestic,  social 
and  civic  relations.  His  ideals  were  always  high,  and  he  was  what  is 
now  called  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school. 

His  sudden  death,  Sunday  night.  May  13,  1867,  shocked  the  whole 
community.  His  wife  was  at  the  time  in  Cincinnati,  and  Mr.  Smith  was 
fnund  dead  in  bed.  The  newspaper  issues  of  that  day  speak  of  the  loss 
tc  I  all  the  people  and  declare  their  sympathy  to  the  family  in  warm,  earn- 
est words,  expressing,  as  one  of  them  declared,  less  than  they  felt.  The 
funeral  services  were  largely  attended,  and  an  immense  crowd  followed 
the  remains  to  their  resting  place  in  Cook's  burying  ground,  the  citizens 
ha\ing  gathered  together  to  pay  their  respects  to  his  memory. 

lleverly  Smith  married  (first)  January  27,  1836,  Catharine  Arthur 
Sterrett,  (second)  December  8,  1859.  Virginia  S.  (Quarrier)  Snodgrass, 
formerly  of  Charleston,  West  Virginia.  Children,  all  by  first  marriage: 
I.  Fannie  S.,  married,  October  18,  i860.  Dr.  Samuel  0.  A.  Burche,  of 
Washington,  District  of  Columbia  :  he  is  deceased,  and  his  widow  now 
lives  at  Parkersburg.  2.  Laura  V..  married.  October  18.  i86ci.  John  O. 
Talbott.  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  3.  Eva  P.,  married.  May  12,  1864,  Cap- 
tain S.  L.  Christie,  a  staff  officer  to  General  Cox.  4.  Kate  N..  married, 
(October  10.  1878,  Samuel  Karrick  Burche,  of  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia.  5.  Sterrett,  died  April  15,  1865.  6.  Beverly,  died  at  Jackson- 
ville, Florida,  February  4,   1900. 


William   Berry,  the  first  member  of  this  family  of  whom 

l'.!'".RRY     we  have  any  definite  information,  was  born  in   1768,  died 

November  21,  1848.     He  was  a  farmer  in  old  Virginia,  and 

lived  at  one  time  in  Loudoun  county.     He  married  (first)  June  18,  1790, 

.A.i^'ue-  Kitchen,  died  November  20.  1809.     He  married   (second)  Augu.st 

12,  18x0,  Cynthia  Triplet.     Children,  ten  by  first  marriage:  James,  horn 


396  WEST  VIRGINIA 

January  26.  1791  ;  Polly,  March  10,  1792:  Louis,  December  12,  1794; 
Fielding,  November  12,  1796;  Benjamin,  October  29,  1798;  Emsey, 
December  26,  1800:  William,  December  i,  1802:  Absalom,  August  31, 
1805,  killed  by  a  falling  tree,  November  9,  1830:  twin  daughters,  Octo- 
ber I.  1809;  Thornton,  May  9,  1811:  Joel,  referred  to  below;  Craven, 
November  3,  1814:  Agnes,  January  11,  1817;  Elizabeth  Ann,  July  19, 
1819;  Allen  S.,  August  28,  1821  ;  Washington  H.,  June  17,  1824;  Lucin- 
da,  December  i,  1826:  a  child,  still-born,  March  7,  1820. 

(II)  Joel,  son  of  William  and  Cynthia  (Triplet)  Berry,  was  born 
in  Loudoun  county,  Virginia,  November  9,  1812,  died  in  West  Virginia. 
He  removed  to  West  Virginia  when  a  young  man  and  settled  on  a  farm 
on  Oil  Creek  in  Braxton  county.  In  1850  he  removed  to  O'Brien's  Fork, 
Salt  Lick,  near  Heaters,  where  he  died  August  i,  1896.  He  married 
Elizabeth  Cummings.  Children:  William  H..  Ephraim  H..  Thornton  J., 
Minerva  A..  Franklin,  James  W..  ]\laria  A.,  Sarah  E..  Granville  M., 
Payton,  Joe  Thaddeus. 

(III)  Thornton  J.,  son  of  Joel  and  Elizabeth  (Cummings)  Berry, 
was  born  on  his  father's  farm  on  Oil  Creek  in  Braxton  county.  West 
Virginia,  died  in  Sutton,  West  \'irginia,  in  October,  1899.  He  received 
his  early  education  in  the  public  schools,  later  entered  the  grocery  busi- 
ness, and  on  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  enlisted  in  the  Confederate 
army  and  served  throughout  the  war,  taking  part  in  the  battle  of  Gettys- 
burg and  many  other  engagements,  and  being  wounded  near  Augusta, 
Georgia.  He  was  captured  at  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness  and  confined 
in  Fort  Delaware,  and  was  later  taken  south  and  placed  under  the  fire 
of  the  Southern  gim  boats  for  six  weeks,  and  later  taken  back  to  Fort 
Delaware  where  he  remained  a  prisoner  to  the  end  of  the  war.  After 
the  war  he  returned  to  Sutton,  and  was  at  one  time  postmaster  of  Sutton 
and  later  county  superintendent  of  schools  for  Braxton  county.  He  mar- 
ried Katherine  Miller,  born  in  Pennsylvania,  September  18,  1825,  died  in 
Sutton.  January  4.  1910.  She  was  a  woman  of  great  education  and 
many  accomplishments,  and  settled  in  West  Virginia  in  1866,  and  with 
her  husband  was  one  of  the  pioneer  school  teachers  of  Braxton  county, 
and  later  assisted  Professor  Kenna  in  conducting  the  first  Teachers  In- 
stitute held  in  Sutton.  Among  the  children  of  Thornton  J.  and  Kather- 
ine  (Miller)   Berry  is  Patrick  Joel,  referred  to  below. 

(IV)  Patrick  Joel,  son  of  Thornton  J.  and  Katherine  (Miller) 
Berry,  was  born  in  Sutton,  Braxton  county.  West  A'irginia,  August  16, 
1867,  and  is  now  living  there.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the 
public  schools,  and  then  began  his  business  career  as  a  clerk  in  a  genera! 
merchandise  store,  remaining  for  a  short  time,  and  then  entered  the 
office  of  the  Mountaineer  as  a  "printer's  devil"  and  continued  in  that 
occupation  for  four  years,  during  which  he  set  up  the  first  stick  of  type 
for  the  initial  issue  of  the  Braxton  Central.  He  then  became  associated 
with  his  father  in  a  general  store  in  Sutton,  and  after  the  death  of  his 
father  in  1899  continued  the  business  under  the  firm  name  of  P.  J.  Berry, 
and  still  conducts  the  establishment,  which  is  now  the  largest  general 
store  in  Braxton  county.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  and  one  of  the  directors 
of  the  Home  National  Bank  in  Sutton.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows.     He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  a  Methodist  in  religion. 

He  married  (first)  January,  1887,  Harriet  Cunningham,  born  in  Sut- 
ton. 1863,  died  i8go.  He  married  (second)  in  Buckhannon,  West  Vir- 
ginia, September  27,  1893,  Lee.  daughter  of  Arthur  G.  and  Elizabeth 
(Leonard)  Kiddy,  born  in  Buckhannon.  now  living  in  Sutton.  Her 
father  was  for  many  years  in  the  furniture  business  in  Buckhannon 
where  he  died  in  iqofi.  and  her  mother  was  born  in  1843  ^nd  is  now  liv- 


^^.^^^^L^oc^^u^^ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  397 

ing  in  Buckhannon.  Children  of  Patrick  Joel  Berry,  three  by  first  mar- 
riage:  I.  Irene,  died  in  infancy.  2.  Isabel,  twin  with  Irene,  died  in  infancy. 
3.  Gertrude,  born  May  24,  1890;  graduated  from  the  Normal  Department 
of  Wesleyan  College  at  Buckhannon  and  now  teaching  in  the  public 
school  in  Sutton.  4.  Pearl,  born  June  5,  1894;  now  a  student  at  Wes- 
leyan College  in  Buckhannon.  5.  Thornton  Archibald,  born  October  4, 
1895 ;  now  a  student  at  Wesleyan  College  in  Buckhannon.  6.  Katherine 
Elizabeth,  born  March  4,  1899.     7-  Arthur,  born,  January  19,  1908. 


The  Chancellor  family  has  been  settled  in  several 
CHANCELLOR     countries.     By  origin  it  is  French.     Then  England 

became  the  family  home,  with  William  the  Con- 
queror, and  from  England  the  family  removed  to  Scotland  in  the  four- 
teenth century. 

(I)  Richard  Chancellor,  the  first  member  of  this  family  in  America, 
came  from  England  in  1682,  and  settled  in  Westmoreland  county,  Vir- 
ginia. It  is  said  that  the  first  authentic  map  of  Muscovy  or  Russia  was 
made  by  him,  under  commission  from  the  English  Crown.  Children : 
William  Cooper,  of  whom  further;  Richard. 

(II)  William  Cooper,  son  of  Richard   Chancellor,   removed  to  Cul- 

peper  county,  Virginia.     He  married  Thomas.     Child,  Thomas,  of 

whom   further. 

(III)  Thomas,  son  of  William  Cooper  Chancellor,  came  in  1809  from 
Culpeper  county  to  Ritchie  county,  Virginia.  In  the  revolutionary  war 
he  served  in  the  Virginia  Infantry.  He  was  married  three  times,  his 
third  wife  having  been  Judith,  daughter  of  Richard  and  Isabella  (Pen- 
dleton) Gaines,  of  Pendleton  county,  Virginia.  She  was  a  niece  of  Ed- 
mund Pendleton,  the  patriot  and  jurist,  and  a  cousin  of  General  Edmund 
Pendleton  Gaines.  Children :  James  and  Richard,  who  died  during  the 
war  of  1812,  in  an  epidemic  of  measles  at  Norfolk,  Virginia:  Cooper, 
William,  Benjamin,  John  Cooper,  Rebecca,  Thomas,  of  whom  further. 

(IV)  Thomas  (2),  son  of  Thomas  (i)  and  Judith  (Gaines)  Chan- 
cellor, was  born  in  Fauquier  county,  Virginia,  in  September,  1805,  died 
July  4,  1872.  He  was  a  tanner.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  he 
held  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace.  His  religion  was  the  Methodist. 
He  married  Prudence,  daughter  of  Jesse  and  Mary  Rector,  of  Prunty- 
town,  Harrison  county,  Virginia.  Children :  William  Nelson,  Eliza 
J.,  Edmund  Pendleton,  of  whom  further;  Mary  Rebecca,  Alfred  Brun- 
jon,  Emily  E.,  Harriet  Ellen,  Thomas  Rector. 

(V)  Edmund  Pendleton,  son  of  Thomas  (2)  and  Prudence  (Rector) 
Chancellor,  was  born  at  Harrisville,  Ritchie  county,  Virginia,  March  24, 
1832.  In  1837  he  came  to  Parkersburg,  where  he  is  now  living  retired. 
Between  1891  and  1894  he  was  president  of  the  county  court  of  Wood 
county.  During  President  Cleveland's  second  term  he  was  appointed 
supervising  inspector  of  steam  vessels  of  the  seventh  district :  this  was  a 
presidential  appointment.  He  is  a  Democrat,  and  a  member  of  St.  Paul's 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

He  married,  July  25,  1855,  Rhoda  J.,  born  in  Mason  county,  Virginia, 
October  13,  1836,  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah  Miller.  Her  father 
was  a  farmer.  Children:  i.  Edmund  Pendleton,  born  at  Parkersburg, 
April  10,  i860;  he  is  engaged  in  insurance  and  real  estate  brokerage  at 
Parkersburg,  is  vice-president  of  the  Parkersburg  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association,  and  is  a  member  of  St.  Paul's  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South.  2.  Eugenia,  born  in  Mason  county,  August  9.  1861.  3. 
Rose  Carroll,  born  at  Parkersburg,  June  26,  1870.  4.  Nannie  Preston. 
born  at  Parkersburg,  September  27,  1873. 


398  WEST  \qRGIXIA 

W  alter  is  a  personal  name  of  Teutonic  origin,  used  in 
WATSOX  England  since  the  Norman  conquest;  it  is  said  to  mean 
lord  of  the  wood.  Various  surnames,  of  patronymic 
character,  come  from  this  personal  name ;  among  these  is  the  name  of  the 
present  family,  in  which  the  name  Walter  appears  in  abbreviated  form : 
others  are  Walters,  Fitzwalter,  Watts,  Watkins.  The  present  family  is 
said  to  be  of  Scotch  origin,  but  to  have  come  to  America  from  England. 

(I)  Joseph  Watson,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom 
we  have  definite  information,  was  born  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  1760.  He  married  twice.  Among  his  thirteen  children  was 
Jehu,  of  whom   further. 

(II)  Jehu,  son  of  Joseph  Watson,  was  born  in  Adams  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, November  17.  1804,  died  in  Cumberland  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, November  10.  1876.  His  life  was  passed  at  Plainfield,  Cumber- 
land county,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  a  shoemaker.  He  was  a  Re- 
publican. He  married  Mary  Anna  Myers,  born  in  Berks  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, January  9,  1809,  died  at  Plainfield,  February  2,  1908.  Chil- 
dren: I.  Elizabeth,  born  February  7,  1831,  died  May  7,' 1833.  2.  Jo- 
seph, of  whom  further.  3.  Willaim,  born  July  18,  1835,  died  August 
17,  1862.  He  was  a  school  teacher  before  the  civil  war;  enlisted  in 
Company  H,  First  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Corps,  was  wounded  in  bat- 
tle before  Richmond,  June  30,  1862,  and  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Confederates;  after  nineteen  days  he  was  paroled  and  sent  to  the  hos- 
pital at  Davy's  Island  ;  Cypress  Hill,  Long  Island,  was  his  place  of  in- 
terment. 4.  Rebecca,  born  February  22,  1837,  died  November  28,  1904; 
married  Henry  Eichilberger.  5.  Sarah  Ann,  born  May  13,  1841.  died 
March  7,  1907;  married  Henry  Carl.  6.  Christopher,  died  August  2, 
1897.  7.  James,  deceased.  8.  Samuel,  born  October  2,  1849;  married 
Sarah  Binkley ;  he  lives  in  Atchison  county,  Kansas.  9.  Anna  Martha, 
born  November   14,   1857,  died  November   18,   1858. 

(III)  Joseph  (2),  son  of  Jehu  and  Mary  Anna  (Myers)  Watson, 
was  born  near  Carlisle,  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  June  3,  1833, 
died  October  27,  1862.  He  was  brought  up  near  Plainfield,  and  attended 
public  school.  He  was  a  school  teacher  in  Cumberland  county ;  his  cer- 
tificate, from  August  16,  1854,  to  August  13,  1858,  bears  the  signature 
of  Daniel  Shelly,  superintendent  of  public  schools,  the  great-grandfather 
of  the  present  principal  of  the  preparatory  branch,  at  Keyser,  of  the 
University  of  West  Virginia.  Afterward  he  was  extra  freight  conduc- 
tor on  the  Pennsylvania  railroad,  running  out  of  Pittsburgh ;  near 
Horseshoe  Bend,  in  the  Allegheny  mountains,  a  large  ledge  of  rock,  fall- 
ing on  his  train,  killed  him,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-nine.  He  was 
buried  near  Plainfield.  He  was  a  Republican.  He  married  Susan,  born 
in  Franklin  county,  Ohio.  June  2,  1832,  died  at  Plainfield,  Pennsylvania, 
July  31,  1886,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Elizabeth  (Welch)  Kerns.  Her 
father  was  a  blacksmith  in  Perry  county.  Pennsylvania,  and  died  in 
Clearfield  county,  Pennsylvania,  at  the  age  of  about  ninety.  Children: 
I.  James  Calvin,  of  whom  further.  2.  Ellen  Rebecca,  married  Michael 
Masteller ;  they  live  at  Fredericksburg,  Spottsylvania  county.  Virginia, 
and  he  is  superintendent  of  the  Potomac  Fredericksburg  &  Piedmont 
railroad.  3.  Martha  Zeigler,  single ;  living  at  M'aplewood  farm.  Mineral 
county  West  Virginia,  which  is  owned  by  her  brother.  James  Calvin.  4. 
Alta  Josephine,  born  May  20,  1862.  died  November  20,  1862,  buried  in 
Heike's  graveyard,   West  Hill,   Cumberland  county,   Pennsylvania. 

(IV)  James  Calvin,  son  of  Joseph  (2)  and  Susan  (Kerns)  Wat- 
son, was  born  near  Carlisle.  Pennsylvania,  June  10,  1856.  His  early 
days  were  spent  in  the  counties  of  Cumberland  and  Perry,  Pennsyl- 
vania.    He  attended  the  public  schools,  but  at  the  age  of  eleven  years 


WEST  VIRGINIA 


.^yy 


hired  out  on  a  farm  for  board  and  clothes.  Here  he  remained  on  these 
terms  for  two  years,  and  he  continued  in  farm  work  until  he  was  twenty. 
In  the  meantime,  however,  he  had  acquired  a  fair  school  education. 
After  serving  an  apprenticeship  at  the  wagonmaker's  trade,  and  work- 
ing at  this  trade  for  a  few  years,  he  entered  into  business,  on  a  small 
scale,  leasing  a  saw  mill  at  his  home  town,  Plainfield.  A  few  months 
later  he  bought  an  interest  in  a  larger  mill  in  Perry  county,  having 
as  an  associate  a  former  schoolmate,  David  Strohn.  They  operated 
this  mill  together  until  October  15,  1884,  when  Mr.  Strohn  sold  his  in- 
terest to  William  H.  Loy,  of  Cisna  Run,  Perry  county,  Pennsylvania. 
Early  in  1884  the  firm  name,  Watson  &  Company,  had  been  adopted. 
May  II,  1886,  they  moved  their  saw  mill  to  Mineral  county.  West  \"ir- 
ginia,  to  a  site  eight  miles  southwest  of  Piedmont,  where  they  pur- 
chased two  thousand  acres  of  timber  land,  in  Mineral  county.  West 
Virginia,  and  Garret  county,  Maryland.  The  Potomac  river  divided 
the  two  tracts,  and  their  land  was  penetrated  by  the  West  Virginia  Cen- 
tral and  Pittsburgh  railroad,  now  the  Western  Maryland  railroad.  Here 
this  firm  built  the  town  of  Barnum,  Mineral  county.  West  Virginia, 
and  bridged  the  Potomac  river.  In  1896  they  ceased  operations  in  lum- 
ber. They  then  opened  coal  then  underlaying  the  lands  their  timber 
was  cut  from,  which  they  operated  under  the  firm  name  of  the  Watson 
Loy  Coal  Company.  This  continued  until  June,  1902,  when  this  plant 
was  sold  and  the  firm  was  dissolved.  Mr.  Watson  then  settled  at  Key- 
ser,  Mineral  county.  West  \'irginia,  where  he  built  a  very  comfortable 
home.  He  is  still  actively  engaged  in  the  coal  business,  being  vice- 
president,  general  manager  and  treasurer  of  the  Mastiller  Coal  Com- 
pany, with  mines  located  at  Hampshire.  Mineral  county,  West  Virginia. 
He  is  also  president  of  the  Richardson  Furniture  Company,  and  president 
of  the  West  Virginia  Forest  Association.  He  and  his  family  belong  to 
the  Mennonite  church. 

Mr.  Watson  married,  April  9,  1893,  Xaomi  K.,  born  at  Chestnut  Hill, 
Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  February  25,  i860,  daughter  of  Abram 
and  Elizabeth  (Mancha)  Trout.  Her  father  was  born  at  Mt. 
Pleasant,  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  died  in  that  county,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-five,  June  i,  1898;  he  was  a  farmer.  His  wife  was  born 
in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  died  June  2,  1900.  at  the  age  of 
sixty-seven.  Children  of  Abram  and  Elizabeth  (Mancha)  Trout:  i. 
Christopher  H.,  married  Dora  VViler ;  two  children  living  in  Lancaster 
county,  Pennsylvania.  2.  Edwin  J.,  married  Sadie  Kemmer ;  they  live 
at  Christiana,  Lancaster  county.  Pennsylvania ;  three  children.  3.  Na- 
omi K.,  married  James  Calvin  Watson,  of  whom  herein.  4.  Alice,  mar- 
ried (first)  D.  K.  Landis,  (second)  John  W.  Lytle ;  they  live  at  Stras- 
burg,  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania.  5.  Emma,  died  unmarried  at 
the  age  of  twenty-six.  6.  Abram  F.,  married  Kate  Gerhardt ;  they  live 
at  Mt.  Pleasant ;  six  children,  of  whom  three  only  are  living.  7.  Susan, 
died  unmarried  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven.  8.  Frank  G..  married  Ella 
Leach  ;  they  live  at  Blaine,  West  Virginia ;  two  children.  9.  Sallie,  mar- 
ried Clyde  Campbell :  the  husband  and  their  three  children  live  in  Har- 
risburg!  Pennsylvania.  Child  of  James  Calvin  and  Naomi  K.  (Trout) 
Watson:     Martin  Loy.  born  at  Barnum,  West  \'irginia,  July  21,   1894. 


John  Yeakley,  the  founder  of  this  famih,  came  as  early 
YEAKLEY     as  1770  from  Scotland  and  settled  in  York  county,  Penn- 
sylvania :  he  afterward  removed  to  Virginia.     He  mar- 
ried, about    1785,   Mary,  daughter  of   Michael   Fries.     Cliildren :   Betsy. 
Anna,    Kate,    Siisan.    Mary,    George    A.,    of   whom    further:    Margaret. 
Henry.  John. 


400  WEST  VIRGINIA 

{11)  George  A.,  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Fries)  Yeakley,  was  born 
near  Winchester,  Frederick  county,  Virginia,  in  1798,  died  near  Win- 
chester, in  1859.  Here  he  spent  his  hfe,  and  was  a  farmer.  At  first  he 
was  a  Whig,  but  afterward  a  Democrat.  He  and  his  wife  were  Luth- 
erans, and  he  buih,  near  Winchester,  one  of  the  earUest  churches  in  the 
valley.  For  many  years  he  was  steward.  He  married  Mary,  born  about 
1799,  and  died  in  1857,  daughter  of  Abner  Babb.  Children:  i.  John  A., 
deceased;  married  Mary  Koontz.  2.  James  H.,  deceased;  married  Alice 
Bogeant.  3.  William  R.,  born  in  1831,  deceased;  married,  in  1855,  Rachel 
Fries.  4.  Reese  B.,  deceased.  5.  Martin  F.,  of  whom  further.  6.  Eliza- 
beth A.,  married  Robert  Lewis;  lives  near  Winchester.  7.  Susan  H.,  de- 
ceased. 8.  George  A.,  deceased  ;  married  Olive  Fries.  9.  Mary,  deceased; 
married  Jesse  Fries.     10.  Charles  F.,  deceased. 

(III)  Martin  F.,  son  of  George  A.  and  Mary  (Babb)  Yeakley,  was 
born  near  Bethel  Church,  Frederick  county,  Virginia,  November  6, 
1835,  died  near  Bethel  Church,  July  6,  1909.  He  was  reared  on  the  pa- 
ternal farm  and  attended  public  schools.  In  1862  he  enlisted  in  the 
Twenty-seventh  \'irginia  Cavalry  Confederate  army,  and  was  engaged 
in  the  battles  of  Cedar  Creek  and  Winchester  and  most  of  those  fought 
in  the  Shenandoah  \'alley.  He  was  taken  prisoner,  and  was  for  seven 
months,  in  1863  and  1864,  confined  at  Camp  Chase,  Ohio,  then  he  was 
exchanged.  Returning  home  after  the  war,  he  lived  on  the  old  family 
farm.  For  many  years  he  was  a  steward  of  the  old  Bethel  Church,  built 
by  his  father.  He  married,  in  1872,  Martha  Ann,  daughter  of  Rev. 
William  and  Elizabeth  (Millhon)  Hodgson.  Her  father,  born  in  1815, 
was  a  farmer,  and  for  thirty  years  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  church 
(South).  He  was  a  native  of  Frederick  county,  but  his  grandfather  had 
been  born  on  the  Hudson  river,  and  was  one  of  the  first  white  settlers  in 
this  part  of  Mrginia.  Children  of  Rev.  William  and  Elizabeth  (Mill- 
hon) Hodgson:  i.  James  Harrison,  died  young.  2.  Martha  Ann,  mar- 
ried Martin  F.  Yeakley,  of  whom  herein.  3.  Dr.  Henry  Watson,  mar- 
ried Roberta  Parker ;  lives  at  Cumberland,  Maryland.  4.  William  Powell, 
born  about  1847,  died  in  1865.  5.  Sophie,  married  James  Fling.  Children 
of  Martin  F.  and  Martha  Ann  (Hodgson)  Yeakley:  i.  William  Holmes, 
of  whom  further.  2.  George  Frederick,  lives  on  the  old  home  place,  and 
is  a  farmer  and  fruit  grower.  3.  Catharine  Elizabeth,  married  Dr.  J.  A. 
Richards,  a  dentist ;  they  live  at  Winchester. 

(IV)  Dr.  William  Holmes  Yeakley,  son  of  Martin  F.  and  Martha 
Ann  (Hodgson)  Yeakley,  was  born  near  Winchester,  Virginia,  May  14, 
1874.  His  early  years  were  spent  on  the  old  place.  He  attended  the 
public  schools,  and  in  1889  graduated  from  the  Winchester  high  school. 
From  1891  to  1893  he  was  a  student  at  Shenandoah  Academy,  and  from 
1894  to  1896  at  National  University,  Lebanon,  Ohio.  In  1896  he  entered 
the  LTniversity  College  of  Medicine,  Richmond,  Virginia,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  medicine  and  surgery  in  1899.  He  was  in  the  same  year 
appointed  assistant  physician  at  the  Western  State  Hospital  for  the  In- 
sane, Staunton,  Virginia,  where  he  remained  until  June  i,  1902.  He  re- 
signed for  the  purpose  of  settling  at  Davis.  West  Virginia,  and  follow- 
ing general  practice.  In  the  meantime  he  was  elected  by  the  board  of 
.lirectors  of  the  United  College  of  Medicine  as  assistant  instructor  of 
anatomy,  but  he  resigned  this  position  also  to  engage  in  general  prac- 
tice. At  Davis  he  was  surgeon  for  the  Beacon  Coal  and  Coke  Company, 
the  Beaver  Creek  Lumber  Company,  and  the  West  Virginia  Pulp  and 
Paper  Company,  and  local  surgeon  for  the  Western  Maryland  Railroad 
Company.  Selling  all  this  practice  in  1906,  and  having  spent  some 
months  in  graduate  work  in  surgery  in  Philadelphia,  he  came  in  1910  to 
Keyser,  West  Virginia,  which  is  still  his  home.     He  is  a  member  of  the 


WEST  VIRGINIA  401 

County  Medical  Society,  the  West  Virginia  State  Medical  Association, 
and  the  American  Medical  Association,  and  is  counselor  for  the  Second 
District  of  West  \'irginia,  for  the  Potomac  \'alley  Medical  Bulletin.  Dr. 
Yeakley  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Farmers'  and  Merchants'  Bank,  Keyser, 
and  in  the  Hampton  ^Magazine  Company,  New  York  City.  He  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat, a  member  of  the  town  council  of  Keyser,  and  president  of  the 
city  board  of  health.  He  is  a  Alason,  and  a  member  of  the  Beverly  Club, 
of  Staunton,  Virginia.  He  and  his  family  are  Episcopalians.  He  mar- 
ried, June  17,  1903,  Eleanor  Straith,  born  at  Staunton,  Virginia,  June  2y, 
1880,  daughter  of  Thomas  Davis  and  Alary  Fontaine  (Alexander)  Ran- 
son.  Children  of  Thomas  Davis  and  Mary  Fontaine  (Alexander)  Ran- 
son:  I.  Charlotte  Alexander,  married  Herbert  Taylor;  they  lived  at 
Staunton.  2.  John  Baldwin,  deceased ;  married  Jane  Brown ;  she  now 
lives  in  Boston.  3.  Maria  Washington,  married  Joseph  A.  Glasgow; 
they  live  at  Staunton.  4.  Mary  Fontaine,  married  Alfred  Jaffe ;  they  live 
at  Staunton.  5.  Eleanor  Straith.  married  William  Holmes  Yeakley,  of 
whom  herein.  6.  Mary  Eleanor,  married  H.  L.  Opie ;  they  live  at  Staun- 
ton. Child  of  Dr.  William  Holmes  and  Eleanor  Straith  (Ranson) 
Yeakley:  William  Holmes,  born  April  2,  1907. 

Mrs.  Yeakley  is  a  descendant  of  several  of  the  most  notable  \'irginia 
families  and  of  some  famous  men.  Her  father  born  near  Charles  Town, 
Jefiferson  county,  \'irginia.  now  living  at  Staunton,  a  lawyer,  was  a  cap- 
tain in  the  Confederate  army,  and  his  brother,  Briscoe  Baldwin  Ranson, 
was  a  Confederate  army  surgeon.     The  Ranson  line  is  as  follows:     (1) 

James,    married    Letitia   ;    (II)    Richard,    married    Ann    Whiting; 

(III)  Alatthew,  married  Elizabeth  Morgan;  (IV)  James  Matthew,  mar- 
ried Eleanor  Baldwin;  (V)  Thomas  Davis.  [Mary  Eleanor  (Baldwin) 
Ranson  was  a  descendant  of  John  Baldwin,  of  Milford,  Connecticut,  in 
1648.  Dr.  Cornelius  Baldwin,  the  fifth  in  this  line,  was  born  at  Elizabeth, 
New  Jersey,  in  1751,  and  served  in  the  revolution;  he  became  afterward 
a  popular  and  distinguished  physician  in  Virginia,  and  was  a  member  of 
the  Cincinnati.  Briscoe  Gerard  Baldwin,  his  son,  who  lived  from  1789 
to  1852,  served  in  the  war  of  1812;  was  a  major-general  in  the  Virginia 
militia ;  was  a  member  of  the  \'irginia  assembly,  and  in  1829-30  of  the 
constitutional  convention;  from  1841  until  his  death  he  was  a  judge  of  the 
state  supreme  court  of  appeals.  He  married  Martha  Steele,  daughter  of 
Chancellor  John  Brown.  Chancellor  Brown  lived  from  1762  to  1826.  He 
was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  but  settled  in  X'irginia.  Here  he  was  an 
eminent  lawyer,  and  chancellor  of  the  Staunton  district  court  of  chan- 
cery ;  he  was  also  a  general  of  the  Virginia  militia,  and  a  trustee  of  Wash- 
ington College.  He  married  Frances  Peyton,  of  the  well-known  Peyton 
family  of  Virginia.  Matthew  Ranson  also  had  Peyton  descent,  through 
his  mother. 

On  her  mother's  side,  Mrs.  Yeakley  is  descended  from  the  Wash- 
ington, Lee  and  Alexander  families.  Corbin  Washington,  who  married 
Hannah  Lee.  was  her  great-great-grandfather ;  John  Augustine  Wash- 
ington her  great-grandfather;  Anna  Maria  Thomasina  (Blackburn) 
Washington  her  maternal  grandmother.  Thus  the  greatest  names  in 
Virginia  are  among  her  relatives;  in  fact.  Patrick  Henry  and  Dolly  Madi- 
son were  more  remote  relatives  also.  Mrs.  Yeakley's  mother  was  born 
near  Charles  Town  and  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-three. 


Among  the  younger  members  of  the  bar  of  this  state  who 

McKEE     are  deserving  of  recognition  we  find  David  A.  !McKee.  of 

the  Ohio  county  bar  who  has  been  engaged  in  the  practice 

of  law  in  the  city  of  Wheeling  since  1906,  and  whose  character  and  abil- 


402  WEST  VIRGINIA 

ity  as  a  lawyer  have  given  him  prestige  and  popularity  in  his  community. 
His  practice  has  had  a  steady,  healthy  growth,  and  he  now  has  a  very 
representative  clientage. 

Mr.  McKee  was  born  in  Belleville,  St.  Clair  county,  Illinois,  Novem- 
ber 2,  1879,  son  of  David  A.  and  Jennie  McKee,  who  were  born  and 
reared  in  the  city  of  Wheeling,  and  are  now  both  deceased.  At  the  age 
of  eleven,  his  father  moved  to  a  farm  in  Missouri,  and  he  there  lived 
until  he  moved  to  this  city  in  1903.  One  thing  of  which  Mr.  McKee 
is  very  boastful  is  that  he  reached  his  majority  and  cast  his  first  vote 
in  Champ  Clark's  district,  in  the  state  of  Missouri,  surrounded  by  the 
strongest  influence  of  Democracy,  and  that  that  vote  was  cast  for  the  j 
Republican  party  and  he  has  since  that  time  been  a  most  loyal  supporter  j 
and  worker  for  the  Republican  cause. 

Mr.    McKee's   professional   education    was   gained   through   his    own    j 
efforts.      His    father   was   unable  to   educate  him   in   the   science   of  his    | 
profession,  and  his  success  is  attributed  to  his  ambition,  tireless  and  un-    j 
ceasing  efforts.     In  the  year   1910  Mr.   McKee   was  nominated  by  the    j 
Republican  county  convention  of  Ohio  county  as  the  legal   representa- 
tive of  that  county   in  the   house  of  delegates,   but   was   defeated   with 
the   rest   of  the   legislative   ticket   at   the   election.     His   ambition,   how- 
ever, was  undaunted  by  this  defeat,  and  he  has  since  been  honored  by 
his  party  by  the  appointment  of  assistant  prosecuting  attorney  in  Ohio 
county,  which  office  he  is  now  filling  with  credit.     In  fraternalism  he  is 
well  known,  being  a  very  active  and  appreciative  member  of  Wheeling 
Lodge,  No.  28,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks ;  he  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  a  member  of  the  Second  United  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  the  city  of  Wheeling,  and  a  member  of  the  Ohio 
County  Bar  Association. 

On  February  8,  1910,  he  was  married  to  Katherine  Poffenbarger, 
who  was  born  and  reared  in  Mason  county.  West  \'irginia,  daughter  of 
Henry  Poffenbarger,  a  citizen  of  Wheeling,  and  a  niece  of  Judge  George 
Poffenbarger  of  the  supreme  court  of  West  Virginia.  Mr.  and  IMrs. 
McKee  have  no  children. 


Crawford  is  the  name  of  a  place  in  Scotland,  where 
CRAWFORD     the   Romans   suffered  a   severe  defeat.     It  is   said  to 

be  derived  from  two  Celtic  words,  signifying  a  shel- 
tered place.  Among  the  earliest  settlers  of  Augusta  county,  Virginia, 
coming  thereto  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  were  two 
brothers  it  is  said,  who  bore  this  surname,  .Alexander  and  Patrick.  They 
are  thought  to  have  been  natives  of  the  north  of  Ireland.  Alexander, 
the  older  of  these,  married  ]\Iary  McPheeters ;  they  were  murdered  by 
the  Indians,  about  October,  1764.  Patrick  Crawford,  according  to  one 
of  the  historians  of  Augusta  county,  migrated  from  Ireland  to  Penn- 
sylvania, and  thence  came  to  Augusta  county,  \^irginia.  about  1750:  he 
married   Sallie  Wilson. 

The  early  record  of  the  present  family  is  not  certainly  known.  Sam- 
uel Davies  Crawford,  with  whom  our  account  will  begin,  had  a  brother, 
Colonel  James  Crawford,  but  their  parentage  is  unknown.  It  is  said, 
however,  that  their  father  was  named  John ;  he  seems  to  have  had  a 
brother  called  "Robin:"  and  James  Crawford,  who  died  in  1708,  and 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Patrick  Crawford,  is  said  to  have  been  a 
brother  of  John  and  "Robin." 

(I)  Samuel  Davies  Crawford,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about 
whom  we  have  clear  information,  was  born  at  Bonnie  Doon,  Augusta 
county,  Virginia,  in   1775.     His  father  died  when  he  was  still  a  young 


WEST  VIRGINIA  403 

lan  leaving  two  sons  Samuel  and  James,  who  were  brought  up  by  a 
tucky  Samuel  Da  vies  Crawford  was  a  farmer,  and  served  in  the  war 
rL  M~'  ""'■!,  ^''V^"''  ?^  lieutenant.  He  was  a  Presbyterian.  He  mar- 
ried Nancy,  daughter  of  Rev.  William  Wilson.  Her  father  was  the  Sec- 
ond minister  of  the  Old  Stone  Church  (Presbyterian),  of  A» 
county  Children :  George  ^^•ashington,  James  ^^qlson,  Thomas  PoSe 
Samuel  Davies,  of  whom  further.  J^odj,e, 

(II)  Samuel  Davies  (2),  son  of  Samuel  Davies  (ij  and  Nancy  (Wil- 
son) Craxx^ord.  was  born  at  Bonnie  Doon,  A^irginia,  July  4.  18^  died 
at  Bonnie  Doon,  Virginia  July  26,  1885.  He  mlide  his  hom^  at  Bonnie 
?°°"'  f  "^^?  county,  Virginia,  and  was  a  farmer.  He  married,  Janu- 
rl.t  ]rl\  ^^T^'^-  ^^"'^^'■to"'  daughter  of  Isaac  Durrett  and  Nancy 
DaMs    (Catterton)    Simms,    who   was   born    at    Free    Union,    Albemarle 

ber  lo,  1892.  Children:  Alexander,  born  December  21,  1847-  Sallie 
Davis,  February  i,  1849:  Emma  Vernon,  June  19,  1850;  Millard  Henry 

AuJu?"/i8  r  vP-^Af  °'"^^-  ^"^^'^^  '7,  1854:  Thomas  PresS 
August  24.  1856;  Elsie  Montgomery,  August  29,  i8s8 

P.rl  1^   Dr    Millard  Henry  Crawford,  son  of  Samuel  Davies  (2)  and 

Mav  2Q  Si  H  ^■^''"^'^-  S"^^'^^''^'  ''^'  '^°'-"  ^'  Mount  Crawford, 
Arl\2'  ^v  Hf^''"&,,':eceiyed  a  general  education  at  Bethel  Militar; 
.Academy,  Warrenton,   Virginia,  he  attended  the  medical  department  of 

fL  Z  V^  '^'^T^^  ^''"  ^°'^'  ^"^'  -^^  g'-^duated  there  in 
1874.  November  _i,  1876,  he  entered  the  medical  col-ps  of  the  United 
States  navy  as  assistant  surgeon.  In  1890  he  was  promoted  to  surgeon. 
Ur.  Crawford,  as  senior  surgeon,  attached  to  the  United  States  Ship 
Boston  was  m  the  engagement  of  Commodore  Dewey's  fleet  with 
Admiral  Montojo,  in  the  battle  of  Manila  Bay,  May  r  1898  On  No 
vember   i,   1903,  he  resigned   from  the  naval'service,  with  the  rank  of 

ZT^'^u  5'"T  '^^'  *'T^i^  ^''  ^°"°^^^d  agriculture,  and  he  has  a  farm 
near  Shepherdstown.  JefTerson  county.  West  Virginia.  He  has  bee^ 
president  of  the  Farmers'  Bank  at  Shepherdstown.  having  held  this  office 
for  two  years,  and  is  at  present  a  director  in  the  same  bank.     He  *  a 

S    r.  k'  ^°^'    ^'■'"""'S:-     ^"  P°''^'=^  D^-  Crawford  is  indepen- 

ient,  having  been  so  bng  an  officer  of  the  navy  he  has  necessarily  taken 
10  active  part  in  political  strife. 

"  f^e  married,  at  Gainesville,  Cooke  county,  Texas,  October  71  1000 
>^ora  Means  born  at  Gainesville.  August  26.  1866.  daughter  of  FrlncS 
Manor,  and  Louisa  Armstrong  (Huffman)  Dougherty.  Her  father  was 
1  ranchman  and  banker,  and  served  in  the  legislaUire  of  Texaf  He  wa 

Tanta^n  "in    w'n'  '''p'"i  ^f-"'^  ''■''"^  ^^"'^   '^61  to  1865.  and  wa 
l.TT^  ll'™   F.tzhugh's   regiment  throughout   the   vvar      Chil- 

%mf  uT'"  ^^'"°"  '."/  ^°"''"  Armstrong  (Huffman)   Dougherty 

frd  Hen^  r"-  r';"\f ''■'°:!-  l"'^"  ^'^''''  C°"  M^^"^'  "tarried  M^: 
ard  Henr>'  Crawford.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crawford  have  no  children. 

HUFFMAN  W^'t'^f'    — ^'°'"    f"ff"i^"'     postmaster     of     Keyser. 

:    HUFFMAN  West    Virginia,    and    prominently    identified    with'  the 

-h^  nn,,..  business  interests  as  well  as  with  the  political  life  of 

MchZT  !•  ""'  ^"  """^^  ^'"°''^'-  °^  that  sturdy  Teutonic  stock 

M  has  given  to  our  country  many  of  her  best  and  most  useful  citi- 

o  tiPT?''J'f  c!"  ?^"^'"^"  ^^'as  born  in  Germany,  and  in  1818  emigrated 
0  the  United  States,  settling  in  Hardy  county,  West  Virginia,  where  he 


404  WEST  VIRGINIA 

engaged  in  farming.  He  married  and  had  a  son  Daniel,  mentioned 
below. 

(II)  Daniel,  son  of  Christian  Huffman,  was  born  in  1807,  in  Ger- 
many, and  was  still  a  child  when  brought  by  his  parents  to  the  United 
States.  In  early  manhood  he  removed  from  Hardy  county  to  Hamp- 
shire county,  now  West  Virginia,  and  there  passed  his  life  as  a  farmer. 
He  married  Alary  Ann  High,  and  their  children  were :  Frederick,  men- 
tioned below  ;  Christian,  deceased,  married Cline,  also  deceased,  and 

had  one  child ;  Elizabeth,  married  James  P.  Gannon,  of  Keyser,  and  has 
five  children ;  Harriet,  married  Edward  Taylor,  and  died  leaving  two 
children  who  live  with  their  father  in  Indiana ;  Mary  Catherine,  mar- 
ried Thomas  Sharpe,  deceased,  and  lives  at  Piedmont,  West  Virginia ; 
Elijah,  married  Sarah  Taylor,  and  has  eight  children  ;  Garrett,  died  at  the 
age  of  eight  years ;  Jacob  V.,  married  Myra  Ashley,  has  twelve  children 
and  lives  in  Mill  Creek,  near  Purgitsville ;  Tabitha,  married  Sampson 
Taylor.  Mrs.  HufTnian,  the  mother  of  this  family,  died  August  2,  1877, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-nine.  She  was  a  member  of  the  United  Brethren 
church.  Daniel  Huffman,  the  father,  died  in  1889,  near  Purgitsville, 
Hampshire  county.  West  Virginia. 

(III)  Frederick,   son   of   Daniel   and   Mary  Ann    (High)    Huffman, 
was  born  November  28,   1831,  on  Mill  creek,  near  Romney,  Hampshire 
county,    now    West    Mrginia.      He   passed    his   boyhood    and    youth    in 
Hardy  county,  where  he  attended  private  schools.     Until  nearly  twenty 
years  of  age  he  was  a  farmer,  and  thenceforth  followed  the  carpenter's 
trade  in  various  parts  of  the  county.     During  the  civil  war  he  served  in 
the  quartermaster's  department,  at  Keyser,  and  was  captured  by  Rosser. 
While  being  marched  through  the  country,  under  guard,  to  Richmond,    : 
he  escaped  one  night  at  nine  o'clock,  and  after  a  time  found  his  way  back    I 
to  Keyser.     After  the  war  he  engaged  in  the  wagon  making  business    1 
which  he  followed  for  eighteen  years.     Politically  he  is  and  always  has    | 
been  a  Republican,  and  for  nine  years  held  the  office  of  postmaster  of 
Keyser.     Mr.  Huffman  married  Alary  M.  Taylor  and  they  are  the  par- 
ents of  two  sons :    Daniel  Frederick,  married  Ethel  May  Nelson,  and  is 
assistant  postmaster  of  Keyser;  Thaddeus  Taylor,  mentioned  below.  Mr. 
Huffman  has  now  retired   from  business  and  lives  in   Keyser  with  his 
younger  son.     Mrs.  Huffman  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Daniel  Taylor,  father  of  Mrs.  Mary  M.  (Taylor)  Huffman,  was  a  farm-   | 
er  near  Keyser,  and  married  Martha  Ann  Rodgers.     They  were  the  par- 
ents of  a  large  family  of  sons  and  daughters,  of  whom  the  following  are 
living:    Edward,  of  Denver,  Colorado,  married   (first)   Hattie  Huffman, 
(second)  Lottie  Hughes:  Sampson,  married  Tabitha  Huffman,  and  lives 
near  Keyser;  Nancy,  widow  of  James  W.  Dye.  lives  in  Wolcott,  Indiana;   | 
Nathaniel  R.,  married  Annie  Taylor,  and  lives  on  the  homestead ;  Sarah,   ij 
married  Elijah  Huffman;  Daniel  Zac,  married  Mary  Cunningham,  and    I 
lives  near  Purgitsville;  Mary  M.,  married  Frederick  Huffman.    The  fol-  [ 
lowing  are  deceased :  John  Wilhelm,  married  Sarah  Cunningham ;  War-   )■ 
ren  James,  married  Alargaret  High;  Asethran  Frances,  married  Green   ]' 
Stalton ;   Martha   Ann.   who   died  at  the  age  of   sixteen   years.     Daniel   j' 
Taylor,  the  father  of  the  family,  died  near  Keyser,  December  18,  1875,   ji 
having  reached  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-three.  j; 

(IV)  Thaddeus  Taylor,  son  of  Frederick  and  Mary  M.  (Taylor)  jj 
Huffman,  was  born  March  6,  1879,  in  Keyser,  West  Virginia,  where  he  jj 
received  his  education  in  the  public  schools.  His  first  employment  was  at  i 
bridge  building  for  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  and  after-  i 
ward  he  served  six  or  eight  years  as  a  clerk  in  his  father's  store.  At  the  j  j 
age  of  nineteen  he  became  a  clerk  in  the  postoffice  and  after  serving  four 
years  was  appointed  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  his  employer.     At  the 


WEST  VIRGINIA 


405 


end  of  that  time,  in  1903,  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Keyser,  being  re- 
appointed in  1907  and  191 1.  His  present  term  will  expire  in  1915.  In 
view  of  the  fact  that  he  is  not  yet  thirty-five  years  old,  Mr.  Huffman's 
long  tenure  of  office  is  remarkable,  and  speaks  volumes  for  his  ability 
and  faithfulness  in  the  discharge  of  duty.  In  this  he  follows  in  the  foot- 
steps of  his  father  whose  fidelity  as  postmaster  of  Keyser  was  attested 
by  his  long  retention  in  office.  The  name  of  HulTman  is  synonymous,  in 
Keyser,  with  faithful  public  service  and  good  citizenship.  Mr.  Huiifman 
is  identified  with  the  fruit-growing  industry  of  the  county,  being  largely 
interested  in  the  following  firms :  The  Knobbley,  Alkire.  Keyser,  Min- 
eral and  Abrams  Ridge  Apple  and  Peach  Orchard  companies.  In  the 
three  of  these  first  named  he  holds  the  position  of  secretary.  He  affiliates 
with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and 
is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

Mr.  Huffman  married,  November  12,  1903,  Nellie  Maria,  born  at 
Grafton,  West  Mrginia,  daughter  of  Philip  and  Elvira  (Nelson)  Nine, 
natives  of  Grafton  and  parents  of  one  other  daughter,  Laura  Irene,  who 
is  married  to  Frederick  Davis  and  lives  near  Keyser.  IMr.  Nine,  who 
was  a  railroad  employe,  died  December  24,  1887,  in  Keyser.  where  his 
widow  is  still  living.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Huffman  have  three  children:  Fred- 
erick Nine,  Mary  Nelson,  Thad  Taylor. 


This  is  an  old  Pennsylvania  family,  the  progenitor  of  its  rep- 
OTT  resentative  in  West  Virginia  being  John  H.  Ott,  a  native  of 
Rebecca  Furnace,'  Blair  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  one  of  the 
leading  farmers  of  that  place.  (II)  Lee,  son  of  John  H.  Ott,  and  the 
present  general  superintendent  of  the  Davis  Coal  &  Coke  Company,  of 
Thomas,  West  Virginia,  was  born  in  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania.  He 
obtained  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  this  native  state,  after 
which  he  immediately  entered  business  in  the  employ  of  the  Morrisdale 
Coal  Company  of  Bedford  county,  launching  upon  the  career  in  which 
he  has  subsequently  proved  so  successful.  Proving  his  adaptability  to 
the  work,  he  was  appointed  foreman  of  the  mines  owned  by  the  com- 
pany, remaining  with  them  for  several  years  in  that  capacity.  He  then 
became  mine  foreman  of  the  Clearfield  Consolidated  Coal  Company  of 
Houtzdale,  Clearfield  county,  Pennsylvania,  gaining  additional  knowl- 
edge and  experience,  and  on  December  i,  1885,  passed  the  first  state 
examination  for  mine  foreman  with  an  average  grade  of  97%. 

After  this  brilliant  achievement  he  became  superintendent  of  mines 
for  the  Altoona  Coal  &  Coke  Company,  at  Kittanning,  Blair  county, 
Pennsylvania,  and  remained  in  that  capacity  for  about  four  years.  He 
then  changed  to  a  position  of  the  same  kind  with  the  Crescent  Coal  Com- 
pany, at  Sandy  Run,  Bedford  county,  Pennsylvania,  holding  this  posi- 
tion until  he  resigned  in  order  to  accept  the  appointment  as  mine  inspec- 
tor for  the  Davis  Coal  &  Coke  Company,  of  this  city.  His  duties  here 
were  to  investigate  thoroughly  the  condition  of  the  company's  mines, 
and  make  suggestions  for  modern  improvements  and  the  adoption  of 
better  methods.  This  work  was  performed  most  satisfactorily  and  was 
concluded  within  six  months,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  was  appointed 
superintendent  of  the  Thomas  mines,  where  he  remained  until  .April, 
1900.  He  was  then  transferred  as  superintendent  to  the  Elk  Garden 
Mines,  returning  to  Thomas  as  general  superintendent  of  all  mines  of 
the  Davis  Coal  &  Coke  Company  on  November  i,  1906.  During  his 
very  able  administration  of  the  company's  mines  and  ovens,  he  has 
brought  them  to  a  high  state  of  efficiency  and  economical  production.     He 


4o6  WEST  VIRGINIA 

has  also  had  charge  of  all  the  vast  improvements  enumerated  and  out- 
lined in  the  history  of  the  company. 

Mr.  Ott  is  now  one  of  the  best  known  and  esteemed  business  men  in 
this  region,  and  is  connected  with  various  other  concerns  and  enterprises, 
being  a  director  of  the  Davis  National  Bank,  of  Piedmont,  West  Vir- 
ginia. He  is  also  an  official  of  the  affiliation  board  of  the  Coal  Mining 
Institute  of  America,  and  a  member  of  the  executive  board  of  the  West 
Virginia  Coal  Mining  Institute.  He  is  also  well  known  in  Masonic  cir- 
cles, being  a  life  member  of  Logan  Lodge,  No.  490,  of  Altoona,  Penn- 
sylvania; a  member  of  West  Virginia  Consistory,  No.  i.  Wheeling,  West 
Virginia;  and  Osiris  Shrine,  Wheeling,  West  Virginia.  He  is  also 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  In  his  political  opinions 
Mr.  Ott  is  an  adherent  of  the  Republican  party;  though  he  is  not  an 
active  politician,  his  support  is  solicited  by  all  politicans  in  five  counties 
of  West  Virginia  along  the  western  border  of  the  state,  and  his  acquaint- 
ance covers  considerable  of  the  state  with  the  business  interests  especially. 
His  interest,  however,  is  always  very  strong  in  any  movement  which  con- 
cerns the  public  welfare. 

Besides  being  thoroughly  and  technically  versed  in  the  mining  and 
coke  manufacturing  industries,  he  has  made  a  study  of  the  geology  of 
coal  formation,  and  his  recommendation  on  undeveloped  coal  properties 
is  very  valuable.  He  is  an  extremely  well  informed  man  on  many  sub- 
jects ;  has  a  very  fine  library,  is  well  read  in  general  literature  and  con- 
versant with  all'  the  important  topics  of  the  day.  With  his  employees 
he  has  always  been  extremely  popular  as  he  is  personally  interested  in 
their  welfare  and  the  education  of  their  children  for  the  making  of  bet- 
ter citizens,  and  is  held  in  the  highest  regard  in  the  community  by  every- 
one with  whom  he  is  acquainted.     Mr.  Ott  married  Elizabeth  Jenkins. 


John  Griggs  Flanagan  was  born  September  13,  1849, 
FLANAGAN  near  Bakerton,  Jefferson  county,  now  West  Virginia. 
(See  genealogical  account  of  the  Flanagan  family  in 
this  work.)  He  was  one  of  Jefiferson  county's  most  prominent  citizens 
and  business  factors  as  well  as  a  large  land  owner.  He  was  of  a  genial, 
kind,  pleasing  disposition,  ever  ready  to  aid  those  in  distress  who  might 
call  upon  him.  He  was  a  consistent  member  of  Zion  Presbyterian 
Church,  liberal  in  benevolences ;  a  member  of  the  school  board ;  one  of 
the  first  to  develop  the  limestone  quarries  in  his  county,  having  followed 
that  business  for  thirty  years.  The  last  decade  of  his  life  he  was  retired 
from  active  business,  living  on  one  of  his  three  farms,  "Rock  Hill." 

He  married  (first)  October  26,  1876,  Miss  E.  J.  Tamson  Krepps,  of 
Harpers  Ferry,  West  Virginia.  Of  this  union  one  child,  a  son  was  born, 
dying  in  infancy.  The  wife  died  September  7,  1892.  He  married  (sec- 
ond) June  3,  1897,  Miss  Bertha  Dreisbach  Spreckler,  of  Circleville, 
Pickaway  county,  Ohio,  whose  ancestors  were  of  prominent  pioneer 
stock  and  of  Presbyterian  faith.  She  was  a  member  of  the  King's  Daugh- 
ters, joining  in  1886,  her  mother  also  was  a  King's  Daughter.  Of  this 
marriage  one  child  was  born,  John  Griggs  Flanagan,  May  19,  1898.  He 
was  instantly  killed  in  a  runaway  accident.  March  25,  1913.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  graduating  class  of  the  Shepherdstown  Graded  School 
and  a  bud  of  much  promise. 


WEST  MRGINIA  407. 

(Jf  the  existing  generation  of  public  men.  there  is  none  more 
KIDD  thoroughly  identified  with  the  public  affairs  of  West  Virginia 
and  has  its  welfare  more  at  heart  than  the  Hon.  Robert  F. 
Kidd.  who  has  ably  filled  many  responsible  public  offices.  As  a  politician 
he  has  been  remarkably  successful,  and  the  secret  of  his  success  and  in- 
fluence may  be  stated  in  a  few  words.  Utterly  fearless  in  the  expression 
oi'  his  views,  his  friends  know  him  as  one  on  whom  they  can  depend, 
while  his  enemies  find  in  him  a  man  who  can  be  neither  frightened  nor 
'  cajoled. 

(]  )  Thomas  Kidd  was  born  in  \'irginia  in  the  year  1801,  and  during 
all  the  active  years  of  his  life  was  engaged  in  farming  and  tobacco  grow- 
ing. His  death  occurred  in  1889.  He  married  Margaret  Johnson,  who 
died  in  1878.  They  had  children :  Matthew.  Luraine,  Andrew  Jackson. 
Wii-son,  John,  Elias  C,  ^^'illiam,  Thomas,  Simpson,  P.ethelam,  Alargaret, 
Robert  F.,  Phoebe,  Xancy. 

(II)  Hon.  Robert  F.  Kidd,  son  of  Thomas  Kidd,  was  born  in  Up- 
shur county,  Virginia,  February  n,  1853.  Having  received  an  excellent 
practical  and  thorough  traming  in  the  public  schools  of  his  section  of  the 
country,  upon  the  completion  of  his  education,  which  he  had  supple- 
mented by  diligent  study  at  home,  he  commenced  his  business  career  with 
newspaper  work,  for  which  his  readiness  with  the  pen  eminently  fitted 
him.  He  edited  the  Buckhannon  Banner  until  1882,  at  which  time  he 
removed  to  Glenville,  Gilmer  county,  West  A'irginia,  and  accepted  the 
principalship  of  the  Glenville  Normal  School.  In  1880  he  had  com- 
menced reading  law  with  C.  C.  Higgenbottam,  and  continued  his  pro- 
fessional studies  with  John  Bassell,  of  Clarksburg.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  of  the  state  in  1882,  but  continued  in  the  position  of  principal 
for  two  years.  He  then  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  in 
Glenville,  and  it  was  but  a  short  time  when  his  natural  and  acquired  abil- 
ity asserted  itself  and  he  had  obtained  a  rank  among  the  leading  lawyers 
of  the  state.  In  1886  he  was  elected  to  the  house  of  delegates,  but  de- 
clined the  honor  of  a  second  term.  The  Democratic  nomination  for 
congress  was  tendered  him  in  1888,  but  Mr.  Kidd  declined  to  serve.  In 
1898  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate  from  the  old  third  senatorial  dis- 
trict, and  in  1902  he  was  elected  from  the  tenth  senatorial  district,  and 
re-elected  in  1906  and  in  1910.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  committees 
on  rules,  election,  judiciary  and  education.  He  has  earned  and  deserves 
the  confidence  of  the  community  to  an  unusual  degree,  has  been  hon- 
ored with  membership  in  the  council,  and  by  the  office  of  mayor  of  Glen- 
ville. Mr.  Kidd  is  not  only  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Democratic  party, 
but  he  is  one  of  the  substantial  men  of  the  city,  and  has  its  welfare  m- 
tenselv  at  heart.  Any  project  which  is  proposed,  whose  purport  is  the 
improvement  or  development  of  Glenville  in  any  direction,  is  sure  to  have 
his  hearty  approval  and  all  the  assistance  he  is  able  to  give.  He  is  sym- 
pathetic and  charitable  in  his  disposition,  and  is  the  center  of  a  large  cir- 
cle of  friends.  In  financial  matters  he  is  also  a  man  of  sound  judgment 
and  has  been  in  office  as  vice-president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Glenville. 

Mr.  Kidd  married,  in  November,  1884,  Lelia  Johnson,  and  they  have 
had  children  :  Lenora  L..  married  W.  L.  Jacks ;  Edith,  married  C.  C. 
Morris:  Johnson  C  died  March  25,  1913:  Robert  F.  Jr.;  Paul  H. 


This  old  \'irginia  family  has  an  able  representative  in  Fay- 
LEWIS     ette  county.  West  \'irginia,  in  the  person  of  Joseph  Stuart 
(2)  Lewis,  who  is  acknowledged  as  one  of  the  leading  bus- 
iness men  in  Oak  Hill,  where  he  has  maintained  his  home  since   1890. 
He  was  born  in  Buckingham  county,  Virginia,  January  13,  1874,  and  is 


4o8  WEST  \'IRGINIA 

a  son  of  Joseph  Stuart  (  i)  and  Mary  (Anderson)  Lewis,  the  former  of    I 
whom  is  deceased  and  the  latter  of  whom  is  now  the  wife  of  Rev.  T.  H. 
Fitzgerald,  pastor  of  the  Oak  Hill  Baptist  Church.    The  father,  who  was 
likewise  a  IJaptist  minister,  died  in  Buckingham  county.  West  Virginia, 
in  1877,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-three  years. 

Joseph  Stuart  Lewis  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  na- 
tive county  and  in  1890,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  he  accompanied  his 
mother  and  step- father  to  Fayette  county,  locating  in  Oak  Hill.  His 
first  employment  here  was  as  a  clerk  in  Jones  Brothers'  store  and  with 
the  passage  of  time,  after  he  had  saved  up  a  little  money,  Mr.  Lewis  en- 
gaged in  the  mercantile  business  at  Oak  Hill  on  his  own  account.  His 
subsequent  career  is  a  noble  illustration  of  what  independence,  self-faith 
aod  persistency  can  accomplish  in  America.  He  is  a  self-made  man  in  the 
most  significant  sense  of  the  word,  for  no  one  helped  him  in  a  financial 
way  and  he  is  practically  self-educated.  As  a  young  man  he  was  strong, 
vigorous  and  self-reliant.  He  trusted  in  his  own  abihty  and  did  things 
single-handed  and  alone.  Today  he  stands  supreme  as  a  successful  busi- 
ness man  and  a  loyal  and  public-spirited  citizen.  Numerous  business  en- 
terprises of  large  scope  and  importance  owe  their  existence  and  pros- 
perity to  Mr.  Lewis.  He  is  vice-president  of  the  Merchants  &  Miners 
Bank  and  of  the  Anderson.  Lewis,  Gray  Company,  Inc.,  Richmond,  Vir- 
ginia, wholesale  drygoods  and  notions  :  is  president  and  a  director  of  the 
Oak  Hill  Hardware  Company ;  he  deals  extensively  in  real  estate,  hand- 
hng  both  city  and  farming  property,  also  coal  and  timber  lands.  Mr. 
Lewis  is  a  Republican  in  his  political  faith  and  in  1894  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  board  of  education  of  Fayetteville  district.  He  has  ever 
manifested  a  great  interest  in  educational  matters  and  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Fayetteville  board  for  the  past  eight  years.  During  his  in- 
cumbency of  this  office  teachers'  salaries  have  been  raised,  the  length  of 
the  school  term  increased,  better  buildings  erected,  high  schools  estab- 
lished, a  modern  system  of  education  installed  and  co-operation  amongst 
the  teachers  and  principals  brought  about.  Religiously,  he  is  a  devout 
member  of  the  Oak  Hill  Baptist  Church,  to  whose  charities  he  is  a  most 
liberal  contributor.  In  ]\Iasonic  circles  he  has  served  as  master  of  Oak 
Hill  Lodge,  No.  120.  two  terms,  and  is  a  Knight  Templar  and  a  Shriner. 

November  17,  1897,  Mr.  Lewis  married  Ella  Mahood,  of  Oak  Hill. 
This  union  has  been  prolific  of  one  son,  Joseph  Stuart  (3),  who  is  a  pu- 
pil in  the  Oak  Hill  high  school.  The  Lewis  family  occupies  a  beautiful 
residence  in  Oak  Hill  and  the  same  is  the  scene  of  many  attractive  gath- 
erings. 


This  familv  have  been  for  many  years  residents  01 
ENGLAND  West  \'irginia.  A.  J.  S.  England,  father  of  Edward 
Theodore  England,  of  Logan,  West  Virginia,  was  born 
in  Barbour,  West  Virginia,  in  1834,  died  in  1899.  For  many  years  he 
engaged  in  farming  in  his  native  county.  He  married  Mary  Elizabeth 
Welch,  of  Jackson  county.  West  Virginia,  born  in  1842,  and  is  still  liv- 
ing, daughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Arnold)  Welch.  Her  father  en- 
gaged in  farming  for  many  years  in  Jackson  county.  West  Virginia,  and 
died  there  in  1883,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-three  years.  Her  mother 

was  a  daughter  of Jackson,  a  near  relative  to  General  T.  J.  Jackson, 

the  distinguished  Confederate  officer.     Seven  children  were  born  of  this 
marriage. 

(II)  Edward  Theodore,  son  of  A.  J.  S.  and  Mary  Elizabeth  (\\'elch) 
England,  was  born  in  Jackson  county.  West  \"irginia,  September  29, 
1869.    He  prepared  for  college  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county 


WEST  VIRGINIA  409 

and  of  Mercer  county.  West  Virginia.  He  graduated  from  the  State 
Normal  School  at  Athens,  West  Virginia,  in  1892.  In  1898  he  entered 
the  Southern  Normal  University  at  Huntingdon,  Tennessee,  and  gradu- 
ated from  the  law  department  in  1898  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  ot 
Laws.  He  continued  his  studies  in  the  same  institution  and  graduated 
from  the  scientific  department  in  1900  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Science.  He  began  the  practice  of  law  in  Oceana,  Wyoming  county,  in 
1900,  and  in  1901  he  located  in  Logan,  West  Virginia,  where  he  has 
•continued  his  professional  labors  to  date.  He  has  met  with  marked  suc- 
cess in  his  practice,  and  is  considered  one  of  the  rising  attorneys  of  his 
county.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  and  has  held  a  number  of  offices. 
He  has  served  as  mayor  of  his  city  during  1903-04.  and  was  elected  from 
the  eighth  district  to  the  state  senate  in  1908,  being  re-elected  in  1912.  In 
the  senate  he  has  served  on  many  important  committees.  He  has  been 
chairman  of  the  judiciary  since  191 1,  was  twice  the  Republican  caucus 
nominee  for  president  of  the  senate,  when  that  body  was  a  tie  politically. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church ;  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  Many  of  his  Eng- 
lish relatives  performed  honorable  service  during  the  civil  war.  His  rel- 
atives on  his  father's  side  served  in  the  Union  army.  His  relatives  on 
his  mother's  side  served  in  the  Confederate  army.  An  uncle,  Alex  Welch, 
was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg. 

He  was  married  in  Moulton,  Iowa,  December  25,  1901,  to  Hulda  Leona 
Lenburg,  born  in  IMoulton,  Iowa,  November  4,  1879,  daughter  of  Peter 
L.  Lenburg,  who  for  a  number  of  years  resided  in  Iowa.  He  is  now  en- 
gaged in  business  in  Brooksville,  Florida.  Three  children  have  been 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  England:  Arline  Isis,  born  in  Logan,  September 
10.  1902:  Frances  Max,  March  4,  1907;  Marjorie  Elizabeth,  June  22, 
1912. 


The  progenitor  of  this  family  in  West  \'irginia  was  Wil- 
CHAFIN     Ham  Chafin,  who  was  born  in  \'irginia.  and  at  an  early 
date  located  in  Logan  county.  West  ^'irginia,  where   for 
many  years  he  was  a  successful  farmer.     He  married  Sally  Deskins. 
;■  (II)  John,  son  of  William  and  Sally  (Deskins)  Chafin,  was  born  in 

I   Logan   county.  West   \'irginia,   died   there  December  9,    1885.      He   at- 
tended the  schools  of  his  native  county.     He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics, 
1    and  prominent  in  the  council  of  his  party.     He  served  as  county  clerk  of 
'    Logan  county,  and  clerk  of  the  circuit  court  for  Logan  county  for  eigh- 
j   teen  years.     He  married  Isabelle  Lunsford,  a  native  of  Virginia,  daugh- 
i   ter  of  Rev.  A.  M.  and  Sally   (Holmes)  Lunsford.     Her  father  was  for 
many  years  a  prominent  clergyman   in   the   Christian   church,  and   died 
about  1890.     Mrs.  Chafin,  now  Mrs.  Justice,  resifles  in  Logan,  West  \'ir- 
ginia. 

(Ill)   John    (2),  son  of  John    (i)    and   Isabelle    (Lunsford)    Chafin. 
was  born  in  Logan,  West  Virginia,  October  4,  1880.     He  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  of  his  native. city,  and  in  1901  entered  the  law  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  West  Mrginia  at  Morgantown,  graduating 
I    in  1903.     He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  this  latter  year,  and  in  January. 
[    1904,  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Logan,  which  he  has  con- 
I    tinned  until  the  present  time.     He  is  now  associated  in  his  practice  with 
Robert  Bland.     Mr.  Chafin  is  meeting  with  marked  success  in  his  pro- 
I    fessional  labors  and  is  considered  one  of  the  leading  young  attorneys  in 
'    his  county.     In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat.     In  the  fall  of   1904  he  was 
elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  Logan  county  for  a  term  of  four  years. 


410  WEST  VIRGINIA 

In  1912  he  was  re-elected  to  the  same  office.     He  is  a  member  of  Christ 
Church,  and  is  filhng  his  position  with  marked  ability. 

He  married,  May  11,  1907,  Gertrude  Herald,  born  in  Cabell  county, 
West  Virginia,  December  4,  1887,  daughter  of  Stephen  and  Minnie  Her- 
ald, of  Logan  county.  Her  father  is  a  prominent  railway  contractor  and 
merchant  in  Logan  county.  Three  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Chafin,  namely:  John,  who  died  at  the  age  of  eleven  and  a  half 
months;  Margarett  \'irginia,  born  June  24,  1910:  James  Herald,  born 
February  24,    191 3. 


Families    of    this    name    are    numerous    throughout    England. 
BIRD     The  name  is  found  in  many  counties  in  that  country. 

(I)  James  Bird,  the  first  member  of  this  famliy  about  whom 
we  have  definite  information,  was  born  in  Highland  county,  Virginia,  in 
1830,  died  in  Upshur  county,  West  Mrginia,  in  1864,  from  bronchial 
trouble,  he  being  present  in  that  county  on  a  visit.  He  was  a  farmer  and 
stockman.  In  the  civil  war  he  was  a  Union  man  and  served  as  a  captain  of 
militia.  He  married  Mary  Hiner,  who  died  August  30,  1907 ;  she  is 
buried  in  Green  Hill  churchyard.  Highland  county,  Virginia.  Children: 
I.  Benjamin  Franklin,  born  in  Highland  county,  Virginia,  and  came  into 
Pocahontas  county.  West  Virginia,  in  1869,  died  in  1894.  2.  Martha, 
wife  of  Reece  Bird.  3.  Emma,  married  J.  C.  Dilley,  of  Marlinton,  West 
Virginia ;  children :     Early,  Orval,  Ruby.    4.  Uriah,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Uriah,  son  of  James  and  Mary  (Hiner)  Bird,  was  born  in 
Highland  county,  Virginia,  January  4,  1850.  He  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  Highland  county,  and  then  was  engaged  for  fifteen  years  in 
teaching  school  in  Pocahontas  county.  West  Virginia.  After  this  he  was 
elected  county  superintendent  of  schools,  and  held  this  position  for  two 
terms  in  Pocahontas  county,  West'\'irginia.  He  was  engaged  in  milling 
and  farming,  at  Millpoint,  Pocahontas  county.  West  Virginia,  and  after 
disposing  of  the  mill  he  removed  to  Marlinton,  but  still  owns  a  farm  near 
Marlinton  and  supervises  it.  In  Marlinton,  which  has  from  that  time 
been  his  place  of  residence,  Mr.  Bird  engaged  in  the  surveying  of  land, 
in  Pocahontas,  Highland,  Greenbrier,  and  other  neighboring  counties, 
partly  in  \^irginia,  partly  in  West  A'irginia.  He  was  engineer  for  the 
Pocahontas  Tanning  Company  up  to  April  5,  1905,  on  which  date  he  was 
seriously  injured  in  a  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  railroad  wreck.  He  is  a  stock- 
holder of  the  First  National  Bank,  at  ^^larlinton,  and  director  in  the 
Bank  of  jMarlinton.  In  1896  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  for 
Edray  district,  Pocahontas  county,  and  he  served  in  this  capacity  for  four 
years.  In  1906  he  was  appointed  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  this  office,  and  on 
the  expiration  of  his  term,  two  years  later,  Mr.  Bird  was  elected  to  this 
office,  receiving  the  nominations  of  the  Republican  and  the  Democratic 
parties,  and  he  is  still  holding  this  office.  He  has  presided  over  many 
hundreds  of  preliminary  examinations  and  jurisdictional  cases.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  a  Mason,  a  member  of  Marlinton  Blue  Lodge.  No.  128,  and 
of  Ronceverte  Chapter.  No.  21,  Royal  Arch  Masons. 

^Ir.  Bird  married  Susan,  daughter  of  Elijah  and  Margaret  (Dever) 
Hudson,  of  Pocahontas  county.  ^Ir.  and  Mrs.  Bird  are  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  Children  of  Mr.  and  ^Irs.  Bird: 
I.  Louressie,  rnarried  Lloyd  Moore,  a  building  contractor  at  Lynchburg, 
Virginia:  children:  Jessie,  Beulah,  Edna,  Lillian.  2.  J.  Howard,  a  lum- 
berman at  Durbin,  West  \'irginia :  married  Virgia,  daughter  of  Dr. 
Escrage ;  child,  Ina.  3.  Mary  Edna,  married  W'.  W.  Tyree,  an  insurance 
agent:  they  live  at  Elkins,  West  \Mrginia:  children:  Ward,  Mary  Gale, 
Willie  Bird.    4.  Gertrude,  married  George  Spangler,  a  drummer ;  they  live 


WEST  VIRGINIA  411 

at  Macon,  Georgia;  children:  Ralph,  Susan,  J.  C.  Uriah.  5.  Elva,  mar- 
ried W.  H.  R.  Terry,  a  railroad  superintendent  on  the  Chesapeake  & 
Ohio  railroad;  they  hve  at  Clifton  Forge,  Virginia;  children:  Margaret, 
W.  H.  R.  Jr.  6.  Libbie,  married  Frank  King,  a  builder  and  contractor ; 
they  live  at  Marlinton ;  child,  Eleanor.  7.  Ona,  married  Arnold  Gladwell, 
a  barber ;  they  live  at  Marlinton  ;  children :  Paul,  Lucille,  Thomas.  8. 
Mabel,  married  Henry  Gay,  a  merchant;  they  live  at  Buckhannon,  West 
Virginia ;  child,  Evilin  Jane. 


This  is  one  of  the  old  and  prominent  families  of  Preston 
BAKER  county.  The  founder  of  the  family  was  Lucius  C.  Baker, 
an  early  settler  of  Independence  and  a  leading  Democratic 
politician,  widely  known  throughout  the  state.  He  was  a  delegate  to  all 
Democratic  conventions,  and  was  a  member  of  Preston  county  court  for 
twelve  years,  being  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  this  county  for  an  equal 
length  of  time.  He  was  engaged  in  the  harness  and  saddlery  business, 
and  v.as  for  many  years  a  prominent  member  of  the  Knights  of  Labor. 
When  the  civil  war  broke  out  he  enlisted  in  Company  A,  Tenth  West 
Virginia  Volunteers,  known  as  the  "West  Virginia  Bloody  Tenth,"  and 
served  with  the  Union  forces  throughout  the  entire  war.  He  accompan- 
ied General  Sheridan  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  his  company  capturing 
one  of  the  last  pieces  of  General  Lee's  artillery  before  the  surrender  at 
Appomattox.  He  was  an  officer  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Odd  Fellows. 
He  was  a  man  held  in  high  esteem  in  this  part  of  the  country,  through  his 
services,  civil  and  military,  in  the  cause  of  the  country's  prosperity,  and 
his  long  career  in  the  county  court  and  as  justice  of  the  peace  entitled 
him  to  an  unusual  degree  of  respect  and  gave  weight  to  his  advice  and 
judgment  in  matters  of  the  law.  He  married  Indiana  A.  Smith  and 
among  their  children  was  Frank  C,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Frank  C,  son  of  Lucius  C.  and  Indiana  A.  (Smith)  Baker,  was 
born  at  Independence,  Preston  county.  West  Virginia,  October  24,  1879. 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Preston  county,  West  Virginia, 
after  which  he  attended  the  Mountain  State  Business  College  at  Parkers- 
burg,  graduating  from  that  institution  in  the  year  1897.  Shortly  after 
his  return  home  he  made  his  entry  into  business  life,  being  appointed  as- 
!:istant  county  clerk  of  Tucker  county  by  William  Caton.  After  the  ex- 
piration of  his  term  of  office  Mr.  Baker  engaged  in  mercantile  business 
in  Parsons,  continuing  thus  for  about  three  years  and  a  half,  and  then 
established  himself  in  his  present  business  of  writing  all  kinds  of  insur- 
ance. He  has  been  very  active  in  charitable  and  humane  work,  and  has 
been  appointed  by  Governor  Glasscock  as  president  of  the  State  Board 
of  Directors  of  the  Humane  Society.  He  is  also  supervisor  of  the  Chil- 
dren's Home  at  Elkins,  West  Virginia.  He  has  attended  various  chari- 
ties conventions,  and  was  a  West  Virginia  delegate  to  the  International 
Board  of  Charities,  convened  at  Boston  in  191 1 ;  throughout  the  country 
he  is  widely  known  as  a  most  vigilant  and  efficient  officer  in  all  such  gath- 
erings and  enterprises.  As  a  politician  Mr.  Baker  is  an  exceedingly  ac- 
tive member  of  the  Democratic  party,  taking  a  great  interest  in  the  po- 
litical and  public  affairs  of  the  state.  He  joined  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows  and  Parsons  Lodge,  No.  39,  in  the  year  1900;  he  has 
held  all  the  chairs  of  the  Grand  Lodge,  and  has  taken  an  active  interest 
in  tlic  management  of  the  Odd  Fellows'  Home. 

Mr.  Baker  married  Anna  B..  daughter  of  Gilbert  \\'oodruff,  a  retired 
farmer  of  Jackson  county.  West  \'irginia.  Mrs.  Baker  is  a  very  active 
member  of  the  Southern  Methodist  Church,  taking  an  energetic  inter- 
est  in  all  of  the  various  church  enterprises.     She   is  treasurer  of  the 


412  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  and  secretary  of  the  West  Vir- 
ginia Ladies'  Home  Missionary  Society.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Baker  have  no 
children. 


Edward  Evans,  the  first  of  the  line  herein  described,  mar- 
E\'ANS     ried  and  had  a  son  Hugh,  of  whom   further. 

(II)  Hugh,  son  of  Edward  Evans,  born  1769,  in  Mon- 
ongalia, Preston  county,  V^irginia,  died  in  Evansville,  West  Virginia, 
1873.  He  was  a  man  who  was  honored  and  respected  by  every  one  who 
knew  him.  He  married  a  Miss  Thomas  and  had  children :  James,  Sam- 
uel, of  whom  further ;  Xancy.  Hugh,  Sarah,  Rolley,  William. 

(III)  Samuel,  son  of  Hugh  Evans,  born  at  Evansville,  Virginia, 
1807,  died  at  Evansville,  1889.  He  followed  the  occupation  of  farm- 
ing and  stock  dealing.  He  married  Sarah  Carroll.  Children :  Eliza- 
beth,  married   William    Keener;    Hugh,   born    1823,   died    1892.   married 

(first)  Shroyer,   (second)  Jane  Jones,  child  by  first  wife.  John  S., 

by  second  wife.  Mollie;  Isaac,  of  whom  further:  Jiihn.  William.  James, 
Samuel,  Nancy. 

(IV)  Isaac,  son  of  Samuel  Evans,  was  born  in  Evansville.  Preston 
county,  Virginia,  February  9,  1833,  being  one  of  eight  children.  He 
spent  his  early  days  on  his  father's  farm,  and  later  was  employed  by 
the  contractors  in  the  construction  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad 
across  the  mountains  east  of  Grafton,  and  after  the  completion  of  the 
road  to  Wheeling  was  made  a  conductor,  which  position  he  held  for  a 
number  of  years.  The  life  of  a  railroader  did  not  appeal  to  him  and  he 
retired  to  Fetterman,  West  Virginia,  where  he  turned  his  attention  to 
butchering  and  tanning,  and  also  carried  on  farming  operations  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  this  town.  Politically  he  was  a  Democrat  and  was 
always  active  in  the  political  affairs  of  his  county,  and  though  often 
urged  to  accept  office  himself  he  always  declined.  He  was  a  trustee 
in  what  is  now  called  the  West  Main  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
from  its  organization  prior  to  the  war.  On  April  12.  i860,  he  mar- 
ried Sarah,  daughter  of  Samuel  Jones,  of  Knottsville.  Children :  Na- 
than, Fannie.  Martha  J..  Charles  W.,  of  whom  further;  George  W..  Eliz- 
abeth A..  Joseph  Lee,  Sallie,  Hugh.  Qark. 

(V)  Charles  W.,  second  son  and  fourth  child  of  Isaac  Evans,  was 
born  at  the  old  town  of  Fetterman,  Taylor  county,  West  Virginia.  De- 
cember 18.  1867.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  this  place,  where 
he  received  his  first  preparation  as  a  teacher.  He  taught  his  first  school 
known  as  the  Poe  School,  in  Fetterman  district,  in  1885-86.  He  later  at- 
tended the  Fairmont  State  Normal  School,  from  which  he  graduated  in 
1887.  and  finished  his  education  in  the  West  Virginia  University  at 
Morgantown.  He  taught  school  for  thirteen  years,  three  years  as  prin- 
cipal of  the  Fetterman  graded  school,  seven  years  as  teacher  of  mathe- 
matics in  the  Fairmont  State  Normal  School,  and  in  the  summer  of 
1897  was  elected  city  superintendent  of  schools  at  Fairmont.  West  Vir- 
ginia, which  position  he  held  for  three  years.  During  this  period  of 
school  work,  he  was  prominent  in  the  educational  affairs  of  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  assisted  in  conducting  Teachers'  Institutes  in  several  counties 
of  the  state.  In  the  year  1900  he  entered  the  field  of  fire  and  casualty 
insurance,  in  which  business  he  continues  at  the  present  time.  At  the 
general  election  in  1910.  ten  years  after  retiring  from  teaching,  he  was 
nominated  and  elected  to  the  position  of  county  superintendent  of  pub- 
lic schools  of  Marion  county,  but  owing  to  his  large  business  interests 
he  resigned  this  position,  believing  that  it  was  a  position  which  required 
the  undivided  attention  of  the  man  who  attempted  to  fill  it.     In  June, 


WEST  VIRGINIA  413 

191 1,  after  a  reorganization  of  the  Fairmont  Board  of  Trade  under  the 
name  of  Fairmont  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Mr.  Evans  was  elected  its 
secretary,  which  position  he  still  holds.  Mr.  Evans  has  always  been  a 
public-spirited  citizen.  In  addition  to  his  being  secretary  of  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  he  was  one  of  the  first  directors  of  the  Fairmont  Business 
Men's  Association,  and  a  director  in  the  Fairmont  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association.  Mr.  Evans  is  a  charter  member  of  Mountain  City 
Lodge,  No.  48,  Knights  of  Pythias ;  belongs  to  Fairmont  Lodge,  No.  9, 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  is  one  of  the  officials  of  the 
First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Fairmont.  He  has  always  been 
identified  with  church  and  religious  movements,  and  while  yet  in  his 
teens  was  superintendent  of  his  home  Sunday  school  in  the  town  of  Fet- 
terman  for  several  years,  and  is  now  serving  his  eighteenth  year  as  su- 
perintendent of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Sunday  school  in  Fair- 
mont. In  the  year  1908  he  had  the  honor  of  being  elected  to  represent 
the  lay  electoral  conference  of  West  Virginia  as  delegate  to  the  general 
conference  of  the  IMethodist  Episcopal  church  which  convened  in  Balti- 
more, Maryland. 

He  married,  August  15,  1894.  Lillie,  daughter  of  Isaac  Newton  and 
Sarah  (Pritchard)  Lough.  Children:  A  son,  born  March  9,  1907,  died 
in  infancy,  and  Sarah  Elizabeth,  October  3,  1909.  Lillie  (Lough)  Evans 
is  of  revolutionary  ancestry,  being  a  lineal  descendant  of  William 
Pritchard  who  served  in  that  war,  enlisting  as  private  in  1776,  for  three 
years,  in  Captain  Alexander  Lawson  Smith's  company,  General  Daniel 
Morgan's  regiment.  The  line  of  descent  is  as  follows:  William  Pritch- 
ard married  Amelia  Knotts ;  their  son,  William  Pritchard,  married  Han- 
nah Meredith ;  their  son,  Davis  Pritchard,  married  Millie  Dawson ;  their 
daughter,  Sarah  Pritchard.  born  July  20,  1848,  married  Isaac  Newton- 
Lough,  born  July  7.  1849:  their  daughter,  Lillie,  married  Charles  W. 
Evans. 


Michael  J.  Cullinan,  of  the  Ohio  county  bar.  is  one  of 
CULLINAN  the  most  prominent  of  the  junior  members  of  the  pro- 
fession in  the  northern  portion  of  the  state.  He  was 
born  March  25,  1880.  studied  law  at  West  'Virginia  University,  complet- 
ing the  course  in  1904.  when  he  entered  practice  in  Wetzel  county,  this 
state.  In  1909  he  moved  to  Wheeling  where  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  ex-Congressman  B.  B.  Dovener,  under  the  firm  name  of  Dovener 
&  Cullinan,  which  continued  until  1909  when  the  firm  dissolved  and  since 
then  Mr.  Cullinan  has  practiced  alone.  Mr.  Cullinan  is  president  of  the 
West  A'irginia  Alumni  Association,  of  Sigma  Phi  Epsilon  fraternity, 
and  president  of  the  Carroll  Club  of  Wheeling,  West  Virginia. 


Seaton  Lorenzo  Coleman  was  born  in  Ireland,  where 
COLEMAN  he  passed  his  boyhood  and  youth  and  whence  he  immi- 
grated to  the  Lnited  States  as  a  young  man,  settling 
first  in  Maryland.  In  middle  life  he  came  to  Fayette  county.  West  \'ir- 
ginia,  and  here  was  a  prominent  and  influential  farmer  during  the  re- 
mainder of  his  lifetime.  He  married  and  had  a  son  Seaton,  mentioned 
below. 

(II)  Seaton,  son  of  Seaton  Lorenzo  Coleman,  was  born  on  the  old 
homestead  farm  near  Ansted,  Fayette  county.  West  Mrginia,  INIarch  3, 
1832.  He  grew  up  under  pioneer  influences  and  tells  many  an  interest- 
ing tale  about  the  packs  of  wolves  and  other  wild  animals  that  infested 
the  region  about  his  home.    At  the  time  of  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war 


414  WEST  VIRGINIA 

he  entered  the  Confederate  service  and  during  the  pr(jgress  of  the  war 
participated  in  a  number  of  decisive  battles.  He  was  captured  by  the 
Union  army  and  held  in  duress  in  the  Lewisburg  prison  for  several 
months  but  eventually  escaped  from  that  place  by  means  of  a  tunnel  that 
took  him  twelve  days  to  dig.  His  entire  active  career  was  devoted  to 
farming  operations  on  the  old  home  farm  in  Fayette  county  and  there  he 
resided  until  1908,  when  he  came  to  live  with  his  son,  Dr.  Coleman,  of 
Fayetteville.  His  wife,  Lydia  (Skaggs)  Coleman,  was  born  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  distant  from  the  old  Coleman  farm,  and  she  died  in  igo8,  aged 
seventy-two  years.  There  were  five  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Seaton  Coleman  :  Charles,  died  in  1908,  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight  years; 
James  Emory,  mentioned  below ;  Robert  L.,  lives  at  Beckwith,  West  Vir- 
ginia;  Howard  E.,  resident  of  Clifftop,  this  state;  George  W. 

(Ill)  Dr.  James  Emory  Coleman,  son  of  Seaton  and  Lydia  (Skaggs) 
Coleman,  was  born  on  his  father's  farm  in  the  vicinity  of  Ansted,  Fay- 
ette county,  West  Virginia,  June  23,  1868.  He  early  began  to  assist  his 
father  in  the  work  and  management  of  the  home  farm,  and  his  early  edu- 
cational training  was  obtained  in  the  public  schools  of  Ansted.  This  dis- 
cipline was  later  supplemented  with  a  course  in  the  Kentucky  School  of 
Medicine,  in  which  excellent  institution  he  has  graduated  as  a  member 
of  the  class  of  1894  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  Immediate- 
ly after  graduation  he  located  at  Ansted,  where  he  controlled  an  exten- 
sive medical  practice  for  the  following  four  years.  He  came  to  Fayette- 
ville in  i8g8  and  here  has  won  renown  as  one  of  the  leading  physicians 
and  surgeons  in  Fayette  county.  In  1906  he  built  and  equipped  the  Fay- 
etteville Hospital,  which  is  the  only  private  hospital  in  the  county  and 
which  enjoys  a  very  good  business.  The  hospital  is  equipped  with  all 
the  latest  devices  for  operating  and  every  conceivable  comfort  is  furn- 
ished the  patients.  Dr.  Coleman  performs  most  of  the  surgical  work  in 
this  region  and  in  this  connection  has  proved  wonderfully  skilled.  He 
is  affiliated  with  a  number  of  representative  medical  organizations,  and 
his  professional  career  excites  the  admiration  and  has  won  the  respect  of 
his  contemporaries.  In  a  calling  in  which  one  has  to  gain  reputation  by 
merit,  he  has  advanced  steadily  until  he  is  acknowledged  as  the  superior 
of  most  of  the  members  of  the  profession  in  this  part  of  the  state,  having 
long  since  left  the  ranks  of  the  many  to  stand  among  the  successful  few. 
Dr.  Coleman  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Bank  of  Fayette  and  is  a  heavy 
stockholder  in  that  substantial  financial  institution.  In  politics  he  is  a  stal- 
wart Republican,  and  in  a  fraternal  way  is  affiliated  with  the  Masons,  be- 
ing a  Knight  Templar  and  a  Shriner.  He  was  reared  in  the  faith  of  the 
Presbyterian  church. 

Dr  Coleman  married,  on  Christmas  Day,  1895,  at  Cross  Lane,  West 
Virginia,  Blanche  Malcolm,  a  native  of  Nicholas  county,  West  Virginia. 
Mrs.  Coleman's  father,  John  G.  Malcolm,  is  now  living  at  Cross  Lane, 
where  he  is  a  prominent  merchant  and  ex-sheriff.  Her  mother,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Lydia  Remick,  is  still  living,  her  home  being  at  Cross 
Lane.  The  Malcolm  family  is  one  of  Scotch  descent  and  representatives 
of  the  name  were  pioneer  settlers  in  Nicholas  county,  West  Virginia. 
Dr.  and  l\Trs.  Coleman  are  the  parents  of  three  children,  namely :  Sher- 
rill  Malcolm.  Conrad,  Imogene. 


Berkeley  county,  Virginia,  was  the  home  of  this  family 
DOWNS     back  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  many  of  its  descend- 

dants  are  now  within  adjoining  states,  including  those  of 
West  Virginia,  of  which  Harry  Allen  Downs,  of  Martinsburg,  is  one. 
The    earlier    generations    of    which    there    is    an    account    were    pioneer 


WEST  VIRGINIA  415 

builders,   and   aided   in   transforming   tlie   wilderness   and   waste   into   a 
-charming,  well  developed  land,  wherein  is  plenty  and  prosperity. 

(I)  Charles  Downs  erected  the  first  flouring  mill  at  Falling  Waters, 
Berkeley  county,  Virginia,  and  was  probably  born  in  the  latter  part  ol 
the  eighteenth  century,  not  long  after  the  revolutionary  struggle.  He  was 
one  of  the  largest  land  owners  in  the  county,  and  died  in  the  seventy- 
sixth  year  of  his  age  on  the  old  Downs  homestead. 

(II)  Davenport,  son  of  Charles  Downs,  was  a  native  of  Falling 
Waters,  Berkeley  county,  Virginia,  now  in  West  Virginia,  and  became  a 
ranchman  in  Iowa,  spending  many  years  of  his  life  near  Wapello,  that 
state,  where  he  died.  He  was  a  Republican.  He  possessed  great  indus- 
try, using  his  every  effort  in  Iowa  to  build  up  a  great  commonwealth. 
He  married  a  Miss  La  Fever  and  had  two  sons,  Joseph  x^llen,  of  whom 
further ;  William  Smith.  The  mother  died  at  Wapello,  Iowa.  She  was 
a  member  of  the  Lutheran  church. 

(III)  Joseph  Allen,  son  of  Davenport  Downs,  was  born  x\ugust  20, 
1856,  in  W'apello  county,  Iowa,  where  the  family  became  early  pioneers. 
He  was  reared,  however,  on  the  farm  of  Sayle  Van  Meter,  in  Berkeley 
county.  West  Virginia,  near  the  city  of  Martinsburg.  His  education 
was  obtained  at  the  public  schools,  graduating  at  Hyde's  Seminary  in 
Martinsburg.  He  followed  teaching  in  and  near  Martinsburg,  and  be- 
came principal  of  the  fifth  ward  schools  of  Martinsburg,  where  he  re- 
mained until  his  death,  April  19,  1901,  aged  forty- four  years.  Politically 
he  was  a  Republican,  but  never  cared  for  public  offices,  being  content  as 
an  up-to-date  educator.  He  married  Caroline  Jennett,  born  near  Mar- 
tinsburg, daughter  of  Tilottson  Evans,  the  youngest  in  a  family  of  seven 
sons.  He  was  a  farmer  of  Berkeley  county,  Virginia,  where  he  died. 
He  was  a  son  of  James  Evans,  who  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  the 
state,  also  of  Indian  Jame,  at  what  is  now  known  as  Big  Spring,  Ber- 
keley county,  where  he  ran  Evans'  fort  or  blockade  against  the  Indians. 
His  wife  was  Mary  Ann  (Orr)  Evans.  The  children  of  Tilottson  Evans, 
beside  Mrs.  Downs,  were:  i.  James  W.  B.,  married  Mollie  Orcutt;  he 
was  county  school  superintendent  in  Berkeley  county  several  years,  and 
one  of  his  sons  was  holding  the  office  in  191 1 ;  their  children  were  six  in 
number.  2.  Emma  Virginia,  married  George  Davenport  Swimley ;  three 
children.  3.  Nellie,  married  Russell  Sperow.  Joseph  Allen  and  Caroline 
J.  (Evans)  Downs  had  children:  i.  William  Smith,  born  in  Martins- 
burg, 1883;  attended  public  schools  of  his  native  city,  and  in  1901  en- 
tered the  State  University  at  Morgantown,  graduating  from  the  engin- 
eering department  in  1905  with  degree  of  B.  S.  C.  E. ;  after  his  gradua- 
tion he  was  connected  with  the  Bolivian  government  in  South  America 
for  two  years  in  railroad  building,  afterwards  returning  to  the  states  and 
locating  at  Kingwood.  West  Virginia,  and  is  now  engaged  as  engineer 
for  the  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  Hydro-Electric  Company ;  married 
Nellie  Jane  Albright.  2.  Harry  Allen,  of  whom  further.  3.  Mary  Ethel, 
born  in  Martinsburg,  August  20,  1894 :  unmarried :  now  in  Randolph 
Macon  Woman's  College.  The  father  was  a  Lutheran,  while  the  mother 
was  of  the  Presbyterian  church  faith.    He  was  a  deacon  in  his  church. 

(IV)  Harry  Allen,  son  of  Joseph  Allen  and  Caroline  J.  C  Evans) 
Downs,  was  born  at  Martinsburg,  West  Virginia,  February  14,  1886.  He 
spent  his  youth  in  the  city  of  his  nativit)',  attended  the  public  schools, 
graduated  from  the  high  school  in  1905,  from  the  West  Virginia  Uni- 
versity (law  department)  in  the  spring  of  1907,  with  the  degree  of 
LL.  B.  He  has  been  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law,  succeeding  W.  H. 
Thomas,  in  whose  office  he  was  until  he  removed  from  the  place.  In 
college  he  was  a  member  of  the  Beta  Theta  Pi  fraternity ;  a  member  of 


4i6  WEST  VIRGINIA 

the  Delta  Chi  law  f ratenity ;  Theta  Nu  Epsilon,  cap  sheaf  of  the  great 
fraternities.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Varsity  base  ball  team  three 
years,  and  was  in  a  foot  ball  team  for  two  years.  In  1907  he  was  presi- 
dent of  the  law  class.  In  1908  he  took  a  post-graduate  course.  Po- 
litically Mr.  Downs  is  a  Republican.  At  present  (1911)  he  is  a  member 
of  the  congressional  committee,  in  the  second  congressional  district,  for 
the  party  to  which  he  belongs. 

In  1912  Mr.  Downs  was  nominated  by  the  Republican  party  for  the 
office  of  prosecuting  attorney,  and  was  defeated  only  after  a  strenuous 
campaign,  in  November,  1912.  After  the  election  of  Dr.  Hatfield  as 
governor  of  West  \'irginia,  Mr.  Downs  was  prominently  mentioned  for 
the  appointment  of  assistant  attorney  general  of  the  state.  In  January,. 
1913,  Mr.  Downs  was  appointed  United  States  commissioner  by  Judge 
A.  G.  Dayton  of  the  United  States  district  court,  for  the  Northern  Dis- 
trict of  West  Virginia.  He  is  exalted  ruler  of  the  Elks  Lodge,  No. 
778,  at  Martinsburg;  a  member  of  the  Royal  Arcanum  and  the  Loyal 
Order  of  Moose,  No.  120,  of  Martinsburg.  He  is  a  member  of  the  board 
of  governors  of  the  Elks  Home.  He  served  as  delegate  to  the  conven- 
tion that  met  at  Bluefield.  and  chairman  of  the  Elks  Reunion  Associa- 
tion of  West  Virginia.     He  attends  the  Lutheran  church. 


To  America,  the  land  of  political  and  religious  liberty, 
SNYDER     which  accepts  exiles  from  other  countries  and  transforms 

them  into  excellent  citizens  of  the  United  States,  there 
came  in  1827  a  family,  Snyder  by  name,  from  Saarbruck,  Bavaria,  Ger- 
many, who  sought  refuge  under  the  folds  of  the  American  flag.  The  son 
had  participated  in  a  rebellion  against  unjust  laws,  unjust  taxation  and 
unjust  oppression  of  political  rights,  and  was  forced  to  flee,  taking  with 
him  his  father  and  his  own  family.  To  this  family  belongs  Harry  Lam- 
bright  Snyder,  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Shcf^hcrdsto-iVii  Register,  of 
Shepherdstown,  West  Virginia. 

(I)  Jacob  Snyder  was  born  and  sjient  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in 
Saarbruck,  Bavaria.  Germany.  He  emigrated  to  America  in  1827,  with 
his  son,  and  in  the  following  year  settled  in  Shepherdstown,  Virginia, 
now  West  Virginia,  as  a  weaver.  He  lived  to  be  ninety  years  old,  and 
is  buried  in  the  Reformed  church  cemetery  in  Shepherdstown.  His  wife 
died  previous  to  the  time  he  departed  from  his  native  land.  He  was  a 
pious,  consistent  Christian,  and  was  greatly  beloved  by  his  family.  Among 
his  children  was  Theobald,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Theobald,  son  of  Jacob  Snyder,  was  born  in  Saarbruck,  Bavaria, 
Germany.  He  participated  in  a  rebellion  in  Bavaria  against  unjust  op- 
pression and  pernicious  laws,  and  fled  the  country  to  save  his  life.  He 
married  Louisa  Klein,  of  Saarbruck,  who  accompanied  him.  Children  : 
John,  of  whom  further ;  Peter,  Jacob,  George. 

(III)  John,  son  of  Theobald  and  Louisa  (Klein)  Snyder,  was  born 
February  19,  1823,  at  Saarbruck.  Bavaria,  Germany.  He  came  to  this 
country  from  Bavaria  with  his  parents  and  grandfather  when  he  was 
seven  years  old,  and  he  grew  up  a  thorough  American,  than  which  no 
prouder  tribute  can  be  given  to  any  man.  In  1828  the  family  located  at 
Shepherdstown,  Virginia,  and  he  became  a  merchant  tailor.  At  the  opening 
of  the  civil  war  he  joined  Company  B,  Second  Virginia  Infantry,  of 
the  famous  Stonewall  Brigade,  and  did  valiant  duty  for  the  cause  he  es- 
poused. He  was  a  brave  and  gallant  soldier,  and  after  participating  in 
most  of  the  great  battles  of  the  war  was  mortally  wounded  in  the  san- 
guinary battle  of  the  Wilderness,  and  died  in  Alexandria,  Virginia,  June- 


WEST  \IRGINIA  417 

I,  1804.    He  was  a  Whig,  always  supporting  and  vutmg  with  that  party. 
He  married,  June  26,   1845,  at  Frederick,  Maryland,  Rachel  Lambright, 
I  born  August  11,  1823,  at  Frederick,  Maryland,  daughter  of  George  Lam- 
bright (son  of  AJichael  Lambrecht,  who  came  from  Germany  years  prev- 
:  iousj  and  Regina  (Sponsellerj  Lambright,  of  Frederick,  2\laryland.  Giil- 
''  dren  of  John  and  Rachel  (Lambright)  Snyder:    i.  Ella,  born  August  10, 
i  1846.     2.  Rachel  Louise,  l3orn  Alarch   i,   1848.     3.  Mary  Virginia,  born 
August  18,  1849,  deceased.    4.  Annie  Hammond,  born  April  26,  185 1,  de- 
I  ceased.     5.  George  Boteler,  born  May  17,  1853,  deceased.    6.  Rose,  born 
July  17,  1856.     7.  John  William,  born  August  19,  1858.     8.  Harry  Lam- 
bright, of  whom  further. 
!         (IV)   Harry  Lambright,  son  of  John  and  Rachel   (^Lambright)    Sny- 
;  der.  was  born  October  11,  1861,  at  Shepherdstown,  West  Virginia,  and 
lost  his  father  when  he  was  not  yet  three  years  old.     He  was  educated  in 
[  the  Shepherdstown  public  school  and  Shepherd  College,  West  Virginia. 
:  He  learned  the  printer's  trade  in  the  office  of  the  Slieplicrdstozcn  Regis- 
ter, which  was  in  itself  a  liberal  education  of  a  practical  sort.     He  was 
connected  with  the  United  States  government  printing  office  at  Washing- 
ton from  1879  to  1882,  when  he  returned  to  Shepherdstown  and  became 
(  proprietor  of  the  paper  on  which  he  had  learned  his  trade.     He  has  been 
its  publisher  and  editor  continuously  for  thirty-one  years,  making  it  one 
,  of  the  best  known  and  most  influential  journals  in  the  state  of  West  Vir- 
i  ginia,  its  editorials  being  masterly   for  logic  and  lucidity  of  expression. 
i  He  is  a  Democrat ;  for  eight  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  state  board 
:  of  regents  of  the  Normal  schools.     He  has,  also,  been  a  member  of  tlie 
;  board  of  directors  of  the   Second   Hospital   for  the  Insane  at  Spencer, 
,  West  Virginia.    He  is  a  Mason,  member  of  Mt.  Nebo  Lodge,  Shepherds- 
^  town,  and  of  the  National  Geographic  Society.      He  is  a  scholarly,  cul- 
;  tured  gentleman,  with  a  wide  information  on  all  subjects  of  latter  day 
i  interest.    He  and  his  family  are  members  of  St.  Peter's  Lutheran  Church 
■  of  Shepherdstown. 

I        He  married,  April  29,  1884,  at  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  Ida  Laura 
;  Baldwin,  bom  May  29,  1858,  at  Philadelphia,  died  July  28,   1907.     Her 
father,   William   Lindsay   Baldwin,  married  Angelina  Titus,  of  a  noted 
'  family.     He  was  chief  commissioner  of  highways  in  Philadelphia.    Their 
one  other  child.  William  Baldwin,  died  in  1869,  aged  eight  years.     Chil- 
dren of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Snyder:     i.  Louise  Anna,  born  January  8,  1888; 
was  educated  in  public  and  private  schools  of  Shepherdstown,  at  Shep- 
IktcI   College,  and  at   Goucher  College,   Baltimore,   ]\Iaryland,    from  the 
latter  she  graduated  in  1908  with  distinction,  receiving  an  A.  B.  degree ; 
she  married,  June   14,    191 1,   Lawrence   Moore  Lynch,   of  Chattanooga, 
j  Tennessee ;  one  child,   Ida   Baldwin  Lynch,  born  October   11,    1912.     2. 
'William  Baldwin,  born  November  16,  1890;  was  educated  at  public  and 
priwite  schools  in  Shepherdstown,  and  graduated  from  Shepherd  College 
ill    11)09;  l"!^  was  a  student  at  the  far  famed  Washington  and  Lee  L^ni- 
viT^itv,  Lexington:  in  1913  he  became  business  manager  and  local  edi- 
tor .if  the  Shepherdstozvn  Register,  of  which  his  father  is  editor  and  pro- 
prietor.    3.   Rose   Eleanor,  born    November  21,    1892:   was  educated   in 
the  public  schools  of  Shepherdstowti,  and  graduated  from  Shepherd  Col- 
I  lege  in  1911.     4.  Rachel,  born  August  31,   1894;  was  educated  at  Shep- 
I  herdstown    graded    school,    and    graduated    from    Shepherd    College    in 
191 1.    5.  Harry  Lambright  Jr.,  born  December  29,  1900;  is  attending  the 
Slicpherdstown  graded  school. 


4i8  WEST  VIRGINIA 

This  is  ail  account  of  the  intermarried  famihes  of 
MYERS-JOHNS  the  Alyers  and  Johns,  from  the  vicinity  of  Gettys- 
burg, Pennsylvania,  and  is  especially  connected 
with  the  history  of  Mrs.  Sarah  C.  Myers,  of  Harpers  Ferry,  this  state, 
whose  father  was  a  soldier  in  the  civil  war.  She  is  the  daughter  of  Gib- 
son C.  Johns. 

(I)  Thomas  Johns,  a  wagon-maker,  spent  the  greater  part  of  his 
life   at    Gettysburg,    Pennsylvania,    where   he    died,    February    i6,    1856. 

He  was  politically  a  Democrat.     He  married  Cathern  .     Children: 

Jonas,  Betsie,  William.  Jesse,  Sally,  Howard,  Liberty,  Peter  and  Gibson 
Cornelius.  The  wife  and  mother  died  at  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania.  Jan- 
uary II,  1864,  aged  seventy-eight  years.  They  were  members  of  the 
Lutheran  church. 

(H)  Gibson  Cornelius,  son  of  Thomas  Johns,  was  born  in  Adams 
county,  Pennsylvania,  near  Gettysburg,  April  6,  1823,  and  there  attended 
the  public  schools.  He  removed  to  Harpers  Ferry  and  became  an  un- 
dertaker and  followed  carpentering  also.  Politically  he  voted  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket.  He  servecj  three  years  and  one  month  in  the  Union  army 
as  a  member  of  the  Eighty-seventh  Pennsylvania  Regiment  and  saw 
hard  service  in  several  battles.  He  died  at  Harpers  Ferry,  December  28, 
1897,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four  years.  He  married  Ellen  Hoffman,  a 
native  of  Harpers  Ferry,  \'irginia,  daughter  of  Peter  Hoft'man,  who  died 
at  Harpers  Ferry.  Peter  Hoffman's  wife  was  Sarah  (Ridenour)  Hoff- 
man. Gibson  C.  Johns  and  wife  had  three  children:  Louisa,  died  in 
infancy;  Sarah  C,  of  whom  further;  Mary  Lizzie,  married  George  Robert 
Marquette,  who  died  March  i,  191 1.  The  mother  died  in  Toledo.  Il- 
linois, aged  seventy-five  vears.  The  family  were  all  Lutherans  in  church 
faith. 

dll)  Sarah  C,  daughter  of  Gibson  Cornelius  and  Ellen  ("Hoft'man) 
Johns,  was  bom  at  Harpers  Ferry,  Virginia,  before  the  state  had  been 
divided,  June  22,  1849.  Her  life  has  been  largely  spent  in  the  town 
in  which  she  was  born.  She  attended  the  public  schools  of  Gettysburg 
and  Harpers  Ferry,  and  later  her  household  duties  occupied  her  atten- 
tion, as  wife  and  active  member  of  the  circle  in  which  she  has  moved. 
While  she  regrets  that  she  has  not  the  right  of  suftVage,  she  is  in  full  ac- 
cord with  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party.  She  married,  August 
4,  1870,  Frederick  Brown  Myers,  who  died  April  10,  1897.  He  was  tlie 
son  of  William  C.  Mvers. 


Governor  Francis  H.  Pierpont,  who  was  at  the  head  of 
PIERPONT     the    restored    government    of    Virginia    from    1861    to 

18(^18,  was  the  son  of  Francis  and  Catherine  (Weaver) 
Pierpont.  and  was  born  January  25,  1814,  in  Monongalia  county, 
Virginia,  four  miles  east  of  Morgantown.  on  the  farm  settled 
by  his  grandfather.  John  Pierpont,  a  native  of  New  York,  in  1770, 
then  in  the  "District  of  Augusta,"  who  erected  a  dwelling  and  a  block- 
house for  protection  against  the  invasion  of  the  Indians.  In  the  last  named 
year  was  opened  the  first  land  office  in  Northwestern  Virginia.  John 
Pierpont  married  a  daughter  of  Colonel  Zackwell  Morgan,  the  founder 
of  Morgantown,  who  had  emigrated  from  Eastern  A-^irginia.  Joseph 
Weaver,  the  maternal  grandfather  of  Governor  Pierpont,  was  a  native 
of  Central  Pennsylvania,  who  settled  on  a  farm  near  Morgantown,  Vir- 
ginia, about  1785.  In  1814  Francis  Pierpont.  the  father,  moved  from 
the  old  homestead  to  land  purchased  by  him,  about  two  miles  from  Fair- 
mont, in  what  is  now  Marion  county.  West  Virginia.  In  1827  he  made  his 
residence  in  Middletown,  now  Fairmont,  where  he  conducted  a  tannery. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  419 

in  which  the  son — the  to-be  governor — worked,  in  conjunction  with  la- 
bors upon  the  father's  farm  nearby. 

In  1835  Francis  H.  Pierpont  entered  Allegheny  College,  at  Mead- 
ville,  Pennsylvania,  from  which  institution  he  graduated  in  September, 
1839,  as  Bachelor  of  Arts.  Until  1841  he  followed  teaching  school,  then 
removed  to  Mississippi,  where  he  also  taught  for  a  time,  but  the  follow- 
ing year,  on  account  of  his  father's  declining  health,  he  returned.  Hav- 
ing studied  law  at  intervals,  with  his  teaching,  he  was  soon  admitted  to 
the  bar.  From  1848  for  about  eight  years  he  served  as  local  attorney  for 
the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  in  Marion  and  Taylor  coun- 
ties, after  which  he  engaged  in  coal  mining  and  shipping  by  rail,  and  later 
embarked  in  the  manufacture  of  fire-bricks.  In  religious  faith  he  was  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  united  with  that  denomination  at 
the  age  of  seventeen  years.  Politically  he  was  first  a  Whig  and  was 
earnest  in  his  party  relations  from  1844  to  i860,  when  he  supported  Lin- 
coln. In  1848  he  was  one  of  the  presidential  electors  for  Taylor.  After 
1861  the  great  events  of  his  life  occurred.  He  it  was  who  headed  the 
movement  for  the  restored  government  of  Virginia  after  the  state  had 
gone  out  of  the  Union.  He  died  aged  eighty-five  years  and  is  buried  at 
Woodlawn  cemetery,  Fairmont,  West  Virginia,  of  which  state  he  was  the 
first  governor.  The  state  of  West  Virginia  presented  congress  with  a 
beautiful  statue  of  him  and  the  same  was  placed  in  the  Hall  of  Statuary  at 
the  National  capitol.  Its  cost  was  $8,000  and  it  was  made  at  Florence, 
Italy.  In  December,  1854,  he  married  Julia  A.,  daughter  of  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Robinson,  a  Presbvterian  minister  of  New  York. 


It  is  always  most  gratifying  to  the  biographist  and  stu- 
OSENTON     dent  of  human  nature  to  come  in  close  touch  with  the 

history  of  a  man,  who,  in  the  face  of  almost  insur- 
mountable obstacles,  has  plodded  persistently  on  and  eventually,  through 
his  determination  and  energy,  made  of  success  not  an  accident  but  a 
logical  result.  Hon.  Charles  W.  Osenton,  who  maintains  his  home  at 
Fayetteville,  West  Virginia,  is  strictly  a  self-made  man  and  as  such  a 
perusal  of  his  career  offers  both  lesson  and  incentive.  He  has  been  emi- 
nently successful  as  an  attorney  of  recognized  ability,  has  served  in  vari- 
ous public  offices  of  trust  and  responsibility  with  the  utmost  efficiency, 
and  has  ever  manifested  a  deep  and  sincere  interest  in  all  matters  per- 
taining to  the  good  of  the  Democratic  party,  of  whose  principles  he  has 
long  been  a  zealous  and  active  exponent. 

Charles  W.  Osenton  was  born  at  Ashland,  Boyd  county,  Kentucky, 
May  9,  1865.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  Carter  county, 
Kentucky,  whither  he  removed  with  his  parents  when  he  was  a  child 
eight  years  of  age.  He  remained  on  the  old  homestead  farm  until  his 
seventeenth  year  when  he  turned  his  attention  to  railroading,  working 
on  a  line  between  Huntington,  West  Virginia,  and  Lexington,  Kentucky. 
On  reaching  his  legal  majority  he  entered  a  wholesale  grocery  house  at 
Portsmouth,  Ohio,  but  did  not  long  remain  there.  Coming  to  West  Vir- 
ginia, his  first  work  was  that  of  hotel  clerk  at  Montgomery,  where  he 
studied  law  during  his  leisure  time.  In  April,  1893,  he  was  appointed 
chief  of  division  in  the  treasury  department  at  Washington  by  Presi- 
dent Cleveland.  Immediately  upon  assuming  his  duties  at  Washington, 
he  began  to  study  law  in  Georgetown  University,  in  which  ex- 
cellent institution  he  was  graduated  as  a  member  of  the  clase  of  1895 
with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  Resigning  his  position  as  chief  of 
division  in  the  treasury  department  at  Washington,  he  took  up  the  ac- 
tive practice  of  law,  and  in  March,  1907,  came  to  Fayetteville.     In  addi- 


420  WEST  VIRGINIA 

tion  to  his  extensive  legal  practice  he  is  financially  interested  in  a  num- 
ber of  important  business  enterprises.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  fol- 
lowing corporations  :  The  Citizens  Trust  &  Guaranty  Company  at  Park- 
ersburg,  the  National  Citizens  Bank  at  Charleston,  the  First  National 
Bank  at  Logan,  the  Bank  of  Gauley,  the  First  National  Bank  of  Winona, 
the  Fayette  County  National  Bank,  the  Bank  of  Fayette,  the  Laura  Min- 
ing Company,  and  the  Nichol  Colliery  Company. 

In  politics  Mr.  Osenton  owns  a  staunch  allegiance  to  the  Democratic 
party.  In  1900  he  was  honored  by  the  citizens  of  Fayette  county  with 
election  to  the  office  of  prosecuting  attorney  of  this  county  and  he  served 
in  that  capacity  for  a  period  of  four  years.  In  1898  he  was  elected 
state  senator  from  the  ninth  district,  which  comprised  the  counties  of 
Fayette,  Greenbrier,  Pocahontas,  ^Monroe  and  Summers.  In  1904  he  was 
delegate  to  the  National  Democratic  Convention  in  St.  Louis  and  in  1908 
was  delegate  at  large  to  the  convention  held  in  Denver.  Mr.  Osenton  has 
devoted  himself  assiduously  to  his  professional  work,  and  has  acquitted 
himself  with  honor  and  distinction  in  discharging  the  duties  of  the  public 
offices  to  which  he  has  been  elected.  As  a  man  he  is  thoroughly  con- 
scientious, of  undoubted  integrity,  affable  and  courteous  in  manner,  and 
he  has  a  host  of  friends  and  few,  if  any,  enemies. 


The  Shepherd  family  is  one  of  old  and  notable  stand- 
SHEPHERD  ing  in  the  states  o'f  Maryland  and  West  Virginia. 
The  ancestry  is  supposedly  of  English  origin  but  it  is 
not  known  exactly  when  the  original  progenitor  of  the  name  in  America 
came  hither.  Several  versions  concerning  the  forefathers  of  Thomas 
Shepherd,  who  died  in  1776,  are  put  forth,  but  none  are  entirely  authen- 
ticated. From  "Family  Correspondence."  IVcst  Virginia  Historical  Maga- 
zine, October,  1902  (page  28),  the  following  extract  is  here  inserted: 
"Three  brothers,  Thomas,  John  and  William,  came  to  this  country  from 
Shropshire  (Wales)  and  landed  at  Annapolis,  Maryland.  Thomas  set- 
tled at  Shepherdstown,  John  in  Maryland,  in  what  is  now  Washington 
county,  and  William  went  to  the  west." 

Further,  it  is  learned  that  Mrs.  Abraham  Shepherd,  of  Shepherds- 
town,  has  in  her  possession  a  crest  engraved  upon  a  piece  of  ancestral 
plate,  which  is  very  similar  in  design  to  the  crests  used  by  the  Shep- 
herd families  of  Kingston  and  Devonshire,  in  England.  That  a  scion  of 
a  Devonshire  house  of  the  name  of  Shepherd  did  emigrate  to  America 
is  detennined  by  the  fact  that  the  will  of  a  Thomas  Shepherd,  of  Cecil 
county,  Maryland,  which  was  probated  September  i,  1756,  contains  this 
item:  "To  my  cousin,  Thomas  Shepherd,  son  of  John  Shepherd,  of 
Columpton,  in  Devonshire,  in  the  Kingdom  of  Old  England,  the  sum  of 
50  pounds."  Columpton  is  in  that  district  of  Devonshire  where  many 
Shepherd  families  lived  at  that  period.  The  arms  borne  by  the  Devon- 
shire family  referred  to  are  described :  "La  a  fesse  ar. ;  in  chief  three- 
pole  axes  of  the  second."  Crest:  "On  a  mount  vert,  a  stag  lodged  re- 
guard  ar.  vulned.  on  the  shoulder,  gu."  (Burke's  General  Armonl^  Ed. 
1878,  p.  20;  also  Fairbairn's  Crests,  plate  51,  crest  9).  In  the  crest  in  the 
possession  of  the  Virginia  family  an  arrow  protrudes  from  the  wounded 
shoulder,  while  in  the  English  crest  the  wound  alone  is  shown. 

Various  public  records  held  prior  to  the  war  of  the  revolution  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  the  Maryland  and  Virginia  families  of  the  name  of 
Shepherd  are  related  and  the  following  genealogy  is  based  on  that  rela- 
tionship. 

In  the  first  inventory  book  of  Prince  George's  county,  Maryland,  the 
initial  presence  of  a  Shepherd  is  revealed.  Therein  it  is  stated,  that  on  the 


WEST  VIRGIXIA  421 

i6th  of  March,  1698,  James  Beall  was  appointed  administrator,  Thomas 
Sprigg  and  Will  Offatt,  appraisers  of  the  estate  of  Thomas  Shepherd,  de- 
ceased. 

(I)  Thomas  Shepherd,  who  died  in  Prince  George's  county,  Mary- 
land, in  1698,  was  married  and  left  two  sons  at  the  time  of  his  demise, 
William,  mentioned  below ;  John. 

(II)  William,  eldest  son  of  Thomas  Shepherd,  was  born  some  time 
prior  to  1698,  died  between  1741  and  1745.  He  married  a  woman  whose 
Christian  name  was  Sarah.  Children :  Thomas,  mentioned  below  ;  Wil- 
liam Jr.,  of  Rock  Creek;  John,  of  Frederick  county,  died  1765. 

(III)  Thomas  (2),  eldest  son  of  William  and  Sarah  Shepherd,  was 
born  in  1705,  died  in  1776.  About  1730  Thomas  Shepherd  received  a 
land  grant  from  King  George  II.,  the  same  containing  two  hundred  and 
twenty-two  acres  south  of  the  Shenandoah  river.  Thomas  Shepherd 
was  founder  of  Shepherdstown  (formerly  Mecklenberg),  West  Vir- 
ginia, where  he  settled  in  1732.  October  i,  1765,  it  was  enacted  by  the 
governor,  council  and  burgesses  of  the  assembly  of  Virginia  that  a  ferry 
be  established  and  constantly  kept  from  the  land  of  Thomas  Shepherd, 
in  the  town  of  Mecklenberg,  in  the  county  of  Frederick,  over  the  Poto- 
mac river,  to  his  land  opposite  thereto,  in  the  province  of  Maryland,  toll 
to  be  collected  for  the  passage  thereon  of  man,  beast  and  vehicle.  (See 
Hening's  Statutes  at  Large,  \"a..  vol.  8,  pp.  146-7).  This  grant  was  re- 
voked by  the  assembly  in  November,  1766.  In  1733  Thomas  Shepherd 
married  Elizabeth  Van  Metre,  born,  probably,  in  New  Jersey,  in  1715, 
died  at  Shepherdstown,  West  ^■irginia,  about  1792,  daughter  of  John 
Van  Metre,  the  "Indian  Trader."  Children:  i.  David,  born  January, 
1734,  died  in  Ohio  county,  Mrginia,  February  2,  1795.  2.  Sarah,  born 
1736,  died  at  Shepherdstown,  October  18,  1780.  3.  Elizabeth,  born  Oc- 
tober 3,  1738,  died  1788.  4.  William,  born  1740,  passed  away  at  Wheel- 
ing, Virginia,  1824.  5.  Thomas,  born  1743,  died  at  Shepherdstown,  1792. 
6.  John,  born  1749,  died  at  Red  Oak,  Ohio,  July  31,  1812.  7  and  8. 
Mary  and  Martha  (twins)  born  in  1752;  the  latter  died  in  Brooke 
county,  Virginia,  in  1825.  9.  Abraham,  mentioned  below.  10.  Susannah, 
born  September  i,  1758,  died  at  Wheeling,  Virginia,  April  13,  1835. 

(IV)  Captain  Abraham  Shepherd,  youngest  son  of  Thomas  (2)  and 
Elizabeth  (Van  Metre)  Shepherd,  was  born  at  Shepherdstown,  No- 
vember 10,  1754.  He  was  a  most  valiant  soldier  in  the  war  of  indepen- 
dence, and  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Kingsbridge,  New  York,  in  No- 
vember, 1776,  was  lieutenant  of  a  company.  The  officers  in  charge  were 
both  wounded  in  that  conflict  and  young  Abraham,  then  but  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  was  made  captain  of  a  company  of  Virginia  and  ^laryland 
riflemen.  He  went  through  many  thrilling  adventures  in  connection  with 
his  military  experience  and  was  at  one  time  captured  by  the  British  and 
sent  as  a  prisoner  to  Long  Island.  After  the  close  of  the  war  he  settled 
down  at  Shepherdstown,  where  he  was  instrumental  in  promoting  pub- 
lic progress  and  improvement.  He  was  an  influential  and  consistent 
member  of  the  Episcopal  church  at  Shepherdstown,  and  was  a  liberal 
contributor  to  all  measures  and  enterprises  projected  for  the  good  of  the 
general  welfare.  He  has  been  described  as  a  thin-visaged  man  with 
prominent  features,  full  of  energy,  a  first-rate  farmer,  a  public-spirited 
citizen  and  an  unfailing  friend  of  the  church.  He  married,  December 
27,  1780.  Eleanor  Strode,  whose  birth  occurred  June  27,  1760,  daughter 
of  Captain  James  Strode,  an  early  settler  of  Frederick  county,  Virginia. 
Abraham  Shepherd  afterward  became  the  owner  of  the  Strode  home- 
stead, and  it  is  claimed  that  on  that  estate,  in  the  days  of  James  Strode, 
Andrew  Jackson  was  born.  The  following  children  were  born  to  Abra- 
ham and  Eleanor  Shepherd:     i.  James  Strode,  born  June  19,  1782,  died 


422  WEST  MRGIXIA 

May  5,  1789.     2.  Rezin  Davis,  born  August  i,  1784,  died  November  10, 
1865.     3.  Abraham  Jr.,  born  June   13,   1787,  died  October  9,   1853.     4- 
James  Hervey,  born  May  5,   1790,  died  July  27,   1837.     5.  Henry,  men- 
tioned below.     6.  Annie,  born  June  13,   1796,  died  September   16,   1866. 
7.  Eliza,  born  July  26,   1799,  died  August  25,   1833.     8.  Charles  Moses,   1 
born  April  11,  1800,  died  October  7,  1851.     Captain  Abraham  Shepherd   1 
died  September  7,   1822,  and  his  cherished  and  devoted  wife  died  Sep-   i 
tember  23,  1853.  1 

(V)   Henry,  fifth  child  of  Captain  Abraham  and  Eleanor   (Strode)    ' 
Shepherd,  was  born  at  Shepherdstown,  January  4,  1793.  He  was  reared    1 
and  educated  in  Jefferson  county,  and  after  reaching  years  of  maturity   \ 
became  a  man  of  prominence  and  influence  at  Shepherdstown,  where  he   | 
acquitted   himself   with   all   honor  and   distinction   in   various   public   of- 
fices to  which  he  was  elected.     He  was  a  stalwart  Democrat  in  his  po-   \ 
litical  proclivities,  and  his  religious  faith  was  in  harmony  with  the  tenets   1; 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  in  the  different  departments  of  whose   ( 
work  he  was  an  active  factor.     He  was  an  extensive  land  holder  and  de-   j 
voted  most  of  his  attention  to  caring  for  his  estates.     He  married.  May   j 
7,   1822,   Fanny  E.   Briscoe,  daughter  of  Dr.   John  and  Eleanor    (Mag-    [ 
ruder)   Briscoe,  of  Piedmont,  Jefferson  county,  West  A'irginia.     Henry   j 
Shepherd  died  October    12,   1870,  and  his  wife,  who  survived  him   for   [ 
eleven  years,  passed  away  July  5,    1881.     Children:     i.   Mary   Eleanor, 
born  July  18,  1824,  died  August  18.  1825.     2.  Rezin  Davis,  born  July  7, 
1826,  died  November  2,  1862.     3.  Ann  Elizabeth,  born  August  25,  1828, 
died   November  30,    1833.     4.   Henry,  mentioned  below.     5.   John,  born 
June  9,   1833,  died  June  20,   1879.     6.  Abraham,  born  March  21,   1836, 
is  still  living  and  now  resides  at  Shepherdstown.     7.  James  Touro,  born 
August  21,  1838.  was  a  resident  of  Shepherdstown,  West  Virginia,  died 
during  the  civil  war. 

fVI)  Henry  (2),  son  of  Henry  (i)  and  Fanny  E.  (Briscoe)  Shep- 
herd, was  a  native  of  Shepherdstown,  Jefferson  county,  West  Virginia, 
W'here  his  birth  occurred  January  13,  1831.  He  received  his  early  educa- 
tional training  in  the  country  schools  of  his  native  place  and  later  sup- 
plemented that  discipline  by  a  course  in  St.  James  College,  near  Hagers- 
town,  Maryland,  in  which  excellent  institution  he  was  graduated.  As 
a  young  man  he  went  to  New  Orelans,  Louisiana,  where  he  figured  prom- 
inently in  the  business  world  as  a  commission  merchant.  He  passed  the 
closing  vears  of  his  life  in  the  vicinity  of  Shepherdstown,  where  he  was  the 
owner  of  vast  estates,  the  same  including  the  famous  "Wild  Goose  Farm" 
and  "Shepherd  Farm,"  two  of  the  largest  and  finest  farms  in  the  entire 
county.  In  all  affairs  of  national  import,  Mr.  Shepherd  was  an  uncom- 
promising Democrat,  but  in  local  matters  he  maintained  an  independent  at- 
titude, preferring  to  give  his  support  to  men  and  measures  meeting  with 
the  approval  of  his  judgment,  rather  than  to  vote  along  strictly  partisan 
lines. 

In  the  city  of  New  Orleans.  June  10.  1858.  was  solemnized  the  mar- 
riage of  Mr.  Shepherd  to  Azemia  McLean,  born  in  New  Orleans,  Janu- 
ary II,  1837,  daughter  of  William  James  and  Sarah  f Hagan  )  McLean, 
both  of  Scottish  iDirth.  Henry  Shepherd  died  September  30.  1891,  and 
his  loss  was  a  cause  for  universal  mourning  in  Jefferson  county,  where 
he  was  so  well  known  and  highly  esteemed.  Four  children  were  born 
to  Henry  and  Azemia  Shepherd,  namely.  Rezin  Davis,  Henry,  William 
Tames  and  Au.gustus  INIontgomery,  all  of  whom  are  mentioned  below. 

(VII)  Rezin  Davis,  son  of  Henry  (2)  and  .\zemia  (  McLean)  Shep- 
herd, was  born  March  7,  1859,  his  nativity  having  occurred  at  New  Or- 
leans, Louisiana.  As  a  youth  he  attended  Washington  and  Lee  College, 
and  matriculated  as  a  student  in  tlie  University  of  Virginia,  at  Charlottes- 


WEST  \IRGIXIA  423 

ville,  attending  that  noted  institution  for  a  period  of  one  and  a  half  years. 
After  leaving  college  he  assumed  charge  of  the  New  Orleans  real  estate 
holdings  of  his  cousins,  Peter  C.  and  Shepherd  Brooks.  Being  unusually 
talented  for  theatrical  work,  however,  he  gave  up  his  business  career  and 
made  his  debut  on  the  stage  at  Kingston,  New  York,  October  26,  1886. 
His  stage  name  is  R.  D.  McLean,  maiden  name  of  his  mother,  and  he  is 
well  known  in  many  prominent  Shakespearean  casts.  .At  one  time  he 
starred  with  Aladame  Modjeska  in  Macbeth,  King  John,  Merchant  of 
\'enice,  and  Hamlet,  and  he  has  also  taken  leading  parts  with  his  first 
wife,  Marie  Prescott,  and  his  second  wife,  Elizabeth  Lee  Kirkland, 
(stage  name  Odelle  Tyler)  daughter  of  General  W.  Kirkland,  of  North 
Carolina. 

(\TI)  Henry  {3),  second  child  of  Henry  (2)  and  Azemia  (McLean) 
Shepherd,  was  born  at  New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  January  2"],  1867.  He 
tvas  educated  in  the  Virginia  Military  Institute  and  in  St.  James  College 
near  Hagerstown,  Maryland.  Up  to  the  time  of  his  father's  death,  in 
1891,  he  had  charge  of  the  latter's  estates,  "Wild  Goose  Farm"  and 
"Shepherd  Farm,"  two  fine  farms  located  near  Shepherdstown.  He 
married  Minnie  Rinehart,  of  Shepherdstown,  in  1893,  and  they  had  one 
child.  He  died  March  4,  1896,  and  lies  at  rest  in  the  Shepherdstown 
cemetery  beside  his  father. 

(  \TI)  William  James,  third  son  of  Henry  (2)  and  Azemia  (Mc- 
Lean )  Shepherd,  was  born  September  29,  1869.  He  attended  the  Uni- 
versity of  Virginia,  from  which  he  was  graduated  about  1893.  After  his 
father's  death  he  took  charge  of  the  Shepherd  estate  and  managed  the 
same  until  it  was  entirely  settled.  He  is  now  associated  with  his  brother 
Augustus  Montgomery  in  the  ownership  and  operation  of  the  "Shepherd 
Stock  Farm."  The  brothers  own  such  noted  horses  as  "Queen  Gothard," 
2.145-4;  "Nellie  D,"  2.1814;  "Jennie  C,"  2.23^;  "Royal  Penn,"  2.io'4  ; 
and  "Director  Joe,"  2.o9>4. 

( VH)  Augustus  Montgomery,  youngest  son  of  Henry  (2)  and 
.■\zemia  (McLean)  Shepherd,  was  born  June  13,  1871.  After  complet- 
ing a  course  in  St.  James  College  he  attended  the  University  of  Virginia, 
and  after  leaving  the  latter  institution  was  for  a  time  associated  with 
his  brother  William  James  in  the  conduct  of  the  "Shepherd  Stock  Farm." 
In  1889  he  joined  his  older  brother,  Rezin  Davis,  on  the  stage  and  for 
seven  years  followed  the  vocation  of  an  actor.  In  1893,  however,  he  re- 
turned to  his  old  love,  the  farm,  and  he  and  his  brother  William  James 
are  now  achieving  unusual  success  as  agriculturists  and  stock-raisers. 


Thi.s  is  one  01  the  very  first  settled  families  in  Pocohontas 
McXEEL     county,  and  not  many  generations  in  America  can  possibly 

have  preceded  their  settlement.     The  origin  of  the  family 
Is  evidently  Scotch-Irish. 

(I)  John  McNeel,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  was  born  in  Frederick  county,  Virginia,  in 
1745,  died  in  1825.  IMuch  of  his  early  life  was  passed  near  Cumberland, 
Maryland.  His  coming  into  Pocahontas  county  was  due  to  a  sad  acci- 
dent. In  a  pugilist  encounter  his  antagonist  was  injured,  as  he  supposed, 
fatally.  To  avoid  arrest  for  murder  he  fled,  following  the  .\lleghenies ; 
thus,  in  1765,  he  came  into  view  of  the  Little  Levels,  Pocahontas  county, 
and  was  pleased  with  the  countrv',  which  is  attractive  both  for  romantic 
beauty  and  for  fertility.  Here  he  settled,  and  he  seems  to  have  been  the 
first  permanent  settler.  He  lived  at  first  almost  wholly  on  venison  and 
trout.  One  day  he  met  two  friends  from  his  old  neighborhood,  and 
learned  that  the  person  with  whom  he  had  boxed  was  not  even  seriously 


424  WEST  VIRGINIA 

hurt.  The  three  then  returned  on  a  visit  to  the  lower  valley  of  \'irginia, 
but  soon  came  back  to  the  Little  Levels.  While  on  this  visit  to  the  lower 
valley,  Mr.  McNeel  married.  On  his  return  he  cleared  a  few  acres  of 
land.  The  mental  sufiferings  which  he  had  undergone,  his  penitence,  and 
his  gratitude  for  the  outcome  seem  to  have  made  a  deep  religious  impres- 
sion on  him;  he  built  a  church,  and  was  the  pioneer  of  [Methodism  in  his 
new  home.  A  few  years  after  his  final  settlement  at  the  Little  Levels,  the 
Dunmore  war  broke  out.  Mr.  McNeel  and  his  two  friends  went  into 
camp  at  Lewisburg  and  joined  the  expedition  to  Point  Pleasant.  They 
served  in  a  Frederick  county  company  in  the  revolution.  During  his  ab- 
sence at  Point  Pleasant  a  child  was  born  and  died.  The  mother  prepared 
the  body  and  buried  it  in  what  has  since  been  known  as  the  McNeel 
Graveyard  on  the  summit  of  the  high  hill  overlooking  the  home  of  the 
pioneer,  John  McNeel,  whose  body  is  also  buried  there  and  where  all 
descendants  of  the  McNeels  are  buried. 

He  married  Martha  Davis,  who  was  born  in  Wales  in  1742,  died 
about  1830.  She  brought  with  her  from  Wales  a  Bible  in  Welsh.  Chil- 
dren :      Miriam,   married   John   Jordan ;   Nancy,   married   Richard    Hill ; 

Martha,    married    Gritifin    Evans ;    Abram,    married    (first)    Lamb, 

(second)   Bridger,    (third)    Magdalen    (Kelly)    Haynes ;   Isaac,   of 

whom  further. 

(II)  Isaac,  son  of  John  and  Martha  (Davis)  McNeel,  married 
(first)  Rachel  McKeever,  (second)  Ann,  daughter  of  Jacob  Seybert. 
Children,  first-named  eight  by  first,  others  by  second  wife:  Paul,  born 
in  1803;  John,  of  whom  further;  Richard;  Isaac;  Hannah,  married  Ben- 
jamin Wallace ;  Martha,  married  David  McCue ;  Nancy,  married  ^^'il- 
liam  C.  Price;  Rachel,  married  Jacob  Crouch;  Jacob;  Samuel  Ellis;  Cath- 
arine, married  Charles  Wade;  Elizabeth,  married  Jacob  Sharp;  Miriam, 
married  Joseph  McClung ;  Magdalen,  married  Roljert  W' illiams. 

(III)  John  (2),  son  of  Isaac  and  Rachel  (McKeever)  McNeel,  was 
born  in  Pocahontas  county,  Virginia,  in  1807,  on  the  farm  now  owned 
by  Hon.  M.  J.  McNeel.  He  married  Harriet,  daughter  of  Lanty  Lock- 
ridge.  Children:  i.  Isaac,  of  whom  further.  2.  M.  J.,  born  in  1845:  mar- 
ried Margaret  B.  Christian,  of  Augusta  county,  Virginia ;  no  children ; 
he  is  president  of  the  Bank  of  Marlinton,  having  held  this  ofifice  since 
its  organization  in  1899;  he  has  been  for  one  term  a  member  of  the  county 
court:  in  1890-91  he  was  sheritT ;  from  1897  to  1899  he  was  a  member 
of  the  house  of  delegates  to  West  Virginia.  3.  Rachel  A.,  married  Dr. 
Mathew  Wallace,  of  Mill  Point,  West  Virginia ;  children :  C.  M.,  Min- 
nie I.,  Anna  McNeel,  John  Penick,  deceased;  Frederick,  deceased.  4. 
Eveline,  married  Andrew  Amiss ;  child,  Effie,  married  Peter  L.  Cleek,  of 
Pocahontas  county.  5.  Elizabeth,  died  March  13,  1912;  married  Abram 
Crouch,  of  Elkwater,  West  Virginia ;  children :  Ada,  Lee,  Lina.  de- 
ceased ;  Bettie,  May.  Jackson,  Grace. 

(IV)  Isaac  (2),  son  of  John  (2)  and  Harriet  (Lockridge)  McNeel, 
was  born  April  4,  1830.  His  active  life  was  that  of  a  farmer  and  mer- 
chant at  Mill  Point.  When  the  present  county  court  was  constituted  he 
was  a  magistrate.  During  the  war  he  was  sherii?  of  Pocahontas  county 
and  was  thereby  exempted  from  military  service.  He  had  been  deputy 
sheriff.  After  the  war  he  was  a  member  of  the  county  court.  He  mar- 
ried Miriam  Nancy,  daughter  of  Joseph  Beard,  who  died  April  23,  19x2. 
Children:  i.  Harvey  \Yinters,  twin  of  Thomas  Summers,  born  Octo- 
ber 15.  1872;  the  brothers  attended  Washington  and  Lee  L'^niversity  to- 
gether, and  Harvey  ^^^nters  graduated  in  medicine  at  the  University  of 
Virginia  in  1897;  he  is  now  practicing  at  Academy,  ^^'est  ^'irginia ;  he  is 
a  Mason,  a  Shriner  and  an  active  Democrat.  Dr.  McNeel  married  Eliz- 
abeth A.,  daughter  of  Captain  A.   M.  Edgar;  children:     Isaac,  Alfred, 


WEST  VIRGINIA  425 

Dorothy,  Harriet.  2.  Thomas  Summers,  of  whom  further.  3.  John 
Lanty,  born  February  14,  1878;  he  is  a  farmer  and  stockman,  a  Master 
Mason,  a  Democrat,  and  from  1908  to  1912  he  served  as  deputy  sheriff; 
he  married  Nora,  daughter  of  Osborne  Wilson,  of  Highland  county, 
Virginia ;  children :  John  and  Joseph.  4.  Mary  Gold,  born  July  24, 
1880;  married  William  A.  Browning;  she  was  educated  at  Lewisburg 
Female  Seminary;  her  husband  is  a  farmer  and  stockman  of  Pocahontas 
county,  a  Master  Mason,  and  a  Democrat ;  children :  Josephine,  Lina 
Virginia,  William  McNeel. 

(V)  Thomas  Summers,  son  of  Isaac  (2)  and  Miriam  Nancy  (Beard) 
McNeel,  was  born  October  15,  1872.  He  attended  Washington  and  Lee 
University.  In  1897  he  was  graduated  in  law  from  the  University  of 
Virginia,  receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Law.  In  the  same  year  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  is  a  member  of  the  State  Bar  Association. 
He  was  from  1901  to  1905  prosecuting  attorney  for  Pocahontas  county. 
Active  in  politics  as  a  Democrat  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Democratic 
county  executive  committee  for  a  number  of  years.  He  is  a  Mason,  and 
has  been  through  the  chairs  in  the  Blue  Lodge;  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Chapter,  of  the  Commandery,  and  of  the  Shrine  at  Charleston.  In  1903 
he  married  Mary  Frances,  daughter  of  Franklin  and  Frances  (\\'ilson) 
McNulty.     Child :     Margaret  Nancy,  born  July  22,  1905. 


The   proprietor   of    the    largest    undertaking   establishment    in 
GISH     Sistersville,   Orland   E.   Gish,   is   a  native   of    Seneca   county, 

Ohio,  where  he  was  born  at  Garmon  Corners,  October  i, 
1875.  He  is  the  son  of  Jacob  Gish.  who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
resides  now  in  Ohio,  and  of  Amanda  C.  (Payne)  Gish,  born  in  Ohio; 
both  of  his  parents  are  living.  The  father,  Jacob  Gish.  was  in  the*  Union 
service  during  the  civil  war.  acting  as  a  blacksmith  ;  he  joined  the  army 
in  1863,  but  was  incapacitated  by  the  kick  of  a  mule  and  has  never  fully 
recovered  from  the  injury,  nor  has  his  name  as  yet  been  placed  on  the 
pension  list. 

Orland  E.  Gish  received  his  early  education  in  the  common  schools  of 
Ohio,  beginning  at  the  age  of  twelve  years  to  make  his  own  way  in  the 
vvorld.  At  this  time  his  father  hired  him  out  on  a  farm,  where  for  the 
first  year  his  wages  were  three  dollars  a  month.  For  the  second  year  the 
amount  was  doubled  and  he  received  six  dollars  a  month,  and  for  the 
third  year  the  wages  were  twelve  dollars  each  month.  By  this  time  the 
lad  was  able  to  be  of  much  use  and  had  acquired  sufficient  experience  to 
start  in  for  himself.  He  was  then  fifteen  years  old,  and  began  work  on 
the  section,  doing  nickle  plating  at  Belleview,  Ohio,  at  one  dollar  and 
eighty-five  cents  per  day.  He  remained  at  this  occupation  for  six  months, 
when  he  engaged  as  a  clerk  in  the  grocery  store  of  H.  A.  Schlicht,  with 
whom  he  continued  for  a  year.  At  the  expiration  of  this  time  he  re- 
moved to  Milan,  Ohio,  and  began  learning  the  undertaking  business  in 
the  employ  of  H.  L.  Wilson.  In  1903  he  came  to  Sistersville,  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  entered  into  business  for  himself  in  this  line,  becoming  very 
successful  and  now  commanding  the  largest  establishment  of  the  kind  in 
the  city.  He  has  made  himself  esteemed  by  reason  of  his  competence  in 
his  profession  and  his  fair  dealing,  and  controls  about  three-quarters  of 
this  business  in  Sistersville  and  the  surrounding  country.  Mr.  Gish  has 
■become  well  known  in  political  and  fraternal  circles  hereabouts.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Republican  party,  and  of  many  fraternal  organizations, 
among  which  are  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  which  he 
is  past  grand  noble:  the  Modern  W^oodmen  of  America:  the  Ancient  Or- 


426  WEST  MRGIXIA 

der  of   United   Workmen ;  the   Knights  of   Pythias  and  the   Benevolent 
Protective  Order  of  Elks,  No.  333,  at  Sistersville. 

On  December  11,  1907,  Mr.  Gish  married  Annetta  B.  (Gouscher) 
Martin,  born  April  11,  1875,  at  Shenango.  Pennsylvania.  One  child, 
Gladys  Martin,  now  twelve  years  of  age,  who  is  attending  the  high  school 
and  is  now  in  the  seventh  grade. 


David  Kennedy,  the  founder  of  the  family  in  this  coun- 
KENNEDY     try,  came  from  Dublin,  Ireland,  and  settled  in  Virginia. 
His  wife's  name  is  not  known,  but  among  his  children 
was  Scott,  referred  to  below. 

(II)  Scott,  son  of  David  and (Scott)    Kennedy,  was  born  in 

Augusta  county.  Virginia,  about  1789,  died  in  1873,  aged  eighty-four 
years.  He  was  a  farmer  and  the  purchaser  of  what  is  known  as  the  old 
Kennedy  homestead  which  is  still  in  the  possession  of  his  descendants. 
His  wife's  name  is  unknown,  but  among  his  children  was  Isaac,  referred 
to  below. 

(III)  Isaac,  son  of  Scott  Kennedy,  was  born  about  1831  on  his 
father's  farm  in  Augusta  county,  \'irginia,  where  he  is  now 
living.  He  is  a  farmer.  He  served  in  the  Confederate  army  during  the 
civil  war,  taking  part  in  many  battles.  Pie  married  Virginia  Anastasia, 
daughter  of  Oliver  Bartley,  born  in  Orange  county,  Virginia,  about 
1837.  Children,  all  born  in  Augusta  county:  Hersey  Oliver,  born  1853; 
James  Walker,  referred  to  below ;  John  Davis,  born  1857 ;  Georgianna, 
born  1865,  married  Amos  Lotts,  of  Augusta  county;  Frank  Boude,  born 
1867,  now  a  lawyer  in  Staunton.  A'irginia. 

( ly)  James  Walker,  son  of  Isaac  and  Virginia  Anastasia  (Bartley) 
Kennedy,  was  born  in  Augusta  county.  Virginia,  April  21,  1854.  He 
received  his  early  education  in  private  schools  and  through  tutors  and 
later  entered  the  Oak  Forest  Academy.  He  then  took  up  the  study  of 
law  and  graduated  from  Washington  and  Lee  University  in  1880,  and 
commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Charleston,  West  Virginia, 
where  he  is  now  living.  From  1881  to  1885  he  was  in  partnership  with 
General  C.  C.  Watts.     He  is  a  Presbyterian  in  religion. 

He  married,  August  10,  1882,  Addie  I.,  daughter  of  William  F.  and 
Eliza  (Daggett)  Goshorn.  Children:  Eliza  Virginia,  married  Cohen 
Jones :  Walker  McCorkle,  Helen  Daggett,  Gertrude,  Richard  Graves, 
Margaret. 


John  B.  Lessell  takes  rank  as  one  of  the  leading  citizens 
LESSELL     of  Paden  City,  setting  an  example  of  remarkable  business 

acumen  and  progressiveness,  and  showing  what  can  be 
accomplished  bv  a  steadfast  adherence  to  purpose  in  one's  chosen  call- 
ing. Air.  Lessell  promoted  and  built  the  plant  of  the  Paden  City  Pottery 
Company,  is  one  of  the  largest  stockholders  and  is  general  manager  of 
the  plant.  He  is  no  new  hand  in  the  pottery  business :  it  has  been  the 
avocation  of  his  ancestors  for  generations,  dating  as  far  back  as  the  year 
1747,  when  the  family  first  established  itself  in  this  line  on  the  French- 
German  border  in  Germany.  There  John  B.  Lessell  was  born  September  30, 
1867.  and  there  he  grew  to  manhood,  accjuiring  his  education  in  his  na- 
tive land,  and  as  soon  as  his  studies  were  completed,  he  entered  the  busi- 
ness which  he  has  followed  ever  since. 

In  the  year  1886  he  emigrated  to  America,  and  here  he  met  his  wife 
who  was  tlien  a  Miss  Jennie  Oustott,  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  the  year 
1872 :  they  were  married  in  1900.  It  was  not  until  a  number  of  years  after 


^^'        \  ^^^^^^H 

^^^■jj^^g-y;'^'  'V 

^.     j^^^^H 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^v"  ^ 

Wk'^  y^^mHf 

IBIr          J"                        W^^^^^^^M 

i^ 

WEST  VIRGINIA  427 

this  that  ]\Ir.  Lessell  removed  to  this  portion  of  West  Virginia,  where, 
sometime  during  the  course  of  1910,  he  settled  in  Parkersburg,  estabhsh- 
ing  a  small  pottery  plant.  In  October  of  this  year  he  came  to  Paden  City, 
looking  up  the  clay  desposits.  He  discovered  an  abundance  of  a  very  fine 
quality  and  immediately  took  steps  to  organize  a  company  to  handle  the 
product ;  within  four  months  the  company  was  in  full  operation  upon  the 
site  which  he  selected,  and  made  their  first  shipment.  In  the  short  while 
which  has  intervened  since  then  their  progress  has  been  phenomenal,  and 
they  are  now  making  preparations  for  the  construction  of  three  more 
kilns.  The  products  of  the  Paden  City  Pottery  Company  have  been  of 
such  a  grade  as  to  win  medals  at  the  two  great  expositions,  Jamestown, 
Virginia,  and  Portland,  Oregon,  and  the  name  of  ]\Ir.  Lessell,  who  con- 
tinues to  be  general  manager  of  the  present  plant,  has  become  one  of  the 
well  known  names  in  America. 

The  plant,  which  is  equipped  with  the  best  known  and  most  mod- 
ern machinery,  employs  about  fifty  operatives,  all  thoroughly  experi- 
enced in  the  business,  and  it  is  anticipated  that  when  the  new  enlarge- 
ments and  additions  to  the  plant  now  in  progress  have  been  completed 
there  will  be  occupation  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  hands  in  all,  and  an 
increase  of  three-fifths  in  the  capacity  of  the  manufactury.  The  amount 
of  business  is  steadily  increasing,  the  amount  of  orders  on  hand  being 
so  heavy  that  it  will  not  be  possible  to  execute  them  for  months  ahead, 
and  with  all  this  there  has  been  no  diminution  in  the  quality  of  the  goods, 
which  is  of  the  finest.  ]\Ir.  Lessell  has  come  to  be  known  as  one  of  the 
most  esteemed  business  men  of  this  place,  popular  in  both  industrial  and 
social  circles.  Intensely  absorbed  in  the  enterprise  of  which  he  has  made 
so  distinguished  a  success,  he  remains  the  affable  and  courteous  gentle- 
man, responsive  to  all  social  calls  and  open-handed  in  all  of  his  dealings. 
He  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Republican  party,  and  is  also  a  member 
of  the  fraternal  organization  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 


Dr.  Samuel  Erb  Langfitt,  of  Huntington,  is  the  bearer 
LANGFITT     of  a  name  which  for  more  than  half  a  century  has  been 
well  and  favorably  known  in  the  states  of  A'irginia  and 
West  \'irginia. 

(I)  Joseph  Langfitt.  grandfather  of  Dr.  Samuel  Erb  Langfitt.  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania,  whence  he  removed  to  Doddridge  county,  Vir- 
ginia, now  West  \'irginia.  He  married  Hannah  Farquer,  and  it  is  a 
noteworthy  fact  that  both  he  and  his  wife  met  violent  deaths,  the  form- 
er by  being  thrown  from  his  hor^e.  and  the  latter  by  the  rolling  of  a  log 
which  crushed  her  to  death. 

(II)  Valentine,  son  of  Joseph  and  Hannah  fParquer)  Langfitt.  was 
born  February  14,  1834.  in  Greene  county.  Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  boy 
when  his  parents  came  to  Virginia,  now  W^est  Virginia.  \'alentine  Lang- 
fitt was  a  farmer  in  Doddridge  county,  and  at  one  time  was  its  repre- 
sentative in  the  state  legislature.  He  married  Caroline  Louise  Davis, 
born  June  7,   1837,  in  Doddridge  county,  daughter  of  William  Davis,  a 

I  farmer  of  that  county.  Of  the  twelve  children  born  to  them,  the  follow- 
!  ing  are  living:  Silas  ^^'illiam,  of  \\'est  L^nion,  West  Virginia:  Resin 
}  Belle,  wife  of  M.  A.  Summers,  of  Nowada,  Oklahoma :  John  H.,  of 
I  West  Union :  Samuel  Erb.  of  whom  further :  Credo  \^'orley.  of  Berkeley 
'  Springs.  West  Virginia :  Bruce  Benton,  of  Jacksonsburg,  West  Virginia ; 
i  Mona  Gray,  wife  of  Dr.  C.  L.  Parks,  of  Middleburn.  West  \"irginia  :  and 
I  Frank  A'alentine.  a  physician  of  Salem.  West  Virginia.  Those  deceased 
j  are:  Elizabeth  Jane,  wife  of  Louis  Bond:  Columbia  Lee.  wife  of  J.  R. 
j     Jones:  Ila  Myrtle,  wife  of  J.  E.  Trainer:  and  Efiie  M.  A'alentine  Lang- 


428  WEST  VIRGINIA  { 

I 
fitt  died  April  7,  1904,  at  Murgansville,  Doddridge  count}' ;  his  widow  | 
now  resides  at  West  L'nion,  West  \'irginia.  1 

(III)  Dr.  Samuel  Erb  Langfitt,  son  of  Valentine  and  Caroline  Louise  ' 
(Davis)  Langfitt,  was  born  Alay  15,  1869,  at  Morgansville,  Doddridge 
county.  He  received  his  preliminary  education  in  the  local  schools, 
afterward  matriculating  at  the  L'niversity  of  Pennsylvania,  whence  he 
graduated  in  1898  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Dental  Surgery.  He  at 
once  settled  at  West  LTnion,  West  Virginia,  the  county  seat  of  Dodd- 
ridge county,  and  there  practised  continuously  until  1907,  when  he  came 
to  Huntington,  where  he  has  since  remained,  acquiring  a  large  patron- 
age and  enjoying  a  high  reputation  for  skill.  Dr.  Langfitt's  assured  pro- 
fessional reputation  and  high  standing  as  a  citizen  place  him  among  the 
leading  residents  of  Huntington.  In  the  sphere  of  politics  Dr.  Langlitt 
is  identified  with  the  Democratic  party,  and  he  affiliates  with  the  Masonic 
fraternity.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Fifth  .\venue  Baptist  Church. 

Dr.  Langfitt  married,  July  16,  1903,  at  Parkersburg,  Clara  Belle 
Mann,  born  September  8.  1879,  at  Syracuse.  New  York,  daughter  of 
John  L.  and  Mary  Elizabeth  ( Babcock)  Mann.  Mr.  Mann  is  a  native  of 
New  York  state,  and  now  resides  in  Huntington,  where  he  is  engaged  in 
business  as  a  manufacturer.  His  wife,  born  at  Stillwater,  New  York, 
died  in  1906,  at  the  age  of  forty-four  years.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Langfitt  have 
three  children  :  Dorothy  Elizabeth,  born  July  28.  11505  ;  Kathleen  Louise, 
August  n,  1907;  anrl  Samuel  Erb,  Jr.,  January  22.  191 1. 

Scotland  has  contributed  its  fair  quota  to  the  citizenship 
MURRAY     of  the  LTnited   States,  and  the  emigrant  ancestor  of  the 

Murray  family  was  born  and  reared  in  that  country 
whence  he  came  to  America  at  an  early  date.  He  settled  in  Meigs  county, 
Ohio,  and  was  probably  a  farmer  by  occupation. 

(II)  Alex  H.  Murray  was  born  in  Meigs  county,  Ohio,  died  in  1876. 
He  married  a  Miss  Smith,  whose  ancestors  were  the  first  white  settlers 
in  Meigs  county,  Ohio,  whither  they  removed  from  Marietta,  Ohio,  in 
1796.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Murray  had  a  son,  Alex  H.,  mentioned  below. 

(III)  Alex  H.   (2),  son  of  Alex  H.  (i)  and  (Smith)  Murray, 

was  born  and  raised  in  Ohio,  and  for  tnany  years  was  a  resident  of 
Huntington,  West  Virginia.  He  was  engaged  in  the  manufacturing 
business  but  is  now  living  in  virtual  retirement  at  Cloverport,  Ken- 
tucky. His  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Mary  Fillmore  Matthews, 
is  a  distant  relative  of  former  President  Millard  Fillmore ;  she  is  sixty- 
seven  years  of  age  and  is  in  the  enjoyment  of  splendid  health.  Among 
children  born  to  ^Ir.  and  Mrs.  Murray  was  Claud  R.,  mentioned  be- 
low. 

(IV)  Claud  R..  son  of  Alex  H.  (2)  and  Mary  Fillmore  (Matthews)  : 
Murray,  was  born  at  ^Middleport,  Meigs  county.  Ohio,  September  16, 
1871.  After  completing  the  curriculum  of  the  graded  and  high  schools  of 
Middleport  ]\'Ir.  Murray  was  matriculated  as  a  student  in  the  Ohio  State 
LTniversity,  at  Columbus,  in  which  institution  he  was  graduated  as  a 
member  of  the  class  of  1895.  I"  1896  he  was  graduated  in  the  business 
department  of  Marshall  College,  at  Huntington.  West  Virginia,  and  in 
T897  initiated  his  independent  career  as  a  teacher.  He  continued  his 
pedagogic  work  at  difl:'erent  places  until  1901  when  he  became  principal 
of  the  Huntington  high  school,  retaining  that  incumbency  for  two  years. 
From  1903  to  T905  he  was  superintendent  of  schools  at  Piedmont,  West 
Virginia,  and  from  the  latter  year  until  the  present  time  has  been  super- 
intendent of  schools  at  Williamson.  West  \^irginia.  Professor  Murray 
has  gained  much  distinction  as  an  educator  in  this  section  of  West  Vir- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  429 

ginia  and  during  liis  long  connection  with  the  schools  of  this  state  has 
succeeded  in  greatly  raising  the  intellectual  standard  and  promoting  the 
efficiency  of  the  system  as  a  preparation  for  the  responsible  duties  of  life. 
Indeed,  the  constant  aim  and  general  character  of  Professor  Murray's 
life  work  are  summed  up  in  the  famous  dictum  of  Sidney  Smith,  that: 
"The  real  object  of  education  is  to  give  children  resources  that  will  en- 
dure as  long  as  life  endures;  habits  that  time  will  ameliorate,  not  de- 
stroy ;  occupation  that  will  render  sickness  tolerable,  solitude  pleasant,  age 
venerable,  life  more  dignified  and  useful,  and  death  less  terrible." 

Mr.  Murray  has  been  a  member  of  the  state  board  of  education  for 
nine  years,  having  held  that  position  for  a  longer  period  than  any  other 
member.  He  is  secretary  of  the  State  Education  Association,  and  was 
president  of  the  county  board  of  review  and  equalization  of  taxes  from 
1909  to  191 1.  He  is  aligned  as  a  stalwart  supporter  of  the  Progressive 
Republicans  in  his  political  convictions,  and  his  religious  faith  is  in  har- 
mony with  the  teachings  of  the  Congregational  church,  of  which  he  has 
long  been  an  active  and  zealous  member.  In  JMasonic  circles  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Blue  Lodge,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 

October  5,  1905,  Professor  Murray  married  Maud  H.  Doolittle,  born 
at  Huntington.  West  Virginia,  November  13,  1882,  daughter  of  Judge 
E.  S.  Doolittle,  of  Huntington,  who  has  presided  over  the  circuit  court 
of  the  thirteenth  judicial  district  for  the  past  sixteen  years.  Two  chil- 
dren were  born  to  Professor  and  Mrs.  Murray,  namely:  Mary  Alice, 
born  December  25,  1906,  died  November  4,  1910;  Edward  Alexander, 
born  July  4.  1908.  The  ^lurray  family  occupies  a  beautiful  home  in  Wil- 
liamson and  the  same  is  the  scene  of  great  generosity  and  kindly  wel- 
come. 


George    Francis   Durham,   cashier   of   the    Tyler   County 
Dl'RHAM     Bank,  and  one  of  Sistersville's  most  highly  respected  citi- 
zens,  is   a   descendant   of   New   England   ancestors,   and 
has  exhibited  throughout  his  career  the  sturdy  self-reliance  and  indomi- 
table perseverance  of  the  stock  from  which  he  sprang. 

(I)  Allen  Durham  was  born  in  Vermont,  and  as  a  young  man  re- 
moved to  Chautauqua  county,  New  York,  where  he  purchased  of  the 
government  a  farm  situated  in  what  was  then  a  wilderness.  This  was 
about  a  hundred  years  ago,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  1787.  He 
cleared  and  cultivated  the  land,  making  a  home  for  himself  and  those 
who  were  to  come  after  him,  and  by  his  own  efforts  achieved  prosperity. 
He  died  in  1869,  having  entered  his  eighty-second  year. 

(II)  Wilbur  S.,  son  of  Allen  Durham,  was  born  July  7,  1829,  in 
Chautauqua  county.  New  York.  He  received  his  education  at  the  May- 
ville  (New  York)  Academy.  His  business  was  that  of  a  carpenter,  con- 
tractor and  builder,  and  his  home  was  on  the  old  farm,  where  his  entire 
life  was  passed.  He  married,  in  1854.  Sarah  M.,  born  January  7,  1835, 
in  Steuben  county.  New  York,  daughter  of  Nehemiah  and  Harriet 
(Briggs)  Hubbard,  of  Sherman.  Chautauqua  county.  Mrs.  Hubbard 
died  in  1859,  and  her  husband  survived  until  1889.  Mr.  and  ]\Irs.  Dur- 
ham were  the  parents  of  two  sons :  Edwin  Allen,  born  June  3,  1862.  in 
Chautauqua  county.  New  York ;  George  Francis,  mentioned  below.  Wil- 
bur S.  Durham  lived,  like  his  father,  to  a  good  old  age,  passing  awa}^ 
June  8,  1910. 

(III)  George  Francis,  son  of  Wilbur  S.  and  Sarah  ;\T.  (Hubbard) 
Durham,  was  born  May  i,  1872,  in  Chautauqua  county.  New  York.  He 
obtained  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Jamestown,  New  York, 
and  Bradford,  Pennsylvania.     At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  entered  upon 


430  WEST  VIRGINIA 

his  business  career  as  messenger  in  the  Tyler  County  Bank.  His  integ- 
rity and  abiUty  met  with  deserved  recognition,  and  he  was  steadily  ad- 
vanced step  by  step  to  his  present  position  of  cashier.  In  addition  to 
holding  this  office  he  is  also  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the 
bank  as  well  as  one  of  its  stockholders.  His  political  affiliations  are  with 
the  Republicans  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church. 
Mr.  Durham  married  Mary  Drusilla,  born  May  i,  1875,  in  Marshall 
county,  West  Virginia,  daughter  of  Richard  Hardesty  and  Mary  Isabel 
(Wills)  Talbot,  and  they  have  two  children:  Edwin  Arthur,  born  Au- 
gust 17,  1899;  Marjorie  Talbot,  born  June  15,  1901.  Both  are  attending 
school.  Mrs.  Durham  was  educated  at  Urbana,  Ohio,  Pittsburg,  and 
Stanton,  Ohio,  graduating  at  the  last-named  place  in  1896.  The  name 
of  Durham  has  been  respected  in  Vermont  and  New  York,  and  its  pres- 
ent representative  in  Sistersville  is  maintaining  the  family  tradition  by 
causing  it  to  be  honored  in  West  Virginia. 


The  Shrewsbury  family  of  West  Virginia  is  ably 

SHREWSBURY     represented   in   the   present   generation  by   George 

Hutson   Shrewsbury,   a   native  of   Point   Pleasant, 

Mason  county,  \\'est  Virginia,  born  July  23,  1872,  son  of  Columbus  and 

Cynthia  Ann   (Jarrett)  Shrewsbury. 

(I)  Columbus  Shrewsbury  was  born  in  Brownstown,  Virginia,  now 
West  Virginia,  June  5,  1832,  died  in  Charleston,  West  \'irginia,  in  1902. 
He  resided  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  Point  Pleasant.  He  was  a  lawyer 
by  profession,  but  devoted  the  greater  portion  of  his  time  and  attention 
to  steaniboating  on  the  Ohio  and  West  Virginia  great  waterways,  having 
been  the  owner  of  three  boats.  He  also  served  as  deputy  United  States 
marshall  under  several  Republican  presidents,  and  later  was  elected  sher- 
iff of  ^lason  county.  West  Virginia,  the  duties  of  which  office  he  dis- 
charged with  fidelity  and  impartiality,  year  by  year  constantly  growing  in 
public  estimation.  He  married  Cynthia  Ann  Jarrett,  who  bore  him  six 
children  as  follows :  Fannie  E.,  unmarried,  a  resident  of  Charleston ; 
John  Harry,  deceased;  Hattie  C,  married  Byron  C.  Barber,  now  de- 
ceased; George  Hutson,  of  whom  further;  Helen  L.,  unmarried,  a  res- 
ident of  Charleston ;  Herman  J.,  a  resident  of  Charleston,  engaged  in  the 
real  estate  business.     The  mother  of  these  children  died  in  1882. 

(II)  George  Hutson,  son  of  Columbus  Shrewsbury,  was  educated  in 
the  schools  of  Point  Pleasant,  in  the  Normal  School  at  Lebanon,  Ohio, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1894,  and  then  took  up  the  study  of  law  at 
Ada,  Ohio,  subsequently  graduating  therefrom.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  of  West  Virginia,  and  in  1894  located  in  Charleston,  beginning  the 
active  practice  of  his  profession  there  in  September,  1895,  his  office  be- 
ing located  in  the  Charleston  National  Bank  Building.  He  is  engaged 
along  general  lines,  and  is  now  in  receipt  of  a  lucrative  patronage.  He 
is  a  Presbyterian  in  religion,  and  a  Republican  in  politics,  but  has  never 
sought  or  held  public  office.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  Knights  of 
Pythias. 

Mr.  Shrewsbury  married,  July  30,  1896,  at  Lebanon,  Ohio,  Carrie 
H.  Sieker,  a  native  of  Lebanon,  daughter  of  the  late  William  and  Henri- 
etta Sieker,  the  former  of  whom  was  a  merchant  of  Lebanon.  One  child. 
Ruth  H.,  born  June  i,  1897. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  431 

The  Talbott  family  is  one  of  the  oldest,  not  only  in 
TALBOTT     America,  but  in  England.     The   founders  of  the  name 

in  England  crossed  to  that  country  from  Normandy 
with  William  the  Conqueror  more  than  nine  hundred  ago.  The  imme- 
diate ancestors  of  the  American  family  came  from  England  to  Virginia 
early  in  the  history  of  that  state. 

(I)  William  T.  Talbott,  who  was  born  in  England,  settled  while  very 
young  in  Fairfax  county.  He  had  three  children,  all  born  in  this  county, 
where  he  himself  died  when  they  were  in  their  youth.  They  were :  Char- 
ity;  Cottcral,  who  in  1788  was  married  in  Randolph  county  to  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Jacob  Reger ;  Richard,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Richard,  son  of  William  T.  Talbott,  was  born  November  16, 
1764,  in  Fairfax  county,  Virginia.  He  was  the  youngest  of  the  family ; 
his  father  having  died  when  the  boy  was  very  young,  the  latter  was 
bound  out.  The  man  whom  he  served  treated  him  badly,  and  his  sister 
Charity,  the  eldest  of  the  three  children,  aided  him  to  escape.  Accom- 
panied by  his  mother,  sister  and  brother,  he  left  Fairfax  county,  and 
crossing  the  Alleghenies  the  family  made  their  home  in  Barbour  county, 
a  portion  of  the  old  homestead  there  still  remaining  in  the  Talbott  family. 
This  settlement  of  the  Talbotts  in  Barbour  county,  now  West  Virginia, 
occurred  in  the  year  1780,  Richard  being  then  sixteen  years  of  age.  In 
1788  he  married  Margaret  Dowden,  born  December  25,  1776,  and  who 
lacked  three  days  of  being  twelve  years  old  at  the  time  of  her  marriage. 
Thirteen  children  were  born  to  them,  ten  boys  and  three  girls :  Samuel, 
born  December  13,  1790;  Mary  Ann,  November  7,  1792;  Jacob,  Septem- 
ber 3,  1794;  Abraham,  October  16,  1796;  Isaac,  September  2,  1798;  Rob- 
ert, of  whom  further;  Elisha,  January  7,  1804;  Silas,  June  11,  1806; 
Absalom,  September  22,  1807;  Elam,  July  6,  1810;  Zachariah,  April  13, 
1813;  Margaret,  October  27,  1815;  Elizabeth,  December  15,  1819. 

(III)  Robert,  son  of  Richard  and  Margaret  (Dowden)  Talbott,  was 
born  in  Barbour  county.  Virginia,  February  3.  1801.  He  was  a  farmer 
and  owned  a  large  tract  of  land  on  the  waters  of  Hacker  near  the  Bever- 
ly and  Fairmont  turnpike.  He  married  Mary  Woodford,  whose  grand- 
mother was  a  daughter  of  Lord  Howe,  and  who  had  married  clandes- 
tinely Colonel  William  Woodford,  an  officer  of  the  British  army.  Colo- 
nel Woodford  had  fought  the  colonists  three  years,  and  then  joined  the 
Americans  and  fought  against  the  British  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He 
subsequently  located  in  what  is  now  West  Virginia,  where  his  grand- 
daughter married  Robert  Talbott,  and  where  his  descendants  now  live. 
The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert  Talbott  were :  John,  Richard, 
David,  William  Woodford,  of  whom  further ;  Salathiel,  Marion,  Robert 
M.,  Perry,  Hannah,  Jonah,  Mary.  All  deceased  except  Robert  M.,  Perry 
and  Mary. 

(IV)  William  Woodford,  son  of  Robert  and  Mary  (Woodford)  Tal- 
bott, was  born  in  Barbour  county,  Virginia.  He  married  Sarah,  daugh- 
ter of  .\braham  Simons,  of  the  same  county.  Their  children  were:  i. 
Salathiel  M.  2.  Melvin.  3.  Lewis  Wilson,  born  in  1855  ;  married  Mary 
Evelyn  Bosworth :  studied  medicine  at  the  Maryland  University  at  Balti- 
more, graduating  in  1883,  and  has  now  a  very  large  practice  in  Elkins, 
where  he  has  resided  since  1896.  4.  Elam  Dowden,  of  whom  further.  5. 
Abram  Ira.  6.  Fitzhugh  Lee.  7.-  William  Floyd.  8.  Waitman  T.  9. 
Robert  Dellet.     10.  Mary  Florence.     11.  Virginia  B.     12.  Rosa  May. 

(V)  Elam  Dowden,  son  of  William  Woodford  and  Sarah  (Simons) 
Talbott,  was  born  near  Philippi,  Barbour  county,  Virginia,  November  8, 
1857.  He  was  educated  at  the  common  schools,  and  spent  two  years  at 
the  West  Virginia  University,  part  of  one  of  which  he  was  engaged  in  the 
study  of  the  law,  and  took  the  summer  lectures  of  Professor  Minor  at  the 


432  WEST  VIRGINIA 

University  of  Virginia.  He  was  admitted  to  practice  in  December,  1883, 
and  has  ever  since  actively  followed  his  profession  in  the  various  courts 
throughout  the  state.  His  practice  has  been  largely  in  land  litigation, 
early  in  his  career  having  passed  upon  the  titles  to  several  hundred  thou- 
sand acres  of  timber  land,  and  is  counsel  for  nearly  every  lumber  com- 
pany in  Randolph  county,  among  which  are  the  Tygarts  River  Lumber 
Company,  Glady  Fork  Lumber  Company,  Laurel  River  Lumber  Com- 
pany, J.  M.  Bemis  &  Son,  West  Virginia  Pulp  it  Paper  Company,  Poca- 
hontas Tanning  Company,  and  numerous  other  lumber  companies.  He 
is  director  of  the  Uavis  Trust  Company,  Elkins,  West  Virginia ;  The 
Bank  of  Durbin,  Durbin,  West  \'irginia,  and  the  Citizens  Trust  &  Guar- 
anty Company,  of  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia,  and  has  been  identified 
with  almost  every  important  suit  in  Randolph  county,  and  many  adjacent 
counties  in  West  Virginia,  for  the  past  twenty  years.  Shortly  after  he 
located  in  Randolph  county  he  was  a  candidate  in  the  Democratic  pri- 
mary for  prosecuting  attorney,  was  defeated  and  never  again  offered  for 
office  until  1912,  when  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  West  Virginia 
house  of  delegates  :  was  a  delegate  to  the  National  Convention  at  Chicago 
in  1896;  is  now,  and  has  been  since  its  organization,  president  of  the  El- 
kins Commercial  Club;  is  a  member  of  the  State  and  Randolph  County 
Bar  associations.  He  spent  two  years  of  his  life  on  the  western  frontier, 
clerking  in  a  store,  farming  and  herding  cattle. 

On  June  15,  1886,  he  was  married  to  Lutie  Lee  Bosworth,  daughter 
of  Squire  Newton  Bosworth,  of  Beverly,  West  A/'irginia.  ]\Irs.  Talbott 
and  two  of  his  daughters  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  an- 
other of  the  Episcopal  church,  while  he  himself  belongs  to  the  Baptist 
church.  Mrs.  Talbott  has  been  president  of  the  LT.  D.  C.  almost  con- 
tinually since  its  organization,  and  registrar  of  Randolph  Chapter  of  the 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution.  The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Talbott  are  as  follows:  i.  Evelyn  Bosworth,  a  graduate  of  Hollins  In- 
stitute, Hollins,  Virginia,  now  the  wife  of  E.  O.  Fling,  Elkins,  West 
Virginia.  2.  Marguerite,  attended  Hollins  Institute  until  her  junior 
year,  and  was  then  married  to  Benjamin  C.  Downing,  superintendent  of 
the  car  department  of  the  Coal  &  Coke  Railway,  Elkins,  West  Virginia. 
3.  Eugenia  Arnold,  now  the  wife  of  James  B.  Baker,  of  Beverly,  West 
Virginia,  spent  three  years  at  Mt.  de  Chantal  Seminary,  Wheeling.  4. 
Winifred,  graduate  of  Mt.  de  Chantal  Seminary,  Wheeling,  West  Vir- 
ginia. 5.  Donald,  a  student  at  Broaddus  Institute,  Philippi,  West  Vir- 
ginia. 


There  are  several  names  in  this  country  of  like  pronuncia- 
YOKl^M     tion,   and   only    slightly   diverse   spelling,   Yokum,   Yocum, 

Yoakum,  Joachim,  and  perhaps  others,  which  it  seems 
probable  are  of  common  Swedish  origin.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
all  bearing  these  names  are  descendants  of  one  ancestor. 

One  of  the  almost  forgotten  chapters  of  modem  and  American  his- 
tory concerns  the  short-lived  effort  of  Sweden  to  be  a  colonizing  power. 
In  the  early  days  after  the  discovery  of  America,  the  active  days  of 
English,  Spanish.  French,  and  Dutch  enterprise  in  exploration  and  ex- 
pansion, Sweden  also  sought  to  have  a  part  in  the  unfolding  possibilities 
of  empire.  Their  military'  power  and  energy  were  not  equal  to  perma- 
nent and  successful  conduct  of  the  enterprise,  but  New  Sweden  once 
lay  near  the  Delaware,  and  several  remains  of  this  short-lived  Swedish 
colony  are  still  to  be  found  in  Delaware  and  in  Philadelphia.  To  this 
part  of  history  the  present  family  owes  its  American  transplantation. 
(I)   Peter  Joachim,  the  founder  of  this  family,  came  from  Sweden, 


,,#**P', 


\ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  433 

ind  helped  to  establish  the  Wicaco  settlement,  near  Philadelphia,  several 
rears  before  the  coming  of  William  Penn,  when  the  country  along  the 
Delaware  was  New  Sweden.  After  Penn  laid  out  his  city  he,  with  other 
swedes,  removed  in  1682  to  Swedes'  Ford,  Montgomery  county,  Penn- 
ylvania.  He  was  an  active  and  prominent  man.  In  December,  1681,  he 
ierved  as  a  juryman  in  the  Upland  court.  He  was  appointed  supervisor 
of  highways  from  Karker's  mills  to  the  Falls  of  the  Schuylkill  for  one 
/ear,  on  March  14,  1682.  About  1712  he  settled  at  Upper  Merion,  Penn- 
sylvania. In  1693  there  were  nine  persons  in  his  family.  In  the  colonial 
ecords  of  the  same  year  the  name  of  Mounce  Yocum  is  also  found  ;  he 
nay  have  been  a  brother. 

(II)  Philip  Powell  Yokum,  probably  a  son  or  grandson  of  Peter 
oachim,  of  whom  above,  lived  in  Philadelphia,  about  the  first  half 
f  the  eighteenth  century.  He  married  and  had  a  child,  Philip  Powell,  of 

vhom  further. 

(III)  Philip  Powell  (2),  son  of  Philip  Powell  (i)  Yokum,  was 
,vith  \\'ashington  and  Fairfax  on  the  Fairfax  survey.  Settling  in  Hardy 
:ounty,  Virginia,  he  served  as  constable  about  1787.  He  married  Eliza- 
)eth,  daughter  of  Michael  Harness,  a  representative  of  an  early  Ran- 
lolph  county  family.  Michael  Harness  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  the 
south  Branch  valley,  and  it  is  said  that  on  the  entry  of  the  party  into  the 
ralley  Elizabeth,  then  but  eleven  years  old,  led  the  party,  thus  being 
he  first  white  female  to  set  foot  within  this  region.  Child :  Michael, 
)f  whom  further. 

(IV)  Michael,  son  of  Philip  Powell  (2)  and  Elizabeth  (Harness) 
ifokum,  came  in  1776  from  his  father's  settlement  on  the  South  Branch 

pf   the    Potomac,    and    settled   in    Randolph   county.      He   married   

Stump.     Children  :     Jacob  ;  William,  of  whom  further. 

(V)  William,  son  of  Michael  and  (Stump)   Yokum,  lived  on 

[he  Valley  river,  one  mile  west  of  the  present  site  of  Beverly,  Randolph 

■'zounty.  West  Virginia.  His  old  log  house  is  still  standing,  and  is  now 
owned  by  the  Stephen  B.  Elkins  estate  and  is  located  adjacent  to  the 
Doris  and  Elkins  College  at  Elkins,  West  \'irginia.  He  married,  in  July, 
[804.  Sarah,  daughter  of  Solomon  Ryan.  Among  his  children  was  John. 
of  whom  further. 

(  \'I)  John,  son  of  \MlIiam  and  Sarah  (Ryan)  Yokum,  was  born 
JuK  5,  1806.  He  married,  in  1830,  Malinda,  daughter  of  David  Holder; 
;hc  Ihilder  family  was  probably  from  Kentucky.  Children:  George 
Wa-liington,  of  whom  further;  Noah,  James,  E.  D.  S. 

I  \II)  Dr.  George  Washington  Yokum,  son  of  John  and  Malinda 
(Il(ilder)  Yokum,  was  bom  December  31,  1831.  died  at  Beverly,  Janu- 
ii-\  ,^0.  1905.  He  was  reared  on  the  homestead,  but  availed  himself  of 
-■\rr\  opportunity  to  store  his  mind  with  useful  knowledge.  In  1853  he 
l)t,-,i;,iii  the  study  of  medicine  under  Dr.  William  Biggs,  a  well-known 
pin  .sician  living'  near  Belington.     He  read  with  him  for  about  one  year, 

I  and  then  attended  lectures  at  Jefferson  College,  Philadelphia.  Settling 
first  at  Leedsville,  where  Elkins  now  stands,  he  began  to  practice  in  1854. 
For  a  year  after  his  marriage,  in  1858,  he  lived  at  the  "Round  Barn" 
farm,  now  part  of  Elkins,  but  in  1859,  he  removed  to  Beverly,  where  he 
resided  thenceforth  until  his  death.  When  Dr.  Yokum  came  to  Beverly 
he  and  Dr.  Squire  Bosworth  were  the  only  physicians  in  Tygart's  valley. 
;He  was  a  man  of  observation,  careful  investigation,  and  retentive  mem- 
bry,  and  of  great  force  and  strong  character ;  his  library  was  the  best 
of  his  time  in  Randolph  county,  and  included,  beside  general  literature. 
•a  large  bodv  of  medical  literature,  and  he  kept  pace  with  his  profession. 
Thus  he  was  a  skillful  physician,  as  well  as  the  oldest  physician  in  his 
part  of  the  state.     His  practice  extended  for  many  miles  from  his  home. 


434  WEST  \IRGIXIA 

Dr.  Yokum  was  also  a  close  student  of  men  and  of  world  affairs.  Mr.; 
Maxwell,  the  historian  of  Randolph  and  other  counties,  states  that  he 
was  perhaps  the  best  posted  man  concerning  the  early  history  of  the 
county.  He  was  interested  in  agriculture  and  stock  raising,  owning  two 
large  farms  near  Beverly  and  the  "Sinks  of  Gandy  Creek"  fann.  Be- 
side a  thousand  acres  of  cultivated  land,  he  owned  wild  land.  In  busi- 
ness he  was  successful.  He  was  one  of  the  first  board  of  directors  of  the 
Elkins  National  Bank,  and  was  an  active  member  of  the  board  until  a 
short  time  before  his  death,  when  ill  health  compelled  his  retirement 
from  both  medical  practice  and  business.  In  the  civil  war  he  was  a  Con- 
federate sympathizer.  After  the  battle  of  Rich  Mountain,  in  1861,  he 
cared  for  Lieutenant  DeLeniel  and  his  wounded  men,  and  assisted  in 
the  hiding  and  subsequent  escape  to  the  Confederate  lines  of  Lieutenant 
DeLeniel.  After  the  federal  troops  occupied  Beverly,  Dr.  Yokum  and 
others  were  made  non-combatant  prisoners  of  war ;  from  July  to  Septem- 
ber, 1861,  he  was  a  prisoner  at  Camp  Carlisle,  Wheeling  island.  Being 
released  in  September,  he  returned  to  Beverly.  From  1876  to  1880  he 
was  president  of  the  county  court  of  Randolph  county  and  during  this 
time  the  building  of  the  new  court  house  was  begun.  He  held  the  same 
office  from  1886  to  1892.  Other  offices  held  by  him  were  those  of  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  for  Beverly  district,  and  mayor  of  Beverly.  In  1892  he 
was  an  alternate  delegate  to  the  Democratic  national  convention.  His 
last  sickness  was  of  several  weeks'  duration.  When  the  funeral  was 
held,  at  Beverly,  February  2,  1905,  Circuit  Judge  Holt  adjourned  the 
court  to  attend ;  a  special  train  was  run  from  Elkins.  Rev.  F.  H.  Bar- 
row, pastor  of  the  Davis  Memorial  Presbyterian  Church,  at  Elkins,  con- 
ducted the  services. 

Dr.  George  Washington  Yokum  married,  in  1858.  Mary  Catharine, 
daughter  of  George  W.  and  Maria  (Earle)  Ward,  who  died  at  Beverly, 
in  1900.  Her  father  owned  the  "Round  Barn"  farm,  now  the  Graham- 
Davis  addition  to  Elkins.  Children:  Humboldt,  of  whom  further; 
Bruce,  born  in  1866,  married,  in  1893,  May  Erwin  Kittle. 

(VIII)  Dr.  Humboldt  Yokum,  son  of  Dr.  George  Washington  and 
Mary  Catharine  (Ward)  Yokum,  was  born  March  17,  i860.  He  at- 
tended the  L^niversity  of  West  Virginia  from  1879  to  1883,  taking  a 
scientific  course.  He  then  spent  one  year  at  the  L^niversity  of  Maryland, 
in  Baltimore,  and  he  graduated  in  1885  from  Jefferson  Medical  College 
with  the  degree  of  M.  D.  He  served  an  interneship  in  the  University  of 
Maryland  Hospital,  Baltimore,  and  has  since  its  expiration  been  in  active- 
general  medical  practice  at  Beverly.  He  is  a  member  of  the  American 
Medical  Society,  the  State  Medical  Society,  and  the  Tri-County  Medical 
Society.  Dr.  Yokum  is  a  contributor  to  medical  journals.  Like  his  fath- 
er, Dr.  Humboldt  Yokum  has  a  broad  sphere  of  activity.  He  is  a  leading 
business  man,  president  of  the  Bank  of  Beverly,  a  member  of  the  State 
Bankers'  Association.  Beside  his  home  at  Beverly,  he  owns  lots  at  Bev- 
erly and  Elkins  and  other  lands,  including  large  farm  holdings.  He  is 
interested  in  stock  raising  and  engaged  therein.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  At  the  present  time,  1912, 
he  is  serving  his  second  term  as  president  of  the  Beverly  board  of  educa- 
tion, and  is  Democratic  candidate  for  sheriiif  of  the  county. 

Dr.  Humboldt  Yokum  married,  October  9,  1890,  Hattie  Maria,  daugh- 
ter of  Daniel  Randolph  and  Margaret  Christina  (Chenoweth)  Baker,  of 
Beverly :  for  her  ancestry  see  Baker  sketch  in  this  work.  Mrs.  Yokum 
is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church,  and  interested  in  its  affairs.  Chil- 
dren :  Gertrude,  born  in  November,  1894,  died  in  January,  1906:  Hum- 
boldt Baker,  born  February  i,  1899;  ]\Iary  Catharine,  born  in  September, 
1900,  died  in  July,  1902;  Virginia  Randolph,  born  May  23,  1904;  Harriet, 
Christine,  born  August  5,  1906:  George  Bruce,  born  August  5,  1906. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  435 

This   name   is   of  great   antiquity   in   England,   traceable 
SHIRLEY     beyond  the   Norman  conquest.     Of  the  American   Shir- 
leys,  the  New  England  members  of  the  family,  at  least, 
are  supposed  to  be  descended  from  two  or  more  immigrant  brothers  from 
the    north    of    Ireland,    of    the    so-called    Scotch-Irish    stock,    who    came 
early  in  the  eighteenth  century  and  settled  in  New  Hampshire. 

(I)  James  Shirley,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  was  an  early  settler  of  Jefferson  county,  Vir- 
ginia, a  farmer  at  Sharon.  His  grandson,  George  P.,  still  owns  the  old 
homestead.     He  married  .     Child:     John  G.,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  John  G.,  son  of  James  Shirley,  was  a  general  merchant  at  Mid- 
dleway,  Jefferson  county,  Virginia.  He  held  the  otffces  of  deputy  asses- 
sor, sheriff'  of  the  county,  and  judge  of  the  county  court.     He  was  a 

;    ^minent  Democrat.     He  married  .     Child:     George  P.,  of  whom 

further. 

(III)  George  P.,  son  of  John  G.  Shirley,  was  born  in  Jefferson 
county.  West  Virginia,  December  31,  1869.  He  attended  the  schools  of 
the  county,  and  the  Bowling  Green  Institute,  Bowling  Green,  Caroline 
county,  \'irginia.  He  began  the  study  of  law  at  the  University  of  Virginia 
and  graduated  in  1897  from  the  University  of  West  Virginia  with  the  de- 
gree of  LL.B.  Opening  an  office  at  Parsons,  Tucker  county.  West  Virginia, 
he  entered  on  a  successful  general  practice  in  the  state  and  federal  courts. 
In  1899  he  was  appointed  by  Federal  Judge  Jackson  referee  in  bank- 
ruptcy and  this  position  he  still  holds.  He  is  a  member  of  the  State 
Bar  Association,  and  has  been  secretary,  treasurer  and  president  of  the 
Tucker  County  Bar  Association.  He  has  held  chairs  both  in  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  in  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  Amer- 
ica. Mr.  Shirley  takes  an  active  interest  in  civic  affairs,  but  is  not  active 
politically.  He  is  an  Episcopalian,  and  his  wife  is  a  Baptist,  active  in  the 
Baptist  societies.  He  married  a  daughter  of  J.  M.  Tolbert,  who  is  a 
farmer  at  Beverly,  Randolph  county.  West  Virginia.  Children :  Mary 
Margaret,  born  in  1901  ;  George  W.,  born  in  1903 ;  Virginia. 


This  family  is  of  English  ancestry  and  for  many 
SHREWSBURY     years  resident  in  Virginia.     The  progenitor  of  the 

family  in  \\'est  \'irginia  was  James  Shrewsbury, 
who  was  born  in  Virginia,  and  at  an  early  age  located  in  West  Virginia, 
where  he  engaged  in  farming  for  many  years  in  Mercer  county.  He  was 
one  of  the  most  prosperous  farmers  and  highly  respected  citizens  of  the 
county.  He  died  in  Mercer  county  in  1875.  I"  politics  he  was  a  Demo- 
crat, but  never  aspired  to  office. 

(II)  Lewis  Cass,  son  of  James  Shrewsbury,  was  born  in  Mercer 
county,  West  Virginia.  He  attended  the  schools  of  his  native  county, 
and  at  an  early  age  began  his  mercantile  career  as  a.  clerk  in  a  store. 
After  a  few  years  service  he  removed  to  Beckley.  He  has  met  with 
marked  success  in  his  business  ventures.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat 
and  has  held  several  offices,  serving  a  number  of  years  as  justice  of  the 
peace.  He  married  Nancy  Rose,  a  native  of  \'irginia,  daughter  of  Bryant 
Rose,  who  served  during  the  civil  war  in  the  Confederate  army. 

(III)  Robert  Lee,  son  of  Lewis  Cass  and  Nancy  (Rose)  Shrews- 
bury, was  born  in  Alercer  county,  West  Virginia.  January  6,  1874.  He 
prepared  for  college  in  the  schools  of  his  native  county,  graduating  from 
Normal  School  at  Athens,  West  Virginia.  In  1895  he  entered  the  Uni- 
versity of  West  Virginia  at  jNIorgantown  with  the  degree  of  B.  S.,  and 
in  1898  he  studied  law  and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Logan 
in  1902.    He  is  at  present  a  junior  member  of  the  firm  of  Lilly  &  Shrews- 


436  WEST  VIRGINIA 

bury.  He  is  meeting  witli  marked  success  in  his  professional  labors  and 
is  one  of  the  ablest  attorneys  of  the  county.  Mr.  Shrewsbury  is  a  self- 
made  man.  He  paid  his  way  through  school  and  college  by  teaching 
school  and  in  various  other  avocations,  and  also  generously  assisted  his 
brothers  in  securing  an  education.  He  is  connected  with  many  business 
enterprises.  He  is  the  president  of  the  Elk  Creek  Coal  &  Land  Com- 
pany, vice-president  of  the  Fred  ]\Iullens  Coal  &  Coke  Company,  secre- 
tary of  the  Robinson  Consolidated  Land  Company,  director  and  stock- 
holder in  the  Guyan  Valley  Bank,  also  stockholder  in  the  Guyan  Valley 
Grocery  Company.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat.  He  represented  his 
district  in  the  state  legislature  in  1913.  He  is  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Masonic  order,  having  attained  the  Knights  Templar  degree. 

He  married,  December  28,  1905,  Rueby  Ann,  daughter  of  Sidney  I!. 
Robertson,  of  Huntington.  They  have  one  child,  Robert  Sidney,  born  in 
Logan,  January  2,  1909.  Mrs.  Shrewsbury  was  born  in  Logan,  W't^t 
^'irginia,  June  29,  1886.  Her  father  is  now  president  of  the  Guyan 
Bank,  also  prominently  connected  with  various  other  business  enterprises 
in  Huntington,  West  A'irginia. 


The  name  Miller  is  of  very  frequent  occurrence  in  the 
MILLER     United  States,  and  its  possessors  are  to  be  traced  not  only 

to  different  ancestors,  but  to  diiTerent  nationalities.  Most 
are  English.  Scotch  or  Irish :  yet  there  are  German  Millers,  whose  name 
was  originally  Mueller.  The  German  Millers  are  well  represented  in 
West  \'irginia. 

(I)  James  W.  Miller,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom 
we  have  definite  information,  was  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser  in  Lewis 
county.  West  Virginia.  He  was  a  prominent  Democrat.  He  married 
.     Child,  Wade  H.,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Wade  H..  son  of  James  W.  Miller,  was  born  at  Horner,  Lewis 
county,  West  \'irginia,  November  13,  1874.  He  was  educated  at  Wes- 
leyan  College,  Buckhannon,  LIpshur  county.  West  Virginia,  and  the 
State  Normal  School  at  Fairmont.  He  attended  also  the  Akron  (Ohio) 
Business  College,  and  became  a  traveling  salesman  for  the  Standard 
Jewelry  Company,  of  Detroit,  Michigan.  After  traveling  for  this  firm 
one  year,  he  traveled  in  the  southwestern  states  for  the  Illinois  Alumi- 
num Company.  He  remained  in  their  employment  for  fourteen  months, 
when  he  resigned,  and  bought  a  controlling  interest  in  the  E.  C.  Linger 
Hardware  and  Furniture  Company,  at  Parsons,  Tucker  county.  West 
\'irginia.  This  company  is  now  succeeded  by  The  Parsons  Hardware 
and  Furniture  Company,  which  was  incorporated  in  May,  1903,  and  re- 
organized January  18,  1905,  by  the  election  of  H.  E.  Grieder  as  president, 
E.  C.  Linger  as  secretary,  and  Mr.  Miller  as  vice-president  and  general 
manager.  The  capital  stock  is  ten  thousand  dollars.  In  their  three-story 
fireproof  concrete  building,  equipped  with  show  rooms  and  all  that  is 
necessary  for  the  conduct  of  their  business,  they  deal  at  wholesale  and 
retail  in  shelf  and  heavy  hardware  and  household  furniture.  Mr.  Miller 
is  also  manager  of  the  A'ictoria  Theatre,  a  three-story  concrete  building, 
of  fireproof  construction,  one  of  the  most  modern  structures  for  theatri- 
cal purposes  in  West  \'irginia,  seating  one  thousand  persons ;  he  is  a 
large  stockholder  in  the  Citizens'  Opera  House  Company,  capitalized  at 
five  thousand  dollars,  which  owns  this  theatre.  Near  Florence  Villa, 
Florida,  he  has  large  orange  groves,  and  there  he  spends  part  of  the  win- 
ter time.  He  is  junior  deacon  of  Pythagoras  Lodge.  No.  128,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  and  has  been  through  the  chairs  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  Lodge,  No.  39.     He  is  a  Republican.     Mr.  Miller 


WEST  MRGIXIA  437 

and  his  wife  are  Presbyterians.     He  married  Danny,  daughter  of  J.  C. 
Gamble,  of  Kaw  City,  Oklahoma.     No.  children. 


Joseph  Alarcellus  AlcWhorter,  the  first  member  of 
McWHORTER  this  family  of  whom  we  have  any  definite  informa- 
tion, was  born  April  30,  1828,  at  McWhorter's 
Mills,  Lewis  county,  West  Virginia,  and  is  now  living  in  Lewisburg, 
Greenbrier  county,  West  Virginia.  He  is  a  prominent  lawyer,  and  from 
i  1865  to  1869  was  auditor  of  the  state  of  West  Virginia.  In  1870  he  was 
appointed  judge  of  the  circuit  court  of  Greenbrier  county  for  one  term, 
and  in  1896  he  was  again  elected  to  the  same  office,  which  he  held  until 
1904.  He  married  (first)  JuHa  E.  Stalnaker,  who  died  August  26,  1869. 
He  married  (second)  Julia  E.,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Hiram  Kinsley,  late 
of  Geneva,  Ohio.  Children  ( seven  by  first  marriage)  :  Al.  G.,  now  living 
in  Charleston,  West  Virginia :  Artemus  W.,  now  living  in  Norfolk,  Vir- 
ginia ;  Louis  Emory,  referred  to  below ;  Maggie  E.,  married  D.  W. 
Lewis,  of  Charleston,  West  Virginia;  William  B.,  now  living  in  Hinton, 
West  Virginia;  Joseph  C,  now  living  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri;  Deccie  L., 
married  C.  L,  Carr,  of  Lewisburg,  West  Virginia ;  Jennie,  deceased,  mar- 
ried J.  S.  McWhorter,  of  Greenbrier  county.  West  \'irginia ;  Emma, 
married  Byrne  Holt,  of  Lewisburg,  West  \'irginia ;  Charles  N.,  of 
Charleston. 

(H)  Louis  Emory,  son  of  Joseph  Marcellus  and  Julia  E.  (Stalnaker) 
McWhorter,  was  born  in  Spencer,  Roane  county,  West  Virginia,  March 
30,  1856.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  in 
Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  and  at  the  academy  in  Lewisburg,  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  later  entered  the  law  school  of  the  University  of  Virginia.  He 
continued  his  professional  studies  under  Judge  H.  C.  McWhorter  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1886.  He  settled  in  Charleston,  West  Vir- 
ginia, where  he  is  now  living  and  actively  practicing  his  profession.  He 
was  president  of  the  Charleston  board  of  education  from  1897  to  1903, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  lower  house  of  the  West  Virginia  state  legis- 
lature from  1905  to  1907.  He  is  a  member  of  the  A.  U.  O.  W.  and  is 
also  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  a  Methodist  in  religion. 

He  married,  June  2-],  1883,  Emma  M.  Champe,  born  in  Charleston, 
West  \'irginia.  Children:  Julia,  died  April  17,  1904;  Almeda,  Lou 
Emma,  L.  Edwin,  Ruth  Annette. 


The    family    of    which    Benjamin    Stephen    Morgan,    a 
MORGAN     prominent   attorney-at-law   of   Charleston,    is    a    worthy 
representative,  is  of  Welsh  origin,  and  the  descendants 
have  been  noted  for  their  sturdy  independence  and  other  excellent  char- 
acteristics. 

(I)  Colonel  Morgan  Morgan,  the  first  of  the  line  here  under  consider- 
ation, was  a  native  of  Wales.  He  received  his  education  in  London,  Eng- 
land, and  during  the  reign  of  \\'illiam  UL  he  came  to  the  colony  of  Dela- 
ware, and  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne  was  a  resident  of  Giristiana, 
Delaware,  moving  from  there  to  the  colony  of  Virginia,  prior  to  1726  set- 
tling near  Winchester.  He  was  a  man  of  integrity  and  worth,  performing 
all  the  duties  of  a  loyal  citizen.  He  married  Catherine  Garretson.  Chil- 
dren:  I.  Morgan  Jr..  became  a  minister  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
church.  2.  Ann,  married  a  Mr.  Springer.  3.  Zackwell,  served  with  the 
rank  of  colonel  in  the  continental  army.    4.  David,  of  whom  further.     5. 


438  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Charles.     6.  Henry.     7.  Evan.     8.  James,  served  as  captain  in  the  conti-  ; 
nental  army. 

(II)  David,  son  of  Colonel  Morgan  and  Catherine  (Garretson)  Mor-  ' 
gan,  was  born  at  Christiana,  Delaware,  in  1721,  died  in  1796,  and  was  in- 
terred in  their  private  cemetery  at  Rivesville,  West  Virginia.  He  fol-  j 
lowed  the  occupation  of  surveying  throughout  the  active  years  of  his  1 
life.  He  located  near  what  is  now  the  town  of  Rivesville,  and  his  name  ; 
is  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  Indian  border  warfare.  In  1887  his  1 
descendants  and  relatives  erected  a  monument  to  him  on  the  spot  where  ; 
he  had  the  encounter  with  the  Indians  in  1779.  He  married  and  had  j 
children:  Morgan,  Evan,  James,  Zackwell,  of  whom  further;  Elizabeth,  |l 
married  a  Mr.  Lowe;  Stephen;  Sara,  married  a  Mr.  Burris.  j^ 

(III)  Zackwell,  son  of  David  Morgan,  married  and  among  his  chil-  |' 
dren  was  Stephen  H.,  of  whom  further. 

(IV)  Stephen  H.,  son  of  Zackwell  Morgan,  was  born  in  what  is  j 
now  West  Virginia,  and  there  spent  his  entire  life,  honored  and  respected.  ' 
He  was  for  several  terms  elected  to  the  state  legislature  of  Virginia.  He  | 
married  and  among  his  children  was  Smallwood  G.,  of  whom  further.  \ 

(V)  Smallwood  G.,  son  of  Stephen  H.  Morgan,  was  born  in  Marion  | 
county,  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  February  9,  1820.  He  attended  the  ' 
schools  adjacent  to  his  home,  and  his  active  career  was  devoted  to  the  | 
tilling  of  the  soil,  in  which  line  of  work  he  was  highly  successful.     He  1 
served  in  various  public  capacities,  including  the  office  of  justice  of  the  In 
peace,  and  he  discharged  the  duties  pertaining  thereto  in  an  efficient  man-  If 
ner.     He  married  (first)   Eliza  Thorn,  born  in  Monongalia  county,  Vir-  ; 
ginia,  now  West  Virginia,  in  1822,  died  there  in  1866,  daughter  of  Ben- 
jamin and  Mary  (Magruder)  Thorn,  who  moved  from  Frederick  county, 
Virginia,  to  the  Monongahela  Valley.     Children:    Margaret,  wife  of  A. 
S.  Wisman,  resides  on  a  farm  in  Grant  district,  Monongalia  county,  five  i 
children;  Sherrard,  a  farmer  in  Grant  district;  Benjamin  S.,  of  whom  ] 
further ;  Eugenie,  widow  of  W.  C.  Fisher,  who  was  a  farmer  and  mer-  \ 
chant,  three    children.     Mr.    Morgan    married     (second)     Mrs.    Anary  | 
(Windsor)  Wilson,  widow  of  Thomas  Wilson.  ij 

(VI)  Benjamin  Stephen,  son  of  Smallwood  G.  Morgan,  was  born  in   ji 
Marion  county,  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  in  1854,  but  was  brought   I 
up  m  Monongalia  county.     He  was  a  student  in  the  University  of  West   [ 
Virginia  and  graduated  with  the  class  of   1878,  in  the  classical  course.    1 
and  the  military  training  school,  and  later  from  the  law  department  of 
the  same  institution,  securing  his  degree  with  the  class  of  1883.     Prior  to 
the  completion  of  his  law  course,  however,  he  had  been  prominent  in    | 
educational  work  and  had  served  as  superintendent  of  the  public  schools    , 
of  Morgantown  from   1878  until   1881,  and  county  superintendent  from    " 
1881  until  1885.  having  been  twice  elected.     In  1884  he  was  elected  state 
superintendent  of  free  schools,  having  been  nominated  on  the  Democratic    - 
ticket.    He  was  renominated  and  elected  in  1888,  receiving  each  time  the 
largest  vote  cast  for  any  state  officer.     He  declined  to  be  a  candidate  for    ' 
a  third  term,  engaging  in  the  practice  of  law  upon  the  completion  of  his 
second  term.     While  serving  in  the  capacity  of  county   superintendent    : 
he  prepared  and  published  at  his  own  expense  an  outlined  course  of  study 
for  use  in  the  country  schools  of  his  county.     He  was  also  instrumental 
in  improving  the  teachers'  county  institutes  and  the  state  normal  schools ; 
established  a  state  teacher's  reading  circle ;  assisted  in  building  up  public 
school  libraries;  secured  the  enactment  of  a  law  providing  for  the  prep- 
aration by  the  state  superintendent  of  a  graded  course  of  study  for  all 
ungraded   country   schools ;   secured   an   act   for   the   establishment   of   a 
State  Reform  School  for  Boys ;  advocated  the  extension  of  the  graded 
and  high  school  work ;  served  as  president  of  the  State  Educational  Asso- 


WEST  MRGIXIA  439 

ciation  and  prepared  the  annual  program,  also  published  and  edited  the 
West  Virginm  School  Jouriial;  superintended  the  preparation  of  the 
state's  educational  exhibit  for  the  World's  Columbian  Fair  at  Chicago  in 
1893,  and  in  this  connection,  with  J.  F.  Cork,  prepared  the  first  "History 
of  Education  in  West  Virginia."  Ex-officio  he  was  a  member  of  the 
State  Board  of  Public  Works,  the  Printing  Commission  and  the  Board 
of  the  School  Fund.  He  also  served  in  the  city  council  of  Charleston. 
He  was  reared  in  the  Methodist  faith,  and  his  wife  in  the  United  Presby- 
terian. Air.  Morgan  married,  at  Wheeling,  West  Virginia.  Annie,  born 
and  educated  at  Wheeling,  daughter  of  John  and  Jane  (Miller)  Tho- 
burn,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Belfast,  Ireland,  coming  to  Wheel- 
ing in  early  life.  Children:  i.  John  Thoburn.  born  November  25,  1889; 
graduated  from  the  Charleston  high  school,  attended  the  West  Virginia 
University  at  Morgantown  :  he  represents  the  Charleston  Electric  Supply 
Company,  with  headquarters  at  Bluefields.  West  \'irginia.  2.  Benjamin 
Stephen  Jr.,  born  October  2j,  1901  :  a  student  in  the  public  schools. 


Hugh   N.   Craddock,   son   of  John   and   Mary    (Gard- 
CRADDOCK     ener)    Craddock,  of  Albermarle  county,  A'irginia,  was 

born  in  that  state  and  county,  November  17,  1824. 
He  came  into  what  is  now  within  the  state  of  West  Virginia  and  located 
in  the  Little  Kanawha  Valley,  near  what  is  now  Burning  Springs,  Wirt 
county,  several  years  before  the  civil  war.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
of  the  rebellion,  he  enlisted  in  the  federal  army  at  Parkersburg,  Novem- 
ber 7,  1861,  and  served  until  he  was  honorably  discharged  at  Richmond, 
August  19,  1865.  He  received  one  flesh  wound,  was  never  made  pris- 
oner, but  was  permanently  disabled  in  health  by  mumps  aggravated  by 
exposure  during  his  service.  He  was  in  the  following  engagements: 
Cloyd  Mountain.  Bungos  Alills,  Staunton,  Lexington,  Buckhannon,  the 
Lynchburg  raid,  Opequon,  Fishers  Hill,  the  skirmishes  from  there  to 
Harrisburg  and  return.  Cedar  Creek,  Petersburg,  Richmond,  High 
Bridge,  and  was  present  at  the  surrender.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he 
located  at  Glenville,  West  \'irginia,  where  he  engaged  in  the  hotel  busi- 
ness until  the  time  of  his  death,  and  he  was  also  interested  and  engaged 
in  the  timber  business  and  in  the  boating  of  goods  on  the  Little 
Kanawha  river  between  Parkersburg  and  Glenville.  He  was  married  in 
Glenville,  Gilmer  county.  West  A'irginia,  March  5,  1863,  to  Sarah  Pau- 
line Brannon.  Children:  Joseph  N.,  of  whom  further;  Lillie  V.,  born 
Tulv  31.  1867:  Charles  H..  September  29,  1872:  Harvey  L.,  July  26, 
1875:  Clara  B.,  May  26,  1877,  married  N.  L.  Wells:  Frankie  B.,  mar- 
ried Fred  ]\I.  Whiting. 

(II)  Joseph  N.,  son  of  Hugh  N.  and  Sarah  Pauline  (Brannon) 
Craddock,  was  born  February  22,  1864.  He  learned  the  printing  trade 
in  the  office  of  the  local  newspaper;  and  from  1879  to  1881  he  edited  the 
Mountaineer  at  Sutton,  West  Virginia;  from  1881-1885  he  edited  the 
li'cbster  Echo  at  Webster  Springs,  West  Virginia:  he  then  returned  to 
Glenville  and  edited  the  Glenville  Banner  from  1887  to  1894;  assisted  in 
the  editing  and  publishing  of  the  Glemnlle  Imprint  until  the  year  1898, 
when  he  founded  and  edited  the  Glemnlle  Stranger,  which  he  published 
until  the  year  1902 ;  since  that  time  he  has  been  assisting  in  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Glemnlle  Pathfinder.  He  has  served  two  terms  as  mayor  of 
the  town  of  Glenville,  and  was  deputy  LTnited  States  marshall  for  the 
northern  district  of  West  \'irginia  for  four  years.  He  married  Virgie 
Belle,  daughter  of  the  Hon.  William  Joseph  Wooddell.  Children:  Bantz 
Wooddell,  of  whom  further;  W^innie  E.,  married  O.  ■M.  Ewing;  Eula  J., 


440  WEST  MRGIXIA 

married    J.   C.    Ewing ;   Ava    B.,  married   C.   C.    Standard;    M.    Pauline, 
Thelma  D. 

(Ill)  Bantz  Wooddell,  son  of  Joseph  N.  and  Virgie  Belle  (Wood- 
dell)  Craddock,  was  born  at  Glenville,  West  \'irginia,  November  22, 
1887.  His  education  was  begun  at  the  Glenville  public  school,  from  which 
he  prosecuted  his  studies  in  the  Glenville  State  Normal  School,  and  from 
there  he  was  graduated  in  1906.  For  the  study  of  law  he  attended  the 
University  of  West  Virginia,  being  graduated  in  1910.  After  his  grad- 
uation and  his  admission  to  the  bar.  he  went  to  Alarlinton,  Pocahontas 
county,  West  Virginia,  and  there  he  practiced  law  for  about  one  year. 
In  July,  191 1,  he  returned  to  Glenville  and  became  a  member  of  the  law 
firm  of  Linn,  Brannon  &  Craddock.  He  has  served  two  terms  as  record- 
er of  the  common  council  of  the  town  of  Glenville,  and  in  the  spring  of 
1912,  upon  the  death  of  Mayor  John  Holt,  he  was  acting  mayor  of  Glen- 
ville until  his  successor  was  appointed  by  the  common  council.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  .\ncient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  Knights  of  Pythias. 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America:  Knights  of  the  Maccabees,  the  two  col- 
lege fraternities,  the  Sphinx  and  the  Phi  Sigma  Kappa.  ]\Ir.  Craddock 
is  not  married. 


Aaron  W.  McN'ey  was  born  at  I-Vanklin  Court  House, 
McVEY     Franklin  county.   Virginia,   in  the  year   1812.     He  was  an 

only  child  and  was  reared  and  educated  in  Franklin  county. 
As  a  young  man  he  learned  the  trade  of  tanner  and  he  was  identified 
with  the  tanning  business  at  Ansted  during  the  major  portion  of  his 
active  career.  He  was  bitterly  opposed  to  slavery  and  was  a  strong  Un- 
ion man  during  the  civil  war.  He  reached  the  venerable  age  of  seventy- 
six  years  and  was  a  resident  of  Ansted  when  death  called  him.  He  and 
his  wife  were  the  parents  of  five  children,  of  whom  Caroline  is  deceased. 
Those  living  are :  Laura,  Mrginia,  Newton,  Augustus. 

(II)  Augustus,  son  of  Aaron  W.  McVey,  was  born  in  Fayette 
county,  near  the  village  of  Page,  Mrginia.  in  1831.  He  passed  his  boy- 
hood and  youth  at  Ansted  and  in  the  vicinity  of  this  place  is  engaged  in 
agricultural  operations  at  the  present  time,  in  1912.  His  wife,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Mary  M.  Alderson,  was  born  at  x^nsted,  now  West 
Virginia,  and  she  is  now  sixty-one  years  of  age.  There  were  eleven 
children  born  to  this  union :  Luther,  died  at  the  age  of  seven  years  from 
an  injury :  Otie  J.,  has  not  been  heard  from  in  late  years  and  is  supposed 
to  be  dead;  Sallie  M.,  wife  of  George  Walker,  of  Prudence,  West  Vir- 
ginia ;  John  A.,  an  iron  worker,  lives  at  Ansted ;  Ada,  wife  of  Leonard 
Minor,  of  Ansted ;  James  H..  a  farmer  in  the  vicinity  of  Ansted ;  Grace, 
single,  resides  at  home  with  her  parents,  as  do  also  Walter  and  Zeph ; 
William  Henry,  mentioned  below.  Mrs.  McVey  is  a  daughter  of  Har- 
vey M.  and  jNIargaret  M.  (Taylor)  Alderson,  the  former  of  whom  was 
born  in  Greenbrier  county,  Virginia,  and  who  died  in  Montgomery 
county,  Mississippi,  aged  seventy-four  years.  His  son  George  was  killed 
in  the  Confederate  army.  There  were  eight  children  in  the  Alderson 
family,  as  follows:  Sarah.  Martha,  Mary  M.,  John.  Alford.  Jessie, 
Lewis,  George. 

(III)  William  Henry,  son  of  Augustus  and  Mary  "SI.  (Alderson) 
McVey,  was  born  at  .Ansted,  West  Virginia.  May  31.  1866.  He  attended 
the  public  schools  of  Fayette  county  until  he  had  reached  his  ninth  year, 
when  he  accompanied  his  parents  to  Wellsville,  Missouri,  where  the  fam- 
ily home  was  maintained  for  the  ensuing  seven  years.  He  completed  his 
educational  training  in  Missouri,  and  he  returned  with  the  family  to 
West  Virginia  in  1882.     He  helped  his  father  on  the  farm  until  he  had 


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WEST  VIRGINIA  441 

reached  his  legal  majority  and  for  one  year  thereafter  was  his  father's 
partner  in  running  the  farm.    In  1888  he  began  to  work  in  a  stone  quarry 
i   and  thoroughly  familiarized  himself  with  the  trade  of  stone  mason.     In 
1889  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Gauley  Bridge,  Fayette  county,  and 
he  was  the  popular  and  efficient  incumbent  of  that  office  for  nine  and  a 
half  years,  during  four  years  of  which  period  he  was  also  deputy  sheriff. 
This  was  a  critical  time  in  the  history  of  Fayette  county  as  many  strikes 
were  raging  among  the  workingmen.     In   1908  Mr.  McVey  was  elected 
justice  of  the  peace  in  Falls  district,  Fayette  county,  and  he  retains  that 
I    position  at  the  present  time.     In  1910  he  was  appointed  secretary  of  the 
i    board  of  education  at  Montgomery,  which  city  represents  his  home,  and 
I    lie  has  held  that  office  by  reappointment  since.     In   1906  he  was  made 
j    notary  public.    Mr.  McVey's  work  as  a  public  official  has  ever  been  char- 
1    acterized  by  the  utmost  faithfulness  to  duty  and  he  is  everywhere  recog- 
nized as  a  man  of  high  ideals  and  straightforward  principles.  Fraternally 
he  is  affiliated  with  William  Henry  Lodge,  No.  227,  Independent  Order 
of    Odd    Fellows,    at    Gauley    Bridge;    Fort    Defiance    Lodge,    No.    140, 
,    Knights  of  Pythias  ;  The  Order  of  Owls ;  and  the  West  Mrginia  Good 
1    Templars,  of  which  last  organization  he  has  been  a  member  since  nine- 
'    teen  years  of  age.     In  religious  matters  he  is  a  Presbyterian. 

In  Montgomery,  West  Virginia,  Mr.  McVey  married  Ella  C.  Grey, 
the  ceremony  having  been  performed  in  1890.  Mrs.  McVey  was  born  at 
Gauley  Bridge,  West  Mrginia,  April  11,  1861,  daughter  of  John  H.  and 
Cynthia  (Muncie)  Grey,  the  former  of  whom  died  in  1872  and  the  lat- 
ter in  1892.  Mr.  Grey  was  a  tanner  by  trade,  and  he  and  his  wife  were 
the  parents  of  six  children,  three  sons  and  three  daughters,  all  of  whom 
are  deceased  except  Mrs.  Mc\"ey.  Mr.  and  i\Irs.  Mc\'ey  have  no  chil- 
dren. 


This  family  name,  more  often  spelled  Hayes,  is  not  common 
HAYS     in  the  L^nited  States,  but  has  been  borne  by  one  president. 

The  present  family  came  from  western  Pennsylvania  into 
West  Virginia,  about  the  time  of  the  beginning  of  the  great  recent  de- 
velopment of  the  latter  state.  Governor  Boreman  also,  with  whom  Abijah 
Hays  is  closely  related  by  marriage,  was  of  western  Pennsylvania  nativ- 
ity, but  settled  in  northwestern  \"irginia  befnrc  the  middle  of  the  last 
century. 

(I)  Abijah  Hays,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania.    He  married  and  had  a  son,  James  Francis,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  James  Francis,  son  of  Abijah  Hays,  was  born  in  Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania,  in  185 1.  There  he  was  engaged  in  the  lumber  business 
with  his  father  until  1884  when  he  bought  a  farm  in  Wood  county.  West 
A'irginia,  and  to  this  he  moved  and  engaged  in  farming.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Knights  Templar.  He  married  Caroline,  daughter  of  Jesse 
and  Rachel  (Cowan)  Cunningham.  Children:  Jessie,  married  Wirt  N. 
Barrett:  James  Francis,  married  ]\Iary  Isele :  r\Iary  Edna,  married  W. 
TI.  Barr :  George  Olman,  married  Lucy  Creel ;  Thomas  Alexander :  Abi- 
jah, of  whom  further. 

(III)  Abijah,  son  of  James  Francis  and  Caroline  (Cunningham) 
Hays,  was  born  near  Pittsburgh.  Allegheny  county.  Pennsylvania,  Sep- 
tember 15,  1871.  In  1884  he  came  to  Wood  county.  West  Virginia,  with 
his  parents,  but  in  1889  he  returned  to  Pittsburgh.  Since  1895.  however, 
he  has  been  a  resident  of  Parkersburg.  West  Mrginia.  His  education 
was  begun  in  the  public  schools  of  Pittsburgh,  and  in  1891  he  graduated 
from  the  Pittsburgh  Academv.     Afterward  he  studied  at  Lafayette  Col- 


442  WEST  VIRGINIA 

lege,  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  from  which  in  1895  he  was  graduated  and 
received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  Since  that  year  Mr.  Hays  has 
been  a  true  West  Mrginian,  loyal  to  and  interested  in  the  state  and  the 
city  of  his  adoption.  His  legal  education  was  received  at  the  University 
of  West  Virginia,  which  conferred  upon  him  at  his  graduation  there- 
from in  1897  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  Mr.  Hays,  in  the  same 
year,  entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Parkersburg,  and 
here  he  is  still  in  active  practice,  having  his  office  on  the  square,  oppo- 
site the  county  court  house. 

He  married,  June  30,   1908,  Laurane,  daughter  of  Ex-Governor  Ar- 
thur Inghram  and  I^urane  (Tanner-Bullock)  Boreman. 


Ex-Governor  Arthur  Inghram  Boreman,  son  of  Ken- 
BOREMAN  ner  Seaton  and  Sarah  (Inghram)  Boreman,  was  born 
at  Waynesburg,  Pennsylvania,  July  24,  1823,  died  at 
Parkersburg,  West  Virginia,  April  19,  1896.  In  his  childhood  he  came 
to  Tyler  county,  Virginia,  where  he  received  a  common  school  education. 
Then,  under  his  older  brother  and  James  M.  Stevenson,  his  brother-in- 
law,  he  engaged  in  the  study  of  law  at  Middlebourne,  Tyler  county,  Vir- 
ginia. In  May,  1845,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  in  November  of 
the  same  year  he  entered  on  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Parkers- 
burg, where  he  earned  the  reputation  of  a  fine  jurist  and  able  lawyer. 
His  high  and  enviable  repute  in  the  legal  profession  was  matched  in  the 
field  of  statecraft.  He  was  elected  in  1855  to  the  Virginia  house  of  dele- 
gates from  Wood  county,  and  he  held  that  office  by  successive  re- 
elections  until  1861.  When  the  \'irginia  legislature  held  an  extra  ses- 
sion in  1861  to  discuss  the  propriety  of  secession,  Mr.  Boreman  was  still 
a  member  of  the  legislature,  and  he  was  most  active  and  conspicuous  in 
his  efforts  against  the  attempt  to  secede. 

In  the  trying  times  which  followed,  during  the  formation  period  of 
the  new  state,  his  integrity,  clearness  of  understanding,  quickness  of  de- 
cision, persistence  and  definiteness  of  purpose,  his  force  of  will  and  in- 
defatigable energy  placed  him  in  the  very  forefront,  among  the  leaders. 
Being  a  man  of  the  most  positive  convictions,  he  was  inevitably  a  devoted 
partisan.  When  the  threat  of  civil  strife  was  impending  over  our  coun- 
try in  1861,  and  when  the  northwestern  part  of  Virginia  determined  to 
maintain  a  place  in  the  nation  and  to  hold  allegiance  to  the  tlag,  Mr.  Bore- 
man's  peculiar  innate  qualities  of  untiring  energy  and  industry,  indomi- 
table will,  and  intense  purpose  fitted  him  to  be  a  successful  leader  in  the 
great  crisis,  and  were  undoubtedly  the  causes  impelling  the  people  to 
call  him  into  a  high  and  commanding  position  in  the  councils  of  the  new 
state. 

After  the  extra  session  of  the  \'irginia  legislature  in  1861,  he  pre- 
sided over  the  convention  held  at  Wheeling  for  the  purpose  of  reorgan- 
izing the  state  government.  In  October,  1861,  he  was  elected  judge  of 
the  circuit  court  under  the  restored  government  of  Virginia.  He  pre- 
sided over  this  court  until  his  unanimous  election,  in  1863,  to  be  the  first 
governor  of  the  new  state  of  West  \'irginia.  The  wisdom  with  which 
he  wielded  the  executive  power  and  his  rare,  accurate  conception  of  the 
needs  of  that  critical  time  are  apparent  in  the  success  of  the  effort  to 
form  and  the  movements  to  develop  the  state,  but  his  personal  bravery 
and  fearlessness  can  be  appreciated  only  in  the  light  of  a  full  under- 
standing of  the  conditions  and  circumstances  attending  that  interesting 
and  complicated  portion  of  our  history.  In  1864  and  in  1866  Mr.  Bore- 
man was  re-elected  to  the  office  of  governor;  in  1868  he  declined  to  be 
again  a  candidate.     The  legislature  of  West  N'irginia.  at  its  session  in 


WEST  VIRGINIA 


443 


1869,  elected  Arthur  Inghram  Boreman  to  the  L'nited  States  senate,  in 
succession  to  Hon.  Peter  G.  \'an  Winkle ;  and  he  took  his  seat  in  that 
body,  iMarch  4,  1869,  and  served  the  state  with  great  efficiency.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  committee  on  manufactures,  the  committee  on  territor- 
ies, and  the  committees  on  political  disabilities.  During  the  forty-third 
congress  he  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  territorities  and  a  mem- 
of  the  committee  on  claims. 

Probably  no  truer  aspect  of  the  personality  of  the  man  as  he  was  can 
be  given  than  that  in  the  following  description,  quoted  from  a  former 
historian  : 

ViewingGovernor  Boreman  as  a  partisan  leader  in  those  times  that  tried  men's 
souls  even  his  opponents  in  after  vvars  conceded  that  he  possessed  many  high  and 
generous  qualities  of  both  head  and  heart.  If  he  struck  hard  blows,  he  did  not 
shrink  from  receiving  hard  blows  in  return;  and  when  the  strife  was  ended  he 
was  ever  ready  to  extend  a  hand,  and  to  sink,  if  not  to  forget,  the  past.  .'\nd  while 
he  never  gave  up  a  partisan  advantage,  he  was  ever  ready  to  perform  a  personal  act 
of  kindness  or  friendship  to  a  political  adversary  as  well  as  to  a  political  friend; 
and  the  admiration,  love,  and  affection  of  those  who  stood  nearest  to  him  in 
those  dark  days  of  the  past  could  then  as  now  attest  that  warmth  and  strength 
of  his  own  affections.  His  record  is  before  the  people  of  the  state.  From  it  no  fair- 
minded  man  would  blot  out  a  single  page.  It  is  easily  understood,  bold,  fearless, 
direct,  distinct.  There  is  no  evasion  or  darkness  in  the  definitions  of  his  prin- 
ciples or  policies.  As  the  bold,  fearless,  loyal  president  of  the  Wheeling  Convention 
that  reorganized  the  government  of  Virginia,  and  as  the  first  governor  of  the 
new  state  of  West  Virginia,  his  heroic,  manly  conduct  gave  him  a  place  in  the 
affections  of  the  Union  people  of  the  state  that  will  not  soon  be  forgotten. 

Thus  it  has  been  written  of  him,  in  eulogy  of  his  career,  but  a  more 
permanent  monument  of  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  and  the  con- 
fidence which  he  gained  lies  in  the  history  of  this  state,  whose  destiny 
was  intrusted  to  his  guidance  at  the  time  of  its  birth  and  formation,  and 
to  which  his  services  were  devoted  from  that  time  for  practically  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life. 

At  the  time  of  the  expiration  of  his  term  as  l'nited  States  senator, 
West  A'irginia  had  become  a  Democratic  state.  He  resumed  the  prac- 
tice of  law  at  Parker.sburg,  and  his  characteristic  energy,  allied  with  his 
well  known  ability  and  integrity,  soon  gave  to  him  a  large  and  lucrative 
practice,  in  which  he  was  engaged  until  1888.  Then,  as  an  unsolicited 
tribute,  he  was  nominated  and  elected  as  judge  of  the  circuit  court,  over 
which  he  had  presided  with  ability,  fairness  and  dignity  nearly  thirty 
years  before.  His  term  began  January  i,  1889.  and  he  continued  to  pre- 
side over  the  circuit  court  until  his  death,  which  occurred  at  his  home 
in  Parkersburg.  He  had  just  completed  a  term  of  court  at  Elizabeth. 
Wirt  county,  when  he  was  seized  with  his  fatal  illness. 

Governor  Boreman  had  for  many  years  been  a  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church,  and  in  1888  he  was  elected  by  the  West  Virginia 
conference  as  a  lay  delegate  to  the  general  conference,  which  held  its 
quadrennial  session  in  New  York  City  in  that  year. 

He  married.  November  30,  1864,  Laurane,  daughter  of  Dr.  James 
Tanner,  who  died  April  14,  1908:  she  married  (first)  John  Oldham  Bul- 
lock. Dr.  Tanner  was  a  native  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  of  Irish  descent, 
and  he  was  a  physician  of  high  standing  in  the  city  of  Wheeling.  Gov- 
ernor Boreman  is  survived  by  two  daughters :  Maud,  married  G.  H.  Cot- 
ton ;  Laurane,  married  Abijah  Hays.  Both  are  residing  in  the  city  of 
Parkersburg. 


444  WEST  VIRGINIA 

The  Hiteshew  or  Hiteshu  family — for  the  name  is 
HITESHE\\'     diversely  spelled  by  members  of  the  same   family — is 

of  Quaker  stock,  and  Maryland  was  the  family  home 
before  the  coming  of  the  present  branch  into  what  is  now  the  state  of 
West  Virginia. 

(I)  Isaac  Hiteshew,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  married  Hannah  .  Children:  Isaac  Wes- 
ley,  of   whom    further :    Ephraim  :    Charles :    Clementine,    married 

Hover. 

(II)  Isaac  Wesley,  son  of  Isaac  and  Hannah  Hiteshew,  was  born  at 
Uniontown,  Maryland,  October  17,  18 — ,  died  at  Parkersburg,  West  Vir- 
ginia, February  26,  1898.  For  years  he  was  a  railroad  man,  being  a  con- 
ductor on  the  Frederick  division  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad.  In 
this  capacity  he  had  charge  of  the  train  which  conducted  the  soldiers  to 
Harpers  Ferry  at  the  time  of  John  Brown's  raid.  In  the  civil  war  his 
run  was  usually  between  Baltimore  and  Harpers  Ferry,  and  he  there- 
fore had  many  exciting  experiences.  He  came  as  a  passenger  on  the 
first  train  coming  into  Parkersburg,  and  thereafter  made  this  city  his 
Jiome.  Here  he  was  extensively  engaged  in  the  wholesale  produce  and 
feed  business,  but  failed  in  the  Burning  Springs  oil  excitement  of  1865. 
After  that  time  he  was  a  farmer  for  the  greater  part  of  his  life;  in  his 
latter  years  he  lived  retired.  Mr.  Hiteshew  was  a  Democrat  and  an 
Episcopalian.  He  married,  at  Parkersburg,  October  17.  1871,  Columbia 
Ann,  born  at  Parkersburg,  August  16,  1845,  daughter  of  Otis  Little  and 
Emeline  M.  (Talbott)  Bradford  (see  Bradford  IX),  Mrs.  Hiteshew  is 
now  living  at  Parkersburg.  Children :  William  Bradford,  born  September 
30,  1872,  married  Ada  Chamberlain:  Charles  Talbott  (twin),  born  Sep- 
tember 30,  1872:  Holmes  Moss,  born  February  3,  1874:  Harry  Otis,  of 
whom  further. 

(III)  Harry  Otis,  son  of  Isaac  Wesley  and  Columbia  Ann  (Brad- 
ford) Hiteshew,  was  born  at  Parkersburg,  West  Mrginia,  November  12, 
1882.  His  education  was  begim  in  the  public  schools  of  this  city,  and  he 
studied  in  the  collegiate  and  law  departments  of  the  University  of  West 
Virginia,  being  graduated  from  the  latter  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Laws  in  1903.  For  one  year  he  practiced  at  Mprgantown ;  in  the  fall  of 
1904  he  began  practice  at  Parkersburg,  where  he  has  since  lived.  Mr. 
Hiteshew  is  a  Republican.  In  1908  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney 
of  Wood  county,  and  he  was  re-elected  in  1912.  For  seven  years  he  has 
served  as  commissioner  of  accoimts  of  the  city.  In  religion  he  is  an  Epis- 
copalian. He  married,  at  Parkersburg,  April  26,  1910,  Ethel  Sabin,  born 
at  Parkersburg,  October  18,  1882,  daughter  of  Albert  Blakeslee  and 
Agnes  (\^'ard)  White.  For  her  ancestry  see  sketch  of  Albert  Blake- 
slee White  in  this  work.     No  children. 

(The   Bradford   Line). 

Governor  William  Bradford,  the  American  founder  of  this  family, 
was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  all  the  New  England  pioneers,  and 
his  history  has  often  been  told.  The  account  of  his  life  may  readily  be 
found  in  standard  works  of  reference.  The  purpose  of  this  sketch  is 
rather  genealogical. 

(I)  William  Bradford,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom 
we  have  definite  information,  was  buried  January  10,  1595-96.  His 
home  was  at  Austerfield,  England.  The  name  of  his  wife  is  not  known, 
but  he  had  children  :  William,  of  wliom  further :  Thomas :  Robert,  bap- 
tized June  25,  1561,  buried  April  23,  1609,  married,  January  31.  1585, 
Alice  Waingate ;  Elizabeth,  baptized  July  16,   1570,  married  James  Hill. 

(II)  William    (2),  son  of  William    (i)    Bradford,   was  buried  July 


WEST  \IRGIXIA  445 

^Sj  1591-  He  married  Alice  Hanson,  probably  daughter  of  John  Hanson. 
Children:  Margaret,  born  Alarch  8,  1585,  died  young;  Alice,  born  Octo- 
ber 30,  1587:  William,  of  whom  further. 

(HI)   William   (3),  son  of  William   (2)  and  Alice   (Hanson)   Brad- 
ford, was  born  at  .\usterfield,  England,  March  19,  1588-89,  died  at  Ply- 
mouth,  Massachusetts,   I\lay  9,    1657.     His  parents   died  while   he   was 
quite  young.     He  was  brought  up  to  labor,  and  was  a  fustian  worker  in 
1    England :  his  school  education  was  scant,  but  he  acquired  Greek,  Latin, 
j    Hebrew,  Dutch  and  French.     In  religion  he  was  a  Separatist,  and  early 
in  his  life  became  a  leading  man  in  this  sect.     He  went  to  Holland  with 
the  emigrants.     July  22,  1620,  he  embarked  for  England  and  he  sailed 
from  Plymouth,  England,  September  6,  1620,  on  the  "'Mayflower,"  with 
the  first  Pilgrims.     Succeeding  to  the  governorship  of  the  colony  of  Ply- 
mouth, now  part  of  Massachusetts,  he  was  the  second  to  hold  this  office, 
and  he  held  it  continuously  from  162 1  to  1657  except  for  five  years.  He 
was  also  the  historian  of  the  colony.     He  married    (first)    probably  in 
Holland,   December   9,    1613,    Dorothy    May,   of   Wisbeach,    Cambridge, 
England,  who  was  born  about   1597,  died  December  9,   1620.     She  was 
I    probably   daughter  of  John  and   Cordelia    (Bowes)    May.     She  accom- 
panied  her   husband    to   America,   but   did   not    reach    Plymouth,    being 
'    drowned  in  Cape  Cod  Harbor.     Governor   Bradford  married    (second) 
j    August  14  or  15,   1623,  Alice   (Carpenter)    Southworth,  born  at  Wren- 

tham,  England,  died  March  26,   1670;  she  married    (first)   South- 

[    worth.    Children  :   John,  died  in  1678.  married  Martha  Bourne :  William, 
i    of   whom    further ;    Mercy,    married   — - —   Vermayes ;   Joseph,   born    in 
1630,  died  July  20,  1715,  married.  May  25,  1664,  Jael  Hobart. 

(IV)  William  (4),  son  of  William  (3)  and  Alice  ( Carpenter-South- 
worth)  Bradford,  was  born  at  Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  June  16  or  17, 
1624,  died  at  Kingston,  Massachusetts,   February  2,    1703-04.     He  had 

I  moved  to  Kingston.  He  held  the  offices  of  assistant  and  of  deputy  gov- 
I  ernor,  and  was  one  of  Andros'  council  in  1687.  Next  to  Standish  he 
I  was  a  chief  military  officer  of  the  Plymouth  colony,  and  in  war  with  the 
I  Indians  he  held  the  rank  of  major.  He  married  (first)  at  Weymouth, 
I  Massachusetts,  Alice,  born  about  1627,  died  at  Plymouth,  December  12, 
t    1671,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Welthean  Richards,  of  Weymouth;  (sec 

j   end)  Wiswell;  (third)   Mary  (Atwood)  Holmes,  daughter  of  John 

(   Atwood,  of  Plymouth,  who  died  January  6,  1714  or  1715  ;  she  married 
I    (first)  Rev.  John  Holmes,  of  Duxbury,  Massachusetts.     Children,  first- 
i   named  ten  by  first,  next-named  by  second,  others  by  third,  wife:  i.  John,. 
of  whom  further.     2.  William,  born  March  11,  1654,  died  in  1687;  mar- 
ried, in  1679,  Rebecca  Bartlett.     3.  Thomas,  died  in  1708;  married  Anne 

.     4.  Samuel,  born  in   1668,  died  April   11,   1714;  married  Hannah 

Rogers.     5.  Alice,  married   (first)   Rev.  William  Adams  (second)  James 

Fitch.    6.  Hannah,  born  in  i66i-(52;  married,  November  28,  1682,  Joshua 

;   Ripley.     7.   Mercy,  married   Samuel   Steel.     8.   Meletiah,   married  John 

;  .     4.  Samuel,  born  in   1658.  died  April   11,   1714;  married  Hannah 

)  Baker.  11.  Joseph,  married  (first)  October  5,  1698,  Anne  Fitch,  (sec- 
ond)  Mary  .     12.  Israel,  married  Sarah  Bartlett.     13.  David,  died 

:  March  16.  1730;  married,  in  1714,  Elizabeth  Finney.  14.  Ephraim,  mar- 
ried, February  13,  1710,  Elizabeth  Bartlett.  15,  Hezekiah.  married  Mary 
Chandler. 

(V)  John,  son  of  William  (4)  and  .Alice  (Richards)  Bradford,  was 
born  at  Kingston,  Massachusetts,  February  20,  1651-52,  died  at  Kingston 
December  8.  1736.  He  was  deputy  to  the  general  court,  1689-91.  and  a 
major.     He  married,  at  Plymouth.  February  5.  1674-75,  Mercy,  born  at 

\  Plymouth,  September  23,  1653,  died  at  Kingston,  in  March,  1747-48, 
daughter  of  Joseph  Warren,  and  granddaughter  of  Richard  Warren,  of 


446  WEST  VIRGINIA 

the  "Mayflower."  Children:  i.  John,  of  whom  further.  2.  AHce,  born 
January  28,  1677;  married  (first)  xAugust  26,  1708,  Edward  Mitchell, 
(second)  Joshua  Hersey.  3.  Abigail,  born  December  10,  1679,  died 
May  4,  1697.  4.  Mercy,  born  December  20,  1681  ;  married  (first)  Jona- 
than Freeman,  (second)  Isaac  Cushman.  5.  Samuel,  born  December  23, 
1683,  died  March  26,  1740;  married,  October  21,  1714,  Sarah  Gray.  6. 
Priscilla,  born  March  10,  1686 ;  married  Seth  Chipman.  7.  William,  born 
April  15,  1688;  married  Hannah  Foster. 

(VI)  John  (2),  son  of  John  (i)  and  Mercy  (Warren)  Bradford, 
was  born  at  Kingston,  December  25,  1675,  died  at  Kingston.  He  mar- 
ried, at  Duxbury,  Rebecca  Bartlett,  born  at  Duxbury,  died  at  Kingston. 
Children:    Robert,  of  whom  further:  Rebecca,  born  December  14,  1710. 

(VII)  Robert,  son  of  John  (2)  and  Rebecca  (Bartlett)  Bradford, 
was  born  at  Kingston,  Massachusetts,  October  18,  1706,  died  at  King- 
ston, August  12,  1786.  He  married,  at  Kingston,  November  4,  1725, 
Sarah  (Brewster)  Stetson.  Children:  i.  Peleg,  born  March  9,  1727, 
died  May  13,  1804;  married,  in  1746,  Lydia  Sturtevant.  2.  Zelpha,  born 
April  6,  1728;  married,  in  1750,  Thomas  Loring.  3.  Rebecca,  born  De- 
cember 31,  1730;  married,  in  1753,  Micah  Holmes.  4.  John,  born  Octo- 
ber 18,  1732;  married  (first)  in  1754,  Ruth  Cobb,  (second)  Hannah 
Eddy.  5.  Elethea,  born  December  13.  1734.  6.  Orpha,  born  December 
28,  1736.  7.  Stetson,  born  February  17,  1739.  8.  Robert,  born  January 
19,  1741,  died  in  infancy.  9.  Sarah,  born  January  i.  1742,  died  in  in- 
fancy. 10.  Consider,  born  February  3,  1745.  11.  Sarah,  born  February 
4,  1748.     12.  Robert,  of  whom  further. 

(VIII)  Robert  (2),  son  of  Robert  (i)  and  Sarah  (Brewster-Stet- 
son)  Bradford,  was  born  at  Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  July  11,  1750, 
died  at  Belpre.  Washington  county,  Ohio,  September  11,  1823.  During 
the  revolution  he  served  as  a  captain,  and  he  was  breveted  major  at  the 
close  of  the  war.  A  sword  which  was  presented  to  him  by  Lafayette,  at 
Yorktown,  upon  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis,  has  been  preserved  as  a 
family  heirloom.  After  the  revolution  he  received  a  grant  of  a  square 
mile  of  land  in  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  here,  immediately  opposite 
the  foot  of  Blennerhassett  island,  he  built  a  log  house.  He  came  to 
Marietta,  Ohio,  in  1788,  went  to  Belpre  in  1789,  and  built  a  house  in 
1790.  Israel  Putnam  was  a  near  neighbor  in  Ohio,  and  Mrs.  Blenner- 
hassett was  a  warm  friend.  He  married,  at  Kingston,  November  29, 
1781,  Keziah  Little,  born  at  Kingston,  February  20,  1746,  died  at  Belpre, 
May  10,  1800.     Child,  Otis  Little,  of  whom  further. 

(IX)  Otis  Little,  son  of  Robert  (2)  and  Keziah  (Little)  Bradford, 
was  born  at  Belpre,  Ohio,  November  17,  1799,  died  at  Parkersburg,  West 
Virginia,  December  12,  1881.  \^'hen  he  was  still  young  he  moved  across 
the  Ohio  river  into  Virginia,  settling  at  Parkersburg,  nearly  opposite 
where  he  was  born.  Before  the  time  of  steamboats  he  was  a  large  ship- 
per of  tobacco,  corn  and  other  products  to  New  Orleans  by  flatboats. 
He  was  a  man  of  strong  intellect  and  remarkable  memory,  honest,  stern, 
but  kind  and  charitable.  In  the  time  of  the  Whig  party  he  was  a  zealous 
Whig,  and  he  was  afterward  a  Republican. 

He  married  (first)  November  29,  1827,  Sarah  E.  Lewis;  (second) 
in  Montgomery  county,  Maryland,  October  27,  1844,  Emeline  M.,  born 
in  Montgomery  county,  Maryland,  181 5,  died  at  Parkersburg,  1881, 
daughter  of  Henry  O'del  and  Sarah  (Benson)  Talbott.  The  Talbott 
family  claims  descent  from  Richard  de  Talbott,  who  came  from  Nor- 
mandy with  William  the  Conqueror,  and  from  Lord  John  Talbott,  who 
was  created  Earl  of  Shrewsbury  in  1442,  and,  as  its  American  founder, 
John  Talbott,  born  at  Windham,  England,  in  1645  ;  he  was  a  graduate  of 
Cambridge  LTniversity  in   1664,  became  an  Episcopalian  minister,  is  be- 


WEST  MRGIXIA  447 

lieved  to  have  received  consecration  as  a  bishop  from  the  non-jurors, 
and  was  a  missionary  at  Burhngton,  New  Jersey.  Children  of  Otis 
Little  Bradford,  first-named  three  by  first,  others  by  second,  wife:  i. 
'Virginia,  unmarried.  2.  Eliza,  married  Edward  Bradon.  3.  Sarah,  mar- 
ried Paul  Neal.  4.  Columbia  Ann,  born  August  16,  1845  :  married,  Octo- 
ber 17,  1871,  Isaac  \\"esley  Hiteshew  (see  Hiteshew  II).  5.  Emma  Otis, 
born  February  16,  1848,  died  June  15,  1866.  6.  Frances  Dana,  born 
March  i,  1852,  died  February  3,  1906.  7.  Josephine  Talbott,  born  No- 
vember 26,   1854;  married,  August  26,  1890,  William  AI.  Strauss. 


.  John  Cooper,  born  in  Staffordshire,  England,  in  the  year 

COOPER  1848,  was  the  immediate  founder  of  this  family  in  Amer- 
ca.  He  came  to  this  country  when  about  twenty-one  years 
of  age  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania,  obtaining  employment  in  the  coal 
mines  of  that  state.  Beginning  as  a  digger  in  the  mines,  he  manifested 
such  industry  and  intelligence  that  he  was  soon  advanced  to  the  post  of 
mine  foreman.  In  1872  he  came  to  West  Virginia,  opening  up  the  coal 
fields  on  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio  railroad.  He  was  the  pioneer  of  the 
Pocahontas  coal  fields  of  West  Virginia,  first  opening  up  those  mines  in 
1884,  and  continuing  his  enterprises  until  he  became  one  of  the  most  ex- 
tensive operators  in  the  state.  He  soon  attained  prominence  as  a  man  of 
affairs  and  a  most  influential  politician,  being  a  member  of  the  Republi- 
can party,  and  although  he  never  held  office  on  his  own  account,  he  was 
a  delegate  several  times  to  the  national  conventions  and  assisted  in  elect- 
ing to  office  some  of  the  most  prominent  officials  of  his  party.  He  was  ac- 
tive in  the  nomination  of  President  McKinley,  and  evinced  high  capacity  as 
an  organizer.  As  a  business  man  he  was  greatly  esteemed  in  commercial 
circles,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1898,  he  was  president  of  the 
Bank  of  Bramwell.  He  was  buried  at  Cooper,  West  Virginia,  being 
mourned  by  a  wide  circle  of  friends  and  relatives,  as  well  as  by  his  fel- 
low Masons  of  the  Blue  Lodge  of  Bramwell,  which  he  had  been  largely 
instrumental  in  organizing.  He  was  the  first  master  of  this  lodge,  and 
was  a  thirty-third  degree  Mason.  He  married,  in  England,  Maria  Pad- 
bury,  at  Sedgely,  and  immediately  afterward  brought  his  bride  with  him 
to  the  new  home  in  America ;  she  survived  her  husband,  and  is  now  liv- 
ing at  Cooper  in  her  sixty-eight  year.  The  children  of  the  marriage  were 
as  follows :  Edward,  of  whom  further ;  Annie,  married  a  Mr.  Thomas, 
and  resides  in  Bramwell;  Sallie,  married  a  Mr.  Brown,  and  resides  at 
Tazewell,  Virginia ;  Emma,  married  a  Mr.  Thomas,  and  resides  at  Colum- 
bus, Ohio;  Mary,  married  a  Mr.  Shanklin,  and  resides  in  Cincinnati, 
Ohio ;  Katherine,  married  a  Mr.  Brophy,  and  resides  at  Bear  Creek,  Mon- 
tana ;  Thomas  Henry,  deceased,  his  family  residing  at  Salem,  Virginia. 

(II)  Edward,  son  of  John  and  Maria  (Padbury)  Cooper,  was  born 
February  26,  1873,  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania.  His  early  education 
was  received  in  West  Virginia,  whither  his  father  removed  after  his  first 
interest  in  the  Pennsylvania  mines.  He  afterward  attended  the 
Washington  and  Lee  L^niversity  at  Lexington,  Virginia,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  law,  and  for  a  period  of  three  years  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  In  1898  he  gave  up  his  practice  on  account  of 
the  death  of  his  father,  and  engaged  in  the  coal  business  in  which  the  lat- 
ter had  been  interested.  Mr.  Cooper  has  become  very  successful  in  his 
business  affairs,  being  at  the  present  time  one  of  the  largest  operators  in 
the  state  of  West  Virginia.  He  has  also  won  for  himself  universal  re- 
gard as  a  citizen  and  politician,  being  a  strong  supporter  of  the  Repub- 
lican party.  He  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  Chicago  convention  and  as- 
sisted in  the  nomination    for   the   presidential   candidate ;   as   a   political 


448  WEST  VIRGINIA 

speaker  he  is  strong  and  forceful,  conveying  his  enthusiasm  to  the  au- 
dience which  he  addresses.  He  has  been  urged  to  accept  the  nomination 
for  congress,  but  thus  far  has  not  been  prevailed  upon  to  do  so,  lending 
his  efforts  instead  to  other  candidates :  it  is  to  be  hoped,  however,  that  in 
the  near  future  he  will  manifest  an  inclination  to  accept  this  responsibil- 
ity for  himself,  serving  his  party  thus  to  its  best  advantage.  He  is  now 
a  member  of  the  common  council  at  Bramwell.  Mr.  Cooper  is,  like  his 
father,  a  Mason  in  high  standing,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Elks.  He  is  a 
Presbyterian  in  his  religious  faith. 

On  October  5,  1895,  he  married  Frances  Douglass  Smith,  born  at 
Lexington,  Virginia,  January  7,  1872,  daughter  of  James  S.  Smith,  a 
jeweler  of  that  city.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cooper  have  two  children:  Edward 
Jr.,  born  October  19,  1897;  Francis  Douglass,  born  October  5,  1902; 
the  former  they  expect  to  place  at  the  Annapolis  Military  School. 


Among  the  old-established  and  leading  business  men  of  Key- 
FRYE     ser,   Thomas   Bucy   Frye   holds  a   foremost  place.     Through 

both  his  parents  Mr.  Frye  comes  of  old  Virginia  stock,  num- 
bering among  his  ancestors  bearers  of  some  of  the  most  numerous  and 
respected  names  in  the  history  of  the  Old  Dominion. 

(I)  ^^'ilHam  Frye  was  born  in  Hardy  county,  Virginia,  and  passed 
his  entire  life  as  a  farmer  in  the  neighborhood  of  his  birthplace.  He 
married  Elizabeth  Baker,  and  their  children  were :  William,  Henry, 
Jacob,  mentioned  below  ;  George,  Benjamin,  John,  Joseph,  James,  Abby, 
married  John  O.  Idleman ;  Betsey,  married  Jacob  Roherbaugh. 

(II)  Jacob,  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Baker)  Frye,  was  born 
May  2,  1804,  in  Hardy  county,  Virginia.  He  received  his  education 
in  the  district  school  and,  like  his  father,  followed  agricultural  pursuits. 
He  served  in  the  state  militia,  and  in  politics  was  first  a  Whig  and  then 
a  Democrat.  He  married  Sarah  Margaret  Gaines  (see  Gaines  II),  and 
their  children  were:  I.  Eliza  Cathrine,  widow  of  John  Hughes;  lives 
at  Keyser.  2.  Joseph  Francis,  born  November  22,  1842  ;  married  Joseph- 
ine Patterson,  now  deceased ;  he  lives  on  a  farm  in  Green  county,  Ohio. 
3.  Susan  Amanda,  born  October  14,  1844,  died  September  18,  1896; 
married  James  Beall,  now  deceased.  4.  William  Taylor,  born 
April  27,  1847 ;  married  Amanda  Steinberger ;  lives  at  Urbana, 
Ohio.  5.  Thomas  Bucy,  mentioned  below.  6.  Lucy  Hughes,  born 
January  15,  1852:  married  (first)  David  Shroufe,  (second)  Wil- 
liam Funk ;  now  living  at  Detroit,  Michigan.  7.  Henry  Flournoy, 
born  March  15,  1855:  an  engineer  in  Baltimore:  married  Elizabeth  John- 
son. 8.  Sarah  Elizabeth,  born  February  i,  1858;  married  Isaac  C.  Pur- 
gitt,  railroad  mail  clerk  at  Keyser.  9.  Emma  Mildred,  born  July  10, 
1861,  died  July  12,  1899;  married  George  F.  Anderson,  now  deceased. 
10.  Virginia  Gaines,  born  April  24,  1864;  married  Thomas  G.  Pownall, 
manager  for  a  tannery  company  at  Cumberland,  Maryland.  Jacob  Frye, 
the  father  of  this  family,  died  February  17,  1871,  at  Xenia,  Ohio,  and  the 
mother  passed  away  at  Keyser,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-three. 

(III)  Thomas  Bucy,  son  of  Jacob  and  Sarah  Margaret  (Gaines) 
Frye,  was  born  July  9,  1849,  near  Moorefield,  Hardy  county,  Virginia, 
now  West  A^irginia,  where  he  spent  the  first  fourteen  years  of  his  life, 
afterward  living  three  years  near  Xenia,  Green  county,  Ohio.  He  re- 
ceived his  education  at  a  private  school  called  Pine  Top  College,  and  at 
night  schools,  and  after  completing  his  course  of  study  became  a  clerk- 
in  the  general  store  conducted  by  John  Hughes  at  Keyser.  For  ten  years 
he  retained  this  position,  acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  business 
He  then  went  into  business  for  himself,  and  during  the  next  five  years 


WEST  \IRGINIA  449 

was  proprietor  of  a  store.  He  then  disposed  of  his  business,  taking  a 
travelling  position  with  the  firm  of  Greer  &  Laing,  of  Wheeling,  whole- 
sale hardware  merchants.  His  connection  with  them  was  maintained 
for  the  long  period  of  twenty-one  years,  and  since  its  dissolution  Mr. 
Frye  has  conducted  a  profitable  wholesale  and  retail  business  in  Keyser, 
having  been  for  some  years  one  of  the  city's  leading  hardware  mer- 
chants. He  is  president  of  the  South  Keyser  Real  Estate  &  Improve- 
ment Company,  and  in  politics  is  an  Independent  Democrat.  He  affiliates 
with  the  Knights  of  Honor,  and  he  and  his  family  attend  the  Presbyter- 
ian church  in  which  Mr.  Frye  has  held  the  offices  of  first  deacon,  second 
elder  and  trustee.  Mr.  Frye  is  a  fine  type  of  the  self-made  man  and 
receives  from  his  neighbors  that  regard  to  which  he  is  entitled  by  his 
position  as  an  able,  honorable  business  man  and  a  public-spirited  citizen. 
Mr.  Frye  married.  February  7,  1877,  Arabella  White  Martin  (see 
]Martin  lY)  and  they  are  the  parents  of  the  following  children:  i. 
Maria  A'ass,  born  December  12,  1877.  2.  Douglas  Hughes,  born  July 
20,  1880 :  cashier  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Richwood,  West  Vir- 
ginia ;  married  Ada  Landis  and  has  two  children ;  Thomas  Douglas,  born 
October  22,  1909;  Arabella  ^Martin,  born  October  19,  191 1.  3.  Richard 
Malcolm,  born  March  5,  1883:  associated  with  his  father  in  business; 
married    Claude    Elizabeth    Parker. 

(The  Gaines  Line). 

(I)  Francis  AI.  Gaines,  father  of  Mrs.  Sarah  ^largaret  (Gaines) 
Frye,  was  a  schoolmaster  in  Hardy  county,  \'irginia.  He  married, 
November  15,  1805,  Lucy  Hughes.  Their  children  were:  i.  Susan  Ann. 
born  August  25,  1806,  died  July  7.  1889.  2.  James  A.,  born  October  21, 
1808,  died  in  Indiana.  3.  Albert,  born  September  28,  1810,  died  in  Port- 
land, Oregon.  4.  Lucy,  born  February  21,  1813,  died  May  6,  1900;  mar- 
ried David  Steinberger.  5.  Clarissa,  born  August  28.  1817;  married  J.  B. 
Kirk.  6.  Sarah  Margaret,  mentioned  below.  7.  William  F.,  born  Novem- 
ber 14,  1822,  died  July  14,  1894:  married  Millie  Moore.  Mrs.  Gaines 
died  May  28,  1828,  and  'Sir.  Gaines  survived  to  the  age  of  seventy,  his 
death  occurring  in  Hardy  county,  December  29,  1859. 

(II)  Sarah  Margaret,  daughter  of  Francis  ^M.  and  Lucy  (Hughes) 
Gaines,  was  born  May  12,  1820,  at  Culpeper,  Mrginia.  and  became  the 
wife  of  Jacob  Frye  (see  Frye  II).     ^Irs.  Frye  died  June  5.  1903. 

(The  Martin  Line). 

(I)  ^^'illiam  Martin,  great-grandfather  of  Mrs.  Arabella  White 
(Martin)  Frye.  was  a  native  of  Ireland  and  appears  to  have  passed  his 
entire  life  in  the  land  of  his  birth.     He  married  Elizabeth  Brown. 

(II)  John  B.,  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Brown)  Martin,  was 
born  October  22,  1795,  near  Bandon,  county  Cork,  Ireland.  While  still 
a  youth  he  came  to  the  L'nited  States,  settling,  about  181 5,  in  Richmond, 
Virginia,  where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  manifested  in 
boyhood  a  taste  for  sketching  and  would  trace  figures  in  the  sand.  Sub- 
sequently he  studied  engraving  and  painting,  and  finally  chose  portraiture 
as  his  profession.  Many  of  his  portraits  are  in  Charleston,  Norfolk. 
Washington,  Baltimore,  Philadelphia  and  New  York.  In  a  gallery  in  the 
last-named  city  one  of  the  most  notable  of  his  paintings  is  preserved,  a 
portrait  of  Chief  Justice  IMarshall.  Mr.  Martin  was  interested  in  mili- 
tary affairs,  and  was  at  one  time  lieutenant  in  the  Fayette  Light  Artil- 
lery of  Richmond.  He  was  a  strict  Presbyterian,  serving  as  elder  Jn  the 
church  ministered  to  by  Dr.  Moses  Hoge.  who,  in  speaking  and  writing, 
referred  to  Mr.  Martin  as  the  model  elder.  ^Ir.  Martin  married,  about 
1821,  Elizabeth  Anne  Win  fry,  a  native  of  Amelia  county,  \'irginia.  They 

29 


450  WEST  VIRGINIA 

lived  at  one  time  near  the  capitol,  and  during  the  famous  fire  of  January, 
1835,  the  family  was  compelled  to  leave  the  house  at  midnight  and  seek 
other  quarters.     The  death  of  Mr.   Martin  occurred  in   1856. 

(III)  Rev.  Edw-ard  Martin,  son  of  John  B.  and  Elizabeth  Anne  (Win- 
fry)  Martin,  was  a  clergyman  of  Richmond,  Virginia.  He  married 
Susannah  Maria  Vass,  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  Lees  of  Virginia  (see 
Lee  VIII).  Their  children  were:  i.  Arabella  White,  mentioned  below. 
2.  John  Blennerhasset,  born  December  i,  1852;  married  Emily  Alexander 
and  lives  at  St.  Charles,  Missouri.  3.  Douglas  Vass,  born  November  4, 
1855  ;  married  Madge  Fielding  and  also  lives  at  St.  Charles.  4.  Eleanor, 
born  I'^ebruary  13,  1858;  lives  at  St.  Charles.  5.  Maria  Vass,  born 
November  16,  i860;  also  of  St.  Charles.  6.  Edward,  born  July  22,  1863; 
married  Carrie  Kennedy  and  lives  in  Chicago.  7.  Elizabeth  Aphra,  born 
October  22,  1865:  widow  of  William  C.  Lyons:  lives  at  St.  Charles.  8. 
Alexander,  born  April  22,  1868,  died  in  infancy.  9.  Louisa  Davis,  born 
September  15,  1870;  widow  of  Shirley  W.  Johns;  lives  at  St  Charles. 
10.  Julia  Glenday.  born  February  9,  1874;  lives  at  St.  Charles.  Mrs. 
Martin,  the  mother  of  the  family,  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-one,  and  Mr. 
Martin  passed  away  at  St.  Charles,  Missouri,  being  then  fifty-eight 
years  old. 

(IV)  Arabella  White,  daughter  of  Rev.  Edward  and  Susannah  Maria 
(Vass)  Martin,  was  born  October  28,  1850,  at  Roniney,  Hampshire 
county,  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  and  became  the  wife  of  Thomas 
Bucy  Frye   (see  Frye  III). 

(The  Lee  Line). 

(I)  Colonel  Richard  Lee,  of  Stratford  Laughton,  Essex,  England, 
founder  of  the  American  branch  of  the  family,  came  to  Virginia  about 
1640,  settling  first  in  York  county.  In  1642  he  was  a  burgess  for  York, 
and  in  165 1  for  Northumberland.  In  the  latter  year  he  was  appointed 
secretary  of  state  for  the  colony  and  was  also  a  member  of  council.  He 
died  in   1664. 

(II)  Richard  (2).  son  of  Richard  (i)  Lee,  was  born  in  1647,  in  Vir- 
ginia, and  was  a  member  of  the  council  from  1676  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1714.  He  married  Letitia,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Alice 
(Eltonhead)  Corbin.  Henry  Corbin  was  born  in  England,  in  1629,  came 
to  Virginia  in  1654,  and  acquired  a  large  landed  estate.  In  1659  he  was 
a  burgess  for  Lancaster,  and  as  early  as  1663  was  a  member  of  the 
council.     He  died  January  8,  1675. 

(HI)  Philip,  son  of  Richard  (2)  and  Letitia  (Corbin)  Lee.  was 
born  in  1681,  in  Westmoreland  county,  Virginia.  In  1700  he  removed  to 
Maryland,  making  his  home  at  "Blenheim."  Prince  George's  county.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  council  of  Maryland.  He  married  (first)  Sarah, 
daughter  of  the  Hon.  Thomas  Brooke,  (second)  Elizabeth,  widow  of 
Henry  Sewall.     Philip  Lee  died  in  1744. 

(IV)   Lettice,  daughter  of  Philip  Lee,  married  Adam  Thompson. 

(\')  .'Vlice  Corbin,  daughter  of  Adam  and  Lettice  (Lee)  Thompson, 
married  Captain  John  Hawkins,  an  outline  of  whose  career  is  given  be- 
low. 

(VI)  Maria  Love,  daughter  of  Captain  John  and  Alice  Corbin 
(Thompson)  Hawkins,  married  John  Adams  Washington  Smith. 

(VII)  Eleanor  Hawkins,  daughter  of  John  Adams  Washington  and 
Maria  Love  (Hawkins)   Smith,  married  James  C.  \^ass. 

(VIII)  Susannah  Maria,  daughter  of  James  C.  and  Eleanor  Haw- 
kins (Smith)  Vass.  was  born  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  became  the 
wife  of  the  Rev.  Edward  Martin  (see  Martin  III). 

Captain  John  Hawkins  was  born  in  Charles  county,  Maryland,  and 


WEST  VIRGINIA  451 

moved  to  Alexandria,  \'irginia,  prior  to  the  revolutionary  war.  During 
that  conflict  he  served  several  years  in  the  continental  army,  first  as  lieu- 
tenant and  adjutant  of  the  Third  \'irginia  Regiment,  commanded  by  Col- 
onel Thomas  ^Marshall.  On  the  occasion  of  Gates'  defeat  at  Camden, 
Lieutenant  Hawkins  made  great  efforts  to  rally  the  company,  and  was 
honorably  mentioned  by  2\Iajor-General  George  Weedon  for  the  valua- 
ble service  he  thus  rendered.  In  1780  Lieutenant  Hawkins  was  pro- 
moted to  a  captaincy  in  the  place  of  Captain  Peyton  who  was  killed  at 
the  siege  of  Charleston,  and  on  June  i,  1781,  he  resigned  his  commission. 
His  letter  of  resignation,  dated  Queen  Anne  county,  Maryland,  was  ad- 
dressed to  Major  W.  Smallwood,  by  whom,  on  account  of  Captain  Haw- 
kins' ill  health,  it  was  accepted  at  Annapolis,  July  3,  1781.  In  compensa- 
tion for  his  services  Captain  Hawkins  received  five  hundred  and  twenty- 
six  pounds,  nineteen  shillings  and  nine-pence,  and  a  grant  of  four  thou- 
sand acres  of  land  under  act  of  the  assembly  of  \'irginia.  Captain 
Hawkins  married,  in  1781,  a  few  months  prior  to  the  surrender  of  Lord 
Cornwallis,  Alice  Corbin  Thompson,  as  mentioned  above.  The  death  of 
Captain  Hawkins  occurred  about  1805,  and  he  was  buried  at  Buckland, 
Prince  William  county,  \"irginia. 


xAbout  1724  James  Morris  sailed  from  England  for  Amer- 
MORRIS     ica,  landing  at  Philadelphia  a  few  months  afterward.     He 

settled  in  or  near  the  town,  and  engaged  in  farming.  A 
son  of  his,  James  Morris  Jr.,  was  a  member  of  the  Royal  Americans 
under  Sir  Jeffrey  Amherst,  and  was  present  at  the  surrender  and  evacu- 
ation of  Fort  William  Henry  by  the  troops  of  the  English  Crown.  His- 
tory records  that  John  and  Peter  Morris  were  among  the  guards  ap- 
pointed by  the  provincial  government  of  Pennsylvania  to  keep  a  watch  on 
the  Indians,  who  harried  and  murdered  the  scattered  settlers  of  the  out- 
lying districts.  There  were  many  of  the  name  on  the  rosters  of  the  con- 
tinental army  from   Pennsylvania. 

(II)  John,  son  of  James  Morris,  the  emigrant,  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania about  1735.  He  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  Among  his  children 
was  Amos,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  Amos,  son  of  John  Morris,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  about 
1773,  and  was  one  of  a  large  number  of  children.  He  was  only  a  small 
child  when  the  revolutionary  war  was  in  progress,  but  that  did  not  pre- 
vent his  mother  from  giving  all  the  aid,  even  to  moulding  bullets,  that 
she  could  to  the  continental  troops.  Among  his  children  was  James,  of 
whom   further. 

(IV)  James  (2),  son  of  Amos  Morris,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania, 
about  1800.  In  1830,  accompanied  by  his  brother,  John,  he  moved  from 
Philadelphia  to  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  and  settled  at  the  Jug, 
Tyler  county,  where  they  farmed  for  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  Among 
his  children  was  William,  of  whom  further. 

(V)  William,  son  of  James  (2)  Morris,  was  born  May  12,  1842, 
in  Tyler  county,  now  West  Virginia.  His  principal  business  was  farm- 
ing, but  he  also  engaged  successfully  in  the  mercantile  business,  and  later 
in  oil.  He  served  as  state  senator  from  1888  to  1891.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  x\ncient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  at  Middlebourne,  and 
also  of  the  Baptist  church.  He  was  one  of  the  influential  men  of  his  com- 
munity and  stood  high  in  the  esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens.  He  died  April 
13,  1912.  He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Eli  and  Rachel  Flecher.  Chil- 
dren: I.  Dora,  born  October  24,  1868;  married  Marshall  Pierpont.  2. 
Creed  L.,  born  October  8,  1870;  married  Maude  Carraway.    3.  Lloyd  H., 


452  WEST  VIRGINIA 

of  whom  further.     4.  CharHe  E.,  born  March   10,   1874;  married  Mary 
Keller.     5.  Ora,  born  February  16,  1877.     6.  William.     7.  Clarence. 

(VI)  Lloyd  H.,  son  of  William  and  Mary  (Flecher)  Morris,  was 
born  October  14,  1872,  in  Wick,  Tyler  county.  West  Virginia.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  and  took  a  course  at  the  West  Virginia 
Business  College,  after  which  he  taught  school  five  terms.  Leaving  this 
occupation  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  at  Wick  with  the  firm 
of  W'illiam  Morris  &  Sons.  He  was  with  them  two  years  and  then 
moved  to  ]\Iiddlebourne,  West  \'irginia,  and  became  bookkeeper  for  the 
Bank  of  ;\iiddlebourne  when  it  was  established,  remaining  seven  months. 
This  position  he  resigned  to  re-enter  commercial  life  at  Friendly,  West 
A'irginia.  He  disposed  of  his  mercantile  interests  at  the  expiration  of  a 
year,  accepting  a  position  as  salesman  for  a  grocery  house  for  the  en- 
suing two  years.  He  then  accepted  a  position  as  traveling  salesman  for 
John  S.  Xaylor  &  Company  of  Wheeling,  West  X'irginia,  remaining  with 
the  firm  over  ten  years.  In  July,  19 12,  he  resigned  to  accept  the  nomina- 
tion of  sheriff  of  Tyler  county,  and  was  elected  in  November,  1912,  be- 
ing the  first  Democratic  sheriff  elected  in  the  county  since  before  the 
civil  war.  He  had  four  hundred  and  sixty-three  plurality,  thus  attest- 
ing his  popularity  as  a  man  and  the  confidence  of  his  constituency  in  his 
integrity  and  high  sense  of  duty.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons,  Sistersville  Chapter,  Trinity  Commandery  and 
Consistory  at  ^^^heeling,  and  charter  member  of  the  Nemesis  Temple, 
Ancient  Arabic  (Irder  of  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine ;  of  the  Independ- 
ent Order  of  Odd  Fellows ;  the  Commercial  Travelers  Association,  and 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  is  one  of  the  leading  men  of  his 
town  and  county,  progressive,  up-to-date  and  farseeing.  With  him  the 
good  of  his  county  its  interests  and  upbuilding  take  precedence  over  his 
own. 

On  October  14,  1896,  he  married  Annie,  daughter  of  J.  C.  and  Eliza- 
beth Parker,  well  known  citizens  of  that  section  of  the  state.  Children: 
1.  ]Mary  E.,  deceased.  2.  William,  deceased.  3.  Ruth,  born  July  31, 
1908.    4.  Martha,  born  September  6.  1910. 


An  old  Frederick  county.  Maryland,  name  which  has  be-  ] 
SCHLEY     come  well  known  to  the   student  of  American  history  is 
Schley.     In  the  census  taken  in  1790  three  heads  of  fam-  .. 
ilies  of  this  name  were  recorded  in  Frederick  county,  and  there  was  one  ,1 
in   Alontgomery  county,  ^Maryland.     Governor   Schley,  of   Georgia,   was  '1 
born  in  Frederick  county,  and  in  the  same  county  was  born  the  famous  'i 
naval  officer,  Admiral  Winfield  Scott  Schley,  son  of  John  Thomas  and  1 
Georgiana  \'irginia   Schley.     Schley  county,  in  Georgia,  commemorates 
in  its  name  the  branch  of  this  family  which  settled  in  that  state.     The 
family  has  been  a  notable  one  from  the  immigrant  to  the  present  day. 
We  regret  the  impossibility  of  making  the  record  of  the  present  line  com- 
plete, but  pains  have  been  taken  to  make  it  as  nearly  full  and  accurate  as 
possible. 

(I)  John  Thomas  Schley,  the  founder  of  this  family,  was  born  at 
Mertzheim,  Germany,  August  31,  1712,  died  at  Frederick,  Frederick 
county,  Maryland,  November  24,  1790.  About  1735  he  came  from  the 
Palatinate  in  Germany  with  a  colony  of  about  one  hundred  families,  of 
French,  Swiss  and  German  nativity,  and  settled  in  the  valley  of  the  Catoc- 
tin,  ^Maryland.  In  1746  he  built  the  first  house  in  the  city  of  Frederick 
or,  as  it  then  was,  the  town  of  Frederick,  which  had  been  laid  out  only 
the  year  before.  Thus  the  Schley  family  has  been  connected  with  tlie 
very  beginnings  of  Frederick,  to  which  place  it  has  been  attached  t"  the 


WEST  \IRGIXIA  453 

present  time,  and  from  the  very  fir^t  the  famih'  has  been  among  the 
foremost  in  the  development  and  adornment  of  the  western  section  of 
the  colony  and  state  of  ?^iaryland.  John  Thomas  Schley  was  a  man  of 
character,  education  and  discernment ;  an  enterprising  citizen  and  carried 
on  many  forms  of  business  activity.  He  was  a  member  of  the  German  Re- 
formed church,  and  for  forty-five  years  its  mainstay  at  Frederick;  he 
was  its  organist,  and  often  officiated  in  the  absence  of  the  pastor.  At 
least  one  of  his  descendants  served  in  the  revolution,  though  he  is  not 
himself  recorded  to  have  borne,  at  his  advanced  age,  an  active  part  in  the 
conflict.  He  married,  in  January,  1735,  Margaret  Wintz,  who  died  in 
June,  1790.  Thus  this  couple  had  fifty-five  years  of  married  life.  Among 
their  children,  nine  in  number,  were:  i.  Eve  Catharine,  born  in  1747, 
died  May  26,  1843:  married  Jacob  Bier.  2.  John  Jacob,  born  about  1752, 
died  October  16,  1829 ;  married  Ann  Maria  Shelman.  Apparently  also 
George  Jacob,  died  [May  27,  181 1.  Among  the  grandchildren  of  John 
Thomas  and  Margaret   (Wintz)   Schley,  was  John,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  John,  grandson  of  John  Thomas  and  Margaret  (Wintz)  Schley, 
died  October  31,  1835.  He  was  chief  judge  of  the  orphans'  court  of 
Frederick  county  from  1804  to  1806:  in  1809  and  1810  he  was  a  member 
of  the  house  of  delegates  of  Maryland:  from  1815  until  his  death,  nearly 
twenty  years,  he  was  clerk  of  the  circuit  court.  The  name  of  his  wife  is 
not  known,  but  he  had  at  least  the  following  children:  i.  Henry,  of 
whom  further.    2.  William,  born  October  31,  1799,  died  March  20.  1872; 

married,   in    1824,   Ringgold :   he   moved   to    Baltimore,    Alaryland, 

and  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  bar  in  that  city     3. 

John  Thomas,  married  Georgiana  Virginia  :  these  were  the  parents 

of  Rear  Admiral  Winfield  Scott  Schley. 

(IV)  Henry,  son  of  John  Schley,  was  born  at  Frederick,  in  1793, 
died  at  Frederick,  April  i,  1871.  Early  in  life  he  was  in  business  in 
Baltimore,  with  his  uncles,  Henry  Schroeder  and  Jacob  Schley.  In  1814 
he  entered  the  service  of  the  United  States  as  adjutant  of  a  Maryland 
regiment,  and  he  participated  in  the  battles  of  Bladensburg  and  North 
Point.  His  home  was  at  Frederick,  and  he  was  clerk  of  Frederick 
county  prior  to  the  constitution  of  1851  :  afterward  for  several  years  he 
was  cashier  of  the  Frederick  County  Bank.  He  married  Sarah  Maria, 
daughter  of  Edward  and  Elizabeth  (Hanson)  Worrall,  who  died  in 
1869.  The  Worrall  family  was  a  prominent  family  of  Kent  county, 
Maryland,  wherein  Edward  Worrall  was  a  judge  ;  and  the  Hanson  family, 
of  which  an  account  appears  elsewhere  in  this  work,  also  a  Kent  county 
family,  is  one  of  the  most  notable  families  of  ^Maryland,  which  had  al- 
ready acquired  distinction  in  England  and  in  Sweden  before  coming  to 
America,  and  has  achieved  national  significance  in  this  country.  Among 
the  children  of  Henr}-  and  Sarah  Maria  (Worrall)  Schley  were:  i.  John 
Edward,  of  whom  further.  2.  Charles,  married  Johnson.  3.  Fair- 
fax, born  October  11,  1825,  deceased:  married,  in  1847,  Ann  R.  Steiner. 

(V)  John  Edward,  son  of  Henry  and  Sarah  Maria  (Worrall) 
Schley,  was  born  at  Frederick,  October  11,  1818,  died  in  Jefferson  coun- 
ty, West  Virginia,  May  6.  1890.  As  an  accomplishment  he  read  law,  in 
which  profession  several  members  of  the  Schley  family  have  won  dis- 
tinction, with  his  uncle,  \'\'illiam  Schley,  of  Baltimore,  but  he  afterward 
turned  his  attention  to  agriculture,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  left 
one  of  the  most  handsome  estates  in  Jefferson  county :  this  estate,  known 
as  "Rockland."  is  three  miles  from  Shepherdstown.  West  \'irginia,  on  the 
Kearneysville  pike.  He  was  adjutant  general  of  the  Maryland  encamp- 
ment held  at  Hagerstown  in  1840.  He  married  (first)  .Ann  F.  Towner, 
born  June  23,  1820,  died  October  6.  1842:  (second)  in  Washington 
county,  Maryland,  at  the  home  of  Captain  Thomas  Harris,  in  1843.  Mary 


454  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Virginia,  born  at  Shepherdstown,  October  25,  1824,  died  June  13,  1887,  | 

daughter  of  Benjamin  T.  and  Elizabeth   (Harris)   Towner.     Her  father  J 

was  a  native  of  Loudoun  county,  Virginia,  born  in  1796,  and  her  mother  ' 
was  born  at  "Fertile  Plains,"  near  Shepherdstown.     Child,  Towner,  of 

whom   further.  1 

(VI)   Towner,  son  of  John  Edward  and   Mary  Virginia    (Towner)  , 

Schley,  was  born  at  Shepherdstown,  November  18,  1845.  He  was  a  grad-  1 

uate  of  the  engineering  department    of    Frederick    College,    Frederick,  j 

Maryland,  in  the  class  of  1865.     The  beginning  of  his  business  life  was  { 

in  the  surveying  department  of  the  Western   Maryland   Railroad  Com-  I 

pany,  and  he  ran  the  first  level  from  Hagerstown  to  Monterey,  Mary-  ],' 

land.     In  1870  he  took  the  census  of  the  entire  county  of  Jefferson,  West  ]* 

Virginia,   and  at   that   time  its  population   was   thirteen   thousand  three  j 

hundred  and  seventy.     Then  for  a  term  of  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  j 

lumbering  business.     In  the  civil  war  he  was  too  young  to  enlist  in  thfe  I 

army,  but,  as  a  civilian  he  rendered  valuable  service  to  the  army  of  the  | 

nation.     The  evening  before  the  battle  of  Antietam  he  was  at  supper  at  j 

the  house  of  Mrs.  Edward  Schley,  and  General  Reno  also  was  present,  j 

The  next  morning  he  decided  to  witness  the  battle,  if  possible.     On  the  1 

road,  as  he  was  climbing  South  mountain,  he  met  the  body  of  General  1 

Reno,  who  had  been  killed  by  bayonet  and  gun.     Mr.  Schley  saw  the  I 

cutting  of  McClellan  gap  and  witnessed  the  battle  from  the  spot  where  |: 

General  Reno  had  been  killed,  and  which  is  now  marked  by  a  monument  \ 

in  honor  of  General  Reno.    Of  the  staff  of  Governor  A.  I.  Boreman,  Mr.  [ 

Schley,  then  only  nineteen  years  old,  was  a  member,  with  the  brevet  of  j! 

colonel ;  at  that  time  he  was  the  youngest  staiT  officer  in  the  United  States.  ' 

During  both  the  presidential  terms  of  General  Grant,  he  served  as  United  ' 

States  marshal.     In  1866  he  joined  Mount  Xebo  Lodge,  No.  91,  .\ncient  ; 

Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  at  Shepherdstown.     He  is  a  staunch  Repub-  ; 

lican,  and  an  active  member  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church  at  Shep-  | 

herdstown.  | 

Towner   Schley   married,   at   Shepherdstown,  October   22,    1872,   Ida  j 

Virginia,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Franklin  and  Mary  Catharine  (Hollida)  j 

Harrison,  who  was  born  near  Shepherdstown.     For  a  number  of  years  I 

her  father  was  cashier  of  the  Jefferson  Savings  Bank,  at  Shepherdstown,  | 

and  he  served  a  term  in  the  legislature  of  West  Virginia.     Children  of  j 

Benjamin  Franklin  and  Mary  Catharine   (Hollida)    Harrison:   Ida  Vir-  | 

ginia,  married  Towner  Schley ;  Anna  S.,  Charles  Sumner.     Children  ol  [ 

Towner  and   Ida  Virginia   (Harrison)    Schley;  Meta  Taylor,   Harrison,  i 

H.  Pinkney,  IMary  Catharine,  Charles,  Virginia,  John  Edward.  I 


Numerous  families  of  this  name  are  found  throughout  the 
MILLER     L'uited   States,  and  they  are  of  diverse  origin.     England, 

Scotland  and  Ireland  must  have  furnished  very  many  im- 
migrants of  this  name,  and  to  these  must  be  added  the  German  Muellers, 
as  their  name  is  sometimes  changed  to  Miller  by  their  descendants  in 
America.  Hence,  persons  bearing  the  ]\Iiller  name  are  very  numerous  in 
all  parts  of  our  country.  At  least  three  families  of  this  name  can  be 
traced  in  the  pioneer  history  of  Western  \'irginia,  and  it  is  with  one  of 
tliese  that  we  have  now  to  do. 

(I)  (probably  Robert)  Miller,  the  founder  of  this  family,  came 

probably  from  Ireland,  and  settled  on  the  spot  where  the  city  of  Staun- 
ton, Augusta  county,  \'irginia,  is  built.  He  was  of  the  Scotch-Irish  stock 
which  is  so  conspicuous  in  the  records  of  Mrginia.  Child,  Patrick,  of 
whom    further. 

(II)  Patrick  Miller,  son  of  the  immigrant,  was  born  on  the  ocean. 


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WEST  MRGIXIA  455 

while  his  parents  were  crossing  to  America.  He  married  twice.  Chil- 
dren :  John,  of  whom  further ;  Robert ;  Mary,  married  Benson. 

(Ill)  John,  son  of  Patrick  Miller,  was  born  in  Bath  county.  \'irginia, 
on  the  Cow  Pasture  river,  October  13,  1772,  died  November  25.  1854. 
About  1805,  in  consequence  of  some  family  differences,  he  came  to  Lick 
creek,  Greenbrier  county,  \'irginia,  crossing  over  the  Patterson  moun- 
tain. He  brought  with  him  three  negro  slaves,  given  to  him  by  his  fath- 
er, and  settled  at  the  forks  of  Slater's  creek,  Flag  fork,  and  Lick  creek. 
Here  he  acquired  title  by  the  planting  of  corn,  to  ninety  acres  of  land, 
having  first  cleared  for  the  purpose  a  part  of  this  tract,  and  built  a  house. 
To  this  land  he  afterward  secured  a  patent.  As  he  was  a  carpenter  by 
trade,  he  built  a  fine  house  for  the  times,  two  stores  high,  of  hewed  logs, 
with  a  dressed  stone  chimney;  a  single-story  log  house,  which  he  had. 
first  built,  was  afterward  used  for  a  kitchen  and  quarters  for  the  slaves. 
He  also  made  at  least  a  part  of  his  furniture  of  cherry  and  walnut,  which 
was  as  neat  and  well-finished  as  any  of  the  present  day.  Clearing  his 
land,  he  planted  an  orchard.  From  a  wild  bee  tree,  he  secured  a  stock 
of  bees,  which  lives,  and  he  owned  his  own  still.  For  many  years  a  Pres- 
byterian minister  visited  him  once  a  month.  About  the  same  time  John 
;\!iller  settled  on  Lick  creek.  Greenbrier  county,  Robert,  his  brother,  set- 
tled in  the  same  neighborhood,  and  raised  a  family  of  four  daughters  and 
two  sons :  Elizabeth,  married  Grigsby  Lewis  ;  Poliy.  married  John  Alex- 
ander ;  Margaret,  married  John  George ; ,  married Fenry ;  John 

and  Alexander,  w-ho  did  not  marry.  This  family  is  connected  with  the 
pioneer  families,  the  Georges,  Lewises  and  McClungs,  many  of  whose 
descendants  still  live  in  the  valleys  of  the  Greenbrier  and  New  rivers, 
and  who  are  men  of  wealth  and  distinction  at  the  present  time.  John 
stiller  married,  January  27,  1803,  Jean  Hodge,  born  in  Highland  county, 
\'irginia,  on  Cow  Pasture  river,  February  26,  1780,  died  February  3, 
1836.  Of  their  children,  the  oldest  was  born  before  their  migration,  but 
the  others  after  they  had  crossed  the  mountains,  on  Lick  creek.  Chil- 
dren:  I.  Patrick  Henry,  born  November  26,  1803:  emigrated  to  and  died 
in  Gentry  county,  Missouri ;  he  married  Margaret  George.  2.  James 
Hodge,  see  forw-ard.  3.  John  Hamilton,  born  January  5.  1808.  died  Feb- 
ruary 18,  181 1.  4.  Robert,  born  July  21.  1810.  died  August  10.  1887:  he 
removed  to  Indiana,  where  his  deatli  occurred :  he  married.  February  13, 
1834,  ,\nky  Alderson,  and  his  descendants  are  influential  residents  of  the 
state  of  Indiana.  5.  Jean,  born  November  12.  1812,  died  November  20, 
1835:  married  Joseph  Hill.  6.  Ervin  Benson,  born  June  i,  1815,  died  at 
Asbury,  Greenbrier  county,  West  A'irginia :  he  married.  September  i, 
1836,  Sally  Knapp,  and  of  their  children ;  Dr.  Ray  Ben  Miller  is  a  dis- 
tingvushed  physician  and  surgeon  of  Hinton.  Summers  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia :  James  W.,  a  hotel  proprietor  of  Hinton,  married  Ellen,  daughter 
of  ^Michael  and  Mary  Hutchinson :  the  third  son,  Olin  Benson,  was  a  mer- 
chant at  Alderson,  and  died  a  few  years  ago.  7.  Andrew  Alexander,  born 
June  fi.  1818.  died  ]\Iarch  26,  i8g8:  he  was  a  Presbyterian  elder  many 
years,  and  resided  all  his  life  on  Lick  creek.  Green  Sulphur  Springs; 
prior  to  the  civil  war  he  was  a  captain  in  the  Mrginia  state  militia :  he 
represented  Summers  county  in  the  house  of  delegates.  1882,  and  was  one 
of  the  first  members  of  the  board  of  supervisors  of  Summers  county, 
upon  its  formation  ;  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  for  some  time  chairman  of 
the  county  committee  of  that  party,  but  in  no  sense  a  politician  or  parti- 
san;  he  married  (first)  1846,  Eliza  Hinchman,  a  descendant  of  the  pio- 
neer British  soldier,  William  Hinchman,  who  came  to  America  during 
the  revolution;  he  married  (second)  December  3,  1868.  Elizabeth  Thom- 
as, of  Greenville,  ^^'est  \'irginia ;  children  of  first  marriage :  James  Hous- 
ton, a  banker  of  Waxahachie,  Texas;  George  A.,  a  capitalist  of  Hinton, 


456  WEST  VIRGINIA 

West  Virginia ;  Elizabeth,  married  John  A.  George.  8.  Mary  Ann,  born 
July  27,  1821  ;  married,  January  15,  1846,  Anderson  A.  McNeer.  9. 
Margaret  Elizabeth,  born  December  16,  1823,  died  about  1868;  married, 
1843,  William  B.  AlcXeer.     10.  William  Erskine,  see  forward. 

(IV)  James  Hodge,  son  of  John  and  Jean  (Hodge)  Miller,  was  born 
on  Lick  creek,  Greenbrier  county,  \'irginia,  October  19,  1805,  died  Octo- 
ber 23,  1893.  After  learning  the  tanner's  trade  with  James  Withrow,  of 
Lewisburg,  Greenbrier  county,  Virginia,  he  settled  at  Gauley  Bridge, 
Fayette  county,  \'irginia,  and  at  this  place  he  was  actively  engaged  in 
mercantile  business  until  his  death,  for  a  period  of  sixty  years.  For 
more  than  forty  years  he  was  postmaster  at  Gauley  Bridge,  having  been 
first  appointed  by  President  Harrison.  He  also  represented  Fayette 
county  in  the  legislature,  and  held  other  positions  of  trust.  He  married 
May  25.  183 1,  Asenath  Chapman,  of  Frankfort,  Kentucky,  who  lived  to 
the  age  of  ninety-three.  Children :  James  Henry,  of  whom  further ; 
Eliza  Ann,  deceased. 

(IV)  William  Erskine,  son  of  John  and  Jean  (Hodge)  ]\Ii!ler,  was 
born  on  Lick  creek,  Greenbrier  county,  Virginia,  August  19,  1825,  died 
at  Foss,  Summers  county.  West  Mrginia,  February  3,  1901.  The  greater 
part  of  his  life  was  spent  in  the  vicinity  of  his  birth,  but  he  removed  to 
Foss,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Greenbrier  river,  about  ten  years  before  his 
death,  still  retaining  ownership  of  the  home  farm ;  he  owned  about  four 
hundred  acres.  He  was  an  honored  citizen,  a  man  of  strong  convictions, 
but  gentle  and  unobtrusive :  unselfish,  humane  and  kind.  He  would  not 
accept  any  political  office.  In  the  civil  war  he  was  a  Confederate  soldier. 
For  forty  years  he  had  been  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
South,  and  he  was  a  consistent  and  devout  Christian.  He  was  the  found- 
er of  the  New  River  Grocery  Company,  of  Hinton,  a  very  successful  bus- 
iness enterprise,  and  has  been  its  moving  spirit  from  its  foundation,  he 
and  George  A.  Miller,  respectively  general  manager  and  president,  being 
associated  in  the  conduct  of  its  affairs.  He  married,  February  8,  1849, 
Sarah  Barbara,  daughter  of  Richard  and  Elizabeth  (Maddy)  McNeer, 
who  died  February  6,  1897.  Children :  Charles  Lewis,  born  May  13, 
1852  ;  James  Henry,  of  whom  further :  Anderson  Embury,  born  (Octo- 
ber I,  1859,  married,  June  22,  1887.  Jennie  Irene  Hutchinson;  Mary 
Benson. 

(\')  James  Henry,  son  of  James  Hodge  and  Asenath  (Chapman) 
Miller,  succeeded  to  his  father's  business  at  Gauley  Bridge,  where  he 
still  resides,  occupying  the  old  homestead.  He  also  succeeded  his  father 
as  postmaster.  He  has  been  sherifif  of  Fayette  county,  but  resigned  this 
position,  and  he  was  for  six  years  president  of  the  county  court.  He 
married  Margaret  Ann.  daughter  of  Colonel  James  B.  Munsey.  Children : 
Fenton  H..  married  Mattie  King;  William  Alexander,  married  Pearl 
Helman ;  Robert  H.,  married  Leona  Richmond ;  Jane  Tompkins,  mar- 
ried, February  i,  1882,  James  Henry  Miller,  of  whom  further;  Annie, 
married  Oscar  L.  ^Morris ;  others,  deceased. 

(V)  James  Henry,  son  of  William  Erskine  and  Sarah  Barbara  (Mc- 
Neer) Miller,  was  born  on  Lick  creek,  A'irginia,  December  29,  1856.  He 
was  raised  on  the  farm,  and  attended  school  with  the  neighborhood  boys 
and  girls  in  the  old  Gum  schoolhouse,  a  celebrate<l  ])lace  of  learning  in 
the  early  days.  He  was  a  student  of  James  Houston  Miller  at  Green 
Sulphur  Springs  in  1876,  and  graduated  in  the  class  of  1879  at  Concord 
State  Normal  School,  taking  both  the  prizes  contested  for.  One  of  these 
was  adjudged  to  him  for  the  best  original  oration.  "The  Wrecks  of  j 
Time" ;  the  other  for  the  best  essay  delivered  at  the  commencement  of 
that  term,  "The  Ideals  of  a  True  Life."  He  taught  school  for  thirty 
months ;  four  terms  at  Hinton,  at  Green  Sulphur,  on  the  top  of  Hump 


WEST  VIRGINIA  457 

■mountain,  at  New  Richmond,  and  at  White  Sulphur  Springs.  At  first 
his  intention  was  to  study  medicine,  and  he  followed  this  for  some  time 
under  Dr.  Samuel  Williams,  at  New  Richmond,  but  abandoned  it  for 
the  law,  by  reason  of  being  unable  financially  to  take  the  medical  course 
required  before  entering  on  practice.  His  legal  studies  were  begun  with 
Hon.  William  Withers  Adams  at  Hinton,  Summers  county.  West  \'ir- 
ginia ;  he  wrote  in  the  clerk's  office  to  pay  expenses,  and  roomed  in  the 
jury  room  at  the  court  house.  Afterward  he  took  a  law  course  at  the 
University  of  Virginia.  He  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  February 
term,  1881.  Soon  after  this  he  formed  a  partnership  with  the  late  Elbert 
Fowler,  which  ended  in  two  and  one-half  years,  with  the  death  of  Mr. 
Powler.  Thereupon  he  entered  into  a  copartnership  with  his  old  precep- 
tor, W.  W.  Adams,  and  this  continued  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Adams  in 
1894.  The  partnership  of  Miller  &  Read,  formed  after  this,  continued 
until  the  first  of  December,  1904.  During  the  time  from  1881  to  1905 
Mv.  Miller  practiced  his  profession  in  Summers  county,  occasionally  tak- 
ing business  in  the  adjoining  counties  of  Monroe  and  Greenbrier.  In 
1881  he  was  elected  county  superintendent  of  schools,  and  in  1884  he  was 
elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  Summers  county,  and  lie  held  this  office 
for  sixteen  years  in  succession,  but  then  declined  to  be  again  a  candidate 
for  that  position.  He  was  nominated  in  1900  for  the  office  of  state  audi- 
tor on  the  Democratic  ticket  and  was  defeated,  with  the  remainder  of 
the  ticket,  by  Hon.  Arnold  Scherr.  In  1904  he  was  nominated  without 
opposition  to  the  office  of  judge  of  the  circuit  court  of  the  ninth  West 
Virginia  circuit,  composed  of  Summers,  Raleigh  and  Wyoming  counties, 
and  was  elected  by  about  twelve  hundred  majority,  in  a  Republican  cir- 
cuit. This  position  he  still  holds,  and  he  was  re-elected  in  191 2  for  a 
second  term  of  eight  years  by  a  majority  of  seven  hundred  in  a  still  larger 
Republican  circuit.  He  was  unanimously  selected  as  a  delegate  to 
the  Democratic  national  convention  of  1896,  which  met  in  Chicago  and 
nominated  Bryan  and  Sewall.  Mr.  Miller  was  not  an  original  Bryan 
man,  for  Bryan  was  then  practically  unknown  as  a  statesman,  orator  and 
patriot :  he  voted  on  the  first  two  ballots  for  United  States  Senator  John 
C.  S.  Blackburn,  of  Kentucky,  and  afterward  for  Bland.  Until  his  elec- 
tion as  a  judge,  when  he  retired  from  politics,  he  had  been  a  delegate  to 
each  state  convention  of  his  party  for  twenty-five  years,  as  well  as  to 
the  senatorial  and  congressional  conventions  of  his  district,  the  third 
West  Virginia,  and  he  was  chairman  of  the  Democratic  congressional 
committee  of  this  district  for  about  sixteen  years,  resigning  in  1900, 
when  he  became  a  candidate  for  auditor.  In  the  campaign  of  that  year 
he  was  unanimously  selected  as  chairman  of  the  state  Democratic  com- 
mittee, and  conducted  that  campaign,  with  headquarters  at  Charleston. 
He  held  this  position  until  1904,  resigning  on  his  nomination  for  the 
judgeship.  He  was  chairman  of  the  senatorial  convention  which  nomi- 
nated Hon.  William  Haynes  for  the  state  senate,  also  of  that  which 
nominated  John  W.  Arbuckle. 

He  has  been  connected  with  a  number  of  business  enterprises  in  this 
section.  He  is  president  of  the  Greenbrier  Springs  Company,  a  director 
of  the  National  Bank  of  Summers  from  its  organization,  president  of  the 
Hinton  Hardware  Company,  stockholder  in  the  Ewart-Miller  Company 
and  in  other  companies.  It  was  he  and  R.  R.  Flanagan  who  first  pro- 
jected a  bridge  across  New  river  at  Hinton,  on  the  site  afterwards  occu- 
pied by  the  Hinton  Toll  Bridge  Company.  This  was  about  ten  years  prior 
to  the  erection  of  the  bridge,  and  they  decided  that  the  population  at  that 
time  and  probable  patronage  were  not  sufficient  to  justify  the  business 
investment,  which  was  accordingly  abandoned  for  that  time.  He  has 
written  a  history  of  his  county. 


^58  WEST  MRGIXIA 


.Mr.  .Miller  married,  February  i,  1882,  Jane  Tompkins,  daughter  of 
James  Henry  and  Margaret  .\nn  (  Alunsey)  Miller,  of  whom  above.  Chil- 
dren :  James  Henry  Jr.,  Grace  Chapman,  Jean,  Daisy  Corinne. 


Morgan  county,  West  Virginia,  figures  as  one  of  the 
H.\RMISON  most  attractive,  progressive  and  prosperous  divisions 
of  the  state,  justly  claiming  a  high  order  of  citizenship 
and  a  spirit  of  enterprise  which  is  certain  to  conserve  consecutive  devel- 
opment and  marked  advancement  in  the  material  upbuilding  of  this  sec- 
tion. The  county  has  been  and  is  signally  favored  in  the  class  of  men 
who  have  contributed  to  its  development  along  commercial  and  agricul- 
tural lines,  and  in  the  latter  connection  the  family  mentioned  herein  de- 
mands recognition  as  its  various  representatives  for  the  past  few  genera- 
tions have  been  actively  engaged  in  farming  operations. 

(I)  Elijah  Harmison  is  the  earliest  member  of  this  family  of  whom 
anything  definite  is  known.  The  place  of  his  nativity  and  the  date  of  his 
birth  are  not  known,  but  during  the  greater  part  of  his  active  career  he 
was  engaged  in  agricultural  operations  in  the  vicinity  of  Sleepy  Creek, 
^lorgan  county,  \'irginia,  where  he  passed  the  closing  years  of  his  life. 
He  was  a  Whig  in  his  political  faith  but  was  not  incumbent  of  any  public 
offices.  He  married  and  had  five  children:  i.  Isaac,  married  Eliza  Barn- 
hart  and  they  became  the  parents  of  ten  children,  as  follows :  Sarah,  died 
unmarried:  Rebecca,  became  the  wife  of  Charles  .A.  Martin  and  they  are 
residents  of  Oklahoma ;  William,  married  ]\Iargaret  Gardner,  lives  in 
Ohio,  and  they  have  two  children,  George  and  .\nna :  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
Lewis  .A.llen,  and  they  have  three  children:  Robert  E.,  H.  D.  and  Letha; 
Ezra,  died  unmarried;  Ellen,  died  unmarried:  Mary,  wife  of  John  .A.. 
Pittcoc  and  they  have  one  child.  May:  Samuel,  died  unmarried:  Abra- 
ham, married  .\lice  Laign  and  they  have  one  child,  Isa  Laign  Harmison ; 
Phoebe,  died  young.  2.  Thomas,  mentioned  below.  3.  David,  died  un- 
married. 4.  Samuel,  married  .Ann  Tyson  and  they  had  three  children: 
Jane,  wife  of  William  Edwards:  Mary  S. :  Rachel,  wife  of  Samuel  Al- 
bright.    5.  .Abigail,  married  James  Courtney. 

(H)  Thomas,  son  of  Elijah  Harmison,  was  born  near  Sleepy  Creek, 
i\Iorgan  county,  West  Virginia.  June  10,  1813,  died  at  Sleepy  Creek, 
January  3,  1883,  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine  years.  He  was  reared  to  ma- 
turity in  the  place  of  his  nativity  and  was  educated  in  the  neighboring 
district  schools.  He  was  engaged  in  farming  during  his  lifetime,  and 
while  not  a  politician  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word  was  deeply  inter- 
ested in  public  afifairs  and  gave  his  support  to  the  Republican  party.  He 
married  Phoebe  Alahala  Rankin,  a  native  of  Berkeley  Springs,  Morgan 
county,  now  West  Virginia,  daughter  of  Simeon  and  Matilda  (  Pardon) 
Rankin,  both  of  whom  are  deceased.  Mr.  Rankin  was  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business  in  Morgan  county  prior  to  his  demise,  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty years.  There  were  six  children  in  the  Rankin  family  and  concern- 
ing them  the  following  brief  data  are  here  incorporated :  Simeon,  died 
about  1858,  at  the  age  of  fifty-five  years:  .Aaron  Franklin,  died  in  1872', 
aged  forty  years:  Mary  (or  Polly)  deceased:  Mariah,  deceased:  Jane, 
died  in  1909,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years  :  Phoebe  ]\Iahala,  wife  of 
Thomas  Harmison,  died  in  1881.  Two  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Harmison:  i.  John  Franklin,  killed  as  a  soldier  in  the  Union  army 
in  the  civil  war :  Morgan  Simeon,  mentioned  below. 

(HI)  Morgan  Simeon,  son  of  Thomas  and  Phoebe  Mahala  (Rankin) 
Harmison,  was  born  near  Berkeley  Springs,  now  West  Virginia,  Febru- 
ary 14,  1852.  He  spent  his  early  life  on  his  father's  farm  in  the  vicinity 
of   Sleepy  Creek,  where  he  was  reared  and  educated.     After  reaching 


WEST  MRGINIA  459 

years  of  maturity  he  turned  his  attention  to  farming  on  his  own  account 
and  is  now  the  owner  of  a  fine  estate  of  two  hundred  acres  in  Morgan 
county,  on  which  he  is  engaged  in  diversified  agriculture.  He  is  a  Re- 
pubHcan  in  his  political  allegiance  and  has  served  his  party  in  various 
official  capacities  of  public  trust  and  responsibility.  He  was  sherit¥  of 
Morgan  county  for  a  period  of  four  years,  and  in  1902  was  elected 
county  clerk  of  Morgan  county,  serving  in  the  latter  position  for  nine 
years.  He  is  a  director  in  the  Morgan  County  Bank  at  Berkeley  Springs 
and  is  financially  interested  in  a  number  of  important  local  enterprises. 
In  a  fraternal  way  he  is  affiliated  with  the  Odd  Fellows,  having  passed 
through  all  the  official  chairs  of  the  Lodge  and  Encampment.  He  is  like- 
wise connected  with  the  Junior  Order  of  the  I'nited  .American  Mechanics. 
In  their  religious  faith  he  and  his  wife  are  devout  members  of  the  United 
Brethren  church. 

Mr.  Harmison  married.  September  28,  1876.  Martha  Prudence 
Thompson,  a  native  of  Sleepy  Creek,  now  West  Virginia,  where  her 
birth  occurred  March  21,  1859,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Ellen  (  McBee) 
Thompson,  both  of  whom  were  born  and  reared  in  Morgan  county.  West 
Virginia,  and  the  latter  of  whom  died  in  July,  1878,  at  the  age  of  forty 
years.  Samuel  Thompson  is  a  prominent  and  influential  farmer  in  Mor- 
gan county.  Concerning  the  ten  children  born  to  Air.  and  Mrs.  Thomp- 
son the  following  facts  are  here  inserted:  i.  John  W.,  married  Mahala 
Kerns :  both  lived  and  died  in  Cumberland,  Maryland,  their  children 
were:  Mathias,  Edith,  Clara,  Eliza,  Lizzie,  John,  Mary.  2.  Martha  Pru- 
dence, now  Mrs.  Morgan  S.  Harmison.  3.  Phoebe  Jane,  married  James 
M.  Starliper;  they  live  in  Morgan  county:  four  children:  Ella,  Ida,  Nan- 
nie, Charles.  4.  Anna  M.,  wife  of  Edward  F.  Risinger :  seven  children: 
Edith,  William,  Samuel,  Nellie,  Lester,  Opal,  Donald.  3.  Jacob  S.,  mar- 
ried Alice  Tedrick :  they  reside  in  Washington,  Pennsylvania :  five  chil- 
dren:  William,  Lilly,  George,  Harry,  Anna.  6.  Ida  M.,  wife  of  John  A. 
Risinger :  they  are  residents  of  Johnstown,  Pennsylvania.  7.  Alger,  mar- 
ried Ollie  Kidney :  they  maintain  their  home  at  IBerkeley  Springs :  three 
children:  Lottie,  Ethel,  Royal.  8.  O.  H.,  married  Mattie  Luttman :  they 
live  in  Johnstown,  Pennsylvania :  one  child,  John  F.  9.  Ira  A.  married 
Laura  Clark:  they  reside  at  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania;  two 
children:  Nellie  and  Lola.  10.  Ella,  wife  of  Jackson  Star- 
liper :  they  live  at  Hedgesville,  Berkeley  county,  West  Virginia :  six  chil- 
dren:  Ira,  Frederick,  Anna,  Nora,  Paul,  Howard.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Har- 
mison had  thirteen  children,  ten  of  whom  are  living  and  all  of  whom 
reside  in  Morgan  county.  West  A  irginia,  except  one.  i.  Clara  Jane,  wife 
of  C,  R.  Havermale :  they  have  one  child,  Fred,  born  in  1908.  2.  Mor- 
gan Samuel,  married  Nellie  Custer:  they  are  residents  of  Johnstown, 
Pennsylvania.  3.  Bessie  Mahala.  married  G.  C.  Hunter :  one  child,  Hugh. 
4.  Martha  May,  unmarried :  resides  at  home,  as  do  all  the  younger  chil- 
dren. 5.  Lola  E.  6.  Etta.  7.  Ethel.  8.  Katie.  9.  George  S.  10.  Frank. 
John  F.,  Carrie  E.  and  William  T.  are  deceased. 


Samuel  Lewis  Alatz  was  born  in  Russia,  .August  22,  1875, 
MATZ     and  is  a  son  of  George  Matz,  who  later  came  to  America  and 

is  now  living  in  Chicago,  Illinois.  Samuel  Lewis  Matz  emi- 
grated from  Russia  when  eleven  years  of  age  and  landed  at  New  York 
City.  He  obtained  work  in  a  tailoring  shop,  and  after  one  month,  hav- 
ing saved  his  wages,  he  removed  to  Pocahontas,  Virginia,  and  entered 
ihe  employ  of  a  clothing  merchant,  with  whom  he  remained  for  five  years. 
He  then  went  to  Chicago,  Illinois,  remaining  for  two  years,  when  he  re- 
turned to  Pocahontas  and  established  himself  as  a  merchant  tailor  with 


46o  WEST  VIRGINIA 

a  capital  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  which  in  one  year  he  increased 
to  three  thousand  dollars.  In  iyo2  he  disposed  of  his  tailoring  business 
and  entered  the  liquor  and  hotel  trade,  in  which  he  still  continues.  On 
September  8,  1908,  he  opened  the  Stag  Hotel  in  Bluefield,  West  \'irginia, 
and  on  June  6,  19 10,  he  completed  and  opened  to  the  public  the  Hotel 
j\latz,  which  is  considered  one  of  the  finest  of  its  kind  in  the  state.  It  is 
of  fireproof  construction  throughout,  contains  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
four  sleeping  rooms,  is  luxuriously  furnished,  and  in  addition  to  a  fully 
equipped  laundry,  possesses  a  modern  and  complete  cold  storage  plant 
with  all  the  facilities  for  manufacturing  ice  for  the  use  of  the  hotel,  also 
one  of  finest  Turkish  baths  in  the  south.  Mr.  Matz  is  considered  one  of 
the  most  progressive  and  public-spirited  citizens  of  Bluefield.  He  is  a 
Republican  in  politics ;  was  elected  as  councilman  of  fourth  ward  in  the 
city  of  Bluefield.  at  the  regular  election  on  May  6,  1913,  for  a  term  of 
two  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  and  also  a 
member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

He  married,  at  Pocahontas,  Virginia,  January  7,  1896,  Mary,  daugh- 
ter of  Abraham  Davis,  born  in  Austria,  September  5,  1879.  Her  father 
later  emigrated  to  America,  and  is  now  living  in  New  York  City.  Chil- 
dren of  Samuel  Lewis  and  Mary  (Davis)  Matz  :  Maxie,  born  Alarch  10, 
1897;  Bessie  Helen:  Lily:  Ray:  Isadore :  Anna:  Nettie:  Esther,  born 
January  I,  1910:  Sylvia,  born  February  19,  1912,  On  December  15, 
191 1,  Mr.  Matz  moved  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  in  order  to  give  his  children 
better  educational  advantages. 


This  is  one  of  those  old  \'irginia  families  which  pau-  , 

ARBL'CKLE     city   of   records,   due   in   part,  but   not   wholly,   to  the  ; 

ravages  of  war,  probably  makes   it  impossible  longer  i 

to  trace  to  the  immigrant  ancestor.     The  family  has  long  been  found  in  j 

Greenbrier  county,  and  was  certainly  in  Virginia  before  the  revolution.  1 

Captain  i\Iatthew  Arbuckle  was  guide  to  the  Augusta  county  troops  who  | 

took  part  in  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant.  ] 

(I)  Alexander  Welch  Arbuckle,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  j 
whom  we  have  definite  information,  lived  in  Greenbrier  county,  \'irginia,  j 
died  in  1871.     He  married  .     Child,  John  Davis,  of  whom  further,  i 

(II)  John  Davis,  son  of  Alexander  W^elch  Arbuckle,  is  a  farmer  and  [ 
stockman  in  Greenbrier  county.  West  \'irginia,  also  a  breeder  of  horses,  j 
He  married  Elizabeth  \'an  Lear,  born  in  Augusta  county.  Virginia ;  the  | 
Van  Lears  are  a  long-settled  and  prominent  Greenbrier  county  family.  I 
Child,  John  Alexander,  of  wdiom  further.  \ 

(III)  Dr.  John  Alexander  Arbuckle,  son  of  John  Davis  and  Elizabeth  ' 
(\'an  Lear)   Arbuckle,  was  born  in  Greenbrier  county.  West  Virginia.,  1 
May    19,    1872.     He   attended   the   public   schools,   and   graduated    from  ,' 
Hampden-Sidney  College  in   1892  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  ii 
While  he  was  a  student  at  Hampden-Sidney,  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Pi  Kappa  Alpha  fraternity  and  an  officer  therein,  and  was  generally  in- 
terested in  riie  student  activities.     Thereafter  he  took  a  special  course  in  ; 
science  in  the  L^niversity  of  Virginia,  and  he  received  a  certificate  upon 
completion  of  this  course.     For  the  next  three  years  he  held  the  chair  of 
science  in  the  State  School  at  Tallahassee,  Florida.     Going  then  to  the 
L'niversity  College  of  ^ledicine  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  he  studied   for  1 
three  years  under  Professor  Hunter  McGuire,  and  at  the  same  time  was  I 
assistant   instructor  in   chemistry  and   science   in   the  Woman's  College.  ;: 
In  1 90 1  he  graduated  in  medicine  and  began  practice  at  Lewisburg,  West  ,; 
Virginia :  he  also  held  for  three  years  the  chair  of  sciences  in  the  Lewis-  \i 
burg  Female  Institute.    After  this  he  did  special  work  with  Dr.  Herman  !',, 


WEST  \^IRGIXIA  461 

Knapp,  of  New  York  City,  in  his  Ear  and  Ej-e  Infirmary,  receiving  a  cer- 
tificate upon  the  completion  of  his  studies.  In  1905  he  came  to  Elkins, 
West  \''irginia,  and  entered  into  practice  as  a  specialist  in  ailments  of  the 
ear,  eye,  nose  and  throat :  in  1906  he  was  appointed  examiner  for  the 
Western  Maryland  railroad,  and  in  191 1  he  was  made  surgeon  and  med- 
ical examiner  for  this  road.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  in  1906  of 
the  Elkins  City  Hospital,  and  has  been  one  of  the  staff  from  that  time ; 
he  has  also  been  secretary  of  the  board  of  directors  and  financial  secre- 
tary, and  holds  both  these  positions  at  the  present  time.  The  success  of 
this  institution  is  due  in  large  part  to  Dr.  .A.rbuckle.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  American  Medical  Society,  the  State  Aledical  Society  and  the  Tri- 
County  Medical  Society.  In  the  Tri-County  Medical  Society  he  has  been 
secretary  and  president,  and  for  several  years  he  has  been  and  is  now 
secretary  of  the  ophthalmic  division  of  the  State  Medical  Society.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Psi  Chi  medical  fraternity,  and  district  deputy  supreme 
regent  for  West  Mrginia  of  the  Royal  Arcanum.  Dr.  Arbuckle  votes  the 
Democratic  ticket.  He  is  active  in  the  Elkins  Young  Alen's  Christian 
Association,  and  is  head  of  its  physical  culture  department. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Arbuckle  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church;  she 
is  a  member  of  the  Ladies'  Auxiliary  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association. 

He  married  Jessie  Marshall,  of  Richmond,  A'irginia.  They  have  one 
child,  \^irginia. 


This  name  is  borne  by  many  distinct  families  in  various  parts 
HALL  of  the  L'nited  States.  Two  lines  of  Hall  ancestry,  taking  into 
account  both  paternal  and  maternal  ancestors,  appear  in  the 
record  of  the  children  of  William  McLaurine  Hall,  of  Parkersburg,  West 
Virginia,  beside  several  other  notable  and  inspiring  lines  of  descent. 
They  are  sprung  from  four  revolutionary  ancestors  beyond  all  doubt,  and 
from  seven  probably. 

(I)  John  Hall,  the  founder  of  this  family,  is  thought  to  have  come 
from  England  and  settled  in  Virginia.  Whom  he  married  is  not  known, 
but  he  had  a  son  David,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  David,  son  of  John  Hall,  was  born  in  Henry  county,  Virginia, 
March  25,  1760.  died  in  Anderson  county,  Tennessee,  April  22,  1842.  His 
home  in  \'irginia  was  near  the  North  Carolina  border,  and  he  joined 
Colonel  Sevier's  army,  from  eastern  Tennessee,  campaigning  in  North 
Carolina  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  General  Greene :  he  also  served  irl 
the  revolution  for  two  and  one-half  years.  He  married  Obedience, 
daughter  of  James  Brazeal,  of  Morgan  county,  Tennessee.  Child,  Sam- 
uel of  whom  further. 

(III)  Samuel,  son  of  David  and  Obedience  (Brazeal)  Hall,  acquired 
much  land  in  Tennessee,  and  gave  each  of  his  children  a  large  plantation. 
He  married  Docia,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Susan  (Cowan)  Dobbins. 
Among  their  children  was  David  Cowan,  of  whom  further. 

(IV)  David  Cowan,  son  of  Samuel  and  Docia  (Dobbins)  Hall,  was 
born  February  i,  1819,  died  October  26,  1897.  Under  the  Confederacy 
he  was  engaged  in  the  civil  government  of  Tennessee.  He  married  Mary 
Ann,  daughter  of  W'illiam  and  Ann  H.  (Swann)  McLaurine,  who  was 
born  January  7,  1834,  died  June  2,  1904.  Child,  William  McLaurine,  of 
whom  further.  William  McLaurine,  born  June  29,  1790,  died  December 
13,  1862,  was  the  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Swann)  McLaurine.  The 
senior  William  McLaurine  was  born  in  Powhatan  county,  Virginia,  Sep- 
tember 12,  1 76 1,  and  is  believed  to  have  served  in  the  revolution.  His 
father.  Rev.  Robert  ]\tcLaurine,  was  an  Episcopalian  missionary  in  Vir- 


462  WEST  \IRGIXIA 

ginia,  and  died  in  1772.   Colin  AlcLaurine,  father  of  Rev.  Robert  AIcLau- 

rine,   was  a  son   of   Rev.   John   and  (Cameron)    McLaurine,   and 

grandson  of  Daniel  McLaurine ;  he  was  born  in  February,  1698,  died 
June  II,  1748.  He  was  the  only  mathematician  of  the  first  rank  trained 
in  Great  Britain  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  was  second  only  to  Sir 
Isaac  Newton  among  his  British  contemporaries  in  the  genius  for  math- 
ematical investigation.  He  was  professor  of  mathematics  at  Edinburgh 
University,  being  recommended  for  this  position  by  Newton.  In  1745  he 
organized  the  defenses  of  Edinburgh  against  the  rebel  troops,  and  his 
health  was  shattered  by  his  exertions  on  that  occasion.  His  principal 
writings  were  on  algebra,  geometry  and  fluxions,  and  an  account  of  Sir 
Isaac  Newton's  philosophy.  The  last  chapter  of  this  work,  dictated  only 
a  few  hours  before  his  death,  and  not  finished,  ends  with  an  argument 
for  a  future  life.  Professor  McLaurine  had  in  contemplation  at  the  time 
of  his  death  a  complete  course  in  practical  mathematics.  Various  papers 
on  mathmematical  subjects  also  were  written  by  him.  He  married,  in 
1733,  Anne,  daughter  of  Walter  Stewart. 

The  Swann  family  is  an  old  family  of  eastern  Virginia,  and  descend- 
ants of  this  family  have  been  prominent  in  Maryland  and  North  Caro- 
lina. William  Swann,  the  founder  of  this  family,  died  in  1638  at  Swann's 
Point,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nansemond  and  near  the  mouth  of  the  James 
river,  Virginia.  This  land  remained  in  the  family  several  generations, 
und  here  lived  his  son,  Colonel  Thomas  Swann,  who  died  September  16, 
1680.  He  was  a  prominent  man  in  civil  and  military  affairs,  and  the 
commissioners  sent  to  suppress  Bacon's  rebellion  sat  at  his  house.  He 
married  five  times,  and  one  of  the  children  of  his  last  wife  was  Captain 
Thomas  Swann,  sheriff  of  Surry,  and  several  times  a  member  of  the 
\'irginia  house  of  burgesses.  He  married  Elizabeth  Thompson,  and  had 
a  son,  Major  Thomas  Swann;  he  was  sheriff  of  Nansemond,  and  his  eld- 
est son,  Thompson  Swann,  was  clerk  of  Cumberland  county.  Thomas 
Thompson  Swann,  the  next  in  the  line,  was  father  of  Elizabeth  Swann, 
who  was  born  December  24,  1758,  died  in  1842;  married,  in  November, 
1782,  William  McLaurine,  Sr.  William  McLaurine  Jr.,  married,  March 
25,  1813,  -Ann  H.,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Nancy  (Taylor)  Swann, 
who  died  March  24,  1866.  Her  father,  Thomas  Swann,  is  believed  to 
have  served  in  the  revolution. 

(V)  William  McLaurine,  son  of  David  Cowan  and  Mary  Ann  (Mc- 
Laurine) Hall,  was  born  at  Fayetteville,  Tennessee,  March  i,  i860.  His 
childhood  was  spent  at  Fayetteville,  and  his  education  was  begun  at  Fay- 
ette academy.  For  about  three  years  he  studied  at  the  United  States 
Military  Academy,  West  Point.  He  is  a  civil  engineer.  His  first  work 
was  assisting  in  building  the  West  Shore  railroad  terminal  at  Weehaw- 
ken.  New  Jersey.  Afterward  he  assisted  in  the  building  of  the  New  Cro- 
ton  aqueduct  for  New  York  City.  He  also  assisted  in  building  the 
Clinch  valley  extension  of  the  Norfolk  &  Western  railroad,  in  southwes- 
tern Virginia,  and  had  charge  of  the  extensions  of  the  same  railroad 
across  the  southern  end  of  West  Virginia.  For  seventeen  years  Mr. 
Hall  has  now  been  with  the  corps  of  engineers  assisting  under  the  war 
department  in  river  improvements  and  in  other  works.  For  two  and 
one-half  years  of  this  time,  beginning  just  before  the  war  with  Spain,  he 
was  building  fortifications  at  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts,  being  per- 
haps the  first  civil  engineer  transferred  to  the  coast  on  account  of  the 
war.  His  work  on  river  improvements  has  been  in  Kentucky  and  West 
Virginia,  building  and  maintaining  locks  and  dams  in  the  Ohio  river  and 
its  tributaries.  For  about  ten  years,  he  has  been  stationed  at  Parkers- 
burg,   West   Virginia,   in   connection    with   this    work,    having    especial 


^^^^^ec^^4 


WMA^^^^l-r- 


WEST  VIRGLMA  463 

charge  of  the  Ohio  and  Little  Kanawha,  and  he  has  made  this  city  his 
home.     He  is  a  Democrat,  and  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 

He  married,  June  9,  1886,  Jean  Agnew,  daughter  of  Rev.  John  Agnew 
and  Susan  Munro  (Gilbert)  Crawford,  who  died  October  24,  1908.  Her 
father  was  a  Presbyterian  minister  at  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  son 
of  Samuel  Wylie  Crawford,  a  professor  at  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  he  was  son  of  Nathan  Crawford,  born  in  Scotland,  a  Presby- 
terian minister  in  South  Carolina.  Rev.  John  Agnew  Crawford  was 
maternally  descended  from  the  Agnews,  a  Huguenot  family,  which  went 
from  France  to  England,  came  to  New  York  before  the  revolution,  own- 
ing land  near  Wall  and  Broad  streets  in  New  York  City;  the  family  is 
well  known  in  New  York  City  to  the  present  day.  Children  of  William 
McLaurine  and  Jean  Agnew  (Crawford)  Hall:  Eleanor  Swann,  Allan 
Crawford,    William    McLaurine. 

Susan  Munro  (Gilbert)  Crawford  had  two  interesting  lines  of  an- 
cestry. Elisha  Gilbert,  the  founder  of  one  of  these  families,  is  said  to 
have  been  descended  from  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  and  related  to  Sir  Wal- 
ter Raleigh.  The  family  was  first  settled  in  New  England.  In  the  pres- 
ent line,  the  name  Elisha  was  borne  for  five  generations :  in  the  time  of 
the  third  and  fourth  Elishas,  the  family  moved  from  New  England  and 
settled  at  New  Lebanon,  New  York.  The  son  of  the  fifth  Elisha  Gilbert 
was  Rev.  Eliphalet  Wheeler  Gilbert,  Doctor  of  Divinity,  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  who  became  president  of  Delaware  College  and  continued  in 
that  office  until  his  death.  He  married  Lydia  Hall  Munro.  a  descendant 
of  three  revolutionary  officers  (probably  four).  Her  father,  George 
Munro  Jr.,  was  son  of  George  and  Lydia  (Hall)  Munro.  Two  George 
Munros  seem  to  have  served  in  the  revolution  from  Delaware,  and  Sec- 
ond Lieutenant  George  Munro  was  probably  George  Munro  Sr.  About 
George  Munro  Jr.,  there  is  no  question :  He  was  a  surgeon's  mate  and 
later  a  surgeon  in  the  continental  establishment.  His  wife,  Jemima,  was 
the  daughter  of  John  Haslet,  a  native  of  Ireland  and  a  physician  in 
Kent  county,  Delaware.  John  Haslet  was  colonel  of  a  Delaware  regi- 
ment in  the  revolution  :  Delaware,  having  then  a  very  small  population, 
furnished  only  two  regiments  which  served  for  any  length  of  time  in  the 
revolution ;  two  other  organizations  which  saw  little  service  and  a  parti- 
san company  completed  the  contribution  of  this  state.  Colonel  Haslet, 
having  served  with  credit  in  several  battles,  was  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Princeton,  January  3,  1777.  His  son,  Joseph  Haslet,  was  the  only  man 
to  be  twice  governor  of  Delaware,  being  elected  in  1810  and  1822.  George 
Munro  Sr.,  married  Lydia,  daughter  of  David  Hall.  This  David  Hal! 
was  the  colonel  of  the  other  principal  Delaware  regiment  of  the  revolu- 
tion, which  was  known  as  the  Delaware  Line,  being  the  only  strictly  con- 
tinental regiment  furnished  by  Delaware  which  saw  active  service. 
Colonel  Hall  was  disabled  by  a  wound  received  in  the  battle  of  German- 
town,  October  4,  1777,  and  his  service  was  thus  ended.  He  was  elected 
governor  of  Delaware  in  1802. 

Rev.  John  Agnew  Crawford  was  brother  of  Brigadier-General  Craw- 
ford, who  probably  saved  Little  Round  Top  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg; 
later  in  the  war  he  was  made  a  major-general.  Rev.  John  Agnew  Craw- 
ford himself  served  the  Union  as  a  chaplain.  His  wife,  the  mother  of 
Mrs.  Hall,  was  an  exceptional  woman. 

Note.— The  foregoing  statements  regarding  Virginia  and  Delaware  ancestors 
are  mainly  compiled  from  the  historical  records  of  these  states. 


464  WEST  MRGIXIA 

This  name  is  of  English  origin.  In  England  it  is  also  called 
DODGE     Doidge.      In    the    sixteenth    and    seventeenth    centuries    the 

name  is  found  in  the  counties  of  Cheshire,  Kent,  Norfolk 
and  Devon.  In  America  there  are  two  main  Dodge  families,  with  some 
similarity  in  names,  but  no  connection  between  them  has  been  traced. 
One  is  the  present  family,  the  other  is  descended  from  Tristram  Dodge,  of 
Block  Island,  Rhode  Island. 

(I)  John  Dodge,  of  Middle  Chinnock,  Somerset  county,  England,  is 
the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we  have  definite  information. 
His  will  was  dated  April  2,  1632,  proved  October  15,  1635.     He  married 

Margery  .     Children:  William,  born  about    1604,  died  about   1690, 

settled  at  Salem  (now  Beverly),  Massachusetts,  before  1629:  Richard, 
of  whom  further:  Michael;  Mary. 

(II)  Richard,  son  of  John  and  Margery  Dodge,  was  probably  born 
about  1600,  died  at  Beverly,  June  15,  1671.  He  came  to  Salem  about 
1638,  and  was  received  as  an  inhabitant,  (Jctober  29  of  that  year.  In 
1644  he  was  received  into  the  church.  In  1667  he  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  First  Church,  at  what  is  now  Beverly.  For  a 
short  time  he  lived  on  land  belonging  to  his  brother ;  he  received  his  own 
first  grant  in  1638.  His  home  was  at  North  Beverly,  near  Wenham 
Lake.  Before  1648  he  was  a  member  of  the  church  at  Wenham.  Of 
twenty-one  subscribers  to  Harvard  College,  recorded  in  a  list  pertaining 

to  the  year  1653,  he  was  much  the  largest  giver.    He  married  Edith . 

Children:  i.  Richard,  baptized  in  England  in  1628.  2.  Margery,  baptized 
in  England,  September  7,  1630,  buried  February  2,  1630- 1.  3.  John, 
baptized  in  England,  December  29,  163 1,  died  October  11,  171 1  ;  married 

Sarah  .     4.  Mary,  baptized  in  England,  April  19,  1635,  died  August    . 

18,  1710:  married,  in  1653,  Zechary  Herrick.  5.  Sarah,  baptized  in  1644,  ; 
died  in  1726;  married  Peter  W'oodberry.  6.  Richard,  born  in  1643,  died  j 
April  13.  1705:  married,  February  2^.  1667,  Mary  Eaton.  7.  Samuel,  | 
born  in  1645,  died  December  4,  1705  :  married  Mary  Parker.  8.  Edward,  [ 
died  February  13,  1727;  married,  April  30,  1673,  Mary  Haskell.  9.  i 
Joseph,  of  whom  further.  1 

(III)  Joseph,  son  of  Richard  and  Edith  Dodge,  was  born  in   1651,    ! 
died  August  10,  1716.     He  was  a  farmer  at  Beverly.     He  married,  Feb-    j 
ruary  21,  1671-72,  Sarah  Eaton,  of  Reading,  Massachusetts,  born  about    , 
1650,  died  December  12,  1714.     Children:  i.  Abigail,  born  in  1672,  died    j 
December   13,   1681.     2.  Joseph,   of  whom    further.     3.   Noah,   baptized    '■: 
November  25,   1677.     4.   Prudence,  baptized   March  28,   1680:  married, 
February   5,    1700-01,   Samuel   Lovett.      5.   Abigail,  born   September    12, 
1681  ;  married.  November  6,  1701,  Abraham  Perkins.    6.  Jonah,  born  Au- 
gust 29,  1683;  married,  March  27,  1707,  Sarah  Friend.     7.  Sarah,  born 
August  II,  1685,  died  in  1763:  married,  in  1708,  John  Friend.    8.  Elisha, 
born  January  8,   1687-88;  married,  in   1709,  Mary  Kimball.     9.  Charity, 
born  March  7,  1689-90;  married,  December  22,  171 1,  John  Kimball.  10. 
Nathaniel,  born  April  17,  1694;  married  Anna  . 

(IV)  Dr.  Joseph  (2)  Dodge,  son  of  Joseph  (i)  and  Sarah  (Eaton) 
Dodge,  was  born  at  North  Beverly,  about  1676,  died  about  February  9, 
1756.  He  was  a  physician.  He  married  (first)  November  28,  1695,  Re- 
becca Balch,  born  about  1675,  died  September  24,  1704;  (second),  pub- 
lished July  9,  1705,  Prisciila  Eaton,  born  in  1675,  died  February  9,  1715- 
16:  (probably  third)  published  April  29,  1716,  Ruth  Woodbury;  (prob- 
ably fourth)  March  11,  1712-22,  Elizabeth  Clark,  who  died  in  1759. 
Children,  six  by  first,  six  by  second,  wife:  i.  Rebecca,  born  September 
7,  1696;  married,  in  December,  1719,  William  Burns.  2.  Noah,  born 
February  17,  1697-98;  married.  November  15,  1717,  Margaret  Crockett. 
3,  Joseph,  born  January  9,  1698-99,  died  young.    4.  Joseph,  born  April  2, 


WEST  MRGIXIA  465 

1700:  married,  February  21,  1742-43.  Mary  Irvine.  5.  Sarah,  born  July 
21,  1703.  6.  Elizabeth,  born  September  19.  1704.  7.  Priscilla.  born  June 
13,  1706,  died  November  23.  1706.    8.  Nathan,  born  September  3,  1707; 

married,  published  February  16.  1729-30.  Alary  (Patch)  .    9.  Elijah, 

born  April  28.  1709,  died  February  3.  1777:  married  (first)  November 
23,  1728,  Elizabeth  Moulton,  (second)  January  28,  1730-31,  Dorcas 
Brown.  10.  ]\lehitable.  born  November  4.  1710.  11.  Daniel,  of  whom 
further.  12.  Nathaniel,  born  February  3,  1715-16:  married.  October  23, 
1745,  Elizabeth  Tappen. 

(V)  Daniel,  son  of  Dr.  Joseph  (2)  and  Priscilla  (Eaton)  Dodge, 
i^was  born  at  Beverly.  June  3.  1712,  died  at  Dudley,  Massachusetts,  about 
May,  1787.  In  each  of  these  places  he  was  a  tailor.  He  married.  Feb- 
ruary 8.  1733,  Elizabeth  Brown,  of  Reading.  Massachusetts.  Qiildren : 
I.  Daniel,  of  whom  further.  2.  William,  born  October  29,  1737,  died 
October  16,  1820;  married,  June  8,  1758,  Elizabeth  Thoits.  3.  Noah, 
born  July  15,  1739,  died  before  1776;  married  Mary  W'iley.  4.  Paul, 
born  July  5,   1741,  died  about  October.    1773:  married  Elizabeth  Hart. 

5.  Mark,  born  April  6.  1743:  married  Susannah  .  6.  Andrew,  born 

April  20.  1745,  died  probably  about  1828;  married.  May  8.  1777.  Jane 
Carriel.  7.  John,  born  Alarch  15.  1747.  died  young.  8.  Elizabeth,  born 
March  6.  1748-49;  married,  April  5,  1770,  Ira  Green.    9.  John,  born  April 

15,  1751;  married  Lois  .     10.   Mollie.  born  June  15.  1754;  married, 

April  22,  1777.  Jacob  Willson.  11.  Ebenezer.  "born  January  20.  1756, 
died  May  11.  1828;  married  Eunice  Hill.  12.  Nathan,  born  October  20, 
1758. 

(\  I)  Daniel  (2),  son  of  Daniel  (i)  and  Elizabeth  (Brown)  Dodge, 
was  born,  probably  in  1734  or  1735,  died  before  1776.  He  married  Re- 
becca Chamberlain.     Child.  Daniel,  of  whom  further. 

(VII)  Daniel  (3),  son  of  Daniel  (2)  and  Rebecca  (Chamberlain) 
Dodge,  was  born,  probably,  at  Ward,  now  Auburn.  ^Massachusetts,  in 
1760,  died  before  November  6,  1827.  He  was  a  revolutionary  soldier. 
At  the  time  of  Arnold's  treason  he  was  on  detached  duty,  caring  for  the 
horses  of  Arnold  and  his  staff.     He  enlisted  June  26.  1778.     He  married, 

published  January  26.  1785.  Elizabeth,  daughter  of and  Elizabeth  L. 

(Stone-Stone)  Parsons.  Children:  i.  A  daughter,  died  in  infancy.  2. 
Daniel,  of  whom  further.     3.  Betsey,  born  November  2j.  1790:  married 

Barnard.    4.  Polly,  died  at  the  age  of  two  years  and  four  months. 

5.  Polly,  born  June  16,  1798;  married  Burnham  Barber.     6.  Relief,  born 

August  26.  1800:  married  Barton.     7.  Prudence,  born  in  October, 

1804 ;  married  Rev.  Mr.  Stockwell. 

(VIII)  Daniel  (4),  son  of  Daniel  (3)  and  Elizabeth  (Parsons) 
Dodge,  was  born  at  Ward.  September  8.  1787.  died  at  Trumbull.  Ashta- 
bula county.  Ohio,  May  27,  1878.  He  was  a  farmer  and  miller.  In  civil 
life  he  acted  as  justice  of  the  peace,  in  religious  life  as  a  Baptist  deacon. 
He  married  (first)  in  November.  1817.  Meleson.  daughter  of  Nathaniel 
and  Meleson  (Marsh)  Hayward.  (second)  Sibil  Sophronia  Humphrey. 
Children:  I.  Lucinda  J.,  born  January  8.  1820.  died  December  11.  1848: 
married,  in  1840.  Daniel  W.  Kelsey.  2.  Asahel  Hayward,  of  whom 
further.  3.  Mary  E..  born  February  5,  1826,  died  August  24,  1863:  mar- 
ried, in  1844.  Horatio  G.  Rich.  4.  Rev.  Daniel  Prescott.  born  November 
27.  1827,  died  ]\Iay  30.  185 1  :  married  .•\daline  Rogers.  5.  Le\^ant.  born 
May  9.  1838:  married  (first)  June  15.  1862.  Lucinda  AI.  Green,  (second) 
Mary  H.  Lamson.     The  last  two  sons  were  professors  at  Berea  College. 

(IX)  Asahel  Hayward,  son  of  Daniel  (4)  Dodge,  was  born  at  Au- 
burn, Massachusetts,  June  4,  1823,  died  at  Trumbull,  Ohio,  November 
21,  1898.  He  was  a  farmer  at  Trumbull.  He  was  a  deacon  in  the  Dis- 
ciples' church.    He  married  (first)  July  9.  1845,  Fidelia  C.  Rogers,  born 

30 


466  WEST  \IR(iIN-IA 

at  Fort  Covington,  New  York,  August  13,  1818,  died  at  Ashtabula, 
March  31,  1849.  She  was  a  descendant  of  Rev.  John  Rogers,  who  was 
burned  at  the  stake  at  Smithfield,  England,  in  1554,  as  a  Protestant.  Her 
great-grandfather,  John  Rogers,  son  of  Jeremiah,  and  grandson  of  the 
John  who  was  burned,  came  from  England  in  1708,  and  was  the  first  set- 
tled minister  at  Boxford.  Massachusetts.  Mr.  Dodge  married  (second) 
in  1853,  Mary  Stearns.     Child,  Howard  Payson,  of  whom  further. 

(X)  Howard  Payson.  son  of  Asahel  Hayward  and  Fidelia  C.   (Rog- 
ers) Dodge,  was  born  at  Trumbull,  January  31,  1847.     He  was  raised  on 
the  farm.     He  graduated  from  the  Grand  River  Institute,  and  was  prin- 
cipal of  an  academy  at  Jamestown,  Pennsylvania.     He  was  a  farmer  at    | 
Madison,  Ohio.     In    1883  he  removed  to   Manassas,  Virginia,  with   his    I 
family,  and  there  he  still  lives.     Since  1897  he  has  been  postmaster,  hav-    j 
ing  been  appointed  by  Presidents  McKinley  (twice),  Roosevelt  and  Taft.    j 
He  is  a  Republican,  and  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.     He  mar-    j 
ried  (first)  at  Austinburg,  Ohio,  August  10,  1870,  Susan  Augusta,  born    1 
at  Chazy,  New  York,  November  11,  1849,  died  at  Unionville,  Ohio,  No-   , 
vember  19,  1880,  daughter  of  Rev.  E.  Smith  and  Sarah  (Minor)  Barnes,   i 
Her  father  was  born  at  Gouverneur,  New  York,  in  1810,  her  mother  near   j 
Boston,  in  1809.     Mr.  Dodge  married  (second)  in  1883,  Lizzie  (Barnes)    | 
Meredith.     Children,  all  except  the  last-named  by  first  wife:    i.  Esther 
Fidelia,  born  June  19,  1871.     2.  Joseph  Howard,  born  June  17,  1874.  3. 
Harris  Barnes,  of  whom  further.    4.  Sarah  Katrina,  born  June  29,  1877. 

5.  William  Maxwell,  born  September  4,  1878,  died  August  29,  1879.  6. 
Garfield  Arthur,  born  September  9,  1879,  died  July  18,  191 1.  7.  Robert 
Percival,  born  December  22,  1886,  died  June  11,  1906. 

(XI)  Harris  Barnes,  son  of  Howard  Payson  and  Susan  Augusta 
(Barnes)  Dodge,  was  born  at  Unionville,  Lake  county,  Ohio,  November  ; 
27,  1875.  He  attended  the  common  schools  at  Manassas,  Virginia,  also  j 
the  Manassas  Institute,  of  which  he  is  a  graduate.  He  studied  four  j 
years  at  the  College  of  William  and  Mary,  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  and  ' 
graduated  in  1900  from  the  National  University  Law  School,  Washing-  | 
ton,  D.  C,  receiving  in  June  of  that  year  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Law  i 
and,  in  the  following  June  that  of  Master  of  Laws.  He  then  removed  I 
from  the  farm  at  Manassas  to  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia,  where  he  has  j 
practiced  law  from  that  time.  He  is  a  member  of  Manassas  Lodge,  No.  1 
182,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Virginia.  From  July,  1898,  ! 
to  March,  1900,  he  was  deputy  collector  of  internal  revenue  for  the  sixth  I 
Virginia  district,  with  headquarters  at  Alexandria.  At  the  latter  time  he  j 
was  transferred  to  the  treasury  department  at  Washington,  but  he ! 
resigned  in  the  fall  of  1901  to  give  his  attention  to  the  practice  of  law. ' 
He  is  a  Republican,  and  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  j 

He  married,  at  Blennerhassett,  Wood  county.  West  Virginia,  Decern- 1 
ber  28,  1904.  Jessie  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Robert  and  Elizabeth  Jane 
(Anderson)  Draine,  who  was  born  at  Wadesville,  Wood  county,  Janu- 
ary 31,  1884.  Her  father  was  a  member  of  the  Rockbridge  Rifles,  Com- 
pany H.  Twenty-seventh  \'irginia  Infantry,  in  the  Confederate  army, 
from  1861  to  1S65,  serving  under  Captain  Samuel  Letcher,  brother  of 
Governor  Letcher.  In  1866  he  and  his  wife  came  from  Rockbridge | 
county,  Virginia,  to  Wood  county.  West  \^irginia.  Children  of  Harris 
Barnes  and  Jessie  Elizabeth  (Draine)  Dodge:  i.  Robert  Howard,  born 
July  22,  1906.  2.  Elizabeth  Virginia,  born  July  22,  1908.  3.  Sarahjs 
Frances,  born  May  14,  191 1.  I 


WEST  VIRGINIA  467 

There  has  been  some  doubt  expressed  by  antiquarians 
LUTTRELL  as  to  when  the  Luttrell  family  first  came  to  England. 
We  find  one  by  the  name  of  Robert  Luttrell,  and  an- 
other Osbert  Luttrell,  mentioned  as  living  in  Normandy  previous  to  the 
Conquest  of  England,  and  as  being  extensive  landowners,  and  to  this 
day  families  of  the  name  are  found  in  different  parts  of  France.  The 
name  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Doomsday  Book,  although  it  is  mentioned 
in  the  Roll  of  Battle  Abbey,  vol.  II  (Abbey  lists  in  the  British  Museum), 
although  doubt  is  now  being  cast  upon  the  authenticity  of  the  records. 
The  unquestioned  respect  in  which  the  Rolls  have  been  held  by  anti- 
quarians is  due  to  the  fact  that  for  many  families  they  are  the  only 
proof  for  a  claim  to  an  existence  at  that  early  period. 

Like  many  names  of  very  old  families  there  have  been  found  many 
variations,  appearing  as  Loutrel,  Loutrell,  Lotrell,  Lotrel,  Lutterell  and 
Luttrell.  For  the  sake  of  convenience  the  one  form  of  Luttrell  will  be 
adhered  to  in  the  present  account  of  the  family.  If  they  did  not  come  to 
England  with  the  Conqueror,  they  came  at  some  time  during  his  reign, 
probably  near  the  beginning.  The  great  prominence  of  the  family  when 
the  records  first  make  mention  of  them,  shows  conclusively  that  they 
had  already  played  an  important  part  in  affairs.  It  is  recorded  that  Sir 
John  Luttrell,  Knight,  held  in  capite  the  manor  of  Hooten-Paynel  in 
Yorkshire,  in  the  reigns  of  Henry  the  First  and  of  Stephen,  by  service  of 
^Yz  Knights  Fees,  as  did  his  posterity  in  the  male  line,  until  the  reign  of 
Henry  the  Fifth.  This  Sir  John  had  a  daughter  who  married  John  Scott, 
Lord  of  Calverlay,  and  Steward  of  the  Household  to  Aland  the  Empress. 
Sir  Andrew  Luttrell,  Knight,  in  the  time  of  Henry  the  Second  founded 
the  Abbey  of  Croxton-Kyriel,  in  Leicestershire,  and  in  this  abbey  were 
deposited  the  ashes  of  King  John  who  died  in  the  vicinity. 

In  the  reign  of  King  Richard  the  First  the  estates  of  Sir  Geoffrey 
Luttrell,  Knight,  in  the  counties  of  Derby,  Leicester,  Nottingham  and 
York  were  confiscated,  he  being  one  of  the  barons  who  sided  with  John, 
Earl  of  Montaigne,  but  the  lands  were  restored  after  the  death  of  King 
Richard.  This  Sir  Geoffrey  Luttrell,  Knight,  attended  King  John  into 
Ireland,  and  for  a  time  had  the  authority  to  issue  writs  in  the  king's 
name.  He  was  also  stationed  in  Ireland  in  1204,  and  in  1215,  when  he 
possessed  large  administrative  powers.  In  1215  King  John  appointed 
him  to  be  his  sole  agent  in  the  negotiations  concerning  the  dower  of  Queen 
Berengaria,  commissioning  him  at  the  same  time  to  join  with  the  Arch- 
bishops of  Bordeaux  and  Dublin  in  denouncing  to  the  Pope  the  rebellious 
barons  who  had  recently  extorted  the  Great  Charter  of  English  liberties. 
In  one  of  these  documents  he  is  styled  "Nobilis  vir."  His  mission  was  so 
far  successful  that  Pope  Innocent  the  Third  annulled  the  Charter,  sus- 
pended the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  excommunicated  the  barons, 
but  it  is  uncertain  whether  it  was  Sir  Geoffrey  Luttrell  who  conveyed  the 
papal  bull  from  Rome  to  England.  He  is  supposed  to  have  died  in  1216 
or  in  1217.  As  a  reward  for  his  services  he  was  granted  lands  in  York- 
shire, Northamptonshire,  and  at  Croxton,  in  Leicestershire.  In  consid- 
eration of  twenty  ounces  of  gold  he  was  still  further  rewarded  with  a 
large  estate,  known  as  Luttrellstown  to  the  present  day,  and  situated  on 
the  banks  of  the  Liffey,  about  eight  miles  out  from  Dublin. 

As  the  American  line  is  descended  from  this  Irish  branch  of  the 
family  it  will  be  necessary  merely  to  follow  the  later  history  of  these 
Luttrells.  But  before  leaving  the  English  branch  we  should  mention 
something  further  of  their  later  chronicles.  It  is  not  certain  whether  the 
head  of  the  Irish  branch  was  a  son  or  a  brother  of  this  Sir  Geoffrey,  but 
it  is  reasonable  that  he  bore  either  the  one  or  the  other  relation,  for  the 
reason  that  the  lands  of  Luttrellstown,  secured  by  royal  grant  by  Sir 


468  WEST  X'IRGIXIA 

Geoffrey,  were  from  this  time  owned  by  Sir  Robert  Luttrell,  head  of  | 
the  Irish  branch,  who  Hved  at  Lucan,  near  Dublin,  and  that  they  remained  ' 
in  the  family  until  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  j 

This  Sir  Geoffrey  Luttrell  married  Frethesant,  a  daughter  of  and  1 
co-heiress  with  William  Pagnel,  a  scion  of  a  great  family  in  Normandy,  j 
and  through  this  marriage  was  also  heir  to  certain  lands  of  Maurice  de  i 
Gaunt,  and  his  descendants,  in  direct  line  from  William  the  Conqueror's  j 
brother,  Robert.  (If  Sir  Robert,  mentioned  above,  was  a  son  of  Sir  i 
Geoffrey  this  same  connection  would  apply  as  well  to  the  Irish  branch).  ; 
The  first  of  the  Gaunts  who  came  to  England  was  a  nephew  of  King  j 
William,  and  son  of  Baldwin,  Count  of  Flanders,  by  a  daughter  of  Rob-  ; 
ert.  King  of  France.  The  emperor  of  Constantinople  and  Jerusalem  t 
towards  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century  was  of  the  same  paternal  lineage.  I 
A  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Lincoln  conveyed  in  marriage  the  barony  of  | 
Irnham  to  Simon  St.  Liz,  Earl  of  Huntington,  who  dying  without  issue,  I 
Robert  de  Berkeley  succeeded  thereto,  and  assumed  the  name  of  Gaunt  i 
from  his  mother.  Maurice,  the  son  and  heir  of  Robert,  leaving  no  chil-  | 
dren,  the  estates  devolved  on  the  eldest  son  of  Sir  Geoffrey  Luttrell,.  |! 
whose  name  was  Andrew,  and  this  portion  of  it  known  as  the  Manor  of  j 
East  Ouantockshead  in  Somerset  has  remained  in  the  family  name  tO'  j. 
this  day,  a  rare  instance  of  land  ownership  in  England.  In  this  connec-  j: 
tion  might  be  mentioned  the  fact  that  Dunster  Castle  in  Somerset  has-  ii 
belonged  to  but  two  families  since  the  Conquest,  the  Mohuns  and  the  Lut-  ll 
trells,  and  the  present  owner.  Captain  Alexander  Luttrell,  is  a  direct  j: 
descendant  of  both  families.  The  estate  at  this  early  period  was  consid-  ji 
ered  as  worth  $1,250.00,  but  without  any  additions  it  is  valued  to-day  at  'j 
about  $5,000,000.00.  ' 

The  Luttrells  of  East  Ouantockshead  and  Dunster  Castle,  and  their  ! 
collateral  branches,  quartered  the  arms  of  the  ancient  English  Barons,. ; 
Mowbray,  Earl  of  Nottingham.  Duke  of  Norfolk.  Lords  Hussie,  Wake  |  • 
D'Ein  Court  and  Tateshall.  The  following  is  the  direct  line,  mentioning^  | ; 
only  the  oldest  son  or  heir.  1 1 

(II)  Sir  Andrew  Luttrell,  son  of  Sir  Geoffrey  Luttrell,  mentioned  1 1 
above,  and  of  his  wife,  Frethesant  Pagnel,  married  a  daughter  of  Philip  I 
la  Mare,  a  rich  and  powerful  baron,  and  they  had  a  son,  Alexander.  ■ 

(III)  Alexander,  son  of  Sir  Andrew  Luttrell,  during  the  reign  oi\ 
Henry  the  Third  was  among  the  first  to  assume  the  cross  of  the  Cru-  \  ■ 
saders,  in  company  with  the  king's  eldest  son  and  many  others  of  the-ij 
chief  nobility.     He  died  about  the  year  1273,  and  left  a  son,  Andrew,      l! 

(IV)  Andrew  (2),  son  of  xMexander  Luttrell,  married  Elizabeth,.; 
daughter  of  Sir  Warin  de  Raleigh,  and  had  a  son,  John. 

(V)  Sir  John  Luttrell,  son  of  Andrew  (2)  Luttrell,  was  knighted  in- 
March,  1337,  when  Edward  the  Third  conferred  the  title  of  Duke  of  ^ 
Cornwall  upon  his  own  eldest  son,  Edward.  This  Sir  John  married' 
Joan,  daughter  of  Lord  Mohun,  and  there  was  another  Sir  John  Luttrell'; 
at  this  period  who  was  Chancellor  of  Oxford  University.  The  former 
Sir  John  Luttrell  had  a  son,  Andi^ew. 

(VI)  Sir  Andrew  (3)  Luttrell,  son  of  Sir  John  Luttrell,  married 
Elizabeth,  relict  of  Sir  John  de  \'ere,  son  of  the  Earl  of  Oxford.  Her 
father,  Hugh,  Earl  of  Devon,  one  of  the  companions  in  arms  of  Edward 
the  Third,  and  one  of  the  original  Knights  of  the  Garter,  was  the  head  of 
the  noble  house  of  Courtenay  Her  mother  ]\Iargaret  was  daughter  of; 
Humphrey  de  Bohun,  Earl  of  Hereford  and  Essex,  Constable  of  Eng-i 
land,  "the  flower  of  knighthood,  and  the  most  Christian  knight  of  the; 
knights  of  the  world,"  by  his  wife  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  King  Edward' 
the  Third.  Her  eldest  brother,  like  her  father  was  one  of  the  originalj 
Knights  of  the  Garter,  a  second  became  Archbishop  of   Canterbury,  a 


WEST  \1RGIXIA  469 

third  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  and  a  fourth  Governor  of  Calais.  It 
was  through  this  Lady  Luttrell  that  Dunster  Castle  came  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  Luttrell  family  by  a  purchase  from  the  widow  of  Lord 
jMohun.  She  was  also  for  a  time  in  the  retinue  of  her  cousins,  Edward 
the  Black  Prince,  and  his  wife,  who  had  been  known  as  the  Fair  Maid 
of  Kent.  This  Sir  Andrew  (3)  Luttrell  had  by  his  wife  Elizabeth  a  son, 
Sir  Hugh. 

(MI)  Sir  Hugh  Luttrell,  son  of  Sir  Andrew  (3)  Luttrell  and  his 
wife  Elizabeth,  became  Grand  Seneschal  of  Normandy.  His  wife  was 
Catherine,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Beaumont,  and  they  had  a  son,  John. 

(VIII)  John,  son  of  Sir  Hugh  Luttrell  and  his  wife,  Catherine  (Beau- 
mont) Luttrell,  married  Margaret,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Tuchet,  of 
Audley,  owner  of  Nether  Stowey  Castle,  and  they  had  one  son,  James. 

(IX)  Sir  James  Luttrell,  son  of  John  Luttrell  and  his  wife,  Mar- 
garet (Tuchet)  Luttrell,  married  his  cousin,  Elizabeth  Courtenay,  and  on 
account  of  his  taking  sides  with  the  House  of  Lancaster,  forfeited  all  his 
lands  by  order  of  Edward  the  Fourth,  along  with  the  Earls  Shrewsbury 
and  Pembroke,  his  lands  being  given  to  Sir  William  Herbert,  and  after- 
w  ards  to  the  King's  son,  and  so  remained  until  the  success  of  the  Lancas- 
trian party  on  the  field  of  Bosworth  in  August,  1485. 

(X)  Sir  Hugh  (2)  Luttrell,  son  of  Sir  James  Luttrell,  who  was 
mortally  wounded  at  the  battle  of  St.  Albans,  went  before  King  Henry 
the  Seventh  and  presented  a  petition  setting  forth  that  his  father  had 
been  attainted  for  the  true  faith  and  allegiance  which  he  owed  unto  the 
right  famous  Prince  of  most  blessed  memory,  then  his  sovereign  Lord, 
Henry  the  Sixth,  the  late  king  of  England,  and  praying  that  the  Act  of  At- 
tainder be  repealed,  and  this  petition  was  granted.  He  was  also  created 
a  Knight  of  the  Bath  at  the  Coronation  of  Elizabeth  of  York,  wife  of 
Henry  the  Seventh,  in  1487.  When  Catherine  of  Arragon  came  to  Eng- 
land to  marry  the  then  Prince  of  Wales,  Sir  Hugh  Luttrell  was  one  of 
the  seven  knights  who  v/ere  selected  to  accompany  her.  He  married 
Margaret  Hill,  and  had  a  son,  Andrew. 

(XI)  Andrew  (4),  son  of  Sir  Hugh  (2)  and  Margaret  (Hill)  Lut- 
trell, married  a  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Wyndham,  and  they  had  a  son, 
Thomas,  also  a  daughter,  ^Margaret,  who  married  an  ancestor  of  the  pres- 
ent Earl  of  Mount  Edgecomb,  to  whom  was  given  the  family  carpet,  a 
magnificent  example  of  heraldic  embroidery,  which  now  hangs  at  Cothele, 
the  home  of  the  present  earl.  There  is  also  in  existence  in  England  the 
Luttrell  Psalter,  which  shows  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  period  of 
about  1340.  A  number  of  illustrations  from  this  Psalter  are  given  in 
"Green's  Short  History  of  the  English  People." 

(XII)  Thomas,  son  of  Andrew  (4)  Luttrell,  married  a  cousin.  ;\lar- 
garet  Hadley,  and  had  a  son,  George. 

(XIII)  George,  son  of  Thomas  and  Margaret  (Hadley)  Luttrell,  mar- 
ried Joan  Stewkley,  daughter  of  his  guardian,  although  his  marriage  had 
been  arranged  by  his  mother  with  a  niece  of  Sir  James  Fitzjames,  of  the 
ancient  family  of  that  name  in  Wales.     He  had  a  son,  Thomas. 

(XIV)  Thomas  (2),  son  of  George  and  Joan  (Stewkley)  Luttrell, 
i  married  Jane,  daughter  of  Sir  Francis  Popham.  He  espoused  the  parlia- 
\    mentary  cause  in  the  reign  of  Charles  the  First.  His  son  and  heir,  George, 

by  royal  order  was  commanded  by  King  Charles  the  First  to  have  as  his 
guest  at  Dunster  Castle  the  Prince  of  Wales,  afterwards  Charles  the 
Second.     Dying  without  issue,  he  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Francis. 

(XV)  Francis,  son  of  Thomas  (2)  Luttrell.  married  Lucy  Symoiids, 
granddaughter  of  John  Pym,  the  great  parliamentary  leader,  and  had  a 
son,  Alexander. 


470  WEST  VIRGINIA 

(X\Tj  Alexander  (2),  son  of  Francis  and  Lucy  (Symonds)  Luttrell, 
married  Dorothy  Yard,  and  had  a  son,  Alexander. 

(XVII)  Alexander  (3),  son  of  Alexander  (2)  and  Dorothy  (Yard) 
Luttrell,  married  Margaret,  daughter,  of  Sir  John  Trevelyan,  of  Net- 
tlecombe,  and  had  only  a  daughter,  Margaret. 

(XVIII)  Margaret,  daughter  of  Alexander  (3)  and  Margaret  (Trev- 
elyan) Luttrell,  married  her  cousin,  Henry  Fownes,  who  took  the  name 
of  Luttrell,  and  they  had  a  son,  John  Fownes. 

(XIX)  John  Fownes,  son  of  Henry  Fownes  and  Margaret  Luttrell, 
married  Alary  Drew,  and  had  a  son  John,  who  was  succeeded  by  his 
brother  Henry. 

(XX)  Henry,  son  of  John  Fownes  and  Mary  (Drew)  Luttrell,  was 
succeeded  by  his  nephew,  George  (2),  son  of  a  younger  brother,  Francis. 

(XXI)  George  (2),  son  of  Francis  Luttrell  and  nephew  of  Henry 
Luttrell,  married  Anne  Elizabeth  Periam,  daughter  of  Sir  Alexander 
Hood.  George  (2)  Luttrell  entertained  in  1879  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
afterwards  Edward  the  Seventh.  He  died  in  1910,  and  was  succeeded  by 
the  present  owner  of  Dunster  Castle  and  of  the  Manor  of  East  Quan- 
tockshead.  Captain  Alexander  Luttrell,  He  married  Alice  Edwina, 
daughter  of  Colonel  Munro  Ferguson,  of  Raith  and  Novar,  in  Scotland,  i 
and  sister  of  Colonel  Ferguson  who  was  one  of  the  Rough  Riders  under  j 
Colonel  Roosevelt, 

The  Robert  Luttrell  who  has  been  mentioned  above  as  having  set- 
tled on  the  bands  of  the  Liiifey,  near  Dublin,  at  Luttrellstown,  was  in  | 
1226  treasurer  of  St,  Patrick's  Cathedral,  and  in  1236  was  Lord  Chan- 
cellor of  Ireland,  There  is  mention  of  a  Michael  Luttrell,  who  owned 
the  same  estate  at  the  close  of  the  century,  and  later  in  1349  of  a  Simon 
Luttrell,  who  died  in  the  possession  of  the  property. 

( I )  The  next  owner  whose  name  we  have  is  Robert  Luttrell,  who 
married  a  daughter  of  Sir  Elias  de  Ashbourne,  of  Devon,  England,  and 
by  this  marriage  added  materially  to  his  already  large  estate. 

(II)  Christopher,  son  of  Robert  Luttrell,  married  Catherine,  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  Rochfort,  ancestor  of  the  Earl  of  Belvedere.  They  had  I 
one  son,  Richard,  ! 

(III)  Richard,  son  of  Christopher  and  Catherine  (Rochfort)  Lut- 
trell, married  a  daughter  of  Patrick  Fitz-Leons,  Esq.,  and  they  had  a  son. 
Sir  Thomas, 

(IV)  Sir  Thomas  Luttrell,  son  of  Richard  Luttrell,  was  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  the  Eighth  the  Chief  Justice  of  Ireland.  He  married  .\iuie, 
daughter  of  Baron  Aylmer,  ancestor  of  Lord  Aylmer,  and  they  had  a 
son,  Richard, 

(A^)  Richard  (2),  son  of  Sir  Thomas  Luttrell,  married  Mary,  daugh- 
ter of  Lord  Dufany,  and  they  had  a  son,  Thomas. 

(VI)  Thomas  (2),  son  of  Richard  (2)  Luttrell,  had  the  audacity  to 
make  a  comparison  with  the  Earl  of  Thomond,  the  Chief  of  the  O'Briens, 
in  the  Lord  Deputy's  presence.  He  married  Eleanor  Preston,  daughter 
of  Christopher,  fourth  Lord  Viscount  Gormanston,  by  Catherine,  daugh- 
ter of  William  Fitz  William  and  had  a  son,  Simon. 

(VII)  Simon,  son  of  Thomas  (2)  and  Eleanor  (Preston)  Luttrell. 
was  made  a  gentleman  of  the  Bedchamber  to  Charles  the  Second.  He 
married  Janice,  daughter  of  the  fifth  Viscount  Gormanston,  a  cousin,  and 
had  sons :  Simon,  Henry,  Robert.  The  last  named  was  the  founder  of  the 
American  family. 

(VIII)  Simon  (2)  and  Henry,  sons  of  Simon  (  i  )  Luttrell,  were  both 
prominent  in  the  war  between  James  the  Second  and  the  Prince  of  , 
Orange,  Simon  at  that  time  being  the  governor  of  the  city  of  Dublin,  j 
At  the  close  of  the  war  Simon  chose  to  go  to  France  with  other  Irish  i^i 


WEST  VIRGINIA  471 

soldiers,  and  afterwards  commanded  an  Irish  regiment  in  foreign  service. 
Seeing  before  the  close  of  the  war  that  William's  forces  would  be  vic- 
torious, Henry  left  the  cause  of  King  James  and  took  with  him  a  large 
command  of  Irish  soldiers,  and  was  at  the  close  of  the  war  fighting  un- 
der the  flag  of  William,  and  to  this  day  some  historians  place  the  respon- 
sibility for  the  defeat  of  James  to  the  defection  of  Henry  Luttrell  at  this 
time.  He  has,  however,  been  cleared  of  all  blame  in  the  matter  by  the  more 
careful  English  historians.  Henry's  descendants  became  very  prominent 
and  Henry  occupied  at  dit^'erent  times  important  positions  in  Ireland  and 
was  held  in  high  esteem  by  King  William.  He  married  Elizabeth  Jones, 
and  had  sons:  Robert,  (considered  by  some  genealogists  as  the  founder 
of  the  American  family,  but  the  evidences  point  rather  to  Robert  (2) 
Luttrell,  the  uncle  of  this  Robert  (3)  Luttrell,  being  the  American  pro- 
genitor) ;  Simon,  who  was  made  by  George  the  Third  first  Baron  Irnham, 
second  Viscount  Carhampton,  and  later  still  Earl  of  Carhampton. 

(IX)  Simon  (3),  son  of  Henry  and  Elizabeth  (Jones)  Luttrell, 
married  Alaria,  daughter  and  heir  to  Sir  Nicholas  Lawes,  governor  ot 
Jamaica,  and  had  issue :  Henry  Lawes,  his  heir ;  Temple  Simon ;  John, 
who  married  a  daughter  of  Lord  Waltham,  taking  his  name  and  title; 
James,  commander  of  the  ship  "Mediator,"  which  did  no  little  damage 
to  the  American  cause  in  their  war  for  independence ;  and  a  daughter, 
Lady  Anne,  who  became  the  wnfe  of  William,  Duke  of  Cumberland, 
brother  of  George  the  Third  and  of  whom  Junius  wrote,  "Let  parlia- 
ment see  to  it  that  a  Luttrell  never  wears  the  crown  of  England."  All  of 
these  left  no  issue  and  the  title  became  extinct  about  1829,  while  just 
previous  to  this  time  the  large  estate  of  Luttrellstown  (1821)  passed  into  the 
hands  of  Luke  White,  of  Dublin,  ancestor  to  the  present  owner  Lord 
Annaly.  Henry  Lawes  Luttrell,  second  Earl  of  Carhampton,  represented 
Middlesex  just  previous  to  the  period  of  the  American  revolution,  and 
was  the  agent  of  the  government  acting  under  Lord  North  during  these 
stirring  times.  The  overthrow  of  Wilkes,  who  was  a  vigorous  champion 
of  the  well-known  "Letters  of  Junius,"  and  the  giving  of  his  seat  to 
Luttrell,  caused  such  an  outcry  from  the  English  populace  that  Luttrell 
was  a  number  of  times  threatened  with  his  life.  Lord  North  stubbornly 
held  his  position  against  the  English  people  who  wanted  to  give  the 
American  colonists  their  demands,  and  made  Luttrell  the  tool  in  bring- 
ing to  completion  those  nefarious  schemes  which  culminated  in  the  decla- 
ration on  the  part  of  the  colonists  of  their  independence,  and  the  throw- 
ing ofi  of  the  rule  of  the  mother  country.  It  is  quite  within  the  range 
of  possibility  that  the  war  might  have  been  averted  had  Wilkes  repre- 
sented the  people  at  this  vital  time. 

( I )  The  American  branch  of  the  famous  Luttrell  family  traces  its 
descent  from  Robert  (2)  Luttrell,  of  the  Irish  line  (see  generation  VII) 
who  married  his  cousin  Anne,  daughter  of  Viscount  Gormanston,  and 
came  to  America  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  settled 
in  Prince  William  county,  \'irginia.  He  had  a  large  family  including  three 
sons :  Simon,  Thomas,  Richard.  Simon's  descendants  live  in  Kentucky 
where  one,  Lucien  Simon  Luttrell,  died  quite  recently.  Thomas  died 
while  in  search  of  health  in  Jamaica,  where  his  cousin,  Henry  Lawes 
Luttrell  (see  Irish  branch  oi  Luttrell  family  IX),  had  acquired  lands 
from  his  mother. 

(II)  Richard,  son  of  Robert  (2)  Luttrell,  lived  in  Fauquier  county, 
"V'irginia,  near  Prince  \\'illiam  county.  He  married  a  Miss  Churchill 
and  had  a  son,  Richard. 

(III)  Richard   (2),  .son  of  Richard   (i)   and  (Churchill)    Lut- 

t'-ell.  was  commissioned  an  ensign  from  the  county  of  Fauquier  by 
Thomas  Jefiferson  at  the  time  of  the  American  revolution.     The  rank  of 


472  WEST  MRGIXIA 

ensign  is  what  is  known  as  lieutenant  at  present.  This  commission  is 
still  in  the  possession  of  the  family.  He  married  Frances  Hambleton  and 
had  a  son,  Burrell. 

(IV)  Burrell,  son  of  Richard  (2)  and  Frances  (Hambleton)  Lut- 
i^rell,  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Harmon  Button,  ancestor  of  the  late 
Governor  Fishbeck,  of  Arkansas,  and  had  a  son,  Richard. 

(V)  Richard  (3),  son  of  Burrell  and  Hannah  (Button)  Luttrell,  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Bywaters,  of  Culpeper  county,  Virginia.  He  was  a  great 
fox-hunter  and  always  owned  a  large  pack  of  hounds.  His  wife  died 
when  very  young,  and  he  being  left  alone  devoted  a  great  portion  of  his 
time  to  hunting.  So  much  was  he  known  for  this  favorite  sport  that  he 
became  familiarly  known  as  "Dick  Luttrell,  the  fox  hunter."  It  was 
his  custom  during  the  hunting  season  to  rise  early  and  rouse  the  neigh- 
bors to  join  him  in  the  chase.  After  the  day's  sport  they  would  return  to 
his  house  where  he  was  accustomed  to  dispense  the  lavish  southern  hos- 
pitality of  ante  bellum  times  in  \'irginia.    He  had  a  son,  Burrell  Edmund. 

(VI)  Burrell  Edmund,  son  of  Richard  (3)  and  Elizabeth  (Bywaters) 
Luttrell.  was  a  soldier  during  the  civil  war.  and  served  a  great  portion 
of  the  time  as  courier  for  General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  and  for  General  Beau- 
regard. He  was  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Strasburg  and  kept  m 
prison  until  about  the  close  of  the  war.  He  married  Mary  Ritchie, 
daughter  of  James  Richard  Nelson,  of  Culpeper  caunty,  Virginia,  and 
there  were  born  to  them  the  following  children:  1.  Capitola,  married 
John  S.  Hughes,  of  Rappahannock  county.  \'irginia.  2.  Richard 
Edmund,  married  Ada,  daughter  of  James  Browning,  of  Rappahannock 
county.  \'irginia.  3.  Hugh,  married  Atlanta,  daughter  of  Albert  Sin- 
gleton, owner  of  Ivanhoe,  the  old  home  of  Captain  Lewis  Marshall  in 
Fauquier  county,  \'irginia.  4.  Frank,  unmarried,  lives  with  his  father  at 
the  old  home  the  deed  for  which,  signed  on  parchment  in  1762,  by  Lord 
Fairfax,  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the  family.  5.  Charles,  died  unmar- 
ried at  the  age  of  twenty-four.  6.  Warren,  died  a  missionary  in  India. 
7.  Russell,  married  Edna,  daughter  of  James  Clarke,  of  Ashley,  Indiana, 
and  now  in  the  general  insurance  business  in  Oklahoma  City.  8.  John  A., 
of  whom  further. 

(VII)  John  A.,  son  of  Burrell  Edmund  and  Mary  Ritchie  (Nelson) 
Luttrell.  was  born  in  eastern  \'irginia.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  entered 
Rappahannock  Academy,  in  Rappahannock  county,  Virginia,  and  took 
there  a  two  years  course.  Deciding  then  to  go  into  a  business  life  he  en- 
tered in  January,  1897,  the  Bryant  &  Stratton  Business  College  in  Balti- 
more and  after  finishing  the  full  course  there  he  went  to  work  as  a  part- 
ner to  his  cousin,  George  M.  Whitescarver.  Esq..  in  Grafton.  West  Vir- 
ginia, the  business  being  that  of  general  insurance,  and  under  the  firm 
name  of  G.  M.  Whitescarver  &  Company.  He  remained  in  this  connpc- 
tion  until  November.  1899.  when  on  account  of  his  father's  illness  he 
returned  to  his  home  in  Virginia,  having  sold  out  his  business  interests 
in  Grafton.  He  remained  in  Virginia  until  January,  1901,  when  he  re- 
turned to  Grafton  as  clerk  in  the  offices  of  F.  A.  Husted.  superintendent 
of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad.  He  left  this  position  in  .April  of 
that  year  to  accept  one  with  the  Southern  Coal  &  Transportation  Com- 
pany, at  Berryburg,  in  Barbour  county.  West  Virginia.  This  he  left  in 
June  of  the  same  year  to  take  the  position  of  private  secretary  to  J.  I. 
Jones,  secretary  of  the  Weaver  Coal  &  Coke  Company,  at  Belington. 
West  \"irginia.  He  remained  there  until  August  of  that  year  when  he 
accepted  a  position  as  general  accountant  of  the  Cincinnati.  Richmond  & 
Muncie  railroad,  and  afterwards  changed  to  the  Chicago.  Cincinnati  & 
Louisville  railroad,  at  Richmond,  Indiana.  After  being  there  for  about 
fifteen  months  he  returned  to  Belinsrton,  and  re-assumed  his  former  posi- 


«H 


PJ/icof/ore  ■yf(of/<///r^ 


WEST  MRGIXIA  473 

■tion  which  he  held  until  John  W.  Gates  absorbed  the  interest  of  the 
Weaver  Coal  &  Coke  Company.  In  March,  1905,  he  sold  his  interest  to 
Mr.  Rector  in  their  agencies  at  Belington,  Philippi  and  Grafton,  and 
■came  to  Parkersburg  to  accept  a  position  in  the  insurance  department  of 
the  Citizens'  Trust  &  Guaranty  Company,  leaving  them  in  October,  1905, 
to  purchase  a  half  interest  in  the  old  established  insurance  agency  owned 
by  the  late  William  Doremus  Paden.  The  name  of  this  business  was 
•changed  to  Paden  &  Luttrell.  and  this  name  again  changed,  January, 
191 1,  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Paden,  to  Paden  &  Luttrell  Insurance 
Agency,  of  which  concern  Mr.  Luttrell  became  president  and  general 
manager.  Mr.  Luttrell  is  a  member  of  the  Elks,  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  of  the  Modern  Wood- 
men of  America,  and  of  the  Country  Club. 

Mr.  Luttrell  married  Virginia,  daughter  of  Judge  Kinnaird  Snod- 
grass,  and  granddaughter  of  Hon.  John  F.  Snodgrass,  who  represented 
the  Parkersburg  district  in  congress  in  1853  before  the  separation  from 
Virginia.  He  had  one  child  named  for  his  mother,  Mary  Ritchie  Nelson, 
■who  died  in  October,  1906.  when  nine  days  old.  Another  child,  John 
Augustine  Adams,  was  born  February  12.  1913. 

The  information  used  herein  as  to  the  Luttrell  family  in  England  and 
in  Ireland  is  taken  from  "Sir  ^Maxwell  Lyte's  History  of  Dunster  and  Its 
Lords,"  "Burke's  Landed  Gentry,"  "Lodge's  Peerage  of  Ireland," 
"Macaulay's  History  of  England,"  "Dugdale's  Baronage,"  and  from  num- 
erous manuscripts  in  the  British  Museum,  and  in  Trinity  College,  Dub- 
lin, Ireland.  The  sources  of  the  information  as  to  the  American  branch 
Tiave  been  deeds,  commissions  and   family  records. 


Theodore    Morlang,    the    founder    of   this    family,    was 
MORLANG    born   in   Germany.      Coming  to  the   L'nited    States,   he 
settled    at    Parkersburg.    West    Virginia.      He    married 
Annetta  Nelly.     Children :  George,  deceased,  married  Meta  Pahl :  Theo- 
•dore.  of  whom  further;  Henry:  Elizabeth,  married  Joseph  Butcher;  Min- 
nie ;  Augusta,  married  H.  G.  Albright. 

(II)  Theodore  (2),  son  of  Theodore  (i)  an<l  Annetta  (Nelly) 
Alorlang,  was  born  at  Mengeringhausen.  Germany,  December  19,  1855, 
■died  May  7,  1909.  He  was  only  fifteen  years  old  when  he  came  with  his 
brother  to  Parkersburg.  West  \'irginia.  where  he  made  his  home  with  his 
uncle.  Christian  Nelly.  Later  he  went  to  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  and 
there  he  learned  the  business  of  a  baker.  Coming  back  to  Parkersburg, 
after  he  had  learned  his  trade,  being  then  only  eighteen  years  old,  he 
entered  into  business  on  his  own  account  as  a  baker,  but  he  was  in  this 
business  only  about  four  years,  selling  it  in  1877.  He  then  went  to 
Pomeroy,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  three  years,  and  where  he  was  en- 
gaged in  the  same  line  of  business  as  that  which  he  had  been  previously 
following  at  Parkersburg.  After  this  he  returned  to  Parkersburg  and 
was  engaged  for  eight  years  in  the  business  of  a  grocer.  At  that  time 
the  business  heart  of  Parkersburg  was  its  southern  part;  here,  near  the 
Little  Kanawha  river,  the  stores  were  gathered  together.  Mr.  Morlang 
"had  his  store  on  ^Market  street,  in  this  section,  and  near  where  the  old 
"bridge,  since  carried  away  by  a  flood  and  not  rebuilt,  nor  replaced  at 
the  same  site,  crossed  over  the  Little  Kanawha  river.  He  was  success- 
ful in  this  enterprise.  Mr.  Morlane  was  never  an  ostentatious  man.  but 
he  was  in  a  hie-h  deeree  enersretic,  industrious  and  thrifty,  and  these 
Qualities  made  him  prosper  in  business,  and  made  him  hold  a  solid  posi- 
tion amon?  the  representative  business  men  of  his  citv.  After  eieht 
years  he  sold  his  grocery  business  and  moved  further  north  on  Market 


474  WEST  \-IRGINIA 


street,  in  the  direction  in  which  retail  business  at  Parkersburg  lias  moved  I 
and  widely  extended  itself.  In  his  new  store  he  returned  to  his  old  trade  i 
of  baking,  and  he  dealt  also  in  confectionery.  He  continued  in  this  i 
business  until  his  retirement  from  commercial  activity.  Late  in  his  life  j 
he  made  a  short  trip  back  to  the  home  of  his  infancy  in  Germany.  He  ; 
was  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  at  Parkers-  t 
burg.  In  religion  Mr.  Morlang  was  a  Lutheran  and  a  member  of  the  [ 
congregation  of  that  denomination  at  Parkersburg.  i 

He  married,  January  13,  1878,  Bertha,  born  at  Lubeck,  Wood  county,  ; 
\'irginia,  February  22,  1858,  daughter  of  Frederick  and  Christina  I 
(Oderwahn)  Pahl.  Mrs.  Morlang  is  now  living  at  Parkersburg.  Both  [ 
her  father  and  her  mother  were  born  at  Mecklenburg,  Germany.  They  I 
married  in  Germany,  in  1850,  and  two  years  after  their  marriage  they  i 
came  to  the  United  States.  About  the  year  1854  they  settled  at  Lubeck,  j 
a  German  settlement  about  five  miles  south  of  Parkersburg,  and  there  j 
Frederick  Pahl  died  March  2,  1863 ;  his  widow,  having  survived  him  \ 
nearly  fifty  years,  died  December  22,  19 10.  Of  the  children  of  Fred-  I 
erick  and  Christina  (Oderwahn)  Pahl,  the  oldest  was  born  at  Mecklen-  { 
burg,  Germany,  but  the  others  were  born  in  the  L'nited  States.  Chil-  \ 
dren:  John,  born  in  185 1;  Lena,  1853;  Meta,  1855,  married  George  I 
Morlang;  Bertha,  married  Theodore  Morlang;  Albert,  1861.  Children  [ 
of  Theodore  (2)  and  Bertha  (Pahl)  Morlang:  i.  Bertha  C,  born  Sep-  1 
tember  19,  1878;  married,  June  8,  1898,  William  A.  McKinney;  child,  j 
Willa  Dee.  born  March  16.  igcxD.  2.  Theodore  Frederick,  born  April  17,  j 
1880.  died  January  15,  1882.  3.  Oscar  John,  born  November  15,  1884,  I 
died  January  19.  1885.  4.  Alma  Elizabeth,  born  April  5,  1886;  married  ' 
Clarence  Homer  Ford.  December  19.  1906:  they  have  one  son,  Howard  j 
Leslie,   born   September,    1908.  1 

i 

Fleming  C.   Burgess  was  born  in  Virginia  and  was  one  I 

BLRGESS     of   the   old  pioneer    farmers   in   Kanawha  county.   West  i 

Mrginia,  where  he  passed  the  closing  years  of  his  life  j 

and  where  his  death  occurred  in  the  year  1883.     He  was  of  English  an- j 

cestry,  the  founder  of  the  Burgess  family  in  America  having  settled  in  j 

Virginia  in  an  early  day.    He  married  Adelia  Woods,  who  died  in  1865.    j 

(II)   James  W.,  son  of  Fleming  C.  Burgess,  was  born  in  Kanawha ' 

county.  West  A'irginia.     He  was  reared  to  maturity  on  his  father's  farm ; 

and  in  due  time  became  a  farmer  himself.     He  died  in  1905  and  his  cher- ; 

ished  and  devoted  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Elizabeth  Harmon,  but-' 

vives  him  and  now  maintains  her  home  at  Huntington.  West  Virginia,  j 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burgess  had  two  children:  Dr.  William  Henry,  mentioned' 

below;  Dr.  Thomas  D.,  who  is  engaged  in  the  work  of  his  profession  at; 

Louisa,  Kentucky. 

(HI)  Dr.  William  Henry  Burgess,  son  of  James  W.  and  Elizabeth; 
(Harmon)  Burgess,  was  born  in  Kanawha  county.  West  Virginia,  Sep-| 
tember  16,  1867.  He  passed  his  early  life  on  the  old  homestead  farm,! 
and  received  his  rudimentary  educational  training  in  the  neighboring  dis-j 
trict  schools.  Subsequently  he  attended  the  graded  school  at  St.  Alban,-; 
and  as  a  young  man  he  began  to  do  railroad  work  in  order  to  obtain; 
money  for  a  medical  course.  He  began  firing  on  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio! 
railroad  in  September,  1888,  and  in  due  time  became  an  engineer.  He| 
filled  the  position  of  engineer  on  the  above  road  until  1904.  when  he  was! 
matriculated  as  a  student  in  the  Louisville  Medical  College,  at  Louisville,! 
Kentucky,  in  which  well  ordered  institution  he  was  graduated  as  a  niem-| 
ber  of  the  class  of  1907,  duly  receiving  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.! 
His  first  practice  was  at  Matewan,  Mingo  county,  West  \'irginia,  where; 


WEST  VIRGINIA  475 

he  was  associated  in  medical  work  with  his  brother,  Dr.  Thomas  D.  Bur- 
gess. For  two  years  Dr.  Burgess  was  a  resident  of  Matewan  and  in 
1909  he  came  to  WilHamson,  where  he  conducts  an  individual  practice. 
Dr.  Burgess  makes  a  specialty  of  the  diseases  of  the  throat,  nose  and 
eyes  and  is  considered  an  expert  in  this  particular  line  of  work.  He  is 
a  man  of  most  generous  impulses  and  is  always  ready  to  relieve  the 
worthy  distressed  and  needy  who  come  to  him  for  medical  aid.  His 
quiet  and  unselfish  manner  fully  characterizes  his  pure  christian  spirit 
and  innate  kindliness  of  heart,  traits  which  make  him  decidedly  popular 
with  all  classes  of  people.  Dr.  Burgess  is  a  valued  and  appreciative 
member  of  the  West  Virginia  State  Medical  Society  and  the  American 
Medical  Association.  He  still  retains  his  membership  in  the  Brotherhood  of 
Railroad  Engineers  and  Firemen,  and  in  the  Scottish  Rite  branch  of 
Masonry  has  reached  the  thirty-second  degree.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  and  his  religious  faith  is  in  harmony  with  the  tenets  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

On  j\larch  2,  1899,  Dr.  Burgess  married  Mary  Ella  Byars,  a  native 
of  Shelby  county,  Kentucky,  where  her  birth  occurred  January  17,  1873. 
Mrs.  Burgess  is  a  daughter  of  Francis  Byars,  who  was  a  prominent 
stock-farmer  in  Shelby  county,  Kentucky,  during  his  lifetime,  and  who 
died  about  the  year  1892.     Dr.  and  Mrs.  Burgess  have  no  children. 


This  name,  common   in  many  or  all  parts  of  the   United 

BROWN     States,   and    which   has   been   borne   by   many   persons   of 

distinction,  is  not  the  exclusive  possession  of  one  family, 

but  is  the  common  surname  of  a  large  number  of  distinct  families.     The 

present  family  is  of  Scotch  origin. 

(\)   William   H.   Brown,   the    founder   of   this    family,   was   born   in 

Scotland.     He  married  Flanders,  of    Greenbrier    county,    Virginia. 

Children :     John,  of  whom  further  ;  Polly,  James,  Jane. 

(II)  John,  son  of  William  H.  and  - — —  (Flanders)  Brown,  was 
born  in  Greenbrier  county,  Virginia,  in  1803,  died  in  1868.  By  trade  he 
was  a  cabinetmaker;  for  a  time  he  followed  his  trade,  but  later  in  life 
he  was  engaged  in  farming.  A  large  part  of  his  life  was  spent  in  Ohio, 
he  having  a  farm  in  Noble  county  in  that  state.  In  1855  he  returned  to 
Virginia  and  lived  in  Jackson  county,  where  he  was  occupied  in  farming 
until  his  death.  For  a  number  of  years,  during  his  residence  in  Ohio, 
he  was  township  clerk.  He  married  Jane,  daughter  of  John  and  Jane 
Maria  (Steward)  Steward,  who  died  in  1861.  Her  father  was  a  native 
of  Wales,  and  married  in  France.  For  a  long  time  he  was  a  sea  captain ; 
afterward  he  lived  in  New  York  City,  where  he  was  engaged  in  mer- 
cantile business;  still  later  he  went  to  Ohio  and  in  that  state  he  died 
at  the  age  of  eighty-six.  His  wife  also  lived  to  an  old  age,  dying  at 
eighty-two.  Children  of  John  and  Jane  Maria  (Steward)  Steward: 
Jane,  married  John  Brown ;  Joseph ;  Robert ;  John ;  Edward ;  Elizabeth, 
married  George  Lingo :  Mary,  married  Joseph  Gallon :  Louise,  married 
John  Taylor.  Children  of  John  and  Jane  (Steward)  Brown:  Man,-  B., 
married  J.  T.  Crum :  William  H..  went  to  California  in  1848;  Robert, 
went  to  California,  with  his  brother,  at  the  age  of  eighteen:  James  E. ; 
Hester  Ann,  married  George  (jiles :  Eliza,  died  at  the  age  of  eighteen  ; 
Elizabeth,  married  Frank  Sisson ;  John  Steward,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  John  Steward,  son  of  John  and  Jane  (Steward)  Brown,  was 
born  in  Noble  county.  Ohio.  May  ifi,  1840.  He  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools,  and  until  he  was  fifteen  years  old  worked  on  his  father's 
farm  in  Ohio.  At  that  time  his  parents  moved  to  Jackson  county.  Wr- 
ginia.  and  tliere  he  was  engaged  in   farming  until  he  was  twenty  years 


476                                       WEST  MRGIXIA  , 

old.      Then   came   the  civil   war,  and   he  enlisted   in   the   Twenty-second  I 

\irginia  Regiment,  Confederate  army.     He  was  in  active  service  for  one  i 

year,    when   he   was   wounded   at   the   battle   of   Lewisburg,    receiving   a  ' 

compound  fracture  of  the  thigh  bone.     Being  then  taken  prisoner,  he  was  j 

sent  to  Camp  Chase,  Ohio,  but  after  six  months  he  was  paroled  and  re-  ' 

turned  to  his  home.     From  that  time  until  he  was  thirty  years  old  he  ; 

was  engaged  in  buying  and  selling  horses.     For  a  time  Mr.  Brown  was  ■ 

director  of  the  bank  at  Reedy,  Roane  county,  West  Virginia.     He  is  now  i 

a  resident  of  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia,  and  here  he  is  president  of  { 

the    Brown-Kendall    Company,    doing   a   wholesale   business    in    notions,  I 

and  he  is  also  a  director  and  vice-president  of  the  Graham-Bumgarner  j 

Company,   manufacturers  of  and   wholesale  dealers   in   shoes.      He  is  a  i 

member  of  the  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted   Masons.     Mr.   Brown  is  a  I 

member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  j 

He   married,   in    1870,   Caroline   Augusta,   daughter  of   John   D.   and  j 

Catharine   (  Martin  )   Lasher.     Her  grandfather.  John  Lasher,  had  three  ' 

children,  John  D.,  who  was  born  at  Red  Hook,  Dutchess  county.  New  I 

York,   in   1800;   Lydia ;  Julia,   who  married   Benjamin   Bailey.     John  D.  | 

Lasher  moved  to  Rutland.  Meigs  county,  Ohio,  in   1833,  where  he  was  ; 

engaged  in  farming  until  his  death,  in  1884.     By  trade  he  was  a  black-  I 

smith,  and  in  his  earlier  life  he  followed  this  trade.     He  married  Cath-  j 

arine  Martin,  of  Red  Hook.     Their  children  were :     William  V. ;  Mar-  | 

garet  Amelia,  married  Green  Morgan,  of  Rensselaer  county.  New  York ;  ; 

Anna,  married  William  Strausbury ;  Jacob ;  Mary  Amelia,  married  Frank  : 

Tuckerman  :  George  B. ;  Caroline  Augusta,  married  John  Steward  Brown.  | 

CIu"ldren  of  John  Steward  and  Caroline  Augusta  (Lasher)  Brown:  John  | 

.\lbert.  born  June  30,   1872:  Carroll  Lasher,  February  5,   1874;  Harold  | 

Steward.  December  21,   1879.  j 


This  name  is  very  common  in  all  parts  of  the  United  ! 
\\TLSOX  States.  While  just  at  the  present  time  it  has  strong  i 
claims  to  be  the  best  known  name  in  the  whole  country,  ! 
there  have  been  many  Wilsons  of  high  distinction  before  President  j 
Woodrow  Wilson.  Not  only  the  number  of  individuals,  but  the  number  I 
of  distinct  families,  bearing  this  surname  in  the  L'nited  States  of  Ameri-  j 
ca  is  very  great.  Probably  England  has  been  the  main  source  of  families  ' 
of  this  name  in  our  country,  but  the  present  family  is  of  Scotch  origin,      j 

(T)   ^^'ilson,  the  first  member  of  this  family  of  whom  we  have    1 

definite  information,  was  born  in  Lewis  county.  \'irginia,  in  1810,  and  died  j 
in  i860.  He  was  a  farmer,  but  later  was  engaged  in  the  business  of  con-  j 
tracting.  He  married  Lucy  \^incent.  Children  :  James  E..  died  Janu-  j 
ary  2,  1910:  Flavins  Kase,  of  whom  further:  Otis  Newton,  Emma  Mai-  j 
vina.  Henrietta.  John  Franklin.  j 

(H)    Flavins   Kase,   son  of  and   Lucy    (\'incent)    Wilson,   was    j 

born  in  Lewis  county,  Mrginia,  July  2^.  1837.  His  education  was  re-  | 
ceived  in  the  subscription  schools.  He  went  to  work  on  the  Parkersburg  ! 
branch  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad,  and  in  1852  he  helped  in  the  ' 
grading  of  this  road.  Two  years  later  he  moved  to  Fairmont  and  the  I 
next  year  to  Grafton :  and  in  June.  1856.  he  helped  to  lay  the  tracks  of  I 
the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad.  He  was  a  brakeman  on  this  road  in  j 
1857,  and  the  following  year  he  was  made  conductor,  which  position  he  j 
held  until  April  i,  1861.  On  that  date  he  enlisted  in  the  Union  army  as  a 
member  of  Company  F,  First  Virginia  Cavalry,  and  he  was  promoted  to  | 
corporal.  Being  honorably  discharged  July  28,  1865,  the  war  being  over,  j 
he  returned  to  his  home.  For  ten  months  he  was  a  fireman  on  the  Balti-  j 
more  &  Ohio  railroad,  and  then  was  appointed  to  a  position  as  engineer,   i 


WEST  MRGIXIA  477 

and  had  charge  of  one  of  the  water  stations.  In  1871  he  went  back  to 
firing,  and  continued  in  this  work  until  November.  1872.  Being  then 
promoted  to  engmeer,  he  held  this  position  to  the  time  of  his  retirement 
from  the  service  of  the  road,  April  5,  1909.  His  home  is  now  at  Park- 
ersburg,  where  he  is  living  retired.  He  is  a  charter  member  of  Hope 
Lodge.  No.  10,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Parkersburg,  and  of  the  Brotherhood 
of  Locomotive  Engineers.  He  married,  in  1866,  Sarah  Jane,  daughter 
of  Alfred  and  Mildred  (Willis)  Palmer.  Her  father  was  a  native  of 
Virginia,  and  died  in  1879.  By  trade  he  was  a  tanner.  His  wife  died 
in  1861.  Children  of  Alfred  and  Mildred  (Willis)  Palmer:  i.  Julia, 
married  Thomas  Powell.  2.  Margaret,  married  John  Willard.  3.  Eliza- 
beth, married  John  Gabbert.  4.  Sarah  Jane,  married  Flavius  Kase  Wil- 
son. 5.  Martha  Bell,  married  John  Vaughan.  6.  May.  7.  Douglass:  he 
was  forced  into  the  Confederate  army,  being  apprehended  by  the  soldiers 
when  he  had  been  sent  by  his  mother  on  an  errand  to  a  store,  and  was 
never  seen  by  his  family  afterward.  8.  Alice,  married  John  ]\IcPherson. 
Children  of  Flavius  Kase  and  Sarah  Jane  (Palmer)  Wilson:  Emma 
Belle,  died  at  the  age  of  two  years :  John  Franklin  :  Otis  Xewton,  of 
whom  further. 

(HI)  Otis  Newton,  son  of  Flavius  Kase  and  Sarah  Jane  (Palmer) 
Wilson,  was  born  at  Parkersburg,  October  4,  1879.  He  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  of  this  city,  and  then  learned  the  trade  of  boiler 
maker  in  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad  shops,  where  he  remained  for 
four  years.  After  this  he  accepted  a  position  as  fireman  on  the  Ohio 
river  division,  and  remained  in  this  three  years.  In  1903  he  bought  his 
present  business  of  dealing  in  furniture  and  undertaking.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  Fraternal  Order 
of  Eagles,  and  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Fireman ;  Mr.  Wilson  has 
not  married. 


This  name,  of  so  frequent  occurrence  in  the  United  States 
\\'HITE     today,  must  have  been  relatively  common  from  early  times, 

for  it  has  been  brought  to  this  countrj-  by  many  immigrant 
settlers,  in  New  England  and  other  parts  of  the  nation.  A  list  of  bearers 
of  this  name  who  have  graced  it  by  distinction  in  religion,  politics,  law 
and  learning  would  be  a  long  one ;  merely  as  illustrating  these  spheres 
of  accomplishment  may  be  named  Bishop  White,  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  church :  Chief  Justice  W'hite,  of  the  supreme 
court  of  the  United  States ;  Andrew  D.  \Vhite,  former  president  of  Cor- 
nell and  an  able  diplomat.  In  the  recent  history  of  the  family  now  under 
consideration  there  is  record  of  unusual  distinction  in  the  educational 
field,  and  Ex-Governor  White,  of  Parkersburg,  West  A'irginia,  has  taken 
a  part  in  the  development  of  this  state,  made  a  permanent  impress  on 
its  character,  and  is  a  leading  business  man  of  Parkersburg,  having  im- 
portant outside  interests  also. 

(I)  Thomas  White,  the  founder  of  this  family,  a  great-grandson 
of  Thomas  \\'hite,  of  the  Long  Parliament,  was  born  in  England  in 
1599,  died  in  1679.  By  1632  he  was  a  settler  in  Weymouth,  Massachu- 
setts. He  was  a  lawver  of  distinction,  served  as  a  member  of  the  gen- 
eral court  and  as  selectman  of  We}Tnouth,  and  was  captain  of  a  mili- 
tary company. 

(II)  Joseph,  son  of  Thomas  White,  was  born  in  Weymouth  in  1635, 
died  at  Mendon,  l\fassachusetts,  in  1706.  He  was  known  as  Captain  Jo- 
seph White.  In  1662  he  moved  to  Mendon,  and  after  the  destruction  of 
Mendon  by  the  Indians  in   1676  returned  to  \\'eymouth. 

(III)  Thomas  (2),  son  of  Joseph  White,  was  born  in  Mendon  in 
1665. 


478  WEST  VIRGINIA 

(IV)  Samuel,  son  of  Thunias  (2)  White,  was  born  at  L'xbridge, 
Massachusetts,  in  1700.  He  was  known  as  "Deacon"  White  and  was 
a  property  owner  at  Douglass,  Massachusetts. 

(Vj  Captain  Paul  White,  son  of  Samuel  White,  was  born  at  Ux- 
bridge  in   1744,  died  at  Douglass,  Massachusetts,  in  1796. 

(VI)  Calvin,  son  of  Captain  Paul  White,  was  born  at  Douglass, 
Massachusetts,  August  30,  1771,  died  August  31,  1838.  He  was  reared 
at  Sutton,  Massachusetts,  and  about  1800  moved  to  Ware.  Massachu- 
setts. He  was  a  citizen  of  influence  and  accumulated  what  in  those 
days  was  considered  a  large  propert)'. 

(VII)  Jonas,  son  of  Calvin  White,  was  born  at  Sutton,  Massachu- 
setts, November  18,  1795,  died  at  Mantua,  Portage  county,  Ohio,  Au- 
gust 29,  1876.  He  was  a  farmer.  He  married,  at  Wilbraham,  Massa- 
chusetts, February  19,  1819,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Lemuel  and  Phoebe 
("Bishop)  McGregory,  who  survived  him,  dying  at  Mantua,  Ohio,  Janu- 
ary 28.   1878. 

(VIII)  Dr.  Emerson  Elbridge  White,  son  of  Jonas  and  Sarah  (Mc 
Gregory)  White,  was  born  at  Mantua.  Ohio,  January  10,  1829,  died  at 
Columbus.  Ohio,  October  21.  1902.  Until  he  was  sixteen  years  old  he 
attended  common  schools.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  entered  Twins- 
burg  Academy.  After  one  year  he  had  charge  of  Mount  Union  Acad- 
emy, now  Mount  Union  College.  In  1848  he  entered  Cleveland  Univer- 
sity, but  before  graduation  he  was  teaching  in  the  grammar  schools  of 
Cleveland,  also  in  the  university.  He  left  in  his  senior  year  to  become 
principal  of  a  grammar  school  in  Cleveland  and  remained  four  years. 
Later  he  was  made  principal  of  the  Central  high  school  in  Cleveland, 
and  from  1856  to  i860  he  was  superintendent  of  the  public  schools  of 
Portsmouth,  Ohio.  In  1861  he  moved  to  Columbus  and  bought  the  Ohio 
Educational  Monthly,  which  was  conducted  by  him  for  fifteen  years,  and 
became  under  his  management  the  foremost  paper  of  its  kind  in  the 
country.  From  1870  to  1876  he  published  in  connection  with  this  the 
National  Teacher.  Meanwhile  he  was  actively  engaged  in  teaching  also. 
In  1863  he  was  appointed  state  commissioner  of  the  common  schools, 
and  during  his  three  years'  tenure  of  this  office  he  was  instrumental  in 
securing  the  laws  establishing  the  existing  institute  system  of  Ohio,  cre- 
ating the  state  board  of  examiners,  and  requiring  all  teachers  to  possess 
an  adequate  knowledge  of  pedagogical  theory  and  practice.  Western 
Reserve  and  Marietta  colleges  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  Master 
of  Arts.  In  1876  he  became  president  of  Purdue  LTniversity,  Lafayette, 
Indiana,  and  in  the  same  year  he  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws 
both  from  Marietta  and  from  the  State  University  of  Indiana.  Dr. 
White  was  president  of  Purdue  for  seven  years,  and  during  this  time  the 
attendance  increased  more  than  seven  fold.  He  resigned  in  1883,  and 
went  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  to  enter  into  literary  work.  In  1886  he  was 
appointed  superintendent  of  the  public  schools  of  Cincinnati,  and  he 
served  for  two  terms.  He  returned,  in  1891,  to  Columbus,  Ohio,  and 
there  his  last  years  were  spent,  engaged  in  literary  labors.  Dr.  White 
stood  high  as  a  writer  on  education.  "White's  Arithmetic"  is  a  house- 
hold name  among  those  now  in  middle  life,  and  he  was  the  author  of 
many  other  text  books.  .A.mong  his  notable  works  were :  An  edition  of 
the  school  law,  prepared  and  codified  by  him  in  1865,  with  opinions  and 
directions,  as  a  manual  for  school  officers ;  "Elements  of  Pedagogy" 
(1886)  ;  "School  Management"  (1893)  :  "Art  of  Teaching"  (1902).  Sev- 
eral of  his  papers  were  published  and  widely  distributed  by  the  Ignited 
States  Bureau  of  Education.  He  was  often  styled  "the  grand  old  man" 
of  the  educational  profession.  Scholarly,  accurate  in  speech  and  writing, 
a  man  of  philosophical  force,  professional  devotion  and  experience,  he 


t^^c^>=^^0;zz^zzr 


WEST  VIRGIXIA  479 

reaped  well  deserved  honors.  In  1863  he  was  president  of  the  Ohio 
Teachers'  Association,  in  1868  of  the  National  Superintendents':  Associa- 
tion, and  of  the  National  Educational  Association  in  1872 ;  also  of  the 
National  Council  of  Education,  in  1884  and  1885.  He  was  the  mover, 
in  1866,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  National  Superintendents'  Associa- 
tion in  Washington  for  the  formation  of  a  national  bureau  of  education, 
and  he  framed  the  bill  which  created  it.  In  the  study  of  educational 
work  and  in  lecturing,  Dr.  White  traveled  extensively:  he  was  lecturing 
at  Asbury  Park,  New  Jersey,  when  he  was  taken  with  his  last  sickness. 
In  the  Presbyterian  church  he  was  for  nearly  fifty  years  a  ruling  elder, 
and  for  many  years  he  was  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Lane 
Theological  Seminary,  Cincinnati.  He  was  an  earnest  church  worker, 
and  sometimes  lectured  on  moral  and  religious  subjects,  these  lectures 
being,  like  his  educational  works,  of  unusual  excellence. 

Dr.  Emerson  Elbridge  White  married,  at  Hudson,  Ohio,  July  26, 
1853,  Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  Henry  Wells  and  Clarissa  (  Church)  Sabin, 
who  was  born  at  Strongsville,  Cuyahoga  county,  Ohio,  October  15,  1827, 
died  July  19,  1901.  The  Sabin  family  is  of  Huguenot  origin;  the  line  is 
as  follows:  (I)  William,  died  in  1687:  went  from  France  to  England, 
settled  at  Rehoboth,  Massachusetts,  in  1643.  (II)  Benjamin,  died  in 
1725;  moved  to  Pomfret,  Connecticut.  (Ill)  Benjamin,  died  in  1750. 
(IV)  Elisha,  born  in  1705,  died  in  1760;  moved  to  Dudley,  Massachu- 
setts. (V)  Elisha,  born  in  1733,  died  in  1798;  revolutionary  soldier; 
settled  at  Rockingham,  Vermont.  (VI)  Levi,  born  in  1764,  died  in  1808; 
physician.  (VII)  Henry  Wells,  born  April  12,  1795,  died  March  3, 
1871 ;  settled  at  Strongsville,  Ohio,  died  at  Hudson,  Ohio.  Children  of 
Dr.  Emerson  Elbridge  and  Mary  Ann  (Sabin)  White  were  five  in  num- 
ber, of  whom  two  now  survive,  Albert  Blakeslee  and  William  Emerson. 

(IX)  Albert  Blakeslee,  son  of  Dr.  Emerson  Elbridge  and  Mary  Ann 
(Sabin)  White,  was  born  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  September  22,  1856.  At 
the  age  of  fourteen  he  acted  as  private  secretary  to  his  father,  then  pub- 
lishing at  Columbus  the  Ohio  Educational  Monthly  and  the  National 
Teacher,  and  thus  he  gained  his  first  knowledge  of  the  art  of  journalism. 
He  was  graduated  from  Marietta  College,  Marietta,  Ohio,  as  valedic- 
torian of  the  large  class  of  1878.  After  his  graduation  he  entered  jour- 
nalism, becoming  a  one-third  owner  of  the  Daily  Journal,  of  Lafayette, 
Indiana.  For  three  years  Mr.  White  was  managing  editor  of  that  paper. 
But  the  climate  of  that  part  of  the  country  seriously  disagreed  with  his 
health,  forcing  him  to  seek  residence  in  a  section  better  suited  to  him. 
On  this  account,  in  December.  1881,  he  purchased  the  State  Journal,  of 
Parkersburg,  West  Virginia,  and  this  city  has  been  the  place  of  his 
abode  from  that  time.  Earlier  in  that  year  he  had  received  from  Mari- 
etta College  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts.  The  State  Journal  was  a 
weekly  paper,  printed  on  a  hand  press.  It  was  greatly  improved  by  Mr. 
White.  In  July.  1883,  Mr.  S.  B.  Baker  entered  into  association  with 
him,  and  they  then  began  to  publish  a  daily  edition,  which  became  one 
of  the  most  successfuf  and  influential  papers  in  West  Virginia,  and  as 
a  Republican  paper  accomplished  great  things  for  the  party,  at  that  time 
the  minority  party  in  this  state.  Viewed  simply  as  a  newspaper,  it 
opened  a  new  era  to  the  people  of  Parkersburg.  Mr.  White  has  been 
president  of  the  West  Virginia  Press  .\ssociation.  and  has  ably  filled 
other  offices  in  this  organization.  At  the  meeting  of  the  National  Edi- 
torial Association  in  Denver.  Colorado,  in  1887,  he  was  elected _  presi- 
dent, and  he  presided  at  the  meeting  held  at  San  .Antonio.  Texas,  in  No- 
vember, 1888.  He  has  not,  however,  been  engaged  in  journalism  since 
June,  1899,  when  he  sold  his  interest  in  the  State  Journal     The  twenty- 


48o  WEST  VIRGINIA 


one  years  during  which  he  was  engaged  in  newspaper  work   formed  a 
period  of  marked  success. 

Air.  White's  entrance  into  pubhc  life  came  with  his  appointment  to 
the  ofilce  of  collector  of  internal  revenue  for  the  district  of  West  Vir- 
ginia, which  appointment  was  received  from  President  Harrison,  and 
took  effect  in  June,  1889.  He  served  under  this  appointment  for  four 
years,  and  he  was  appointed  for  another  term  of  four  years  in  the  same 
office,  from  June,  1897,  by  appointment  of  President  McKinley.  In  July, 
1900,  he  was  unanimously  nominated  by  the  Republican  party  for  the 
ofitice  of  governor  of  West  \'irginia,  and  this  nomination  was  followed 
by  his  election,  with  the  largest  majority  ever  given  to  any  candidate 
for  the  governorship  of  this  state,  approximately  twenty  thousand. 
During  his  temi  of  office,  which  extended  from  March  4,  1901,  to 
March  4,  1905,  Governor  White  stood  for  soundly  progressive  policies,  j 
but  his  name  is  especially  associated  with  the  tax  laws  of  West  Virginia,  j 
which  were  revolutionized  in  his  administration.  By  laws  passed  in  Au- 
gust, 1904,  at  a  special  session  of  the  legislature,  and  amended  and  per-  ! 
fected  at  the  ensuing  regular  session,  in  January,  1905,  the  office  of  1 
state  tax  commissioner  was  created,  and  the  state's  present  system  of 
tax  laws  was  established.  When  Governor  White  retired  from  his  office, 
the  great  work  of  "tax  reform"  was  thoroughly  imbedded  in  the  statutes 
of  West  Virginia,  and  the  working  of  these  new  laws  has  vindicated  his 
judgment  and  energy  in  securing  their  enactment.  They  have  now  been 
in  force  for  nine  years,  and  have  given  to  West  Virginia  the  lowest  aver- 
age tax  rates  of  any  state  in  the  Union.  Other  states  have  copied  these 
laws  in  their  own  legislation.  From  March,  1907,  to  December,  1908,  Mr. 
White  served  as  state  tax  commissioner.  Mr.  White  has  always  been 
active  in  politics,  and  has  served  on  county,  congressional,  and  state 
committees ;  for  some  years  he  was  secretary  of  the  Republican  state 
committee.  As  a  campaign  speaker  he  is  both  interesting  and  con- 
vincing. 

Except  during  the  period  in  which  he  held  office  of  state  tax  com- 
missioner. Air.  W'hite  has  been  actively  engaged  in  business  since  his  re- 
tirement from  the  governorship.  He  assisted  in  founding  and  establish- 
ing the  Southern  States  Alutual  Life  Insurance  Company,  of  Charles-  I 
ton,  West  Virginia,  and  of  this  company  he  is  still  first  vice-president. 
In  his  home  city  he  is  president  of  the  Parkersburg  Chair  Company,  j 
and  he  is  president  and  cashier  of  the  Parkersburg  Banking  and  Trust 
Company.  He  is  vice-president  of  the  Parkersburg  Ice  &  Coal  Com- 
pany, and  vice-president  and  treasurer  of  the  Ohio  \'alley  Bending  Com- 
pany, which  also  is  a  Parkersburg  corporation.  Air.  White  is  president 
of  the  Briary  Alountain  Coal  Company  and  is  director  in  a  number  of 
other  important  companies  and  banks.  While  he  is  not  a  man  of  wealth, 
he  is  an  excellent  business  man.  In  his  whole  career,  as  business  man, 
as  journalist,  and  as  public  man.  Mr.  White  has  led  a  very  active  life; 
he  has  an  exceptional  capacity  for  work,  is  a  man  of  executive  ability, 
and  has  acquired  wide  experience.  He  has  been  prominent  in  those 
movements  which  have  to  do  with  social  betterment  and  civic  improve- 
ment. Air.  ^^'hite  is  a  member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Parkersburg.  i 

He  married,  at  Marietta.  Ohio,  October  2.  1879,  Agnes,  daughter  of  . 
William  Skinner  and  Catharine  ( Clark )  Ward,  of  Alarietta,  Ohio.  The  . 
Ward  family  is  one  of  the  leading  pioneer  families  of  the  Ohio  valley,  I 
and  in  its  line  of  descent  from  the  immigrant  stands  General  Artemas  j 
AVard,  the  famous  leader  in  the  early  days  of  the  revolutionary  war.  | 
The  line  from  the  immigrant  is:  (J)  William  W^ard.  died  in  1687;  j 
freeman   at   Sudbury,    Alassachusetts.    in    1643.      (^^)    Captain    William  I 


WEST  VIRGINIA  481 

Ward,  died  in  1697.  (Ill)  Colonel  Xahuin  Ward,  born  about  1684,  died 
in  1754:  one  of  the  King's  council.  (IV)  Artemas  Ward,  the  general. 
(\')  Thomas  Waiter  Ward,  born  in  1735,  died  about  1812;  high  sherit? 
of  Worcester  county,  Massachusetts.  ( VI )  Nahum  Ward,  came  to 
Marietta,  Ohio,  in  181 1.  (VII)  William  Skinner  Ward.  Mrs.  White 
is  a  member  of  the  Colonial  Dames  and  of  the  Daughters  of  the  American 
Revolution.  Children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  White  :  1.  Katharine  \'aughan, 
married,  February  16,  1905,  William  H.  Wolfe;  three  children.  2.  Ethel 
Sabin,  married.  April  27,  1910,  Harry  Otis  Hiteshew.  3.  Grace  Rolston, 
twin  of  Ethel  Sabin,  unmarried.  4  Ward  Emerson,  unmarried.  5.  Al- 
bert Blakeslee,  unmarried. 

(IX)  William  Emerson,  son  of  Dr.  Emerson  Elbridge  and  Mary 
Ann  (Sabin)  White,  was  born  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  November  6,  1862. 
His  education  was  begun  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  city,  and  he 
entered  Purdue  University,  Lafayette,  Indiana,  when  his  father  became 
president  of  that  institution.  He  was  graduated  from  Purdue  in  1881 
with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science.  For  the  next  three  years  he 
taught  school  in  Indiana ;  the  last  two  years  of  these  three  he  was  sup- 
erintendent of  the  schools  at  Albion,  Indiana.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one 
he  received  a  life  certificate  to  teach  in  the  schools  of  Indiana.  In  1884 
Mr.  \\'hite  entered  the  law  department  of  Cincinnati  University,  and  at 
the  same  time  became  a  student  in  the  law  office  of  Champion  &  Williams. 
in  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  Graduating  in  1886  from  this  college,  he  received 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws,  and  was  one  of  the  six  speakers  chosen 
out  of  a  class  of  one  hundred  and  five  for  the  exercises  of  the  com- 
mencement. In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  he  went  to  Winfield,  Kan- 
sas, and  there  for  about  seven  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
law.  For  a  time  he  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Crow  &  White,  at 
Winfield.  afterward  of  Fink  &  \Miite.  In  February,  1893,  Mr.  White 
came  to  Parkersburg,  West  \'irginia,  at  the  solicitation  of  his  brother, 
Albert  Eilakeslee  White,  and  here  he  has  lived  since  that  time,  having  thus 
been  a  resident  of  this  city  now  for  twenty  years.  For  several  years  he 
continued  the  practice  of  his  profession,  being  a  partner  of  William  Nis- 
wonger  ?\Iiller,  now  a  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  West  Mrginia.  In 
July,  1897,  he  was  appointed  chief  deputy  collector  of  internal  revenue 
for  the  district  of  \\'est  \'irginia,  and  he  has  held  this  office  continuously 
from  that  time ;  for  about  a  year  in  all,  at  dififerent  times,  he  has  acted 
as  collector.  Owing  to  his  official  duties,  Mr.  White  gradually  retired 
from  the  practice  of  the  law.  In  political  life  he  is  a  Republican,  and 
he  formerly  took  an  active  part  as  a  speaker  in  many  campaigns.  He 
has  never  held  an  elective  office,  though  he  has  been  a  candidate  for  pros- 
ecuting attorney  of  Wood  county.  West  Mrginia,  and  for  judge  of  the 
circuit  court.  The  office  of  chief  deputy  collector  has  been  placed  under 
the  regidations  of  the  civil  service  laws,  and  since  that  time  Mr.  White 
has  not  actively  participated  in  politics.  He  is  a  member  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  at  Parkersburg. 

William  Emerson  White  married  (first)  at  Lafayette,  Indiana.  Sep- 
tember 22,  1887,  Jessie  Florence,  daughter  of  Langdon  S.  and  Caroline 
Thompson,  who  died  at  Parkersburg,  January  14,  1896.  Her  father  was 
then  a  professor  in  Purdue  University,  but  is  now  a  teacher  of  drawing 
in  the  public  schools  of  Jersey  City,  New  Jersey.  Mr.  White  married 
(second)  at  Parkersburg,  April  27,  1899.  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Daniel 
and  Mary  (Ogden)  Gould.  Children,  both  by  first  marriage;  1.  Eleanor 
Louise,  born  July  21,  1890;  graduate  of  Wilson  College,  in  the  class  of 
1909 ;  now  a  teacher  of  modern  languages  in  the  high  school  at  Parkers- 
burg. 2.  Langdon  Thompson,  born  June  7,  1894;  a  student  at  Marietta 
College,  Marietta,  Ohio. 


482  WEST  VIRGINIA 

The  history  of  a  country  is  best  studied  by  comparing 
REYNOLDS  the  Hves  of  those  men  who  have  achieved  records  in 
the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the  pubhc  offices  to 
whicli  they  have  been  called.  By  the  results  they  achieve  in  filling  these 
responsible  positions  they  aid  materially  in  developing  the  country  to  its 
fullest  extent.  Among  the  men  who  have  attained  a  reputation  along 
these  lines  in  the  state  of  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  is  Judge  Francis 
Marion  Reynolds,  of  Keyser,  Mineral  county. 

Judge  Reynolds'  grandfather,  Cornelius  Reynolds,  emigrated  from 
Loudoun  county,  Virginia,  and  was  a  pioneer  settler  near  Pruntytown 
then  in  Harrison  county.  Pruntytown  later  became  the  county  seat  of 
Taylor  county  after  the  latter  was  established  from  a  part  of  Harrison 
county.  When  his  grandfather  moved  to  that  section  it  was  practically 
a  wilderness  and  he  had  to  clear  the  spot  where  he  erected  his  first  home. 
Judge  Reynolds'  grandmother's  maiden  name  was  Mary  Ehart.  They 
had  two  sons,  the  elder  named  William,  who  moved  about  the  year  1856 
to  the  state  of  Missouri.  Judge  Reynolds'  father's  name  was  Cornelius 
Ehart  Reynolds.  His  mother's  maiden  name  was  Phoebe  Ellen  Smith 
and  she  was  the  daughter  of  a  minister. 

Judge  Reynolds  was  b(jrn  September  18,  1843,  O"  th^  o'd  homestead 
near  the  house  first  built  by  his  grandfather.  This  house  where  he  was 
born  was  located  on  the  Northwestern  Turnpike  leading  from  Winches- 
ter, Virginia,  to  Parkersburg  on  the  Ohio  river,  and  was  at  that  time  one 
of  the  main  thoroughfares  leading  toward  the  west.  After  remaining 
on  the  farm  with  his  father  until  1862,  and  in  the  meantime  attending 
during  the  winter  months  such  schools  as  were  then  in  that  vicinity,  he 
became  a  student  at  the  old  Monongalia  Academy  in  Morgantown  in 
the  fall  of  1862  and  continued  there  until  the  summer  of  1864,  when  he 
commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Judge  Edward  C.  Bunker  at 
Morgantown,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1865.  He  commenced  the 
practice  of  his  profession  at  New  Creek  then  Hampshire  county,  now  ; 
Mineral  county.  West  Virginia,  although  he  resided  for  a  short  time  at  1 
Romney,  the  county  seat  of  Hampshire  county  before  the  county  of  I 
Mineral  was  established.  He  was  married  to  Belle  R.  Hennen,  oldest ! 
daughter  of  Washington  and  Justina  Hennen,  at  Morgantown,  October, 
1866.     He  has  three  sons  and  one  daughter  still  living. 

His  political  support  was  given  to  the  Republican  party  from  the  ' 
time  he  cast  his  first  vote,  which  was  for  Abraham  Lincoln  as  president 
in  1864.  His  ability  as  a  lawyer  was  very  soon  made  apparent  and  he 
was  elected  to  the  office  of  prosecuting  attorney  for  Mineral  county ' 
and  served  two  terms  of  four  years  each.  He  also  was,  at  the  same 
time  he  was  first  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  Mineral  county,  elected 
prosecuting  attorney  of  Grant  county  and  continued  to  hold  the  latter 
office  for  three  consecutive  terms  of  four  years  each  and  was  after- 
wards assistant  to  his  law  partner,  L.  J.  Forman,  as  prosecuting  at- 
torney for  three  terms  of  four  years  each.  He  also  served  three  terms 
as  a  member  of  the  legislature  of  West  Virginia,  1895-96,  1901-02  and 
1903-04,  including  the  extra  session  of  July,  1904,  when  the  new  tax 
system  for  West  Virginia  was  adopted.  During  all  of  these  terms  he 
served  at  each  session  as  chairman  of  the  finance  committee  and  was  a 
member  of  the  judiciary  committee  and  also  other  committees.  He 
was  chosen  Republican  nominee  for  congress  to  represent  the  second 
district  of  West  Virginia  in  1884,  having  William  L.  Wilson  as  his  op- 
ponent. In  1896  he  was  chosen  as  a  delegate  at  large  to  the  Republican 
convention,  which  met  at  St.  Louis,  and  served  on  the  committee  on 
platform,  and  was  one  of  a  few  members  who  at  that  time  voted  to  put 
in  the  platform  an  unqualified  declaration  in  favor  of  the  single  gold 


J.      J'.      '.JllOf/fJffll 


WEST  VIRGINIA  483 

standard,  which  was  soon  afterwards  adopted  by  congress.  In  1890 
he  was  the  nominee  of  the  Republican  state  convention  for  judge  of 
the  supreme  court  of  appeals  against  Daniel  B.  Lucas.  He  was  chosen 
mayor  of  the  town  of  Keyser  and  tilled  this  office  very  acceptably.  He 
was  also  chosen  as  a  member  of  the  common  council  of  the  town,  and 
a  member  of  the  board  of  education,  in  which  positions  his  services  were 
in  demand.  He  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  board  of  regents  for 
the  Deaf  and  Blind  Schools  at  Romney,  and  was  elected  president  of 
that  board  in  1897,  and  continued  in  that  position  until  he  was  elected 
judge  of  the  sixteenth  judicial  circuit  at  the  election  of  1904,  which  cir- 
cuit is  composed  of  the  counties  of  Mineral,  Grant  and  Tucker,  and  he 
was  again  re-elected  in  1912  to  serve  a  second  term  of  eight  years  and 
continues  in  that  service  at  the  present  time. 

Among  the  financial  institutions  and  other  business  corporations  with 
which  Judge  Reynolds  is  connected  was  the  Keyser  Bank,  of  which  he 
was  elected  president  in  1887,  and  continued  to  hold  that  position  until 
that  bank  was  succeeded  by  the  First  National  Bank  of  Keyser,  and  he 
was  then  elected  president  of  the  latter  and  still  continues  to  hold  that 
position.  He  has  been  president  of  the  Keyser  Electric  Light  Company 
ever  since  it  commenced  business  in  1894,  also  director  in  the  Piedmont 
Grocery  Company.  Potomac  Milling  &  Ice  Company  and  the  Siever 
Hardware  Company. 

He  keeps  in  close  touch  with  religious  matters  and  became  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  1871  and  has  been  an  official  mem- 
ber of  the  church  ever  since.  He  was  also  chosen  superintendent  of 
the  Sunday  school  the  same  year  and  has  been  re-elected  to  that  posi- 
tion ever  since,  holding  the  office  for  forty-two  years. 


(  This  family  is  of  Scottish  origin.     A  family  of  the 

SNODGRASS     same  name  is  found  in  Ritchie  county.  West  Virginia, 
but    does    not    seem    to    be    closely    connected    with 
the   present    family. 

(I)  William  Snodgrass,  the  founder  of  this  family,  left  Scotland 
early  in  1700.  during  one  of  the  Scottish  feuds,  and  finally  came  to  the 
American  colonies,  settling  on  what  is  now  Back  Creek.  Berkeley  county, 
Virginia.  He  was  a  farmer,  in  religion  a  Presbyterian.  He  is  buried  in 
the  churchyard  of  ]\Tount  Zion  Church.  Hedgesville.  Virginia.  He  mar- 
ried Catharine  Patterson.  Children,  several,  the  third  son  being  Robert, 
of  whom  further. 

(II)  Robert,  son  of  William  and  Catharine  (Patterson)  Snodgrass, 
married.  March  31.  1762.  Susannah  Rawlings.  Among  their  children, 
the  seventh  was  William,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  William  (2),  son  of  Robert  and  Susannah  (Rawlings)  Snod- 
grass. was  born  in  1775.  died  in  1835.  He  married  Nancy  Fryatt.  She 
was  a  descendant  of  Archbishop  Tillotson.  of  Canterbury.  England.  Her 
parents  were  wealthy  in  England,  and  brought  with  them  to  America 
much  silver  plate  and  other  valuables,  beside  fine  horses  and  household 
goods.  They  owned  a  large  estate  in  Berkeley  county,  and  were  buried 
in  their  own  family  burying  ground.  Some  of  their  library  is  in  posses- 
sion of  various  descendants,  and  among  these  works  are  many  volumes  of 
sermons  of  Archbishop  Tillotson.  They  were  members  of  the  Church  of 
England.  Among  the  children  of  William  and  Nancy  (Fryatt)  Snod- 
grass. the  second  was  John  Fryatt,  of  whom  further. 

(IV)  John  Fryatt;  son  of  William  (2)  and  Nancy  (Fryatt)  Snod- 
grass, was  born  March  4,  1802.  in  Berkeley  county,  Virginia,  died  at 
Parkersburg,  Wood  county,  Virginia,  June  5,  1854.     He  was  of  a  bril- 


484  WEST  \IRGIXIA 

liant  mind,  a  fine  student,  and  received  a  liberal  education  at  college.  He 
moved  to  Parkersburg  and  there  began  the  practice  of  law.  In  the  history 
of  his  time  he  was  prominent  in  business,  social  and  political  life,  noted 
for  his  skill  as  a  lawyer,  and  also  figured  conspicuously  in  the  affairs  of 
the  nation.  The  house  now  used  as  the  Blennerhassett  Club  House  at 
f  arkersburg  was  erected  by  him,  and  there  he  lived ;  it  was  one  of  the 
finest  homes  in  the  west,  noted  for  its  hospitality,  and  many  social  affairs 
were  held  under  its  roof.  Every  summer  he  drove  his  own  coach  to  the 
White  Sulphur  Springs,  where  also  he  and  his  family  were  always 
prominent  in  the  social  life.  In  1850  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  state  con- 
stitutional convention  held  at  Richmond.  The  Baltimore  &  Ohio  rail- 
road had  not  then  been  built.  He  was  drawn  in  his  own  coach  by  way  of 
Staunton,  having  relays  of  horses  at  convenient  points.  To  the  thirty- 
third  congress  he  was  elected  as  a  representative  as  a  Democrat.  The 
Democratic  party  nominated  him  for  governor  of  Virginia,  and  he  had 
just  received  this  nomination  at  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  at 
his  home  at  Parkersburg.  He  was  always  ready  to  lend  money  to  those 
in  need  and  to  assist  those  who  asked  his  help.  Interest  paid  with  a  load 
of  wood  or  in  potatoes  satisfied  him.  He  married  (first)  in  1837,  Louisa 
Kinnaird.  She  was  a  noted  southern  beauty,  and  was  descended  from 
the  Kinnairds  of  the  Scottish  nobility.  He  married  (second)  Virginia 
Quarrier.  Children  of  John  Fryatt  Snodgrass :  1.  John  William,  mar- 
ried Eunice  Hall.  2.  Kinnaird,  of  whom  further.  3.  Lucy,  married  G. 
K.  Storm,  the  celebrated  portrait  painter.  4.  Mary  Louisa,  married 
George  H.  Alurphy,  a  prominent  attorney  of  Baltimore.  5.  Sara  Vir- 
ginia, married  Edward  Wilcox.  I 

( \' )  Kinnaird,  son  of  John  Fryatt  and  Louisa  ( Kinnaird )  Snod- 
grass. was  born  at  Parkersburg,  May  30,  1838,  died  at  Parkersburg,  i 
February  11,  1907.  He  received  a  thorough  and  liberal  education,  and  i 
graduated  with  honor  from  St.  James  College  at  the  age  of  nineteen. 
On  June  11,  1859,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Parkersburg.  In  1862  j 
he  retired  to  his  farm  at  Williamstown,  Wood  county,  West  Virginia,  } 
where  he  resided  until  1878;  in  that  year  he  returned  to  Parkersburg.  1 
He  lived  an  honorable,  upright,  useful  life,  exemplary  in  all  respects.  I 
His  intellect  was  bright,  yet  pure ;  his  disposition  warm  and  genial ;  his  i 
character  firm  and  resolute.  Devoted  to  his  family  and  true  to  his  j 
friends,  straightforward  in  all  his  dealings,  ever  ready  to  assist  others,.  ' 
he  won  the  love  and  commanded  the  respect  of  all  who  knew  him,  and  I 
his  friends  were  legion.  Although  he  could  never  be  classed  as  an  office  j 
seeker,  he  held  many  positions  of  responsibility,  and  in  these  he  served  J 
the  public  ably  and  satisfactorily,  so  that  his  life  is  an  important  part  of  | 
the  history  of  Wood  county.  Under  the  West  Virginia  constitution  of  j 
1863,  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  supervisors.  From  Janu-  : 
ary  i,  1877,  to  January  I,  1 88 1,  he  presided  as  judge  of  the  county  court,  jl 
which  then  had  jurisdiction  of  law  and  chancery  cases  and  administered  h 
the  fiscal  afifairs  of  the  county  also.  He  served  as  commissioner  of  \: 
the  circuit  court  from  September  4,  1879,  ""til  he  resigned  November  1 
27,  1887:  from  July  I.  1887,  to  July  i,  1889,  he  was  recorder  or  judge  j 
of  the  police  court.  He  was  deputy  clerk  of  the  county  court  from  June  • 
23.  1890,  to  January  12.  1904;  and  from  October  8,  1883,  until  his  death,  1 
he  was  commissioner  of  accounts.  Whatever  Judge  Snodgrass  did  was  l- 
always  well  done. 

He  married,  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  October  24,  1865,  Sarah  R.  Bukcy, 
who  died  January  17,  1907.  She  was  a  woman  of  lovely  charm.  Chil- 
dren:  I.  William,  superintendent  of  the  Waters-Pierce  Oil  Company, 
at  Tampico,  Mexico :  married  Selina  Bakewell  Martin,  of  a  New  Mar- 
tinsville, West  Virginia,  family.     2.  George  Lewis,  well  known  in  social 


WEST  MRGIXIA  485 

and  club  life.  He  is  a  member  of  the  fire  insurance  firm  of  Burwell  & 
Snodgrass.  3.  Kinnaird,  an  enterprising  young  business  man  of  Park- 
ersburg,  and  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Shattuck  &  Jackson,  wholesale 
grocers  of  Parkersburg :  in  this  firm  he  holds  the  offices  of  secretary 
and  assistant  manager.  4.  \"irginia  Ouarrier,  married  John  A.  Luttrell. 
5.  Nannie.     6.  Lucy.     7.  Juliet. 


Ezekiel  C.  Snodgrass,  the  first  member  of  this  family 
SNODGRASS  about  whom  we  have  definite  information,  was  a  law- 
yer, and  practiced  his  profession  many  years  in  Mar- 
ion, Wetzel,  and  other  neighboring  counties  of  northwestern  Virginia.  He 
married  Lavinia  Arnett.  Children  :  Ellery  B.,  of  whom  further  :  Colum- 
bus A.,  a  lawyer;  William  G.,  a  lawyer;  Robert  E.  L.,  a  lawyer;  Charles 
R.,  a  merchant ;  Thomas  J.  J.,  a  merchant :  Clarence  H. ;  A'ictoria;  Helen  ; 
Minnie ;  Cora. 

(H)  Ellery  B.,  son  of  Ezekiel  C.  and  Lavinia  (Arnett)  Snodgrass, 
was  born  at  Mannington,  Marion  county,  Virginia,  October  30,  1852, 
died  February  15,  1907.  Coming  to  New  Martinsville,  Wetzel  county. 
West  \'irginia,  he  here  practiced  law  thirty-five  years.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  At  one  time  he  was 
mayor  of  New  Martinsville,  and  for  a  number  of  years  he  was  president 
of  the  board  of  education.  He  married  ]\Iary  Belle,  daughter  of  John 
and  Mary  Barrick.  Children :  Glen,  of  whom  further ;  Virginia  F., 
married  A.  C.  Chapman ;  Margaret  C. 

(HI)  Glen,  son  of  Ellery  B.  and  Alary  Belle  (Barrick)  Snodgrass, 
was  born  at  New  Martinsville,  October  6,  1881.  His  education  was 
begim  in  the  public  schools.  Desiring  to  follow  the  profession  of  his 
father  and  grandfather,  he  studied  in  the  law  department  of  the  LTni- 
versity  of  West  Virginia,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the  spring  of 
1902.  Lentil  the  'death  of  his  father  he  practiced  with  him  at  New  Mar- 
tinsville :  since  his  death  he  has  practiced  alone  at  the  same  place.  Mr. 
Snodgrass  has  been  editor  of  the  U'ctcc!  Democrat  since  ]May  25,  1908. 
From  1905  to  191 1  he  was  recorder  of  New  Martinsville,  and  in  1912 
was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  Wetzel  county.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

Mr.  Snodgrass  married,  July  0,  IQ06.  Mary  E..  daughter  of  ]\Iartin 
and  Mary  Kavanagh.     No  children. 


Elisha  Kelley  Snodgrass,  of  Preston.  Idaho,  de- 
SNODGR.\SS  scends  from  a  notable  Mrginia  family.  In  1656.  or 
thereabouts,  one  Phillip  Snodgrass  came  from  Lon- 
don to  Jamestown,  Mrginia,  and  located.  He  was  one  of  a  number  of 
younger  sons  of  an  old  Derbyshire  family,  and  with  several  companions 
of  his  own  station  in  life  adventured  to  the  New  World,  hoping  to  build 
for  themselves  fortunes.  He  located,  after  a  time,  on  the  James  river, 
many  miles  above  Jamestown,  took  up  wild  land,  cleared  it  and  in  the 
course  of  time  was  the  owner  of  a  large  tobacco  farm.  He  was  among 
the  first  of  the  colonists  to  successfully  cultivate  small  grain,  and  erected 
a  primitive  mill  for  the  purpose  of  grinding  it,  which  proved  a  boon  to 
his  neighbors  as  well  as  himself.  He  became  known  in  his  section  as  one 
of  the  most  advanced  agriculturists  in  spite  of  the  unceasing  wars  with 
his  Indian  neighbors  and  the  marauding  of  the  visiting  and  northern 
tribes.  He  also  proved  himself  an  Indian  fighter  and  frequently  pitted 
his  wits  against  those  of  the  red  men.  He  constructed  a  dwelling  liouse 
of  hewn  logs  and  stone,  with  a  well  in  the  center,  which  was  the  admir- 


486  WEST  MRGIXIA 

ation  of  tlie  pioneers  of  that  section  and  the  despair  of  the  savages,  who 
stormed  it  time  and  again  unsuccessfully.  He  was  universally  respected 
and  held  several  colonial  offices.  He  died  in  the  house  of  logs  and  stone, 
leaving  a  large  estate  and  a  noble  name  and  record  to  his  children  and 
descendants.  As  years  rolled  around  it  was  found  that  the  original  estate 
was  too  small,  and  the  younger  generation  began  to  move  away  from  the 
Tide-water  section,  going  west  and  north.  Thus  several  members  of  the 
family  finally  located  in  what  is  now  known  as  West  Mrginia,  and  from 
them  descend  the  families  of  the  name  in  Berkeley  county  and  ntlier 
places. 

Elisha  Kelley  Snodgrass  was  born  December  25,  1878,  in  Martins- 
burg,  Berkeley  county.  West  \'irginia.  at  the  old  homestead  of  the  Snod- 
grass family.  "Wheaton."  and  is  a  direct  lineal  descendant  of  Phillip 
Snodgrass.  the  \'irginia  immigrant.  On  leaving  school  he  was  educated 
in  the  public  and  private  institutions  of  his  native  city,  and  later  entered 
the  office  of  a  local  civil  engineer,  where  he  took  up  a  course  of  civil 
engineering,  which  he  practiced  for  twelve  years.  At  the  expiration  of 
that  time  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Messrs.  Herbard  and  Bailey 
under  the  firm  name  of  the  Albott  Construction  Company,  which  lia< 
since  enjoyed  a  prosperous  business,  which  they  are  extending  each  year. 
They  have  an  unlimited  field  and  their  construction  is  known  and  ap- 
proved throughout  the  country. 

Mr.  Snodgrass  married,  November,  1906.  IMatilda  Marsh,  daughter  nf 
Dr.  Elias  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Griswold)  Marsh,  of  Patterson,  New  jer- 
sey.    Children:  John  Tabb  and  Robert  Marsh. 


As  suggested  by  the  name,  Oscar  Jenkins,  of  Parkers- 
JENKINS  burg,  is  of  Welsh  descent.  His  maternal  descent  is 
Welsh  also,  his  mother's  maiden  name  having  been 
Hughes.  Both  these  surnames  have  become  commen  in  the  United 
States,  and  at  least  one  Hughes  has  a  national  reputation.  Justice  Hughes 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  formerly  governor  of  New 
York.  The  names  Jenkins  and  Hughes  are  found  in  various  parts  of 
the  United  States,  and  each  is  probably  the  possession  of  a  number  of 
distinct  families  in  Wales. 

(T)    Ferguson  Jenkins,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom 
we  have  definite  information,   came   from  Pennsylvania,  and  settled   in 

Preston  county,   Virginia.     He  married  Jaco.     Child :     Frank,   of 

whom  further. 

(H)    Frank,  son  of  Ferguson  and  ( Jaco )  Jenkins,  was  born  at 

Fetterman,  West  Virginia,  in  1835,  and  died  at  Parkersburg,  June  7,  1890. 
During  the  civil  war,  about  July,  1861.  he  went  from  Preston  county,  . 
Virginia,  to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  where  he  remained  about  two  years, 
then  settled  at  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia.  He  was  a  merchant, 
and  established  at  Parkersburg  nearly  the  first  if  not  actually  the  first 
wholesale  grocery  business  in  this  city,  which  he  sold  to  Thompson  &j 
Jackson.  At  a  later  time  he  went  again  into  the  wholesale  grocery  busi- 
ness, in  partnership  with  James  Monroe  Jackson  Jr.,  under  the  name  of 
Jenkins.  Jackson  &  Company.  Afterward  he  bought  the  whole  interest 
of  the  firm  and  he  continued  in  business  until  his  death.  While  he  tookl 
no  part  in  the  civil  war.  his  sympathies  were  with  the  Confederacy,  but 
a  brother  was  a  soldier  in  the  Union  army.  Frank  Jenkins  married 
Sarah  Ann,  daughter  of  Francis  and  Elizabeth  (Hempstead)  Hughes, 
who  died  suddenly  August  5,  191 1.  Like  the  Jenkins  family,  ttie 
Hughes  familv  was  divided  by  the  civil  war.  One  brother  of  Mrs.  Jen- 
kins fought  in  the  L^nion  army,  another  was  a  delegate  to  the  Virginia 


WEST  MRGIXIA  487 

■Secession  convention  and  signed  the  ordinance  of  ^ecession.  This 
brother,  though  not  a  soldier,  was  accidentally  killed  at  Rich  Mountain 
at  tiie  beginning  of  the  war ;  he  was  carrying  a  message  to  a  Confederate 
general  and  by  a  misunderstanding  was  fired  on  by  the  Confederate 
soldiers.  Children  of  Frank  and  Sarah  Ann  (Hughes)  Jenkins:  i. 
Arabella,  deceased ;  married  George  Bastabal ;  two  children.  2.  Oscar, 
of  whom  further.  3.  John  Sherman;  married  and  has  three  children.  4. 
Ida  Dell,  unmarried. 

I  III)  Oscar,  son  of  Frank  and  Sarah  Ann  (Hughes)  Jenkins,  was 
lioin  in  Preston  county,  Virginia,  January  11,  1861.  He  was  thus  but  a 
few  months  old  when  his  father  and  mother  moved  to  Louisville,  and 
-till  in  his  infancy  when  they  brought  him  from  that  place  to  Parkers- 
Imrg.  Here  his  education  was  received  in  the  public  schools,  including 
tlu'  high  school.  From  the  Parkersburg  schools  he  went  to  the  Uni- 
\er-ity  of  West  Virginia,  but  he  left  college  to  enter  business  life,  be- 
i;iiining  in  his  father's  store.  There  he  learned  the  business  thoroughly 
in  e\ery  department,  and  became  bookkeeper,  buyer  and  salesman.  For 
•(•\eral  years  he  was  in  partnership  with  his  father,  under  the  style  of 
I'rank  Jenkins  &  Son.  Afterward  he  entered  the  employment  of  the 
\\  (lolson  Spice  Company,  of  Toledo,  Ohio,  for  whom  j\Ir.  Jenkins  has 
now  been  traveling  salesman  twenty- four  years.  This  firm  is  one  of 
tlie  most  important  in  America,  and  is  the  largest  cofifee  and  spice  con- 
cern in  the  country.  Mr.  Jenkins  now  looks  after  the  wholesale  grocery 
trade  only,  and  sells  in  seven  states :  there  is  only  one  other  salesman 
for  this  company  doing  the  same  kind  of  work.  In  politics  also  he  has 
always  been  active,  being  a  Democrat.  For  years  he  has  been  a  mem- 
ber and  secretary  of  the  Wood  county  Democratic  coinmittee.  and  re- 
peatedly a  delegate  to  state  conventions.  Once  he  was  chairman  of 
the  senatorial  executive  committee.  Both  in  conventions  and  on  the 
platform  he  has  been  active  in  campaign  speaking ;  he  has  presided  in 
several  conventions,  and  has  often  been  requested  to  place  men  in  nom- 
ination. In  1908.  without  seeking  the  office,  he  was  urged  by  his  friends 
for  the  nomination  for  state  auditor,  and  finally  received  this  nomina- 
tion by  acclamation.  Governor  White  appointed  Mr.  Jenkins  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Berkeley  Springs  board.  The  property  under  the  control  of 
this  board  is  state  property,  having  been  given  to  A'irginia  bv  Lord  Fair- 
fax, and  having  thus  become  the  property  of  West  Virginia  at  the 
formation  of  the  new  state.  It  was  given  to  Lord  Fairfax  by  a  grant  of 
the  British  government.  By  reappointments.  'Sir.  Jenkins  is  still  a  mem- 
ber of  this  board,  and  is  now  its  secretary. 

Oscar  Jenkins  married,  at  Pomeroy,  Ohio,  May  31,  1887,  RTamie, 
daughter  of  James  William  and  Sophia  CMcKown")  Kelley,  who  was 
born  at  Hartford  City,  Mason  county.  West  Virginia,  April  3,  1864. 
The  Kelley  family  is  an  old  A^irginia  family,  from  .Mbermarle  county, 
not  ffir  from  White  Sulphur.  Reuben  McKown,  Mrs.  Jenkin's  maternal 
grandfather,  came  down  the  Great  Kanawha  river  with  Daniel  Boone; 
Boone  went  on  to  Kentucky,  but  Reuben  McKown  stopped  at  Point 
Pleasant.  Child  of  Oscar  and  Mamie  CKellv)  Jenkins:  Frank  Kelly, 
born  December  15.  i8q2;  he  is  now  finishing  his  education  at  the  Moim- 
tain  State  Business  College.  Parkersburg.  for  the  purpose  of  entering 
business  life. 


There  ha\'e  been  no  periods  of  retrocession  in  the 
.^DDLEMAX     professional  career  of  this  representative  member  of 

the  bar  of  the  city  of  AMieeling  for  he  has  been  in- 
defatigable and  earnest  in  his  chosen  field  of  endeavor  and  has  broueht 
to  bear  admirable  intellectual  and  technical  powers,  with  the  result  that 


488  WEST  \IRGIXIA 

he  has  gained  secure  prestige  as  a  versatile  advocate  and  well  f(jrtified 
counselor. 

Robert  JMilligan  Addleman  is  another  of  the  sterling  and  highly  es- 
teemed citizens  of  Wheeling  who  can  claim  the  fine  old  Keystone  state 
as  the  place  of  his  nativity,  and  he  is  a  representative  of  families  whose 
names  have  long  been  identified  with  the  annals  of  that  commonwealth. 
He  was  born  at  Clarksville,  Greene  county,  Pennsylvania,  July  21,  1866, 
and  is  a  son  of  Solomon  and  Xancy  (Hill)  Addleman,  both  of  whom 
were  likewise  natives  of  Pennsylvania.  The  father  devoted  the  major 
portion  of  his  active  life  to  the  vocation  of  farming  and  both  he  and  his 
wife  were  residents  of  Clarksville  at  the  time  of  their  deaths.  They 
were  folks  of  sterling  attributes  of  character  and  ever  commanded  the 
miequivocal  confidence  and  esteem  of  those  who  knew  them.  Of  their 
children  two  sons  and  three  daughters  are  now  living. 

To  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county  Robert  M.  Addleman  is  in- 
debted for  his  early  educational  training,  and  by  the  same  his  ambitiim 
for  wider  scholastic  discipline  was  defintely  quickened,  as  shown  by  tlic 
fact  that  he  thereafter  prosecuted  his  higher  academic  studies  in  Wayne-- 
burg  College  and  Bethany  College,  excellent  educational  institutions  nf 
his  native  state  and  West  \'irginia.  After  leaving  the  above  college- 
Mr.  Addleman  devoted  his  attention  to  preparing  himself  for  the  legal 
profession.  He  accordingly  entered  the  law  department  of  the  cele- 
brated University  of  Michigan,  at  Ann  Arbor,  in  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1895,  and  from  which  he  received  hi-^ 
well  earned  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  With  a  well  disciplined  mind 
and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  science  of  jurisprudence,  Mr.  Addle- 
man proved  admirably  fortified  for  the  practical  work  of  his  chosen  \n- 
cation.  and  his  success  therein  ofi^ers  the  best  voucher  for  his  ability  and 
his  strong  and  loyal  character  which  has  made  him  an  observer  of  tlu- 
highest  professional  ideals  and  enabled  him  to  honor  and  dignify  the  ex- 
act calling  to  which  he  has  devoted  himself  with  all  zeal  and  earn- 
estness. He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  West  \"irginia  in  the  autumn 
of  1895  and  has  since  that  time  been  actively  engaged  in  general  practice 
in  the  city  of  Wheeling,  where  he  has  retained  a  representative  clientele 
and  been  identified  with  much  important  litigation  in  the  various  court-. 
He  never  presents  a  case  before  court  or  jury  without  careful  prepara- 
tion and  he  has  many  distinctive  forensic  victories  to  his  credit.  He  ha- 
always  taken  an  active  interest  in  politics  and  has  been  a  zealous  and 
ettec'tive  advocate  of  the  principles  and  policies  for  which  the  Republi- 
can party  stands  sponsor  and  is  an  influential  factor  in  its  local  rank-^. 
He  served  as  city  solicitor  of  \\'heeling  from  J"ly  i.  1909  to  January  i, 
1913,  when  he  resigned  said  office  to  assume  the  duties  of  prosecuting 
attorney  for  Ohio  county.  West  Virginia,  to  which  he  was  elected  No- 
vember 5.  1912,  and  was' chairman  of  the  Republican  congressional  com- 
mittee of  the  first  congressional  district  of  ^^'est  \"irginia.  from  19 10 
until  1912.  In  the  time  honored  Masonic  fraternity  he  has  received  the 
thirty-second  degree  of  the  Ancient  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  and  of  thi^ 
body  he  is  an  active  and  appreciative  member  also  a  charter  member  of 
the 'Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles.  No.  344.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Statx 
Bar  Association,  and  also  of  the  Ohio  County  Bar  Association.  He  i- 
broad-minded,  progressive  and  public-spirited  as  a  citizen,  and  has  thor- 
oughly identified  himself  with  the  interests  of  the  \\'est  Virginia  me- 
tropolis, where  his  circle  of  friends  is  coincident  with  that  of  his  ac- 
quaintances. 

On  the  1st  of  October,  1896.  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  I\Ir. 
.Addleman  to  IMiss  Margaret  Jobes.  daughter  of  Rev.  Campbell  Jobes. 
who  is  a  clergyman  of  the  Christian  church  and  who  now  resides  at 
Bethany,  West  Virginia. 


y^Mi/ZcLuju^......^^ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  489 

The  family  of  Shugart  is  of  German  descent,  the  name 
SHUGART     being    originally    spelled    Schugardt.      The    ancestry    is 

traced  to  one  of  two  brothers  who  came  from  the 
province  of  Hesse-Cassel,  one  of  these  settling  in  Pennsylvania  and  the 
other  in  Alaryland.  There  are  records  also  of  the  brothers  Zachariah, 
Martin  and  Eli.  Martin  Shugart  was,  according  to  the  archives  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Historical  Society,  a  lieutenant  in  a  German  regiment  of 
Pennsylvania  troops,  commanded  by  Colonel  Lewis  Weltner,  stationed 
at  Valley  Forge  in  March,  1778.  He  was  afterwards  made  a  lieutenant 
of  a  German  battalion  of  jMaryland,  May  25,  1778.  His  name  appears 
in  the  list  of  the  officers  entitled  to  half  pay.  The  other  brother.  Eli 
Shugart,  was  a  private  in  Company  Xo.  7,  of  Colonel  William  Irvine's 
Pennsylvania  regiment  at  Mt.  Independence,  November  28,   1776. 

(I)  Lieutenant  Zachariah  Shugart,  born  in  York  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, is  the  ancestor  from  whom  the  Shugart  family  of  West  Virginia 
is  descended.  He  served  as  sheriff  of  York  county  several  years  before 
the  revolution,  having  been  appointed  to  the  post  by  King  George  III. 
There  is  also  a  record  of  a  grant  of  land  to  him  of  six  hundred  acres  by 
the  king.  On  November  17,  1774,  when  the  town  of  York  was  laid  out, 
he  applied  for  lot  Xo.  92.  He  served  on  the  second  committee  of  safety 
of  York.  At  the  beginning  of  the  revolution  he  was  made  first  lieuten- 
ant of  the  York  county  battalion  known  in  history  as  the  "Flying  Bat- 
talion." This  was  commanded  by  Colonel  Michael  Swope,  and  Alichael 
Schmeisser  was  captain.  At  the  battle  of  Fort  Washington,  Lieutenant 
Zachariah  Shugart  and  Colonel  Swope  were  wounded  and  taken  pris- 
oners, Lieutenant  Shugart  being  detailed  to  imprisonment  on  Long 
Island.  The  name  of  Zachariah  Shugart  appears  at  Amboy  as  one  of 
"the  prisoners  of  war  allowed  to  be  unexceptional."  One  account  dated 
at  X^ewburg,  August  5,  1782.  tells  of  debts  incurred  by  American  officers 
during  their  captivity  to  the  inhabitants  of  Long  Island,  and  in  this  ac- 
count mention  is  made  of  Lieutenant  Zachariah  Shugart  giving  his  order 
on  Mr.  Skinner,  commissar)'  general  of  prisoners.  The  wife  of  Lieu- 
tenant Shugart  was  given.  September  3,  a  pass  through  the  British  lines 
at  X^ew  York  to  visit  her  husband.     After  the  revolution  a  census  was 

■  taken  of  York  county,  and  in  the  inventory  of  effects  the  following  items 
;  occur :  "Zachariah  Shugart.  Innkeeper :  plate,  i  horse,  6  slaves  value 
;  ^272,  los."  As  far  back  as  the  year  1754  the  name  of  Zachariah  Shu- 
;  gart  appears  as  a  member  of  the  First  Reformed  Church  of  York.  Penn- 
i  sylvania.  He  married  Mary  Elizabeth  Mulholland  and  both  he  and  his 
j  wife  are  buried  in  York.  They  had  three  sons:  i.  John  Wilson,  was 
j  assistant  commissary  with  the  rank  of  captain  in  the  Alexican  war ;  mar- 
;'  ried   Catherine   Swartzeller.     2.   Joseph   P>.,   married   Man,'   E.    Menaen- 

hall.     3.  Zachariah.  of  whom  further. 

(ID  Zachariah  (2),  son  of  Lieutenant  Zachariah  (I)  and  Mary 
Elizabeth    ( ^Mulholland')    Shugart,  was  horn   March  25.   i754-     He  mar- 

■  Tied  Eve  Grimm.  .April  19,  1785.  The  family  Bible  of  this  Zachariah  is 
;  in  the  possession  of  his  great-grandson,   Charles  Theodore   Shugart,   of 

Charles  Town.  West  A^rginia.  The  Bible  is  in  German,  though  the  rec- 
i  ords  are  in  English.     It  is  profusely  illustrated  in  the  ornate  and  quaint 

German  stvle  of  that  dav.  and  heavily  bound  in  rawliide  with  brass 
,  clasps.  It  is  an  interesting  and  valuable  relic  and  is  highly  prized  by 
I  its  owner  both  as  an  heirloom  and  an  antiquity.  It  was  printed  at  the 
.  press  of  John  Andrea,  of  Nuremburg.  in  the  year  1728.  In  this  Bible 
1'  stands  the  record  of  the  children  of  Zachariah  (2)  as  follows:     i.  Peter. 

liorn  Februarv  17,  1787.  2.  John,  of  whom  further.  3.  Zachariah.  born 
!  June  5.  1790.  4.  ^^'illiam,  born  December  22.  1792.  5.  Mary,  born 
:  January  31.  1795:  married,  March  31,  1816.  Louis  Coontz.     6.  Sapphira. 


490  \\EST  \']RGI.\IA 

born  July  17,  1797;  married,  April  30,  1815,  Mr.  Martini.  7.  Jesse,  born 
September  10,  1799.  8.  Hezekiab,  born  December  10,  1801.  9.  Eliza- 
beth, born  June  19,  1805;  married  a  Mr.  Boyd. 

(Ill J  John,  son  of  Zachariah  (2)  Shugart,  was  born  June  15,  1788. 
He  was  a  merchant  of  Shepherdstown,  West  X'irginia.  He  married 
Mary,  born  October  25,  1791,  daughter  of  John  Hoffman,  who  was 
during  the  revolution  a  member  of  Colonel  Daniel  Morgan's  company  in 
the  Seventh  Virginia  Regiment.  John  Shugart  and  his  wife  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Reformed  church  of  Shepherdstown,  and  they  are  buried 
in  the  graveyard  there.  He  died  May  11,  1839,  and  his  wife  died  Janu- 
ary 28,  1832.  The  children  of  John  and  Mary  (Hoft'manj  Shugart 
were:  i.  John  Zachariah,  married  (lirst)  Miss  Kieler;  (second)  Mar- 
garet Keeler;  (third)  a  Miss  Cameron.  2.  Catherine,  married  a  Mr. 
Armstrong.  3.  Mary,  married  a  Mr.  Wayne  (all  deceased).  4.  Reason, 
of  whom  further. 

(IV)  Reason,  son  of  John  and  Alary  (Hoffman)  Shugart,  was  born  ' 
January  28,  1820.  He  was  educated  in  the  private  schools  of  Shepherds- 
town, where  he  later  went  into  business,  moving  thence  in  1858  to 
Charles  Town.  He  was  a  manufacturer  of  leather.  Always  keenly  in- 
terested in  educational  matters  he  served  for  a  number  of  years  as  com- 
missioner of  schools,  but  never  held  any  other  public  office.  He  was  a 
director  of  the  Building  &  Loan  Association.  A  Democrat  in  politics, 
he  contributed  materially  to  the  Confederate  cause,  although  he  did  not 
take  an  active  part  in  the  war.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  South,  serving  it  in  an  official  capacity,  and  repre- 
senting the  congregation  in  the  church  courts.  He  died  October  2,  1883. 
He  married  (first)  January  11,  1843.  Elizabeth  Miller,  born  January  3, 
1824.  Their  children  were:  i.  Mary  Miller,  deceased.  2.  John  Zacha- 
riah, served  in  the  civil  war  in  Captain  Harry  Gilmore's  company  in 
the  Confederate  army  and  lost  a  leg  in  the  battle  of  Moorefield ;  married 
a  Miss  Thompson,  of  Virginia;  he  and  his  wife  lived  in  Mecklenburg 
county,  Virginia,  where  he  died  August  10,  1903,  aged  fifty-seven  years, 
and  is  buried  in  Chase  City,  Virginia ;  they  had  two  children :  Harry, 
married  a  Miss  Oliver,  and  Bessie,  married  a  Mr.  Perkinson.  3.  Child, 
died  young.  4.  Elizabeth  Ann,  died  young.  5.  Eliza  Jane,  married  S. 
S.  Dalgarn  :  they  had  one  son,  S.  S.  Dalgarn  Jr.,  who  married,  January 
10,  1912.  I\Iary  Hazard  Goff,  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  6.  Rezin 
Deahl.  of  whom  further.  7.  Betty  Sapphira,  married  J-  E.  Burns ;  one 
child,  Dr.  Burns,  of  Wheeling,  West  Virginia.  8.  Hester  Catherine, 
married  Nimrnd  Trussell.  both  dead  and  buried  in  Charles  Town.  9. 
Charles  Theodore,  of  whom  further.  10.  Jefferson  Miller,  deceased. 
Reason  Shugart  married  (second)  November  12.  1863,  Maria  Tomlin- 
son.  born  February  22,  1833.  Their  children  are:  11.  George  Newton, 
married  (first)  a  Miss  Guthreaux,  and  they  had  one  son,  George  New- 
ton Jr.;  he  married  (second)  a  Miss  Coppeneaux.  They  are  living  in 
Louisana.  12.  Edgar  Thornton,  married  Mary  Everhart ;  child,  Maria 
Thornton.     13.  Eugene,  of  whom  further.     14.  Dora,  died  young. 

(V)  Rezin  Deahl,  son  of  Reason  and  Elizabeth  (Miller)  Shugart.  was 
born  in  Shepherdstown,  W'est  Virginia.  March  18,  1854.  Several  years 
afterwards  he  moved  with  his  father  to  Charles  Town,  where  his  boy- 
hood was  spent  and  where  he  received  his  early  education  at  the  old 
academy  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Newton  Campbell.  At  the  early 
age  of  fifteen  he  engaged  in  the  harness  and  saddlery  business  with  his 
father,  and  in  1877  went  to  Berry ville.  \'irgin!a,  where  he  conducted  the 
same  business  for  eleven  years,  returning  to  Charles  Town  at  his  father's 
death  to  take  up  the  business  which  had  been  established  by  the  elder 
Shugart  in  1858.     He  has  been  a  well  known  business  man  in  his  com- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  491 

munity  for  years  and  has  been  interested  in  the  local  government,  hav- 
ing served  several  terms  in  the  town  council.  He  has  been  a  director  in 
several  building  associations  and  has  been  engaged  in  several  business 
enterprises.  He  married  (first J  Rhoda  Pulliam,  daughter  of  Matthew 
Pulliam,  a  hardware  merchant  of  Berryville,  but  she  lived  less  than  a 
year  after  this  marriage.  He  married  (second)  Frances  Coleman 
Pulliam,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Benjamin  F.  Pulliam,  of  Culpeper 
county,  Virginia.  Her  father  was  very  prominent  in  the  official  life  of 
that  county,  having  been  sheriit  for  twenty-three  years  prior  to  his  death 
in  1889.  Mrs.  Shugart,  on  her  father's  side,  is  a  descendant  of  Thomas 
Lillard,  a  captain  in  the  continental  army,  who  was  present  at  the  sur- 
render at  Yorktown,  and  through  her  mother  is  related  to  the  Willis, 
Triplett  and  Coleman  families  of  east  Virginia.  Two  sons  were  born 
of  this  marriage :  Stanley  Pulliam,  born  in  Berryville,  Virginia,  Decem- 
ber 21,  1885,  and  Benjamin  Rezin,  born  in  Charles  Town,  December 
30,  1888.  Stanley  Pulliam  Shugart,  the  older  son,  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Charles  Town,  and  graduated  from  Roanoke  College. 
Salem.  Virginia,  in  1905.  Since  then  he  has  done  graduate  work  at 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  mathematics  and  astronomy  and  is 
now  an  instructor  in  mathematics  at  that  institution.  Benjamin  Rezin 
Shugart  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town  and  has  been  en- 
gaged in  business  in  Charles  Town. 

(V)  Charles  Theodore,  son  of  Reason  and  Elizabeth  (Miller)  Shu- 
gart, was  born  February  6,  i860,  in  Charles  Town.  He  was  educated 
at  the  private  schools  of  his  native  town  and  at  Charles  Town  Academy. 
He  entered  into  the  mercantile  business  immediately  upon  leaving 
school  in  Charles  Town.  He  is  a  member  of  Malta  Lodge,  No.  80,  An- 
cient Free  and  Accepted  Masons :  Potomac  Commandery,  No.  5,  of  which 
he  was  eminent  commander,  1910;  Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine,  and  of  the  Society  of  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution.  He 
married,  January  11.  1887,  Bess  Frye.  born  at  Hopewell,  Frederick 
county,  Virginia,  daughter  of  Alfred  Henry  and  Elizabeth  Bell  (Frye) 
Tanquary.  They  were  married  at  Summit  Point,  West  Virginia,  in  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  theirs  being  the  first  wed- 
ding solemnized  in  that  church.  Alfred  Henry  Tanquary,  the  father 
of  Mrs.  Shugart,  whose  occupation  was  farming  and  who  was  a  member 
in  Company  C,  Twelfth  Virginia  Regiment,  Colonel  Rosser's  brigade,  is 
descended  from  the  French  Huguenot,  Thomas  Tancrede,  of  Normandy, 
who  went  over  to  England,  where  the  name  became  corrupted  to  Tan- 
quary. Thomas  (21,  a  son  of  the  French  refugee,  was  created  a  baron 
in  1660,  He  married  a  daughter  of  Bernard  Paver,  of  Brampton,  Eng- 
land. They  came  to  this  country  and  settled  on  the  eastern  shore  of 
Maryland.  Their  great-great-grandson.  Alfred  Henry  Tanquary,  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Bell  Frye,  at  Bear  Garden,  A^irginia.  the  ancestral  home 
of  the  Bells.  A  deed  for  this  estate  on  parchment,  signed  by  Lord  Fair- 
fax and  dated  1734,  is  in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Charles  Theodore  Shu- 
gart. Elizabeth  Bell  Frye  was  the  daughter  of  the  Hon.  David  Frye, 
whose  mother  was  Lydia  Bell.  David  Frye  was  descended  from  Colonel 
Joshua  Frye  who  was  born  in  England.  He  married  the  widow  of  Colonel 
Hill;  her  maiden  name  was  Mary  IMicon.  In  1743  Joshua  Frye  was  one  of 
the  commissioners  of  the  crown.  He  was  appointed  by  Governor  Din- 
widdle to  command  the  Virginia  forces  in  the  French  and  Indian  war, 
in  the  campaign  in  which  ^^'ashington  was  lieutenant-colonel.  He  died 
suddenly,  ^lay  31,  1754,  and  is  buried  near  Fort  Cumberland,  near  \\'ills 
creek.  On  a  large  oak  tree  which  stood  near  his  grave  Washington 
cut  these  words:  "LTnder  this  oak  lies  the  body  of  the  good,  the  just, 
and  noble  Frve." 


49-2  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Charles  Theodore  and  Bess  Frye  {Tani|uary)  Shugarl  have  had 
born  to  them  the  following  children:  i.  Camille  Tanquary,  deceased. 
2.  Charles  Theodore  Jr.,  educated  in  private  and  high  schools,  and  at 
St.  John's  College,  Annapolis,  Maryland;  he  was  first  lieutenant  of  Com- 
pany B,  St.  John's  cadets ;  in  his  business  relations  he  is  connected  with 
an  insurance  brokerage  company  of  Xew  York  City ;  he  is  a  member 
of  the  Jefferson  Club,  the  Cotillion  Club  of  Charles  Town,  and  of  the  So- 
ciety of  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution.  3.  Leland  Fair,  was  educated  in 
private  and  high  schools  of  Charles  Town;  he  is  now  living  in  Balti- 
more, being  with  Armstrong,  Cator  &  Company ;  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Cotillion  Club  and  of  the  Society  of  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution.  They 
are  all  members  of  Zion  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  at  Charles  Town. 

(V)  Eugene,  son  of  Reason  and  Maria  (Tomlinson)  Shugart,  was 
born  at  Charlestown.  West  Virginia,  August  21,  1867.  He  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  free  schools  of  his  native  city  until  fifteen  years  of  ai^c, 
after  which  for  five  years  he  clerked  in  a  dry  goods  and  grocery  store 
at  Charles  Town.  He  then  took  a  trip  through  the  west,  returning  t'l 
Harpers  Ferry,  this  state,  where  he  clerked  in  a  hotel  until  the  environ- 
ments became  distasteful  to  him,  and  he  left  the  position  to  accept  one  in 
the  pulp  mills,  where  he  remained  for  between  six  and  eight  months.  He 
was  elected  treasurer  of  Harpers  Ferry,  serving  under  Mayors  T.  W. 
Beal  and  C.  B.  Mentzels.  He  was  then  elected  to  the  ofifice  of  mayor,  Imld- 
ing  such  office    from  1902  to  1905  ;  again  elected  and  served  from  Januar\- 

1.  1905,  to  1908,  and  at  the  same  time  filling  office  of  deputy  sheriff  to  take 
effect  January  i,  1905,  serving  at  this  four  years,  and  at  the  end  of  this 
time  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  for  four  more  years  up  to  1913. 
He  has  also  been  on  the  town  council  and  a  town  treasurer..  He  is  a 
director  of  the  National  Citizens'  Bank  of  Charles  Town.  Mr.  Shugart 
is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  at  Harpers  Ferry,  and  at  one 
time  was  connected  with  the  Eagles  Lodge  and  Patriotic  Order  Sons  of 
America.  He  and  his  family  are  of  the  Episcopal  church  faith.  He 
was  united  in  marriage  July  21.  1888.  in  Washington,  D.  C,  to  Margaret 
D.  Trussell.  born  in  Kerneysville.  Jefferson  county.  West  Virginia, 
daughter  of  Thomas  C.  and  Fanny  M.  Trussell,  wdiose  children  were : 
Margaret  D.  (  Mrs.  Shugart ),  Lulu  C.,  Jarvis  G.,  Belle  B.,  Fanny  D.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Shugart's  children  are:  i.  Frank  E..  born  February  15,  18S0; 
a  graduate  of  Shepherd's  College,  Shepherdstown,  now  a  l.^nited  States 
express  agent  at  Harpers  Ferry;  married.  June  8.  1913.  Anna  B.  ^^'ise. 

2.  Margaret  G.,  unmarried  ;  educated  at  Stephenson's  Seminary,  and  a 
graduate  of  Shepherd's  College,  in  June,  191 1,  and  is  now  teaching  in 
Berkeley  county,  this  state.  3.  Eliza  P.,  born  June  25,  1895.  4.  Jarvis 
G.,  born  September  16,  1900.     5.  Eugenia,  born  September  24,  1907. 


The  name  of  Kirk  is  of  Scottish  origin,  and  as  it  is  simply 

KIRK     the  Scotch  form  of  the  word  "church,"  it  would  seem  as  if 

the  ancestor  who  assumed  it  as  a  family  name  was  connected 

in  some  manner  with  religious  matters,  and  was  probably  a  minister  of 

the  church. 

( I )  Hiram  Kirk  was  the  first  of  this  family  to  come  from  his  native 
land  of  Scotland  to  the  shores  of  .America.  He  settled  near  Philadel- 
phia, where  he  raised  a  family. 

(H)  Joseph,  son  of  Hiram  Kirk,  was  born  near  Philadelphia,  where 
he  was  a  farmer  and  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends. 

(HI)  William,  son  of  Joseph  Kirk,  was  born  in  Jeff'erson  county, 
Ohio,  in  1845.  ^^  was  a  farmer  throughout  his  life  with  the  exception 
of  the  years  he  spent  in  military  service.     He  was  a  devout  member  of 


WEST  \IRGIXIA  493 

the  sect  of  Quakers.  He  was  only  sixteen  years  of  age  when  he  vol- 
unteered his  services  during  the  civil  war,  enlisting  in  the  Fifty-second 
Ohio  Regiment,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  Air.  Kirk  mar- 
1  ried  Lydia  Jane,  daughter  of  John  Greenfield,  and  had  children:  Ida 
M.,  married  Samuel  L.  Parks;  Harvey  L.,  Lemuel  1..  Oscar  T.,  Walter 
W.,  Edith  C. 

(IV)   Harvey  L.,  son  of  William  and  Lydia  Jane  (Greenfield)   Kirk, 
was  born  at  Oak  Grove,  Ohio,  March  ii,  1874.  Having  finished  his  pre- 
paratory education  at  the  public  schools  of  his  section  of  the  country,  he 
matriculated  at  the  University  at   Valparaiso,   Indiana,   from   which   in- 
I  stitution  he  was  graduated  in  the  class  of   1894.     For  a  period  of  two 
J  years  he  was  an  instructor  in  mathematics  at  the  university,  then  came 
I  to   Wheeling,   West  Virginia,   as   a   traveling  salesman    for   the   firm   of 
Hubbard  &  Paull,  and  held  this  position  until  his  election  as  mayor  of 
Wheeling.     From    the    time    of    his    location    in    the    city    of    Wheel- 
;   ing    Mayor    Kirk    has    had    the    public    welfare    of    the    city    deeply    at 
,  heart.     He  became  identified  with  the  Republican  party,  and  has  served 
as  chairman  of  the  Republican  county  committee  since   1912.     He  is  a 
clear  and  forcible  speaker,  and  the  arguments  he  advances  in  any  cause 
are  marshaled   with   such   a   convincing   precision,   and   are   so   securely 
backed  by  facts  and  statistics,  that  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  overthrow  them. 
In  1909  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  councilman,  served  until  Octo- 
,  ber,  19 1 2,  when  he  was  nominated  to  the  ofiice  of  mayor.    He  was  elected 
ji  to  this  office  in  May,  1913,  by  a  large  plurality.     Alayor  Kirk  is  a  mem- 
I   ber  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Benevolent 
I   and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  the  Order  of 
Moose. 

He  married,  November  i,  1899,  Fannie  X.,  daughter  of  Harry  and 
Ruth  Ann  Nichols,  and  they  have  had  children :  ]\Iyron  Paull,  born 
August  27,   1900;  Ruth  Kennon,  December  22,   1901. 


A    distinguished    representative    of    the    medical    profes- 
HASKINS     sion   in   West    Virginia   and   proprietor   of   the   Flaskins 

Hospital,  one  of  the  splendid  institutions  of  this  order 
in  the  metropolis  of  the  state.  Dr.  Thomas  M.  Haskins  well  merits  special 
recognition  in  this  history.  He  is  a  man  of  high  character  and  profes- 
sional attainments  and  in  the  establishing  of  his  well-equipped  hospital, 
maintained  at  a  high  standard,  he  has  provided  a  valuable  and  note- 
worthy contribution  to  the  metropolitan  prestige  of  his  home  city,  where 
he  commands  a  secure  place  in  popular  confidence  and  esteem  and  where 
he  is  known  as  a  citizen  of  high  civic  ideals  and  distinctively  progressive 
spirit. 

The  Haskins  Hospital  is  located  at  3327-29  Eofif  street  and  adjoining 
the  same  is  the  beautiful  home  of  Dr.  Haskins.  He  was  established  in 
practice  at  Benwood,  Marshall  county,  for  four  years,  and  in  1891  he 
purchased  the  site  for  his  present  hospital,  where  he  forthwith  initiated 
the  erection  of  the  main  building,  which  is  substantially  constructed  of 
brick  and  stone,  is  three  stories  in  height,  not  including  basement,  and 
one  hundred  feet  in  depth  by  fifty  feet  in  width.  In  igoo,  satisfied  with 
naught  but  the  best  of  accommodations  and  most  modern  and  approved 
facilities,  Dr.  Haskins  erected  an  annex,  twenty  by  thirty  feet  in  lateral 
dimensions  and  five  stories  in  height.  All  rooms  in  the  building  have 
running  hot  and  cold  water  and  every  appliance  and  accessory  through- 
out is  of  the  best  modern  type,  including  a  fine  Turkish  bath  room,  the 
privileges  of  which  are  accorded  to  all  patients  without  extra  charge. 
The  building  with  its  equipment  represents  an  expenditure  of  fifty  thou- 


494  WEST  \IRGIXIA 

sand  ildllars  and  its  annual  cost  uf  maintenance  is  twenty  tlidusand  dollars.  ' 
It  has  ample  provision  for  the  accommodation  of  forty  patients ;  compe-  J 
tent  professional  nurses  are  retained,  and  in  connection  with  the  institu- 
tion Dr.  Haskins  has  a  tine  training  school  for  nurses.  Two  assistant  j 
physicians  are  on  the  stafif  of  the  hospital,  namely :  Dr.  S.  F.  Yohs  and  i 
Dr.  John  W.  Myers,  who  has  charge  of  the  administration  of  anaesthetics,  j 
On  the  main  floor  of  the  building  is  located  a  finely  equipped  pharmacy,  i 
owned  and  conducted  by  Will  Menkemeller,  and  a  free  ambulance  and  ; 
carriage  service  is  maintained  in  connection  with  the  hospital  for  the  ex-  i 
elusive  use  of  this  hospital  patronage.  1 

In    1903    Dr.    Haskins   took   over   the   glass   manufacturing   plant  of  1 
Martins  Ferry,  known  as  the  "Little  Glass  House,"  and  engaged  in  the  I 
manufacture  of  a  general  line  of  illuminating  goods.     Finding  his  facili-  ; 
ties  not  adequate  for  his  ideas  of  the  output  of  his  factory,  he  formed   j 
a  stock  company  and  purchased  of  the  National  Glass  Company  the  old  ! 
Ellison  Glass  Flouse  and  consolidated  the  business,  remodeling  and  im-   ' 
proving  the  plant  at  an  enormous  expense.     Here  they  manufacture  a   j 
large  variety  of  cut  and  pressed  glass   for  illuminating  purposes.     The   ; 
business    has    become    well-grounded    and    favorably    known    and    their   | 
goods  are  sold  in  all  parts  of  the  Union.    The  company  gives  employment   , 
to  from  two  to  three  hundred  people.     The  plant  is  located  in  Martins 
Ferry,  Ohio,  the  main  office  being  in  the  Schudbaugh  Building  in  Wheel- 
ing.   The  office  consists  of  a  suite  of  four  rooms  and  a  force  of  nine  per- 
sons is  employed.    Dr.  Haskins  is  the  chief  owner  of  the  plant.    The  con- 
cern is  producing  a  new  feature  in  glass  for  illuminating  purposes,  called 
Haskins-Lucida,  which  produces  a  soft,  soothing  light,  yet  a  brilliant  one 
and  an  intensified  one. 

Dr.  Haskins  finds  a  great  deal  of  satisfaction  in  referring  to  West    ; 
Virginia  as  the  place  of  his  nativity  and  also  in  the  fact  that  he  is  a  scion    | 
of  one  of  the  old  and  honored  families  of  the  historic  state  of  Virginia.    1 
He  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Wetzel  county,  this  state,  fifty-seven  miles    I 
east  of  Wheeling,  August  19,  1859,  and  is  a  son  of  William  H.  and  Anna    , 
J.    (Brookover)    Haskins,   the   mother   a   daughter   of   ex-Sheriflf   A.    P.    i 
Brookover,  of  Wetzel  county,  W^est  Virginia.     The  father  was  born  in    1 
the  eastern  part  of  Virginia  and  the  latter  was  likewise  a  native  of  the    j 
Old  Dominion  commonwealth.     The  father  devoted  virtually  his  entire    j 
active  life  to  the  great  basic  industry  of  agriculture,  and  was  a  man  of 
sterling  character,  ever  commanding  the  high  esteem  of  all  who  knew 
him.     Both  he  and  his  wife  passed  the  closing  years  of  their  lives  on  the 
homestead  in  Wetzel  county,  near  Burton.     The  paternal  grandparents 
of  Dr.  Haskins  immigrated  to  America  from  Ireland  and  established  their 
home  in  \'irginia  in  an  early  day.     Dr.  Haskins  was  second  in  order  of 
birth  in  a  family  of  six  children,  and  other  than  himself  two  sons  survive 
the  honored  parents :  John  C.,  who  was  department  foreman  of  the  Ben- 
wood  Steel  Works  and  who  resigned  this  position  to  engage  in  the  feed 
business,  which  he  conducted  successfully  in  Wheeling,  West  Virginia; 
and  Abram  P.,  who  resides  in  Wheeling  with  Dr.  Haskins  and  is  con- 
nected with  the  Haskins  Class  Company,  of  which  he  is  a  director  and 
stockholder. 

Dr.  Haskins  is  indebted  to  the  schools  of  his  native  county  for  his 
early  educational  discipline,  and  his  ambition  to  fit  himself  for  a  broader 
sphere  of  endeavor  than  that  of  the  farm  was  early  quickened  into  de- 
cisive action,  as  he  determined  to  prepare  himself  for  the  medical  pro- 
fession, in  which  it  has  been  his  aim  to  achieve  marked  distinction  and 
success  and  to  do  a  noble  work  in  the  alleviation  of  human  suffering. 
As  a  means  to  an  end  he  devoted  several  years  to  teaching  in  the  public 
schools,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years  he  was  elected  superintend- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  495 

ent  of  schools  for  his  native  county,  thus  setting  at  naught  any  appHca- 
tion  of  the  scriptural  aphorism  that  a  "prophet  is  not  without  honor  save 
in  his  own  country."  He  held  this  office  two  terms  and  thereafter  was 
for  two  years  a  valued  and  popular  instructor  in  a  private  normal  school 
at  Burton,  this  state. 

In  1884  Dr.  Haskins  was  matriculated  in  the  College  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  in  which  well-ordered 
institution  he  completed  the  prescribed  technical  course  and  was  gradu- 
ated as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1886.  With  characteristic  determina- 
tion to  hold  none  other  than  the  highest  standard  of  efficiency  in  what- 
ever he  undertook,  he  completed  an  effective  course  in  the  celebrated 
Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  College  in  New  York  City,  in  which  he  was 
graduated  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1888,  thus  receiving  a  supplemeti- 
tal  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  In  1894  he  took  a  course  in  the 
Post-Graduate  Medical  College  of  New  York  City,  and  in  his  practice  he 
has  specialized  in  the  treatment  of  diseases  of  the  nose  and  throat,  in 
which  department  of  professional  work  he  has  gained  a  high  reputation, 
as  has  he  also  in  other  departments  of  practice,  and  in  his  hospital  he 
gives  special  attention  to  general  surgery,  which  occupies  a  goodly  por- 
tion of 'his  time.  He  was  still  superintendent  of  the  public  schools  of 
Wetzel  county  at  the  time  of  his  graduation  in  the  College  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons. 

Dr.  Haskins  served  his  professional  novitiate  in  the  community  in 
which  he  was  born  and  reared,  and  after  the  lapse  of  two  years  he  lo- 
cated at  Davis  City,  Tucker  county,  whence  he  removed  ten  months  later 
to  the  city  of  Benwood,  Marshall  county,  which  was  the  scene  of  his 
earnest  and  successful  professional  labors  until  his  removal  to  Wheel- 
ing, as  has  already  been  noted  in  this  context.  Though  he  has  naught  of 
animosity  or  intolerance  for  the  various  medical  societies  and  associa- 
tions. Dr.  Haskins  never  undertook  to  ally  himself  with  the  same  until 
1910,  and  he  is  now  a  member  of  the  Ohio  County,  the  State  and  the 
American  Medical  societies.  He  has  never  reported  a  case  to  medical 
publication  from  the  time  he  began  practice  to  the  present,  although  his 
extensive  experience  and  fine  ability  well  qualify  him  for  authoritative 
utterances  along  this  line. 

In  politics  Dr.  Haskins  was  a  Democrat  until  about  1903.  since  which 
time  he  has  adhered  to  the  Republican  party.  The  intricate  and  exact- 
ing demands  of  his  profession  precluded  his  entering  the  arena  of  prac- 
tical politics  until  1902.  when  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  city  coun- 
cil, overcoming  an  opposition  of  four  hundred  party  majority  in  his  ward, 
the  Eighth,  with  a  majority  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-three.  His  election 
was  on  the  Democratic  ticket.  In  1909  he  was  elected  on  the  Republican 
ticket  a  member  of  the  board  of  control  and  was  re-elected  in  191 1  over 
John  Waterhouse,  who  was  one  of  the  popular  wholesale  grocers  of 
Wheeling,  this  being  strong  evidence  of  the  popularity  of  Dr.  Haskins. 
He  is  affiliated  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Shield  of  Honor,  the 
Star  of  Bethlehem,  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  is  a  man  of  broad  views, 
unfailing  courtesv,  genial  presence,  deep  humanitarian  spirit  and  abiding 
human  sympathy,  so  that  he  naturally  has  gained  and  retained  the 
staunchest  of  friends  among  all  classes  and  conditions  of  men. 

On  the  I2th  of  September,  1893.  Dr.  Haskins  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Louisa,  daughter  of  F.  Schenck.  one  of  the  representative  busi- 
ness men  and  influential  citizens  of  Wheeling,  and  the  five  children  of 
this  union  are:  Rhea,  Mary,  Edna,  Thomas.  Evelyn.  The  two  eldest 
are  students  of  Mt.  De  Chantal  Academy. 


496  WEST  \'IRGIXIA 

The  Lawrence  family  is  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
LAWRENCE  in  America,  numbering  among  its  members  many  who 
have  become  famous  in  the  various  walks  of  life.  The 
family  is  of  English  ancestry  and  settled  in  Lancaster  as  early  as  1150. 
Record  is  made  of  Robert  Lawrence,  of  Lancaster,  who  distinguished  ' 
himself  at  the  siege  of  Acre  and  was  knighted  Sir  Robert  of  AsIUmii 
Hall.  From  Robert  Lawrence,  of  Lancaster,  England,  many  of  llic 
Lawrences  in  America  trace  their  origin.  The  first  of  this  family  to  set- 
tle in  New  England  was  John  Lawrence,  who  immigrated  to  America 
and  located  in  Watertown,  where  on  February  28,  1636,  he  purchased 
land.  His  descendants  are  widely  scattered  tliroughout  the  Lmited  States. 
(Ij  Wayman  Clarkson  Lawrence  attended  the  schools  of  his  nati\c 
county.  For  a  number  of  years  he  has  been  engaged  as  a  traveling  sales- 
man. He  resided  in  Lowmoor,  \'irginia,  for  several  years,  and  in  itjo<i 
removed  to  Columbus,  Ohio,  where  he  has  made  his  home  to  date.  He  ' 
married  Alargaret  Katherine  Gaines,  a  native  of  Clermont  county,  Ohio.  ' 
Three  children  have  been  born  of  this  marriage:  i.  Theophilus  Gaines, 
born  in  Lowmoor,  Mrginia,  January  5,  1886;  attended  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  county,  and  prepared  for  college  at  the  Columbia,  Ohni, 
high  school,  graduating  from  the  mechanical  engineering  department  (jf 
the  Ohio  State  University;  at  present  he  is  engaged  in  the  telephone  bus- 
iness in  Ohio.  2.  Wayman  Clarkson,  mentioned  below.  3.  Julian  Heath, 
born  in  Lawrence,  May  19,  1890:  now  a  student  at  the  Ohio  State  Uni-  ! 
versity.  ' 

(11)   Wayman  Clarkson  (2),  son  of  Wayman  Clarkson  (i)  and  Mar- 
garet  Katherine    (Gaines)    Lawrence,  was  born  in   Lowmoor,   Virginia, 
April  8,  1888.    He  attended  the  schools  of  his  native  county  and  finished 
his  preparation  for  college  at  the  Columbus,  Ohio,  high  school,  graduat- 
ing in    1905.     He  then  entered   Princeton  University  and  graduated   in    j 
1909  with  the  degree  of  B.  Litt.     In  the  fall  of  this  last  year  he  went  to    ; 
Washington,  D.  C.  as  private  secretary  to  his  uncle,   Hon.   Joseph   H.     I 
Gaines,  congressman  from  the  third  congressional  district  of  West  Vir-    , 
ginia.     He  retained  this  position  two  years,  and  during  this  time  studied    1 
law  at  the   George  Washington   University  Law    School,  graduating  in     1 
191 1.    He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  February,  1912,  and  soon  began  the     | 
practice  of  his  profession  in  Logan,  being  associated  with  his  uncle,  Hon.     ( 
Joseph  H.  Gaines.     Mr.  Lawrence  is  meeting  with  success  in  his  profes-     ' 
lional   labors,   and  is  considered  one  of   the   rising  young  attorneys   of 
Logan  county.     In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.     He  is  a  member  of  the     • 
Presbyterian  church.  , 

Mrs.  Margaret  Katherine  Lawrence  is  a  daughter  of  Major  Theo- 
philus and  Ariadne  ( Stockton )  Gaines.  She  was  born  in  Clermont 
county,  Ohio.  April  11,  1857.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  years  she  entered 
a  noted  boarding  school  in  Washington,  D.  C,  where  she  was  a  student 
for  a  number  of  years.  Her  father  was  born  in  Ohio  in  1824.  He  grad- 
uated from  a  Cincinnati  law  school  and  was  a  successful  lawyer.  He  was 
practicing  his  profession  when  the  civil  war  broke  out.  He  at  once 
offered  his  services  to  the  state,  and  on  May  9,  1861,  he  was  commis- 
sioned captain  of  Company  I,  Fifth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry.  On  No- 
vember I,  1862,  he  was  promoted  first  assistant  judge  advocate  general 
with  the  rank  of  major,  his  commission  being  signed  by  President  Lin- 
coln. He  was  honorably  mustered  out  of  service.  May  31,  1866.  He  was 
a  brave  and  efficient  officer  and  highly  respected  by  the  officers  and  men 
of  his  command.  ^Nlajor  Gaines  then  located  in  Fayette  county.  West 
Mrginia,  where  he  continued  his  practice  for  many  years.  He  served 
as  prosecuting  attorney  of  Fayette  county  for  four  years.  He  died  in 
that  county,  March  11.  1898,  aged  seventy- four  years.    His  wife,  Ariadne 


WEST  MRGINIA  497 

(Stockton)  Gaines,  was  born  in  Clermont,  Ohio,  died  in  Fayetteville, 
West  \'irginia,  in  1864.  Four  children  were  born  of  this  marriage:  i. 
Ludwell  Graham,  married  Martha  Ebersolle ;  he  died  in  1900;  one  child, 
EbersoUe,  now  a  student  in  Princeton  University.  2.  Margaret  Kath- 
arine, mentioned  above.  3.  Nathaniel  W.  4.  Joseph  H.,  born  in  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.,  May  3,  1864;  a  lawyer  and  United  States  congressman 
from  West  Virginia. 

Mrs.  Ariadne  (Stockton)  Gaines  was  a  granddaughter  of  Richard 
Stockton,  who  was  born  at  Morven,  near  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  Octo- 
ber I,  1730,  died  there  February  28,  1781.  He  graduated  from  the  Col- 
lege of  New  Jersey,  now  Princeton  University,  in  1748.  He  studied  law 
and  became  prominent  in  the  political  history  of  New  Jersey  and  the 
American  colonies.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  continental  congress  in 
Philadelphia,  1776-77,  and  was  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  on  July  4,  1776.  He  served  as  inspector  in  the  Northern 
army  until  November  30,  1776,  wlien  he  was  captured  by  the  British 
army.  He  received  such  hard  treatment  while  a  prisoner  he  was  unable 
to  again  enter  the  service  after  his  exchange.  He  married  Annie,  daugh- 
ter of  Elias  and  Catherine  (Williams)   Boudinot. 


This  is  a  prominent    family   in  the   southern  states,   and 
LAWSON     at  an  early  date  located  in  Virginia.     John  Lawson,  the 
progenitor   of   this   branch   of   the    family   in   West   Vir- 
ginia, settled  in  Williamson,  that  state,  at  an  early  date.     He  was   for 
many  years  a  prominent  farmer. 

(H)   Dr.  George  W.  Lawson,  son  of  John  Lawson,  was  born  in  Wil- 
liamson,  West  Virginia.     He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
county  and  studied  medicine.      He  practiced  his  profession  in  William- 
son for  many  years.     He  died  in  that  town  in  1906.     He  married  Chloe 
iAnn  Robertson,  who  died  in  1910.     Among  their  children  was  Sidney  B., 
of  whom  further. 
(HI)   Dr.  Sidney  B.  Lawson,  son  of  Dr.  George  W.  and  Chloe  Ann 
!   (Robertson)    Lawson,  was  born  Alarch   18,    1867,  in   Williamson,   West 
;  Virginia.     He  prepared  for  college  in  the  schools  of  his  native  county, 
j  and  in  1886  entered  the  National  Normal  LTniversity  in  Lebanon,  Ohio, 
where  he  graduated  in   1890.     He  then  entered  the  Baltimore   Medical 
College,   where  he  graduated   in    1894  with   the   degree  of   M.    D.      He 
i  practiced  his  profession  for  a  short  time  in  his  native  town,  and  in  the 
;  fall  of  1894  removed  to  Logan,  where  he  has  continued  his  practice  to 
!  date.     He  has  met  with  marked  success  in  his  professional  labors  and  is 
considered  one  of  the  ablest  physicians  in  his  county.     In   1908  he  or- 
ganized the  Logan  Hospital  of  twenty  beds,  which  is  owned  and  man- 
aged by  Doctors  Steele,  Farley  and  Lawson  as  a  general  hospital.     He 
'  is  a  prominent  member  of  several  medical  societies,  among  them  being: 
;  American  ^ledical  Society,  Southern  States  Medical  Society,  West  Vk- 
ginia  ^ledical  Society,  and  the  Logan  County  Medical  Society,  of  which 
organization  he  is  now  serving  as  president.     He  takes  an  active  inter- 
est in  the  business  affairs  of  Logan,  and  is  now  serving  as  president  ol 
the  First  National  Bank  of  that  city.     In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and 
has  taken  a  prominent  part  in  the  council  of  his  party.     He  represented 
I  his  district  in  the  state  legislature  in  1894,  and  is  now  serving  as  chair- 
man of  the  Democratic  committee  of  his  county.    He  is  a  member  of  the 
Presbvterian  church,  and  is  prominent  in  the  Masonic  order,  having  at- 
tained the  thirty-second  degree.     He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Shrine. 

He   married,    1892,   Lucile   Linderman,   born   in   Trenton.    Kentucky, 
1871.     They  have  three  children:     i.  Lawrence  Wells,  born  in  Trenton, 
i        32 


498  WEST  \-IRGIXIA 

Kentucky,  March  20,  1894 ;  now  a  student  in  the  Baltimore  Medical  Col- 
lege. 2.  Julia  N.,  born  in  Logan,  June  25,  1896;  now  a  student  in  Ran- 
dolph Macon  Institute,  \'irgiiiia.  3.  Lucile,  born  in  Logan,  June  20, 
1909. 


The  Lynch  family  of  West  \irginia  traces  its  ancestry  to 
LYNCH  the  state  of  Maryland,  where  John  Lynch  was  probably 
born,  and  where  in  Washington  county  of  that  state  he 
passed  the  principal  part  of  his  life.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  black- 
smith, but  this  is  not  assured ;  it  is  known,  however,  that  in  his  political 
opinions  he  was  at  first  a  Whig,  changing  in  later  years  to  the  Democratic 
party.  He  died  in  Maryland  about  the  year  1835.  He  and  his  wife, 
whose  maiden  name  is  not  recorded,  were  members  of  the  Catholic 
church ;  she  also  probably  died  in  Maryland  where  the  family  had  made 
their  home.  There  were  si.\  children,  four  sons  and  two  daughters  :  the 
names  of  the  sons  being  as  follows :  George  Nicholas,  Thomas,  Peter,  1 
John.  Peter  and  John  live  in  \irginia,  and  of  George  N.,  there  is  fur-  ! 
ther  mention.  ] 

(H)  George  Nicholas,  son  of  John  Lynch,  was  born  September  22,  ; 
1816,  at  Pleasant  Valley,  Maryland.  He  was  reared  in  his  native  state  I 
where  he  attended  the  public  schools,  and  where,  after  the  completion  of  j 
his  studies,  he  became  a  farmer  and  contractor.  He  grew  to  be  a  prom-  ! 
inent  man  in  his  locality,  serving  on  the  school  commission  and  being  ap-  | 
pointed  road  supervisor.  He  was  a  Democrat,  though  attained  no  great  ; 
prominence  in  politics  and  was  not  politically  conspicuous  outside  of  the  I 
county.  He  and  his  family  were  all  members  of  the  Catholic  church,  : 
being  connected  with  the  church  at  Harpers  Ferry.  He  died  at  Harpers  j 
Ferry,  Jefferson  county,  August  25,  1878,  at  the  age  of  sixty-two  years,  j 
He  married  Elizabeth  Ann  Payne,  a  native  of  Alaryland,  daughter  of  j 
Rathiel  and  Polly  (Rhodes)  Payne.  Rathiel  Payne  was  engaged  in  the  ( 
business  of  transferring  flour  from  the  west  to  Baltimore,  and  was  | 
killed  on  the  road  between  Martinsburg  and  Shepherdstown,  Virginia,  I 
about  the  year  1832,  by  having  his  own  wagon  run  over  him.  Beside  | 
their  daughter,  Mrs.  Lynch,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Payne  had  several  children  j 
who  died  in  infancy,  and  two  sons  who  attained  maturity;  these  were  ' 
John  J.  Payne,  who  in  March,  191 1,  was  still  living  in  Baltimore,  at  the  j 
age  of  ninety-five  years ;  and  William  Payne,  deceased.  Mrs.  Lynch  ; 
died  in  Jefferson  county.  West  Virginia,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven  1 
years.  She  and  her  husband  were  the  parents  of  five  children,  of  whom  j 
only  one  is  still  living.  They  were  as  follows:  i.  Catherine.  2.  John  I 
William,  of  whom  further.  3.  Frank,  married  Sarah  Elizabeth  Brady;  j 
he  died  during  his  term  of  ofifice  as  clerk  of  the  circuit  court.  4.  Helen 
Virginia.  5.  George  Bell,  married  Fanny  Cromwell ;  he  died  in  Balti- 
more, being  at  that  time  in  mercantile  business  there. 

(HI)  Rev.  John  William  Lynch,  son  of  George  Nicholas  and  Eliza-, 
beth  Ann  (Payne)  Lynch,  was  born  September  27,  1847.  at  Harpers  1 
Ferry,  Virginia.  His  early  life  was  spent  in  the  state  of  Maryland,  and; 
his  education  was  acquired  at  Rock  Hill  College,  St.  Charles  College  and ! 
St.  Mary's  Seminary.  He  became  a  clergyman  of  the  Catholic  church,' 
and  for  a  period  of  thirty-one  years  remained  in  charge  of  St.  Andrew's ; 
Church,  Baltimore.  LTpon  giving  up  this  pastorate  he  came  to  Harpers  | 
.Ferry,  where  for  a  year  he  was  in  charge  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  but  nowj 
resides  in  Danville.  Father  Lynch  is  a  most  public-spirited  citizen  ofi 
this  place,  being  a  Democrat  in  his  political  opinions,  and  taking  a  promi-1 
nent  part  in  public  affairs.  He  is  chaplain  of  the  order  of  Knights  of  Co-; 
lumbus.  member  of  several  church  organizations,  a  director  of  the  City 


WEST  VIRGINIA  499 

National  Bank  at  Roanoke,  ami  is  actively  associated  with  several  build- 
ing and  loan  associations. 


The    Miley    family    is    of    German   origin.      Two    emigrant 
MILEY     brothers  of  that  name  came  from  Germany  prior  to   1800, 
and  settled  in  Mrginia.     One  of  these,  Jacob  by  name,  was 
the  father  of  Moses  G.  Miley. 

(II)  Moses  G.,  son  of  Jacob  Miley,  was  born  in  Loudoun  county, 
Virginia,  in  1812.  He  was  educated  in  the  best  private  schools  of  the 
county.  He  married,  in  1843,  Ada  Anna  Fish,  and  they  had  three  chil- 
dren:    Henry  Thomas,  of  whom  further;  Sarah  Margaretta,  Julia. 

(III)  Henry  Thomas,  son  of  Moses  G.  and  Ada  Anna  (Fish)  Miley, 
was  born  in  Loudoun  county,  Virginia,  October  4,  1844.  When  a  lad 
eighteen  years  of  age  the  war  broke  out,  and  he  enlisted  in  the  Sixth 
Virginia  Cavalry  in  the  Confederate  army.  As  a  boyish  prank  he  enrolled 
under  the  name  of  W.  A.  Hickson,  taking  the  name  of  a  man  who  was 
sick  and  wished  to  leave  the  army.  In  this  way  Mr.  Miley  filled  in  the 
army  the  place  of  two  distinct  men,  and  when  later  the  real  Hickson  died 
in  Baltimore,  Mr.  Miley  had  the  opportunity  of  reading  his  own  obituary. 
He  served  during  the  war  under  General  Lee,  taking  part  in  a  great  num- 
ber of  engagements.  He  was  captured  May  11,  1864,  and  taken  as  a  pris- 
oner to  Point  Lookout,  remaining  in  prison  for  ten  months.  When  he 
was  released  he  was  given  $115  in  Confederate  money  which  he  has  kept, 
and  has  in  his  possession  at  the  present  day.  Like  many  thousands  of 
other  soldiers  he  followed  General  Lee's  advice,  and  went  back  to  the 
farm  and  went  at  once  to  work  to  repair  the  ravages  of  war.  He  has 
owned  the  farm  known  as  "Badark,"  where  he  resides,  for  over  twenty- 
five  years.  For  eighteen  years  he  served  the  county  as  road  surveyor. 
He  has  also  served  on  the  Charles  Town  board  of  education,  and  as  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  as  notary  public,  and  is  at  present  marshal  at  Summit 
Point,  West  Virginia.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Farmers'  and  Mer- 
chants' Deposit  Company.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  his  politics,  and  belongs 
to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  having  served  as  a  steward  for  forty 
years,  and  has  been  affiliated  with  the  church  for  fifty-two  years. 


Angus  McDonald,  the  founder  of  the  Glengary  family 
McDonald  of  McDonalds  in  Frederick  county,  Virginia,  was 
born  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  in  1727,  died  in 
Frederick  county  at  his  home,  Glengary,  within  a  few  miles  of  Winches- 
ter, August  19,  1878.  He  was  probably  son  of  Angus,  who  was  a  young- 
er son  of  Alastair  Dubh  McDonald,  the  hero  of  the  battle  of  Kilicrankie. 
He  was  educated  at  Glasgow.  Having  fought  in  the  battle  of  Culloden, 
he  was  attainted  of  treason  and  fled  to  Virginia.  In  1746  he  landed  at 
Falmouth,  Virginia,  bringing  with  him  the  short  sword,  sash  and  gorget 
which  he  had  worn  on  that  field,  the  gorget  having  on  it  the  Glengary 
arms.  For  two  or  three  j'ears  he  engaged  in  mercantile  business  at  Fal- 
mouth ;  then  he  moved  into  the  interior  and  became  a  captain  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  colonies  under  Governor  Dinwiddle.  In  1754  he  received  for 
his  first  services  a  grant  of  four  hundred  acres.  In  1760  he  established  the 
first  Masonic  lodge  in  Winchester,  where  he  then  lived.  October  29, 
1762,  he  purchased  from  Brian  Bruin  a  tract  east  of  Winchester,  where- 
on he  built  his  home.  This  he  called  Glengary,  after  the  name  of  his 
former  Scotch  home.  In  1765  he  was  commissioned  major  of  militia  by 
Lord  Fairfax,  and  he  was  appointed,  about  the  same  time,  his  attorney 
and   agent.      In    latter   years    he   was   commissioned    lieutenant-colonel. 


500  WEST  MRGIXIA 

made  sheriff  and  justice.  In  the  spring  (if  1774  he  was  sent  to  survey  the 
lands  within  the  grant  to  the  officers  of  the  French  and  Indian  war.  The 
party  were  compelled  by  hostile  Indians  to  abandon  this  undertaking,  and 
he  was  authorized  to  raise  a  force  to  fight  them.  This  he  did,  and  with 
a  force  of  about  four  hundred  attacked  the  upper  Shawnee  towns  in  the 
state  of  Ohio. 

The  following  letter  was  received  by  him  from  General  Washington 
offering  to  appoint  him  a  lieutenant  ccjlonel  under  the  command  of  Colo- 
nel Charles  M.  Thruston,  formerly  rector  of  Cunningham  Chapel,  in 
Clark  county,  \'irginia. 

"Headquarters,   Morristown. 

March,    1777. 
De:ar  Sir: — 

Being  informed  that  you  are  not  yet  in  the  Contenental  service,  I  have  taken 
the  liberty  to  appoint  you  Lieut.  Col.  to  one  of  the  additional  battallians,  the  com- 
mand of  which  I  have  given  to  Mr.  Thruston,  i 
I  sincerely  wish  that  you  would  accept  this  office,  and  let  me  entreat  you  ■ 
not  to  let  the  love  you  bear  to  the  Cause  to  be  smothered  by  any  neglect  of  at-  I 
tention  to  your  military  character.  The  contest  is  of  too  serious  and  important  a  I 
nature  to  be  managed  by  men  totally  unacquainted  with  the  duties  of  the  field.  ' 
Gentlemen  who  have  from  their  youth  discovered  an  attachment  to  this  way  of 
life  are,  in  my  opinion,  in  so  forcible  a  manner  called  that  they  ought  not  to  with- 
hold  themselves. 

You  will  please  to  communicate  your  resolution  to  me  by  the  first  opportun- 
ity. 

I  am  your  most  obedient  servant, 

G.   Washington." 

Angus  McDonald  never  accepted  this  appointment,  though  a  most  ar- 
dent friend  of  the  patriot  cause,  as  referred  to  in  the  above  letter.  Eith- 
er of  two  reasons  were  to  him  sufficient  to  justify  his  refusal.  He  had 
been  a  member  of  the  vestry  of  Cunninghain  Chapel  and  there  had  been'; 
a  bitter  quarrel  between  him  and  Mr.  Thruston  over  a  matter  of  business' : 
connected  with  the  church,  so  that  McDonald  resigned  from  the  vestry.; 
Another  reason  was  that  he  objected  to  being  subordinate  to  an  officer  of, 
no  iTiilitary  experience.  McDonald  himself  had  seen  much  active  service. 
He  had  been  lieutenant  in  the  battle  of  Culloden,  and  had  been  in  the 
colonial  service  as  colonel  in  1774  in  the  expedition  against  the  Shawnees. 

On  August  6,  1776,  under  an  ordinance  of  the  Virginia  convention  of 
1776,  he  was  appointed  sheriff  of  Frederick  county  by  the  county  court  of 
Frederick  county  at  that  time,  giving  him  military  command  of  the  mili- 
tia of  the  county  which  then  extended  within  the  present  boundaries  of 
Kentucky.  Colonel  Charles  Thrust(.in  was  a  member  of  the  court  con- 
ferring this  appointment. 

He  married,  June  20,  1766,  Anna,  born  in  1748,  died  about  1832, 
daughter  of  John  and  Yocomanche  (Eltinge)  Thompson,  of  Hancock, 
Maryland.  Children:  Mary,  born  May  9,  1767,  married  Elias  Langhani ; 
John,  born  August  19,  1768,  died  about  1837:  Angus,  of  whom  further; 
Eleanor,  born  September  5,  1771,  married  James  Tidball ;  Anna,  born 
June  25.  1773,  married  Richard  Holliday ;  Thompson,  born  March  29. 
1776,  died  July  31,  1822;  Charles,  born  April  28,  1778,  died  in  infancy. 

(II)  Angus  (2),  son  of  Angus  (i)  and  Anna  (Thompson)  Mc- 
Donald, was  born  at  Glengary,  Virginia,  December  30,  1769,  died  at 
Batavia,  New  York,  October  14,  1814.  He  grew  up  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Glengary,  and  lived  on  his  farm,  though  his  interests  do  not  seem  to 
have  been  confined  to  farming.  In  the  war  of  1812  he  received  from  the 
president  a  cornmission  as  captain  in  the  Twelfth  Regiment  of  Infantry, 
to  rank  from  June  24,  1814.  At  his  death,  soon  afterward,  he  held  the| 
rank  of  major ;  his  death  was  due  to  the  consequences  of  a  forced  march. I 
He  married,  January  11,  1798,  Mary,  daughter  of  Edward  and  Millicenti 


WEST  MRGIXIA  501 

(D'Obeej  McGuire,  who  died  in  March,  1809.  Children:  Angus  Wil- 
liam, of  whom  further;  ]\Iillicent,  married  (first)  William  Sherrard, 
(second)  Richard  Holliday ;  Edward  Charles,  born  July  26,  1803,  died 
in  1862,  married  (first)  in  1833,  Frances  Elizabeth  Singleton,  (sec- 
ond)  in  1842,   Susan  Peaks. 

(Ill)  Angus  William,  son  of  Angus  (2)  and  Alary  (  Mc(juire  )  Ale- 
Donald,  was  born  at  Winchester.  Virginia,  Februan,'  14,  1799,  died  at 
Richmond,  \'irginia,  December  i,  1864.  At  the  age  of  ten  he  lost  his 
mother  and  went  to  live  with  his  grandmother  at  Glengary.  He  at- 
tended school  at  Winchester,  when  he  was  about  twelve,  and  at  that 
time  he  lived  with  his  uncle,  Edward  McGuire.  July  30,  1814,  he  en- 
tered West  Point.  Being  poorly  prepared  he  stood  near  the  foot,  but  by 
hard  work  he  made  great  progress  and  graduated  in  three  years.  July 
17,  1817.  He  was  then  promoted  to  the  rank  of  third  lieutenant  in  the 
artillery;  the  following  February  13,  he  was  made  second  lieutenant, 
and  on  April  i,  1818,  first  lieutenant;  these  two  promotions  were  made 
in  the  infantry,  the  Seventh.  He  served  in  garrison  at  New  Orleans  in 
1817  and  at  Alobile  Bay,  Alabama,  in  1818.  January  13,  1819,  he  re- 
signed. The  life  of  a  soldier  in  time  of  peace  was  too  tedious;  he  had 
made  effort  to  be  transferred  to  the  Western  frontier,  and  failing  in 
this  resigned  and  set  out  for  that  new  region.  He  was  first  a  clerk 
for  a  trading  company  in  Alissouri ;  soon  he  was  able  to  act  as  inter- 
preter with  the  Indians,  who  both  feared  and  trusted  him ;  in  the  second 
year  he  was  taken  into  partnership,  but  the  company  made  a  dishonor- 
able failure,  of  which  he  was  a  victim.  For  the  next  three  years  he  en- 
gaged successfully  in  trapping  and  trading  on  his  own  responsibility 
upon  the  waters  of  the  Yellow  Stone.  He  frequently  visited  St.  Louis 
with  cargoes  of  furs  and  skins.  After  spending  about  four  years  in  this 
region  the  southwest  attracted  him.  He  and  ten  others  formed  a  project 
to  enter  Te.xas,  wrest  it  from  Alexico,  and  make  it  independent.  He  re- 
turned home  to  enlist  others  in  the  enterprise.  But  meeting  then  his  fu- 
ture wife,  he  resigned  his  projects,  settled  at  Romney,  Virginia,  and 
applied  himself  to  the  study  of  law.  also  performing  the  duties  of  deputy 
sheriff  for  Hampshire  county.  In  a  little  over  a  year  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar,  and  for  the  next  seventeen  years  he  devoted  himself  almost 
exclusively  to  his  practice,  making  occasional  successful  investments  in 
western  lands.  In  politics  he  was  a  states-rights  man ;  at  first  he  fol- 
lowed the  party  of  Aladison,  but  opposing  the  stand  of  Jackson  for  fed- 
eral supremacy  he  became  a  Whig;  when  this  party  was  becoming  a 
federal  and  anti-slavery  party,  he  returned  to  the  Democrats,  states 
rights  being  his  leading  principle  throughout.  As  a  Whig  he  was  re- 
fused permission  by  President  Polk  to  raise  a  regiment  for  the  Mexi- 
can war.  In  1846  he  determined  to  remove  to  Hannibal,  Missouri,  but 
after  several  visits  he  abandoned  this  idea  and  resumed  the  practice  of 
law  at  Romney.  A  few  years  later  he  removed  to  Winchester.  Soon 
after  he  was  appointed  commissioner  by  Governor  Wise,  on  the  part  of 
Virginia,  to  settle  the  boundary  between  Virginia  and  Alaryland.  In 
connection  with  this  work  he  made  a  visit  to  London.  On  his  return  the 
presidential  election  of  i860  was  at  hand.  He  was  one  of  the  first  to  of- 
fer his  services  to  the  Confederacy,-  for  which  purpose  he  joined  General 
Harper  at  Harpers  Ferry.  His  offer  was  accepted;  in  June,  1861,  he  was 
commissioned  colonel  of  cavalry  and  ordered  to  raise  and  organize  com- 
panies of  volunteers  for  a  particular  service.  His  regiment,  consisting  of 
eight  companies,  was  ordered  to  Romney  to  prevent  federal  military  use 
of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad,  and  to  watch  General  AlcClellan.  His 
physical  strength  was  already  failing,  and  after  brave  service  in  the  field 
he  was  at  his  own  request  placed  in  command  of  the  artillery  defenses 


502  WEST  MRGIXIA 

about    Winchester.     After   the   evacuation   of   this   place   he    was   given 
court-martial  duty,  and  about  a  year  later  was  assigned  to  the  post  of 
Lexington,  Virginia.     Evacuating  this  post  at  the  approach  of  Hunter,    ™ 
he  was  captured  in  June,  1864,  he  and  his  son  Harry,  without  other  sup-    i 
port,  having  made  a  brave  defense  against  a  party  of  over  twenty.     Gen-    ! 
eral  Hunter  refused  him  parole.     He  was  supposed,  a  supposition  utterly 
false,  to  have  treated  harshly  Colonel  John  Strother,  a  Virginian,  whom   \^ 
he  had  under  his  charge  as  a  prisoner ;  for  this  cause  he  was  hand-cuffed    i 
whilst   a  prisoner   and   otherwise   severely   treated,   despite   his   age,   his    I 
severe  rheumatism,  and  a  wound  incurred  in  resisting  capture.    The  Con-    I 
federates  proposed  retaliation,  and  selected  Colonel  Crook  for  the  pur-    ! 
pose.     But  Colonel  ]\IcDonald  wrote  to  President  Davis  in  protest,  and   1 
the  orders  were  never  carried  out,  even  before  his  letter,  on  account  of   ! 
the  poor  health  of  Colonel   Crook,  although  the  United  States  was  al- 
lowed to  think  that   retaliation   was  being  practiced.     Through  the   in-   | 
strumentality  of  the  Union  commissioner  for  the  exchange  of  prisoners, 
an  old   friend.  General  Ethan  Allen  Hitchcock,  who  had  been  a  fellow   I 
cadet  and  intimate  friend  at  West  Point  and  for  whom  his  son,  Edward   j 
Allen  Hitchcock,  had  been  named,  he  was  released,  November  7,  1864;  : 
General  Hitchcock  also  offered  him  money  or  anything  in  his  power  to   j 
offer   for  his  assistance,  but  liberty  only  was  accepted.     A   week  after 
his  return  to  Richmond  he  was  taken  ill  and  did  not  recover,  dying  De- 
cember  I.   1864. 

He  married  (first)  January  11,  1827.  Leacy  Anne,  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam and  Anne  (Sanford)  Naylor.who  died  February  3,  1843:  (second)  at  , 
Hannibal,  Missouri.  May  27,  1847,  Cornelia,  daughter  of  Dr.  Humphrey 
and  Anne  Linton  ( Lane)  Peake,  who  survived  him.  Children,  first 
named  nine  by  first,  others  by  second,  wife:  i.  Mary  Naylor,  born  De- 
cember 27,  1827,  deceased;  married,  April  27,  1852,  Thomas  Claiborne 
Green,  of  the  supreme  court  of  appeals  of  West  Virginia.  2.  Angus  ! 
William,  of  whom  further.  3.  Anne  Sanford,  born  October  30,  1830;  I 
married,  December  20.  1855,  James  W.  Green.  4.  Edward  Allen  Hitch- 
cock, born  October  26.  1832;  married.  October  12,  1869,  Julia  Yates 
Leavell.  5.  William  Naylor,  born  in  February,  1834,  died  January  4, 
1898:  married,  in  August,  1867,  Catherine  S.  Gray.  6.  Marshall,  born 
October  18,  1835,  died  September  i,  1905:  married,  December  17,  1867, 
Mary  E.  McCormick :  as  L^nited  States  commissioner  of  fish  and  fish- 
eries, he  gained  an  international  reputation.  7.  Craig  Woodrow,  born 
May  28,  1837,  killed  (in  battle)  at  Gaine's  Mills,  May  29,  1862.  8.  Susan 
Leacy,  born  December  10,  1839:  married  Major  John  B.  Stanard.  9.  ; 
Flora,  born  June  7,  1842;  married,  December  18,  1867,  Leroy  Eustace 
Williams.  10.  Harry  Peake,  born  April  14,  1848,  died  February  18, 
1904:  married,  April  14,  1875,  Alice  Keats  Speed.  11.  Allan  Lane,  born 
October  30,  1849:  married,  February  13,  1878,  Fannie  B.  Snead.  12. 
Humphrey,  born  December  31,  1850,  died  July  30,  1851.  13.  Kenneth, 
born  July  18,  1852:  married,  November  20,  1879.  America  R.  Moore. 
14.  Ellen,  born  September  30,  1854 :  married,  in  1883,  James  Henry  Lyne. 
13.  Roy,  born  August  25,  1856:  married  (first)  November  23.  1882,  Nel- 
lie Caine,  (second)  Jean  Martin.  16.  Donald,  born  September  5,  1858; 
married,  October  26,  1887,  Betsy  Breckinridge  Carr.  17.  Hunter,  born 
June  12,  i860:  married,  in  1893,  Mary  Eloise  Gordon.  18.  Elizabeth, 
born  October  29,  1861,  died  August  23,  1862. 

(IV)  Angus  William  (2)  McDonald  (known  as  Major  McDonald), 
son  of  Angus  William  (i)  and  Leacy  Anne  (Naylor)  McDonald,  was 
born  at  Romney,  Hampshire  county.  \'irginia.  May  16,  1829.  Here  he 
attended  private  school  until  1847,  when  he  became  assistant  teacher 
therein.    The  next  year  he  went  to  the  University  of  Virginia  and  grad- 


^^^^^  ^y^ J^:^'^<^zy^^^^^:.^c^ 


WEST  MRGIXIA  503 

uated  in  three  of  the  academic  schools  in  1850.  In  the  spring  of  1S52  he 
was  the  Democratic  nominee  for  commonwealth's  attorney.  He  was  de- 
feated, but  elected  four  years  later.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  he  be- 
lieved in  the  right  of  secession,  but  did  not  think  the  occasion  sufficient 
to  justify  its  exercise.  In  the  spring  of  1861  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  house  of  delegates  of  \'irginia.  In  the  following  July  he  became 
adjutant  of  his  father's  regiment,  stationed  at  Romney  to  destroy  bridges 
and  dismantle  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad,  and  he  shared  in  the  activ- 
ities of  that  regiment  for  the  remainder  of  that  year,  until  the  Virginia 
legislature  commenced.  At  the  end  of  the  term,  in  May,  1863,  he  was 
appointed  commissary  without  military  rank ;  he  also  held  a  commission 
as  colonel  on  the  staff  of  Governor  Wise.  He  was  captured  by  the  Union 
troops  and  imprisoned  at  \\'heeling ;  he  was  held  as  hostage  for  Dr.  Ruck- 
er,  a  civilian,  captured  by  the  Confederate  authorities  of  Virginia,  but 
Rucker  escaped,  so  relieving  Mr.  McDonald  of  his  danger.  He  was  soon 
exchanged,  and  resumed  the  functions  of  commissary,  in  which  position 
he  continued  until  the  end  of  the  war.  Then  he  opened  a  law  office  at 
Harrisonburg.  \'irginia.  but  soon  entered  into  partnership  with  his  broth- 
ers. William  N.  and  Edward  A.,  in  managing  a  farm  and  school  at  Cool 
Spring,  Clark  county.  Mrginia.  About  1870  he  removed  to  Berryville, 
Virginia,  where  he  practiced  law  in  partnership  with  Ami  Moore  for 
twenty  years.  After  this  he  removed  to  Charles  Town.  West  \'irginia, 
where  he  practiced  with  his  son-in-law.  Judge  J.  Frank  Beckwith.  In 
1894  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  legislature  of  West  Virginia,  but  de- 
feated by  a  very  small  majority  in  1896.  He  retired  from  active  practice 
about  1908. 

He  married  (first)  February  17.  1857.  Elizabeth  Morton,  daughter 
of  Colonel  Robert  and  Eliza  (Morton)  Sherrard,  who  died  Alay  26, 
1892:  (second)  June  5,  1894,  Alary  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  H.  R.  and 
Sallie  (Houston)  Riddle.  Children,  both  by  first  wife:  Annie  Leacy, 
married  Judge  J.  Frank  Beckwith :  .Angus,  who  was  drowned  in  the 
James  river  while  attending  the  school  of  Air.  William  Cabel  in  Nelson 
county,  Virginia,  on  the  27th  of  September,  1878. 

Angus,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  with  two  other  schoolmates  was  boat- 
ing on  the  James  river.  The  weather  was  rough  and  the  small  light  craft 
was  filling  with  water.  One  of  the  three  had  to  take  to  the  water  to  re- 
lieve the  boat.  Angus,  being  an  expert  swimmer,  jumped  into  the  water, 
but  within  twenty  yards  of  the  shore,  he  was  stricken  with  cramps,  and 
sank  never  to  rise  alive,  before  assistance  could  reach  him  from  the  boat. 


Samuel  Alillard  was  a  resident  of  Ohio  at  the  time  of 
AIILLARD  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war  and  he  immediately  en- 
listed  for  service   in   the   Union  army  as  a  member  of 

an  (  )hio  regiment.     He  participated  in  many  decisive  engagements  and 

finally  met  death  on  the  battlefield. 

( II )  G.  M.,  son  of  Samuel  Alillard,  was  born  at  Portsmouth,  Ohio, 
Alarch  16,  1862.  He  lost  his  father  when  he  was  a  mere  infant,  and  in 
early  life  he  became  dependent  on  his  own  resources  for  a  livelihood.  He 
came  to  West  \'irginia  and  for  a  number  of  years  has  been  justice  of 
the  peace  and  notary  public  at  'VVilliamson.  in  Alingo  county.  He  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  A.,  daughter  of  Christopher  Chafin.  Among  their  chil- 
dren was  John  Bennett,  mentioned  below. 

(III)  Dr.  John  Bennett  Alillard,  son  of  G.  At.  and  Elizabeth  A. 
(Chafin)  Alillard,  was  born  in  Logan  county,  ^^'est  \'irginia.  July  16, 
1886.  After  completing  the  prescribed  course  of  the  common  schools 
of  his  native  place  he  entered  the  high  school,  in  which  he  was  gradu- 


504  WEST  \-IRGIXIA 

ated.  He  early  decided  upon  the  medical  profession  as  his  life  work  and 
in  order  to  earn  money  for  a  college  education  began  to  work  in  a  dry 
goods  store.  Subsequently  he  purchased  a  team  of  mules  and  hired  a 
man  to  work  them  and  he  was  engaged  in  various  occupations  until  he 
had  gained  the  wherewithal  with  which  to  defray  his  college  expenses. 
He  then  entered  the  Louisville  Hospital,  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  in 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1908.  He  initiated  the  active  practice  of  his 
profession  at  Glenalum,  West  Virginia,  in  1908,  and  there  became  asso- 
ciated in  his  medical  work  with  Dr.  W.  D.  Amica.  He  was  a  resident 
physician  at  Glenalum  for  one  year  and  seven  months,  at  the  end  of 
which  time  he  located  at  Matewan,  Mingo  county,  this  state.  At  Mate- 
wan  he  practiced  medicine  with  Dr.  H.  C.  Goings  for  some  time,  and 
April  I,  191 1,  he  came  to  Williamson,  where  he  has  since  maintained 
his  home  and  professional  headquarters.  Dr.  Millard  pursued  a  post- 
graduate course  in  the  University  of  Louisville,  at  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
in  1909-10,  and  was  graduated  in  that  excellent  institution  with  the  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Medicine. 

At  Williamson  Dr.  ]\Ii!lard  is  associated  in  practice  with  Dr.  George 
T.  Conley  and  the  firm  are  physicians  and  surgeons  for  the  Sycamore 
Coal  Company  and  the  Mingo  county  jail.  They  are  assistant  physicians 
and  surgeons  for  the  Norfolk  &  Western  railroad  and  are  medical  ex- 
aminers for  several  important  insurance  companies  and  fraternal  orders, 
the  latter  class  including  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles  and  the  Owls. 
Messrs.  Conley  and  ]\lillard  are  rapidly  gaining  distinction  as  unusually 
capable  physicians  and  surgeons  and  their  large  and  lucrative  practice 
keeps  them  busy  day  and  night.  In  connection  with  their  medical  work 
they  are  members  of  the  Mingo  County  INIedical  Society,  the  W^est  Vir- 
ginia State  Medical  Society  and  the  American  Medical  .Association.  In 
a  fraternal  way  Dr.  Millard  is  affiliated  with  the  Benevolent  and  Protec- 
tive Order  of  Elks,  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles  and  the  Owls.  In 
politics,  although  he  has  no  time  for  active  participation  in  public  afifairs, 
he  is  an  uncomjiromising  Re])ublican,  and  in  religious  matters  he  is 
a  Presbvterian.     Dr.  ]\lillard  is  unmarried. 


The  names   Read,  Reade,  Reed  and  Reid  are  forms  of  one 
READ     name :  this  name,  in  its  several  forms,  is  very  common.     The 

same  or  a  similar  name  is  found  among  the  Germans,  the 
Irish,  the  Scotch  and  the  Welsh.  There  seems  very  little  room  to  doubt 
that  the  name  means  red.  Probably  the  best-known  representative  of 
these  names  in  the  L'nited  States  has  been  Thomas  B.  Reed,  representa- 
tive from  Maine  in  the  L'nited  States  congress,  and  speaker  of  the  house, 
statesman  and  parliamentarian. 

(I)  Dr.  Thomas  Nash  Read,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about 
whom  we  have  definite  information,  died  in  1870.  He  was  a  dentist, 
practicing  at  Danville,  Virginia.  He  usually  spent  his  summers  at  Green- 
brier White  Sulphur  Springs,  West  A'irginia.  While  on  his  way  thither 
on  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  railway,  he  was  killed  in  an  accident  at 
Jerry's  run,  on  the  Virginia  side  of  the  Allegheny  mountains.  The  road 
is  laid  along  the  mountain  beside  the  deep  ravine  of  this  name,  on  trestles ; 
the  train  left  the  track  and  rolled  down  into  the  ravine,  killing  thirteen 
persons.  Neither  Mrginia  nor  West  Virginia  had  then  any  law  by 
which  damages  could  be  collected  in  such  a  case :  \'irginia  was  led  by  this 
accident  to  enact  such  a  law,  and  West  Virginia  has  since  acted  in  like 
manner.  Dr.  Read  married  Rebecca  S.  Barksdale.  of  Halifax  county, 
Virginia.  She  now  resides  with  her  sons.  Barksdale  is  an  old  name  in 
Halifax-  county,  and  has   extended   from  that   starting  point  into  other 


WEST  VIRGINIA  505 

parts  of  the  south.  Her  brother.  Dr.  \\'iniam  Leigh  Barksdale,  is  a  phy- 
sician and  surgeon  at  Hinton,  Summers  county,  West  Virginia.  Chil- 
dren :  Thomas  Nash,  of  whom  furth.er :  Leigh,  a  dentist  in  Baltimore, 
Maryland. 

(II)  Thomas  Nash   {2),  son  of  Dr.  Thomas  Nash   (i)  and  Rebecca 
S.  (Barksdale)  Read,  was  born  at  Danville,  West  Mrginia,  February  18, 
1868.     His  father  dying  when  he  was  two  years  old,  his  mother  removed 
five  years  later,  to  Alderson,  Monroe  county.  West  A'irginia.     In  this 
place"  he  grew  to  manhood,  and  he  received  his  education  first  at  the  pub- 
lic schools  and  the  Alderson  Academy.     Afterward  he  took  a  literary 
course  at  Hampden-Sidney  College,  Prince  Edward  county,  Virginia,  and 
the  law  course  at  the  University  of  Virginia.     Here  he  studied  under 
Professors  John  B.  IMinor,  author  of  "Minor's  Institutes,"  and  Gilmore. 
He  graduated  in  1890  and  in  the  same  year  was  admitted  to  practice  and 
received  his  license  in  Virginia.    In  1891  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and 
tegan  practice  at  New  Castle,  Craig  county,  Virginia.     For  a  short  time 
he  practiced  by  himself,  and  then  he  went  into  partnership  with  Judge 
James   ~Sl.   Marshall.     This  partnership  was  dissolved  in   1894,   and   he 
then  removed  to  Hinton.     On  July  i,  1894,  he  entered  into  partnership 
dt  Hinton  with  James  H.  ]\Iiller:  this  partnership  continued  for  over  ten 
years,  being  terminated  by  the  election  of  iMr.  Miller  as  judge  of  the  ninth 
West  Virginia  circuit,  on  December  i,  1904.     Mr.  Read  succeeded  to  the 
business  of  the  firm,  and  has  continued  in  the  practice  of  the  law  in  the 
counties  of  Summers,  Monroe,  Greenbrier  and  Fayette,  West  Virginia, 
He  has  been  engaged  in  most  of  the  important  cases  in  Summers  county 
since  1894,  and  has  had  much  practice  in  the  supreme  court  of  appeals 
of  the  state.     He  is  attorney  for  the  city  of  Hinton,  and  for  the  New 
River  Grocery  Company,  the  Hinton  Hardware  Company,  the  National 
Bank  of  Summers,  and  a  number  of  other  firms  and  business  men.     He 
,    is  a  pleasant  speaker,  with  considerable  oratorical  power.     In  politics  he 
;    is  a  Democrat,  but  he  has  not  been  active  therein  outside  of  the  county. 
I    When  the  firm  of  Miller  &  Read  was  formed,  Mr.  Miller  was  prosecut- 
\    ing  attorney  of  the  county,  and  Mr.  Read  at  once  qualified  as  an  assist- 
j    ant.     He  served  for  the  unexpired  term,  and  from  1896  for  a  full  term. 
j    When   Mr.  R.   F.   Dunlap  became  prosecuting  attorney  of  the  county. 
;    January  i,  1905,  Mr.  Read  was  made  assistant  prosecutor.     In  1900  he 
I    was  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  prosecuting  attorney,  but  was  defeated 
I    by  fourteen  votes.     In  1908  he  was  elected  to  that  position,  and  on  May 
j    25,  1Q12,  he  was  renominated  for  this  office.     He  has  frequently  spoken 
in  the  county  on  behalf  of  the  Democratic  candidates.     In  religion  he  is 
a  member,  trustee  and  vestryman  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church. 
;  He  married,  Nannie  D..  daughter  of  Thomas  B.  AlcCartney.  of  Craig 

j  county,  Virginia.  Her  father  was  a  Confederate  veteran,  having  been  a 
captain  in  the  army,  and  was  for  many  years  clerk  of  the  county  court 
of  Craig  county.     Child.  Thomas  Leigh. 


David    Slusher,   the    first   member   of   this    family   about 
SLL'SHER     whom    we   have    definite   information,    is   a    resident    of 
Floyd  county,  A'irginia.     For  many  years  he  was  sherifl^ 
of  this  county  ;  he  is  now  living  in  pVactical  retirement.  Through  his  moth- 
er he  is  a  relative  of  the  famous  pioneer  and  explorer,  Daniel  Boone.  He 

married  Bowman,  who  is  also  living.     Child,  \\'illiam  C,  of  whom 

further. 

(ID   Dr.    William    C.    Slusher,    son   of   David    and   ('Bowman) 

Slusher,  was  born  at  Falls  Church,   Fairfax  county,  \'irginia,   January 
15,  1881.  He  was  educated  at  WiUiam  and  Mary  Academy,  and  in  1900 


5o6  WEST  \-IRGI\IA 

entered  the  Medical  College  of  \irginia,  at  Richmond,  \'irginia,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  1903,  receiving  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medi- 
cine. Having  then  taken  a  graduate  course  at  the  Polyclinic  Medical 
School  and  Hospital  in  New  York  City,  he  commenced  medical  prac- 
tice in  the  coal  fields  of  West  Virginia.  In  1905  he  settled  at  Bluefield, 
Mercer  county,  West  Virginia,  and  here  Dr.  Slusher  is  enjoying  a  fine 
practice.  He  pays  special  attention  to  bacteriology.  Dr.  Slusher  is  a 
member  of  the  Mercer  County  Medical  Society  and  of  the  West  Virginia 
Medical  Association.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
including  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  Republican.     He  is  unmarried. 


This     family    is    of    Irish    ancestry    and 

STRATON-XIGHBERT     prominent  in  the  history  of  the  north  of 

Ireland.      The    progenitor    of    the    family 

in  America  was  Straton,  who  immigrated  to  America  in  1800,  and 

settled  in  Logan  county,  now  West  \'irginia. 

( II )  Joseph  Straton,  son  of  the  immigrant,  was  born  in  the  north 
of  Ireland,  March  4,  1794,  died  in  Logan,  Virginia,  January  3,  1846. 
He  came  to  America  with  his  father  when  he  was  six  years  old.  He  at- 
tended the  public  schools  of  Logan  county,  \'irginia,  and  became  one  of 
the  prominent  citizens  of  the  county.  He  married  Polly  Henderson, 
born  in  Monroe  county,  Virginia,  March  2"],  1803,  died  in  Saguin,  Gua- 
dalupe county,  Texas,  April  22,  1890. 

(III)  Major  William  Straton,  son  of  Joseph  and  Polly  (Henderson) 
Straton,  was  born  at  the  Henderson  homestead,  Logan  county,  Virginia, 
April  14,  1821,  died  in  the  city  of  Logan,  June  29,  1903.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county,  and  at  an  early  date  be- 
gan the  study  of  law.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  practiced  his 
profession  in  Logan  for  a  number  of  years.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the 
civil  war  he  offered  his  services  to  the  Confederacy,  and  was  commis- 
sioned major  in  the  Thirty-fourth  \'irginia  Cavalry.  In  the  engagement 
at  Beech  Creek,  Logan  county,  now  West  Virginia,  August  7,  1862,  he 
was  severely  wounded  in  the  arms  and  breast  and  for  a  time  his  life 
was  despaired  of.  He  recovered  his  health  and  returned  to  his  com- 
mand and  served  during  the  remainder  of  the  war.  He  was  a  gallant 
and  efficient  officer  and  had  the  love  and  respect  of  the  officers  and  men 
of  his  regiment.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  held  many  offices  of 
trust  in  his  county.  In  March.  1843,  he  was  elected  clerk  of  the  Logan 
county  court,  and'  the  following  year  was  also  elected  clerk  of  the  cir- 
cuit court  for  Logan  county.  These  offices  he  held  until  1865.  He  rep- 
resented his  district  in  the  state  legislature  during  the  years  1871-77.  He 
was  one  of  the  highly  respected  citizens  of  his  county.  He  married,  Sep- 
tember 13,  1849,  Mary  Ann  Perry,  born  in  Logan  county,  \'irginia,  June 
T.  1831,  died  in  Logan,  October  24,  1896.  Children:  i.  David,  born 
January  4,  1853,  died  May  15,  1890:  married  Nancy  Beverley.  2.  .Al- 
len, born  June  7,  1855  ;  married  Jane  Deskins.  and  resides  in  W'illiani- 
son.  West  Virginia.  3.  Victoria,  born  December  23,  1857.  died  April  2^. 
1858.  4.  Minnie,  born  June  12,  1859:  married  John  F.  .Aldrich  ;  she  died 
September  17,  1886;  Air.  Aldrich  is  now  engaged  in  farming  at  Beech 
Creek,  ^^'est  \^irginia ;  one  son,  James  Edward,  mentioned  below.  5. 
Vicie,  mentioned  below.  6.  Mary  B.,  born  March,  i8<i4:  married  Judge 
John  B.  Wilkinson,  and  resides  in  Logan  county. 

(IV)  A'icie,  daughter  of  Major  W'illiam  and  Mary  .Ann  (Perry) 
Straton,  was  born  in  Logan,  A'irginia,  December  9,  1861.  She  married, 
December  14,  1889,  James  Andrew  Nighbert.     She  was  educated  in  the 


///'///'/     //////r/  ///  ■  ///y/'/r 


WEST  VIRGINIA  507 

schools  of  her  native  county.  Mrs.  Xighbert  takes  a  deep  interest  in  all 
matters  pertaining  to  the  good  of  her  city  and  county.  She  contributes 
liberally  toward  the  support  of  many  charitable  enterprises.  While  she 
has  no  children  of  her  own,  she  has  generously  assisted  in  the  education 
of  several  of  the  young  people  of  her  city. 

James  Andrew  Nighbert  was  of  German  ancestry.  His  grandfather 
immigrated  to  America  prior  to  the  revolution,  and  settled  in  Wythe 
county,  Virginia.  His  son.  George  W.  Nighbert,  father  of  James  An- 
drew Nighbert,  was  born  in  Wythe  county,  \'irginia.  In  1837  he  re- 
moved to  Kanawha  county  and  in  1844  to  Logan  county,  where  he  was 
a  prosperous  farmer.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth  Scaggs,  born  in  Mont- 
gomery county,  Virginia.  James  Andrew  Nighbert  was  born  in  Mont- 
gomery county,  Virginia.  July  23,  1832,  died  in  Logan,  December  17, 
1S98.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Kanawha  and  Logan 
counties.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war  he  espoused  the  cause 
of  the  south.  He  enlisted  in  the  Thirty-sixth  Infantry  and  was  commis- 
sioned first  lieutenant  of  Company  B.  He  was  soon  promoted  major  and 
transferred  to  the  First  Virginia  Regiment,  serving  until  1863.  He  took 
part  ir  several  battles  and  engagements,  and  was  distinguished  for  his 
bravery  and  efficiency,  being  highly  respected  by  the  officers  and  men  of 
his  regiment.  He  was  connected  with  several  business  enterprises.  He 
met  with  marked  success  in  his  various  financial  ventures  and  acquired 
a  large  property.  He  was  the  largest  individual  land  owner  in  Logan 
county.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics  and  took  a  prominent  part  in 
the  councils  of  his  party.  He  represented  his  district  in  the  Virginia  leg- 
islature during  1863-65  and  was  president  of  the  county  court  for  Logan 
county  during  the  yeaVs  1880-88.  In  this  last  year  he  was  delegated  to 
the  national  Democratic  convention.  He  was  a  generous  and  public- 
spirited  citizen,  giving  freely  of  his  time,  means  and  influence  to  all 
worthy  enterprises,  having  for  their  object  the  advancement  of  his  city, 
county  and  state.  He  was  highly  respected  by  the  citizens  of  his  com- 
munity and  by  all  who  knew  him.  He  was  an  active  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Honor. 

James  Edward  Aldrich,  son  of  John  F.  and  Minnie  (Straton)  Aid- 
rich,  and  grandson  of  Major  Straton,  mentioned  above,  was  born  in 
Logan,  West  A'irgmia,  September  13,  1886.  He  attended  the  schools  of 
his  native  county  and  finished  his  preparation  for  college  at  the  celebrated 
Bingham  Military  School  in  North  Carolina.  He  entered  the  Baltimore 
College  of  Dental  Surgery  in  1910  and  graduated  in  1912.  He  is  now 
practicing  his  profession  in  his  native  city,  having  his  office  in  the  Oak- 
ley building. 


The   names    Somerville   and    Sommerville   appear 
SOAIMERMLLE     to  be  merely  variant  spellings  of  the  same  name, 

and  also  to  be  of  local  origin.  As  a  surname 
neither  of  these  forms  is  at  all  common,  yet  a  number  of  persons  named 
Sommerville  may  be  found  in  West  Virginia.  It  will  be  noted  that  the 
immigrant  ancestor  of  this  family  had  a  good  number  of  sons,  and  there 
are  Sommervilles  also  in  the  state  whose  direct  relation  to  this  line  seems 
doubtful.  As  a  name  of  a  place,  Somerville  is  best  known  in  the  United 
States  in  connection  with  a  city  of  good  size  in  Massachusetts,  one  of 
the  suburbs  of  Boston. 

(I)  Samuel  Sommerville,  the  founder  of  this  family,  came  from  Ire- 
land, and  settled  in  what  is  now  Wirt  county.  West  \'irginia,  on  Somer- 
ville's  fork  of  Reedy  creek.  The  name  of  his  wife  was  Susan  Sheppard 
and  he  had  the  following  children:     Hiram,  of  whom   further;  James, 


5o8  WEST  \'IRGINIA 

Jonatlian,  Samuul,  John,  Andrew,  David,  Nancy,  married  Jacob  Bum- 
garner. 

( II )  Hiram,  son  of  Samuel  and  Susan  (Sheppard)  Sommerville,  was 
born  in  Wirt  county,  Virginia,  in  1825,  died  in  1889.  Throughout  his 
active  hfe  he  was  a  farmer.  He  married  (first)  Mary  Ann  Ingram,  who 
died  in  1850;  (second)  Emeranda  Grant.  Children,  all  except  first-named 
two  by  second  wife :  Samuel  L.,  of  whom  further ;  Susan,  married  E.  R. 
Woodyard,  ex-sheriff  of  Wirt  county  ;  Lafayette,  Preston,  Henry,  John, 
George,  Charles,  Edgar,  Alice,  Emma. 

(HI)  Samuel  L.,  son  of  Hiram  and  Mary  Ann  (Ingram)  Sommer- 
ville, was  born  in  Jackson  county,  Virginia,  March  30,  1846.  He  received 
a  common  school  education,  and  was  then  engaged  in  farming  in  Jackson 
county.  In  1863  he  enlisted  in  the  defense  of  the  country  as  a  member  of 
Company  F,  Seventh  West  Virginia  Cavalry,  and  he  served  for  fifteen 
months.  In  1866  he  went  to  Illinois  and  there  he  was  engaged  in  farming 
for  ten  years.  Then  he  returned  to  West  \'irginia,  settled  in  Wirt  county, 
and  here  he  has  since  lived  as  a  farmer.  In  Wirt  county  Mr.  Sommerville 
has  served  for  four  years  as  constable,  and  he  was  deputy  sheriff  of  the 
county  in  1892.  He  is  a  Republican,  and  a  member  of  the  Alethodist 
Episcopal  church.  He  married,  October  18,  1867,  Emily  B.  Montgomery, 
daughter  of  Asbe  and  Ann  (Hardin)  Montgomery.  Children:  Effie  ^lay, 
died  in  infancy;  Hiram  Asbe.  of  whom  further;  Samuel  Ellsworth,  died 
in  1875;  Anna  May,  died  in  1877;  Dora,  married  A.  E.  Harris  in  1909; 
Hattie  Roselle.  married  A.  S.  Hickman,  in  1903. 

(IV)  Hiram  Asbe,  son  of  Samuel  L.  and  Emily  B.  (Montgomery) 
Sommerville,  was  born  in  Marion  county,  Illinois,  April  22,  1870.  His 
education  was  received  in  the  public  schools,  including  the  high  school, 
and  he  spent  the  years  from  1891  to  1894  in  the  University  of  We-t 
\'irginia.  In  1894  he  was  graduated  from  the  law  department  of  this 
institution,  receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  In  the  same  year 
he  took  up  the  practice  of  law  at  Elizabeth,  Wirt  county,  West  Virginia, 
where  he  still  lives.  Beside  his  legal  practice  Mr.  Sommerville  is  engaged 
in  farming.  He  is  a  member  of  Wirt  Lodge,  No.  82,  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  and  past  master  of  the  lodge.  Mr.  Sommerville  is  un- 
married. 


S.  Frazier  Stowers,  the  first  member  of  this  family  of 
STOWERS  whom  we  have  any  definite  information,  was  born  in 
Bland  county.  Virginia,  November  5,  1872.  He  re- 
ceived his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county,  ami 
graduated  from  Sharon  College  in  Virginia  in  1894.  He  then  entered 
the  Southern  Business  College  at  Lynchburg,  Virginia,  from  w^hich  he 
graduated  in  1895.  He  then  turned  his  attention  to  fanning,  in  which 
he  was  engaged  for  several  years.  In  July,  1902,  he  settled  in  Bluefield, 
West  Virginia,  and  opened  a  general  merchandise  store  and  is  still  en- 
gaged in  the  mercantile  trade,  living  in  Bluefield.  He  was  one  of  the  or- 
ganizers of  the  American  Fruit  Company  of  Bluefield  and  is  one  of  the 
directors  of  the  company.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Chamber  ol 
Commerce  of  Bluefield  since  its  organization,  and  he  was  at  one  time  a 
member  of  the  board  of  supervisors  of  the  town.  In  1909  he  was  elected 
mayor  of  the  city  of  Bluefield  for  a  term  of  four  years,  and  is  now 
serving  in  that  office.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Order  of  Eagles,  and  is 
also  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  is  a 
Democrat  in  politics,  and  a  ^lethodist  in  religion. 

He  married,   .August  25.   1807,  Julia   N.,  born  in   Bland  county,  Vir- 
ginia.  March   4.    1881.   daughter   of   D.    M.    Bailey.      Children:      Eugene 


WEST  VIRGINIA  509 

Sewell,  born  July   5,    1898:   Aubrey   Caperton,   Lillian   Pauline,   ]\Iason, 
Elizabeth  Virginia,  Lucille  Frazier. 


James  M.  Ritz,  the  first  member  of  this  family  of  whom  we 
RITZ     have  any  definite   information,   was   of   German   descent,   and 

was  born  in  Wheeling,  Virginia,  and  is  now  living  in  Hunting- 
ton, West  Virginia.  He  was  a  farmer,  but  has  now  retired  from  active 
business  pursuits.  He  married  Catherine  McCarthy.  Children :  James 
iM.  Jr.,  a  lawyer;  Harold  Arthur,  referred  to  below;  Stuart  Lytton,  an 
editor ;  David  Oliver,  a  college  professor ;  John  Eldon,  a  lawyer,  died 
June  2,  1908;  Russell  Sage,  referred  to  below;  Charles  L.,  doctor  of 
dentistry ;  Kathryn  Alva,  married  A.  F.  Kingdon ;  Rosa,  student  at 
Marshall  College. 

(II)  Harold  Arthur,  son  of  James  'SI.  and  Catherine  (McCarthy) 
Ritz,  was  born  in  Wheeling,  \\'est  \'irginia,  July  25,  1873.  At  the  age 
of  six  years  he  removed  with  his  parents  to  Wayne  county,  near  Hunt- 
ington, W'est  Virginia.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools  and  the  high  school  of  Ceredo,  W'est  Virginia,  and  when  fourteen 
years  of  age  entered  Marshall  College  at  Huntington,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  1889.  In  1890  he  studied  stenography  in  Oswego,  New 
York,  and  on  completing  his  course  secured  employment  in  the  construc- 
tion department  of  the  Norfolk  &  Western  railroad,  and  was  stationed 
at  Louisa,  Kentucky.  In  1891  he  was  transferred  to  Bluefield,  West 
Virginia,  as  a  subordinate  to  N.  D.  Maher,  who  is  now  the  general  man- 
ager of  the  Norfolk  &  Western  railroad,  and  remained  in  that  position 
for  three  years.  Dtiring  these  latter  years  he  had  utilized  his  leisure  time 
in  the  study  of  law,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1894  he  passed  his  examina- 
tions and  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  entered  the  office  of  Judge  John- 
ston in  Bluefield,  and  remained  with  him  during  1895  and  1896,  and  in 
January,  1897,  opened  his  own  office  in  Bluefield,  West  Mrginia,  where 
he  is  now  living  and  actively  practicing  his  profession.  In  March,  1905. 
he  was  commissioned  on  the  staflf  of  the  governor  of  West  \'irginia  with 
the  rank  of  colonel,  and  in  the  spring  of  1906  was  appointed  assistant 
attorney  general.  He  was  appointed,  June  16,  1906.  a  judge  of  the  cir- 
cuit court  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Judge  L.  L.  Cham- 
bers, and  served  in  that  office  until  December,  1906,  when  the  vacancy 
was  filled  by  the  election  of  Judge  Herndon.  On  April  28,  1909,  Mr. 
Ritz  was  appointed  L'nited  States  attorney  for  the  southern  district  of 
\\'est  A'irginia  by  President  Taft.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  of  Bluefield.  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks.     He  is  a  Republican  in  politics. 

He  married  (first)  August  15,  1893,  Harriet  Eleanor,  born  in  Lex- 
'ngton,  Virginia,  March  31,  1872,  died  March  12.  191 1,  daughter  of 
Rev.  Matthew  A.  Wilson,  who  was  a  Baptist  minister  and  missionary 
and  was  instrumental  in  the  building  of  nearly  all  the  churches  of  his  de- 
nomination throughout  southwest  A'irginia  and  West  \"irginia.  Harold 
Arthur  and  Harriet  Eleanor  (Wilson)  Ritz  had  no  children.  He  mar- 
ried (second)  April  30.  1913,  !Mrs.  Helen  J.  Jackson,  of  Charleston,  \\'est 
\"irginia. 

(ID  Russell  Sage,  son  of  James  M,  and  Catherine  (JNIcCarthyl 
Ritz,  was  born  in  Kellogg,  near  Huntington,  Wayne  county.  West  \^ir- 
ginia,  Februarv  21,  1886.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools.  He  learned  telegraphy  and  worked  for  several  years  in  the  em- 
ploy of  various  railroads  throughout  the  country,  and  by  his  diligence  at- 
tained the  position  of  train-despatcher.  In  1906  he  attended  Marshall 
College  and  in  1907  turned  his  attention  to  the  study  of  law,  and  entered 


5IO  WEST  VIRGINIA 

the  law  school  of  the  West  \'irginia  University,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  January,  1909,  was  then  admitted  to  the  bar  and  commenced  the  ac- 
tive practice  of  his  profession  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Ritz  &  Ritz 
in  Bluefield,  West  Virginia,  continuing  until  April,  1913,  when  he  retired 
from  this  partnership  and  began  practice  for  himself.  In  1912  he  was 
appointed  assistant  prosecuting  attorney,  of  Mercer  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia, which  office  he  now  holds.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  in 
religion  a  member  of  the  Northern  Methodist  church.  He  married, 
June  30,  1909,  Cleon  Clyde,  born  in  Hinton,  West  Virginia,  May  18, 
1884,  daughter  of  Porter  Wellington  Boggers.  Child,  Eleanor  Cleon, 
born  December  10,  191 1. 


The  Watson  family,  of  Martinsburg,  Berkeley  county, 
WATSON  West  Virginia,  is  of  straight  English  descent,  the  immi- 
grant progenitor  and  founder  of  the  American  branch  of 
the  family  was  James  Watson.  Watson  has  been  a  conspicuous  name  in 
Maryland  and  West  Virginia,  and  has  had  much  to  do  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  country  and  in  making  laws  and  enforcing  same  in  the  sev- 
eral commonwealths  in  which  members  of  the  family  have  lived. 

James  Watson,  with  three  brothers,  came  from  Scotland,  via  England, 
prior  to  1740,  and  settled  in  St.  Mary's  county,  Maryland.  He  married 
Mary  Greene,  family  tradition  says,  a  sister  of  General  Nathaniel  Greene, 
of  revolutionary  war  fame.  He  bought  land  near  Port  Tobacco,  Charles 
county,  Maryland,  and  erected  thereon  a  handsome  house  and  the  estate 
was  known  far  and  wide  as  "Chestnut  Ridge,"  and  was  famous  for  its 
lavish  hospitality.  By  marriage  the  Watsons  were  connected  with  Charles 
Carroll,  of  revolutionary  memory.  Many  of  the  members  were  Indian 
fighters,  scouts  and  soldiers  of  the  revolution.  Among  the  numerous 
children  of  James  and  Mary  (Greene)  Watson  were  three  sons,  Joseph, 
Zephaniah  and  James  Greene,  and  from  them  have  descended  the  Wat- 
sons of  West  Virginia  and  Maryland. 

Roger  Earl  Watson,  a  lineal  descendant  of  James  Watson,  the  Eng- 
lish immigrant,  was  born  at  Leetown,  JeiTerson  county.  West  Virginia, 
February  10,  1886,  in  the  old  Lee  homestead  of  Charles  E.  Lee,  a  hero  of 
the  revolutionary  war.  He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Martinsburg, 
and  later  the  high  school  of  the  city.  He  graduated  from  the  Martins- 
burg high  school  in  1904  and  was  elected  president  of  the  class.  He  en- 
tered the  University  of  West  Virginia  the  same  year,  taking  a  course  in 
the  chemical  department,  and  in  1906  engaged  with  the  H.  C.  Frick 
Coke  Company,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  for  two  years.  At  the 
expiration  of  that  time  he  re-entered  the  LTniversity  of  West  Virginia  and 
began  the  study  of  law.  He  graduated  from  this  department  in  the  class 
of  1910  and  was  made  president  of  the  junior  class  of  1910.  After  fin- 
ishing his  legal  course  he  opened  an  office  for  the  practice  of  law  in 
Martinsburg,  and  has  in  a  short  time  built  up  a  large  clientele,  making  an 
enviable  reputation  for  himself  as  an  able,  conscientious  and  hard  work- 
mg  attorney,  devoting  his  time  and  talents  to  the  interests  of  his  clients. 
He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  has  been  active  in  the  various  campaigns  and 
is  one  of  the  hard  workers  of  his  party.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Greek 
letter  fraternities.  Pi  Kappa  Alpha  and  Theta  Nu  Epsilon,  of  the  West 
Virginia  University,  and  was  active  in  the  different  college  organizations 
of  the  university.  He  was  assistant  manager  of  the  baseball  team  of 
1910,  and  manager  of  the  second  team  of  that  year.  In  the  short  time 
that  he  has  been  in  the  professional  world  of  Martinsburg  he  has  become 
con.spicnously  identified  with  its  professional,  industrial,  commercial  and 
social  life  to  a  marked  degree. 


WEST  MRGIXIA  511 

He  married,  November  16,  1912,  Bertha  Lucielle  Cook,  daughter  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  C.  Cook,  of  Pontiac,  Michigan. 


Richard  Dudgeon,  father  of  Gail  T.  Dudgeon,  present 
DUDGEON  chief  clerk  in  the  postoffice  department  at  Williamson, 
West  \irginia,  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  and  during 
the  greater  part  of  his  lifetime  he  lived  in  Jackson  county,  this  state. 
During  the  war  of  the  rebellion  he  enlisted  as  a  soldier  in  the  Union 
army  and  he  saw  hard  service  at  the  front  during  the  war.  His  twui 
brother,  J.  M.  Dudgeon,  was  likewise  a  Union  man  and  served  as  sur- 
geon in  the  northern  army.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Eleventh  Regiment, 
Company  K,  West  Virginia.  After  the  close  of  hostilities  J.  M.  Dud- 
geon was  assessor  of  Jackson  county  for  several  years.  Richard  Dud- 
geon died  January  29,  1891,  and  his  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Han- 
nah Armstrong,  died  September  15,  1890.  They  were  the  parents  of 
several  children,  of  whom  Gail  T.  is  mentioned  below. 

( H )  Gail  T.,  son  of  Richard  and  Hannah  ( Armstrong)  Dudgeon, 
was  born  at  Ripley,  Jackson  county.  West  Virginia,  May  i,  1887.  He 
received  his  rudimentary  educational  training  in  the  district  schools  of 
Jackson  county  and  likewise  attended  the  Ripley  Normal  School.  For 
one  term  he  was  a  student  in  Marietta  College  in  Ohio.  He  lost  both  his 
parents  when  he  was  a  mere  infant  and  most  of  his  education  was  ob- 
tained through  his  own  efforts.  He  began  teaching  school  in  Logan 
county.  West  \'irginia,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  and  followed  the 
pedagogic  profession  for  a  period  of  seven  years.  For  one  year  he  was 
principal  of  the  high  school  at  War  Eagle,  Alingo  county,  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  for  a  similar  period  was  principal  of  the  high  school  at  Glena- 
lum,  Mingo  county.  After  giving  up  his  work  as  a  teacher  he  was  en- 
gaged for  one  year  as  assistant  editor  of  the  Mingo  Republican.  July  i, 
191 1,  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  postoffice  at  Williamson,  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  for  more  than  two  years  served  as  its  chief  clerk.  His  politi- 
cal support  is  given  to  Republican  principles,  and  in  religious  matters  he 
is  a  devout  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  In  a  social  way  he  is  a  valued 
and  appreciative  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

Gail  T.  Dudgeon  is  a  selfmade  man  in  the  most  significant  sense  of 
the  term,  having  earned  his  own  education  and  having  himself  won  the 
distinctive  prestige  he  now  enjoys  as  an  honored  and  esteemed  citizen  of 
Williamson.  His  first  work  was  in  a  brickyard  in  Pennsylvania  and  he 
says  he  received  his  best  lesson  in  that  yard.  It  started  him  in  real  life 
and  he  has  remembered  to  this  day  what  hard  manual  labor  means.  This 
early  employment  resulted  in  his  determination  to  fit  himself  for  a  posi- 
tion that  would  require  brains  rather  than  brawn.  Mr.  Dudgeon  is  un- 
married, and  he  is  popular  in  the  younger  set  of  his  home  community. 


A  prominent  merchant  of  the  city  of  Parkersburg,  West 
HERSCH     Virginia,  is  William   Abraham   Hersch,   son  of   Emanuel 

and  Freda  Hersch.  Both  his  parents  and  he  himself 
were  born  in  Austria-Hungary.  Mr.  Hersch  is  proprietor  of  the  United 
Woolen  Mills  Company.  While  the  headquarters  of  this  business  are  at 
Parkersburg,  its  stores  are  found  in  seven  of  the  cities  of  the  western 
part  of  West  Virginia,  including  the  four  largest  cities  in  the  whole  state. 
namely,  in  Wheeling,  Huntington,  Charleston,  Parkersburg,  Garksburg, 
Fairmont  and  Bluefield.  The  business  is  extensively  advertised  in  this 
section,  and  in  adjacent  parts  of  the  state  of  Ohio. 

William  Abraham  Hersch  was  born  at  Warano,  Hungary,  in   1868, 


512  WEST  VIRGINIA 

and  came  to  the  L'nited  States  in  1880.  In  his  native  country  he  had  re- 
ceived a  little  religious  education,  and  he  attended  school  for  a  very  short 
time  at  Hicksville,  Ohio.  Until  January,  1892,  he  was  employed  in 
various  towns  of  Ohio  and  Indiana  as  clerk  in  stores.  Then  he  went  to 
New  York  City  and  there  learned  to  cut  clothes.  For  about  ten  years, 
until  January,  1902,  he  was  working  in  many  places  as  a  cutter.  He  then 
started  the  first  United  Woolen  Mills  Company,  and  was  finally  success- 
ful in  this  venture.  On  June  14,  1912,  Mr.  Hersch  came  to  Parkersburg 
and  entered  into  business  with  seven  employees  and  a  capital  of  one  thou- 
sand dollars.  The  business  has  greatly  prospered,  so  that  now  nearly 
three  hundred  persons  are  employed  by  the  company.  He  is  a  Mason,  a 
member  of  the  Blue  Lodge,  Chapter  and  Council.  In  politics  he  is  a  de- 
cidedly conservative  Republican,  believing  in  the  old  policies  and  methods 
of  the  party,  and  not  sympathizing  with  the  Progressive  movement.  He 
has  held  no  office.     His  religion  is  the  Jewish. 


This  name  is  by  no  means  common  in  the  United  ! 
MATHISON  States,  and  is  probably  borne  by  very  few  families.  | 
(I)  George  INIathison,  the  founder  of  this  family,  | 
was  born  at  Cromerty,  Scotland,  about  1816,  died  August  31,  1903.  He  I 
was  a  soldier  in  the  British  army,  and  was  honorably  discharged  after 
fifteen  years'  service.  Afterward  he  came  to  Wheeling,  Virginia,  where  \ 
he  was  a  tailor.  He  married  Alice  Grant,  born  at  Waterford,  Ireland,  j 
about  1818,  died  September  7,  1903.  Their  children,  besides  five  who  ; 
died  in  infancy,  were :  George  Joseph ;  Elizabeth,  died  in  September,  t 
1908 :  Katharine ;  James  Alexander,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  James  Alexander,  son  of  George  and  Alice   (Grant)   Mathison,  ; 
was  born  at  Wheeling,  Virginia,  December  21,  1859.     He  was  educated  ', 
in  St.  Vincent's  College,  in  that  city,  after  which  he  learned  the  trade  of 
o.  tailor.     This  he  followed,  by  himself,  at  Wheeling,  until   1882.     Then  ' 
the  firm  of  Mathison,  Hissrich  &  Company  was  formed  to  conduct  a  mer-  i 
chant  tailoring  business,  and  in  this  he  continued  up  to  1886,  when  this  I 
business  was  closed  out.     He  then  came  to  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia.  I 
as  a  cutter  for  J.  L.  Buckley.     Having  remained  with  him  for  thirteen  i 
years,    Mr.    Mathison    then    accepted   a    similar   position    with    Bryan    &  ! 
Speece,  also  of  Parkersburg,  and  he  was  employed  by  them  for  seven  ' 
years,  but  in  1906  he  gave  up  his  trade  and  started  his  present  business 
as  a  dealer  in  real  estate  and  an  insurance  agent  at  Parkersburg.     He  is 
a  charter  member  of  Parkersburg  Council,  No.  594,  Knights  of  Colum- 
bus,  and  is  the  grand  knight ;  he  was  the  first  state  treasurer  of  this  order  ' 
for  West  Virginia,  and   held   this  office  two  years.     He   is   a  member  [ 
of  O'Connell  Division,  No.  i,  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians,  of  Parkers- 
burg, and  was  for  six  years  county  president  in  this  order   for  Wood  ; 
county.     In  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  also  he  is  a  member, 
having  been  a  charter  member  of  Enterprise  Lodge,  No.  25,  of  Parkers- 
burg, for  sixteen  years  was  keeper  of  the  records  of  the  lodge,  and  he  lias 
been  grand  overseer  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  West  Virginia.     Mr.  Mathi- 
son is  a  Democrat  and  a  Catholic,  being  a  member  of  St.  Xavier's  church, 
at  Parkersburg. 

He  married,  ]\Iay,  1885,  ]\Iargaret,  daughter  of  Robert  and  Mary 
Agnes  Williamson,  of  Wheeling.  Children  :  Regina,  Elizabeth,  Frances 
Grant,  Robert  George.  Of  these,  Robert  George  Mathison  is  a  clerk  in 
the  Citizens'  National  Bank. 


WEST  \IRGINIA  513 

Tazwell  Myers,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about 
MYERS  whom  we  have  definite  information,  was  born  in  Alonon- 
galia  county,  \  irginia,  now  West  Virginia,  July  6,  1816, 
died  September,  1865.  In  1837  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Delila,  born 
in  Monongalia  county,  X'irginia,  January  3,  1819,  died  July  17,  1904, 
daughter  of  Jacob  Horner.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Myers  were  buried  in 
Horner  cemetery,  at  head  of  Campbell  run,  Marion  county,  West  Vir- 
ginia. To  this  union  were  born  the  following  children:  i.  Nelson,  of 
whom  further.  2.  Mary  Catharine,  born  November  3,  1841  ;  married 
Isaac  Glover,  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  Glover.  3.  Margaret,  born 
July  7,  1844;  married  Levi  Horner.  4.  Mahala,  born  November  14, 
1846;  married  Ezra  Syx.  5.  Martha,  born  April  24,  1849,  died  in  1865. 
These  were  born  in  Monongalia  county,  Virginia.  Shortly  after  the 
birth  of  Martha,  Tazwell  Myers  removed  his  family  to  head  of  Camp- 
bell run,  Marion  county,  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  where  he  had 
purchased  a  tract  of  land  in  the  wilderness.  Here  the  following  children 
were  born;  6.  John  Lindsay,  July  6,  1854,  died  in  1899.  7.  Cornelius, 
June  12,  1857,  died  February  8,  1896.  8.  Ervin  D.,  May  20,  1859.  The 
latter  yet  lives  on  the  old  home  place. 

(H)  Nelson,  son  of  Tazwell  and  Delila  (Horner)  Myers,  was  born 
April  18,  1839.  He  came  to  Marion  county  with  his  parents  about  1850, 
and  was  married  to  Susannah,  daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Pylesj 
Glover,  about  1839.  Of  this  union  there  were  five  children:  Sylvester, 
of  whom  further;  Levina,  born  October,  1862:  Martha  Jane,  April,. 
1864;  Elenora,  1867,  died  1876;  Rosa  Lee,  born  1874.  Levina  married 
twice,  her  first  husband  being  Jacob  J.  Yost,  who  died  about  1888,  leav- 
ing two  children :  Minnie  and  Winslow,  the  former  marrying  Henry, 
son  of  Jacob  Fisher,  the  latter,  Mary,  only  daughter  of  Alp'heus  Wyatt. 
About  four  years  after  her  husband's  death,  Levina  married  Stephen 
Shuman.  Martha  Jane  married  William  T.  Price.  Rosa  Lee  married 
Calvin  H.  Cain.  Nelson  Myers  died  May  12,  1913,  and  his  wife.  May 
6,  191 1,  and  both  were  interred  in  W^illiams  cemetery,  near  New  Mar- 
tinsville, West  \^irginia. 

(HI)  Sylvester,  son  of  Nelson  and  Susannah  (Glover)  Myers,  was 
born  July  9,  1861.  He  received  a  common  school  education  in  his  native 
county  of  Alarion,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  was  employed  in  a  store  at 
Glover's  Gap,  which  position  he  held  about  one  year,  after  which  he 
served  fifteen  month's  apprenticeship  in  the  railroad  station  of  his  native 
town,  under  Jesse  L.  Courtright.  He  was  given  a  position  as  night  teleg- 
rapher at  Littleton,  W^est  Virginia,  December  19,  1880.  While  there  he 
heard  the  news  flashed  over  the  wires  announcing  the  shooting  of  Presi- 
dent Garfield  by  Gitteau.  Shortly  following  this  event,  Mr.  Myers  was 
transferred  to  Colfax,  Marion  county,  as  station  agent  and  operator. 
Afterward  he  was  promoted  to  the  agency  at  Littleton  where  he  remained 
for  several  years.  Later  he  served  as  station  agent  at  Flemington,  Bel- 
mgtnn,  Pennsboro,  St.  Mary's  and  Smithfield,  West  Virginia.  He  also 
acted  as  relief  agent  and  operator  for  a  time  and  during  that  time  he 
worked  at  practically  all  stations  between  Grafton  and  the  Ohio  river, 
on  both  Parkersburg  and  W'heeling  divisions  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
railroad.  In  November,  1902,  Mr.  Myers  resigned  his  position  as  sta- 
tion agent  at  Smithfield,  on  the  West  Virginia  Short  Line  division  of  the 
Baltimore  &  Ohio,  to  accept  the  deputy  clerkship  under  Captain  I.  D. 
Morgan,  clerk  of  the  county  court  of  Wetzel  county,  and  served  in  that 
capacity  the  full  term  of  six  years,  from  January  i,  1903.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1908  he  entered  the  race  for  the  nomination  of  county  clerk  on  the 
Democratic  ticket  and  won  by  a  majority  of  one  thousand  and  ninety- 
six  votes,  and  in  the  general  election  following  he  won  out  by  about  the 

33 


514  WEST  VIRGINIA 

same  majority  over  his  Republican  opponent,  running  aliead  of  the  ticket 
about  four  imndred  votes.  He  is  an  old  member  of  the  Independent  Or- 
der of  Odd  Fellows,  having  joined  that  order  more  than  twenty  years 
ago.  He  and  his  wife  and  all  but  two  of  their  children  are  members  of 
the  Christian  church.  When  Mr.  Myers  left  the  telegraph  service,  he 
was  recognized  as  one  of  the  pioneers  in  his  profession,  having,  as  pre- 
viously stated,  entered  in  active  service  in  1880  when  "registers"  or  "pa- 
per mills"  were  still  in  use  by  a  number  of  operators.  In  fact,  i\Ir.  Myers 
learned  on  one  of  those  machines.  He  never  used  one,  however,  after 
serving  his  apprenticeship.  These  "paper  mills"  have  long  since  been 
relegated  to  the  scrap  heap  or  curiosity  shops,  and  it  is  very  doubtful  if 
one  telegrapher  in  ten  of  the  present  day  has  ever  worked  one  of  them, 
or  indeed  ever  saw  one  in  actual  operation;  for  the  great  majority  of  the 
"old  timers"  have  either  passed  away,  or  have  found  other  occupations. 

Sylvester  Myers  married  Frances,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Sarah 
(Brumleyj  Carpenter,  September  16,  1881.  Of  this  union 'there  were 
eight  children:  i.  Laura  JNIay,  born  August  14,  1882,  at  Colfax,  West 
Virginia;  married  A.  Lee  Rhodes,  November  5,  1905;  one  child,  Mel- 
vin.  2.  Clyde,  born  July  11,  1884,  died  at  Littleton,  West  Virginia,  Sep- 
tember 18,  1884,  buried  at  Glover  cemetery,  near  Glover  Gap.  3.  Wil- 
liam Cleveland,  born  November  i,  1885,  at  Littleton;  married  Lizzie, 
daughter  of  William  Smith,  November  5,  1905 ;  two  children :  Carl 
and  William.  4.  Walter  Michael,  born  March  10,  1888,  at  Pennsboro, 
Ritchie  county.  West  Virginia ;  married  Claudie,  only  daughter  of  Dr. 
J.  R.  and  Amanda  (Brown)  Sole,  August  24,  1912;  one  child,  Nell.  5. 
Thurman  Hugh,  born  at  Littleton,  Wetzel  county.  West  Virginia,  No- 
vember 16,  1890;  married  Olive  E.  Ward,  of  Cameron,  Ohio,  May  28, 
1910 ;  two  children :  Deward,  and  an  infant  son  not  yet  named.  6.  Bes- 
sie Vera,  born  at  Pennsboro,  West  Virginia,  May  18,  1893.  7.  Edward 
Nelson,  born  at  Smithfield,  Wetzel  county,  West  Virginia,  December 
31,  1895.  8.  Olive  Cora,  born  at  St.  Marys,  Pleasants  county,  West 
Virginia,  April    16,    1898. 


This  family  is  of  Irish  origin.    The  progenitor  of  the  fami- 
SHOTT     lies  of  this  name  m  Virginia  and  West  Virginia  was  Rich- 
ard Shott,  who  was  born  in  Ireland,  and  after  a  service  in 
the  British  navy  came  to  this  country,  settling  in  Pennsylvania. 

(II)  Hugh,  son  of  Richard  Shott.  was  born  in  Pennsylvania.  He 
removed  to  Virginia  where  he  engaged  in  farming.  He  served  in  the  war 
of  1812  and  in  the  war  with  the  Creek  Indians.  He  was  a  Dunkard  in 
.eligious  belief,  and  a  Whig  in  politics.  He  married  Rebecca  Sheetz.  a 
native  of  \'irginia.  Four  children  were  born  to  them :  Daniel  Webster, 
mentioned  below;  E.  W.,  G.  M.,  Mary  Burke. 

(III)  Daniel  Webster,  son  of  Hugh  and  Rebecca  (Sheetz)  Shott. 
was  born  in  Virginia.  He  was  a  farmer.  He  served  during  the  civil 
war  in  the  Fifth  Regiment  Virginia  Volunteers,  Confederate  States 
army.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church,  and  was  at  first  a 
Whig  in  politics  and  later  a  Republican.  He  married  Lucy  B..  daughter 
of  Isaac  and  Clercy  { Hamilton)  Hoy.  Her  parents  were  of  Scotch-Irish 
descent.  Children:  Hugh  Isaac,  mentioned  below;  James  Daniel,  IVIil- 
dred,  Lottie,  William  M.,  John  Hamilton,  Edward  D.,  Lucy. 

(IV)  Hugh  Isaac,  son  of  Daniel  Webster  and  Lucy  B.  (Hoy)  Shott. 
was  bom  in  Staunton,  Virginia,  September  3,  1866.  He  attended  the 
schools  of  his  native  city,  and  at  an  early  age  learned  the  printer's  trade. 
He  was  then  for  some  time  employed  in  the  United  States  railway  mail 
service.    After  a  few  years'  service  he  returned  to  the  newspaper  business 


WEST  \'IRGL\IA 


515 


as  a  reporter,  and  later  engaged  as  an  editorial  writer.  He  subsequently 
removed  to  Bluetield,  West  \'irginia,  where  he  purchased  the  Daily  Tele- 
graph, which  he  has  conducted  to  date.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  several 
banking  concerns.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics ;  served  as  postmaster 
of  Bluetield,  and  was  a  member  of  the  state  Republican  committee  two 
terms.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  Typographical  Union. 

He  married,  at  Lynchburg,  Virginia,  January  10,  1894,  Mary  Kate, 
born  at  River  Phillips,  Nova  Scotia,  November  25,  1871,  daughter  of 
A.  M.  and  Margaret  J.  Chisholm.  Three  children  have  been  born  to 
them:  James  H.,  1895;  Mary  Lillian,  1897;  Hugh  Isaac  Jr.,  1901. 


John   William   Hamilton,   one   of   the   leading  citizens 
HAMILTON     and    capitalists    of    Rose    Bud,    Texas,    was    born    m 

Kernstown,  Frederick  county,  Virginia,  and  is  direct- 
ly descended  from  William  Hamilton,  the  noble  English  immigrant  who 
sought  the  safe  harbor  of  the  Colony  of  Virginia  in  1624-26,  from  per- 
secution by  the  Crown.  Casting  aside  his  title  he  became  a  citizen  of  the 
Virginia  colony  and  threw  his  fortunes  in  with  other  cavaliers  who  were 
endeavoring,  at  great  odds,  to  make  for  themselves  homes  and  to  carve 
fortunes  from  a  seemingly  impossible  wilderness  infested  with  wild 
beasts  and  wilder  men.  William  Hamilton  became  a  man  of  promi- 
nence in  Virginia  and  succeeded  in  amassing  what  was  thought  to  be  a 
great  estate  in  those  days.  He  also  left  to  his  descendants  an  untarn- 
ished name  for  honor,  sobriety  and  courage. 

John  William  Hamilton,  formerly  of  Kernstown,  Virginia,  now  a 
resident  of  Rose  Bud,  Texas,  received  his  early  education  in  Kerns- 
town, and  afterward  attending  the  excellent  institutions  of  learning 
in  historic  Winchester,  Mrginia.  On  leaving  school  he  chose  farming  as 
his  vocation,  like  many  of  his  forbears,  and  successfully  cultivated  plan- 
tations near  Kernstown  and  Winchester.  Seeing  greater  opportunities 
for  more  rapid  financial  gains  in  a  newer  country  where  competition 
was  not  so  sharp,  he  selected  Texas  as  the  field  for  his  activities,  locating 
at  Rose  Bud,  where  he  was  soon  immersed  in  large  business  enterprises. 
He  purchased  great  tracts  of  land  and  many  cattle  and  entered  exten- 
sively into  cattle  raising  and  ranching.  He  is  a  member  of  the  board  of 
directors  and  a  large  stockholder  of  the  Rose  Bud  State  Bank  of  Texas, 
and  ranks  as  one  of  the  leading  representatives  of  the  industrial  inter- 
ests of  the  state.  In  his  business  dealings  he  is  scrupulously  fair  and 
exact,  and  has  won  a  success  that  is  most  creditable  since  it  was  accom- 
plished through  his  own  unaided  efforts,  as  the  result  of  foresight  and 
executive  ability.  He  is  uniformly  courteous  to  those  with  whom  he 
comes  in  contact  and  this  politeness  has  made  him  famous  throughout 
the  southwest.  He  is  a  Democrat,  and  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason, 
in  high  standing,  and  is  one  of  the  influential,  popular  and  prominent 
men  of  that  section.  He  married  a  Miss  Powers,  and  they  are  the 
ijarents  of  three  children. 


The  Moats  family  is  of  German  descent.  Little  is  defi- 
MOATS     nitely   known   about   their   American   settlement   and   early 

history.  Many  Germans  came  to  the  western  part  of  the 
present  state  of  West  Virginia  shortly  after  the  close  of  the  revolution, 
and  it  is  thought  that  they  were  Bavarian  soldiers  brought  to  this  country 
hy  Great  Britain  to  assist  in  putting  down  the  revolution :  when  the  condi- 
tions of  their  employment  became  known,  they  deserted  in  large  numbers, 


5i6  WEST  VIRGINIA 

and  retired  in  large  bodies  beyond  the  mountains.  There  was  an  early- 
German  settlement  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  It  may  also  be  pertinent 
to  recall  that  Biirgoyne's  surrendered  soldiers  were  quartered  in  Virginia, 
and  it  is  said  that  most  of  them  finally  remained  in  the  United  States. 

Among  the   families  of  exceptional  distinction  which  appear  in  the 
ancestral  records  of  Mr.  Moats  and  his  wife,  is  the  Neal  family,  espec- 
ially  treated   elsewhere   in   this   work.      The    Pierpoint    family   of    West 
Virginia  is  a  branch  of  the  famous  New  England  family  of  Pierpont,  or 
as  the  name  was  formerly  spelled,  Pierrepont :  both  these  modes  of  spell- 
ing are  found  also  in  English  records.     Pierpoint  is  an  alteration  of  the  • 
original  orthography ;  yet,  as  the  writer  can  state  from  personal  knowl- 
edge, the  name  Pierpont  is  sometimes,  in  Connecticut,  pronounced  Pier- 
point.   The  family  is  traced  with  clearness  and  certainty  to  Sir  Hugh  de 
Pierrepont,  lord  of  "the  castle  of  Pierrepont  in  the  south  confines  of  Pi- 
cardy.  and  diocese  of  Laon."  in  the  year  980.    The  name  is  derived  from 
Castle  Pierrepont,  two  leagues  from  S.  Saveur,  Normandy,  and  was  given 
to  the  castle  from  a  stone  bridge  with  which  Charlemagne  supplied  the 
place  of  a  ferry.     Sir  Robert,  grandson  of  Sir  Hugh,  was  a  commander 
in  the  army  of  William  the  Conqueror,  was  ennobled  by  him  for  his  con- 
duct at  the  battle  of  Hastings,  and  received  great  estates  in  the  counties 
of  Suffolk  and  Sussex,  including  the  lordship  of  Hurst  Pierrepont.  Eve- 
lyn Pierrepont,  of  the  twenty-first  generation,  counting  Sir  Hugh  as  the 
first,  was  made  Duke  of  Kingston  in  T715  ;  the  title  has  become  extinct. 
The  ancestor  of  the  American  Pierponts  was  a  near  relative,  in  the  nine- 
teenth generation.    The  record  of  this  family  in  America  is  a  remarkable  I 
one.  and  many  men  of  great  ability  and  note  have  descended  from  it. 
Among  these  may  be  named  Rev.  James  Pierpont,  one  of  the  founders  of  ; 
Yale  College ;  Presidents  Dwight  and  Woolsey,  of  Yale ;  John  Pierpont^  ! 
the  Abolitionist ;  J.    Pierpont   Morgan,   his   grandson ;   Edwards    Pierre-  ■ 
pont,  American  minister  to  the  court  of  St.  James.     It  will  be  seen  else-  | 
where  in  this  work  that  Henry  Gassaway  Davis  is  of  Pierpont  descent,  ; 

The  family  has  been  very  conspicuous  in  the  history  of  Virginia,  and  i 
from  this  branch  Mr.  Moats  is  descended,  through  his  mother.  It  is  li 
said  that  John  Pierpoint,  of  the  New  England  stock,  settled  near  Mor-  ;; 
gantown  about  the  close  of  the  revolution,  and  was  the  father  of  Eran-  Ij 
cis  Pierpoint,  who,  about  1800,  crossed  the  mountains  from  the  east  and 'i 
settled  at  Fairmont.  A  partial  account  of  his  descendants  will  be  given  !| 
below,  in  connection  with  the  immediate  ancestry  of  Mr.  Moats.  ;! 

(I)   The  great-grandfather  of  Francis  Pierpoint  Moats,  whose  name  i' 
we  find  given  as  John,  by  another  writer,  however,  as  George,  came  early  1 
in  the  nineteenth  century  from  Pendleton  county  to  what  is  now  Ritchie 
county,  both  in  what  is  now  West  Virginia.     Among  his  many  children 
was  Jacob,  of  whom   further. 

(il)  Jacob,  son  of  John  or  George  Moats,  was  born  in  1799,  died 
in  1885.  He  married,  in  1823,  Mary,  daughter  of  John  Starr.  They  had 
thirteen  children,  one  being  Benjamin,  of  whom  further. 

(Ill)  Benjamin,  son  of  Jacob  and  Mary  (Starr)  Moats,  was  l)i)rn 
at  Harris ville,  then  Virginia,  1838,  and  died  at  the  same  place  in  11)05. 
In  his  young  manhood  he  enlisted  for  the  defence  of  the  Union  in  the 
civil  war,  and  he  served  actively  until  1863.  In  that  year  he  was  wounded 
in  the  valley  of  Virginia,  and  thus  incapacitated  for  further  military  ser- 
vice, ^t  that  time  he  was  second  lieutenant  of  Company  K,  Tenth  Regi- 
ment Virginia  Volunteer  Infantry.  His  connection  with  the  arm}-  con- 
tinued, however,  to  the  close  of  the  war.  He  then  retired  to  his  farm 
near  Harrisvilie,  where  he  lived  the  remainder  of  his  days.  He  married, 
at  Harrisvilie,  West  Virginia,  1864,  Mary  Isabelle,  daughter  of  Zack- 
well  Morgan  and  Martha  (Vandervort)  Pierpoint,  who  was  born  at  Har- 


JF 


^  o---Ai).. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  517 

risville,  Virginia,  1841,  and  there  died  in  1876.  Zackwell  Morgan  Pier- 
point  was  a  son  of  Francis  Pierpoint,  the  settler  at  Fairmont,  and  was 
born  in  Monongalia  county,  Virginia ;  his  mother  was  a  daughter  of 
Zackwell  2\Jorgan.  the  famous  pioneer,  from  whom  Morgantown  was 
named ;  Francis  Harrison  Pierpont,  governor  of  the  restored  government 
of  Virginia  and  "'Father  of  \\  est  Virginia,"  was  one  of  his  four  brothers. 
Francis  Perry  Pierpoint  was  a  son  of  Zackwell  Morgan  Pierpoint ;  he  was 
a  major  in  the  civil  war,  declining  a  colonelcy,  and  was  appointed  adju- 
tant-general of  the  new  state  by  Governor  Boreman.  He  died  at  the  age 
of  only  twenty-eight,  at  the  beginning  of  a  promising  and  already  notable 
career.  Children  of  Benjamin  and  jNIary  Isabelle  (Pierpoint)  Moats:  i. 
Minnie,  born  in  1865;  married  George  Hopkins;  they  live  at  Hammond, 
Indiana.  2.  Laura,  born  in  1867;  married  Andrew  Crow;  they  live  at 
Romeo,  Colorado.  3.  Francis  Pierpoint,  of  whom  further.  4.  Homer  S., 
born  in  1871  ;  lives  at  Harrisville.  5.  Emory  E.,  born  in  1873  :  lives  at 
Harrisville. 

{IV)  Francis  Pierpoint,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Mary  Isabelle  (Pier- 
point) Moats,  was  born  near  Harrisville,  Ritchie  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia, July  2,  1869.  His  early  life  was  spent  on  a  farm,  and  he  as- 
sisted in  clearing  land  which  was  yet  wild  and  uncultivated,  in  addition 
to  performing  the  usual  works  of  farm  life.  The  long  illness  of  both 
parents  necessitated  hard  work  on  the  part  of  the  five  children.  He 
struggled  along,  ambitious  to  better  his  condition,  studying  faithfully  by 
himself,  and  attending  school  for  three  months  each  winter;  for  this 
purpose  he  walked  two  miles  to  the  nearest  school  house.  Thus  he 
gained  enough  general  information  to  receive  a  teacher's  certificate  of 
the  highest  grade,  and  at  the  age  of  si.xteen  he  taught  a  countrj'  school 
several  miles  from  his  home.  During  the  next  winter  he  taught  in  the 
Harrisville  graded  schools,  in  one  of  the  intermediate  departments.  In 
all  'Sir.  Moats  taught  for  three  winters.  By  rigid  economy  he  saved  a 
small  sum  of  money,  and  he  attended  in  the  year  1886-87  the  prepara- 
tory department  of  the  college  of  Adrian.  Michigan,  hoping  to  remain 
there  for  some  time.  His  very  small  capital  was  eked  out  by  serving  in 
the  college  printing  office,  where  he  often  worked  more  than  half  the 
night.  Nevertheless  he  found  it  impossible  to  continue  more  than  the 
one  year,  and  this  was  the  end  of  his  college  education.  His  third  win- 
ter of  teaching  at   Petroleum,   Ritchie  county   followed  his  return. 

Entering  the  office  of  Robert  S.  Blair,  at  Harrisville,  for  the  study 
of  law,  he  soon  found  that  he  could  not  do  the  necessary  work  on  the 
farm  and  the  hard  mental  labor  requisite  for  legal  study  after  his  farm 
tasks.  Through  W.  ]\I.  Cox,  afterward  chief  clerk  in  the  revenue  office 
under  Governor  White,  he  came  in  the  spring  of  1889,  when  he  was  not 
yet  twenty  years  old,  to  Parkersburg,  receiving  an  advance  of  a  small 
sum  of  money.  Here  he  entered  the  office  of  John  F.  Laird  as  clerk, 
without  compensation,  and  during  the  intervals  of  his  employment  he 
studied  law.  He  remained  with  i\Ir.  Laird  until  March,  1890,  when  he 
obtained  employment  with  J.  W.  Vandervort  as  a  clerk.  In  order  to 
keep  this  position  he  learned  stenography.  In  August,  1890,  within  two 
months  after  his  coming  of  age.  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  never  having 
attended  a  law  school,  and  having  acquired  his  entire  legal  education  in  the 
course  of  this  short  and  limited  e.vperience  in  offices.  In  1893  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  his  former  employer,  Mr.  Vandervort,  w-hich  contin- 
ued until  October,  1895.  Then  he  practiced  by  himself  until  1897;  in 
that  year  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Hon.  W.  G.  Peterkin.  and  this 
partnership  was  continued  to  1900.  Since  its  dissolution  Mr.  Moats  has 
practiced   alone   except    for   a    short   period    from   June.    1002,    when    he 


5i8  WEST  \TRGL\TIA 

was  associated  with  the  late  Judge  J.   A.  Dupuy,   from  Roanoke,  Vir- 
ginia. 

In  his  legal  practice,  Mr.  Moats  has  enjoyed  a  large  patronage,  prin- 
cipally that  of  the  people.  His  practice  has  been  confined  almost  ex- 
clusively to  the  civil  side,  yet  he  has  been  connected  with  a  small  num- 
ber of  criminal  prosecutions  and  has  thus  obtained  a  reputation  as  a  ! 
criminal  lawyer.  For  ten  years  he  was  attorney  for  the  Traders'  Build-  ; 
ing  Association,  but  he  has  never  been  known  as  a  corporation  law-  i 
yer,  in  the  modern  sense  of  this  term.  He  was  one  of  the  first  promo-  ' 
ters  of  the  Kanawha  and  New  River  Fire  Brick  Company,  of  Charles-  | 
ton.  West  Virginia,  and  has  been  active  in  the  independent  telephone  ' 
business,  both  at  Parkersburg  and  at  Marietta,  Ohio. 

Francis  Pierpoint  Moats  has  been  prominently  interested  in  the  mu- 
nicipal affairs  of  his  adopted  city.  The  city  charter  of  Parkersburg,  of  ; 
1903.  was  conceived  and  drafted  by  him,  and  he  promoted  its  passage  i 
through  the  legislature.  The  plan  of  government,  then  new  and  without  i 
precedent,  embodied  in  this  charter,  had  for  its  purpose  the  separation  of  ! 
the  legislative  and  executive  municipal  powers;  many  cities  of  the  state  j 
have  since  adopted  its  salient  features.  In  191 1  he  took  a  leading  part  | 
in  fostering  the  adoption  of  the  pure  commission  form  of  government  ' 
for  Parkersburg ;  the  Des  Moines  plan,  on  which  it  was  patterned,  was  j 
remodeled  to  conform  to  local  laws  and  conditions.  Mr.  Moats  was 
a  leader  in  the  agitation  which  ended  in  the  adoption  of  this  form  of 
government  by  the  people  of  Parkersburg.  In  the  tax  reform  move- 
ment of  1904  he  was  also  active,  and  materially  assisted  in  the  con- 
ception and  drafting  of  the  present  system  of  taxation.  He  was  con- 
servative, however,  in  his  attitude  to  the  proposed  reforms,  and  opposed 
many  of  the  radical  measures  whose  enactment  was  sought. 

Mr.  ]\Ioats  is  a  member  of  only  one  club,  the  Thursday  Club.  This 
has  about  thirty  members,  about  equally  divided  between  Parkersburg  1 
and  Marietta,  Ohio,  and  meets  once  a  month  for  the  purpose  of  dis-  \ 
cussing  the  live  questions  of  the  day.  The  intention  is  to  have  in  the  ' 
membership  of  this  club  only  those  of  these  two  cities  who  possess  the  1 
best  intellectual  ability  in  their  communities,  and  admission  is  difficult.  !■ 
He  is  a  member  also  of  the  Wood  County  Bar  Association,  the  West ' 
\'irginia  Bar  Association,  and  the  American  Bar  Association.  He  is  a , 
life  member  of  the  West  Virginia  Horticultural  Society,  and  a  member  1 
of  the  Semi-Centennial  Commission  appointed  by  the  governor  to  cele- 
brate the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  formation  of  the  state,  in  1913. 

In  politics  Mr.  Moats  has  been  prominent  and  a  potent  factor  in  po-  ; 
htical  life.  He  is  a  Republican.  His  holding  of  office  has  been  limited 
to  one  term  in  the  West  Virginia  house  of  delegates,  as  a  member  from  ' 
W'ood  county.  Yet  in  this  single  term  he  was  made  speaker  of  the  house, 
the  youngest  speaker  in  the  history  of  the  state,  and  he  presided  in  this 
capacity  during  the  regular  session  of  1903  and  the  special  session  of 
1904. 

Mr.  Moats  now  resides  at  Rosemar,  on  the  Inter-Urban  street  car 
line  between  Parkersburg  and  Marietta,  and  there  he  owns  several  acres 
of  land  which  he  is  scientifically  farming.  To  all  matters  pertaining  to 
agriculture  and  horticulture,  he  has  given  much  attention,  and  he  is  con- 
sidered an  expert  on  soils  and  fertihzers.  having  written  many  articles 
on  these  and  allied  subjects.  In  horticulture  he  has  been  particularly  ; 
interested,  and  through  his  efforts  the  Rosemar  Orchard  Company,  a  > 
corporation  composed  of  a  few  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Parkersburg,  , 
was  formed  in  19 10.  This  company  has  purchased  two  hundred  and 
forty  acres  of  land  just  above  Parkersburg,  which  it  is  planting  with  all 
domestic   fruits   and  berries,  apples   being  the  principal   line.     In   addi- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  519 

tion  to  this,  the  company  has  rented  numerous  orchards  in  the  vicinity, 
which  had  long  been  in  a  state  of  neglect,  and  by  cultivation,  pruning, 
spraying,  and  scientific  treatment  in  general,  the  effort  is  being  made  to 
produce  on  these  orchards  valuable  crops  of  apples.  Mr.  Moats  and 
his  family  are  members  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church. 

He  married,  at  Parkersburg,  October  4,  1893,  Fanny  Shrewsbury, 
born  at  Parkersburg.  September  27,  1871,  daughter  of  Benjamin  T.  and 
Sarah  Burns  (Shrewsbury)  Neal.  She  is  a  great-granddaughter  of 
Captain  John  Neal ;  her  grandfather,  Cincinnatus  Xeal,  was  born  in  Neal's 
blockhouse.  Benjamin  T.  Neal  has  been  connected  during  his  whole 
life  with  the  Adams  E.xpress  Company  except  for  a  short  time  in  the 
Union  service,  with  the  quartermaster's  department,"  in  the  civil  war. 
Children  of  Benjamin  T.  and  Sarah  Burns  (Shrewsbury)  Neal:  i. 
Benjamin  T.,  assistant  treasurer  of  the  Union  Trust  and  Deposit  Com- 
pany. Parkersburg.  2.  Fanny  Shrewsbury,  married  Francis  Pierpoint 
Moats.  3.  Edward  Burns,  assistant  clerk  of  the  United  States  court  for 
the  northern  district  of  ^^'est  \'irginia.  4.  Wellington  \^rooman.  con- 
nected with  the  El  Paso  Street  Railway  Company.  El  Paso,  Texas.  Chil- 
dren of  Francis  Pierpoint  and  Fanny  Shrewsbury  (Neal)  Moats:  i. 
Marv  Neal.  born  February  2.  1895,  died  September  26.  1896.  2.  Ed- 
ward Burns,  born  September  27,  1896,  died  the  same  day.  3.  Francis 
Pierpoint.  born  December  12.  1897.  4.  Eleanor,  born  July  11,  1901.  died 
as  result  of  accident.  December  12.  1912.  5.  Benjamin,  born  July  20, 
1904.  6.  Wellington  A'rooman,  born  January  15,  1907,  died  August  27, 
1910.     7.  Neal.  born  April  20.  1912. 


Judge  J.  Frank  Beckwick.  of  Charles  Town,  who 
BECKWITH  has  been  for  many  years  prominently  identified  with 
the  political  life  of  West  Mrginia.  and  has  filled  with 
honor  offices  of  trust  and  responsibility,  is  the  representative  of  the  Vir- 
ginia branch  of  an  ancient  English  family,  distinguished  for  centuries  in 
the  history  of  the  mother  country. 

Sir  Hugh  de  ]\Ialebisse.  from  whom  all  the  Beckwiths  trace  their  ori- 
gin, was  a  native  of  Normandy  and  accompanied  William  the  Con- 
queror to  England,  where  for  his  services  he  received  grants  of  land. 
Among  his  descendants  was  Sir  Hercules  de  Malebisse.  who  in  1226 
married  Lady  Dame  Beckwith  Bruce,  daughter  of  Sir  William  Bruce, 
Lord  of  Uglebarby.  which  lordship  and  other  lands  he  had  inherited  from 
his  ancestor.  Sir  Robert  Bruce,  of  Skelton  Castle,  the  progenitor  of  the 
royal  Bruces  of  Scotland.  It  is  from  this  marriage  that  the  Beckwiths 
derive  their  name.  Lady  Beckwith  Bruce  possessing  by  inheritance  an  es- 
tate or  manor  called  "Beckwith,"  in  the  old  Anglo-Saxon  "Beckworth," 
from  "Beck."  a  brook,  and  "Worth."  an  estate.  With  a  view,  evidently, 
to  the  perpetuation  of  the  name,  her  husband  was  required,  by  a  marriage 
contract  dated  1226,  to  assume  the  name  of  Beckwith.  The  coat-of-arms 
of  the  Beckwiths  is  as  follows:  Arms:  .A.rgent.  a  chevron  gules  fretty  or, 
between  three  hinds'  heads  erased,  of  the  second.  On  a  chief  engrailed 
gules  a  saltier  engrailed  between  two  roses  or.  in  pale,  and  on  a  chief 
joined  to  the  dexter  and  sinister  sides  a  demi  fleur-de-lis  paleways  or. 
Crest :  .\n  antelope  proper,  in  mouth  a  branch  vert.  Motto :  fouir  en 
hicn. 

(I)  Sir  Marmaduke  Beckwith.  founder  of  the  Mrginia  branch  of  the 
family,  was  born  in  1687,  at  Aldborough.  Yorkshire.  England,  and  in 
1700  emigrated  to  \^irginia.  From  1708  to  1748  he  was  county  clerk  of 
Richmond  county.    It  is  probable  that  he  died  at  the  latter  date. 

fll)   Sir  Jonathan  Beckwith.  son  of  Sir  ]\Iarmaduke  Beckwith.  was 


S20  WEST  \TRGIXIA 

born  in  Richmond  county,  Virginia,  ami  was  a  signer  of  the  Northern 
Neck  Declaration,  protesting  against  the  Stamp  Act,  in  1765.  With  the 
avowal  of  his  patriotic  sentiments  the  title  of  "Sir,"  which  he  had  inher- 
ited from  his  father,  was  virtually  renounced.  He  married  Rebecca 
Barnes,  of  \'irginia,  and  must  have  attained  to  a  very  advanced  age,  as  he 
was  living  in  Westmoreland  county,  \'irginia,  in  1835. 

(III)  Jennings,  son  of  Sir  Jonathan  and  Rebecca  (Barnes)  Beckwith, 
was  born  in  1764,  in  Richmond  county,  \'irginia,  died  in  1835,  in  West- 
moreland county,  \'irginia.  He  was  a  great  sportsman,  passing  many 
years  in  hunting  among  the  Indians  of  the  far  west.  He  married  Eliza- 
beth Kill. 

(IV)  Richard  Marmaduke  Barnes,  son  of  Jennings  and  Elizabeth 
(Kill)  Beckwith,  was  born  in  JefTerson  county,  Mrginia,  now  W^est  Vir- 
ginia, and  was  the  owner  of  an  estate  called  the  "Retreat,"  in  Frederick 
county.  In  1813  he  enlisted  in  the  United  States  army,  serving  until  1816, 
in  Captain  WelFs  company.  He  married,  September  13,  1813,  Sarah, 
born  in  1796,  daughter  of  Captain  George  Hite,  a  revolutionary  soldier, 
who  was  wounded  and  pensioned ;  he  was  grandnephew  of  James  Madi- 
son, president  of  the  United  States.  In  politics  ]\Ir.  Beckwith  was  a 
Whig,  and  he  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
church.  He  died  in  1818,  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  when  on  his  way  to 
visit  his  father  who  was  then  among  the  Indians  of  the  far  west.  Mrs. 
Beckwith  died  in  1879,  at  the  venerable  age  of  eighty-four. 

(V)  George  Hite  Jennings,  son  of  Richard  Marmaduke  Barnes  and 
Sarah  (Hite)  Beckwith,  was  born  in  1816,  at  the  "Retreat,"  and  received 
bis  education  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  county.  He  was  a 
farmer  and  was  the  owner  of  an  estate  called  "Shady  Side."  He  mar- 
ried, in  1843,  Annie  Lloyd,  born  at  Smithfield,  daughter  of  Dr.  Samuel 
Scollay  and  his  wife,  Harriet  (Lloyd)  Scollay.  Dr.  Scollay  was  a  gradu- 
ate of  Harvard  University  and  practised  medicine  in  three  counties.  He 
was  a  large  landowner  and  died  at  Smithfield,  aged  seventy-seven  years. 
Mrs.  Beckwith  died  in  1868,  at  "Shady  Side,"  and  Mr.  Beckwith  passed 
away  in  Charles  Town,  in  1893. 

(VI)  Judge  J.  Frank  Beckwith,  son  of  George  Hite  Jennings  and 
Annie  Lloyd  (Scollay)  Beckwith,  was  born  July  26,  1848,  at  Middleway, 
Jefiferson  county,  Mrginia,  now  West  Virginia.  He  received  his  pre- 
paratory education  in  the  county  schools,  afterward  studying  at  the 
Roman  Catholic  College  on  Niagara  river  in  the  state  of  New  York. 
Since  1887  he  has  been  continuously  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  pnj- 
fession  in  Charles  Town,  acquiring  a  large  clientele  and  building  up  a 
most  enviable  reputation.  He  was  appointed  by  Governor  Wilson  to 
Complete  the  unexpired  term  of  Judge  C.  J.  Faulkner  who  was  elected  to 
the  L'nited  States  senate.  He  is  now  attorney  for  several  corporations, 
and  is  identified  with  other  industrial  enterprises.  As  a  public-spirited 
citizen  Judge  Beckwith  takes  an  active  interest  in  all  reform  movements 
connected  wth  his  home  city.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  in  1881- 
82  and  1887-88  was  elected  to  the  legislature,  serving  with  credit  to  him- 
self and  satisfaction  to  his  constituents.  From  1881  to  1885  he  was  a 
member  of  the  staff  of  Governor  Jackson.  He  affiliates  with  the  Royal 
Arch  Masons  and  Knights  Templar,  and  is  vestryman  and  senior  warden 
of  Zion  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  The  career  of  Judge  Beckwith  has 
thus  far  extended  over  a  period  exceeding  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  his 
record  as  lawyer,  legislator  and  private  citizen  has  in  all  respects  con- 
formed to  the  traditions  of  a  noble  ancestry. 

Judge  Beckwith  married,  in  1886.  Annie  Leacy,  born  in  1858,  at 
Romney,  Hampshire  county,  Virginia,  daughter  of  Major  Angus  Wil- 
liam and  Elizabeth   Morton    (Sherrard)    McDonald,  who  were  also  the 


<JZ^^  (^^v*^<!y!Z-^c^Cc^^^A^^^ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  521 

parents  of  a  son,  Angus  McDonald,  deceased.  A  sketch  of  Jilajor  Mc- 
Donald appears  on  another  page  of  this  work.  Judge  Beckwith  and  his 
wife  have  been  the  parents  of  four  children:  Angus  AIcDonald,  June 
J3,  1887,  at  Berryville,  died  November  21.  1906;  Eloise  Lloyd,  born  in 
1889,  at  Charlestown:  Francis  Jennings,  born  in  1892:  Elizabeth  ]\lorton, 
born  in   iSqv 


The  ancestor  of  the  Pendleton   family  in  West  \'ir- 
PENDLETON     ginia,   noted    for  the   educational  and   legal   acquire- 
ments of  its  chief  representatives  in  this  county,  was 
•Benjamin  Pendleton,  a  farmer,  born  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  passing  his  youth  and  young  manhood  in  the  troublous  per- 
iod that  marked  the  birth  of  the  Union. 

(II)  David  B.,  son  of  Benjamin  Pendleton,  was  born  in  the  year 
1817,  when  the  affairs  of  the  infant  nation  were  gradually  becoming 
moulded  into  shape,  and  the  beginnings  were  becoming  manifest  of  that 
prosperity  which  was  to  characterize  the  young  republic.  ]\Ir.  Pendle- 
ton was  a  resident  of  ]\Iercer  county  during  his  later  years,  but  his  early 
life  was  passed  in  Appomattox  county.  \'irginia.  There  he  was  one  of 
the  most  prominent  and  generally  respected  citizens  in  the  county,  well 
known  for  his  educational  acquirements  which  were  beyond  the  ordinary 
in  those  days ;  he  began  his  career  of  teaching  in  \'irginia,  and  followed 
this  profession  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.     He  became  a  justice  of 

,  the  peace,  holding  this  office  for  some  time ;  and  was  also  a  member  of 
the  board  of  examiners.  He  removed  from  Appomattox  county  to  Mer- 
cer county  before  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war,  and  in  the  year  1862 
■entered  the  Confederate  service.  He  was  for  a  time  in  the  commissary 
department,  but  saw  active  service  at  Fort  Donelson,  in  which  battle  he 

,  fought  and  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Union  forces  under  General  Grant. 
He  was  held  for  a  period  of  nine  months  by  the  enemy,  after  which  he 
was  exchanged  and  finished  his  full  term  of  enlistment  in  the  Confeder- 

.  ate  army.  He  lived  to  be  an  old  man  of  eighty-five  years  of  age.  dying 
in  Mercer  county,  where  the  latter  half  of  his  life  was  passed,  in  the  year 
T902.  His  wife  was  Nancy  ^'irginia  Whittaker,  younger  than  himself  by 
many  years:  she  was  born  in  the  year  1847,  and  is  now  resident  in  Prince- 

,ton.  West  Virginia.  Mr.  and  ]Mrs.  Pendleton  were  the  parents  of  seven 
children,  five  sons  and  two  daughters,  as  follows:  B.  W.,  an  attorney; 
James  H.,  deceased:  \\\  D.,  a  banker  and  wholesale  grocer;  S.  E.,  de- 
ceased ;  E.  S. :  ^Irs.  C.  H.  Beard,  who  now  resides  in  Roanoke,  \^irginia ; 
John  R.,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  John  R.,  son  of  David  B.  and  Nancy  \'irginia  (Whittaker) 
Pendleton,  was  born  January  22,  1882,  in  Mercer  county,  ^^^est  \^ir- 
pinia,  where  his  father  was  then  engaged  in  teaching  school.  He  re- 
ceived an  excellent  early  education,  and  after  concluding  his  studies  at 
the  Concord  State  Normal  School  he  entered  the  University  of  West 
Virginia,  where  he  was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1902.  Turning  his  at- 
tention to  the  study  of  law,  he  soon  acquired  proficiency  and  beg^an  the 
■Dractice  of  his  profession  in  the  year  1903,  at  Princeton,  West  Virginia. 
He  became  verv  successful  and  prominent,  not  only  in  the  law  but  in 
public  aflfairs  generally.  In  the  regular  elections  of  1908  he  was  elected 
prosecuting  attorney,  an  office  which  he  =till  holds  and  duties  of  which  are 
admirablv  discharged  by  him.  He  is  now  a  prominent  man  in  the  Dem- 
ocratic party,  and  is  its  nominee  for  judge  of  the  criminal  courts  of  Mer- 
cer coimtv.  In  his  religious  affiliations  he  is  a  member  of  the.^Methodist 
Church.   South. 

On   June   ifi.   1909,  Mr.  Pendleton  married  Gertrude  Douglass  Hale, 


S22  WEST  VIRGINIA 

born  in   Princeton,   September  9,    1885,   daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  J.  W. 
Hale,  of  I'rinceton,  Mr.  and  Airs.  Pendleton  have  no  children. 


Uf  sterling  French  ancestry,  this  family  was  founded 
WOOLFORD     in   America  by   Ferdinand  Woolford,  who  was  born 

and  reared  m  France  and  who  was  a  soldier,  under 
Napoleon,  on  that  fatal  march  to  Moscow,  during  which  both  his  feet 
were  frozen  and  at  which  time  he  suffered  terrible  hardships  from  ex- 
posure. He  immigrated  to  the  United  States  in  the  early  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century  and  for  many  years  was  a  harness  manufacturer  in 
the  city  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where  his  death  occurred  in  i860.  He 
married  and  had  a  son,  Charles  F.,  mentioned  below. 

(II)  Charles  F.,  son  of  Ferdinand  Woolford,  was  born  in  St.  Louis, 
Missouri.  When  the  cloud  of  civil  war  darkened  the  national  horizon  he 
enlisted  for  service  in  the  LTnion  army  as  a  member  of  the  Ninth  Ohio 
Volunteer  Infantry.  He  died  in  the  early  seventies  from  disease  con- 
tracted while  in  the  army.  His  wife  was  Mary  E.  Gafifney  in  her  girl- 
hood days  and  she  was  born  in  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  New  York.  Her 
death  occurred  in  the  latter  part  of  the  nineties.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Woolford 
had  one  son,  Charles,  mentioned  below. 

(III)  Charles,  son  of  Charles  F.  and  Mary  E.  (GaiTney)  Woolford, 
was  born  in  the  city  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  September  2,  1861.  He  received 
a  very  meager  educational  training  in  the  public  schools  of  Cincinnati,  and 
at  the  age  of  eleven  years  was  obliged  to  seek  employment  in  order  to 
help  support  his  invalid  father,  who  was  suffering  from  hardships  en- 
dured while  in  the  civil  war.  His  first  work  brought  him  one  dollar  per 
week  and  all  his  earnings  went  for  the  support  of  the  family,  of  which 
he  was  the  only  child.  For  a  time  he  worked  in  a  toy  factory  and  at 
the  age  of  fourteen  years  entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  to  learn  the 
trade  of  scroll  sawing.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  years  he  was  a  full- 
fledged  journeyman  and  was  able  to  command  a  good  salary,  all  of  which 
he  gave  to  his  mother.  In  1887  he  engaged  in  business  for  himself  in 
Cincinnati,  opening  a  shop  for  the  manufacture  of  interior  woodwork, 
mostly  office  and  bank  fixtures.  He  was  engaged  in  that  line  of  enter- 
prise for  the  ensuing  eight  years,  when  he  disposed  of  his  share  of  the 
business  to  his  partner.  In  1895  he  engaged  in  the  brewery  business  in 
Cincinnati,  but  at  the  end  of  three  years  the  company,  of  which  he  was 
the  head,  failed  and  went  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver.  In  this  manner  he 
lost  every  dollar  he  possessed  and  became  a  poor  man.  Although  dis- 
heartened by  his  losses,  he  resolved  to  make  a  new  start  and  in  1899  be- 
gan to  work  for  a  salary  again.  In  the  following  year  he  removed  to 
Nolan,  West  \'irginia,  and  there  purchased  a  hotel,  for  which  he  p;  ' ' 
three  hundred  dollars  in  cash,  giving  his  note  for  the  remainder  of  the 
purchase  price.  He  met  his  debts  promptly  when  due  and  continued  to 
run  the  above  hotel  until  1910,  when  he  disposed  of  it  and  came  to  Wil- 
liamson, !Mingo  county.  Immediately  on  his  arrival  here  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  ]M.  Z.  White  as  president  of  the 
county  court  of  ]\Iingo  county.  In  1910  he  was  elected  to  this  office  for  a 
term  of  six  years  and  he  is  proving  himself  a  most  efficient  incumbent. 
In  a  business  way  he  is  a  heavy  stockholder  in  the  Williamson  Mercan- 
tile Company,  of  which  he  is  president,  and  he  is  likewise  a  stockholder 
and  equal  owner  of  the  Bishop-Persinger-White  Insurance  Company, 
which  handles  all  kinds  of  insurance  outside  of  straight  life  policies.  He 
owns  considerable  real  estate  of  value  in  and  about  Williamson,  and  is  an 
essentially  representative  citizen  in  INIingo  county,  where  he  is  recognized 
as  a  man  of  mark  in  all  the  relations  of  life.    In  politics  he  is  a  supporter 


^ 


WEST  MRGINIA  523 

of  the  Republican  party  and  he  has  ahvays  been  active  in  behalf  of  this 
organization.  At  present  he  is  superintendent  of  the  reconstruction  of 
the  court  house  at  Williamson  and  gives  his  time  and  attention  to  this 
matter  without  compensation.  In  religious  matters  he  is  a  devout  Luth- 
eran and  his  fraternal  connections  are  with  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

\[t.  \^^oolford  married  (first)  Louise  A'iegle,  born  in  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  in  June,  1867.  died  in  February,  1895.  He  married  (second) 
Laura  Buschmann,  a  native  of  Cincinnati,  where  her  birth  occurred  May 

15,  1876,  daughter  of  Henry  Buschmann,  of  Kentucky,  a  retired  mer- 
chant and  a  very  wealthy  citizen.  Children  of  first  marriage:  i.  How- 
ard H..  born  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  September  24,  1887;  engaged  in  business 
at  Chattaroy,  West  Virginia :  he  is  unmarried.     2.  Ethel  ;\Iay,  born  June 

16,  1889;  married  Nicholas  R.  Hatfield,  and  they  reside  at  Nolan,  West 
Virginia,  where  j\lr.  Hatfield  is  engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  mercantile 
business.  Mr.  and  ]\Irs.  Hatfield  have  two  sons.  Homer  and  Howard. 
Children  of  second  marriage :  3.  Cora,  born  in  Cincinnati  in  1904.  4. 
Selma,  born  at  Nolan,  West  Virginia,  December  4,  1908.  [Mr.  Woolford 
is  exceedingly  fond  of  home  life  and  devotes  most  of  his  spare  time  to  his 
family  and  the  entertainment  of  his  intimate  friends.  As  a  gentleman 
and  citizen  he  is  well  liked  by  his  fellowmen  in  Williamson,  where  all 
accord  him  the  highest  esteem. 


This  family  is  of  Scotch-Irish  descent  and  emigrated 
ANDERSON     to  America  previous  to  the  revolutionary  war.     Mem- 
bers  of  the    family   first  settled  in   Pennsylvania  and 
later  removed  to  Mrginia. 

(I)  James  Anderson,  a  direct  descendant  of  the  Virginia  branch  of 
the  family,  was  born  in  Rockingham  county,  Virginia,  in  1800,  died  in 
Lewis  county.  West  Virginia,  in  1884,  where  he  had  resided  since  1840. 
He  was  a  noted  millwright,  and  erected  many  mills  in  West  Virginia; 
several  of  these  mills  built  as  early  as  1840  are  still  in  use. 

(II)  Lorenzo  Dow,  son  of  James  Anderson,  was  born  in  Lewis 
county,  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  Januarv-  25,  1841.  He  was  en- 
gaged in  farming  for  many  years  in  Lewis  county,  ^^'est  Virginia.  He 
served  in  Company  I,  Third  \\'est  \'irginia  Cavalry,  under  command  of 
General  Sheridan  during  the  civil  war.  He  married  Rebecca,  daughter 
of  Samuel  Wilson.  ]\Irs.  Anderson  died  in  1906,  aged  sixty-six  years. 
Her  grandfather,  Ralph  Wilson,  was  a  captain  under  General  Lewis  and 
was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Mount  Pleasant  in  1774. 

(III)  Luther  Colfax,  son  of  Lorenzo  Dow  and  Rebecca  (Wilson) 
Anderson,  was  born  in  Lewis  county.  West  Virginia.  February  9,  1869. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  county  and  finished  his  prepara- 
tion for  college  at  the  French  Creek  Academy.  In  1890  he  entered  Ohio 
Wesleyan  University  and  graduated  with  the  degree  of  A.  B.  in  1894. 
He  then  entered  the  L^niversity  of  West  Virginia  and  graduated  LL.B. 
in  1896.  In  1899  his  Alma  Mater  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of 
A.  M.  in  course.  He  served  as  assistant  state  superintendent  of  schools 
in  1897-99  ^nd  during  1899-1900  was  assistant  attorney  general  of  the 
state  of  West  Mrginia.  In  1900  he  began  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion in  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  as  junior  member  of  the  firm  of 
Rucker.  Keller  &  Anderson,  the  other  members  being  Edgar  E.  Rucker, 
a  former  attorney  general  of  the  state,  and  Benjamin  F.  Keller,  now 
judge  of  the  Federal  court  of  the  southern  district  of  V'est  \'irginia. 
He  continued  with  this  firm  and  its  successors  until  1902.  when  he  lo- 
cated in  Welch,  West  Virginia.     Since  1908  he  has  been  the  senior  mem- 


524  WEST  \'IR(j1XIA 

ber  of  tlic  law  firm  of  Anderson,  Strother  &  Hughes.  He  takes  a 
deep  interest  in  educational  matters  and  has  served  as  regent  of  the 
University  of  West  Virginia,  under  the  appointment  of  Governor  Glass- 
cock. He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and 
served  as  delegate  to  the  general  conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  held  in  Minneapolis  in  1912.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  He 
is  the  joint  author  of  a  work  entitled :  "The  Negotiable  Instrument 
Law  of  West  \'irginia." 

He  married,  October  22,  1902,  Frances  Rummel,  born  in  Charleston, 
West  Virginia,  February  9,  1881.  daughter  of  Henry  Rummel,  who  is 
engaged  in  the  oil  business  in  Charleston,  West  Mrginia.  Two  chil- 
dren have  been  born  to  them :  Henry  Rummel,  July  zt,.  1903  ;  Luther 
AMlson,  August  25,    1906. 


Several  explanations  have  been  given  of  this  family 
R.ADCLIFF     name.    Two  of  tliese,  which  it  may  not  be  impossible  t<> 

reconcile  and  combine,  are  as  follows:  That  the  famil\- 
is  descended  from  Richard  Radclyfife.  of  Radclifife  Tower,  near  Bury, 
county  of  Lancaster,  England,  who  flourished  in  the  reign  of  Edward  I. : 
and  that  the  name  is  of  local  origin,  derived  from  a  place  in  Lancashire, 
England,  so  called  on  account  of  a  clifif  of  red  rock. 

(I)  The  f^rst  Radclifif  of  this  family,  about  whom  we  have  defi- 
nite information,  was  a  coal  miner,  and  spent  his  life  in  Manchester,  Eng- 
land.   Son  :  Jothan,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Jothan  Radclifif  was  born  in  Manchester,  England,  in  1832,  and 
died  at  Vale  Summit,  Allegany  county,  ^Maryland,  April  17,  1906.  Ik- 
was  brought  up  in  Manchester,  and  attended  public  schools  in  England. 
At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  came  to  America.  He  was  a  coal  and  rock 
miner.  In  the  civil  war  he  served  for  three  yeai-s  in  the  Second  Mary- 
land Regiment,  enlisting  in  1862,  and  being  discharged  in  1B65.  He 
served  under  General  Hunter,  and  was  in  numerous  skirmishes.  He 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  William  Wilmoh,  who  was  born  at  Land's 
End,  England,  and  died  at  \'ale  Summit,  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine.  Her 
father  was  a  miner,  and  died  at  Land's  End.  Children:  Robert  A.,  df 
whom  further:  Ellen,  married  Robert  Houston,  and  live  in  Piitsljur--; 
Elizabeth,  married  Frederick  Hadra,  and  live  at  Ridgeley,  West  Aircjinia  ; 
Joseph,  married  Eva  Long,  and  live  at  Eckhard,  Maryland:  George,  mar- 
ried Patricia  Rabbitt,  and  live  at  Elkins,  West  Virginia:  Louisa,  married 
William  Long,  and  live  at  \'ale  Summit ;  Jothan,  married  Nellie  Bischoft . 
and  live  at  Ridgeley,  West  Virginia :  Bessie,  married  William  McFarland. 
and  recently  removed  from  Big  Savage,  West  Virginia,  to  New  York 
state.  Mrs.  Jothan  Radclifif,  by  a  former  marriage,  had  the  following,' 
children,  named  Sleeman :  William,  married  Margaret  McFarland,  and 
live  at  Hofifman  Mines,  Maryland :  John,  married  Isabel  Fatkin,  and  li\e 
at  \^ale  Summit :  Mary,  married  Philip  Oss  and  live  at  \'ale  Summit ; 
Thomas,  married  Edith  Parker,  and  live  at  ?ifcKee's  Rock,  Pennsylvania. 

(HI)  Robert  A.,  son  of  Jothan  and  Elizabeth  (Wilmoh-Sleeman  1 
Radclifif,  was  born  at  \'ale  Summit,  November  26,  i860.  He  remained 
at  his  native  place  until  he  was  twenty-four  years  old,  attending  public 
school  at  Vale  Summit  and  the  Northern  Indiana  Normal  School  at  \"al- 
paraiso,  Indiana.  He  then  spent  about  nine  years  in  the  west,  being  en- 
gaged in  construction  work  in  Washington,  Idaho,  Oregon  and  Califor- 
nia. Returning  to  Vale  Summit,  he  worked  in  the  mines  for  two  years, 
digging  coal.  In  1898  he  opened  a  general  merchandise  business  at 
Ridgeley,  Mineral  county.  \\'est  \^irginia,  where  he  still  resides  and  con- 
ducts the  same  business.     In  his  store  is  also  the  postofifice,  and  he  has 


WEST  MRGIXIA  525 

recently  been  reappointed  postmaster.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Cum- 
berland Savings  Bank  and  in  the -Miller  Avenue  Street  Railroad  Com- 
pany, of  which  latter  corporation  he  is  secretary.  He  is  a  member  of  Ohr 
Lodge.  No.  131.  P'ree  and  .\ccepted  Alasons,  at  Cumberland.  Mr.  Rad- 
clifif  and  his  family  are  Methodists.     He  is  a  Republican. 

Mr.  Radcliiif  married,  April  6,  1899,  Hagar,  daughter  of  William  and 
Adaliah  (StottlerJ  Long,  who  was  born  at  \'ale  Farm,  near  Frostburg, 
Maryland,  July  2,  1866.  Her  father,  born  at  Lomacoming,  Alaryland,  was 
a  farmer  and  blacksmith,  and  died  at  the  age  of  forty-eight,  near  Palo  Alto, 
Pennsylvania.  Her  mother  was  born  near  Cumberland,  and  is  now  liv- 
ing at  Eckhard,  Maryland.  Children  of  William  and  Adaliah  (Stottler) 
Long :  Bettie,  married  William  Fatkin,  and  live  at  Vale  Summit ; 
Charles,  living,  unmarried,  at  \'ale  Summit ;  Kate,  married  Boone  Stot- 
tler, and  live  at  Myersdale,  Pennsylvania ;  Fannie,  living  at  Ridgeley,  un- 
married ;  Ida,  deceased,  unmarried ;  Emma,  living  at  Ridgeley,  unmar- 
ried ;  Hagar,  married  Robert  A.  Radcliff,  of  whom  herein :  William, 
married  Louisa  Radcliff;  Lynn,  a  traveling  salesman,  and  unmarried; 
Eva,  married  Joseph  Radcliff,  and  live  at  Eckhard;  Lucian,  unmarried, 
living.  Children  of  Robert  A.  and  Hagar  (Long)  Radcliff:  Vera 
Athalia,  born  in  1900;  Harold  Levi,  born  in  1903. 


This  is  an  old  English  family,  belonging  to  the  peerage, 
;\IUXSOX     and  having  a  recognized  history  extending  back  through 

five  centuries.  The  English  spelHng  of  the  name  is 
Monson,  and  the  seat  of  the  family  is  Burton  Hall,  Lincolnshire,  Eng- 
land, the  residence  of  the  present  Lord  Monson,  who,  as  well  as  his 
father,  became  greatly  interested  in  genealogical  researches  and  the 
history  of  the  family  in  the  old  world  and  the  new.  They  collected  a 
great  number  of  valuable  manuscripts  in  reference  to  the  various  con- 
nections, which  are  now  in  the  possession  of  the  head  of  the  family  in 
England:  but  were  unable  to  collect  sufificient  information  in  regard 
to  the  American  branch  of  the  house  to  establish  the  line  unbroken.  It 
is  known,  however,  that  the  immigrant  ancestor  came  over  to  this  coun- 
try in  the  sixteenth  century :  his  descendants  multiplied  and  flourished, 
whereas,  in  the  old  country,  the  family  has  decreased  in  numbers  so  that 
very  few  remain  to  bear  the  name.  About  the  year  1637,  Captain  Thom- 
as Alunson.  a  descendant  of  the  immigrant  ancestor,  located  in  Hartford. 
Connecticut,  and  performed  military  service  during  the  Pequot  war  in 
that  year.  When  in  1887  a  reunion  of  the  American  family  was  held  in 
Hartford,  Connecticut,  cordial  relations  with  the  English  cousins  were 
cemented  by  a  communication  received  from  Sir  Edmund  Monson,  of 
the  British  Legation  at  Copenhagen,  and  formerly  (in  1858)  attache  to 
the  British  Legation  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

The  immediate  progenitor  of  the  branch  of  the  Munson  family  at 
present  under  consideration,  was  Samuel  Munson,  a  shoemaker  by 
trade,  born  April  9,  1781,  at  Morristown,  New  Jersey,  who  passed  his 
life  in  Frederick  and  Washington  counties,  Maryland,  and  in  Macon 
county,  Illinois.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Republican  party,  and  died  in 
Niantic,  Illinois,  November  20,  1866.  He  married  a  Miss  Elizabeth 
McDonnell,  and  they  had  eleven  children;  i.  Lewis,  married  Elizabeth 
Swope.  2.  Ezra,  married  Catherine  Castor.  3.  Samuel  L^gal.  4.  Henry. 
5.  Julia  Ann,  married  to  Thomas  Acom.  6.  Benjamin  Franklin,  married 
Olive  Clark.  7.  John  Jacob,  married  Rebecca  Brenner.  8.  Solomon  Mil- 
ton. 9.  Joshua,  of  further  mention,  lo.  Josiah.  11.  Samuel  D.  The 
family  were  all  members  of  the  Lutheran  church,  none  of  those  whose 
names  are  here  mentioned  being  now  alive. 


526  WEST  MRGIXIA 

( II  )  Jci^hua,  son  of  Saima-1  and  Elizabeth  (  McUunnell )  Alunson,  was 
born  October  15,  1826,  at  Frederick,  Maryland.  He  was  reared  in  Wash- 
ington county,  Alaryland,  becoming  a  farmer  in  that  county  and  continu- 
ing his  residence  in  the  state  all  his  life.  He  was  a  Republican  in  poli- 
tics, but  never  became  prominent  in  public  affairs,  preferring  a  peaceful 
and  industrious  home  life  upon  his  farm.  He  died  at  Hancock,  Mary- 
land, in  the  year  1892,  being  then  sixty-six  years  old.  His  wife  was  a 
Miss  Rebecca  Smith,  a  native  of  Smithsburg,  Maryland,  and  daughter  of 
Jacob  Smith,  a  farmer,  who  lived  to  the  age  of  ninety  years.  Mrs.  Mun- 
son,  who  died  at  Hagerstown,  Maryland,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty 
years,  was  never  connected  with  any  church  ;  she  and  her  husband  were 
the  parents  of  eight  children,  all  of  whom  with  one  exception,  are  still 
living;  they  are  as  follows:  i.  Mary  Jane,  born  March  16,  1849;  she  is 
unmarried,  residing  at  Hancock,  Maryland.  2.  John  W.,  bom  December 
6,  1850 ;  he  married  Columbia  Simmons,  and  is  a  farmer,  residing  at 
Hancock.  3.  Daniel  B.,  born  January  31,  1853:  he  died  at  the  age  of 
fifty-eight  years.  4.  Samuel  H.,  born  January  28,  1855  ;  he  married  Alice 
Exline,  and  is  a  farmer  at  Hancock.  5.  Alfred,  born  February  15,  1858; 
he  married  Mary  Lineburg,  and  resides  at  Martinsburg,  West  Virginia. 
6.  Anna,  born  November  4,  i860:  she  is  married  to  George  Corbett,  liv- 
ing at  Hancock.  7.  Lewis  M.,  of  further  mention.  8.  Henry,  born  July 
29,  1868;  he  married  Mary  Suman,  and  lives  at  Hagerstown,  Maryland. 

(HI)  Lewis  M.,  son  of  Joshua  and  Rebecca  (Smith)  Munson,  was 
born  December  22,  1863,  at  Clearsprings,  Maryland.  His  early  years 
were  passed  in  Washington  county,  on  his  father's  farm,  his  education 
being  acquired  in  the  public  schools  of  the  county :  after  which  he  be- 
came a  farmer  like  his  father,  remaining  on  the  place  until  the  year  1885. 
He  then  removed  to  Illinois  and  afterward  to  Kansas,  where  for  three 
years  he  continued  farming.  In  1888  he  came  to  Great  Cacapon  as  a 
clerk,  remaining  thus  for  ten  years  and  discontinuing  in  order  to  engage 
in  a  general  merchandise  business  on  his  own  account,  which  he  is  con- 
ducting at  the  present  time.  He  has  proved  very  successful  in  this  ven- 
ture :  and  in  addition  to  his  store,  he  has  since  the  year  1897  been  in 
charge  of  the  postoffice  at  Great  Cacapon.  In  his  political  opinions  he  is 
a  member  of  the  Republican  party ;  he  is  also  a  member  of  the  Odd  Fel- 
lows Lodge,  and  its  treasurer  as  well.  He  and  his  family  are  attendants 
of  the  L'nited  Brethren  church. 

On  April  20,  1890,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  S.  Whisner,  a  na- 
tive of  Great  Cacapon.  She  is  the  daughter  of  Levi  Whisner,  a  carpen- 
ter, who  was  born  in  Morgan  county,  West  Virginia,  and  is  now  residing 
at  Great  Cacapon  ;  her  mother  was  a  Miss  Agnes  Eversole,  also  a  native 
of  IMorgan  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whisner  are  the  parents  of  seven 
children :  William,  married  Mary  Dawson :  Samuel,  married  Mary 
Spring:  David,  married  N.  McCown :  Mary  S.  married  Lewis  M.  Mun- 
son ;  Estelle.  married  W.  W.  Pittman  ;  Myrtle,  married  Albert  Britt :  Lulu, 
married  B.  S.  Cross.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lewis  M.  Munson  are  the  parents  of 
four  children,  as  follows:  i.  Charles  Leonard,  born  March  13,  1891.  2. 
Lionel,  born  November  28,  1895.  3.  Paul,  born  December  8,  1897.  4. 
Mildred,  born  September  24,  1901. 


George  Theodore   Goshorn   was  born   in    Pennsylvania, 
GOSHORN     about  1853,  and  was  a  very  young  child  when  his  pat- 
ents removed  to  Piedmont,  Mineral  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia.    There  he  obtained  an  excellent  education  in  the  public  schools, 
and  at  a  suitable  age  entered  upon  his  business  career.     He  was  ap- 
prenticed to  learn  the  printer's  trade,  and  for  a  number  of  years  was 


WEST  VIRGINIA  527 

occupied  in  this  calling  in  West  Virginia  and  Marjdand.  During  the  ad- 
ministration of  President  Arthur,  he  served  a  part  of  a  term  as  post- 
master of  Piedmont,  and  is  now  serving  his  second  consecutive  full  term 
in  the  same  office.  He  has  been  associated  with  newspaper  work  in 
various  directions  for  a  number  of  years,  and  is  now  engaged  in  writ- 
ing for  the  local  papers. 

Mr.  Goshorn  married  a  Aliss  Combs,  of  Romney,  West  Virginia, 
and  has  children:  Hattie  AI.,  married  O.  A.  Hood;  Lillian,  married  H. 
B.  Dawson;  Maud,  married  A.  R.  Fisher;  George  Theodore  Jr.,  married 
Edna  Diehl ;  Joseph  E.,  married  Ella  ;  Paul  H.,  unmarried. 


Hugh  P.  Dils,  late  of  Parkersburg,  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
DILS     vania,  and  removed  to  Virginia.     With  his  son  he  started  in 

the  dry  goods  business  at  Vaucluse,  Frederick  county,  \  ir- 
ginia,  in  1846,  the  firm  name  being  H.  P.  Dils  &  Son.  In  1856  they  re- 
moved to  Parkersburg,  Wood  county,  and  there  Hugh  P.  Dils  remained 
in  the  business  until  his  death.     Child,  James  W.,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  James  W.,  son  of  Hugh  P.  Dils,  was  born  at  Parkersburg,  Vir- 
ginia, in  1826,  died  in  that  city,  in  August,  1896.  When  a  young  man  he 
entered  the  dry  goods  business  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  J.  W.  Dils 
&  Hopkins.  After  this  firm  had  dissolved,  he  was  in  partnership  with 
his  father  up  to  the  latter's  death,  and  then  carried  on  the  business  alone 
until  1 87 1,  when  the  firm  became  J.  W.  Dils  &  Sons.  In  the  commercial 
affairs  of  the  city  he  took  a  prominent  part  and  was  for  several  years 
president  of  the  Second  National  Bank  of  Parkersburg.  He  also  served 
as  mayor  of  the  city.  In  the  Methodist  church  he  was  a  prominent  mem- 
ber. He  married  Welthea,  daughter  of  Charles  Little,  who  died  in  1904. 
Children:  Hugh  P.,  of  whom  further;  Alice  M.,  married  F.  R.  Rose; 
George,  connected  with  the  Citizens'  Bank  at  Parkersburg,  but  after- 
ward removed  to  Denver,  Colorado;  Joseph  H.,  also  removed  to  Color- 
ado; James  W.,  engaged  in  manufacturing  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

(III)  Hugh  P.  (2),  son  of  James  W.  and  Welthea  (Little)  Dils, 
was  born  at  Parkersburg.  \'irginia.  July  10,  1856.  Here  he  attended  the 
public  schools.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  entered  his  grandfather's  former 
dry  goods  store,  then  conducted  by  his  father.  At  first  he  was  a  clerk; 
he  afterward  became  one  of  the  partners ;  in  1908  the  firm  was  incor- 
porated under  the  name  of  the  H.  P.  Dils  &  Son  Company.  Mr.  Dils 
was  a  director  and  vice-president  of  the  Second  National  Bank.  He 
married,  in  1878,  Eleanor  Mary,  daughter  of  Joseph  T.  Hannan,  of 
Proctorville,  Ohio.  Children :  Anna,  married  D.  C.  Beard  ;  Sherman, 
in  business  with  his  father,  married  Gaynell  Davis. 


The  progenitor  of  this  branch  of  the  Daniel   family  was 
DANIEL     born    in    Ireland    and    emigrated    to    America,    settling    in 
Virginia. 

(II)  William  M.  Daniel,  son  of  the  emigrant,  was  an  extensive 
farmer  in  Tazewell  county,  Virginia,  where  he  died  December  25,  1903. 
He  married  Eliza  Jane  Phipps,  a  native  of  Virginia.  She  died  April 
19,  1889.  Two  of  their  sons  served  in  the  Confederate  armv  during  the 
civil  war,  one  being  killed  at  Lynchburg. 

(III)  Dr.  S.  A.  Daniel,  son  of  William  M.  and  Eliza  Jane  (Phipps) 
Daniel,  was  born  in  Tazewell  county,  Virginia.  January  20.  1869. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town  and  of  Athens, 
West  Virginia.     In   1887  he  entered  Tazewell  College,  Virginia,  gradu- 


528  WEST  VIRGINIA 

ating  in  1891.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  entered  the  University 
of  Kentucky,  Aledical  College,  and  graduated  June  20,  1894.  He  com- 
menced the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Welch,  West  \'irginia,  in  1893,. 
and  while  he  is  the  youngest  physician  in  the  town  he  is  the  oldest  in 
practice  there.  In  1893  he  was  appointed  physician  and  surgeon  for  the 
Norfolk  &  Western  railroad,  retaining  the  position  to  date.  He  has  met 
with  marked  success  in  his  professional  labor  and  enjoys  an  extensive 
acquaintance.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  Knights  of  Py- 
thias, and  the  Elks.     In  politics  he  is  a  Progressive  Republican. 

He  was  married  in  1900  to  Laura  B..  born  in  Martin  county,  Ken- 
tucky, in  1874,  daughter  of  T.  J.  Munson.  Three  children  have  been 
born  to  them:  Ada  Sjmthia,  born  (Jctobor  9,  1901  ;  Hazel,  October  27^ 
1907:  Ruth,  April  26,   1910. 


This  is  a  Pennsylvania  family,  which  has  a  pioneer  history. 
^^^•\RNE     nf  interest  in  the  western  part  of  that  state,  and  has  been 
represented  in  v.'hat  is  now  West  \'irginia  since  the  mid- 
dle of  the  last  century. 

(I)  Joseph  Warne,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we' 
have  definite  information,  was  a  farmer  near  Sunny  Side,  Allegheny 
county,  Pennsylvania.  Whom  he  married  is  not  known,  but  he  had  a-. 
son.  James,  of  whom  further. 

(il)  James,  son  of  Joseph  Warne.  was  born  on  his  father's  farm, 
December  6,  1779.  died  October  28,  1855.  In  hi?  youth,  at  his  home  near- 
Sunny  Side,  he  received  the  education  afforded  by  the  schools  of  the  time 
and  place,  and  afterward  attended  the  academy  at  Uniontown,  or  the 
Forks.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  entered  mercantile  life.  Going  into 
Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  he  conducted  a  store  for  a  man  named 
McKinley,  at  a  place  not  far  from  what  is  now  called  Scenery  Hill,  on 
the  waters  of  Pigeon  creek.  Then  he  was  engaged  in  river  traffic,  and  he 
moved  to  Parkison's  ferry,  taking  part  in  various  enterprises  there ;  first 
he  was  employed  as  a  clerk,  then  he  entered  into  boat  building  and  boat- 
ing and  trading  on  the  rivers,  as  far  as  New  Orleans.  Following  the 
custom  of  the  day,  after  disposing  of  his  cargo  and  boat  he  would  return 
overland  on  horseback,  having  taken  a  horse  with  him  for  the  purpose  on 
his  voyage.  Williamsport,  now  Monongahela  City,  in  Washington  coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania,  contained  in  i8ofi  not  more  than  fifteen  dwelling! 
houses,  and  Mr.  Warne  was  one  of  the  residents  and  a  merchant.  Jo- 
seph Parkison,  his  father-in-law,  was  inn-keeper  and  ferry  master,  a 
^^'ilIiam  Parkison  also  was  a  merchant.  In  181 1,  having  been  duly  elected; 
and  commissioned  by  Governor  Simon  Snyder,  Mr.  Warne  was  captain 
of  a  light  infantry  company  attached  to  the  second  battalion  of  the  Fifty- 
third  Regiment  Pennsylvania  State  Militia,  his  term  to  be  four  years 
from  August  3,  181 1.  In  1812  this  company  offered  its  services  to  the' 
United  States  government  in  the  war  declared  against  England.  On 
Tune  II,  the  company  was  ordered  to  parade  for  inspection.  It  was  ac- 
cepted, and  on  September  5th  it  took  up  its  march  for  headquarters  on 
the  Canadian  frontier.  Mr.  Warne  served  as  captain  until  September 
25,  1812,  when  he  was  elected  major  of  the  first  battalion  in  the  Third 
Infantry  Regiment,  commanded  by  Colonel  Snyder :  he  was  commis- 
sioned at  Meadville,  Pennsylvania,  September  27,  and  he  served  as  major 
until  December  31.  1812,  on  which  date  he  was  discharged.  Thereafter 
he  was  commonly  known  as  Major  Warne.  During  his  service  the  bat-i 
talion  had  marched  to  the  Niagara  river,  in  the  vicinity  of  Black  Hawk, 
below  Buffalo,  New  York,  and  there  it  formed  a  part  of  the  command 


WEST  MRGIXIA  529 

of  Brigadier  General  Adansnn  Taiinehill  until  it  was  mustered  out  of 
service. 

Returning  to  his  home,  from  the  headquarters  on  the  Canadian  bord- 
er, Alajor  Warne  re-entered  business  life,  and  about  1815  in  connection 
with  his  brother-in-law,  William  Parkison,  and  later  with  the  Butler 
brothers,  he  built  and  operated  the  first  window  glass  factory  at  Wil- 
liamsport  (Monongahela  City),  on  the  west  side  of  the  present  Chess 
street ;  this  was  one  of  the  first  factories  for  this  manufacture  to  be  built 
west  of  the  Alleghany  mountains.  Beside  this  factory  he  carried  on  a 
general  mercantile  business,  buying  all  kinds  of  stock  and  selling  it  in 
eastern  markets.  He  bought  and  drove  over  the  mountains  to  Baltimore 
many  droves  of  hogs,  bringing  back  salt  and  provisions  by  pack  horses, 
after  the  manner  of  those  days.  This  business  was  carried  on  until  about 
1825,  when  the  partners  sold  out.  Major  Warne  then  bought  a  farm 
called  "Eden,"  now  part  of  Monongahela  City,  and  there  he  lived  as  a 
farmer  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  a  scrivener  of  some  ability, 
and  many  legal  papers  containing  his  handwriting  are  extant.  In  the  set- 
tlement of  estates  he  would  perform  the  duties  of  a  legal  adviser,  and  he 
was  frequently  consulted  by  his  neighbors  in  the  arrangement  of  their 
business  concerns.  The  only  living  representatives  of  the  founder  of 
Williamsport  resident  in  1904  within  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania, 
were  descended  from  ^lajor  Warne.  He  was  a  good  and  patriotic  citi- 
zen, an  honorable  and  upright  man,  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church. 
Major  Warne  married,  in  1805,  Mary,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Margaret 
(Weaver)  Parkison,  who  died  in  1856:  she  married  (first)  William 
Lowring.  Children  :  Almuzett  Ives,  of  whom  further  ;  Margaret,  Joseph 
P.,  James,  Hiram,  Eliza  Jane,  and  four  others  who  died  young. 

(III)  Almuzett  Ives,  son  of  James  and  Mary  ( Parkison-Lowring) 
Warne,  was  born  at  Williamsport,  in  1809,  died  in  Wood  county.  West 
Virginia,  January  17,  1878.  For  four  years  he  was  engaged  in  boating 
on  the  ]\Ionongahela  river ;  then  he  came  into  Wood  county,  Virginia, 
bought  a  farm  near  Parkersburg,  in  1852,  and  there  passed  the  remainder 
of  his  life.  He  married  Mary  Jacobs,  of  Washington  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania. Children:  James,  born  January  31.  1832;  Frances  A.,  June  30. 
1834;  Mary,  September  21,  1836:  William  Herron.  of  whom  further;  six 
others,  deceased. 

(IV)  William  Herron,  son  of  Almuzett  Ives  and  ;\Iary  (Jacobs) 
Warne.  was  born  in  Washington  county,  Pennsylvania,  February  7, 
1839.  He  received  the  full  educational  advantages  of  the  schools  of  his 
native  county.  For  some  years  he  followed  agriculture  in  Wood  county, 
Virginia.  Later  he  came  to  Parkersburg  and  served  an  apprenticeship  to 
the  joiner's  trade  under  Samuel  Stewart,  and  until  187 1  he  worked  at 
his  trade  as  a  journeyman.  Then,  in  company  with  R.  A.  Little,  he 
went  into  the  undertaking  business.  He  soon  purchased  Mr.  Little's 
interest,  and  afterward  he  associated  himself  with  G.  K.  Leonard,  en- 
gaging in  the  furniture  business.  Mr.  C.  C.  Martin  afterward  became  a 
member  of  the  firm,  but  in  March,  1882,  he  sold  his  share  to  Mr.  Warne, 
who  conducted  the  business  alone  up  to  the  time  of  his  retiring  in  1898. 
Mr.  Warne  was  the  pioneer  undertaker  and  furniture  dealer  of  Parkers- 
burg, and  was  recognized  as  being  one  of  the  able  and  enterprising  busi- 
ness men  of  the  city.  Above  all  he- is  a  man  of  the  strictest  integrity,  and 
this,  with  sagacity  and  industry,  formed  the  foundation  of  his  success. 
Mr.  Warne  was  one  of  the  originators  of  the  Homestead  Building  Asso- 
ciation, and  he  is  a  large  stockholder  in  the  Electric  Light  Company  of 
this  citv,  and  in  the  Citizens'  National  Bank,  also  of  Parkersburg.  He 
is  a  Republican,  and  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church. 

He   married.    1866.    Rosa   Lee,    daughter    of    Samuel    and    Charlotte 
34 


S30  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Warren,  of  Parkersburg.  Children:  i.  Charles  Sandford,  born  May 
7,  1867;  an  undertaker  at  Clarksburg.  2.  Owen  Ives,  born  August  4, 
1868.  3.  William  M.,  born  September  16,  1870.  4.  Henry  R.,  born  Oc- 
tober 10,  1872;  architect  at  Charleston,  West  Virginia.  5.  Frank  J., 
born  March  16,  1874;  was  graduated  from  the  high  school  of  Parkers- 
burg in  1891,  and  three  years  later  entered  the  school  of  journalism  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania;  he  received  in  1896  a  certificate  of 
proficiency  in  finance  and  economy;  in  1899  the  degree  of  Master  of 
Arts;  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  in  1902;  from  1892  to  1894 
he  was  a  reporter  for  the  Parkersburg  Daily  Sentinel,  and  from  1896  to 
1902  he  held  a  reporter's  position  on  the  Philadelphia  Public  Ledger; 
from  1903  to  1906  he  was  editor  of  the  Railzvay  world;  since  1906  he 
has  been  secretary  of  the  emigration  department  of  the  National  Civic 
Federation ;  he  is  a  member  of  Beta  Theta  Pi,  a  college  fraternity,  and 
of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science;  he  is  the 
author  of  several  works :  "The  Slav  Immigration  and  the  Mine  Work- 
ers ;"  "A  Study  in  Immigration ;"  "Immigration  and  the  Southern 
States;"  he  was  editor  of  "Facts  on  Immigration,"  in  1907,  and  a  con- 
tributor thereto;  he  has  been  a  contributor  to  "Commons,"  writing  on 
trade  unionism  and  labor  problems ;  numerous  pamphlets  also  have  been 
written  by  him,  and  magazine  articles  on  economic,  social,  political  and 
industrial  topics :  his  writings  have  appeared  in  several  of  the  magazines : 
in  1909  he  was  made  director  of  the  department  of  journalism  in  New 
York  University.  6.  Blanche  Little,  born  March  18,  1880:  she  attended 
for  some  years  the  Broad  Street  Conservatory  of  Music,  in  Philadel- 
phia, and  has  received  three  diplomas,  respectively  in  organ  music,  piano  r 
music  and  the  normal  course ;  she  married  Professor  F.  W.  Cram  and  ! 
they  are  the  parents  of  four  children. 


The  name  Neale  or  Neal  has  existed  in  this  country  from  very  I 
NEALE     early  colonial  times,  and  was  found  in  our  ancient  days  both  1 
in  New   England  and  in  Virginia.     While  the  immigrants  j 
may  have  been  from  a  single  British  family,  there  has  certainly  been  no  i 
single  American  ancestor  of  all  the  Neales  or  Neals.     At  Parkersburg, 
West  Virginia,   there  are  two  prominent   families   distinguished  by  the 
spelling  of  the  surname,  but  the  Neal  family  of  this  city  is  certainly  of  a 
different  stock,  its  founder  in  Wood  county  having  been  a  revolutionary 
soldier,  formerly  called  O'Neal.     Returning  to  the  general  account  of  the 
Neale  of  Neal  families,  the  first  Virginia  record  of  this  name  is  of  John 
Neale,  of  Accomac  county,  and  the  date  of  the  record  is  January   14, 
1630.    This  John  Neale  was  born  about  1596.     Hotten,  in  his  lists  of  im- 
migrants, gives  a  John  Neale  as  arriving  in   1635  and  a  Captain  James 
Neale  came  to  Maryland  in  1638.  It  is  said,  however,  that  the  first  Amer- 
ican residence  of  the  present  family  was  in  Pennsylvania.    Of  the  Neales  I 
in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  special  note  may  be  made  of  Rev.  Dr.  John 
Mason  Neale,  an  Episcopalian  minister  in  England,  of  great  piety  and 
zeal,  a  High  Church  leader,  and  a  writer,  also  a  translator  of  liturgical 
and  other  hymns. 

(I)  Thomas  Neale,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  died  near  Parkersburg,  Virginia,  about  1835." 
He  came  in  1802  from  the  valley  of  Virginia  to  Wood  county,  Virginia.] 
and  thus  was  among  the  pioneers  of  this  county.  It  is  stated  that  he 
brought  with  him  one  hundred  slaves,  with  whom  he  worked  a  large 
plantation.  At  Parkersburg  he  opened  a  retail  store,  and  he  also  con-j 
ducted  a  banking  business.  The  ill-fated  Blennerhassett  was  associated' 
with  him  in  business  partnership.    At  some  time  before  the  war  of  1812 


WEST  VIRGINIA  531 

he  went  into  flour  speculation ;  he  went  south  with  flour  and  wheat,  float- 
ing it  in  keel  boats ;  from  New  Orleans  it  was  to  be  shipped  to  New 
York,  by  vessel.  The  vessel  grounded  and  the  cargo  was  lost,  Mr.  Neale 
thereby  suffering  a  heavy  financial  loss.  For  three  years  he  was  impris- 
oned for  debt  at  Alarietta,  and  his  death  was  caused  by  consumption  con- 
tracted during  his  imprisonment.    He  moved  to  a  farm  about  three  miles 

from  the  city  of  Parkersburg,  and  tliere  he  died.  He  married Winn. 

Child,  William  Henry,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  William  Henry,  son  of  Thomas  and  (Winn)    Neale,  was 

born  at  Parkersburg,  May  13,  1813,  died  in  September,  1889.  His  name 
was  bestowed  in  honor  of  William  Henry  Harrison,  who  was  recruiting 
at  Parkersburg  about  the  time  of  his  birth.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  pur- 
chased in  1833  an  island  not  far  from  Parkersburg,  called  Neale's  Island, 
on  which  he  lived  until  1855.  At  various  times  he  was  a  steamboat  man, 
and  interested  in  cattle  and  in  dairying.  Before  the  building  of  the  rail- 
road he  often  drove  stock  over  the  mountains  to  Baltimore.  He  was 
one  of  the  stockholders  of  the  road  from  Grafton  to  Parkersburg.  He 
married  Catharine  Dils.  Among  their  twelve  children  were :  Joseph 
Luther,  of  whom  further ;  Henry  Clay,  married  L.  C.  Davis ;  Harriet, 
married  Captain  Levi  Hopkins. 

(III)  Joseph  Luther,  son  of  William  Henry  and  Catharine  (Dils) 
Neale,  was  born  on  Neale's  Island,  June  i,  1844.  In  his  early  life  he  was 
a  steamboat  man ;  afterward  and  until  his  retirement  he  was  a  farmer. 
He  has  also  been  associated  in  the  produce  business  with  his  son,  William 
Henry.  Now  he  resides  part  of  the  time  at  Parkersburg  and  part  at 
Houston,  Texas.  He  is  a  Republican  and  a  ]\Iethodist.  Joseph  Luther 
Neale  married,  July  26,  1865,  Lulu  Jane  Miles,  born  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
May  II,  1843,  5ied  July  27,  1898.  Among  their  six  children  are:  Wil- 
liam Henry,  of  whom  further;  Lulu  E.,  married  Edward  Drake:  Joseph 
K.,  deceased. 

(IV)  William  Henry  (2),  son  of  Joseph  Luther  and  Lulu  Jane 
(Miles)  Neales,  was  born  in  Wood  county.  West  Virginia,  July  7,  1867. 
He  attended  the  common  schools  of  Wood  county,  West  \'irginia.  and  of 
Cincinnati,  Ohio.  The  produce  business  was  learned  by  him  from  his 
grandfather.  He  began  his  own  business  career  at  Parkersburg  in  1887, 
as  a  retail  grocer,  dealing  also  in  feed,  but  he  is  now  a  dealer  in  produce 
and  fruit  exclusively  and  only  at  wholesale.  Produce  is  secured  by  him 
from  almost  every  state  in  the  Union,  and  Parkersburg  is  made  its  dis- 
tributing point.  The  brick  building  on  the  lower  part  of  Ann  street  pur- 
chased by  him  in  June,  1902,  for  the  wholesale  business,  was  near  the 
site  where  stood  the  old  log  building  serving  as  the  first  court  house  of 

.Wood  county.  This  he  sold  in  1904  and  purchased  his  present  building 
at  210  ]\Iarket  street.  He  is  a  member  of  the  United  Commercial  Trav- 
elers. Mr.  Neale  upholds  the  policies  of  the  Republican  party,  and  is  a 
member  of   the   Methodist    Episcopal   church. 

He  married,  October  7,  1888,  Irene  Tennessee,  born  in  Wirt  county, 
West  Virginia,  September  i,  1870,  daughter  of  John  A.  and  Jane 
(Beatty)  Fairfax.  Her  father  was  a  merchant  at  Belleville,  Wood 
county.  West  Virginia,  where  he  died  in  1888,  sixty  years  old;  he  was  a 
direct  descendant  of  William  Fairfax,  cousin  of  Lord  Fairfax,  who  mar- 
ried Washington's  oldest  sister.  Mrs.  Neale's  maternal  grandfather  was 
a  pioneer  Methodist  minister,  and  was  killed  by  bushwackers  during  the 
civil  war.  Children  of  William  Henry  and  Irene  Tennessee  f Fairfax) 
Neale:  i.  Howard  Fairfax,  born  August  10,  1889:  lives  in  St.  Louis, 
Missouri.  2.  Alfred  Earl,  born  November  5.  1891 ;  now  a  student  at 
West  Virginia  Wesleyan  College.  Buckhannon,  West  Virginia.  3.  Ray- 
mond Miles,  born  December  31,  1893.     4-  Adelaide  Fisher,  born  March 


532  WEST  VIRGINIA 

3,  1895.    5.  Catharine  Culpeper,  born  August  9,  1898.    6.  William  Henry, 
born  September  9,   1901. 


Lloyd    Whaley    was    born    in    Ritchie    county,    Virginia, 
WHALEY     April  12,  1854.     He  is  one  of  the  representative  men  of 

Finch,  in  that  county.  He  has  devoted  considerable  at- 
tention to  farming  and  cattle  raising.  Formerly  he  was  engaged  in  mer- 
cantile business  at  Finch,  but  this  he  has  not  resumed  since  he  was 
burned  out  in  February,  1910.  He  is  now  postmaster  at  Finch.  In  the 
People's  Bank,  of  Harrisville,  Ritchie  county,  and  the  Citizens'  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Pennsboro,  Ritchie  county,  he  is  a  stockholder.  In  po- 
litical life  he  is  a  prominent  Prohibitionist.  Of  his  church,  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal,  he  has  for  years  been  president  of  the  board  of  trustees. 
He  married  America,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  Hamrick  Bum- 
earner.  Children :  Alice,  married  O.  J.  Riggs ;  Ira,  married  Margaret 
Lamp ;  Ethel,  married  Willis  Lamp ;  Ellis ;  Claude  ;  Fay ;  Katherine ; 
Howard ;   Hazel :   Baxter   Munroe,   of  whom   further ;   Chauncey. 

dl)  Baxter  Munroe,  son  of  Lloyd  and  .'America  CBumgarner) 
W'haley,  was  born  in  Ritchie  county,  West  Virginia,  September  23,  1881. 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  in  the  University  of  West 
\'irginia,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1907,  receiving  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Laws.  In  the  following  January  he  came  to  Parkersburg, 
W'est  \'irginia.  and  here  he  is  now  among  the  promising  young  lawyers  of 
the  city.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Free  and  .Accepted  Masons,  Lodge  No. 
50,  of  Ellenboro :  and  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  Park- 
ersburg Lodge,  No.  7,  Parkersburg.     Mr.  Whaley  has  not  married. 


Application  of  the  scriptural  a])horism  that  "a  prophet  is 
HEARNE  not  without  honor  save  in  his  own  country"  cannot  be 
made  in  connection  with  the  standing  of  Senator  Julian 
Green  Hearne  in  his  home  community  and  native  state.  He  is  not  only 
one  of  the  influential  factors  in  connection  with  important  industrial  and 
financial  enterprises  in  his  native  city  of  Wheeling  but  is  also  representa- 
tive of  this,  the  most  important  and  first  senatorial  district  of  West  Vir- 
ginia in  the  state  legislature,  in  whose  house  of  delegates  he  has  previously 
been  a  valued  member  for  two  terms.  He  is  one  of  the  influential  fig- 
ures in  the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party  in  this  state  and  the  official 
preferments  accorded  him  well  indicate  his  status  in  popular  confidence 
and  esteem. 

Julian  Green  Hearne  was  born  in  Wheeling,  August  6,  1868,  son  of 
William  L.  and  Laura  (Ford)  Hearne,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  at 
Laurel,  Delaware,  and  the  latter  at  Washington,  D.  C.  William  L. 
Hearne  was  an  iron  manufacturer,  founder  of  the  Riverside  Iron  Works, 
now  a  part  of  the  L'nited  States  Steel  Corporation.  He  was  a  member  of 
West  Virginia  state  legislature  in  1877,  was  an  active  Democrat  and  later 
became  a  Republican  on  account  of  tarifT  issue.  He  died  in  1895,  aged 
seventy-seven  years.  The  family  worshipped  at  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Three  sons  and  three  daughters  of  the  family  are  now  living,  one  son  and 
three  daughters  being  by  his  first  marriage  and  two  sons  by  the  last  mar- 
riage. 

Senator  Hearne  gained  his  rudimentary  education  in  the  schools  of  his 
native  city  and  supplemented  this  by  a  course  of  study  in  Peekskill  Military 
Academy  at  Peekskill,  New  York,  and  Lehigh  University  at  Bethlehem, 
Pennsylvania,  and  was  a  member  of  the  class  of  1892.  In  his  active  busi- 
ness career  he  has  been  identified  in  various  capacities  with  the  Carnegie 


C^^^-s— 


WEST  VIRGIXIA  533 

Steel  Company,  the  Riverside  Iron  Works  of  Wheeling,  and  the  National 
Tube  Company.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  various  industrial  corporations 
as  well  as  in  leading  financial  institutions,  and  president  of  J.  B.  Baum 
Jewelry  Company  and  West  Virginia  American  Mausoleum  Company. 

Senator  Hearne  has  stood  at  all  times  exemplar  of  distinctive  civic 
loyalty  and  public  spirit,  and  this  has  been  shown  in  divers  ways,  in  his 
service  in  public  office,  in  his  promotion  of  enterprises  that  have  tended 
to  augment  the  general  welfare  of  his  home  city,  in  his  earnest  support 
of  benevolent  and  moral  organizations,  and  in  his  sterling  integrity  of 
purpose  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  In  politics  he  accords  unswerving 
allegiance  to  the  Republican  party  and  he  has  given  effective  service  in  be- 
half of  its  cause.  In  1906  he  was  elected  to  represent  Ohio  county  in  the 
house  of  delegates  of  the  state  legislature,  and  he  was  chosen  his  own  suc- 
cessor upon  the  expiration  of  his  first  term.  His  broad-minded  and  busi- 
ness-like work  as  a  member  of  the  lower  house  of  the  legislative  body 
marked  him  for  higher  official  preferment,  and  in  1910,  after  a  spirited 
canvass,  he  was  elected  representative  of  the  first  senatorial  district  in  the 
state  senate,  of  which  he  is  now  an  active  and  valued  member.  He  has 
been  zealous  in  the  work  on  the  floor  of  the  senate  and  also  in  the  delib- 
erations of  the  committee  room.  He  has  found  assignment  to  various 
important  committees,  especially  those  on  taxation  and  finance,  in  which 
his  work  has  been  notably  valuable.  He  was  also  chairman  of  commit- 
tees on  humane  institutions  and  public  buildings  and  penitentiary. 

In  the  upbuilding  and  maintenance  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation in  Wheeling,  Senator  Hearne  has  contributed  liberally  of  time 
and  funds,  and  he  has  also  been  an  earnest  supporter  of  the  local  Anti- 
Tuberculosis  League  and  other  charitable  and  benevolent  enterprises  and 
institutions.  He  is  affiliated  with  both  the  York  and  Scottish  Rite  bodies 
of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  as  well  as  the  adjunct  organization,  the  Ancient 
Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  is  identified  with  the  Fort 
Henry  Club,  one  of  the  leading  organizations  of  his  native  city.  He  is  a 
communicant  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  which  his  wife  also  at- 
tends, and  is  active  and  influential  in  the  affairs  of  the  parish  of  St.  Mat- 
thew's Church,  of  whose  vestry  he  is  a  member. 

On  June  6,  1900,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Senator  Hearne  to 
Dr.  Lydia  Cromwell,  daughter  of  William  F.  Cromwell,  a  representative 
citizen  of  Bedford,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the  foundry 
business.  Senator  and  Mrs.  Hearne  have  one  son,  Julian  Green  Jr.,  born 
September  20,   1904. 


From  the  same  Irish  stock  as  formed  the  back- 
McCONAUGHEY  bone  of  many  early  American  communities  in 
Pennsylvania  and  other  colonies,  and  bore  so 
large  a  part  in  the  history  of  the  colonial  and  formative  periods,  is  Mr. 
W.  C.  McConaughey,  business  man  and  banker  of  Parkersburg.  While 
his  immediate  family  is  of  recent  American  origin,  earlier  settlers  of  the 
same  name  and  the  same  family  were  found  in  America.  Among  the 
signatures  appended  to  the  so-called  !\tecklenburg  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence was  that  of  a  Lieutenant  McConaughey :  he  was  a  relative,  but 
the  line  of  connection  is  lost.  A  cousin  of  the  immigrant  ancestor  of  the 
present  line,  also  named  Robert  McConaughey,  was  for  several  }-ears 
president  of  Washington  and  Jefferson  College,  Washington,  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

(I)   Robert  ^McConaughey,  the  founder  of  the  present  line,  was  born 
in  Belfast.  Ireland.     Coming  to  the  United  States  he  settled  in  Western 


534  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Pennsylvania.  Here  he  was  a  farmer,  and  he  held  the  office  of  justice  of 
the  peace.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat,  in  religion  a  Presbyterian.  He 
married,  in  Belfast,  Ireland,  Elizabeth  Lindsey.  Children:  David,  Eliza- 
beth. William,  of  whom  further ;  James. 

(II)  William,  son  of  Robert  and  Elizabeth  (Lindsey)  McConaughey, 
was  born  near  Wheeling,  Virginia,  September  5,  1817,  died  at  Parkers- 
burg,  West  Virginia,  October  10,  1899.  At  first  he  was  engaged  in  mer- 
cantile business.  When  oil  was  discovered  in  Wirt  county,  \'irginia,  he 
entered  into  the  production  of  oil.  Later  he  was  associated  in  partner- 
ship in  the  oil  business  with  John  Jones  and  Johnson  N.  Camden,  the  firm 
name  being  McConaughey,  Jones  &  Camden.  After  being  engaged  for  a 
number  of  years  in  active  oil  operations,  Mr.  McConaughey  retired  from 
business  and  he  lived  retired  at  Parkersburg  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
He  was  a  Democrat,  but  never  sought  political  office.  In  the  Presbyterian 
church  he  was  a  consistent  member,  and  for  many  years  he  was  an  elder. 
He  married,  at  West  .Alexander,  Pennsylvania,  May  19,  1842,  Margaret, 
born  near  West  Alexander,  July  30.  1824,  died  at  Parkersburg,  Decem- 
ber 24,  1904,  daughter  of  Alexander  and  Charity  (McLain)  Templeton. 
Alexander  Templeton  was  born  in  New  England,  yet  was  of  Scotch- 
Irish  extraction  ;  he  was  a  man  of  profound  learning  and  scholarship, 
and  by  liberal  endowment  was  one  of  the  founders  of  Washington  Col- 
lege, \^'ashington.  I'ennsylvania.  He  was  a  lifelong  member  and  an 
elder  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  His  wife  was  of  Scotch  parentage. 
Children  of  William  and  Margaret  (Templeton)  ]\IcConaughey :  New-  f 
ton  Templeton.  Mary  Elizabeth,  Samuel  McLain,  Caroline  Virginia,  i 
Alexander  Milton.  Clara  Ann,  William  Chester,  of  whom  further ;  Mar-  ' 
garet  Augusta. 

(III)  William  Chester,  son  of  William  and  Margaret  (Templeton)  ; 
McConaughey,  was  born  at  Cameron,  Marshall  county,  Virginia,  Febru- 
ary 14,  1862.  He  obtained  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
Parkersburg  and  later  in  the  high  school,  and  this  was  continued  without 
interruption,  partly  at  Parkersburg,  partly  at  Burning  Springs,  Wirt 
county.  West  Virginia,  until  the  fall  of  1879.  Then  he  entered  Washing- 
ton and  Jefferson  College,  Washington,  Pennsylvania,  from  which  he 
was  graduated,  receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  July  12,  1883. 
Immediately  after  his  graduation  he  was  associated  with  his  brothers  in 
the  timber  business  for  about  two  years.  In  July,  1885,  he  engaged  in  the 
mercantile  and  timber  business  and  continued  in  these  lines  until  July, 
1891,  at  which  time  he  disposed  of  his  interests  in  Wirt  county.  Then, 
having  purchased  an  interest,  he  assumed  the  management  of  the  Novelty 
Mills  at  Parkersburg  and  he  continued  thus  until  July,  1895.  He  then 
disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  mill,  and  in  the  following  December  he 
purchased  an  interest  in  a  wholesale  grocery  at  Parkersburg.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1902,  Mr.  McConaughey  bought  the  interest  of  one  of  his  partners 
and  reincorporated  the  business  under  the  name  of  The  Star  Grocer 
Company.  Under  his  management,  this  company  has  become  one  of  the 
largest  distributors  of  food  products  at  wholesale  in  Parkersburg.  Not 
only  in  his  particular  business  interest  has  Mr.  McConaughey  been  an  ac- 
tive worker,  but  he  is  an  earnest  believer  also  in  organized  effort  for  the 
purposes  of  learning  and  applying  the  most  approved  and  economical 
methods  in  handling  merchandise,  securing  just  and  fair  legislation  for 
the  protection  of  creditors,  obtaining  the  passage  and  enforcement  of 
pure  food  laws,  and  cvther  lines  of  endeavor  suitable  for  the  grocery  bus- 
iness. He  has  strongly  supported  the  pure  food  legislation  and  its  en- 
forcement. In  May,  1904,  he  was  elected  president  of  the  West  Vir- 
ginia Wholesale  Grocers'  Association,  an  organization  composed  of  the 
wholesale  grocers  of  the  state,  and  to  this  position  he  has  been  continu- 


WEST  MRGIXIA  535 

ously  re-elected,  so  that  he  is  serving  in  it  at  the  present  time.  In  July, 
igo5,  he  attended  a  meeting  of  wholesale  grocers  held  in  Milwaukee, 
\Visconsin,  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  The  National  Wholesale 
Gnicers'  Association  of  the  United  States.  When  the  organization  of 
this  association  was  completed  in  June.  1906,  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  board  of  directors:  in  1909  he  was  made  fifth  vice-president,  in 
igio  third  vice-president,  and  in  191 1  first  vice-president,  and  re-elected 
in  1913,  which  position  he  holds  at  the  present  time.  In  1908  he  was 
elected  one  of  the  vice-presidents  of  the  State  Board  of  Trade  of  West 
\'irginia,  a  non-political  organization  devoted  to  the  advancement  and 
promotion  of  the  financial,  economic  and  industrial  interests  of  the  state. 
In  1909  he  was  again  elected  to  this  office,  and  in  1910  he  was  elected 
president  of  the  same  organization.  Since  January,  1907,  Mr.  McCon- 
aughey  has  been  officially  connected  with  the  Wood  County  Bank,  of 
Parkersburg:  he  was  at  that  time  elected  a  member  of  its  board  of  di- 
rectors, and  since  1909  he  has  been  vice-president  of  this  bank.  In  col- 
1i,l;c  he  was  made  a  member  of  the  Phi  Gamma  Delta  fraternity.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Free  and  Accepted  ]\lasons,  of  the  Knights  Templar 
and  of  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  and  a 
thirtv-second  degree  Mason.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Blennerhassett 
Club,  at  Parkersburg.  ]Mr.  McConaughey  has  always  taken  an  active  in- 
terest in  civic,  state  and  national  affairs,  and  is  a  Democrat.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  West  Mrginia  legislature  from  Wirt  county  in  the  ses- 
siiin  of  1884-85.  Since  that  time  he  has  not  been  a  candidate  for  any 
I"ilitical  office.  Mr.  [McConaughey  is  a  member  of  the  Young  Men's 
(  ll^i■^tian  Association;  his  wife's  membership  is  in  the  Protestant  Epis- 
.■n]ial  church. 

He  married,  at  ^ileridian,  Mississippi,  July  2,  1902,  Emma  Melville, 
dauyhte!  of  George  B.  and  Caroline  (McKinley)  Neal,  who  was  born 
at  f'arkersburg.  Her  father  was  a  member  of  the  pioneer  Neal  family 
if  Parkersburg,  of  which  an  account  is  given  elsewhere  in  this  work. 
( ',vi  irge  B.  Neal  was  a  commission  merchant  at  Parkersburg.  Children 
"i  George  B.  and  Caroline  (McKinley)  Neal:  Eva  Green.  Anna  McKin- 
ky,  Bettie  Pennybacker,  Edward  Alartin.  Georgiana  Alildred,  Philip 
Ddddridge,  Emma  INIelville,  married  William  Chester  :\IcConaughey. 
Child  of  William  Chester  and  Emma  )ilelville  (Neal)  ^^IcConaughey : 
William  Chester,  born  July  13.   1904,  died  July   16.   1904. 


Although  the  ancestor  of  the  present  American  family 
TURNER     came  from  Scotland,  the  family  surname  is  English,  not 

Scotch.  The  name  is  the  name  of  an  occupation,  but  its 
occurrence  is  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  number  of  those  who  work  with 
lathes :  it  is  one  of  the  most  common  of  family  names. 

(I)  David  Turner,  the  founder  of  this  family,  came  from  Scotland 
to  America  in  1851,  bringing  his  wife.  Rose  (McLarty)  Turner.  Child, 
Duncan,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Duncan,  son  of  David  and  Rose  (]\IcLarty)  Turner,  was  born 
in  Argyleshire,  Scotland,  ]\Iarch  17,  1834.  He  came  with  his  parents  to 
America,  and  settled  on  a  farm  near  Barlow,  Washington  county,  Ohio. 
His  residence  is  now  in  Belpre.  Washington  county,  Ohio.  He  married 
Margaret,  born  in  Edinburgh.  Scotland,  October  8,  1836,  daughter  of 
John  and  Margaret  (Fleming)  McKay.  Her  father  and  mother  left 
Scotland  and  settled  in  Ohio  when  she  was  a  young  girl.  They  estab- 
lished their  home  in  Washington  county,  in  that  state,  near  where  Dun- 
can Turner  had  settled.  Duncan  Turner  and  ]\Iargaret  McKay  married 
in  Washington  county,  and  there  remained  until  1869,  in  which  year  they 


536  WEST  MRGIXIA 

removed  to  Blennerhassett  Island  wliere  the)'  resided  until  January,  1913, 
when  they  removed  to  Belpre  as  noted  above.  Children :  Duncan  Pendle- 
ton, of  whom  further ;  David  Fleming,  of  whom  further. 

(Ill)  Dr.  Duncan  Pendleton  Turner,  son  of  Duncan  and  Margaret 
(McKay)  Turner,  was  born  on  Blennerhassett  Island,  August  27,  1869. 
He  attended  the  common  schools  of  Wood  county,  West  \'irginia,  and  of 
Washington  county,  Ohio,  and  spent  a  year  as  a  student  at  Marietta  Col- 
lege. Later  he  began  the  study  of  dentistry,  and  in  the  fall  of  1894  he 
entered  the  Ohio  College  of  Dental  Surgery  at  Cincinnati.  Graduating 
from  this  institution  in  1897,  he  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Dental 
Surgery.  In  the  same  year  he  established  an  office  at  Parkersburg,  West 
Virginia,  and  has  practiced  there  from  that  time  with  marked  success.  He 
married,  in  1901,  Dollie,  daughter  of  Major  Jordan  ^IcKee,  of  Parkers- 
burg.    One  son,  Wallace  Turner,  born  September  8,  1902. 

(Ill)  David  Fleming,  son  of  Duncan  and  ^largaret  (McKay) 
Turner,  was  born  on  Blennerhassett  Island,  September  30,  187 1.  He 
attended  the  common  schools  of  Wood  county.  West  Virginia,  and  of 
Washington  county,  Ohio.  In  1901  he  graduated  from  Marietta  College 
and  in  1905  from  the  law  department  of  the  University  of  West  Virginia. 
He  was  admitted  the  same  year  to  the  bar  of  Wood  county,  and  is  now 
practicing  the  profession  of  law  in  that  county,  having  his  office  at 
Parkersburg.     Mr.  Turner  is  not  married. 


This  name   has   long  been,   in   all  probability,  the  name  of 
SMITH     most   frequent  occurrence  in  the  United   States.     It  would 

not  be  easy  to  find  any  extended  part  of  the  country  in 
which  it  does  not  surpass  all  others.  The  reason  for  this  great  fre- 
quency lies  in  the  origin  of  the  name.  As  an  English  word  it  is  the  gen- 
eral designation  of  a  trade,  or  from  the  standpoint  of  present  day  spec- 
ialization of  a  large  variety  of  trades,  and  in  any  community  not  purely 
agricultural,  smiths  form  a  necessary  element  in  the  population.  Thus 
the  name  is  of  frequent  occurrence  in  England,  and  has  been  brought  to 
America  by  many  immigrants  not  related  one  to  another.  Other  ele- 
ments beside  have  contributed  to  the  prevalence  of  this  name  in  America 
and  the  diversity  of  families  possessing  it  in  common.  In  earliest  col- 
onial days  there  were  Dutch  immigrants  named  Smit  or  Smitt,  whose 
descendants  are  now  Smiths.  There  have  also  been  German  immigrants 
founding  American  families  of  the  same  name,  and  of  this  last  element 
the  present  family  affords  an  illustration. 

(I)  Gustavus  E.  Smith,  the  founder  of  this  family,  was  born  at  Mar- 
bach,  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  in  1828,  died  at  Parkersburg,  West  Vir- 
ginia, October  21.  1903.  He  received  the  splendid  training  even  then 
given  in  the  public  schools  of  Germany,  and  in  his  native  country  also 
learned  the  trade  of  watchmaker  and  jeweler.  Receiving  a  thorough 
manual  and  mechanical  training,  he  became  a  fine  and  really  competent 
workman.  In  many  lines,  as  constant  observation  shows,  the  rapidity  of 
our  time  is  at  the  sacrifice  of  thoroughness,  and  too  often  men  of  the 
present  do  not  really  learn  the  trades  which  they  follow.  Air.  Smith  well 
represented  the  workman  of  the  time  when  to  learn  a  trade  was  really  to 
gain  a  special  education.  Beginning  to  study  this  trade  at  the  age  of 
fourteen,  he  was  a  master  in  his  field.  In  accordance  with  the  universal 
custom  of  Germany,  he  served  for  two  years  in  the  army.  Having  re- 
ceived an  honorable  discharge  on  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  duty,  in 
185 1  he  came  to  the  United  States,  believing  that  here  there  would  be 
more  adequate  opportunity  and  fuller  scope  for  the  exercise  of  his  talent 
and   skill  than  he  could  find  in  his  native  country.     First  he  came  to 


WEST  VIRGINIA  537 

Huntingdon,  Pennsylvania,  and  then  to  Wlieeling,  \'irginia,  where  he 
was  for  a  short  time  employed  in  the  well  known  jewelry  house  of  J. 
T.  Scott.  But  his  energy  and  ambition  were  not  satisfied.  It  was  in 
liim  to  rise  by  honest  dealing  and  fair  business  methods  to  a  high  place 
in  the  world  of  commerce,  with  the  respect  of  his  associates  and  the 
material  rewards  of  merit  also.  In  November,  1852,  he  came  to  Park- 
ersburg,  Virginia,  and  there  he  found  his  field.  For  the  remainder  of 
his  life  he  was  a  resident  of  this  city,  prominent  in  its  public  and  com- 
mercial affairs.  At  first  he  opened  a  small  store.  His  business  steadily 
increased,  and  he  moved  into  the  room  which  is  now  Peyton's  barber 
•shop.  In  1856  he  erected  his  own  building  on  Third  street ;  this  building 
is  now  occupied  by  the  Rex  Hardware  Company.  It  was  here  that  Air. 
Smith  established  securely  that  reputation  for  square  dealing  which  dis- 
tinguished him  and  came  to  be  permanently  associated  with  his  name 
and  place  of  business.  Nevertheless,  this  was  not  to  be  his  permanent 
place,  for  the  business  still  grew  and  in  1889  it  had  outgrown  its  quarters, 
and  it  was  clear  that  a  larger  and  more  commodious  home  for  what  had 
already  become  the  largest  business  of  the  kind  in  Parkersburg  must  be 
provided.  About  this  time,  therefore,  Air.  Smith  began  the  erection  of 
the  handsome  Smith  block,  on  Alarket  street,  and  in  July,  1890,  he  moved 
into  the  place  of  business  which  he  thereafter  occupied,  one  of  the  finest 
in  the  city  of  Parkersburg,  or  even  in  the  state  of  West  Virginia.  Not 
only  was  Mr.  Smith  the  founder  of  the  oldest  jewelry  establishment  in 
the  state,  but  he  could  point  to  many  proficient  jewelers  also,  whose  capa- 
bility was  largely  due  to  their  having  served  apprenticeships  under  the 
experienced  eye  and  skilled  direction  of  this  master  of  the  trade.  For 
more  than  fifty  years  Air.  Smith  was  active  in  business  and  public  affairs. 
He  was  a  stockholder  and  director  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Park- 
ersburg, and  a  stockholder  in  the  Electric  Light  and  Gas  Company  of 
the  same  city,  and  was  extensively  interested  in  real  estate.  In  October, 
189 1,  he  took  into  partnership  his  two  sons,  who  are  energetic  and  capa- 
ble business  men.  The  firm  name  of  G.  E.  Smith  &  Sons  was  adopted. 
Hermann  Smith  still  conducts  this  business,  under  the  name  of  G.  E, 
Smith's  Son,  Incorporated.  \MiiIe  not  inclined  to  devote  a  great  deal  of 
time  to  fraternal  associations,  he  was  deeply  interested  in  Alasonry.  hav- 
ing joined  that  organization  in  1855  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  was  one 
of  the  oldest  members  of  his  lodge.  In  the  time  of  the  civil  war.  Air. 
Smith  was  a  firm  upholder  of  the  Union.  He  was  interested  also  in  the 
formation  of  the  new  state,  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  held  at 
Wheeling  in  1861. 

He  married,  October  11.  1853,  Catherine  Oelldorf.  Nine  children 
were  born,  of  whom  eight  are  living :  Frank  Siegel,  of  whom  further : 
Hermann ;  six  daughters. 

(II)  Frank  Siegel,  son  of  Gustavus  E.  and  Catharine  (Oelldorf) 
Smith,  was  born  at  Parkersburg,  August  28,  1862.  He  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  city  and  the  John  C.  Nash  Academy,  and 
also  took  a  course  in  a  German  school.  In  1879  he  entered  his  father's 
employment  as  an  apprentice,  and  later  went  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  to  fin- 
ish learning  the  trade  of  jeweler's  engraver.  Upon  his  return  he  entered 
his  father's  store.  In  October,  1891,  he  was  taken  into  the  business  as 
a  partner,  and  he  continued  in  this  business  until  Alarch  i,  1907,  when 
he  sold  his  interest  to  his  brother,  Hermann  Smith.  Frank  Siegel  Smith 
is  largely  interested  in  real  estate  and  in  the  development  of  Parkersburg. 
He  is  interested  in  the  Parkersburg  Chair  Company,  and  is  a  director  of 
the  First  National  Bank.  In  1910  he  was  chosen  secretary  of  the  board 
of  commerce  of  Parkersburg,  was  elected  president  in  191 1  and  again  in 
1912.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Elks  Club,  No.  198,  and  president  of  the 


538  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Elks  Building  Company,  which  erected  the  Elks  Club  House.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and  of  the  Germania 
Singing  Society.  In  politics  ^Ir.  Smith  is  a  Republican.  When  Park- 
ersburg  adopted  a  new  form  of  local  government  in  1903,  he  was  elected 
president  Of  the  board  of  atifairs.  This  office  he  resigned  in  1907  to 
accept  the  postmastership,  and  from  that  time  he  has  been  postmaster  of 
Parkersburg,  having  been  reappointed  in  191 1. 

Frank  Siegel  Smith  married.  October  6,  1885,  Lena,  daughter  of 
Marcellus  and  Lucy  (Creel)  Clark.  Children:  Lucy,  Tuliette.  married 
John  D.  Hoblitzell. 


The  Hawley   family  is  of  English  origin,   four  brothers 
HAWLEY     of  the  name  emigrating  together  to  America  in  the  early 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  landing  at  Plymouth, 
Massachusetts. 

(I)  Peter  Hawley,  a  descendant  of  one  of  these  brothers,  was  a 
private  soldier  in  the  revolutionary  army,  and  received  a  grant  of  land 
for  bravery  at  the  battle  of  Brandywine.  He  died  at  the  age  of  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  years. 

(II)  William  H..  son  of  Peter  Hawley,  was  born  in  Connecticut 
near  Hartford,  and  removed  to  A'irginia  after  the  revolutionary  war. 

(III)  -Anderson  M.,  son  of  William  H.  Hawley,  was  born  in  Mont- 
gomery county,  Mrginia,  and  removed  to  Raleigh  county,  in  1847,  where 
he  resided  until  his  death,  aged  seventy-two  years.  He  was  a  school 
teacher  and  farmer. 

( I\')  Addison  V.,  son  of  .\nderson  M.  Hawley,  was  born  in  Mont- 
gomery county,  Virginia,  in  1846.  He  married  Mary  E.  Calloway,  and 
among  their  children  was  William  P.,  referred  to  below. 

(V)  William  P.,  son  of  Addison  U.  and  Mary  E.  (Calloway)  Haw- 
ley. was  born  near  Beckley,  Raleigh  county.  West  Virginia,  July  22, 
1868.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  and  gradu- 
ated from  the  Concord  State  Normal  School  at  Athens,  Mercer  county, 
West  Mrginia.  in  1889.  He  then  obtained  employment  in  the  railroad 
freight  offices  at  Bluefield,  West  A'irginia.  and  later  became  a  clerk  in  a 
mercantile  establishment.  In  May,  1892,  he  established  the  grocery  firm 
of  \^'.  P.  Hawley  &  Company  with  a  capital  of  five  hundred  dollars, 
which  by  his  activity  and  progressive  business  methods  he  has  developed 
into  one  of  the  largest  retail  stores  in  Mercer  county  under  the  title  of 
the  Hawley  Merchandise  Company,  and  of  which  he  is  now  the  president, 
and  which  is  estimated  as  carrying  a  stock  valued  at  forty  thousand  dol- 
lars and  as  doing  a  business  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  annually. 
]\Ir.  Hawley  is  also  the  secretary,  treasurer  and  general  manager  of  the 
Bluefield  Telephone  Company,  which  was  organized  in  1893  and  of  which 
he  assumed  control  in  September,  1896.  He  is  a  Baptist  in  religion,  and 
a  Republican  in  politics.  He  was  at  one  time  assessor  of  the  city  of  Blue- 
field,  and  was  also  recorder,  and  was  superintendent  of  schools  for  Mer- 
cer county  from  1893  to  1895.  He  was  sergeant  of  Bluefield  in  1896  and 
1897,  and  deputy  sheriff  from  1905  to  1909.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
city  council  from  1902  to  1910.  and  a  member  of  the  state  legislature  in 
1909,  and  re-elected  in  1912.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce and  chairman  of  the  committee  on  insurance  and  legislation.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  ]\lasonic  order.  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  the 
Eagles  and  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

He  married,  June  16,  1890,  Harriet  Lillian,  born  at  Spanishburg. 
Mercer  county.  West  \'irginia,  February  2-2.  1871.  daughter  of  J.  .A.  and 
.■\.  E.    (Ellison)    Karner.     Children:  Frederick  M..  born  June   16.   189 1  ; 


'n^i 


WEST  VIRGINIA  539 

Charles  Ray,  October  7,  1893:  James  A.,  February  22.  1895;  William  P., 
September  7,  1898;  Annie  Lillian,  September  22.  1900:  Pansy  Lucille. 
February  7,  1908:  Dorothy  May,  July  31,  191 1. 


The  Black  fords  are  an  ancient  Scottish  family  of 
BLACKFORD     Ayrshire.    They  were  Jacobites  and  like  many  others 

of  the  old  loyalist  Scottish  families  they  clung  to  the 
cause  of  the  Pretender  Prince  Charles  Edward  and  took  part  in  the  ris- 
ing of  the  clans  in  his  behalf  that  terminated  in  the  tragic  and  fatal  bat- 
tle of  Culloden  in  1746.  In  this  crushing  defeat  of  the  Highland  clans 
who  had  rallied  round  "Prince  Charley,"  Benjamin  Blackford  was  taken 
prisoner  and  with  a  large  number  of  other  officers  was  confined  for  a 
time  in  Warwick  Castle  and  then  banished,  coming  to  America.  While 
confined  to  Warwick  he  cut  his  name  so  deeply  on  the  stone  walls  of  his 
prison  that  among  the  many  there  inscribed  his  is  today  the  most  con- 
spicuous in  the  keep. 

(II)  JMartin  Anthony,  son  of  Benjamin  Blackford,  the  American 
progenitor  of  the  family,  was  born  in  Ayrshire,  Scotland,  in  1729.  He 
with  other  members  of  the  family  followed  his  father  to  America  and 
settled  in  New  Jersey  in  1755.  He  remained  loyal  to  the  Crown  during 
the  revolution  and  fled  to  Nova  Scotia,  where  he  died  in  1784.  He  mar- 
ried Mary  De  Ant  ( Amt)  of  New  Jersey,  a  niece  of  Major  De  Amt  (or 
Ant)  of  the  revolutionary  army.  Their  children  were:  Jacob,  Joseph, 
Susan,  Benjamin,  of  whom  further.  The  descendants  of  these  children 
settled  in  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  \'irginia,  Ohio  and  Indiana. 

(III)  Benjamin  (2),  son  of  Martin  Anthony  Blackford,  was  born 
October  3,  1767,  in  New  Jersey,  died  at  the  residence  of  his  son  William 
in  Lynchburg,  A'irginia,  August  15,  1855,  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight  years. 
He  joined  Washington's  army  on  its  southward  march  when  he  was  a 
boy  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  old  and  was  present  at  the  surrender  of 
Cornwallis  at  Yorktown  in  1781.  After  the  death  of  his  father  in  1784, 
he  was  adopted  by  '\\r.  Thomas  Thornburg,  of  Pennsylvania,  a  friend  of 
his  father's,  who  was  a  wealthy  iron  master.  At  the  age  of  seventeen 
he  entered  the  service  of  Mr.  Thornburg  as  clerk  at  Pinegrove  Furnace, 
Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  became  a  partner  before  he  was 
twenty-one.  After  Mr.  Thornburg's  death  he  became  the  owner  of  the 
Iron  Works,  Frederick  county.  ^laryland,  and  for  twelve  years  lived  in 
Maryland.  In  1812  he  purchased  and  settled  upon  a  large  tract  of  land 
in  Page  county,  A'irginia,  upon  which  the  town  of  Luray  now  stands,  and 
established  the  Isabella  Iron  Works,  named  after  his  wife,  and  also  the 
Caroline  Furnace,  named  after  the  wife  of  his  son.  Dr.  Thomas  T. 
Blackford.  He  amassed  a  large  fortune  which  was  lost  late  in  life  by 
indorsing  for  a  friend  and  connection,  together  with  the  financial  crisis 
of  1837  caused  by  Jackson's  removal  of  the  deposits  of  the  United  States 
Bank.  He  married  Isabella  Arthur,  of  Carlisle.  Pennsylvania,  who  was 
born  there  October  10.  1765,  died  in  Page  county.  January  10,  1837. 
Their  children  were :  Dr.  Thomas  Thornburg,  of  whom  further ;  Jane 
Aege,  William  Matthews,  John  Arthur.  ]\Iary  Martin. 

(IV)  Dr.  Thomas  Thornburg  Blackford,  son  of  Benjamin  (2)  and 
Isabella  (Arthur)  Blackford,  was  born  February  9.  1794.  at  Pinegrove 
Furnace.  Pennsylvania,  died  at  Lynchburg.  A'irginia.  February  28,  1863. 
He  was  educated  at  Dickinson  College  (Pennsylvania)  and  graduated  in 
medicine  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1816.  When  a  mere  lad 
he  served  in  the  war  of  1812.  and  was  present  at  the  bombardment  of 
Fort  McHenry.  and  his  widow  received  a  pension  from  the  United 
States  until  her  death  in  1888.     He  practiced  his  profession  for  a  num- 


540  WEST  \IR(;L\IA 

ber  of  years  in  Luray,  Page  countw  \'irginia,  and  was  also  a  partner  with 
bis  father  in  the  iron  business  until  the  business  crisis  of  1837  which 
ruined  both  his  father  and  he  financially.  In  1842  he  removed  to  Lynch- 
burg, X'irginia,  and  successfully  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession, 
continuing  until  his  death  in  1863.  He  married  Caroline,  daughter  of 
William  Steenbergen,  of  Mt.  Airy,  Shenandoah  county.  Virginia.  Their 
children  were:  Mary  Isabella,  Thomas,  Bettie,  John  Graham,  of  whom 
further;  Benjamin,  of  whom  further;  Beale  Steenbergen,  William  Hill, 
and  several  others  who  died  in  infancy. 

(V)  John  Graham,  son  of  Dr.  Thomas  Thornburg  and  Caroline 
(Steenbergen)  Blackforfl,  was  born  at  Mt.  Airy,  \''irginia,  November, 
1830.  He  came  to  Parkersburg,  Virginia,  in  1857.  He  was  engaged  in 
Parkersburg  in  the  forwarding  business  and  was  a  commission  merchant. 
He  also  had  a  large  wholesale  grocery  store  where  Shattuck  &  Jackson's 
store  is  now  located  on  Ann  street.  He  was  also  in  the  pork  packing 
business  in  Parkersburg.  He  served  for  a  time  in  the  city  council.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons.  He  married, 
July  2,  1861,  Mary,  daughter  of  Peter  G.  \'an  Winkle.  Their  children 
were :  Godwin  Lewis,  Benjamin  Rathbone,  of  whom  further ;  Juliette, 
married  H.  P.  Camden.     Mr.  Blackford  died  in  September,  1884. 

(V )  Dr,  Benjamin  (3)  Blackford,  son  of  Dr.  Thomas  Thornburg 
and  Caroline  (Steenbergen)  Blackford,  was  born  September  8,  1834,  in 
Luray,  Isabella  Furnace,  Page  county,  Virginia.  His  first  school  work 
was  done  at  Lynchburg,  where  also  he  was  prepared  for  college.  He  then 
entered  upon  the  study  of  medicine  at  the  University  of  Virginia,  and 
continued  it  at  the  Jefferson  Medical  College  in  Philadelphia,  from  which 
institution  he  was  graduated  in  1855.  after  which  he  was  appointed  resi- 
dent physician  of  the  Philadelphia  Hospital,  Blockley,  where  he  re- 
mained until  the  spring  of  1857.  He  then  settled  in  Lynchburg,  Virginia, 
and  practiced  his  profession  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  betw-een 
the  states.  In  1861  he  was  appointed  surgeon  in  the  Confederate  army 
and  was  ordered  to  Manassas  as  surgeon  of  the  Eleventh  Virginia  Regi- 
ment, the  first  body  of  troops  ordered  to  that  post.  He  was  detached 
from  his  regiment  lay  order  of  General  Beauregard  in  order  to  establish 
the  Military  Hospital  at  Culpeper  Court  House.  Afterwards,  under  the 
orders  of  (lieneral  Joe  Johnston,  he  established  the  General  Hospital  at 
Front  Royal  where  he  remained  as  surgeon-in-charge  until  the  spring  of 
1862  when  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  removed  to  the  Peninsula 
to  meet  McClellan's  army  advancing  on  Richmond.  He  was  then  ordered 
to  establish  a  general  hospital  in  Liberty,  Bedford  county,  Virginia,  where 
he  remained  as  surgeon-in-charge  until  General  Lee's  surrender  in  1865. 
After  the  war  he  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Lynchburg. 
He  was  president  of  the  Lynchburg  Medical  Association,  and  of  the 
State  Medical  Society,  and  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  medical 
journals.  In  April,  1889,  he  was  elected  superintendent  of  the  Western 
Lunatic  Asylum,  of  the  State  of  Virginia.  During  his  administration  he 
succeeded  in  having  the  name  changed  to  the  Western  State  Hospital  and 
in  carrying  out  many  other  improvements  in  the  institution,  increasing 
the  capacity  to  about  nine  hundred  beds.  He  married,  January  10,  1871, 
Mrs.  Emily  Byrd,  daughter  of  the  late  Robert  Neilson,  of  Baltimore. 
Their  children  were  :  Thomas  Atkinson,  Benjamin  Ogle,  Robert  Neilson, 
Charles  Minor. 

(VI)  Benjamin  Rathbone,  son  of  John  Graham  and  Mary  (Van  Win- 
kle) Blackford,  was  born  in  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia,  February  7, 
1864.  He  was  educated  at  the  public  schools  of  the  town  and  at  the 
Nash  School.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  helped  to  survey  the  Baltimore 
&  Ohio  railroad  south  of  Parkersburg.     In  1880  he  was  assistant  clerk  in 


S^^  <^  /^^^.^^ 


WEST  MRGIXIA  541 

the  old  Parkersbtirg  National  Bank,  where  he  ser\e(l  fuT  nine  years.  Irt 
1889  he  started  in  the  insurance  business  with  Charles  A.  Swearingen. 
He  later  sold  cut  and  engaged  in  business  for  himself.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Elks,  and  a  very  active  member  of  the  Parkersburg  Country- 
Club,  being  president  of  the  club.  Since  1884  he  lias  been  a  stockholder 
in  the  Peerless  Milling  Company,  and  is  a  director  of  the  Parkersburg 
Chair  Company. 


The  grandfather  of  Charles  Ellis  Bryan,  the  engineer  of 
BRYAN  Parkersburg,  was  William  Bryan.  \'ery  little  is  known  of 
of  him  but  that  he  left  a  son,  Henry. 

(H)  Dr.  Henry  Bryan,  son  of  William  Bryan,  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, October  24,  1824,  died  February  3,  1899.  He  practiced  medicine 
there  for  twenty-five  years.  He  married  (first)  Sarah  Murdoch,  and 
their  children  were:  George  M.,  Hatty,  Ora,  Alary  Ann,  Charles  Ellis. 
Sarah  (Murdoch)  Bryan  died  January  3,  1872.  He  married  (second) 
Eliza  Stockdale,  and  they  had  one  daughter  Ella. 

(HI)  Charles  Ellis,  son  of  Dr.  Henry  and  Sarah  (Murdoch)  Bryan, 
was  born  in  Washington  county,  Ohio,  January  7,  i860.  His  education 
was  received  at  the  public  and  high  schools  of  the  county,  and  after  leav- 
ing school  he  worked  for  a  time  on  his  father's  farm.  His  bent  had  al- 
ways been  towards  mechanical  and  engineering  work,  and  November  26, 
1877,  he  obtained  a  position  to  work  on  the  old  Marietta  Columbus  & 
Cleveland  railroad.  His  work  was  in  the  maintenance  of  way  engineer- 
ing department,  and  here  he  remained  for  four  years.  He  then  accepted 
a  position  with  the  Hocking  \'alley  railroad  in  the  engineering  depart- 
ment, and  in  this  place  he  remained  for  two  years  and  eight  months.  On 
November  18,  1883,  he  came  to  the  Ohio  River  railroad,  where  he  han- 
dled the  construction  work  until  June,  1887.  He  then  accepted  a  posi- 
tion with  the  McCathers  Brothers  Construction  Company,  remaining 
here  for  a  year,  when  he  was  offered  a  position  with  the  Lancaster  & 
Hamilton  railroad  as  the  superintendent  of  construction.  In  February, 
1891,  he  came  back  to  the  Ohio  River  railroad,  this  time  as  road  master. 
In  May,  1895,  he  was  promoted  to  be  the  superintendent  of  maintenance 
of  way  and  as  acting  chief  engineer.  He  was  responsible  for  the  building 
of  the  short  line  between  New  Martinsville  and  Clarksburg,  West  Vir- 
ginia. In  April,  1903,  he  was  promoted  to  be  the  superintendent  of  the 
Ohio  River  railroad,  and  in  this  position  he  has  continued  up  to  the 
present  time.  He  is  a  member  of  the  West  \lrginia  Board  of  Trade  and 
Board  of  Commerce  at  Huntington  and  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia.  He 
is  a  charter  member  of  the  Society  of  Engineers,  and  he  is  a  member  of 
the  Free  and  Accepted  Alasons,  No.  320.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  and  serves  it  as  president  of  the  board  of  trustees. 

Mr.  Bryan  married,  in  1881,  Alargaret  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Alex- 
ander and  Elizabeth  Galbraith.  Their  children  are :  Flora  Ellen,  born 
July  6,  1885.  married,  June  16.  1910,  Victor  Garritson :  \^^illiam  Ellis, 
December  13,  1887:  Bessie  Cora,  March  7,  1890:  Mary  Catherine,  May 
25,  1893;  George  Robinson,  November  30,  1895;  Charles  Henry,  March 
I,  1899:  James  Frederick,  June  3,  1903;  a  child  who  died  in  infancy. 


Charles  William   Link,   D.   D.    S.,   of   Alartinsburg,    Berkeley 
LINK     county.  West  \'irginia,  a  prominent  citizen  and  learling  den- 
tist of  the  city,  was  born  in  Duffields,  Jefferson  county.  West 
\'irginia,  February  6,   1868.     He  obtained  his  primary  education  in  the 
district  schools  of  the  countv,  and  later  attended  the  Charles  Town  Acad- 


542  WEST  VIRGINIA 

emy  of  Jefferson  county.  In  i8yo  he  matriculated  at  the  West  X'irginia 
State  University,  and  there  began  the  study  of  medicine,  graduating  with 
distinction  in  1892.  He  entered  the  University  of  Maryland,  and  grad- 
uated therefrom  in  1895  as  a  Doctor  of  Dental  Surgery.  Immediately 
after  his  graduation  he  moved  to  Martinsburg  and  began  the  practice  of 
his  profession.  In  a  remarkably  short  period  of  time  he  established  a 
lucrative  practice,  which  is  constantly  .growing.  He  has  kept  abreast  of 
his  profession,  always  striving  to  perfect  and  add  to  his  knowledge  of 
his  chosen  calling,  and  by  so  doing  he  has  gained  the  confidence  of  the 
community  with  which  he  cast  his  lot  on  leaving  college,  and  is  regarded 
as  an  earnest,  conscientious  and  able  man.  He  is  by  inheritance  and  con- 
viction a  Democrat,  taking  a  keen  and  positive  interest  in  politics,  but  he 
has  neve:  sought  nor  held  office.  At  college  he  was  identified  with  vari- 
ous clubs  and  organizations  and  still  retains  his  membership  in  them. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  and  is  a  regular  attendant. 

He  married,  in  11903,  in  Martinsburg,  Margharetla,  daughter  of  John 
Joshua  and  Anna  (BarndoUar)  Hetzel,  of  Martinsburg.  Children:  Win- 
ifred A.  and  Elizabeth  T- 


This  family  is  of  Scottish  origin,  and  through  its  present 
CLOHAN     descendant.   Mr.   Alexander   Clohan,   has   become   one   of 

the  best  known  in  the  state  of  West  Virginia. 
The  first  member  of  the  family  to  come  to  America  was  William 
Clohan,  a  coal  miner  of  Scotland,  who  came  to  Preston  county,  Virginia, 
in  1849,  where  he  followed  the  calling  of  a  farmer  for  five  years.  He 
then  removed  to  Ohio  county,  of  this  state,  where  he  established  himself 
for  a  time  as  a  coal  operator.  He  became  successful  in  his  undertakings, 
and  attained  a  prominent  position  in  the  community.  He  was  for  many 
years  justice  of  the  peace  in  Webster  District  of  Ohio  county,  and  was 
president  of  the  board  of  registration  at  Wheeling  during  the  civil  war, 
being  prominent  in  all  movements  to  sustain  the  Union  cause.  He  was 
a  distinguished  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  being  a  member  of 
Ohio  Lodge,  No.  i.  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  Wheeling  Un- 
ion Chapter,  No.  2,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  Wheeling  Commandery,  No.  i, 
Knights  Templar ;  Knights  of  Pythias,  past  chancellor  in  that  order.  His 
religious  connection  was  with  the  Presbyterian  church,  of  which  he  was 
a  consistent  member.  His  death  occurred  in  Wheeling  in  1873,  and  his 
wife,  who  was  Agnes  .Anderson,  of  Scotland,  survived  him,  dying  also  in 
Wheeling  in  1894.  She  was  a  sister  of  the  Rev.  William  Anderson,  of 
Old  Calabar,  Africa,  who  served  fifty  years  as  a  missionary.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Clohan  had  children:  i.  William,  who  was  among  the  first  to 
answer  to  President  Lincoln's  first  call  for  troons.  enlisting  in  Company 
B,  First  Virginia  Loyal  Regiment ;  they  were  three  months'  men  under 
Colonel  B.  F.  Kelly,  and  after  serving  his  time  Mr.  Clohan  re-enlisted, 
this  time  becoming  a  member  of  Company  G,  First  Virginia  Regiment, 
under  Colonel  Joseph  Thoburn,  was  promoted  and  transferred  to  Com- 
pany K,  as  first  sergeant,  where  at  the  head  of  his  company  he  fell  at 
Kernstown,  near  Winchester,  Sunday,  March  23,  1862 ;  his  body  was 
sent  back  to  Wheeling,  where  he  was  buried  with  military  and  civic 
honors,  his  remains  being  escorted  to  the  grave  by  the  Masons  and  the 
Odd  Fellows ;  he  was  the  first  of  Wheeling's  soldier  boys  who  sealed  his 
devotion  to  his  country  with  his  blood.  2.  Lewis,  who  is  in  the  grocery 
business  at  Wheeling.  3.  Elizabeth,  who  became  the  wife  of  Williarn 
Erskine,  a  lawyer  of  Glendale,  West  Virginia.  4.  Agnes,  of  Martins- 
burg, Berkeley  county,  West  Virginia.  5.  IMargaret,  also  of  Martins- 
burg.    6.  Alexander,  see  forward. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  543 

(II)  Alexander,  son  of  William  and  Agnes  (Anderson)  Clohan,  was 
born  at  HoUytown,  Scotland,  April  8,  1846.  He  came  with  his  parents 
to  Preston  county,  Virginia,  when  he  was  three  years  of  age,  and  attended 
the  public  schools  until  he  was  ten  years  old.  He  then  engaged  in  the 
coal  business  with  his  father  for  a  while,  subsequently  entering  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Labelle  Iron  Works  as  a  puddler.  He  remained  with  them 
for  ten  years,  then  secured  a  similar  position  with  the  Bellaire  Iron 
Works,  where  he  remained  for  five  years.  At  the  expiration  of  this  time, 
in  1878,  he  came  to  Berkeley  county,  West  Virginia,  and  purchased  a 
farm  in  the  Gerrardstown  district,  where  he  became  an  agriculturist.  In 
the  year  1906  he  organized  the  Highland  Orchard  Company,  of  which 
he  is  president,  and  has  become  a  most  successful  apple  grower  and  a 
man  of  great  prominence  in  his  section  of  the  country.  The  Highland 
Orchard  Company  has  two  thousand  acres  of  orchard  lands,  three  hun- 
dred of  which  acreage  is  planted  in  apple  trees  which  are  now  six  years 
old.  The  Hart  Clohan  Company  is  another  of  the  large  enterprises  with 
which  he  is  connected,  and  of  this  he  is  also  the  president.  He  is  also 
president  of  the  Gold  Orchard  Company,  with  a  hundred  and  forty  acres 
of  bearing  trees,  and  is  a  large  stockholder  in  the  Tomahawk,  Cherry 
Run  and  Cherry  Hill  Orchard  companies.  In  1899  he  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  West  Virginia  State  Horticultural  Society,  holding  this  office 
for  a  period  of  nine  years.  He  is  also  president  of  the  Berkeley  County 
Horticultural  Society  and  has  been  since  its  organization.  Governor 
McCorkle  appointed  j\lr.  Clohan  as  the  Republican  member  of  the  state 
board  of  agriculture,  1895.  and  he  has  been  a  member  since  its  organiza- 
tion of  the  Eastern  Fruit  Growers"  xAssociation,  having  twice  been  a 
delegate  to  that  body.  Since  the  year  1888  he  has  been  a  delegate  to  all 
the  Republican  state  conventions,  was  chairman  of  the  Republican  exec- 
utive committee  from  1891  to  1897  and  during  this  period  the  Republi- 
cans carried  every  election.  In  1893  he  was  appointed  deputy  sheriff  of 
Berkeley  county,  and  in  1898  was  appointed  by  President  McKinley  as 
postmaster  of  Martinsburg.  was  twice  re-commissioned  by  President 
Roosevelt,  serving  altogether  for  a  period  of  twelve  years.  Mr.  Clohan 
is  also  in  high  standing  in  the  Masonic  fraternity,  being  a  member  of 
Robert  White  Lodge,  No.  67,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons :  Lebanon 
Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  of  which  he  is  the  high  priest  at  the  present 
time :  Palestine  Commandery,  Knights  Templar ;  Osiris  Temple,  Ancient 
Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  is  a  prominent  member 
of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  an  earnest  worker  in  the  interests  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  As  a  director  in  the  People's 
Trust  Company  of  Martinsburg,  he  has  become  very  influential  in  busi- 
ness circles,  and  is  now  one  of  the  best  known  men  in  the  state  of  West 
\'irginia. 

Mr.  Clohan  married,  1872,  Celia,  daughter  of  Enos  R.  Crouch,  of 
Wheeling,  by  whom  he  had  children :  William  E.,  who  was  killed  by 
a  runaway  team  when  a  young  man ;  Herbert  E.,  a  farmer,  now  deceased ; 
Robert  A.,  a  clerk  in  the  Martinsburg  postoffice ;  Louis  G.,  a  farmer  in 
Berkeley  county:  Lucy,  married  W.  S.  Kline,  of  Martinsburg;  Bessie, 
married  Prince  Dunn,  of  Martinsburg;  Archie  and  Elsie,  at  home. 


William    Henry    Somers,    vice-president    of   the    Bank    of 
SOMERS     Morgan  County,  and  a  leading  representative  of  the  finan- 
cial interests  of  Berkeley  Springs,  has  also  been  for  many 
years  prominent  in  political  circles  and  is  at  present  serving  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  second  congressional  committee.     Mr.   Somers  belongs  to  a 
family  which  has  been  for  several  generations  resident  in  Maryland. 


544  WEST  VIRGINIA 

(I)  John  Somers,  grandfather  of  WilHani  Henry  Somers,  was  born 
in  the  Old  Line  State,  where  his  father,  who  was  a  native  of  England, 
had  settled  on  coming  to  this  country.  John  Somers  was  an  iron  forger, 
transmuting  pig  iron  into  a  merchantable  article.  In  politics  he  was  a 
Democrat,  but  never  held  office.  He  married  Mary  Leatherman,  and 
their  children  were:  i.  John  Frederick,  mentioned  below.  2.  John,  of 
Arkansas,  married  Sarah  VViddell.  3.  Elias,  of  Wilson  county,  Kansas, 
married  Airs.  Mary  Shawl.  4.  Hezekiah,  died  young.  5.  Jacob, 
deceased.  6.  Aaron,  lives  near  Pendleton,  Indiana,  married  Sarah 
Michael  and  has  six  or  seven  children.  7.  Christopher,  also  lives  near 
Pendleton.  8.  Sarah,  married  Henry  PofT,  and  lives  near  Pendleton.  9. 
Caroline,  deceased,  married  Cornelius  Douple.  also  deceased.  10.  Cassie, 
married  Thomas  Cline,  of  Ellerton,  Maryland.  The  father  of  these  chil- 
dren died  in  Ellerton,  where  he  had  passed  his  life,  at  the  comparatively 
early  age  of  fifty-five.  His  widow  survived  him  many  years,  passing 
away  near  Pendleton,  Indiana,  in  her  ninety-eight  year. 

(II)  Dr.  John  Frederick  Somers.  eldest  child  of  John  and  Mary 
(Leatherman)  Somers,  was  born  in  1825,  in  Maryland.  He  passed  his 
boyhood  at  Ellerton,  attending  the  district  schools  of  F'rederick  county. 
He  was  a  physician,  practising  his  profession  fifty-five  years.  In  early 
life  his  political  affiliations  were  with  the  Whigs  and  later  with  the  Re- 
publicans, but  he  never  held  public  office,  preferring  to  concentrate  his 
energies  on  his  professional  duties.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Lutheran 
church  to  which  both  his  parents  had  belonged.  Dr.  Somers  married 
Catherine,  born  in  Wolfeville,  Frederick  county,  Maryland,  daughter 
of  William  and  Catherine  ( Westinghouse)  Smith.  Air.  Smith  was  a 
schoolmaster  in  W'olfeville,  where  he  died.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Somers  were 
the  parents  of  the  following  children:  i.  Martin  Luther,  physician  of 
Altoona,  Kansas,  married  and  has  two  children.  2.  Amos  Newton,  L^ni- 
tarian  minister  in  Boston,  Massachusetts:  married  Mabel  Woodward; 
no  children.  3.  Effie  J.  4.  Ira  Clinton,  married  Lily  Rider  and  has  three 
children.  5.  William  Henry,  mentioned  below.  6.  John  Clem,  contractor 
and  carpenter  of  Berkeley  Springs ;  married  Susan  Tritapo  and  has 
three  children.  Dr.  Somers  died  in  1897,  at  Berkeley  Springs,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-two,  and  his  wife  passed  away  in  the  same  place,  being 
then  about  seventy-six. 

(III)  William  Henry,  fifth  child  and  fourth  son  of  John  Frederick 
and  Catherine  (Smith)  Somers,  was  born  July  20,  i860,  at  Ellerton, 
Frederick  county,  Alaryland.  He  spent  his  early  years  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Alfont,  Indiana,  where  he  received  his  education  in  the  public 
schools.  His  first  employment  was  in  that  state,  with  a  coach  and  car 
building  company,  and  on  leaving  them  he  came  to  West  Virginia  and 
settled  at  Berkeley  Springs  where  he  opened  an  implement  business  which 
he  conducted  for  about  ten  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  was 
appointed  postmaster  of  Berkeley  Springs,  serving  under  Presidents  Mc- 
Kinley  and  Roosevelt,  in  all,  a  period  of  ten  years.  He  then  went  into 
the  timber  land  and  fruit  growing  business,  and  in  the  latter  he  is  at 
present  engaged,  having  an  extensive  and  constantly  increasing  trade. 
Mr.  Somers  is  an  ardent  advocate  of  the  principles  of  the  Republican 
party,  and  has  been  for  many  years  a  prominent  factor  in  the  political 
life  of  Berkeley  Springs.  He  was  appointed  assistant  sergeant-at-arms 
at  Republican  national  convention  at  Chicago.  1908,  and  was  elected  a 
delegate  to  Republican  national  convention  in  1912.  For  twelve  years  he 
served  as  president  of  the  board  of  education  of  this  district,  and  for 
sixteen  years  was  a  member  of  the  state  executive  committee.  For  eight 
years  he  was  county  chairman  and  for  the  same  length  of  time  served  as 
advisory  member  of  the  national  committee.     He  is  vice-president  and 


WEST  \IRGIXIA  545 

also  a  director  of  the  Bank  of  Morgan  county,  having  held  these  posi- 
tions since  the  organization  of  the  institution  about  ten  years  ago.  He 
is  also  a  stockholder  and  general  manager  of  the  Cherry  Run  Orchard 
Company,  besides  having  various  other  interests  in  companies  of  this 
class.  He  affiliates  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  having 
filled  every  chair  in  the  order.  Throughout  his  career  Mr.  Somers  has 
acted  the  part  of  an  enterprising  and  honorable  business  man  whose  suc- 
cess has  contributed  to  the  prosperity  of  the  community,  and  of  a  public- 
spirited  citizen  who  has  faithfully  fulfilled  the  obligations  imposed  upon 
him  by  the  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility  in  which  he  has  been 
placed  by  the  votes  of  his  fellow  townsmen. 

Mr.  Somers  married,  February  22,  1880,  Mary  Ann  Rider,  born  in 
Ridersville,  Morgan  county,  A'irginia,  daughter  of  Edward  Rider,  born 
near  JMechanicstown,  Frederick  county,  Alaryland,  who  followed  the 
trade  of  a  blacksmith.  He  married  Phoebe  Rockwell,  who  was  born  at 
Ridersville,  A'irginia,  and  of  their  eight  children  the  following  are  living: 
I.  Isabel,  married  William  Hovermale,  lives  near  Ridersville  and  has  six 
or  seven  children.  2.  Charles  T.,  of  Hancock,  Maryland,  married  Fanny 
Long  and  has  four  children.  3.  Mary  Ann,  mentioned  above.  4.  Mar- 
garet, married  Jacob  Rupenthal,  lives  near  Berkeley  Springs  and  has 
five  children.  5.  Lilly,  married  Ira  Somers,  of  Chanute,  Kansas,  and 
has  three  children.  6.  Edward  E..  of  Ridersville.  married  Sarah  Butts 
and  has  four  children.  The  father  of  this  family,  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  was  about  seventy  years  of  age,  and  the  mother  is  still  living  at 
Berkeley  Springs,  West  Virginia.  Children  of  Mr,  and  Mrs.  Somers, 
the  two  elder  of  whom  were  born  in  Luray,  Virginia,  and  the  two 
younger  in  Berkeley  Springs:  i.  A-'ernon  Conrad,  of  Berkley  Springs, 
married  Daisy  Cross :  two  children :  one  died  in  infancy,  and  Donald 
Benton.    2.  Mabel  Lorraine.     3.  Marvin  Witmar.     4.  Ethel  Mae. 


John  Imboden,  the  first  member  of  this  family  of  whom 

IMBODEN     we  have  any  definite  information,  was  born  in  Lebanon 

county,   Pennsylvania,  in    1760.     He  settled  in    1795   at 

"The  old  Christian  Fork,"  on  Christian  creek,  \'irginia,  and  died  there. 

(II)  George,  son  of  John  Imboden,  was  born  in  Lebanon  county, 
Pennsylvania,  December  25,  1793,  died  near  Alton,  Virginia,  February 
I,  1874.  He  was  a  farmer.  He  married  Isabella,  daughter  of  Daniel 
and  Susan  W^ondeflich ;  born  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  died  in 
Virginia.  Children  :  i.  Benjamin  F.,  killed  during  the  Mexican  war  and 
buried  at  Buena  \'ista,  Mexico.  2.  Jacob  P.,  served  in  the  Confederate 
army.  3.  George  W..  referred  to  below.  4.  John  Daniel,  served  in  the 
civil  war  and  attained  the  rank  of  brigadier-general,  and  for  whom  Im- 
boden's  Battery  of  Artillery  was  named.  5.  Captain  Frank  M.,  born  Feb- 
ruary 18,  1841  ;  now  living  near  Bristol,  \^irginia.  6.  James  A.,  born 
September  15,  1845:  now  living  in  Washington  county,  Virginia.  The 
last  two  named  also  served  in  the  Confederate  army. 

(III)  George  W.,  son  of  George  and  Isabella  (Wondetlich)  Imbo- 
den, was  born  on  Christian  creek,  Augusta  county,  Virginia,  June  25. 
1836,  and  is  now  living  in  Ansted.  West  Virginia.  He  received  "his  early 
education  in  the  public  schools,  and  was  for  two  terms  a  student  at  the 
Staunton  Academy.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  took  up  the  study 
of  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1858,  and  then  began  the  active 
practice  of  his  profession  in  Staunton,  Augusta  county,  A'irginia,  ii. 
which  he  continued  until  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war.  On  April  17. 
186 1,  he  enlisted  in  the  Staunton  Artillery,  which  was  later  re-named 
"Imboden's  Battery"  in  honor  of  his  brother,  John  Daniel  Imboden,  the 

35 


546  WEST  VIRGINIA 

captain,  and  served  until  the  reorganization  in  1862,  when  he  organized    j 
Company  A,  First  Regiment  Virginia  Partisan  Rangers ;  was  then  elected    i 
major  of  Sixty-second  \'irginia  Infantry;  December  15,  1862,  was  elected    ' 
colonel  of  Eighteenth  Virginia  Cavalry  and  commanded  same  until  after    | 
the  battle  of  Gordonsville,  December  23,  1864,  in  which  he  was  severely    I; 
wounded  and  incapacitated  for  further  service.     He  returned  to  his  home    ji 
in  Staunton.     In  August,   1870,  he  settled  in  Fayette  county,  West  Vir-    {; 
ginia,  and  was  instrumental  in  locating  the  coal  works  and  the  town  of    [ 
Ansted.     He  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession,  in  which  occupation 
he  continued  until   1906,  when  he  retired  from  active  business  pursuits,    j 
In   1877  he  was  elected  to  the  state  legislature  for  a  term,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  county  court  from   1881   to   1885,  during  which  time  he 
was  the  president  of  that  body,  and  when  the  town  of  Ansted  was  in- 
corporated in  189 1  he  was  elected  its  first  mayor.     He  is  a  Democrat  in 
politics,  and  a  Presbyterian  in  religion,  and  since  1867  has  been  an  elder 
in  that  church. 

He  married  (first)  December  4,  1859,  Mary  F.,  daughter  of  Colonel 
William  Tyree,  of  Fayette  county.  He  married  (second)  December  8, 
1889,  Angia  Mildred,  daughter  of  Colonel  Hudson  Dickinson,  now  living 
in  Ansted.     One  child  by  second  marriage  died  in  infancy. 


This  common  Welsh  name,  derived  from  the  name  David, 
DAVIS     common  use  in  Wales  as  a  Christian  name,  has  been  brought    i 

by  a  great  number  of  immigrants  to  America,  and  is  there-    | 
fore  the  surname  of  a  large  number  of  quite  distinct  American  families, 
found  in  all  parts  of  the  country.    The  present  family  is  of  Welsh  origin, 
William  Davis  settling  at  Jersey  City,  and  during  the  Revolutionary  war 
was  a  member  of  the  staff  of  General  George  Washington. 

(II)  Thomas  Engle  Davis  was  born  in  Doddridge  county,  Virginia, 
July  II,  1846,  died  at  Harrisville,  Ritchie  county,  West  Virginia,  Febru- 
ary 15,  19CH5.  His  father,  Thomas  Neely  Davis,  died  before  his  birth, 
and  he  was  brought  up  by  his  mother,  Amelia  (Zinn)  Davis.  When  he 
was  about  twelve  years  old,  she  came  to  Harrisville  and  married  (second) 
Eli  Heaton,  of  that  place.  Having  received  an  education  in  the  common 
schools,  Mr.  Davis  became  the  first  teacher  in  Ritchie  county  un- 
der the  free  school  system.  When  he  was  only  eighteen  years  old,  he  was 
appointed  deputy  sheriff  and  deputy  clerk  of  the  county  and  circuit 
courts.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  state  militia.  At  Washington  and 
Jefferson  College,  Washington,  Pennsylvania,  he  was  able  to  take  higher 
studies  for  three  years,  and  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1869,  soon  be- 
ginning to  practice  at  Harrisville.  For  two  terms  he  served  as  prosecut- 
ing attorney,  and  was  a  member  of  the  house  of  delegates  of  West  \'ir- 
ginia,  1883-84.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons. Thomas  Engle  Davis  married,  December  24,  1869,  Alethea  Anna, 
daughter  of  Enoch  B.  and  Sarah  (Athey)  Leggett.  Children:  i.  Wini- 
fred, married  September  10,  1890,  Homer  Boughner  Woods  (see  sketch 
in  this  work).  2.  Juniata,  married,  June  23,  1892,  Rev.  Wheeler  Bog- 
gess  ;  they  have  been  for  several  years  missionaries  in  Southern  India. 
3.  Thomas  Jeffrey,  of  whom  further.    4.  Dada,  died  in  infancy. 

(III)  Thomas  Jeffrey,  son  of  Thomas  Engle  and  Alethea  Anna  (Leg- 
gett) Davis,  was  born  at  Harrisville.  West  \'irginia,  March  19,  1879.  He 
attended  the  public  schools  of  Harrisville  until  ten  years  of  age  when  hi.s 
parents  removed  to  Washington  City,  District  of  Columbia,  where  he 
received  his  common  school  education  in  the  public  schools.  In  1897 
he  completed  a  business  course  and  graduated  from  Wood's  Commercial 
College  of  Washington,  D.  C,  receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Ac- 


/    6^-r^    ,\(^.  /sjV^^V-C></ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  547 

counts.  He  then  attended  the  West  Virginia  University  at  ]\Iorgan- 
town.  West  \'irginia,  and  graduated  therefrom  in  June,  1899,  receiving 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  Desiring  further  legal  training  he  then 
went  to  Columbian  University  at  Washington,  D.  C.  graduating  ^lay  31, 
1900,  with  the  degree  of  Master  of  Laws.  In  the  same  year  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  and  began  his  practice  of  law  at  Harrisville.  In  1901 
he  was  private  secretary  of  the  president  of  the  senate  of  West  Virginia. 
On  November  5,  1912,  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  Ritchie 
county  on  the  Republican  and  Progressive  tickets  by  a  large  majority  and 
received  more  votes  than  any  other  candidate  for  any  office  on  the  dilTer- 
ent  tickets.  He  was  appointed  commissioner  of  school  lands  of  Ritchie 
county,  serving  four  years  until  his  election  as  prosecuting  attorney ;  is 
now  master  commissioner  in  chancery  of  the  circuit  court  and  commis- 
sioner of  accounts  of  the  county  court,  and  on  divers  occasions  has  been 
chosen  and  served  as  special  judge  of  the  circuit  court ;  has  been  trustee 
in  bankruptcy  of  a  number  of  cases  involving  estates  of  large  magnitude 
and  has  succeeded  in  building  up  a  lucrative  practice  in  the  several  courts. 
He  was  partially  instrumental  in  organizing  the  Ritchie  County  Bar 
Association  and  is  now  its  vice-president.  He  is  a  member  and  past  mas- 
ter of  Harrisville  Lodge,  No.  98,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons ; 
member  of  Odell  S.  Long  Chapter.  No.  25,  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  past 
eminent  commander  of  Pennsboro  Commandery,  No.  20,  Knights  Tem- 
plar; member  of  Nemesis  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine  of  North  America ;  past  worthy  patron  of  Harrisville 
Chapter,  No.  29,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  and  is  also  a  member 
of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  the  World.  Mr.  Davis  is  a  member  of  the 
Baptist  church,  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  at  Harrisville,  and 
secretarv  and  treasurer  of  the  Ritchie  County  Sunday  School  Association. 


This  name  is  not  of  great  frequency  of  occurrence, 
HENDERSON     yet  is   well   known   in   various   parts  of   the   United 

States.  Dr.  Octavius  Jennings  Henderson,  of  Mont- 
gomery, West  Virginia,  is  of  Irish  descent,  the  immigrant  ancestor  hav- 
ing settled  in  this  country  soon  after  the  beginning  of  its  national  life. 

(I)  William  Henderson,  the  founder  of  this  family,  was  born  in 
Dublin,  Ireland,  in  1778.  In  1799  he  came  to  the  Ignited  States  of  Amer- 
ica, and  he  made  settlement  in  Mrginia.  There  he  was  a  planter.  In 
the  war  of  1812  he  served  his  adopted  country  as  a  colonel  of  militia.  He 
married,  in  Virginia,  in  1805,  Elizabeth  Newton,  born  in  Westmoreland 
county,  Virginia,  in  1786.  Children:  William,  George,  Robert,  Andrew 
Jackson,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Dr.  Andrew  Jackson  Henderson,  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth 
(Newton)  Henderson,  was  born  December  24,  1828,  died  at  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  1894.  He  was  a  physician.  In  the  civil  war  he  was  a  Confed- 
erate soldier.  His  political  principles  were  those  of  the  Democratic 
party,  and  his  church  was  the  Baptist.  He  married,  in  Virginia,  in  185 1, 
Mary  Elizabeth,  born  January  7,  1833,  daughter  of  Captain  Dandridge 
and  Elizabeth  (Chewning)  Cox.  Children:  Hilary  Emma,  born  April 
II,  1855;  Robert.  September  11,  1859;  Octavius  Jennings,  of  whom 
further. 

(III)  Dr.  Octavius  Jennings  Henderson,  son  of  Dr.  Andrew  Jack- 
son and  Mary  Elizabeth  (Cox)  Henderson,  was  born  at  Heathsville, 
Virginia,  January  20,  1864.  His  education  was  begim  in  the  public 
schools,  and  prosecuted  at  Locust  Dale  Academy.  In  1889  ^^  graduated 
from  the  Medical  College  of  \^irginia.  Since  the  time  of  his  graduation. 
Dr.  Henderson  has  been  steadily  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  and 


548  WEST  VIRGINIA 

surgery,  and  since  February  15,  1894,  he  has  also  conducted  a  drug  stoi| 
at  Montgomery,  Fayette  county,  West  \'irginia,  where  he  makes  h  1 
home.  Dr.  Henderson  has  thus  been  engaged  for  about  twenty  years  i| 
professional  practice,  remaining  in  one  place,  and  has  a  large  clientage  ;■ 
and  about  Montgomery.  He  is  active  also  in  the  commercial  life  of  h;' 
community,  and  is  the  chairman  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Monii 
gomery  National  Bank.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Free  and  Accepte| 
Masons  and  of  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the  IVIystic  Shrine' 
also  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  of  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Meij 
Dr.  Henderson  is  not,  however,  active  in  politics.  He  is  a  member  oj 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  church.  Dr.  Henderson  married,  in  Washing; 
ton,  D.  C,  December  2,  1896,  Lucy  Isabelle,  born  at  Heathsville,  Virginij; 
March  9,  1871,  daughter  of  Mottram  Ball  and  Fannie  Ann  (Campbell 
Cralle.  Her  father,  son  of  Jefferson  Ball  and  Alpha  (Kenna)  Cr.ill< 
was  a  merchant,  and  the  clerk  of  his  county.  Child  of  Dr.  and  Mi; 
Henderson:  Jennings  Cralle,  born  September  21,   1898. 


The  Colemans  of  West  \"irginia  were  of  those  sturd  j 
COLEMAN     pioneers  to  whom  the   \'irginians  owe  so   much.     Th! 

progenitor,  Malcolm  Coleman,  is  recorded  as  havin!, 
done  garrison  duty  in  the  early  days  at  Fort  Pitt,  Wheeling,  Mariett;; 
and  Belleville.  At  that  time  the  battle  for  the  possession  of  the  Ohiil 
valley  was  being  fought  out  between  the  red  men  and  the  white  settlersj 
Many  are  the  tales  that  have  come  down  to  us  of  undaunted  courage  anc 
of  thrilling  adventure  on  the  part  of  the  settlers,  and  of  brutal  atrocitie; 
inflicted  upon  them  by  the  savages.  The  early  pioneers  of  the  Colemai' 
name  played  their  parts  in  this  thrilling  drama,  and  have  left  to  thei' 
posterity  a  heritage  rich  in  romantic  achievement,  and  appealing  to  thij 
imagination  in  their  heroic  struggle  against  the  relentless  savages  wh(' 
continued  to  wage  war  against  the  white  men  in  the  Ohio  valley  until 
Wayne's  treaty  with  the  Indians  in  1795  put  an  end  to  the  struggle.  Thi] 
following  is  one  of  the  stories  told  of  that  time  of  savage  atrocities' 
and  of  as  fierce  reprisals : 

In  the  month  of  February,  1793,  a  party  composed  of  Malcolm  Coleman  am' 
his  son  John,  James  Ryan  and  Elijah  Pixley.  left  the  garrison  at  Belleville  for  th< 
purpose  of  getting  a  supply  of  meat.  They  descended  the  Ohio  in  a  pirogue  tf; 
the  mouth  of  Big  Mill  creek,  thence  proceeded  up  that  stream  and  encamped  neai, 
the  site  of  Cottageville.  In  a  few  days  their  boat  was  loaded  with  a  supply  o;' 
venison  and  bear  meat.  Meanwhile  the  creek  had  frozen  over  and  they  wen 
not  able  to  reach  the  Ohio.  Thus  detained.  John  Coleman  and  Elijah  Pixley  re' 
turned  overland  to  the  garrison  for  a  supply  of  flour  and  salt.  They  were  ex- 
pected to  return  from  the  garrison  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day,  and  Mai-, 
colm  Coleman  and  James  Ryan  prepared  an  early  breakfast.  While  Colemar- 
was  invoking  the  Divine  blessing,  the  Indians  in  ambush  poured  a  shower  oi 
balls  upon  them,  and  Coleman  fell  dead.  Ryan,  who  was  but  slightly  wounded 
made  his  escape  and  conveyed  the  sad  intelligence  to  Belleville.  A  party  at  once 
set  out  for  the  camp,  and  upon  arriving  there,  found  it  plundered  and  the  body 
of  Coleman  scalped  and  stripped  of  its  clothing.  The  body  was  buried  on  tht 
spot,  and  the  party  returned  to  the  garrison.  From  that  time  John  Coleman  be- 
came noted  as  an  Indian  hunter,  never  losing  an  opportunity  to  run  down  and! 
kill  every  Indian  that  crossed  his  path   in   revenge  for  this  wanton  murder.  | 

(I)  Malcolm  Coleman,  the  progenitor  of  the  Coleman  family  in  thei' 
western  part  of  Virginia,  left  a  large  family  of  children  :  Samuel.  James. 
John,  Thomas.  Margaret  and  Jane.  All  of  these  married  and  had  chil- 
dren, and  their  descendants  are  numerous  and  scattered  over  many  states.; 
Most  of  them,  however,  still  reside  in  Wood  and  Jackson  counties.  West 
Virginia,  and  in  Meigs  county,  Ohio,  and  constitute  a  farming  popula-j 


WEST  VIRGINIA  549 

tion  on  both  sides  of  the  Ohio  river  at  Belleville  and  Long  Bottom  and 
the  surrounding  towns  where  a  little  more  than  a  century  ago  their  ances- 
tors blazed  their  way  through  the  primeval  forest  and  drove  the  Indians 
from  the  Ohio  valley  The  greater  number  of  those  who  remain  in  West 
Virginia  are  descended  from  James,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  James,  son  of  Malcolm  Coleman,  died  and  was  buried  at  Jack- 
son, Ohio.  He  married  Nancy  Anderson,  and  left  two  children :  i. 
Thomas,  of  whom  further.  2.  Polly,  married  James  White  and  became 
the  mother  of  ten  children.  These,  with  their  numerous  descendants,  are 
widely  scattered,  although  most  of  them  still  reside  in  Meigs  county, 
Ohio,  and  in  Jackson  county.  West  Virginia. 

(III)  Thomas,  son  of  James  and  Nancy  (Anderson)  Coleman,  was 
born  at  Letart  Falls,  Virginia,  June  22,  1801.  He  was  two  years  old 
when  his  father  died,  and  until  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  lived  with  an 
uncle.  Later  he  obtained  a  position  as  cook  on  a  river  boat,  and  soon 
rose  to  that  of  push  hand,  subsequently  becoming  captain.  With  his 
earnings  he  bought  a  farm,  paying  for  it  in  salt,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty 
was  the  owner  of  a  good  tract  of  land  without  encumbrance.  He  grad- 
ually added  to  his  original  purchase  of  farm  lands  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  owned  more  than  three  thousand  acres  of  valuable  land  on  Muses 
Bottom  and  in  the  country  contiguous  thereto,  in  Jackson  county.  West 
Virginia.  In  i860  he  built  a  fine  brick  church,  known  as  "Coleman's 
Chapel,"  ■Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  South,  on  a  beautiful  site  on  his 
farm,  and  this  is  still  in  excellent  condition,  and  is  the  regular  house  of 
worship  for  that  section  of  the  country.  At  the  rear  of  the  church  he  set 
apart  a  plot  of  ground  as  a  family  graveyard,  and  inclosed  it  with  a 
block  stone  wall  six  feet  high  which  will  last  for  ages.  He  was  a  man  of 
indomitable  energy  and  perseverance,  and  by  his  industry  and  thrift 
accumulated  enough  to  give  each  of  his  family  a  home.  His  education, 
which  had  been  acquired  entirely  by  his  own  efforts,  stood  him  in  truer 
stead  than  that  of  many  others  who  had  had  greater  early  advantages ; 
and  few  men  had  a  hardier  good  sense  or  a  sounder  judgment.  He  con- 
tended with  many  hardships,  did  good  to  all  about  him.  and  left  to  his 
descendants  a  noble  example  of  what  can  be  accomplished  by  a  combina- 
tion of  honesty,  frugality,  perseverance  and  thrift.  He  married,  at  Letart 
Falls,  Meigs  county,  Ohio.  December  23.  1823,  Sarah  Roush,  who  died 
April  6,  1882,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years.  They  had  ten 
children,  probably  not  in  order  of  birth:  i.  David  S.,  born  April 
21.  1827,  died  in  St.  Genevieve,  Missouri,  of  smallpox,  July  23, 
1854.  2.  Nancy,  born  April  11,  1829:  married  W.  M.  Roberts, 
and  is  living  at  Muses  Bottom.  3.  ]\Iary  A.,  born  June  26,  1831, 
died  July  8,  1876;  she  married  I.  M.  Adams.  4.  Henry  R.,  born 
December  3,  1833  ;  at  an  early  age  he  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  South,  and  at  present  (1913)  resides  in  Louisville, 
Kentucky ;  he  twice  visited  the  Holy  Land  and  made  extensive  researches 
there,  and  wrote  a  large  volume  upon  his  travels  and  explorations  entitled 
"Light  from  the  East,"  which  has  had  a  wide  sale ;  for  more  than  thirty 
years  he  has  been  lecturing  on  the  Holy  Land  in  all  parts  of  the  Union, 
and  has  achieved  well  deserved  fame  on  the  platform.  5.  Eliza  J.,  born 
July  3.  1836;  married  P.  D.  Williams,  and  lives  at  Muses  Bottom.  6. 
Samuel  H.,  born  March  i.  1843.  died  July  10,  1849.  7.  Virginia  C.  born 
July  22,  1845,  died  November  8,  1896,  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio:  she  married 
R.  S.  Morgan,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Jackson  county.  8.  Mariah  Me- 
lissa, born  December  25,  1847:  married  J.  B.  Morgan,  a  brother  of  R.  S. 
Morgan,  and  a  leading  citizen  of  his  county :  lives  at  Ravenswood,  West 
Virginia.  9.  Sarah  E.,  born  April  18,  1852:  lives  in  Jackson  county,  West 
Virginia.     10.    Thomas  B.,  of  whom  further.    The  descendants  of  Thom- 


550  WEST  VIRGINIA 

as  and  Sarah  (Roush)  Coleman  now  number  more  than  one  hundred 
>nd  are  widely  scattered  over  the  United  States.  Henry  R.  and  Thomas 
B.  Coleman,  however,  with  their  descendants,  are  the  only  posterity  of 
his  branch  of  the  Coleman  family  who  bear  the  family  name. 

(IV)  Thomas  B.,  son  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  (Roush)  Coleman,  in- 
herited from  his  father  the  home  place  in  ]\luses  Bottom,  and  a  tract  oi 
six  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres  of  land  of  great  value,  extending  back 
from  the  Ohio  river  at  the  widest  part  of  the  river  bottom.  His  home  ii 
located  on  a  beautiful  rise  extending  lengthwise  with  the  river  bottom, 
intended,  it  would  seem  by  nature,  as  an  attractive  site  for  the  building 
Df  homes.  He  is  a  successful  farmer  and  resides  on  the  old  homestead. 
He  married,  at  Belleville,  West  Virginia,  October  ii,  1863,  Mary  Ann 
White.  They  had  children:  i.  John  R.,  who  holds  a  responsible  positiun 
with  one  of  the  largest  wholesale  hardware  houses  in  the  country  as  trav- 
eling salesman ;  this  firm  has  its  headquarters  in  Louisville,  Kentucky, 
but  Mr.  Coleman  resides  at  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia:  he  married 
Bird  R.  Braidon.  of  Parkersburg.  2.  Emmett  L.,  was  graduated  from 
i\Iarietta  College  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  and  from  the  law 
department  of  the  Western  Reserve  University,  of  Geveland,  Ohio,  with 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws ;  he  located  in  Parkersburg  for  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession,  and  there  built  up  a  large  clientele,  but  his  health 
becoming  impaired,  he  removed  to  Corpus  Christi,  Texas,  November. 
191 1,  where  he  has  regained  his  health:  he  has  already  resumed  his  pro- 
fessional work,  and  is  rapidly  building  up  a  lucrative  practice :  he  mar- 
ried Susie  B.  Ames,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio.  3.  William  H.,  was  also  gradu- 
ated from  Marietta  College  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  then 
became  a  student  in  the  medical  department  of  the  LIniversity  of  Louis- 
ville from  which  he  was  graduated  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medi- 
cine ;  he  located  in  Louisville  in  order  to  pursue  his  professional  work, 
and  has  built  up  an  extensive  practice :  in  addition  to  his  professional 
labors  he  has  been  one  of  the  lecturers  in  the  medical  department  of  his 
alma  mater :  he  married  Grace  Witten,  of  Wichita,  Kansas,  and  to  them 
three  children  have  been  born.  4.  Thomas,  of  whom  further.  5.  Charles, 
died  in  infancy.  6.  Sarah  P.,  married  William  Oscar,  son  of  Judge  Wil- 
liam A.  Parsons,  of  Ripley,  West  Virginia ;  the  former  followed  in  the 
footsteps  of  his  father  and  took  up  the  law  for  his  life  work,  early 
achieving  distinction  in  his  profession  :  he  was  a  candidate  for  congress 
in  1908  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  and  came  near  being  elected  in  a  dis- 
trict that  was  strongly  Republican :  he  was  naturally  of  a  frail  constitu- 
tion, and  the  strain  of  this  campaign  added  to  overwork  in  his  profes- 
sion undermined  his  health :  in  February,  1909,  he  went  to  Charleston, 
West  Virginia,  to  argue  a  case  before  the  supreme  court  of  appeals,  was 
suddenly  stricken  in  the  hotel  there,  and  died,  leaving  a  widow  and  two 
young  sons :  Mrs.  Parsons  with  her  two  children  resides  at  Ravenswood, 
West  Virginia.  7.  Sophia  O.,  married  Robert  H.  Silliman,  and  to  them 
four  children  have  been  born,  one  of  whom  died  in  early  infancy;  they 
reside  in  the  old  Coleman  homestead  at  Muses  Bottom,  where  Mr.  Silli- 
man is  extensively  engaged  in  farming  and  poultry  raising.  8.  Wade  H., 
has  a  fine  suburban  home  at  Elkins,  West  Virginia,  and  is  employed  as 
manager  of  the  Kendall  Furniture  Company  at  Elkins.  in  which  corpor- 
ation he  is  one  of  the  principal  stockholders. 

(\')  Thomas  (2).  son  of  Thomas  B.  and  ^Nlary  Ann  (White)  Cole- 
man, was  graduated  from  Marietta  College  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts ;  from  the  University  of  West  Mrginia  with  the  degree  of  Bache- 
lor of  Laws :  from  Columbia  University,  New  York  City,  with  the  de- 
gree of  Master  of  Arts.  At  ^Marietta  College  he  obtained  special  honors 
in  Latin  and  philosophy,  and  after  graduation  was  elected  to  the  chair  of 


WEST  VIRGINIA  551 

Latin  and  English  at  Watson  Seminary,  at  Ashley,  Pike  county,  Missouri. 
He  held  this  position  two  years,  then  went  to  New  York  City  in  order  to 
take 'a  post-graduate  course  in  political  science  at  Columbia  University. 
He  obtained  a  university  scholarship,  and  was  a  member  of  a  seminar  of 
that  university  that  investigated,  as  a  part  of  their  sociological  studies, 
live  hundred  cases  of  poverty  in  the  city  of  New  York.  These  investiga- 
tions were  as  extensive  and  accurate  as  any  of  the  kind  that  have  ever 
been  made  in  the  country.  At  the  end  of  this  course  he  was  awarded  his 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts. 

While  he  was  in  the  university  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Mr. 
James  G.  Cannon,  then  vice-president  of  the  Fourth  National  Bank  of 
New  York  City,  now  president  of  the  bank,  and  formerly  treasurer  of 
the  National  Republican  committee,  president  of  the  New  York  State 
Bankers'  Association,  president  of  the  National  Association  of  Credit 
Men,  and  well  known  as  one  of  the  leading  financiers  of  the  country. 
Just  prior  to  the  close  of  his  work  in  the  University,  Mr.  Coleman  was 
invited  by  Mr.  Cannon  to  take  a  position  in  his  bank  for  the  summer; 
this  ofTer  was  accepted,  and  after  being  associated  with  the  bank  for  a 
period  of  three  months  he  was  engaged  by  Mr.  Cannon  to  visit  the  lead- 
ing cities  of  the  country  and  conduct  a  personal  investigation  of  the 
bank  clearing  house  system  of  the  United  States,  and  gather  data  for  a 
book  upon  this  subject.  In  the  course  of  these  investigations.  Air.  Cole- 
man visited  nearly  all  the  important  cities  of  the  United  States  and  Can- 
ada, and  made  most  extensive  inquiries  into  the  history,  methods  and  ad- 
ministration of  the  clearing  houses  of  both  countries,  and  gathered  a  great 
wealth  of  data  upon  this  subject.  As  a  result  of  these  labors  an  exhaus- 
tive treatise  on  clearing  houses  was  published,  which  called  forth  the 
most  flattering  notices  from  the  banking,  financial  and  other  business  pub- 
lications of  the  country.  This  work  has  had  a  large  circulation,  both  in 
this  country  and  in  Europe,  and  is  cited  by  all  writers  on  this  and  kindred 
subjects  as  the  standard  authority  on  clearing  houses.  Mr.  Coleman  is 
also  the  author  of  many  articles  for  legal  and  other  publications.  At  the 
West  \'irginia  University  he  was  elected  president  of  his  law  class  after 
a  spirited  contest,  and  was  chosen  one  of  the  four  debaters  to  represent 
his  class  at  the  commencement,  in  the  public  debate  which  was  staged  as 
one  of  the  chief  features  of  the  commencement  exercises.  After  his 
graduation  he  located  at  Parkersburg  for  the  practice  of  his  profession, 
and  has  continued  there  ever  since.  He  has  an  extensive  practice  in  the 
state  and  federal  courts  and  in  the  supreme  court  of  appeals  of  West 
\'irginia.  He  has  been  connected  with  many  notable  cases,  and  has  had 
a  full  measure  of  success.  He  is  attorney'  for  the  Farmers'  Building  & 
Loan  .Association,  and  is  doing  a  large  business  at  Parkersburg.  In  poli- 
tics he  is  a  Democrat.  He  has  never  severed  his  connection  with  the  in- 
stitutions of  learning  in  which  he  was  a  student,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Phi  Sigma  Kappa  fraternity  of  the  University  of  West  Virginia.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  the  Country  Club  of  Parkersburg.  Mr.  Coleman  has 
always  shown  a  keen  and  generous  interest  in  all  charitable  and  philan- 
thropic work.  His  religious  affiliation  is  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  South,  nf  which  he  is  a  member. 


The  Connor,  or  O'Connor,  family,  is  one  of  the  very  few 
CONNOR     families  existing  in  America,  which  claims  a  traceable  an- 
cestry through  the  whole  of  history.     Perhaps  no  other 
family,  except  among  the  Chinese  and  Hebrews,  claims  such  a  lineage. 
Several  other  Irish  families,  however,  have  taken  their  origin  from  the 
O'Connors,   and   are   therefore   genealogically   the    same,    in    early   days. 


552  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Among  the  sons  of  Xoali,  Japheth  is  taken  as  the  ancestor;  ancient  Kings 
of  Scythia  stand  in  the  Hne ;  after  these,  but  preceding  the  migration  to 
the  British  Isles,  chiefs  in  North  Africa,  where  Carthage  was  afterward 
built.  On  the  route  to  Great  Britain,  Spain  and  Portugal  were  visited, 
and  partly  conquered.  The  settlement  in  Ireland  is  placed  about  B.  C. 
1700,  and  one  of  the  family  soon  became  king.  From  the  fifth  to  the 
fifteenth  centuries,  A.  D.,  the  O'Connors  reigned,  almost  continuously, 
in  the  kingdom  of  Connaught.  In  the  fifth  century  they  were  converted  to 
Christianity.  The  surname  was  adopted  by  King  Charles,  or  by  his  son 
Teige,  about  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  century,  in  honor  of  the  form- 
er's father.  The  last  king  of  this  line  surrendered  to  King  Henry  II..  ni 
England,  and  at  a  later  time  retired  to  a  Monastery.  The  0'Conii<a> 
have  been  a  distinguished  family  since  that  time,  with  many  noted  men, 
both  in  Ireland  and  in  America. 

(I)  Peter  Connor,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom  we 
have  definite  information,  came  from  Scotland,  and  settled  at  Monim- 
gahela,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania.  Both  in  Scotland  and  in  the  United 
States  he  was  a  coal  miner. 

(II)  Charles,  son  of  Peter  Connor,  was  born  at  Calderback,  Lan;>rk, 
Scotland,  April  30,  1830.  .A.t  a  tender  age  he  began  working  in  the  mines. 
When  he  was  twenty-four  years  old  he  determined  to  educate  himself, 
and  for  two  years  attended  night  school.  Then  he  enrolled  in  the  South 
Kensington  College  of  Sciences  and  Arts,  in  London,  England,  which  he 
attended  for  three  years,  continuing  his  work  at  the  same  time.  Here  he 
mastered  the  subjects  of  geology,  mechanics,  theoretical  and  practical 
steam  engineering,  applied  mechanics,  mechanical  construction  and  draw- 
ing, inorganic  chemistry  and  mathematics.  Each  of  these  three  years  he 
won  honors.  He  was  then  made  a  deputy  overman  for  a  mining  com- 
pany in  north  Scotland,  and  held  this  position  for  three  years.  During 
this  period,  in  1879,  ^^  nearly  lost  his  life  by  gas  suffocation  when  he 
was  leading  a  rescuing  party  after  the  Blantyre  explosion.  Through 
these  three  years  he  continued  his  studies,  giving  attention  to  surveying 
jnd  mine  engineering.  In  1879  he  came  to  America  and  he  was  for  one 
year  a  miner  at  East  Palestine,  Columbiana  county,  Ohio.  The  next  year 
he  was  mine  foreman  at  Fayette  City,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania :  then 
for  six  months  he  held  the  same  position  with  H.  C.  Frick  &  Company. 
From  there  he  went  to  Uniontown,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  remained  three  years  as  foreman  in  the  East  Shaft  mines.  He  then 
resigned  to  accept  the  position  of  superintendent  of  mines  of  the  Rock- 
hill  Iron  and  Coal  Company,  at  Robertsdale.  Huntingdon  county.  Penn- 
sylvania. This  position  'Sir.  Connor  held  for  seven  years,  when  he  re- 
signed in  order  to  accept  the  appointment  as  Pennsylvania  state  mine 
inspector  in  the  bituminous  coal  region.  From  the  15th  of  May,  1893, 
he  was  in  this  position  for  two  terms  of  four  years  each.  He  then 
resigned  to  accept  the  general  superintendency  of  the  Dominion  Coal 
Company.  Cape  Breton,  Nova  Scotia,  but  on  account  of  the  rigorous 
climate  which  did  not  agree  well  with  him  he  returned  in  one  year  to 
Pennsylvania  and  accepted  the  position  of  division  superintendent  of  the 
Pittsburg  Coal  Company  in  the  Redstone  district.  Three  months  later 
he  was  appointed  general  inspector  of  mines,  under  the  same  company, 
having  his  headquarters  in  Pittsburgh.  Three  years  later  he  came  first 
into  the  Mrginias  as  a  resident,  taking  the  position  of  general  manager 
of  the  Stone  Gap  Colliery  Company  at  Morgan.  \'irginia.  but  these  mines 
were  shut  down  a  year  later  and  he  was  engaged  to  open  the  mines  of  the 
George's  Creek  (^Maryland)  Coal  Company.  At  Morgan  he  had  pur- 
chased a  hotel,  which  was  burned  while  he  was  in  ^Maryland,  so  Mr.  Con- 
nor resigned  in  order  to  rebuild  this,  and  he  remained  at  Morgan,  con- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  553 

ducting  it,  for  three  years.  The  Pittsburgh  Coal  Company  then  induced 
him  to  accept  a  superintendency ;  after  one  year  he  returned  to  the  hotel 
and  remained  there  until  the  Pocahontas  explosion,  when  he  was  offered 
and  accepted  the  general  superintendency  of  the  Pocahontas  Consoli- 
dated Colliers'  Company.  Holding  this  for  one  year  he  was  appointed 
by  mine  inspector  Laing,  chief  deputy  in  the  state  of  West  Virginia, 
which  office  two  years  later  was  abolished  by  the  legislature  and  he 
accepted,  August  15,  191 1,  his  present  position,  superintendent  of  mines, 
for  the  Davis  Coal  and  Coke  Company,  Pierce,  Tucker  county,  West 
\'irginia. 

Mr.  Connor  is  vice-president  of  the  West  Virginia  Mining  Institute; 
was  for  three  years  vice-president  of  the  Mining  Institute  of  America, 
and  since  1886  has  been  a  member  of  the  American  Institute  of  Mining 
Engineers.  He  is  prominent  in  all  these  organizations.  He  has  contrib- 
uted to  trade  journals,  and  read  papers  before  societies.  He  is  regarded 
as  an  expert  on  mine  explosions,  and  has  been  called  to  all  these  within 
the  last  fifteen  years.  In  fact  he  is  an  all-around  mining  expert.  All  the 
Pennsylvania  mine  examinations,  from  1882  to  1904,  he  has  passed,  and 
he  holds  all  certificates  of  Pennsylvania  and  West  Virginia.  In  1909  and 
191 1,  while  he  was  chief  deputy  mine  inspector,  he  conducted  examina- 
tions in  West  \'irginia.  South  Kensington  College.  London,  England, 
conferred  upon  him  in  1879  the  degree  of  M.  E.  He  is  a  ]\Iason.  having 
held  all  the  chairs  as  far  as  past  eminent  commander  of  the  shrine ;  a 
member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias ;  and  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows.  In  Scotland,  from  1875  to  1878,  he  was  deputy  chief 
grand  master  of  the  Scottish  Independent  Order  of  Good  Templars.  Mr. 
Connor  is  a  communicant  of  the  Episcopal  church,  but  Mrs.  Connor  and 
the  children  are  Methodists. 

^Ir.  Connor  married  Jane  Mosgrove,  of  Barrack,  Tweed,  Northum- 
berland, England.  Children:  i.  John  ]\I..  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-four; 
he  was  engaged  in  mercantile  business  in  Pittsburgh.  2.  Peter  i\I.,  after 
a  high  school  course  and  graduation,  entered  into  mining  and  is  now 
foreman  of  the  Annabelle  Mine,  of  the  Pittsburgh-Buffalo  Coal  Com- 
pany at  Fairmont,  ^Marion  county  ^^'est  Mrginia.     3.  Genie  S.,  married 

Bowling,  of  Norton,  \'irginia :  she  is  a  graduate  nurse  of  the  Con- 

nellsville,  Pennsylvania,  Hospital,  and  before  her  marriage  was  superin- 
tendent of  nurses  in  the  hospital   at   ^Morgantown,   ]\Ionongalia  county, 

'V^'est  Mrginia.    4.  Anna  T.,  married Pierpont,  of  Norton.  \'irginia : 

she  is  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  West  Virginia  at  IMorgantown.  5. 
Charles  W.,  a  graduate  of  the  Pennsylvania  State  University,  with  the 
degrees  of  Mechanical  Engineer  and  Civil  Engineer :  at  this  time  he  is 
superintendent  of  the  Mrginia-Pocahontas  Coal  and  Coke  Company  at 
Coalwood,  West  A'irginia.  6.  George  IM.,  auditor  of  the  mine  inspector's 
office  at  Charleston.  West  Virginia.  7.  2\Iary  M.,  living  at  home,  she  is 
a  graduate  of  Martha  Washington  College,  Bristol,  Mrginia,  and  of  the 
Training  School  for  Nurses  of  the  Nashville,  Tennessee,  Hospital. 


The  Wells   family,  of  Wheeling.  West  A'irginia.  has  beei. 
AA'ELLS     identified  with  the  business  interests  of  that  section  of  the 
country    for   several    generations,    and    is   now    abl}'    reprt 
sented  by  John  Howard  \\'ells,  county  clerk  and  probate  judge  at  Wheel- 
ing. 

CI)  John  Wells,  grandfather  of  John  Howard  Wells,  was  born  near 
Buffalo,  New  York,  and  was  a  young  lad  when  his  parents  removed  to 
Baltimore.    ^Maryland.      Subsequently   he    migrated    to    Wheeling.    West 


554  WEST  VIRGINIA 

\'irginia,  established   himself   in   merchant   tailoring  business   there,   and 
was  occupied  with  this  for  many  years. 

(II)  Robert  R.,  son  of  John  Wells,  was  born  in  Wheeling,  Virginia 
now  West  \'irginia,  April  20,  1844,  died  July  6,  1894.  His  education  was 
the  usual  one  of  the  time,  and  in  1861  he  enlisted  in  Company  B,  First 
West  Virginia  Infantry;  later  he  re-enlisted  in  an  Ohio  company.  Upon 
the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  Wheeling  and  engaged  in  his  work  in 
the  nail  mill.  He  married  in  1866.  Sarah  L.,  daughter  of  Dr.  James  Rush 
Holmes,  of  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania.  They  had  children  :  John  Howard, 
see  forward:  George  N.,  born  1870:  Robert  R.,  1874;  Harry  M.,  1877: 
Eugene  S.,  1879:  Louis  D..  1886:  Maggie  S.,  1887,  died  in  the  same  year. 

(III)  John  Howard,  son  of  Robert  R.  and  Sarah  L.  (Holmes) 
Wells,  was  born  in  Wheeling,  West  \'irginia,  April  ^2,  1868.  He  ac- 
quired a  sound  practical  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  city, 
and  then  found  a  position  in  a  nail  mill,  where  he  was  employed  until 
1886.  At  this  time  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Natural  Gas  Company, 
where  his  diligence,  faithful  performance  of  duty  and  executive  ability 
enabled  him  to  advance  step  by  step  until  he  was  appointed  superintend- 
ent of  the  company.  He  held  this  position  until  his  election  in  November, 
1908.  to  the  position  of  county  clerk  and  probate  judge,  which  offices  he 
is  now  holding  to  the  great  benefit  of  the  community.  Mr.  Wells  may 
truly  be  styled  a  self-made  man,  and  he  is  proud  of  this  fact.  He  has 
been  honored  by  election  to  membership  in  the  board  of  trade,  and  has 
also  served  as  a  member  of  the  city  council.  His  fraternal  affiliations  are 
with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen,  the  Knights  Templar,  and  the  Ancient  Arabic  Order 
Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine. 

]\Ir.  Wells  married,  November  20,  1907,  Birdie,  daughter  of  the  Hon. 
Jacob  and  Emma  (Horkheimer)  Wolf,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  they 
have  one  child,  Charles  Howard,  born  November  12,  1908. 


.\  fuller  history  of  this  distinguished  \\'est  Mrginia  fam- 
JACKSON     ily  is  given  elsewhere  in  this  work,  the  long  line  boasting 

many  heroes  in  the  country's  annals,  and  many  eminent 
men  and  women  who  have  left  upon  the  times  wherein  they  lived  the  im- 
press of  their  strong  characteristics.  The  ancestry  is  Scotch-Irish,  reach- 
ing back  to  John  Jackson,  the  pioneer  and  original  immigrant,  who  was 
born  in  Londonderry,  Ireland,  and  sailed  to  this  country  from  London, 
England,  in  the  same  vessel  with  his  future  wife,  Elizabeth  Cummins. 
The  strong  mental  and  physical  traits  which  distinguished  this  remarka- 
ble woman  have  been  inherited  by  various  prominent  members  of  the 
family,  and  have  brought  them  into  conspicuous  notice  in  the  history  of 
the  country  in  both  military  and  civil  affairs.  From  the  days  of  Indian 
warfare,  in  which  their  great  strength  and  skill  found  ample  room  for 
achievement,  down  through  the  troublous  revolutionary  period  and  the 
subsequent  stormy  times  and  perplexing  adjustments  of  the  young  states, 
the  strong  hands  of  the  Jacksons  have  been  felt  and  their  clear  voices 
heard.  Eminent  alike  in  the  law  and  in  the  army,  the  family  includes  in 
its  wide  circle  such  men  as  "Stonewall"  Jackson  ;  Jacob  B.,  father  of  John 
Jay  Jackson ;  Governor  Jacob  B.  Jackson,  Judge  j.  Monroe  Jackson,  Gen- 
eral John  Jay  Jackson,  and  Judge  John  G.  Jackson,  many  of  whom  bore 
equally  both  military  and  civil  honors. 

Charles  S.  Jackson,  only  son  of  .Andrew  Gardner  Jackson,  of  whom 
further  mention  is  made  elsewhere  in  this  work,  was  born  in  Parkers- 
burg  on  August  22,  1887.  His  mother  was  a  Miss  Mary  S.  Shattuck, 
daughter  of   Charles  and  Anna   Shattuck,   and  he  has  one  sister,  Jane 


i^AC^^^rz..^  €¥:eZ^^ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  555 

Gardner,  born  in  September,  1901.  Air.  Jackson  attended  the  schools  of 
Parkersburg  and  was  graduated  from  the  high  school  in  1902;  he  then 
entered  the  \'irginia  Alilitary  Institute,  being  at  that  time  in  his  fifteenth 
year.  Subsequently,  although  under  age,  he  was  appointed  to  West 
Point  by  the  president,  with  special  orders,  and  was  graduated  from 
that  institution  with  honor  on  February  14,  1908,  being  the  youngest  on 
its  roll  of  graduates.  He  was  then  assigned  to  duty  in  Cuba,  where  he 
remained  for  a  year,  with  headquarters  at  Havana.  For  two  years  he 
was  at  Fort  Oglethorpe,  Georgia,  as  second  lieutenant  of  the  Eleventh 
Cavalry;  after  which  he  resigned  from  the  army,  January  i,  191 1.  In 
March,  191 1,  he  organized  Company  A,  of  the  Second  Infantry,  West 
Virginia  National  Guard,  becoming  its  captain:  and  on  January  i,  1912, 
he  was  transferred  to  Colonel  Morrison's  staff  as  commissary  officer  of 
the  Second  Infantry. 

On  the  2ist  of  Alarch,  191 1,  Mr.  Jackson  went  into  business  in  con- 
nection with  the  firm  of  Carney,  Jackson  &  Mullen,  undertakers,  and 
dealers  in  pianos  and  furniture.  He  is  considered  as  one  of  the  rising 
young  business  men  of  this  city,  upholding  in  business  life  as  well  as  in 
military  affairs  the  honor  of  the  distinguished  name  which  he  has  in- 
herited from  his  father  and  grandfathers. 


James   Aladison   Jackson,   of   Parkersburg.   is   descended 
JACKSON     from  the  notable  Connecticut  and  Ohio  family  of  Meigs. 

Thomas  Jonathan  Jackson,  hardly  known  by  that  name, 
but  of  highest  fame  under  the  designation  of  "Stonewall"  Jackson,  was 
of  another  branch  of  this  family.  He  was  born  in  Mrginia  in  1824.  In 
1842  he  entered  the  military  academy  at  West  Point,  and  was  brevetted 
second  lieutenant  in  the  First  Corps  of  the  United  States  Artillery  in 
1846.  He  was  attached  to  Alagruder's  battery  in  the  Mexican  war,  and 
was  brevetted  captain  for  his  gallant  conduct.  In  1852  he  was  Professor 
of  Military  Science  in  \'irginia  Military  Institute.  In  the  civil  war  he 
took  the  Confederate  side,  and  gained  the  sobriquet  of  "Stonewall"  Jack- 
son. He  died  of  wounds  unintentionally  inflicted  by  his  own  men  at 
Chancellorsville,   1863. 

(I)  John  Jackson,  the  American  founder  of  this  Jackson  family,  was 
born  in  the  northern  part  of  Ireland,  near  Londonderry,  about  1719,  died 
at  Clarksburg,  Mrginia,  at  the  home  of  his  son,  George,  September  25, 
1801.  With  his  parents  he  moved  in  his  boyhood  to  London.  England, 
where  he  learned  the  builders'  trade.  Thence  he  came  to  the  American 
colonies  in  1748,  making  settlement  in  Calvert  county,  Maryland.  For  a 
time  after  his  marriage  he  lived  on  the  south  branch  of  the  Potomac 
river,  but  about  the  year  1769  they  crossed  the  mountains  into  northwes- 
tern Virginia.  They  moved  several  times  after  marriage,  but  in  1768 
John  Jackson  explored  the  country  near  where,  in  the  following  year,  he 
made  permanent  settlement,  on  the  Buckhannon  river,  at  the  mouth  of 
Turkey  run,  just  below  Jackson's  fort  and  not  far  from  the  present 
Buckhannon.  Here  he  was  prominent  in  Indian  warfare.  John  Jackson 
married,  in  Calvert  county,  Maryland,  Elizabeth  Cummins,  born  about 
1720,  died  at  Clarksburg,  \'irginia,  in  1825.  She  also  came  from  Lon- 
don, and  crossed  on  the  same  ship  as  John  Jackson.  Mrs.  Jackson  was  a 
woman  of  strong  mind  and  body,  great  force  of  character,  and  indomi- 
table courage,  and  she  also  rendered  valuable  service  against  Indian  at 
tacks.  Patents  are  still  in  existence  by  which  lands  were  conveyed  to  her 
in  her  own  right.  Manual  strength,  great  intellectual  power,  and  uncom- 
promising honesty  have  been  characteristic  traits  among  the  descendants 
of  this  notable  couple.     Children:    i.  George,  of  whom  further.     2.  Ed- 


556  WEST  VIRGINIA 

ward,  married  Hadden,  and  they  were  the  grandparents  of  "Stone- 
wall" Jackbon.  3.  John.  4.  Samuel.  5.  Henry,  married  (first)  Mary 
Hire,  (second)  Elizabeth  Shreve.  6.  Elizabeth,  married  Abram  Brake. 
7.  ^lary,  married  Philip  Reger.     8.  Sophia,  married  Josiah  Davis. 

(II)  Colonel  George  Jackson,  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Cummins) 
Jackson,  was  born  west  of  the  mountains,  in  \'irginia  or  }ilaryland,  prob- 
ably about  1750,  and  lived  to  an  old  age.  Not  far  from  the  year  1770  he 
settled  on  the  West  Fork  river,  near  Clarksburg.  He  entered  four 
hundred  acres  of  land  in  1773.  Ele  was  a  man  strong  mentally  and  phy- 
sically, courageous,  determined,  a  natural  leader,  prominent  in  public  af- 
fairs. Himself  deficient  in  education,  he  appreciated  the  advantages 
which  had  not  been  his,  and  his  son  had  a  good  education.  In  the  defense 
of  the  settlements  against  Indian  raids  he  was  active  and  dependable  in  all 
emergencies.  In  1781  he  recruited  a  company  to  join  General  Clark's  ex- 
pedition against  the  British  at  Detroit.  Early  in  the  revolution  he  was 
commissioned  colonel  of  a  Virginia  regiment  by  General  Washington. 
The  first  county  court  for  Harrison  county  was  held  at  his  hume 
on  the  Buckhannon  river  in  1784.  This  court  gave  him  permis- 
sion to  build  a  mill  at  Clarksburg,  on  Elk  creek,  and  soon  after 
this  he  moved  thither.  Among  the  civil  offices  held  by  him  he  was  a 
member  of  the  house  of  burgesses  of  Virginia,  also  of  the  state  conven- 
tion which  accepted  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  he  was 
three  times  a  member  nf  the  United  States  house  of  representatives.  It 
is  said  that  a  speech  which  he  made  in  congress  caused  much  amusenunt 
among  the  members,  and  that  he  announced  that  he  should  go  home  and 
send  his  son  John  to  congress  and  that  they  would  not  laugh  at  him. 
The  records  show  that  his  son  John  immediately  succeeded  him,  the 
father  sitting  in  the  seventh,  the  son  in  the  eighth  congress.  In  laur 
life  he  moved  to  Ohio,  where  Zanesville  now  stands;  there  he  was  m- 
gaged  in  various  business  enterprises,  and  represented  his  county  in  the 
legislature.  The  name  of  his  wife  is  not  known  to  us,  but  he  had  a  sun, 
John  George,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  Hon.  John  George  Jackson,  son  of  Colonel  George  Jackson,  was 
born  near  Buckhannon,  \'irginia,  in  1774,  died  at  Clarksburg,  March  20. 
1825.  While  he  was  still  small  he  came  with  his  father  to  Clarksburg.  He 
received  a  liberal  education  for  the  times,  and  entered  public  life  at  an  early 
age,  being  a  member  of  the  legislature  by  1797.  He  was  in  1793  appointed 
surveyor  of  government  lands  west  of  the  Ohio,  and  was  a  member  of  all 
United  States  congresses  from  the  eighth  to  the  fourteenth  inclusive, 
except  the  twelfth.  Further  he  was  a  brigadier  general  of  miHtia,  and  in 
1819  he  was  appointed  United  States  judge  for  the  western  district  'if 
Virginia,  in  which  ofifice  he  served  until  his  death.  His  public  career  w  as 
one  of  marked  ability,  and  it  is  said  that  he  was  the  most  remarkable  man 
west  of  the  mountains.  In  business,  too,  his  interests  were  of  the  m<.st 
varied  character :  he  established  many  enterprises  and  developed  the  re- 
sources of  the  country  to  a  degree  truly  surprising.  He  married  (first  1 
in  the  Executive  Mansion,  Washington,  D.  C,  I\Iary,  daughter  of  Ji'lii) 
and  Mary  (Coles)  Payne,  wdio  was  born  about  1781,  died  February  i;,. 
t8o8.  Her  sister  was  the  wife  of  the  president  of  the  United  States,  the 
famous  Dolly  Madison,  and  this  wedding  was  the  first  celebrated  in  tlie 
White  House.  John  George  Jackson  married  (second)  Sophia,  daugh- 
ter of  Return  Jonathan  Meigs  (see  Meigs).  By  his  first  marriage  there 
was  a  daughter,  Mary,  who  married  Judge  John  Allen,  of  Virginia,  and 
a  son,  John  Jay,  of  whom  further.  By  the  second  marriage  there  wa^  a 
son,  James  Madison,  of  whom  further. 

(IV)  General  John  Jay  Jackson,  son  of  Hon.  John  George  Jackson, 
was,  like  his  father,  eminent  in  both  the  law  and  the  army.  He  was  born 


WEST  VIRGINIA  557 

j  in  Wood  county,  Virginia,  February  13,  1800.  He  passed  his  early  life 
in  Parkersburg,  becoming  identified  with  its  village  growth  and  its  later 
!  municipal  prosperity.  His  education  was  begun  under  Dr.  David  Creel, 
I  who  subsequently  resided  in  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  and  was  afterward  con- 
;  ducted  at  one  of  the  best  schools  in  Virginia,  taught  by  Dr.  Tower  at 
I  Clarksburg  in  Harrison  county.  Young  Jackson  was  a  very  apt  pupil, 
f  and  at  thirteen  years  of  age  was  admitted  to  Washington  College,  Penn- 
i  sylvania,  where  he  remained  for  a  year,  when  he  was  appointed  by  Pres- 
[  ident  James  Monroe  as  a  cadet  to  West  Point,  which  institution  he  en- 
tered in  181 5,  graduating  therefrom  in  1818,  in  the  nineteenth  year  of 
his  age.  He  was  at  once  commissioned  as  second  lieutenant  in  the  United 
States  army  and  attached  to  the  corps  of  artillery  ordered  to  Norfolk, 
\  irginia,  where  he  performed  garrison  service  until  the  latter  part  of 
the  year  1819,  being  then  transferred  to  the  fourth  infantry.  In  1820 
and  1821  he  performed  active  service  in  Florida  in  the  Seminole  war,  and 
while  thus  engaged  was  commissioned  as  adjutant  and  transferred  to 
I  regimental  headquarters  at  Montpelier.  Alabama.  At  this  place  and  at 
Pensacola  he  was  a  member  of  General  Andrew  Jackson's  staff.  In  1822 
he  visited  Parkersburg  on  a  six  months'  furlough,  and  about  January  i, 
1823,  he  resigned  his  commission  in  the  army  and  turned  his  attention  to 
law.  He  completed  his  preparatory  course  of  study  and  was  licensed  to 
practice  law  in  Virginia  April  28,  1823.  He  soon  reached  the  front  ranks 
in  his  profession,  maintaining  his  high  position  to  the  end  of  his  career. 
He  was  in  1826  appointed  prosecuting  attorney  of  Wood  county,  in  the 
county  court,  and  in  1830  he  was  appointed  to  the  same  office  in  the  cir- 
cuit superior  court,  holding  the  position  until  1852,  when  he  retired.  He 
was  also  prosecutor  in  the  circuit  supreme  court  of  Ritchie  county.  For 
six  several  terms  he  served  as  representative  from  Wood  county  to  the  Vir- 
ginia house  of  delegates,  and  in  each  of  the  legislatures  to  which  he  was 
returned  he  filled  a  prominent  position.  In  1842  he  was  commissioned 
brigadier-general  of  the  twenty-third  brigade  of  Virginia  militia,  remain- 
ing in  this  post  until  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war.  In  politics  he  be- 
longed to  the  school  of  Clay  and  Webster,  believing  in  the  capability  of 
t1ie  people  for  self  rule.  He  was  a  member  of  the  historic  convention  at 
RichiTiond  in  1861  and  eloquently  upheld  the  Union,  this  being  about  hi.'i 
last  public  service,  though  he  made  various  speeches  during  and  after 
the  war  in  which  he  advocated  forbearance  and  reconciliation.  He  was 
active  in  every  enterprise  for  the  benefit  of  the  community ;  when  the 
Baltimore  &  Ohio  railway  sought  right  of  way  from  the  Potomac  to  the 
C)hio,  he  urged  needed  legislation,  and  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  largest 
contributors  to  the  subscription  stock  toward  the  building  of  the  North- 
western Virginia  railroad.  In  later  years  his  means  and  time  were  largely 
used  to  promote  the  improvement  of  the  Little  Kanawha  river,  forming  a 
company  which  erected  locks  and  dams  to  make  it  navigable  the  year 
round.  He  organized  and  was  president  of  the  Second  National  Bank 
of  Parkersburg,  and  was  at  various  times  member  of  the  municipal  coun- 
cil and  mayor  of  the  city.  He  died  January  i,  1877,  leaving  to  posterity 
the  memory  of  a  fame  which  rested  more  upon  his  legal  ability  than  his 
political  successes.  Like  his  cousin,  "Stonewall"  Jackson,  he  was  a  superb 
horseman ;  and  like  him  was  also  temperate,  persevering  and  purposeful, 
possessing  unusual  natural  gifts.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Episcopal 
church,  and  was  for  over  forty  years  senior  warden  of  Trinity  parish. 
General  Jackson  married  (first)  Emma  G.  Beeson  in  1823:  she  died  in 
1842;  married  (second)  Jane  E.  B.  Gardner  in  1843.  He  was  the  father 
of  five  sons :  Hon.  Judge  John  Jay  Jackson,  L^nited  States  District  Judge 
Jamer.  Monroe  Jackson.  Governor  Jacob  Beeson  Jackson,  Henry  Gay 
Jackson  and  Andrew  Gardner,  of  whom  further.     Also  three  daughters 


558  WEST  \'IRGINIA 

living  at  tlie  time  of  his  death:  ;\Irs.  William  H.  Small,  Airs.  George  W. 
Thompson,  Mrs.  William  H.  Smith. 

(V)  Andrew  Gardner,  son  of  General  John  Jay  Jackson  by  his  sec- 
ond wife,  Jane  E.  B.  (Gardner)  Jackson,  was  born  at  Parkersburg,  West 
\'irginia,  in  March,  1857.  He  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools 
and  at  the  University  of  Ohio,  taking  a  course  also  at  the  Eastman  Busi- 
ness College.  After  the  coinpletion  of  his  studies  he  engaged  in  wholesale 
mercantile  business  in  Parkersburg  in  which  he  continued  for  a  period 
of  fifteen  years;  he  then  became  interested  as  a  producer  in  the  oil  indus- 
try, being  very  successful  and  acquiring  a  position  of  prominence  and  in- 
fluence in  the  community.  He  is  now  general  manager,  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  the  Parkersburg  Builders'  Supply  and  Concrete  Company, 
and  has  become  an  extensive  owner  of  real  estate.  Throughout  his 
career  he  has  devoted  his  best  eiiforts  to  the  development  of  the  city  of 
Parkersburg  and  the  advancement  of  the  municipal  interests,  and  is  now 
reckoned  as  one  of  its  leading  citizens. 

In  the  year  1888  Mr.  Jackson  married  Mary  S..  daughter  of  Charles 
and  .Anna  Shattuck ;  they  have  one  son,  Charles  S..  of  whom  elsewhere, 
and  one  daughter,  Jane,  born  in  September,  1901. 

(I\')  James  Madison,  son  of  Hon.  John  George  and  Sophia  (Meigs) 
Jackson,  was  born  January  15,  1817,  died  in  1870.  His  education  was  re- 
ceived at  I'niontown,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  the  University  of  Virginia, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1835.  He  was  a  lawyer  and  practiced 
successfully  at  Clarksburg  until  his  death.  He  married  Caroline  Vir- 
ginia Moore,  born  June  5,  1824,  died  .\ugust  7,  1910.  Children:  i. 
Meigs,  of  whom  further.  2.  Thomas  Moore,  born  June  22,  1852,  died 
February  3,  1912:  he  was  a  civil  and  mining  engineer,  professor  in 
these  subjects  at  the  University  of  West  Virginia  from  1888  to  1891 ; 
president  of  the  company  which  built  the  Short  Line  railroad  between 
Clarksburg  and  New  Martinsville ;  interested  in  other  railroad  enter- 
prises, active  in  coal,  oil  and  gas,  and  a  banking  man  at  Clarksburg: 
from  1883  to  1887  he  was  county  surveyor  of  Harrison  county,  and  he 
was  a  member  of  Governor  Fleming's  staff  from  1889  to  1893  ;  he  mar- 
ried, in  1884,  Emma  Lewis.  3.  Florence  (twin),  born  June  22,  1852, 
died  in  1873. 

(V)  IN'ieigs,  son  of  James  Madison  and  Caroline  Virginia  (Moore) 
Jackson,  was  born  at  Clarksburg.  January  22,  1843,  died  at  Nevada,  Mis- 
souri, March  22,  1876.  He  graduated  from  Washington  and  Lee  Uni- 
versity. After  graduation  he  practiced  law  in  Washington,  D.  C.  After- 
ward he  returned  to  Clarksburg,  where  he  was  for  two  years  engaged  in 
the  practice  of  law  and  in  managing  his  wife's  estate.  Then  he  went  to 
Nevada,  Alissouri,  where  he  practiced  law  in  partnership  with  Senator 
Burton  until  his  death.  He  married,  at  Qarksburg,  March  28,  1871,  Mar- 
tha, daughter  of  .Stephen  and  Katharine  Bassell.  Children :  James  Mad- 
ison, of  whom  further  :    Meigs. 

(VI)  James  Madison  (2),  son  of  Meigs  and  Martha  (Bassell)  Jack- 
son, was  born  at  Nevada,  Missouri.  June  26,  1874.  His  father  died  there 
when  he  was  two  years  old,  and  his  mother  then  returned  to  Clarks- 
burg, where  he  received  a  common  school  education.  In  1888  he  attended 
the  preparatory  school  at  Morgantown,  West  Virginia,  and  in  1890  and 
1891  the  Episcopal  high  school  at  Alexandria,  Virginia.  .'\t  Lehigh  Uni- 
versity, Bethlehem.  Pennsylvania,  he  took  a  course  in  engineering,  and 
he  graduated  therefrom  in  1896.  In  the  following  year  he  was  appointed 
assistant  engineer  of  the  Little  Kanawha  railroad,  and  in  1898  he  held 
a  similar  position  with  the  Ohio  River  Railroad  Company.  From  1898  to 
1900  he  was  city  engineer  of  Parkersburg,  West  \^irginia.  The  Parkers- 
burg,   Marietta     &    Inter-Urban     railway    was     constructed    by     him, 


WEST  VIRGINIA  559 

from  Parkersburg  to   JMarietta,   Ohio,   in    1900  and   1901.       Since    that 
time    Mr.    Jackson    has    been    more    active     in    business    life    than    in 
engineering.      Yet    he    was    made    a    member    of   the    American    So- 
I   ciety    of    Civil    Engineers,    June     2,    1901,    and    he    is    at    the    present 
I  time    (1913)   consulting  engineer  of  construction  work  in  Wood  coun- 
i   ty.    He  organized,  in  September,  1901,  the  J.  M.  Jackson  Lumber  Com- 
pany, wholesale  dealers  in  lumber,  with  offices  in  Philadelphia,  and  he  is 
;    president  of  this  corporation.     On  October  20,    1902,  he  organized  the 
j    Everglades  Cypress  Lumber  Company,  with  its  chief  office  at  Parkers- 
i    burg,  and  its  plant  at  Loughman,  Florida.    Of  this  corporation  also  he  is 
I    president.    They  manufacture  fifteen  million  feet  of  lumber  a  year.     Mr. 
1    Jackson  is  manager  of  the  Jackson   Land  and   Mining  Company,  with 
i    offices  at  Parkersburg  and  principal  works  at  Clarksburg.     He  is  a  mem- 
i    bar  of  the  Parkersburg  Country  Club,  the  Blennerhassett  Club  and  the 
Automobile  Club,  both  of  Parkersburg,  and  of  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks.     ]\Ir.  Jackson  is  a  Democrat,  and  a  member  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  church. 

He  married,  October  6,  1901,  Catharine,  daughter  of  George  and 
Theodosia  Tebbs.     No  children. 

The  Meigs  family  is  one  of  the  most  notable  in  the  history  of  i\Iari- 
etta,  the  first  settlement  in  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  in  that  of  the 
state  of  Ohio,  and  also  belongs  to  the  history  of  the  country.  Jonathan 
Meigs  had  a  son.  Return  Jonathan  INIeigs,  born  at  Middletown,  Connecti- 
cut, December  17,  1734,  died  on  the  Cherokee  agency  in  Georgia,  January 
28,  1823.  He  served  under  Benedict  Arnold  in  his  expedition  to  Quebec, 
and  was  there  taken  prisoner.  Later  he  was  colonel  of  a  revolutionary 
regiment  raised  by  himself.  For  the  capture  of  the  British  garrison  at 
Sag  Harbor,  Long  Island,  New  York,  he  received  from  congress  a  vote 
of  thanks  and  a  sword.  In  1788  he  settled  in  Ohio;  from  1801  he  was 
Indian  agent  for  the  Cherokees.  His  son,  Return  Jonathan  Meigs,  was 
born  at  Middletown,  in  1766,  died  March  29,  1825.  In  1788  he  went  to 
Marietta.  He  was  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  Ohio  in  1802, 
United  States  senator  1809-10,  governor  of  Ohio  1810-14,  and  postmas- 
ter general  of  the  United  States  1814-23.  John  George  Jackson  married 
his  only  daughter,  Sophia. 


George  Alfred  Flora  and  his  progenitors,  as  far  as  known, 
FLORA  resided  in  Alorgan  county.  West  \'irginia.  No  records  have 
been  kept  of  his  grandfather,  Absalom  Flora,  who  was  a 
farmer,  and  died  on  his  plantation  somewhere  near  the  present  town  of 
Paw  Paw.  His  wife's  first  name  was  Barbara,  but  her  family  name  is 
unknown.  She  died  at  the  homestead  at  Paw  Paw,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
eight.  She  was  a  Protestant  Methodist,  but  her  husband  Absalom  was  an 
old  school  Baptist.  Children :  Morris,  referred  to  below ;  Archibald, 
married  a  Miss  Cowgill :  Margaret,  married  Michael  Larkins,  and  had 
five  children. 

(II)  Morris,  son  of  Absalom  Flora,  was  born  in  1819,  near  Mag- 
nolia, Morgan  county,  Mrginia,  and  died  at  Paw  Paw,  in  1901,  when  he 
had  reached  four  score  and  one  years.  An  attendant  at  the  public 
schools,  then  a  farmer,  he  later  sought  employment  outside  of  his  home, 
and  entered  the  offices  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad,  about  1866, 
where  he  continued  until  his  death,  giving  thirty-five  years  of  faithful 
service.  He  had  no  interest  in  other  business,  but  for  eight  years  held 
the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace.  He  was  elected  as  mayor  of  his  town 
and  served  for  one  term. 

Morris  Flora  married  Eliza  Ann  Largent,  a  resident  at  the  Forks  of 


56o  WEST  VIRGINIA 

the  Cacapon,  \\'est  X'irginia,  born  tliere  >m  tlie  farm  of  her  parents.  Lewis 
and  Mary  (Hull)  Largent.  Their  other  children  were:  Susan,  wife  of 
Nimrod  Day,  and  mother  of  six  children,  living  at  the  Forks  of  the  Caca- 
pon;  three  sons.  Jacob,  George  and  Abner.  Morris  Flora  and  his  wife 
were  Methodists.  Mrs.  Flora  died  in  Paw  Paw  when  seventy-nine  years 
old.  Their  family  numbered  nine  children:  i.  Thomas  L.,  died  leaving 
a  widow,  Margaret  (Van  Horn)  Flora,  and  six  children  at  Paw  Paw.  2. 
Robert  P.,  died  unmarried.  3.  and  4.  Alcia  and  Caroline,  died  in  infancy. 
5.  Joseph  S.,  lives  with  his  wife,  \'aleria  (Ryan)  Flora,  and  their  six 
children  in  Brunswick,  Maryland.  6.  Hannah  C,  married  Christopher 
C.  Booker ;  six  children.  7.  George  A.,  referred  to  below.  8.  Morris  Bry- 
son.  lives  at  Paw  Paw ;  unmarried.  9.  James  W.,  deceased ;  left  a 
widow,  Emma  (Seaman)  Flora,  and  two  children  in  Cumberland, 
Maryland. 

(Ill)  George  Alfred,  son  nf  ?iIorris  Flora,  was  born  in  Paw  Paw, 
Morgan  county,  West  \'irginia,  March  8,  1858.  He  spent  his  youth 
there  and  found  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  of  the  neigh- 
borhood. At  the  early  age  of  fourteen  years  he  entered  the  employ  of 
the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad.  Three  years  later  he  became  a  laborer 
for  J.  B.  Hoyt  &  Company,  tanners,  then  with  Fayerweather  &  LaDew, 
the  name  of  which  was  afterward  changed  to  the  I'nited  Leather  Com- 
pany. When  Colonel  Roosevelt  was  the  president  of  the  United  States, 
Mr.  Flora  received  an  appointment  as  postmaster  at  Paw  Paw,  which  he 
held  for  eleven  years.  This  is  the  only  position  which  he  has  held  in 
which  politics  may  be  said  to  have  taken  part.  In  fraternities  of  which 
he  is  a  member,  Mr.  Flora  is  a  popular  man,  and  has  attained  official 
rank.  He  has  filled  all  the  chairs  in  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  has  risen 
in  the  same  manner  in  the  Junior  (^rder  of  Ignited  American  Mechanics. 
He  is  acting  secretary  of  the  Improved  Orrler  of  Heptasophs.  For  some 
years  an  attendant  of  the  Methodist  Church  Xorth.  he  has  been  for  three 
years  its  recording  secretary. 

On  October  28,  1879,  he  married  Charlotte  C.  Robertson,  born  in 
^Maryland,  in  1859,  daughter  of  a  INIaryland  planter,  named  Samuel  Rob- 
ertson, and  her  mother,  Christiana  (Licklider)  Robertson,  was  born  at 
Patterson  Creek.  West  Virginia.  Their  nine  children  were:  i.  Mary, 
wife  of  Thomas  Robinett ;  six  children;  resides  at  Paw  Paw,  West  Vir- 
ginia. 2.  Charlotte  C,  mentioned  above,  married  George  A.  Flora.  3. 
Sarah,  married  Peter  Twigg:  resides  in  Cumberland.  Maryland.  4. 
Savana,  married  Cecil  Alderson :  lives  with  their  one  child  in  Davis, 
West  \'irginia.  5.  William,  married  Alice  ]\liddleton:  four  children,  all 
living  in  Paw  Paw.  6.  Ebberhart,  married  Bertha  Golbronson  ;  lives  near 
Cumberland  ;  two  children.  7.  Richard,  married  .Sally  Slider :  lives  in 
Davis,  but  has  no  descendants.  8.  Resley.  married  Margaret  Daily ;  lives 
in  Froftburg.  Maryland  :  one  child.  9.  Andrew,  married  Martha  Roby : 
three  children:  lives  near  Kifer,  Maryland.  Christiana  (Licklider)  Rob- 
ertson still  lives  at  Green  Ridge,  Maryland.  George  .\.  and  Charlotte  C. 
("Robertson)  Flora  have  four  children:  i.  Myrtle  A.,  still  unmarried,  liv- 
ing at  home  in  Paw  Paw.  2.  Adda  F.,  married  Walter  C.  Robinett :  one 
child,  Edna  Mea  :  lives  in  Baltimore.  3.  Charles  E.,  served  three  years  in 
the  United  States  army,  fourteen  months  in  Cuba,  died  one  year  after 
his  return  home.    4.  Wilber  W.,  died  as  an  infant. 


This  family  is  thought  to  be  of  German  origin,  by  some 
BLE.SSING     this  is  asserted  as  a  fact,  although  the  American  found- 
er came   to  this   country   from   Ireland.     As   nearly   as 
can  be  ascertained  the  line  of  descent  is  as  follows: 

(I)   Charles  Blessing,  the  founder  of  this  family,  came  from  Ireland 


WEST  MRGINIA  561 

to  America  about  1761,  and  landed  in  \irginia,  but  subsequently  settled 
in  Maryland.     Child :  Michael,  of  whom  further. 

(11)  Michael,  son  of  Charles  Blessing,  was  born  in  Maryland.  He 
married  Christena  (Mary)  Long;  she  was  called  Christena,  but  may  have 
been  Mary  also.  Children  :  George  Lazarus,  see  forward ;  Eliza,  mar- 
ried Jacob  Hart;  Julia  Ann,  married  Mason  Jones;  Sarepta  Ann,  mar- 
ried John  Roush ;  John  Anderson,  married  Emma  Eliza  Cibbs ;  Mary 
Ann,  married  Thomas  Ball. 

(HI)  George  Lazarus,  son  of  Michael  and  Christena  (Long)  Bless- 
ing, was  born  April  15,  1820,  died  November  i,  1864.  He  married,  June 
kS,  1841,  Susanna,  born  June  8,  1820,  died  January  5,  1907,  daughter  of 
Michael  and  Mary  (Roush)  Rickard,  and  sister  of  Deby  Malinda, 
Manda,  Kate,  George,  Samuel,  John,  r\Iichael,  Jonas,  Joseph,  Barbara, 
Polly,  Aiargaret.  George  Lazarus  and  Susanna  (Rickard)  Blessing  had 
children;  John  r^Iichael,  born  October  8,  1842,  died  October  18,  1843; 
Calvin  Thomas,  see  forward ;  Mary  Penelope,  March  28,  1845  ;  James 
Madison,  April  29,  1847;  Sarepta  Janette,  March  17,  1849;  WiUiam  Bur- 
den, April  6,  185 1  ;  Samuel  Joseph,  December  29,  1852;  Lewis  Andrew, 
Jime  25.  1854;  Martin  Green,  Seittember  27,  1856,  died  in  infancy;  Ben- 
jamin Franklin,  January  25,  1858;  Sarah  Catherine,  August  7,  i860; 
George  Lathan,  December  17,  1862;  Fannie  Louise,  February  2,  1865. 

CIV)  Calvin  Thomas,  son  of  George  Lazarus  and  Susanna  (Rickard) 
Blessing,  was  born  in  ]\Iason  county,  Virginia,  now  West  A'irginia,  Janu- 
ary 30,  1844.  He  is  a  farmer  by  occupation.  He  enlisted  in  the  Union 
army  in  Augvist,  1862,  in  Company  B,  Thirteenth  West  Virginia  Infan- 
try, and  was  honorably  discharged  June  22,  1865.  He  was  wounded  at 
the  battle  of  Cedar  Creek,  October  ig,  1864,  being  shot  through  the  in- 
step, just  before  General  Philip  H.  Sheridan  arrived  on  his  famous  ride. 
He  served  as  sergeant  under  Captain  William  C.  Greenlee  and  Colonel 
William  R.  Brown.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  and  a  Re- 
publican in  politics.  He  married,  January  19,  1868,  Sarah  Josephine 
Board  who  was  born  October  30,  1848,  in  Wirt  county,  X'irginia,  now 
West  Virginia.     Children ;     1-2.  Ida  M.  and  Addie  May,  born  November 

4,  1869;  the  latter  died  in  infancy;  Ida  M.  married,  July  12,  1893,  Charles 

5.  Marr,  and  has  had  children  ;  Rhoda  Ethel,  born  June  2,  1894;  William 
Rhoderic,  August  27,  1895,  died  September  9,  1895;  infant,  born  March 
16,  died  July  8,  1898.  3.  Iva  Viella,  born  August  5,  1871.  4.  William 
Alonzo,  born  July  25,  1873  ;  married,  July  2,  1899,  Hannah  F.  Fry,  and 
has  had  children:  William  Lester,  born  March  24.  1900;  Garnet  Olga, 
born  September  14,  1901  ;  Howard  Ernest,  July  16,  1908.  5.  Riley  An- 
drew, see  forward.  6.  Myrtle  Elvira,  born  March  15,  1878.  7.  Thomas 
Edward,  born  December  10,  1880;  married,  October  28,  1903,  Allie  M. 
Fry;  children:  Fay  Debel,  born  October  3,  1905;  Beatrice  Audrey,  Au- 
gust 26,  1908.  8.  Oran  Guy,  born  October  26,  1882;  married.  May  28, 
1905,  Etha  J.  Rollins;  children:  Manford  Alvaro,  born  May  10,  1906; 
Benjamin  Franklin,  January  26,  1908;  Calvin  Thomas,  June  25,  1913.  9. 
Fannie  Ethel,  born  November  5,  1884,  died  April  20,  1892.  10.  Rosa 
Maude,  born  ^larch  30,  1888. 

(Y)  Riley  Andrew,  son  of  Calvin  Thomas  and  Sarah  Josephine 
(Board)  Blessing,  was  born  near  Letart,  Mason  county,  West  Virginia, 
December  11,  1875.  He  attended  public  school  in  INIason  county,  and 
took  a  course  of  training  at  the  Spencer  Normal  School,  Spencer,  Roane 
county.  West  Virginia.  He  matriculated  in  the  law  department  of  the 
George  Washington  University,  District  of  Columbia,  1903,  and  grad- 
uated from  this  institution  in  1906.  At  the  same  institution  he  took  a 
course  in  oratory,  and  supplemented  these  studies  by  a  course  at  Stray- 
er's   Bu.siness   College,   Washington,    District   of   Columbia.      He    taught 

36 


562  WEST  VIRGINIA 

school  from  1894  to  1901,  on  a  first  grade  certificate.  He  knew  what  it  1 
was  to  burn  the  midnight  oil.  He  prepared  in  part  for  his  first  teacher's  | 
examination  by  taking  his  books  to  the  field  with  him,  and  snatching  , 
every  spare  moment  to  inform  himself.  In  1901  he  was  selected  by  R.  > 
L.  Barnett,  sheriff  of  Mason  county,  as  his  office  clerk.  l""rom  1903  to  ! 
191 1  he  was  in  the  employment  of  the  United  States  Senate,  and  lived  | 
with  his  family  in  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  during  this  time.  | 
In  1906  Mr.  Blessing  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  supreme  court  of  j 
the  District  of  Columbia,  and  in  the  same  year,  to  practice  in  the  circuit 
courts  of  West  X'irginia.  He  was  admitted  in  the  following  year  to  j 
practice  before  the  court  of  appeals  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  in  1 
April,  191 1,  to  practice  in  the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States.  He  I 
practiced  law  in  the  District  of  Columbia  from  1906  to  191 1,  being  in  1 
partnership  with  David  H.  Butz,  the  firm  name  being  Butz  &  Blessing.  . 
In  191 1  he  o])ened  a  law  oflice  at  Point  Pleasant,  Mason  county.  West  | 
\'irginia.  In  January,  1913,  he  formed  a  partnership  with  F.  G.  Mas-  j 
grave,  prosecuting  attorney  of  said  county,  the  firm  being  known  as  the  1 
law  firm  of  Musgrave  &  Blessing.  He  still  resides  and  practices  law  in  i 
said  town.  He  has  been  an  enthusiastic  Republican  all  his  life,  and  has  I 
campaigned  for  his  party  since  1896.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Re-  j 
publican  executive  committee  of  Mason  county,  and  is  now  serving  his  | 
party  in  the  state  senate,  having  been  elected  in  November,  1912,  by  a  j 
large  majority,  for  a  term  of  four  years,  over  Hon.  Geo.  Grow,  of  Jack-  ; 
son  county,  the  Democratic  candidate.  ^Ir.  Blessing  is  a  Baptist,  as  is  ; 
also  his  wife.  j 

Mr.  Blessing  married,  April  21,  1897,  Delitha  May,  daughter  of  George  ! 
Washington  and  Charlotte  Ellen  (Snyder)  Van  Matre,  who  was  born  j 
October  27,  1881  (see  Van  Matre  sketch).  Children:  i.  Leolia  Gene- ( 
vieve,  born  May  17,  1898:  was  graduated  from  grammar  school  at  Point  I 
Pleasant,  June,  1912,  and  is  now  in  the  high  school.  At  President  Roose-  I 
velt's  New  Year  reception  in  1908,  when  in  the  act  of  shaking  hands  with  1 
the  president,  she  looked  up  into  his  face  and  said  :  "I  wish  you  a  happy  | 
New  Year,  Mr.  President."  President  Roosevelt,  laughing,  and  showing  1 
his  white  teeth,  replied :  "I  wish  you  a  happy  New  Year,  my  little  lady."  j 
as  all  in  the  receiving  line  gave  a  hearty  laugh.  2.  Beulah  Gay,  born  June  j 
I,  1900:  is  now  in  the  Point  Pleasant  high  school.  3.  Robert  Leslie,  "born  \ 
January  25.  1902;  he  served  as  a  page  in  the  state  senate  during  the  ses-  ' 
sion  of  19 1 3,  where  he  became  quite  popular  and  gained  some  newspaj^er 
notoriety.  The  following  incident  was  printed  in  all  the  newspapers  of 
importance  in  the  state :  I 

"Senator  R,    A.    Blessing,   of   Point   Pleasant,   is   not   only   a   good   Republican,  : 
but  he  has  a  bright  little  son   who  is  as  good  a  Republican  as  his  father,  and  he 
intends    to    see    that    his    parent    does    not    stray    off    the    safe    party    path.      The  j 
youngster,   who   is   just   nine,   was   with   his    father   in   the    exciting  scenes    in   the  ■ 
senate  last  Wednesday,  when  the  Republicans  chased   Senator  French  from  pillar  ' 
to  post,   forcing  him  to  vote   for  himself   as  president,  to  their  great   satisfaction. 
They  also  voted  for  several   Democrats,  excepting  French.     The  Democrats  didn't 
quite  enjoy  the   situation.     Senator  Blessing  had  just  voted   for   Bland   in   a   sten- 
torian voice,  when  his  nine-year-old  hopeful,  who  was  keeping  tab  from  his  position 
'way  back  in  the  rear,  rushed  up  the  aisle  to  his  father  and  yelled  at  the  top  of  his 
voice :  'Say,  pop,  you  just  made  a  mistake  and  voted  for  a  E)emocrat !     You  change  ; 
your  vote  quick  and  vote  for  a  Republican.    Go  on,  Pop.  and  change  it!'   The  senate  | 
didn't  recover  its  gravity  for  some  time  while  young  Blessing  tried  to  convert  his  ; 
father   back    to    Republicanism.      The    laughter    over    the    incident    broke    up    the  • 
tensity   of   the   party   fight   and   brought   good   humor   back   to   the    senate.      Even  ! 
Senator   French   laughed." 


Andrew   Board,    father  of   Sarah   Josephine    (Board)    Blessing    ( 
Blessing  IV).  was  the  son  of  Patrick  Board,  and  was  born  March 


WEST  VIRGINIA  563 

1799,  died  March  10,  1885.  He  was  a  member  of  and  a  liberal  contribu- 
tor to  the  support  of  the  Baptist  church.  In  1865  he  founded  the  Board 
Baptist  Church,  now  the  Oldtown  Baptist  Church  near  Letart,  West 
Virginia,  the  name  being  changed  at  his  request.  He  was  a  Whig  and  a 
Republican  in  politics.  For  many  years  preceding  his  death  he  was  a 
cripple,  and  was  unable  to  walk  without  the  use  of  a  crutch.  He  mar- 
ried (first)  Margaret  Ott,  April  21,  1829;  (second)  July  15,  1845,  Mary, 
daughter  of  Dusosaway  Dye;  (third)  1861,  Mary  Jane  Veverlin.  Chil- 
dren of  first  marriage :  James  L.,  born  February  7,"  1830,  died  February 
9,  1908;  Susan  Jane,  born  February  10,  1832;  Mary  Elizabeth.  Septem"- 
ber  4,  1833  :  Margaret  Matilda,  August  14,  1835  :  Nancy  Katharine,  Octo- 
ber 6,  1837;  George  W.,  January  16,  1840:  Andrew  Jackson,  January  13, 
1842.  Children  of  second  marriage :  Drusannah  Alinerva,  born  March 
16,  1847;  Sarah  Josephine,  October  30,  1848;  Lucinda  Isabelle.  May  18, 
1852;  Thomas  Wesley,  June  i,  1854:  William  Whortoii,  June  16,  1856, 
died  June  21,  1903.  Child  of  third  marriage:  ^lartha  Ellen,  born  Octo- 
ber 13.   1864,  deceased. 

(The  Van  Matre  Line). 

This  name  has  been  spelled  in  a  large  number  of  ways,  as  Van  Met- 
eren.  \'an  Metre.  Van  ]\Ieter,  A'an  Mater,  and  others;  among  some  of 
.  the  descendants  it  has  taken  a  French  form,  if  they  really  are  of  the 
■  same   family. 

Emanuel  \"an  Meteren  was  the  Dutch  consul  in  London,  England,  in 
the  early  seventeenth  century ;  he  was  a  historian,  and  a  friend  of  Henry 
Hudson.  The  surname  already  existed  in  his  family.  The  arms  of  the 
Dutch  Van  Meteren  family  are :  quartered :  first  and  fourth  of  silver, 
with  a  fleur-de-lis,  gules ;  with  second  and  third  of  gold,  with  two  fesses, 
gules;  accomplished  with  eight  martlets  of  the  same  color  arranged  in 
orle.  Crest:  a  fleur-de-lis.  It  is  said,  however,  that  the  Van  Meterens 
who  came  to  America  derive  their  name  from  Meteren,  a  town  in  Gueld- 
erlsnd,  Holland.  There  are  two  early  American  settlers  from  whom  the 
Virginian  pioneer  family  has  been  supposed  to  have  come,  but  the  fol- 
lowing account  is  supposed  to  be  correct,  so  far  as  it  goes,  by  those  who 
have  studied  the  question. 

(I)  Jan  Joosten,  the  founder  of  this  family,  arrived  at  New  Amster- 
dam (now  New  York  City),  September  12,  1662,  coming  from  Tieder- 
welt,  with  his  wife,  and  five  children  ranging  in  age  from  two  to  fifteen 
years.  In  the  same  year  he  removed  to  Wyltwick  (Kingston,  New 
York).  On  June  7th,  in  the  next  year,  the  Minnisink  Indians,  raiding 
and  burning  Wyltwick,  carried  away  as  captives  his  wife  and  two  chil- 
dren, but  the  prisoners  were  rescued.  At  Wyltwick  he  was  a  schepen, 
and  in  1667  he  was  elected  a  deacon  in  the  Dutch  Reformed  church.  In 
1673  he  was  one  of  the  four  magistrates  of  Hurley  and  Marbletown,  New 
York.  He  appears  to  have  had  property  at  Marbletown  two  years  before 
this.  He  swore  allegiance  to  the  English,  in  Ulster  county.  New  York, 
in  1689.  In  1695  he  with  other  adventurers,  is  found  in  the  province  of 
East  Jersey,  and  on  October  i8th  of  this  year  he  and  another,  probably 
his  son-in-law,  purchased  five  hundred  acres  in  Burlington  county.  New 
Jersey,  on  the  Delaware  river,  on  the  present  site  of  Burlington.  He 
seems  the  next  year  to  have  returned  to  Ulster  county.  New  York,  but 
to  have  retained  his  interest  in  the  New  Jersey  property  till  1699.  In 
1700  he  made  a  large  individual  purchase  of  land  in  Somerset  county. 
New  Jersey,  and  he  probably  settled  and  died  near  Raritan,  New  Jersey. 
He  married  Macyken  Hendrickson,  of  Meppelen,  province  of  Drenthe, 

Holland.     Children  :  Lysbeth  :  Catharine  ;  Geertje,  married  Crom  ; 

Joost  Janse.  of  whom  further ;  Gysbert  Janse. 


S64  WEST  VIRGINIA  i 

j 
(11)  Joost  Janse,  son  of  Jan  Joosten  and  Alacyken  llcmlricksen,  was  < 
born  probably  in  Europe,  about  1656.  He  married,  at  New  Pfaltz,  New  ' 
York,  December  12,  1682,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Louis  DuBois,  who  was  , 
baptized  September  14.  1664.  Children:  i.  Jan,  baptized  October  14,1 
1683 :  he  settled  somewhere  on  the  Raritan  river,  in  Somerset  county,  1 
New  Jersey,  thence  removed  to  Maryland,  settling  near  the  Alonocacy  '. 
river;  November  8,  1726,  he  received  a  grant  of  land  in  Frederick  county,  1 
at  the  mouth  of  Metre's  run,  which  empties  into  the  Alonocacy,  and  here,  ' 
it  is  said,  the  battle  of  Monocacy  Junction  was  fought,  in  the  civil  war.  1 
The  settlement  of  the  valley  of  \'irginia  ma}-  be  said  to  have  begun  with  j 
the  granting  of  an  immense  area  in  what  was  then  Spottsylvania  county,  j 
by  Governor  Goocli  and  his  council,  at  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  June  17,  I 
1730,  to  John  (Jan)  and  Isaac  \'an  Aietre.  From  these  brothers  (per-  | 
haps  also  from  Hendrix),  the  \'irginia  A'an  Meters  (Van  Matres,  etc.),  I 
are  probably  descended.  He  is  supposed  to  have  married  I" first)  Sarah  Bo-  i 

dine  or  Berdine :  (second)  Margaret  .  2.  Rebekka,  baptized  April  26,, 

1686;  married,  September,  1704,  Cornelis  Elting;  their  daughter  Sarah  j 
married  John,  son  of  Jost  Hite.  3.  Lysbeth,  baptized  Alarch  3,  1689.  4.  j 
Isaac,  born  about  1(392;  he  removed  to  New  Jersey;  (see  further  what  1 
has  already  been  said  about  him  under  his  brother  Jan).  He  married 
(first)  it  is  supposed,  Catalina,  widow  of  Alolenaer  Hendrickse,  (second)  1 
about  1725,  .\nnetie  Wyncoop.  5.  Hendrix,  baptized  September  i,  1695; 
^e  also  removed  to  New-  Jersey.  I 

(I)  John  A'an  Matre,  probably  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  Van  Metre  ] 
brothers,  of  whom  above,  was  born  about  1790.  He  married  Delitha 
Peck,  who  was  born  in  1808,  and  died  in  1894.  Children:  Emiline; 
Nancy;  Jacob;  David;  Alary;  George  Washington,  of  whom  further; 
Andrew,  .-^gnes,  Henry,  John.  j 

(II)  George  \\'ashington,  son  of  John  and  Delitha  (Peck)  Van  Ma-| 
tre,  was  born  December  14.  1836.  He  was  a  farmer  and  a  Republican.  | 
He  married  Charlotte  Ellen,  daughter  of  John  Wesley  and  Mary  I 
(Thompson)  Snyder,  who  was  born  in  Indiana.  April  11,  1862.  Chil- , 
dren:  i.  Delitha  May,  born  October  27,  1881;  married,  April  21,  1897,! 
Riley  Andrew  Blessing,  of  whom  above.  2.  George  Washington,  born  I 
February  10,  1884;  married  (first)  Myrtle  McKinney,  October,  1904;, 
child:  Ralph  Marvin,  born  February  11,  1907;  (second)  A'erda  Rock,  1 
married  November,  1910.  3.  Ida  Lucinda,  born  April  10,  1889;  married' 
Fred  AI.  Roush,  June  30,  1907.  4.  Fred  Emerson,  born  June  10,  1892. : 
5.  Carrie  Cloe,  born  January  12,  1897:  married  M.  E.  Greer,  May  2i,,j 
1913,  and  they  took  up  their  residence  at  Huntington,  West  Mrginia.  6.j 
Twila  Udell,  born  July  7.  1899.  .  j 


This  name,  of  Welsh  origin,  originally  meant  son  of  John, 
JONES     being  precisely  equivalent  to  the  name,  also  of  very  frequent 

occurrence,  Johnson.  The  common  use  of  John  as  a  Chris- 
tian name  explains  the  great  frequency  with  which  its  derivative,  Jones, 
is  found  as  a  surname.  The  present  family  has  long  been  settled  in  what 
is  now  West  Mrginia.  It  will  be  noted  that  Lyle  Laughlin  Jones,  of 
Parkersburg,  is  descended  also  from  the  Pierpont  family,  which  has  borne 
so  great  a  part  in  the  making  of  the  history  of  West  A'irginia.  It  is  un- 
fortunate that  the  exact  connection  of  the  West  Virginia  Pierponts  with  I 
the  great  English  and  New  England  family  is  not  known  ;  this  family  is  [ 
remarkable  for  the  number  of  persons  of  great  distinction  in  many  fields, ' 
religious,  diplomatic,  financial,  political,  and  others,  descended  from  it,  | 
and  the  West  \'irginia  Pierponts  have  been  true  to  the  character  of  the! 
family.     Records  pertaining  to  the  history  of  the  West  Virginian  Pier-' 


WEST  MRGIXIA  565 

,  ponts  are  said  to  have  been  lost  in  the  civil  war,  so  it  is  to  be  feared  that 
the  full  ancestral  connection  with  the  New  England  and  Norman  stock 
will  never  be  elucidated. 

(I)  William  Jones,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  v/hom  we 
have  definite  information,  lived  in  ^lonongalia  county,  Mrginia.  He 
married  Jennie  McMullen.     Child,  William  McAlullen,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  William  AIc'MulIen,  son  of  William  and  Jennie  (McAlullen) 
Jones,  was  born  in  Monongalia  county,  Mrginia.  There  he  was  a  farm- 
er. In  politics  he  was  a  Whig,  in  religion  a  Methodist.  He  married 
(first)  Edith,  daughter  of  John  and  Sally  (Bike)  Petty;  (second)  Sebra, 
daughter  of  Hadley  and  Rachel  (Ramsey)  Johnson;  (third)  Jane  Vande- 
vort.  Children :  Sarah,  George,  Sarilda,  Oliver  Shirtliff,  of  whom 
further ;  Virgil  Lewis,  William  Henry,  Daniel  Webster,  Josephus,  Vir- 
ginia, Benjamin. 

(III)  Oliver  Shirtliff,  son  of  William  AlcMullen  Jones,  was  born  in 
Monongalia  county,  Mrginia,  April  3,  1836,  died  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
October  30,  1910.  In  the  civil  was  he  served  as  a  sergeant  in  the  Third 
Regiment  West  Virginia  \'olunteer  Infantry,  afterward  as  a  member  of 
the  Sixth  West  Virginia  Cavalry.  He  was  a  merchant,  a  Republican  and 
a  Methodist.  He  married,  April  2-,  1865,  Lucy,  born  August  9,  1844, 
daughter  of  John  Jay  and  Sarah  (  Snell)  Pierpont.  She  is  now  living  at 
Parkersburg.  West  \"irginia.  Her  grandfather's  name  was  Francis 
Pierpont.  Children:  Charles  Clarence,  born  February  2,  1866;  Fanny 
Florence,  October  14,  1867;  Paul  Pierpont,  October  3,  1869,  died  in  in- 
fancy; William  Wilber,  December  11,  1870,  died  June  16,  1911;  Grace 
Pierpont,  August  11,  1873;  George  Glen,  born  August  6,  1875,  died  in 
infancy;  Edith  Pierpont,  September  20.  1876;  Lyle  Laughlin.  of  whom 
further;  Ray  R.,  February  18,  1882;  Mildred  and  Kenneth,  July  13, 
1886,  both  died  in  infancy. 

(IV)  Lyle  Laughlin,  son  of  Oliver  Shirtliff  and  Lucy  (Pierpont) 
Jones,  was  born  at  Parkersbnrg,  West  Mrginia,  August  29,  1879.  I"  ^'''S 
public  schools  of  this  city  his  education  was  received.  His  business  life 
has  been  in  connection  with  the  Wood  County  Bank,  of  Parkersbnrg,  in 
which  he  started  as  messenger ;  by  successive  promotions  to  bookkeeper, 
receiving  teller,  and  paying  teller,  then  to  his  present  position,  he  has  held 
all  offices  in  this  bank  to  assistant  cashier,  the  position  which  he  has  now 
reached.  He  is  a  member  of  all  branches  of  the  Masonic  fraternity 
which  are  found  at  Parkersburg,  also  of  Nemesis  Shrine,  in  which  he  is 
a  charter  member;  and  of  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
in  which  he  was  elected,  in  April.  1912,  exalted  ruler  of  Parkersburg 
Lodge.  Mr.  Jones  is  a  Republican,  and  has  served  one  term,  from  1904 
to  1906,  as  a  member  of  the  city  council  of  Parkersburg. 

He  married,  at  Parkersburg.  February  10,  1904,  Ida  Albrecht,  born  at 
Parkersburg,  April  2,  1880,  daughter  of  Edward  Christian  and  Amelia 
Catharine  (Albrecht)  Gerwig.  Her  father  is  a  manufacturer  of  furni- 
ture, and  was  a  commissioner  for  West  ^'irginia  to  the  World's  Fair  held 
in  St.  Louis  in  1904.  Children  of  Edward  Christian  and  Amelia  Cath- 
arine (Albrecht)  Gerwig:  Edward  Charles;  Ida  Albrecht,  married  Lyle 
Laughlin  Jones;  Walter  H. ;  Flora  E.  Airs.  Jones  is  a  member  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  at  Parkersburg.  Children  of  Lyle  Laughlin 
and  Ida  Albrecht  (Gerwig)  Jones:  Catharine  Gerwig,  born  October  10, 
1906;  Lyle  Laughlin,  November  8.  1909. 


566  WEST  \IRGINIA  i 

As  vice-president  of  the  National  Bank  of  West  Virginia, 
IRVINE  William  Burriss  Irvine  is  the  active  head  of  the  oldest  ! 
bank  in  Wheeling,  an  institution  which  is  now  approach-  , 
ing  its  centenary.  Mr.  Irvine  has  been  identified  with  banking  in  Wheel-  \ 
ing  for  about  a  quarter  of  a  century  and  is  one  of  the  busy,  forceful,  i 
trusted  men  of  the  Wheeling  financial  district.  He  takes  a  keen  interest  ! 
in  all  enterprises  promoting  the  progress  and  welfare  of  this  city,  and  i 
after  serving  several  years  as  a  director  of  the  Wheeling  board  of  trade, 
the  leading  commercial  organization  of  the  state,  he  was  in  January,  j 
1913,  unanimously  elected  its  president.  He  is  a  recognized  leader  in  ' 
the  bahking  circle.-;  of  the  state  and  has  served  with  high  credit  as  sec-  \ 
retary  and  president  of  the  West  Virginia  Bankers'  Association.  ' 

A  resident  of  Wheeling  for  forty  years,  Mr.  Irvine  was  born  in  Smith-  ! 
field,  Jefiferson  county,  Ohio,  June  ",  1866.  His  father,  George  F.  Ir-  j 
vine,  is  now  a  resident  of  Pittsburgh  ;  his  mother,  now  deceased,  was  ' 
Rachel  (Burrissl  Irvine.  William  was  the  youngest  in  a  family  of  I 
three  children  and  came  to  Wheeling  with  his  parents  in  1871.  All  his  | 
education  was  obtained  in  this  city.  From  the  public  schools  he  entered  I 
Linsly  Institute,  the  school  which  produced  many  prominent  characters  ! 
in  the  afifairs  of  Wheeling  during  the  past  century. 

Mr.  Irvine  began  his  banking  experience  with  the  Bank  of  the  Ohio 
\'alley.  where  he  was  a  messenger  boy  at  the  age  of  fifteen.  He  was  ; 
then  with  the  National  E.xchange  Bank  for  some  years  and  rose  to  the  | 
rank  of  assistant  cashier.  In  June.  1901,  he  succeeded  J.  A.  Jefiferson  j 
as  cashier  of  the  Bank  of  Wheeling,  and  in  1907  became  vice-president  , 
of  the  National  Bank  of  West  Virginia.  Mr.  Irvine  is  also  one  of  the  - 
trustees  of  the  Mutual  Savings  Bank.  In  politics  he  has  always  been  ■ 
a  staunch  Republican,  though  his  busy  career  has  not  allowed  active  j 
participation  in  practical  politics.  He  is  one  of  the  leading  Masons  of  I 
the  state,  a  member  of  the  Fort  Henry  Club  and  connected  with  various  1 
local  organizations  of  social  and  civic  nature.  In  the  Fourth  Street  | 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  he  has  served  as  steward  for  the  past  fif-  1 
teen  years.  \ 

In  February.  1887,  Mr.  Irvine  married  Eva  A.,  daughter  of  the  late  | 
David  M.  and  Mrginia  fLindsey")  Drake.  Her  father  was  also  con-  1 
nected  with  the  banking  afifairs  of  Wheeling  during  the  last  century.  \ 
Russell  Drake  Irvine,  the  one  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Irvine,  after  a  course 
in  the  Mercersburg,  Pennsylvania,  .Academy,  is  now  connected  with  • 
the  bank.  The  beautiful  Irvine  home  is  at  Elmwood  in  the  suburbs  of  1 
AMieeling. 


This  name  is  and  probably  long  has  been  the  most  common  of 
S.MITH  all  surnames  in  the  United  States  of  America,  being  of  fre- 
quent occurrence  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  it  is  also 
a  common  name  in  Great  Britain.  Like  many  other  English  names,  it 
has  the  aspect  of  being  derived  from  a  trade,  and  this  is  the  most  natural 
explanation  of  its  derivation  and  first  meaning.  This  also  explains  the 
number  of  individuals  and  distinct  families  possessing  in  common  this 
one  name,  for  there  must  everywhere  have  been  smiths,  and  many  would 
exercise  this  occupation,  in  proportion  to  the  total  population  of  any 
country.  Not  all  the  Smiths,  however,  in  the  United  States  are  of  Brit- 
ish origin ;  in  addition  to  the  multitude  of  British  immigrants  constantly 
coming  to  the  ports  of  this  country  and  bringing  with  them  this  surname, 
immigrants  from  Holland  and  Germany  have  founded  families  of  the 
same  name.  The  present  family  was  early  settled  in  New  Jersey,  and 
has  migrated  southward.    Judging  from  the  known  facts  of  a  later  time. 


WEST  \"IR(;iXIA  567 

the  early  Smiths  in  this  line  were  Quakers,  which  indicates  the  proba- 
bihty  of  EngHsh  origin. 

(I)  Timothy  Smith  is  the  first  member  of  this  family  of  whom  we 
have  definite  information.    He  had  a  son,  Micajah,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Micajah.  son  of  Timothy  Smith,  resided  in  New  Jersey,  but 
moved  to  Pennsylvania,  and  thence  again  came  into  Monongalia  county, 
\'irginia,  settling  at  Smithtown.  probably  near  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century.     He  married   Esther  .   Child :   William,  of  whom   further. 

(III)  William,  son  of  Micajah  and  Esther  Smith,  was  born  at  Smith- 
town,  May  28.  1799,  and  died  in  Preston  county,  \'irginia,  March  15, 
1859.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  an  adherent  of  the  Democratic  party.  In 
early  life  both  he  and  his  wife  were  Quakers,  but  they  later  joined  the 
Baptist  church.  His  life  was  largely  passed  in  Western  Pennsylvania, 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Brownsville,  but  he  came  in  1833  to  Gladesville, 
Preston  county,  Virginia.  William  Smith  married  Margaret  Binns,  who 
was  born  July  27,  1800.  and  died  at  Kerns,  Randolph  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia, June  II,  1885.  Children:  i.  Alice;  married  Joseph  Halderman ; 
lives  at  Gladesville.  2.  Hester,  deceased :  married  Bennett  Weaver.  3. 
James  Wilson  :  living  at  Independence,  West  \'irginia :  married  Margaret 
Binns.  4.  Joseph  B.,  living  at  Gladesville :  married  Adelaide  Ford.  5. 
Sarah,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-nine :  unmarried.  6.  Elizabeth,  deceased  ; 
married  Lemuel  INlenear.  7.  Lewis  Gibson;  living  in  Oklahoma:  married 
Mary  Moore.  8.  Susanna,  deceased;  married  John  Austin.  9.  Elezan  ; 
married  Peter  Wamsley ;  lives  at  Buckhannon,  West  Virginia.  10.  Wil- 
liam H.,  of  whom  further.  11.  George  H.,  living  at  Charlottesville,  Vir- 
ginia; married  (first)  Levera  Lyon,  (second)  Ellen  Powell.  Two  other 
children.  Micajah  W.  and  Melinda,  died  young. 

(IV)  William  H.,  son  of  William  and  Margaret  (Binns)  Smith,  was 
born  at  Gladesville,  April  28.  1844.  Here  he  was  brought  up,  and  here 
he  has  always  lived.  He  is  a  farmer.  In  the  civil  war  he  enlisted  for  the 
defense  of  his  country  in  Company  B,  Fourth  West  Mrginia  Cavalry, 
serving  from  1863  to  1864,  and  was  discharged  on  the  expiration  of  the 
term  of  his  enlistment.  He  is  a  Republican,  and  a  member  of  the  Bap- 
tist church,  in  which  he  holds  the  office  of  trustee.  He  married  (first) 
Sarah  E.,  daughter  of  Jacob  and  ^Martha  (Watkin)  Frederick,  who  was 
born  in  Monongalia  county,  Virginia,  and  died  at  Gladesville,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-three.  Her  father  was  a  farmer  in  Monongalia  county,  where  he 
died  in  March,  1897,  aged  about  seventy-seven.  She  became  in  her  later 
years  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church.    Mr.  Smith  married 

(second)  Caroline  Streets,  (third)  Anna  Teits.  Children,  all  by  first  mar- 
riage: I.  Idora  Josephine,  born  February  17,  1867;  married  Charles  S. 
Fuller :  he  is  a  farmer,  and  they  live  in  Preston  county.  West  Virginia. 
2.  Rufus  Arlington,  of  whom  further.  3.  Artemas  Clyde,  born  June  i, 
1870;  farmer,  living  in  Garrett  county.  ^Maryland :  married  Elizabeth 
Herring.  4.  Harvey  Blaine,  born  February  19,  1876:  farmer,  lives  at 
Keyser,  Mineral  county.  West  A'irginia  ;  married  Elizabeth  Craver. 

(\')  Rufus  Arlington,  son  of  William  H.  and  Sarah  E.  (Frederick) 
Smith,  was  born  at  Gladesville,  August  11,  1868.  His  early  years  were 
spent  in  Preston  county,  W^est  Virginia,  and  he  attended  the  common 
schools  and  the  summer  normal  sessions.  For  one  year  he  taught  school, 
but  he  then  engaged  himself  in  mercantile  business  at  Blaine.  Mineral 
county.  West  \'irginia.  In  1900  he  went  into  the  mining  and  shipping  of 
coal,  still  living  at  Blaine,  which  is  to  this  day  the  place  of  his  residence. 
In  April.  1910,  he  organized  the  Hamill  Coal  and  Coke  Company,  of 
which  he  has  been  general  manager  from  the  incorporation.  Mr.  Smith 
has  been  postmaster  of  Blaine  since  1889.  He  is  also  president  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Kitzmiller,  Garrett  countv,  IMarvIand.     He  is  a 


568  WEST  MRGIXIA 

Republican,  but  not  very  active  in  politics.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith 
are  members  and  regular  attendants  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
He  married,  June  29,  1892,  Nettie  Grace,  daughter  of  Mesach  A.  and 
Mollie  Louise  (Holly)  Browning,  who  was  born  at  Cranesville,  Preston 
county,  West  Virginia,  October  2,  1873.  Her  father  was  born  near 
Cranesville,  and  is  now  living  at  Kitzmiller ;  her  mother,  born  near 
Moorefield,  Hardy  county,  Mrginia,  died  April  13,  1908.  Mr.  Browning 
married  (second)  in  1909,  Jennie  .\bernethy.  Children  of  Mesach  A. 
Browning,  all  except  the  last-named  by  first  wife:  i.  Ismenia  Maud,  mar- 
ried E.  J.  Hamill.  2.  Nettie  Grace,  married  Rufus  .\rlington  Smith.  3. 
Cora  P.,  married  \".  G.  Pew.  4.  Susan  R.,  married  Frank  Laughlin, 
deceased.  5.  J.  Russell,  died  Octnber  8.  1908.  6.  Louise,  born  in 
July,   1910. 

Children  of  Rufus  Arlington  and  Nettie  Grace  (Browning)  Smith- 
Carroll  Ney,  born  January  31.  1896;  William  Alan,  born  December  27,, 
J900;  Virginia  Pearl,  December  4,   1904. 


Alexander  Edwards,  the  founder  of  this  family  in 
EDWARDS  this  country,  came  from  Bristol,  England,  in  1640,  and 
settled  in  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  and  removed  to 
Northampton  in  1655,  where  he  died  September  4,  1690.  Prior  to  his 
coming  to  America  he  was  an  officer  in  the  English  army,  and  was 
presented  with  a  medal  bearing  the  coat-of-arms  of  England,  by  the  King, 
for  heroic  service  in  the  army,  which  medal  is  now  in  the  possession 
of  some-  of  his  descendants  in  Hamilton  county,  Ohio.  He  married  ( a 
widow)  Sarah  Baldwin  Searles.  Children:  Samuel,  born  March  7, 
1643;  Hannah,  February  16,  1645;  Joseph,  August  8,  1647;  May,  June 
20,  1650;  Benjamin,  June  24,  1652:  Sarah,  November  21,  1654:  Na- 
thaniel, referred  to  below;  Eliza,  born   February  22,    1660. 

(H)  Nathaniel,  son  of  Alexander  and  Sarah  f Baldwin-Searles) 
Edwards,  born  June  25,  1657,  married,  but  his  wife's  name  is  unknown. 
Children:  William,  born  1719,  died  in  1784,  settled  on  New  River,  Orange 
county.  North  Carolina  :  Alexander,  referred  to  below  :  David,  born  in 
1724,  died  in  1785,  settled  in  Warren  county.  Ohio:  Robert,  born  in  1727, 
settled  in  Franklin  countv,  A'irginia.  and  was  lost  in  1776  at  the  battle  of 
Halifax. 

(HI)  Alexander,  son  of  Nathaniel  Edwards,  died  in  1784,  in  Gray- 
son county,  Virginia.  His  wife's  name  is  unknown.  Among  his  children 
was  Benjamin,  referred  to  below. 

(IV)  Benjamin,  son  of  Alexander  Edwards,  was  born  in  Springfield, 
Massachusetts.  His  wife's  name  is  unknown.  Among  his  children  was 
Arthur,  referred  to  below. 

(V)  Arthur,  son  of  Benjamin  Edwards,  was  born  August  16.  1744,  in 
Augusta  county.  Virginia,  and  died  in  1820:  is  buried  in  the  Barnett 
burial  ground  in  Lewis  district.  Mason  county.  He  served  in  the  .\merican 
army  during  the  revolutionary  war,  and  was  in  the  battle  of  Guilford 
Court  House  and  other  engagements  under  General  Gates.  He  married, 
January  15,  1775,  Jane  Withrow.  Children:  Sarah,  born  March  17, 
"1776;  Isaac,  April  27,  1778:  Elizabeth,  ]May  28,  1780:  .Arthur,  May  ir. 
1783;  Jane,  June  4,  1785;  Margaret,  June  14,  1788;  Hannah;  Mary; 
Rebecca;  Susanna,  born  April  11,  1797;  Samuel,  twin  with  Susanna, 
referred  to  below^ 

(VL)  Samuel,  son  of  Arthur  Edwards  Sr,  and  Jane  (Withrow)  Ed- 
wards, was  born  April  11,  1797,  in  Monroe  county.  Virginia,  now- 
West  Virginia,  and  removed  with  his  parents  to  Mason  county  when 
he  was  eleven  years  of  age,  where  he  died  May  9,  1872.     He  was  mar- 


WEST  X'lRGIXIA  569 

Tied,  February  14,  1819,  by  Frank  W'atkins,  Es(i.,  to  Sarah  C,  daugh- 
ter of  Benjamin  and  Nancy  Lewis;  she  was  born  October  10,  1799,  and 
died  September  12,  1884.  Her  brothers  and  sisters  were:  John  Lewis; 
Benjamin  Lewis,  Jr. ;  Catharine,  married  Michael  Newhouse ;  George 
Lewis,  married  Alargaret  Winkleblack ;  William  Lewis,  married  Lu- 
cinda  Clendenin,  JNIarch  9,  1808:  Andrew  Lewis;  James  Lewis;  and 
Isaac  Lewis,  married  Rose  Roush.  There  were  born  to  Samuel  and 
Sarah  C.  Edwards,  children:  Smith,  referred  to  below;  Albert,  born 
September  14.  1822,  deceased;  Helen  Jane,  born  February  8,  1824,  died 
September  7,  1829;  Jane,  born  February  3,  1827,  deceased;  Arthur, 
"born  May  4,  1829;  Lewis,  born  March  4.  1832,  died  June  4,  1905;  Vin- 
cent, born  August  22,  1834;  Allen,  born  January  21,  1836,  deceased; 
Samuel  D.,  born  August  15.  1839,  died  July  8,  1874. 

(VH)  Smith,  son  of  Samuel  and  Sarah  C.  (Lewis)  Edwards,  was 
torn  November  16,  1820,  died  July  15.  1903.  After  his  second  mar- 
riage he  removed  to  South  Portsmouth,  Kentucky,  where  he  lost  his 
left  arm  July  29,  1881,  by  the  accidental  discharge  of  a  gun.  He  mar- 
ried (first)  March  25,  1841,  Margaret,  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Sarah 
(Callahan)  Pullin;  she  came  with  her  parents  from  Bath  county,  Vir- 
ginia, where  she  was  born  March  7,  1812,  and  died  November  14, 
1863.  Her  brothers  and  sisters  were:  James  P.  Pullin,  born  March 
6,  1800,  deceased;  Agnes  Pullin,  born  November  3.  1801,  deceased; 
Charles  Pullin,  born  October  6,  1803,  deceased ;  Jonathan  Pullin  Jr., 
■born  September  11,  1805,  deceased;  Samuel  Pullin.  born  August  4, 
1807,  deceased;  Youathless  H.  Pullin,  born  December  13,  1809.  mar- 
ried Jane  Edwards;  Ann  Pullin,  born  May  10,  1814,  married  George 
Lewis,  January  27,  1831,  she  died  June,  1869;  Sarah  Pullin,  born  May 
15,  1819;  Mary  (Pullin)  Cooper,  born  February  25,  1826.  He  married 
(second)  Mary  Clendenin,  daughter  of  Leander  Clendenin.  Chil- 
dren, by  first  marriage:  John  Riley,  born  December  7,  1842,  mar- 
ried Nancy  V.  Gibbs :  James  M.,  born  March  31,  1844,  died  May  27, 
1912,  married  ]\Iahala  Van  Matre ;  Sarah,  born  January  3,  1845,  died 
October  21,  1904;  IMazilla,  deceased;  Robert,  born  November,  1847, 
died  March  29,  1905;  Straugher  S.,  born  March  i,  1849,  died  May  28, 
1890,  married  Nancy  Gibbs;  Jane  A.,  born  October  7.  1850,  married 
Camden  Lewis;  Arthur,  referred  to  below;  Mary,  bom  February  19, 
1855,  married  John  ^^'.  \^anMatre,  March  22,  1876,  died  September  3, 
iQOi.  Ry  his  second  wife  was  born  Lewis  A.,  February  20,  1865,  died 
at  age  of  two  years.  John  Riley  and  James  M.  Edwards  fought  in  the 
Federal  army  during  the  civil  war,  enlisting  at  Point  Pleasant,  July  18, 
1862,  in  the'  First  A\'est  Virginia  Artillery.  They  were  in  the  battles 
of  Rock  Gap,  Droop  [Mountain,  Lynchburg,  Snicker's  Gap,  Ashby's  Gap 
and  many  others  in  the  campaign  of  the  Potomac  and  Shenandoah  Val- 
leys, and  were  mustered  out  of  service  June  28,  1865,  at  Wheeling,  West 
Virginia. 

(Vni)  Arthur,  son  of  Smith  and  Margaret  (Pullin)  Edwards, 
was  born  April  3,  1853,  at  West  Columbia,  Mason  county,  \^'est  Vir- 
ginia. He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Mason 
countv  and  a  private  seminary  in  Ohio,  and  then  entered  and  graduated 
from  the  Ohio  Southern  Business  College  at  Parkersburg.  After  teach- 
ing school  for  several  years  in  IMason  county  he  worked  at  mechanical 
trades  and  in  business.  He  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  for  Mason 
county  in  1880  and  re-elected  in  1896,  and  in  1895  and  1896  he  was 
treasurer  of  the  town  of  Point  Pleasant.  In  1897  he  was  elected  mayor 
of  Point  Pleasant,  and  in  1908  was  again  elected  justice  of  the  peace, 
and  in  1913  was  again  elected  mayor  of  Point  Pleasant,  West  Virginia, 
which  position  he  still  holds.     He  was  also  assessor  of  the  town   from 


5/0  WEST  \IRGINIA 

njoj  to  1912.  He  is  a  nicniber  of  (Jriental  Lndgu^  Xo.  49,  Knights  of 
Pythias,  past  chancellor  commander,  a  member  of  the  Uniform  Rank, 
Knights  of  Pythias,  and  has  held  offices  in  the  lodge  and  is  at  present 
one  of  its  trustees.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Evergreen  Lodge,  No.  36, 
I.  O.  O.  F.  He  married  (first)  September  25,  1878,  Sarah  Alice,  daugh- 
ter of  James  W.  and  Rachel  Saunders,  of  Mason  county,  West  Vir- 
ginia; she  died  December  22,  1891.  He  married  (second)  April  9,  1901, 
Etha  Jane,  daughter  of  John  T.  and  Harriet  (Howell)  Brown,  of  Ma- 
son county,  W'est  Virginia.  Her  brothers  and  sisters  were:  D.  W. 
Prown,  married  Maggie  L.  Lemaster :  Charles  W.  Prown,  married  Vir- 
ginia Love:  Carrie  Brown,  married  A.  J.  Kincade  :  Mary  Frances  Brown, 
married  William  A.  Cheuvront :  Maggie  Brown,  married  T.  J.  Fads;  Vir- 
gie  L.  Brown,  married  O.  W.  Conley :  Johnnie  Brown,  deceased.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Edwards  have  no  children. 


This   family  traces  its  descent  to  the  house  of  Ormonde, 
PCTLER     in  England,  the  present  head  of  which  is  the  Earl  of  Or- 
monde, bearing  one  of  the  most  ancient  Irish  titles  in  the 
British  Empire.    Butler  is  the  family  name  of  the  Ormondes  and  was  de- 
rived from  their  ancient  office,  chief  butler  of  Ireland. 

The  Butler  family  in  America  had  its  origin  in  the  three  young 
brothers,  scions  of  the  house  of  Ormonde,  who  emigrated  to  the  colonies 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  One  settled  in  Maine,  one 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  one  in  \'irginia  and  Kentucky.  Of  the  life  of  this 
third  brother  and  of  his  son,  little  is  known,  though  some  papers  sealed 
by  them  with  the  Butler  arms — "( )r,  a  chief  indented  azure" — are  in  the 
possession  of  the  family.  After  the  third  American  generation,  however, 
the  descent  of  the  \'irginia  Pullers  is  clearly  traced. 

(I)  William  Garland  Butler  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county,  Vir- 
ginia, September  i,  1774,  and  died  near  Shepherdstown,  West  Virginia, 
April  19,  1847.  He  married  Nancy  Moore,  who  was  born  at  "Level 
Green,"  near  Charles  Town,  May  15,  1780,  and  died  in  Shepherdstown, 
April  10,  1864.  Children:  i.  Elizabeth  Nash,  born  January  20,  1801.  2. 
Nancy  Davis,  born  December  26,  1802,  died  August  25,  1803.  3.  Polly 
Moore,  born  April  19,  1806,  died  December  24,  1818.  4.  Sally  Stewart,  born 
August  19,  1808,  died  May  T2,  1835.  5.  Mary  Newton,  born  August  20, 
t8io.  died  August  21,  1832.  6.  John  Williams,  born  September  20,  1812, 
died  April  18,  1813.  7.  Alcinda  Davis,  born  June  13,  1814,  died  March 
31,  1832.    8.  James  Gerard,  born  June  28,  1816,  died  November  30,  1834. 

9.  John  Alexander,  born  Decemlaer  21,    1820,   died   September   i,    1823. 

10.  Jane    Beall,   born   June   24,    1823,   died   July   8,    1842.      11.    Charles 
Thomas,  of  whom  further. 

(ID    Charles  Thomas    Butler,   son   of   William   Garland   and    Nancy    ; 
(  Moore )  Butler,  was  born  near  Shepherdstown,  West  Virginia,  October  7,    ! 
1829,  and  died  February  2,  1899.     He  was  an  extensive  land  owner  in  the    i 
vicinity  of  Shepherdstown,  and  was  state  senator  from  1877  to  1881  ;   he 
was  a  member  of  the  Democratic  party.  He  married  \'irginia  Thomas  \^an    | 
Swearingen,  in  December,    1846,  near  Hagerstown,  Maryland;  she  was    I 
daughter  of  Hon.  Thomas  \'an  Swearmgen,  who  was  born  May  5,  1784, 
and  died  August  19,  1822.     Her  mother  was  Julia  Lane,  who  was  born   ' 
August  15.  1786,  in  Kentucky:  and  died  March  6,  t86o,  in  Shepherds- 
town.    Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  Thomas   F'utler  had  five  children,  as  fol- 
lows:    I.  W'illiam  Butler,  born  August   10,   1848,  near  Shepherdstown; 
married  Kate  Lucas,  of  Jefferson  county :  he  is  connected  with  the  Bal- 
timore  &   Ohio   Railroad   Company   in   its   claims  department.     2.   Julia 
Lane,  born  May  15,  1849,  "ear  Shepherdstown:  married  Richard  Alex- 


WEST  VIRGINIA  571 

ander,  of  Charles  Town  and  had  six  children;  she  died  in  July,  1907.  3. 
Charles  Thomas  Van  Swearingen,  of  whom  further.  4.  Nancy  Moore, 
born  January  13,  1853,  near  Shepherdstown ;  married  Compton  Moore, 
of  Charles  Town,  November  12,  1879;  they  reside  at  present  in  Charles 
Town  ;  children  :  Virginia,  Margaret,  Nanny  and  Julia  Lane.  5.  Hardage 
Lane,  born  near  Shepherdstown,  July  4,  1855  :  he  married,  in  October, 
1876,  Mary  Mathiot,  of  Baltimore ;  children :  Nellie  Lane  and  Laura 
Hardage.  Hardage  Lane  was  a  physician,  and  practiced  medicine  for  a 
number  of  years  in  Washington  county,  Maryland  :  he  died  in  the  year 
1880. 

(Ill)  Dr.  Charles  Thomas  Van  Swearingen  Butler,  son  of  Charles 
Thomas  and  \'irginia  ( \  an  Swearingen)  Butler,  was  born  March  4, 
1850,  at  "Linwood",  near  Shepherdstown,  West  Virginia.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  a  private  school  in  Shepherdstown,  at  the  Shenandoah  Valley 
Academy,  Winchester,  Mrginia,  and  was  finally  graduated  from  the  L'ni- 
yersity  of  Maryland,  at  Baltimore,  in  March,  1874.  He  practiced  medi- 
cine in  BooneslDoro,  Maryland,  for  a  year ;  then  removed  to  Shepherds- 
town, West  Virginia,  where  he  resided  and  continued  the  practice  of  his 
profession  until  his  death  on  July  8,  1903.  He  was  a  staunch  Democrat, 
and  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  town,  having  been  a  councilman  for  a 
number  of  years.  He  was  a  communicant  of  the  Episcopal  church,  and  was 
a  member  of  Mount  Nebo  Lodge,  No.  91,  A.  F.  and  A.  ]M. ;  also  a  char- 
ter member  of  Shield  of  Honor  Lodge,  and  charter  member  of  the  Shen- 
andoah Junction  Lodge  of  Jvlasons,  in  which  he  was  active  until  his  death. 
On  August  5,  1874,  he  married,  in  Lynchburg,  A'irginia,  Elizabeth  Little 
Craighill,  daughter  of  \\'illiam  Nathaniel  Craighill  and  Sarah  Elizabeth 
Brown. 

William  N.  Craighill,  who  was  connected  with  the  Bank  of  Charles 
Town,  Charles  Town,  West  Virginia,  was  born  January  26,  1808,  and  died 
September  6,  1887.  Sarah  Elizabeth  (Brown)  .Craighill,  the  mother  of 
Mrs,  Butler,  was  born  August  16,  181 1,  at  Shepherdstown,  in  the  old 
Butler  Hotel:  the  room  in  which  she  was  born  was  later  occupied  by  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Charles  Thomas  Butler  while  on  their  honeymoon,  and  later 
still  was  the  room  in  which  Mr.  Charles  Thomas  Butler  died.  Mrs. 
Craighill  died  September  28,  1887.  Children  of  Mr.  and  ^Mrs.  Craighill: 
I.  William  Price,  born  July  i,  1833,  at  Charles  Town;  at  the  beginning  of 
the  civil  war,  he  was  a  professor  in  the  engineering  department  at  West 
Point,  and  after  the  war  he  was  chief  of  engineers  of  the  L'nited  States 
army.  He  married  (first)  Miss  Mary  Morsell,  daughter  of  Judge  Mor- 
sell,  of  Georgetown.  D.  C.  They  had  seven  children,  as  "follows  :  a. 
James  Morsell  at  present  a  prominent  physician  in  Baltimore,  Maryland  : 
married  Miss  Anne  Berry,  of  Georgetown,  D.  C.  and  has  one  child,  Annie 
Price  Craighill.  b.  Elizabeth  Rutherford,  married  Rev,  Hunter  David- 
son, an  Episcopal  minister :  no  children,  c.  William  Edward,  a  colonel 
of  engmeers  in  the  United  States  army,  stationed  at  Portland,  Maine :  he 
married  Mary  Byram,  of  New  Orleans:  children:  Sarah,  Mary,  Rebecca, 
Eleanor,  Margaret  and  Caroline.  d.  Mary  Morsell,  married  William 
Fontaine  Lippitt,  a  surgeon  in  the  United  States  army,  stationed  at  San 
Juan,  Porto  Rico :  after  resigning  his  commission  he  engaged  in  fruit 
growing  near  San  Juan :  children  :  William  Price  Craighill,  William  Fon- 
taine (twins),  and"  Mary  Morsell.  e.  Sarah  Eleanor,  married  Edward 
Tayloe  Perry,  of  Cumberland,  Maryland,  a  son  of  Commodore  Perry : 
children:  Thornton  Tayloe,  and  William  Price  Craighill.  f.  John  ^Nlau- 
bury,  died  at  the  age  of  seven  years,  g.  Nathaniel  Rutherford,  married 
Blanche  Mayo :  he  is  at  present  engaged  in  the  engineering  business  in 
New  York,  havmg  been  at  one  time  professor  in  the  engineering  depart- 
ment  of    the    University   of    Montana:   he    had    one    child    who    died    in 


572  WEST  MRGIXIA 

infancy.  The  sc-d'Hil  wife  of  William  Price  Craighill  was  Rebecca 
Churchill  Jones;  there  were  no  children  by  this  union.  2.  Ellen  Ruther- 
ford, born  July  12,  1836,  at  Charles  Town,  West  Virginia;  she  remained 
unmarried,  and  is  at  present  living  in  Charles  Town,  West  Virginia.  3. 
James  Brown,  born  July  28,  1838,  at  Charles  Town,  West  Virginia;  mar- 
ried Margaret  Smith,  of  Maryland;  seven  children:  a.  Louise,  died  in 
infancy,  b.  Susan,  at  present  a  school  teacher  in  Washington,  D.  C.  c. 
Francis,  gratluated  from  the  University  of  the  South.  Sewannee,  Tennes- 
see;  he  married  and  has  three  children,  d.  Rutherford,  married  Nellie 
Lee,  of  Washington  ;  children  :  Rutherford,  Lee,  Robert  and  Richard,  e. 
Gilmore,  died  in  infancy,  f.  Margaret,  died  in  infancy,  g.  Bowdoin, 
graduated  from  the  University  of  the  South  and  George  Washington 
University,  and  is  at  present  practicing  law  in  Washington,  D.  C. ;  mar- 
ried Julia  Lippitt ;  no  children.  4.  Edward  Addison,  born  November  2, 
1840,  at  Charles  Town,  West  \'irginia ;  during  the  civil  war  he  was  a  sur- 
geon in  the  Confederate  army,  having  a  hospital  at  Gordonsville,  Vir- 
ginia; in  1874  he  married  ^latilda  Hobson,  at  Richmond,  \'irginia ;  no 
children.  5.  Robert  Templeman,  born  April  25,  1843,  ^t  Charles  Town; 
died  September  2'j .  1907,  and  was  buried  in  Lynchburg.  \'irginia  ;  in  the 
civil  war  he  was  an  officer  in  the  Confederate  army ;  he  married  Edley 
Hobson,  in  Lynchburg.  October  11,  1865;  eight  children;  a.  Carrie,  mar- 
ried Harry  Handy,  and  had  three  children,  Digby,  Bryant  and  Edwin. 
b.  Nathaniel,  died  in  infancy,  c.  Robert,  married  Nanny  Langhorne, 
children;  Edley  and  Robert,  d.  Edward,  unmarried,  e.  Joseph,  unmar- 
ried, f.  Norval,  unmarried,  g.  Matilda,  married  .  h.  Preston,  un- 
married. 6.  Mary  Lloyd,  born  June  7,  1845,  at  Charles  Town,  where  she 
now  resides ;  unmarried.  7.  Francis  Hugh,  born  January  9,  1849,  at 
Charles  Town,  where  he  died  and  was  buried,  his  death  occurring  Septem- 
ber 9,  1877 ;  he  was  a  farmer  and  remained  unmarried.  8.  George  Pey- 
ton, born  February  9,  1831,  near  Charles  Town;  died  February  9,  1895, 
and  was  buried  in  Lynchburg,  \'irginia  ;  on  October  12,  1874,  he  married 
Lilly  Langhorne  in  Lynchburg;  seven  children;  a.  Elizabeth,  unmar- 
ried, who  resides  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  b.  George  Peyton  Jr.,  an  Epis- 
copal minister,  who  is  now  married,  and  living  in  Richmond,  c.  Lilly,  died 
in  infancy,  d.  Langhorne,  unmarried,  e.  Lloyd,  now  a  student  at  Wash- 
ington and  Lee  University,  f.  Bonnie,  died  in  infancy,  g.  Wistor.  un- 
married, living  at  present  in  Richmond.  9.  Elizabeth  Little,  born  Octo- 
ber 5,  1853,  ^^^"^  Charles  Town ;  married,  August  5,  1874,  in  Lynchburg, 
Dr.  Charles  Thomas  \'an  Swearingen  Butler,  as  stated  previously. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Butler  had  four  children,  as  follows:  i.  Sally  Craig- 
hill. born  June  25,  1875,  at  Charles  Town ;  died  March  23,  1876,  and 
was  buried  in  Shepherdstown.  2.  Charles  Thomas,  born  December 
14,  1876,  died  July  8,  191 1.  For  some  years  he  edited  the  Independent, 
of  Shepherdstown  (not  the  present  Independent}  and  was  also  on  the 
editorial  staff  of  the  Virginia  Free  Press,  of  Charles  Town.  On  August 
22,  1900,  he  married  Sally  Shepherd,  at  Shepherdstown  ;  no  children.  3. 
Elizabeth  Price,  born  October  16.  1884:  attended  the  public  schools  of 
Shepherdstown  and  then  was  graduated  from  Shepherd  College,  to 
which  she  afterward  returned,  taking  two  post-graduate  courses.  4. 
Eleanor  Lloyd,  born  November  29,  1888,  and  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  Shepherdstown  and  at  Shepherd  College.  On  September  11, 
1912,  she  was  married  to  Charles  Schley  Mercein.  of  Milwaukee.  Wis- 
consin.    They  are  now  living  in  Milwaukee. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  573 

This  family  is  of  Scotch  descent,  and  had  its  abode 
MURDOCH     in    Pennsylvania   before   coming   into   Virginia,   yet   its 

settlement  in  the  Virginias  is  now  of  nearly  a  cen- 
tury's standing.  Pennsylvania,  with  its  marvelously  complex  settlement, 
was  even  in  colonial  days  a  microcosm  of  the  present  American  Union ; 
there  were  found  from  early  times  the  Scotch  and  Irish,  the  Welsh,  the 
Germans,  and  all  these  strains  are  to  this  day  evident  and  influential 
factors  in  the  composition  of  the  people  of  Pennsylvania.  Hence  im- 
migrants from  other  lands  have  easily  found  congenial  homes  in  Penn- 
sylvania. The  Murdoch  family  is  colonial,  yet  not  of  the  earliest  immi- 
grations. 

(I)  Alexander  Murdoch,  the  son  of  the  immigrant  from  Scotland, 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania.  The  name  of  his  wife  is  not  known.  Child, 
John  R.,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  John  R.,  son  of  Alexander  Murdoch,  died  in  1873.  He  was 
a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  that  state  was  engaged  in  mercantile 
business.  At  the  time  of  his  first  marriage  he  became  a  resident  of  Par- 
kersburg,  \'irginia.  For  many  years  after  his  coming  hither  he  served 
as  clerk  of  the  county  court.  He  retired  from  business  some  time  before 
his  death.  He  married  (first)  about  1827,  Virginia  H.,  daughter  of 
James  and  Harriet  ( Neale  )  Xeal,  who  died  in  1848.  He  married  (sec- 
ond)   .     Among  the  seven  children  by  the  first  marriage  the  oldest 

was  James  Neal,  of  whom  further. 

(III)  Dr.  James  Neal  Murdoch,  son  of  John  R.  and  \"irginia  H. 
(Neal)  Murdoch,  was  born  at  Parkersburg,  June  29.  1828.  His  edu- 
cation, begun  in  the  city  schools  of  Parkersburg,  was  continued  at 
Washington  College,  ^^'ashington,  Pennsylvania.  Having  completed  his 
collegiate  course,  he  entered  on  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  A.  G. 
Clark,  of  Parkersburg,  and  studied  with  him  two  years.  After  this 
he  attended  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  and  was  graduated  there- 
from in  1852,  receiving  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  For  three 
years  Dr.  Murdoch  practiced  his  profession  in  his  native  city :  the  next 
three  years  were  spent  in  California,  in  which  state  he  was  superin- 
tendent of  a  mining  company  at  Oroville,  and  also  practiced  medicine  to 
some  extent.  In  1858  he  returned  to  Parkersburg.  but  the  next  year 
he  moved  to  Greenville,  Tennessee,  and  there  he  was  engaged  in  the 
drug  business.  In  1865  he  returned  to  Parkersburg  and  here  he  has  lived 
since  that  time,  having  become  one  of  the  representative  citizens  of  this 
city,  and  a  leading  figure  in  its  business  life.  Throughout  this  period 
he  has  been  active  in  the  drug  business  and  he  established  the  first  whole- 
sale drug  house  in  the  state  of  West  Virginia,  outside  of  Wheeling.  He 
is  one  of  the  most  prominent  druggists  in  the  state,  and  a  substantial 
and  respected  citizen  of  his  city.  As  a  man  of  business  he  is  shrewd, 
industrious  and  of  unswerving  integrity.  Dr.  Murdoch  married,  in 
1859,  Mary  Caperton,  daughter  of  William  Steenbergen.  Of  their  five 
children  there  survives  a  son,  Allen  Caperton.  of  whom  further,  and  one 
daughter. 

(IV)  Allen  Caperton.  son  of  Dr.  James  Neal  and  Mary  Caperton 
(Steenbergen)  Murdoch,  was  born  at  Parkersburg.  W'est  ^''!rginia.  Sep- 
tember 22.  1867.  He  was  employed  in  the  drug  business  under  his  father, 
and  in  190T  when  the  business  was  incorporated  under  the  name  of  the 
J.  N.  Murdoch  Company  he  was  made  vice-president,  and  this  position 
he  holds  to  the  present  time.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks;  in  1899  and  in  1902  he  was  district  deputy 
grand  exalted  ruler  for  West  \^irginia,  and  he  was  exalted  ruler  of 
Parkersburg  Lodge,  in  1897.  1898,  1899.  1901  and  1903.  Beside  his  leading 
position  in  the  commercial  activity  of  Parkersburg.  Mr.  Murdoch  is  also 


574  WEST  VIRGINIA 

active  and  influential  in  politics  as  a  Democrat.  He  was  elected  mayor 
of  Parkersburg,  April  7,  1903.  In  1904  he  was  the  nominee  of  his  party 
for  the  United  States  house  of  representatives  from  the  fourth  district 
of  West  Virginia.  When  the  commission  form  of  government  was  put 
into  effect  at  Parkersburg  (the  first  city  in  West  Virginia  to  adopt  this 
mode  of  conducting  its  municipal  business),  Mr.  Murdoch  took  office 
as  mayor  and  he  holds  this  position  at  the  present  time  (1913). 


The  surname  Smith  is  of  such  frequent  occurrence  in  the 
SMITH     United  States  that  it   is  difficult  to  trace  the  genealogy  of 

the  various  families.  From  the  earliest  times,  however,  rep- 
resentatives of  the  name  have  been  prominent  in  American  history  and 
in  the  business  world.  This  particular  branch  is  of  English  origin  and 
the  ancestry  is  traced  to  Christopher  Smith,  who  was  a  large  planter  and 
slave  owner  in  Maryland  in  the  colonial  days.  He  married  and  among 
his  children  was  a  son  Jacob,  mentioned  below. 

(II)  Jacob,  son  of  Christopher  Smith,  was  born  in  Maryland,  April 
26,  1788,  died  February  14,  1874.  He  was  reared  and  educated  in  Mary- 
land and  there  resided  until  he  had  reached  his  legal  majority,  when  he 
came  to  what  is  now  Raleigh  county,  West  Mrginia.  He  was  a  planter 
by  occupation,  and  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  Raleigh  county. 
He  had  a  son  Canada,  mentioned  below. 

(III)  Canada,  son  of  Jacob  Smith,  was  born  in  Nicholas  county,  Vir- 
ginia, January  14,  1820.  He  grew  up  in  Raleigh  county  and  during  the 
greater  part  of  his  active  career  was  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  He 
married  Elethia  Williams,  likewise  a  native  of  Raleigh  county,  \'irginia. 
and  to  them  were  born  eight  children:  i.  Francis  N.,  mentioned  below. 
2.  Letitia,  born  January  30,  1846;  wife  of  William  Prince,  of  Princess 
Station,  West  Virginia.  3.  Eunice,  born  November  20,  1847,  now  de- 
ceased; married  Allen  Ellison.  4.  Louisa,  born  October  22,,  1849;  wife 
of  James  George,  of  Raleigh  county.  5.  Enoch,  born  October  26,  185 1  ; 
a  banker  in  Charleston,  West  Virginia.  6.  Isabella,  born  September  19, 
1853,  died  May  10,  1868.  7.  Adeline,  born  May  30.  1856;  wife  of  Gar- 
land Williams,  of  Raleigh  county.  8.  Washington,  born  August  29, 
i860;  was  engaged  in  various  business  enterprises  in  Raleigh  and  Fay- 
ette counties  until  1910,  when  he  removed  to  Oklahoma.  Elethia  (Wil- 
liams) Smith,  mother  of  the  above  children,  was  born  in  Raleigh  county, 
West  Virginia,  December  3,  1824,  died  July  18,  1891.  Her  father  was 
John  W^illiams,  a  native  of  Raleigh  county,  Virginia,  where  his  birth 
"occurred  September  10,  1802.  He  was  a  son  of  David  Williams  and  a 
grandson  of  James  Williams,  who  lived  and  died  in  Giles  county,  Vir- 
ginia. 

(IV)  Francis  N.,  eldest  child  of  Canada  and  Elethia  (Williams) 
Smith,  was  born  in  what  is  now  Raleigh  county.  West  Virginia,  on  a 
farm  at  the  head  of  Paint  creek,  July  30,  1844.  He  was  educated  in  the 
paid  schools  of  the  time,  and  assisted  his  father  in  the  work  and  manage- 
ment of  the  home  farm  until  he  had  reached  his  legal  majority.  For  five 
years  thereafter  he  was  engaged  in  teaching  school  in  Raleigh  county,  and 
at  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  businsss  at 
Beckley,  later  turning  hi^  attention  to  the  saw  mill  business.  Subse- 
quently he  was  engaged  in  farming  for  three  years  and  then  removed  to 
New  Richmond,  where  he  engaged  in  merchandising  for  three  years.  He 
later  located  at  ]\Ieadow  Creek  as  a  railroad  station  agent  and  in 
the  latter  place  he  was  likewise  interested  in  a  mercantile  business.  In 
1879  he  became  a  resident  of  Sewell.  Fayette  county.  West  Virginia,  and 
for  the  ensuing  fifteen  years  devoted  his  attention  to  mercantile  and  real 


.y^:-    \./A../// 


WEST  \'IRGIXIA  573 

state  enterprises.  Since  (894  lie  has  maintained  his  liome  at  Aloiint 
Hope,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  place  he  is  the  owner  of  five  hundred  and 
thirty  acres  of  coal  and  surface  lands.  He  opened  up  his  mines  on  this 
tract  in  that  year  and  since  then  has  dealt  extensively  in  surface  and  min- 
eral properties.  He  is  likewise  the  owner  of  extensive  coal  lands  in 
Raleigh  county  and  of  a  store  and  three  residences.  The  town  of  Warn- 
er was  plotted  and  sold  by  him.  His  present  fine  home  is  located  on  Alain 
street  in  the  town  of  Warner,  in  the  corporate  limits  of  Mount  Hope. 
He  is  a  heavy  stockholder  in  the  Charleston  Capital  City  Bank.  In  his 
political  convictions  he  is  a  stalwart  Republican.  He  and  his  family  are 
devout  members  of  the  Christian  church. 

At  Beckley  May  25,  1870,  Mr.  Smith  married  Sarah  J.  Warden, 
born  in  Raleigh  county,  West  Virginia,  February  11,  1849,  daughter 
of  John  Walker  Warden.  Mr.  Warden  was  born  in  Pulaski  county, 
Virginia,  in  1825,  died  in  1900;  he  was  a  son  of  Thomas  Warden,  who 
came  to  West  \'irginia  from  Pulaski  county,  Virginia,  about  1820.  The 
maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Marian  Hurt;  he  was  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion. There  were  seven  children  in  the  Warden  family,  of  whom  six  are 
living,  in  1912,  namely:  Sarah  J.,  now  Mrs.  Smith;  McDowell,  Al- 
fred, Mrs.  Mollie  Underwood,  Mrs.  Norah  Radford,  John  W.  (See 
Warden  line  forward).  Children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith:  i.  El- 
bert W.,  born  June  11,  1872,  died  November  14,  1908.  2.  William  F.. 
born  May  9,  1874;  a  resident  of  Cincinnati.  Ohio,  where  he  is  engaged 
in  the  coal  business :  married  Florence  Hudson,  a  native  of  Maryland, 
and  they  have  three  children.  3.  Walter  E.,  born  December  31,  1876; 
resides  at  Warner,  West  Virginia.  4.  Ada,  died  in  infancy.  5.  Myrtle 
S.,  married,  November  10,  1906,  Phillip  E.  Robinson. 

(The    Warden    Line). 

The  surname  of  Warden,  meaning  warder  or  guard,  is  said  to  be 
derived  from  an  Anglo-Saxon  word,  "wearda."  a  chief  ofificer,  a  guar- 
dian. There  is,  of  course,  the  possibility  that  the  surname,  like  that  of 
so  many  of  the  other  old  families,  was  taken  from  the  name  of  the 
place  where  the  early  ancestors  lived  or  owned  lands.  In  Kent  and 
Northumberland  there  are  towns  called  Warden,  and  in  Belgium  is  a 
town  called  Wardin.  The  Warden  coat-of-arms  is  blazoned  by  Burke : 
Argent,  a  chevron  gules,  between  three  pears,  leaved  vert.  Crest:  A 
fleur-de-lis,  or.  Motto:  Industria  ct  spc,  meaning  by  industry  and 
hope.  The  pears  with  which  the  arms  are  charged  are,  of  course,  "War- 
den pears,"  whatever  they  may  have  been.  The  sixteenth  century  dram- 
atists, Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  in  their  play  "Cupid's  Revenge,"  men- 
tion the  Warden  pear,  and  some  quaint  monolist  of  garden  lore  says : 
"A  wardono,  or  a  poire  de  wardone,"  is  a  pear  which  may  be  kept  a 
long  time.  Another  dainty  of  the  old-time  larder  should  have  interest 
for  the  Wardens.  This  is  the  famous  Warden  pie.  Shakespeare  says 
somewhere:  "I  must  have  safforn  to  color  the  warden  pies."  In  the 
ancient  ballad  of  "The  Friar  of  Orders  Gray"  appears : 

"Myself  with  denial  I  mortify 
With    a    dainty   bit    of    warden    pie." 

The  Wardens  have  flourished  in  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland. 
In  1640  "one  of  the  principal  citizens  of  London"  was  one  Wardin. 
In  Canada  also  the  family  has  been  prominent,  while  their  history  has 
been  a  notable  one  in  our  own  country,  in  New  England,  \^irginia  and 
the  west.  A  distinguished  ancestor  was  Sir  Rupert  Warden,  of  Rut- 
landshire, who  held  the  high  office  of  "Knight  of  the  Shire."  There  is 
in  the  family  tradition  of  a  royal  lineage. 


576  WEST  \IRGJXIA 

Dr.  William  Warden  was  born  in  Forfarshire  in  1777.  He  studied! 
at  the  Edinburgh  University,  at  that  time  one  of  the  most  f amous  i 
schools  of  medicine  in  Europe.  During  the  war  of  1812  he  served  in  I 
the  British  army,  undoubtedly  as  surgeon,  and  received  a  grant  from  the  | 
Patriotic  Fund,  while  the  University  of  St.  Andrew  gave  him  the  de- ' 
gree  of  Master  of  Arts  and  Doctor  of  ]\Iedicine,  "honor  is  causa."  He  1 
was  the  surgeon  in  attendance  on  Napoleon  during  the  voyage  of  the! 
imperial  prisoner  to  St.  Helena.  He  published  some  notes  on  the  life  | 
of  the  Emperor,  which  were  taken  from  the  letters  Dr.  Warden  wrote  j 
from  St.  Helena  to  the  lady  who  afterward  became  his  wife.  He  mar- 1 
ried  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Richard  Hutt,  and  sister  of  Sir  William  { 
Hutt,  and  they  had  one  son,  George  Cockburn  Warden,  and  two  daugh-  1 
ters.  His  descendants  treasure  many  relics  of  Napoleon,  which  were  I 
personal  gifts  to  him  from  the  Emperor,  or  presented  through  Marshal  j 
Bertrand.  j 

David   Baillie  Warden   was   born   in   Ireland  in    1778,   died  in   Paris^  I 
where   for   forty  years  he  was  United   States  consul.     He  was  a  distin-  I 
guished   scientific   writer   and   was   a   member  of   the   French   xA^cademy. 
It  was  he   who    founded   the  two  libraries  of  American  books,   one  of 
which  now  belongs  to  the   New  York  State  Library,  and  the  other  tO' 
Harvard  University.     He  wrote  in  French  as  well  as  in  English.     An- 
otlier  author  of  the  family,  American  by  birth  and  not  by  adoption,  as 
was  David  Baillie  Warden,  was  Robert   Bruce  Warden,  who  was  born  j 
in  Nelson  county,  Kentucky,  in  1824.  1 

A  New  England  forefather  was  Thomas  Warden  or  Wardin,  of  I 
Scituate,  Massachusetts,  About  1690  he  married  Elizabeth  Sargeant, 
and  they  left  descendants.  Thomas  Warden,  who  died  at  Boston  in 
1747  may  have  been  the  Thomas  of  Scituate.  In  the  inventory  of  his 
estate  are  mentioned :  "two  wiggs,  one  good,  one  bad ;  one  good  hat  and 
two  old  ones."  Sixteen  gallons  of  rum  are  offset  by  "one  large  Bible 
and  four  small  ones."     He  also  owned  one  slave. 

Another  early  colonial  ancestor  was  Samuel  Warden,  who  was  mar- 
ried to  Miriam  Bell  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  William  Cooper,  the  celebrated 
pastor  of  the  Brattle  Street  Church.  Boston.  In  Dr.  Cooper's  diary  the 
name  of  \\'arden  is  of  frequent  occurrence. 

Samuel,  son  of  Samuel  and  Miriam  (Bell)  Warden,  was  born  at  j 
Boston  in  1775.  According  to  the  record  of  him  he  was  "genial,  erect,  ; 
with  blue  eyes,  and  a  great  hand  to  laugh."  His  home  was  in  Worces-  j 
ter,  where  the  Warden  homestead  was  a  landmark  for  many  years,  j 
Many  generations  of  \\'ardens  rest  in  Hope  cemetery.  He  married  1 
(first)  Tomasin,  daughter  of  Elijah  Harrington,  and  had  eight  children  f 
by  this  marriage.  He  married  (second)  Sally  Waters,  the  original  of  1 
"Little   Sally  Waters,  sitting  in  the  sun."  j 

John,  son  of  Samuel,  and  grandson  of  Samuel  and  Miriam  (Bell)  i 
Warden,  married  Narcissa  Davis,  whose  father,  grandfather  and  two  j 
uncles  were  soldiers  in  the  continental  army.  | 

Among  those  "able  to  bear  arms  in  New  Plymouth,  in  164,-^,"  was  j 
listed  Peter  Warden,  son  of  "Peter  the  Elder,"  as  he  was  called,  who  I 
left  by  will  "to  my  only  son  Peter  my  whole  property." 

Judah  Warden,  born  in  Rhode  Island  in  1756.  married  Abigail,  1 
daughter  of  Jonathan  Richardson,  of  Cheshire,  Massachusetts.  Mar-  ! 
riage  connections  of  this  branch  include  the  families  of  Reed,  Sears  of 
Boston.  Covell,  Benedict,  Crease,  Francisco,  Bridge.  Perry,  Niles  and 
Jenkins.  One  of  the  descendants  of  the  Rhode  Island  Wardens  was 
Elisha  \Varden,  one  of  the  "Green  Mountain  Boys"  of  the  war  of  the 
revolution. 

Old  Virginia  records  give  the  name  of  Thomas  Warden,  who  came 


WEST  \IRGIXIA  577 

over  in  the  "Anne"  in  1623.  William  Wallace  Warden,  born  in  Scot- 
land, bought  land  in  Augusta  county,  \'irginia,  in  1750,  and  this  place 
was  owned  by  the  Wardens  for  many  generations.  The  survey  of  this 
property  at  the  time  of  its  purchase  by  Mr.  Warden  was  made  by  George 
Washington.  William  Wallace  Warden  married  Elizabeth  Williams 
and  they  had  two  sons :  James  and  William.  The  latter  married  Sarah 
Christman,  and  her  family  was  connected  with  that  of  President  James 
Madison ;  they  had  seven  sons  and  four  daughters.  Another  Virginia 
colonist  was  Samuel  \\'arden,  born  in  Ireland,  who  settled  in  a  part  of 
Virginia  now  included  in  West  \Mrginia.  One  of  his  six  children  was 
William  Warden,  born  in  1800. 


The  Mason  lamil\-  t<i  which  Hon.  John  W.  Mason  belongs 
MASON  is  descended  from  a  very  old  English  family.  His  great- 
grandfather, a  Methodist  preacher,  came  to  America  just 
before  or  immediately  after  the  revolutionary  war,  and  settled  near 
Baltimore.  His  great-grandfather  and  his  grandfather,  with  three  or 
four  brothers,  about  1790  moved  into  what  is  now  Garrett  county,  Mary- 
land, and  thence  across  the  line  into  Preston  county,  Virginia.  His  father, 
John  McClure  }iIason,  son  of  John  Mason,  was  iDorn  in  Preston  county, 
Virginia,  near  the  present  site  of  Terra  .\lta,  September  3,  1815.  His 
grandmother,  Sarah  Mason,  was  of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  or  perhaps  more 
correctly  speaking  Protestant-Irish.  Her  maiden  name  was  Casey,  daugh- 
ter of  Nicholas  Casey,  of  Romney.  Peter  Casey,  her  grandfather,  moved 
to  Moorefield,  Virginia,  from  Philadelphia  in  1736.  Several  of  the  sons 
were  revolutionary  soldiers.  Nicholas  seems  to  have  been  the  only  one 
of  the  sons  who  remained  in  that  section  after  the  war,  and  he  settled 
at  Romney,  where  he  lived  for  many  years,  and  raised  a  large  family  of 
sons  and  daughters,  among  whom  was  Sarah  Casey,  John  W.  Mason's 
grandmother.  The  name  Casey  is  extinct  in  that  vicinity.  All  the  sons 
moved  to  other  states,  but  several  of  the  daughters  of  Nicholas  Casey  mar- 
ried in  Hardy  and  Hampshire  counties,  and  among  their  descendants  are 
the  Parsons,  Harnesses,  Pancakes,  Bradys,  and  Inskips. 

His  mother's  maiden  name  was  Susan  B.  Hutchinson.  She  was  de- 
scended from  an  old  English  family.  The  Hutchinsons  came  to  America 
many  years  before  the  revolutionary  war  and  settled  in  Loudoun,  Fau- 
quier, Fairfax,  and  Prince  William  counties,  A^irginia.  They  were  neigh- 
bors and  loyal  supporters  of  General  Washington.  His  mother  was  born 
in  Loudoun  county,  Virginia,  November  11,  1808,  near  the  village  of  Cen- 
terville.  Her  father,  William  Hutchinson,  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia 
Militia  at  Washington,  D.  C,  at  the  time  of  the  surrender  of  that  city  to 
the  British  army  in  1814,  and  at  the  battle  of  North  Point,  near  Balti- 
more, a  few  days  later.  Here  his  grandfather  Hutchinson  contracted  a 
fever,  returned  to  his  home  near  Fairfax  Court  House  and  died.  His 
grandmother  married  James  Hutchinson,  a  relative  of  her  first  husband. 
and  the  family  moved  to  Preston  county,  then  to  Monongalia  county 
about  1820,  finally  settling  in  Monongalia  county,  at  Little  Falls,  where 
the  old  people  died  after  rearing  a  large  family.  In  an  interview  with 
Judge  Mason  he  gave  us  in  substance  the  following  biographical  sketch : 

"I  was  born  on  Joe's  Run.  in  Monongalia  county,  Virginia,  about  three  miles 
from  Smithtown,  January  13,  1842.  In  the  spring  of  1846,  my  father  moved  into 
the  \illage.  (Smithtown)  and  lived  there,  following  his  trade,  that  of  a  blacksmith 
for  about  thirty-five  years. 

"I  attended  the  neighborhood  schools;  clerked  in  my  uncle's  store  (Jeremiah 
J.  Hutchinson,  iny  mother's  brother),  taught  subscription  school  in  the  fall  and 
winter  of  1859-60.  1860-1.     In  .^ugust,  1861.  T  enlisted  in  the  Union  army  for  three 

37 


578  WEST  VIRGINIA 

years  and  served  until  September  14,  1804,  when  1  returned  tu  my  old  home  and 
resumed  my  studies  at  the  old  Monongalia  Academy  at  Morgantown.  Most  of  my 
army  service  was  as  sergeant  in  Battery  'F'  First  West  Virginia,  Light  Artillery 
(commonly  known  as  Maulsby's  Battery).  Much  of  the  time  was  spent  in  the 
Valley  of  Virginia  Campaigns.  1  remained  at  the  Academy  until  it  was  merged 
into  the  University,  or  as  it  was  then  known,  The  Agricultural  College,  in  1867, 
teaching  country  schools  and  acting  as  tutor  at  the  Academy  to  provide  the  money 
which  added  to  my  small  savings  in  the  army  paid  my  school  e.xpenses. 

"The  Academy  was  formally  transferred  to  the  state  about  March,  1867,  and 
the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  College  took  charge  of  the  school  and  continued  it 
during  the  school  year.  I  was  employed  in  connection  with  Professor  Stephen 
Reppert  to  continue  the  school  for  the  year,  and  I  thus  became  one  of  the  first 
teachers  of  the  college,  and  am  entitled  to  rank  as  the  oldest  ex-professor.  I  have 
always  regarded  this  as  a  high  honor.  In  the  summer  of  1865,  I  taught  a  public 
school  at  Halleck.  This  was  one  of  the  first,  if  not  indeed  the  first  public  school 
taught  in  the  county.  Hon.  Geo.  C.  Sturgiss,  then  County  Superintendent  of  Free 
Schools,  gave  me  the  certificate  to  teach.  I  felt  that  I  was  deficient  in  Geography 
and  asked  to  be  excused  from  an  examination  on  this  branch.  The  superintendent 
reminded  me  that  the  law  required  an  examination,  and  that  he  could  not  give  me  a 
Number  One  certificate  without  it.  We  compromised  by  his  issuing  a  Number 
Two.  I  still  have  the  certificate  and  find  this  endorsement  on  the  back  of  it.  'I 
accepted  a   No.  2  certificate  rather  than   be  examined  in   Geography.' 

"In  the  summer  of  1866,  I  taught  the  public  school  in  Morgantown.     This  was 
Morgantown's  first  pubHc  school.     I   read  law  in  Judge  J.  M.   Hagans'  office  while     j 
teaching  at  Morgantown,  during  the  year   1867,  and  was  commissioned  to  practice     , 
December   20,    1867,   and   admitted   to   the   bar   at   the   next   term   of   the   court   of    | 
Monongalia  county.  ( 

"In  February,   1868.  I   located  at  Grafton  and  practiced  law  there  for  twenty-     I 
one  years.     In   March,   1889.   I   was  appointed   Commissioner  of   Internal   Revenue    | 
by   President   Harrison   and   held   that  office,   residing  at  Washington,   D.   C,   until    j 
April.  1893.     I  then  moved  to  Fairmont  where  I  have  since  resided.     In  1897  Judge    j 
Hagans'  health  failed  and   I  held  court  for  him  as  Special  Judge  most  of  the  time    [ 
until  his  death.     July  I,  1900,  I  was  appointed  Judge  to  fill  the  vacancy  created  by 
the  death  of  Judge   Hagans,  and   was  elected  at  the  November  election   1900,  for    i 
the   unexpired   term.      In    1904   I   was   elected   judge   for   eight   years   without   any 
opposition,   and   my   term   will   expire   January   i,    1913,   when    I    expect   to   retire 
permanently  to  private  life,  resuming  the  practice  of  law,   with  my  son.   at   Fair-    j 
mont.  ! 

"I  was  twice  tendered  appointment  as  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
twice  practically  offered  Republican  nominations  for  Governor  at  times  when  my 
election  seemed  sure,  but  I  very  much  preferred  the  position  of  Circuit  Judge 
among  my  home  people. 

"September  6.  1870,  I  was  married  to  Rebecca  E.  Wallace  at  Morgantown. 
We  have  one  child  living,  a  son,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the  West  Virginia  University 
and  of  Yale  Law  School. 

"I  am  yet  and  have  always  been  an  ardent  loyal  Republican.  Have  voted 
twelve  times  for  Republican  candidates  for  President,  commencing  with  Lincoln  in 
1864.  In  1882,  I  was  the  Republican  candidate  for  Congress  in  the  Second  Con- 
gressional district  and  was  defeated  by  William  L.  Wilson  by  ten  majority,  the 
normal  Democratic  majority  then  being  about  2,500.  In  1888  I  was  the  Republican 
candidate  for  Supreme  Judge.  I  was  Chairman  of  the  Republican  State  Committee 
from  1872  to  1876  and  was  a  member  of  the  Republican  National  Committee  for 
West  Virginia  from  1876  to  1888. 

"On  the  i6th  day  of  July.  1898,  President  McKinley  commissioned  me  a  Major 
in  the  U.  S.  Quarter  Master  Department,  but  I  had  no  liking  for  Quartermaster 
service  and  declined  the  commission." 

A  distinguished  member  of  the  bar  who  has  been  a  life  long  friend  of 
Judge  Mason  says  of  him : 

"His  most  important  decisions  are  State  vs.  Gaughan  declaring  slot  machines 
to  be  gambling  devices.  55  West  Va.  Reports.  In  this  case  the  Supreme  Court  did  ^1 
him  the  honor  of  adopting  his  opinion  as  the  opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court.  This  j 
is  the  only  time  this  was  ever  done  by  our  Supreme  Court.  This  decision  put  j 
several  thousand  of  these  gambling  tables  out  of  business.  His  decision  in  the  j 
case  of  The  South  Penn  Oil  Co.  vs.  County  Court  of  Monongalia  County  settled  ! 
the  question  of  the  right  to  tax  oil  and  gas  leases.  No  effort  was  ever  made  to  | 
appeal  the  case.  A  series  of  cases  decided  bv  him.  known  as  the  King  Land  Cases,  ; 
the  most  important  of  which  are  reported  in  the  64th  volume  West  Va.  Reports,  ' 
has  practicallv  settled  the  laws  of  this  state  regarding  forfeited  and  waste  lands.  ! 


WEST  VIRGINIA 


579 


These  are  by  all  odds  the  most  important  cases  ever  decided  in  this  state.  He 
spent  about  two  years  preparing  this  series  of  decisions.  They  were  approved  by 
the  Supreme  Court  of  this  state  and  by  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court. 

"He  early  took  advanced  grounds  in  relation  to  naturalization,  requiring 
applicants  to  speak  the  English  language,  and  produce  satisfactory  evidence  of 
bona  tide  citizenship,  long  before  the  present  Act  of  Congress  was  passed  requiring 
these. 

"He  has  always  refused  to  grant  divorces  until  it  was  satisfactorily  proven  that 
there  was  a  guilty  and  an  innocent  party. 

"He  has  endeavored  to  restore  in  its  purity  Common  Law  Pleadings,  except 
where  modified  by  statute.  The  result  is  that  in  his  opinion  this  circuit  has  more 
good  Common  Law  pleaders  than  any  other  circuit  in  the  state. 

"He  has  always  insisted  upon  the  enforcement  of  laws  against  illegal  sales  of 
intoxicating  liquors,  and  violations  of  the  election  laws,  and  has  been  reasonably 
successful  whenever  sustained  by  public  sentiment,  and  he  has  had  the  loyal  support 
of  the  officers  of  the  Court." 

As  a  citizen  Judge  Mason  is  highly  esteemed  and  respected  for  his 
probit}',  his  genial  manners,  free  from  ostentation  and  assumption  of 
superiority.  His  influence  and  counsel  is  always  given  for  the  moral  and 
religious  uplift  of  the  community  where  he  has  resided.  As  a  jurist  he 
has  brought  to  the  performance  of  his  duties  a  sincere  desire  to  ascer- 
tain the  facts  in  every  case  before  him  and  then  to  apply  the  law  to  the 
case  in  hand  without  fear,  favor  or  regard  to  private  interests,  and  con- 
sequently both  client  and  counsel  feel  assured  that  whether  rulings  or 
decisions  be  favorable  or  adverse  to  them,  he  has  given  their  cases  care- 
ful consideration  and  the  result  is  the  best  judgment  of  an  honest,  able 
and  impartial  judge  As  a  churchman  he  has  given  of  his  time  and  money 
to  advance  the  cause  of  Christianity,  and  while  loyal  to  his  own  church 
(Presbyterian)  he  is  dominated  by  a  broad  catholicity  of  spirit  that  en- 
ables him  to  cooperate  with  Christian  workers  of  all  other  churches. 


This  name  is  common  in  Roanoke  county,  \'irginia,  and  that 
LIGHT     family  is  of  English  origin.     The  first  known  of  the  present 

ancestry  shows  them  in  the  eastern  part  of  what  is  now  West 
Virginia — in  that  part  wliich  to  the  present  day  is  distinctively  \^irginian 
in  life  and  sentiment.  There  in  early  colonial  days  settled  Peter  Light,  the 
head  of  the  branch  of  the  family  which  we  are  considering,  who  came 
from  Pennsylvania,  where  the  name  is  sometimes  spelled  "Leight."  He 
brought  with  him  as  his  wife,  Elizabeth  Friend,  of  Lancaster,  Pennsyl- 
vania. He  settled  in  the  northern  end  of  the  county,  near  the  Potomac, 
where  he  died,  owning  a  plantation  of  many  hundred  acres.  Children: 
I.  Jacob  Friend,  of  whom  inore  later.  2.  Eliza,  died  in  youth.  3.  Mary, 
unmarried.  4.  John,  who  lived  in  Maryland,  where  he  is  today  repre- 
sented by  the  children  of  his  daughter,  Mary  Lemon,  of  near  Hagers- 
town,  Maryland.  5.  Nellie,  who  married  a  Wilson.  Jacob  Friend  Light 
was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Mary  Porterfield,  a  member  of 
that  large  Scotch-Irish  family  which  settled  in  the  Cumberland  and  Shen- 
andoah valleys  in  earliest  colonial  days.     Children:     i.   Sallie,  married 

Lemon ;    was  mother  of  eight  children,  and  lived  at  Williamsport, 

Maryland.  2.  Eli  William,  died  in  youth.  3.  Samuel  Hoge,  of  whom 
further,  named  for  Judge  Hoge,  then  prominent.  Of  the  second  marriage, 
to  Ruth  Sopher,  of  Loudoun  county,  \'irginia,  were  born  the  following 
children:  I.  Hilary,  who  married  Oric  Cunningham,  of  near  Hedgesville. 
West  Virginia,  and  was  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Nannie  Payne,  now  of  Darkes- 

ville.  West  Mrginia.     2.  Eliza,  married  Gehr;    children:     Louise, 

Nannie  and  Ella  (Newcomer).     3.  Jane,  married  Cunningham:    no 

children.    4.  Elizabeth,  married  Rev.  ■  Shepherd,  of  Moorefield,  West 

Virginia:   no  children;   died  February,  1913,  aged  ninety  years.     5.  Kate, 


58o  WEST  \-IRGIXIA 

married Ward;    mother  of   ^lary   Lewis,   wife   of   Dr.    Lewis,   ofi 

\\'estern  Alaryland  College,  Westminster,  Maryland.  [ 

Too  often  with  ancient  colonial  families  detailed  and  definite  state- 1 
inents  of  ancestry  and  relations  are  imjjossible.  It  is  probable,  however, ; 
that  the  present  family  and  the  Ronoake  county  Lights  are  of  one  colonial  ■ 
family  of  English  origin.  ' 

(T)  Samuel  Hoge  Light,  the  first  member  of  this  family  of  whom  we: 
have  definite  information,  was  born  June  17,  1814,  and  died  near  Beding- ] 
ton,  Berkeley  county,  West  Virginia,  at  the  home  of  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
John  T.  Morison,  in  August,  1889.  His  life  was  spent  on  his  plantation] 
in  Berkeley  county,  where  he  was  engaged  in  farming.  He  was  a  Demo-  1 
crat.  He  married  Ann  White  Tabb,  who  died  in  Berkeley  county,  West ! 
Virginia,  in  August,  1881,  aged  sixty-two  years.  Children:  i.  William  j 
Edward,  married  Frances  Duvall ;  served  in  the  Confederate  army,  1861  ; 
to  1865,  died  1909;  three  children  living.  2.  George  Tabb,  lives  at  I 
Charles  Town,  Jefferson  county.  West  Mrginia ;  unmarried.  3.  Charles' 
Hamilton,  deceased.  4.  John  Hanson,  deceased  ;  married  Emma  Heyser,  | 
of  Maryland:  six  children,  four  living.  5.  Thomas  Friend,  of  whom  I 
further.  6.  Mary  Porterfield,  married  John  Tabb  Morison ;  they  live ' 
near  Bedingttui :  four  children  living.  7.  Julia,  died  in  youth.  8.  Lucy,] 
deceased.  | 

(H)  Thomas  Friend,  son  of  Samuel  Hoge  and  Ann  White  (Tabb)  1 
Light,  was  born  in  the  northern  end  of  Berkeley  county,  Virginia,  near! 
the  Potomac  river,  November  29,  1849.  He  was  brought  up  in  Berkeley  I 
county  and  attended  Professor  White's  private  school  at  Martinsburg  in  j 
that  county.  He  is  a  farmer  and  dairyman,  having  followed  this  occupa- ' 
tion  for  seven  years  in  Falling  Waters  district,  of  Berkeley  county,  and  j 
for  twenty- four  years  at  his  present  home,  two  miles  north  of  Martins-  j 
burg,  in  Opequon  district,  on  the  Williamsport  pike.  Mr.  Light  is  a  Dem- 1 
ocrat.  He  and  his  family  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Mar-j 
tinsburg,  and  he  is  at  the  present  time  an  elder  in  that  church.  He  married 
Annie  ]\lay.  daughter  of  Abraham  \\'illiamson  and  Susan  Ellen  (Hawh) 
Porterfield,  who  was  born  near  Falling  Waters,  Berkeley  county,  Vir- 
ginia, November  22,  1861.  Her  father  was  Abraham  Williamson  Por- 
terfield, a  descendant  of  William  Porterfield,  who  emigrated  to  America 
in  the  seventeenth  century  to  escape  religious  persecution  in  Ireland  and 
Scotland,  and  settled  in  Northern  Virginia,  where  his  grandchildren  helped 
to  build  the  old  Presbyterian  church  at  Falling  Waters,  about  1740.  He 
was  a  farmer,  and  was  deputy  sheriff  of  Berkeley  county  under  the  state 
of  Virginia;  her  brother,  William  Porterfield,  is  now  living  at  Martins-j 
burg.  Children:  i.  Williamson  Hoge.  born  November  21,  1882;  farmer, 
living  on  his  father's  farm;  unmarried.  2.  Claude  Porterfield,  of  whom] 
further.  3.  Daisy  Ellen,  born  January  20,  1887;  living  with  her  parents,'! 
unmarried.  .; 

(Ill)  Qaude  Porterfield,  son  of  Thomas  Friend  and  Annie  May(Por-j 
terfield)  Light,  was  bom  in  Falling  Waters  district,  Berkeley  county. 
West  \'irginia.  Sunday,  September  8,  1884.  He  was  brought  up  on  his 
father's  farm,  and  attended  the  Berkeley  Military  Academy  at  Martins- 
burg, from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1903.  His  collegiate  and  legall 
studies  were  pursued  at  Washington  and  Lee  LTniversity,  Lexington,  Vir- 
ginia, from  which  he  received  in  1906  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts^l 
and  in  191 1  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  Before  taking  the  lawj 
course  Mr.  Light  taught  for  three  years,  1906  to  1909,  in  preparatory! 
schools  in  ^^irginia  and  in  Georgia.  While  he  was  working  for  his  degree; 
in  laws  he  was  also  teaching  mathematics  in  Washington  and  I-^ee  Uni- 
versity, from  1909  to  191 1.  Since  December  i,  191 1,  he  has  practiced' 
law  at  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia.     With  his  excellent  education,  not 


WEST  VIRGINIA  581 

exclusively  technical  but  properly  founded  on  general  studies.  ;\lr.  Light 
is  a  lawyer  of  much  promise,  and  a  worthy  addition  to  the  citizenship  of 
this  western  section  of  the  state.  He  is  a  member  of  the  college  fraternity, 
Alpha  Chi  Rho.  At  Parkersburg,  he  has  become  a  member  of  two  clubs, 
the  Union  Club  and  the  Blackstone  Fishing  Club.  Mr.  Light  is  a  Demo- 
crat, and  a  Presbyterian,  being  a  member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Parkersburg.     He  has  not  married. 


(I\")  Captain  Edward  .\.  Burnside,  son  of  Joseph  (3) 
.  BURNSIDE  (q.  v.)  and  Elizabeth  J.  (Martin)  Burnside,  was  bom 
,  at      r^Iiddleport.      Ohi(S.      May      17,     1865.       He      at- 

tended   the    public    school    at    Middleport.      Throughout    his  whole    life 
he    has    been    a    student,    and    is  strictly    a    self-made    man.      At    the 
I    age  of  fourteen  he  entered  the  employment  of  the  Campbell  Coal  and 
:    Coke  Company,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  has  remained  continuously  in 
I    their  employment  from  that  time  to  the  present  day  (1913),  working  his 
■ '    way  up  from  the  condition  of  a  common  laborer,  in  which  he  started,  un- 
til he  now  holds  one  of  the  most  responsible  positions  in  the  service  of  the 
company,  that  of  manager  of  transportation  and  steamboat  buildings  His 
residence  is  at  Point  Pleasant,  Mason  county.  West  Virginia.     He  built 
.    the  "E.  R.  Andrews,'"  "George  F.  Dana"  and  "Robert  P.  Gillham,"  and  is 
1^    now  building  the  "W.  B.  Calderwood."     The  steamers  are  drafted  and 
i\    designed  by  him;  he  purchases  the  lumber,  machinery  and  equipment,  and 
'1    all  that  is   necessary   for  managing  and   maintaining  the   transportation 
.    steamers.    Mr.  Burnside  is  a  regularly  licensed  captain  and  pilot,  and  has 
I    spent  his  whole  life  in  connection  with  river  transportation  and  its  devel- 
opment.    He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias.     In  politics,  he  is 
Independent. 

He  married.  September  22.  iSSfS.  ]\iinnie  Bell,  daughter  of  Robert 
j  Fulton  and  Elizabeth  Ann  (Humphrey)  ^Morris,  born  in  Jackson  county, 
:  West  Virginia,  March  4.  1867,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Elmira  Hum- 
,.  phrey,  of  Washington  county,  Ohio,  where  her  father  was  a  farmer.  Her 
,'.  father,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  was  a  guard  in  the  L^nion  army  in  the 
I  civil  war.  In  civic  life  he  carried  on  a  large  lumber  and  timber  busines.-^ 
J  and  owned  a  large  flour  mill.  His  parents  were  David  and  Mary  ]\Iorris 
I  and  the  family  is  of  Scotch-Irish  descent.  Children  of  Robert  Fulton 
f  and  Elizabeth  Ann  (Humphrey)  Morris:  ]\Iinnie  Bell,  mentioned  above, 
;  Charles  Everett,  born  June  27.  1868.  Children  of  Captain  Edward  A. 
and  Minnie  Bell  (Morris)  Burnside:  ^Morris  Claiburne.  born  April  3, 
,  1887;  Don  Gillham,  January  i,  1891  :  Edwin.  April  29,  1892;  May  Eliza- 
beth, July  13,  1900. 


This  well-known  name  is  borne  by  the  descendants  of  many 
LYNCH     immigrants  who  came  at  various  times  to  various  parts  of 
the  present  L^nited  States.     The  family  now  under  consid- 
eration has  been  settled  in  America  from  colonial  days. 

(I)  John  Lynch,  the  founder  of  this  family,  was  born  in  Ireland, 
about  1742.  and  came  from  Ireland  to  this  country  near  1763  and  settled 
in  what  is  now  Pocahontas  countv.  West  Virginia.  .At  one  time  he  was 
the  owner  of  five  hundred  acres  of  land  opposite  the  present  city  of  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio.  He  married  Mary  Moore,  of  Irish  descent  but  American 
birth,  of  Pocahontas  county,  now  West  Virginia.  Children:  John,  of 
whom  further ;  Levi  and  George. 

(II)  John  (2),  son  of  John  (i)  and  Mary  (Moore)  Lynch,  married 
Isabella,   daughter  of  Colonel   Isaac   Gregory.     Children :    Sarah,    Polly, 


582  WEST  VIRGINIA  I 

Isaac,  George.  John,   Isabella,   Adam,  of   whom   further;  Susaiin,   Betsy,     j 
Nancy  and  James.  ' 

(III)  Adam,  son  of  John  (2)  and  Isabella  (Gregory)  Lynch,  was  j 
born  near  Webster  Springs,  Webster  county,  Virginia,  and  died  in  Grassy  , 
Creek,  Webster  county,  Virginia.  There  also  he  was  buried.  He  mar-  | 
ried  Sarah,  daughter  of  William  and  Elizabeth  (Friend)  Arthur.  Wil-  1 
Ham  Arthur  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  at  Webster  Springs;  his  wife  ! 
was  a  daughter  of  Colonel  Joseph  Friend,  a  well-known  pioneer  and  army  1 
officer,  who  was  the  builder  of  Friend's  fort,  in  Randolph  county,  \'lrginia,  ' 
now  \\'est  Mrginia.  Children:  Margaret.  Mary,  Jane,  Columbia.  Fran-  j 
cena,  George  A..  Lee.  \'anlinden  S.,  of  whom  further.  , 

(R')  ^'anlinden  S.,  son  of  Adam  and  Sarah  (Arthur)  Lynch,  was  I 
born  at  \\'ebster  Springs,  October  25,  1855.  In  his  earlier  life  he  was  I 
a  farmer,  but  he  has  now  for  many  years  been  interested  in  oil  and  gas.  , 
His  residence  is  at  liuckhannon.  West  Virginia.  He  married  (first)  j 
Parmelia.  daughter  of  Jacob  P.  and  Elizabeth  (Alkire)  Conrad,  who  died  I 
December.  1885;  (second)  Thursey,  daughter  of  Colonel  Currence  B.  and  \ 
Ann  (Haymond)  Conrad,  of  Glenville,  Gilmer  county,  West  Virginia,  j 
The  Conrad  family  is  well-known  in  the  history  of  what  is  now  West  j 
Virginia.  Jacob  P.  Conrad  was  son  of  John  Conrad,  born  July  15,  1784,  j 
died  September  8.  1854.  and  Iilizabeth  Currence.  born  April  16.  1788,  1 
died  September  3.  1846.  They  married  in  1807.  and  had  nine  children.  1 
This  John  Conrad  was  born  in  Pendleton  county,  \'irginia.  and  his  father.  ' 
also  named  John  Conrad,  was  for  twenty  years  a  member  of  the  \'irginia  j 
legislature.  John  Conrad  Sr.,  is  said  to  have  built  the  first  stone  house  j 
in  what  is  now  West  Mrginia.  west  of  the  mountains,  and  is  believed  to 
have  married  a  daughter  of  Colonel  Rutherford,  of  Jefferson  county,  Vir- 
ginia. Elizabeth  (Alkire)  Conrad  was  niece  of  Jonathan  Bennett,  of 
Weston.  Mrginia,  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  Virginians  living  west  j 
of  the  Alleghanies ;  Louis  Bennett  and  George  Bennett,  of  Weston,  West  | 
A'irginia,  are  his  sons  Children  of  A'anlinden  S.  and  Parmelia  (Conrad)  | 
Lvnch ;  Frederick  Lee,  of  whom  further ;  Orin  Benedum,  of  whom  1 
further:  Charles  I'atrick.  of  whom  further;  Tamblyn.  died  at  the  age  1 
of  fdur.  I 

(V)    Frederick   Lee.   son   of   Vanlinden    S.   and    Parmelia    (Conrad)     ji 
Lvnch,  was  born  at  W^ebster  Springs,  October  29,  1878.     His  education     J 
included  the  course  at  the  West  \'irginia  Wesleyan  College,  Buckhannon,     |. 
from  which  he  graduated  in   1904.     After  finishing  his  college  work  he 
made  a  study  of  cWU  engineering.     In  this  capacity  he  has  been  in  the 
service  of  the  Republic  of  Bolivia,  in  South  America,  and  has  since  leaving     ; 
that  country  visited  Mexico  also,  in  the  employ  of  the  Southern   Pacific 
Railroad   Company.     While  he  was  in   Mexico,  ]\Ir.   Lynch   became  in- 
terested in  oil  and  gas ;  he  now  has  large  mining  interests  in  that  country,     ^ 
and  real  estate  holdings  in  Texas  and  Oklahoma.    He  is  general  manager    Sj 
of  the  San  Lorenzo  Mining  Company,  of  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia,     | 
and  of  the  Parkersburg-Buckhannon  Oil  and  Gas  Company.     Further,     '; 
he  is  largely  interested  in  the  Alkire  Oil  and  Gas  Company  and  in  other 
oil  and  gas  properties.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows.     In  1909  Mr.  Lynch  was  appointed  assistant  clerk  in  the     , 
house  of  delegates  of  West  \'irginia.    He  has  not  married.    He  has  trav- 
eled in  England.  France,  the  Canary  Islands,  and  all  over  South  America, 
Mexico  and  Canada. 

( \' )  Orin  Benedum.  son  of  \'anlinden  S.  and  Parmelia  ( Conrad) 
Lynch,  was  born  November  21.  187Q.  He  is  a  graduate  of  the  academic 
department  of  the  West  Mrginia  Wesleyan  College  and  the  medical  de- 
partment (if  the  I'niversity  of  Louisville.  Louisville.  Kentucky.  In  June, 


WEST  VIRGINIA  583 

1913,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Olive  Dunn,  uf  Mobscot.  Raleigh 
county.  West  Virginia. 

(V)  Charles  P^atrick,  son  of  Vanlinden  S.  and  Parmelia  (Conrad) 
Lynch,  was  born  at  Hacker's  \'alley,  Webster  county.  West  Virginia, 
October  15,  1881.  He  has  studied  at  several  institutions  of  advanced 
grade,  the  West  \irginia  Wesleyan  College,  A\'eaverville  College  at 
Weaverville,  North  Carolina,  and  the  medical  department  of  the  L'niver- 
sity  of  Louisville  in  Louisville,  Kentucky,  but  is  not  a  graduate.  During 
the  years  since  1905  Mr.  Lynch  has  spent  a  large  ])art  of  his  time  on  the 
west  coast  of  Mexico,  in  the  states  of  Sonera  and  Sinaloa,  and  he  has 
gained  a  wide  accjuaintance  with  the  people  of  that  region  and  with  busi- 
ness conditions  there.  He  is  interested  in  Mexican  mining  properties ; 
seven  years  ago,  in  1906,  he  was  one  of  four  to  denounce  the  now  well- 
known  San  Lorenzo  mine,  in  Arizpe  district,  state  of  Sonora,  Alexico. 
yir.  Lynch"s  home  is  at  Buckhannon,  West  Virginia. 

He  married,  at  Paul's  Valley.  Indian  Territory,  May  27.  1903,  Willie, 
daughter  of  Rev.  William  and  Martha  (Henry)  Boyd,  of  Dexter,  Texas. 
Children:  \\'ilma,  born  October  18,  1904:  Boyd  Conrad,  born  January  10, 
191 1. 


For  more  than  thirty-five  years.  .Mr.  Robert  Miller 
F!Rt^A\'XE  Browne  has  been  actively  identified  with  the  business  and 
civic  interests  of  Wheeling,  where  he  is  now  the  senior 
member  of  the  firm  of  Browne  Brothers,  the  leading  merchant  tailors  of 
this  city.  He  is  a  man  of  high  civic  ideas  and  essentially  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative business  men  of  the  city. 

He  was  born  February  8,  1859.  in  Leatherwood,  Ohio  county,  \'ir- 
ginia  (now  West  \'irginia),  one  of  the  attractive  suburbs  of  Wheeling. 
He  is  one  of  the  eight  children  of  Henry  K,  and  Gertrude  (Clements) 
Browne,  natives  of  Port  Glenone,  county  Derry,  Ireland,  who  came  to 
this  country  in  1850  and  settled  in  Wheeling,  where  they  lived  until  the 
close  of  their  lives. 

In  the  year  1873.  Robert  accepted  the  position  of  clerk  with  the  old 
firm  of  Thomas  Hughes  and  Company,  established  in  1840.  After  man- 
aging the  office  several  years  he  became  a  partner  in  the  business  and 
for  more  than  a  cjuarter  of  a  century  continued  to  be  identified  with  the 
concern  with  which  he  connected  himself  when  a  youth. 

In  1899  a  partnership  was  formed  with  his  younger  brother.  Mr.  An- 
drew G.  Browne,  of  New  York  City,  and  the  present  firm  of  Browne 
Brothers  was  established  under  the  most  favorable  conditions.  This 
firm  erected,  in  1904,  a  thoroughly  modern  business  block  at  1420  Mar- 
ket street,  known  as  Browne  Brothers'  Building,  equipped  on  the  finest 
metropolitan  order  and  their  reputation  for  strictly  high  class  work  is 
the  very  best,  not  only  in  this  city,  but  in  Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and 
throughout  the  entire  state  of  West  Virginia. 

Mr.  Browne  is  a  member  and  director  of  the  Wheeling  Board  of 
Trade,  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Education  and  Health,  a  director 
of  the  Business  Men's  Association:  also  a  prominent  Mason  and  an  in- 
fluential churchman,  having  served  as  vestryman  in  St.  Matthew's 
Giurch  for  twenty-five  years  and  is  treasurer  of  the  parish.  He  is  also 
prominently  identified  wath  the  diocese  of  West  \'irginia  and  is  a  trustee 
of  the  Episcopal  Fund. 

Masonry  has  conferred  many  honors  upon  Mr.  Browne.  He  is  a 
past  master  of  Bates  Lodge,  No.  ^2,  a  past  commander  of  Cyrene  Com- 
mandery,  No.  7.  Knights  Templar,  and  the  present  preceptor  of  Consis- 
tory No.  I.  (if  the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  of  Free  Masonry 


584  WEST  \  IRCIXIA 

for  the  Southern  JuriMliclion  uf  the  rniied  States,  ha\-ing  attained  the 
tliirty-second  degree,  Kniglit  Conmiander,  Court  of  Honor,  hy  the  Su- 
preme Council  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

On  January  29,  1884,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  ^Miss  Anieha 
Woodward  Smith,  who  is  the  daughter  of  the  late  DeWitt  Qinton  and 
Elizabeth  Getz  Smith,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  Mr.  and  Airs.  Browne  have 
two  children,  Elizabeth  Hayes,  who  resides  with  her  parents,  and  Rob- 
ert Miller,  Jr.,  who  is  a  student  at  the  Wheeling  high  school. 

Air.  Browne's  character  and  services  are  such  that  he  merits  the  un- 
equivocal esteem  of  all  who  know  him.  He  has  traveled  much,  par- 
ticularly through  his  native  state  and  probably  no  man  in  the  state  of 
West  Virginia  has  a  wider  acquaintance.  He  is  a  progressive,  public- 
spirited  citizen  in  business,  in  church,  in  fraternal  and  in  social  relations. 


John  Walters,  of  Bluefield,  W^est  Virginia,  has  presented 
W.^LTERS  in  his  quiet  and  unobtrusive  way  a  phase  of  successful 
business  life  which  we  do  not  often  see,  and  one  that 
illustrates  the  fundamental  principles  of  a  true  life,  whatever  the  forms 
its  enterprise  assumes.  Pemianent  success  does  not  grow  out  of  mere 
activity,  perserverance  and  judicious  action,  but  personal  virtue,  com- 
bined with  these.  He  is  a  son  of  Hiram  Walters,  of  Virginia,  a  soldier 
in  the  Confederate  service,  participating  during  the  period  of  the  war. 

John  Walters  was  born  in  Montgomery  county,  Virginia,  September 
29,  1864.  He  attended  the  free  schools  and  later  spent  nine  months  in 
the  graded  schools  of  Hylton,  Floyd  county,  Virginia.  When  about  sev- 
enteen years  of  age,  he  ran  away  from  home,  after  starting  out  for  Sun- 
day school,  and  remained  away  for  eight  months ;  all  the  capital  he  pos- 
sessed was  a  quarter  of  a  dollar:  he  landed  in  Pocahontas,  a  distance  of 
seventy-five  miles.  He  began  his  active  business  career  as  clerk  in  a  store, 
in  which  capacity  he  served  for  one  year,  after  which  he  farmed  for 
about  two  years.  He  then  came  to  Freeman,  West  Virginia,  and  engaged 
with  Freeman  &  Jones  as  tipple  boss,  remaining  with  them  for  eighteen 
months.  He  then  returned  home  and  engaged  in  the  saw  mill  and 
threshing  business,  which  he  disposed  of  six  months  later.  He  then 
returned  to  Freeman  and  clerked  for  his  old  employers,  Freeman  &  Jones, 
in  their  commissary  department,  remaining  for  one  year.  The  following 
four  years  he  served  in  the  capacity  of  buyer  for  the  firm.  He  then  went 
on  the  road,  selling  flour  for  Dr.  X.  L.  Coiner,  and  afterwards  was 
engaged  in  the  brokerage  business,  as  manufacturer  and  packers  agent. 
After  a  period  of  about  three  years  his  business  had  increased  to  such  an 
extent  that  he  was  unable  to  handle  it  himself,  and  accordingly  he  admit- 
ted Air.  R.  B.  Williamson  as  partner,  under  the  style  of  Walters  &  Wil- 
liamson, Mr.  Walters  owning  the  principal  part  of  the  business,  and  this 
connection  was  continued  for  several  years,  after  which  it  was  turned 
into  a  stock  company,  Air.  \\'alters  disposing  of  his  mterest  to  three  part- 
ies. In  1893-94  he  promoted  the  Bluefield  &  Hinton  Electric  Railroad 
Company,  and  was  president  of  the  same  for  several  years.  This  road 
was  later  consolidated  with  the  East  River  Electric  Light  Company  under 
the  style  of  Bluestone  Traction  Company,  and  served  as  its  vice-president 
until  the  time  said  company  sold  its  holdings  to  the  Appalachian  Power 
Companv.  On  July  23,  1904,  the  first  electric  car  was  run  over  the  Blue- 
field  &  Hinton  Electric  railway  road.  In  1905  Mr.  Walters  promoted  and 
was  president  and  manager  of  Walters  &-  Company,  wholesale  grocers  of 
Graham,  the  company  having  $100,000  paid  up  capital :  later  they  estab- 
lished a  branch  wholesale  house  at  Princeton.  West  A'irginia.  under  the 
name  of  the  Princeton  Wholesale  Grocery  Company,  and  was  manager 


WEST  VIRGIXIA  585 

of  same  until  1907,  when  Walters  &  Company  consolidated  their  business 
at  Graham  with  the  Flat  Top  Grocery  Company,  of  Bluefield,  West  Vir- 
ginia, and  later  he  sold  out  his  interest  in  the  Princeton  Wholesale  Gro- 
cery Company  to  his  partners.  During  the  years  1904-05-06  Mr.  Walters 
was  president  of  the  Stone  Branch  Coal  Company  at  Stone  Branch,  Logan 
county,  West  Virginia,  also  interested  in  other  coal  lands  in  same  county, 
and  in  1906  exchanged  his  interest  in  said  company  and  coal  lands  for 
all  of  the  holdings  of  the  Bluefield  Building  Company,  and  has  served  as 
president  and  treasurer  uf  that  company  since  that  time.  About  the  year 
1900  Mr.  Walters  organized  a  stock  company  under  the  name  of  Coiner 
Milling  Company,  at  Lynnwood,  Rockingham  county,  Virginia,  and  took 
over  Dr.  Coiner's  flouring  mill  and  business,  greatly  increasing  its  capacity, 
and  served  as  president  of  the  company  until  1908,  when  he  disposed  of 
his  interest. 

In  1909  Mr.  Walters  removed  to  Blueheld,  his  present  residence,  for 
the  purpose  of  looking  after  the  interest  of  his  real  estate  business.  He 
holds  membership  in  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons,  United  C.  T.,  was  eminent  commander  of  Ivan- 
hoe  Commandery,  No.  10,  Knights  Templar,  in  1898,  and  was  first 
eminent  commander  of  Graham  Commandery,  No.  22.  of  Graham,  serv- 
ing for  the  first  and  second  years. 

Mr.  Walters  married,  December  24,  1889,  Laura  F.  Shuffleburger,  born 
in  Montgomery  county,  Virginia,  September  17,  1863,  daughter  of  the  late 
Paris  Shuffieburger,  of  \'irginia.  who  was  a  farmer  liy  occupation.  They 
are  the  parents  of  one  child,  Harrv  Pari?  Walters,  born  in  Freeman,  West 
Virginia,  August  27,  1892. 


The  emigrant  ancestor  of  Senator  Gray  Silver  was  Captain 
SILVER     James  Silver,  who  was  captain  of  the  Fifth  Cijmpany  of 

the  Association  Regiment  of  Lancaster  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, 1747-48,  Benjamin  Chambers,  colonel.  See  p.  24.  vol.  I,  Pennsyl- 
vania Archives,  fifth  series.  He  also  saw  active  service  as  an  officer  (with 
the  rank  of  captain )  in  the  French  and  Indian  wars.  Captain  James  Sil- 
ver was  one  of  tlie  first  ])ermanen;  settlers  in  the  Cumberland  valley,  and 
was  located  at  Silver  Spring,  Silver  Spring  township,  Cumberland  county, 
Pennsylvania,  as  early  as  1724. 

(II)  Francis,  son  of  Captain  James  Silver,  removed  from  Silver 
Spring,  Pennsylvania,  in  1798,  and  settled  in  Virginia  in  that  year. 

(III)  Francis  (2),  son  of  Francis  (  i  )  Silver,  was  born  February  14, 
1775,  died  October  7,  1852.  He  married  Ann,  born  March  6,  1787,  died 
February  22,  1845.  daughter  of  Zephaniah  and  Ann  Beall.  and  a  descen- 
dant of  the  well  known  Beall  family  of  Maryland. 

( IV)  Zephaniah,  son  of  Francis  (2)  and  Ann  (Beall )  Silver,  was  born 
I  in  Berkeley  county,  then  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  May  24,  1.S05,  died 
I  October  18,  1875.  He  was  a  courtly,  cultured  man,  and  like  many  large 
[  land  owners  and  slave  holders  in  Virginia  and  the  south  of  his  day,  was 
I;  a  gentleman  farmer,  following  no  other  occupation  at  any  time  of  his  life. 
I  True  to  the  aristocratic  traditions  of  his  class,  he  was  an  ardent  old  line 
',  Whig,  taking  little  or  no  part  in  politics  after  the  disruption  of  that  party. 
;'    The  family  w-ere  all  Presbyterians,  James  Silver,  the  emigrant  ancestor, 

having  been  largely  instrumental  in  the  establishment  of  the  old  Donegal 
presbytery,  the  first  organization  of  its  kind  in  the  Cumberland  valley. 

Zephaniah   Silver  married,  at  Spring  Hill,  the  Henshaw  homestead, 

Martha  Jane  Henshaw,  born  March   17.  181 1,  died  September  16,  1891. 

I    They  had  children:     Mary  A.,  born  January   16.  1833.  married  Morgan 

'    Morgan  ;    Francis,  see  forward :    Hiram  Henshaw  Sidwell,  born  July  4. 


586  WEST  MRdlXIA 

1837;  Zephaniah,  March  13,  1839:  Henry  Clay.  June  11,  1840;  Ann 
Beall,  September  23,  1842;  \\'illiam  Earnest,  July  18,  1845:  John  Moore, 
November  16,  1846,  did!  March  i(>,  1912;  Ruth  Eleaudr,  August  26, 
1849. 

The  ancestry  of  Mrs.  Alartha  Jane  ( Henshaw )  Silver  is  as  follows: 
William  Henshaw,  of  Poxteth  Park,  near  Liverpool,  England,  married 
Catherine,  only  daughter  of  Evan  Houghton,  of  Wavertree  Hall,  and  his 
wife,  Ellen  Parker,  of  Bridge  Hall,  county  of  Lancashire,  England.  Wil- 
liam Henshaw  and  his  father-in-law  were  killed  June  20,  1644,  at  the 
storming  of  Liverpool  by  Prince  Rupert.  They  were  fighting  against 
King  Charles  the  First.  William  Henshaw  left  two  young  sons,  who  were 
brought  to  Dorchester,  Massachusetts :  Joshua,  see  forward ;  Daniel, 
who  died  without  issue.  Joshua,  son  of  William  and  Catherine  (  Hough- 
ton )  Henshaw,  married  Elizabeth  Sumner,  of  Dorchester,  Massachusetts, 
and  had  several  children.  John,  third  son  of  Joshua  and  Elizabeth  (Sum- 
ner )  Henshaw,  removed  first  to  Philadelphia,  then  to  X'irginia,  and  there 
established  the  Henshaw  homestead  in  1766,  where  his  children  were  born. 
IMartha  Jane,  daughter  of  Hiram  Henshaw,  was  born  at  Spring  Hill,  the 
family  homestead,  and  there  married  Zephaniah  Silver,  as  above  stated. 
Alartha  Jane,  daughter  of  Hiram  and  Alary  (  McConnell)  Henshaw,  was 
a  granddaughter  of  Captain  William  Henshaw  and  Agnes  Ann  Ander- 
son, his  wife.  Captain  \\'illiam  Henshaw  was  born  and  died  in  Vir- 
ginia ;  he  was  in  the  DunuK  )re  war  under  Lord  Dunmore,  and  also  saw 
active  service  as  an  officer  (  with  the  rank  of  captain  )  in  the  American 
revolution. 

The  ancestry  of  Agnes  Ann  Anderson,  wife  of  Captain  William  Hen- 
shaw and  grandmother  of  Martha  Jane  (  Henshaw  )  Silver  is  as  follows: 

"William  Anderson  of  Scotland  descended  from  a  family  of  prominence,  born 
in  the  Highlands  in  1693,  implicated  in  the  rising  of  1715  in  the  behalf  of  the  pre- 
tender. Prince  James,  son  of  James  II.,  fled  in  disguise,  after  the  cruel  suppression 
of  this  incipient  rebellion,  through  T'ngland  to  Virginia  where  British  loyalties  of  his 
viewi  ever  found  a  warm  welcome:  it  was  not  long  after  his  arrival  in  Virginia 
until  he  received  remittances  with  which  he  bought  real  property  in  Maryland  and 
Virginia.  He  owned  in  1738  and  prior  thereto  several  plantations  in  the  Conego- 
chiege  Manor  in  Prince  George's  county,  Maryland,  one  of  which,  called  .'Anderson's 
Delight,  he  sold  to  Dr.  George  Stewart  of  the  city  of  Annapolis  in  1739.  It  was 
soon  after  coming  to  the  country  that  a  rich  and  beautiful  valley,  far  up  the 
Potomac,  on  the  North  Branch,  attracted  his  notice  and  on  it  he  encamped  and  biiilt 
a  hunting  lodge.  This  valley  has  ever  since  been  known  as  the  Anderson  Bottom. 
When  Hampshire  county,  Virginia,  was  erected,  it  embraced  the  Anderson  Bottom, 
which  was  only  five  miles  from  Fort  Cumberland,  constructed  in  1754.  William 
.-\nderson   died  on   the  Anderson   Bottom   in   Hampshire  county.  Virginia." 

{\ )  Colonel  Francis  (3)  Silver,  son  of  Zephaniah  and  Martha  Jane 
(Henshaw)  Silver,  and  better  known  as  Colonel  Frank  Silver,  was  born 
May  10,  1836,  died  .April  28,  1885.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school, 
handsome  and  generous,  courtly  in  his  manlier,  whose  only  business  in- 
terests were  those  of  a  gentleman  farmer.  Tn  religion  a  Presbyterian ;  in 
politics  a  Whig,  until  the  disruption  of  that  party.  .After  the  civil  war 
he  voted  with  die  Democratic  party,  and  was  a  candidate  for  legislature 
in  1876.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Confederate  army,  having  volunteered 
as  a  member  of  Company  B  at  the  time  of  its  organization  as  a  part  <>( 
the  First  Mrginia  Cavalry,  starting  out  from  Harpers  Ferry  in  1861.  ami 
surrendering  with  Lee  at  Appomattox.  He  was  in  nearly  all  the  en- 
gagements of  his  command,  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Rood's  Hill, 
and  was  in  the  hospital  three  months. 

Colonel  Silver  married,  in  Hagerstown,  Alaryland.  November  6.  18(17. 
Alary  .Ann  Gray,  born  on  the  Gray  homestead  at  Grayville,  Berkeley 
county,  A'irginia.  now  West  A'irginia,  December   19,   1841    (see   Grayi. 


WEST  MRGINIA  587 

They  have  had  children:  Martlia  Jane,  born  August  27,.  1868;  Gray,  see 
forward:  Oteha,  October  18,  1871  :  Francis  Jr.,  September  3,  1873,  ^^'^^ 
November  17.  1877:  Anna  Beall.  March  15.  1877:  Mary  Llewellyn,  De- 
cember 8.  1878.  married.  March  13,  1913.  the  Rev.  Louis  Feuxilleteau 
Harper. 

The  (irav  ancestry  is  as  follows:  (J)  John  ( iray.  1702-4*),  married 
Jean  Wardrobe,  "a  gentlewoman,  brought  up  in  ease  at  her  father's 
home  Bradenhill,  near  the  X'illage  Coults.  Fife,  Scotland,"  across  the 
Firth  of  Forth  from  Edenburg.  ( II)  Captain  John  Gray,  son  of  John 
Gray,  gentleman  emigrant  from  Scotland,  was  born  ]\Iarch  6, 
1746.  ( o.  s.)  died  at  Grayville.  the  home  he  established  in  \'ir- 
ginia,  July  i.  1816.  This  estate  is  still  in  the  possession  of  the  family, 
and  the  three  younger  sisters  of  Senator  Gray  Silver  were  born  upon  it. 
The  occupation  of  Captain  John  Gray  was  that  of  government  surveying. 
Plats  of  the  land  of  the  then  "far  western"  states  of  Ohio.  Tennessee, 
Kentucky  and  western  portions  of  Mrginia  are  still  in  the  possession  of 
the  family.  Captain  John  Gray  married  (first)  May  28,  1782.  Mary 
Ann  Sherrard  Cowen,  a  widow^  who  died  without  issue,  September  17, 
1800.  He  married  (second)  March  21.  1805,  Jane  Hyndman  Gilbert,  and 
had  issue:  Mary  Ann.  born  December  25.  1805,  died  February  22,  1830; 
James  William,  see  forward:  John  Edward,  born  January  22,  1814,  died 
unmarried.  August  19.  1837:  David  Wardrobe,  born  February  12,  1817, 
enlisted  in  the  Mexican  war  as  second  lieutenant,  from  Berkeley  county, 
Mrginia.  and  was  mustered  in  January  21.  1847.  Captain  Alburtus'  com- 
pany, which  became  Company  H,  First  Regiment  Mrginia  Volunteers, 
Mexica  war,  resigned  April  30,  1847,  and  was  honorably  discharged,  to 
date  from  [May  30.  1847:  (see  Aler's  "History  of  Berkeley  County"). 
(Ill)  Captain  James  William  Gray,  son  of  Captain  John  and  Jane 
Hyndman  (Gilbert)  Gray,  was  born  September  i.  181 1.  died  July  10, 
1866.  He  married  Martha  Jane,  daughter  of  Edward  and  Elizabeth  (Ma- 
loney)  Gilbert,  and  granddaughter  of  Edward  and  Jane  (Rainey)  Gil- 
bert, the  latter  emigrants  from  Belfast.  Ireland,  about  the  year  1782-83. 
They  still  have  in  their  possession  a  most  vivid  and  interesting  account 
of  the  Scotch  Covenanter  experiences.  (IV)  Mary  Ann.  eldest  daugh- 
ter of  Captain  James  William  and  Martha  Jane  ( Gilbert )  Gray,  married 
Colonel  Francis  Silver  (see  Silver  \'). 

(\'I)  Senator  Gray  Silver,  eldest  son  of  Colonel  Francis  (3)  and 
Hilary  Ann  (Gray)  Silver,  was  born  at  White  Hall.  Frederick  county, 
Mrginia.  February  17.  1870.  He  was  educated  at  private  and  public 
schools,  being  graduated  from  the  latter  in  the  class  of  1885.  His  occu- 
pation has  been  that  of  an  agriculturalist  since  the  commencement  of  his 
business  career,  and  he  has  also  been  interested  in  the  breeding  of  live 
stock  and  the  growing  of  wool.  He  was  a  pioneer  in  bringing  ranch 
sheep  to  the  east  for  breeding  purposes.  He  was  invited  to  attend  the 
conference  of  the  tarifif  board  to  discuss  the  effect  of  free  wool  on  the 
sheep  industry.  He  has  been  foremost  in  the  development  of  the  orchard 
industry  in  the  Appalachean  apple  belt,  and  is  a  large  owner  of  orchards 
at  the  present  time.  He  is  a  director  in  the  People's  Trust  Company  of 
Martinsburg.  West  Virginia,  the  largest  bank  in  the  lower  Shenandoah 
valley.  His  political  affiliations  have  always  been  with  the  Democratic 
party  :  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate  in  1906.  and  re-elected  in  1910. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  the  Benevolent  and  Protec- 
tive Order  of  Elks.  Berkeley  Club  of  [Martinsburg,  West  Mrginia,  and  of 
the  Si.ns  of  Confederate  \'eterans.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church. 

Senator  Silver  married,  at  Alartinsburg,  December  5,  1908,  Kate 
Bishop,  born  in  Martinsburg,  August   I,   1884,  daughter  of  John  Wesley 


588  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Bishop,  a  wholesale  grocer,  and  his  wife,  Emily  ( Alburtusj  Bishop, 
wliose  other  children  are  Sprague  and  \'irginia.  Senator  and  Mrs.  Sil- 
ver have  liad  children:     Mary  Gray,  born  July  i6,  1910;   Gray  Jr.,  March 

References  :  .Silvers  of  Silver  .Spring,  Pennsylvania ;  an  article  pub- 
lished in  the  Carlisle  Volunteer  by  J.  Zeamer  (Mr.  Jerry  Zeamer,  of 
Carlisle).  The  Sesqui-Centennial  .Anniversary  of  the  Silver  Spring  Pres- 
byterian Church,  Historical  discourse  by  the  Rev.  T.  J.  Ferguson.  One 
Hundred  and  Seventy-fifth  Anniversary  of  the  Silver  Spring  Presbyter- 
ian Church,  August  5,  1909.  "The  Early  Patriots  of  Silver  Spring,"  by 
J.  Zeamer.  "Hardesty's  Historical  and  Geographical  Encyclopaedia," 
Personal  History  Department  of  Berkeley  County,  p.  2.  "Aler's  History 
of  Berkeley  County."  For  the  history  of  Henshaw  family,  and  article  by 
Miss  Valley  \'irginia  Henshaw.  published  in  "The  West  Mrginia  Histor- 
ical Magazine,"  .\pril.  1904,  vol.  4,  No.  2,  W.  S.  Laidley,  Editor,  pub- 
lished by  the  West  \'irginia  Historical  and  Antiquarian  Society,  Charles- 
ton, West  A'irginia.  "Life  and  Letters  of  Judge  T.  J.  Anderson  and 
\\'ife,"  by  James  H.  Anderson.     Edited  by  Tames  H.  Anderson,  LL.B. 


None  who  have  the  opportunity  i.'f  conversing  with 
BRENNAN  Ignatius  Brennan  will  long  be  in  doubt  as  to  the  latter's 
possession  of  a  full  supply  of  the  genial  humor  and 
wit  for  which  the  sons  of  the  fair  old  Emerald  Isle  have  ever  been  noted, 
and  while  he  cannot  claim  Ireland  as  the  place  of  his  nativity,  his  par- 
ents were  both  born  in  county  Mayo,  and  he  has  not  been  denied  his 
heritage,  the  "kindly  fruits"  of  which  are  evidenced  in  his  buoyant  per- 
sonality and  ready  appreciation  of  the  humorous  side  of  life.  He  is  a 
native  son  of  West  \"irginia  and  has  been  a  resident  of  Wheeling  since 
1887,  his  presence  having  undoubtedly  had  due  influence  in  creating  the 
"Greater  Wheeling,"  to  which  this  publication  is  dedicated  and  devoted. 
Mr.  Brennan  was  born  at  Greenwood,  Doddridge  county,  West  Virginia, 
shortly  after  the  close  of  the  civil  war,  and,  as  he  himself  puts  it.  "is 
always  for  peace  therefore  and  thereby."  He  is  sixth  son  of  Thomas  and 
Catherine  (Byrne)  Brennan,  both,  as  already  stated,  natives  of  county 
Mayo,  Ireland.  Apropos  of  this  parental  nativity  Ignatius  Brennan  has 
vouchsafed  the  following  statement :  "This  accounts  for  the  marked 
emeraldness  I  displayed  all  through  the  days  of  my  youth  and  on  into 
manhood,  and  ever  though  practically  at  the  high-noon  of  my  life,  I  am 
still  the  possessor  of  a  huge  amount  of  it." 

We  first  find  Mr.  Brennan,  after  he  had  accumulated  all  the  education 
he  couldn't  possibly  escape  in  the  public  schools,  a  full-fledged  ped- 
agogue "at  the  head  of  Arnold's  Creek  in  Doddridge  county,  with  a 
No.  I  certificate  and  a  salary  of  forty-two  dollars  per  month — the  re- 
dundant two  dollars  having  been  attached  to  his  emolument  as  honor- 
arium for  building  fires  and  sweeping  the  school  room."  It  required 
three  years  of  this  work  to  fit  him  for  his  next  position — that  of  brake- 
man  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad.  Two  years  at  this  work  gained 
hin-,  promotion  to  the  position  of  conductor,  and  in  this  capacity  he  con- 
tinued tc  serve  for  seven  years. 

On  the  14th  of  October,  1891,  Mr.  Brennan  joined  the  order  of  bene- 
dicts by  taking  unto  himself  a  wife,  in  the  person  of  Miss  Fannie  C. 
Hughes,  and  he  has  never  been  greatly  abashed  at  the  connubial  discip- 
line established  by  Mrs.  Brennan. 

Touching  the  "productive  activities"  of  Mr.  Brennan,  it  may  be 
stated  that  when  he  ceased  to  "conduct"  as  a  conductor  in  the  railway 
service,  he  was  found  peregrinating  with  characteristic  eclat  in  the  dig- 


WEST  MRGIXIA  589 

iiified  office  of  traveling  salesman  for  a  wholesale  grocery  house,  and 
'"doing  well,  thank  you."  Ten  years  of  salesmanship,  during  which  his 
spare  moments  were  given  to  the  "perusing  of  the  sages,"  brought  about 
his  development  into  a  full-fledged  poet  and  life-insurance  manager — a 
combination  hard  to  beat.  He  enjoys  the  first  part  of  the  combination 
as  a  pastime,  but  when  it  comes  to  "paying  the  rent"  he  prefers  the 
latter.  He  issued,  in  the  spring  of  191 1,  from  the  Gorman  Press,  of 
Boston,  ;\Iassachus.etts,  his  first  volume  of  poems,  under  the  title  of 
'■;\Iountain  State  Gleanings,"  and  it  deserves  a  prominent  place  in  every 
household.     It  is  a  gloom  dispeller,  even  as  is  its  author  in  person. 


Leonard  Dillon  Simmons,  the  first  member  of  this  family 
SIMMONS     of  whom  we  have  definite  information,  died  March   17, 

1909.  He  served  in  the  Confederate  army  during  the 
civil  war  and  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Cloyd's  Mountain.  At  the 
close  of  hostilities  he  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  at  Spencer,  West 
Virginia,  and  continued  in  business  until  1898,  when  he  retired.  He  mar- 
ried Sarah  Artemisa,  daughter  of  William  R.  and  Sarah  Gofl,  of  Spen- 
cer.    Children :     Howard  Dillon,   Harvey  Jefiferson,  referred   to  below ; 

Mary,  married  DePue ;    Kenna  Cleveland,  Lee  L.,  Mildred  Irene. 

(II)  Captain  Harvey  Jefferson  Simmons,  son  of  Leonard  Dillon  and 
Sarah  Artemisa  (Goff)  Simmons,  was  born  at  Spencer,  West  Virginia, 
May  2,  1876.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools,  sup- 
plemented by  a  three  years'  course  at  the  University  of  Virginia,  and  then 
became  associated  in  business  with  his  father.  When  the  Spanish-Ameri- 
can war  broke  out  he  enlisted,  and  was  commissioned  as  a  second  lieu- 
tenant in  the  Second  West  Virginia  Volunteer  Infantry.  Later  he  joined 
the  Forty-first  LTnited  States  \'olunteer  Infantry,  with  the  rank  of  sec- 
ond lieutenant,  and  served  for  two  years  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  under 
the  late  General  Frederick  Dent  Grant,  in  Northern  Luzon.  He  was  com- 
missioned captain  and  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  troops  and  sta- 
tion at  Bacalor,  Pampanga  province.  He  was  in  continual  active  service, 
his  district  comprising  twenty-one  square  miles  and  containing  eighteen 
thousand  natives,  and  in  all  nine  hundred  insurrectos,  together  with  four 
hundred  rifles  were  captured  by  Captain  Simmons.  In  1905  he  organized, 
at  Spencer,  Company  D,  of  the  Second  Regiment  of  Infantry,  National 
Guard  of  West  Virginia,  and  commanded  the  company  for  five  years, 
when  he  was  transferred  to  the  regimental  staff  of  the  same  regiment  as 
inspector  of  small  arms  practice  and  ordinance  officer,  which  position  he 
still  holds.  He  possesses  one  of  the  finest  collections  of  Philippine  coins 
and  curios  in  West  Virginia.  Since  his  return  from  the  Philippines,  he 
has  been  engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  oil  business  and  has  an  interest  in 
large  tracts  of  oil  lands.  He  is  a  Presbyterian  in  religion,  and  a  Demo- 
crat in  politics.  He  is  a  member  of  Moriah  Lodge,  No.  38,  Ancient  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons;  of  Parkersburg  Lodge,  No.  198,  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  of  Spencer  Lodge,  No.  55,  -Knights  of 
Pythias.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Modern  ^^'oodmen  of  .America,  and 
the  Redmen  of  America.  He  married,  November  14.  1904.  :\laude,  daugh- 
ter of  Rev.  J.  N.  and  Martha  (Hildreth)  Burdette.'of  Spencer.  Chil- 
dren :    William  Leonard.  Harvev   Jefferson,  Charles  Burdette. 


The  McDougle  family,  of  which  Judge  Walter  Ed- 
McDOUGLE     mund  McDougle,  the  able  jurist  and  one  of  the  circuit 

judges  of  West  Virginia,  residing  at  Parkersburg,  is  a 
representative,  is,  as  its  name  would  suggest,  of  Scotch  origin.  Its  Amer- 
ican history  ante-dates  the  revolution,  and  except  for  a  short  early  resi- 


590  WEST  MRGIXIA 

dence  in  Maryland  the  family  has  lived  in  Virginia,  including  the  present 
state  of  West  Mrginia,  throughout  its  American  residence. 

(I)  John  RlcDougle,  the  founder  of  this  family,  was  born  in  Scot- 
land, March  i6,  1731.  He  was  the  father  of  a  son  Benjamin,  of  whom 
further. 

(II)  Benjamin,  son  of  John  McDougle,  was  born  in  Maryland,  Sep- 
tember 15,  1762.  He  married  Elizabeth  Duke.  They  had  one  child,  Sam- 
uel, of  whom  further. 

(III)  Samuel,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Elizabeth  (Duke)  McDougle,  was 
born  in  Rappahannock  county,  Virginia,  June  14,  1798.  He  married 
Alary  Armstrong.     Child,  Albert  Armstrong,  of  whom  further. 

( R'j  Albert  Armstrong,  son  of  Samuel  and  Mary  (Armstrong) 
McDougle,  was  born  in  Warren  county,  Virginia,  December  2,  1838; 
came  to  Wood  county  in  1848,  and  was  killed  July  5,  1905,  in  Wood 
county.  West  Virginia,  being  struck  by  a  train  at  a  railroad  crossing.  His 
entire  life  was  that  of  a  farmer  and  breeder  of  and  dealer  in  live  stock. 
He  served  as  trustee  of  public  schools  in  Wood  county.  West  Virginia. 
He  married,  at  Washington  Bottoms,  Wood  county.  West  Virginia,  Feb- 
ruary II,  1866,  Louisa  Jane,  born  February  21,  1841,  died  October  7, 
1870,  daughter  of  Francis  Keene  and  Marietta  (Simpson)  Lewis.  Fran- 
cis K.  Lewis  was  a  native  of  Wood  county,  where  he  was  a  prominent 
farmer;  he  was  the  father  of  seven  children,  the  others  being:  Perry. 
Sarah,  Adeline,  Betty,  Martha,  Fannie.  Children  of  Albert  Armstrong 
and  Louisa  Jane  (Lewis)  McDougle:  Walter  Edmund,  of  whom  further; 
three  younger,  of  whom  none  lived  more  than  a  few  days. 

( y  )  Judge  Walter  Edmund  McDougle,  son  of  Albert  Armstrong  and 
Louisa  Jane  (Lewis)  McDougle,  was  born  at  the  old  McDougle  home- 
stead at  Washington  Bottoms,  December  4,  1867.  Having  laid  his  educa- 
tional foundations  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county,  he  attended 
the  Tri-State  Xormal  College,  at  Angola,  Indiana,  from  which  he  received 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Commercial  Science.  He  returned  in  1889 
when  he  entered  the  office  of  J.  G.  McCluer,  where  he  read  law  and  made 
the  preliminary  steps  for  a  thorough  legal  education,  which  was  received 
at  Washington  and  Lee  L'niversity,  Lexington,  Virginia,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1891  with  high  honors,  the  faculty  conferring  upon  him 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  Mr.  McDougle  had  already  been  a 
farmer,  prior  to  commencing  his  advanced  studies  in  1886.  From  that 
year  he  was  studying  continuously  until  1891,  and  he  w^as  then  admitted  to 
practice  law.  In  this  practice  he  has  been  engaged  from  that  year.  Except 
during  the  times  when  he  was  away  at  college,  from  1886  to  1888,  and 
again  from  September,  1890,  to  June,  1891,  Mr.  McDougle  has  been  a 
lifelong  resident  of  \V'ood  county,  and  he  has  risen  to  a  high  position  in 
the  county  bar,  as  shown  by  the  offices  which  he  has  held.  From  Decem- 
ber 31,  1892,  to  January  i,  1897,  a  period  of  four  years,  he  was  prose- 
cuting attorney  of  Wood  county.  During  all  these  years  he  was  success- 
ful in  every  case  which  he  prosecuted,  never  having  had  a  mistrial  or 
any  case  successfully  appealed  against  him  in  the  higher  courts.  The  late 
Judge  J.  M.  Jackson  stated  that  Mr.  AIcDougle  was  the  best  prosecuting 
attornev  that  had  ever  practiced  in  his  court,  for  the  reason  that  he  always 
had  the  evidence  well  in  hand  and  had  the  law  to  fit  the  case,  never  over- 
looking a  point,  always  on  the  alert.  While  never  indulging  in  oratorical 
flights  in  the  arguments  or  in  presenting  a  case,  he  was  incisive,  effective 
and  convincing.  In  1909  he  became  assistant  prosecuting  attorney  and 
continued  in  this  position  up  to  1912.  In  the  latter  year  Air.  McDougle 
was  nominated  and  elected  judge  of  the  fourth  judicial  circuit  of  West 
Virginia,  his  jurisdiction  covering  Wood  and  Wirt  counties,  to  serve  in 
this  position  up  to  1920,  a  period  of  eight  years.     For  this  position  Judge 


U/aMz^  S.  y^'^^'y^ 


WEST  \IRGL\IA  391 

McDougle  has  already  exemplified  his  fitness  in  man}-  ways.  He  is  an 
indefatigable  worker,  and  instituted  a  new  departure  from  the  methods 
of  his  predecessors,  by  his  determination  to  clear  the  calendar  of  the  vast 
number  of  cases  which  he  found  upon  going  on  the  bench,  some  of  which 
had  been  on  the  docket  for  many  years.  In  order  to  do  this  Judge  McDou- 
gle held  special  sessions  of  from  two  to  five  days  each  week  for  months, 
not  excepting  the  hottest  months  of  the  summer.  This,  and  his  able  and  jusu 
decisions,  soon  placed  him  among  the  most  popular  judges,  not  only  with 
the  members  of  the  bar,  but  with  all  persons  iiaving  business  with  the 
court. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks,  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  the  Order  of  Owls, 
the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  the  Junior  Order  of  .\merican 
Mechanics,  the  Elks  Club,  and  the  Germania  Singing  Society. 

He  married,  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  April  18,  1891,  Myrtle  Elizabeth, 
born  at  Middleport,  Ohio,  July  22,  1869,  daughter  of  George  and  Eliza 
(White)  Curry.  Her  father  was  a  manufacturer  of  brick,  and  served 
as  a  soldier  of  the  Union  from  1861  to  1865.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McDougle 
and  son  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Child :  Robert  Bore- 
man,  born  February  7.  1892 ;  he  is  a  graduate  of  the  high  school  at  Park- 
ersburg  and  is  now  a  student  at  Washington  and  Lee  University,  class  of 
1916,  from  which  his  father  graduated  in  1891. 


This  is  one  of  the  leading  families  in  Wood  county,  promi- 
ROBB     nent  on  both  sides  for  its  culture  and  refinement,  and  leading 

back  on  the  mother's  side  to  the  pioneer  days  of  the  colonies 
and  the  distinguished  performances  of  the  maternal  ancestor  of  that  time, 
Captain  James  Neale,  in  whose  honor  Neale  Station  received  its  name. 
William  J.  Robb,  whose  widow  is  one  of  the  descendants  of  the 
doughty  captain,  was  born  in  Waynesburg,  Greene  county,  Pennsylvania, 
in  April,  1821.  When  he  was  only  two  years  of  age  his  parents  removed* 
to  \Mieeling,  then  in  the  state  of  Virginia,  and  he  received  his  education 
at  Washington-Jefferson  Academy,  in  Washington,  Pennsylvania.  After 
his  course  of  studies  had  been  completed,  he  engaged  in  mercantile  busi- 
ness until  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war,  when  he  became  a  soldier  in  the 
Union  army,  enlisting  in  the  First  Regiment  of  Virginia,  and  served 
throughout  the  entire  war.  .  He  was  promoted  in  rank,  but  was  made  a 
prisoner  at  the  time  of  this  promotion.  ^Ir.  Robb  was  a  strong  advocate 
and  upholder  of  fraternal  organizations,  having  been  prior  to  his  death 
on  August  2,  1892,  a  member  of  the  Odd  Fellows,  and  the  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted :\Iasons.  On  October  31,  1848,  he  married  Josephine,  eldest 
daughter  of  Daniel  Rowell  Neale  (see  Neale  IV),  and  had  the  following 
children:  1.  James,  born  September  28,  1849,  died  March  13,  1888.  2. 
John  B.,  December  13,  1851,  died  in  January.  1888.  3.  Neale,  born  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1854.  died  October  31,  1904.  4.  William  J.,  born  December  25, 
1856:  was  a  dry  goods  merchant  in  this  city  for  twenty-seven  years,  but 
is  now  engaged  in  real  estate.  5.  Harry  B.,  born  January  i,  1859:  has 
been  engaged  in  the  drug  business  in  this  city  for  many  years.  A.  George, 
born  November  3.  1862. 

(The  Xeale  Line). 

The  immigrant  ancestor  of  the  Neale  family.  Captain  James  Neale, 
came  to  Maryland  about  the  year  1650,  some  authorities  claiming  the  date 
to  be  1638.  He  was  an  admiral  of  the  Royal  navy,  sailing  from  Spain  via 
Portugal,  bringing  with  him  his  wife  and  their  four  children,  all  born  in 


592  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Spain.  An  act  cif  assembly  nf  ififi6  discloses  a  glimpse  of  his  former  life 
as  follows:  "The  humble  petition  of  Captain  James  Neale  viz:  For  nat- 
uralization of  his  four  children,  Henrietta  Maria,  James,  Dorothy,  and 
-Anthony  Neale,  born  in  Spain  of  Anna,  his  wife,  during  his  residence 
there  as  a  merchant :  and  also  employed  there  by  the  King  and  the  Duke 
of  York  in  several  emergent  affairs,  as  by  commission  herewith  pro- 
duced," etc.  Henrietta  Alaria  Neale.  eldest  daughter  of  Captain  James 
and  .\nna  Neale.  married  (first)  Richard  Burnett,  who  was  drowned  in 
early  manhood,  leaving  two  children,  a  son  and  daughter.  She  married 
(second)  Philemon  Lloyd.  Ijy  whom  she  had  a  number  of  children,  the 
eldest  of  whom.  Edward  Lloyd,  became  a  member  of  the  Maryland  legis- 
lature, his  descendants  all  being  prominent  people  of  the  state.  Dorothy 
Neale,  the  second  daughter  of  Captain  James  and  .^nna  Neale  married 

Taney,  and  became  the  ancestress  of  the  late  Chief  Justice  Taney. 

Of  Anthony  Neale,  the  second  son  of  Captain  James  Neale,  little  is  re- 
corded ;  some  historians  not  seeming  to  be  aware  of  his  existence,  naming 
only  three  cliildren. 

(IT)  James  (2),  the  eldest  son  of  Captain  James  (  i)  and  Anna  Neale 
settled  and  married  on  the  western  shore  of  Maryland,  and  his  descend- 
ants, with  those  of  his  brothers  and  sisters,  are  legion,  more  than  a  thou- 
sand being  recorded  at  the  beginning  of  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 
century:  as  history  quaintly  records.  "Anna  Neale  was  a  great  mother!" 
.Among  their  children  was  probably  John. 

(Ill)  John,  son  of  James  (2)  Neale,  married  (first)  Caroline  Kyger, 
by  whom  he  had  eight  children,  among  whom  was  Daniel  Rowell :  mar- 
ried (second)  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Jonas  Beeson.  by  whom  he  had  one 
son  named  in  his  honor. 

(I\')  Daniel  Rowell,  son  of  John  Neale.  was  born  in  Parkersburg, 
January  29,  1809.  being  the  fifth  son  of  John  Neale  by  his  wife,  Caroline 

Kvger.  He  married .  Children  of  Daniel  Rowell  Neale:  i.  Josephine, 

now  the  widow  of  William  J.  Robb,  as  previously  stated.  2.  Paul.  3.  Ro- 
maine,  died  in  infancy.  4.  Eloise,  died  in  infancy.  5.  John  Dexter,  living 
in  Houston,  Texas.  6.  Florida,  who  is  the  widow  of  Spencer  Cooke,  liv- 
ing in  Parkersburg.  7.  Caroline,  widow  of  Captain  James  Hume,  who 
died  at  Chicago.  Illinois,  February  2,  1907.  she  herself  dying  on  Novem- 
ber 26.  1909. 


This  is  one  of  the  most  frequently  met  names  in  America. 
SHA^^■     The  present   family  is  of  Scotch  origin.  William  Shaw,  the 

founder  of  this  family,  came  probably  from  Scotland,  and 
settled  in  Monongalia  county.  \''irginia.  (now  Preston  county.  West  Vir- 
ginia), in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  (Thild :  William,  of 
whom  further. 

(II)  William  (2),  son  of  William  (i)  Shaw,  was  born  June  13,  1795. 
and  died  near  Philippi,  Barbour  county.  West  Virginia,  June  19,  1876. 
In  early  life  he  came  to  what  is  now  Barbour  county  and  made  his  home 
at  or  near  where  Philippi  now  stands.  In  1830  he  was  a  justice  of  the 
peace  in  Randolph  county,  and,  on  the  organization  of  the  new  county 
he  was  one  of  the  justices  who  organized  Barbour  county.  In  1847  he 
was  sheriff  of  the  county.  In  all  he  was  a  county  officer  for  twenty-five 
years.  He  was  one  of  the  original  trustees  of  Philippi.  By  occupation 
he  was  a  miller,  stone  mason,  and  farmer;  for  some  time  he  was  one  of 
the  owners  of  the  ferry  at  Philippi.  At  an  early  day  he  owned  the  entire 
site  on  which  Philippi  was  later  built :  his  farm,  where  he  died,  was  one 
and  one-half  miles  west  of  Philippi.  In  the  war  of  1812  he  was  a  soldier, 
stationed  at  Norfolk.     He  wa=  alwa>'s  a  Democrat.     He  married  Edith 


-^ — 


WEST  MRGIXIA  593 

O'Neal :  she  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-five.     Child :  David  William,  of 
whom  further. 
t         (III)    David   William,    son    of   \\'illiam    (2)     and    Edith     (O'Neal) 
!  Shaw,  was  born  in  Barbour  county,  \'irginia,  in  May.  1852.    He  was  edu- 
'  cated  at  Philippi,  in  the  common  schools,  and  at  West  Mrginia  College, 
Flemington,  Taylor  county,  then  the  only  chartered  college  in  West  Vir- 
ginia, from  which  he  graduated  in  1876.     He  has  been  a  prominent  edu- 
cator.    From  1869  he  taught  school,  devoting  the  winter  months  to  this 
',  work,  and  farming  in  the  summer,  and  continued  in  this  dual  activity  un- 
]  til  1885.     In  1885  he  gave  himself  wholly  to  agriculture.     In  June,  1894, 
!  he  was  made  superintendent  of  the  West  \'irginia  Reform   School,  at 
!  Pruntytown,  Taylor  county.     In  the  autumn  of   1886  he  was  elected  a 
I  member  of  the  state  legislature,  and  he  was  re-elected  four  times  in  suc- 
cession.    In  the  session  of   1893  he  was  speaker  of  the  house  of  dele- 
,  gates.     Previously,  from  the  beginning  of  his  legislative  career,  he  had 
[  been  chairman  of  the  committee  on  education.     In  1896  Air.  Shaw  w-as 
I  felt  to  be  the  logical  nominee  for  governor  of  the  state,  but  did  not  al- 
i  low  the  use  of  his  name. 

i         He  has  now  a  large  farm  in  Barbour  county,  but  resides  in  Philippi. 

I  The  present  standing  of  the  Morris  Harvey  College,  as  one  of  the  best 

I  schools  in  the  state,  is  due  to  him.  he  having  been  its  president  from  1900 

;  to   1910.     Beside  his  principal  activities  in  state  affairs,  he  was  deputy 

j  sheriff  of  the  county  in  1884-85,  and  president  of  the  board  of  education 

'  at  Philippi  from  1884  to  1888.    For  a  little  over  a  year,  in  1883,  and  1884, 

he  was  editor  of  the  Barbour  Jcffcrsonian.     He  is  a  member  of  Philippi 

Lodge,  No.  59,  I.  O.  O.  F.     Mr.  Shaw  is  a  Democrat,  and  a  member  of 

the  Alethodist  Episcopal  Church.  South. 

He  married,  March  12.  1879,  Barbara  Ellen,  daughter  of  William  W. 
and  Jane  (Thompson)  Woodford,  who  was  born  at  Philippi,  in  1857, 
and  now  resides  at  Philippi.  She  is  a  descendant  of  General  William 
Woodford,  an  Englishman  who  married  a  daughter  of  Sir  William  Howe 
afterward  General  Flowe.  in  command  of  His  Majesty's  forces  in  Amer- 
ica in  the  early  part  of  the  revolution ;  General  Howe  opposed  the  mar- 
riage and  the  couple  left  England  and  settled  in  the  Shenandoah  valley. 
William  Woodford,  father  of  Airs.  Shaw,  was  a  stock  dealer  on  a  large 
scale:  he  died  from  an  accident  at  the  age  of  fifty-nine.  His  wife  lived 
to  the  age  of  seventy-one.  .\mong  their  eight  children,  five  are  living, 
all  in  Barbour  county ;  Riley  and  Austin,  on  the  old  Woodford  homestead  ; 
George,  a  farmer;  Airs.  James  P.  Robinson  and  Mrs.  Shaw.  Children  of 
David  William  and  Barlaara  Ellen  (Woodford)  Shaw:  David  Blain,  of 
whom  further :  William  Ralston,  born  May  30,  1885,  now  living  at  Phil- 
ippi, where  he  is  a  teacher,  and  a  famous  baseball  coach. 

(R')  David  Blain,  son  of  David  William  and  Barbara  Ellen  (Wood- 
ford) Shaw,  was  born  at  Philippi,  February  9,  1883.  He  was  eleven 
years  old  when  his  father  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the  State  Re- 
form School  at  Pruntytown,  and  there  in  part  he  received  his  early  edu- 
cation. Afterward  he  studied  at  Wesleyan  College,  Buckhannon,  Up- 
shur county.  West  \'irginia,  and  graduated  in  1906  from  the  Morris  Har- 
vey College  at  Barboursville,  Cabell  county.  West  \'irginia,  with  the  de- 
gree of  A.  B.  He  and  his  brother  Ralston  built  up  the  athletics  of  this 
college  so  that  in  1905  the  baseball  club  won  seventeen  games  out  of 
eighteen  played,  and  about  ten  of  the  players  are  now  in  major  leagues. 
Ralston  Shaw  afterward  played  with  the  \'anderbilt  University  ball 
term. 

In  1906  David  Blain  Shaw  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business,  dealing 
in  lands  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  state  and  in  Kentucky.     He  es- 
tablished in  the  same  vear  his  present  business  and  the  Cabell  Investment 
38 


594  WEST  \'IRGIXI.\  | 

and  De\elopment  Cumpaii}-,  and  built  tlie  building  whicli  it  now  occupies,  j 
the  Hotel  Edgar  building,  which  is  the  best  business  building  in  Bar-  1 
boursville.  Mr.  Shaw  has  been  the  most  efficient  promoter  of  Barbours-  i 
ville,  which  had  in  1903  a  population  of  449,  and  had  in  1910  increased  to  j 
987  and  in  191 3  to  1225.  During  this  time  he  has  sold  about  five  hun-  ' 
dred  pieces  of  real  estate  and  built  between  forty  and  fifty  houses.  Be-  I 
fore  entering  the  real  estate  field  he  was  assistant  cashier  of  the  Citizens'  ' 
National  Bank  at  Philippi,  and  he  was  the  chief  organizer  and  for  three  I 
years  vice-president  of  the  First  State  Bank  at  Barboursville.  Of  the  ' 
latter  Ijank  he  is  now-  a  director.  From  1907  to  1909  he  was  a  member  ] 
of  the  Bowman  Realty  Com])any,  of  Huntington,  West  Virginia.  He  J 
owns  the  Barboursinllc  Budget,  of  Barboursville,  Cabell  Record,  of  Mil-  | 
ton,  Cabell  county,  and  the  Tri-Stale  Enterprise  of  Kenova,  Wayne  coun-  i 
ty,  West  \'irginia,  all  leading  weekly  journals.  He  founded  the  orator-  j 
ical  contest  among  the  church  schools  of  this  state.  He  was  also  at  one  j 
time  director  of  the  orchestral  department  of  Morris  Harvey  College.  In  ' 
music  he  has  special  ability,  and  has  composed  some  instrumental  pieces.  I 
He  is  a  meinber  of  the  F.  and  A.  M..  the  1.  O.  O.  F.,  and  the  Royal  Ar-  ' 
canum.  ' 

In  n)io  Mr.  Sliaw  established  a  general  insurance  agency  in  Bar- 
boursville, through  which  he  covered  several  large  lines  in  the  southwest-  1 
ern  part  of  the  state,  and  which  was  incorporated  as  the  Shaw-Union  \ 
Agency  Company.  An  unexpectedly  large  business  was  developed  in  this  I 
line,  and  this  agency  was  considered  a  model  for  efficiency  and  methods;  ; 
it  was  the  first  general  agency  ever  established  in  Barboursville.  It  was  I, 
bought  by  a  syndicate  early  in  1912,  Mr.  Shaw  retiring  from  the  business.   ' 

In  1912  ]\ir.  Shaw  established  the  Bluefield  Daily  Courier,  a  new  ven-  li 
ture  in  the  afternoon  newspaper  field  in  the  South-State  metropolis.  It 
proved  a  strong  factor  in  the  campaign  of  1912  and  is  given  credit  for  a  j 
large  part  of  the  increase  in  the  Democratic  vote  of  this  section.  The  i 
paper  soon  had  a  circulation  of  3500  copies.  In  1913  Mr.  Shaw  made  I 
sale  of  this  property,  upon  advantageous  terms,  and  returned  to  his  other  1 
business  interests  in  Barboursville  and  Huntington.  1 

A  great  part  of  his  time  in  the  past  two  years  has  been  devoted  to  j 
the  promotion  of  water  and  sewerage  systems  in  Barboursville,  paving,  i 
hard-road  connections  with  near-by  cities,  and  the  building  of  a  trolley  ' 
system  between  Charleston  and  Huntington.     Largely  through  his  eiTforts, 
most  of  these  have  been  consummated.     Barboursville  now  has  all  of  the 
public  utilities  of  a  city,  including  a  heavy  natural  gas  supply ;    the  hard 
road  system  has  been  extended  on  the  three  leading  pikes  of  Cabell  county  ' 
for  a  total  distance  of  thirty  miles,  connecting  Barboursville  and  Hunt- 
ington, and  several  other  important  points  in  the  county.     This  road  is 
built  of  regular  paving  brick,  the  only  county  road  of  its  kind  in  \\'est 
Virginia.     The  trolley  line  has  been  surveyed  and  will  doubtless  be  built 
within  a  few  years.     In  the  furtherance  of  these  enterprises,  Mr.  Shaw 
has  met  with  many  honors  and  recognitions  for  his  services,  having  at 
dififerent  times  been  chosen  as  councilman,  special  manager  and  mayor  of 
his  town.     He  is  at  present  serving  as  mayor,  (having  been  elected  upon 
his  return  from  Bluefield),  and  during  this  term  the  town  will  take  over    ^ 
the  new  water  plant  under  municipal  ownership  plans,  being  one  of  the 
first  in  the  state  to  try  this  innovation. 

I\Ir.  Shaw  is  also  president  of  the  Barboursville  Board  of  Trade, 
which  he  organized  over  a  year  ago,  and  which  is  composed  of  over  one 
hundred  leading  business  men  of  the  town  and  county.  It  has  been  doing 
great  service  in  the  matter  of  advancing  the  interests  of  the  community. 
He  put  this  organization  behind  a  big  celebration  which  was  held  in  Bar- 
boursville, June  1st  to  6th  this  year,   (1913),  in  commemoration  of  the  j 


WEST  VIRGINIA  595 

lundredth  anniversary  of  tlie  town  and  county,  the  fiftieth  of  the  state, 
;he  twenty-fifth  of  Alorris  Harvey  College,  and  the  tenth  of  Barbours- 
/ille's  rebirth  and  rejuvenation,  which  was  attended  by  many  thousands 
)f  people  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  has  been  pronounced  the  most 
■successful  aftair  of  the  kind  ever  held  in  the  state. 

Mr.  Shaw  is  a  Democrat,  and  has  filled  man}-  important  oflices 
n  the  organization  of  his  party  in  recent  campaigns.  His  church  is  the 
Methodist  Episcopal,  South.  He  has  not  married.  He  enjoys  a  wide 
icquaintance  throughout  the  state,  and  few  men  of  his  age  are  better 
(snown  within  its  confines. 


This  family  is  of  ancient  descent,  dating  back  to  Sir  Guy 
BRYANT     de  Briant,  who  was  prominent  in  the  time  of  Edward  III, 

and  whose  descendants  had  a  seat  in  Castle  Hereford, 
Wales.  The  arms  of  the  English  family  are:  Three  piles  meeting  near 
the  base  of  the  escutcheon,  color  azure.  This  name  is  variously  spelled 
Briant  and  Bryant,  but  the  persons  bearing  the  name  trace  their  descent 
to  a  common  ancestor.  The  family  is  especially  prominent  in  America, 
being  one  of  the  first  to  settle  in  this  country.  The  first  of  this  name  to 
settle  in  Massachusetts  was  John  Bryant,  who  was  in  Scituate  as  early 
as  1689.  The  progenitor  of  the  family  in  West  Virginia  was  Elias  Briant, 
who  settled  in  Nelson  county,  Virginia.  Soon  after  the  revolutionary 
war  his  sons  located  in  various  sections  of  the  country. 

(I)  R.  M.  Bryant,  a  descendant  of  Elias  Briant,  was  born  in  Nicholas 
county.  West  Virginia.  He  attended  the  schools  of  his  native  county, 
and  at  an  early  age  began  the  life  of  a  farmer.  He  has  been  engaged  in 
farming  for  many  years  in  Nicholas  county,  where  he  owns  a  fine  estate 
of  four  hundred  acres.  He  makes  a  specialty  of  stock  raising.  He  mar- 
ried Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Lawrence  Stanard,  a  prosperous  farmer  in 
Nicholas  county.    He  was  killed  on  the  railroad,  in  his  seventy-ninth  year. 

(II)  Charles  Ernest,  son  of  R.  M.  and  Mary  A.  (Stanard)  Bryant, 
was  born  in  Summersville,  Nicholas  county,  West  Virginia,  August  21, 
1879.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  county,  and 
at  an  early  age  learned  the  carpenter's  trade.  He  enlisted  in  1902  in  the 
Twenty-eighth  United  States  Infantry,  and  was  later  transferred  to  the 
Twenty-fifth  Company,  Coast  Artillery.  He  was  stationed  at  Manila, 
later  at  Eort  Miley,  California.  He  was  mustered  out  of  service  in  Jan- 
uary, 1905,  and  in  a  few  months  returned  to  his  native  town,  where  he 
worked  for  a  time  at  the  carpenter's  trade.  In  1906  he  graduated  from 
the  Cincinnati  College  of  Embalming,  and  in  1907  began  the  undertaking 
and  embalming  business  in  Richwood,  West  Virginia.  In  1909  he  removed 
to  Logan,  where  he  was  employed  in  the  same  line  of  business  with  the 
Guyan  Furniture  Company  until  October,  191 1.  He  was  then  employed 
by  the  Logan  Mercantile  Company.  In  November,  1912,  he  entered  the 
undertaking  business  for  himself  in  Logan.  While  residing  in  Richwood, 
West  Virginia,  in  1908  and  1909,  he  served  as  town  assessor  and  tax  col- 
lector. During  the  time  he  served  as  an  officer  in  that  town  he  gained 
great  prominence  for  his  bravery  in  making  an  arrest.  While  making 
this  arrest,  an  outsider  interferred  and  shot  Mr.  Bryant,  breaking  his  right 
arm.  Mr.  Bryant  with  his  left  hand  shot  his  assailant  through  the  head, 
causing  his  death  in  two  hours.  He  was  exonerated  by  the  public,  and 
highly  commended  in  thus  ending  the  career  of  one  of  the  worst  citizens 
of  the  city.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Lodge  of  Summersville.  He 
was  married,  November  24,  1910,  to  Alice  Hinchman,  of  Logan  county, 
daughter  of  George  R.  Hinchman. 


596  WEST  \-IRGIXIA 

I 

Charles  C.  Schmidt,  late  mayor  of  the  city  of  Wheeling,  | 
SCHMIDT  maintained  his  home  in  Wheeling  since  boyhood,  and  no  ' 
further  evidence  of  his  accomplishment  and  of  his  high  ! 
standing  in  the  esteem  of  the  community  could  be  asked  than  is  offered  in 
his  having  been  chosen  as  chief  executive  of  the  municipal  government  of  ! 
the  fair  metropolis  of  West  \'irginia,  where  he  served  three  terms  in  this  i 
office.  To  have  thus  been  retained  so  long  a  period  as  mayor  of  the  city  ! 
shows  that  his  administration  of  municipal  aiTairs  was  efificient.  progres-  i 
sive  and  acceptable,  and  none  took  a  deeper  interest  in  the  furtherance  of  ! 
measures  and  enterjirises  tending  to  advance  the  material  and  civic  pros-  j 
perity  of  the  city.  Mayor  Schmidt  gave  to  his  official  duties,  the  strength,  j 
loA-alty  and  broad-minded  policies  of  a  resolute,  independent  and  sterling  ; 
character,  and  no  citizen  enjoyed  a  fuller  measure  of  popular  confidence  ' 
and  approbation.  Mayor  Schmidt  died  suddenly  August  24th.  1912.  The  I 
whole  city  was  cast  in  the  dee])est  gloom,  and  the  citizens  felt  that  they  j 
had  not  only  lost  an  able  and  honest  official,  but  a  true  and  benevolent  ! 
friend,  one  whose  many  deeds  of  kindness  and  help  given  during  his  life  I 
did  not  fully  materialize  until  his  death.  He  died  at  the  zenith  of  his  j 
career,  and  has  left  a  heritage  that  will  remain  forever.  | 

Charles  C.  Schmidt  was  born  in  the  city  of  Baltimore.  ^laryland.  on  j 
the  7th  day  of  January,  1853,  and  here  he  gained  his  early  educational  dis-  1 
cipline  in  the  public  schools.  He  was  a  son  of  the  late  Captain  Qiarles  C.  1 
and  Millie  (Dittes)  Schmidt,  both  of  whom  were  born  at  Wurtemburg,  1 
Germany.  The  father  devoted  the  major  part  of  his  active  career  to-  | 
the  shoe  business,  and  both  he  and  his  wife  passed  the  closing  years  of  i 
their  lives  in  Washington.  Pennsylvania,  secure  in  the  high  esteem  of  all  \ 
who  knew  them.  The  future  mayor  of  Wheeling  was  a  lad  of  sixteen 
years  at  the  time  of  establishing  his  home  in  this  city,  in  1869,  and  in  '■ 
the  same  year  he  became  an  employee  of  Anton  Reymann,  with  wrhom  ; 
he  continued  to  be  actively  associated  during  the  long  intervening  years  I 
within  which  he  became  a  partner  in  the  brewing  business  that  was  es-  | 
tablished  many  years  ago  by  his  honored  friend  and  associate.  He  gained  | 
success  and  precedence  through  his  own  well  directed  endeavors,  and  was  1 
an  influential  factor  in  public  afifairs  in  his  home  city.  He  was  a  member  ! 
of  the  directorate  of  the  National  Bank  of  West  Virginia  and  also  that  | 
of  the  Central  Glass  Works,  besides  which  he  was  a  director  of  each  , 
the  West  \'lrginia  State  Fair  Association,  the  Altenheim  Home  for  the  1 
Aged,  the  Associated  Board  of  Charities  in  Wheeling,  and  the  local  Elks 
Club. 

In  politics  Mayor  Schmidt  was  ever  found  enrolled  as  a  stalwart  sup-  ; 
porter  of  the  cause  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  his  special  eligibility 
for  positions  of  public  trust  did  not  long  lack  objective  appreciation.  He 
served  as  president  of  the  board  of  public  works  for  two  terms  of  four 
years  each,  and  he  represented  the  Fourth  Ward  in  the  first  branch  of 
the  city  council  for  twelve  consecutive  years.  In  1904  he  was  first  elected 
mayor  of  Wheeling,  and  his  record  in  this  office  was  admirable  in  every 
way.  The  popular  estimate  placed  upon  his  administration  was  shown  in 
the  fact  that  he  was  elected  three  consecutive  terms,  two  terms  of  two 
vears  each,  and  one  term  of  four  years,  and  the  people  of  the  city  well 
realized  that  its  afifairs  were  well  placed  in  the  loyal  and  effective  care 
of  its  chief  executive. 

Mayor  Schmidt  was  affiliated  with  the  local  organizations  of  the 
Knight's  of  Pythias,  the  .^ncient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  the  National 
Union,  the  Order  of  Unity,  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles  and  the  Benev- 
olent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  was  specially  active  in  the  af- 
fairs of  this  last  named  fraternity,  in  which  he  was  elected  as  grand  trus- 
tee of  the  Grand  Lodge,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  in  1907,  for  a  term  of 


<^(^c<.<^s^^^— ^_ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  597 

three  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which,  at  the  convention  held  in  Detroit, 
Michigan,  in  1910,  he  was  re-elected  for  the  long  term  of  five  years  He 
served  eight  years  as  exalted  ruler  of  Wheeling  lodge,  No.  28.  Benevo- 

;  lent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  A  man  of  democratic  and  genial  per- 
sonality, staunch  in  his  loyalty  and  ever  considerate  of  the  opinions  of 
others,  Mayor  Schmidt  had  a  circle  of  friends  that  was  essentially  coin- 

I  cident  with  that  of  his  acquaintances. 

;        On  the  /th  of  June,  1878,  at  the  home  of  the  bride's  parents  on  West 

I  Main  street  in  the  city  of  Wheeling,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr. 

i  Schmidt  to  Miss  Minnie  Dauber,  who  was  here  born  and  reared  and  who 

i  is  a  daughter  of  the  late  George  J.  Dauber.  The  three  children  of  this 
union  are:  Nellie,  who  is  now  the  wife  of  James  M.  Collins,  of  Wheel- 

1  ing.  He  is  now  engaged  in  the  manufacturing  of  electrical  supplies  in 
Wheeling.  Frank  L.,  who  is  engaged  in  the  drug  business  in  this  city. 
He  attended  the  University  of  Virginia  four  years  and  then  entered  the 

:  College  of  Pharmacy  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  graduated, 
after  which  he  engaged  in  the  drug  business  at  the  corner  of  Market  and 
P'ourteenth  streets,  Wheeling.  He  married  Miss  .Sarah  iVcLure,  daugh- 
ter of  H.  W.  McLure.  a  representative  citizen  and  business  man  of 
Wheeling.  Carl  O.  attended  the  first  (Einsly)  institute.  Wheeling,  later 
the  \\'ashington  and  Jefferson  College  at  Washington,  Pennsylvania,  and 
is  a  graduate  of  the  L'niversity  of  \irginia,  class  of  1912.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  July.  191 1,  at  the  age  of  twenty  }ears. 


William  ]\Ia\er  Brumfield,  of  Huntington,  president 
BRUAIFIELD     of  the  Brumfield  Shoe  Company,  is  a  true  type  of  the 

progressive  business  man,  and  also  a  scion  of  good 
old  southern  stock,  thus  furnishing  a  triumphant  refutation  of  the  oft- 
repeated  assertion  that  progressiveness  is  a  characteristic  distinctively 
northern. 

(I)  Rev.  James  Brumfield,  grandfather  of  William  Mayer  Brumfield, 
was  born  at  Marion  Court  House,  Virginia,  and  was  a  minister  of  the 
Baptist  church.  In  politics  he  was  an  old-line  Whig.  He  died  in  1882, 
having  attained  to  the  venerable  age  of  ninety-six. 

(II)  James  Dudley,  son  of  Rev.  James  Brumfield,  was  born  in  Rich- 
mond, Virginia,  and  was  a  manufacturer  of  coffins  and  general  burial 
supplies.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  joined  the  Confederate  army,  enlisting 
in  a  North  Carolina  cavalry  regiment  and  serving  throughout  the  entire 

four  years.     He  married  Rachel  ,  born  in  Dallas,  North  Carolina, 

and  they  were  the  parents  of  the  following  children :  William  Alayer, 
mentioned  below ;  Buena  Vista,  born  June  20,  1869 ;  Rachel,  died  at  the 
age  of  fifteen  years:  Annie,  now  the  wife  of  William  Wild,  of  Philadel- 
phia. The  mother  of  these  children  died  when  the  eldest  was  but  five 
years  old.  Mr.  Brumfield  has  retireil  from  business  and  is  living  at  Char- 
lotte, North  Carolina. 

(III)  William  Mayer,  son  of  James  Dudley  and  Rachel  Brumfield, 
was  born  August  18,  1867,  at  Charlotte,  North  Carolina.  He  received 
his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  place.  After  leaving 
school  he  worked  on  a  farm  unti'  the  age  of  sixteen,  when  he  went  to 
Greenville,  South  Carolina,  and  became  a  clerk  in  the  shoe  store  of  the 
firm  of  Morgan  Brothers.  After  remaining  with  them  four  years  he 
proceeded  to  Atlanta,  Georgia,  and  went  on  the  road  as  a  shoe  salesman 
for  M.  C.  &  J.  F.  Kiser  &  Company,  with  whom  he  remained  another  four 
years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he  went  to  Richmond,  Virginia,  where  he 
became  a  travelling  salesman  for  Roberts  &  Hoge,  wholesale  shoe  dealers, 
retaining  the  position  two  years,  and  then  going  to  Cincinnati,  where  for 


ir 


598  WEST  \IRGIXIA 

five  years  he  was  assistant  manager  of  the  shoe  department  of  the  firm 
of  Mabley  &  Carew.  His  next  removal  was  to  Charles  Town,  West  Vir- 
ginia, where  for  three  years  he  held  the  position  of  manager  of  the  May 
Shoe  Company.  On  November  12,  1906,  Mr.  Brumfield  came  to  Hunt- 
ington and  organized  the  Brumfield  Shoe  Company,  his  brother,  Buena 
\'ista  Brumfield,  being  the  other  member  of  the  firm.  Their  place  of 
business  has  from  the  first  been  situated  on  Fourth  avenue,  and  the  enter- 
prise has  from  the  very  beginning  been  attended  by  marked  success.  Mr.  i  5 
Brumfield  has  been  throughout  his  life,  thus  far,  a  man  of  action  and  {  j 
enterprise,  and  these  qualities,  combined  with  sound  judgment,  have  laid  I  |[ 
the  foundation  of  his  present  prosperity.  In  politics  Mr.  Brumfield  is  an  i  [, 
Independent,  holding  himself  aloof  from  partisanship.  He  afiiliates  with 
the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  U.  C.  T.,  and  is  a  mem-  I  ( 
ber  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  j   1. 

Mr.  Brumfield  married  (first)  February  20,  1896,  at  Louisville,  Ken- 
tucky, Helen  M.  Engle,  born  at  Altoona,  Pennsylvania,  died  March  18,  '  * 
1907.  Of  this  marriage  there  were  no  children.  Mr.  Brumfield  married  I 
(second)  July  16,  191 1,  Mrs.  Maud  Jones,  born  at  Guyandotte,  daughter  | 
of  John  and  Emma  A.  Mather.  Mr.  Mather  died  in  1903,  and  Mrs.  ; 
Mather,  now  seventy  years  old,  is  living  at  Guyandotte.  Mrs.  Brumfield  I 
has  two  children  by  her  former  marriage :  Richard ;  Teresa,  now  the  ' 
wife  of  Thomas  Smith,  of  Huntington.  I 


The  Russell  family  from  which  Horatio  Wilmer  Russell 
Rl'SSELL  is  descended  came  originally  from  Chester  county,  Penn- 
sylvania. Alexander  Russell,  grandfather  of  Horatio 
Wilmer  Russell,  was  born  in  Lower  Oxford  township,  Chester  county, 
Pennsylvania,  April  15,  1780.  His  occupation  was  that  of  farming,  and 
he  was  a  Presbyterian  in  his  religious  behefs.  He  married,  March  25, 
1817,  Hannah  Dickey,  who  was  born  March  25,  1798,  and  died  February 
14,  1883.  Their  children  were:  John,  James,  Jackson,  Andrew,  Isabella 
Jane;    and  William  Crosby,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  William  Crosby,  son  of  Alexander  and  Hannah  (Dickey)  Rus- 
sell, was  born  in  Lower  Oxford  township,  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania. 
He  like  his  father  followed  the  occupation  of  farming.  He  was  a  Dem- 
ocrat in  his  political  views,  and  in  his  religious  belief  a  Presbyterian.  He 
married,  September  4,  1866,  Jennie,  daughter  of  Horatio  Allison  and  Mary 
Ann  (Boyer)  Bunting.  Horatio  Allison  Bunting  was  bom  .^pril  21,  1814, 
and  died  March  26,  1891,  and  his  wife  was  born  September  10,  1818,  and 
died  June  16,  1903.  Jennie  (Bunting)  Russell  was  born  in  the  same  j 
township  as  her  husband,  William  Crosby  Russell.  June  22,  1849,  and  they 
were  married  September  4,  1866.  Their  children:  Alva  C,  born  Decem- 
ber 2,  1867;  Horatio  Wilmer,  of  whom  further;  Norman  Leslie,  born 
November  18,  1881.  William  Crosby  Russell  died  May,  1903,  and  Jennie 
(Bunting)  Russell,  his  wife  March  4,  1912. 

(III)  Horatio  Wilmer,  son  of  William  Crosby  and  Jennie  (Bunting) 
Russell,  was  born  July  21,  1878,  in  Lower  Oxford  township,  Chester 
county,  Pennsylvania.  His  education  was  that  of  the  district  school  until 
the  fall  of  1892,  when  he  left  the  country  school  to  go  to  the  Oxford  high 
school,  Oxford,  Pennsylvania,  which  he  entered  as  senior,  graduating  in 
June.  1893.  He  then  attended  the  Oxford  Academy  for  two  years,  and 
then  entered  the  sophmore  class  of  Lincoln  University,  in  the  fall  of  1895, 
graduating  from  this  institution  in  June,  1898,  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts.  Deciding  to  take  up  the  profession  of  law  as  his  life  work,  he 
n(iw   entered  the  Dickinson   College   School   of   Law,   at   Carlisle.   Penn- 


WEST  \'IRGIXIA  59y 

sylvania,  in  the  fall  of  1898,  and  in  June,  1900,  graduated  with  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Laws. 

Mr.  Russell  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Cumberland  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  1900,  but  never  practiced  there,  and  in  Alarch,  1901,  came  to 
Parkersburg,  West  Virginia,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  that  city. 
He  has  built  up  here  an  influential  and  extensive  practice,  a  partnership 
having  been  formed  in  191 1  with  Charles  A.  Kreps,  and  the  firm  going 
under  the  style  of  Kreps  &  Russell.  Mr.  Russell  is  in  his  political  faith  a 
Republican,  but  he  has  never  desired  or  sought  public  ofifice.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  belongs  to  the  Masonic  bodies, 
the  Elks,  the  Odd  Fellows,  and  the  Royal  Arcanum.  He  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Parkersburg  Country  Club. 

Mr.  Russell  married,  September  16,  1903,  Carrye  A.,  daughter  of 
Orlando  and  Flora  \'.  (Baker)  Stevenson.  (See  Stevenson  Line).  Or- 
lando Stevenson  was  secretary  to  his  father  during  his  term  of  office  as 
governor  of  West  \irginia.  He  was  by  occupation  a  merchant,  and  was 
alsd  an  expert  bookkeeper.  The  children  of  Horatio  \Mlmer  and  Carrye 
A.  (  Stevenson  )  Russell  are:    Carrye  A.,  and  Sarah  H. 

(The   Stevenson   Line). 

The  Stevenson  family  which  has  given  a  governor  to  the  state  of  West 
Virginia  is  of  Scotch-Irish  origin,  and  has  been  for  a  long  time  settled  in 
Allegheny  county,  Pennsylvania. 

( L)  William  Erskine  Stevenson  was  born  in  Warren,  Allegheny 
county,  Pennsylvania,  March  18,  1820,  and  was  the  eldest  of  a  family  of 
nine  children.  In  1829  he  removed  to  Pittsburgh  and  was  apprenticed  to 
the  cabinet-maker's  trade,  which  he  thoroughly  mastered,  as  indeed  he 
did  everything  that  he  attempted,  and  he  was  soon  reputed  to  be  one  of 
the  best  and  most  skillful  workmen  in  that  city.  He  was  a  member  of  all 
the  local  debating  clubs,  and  his  talents  therein  displayed  first  drew  to 
him  public  attention.  In  1856  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature  and  took 
part  in  that  memorable  session  which  resulted  in  the  election  of  Simon 
Cameron  to  the  senate  of  the  L'nited  States,  at  a  time  when  the  Demo- 
crats had  a  majority  of  one  on  joint  ballot.  Before  the  expiration  of  his 
legislative  term,  in  the  spring  of  1857,  he  removed  to  Valley  Mills,  Wood 
county,  \'irginia,  where  he  purchased  a  small  but  beautiful  farm,  and 
there  resided  until  1880,  when  for  convenience  in  business  afifairs  he 
moved  into  Parkersburg. 

During  his  residence  in  Pittsburgh  he  took  an  active  and  prominent 
part  in  the  politics  of  the  city  and  state,  and  was  frequently  made  the 
recipient  of  honors  by  his  party.  He  was  also  prominent  in  working  cir- 
cles there,  zealously  defending  the  interests  of  the  workingmen,  and  at 
the  same  time  exerting  his  influence  in  behalf  of  moderation  and  good 
order.  During  his  entire  career,  on  the  stump,  in  the  halls  of  legislation, 
and  as  a  journalist,  the  workingman  never  had  a  more  faithful  friend  or 
an  abler  or  more  eloquent  advocate.  When  honors  had  come  to  him  he 
did  not  forget  his  former  associations,  and  would  frequently  refer  to  his 
early  life  and  the  struggles  that  surrounded  it.  Whether  in  the  shop,  on 
the  farm,  or  in  the  executive  chair,  Governor  Stevenson  was  a  worker, 
and  possessed  a  nature  so  constituted  that  the  glittering  honors  of  the 
entire  world  could  not  cause  hiiti  to  falsify  any  act,  record,  or  vocation 
of  his  past  career. 

Soon  after  he  located  in  this  state,  the  stirring  -cenes  that  preceded 
the  war  began.  His  temperament  would  not  permit  him  to  remain  an 
idle  spectator,  and  he  took  an  active  and  prominent  part  in  the  politics  of 
the  state.  At  that  time  distrust  and  suspicion  hovered  over  every  home. 
L'nion  men  hardly  knew  who  were  friends  and  who  were  not.    But  about 


6oo  WEST  VIRGINIA 

Governor  Stevenson  there  was  no  uncertainty;  his  voice  sounded  for  the 
L'nion  in  no  ambiguous  tone.  At  that  time  every  northern  man  was 
treated  with  suspicion;  the  editor  of  the  New  York  Tribune  had  just  been 
indicted  in  Qarksburg,  and  subscribers  of  that  paper  were  obHged  to  go 
stealthily  across  the  Ohio  river  to  receive  their  papers,  and  had  to  con- 
ceal them  even  from  their  own  neighbors  to  prevent  being  indicted. 
About  this  time  the  charge  was  made  against  the  governor  that  he  was 
circulating  an  incendiary  document,  "Helper's  Impending  Crisis,"  a  copy 
of  which  he  had  in  his  library  and  had  loaned  to  neighbors  by  request. 
The  charge  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  grand  jury  and  he  was 
indicted  in  the  county  court  at  Parkersburg.  The  excitement  was  intense. 
His  life  was  threatened,  and  he  was  advised  to  leave  the  state  until  the 
excitement  had  abated.  But  the  governor  did  not  know  fear.  His  only 
question  was  "Is  it  right  ?"  He  promptly  went  to  Parkersburg,  accom- 
panied by  a  large  crowd  of  his  neighbors,  many  of  whom  were  opposed 
to  him  politically,  but  were  prompted  by  the  ties  of  strong  friendship, 
and  demanded  a  trial.  Amid  the  confusion  that  attended  such  excite- 
ments the  trial  was  postponed,  and  it  remains  postponed  to  this  day.  In 
the  canvass  of  i860,  upon  the  question  of  secession,  the  governor  took 
an  active  part,  speaking  in  Wood  and  surrounding  counties,  and  laboring 
with  untiring  zeal  for  the  Union  cause.  There  are  three  men  whose  elo- 
quence and  ceaseless  labors  contributed  largely  to  the  vote  which  that  sec- 
tion of  the  State  gave  against  secession:  Governors  Stevenson  and  Bore- 
man,  and  the  late  John  Jay  Jackson,  all  of  whom  are  now  dead. 

In  the  formation  of  the  new  state  he  took  an  active  and  conspicuous 
part,  being  a  member  of  the  convention  of  November  26,  1861,  to  frame 
a  constitution  for  the  then  proposed  state.  This  body,  sitting  under  the 
shadow  of  A'irginia's  historic  name  and  by  her  restored  existence,  held 
its  sessions  within  the  echo  of  war's  din  and  the  clash  of  not  distant 
arms.  Delegate  Stevenson,  by  his  excellent  sense  and  sagacious  judg- 
ment contributed  materially  to  the  success  of  the  convention  and  after- 
wards to  the  ratification  of  the  constitution  by  the  people.  He  was  next 
elected  a  member  of  the  state  senate,  serving  therein  from  July,  1863.  to 
the  close  of  1868.  During  the  last  three  years  of  his  legislative  term  he 
was  president  of  the  senate.  In  1868  he  was  elected  governor  of  the  state 
for  the  term  beginning  March  4,  1869,  and  occupied  that  position  upon 
the  first  removal  of  the  capital  to  Charleston,  serving  half  his  term  in 
Wheeling  and  half  in  Charleston.  He  was  renominated  in  1870,  but  was 
defeated  in  the  election  by  the  Hon.  John  J.  Jacob.  He  was  the  third 
and  last  Republican  governor  of  the  state,  being  preceded  by  Governors 
Boreman  and  Farnsworth.  In  June,  1871,  he  became  associated  with  O. 
G.  Scofield  in  the  publication  of  the  State  Journal,  at  Parkersburg,  and 
continued  in  that  connection  until  its  sale  in  January,  1882.  He  was  made 
receiver  of  the  W'est  A'irginia  Oil  and  Oil  Land  Company  in  1881,  and 
held  the  position  until  twelve  days  before  his  death,  discharging  his  duties 
with  marked  fidelity  and  ability. 

In  the  local  politics  of  his  county  the  governor  was  always  sought 
after,  and  spent  his  time  in  some  representative  position,  called  by  his 
fellow  citizens  and  generally  much  against  his  wishes.  He  took  an  ac- 
tive part  in  political  affairs  and  was  considered  one  of  the  most  effective 
and  eloquent  political  speakers  in  the  state.  He  was  always  in  demand 
abroad  as  well  as  at  home,  and  frequently  declined  well  paid  invitations 
from  Alaine,  Connecticut,  Pennsylvania.  Ohio.  Indiana  and  other  states, 
in  the  interest  of  his  own  state,  which  he  loved  with  a  patriotism  sincere, 
unselfish  and  devoted.  The  ]irominent  characteristics  of  Governor  Stev- 
enson were  a  strong  will,  unerring  judgment,  a  large  fund  of  humor,  keen 
knowledge  of  human  nature,  rigid  devotion  to  that  which  he  believed  to 


WEST  VIRGINIA  6oi 

I  "be  right,  and  an  integrity  of  character  that  riches  dared  not  attempt  to 
[  bribe  and  power  could  not  corrupt.     In  all  our  intercourse  with  men  we 
I    have  never  met  with  a  character  more  beautiful  in  simplicity  and  gentle- 
ness and  more  thoroughly  honest  than  his.     It  can  be  said  of  him.  what 
'   can  be  included  in  the  obituary  of  few  persons,  that  no  living  person  can 
"bring  against  him  the  charge  of  a  dishonest  business  transaction  in  his 
■whole  career.     I!yron"s  panegj-ric  upon  Sheridan,  with  a  slight  variation, 
is  applicable  here  : 

I  "Nature  formed  but  one  such  man. 

And  broke  the  die, — in  moulding  Stevenson." 
'^       In  the  hot  ])olitical  excitements  of  those  days.  Governor   Stevenson 
-was  frequently  charged  with  being  a  partisan,  but  this  was  unjust,  as  the 
I    ordinary  acceptation  of  the  term  partisan  was  hardly  applicable  to  one 
I    -whose  nature  knew  no  such  thing  as  hate.    His  was  a  singularly  well-bal- 
;    anced  mind,  and  his  great  personal  dignity  of  character  as  well  as  his 
kindness  of  heart  caused  him  to  hold  in  respect  the  worth  and  dignity  of 
;    other  men,   from  whose  opinions  he  dithered  and  also  brought  about  a 
j    -consideration  for  the  worth  of  the  opinions  themselves.     His  scholarship 
was  wide  and  profound,  though  the  result  of  laborious,  thorough,  and 
I    systematic  reading  rather  than  of  extensive  academic  training.     So  wide 
I    indeed  was  his  range  that  he  was  equally  at  home  in  the  scientific  princi- 
I    pies  of  farming,  in  those  of  law  and  government,  or  in  those  of  literature 
and  art.    As  a  writer  he  was  forcible,  truthful,  systematic,  humorous,  sure 
of  his  points,  and  he  never  wandered  from  his  theme.     His  fund  of  hu- 
mor was  large,  and  he  seldom  made  a  speech  whose  appeal  was  not  made 
stronger  by  that  peculiarly  human  touch.    Governor  Stevenson  was  not  a 
member  of  any  evangelical  church,  but  the  religious  element  in  his  nature 
was  strong  and  fervent.     He  was  reared  in  the  Calvinistic  faith,  his  par- 
ents being  members  of  the  old  Scotch  Covenanters.     He  had  an  encour- 
aging word  and  an  open  purse  for  all  denominations,  and  was  an  unyielding 
advocate  of  the  chief  tenets  of  Christianity.     He  was  a  Sunday  School 
worker  all  his  life,  and  for  twenty  years  was  superintendent  of  the  Sab- 
bath school  in  his  neighborhood,  supporting  it  with  faithful  services  and 
liberal  donations.    No  taint  or  whisper  of  scandal  ever  was  raised  against 
his  private  life,  and  he  possessed  the  love,  esteem  and  confidence  of  all 
who  knew  him.     Though  his  last  days  were  ones  of  great  suffering,  a 
cancerous  affection  having  developed,  yet  he  met  that  also  with  the  cour- 
age and  dignity  that  had  characterized  his  whole  conduct  of  life.     He 
ordered  the  arrangements  for  his  funeral  obsequies  with  the  same  me- 
thodical systein  he  had  always  used  for  everything,  and  nine  days  before 
his  death  commissioned  a  personal  friend  to  read  at  his  funeral  a  careful 
prepared  statement  of  his  religious  convictions.     In  the  simplicity  of  his 
character,  the  sincerity  of  his  purposes,  the  kindliness  of  his  impulses  and 
in  his  unflinching  integrity  and  fearlessness,  there  was  a  deep  similarity 
with  the  immortal  Lincoln.    Through  the  door  of  suffering  and  discipline, 
beyond  the  reach  of  praise  or  censure,  both  have  gone  from  mortal  duty 
and  left  as  the  heritage  to  their   fellow   men.  sincere   respect,   honored 
memories,  and  examples  worthy  of  imitation  to  the  end  of  time. 

He  married,  in  1842,  Sarah  Clotworthy,  a  native  of  Philadeliihia.  and 
they  had  a  son  Orlando. 

Orlando,  son  of  Governor  William  Erskine  and  Sarah  (Clotworthy") 
Stevenson,  was  associated  with  his  father  as  his  secretary  during  the  lat- 
ter's  term  of  ofifice  as  governor  of  West  Virginia.  He  is  interested  in 
mercantile  pursuits.  He  married,  and  one  daughter,  Carrye  .\..  is  the 
wife  of  Horatio  Wilmer  Russell  (see  Russell  III),  the  other,  Sarah  Eliza- 
beth, married  A.  H.  Farrell. 


602  WEST  \TRGL\IA 

Tlie  Stout  family,  of  X'irginia,  is  of  rennsylvaiiia  German 

STUL'T     descent,  the  twin  brothers,   Benjamin  and  Hezekiah  Stout, 

having  come  from  Pennsylvania  to  Virginia  in  their  boyhood. 

( I )  Benjamin  Stout  married  Sarah  Wilkeson,  who  was  originally 
from  Pennsylvania  or  Maryland,  and  their  children  were:  Elias  L.,  of 
whom  further;    John;    Benjamin  (2);    Ezekiel ;    William. 

(II)  Elias  L.,  son  of  Benjamin  Stout,  was  born  in  Pruntytown,  Vir- 
ginia, in  1799,  and  was  a  farmer  by  occupation.  He  was  a  Democrat  in 
his  political  views,  and  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church.  He  married 
-Martha,  daughter  of  Samuel  Hathorn.  She  was  two  years  the  junior  of 
her  husband.  Her  father,  Samuel  Hathorn,  was  of  Irish  descent,  and 
shortly  after  the  revolutionary  war.  he.  with  his  wife,  Ann  (Rockhold) 
Hathorn,  and  his  daughter  Martha,  left  the  region  where  they  had  lived, 
near  Baltimore,  and  crossed  the  Alleghenies  into  western  Virginia,  coming 
by  way  of  Cumberland.  Besides  their  daughter  Martha,  of  previous 
mention,  the  other  children  were :  Sally,  Jemima,  and  (jeorge,  who  went 
out  to  the  far  west  and  was  in  Southern  Kansas  during  the  Kansas  sla- 
very troubles.  The  children  of  Elias  L.  and  Martha  (Hathorn)  Stout 
were :  Mortimer,  who  died  when  seven  years  old ;  John  W.,  of  whom 
further;  Granville,  Sarah  Ann,  Mary.  Benjamin  M..  George  Dexter,  and 
Elmore,  who  died  when  five  years  old. 

(  HI )  John  Wilkinson,  son  of  Elias  L.  and  Martha  (  Hathorn)  Stout, 
was  born  in  Pleasants  county.  Virginia.  June  23.  1825.  He  was  a  farmer 
by  occupation,  and  also  a  civil  engineer.  He  served  the  community  for 
years  as  school  commissioner.  He  was  a  member  of  the  legislature  of 
West  Virginia,  and  also  served  as  state  senator.  He  surveyed  the  tract 
of  land  once  owned  by  George  Washington,  and  blocked  out  the  marks 
from  marks  that  had  been  made  over  a  hundred  years  ago.  These  blocks 
are  now  kept  in  the  court  house  as  interesting  mementoes.  He  married 
Ruth  Ann  Curtis,  and  to  them  were  born  seven  children :  John  Lowther, 
William  Grandville,  George  Gale,  Elias  Marion,  deceased ;  Martha 
Eleanor,  Benjamin  Dexter,  and  Hiram  Beauregard,  of  whom  further. 
These  children  were  all  born  in  Pleasants  county,  West  Virginia,  eight 
miles  from  St.  Mary's.  Ruth  Ann  (Curtis)  Stout  was  the  daughter  of 
John  Curtis,  and  the  granddaughter  of  ]\Iatthew  Curtis,  of  Connecticut. 
Her  father,  John  Curtis,  had  come  from  Xewtown,  Connecticut,  in  1820, 
and  having  come  into  the  possession  of  about  six  thousand  acres  of  land 
in  what  is  now  Pleasants  county.  West  \'irginia,  settled  in  that  region.  The 
land  had  come  to  him  through  inheritance  from  his  mother's  family,  she 
having  been  a  Hilliard.  John  Curtis  married,  in  Virginia,  Eleanor,  daugh- 
ter of  Zephaniah  Burch,  of  Marshall  county,  Virginia.  Their  children 
were:  Ruth  Ann,  of  previous  mention;  Jeannette,  twin  with  Ruth  A.; 
Delilah ;   Hiram  J. 

fIV)  Dr.  Hiram  Beauregard  -Stout,  son  of  John  Wilkinson  and  Ruth 
Ann  (Curtis)  Stout,  was  born  February  25,  1862,  on  McKim's  creek, 
Pleasants  county.  West  Virginia.  He  was  educated  in  the  country  schools 
of  the  neighborhood,  and  in  1886  entered  the  Ohio  Medical  College,  grad- 
uating in  1889.  In  1900  he  attended  the  Xew  York  Post  Graduate  School 
for  three  months  and  received  his  certificate  in  1901,  doing  other  work 
there  later.  Dr.  Stout  as  a  boy  showed  from  his  earliest  youth  an  indom- 
itable ambition  and  a  tireless  energy.  He  worked  as  a  very  young  lad  on 
his  father's  farm  in  Washington  Bottoms,  a  farm  once  owned  by  Wash- 
ington, and  named  in  his  honor.  Here  he  remained  until  he  had  attained 
man's  estate,  when  he  obtained  a  position  at  watchman  on  the  tow  boat 
"S.  L.  Wood."  which  in  the  fall  of  1881  was  slowly  making  its  way  to 
Pittsburgh.  Upon  its  arrival  it  was  laid  up  till  Xew  Year's  Eve,  when  the 
return  trip  was  started  with  a  load  of  coal  to  be  taken  to  Xew  Orleans. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  603 

After  this  glimpse  of  the  world  the  youth  began  to  study  medicine,  as  has 
been  already  related.  Dr.  Stout  has  served  for  eight  years  as  the  presi- 
dent of  the  Wood  county  board  of  health.  He  was  also  the  city  health 
officer  in  Parkersburg  for  a  few  years.  He  belongs  to  Lodge  No.  28, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  to  Mt.  Olivet  Lodge,  No.  3, 
Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  ]\Iasons.  In  1891  he  joined  Jerusalem  Chap- 
ter, No.  3,  and  a  few  months  later  he  joined  Calvary  Commandery,  No.  3 ; 
still  later  he  joined  Osiris  Temple,  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  at  Wheeling, 
West  Virginia.  He  belongs  to  Lodge  No.  198,  of  Elks,  at  Parkersburg. 
He  has  also  taken  the  Scottish  Rite  of  Free  Masonry,  up  to  the  thirty- 
second  degree.  He  has  held  an  appointment  office  in  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  Outside  of  the  fraternal  societies.  Dr.  Stout  is  a 
member  of  the  Elks  Club,  and  also  of  the  Little  Kanawha  and  Ohio  Val- 
ley Medical  Society,  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railway  Surgeons'  Associa- 
tion, and  is  eligible  to  membership  in  the  American  Medical  Association. 

He  married,  June  28,  1904,  at  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  Clara  Ger- 
trude, born  in  Pittsburgh,  April  23,  1878,  daughter  of  David  and  j\Iar- 
garet  (Lynch)  Page.  David  Page  was  connected  with  the  Howe  Brown 
Company  Steel  Works,  of  Pittsburgh,  but  has  been  retired  from  business 
since  1900.  The  children  of  David  and  ]\Iargaret  (Lynch)  Page  are: 
Mary  H.,  Joseph  M.,  May  Josephine,  Clara  Gertrude,  of  previous  men- 
tion; Francis  T.,  Blanche  B.,  Maud  E.,  Austin  W.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Stout 
have  two  children  :  ]\Iargaret  Page,  born  ]\lay  3.  1907  :  Helen  Ruth,  born 
November  25,  1908. 


The  power  and  resources  of  Wheeling  as  an  industrial 
HL^BBARD     and  business  center  are  the  result  of  numerous  personal 

factors,  who  have  combined  their  enterprise  with  the 
advantages  of  the  locality  in  building  a  splendid  commercial  center.  Of 
the  names  that  during  the  past  century  have  been  most  closely  identified 
with  the  making  of  this  city,  probably  none  is  deserving  of  more  credit 
for  the  big  results  that  have  been  attained  than  that  of  the  Hubbard 
family,  who  through  several  generations  have  been  associated  with  man- 
ufactures and  civic  progress  in  this  community. 

Chester  Dorman  Hubbard,  the  father  of  the  present  active  genera- 
tion, was  one  of  the  most  striking  characters  in  the  citizenship  of  Wheel- 
ing during  the  last  century.  His  father  before  him  had  founded  the 
family  in  this  locality  and  was  one  of  the  pioneer  business  men.  Ches- 
ter Dorman  Hubbard  was  the  eldest  son  of  Dana  and  Asenath  (Dorman) 
Hubbard,  and  was  born  in  Hamden,  Connecticut,  the  25th  of  November, 
1814.  When  he  was  four  and  a  half  years  old  his  parents  came  to  Wheel- 
ing. He  attended  school  up  to  the  age  of  thirteen,  and  then  worked  for 
liis  father  in  the  brick  yard  and  mills  until  he  attained  his  majority.  .Am- 
bitious and  self-reliant,  he  had  already  planned  for  himself  a  career  of 
large  usefulness,  and  to  prepare  himself  for  it  he  entered  the  Wesleyan 
University  at  Middletown,  Connecticut,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1840, 
valedictorian  of  his  class.  His  father's  failing  health  then  caused  him 
to  return  to  Wheeling  and  take  up  the  business. 

Thenceforth  his  career  in  business  was  one  of  the  most  notable  in 
the  history  of  Wheeling.  He  was  in  the  lumber  business  until  1852, 
when  with  D.  C.  List  and  others,  he  established  the  Bank  of  Wheeling, 
which  he  served  as  president  until  1865.  He  later  became  president  of 
the  German  Bank  of  Wheeling,  and  held  that  office  until  his  death,  in 
1891.  He  rendered  valuable  aid  in  securing  manufacturing  industries 
for  Wheeling,  and  his  services  in  this  direction  account  for  the  presence 
of  some  very  extensive  plants  in  the  Wheeling  district.     In  1859  he  was 


6o4  WEST  \IRGIXIA 

one  of  the  four  men  who,  under  the  title  of  C.  D.  Hubbard  &  Company, 
leased  the  Crescent  Iron  Mills  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  rail- 
road iron,  the  company  controlling  these  mills  for  about  a  year.  He  was 
also  one  of  the  organizers  and  directors  of  the  Wheeling  Hinge  Company. 
In  1871  he  became  secretary  of  the  reorganized  Wheeling  Iron  &  Nail 
Company,  and  held  the  office  until  1891.  For  twenty  years  he  was  a 
member  of  the  drug  house  of  Logan  &  Company,  and  when  the  business 
became  the  Logan  Drug  Compan)-  he  was  elected  president. 

In  1873  Mr.  Hubbard  became  actively  identified  with  the  promotion 
and  building  of  the  Pittsburg,  Wheeling  &  Kentucky  Railroad,  and  in 
1874  was  made  its  president.  Due  to  his  executive  ability  this  road  was 
put  on  a  paying  basis  and  under  lease  to  the  P.  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L.  Railroad 
Company  became  a  valuable  connection  for  Wheeling  business. 

Mr.  Hubbard's  career  in  public  aft'airs  was  not  less  successful  and 
prominent  than  in  business.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia  house  of 
delegates  in  1852-53.  As  a  member  of  the  state  convention  of  1861 
he  strenuously  opposed  the  ordinance  of  secession,  and  when  that  meas- 
ure finally  passed  he  at  once  returned  home  and  began  working  for  the 
cause  of  the  Union.  He  promoted  the  organization  of  military  companies 
for  home  defense  with  such  vigor  that  two  days  after  his  return  he  had 
the  satisfaction  of  seeing  two  companies  sworn  in  to  support  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  United  States  and  its  old  flag.  By  the  end  of  a  week  ten 
companies  had  been  organized  into  a  regiment.  This  prompt  action  was 
of  great  service  to  the  community  and  to  the  nation. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Wheeling  convention  of  May  13th  and  called 
it  to  order,  thus  being  the  first  man  to  take  an  open  part  in  the  move- 
ment which  resulted  in  the  reorganization  of  the  government  of  Vir- 
ginia in  loyalty  to  the  Union  government  and  the  formation  of  its  western 
counties  into  the  state  of  West  \'irginia.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the 
convention  of  June  11,  1861.  Both  these  conventions  were  held  by  the 
L^nion  people  of  the  state  for  purpose  of  establishing  a  loyal  government 
and  in  preparation  for  the  formation  of  the  new  state  of  West  X'irginia. 
\\''hen  the  new  state  had  been  organized  he  served  as  a  member  of  the 
state  senate,  and  was  subsequently  elected  from  the  first  district  to  the 
thirty-ninth  and  fortieth  Congresses.  He  was  a  faithful  and  distinguished 
representative  of  his  district  and  state,  and  was  an  earnest  friend  of  edu- 
cation all  his  life,  and  was  prominently  associated  with  well-known  local 
institutions.  In  1848  he  was  elected  trustee  of  Linsly  Institute  and  in 
1873  was  made  treasurer  of  the  board.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the 
founding  of  the  Wheeling  Female  Seminary  in  1848,  becoming  one  of  its 
trustees,  and  after  the  seminary  became,  in  1865,  the  Wheeling  Female 
College,  he  was  made  president  of  its  board  of  trustees. 

In  the  death  of  Chester  D.  Hubbard,  which  occurred  August  2^. 
1891.  Wheeling  and  the  state  lost  one  of  its  most  eminent  citizens.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  efficient  builders  of  the  business  and  industries 
which  were  the  nucleus  of  the  modern  Greater  Wheeling.  His  energies 
were  largely  constructive,  and  his  work  and  the  ideals  and  principles  for 
which  he  contended  have  still  a  vital  force  in  his  home  city. 

His  forefathers  were  of  that  fine  New  England  type  which  has  pro- 
duced strong  men  in  many  periods  of  our  history.  From  England  in 
1630  came  William  Hubbard  to  Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  and  settled 
later  at  Ipswich,  which  town  he  represented  in  the  general  court  six 
years,  between  1638  and  1646.  He  afterwards  settled  at  Boston.  Rev. 
William  Hubbard,  a  son  of  \\^illiam,  the  immigrant,  was  one  of  the 
early  graduates  of  Harvard  College,  became  a  minister  and  historian, 
and  had  the  distinction,  at  the  commencement  exercises  of  1688,  of 
officiating   as    president    of    Harvard    College.      From    him    the    descent 


WEST  \-IRGIXIA  605 

comes  down  through  (3)  John  Hubbard,  (4)  Rev.  John  Hubbard  of 
Meriden.  Connecticut,  (5)  Major  General  John  Hubbard,  one  of  Con- 
necticut's military  men.  to  (6)  Dana  Hubbard,  the  father  of  ij)  Chester 
D.  and  the  founder  of  the  family  in  Wheeling. 

Dana  Hubbard  in  181 5  moved  from  Connecticut  west  to  Pittsburgh, 
and  in  1819  brought  a  flat-boat  down  the  river  and  anchored  it  in 
Wheeling  creek,  using  the  boat  for  a  house  to  shelter  himself  and  family 
while  he  was  building  the  log  cabin  home.  He  was  the  pioneer  manu- 
facturer of  Wheeling.  In  1827  he  built  the  first  saw-mill  and  also  the 
first  grist  mill  in  Wheeling.  Later  he  set  up  the  first  steam  saw  mill  in 
western  \"irginia.  In  connection  with  his  mill  he  was  a  large  dealer  in 
lumber,  and  also  operated  a  sash  factory.  His  last  days  were  spent  on  a 
farm  in  Ohio  county,  where  he  died  October  16.  1852.  His  wife  survived 
him  many  years,  passing  away  April  23,  1878.  They  were  both  devout 
members  of  the  Methodist  church.  Their  five  children  were :  Chester 
D.,  Henry  B.,  William  D..  John  Roger  and  Martha  R. 


A  highly  educated  and  successful  physician  of  Park- 
MUHLEMAN     ersburg,  AX'est  A'irginia,  but  a  native  of  the  state  of 

Ohio,  is  Dr.  Charles  Louis  Muhleman.  His  father 
and  mother,  Frederick  and  Elizabeth  Muhleman,  lived  in  Monroe  county, 
Ohio,  where  Mr.  Muhleman  was  a  wealthy  farmer :  and  there  Charles 
Louis  Muhleman  was  born,  Xovember  9,  1854.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  county,  until  he  was  sufficiently  prepared  to  take  a 
collegiate  course.  For  the  purpose  of  taking  such  a  course,  he  then  first 
entered  Baldwin  L'niversity,  Berea.  Ohio ;  but  he  did  not  complete  his 
college  course  at  this  institution.  Leaving  Baldwin  University,  he  entered 
Mount  Union  College,  Mount  Union,  Ohio,  and  there  he  was  graduated, 
receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  Meanwhile,  he  was  working, 
when  he  was  at  home,  on  his  father's  farm ;  and,  in  the  winter  seasons, 
until  he  entered  on  the  study  of  medicine,  he  taught  in  the  public  schools 
of  his  state.  He  was  made  superintendent  of  the  schools  at  Powhatan, 
Ohio,  and  with  his  holding  of  this  position,  his  work  as  a  teacher  was 
ended.  In  all,  he  had  taught  for  six  years.  He  entered  the  Cleveland  Medical 
College,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  from  this  college  he  was  graduated  in  1882  ; 
it  is  from  this  institution  that  he  received  his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medi- 
cine. For  eighteen  months  following  his  graduation  in  medicine.  Dr.  C. 
L.  Muhleman  practised  in  partnership  with  his  brother.  Dr.  R.  W.  ATuhle- 
man,  at  Bellaire,  Ohio.  In  November,  1883,  h^  came  to  Parkersburg. 
West  \'irginia,  where  he  has  since  lived ;  and  then  he  began  the  medical 
career  of  distinction,  which  he  has  here  followed  for  nearly  thirty  years. 
Dr.  Muhleman  is  not  only  one  of  the  older  physicians  of  Parkersburg,  in 
length  of  service  to  this  community  and  in  general  medical  experience, 
while  still  vigorous  and  active ;  but  he  has  added  to  his  original  funda- 
mental medical  education  by  spending  a  year  abroad,  in  further  special 
studies.  This  he  took  the  opporttmity  to  do,  in  1889  and  i8go,  when  he 
pursued  courses  of  advanced  study,  in  Berlin,  Vienna  and  Paris.  Dr. 
Muhleman's  attention  has  been  devoted  undividedly  to  his  profession, 
and  he  has  neither  commercial  nor  banking  interests.  His  office  as  a 
physician  and  surgeon  is  in  the  business  heart  of  Parkersburg,  and  at  the 
same  place  he  has  his  home.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks,  Parkersburg  Lodge.  No.  198,  of  the  Elks'  Club 
and  of  the  Blennerhassett  Club,  both  of  this  city :  of  the  Blennerhassett 
Club,  he  is  a  charter  member.  Dr.  Muhleman  is  a  member  also  of  the 
Parkersburg  Country  Club. 

Although  Dr.  Muhleman  has  never  been  active  in  politics,  nor  held  any 


6o6  WEST  \IRGIXIA 

political  office,  he  has  sought  to  perform  the  duties  of  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  at  the  polls.  Prior  to  1896,  he  was  a  Democrat.  He  did 
not,  however,  believe  in  the  issues  advanced  by  the  Democratic  party, 
under  the  lead  of  William  J.  Bryan,  in  the  campaign  of  that  year,  and  he 
cast  his  vote  for  William  McKinley.  Since  that  time,  he  has  steadily 
voted  with  the  Republican  party.  Dr.  Muhleman  is  a  ]\Iethodist.  He 
has  not  married. 


Ellis  Mather,  the  first  nienibcr   of  this  family  of   wlKim   we 
MATHER     have  definite  infonnation,  lived  in  England.     He  married 

Alice  .      John,,  son  of  Ellis  and  Alice  Mather,  was 

born  near  Manchester,  England,  March  13,  1813.  and  died  at  Parkers- 
burg,  West  Virginia,  June  20,  i8g8.  Coming  to  Philadelphia,  he  there 
met  and  married  his  wife,  also  a  native  of  England,  and  they  removed  to 
Wilmington,  Delaware,  where  their  first  son  was  born.  At  Wilmington, 
Mr.  Mather  was  a  manufacturer,  but  his  factory  like  others  was  com- 
pelled to  close  in  the  panic  of  1837.  He  emigrated  to  Virginia,  traveling 
overland,  and  settled  at  Parkersburg.  Here  he  farmed ;  he  also  became 
agent  for  the  Pittsburg  Coal  Company  at  its  formation,  and  started  a 
transfer  business.  In  advancing  age  he  retired  from  business  activity  and 
lived  with  his  son,  John  William,  for  the  rest  of  his  days.  At  first  a  Whig; 
and  a  strong  Union  man.  he  naturally  became  a  Republican  in  the  early 
days  of  that  party.  In  his  younger  days  he  filled  several  town  offices.  He 
was  the  first  man  initiated  into  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows 
at  Parkersburg,  and  was  a  charter  member  of  Parkersburg  Lodge,  No. 
37,  of  \'irginia.  now  No.  7.  of  West  Virginia.  In  fact,  he  was  the  only 
one  initiated  in  the  night  when  his  initiation  occurred,  November  19, 
1846.  He  married,  in  Philadelphia,  in  August,  1836,  .'\lice,  daughter  of 
John  and  Sarah  Leach,  who  was  born  in  Manchester,  England.  January 
28,  1810,  and  died  at  Parkersburg,  March  30,  1891.  She  had  come  with 
her  mother  from  England  and  settled  in  Philadelphia :  her  mother  died  in 
one  of  the  cholera  epidemics,  about  1830.  Mrs.  Mather  was  a  lifelong 
member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church.  Mrs.  Mather's  brother,  Wil- 
liam Leach,  also  lived  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  died,  leaving  a  large  fam- 
ily. Children  of  John  and  .Mice  (Leach)  Mather:  i.  Ellis,  born  June  I, 
1837.  2.  .Andrew,  born  March  7,  1840.  died  July  20.  1864:  he  was  cap- 
tain of  Company  D.  Fourteenth  West  \'irginia  Volunteer  Infantry,  and 
fell  in  battle  in  defense  of  his  country  at  Winchester,  Virginia.  3.  Sarah 
Alice,  born  April  20,  1842.  4.  Thomas  Leach,  born  October  9,  1844.  5. 
John  William,  of  whom  further. 

(Ill)  John  William,  son  of  John  and  Alice  (Leach)  Mather,  was 
born  at  Parkersburg.  September  16,  1847,  In  his  boyhood  there  were  no 
public  free  schools  in  the  present  state  of  West  \'irginia.  and  he  attended 
private  schools  and  the  Nash  Academy  at  Parkersburg.  In  January, 
i860,  he  began  to  learn  the  jewelry  business,  entering  the  employment  of 
G.  E.  Smith,  at  Parkersburg.  At  the  end  of  eight  years,  his  health  being 
impaired  by  close  confinement  at  the  bench,  he  temporarily  abandoned 
this  business.  After  a  short  trip  westward  he  accepted  a  position  in  the 
wholesale  and  retail  general  store  of  Mr.  James  M.  Dils :  while  in  his 
employment  he  was  offered  by  postmaster  James  W.  Boreman  a  clerk- 
ship in  the  postoffice,  but  declined.  He  afterward  took  a  position  at  his 
trade  of  watchmaker  for  Mr.  George  F.  Bowles  for  a  few  months.  Mr. 
Mather  was  then  offered  a  position  as  bookkeeper  for  the  oil  firm  of  M. 
J.  O'Brien  &  Company,  of  Volcano.  We.st  Virginia.  Instead  of  accepting 
this  offer  he  entered  into  business  for  himself,  having  only  some  tools 
and  a  watchmaker's  bench  in  a  window  of  a  two-story  frame  building. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  607 

then  on  the  corner  of  Fifth  and  Market  streets,  Parkersburg ;  his  first  job 
was  done  on  his  twenty-second  birthday.  About  two  years  later  he  leased 
from  Mr.  William  Berry  a  lot  at  No.  405  Market  street,  on  which  he 
erected  a  frame  building  of  one  story,  where  he  kept  a  small  stock  of 
watches,  clocks,  jewelry,  and  similar  goods.  On  May  2j.  1896.  he  pur- 
chased this  lot  from  the  Berry  heirs,  and  he  erected  there  a  three-and-one- 
half-story  stone  front  building.  Here  Wr.  Mather  has  a  fine  jewelry 
stock  and  one  of  the  most  attractive  stores  in  the  city.  He  resides  at  No. 
317  Ninth  street,  on  a  property  which  he  inherited  from  his  father;  and 
here  this  three  sons  were  born.  The  house  in  which  he  was  born  was 
purchased  from  his  father  by  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad  when  he  was 
ten  years  old,  the  railroad  then  building  a  line  to  Parkersburg. 

Mr.  Mather  is  much  interested  in  the  work  of  many  fraternal  orders. 
He  is  a  member  of  Mt.  Olivet  Lodge,  No.  3,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  Parkers- 
burg; Jerusalem  Chapter,  No.  3,  R.  A.  M.,  of  the  same  city;  a  member 
and  past  eminent  commander,  of  Calvary  Commandery,  No.  3,  Knights 
Templar,  of  Parkersburg;  a  member  of  Nemesis  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  AI. 
S.,  of  Parkersburg,  West  Virginia.  He  joined  Parkersburg  Lodge,  No. 
7,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  December  23,  1869,  and  became  past  grand,  and  past  grand 
representative  to  the  grand  lodge  of  West  Virginia ;  he  was  financial  sec- 
retary and  afterward  treasurer  of  his  lodge  for  twenty  years.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  Aliriam  Rebekah  Lodge.  No.  i,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Parkersburg. 
But  the  Knights  of  Pythias  have  been  the  object  of  special  interest  on 
his  part.  In  June,  1871,  he  joined  Hope  Lodge,  No.  10,  as  a  charter 
member.  He  was  chosen  master  of  exchequer;  having  faithfully  per- 
formed the  duties  of  this  office  for  twenty  years,  he  was  made  past 
chancelor  by  the  grand  lodge,  for  meritorious  service,  at  the  session  of 
1876.  From  1883  to  1888  he  represented  his  lodge  in  the  grand  lodge, 
and  in  1888  he  was  elected  grand  chancelor  of  West  \'irginia,  by  unani- 
mous vote.  The  order  had  dragged  in  West  Virginia  until  this  time,  and 
was  not  in  very  good  condition.  The  time  for  action,  ^\r.  Mather  felt, 
had  come.  A  new  era  for  the  order  began  with  his  election.  He  be- 
lieved in  actively  pushing  the  interests  and  work  of  the  order,  organizing 
new  lodges,  and  promoting  the  growth  of  the  order  in  many  ways ;  so 
that  his  chancelorship  marked  the  beginning  of  a  new  era  that  was  the 
most  distinguished  in  the  history  of  this  society  in  West  Virginia.  He 
first  published  an  edition  of  five  thousand  pamphlets  setting  forth  the 
condition  of  the  order,  and  his  own  projects  for  its  betterment.  His  ad- 
ministration gave  an  impetus  the  effects  of  which  are  felt  to  the  present 
time  and  the  order,  largely  on  account  of  his  changes  in  method,  now 
stands  among  the  foremost  in  the  state  in  numbers,  wealth,  and  influence. 
At  the  beginning  of  his  year  there  were  thirty-one  lodges ;  at  its  end  there 
were  forty-four.  These  thirteen  new  lodges  were  in  various  parts  of  the 
state ;  and  four  new  divisions  of  the  uniform  rank  had  also  been  insti- 
tuted. In  October,  1891,  he  was  elected  supreme  representative.  He  was 
a  charter  member  of  Parkersburg  Company,  No.  3,  uniform  rank,  Knights 
of  Pythias.  At  the  granfl  lodge  session  held  at  Clarksburg  in  1890,  nine 
companies  reported;  at  the  regimental  meeting  called  at  this  time  by  Ma- 
jor-General  Carnahan,  Sir  Knight  Mather  was  elected  colonel  of  the  first 
regiment ;  a  year  later  the  West  Virginia  brigade  was  formed,  and  he  was 
unanimously  elected  brigadier  general  of  West  \^irginia,  which  position 
he  held  for  five  years  He  is  a  member  of  Parkersburg  Temple,  No.  11, 
Pythian  Sisters. 

In  politics  Mr.  Mather  is  a  Republican,  casting  his  first  vote  for  Gen- 
eral Grant  for  president,  and  although  interested  in  public  matters,  he 
would  never  accept  public  office.  He  united  with  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Parkersburg,  April  9,   1865,  and  has  been  a  deacon  in  this 


6o8  WEST  VIRGINIA 

church,  and  also  served  as  treasurer.     He  is  now  ruling  elder  and  clerk 
of  the  session. 

Mr.  blather  was  married,  January  12,  1871,  Rev.  John  B.  Reed,  then 
pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  at  Parkersburg,  officiating,  Rosa- 
lie X'allejo,  daughter  of  Manuel  Joseph  and  Jayne  (Smith)  Leese,  who 
was  born  at  Newport,  Kentucky,  October  12,  1851.  Children  of  Manuel 
Joseph  and  Jayne  (Smith)  Leese:  Johanna  Ophelia;  William  Henry ,^ 
who  served  in  the  civil  war  as  a  member  of  the  Second  United  States 
Artillery:  Elizabeth  Amanda;  Oscar  Smith,  died  in  September,  1862, 
was  a  member  of  Company  H,  Fifteenth  Kentucky  Volunteer  Infantry, 
and  died  in  defense  of  the  unity  of  the  nation,  at  the  battle  of  Perrys- 
ville,  Kentucky;  Josiah  Meyer;  Rosalie  Vallejo,  married  John  William 
Mather,  of  whom  herein;  Jayne  Ann;  Walter  Albert.  Mrs.  Mather  had 
lived  at  Parkersburg  for  some  years  before  their  marriage,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church,  having  united  therewith  Sep- 
tember 17,  1865.  Children:  i.  Andrew  William,  born  at  Parkersburg, 
December  31,  1871  :  he  attended  the  public  high  school  at  Parkersburg, 
and  graduated  from  Eastman's  Business  College,  Poughkeepsie,  New 
York,  September  12,  1893.  He  learned  the  jewelry  business  with  his 
father,  and  accepted  a  position  with  Tififany  &  Company,  New  York 
City.  After  about  twelve  years'  employment  in  their  diamond  department 
he  resigned  to  accept  a  position  with  Dreicer  &  Company,  pearl  and 
diamond  merchants.  No.  560  Fifth  avenue.  New  York  City.  He  united 
with  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  at  Parkersburg,  July  7,  1886,  and  has 
been  transferred  by  letter  of  May  15,  1895,  being  now  a  member  of  the 
Marble  Collegiate  Church,  New  York  City.  He  is  not  married.  2.  Ellis 
Oscar,  born  at  Parker.sburg,  September  3,  1878.  After  his  schooling, 
which  included  study  at  the  high  school  at  Parkersburg,  he  accepted  a 
position  with  the  Parkersburg  National  Bank,  and  was  promoted  step  by 
step  until  he  was  made  receiving  teller  and  individual  bookkeeper.  This 
he  was  obliged  to  resign  on  acount  of  his  health,  and  later  went  to  Detroit, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  automobile  business.  He  united  with  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  July  12,  1895.  He  is  not  married.  3.  Walter 
Thomas,  bom  at  Parkersburg,  April  24,  1880.  He  also  attended  the  public 
high  school  at  Parkersburg.  After  leaving  school  he  became  clerk  with 
Mr.  John  A.  Bee,  grocer.  Later  was  employed  successively  by  Henry 
Keller  and  Joseph  Stem,  both  being  clothiers,  then  entered  his  father's 
employment  to  learn  the  jewelry  business.    He  is  not  married. 


Dr.  \\'illiani  N.  Burwell  was  born  at  Millwood,  Clarke 
BUR\\'ELL  county.  Mrginia.  June  12,  1859,  and  died  March  19, 
1909.  He  first  studied  at  William  and  Alary  College, 
Williamsburg,  \'irginia,  and  graduated  from  Jefferson  Medical  College, 
Philadelphia.  Pennsylvania,  in  1881,  and  after  practicing  his  profession 
in  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  for  two  years,  came  to  Parkersburg  and 
entered  into  partnership  with  his  brother,  who  had  been  located  here 
some  time. 

Dr.  Burwell  was  actively  interested  in  local  affairs,  and  had  been  for 
several  years  president  of  the  Board  of  Health,  and  had  acted  as  city 
health  officer  for  several  terms.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  city  council 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  served  in  all  these  capacities  in  a  most 
efficient  manner.  He  was  a  member  of  the  West  \'irginia  Medical  Society 
and  the  Ohio  and  Little  Kanawha  \'alley  Medical  Society.  He  was  a 
member  of  Mt.  Olivet  Lodge,  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and 
of  Calvary  Commandery.  No.  3,  Knights  Templar,  and  also  of  the  local 
lodge  of  Odd  Fellows. 


WEST  \'IRGINIA  609 

On  October  21.  1885,  Dr.  Burwell  was  inarrieil  to  Miss  Xellie  Chan- 
cellor, daughter  of  Colonel  \V.  N.  and  Ellen  C.  (  King)  Chancellor;  she 
was  born  in  r'arkersbnrg,  July  25,  i860.  They  were  the  parents  of  one 
child,  Nelson  Chancellor,  now  engaged  in  the  insurance  business  in  Park- 
ersburg.  West  \  irginia. 


Colonel  William  Nelson  Chancellor,  one  of  Park- 
CHANCELLOR  ersburg's  most  respected  and  influential  citizens, 
was  born  June  25,  1830,  at  Harrisville,  Ritchie 
county,  which  at  that  time  was  in  Wood  county,  Virginia.  He  died  May 
20,  1908.  His  parents,  Thomas  and  Prudence  Chancellor,  were  among 
the  early  settlers  of  that  place,  and  when  he  was  eight  years  old  they 
moved  to  Parkersburg. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  Mr.  Chancellor  took  a  position  in  a  dry 
goods  store  as  clerk,  and  his  close  application  to  work  soon  won  advance- 
ment. Three  years  later  he  was  appointed  teller  in  the  Northwestern 
Bank  of  Virginia,  which  was  located  in  this  city,  and  served  in  that  capac- 
ity for  ten  years.  In  1863  he  was  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  First 
National  Bank,  and  upon  its  organization  he  was  elected  cashier,  and  in 
1872  was  elected  vice-president,  which  office  he  held  until  he  was  elected 
president,  a  few  weeks  prior  to  liis  death,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by 
the  death  of  Senator  J.  N.  Camden.  He  was  a  prominent  figure  in  polit- 
ical circles  in  the  Democratic  party  for  many  years.  He  was  elected 
mayor  of  Parkersburg  in  1874  and  again  in  1886,  and  nominated  again  in 
1 90 1.  His  opponent  in  the  last  campaign  was  Colonel  W.  W.  Vrooman, 
but  as  neither  desired  the  office  they  made  no  effort  to  be  elected,  although 
the  latter  was  elected  by  the  narrow  margin  of  three  votes  and  resigned 
after  taking  the  office.  Mr.  Chancellor  also  represented  the  people  of 
Wood  county  in  the  legislature,  being  first  elected  in  1875  and  again  in 
1886.  He  also  was  a  member  of  city  council  several  times.  During  his 
political  career,  Mr.  Chancellor  on  several  occasions  was  urged  to  become 
a  candidate  for  governor  of  West  \'irginia,  and  during  the  memorable 
gubernatorial  contest  in  the  legislature  in  1889,  had  he  given  his  consent 
he  would  have  been  named  as  the  successful  compromise  candidate. 

During  his  life  he  was  prominently  identified  with  a  number  of  large 
enterprises,  among  which  was  the  Camden  Consolidated  Oil  Company, 
which  was  organized  by  Mr.  Chancellor,  J.  N.  Camden  and  W.  P.  Thomp- 
son. This  company  was  later  merged  with  the  Standard  Oil  Company, 
and  he  retired  from  the  oil  business.  He  was  also  financially  interested 
fur  a  number  of  years  in  the  Ohio  River  Railroad  Company,  of  which 
he  was  one  of  the  directors,  also  a  director  in  the  Clarksburg  &  Western 
Railroad  Company.  For  many  years  he  was  a  large  stockholder  in  the 
Little  Kanawha  Navigation  Company,  in  which  he  retained  an  interest 
up  to  the  time  the  property  of  the  company'  was  taken  over  by  the  gov- 
ernment. He  was  also  a  stockholder  in  the  Parkersburg  Branch  Rail- 
n  Ki(\  Company,  as  well  as  being  identified  with  the  Parkersburg  Gas  Com- 
pany, and  the  West  Virginia  Fibre  Company  during  their  existence. 

During  his  residence  of  seventy  years  in  Parkersburg.  Mr.  Chancellor 
contributed  as  much,  if  not  more,  than  any  other  one  man.  to  building  the 
city  up  to  what  it  is  today.  A  number  of  the  prominent  business  blocks 
of  the  city  today  stand  as  monuments  to  his  memory  which  were  erected 
by  his  own  individual  capital,  while  others  were  jointly  erected  by  him  and 
thiise  associated  with  him.  A  number  of  these  blocks  are  located  on 
Afarket  street,  and  principally  among  these  erected  by  his  own  capital 
is  the  Blennerhassett  Hotel.  Later  he  became  interested  in  the  Bank 
Block  Investment  Company,  which  company  built  the  Chancellor  Hotel, 

.^9 


6io  WEST  MRGINIA 

which  was  named  in  his  honor,  and  of  whfch  company  he  was  president.   | 
He  also  owned  vahiable  real  estate  throughout  the  city,  and  had  an  ele- 
gant home  on  the  corner  of  Juliana  and  9th  streets. 

Mr.  Chancellor  married  Ellen  C.  King,  daughter  of  W.  S.  King,  of 
\'icksburg,  Mississippi,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  five  children,  two 
of  whom  are  living, — Mrs.  ^V.  N.  Burwell  and  Mrs.  H.  P.  Moss. 

Mr.  Chancellor's  death  was  a  distinct  loss  to  the  city  of  Parkersburg, 
and  was  received  in  all  circles  with  sincere  regret  and  profound  sorrow. 
He  was  a  courteous  and  genial  gentleman,  and  was  highly  esteemed  as 
the  best  type  of  citizen,  a  man  of  high  sense  of  honor,  integrity  and 
uprightness. 


Harry   P.   Moss,  a  prominent   business  man  of   Parkcrsljurg, 
MOSS     West  Virginia,  was  born  December  31,  i860,  and  died  in  that 
city  January  11,  1909.     He  was  a  son  of  Dr.  John  W.  Muss, 
one  of  the  prominent  physicians  in  the  early  history  of  the  city,  and  also 
surgeon  in  the   loth  West  \'irginia  Regiment.     He  died  while  his  regi- 
ment was  stationed  at  New  Creek. 

After  graduation  from  school,  Mr.  Harry  P.  Moss  purchased  an  inter- 
est in  the  business  of  S.  L.  .Addison  &  Company,  his  partner  being  \M1- 
liam  Bentley.  They  acquired  the  interest  of  S.  L.  Addison  and  \\'.  I. 
Boreman,  and  the  firm  was  known  as  Moss  &  Bentley.  In  a  few  years 
Mr.  Moss  purchased  Mr.  Bentley's  interest  and  conducted  the  business 
himself  until  it  was  formed  in  a  stock  company  which  was  known  as  the 
H.  P.  Moss  Bookstore  Company.  The  business  had  increased  and  de- 
manded larger  quarters,  and  a  portion  of  the  Camden  Theatre  Block  be- 
came the  home  of  the  business  firm.  He  was  also  one  of  the  stockholders 
and  officials  of  the  Opera  Block  Investment  Company.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  St.  Paul's  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  chairman  of  the 
official  board  of  the  church.  He  had  also  been  vice-president  of  the  Y. 
M.  C.  A.,  and  took  an  active  part  in  all  the  matters  and  works  pertaining 
to  the  afifairs  of  the  organization. 

He  married  Miss  Annie  Chancellor  (see  Chancellor)  daughter  of  W. 
N.  Chancellor.  Mr.  Moss'  death  was  a  distinct  loss  to  the  community, 
where  he  was  a  respected  citizen  and  had  many  warm  friends. 


The  immediate  progenitor  of  the  present  West  Virginia 
SAVAGE     family  was  George  Savage,  a  native  of  Augusta  county, 

Mrginia,  where  lie  was  born  December  26,  1831.  He  was 
educated  in  the  subscription  schools  of  the  county,  and  after  his  studies 
were  completed  he  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  and  entered  into  business 
for  himself,  and  continued  for  a  while  in  his  chosen  calling.  September 
29,  1853,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Tisdale,  of  Staunton,  Au- 
gusta county:  she  died  the  following  year,  December  31st,  leaving  a  son, 
Thomas  Shelton  Savage,  then  only  a  few  months  old.  After  the  death  of 
his  wife  Mr.  Savage  removed  to  Parkersburg,  West  \''irginia,  and  for 
the  last  fifteen  years  of  his  life  was  engaged  in  mercantile  business  in  this 
city.  He  died  in  the  city  of  his  adoption  in  January,  1892,  at  the  age  of  f 
sixty-one  years,  having  later  in  life  contracted  another  marriage,  his  sec- 
ond wife  having  been  a  Miss  Margaret  Kmipple. 

(11)  Thomas  Shelton  Savage,  son  of  George  and  Elizabeth  (Tisdale) 
Savage,  was  born  in  Augusta  county,  Virginia,  September  7,  1854,  his 
mother  dying  shortly  after  his  birth.  While  still  very  young  his  father 
removed  to  Parkersburg.  West  Virginia,  where  he  attended  the  public 
schools.     At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  became  a  clerk  in  his  father's  store. 


-J 


WEST  VIRGINIA  6ii 

where  he  remained  for  about  eight  years,  and  on  February  15,  1877,  em- 
barked in  a  general  merchandise  business  on  his  own  account.  He  estab- 
lished himself  on  the  corner  of  Avery  and  Thirteenth  streets,  remaining 
at  this  locality  until  April  10,  1907,  when  he  sold  out.  turning  his  atten- 
tion to  real  estate  dealings,  in  which  he  is  still  engaged  with  success.  He 
is  one  of  the  leading  men  in  business  and  commercial  circles  in  Parkers- 
burg,  and  is  connected  with  a  number  of  important  corporations  and  en- 
terprises, having  been  a  director  in  the  Citizens'  National  Bank  since 
1901,  in  which  year  he  was  also  made  president  of  the  Parkersburg  Ice 
and  Coal  Company.  He  is  interested  in  fraternal  organizations  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons. 

On  May  17,  1877,  Mr.  Savage  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Lavinia 
Padget,  daughter  of  P.  Padget,  of  Wood  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Savage 
have  had  two  children:  William  P.,  born  May  26,  1878,  died  May  4, 
191 1  :  and  Carrie  L.,  born  June  2,  1880,  who  is  still  living.  Mrs.  Savage's 
grandfather,  Thomas  Padget,  was  a  farmer  and  carpenter  of  Wood  coun- 
ty, who  married  a  Miss  Lavinia  Henry.  Their  children  were:  John  A., 
born  January  31,  1853:  Robert  H.,  December  27,  1854:  Nancy  A.,  Octo- 
ber 7,  1856;  Mary  L.,  June  25,  1859:  Martha  B.,  August  20,  1861  ;  Erila 
E.,  June  23,  1864;  Francis  S.,  March  6,  1868:  Ella  M..  August  19,  1870; 
Ethelbert,  April  22.  1872:  and  P.  Padget.  father  of  Mrs.  Savage. 


Hon.  James  F.  Brown,  actively  and  prominently  identified 
BROWN  with  the  professional  and  business  life  of  the  Kanawha 
Valley,  is  a  worthy  representative  of  an  old  family,  hon- 
orable in  the  history  of  the  Virginias.  William  Brown,  the  ancestor,  came 
to  Virginia  from  England  about  1636  and  settled  in  Westmoreland 
county.  His  youngest  son.  Maxfield,  moved  to  Prince  William,  where 
and  in  the  adjoining  counties  his  descendants  have  ever  since  resided. 

Dr.  Benjamin  Brown,  son  of  George  N.  Brown,  son  of  Newman 
Brown,  son  of  Maxfield,  from  there,  in  1805,  moved  to  the  banks  of  the 
Ohio  river,  where  Huntington  now  stands,  then  part  of  Kanawha,  later 
Cabell  county,  and  held  many  positions  of  honor  and  trust,  dying  in  1847. 

His  son,  James  H.  Brown,  was  born  in  Cabell  county,  December  25, 
1818,  died  October  28,  1900.  He  graduated  from  Augusta  College,  Ken- 
tucky, in  1842,  and  in  the  same  year  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  In  1848 
he  moved  to  Kanawha  county,  and  ever  afterwards  made  Charleston  his 
home.  He  was  an  old  time  Democrat;  he  took  active  part  in  the  cam- 
paign of  1844,  advocating  the  annexation  of  Texas,  the  then  paramount 
issue  ;  in  1854  was  a  delegate  to  the  state  convention  nominating  Henry  A. 
Wise  for  governor  ;  in  1853  was  candidate  for  state  senator  ;  in  1861  a 
member  of  the  legislature,  and  upheld  the  maintenance  of  the  Union ;  was 
also  member  of  the  convention  that  formed  the  new  state  and  framed  its 
first  constitution,  and  was  prominent  in  its  deliberations.  In  1861  he  was 
commissioned  judge  of  the  eighteen  judicial  circuits  of  Virginia,  from 
which  he  resigned  in  1863:  during  his  whole  service  as  circuit  judge  no 
appeal  was  ever  taken  from  his  decisions.  On  the  formation  of  the  new 
state  he  was  elected  to  the  supreme  court  of  appeals,  and  served  eight 
years;  in  1875  was  caucus  nominee  of  his  party  for  the  United  States 
senate,  and  in  1883  and  1886  its  nominee  for  congress;  also,  was  elected 
to  the  legislature  in  1882,  and  was  an  acknowledged  leader  of  the  house. 
He  first  married  Louisa  M.  Beuhring,  who  died  in  1872.  daughter  of  the 
Hen.  Frederick  G.  L.  Beuhring,  of  Cabell  county:  married  (second)  Sal- 
lie  S..  daughter  of  W.  D.  Shrewsbury,  Esq..  who  died  January  7.   1911. 

James  F.  Brown,  son  of  James  H.  Brown,  was  born  in  Kanawha 
county,   March   7,    1852.     He  graduated   from  the  State  University,   in 


6i2  WEST  MRGINIA 

1873,  and  two  years  later  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  his  professional  work 
extending  not  only  over  his  own  state  but  into  other  states  and  to  the 
supreme  court  of  the  United  States.  As  a  lawyer  he  soon  gained  a  high 
reputation ;  the  firm  of  which  he  is  a  member,  Brown,  Jackson  &  Knight, 
is  one  of  the  strongest  legal  combinations  in  the  state.  He  has  always 
been  deeply  interested  in  affairs  affecting  the  commonweal.  During  his 
long  service  in  the  town  council  the  then  village  of  Charleston  changed 
into  a  city ;  many  forward  movements  were  inaugurated,  among  them  the 
paving  system,  the  sewerage  of  the  town,  the  erection  of  a  city  hall,  insti- 
tution of  water  works,  introduction  of  street  cars,  erection  of  the  Key- 
stone Bridge  across  Elk  river,  and  the  Charleston  and  South  Side  bridge 
over  the  Kanawha,  in  all  of  which  movements  he  was  prominent  and 
effective. 

His  only  personal  political  campaign  was  in  1882,  when  in  his  absence 
he  was  nominated  by  his  party  (the  Democrats)  as  one  of  three  members 
for  his  county  to  be  elected  to  the  legislature.  For  the  same  position  his 
father  was  nominated  by  the  opposing  party.  After  an  earnest  but  digni- 
fied campaign  the  result  showed  both  elected,  though  on  opposing  tickets, 
ind  both  served  in  the  same  public  body.  In  1890  he  was  appointed  to 
the  board  of  regents  for  the  State  University,  and  continued  in  that  posi- 
tion under  four  successive  governors,  notwithstanding  the  change  mean- 
while in  the  political  control,  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  university 
expanded,  new  buildings  commenced,  fuller  equipment  provided,  and  the 
attendance  of  less  than  two  hundred  at  the  time  of  his  appointment 
advanced  to  more  than  twelve  hundred  at  the  end  of  his  service.  His 
participation  in  affairs  has  covered  more  than  forty  years,  and  he  has 
noted  and  had  part  in  the  marvelous  development  in  Western  Virginia, 
evidenced  in  part  by  the  growth  of  Kanawha  county  from  fifteen  thou- 
sand to  more  than  eighty-one  thousand  in  population,  and  Charleston's 
advance  from  a  rural  village  of  one  thousand  and  fifty  people  to  a  city, 
and  the  capital  of  the  new  state.  Mr.  Brown  is  and  has  for  many  years 
been  vice-president  of  the  Kanawha  Valley  Bank,  one  of  the  leading 
financial  institutions  of  the  state,  also  of  the  Southern  States  Mutual  Life 
Insurance  Company,  and  is  an  active  factor  in  many  other  of  the  live 
enterprises  of  the  section. 

Mr.  Brown  married,  September  13,  1877,  Miss  Jennie  M.  Woodbridge, 
of  Marietta,  Ohio,  daughter  of  the  late  John  M.  Woodbridge  and  Abigail 
Elizabeth  (Darling)  Woodbridge,  of  that  city.  Children:  Louise  Beuh- 
ring,  wife  of  Oscar  P.  Fitzgerald;  Elizabeth  Woodbridge,  wife  of  Angus 
W.  AlcDonald ;  Jean  Morgan,  Ceres,  Ruth  Dannenberg,  and  Benjamin 
Beuhring,  the  latter  now  attending  Princeton  University. 


James  B.  Jones,  the  first  member  of  this  family  of  whom  we 
T(3XES     have    definite    information,    was    born    in    Fauquier    county, 

\irginia.  He  was  a  farmer,  also  engaged  in  mercantile  pur- 
suits, and  was  held  in  high  repute  and  esteem.  He  married  Eliza,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Miller.  Children:  Edward  Thompson,  referred  to  below; 
Annie  A.,  now  deceased. 

(II)  Edward  Thompson,  son  of  James  B.  and  Eliza  (Miller)  Jones, 
is  a  graduate  of  the  law  school  of  the  LTniversity  of  Virginia.  He  enlisted 
in  the  Confederate  army  at  the  opening  of  the  civil  war  and  attained  the 
rank  of  quartermaster  general.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  resumed  the 
practice  of  law  at  Washington,  Rappahannock  county,  Virginia,  where  he 
is  still  living.  He  married  Eliza  Edmonia,  daughter  of  John  and  Mary 
(Jordan)  Miller.  Her  father  was  a  descendant  of  Henry  Miller,  who 
served  on  the  staff  of  King  Frederick  of  Prussia  and  emigrated  from 


WEST  VIRGINIA  613 

Germany  in  1720,  settling  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  Children  of 
Edward  Thompson  and  Eliza  Edmonia  (Miller)  Jones:  Edward  Bar- 
tow, referred  to  below;  John  Brereton,  born  in  i8<54:  Annie,  born  in 
1866,  married  Rev.  S.  C.  Clopton :  Jessie  F.,  born  in  1868;  James  Fullos, 
born  in  1871. 

(Ill)  Edward  Bartow,  son  of  Edward  Thompson  and  Eliza  Edmonia 
(Miller)  Jones,  was  born  in  Rappahannock  county,  ^'irginia,  June  7. 
1861.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  at  Washing- 
ton, Virginia,  and  later  advanced  classical  education  under  private  tuition. 
He  is  a  farmer  and  interested  principally  in  cattle  raising.  He  is  a  Dem- 
.ocrat  in  politics.  He  married,  in  Harrisonburg,  Virginia,  May  6,  1908, 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  Samuel  and  Caroline  \"irginia  Harnsberger. 
Her  father  was  a  graduate  of  the  L'niversity  of  \'irginia  and  a  lawyer, 
and  was  a  captain  in  the  Confederate  army  during  the  civil  war.  His 
children  were :  Gilbert  Miller.  George,  Elizabeth,  referred  to  above.  Child 
of  Edward  Bartow  and  Elizabeth  (Harnsberger)  Jones:  Edward  Bar- 
tow Jr.,  born  July  25,  1909. 


^^'illiam    Blagg,    founder   of   this    family    in    America,    emi- 
BL.VGG     grated   from  \\'ales  and   settled  in  Albemarle  county,   \'ir- 

ginia,  where  Charlottesville  now  stands.  He  went  to  High- 
land county,  which  was  then  a  part  of  .Mbemarle  coimty,  but  over  one 
hundred  miles  west  of  where  he  first  settled.  His  brother  John,  who  came 
over  with  him,  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  colonial  army  and  a  captain  in  the 
revolutionary  army.  His  name  appears  repeatedly  in  the  "Dinwiddie  Pa- 
pers." In  vol.  I,  p.  433,  a  letter  from  Governor  Dinwiddie  to  Lieutenant 
John  Hamilton  states:  "I  have  appointed  Mr.  John  Blagg,  Ensign,  so 
that  he  may  be  assisting  you  and  help  you  to  conduct  the  recruits  as 
above."  This  is  dated  December  12,  1754.  A  footnote  says:  "Lieuten- 
ant John  Blagg  was  present  as  a  member  of  a  court  martial,  held  at  Win- 
chester, May  2,  1756."  In  vol.  II,  p.  399,  the  minute  of  a  court  martial, 
held  at  Winchester,  May  2,  1756,  is  given:  "Lieutenant  Blagg  voted  as  a 
member  and  signs  the  report  finding  Sergeant  Nathan  Lewis  guilty  of 
retreating  without  orders  and  not  going  to  the  assistance  of  Jolm  ]\Iercer 
when  engaged  with  Indians  April  18,  near  Edwards  Fort,  and  sentencing 
him  to  death."  "Report  approved  by  your  humble  servant,  George 
Washington."  Blagg  seems,  from  the  evidence  given,  to  have  been  en- 
gaged in  this  battle.  In  vol.  II,  p.  592,  there  is  a  letter  from  Governor 
Dinwiddie  to  George  Washington,  April  6,  1757,  in  which  he  orders  Gen- 
eral Washington  to  send  two  hundred  men  to  Fredericksburg,  under 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Stevens,  and  others,  including  Lieutenant  John  Blagg, 
to  be  sent  to  South  Carolina,  "as  it  is  found  from  a  letter  of  the  governor 
of  .South  Carolina  that  the  enemy  designs  to  invade  that  province  by  sea." 
In  the  same  volume,  pp.  716  to  718,  there  are  letters  of  Governor  Din- 
widdie, dated  November  23  and  24,  1757,  to  various  parties,  naming  Lieu- 
tenant Blagg  as  bearer  of  dispatches  and  sums  of  money.  He  never  mar- 
ried. William  Blagg  married  Elizabeth  J.  Wilson.  Children:  i.  Samuel, 
born  September  30,  1778:  married  Jennie  Hempenstall.  2.  John,  born 
June  9,  1780;  married  Mariah  Hiner.  3.  William,  born  October  28, 
1782:  married  Nancy  Hiner.  4.  Abraham,  of  whom  further.  5.  Mary, 
born  April  16,  1787;  married  John  Welsch  :  moved  to  Ohio.  6.  Harriet, 
born  October  18.  1788:  married  Alexander  Hiner;  moved  to  Ohio.  7. 
Priscilla,  born  August  31.  1790;  married  James  Jones.  8.  James,  born 
January  7,  1794. 

(II)    Abraham,  son  of  William  and  Elizabeth  J.  (Wilson)  Blagg,  was 
born  March  30,  1784,  died  November  27,  1827.     He  married  Jane  Car- 


6i4  WEST  VIRGINIA 

lyle  Jones,  who  died  November  27,  1862.  Their  children  were:  i.  Wil- 
liam, born  October  z-j.  1810,  died  in  Gallipolis,  Ohio,  unmarried.  2. 
Henry  J.,  married  Phoebe  Fox;  children  :  Margaret,  Mary  Ann,  J.  Mar- 
shall, William,  Nancy,  Benami  Hansel,  Squire  J.  3.  Benjamin  H.,  of 
whom  further.  4.  James  W.,  born  September  15,  1815  ;  married  Rebec- 
ca Hook;  children:  William,  drowned  in  1861,  married  Lizzie  Barlow; 
Robert,  married  a  Miss  Squires  ;  Abraham,  killed  in  battle  in  Shenan- 
doah Valley  in  1863;  Alary,  married  William  Nipple;  Martha;  John, 
married  (first)  a  Miss  Persinger,  and  (second)  a  Miss  Stone;  Laura; 
Maggie,  married  W.  H.  Jack;  Theodore.  5.  Abraham,  born  June  i,  1817, 
died  in  1827. 

(III)  Benjamin  Harrison,  son  of  .\braham  and  Jane  Carlyle  (Jones) 
Blagg,  was  born  September  15,  1812,  in  Pendleton  county,  Virginia,  died 
January  14,  1883,  in  L^pshur  county,  West  \'irginia.  In  1858  he  moved 
from  Pendleton  coimty  to  Highland  county,  and  two  years  later  went  to 
Lewis  county,  where  he  lived  for  eighteen  years,  and  then  moved  to  Up- 
shur county.  He  was  a  farmer  all  his  life,  but  engaged  in  other  pursuits 
as  well.  He  was  a  hatter  by  trade,  and  was  engaged  in  the  business  at 
Walkersville,  West  Virginia,  at  the  time  that  Imboden's  cavalry  of  the 
Confederate  army  made  their  raid.  His  shop,  tools  and  stock  all  having 
been  destroyed  in  the  raid  he  gave  up  the  business,  and  for  thirty  years 
taught  school  and  at  the  same  time  managed  his  farm.  He  married,  Oc- 
tober 3,  1838,  Sarah  Spicer.  Children  :  Abraham  S.,  married  Emily  M. 
Armstrong;  Francis  Asbery ;  John  Dyer;  Jane  C. ;  Hannah  C. ;  Mary 
Cathrine,  married,  October  19,  1872,  W.  D.  McCutchan ;  Sarah  C,  mar- 
ried A.  F.  Curry;  Esther  Clementine,  born  September  10,  1856,  married 
A.  M.  McQuain ;  Benjamin  H.,  of  whom  further;  Charles  H.,  John  D., 
Francis  A.,  Jane  C.  and  Hannah  C,  died  of  diphtheria  during  the  civil 
tvar,  within  twelve  days  of  each  other. 

(IV)  Benjamin  Henry,  son  of  Benjamin  Harrison  and  Sarah  (Spi- 
cer) Blagg,  was  born  February  4,  i860,  near  Crawford,  Lewis  county, 
West  Virginia.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
Lewis  and  Upshur  counties,  and  later  pursued  a  course  of  study  at  the 
L^niversity  of  West  Virginia.  In  1883  he  moved  to  Mason  county,  locat- 
ing on  a  farm  in  L^nion  district,  where  he  lived  until  1903,  when  he  moved 
to  Point  Pleasant,  his  present  residence.  In  1898  he  was  elected  county 
superintendent  of  schools  and  served  in  that  ofifice  for  four  years,  when 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  West  Virginia.  He  opened  a  law  ofifice  in 
Point  Pleasant  in  1903,  and  has  been  in  active  practice  of  his  profession 
ever  since.  He  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  in  1908,  and  has  prac- 
tised before  all  the  courts.  His  first  appearance  in  the  supreme  court  of 
West  Virginia  being  in  the  case  of  Casto  versus  Baker,  reported  in  59 
W.  Va.,  683,  March  13,  1906.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics.  In 
the  Merchants  National  Bank  of  Point  Pleasant  he  is  a  stockholder.  He 
is  past  master  of  R.  S.  Brown  Lodge,  No.  120,  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  of  Jackson  county ;  is  a  member  of  Elmwood  Lodge,  No. 
38.  of  United  American  Mechanics,  and  also  a  member  of  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America. 

He  married,  August  23,  1883,  Luemma  S.,  born  October  8,  1865, 
daughter  of  Joseph  and  Lvdia  (Eagle)  Crawford,  of  Upshur  county. 
Children:  Alva  H.,  born  April  26,  1885,  died  April  20,  1886;  Donald  O., 
born  July  31.  1886,  married  Annie  L.  Knopp,  July  i,  1909;  Susie  F.,  born 
September  17,  1888;  Benjamin  \'ance.  born  January  i,  1891  ;  Elva  R. 
and  Belva  L.,  twins,  born  T\Iarch  4,  1892;  Eula  C.  born  December  15, 
1899;  Okey  J.,  born  January  25,   1904. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  615 

This  name  is  quite  uncommon,  yet  it  has  taken  several 
HENSLEY  forms,  such  as  Hensleigh,  Inslie  and  Insley,  beside  the 
one  used  in  the  present  family.  In  one  or  another  of  its 
spellings,  the  name  has  existed  in  tlie  county  of  Devon,  Leicestershire, 
and  doubtless  other  parts  of  England.  It  seems  not  improbable,  in  view 
of  the  comparative  rarity  of  the  name,  that  all  bearing  it,  in  any  of  these 
forms,  are  descendants  of  a  common  ancestor.  New  Jersey  has  the  form 
Insley;  a  brave  loyalist  lieutenant  of  this  name  was  killed  in  that  state 
in  the  revolution,  in  17^1.  The  name  in  the  form  Hensley,  or  with  but 
slight  variations  in  spelling  ( such  as  was  common  in  those  days ),  was  well 
established  in  Mrginia  long  before  the  revolution;  the  marriage  license 
of  a  Samuel  Hensley  bears  date  of  March  3,  1727;  in  1734,  several 
persons  of  this  name  were  living  in  St.  George's  parish,  Spottsylvania 
county;  a  Samuel  Hensley,  who  might  well  be  the  same  person  as  in  the 
marriage  license,  died  in  that  county,  January  7,  1765.  William  Hensley, 
of  Spottsylvania  county,  died  serving  in  the  revolution,  and  there  were  two 
Hensleys  in  the  Henry  county  militia  in  the  same  war.  Simon  Hensley, 
born  in  Washington  county,  Virginia,  in  1785,  settled  in  Sangamon  county, 
Illinois. 

(I)  George  William  Hensley,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about 
whom  we  have  definite  information,  perhaps  the  original  immigrant,  was 
born  in  England,  in  1778.  While  the  place  and  date  of  his  birth  make  it 
very  improbable  that  he  was  descended  from  the  earlier  Mrginian  Hen- 
sleys, it  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  he  was  closely  related  to  them.  By 
trade  he  was  at  first  a  blacksmith,  later  in  life  he  was  a  farmer,  owning  a 
fine  farm  in  Augusta  county,  ^^irginia.  He  was  a  Democrat,  and  his  reli- 
gion was  that  of  the  United  Brethren.     He  married  Lockwood,  of 

Augusta  county,  A'irginia.  Children:  Harvey,  John.  Robert,  George  Wil- 
liam (2),  of  whom  further:  James  L.  and  Mary. 

(II)  George   William    (2),   son   of    George   William    (i)    and   

(Lockwood)  Hensley.  was  born  in  Augusta  county,  \"irginia,  in  1831, 
and  died  in  1892.  He  was  by  trade  a  carpenter.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
four  he  went  into  the  ministry  of  the  L^nited  Brethren,  and  he  continued 
in  the  active  ministry  until  1870.  In  that  year  he  entered  mercantile  bus- 
iness, and  ten  years  later  he  purchased  a  farm,  on  which  he  lived  for  the 
rest  of  his  life.  From  time  to  time,  while  he  was  engaged  in  business  and 
in  farming,  he  also  did  ministerial  work.  He  married  Sarah  Frances, 
daughter  of  Moses  B.  and  Elizabeth  (Ball)  Hughes,  who  was  born  in 
Nelson  county,  \'irginia.  in  1837.  Her  father  was  the  son  of  an  immi- 
grant from  the  north  of  Ireland,  who  came,  with  two  brothers,  to  Vir- 
ginia about  1770.  They  purchased  thirty  thousand  acres  of  land  in  what 
was  then  Albemarle  county,  Mrginia,  and  all  three  served  in  the  revolu- 
tionary war.  Moses  B.  Hughes  was  an  extensive  planter  and  a  slavehold- 
er :  his  wife  was  of  Albemarle  county,  Virginia.  Child  of  George  Wil- 
liam (2)  and  Sarah  Frances  (Hughes)  Hensley:  James  Madison,  of 
whom  further. 

(III)  James  Madison,  son  of  George  William  (2)  and  Sarah  Frances 
(  Hughes)  Hensley,  was  born  in  Nelson  county,  ^'irginia,  June  26,  1854. 
He  attended  the  common  schools  of  that  county  and  the  free  schools  of 
the  state  of  Ohio :  he  also  spent  two  years  at  Tupper's  Plains  Seminary, 
in  Ohio.  Farming  first  occupied  his  attention  commercially ;  he  has  also 
been  a  brakeman  and  fireman  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad.  For 
twelve  3'ears  he  was  engaged  in  mining,  starting  as  a  mule  driver  and 
rising  bv  steps  until  he  was  superintendent  and  one-third  owner  of  a 
small  mine.  From  1883  to  IQOO  he  owned  from,  one  to  three  sawmills 
and  made  railroad  ties  and  lumber :  for  the  next  fifteen  years  he  contin- 
ued in  the  same  business  on  a  large  scale,  employing  from  sixty  to  seven- 


6i6  WEST  \IRGIXIA 

ty-fivc  men.  In  i8yo  he  became  interested  in  prospecting  fur  oil  and  gas, 
drilling,  and  the  purchase  and  sale  of  oil  and  gas  properties.  Since  1900 
he  has  been  engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  insurance  business,  at  Hart- 
ford, Mason  county.  West  \'irginia.  Here  he  carries  on  a  large  business 
in  oil,  gas  and  coal  lands,  handling  many  important  transactions  in  such 
properties  in  West  \'irginia  and  elsewhere.  He  has  a  pleasant  home  at 
Hartford,  and  is  active  both  in  fraternal  and  political  affairs.  Since  1882 
he  has  been  a  member  of  the  .\ncient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  he  is 
a  Master  Mason,  a  member  of  Philaderian  Lodge,  Xo.  157,  Nelsonville, 
Ohio;  a  Royal  Arch  Mason,  having  been  since  1890  a  member  of  Point 
Pleasant  Chapter,  No.  7 :  he  has  been  since  1892  a  Knight  Templar,  and 
is  at  present  a  member  of  Franklin  Commandery,  No.  17;  he  has  been 
since  1893  a  member  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  and  was  a  charter  member  of 
Beni  Kedem  Temple,  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  at  its  organization  in 
1897.  .A-lso,  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  Banner 
Lodge,  No.  22,  since  1894,  and  is  past  chancellor  in  this  order.  He  is  a 
Republican,  and  has  at  various  times  been  a  member  of  the  Republican 
executive  committee  of  Mason  county.  In  1892  he  was  elected  mayor  of 
Hartford,  and  this  office  he  held  for  seven  terms.  In  1894  he  was  elected 
state  senator  of  West  \'irginia,  and  he  served  in  this  office  for  four 
terms ;  during  the  term  of  1897,  as  president  pro  tempore,  he  was  the  act- 
ual presiding  officer  of  the  senate  for  the  greater  part  of  the  time.  In 
1906  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace.  He  has  served  for  seven  year> 
as  president  of  the  school  board  of  Hartford. 

He  married,  at  Hartford,  December  11,  1877,  Margaret  Ann,  born  ai 
Hartford,  died  December  17,  1912,  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  Ann 
(Holmes)  Hall,  whose  children  were:  Barbara,  William  R.,  deceased: 
John  O.,  Mary  Jane,  deceased:  Richard,  deceased:  Margaret  Ann.  mar- 
ried James  Madison  Hensle}',  of  whom  ab(jve.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Henslc) 
had  no  children. 

While  the  Douglas  family  is  found  in  Pennsylvania  at 
DOUGLASS     a  much  earlier  date,  the  first  settlement  in  this  branch 

in  Pennsylvania  was  made  by  William  Douglas,  born  in 
Scotland,  February  5,  1769.  He  sprang  from  the  famous  Clan  Dougla- 
famed  in  story  and  song  and  probably  the  greatest  of  all  Scottish  clans. 
\^olumes  have  been  written  concerning  the  doing  of  eminent  members 
of  the  family  and  a  history  of  Scotland  could  not  be  written  were  the 
name  Douglas  omitted.  Although  traced  to  the  twelfth  century,  the  origin 
of  the  heroic  race  has  not  been  found  and  what  was  boasted  of  them  by 
their  historian  of  two  centuries  ago  is  still  true:  "We  do  not  know  them 
in  the  fountain,  but  in  the  stream :  not  in  the  root  but  in  the  stem :  for 
we  know  not  who  was  the  first  man  that  did  by  his  virtue  raise  himself 
above  the  \^ilgar."  Another  says:  "So  many,  so  good  as  of  Douglas 
blood  have  been  of  one  surname,  in  one  Kinguck  never  yet  were  seen." 
"Burke's  Heraldry"  gives  as  the  paternal  arms  of  the  name  of  Douglas: 
"Argent  a  man's  heart  gules  ensigned  with  an  imperial  crown  proper ;  on 
a  chief  azure  three  stars  of  the  first,"  which  translated  means  upon  a  field 
of  silver  a  man's  heart  red,  beneath  an  imperial  crown  in  its  proper  col- 
ors ;  upon  the  dividing  line  upon  a  blue  ground  three  stars  of  silver. 
The  original  arms  of  the  Douglas  were  simply  three  silver  stars  on  a  blue 
field.  The  origin  of  this  is  unknown.  The  origin  and  significance  of  the 
crowned  heart  is  better  known.  It  was  assumed  by  the  family  as  a 
memorial  of  the  fate  of  the  Good  Sir  James  of  Douglas,  who  perished  in 
Spain  in  1330,  while  on  a  journey  to  the  Holy  Land  with  the  heart  of  his 
sovereign,  Robert  Bruce.    The  dying  King  had  bequeathed  his  heart  to  the 


WEST  VIRGINIA  617 

good  Sir  James,  who  had  been  his  greatest  captain,  with  the  request  that 
he  would  carry  it  to  Jerusalem  and  there  bury  it  before  the  High  Altar. 
It  has  been  stated  that  Sir  James  died  on  his  way  to  the  Holy  Land  and 
that  he  had  the  heart  with  him  at  the  time  encased  in  a  silver  box,  but 
Hume,  the  historian  of  the  family,  distinctly  states  that  the  errand  had 
been  accomplished  and  that  Sir  James  was  on  his  return  to  Scotland.  "He 
carried  with  him  to  Jerusalem  the  King's  heart,  embalmed  and  put  in  a 
box  of  gold  which  he  solemnly  buried  before  the  High  Altar  there;  and 
this  is  the  reason  why  the  Douglas  bear  the  Crowned  Heart  in  their  Arms 
ever  since,"  (History  of  the  Houses  of  Douglas  and  Agnus,  vol,  I,  p. 
94).  The  name,  originally  Douglas,  is  now  spelled  in  many  branches 
with  an  additional  "s,"  Douglass, 

(I)  The  emigrant  ancestor  of  Judge  Joseph  Pendleton  Douglass,  of 
Huntington,  West  Virginia,  was  William  Douglass,  born  in  Scotland, 
1769.  He  came  to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania.  He 
married  Ann  Anderson,  born  in  1774,  also  of  Scotch  ancestry.  They  had 
issue :    Joseph,  William,  Ann,  James,  Mary  and  George. 

(II)  Joseph,  son  of  William  Douglass,  the  emigrant,  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania,  December  17,  1798,  died  in  Preble  county,  Ohio,  Januar)' 
jH,  1858,  aged  sixty  years.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  was  one  of  the  early 
advocates  of  Abolition,  displaying  in  this  the  courage  of  his  Highland  an- 
cestors, as  it  required  both  courage  and  nerve  to  declare  in  favor  of  the 
cause  of  the  oppressed  slave  at  that  early  day.  He  married,  in  1828, 
Alary  Steele,  and  had  issue:  William,  James  A.,  Mary  J.,  Jerusha,  Han- 
nah, Joseph, 

(III)  James  A.,  son  of  Joseph  Douglass,  was  born  in  December, 
1830.  He  became  a  farmer  of  Preble  county,  Ohio,  and  there  died  Januar)- 
13,  1893,  He  married  Sarah  Jones,  born  in  Hampshire  county,  Virginia, 
daughter  of  Peter  Jones,  a  Virginian,  and  a  farmer  of  Hampshire  coun- 
ty :  he  died  at  a  very  old  age.  He  had  two  sons  engaged  in  the  war  be- 
tween the  states,  one,  Henry,  a  colonel  in  the  Confederate  army ;  the  oth- 
er, James,  a  captain  in  the  Union  army,  Mrs.  Sarah  (Jones)  Douglass 
died  in  Camden,  Preble  county,  Ohio,  April  29,  1913.  Children:  Joseph 
Pendleton,  Dora,  resides  in  Ohio ;  Fletcher,  died  in  infancy. 

(IV)  Judge  Joseph  Pendleton  Douglass,  eldest  son  of  James  A,  and 
Sarah  (Jones)  Douglass,  was  born  August  2,  1869,  in  Preble  county, 
Ohio.  For  several  years  he  lived  at  the  home  farm.  He  attended  the 
public  schools,  passing  through  the  grammar  and  high  schools,  also  taking 
a  two  years  course  in  the  Cincinnati  Art  School.  He  possesed  unques- 
tioned talent,  which  his  art  study  developed,  and  following  his  course  at 
the  art  school  he  opened  a  studio  and  for  fifteen  years  was  a  portrait 
painter,  well  known  and  fully  accorded  the  rank  his  work  demanded. 
In  igo2  he  abandoned  his  art  and  began  a  course  of  legal  study  at  the 
IMcDonald  Educational  Institute  at  Cincinnati.  He  entered  the  law 
school  of  the  University  of  West  \'irginia  in  1905,  and  was  admitted  to 
practice  in  West  Virginia,  in  1906.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  he  began  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  Huntington  in  association  with  the  law  firm 
of  McComas  &  Northcott.  Later  in  the  same  year  he  formed  a  |)artner- 
ship  with  Elliott  Northcott,  as  Northcott  &  Douglass,  continuing  in  suc- 
cessful practice  until  1909,  when  the  firm  dissolved  by  the  appointment 
of  Mr.  Northcott  to  be  L'nited  States  minister  to  the  L^nited  States.  Since 
then  he  has  practiced  alone.  In  1906  he  was  appointed  judge  of  Cabell 
county  by  the  governor  to  fill  out  an  unexpired  term,  a  position  he  filled 
with  credit  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  county  bar.  In  1909  Judge 
Douglass  was  appointed  L^nited  States  commissioner  for  the  district  in 
which  he  resides,  an  office  he  most  capably  fills.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics :  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order,  the  Benevolent  and  Protective 


6i8  WEST  \1RGINIA 

(Irder  of  Elks,  and  is  a  comniiinicaiit  of  the  First  Congregational  Church 
of  Huntington. 

He  married,  in  I'relile  eouiit\,  (  )hio,  on  Halloween  night,  1900,  Jessie 
Hrown,  who  was  born  in  Indiana,  was  early  orphaned  and  passed  her 
life  before  marriage  princijjally  in  <  )regon.  She  is  a  daughter  of  Joshua 
Jlrown,  who  died  while  she  was  vet  an  infant. 


This  is  a  common  Welsh  name,  borne  by  many  families 
ROBERTS  in  the  United  States  of  .America.  The  English  or  Scotch 
name,  Robertson,  also  quite  frequent,  is  of  equivalent 
meaning.  The  present  family,  represented  by  several  persons  at  Parkers- 
burg,  West  Virginia,  is  of  Welsh  origin,  and  its  American  history  com- 
mences with  late  colonial  days. 

( I)  Anthony  Roberts,  the  founder  of  this  family,  was  born  in  Wales, 
probably  near  Holyhead.  There  he  was  reared  to  manhood,  and  several 
years  before  the  war  of  the  revolution,  he  came  to  the  American  colonies 
and  settled  in  Saint  Mary's  county,  Maryland.  There  he  invested  his 
means,  which  were  quite  large,  in  land  and  other  property.  He  was  a 
Loyalist,  sympathizing  throughout  his  life  with  the  British  government, 
but  he  took  no  active  part  in  the  revolution.  He  was  a  man  of  strong 
character  and  a  devoted  Catholic.  The  name  of  his  wife  is  not  known, 
but  he  had  the  following  children:  Peter,  of  whom  further:  James, 
John  and  one  daughter. 

(  II )  Peter,  son  of  Anthony  Roberts,  was  born  in  1788,  and  died  at 
Suffolk,  Virginia,  in  1828.  His  father  had  determined,  early  in  his  life, 
that  one  of  his  sons  should  be  given  to  the  Church,  and  Peter,  being  the 
most  robust,  was  selected  by  his  father,  and  sent  at  the  age  of  seven  to 
a  renowned  Catholic  institution  in  New  Orleans.  Here  he  remained, 
apparently  happy  and  working  hard,  fitting  himself  for  the  priesthood, 
until  he  was  eighteen  years  old.  During  this  time  he  saw  but  seldom  the 
other  members  of  his  family.  Like  his  father,  he  was  of  a  strong  will, 
but  his  views  were  not  wholly  accordant  with  those  of  his  father :  for 
example,  he  was  a  pronounced  supporter  of  the  American  government 
and  polity.  He  chafed  for  more  liberty,  and  became  restless  and  dissat- 
isfied. Difference  with  his  father  resulted,  and  this  in  turn  led  to  other 
and  more  serious  differences.  He  notified  his  father  that  he  should 
leave  the  school  and  abandon  his  study  for  the  priesthood,  and  he 
attempted  to  carry  this  out,  but  his  father  brought  him  back  to  the  school 
and  compelled  him  to  remain.  At  his  father's  desire,  he  was  more 
restricted  and  confined  than  before.  Two  and  one-half  years  were  spent 
at  the  school  after  his  being  brought  back;  then,  just  before  his  coming 
of  age,  he  secretlv  left  the  college  at  night,  made  his  way  to  the  harbor, 
and,  with  the  help  of  the  sailors,  concealed  himself  on  board  a  large  mer- 
chant ship  engaged  in  foreign  trade.  His  concealment  was  not  discov- 
ered until  the  ship  was  several  days  out  at  sea,  when  he  was  found  and  set 
to  work  by  the  captain.  The  excellent  education  which  he  had  received 
included  a  thorough  theoretical  knowledge  of  navigation,  and  he  was  in 
consequence  soon  relieved  of  menial  work  and  made  useful  to  the  com- 
mander of  the  ship.  Before  the  ship  returned  to  an  American  harbor, 
however,  it  was  stopped  by  a  British  man-of-war  and  searched  on  the 
pretext  of  looking  for  deserters :  along  with  several  others,  he  was  taken 
and  impressed  into  the  British  service.  Before  he  returned  to  his  own 
country,  in  1814,  the  war  of  1812  had  been  fought.  Before  coming  back 
to  .\me'rica  Peter  Roberts  visited  many  parts  of  Europe.  When  he  set 
foot  again  on  his  country's  soil  he  found  that  his  father  and  mother  were 
both  dead,  and  that  he  had  been  disinherited :   and  the  rest  of  the  family 


WEST  VIRGINIA  619 

did  not  feel  very  kindly  toward  him,  because  they  supposed  him  to  have 
apostatized.  Whether  he  actually  became  a  member  is  not  certain,  but 
his  associations  were  largely  with  Methodists.  He  settled  down  to  teach- 
ing school  with  marked  success,  and  gave  instruction  in  the  languages, 
navigation  and  other  higher  branches.  He  married,  probably  at  Suffolk, 
Virginia,  in  1816,  Trana.  daughter  of  Captain  Aden  Holloway.  Soon 
after  his  marriage,  he  settled  at  Suffolk,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of 
forty.  Children:  James,  died  at  about  the  age  of  twelve;  Maria,  died  in 
young  womanhood :  David  Angelo,  of  whom  further. 

(Ill)  David  Angelo,  son  of  Peter  and  Trana  (Holloway)  Roberts, 
was  born  at  Suffolk,  January  18.  1824,  and  died  at  Burning  Springs,  Wirt 
county.  West  Virginia,  in  March,  1901.  After  his  father's  death  his 
mother  moved  with  her  family  to  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  and  there  he 
engaged,  in  early  manhood,  with  abundant  success,  in  the  hardware,  sheet 
metal  and  roofing  business.  But  his  yearning  was  always  for  the  country 
and  the  farm,  and  in  the  year  following  his  second  marriage  he  moved  to 
Cecil  county,  Maryland,  on  the  shore  of  Chesapeake  Bay.  He  bought 
two  farms  and  engaged  himself  in  working  these,  raising  all  sorts  of  mar- 
ketable fruits,  started  a  fruit  tree  nursery,  and  purchased  a  line  of  carry- 
ing schooners  running  between  that  neighborhood  and  the  markets  of 
Philadelphia  and  Baltimore.  Here  he  was  contented,  happy  and  success- 
ful, and  among  these  pleasant  surroundings  he  would  probably  have  spent 
the  rest  of  his  life  had  it  not  been  for  the  fateful  strike  of  the  first  oil  well 
by  Captain  Drake,  in  the  latter  part  of  August,  1859,  on  Oil  creek,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  the  similar  discovery,  within  a  very  short  time  thereafter. 
of  the  Rathbone  well  on  the  Little  Kanawha,  at  Burning  Springs,  in 
(West)  Virginia.  The  excitement  resulting  from  these  discoveries  made 
him  restless  to  enter  into  the  new  business.  Accordingly,  he  formed  a 
partnership  with  Philadelphia  capitalists  of  his  acquaintance  to  take  up 
some  oil  property  at  Burning  Springs  and  other  points  in  the  present  state 
of  West  Virginia.  The  beginning  of  the  civil  war  checked  operations,  au'l 
it  was  not  until  the  spring  of  1863  that  Mr.  Roberts  came  in  person  to 
Virginia  and  purchased  at  Burning  Springs,  a  producing  oil  property. 
The  business  was  incorporated  under  the  name  of  the  Rathbone  &  Cam- 
den Oil  Company,  of  Philadelphia.  In  addition,  he  took  up  a  number  of 
oil  leases  in  Wood.  Wirt  and  Pleasants  counties.  The  operations  were 
quite  successful  and  in  1865  he  sold  his  Maryland  farms.  The  family 
moved  to  Philadelphia  in  January',  1868,  and  he  later  brought  them  tem- 
porarily to  Burning  Springs,  to  have  them  near  himself.  De])ression  in 
the  oil  business  and  some  bad  investments  impaired  his  fortunes  and  com- 
pelled him  to  give  up,  at  least  for  the  time,  the  hope  of  going  back  east  to 
live.  He  now  became  actively  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  community 
and  the  betterment  of  its  conditions :  he  assisted  largely  in  the  building 
of  the  first  church  at  Burning  Springs,  the  Methodist  Episcopal,  and  the 
procuring  of  the  first  resident  minister.  Dr.  Blundin,  There  were  no 
schools  of  any  worth  in  the  place  at  that  time.  .Securing  the  consent  of  a 
majority  of  the  residents,  he  obtained  from  the  legislature  a  charter  for 
an  independent  school  district,  the  independent  district  of  Burning 
Springs.  He  was  made  president  of  the  first  board  of  education  of  this 
district,  and  secured  the  erection  of  a  suitable  building :  here  the  Burn- 
ing Springs  graded  school  was  started,  which  at  once  became  one  of  the 
best  schools  of  the  state  and  has  furnished  many  teachers  to  the  surround- 
ing counties.  In  political  affairs  also,  he  took  a  prominent  part  as  a  Dem- 
ocrat. He  represented  his  district  in  the  constitutional  convention  of 
1872.  A  little  later,  he  represented  the  Parkersburg  district  in  the  state 
senate.  Throughout  the  state  he  was  known  and  regarded  as  honest,  sin- 
cere and  dependable.     Many  other  positions  of  trust  were  held  by  him. 


620  WEST  VIRGINIA 

but  financially,  he  did  not  retrieve  his  fortunes.  In  1900  he  moved  to 
Parkersburg.  His  death,  from  pneumonia,  occurred  the  next  spring,  while 
he  was  making  a  visit  at  Burning  Springs. 

He  married  (first)  in  1848,  Fannie  Jester,  daughter  of  Oliver  Jester, 
she  died  in  1851.  leaving  one  son,  David  A.,  who  died,  unmarried,  at 
Burning  Springs,  in  June,  1875.  He  married  (second)  in  1854,  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  George  and  Margaret  (W'healton)  Fox,  who  was  born  in 
Philadelphia,  June  23,  1836.  She  is  living,  in  good  health,  at  her  home, 
Xo.  1509  Spring  street,  Parkersburg.  Mrs.  Roberts  is  a  granddaughter 
of  the  famous  George  Fox,  a  well-known  Quaker,  who  settled  early 
where  Philadelphia  now  stands,  and  owned  much  of  the  land  upon  which 
the  city  has  been  built.  Children:  i.  JMaria  ^L,  born  in  October,  1856, 
died  in  October.  1909 :  married  L.  A.  Munger,  deceased.  2.  George  Fox, 
born  August  30.  1858;  lives  at  Salama,  Pleasants  county,  West  Virginia: 
married  Kate  Cain.  3.  Louis  Rorer,  of  whom  further.  4.  Harriet,  born 
February  8.  1861.  married  John  R.  Pell:  they  live  at  Parkersburg.  5. 
James  Antietam.  born  July  11,  1863:  lives  at  Marietta,  Ohio;  married 
Anna  Rogers.  6.  Margaret  Fox.  borri  December  23.  1865,  died  Febru- 
ary 8,  1913:  married  James  Bailey,  deceased.  7.  Elizabeth  Wirt,  born 
in  October,  1868,  married  U.  S.  G.  Ferrell ;  he  is  a  physician  at  Cairo, 
\\'est  \'irginia  (see  sketch  in  this  work).  8.  Catharine  \'irginia,  born 
February  27,  1870,  married  Harvey  Marsh  ;  they  live  at  Parkersburg.  9. 
John  Kilpatrick.  born  July  25,  1872,  a  dentist  at  Parkersburg;  married 
Anna  Schaefer.  10.  Solomon  Perry,  born  April  14,  1874,  a  physician  ; 
married  Aletha  Barnett.  1 1.  Anna  Josephine,  born  October  30,  1876,  died 
in  June.  1882. 

(I\')  Louis  Rorer.  scui  of  David  Angelo  and  Elizabeth  (Fox)  Rob- 
erts, was  born  in  Cecil  county,  Maryland,  September  30.  1859.  When  he 
was  about  six  years  old  the  family  moved  to  Philadelphia,  and  three  years 
later  they  came  to  Burning  Springs.  His  father's  failing  fortune  and 
the  size  of  the  family  made  it  necessary  for  him  at  an  early  age,  to  leave 
school,  as  also  did  two  of  his  brothers,  and  go  to  work  in  the  oil  field  to 
assist  in  providing  for  the  needs  of  the  family.  With  his  other  work,  he 
took  up  the  study  of  land  surveying;  in  this  he  soon  became  proficient, 
and  he  built  up  a  large  patronage  in  Wirt  and  adjoining  counties.  The 
financial  results  of  this  work  \\'ere  small,  but  the  experience  and  knowl- 
edge acquired  therein  have  been  of  great  value  in  his  later  activities.  In 
1886  he  was  engaged  by  a  Pittsburgh  lumber  company  to  look  after  their 
extensive  interests  in  this  part  of  West  \'irginia,  and  he  remained  with 
this  company  for  more  than  two  years.  Then  he  went  into  the  lumber 
and  timber  business  on  his  own  account,  and  was  for  some  time  engaged 
in  this  business  with  much  success.  Mr.  Roberts  had  long  held  the  con- 
viction that  a  young  man  should  investigate  the  newer  sections  of  the 
country  before  finally  settling.  Finding  it  now  possible  to  put  this  belief 
into  practice,  he  made  an  extensive  trip  through  the  western  states  in 
search  of  favorable  opportunities.  California  was  attractive  to  him,  but 
he  was  prevented  from  making  a  permanent  settlement  in  that  state  by 
matters  which  required  his  return  to  West  \lrginia.  He  soon  after  this 
time  formed  a  partnership  with  his  next  younger  brother,  James  A. 
Roberts,  as  Roberts  Brothers.  They  contracted  and  drilled  oil  wells  for 
others,  and  developed  some  leases  for  themselves.  As  both  brothers  had 
practical  knowledge  of  the  oil  business,  the  partnership  was  successful 
from  the  first,  and  this  firm  has  now  for  some  years  been  one  of  the  most 
substantial  and  reliable  firms  in  the  state  of  West  Virginia,  owning  much 
oil  property  and  other  real  estate.  Beside  the  production  of  oil  and  gas 
the  firm  is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  gasoline.  In  1906,  it  acquired 
by  purchase,  all  the  holdings  of  the  Rathbone  Oil  Tract  Company,  a  New 


WEST  \'IRGINIA  621 

York  corporation.  These  holdings  consist  in  the  main  of  a  tract  of  land 
of  twelve  hundred  acres'  extent,  the  whole  being  an  oil  producing  proper- 
ly. The  village  of  Eurning  Springs  is  built  on  this  property.  The  prop- 
erty is  noted  for  having  the  oldest  living  oil  wells  in  the  world ;  some  of 
these  are  more  than  fifty-three  years  old.  and  have  been  continuously 
producing  throughout  all  this  time.  Air.  Roberts  has  taken  an  active  part 
in  the  business,  social  and  political  affairs  of  his  community.  For  some 
years  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  Democratic  executive  committee  of 
Wirt  county,  and  he  has  received  several  nominations  for  office  from 
that  party.  In  recent  years  his  business  af^'airs  have  precluded  activity  in 
politics,  but  in  local  matters  at  least,  he  may  at  all  times  be  found  upon 
that  side  on  which,  in  his  judgment,  there  is  the  best  guarantee  of  clean 
government.  While  he  is  not  a  church  member,  he  has  shown  a  liberal 
spirit  in  the  support  of  churches,  and  in  other  movements  tending  toward 
the  improvement  of  social  or  moral  conditions.  Since  1902  he  has  lived 
at  Parkersburg,  where  in  the  year  1908,  he  bought  his  present  home,  at 
the  corner  of  Ann  and  Eleventh  streets.  His  three  boys  are  attending  the 
Nash  school  in  this  city.  Yet  he  has  retained  a  summer  home  at  Burning 
Springs,  and  a  farm ;  here  the  mother  and  the  boys  spend  their  vacations 
in  pleasant  surroundings  close  to  nature. 

Mr.  Roberts  married,  at  Glenville.  Gilmer  county.  West  Virginia, 
June  2,  1897,  Lucy  Lillian,  daughter  of  Dr.  Charles  William  and  \'irginia 
(Loury)  Eagon.  Both  the  Loury  and  the  Eagon  families  are  old  A'irginia 
families,  formerly  settled  in  the  neighborhood  of  Staunton.  Dr.  Eagon 
was  a  Confederate  army  surgeon  throughout  the  civil  war.  The  Eagons 
afterward  lived  at  Glenville.  Children  of  Louis  Rorer  and  Lucy  Lillian 
(Eagon)  Roberts:  Louis  Rorer,  born  June  12,  1901  ;  Paul  Eagon,  born 
January  25,  1903:  Charles  Angelo,  born  July  2,  1906. 


It  is  said,  but  there  is  n(j  proof  for  the  statement. 
THORNEURG     that    two     brothers    named    Thornburgh,     English 

Quakers,  came  with  William  Penn.  According  to 
another  writer,  the  \\'est  Mrginia  Thornburgs  are  Welsh,  but  the  name 
seems  clearly  German.  It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  the  \'irginian  and 
West  Virginian  Thornburgs  and  Thornburghs  are  of  the  same  family,  al- 
though the  connection  is  not  known  to  us,  and  the  Shenandoah  valley  is 
largely  German  in  its  population.  As  shown  by  the  records  of  the  Hope- 
well monthly  meeting  of  the  Quakers,  there  were  Thornburghs  in  Fred- 
erick county,  Virginia,  by  1759.  Their  records  from  1735  to  1759  have 
been  destroyed  by  fire,  and  the  probability  is  strong  that  the  name  would 
have  been  found  in  these  records  also.  At  New  Garden,  Guilford  county. 
North  Carolina,  there  were  Quakers  of  this  name  about  the  same  time ;  the 
name  is  found  in  Tennessee  before  1800.  Some  Thornburghs  have  re- 
moved irom  the  south  to  Indiana  and  Iowa. 

(I)  Thomas  Thornburg,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom 
we  have  definite  information,  lived  in  Jefferson  criunty,  N'irginia.  Child  : 
Solomon,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Solomon,  son  of  Thomas  Thornburg,  was  born  near  Shepherds- 
town,  Jefferson  count}',  \'irginia.  In  the  early  settlement  of  Cabell  county ,- 
Virginia,  he  removed  thither,  and  settled  one  mile  from  Barboursville. 
He  was  a  blacksmith,  one  of  the  first  of  this  trade  in  Cabell  county,  but 
afterward  he  was  a  farmer.  He  was  a  Democrat  political!}-,  and  a  Meth- 
odist in  religious  faith.  He  married,  in  1813,  Alary,  daughter  of  Stephen 
Staley.  Children:  Elizabeth.  Thomas,  of  whom  further;  John,  James 
and  Mary. 

(III)  Thomas,  son  of  Solomon  and  Mar}-   (Staley)   Thornburg,  was 


622  WEST  VIRGINIA 

born  in  Cabell  county,  October  (>,  1818,  and  dietl  in  October,  1899.  He 
received  a  common  scbool  education,  and  at  the  age  of  twelve  years  be- 
came clerk  in  a  store.  He  was  one  of  the  most  successful  inerchants  and 
substantial  citizens  of  the  county.  .At  different  times  he  was  constable, 
justice  of  the  peace,  president  of  the  county  court,  commissioner  of  rev- 
enue, and  commissioner  in  chancery  in  his  city;  in  1857  and  1858,  he  rep- 
resented Cabell  county  in  the  general  assembly  of  Virginia ;  he  was  county 
supervisor,  in  the  new  state,  from  1866  to  1870.  In  May,  1865,  President 
Johnson  appointed  him  in  the  L'nited  States  internal  revenue  service  for 
the  third  district  of  West  Virginia,  and  he  served  four  years.  In  1872, 
he  was  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  of  the  state.  He  was 
county  commissioner  from  1881  to  1887.  In  the  civil  war,  Mr.  Thorn- 
burg  showed  a  high  allegiance  to  principle,  as  creditable  as  was  shown  by 
anyone  in  the  south,  or  on  either  side  in  the  struggle.  He  was  a  Demo- 
crat, and  his  natural  sympathies  were  with  the  south  ;  moreover,  his  son 
John  was  a  soldier  (he  became  first  lieutenant)  in  the  Confederate  army, 
under  Captain  William  Gunn.  Yet  he  believed  secession  to  be  wrong, 
and  was  a  staunch  L'nion  man.  Accordingly  he  closed  his  store,  boxing 
his  goods,  and  allowed  the  building  to  be  used  by  the  Federal  troops  as 
a  commissary.  He  was  a  charter  member  of  Minerva  Lodge,  No.  13, 
Ancient  Free  and  .Accepted  Mason,  of  Barlwursville,  and  its  secretary 
for  forty-six  years :  also  a  charter  member  of  the  chapter.  Royal  .Arch 
jMasons.  He  married,  December  12,  1837.  Margaret,  daughter  of  John 
and  Sophia  (Clendenin)  Miller,  who  was  born  in  Mason  county,  Vir- 
ginia, November  25,  1818,  and  died  August  19,  1859,  (see  Miller).  Chil- 
dren: I.  Mary  S.,  died  at  the  age  of  seventy.  2.  Sarah  Elizabeth,  died  in 
191 1  ;  married  Dr.  A.  B.  McGuinnis.  3.  Ellen  E..  married  Will  M. 
Hovey ;  they  now  live  at  Catlettsburg,  Boyd  county,  Kentucky.  4.  John, 
married  Mary  Long ;  he  is  now  a  stockman  in  Mason  county,  West  Vir-  ■ 
ginia.  5.  George  Edgar,  of  whom  further.  6.  Thomas  Henry,  born 
about  1849,  died  August  17,   1893.     7.  Margaret  L.,  deceased. 

(IV)  George  Edgar,  son  of  Thomas  and  Margaret  (Miller)  Thorn- 
burg,  was  born  on  his  father's  farm,  one  mile  from  Barboursville, 
June  28,  1846.  This  farm,  which  has  been  in  the  family  for  one  hundred 
years,  is  now  owned  by  C.  H.  Thornburg.  In  his  infancy,  the  family 
moved  into  Barboursville,  and  there  he  attended  the  subscription  schools. 
Before  the  civil  war,  he  attended  Marshall  College  for  a  time.  Until 
June  5,  1865,  he  worked  on  a  farm;  he  then  reopened  his  father's  store, 
working  in  it  as  a  clerk.  From  that  year,  the  store  has  been  owned 
wholly  by  the  Thornburgs.  and  ever  since  this  time,  George  E.  has  been 
an  active  merchant.  In  .April,  1872,  he  and  his  brother  Thomas  Henry 
were  taken  into  partnership  by  their  father,  each  having  a  one-third  inter- 
est. He  purchased  his  brother's  share  in  January,  1893,  and  in  iSy".  he 
bought  out  his  father  also,  and  since  that  time  he  has  been  sole  owner  of 
the  store.  He  is  a  director  in  the  Tri-State  Grocery  Company,  at  Ken- 
ova,  West  Virginia.  He  is  also  president  of  the  First  State  Bank,  Bar- 
boursville. In  ]\{asonry.  he  is  a  member  of  Minerva  Lodge,  No.  13,  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons,  at  Barboursville ;  Huntington  Chapter,  Royal  Arch 
Masons,  at  Huntington ;  Commandery  No.  9,  Knights  Templar ;  Bene 
Kedem  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  of  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine. 
In  1885,  he  was  grand  master  of  the  state.  He  is  a  Democrat,  but  has 
never  sought  office.  X^'ith  his  family,  he  holds  membership  in  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  South,  and  his  wife  is  an  active  church  worker. 
He  married,  December  7,  1869,  Nannie  A.,  daughter  of  James  and  .Ann 
(Shelton)  Wilson,  who  was  born  two  and  one-half  miles  from  Bar- 
boursville, March  7,  1847.  Her  father  came  at  an  early  day  from  what  is 
still  Virginia,  and  her  mother  was  of  one  of  the  old  pioneer  families  of 
Cabell  county.     I\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Thornburg  have  no  children. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  623 

James  Brewer  Sommerville,  the  subject  of  this 
SOMMERVILLE  sketch,  was  born  near  Bethany,  Brooke  county, 
Virginia,  (now  West  Virginia),  June  5,  1852.  His 
parents  were  WiUiam  M.  Sommerville,  a  native  of  Harrison  county,  Vir- 
ginia, (now  West  X'irginia),  and  Margaret  A.  Sommerville,  whose  maiden 
name  was  Margaret  A.  Steele,  and  who  was  a  native  of  Belmont  county, 
Ohio.  His  paternal  ancestors  were  of  Norman  descent,  while  on  the 
maternal  side  they  were  of  Irish  origin.  His  father,  although  without 
early  educational  opportunities,  was  a  man  of  unusual  intelligence  and 
was  possessed  of  a  high  degree  of  integrity.  His  mother,  while  not  highly 
educated,  was  a  woman  of  strong  common  sense  and  irreproachable  char- 
acter. The  son  showed  but  little  interest  in  educational  matters  until  he 
was  about  fifteen  years  old,  when  he  developed  a  strong  taste  for  the 
reading  of  miscellaneous  books.  This  naturally  led  to  a  desire  for  a  better 
education.  He  attended  the  public  school  at  Bethany  for  parts  of  two 
winters,  during  which  he  made  rapid  progress.  In  the  spring  of  1870 
the  family  moved  to  the  vicinity  of  Clinton,  in  Ohio  county.  Here  tlie 
young  man,  while  performing  the  duties  of  a  farm  hand,  diligently  pur- 
sued the  studies  begun  at  Bethany,  and  continued  his  course  of  general 
reading.  In  the  fall  of  1871,  he  determined  to  become  a  student  of  the 
West  Liberty  Normal  School.  West  Liberty,  however,  was  nearly  four 
miles  away,  and  he  was  without  the  means  of  supporting  himself  away 
from  home.  This  problem  he  solved  by  resolving  to  board  at  home  and 
walk  to  and  from  the  school  every  day.  He  accordingly  entered  this 
institution  in  the  fall  of  1871.  about  two  months  after  the  beginning  of 
the  session,  and  continued  until  the  close  of  the  session,  in  June,  1872. 
During  the  summer  and  fall  of  1872  he  worked  part  of  the  time  on  a  farm, 
and  part  of  the  time  for  a  man  who  had  a  contract  for  macadam  work 
on  a  public  road  in  the  community.  In  the  winter  of  1872-73  he  taught 
a  country  school.  During  all  of  this  time  he  continued  his  studies  and 
general  reading,  and  in  the  spring  of  1873  again  became  a  student  at 
West  Liberty,  resuming  his  daily  walks  between  his  home  and  that  point, 
and  graduated  with  the  class  of  1873.  After  having  taught  a  year  in 
Ohio  county,  the  family  having  in  the  meantime  returned  to  Brooke 
county,  he  became  a  student  in  Bethany  College,  in  which  he  took  a 
special  course  in  languages  and  mathematics.  While  a  student  in  this 
institution  he  was  nominated  by  the  Democratic  party  of  Brooke  county 
for  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature,  to  which  position  he  was  elected, 
serving  in  the  session  of  1877,  in  which  he  was  the  youngest  member. 
After  serving  in  the  legislature  he  worked  on  the  farm  in  the  summer  and 
taught  school  in  the  winter,  and  pursued  the  study  of  the  law  whenever 
he  had  an  opportunity  to  do  so,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the  fall 
of  1878.  He  opened  his  first  law  office  in  Wellsburg,  the  county  seat  of 
his  native  county,  April  ist,  1879,  and  soon  became  one  of  the  most  prom- 
inent members  of  that  bar.  He  continued  to  practice  in  Wellsburg  until 
the  summer  of  1887.  when  he  located  in  Wheeling,  the  chief  city  of  the 
state,  where  he  still  remains. 

While  living  at  Wellsburg,  he  married  ]\Iiss  .\gnes  G.  Hosie,  who 
was  his  schoolmate  when  he  attended  the  public  school  at  Bethany,  and 
who  is  a  most  estimable  lady,  worthy  in  every  wa}-  to  be  his  life  compan- 
ion. 

He  has  served  on  the  boards  of  regents  of  the  Normal  Schools,  the 
Deaf,  Dumb  and  Blind  Institute,  and  the  West  Virginia  L'niversity.  re- 
maining a  member  of  the  latter  body  for  about  nine  years.  In  1884  he 
was  elected  to  the  state  senate  from  the  First  District  of  West  Virginia, 
composed  of  the  counties  of  Hancock,  Brooke  and  Ohio,  and  including 
the  city  of  Wheeling.     While  serving  in  this  body  during  the  session  of 


624  WEST  VIRGINIA 

1887,  lie  was  the  recognized  leader  of  the  caucus  forces  of  the  Democratic 
party,  in  the  bitterest  and  most  memorable  contest  for  a  seat  in  the  United 
States  senate  that  has  ever  taken  place  in  the  history  of  the  state,  during 
which,  although  not  a  candidate  and  not  desiring  to  be  elected,  he  was 
repeatedly  voted  'for  for  that  high  office,  and  on  several  ballots  lacked  but 
a  few  votes  of  being  elected.  Shortly  after  he  located  in  Wheeling  he  was 
chosen  solicitor  for  the  Pennsylvania  lines  west  of  Pittsburgh,  and  placed 
in  charge  of  the  legal  matters  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  system  for 
state  of  West  \'irginia,  which  position  he  still  holds.  In  addition  to  this 
he  enjoys  a  large,  successful,  and  lucrative  general  practice,  which  some- 
times calls  him  into  the  criminal  courts ;  and  he  is  recognized  as  one  of 
the  leaders  of  the  bar  of  his  native  state. 


The  Brooke  family  is  one  of  those  families  of  the  Eng- 
BROOKE     lish  gentry  who  early  came  to  the  Virginia  colony,  impelled, 

not  by  religious  persecution,  but  by  that  mingled  desire  for 
adventure  and  for  more  land  that  has  been  an  English  characteristic  since 
the  days  of  the  Vikings.  Bearing  patents  of  land  from  the  Crown  they 
were  free  to  choose  where  they  would  locate,  and  adventure  was  plenti- 
ful with  the  Powhatan  Confederacy,  dominant  for  two  or  three  genera- 
tions after  the  death  of  Powhatan  himself.  These  settlers  brought  to  a 
wilderness  of  amazing  fertility  and  beauty,  but  still  a  wilderness,  the  cus- 
toms, political  ideas,  social  usages,  and  chivalric  ideals  of  courtesy  and 
courage  of  the  old  English  home.  The  old  motto  of  the  Commonwealth. 
En.  dot  I'irgiiiia  qiiintitiii. — "Lo.  \"irginia  gives  a  fifth  dominion"  fitl)- 
expresses  the  patriotic  loyalty  to  the  old  home  and  pride  in  the  new,  that 
characterized  these  colonists.  C){  this  gallant,  armigenous  class  of  Ameri- 
cans is  the  Brooke  family. 

(I)  William  Brooke,  the  immigrant,  came  over  in  1621  to  the  Vir- 
ginia colony,  then  under  the  control  of  the  Lontlon  Company.  The  ship 
that  brought  him  and  his  fortunes  was  named  the  "Temperance."  He 
chose  for  his  plantation  a  region  on  the  Rappahannock  river  since  known  as 
Essex  county. 

(II)  Robert,  probably  the  son  of  William  Brooke,  clerk  of  Essex 
county,  1662,  was  born  in  1652.  in  Essex  county.  Virginia,  and  probably 
(lied  on  the  Brooke  estate.  He  married  Catherine  Booth.  He  had  a  son, 
Robert,  of  whom   further. 

(III)  Robert  (2).  son  of  Robert  ( 1)  Brooke,  was  one  of  that  famous 
company  called  the  "Knights  of  the  Golden  Horseshoe,"  who.  led  by  the 
celebrated  and  chivalric  Governor  .Alexander  Spotswood,  started  in  1716 
from  Williamsburg  to  cross  the  Blue  Ridge  mountains,  then  the  furthest 
frontiers  of  the  English  civilization  on  the  continent.  An  account  of  this 
expedition  belongs  to  general  history,  but  the  small  golden  horseshoes 
given  by  Governor  Spotswood  to  members  of  the  party  in  commemora- 
tion, with  their  appropriate  motto.  Sic  jnvat  transccnderc  iiwntes,  are  still 
cherished  by  the  descendants  of  the  knights  of  the  famous  adventure. 
He  married  and  among  his  children  was  Richard,  of  whom  further. 

(IV)  Richard,  youngest  son  of  Robert  (2)  Brooke,  moved  up  the 
Rappahannock  river  to  "Smithfield."  on  the  same  side  of  the  river.  He 
was  a  planter.  He  had  three  sons  in  the  revolutionary  army  and  one  son 
in  the  United  States  navy  under  Paul  Jones.  He  married  Elizabeth  Talia- 
ferro, daughter  Colonel  Francis  Taliaferro,  of  Spottsylvania.  He  had 
these  children :  John  Taliaferro,  of  whom  further,  and  his  twin  brother, 
Francis  Taliaferro. 

(V)    John  Taliaferro,  son  of  Richard  Brooke,  was  born   August  2J. 
1763,  at  "Smithfield."  an  old  family  estate  on  the  river  four  miles  below 


WEST  VIRGINIA  625 

Fredericksburg.  He  served  as  an  ufficer  in  the  rf\i.ikuiunary  war.  .\t  the 
age  of  eighteen,  as  a  tirst  lieutenant  of  artillery  he  behaved  so  gallantly  in 
the  battle  of  Eutaw  that  he  was  promoted  to  brigade  major  of  the  park 
of  artillery  by  Charles  Harrison,  who  commanded  it.  and  was  invited  by 
him  to  live  with  him  "in  the  same  marquee  to  the  end  of  the  war."  He 
studied  for  the  legal  profession  and  practiced  it  for  a  time  in  Fredericks- 
burg, but  later  he  retired  to  his  plantation  called  "Millvale,"  in  Stafford 
county,  about  ten  miles  from  Fredericksburg.  He  was  in  his  political 
beliefs  a  Federalist  of  the  W'ashingion  type  until  the  Federalists  voted 
for  Burr  against  Jefferson  in  iSoi.  For  many  years  he  sat  on 
the  bench  of  the  county  court  of  Stafford  county,  serving  also  for 
a  k)ng  time  as  justice  of  the  peace.  He  died  on  his  estate.  "Millvale,"  in 
Stafford  county,  in  1822,  at  the  age  of  fifty-nine  years.  He  inarried  Anne 
A'lercer,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Mary  ( Cary )  Selden,  of  "Salvington," 
Staft'ord  county,  \'irginia.  They  all  belonged  to  the  Episcopal  church, 
John  Taliaferro  Brooke  being  a  vestryman  of  the  parish.  John  Talia- 
ferro and  Anne  Mercer  {  Selden )  Brooke  had  five  children,  who  attained 
adult  age:  I.  Samuel  Selden.  married  Angelina  Edrington.  2.  Francis 
John,  killed  on  Christmas  Day.  1837,  at  the  battle  of  Okeechobee,  Flori- 
da, in  the  Seminole  Indian  war.     3.  Henry  Laurens,  of  whom  further. 

(  \'I )  Henry  Laurens,  son  of  John  Taliaferro  and  Anne  fiercer  (Sel- 
den )  Brooke,  was  born  at  "Millvale,"  in  Stafford  county,  Virginia,  July 
i(),  1808.  He  was  educated  by  private  tutors  until  he  was  seventeen 
years  old,  when  he  went  to  private  schools  in  Richmond.  He  took  up  the 
study  of  law  and  practiced  in  Richmond  until  after  the  civil  war.  He 
thru  went  to  Baltimore  and  practiced  there  for  a  few  years,  after  which  he 
rt-iiK'ved  to  Charles  Town,  \\'est  \'irginia.  and  died  there,  in  1874,  at 
"Rion  Flail,"  the  home  of  his  son-in-law.  Judge  Daniel  B.  Lucas,  three 
miles  out  from  the  town.  He  was  a  states  rights  Whig  and  always  greatly 
drplured  his  being  too  old  to  enter  the  Confederate  army.  He  married 
\  irginia.  daughter  of  Judge  Henry  St.  George  and  Ann  Evelina  (Hunter) 
Tucker  (see  Tucker  III).  They  had  eleven  children,  i.  Evelina  Tucker, 
burn  July  20,  1838;  married  Judge  Daniel  B.  Lucas.  2.  Anne  Selden.  born 
June  10,  1840;  married,  December  5.  1867,  James  Fairfax  McLaughlin, 
died  1904.  3.  \'irginia  Damdridge.  born  June  3.  1842.  died  1845.  4-  St. 
(iciirge  Tucker,  of  whom  further.  5.  John  Taliaferro,  born  June  9,  1846, 
died  July  20,  1846.  6.  Francis  John,  born  December  24,  1847;  married. 
X"\ember  25,  1880,  Elizabeth  Gay  Bentley,  who  died  August  11,  1903. 
7.  \irginia  Tucker,  born  July  26,  1850,  die<l  July  i,  1865.  8.  David 
Tucker,  born  April  28,  1852;  married  April  8.  1880.  Lucy  B.  Higgins.  g. 
llizabeth  Dallas,  born  February  6.  1854.  10.  Henry  Laurens,  born  Octo- 
ber 3,  1856;  married  Mrs.  Mary  Johnson.  11.  Laura  Beverley,  born  April 
21,  i8fio:  married  Everett  Wade  Bedinger.  Seven  of  the  above  children 
are  still  living.  Mrs.  Henry  Laurens  Brooke  died  in  Richmond  in  the 
fall  of  1863  at  the  age  of  forty-seven  years.  She  was  a  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  and  her  husband  was  an  Episcopalian. 

(\TI)  St.  George  Tucker,  son  of  Henry  Laurens  and  \irginia 
(Tucker)  Brooke,  was  born  July  22,  1844,  at  the  LTniversity  of  \'irginia, 
his  maternal  grandfather  being  then  the  Professor  of  Law  in  that  univer- 
sity. He  acquired  his  education  in  the  private  schools  of  Winchester, 
Ashland  and  Richmond.  He  was  in  1861  appointed  a  midshipman  in  the 
na\>-  of  the  Confederate  States,  but  being  unable  to  stand  the  physical 
tests,  though  his  mental  qualifications  were  satisfactory,  the  appointment 
w  a>  withdrawn  in  the  fall  of  1 802.  He  was  at  the  Gosport  navy  yard,  oppo- 
site Norfolk,  and  volunteered  to  accompany  the  "Merrimac"  to  challenge 
the  "Monitor"  to  second  battle.  He  was  in  command  of  one  of  the  two 
guns  in  the  gunboat  "Nansemond"  when  the  "Monitor"  and  other  iron- 


626  WEST  \IRG1XIA  I 

clads  made  their  attack  ui)oii  Drur)-  Bluff  (Fort  Darling)  on  the  James  j 
River,  seven  miles  below  Richmond.  He  volunteered  as  a  private  soldier  in  ' 
the  spring  of  1863  in  Company  B.  Second  \'irginia  Cavalry,  General  ! 
Fitzhugh  Lee's  brigade.  He  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  and  in  i 
a  number  of  engagements  of  cavalry  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1863.  I 
He  had  his  horse  killed  under  him  at  Aldie,  Loudoun  county,  when  the  1 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia  was  on  its  way  to  Gettysburg.  Including  the  \ 
three  days  battle  of  the  Wilderness  and  the  three  days  battle  of  Spottsyl-  1 
vania  Court  House,  he  was  in  more  than  trt'enty-one  battles  in  ' 
the  twenty-one  days  from  May  7  to  May  28,  1864.  In  one  of  these  he  1 
had  a  second  horse  killed  under  him  and  was  shot  oft'  from  a  third  horse  | 
and  maimed  for  life.  He  had  a  bullet  through  his  hat  and  several  through  1 
his  clothes.  His  horse  had  entirely  broken  down,  but  more  than  half  his  I 
regiment  having  been  killed  and  wounded  Colonel  Munford  felt  unable  to  ' 
spare  one  private  to  go  home  after  a  fresh  horse.  The  colonel,  however,  I 
allowed  Mr.  Brooke  to  use  one  of  his  own  extra  horses.  A  few  days  i 
afterwards  when  in  action  this  horse  was  killed  under  him.  The  colonel  i 
then  gave  Mr.  Brooke  a  furlough  to  return  home  and  get  a  fresh  horse,  j 
But  an  agreement  was  made  with  a  comrade  to  exchange  the  furlough  and,  j. 
with  the  commanding  officer's  consent,  the  friend  went  home  for  another 
horse,  leaving  his  own  in  his  absence  at  the  service  of  Mr.  Brooke.  On 
May  28.  1864,  at  Haw's  Shop,  sixteen  miles  below  Richmond,  Mr.  Brooke 
was  shot  from  off  the  back  of  the  horse  and  received  injuries  that  crip- 
pled him  for  life.  The  last  he  saw  of  the  horse  as  he  lay  wounded  on  the  1 
field  he  was  running  away  with  head  and  tail  erect  and  reins  fallen  loose,  j 
The  comrade  lost  his  horse  but  probably  saved  his  life,  as  in  his  ten  days' 
absence  he  missed  some  of  the  most  furious  fighting  of  the  war. 

In  1903  a  Chapter  of  the  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy  entered  into 
communication  with  Colonel  (later)  General  Munford,  the  officer  under 
whom  Mr.  Brooke  had  served,  and  also  with  Second  Sergeant  A.  Sydney 
Watson  of  the  same  regiment,  with  regard  to  the  eligibility  of  Mr.  Brooke 
to  a  Cross  of  Honor.  Writing  under  date  of  May  16,  1903,  to  the  Daugh- 
ters of  the  Confederacy,  at  Alexandria,  Virginia,  General  Munford  says 
of  Mr.  Brooke: 

It  affords  me  more  than  pleasure  to  say  that  of  all  the  young  heroes  in  my  gal- 
lant old  regiment  not  one  was  more  conspicuous  for  gallantry  and  zeal  and  manly 
bearing  than  the  young  gentleman  whose  name  is  in  this  paper.  His  record  can  be 
found  in  Major  H.  B.  McClellan's  Stuart's  Campaigns,  and  I  should  like  to  have 
his  name  in  letters  of  gold. 

Thomas  T.  Munford. 
Late   Colonel    Second   Virginia   Cavalry,    Brigadier   General    commanding   Fitzhugh 

Lee's  Division  at  the  Surrender. 

In  a  personal  letter  of  the  same  date  to  ;\lr.  Brooke  himself,  General 
Munford   says  : 

The  Colonel  of  a  Regiment  has  great  responsibilities,  but  they  are  lightened 
just  in  proportion  as  his  men  realize  how  much  is  dependent  upon  their  cordial  sup- 
port. It  was  my  good  fortune  to  have  a  splendid  body  of  volunteers,  worthy  of 
a  better  commander,  who  made  the  enemy  respect  them  wherever  they  were  found. 
It  affords  me  more  than  pleasure  to  endorse  your  worth,  as  one  of  the  very  best  of 
a  splendid  corps.  Your  Captain,  the  gallant  Steptoe,  mentioned  you  to  me  fre- 
quently, and  your  old  comrades  of  Company  B,  whom  I  often  meet,  have  often 
recalled  your  distinguished  services  and  wondered  where  you  were  and  how  you 
were  getting  along.  They  are  scattered  to  the  four  winds  and  most  of  them  have 
gone  to  their  reward,  .  .  ,  If  ever  you  or  yours  come  to  Lynchburg  where  I 
have  a  home,  come  and  see  me.  May  God  bless  you  and  yours. 
AflFectionately  your  old  comrade  and  friend, 

Thomas  T.   Munford. 
I  am  sure  you  are  noticed  in  H.  B.  McClellan's  Stuart's  Campaigns   (Appendix  with 
Roster  of  2nd  Va.  Cavalry,  where  your  wounds  are  recorded).     I  prepared  that  pa- 
per, p.  427. 


WEST  VIRGINIA  627 

In  that  paper  General  ^Nlunford  (who  is  now,  July,  1913,  still  living  in 
Lynchburg,  Virginia j,  says  Mr.  Brooke  was  "bravest  of  the  brave." 

Mr.  A.  S.  Watson  in  his  reply  to  the  "Certificate  of  Eligibility"  went 
even  further  than  was  necessary  to  the  purpose  of  the  Daughters  of  the 
Confederacy  by  adding  the  following : 

The  above  named  soldier  was  as  brave  as  the  bravest,  and  as  loyal  to  the 
cause  as  any  that  ever  served  or  fought  under  its  flag. 

A.  S.  Watson, 
Formerly  Seconc'  Sergeant  Company  B,  Second  Virginia  Cavalry, 

After  the  surrender  Mr.  Brooke  became  a  tutor  in  the  family  of  Hon. 
Robert  M.  Wiley,  Sinking  Creek,  Craig  county,  \''irginia,  and  also  taught 

i  in  a  small  school  near  the  Red  Sulphur  Springs,  in  Roanoke  county.  In 
1867-68  and   1868-69  he  went  to  the  lectures  at  the  Law  School  of  the 

;  University  of  Virginia  and  in  the  year  1869-70  began  the  practice  of  law 

t  at  Newcastle,  Craig  county,  Virginia.  In  the  fall  of  1870  he  removed  to 
Charles  Town,  Jefferson  county,  now  West  Virginia,  and  practiced  there 
until  he  was  oft'ered  a  professorship  in  the  newly  started  law  department 

'  of  the  University  of  West  Virginia.  He  accepted  the  offer,  and  in  the  fall 
of  1878  removed  to  Morgantown,  and  there  took  up  the  duties  of  the 
position.  This  service  he  zealously  performed  until  failing  health  in  1909 
compelled  him  to  retire  on  the  Carnegie  Fund  Foundation.  He  then 
returned  to  Charles  Town  where  he  has  since  resided. 

,         Dr.  Thomas  E.  Hodges,  the  newly  elected  president  of  the  West  \'ir- 

j  ginia  L'niversity,  in  his  inaugural  address  says : 

"The   first   enlargement  came   in    1878  with   establishment  of   a   Department   of 
I    Law  under  a  single  professor.     No  more  fortunate  selection  of  a  man  to  open  up 
I    and   develop   the   work,   perhaps,   could   have  been   made   than   the   selection   of   St. 
j    George   Tucker   Brooke  as   the   founder   of  the   law  college  of  the   West   Virginia 
I   University.     Beginning  his  work  with  but  one  student,  Professor  Brooke  remained 
I    long  enough  to  see  the  development  of  the  work  into  a  full  college.     In  every  county 
in  the  State  there  are  attorneys  who  learned  from  him  not  only  the  essential  prin- 
ciples of  law,  but  caught  something  of  his  spirit  of  courtly  demeanor  and  chivalrous 
honor  that  made  him  so  loved  and  revered  by  all  who  sat  under  his  teaching." 

Dr.  Brooke  has  had  conferred  upon  him  the  degrees  of  A.  M.  and 
LL.D.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Historical  Society,  and  of  the 
West  ^^rginia  Bar  Association.  He  is  the  author  of  "Common  Law  Prac- 
tice and  Pleadings."  1806,  and  also  of  many  magazine  articles.  He  is  a 
Democrat  in  his  political  beliefs. 

Dr.  Brooke  married,  .August  15,  1882,  in  Charles  Town.  West  Vir- 
ginia, Mary  Harrison,  daughter  of  Thomas  A.  and  Anne  (Washington") 
Brown,  of  Charles  Town.  St.  George  T.  and  Mary  H.  Brooke  had  four 
children :  i.  Charles  Frederick  Tucker,  born  June  4,  1883  ;  married  Grace 
Drakeford.  of  England.  July  27,  IQOQ.  2.  Anne  Washington.  3.  For- 
rest Washington,  second  son  of  St.  Geo.  T.  Brooke,  born  December  15, 
1884,  died  August  11,  1885.  4.  J.  Francis  Taliaferro.  Thomas  A.  Brown, 
father  of  Mrs.  St.  George  Tucker  Brooke,  was  born  in  Charles  Town 
in  1812,  and  died  there  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven  years.  He 
had  been  a  farmer  and  merchant.  His  wife  was  also  born  in 
JeflFerson  county,  and  died  at  ~  the  age  of  seventv-seven  years 
in  May.  191 1,  at  the  house  of  her  son-in-law,  St.  George  Tucker  Brooke, 
in  Charles  Town.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown  had  six  children,  two  of  whom 
died  in  childhood;  i.  Forrest  Washington,  married  Emma  Tucker.  2. 
IVTary  Harrison,  married  St.  George  Tucker  Brooke.  3.  Louise  Clemson, 
married  George  Rogers,  of  Morgantown,  West  Virginia.  4.  Florida 
Clemson,  married  Henry  Starr  Wattles,  of  .Alexandria,  ^''irginia,  Septem- 
ber, 191 2. 


628  WEST  \1RG1XIA 


(The  Tucker  Line). 


(I)  St.  lieorge  Tucker  married  I'rances  (Bland)  Randolph,  becoming 
h<.r  second  husband,  and  they  bad  three  children:  i.  Judge  Beverley 
Tucker.  2.  Judge  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  of  whom  further.  3.  Eliza- 
beth, married  Judge  John  Coalter,  of  the  supreme  court  of  Virginia. 
Frances  Bland  was  a  daughter  of  Theoderick  liland  Sr.  She  married 
(first)  John  Randolph,  of  "Matoax"  near  Petersburg,  Virginia.  Of  this 
marriage  there  were  three  children,  one  of  whom  was  the  famous  John 
Randolph  of  "Roanoke."  The  only  brother  of  Frances  Bland  was  Colo- 
nel Theoderick  Bland  Jr.,  a  distinguished  officer  in  the  revolutionary 
army,  who  never  had  issue. 

(II)  Judge  Henry  St.  George  Tucker,  son  of  St.  George  and  Frances 
(  Bland-Randolph  )  Tucker,  was  a  distinguished  lawyer  of  Winchester  for 
many  years.  He  became  a  judge  of  the  supreme  court  of  Virginia,  after- 
wards occupying  a  professorship  of  law.  He  died  at  Winchester  in  1847. 
He  married  a  daughter  of  Moses  Hunter.  Mrs.  Moses  Hunter  was  a 
daughter  of  General  Adam  Stephen.  One  of  the  children  of  Judge  Henry 
St.  Cleorge  Tucker  was  X'irginia.  of  whom  further. 

(HI )  \'irginia,  daughter  of  Judge  Henry  St.  George  and  .A.nn  Evelina 
(Hunter)  Tucker,  was  born  at  "Wonilherry,"  Jefferson  county,  Virginia, 
about  two  miles  from  Leetown.  She  married  Henry  Laurens  Brooke 
(  see  Brooke  VT). 


Jose]jh  Washington  Xoonchester,  the  first  mem- 
\()()XCHFSTFR  her  of  this  family  of  whom  we  have  definite  in- 
formation, was  of  German  descent  and  was  born 
at  Cleveland,  \irginia.  in  1857:  he  was  a  farmer  the  greater  part  of  his 
life.  When  seven  years  of  age  his  father  was  killed  in  one  of  the  battles 
of  the  civil  war,  and  on  becoming  of  age  he  moved  to  Stony  Point,  Ten- 
nessee, where  he  purchased  a  farm  of  two  hundred  acres.  He  later  re- 
moved to  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  and  eventually  settled  in  Spencer. 
He  married  Louise  Jessee.     Child,  Tilden  Edward,  referred  to  below. 

(II)  Tilden  Edward,  son  of  Joseph  Washington  and  Louise  (Jes- 
see) Xoonchester.  was  born  at  Lebanon,  Russell  county.  \'irginia.  Janu- 
ary 6,  i8go.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  and 
then  attended  the  Highland  Technical  Institute  in  New  York  City,  where 
he  won  a  prize  as  the  most  competent  stenographer  in  the  school.  He 
then  pursued  a  course  of  study  at  Washington  and  Lee  University,  Vir- 
ginia. From  1905  to  1908  he  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Judge  W.  S. 
Matthews,  at  Big  Stone  Gap,  and  then  removed  to  Princeton,  West  Vir- 
ginia, where  he  was  employed  for  a  short  time  by  the  Deep  Water  Real 
Estate  Company,  going  from  there  to  Charleston  to  enter  the  office  of 
the  general  attorney  and  vice-president  of  the  Kanawha  &  Michigan  rail- 
road. Finally  deciding  to  give  himself  up  to  the  practice  of  law  he  re- 
moved to  Spencer  and  entered  the  office  of  Walter  Pendleton  as  a  stenog- 
rapher, devoting  all  of  his  business  time  to  the  diligent  study  of  his  chos- 
en profession.  He  passed  the  bar  examinations  at  Morgantown  in  191  ^ 
opened  an  office  at  Spencer  and  is  now  one  of  the  youngest  and  most 
successful  attorneys  of  the  town.  He  is  a  Methodist  in  religion,  and  a 
Republican  in  politics,  and  is  a  member  of  the  X^ational  Guard  of  the 
State  of  \\'est  Virginia.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Spencer  Lodge,  X^o.  55. 
Knights  of  Pythias. 


WEST  MRGIXIA  629 

William  C.  Easley  was  born  in  Pearistnirg,  Giles  county, 
EASLEY  Mrginia,  April  12,  i8r)5.  He  was  educated  at  Pearisburg 
Academy,  and  commenced  his  business  lite  at  the  age  of 
sixteen  at  a  salary  of  fifty  dollars  per  year  with  board  and  one  suit  of 
clothes.  He  worked  in  the  commissary  department  of  Crockett  &  Com- 
pany, who  owned  and  managed  several  manufactories  dealing  with  char- 
coal iron.  He  remained  with  the  company  for  two  years.  After  leaving 
Crockett  &  Company  he  took  up  an  appointment  with  the  Norfolk  & 
Western  railroad,  performing  station  work,  remaining  with  the  railroad 
in  that  capacity  for  about  five  years.  He  removed  to  Bluefield  in  1888 
and  engaged  as  shipping  agent  for  the  Hull  Coal  and  Coke  Company, 
who  were  engaged  in  marketing  coke  in  the  Pocahontas  field.  He  con- 
tinued in  this  occupation  until  the  year  1904  when  the  company  became 
consolidated  with  the  Red  Jacket  Coal  and  Coke  Company.  Mr.  Easley 
was  then  transferred  to  the  management  of  the  mine  department,  a  po- 
sition which  he  filled  until  the  year  1908  when  the  company  sold  out.  He 
tlicn  went  with  the  Tidewater  Coal  and  Coke  Company  of  Vivian,  West 
\  irginia,  as  general  superintendent,  and  remained  there  until  June  15, 
H)i2.  In  that  year  he  resigned  and  entered  into  the  drug  business,  asso- 
ciating himself  with  J.  J.  Penn  with  firm  title  of  The  Easley-Penn  Drug 
Co.     Air.  Easley  is  a  member  of  the  United  Commercial  Travelers. 

He  married,  October  15,  1890,  Estelle,  born  at  Wvtheville,  \'irginia, 
April  18,  1869,  daughter  of  Judge  G.  J.  Holbrook.  of  Bluefield.  Chil- 
dren :  I.  Garland  Holbrook,  born  at  Bluefield.  West  \"irginia,  August 
12,  1891  ;  he  is  attending  school  at  Morgantown  and  has  spent  his  first 
year  at  the  University  there,  studying  mechanical  engineering;  He  will 
finish  the  course  in  191 5.  2.  John  White,  born  in  Bluefield,  West  \'ir- 
ginia.  May  10,  1893 :  he  is  a  student  at  the  high  school  at  Bluefield.  3. 
Irene  C,  born  at  Bluefield.  ^^'est  Mrginia,  January  25,  1896;  she  is  also 
at  the  high  school  at  Bluefield.  4.  Mary  Minerva,  born  at  Bluefield, 
West  Virginia,  May  27,  1909.  Mrs.  Estelle  (Holbrook)  Easley  was  a 
graduate  of  Plummer  Memorial  College,  Wytheville,  A'irginia,  graduat- 
ing in  the  class  of  1887. 

Judge  Garland  J.  Holbrook,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Estelle  (Holbrook). 
Easley,  was  born  at  Port  Republic,  Rockingham  county.  Mrginia.  Sep- 
tember 25,  1838,  died  at  Bluefield.  W'est  Virginia,  June  16,  1912.  He 
was  educated  at  Hampden  Sidney  College,  graduating  there  with  high 
honors  in  1859.  He  removed  to  \\'}-the  county,  \'irginia,  the  year  of  his 
graduation,  and  in  the  county  he  taught  school  until  the  breaking  out  of 
the  civil  war.  He  enlisted  as  a  private  with  the  "Wythe  Grays,"  a  vol- 
unteer company  made  up  at  Wytheville  under  Captain  Joseph  F.  Kent, 
and  .April  17,  1861,  this  company  set  out  for  Richmond,  where  they 
were  encamped  for  a  week  or  more,  and  were  assigned  to  the  Fourth 
Mrginia  Regiment,  organized  under  the  command  of  Colonel  James 
Preston,  of  Alontgomery  county,  Mrginia.  At  Harpers  Ferry  this  regi- 
ment joined  the  famous  Stonewall  Jackson  Brigade,  and  did  valiant  ser- 
^-ice  under  that  eminent  commander. 

During  the  time  that  Judge  Holbrook  was  a  jniblic  school  teacher  in 
the  county  of  Wythe,  he  studied  law  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Robert 
C.  Kent,  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  Virginia,  who  was  afterwards 
lieutenant-governor  of  the  state".  Judge  Holbrook  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  shortly  after  the  close  of  the  war.  and  practiced  his  profession  con- 
tinuously until  his  death,  except  during  a  term  as  judge  of  the  county 
court  of  \A'ythe  county.  In  the  early  days  of  his  practice  he  formed  a 
]iartnership  with  a  Mr.  English,  under  the  firm  name  of  Holbrook  & 
English.  Shortly  after  the  termination  of  this  partnership  Judge  Hol- 
brook associated  himself  with  C.   B.   Thomas,  under  the  firm  name  of 


630  WEST  MRGIXIA 

Holbrook  &  Thomas,  which  was  one  of  the  leading  firms  of  Southwest 
Virginia  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Judge  Holbrook  removed 
to  West  Virginia  in  the  year  1894,  locating  at  Rluefield,  where  he  prac- 
ticed law  until  a  few  weeks  before  his  death.  He  was  appointed  referee 
in  bankruptcy  by  Judge  Benjamin  F.  Keller,  judge  of  the  district  court 
for  the  southern  district  of  West  \irginia.  shortly  after  Judge  Keller's 
elevation  to  the  bench,  and  he  performed  the  duties  of  this  office  with 
such  marked  ability  and  satisfaction  to  the  attorneys  practicing  before 
him,  as  well  as  the  litigants  having  business  in  liis  court,  that  Jurlge  Kel- 
ler re-appointed  him  at  the  expiration  of  each  term.  Judge  Holbrook 
was  a  Mason  of  high  standing,  and  received  recognition  from  the  Grand 
Lodge  of  ^''irginia  for  his  interest  and  proficiency  in  the  work,  having 
served  as  masonic  lecturer  for  southwest  Virginia  for  a  number  of 
years.  He  was  also  master  of  the  lodge  at  Wytheville,  where  his  mem- 
bershiij  remained  until  his  death. 


This  is  one  of  those  surnames,  the  derivation  of  which  is 
EASLEY  apt  to  elude  investigation,  when  it  is  sought  in  such  in- 
ternal evidence  as  the  word  itself  afifords.  At  first  the 
name  would  appear  to  have  some  connection  with  the  adverb  "easily". 
but  etvmologies  of  that  obvious  kind  are  in  almost  every  case  found  to 
be  incorrect.  On  the  other  hand  the  name  might  very  easily  be  an  angli- 
cised form  of  some  foreign  word  the  meaning  of  which  would  be  at  once 
apparent  to  any  one  who  knew  the  language.  An  example  of  a  foreign 
name  which  appears  to  be  English  with  another  meaning  is  easily  found, 
as  for  instance  the  German  name  "Kind",  meaning  "child",  which  is 
sometimes  mistakenly  derived  from  or  supposed  to  be  the  English  word 
"kind",  by  those  who  do  not  know  German.  The  family  name  Easley 
would,  however,  appear  to  be  English  in  origin,  and  in  that  case  might 
quite  possibly  be  derived  from  the  word  Eastley,  which  is  the  name  of  a 
place  in  Harnpshire  county,  England.  This  was  according  to  the  fashion 
of  the  Not  mans,  who  assumed  names  from  the  names  of  places  with 
which  they  were  connected,  in  contradistinction  to  the  custom  among  the 
Celts,  and  particularly  among  the  Gaels,  whose  extraordinary  family 
pride  and  devotion  to  genealog>'  is  shown  in  their  habit  of  assuming 
hereditary  family  names  from  the  personal  names  or  Christian  or  given 
names  of' ancestors  in  a  direct  line  of  descent,  in  the  case  of  the  Brithonic 
Welsh,  by  prefixing  "Ap",  in  the  case  of  the  Irish  and  Scottish  Gaels, 
by  prefixing  "O"  and  "Mac",  and  in  the  case  of  the  Bretons,  Manx,  Cor- 
nish and  other  ancient  Celtic  peoples,  who  lorded  over  Europe  when  his- 
torv  began,  by  the  use  of  other  prefixes.  Easley,  assuming  therefore 
that  it  is  correctly  derived  from  the  place-name  Eastley,  may  be  said  to 
be  Anglo-Norman  in  origin. 

(D  Dr.  William  D.  Easley  was  born  in  Halifax  county.  Virginia,  in 
1832,  and  was  killed  in  a  railroad  accident  in  Kanawha  county,  1877. 
He  was  a  practicing  physician  at  Cannelton,  West  \"irginia,  and  was  the 
foremost  physician  in  his  district.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  University 
of  Virginia  and  took  his  medical  course  at  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania at  Philadelphia.  He  married  Betty,  daughter  of  John  S.  and  Ade- 
line Chaffin.  of  A'irginia.     She  died  in   1008  at  the  age  of  sixty-six. 

(U)  Edwin  H.,  son  of  Dr.  William  D.  and  Betty  (Chaffin)  Easley, 
was  born  in  Amelia  county,  A'irginia,  May  iq.  1865.  He  was  educated  at 
the  public  schools  of  Richmond.  Virginia,  and  commenced  work  for  him- 
self at  the  age  of  fourteen,  as  clerk  in  the  retail  shoe  business  at  a  salary 
of  a  dollar  and  a  half  per  week.  Obliged  to  go  to  work  on  account  of 
the  death  of  his  father  he  resigned  hi';  clerkship  and  ventured  into  vari- 


WEST  \'1RGL\IA  631 

ous  other  lines  ui  business.  In  1884  he  engaged  in  the  insurance  business 
in  Richmond,  \  irginia,  and  continued  until  iyo2  when  he  removed  to 
Bhtefield,  West  \  irginia,  and  continued  in  the  same  business.  In  1910 
an  insurance  agency  was  incorporated  under  the  name  of  E.  H.  Easley 
In>urance  Agency.  Air.  Easley  being  the  president  or  principal,  C.  B. 
lull,  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  M.  L.  West,  vice-president.  The  Eas- 
k\  Insurance  Agency  represents  twenty-six  of  the  leading  insurance 
cunii.ianies  in  the  world,  life,  fire  and  casualty.  This  company  is  incor- 
ixirated  for  twenty-five  thousand  dollars.  Mr.  Easley  is  a  thirty-second 
degree  Alason,  and  also  belongs  to  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Knights  of  Pythias,  Eagles. 
He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  a  Presbyterian  in  religion. 

He  married,  November  19,  1889,  Kate,  daughter  of  Charles  and 
Alanha  (  Storrs)  Haner,  the  former  of  whom  was  a  Confederate  soldier 
in  the  civil  war  and  served  for  four  years,  being  several  times  wounded. 
He  died  in  1892.  Children:  \Mliiam  D.,  born  in  Richmond,  October  31, 
1890,  attended  the  Augusta  Alilitary  Academy,  now  in  business  with  Eas- 
ley &  West :  Martha  S.,  born  in  Richmond,  N'irginia,  December  9,  1893. 


Dr.    Edwin   M.   Easley  was  born  at   Pearishurg,   \"irginia, 
E.VSLEV     March    10,    1875.      He    was    educated    at    the    Pearisburg 

Academy.  \'irginia.  and  at  the  Aledical  College  of  Vir- 
ginia, at  Richmond.  He  graduated  in  1900  and  took  two  terms  in  post- 
graduate work  in  the  New  York  Polyclinic  Hospital.  He  commenced  his 
professional  practice  in  Bluefield.  West  X'irginia,  in  1900.  Dr.  Easley 
has  made  for  himself  a  fine  position  in  the  medical  world,  and  his  prac- 
tice has  continually  grown.  He  is  a  member  and  now  president  of  the 
Meicer  County  Medical  Society,  and  also  president  of  Bluefield  Acad- 
emy of  Aledicine.  He  is  besides  a  member  of  West  Virginia  State  Med- 
ical Society,  and  the  American  Medical  Association.  He  is  a  general 
practitioner,  and  as  such  he  is  widely  known.  He  belongs  to  the  Ma- 
sonic Order,  being  a  Master  Mason.  He  also  belongs  to  the  Elks,  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Owls,  and  the  Modern  Wood- 
men.    He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  and  a  Baptist  in  religion. 

He  married,  October  10,  1900,  Fannie  Matthews,  born  at  Staunton, 
Virginia,  April  9,  1879.  Children:  Anna  Minerva,  born  in  Bluefield, 
West  \'irginia,  August  5.  1901  :  Lillian  Matthews,  born  January  2/, 
1903. 


Few   names  are  more  prominent  in  the   record   of   West 
CAM  DFX     \'irginia's    commercial    develo])ment    and    in    its    political 

history   than   the   name   Camden.     The   family   is   at   the 
present  day  prominent  and  influential,  at  Parkersburg  especially. 

( I )  Rev.  Henry  Camden,  the  first  member  of  this  family  about  whom 
we  have  definite  information,  was  born  Alay  4,  1773.  Early  in  the  nine- 
teenth century  he  came  from  Maryland  and  settled  in  Harrison  county, 
\'irginia.  He  married,  at  Montgomery,  Maryland,  January  8,  1793, 
Alary  Belt,  born  in  Montgomery  county,  Maryland.  January  9,  1778, 
daughter  of  Colonel  Frederick  and  Deborah  (Woodward)  Sprigg.  Col- 
onel Sprigg  fought  in  the  revolution,  and  was  the  original  owner  of 
Chevy  Chase,  near  the  city  of  Washington.  Children  of  Colonel  Freder- 
ick and  Deborah  (Woodward)  Sprigg:  Margaret,  burn  November  27, 
1775:  Alary  Belt,  married  Rev.  Henry  Camden:  Prissa  A\'oodward,  born 
April  27,  1780:  Johonas,  born  June  20,  1783.  Children  of  Rev.  Henry 
and   Mary   Belt   (Sprigg)    Camden:    i.  Debby.   Sjirigg.  li(irn   Octuber   22, 


632  WEST  \-IRGIXIA 

1793.  2.  Frederick  Sprigg.  born  Ma\'  13.  ijiX".  3.  John  Scribner,  born 
September  15,  ijyS;  father  of  I'nited  States  Senator  Jobnson  Xewlon 
Camden.  4.  Joseph  Hill,  born  F"ebriiary  10.  1801.  5.  Lenox  Martin, 
born  March  9,  1803.  fi.  Gideon  Draper,  born  August. 31.  1805.  7.  Lor- 
enzo Dow,  born  March  24.  1808.  8.  Richard  Pindle,  of  whom  further. 
9.  Minerva  \\'eems,  born  February  4.  1814.  10.  Eliza  Poole,  born  De- 
cember 25,  1817.  Of  these,  the  first  six  were  born  in  Montgomery 
county,  ^Iaryland,  the  next  three  in  Harrison  county,  \'irginia,  and  the 
last  in  Lewis  county,  Virginia. 

(H)  Richard  Pindle.  son  ni  Rev.  Henry  and  Mary  Belt  (Sprigg) 
Camden,  was  born  in  Collin's  settlement,  near  Weston.  Harrison  countv, 
Mrginia,  November  19,  1810,  died  at  Parkersburg,  January  9,  1876. 
(The  county  designations,  here  and  in  the  former  paragraphs,  are  given 
according  to  the  county  divisions  in  force  at  the  dates :  Weston  is  in 
Lewis  county,  according  to  the  present  division.)  Educational  oppor- 
timities  were  very  meagre  in  the  new  and  sparsely  settled  countrv  where 
his  youth  was  passed,  but  by  force  of  character  he  made  of  himself  a 
gentleman  acceptable  in  all  circles.  In  early  life  he  entered  into  mercan- 
tile business,  at  Weston,  with  Weeden  Huffman,  and  by  close  attention 
to  business  he  laid  the  foundation  of  a  large  fortune.  Later,  on  account 
of  his  health,  he  abandoned  mercantile  activities  and  was  engaged  in  cat- 
tle raising  and  banking.  In  all  branches  of  business  with  which  he  was 
connected  he  earned  a  fine  reputation  for  skill  and  judgment,  also  for 
rigid  exactness  and  strict  honesty  in  all  transactions.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  he  was  president  of  the  National  Exchange  Bank,  at  Weston,  and 
was  carrying  on  one  of  the  largest  grazing  farms  in  his  state,  although 
he  was  living  for  the  greater  part  of  the  time  at  Parkersburg.  His  death 
was  due  to  the  effects  of  a  kick  from  one  of  his  horses.  Mr.  Camden 
was  a  man  firm  in  his  convictions,  sincere  in  his  attachments,  aft'able  in 
society,  aff'ectionate  and  devoted  in  his  domestic  relations ;  he  had  the 
regard  of  upright  men.  the  respect  of  all  who  knew  him.  and  the  warm 
affection  of  his  relatives  and  friends.  He  was  not  inclined  to  public  af- 
fairs, and  only  once  held  a  state  office.  In  the  legislature  of  1866  he 
consented  to  serve  in  the  hope  of  soothing  the  asperities  due  to  the  civil 
war  and  of  bringing  about  a  more  kindly  feeling  between  the  opposing 
parties.  On  account  of  the  pressure  of  private  business  and  his  disin- 
clination for  public  life,  he  refused  a  re-election. 

Mr.  Camden  married,  at  Weston.  June  2.  1870.  Flora,  born  at  Clarks- 
burg. Harrison  county.  Mrginia.  February  15.  1841.  died  at  Parkers- 
burg. April  7.  1912.  daughter  of  Granville  G.  and  Charlotte  (Despard) 
Davisson.  Her  grandfather  was  George  I.  Davisson.  born  .\pril  29. 
1786.  died  November  4.  1836:  he  married.  September  9.  1809.  Jemima 
Pindall,  born  Octr^er  3,  1790,  a  si-ter  of  the  celebrated  lawyer  of  Clarks- 
burg, Colone- '-James  Pindall.  Granville  G.  Davisson  was  born  Tune  25. 
1810.  died  April  6.  1856:  his  wife  was  born  May  2,  1817.  died  February 
28.  i85L:'they  married  in  1837.     Children  of  Richard  Pindle  and  Flora 

(Davwson)    Camden:    (daughter),    died    in    infancy.    .August    25. 

1871  .  Richard  Pindle.  born  February  16.  1873.  died  .August  28.  1873  ; 
Sprigg  D..  born  September  ro.  1874:  Alary  Pindall.  born  Januarj-  29. 
1876.  died  December  31.   1 870. 


.Among  the   men  who  have  done  notable   work  along 
COPELAND     research    and    discovery    lines   in    the   medical    profes- 
sion, not  the  least  known  name  is  that  of  Charles  E. 
Copeland.  M.  D..  of  Charleston.  West  A'irginia.  who.  in  addition  to  his 
extensive   general   practice,   makes   a    specialt>-   of   diseases    of   children, 
and  has  effected  manv  wonderful  cures. 


WEST  \1RGIXIA  633 

Dr.  Copeland  was  born  near  Aldersnn.  Monroe  count)',  West  Vir- 
ginia, May  10,  1867,  and  until  his  manhood  resided  in  the  Wolf  Creek 
district.  Always  an  ardent  student,  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years  he 
engaged  in  teaching,  at  the  same  time  taking  up  a  full  course  of  studies 
at  the  Shenandoah  Normal  College,  at  Harrisonburg.  Mrginia.  from 
which  institution  he  was  graduated  m  1889.  From  his  earliest  years  the 
medical  profession  possessed  an  attraction  which  decided  for  him  the 
choice  of  a  profession  in  later  years.  He  continued  his  work  as  an 
instructor,  however,  while  he  commenced  the  study  of  medicine,  subse- 
quently becoming  a  student  at  the  Baltimore  Medical  College,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  in  1893  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  The 
undivided  attention  he  had  given  to  his  studies,  and  his  conscientious 
work  after  he  had  commenced  to  practice  were  not  without  their  natural 
result,  and  he  has  been  awarded  five  certificates  from  the  Baltimore  Med- 
ical College  and  the  Baltimore  City  Hospital  for  his  successful  and  meri- 
torious work  in  the  fields  of  operative  surgery,  diseases  of  children,  phy- 
sical diagnosis  and  diseases  of  the  chest.  The  Wolf  Creek  District  was 
the  scene  of  his  earliest  practice,  but  at  the  expiration  of  three  years  he 
located  in  Lindside.  ^Monroe  county,  remaining  there  for  a  period  of 
five  years.  He  then  removed  to  Charleston,  where  his  excellent  reputa- 
tion had  preceded  him,  and  where  he  has  built  up  a  large  and  lucrative 
practice,  and  enjoys  the  ai¥ection  as  well  as  the  confidence  of  all  those 
whom  he  has  professionally  aided.  A  number  of  insurance  orders  have 
chosen  him  for  their  medical  examiner,  and  his  other  fraternal  afiilia- 
tions  are  with  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  American  Order  of  United 
Workmen.  He  is  a  fearless  and  tireless  worker,  and  in  addition  to  the 
manifold  calls  of  his  profession,  has  been  active  in  his  support  of  Repub- 
lican principles  and  has  served  several  terms  as  a  member  of  the  com- 
mon council  of  his  city.  His  residence  is  a  beautiful  and  commodious 
one  at  No.  1532  Ouarrier  street.  Dr.  Copeland  married,  in  Monroe 
county.  West  Mrginia,  Luella  Conner,  born  in  Wolf  Creek  district,  in 
1879,  an  active  and  devoted  member  of  the  ^lethodist  Episcopal  church. 
They  have  one  daughter,  (Gladys  Conner,  who  is  receiving  her  education 
in  Sherrad  Hall,  a  private  educational  institution. 


This  (lid  Ritchie  county,  \\"est  \'irginia,  family,  whose 
HARRIS  name  is  perpetuated  in  that  of  Harrisville,  the  county  seat 
of  this  county,  is  of  Scotch-Irish  origin.  Harris  is  a  very 
common  name  not  only  in  the  United  States  of  America,  but  in  the  Brit- 
ish Isles  also,  and  has  been  borne  by  many  persons  of  distinction  in  vari- 
ous spheres  of  activity  and  service.  There  are  many  .vmerican  families  of 
the  name,  and  the  present  family  was  by  no  means  the  1  -st  to  bring  the 
name  to  this  country :  several  persons  of  the  Harris  surname  are  found  in 
the  records  of  Massachusetts  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  ti.°  capital  of 
I'ennsylvania  preserves  the  name  of  another  Harris  family,  of  e'^hteenth 
century  history. 

(I)   Harris,  the  founder  of  this  family,  came  from   Ireland  to 

the  colonies,  before  the  revolution,  landing  in  Philadelphia,  and  about 
1800  he  came  into  Harrison  comity,  \'irginia.  He  married  Mrs.  (  Plum- 
mer)  Miller.  Children:  i.  Thomas,  who  preceded  his  brother  into  what 
is  now  Ritchie  county,  and  from  him  Harrisville  is  named:  he  married 
Nancy  Cunningham.  2.  John,  of  whom  further.  3.  Margaret,  married 
Elijah  M.  Cunningham.  4.  Jane,  married  Benjamin  Starr.  5.  Anna, 
married  John  Harris.    6.  .  married  Nutter  \\'ebb. 

(II)  John,  son  of  and   Mrs.    (  Plummer-Miller )    Harris,   came 


634  WEST  MRGINIA 

from  Harrison  cmint)',  N'irginia.  in  i^^oy,  ami  settled  in  what  is  now 
Ritchif  county.  West  N'irginia.  In  this  county  and  in  Wood  county  he 
served  for  more  than  thirty  years  as  justice  of  the  peace.  He  was  a 
prominent  and  useful  citizen.  He  married,  in  1810,  Agnes,  daughter  of 
Lawrence  and  Agnes  (Harper)  Maley.  The  Maleys  are  one  of  the  old- 
est families  of  Ritchie  county  ;  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Harris  purchased,  in 
1795,  one  thousand  acres  of  land  near  the  present  Harrisville,  and  for 
this  land  the  Alaleys  started  promptly,  but,  on  account  of  the  Indians, 
they  remained  in  the  Shenandoah  valley  till  1803.  Children  of  John  and 
Agnes  (Malay)  Harris:  i.  Thomas  Maley,  of  whom  further.  2.  James, 
married  Anne  Rutherford.  3.  John  P..  married  Margaret  Rutherford. 
4.  Hannah,  married  Samuel  Blue.  5.  Margaret,  married  T.  F.  Leech.  6. 
Anne,  died  young.     7.  Mary,  died  young.     8.  Jane,  died  young. 

(HI)  General  Thomas  Maley  Harris,  son  of  John  and  Agnes  (Ma- 
ley) Harris,  was  born  at  Harrisville,  June  17,  1813,  and  died  at  Harris- 
ville, September  30,  1906.  The  story  of  his  eventful  life  is  not  merely  an 
important  part  of  the  history  of  Ritchie  county,  but  belongs  to  the  his- 
tory of  the  state  and  of  the  nation.  The  opportunities  for  education 
afforded  by  his  environment  were  exceedingly  limited,  but  he  took  such 
opportunities  as  were  offered,  and  at  an  early  age  became  a  school  teach- 
er in  Ritchie  county.  Afterward,  he  taught  in  Clark  and  Greene  coun- 
ties. Ohio,  and  while  he  was  in  that  state  he  became  interested  in  medi- 
cine. In  October,  1842.  he  was  teaching  in  the  seminary  at  Parkersburg, 
West  Virginia,  being  first  assistant,  and  married  the  principal  of  the 
female  department  of  this  institution.  During  the  following  winter,  he 
attended  medical  lectures  in  Louisville.  Kentucky.  In  the  spring  he  went 
back  to  Harrisville,  and  began  the  practice  of  medicine:  but  one  physi- 
cian had  preceded  him  as  a  resident  in  the  county,  a  Doctor  Morgan, 
from  Connecticut,  who  settled  at  Harrisville  seven  years  earlier,  in  1836, 
but  remained  only  a  few  months,  as  the  country  was  not  then  sufficiently 
populated  to  support  a  physician.  In  1856,  Dr.  Harris  moved  to  Glen- 
ville.  Gilmer  county,  Virginia,  and  here  he  was  established  when  the  re- 
bellion began.  Then  he  brought  his  family  back  to  Harrisville,  and  re- 
cruited and  organized  the  Tenth  Regiment.  Virginia  (Union)  Volunteer 
Infantry  (afterward  the  Tenth  West  Mrginia)  entering  the  defense  of 
his  country  as  lieutenant  colonel  of  this  regiment.  In  ^lay.  1862,  after 
the  regimental  quota  had  been  filled,  he  was  commissioned  colonel.  During 
this  and  the  following  year,  his  service  was  in  West  Virginia,  and  he  had 
command  of  the  posts  at  Buckhannon  and  Beverly.  On  July  2,  1863, 
he  being  then  in  command  at  Beverly,  his  regiment  of  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  men  was  attacked  bv  a  Confederate  force  of  two  thousand 
two  hundred,  under  Colonel  \\'illiam  L.  Jackson,  a  cousin  of  Stonewall 
Jackson.  Colonel  Harris'  regiment,  as  a  body,  had  not  before  this  time 
met  the  enemy,  and  it  was  outnumbered  by  about  three  to  one ;  yet  it 
held  the  enemy  at  bay  for  two  days,  until  re-enforcements  arrived,  and 
Colonel  Jackson  was  then  put  to  flight.  In  June.  1864,  Colonel  Harris 
was  transferred  to  the  valley  of  Mrginia.  and  his  command  was  incor- 
porated into  the  army  of  West  A'irginia.  under  General  Crook :  it  had 
part  in  the  engagements  in  the  valley  during  the  summer  and  fall.  At 
Winchester.  Colonel  Harris  had  command  of  five  regiments :  and  at 
Cedar  Creek,  when  Colonel  Thoburn  was  mortally  wounded.  October  19, 
1864,  he,  being  the  next  ranking  officer,  came  into  command  of  the  first 
division  of  the  army  of  West  \'irginia.  For  gallantry  on  this  occasion, 
he  was  breveted  brigadier-general.  .'\t  the  close  of  the  Shenandoah  val- 
ley campaign,  a  new  division  was  formed,  and  he  was  placed  in  com- 
mand, with  orders  to  report  to  General  Grant  at  City  Point.  When  the 
division  was  reviewed  by  Secretary  of  War  .Stanton,  in  March.  1865.  he 


WEST  VIRGINIA  635 

said  that  General  Harris's  promotion  had  been  urged  by  General  Grant 
and  General  Ord.  but  that  there  was  no  vacancy  :  however,  he  added,  he 
was  going  to  make  a  vacancy,  by  mustering  out  some  one  who  could  be 
spared.  A  few  days  later,  while  he  was  on  the  way  to  Petersburg,  he 
received  his  commission  as  brigadier-general.  Three  days  after  this, 
General  Harris  broke  the  Confederate  lines  around  Petersburg,  and  with 
his  brigade  took  Fort  Whitworth,  one  of  the  outer  posts  of  the  city.  For 
this  act  of  bravery,  he  was  breveted  major-general.  But  his  valuable  ser- 
vice was  not  to  end  sooner  than  the  war,  as  he  bore  a  useful  part  at 
Appomattox.  His  division  was  thrown  by  a  forced  march  between 
Lee's  army  and  Lynchburg.  When  it  became  evident  that  General  Gor- 
don was  trying  to  slip  out  of  the  surrender  with  his  command,  it  was 
General  Harris  who  prevented  this :  and  when  he  had  finally  succeeded 
in  silencing  the  grms  of  Gordon's  command,  this  was  the  last  firing  and 
the  end  of  hostilities  in  \'irginia.  Secretary  Stanton,  in  recognition  of 
his  valuable  services  for  the  defense  of  his  country,  offered  him  the 
lieutenant-colonelcy  of  the  Thirty-Seventh  Regiment  in  the  regular  army ; 
but  General  Harris  was  then  about  fifty-two  years  old,  and  for  that  rea- 
son declined. 

But  he  was  soon  again  called  into  his  country's  service,  in  May,  1865, 
after  the  assassination  of  Lincoln,  as  a  member  of  the  military  com- 
mission to  try  the  conspirators  in  this  crime.  Other  members  of  this 
commission  included  Generals  Hunter  and  Wallace.  Of  all,  General 
Harris  was  the  last  survivor,  and  in  1892  he  wrote  the  book  entitled 
"History  of  the  Great  Conspiracy",  which  attracted  wide  attention. 

Returning  to  Harrisville,  General  Harris  resumed  the  practice  of  med- 
icine, but  the  prominence  he  had  gained  in  the  war  led  to  political  prefer- 
ment. In  1867  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  house  of  delegates  of  \^^est 
Virginia:  and  in  1869  he  was  appointed  adjutant  general  of  the  state,  un- 
der Governor  Stephenson.  Further,  from  1871  to  1875  he  was  United 
States  pension  agent  at  Wheeling,  by  commission  of  President  Grant. 
This  agency  was  abolished  in  1875,  'n  a  scheme  of  general  consolidation, 
and  for  the  next  ten  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine,  at 
Harrisville.  He  retired  in  1885,  the  house  in  which  he  had  been  born  and 
that  in  which  he  now  lived  being  only  a  few  hundred  yards  distant  the 
one  from  the  other. 

General  and  Doctor  Harris  was  the  most  distinguished  citizen  of  his 
county,  and  was  respected  and  beloved  by  all.  He  married  (first)  in  Oc- 
tober, 1842.  Sophia  Taylor,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Margaret  (Wash- 
burn) Hall,  who  was  born  in  Massachusetts  in  1817,  and  died  Septem- 
ber 28,    1885.     He   married    (second)    Clara,  daughter  of  j\Ialey ; 

she  was  born  in  Iowa,  and  was  General  Harris'  cousin.  Children, 
all  by  first  wife:  Agnes,  died  in  infancy:  Mary  Virginia,  died  in  early 
womanhood  ;  ^Martha,  deceased,  married  Rev.  J-  R-  Johnson,  of  Washing- 
ton. Pennsylvania :  John  T.,  of  whom  further. 

(I\')  John  T..  son  of  General  Thomas  Maley  and  Sophia  (Hall) 
Harris,  was  born  at  Harrisville,  April  27,  185 1.  His  earlier  education 
was  received,  partly  in  the  public,  partly  in  private  schools,  and  he  com- 
pleted his  general  studies  at  the  L^niversity  of  West  Mrginia.  from  which 
lie  was  graduated  in  1873.  Before  entering  the  university,  he  had  learned 
the  trade  of  a  printer.  For  a  number  of  years  after  his  college  education, 
he  was  in  journalism,  uniting  with  this  work  that  of  a  shorthand  reporter. 
In  1878  Mr.  Harris  entered  the  service  of  the  Toledo.  Peoria  and  War- 
saw railroad  in  the  capacity  of  private  secretary  to  the  general  freight 
agent,  and  lie  remained  in  the  transportation  field  until  1885.  hold- 
ing jxisitions  (if  this  character  at  Peoria.  Illinois. :  IX-troit,  }ilichigan; 
and   Buffalo.  New   York.     But,  in    1885,  he   returned   tc  West   \'irginia, 


636  WEST  VIRGINIA 

and  tiii)k  up  activtM}-  the  work  of  court  reporting.  At  this  he  has  been 
.steadily  engaged  since  that  year,  and  since  1887  he  has  hved  and  worked 
at  Parkersburg,  West  \'irginia,  associated  both  with  the  state  and  with 
the  United  States  courts.  In  1895  he  was  elected  clerk  of  the  senate  of 
the  state,  and  he  has  been  successively  re-elected  to  this  office  from  that 
time,  in  1897,  1899,  1901,  1903,  1905,  1907,  1909,  1911  and  1913;  in  the 
last  five  sessions,  his  election  has  been  unanimous.  He  is  a  Republican. 
Mr.  Harris  married,  October  26,  1882,  Elizabeth  McLure,  daughter  of 
Elza  and  Jane  (McLure)  Lazier,  of  Alorgantown,  West  Virginia.  Child; 
Ruth  Florence,  a  graduate  of  the  Institute  of  Musical  .Art,  at  New  York. 
She  is  a  lyric  soprano  singer  of  fine  ability,  known  professionally  in  New 
York  (in  which  city  she  has  permanent  church  engagements)  and,  in  fact, 
widely  throughout  the  country,  for  her  recital  and  concert  work. 


The  tracing  of  the  ancestries  of  the  immigrant  founders 
DEMINCi  of  .\iiicrican  families  is  seldom  rewarded  with  success. 
(  )f  few  colonial  families  is  much  known  concerning  their 
European  relatic)n>.  In  the  present  instance,  it  is  not  even  known  that 
the  surname  is  found  in  England.  As  the  name  Damon  has,  in  America, 
often  been  changed  to  Deming,  it  has  been  conjectured  that  the  whole 
family  of  Demings  may  be  of  the  Damon  or  Dammon  stock,  the  name 
having  been  changed  in  England,  before  the  coming  of  the  Deming  an- 
cestor to  .\merica.  Further,  the  name  Damon  is  said  to  be  a  corru]:)tion 
of  D'Hammond,  the  name  of  an  ancient  and  illustrious  family  of  Surrey 
and  Buckinghamshire,  England,  ar.d  of  Blois  and  Cherbourg  in  France. 
The  descendants  of  John  Deming,  of  Wethersfield,  Connecticut,  are  found 
in  all  parts  of  the  .\merican  Union,  although  the  name  is  not  common, 
and  the  family  has  extended  into  Canada  also. 

(I)  John  Deming,  the  founder  of  this  family,  probably  died  in  1705, 
as  his  will  was  proved  November  21,  in  that  year.  There  is  some  slight 
reason  to  suppose  that  his  father's  name  also  was  John.  He  was  an  early 
settler  of  \\'ethersfield,  Connecticut,  and  may  have  been  among  the  first 
settlers,  in  1635  ;  he  obtained  a  lot  near  Wethersfield  in  1640,  and  in  the 
following  year  he  was  owner  of  a  house,  barn,  and  five  acres  at  Wethers- 
field. .^.t  various  times  he  bought  other  holdings  of  land,  principally  at 
W^ethersfield,  to  a  considerable  extent.  \'ery  little  is  known  of  his  activ- 
ities, but  enough  to  show  that  he  was  one  of  the  prominent  men  of  the 
Connecticut  colony.  Trumbull  speaks  of  him  as  one  of  the  fathers  of 
Connecticut :  he  is  among  those  named  in  the  charter  of  Connecticut, 
granted  by  King  Charles  II. ;  he  was  often  a  representative  in  the  general 
court :  and  in  the  records  of  the  colony  his  name  often  is  found  with  the 
title  Mr.,  then  a  mark  of  distinction.  He  married  Honor,  daughter  of 
Richard  Treat,  who  was  probably  deceased  by  1692.  Children:  i.  John, 
born  September  9,  1638  (possibly  in  1632),  died  January  23,  1712:  mar- 
ried, in  1657,  Mary  Mygatt.  2.  Jonathan,  born  about  1639,  died  January 
8,  1700;  married  (first)  November  21,  1660,  Sarah  Graves,  (second)  De- 
cember 25,   1673,   Elizabeth   Gilbert.     3.  A   daughter,  born  about    1643 ; 

married  Beckley.     4.  Rachel,  born  about  1644:  married,  November 

16,  1665,  John  Morgan.  5.  Samuel,  born  about  1646,  died  April  6,  1709: 
married,  March  29,  1694,  Sarah  Buck,  6.  Mary,  born  about  1648 ;  mar- 
ried John  Hurlburt.  7.  Mercy,  born  about  1651,  died  December  17,  1714: 
married Wright.  8.  David,  born  about  1652,  died  May  4,  1725  :  mar- 
ried, .\ugust  14.  1678,  Mary .  9.  Sarah,  born  about  1654,  died  Sep- 
tember 29.  1717;  married  Samuel  Moodv.  10.  Ebenezer,  of  whom 
further. 

(II)  Ebenezer,  son  of  J(ihn  and  Honor  (Treat)  Deming,  was  born  at 


WEST  \IRGIXIA  637 

Welhersfield,  about   1659,  and  died  at  \\'ethersfield.   AJay  2,   1705.     He 

married,  at  Wethersfield,  July  16,  1677,  Saraii  .     Children:  1.  Eben- 

ezer.  of  whom  further.  2.  John,  born  July  26,  167Q,  died  May  i,  1761  ; 
married  (first)  June  5.  1712,  Mary  Curtis,  (second)  August  12,  1731, 
Catharine  (Beckley)  Dewey.  3.  Sarah,  born  January  6,  1681,  died  March 
ly,  1755;  married,  April  i,  1701,  Joseph  Talcott.  4.  Prudence,  born 
about  1683,  died  October  24,  1706:  married,  October  4,  1705,  Thomas 
Wright.  5.  Ephraim,  born  about  1685,  died  November  14,  1742:  mar- 
ried, January  19,  1716,  Hannah  Belding.  6.  Josiah,  born  about  1688, 
died  August  12,  1761  ;  married  (first)  December  8,  1714,  Prudence 
Steele,   (second)  August  11,  1756,  Experience  Smith. 

(HI)  Ebenezer  (2),  son  of  Ebenezer  (i)  and  Sarah  Deniing.  was 
born  at  Wethersfield,  May  5,  1678,  and  died  at  Wethersfield,  April  16, 
1765.  By  trade  he  was  a  hatter ;  he  owned  land  at  Wethersfield  and  Say- 
brook,  Connecticut.  He  married,  December  27,  1704,  Rebecca,  daughter 
of  James  and  Rebecca  (Latimer)  Treat,  who  was  born  about  1686,  and 
died  at  Wethersfield,  December  26,  1753.     Children:    i.  Elizabeth,  born 

March  6,  1706:  married Aliller.     2.  Joseph,  born  January  24,  1708, 

died  about  1783:  married,  January  8,  1736,  Elizabeth  Francis.  3.  Oliver, 
of  whom  further.  4.  Ebenezer,  born  December  17,  17 12,  died  October 
28,  1788:  married,  Alay  7,  1741,  Amy  Bunce.  5.  Timothy,  born  May  17, 
1716,  died  June  25,  1789;  married.  December  5,  1740,  Susannah  Francis 
(or  French).  6.  Moses,  born  March  i,  1720,  died  July  14,  181 1  ;  married 
November  10,  1748,  Martha  Welles. 

(I\')  Oliver,  son  of  Ebenezer  (2)  and  Rebecca  (Treat)  Deming,  was 
born  at  Wethersfield,  December  31,  1709,  and  died  at  Wethersfield,  Sep- 
tember 30,  1789.  He  married,  at  Wethersfield,  April  3,  1734,  Lucy 
Hale,  who  probably  died  in  1801.  After  her  husband's  death,  she  moved 
to  Granville,  Massachusetts.  Children:  i.  Lemuel,  of  whom  further.  2. 
Abigail,  born  May  30,  1738:  married  Oliver  Moody.  3.  Rev.  Oliver,, 
born  ]\rarch  21,  1742,  died  in  1775  :  unmarried.  4.  Lucy,  baptized  April 
26,  1752;  married  Abijah  Ranney. 

(\')  Lemuel,  son  of  Oliver  and  Lucy  (Hale)  Deming,  was  born  at 
Wethersfield,  October  16,  1735,  and  died  at  Wethersfield,  April  25, 
1790.  He  is  called  Captain  Deming,  having  been  master  of  the  sloop 
"Ann,"  plying  between  Wethersfield  and  points  on  Long  Island  Sound. 
He  probably  served  in  the  French  and  Indian  war.  He  was  among  those 
called  out,  at  the  beginning  of  the  revolution,  in  the  alarm  from  Lexing- 
ton. In  1776  he  transported  in  his  vessel  a  company  of  troops  from 
^^'ethersfield  to  New  York.  He  was  a  member  of  Colonel  Huntington's 
regiment.  One  Hundred  Seventeenth  Continental.  He  married  Hannah, 
daughter  of  Josiah  and  Hannah  (Butler)  Standish.  This  marriage  is 
recorded  at  W'ethersfield,  but  the  date  is  omitted.  (Standish  is  an  old 
Wethersfield  name:  the  land  of  Thomas  Standish  adjoined  that  of  John 
Deming,  at  Wethersfield  in  1641.  The  connection  of  this  family  with 
Miles  Standish  of  the  Plymouth  colony  is  not  known).  Children:  i. 
Josiah,  born  June  7,  1758,  died  September  6,  1805  :  married,  November  5, 
1783,  Susannah  Seymour.    2.  Hannah,  born  May  31,  17(30,  died  April  27, 

1773.     3.  Allyn,  born  September   19,   1762,  died  in   1847:  married  

Woodhouse.  4.  Levi,  born  November  25,  1764,  died  in  September,  1848; 
married,  December  18,  1792,  Sarah  Grant.    5.  Rhoda,  born  April  3,  17(57; 

married    (first)    March   5,    181 1,   Benjamin   Bidwell,    (second)    .     6. 

Huldah,  born  October  8,  17(39,  died  November  26.  1843:  married,  June 
17,  1792,  Lemuel  May.  7.  Lucy,  born  March  31.  1772:  married.  January 
29,  1800,  Simeon  Butler.  8.  Oliver,  born  November  i,  1774,  died  in 
March,  1825;  married  (first)  in  November,  1806,  Ruth  Matthews,  (sec- 
ond) .Alice  Stanley,  (third)  Mary  Doolittle.    9.  Hannah,  born  November 


638  WEST  VIRGIXIA 

Id.  ij/d,  died  February  12,  US42 ;  married,  July  7,  1799,  AJatthew  Fran- 
cis. 10.  Asenath,  born  April  13,  1779,  died  October  10,  1841  ;  married, 
April  9,   1812,  John  Stillman.     11.  Lemuel,  of  whom  further. 

(\T)  Lemuel  (2),  son  of  Lemuel  [i )  and  Hannah  (Standish)  Dem- 
ing,  as  born  at  Wethersfield,  July  9,  1782,  and  died  in  New  Haven, 
Connecticut,  Alarch  12,  1841.  In  New  Haven  he  made  his  home;  he  was 
master  of  a  vessel,  and,  like  his  father,  was  known  as  Captain  Lemuel 
Deming.  He  married,  in  New  Haven,  July  2,  1805,  Clarissa,  daughter  of 
jMarcus  Thompson,  who  was  born  April  27,  1785,  and  died  October  i, 
1870.  Children:  i.  George,  born  September  10,  1806,  died  April  21, 
1861  ;  married  Lauretta  Gabriel.  2.  Charlotte,  born  October  18,  1808, 
died  December  23,  1889;  married  George  Gabriel.  3.  Charles,  born  De- 
cember 8,  1812,  died  November  19,  1813.  4.  Charles  Thompson,  of  whom 
further.  5.  Maryette,  born  May  31,  1818,  died  November  2,  1875;  mar- 
ried Owen  A.  Munson.  6.  William  Henry,  born  November  24,  1820, 
died  July  31,   1824. 

(VH)  Charles  Thompson,  son  of  Lemuel  (2)  and  Clarissa  (Thomp- 
son) Deming,  was  born  in  New  Haven,  September  15,  1814,  and  died  at 
Parkersburg,  West  Virginia,  March  23,  1879.  He  had  interests  in  lum- 
ber mills  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  afterward  at  Burning  Springs,  Vir- 
ginia. About  1850  he  and  his  brother.  Captain  George  Deming,  who  was 
a  master  mariner  and  had  been  on  the  ocean  over  thirty  years,  came  to 
Parkersburg,  West  Virginia.  Here  they  bought  land  extensively  and 
built  their  homes.  Mr.  Deming  was  a  prominent  business  man  of  his 
day,  a  leader  in  the  development  of  this  city,  and  many  of  the  city's  larg- 
est industries  owe  much  to  his  financial  support.  He  married  .\delaide, 
daughter  of  Robert  and  Margaret  (Harriott)  Macan,  who  was  born  in 
England,  and  died  at  Parkersburg,  in  191 1.  Her  father  was  educated 
to  be  a  barrister,  but,  coming  to  the  L^nited  States,  was  on  the  staiif  of 
the  New  York  Sun.  Mrs.  Deming  came  to  this  country  in  her  childhood 
with  her  parents.  Children:  Miles  Standish,  born  August  8,  1871,  died 
July  31,  1892;  diarlotte,  married  John  Booker  Finley ;  Clara  Thompson, 
of  whom  further. 

(Vni)  Clara  Thompson,  daughter  of  Charles  Thompson  and  Ade- 
laide (Macan)  Deming,  maintains  her  home  at  Parkersburg,  where  she 
is  a  well  known  citizen.  Miss  Deming  has  kept  close  acquaintance  with 
her  relatives  in  New  Haven  and  elsewhere  in  New  England,  and  is  inter- 
ested in  the  history  of  the  family.  Two  of  her  ancestors  beside  Lemuel 
Deming  served  in  the  revolution.  She  is  a  member  of  the  Daughters  of 
the  American  Revolution. 


Thomas  C.  Townsend,  of  Charleston,  who  enjoys  the 
TOWNSEND     distinction  of  being  the  youngest  state  official  to  hold 

office  in  West  Virginia,  holding  one  next  in  import- 
ance to  the  governor,  was  born  in  Fayette  county.  West  Virginia.  His 
father,  Benjamin  Mason  Townsend,  died  October  25,  1912,  aged  eighty- 
five  years,  a  resident  of  Lansing  county.  West  Virginia,  having  passed 
the  allotted  span  of  life,  three  score  years  and  ten.  Throughout  the  active 
years  of  his  life  he  devoted  his  attention  to  the  tilling  of  the  soil,  in  which 
he  was  successful.  In  1856  he  cast  his  first  presidential  vote  for  John 
Charles  Fremont,  and  retained  his  allegiance  to  the  party  he  represented 
up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  married  Julia  Rule,  who  has  now  at- 
tained the  age  of  seventy-six  years,  and  she  bore  him  ten  children,  six 
of  whom  are  living,  namely :  William,  Emma.  Anna,  George,  Robert,  and 
Thomas  C,  who  was  the  youngest  of  the  family. 

Thomas  Chasteene  Townsend  was  born  on  his  father's  farm,  in  Fay- 


^*^  1^ 


'''-^'^^^^■■^^'-a-c^cr^^^ 


'    \ 


WEST  VIRGINIA  639 

ette  county,  West  \"irginia,  August  14,  1877.  He  attended  the  public 
school  adjacent  to  his  home  and  a  Normal  School  at  Fayetteville,  and 
then  pursued  a  law  course  at  the  West  Virginia  University.  He  began 
the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession  at  Fayetteville,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  the  spring  of  1903.  He  continued  his  practice  at  Fayetteville 
until  January  i,  1905,  when  he  removed  to  Charleston,  West  \'irginia, 
and  entered  the  tax  commissioner's  office  as  chief  clerk,  remaining  in  that 
capacity  for  four  years,  and  obtaining  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  de- 
tails of  the  work.  He  then  received  the  appointment  of  tax  commissioner 
which  office  he  filled  for  twenty-eight  months,  serving  out  an  unexpired 
term,  and  at  the  request  of  the  governor  he  remained  in  office  for  three 
months  following.  He  then  opened  offices  in  the  Alderson-Stephenson 
building,  Charleston,  and  has  continued  ever  since  in  active  practice,  his 
patronage  increasing  in  volume  and  importance  with  the  passing  years. 
In  addition  to  this  he  is  actively  engaged  in  the  buying  and  selling  of 
land,  having  extensive  holdings  in  the  states  of  Arkansas,  Georgia  and 
Ohio,  and  considerable  land  in  the  city  of  Charleston,  suitable  for  resi- 
dential purposes.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  is  the  present  nomi- 
nee for  prosecuting  attorney  of  Kanawha  county,  this  honor  having  come 
to  him  without  opposition,  and  also  without  solicitation  on  his  part,  an 
eloquent  testimonial  to  his  popularity.  He  is  the  author  of  the  "Uni- 
form Accountmg  Law",  which  saves  taxpayers  of  West  \^irginia  one-half 
a  million  dollars  annually.  He  is  also  the  author  of  the  "Inheritance  Tax 
Law."     He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist  church. 

Mr.  Townsend  married,  December  22,  1901,  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
Annie  Burdette.  a  native  of  Fayette  county.  West  Virginia,  daughter  of 
the  late  Thomas  Burdette.  Children:  Helen  Pearl,  born  June  12,  1903; 
Thomas  Hillis,  born  November  25,  1904. 


This  family  is  descended  from  old  New  Hampshire  stock, 
CLARK     the  first  progenitor  of  whom  there  is  definite  record,  having 

done  battle  for  his  country  in  the  war  of  1812.  His  son, 
Robert  Clark,  was  born  at  Peterboro.  New  Hampshire,  January  29,  1827, 
and  spent  the  early  years  of  his  life  in  his  native  state.  He  came  to  West 
Virginia  when  a  young  man,  in  about  the  year  1847.  where  he  became  a 
stationary  engineer,  following  that  calling  until  his  death.  He  resided  for 
a  while  in  Wheeling,  having  married  a  Miss  Anna  H.  Elettson,  a  native 
of  Toronto,  Canada.  In  1856  he  left  Wheeling  and  came  to  Parkersburg, 
where  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  his  chosen  calling,  and  where 
the  majority  of  his  children  were  born.  The  names  of  these  children 
were  as  follows:  George  T.,  born  in  1852:  Stephen  G.,  of  whom  further; 
Robert,  born  in  1857,  deceased  :  William  L. :  Nora,  married  to  H.  Little- 
ton ;  Amber,  married  to  S.  D.  Kine :  Charles  F. ;  Walter :  Goldie.  born 
August  18,  1876. 

Stephen  G.  Clark,  son  of  Robert  and  .\nna  H.  (  Elettson)  Clark,  was 
born  in  Wheeling,  West  Virginia.  September  25,  1854.  When  he  was 
two  years  of  age  his  parents  removed  to  Parkersburg,  and  here  he  grew  to 
maturity,  receiving  his  education  in  the  subscription  schools.  Upon  en- 
tering the  business  world  he  adopted  his  father's  calling,  becoming,  like 
him,  a  stationary  engineer.  On  August  11,  1879,  he  became  engineer  in 
the  Farmers'  and  Merchants'  Flour  ^lill;  and  afterwards  was  appointed 
chief  engineer  of  the  water  works  of  Parkersburg,  which  position  he  held 
for  a  period  of  four  years.  In  1891  he  was  made  manager  of  the  Flour 
j\Iill,  which  position  he  has  filled  admirably  until  the  present  time.  He  is 
a  man  of  marked  ability  and  influence,  and  is  now  one  of  the  largest 
stockholders  in  the  concern  which  he  manages,  and  he  is  also  a  man  of 
high  social  standing  in  the  community. 


640  WEST  \TRG1XIA 

111  the  year  iSeiO.  Mr.  Clark  married  Miss  Jessie  B.  Compton,  daugh- 
ter (jf  Robert  M.  and  Anna  Coniptdii.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clark  became  the 
parents  of  four  children:  i.  Bertha  W'.,  born  May  18,  1893.  2.  Baby, 
born  June  6,  1895,  died  July  26,  1895.  3.  Ruth  Virginia,  born  December 
19,  1897.    4.  Anna  Roberta,  born  February  6,  1908. 


Richartl  Lee  O'Neal,  a  well  known  man  of  affairs  and  one 
()'NEAL     of  the  most  popular  citizens  of  Huntington,  comes  on  both 

sitles  of  old  Kentucky  stock,  and  has,  throughout  his  career, 
exhibited  the  far-seeing  enterjirise  characteristic  of  his  pioneer  ancestors. 
— —  O'Neal,  grandfather  of  Richard  Lee  <  )'Neal,  was  born  in  Kentucky, 
and  was  a  farmer  and  shnclidldcr.  lie  died  in  iS'/),  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
five  years. 

(II)  Lewis,   son  of  O'Neal,  was  born  in  Kentucky,  and  as  a 

young  man  served  in  the  Ale.xican  war.  He  took  up  arms  in  the  cause 
of  the  Confederacy,  and  throughout  the  war  between  the  states  served 
in  I\Iorgan's  Cavalry.  He  was  captured  during  Morgan's  Raid  in  Ohio, 
and  for  nine  months  was  a  prisoner.  He  married  Elizabeth,  born  in 
Kentucky,  daughter  of  Hezekiah  Cox,  a  farmer,  distiller  and  slaveholder 
of  Owenton,  in  that  state.  Mr.  Cox  died  in  1869,  from  injuries  received 
in  a  railroad  accident,  being  then  sixty  years  old.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  O'Neal 
were  the  parents  of  three  children  :  Richard  Lee,  mentioned  below ;  Mrs. 
Charles  F.  Close,  died  in  1908,  in  Huntington  ;  and  Mrs.  Ferdinand  O. 
Clemmer,  died  in  1905,  in  Indianapolis,  Indiana.  Mrs.  O'Neal  died 
March   17,   1900.  aged  fifty-seven  years,  and  Mr.  O'Neal  passed  away  a 

few  years  later,  at  the  age  of  sixty.  . 

(III)  Richard  Lee,  son  of  Lewis  and  Elizabeth  (Cox)  O'Neal,  was,  I 
born  October  24,  1868,  at  \'incennes,  Indiana,  and  received  his  education  I 
in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  place.  After  leaving  school  he  was  em-  I 
ployed  for  four  years  in  a  hotel,  the  Oliver  House,  at  South  Bend,  In-  1 
diana.  and  it  is  a  significant  fact,  illustrative  of  the  spirit  manifested  I 
throughout  his  sul)se(|uent  career,  that  although  he  began  at  the  bottom 

of  the  ladder  in  this  hostelry,  he  rose,  before  leaving,  to  the  position  of 
chief  clerk.  In  1888  he  became  connected  with  the  old  Jay  House,  at 
Findlay,  Ohio,  in  this  responsible  capacity,  serving  for  five  years  as  chief 
clerk.     In  addition  to  this,  he  held  the  office  of  assistant  manager. 

In  1892  Mr.  O'Neal  came  to  Huntington  where,  for  a  period  of  ten 
years,  he  was  connected  in  various  capacities  with  the  Florentine  Hotel, 
his  final  position  being  that  of  manager.  In  association  with  L.  H.  Cox, 
promoter  of  the  present  Frederick  Hotel,  he  drew  all  the  plans  for  that  j 

structure,  which  was  completed  in  November,  1906,  since  which  time 
Mr.  O'Neal  has  been  its  most  enterprising  and  efficient  manager,  having  ! 

filled  the  position  continuously  from  the  opening  of  the  hotel  until  the,^      '  ; 
present  time.     In  politics  Mr.  O'Neal  is  a  Democrat.     He  affiliates  with  ^ 

the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  in  religious  matters  is 
a  member  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church. 

Mr.  O'Neal  married,  in  May,  1907.  in  Cincinnati,  Lizzie  L.,  born  in 
Huntington,  daughter  of  Jacob  L.  Crider.  Mr.  Crider  was  formerly  a 
druggist  in  Huntington,  but  he  and  his  wife  are  now  living  in  Seattle, 
Washington.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  O'Neal  have  no  children. 

During  the  twenty  years  of  Mr.  O'Neal's  residence  in  Huntington  his 
most  earnest  efforts  have  ever  been  given  to  the  promotion  of  the  best  in- 
terests of  his  home  city,  with  results  which  are  fully  appreciated  by,^ai,s,--'>g| 
friends  and  neighbors,  and  which  have  made  him  one  of  the  most  -re-   ' 
spected  and  popular  men  to  be  found  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  communitv. 


..T 


■  I   N   D   E    K  v!       I   N   C 
Boundlb-Plta-s*' 

AUG  04 

1.  MANCHESTER.  INDIANA  46962