Barbour County, West Virginia Biography of Worthington CHENOWETH ************************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: Material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor. Submitted by Valerie Crook, , March 2000 ************************************************************************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 355-356 WORTHINGTON CHENOWETH. In the profession of dental surgery Worthington Chenoweth is one of the oldest ac- tive practitioners in the state. His work and study have been directed along that line for more than a half cen- tury, and for forty-eight years his home has been in Phil- ippi, where he is held in the highest esteem for the in- fluence and quality of his good citizenship at all times. Chenoweth is an historic name in Randolph County of this state. His great-grandfather, John I. Chenoweth, was a native of South Wales, and he and a brother came to America before the Revolution and settled in Maryland. John I. Chenoweth served as a soldier in the war for in- dependence. After that war he moved into Western Vir- ginia, and spent his life here near Beverly, at the home of his son, John I., Jr., and he was laid to rest in the cemetery near Beverly. John I. Chenoweth, Jr., was a farmer near Beverly, his farm being on Chenoweth's Creek, two miles from Elkins. He cleared a good farm and owned a large body of land in that vicinity. He was well educated for his time, pos- sessed a strong mind and exercised great personal influence, was in the official life at Randolph County, was a mem- ber of the Primitive Baptist Church and a whig in pol- itics. He voted for secession, and one of his sons became a captain in the Confederate Army. John I. Chenoweth, Jr., died about twelve or fifteen years after the Civil war. He married Miss Skidmore. Their children were: Eli, Washington, Archibald, Lemuel, Thomas, Elijah, Martha and Jerusha. Only one of the sons served in the war be- tween the states. Martha married Job Daniels and Je- rusha married Allison Daniels. Archibald Chenoweth, father of Doctor Chenoweth, was born on Chenoweth's Creek in Randolph County, had a country school education, and as a young man learned the trade of wagon-maker. To this trade he devoted all his active life, maintaining his shop in Beverly, where for a short time he had his brother Lemuel associated with him. He was a skilled worker, but was a modest and re- tiring citizen. He became a member of the Presbyterian Church after reaching middle life, and was a democrat. Archibald Chenoweth, who died when about seventy-five years of age, married Margaret Hyre. Her father, Wil- liam Hyre, owned a farm at the head of Buckhannon River in Upshur County, and was a noted hunter in that vicinity. He was' a strong Union man, and two of his sons were Federal soldiers and all of them were republicans in pol- itics. Margaret Hyre was a daughter of her father's first marriage, to Miss VanDeavender. Archibald Chenoweth and wife reared one son and three daughters: Belle, who died at Beverly, wife of John Leonard; Rose, resident of Charleston and wife of John Conner; and Idella, who died unmarried. Worthington Chenoweth was born October 26, 1848, and up to the age of twenty-four he lived in the historic com- munity of Beverly. He attended some of the old sub- scription schools, and finished his education soon after the free school system was established. He has a vivid recol- lection of some of the events and conditions of the Civil war period. After one of the raids made by the Con- federate general Rosser he helped bury the dead. For several years he worked with his father in the wagon shop, and he began the study of dentistry at Beverly with Dr. D. B. Campbell, a pioneer dentist in Randolph County. He remained with Doctor Campbell four years there, and both of them in 1874 moved to Philippi. Since then Doc- tor Chenoweth has carried on a very successful practice. He has made a specialty of plate work. In the line of public service Doctor Chenoweth was for one term mayor of Philippi, twice served as treasurer, for twelve years was a member of the Board of Educa- tion and was on the Board when the property was ac- quired for the site of the new high school. While he has rendered public service he has not been in politics as an active candidate for office. Some years ago he was named jury commissioner for the District Federal Court of West Virginia by Judge Alston G. Dayton. Judge Dayton knew him intimately in civil and religious life, and while they were not of the same political faith the Judge explained his appointment by saying: "I know him to be a man I can trust and I want him." Doctor Chenoweth gave his first presidential vote to Horace Greeley, and has voted for all the nominees of the demo- cratic party for half a century, including three votes for William J. Bryan. Doctor Chenoweth is one of the very prominent Odd Fel- lows of West Virginia, having joined the lodge at Philippi the year he moved to that town. He has been financial secretary of the lodge fifteen years, financial secretary of the Encampment, and has represented both branches in the Grand Lodge. He is also financial secretary of the Knights of Pythias. When he was forty-nine years of age he was converted and joined the Presbyterian Church, and for a number of years has been an elder in the church at Philippi and superintendent of the Sunday school. At Philippi, February 23, 1889, Doctor Chenoweth mar- ried Miss Mary H. Bosworth. Her father, Elam Bosworth, was born in the Beverly community of Randolph County, and married Miss Switzer, by whom he had four children: Harriet, Mary, Squire and Erastus. By a second marriage Elam Bosworth had two sons, James and Thomas, the for- mer a merchant at Brownsburg, West Virginia, and the latter a teacher in the high school at Richmond, Virginia. Mrs. Chenoweth was born March 8, 1849, was liberally edu- cated, and died January 5, 1922, at the age of seventy- three. She was associated with her husband in the work of the church, and both of them took an active interest in the war work of the community.