Greenbrier County, West Virginia Biography of JOHN O. HANDLEY. This biography was submitted by Sandy Spradling, E-mail address: This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. All other rights reserved. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the WVGenWeb Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://www.usgwarchives.net/wv/wvfiles.htm History of Greenbrier County J. R. Cole Lewisburg, WV 1917 p. 123-125 JOHN O. HANDLEY. The ancestors of this branch of the Handley family came from old Virginia stock and they were among the earliest and most prominent of the settlers of the county of Greenbrier. John and Elizabeth (Shanklin) Handley were the grandparents of the subject of this sketch. His great maternal grandfather emigrated from Ireland in 1769 and settled three miles west of Lewisburg in 1784 and there passed the remainder of his days. William Handley came from Augusta county, Virginia, about 1790, and settled about one and one-half miles west of Lewisburg. The Hadley-Shanklin families were prominent in the county also. John Handley died September 21, 1875, and his wife died February 22, 1854. Harvey Handley, the father of John 0., was born in Green-brier cOunty October 28, 1817. He was the owner of one of the best cultivated farms in Greenbrier county, lying in Lewisburg district now owned by Howard C. Skaggs. He took special pride in raising blooded horses, having the best strain west of the Blue Ridge in the Virginias. He served his county as surveyor from 1840 to 1858. He was for many years an elder of the Presbyterian church. On June '4, 1842, Harvey Handley married Mary C. L. Bell, who was born in Goshen September 13, 1822. She was a daughter of Joseph and Mary Ann (Nelson) Bell. To this union were born ten children: (I) William M., April 8, 1843; died in June, 1845; (2) Joseph B., January 4, 1846; (3)Mary A., October 28, 1847; (4) John 0., May 25, 1849; (5) Bettie P., May 12, 1851; died in October, 1861; (6) Thomas A., June 9, 1853; (7) Robert D., November 9, 1885; died in September, 1865; (8) Harvey J., January 31,1859; (9) Charles W., March 5, 1861; (10) Mary B., October 12, 1863. Joseph B. Handley was a Confederate s~dier. He enlisted at Richmond in the Fourteenth Virginia cavalry in the fall of 1862 and served until the surrender of Lee in 1865. John 0. Handley, a well known farmer and dairyman, owns and cultivates one of the smaller farms in the county. For six years he was in the hotel and livery business with James H. Stratton. In 1887 he moved to Pasco county, Florida, and was with the South Florida Railroad Company until August, 1895. He moved to his present residence in 1900. On September 14, 1882, he married Mattie, daughter of Johnston E. and Sarah A. (Wayt) Bell. She was born in Lewisburg, January 7, 1856. Her father was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, December 16, 1816, and in 1845 came to Greenbrier county. Her mother was born in Augusta county, Virginia, October 9, 1822, and died in Greenbrier county January 4, 1869. Children born to this union were: (1) Johnston Bell, August 7, 1883; (2) Harvey Lockheart, August 5, i885; (3) William Overton, October 10, 1887; died March 26, 1892.