Lewis County, West Virginia Biography of RICHARD H. HALL ************************************************************************** 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, , July 2000 ************************************************************************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 510 Lewis RICHARD H. HALL has become one of the substantial and representative citizens of his native county, where he is president of the Citizens Bank at Weston and where also he is a progressive exponent of farm industry, his residence being on Center Street at Weston, the judicial center of Lewis County. He was born on a farm near Freemansburg, this county, May 24, 1855, and is a son of James M. and Nancy (Burnside) Hall. The former was born May 16, 1820, at Westfield, Harrison County, Virginia, now Lewis County, West Virginia, while the latter was born near Goodhope, then in Harrison County, Virginia, now West Virginia. James M. Hall was reared on a pioneer farm, and owing to conditions of time and place received limited educational advantages. After his marriage he settled on a farm in Lewis County, and he eventually became the owner of about 800 acres of land, which he developed and im- proved into one of the valuable farm properties of the county, his success having been the result of his own well directed efforts. He was fifty-two years of age at the time of his death. He was a republican, was a strong Union man during the climacteric period of the Civil war, and he served for a time as a member of the County Court. He and his second wife were members of the United Brethren Church. His first wife was not a member of any religious body, although friendly towards all churches. By his first marriage he became the father of seven children and by the second marriage there were three children. Of those now living the following record is available: William H. resides at Weston and owns one of the best farms in Ritchie County; Minor J. is a successful farmer in Lewis County; Richard H. is the immediate subject of this sketch; Lot is a farmer and stock dealer in Lewis County; Samuel G. is identified with a gas company in this county; Mary M. is the wife of H. D. Bailey, and they reside in Missouri; Vir- ginia is the wife of George A. Custer, residing in Clarks- burg; Luella is the wife of Lloyd Allman, of Lewis County; and Bertha is the wife of Lee A. Beach. Sarah, who became the wife of N. A. Lovett, is deceased. Richard H. Hall was reared on the home farm and re- ceived the advantages of the public schools of the locality and period. He was nineteen years old at the time of his father's death, and thereafter he worked two years in the employ of others. He received as a bequest from his father a farm of sixty acres and also the sum of $800. He con- tinued to add to his landed estate until he had 1,400 acres, and he still gives a general supervision to his large and valuable farm properties in Lewis County. He remained on his homestead farm until 1914, when he removed to Weston, the county seat. In 1884 he was elected one of the assessors of the county, in which position he served eight years. In 1892 Mr. Hall was elected county sheriff, and his four years' administration fully justified his election. He continued the active management of his farms while serving as sheriff, and after retiring from office he lived on his home farm until 1914, when he and his wife came to Weston, where they have since resided. He was one of the organizers of the Citizens Bank, of which he later became vice president and of which he is now the president, his careful and well ordered executive policies having con- tributed greatly to the success of this representative financial institution of Lewis County. He is a republican, is liberal and public-spirited as a citizen, is affiliated with Weston Lodge No. 43, Knights of Pythias, and he and his family hold membership in the United Brethren Church, in which each of his sons have served as Sunday school superintendent. February 3, 1886, recorded the marriage of Mr. Hall and Miss Virginia Gaston, who likewise was born and reared in Lewis County. Mr. and Mrs. Hall have two sons: Simeon A. is one of the representative farmers of Lewis County, as is also the younger son, Claude M., who studied law at Morgantown and who was for some time engaged in the practice of his profession, from which he withdrew to give his attention to progressive farm enterprise.