Lewis County, West Virginia Biography of GEORGE E. WHITE ************************************************************************** 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 1999 ************************************************************************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 182-183 GEORGE E. WHITE is a member of the bar of Lewis County, and at the time of this writing, in the autumn of 1921, is state senator from the Twelfth Senatorial District, comprising Lewis Doddridge and Harrison counties. He was born in Lewis County, November 4, 1884, and is a representative of one of the old and honored families of this section of West Virginia, his paternal great-grand- father, John White, having married an aunt of General Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson, dark White, father of him whose name initiates this paragraph, was born and reared in Lewis County, and his widow, whose maiden name was Catherine Rohrbough, was born in Upshur County. She was reared in Buckhannon County, and her early edu- cational advantages included those of De Sales Academy at Parkersburg. After their marriage the parents set- tled on a farm in Lewis County, and the father became one of the leaders in the promotion of agricultural and live stock industry in this section of the state. He was the owner of a valuable landed estate of 1,200 acres on Freeman's Creek, and was a leader in the breeding and raising of Polled Angus cattle. Clark White remained on his homestead farm until 1900, when he removed to Wes- ton, where he passed the remainder of his life, he having been one of the founders of the Lewis County Bank, of which he was a director at the time of his death. While residing on his farm he was a trustee of the Baptist Church of the locality, his political allegiance was given to the republican party, and while he never sought office he gave effective service as deputy sheriff of Lewis County and was influential in public affairs in his community. He re- ceived the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite of the Masonic fraternity, his maximum York Rite affiliation having been with the Commandery of Knights Templars at Weston. His widow likewise is an earnest member of the Baptist Church. Of the two children the subject of this sketch is the younger. The daughter, Lucy, was graduated in Broaddus College, with the degree of Bache- lor of Science, and was graduated also in the musical de- partment, after which she studied music and art in Denni- son University. She is now the wife of J. Cline Hood, of Weston. George E. White was reared on the farm to the age of fifteen years, and after leaving the public schools he con- tinued his studies in Broaddns College at Clarksburg, in which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science. For three years thereafter he was a student in the literary department of the University of Virginia and for two years a student in its law department. Later he attended the University of West Virginia during one year. He was admitted to the bar of his native state, and in 1909 opened a law office at Weston, where he has since maintained his home and where he still continues in the practice of his profession to a certain extent. Since the death of his honored father he has had the active manage- ment of the family farm estate of 1,200 acres, besides which he is vice president of the Lewis County Bank at Weston, and one of the three partners in the garage busi- ness of the Hood-Dent Company. Mr. White is affiliated with the local York Rite bodies of the Masonic fraternity, including the Commandery of Knights Templars, and has made advancement also in the Scottish Rite division of Masonry, besides which he is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He and his wife hold membership in the Baptist Church in their home city. A leader in the councils and campaign activities of the republican party in this section of the state, Mr. White waa elected in 1912 a member of the State Senate, in which he served until 1916. In November, 1920, he was again chosen to represent his district in the State Senate. In 1914 he was the republican nominee for Congress. In the election with three candidates in the field, he was defeated by less than 500 votes in the district which gave a total of 52,000 votes. He was for two years editor and publisher of the Weston Independent, a republican paper of influence and prominence under his regime. The year 1912 recorded the marriage of Mr. White and Miss Genevieve Chidester, who was graduated in Mount de Chantel Academy. Mr. and Mrs. White have three sons and one daughter: George E., Jr., John Clark, Andrew J. and Jane.