Mineral County, West Virginia Biography of GEORGE EDWARD KLENCKE This biography was submitted by Valerie Crook, E-mail address: ********************************************** ***The submitter does not have a connection*** ********to the subject of this sketch.******** ********************************************** 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 The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume II, pg. 609-610 Mineral GEORGE EDWARD KLENCKE. Not only has George Edward Klencke been one of the constructive citizens of Piedmont, but he has actually done more of the con- tracting and building of this little city than any other man now living, and is the oldest of the contractors in this part of Mineral County, although for some time he has been living retired. He is a native son of the county and was born on the street on which his present residence is located, and all of his life has been spent here, so that naturally his interest is centered around Piedmont and Mineral County. George Edward Klencke was born July 10, 1854, and he is a son of Ferdinand Klencke, a German by birth who came to the United States in young manhood, and after his arrival in this country first worked as a teamster between Cumberland, Maryland, and Piedmont, West Virginia. This was before the building of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and at a time when there were few bridges and it was while fording the Potomac and struggling with his horses, that was laid the foundation of the illness which resulted in his death in 1856. He was a carpenter by trade, at which he sometimes worked, and he erected the first house built on Main Street, Piedmont, in which his son, George Edward was born, now the home of William Simmons. Ferdinand Klencke married Theresa Zacharias, born in Baltimore, Maryland, of German parents, who subsequently settled at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Klencke's four a quartermaster in the same service during the war of the '60s. The latter, William Zacharias, died at Pittsburgh, and all of his sons have also passed away. William Zacharias served as quartermaster in a Pennsylvania regiment during the Civil war, and after the close of the war returned to his home in Pittsburgh, where he became night agent for the Union Station and held this position at the time the station was burned during the railroad strike of 1877. Mr. Zacharias, although engaged in some of the bloodiest battles of the war, did not receive a scratch. His three sons also returned to Pittsburgh and engaged in the tobacco business, afterward managing the Merchants Hotel. Mr. and Mrs. Klencke had three sons, namely: Michael and William, both of whom are now deceased, and George Edward, whose name heads this review. The mother of these children married for her second husband, John Hartell, and of the seven children born to them but one survives, namely: Frank Hartell, of Cumberland, Maryland. Another son, John Hartell, reached maturity, as did a daughter, Emma, but both died unmarried. Growing up at Piedmont George Edward Klencke attended its schools until he was fourteen years old, at which time he began learning the carpenter trade under Captain Jarboe and his father, John Jarboe, the last named having been the first mayor of Piedmont, and these two being the oldest builders and among the earliest settlers of the place. After completing his apprenticeship Mr. Klencke remained with the Jarboes for a time as a journeyman, when he left them going with Henry Kight and still later with E. J. Fredlock, a contractor and builder and large factory owner. When he reached the age of twenty-five years Mr. Klencke formed a partnership with Henry Kight, under the name of Kight & Kleneke, contractors and builders and this association was maintained for twenty years. Among other important contracts of this firm were the erection of the Murphy house, now owned by Dr. J. H. Wolverton, the erection of the Phligar House, now owned and occupied by H. Clay Thrush, several public school- houses of Piedmont, a number of residences at Luke, Mary- land, the store building of Graham & Company and many residences at Piedmont. In all of their work the partners were noted for their conscientious fidelity in living up to the spirit as well as the letter of their contracts and the buildings stand as monuments to their skill and honesty. With the burden of bis years pressing upon Mr. Kight, the firm dissolved and Mr. Kleneke continued alone for five years and then retired from the building industry. While a member of the firm of Kight & Klencke, Mr. Klencke also built several houses in surrounding towns, namely, Keyser and Barnum, West Virginia, and Lonaconing and Midland, Maryland. In addition to his work as a contractor and builder, Mr. Klencke has had other interests at Piedmont and for years was one of the directors of the Davis National Bank of which he is still a stockholder. Although several times elected as a member of the City Council of Piedmont, Mr. Klencke has refused to qualify, but his step-father, John Hartell served as the third mayor of the city, in which for years he had substantial interests and in the beginning of his career Mr. Klencke found his connection with this most excellent citizen and reliable business man of great value to him. The first presidential ballot of Mr. Klencke was cast for Rutherford B. Hayes, and in national matters he has continued to give his hearty support to republican candidates, but in local affairs he shapes his course according to the qualifications of those seeking office. In 1896 he was first elected county commissioner, to succeed Michael Mastellar in the office, and served a six year term. With John Dayton and George Arnold aa his colleagues on the board Mr. Klencke built two of the finest bridges spanning the Potomac River in West Virginia, as well as numerous smaller bridges, and did this in the face of considerable opposition from reactionists. Some dirt-road building was done, but at that time the people had not been educated to the present day appreciation of good roads. At the expiration of his term of office Mr. Klencke retired. Subsequently he was again elected to this office, this time to succeed Doctor Cross, and his associates were Robert Dayton and Robert Bane. This board decided not to build any but concrete bridges, several of them of the two-span type, and a number of the one span-type were constructed during the life of this body. It was this board that began the movement in favor of good roads by constructing five miles of hard-surface road up New Creek from Keyser, for which they provided the machinery, and while doing this inaugural work on the new type of road they also maintained the old dirt roads. A bond issue was floated about this time, its promotion being backed by Mr. Klencke and as a result of his zealous work in its behalf was voted for at the polls. The Piedmont District was bonded for $75,000, and the New Creek District for $250,000 and with the money thus raised the county built a concrete road between Piedmont and Keyser, and Main and Fairview streets of Piedmont were hard-surfaced with Warnite with this fund. With the expiration of his second term Mr. Klencke once more retired to private life. On January 26, 1877, George Edward Klencke married at Piedmont, Annie Sullivan, a daughter of John Sullivan who was killed while serving as a soldier in the Confederate Army during the War of the '60s. Mrs. Klencke was born in Rockingham County, Virginia, in March, 1857, and she passed away April 16, 1920. Mr. and Mrs. Klencke had the following children: Frederick, who is a carpenter of Pied- mont, married Virginia Parks, and they have a son, Kenneth; Buena Vista, who married Andrew Harmon of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has two children, Reginald and William; Carrie, who is the wife of John R. Keller, of Westemport, Maryland, has three children, George, Evelyn and Robert; May, who married John Baldwin, lost in the service during the World war, has two children, John Edward and Vivian. Mr. Klencke was reared in the Lutheran faith and although he is not a member of any church, is inclined to follow the teaching of that denomina- tion in spiritual matters. A sound, dependable and upright citizen, Mr. Klencke has always striven to do what he believes is his duty, enjoys in the highest degree the con- fidence and respect of all with whom he is associated. Mr. Klencke at the present time is the oldest citizen now living in Piedmont. He was born and raised on the same street and he recalls when there was but one house on the north side of the main street. This was in the early '50s. The street is now built up through its entire length.