Robert D. Hennen Bio
Monongalia Co. WV


The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume II

pg 193

Robert D. Hennen, of Morgantown, Monongalia County, has achieved high 
standing in his profession, that of civil engineer, is actively identified 
with important industrial and capitalistic interests, and is a scion of one 
of the old and honored families of this section of West Virginia.  He was 
born at Morgantown, August 17, 1883, and is a son of the late Frederick A. 
and Ella E. (Coil) Hennen.  The father was born at Morgantown, February 26, 
1844, a son of Robert P. and Elizabeth (Wilkins) Hennen.  Robert P. Hennen 
was born in the State of Pennsylvania, where his father, Matthew Hennen, 
settled upon immigration to America from his native County Down, Ireland.  
Robert P. Hennen later came to Morgantown, in what is now West Virginia, and 
here engaged in the work of his trade, that of cabinetmaker, in which 
connection he became one of the pioneer undertakers of this place.  He served 
as a member of the borough council during the '60s, and here his death 
occurred in 1873.  His wife was born in New Jersey and her death occurred in 
1871.

Frederick A. Hennen learned the trade of cabinetmaker under the direction of 
his father, and at Morgantown he followed his trade and engaged in the 
undertaking business, the enterprise later being amplified to include the 
furniture business, in which he continued until about 1912, when he retired.  
He was one of the honored and influential citizens of Morgantown, served 
about twelve years as a member of the City Council and was one of the most 
loyal and progressive citizens of his native city and county.  His marriage 
to Miss Ella E. Coil was solemnized in 1882, and the gracious ties were 
severed by the death of Mrs. Hennen in 1910.  He survived her by more than a 
decade and his death occurred June 5, 1921, both having been earnest members 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and he having been affiliated with 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Robert D. Hennen gained his preliminary education in the public schools of 
Morgantown, and in 1908 he was graduated in the celebrated Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology in the City of Boston.  He received from this 
institution the degree of Bachelor of Science, and in 1912 the same degree 
and also that of Civil Engineer were conferred upon him by the University of 
West Virginia, in which he had taken effective post-graduate work.  In 1908 
he was appointed civil engineer of Monongalia County by the County Court, and 
he served in this position four years, within which he did much important 
work for the county.  From 1912 to 1914 he was engineer in chief in the 
construction of the Morgantown & Wheeling Railroad, and in the latter year he 
organized the Monongahela Valley Engineering Company of Morgantown, of which 
he continued the executive head until he disposed of his interests in the 
corporation in 1920.  Mr. Hennen was one of the organizers of the Moore-Tex 
Oil Company of Morgantown, of which he is vice president, and he was likewise 
one of the organizers of the Knob Coal Company, of his interest in which he 
later disposed.

Mr.. Hennen is affiliated with Morgantown Lodge No. 411 Benevolent and 
Protective Order of Elks, and is a valued and progressive member of the local 
Rotary Club and the Morgantown Chamber of Commerce.  He is a member also of 
the Morgantown Country Club, is treasurer of the Alumni Association of the 
University of West Virginia, a trustee of the Phi Kappa Psi college 
fraternity, and he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal 
Church in their home city.

Mr. Hennen married Miss Louise Reiner, daughter of Thomas P. and Emma 
(Porter) Reiner, of Dunbar, Pennsylvania, and she is a popular factor in the 
representative social activities of Morgantown.