Monongalia County, West Virginia Biography of Hon. I. Grant LAZZELLE ************************************************************************** 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, , March 1999 ************************************************************************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 1 HON. I. GRANT LAZZELLE. The career of Hon. I. Grant Lazzelle, judge of the Circuit Court, is strongly entrenched in the history of the jurisprudence of Monongalia County. The City of Morgantown, which witnessed the beginning of his professional career in 1889, offered a promising field tor the young man of twenty-seven years, and the citizens who have watched his advancement have never had cause to regret the faith they placed in his energy, enthusiasm and ability. He has grown into his opportunities, has fashioned his resources to his needs, and has reflected dignity, sincerity and genuine worth upon a profession for which he is singularly and even admirably equipped. Judge Lazzelle was born on a farm in Cass District, near Morgantown, May 10, 1862, and is a representative in the fourth generation of an honored pioneer's family of Monongalia County. The Lazzelle family, as the name might intimate, is of French stock, and was founded in America during Colonial days. Thomas Lazzelle, the great- grandfather of the Judge, was born near the City of Phila- delphia, married Hannah Beck, of Pennsylvania, and a short time after marriage he and his wife came to the bor- derland of Virginia and settled on Government land in Cass District of what is now Monongalia County, West Vir- ginia. Thomas Lazzelle was a pioneer farmer, and was also the first Methodist preacher of his district. Thomas Lazzelle, the younger, son of Thomas Lazzelle, was born in Cass District in 1788, and became a large tanner and stock-raiser and one of the prominent and in- fluential men of his locality. He married Miss Rebecca Bowlly. James Lazzelle, the son of Thomas Lazzelle, the younger, was born on the old Lazzelle homestead December 25, 1810, and followed in his father's footsteps as to a choice of vocations, likewise becoming a successful farmer and raiser of livestock. He was a man held in high esteem in his community and took an active interest in civic affairs, al- though not a seeker of public office. He married Miss Eleanor Courtney, of Monongalia County, who died in 1896, and Mr. Lazzelle's death occurred the following year. Among their children was Judge Lazzelle of this review. I. Grant Lazzelle received his early education in the public schools, following which he attended the University of West Virginia, from which he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1883 and his Bachelor of Laws degree in the year following. He did not immediately enter upon the practice of his profession, taking up teaching instead, and from 1884 for four years was engaged in educational work, during which period he was principal of the Kingwood, West Virginia, and LaGrange, Arkansas, public schools. He entered the practice of law at Morgantown in 1888, as senior member of the firm of Lazzelle and Stewart, which association continued until the senior member was elevated to the Circuit Bench in 1921. Great ability, unusual nat- ural resource and firm belief in the best tenets of his pro- fession enabled Judge Lazzelle to make himself a factor to be reckoned with, and in the course of his career as a lawyer many of the most important cases in Monongalia County received his support. In 1894 he was appointed mayor of Morgantown to fill a vacancy, a position in which he served during that year, and in 1897 was elected prose- cuting attorney of Monongalia County, an office in which he served tor four years. His splendid record in these two capacities was a helpful factor when he became, in 1920, the candidate of the republican party for the office of judge of the Circuit Court, and he assumed the duties of this position January 1, 1921. In addition to ability and experience Judge Lazzelle possesses in marked degree the judicial temperament, and during the comparatively short time that he has been on the bench has won the esteem of the members of the Monongalia bar and the confidence of the people in general. On September 23, 1891, Judge Lazzelle was united in marriage with Miss Norah H. Jackson, daughter of Joseph Jackson, of Kingwood, West Virginia, and to this union there were born two sons: Donald Grant, born February 3, 1894, now a practicing attorney of Morgantown; and Eugene, born January 25, 1897, who died November 30, 1902. Judge Lazzelle is esteemed for his many admirable qualities of heart and mind, and his thorough knowledge of the theory and practice of law and his wise interpre- tation thereof, and for a public-spiritedness that has ever prompted a sane and practical interest in those measures which tend to greater happiness, stability and good gov- ernment. Submitted by Valerie Crook, March 1999.