Monongalia County, West Virginia Biography of Hon. Joseph MORELAND ************************************************************************** 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. 31-32 HON. JOSEPH MORELAND. One of Morgantown's best loved citizens, one of the state's ablest lawyers, was the late Judge Joseph Moreland. He practiced law over forty years, and in addition to his attainments as a lawyer he filled a num- ber of offices of trust and responsibility and was particularly interested as an official in the welfare and progress of the university. His modest deportment, his kindness of heart and his true benevolence marked him as a gentleman, while his strong intellect, directed in the channels of law and edu- cation, gained him eminence as one of the distinguished men of his day and locality. Though death closed his active career some years ago, his influence even yet is potent among those with whom he was associated. Judge Moreland was a native of Fayette County, Penn- sylvania. His family had settled there two generations before his birth. His first American ancestor was Alex- ander Moreland. William Moreland, son of Alexander, was an American soldier in the war of the Revolution, and after the close of that struggle was a member of the Crawford Expedition against Sandusky. For his military services he was given a grant of land below Connellsville in Fay- ette County, on the Youghiogheny River. John Moreland, son of William and Agnes (Huston) Moreland, became owner of the family homestead near Connellsville. On that property in 1842 he manufactured the first coke ever made in Fayette County. Barges were used for the shipment of the coke, and on account of his interest in water transportation John Moreland was famil- iarly known by the title of captain. In 1850 a fleet of his barges was sunk in the Ohio River at Wheeling. That put an end to his enterprise as a coke manufacturer, an in- dustry for which he could see no future. No other attempt was made to manufacture coke in Fayette County for eight years. Capt. John Moreland married Priscilla Rogers, daughter of William and Nancy (Halliday) Rogers, and great-granddaughter of Lieut. John Rogers, who lost his life while a soldier of the Revolution. The late Judge Joseph Moreland was a son of Capt. John and Priscilla Moreland. and was born near Connellsville, Fayette County, May 26, 1842. He was attending the old Monongalia Academy at Morgantown in 1861 when the outbreak of the Civil war caused him to return to his home in Pennsylvania. In 1866 he graduated from Washington and Jefferson College in Pennsylvania, and the following year returned to Morgantown with his widowed mother. Here he read law in the offices of Brown and Hagans, and after admission to the bar remained in Morgantown and practiced law here until his death. He early attracted no- tice as a hard working, earnest and thoroughly well in- formed lawyer, and his reputation eventually extended be- yond his home district into many of the courts of the state. In the course of his active career he had some prominent associates. At one time he was a member of the firm Willey and Moreland later of Hagans and More- land, and subsequently formed a partnership with S. F. GIasscock and for several years the firm was Moreland and Glasscock. Later Judge Moreland was associated with his son in the firm of Moreland and Moreland, and finally was head of the firm of Moreland, Moreland and Guy. Judge Moreland frequently referred to his partnership with the distinguished West Virginia statesman, Hon. Waitman Wil- ley, from 1873 to 1884, as a relationship of the greatest personal congeniality as well as professional success. Dur- ing his long and successful career Judge Moreland handled some of the most notable eases in the records of the local courts. Under all circumstances he was regarded as a worthy opponent by the ablest lawyers with whom he was associated, and many times he gained the admiration of the bar for his adroit handling of a ease that he accepted only from a sense of professional duty and that could add noth- ing to his reputation or his purse. Judge Moreland passed his seventieth birthday still ac- tive as a lawyer and giving little evidence of failing abil- ity. He continued at work until his death in 1913. Out- side of his profession he was not a seeker of public hon- ors, but public responsibilities naturally attach themselves to a man of his character and standing as a lawyer. For a long number of years he gave Morgantown an efficient administration as mayor, and for a number of terms was on the City Council. In 1887 he was appointed to fill an unexpired term as prosecuting attorney. He frequently was appointed special judge, and in 1882 Governor Jack- son appointed him a member of the Board of Regents of the University of West Virginia. His interest in educa- tion and the welfare of the University made the duties of this office particularly attractive to him, and he capably served the University as Regent for many years. Judge Moreland was a member of the Sons of the Amer- ican Revolution, was affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Delta Tan Delta college fraternity, and had numerous other relations with professional, civic and social bodies. He was public spirited and charitable, and was many times sought as an advisor and leader in move- ments affecting the public weal. Personally Judge More- land was unassuming in manner, sincere in friendship, steadfast and unswerving in his loyalty to the highest ideals emplar of some of the finest qualities that distinguish the of character. A host of friends regarded him as an ex- citizen in both his public and private relationships. From his personal friendships and home life he undoubt- edly derived his chief happiness, regarding these always as the durable satisfactions of life. On October 26, 1875, Judge Moreland married Miss Mary E. Brown, daughter of Thomas and Eleanor Suter (Smith) Brown. Her pa- ternal grandfather, James Brown, was an Irishman who came to America about the close of the Revolutionary war. Her maternal grandfather, Alexander Smith, was a prom- inent banker and merchant of Georgetown, Maryland, later the District of Columbia. Thomas Brown, father of Mrs. Moreland, was a lawyer by profession, and practiced with his brother William G. Brown at Kingwood, West Vir- ginia. William G. Brown at one time was a member of Congress from West Virginia. Mrs. Moreland possessed many personal qualities and charms that enriched the life of her home and the many friendships that flourished there. Her death in 1910 was widely mourned. Judge and Mrs. Moreland had two children. The daughter, Eleanor Brown Moreland, born May 31, 1877, is a teacher of science in the Elkins High School. The son, James Rogers Moreland, who has taken for his guide, the honorable example of his father, was born at Morgantown December 9, 1879. He was educated in the public schools, the West Virginia University, where he graduated A. B. in 1901, and the following year received his law degree. Admitted to the bar in June, 1902, he was for over ten years an active associate with his father in practice, first in the firm of Moreland and Moreland and then in that of Moreland, Moreland and Guy, and since the death of Judge Moreland he and the other sur- viving partner, Mr. Robert E. Guy, continue their asso- ciation. This firm has a large and important practice, and the members of the firm are accounted among the leaders of the bar of Monongalia County. While his chief ambi- tion is to acquit himself creditably in the law, Mr. More- land has acted from a sense of public duty and for some years was a member of the City Council of Morgantown, and in 1914 enjoyed the unique honor of being elected as a democrat to the House of Delegates from Monongalia County. He was the first democrat elected on the county ticket of Monongalia County since 1876. In addition to his law practice Mr. Moreland has a num- ber of business and financial interests, being a director of the Bank of the Monongahela Valley of Morgantown, as was his father before him, and is otherwise largely in- terested in the coal development and business interests of the community. He is a member of the Monongalia County Bar Association, the West Virginia State Bar Association, and has served three times as president of the West Vir- ginia State Society of the Sons of the Revolution. He is a member of the Kappa Alpha college fraternity, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and the Rotary Club of Morgantown. He is an elder in the Presbyterian Church, superintendent of its Sunday school and for two years was president of the Monongalia County Sunday School Asso- ciation. September 1, 1904, Mr. Moreland married Miss Ethel B. Finnicum, daughter of Albert D. and Sarah (Lyle) Finni- cum, of Hopedale, Harrison County, Ohio. Four children have been born to their marriage: Joseph Albert, born August 11, 1907; James Rogers, Jr., born May 10, 1911; William Alexander, born April 21, 1916; and Robert Lyle, born February 6, 1921. Mrs. Moreland takes a great interest in social, educa- tional and political problems. She is at present a member of the West Virginia Child Welfare Commission, chair- man of the Department of Applied Education of the West Virginia Federation of Women's Clubs, chairman of the Child Welfare Department of the West Virginia League of Women Voters and vice chairman in charge of the women's work of the Democratic State Executive Commit- tee of West Virginia.