Ohio County, West Virginia Biography of Charles H. SEABRIGHT ************************************************************************** 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 Suzie Crump , March 2000 ************************************************************************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical SOciety, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume II, pgs. 254-255 CHARLES H. SEABRIGHT is a prominent resident of Wheeling, has been in business in that section of Greater Wheeling, Benwood, since boyhood, his vehicle and implement establishment is located at Forty-second and Wood streets, and a deep interest in the welfare of the city and its people has also brought him several positions of trust He is a member of the Wheeling City Board of Education. Mr. Seabright was born at Wheeling, October 1, 1863, son of Henry and Wilhelmina (Pappa) Seabright. His parents were both born in Germany, but were married after coming to Wheeling. Henry Seabright was a butcher by trade, and as a young man located at Wheeling and soon afterward opened a shop on Chapline Street, between Thirty-sixth and Thirty Seventh, in what was then the south end. Her developed a very prosperous business and continued it until his death in 1874, when he was about fifty years of age. His widow survived him until 1885, and was about the same age when she died. They were members of the Lutheran Church. After his death the widow operated a grocery store at the old place of business for a short time. These parents reared three children: Charles H.; Henry L., a contractor and manufacturer; and Minnie, wife of Elwood Wilson, a native of Wheeling and a mechanic now living in Los Angeles, California. Charles H. Seabright was eleven years of age when his father died, and he assisted his mother in the store. Later she removed to a residence at Benwood, know as "The Old Dovers Home," and there she resumed merchandising, opening a stock of groceries. In the intervals of his service for his mother Charles H. Seabright attended the public schools. After his mother’s death he began dealing in buggies at Benwood, starting in this line of business in 1886, and has been continuously engaged in the same line now for over thirty-five years. His business was first located at Benwood, but when the old home was sold to the Sheet & Tube Company he removed to his present site, in 1903. Here the business has continued to grow and expand, and he carries an extensive line of vehicles, agricultural implements, harness and other supplies, chiefly for the farmers’ trade. At the age of twenty-four Mr. Seabright married Miss Katie Delbrugge, of Bellaire, Ohio, but a native of Wheeling. They have a family of four children: Earl, a bookkeeper; Bruce, in the automobile business at Wheeling; Wilbur, an electrician; and Clyde, associated with his brother Bruce. The family are members of the Trinity Lutheran Church. Mr. Seabright has never been so closely tied to his business affairs that he neglected the call of public duty. He served twice as a member of the city council, and since 1913 has been a member of the Wheeling Board of Education. He has participated in the general program of the board’s activities, and has cultivated as his special interest the matter of the new high school athletic field, and the building of the New Island School. He is a republican. He is now serving as a member of Wheeling City Recreation Commission, other members being Mr. Bundling, Roy Naylor, Ed Jefferson and Mrs. Harold Brennan. This commission has charge of the playground and social centers of the city, and as chairman of the Physical Educational Committee Mr. Albright [sic] had charge of the improvements that have made this field one of, if not the best athletic fields in the state.