Ohio County, West Virginia    The Wheeling Fire Insurance Company

**************************************************************************
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, <vfcrook@trellis.net>, March 1999
**************************************************************************

The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., 
Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 12

THE WHEELING FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY is one of the
old and substantial institutions of West Virginia, dates its
inception back more than half a century, has a splendid
record of service and is the only fire insurance company in
the state. It was incorporated in 1867, as the German
Fire Insurance Company, and with a capital of $100,000,
operations having been instituted on the 5th of July of
that year. Of the original capital all was paid in, and
safe and conservative policies have attended the enterprise
during the long years of its progressive history. In 1905
the capital of the corporation was increased to $200,000.
Its premiums from the time of organization to 1921 ag-
gregate $5830,030; losses paid, $2,857,688; dividends in
stock, $90,000; cash dividends, $76,000. The insurance now
in force aggregates $46,600,000, and the company is licensed
to do business in eighteen different states of the Union. The
present handsome and modern building of the company was
erected in 1907, and represents a valuation of $85 000.

In the course of its long and successful record the Wheel-
ing Fire Insurance Company has had but two presidents.
John Oesterling, the first president, continued the incumbent
of this office until his death in 1883, when he was succeeded
by William F. Stifel, who has since continued the executive
head and who is the subject of the personal sketch pre-
ceding. Fidelius Riester was secretary of the company more
than forty years, and after his death, September 16, 1919,
was succeeded by the present incumbent, 0. E. Strauch,
who entered the service of the company in 1907 in the posi-
tion of cashier, from which he was advanced in turn to that
of assistant secretary and then secretary. William V.
Fischer, the present assistant secretary and an insurance
man of broad experience, has been associated with the com-
pany since 1918.