Preston County, West Virginia Biography: Charles Henry THOMAS ************************************************************************** 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 2000 ************************************************************************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 374-375 CHARLES HENRY THOMAS. Preston County cherishes the memory of the late Charles Henry Thomas for the work and influence he exercised during the vigor of his years, and the qualities that distinguished him are continued and exemplified in his son, Vestus Thomas, a prominent citizen of Bruceton Mills. Charles Henry Thomas was born in Garrett County, Maryland, March 6, 1850. His father, Henry Thomas, for many years lived in Monongalia County, West Virginia, and died on his farm east of Morgantown about 1911. He was a first cousin of Andrew Thomas, father of Rev. Jere- miah Thomas of Bruceton. Henry Thomas by hia mar- riage to Eliza Kelly had three sons, Alexander, Frank and Charles Henry. Charles Henry Thomas was reared in the vicinity of Friendsville, Maryland, acquired a limited edu- cation there and did farm work until he reached hia majority. After his marriage he established his home in West- moreland County, Pennsylvania, where for several years he was a coke drawer from the ovens of Westmoreland and Fayette counties. In 1876 he moved to Monongalia County, West Virginia, and for four years farmed just east of Morgantown. He then moved over into Preston County, and lived on a farm in Grant District until the fall of 1915, when he moved into Bruceton Mills, where his death occurred April 8, 1916. Charles Henry Thomas was a man of great vigor of body, capable of enduring the hardships of manual labor and had the industry and untiring energy that enabled him to make the best pos- sible use of his physical powers. He was also public- spirited, and while he possessed only a limited education, he read widely and kept himself informed on all practical questions. He was a sincere member and deacon in the Church of the Brethren, and had an active part in the erection of the Mountain Grove Church in his rural com- munity. He was a republican, and always voted that ticket. In Westmoreland County in July, 1874, Charles Henry Thomas married Sallie Glover, who is still living at Bruce- ton Mills. Her parents were Andrew J. and Jane (Kelley) Glover. Her father was a Union soldier with a West Vir- ginia regiment and saw some of the hard fighting of the war, though he was never wounded or captured. After the war he established his home near Hazelton in Preston County, lived on a farm there and later moved to Monon- galia County, where his wife died and is buried in Zion Cemetery. His daughter Sallie maintained his home until her marriage, and thereafter he lived in different places until hia death in 1909, at the age of seventy-nine. Andrew J. Glover had the following children: Mrs. Mary Rotk- well, of Friendsville, Maryland; Mrs. Sallie Thomas; Wil- liam, of Fayette County, Pennsylvania; Elsworth, of Char- leroi, Pennsylvania; Harriet, wife of Lowrey Warman, of Grant District; and Charles, who died, leaving a family. Vestus Thomas, only son of the late Charles Henry Thomas, is proprietor of the Home Hotel at Bruceton Mills, and for a number of years has been a leader in the business, educational and other affairs of that com- munity. He was born in Westmorland County, Pennsyl- vania, October 11, 1875, and most of his early years were spent on a farm. He had some experience in the hard labor of the coke fields with his father. The public schools educated him. He started life as a farmer, was married before he was nineteen, and established his first home in Grant District, on a farm adjoining that of his father. He possessed tools and stock, and hard work proved the key that opened the door to a reasonable degree of pros- perity. On leaving the farm Mr. Thomas moved to Bruce- ton Mills and bought the Home Hotel as the successor of John J. Spiker. He and Mrs. Thomas have popularized this house for its splendid service to the traveling public. Mr. Thomas is also in business, handling harness, buggies and farm machinery, and he had a part in the organiza- tion of the Brueeton Bank as a stockholder and contin- uously as a member of the Board of Directors, and for a dozen years has been one of the discount committee of the bank. Mr. Thomas, with several' other associates, organized the Bruceton Electric Light Company, of which he is president. The plant was installed January 1, 1921, and is now furnishing the modern lighting facilities for the town. Among causes of a public nature probably none enlisted more heartily the enthusiasm and effort of Mr. Thomas than the campaign to establish a district high school. He had the satisfaction to see the movement win by a more than 2 to 1 vote. He is a republican, cast his first presi- dential ballot for William McKinley in 1896, and was a delegate from the county to the Wheeling Republican State Convention. Like his father, he is a member of the Church of the Brethren. While living on the farm he assisted in the erection of the Mountain Grove Church, was the principal man on the building committee, and for a number of years was a leader in the work of the Sabbath School. Vestus Thomas and Miss Martha Murray were married February 23, 1893, being the first couple married in the new Uniontown Court House in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Thomas was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, September 11, 1870, daughter of George W. and Martha A. (Dillow) Mur- ray. Her father was a native of Fayette County and died near Haydentown in 1904, at the age of fifty-eight. His widow is still living among her children, who are: Mrs. Mary Smith, of Smithfield, Pennsylvania; Mrs. Thomas; Betsy, who was Mrs. Murray, now the wife of William Kelley, of Grant District, Preston County; Robert, of Fayette County; Sallie, wife of J. C. Everly, of Grant District; and George W., of Grant District. Mrs. Thomas was educated in the schools of Fayette County. She and Mr. Thomas have lived together for nearly thirty years, and they have shared in the work and duties that have been their lot and have been the source of their prosperity. They have five surviving children and also three grandchildren. Their children are May, Blanche, Charles Arthur, Howard Edward and Nellie Maud. May is the wife of Leroy Darby, of Brueeton Mills, and the mother of Eleanor Louise. Blanche is Mrs. Charles Bright, of Bruceton Mills, and her children are Kathleen Eleanor and Dale McClure.