Biography of Robert Taylor Bair - Raleigh Co. WV The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 646 ROBERT TAYLOR BAIR. One of the most prominent of the building agencies in the development of the city of Beckley has been the firm of Bair Brothers, Inc., dealers in lumber, building material and kindred supplies, owners of the Bair Building and agents for Ford, Buick and Lincoln automobiles and Republic trucks. The secretary and treasurer of this concern is Robert Taylor Bair, who has been a resident of this city since 1899 and whose rise in the business world has been truly typical of real American enterprise, industry and perseverance. Mr. Bair was born on a farm near Washington Col- lege, Washington County, Tennessee, September 10, 1880, a son of George W. and Mary (Beard) Bair, and was named in honor of the famous Tennessee chief executive, Governor Robert Taylor, whose family home was in the same community. George W. Bair was born in Floyd County, Virginia, and followed farming until his death in 1887, at the age of forty-eight years, or when his son, Robert T., was only seven years of age. He was a democrat in politics. Mrs. Bair was born in Washington County, Ten- nessee, and died in 1891, aged fifty-three years. Like her husband, she was a member of the Presbyterian Church. They were the parents of eight children, of whom seven grew to maturity, and of these three now live at Beckley; George W. and Robert T., of the firm of Bair Brothers; and Mrs. J. C. Maples. Robert Taylor Bair attended the public school at Wash- ington College, and after the death of his parents lived at the home of his sister, Mrs. Maples, in the meantime being employed on the farm, in the timber and at sawmills at several points. Mr. Bair came to Beckley in 1899 with his brother Sydney. They had very little money to pay rail- road fare, but this did not affect their case, as there was no railroad at that time over which to travel and they consequently made the journey afoot. Sydney Bair was the owner of a sawmill and Robert worked for him for about a year, following which he and his brother, George W., bought a worn-out mill that was regarded as useless for the sum of $250, on credit. By making some ingenious changes they managed to get the old mill working and on making a little money bought a better structure and began purchasing boundaries of timber, which they converted into lumber. Still later they established a planing mill, and from that time to the present, their growth and devel- opment has been consistent. They have furnished the lumber and other building material for many of the mines in this district, used in building mine structures, tipples, store buildings and miners' homes and also the building material utilized in the erection of many of the leading structures of Beckley and other towns in this territory. They have prospered exceedingly and their prosperity is well merited. From 1907 to 1912 Robert T. Bair was superintendent of the United Lumber Company, at Uniontown, Pennsyl- vania, this company being owned by the Palmer Seaman interests. He has seen all the mines opened up in this locality, has witnessed the building of the railroads and has seen Beckley grow from a sparsely-settled hamlet into a full-fledged city of importance in its part of the state. He has contributed materially to this development, and the Bair Building, erected by him and his brother in 1921, is one of the substantial structures of the city. He has been active in civic affairs and holds membership in the Beckley Chamber of Commerce and the Beckley Kiwanis Club, and as a fraternalist is affiliated with the Blue Lodge and Chapter of Masonry. In 1899 Mr. Bair was united in marriage with Miss Mabel Kent, daughter of S. H. Kent, of Beckley, and to this union there have been born two sons: Adolph, who is attending Blacksburg Military Institute, is the [The remainder of this bio is missing from my book along with four pages of text. vfc] Submitted by Valerie Crook **************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Files may be printed or copied for personal use only. ****************************************************************