Article on Robert Acord, 1950 "Robert Acord, Who Lived To Be 103 Years Of Age, Was Favorite Visitor In Beckley Years Ago" Article published 26 Aug. 1950 in the Centennial Edition of the Beckley Post-Herald newspaper. Reprinted with permission. Robert Acord, once Raleigh County's oldest native-born son, died 20 years ago at the age of 103. His life spanned most of the county's earliest history and some of the modern. His death came on March 23, 1930. The son of John and Nancy Acord, Robert Acord's life was full of historical events. During the Mexican War he worked about iron furnaces in Ohio. When the Civil War broke out he enlisted in the Confederate Army, although then old for military service. In the Spanish-American War he was an active gentleman of 70 years, and a score of years later his mind was sufficiently alert to appreciate the significance of America's entry in World War 1. As a man of 23 years, he attended the first session of the Raleigh County Court in 1850, an event he recalled vividly in the later years of his life. For more than 50 years he had been a member of the Baptist church. Politically he was a Democrat. During the years just before his death he made frequent visits to Beckley, where he was greeted by friends who delighted to hear him tell episodes of Raleigh County's early history, which were ever fresh in his memory. Physically, he showed but slight evidence of his great age. His eyesight was unimpaired and in many ways he showed the vigor of many a younger man. Acord was born at Bolt on Jan. 6, 1827, ten years before the General Assembly of Virginia passed an act establishing the Town of Beckley. As were many other men of that day, he was a great hunter and delighted in the pursuit of wild game then so plentiful in the wilderness. His entire life, with the exception of one brief time he spent in Ohio, was passed on a farm. The longevity of the Acord family is proverbial. John "Jack" Acord, the father of Robert Acord, lived to be 104 years old, while his wife Nancy Acord, the mother of Robert, was more than 80 years of age at the time of her death. However, Robert Acord outlived his brothers and sisters, and is the last of eight children. Acord went to Jackson, Ohio shortly after the outbreak of the Mexican War, attracted by the wages then being paid employees of iron furnaces there. It was during this period in Ohio that he was married. Following the war, he returned to Raleigh County, settling at what is now Lester, where he resided until his enlistment in the Confederate Army. At the end of the war he moved to Wyoming County, where for almost 50 years he resided before returning once more to Raleigh County, about 45 years ago. Since that time he had lived near Bolt. Submitted by Melissa Bailey Duggins **************************************************************** 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. ****************************************************************