Randolph County, West Virginia Biography of MAJ. RANDOLPH STALNAKER This biography was submitted by Valerie Crook, E-mail address: The submitter does not have a connection to the subject of this sketch. This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. All other rights reserved. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the WVGenWeb Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://www.usgwarchives.net/wv/wvfiles.htm The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 604 MAJ. RANDOLPH STALNAKER, a resident of Beverly, West Virginia, served as a youthful soldier of the Confed- eracy, and for over half a century has had an active and useful career, with many honors of a civilian nature in his home state. The Stalnaker family is one of the oldest and most nu- merous in West Virginia. According to a recent estimate it is stated that not less than 25,000 descendants of the pio- neers in the state remain here. The name Stalnaker is of Holland Dutch origin, and the first of the family in Amer- ica settled in old Virginia. The great-grandfather of Ran- dolph Stalnaker was Adam Stalnaker, Sr., a native of Ran- dolph County. His son, Adam Stalnaker, Jr., was born in the same county and was killed by the Indians in frontier times. The father of Major Stalnaker was also named Randolph and was born in Randolph County in 1808 and died in Wirt County in 1885. He was a harness maker and saddler by trade, and much of his life was spent at Lewisburg in Greenbrier County. He was a staunch demo- crat in politics, and was a member of the Episcopal Church. He married Caroline Erskine Zoll, a member of the Pres- byterian Church. The children of Adam Stalnaker, Jr., were: Daniel H., Randolph Maria (who married Isaac Baker) and Ellen. The children of Randolph and Caroline Erskine Stalnaker were: Dr. John William Stalnaker, who served as a surgeon in the Confederate Army; Sarah J., whose first husband was Frank Baugh, and her second husband, Isaac Johnson; Daniel Edwin, who was a soldier in the Stonewall Brigade of the Confederate Army; Caroline Erskine, who married W. Preston Hix; Dr. Albert Gallatin Stalnaker, who was also in the Stonewall Brigade of the Confederate Army; Mamie, who married J. C. Hale; and Henry Erskine Stalnaker, who died in infancy. Maj. Randolph Stalnaker spent his early life at Lewis- burg in Greenbrier County, acquired a common school edu- cation, and was fifteen years of age when the war broke out between the states. He was born in Greenbrier County, June 8, 1845. Toward the close of the war he became a Confederate soldier, and served on the staff of Gen. A. W. Reynolds. His military title of major, however, is due to the commission he received and the active service he ren- dered as a major of State Militia participating in handling the railroad strike in West Virginia during the late '70s. He was commissioned major by Governor Mathews. After the war he returned home poor in purse, did farm work and had a struggle for several years to make a living. From 1868 until 1876 he was a merchant at Lewisburg. In 1877 he became private secretary to Governor H. M. Mathews, and served in that capacity four years. From 1881 to 1885 he held the more responsible office at Wheel- ing, West Virginia, of secretary of state. Since 1885 Major Stalnaker has been a special agent in the law department of the Baltimore & Ohio Railway. From life's opportuni- ties he has achieved success in a financial and business way, has enjoyed many exceptional political honors, and has gained a wide circle of friends throughout the state. He was formerly active in politics as a democrat, but in recent years has been an independent. He is a member of the Episcopal Church, is a Master Mason and Elk, and a Rotarian. Major Stalnaker in 1918 married Mrs. Mabel Burns (Baker), of Fairmont. Since his marriage his home has been at Beverly in Randolph County, West Virginia.