HISTORY OF RITCHIE COUNTY (WV) CHAPTER 49 - 52
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History of Ritchie County

The following is taken from the book "History of Ritchie County" written by 
Minnie Kendall Lowther, and published in 1910.
Transcribed by Janet Waite and Earl Cowan.

Chapter XLIX
Tollgate
Transcribed by Earl Cowan.

This town took its name from an old toll-gate that came into existence here 
late in the thirties or early in the forties, and went out during the Civil 
war.

The Northwestern turnpike at this time was a State road, and it was kept up 
by the revenue that was collected from the tollgates along the road.

Notley Willis, senior, was the first keeper of this gate. He was born near 
Winchester, Virginia in April, 1800; and being left an orphan in childhood, 
was early thrown upon his own resources. He came to Tyler county in his 
boyhood, and near the year 1817, went to Charleston where he was engaged in 
the growing salt industry; and, at one time, he was a salt comissioner at 
Cincinnati, Ohio. But in 1837 he came to Tollgate (from Charleston), and 
shortly after his arrival here he was married to Mrs. Epha Marsh Cline 
(daughter of James Marsh and widow of William Cline), the marriage taking 
place at the old Marsh homestead, on February 16, 1837. Near this time he 
became the owner of the Marsh homestead, a little east of this place; and 
here he spent the first six years of his married life; and when the toll-
gate was established he was made the keeper; but in 1843, he removed to Mole 
Hill and Mrs. Lee succeeded him as grardian of this gate.

Mr Willis was a master Mason; was one of the early justices of the peace of 
the county, and was one of the first members of the Board of Education after 
the inauguration of the Free School system. He died at Mole hill on 
Novermber 17, 1878, and there his ashes lie. He was the father of one son, 
Notley G. Willis of Mole Hill.

Notley G. Willis, this son, was married to Miss Louisa Martin, and four 
children were the result of this union; viz., Epha and Josephine died in 
youth. Helen married D. B. Strickling and died at her home in Pennsylvania 
in 1907, leaving one daughter, Mrs. Cammie Gormley; two other children, 
Romeo and Nellie having prececed her home. And Judge M. H. Willis, who 
married Miss Anita Magness, of Iowa is the son. This completes the entire 
line of the descendants of Notley Willis, senior, the pioneer toll-gate 
keeper.

The Willises are descended from an old Virginia family, who were perhaps, of 
English descent, but the exact time of their migration to the New World is 
unknown. However, Francis Willis was prominently identified in Colonial 
affairs before the middle of the seventeenth century. As early as 1610, he 
held the office of Clerk of Charles River in York county, Virginia, and was 
a personal admirer and an ardent supporter of the policy of Sir John Harvey, 
governor of the colony: and upon Sir Harvey's removal from this office, 
Willis was deprived of his position, and was prohibited from appearing as 
attorney in any of the courts. But after the lapse of near two years, when 
Sir William Berkely came to the Gubernatorial chair, he was restored to 
favor, and afterwards filled several important offices, among which was that 
of chairman of the committee that revised the Colonial laws in 1657-8, and 
member of the Governor's council until 1675, the year preceding Bacon's 
rebellion. He died in England in 1691, and his last will and testament, his 
nephew, Francis Willis, son of Henry, heired the greater part of his 
property, including his vast estates in Glouchester county, Virginia.

Francis Willis, junior, had two sons, Francis III, of Glouchester county, 
and Henry Willis, the founder of Fredericksburg. After this generation, the 
family was known as two branches, the Glouchester and the Fredericksburg; 
and from the Glouchester branch the Ritchie county family come. This branch 
of the family are scattered throughout the northern counties of Virginia, 
and through Maryland and Pennsylvania; and Brunswick county, Virginia. 
Jefferson and Berekley counties, West Virginia are said to abound in their 
traditions.

[FOOTNOTE 1: This same Henry Willis married Mrs. Mildred Washington Gregory. 
See Washington genealogy in Chapter Fifty-Fourth.]

William Willis.--Another Willis family who has no known connection with the 
one just mentioned, but who has numerous descendants in this and sister 
counties, is that of the late William Willis, who came from Ireland during 
the latter part of the eighteenth century; and married Miss Anna Douglass of 
Harrison county and settled near Clarksburg, where he was identified as an 
early pedagogue.

This pioneer couple were the parents of five sons, and seven daughters; 
viz.:

Robert (1799-1886) with his three wives (Mary Venort, Mary Vanhorn, and 
Matilda Prine) rests in Doddridge county.

George (maried Miss Elder), and John, who died unmarried at the age of 
eighty years, were of Harrison county. William (Miss Elizabeth Bumgardner) 
was of Doddridge county; and Reuben (who never married) met a tragic death 
by drowning in the Ohio river.

Malinda was the wife of Andrew Nutter, senior, of Oxford; Elizabeth was the 
late Mrs. Peter Pritchard, of white Oak; Nancy married Julius Davidson, and 
Jane, Andrew Divers, both of Harrison county; Margaret became Mrs. Gus 
Greathouse and died in Doddridge county at the age of eighty years; and 
Ruhama was Mrs. William Elder of this county.

Mrs. Edmund Lee, a widow, was the second keeper of the toll-gate, she having 
succeeded Mr. Willis near the year 1843, and remained in charge to the end 
of its history. She came here from Indiana near 1837 and settled in a cabin 
that stood only a few feet from the pike and a short distance from the 
Doddridge county line, and here within this community, she spent the closing 
years of her life. She was the mother of the late E. C. C. Lee who was a 
citizen of this village until his death in 1897, and has quite a number of 
other descentants, in different parts of the country.

Tollgate is said to be the only post-office of the name in the United 
States. It was established in 1868 with Captain Wicks post-master, and W. C. 
Taylor, grandson of pioneer Eli Taylor, is the present incumbent.

[FOOTNOTE 1 See Nutter and Pritchard families.]

The first school-house in the vicinity stood near one one-half miles from 
town on land that is now owned by B. H. Hickman. It came into existence in 
1868, and the first school within the village, was taught in the old Masonic 
hall in 1880.

The Board of Education then purchased a store-house, and converted it into a 
school-room which served until the present two-story frame building came 
into existence.

The first church which was erected in 1842, was a union church; but is was 
destroyed by fire during the Civil war. Notley Willis, senior, was the donor 
of the grounds; and John Garner, junior, gave the ground for the cemetery, 
which is located one-half mile east of the town, on land now owned by J. M. 
Wilson.

This pioneer "city of the dead" has long since been abandoned, though some 
forty or fifty persons slumber here.

The one church of the village, to-day, is Baptist in denomination. It was 
built in the ante-bellum days, and, though still doing service, is fast 
crumbling to decay.

This village now has twenty-five families with a population of less than one 
hundred. Perhaps no other town with this number of families, has so few 
inhabitants--such a large percent of childless homes.

Although Doddridge corners in the town, all the citizens, except one, reside 
in Ritchie--A. J. Zinn goes to Greenwood to cast his vote.

There are now two general stores, one grocery, one hardware, and two feed 
stores, two black-smith shops, one saw and planing-mill combined, two 
hotels, and a good two-story substantial school-building.

The Broadwater Brothers, M. M. Cochran, Charles M. and William Denning 
(blacksmiths who are the inventors of the Denning well-drill machine, an 
invention upon which they have secured a patent, and W. C. Taylor are its 
business men; and Silas J. Taylor, is the leading farmer of the vicinity, 
and was the late T. J. Broadwater.

Thomas Jefferson Broadwater was born in Garrett county, Maryland, on 
November 8, 1837, and with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson Broadwater 
came to this county when he was but a lad of a few summers, and from that 
time until his death, on April 18, 1910, he was a familiar figure in this 
community.

In 1869, he was married to Miss Rhoda Rinehart, of Boyd, Maryland, sister of 
Mrs. L. P. Wilson, of Pennsboro, and eleven children were the result of this 
union; viz., Boyd, a commercial traveler, of Vienna, Wood county; Harry of 
Pennsboro; Mrs. Lyda Small, of Maryland; Will, who is also narried, and 
Misses Minnie and Nettie, Charles, Thomas, Ralph and Robert, who are at home 
with their mother.

Mr. Broadwater died at the home of his son at Vienna, where he had gone for 
medical treatment and the remains were brought back and laid away in the 
Tollgate cemetery, after impressive services had been held by the Rev. D. S. 
Boggs, of the Harrisville M. P. church and the Masonic order.



Chapter L
Other Prominent Families
Transcribed by Earl Cowan and Janet Waite.

THE MAXWELLS.--Though the Maxwells were not residents of this county in 
pioneer days, they have had large land interests here almost throughout its 
history, and quite a number of their descendants are identified with its 
present citizen-ship.

Lewis Maxwell was an early surveyor, and when he found a piece of vacant 
land, he laid a warrant upon it and entered it, and thus he came into 
possession of lare tracts of valuable wood-lands all over this section of 
the state. Without doubt he was the laregest individual land-owner that this 
county has ever known, and at his death his nephew, Franklin Maxwell, fell 
heir to much of his estate here. But since the death of Franklin, the heirs 
have principally disposed of these lands, but have retained their royalties 
which are now, to some extent, under develoment for oil, and gas pruposes.

The name "Maxwell" originated in Northumberland county, England, near the 
year 1000, it being, at first spelled "Maccuswell". Prior to this date the 
family are supposed to have come from Saxony, and to have become connected 
with the Athlings of Northern England in some way, but, as this tradition is 
such an ancient one, it is not well authenticated. However, they went from 
England to Scotland at the time of the conquest of William the Conqueror, 
and are said to have figured in the Border wars with Wallace and Bruce; and 
from "Scotia" they migrated to America before the yer 1700, and settled in 
Connecticut and in New Jersey, and to the New Jersey branch of the family, 
the Ritchie County Maxwells trace their ancestry; although they are unable 
to give definite connections farther back than Thomas Maxwell, of 
Pennsylvania.

Thomas Maxwell was married, near the year 1785 to Miss Jane Lewis, daughter 
of Alexander and Mary Smith Lewis, who was born in the Keystone state, on 
July 17, 1767.

He (Thomas) died in 1796, but his burial place is unknown. He had been 
making arrangments to remove from the Keystone state to Western Virginia, 
and had made one or more trips to this wilderness; but on his last journey, 
he was lost to view and all efforts to learn something of his fate were met 
with defeat. He was traced as far as Morgantown, and there all clew was 
lost. He was known to have had a considerable sum of money in his possession 
and the theory of robbery and murder was entertained by some, and others 
thought that he might have drowned, but nothing was ever known.

In 1799 his widow, Mrs. Jane Lewis Maxwell, with her six orphaned children 
removed to Harrison county, and settled on land owned by Col. William 
Lowther near what is now the little town of West Milford. Mrs. Maxwell's 
means were very much limited and when she arrived with her little flock, she 
found shelter with the family of Col. Lowther in the old cabin shown in an 
earlier chapter until another one could be fitted out upon the farm; and 
here she reared her family--one member of which, Lewis Maxwell, became a 
Congressman. And to this day sacred memories linger about the crude walls of 
this ancient dewlling for the descendants of Mrs. maxwell, and well as for 
those of Col. Lowther.

She afterwards removed to Lost creek, and finally to near Jane Lew in Lewis 
county where she died on October 20, 1835. This town, "Jane Lew" was named 
by her son, Lewis, in her honor.

Her family consisted of four sons and two daughters; viz., Abner, Levi, 
Lewis, Robert, Amy and Mary Maxwell. Abner Maxwell, the eldest son (1785-
1864), was captain of a Harrisville county company in the war of 1812, and 
remained a citizen of the Clarksburg vicinity until, perhaps, some time in 
the forties, when he removed to Doddridge county, where he spent his last 
hours, near West Union, in 1864.

He was first married to Miss Susan Davidson, and his second wife was Miss 
Judith Modisette, and his children were twelve in number; Marshall ( born 
1811), Franklin (1814), Mary, who became Mrs. A. W. Flucky (1816), Levi 
(1819), and William (1821), were the fruits of the first union. And Frances 
Jane, wife of Archibald Lowther, of Goose creek; Lewis Maxwell, formerly of 
Pullman, but now of Glenville; Charles, of Summers; Amy M., who became Mrs. 
Asa Coplin, Abner M., James, and Robert, Doddridge county, of the second 
marriage.

Franklin Maxwell (son of Abner) was born in 1814; and, in 1840, he deserted 
single life when he claimed Miss Frances Jane Runnels as his bride, and 
though he lived and died in Doddrige county, he owned large interests here, 
and was widely known. He is said to have helped many a poor laborer in this 
county to a home of his own by permitting him to live on his lands and by 
giving him almost his own time in making the payments, provided that he was 
honest and industrius; for he had no patience with dishonesty or laziness. 
He died very suddenly in his potato-patch at his home near West Union, on 
July 4, 1892, and not far from the scenes of his activities, he lies in his 
last sleep.

His children: Leman, Lewis, Porter, Rector, Wm. Brent, Harriet P., who 
married G. W. Brown (1853-1890), Mary Martha (1855-1860), Franklin Post 
(1857-1880), Frances Jane, who became Mrs. B. C. Bland (1859-1880) and Susan 
Alice (1861-1883.

Frances Jane Maxwell, half-sister of Franklin, was married to Archibald 
Lowther, brother of the late William I. Lowther, of Pullman, on November 9, 
1848, and after a brief residence in Doddridge county, removed to Goose 
creek this county, where she died in 1904. Mr. Lowther preceded her to the 
other world in 1899, and both lie at rest, on Goose creek.

Their children were: Mrs. Sarah Juda (A. B.) Wilson, the late Mrs. Amy 
Carpenter, Robert M. Lowther, Frances, who is now Mrs. Ross Webb, Elizabeth, 
the wife of John Scott, and the late Minter, all of Goose creek; and John 
Franklin Lowther, of Pullman.

Lewis Maxwell, brother of Mrs. Lowther, who was born on May 18, 1831, was 
married to Miss Margaret Mitchell, sister of Mrs. Wm. I. Lowther, in 1861, 
and for long years resided at Pullman, and from there, removed to Glenville, 
in Gilmer county, twenty years ago, where he and his wife still survive.

Their children are as follows: Mrs. Anna V. (Ulyses S.) Upton, Braxton 
county; Mrs. Cordelia Jane (Spencer) Collins, Glenville, who was formerly a 
teacher here; Irvin F., Charles Lewis, William E., Sylvester S., and M. C. 
Maxwell.

Abner M. Maxwell, brother of Lewis and Mrs. Lowther, was married to Lydia 
Jane Obourne in 1862, and they were the parents of Mrs. Mary Frances (Homer) 
Griffin, Elizabeth; Mrs. Ella Jane (Calvin E.)Wilson, Summers; James A. 
Maxwell, Harrisbille; Wm. Bruce, Porter, Levi, and the late Miss Rebecca 
Blanche Maxwell, Doddridge county.

Levi Maxwell, son of Thomas and Jane Lewis Maxwell, was born on July 25, 
1788, and died at his home near Weston, on November 13, 1884. On March 23, 
1823, he was married to Miss Sarah Haymond, daughter of Captain John and 
Mary Wilson Haymond, and grand-daughter of Col. Ben wilson, senior, and the 
following named children were born of this union: Angelina (1823-1864), 
unmarried; Edwin Maxwell (1825-1893), Clarksburg; John (1827-1860, Rufus, 
Semira, and Jane, who remained single.

Rufus Maxwell, born on October 19, 1828, was a lawyer in his early life but 
never engaged in the practice of his profession after the Civil war. He was 
justice of the peace in Lewis county, but removed from there to Tucker 
county in 1856, where he filled the offices of District Attorney, 
Superintendant of schools, County surveyor, and was a representative in the 
House of Delegates; and there he still survives. On June 1, 1852, he was 
married to Miss Sarah Jane Bounifeld, who was born on Horse Shoe run, in 
this state, on july 14, 1834, and died at Denver, Colorado, on February 10, 
1897. She was the daughter of Arnold and Elizabeth Minear Bonnifield.

This couple were the parents of twelve children who are quite prominently 
known throught the state: Elizabeth A. (1855-1861), Mary A. was the first 
married to W. S. M. Spesert, and her second husband was W. A. Lipscomb, of 
California; Dorcas Angelica is the wife of the Rev. Oliver Lowther, of the 
M. P. church, Pullman; Hu Maxwell is the well-known historian, who now holds 
a position in the Forestry Service at Washington city; Cyres Haymond is of 
Morgantown; Thomas E. (1865-1896, unmarried), John F. and Levi H., 
California; Charles J., Texas; Robert R, (1874-1899), and Anna Catharine 
(1877-1879).

Lewis Maxwell, third son of Thomas and Jane Lewis, born in 1790, was a 
member of congress from 1827 to 1833, and was a man of no small means for 
his time. Being an early surveyor, as before mentioned, he entered large 
tracts of land all over this part of the state, and as he left no heirs much 
of his fortune fell to his nephew, Franklin Maxwell.

In 1844, he was first married to Miss Safronia Wilson, and his second wife, 
whom he married in 1859, was Miss Jane Pritchard, daughter of Peter 
Pritchard, of White Oak. He died near Weston In Lewis county in 1865, and 
his widow who was many years his junior is now Mrs. Wiley Of Fairmont.

Robert Maxwell, the fourth son of Thomas and Jane Lewis, was born on 
Fegruary 19, 1791, and on March 19, 1812, he was married to Miss Rebecca 
Eastlack, who was born on November 6, 1792, and died at their home in Ohio, 
on May 9, 1843. After her death he returned to Lost creek in Harrison 
county, where he contracted two subsequent marriages, and where he died on 
February 5, 1844.

His children were as follows and all were born of the first union: Thomas 
J., Frances B. (Mrs. Wm. Boggs), Jane Lewis, and Amy, who died in childhood, 
Rebecca H. (Mrs. Joseph Lefevre), Meiggs L., Caroline A. (Mrs. B. F. 
McMillian), Mary Melvina (Mrs. Alexander Ireland), Robert C., and Emma Ann 
(Mrs. Sylvanus Page), all of whom reside, and rest, in Ohio, and other 
Western states. Caroline, Meiggs, and Rebecca, alone survive.

Mary Melvina Maxwell was born on June 27, 1828, and was married to Alexander 
Ireland, brother of G.M.Ireland, on October 7, 1851, the marriage taking 
place in Ohio, where Mr. Ireland had gone in his single days. Mrs. Ireland 
died in 1907, but he still survives at the old home at Cardington, Ohio.

His children: Caroline Belle is the wife of the Rev. Louis C. Haddox, of the 
Methodist Episcopal church of Columbus, Ohio; Corydon Boyd is a prominent 
physician of Churchville, New York; Lillie Love (1857-1875), Rosalind C. 
(1858-1875), Mary Alexandria is Mrs. Stephen C. Kingman; Elba Nile, Mrs. Wm. 
F, Duncan; and Virginia V., the wife of Dr. H. B, Camnpbell.

Amy Maxwell, daughter of Thomas and Jane Lewis Maxwell, born August 27, 
1799, became the wife of John Peck on August 7 1825, and went to Ohio, where
she died on May 23, 1847.

Her children: were Lemon B., Dewitt C., David B., John S., Tarleton, and 
Minerva who married George R. Cunningham, and two sons that died in infancy, 
all of whom were of Cardington, Ohio, but are now numbered with the dead.

Mary Maxwell, daughter of Thomas and Jane Lewis Maxwell, was first married 
to John Swisher, and her second husband's name was Hawley, but little is in 
our possession concerning her family other than the names of of the Swisher 
children; viz., Alvira, John, George, Lewis, and Amy, who married Thomas 
Curl.

[Footnote: This data was principally gleaned from the Smith Family Record by 
Joseph S. Harris, of Philadelphia, and it has been our aim to give the 
history of the original Maxwell Family in this state, and then to write up 
only the younger families that have been well-known here in times past, and 
to-day.]

The Haddoxes, who have so long been identified with the citizenship of this 
county, are of Irish extraction. The time of their coming to the Western 
world is not definitely known, but as they are only another branch of the 
family whose history appears with the North fork settlers, it is quite 
probable that they crossed To Virginia at the same time--during the latter 
part of the eighteenth century--as circumstances point strongly to the fact 
that Jonathan Haddox, the head of the North fork family, and William, the 
progenitor of this one, were brothers.

But Be that as it may, William Haddox and his wife, Mary Minear Haddox, 
lived and died in what is now Barbour county, where they reared quite a 
family.

Phillip Haddox, their son, spent his entire life in Barbour county within 
three miles of the place of his nativity. He married Miss Isabel Hewey, of 
Quaker city, Ohio, and in Barbour county she also died. Their family 
consisted of nine children; viz., Leanna, Sarah, Nancy, Susan, Mary, 
Jonathan, Joseph, Samuel and Allen Haddox. Allen and Mary, who is Mrs. 
Duckworth, remained in their native county, and the rest came to this 
county.

Leanna was the late Mrs. John Mitchell; Sarah, the late Mrs. John Moody 
Prichard, of White Oak; Nancy was the late Mrs. Josiah Hawkins; and Susan, 
who first married Phillip Felton, senior, of Barour, was the late Mrs. 
George Brown of Burnt House.

Jonathan Hewey Haddox, the eldest son of Phillip and Iasbel Hewey, was born 
in Barbour county, on February 20, 1822, and came to this county in his 
young manhood where he met and married Miss Sarah Salina Cunningham, 
daughter of Enoch M. and Mrs. Jane Stuart Cunningham, and grand-daughter of 
Edward and Sarah Price Cunningham, of Indian fame.

[Footnote See Cunningham chapter.]

The marriage took place in 1843, and from that time until the day of his 
death, he called Ritchie county his home. He was one of the early merchants 
of Smithville, and from there, removed to Cairo, where he became identified 
in the same business, and where he played an important part in other 
affairs. He was a trusted employee of the "Ritchie Mine Company" during the 
sixties, but in the early seventies, returned to Smithville and became a 
member of the mercantile firm of "Haddox and Carr." Here Mrs. Haddox passed 
from sight, and in 1884,he again took the marriage vow, when Miss Safronia 
Collins, daughter of Chainey Collins, became his wife; and shortly after 
this event, he changed his place of business to Washburn. But finally 
removed to Harrisville, where he owned and managed a a grocery store at the 
time of his death, which took place on May 27, 1906, while he was visiting 
his sons at Huntington. The remains were brought back to Harrisville, and 
there laid at rest.

The children of the first union were seven in mumber; viz., Cincinnatus P., 
and Lathrop, Huntington; Maclisona was the late lamented Mrs. Adam Flesher, 
of Pennsboro; Etta is Mrs. Columbus Riddell, of Moundsville; Harrison B. 
died in 1877; Charles, in 1865, and one, in childhood.

The children of the wife of his old age are: Matilda, Elsie, Dona, who is 
Mrs. Jesse Gatrell, and Thurman Haddox, all of Harrisville, except Mrs. 
Gatrell, who resides at Clarksburg.

Joseph Haddox was married to Miss Sarah Wass, daughter of John Wass, whom he 
met while on a visit to this county; and in 1848, he purchased the 
improvement of his brother-in-law, John Mitchell, at Pleasant Hill, and 
there resided until his death, on May 8, 1900, and there his aged widow 
still survives. He was seventy-six years of age at the time of his death.

His children are as follows: Misses Josephine and Elizabeth, of Parkersburg; 
Mrs. Mary Summers (wife of Jonn Summers), Samuel and Charles Haddox, Berea; 
Mrs. Ella (Bruce) Wilson, Washburn; Mrs. Etta (Hedges) Davis, Hazelgreen; 
Jonathan, Berea; John, of Calhoun county; and Benjamin, and Robert, whose 
places of residence are unknown.

Samuel Haddox with his wife, Mrs Mary A. Kennedy Haddox, came to this county 
in the middle life, but finally went to Parkersburg where they have both 
been sleeping for several years: she died in 1903, and he preceded her to 
the grave. Their son, Jasper N. Haddox died in 1903, and the surviving 
members of the family are; John Haddox, of Columbus, Ohio; Coleman, and Mrs. 
Jennie Griffin, Parkersburg; and Mrs. Belle Hostetter, Beatrice.

Allen Haddox of Berea belongs to this branch of the family, he being a son 
of Adam, brother of Phillip, and his mother was Miss Mary Willett before her 
marriage.

We learn from the Haddoxes of the North fork, that all the families of the 
name of both the Virginias are related.

King Knob Settled By the Carpenters.--Though King Knob is one of the most 
distinguished points of land in Murphy district, being the highest (1270 
ft.) its forest remained unbroken until 1881, when the late Reason Carpenter 
came here from Pleasants county with his family, and erected the old, 
deserted cabin that still stands, as a reminder of the days that have gone 
by.

Mr. Carpenter was born in Ohio, in 1820, and there he was married near the 
year 1811, to Miss Rachel Porter, who was born in the little State of 
Delaware, on February 26, 1825, but, with her parents, removed to the 
"Buckeye state" when she was a small child. From there, in 1875, they 
removed to Tyler county, and three years later, to Pleasants, and from there 
they came here. Mr. Carpenter died in 1895, and filled the first grave that 
was made in the King Knob churchyard. And Mrs. Carpenter survived until 
March 1, 1910, when she joined him on the other side.

Their children were twelve in number; William and Robert, Tyler county: 
Albert, Mrs. Margaret Hedge, Mrs. Julia Ann Edgell and Mrs. Nancy Dye, are 
all of this county: Mrs. Rachel Smith, and Mrs. Eliza Stull, Clarksburg: 
Mrs. Jane Carpenter, and the late Mrs, Sarah Haga, Ohio: and the late Mrs. 
Drusilla Carpenter, Ohio: and the late Mrs. Mary Carpenter, Middlebourne.

J. M. McKinney.--Another family whose services to this county merit 
recognigion is that of Joseph Morris McKinney, of Hebron.

This family comes of Irish stock. Francis McKinney and Miss Hannah Hopkins 
were married near Londonerry in the North of Ireland, and their son, George, 
was ecucated for the ministry: but not finding his heart wholly in this 
work, he emigrated to America before the Revolution and settled near the 
boundary line of Loudin and Fauquier counties, Virginia: here he met and was 
married to Miss Mary James, and here, engaged in teaching until near the 
year 1812, when he removed with his family to Harrison county, where he died 
at the age of near one hundred years.

His son, Thomas, married Miss Frances Leah Gallaher, of Loudin county, and 
on November 24, 1802, their son, George Washington McKinney was born. He 
married Miss Amelia Morris, daughter of the Rev. Joseph Morris of Harrison 
county, and settled at Joseph's Mills in Tyler county. Here Joseph Morris 
McKinney, the subject of this sketch, was born, on February 22 1838, and 
while he was yet an infant his parents removed to Washington county, Ohio, 
where they remained six years before returning to their former home in 
Harrison county, where the mother died in 1847. The father survived her by a 
number of years, dying at the home of his son in this county.

Joseph Morris McKinney and Miss Margaret Carlin, daughter of Joseph Carlin, 
of Barbour county, were married on November 10, 1859, and came to this 
county the following spring and settled near Hebron on the old homestead 
which they still own, though they removed to Tyler county a year ago.

Mr. McKinney has been a prominent figure in the public affairs of the county 
for almost a half-century. He served as Captain, Major and Colonel of the 
militia, and as clerk of the Regimental court. He has been Supervisor of 
Clay district, President of the Board of Ecucation, member of the county 
Board of Teachers' Examiners, and has three times filled the office of 
County Superintendent. He being the first one chosen by the popular vote 
under the Free School system; and was one of the chief factors in the 
inauguration of this system: for under his administration the first houses 
were built by the state. He was twice a member of the House of Delegates 
from this county, and for thirty years, "wielded the birchen rod" in the 
winter and farmed in the summer.

He entertains with pride the thought that he never used tobacco, nor drank 
intoxicating drinks, and that all his sons imitate his example.

He is the father of seven sons and four daughters, several of whom have been 
identified in the profession of Teaching: George E. is a merchant of Ben's 
run in Tyler county; Thomas E. resides in South Dakota, where he fills the 
chair of Mathematics in the State University; John M. resides at the old 
home at Hebron; Joseph, who is a civil engineer, is the other son.

Sarah Ellen, the eldest daughter, is Mrs. W. A. Douglass, of Highland; 
Flora, is Mrs. J. C. McGregor, of Salem; and Hester M., and Amilia V. are at 
home.

The Hallams originated in Bradford, England, and tradition has it that they 
belonged to the same family as Henry Hallam, the renowned English historian 
whose son's memory has been so beautifully enshrined in Lord Tennyson's "In 
Memoriam." But our authentic information begins with Michael Hallam who was 
one of a family of four children; viz., Rachel (born in 1814) who never 
married, Nancy Ann (B. 1817) who became Mrs. Lacy, and William Hallam, born 
in 1818.

Michael Hallam was born on March 13, 1813, and died on July 20, 1865, at his 
home in Tyler county. On September 1, 1836, he was married to Miss Hannah 
Robinson, at Centerville, in Tyler county, with Willis Wells and his sister 
Rachel Hallam as Witness. Mrs. Hallam was born on March 9, 1814, and died in 
July, 1887.

Their children were four in number; William Wesley, who was born on July 8, 
1837, was killed by a log rolling over him, on the Hallam farm below 
Smithville, on December 2, 1896. He never married.

Israel Nickline, born on Novermber 16, 1840, has long been a prominent 
citizen of this county, he having twice served as Sheriff, being elected on 
the Democratic ticket. His wife, Mrs. Lyda Wilson Hallam, is the daughter of 
the late Thomas Wilson, and the grand-daughter of Col. Ben Wilson, senior, 
and they have no family. For a numgber of years following his official 
service, their home was at Webb's mill, but is is now at Cairo.

Isaac Simmons Hallam, the youngest member of the family was born on 
September 5, 1843, and in 1865, he was married to Miss Frances McGregor, 
eldest daughter of the late David McGregor of Cairo; and in 1871 they 
removed to Kansas, and settled near Abeline; but since 1884, Mr. Hallam has 
been identified with the business intrests of the town; having first been 
engaged in the lumber enterprise; then as a wholesale groceryman, and now as 
president of the State bank of Abeline. Later--He died in September, 1910, 
and was buried at Abeline.

The only child of this union is Mrs. Lulu Parker, wife of Dr. Parker, of 
Kansas city, Missouri, who is a talented young woman of cultivated literary 
tastes.

John Hulderman, Ritchie county's present chief official, was born in Wood 
county, on May 16, 1852, and was one of a small family of four children. His 
mother, Mrs. Drusilla King Hulderman, was borne to her final resting-place 
on Worthy creek (in Wood county) not long after his birth; and with his 
father, Absalom Hulderman, and the rest of the family he came to this county 
in 1854. The father finally returned to Wood county where he spent his last 
hours near Walker Station, and there he rests. The two brothers, Rufus, and 
Isaiah Hulderman, served as Union soldiers, and Rufus died soon after his 
return home from the army, but Iasiah survived until May, 1902. The only 
sister is Mrs. James Bailey, of Parkersburg.

Mr. Hulderman's official life began in 1894 when he was appointed Road 
supervisor of Union district; and at the expiration of his four years' 
service in this capacity (1898), he was elected as Justice of the Peace, and 
continued to hold this office until 1908 when he was chosen as Sheriff; and 
in this office he was installed on January 1 1909, and is now making a 
highly creditable record.

On December 25, 1874, he was married to Miss Harriett C. Sinnett, daughter 
of the late venerable George Sinnett, and three daughters are the result of 
the union; Addie M. (Mrs. S. M. Keith), Laura D., (Mrs. C. F. Brown) and 
Miss Della, who is her father's efficent helper in his office.

The Carders.- The late John Carder, of Hardman chapel, belonged to one of 
the older pioneer families of the North fork of Hughes river, but owing to 
our indefinite information concerning his ancestors, we cannot do the family 
justice.

However his parents lived a little north of the old Wells mill at the time 
of his birth on May 3, 1825, and his father died when he was still in his 
cradle, leaving his mother with three children to her care. Jesse, the elder 
brother, who was a long citizen of the Petroleum vicinity died in the West. 
Emily the sister was drowned in the Ohio river while attempting to dip up a 
bucket of water from a boat; and the mother married John Hammond, of Tyler 
county and finally went to Michigan, and here her history. The Hammond 
children were: Calvin, the late Wesley, of Kansas; the late Leroy of Iowa; 
Elmira, who married Sanford Riggs and died in Tyler county: (Mr. Riggs is 
now of Pennsboro) and Josephine, the late wife of Dr. Leander Maxwell of 
Pleasants county.

John Carder grew to manhood in the forests of Tyler county. There he was 
married to Miss Sarah Leeper, and there they lived until the early seventies 
when they came to this county,and settled ont he head of Bear run of Goose 
creek where Barnes Beall now lives. This part of the county even at that 
late day had very few inhabitants, and while a slight improvement had been 
made here, the forest was still almost unbroken from Cornwallis on the south-
west, to Glendale ont he north-east, and for miles around. Steven Weekley 
being the only settler on the run below him. From here he removed to what is 
known as the "Job Musgrave farm" not far from Harrisville; and about the 
year 1878, went to the Hardman chapel vicinity and made the first 
improvement on the farm that is now owned and occupied by W.N. Kirkpatrick. 
Here he resided until after the death of his wife, in October 1890, and he 
then made his home with his children until May 16, 1903, when he passed into 
the other world. He rests by the side of his wife in the family burying-
ground on his old homestead. He was a man of strong physique, and of 
sterling character, and he ever stood for the right.

His children were as follows:
Susan, the wife of D.W. Howard, of Vienna; J.M. Carder, Parkersburg; Mrs. 
Emily (John) Inghram, Goose creek; the Rev. L.M.Carder of the U.B. church, 
who is now of Mason County; L.H. Carder, Iris; Della, the late wife of 
Samuel Wamsley; and Flora B., the late wife of A.C. Cunningham.

The Flannagans.--Flannagan is another name that has stood for good 
citizenship in this county for sixty years.

 Samuel Flannagan, the progenitor of the family, crossed the ocean with his 
uncle, from Ireland, and settled in Pennsylvania. His wife was a Miss 
Garnen, of German descent, and their only son, Samuel, was born in the 
Keystone state.

But after the death of his father, he emigrated to Hampshire county, (West) 
Virginia, where he was married to Miss Katherine Arnold, who was also of 
German extraction, and eight children were the result of this union: vis., 
John, Daniel, Otha, George, William, Charity, Zimri, and Joseph.

John was first married to Miss Ellen Reese and six children were the result 
of this union. His second wife was Miss Julia Hollenback, of Reese's mill in 
Mineral county, and there he and his companions rest.

Daniel's wife was Miss Susan Arnold, and after he was laid away in the 
burying-ground on the Flannagan farm above Berea, his widow and three 
children went to Waterloo, Iowa, where he rests.

Otha went West and Died unmarried.

George and his wife, Miss Louisa E. Craigen, of Hardy county, with their 
family of three children went to McMenville, Tennessee, where they died. And 
the rest came to this county.

In 1850, William, Charity and Zimri, purchased the improvement made by Major 
Elias Lowther, above Berea, of William Hall, and established their home 
here. After the sister's death, Zimri bought his brother's interest, and 
gradually extended his borders until his estate now covers an area of about 
eight hundred acres, and is rich in oil.

Zimri Flannagan was born on Patterson's creek in what is now Mineral county 
(West)Virginia, on January 7, 1826; and died at his home at Harrisville, on 
August 6, 1910, and in the Harrisville cemetery he lies at rest.

On April 4, 1876, he was married to Miss Sarah C. Neff, of Moorefield, and 
the two children of this union are: Otha Z., and Mary C. Flannagan. His 
widow still survives.

After selling his interest in the farm on the South fork, William Flannagan 
went to the North fork of Huges river and purchased the Malone farm and 
other land near Hannahdale, making five hundred acres in all, and settled in 
the brick house where he and his wife, Mrs. Emily Wolfe Flannagan, and their 
only child, Amelia, all died: and at Riddle's chapel they sleep. The estate 
is still in the hands of the Flannagan heirs.

Joseph Flannagan, the remaining member of the family, was born in 1827; and 
on August 4, 1859 he was married to Miss Amzella Neff, of Moorefield, who 
was born in December, 1841; and near the year 1859, they came to this county 
and settled at Tollgate, where Mr. Falnnagan died on March 7, 1882, leaving 
a family of seven children. He was one of the prominent citizens of his day, 
and he left an estate of thirteen hundred acres of land, which is still 
principally owned by his family. After his death, Mrs. Flannagan was married 
to Joseph Inskipt, of Maryland, who died a few mohnths since (in 1910), and 
Miss Grace Inskipt, of Harrisville is the only child of this union.

The children of Joseph Flannagan are as follows:
George E., Parkersburg; William A., Buchannon; Walter N., Tollgate; Guy, 
Pennsboro; and Addie V., who is the wife of Dr. Hosea Rymer, of Harrisville.

John McGinnis, the head of another old family of this county, deserves 
recognition here. He was a native of Greene county, Pennsylvania, as was his 
wife, Mary Hoffman McGinnis; and from there, with his family, he came to 
this county in 1852, and settled near Ellenboro, where his son, Benjamin, 
now lives. Here he died during the Civil war, at the age of sixty-five 
years, and at Riddel's chappel he rests.

His family consisted of ten children; viz., Benjamin, of Ellenboro; Sarah, 
who is Mrs. John Moore, of near Harrisville, Joseph, of Griswold, Iowa; the 
late James; Thomas, who died in the Union army; David, George, Nancy (the 
late Mrs. Henry Garrett), and two others, who have all passed on. John 
McGinnis, junior, was the son of a former marriage.

Benjamin McGinnis, the eldest son of the second union, has long been a 
prominent citizen of this county. He was born in Greene county, 
Pennsylvania, on April 10, 1835, and, with his parents, came to Ellenboro in 
his boyhood. He early manifested an interest in education, and, with his 
brother, James, walked back to his old home in Pennsylvania in order that he 
might have better school advantages; and there studied under a private 
instructor, working of nights and of mornings for his board; and while 
enroute home he contracted smallpox.

He later taught school for two years; served as assessor (1868); was a 
member of the House of Delegates in 1871-2; and again in 1903 and '04; and 
filled the office of County commissioner from 1886 to 1892, being the 
president of the court for four years of this time.

He enlisted in the Union army in July, 1861, in Company K of the Third 
Virginia Infantry, and served until August, 1864.

In 1882, he was married to Miss Alice Virginia McCullough, daughter of 
Elmore McCullough, of Ellenboro, and three children are the result of this 
union; viz., B. F., the eldest son, who was graduated from the law 
department of the State University at Morgantown, in the class of 1908, now 
has a law office of his own at Pennsboro; and Sadie and J. W. are at thome.

(Doubtless, this family comes from the same ancestral source as the other 
McGinnis family before mentioned in this work, but this data reaches us too 
late for farther investigation.)

The Freers.--This little volume would not be complete without a few lines in 
regard to the life and public service of the only citizen of the county, who 
has been honored with a seat in the Congressional hall at Washington City; 
and this citizen is no other than the honorable Romeo Hoyt Freer, who has, 
perhaps, had more "laurels" conferred upon him than ony other individual 
within the bounds of the county.

Mr. Freer is of French extraction and is a product of the "Buckeye" state. 
His ancestors, leaving France shortly after the massacare of St. 
Bartholomew, in 1592, took refuge in Holland; and from there Hugo Freer, 
senior, emigrated to Ulster county, New York, and settled on a tract of 
land, granted him from the Indians, near the town of New Paltz, about the 
year 1670. He, (Hugo) had three sons, and one of these sons had a son, 
called Jonas, who was the antecessor of Romeo H. Freer; he being the father 
of Johannes, and the grandfather of Martinas Freer, who married Miss Martha 
Deyo, a member of an ancient Dutch family, of his native town--New paltz, 
New York, and settled in Trumbull county, Ohio, in 1800, where Josiah Deyo 
Freer, the father of Romeo, was born.

Josiah Deyo Freer married Miss Caroline Persis Brown, a native of the Green 
Mountain state, about the year 1835; and settled near his parental home in 
Trumbull county, Ohio. Mrs. Freer was the daughter of William Brown, a 
distinguished citizen of Vermont, who was an officer in the war of 1812, and 
who served as a member of the legislature and held other positions of public 
trust in his native state. In her early life, she taught school oh Hero 
Island, in Lake Champlain, and among her pupils, here, was John G. Saxe, the 
renowned poet with whom she retained an intimate acquaintance until his 
death in 1887.

Both the Freers and the Browns were of fighting stock, some of each name 
having won distinction in the Revolution, and in the war of 1812.

Romeo H. Freer, the subject of this sketch, was next to the youngest member 
of the family of four brothers and one sister. He was born at Bezetta, 
Trumbull county, Ohio, on November 9, 1845, and with his parents removed to 
Hart's Grove, Ashtabula county, that state, when he was but three years of 
age. Here, his early life was spent on his father's farm. He obtained a 
limited education in the public schools of Ashtabula county, and spent one 
term at the Grand River Institute, at Austinburg, Ohio,--a preparatory 
shchool for Oberlin college.

In 1862, he enlisted in the Union army, and served as an orderly on General 
Grant's staff during the earlier part of the war, and had the misfortune to 
have the General's horse shot under him (Mr. Freer) at Vicksburg, while 
performing an important service as messenger boy. He was a participant in a 
number of hot engagements, and served creditably to the close of the 
conflict.

In 1866, he removed to Charleston, West Virginia, and read law with the well-
known firm of Smith and Cracraft, and was, two years later, admitted to the 
bar, and became a law partner with the honored H. C. McWhorter, who recently 
resigned his trust as Judge of the Supreme court. He filled the position of 
assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Kanawha county from 1868 to 1870, being 
also Prosecutor for Fayette and Boone counties at the same time.

In 1870, he was elected prosecuting Attorney of Kanawha county--a position 
that he held for two years, until his failing health occasioned his 
resignation. That same year ('72), he was sent as United States consul to 
Nicaragua, Central America, where he remained until 1876, when he resigned 
and returned to Charleston, where he resumed the practice of law until 1882, 
when he came to Ritchie county.

He was first married to Miss Lillie Fuller, daughter of Judge I. L. Fuller, 
of Warren county, Ohio, who passed on in 1873, leaving one son, Romeo H. 
Freer, junior, who is a skilful civil engineer, and is now engaged in 
building a railroad in Gautamala, Central America. His second wife was Miss 
Mary Iams, of Harrisville.

Since coming to this county, Mr Freer has filled many and varied positions 
of honor and trust; He represented the county in the State legislature in 
1891; was elected prosecuting Attorney the following year, and at the 
expiration of his term in this office, was made Judge of the circuit court 
(in 1896); and two years later, was sent to Congress. While here, he served 
as member of the Judiciary Committee, of the Committee on Patents, and was 
one of the Special Committee that expelled the Mormon, Roberts, from this 
body.

In March, 1900, he was elected attorney-General of the State, serving in 
this capacity until March, 1905, when he returned to Harrisville and became 
the senior partner of the law firm of Freer and Robinson. He has been 
editor, lawyer, mayor, and is now serving as post-master of the town. Added 
to all of these honors is a rare gift of oratory, and a generous amount of 
wit, which has made him a most popular public speaker.

This wit is well illustrated by the folowing amusing story which went the 
rounds of the press, while he was a member of congress, and which we take 
from "Success Magazine;"

"A good story is told in West Virginia involving two of the Congressmen from 
that snug little state, and Thomas B. Reed, the gigantic speaker of the 
House. The two West Virginians are Hon. B. B. Dovener and Romeo H. Freer. 
Both are small of stature, and wonderfully alike in their general 
appearance, and together they went up to be introduced to the ponderous 
Maine man. 'Humph,' said Mr. Reed. 'is that the best the Persimmon state can 
do?' 'What do you mean?' asked Mr. Freer. 'Nothing,' drawled out the 
elephantine speaker, 'I was only wondering at the uniformity of things down 
your way. I suppose the horses are all ponies, and the persimmons all dwarfs-
-' 'Well, " interrupted Mr. Freer, 'there is one thing in our favor, the 
persimmon has more taste than the pumpkin.'

The laugh was on the speaker, and he acknowledged it by cordially grasping 
the hands of the Lilliputians and joining in the merriment."


CHAPTER LI
The Younger Men's Calender
Transcribed by Sylvia Cox.

Page 620

The Younger Men's Calendar

General Francis Perry Peirpoint was one of the first young men of Ritchie 
county to inscribe his name in the History of West Virginia.

Born a student, and ever diligent, his career, though so very brief, was one 
of the most distinguished in the history of the county, for one of his 
years.  Beginning as an office boy in the employ of the County and Circuit 
clerks of this and Pleasants county, he rapidly forged his way to the front. 
He studied law and was admitted to the bar at a very early age; and in 1862, 
when a call was made for volunteers, he went to Wheeling, where he recruited 
the Twelfth Virginia Infantry from the counties of the Northern Panhandle, 
of the state, and entered the regiment as an adjutant.  He was promoted to 
the rank of Major, a little later, and was proffered the Colonelcy, but 
declined in favor of a brother officer.  He was called from the field of 
action, shortly after the birth of our new Commonwealth, by the appointment 
to the office of Adjutant-General of the State, by Governor A.I. Boreman; 
and he it was who prepared the Adjutant-General's Report of the Soldiers of 
the Civil war-a report which has been so invaluable to these veterans for 
reference in obtaining their pensions from the government.

His services here being at an end, he entered Harvard University and was 
graduated in law, he having taken the course a year sooner than was required 
by putting in all his time, even the vacation season.  He then returned home 
and began the practice of his profession, at Harrisville; but ill health had 
already begun to prey upon him, and in November, 1868, with a Wheeling 
family by the name of Hornbrook,

Page 621

he started to Florida in quest of health,  but by the time they had reached 
New Orleans (on January 1, 1869), the sun of his young life was hanging low 
in the western horizon, and on the seventh of that same month it sank to 
rise no more.  And thus his promising career was brought to a close before 
he had reached his twenty-ninth birthday; for he was born on February 23, 
1840.  Young, handsome, and talented, he was universally admired, and his 
untimely end was widely deplored.

The remains were brought back to Harrisville, and tenderly laid away in the 
cemetery south of town, amid the scenes of his happy childhood.

Judge Homer B. Woods is at this time one of the most widely-known sons of 
the county that gave him birth.

At the old homestead, near two one-half miles from Harrisville, on July 16, 
1869, he was born, and here he grew to young manhood.

He attended the public schools, and at the early age of sixteen years, 
entered the profession of teaching; and, when scarcely of age, was made a 
member of the Teachers' Examining Board.  He filled the position of 
principal of the Harrisville school for two years, and was County 
Superintendent for two consecutive terms; was a student of the Marietta 
college, and took a course in the Law department at the West Virginia 
University, being admitted to the bar in 1892.  He was twice elected to the 
office of Prosecuting Attorney, the last time by the largest majority that 
has ever been received by a candidate in this county.  He now occupies the 
office of Judge of the Third Judicial district, and is one of the very few 
sons of Ritchie county that has ever attained to this position; and he holds 
a high rank among the judges of the state. He is an orator of marked 
ability, and a man of unalloyed integrity.  No other citizen of the county 
is held in higher esteem by his fellowmen.

He married Miss Winifred Davis, daughter of the late Hon. T. E. Davis, of 
Harrisville, and is the proud father of five children; viz., Ralph Davis, 
Homer B., junior, Miriam, Robert James and Samuel Thomas.  Phillip Wells, 
another son, died in early childhood.

Page 622

M.H. Willis.-Though Judge Marsh Haymond Willis is no longer a citizen of 
this county, he shares, with Homer B. Woods, the distinction of being one of 
the (two) native sons of Ritchie that has attained to the judgeship.

Mr. Willis was born at Mole Hilll, on January 31, 1862, and there grew to 
manhood as a farmer-boy.  He attended the public schools and, like Judge 
Woods, began his career as a pedagogue at the early age of sixteen yeaars.  
He was a student of the West Virginia University at Morgantown, but 
completed his education at the Valpariso University in Indiana, being 
graduated in 1886.  He was the valedictorian of the class, which was 
composed of seventy-six members.

After finishing his college-course, he taught school in Dakota, Wisconsin, 
and his native state, and while thus engaged, studied law; and in July, 
1890, was admitted to the bar, being licensed to practice his profession in 
this state.  This license bore the signatures of the late Judges, Thomas P. 
Boreman, and Marshall Hagans, and of Judge Thomas P. Jacobs, who still 
survives.

In 1900, when Hon. Romeo H. Freer resigned his office as Judge of the Fourth 
Judicial district to accept a seat in Congress, Mr Willis was chosen as his 
successor; and at the close of this term he was re-elected.  When he first 
took charge of this office, Ritchie county was included in his circuit, but 
by an act of the Legislature of 1903, a change was made, and Doddridge, 
Tyler and Wetzel now compose this circuit, which is designated as the Second 
Judicial Circuit instead of the Fourth.  His home was formerly at West 
Union, but since 1908, he has claimed his residence at New Martinsville.

In 1897, he was married to Miss Anita Magness, of Waterloo, Iowa, and the 
one child of this union, Frances Louise, who was born on January 21, 1892, 
died on September 15, 1901.

Mr. Willis is the son of N.G. Willis, of Mole Hill, and a descendant of 
three of the more prominent pioneer families of the county, and his 
ancestral history like that of the other young men of this calendar will be 
found in earlier chapters.

Page 623

Marcellus Allan Kendall is another son of Ritchie county, whose name is 
inscribed among the officials of the state.

He was born on the old homestead on Chevauxdefrise creek, near five miles 
from Harrisville, on July 23, 1862, and here the first fourteen years of his 
life were spent in an uneventful way.  In 1876, he went to Elizabeth, Wirt 
county, where he made his home with his elder brother, the late Dr. J.E. 
Kendall, and clerked in his store and attended school.

After reaching his majority, he was identified among the commercial 
travelers for a time, and, in 1885, he went to Parkersburg, where he still 
resides.  Here he was engaged in the mercantile business, both wholesale and 
retail, until 1897, when he was elected to the office of State Treasurer, 
and in 1901 at the expiration of his term in this office, he was appointed 
as Commissioner of Banking for the State of West Virginia; and in October 
1905, he was commissioned as National Bank Examiner, a position which he 
still holds.  He is prominently connected with the Brown-Kendall mercantile 
firm and other Parkersburg business concerns. He has been a life-long 
communicant of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has been a member of two 
General Conferences of this church.  He has, also been a member of the Board 
of Trustees of the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, for the past 
fifteen years.

On November 27, 1888, he was married to Miss Hattie Lowther, only daughter 
of the late Rev. Sylvester Lowther of the Methodist Episcopal church, the 
marriage taking place in New York city, and one daughter, Virginia, is the 
result of this union.

C.E. Haddox.- Few of the sons of Ritchie county have enjoyed a more enviable 
public record than that of the late C. E. Haddox.  And few have climbed the 
rugged heights by thornier paths than the ones that his late feet have trod.

Charles Edwin Haddox was born near the little town of Smithwille, on April 
18, 1864, and being deprived of his father's care when but a lad of tender 
years, he began the battle of life for himself, at the age of fourteen 
years, by entering the profession of teaching; and, four years later, he was 
made principal of the Cairo school, and at the age of

Page 624

twenty he was a member of the Board of Teachers' Examiners.  At twenty-one, 
he was elected to the office of County Superintendent, a position which he 
filled for two consecutive terms.  He was President of the Board of 
Education of Grant district for twelve years; was post-master at Cairo under 
the administrations of Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley; and was 
President of the Cairo Bank, the West Virginia Western Telephone Company, 
and Vice-President of the Oakland Pressed brick Company for a number of 
years.

In 1901, he was appointed as Warden of the State Prison at Moundsville, an 
appointment which came without any solicitation on his part, and in 1905 he 
was re-appointed.

After going to Moundsville, he filled many positions of honor and trust 
outside of his labors within the walls of the prison, which were constant 
and continuous for the better-ment of the condition of the unfortunate 
fellow-creatures that had been plaaced under his management.

He made a wonderful record as a prison official, one that was recognized all 
over the country.  He introduced many important innovations for the 
betterment of prisons in; and was one of the chief advocates of the parole 
system; in fact, he was to a great extent responsible for its adoption. 
Making it possible through this system for a man serving his first prison 
term to be released and to have the opportunity to redeeming himself among 
his friends under the guardianship of the state.

His reforms at the State Prison were important and marked, and his ideas of 
management, as set forth in papers that he read on different occasions,  
were generally accepted.  His work was of such a character as to place him 
in a high rank among the prison officials of the land, and to make him 
President of the National Prison Association, a position that he held at the 
time of his death.

His whole soul and mind seemed to be centered in the noble work job 
uplifting the fallen, and at his post he stood as a faithful sentinel until 
his failing health compelled him to seek rest in a sanatorium at Battle 
Creek, Michigan, where he, amidst his halucinations, leaped to his death 
from a third story window, on February 7, 1908.

Page 625

His remains were brought back to the prison, which was plunged into the 
deepest mourning; and the funeral, which took place on the afternoon of the 
tenth, was attended by the largest crowd that had ever been assembled in the 
little City of Moundsville. Governor W.M. O. Dawson and his staff and many 
other prominent personages from all over the state were present.  And in the 
Mt. Olivet cemetery his narrow bed was made.

He married Miss Ella Carroll, daughter of the late Sanford Carroll, of 
Cairo, and was the father of two sons, Homer and Harry, who with their 
mother live at Moundsville.

Nearly every newspaper in the State commented favorably on the great work 
done by Mr. Haddox for the Penitentiary and its inmates.  Among the number 
the following, which is a part of a series of extended comments on his life 
and work made by the "Wheeling Intelligencer" may be taken as fairly 
representative:

"Often we hear the expression in some form, that a man has made himself a 
martyr to his work, and often these words are only the sympathetic 
commendation of sorrowing friends.  Of the death of C.E. Haddox, which is 
recorded in the collumns of the "Intelligencer" this morning, it may be 
truly said, that it was the price paid by a loyal, courageous, and sincere 
man for his devotion of duty. Mr. Haddox was one of the few great men in 
West Virginia - a man great in many things - whose modesty to a large extent 
hid his real worth from all who were not on most intimate terms with him.  
For seven years he was warden of the State Penitentiary, and in that time 
completely transformed that institution.  His work in prison reform has been 
recognized by those familiar with it as one of the most brilliant and 
successful records in the country.  But his active interests were by no 
means confined to the institution of which he was the head.  He was a keen 
student of political economy, and few men, if any, have had more to do with 
shaping legislation during the past eight years than he has had.  His advice 
was sought by many men on many questions, and his native common sense and 
clear and logical mind, rendered him one of the safest of counsellors. 
Personally he was kind, generous and warm-hearted.

Page 626

He made many friends and few enemies.  Among the thousands who knew him well 
there will be few indeed who will not feel a distinct personal loss in his 
untimely taking off."

On February 10, 1908, the House of Representatives of the West Virginia 
Legislation passed the following Resolutions:
"Mr. McCrum offered the following:  HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 2, in 
reference to the public services and death of Charles E. Haddox late warden 
of the West Virginia Penitentiary." "Whereas, it is with profound sorrow 
that the members of the Legislature now in extraordinary session assembled, 
learned of the untimely death of Chas. E. Haddox, late warden of the State 
Penitentiary, which occurred at Battle Creek, Michigan, on the 7th day of 
February, nineteen hundred eight; and,

Whereas he had occupied the position of warden of the State Penitentiary 
from the year nineteen hundred one, until the time of his death with marked 
ability and unswerving fidelity, and by his untiring efforts made that 
institution one of the best equipped and efficiently managed prisons in the 
United States, and,

Whereas, his reforms in the equipment and government of prisons gave him a 
world wide reputation, and led to his electioon as President of the National 
Prison Congress, which position he held at the time of his death; therefore 
be it,

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia,l That his public services have 
been of inestimable value to this state and to the unfortunate men and women 
whose  conditions he sought to better; and that in his demise the country 
has lost one of its most eminent and learned prison reformers, and the state 
a public servant of the highest order of integrity and ability."

Silas Marion Hoff is at this time one of the most prominent official figures 
of the county.  He shares (with H. B. Woods and the late T.E. Davis) the 
distinction of being one of the three native born sons of Ritchie that have 
filled the Prosecutor's chair.

Mr. Hoff was born on the "Hoff homestead" below Auburn, on March 14, 1865, 
and by his pluck and energy has

Page 627

forged his way up through many dis-advantages to his present high-standing.  
He, like not a few others whose records are herein inscribed, began his 
public life as a rural pedagogue. He was graduated from the State Normal at 
Glenville in the class of 1881, and afterwards entered the State University, 
at Morgtantown, where he took the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Master of 
Arts, and Bachelor of Laws.  He served as Superintendent for four years, and 
is now serving his second term as Prosecuting Attorney, and is talked of as 
a candidate for the Judgeship.

On September 21, 1898, at high noon, he was married to Miss Minnie Wilson, 
daughter of the late L.P. Wilson, of Pennsboro, who was, also, a teacher, 
and five children are the result of this union; viz., Rosalind Wilson, 
Virginia Elizabeth, Helen Faris, Marion Rowland, and Leroy P. Hoff.

Okey E. Nutter.- Of the long line of Ritchie county's Sheriffs, Okey E. 
Nutter enjoys the distinction of being the youngest that has ever held the 
reins of this high office.  But notwithstanding his youth, his 
administration was characterized by an executive ability that has placed him 
in a front rank among his predecessors, as well as among the Sheriffs of the 
state.

Mr. Nutter, like the other young men of this calendar, comes of hardy 
pioneer stock, and is a native of White Oak this county.  He was born on the 
one hundredth anniversary of the renowned battle of Bunker's hill (June 17, 
1875), and first made his appearance before the public, as a rural 
pedagogue.  In 1902, he was one of the three Republican candidates for the 
nomination for Circuit clerk, and was only defeated by the narrow margin of 
six votes; and a remarkably complimentary feature of this contest was that 
he received every vote, save one, in his home precinct.

In 1904, he was elected as Sheriff, and entered upon his official duties on 
January 1, 1905, with H.E. Wass as deputy and Mrs. Nutter as his office 
assistant, and thus made a record for promptness and efficiency in the 
collection and disbursement of taxes which is without parallel in the 
history of

Page 628

the county, the the present time.  When he made his final settlement, he 
immediately turned over to his successor the whole balance due the various 
county and district funds, which in all amounted to twenty-eight thousand 
dollars.

The Tax Commissioner in speaking of Mr. Nutter's official record , says, 
that out of the fifty-five Sheriffs of the state, none had a better record 
than he; and that from the standpoint of the collecting of taxes and the 
returning of delinquents, his was the best of the entire fifty-five. Truly, 
the "office shows the man," and no farther tribute need be paid to the 
character of the subject of this sketch, than that shown by his public 
record.

At the expiration of his term in this office he purchased tha Lantz farm in 
Clay district and turned farmer for a time, but he now resides at Pennsboro 
where he has prominent connection with the First National Bank.

On August 15, 1898, he was married to Miss Addie Miller, daughter of the 
late John Miller, of Smithville, who was at that time a teacher, and two 
bright little children, Darrell and Mabel are the result of this happy 
union.

Emery I. Ireland makes a good representative for this department from the 
Scientific world.

He is the son of G.M. and Mrs. Mary Law Ireland of Pullman, and at the old 
homestead on the Middle Fork river he was born, on June 10, 1874; and at the 
age of nineteen years, stepped upon the stage as a school-teacher with a 
first grade certificate.  He continued in teaching in the rural districts 
for several years; was graduated from the Buckhannon Seminary, in the Normal 
course, in the class of 1897, and while taking advanced work here, the 
following year, occupied the position of assistant-teacher of Mathematics, 
and was also the president of the "Chrestomathean Society" at this 
institution.

During the autumn of 1898, he entered the University at Morgantown, and came 
out in 1901 with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in Civil Engineering.  While 
here he was the president of the "Columbian Literary society" and on two 
occasions, represented this organization in the inter-society contest, 
winning in debate on one occasion, and losing on

Page 629

oration, on the other, as he did when he personated the "Chrestomathean 
society" at Buckhannon, in public performances.  He also represente the 
Y.M.C.A. of Morgantown at the Students Conference at Northfield, 
Massachusetts, during his collegiate course.

Being a member of the Engineering Society, while at the University, he spent 
his Saturdays and holidays in surveying and in engineering, so as to help 
defray his expenses; and after his graduation, entered the United States 
Geological Survey, and did work as a temporary employee both in the field 
and in the office at Washington city until the spring of 1902, when he 
passed the Civil service examination and received the appointment of 
assistant Topographer.  His work is in the field in summer, and, in the 
office in Washington city in winter. Various counties of West Virginia, 
parts of Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Montana and Colorado have been the scenes of 
his labors, and not a few of the interesting topographical maps that are 
scattered about through the country are in part the result of his skill.  He 
is a member of the Washington Society of Engineers, and of the American 
Geographic Society, and takes an active interest in church work, especially 
the Missionary department and the Epworth League, being a communicant of the 
Foundry Methodist Episcopal church at Washington city and the Superintendent 
of the Sunday-school.

He was married to Miss Elizabeth H. Funk, daughter of Mr. Lee W. Funk, of 
Washington city, on December 15, 1909, and in this city he is now 
permanently established.

J. Frank Marsh. - In casting about for a representative from the Educational 
field to fill a place in this calendar, we could not think of a better 
criterion of the pluck, and the perseverance with which the sons of this 
county are endowed, that J. Frank Marsh, who has by his own effort forged 
his way up until he now occupies a high rank among the young educators of 
the state.

Mr Marsh is the son of the late Jefferson, and Mrs. Angelina Cunningham 
Marsh, of Harrisville.  He was born on a farm near the little town of 
Tollgate, on January 29,

Page 630

1877, and, like nearly all of the other members of this department, entered 
the ranks of the teacher, at an early age.  For seven years, he taught in 
the rural districts of his native county; was principal of the Cairo school 
for one year, and at Harrisville, for three years; was graduated from the 
Wesleyan University at Buckhannon in the class of 1901, and from the State 
University, at Morgantown in the A.B. degree in 1907, and now has his A.M. 
degree almost completed.  He served as Principal of the Fairmont High school 
in 1908-9, resigning to accept his present position at the head of the State 
Department of Examinations and Teachers' Association from this state.

He is the youngest member of this department and the only one that still has 
his life partner to select.

Experience Randolph.- Though entirely foreign to the original idea and plan 
of this department, it only seems fitting and just that the name of one of 
the many worthy daughters of Ritchie should have a place in this corner; and 
for this place we choose the name of "Experience Randolph."

Miss Randolph ("Perie," as she familiarly known) was born near the little 
town of Berea, on July 10, 1852; and here (with the exception of two or 
three years) amidst the forest, surrounded by the many dis-advantages of a 
defective educational system, the days of her childhood and early youth were 
sspent in a quiet, uneventful way.  But she had the "heritage of a noble 
heart," a brilliant mind, and a deeply religious character, and despite the 
dis-advantages of her environments, she diligently applied herself to her 
studies, and, at the early age of sixteen years, entered the profession of 
teaching.

Her first school was taught near what is now the little hamlet of Lawford, 
during the winter of 1868-9, shortly after the inauguration of the Free 
School system; and being inspired

Page 631

with a zeal for a college education, she soon began to lay her plans to this 
effect; and in 1874, accompanied by her sister, who is now Mrs. Callie 
Meathrell, of Berea, she set out for Alfred University, New York, and five 
years later, came out of this institution with the A.B. degree.  She paid 
her way through college, however, by teaching in the meantime.

Immediately after her graduatin, she accepted a position as teacher in the 
public school at Alfred, but being compelled to resign by the illness of her 
father, which called her home, she again engaged in educational work in her 
native state; and while thus engaged began to give serious consideration to 
what her chosen life-work should be.  And for a time, she seemed inclined to 
the medical profession, but after entering upon a course of reading as a 
preliminary to matriculation at a medical college, she was not wholly 
satisfied, and finallly decided to enter the ministry, (1882); and a little 
later, she entered the Alfred University as a Theological student, after 
first being assured that no discrimination should be made against her on the 
account of her sex.  Here she found herself the one female member of the 
class, and the only distinction that was made, was brought about by her own 
will; and that was her refusal to accept a share in the funds from the 
Missionary Board and other sources that had been set apart for the support 
of young men, who were preparing themselves for the ministry.   As women had 
not been included in the terms of this gift, she felt that she should not 
accept a share of it, preferring to defray her won expenses; and her class-
mates, in recognition of the honest motive which prompted this refusal, 
presented her with a valuable collection of books for her library, on one 
occasion. She finished her course, however, and received the degree of B.D., 
her grade of work being as efficient, at least, as the average-a fact which 
her class-mates were willing to admit.  Though naturally her opportunities 
to preach or to engage in other ministerial work during her collegiate 
course, were very much limited as it was a "marked departure from the custom 
of the period" for a woman to enter the ministry, and the predudice and the 
antagonism must be confronted.

Page 632 And she had some mis-givings concerning her own home church at 
Berea, as to the attitude it might assume toward her chosen work, but this 
burden was soon removed by an action of the official members of this church, 
on July 7, 1883, which took the form of the following resolution:

"Whereas, It has come to our hearing that Sister Experience Randolph has 
decided to prepare herself for the ministry, therefore,

"Resolved, That we most heartily approve of her decision, and that we 
promise her our sympathy, and our prayers."

During the vacation of the summer of 1884, she spent the greater part of her 
time between the Lincklaen and Ostelic churches near DeRuyter, New York, and 
the following winter, she became pastor of the church at Hornersville, that 
state; and before the close of her academic year, she had accepted the 
pastorate of the two churches that she had first served.  And at the 
expiration of her college course, she was ordained at Hornellsville, by a 
council called for that purpose, the Rev. Wardner C. Titworth, pastor of the 
first church at Alfred conduction the examination before the Council.

Owing to the general opposition to women ministers, some of her friends had 
suggested the Missions fields of China as a place for her labors, but, as 
her inclinations did not lead her in this direction, she gave the subject no 
farther consideration.

At the end of her first two years as pastor of the churches, Lincklaen and 
Ostelic, she was married to Leon D. Burdick, one of her parishoners, who was 
preparing himself for the ministerial work, and her whole energies were then 
concentrated in her husband's labors, and during his College and Theological 
training, at Alfred, as well as his subsequent career, as teacher, and as 
pastor (at Georgetown, New York; Marlboro, New Jersey; Verona, New York; and 
New Auburn, Minnesota), her every endeavor seemed to be to uphold and to 
strengthen the cause that he espoused.

On Thanksgiving Day (November 29), 1906, after a brief illness at her home, 
at New Auburn, Minnesota, she passed to her reward leaving her husband and 
one daughter, Genevieve

Page 633

C. Burdick.  Thus one of this county's most distinguished daughters passed 
away.  But the incense of the life of love that she shed uponm all that came 
within her influence can never lose its fragrance. It must ever live as a 
precious memory.

Note--It being impossible in a work like this to say much concerning the 
achievements of the numerous younger people of the county, who hold 
positions of honor and trust in the outside world, we have chosen a few good 
specimen copies for this department.  simply to show the sterling qualities 
of our fore-fathers that are to be found in the sons and daughters of this 
county to-day.

Should we attempt to enumerate those who are worthy of a place here their 
names alone would fill this space.  But it is enough to know that an army of 
them are successfully filling their "niche" in the great Temple of Life.

Page 634

"All are architects of Fate,
Working in these walls of Time;
Some with massive deeds and great,
Some with ornaments of rhyme.

Nothing useless is, or low;
Each thing in its place is best;
And what seems but idle show
Strengthens and supports the rest

"For the structure that we raise,
Time is with materials filled;
Our to-days and yesterdays
Are the blocks with which we build."


CHAPTER LII
The Poet's Corner
Transcribed by Margaret Udell.

Page 636

The Poet's Corner

John S. Hall, Ritchie county's venerable blind-poet, is a member of a 
prominent pioneer family of Bond's creek, he being the son of Samuel G. and 
Mrs. Rachel Hudkins Hall, who emigrated to the West shortly before he was 
born.  There, in Laporte county, Indiana, on September 15, 1845, he first 
opened his eyes on this world; and when he was but a child of four summers 
his widowed mother returned to Bond's creek, and here he grew to manhood as 
a farmer-boy.

When the Civil war broke out, and his four brothers enlisted -- two, for the 
North, and two, for the South -- he, too, earnestly desired to show his 
patriotism by entering the conflict; but his mother turned a deaf ear to all 
his pleadings, and, in 1863, he slipped away from home, and enlisted as a 
teamster in the Fourth Brigade of Tennessee.  He was assigned to duty in 
Tennessee, and started from Murfreesboro with Sherman's army to the sea; but 
a few miles out of this city, while on his way back after some teams, he was 
taken violently ill, and was found lying by the roadside in an almost 
unconscious condition, and was removed to Murfreesboro, and in spite of his 
protest, was sent to the hospital at

Page 637

Nashville.  This institution was looked upon by most of the boys, as the 
"gateway to the grave," hence his protest.

Here, from the thirty-first of October until the seventh of May, he lay in 
the ward, in a state of unconsciousness, covered with bed-sores, with his 
hands tied behind him, for three months of that time.  His case awakened 
great interest, as it was looked upon as a most extraordinary one by the 
medical fraternity.  The six other soldiers who had been admitted to the 
hospital at the same time, all died within two weeks.

On one occasion, while in a state of semi-consciousness, he heard the ward 
doctor describing his case to a visiting physician, and felt the touch of a 
gentle hand upon his brow, and distinctly heard the tones of a woman's 
voice.  After the speakers had passed on, he murmured, "That was a soft 
hand," "Yes!" said the nurse, "that was the famous Dr. Mary Walker."

The fever, having centered in his head, totally destroyed his sight, and 
while he was recovering from his long illness, Lelia, the sweet little 
daughter of Dr. Francis, the hospital surgeon, helped to while away many 
weary hours of darkness by reading to him; and in his pretty little romance 
entitled, "Lelia or the Silver Charm," which was published in serial form in 
the "Wetzel Messenger" in 1877, he has tenderly enshrined the memory of this 
sunny little maiden.

During the greater part of his hospital life, his name was unknown, and his 
relatives knew nothing of his whereabouts, until by some accident, the 
address of one of his sisters was discovered, and the family were then 
communicated with.

After his return home, in 1864, he entered the College for the Blind at 
Columbus, Ohio, and was graduated from this institution in 1868, in the 
class with the Rev. H. M. Cowden, who filled the position of Chaplain of the 
House of Representatives at Washington city, for a number of years; and with 
John S. Cleve, who was at one time musical critic at the Cincinnati May 
Festival.

At the close of his college course, he passed a successful examination 
before the State Board of Examiners, and was granted a lifetime certificate 
to teach school; and for the next seven years, he was identified in this 
profession in Ritchie

Page 638

county, he having taught at Highland for five years, and at Cairo, for the 
remainder of the time.  He being the first schoolmaster to hold sway in the 
new school-building at Cairo -- the one that took the place of the "old 
block house."

He studied law, while engaged in teaching, and was admitted to the bar, in 
the early seventies, but never engaged in the practice of this profession.

In 1878, he entered the Pleasants county field of journalism, when he and 
Minus P. Prettyman founded the "St. Mary's Observor;" and in 1881, he 
purchased the entire plant, and launched the "Oracle," which he continued to 
edit until 1885, when he severed his connection and retired to private life.

Since that period he has spent much of his time with his pen, and the result 
of some of his quiet meditations, is a delightful little volume of verse, 
which was issued in 1907 under the title of "Musings of a Quiet Hour," and 
which he has lovingly dedicated to his niece, Mrs. Sue Newman.  "Bond's 
creek," "The Old Homestead," "The Brook in the Wildwood," and not a few 
others had their inspiration in familiar local scenes which are ever dear to 
the heart of the venerable poet.

In his verse, "The Old Homestead," he has so beautifully enshrined the home 
of his boyhood, on Bond's creek, that we here (by his permission) reproduce 
the poem, which was written especially for a family re-union, at Highland, a 
few years since, and was read on that occasion:

"THE OLD HOMESTEAD"

"We gather 'round the old homestead
Amid the scenes we used to know;
The years, as moments, quickly sped,
Are numbered with the long ago.

"So far, and yet how near it seems
Across the span of years that lie
Twixt childhood's hopes and old folk's dreams--
Just over there, the sweet gone by.

"We're all, all here; 'tis hallowed ground;
Here blends the present with the past;
And recollections, clustering round,
Like twining tendrils, hold us fast.

Page 639

"And memories, like the cottage vine,
That thatched the porch in living green,
Around our lives do still entwine,
And sweet enchantment guards the scene.

"The house, the yard, the deep round well,
With quaking windlass, quaint and queer,
To us the same old stories tell,
Stories that bring the past so near.

"Here, too, the sweet old fashioned flowers,
Are still as fresh as summer's morn,
Their petals bathed in dewy showers,
As if to beauty newly born.

"The song of bird, the hum of bee,
The croak of frog in yonder stream,
The soft wind sighing o'er the lea,
Are like some well-remembered dream.

"From which we wake, but all too soon,
To busy life that seems less real,
There comes to age no sweeter boon,
Than feel the joys we used to feel.

"The softly fading twilight hours,
Bring once familier things to view,
And memory wakes the withered flowers,
To beauty and to life anew;

"And friends departed gather 'round
To worship here at memory's shrine,
Till all are here on hallowed ground;
Their presence makes life seem divine.

"'Tis sweet to sit at eventide,
And pensive watch the fading light
In golden silence softly glide,
From weary day to restful night.

"And in the quiet evening hour,
When silence soothes the world to sleep,
To yield to some mysterious power,
And gently in with childhood creep."

-----------

"Marbles forget their messages to mankind,
In his own verse the poet lives enshrined."

(This interesting sketch is gleaned principally from an account of the Hall 
family written by Robert Pemberton and published in the "St. Mary's Oracle" 
in November, 1905.  For ancestral history of the Poet see Bond's creek 
chapter.)

Page 640

Herbert P. McGinnis, the boy-poet, was born at Silver run, on June 4, 1891, 
and was graduated from Marshall College, at Huntington in the class of nine 
hundred ten.  He is the son of P. M. and Mrs. Rebecca V. McGinnis, and the 
younger brother of Circuit clerk, H E. McGinnis.

He early manifested an interest in newspaper work and in printing, and at 
the age of thirteen years, launched a tiny sheet which he issued monthly 
from his own print-shop, at Silver run, under the stormy title of the 
"Tornado."  But even before this time he had been a contributor to the local 
papers, and had been at work with his poetic pencil; and since that time he 
has contributed poetry to the "Youth's Companion" and various other 
publications.  During his course at Marshall College, he was Editor-in-chief 
of the College Annual, and contributed to different state papers; and during 
his senior year he conducted a print-shop for the benefit of the 
institution.

He was the author of the "History of Cairo and Vicinity" which appeared in 
serial form in the "Cairo Enterprise," in 1905; and during the summer of 
1909, he and his cousin, H. F. Maddox, of Jackson county, issued a joint-
poem book entitled "Lyrics From The Hills" -- a neat little volume that 
would reflect due credit upon one of maturer years.  He is now preparing a 
work on the oil developments of the State, which he expects soon to publish, 
and which promises to be a valuable contribution along this line of history. 
He holds a teacher's certificate, and has ambitions for a higher collegiate 
course, and for a place in the field of journalism.  He (with his cousin Mr. 
Maddox) is now editor of the "St. Albans Sentinel" and managing editor of 
the "Oil Man's Magazine."  One of his latest achievements is the 
incorporation of his printing company under the laws of West Virginia.  Few 
sons of the county have displayed more talent at his youthful age, and few 
have had a more promising out-look.

Page 641

By his permission we here reproduce some verses from his little volume of 
poetry:

"A LYRIC OF THE HILLS."

the banks of the still Hughes,
Where old Ritchie's waters flow,
'Tis there I love to linger yet,
There wandering would I go.

the banks of the fair Hughes,
There's my home I love so dear;
Fond mem'ry brings me those old scenes,
That are changing year by year.

the banks of the fair Hughes,
Where I spent my boyhood days,
There I watched the sun descending
In the evening's purple haze.

the banks of the still Hughes,
Where the fairest flowers grow;
There by the shine of silvered sands
Let me idly drift and row.

the banks of the still hughes,
Let me slowly glide along;
In thy breezes, O fair river,
Let me sing my evening song.

"On the banks of the old Hughes,
Where I spent those happy days,
Let me offer up a blessing
And lift up my heart in praise."

"SONG."

"When I am gone, my loved one,
Weep not that I am dead;
Sing no sad songs, my dearest,
Let love's words be unsaid;
Be there blue skies above me
And brightest sunlight shine;
Shed no sad tears for one, then,
Whose dying thoughts are thine.

"I shall not see the darkness,
I shall not see the night;
The light of love that thrilled me
Shall yet be shining bright;
For dreaming through the distance,
That I have come alone,
My soul shall know the blessing
Of love that has not flown."

Doubtless a number of the poems in this little volume are superior to "A 
Lyric of the Hills," from a poetic point of

Page 642

view, but no other one has so strongly appealed to our fancy as this simple, 
boyish lay dedicated to the dear old river that we have known and loved from 
our earliest recollection, and upon whose banks we still linger in the home 
of our childhood.  Were we a poet, we should dedicate a beautiful little 
sonnet of our own to its "gentle murmuring waters."  For --

"Thou has taught us, Silent River,
Many a lesson deep and long;
Thou has been a generous giver;"
But we cannot give to thee -- even a song.

"Oft in sadness and in illness,
I have watched thy current glide
Till the beauty of its stillness
Overflowed me like a tide."

Page 643

"THE BLUE AND THE GRAY."

------------

"These, in the robings of Glory,
Those in the gloom of defeat,
All, with the battle blood gory,
In the dusk of eternity meet;
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the Judgment day;
Under the laurel, the Blue;
Under the willow, the Gray."

----------------

Dedicated to My Father,
W.  G.  Lowther, Who Wore "The Blue."