Biography of T. H. Lilly - Summers Co. WV The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume II, pg. 617-618 T. H. LILLY. One of West Virginia's most prominent business characters is T. H. Lilly, of Hinton. In business lines he has achieved success that has made his name one of national and international standing in the lum- ber industry. For years he has been' a leader ready to assume responsibilities in behalf of every progressive undertaking at Hinton and in the county of Summers. Mr. Lilly was born May 23, 1868, near the foot of the Flat Top Mountain in Raleigh County. His parents were Thomas Edmond and Abigail (Turner) Lilly, and his grand- father was Elijah Lilly, a descendant of Robert Lilly, who about 1760 made a pioneer settlement in what is now Raleigh County. The Lilly family, includes many men of distinction in the affairs of Summers County and other sections of West Virginia. Thomas E. Lilly was a prominent farmer in the vicinity of Flat Top Mountain. Thomas Hubbard Lilly did not take kindly to the en- vironment of his birth and the responsibilities put upon him as a boy. Plowing among the roots and over the rough ground disgusted him with farm life. He had a team of oxen named Buck and Darkey. One day he had them yoked to a wagon on a hill side. The oxen decided they wanted a drink, and they pulled out of the road over stumpy ground and rocks, making straight for the creek. The wagon was overturned, leaving the boy Thomas H. underneath. A few days later the same oxen under his care while pulling the plow over rough, stony ground again ran away, and the same night T. H. Lilly left home, being then fifteen years of age. He went to The New Towerhill, and found his first job in the Hawes Saw Mill as a laborer at 35 cents a day. Subsequently he worked in a mill belonging to Judge Lewis. His duties were rolling saw dust from the mill, but he soon learned to set the blocks, learned to operate the saw, and in time learned every detail in the operation of a saw mill. Mr. Lilly's first teacher was Robert Neely, in a school house with a half dirt floor. His last teacher was Joseph Thompson. He made up for lack of continuous school ad- vantages by the rapid acquisition of knowledge. After a time Mr. Lilly was able to buy an interest in a sawmill located on Jumping Branch. He also learned the stone mason's trade, and at Hinton he worked on the foundation for the Hinton High School and the building that now contains Rose Pharmacy. There was a period of two years when he again worked at farming, but this he never considered as a permanent occupation. In May, 1895, Mr. Lilly bought a Griffith & Wedge saw mill from Cook and Burkes, agreeing to pay about $1100 for it in five months time, the payments to be made as he disposed of his product. In case of failure to pay the full amount by the end of five months the mill was to revert to its former owners and he was to forfeit all money paid as rental. By phenomenal industry and energy he made the mill pay the debt, and he continued its opera- tion until the spring of 1897, when he sold out. He then opened a store at Dunns in Mercer County, and then another store at Flat Top, near his birthplace. He also operated a mill on Tommies Creek. Selling the store and mill in 1899, he removed to Coburn, Virginia, and pur- chased two mills from Griffith & Wedge at Zanesville, Ohio. He manufactured lumber on contract for John A. Taylor & Company, a firm that failed in the fall of 1900, causing Mr. Lilly a large incidental loss. September 15, 1901, Mr. Lilly moved to Hinton and engaged in the wholesale lumber business, an industry he built up in subsequent years to a flourishing condition. In. 1907 he organized the T. H. Lilly Lumber Company, Incorporated. However, in 1914 he surrendered the char- ter and took over the business alone. With mills at various points in West Virginia and as a wholesale jobber for other mills Mr. Lilly sold lumber all over the United States, with a large export to European countries, until the time of the World war. He maintained an office at 1 Madison Avenue in New York, and in April, 1908, he made a trip to Europe, being absent four months, and while there established sales offices at 29 Clements Land, London, and 2 Exchange Street, Liverpool. His T. H. L. brand of lumber became known and commanded a premium in many European markets. This business reached a volume of $1,000,000 annually. Everything connected with the welfare and prosperity of Hinton has been a matter of concern to Mr. Lilly. In 1907 he was the first to advocate paving the streets, and he also advocated the building of a modern hotel, becom- ing a stockholder and director in the company that erected the McCreery Hotel, now one of the finest in the state. He was an earnest advocate of good road building, and it is due in no small part to his leadership and influence that every district in Summers County has voted bond is- sues for good roads. It was his activity on the good road issue that led to his election as county commissioner by over 300 majority on the republican ticket in a county decidedly democratic. He served as chairman of the County Republican Committee. Mr. Lilly owned the first Buick ear in Summers County. That was in 1909. He soon became agent for that car over a number of southwest Virginia counties, but later exchanged this territory for Kanawha County and also Boone and a part of Fayette County. At Charleston he built the famous garage and sales room in that city, but recently sold that. Mr. Lilly is the largest stockholder in the Ruffner Hotel at Charleston. More banquets have been held in the Ruffner at Charleston than in any other hotel in the state. Mr. Lilly is a member of Trinity Baptist Church, and is affiliated with the Elks Lodge. The Lilly home at Hinton adjoins that of William Plumley. Mr. Lilly made his first acquaintance with Mr. Plumley soon after he ran away from home. Going into the Plumley store to make a purchase, he saw there a fiddle, which he also purchased. His sons say that when his fiddling is accompanied by a good banjo player he can produce music that will make a preacher dance. Mr. Lilly and Mr. Plumley have been stanch friends ever since this little transaction. Among other business connections Mr. Lilly is a stockholder in the Bank of Summers, has been president of the New River Land Company and the Hinton Steam Laundry. 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