Taylor County, West Virginia Biographies: Norman Festus KENDALL ************************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: Material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor. Submitted by Valerie Crook, , March 2000 ************************************************************************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 385 NORMAN FESTUS KENDALL, one of the organizers and cashier of the Taylor County Bank of Grafton, has been a resident of Taylor County since 1891, and had put some distinctive work to his credit as an educator before he became a banker. Mr. Kendall was born on a farm near Mannington in Marion County, January 27, 1870. The family has been in Marion County since pioneer times. His grandfather, Elias Kendall, lived on a farm there to the venerable age of ninety-eight. His vigor remained with him to the end, and to the last day of his life he assisted in stacking hay. He acquired a large body of land in the county, and was a man of peace and industry and of considerable influence, though never active in politics beyond voting as a demo- crat. He married Isabelle Snodgrass, and their children were Alva, John, Earner, William B. C., Vine and Mrs. D. H. Davis, wife of Rev. D. H. Davis of Pullman, West Virginia. William B. C. Kendall, father of the Grafton banker, is still living on his farm at Mannington, though he has reached that age where he is practically retired from its responsibilities. He was born near his present home, and, his services being needed by his parents, he employed two substitutes during the Civil war. He graduated from Duff's Business College at Pittsburg, and since then his time and energies have been devoted to the farm. He has served as a justice of the peace. In Marion County he married Miss Rachel Cunningham, who was born there seventy years ago, daughter of Nimrod Cunningham, a farmer in that section. The children of this union were eight in number, six sons and two daughters, Norman F.; Porter, a schoolman, who died in 1888; Ross, Mrs. Fannie Murray, Ward, Howard and Miss Bertha, all of Marion County, and Everett, of Robinson, Illinois. Norman P. Kendall spent the first eighteen years of his life at the home farm, and in the meantime was educated in the common schools and the Fairmont State Normal. He did his first work as a teacher in the country schools of Wetzel and Marion counties, later was assistant super- intendent and principal of the State Reform School for Boys at Pruntytown, near Grafton, over six years, and then became principal of the Fetterman School in Taylor County. He served as mayor of Fetterman two years. Following that he was chosen and selected as editor and manager of the Harrison County Herald and the Salem Express, and did newspaper work on them for three years. It was a period of some strenuous political battles in the county, involving some of the leading old-guard politicians in the republican party. The struggle to dislodge these from control almost resulted in the county changing its political complexion. Mr. Kendall in purchasing the Salem Express turned all its power toward cleaning up the town, and in that he had to combat all the active liquor inter- ests, and the Express office was fired by its enemies, who almost destroyed the town, and the owner of the office narrowly escaped physical catastrophe at the hands of the liquor men. Nevertheless the Express went on with its publication and helped rout the "speakeasies" and made the town the cleanest in the state. When these issues were settled Mr. Kendall resigned from the papers and resumed his educational work as principal of the West Grafton schools. Later he was selected as a member of the Grafton School Board. He was on this board six years, and during that time the high school and the South Side ward schools were erected and the West Side school completed. During the same period the Grafton High School was given rank among the first grade high schools of the state. In June, 1905, Mr. Kendall and associates completed the organization of the Taylor County Bank, his chief as- sociates being J. C. Lewellen, Martin L. Shields, John L. Magill, V. T. Hanley, W. W. Tapp and George W. Low- ther. The bank opened for business the 5th of June with a capital stock of $50,000. The officers are J. C. Lewellen of Grafton, Martin L. Shields of Rosemont, and Hiram Linn, vice presidents, and Mr. Kendall, cashier. The present board of directors are, F. M. Poe, W. S. Phillips, George Neel, W. C. Frum and Dr. F. S. Suddarth. This bank now has total resources of $700,000. In the meantime Mr. Kendall has also assisted in the organiza- tion and is a director of the Bank of Flemington, and has some other interests in the coal mining industry at Astor. Mr. Kendall was reared a democrat, but has not been a strict partisan. His first presidential vote went to Mr. Cleveland. He voted for Major McKinley in both cam- paigns, having a personal acquaintance and a high admira- tion for the Ohio republican. He also supported Colonel Roosevelt in all his aspirations for office. He helped elect Mr. Wilson both times. Mr. Kendall is a Mason and Odd Fellow, is a past noble grand of the latter order and has sat in the Grand Lodge. His father was a Baptist and his mother a Southern Methodist, and he has long been identi- fied with the Methodist Episcopal Church, serving on the official board and in 1904 was a lay delegate from West Virginia to the General Conference at Los Angeles. At the age of seventeen he began active work in Sunday school, and has been a Sunday school superintendent thirty-two years. For eleven years he had charge of the state work of the Epworth League, and during that time the largest Young People's State conventions were held. In Taylor County, June 17, 1896, Mr. Kendall married Miss Vesta B. Jones, daughter of Nathan H. Jones, a son of the famous pioneer "Jones Family" of Taylor County, and Jemimah R. (Robinson) Jones. She was the third among their four daughters, the others being Mrs. Mary Kelley, of Grafton, Mrs. A. J. Reynolds, of Fairmont, and Mrs. Claud E. Vincent, of Fairmont.