West Virginia Statewide Files WV-Footsteps Mailing List Content-Type: text/plain WV-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 99 : Issue 100 Today's Topics: #1 Appointment of Administrator Silas [Mary Lott ] #4 BIO: B. A. HALL, Braxton County WV [Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <3827740A.1FB21B84@wvadventures.net> Subject: Appointment of Administrator Silas Belt Estate Submitted by Mary Lott ****************************************** Copied from Records of Wirt County Court House Fiduciary Record Book 2, Page 15 West Virginia Wirt County Court Clerk's Office In Vacation Upon motion of Angeline Belt, M.P. Belt, A.H. Belt, Amanda Pepper. L.S. Belt, S.H. Belt, O.M. Belt and Missouri Mills, the widow, children and heirs at law of Silas Belt deceased At appearing that the said Silas Belt departed this life interstate, and more than 30 days have elapsed since the date of his death, and no one having applied for administration of said estate It is ordered that the said William Dawson, Jr. and he is hereby appointed Administrator of the estate of the said Silas Belt. Whereupon the said William Dawson, together with N.J.Dawson as his surety, entered into and acknowledged a bond conditioned according to law in the penalty of Six Hundred ($600) Dollars, which bond is approved as sufficient, and the oath of office as required by law was administered to the said William Dawson and the letters of Administration in due form of law are granted him on said estate, and on further motion is ordered that A.T. Monroe, J.J. Mills and N.W. Haught be appointed to appraise the said personal property of the said Silas Belt according to law. Given under my hand this 20th day of March 1899. Walter Hoffman, Deputy Clerk County Court For S.W. Dain, Clerk of County Court ______________________________X-Message: #4 Date: Mon, 08 Nov 1999 20:57:59 -0500 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19991108205759.00bab8c0@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: B. A. HALL, Braxton County WV Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 287-288 Braxton B. A. HALL, superintendent and principal of the Flat- woods High School, is one of the scholarly men of dignified bearing whose mature efforts are being directed toward the betterment of the public school system of his section and the advancement of the pupils placed under his charge. An educator from choice, he is fortunate in having a natural as well as acquired faculty for imparting learning, and his pupils show the results of his watchful care and constructive training. Mr. Hall was born on a farm in Braxton County, West Virginia, December 20, 1884, a son of E. J. and Mary M. (McElwain) Hall, the former of whom was born in Braxton County, March 17, 1859, and the latter in Webster County, West Virginia, in 1866. They were reared and educated in the rural districts, and after their marriage, which occurred in Webster County, they settled on a farm in Braxton County. At present he is a farmer, lumberman and con- tractor. He exercises his right of franchise by voting the republican ticket. The children born to him and his wife were as follows: B. A., whose name heads this review; Bailey L., who is a resident of Buffalo, New York; Ida B., who is the wife of W. B. Peterson, of Western West Vir- ginia; Floda, who is the wife of John Adams; T. S., who is a resident of Grafton, West Virginia; Hettie, who is the wife of Paul Lockhart; Ada S., who is the wife of Harry Bowen, of Parkersburg, West Virginia; Van F., who is at home; Clyde H., who is a student of the West Virginia Uni- versity; Velma, who is attending the high school at Weston, West Virginia; and Mona, who is attending the high school at Grafton, West Virginia. B. A. Hall was reared at Holstead, and first attended the common schools and later the state normal school, of which he is a graduate. He has also taken up special studies at the West Virginia State University, and is always studying. For nearly ten years he has been in charge of the Flatwood schools, with the exception of the time he spent at Wash- ington, D. C., during the late war, when he was connected with the work of the Young Men's Christian Association. In 1916 Mr. Hall married Miss Ada L. Hall, a graduate of the Glenville State Normal School, and prior to her marriage a teacher for about eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Hall have two children, namely: Evelyn and John N. Mrs. Hall is a member of the Baptist Church. A republican, Mr. Hall has taken an active part in politics, and is a member of the Republican State Committee from the Tenth Sena- torial District. Fraternally he maintains membership with Sutton Lodge No. 133, K. of P. Mr. Hall is a man who feels his responsibilities and endeavors to discharge them conscientiously, and that he succeeds in doing so the results prove. Abreast of the times in his profession, he seeks to give his pupils the results of his experience and learning, and his influence upon their minds and actions is proving to be a strong factor in shaping their lives and determining their usefulness to their community in the years to come. ______________________________X-Message: #5 Date: Mon, 08 Nov 1999 21:01:11 -0500 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19991108210111.00bbc180@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: HON. JAMES H. STEWART, Monongalia County, WV Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" *************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 288 HON. JAMES H. STEWART, State Commissioner of Agricul- ture, and for many years director of the Agricultural Ex- periment Station at Morgantown, exemplifies the most ad- mirable qualification for his present duties. He is a man of high character, represents the substantial social attain- ments of a family of long residence in the state, and has the advantage of thorough training and long and successful practice in the fundamentals of agriculture and stock raising. Mr. Stewart was born on the Stewart plantation on the Kanawha River in Putnam County June 20, 1859, son of James and Martha Jane (Staton) Stewart. The Stewarts are a prominent family of Scotch-Irish origin, for many generations identified with old Virginia and later with West Virginia. Martha Jane Staton was a daughter of James Staton, member of the Staton family who first set- tled on the Kanawha Eiver in Putnam County, about 1812. The original Staton plantation subsequently came under the proprietorship of James Stewart, who developed it into one of the famous estates of the Kanawha Valley. It remains in the family, being the birthplace of and still owned by James H. Stewart. The home of James Stewart in ante-bellum days was widely noted for its atmosphere of culture and refinement and its genuine hospitality. Many distinguished guests were entertained there, and the intellectual and social standards thus created have continued to this day. Martha Jane Staton was a rarely gifted woman in all the arts of the household, skill- ful in the making of fine woven fabrics and other furnish- ings for her home, and some of the counterpanes, table covers and kindred articles that she made with her hands are still in the home, priceless heirlooms. James H. Stewart attended country schools, the Shelton College at St. Albans, graduated with the class of 1882 from the University of West Virginia, and also studied law in the University, graduating in 1885. However, he never practiced law, finding abundant occupation for his time and talents on the home plantation in Putnam County. In 1893 he was made one of the regents of the State Uni- versity, and in the following year the University author- ities literally took him away from the plow and placed him in charge as director of the Agricultural Experiment Station. He therefore removed his family to Morgantown, and remained director of the station fourteen years. Fol- lowing that, until 1916, he was agricultural agent of the Baltimore & Ohio Railway system. Mr. Stewart was first elected State Commissioner of Agri- culture in 1916 and was reelected in 1920. In both elec- tions he was on the republican ticket, and in the primaries and in the general election he received the highest vote ever accorded in West Virginia. Under Mr. Stewart the Department of Agriculture has become one of the most vitally important and valuable in the state government. It comprises a number of bureaus and sub-divisions, each under the direction of a specialist, and in the aggregate it is performing work of genuine and lasting benefit not only for every interest that can be grouped under the general head of agriculture but for the welfare of the state as a whole. Some of the effective lines of its service includes the spreading of knowledge among farmers and stock raisers as to the best means of increasing crop yields, getting rid of blights and insect pests, grading up cattle and livestock, and teaching effi- ciency and business methods in farm management. Under this department cattle are being tested out in West Vir- ginia at a lower cost per animal corresponding with the efficiency of results that any other state in the Union ex- cept Iowa. The department has done a great work in eradicating tuberculosis, and another source of valuable service is the promotion and supervision of agricultural fairs. Mr. Stewart is also a member of the Board of Public Works in West Virginia, and a member of the Budget Committee which makes up the appropriations for the state. During the war with Germany the work of his department was given over almost entirely to measures leading to the winning of the war. Mr. Stewart was a member of the State Council of Defense, and accepted as his special province all questions relating to increased food production and conservation of food supplies. While his official residence is in Charleston, Mr. Stewart retains his home at Morgantown, and he also keeps, in close touch with the management of his old home estate on the Kanawha. This comprises several hundred acres of fine agricultural and horticultural lands, and its several units combine to make it one of the model farms and orchards of West Virginia. An important feature of this estate is the famous James H. Stewart apple orchard, one of the largest and most successful orchards in West Vir- ginia. Mr. Stewart married Miss Minnie Louise Vance, and they have one son, James Vance Stewart.