West Virginia Statewide Files WV-Footsteps Mailing List WV-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 99 : Issue 40 Today's Topics: #1 BIO: Charles T. HEDGES, Hancock Co [Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990924063433.007f0a10@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: Charles T. HEDGES, Hancock Co. 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. 274-275 Hancock County CHARLES T. HEDGES is a native of Lumberport, and his chief business experiences have been acquired in that thriv- ing little city of Harrison County. He was formerly a merchant but is now in the real estate and coal business. He was born at Lumberport. April 6, 1890, son of Henry Clay and Alice (Robinson) Hedges, the latter now de- ceased. In the family were six sons and one daughter. Henry Clay Hedges, son of Charles and Nancy G. Hedges, was born on a farm at Worthington, West Virginia, July 30, 1844, had a rural training and common school educa- tion, and on leaving the farm went to work' as clerk at Clarksburg and subsequently entered merchandising on his own account at Lumberport. He was in business there for a number of years and later engaged in the real estate business. He still has interests at Lumberport, but spends only his summers there, his winter home being at Orlando, Florida. Charles T. Hedges was reared at Lumberport, attended the public schools and completed a business course at Buckhannon. Some five or six years of his early life were spent in the West, as far as the Pacific Coast, and he had a variety of experiences and employment. On returning to Lumberport in 1911 he engaged in business as a member of the general mercantile firm of Hedges and Oyster Com- pany. He sold out to his partner in 1919, and since then has concentrated his attention on the coal and real estate business. Mr. Hedges is a Master Mason, an Elk and an Odd Fel- low. He married Miss Mary Lamar, of Kingwood. She is a trained nurse by profession. They have one daughter, Elizabeth Ann. ______________________________X-Message: #2 Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 06:42:47 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990924064247.007f0550@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: Harvey Hansford MORRIS, Kanawha Co. 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. 271-272 Kanawha County HARVEY HANSFORD MORRIS, who maintains his residence and business headquarters in the City of Huntington and who is prominently concerned with coal-mining operations in his native state, is of distinguished American ancestry on both the paternal and maternal sides. His paternal grand- father, Fenton Mercer Morris, was born at Crown Hill, Kanawha County, Virginia (now West Virginia), in the year 1815, and his death occurred at Boomer, Fayette County, in June, 1892. He was extensively engaged in farm enterprise and also was a leading figure in the timber industry, he having resided for varying intervals in Kanawha, Nicholas and Fayette counties. His wife, whose maiden name was Rebecca Lloyd, died in Nicholas County. William Morris, father of Fenton M., was born in one of the eastern counties of Virginia and was a resident of Kanawha Falls, Fayette County, at the time of his death. He served as sheriff of Kanawha County, was a farmer and timber operator and was for a time a resident of Peters Creek, Nicholas County. He first married Sarah Hansford, and after her death contracted a second marriage, the family name of his second wife having been Chapman. His father, Joshua Morris, a native of Virginia, was one of the pioneer settlers in what is now Cabell County, West Virginia, and he developed a large landed estate, and was one of the progressive pioneer exponents of farm industry in Cabell and Kanawha counties. He had served in the early Indian wars and was also a patriot soldier in the War of the Revolution. In Orange County, Virginia, was solemnized his marriage to Frances Simms. He was a son of William Morris, who was born in England, in 1722, and who first located at Philadelphia after coming to America. In 1744 he initiated operations as a farmer or planter in Culpeper County, Virginia, and there occurred his marriage to Eliza- beth Stepp. In 1773 he came with his family to what is now Kanawha County, West Virginia, and located at the mouth of Kelly's Creek, near the present Village of Cedar Grove. He was the first permanent white settler in that county, and his was the first will probated in Kanawha County. He had the spirit of a hardy adventurer and true pioneer, and as a farmer and hunter he was a prominent figure in the early development of what is now West Vir- ginia. He had given gallant service as a soldier in the Revolution, became guardian of Kelly's Post in Kanawha County, and at that point lie died and was laid to rest. He reared a family of eight sons and two daughters. His son William gained fame as "Major Billy" Morris, gallant commander of patriot forces in the War of the Revolution. Major Morris married Catherine Carroll, a descendant of Lord Carroll, the Maryland colonist. Albert Gallatin Hansford, maternal grandfather of Har- vey H. Morris, of Huntington, was born at Crown Hill, Kanawha County, and there his death occurred shortly before the inception of the Civil war, he having been a merchant, having conducted a cooper shop and having been a shipper of coal and salt. His wife, whose maiden name was Nancy Harriman, was born in the present Cabell County, West Virginia, in 1818, and died at East Bank, Kanawha County, in 1904. Albert 0. Hansford was a son of Maj. John Hansford, who was born in Eastern Virginia, and who was a pioneer in Kanawha County, where he be- came a farmer and was the first to ship produce from the Kanawha Valley, he having served as a major in the War of the Revolution and his remains being interred in a pioneer cemetery at Crown Hill, Kanawha County. He mar- ried Jane Morris, a daughter of Maj. "Billy" Morris, men- tioned above. Mrs. Fenton (Morris) Brown, sister of him whose name initiates this review, is, in 1922, organizing at Pratt, on the Kanawha River, a chapter of the Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the same will be chartered as William Morris Chapter. Harvey Hansford Morris was born at Coalburg, Kanawha County, West Virginia, April 11, 1873, and is a son of Chapman and Sallie Summerfield (Hansford) Morris, the former of whom was born in Nicholas County, in 1847, and the latter at what is now East Bank, Kanawha County, in the same year. Chapman Morris died at Coalburg in October, 1873, and his widow survived him by forty years, she having been a resident of Richmond, Virginia, at the time of her death, June 15, 1913. Chapman Morris was reared in Nicholas County and was a young man at the time of his removal to Kanawha County, where his mar- riage occurred and where he passed the remainder of his life, he having been associated with coal mining in that section and also with the construction of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad through that county. He was a democrat, a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his wife were zealous members of the Baptist Church. Of the children, the elder is Fenton, who in 1892 became the wife of William S. Brown, he having been a leading lawyer and prominent politician and having died at Tornado, Lincoln County, in June, 1912. Mrs. Brown now resides at Atlanta, Georgia, an enthusiastic member of the Daugh- ters of the American Revolution. The younger of the two surviving children is he whose name introduces this article. Harvey H. Morris attended the public schools in Kanawha and Fayette counties, and at the age of sixteen years he began an apprenticeship to the trade of telegraphy. As a skilled operator he was long employed by the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Company, in the service of which he con- tinued twenty-six years. He advanced through the various grades of promotion, train dispatcher, train master, assist- ant superintendent, and, finally, a superintendent of division, in which office he succeeded C. P. Snow at Huntington, January 1, 1911. He continued his service at Huntington until November 15th of the following year, when he was transferred to Richmond, Virginia, where he served in the same capacity until September 1, 1913, when he became superintendent at Ashland, Kentucky. In February of the following year he was transferred to Clifton Forge, Vir- ginia, where he remained until the 1st of the following October, when he returned to Huntington. Here he con- tinued his effective service as superintendent until December 1, 1915, when he resigned, after a record of long and greatly appreciated service of most effective order. In December, 1915, Mr. Morris engaged actively in the coal business as an operator, and he is president of the West Virginia Standard Coal Company of Huntington; the Kentucky Elkhorn By-Products Coal Company of Dorton, Kentucky; the Mary Elizabeth Coal Company of McGraws, West Virginia; and is a stockholder in the Southern States Coal Company and the Huntington By-products Coal Com- pany. His office headquarters are in suite 518-20-22 Lewis Arcade Building at Huntington. Mr. Morris retains the ancestral political faith and is a stalwart democrat. He and his wife are members of the First Presbyterian Church of Huntington, he is an active member of the Huntington Chamber of Commerce, and holds membership in the Guyandotte Club, the Guyan Country Club and the Kiwanis Club, all of Huntington. His Ma- sonic affiliations are here briefly noted: Huntington Lodge No. 53, A. F. and A. M.; Huntington Chapter No. 6, R. A. M.; Huntington Commandery No. 9, Knights Templars; Beni-Kedem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., at Charleston; West Virginia Consistory No. 1, at Wheeling, in which he has received the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. September 7, 1892, recorded the marriage of Mr. Morris and Miss Anna Bell Davis, of Kanawha County, and her death occurred January 25, 1920. Mrs. Morris is survived by one child, Julia Summerfield, who is now the wife of Lieut. Robert Francis Carter, an officer in the United States Army, a graduate of West Point, and now stationed at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Lieutenant Carter has charge of the training of students for entrance into the United States Military Academy at West Point, and in the World war period he was in active service with the American Expeditionary Forces in France. On the 16th of March, 1920, in New York City, Mr. Morris wedded Mrs. Mary Elizabeth (Van Weinkin) Snyder, daughter of John Van Weinkin, who is engaged in the real estate business in St. Louis, Missouri. ______________________________X-Message: #3 Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 06:43:38 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990924064338.007f3740@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: W. B. GOLDEN, Upshur Co. 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. 267-268 Upshur County W. B. GOLDEN. A position of public trust is necessarily indicative of the man who fills it. When the duties of an office demanding a keen intellect, a never-failing diplomacy and a strong moral courage, are, year after year, dis- charged so satisfactorily that the public vote confirms them successively on the same person, we may be imme- diately assured that the individual who occupies the office is possessed of the proper abilities. In this connection mention is to be made of W. B. Golden, who was elected to the office of superintendent of schools of Braxton County in 1910, served four years and was elected again in 1918 and is now serving his second term. Mr. Golden was born in Upshur County, West Virginia February 19, 1874, a son of A. B. and Celina (McCauley) Golden, both natives of the same locality and both prod- ucts of the farm and of the country schools. Prior to her marriage Mrs. Golden had taught in the free schools of her native county for several years. After their mar- riage Mr. Golden turned his attention to farming, and settled on a small farm near Rock Cave, but in 1884 disposed of his interests in that locality and moved to a farm near Flatwoods, Braxton County, where they lived until the death of Mr. Golden, which occurred September 3, 1900, after which Mrs. Golden disposed of the farm and now resides at Walkersville, Lewis County, with her youngest son. They were faithful members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. Mr. Golden was a member of the Improved Order of Rd Men, and his political faith was as a democrat. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Golden were as follows: W. B., of this review; Charles O, who is en- gaged in farming in the State of Colorado; Eva, who is the wife of M. H. Crawford, of Weston, West Virginia; J. L., who is engaged in farming and the lumber business at Rock Cave, this state; A. H., of Burnsville, Braxton County; T. R, who is engaged in operating a farm in Oklahoma; Oscar, who while working for the Government as a trained nurse in the Philippine Islands, contracted tuberculosis, from which he died; and Clyde, who resides at home with his mother. W. B. Golden was reared on a farm, but cared little for agricultural pursuits, and when fifteen years of age taught his first country school. He continued to follow this vocation, in the meantime adding much to his store of information by reading and home study courses. He has been elected two terms of four years each to the office of county superintendent of schools of his county. In the superintendency, Mr. Golden has done much to elevate the standards of the free schools of his county and place them on a higher plane. He has made himself a general favorite with teachers, pupils and parents, and much of his success has been due to the fact that he knows the needs of his county and is working with all the energy at his command for the general betterment. So well has he done his work as superintendent that he is regarded as one of the best in the state and can no doubt be elected again with little opposition. On May 26, 1899, Mr. Golden married Miss Estella M. Morrison, who was born in Braxton County and educated in the public schools of her county. To this union were born five children: Marvin L., a graduate of the high school at Sutton and has since had two and one-half years at the State University; Mary Marie, a graduate of the Sntton High School and teaches in the graded school at Flatwoods; Audrey, a student at the Flatwoods High School; Opal and Edith, who are attending the graded school at Flatwoods. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in which Mr. Golden is superintendent of the Sunday school. He is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, in which order he belongs to the State Great Council, and in politics is a democrat. ______________________________X-Message: #4 Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 06:43:45 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990924064345.007f16b0@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: Andy Wirt BERRY, Preston Co. 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. 266-267 Preston County ANDY WIRT BERRY. Some men are not content with their home communities, but leave for parts unknown to pursue there a fortune which oftentimes eludes them, but there are others, probably more sensible, who, remaining where they are known and where they are acquainted with the people and customs, earn their money and make their invest- ments locally. Centering their holdings and interests, they are able to acquire means and exert a strong influence along constructive lines. Such is the case of Andy Wirt Berry, one of the large landowners of Braxton County, a merchant and banker of Flatwoods, and one of the city's most repre- sentative men and public-spirited citizens. The birth of Mr. Berry took place on a farm near Flat- woods, which he now owns, November 25, 1876, and he is a son of William H. and Irene Caroline (Denison) Berry. William H. Berry was born in Braxton County, October 16, 1834, and still survives. His wife, Irene Caroline (Denison) Berry, was born near Janelew, Lewis County, West Virginia, a daughter of Gabriel Denison, and a niece of ''Stonewall'' Jackson. They were reared and educated in the rural dis- tricts, and Mr. Berry taught school when young. When the Flatwoods Baptist Church was organized in October, 1889, Mrs. Berry was one of its charter members, and Mr. Berry also belongs to this church. He is a democrat. For many years in addition to his farming activities he was a heavy buyer and shipper of stock, and contributed sub- stantially to the early development of Braxton County. Of the seven children born to these parents four survive, namely: J. G. Berry, who is a contractor in the oil fields of Oklahoma; Andy Wirt, whose name heads this review; Martha E., who is the wife of W. F. Duffield; and Ada, who is the wife of Claude C. Davis. Growing up on the farm, Andy Wirt Berry attended the common schools, and when only seventeen years of age began teaching school. He spent a couple of years at this work, and then went into his brother's store as a clerk. In 1899 he established himself in business at Flatwoods, and has been handling staves, lumber and coal ever since. He is also interested in oil, gas and coal, and owns a number of farms in Braxton County, as well as stock in the Bank of Sutton and in many other local enterprises. In 1901 Mr. Berry married Miss May Fisher, who was the daughter of Hon. B. F. Fisher, of Braxton County. She died in 1902, and he subsequently married Miss Anna Zinn, of Troy, West Virginia. Mr. Berry has six children, namely: Irene, Elizabeth, A. W., Jr., May Nell, Robert Zinn, and Richard Waitman. He is a member of the Flatwoods Baptist Church, which he is now serving as clerk. A Mason, he belongs to Sutton Lodge No. 21, A. F. and A. M., of which he has been master for eight years; Sutton Chapter, Sutton Commandery, K. T., and the Mystic Shrine of Charleston, West Virginia. He completed the eighteen degrees of the Scottish Rite at Clarksburg, West Virginia, and will complete the Scottish Bite up to the thirty-second degree at Wheeling, West Vir- ginia, in the very near future. In politics he is a democrat. He also takes a very active part in county and state politics. In everything he has undertaken Mr. Berry has been suc- cessful, but he has made it a point to look into a matter very carefully before taking action, and to see to his inter- ests personally. He is very proud of his home community and is anxious to secure for it a proper amount of improve- ments, but at the same time he is not willing to sanction an unwise expenditure of the taxpayers' money. Such men as Mr. Berry are a valuable asset to any neighborhood, and he may properly be regarded as one of the best representa- tives of the substantial American business man of his time and locality. ______________________________X-Message: #5 Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 06:43:51 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990924064351.007f1450@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: Earl McCONNAUGHY, Mingo 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. 264-265 Mingo County EARL MCCONNAUGHY has effectively upheld the prestige of the family name in connection with the coal-mining industry, and is one of its vital and progressive exponents in the Kentucky and West Virginia fields. He was the organizer and is secretary, treasurer and general manager of the P. M. C. Coal Company, which derives its title from the surname initials of its three promoters, Messrs. Palmer, McConnaughy and Countremen. The coal lands of the company comprise 600 acres on Hatfield Bend of the Tug River in Pike County, with a steel bridge across the river to afford connection with the company's tipple in West Vir- ginia. The residence and executive headquarters of Mr. Mc- Connaughy are maintained at Sprigg, Mingo County, West Virginia. He had the supervision of the opening of the mine of this company and the erection and equipping of the producing plant, operations at the mine having been initiated in August, 1918, and the company having de- veloped a large export trade. Mr. McConnaughy was born at Bridgeport, Ohio, June 19, 1877, a son of Howell and Sophia (Heneke) McCon- naughy, both likewise natives of that place, where the mother died in February, 1911, aged fifty-nine years, and where the death of the father occurred in the following October, when he was sixty-two years of age. Howell Mc- Connaughy was actively concerned with coal mining during his entire business career, and operated mines in the Eastern Ohio District. Of the family of three sons and one daugh- ter the eldest son, Albert C., was president of the Buffalo Eagle Coal Company, operating in the Logan field of West Virginia, and also secretary and treasurer of the Guyan Coal Company, his death having occurred in 1920. Fred is district agent of the New York Life Insurance Company, with headquarters at Lead, South Dakota. The only daugh- ter is Mrs. Charles Adams, of Dayton, Ohio. The early education of Earl McConnaughy was acquired in the schools of his native place. He was eighteen years old when he left the Bridgeport High School and initiated his association with the practical affairs of business. He became night superintendent of the Aetna Standard Mill, and four years later, at the age of twenty-two years, he became assistant superintendent for the Republic Iron & Steel Company at Toledo, Ohio. A year later he accepted the position of superintendent for the Henderson Coal Com- pany, operating in Ohio, and in this connection he main- tained his headquarters in his native city of Bridgeport for ten years. He tlien came to the Logan coal fields in West Virginia, and for two years was engaged in the buying of coal lands. He then became manager of the Alma Thacker Fuel Company in Kentucky, not far distant from Matewan,, West Virginia, and his next decisive movement was the organizing of the P. M. C. Coal Company, of which he has since continued secretary, treasurer and general manager. He was in the last draft, at the time of the World war, but received from Government authorities instruction to bend his energies to the production of coal, an economic service of as much value as could be that which he might render in the army or navy. He spurred his energies to the maximum production of fuel, and thus effectively followed the instructions which had been given. Mr. McConnaughy's basic Masonic affiliation is with the Blue Lodge at William- son, and in the Scottish Rite he has received the thirty- second degree, besides which he is a member of the Lodge of Elks at Martins Ferry, Ohio. He was reared in the faith of the Methodist Church, and his wife holds membership in the Presbyterian Church. On April 5, 1900, Mr. McConnaughy married Miss Lucy Hill, daughter of Thomas Hill, of Bridgeport, Ohio. They have no children. ______________________________X-Message: #6 Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 06:43:56 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990924064356.007f3da0@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: Charles W. ATKINSON, McDowell Co. 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. 264 McDowell County CHARLES W. ATKINSON is the efficient general superin- tendent of the Jenkinjones group of mines (Nos. 5, 6, 7 and 8) operated by the Pocahontas Fuel Company, in the vicin- ity of the Village of Jenkinjones, McDowell County. Mr. Atkinson was born in Montgomery County, Virginia, March 3, 1870, and is a son of James G. and Mary Eliza- beth (Cunningham) Atkinson, both natives of Bedford County, Virginia, where the former was born April 12, 1842, and the latter, September 7, 1844. The parents now reside at Alleghany Springs, Montgomery County, Virginia, and all of their five children are living. James G. Atkinson was a valiant soldier of the Confederacy in the Civil war, took part in many battles, including those of Chattanooga, Lockout Mountain and Princeton, and his command was with the forces of General Johnston on the retreat to the seaboard and at the final surrender in North Carolina. Mr. Atkinson has been a successful farmer, and has been engaged also in work as a carpenter and builder. He was for twelve years a resident of McDowell County, West Virginia, where he built houses at various mines and also did other construction work. At Northfork, this county, he served as justice of the peace. He now owns and resides upon his well improved farm in Montgomery County, Vir- ginia, and both he and his wife are in the best of health. They are active members of the Missionary Baptist Church, and he is a republican and a member of the United Con- federate Veterans. Edwin Thomas, eldest of the children, is a farmer near the home of his parents; Charles W., of this review, was next in order of birth; Lillie is the wife of B. F. Barnes, of Floyd County, Virginia; Lulu Maude is the widow of John W. Doss, who, as a contractor, built hundreds of mine houses, and she resides at Alta Vista, Virginia; Frank M. resides at Graham, that state. Charles W. Atkinson gained his youthful education in the schools of his native county, and he was twenty-one years of age when he came to McDowell County, West Virginia, and initiated his association with coal mining. He worked with pick and shovel in the loading of coal at Simmons Creek, and four months later went to the Upland Mine of the Crozier Coal Company, where he won promotion to the position of head trackman. After four years he became the company's slate foreman at Northfolk, and his effective serv- ice led to consecutive advancement, both at Northfolk and Arlington. He was assistant mine foreman three years, then became mine foreman at Greenbrier, and finally was made general foreman in charge of the Cherokee Mine. At Switchback, as general foreman, he had charge of five mines, and thereafter he was in service one year at Northfolk and later at Shamokin and Lick Branch. For two years he was general superintendent of the Rolfe collieries of the Poca- hontas Fuel Company, and in 1912 he assumed his present responsible position as general superintendent at Jenkin- jones. The railroad extension to this point had not been made at that time and the opening of the mines, including the general construction work, were effected under his super- vision, so that he is consistently to be termed a pioneer in this now important coal field. He has been closely identified with general development and progress in the community, and has served as a member of the school board of Adkins District. He is a republican, is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pythias, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Mr. Atkinson is more than six feet in height, strong in mind and body, and a fine representative of the productive workers of the world. On July 3, 1896, Mr. Atkinson married May Flanner, daughter of J. K. Flanner, of Elkhorn, this state, to which he came from Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Atkinson have four sons and three daughters.