West Virginia Statewide Files WV-Footsteps Mailing List WV-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 99 : Issue 59 Today's Topics: #1 BIO: David M. PETERSON, Hancock Co [Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990926160227.00fcc100@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: David M. PETERSON, Hancock County 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. 272 Hancock County DAVID M. PETERSON. A business experience covering a number of years is honorable or otherwise, according to its nature, but in either case it develops capacity and broadens the outlook upon life. While every honorable career must include certain qualities to attain success, that of the banker finds those qualities indispensable which rest on a higher plane than in many other lines and for this reason, if for no other, the banker occupies a position in a community of a distinctive character. While he is still comparatively a young man, David M. Peterson has hail sixteen years of honorable experience in the banking busi- ness, and at the present time occupies the position of vice president of the Bank of Weirton. Mr. Peterson was born at Steubenville, Ohio, May 24, 1888, a son of one of the successful and influential busi- ness men of that city who lived in retirement for some years before his death. The education of David M. Peter- son was acquired in the graded and high schools of Steubenville, and when he was only eighteen years of age he began his banking career as a minor employe in the National Exchange Bank of Steubenville, with which in- stitution he remained for six years, during which time he gained not only promotion but valuable experience. In ]912 he came to Weirton to become cashier of the Bank of Weirton, of which he has since become vice president. This institution was chartered in 1911 and was opened for business in April, 1912, with a capital of $40,000, those active, in its organization being E. T. Weir, president; and Cyrus Ferguson, the first vice president. At the pres- ent time the officials are: E. T. Weir, president; D. M. Peterson, vice president; H. E. Hawkins, cashier, and E. D. Rothrock, assistant cashier, the board of directors consisting of: E. T. Weir, D. M. Weir, C. Ferguson, W. J. Hudson, G. L. Buchanan, J. A. Purdy, F. S. Loeb, D. M. Peterson and J. C. Williams. The bank now has resources of $1,500,000, and has paid dividends regularly. In 1921 a modern banking house was constructed by and for the bank, which includes all the latest devices and appurte- nances for the insuring of absolute safety for the deposi- tors' money. Mr. Peterson is one of the popular men of Weirton, both among his business associates and the depositors of the institution which he represents. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and member of Aladdin Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Columbus, Ohio, and in polities supports the republican party's candidates. He is unmarried. ______________________________X-Message: #2 Date: Sun, 26 Sep 1999 16:35:04 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990926163504.00fd3700@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: Omer P. FRAME, 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. 284 Braxton County OMER P. FRAME, cashier of the Farmers and Mechanics Bank of Gassaway, is one of the astute financiers and solid citizens of Braxton County, who has won an enviable repu- tation for integrity and efficiency. He was born at Frametown, West Virginia, August 27, 1886, a son of Elliott and Rebecca (James) Frame. Elliott Frame was also born at Frametown, a son of Thomas Frame, an early settler of Frametown, for whom the town was named. Upon locating there he built a grist-mill, operated by water power, and this he conducted the greater part of his life, and his son, Elliott Frame, also operated this old mill. Elliott Frame was educated in the common schools of Frametown, and in early life was a teacher in Braxton County, but is now a carpenter in the employ of the Balti- more & Ohio Railroad Company. For many years a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, he is active in Sunday School, and has a class. In his political con- victions he is a democrat. There were two children born to him and his wife, namely: Etta, who was graduated from the common schools, is now the wife of J. L. Barker; and Omer P., whose name heads this review. Like his father, Omer P. Frame was reared at Frame- town and attended its common schools, remaining at home until he reached his majority. He has been cashier of his present bank since its organization, and associated with this institution in an official position are Dr. J. W. Smith, president; V. G. Bender, vice president, who with Mr. Frame and J. C. Kinton, S. W. REosenberger, Leslie Frame. Dr. L. A. Jarrett, P. C. Belknap, Norman Sirk and A. C. James form the Board of Directors. The Farmers and Mechanics National Bank of Gassaway is one of the most solid institutions of Braxton County, and a very large banking business is carried on. Mr. Frame was united in marriage with Elizabeth Sin- clair Longwell, the ceremony being performed November 27, 1912. Mrs. Frame graduated from the common and high schools of Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Frame have two children, namely: Eugene M., who was born May 27, 1915; and Evaline E., who was born August 27, 1919. They belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and he is a member of the local Official Board. Well known in Masonry, he belongs to Gassaway Lodge No. 133, A. F. and A. M.) of which he has been past master five times; Sutton Chapter No. 29, R. A. M.; Sutton Commandery No. 16, K. T., and Beni-Kedem Shrine of Charleston, West Virginia. He is also a member of Gassaway Lodge No. 196, K. of P., of which he is a past chancellor. ______________________________X-Message: #3 Date: Sun, 26 Sep 1999 16:34:33 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990926163433.00fd0a30@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: Frederick William HORCHLER, Preston 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. 283-284 Preston County FREDERICK WILLIAM HORCHLER has always had his home at Newburg in Preston County, and has devoted fully a third of a century to the varied work and duties of coal mining. He is one of the coal operators of that section, and has borne his share of civic duties in the community. Mr. Horchler was born at Newburg, May 28, 1869. His father, William Horchler, was born in Germany, son of a forester to the king. William left Frankfort on the Maine to avoid the enforced military duty in the German army. Two of his brothers, Frederick and August, also came to America, Frederick spending his life at Eckart, Maryland, where he left a family, while August lived as a neighbor to his brother William at Newburg, was a shoemaker by trade, later in the railroad service, and is now a retired engineer living at Cumberland, Maryland. William Hor- chler established himself at Newburg in 1857. He was. young at the time, and at Newburg he applied himself to the trade he had learned in the old country, shoemaking. He soon became interested in railroading, first as a section hand, was then foreman of the section at Newburg, and from that transferred to the train service, beginning as a fireman, and he ran an engine for more than thirty years. He retired from the service at the age of sixty-five. His home was at Newburg for more than a half a century, and he died there in November, 1910, at the age of seventy- three. For a time he was a member of the town council, was a democrat and a member of the Lutheran Church. William Horchler married Mary Hilgartner, a native of Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. She came to the United States as a young woman and met her husband at Newburg. She was a working girl, and they were married at Independence in the home of her employer, Colonel Monroe, then a super- visor of the Baltimore & Ohio Railway. She died in No- vember, 1913. The children of this good old couple were: Henry, who left a family at Newark, Ohio, at his death; Annie, wife of G. M. Frazier and living at Laurel Lee, West Virginia; Amelia, wife of J. F. Stanhagen, of Fair- mont; Frederick W.; and Lena, wife of John M. Carrico, of Rowlesburg, West Virginia. Frederick W. Horchler spent several terms in school at Newburg, but his substantial education has been the result of working experience. At the age of fourteen he entered the service of a coal company. Through successive duties as mule driver, coke worker, store clerk, boiler fireman at the mine, he eventually became mine superintendent, and for eighteen years had charge of the Austen Mine. Leav- ing the Austen Coal and Coke Company in 1916, Mr. Hor- chler became an operator on his own account and on his own capital. Under the name of the Horchler Coal Mining Com- pany he opened a mine in the Upper Freeport vein, and this company when operating to capacity employed sixty men. He opened a new coal field at Newburg, the property being operated by the Horchler Big Vein Coal Company, working the Pittsburg and Bakerstown seams. Mr. Horchler was also one of the original stockholders and is a director of the First National Bank of Newburg. In the role of good citizenship he was elected in 1918 as county commissioner for Lyon District as successor of Commissioner O. W. Zinn. During his term on the court the Morgantown- Kingwood Pike was improved and a number of wooden bridges over the county replaced by concrete and steel structures. Mr. Horchler grew up in a democratic home, cast his first presidential ballot for Grover Cleveland, and has departed from party regularity only in local elections, where the man is more important than the ticket. Mr. Horchler is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. His two older sons, Frederick and Albert, are Masons, Frederick having reached the thirty-second degree of Scottish Bite, and his other son, Edward, is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the dramatic and social branch of that order. At Newburg, August 5, 1901, Mr. Horchler married Miss Annie Brain, who was born at Newburg, October 4, 1869. Her father, John G. Brain, married a Miss Downey and their three children were: Frank Brain, who died in the Philippines as a member of Company C of the Tenth Penn- sylvania Volunteers; Mrs. Horehler; and Ollie, who died at Connellsville, Pennsylvania, in 1910, wife of Samuel Moxley. The oldest of Mr. Horchler's children is Frederick W., Jr., now associated with his father in the coal business and who was a member of Company C of the Thirteenth United States Marines during the World war, fighting with that organization in France one year and coming home after the signing of the armistice. The second son, also connected with his father's coal industry, is Albert Lee, who married Mary Dorsey, of Fairmont. The third son, Edward J., is a farmer at home. The two daughters are Mabel and Mary, the latter attending high school. ______________________________X-Message: #4 Date: Sun, 26 Sep 1999 16:35:41 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990926163541.00fd26d0@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: Charles C. RUSMISELL, MD, 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. 284 Braxton County CHARLES C. RUSMISELL, M. D., one of the physicians and surgeons of Gassaway, is one of the faithful and skilled members of the medical profession of Braxton County, and one who is held in affectionate esteem. He was born near Frenchton, Upshur County, West Virginia, July 15, 1877, a son of John D. and Amanda A. (Hull) Rusmisell, both of whom were born on farms near Frenchton, and both were reared in the rural districts and attended the local schools of the country regions. He is now retired, and they are still living on the homestead where they settled at the time of their marriage. The paternal grandfather of Doc- tor Rusmisell was Dr. Adam Rusmisell, one of the early physicians of Upshur County, to which locality he came from Virginia, and where he was engaged in practice for half a century. John D. Rusmisell and his wife had seven children, namely: Flora, who is the wife of Charles Marsh, of Buckhannon, West Virginia; Doctor Rusmisell, whose name heads this review; James A., who is a physi- cian and surgeon of Buckhannon; Fred H., who is a con- tractor and builder of Buckhannon; John E., who is a farmer, is operating the homestead; Gay D., who is an oil driller; and Mrs. Wilda Duncan, who lives at Gassa- way. The parents of these children belonged to the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. In politics the father was a re- publican. Growing up on the homestead, Doctor Rusmisell at- tended the district schools, and later took a commercial course at the Mountain State Business College at Parkers- burg, West Virginia, and after leaving college was for two years engaged in business. In 1901 he entered the American Medical College at Baltimore, Maryland, and was graduated therefrom in 1905 with the degree of Doc- tor of Medicine, and in 1906 located permanently at Gas- saway, where he has built up a large and valuable connec- tion. He is unmarried. Professionally he maintains mem- bership with the West Virginia State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He is a stockholder in the Bank of Gassaway and of the Gassaway Development Company, and is much interested in the advancement of his home community. During the years he has been at Gassaway he has witnessed many changes, and is proud of the fact that he has participated in some of them, and that while he has advanced in material prosperity he has at the same time built up a solid reputation for profes- sional skill and personal integrity. ______________________________X-Message: #5 Date: Sun, 26 Sep 1999 16:36:16 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990926163616.00fd2590@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: John BRYNE, 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. 285 Braxton County JOHN BYRNE. The most prominent, successful and ca- pable men are not always those who started out in life with the ambition to achieve something especially great or famous, but almost invariably are found to be individuals who at the outset placed a proper valuation upon indus- try, integrity and determination. Possessing these quali- ties as a capital, John Byrne, of Sutton, entered upon his business career, and during the course of many years rose to a position of independence and prominence in his local- ity, where he is now living retired. For him the path to success was not an easy one, for his youthful advantages were limited and his earlier years were ones crowded with labor, but these facts made his success all the more wel- come and gratifying when it had been achieved. Mr. Byrne was born at Sutton, February 9, 1848, a son of John P. and Sabina C. (Sterrett) Byrne. He traces his ancestry back to George Byrne, a native of Wicklow, Ireland, who immigrated to America in the year 1720 and settled near what is now the City of Washington, D. C. He was the father of Samuel B. Byrne, whose son, Peyton Byrne, was the first of the family to migrate westward, lo- cating in what is now Preston County, West Virginia, in 1794. He was the father of John B. Byrne, whose son, John P. Byrne, was the father of John Byrne. John P. Byrne was born in Lewis County, West Virginia, July 6, 1817, and acquired his education in a private school. Dur- ing the greater part of his life he applied himself to agri- cultural pursuits, but was also prominent in public and political affairs and was a leader of the whig party. When Braxton County was organized, in 1836, he was made a deputy sheriff under the first sheriff of the newly-organized county, and later in life became county clerk, a position which he held for eighteen years and which he was occu- pying at the time of his death, February 2, 1860, when he was but forty-three years of age. He first married Sabina C. Sterrett, who was born in Missouri, in 1830, and died August 29, 1853, in the faith of the Presbyterian Church. They became the parents of three children, of whom John Bryne is the only survivor. In 1854 John P. Byrne took as his second wife Jane Hamilton. John Byrne was but five years of age when his mother died, and his youthful education was somewhat neglected, although in later years he gained much practical knowl- edge through reading, experience and observation, and became a man of good education. When he was twelve years of age his father died, and he went to live at the home of his grandmother, Mrs. Sterrett, with whom he remained until reaching the age of seventeen years, when he began to be self-supporting. For some years he worked as clerk in a store and saved his money carefully, so that in 1871 he became a proprietor on his own account through the purchase of a modest stock of goods. This business he gradually built up from small proportions to become a nourishing and successful enterprise, and continued as its head until his retirement in 1916. Mr. Byrne gained suc- cess solely through his own efforts, aided by a reputation for fair and honorable dealing that has always been well- merited. During his career he has also interested himself to some extent in farming, and in this field, as in the other, hard work and intelligent management served as the me- dia through which prosperity was gained. Like his father, Mr. Byrne has been active and influential in public and political life. For several years he was one of the leaders of the democratic party, and served as chairman of the Braxton County Democratic Committee. In 1876 he was elected sheriff of Braxton County, and acted in that capacity for a period of four years, giving the people an excellent administration. Mr. Byrne was united in marriage with Miss Frances C. Squires, who was born near Sutton, October 17, 1858, a daughter of Norman B. Squires, a native of Braxton County, who died of wounds received during the Civil war while serving in the Federal Army. Mrs. Byrne is a faith- ful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Sutton. She is the owner of farming land in Braxton County. To Mr. and Mrs. Byrne there have been born fourteen chil- dren, of whom ten are living: Sabina C., the widow of Joel S. Berry; Norman, of Nicholas County, this state; Ella, the wife of Dr. M. T. Morrison; John P., a farmer near Sutton; Charles M., printer of the Braxton Central newspaper; Robert E. and Ethel, at home; George C., a traveling salesman; Mary A., the wife of John Newlon, of Sutton; and Clarence, a resident of Sebring, Ohio. ______________________________X-Message: #6 Date: Sun, 26 Sep 1999 17:47:52 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990926174752.00fd5840@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: Alexander GROVES, Nicholas 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. 286 Nicholas County ALEXANDER GROVES. Long and varied experience with the mercantile business has contributed to the equipment of Alexander Groves and has fitted him particularly for the position which he holds as manager and part owner of the Standard & Company store at Gassaway. Like many who have made a success in business life, he entered upon his career as a teacher, but the greater part of his life has been passed behind the counter and in the office, in which locations the people of Gassaway have seen him for the past sixteen years. Mr. Groves is a native of Nicholas County, West Vir- ginia, and was born July 2, 1873, a son of Harrison and Sallie (Davis) Groves, the former a native of Nicholas County, West Virginia, and the latter of Virginia. Harri- son Groves was reared in the county of his birth and was a son of John Groves, a pioneer of Nicholas County, who came to that part of West Virginia at a very early day and was engaged in farming. Harrison Groves was reared on a farm and received a country school education, the same as acquired by his wife, and after their marriage they started housekeeping on a farm in Nicholas County, which they cultivated as long as they remained active. In the evening of life they retired and lived quietly in their com- fortable home. They were the parents of three children: Alexander, of this review; Harrison, of Summersville, West Virginia; and Alfred, also of Summersville, West Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Groves were members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, and Mr. Groves was a democrat in his po- litical affiliation. The father of Mrs. Groves, David N. Davis, was a Confederate soldier in a Virginia infantry regiment during the war between the states, and was pres- ent at the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House. Alexander Groves, or Alex Groves as he is better known to his many friends, was given his primary education in the country schools of Nicholas County, and this was sup- plemented by a course at the county normal school. When he left the latter he engaged in teaching, and for eight years had classes in the country districts, where he gained a reputation as an efficient and popular educator. His first experience in the dry goods business was acquired in Nicholas County, where he was engaged until 1906, in the latter year coming to Gassaway, where he became identified with the business of Standard & Company in the capacity of manager, and since that time has also become part owner. This business is now incorporated and has the fol- lowing officials: Oscar I. Standard, president; C. W. King, vice president; and Alex Groves, secretary-treasurer and manager. Under his direction this has been built into a very successful enterprise and does a flourishing business over a wide expanse of territory. Mr. Groves has other interests, and is vice president and a director of the Bank of Gassaway. His reputation is that of a thoroughly ca- pable and reliable business man. In 1906 Mr, Groves was united in marriage with Miss Cora Criss, a native of Braxton County, and to this union there have been born two children: Forest H., born July 5, 1907, who is attending high school; and Alex, Jr., born December 23, 1920. Mrs. Groves is a member of the Chris- tian Church. Mr. Groves is a democrat in his political affiliation, but has not cared for public office, although never neglecting the responsibilities of good citizenship. As a fraternalist he is affiliated with Gassaway Lodge No. 133, A. F. and A. M.; Sutton Chapter, R. A. M.; Sutton Commandery, K. T.; and Beni-Kedem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Charleston. ______________________________X-Message: #7 Date: Sun, 26 Sep 1999 17:47:20 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19990926174720.00fd4320@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: Daniel C. FEATHER, Preston 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. 285-286 Preston County DANIEL C. FEATHER, whose death occurred January 13, 1922, was a retired farmer at Terra Alta, lived fourscore years, was an honored veteran of the Civil war, and for flirty years or more after coming out of the army his time and energies were devoted to the labors of his farm. His ancestors came to Preston County when it was almost an unbroken part of the great trans-Alleghany wilderness. The family originated in Germany. The grandfather, Jacob Feather, was the original settler in the Lenox locality of Preston County, where he spent the rest of his years clear- ing away the timber and making a farm. Zaccheus Feather, father of Daniel Feather, was born at Lenox, July 14, 1805, and died March 1, 1891. He married Elizabeth Ervin, daughter of Isaac Ervin, and she was born August 6, 1814, and died January 26, 1898. They lived out their lives on the spot where their son Daniel was born, and were modest and unpretentious farmers. Zaccheus Feather voted as a democrat until the issues of the Civil war made him a republican. Two of his sons were soldiers, Daniel and Isaac, the latter in the Seventh West Virginia Infantry. A brief record of all their children is as follows: Clara Jane, who married Thomas J. Welch, reared a large family and died in Preston County; Isaac B., who was a farmer and is buried at the Crab Orchard Cemetery; Jacob, who also lived at Crab Orchard and is buried there: Mary Ann, who married B. A. Conner and died at Kingwood; Daniel C.; Nancy M., who was the wife of J. C. Stokes and died at Parsons, West Virginia; John S., a resident of Logan, Ohio; Miss Eva Catherine, of Lenox; Amanda Ellen, Mrs. John K. Peaslee, or Lenox; Martin Luther, who died in Preston County; Sarah E., who married Scott Kelley, of Terra Alta; and Minerva Belle, wife of Elmer B. Feather, a farmer near Lenox. Daniel C. Feather was born at Lenox, Preston County, February 12, 1842, and he always observed his birthday in conjunction with Lincoln's anniversary, but his great ad- miration for the martyred president had other substantial grounds. Mr. Feather was reared on the home farm and lived there until past twenty years of age. He then joined Company B of the Fourteenth West Virginia Infantry, under Captain Clinton Jeffreys and Colonel Daniel Johnson. He first trained at Terra Alta, then spent three months drilling on Wheeling Island, mobilized at Clarksburg and soon went to the front and remained during the winter on scouting duty at Keyser. His command was then returned west to Parkersburg, thence to Charleston, and then crossed the mountains into Old Virginia, along the Virginia and Tennessee Railway. At Cloyd Mountain Mr. Feather was struck in the right hip by a musket ball, fracturing the thigh bone, and but for the help of comrades said he would have been "down to stay." While the Confederates were beaten off, two days later General Morgan came in and took the Federal wounded as prisoners, including Mr. Feather. These prisoners were put in the Emory and Henry College Hospital, where Mr. Feather remained five months. He was then sent to Richmond and a week later was exchanged and put in a parole camp at Annapolis, Maryland, and sub- sequently sent to Baltimore for hospital treatment. While there his discharge, previously applied, for, arrived at An- napolis, to which, point he returned and was there the night President Lincoln was assassinated. Mr. Feather retained a vivid recollection of all the excitement attending that tragedy. He left Annapolis for home in April, and his discharge separated him from the army without a final muster out. The bullet that wounded him was never found and is believed to have remained somewhere in his body. The wound it made frequently broke out afresh, and caused him distress and misery until 1920, when it seemed to have permanently healed and his troubles ended. For some time after the war he was unable to resume work, but when sufficiently recovered returned to the farm- ing operations of his youth and established himself in his home community. He lived there until his removal to Terra Alta in 1894, except for a year and a halt spent in Hock- ing County, Ohio, where he married. As a farmer Mr. Feather was a grain and stock raiser, and these depart- ments, together with the improvements of his farm and the maintenance of its soil, constituted the daily and yearly routine of his life until he gained a competence through years of drudgery and retired to Terra Alta to spend his declining years in comfort. He established his home at the high point of the Alleghanies and lived there for more than a quarter of a century. He was a stockholder and one of the directors of the Terra Alta Bank. While in the army he cast his first vote for Mr. Lincoln for President, and every national election has called him out to vote the same party ticket. He filled the chairs in the Knights of Pythias Lodge of Terra Alta twice, was a representative to the Grand Lodge, and some thirty years ago was made an Odd Fellow at Bruceton Mills. Deborah Ann Chidester was born in Preston County May 13, 1848, and as a young girl she entertained a high ad- miration of the youthful soldier, Daniel Feather. When she was nineteen years of age her parents moved to Hock- ing County, Ohio, and Daniel Feather followed her there, and on April 25, 1869, they were married. She was a daughter of Harrison and Sabina (Falkenstine) Chidester, her mother being a daughter of Samuel and Annie (Stuck) Palkenstine. Harrison Chidester was born near Bruceton Mills, in Preston County, May 6, 1826, spent all his career as a farmer, served with the West Virginia Militia during the Civil war, and in 1867 moved to Ohio and spent the rest of his days near Logan, where he died February 5, 1897. His wife was born March 23, 1828, and died May 15, 1906. Mrs. Deborah Feather was the oldest of their children, and the others were: Nancy, who married John Feather and died in Hocking County; James, a resident of Wichita, Kansas; Elma, widow of Alfred Nimon, of Delaware, Ohio; Cyrus W., of Delaware; Isabel, wife of Jeremiah Einger, of Terra Alta; and Emma, wife of Wither Coy, of Payne, Ohio. The only child born to Mr. and Mrs. Feather was Amy Louella, who died when almost eleven years of age.