WV-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 00 : Issue 109 Today's Topics: #1 BIO: BERNHARD KAPLAN, Lewis County [Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.20000413052714.0089e900@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: BERNHARD KAPLAN, Lewis 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. 401-402 BERNHARD KAPLAN came to Weston about a quarter of a century ago, bringing here and opening a small stock of goods, and his enterprise as a merchant has enjoyed a con- tinual growth and prosperity until he is now proprietor of the B. Kaplan Store, a complete department store, one of the best patronized in Lewis County. Mr. Kaplan was born in Russia, November 1, 1870, son of Wolf and Leba (Sherer) Kaplan. His parents spent their lives in Russia, where his father was a business man. The mother died soon after the birth of her son Bernhard, and the latter was reared by his stepmother. He attended school in Russia, and at the age of eighteen, in 1888, came to the United States, landing at New York and going di- rect to Baltimore, where he found employment as a clerk. In 1896 he established a little business of his own as a dry goods merchant at Mount Jackson, Virginia, and the following year moved his stock of goods to Weston. He did business in men's furnishing goods for several years, but in 1911 organized a complete department store, with quarters in the Tierney Building. Later he bought and rebuilt the William L. Dunnington property, and now has a large building used for the various departments of his prosperous business. Mr. Kaplan is a citizen of much financial worth, thorough integrity and public spirit. He is a stockholder in the Bank of Weston, the Monongahela Power & Railroad Company, the Interstate Glass Factory and the Building & Loan Association. He takes part as a member in the Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce, votes as a republican, and is affiliated with Weston Lodge No. 10, A. F. and A. M. Mr. Kaplan married Miss Celia Silverman of Baltimore. They have two daughters and one son. Leba is a high school graduate and a graduate of Goucher College of Baltimore. Leonard, the only son, graduated from high school and graduated with high honors as ensign being second man in a class of 541 from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1922. The youngest, Naomi, completed her college course in 1922. ______________________________X-Message: #2 Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 05:42:39 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.20000413054239.008a0910@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: JOHN BRANNON BENNETT, Lewis 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. 402-403 JOHN BRANNON BENNETT is a lawyer by training and profession, practiced a number of years at Weston, but now has the active business management of the old Ben- nett estate at Walkersville, a noted general purpose and stock farm of 1,000 acres, a portion of the original tract of 5,000 acres once owned by his great-grandfather Bennett. Bennett is one of the oldest and most distinguished names in the annals of Lewis County, West Virginia. William Bennett, its founder, was born in Pendleton County, Vir- ginia, in 1775, son of Joseph Bennett, a native of Scot- land, who settled in Augusta County, Virginia, before the Revolutionary war. William., Bennett in 1797 bought a large tract of land in Lewis County from George Jackson, and he moved to the county in 1798 and throughout the rest of his life bore the reputation of a large land owner and a prominent citizen, serving on the first grand jury in the county. He died in 1857. His wife was Rebecca McCally, a native of Botetourt County, Virginia. They were married October 21, 1796. Her father, Dr. James McCally, resigned as captain in the British Marines to join the American Colonists in the Revolutionary war, and he spent his last years at the home of William Bennett in West Virginia. The grandfather of John Brannon Ben- nett was Jonathan McCally Bennett, who was born in Lewis County, October 4, 1816, and died October 28, 1887. During his youth schools were hardly available, but his active mind led him into a wide field of knowledge and he acquired the equivalent of a liberal education and be- came a very thorough and eminent lawyer. During his youth he was deputy county clerk and deputy sheriff, was admitted to the bar in 1843, was the first prosecuting at- torney of Gilmer County, and practiced law with Judge Gideon D. Camden until the latter was elevated to the bench in 1852. Jonathan M. Bennett was elected the first mayor of Weston in 1846, and in 1852 took the place in the Legislature vacated by Mr. Camden. Not long after- ward he was appointed auditor of public accounts for the State of Virginia by Governor Wise, and filled that post of duty until 1865. As auditor of the state he was at Richmond at the outbreak of the Civil war. He was in- strumental in securing the appointment of Stonewall Jack- son to a cadetship at West Point, and likewise was an in- fluence in securing his appointment as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army. He was elected presi- dent of the Exchange Bank of Weston in 1853. In 1858 he was defeated for nomination for Congress on the demo- cratic ticket by only a small margin. It was largely due to him that Weston was selected as the site for the hos- pital for insane. After the war he resumed his law prac- tice at Weston, was elected a member of the State Sen- ate, and was one of the commissioners appointed to ne- gotiate with Virginia relative to the division of the state debt. His report on that subject was one of the valuable documents that figured in the negotiations closed only a few years ago. He was also president of the Weston & Buckhannon Railroad. The wife of Jonathan McCally Bennett was Margaret Elizabeth Jackson, a daughter of Capt. George W. Jack- son and granddaughter of George Jackson, who was a member of Congress from Virginia and one of the Virginia Convention which adopted the Federal Constitution. Capt. George W. Jackson was born February 9, 1791, was ap- pointed first lieutenant of the Nineteenth United States Infantry by President James Madison, July 6, 1812, served in the War of 1812, rose to the rank of captain, and was one of the distinguished citizens of Lewis County, where he died in 1876. Jonathan McCally Bennett and wife had four children. The daughter Gertrude became the wife of Dr. Fleming Howell, of Clarksburg. Mary Lee was the wife of William D. Bowie, of Baltimore, son of Governor Bowie. The two sons were William G. Bennett and Louis Bennett. Louis Bennett graduated in law at the University of Virginia in 1871, served for a time as principal of the State Normal School at Glenville, and later enjoyed an immensely successful law practice at Weston and had many widespread interests as a banker, owner of coal, oil and gas properties, and was speaker of the House of Delegates of West Virginia in 1891. The late William George Bennett shared with his brother Louis in many of the best distinctions given to a lawyer, business man and public spirited citizen. He was bora at Weston, January 5, 1847, was educated under private tutors and in private schools at Richmond, Virginia, and as a member of the Virginia Military Institute Cadets participated in the battle of Newmarket and other phases of the closing days of the war. He graduated from the Military Institute in 1866, and received his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1869. He was the first member and the first presiding officer of the Alpha Tau Omega and an organizer of the Chapter of that fraternity at the University of Virginia. He practiced law at Wes- ton twenty years, and was eminent both as a criminal and civil lawyer. He defended a great number of criminal cases, and only once was a man he defended convicted of felony. The character and ability that made him an able lawyer equally distinguished him on the bench. He was elected circuit judge as a democrat in a strong republican district in 1889, served a term of eight years and in 1898 was re-elected, retiring from the bench in January 1905. He was defeated several times by a small margin as can- didate for the nomination for governor. In 1892 and 1900 was the democratic nominee for justice of the State Su- preme Court of Appeals, receiving 1,000 more votes than any man on his ticket. He was a delegate to the first Democratic State Convention, and for several years chair- man of the State Executive Committee. In the early part of his career he was a member of the State Board of Hos- pitals for the Insane, and was appointed commissioner to assess railroads for taxation. He was one of the promoters and organizers of the Clarksburg and Weston Narrow Gauge Railroad, and was a director and attorney for that road and similarly connected with the Weston & Buckhannon Railroad. Out of the ample fortune he acquired through his pro- fessional and business interests Judge Bennett improved and increased the land holdings of the Bennett family in Lewis County, and was probably the largest owner of farm lands in the county. He had at one time six farms, com- prising over 2,000 acres. Next to his law practice his chief interest was horses. His Riverside farm became widely noted for its blooded cattle and standard bred horses. He also owned a breeding and training farm in Maryland. He was a director of the American Association of Trotting Horse Breeders and the American Trotting Register Asso- ciation, and for years his horses made creditable perform- ances on many tracks throughout the country. In Masonry he was grand master of the Grand Lodge of West Virginia, grand high priest of the Royal Arch Chapter, and grand commander of the Grand Commandery. William G. Ben- nett Lodge No. 46, at Walkersville was named for him. Judge William G. Bennett died November 8, 1916. In 1872 he married Alice Brannon, daughter of Judge John and Amanda (Bland) Brannon. Her great-grandfather Brannon was a native of Ireland, served as an American soldier in the Revolutionary war, and her grandfather, Rob- ert Brannon, was a native of Virginia and a soldier in the War of 1812. Judge John Brannon was a brother of Judge Henry Brannon, of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, whose biography appears elsewhere. Judge John Brannon was educated at Winchester, Vir- ginia, was admitted to the bar in 1846, and the following year moved to Weston. He was a member of the Legisla- ture in both Houses before the war, and served as circuit judge from 1872 to 1881. His wife, Amanda Bland, was born in Harrison County, West Virginia, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Newlon) Bland. Thomas Bland set- tled in Lewis County in 1817 and died in 1868. He waa several times in the Legislature, a member of the Con- stitutional Convention of Virginia, was a soldier under General Harrison in the War of 1812, and was the father of Dr. William J. Bland, who served as superintendent of the Insane Hospital at Weston during the '80s. Judge and Mrs. W. G. Bennett were the parents of six children: William G., Jr., who died in infancy; John Brannon; Hunter M. Bennett, who was admitted to the bar in 1903 and is active in practice; William Bland, who supervised the extensive farming interests of the family until his death; Margaret, who was educated at Winchester, Virginia, and at Mrs. Reed's School in New York, and is the wife of Robert Grain, a Baltimore lawyer; and Bertha, who finished her education at Washington, District of Co- lumbia, and is the wife of Dr. George I. Keener. John Brannon Bennett was born at Weston, April 15, 1875. He attended the Episcopal High School at Alexandria, Virginia, Washington and Lee University, Notre Dame University, Indiana, and the University of West Virginia, and graduated LL. B. from West Virginia University in 1896. He was admitted to the bar the same year, and enjoyed an extensive practice until he gave up the bar to take the management of the Bennett Stock Farm of 1,000 acres. While much of the reputation of this farm is due to its standard bred horses it also has one of the best herds in the state of Aberdeen Angus and Holstein dairy cattle. On September 19, 1915, John B. Bennett married Ethel Hayhurst, daughter of a former military man. They have three children: Jonathan M., Margaret Saxton and George Brannon Bennett. Mr. Bennett is affiliated with W. G. Bennett Lodge of Masons at Walkerville, belongs to the Scottish Rite body at Clarksburg, is affiliated with the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, and follows the family traditions in politics as a democrat. ______________________________X-Message: #3 Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 06:00:13 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.20000413060013.0085c3b0@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: EDWARD MARSHALL HAWKINS, Lewis 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. 403 EDWARD MARSHALL HAWKINS is another of the native sons of West Virginia to be prominently identified with the great coal-mining industry of the state. He is superin- tendent of the Harrison property of the Courtright-Cornog Collieries Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is also interested in the ownership of coal and oil land in Ritchie County, and has real estate interests in the City of Clarksburg, Harrison County, where he maintains his home. Mr. Hawkins was born on a farm near Clarksburg, Har- rison County, November 25, 1878, and is a son of William and Nancy (Nuzum) Hawkins, the former a native of Taylor County, this state, and the latter of Harrison Coun- ty. The father became one of the successful teachers in the schools of Harrison County and was a gallant soldier of the Union in the Civil war, in which he served more than three years, in the command of General Sherman, he having been wounded in both legs and also injured by a saber stroke. After the close of the war he returned to Harrison County, and he continued as one of the honored citizens and representative farmers of that county until his death in 1907, his widow being still a resident of that county. Mr. Hawkins was an active member of the Meth- odist Protestant Church, as is also his widow, was a re- publican in politics, and was affiliated with the Grand Army of the Republic. All of the fine family of twelve children survive the honored father: Effie, wife of Syl- vanus Frum; May, the wife of S. F. Deloe; Edward Mar- shall, subject of this review; Anna, wife of Rev. Perry Null; Thomas, a blacksmith at McMechen, Marshall Coun- ty; Morton, a miner at MeMechen; Stella, wife of John Null; Nettie, wife of Albert Duty; Naomi and Miss Mat- tie; Everett, a miner in Ohio; and Muriel, wife of Rev. Arthur Null. Edward Marshall Hawkins passed his childhood and early youth on the home farm, and supplemented the discipline of the public schools by attending a normal school. He remained at the parental home until he had attained to his legal majority, and then became identified with coal-min- ing operations, first as a machine man, later as an elec- trician, and finally as mine foreman and mine superintend- ent in turn. For five years he was manager of the Monongah Glass Company's machine plant, and he ia now prominently concerned again with coal mining enterprises, as denoted by the responsible position of which he is the incumbent. Mr. Hawkins is unwavering in his allegiance to the republican party, is affiliated with St. John's Lodge No. 24, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Shinnston, Harrison County, and he and his wife are active members of the Methodist Protestant Church at Clarksburg. In 1899 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hawkins and Miss Aldie Douglass, and they have had four chil- dren. Carrie, who was born in December, 1902, entered the Fairmont High School when but twelve years of age, graduating at fifteen years of age, and graduated in the State Normal School at Fairmont when she was seventeen years old. Thereafter she graduated in the University of West Virginia, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and she is now a successful and popular teacher in the pub- lic schools of Clarksburg. Leonard, who was born No- vember 28, 1911, remains at the parental home and is still attending school. The deceased children were: Clifford, who died aged three years, and George, who died aged three years and seven months. ______________________________X-Message: #4 Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 06:01:15 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.20000413060115.008a12c0@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: HON. ALSTON G. DAYTON, Barbour 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. 403-404 HON. ALSTON G. DAYTON, who was judge of the United States District Court of West Virginia in the Northern District from 1905 until his death in 1920, represented an exalted type of "the public profession of law," and a record of his life and service is justly included in any collection of West Virginia biography. The Dayton family has furnished many conspicuous mem- bers to a public service of the United States. The grand- father of the late Judge Dayton was captain of Patriot troops in the Revolutionary war. Another member of the family was Jonathan Dayton, who also served in the Revo- lution, was elected to Congress from New Jersey, and was speaker of the House of Representatives. Another mem- ber of the New Jersey branch of the family was William L. Dayton, who was a judge of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, a member of the United States Senate, and in 1856 was vice presidential candidate on the first re- publican ticket with John C. Fremont. He was appointed United States minister to France by President Lincoln, and died in France in 1864. The father of Judge Dayton was Hon. Spencer Day- ton, who was born in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Jan- uary 22, 1820. He acquired his education through his own efforts, became a millwright by trade, and when the panic of 1837 put an end to his work in that line he took up the trade of carpenter and followed it until 1843. In the meantime he had studied Latin and Greek under a private teacher, and in 1843 began the study of law in the office of Nelson Brewster in Litchfield County. He was admitted to the bar there, and practiced one year in the East, but in 1847 moved to Western Virginia and located in Bar- hour County. He achieved in subsequent years a high reputation as a lawyer in what is now Central West Vir- ginia. He was a stanch Union man at the time of the Civil war. Alston Gordon Dayton was born at Philippi, October 18, 1857, son of Spencer and Sarah (Bush) Dayton. He com- pleted his public school work at the age of sixteen, then entered the University of West Virginia, graduated A. B. in 1878 and A. M. in 1880, and was admitted to the bar in 1878. He then formed a partnership with his father, and took high rank among the able attorneys of the Bar- bour County bar, his reputation spreading over adjacent counties. For a quarter of a century he was one of the hard working attorneys and for a number of years mem- ber of the firm Dayton & Dayton, until the death of his father. He was appointed to fill an unexpired term in 1879 as prosecuting attorney of Upshur County. In 1884 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Barbour County, and it is said that the county never had a more able and effi- cient prosecutor. He served until 1888. His ability as a lawyer and his sound views as a republican contributed to his nomination to Congress in 1894. In the campaign that followed he defeated the scholarly William L. Wil- son, author of the Wilson Bill, who had represented the Second District. Judge Dayton was a member of Con- gress for ten years, entering the Fifty-fourth Congress and serving through the Fifty-eighth Congress. He was again re-elected in 1904 to the Fifty-ninth Congress, but re- signed ten days later, after completing a service of ten years and ten days. His record as a Congressman was marked by many evidences of statecraft, and while he served his constituency faithfully he also won the con- fidence of his fellow members of the House. West Vir- ginia never sent a more earnest, sincere and honorable man to Congress than Judge Dayton. He went on the Federal Bench as judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia in March, 1905. Besides the regular terms of court in his own district he held court by designation in the Southern District, also in Pittsburgh and New York, and once a year was on the bench of the Circuit Court of Appeals in his district. Judge Dayton continued his work on the bench until a short time before his death. The bar of West Virginia recognized in him a man of high ideals, of spotless integrity and noble character. Judge Dayton was an elder in the Presbyterian Church more than forty years. He was affiliated with the Masonic fraternities, the Knights of Pythias, and was grand master of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of the state in 1893. November 26, 1884, he married Miss Columbia M. Sinsel, of Grafton. He is survived by his widow and their only son, Arthur Spencer Dayton of Philippi.