WV-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 00 : Issue 112 Today's Topics: #1 BIO: WILLIAM C. PIFER, Mineral Cou [Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.20000413182951.008a9180@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: WILLIAM C. PIFER, Mineral 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. 408-409 WILLIAM C. PIFER, one of the substantial business men of Keyser, and ex-mayor of the city, comes of one of the old- established families of the country, the American founder of it having settled in Virginia while it was still a colony of England, and from him have sprung a numerous progeny. Those bearing the name of Pifer are to be found in many states of the Union, and wherever they are located they are numbered among the solid and representative people of their neighborhood. The majority of the Pifers have been farmers, but others have succeeded in business, and a few have adopted teaching as their life work. It is some- what unusual that none of them have entered the ministry, the law or the medical profession. The birth of William C. Pifer occurred at Stephens City, Frederick County, Virginia, in the neighborhood of Winchester, July 3, 1878, and he is a son of Randolph and Mary Catherine (Cooper) Pifer, both of whom were born in Frederick County, Virginia, and their lives were spent principally on a farm. When war broke out between the North and the South, Randolph Pifer, as did the majority in his community, cast his lot with the Confederacy, and enlisted in Company A, First Virginia Cavalry, was made captain of his company, and served until the very close of the war, being one of the 8,000 soldiers still following General Lee at Appomattox, in April, 1865. He saw much hard fighting, was twice wounded, a musket ball passing through his body just under the heart, but he recovered. With the declaration of peace he tried to accept the results philosophically and to forget the past. In fact he had but little personal feeling against those whom the chances of war had made his enemies, and upon one occasion it is stated that he accepted an invitation from the Federal forces across the Potomac River, at Harper's Ferry, and took dinner with the "Boys in Blue." With his old com- rades of "the lost cause" he fraternized after the war, and enjoyed the reunions heartily. With characteristic energy and determination Randolph Pifer became a public servant of Frederick County after the war, and was county assessor for one term and county treasurer for four terms, to which offices he was elected on the democratic ticket. He was of German stock, his father having been John William Pifer, whose father was born in Germany, but left his native land for America in young manhood. John William Pifer married a member of the Richards family. Randolph Pifer was one of six children, the four sons of which were: Randolph, Stanley, Cyrus and Clarence, but Randolph was the only one of them who served in the army. The two daughters were Laura and Harriet, the former of whom married Neal Snapp, and the latter, Josiah Rinker. Until he was twenty-three years of age William C. Pifer remained on his father's farm, during which time he made himself useful and secured a country-school education, and for the last two years of the time was engaged in teaching in his home district. Abandoning the educational field, Mr. Pifer went with the wholesale firm of Naylor, Shyrock & Company, of Front Royal, Virginia, as office man and book- keeper for one year, leaving this concern to become a trav- eling salesman for the Birdsell Wagon Company of South Bend, Indiana. He worked out of Kansas City, Missouri, covering territory embracing Kansas, Oklahoma and Indian Territory, but after two years located permanently at Key- ser, where he embarked in business. At the beginning of his connection with West Virginia Mr. Pifer opened for business with a stock of pianos and music merchandise, with a very small captal. At first he traveled with a wagon through this region selling instru- ments, and as fast as he sold one, used the money to pur- chase another, and in this way secured enough money to open his store. Beginning thus in a very small way, he has gradually expanded, and now has one of the most mod- ern and well-stocked establishments of its kind in this part of the state. As the demand was created he added the Victor talking machine when the phonograph industry was in its infancy, and later the Brunswick Phonograph, and also carries both the Victor and Brunswick records for the trade. In 1915 Mr. Pifer was elected as mayor of Keyser to succeed Mayor F. H. Babb, and was twice re-elected, serv- ing in all six years. As he was the incumbent of the office during the war period he was kept very busy, and made a record which does him and his community great credit. It was during his administration that the city purchased its modern fire truck. The south side of Keyser was sewered, and the water mains extended through that portion. All of the public improvements were paid for by a bond issue, and when Mayor Pifer turned the office over to his suc- cessor the latter found affairs in an admirable financial condition. In politics he is a democrat, and has always been active in party affairs. Fraternally he belongs to Front Royal Lodge, A. F. and A. M. Mr. Pifer married at Keyser Miss Maude May Chrisman, a daughter of John W. and Emma (Nixon) Chrisman. Mrs. Pifer was born at Keyser, and educated in its public schools. Mr. Chrisman came to Keyser from Virginia as an employe of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company, which he is now serving as a conductor. He is one of the old employes of the road, having begun his connection with it as fireman, when wood was used for firing purposes. Mr. and Mrs. Pifer have the following children: Robert Arnold, Isabel, Geraldine, Kenneth, William and Marjorie. Mr. Pifer is an excellent example of the self-reliant man who has risen through his own efforts. There was no powerful influence or great wealth back of him when he located at Keyser, bnt he did possess determination to succeed, a willingness to work and a knowledge of his business, and these qualities, combined with his cheerful service and pleasing manner, have firmly established him in the confidence of the public and won for him a valuable trade. During the time he was the city's chief executive he made many personal sacrifices, especially daring the war, and left nothing undone which he thought would advance his community and add to its prestige. That he succeeded the many public improvements and flourishing conditions generally, amply demonstrate. ______________________________X-Message: #2 Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 18:46:04 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.20000413184604.008aadb0@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: W. J. MAYS, Taylor 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. 409 W. J. MAYS is the present efficient sheriff of Taylor County, was for a number of years in the police and me- chanical service of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and baa been a resident of Taylor County since he was two years old. He represents one of the pioneer families of West Virginia. Hia pioneer ancestor was William Mays, who served with Virginia troops in the Mexican war, and spent his last years in Monongalia County, being buried in the family graveyard near Fannie Furnace in that county. His son, Frederick Mays, was born in Monongalia County, and married Eleanor Snider, a native of Preston County and daughter of John Snider. They had a large family of children, including three sets of twins: Jacob, Lewis S., James M., Mary E., who married George Boylan; Sarah E., who married William LaRue; John N.; Margaret A., who married Jake Ecoff; Sophia D., who married Wesley Hartman; Kate, who married John Smith; Richard C.; and Martha A., who became the wife of William Grimes. John Nelson Mays, father of Sheriff Mays, is a retired farmer at Thornton in Taylor County. He was born in Marion County, February 4, 1843, but grew up near Independence, Preston County, where he acquired a sub- scription school education and a practical knowledge of farming. He has one of the most notable war records of the surviving soldiers of the Union. He was eighteen when in May, 1861, he joined at Morgantown, Company A of the Third Infantry, under Capt. J. J. Thompson and Col. David T. Hughes. After a period of training at Clarksburg the company was assigned to guard duty on the Parkersbnrg branch of the Baltimore & Ohio. After six months the regiment was put on scout duty with the Mountain Department of West Virginia, and after about two years the regiment was mounted and became the Fifth Infantry. While in service in the Valley of Virginia it participated in the battles of McDowell, Cloyd Mountain, Cross Keys, Port Republic and Culpeper, and fourteen days of fighting along the Rappahanock River. It was on patrol duty in Washington when Lincoln was assassinated and during the closing scenes of the war, including the Grand Review. In the meantime the regiment had been organized as the Sixth West Virginia Cavalry. After the war the Sixth Regiment was ordered to duty on the west- ern plains, Mr. Mays in the meantime having re-enlisted. They proceeded by rail to Fort Leavenworth, and thence across the plains to Fort Laramie, Wyoming, to open the mail route closed by Indian hostilities. A year later Mr. Mays was returned to Fort Leavenworth, where he was discharged in June, 1866. In the first years of his army experience he was twice taken prisoner, first near Morefield Gap by General Rosser and Green's Confederate command, and later by the same forces at New Creek, now Keyser, West Virginia. Both times he made his escape from his captors. Later, in Nebraska, he was with a force guard- ing an ox-train carrying Government supplies. One eve- ning he and a comrade were about a mile from camp looking for game. By some strange premonition he sensed danger, though there were no Indians in sight, and when his companion refused to leave off hunting he rode to the corral. He never saw his fellow hunter again, since he was hardly in camp when a band of 400 warriors came by, capturing his comrade and stampeding some cattle in another wagon train camped nearby. John N. Mays had three brothers in the Union Army, Jacob, Lewis S. and Frederick G. After his discharge at Port Leavenworth John N. Mays was returned to Wheeling, where he was mustered out, and he soon re- sumed the routine of civil life as a farmer in Preston County, and later moved to Taylor County. He has always been a republican, never active in politics, held a commis- sion for some years as notary public, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His first wife was Miss Phoebe Griffith, a native of Preston County and daughter of Ebenezer Griffith. She died three years after their marriage, as the result of an overdose of morphine administered by a physician. One of her two children died in infancy and the other is W. J. Mays. On March 10, 1875, John N. Mays married Miss Emma Hardinger in Taylor County, where she was born, August 10, 1861, daughter of Moses and Julia N. (Rose) Hardinger, na- tives of Pennsylvania and farmers in Taylor County. Emma was one of a family of five sons and four daugh- ters, and three others are still living. The children of John N. Mays by his second marriage are: Ola, wife of Allen DeMoss, of Thornton; Alonzo, of Detroit, Michigan; Grace, who married Robert Travis, of Thornton; Ira E., of Detroit; Chauncey, of Richmond, Virginia; and Pearl, wife of Edward Haines, of Cumberland, Maryland. W. J. Mays, son of this old soldier, was born near Evans- ville, Preston County, February 5, 1869, and was less than two years old when his father moved to Taylor County. He acquired a country school education, and at the age of eighteen became a blacksmith apprentice in the shops of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. After four years of apprenticeship he was raised to the regular rank and pay, and remained in the shops of the company for eleven years. Leaving that he conducted a dairy at Grafton five years, and then by appointment from Mayor James Love served two years as chief of police. The Baltimore & Ohio invited him to return to its service as a police of- ficer, and subsequently he was promoted to captain of police for the Mononga division, a post of duty he held two and a half years. During the World war period, when the railroad needed all available mechanical skill, he resumed his former trade in the railroad shops. While there he was persuaded by his friends to stand for nomi- nation for sheriff, received that honor in the primaries of 1920, and in the fall of that year was elected by a majority of 2,144, the majority being larger than all the votes cast in the county for his competitor. He succeeded Sheriff Melvin Newlon in January, 1921. Sheriff Mays is an active representative of all progres- sive movements in his city and county. He is a republican, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, a Methodist and is affiliated with the Masons, Modem Woodmen and Red Men. In Taylor County, November 30, 1891, he married Miss Margaret A. Knotts, daughter of John K. and Ann (Linn) Knotts. Her father was a Taylor County farmer, and represented one of the prominent family names there. Mrs. Mays, who was born March 23, 1872, was the young- est of eight children, the others being William L., Emery, Robert, Isaac A., Zebulon B., Spencer S. and Miss Mary J. Three of the sons became farmers and two railroad men. Mr. and Mrs. Mays have an interesting family of five sons and five daughters. Clyde N. is chief clerk of the division of accounts of the Mononga division of the Balti- more & Ohio. Edna Jean is the wife of Charles Payne, deputy sheriff of Taylor County. Abe Warder is deputy sheriff and jailer of Taylor County. Paul Herbert is the sheriff's bookkeeper. Verne K. was recently discharged from the artillery service of the United States Army. Mary M. is a senior in the Grafton High School, and the younger children are Samuel Linn, Margaret M., Virginia and Ruth. ______________________________X-Message: #3 Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000 18:54:14 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.20000413185414.008a7620@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: BLAINE ZICKEFOOSE, Upshur 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. 409-410 BLAINE ZICKEFOOSE is a prosperous farmer and dairy- man of Upshur County, where his excellent farm of 137 acres is situated three miles west of Buckhannon, the county seat. He was born on the homestead farm of his father in Upshur County, and the date of his nativity was November 1, 1885. He is a son of George W. and Jane (Light) Zickefoose, both likewise natives of this county and representatives of old and honored families of this section of West Virginia. George W. Zickefoose was born in August, 1843, and his wife was born in 1844, her death having occurred in 1893. The father was successfully identified with farm industry in his native county through his entire active career, and is still the owner of a farm of 125 acres, the major part of his landed estate having been divided among his children. He is a republican and is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as was also his wife. Of their eleven children the follow- ing are living, and of the number the subject of this sketch is the youngest: J. S. Elias and Alvin are prosperous farmers in Upshur County; Eli resides at Hamlock, this county, and is a merchant by vocation; Elliott and Arte- mus are substantial farmers of Upshur County, and the latter also conducts a feed store in the Village of Alton; and Delbert is a merchant at Alton. Blaine Zickefoose was reared to the sturdy discipline of the home farm and early gained experience that has proved of great value to him in his independent farm operations. He supplemented the training of the public schools by at- tending the West Virginia Wesleyan College and by a course in a business college at Parkersburg. He has had no desire to sever his allegiance to the basic industries of agriculture and stock-raising, and is one of the pro- gressive farmers and dairymen of his native county. He is aligned in the ranks of the republican party, is af- filiated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he and his wife are members of Reger Chapel of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In December, 1910, Mr. Zickefoose married Miss Lura M. Reger, who likewise was born and reared in Upshur County, and they have two children: Martin W., who was born August 27, 1913; and Tuttle B., who was born Sep- tember 28, 1916.