WV-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 00 : Issue 152 Today's Topics: #1 BIO: CHARLES BUFFINGTON BALDWIN, C [Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <4.3.1.0.20000709102100.00c2bd60@mail.earthlink.net> Subject: BIO: CHARLES BUFFINGTON BALDWIN, Cabell Co. WV Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 423 CHARLES BUFFINGTON BALDWIN. An energetic operator in the coal and oil industries of West Virginia, Charles Buffington Baldwin, of Huntington, is also an accredited member of the legal profession, and is the repository of numerous interests of a business nature. He has achieved a number of accomplishments during his short but active career, and has attained a recognized position in the con- fidence of his associates. Mr. Baldwin was born at Athens, Clarke County, Georgia, January 7, 1894, and is a son of Charles Warren and Juliette (Buffington) Baldwin. Charles Warren Baldwin was horn in 1852, in South Carolina, and as a young man came to Huntington, West Virginia, where he was married, subse- quently going to Athens, Georgia. He owned and operated a chain of rolling mills, one of which was located at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to which city he removed in 1899, and where he died in November, 1914. Mr. Baldwin was a demo- crat, a member of the Episcopal Church and a thirty-second degree Mason. He married Juliette Buffington, who was born at Huntington in 1874, and was educated in the Hunt- ington public schools, Marshall College of Huntington, and the Mary Baldwin Seminary at Staunton, Virginia. She survives her husband as a resident of Huntington. Peter Cline Buffington, the father of Mrs. Baldwin, was born in Virginia and died at Huntington in 1876. He was a pioneer of the city and became its first mayor, and followed farming as a vocation, being a large landholder. At one time he took a prominent part in politics and was a member of the cabinet of Jefferson Davis. He was always a stanch demo- crat. Mr. Buffington married Miss Louise Garland, who was horn in Westmoreland County, Virginia, and died at Hnntington. After the death of her first husband Mrs. Charles W. Baldwin married the late Frank Bliss Enslow, of Huntington, who was a lawyer of distinction and a man with numerous important business interests. They became the parents of one daughter, Dorothy Louise, who attended the National Cathedral School at Washington, D. C., and now makes her home with her mother. The only child of his parents, Charles Buffington Baldwin attended the public schools of Huntington, and after his graduation from the high school entered Marshall College, from which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1913. He then enrolled in the law department of Washing- ton and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, and was given his degree of Bachelor of Laws as a member of the gradu- ating class of 1916. During his college career he was ad- mitted to membership in the Pi Kappa Sigma and Theta Nu Episilon Greek letter college fraternities. Admitted to the bar in 1916, in the same year Mr. Baldwin became local counsel at Huntington for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, a position which he retained until April, 1917, when he en- listed in the United States Army and was sent to the Officers' Training Camp at Fort Benjamin Harrison. He was shortly assigned to the air service, where he was com- missioned a first lieutenant, and eventually was made an instructor at the Wilbur Wright Aviation Field, near Day- ton, Ohio, where during the remainder of his service he was engaged in teaching the art of flying to student army aviators. He was mustered out and honorably discharged in April, 1919, at which time he returned to Huntington and engaged in coal and oil operations, in which he has since been engaged. He is now president of the Transylvania Petroleum Company of Huntington and New York City, and a director in the J. M. McCoach Company of Huntington. Mr. Baldwin maintains an independent stand in regard to political affairs. His religions faith is that of the Episcopal Church. As a fraternalist he holds membership in Hunting- ton Lodge No. 53, A. F. and A. M., and other connections are with the Guyandotte Club, the Guyan Country Club and the Chamber of Commerce, all of Huntington. He owns a modern residence at No. 1310 Third Avenue, a very com- fortable and attractive brick structure, and other real estate at Huntington, as well as a summer home in Summers County, West Virginia. In civic affairs he has always been a willing and energetic supporter of constructive movements and a friend of all enterprises tending to advance the general welfare. On June 30, 1920, Mr. Baldwin was united in marriage with Miss Hazel B. Hatfield, of Huntington, daughter of Dr. Henry D. and Caroline (Bronson) Hatfield, residents of this city. Doctor Hatfield is an ex-governor of West Vir- ginia, and a distinguished physician and surgeon. Mrs. Baldwin is a graduate of Miss Baldwin's School for Girls at Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. ______________________________ X-Message: #2 Date: Sun, 09 Jul 2000 10:17:09 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <4.3.1.0.20000709101634.00c39d00@mail.earthlink.net> Subject: BIO: ARDEN L. CRAIG, Nicholas Co. WV Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 419 ARDEN L. CRAIG. As a banker and real estate man Arden L. Craig continues the business service so long represented by his late father, James S. Craig. He is a lawyer by profession, but the law has become secondary to his extensive business interests. Mr. Craig, whose home is at Richwood in Nicholas County, was born at Summersville in the same county, September 8, 1874. He graduated A. B. from the National Normal Uni- versity at Lebanon, Ohio, and had an active experience as a teacher for several years. In 1901 he graduated from West Virginia University Law School. When he began practice he had the distinction of being the first lawyer to locate at Richwood, and for over twenty years has exercised an im- portant influence in the development of that industrial town. His law office has become his headquarters for an extensive real estate business, and he is also the successor of his father as president of the Richwood Banking and Trust Company. Mr. Craig has twice served as mayor of Richwood, is an active republican in politics, is affiliated with Richwood Lodge No. 122, A. F. and A. M., and attends and supports the Presbyterian Church, of which his wife is a member. September 11, 1907, Mr. Craig married Miss Ann Veon, of Waverly, Wood County, West Virginia. They have one son, Eugene, born June 4, 1912. ______________________________ X-Message: #3 Date: Sun, 09 Jul 2000 10:35:01 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <4.3.1.0.20000709101809.00c46d20@mail.earthlink.net> Subject: BIO: AARON BECHTOL, Morgan Co. WV Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 420 AARON BECHTOL was a permanent resident of Berkeley Springs and was elected and served as a member of the First State Senate of West Virginia. He was born in that part of Berkeley County, now Morgan County, and for a number of years carried on an extensive real estate business. He owned much property at Berkeley Springs, including the historic house in which he had his home and which was built by General Washington for a summer residence. With the formation of the State, of West Virginia, Aaron Bechtol was elected to the Senate from the Tenth District, and was a member of the Legislature that convened at Wheeling in June, 1863. He was also a member of the Second Legislature convening at Wheeling in January, 1864, and he likewise represented the Tenth District in the Senate in the Third Legislature, which met in 1865. However, during the Civil war he was taken prisoner by the Confederates, and was held in Richmond for some time. After his release he returned home and lived at Berkeley Springs until his death. Aaron Bechtol married Sarah Roach, a life-long resident of Berkeley Springs. They had four children, Mary, Henry C., John W. and James E. Mary became the wife of William Tritapoe. Henry married Alice Hines, John W. married Catherine Coughlin and James married Mary Wheat. ______________________________ X-Message: #4 Date: Sun, 09 Jul 2000 10:19:19 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <4.3.1.0.20000709101841.00c3f250@mail.earthlink.net> Subject: BIO: ALPHEUS W. PRITCHARD, Harrison Co. WV Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 420 ALPHEUS W. PRITCHARD was born while James Monroe was president of the United States, and his life was pro- longed in good works until the beginning of the twentieth century. The West Virginia community that should hold his memory in special honor is Clarksburg, which he saw grow from a village to a city, and in that growth he shared as a constructive business man. He was born at Morgantown, West Virginia, July 4, 1819, son of George and Elizabeth (Betts) Pritchard. His parents were reared in Maryland, and Edward Pritchard, founder of the American family, was a native of Devon- shire, England. Alpheus W. Pritchard grew up before free schools were instituted, and his education was acquired by private instruction in some of the subscription schools which then furnished educational advantages. He became an ap- prentice blacksmith, a trade he thoroughly learned and in which he was a skillful worker for a number of years, inventing and making many useful articles. As a young man he moved to Clarksburg, and his work for several years was that of a blacksmith in this town. Subsequently he enlarged his business enterprise to mer- chandising, and eventually concentrated his energies almost entirely in the field of real estate. He had in a remarkable degree the faculty of foresight which enabled him to antic- ipate future developments and at the same time influencing developments. He acquired some holdings that became very valuable. One of the most interesting of these properties is situated on what was known in the early days as The Point, and later Point Comfort. Here he owned many acres of land and built his house on one of the most attractive residence sites. He lived here for many years, and enjoyed the situation the more because it affords a daily panorama, from which he could estimate and observe the progressive changes by which a small village had been converted into a thriving city by the hand and industry of man. On the site of his old home now stands the magnificent Thorne home, one of the most attractive in the city. The house is English architecture and was planned and designed by his daugh- ter, Mrs. Joseph W. Thorne, whose husband is a native of Harrison County. Highly successful in business, the late Mr. Pritchard was known by all his friends and associates as a man of the highest integrity of character. His business brought him in touch with the public, and gave him something of a public character. He never took advantage of a man, never foreclosed a mortgage, and he succeeded not by mak- ing the misfortunes of others help him, but through his constructive foresight and working always for the best interests of his clients and the public at large. June 27, 1843, Mr. Pritchard married Miss Mary Wolfe, who was born in Harrison County, November 25, 1824. Her birthplace was the farm which included the portion of land now occupied by the Clarksburg Country Club. Her father, David Wolfe; served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. To Mr. and Mrs. Pritchard were born nine children, the youngest of whom is Mrs. Metta Victoria Thorne of Clarks- burg. Mr. and Mrs. Pritchard were very actively identified with the work of the Baptist Church. Alpheus W. Pritchard died November 3, 1901, at the age of eighty-two. His widow survived him and passed away December 28, 1910, aged eighty-six. ______________________________ X-Message: #5 Date: Sun, 09 Jul 2000 10:26:57 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <4.3.1.0.20000709102624.00ccee70@mail.earthlink.net> Subject: BIO: WILLIAM OPIE NORRIS, Jefferson Co. WV Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 424-425 WILLIAM OPIE NORRIS, who for over twenty years has been interested in a growing real estate business at Charles Town, is member of a family that has been well known in Jefferson County for over a century, and included men of distinctive prominence in the affairs of the state as well as in the immediate locality. His grandfather was George Norris, a native of either Northcumberland or Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. There is a well established tradition that two brothers named Norris came from England to the colonies as early as 1750, one of them settling in Virginia and becoming the ancestor of the present line. The other brother settled in Camden, New Jersey, where he established a foundry and machine shop. In this plant his descendants made the first locomo- tive engine that ever pulled a railroad train in this country. Later the establishment was removed to Philadelphia, and became the foundation of the present Baldwin Locomotive Works. The name Norris is perpetuated by a street located near the works. While a branch of the family is thus permanently related with big industrial enterprise, the grandfather of William O. Norris was a planter, and devoted his life to the man- agement of his large estate and to his responsibilities as a leader in public affairs in Frederick County, Virginia, a county that then embraced Clark County. He was a magis- trate of Frederick County, and upon the organization of Clark County, being the oldest magistrate, by provision of the law of Virginia became automatically the first sheriff of the new county. He married Jane Wormeley, who was born at Rose Hill, near Urbana, in Middlesex County, Vir- ginia. Her father, Ralph Wormeley, was secretary of the Colony at the beginning of the Revolutionary war, and, remaining loyal to the crown he returned to England, his estate being confiscated. After the war he returned and recovered his property and occupied it until his death. This old Wormeley estate is on the Rappahannock River. William H. Norris, father of William O. Norris, was horn on the plantation known as Rosemont, near Berryville in Clark County, about 1820. He was educated by private tutors, and inherited a portion of his father's estate. At the time of his marriage he settled on a plantation in Kable- town District of Jefferson County. This property was his wife's inheritance. He operated the estate with slave labor, and continued there until his death in 1857, at the age of thirty-seven years. He married Mary Opie, who was born in Jefferson County. Her father, Hierome, owned several thousand acres of land and hundreds of slaves, and he represented his district in the Virginia Legislature for thirty-five consecutive years. The maiden name of his wife was Margaret Muse, also a life-long resident of Virginia. Mary Opie Norris died at the age of sixty-four. Her son, William Opie Norris, was born on a plantation in the Kabletown District in Jefferson County, and finished his education in the Virginia Military Institute. After finishing his course he returned to the plantation, and was active in its management until 1900. In that year he removed to Charles Town and became associated with his brother-in-law, Colonel Chew, in the real estate and loan business. In 1872 Mr. Norris married Margaret B. Chew, a sister of Col. R. P. Chew. ______________________________ X-Message: #6 Date: Sun, 09 Jul 2000 10:27:27 -0400 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <4.3.1.0.20000709102703.00c2d360@mail.earthlink.net> Subject: BIO: GEORGE E. STRALEY, Jackson Co. WV Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 425 GEORGE E. STRALEY, cashier of the First National Bank of Ripley, has been actively identified with that institution for ten years, and is one of the prominent young business leaders of Jackson County. He was born on a farm near Ripley, December 2, 1884. His great-grandfather, Christian Straley, was a native of Germany and founded the family in West Virginia, in Lewis County, where he was a farmer and where he lived out his life. Stephen Straley, his son, was born in Lewis County in 1801, and as a young man moved to Jackson County and founded the Straley homestead a mile and a half north of Ripley, where he continued to live until his death in 1885. He married Mary Alkire, who was born in Lewis County in 1813 and died in 1875. Of their family of three daughters and four sons the only survivor is Charles P. Straley, who still lives at the old homestead north of Ripley, where he was born October 9, 1856. He has been a farmer in that community all his life, and is a democrat and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He married Lucy Ramey, who was born in Jackson County in September, 1856. George E. Straley is the oldest of their children. Paul is unmarried and helps operate the home farm. Mary is a teacher in Marion County and has done advanced work in summer sessions of the State University. Charles V. is a student in the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia. George E. Straley was educated in rural schools, in the West Liberty State Normal School, attended the University of West Virginia at Morgantown in the summer of 1910, and at the age of twenty began teaching. For one year he did work in the rural schools of Jackson County, for two years was a teacher in the public schools at Ripley, and another two years in Pocahontas County. Mr. Straley in 1911 entered the Valley Bank of Ripley as assistant cashier, and has continued with that institution, which since August 4, 1915, has been the First National Bank. He became cashier in 1916. Mr. Straley is also a stockholder in the O. J. Morrison Store Company of Charleston, in the People's Department Store at Ripley, and takes a public spirited part in all the general improvement projects in his community. He is now serving in his fourth year as a member of the City Council of Ripley, and for the past three years has been secretary of the Board of Education. He is a demo- crat, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, is affiliated with Ripley Lodge No. 16, A. F. and A. M., and is a past chancellor of Walker Wright Lodge No. 95, Knights of Pythias. He did much work of a patriotic nature during the war, helping fill out questionnaires, and was also a member of the several committees for the Liberty Loan drives. In 1910, at Ripley, Mr. Straley married Miss Madaline Taylor, daughter of William and Alice (Riley) Taylor, the latter a resident of Akron, Ohio. Her father died on his farm near Ripley. Mr. and Mrs. Straley have two children, Marguerite, born July 1, 1912, and Robert, born September 1, 1916.