WV-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 00 : Issue 32 Today's Topics: #1 Bio: Arthur N. McKeever - hardy co [Tina Hursh To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <1.5.4.32.20000131031416.006aeaa8@clubnet.isl.net> Subject: Bio: Arthur N. McKeever - hardy 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 II pg. 79 & 80 Arthur N. McKeever is dean of the dental profession at Romney, and in his professional work and as a citizen has been prominent in that community since May 1, 1895. His name has been associated with several of the movements to give Romney a place among the progressive cities of the state. He was born at Edom, near Harrisonburg, in Rockingham County, Virginia, February 6, 1874, but represents an old family of Hardy County, West Virginia. His great-grandfather was one of three Scotch brothers who came from Scotland and settled in New Jersey. The grandfather, Hugh McKeever, was born in New Jersey in 1802 and as a young man settled in Hardy County and was a farmer and tavern keeper at Wardensville. He died there in 1880. Hugh McKeever married Miss Ogden, who died at Wardensville in 1888, at the age of eightyy-four. They reared the following children: Isaac, who was a commission merchant in Washington D.C., when he died; John, who died at Wardensville after many years of work as a physician in Hampshire and Hardy counties; William, who was in business with his brother Benjamin and died at Wardensville; Hezekiah, a Confederate soldier killed in battle at Richmond; Benjamin Warden; Rebecca, who married Asa Cline and died at Yellow Springs, Hampshire County; Amanda, who lives at Wardensville, wife of Tilberry Orndorff; Lydia, who married David Knee and died at Wardensville; and Jennie, who married David Dinges and died at Wardensville. Benjaming W. McKeever, father of Doctor McKeever, was born in the Wardensville community in 1842, and early in the Civil war joined the Confederate army as a member of the Thirty-third Virginia Cavalry, under General Imboden. Among other engagements he was in the battle of New Market. He served as a private and after the war followed merchandising at Edom in Rockingham County, but finally returned to his native county and established his home at Wardensville. He was a member of the Hardy County Court, was a democrat and a Lutheran, and died at Wardensville in 1903, at the age of sixty-one. Benjamin W. McKeeker married Mattie Neff, who was born in Shenandoah County, Virginia, in 1854, on her father's farm between Mount Jackson and New Market. She is now living, at the age of sixty-nine. She is the mother of three children: Doctor McKeever; Bernice of Wardensville, widow of James A. Heishman; and Irene, Mrs. R.L. Husong, of Buffalo, New York. Arthur McKeever was seven years of age when his parents left Rockingham County and established their home at Wardensville, the rural village on the east side of Hardy County, where he grew to manhood. He laid the foundation for his literary education in the village schools then spent two years in Roanoke College at Salem, Virginia, pursuing a literary-business course, and from there entered the University of Maryland at Baltimore, graduating from the dental department in the summer of 1895. He at once established his office at Romney, and was the first resident dentist to practice there, and has been the leader in his profession for nearly thirty years. Doctor McKeever is a former mayor of Romney. During his administration the water system was installed and the first concrete sidewalks constructed. He also organized and was president of the Romney Improvement Company, which installed the sewer system for the town. He was one of the organizers and the first president of the First National Bank. During the World war he was designated by the governor as dental examiner for the Local Draft Board. Governor A.B. White commissioned him a member of the Board of Regents of the Keyser branch of West Virginia University and he was one of the committee for the building of the school at Keyser and served four years as regent. Governor Glasscock appointed him a notary republic, and he was recommissioned by Governor Cornwell. He served with the rank of colonel on the staff of Governor Hatfield throughout his four-year term. Doctor McKeever is a Republican, casting his first vote for Major McKinley for President, and in former years attended numerous party conventions and is still a member of the Second District Congressional Committee. He is a past master of Romney Lodge of Masons, a past district deputy grand master, a member of Keyser Chapter, R.A.M., the Knight Templar Commandery at Martinsburg, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and belongs to Martinsburg Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. At Frostburg, Maryland, September 20, 1904, Doctor McKeever married Miss Katie Keller, daughter of Joseph and Susie (Brooke) Keller. Her father was born at Frostburg in December, 1873, and her musical talents were thoroughly trained, and she finished her education in the Peabody Institute at Baltimore. She was a teacher of music before her marriage. Doctor and Mrs. McKeever have two daughters, Martha and Josephine. ______________________________X-Message: #2 Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 21:14:20 -0600 From: Tina Hursh To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <1.5.4.32.20000131031420.006b1c14@clubnet.isl.net> Subject: Bio: Elmo Austin Murray - Cabell 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 II pg. 70 Elmo Austin Murray. Some men possess not only the ordinary and conventional virtues, which they exemplify in a greater or lesser degree in thier every-day life, but have in addition exeptional qualities which bring about achievements and attract to them the admiration and respect of their co-workers. Simple dignity, evidences of human sympathy, ceaseless application and habits of thrift, will bring about a successful career, and continued advancement will be noted invariabley when to the qualities just named are added power of initiative and quick decision, shrewdness, force of character, confident judgment and resourcefulness. These qualities have been noted in the career of Elmo Austin Murray, now shop superintendent of the Chesepeake & Ohio Railway at Huntington, and a man who has won his own way up the ladder of success from the bottom round. Mr. Murray, who is of Scotch descent and belongs to a family which founded in Colonial Virginia prior to the Revolution, was born at Staunton, Virginia, September 1, 1876, a son of Robert P. and Mary Elizabeth (Whitlock) Murray. His father was born in 1833, in Rockingham County, Virginia, where he was reared and educated, and as a youth went to Louisa County, Virginia, where his marriage occured. Following that event he was a resident of Staunton, and from 1852 was a fireman for the Virginia Central Railroad until the outbreak of the Civil war. In 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate Army and served throughout the struggle under Captain Kemper in a Virginia volunteer infantry regiment. On receiving his honorable discharge he resumed work as a fireman on the Virginia Central, and was later promoted to locomotive engineer, remaining with that road when it became the Chesapeake & Ohio and continuing as one of its most trusted employes until his death at Clifton Forge, Virginia, in 1889. He was a democrat in politics, and a regular member and strong supporter of the Baptist Church. Mr. Murray married mary Elizabeth Whitlock, who was born in 1833, at Frederick Hall, Virginia, and died at Clifton Forge in 1912. They became the parents of five children, as follows: Alice, who died unmarried at Clifton Forge at the age of twenty-one years; James, who died at the same place when twenty years of age; Elmo Austin, of this review; Robert F., who is engaged in the dry goods business at Clifton Forge; and Virginia, the wife of Harry E. Blaine, of Clifton Forge, a freight conductor for the Chesepeake & Ohio Railway. Elmo Austin Murray was educated in the public schools of Clifton Forge, which he left at the age of fourteen years to enter the service of the Chesepeake & Ohio Railway Company, starting at Clifton Forge, where he served his apprenticeship as a machinist. He was made gang foreman there, and subsequently was sent to Covington, Kentucky, as general foreman of the company's shops in 1903. in 1910 he was again promoted and sent to Lexington, Kentucky, in the capacity of master mechanic. In 1911 he was transferred to Clifton Forge, where he remained as master mechanic until 1920, at that time being promoted to the post of shop superintendent of the company's shops at Huntington, his present position. Under his supervision there are 2,500 employes, his office being situated at Twenty-seventh Street and Eight Avenue. Mr. Murray maintains an independent stand in regard to political matters, voting for the man rather then the party and using his own judgement as to principles and policies. As a fraternalist he holds membership in Allegheny Lodge, A.F. and A.M.; Clifton Forge Chapter, R.A.M.; Stevenson Commandery No. 8, K.T. of Staunton, Virginia; and Acca Temple, A.A.O.N.M.S., of Richmond, Virginia. He owns a modern and attractive home at No. 1227 Tenth Avenue, located in one of the preferred residence sections of the city. In September, 1901, in Botetourt County, Virginia, Mr. Murray married Miss Willie Carper, daughter of William B. and Rebecca (Allen) Carper, the latter of whome still resides in Botetourt County, where Mr. Carper, who was an extensive agriculturist, died in 1907. Mr. and Mrs. Murray are the parents of two children: Aline, a student at Stuart Hall, Staunton, Virginia, and Elmo Austin, Jr., who attents the Huntington Hight School. ______________________________X-Message: #3 Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 21:14:18 -0600 From: Tina Hursh To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <1.5.4.32.20000131031418.006a8e60@clubnet.isl.net> Subject: bio: Thomas W. Gocke - mineral 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 II pg. 80 Thomas W. Gocke, one of the substantial business men of Piedmont, has been identified with the history of Mineral County for a quarter of a century, and is the representative in this region of the J.C. Orrick & Son Company. He was born at Howesville, Preston County, West Virginia, May 13, 1864, a son of John J. and Catherine (Wesling) Gocke, natives of the province of Brandenburg, Germany, who were married in the United States, to which the father had come in 1840. He first lived at Cumberland, Maryland, and later at Tunnelton, West Virginia, being there until after the completion of the first tunnel. Soon afterward he bought a farm at Howesville, and continued to conduct it until his death in 1892, when he was sixty-eight years old. He was married after coming to Preston County, and the mother survived him until 1910, when she passed away at Clarksburg, West Virginia, aged eighty-seven year. They had thirteen children, eight of whom grew up, were married and reared families, but only four are now living, the being: Thomas W., whose name heads this review; James B., who is a resident of Los Angelos, California; Vincent E., who is a resident of Clarksburg, West Virginia; and Emma S., who is the wife of John E. Mattingly, of Cincinnati, Ohio. Growing up on his father's farm, Thomas Gocke attended the local schools and learned habits of industy and thrift from his watchful parents. Taking upon himself the responsibilities of manhood, he went to Cumberland, Maryland, and became a salesman for the J.C. Orrick & son company, and has remained with this corporation ever since. While at Cumberland Mr. Gocke covered a territory including Preston and Mineral counties, West Virginia, and Garrett County, Maryland, but in 1900 was transferred to Piedmont, Keyser and Georges Creed districts. Investing in the stock of his company, he now is one of the large stockholders and a member of its board of directors. The J.C. Orrick & Son Company, one of the most reliable concerns in the East, was established in 1863, at Cumberland, Maryland, by J.C. Orrick, who remained at its head during the remainder of his active life, and saw it develop from a small wholesale house to a corporation with many branches, doing a business of $1,000,000 annually. For a time a branch house was maintained at Grafton, West Virginia, but the business is now done by the Piedmont and Cumberland houses. The president and general manager of the company is William Gulland, the Orricks having all passed away. Mr. Gocke has taken an active part in civic affairs at Piedmont, as he did at Cumberland, and is very active in politics. Casting his first presidential vote for Grover Cleveland, he has followed the fortunes of the democratic party ever since, and has been his party's delegate upon numerous occasions to the congressional and state conventions, and was particularly zealous in the campaigns of his old boyhood friend, Junior Brown, for Congress, and was his close advisor during his entire career. On February 22, 1914, Mr. Gocke recieved a reward to which he was entitled in his appointment as postmaster of Piedmont, to succeed George T. Goshorn, and was re-appointed after a service of four years, filling the office until he resigned, August 29, 1921. While he was postmaster he continued his connection with the Orrick Company, and felt that the burden was too great for him to continue the responsibilities of both positions. He has also served as a member of the Piedmont City Council, and was responsible for the inauguration of the system of sewers. An enthusiastic advocate of the good roads movement, he was instrumental in securing the issue of the $100,000 bond fund for the building of permanent roads, and it is a reconized fact that had he not exerted himself in behalf of this movement it would not have been successful. Public improvements and the public welfare of his home city and county have always been of vital moment to him, and he has always been willing to devote much time and attention to whatever he has believed would work out for the best of the majority. During the late war his position as postmaster of Piedmont placed him in the front ranks of the drives for all purposes, and he exerted himself to the utmost to aid the admisistration in carrying out its policies. Mr. Gocke is a member of the Knights of Columbus, of which he has been grand knight, and he has represented the local concil in the state council, and has held the office of advocate in the latter body. On November 20, 1889, Mr. Gocke married at Baltimore, Maryland, Mary F. Kessler, who was born at Butler, Maryland, a daughter of Peter and Kate (Merryman) Kessler, natives of Switzerland, and Baltimore, Maryland, respectively. Mrs. Kessler was a distant relative of Johns Hopkins, founder of the famous University of Baltimore, Maryland, which bears his name. Mr. and Mrs. Gocke became the parents of the following children: Dr. William T., who is a graduate of the Baltimore College of Physicians and Surgeons, is engaged in a practice of his profession at Clarksburg, West Virginia; Joseph J., who is connected with the Kenny House at Piedmont; Paul F., who is manager of the above mentioned hotel; Thomas V., who is a student of Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Mary Catherine, who is attending the Piedmont High School. The Gockes are all Roman Catholics. Paul and Joseph Gocke volunteered for service during the World war at the entry of this country into the conflict, and served in the One Hundred and Seventy-third Engineers. They were sent overseas, were for five months in France, and for two months with the Army of Occupation on the Rhine River in Germany. During their period of service they were hospital attaches, and returned home uninjured. Both are members of the American Legion. The youngest son, Thomas V., was a S.A.T.C. student, and was in a training camp in Kentucky, perparing for army life, when the signing of the armistice put an end to the necessity for further troops. Like their father, the Gocke sons are admirable men and good citizens, and valuable additions to any community with which they see fit to connect themselves.