WV-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 00 : Issue 59 Today's Topics: #1 BIO: LEONIDAS HAMMAN KELLY, Braxto [Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.20000318182637.00977bd0@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: LEONIDAS HAMMAN KELLY, 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. 344-345 LEONIDAS HAMMAN KELLY, former United States dis- trict attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, has been engaged in his profession nearly thirty years, and his experience as a lawyer has always been accompanied with such foreefulness of character that account for his leadership in the bar of the state. His career as a lawyer has been steady and of substantial merit, whether as an attorney for an individual client or as prosecutor for the Federal Government. He is careful, clear-headed, syste- matic and thorough in his work, prepares his cases carefully and without undue haste, and has a record of many most effective and vigorous prosecutions. His history as a citizen and as a lawyer is a record of manliness in every detail. Mr. Kelly was born at Sutton in Braxton County, Janu- ary 28, 1871, son of John McH. and Alzira Virginia (Ham- man) Kelly. He acquired his early education in the public schools of his native county, and in 1887, at the age of six- teen, he was at Charleston as mailing and banking page of the Senate. In 1893 he graduated LL. B. from Wash- ington and Lee University at Lexington, Virginia, and several of his classmates are now prominent in Charleston, including Capt. S. B. Avis, Herbert Fitzpatrick, Jake Fisher and Wells Goodykoontz. Mr. Kelly was deputy circuit and county clerk of Braxton County, was mayor of Sutton, and for four years was prosecuting attorney, at which time he exhibited his qualifications as a strong and vigorous admin- istrator of this office. He has been a member of the law firm Hines & Kelly at Sutton since 1894. He was mayor of Sutton in 1896, and his term as prosecuting attorney was from 1897 to 1900, inclusive. In 1916 Mr. Kelly was appointed assistant United States attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, and in the official work of that position he moved his head- quarters to Charleston, though he retained his residence at Sutton. In 1917, by appointment of President Wilson, he was advanced to the office of United States district attorney, and served from October, 1917, until January 31, 1922. Mr. Kelly in 1914 became secretary of the Democratic State Executive Committee of West Virginia. He was grand master workman of the Ancient Order of United Workmen in 1910-12, and is now a member of the law committee of the Supreme Lodge. Prior to the conclusion of his term as district attorney, Mr. Kelly was appointed attorney for the Law and Order League of Kanawha County, and from January 1, 1922, has devoted practically his entire time to this office. The Law and Order League of Kanawha County was organized in Charleston in the fall of 1921 for the purpose of combatting and prosecuting crime and disorder of every nature in the county. It was brought into being through the necessities of the times, and was organized and is sponsored by the best and most substantial citizens. It was his highly spe- cialized attainments as district attorney that caused Mr. Kelly to be considered as the one best fitted for the work of attorney and prosecutor for the organization. He has always been outspoken in his advocacy of civic righteous- ness and the maintenance of law and order. Commenting upon his selection, John B. White, superintendent of the Law and Order League, said: "Mr. Kelly has been a vigorous prosecutor and is regarded as one of the ablest lawyers of this part of the state. He is a man of wonderful enersy and one whose integrity is unquestionable. Since Mr. Kelly came to this city several years ago his entire time has been occupied with the arduous duties of the United States district attorney's office, and as a result he is not identified with any particular interests or class in Kanawha County and is on this account particularly acceptable to those citizens of Kanawha County desiring a vigorous enforcement of the laws without fear or favor. His long and varied experience as prosecuting officer both as prosecuting attor- ney of Braxton County and then as assistant district at- torney and district attorney for the United States for five years render him especially well qualified for this position as chief counsel for the league in co-operation, with the county and state authorities." Mr. Kelly is a member of the Presbyterian Church and is affiliated with the Masonic Order and Knights of Pythias. March 3, 1897, he married Miss Bertha Gorrell, of Sutton, who died in 1904. On June 19. 1907, he married Nellie Kiddy, of Buckharnon, West Virginia. Mr. Kelly has the following named children: Robert G., born April 30, 1889, attended West Virginia University, and also Washington and Lee University, spent two years in France and is now taking his second year of the law course in the University of West Virginia; Janet, born April 10. 1900, graduated from Goucher College at Baltimore, in 1922; Virginia, born March 5, 1910, now a student in the Public schools of Charleston, to which city Mr. Kelly removed in November, 1921. ______________________________X-Message: #2 Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2000 18:52:01 -0500 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.20000318185201.00816720@trellis.net> Subject: BIO: RUFUS FENTON LAZZELL, Monongalia 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. 345-346 Monongalia RUFUS FENTON LAZZELL. The Lazzell family in Mon- ongalia County dates back to the period immediately follow- ing the close of the Revolutionary war. The first Lazzell was an itinerant Methodist minister as well as a farmer. Agriculture and stock raising have claimed the energies of all the subsequent generations, though several of the name have achieved prominence in the professions and public service. The name is of French origin. Geoffrey de Lascelles lived in the twelfth century, left his home in Normandy and went to live in England, and was probably the ances- tor of the English branch of the family. In 1647 John Lasell came to Hingham, Massachusetts, from Lincolnshire; England, and he and his wife, Eliza- beth Gates, are the ancestors of the Lazzell family in America. The name appears in fourteen different forms of spelling. Thomas Lazzell, the ancestor of the family in West Vir- ginia. was born in Massachusetts in 1753 or 1754 and mar- ried there about 1775 Hannah Beck, who was also born in Massachusetts, in 1757. They settled in Casa District of Monongalia County, at a time when Indians were hos- tile, and when every condition was that of the savage frontier. He was tireless and devoted as a Methodist min- ister, and performed his work in the midst of obstacles and dangers, and became widely known through all the Scottish settlements of the Upper Monongahela Valley. Their son, Thomas Lazzell, II, was born in Cass Dis- trict in 1787 and died in 1867, at the age of eighty. He was a man of great energy, and was known for his won- derful leadership and versatility. He made a success of farming, stock raising and merchandising, and came to own 1,800 acres of land, which later was discovered to be underlaid with heavy veins of coal. He was a class leader and steward in the Methodist Episcopal Church. In poli- tics he was a whig and later a republican, voting for Lincoln in 1860. In 1810 he married Rebecca Bowlby, daughter of James Bowlby and Lydia (Carhart) Bowlby, who were also pioneers in Cass District, coming from Sus- sex County, New Jersey. One of the ten children of Thomas and Rebecca Lazzell was Cornelius Carhart, who was born in Cass District in 1829, and died on the farm where he was born in 1908. Farming and stock raising claimed the energies of his active years. He was a man who believed in and demon- strated in a broad sense the philosophy of economy, and was known for his generosity, especially to those less for- tunate than himself. In politics he was a republican, and he was an active member of the Methodist Church. In 1857 he married Mary Prudence Pope, who was born in Monongalia County in 1841. She was the daughter of Colmore and Elizabeth (McVicker) Pope, and a descendant of Lieut.-Col. Nathaniel Pope, one of the first colonists of Virginia. Mrs. Lazzell died in 1891. She was a woman of marked ability and refinement. Their home was the center of hospitality in that community. The children of their marriage were: Rebecca E., deceased, wife of John W. Hall; Colmore Thomas, of Morgantown, who married Etta Ridgway; Carrie C.. wife of James A. Comley, of Morgantown; Rufus F.; Ulysses Grant, who lives on the old homestead in Cass District, and who married Maude Jones; Mollie J., wife of Ulysses J. Courtney, of Morgan- town; Flora C., who died in 1893, at the age of twenty- one; Nora Vella, wife of A. W. Bowlby, of Morgantown; Myrtle Matilda, wife of W. I. Reed, of Morgantown; Nettie Blanche, an artist, who now lives at Provincetown, Massachusetts; and Bessie Belle, wife of Arlie Ridgway, of Morgantown. Rufus Fenton Lazzell represents the fourth generation of the family in West Virginia. He was born on the old homestead in Cass District, near Maidsville, February 20, 1S64. He is of pure Colonial descent, having ancestors among the officers and soldiers of all the early wars. As a boy he attended the public free schools and for a time he was a student at West Virginia University, where he showed great ability in mathematics, but as time went on his love for the freedom and independence of country life led him back to his father's farm before graduating. But soon his mathematical mind was working on real problems which paved the way for the future. The traits that have always distinguished the family are strong characteristics in Mr. Lazzell: Tenacity, perseverance, temperance and an unlimited energy, which have led to his success. On the other hand, we find in him a keen sense for beauty, a refinement, and a love for home. As a young man he engaged independently in the livestock business and farm- ing, and he has never departed altogether from agricul- tural pursuits. He still does an extensive business in the raising, buying and selling of livestock. In 1897 he took up dealing in coal properties, buying acreage coal land. In the meantime his interests have accumulated so as to justify his friends and associates in referring to him as a capitalist. Since 1900, Mr. Lazzell has had his home in Morgantown, where he owns a beau- tiful residence and other city property. December 20. 1913, he married Wenona Elizabeth Friend, who was born in Birmingham, Alabama, December 5 1890. She is the daughter of Lemuel Elsworth and Lulu Gertrude (Michael) Friend, both of whom were born and reared in Garrett County, Maryland, but now of Morgantown. Mrs. Lazzell is of pre-Revolutionary ancestry, being a descendant of Capt. Andrew Friend, who fought in both the French and Indian and Revolutionary wars. Mr. and Mrs. Lazzell have one son, Rufus Fenton, Junior, born July 6, 1915. Mr. Lazzell is a director in the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Morgantown, a post he has held for over fifteen years. He is prominent among the live- stock men of West Virginia and Southwestern Pennsyl- vania and a member of the Farmers' Association of West Virginia. His business acumen has made him one of the strong, influential and reliable men of Morgantown. His public spirit and unselfish interests in all that pertains to the welfare of the community have always been prominent characteristics. ______________________________X-Message: #3 Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2000 18:52:57 -0500 From: Valerie & Tommy Crook To: WV-FOOTSTEPS-L@rootsweb.com Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.20000318185257.007dc380@trellis.net> Subject: HISTORY: OHIO VALLEY ELECTRIC RAILWAY CO. Cabell 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. 346 THE OHIO VALLEY ELECTRIC RAILWAY COMPANY operates the city street car lines in Huntington and interurban con- nections with the surrounding territory. The total mileage operated by the company is forty-six miles. Very excellent street car service is provided on the lines, which extend from the heart of the city over the principal thoroughfares to all out-lying points, and the cars operated are of a commodious, modern type, being all steel in con- struction. Much of the system is double tracked. A schedule of frequent headway of ears is maintained so as to convenience the needs of the traveling public on the various lines. This company also operates an interurban system which extends west along the Ohio River through the cities of Ceredo and Kenova, West Virginia, and Catlettsburg and Ashland, Kentucky, a distance of sixteen miles. Through this populous territory is maintained a service which has a headway of fifteen minutes between cars. The Ohio Valley Electric Railway Company operates also an electric line from Coal Grove, Ohio, through Ironton to Hanging Rock, Ohio, and connection is made with this Ohio line by ferry at Ashland, Kentucky. Electric current is purchased by the Ohio Valley Electric Railway Company from the Consolidated Light, Heat and Power Company, which furnishes electric light and power in Cabell and Wayne counties in West Virginia. The Con- solidated Light, Heat and Power Company also sells at wholesale electric current to the Boyd County Electric Com- pany, which serves Catlettsburg and Ashland, Kentucky, and the Ironton Electric Company, which serves Ironton, Ohio. The central power station of the Consolidated Light, Heat and Power Company is in Kenova, West Virginia. In the very rapid industrial growth in all of this terri- tory these lighting companies have been a most potent fac- tor, as the rates for current are very equitable to every class of service. Practically all industrial plants in this terri- tory use electric current for power, and the availability of ample electric current at reasonable rates has been instru- mental in the low cost production of manufacturing plants in this territory as compared with other sections.