USA > Kentucky > Lewis County > History of Lewis County, Kentucky > Part 20
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"On the 8th of July, 1850, was solemnized the marriage of Judge Thomas to Miss Catherine Willim, the ceremony having been performed at Clarksburg, this county. Mrs. Thomas is a native of Clarksburg, where she was born in 1831, and she is a daughter of Harry and Mary Wallace (Purnell) Willim, the former of whom was a native of Staffordshire, England, and the latter of whom was born near Snow Hill, Mary- land. Mrs. Thomas' parents were married in Union County, Ky., in 1819, and in 1825 they removed to Lewis County, where they passed the residue of their lives and where their deaths occurred, in 1867. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas be- came the parents of three children, one of
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whom died in infancy. Bruce Fraser was born on the 20th of April, 1851, and died January 2, 1882. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced his profession as a partner of his father, until his death. He was graduated in Miami University, at Oxford, O., and at the time of his demise was survived by a wife and two children. Walter William Thomas was born September 1, 1853, and died September 25, 1854. The third and only living child is Araminta, whose birth occurred on the 25th of July, 1855. She is now the wife of Judge Pugh, of this city. Judge and Mrs. Thomas have five grandchildren and nine great-grand- children.
"As already noted, Judge Thomas was active in business and professional affairs for fully half a century, during which time he has aided materially in the upbuilding of his home city and of the State at large. He is the owner of considerable valuable property in Lewis County, and has constructed several of the best business blocks at Vanceburg. In addition to his other interests, he is an extensive stockholder in the Citizens' Bank of Vanceburg. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the Masonic order, with which he has been connected since 1859. Politically, he is a stanch Republican, and it may be said without fear of contradiction that
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no man in Kentucky has done more for the good of the party and more for the general welfare of the State than has Judge Thomas. He is a man of broad and generous thoughts, of high ideals and untarnished morals, a man whose entire life record will bear the searchlight of closest investigation, and one whose career may well serve as lesson and incentive to the younger generation. The splendid and almost unequaled record made by Judge Thomas in the service of his county, his district, his State, and the Nation is highly appreciated by all who are familiar with it."
"ROBERT DYE WILSON (taken from 'John- son's History of Kentucky and Kentuckians') is an eminently successful and popular attorney at Vanceburg, Lewis County, Ky., where, through well-applied energy, unflagging deter- mination and perseverance in the active affairs of life, he has won a high place for himself in the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens. Mr. Wilson was born on a farm in the western part of Lewis County, the date of his nativity being September 18, 1855. He is a son of George F. and Sallie A. (Wells) Wilson, the former of whom was likewise a native of Lewis County and the latter of whom claimed Mason County, Ky., as the place of her birth. Representatives
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of the Wilson family were numbered among the pioneers of Kentucky, and they figured prominently in the history of the American Colonies, different ones having served as valiant soldiers in the War of the Revolution and in the War of 1812. John Wilson, great-grandfather of him whose name initiates this review, and George Wilson, his brother, were born in Washington County, Pa., whence they came to Kentucky, in 1795. They laid the first land warrant in the western part of Lewis County, on Crooked Creek, the same being for a tract of twelve square miles of land, extending three miles along the bank of the Ohio River and four miles back from the river. Soon after they had laid this warrant one Samuel Beal laid claim to the tract by right of a grant from King George III, of England. The controversy, however, was settled in favor of the Wilson brothers. The two oldest sons of John Wilson, Samuel and George, settled within one mile of each other on this tract, both becoming the fathers of large families and both being very prosperous and influential citizens in this sec- tion of the county. Of them, Samuel Wilson was the grandfather of Robert D., of this review. He had ten children, of whom George F. Wilson, father of Robert D., was the fifth in order of birth. George F. Wilson was identified with
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agricultural pursuits during the major portion of his active business career, was an active and devout member of the Christian Church, and he died on his home farm at the age of seventy- five years. His wife, who passed away about 1900, lived to the venerable age of eighty years. She was a daughter of John S. Wells, whose plantation was located four miles distant from Maysville. The Wells family were early settlers in Kentucky, the original progenitor of the name in this State having been a native of Pennsyl- vania. To George F. Wilson and his wife were born nine children, of whom but two are living in 1911. One son, John Samuel, was a member of the Fourth Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Cavalry in the Civil War, and he was one of the four or five who made their escape from capture in Georgia, all the rest of the company being taken prisoners.
"Robert Dye Wilson was the sixth in order of birth in the above-mentioned family of nine children, and he was reared on the home farm, his preliminary educational training consisting of such advantages as were afforded in the pub- lic schools of this county. Subsequently he attended Professor Smith's Academy, at Mays- ville, and he also pursued a course of study at Center College, at Danville, Ky. Prior to grad- uating from his collegiate course he was obliged
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to give up study on account of trouble with his eyes. In 1882, however, he was elected clerk of Lewis County on the Democratic ticket, he being the first Democratic county clerk to be elected after the war. In 1893 he was appointed master commissioner of the Circuit Court of Lewis County, remaining in- cumbent of that position for the ensuing fifteen years. In 1897 he was candidate on the Demo- cratic ticket to represent his district in the State Legislature, but met defeat by a small vote in a largely Republican county. While county clerk he began the study of law, and he was admitted to the bar of the State in 1889, after which he immediately entered upon the active practice of his profession at Vanceburg. For three years he was a lay partner of W. C. Halbert, present circuit judge. He has been identified with the work of his chosen vocation for more than a score of years, and during that time has won for himself an enviable place as an eminently skilled lawyer and as a business man whose methods have ever been of the most honorable and straightforward order. In addi- tion to his legal work, he is deeply interested in various industrial concerns in the vicinity of Vanceburg. He was largely responsible for the establishment of the button factory at Vance- burg, the same employing a force of sixty men
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at the present time, and he also helped to organize and is one-third owner of the spoke factory, which is doing a most prosperous busi- ness at Pikeville, Ky., employing fifty men.
"As already intimated, Mr. Wilson is a stanch Democrat in his political convictions, and he has ever manifested a deep and sincere interest in all matters projected for the good of the general public. He is an active politician and has done much to advance the interests of his party in this section of the State. Fraternally he has passed through the circle of York Rite Masonry, holding membership in Only Hope Lodge, No. 363, Free and Accepted Masons; Burns Chapter, No. 74, Royal Arch Masons; and Maysville Commandery, No. 10, Knights Templar. In his religious faith he is a devout member of the Christian Church, while his wife is a zealous Presbyterian.
"On the 23d of May, 1892, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Wilson to Miss Margaret M. Ingrim, who was born and reared at Vanceburg and who is a daughter of the late John C. Ingrim, long a prominent business man in this city. No children have been born to the union."
"MR. GEORGE T. WILLIM (taken from 'Johnson's History of Kentucky and Ken- tuckians') was born on a farm near Vanceburg,
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on the 4th of October, 1874, and he is a son of Thomas H. and Melissa R. (McKellep) Willim, both of whom were born and reared in Lewis County, Ky. Harry Willim, grandfather of him to whom this sketch is dedicated, was a native of England, whence he emigrated to the
United States as a young man. He brought with him a large stock of queensware from England, intending to engage in business in New York City, but the ship on which he took passage was wrecked and everything on board was lost, the passengers being compelled to swim ashore. Traveling overland to Virginia, Harry Willim went down the Ohio River on a boat to Kentucky, and it was on this trip that he met his future wife. Subsequently he settled in Lewis County, at the old county seat of Clarksburg, where he operated a tannery for several years. Later he disposed of that busi- ness and purchased a tract of timber land, where he erected and operated a sawmill for many years. He died on his farm, near Clarks- burg, in August, 1867. He and his wife, whose maiden name was Mary Wallace Bishop, be- came the parents of six children-four boys and two girls-of whom Thomas H., father of George T., was the fifth in order of birth. Thomas H. Willim was reared to adult age on the home farm, which he later inherited and
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on which he continued to reside during the residue of his life, his death having occurred in 1895. He married Melissa R. McKellup, who survives her honored husband, and who now maintains her home at Valley, Ky., and to this union were born nine children, seven of whom are living in 1911.
"Seventh in order of birth of his parents' nine children, George T. Willim grew up on the old paternal homestead and he received his preliminary educational training in the district schools, later supplementing that discipline by a course of study in Riverside Seminary, at Vanceburg, Ky., and by a commercial course at Nelson's Business College, at Cincinnati, O.
"When twenty years of age he secured a position as bookkeeper in the Deposit Bank at Vanceburg, and he continued incumbent of that position until the organization of the Citizens' Bank, in 1903, since which time he has been connected with the same, first as cashier and since 1907 as president, as previously noted. In politics Mr. Willim is aligned as a stalwart supporter of the principles of the Republican party. He is a former member of the Vance- burg city council, and in 1909 he was honored by the Fiscal Court with election to the office of treasurer of Lewis County. He is acquitting himself most creditably in discharging the duties
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incident to his present office, and he is also trustee of the jury fund. Mr. Willim is a man of fine intelligence and extraordinary executive and financial ability, and in all his business and personal transactions he is widely known as a man of honorable and straightforward conduct. He is affiliated with various fraternal and social organizations of representative character, and his religious faith is in harmony with the teach- ings of the Methodist Episcopal Church, while his wife is a devout member of the Christian Church.
"In July, 1898, Mr. Willim was united in marriage to Miss Emma Jones, who is a native of Lewis County and who is a daughter of Rufus N. and Sallie (Voiers) Jones, the former of whom was long a prominent business man at Vance- burg. No children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Willim."
"ULYSSES CRAVENS THOROUGHMAN (taken from 'Johnson's History of Kentucky and Ken- tuckians') was born in Lewis County, Ky., on the 12th of March, 1865, and he is a son of George W. and Nancy (Bonham) Thoroughman, the former of whom was likewise born in Lewis County, and the latter of whom was a native of Fleming County, Ky. The Thoroughman family is one of old standing in the Blue Grass
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State. It is said that three brothers of the name, natives of Virginia, in the latter part of the eighteenth or early nineteenth century, fol- lowed the tide of Westward emigration, two going to Ohio and one to Kentucky. The latter settled in the vicinity of May's Lick, Mason County, this State, and there made a home, was married, and reared a family. Of his offspring William Thoroughman, grandfather of him to whom this sketch is dedicated, was born near May's Lick about the year 1808. As a young man he came to Lewis County and es- tablished a home on Cabin Creek, eventually acquiring a large plantation, which he reclaimed from the wilderness, and he gained recognition as a man of prominence and influence in this section of the State. He married a Miss Ginn, a daughter of Isaac Ginn, an early settler in this county, and to them were born four sons and one daughter, who grew to maturity, and four children who died in infancy. After the death of his first wife Mr. Thoroughman married Miss Mary Blanton, by whom he had eight children-four boys and four girls. William Thoroughman was summoned to the life eternal in 1892, at the age of eighty-four years, and his widow, who still survives him, now main- tains her home in Ribolt, Ky.
"Of the children by William Thoroughman's
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first marriage, George W. was the third in order of birth, and he became the father of Ulysses C., of this review. George W. Thoroughman was reared to adult age on the homestead farm, where his birth occurred on the 1st of April, 1842. He continued as an inmate of the parental home until he had attained the age of nineteen years, at which time he was married, after which he located on a farm of his own in this county, to the conduct of which he devoted his atten- tion for the remainder of his life. He died in 1905. His wife, who was called to her reward in April, 1885, in her thirty-seventh year, was a daughter of Nehemiah Bonham, who was for a number of years an expert cooper in Fleming County. When the Civil War was precipitated upon a divided Nation Mr. Bonham went to Ohio and enlisted in a Union regiment as a bugler. He was lost track of, and it is supposed that he lost his life while in service. Mr. and Mrs. George W. Thoroughman became the parents of three children, two of whom died in infancy, Ulysses C. being the only one to attain to years of maturity.
"Ulysses Cravens Thoroughman was reared to the invigorating influences of the home farm, in the work and management of which he early began to assist his father. He received but lim- ited educational advantages in his youth, such
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training as he did receive consisting of attend- ance in a crude log schoolhouse, which was but meagerly furnished with mere slabs for seats. Later he gained some private instruction, for which he raised potatoes as tuition. Mr. Thor- oughman himself states that much of his pre- liminary education was received under the old apple tree at home, where he used to read all the books which came into his possession. From earliest youth he was ambitious for an education, farming being particularly distasteful to him. Subsequently he had occasion to attend school for a short time at Tollesboro, and still later he pursued a course of study at the Vance- burg Normal School. In due time he secured a third-class teacher's certificate, and, armed with that, he began to teach, at the age of twenty years. He was most successfully engaged in the pedagogic profession in Lewis County for a period of fifteen years, in the meantime studying law with William Fitch, at Vanceburg. He was admitted to the bar of the State in 1891, but continued to teach school until the spring of 1902, at which time he became a candidate for nomination on the Republican ticket for the office of county attorney of Lewis County. After a closely contested primary, he received the nomination by a majority of sixty-seven votes in Lewis County. His opponent was the 28
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former county attorney and is, at present (1911), judge of the Circuit Court. Mr. Thoroughman has been twice re-elected to the position of county attorney, and he is now serving his third term in that office, his last election having occurred in the fall of 1909, without opposition for nomination or in election. In politics he endorses the cause of the Republican party, and he has ever manifested a keen interest in public affairs. He is an active politician, and has made many campaign canvasses for himself and friends in this section of the State. He is very popular and influential as a citizen, and no business man in Lewis County holds a higher place in the confidence and esteem of his fellowmen than does Mr. Thoroughman. He is a man of brilliant mental attainments, and is well-learned in the minutia of the law. He has participated in many important litigations in the State and Federal Courts, and holds distinctive prestige as an able and versatile trial lawyer and as a well-fortified counselor.
"Mr. Thoroughman has been twice married, his first union having been to Miss Hattie Shaw, in 1892. She was a native of Lewis County, where she was reared and educated and where she was a popular and successful teacher in the public schools prior to her marriage. She was a daughter of the late Richard H. Shaw, a
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farmer and tanner. No children were born to this union. After the death of his first wife, which occurred in 1903, Mr. Thorouhgman was united in marriage, in 1908, to Miss Tacie G. Jones, who was born in Ohio but who was reared in Lewis County, Ky. Mr. and Mrs. Thoroughman have one son, Walter Grave.
"Fraternally Mr. Thoroughman is affiliated with the time-honored Masonic order, in which he holds membership in Blue Lodge, No. 363, Free and Accepted Masons; and Burns Chapter, No. 73, Royal Arch Masons. He is also con- nected with the Woodmen of the World and the Junior Order of the United American Mechanics. In religious faith his wife is a devout member of the Christian Church at Vanceburg, and they are popular and prominent in connection with the best social activities of the community."
"GEORGE W. STAMPER (taken from 'John- son's History of Kentucky and Kentuckians') .- Vigor, enterprise, and persistency-these are the qualities which make for success and these are the characteristics which have dominated the career of George W. Stamper, who, through his own efforts, built the ladder by which he has climbed to affluence. He has been identified with farming, blacksmithing, merchandising, lumbering, and banking, and in each of these
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enterprises his success has been on a parity with his well-directed endeavors. He has also been an important factor in connection with public utilities, and as a citizen he holds a high place in the confidence and esteem of his fellowmen. "George Washington Stamper was born on a farm in Lewis County, Ky., on the 26th of December, 1850, and he is a son of George W. and Catherine (Dyer) Stamper, the former of whom was a native of North Carolina and the latter of Morgan County, Ky. John Stamper, grandfather of him whose name initiates this review, was born, reared, and married in North Carolina, and in the early '20s he emigrated to Kentucky, locating on the Kentucky River, in Wolfe County, where he engaged in farming. He and his wife, whose maiden name was Sallie Stamper, and who was a cousin of her husband, raised a family of ten children, most of whom were born in Kentucky. The father of George W., Jr., was the first born, and he was an infant at the time of his parents' removal to the Blue Grass State. When he was fifteen years of age the family home was established in Carter County, and there he grew to manhood, married, and, in 1845, engaged in agricultural pursuits on a farm near Olive Hill, Lewis County. He was very industrious, an excellent farmer and business man, and in due time he accumulated a
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competency. About 1865 he opened a store on his farm, continuing to be identified with the general merchandise business for the ensuing twenty-five years. His death occurred on his old homestead in 1905, at the venerable age of eighty-two years. He was a stalwart Demo- crat in his political convictions, and he served for several years as justice of the peace. His wife was summoned to eternal rest in 1898, at the age of sixty-eight years. She was a daughter of Francis Dyer, of Morgan County, Ky. Mr. and Mrs. George W. Stamper became the parents of twelve children-five boys and seven girls- nine of whom are living in 1911, and of the number the subject of this review was the third in order of birth.
"George Washington Stamper, Jr., passed his youth in a manner similar to that of the farmer boy of that day, attending the district school during the winter months and working on the home farm during the summer seasons. When he had attained to the age of sixteen years he entered his father's store, where he learned the details of general merchandising, and he con- tinued an inmate of the parental home until he had reached his legal majority. Thereafter he . worked in a blacksmith shop for a time, and was engaged in farming on his own account for a couple of years, at the expiration of which he
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started a general store on a small scale on Grassy Creek. This store, which he still owns and operates, has been doing business for the past thirty-five years. For thirty-three years Mr. Stamper was the able incumbent of the office of postmaster at Head of Grassy, and he was one of the oldest postmasters, in point of continuous service, in this section of the State. He also became interested in the timber busi- ness while located on Grassy Creek, and he was for many years engaged in the stave business and in other enterprises most successfully. In 1888 he established his residence at Vanceburg, and in the following year he organized the Stamper Stave & Lumber Company, which carried on an extensive trade for nine years, at the expiration of which that firm was dissolved and Mr. Stamper continued in the lumber busi- ness in partnership with his brother, Joshua Stamper. Two years later, in 1900, he became a member of the firm of Johnson & Stamper, the same engaging in the railway tie business, getting out railway ties at various points in this section of the State. This business is now controlled by Johnson & Stamper, who are successors to the Elliott Tie Company, which conducts its operations on the Little Sandy River. The annual output of this concern is from two hundred thousand to five hundred thousand ties.
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"In September, 1889, Mr. Stamper laid the foundation of his present large mercantile establishment at Vanceburg by opening a gen- eral store in one room. This concern has grown to such gigantic proportions that it now occupies space equivalent to nine ordinary storerooms, the stock consisting of everything found in a modern department store, except hardware. All Mr. Stamper's successes are due to his inde- fatigable energy and great business ability, and it is no exaggeration to say that he is one of the greatest hustlers in the State. In addition to his other interests he owns several fine farms in the Ohio valley, and he has extensive real estate holdings in Vanceburg, where he has constructed a number of residences and the majority of the business block he now occupies. He was one of the organizers of the Deposit Bank at Vanceburg, of which he is president at the present time and in which he is one of the heaviest stockholders. At the time of the building of the local electric plant he was elected president of that corporation, of which position he is still incumbent. He is a man of tremen- dous vitality and most extraordinary executive capacity. Beginning with practically nothing in the way of worldly goods, he grasped his op- portunities as they appeared, and made of suc- cess not an incident, but a logical result. To-day
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he is recognized as one of the biggest financiers in Eastern Kentucky, and his fair and honor- able methods in all his business dealings have gained to him the highest regard of his fellow- citizens.
"Mr. Stamper is a loyal Democrat in his political proclivities, but he has not had much time for political activity, having been a mem- ber of his first convention in 1910, at which time his influence was felt in no slight degree. In the Masonic order he has passed through the circle of the York Rite branch, holding member- ship in Polar Star Lodge, No. 363, Free and Ac- cepted Masons; and Maysville Commandery, No. 10, Knights Templar. He and his wife are devout members of the Christian Church, to whose charities and benevolences he has ever been a liberal contributor and in whose faith, his children have been reared.
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