USA > Ohio > History of the Upper Ohio Valley, with family history and biographical sketches, a statement of its resources, industrial growth and commercial advantages, Vol. I > Part 38
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nie, deceased; Lulu, deceased; Allie H., deceased; John A. Logan and a daughter that died unnamed.
Few men have been more prominently identified with the growth and development of Wheeling and the surrounding territory than John Handlan. Mr. Handlan was born in Greene county, Penn., May 2, 1808. His parents moved to Wheeling when he was a small child. He remained with them until he reached his nineteenth year. In 1828 he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was employed in the pork packing establishment of Mr. Holcomb. When Holcomb moved his business to St. Louis, Mo., Mr. Handlan accompanied him and remained with him through the winter of 1830. At this time he engaged in a business of buying and selling grain in Illinois. In 1831 he went to New Orleans, and there he met a man by the name of Kelley, who had worked for him in Illinois. Kelley had a contract with the city, and was glad to divide this with him. His knowledge of the pork packing business secured him a position with John Bozant, the most prominent beef and pork inspector in the city. . Here his superior ability as a manager was soon developed, and he was made the manager of the house. Returning to Wheeling in 1844, he mar- ried Mary E. Martin, a descendant of one of the early pioneer fam- ilies of Wheeling. Mr. Handlan returned to New Orleans soon after and resumed his old position with Mr. Bozant, remaining with him until the year 1848, when he was appointed inspector by Gov. Joseph Walker, of Louisiana, and the firm of Bozant, Holmes & Handlan, pork and beef inspectors, was formed. He continued as the chief in- spector and manager until 1852, when he left the city and once more returned to his old home in Wheeling, Va. During his residence in New Orleans, Mr. Handlan bought two of the five-acre lots of the Fox farm, and a number of lots with coal privileges. After his re- turn to Wheeling he opened and successfully started a coal business on his coal property, and shortly afterward formed the Boggs Run Mining company. The earnings of this company enabled him to buy a large amount of surface, and a vast quantity of coal privilege. He also bought 1,200 acres of land, on which was a grist-mill, twelve miles from the city of Wheeling, on Wheeling creek. He built a saw-mill near the grist-mill, and operated both successfully; but tiring of the annoyance incident to such a business, he sold the land in parcels, net- ting a handsome profit in the transaction. In 1860 he was one of a company that prospected for coal in what is now the oil fields of West Virginia. It is claimed for him that he sunk the first oil well from which petroleum was obtained; and it is certain that he was the first to introduce it as a lubricator. Mr. Handlan worked the oil wells for three years, when he succeeded in selling the lease of the company to a Michigan party for $300,000 in cash. In 1869 he was elected president of the Citizens' Railway company, and continued in this office for nine or ten years. The stock of the company was worth but 40 cents on the dollar when he took charge of its affairs. He systematized the affairs of the company, and soon had the debt, amounting to $15,000, paid, and for a time seven per cent. semi-annu-
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ally was declared. The stock of the company, meanwhile, advancing to 140. Mr. Handlan, during his life, took an active interest in the affairs of Wheeling, and was largely connected with its advancement. He was a member of the firms of Pryor, Handlan & Company (whole- sale grocers) ; Handlan, Ratcliffe & Company (general store) ; was president of the Boggs Run Mining company, the Citizens' Railway company, the board of county commissioners, and director in several different manufactories, banks and insurance companies of the city. Personally, Mr. Handlan was a man of fine physique, a refined, open countenance, and precise in his every action. He was always ready to assist a friend, and once having gained his confidence, he trusted them fully. He was always kind and considerate to his employes, and was ever ready to lend them a helping hand in bettering their condi- tion. His death occurred at his residence on South Chapline street, Wheeling, on the 30th day of April, 1880. A man of broad and charitable mind, with a heart as tender. as a woman's, his death caused a vacancy impossible to fill in his happy home, and the busi- ness circles of Wheeling suffered an irreparable loss. A touching incident may be properly recorded here as evidencing the man's broad humanity. While in the far south the pitiable condition of a negress called forth his sympathy, to relieve her distress he paid the large sum of $1,500 and became her master. Mr. Handlan gave the woman her freedom, but she desired to pay for herself. He established her in a laundry business, and ever after his linen received her closest attention. Finally she was taken sick and sent for her benefactor, wishing to see him before she died. When he reached her bedside the dying woman feebly handed him a package containing the last shirts which she ever prepared for him. Her last breath was spent in blessing him. Of Mr. Handlan's family the following named are living: W. M. Handlan, Mrs. Mary E. Walton, John R. Handlan, Miss Sallie T. Handlan, Joseph H. Handlan and Mrs. Carrie L. McVeigh.
William C. Handlan was born in Wheeling, W. Va., then Virginia, April 25, 1823. At the age of nineteen years he was employed as a clerk in the Beef and Pork Inspection House of John Bozant, of New Orleans, La. He filled various clerical positions in this house for seven years. In 1850 he went west and settled in Pike county, Ill. Here he was engaged, in the town of New Canton, in the mer- chandising and pork-packing business. In March, 1852, he went overland to California, and returned to Wheeling June 23, 1853. Im- mediately after returning home he entered into a business partner- ship with his brothers, John and Augustine, and for twelve years managed the Handlan store. They carried on an extensive and lucrative business. In 1865 he formed a partnership with Oliver Pryor in the wholesale grain and provision business. One year later Pryor died, and Mr. Handlan then entered into a co-partnership with his brother John. This firm operated a very large business in pro- visions until the time of John Handlan's death in 1880. In 1884, Mr. Handlan was elected sheriff of Ohio county, and during his incum-
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bency of this distinguished and responsible office collected and dis- bursed about $1,000,000. The following extract from the Wheeling Intelligencer,, of September 7, 1889, speaks volumes for Mr. Hand- lan's efficiency. The article is headed, "A quick and satisfactory settlement. Ex-Sheriff Handlan made a final settlement with Clerk Woods, of the board of commissioners, yesterday. It was found that the county was indebted to him $87.17. The smallness of the amount goes to show that the business of the office has been very carefully conducted. Mr. Handlan has received many deserved compliments upon his faithful and efficient administration of affairs, and it may be said here, that this settlement is more satisfactory, and is con- cluded at an earlier date after the expiration of the term, than has ever before been made with any occupant of the sheriff's office." For a number of years Mr. Handlan was president of the town council of the town of South Wheeling, now the Eighth ward, and was presi- dent at the time the town was annexed to the city of Wheeling. He was elected a member of the first branch, of council, at the first elec- tion, and served four years. At the expiration of this time he was elected to the second branch, of which he was elected president. During his chairmanship of the committee on fire department, he created the paid fire department, and put up the fire alarm telegraph. To him the honor belongs for introducing and carrying through coun- cil the ordinance abolishing the iniquitous " fee system" of the city sergeant, and substituting in its stead a salary for that official. Under the old system the more arrests that were made the more money for the sergeant. He also succeeded in securing the passage of an act by the legislature, changing the "fee system " of the clerk of the po- lice court to that of a salary. Few men have accomplished more for the public weal of the city than the subject of this biography. A broad-minded, public-spirited man, his unflagging labors in behalf of the city's good will be remembered by the children of the coming generations. Mr. Handlan was an elector-at-large for West Virginia on the democratic ticket. He has been twice married. His first wife was Rebecca Johnson, whom he married in 1850. The children of this marriage are: Mary Locke, Augustina, Eugenia Baptista and John Brown, the latter deceased. The second wife was Annie E. Woods, whom he married February 12, 1863, by her he had the fol- lowing named children: Agnes Jane, Helena, Francis (deceased), J. Bernard, James Thales, Clair and Eulalia (twins, the last named now dead), and Anna Blanche. J. Bernard is in business in Wheel- ing at the present writing, and James is in businessin Washington, D. C.
Charles Hanke, prominent among the substantial citizens of Wheel- ing, was born in Brunswick, Germany, March 19, 1829. Leaving the old country in March, he reached the United States in April, 1849, and came directly to Wheeling, where he had relatives living. His first employment was in the rolling mills, for two years, afterward steamboating for a time, and he then learned the trade of a cigar maker, in which he began business on his own account in 1850, and has since continued, being one of the leaders in this important in-
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HISTORY OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY.
dustry of Wheeling. He first manufactured in Ritchie town. Two years later he removed to Water street in center Wheeling, thence to Main street in the same part of the city, and from there to the corner of Fourteenth and Market streets, at the site of the chamber of commerce. A year later he removed to the place next door to his present establishment, and then he bought the land and began the building of his present large business house, situated at Nos. 1423 and 1425 Market street, which he has occupied since ante-war times. He carries on the manufacture of fine cigars, stogies and tips extensively, and conducts a tobacconist establishment which ranks with the best in the country. Aside from this business Mr. Hanke is interested in various important enterprises in the financial and commercial field, being one of the largest stockholders and a director of the Belmont Glass company, of Bellaire, for over twenty years a stockholder in the German Bank of Wheeling, a stockholder in the Exchange Na- tional Bank of Wheeling, and in the Schmulbach Brewery company, and many other corporations. Mr. Hanke is one of the best known citizens of Wheeling, and his career is one of the most remarkable in the high degree of success he has achieved, from humble begin- nings, by the practice of those business principles which build up reputation and good character at the same time that they increase the worldly goods of their possessor. He is highly regarded and esteemed by a wide circle of friends. In 1852 Mr. Hanke was mar- ried to Hannah C., daughter of Dr. William Allen, of Philadelphia. To this union eleven children have been born, eight of whom survive: Alonzo L., Mina, Eugene, Alfred; Elwood S., of Pittsburgh; Theo- dore S., Edgar Leon, and Fannie C. Eugene, one of the rising young attorneys of Wheeling, is now clerk of the first branch of the city council. Mr. Hanke and his wife are members of the Lutheran church of Wheeling.
Fred Happy, a member of the city council of Wheeling, and a well-known and popular citizen, was born at Gelting, Hanover, Germany, July 26, 1845. He is a son of Christopher Happy, who with his family, emigrated to America in 1846, and resided for two years at Baltimore, afterward, in 1848, coming to Wheeling. The father was a locksmith by trade, but after working at that for some time at Wheeling he bought a farm in Marshall county, and lived on the same about ten years, at the same time carrying on work at his trade. In 1860 he again made his residence at Wheeling, and was engaged here at his trade and as a machinist in the Baltimore & Ohio shops until 1866, when he bought a farm in Michigan, and removed to that state, where he died in 1876, at the age of seventy-seven years. His widow and a son are still living in Michigan. Fred Happy remained on the farm in Marshall county until the time of the war, when he came to Wheeling, and found employments of various kinds until 1863, when he entered the brewery of Houston & Story. Three years later he was employed in the establishment of Beck & Reymann, and he has continued with that brewery to the present time. At the outset he took the position of cellar boss, and from that was promoted brewer.
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Since the year 1870, he has acted as manager, and in 1880, upon the incorporation of the Reymann Brewing company he became a stock- holder, and was elected to the position of manager of the works. Mr. Happy is an influential citizen, taking an active part in public affairs, is a member of various organizations, and is respected widely as a man who has by his own efforts reached a creditable position in life. He was elected in the spring of 1883, as councilman from the Fourth ward to the first branch of the city council, and in 1887 was re-elected. Mr. Happy was married in 1870, to Louise Seibert, and by this union has two sons and two daughters.
William Hare, senior member of the firm of William Hare & Son, leading plumbers of Wheeling, is a native of Pittsburgh, Penn., born July 13, 1829. His father, Francis Hare, of Scotch-Irish descent, was a native of county Antrim, Ireland, born about 1796. In 1817 he was married to Elizabeth Taggart, a native of the same county, and on the day following the marriage they set sail for America. They made their home at Pittsburgh for a time, but subsequently engaged in farming, which was their occupation through life. The wife died in the spring of 1877, and the father in 1887. Ten children were born to them, of whom six survive. During William's childhood the fam- ily residence was in Pittsburgh, but at eleven years of age he went with them upon the farm, and there remained for five or six years. In the fall of 1846 he left home to learn the trade of plumbing, and at that he served an apprenticeship for five years, thoroughly master- ing the business. He then worked at the trade for about four years, and at the end of that period removed to Wheeling, in the spring of 1853, and opened a plumbing establishment of his own. Having con- tinued in the business ever since, he is now one of the oldest and leading plumbers of the city. The firm of William Hare & Son, above referred to, was formed in 1881 by the admission to the busi- ness of Frak T. Hare. Mr. Hare was married in 1855 to Jane L. Taylor, of Wheeling, and of the eight children born to them, seven are living: Frank T., Sallie, Mary E., Andrew S., Mattie J., Blanche E., and William H.
Artemas Crouder Harrell, a prosperous retail grocer of Wheeling, and a member of the city council, was born at Harrellsville, N. C., September 10, 1844. His father was Alpha B. Harrell, a native of Harrellsville, and son of Abner Harrell, a native of Gates county, N. C., in honor of whom the birthplace of our subject was named. The wife of Alpha Harrell was Ann E., daughter of John and Ann (Briggs) Mansard, the former a native of France and the latter of Gates county, N. C. Alpha Harrell died in 1866, and his wife in 1868. Of their six children the third is the subject of this sketch. In his seventeenth year Mr. Harrell enlisted in Company G, Thirty-first North Carolina infantry, and he served in that command one year, then enlisting in Company G, Second North Carolina cavalry, with which he continued until the close of the war, rendering honorable and gallant service in many severe engagements, and serving in all the desperate encounters in the vicinity of Petersburg and Richmond.
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Then returning to Harrellsville he taught school three months, and then acted as superintendent for a lumber company on the Roanoke river about eighteen months. About 1868 he went to Martin's Ferry, Ohio, and after a year's residence there he moved to Wheeling, where he was employed for the first three years in the works of the Wheeling Iron and Nail company. He engaged in the grocery busi- ness in July, 1873, and has given his attention to that ever since, with marked success. In politics Mr. Harrell is prominent as a democrat. He is now serving his third year as a member of the city school board, and his seventh year as a member of the second branch of the city council, to which he was elected in 1883, 1885, ISS7 and 1889. Mr. Harrell was married March 31, 1872, to Jennie Dean, of Martin's Ferry, and they have had five children: Lucy B., deceased; Her- bert D., Clarence L., Royden and Archie. Mr. Harrell and wife are members of the Methodist church.
Samuel B. Harrison, the chief clerk of the McLure House, the lead- ing hotel of the upper Ohio valley, was born in Wheeling, Va., now West Virginia, August 8, 1856. In his early boyhood, his parents re- moved to Cumberland, Md., and he there received his education. Mr. Harrison is the descendant of an old and influential family. His father, George Harrison, was born in Somersetshire, England, in IS08. He was educated at Eaton college, in his native country, and in his early life he came to the United States and located at Wheeling. Sometime after, he removed to Cumberland, Md., where he died. The mother was born in Morgantown, Va., now West Virginia, the daughter of Simeon Woodrow, a prominent man in his day, and an officer in the war of 1812. Samuel B. is the youngest child born to them. Charles J., the second son, is the president of the Somerset county, Penn., National bank, and a prominent man in the financial world. Capt. George W., oldest son, is the general traffic agent of the West Virginia Central railroad. During the war of the rebellion he was quartermaster on Gen. Kelley's staff. J. Forsyth practiced law in Cumberland for several years, he then abandoned the practice of law and moved west, where he remained for several years. He is now the transfer agent of the West Virginia Central railroad, at Piedmont, W. Va. The subject of this biography began the active affairs of life by working in the " trace" office, B. & O., in clerk of the court's office, Cumberland, Md., and he afterward filled various positions of trust, among which may be mentioned his connection with the United States revenue office. In 1876, he was appointed clerk in the Queen City hotel, at Cumberland, and remained in that capacity for some time. Two years later, he accepted a position in the McLure House, and has by his thorough knowledge of the hotel business, worked his way up to his present responsible position. He is undoubtedly the most pop- ular hotel man in the state. Mr. Harrison has acquired considerable celebrity in the literary world. He has corresponded for the press frequently, having contributed many acceptable articles, and is the author of a book, entitled, "Front; or Ten Years With the Travel- ing Man." This book has had quite an extended sale. Its chief
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merit lies in its originality, he having simply reproduced the daily happenings of a large hotel. It treats of a humorous and serious side of commercial life, giving the many little annoyances, as well as the joys, incident to a life on the " Road." He received many favorable criticisms from such men as Bill Nye, and many others of like fame. The book was published by the American News company, of New York. Mr. Harrison is a member of the Episcopal church, and is also a member of B. P. O. E., lodge No 28, Order of Elks. In politics he is a staunch republican.
Killian W. Hamm, senior member of the firm of Hamm & Co., dealers in furniture and carpets, of Wheeling, was born in that city August 14, 1863. His father, William Hamm, who was born in Ger- many, in 1822, emigrated to the United States in 1849, and reached Wheeling on the first day of May of that year. He has since been a resident of the city, where he for some time followed his vocation as a tailor, but is now retired. He was engaged with several of the old merchant tailors, with Thomas Hughes for over fifteen years, and during the civil war was in business for himself. He was married at Wheeling to Anna Bousen, who was born in Germany in 1833, and died at this city. April 27, 1889. To these parents three sons and four daughters were born, of whom two sons and two daughters are living. Killian W. Hamm, the eldest son, and the second in age of the child- ren living, was reared at Wheeling and received his education in the public and Catholic schools of the city. At the age of eighteen years he made a beginning in the business to which he has devoted his efforts, by becoming an apprentice at cabinet-making, in the employ- ment of Arbenz & Co. After two years at the bench he was pro- moted to the salesroom, where he had an experience of ten years, fitting him in every particular for conducting the business intelligently and successfully. On March 1, 1889, he formed a partnership with A. S. Arbenz, and under the firm name of Hamm & Co., they opened an establishment stocked with a large and complete line of furniture, carpets, oil-cloths, window shades, mattresses, etc., and also prepared for giving attention to undertaking in all its branches. Being exper- ienced and practical men, and opening business on a fair and honor- able plan, they met with remarkable success from the outset, and are bringing their establishment rapidly to the front. Mr. Hamm was married May 3, 1887, to Lizzie, daughter of Frank Crubler, who was at one time a member of the Wheeling police force, and for many years boiler boss at the Top mill. To this union one son, Leo. F., has been born. Mr. Hamm and wife are members of St. Alphonsus Catholic church.
Samuel D. Harper, who was one of the pioneers in the wholesale trade at Wheeling, was born at Alexandria, Va., in 1789, of Scotch- Irish descent. He went into the wholesale and retail hat and cap business, and when he came to Wheeling he at once began the manu- facture of hats and the wholesale and retail trade in that branch of business, his first establishment being on the corner of Eleventh and Main streets. In 1855 his sons, Henry and Samuel, became partners in
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the business, under the style of S. D. Harper & Sons, and about that time the location was changed to the opposite side of the street. In 1868 the senior Harper died. He had been married in Jefferson county, Va., to Sarah K. North, who survived him until 1885, when she died at the age of eighty-nine years. Fourteen children were born to these parents, only four of whom are living, George W., publisher of Hinds county (Miss.) Gazette, Margaret M., Henry M., and Mrs. William McConell, of Philadelphia. Henry M. Harper was born December 28, 1834. He was reared at Wheeling, and received his education at the Linsly institute, and then, in 1868, in partnership with ·his twin brother, Samuel, succeeded to the business founded by his father, upon the death of the latter. In 1870 Samuel died, and the surviving partner has since managed the business as sole proprietor. The name of the house, however, remains as before. The house does an extensive business throughout West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland, in hats, caps, etc., employing six traveling salesmen. It occupies an honorable place among the leading wholesale houses of the city. Mr. Harper is interested also in the bank of the Ohio Val- ley, of which he is a director. He was married in 1873, to Marion, daughter of Prof. F. S. Williams, of Wheeling, and two children have been born them.
* Journalism is now admitted to be one of the " learned professions." Men now-a-days equip themselves for it as lawyers prepare for the bar, ministers for the pulpit, and physicians for the practice of medi- cine. The newspaper is the greatest educator on the earth. It is read by practically everybody. Its power, therefore, for good or evil is very great. Charles Burdett Hart, the subject of this sketch, is a born journalist. As soon as his college days were over he took straight to journalism. Brevity is the soul of wit. Horace Greeley, I believe, is the originator of editorial paragraphing. It is in the use of short, pithy editorial paragraphs that the American press differs most widely from that of England. Mr. Hart adopted the Greeley idea of writing short, pungent editorials, and adheres to it under almost all circumstances. He has an unerring " nose for news," and believes in the policy of cutting down editorials to give place for news. In this ever-growing feature of American journalism, Mr. Hart excels. Naturally witty, he dashes off paragraph after paragraph, on different subjects, with rapidity and ease, and at the same time keeps his news columns up to the highest standard of reliable news reports. Under his editorial management the Daily Intelligencer holds an enviable position among the newspapers of the Ohio valley. Charles Burdett Hart was born in Baltimore, Md., June 16, 1850. He is the eldest born of Mary Stevens Mulliken and Francis Burdett Hart. His paternal grandfather and grandmother came from England. On his mother's side, his ancestors came from England before the revolution, and settled in Maryland as planters, and took part on the patriot side in the war for independence. His mother's father was a soldier in the
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