USA > West Virginia > Men of West Virginia Volume II > Part 1
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Gc 975.4 M52 v. 2 1195033
M. L
REYNOLD I' TOPICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00826 8911
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MEN
OF
WEST VIRGINIA
VOLUME II
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GC 975.4 M52 V.2
ILLUSTRATED.
BIOGRAPHICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY, GEORGE RICHMOND, Pres .; C. R. ARNOLD, Sec'y and Treas. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 1903.
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THE STATE CAPITOL BUILDING AT CHARLESTON.
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men of West Virginia
HON. JOHN EDWARD KENNA.
HON. JOHN EDWARD KEN- NA, whose death occurred January II, 1893, at an age when most men are not considered to have reached the prime of life, had achieved a national repu- tation as a statesman through many years of service as a representative of the State of West Virginia in the House of Representatives and Senate
of the United States. Elected to the lower house in 1876, at the age of 28 years, he became a United States Sen- ator in 1883, when 35 years old. To no other man of the Mountain State has it been given to perform so great an amount of public service in the early years of manhood.
Mr. Kenna was born in Valcoulon, Kanawha County, Virginia, now West Virginia, April 10, 1848, and at his death had not completed his 45thi year, although nearly half his life had been spent in the public service. His father, Edward Kenna, a native of Ireland, came to the United States when 14 years of age and secured employment at Natchez, Mississippi, subsequently removing to Cincinnati, Ohio, where, after a brief business experience, he be- gan the study of law. In 1847 Ed- ward Kenna married Margery Lewis, the only daughter of John Lewis, of Kanawha County. Virginia, a grand- son of Gen. Andrew Lewis, a man fa-
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mons in the history of Virginia and one of a family of marked distinc- tion in the annals of the Old Do- minion. This marriage led to Mr. Kenna's removal to Kanawha County, Virginia, where he successfully pur- sued the practice of the law and gained an extended reputation as a public speaker. In 1856, when only 39 years of age, he died, leaving three children, -two daughters and one son, John Ed- ward Kenna, aged eight years. Left in straitened circumstances, Mrs. Ken- na removed in 1858, to Missouri, where her brother resided. Residing upon a farm in a section not then de- veloped, young Kenna had few oppor- tunities for acquiring an education. He worked on a farm with Mr. Lewis, his uncle, and in after years referred to the fact that he could look with pride upon one of the finest planta- tions in Missouri which he had helped to redeeni from its natural state with a prairie plow and four yoke of oxen when he was but II years of age.
When 16 years of age Mr. Kenna enlisted in the Confederate Army and followed its fortunes to the end of the war. While serving in General Shel- by's brigade he was badly wounded in the shoulder and arm, but declined to be retired on account of his wounds and continued in active service. One
who has written with true apprecia- tion of his character says of this period of his life: "In all the constant and pressing march, though but 16 years of age and suffering from his wounds, he never failed of a task that any other soldier performed and never lost a day from active service." The command to which he was attached retreated from Missouri into Arkansas, en- countering hardships that are inde- scribable. The severe exposures of the hurried march could not break the spirit of the young soldier, but they caused a serious illness, and. he was taken to a hospital where he lay in a dangerous condition for six months. In June, 1865, he rejoined his com- mand, which was surrendered to the Federal forces at Shreveport, Louisi- ana. One who served with him re- members the handsome youth, bold and ardent of temperament, manly beyond his years, a general favorite, the life of the camp. None took more pride in his subsequent career than those who were his comrades in those arduous campaigns in Missouri and Arkansas.
Returning to his native county of Kanawha, to which his mother had re- turned, Mr. Kenna obtained employ- ment at salt-making. But he wanted to do better; he had a desire to rise in the world. Realizing the incomplete-
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ness of his education, through the as- sistance of kind friends, chief of whom was Bishop R. V. Whelan, he entered St. Vincent's Academy at Wheeling, and by diligent study acquired in the course of less than three years a knowl- edge of books sufficient to enable him to pursue his studies at home. After leaving school, in 1868, Mr. Kenna studied law in the office of Miller & Quarrier, at Charleston, West Virgin- ia, and was admitted to the bar in 1870. He rose rapidly in his profes- sion. In 1872 he was nominated by the Democratic party and elected to the office of prosecuting attorney of Kanawha County, rendering in that important office efficient service. The duties of prosecuting attorney in one of the most populous counties of the State tried the qualities of the young lawyer, but he was equal to every test, and obtained a wider recognition of the powers which those who knew him intimately felt sure needed only the occasion to call forth. In 1875 Mr. Kenna was elected judge pro tem. of the Circuit Court, and discharged the difficult duties of the office in a manner that added to his already well-merited reputation for industry and legal abil- ity.
In 1876 Mr. Kenna was nominated by the Democrats of the Third Con-
gressional District of West Virginia as their candidate for Congress, de- feating men much older in years and of acknowledged ability and popular- ity. He was duly elected and entered Congress. the youngest member of that body. His aptitude for legisla- tive duties was quickly discerned by Speaker Randall, who assigned him to service on important committees, and by other leaders, and it was not long before he became one of the most influential members of the House of Representatives. He was re-elected in 1878, in 1880, and 1882. Before the beginning of the term for which he had been last chosen, he was elected to the United States Senate, in 1883, to succeed Hon. Henry C. Davis, and took his seat December 3, 1883, and was re-elected in 1889 for the term ending March 3, 1895. When he en- tered the Senate he was, as he had been in the House, the youngest member of the body.
Mr. Kenna "developed at the very threshold of legislative life," said the writer previously quoted, "an apt- ness for it, and a coolness of judgment meriting the testimonials he received from other members, and from many of his constituents. He never spoke except when he had something to say. His splendid physique-standing full
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six feet-his smooth diction and clear enunciation, and his self-poise never failed to attract attention and to com- mand respect. His growth, after the full six years he served in the House, was continuous and steady. But few who served continuously with him de- veloped as rapidly. He always repre- sented the progressive, liberal, and vig- orous element of his party, and conse- quently holds the respect of those ag- gressive working members of his own party and the esteem of his political opponents in legislative councils."
Mr. Kenna was first married in 1870, to Rosa Quigg, of Wheeling, West Virginia, but four years later he was left a widower. Margaret, the daughter of this marriage, was born in 1871, and is now a Sister of St. Joseph, at Flushing, Long Island, be- ing known as Sister Alma Regina. Mr. Kenna's second wife was Annie Benninghaus, of Wheeling, West Vir- ginia, to whom he was married in No- vember, 1876. Six children came to them: Edward, Arthur, John, Joseph, James, and Mary ; James died in early infancy. Mrs. Kenna, with her fam- ily, resides in Charleston. In his home life, the grace and beauty of Mr. Ken- na's character stood out in bold relief. The tender charm that was always present with him as a dispenser of the
hospitalities of his own fireside filled all with pleasure and admiration. The relative claims of son, husband, father, brother and master were filled with un- exampled fidelity and unfaltering trust. His buoyant disposition and happy nature gave an air of sunshine to his home, his bright nature being reflected in his family. Mr. Kenna was a true son of nature by reason of early training and by inheritance, which gave him an instinctive knowl- edge of the silent woods and running brooks. There was nothing he loved so well as to withdraw from the haunts of man, with his gun and rod, and to gain recreation and rest for his over- worked body and brain. Few men of such vigorous brain and strong ele- ments of body were as accomplished as he. He loved to take up his violin to improvise his own musical fancies or to merrily screech out the rude airs of his native hills. In the art of pho- tography he excelled, exhibiting great taste in selecting romantic spots of mountain, wood or torrent. Mr. Ken- na's religion was Roman Catholic; he lived and died in the full communion of the faith. The funeral services were held in the Church of the Sacred Heart, Charleston, West Virginia. His body was born to his resting place by his family, friends and a distinguished es-
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cort from the United States Senate and House of Representatives. His monument stands in the Catholic Cem- etery high above the beautiful valleys of the Elk and Kanawha rivers, that he loved so well.
West Virginia has honored Mr. Kenna by placing his statue in Me- morial Hall in the Capitol at Wash- ington, D. C.
ANDREW RUSSELL BARBEE, M. D.
ANDREW RUSSELL BAR- BEE, M. D .- One of the best known and most highly regarded citizens of Mason County, West Virginia, is Dr. Andrew R. Barbee, who was born De- cember 9, 1827.
His father, also named Andrew Russell Barbee, was a native of Vir- ginia, and died at the age of 87 years.
During the greater part of his life he was a farmer, and also taught school. A stanch Democrat, he was active in politics, but never accepted office. Both he and his wife were members of the Baptist Church. He married Nancy Britton, also a Virginian, who survived her husband but two years. Their six sons and six daughters all arrived at ages of maturity, bearing these names: George B., deceased; Eliza Ann, deceased; Gabriel T. (now past his 90th anniversary), for four years a member of the Virginia State Senate, is a merchant at Bridgewater, Virginia : William R., deceased, was a sculptor of talent, spent several years in Florence and Rome, Italy, and is the author of "The Coquette," "Fish- er Girl," "Young American," and many other life-size statues ; Ellen, de- ceased ; Lewis C., deceased; Jane is the widow of Jonathan Bean, who died from a battle wound received in the Confederate Army; Andrew Russell; Caroline and Adaline, deceased; Jo- seph S., who served in the cavalry dur- ing the Civil War, is a newspaper man and artist, in Los Angeles, California; and Mary, deceased.
Dr. Barbee obtained his education linder the care of his sister, at home, and in the country schools, and spent two years as a pupil of Professor Mc-
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Carty, at Petersburg. He then read medicine with his father-in-law, Dr. J. J. Thompson, of Luray. Virginia, and in 1848 entered the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1851. Afterwards taking a course in the Richmond Medical College, he went to Flint Hill, Rappahannock County, Virginia, and practiced there six months and then lived at Criglersville, Madison County, Virginia, until 1858. Failing health caused him to suspend his practice for a time and he engaged in the exhibition and sale of his broth- er's marble sculptures. In 1859 he bought a farm near Raymond City, Putnam County, Virginia, now West Virginia, and practiced in partnership with his father-in-law. When the Civil War broke out, Dr. Barbee, though violently opposed to secession, together with some of the ablest men of the State, "stumped" the Kanawha Valley in opposition to the cowardly subter- fuge of "peaceable secession,"-yet, when the State, which gave him birth, by a large majority had severed its re- lations with the Union of States by an ordinance, cast his lot and fortunes with his State, whether right or wrong, and made requisitions on his company of 163 bear and deer hunter men, most of whom were six-footers, who had made him captain several
years previous to the agitation of the so-called "peaceable secession" and as against coercion. He was the first to engage the Federal troops near his home in their march up the Kanawha Valley early in July, 1861, and entered the Confederate service as captain of the Border Riflemen, and when the reg- iment was re-organized in the fall of 1861, he was made lieutenant-colonel and on the death of Col. George M. Ratton succeeded to the colonelcy. Prior to this he had received a wound in the arm, at Dry Creek. Later he went into the medical department, re- taining his rank and was assigned to Gen. John C. Breckenridge in a med- ico-military capacity. After General Breckenridge was made Secretary of War, he was assigned to the staff of Gen. James L. Kemper. Obeying his first order, he was sent to Saltville, in Southwestern Virginia, in a medico- military character to inspect the sani- tary condition of the army there and to ascertain the need for medical and surgical supplies as well as to look into the want and necessities in the ordnance department. On reaching Saltville ( the only source from which supplies of salt for the Confederate Army were obtainable), he found about one-third of the army there down with small- pox, but managed to control it. Ere
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his report to General Kemper on sani- tation, medical and military wants could be made, General Burbridge, in command of 4,000 colored troops from Kentucky, bounced in upon him. Re- taining his military rank, Dr. Barbee engaged actively in the fight the day long, when General Williams with in- fantry and General Jones with cavalry re-inforced, and thus the last chance for Confederate salt was saved, Gen- eral Burbridge retiring, with loss of many men, killed, wounded and pris- oners. Dr. Barbee took part in many of the battles in the Shenandoah Val- ley and was with General Morgan when he was shot, and was one of his pall-bearers. The first battle in which he felt more than usually interested was four miles from his home and a part of the enemy confiscated and threshed out his wheat, oats, rye, etc. He was also at Giles Court House, New River, White Sulphur and other points.
After the close of the war, Dr. Barbee accepted the situation, took the oath of allegiance, being the first man in West Virginia to do so, and re- turned to the home of his father-in- law, his own estates having been confis- cated. Soon after, he resumed practice at Coalsmouth, and found his time oc- cupied with the care of a camp of con-
valescent Union soldiers ; later in 1865, he moved to Buffalo, Putnam County, where he practiced until 1868, when he moved to Point Pleasant, West Vir- ginia, where he has resided ever since. He has become one of the leading cit- izens of the county, an important fac- tor in its educational and professional development. For 15 years he served as president of the Board of Educa- tion, both white and colored, and was the first organizer of a colored school in Point Pleasant. Dr. Barbee is a member of the West Virginia Medical Association, of which he has been pres- ident ; of the Ohio Valley Medical As- sociation ; and of the medical society of the county. Since its organization in 1881, he has been a member of the State Board of Health. Under Gov- ernor Atkinson's administration, he was elected secretary and executive of- ficer of the State Board of Health, and registrar of vital and mortuary statis- tics of West Virginia, an office in which he has been continued during various administrations. For a num- ber of years he was examining sur- geon for the U. S. pension board, re- signing in the latter part of President Harrison's administration; he also served for many years as the efficient health officer and county coroner of Mason County.
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Dr. Barbee has also been a leading factor in politics. He is of Republican faith and from 1881 to 1884 was a member of the State Senate. In 1884 he was a candidate for Congress, but was defeated by 43 votes.
On May 22, 1852, he was married to Margaret A. G. Thompson, who was born in Luray, Virginia, in 1834, and is a daughter of Dr. J. J. Thompson, an eminent physician, who practiced for 20 years in Luray, Virginia, and three years at Point Pleasant, and spent the remainder of his life on his farm opposite the mouth of the Poca, on the Great Kanawha River, West Virginia, dying at an advanced age, in 1881. Dr. Thompson was a member of the Virginia Legislature that passed the Ordinance of Secession, and took a strong stand against it and voted against it. A family of six children was born to Dr. and Mrs. Barbee, namely : John R., deceased : Mary B .. the widow of C. W. Harper, deceased. who was a coal merchant at Raymond City ; Kate Louise, who married, first, John McCullough, who died in 1881, and second, J. Samuel Spencer, an at- torney at Point Pleasant : Ann Rebec- ca, who married O. E. Darnall, super- intendent of the West Virginia Re- form School; and Hugh A., a physi- cian at Point Pleasant. Mrs. Barbee
is a member of the Presbyterian Church. The Doctor is a Mason. He is a man of great intelligence and a genial companion. His reminiscences of the past are most instructive and in- teresting.
MAJ. ELY ENSIGN.
MAJ. ELY ENSIGN, one of the most distinguished citizens of West Virginia, died suddenly of an attack of apoplexy on January 27, 1902, at his home in Huntington, West Virginia. He was born December 19, 1840, at Huntsville, Litchfield County, Connec- ticut, and for many years was more prominently identified with the busi- ness interests of Cabell County and the city of Huntington than almost any other man.
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The first important business con- nection of Major Ensign was with the Barnım & Richardson Company of Lime Rock, Connecticut, large manu- facturers of pig iron and car wheels, and prior to his majority he was em- ployed on the old Housatonic Rail- road. Having an uncle who was en- gaged in business at Sacramento, Cal- ifornia, at the age of 21 he went to the Pacific Coast where he anticipated locating, but after remaining about one year he returned to Lime Rock and re-entered the employ of Barnum & Richardson. In 1866, he made a second trip to the Golden State, this time in the interests of the company.
In October, 1872, Major Ensign, in company with Senator W. H. Bar- num and Collis P. Huntington, went to Huntington, and they, with others, established the extensive car wheel manufacturing establishment, which was given his name, being known as The Ensign Manufacturing Company, and has grown to be one of the largest manufacturing plants in the State. In 1881 this business was in- creased to include freight car building. Mr. Ensign was secretary and treas- urer of this company and its active manager up to 1899, when the plant came into the American Car & Foun- dry Company's possession through a
merger, at which time Major Ensign was made the district manager and so continued until his death. In addition to his connection with this business, he was vice-president of the Huntington National Bank and was a leading stockholder in the wholesale grocery firm of Sehon, Stevenson & Compa- ny ; had extensive yellow pine lumber interests in the South and large coal land interests in West Virginia; was a director in the Ohio River Railroad, now a part of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad system; was interested in the Ensign-Oskamp Lumber Company, manufacturers of yellow pine, at Ocil- la, Georgia; and had various other business interests in Huntington.
Major Ensign was a Gold Demo- crat in politics and served as mayor of Huntington in 1896, being one of the best chief executives the city ever had. He never desired official hon- ors, however, preferring to live the quiet, unassuming life of a simple cit- izen.
In 1869, Major Ensign married Mary C. Walton, of Salisbury, Con- necticut, and three children were born to them : John W., born in 1871, who is the present district manager of the American Car & Foundry Company ; Mary P., born February 7, 1873, who died April 24, 1889, and Anna C.,
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born August 28, 1880, who married W. F. Hite, who is district freight agent for the Chesapeake & Ohio Rail- way. The surviving children and their families reside with Mrs. Ensign in a beautiful home, at No. 1330 3rd ave- nue, which was erected by the Major and was completed in 1894. It is one of the most elegant homes in the State, supplied with every modern conveni- ence, and stands in the midst of beau- tiful grounds. For several years Ma- jor Ensign was senior warden of Trin- ity Protestant Episcopal Church, in which he was a vestryman from its organization.
Major Ensign joined the Masonic fraternity in Connecticut, and always retained his membership there. He was one of the State's leading citizens and no man did more to promote the upbuilding of Huntington. During his years of residence there he had be- come familiarly known to almost every man, woman and child in the city, and his unexpected death came as a shock to everyone. At the time of his de- cease he was one of the commissioners of the World's Fair at St. Louis.
GEORGE M. SNOOK, who has been engaged in the dry goods business since he was 15 years of age, is at the head of the firm of George M. Snook &
Company, which conducts one of the most complete wholesale and retail dry goods houses in the State of West Vir- ginia. The business was established in 1884 by George Rentsch, Albert Wilkie and George M. Snook, and has since been conducted under the firm name of George M. Snook & Company. The present place of business is at No. IIIO Main street, but a new building is be- ing completed which will include Nos. IIIO, 1112 and 1114 Main street. No. III4 of the new building will extend through to Market street, 265 feet, and Nos. I1IO and 1112 will be 132 feet deep. The building being erected will have five stories and a basement, and will be supplied with steam heat and el- evator power, electric light and the pneumatic tube system of cash carrier service, the only one at the present time in the city of Wheeling. The front of the building is of white enamel brick, and the main part is of structural iron work, filled with brick, making it a very substantial building and one of the best in the State. There are double show windows on the first and sec- ond floors, and a vestibule continuing to the third floor. At the present time about So people are employed, but this number will be increased to 125 or 150 when the new building is occupied. The firm bears an excellent reputation
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for the character of the goods handled, and has always done an extensive busi- ness. The first floor is well stocked with general merchandise, notions and dry goods; the second floor, with la- dies' ready made goods ; the third, with carpets, curtains and draperies ; and the fourth with fancy and holiday goods. The reserve and duplicate stock is car- ried on the fifth floor, and the china and house furnishing goods are in the basement. The present members of the company are George M. Snook, George Rentsch, Albert L. Wilkie, Thomas Carnahan, Jr., Remick P. Truxell, Louis Rentsch and H. D. Hervey,-an array of business talent that would suc- ceed in any venture.
Mr. Snook was born at Martins- burg, West Virginia, and removed to Wheeling in 1876, entering the employ of Charles Brues as clerk. In 1880, he began clerking for George E. Stifel & Company, and continued until 1884, when his present business was estab- lished. His life work has been de- voted to the dry goods business, and his knowledge of it in all its details, com- bined with a superior natural ability, has been the secret of his success.
Mr. Snook was united in marriage with Emma Truxell, a daughter of Henry Truxell, deceased, who was an early resident of Wheeling, and was
identified with the LaBelle Iron Works. Mr. Snook lives in Pleasant Valley. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He has a broth- er, Charles S. Snook, located in Wheel- ing.
JOHN T. COTTON, M. D.
JOHN T. COTTON, M. D .- To have lived a long and useful life and to have its closing years crowned with honor and affection is not the happy fate of all men, but this is the good fortune of one of the most highly es- teemed citizens of Charleston, West Virginia. Dr. Cotton was born Au- gust 4, 1819, at Marietta, Washington County, Ohio, and is a son of Dr. John Cotton, an eminent Boston physician, who was born at Plymouth, Massa- chusetts, September 9, 1792. Dr. John Cotton graduated at Harvard Univer- sity and there took the degrees of A.
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