USA > West Virginia > Preston County > A History of Preston County, West Virginia, V. 2 > Part 25
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818
PRESTON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
Mr. Liston was Town Sargeant of Kingwood two years, and served three years in Company G. First Regiment of West Virginia. He is a Knights of Pythias, Past Chancellor, and Past Grand, I. O. O. F., Mod- ern Woodmen of America, and a member of the M. E. Church of King- wood.
RICHARD LOAR.
Four brothers bearing the name of Loar came from Germany to Preston county in the early days. George was their an- cestor and grandfather of Richard Loar the subject of this sketch. John Loar, father of Richard, owned a farm and kept the Half Way House between Masontown and Morgantown, when the latter place was but a little village. He died about the year 1866 about 55 years of of age. During his proprietorship of the tavern, he would keep som ?- times twenty-five and thirty teams over night.
John Loar married Emeline Porter of Frostburg, Maryland. Her mother was Irish and father Scotch. The marriage of this couple took place about 1838. Their children were Richard, John Wesley, Sarah, Mary, Jane, George, Samuel, Margaret, Elizabeth and Mattie.
Richard Loar was born February 16, 1840. He staid on his father's farm until grown up tilling the ground and attending school, such as it was in his day. One winter he walked four miles to school at Reeds- ville, the father of the present Attorney General of West Virginia, Wi !.- liam Conley, being his teacher. When twenty-five years of age, he married Sarah Kirk about 1844. The couple moved on their farm four miles from Reedsville. This farm, which was the old Huddleson home, he improved and it became one of the best homesteads in Preston County ; and here Mr. Loar lived until the death of his second wife in 19II. His first wife was a twin to Samuel B. Kirk and daughter of Colonel Isaiah Kirk, a man of fine appearance, having a good military record during the Civil War, and possessing a marked individuality. She died Their children were Anna, born. and the mother of Earl Dixon, the Cashier of the Bank of Masontown, and Athelene Loar, who married Homer Cobun and lives near Reeds- ville.
On the 18th of March, 1865, Mr. Loar married Cyrena Kelley, daugh- ter of William J. Kelley and Susan (Guseman) Kelley both representa- tives of old Prestonian families. No issue.
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PRESTON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
Mrs. Cyrena Loar was a teacher in her Sabbath School fifty years. Children of the third generation were in her class, and remember her now as they would a saint. Mr. and Mrs. Loar were church workers all their lives, and their beautiful home housed and sheltered the clergy on missionary tours to their neighborhood in church work whenever duty called them that way. Mr. Loar had always been a steward in the church and a class teacher for years, and a Sabbath School Superinten- dent a long time also. The work of this couple was always among the children of their neighborhood, and their reward doth follow them.
EMANUEL DIXON.
The Dixon family are of English descent. The grandfather lived, about fifteen miles from Hagerstown, Maryland. He was there during the War of 1812, and died there about the year 1837, seventy-five years old. William Dixon born in Hagerstown in 1809, died at Fort Freder- ick, Maryland, in 1874. He married Ellen Kitzmiller: Eight children were born to this union. Daniel, the oldest, was born October 9, 1849, at Fort Frederick. When twenty years of age he came to Gladesville. The other children are, Kate, now dead; William, who lives in Taylor county ; Mildred F., now dead; Emanel, Susan, Nathaniel, the young- est. Nathaniel lives in Gladesville.
Emanuel Dixon was born in Washington county, Maryland, June 15, 1869. When a young man he came to Preston county and very success- fully made his mark, both as a farmer and as a citizen. He owns two farms near Arthurdale, and is a scientific agriculturist. He was a mem- ber of the county court six years, four of which he served as president of the board. During the past twenty years, he has been a teacher of a Bible class in the Sunday School.
Mr. Dixon was married April 30, 1884 to Miss Anna J., daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Kirk Loar of Preston county. She was born April 26, 1866, and the children of this union are as follows: (1) Earl, born March 20, 1885; (2) Loar, March 10, 1887; (3) John W., Septem- ber 5, 1888; (4) Ella, September 24, 1890; (5) James, January 7, 1893; (6) Nora, July 2, 1895 ; (7) Charles E., July 6, 1897; (8) Richard How- ard, June 9, 1899; (9) Frank, May 12, 1901; (10) Harry A., March 5, 1903; (II) Wesley Ford, November 24, 1904; (12) Theodore, November 17, 1907, and (13) Lucille, born August 27, 1909.
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PRESTON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
Earl Dixon, the oldest son, is cashier of the Masontown Bank. He entered the mercantile business after completing his educational career, and followed that pursuit for several years. He was in the employ of S. L. Cobun in the Company's store for five years, and then ran a store of his own at Reedsville for two years. He became Assistant Cashier of the Masontown Bank in July 1903, and on November 1, 1909, was made Cashier. He holds other positions of prominence in Masontown, also being identified officially with the Telephone Company, the Water Works, and the Board of Trade. He was married to Gertrude Arthur of Arthurdale on November 1, 1911. He is a member of the K. of P. Lodge and of the Methodist Church.
Loar Dixon came to Masontown, after having obtained a common school education, in 1905, at which time he entered the store operated by S. L. Cobun, where he remained three years, and since that time he has been in the employ of the West Virginia Mercantile Company. He is also a Knight of Pythias and has gone through all the chairs.
LEROY SHAW.
The former Sheriff of Preston County, Leroy Shaw, a recent can- didate for the Lower House of the State Legislature, is one of the best known men in this part of the state. As a Republican he has served his county to the satisfaction of his party, and enjoys the confidence of the people whom he has from time to time, in different capacities, politi- cally, agriculturally and otherwise, represented.
His grandparents Samuel and Elizabeth (Webster) Shaw lived on Sandy Creek, and there raised a family of twelve children. The father died there when about sixty-eight years old.
Alexander, second child of Samuel and Elizabeth Shaw, married Miss Sarah Money Smith, a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsyl- vania. He owned and operated a large stock farm near Kingwood and died about 1867 or 68, at the age of fifty-five. He was one of the most practical, farmers in the county.
Their children were: Benjamin, Minerva, John Wesley, Alexander W., William R., Elizabeth, Joseph M., Leroy, Sarah and George C. Benjamin lost his life by an accident at seventy years of age. John Wesley died young. Alexander W., is living in Oklahoma. William
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PRESTON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
H., is a retired minister of the M. E. Church residing at Point Pleasant W. Va. Elizabeth died. Sarah has her home in Atlanta, Georgia, and George C., is in business at Grafton, W. Va.
Leroy Shaw was born near Kingwood, January 5, 1844. On July 4, 1861, he enlisted in the 7th West Virginia Infantry, was wounded at the battle of Antietam in the hand, and being disabled for military duties was discharged as Corporal. A few months afterwards he reenlisted in Company G, 6th West Virginia Cavalry as Sergeant and served through the war. After the assassination of Lincoln, he served as Provost Guard in the city of Washington, and then crossed the plains in pursuit of the Indians. In 1865 he was stationed at Fort Casper, Dakota, and mustered out at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in May, 1866.
Returning to Preston county Mr. Shaw kas married to Miss Nancy Schaeffer July 4, 1866. She was a daughter of Israel Schaeffer, one of the pioneers of Preston county, and she is known as one of the most efficient teachers of this part of the state. During the winter of 1912, she suffered greatly from a broken limb, caused by a fall on the icy sidewalk, but most notable was her cheerful happy life without murmur or complaint during the long months of her confinement in the County hospital.
The first vote cast by Mr. Shaw was in 1864, for Abraham Lincoln. Since that time he has held a number of local positions. He was Con- stable five years; Census Enumerator in 1880; Deputy Assessor eight years ; Member of the County Court four years, and president of that one year. In 1892, he was elected Sheriff of the County, and his special fitness for that office was proven by a successful arrest of a band of horse thieves noted for their daring and desperateness of character. Word had come to Mr. Shaw that this gang of men were just leaving Albrightsville. The outlaws consisted of George and William Smithley, Harvey Archibald and one Peterson. The Sheriff and two of his depu- ties met this gang of men just below Benoni Jordan's residence. They were coming towards Kingwood. George Harvey and William Smith- ly rode on one horse. At the command of the Sheriff to dismount and give themselves up, George Smithly, who was riding in advance of the others, fired at Mr. Shaw the bullet taking effect in his breast where it still is in the right lining, having remained there during the past twenty years. As soon as the flash from Smithly's gun was seen Mr. Shaw fired a shot at him, and at the same time Smithly fired at Jackson, who in re- turn fired two shots, killing Smithly's horse and causing the rider to
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PRESTON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
fall violently to the ground. In the melee, only a few minutes having transpired the four outlaws were dismounted, handcuffed, and after hav- ing been made secure, were marched off to the Kingwood jail. In the meantime, Mr. Shaw fainting from weakness and loss of blood, was car- ried to Mr. Jordan's house where Drs. Manown, Pratt and McMillan soon after visited him, dressed his wounds and saved his life.
Mr. Shaw is a man of remarkable force of character. As a farmer, his chosen avocation in life, he has gained an enviable notoriety as a success- ful agriculturist. Probably no tiller of the soil in West Virginia has taken more interest in scientific farming than Mr. Shaw. He likes skillful farming, for the good it does. It has not been a mercenary following with him, and his pen as well as his pocketbook has been put to use when his neighbor as well as himself was to be benefitted. Naturally enough, positions of honor and trust came upon him. He is well known as an official at state and county fairs, as president of corn shows, director and manager of fruit growing societies, stock breeding asso- ciations, and the work done by him in these several capacities will live long after Mr. Shaw is dead and gone. As a writer, Mr. Shaw wields a ready pen, as facile as it is easy and natural. As a citizen he is open and above board, and as a public official his record corresponds with his life, while the home of Mr. and Mrs. Shaw is a delightful one.
JOHN ORMOND WALLS.
The Walls family, of Grant district, are descendants from James Walls, who settled in that part of the county before its separation from Monongalia. He came from Delaware, and was buried on the farm. His grandson, Solomon Walls, was born July 18, 1823. He lived on a part of the old homestead, a farm of about 200 acres, now owned by his two sons. He was a public-spirited citizen of the commonwealth, and a patriot also. His name can be found in another part of this work as one of the soldiers of the late Civil War, he having served nearly three years in the 3rd Maryland Regiment, and as corporal of his company. In the month of June, 1870, he married his second wife, the widow of John A. Michael, whose maiden name was Nancy Ormond. Her mother was a Hamilton, who came with her parents to this country from Ireland when in her childhood. Her brother, John Ormond, who was a member of the Board of Education for several years, lives near Pisgah, on a
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PRESTON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
farm. Her two children, by John Michaels, became lawyers, who attained to some notoriety in the chosen profession. Walter H. Michael, now dead, was a graduate of the West Virginia University, after which he taught in the colleges in North Carolina for a while, then studied and practiced law in Minnesota, and subsequently edited law books, first for Edward Thompson, then for the American Law Book Company of New York. His brother, James Clark Michael, was city attorney for eight years at St. Paul, Minnesota. He is still living. The children by that second marriage were : John Ormond, born March 21, 1871, and Orpheus S., born July 18, 1873. On his father's fiftieth birthday, February I, 1897, Solomon Walls died of pneumonia and was buried in Pleasant Hill Cemetery.
The two sons were raised farmers. They were educated in the common schools, and for six years owned and operated a store in Pisgah. They improved the farm and added about 50 acres to it.
In the year 1911 a steam well digger was bought, and during the past two years about forty-five artesian wells have been dug, the firm name being J. O. & O. S. Walls. Of these the shallowest was 27 feet, and the deepest 160 feet. Farming and well digging were carried on simultaneously.
J. O. Walls married Miss Edmina Maude King on March 25, 191I. She is a granddaughter of Alpheus King, still living at the age of 91 years. Her father, James King, married Miss Cerilda Liston. They live on a farm in Grant district.
The Walls are Democrats and members of the Lutheran and Methodist churches.
BERNARD D. SPIKER.
Henry Spiker was an early settler who lived at Albright. His son John, is one of the prominent men at this time of Bruceton Mills, and his grandson, Bernard D. Spiker, is a merchant at Brandonville. His stock of goods is of a general character, consisting of groceries, hard- ware, furniture, clothing, and extensive enough to supply the demand of a large country trade.
Mr. Spiker was born September 2, 1872, in the village of Albright, but when quite young his father moved to Morgan's Glade. He stayed until sixteen years of age, going to school and working on a farm. In
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PRESTON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
1888 another removal was made, the family going this time to a farm in Pleasant district that was bought of C. H. Hans. Before he was quite seventeen years old, young Mr. Spiker found himself competent to teach school and in charge of one in Pleasant district, and he con- tinued teaching in Pleasant and Grant districts for twelve successive years. In 1901 another venture was made in the business world, this time being a trip to Pittsburgh, where he was employed by the West- inghouse Electric Supply Company. He remained there four years and then came back to Preston county and settled on a farm between Bruce- ton and Brandonville. The raising of grain and the dealing in stock, however, did not appeal strongly to his mind, and after a four years' stay here he changed his occupation. In January, 1911, he purchased the store then owned by W. A. Nedrow, and from that time has been doing a general merchandising business in and around Brandonville. February 1, 1911, he was appointed postmaster of Brandonville, and he still holds that position.
September 30, 1892, Mr. Spiker was married to Zona Metheny, daughter of W. H. Metheny and Emma (King) Metheny, of Rockville. Her father is one of the leading business men of the county, is a broad- minded, public-spirited citizen of the general commonwealth. Mrs. Spiker is a woman possessed of charming manners, and, like her hus- band, is very popular. Together they make a strong company in the running of a general store and have a large patronage. Their children are: Nellie, born September 3, 1895; Hazel, born September 30, 1897; Thelma, born October 30, 1904; an infant that died in 1907; and Bernice, who was born June 25, 1909.
Mr. Spiker is a Republican. The family worship with the Methodists.
THE JORDAN FAMILY.
Benoni Jordan, of Kingwood, is a descendant of Irish parentage 011 his father's side and is in maternal lineage with the Miller family. His father, Christopher Jordan, came to Kingwood with his father from Maryland and settled on the farm where his son was born, March 21, 1829, and where he still lives. Christopher Jordan married Sarah, daughter of John Miller and Catherine Neff, and built the house now standing on the farm. He was an enterprising farmer and cattle drover. On his last trip to Baltimore with a drove of hogs and cattle, which was about 1830, he was waylaid, robbed and murdered, it is supposed, as he never returned, nor was ever heard of again.
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PRESTON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
Abraham Miller, the father of John, came from the Shenandoah Valley. He firrst camped on Cheat River about two miles back from the wooded entrance of Kingwood. That was about 1780. He pre- empted a large tract of land, some 1,500 acres in all, and gave to each of his three children 125 acres and retained 750 acres for himself. This was in troublesome times with the Indians. Between the years of 1776 and 1788, when Green was killed and Morgan had been murdered by the savages, life was uncertain. Awakened one night by a noise, an Indian was seen to flit behind a tree, and Abraham then awakened his two sons and crawled noiselessly to the river bank, only a few feet away. Having reached a place of security, he remained in his hiding place until morning, and then took his departure for the Shenandoah Valley. The Indians prowled around until morning, and, not finding anyone, left the premises. The killing of Green was the last outrage of the kind perpetrated by the Indians in Preston county.
John Miller at that time was but a mere boy. When grown up he came back and located on his tract of land, a part of which is now King- wood. The children of John were: Henry, who settled about six miles west of Kingwood; David, who resided on the farm adjoining the home- stead, and Benjamin. The daughters were: Mary, who married Thomas McGee and lived where the county court house is now; Anna, who married John Francisco and resided one-half mile west of Kingwood, and Sarah, the wife of Christopher Jordan, the father of Benoni.
The children of Christopher and Sarah Jordan were: John, Thomas and James, who went to Indianapolis, Indiana, in their younger days, and died there. Benoni, their fourth son, remained at home and cared for his widowed mother. On the farm he now lives on he grew up, identifying himself from early life with the interests of the homestead and neighborhood. His education was commenced in an old log school- house not two hundred yards from his mother's door, and in this rude log structure school was kept on week days and preaching the Gospel of Good News was often proclaimed there on Sundays. It was one of the first schoolhouses in the county, if not the first, and rude though it was, as much hard thinking was done there probably as in the academies and colleges elsewhere. Here on a puncheon floor, on benches stretched around the room, along walls chunked and daubed with stone and mud to keep the cold wind out of the house, and before a fireplace that would take in a twelve-foot log, some of the first pedagogues of West Virginia thrashed not a few of the boys and girls through arithmetic,
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PRESTON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
geography and grammar, and who afterward became leading citizens of the county. Here Gustavus Cresap, afterwards prosecuting attorney for thirty years, wielded the birch, but was made to treat the school on one fine Christmas morning or take a baptismal dip in the waters of the creek below. Fogerson, probably the first teacher in Preston county, taught here. After him came Nicholson, John Francisco, then Smith Crane, county clerk afterwards, and all of whom became Mr. Jordan's teachers. In due time the Kingwood Academy, with its more advanced course of study, was established, and Mr. Jordan went there to school. His education withal was sufficient to make him a close observer, and a great reader, and with his good memory and clear mind, his education has been made of use to himself and others as well.
Mr. Jordan was raised a Whig, but at the birth of the Republican party cast his political interests with them. During the war he was the only support of his widowed mother and had to remain at home, but he did service as a militiaman equal to a veteran in the regular service almost. His company at repeated times was called upon to drive the rebels from the state and to guard the B. & O. Railroad from Terra Alta to Grafton. On one of these occasions they captured seventy-five prisoners.
Mrs. Jordan was a daughter of Josiah and Joanna Sears, who lived in Morgantown. Her given name was Mary Allen. On March 16, 1911, she died at the age of seventy-five years. Their children were: Minnie Kildow, mother of four children; (2) Anna Ulrich, who has one child. Her husband is in the Government Printing Office at Washington. (3) Sarah Gerkins, whose husband is a photographer at Cumberland, Mary- land ; (4) and Alonzo Jordan, the only son, who lives on the home place, and whose marriage to Miss Eunice Hogue, of Columbus, but recently took place. The Jordan family have always worshipped as Presby- terians. Mr. Jordan has also been a member of a number of other organizations, among them the Know Nothing Party, Odd Fello vs and The Sons of Temperance.
The Jordan farm is a valuable tract of land consisting of 125 acres and yields fruit and grain in abundance when the seasons are favorable. It adjoins the old Miller homestead that in earlier times became the first post office seat for this part of Preston county. It was a way station, as it were, for mails on the way to Morgantown from farther east. David Miller, a post rider for the settlement, was attacked on one of his trips over the mountains by a robber, and after that he would never carry the mail again.
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PRESTON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
WILLIAM THOMAS WHITE.
The White family is a numerous one. Some are descendants of Scotch parentage, some of English. The earliest history we can find of William Thomas White, hardware merchant and postmaster of Terra Alta, goes back to William White, of Oakland, Maryland, whose family became somewhat prominent there early in the last century. Thornton White, son of William, was born in Allegheny county (now Garrett county), Maryland, at a point not far from what is now known as the White. farm, at Hutton, on March 29, 1823. He remained there unt# early manhood, and then he married Miss Catherine Stoyer and moved to Gladesville, where he became well and favorably known. He was a progressive citizen, honest and upright, and "his life," says one who intimately knew him, "if studied from early manhood until the end, would in its extreme simplicity and usefulness excite men to deeds of kindness, and of duties to man rarely practiced in the present age of civilization."
Mr. Thornton White was a merchant, a postmaster, and a farmer. In 1861 he became an employee of the B. & O. Railroad Company and lived at Newburg until 1865, and then moved to Cranberry Summit, now Terra Alta, where he became associated with J. R. Smoot in the general merchandising business. In 1887, Mr. White, then living in Terra Alta, retired from business until his death, which occurred July 23, 1902. His wife died November 8, 1854. Their marriage occurred February 6, 1845. Their only child was a daughter, now the widow of John Stuck, of Newburg.
On February 7, 1856, Mr. White married Bersheba A. Davis, daughter of Thomas Davis, a relative of Jefferson Davis, president of the Southern Confederacy. Of this marriage five children were born, namely : Lewis P., a banker ; William T., hardware merchant ; Mary C., Loretta R., and Hattie J. White, a leading teacher in Preston county.
Mrs. White was a Christian woman and a devoted wife and mother. She had been a member of the Baptist Church for more than fifty years, and beloved by every one. Her death, which occurred January 19, 1909, was felt as a great loss to the community in which she lived.
William Thomas White, postmaster and merchant of Terra Alta, was born in Gladesville, W. Va., September 26, 1858. He was educated in the public schools of his native town and began his career in life as a clerk in a general store, since which time he has become identified
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PRESTON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
as one of the leading citizens of his town and county. His father and the late Hon. John P. Jones were close friends, and the two houses of White and Jones were eventually bound more closely together by the son, William T. White, marrying Miss Adaline Jones, after which the firm of "Jones & White" was formed and a business in general merchan- dising commenced. In 1885 Mr. White purchased all interest in the partnership, since which time he has done a large business himself, and since the year 1900 conducted solely an exclusive hardware store. In 1910 he was appointed postmaster of Terra Alta. Mr. White was mar- ried to Miss Adaline Jones. She was born at Ebansburg, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, June 4, 1860, and was the daughter of the late Hon. John P. Jones, several times a member of the State Legislature of both the Lower and Upper Houses of West Virginia. He was born in Aberaron, Wales, June 21, 1832, and died in Terra Alta, September 26, 1900. His parents came to this country in 1837, first locating in Pittsburgh. Afterwards they removed to Ebansburg, Pennsylvania, where Mr. White was born. He was married at Ebansburg, Pennsyl- vania, April 17, 1865, to Hannah E. Rogers, a most estimable lady, and to them were born the following children : Dr. Harriet B. Jones, a suc- cessful physician of Wheeling; Scott T. Jones, cashier of the Garrett National Bank at Oakland ; Adaline, wife of W. T. White; Cora C., now the wife of Mr. Charles A. Rinard, of Kentland, Indiana ; and Mollie, now deceased, who was the wife of James Anderson, of Parkersburg.
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