USA > West Virginia > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of West Virginia. Including reference articles on the industrial resources of the state, etc., etc. > Part 10
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who had been appointed by Governor Jackson to fill, until the next general election, the place upon the bench of the Supreme Court of Ap- peals made vacant by the resignation of Judge C. P. T. Moore, Mr. Snyder was appointed. Nearly three years of the term remained unex- pired, and at the general election in 1882 the Judge was elected by the people for the re- mainder of the term, receiving a majority of 3, 221 votes over his Republican competitor. In 1884 Judge Snyder was renominated for a full term of twelve years and was again elected, his majority being 4,336 votes. He remained upon the bench until November, 1890, when he re- signed and Judge Homer A. Holt was appointed as his successor. From January, 1889, to the time he resigned he was President of the court. During his nearly nine years upon the bench of the Supreme Court of Appeals, Judge Snyder won for himself an enviable reputation as a jurist, both among members of the bar and with the general public. In that period many im- portant and hotly contested cases came before the court for adjudication, many intricate and perplexing questions were presented for solu- tion, and many points of practice had to be set- tled. Judge Snyder's opinions were always received as correct and plain statements of the law and met with ready acquiescence. He has the faculty-of so much importance to a judge- of seeing very clearly the question at issue stripped of all irrelevant and adventitious cir- cumstances, and thus getting at the very core of the controversy. And he also has another faculty, of scarcely less importance, that of writing an opinion in clear, fluent, and forcible style. His opinions are always smooth and well expressed and are as easily comprehended by a layman as by a lawyer. His retirement from the bench was much regretted by the members of the bar and by the people of the State, but it was a step demanded by his per- sonal interests and by several large business enterprises in which he desired to engage. Judge Snyder was married in 1869 to Henrietta H. Cary, daughter of William and Ophelia (Mathews) Cary, of Greenbrier County. Her father was a native of Maryland, but settled in Greenbrier County in early life, and her mother was a daughter of John Mathews, who was for many years clerk of the courts in that county.
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They have five children, Harry Otey, J. Verne, Kenton M., Fred W., and Zulieme. In person Judge Snyder is considerably above medium stature, but years of studious work at the desk have given his shoulders a decided droop. His reading has by no means been confined to law books, and there are few men in the State who are his equal in knowledge of history and of general literature. He has a keen sense of humor, and even judicial dignity was never able to stifle his perception of and his fondness for a harmless joke. He still practises in the courts, but gives his chief attention to his own business affairs. He is actively employed in developing extensive iron-ore and coal property in the southern part of West Virginia, and has accu- mulated a handsome estate through his enter- prising investments. It may safely be said that few citizens of the State have done more for its material prosperity and advancement than Judge Snyder. With a consummate knowledge of the resources of West Virginia, he has made known these advantages in the commercial and finan- cial centres of the country, and brought to bear a well-trained mind in the work of furthering the interests of capitalists from far and near, who have availed themselves of his invaluable knowl- edge both as to the condition of the titles and the law relating to the vast tracts of ore and timber lands for which West Virginia has be- come famous. Many-sided in his intellectuality, Judge Snyder is likewise of the most companion- able and versatile disposition, tolerant and lib- eral, yet just, kindly, dignified, and with social qualities of a generous, unique, and altogether attractive nature that make him persona grata on all occasions.
WILLIAM L. WILSON.
HON. WILLIAM LYNE WILSON, LL.D., of Charlestown, a Democratic statesman of national reputation, was born in Jefferson County, Va., on the 3d of May, 1843. His mother, Mary Whiting Lyne, was the second wife of Benjamin Wilson, of King and Queen County, and William Lyne was the only child of this marriage. In child- hood Benjamin Wilson lost his father, but for- tune favored him when he became a studious
pupil under one of the most prominent teachers in Virginia, Rev. Robert Baylor Semple. The Semple Classical School was at Mordington, in King and Queen County. When the kinsman of Dr. Semple, William Baylor of Jefferson, re- quired a tutor for his children, the high character and marked scholarship of Benjamin Wilson needed little recommendation, and he was ac- cordingly assigned to the new post. This fact contributed to the determination of Mr. Wilson making for some years teaching a profession and Jefferson County his immediate home. Before William Lyne was four years old his father died, but enjoined that his son should receive a thorough education. Remarkable for her great singleness of purpose and devout piety, Mrs. Wilson, foreseeing the future distinction of her boy, committed him to the charge of a maiden aunt, Miss Lucy Lyne, who taught him the ru- diments of education which so fitted him to enter the Charlestown Academy. Here his quickness of mind and devotion to study read- ily marked him a lad of promise, so that before he had attained his fifteenth year he was more than sufficiently read in Latin, Greek, and French to warrant his passing a college gradu- ateship. For mathematics he had always an especial taste, and his knowledge of finance and figures has more than once distinguished him in these departments. In 1860, at the age of sev- enteen, he graduated from the junior class of Columbian College, D. C., Col. Daniel D. John- son, of Tyler County, being one of his classmates at the time. Though tendered a tutorship in the college, he decided to proceed forthwith to the University of Virginia, intending to devote several years to study. The Civil War break- ing out, thwarted this resolution. Quitting the University, he enlisted in the Confederate army and became a private in the Twelfth Virginia Cavalry, Company B. At the surrender of Ap- pomattox he had reached the rank of Sergeant- Major, having served with great efficiency. He was tendered and accepted the post of Assistant Professor of Ancient Languages in Columbian College, Washington, D. C., in 1865. While teaching he studiously attended the law depart- ment lectures and graduated in 1867. He, however, continued his professorship, having been promoted to the full chair of Latin, which he vacated in 1871, to proceed to Charlestown
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and begin the practice of law. From its very inception he discovered the practice an agreea- ble and lucrative profession, for besides the partnership which he formed with his cousin, George Baylor, he found himself intrusted with judicial business. He soon became a noted ad- vocate, not only for his marked force in argu- mentation, but for his power of marshalling facts. Up to 1880 he had taken but a little part in politics, when he found himself chosen a del- egate to the National Democratic Convention at which General Hancock was nominated for President. Subsequently, as Elector-at-Large from West Virginia, he made a canvass of his State on the Hancock ticket. By the unanimous vote of its Regents, in June, 1882, he was chosen President of the West Virginia University, a post which he accepted with much reluctance. In September of the same year he was nomi- nated with great unanimity the Democratic can- didate for the Second Congressional District and was elected the following October. When his Congressional duties called him on the 4th of March, 1883, he voluntarily resigned the Presi- dency of the University. He retained the posi- tion, however, until the close of the session in June, at the request of the students and Regents, but declined to receive further remuneration for his services. On three separate occasions Mr. Wilson was renominated for Congress, and each time elected with little opposition. As a diligent, painstaking, and ever-ready member, he has been recognized in the House from his first entry. During his second term in Congress he was appointed a member upon the Committee of Appropriations and won the marked attention of his fellow-members by his celebrated speech upon the Pensions Bill. Always a stanch advo- cate of tariff reform, he was selected by the Speaker, a member of the Ways and Means Com- mittee, when President Cleveland in his message to the Fiftieth Congress made the tariff ques- tion the issue of the campaign of 1888. He was also one among the prominent framers of the Mills Bill. Among the famous debates of May, 1888, on the tariff, Mr. Wilson's speech created at the time a wave of enthusiasm among all tariff reformers. It was printed and re- printed and attained a wide and far-reaching circulation. Apart from his numerous speeches during the Presidential campaign of 1888, de-
livered throughout the States, he was voted to open the campaign at the Cheltenham Beach meeting held near Chicago, when in company with Allen G. Thurman he delivered one of the most celebrated speeches of his life. Subse- quently, in company with Secretary Fairchild, he was requested to open the campaign in New York when the great ratification meeting of the business men took place in that city. In the broad field where scholarship never fails to make its mark, he has frequently been honored. Of many literary and scientific associations we find him an honorary member, and in all his college addresses no lack of aptitude can be traced. Twice the degree of Doctor of Laws has been conferred upon him-by the Hampden- Sidney College and the Columbian University of Virginia. In 1883 he was appointed Regent of the Smithsonian Institution, and again in 1885 under the direction of the House of Representa- tives. By the Board of Regents he was chosen later, with Professor S. F. Baird, Secretary of the Institution, and Professor Gray, of Harvard, to direct the publication of Professor Joseph Henry's scientific writings. In the Fifty-first Congress, Speaker Reed omitted the name of Mr. Wilson from the Committee of Ways and Means and assigned him to the Judiciary Com- mittee, always a post of prominence. Never- theless, the error of Speaker Reed has since been made apparent in the re-election by the nation of Mr. Grover Cleveland, whose tariff policy has invariably found in Mr. Wilson a consistent de- fender. Of the National Democratic Convention held in Chicago, 1892, at which Hon. Grover Cleveland was renominated for the Presidency, Hon. William L. Wilson was made permanent chairman. This timely recognition of West Vir- ginia's patriotic son was in itself a distinct victory for the President-elect. The temporary chairmanship had been willingly conceded to Mr. Cleveland's opponents, but those who knew Mr. Wilson best and had long recognized his faithful adherence to the nominee of the Con- vention's choice, made no error in judgment in placing Democracy's tried defender in the post of permanency. Not a few of the delegates present warmly desired and had in their mind's eye selected Mr. Wilson for the second place of honor in the Presidential race; but ex- pediency overruled their aspirations, and Adlai
Frank Herford
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E. Stevenson, of Illinois, was chosen. On ac- cepting the unanimous renomination for a sixth term in the House of Representatives, to repre- sent his Congressional district in Virginia, he predicted in a thrilling speech delivered in July, 1892, "an overwhelming national Democratic victory to be won in November." This "vic- tory" has since become historical. Elected to the Fifty-third Congress by a plurality of 1,051, Mr. Wilson was made Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and enjoyed the distinction of being the author of the bill providing for the repeal of the purchasing clause of the Sherman law. In his State Mr. Wilson is known as the "scholar in politics"-a public representative who, in associating the wisdom of the schools with long practical experience, works out the destiny of his fellows with the courage of unal- terable conviction. Though fluent in speech, he is withal a terse, eloquent, and forceful writer, as his miscellaneous essays contributed to the literature of politics amply testify. His volume on the "National Democratic Party" is replete with wisdom and displays a progressive line of thought rarely met with in the party advocate. In the Baltimore Sun may be found his ably penned articles on "Trusts and Monopolies," which supply the best thought on that subject to all who are interested in the equalization of industrial wealth. In 1868 Mr. Wilson married Miss Nannie Huntington, a daughter of the Rev. Dr. Huntington, of Columbian University. Six children are the result of this happy union. Several sons are now at college and give prom- ise of a bright future. In appearance Mr. Wilson exhibits not a few youthful characteristics. Though slightly built, he is muscular in devel- opment, and his good-natured, resolute face dis- plays at times a philosophic yet humorous ex- pression that is most captivating. Though full of intellectual force and vigor, he is withal un- assuming and modest. Always genial, kindly, and courteous, few men in public life can claim a stronger hold upon the confidence of their constituents and the affections of the people generally than the Hon. William Lyne Wilson. But a few years ago Mr. and Mrs. Wilson re- turned from a trip to Europe and through Asia. The experiences gathered by the way were re- vealed in an interesting and instructive lecture delivered by Mrs. Wilson before the ladies of
Charlestown, the main branch of the subject being " Japan: the manners and customs of its people." The true character of Mr. Wilson was never better illustrated than when, at the Indus- trial Exposition Fair held at Lewisburg in Sep- tember, 1891, he closed an eloquent address by reminding the people that, after all said, the great object of life was not the accumulation of money, but the making of men, honorable, in- telligent, and high-minded, who might know their duties and maintain their rights, and women, noble, pure, and virtuous, designed to adorn the society in which they live, to stimu- late their sons to noble deeds.
FRANK HEREFORD.
HON. FRANK HEREFORD, of Union, member of Congress from March 4, 1871, to Jan- uary 30, 1877, and United States Senator from January 31, 1877, to March 3, 1881, was born in Fauquier County, Va., July 4, 1825. He was the eldest son of Francis Hereford and Sarah Katharine Steuart Foote. His mother was the great-granddaughter of Rev. David Stewart, who emigrated from Scotland to this country and settled in King George County about 1710, where he was pastor of Quantico Church, and St. Paul's, Stafford County, for many years. He was succeeded by his son, Rev. William Stewart, who ministered in the same churches until 1799, when he died. Mr. Here- ford's paternal grandfather was Francis Here- ford, who was married to Ann Catharine Harri- son in 1793, and was the son of John Hereford. He entered the Revolutionary army when quite young, and for gallantry and good conduct was promoted from the ranks and reached the posi- tion of adjutant, under the Marquis de Lafayette. His wife was Peggy Patterson, of Alexandria, Va. The father of Frank Hereford was Francis Hereford, who moved from Virginia to the South at an early period, but eventually settled in Missouri, where he practised law until his death, which occurred in 1851. Frank Hereford was a graduate of McKendree College in the year 1845. He then studied law, but in 1849 went to California, where he was one of the pioneers. He there practised his profession
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with success and achieved such popularity that he was elected District Attorney of Sacramento, a position which he filled for two years, from 1855 to 1857. From Sacramento he went to Virginia City, Nev., and in 1866 returned east to West Virginia and settled in Union, Monroe County, where he continued to practise law. His popularity followed him and he was elected a representative to the Forty-second Congress from the Third West Virginia District by a large majority. He was re-elected to the succeeding Congress, and re-elected for a third term by a vote which nearly doubled that of his Republi- can competitor, serving altogether from March 4, 1871, to January 31, 1877, when he was elected by the Legislature of West Virginia as United States Senator in place of Allen Taylor Caperton, deceased. Senator Hereford served in the Senate to the entire satisfaction of his constituency, displaying the greatest industry and ability until the expiration of his term, March 3, 1881. From that time until his death he engaged in the practice of law in Union, at the same time interesting himself in his party and being prominent in local and State conven- tions. In the Presidential contest of 1888 he was an elector from West Virginia and cast his vote for Grover Cleveland. Senator Hereford possessed a good law library and took particu- lar interest in public documents and depart- ment reports, giving him an extensive and valu- able reference collection. A distinguished jurist living in the section of the State represented by Mr. Hereford referred to him as follows: “Sen- ator Hereford was one of the most industrious men in public life that I ever knew. He had unusual self-reliance and worked with great energy for his constituents and his State both as a Congressman and Senator. I recollect an amus- ing incident of his first canvass for Congress. He had but recently returned from Sacramento, where he held a public position. His district was a large one and at that time very close. Mr. Hereford would take long journeys on horse- back to talk to the people and hold meetings. One day at noon in Clay County he came across about thirty laborers at work on some public road improvement. He was accompanied on this occasion by Colonel B., a well-known pub- lic man of the day. The laborers had 'knocked off' for dinner, and their foreman, learning that
one of the gentlemen on horseback was running for Congress, invited him to make a speech. Mr. Hereford responded and congratulated him- self that he could address so large a company of voters on the questions of the day. Colonel B. took a seat on a moss-covered log while Mr. Hereford gave them a good speech, and only learned at its close that with the exception of the foreman, who had made the invitation, every man present was disfranchised on account of having served in the Confederate army: the test oath disqualified them. Both gentlemen rode away enjoying the joke, but regretting the loss of thirty good votes honorably won." The writer is indebted to the Hon. James Kerr, Clerk of the House of Representatives, for the follow- ing brief relating to Senator Hereford during his membership of that body: The Hon. Frank Hereford was elected a representative in Con- gress from the State of West Virginia to the Forty-second, Forty-third, and Forty-fourth Congresses. He resigned as a representative in the Forty-fourth Congress, January 31, 1877, and was sworn thesame day as United States Senator, in place of Hon. Allen T. Caperton, deceased, and served until March 3, 1881. In the Forty- second Congress he served on the Committee on Territories; in the Forty-third Congress he served on the Committees on Militia and Public Lands; in the Forty-fourth Congress he served on the Committees on Militia and Commerce, of which Committee he was Chairman; in the United States Senate he served on the Commit- tees on Claims and Mines and Mining, of which Committee he was Chairman. He introduced the following bills during the Forty-second Con- gress: To establish post routes in West Vir- ginia; to make Charleston, W. Va., a port of delivery; to amend an act to change and define the boundaries of the Eastern and Western Judi- cial Districts of Virginia and alter the name of said district; to remove all legal and political disabilities imposed by the Fourteenth Amend- ment to the Constitution of the United States of America; to authorize the correction of bound- aries of certain lands; for the relief of settlers on certain lands in California; to provide for the erection of a building suitable for use as a post-office, United States court, custom-house, and other government purposes at Charleston, W. Va; granting the right of way and lands to
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the Pecos and Placer Canal Company of New Mexico; to remove political disabilities from all the citizens of the United States; making an appropriation for locking and damming the Great Kanawha River, W. Va .; to remove disabilities from certain persons named therein; to estab- lish a post route; to establish certain post roads; for the relief of the trustees of the Wildey Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Charleston, W. Va .; making appropria- tions for the Great Kanawha and New Rivers in the State of West Virginia; granting the right of way and lands to the Sacramento Irri- gation and Navigation Company. Bills intro- duced in the Forty-third Congress by Hon. Frank Hereford: For improving the Great Ka- nawha River; to provide a public building at Charleston, W. Va .; for the relief of the Wildey Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; granting pensions to certain soldiers and sailors of the war of 1812 and widows of deceased sol- diers; for the relief of Alleghany College, West Virginia; for the relief of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, Charleston, W. Va .; to promote the efficiency of the army; to pay the late mail contractors amounts due them before the war; to exempt tobacco-growers from the operation of the internal revenue laws to a certain extent ; equalizing the tax on State and National banks; directing that hereafter twenty per centum of the duties on imports be collected and paid in legal-tender notes; providing for survey of cer- tain rivers in West Virginia; for continuing the improvement of the Great Kanawha River, West Virginia; for the improvement of the Big Sandy River in West Virginia; for the improve- ment of the Guyandotte River, West Virginia; for the survey of the Elk River, West Virginia. Titles of bills introduced in the Forty-fourth Congress by Hon. Frank Hereford: For the construction, repair, preservation, and comple- tion of certain public works on rivers and har- bors and for other purposes-approved by the President; to repeal the joint resolution pro- hibiting payment by any officer of the Govern- ment to any person not known to have been opposed to the rebellion and in favor of its support; for the relief of Alleghany College, Greenbrier County, W. Va .; for the relief of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, Charles- ton, Kanawha County, W. Va .; to continue the
improvement of the Great Kanawha River; to appropriate money for the improvement of the Big Sandy River in Kentucky and West Vir- ginia; to amend an act granting pensions to certain soldiers of the war of 1812, and to re- store to the pension rolls those persons whose names were stricken therefrom in consequence of disloyalty; to improve Elk River in the State of West Virginia. General Anson G. McCook, Secretary of the United States Senate, kindly furnished a full and voluminous report of the late Senator Hereford's career in that body, and while space will not allow of a com- plete summary of it all, a few selected facts are given. His credentials were presented January 31, 1877, at the second session of the Forty- fourth Congress, and allowed. He was appointed on the Committees of Claims, Mines and Min- ing, and Territories. His first bill or resolution was for printing the eulogy on Senator Caper- ton, whom he succeeded. His first speech was on the electoral vote of Michigan. His first bill, No. 1,082, was for the relief of a constitu- ent. At the first session of the Forty-fifth Con- gress, October 15, 1877, he was in attendance and served on the same committees. He took an active interest in the financial legislation of that session, and made a speech on the investi- gation of the Treasury Department; he also offered a bill for the coinage of silver dollars, making them legal tender. At the second ses- sion, December 3, 1877, he was in attendance and on the same committees. Bill No. 431 was for the improvement of the Kanawha River; No. 432, for New River; No. 433, Elk River; No. 434, Big Sandy River. Also several pri- vate relief bills-war claims, etc. Bill No. 1,084, for the construction of a railroad bridge across Big Sandy River, besides many other bills of a public and private nature. Also he made a number of speeches on important topics, such as restricting Chinese emigration, and relating to internal revenue laws. At the first session of the Forty-sixth Congress Mr. Hereford was in attendance and was announced on Committees of Claims, Commerce, and Mines and Mining, of which last he became Chairman.
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