USA > West Virginia > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of West Virginia. Including reference articles on the industrial resources of the state, etc., etc. > Part 17
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
in the Legislature was that of a reformer-sin- cere and able-who would advance the condition of the masses and champion the cause of the poor and down-trodden. In the fall of 1886 he was re-elected to the House of Delegates and fought railway privileges and domination with great persistency and force. He introduced a bill against the use of free passes to legislators and officials. He succeeded in passing the bill compelling the railroads to fence their tracks. In this session he was conspicuous by his opposi- tion to Senator Camden as his own successor in the United States Senate. Of the several ex- citing contests for United States Senatorship, ' this was perhaps the most extraordinary in the history of the State of West Virginia. Johnson N. Camden, S. C. Burdette, W. H. H. Flick, Nathan Goff, and James H. Brown were strongly supported. The balloting began on the 25th of January and continued until the 25th of February, when the Legislature adjourned without result. On February 28 Governor Wilson appointed Daniel B. Lucas, of Jefferson County, as Senator ad interim until the 4th of March. Mr. Lucas resigned as a member of the House on March 3 and accepted the appointment. Two days later the Governor called an extra session of the Leg- islature, which assembled on April 20, contin- uing to vote on the subject until May 5, when Charles James Faulkner, Circuit Judge of the Thirteenth District, was formally elected and de- clared United States Senator. The Legislature adjourned on May 9. In 1869 Mr. Lucas mar- ried Miss Lena T. Brooke, daughter of Henry L. Brooke, of Richmond, Va., and a great-niece of John Randolph of Roanoke and of Gov. Robert Brooke, of Virginia. They have one daughter, Virginia Lucas, an only child. It would seem that for one who had led such an active professional and political life, with all the hard work incident to a career like the one this sketch has outlined, but little oppor- tunity had existed for literary composition- especially of a classical order. Nevertheless Judge Lucas has accomplished an amount of literary work that would be honor enough of itself for any man of letters. A partial list of his writings are added hereto. In addition to the Memoir of Captain Beall, above mentioned, are: "The Wreath of Eglantine" (Kelly, Piet
& Co., Baltimore, 1869), a volume of poems written by him, also containing a few poems by his deceased sister Virginia Lucas; "The Maid of Northumberland," a drama of the Civil War (Putnam's Sons, New York, 1879); " Bal- lads and Madrigals" (Pollard & Morse, New York, 1884); "Fisher Ames, Henry Clay," a collaboration with James Fairfax Mclaughlin, LL.D (Charles L. Webster & Co., 1891). Mr. Lucas has also written other poems and ad- dresses for special occasions or patriotic assem- blies. His finest production of this nature is his oration on Daniel O'Connell, "masterly as an analysis of the character and exhaustive as an historical picture of the times of the Irish liberator." To do justice to such a theme as O'Connell were of itself an index of the scholar- ship and powers of speech of Mr. Lucas, which every well-informed person will cheerfully ac- knowledge. As may be supposed, this lecture, or more properly this oratorical portrayal of O'Connell and his times, met with a hearty reception from all classes of people. It was prepared originally upon an invitation from the Parnell Club of Wheeling, and was given at the Opera House in that city on the evening of August 6, 1886. Mr. Lucas was invited to re- peat it at the Norwood Institute, Washington, D. C., April 13, 1888, and again in the room of the House of Delegates in the State Capitol, at Charleston, W. Va., January 20, 1889. Of the many poems he has written the following are the most notable : At the dedication of the Con- federate Cemetery at Winchester, 1865; at the semi-centennial of the University of Virginia, 1879; at the unveiling of the Confederate mon- ument in Charlestown, 1882; at the convention of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Literary Society for the Northwest, Chicago, October 19, 1887; and at the annual banquet of the New York South- ern Society, held in that city February 22, 1888. At each of these places on the occasion named Mr. Lucas was the chosen poet. At Winchester, in 1865, and at New York, in 1888, the poems he read were unusually happy and will hold a place among his best productions. Among the most important of his lectures may be named that on John Brown, at Winchester, in 1865; that on John Randolph, at Hampden-Sydney College, in 1884; his "Study of Henry Clay," at Louis- ville, in 1891 ; and the one on Daniel O'Connel',
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above referred to. These are admirable speci- mens of 'American learning and eloquence. The late Judge William Mathews Merrick, of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, who heard the lecture on O'Connell when deliv- ered in Washington, declared that "for power of statement, originality of thought, and gift as an orator, Mr. Lucas was surpassed by no one that he had ever heard." The praise of the illus- trious may well be appreciated and included in this reference to Judge Lucas' literary and scholastic attainments, of which Virginians of both States may be justly proud, for he is an honor alike for the East, the State of his birth and his illustrious ancestry, and for the West, the State of his maturity and honor and useful- ness. Judge Lucas was appointed to the Su- preme Court of Appeals as the successor of the late Judge Green, his former partner, who died in November, 1889, and whose career and biog- raphy form the subject of a paper by Judge Lucas which will be read before the Bar Asso- ciation of West Virginia. In 1890 Judge Lucas was nominated for Judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals, and in November of that year he was elected by an overwhelming majority of the popular vote. On January I following (1891) he was elected President of the Court, and held that office until the expiration of his term, January 1, 1893. In response to an invitation extended by the Bar Association of Virginia, Judge Lucas delivered before them at their an- nual meeting at Old Point Comfort on the 13th of July, 1892, an address on "The Political Apothegms of Martin Van Buren." The address was subsequently published by the association and extensively circulated. The sentiment of the party with which Judge Lucas affiliated was practically unanimous in favor of his renomina- tion for the Supreme bench in the autumn of 1892, but he declined the honor, and retired from the bench on the Ist of January, 1893.
BENJAMIN F. MARTIN.
HON. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN MARTIN, of Grafton, a distinguished lawyer, member of the Constitutional Convention (1872), and mem- ber of Congress (1876-1880), was born October 2, 1828, near Farmington, Marion County, Va.
His father, Jesse B. Martin, was one of the first to settle on Buffalo Creek, which was then in Harrison County, where he was well known for many years as a prominent and highly respected member of the farming community. Young Martin followed in his father's footsteps, help- ing on the farm until he reached his majority, soon after which he entered Allegheny College, Meadville, Pa., and although his previous edu-
cation had been very limited, such was his nat- ural ability and powers of application that he graduated as B. A. in June, 1854, carrying off second honors in his class. Having completed his education, he returned to Marion County, where he taught school at Fairmont for eigh- teen months, at the same time studying law. In March, 1856, he was admitted to practice and began his professional career. He removed to Pruntytown-which was at that time the seat of justice for Taylor County-in November of the same year, and remained there until a few years ago, when he came to Grafton upon its being made the county-seat, and located there perma- nently. He holds a high position among the members of the State and county bar, and with characteristic energy is still as active and takes as much interest as ever in his professional work. Mr. Martin steadily refused all offers to become a candidate for any office until 1871, when, upon the accession to power of the Dem- ocratic party in West Virginia, it was decided that a new State constitution was necessary, and at the convention (in 1872) Mr. Martin was called upon to represent Taylor County, and became one of the most prominent and respected members of that body which framed the present constitution. It may be noted that Mr. Martin possesses one of the three copies of the portraits of the entire convention, and has always prided himself on the associations of that body and the friendships resulting therefrom. He was also a delegate in the same year to the National Democratic Convention which assembled at Baltimore. At first Mr. Martin vigorously op- posed Horace Greeley's nomination, but subse- quently became one of his most ardent and en- thusiastic supporters. On August 22, 1872, the new constitution of West Virginia was adopted at a special election, and in the following fall he ran for Congress from the Second District on the Democratic ticket. At the August election
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Hon. J. M. Hagans received 3,441 votes as a candidate for Congress. Mr. Martin, however, declined to permit himself to be voted for at that election, but received 5,998 votes as the regular candidate of his party at the next elec- tion in October. On the same day, J. Nelson Wisner, Republican, received 1,698 votes, and D. D. T. Farnsworth 1,321 votes. Governor Jacob certified to Congress the result of both elections, and a contest followed. Congress admitted Mr. Hagans as the duly elected mem- ber, notwithstanding the Committee of Elections reported in favor of Mr. Martin. In 1876 Mr. Martin was again his party's candidate for Con- gress against H. L. Ward, and was elected by a majority of 3,843. In 1878 he was re-elected by nearly 8,000 majority. As a member of Con- gress, he displayed the same rigid sense of what is right and the same conscientious adherence to what he deemed to be his duty for which he has been so conspicuous in his private career. As one of the foremost leaders of the Demo- cratic party, he has ever taken a deep personal interest in its deliberations both in the commit- tee-room and in its discussions in open conven- tion. He is one of those leaders of his party whose aim has always been to promote its suc- cess in the broadest sense, and without pander- ing to cliques or personal prejudices. At an early age he became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has ever since been one of its most earnest and consistent supporters. Among the honors which the church has be- stowed upon him in recognition of his loyalty to its teachings, he was appointed a lay delegate to the General Conference of 1876; was Presi- dent of the Lay Electoral Conference of that church held at Wheeling in 1876 and at Parkers- burg October, 1887, and is one of the Trustees and Treasurer of the Board of Trustees of the Conference Seminary at Buckhannon. He is esteemed as a public man well versed in the statutes and with a thorough knowledge of State legislation. His life has been distin- guished for many charitable and philanthropic deeds for which he will long be remembered. Mr. Martin was married November 1, 1854, to Miss N. E. Carlin, of Meadville, Pa., a lady who takes much interest in her husband's career, and is herself one of the most intelligent of her sex in the State of West Virginia.
C. C. WATTS.
HON. CORNELIUS C. WATTS, ex-Attor- ney-General of West Virginia, ex-State Senator, and United States District Attorney for the State under President Cleveland (both terms), is a native of Amherst, Va., the date of his birth being April 23, 1848. He is the son of James D. and Lucy A. (Simms) Watts, who at the be- ginning of the late war removed from Amherst to Albemarle County. At the age of sixteen years he entered the Confederate army, and served as a private in Mosby's command until the close of the war. He studied law and was educated at the University of Virginia. In 1870 he became a citizen of West Virginia, and began the practice of his profession at Oceana, Wyo- ming County ; was elected Prosecuting Attorney in 1872, which office he held until 1875, when he removed to Charleston to become a law partner of Hon. John E. Kenna. The firm of Kenna & Watts at once took rank among the leading advocates of the Charleston bar, and both gentlemen came into prominent notice and acquired a lucrative practice. Mr. Watts had grown so rapidly in professional reputation that in 1880 he was nominated and elected Attorney- General for West Virginia. His term of four years was filled with such general satisfaction as to win for him the deserved commendation of his profession throughout the State and the most kindly praise of the newspaper press. As Attorney-General he argued many important cases for the State and published nine volumes of reports of Supreme Court of Appeals, in which work he was ably assisted by Major O. D. Cook, his faithful assistant. Among the more important causes argued by General Watts may be cited the famous tax case of Miller, Auditor, vs. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company, which was carried to the United States Supreme Court at Washington, where General - Watts represented the State after his term of office had expired, being specially appointed by Gov. Jacob B. Jackson. The railway company was represented by such counsel as Senator George F. Edmunds, of Vermont, and Judge William J. Robertson, of Virginia. In this liti- gation the State was successful and gained some $200,000, besides establishing the right to for- ever tax not only this but all railways now or
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hereafter to be built in the State of West Vir- ginia. A writer in "Prominent Men of West Virginia" says: "The ability displayed by him in the preparation and presentation of this case called forth many high tributes from members of the profession. Senator Edmunds himself addressed General Watts a personal letter, ex- pressing in the highest terms his admiration of the skill and ability displayed in the conduct of the case." General Watts' reputation as a law- yer of high ability was fully established when, in 1886, President Grover Cleveland sent his name to the Senate for confirmation as the At- torney of the United States for the District of West Virginia, and that august body with excep- tional promptness confirmed the appointment. General Watts was on the 3d of August commis- sioned by the President United States Attorney for the term of four years. The Presidential election came again in 1888, and General Harri- son succeeded President Cleveland. There had been election frauds practised by voters of both parties, and General Watts began a rigid and uncompromising prosecution of the offenders, Democrats as well as Republicans. The " elec- tion fraud cases" became the topic of the day, and the District Attorney knew only his duty in the work of preserving the ballot free and honest. This course of action did not please President Harrison, however, who on the 9th day of March, 1889, five days after his inaugura- tion, had the Attorney-General of the United States telegraph General Watts for his resigna- tion. He immediately replied : " Your telegram of this date, by direction of the President, re- questing my resignation of the office of United States Attorney for the District of West Vir- ginia has been received. I know of no act of mine, either official or otherwise, which, in the absence of cause being assigned, would, under existing circumstances, justify me in tendering my resignation. I therefore respectfully decline to make such resignation. If the President wants me to vacate the office of United States Attorney without cause being assigned there- for, let him assert his prerogative." On the 4th day of April, 1889, General Watts was notified by the President of his removal, which made him the first officer removed under the new administration. In 1890 General Watts was nominated for State Senator, and in a district
that two years before gave General Goff 800 majority, was elected by 2,200 majority-his own county of Kanawha that had gone 1, 500 Republican at the preceding election giving him 375 majority. In the Senate his work was active, both in committee and on the floor. A very important series of litigations more or less intricate and far-reaching in a public sense are the mining cases, brought up in the courts on the strength of the Screening Laws passed at the last session of the Legislature. The emi- ent advocate, ex-Judge J. H. Ferguson, intro- duced the bill in the House of 1891, and it passed with little opposition; but it was fought in the Senate, where General Watts came to its rescue and succeeded in passing it. Both gentlemen from the first have been at work to secure this relief for the miners, and have given their ser- vices in the courts without fee or reward to test the constitutionality of the measures .* The cause appealed strongly to the " live-and-let-live" nature of General Watts, whose characteristic sympathy in truth and in heart with the masses and with honest industry is well known. These laws, already in force in other coal-mining States, provide for a just and fair rate of com- pensation to the miner for all the coal that he mines; whereas the custom heretofore in vogue was to pay him only for the coal that passed over the screen, which might be open or close mesh, but which generally was so open as to let fully one-third of the product of the mines go through. For this one-third of his work the miner got nothing, and if the operator also got nothing there would have been no advantage taken; but as the "slack" or dust sells for five cents a bushel and the "nut size" for six and eight cents a bushel, the hardship to the miner was ever manifested to his dissatisfaction, for to him it seemed the surplus that would give him his little creature comforts-his luxuries,
* The points involved in this case and upon which the whole subject depends is the power of the Legislature to exercise the "police control" of the State in regulating a business "affecting the public interests." Mining operators claiming immunity because they are not incorporated is held to be untenable so long as their business affects "the public inter- ests," and as coal-mining is connected with transportation and other phases of public industry and of commerce, the police control is applicable the same as to corporations under specific grants, etc. The Court of Appeals of West Virginia have recently by a divided court affirmed the decision of the lower court and sustained the constitutionality of the law .- EDITOR.
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as it were-which he saw go to the operator and mine-owner as clear gain. To say nothing of the hardships of the miner, of his arduous and perilous avocation, his dependence in remote and primitive settlements upon the very whim, almost, of his moneyed employers, this absolute loss day after day and year after year of a part of his product was a constant source of depres- sion and discontent; therefore when the Legis- lature gave him relief he at once availed himself of the new scale, and just as quickly did the operator and mine-owner oppose it. Conse- quently General Watts and Judge Ferguson un- dertook to defend the law they had passed and champion the interests of the miners-no small affair when it is realized that the coal industry is the great source of wealth of the State, em- ploying as it does 14,000 miners that turn out on the markets of the world over 9,000,000 tons of coal annually. So conspicuously ably and courageously has this fight been carried on by both gentlemen that the miners held a mass- meeting at Charleston, where General Watts and Judge Ferguson made addresses and were thanked by the meeting in the following resolu- tion :
" Whereas, The Hon. Judge J. H. Ferguson and Gen. C. C. Watts have at all times held themselves ready to advance our interests on a just and equitable basis; therefore be it Resolved, That District 17, United Mine Workers of Amer- ica, do hereby return our sincere thanks for their services in our behalf and for their presence at our convention of this date."
In the gubernatorial candidacy of 1892 Gen- eral Watts was for a time a prominent and also a promising favorite for the convention to con- sider, but for various reasons he decided to dis- miss the prospect from his future calculations altogether, and accordingly addressed a letter to the people of the State relinquishing all claim upon his friends and positively declining to be a candidate. The people took this decision very much to heart, and finally, after badgering the General at every convenient opportunity and declaring that they "would run him anyhow," they addressed to him a petition signed by over 2,000 men, both Democrats and Republicans, asking that he reconsider and allow his name to go before the convention. In an open letter addressed through the papers to him they said:
" As a slight expression of our appreciation of your valuable services in behalf of the humble toilers and wage-workers of this Commonwealth, and feeling that you are in sympathy and ac- cord with all the people, we sincerely hope and request that you will reconsider your letter of declination and former decision in this matter and that you will allow us to assist in electing you Governor of this State; therefore Resolved, That if you will accept the nomination, and if the Democratic State Convention will nominate you as their standard-bearer for the office of Governor, we, the undersigned, do solemnly pledge you our support at the next State elec- tion regardless of our former party affiliation."
In an eloquent and sincere response General Watts declined again to be a candidate, but in doing so assured his friends that their appeal " was deeply touching and brings to my heart a feeling of gratitude that none can know who have never been similarly situated." Very few public men could have refused such a prospect for securing the honorable office of Governor which General Watts was virtually sure of had he consented to make the race. General Watts, on the 4th day of May, 1893, tendered his resig- nation to Governor McCorkle as member of the West Virginia Senate, having only the day be- fore received again from President Cleveland his commission as United States Attorney for the District of West Virginia. This second commission comes to him as a " badge of honor" and a personal and official vindication dearly prized by himself and greatly appreciated by the Democracy of West Virginia. As a speaker and writer General Watts has the reputation of being clear and forcible. In pleading a case he goes directly at the subject, states his ground, and presents his argument in a rugged honesty of statement that would be considered hazardous by those members of the bar who believe a cau- tious and kid-gloved policy of such paramount importance in winning a verdict. But it is be- fore an appellate court where he is perhaps the most effective, and it is doubtful if he could make a thoroughly good argument in any case the merits of which he was not fully assured of, so earnest, direct, pointed, emphatic, forcible, and comprehensive is he in stating the claims of his cause and the authorities in the books upon which he bases his argument. Of prepos- sessing appearance and a decidedly professional air, General Watts is a typical lawyer who would
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command the respect of any bench and appeal to the confidence of any jury at home or abroad. He is a good horseman and prides himself as the owner of several blooded animals who give him rest and recreation upon the road. He is also interested in breeding a few head of stock at Lexington, Ky. He resides with his family on the cliffs of West Charleston, where a pic- turesque scene may be enjoyed that includes Charleston and the Great Kanawha River, with the hills and mountains far beyond. General Watts became united in marriage to Miss Ella M., daughter of the late Daniel and Narcissa Shumate, of Raleigh, W. Va. With their large family of boys and girls they live contentedly and quietly in their pleasant suburban home.
WILLIAM H. HOGEMAN.
COL. WILLIAM H. HOGEMAN, a distin- guished citizen and member of the bar of Charleston, W. Va., was born of German parent- age in New York, December 20, 1846, and died in Charleston, January 5, 1885. As a boy he passed through the public schools of New York, and then, having determined to devote himself to the law, followed that study in a law office, and showed remarkable aptitude at the profes- sional work he was called upon to do during his novitiate. Although still so young, he attracted the attention of prominent people in the me- tropolis by his evident acuteness of judgment and the facility with which he acquired business knowledge and an understanding of affairs. The immediate result of important acquaintance that he made was that before he had undergone his examination for professional position he was selected by prominent New York capitalists to undertake for them certain most important ser- vices in connection with large business interests in the Kanawha Valley. Accordingly in 1864 he visited West Virginia to perform the duties he had undertaken, and soon became well and favorably known among the community into which he had thus accidentally been thrown. The work which had been given Mr. Hogeman to do was no less complicated than it was re- sponsible. With all the rest, he was obliged to undertake a careful and exhaustive examination
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