USA > West Virginia > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of West Virginia. Including reference articles on the industrial resources of the state, etc., etc. > Part 23
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51
.
-
MARMADUKE DENT.
127
CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
and his brother Nimrod Dent engaged in part- nership in the business of milling, merchandis- ing, and distilling, in the property purchased of their father, which business he had carried on there since 1790. In 1830 Dr. Dent sold out his business at Laurel Point to his brother Nimrod and removed to Granville, on the Monongahela River, about two miles from Morgantown, where he was postmaster for many years and where for several years he continued the prac- tice of medicine only. In 1839 he commenced merchandising again, which business he contin- ued, with the practice of medicine, until shortly before his death. In the early days of his prac- tice here he was called to make professional visits to every part of Monongalia, to Preston County, and to parts of Greene and Fayette, Pa. Dr. Dent raised eight children to adult years-who all survive him but one-namely: I. Marshall Mortimer, born May 2, 1828, who lives at Morgantown and who was Clerk of the Circuit Court and of the County Court, editor of the Star, member of the Richmond Convention of 1861, and is a member of the Morgantown bar ; 2. William Marmaduke Dent, M.D., born March 6, 1831, a prominent physician and surgeon liv- ing at Newburgh, Preston County, where he located in 1863, and who is a member of the American Medical Association and of the West Virginia Medical Society, of which he has been, successively, Secretary, Vice-President, and President, and who now practises in partnership with his son, Dr. Frank Mortimer Dent; 3. Margaret L., born May 2, 1833, wife of Frank M. Chalfant, of Lewis County ; 4. John Evans Dent, born September 11, 1835, died at Marietta, Ohio, of small-pox, March 14, 1863, where he was en- gaged as a clerk in the quartermaster's depart- ment in the Union army ; 5. Dr. George Wash- ington Dent, born October 23, 1840, practising at Arnettsville; 6. Dr. Felix Jackson Dent, born November 5, 1842, practising at Breckinridge, Mo .; 7. James Evans Dent, Esq., living at Granville; 8. Sarah Virginia, born October 20, 1846, the wife of Thomas P. Reay, of Morgan- town. Dr. Marmaduke Dent died at the old homestead, February 10, 1883, aged eighty-one years eleven months and fifteen days. His wife, who was born June 22, 1809, survives him, and resides with her son, Squire James E. Dent, at Granville. Dr. Dent was stricken with paral-
ysis in October, 1880, and from that time till his death was an invalid. Though one side of his body was paralyzed, he fully retained his men- tal faculties almost to the hour of his death. His body was buried in the graveyard near Granville on the 12th, beside the remains of his son, John Evans Dent. The funeral services were conducted by the Rev. Mr. Foster, Pro- fessor Lyon (of the University), the Rev. E. Price, and the Rev. T. H. Trainer. His four sons, Marshall M., Dr. William M., Dr. George W., and James E., agreeably to their father's re- quest, acted as the pall-bearers. Many years before his death, Dr. Dent, with his wife, joined the Baptist Church at Morgantown, of which he was a consistent member, regular in attendance and liberal in its support. He met death calmly, declaring, "I know that my Redeemer liveth," requesting that the family wear no badges of mourning, and that the simple inscrip- tion, " A Sinner Saved by Grace," be placed on his tombstone. Dr. Dent, even in his old age, was very quick and agile in his movements, of tall and well-proportioned form, of command- ing presence, and possessed of a clear, analytic mind and remarkable memory. Of him a writer said :
" He was no ordinary man. Strong in intel- lect and with a conscience void of offence, he was brave as Julius Caesar. A physician of ex- cellent judgment, a true friend, an obliging neighbor, and full of sympathy, the poor will miss him. He was a stern but a just and kind father, a true and loving husband, a sincere patriot, an intelligent citizen, and that noblest work of God, 'an honest man,' whose 'word was as good as his bond.'"-From " History of Mo- nongalia County."
WILLIAM M. DENT.
WILLIAM M. DENT, M.D., of Newburgh, was born at Granville, Monongalia County, Va. (now West Virginia), March 6, 1831. He was a son of Dr. Marmaduke Dent, one of the best and most widely known physicians of the county (see preceding sketch). His mother was Sarah Price, a daughter of Col. William Price, of Kingwood, Va. He received an academic edu- cation at the old Monongalia Academy, Morgan- town, under the instructions of the Rev. Samuel
128
CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
Billings and Hon. Samuel Woods. In 1848 he was appointed a cadet to the West Point Mili- tary Academy by Hon. William G. Brown, mem- ber of Congress from that district. He entered that institution in May of the same year, resign- ing therefrom two years later. He was a class- mate of Generals Sheridan, McPherson, and Schofield, the latter being now commander-in- chief of the United States army. He and Gen. Philip Sheridan were both of the same age, hav- ing been born on the 6th of March, 1831. He studied medicine with his father and graduated from the Starling Medical College. He then practised in co-partnership with his father for six years. He married Miss Harriet Jane Hess on the 25th of March, 1852. The fruits of this marriage were three children: the eldest, Mrs. William B. Annan, deceased; Dr. Frank M. Dent, of Newburgh, W. Va .; and Marmaduke Evans Dent, of Washington, D. C. Dr. Dent removed to Newburgh, Preston County, W. Va., January 1, 1863, and has been actively en- gaged there in the practice of his profession, making a specialty of surgery. He is a mem- ber of the Medical Society of the State of West Virginia, and has been successively its Secre- tary, First Vice-President, and President. He is a member of the American Medical Associa- tion, and at its meeting in Washington, D. C., in 1884, was elected a delegate to all foreign medical societies for that year. He is now Divi- sion Surgeon of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- road. Dr. Dent was Postmaster of Newburgh under President Cleveland, and has always taken an active interest in public affairs. He has been twice the nominee of his party for the Legislature from Preston County, and twice the nominee for the State Senate from the Eleventh Senatorial District. He served eight years as member of the Democratic State Executive Committee, and has been a member of the County Executive Committee for twenty-seven years and four years a member of the Congressional Commit- tee of the Second District. He served two terms as Mayor of the town of Newburgh, and for some years as a member of its Council. Of late years Dr. Dent has enjoyed comparative leisure, well earned, but still engages in consultation with his son, who is highly appreciative of him as a devoted father and a wise instructor. All in all, his life has been a very busy and useful one.
GEORGE W. THOMPSON.
JUDGE GEORGE W. THOMPSON,* a dis- tinguished jurist, statesman, and author, was born in Ohio County, Va., May 14, 1806, and died at Wheeling, W. Va., February 24, 1888. His father was a native of Armagh, Ireland, and his mother, Sarah Talbot, a descendant of the distinguished English family of that name, was also a native of the same county. They were married and emigrated when very young to America, settling first in Ohio County, Va., and subsequently moving across the river into what has since become Belmont County, Ohio, but which was then a part of Virginia's territory, where he lived to the age of eighty-five, having reared a large and excellent family and amassed one of the largest fortunes in that section of the country. His household was known far and near for kindly hospitality, and as it was upon the National road, in early days the only line of travel, few men were better known to the travelling public than John Thompson; and it was an almost universal custom in those days for persons of consequence in passing by to call at the hospitable mansion. Judge Thomp- son was educated at Jefferson College, Cannons- burg, Pa. From this institution he graduated, during the presidency of Dr. Matthew Brown, in the fall of 1824. He commenced the study of law immediately thereafter with the late Wil- liam B. Hubbard, at that time a leading lawyer at the St. Clairsville, Belmont County, Ohio, bar, but who subsequently became an eminent banker at Columbus, Ohio. He was admitted to the bar in the fall of 1826. About that time his uncle, William P. Thompson, a resident of Richmond, Va., a man of wealth and high stand- ing, invited him to Richmond to further perfect himself in the law before undertaking his prac- tice. He lived in Richmond about two years, during which period many of the most able sons of Virginia were in the Legislature, and in con- vention discussing those profound and philo- sophical principles that were laying the founda- tions of all the great thoughts which have culminated in the organization of the present parties and have been made the basis of the
* This sketch of Judge Thompson is taken from "Promi- nent Men of West Virginia," W. L. Collin & Co., Wheeling, publishers.
Hun Werk
-
129
CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
best legislation in this country. He was pro- foundly impressed with these discussions, and largely to the impression made upon his mind at that time by these discussions may be as- cribed the strong and decided principles which moved his after-life. In 1828 he returned to his home at St. Clairsville, where, entering upon the practice of the law, he soon achieved a large and lucrative practice, and entered with great heartiness into the political campaigns of that day, having espoused the Democratic side in politics. In 1832 he married Elizabeth, the second daughter of the late Daniel Steenrod, Sr., then of Ohio County, Va., formerly of Dutchess County, N. Y. Their family consisted of six children, five of whom are living, namely: Annie, now wife of Senator J. N. Camden, of Parkersburg, W. Va .; Col. W. P. Thompson, of New York; George W. Thompson, of Parkers- burg, W. Va .; Sallie, now wife of S. B. Bush- field, of Colorado ; and D. S. Thompson, of Marion County, W. Va. Lewis Steenrod Thompson, their second son, was killed in battle while gallantly leading his command at the battle of Allegheny Mountain, December 13, 1861. Judge Thompson was a great admirer of Gen. Andrew Jackson, and very warmly supported his administration. In 1837 he removed to Wheeling, Va., and continued the practice of his profession, soon attaining a very large and important practice. In the interim he was ap- pointed Postmaster of Wheeling by President Van Buren in 1838 at the special recommenda- tion of the Postmaster-General, Amos Kendall. He entered actively and earnestly upon his duties, and at his recommendation, during his term of Postmaster, the distributing agencies at Washington, Pa., and Zanesville, Ohio, were consolidated, which made Wheeling the most important post station in the West at that time. In 1842, when the controversy between the Bal- timore and Ohio Railroad Company and Wheel- ing was at its height, the point being as to where the road should terminate in Virginia and Wheeling being anxious to compel the road to come there, a commission was appointed by the city to visit Richmond in its interests, con- sisting of the late Judge Moses C. Good and Judge Thompson. There were memorable dis- cussions between the representatives of the rail- road and the commission from Wheeling before
the Legislature, which finally terminated in the concession of a charter by the State of Virginia to the railroad which fully protected the rights . and interests of the city of Wheeling, and en- tirely prevented the then purpose of the Balti- more and Ohio Railroad to reach the river at a point which would have left Wheeling far out of its line. Later on Judge Thompson was ap- pointed one of a joint commission with the Hon. William C. Rives and William Greene, on the part of the State of Virginia, and Hons. John Brough, Thomas Ewing, and James Collins, of the State of Ohio, to determine the jurisdic- tion of the two States over the waters of the Ohio River, which bounded the States. Judge Thompson prepared the argument on behalf of the State of Virginia which was adopted by his confrères as the basis of their demand, and in the final adjustment of matters the contention of Virginia was conceded by the Ohio commis- sioners. In 1844 he was appointed United States District Attorney for the Western District of Virginia by President Polk, in which position he remained until 1848, achieving unusual dis- tinction in the discharge of his professional duties. In 1851 he was elected to Congress by the Democratic party and served part of one term. While in Congress he introduced a bill, and secured its passage, practically overturning a decree of the Supreme Court of the United States which had been passed directing the abatement and removal of the magnificent sus- pension bridge which spanned the Ohio River at Wheeling; and by this act declaring, as it did, this bridge to be a part of a postal route of the United States, prevented the removal of the bridge. The distinctions in this case and the requisite patience, great ability, and fine judg- ment necessary to bring about its passage in the face of a decree of the Supreme Court and of the tremendous opposition of the entire river interests, as well as the large influence of Pitts- burgh and other Pennsylvania interests which were arrayed against it, all of which were man- aged by the late Secretary Stanton with re- markable force and ability, form somewhat of an indication of the remarkable powers of Judge Thompson. In fact, it is the first occasion in the history of this country where a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States was set aside by an act of Congress. The results of this
130
CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
act were far-reaching in their influences, for it was the foundation for future legislation as to crossing navigable rivers in the United States with bridges. While Judge Thompson was serv- ing his first term in Congress with so much dis- tinction and advantage to his constituents, he was elected Judge of the Circuit Court of the Twelfth Judicial District, defeating the Hon. Joseph L. Fry, a gentleman of great erudition, who had been the Judge in that circuit for many years, serving very acceptably. In 1860 he was again elected to the same position, his majority over Judge R. L. Berkshire being more than two to one. He held the office of Judge until July, 1861, when he was removed because he declined to violate his conscience by taking the oath to support what was called the Re- stored Government of Virginia, at Wheeling, after the State of Virginia had seceded from the Union. He had no doubt that the course pur- sued in the establishment of that provisional government was in violation of law, as he had also believed no right existed in the States to secede. This course of action brought upon him severe persecution by the parties in power. Simply because he followed the dictates of his conscience, he was arrested many times and subjected to every conceivable indignity, which he bore with patient fortitude. At the close of the war he retired from active participation in politics and from the practice of law, living in dignified retirement upon the farm of his wife, which she had derived from her father, Daniel Steenrod, finding agreeable occupation in liter- ary work until his death. His deep, penetrating mind was at home when wielding the author's pen, for in such an occupation he was securing the perpetuity of an energetic life and supple- menting his career as a lawyer, jurist, scholar, and statesman. In 1866 he published a work entitled "The Living Forces," the object of which was to identify the forces of nature as a representation of the spiritual and mental forces by which all things were made. He followed this publication with another volume in 1870, which was a further discussion of the same sub- ject, entitled "Deus Semper," and still another volume entitled "The Administration of Good and Evil," or what may be termed a summary of his previous philosophical works, embodying an immense field of ideas in a condensed form.
These books do not by any means represent his exertion as a writer and author. He left very considerable manuscripts both in prose and poetry, which are yet to be published. His wide range of knowledge and wonderful com- mand of language, joined to his genial temper- ament, made him one of the most companion- able of men, and it gave him great pleasure to mould and fashion the thoughts of ministers of the Gospel who were dealing with great relig ious truths. In his day few men had more de- voted friendships than Judge Thompson, and his party always adhered to him with inflexible fidelity. And had not his own disposition led him to the retirement from active politics for the bench, he would have certainly occupied high political positions for which his education and talents thoroughly fitted him.
GEORGE W. THOMPSON, JR.
GEORGE WESTERN THOMPSON, JR., son of the foregoing and one of the leading cap- italists and railroad men of West Virginia, was born in Wheeling, Ohio County, Va., June 23, 1845. He obtained a good school education, and was then sent by his parents to Jefferson College, Philadelphia, where he was noted for his energy and ability and his studious habits. On leaving college he went to Parkersburg, and from 1865 to the winter of 1868 he filled various positions in railroad offices and mercantile houses. In 1869 Mr. Thompson married Miss Belle, daughter of Gen. John Jay Jackson. In the mean time he had, in the previous year, associated himself with Henry C. Jackson, his brother-in-law, and established the wholesale grocery firm of Thompson & Jackson, which remains to this day one of the most firmly es- tablished and one of the most successful business houses in that line in the city of Parkersburg. On the organization of the Ohio River Railroad Company, Mr. Thompson was made Vice-Presi- dent, but this office he soon resigned for the purpose of taking a managing position with the Ohio Valley Construction Company, a syndicate of capitalists who built the Ohio River Rail- road, now extending from Wheeling to Hunting- ton. When the road began operations south as
I3I
CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
far as the mouth of the Little Kanawha, which was in June, 1884, Mr. Thompson resigned the position as Vice-President of the Construction Company, and again entered into the practical management of the railway company, of which he became President in May, 1885, a position which he has ever since retained. The Ohio River Railroad was organized as the Wheeling, Parkersburg and Charleston Railroad Company, under the laws of West Virginia, by a charter dated April 18, 1881 ; but prior to any work be- ing done upon the road the charter was amended to denominate the organization as the Ohio Railroad Company. As completed, it connects at Wheeling with the Pennsylvania system; running to Huntington, W. Va., in connection with the Baltimore and Ohio, a distance of 215 miles, when it connects with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and lines of the Newport News and Mississippi Valley Company for 4 miles from Wheeling to Benwood. The com- pany, under an agreement which is equivalent to a joint ownership in fact, uses the tracks of the Pittsburgh, Wheeling and Kentucky Rail- road (a part of the Pennsylvania system), and from Guyandotte to Huntington, a distance of 3 miles, it uses the tracks of the Chesapeake and Ohio, under a lease extending for 99 years ; so that the total road mileage extending from
Benwood to Guyandotte is 208 miles. From Wheeling to Parkersburg, 94 miles, was opened July, 1884; from Parkersburg to Point Pleasant,
79 miles, and connecting with the Kanawha and
Ohio Railroad, was opened in January, 1887;
and from Point Pleasant to Huntington, 42 miles, April 9, 1888. As the name of the road
indicates, it follows the shore of the Ohio River and affords an ever-changing view of that picturesque waterway. In 1888 the Rip- ley and Mill Creek Valley Railroad, extend- ing from Ripley Landing-a point on the Ohio River Railroad-to Jackson Court-House, a dis-
tance of 13 miles, was completed, the Ohio River Railroad Company indorsing their bonds to obtain sufficient funds to complete the line.
In November, 1888, Mr. Thompson was elected
control of the line since that time. The Ravens- General Manager and Treasurer and has had
wood, Spencer and Glenville Railway, extending
from Ravenswood to Spencer, the county-seat of Roane, a distance of 33 miles, was opened for
operation on January 1, 1892; and Mr. Thomp- son was also made General Manager of that company and has controlled it. During 1892 the Ohio River Railroad Company bridged Guy- andotte River at Guyandotte with a fine steel bridge, and the Huntington and Big Sandy Rail- road has been constructed from the west bank of the Guyandotte River-where a connection with the Ohio River Railroad is made-to Kenova, where they will have a connection with the Norfolk and Western Railroad, the Ohio River Railroad Company having leased for 999 years the Huntington and Big Sandy Railroad Company. All of these companies will be under one management. It is expected that the connection at Kenova with the Norfolk and Western will be made about November I. The road has standard gauge 56-pound rails, laid on oak ties, 2,800 to the mile. All the bridges are made of steel and iron and of first- class masonry. The Great Kanawha Bridge has a centre span of 430 feet, 90 feet above low water, and iron viaduct approaches for about 3,000 feet, and was built at a total cost of $300,- 000. The company owns its own telegraph lines, and has brick engine-houses at Wheeling, Parkersburg, Point Pleasant, and Guyandotte. There are 20 miles of side tracks, and the whole road is well ballasted; the equipment, costing $492,000, is all paid for, and has lien or car trust other than that of the first mortgage and the general mortgage of the company. The rolling stock is as follows: 23 locomotives; 18 passen- ger cars; 2 combination cars; 5 baggage and mail cars ; 6 cabooses; 350 20-ton box cars ; 65 20- ton stock cars; and 300 20-ton gondola cars. The company has also under contract additional equipment to the amount of $136,000. Total assets, $10,964,284.10. The capital is $6,000,- 000; 60,000 shares at $100 each. The officers are as follows: Geo. W. Thompson, President; W. N. Chancellor, Secretary; W. M. Trevor, Treasurer. Directors: Geo. W. Thompson, J. N. Camden, W. N. Chancellor, B. D. Spilman, Joseph B. Neal, and R. H. Browse, of West Virginia; E. W. Clark, S. W. Colton, Jr., Phila- delphia, Pa .; W. P. Thompson, C. M. Pratt, H. H. Rogers, C. W. Harkness, of New York ; James G. Fair, San Francisco, Cal. The offices of the company are at Parkersburg, W. Va. The Central Trust Company, New York, is the holder
132
CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
of the bonds, upon which interest at five per cent in gold is payable. The Fidelity Insur- ance, Trust and Safe Deposit Company of Phil- adelphia is trustee under the mortgage. The stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Thompson is a practical business man, with a thorough grasp of affairs and a complete un- derstanding of the men and how to carry out his purposes with them. He secured the right of way for the road, and in many particulars was of the greatest help in projecting the enterprise. Personally he is of a social and agreeable nature, a warm friend, and a man who impresses those who meet him with his claims upon their confi- dence.
WILLIAM A. OHLEY.
HON. WILLIAM A. OHLEY, Secretary of State of West Virginia and a well-known news- paper editor, was born September 28. 1858, at Berlin, Somerset County, Pa. He is the son of Frederick C. and Drusilla Stoner Ohley, the former a native of Germany and member of a prominent family of Frankfort-on-the-Main, the latter a native of Pennsylvania and connected with several of the best families of Somerset County. Young Ohley attended the public schools of Somerset County until twelve years of age, acquiring a good rudimental training. At about that time his father was overtaken by financial reverses and the son's education was discontinued. He left school and began learn- ing the printer's trade in the office of the Salis- bury, Pa., Independent, afterward working in the office of the Commercial at Meyersdale, Pa. While so employed he commenced a course of reading and general study under the private in- struction of one of the most capable educators of that section, Capt. L. A. Smith, to whom he is largely indebted for a liberal education and that mental training which has enabled him to achieve a creditable place in journalism and politics. In 1874 Mr. Ohley's father located at Irondale, a small furnace-town in Preston County, W. Va., where, being unable to secure employment as a printer, he worked as a " helper" in a foundry. In the fall of that year, at the suggestion and request of young men employed about the furnace, he also opened and taught a
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.