USA > West Virginia > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of West Virginia. Including reference articles on the industrial resources of the state, etc., etc. > Part 27
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and Judge Caruthers, afterward Governor of Tennessee. When the war began he enlisted as a private in the Greenbrier Cavalry (Confeder- ate), and was the first prisoner captured by the Union forces in Greenbrier County, western Virginia. He was taken May 11, 1862, by a large squad of cavalry while on scouting duty, and with three others gave his captors a sharp fight, which was warm while it lasted. He was imprisoned at Charleston and Wheeling, then at Camp Chase (Ohio), and finally exchanged at Vicksburg in the latter part of 1862. He re- turned to his regiment and was in the Confed- erate service until the close of the war at Appo- mattox Court-House, where he was stationed when Sheridan came in. After the war he located at Lynchburg, Va., where he remained a few months contributing to the columns of the Daily News. After drifting about for awhile he returned to his old home at Lewisburg, and being unable to practise his profession on account of the test oath, he established the Greenbrier Independent in 1866, which he edited and published for nearly twenty-two years. It became a famous weekly journal, truly inde- pendent and aggressive, fearlessly advocating the rights of the people, and had an able corps of contributors, who discussed, among other topics, the obnoxious and unjust "attorney's test oath" with great ability and learning for several years, until the repeal of all such legis- lation from the statutes of West Virginia. The Greenbrier Independent was purchased by Messrs. Dennis & Argabrite in September, 1887, who still continue to maintain it as one of the best papers in the State. After retiring from journalism Mr. Harlow engaged in farming and sheep-raising, of which he makes a spe- cialty, on a farm of twelve thousand acres of blue-grass land. He has a flock of five hundred head of improved stocks of Shrop- shires and Southdowns, which breed, thrive, and do well in the Greenbrier valley. Mr. Harlow's consistency and ability have won public confidence, which was manifested in his selection as a Delegate at Large from the Third District to the Democratic National Convention at Cincinnati in 1880, when General Hancock was nominated, Mr. Harlow having been an original advocate of that splendid General. Again in 1884 he was elected Delegate at Large
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for the State to the Democratic National Con- vention' at Chicago, as a supporter of Grover Cleveland. In 1888 he was a Delegate for the Third District to the Democratic National Con- vention at St. Louis and voted for Cleveland and Thurman. At this Convention Mr. Harlow was appointed on the "Notification Committee" to tender the results of the Convention to the candidates, and as such went to Washington and was officially and socially entertained at the White House; also at Columbus, Ohio, he performed the same pleasant duty with the rest of the committee in presenting the old Roman, Allen G. Thurman, with his credentials as Vice- President on the ticket. Mr. Harlow was accompanied by Mrs. Harlow, and looks back upon this episode as one of the most agreeable experiences of his lifetime. Mrs. Harlow, here mentioned, was Henrietta Clay Renick, daugh- ter of B. F. Renick, Esq., and a lady of many graces and endearing qualities. From that union twelve children were born, six boys and six girls: Rose Belle, Annie Virginia, Henry Martin, Benjamin Franklin, Henrietta Caroline, May Evelyn, Homer Holt, Austin Harlow (de- ceased), Elizabeth Spotts, Marguerite Skyles, Warren, and a son who died in infancy. Ten are living, and the oldest son Henry is teller at the Bank of Hinton. He is a graduate of Duns- more's Business College. The eldest daughter married George W. Warren, Esq., late of Union, W. Va., now of Hinton, W. Va., a practising lawyer of good prospects and the editor and manager of the Independent Herald, located at the latter place. It is an interesting as well as a remarkable fact that the girls and boys of this family are in pairs-first two girls and then two boys-and repeat with unbroken regularity. Mrs. Harlow died November 4, 1890, much lamented by her husband and family and her many friends. In 1884 Mr. Harlow was ap- pointed by Governor E. W. Wilson as a member of his staff with the rank of Colonel and served in that capacity for five years. Governor Wil- son attended three notable celebrations accom- panied by his staff : the first was the centennial ratification of the Constitution of the United States at Philadelphia in 1887; second, the re- union of the Army of West Virginia, at Galli- polis, Ohio, 1889; third, in the same year, the Washington Centennial in New York-all inter-
esting occasions of historical importance. Colo- nel Harlow is now serving his third term as Mayor of Lewisburg ; the last election was unani- mous, there being no opposing candidate. The historic old city of which he is the chief magis- trate is the oldest town in the State excepting Clarksburg and Wheeling, and has been the county-seat of Greenbrier County since 1778. It was made a town by legislative act in Octo- ber, 1782 .* Several historical buildings remain standing in good preservation, notably a small stone house in which Patrick Henry is said to have made one of his famous speeches, the cele- brated Presbyterian church where Rev. Dr. Mc- Elhenney preached for over fifty years, and the old stone court-house, now occupied as a store. Before the war Lewisburg was the permanent selection for the convening of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals for the western half of the State, and was a thriving and popular town for more than a half-century. Colonel Harlow is the author of a law-book entitled "Delinquent and Forfeited Lands; Acts of the Legislatures of Virginia and West Virginia, Constitutional Provisions, and Decisions of the Court of Appeals Respecting Same." It in- cludes all that transpired in the legislatures and the courts from 1831 to 1858 inclusive, and has a valuable appendix. The lands of West Virginia are singularly involved in some sec- tions, and this work enables the attorney to find his way through the various labyrinths of title and sub-title to the true root and text of the original grant. It is a valuable compilation and a law-book needed by every member of the legal profession. The work is retrospective also in its " Synopsis of the Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia Relating to Forfeiture and Sales of Lands for Taxes, from the Act of No- vember, 1781, to the Act of April 1, 1831." Colo- nel Harlow has repeatedly been named in con- nection with the governorship of the State. The following, taken from the Richmond (Va.) State, evinces the high esteem in which the Colo- nel is held in the mother State:
*"Lewisburg, the county-seat of Greenbrier County, isthe site of an old frontier fort, and was named for General Lewis, being the place of rendezvous for his army before the battle of Point Pleasant, at the mouth of the Kanawha, on the Ohio. It is a fine location for a town-a beautiful and fertile prairie, originally called 'the Savanna.' "-"Dodge's History of West Virginia."
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" Among the prominent citizens of West Vir- ginia who are being mentioned as probable can- didates for the governorship of that State is Col. B. F. Harlow, of Greenbrier. For more than twenty years Colonel Harlow was one of the most active and successful Democratic journalists of West Virginia, and although he retired several years ago from the editorial pro- fession, he has remained one of the most intelli- gent, zealous, and influential leaders of the party. Possessing a long and valuable experi- ence in public affairs, firmly grounded in the traditional principles of Democracy, and a stanch and able defender of the Democratic faith, having deserved and won and kept for years the confidence and the esteem of the peo- ple, he would be a candidate who would have the strength of will and the power of popularity to restore to West Virginia one of her old-time Democratic majorities. With Col. B. F. Harlow as the Democratic candidate for Governor a marked and decisive Democratic success in West Virginia would be sure."
Commenting on this article, the Richmond (Va.) Dispatch adds:
" The State compliments B. F. Harlow, Esq., of Greenbrier County, who is spoken of as a candidate for Governor of West Virginia. We will add our vote to that of our evening con- temporary in favor of Mr. Harlow. He is a true man and would make a good Governor."
Colonel Harlow is well preserved in health and is in his physical and mental prime. In every respect a self-made man, he is tolerant and broad-minded, yet keenly alive to all that is unfair and unjust; he is also as keenly appre- ciative of the higher and nobler elements of human character. A gentleman of versatile abilities, Colonel Harlow combines an agreeable address and polite manners, which are as be- coming to him as they are attractive to his fel- low-citizens.
MASON MATHEWS.
MASON MATHEWS, a highly esteemed citizen of Greenbrier County, well known in Virginia as a member of the Legislature, and one whose nobility of character and benevolence of disposition endeared him to his many friends, was born in Lewisburg on the 15th day of De- cember, 1803, and died in the seventy-fifth year of his age on September 16, 1878. The family
is an historical one, and the first of the name of whom we have any account is Capt. Samuel Mathews, who in 1624 was sent by James I. as one of five commissioners "to make more dili- gent inquiry touching divers matters which concern the state of Virginia," and who re- mained in the colony and was afterward by the House of Burgesses, in 1656, elected Governor, and in 1658, by the same authority, was deposed and immediately re-elected. He died just be- fore the restoration of Charles II. Thomas Mathews, another member of the family, distin- guished himself greatly by his services in the British Navy, and was commissioned an Ad- miral in 1718. He died in 1751. His son or brother, Capt. John Mathews, the great-grand- father of Mason Mathews, came from England to Virginia in 1730, and settled in Augusta County. He afterward established himself per- manently in what is now Rockbridge County, in the forks of Mill Creek, on James River, where he owned sixteen hundred acres of valu- able land granted to him by George II. in a patent signed by Robert Dinwiddie, Lieutenant- Governor, and dated September 10, 1754, which patent is still in possession of one of his de- scendants. His wife was Ann Archer, daugh- ter of Sampson Archer, by whom he became the father of seven sons and four daughters. He died in 1757. Of these seven sons, five are said to have accompanied General Braddock in his ill-fated campaign. George, the fifth in seniority, was particularly active and efficient in protecting the early settlers from the inroads of Indians, and at the battle of Point Pleasant, October 10, 1774, commanded a company under General Andrew Lewis. His was one of the two companies which by a march up Crooked Creek turned the enemy's flank and decided the fortune of the day in favor of the Virginians. He afterward served through the War of the Revolution with great distinction, and was espe- cially conspicuous for gallantry and effective services at Monmouth and Brandywine; and by the close of the war had attained to the rank of Brigadier-General. He then settled in Georgia, where he was twice elected Governor, in 1786 and 1794, and was the first representative of that State in the United States Congress after the adoption of the Federal Constitution. He seems to have been rather aggressive in politics,
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for in 1812 he took exception to some act of President Madison and was on his way to rebuke him in person, or, as it was said by some, to ad- minister personal chastisement, when he died, September 30, 1812, in Augusta, where his re- mains are buried. His native State did him the honor, in 1790, of giving his name to a county on tide-water, which was formed from Glouces- ter. Of the seven sons, William, the youngest, married Frances Crowe, who in an old church certificate, together with her father, mother, and sister, are spoken of as worthy people, belonging to an ancient and respectable Protestant family. They had children, Joseph, James, William, John, and Betsey, who married Isaac Otey and was the mother of Bishop Otey, of Tennessee. Joseph married Mary Edgar, of Bedford County, Va., the daughter of Mary Mason and James Edgar, April 17, 1794, and had six children, of whom the fifth is the subject of this sketch. By the time his youngest child was born, in 1806, Joseph Mathews had made a comfortable home for his family, and by his industry and good management had acquired valuable property and had every prospect of a happy and prosper- ous future, for he was still comparatively young, when in consequence of a physical injury he was totally bereft of reason and never afterward had a lucid day, although he lived for many years. His wife was thus placed in a condition worse than widowhood; for, in addition to her other cares and burdens, she had to take the entire charge of her afflicted husband for nearly thirty years, as no humane institution for such sufferers was then in existence in Virginia. About the same time that this blow fell upon Mrs. Mathews, her only male servant became totally blind; her oldest son was stricken with an incurable and long-protracted sickness, which needed constant attention and finally caused his death in 1812; and a few years afterward her oldest daughter, who had married and settled in Kentucky-then a region remote and diffi- cult of access-was left a widow with two small children. She was sent for and brought back to her mother's home, her younger brother, Mason, a mere youth of eighteen, making this long and hazardous journey alone to Christian County, Ky, and returning with his sister and her two infant children, a difficult duty well performed and one which augured well and truly
for the future of the young man. Mrs. Mathews did not succumb, but rose superior to her mis- fortunes and proved herself equal to every emergency. She was indeed a very remarkable woman, of great force of character, indomitable will, excellent judgment, unusual intelligence, fine business qualifications, and the highest sense of honor. She discharged all her duties fully, raised her children in the greatest respectability, and gave them all a good education; her sons being very good classical scholars, an unusual accomplishment at that time and in their section of the country. She not only preserved and transmitted unimpaired the property which her husband had acquired, but by her judicious management added materially to it. She lived to a good old age, to see her children all estab- lished in life and in the possession of the respect and confidence of the community where they lived, and to enjoy in their love and reverence and tender ministrations a rich reward for her early toils and trials. Mason Mathews, in order to relieve and assist his mother, before reaching his majority sought and obtained employment in a store in Lewisburg as clerk and salesman. Soon afterward he became deputy for James Withrow, Sr., the High Sheriff of Greenbrier County, and it is a fact probably without a parallel in the history of sheriffs that, on the day when his term of office ended, Mr. Mathews had paid off all public and private claims, had made legal returns of all executions and other processes in his hands, and was prepared to make a final and closing settlement of all of his official business. In the spring of 1828 Mr. Mathews was by the County Court of his county elected Commissioner of the Revenue, and by subsequent elections was continued for many years in that responsible position-the duties of which he discharged faithfully and to the entire satisfaction of the public, until he declined further re-election. In the year 1827 he married Miss Eliza S. Reynolds, the oldest daughter of Capt. Thomas B. Reynolds, of Lewisburg, and the granddaughter of Capt. Thomas Reynolds, who fought gallantly during the Revolutionary War and fell at the head of his Maryland com- pany in one of the battles at Camden, S.C. Soon after his marriage he moved to the vil- lage of Frankfort, in Greenbrier County, be- ing engaged in merchandising there and in
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Lewisburg as a partner of his life-long friend, Henry Erskine. While there he was a pros- perous and successful merchant, as well as an active and efficient Justice of the Peace. In 1833 he returned to Lewisburg, continuing in business under the firm name of Erskine & Mathews, until the death of Mr. Erskine, which occurred in Mexico in 1847. During the absence of his partner in Mexico he had the management and control of all his large business affairs, both at home and abroad, which increased greatly his cares and duties. Mr. Erskine was a saga- cious, far-seeing man, who very soon discovered that his young friend possessed all the qualities of a first-class man of affairs, and he took him into business, first as clerk, then as partner, and finally as his confidential adviser. He appointed him one of the executors of his will, as well as trustee for his youngest and unmarried daugh- ter; and as such executor Mr. Mathews had ex- clusive charge of Mr. Erskine's large estate, settled and closed up his complicated and wide- spread business-collected and disbursed all the assets and made the annual settlements with the court, in which his accounts were models of correctness, neatness, and perspicuity. Mason Mathews was the father of eight children and lived to see seven of them grown, married, and established in life. His two eldest sons were educated at the University of Virginia, where they graduated with the highest honors of that institution-receiving the much-coveted degree of Master of Arts. They afterward studied law and became successful and distinguished practitioners. The first, Henry Mason, who was named for his father's partner, Henry Erskine, was a member of the constitutional convention of West Virginia in 1872; then elected Attorney- General of the State January 1, 1873-77, and afterward Governor, March 4, 1877-81. The second, Alexander F., who has always resided in Lewisburg, is largely interested in coal and iron lands. The third son, J. W. Mathews, has been from its organization the popular cashier of the Bank of Lewisburg. The eldest daugh- ter, Mary Edgar, married Richard Mauzy, of Staunton, Va., and died in 1883; Virginia A. is the wife of Dr. A. S. Patrick, of Charles- ton, Kanawha County, W. Va; Eliza T. mar- ried Andrew W. Mathews, of Pulaski County, Va., who died in 1879; and the fourth and
youngest daughter, Sally P., married Henry C. Dunn, of Kanawha County. On Mr. Mathews' return from Frankfort to Lewisburg he was again appointed by the court a Justice, which office he held until the whole judicial system of the State was changed by the Conven- tion of 1849-50. For many years he was a member and the Treasurer of the Board of Com- missioners of Free Schools. He was often selected to act as arbitrator and umpire in busi- ness disputes between his friends, because of his excellent judgment and the confidence of his neighbors in his integrity and fairness. He was a fine draughtsman and conveyancer and did much business in that line as a favor to his friends, and was often sent for by them to pre- pare their last wills. On the 4th of March and of September, for a great many years, it was usual to see the veterans of the Revolution and of the war of 1812 waiting around his place of business until he could prepare their pension papers, so that they might receive their semi- annual allowances from the Government. All these and other multifarious services were per- formed without any compensation beyond the grateful thanks of those who were benefited. Mr. Mathews was a warm friend of education and a liberal patron of schools. In politics he was, until the late war began in 1861, a Whig; and while earnest in his principles and consis- tent in the support of his party, he was always conservative and fair and never a heated parti- san. He was devoted to the Union of the States and opposed to secession, which he deemed un- wise, ill-advised, and not justified by the situa- tion; but when his State had spoken and acted, he recognized fully her paramount claim to his allegiance, and no man henceforth was more loyal to the Confederacy, or, in proportion to his ability, made greater sacrifices for the cause. The close of the war found him stripped of everything he had accumulated and upon which he depended for support and comfort for him- self and family in old age; but no one ever heard from him any unmanly repining or com- plaint, or saw his cheerfulness lessened, but he took up the burden and began life anew with all the energy of his youth. By the suffrages of the people of Greenbrier County he was elected to the Legislature of Virginia for the years 1859-60, 1860-61, 1861-62, 1862-63, and
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1863-64, and served on the Committee on Claims and the Joint Committee on Executive Expen- ditures and to examine the Treasurer's accounts. These sessions were very trying to public men; the war being at its height, questions of grave importance were constantly arising, involving the peace and prosperity of the whole country, and had to be met, considered, and acted upon ; and while Mr. Mathews never aspired to be a public speaker, he was an attentive listener and expressed his views with clearness and good sense as to any public measure, and always voted intelligently. On account of the charm of his manners, fine common sense, and unswerv- ing integrity, he maintained a high standard with his associates. In a letter addressed to the writer of this sketch by Hon. J. B. Bigger, the veteran Clerk of the General Assembly, at Richmond, we have the following testimonial : "I enjoyed a most pleasant acquaintance with Mr. Mason Mathews and spent many days and evenings with him in legislative and social association. I had great respect for his modest and affable manners, and his cordial demeanor made him hosts of friends. Ever will I reinem- ber the kind words his generous heart always prompted." Mr. Mathews was the embodiment of neatness in his person and refinement in his manners. He knew well how to adapt himself to all classes and had the happy faculty of mak- ing friends of all with whom he was brought into close intercourse; rarely was the serenity of his temper disturbed and nothing could ever shake the even balance of his judgment, which was always clear, discriminating, and just; and he had withal such nice and tender considera- tion for the feelings, opinions, and even the prej- udices of others, as made it impossible for him ever to wound intentionally the sensibilities of any one.
"And thus he bore without abuse The grand old name of gentleman."
Any sketch of Mr. Mathews would be quite incomplete which neglected to emphasize his unfailing kindness and politeness; not that for- mality and ceremoniousness to which the name is often improperly given, not an obsequious defer- ence to the great nor a humiliating condescen- sion to the humble, but true politeness, that " benevolence in small things" and in all things,
that altruism which caused him always to con- sider the comfort and convenience of others and prefer them to his own. This trait was his not from effort or education, but by right of birth ; and to practise it came as naturally and uncon- sciously to him as it did for him to breathe; he would no more have been himself without it than he would have been able to live with- out air. Another notable and characteristic trait was his unusual affection for children; and the younger and more helpless they were, the more strongly did they appeal to and receive his love. All children intuitively recognized in him a friend whom they could trust, and he never passed one, not even the veriest little street- Arab, without a kind word and a pleasant smile ; and to all young persons starting out on the in- evitable fight with fate, he was ever willing and glad to give encouragement and advice and to extend a helping hand. Although a prompt and accurate business man himself, he was always ready to excuse the absence of these qualities in his employees, and by his kindness and forbear- ance to make them feel easy even after the most embarrassing mistakes. Nowhere was he more appreciated than in his own home, where he was of course best known, and where as hus- band, father, friend, and master he received the unbounded respect and affection of every mem- ber of his large family. There his wishes un- spoken or expressed were the law for every one, not because obedience and respect were exacted and required, but because, being so richly mer- ited, they were most freely rendered; and with truth it may be said :
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