USA > West Virginia > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of West Virginia. Including reference articles on the industrial resources of the state, etc., etc. > Part 43
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of West Virginia, and served the full term of four years. In 1876 Mr. Atkinson was one of the three candidates from Kanawha County for a seat in the Legislature of the State, but along with all the other candidates of his party, that year, was defeated. He was appointed a mem- ber of the Republican State Executive Commit- tee in 1876, and was Chairman of said Commit- tee four years, from 1880 to 1884, and Secretary for six years, which position he now holds; was Chairman of Kanawha County Republican Executive Committee eight years; Chairman of the Third Congressional District Executive Committee ten years, and Chairman of the First Congressional District Executive Committee four years. He was also a member of the Ex- ecutive Committee of West Virginia Club League four years, and in the campaign of 1888 was State Organizer of Clubs. He was for two years a member of the National Republican Ex- ecutive Committee. His experience in politics is extensive and varied, and his reputation as an organizer extends beyond the limits of West Virginia. In November, 1888, Mr. Atkinson was elected as a Republican, from the First District of West Virginia, to the Fifty-first Congress. The certificate of election was given by the Governor to his competitor. He contested this action before the Congress of the United States, and, early in the first session, was seated upon the merits of his case. At the expiration of two years, he voluntarily retired from active polit- ical life, in order to entirely devote himself to the practice of his profession. Mr. Atkinson declined the almost unanimous nomination for Governor of his State, by the Republican party, in 1892. For nine years he was one of the edi- tors and proprietors of the West Virginia Jour- nal, a weekly newspaper published at Charles- ton, the capital of the State. Mr. Atkinson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was twice a Lay Delegate to the General Conference of that denomination in 1876 and 1888; is a Free Mason of high rank, having re- ceived the thirty-third degree, and filled all of the responsible offices in subordinate and Grand Lodges, including Grand Master and Grand Secretary, which latter office he now holds. For the past eight years he has written the Reports on Foreign Correspondence for the Grand Lodge. This report covers anywhere from one hundred
and fifty to two hundred and fifty printed pages each year. To accomplish this work success- fully requires a vast amount of Masonic knowl- edge and unusual familiarity with its teachings. In college he was a member of the Delta Tau Delta Society. He has delivered addresses in all parts of the State on Sunday-school and Temperance work, and has likewise delivered popular lectures on literary themes at many towns and cities in and out of West Virginia. For years, his services have been in demand for annual addresses at College and University Commencements, not only in his own State, but in Ohio and Pennsylvania as well. Doubtless no man is better known and has a stronger hold upon the affections of the people of West Vir- ginia than he possesses. In personal appear- ance, he is six feet tall and weighs about one hundred and eighty pounds. His physical en- durance is surprising, and although in his forty- ninth year he declares that he has never known what it is to be fatigued. On December 8, 1868, he married Miss Ellen Eagan, by whom he has five children. His father, Col. James Atkinson, a prominent business man of the great Kanawha Valley, died in 1866; his mother, a kindly, gen- tle-spirited old lady, is still living and resides in Charleston, Kanawha County.
HENRY G. DAVIS.
HON. HENRY G. DAVIS, a distinguished citizen, ex-United States Senator from West Virginia, and well and widely known as the leading spirit in many great enterprises in that State, is a native of Maryland. As is the case with all who have achieved merited renown, blending with their endeavors strength of pur- pose and abilities equal to the obstacles encoun- tered, so with the subject of this sketch here presented. His strongly marked career but contributed to his destiny, and necessity has moulded the man. Born November 16, 1823, in Howard County, Md., he was the second son among five children. To recount the actual work performed and many offices held and honored by Mr. Davis, prior to inditing an ac- count in detail of his life achievements, carries in itself a concentrated biographical history.
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Receiving but a country-school education, and performing farm duties up to a year of the time he became of age, he enlisted in the service of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, where he continued during the fourteen suc- ceeding years. His connection with this com- pany once scvered, coal mining, manufacturing, and shipping lumber, and banking at Piedmont, W. Va., next engaged his attention. As Presi- dent of the Piedmont Savings Bank, now the Davis National Bank of Piedmont, his talent for financiering gained him especial prominence, and not a few foresaw his brightening future. But political honors were soon to be showered upon him, and in 1865 he was elected as a Union Democrat to the lower House of the West Vir- ginia Legislature. Later, in 1867, he was elected to the State Senate, besides being chosen a dele- gate to the National Democratic Convention of that year, and, until a very recent date, has been a member of all the Conventions of his party that have since met to nominate candidates for the Presidency. His State Senatorship expiring, Mr. Davis was, without hesitation, re-elected. Dur- ing this second term, he became the Democratic choice to succeed Republican Senator W. T. Willey in the United States Senate. On the 4th of March, 1871, he took his seat, as the first Demo- cratic Senator from West Virginia, and at the ex- piration of the term, in 1877, was re-elected. He was appointed Chairman of the Select Commit- tee that was created by the Forty-fifth Congress to examine the accounts and books of the Trcas- ury Department and investigate the finance re- ports. He was also made Chairman of the Senate Committees on Appropriations and Agri- culture, as well as a member of the Select Com- mittee on Transportation Routes to the Sea- board, and his efficient services were noted and repeatedly commented upon. In the Congress of 1879, when the Democrats were in the ma- jority in the Senate, he was chosen Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, a position of great responsibility, and again placed at the head of the Select Committee on the Examination of the Treasury Accounts, and continued as a mem- ber of the Standing Committee on Agriculture. He was also assigned the duty of examining and auditing the contingent expenses of the Senate. On the expiration of the second United States Senatorial term, he declined in a charac-
teristic letter, dated at Piedmont, W. Va., No- vember 1, 1882, a renomination. Among other cogent reasons for non-acceptance of the prof- fered honor, he says:
" Business is more agreeable to me. . . . In connection with some friends who are capita.1S.S, living both in and out of the State, I am con- structing a railroad . . . through an undeveloped region, rich in mineral, timber, and agricultural wealth, and intended when completed, to connect the Baltimore and Ohio and Chesapeake and Ohio Railroads. I thank the people of the State, and especially my friends, for the political hon- ors that have been conferred upon me."
In August, 1889, Mr. Davis was selected by President Harrison as one of the Delegates to the Congress of American Nations, and in Sep- tember of 1890 he was appointed a member of the Inter-Continental Railway Commission, a position he still holds. These offices close the long list of ably performed duties imposed by a confiding Government and people. Ex-Senator Davis inherited from both branches of an ancient and sturdy family tree those rugged and sterling characteristics that invariably underlie all suc- cessful effort. His father, Caleb Davis, of Welsh descent, was the personification of perseverance and force, and the Scotch-Irish traits that dis- tinguished his mother's foresight, patience, and thrift, contributed, in no slight degree, to give direction and point to her son's character. Mr. Davis' father, on retiring from business in Balti- more, where he had been successful in mercan- tile life, removed to Howard County, and for a considerable time thereafter farming occupied his attention. His farm, on the banks of the Patapsco, not proving remunerative, however, his next venture involved a series of contracts for railroad work, together with the building of Woodstock Village, within easy distance of Bal- timore. At this small town the subject of our biography was born, and in his youth his father died, leaving the family with slender means, ow- ing to reverses of fortune in his later years. The widow, with four sons and one daughter, were brought face to face with the battle of life. Then for the first time, did the strong traits in the character of Henry G. Davis reveal them- selves. The precepts of a firm but kindly mother were through and in him practically applied, as his untiring devotion to the welfare and par- tial sustenance of the family proved. The
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maiden name of Mrs. Davis was Louisa Brown, whose sister was the mother of Hon. A. P. Gor- man, United States Senator from Maryland. With the meagre education he had received and scantier time now than ever for mental develop- ment, Henry little dreamed of his greater future. 'Twas an auspicious morning, however, when ex-Governor Howard called upon Mrs. Davis with the request that her son Henry be allowed " to come" with him. He needed a " good boy" on his estate, and was satisfied that the requisite qualities resided in her son. This arrangement was completed and finally Mr. Davis became superintendent of farming operations on the ex-Governor's "Waverly Plantation." He re- mained here for the next few years, working with a will and a determination to please his em- ployer. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad had gradually extended into Western Maryland, and now rested at Cumberland. The road superin- tendent was Dr. Woodside. He had known the Davis family, but his attention in particular was attracted to Henry, and he appointed him brake- man on one of the new freight trains traversing the road to Cumberland. Mr. Davis recalls this incident with pleasure whenever requested to relate, as he not infrequently does, " every phase of the history of railroading in this country" from the year 1842. At this period no tele- graphs existed, no trains were run during the night, and, once started for a given destination, no means of communication with train or con- ductor could possibly be interposed. The pro- motion of young Davis from brakeman to con- ductor of a freight train, and later to the still more responsible position, tendered by Mr. Swann, President of the road, of passenger con- ductor, only served to stimulate abilities des- tined to control systems of mining and banking, and to meet the more responsible and arduous tasks assigned in the work of legislatures. Though at times diffident, more through a sense of unobtrusive strength than otherwise, Henry G. Davis was ever potent and ready for the work at hand. As a sequence, new responsibilities were faced with reserved but indomitable pluck. In the days alluded to, accidents on railways were frequent, and as a result he was ever watchful and conservative. If an accident oc- curred, he was the first to the front, directing with hand and word. With less opportunities
in youth than many others, he excelled them in a crisis, and his name and capabilities were well known among the railroad officials. His salary, even as brakeman or conductor, though small, served for the purpose of self-sustenance, per- mitted him to send a regular allowance to his mother, and enabled him to make small savings until he had accumulated a sum the possession of which he considered justified him in marry- ing. In 1853, Miss Kate Bantz, daughter of Judge Gideon Bantz, of Frederick, Md., became his life partner, and within a year of his mar- riage the office of agent, with increased salary, of the railroad at Piedmont, was assigned him. This position stimulated his powers for the di- rection of affairs, and a series of undimmed successes resulted. He had now attained his thirty-first year, and Piedmont was a rising and important centre, the very pivot of the road's traffic, the entrance to the great Cumberland coal region. Gauging the advantages with un- erring foresight, he induced his brother, William R. Davis, to join him in the general shipping of coal and lumber. Within a year, Mr. Thomas B. Davis became a partner with his brothers, and in 1858 Henry G. resigned his railroad agency to take up more actively the business of the Davis Brothers, of which firm he was the senior member. The establishment of the Pied- mont Savings Bank was Mr. Davis' next ad- vance. He was elected President, only later to fill a similar office when it became a National Bank. From comparatively insignificant begin- nings, the Davis Bros. to-day command a capi- tal of millions. A conservative tenacity in ad- hering to old-time business methods, together with a perfect unanimity of feeling, cemented the brothers' relations in all financial and mer- cantile matters, so that prosperous issues, once grasped, were certain of retention. Prior to his business achievements, Hon. Henry G. Davis devoted but little attention to politics. His earlier tendencies, however, inclined him to Whig principles, and his first vote was cast in favor of Henry Clay. As Gen. Sam Houston and Henry Clay not infrequently travelled to Cumberland, Mr. Davis, in time, became ac- quainted with these gentlemen and with other prominent members of Congress. In 1861, the breaking out of the war embarrassed all busi- ness along the border. It hindered Piedmont
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traffic, and yet opened up fresh avenues of trade, of which the Davis brothers availed themselves. What were hindrances to them in one direction, were advantages in another. What they lost here, they regained and added to there. Re- maining loyal to the Union, estrangements were begotten and difficulties encountered, but at the close of the war their prevision regarding the right course was amply rewarded. At Wash- ington, friendly relations had been established with the Government. Supplies were furnished to the army by Mr. Davis in considerable quan- tities. A friendship with General B. F. Kelley, who commanded detachments in the immediate vicinity of Mr. Davis' interests, sprang up and continued until his death which recently oc- curred. It was not, however, till the close of the war that the greater opportunities were pres- ent which enabled the Davis brothers to avail themselves of the advantages of their surround- ings and of their business interests. The Gov- ernment, having exacted severe service from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad during the Rebellion, the close of the war found the com- pany's road in sad need of repairs. Confidence was at once reposed in Henry G. Davis, and his old employers discovered in him the means of ready aid. Owning a tract of forest land along the Alleghenies, and in close proximity to the railway, where bridge timber and cross-ties might be cut in abundance and repairs quickly and efficiently made, he with little delay had portable saw-mills erected. The necessary ap- pliances obtained, the work of reconstruction was soon begun and satisfactorily continued to a close. In the few years that followed, the business and profits of the Davis firm widened and accumulated, both at Piedmont, W. Va., and Deer Park, Md. The development of this latter delightful spot is entirely due to the taste and efforts of Mr. Davis. From wild, unbroken glades, with roaming herds of deer, has sprung up the summer residence of its founder. A spa- cious hotel, the art of the landscape gardener mingling with the natural beauties of the sur- rounding country, and several charming homes, now fascinate the eye of the visitor. The whole vicinity, within a decade, was cleared, and fer- tile fields with pure water adorn and render Deer Park, a health resort of the first choice and magnitude. From one business success to an-
other, from one fruitful field of thought and planning, each venture pursued the latest enter- prise, till the talents and attainments of Henry G. Davis seemed to have no bound. Under his touch the resources of West Virginia grew with rapidity, until finally the whirl of politics in- vested his personality, and from State pride he was induced to test those elements of general- ship that marked the victories of other depart- ments. The citizens of Hampshire County, where he resided in 1865, pressed him to become a Conservative Union candidate for the West Vir- ginia Legislature. He entered the Lower House in 1866, and quickly dispelled any doubt that might have existed regarding his politic acu- men. His hitherto unmeasured grasp of details proved of immense importance throughout the deliberations of that body. On the Committee of Finance, he was placed second by its Chair- man, " Uncle Nathan Goff," whose nephew and self served with Mr. Davis in the West Virginia Legislature. The State of West Virginia was very young when he was called upon to qualify in her service. She is now not old, yet much of her prowess is due to his handiwork. After a short service in the Lower House, he was elected to the State Senate. His second Sena- torial contest became memorable from the fact of its having fixed his leadership over the West Virginia Conservative element. W. H. H. Flick, a prominent Republican, who was afterward United States District Attorney, was nominated against him. This latter gentleman was and had been the liberal representative of the Union party, and his defeat proportionately raised Mr. Davis in the estimation of the people. This spirited contest resulted in the absolute success of the Conservative party throughout the vicin- ity and to Mr. Davis was attributed the bulk of the honors achieved. So strongly did he im- press his constituents that, at this early date, he was frequently referred to as a future United States Senator. At the meeting of the State Legislature in 1870, he was elected Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, a department eminently suited to him. The term of Waitman T. Willey, United States Senator from the State, expired in the following March and the duty devolved upon the Legislature of electing his successor. Mr. Davis was chosen almost unani- mously notwithstanding the fact that he had as
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rival candidates such strong men as Hon. Daniel Lamb and Colonel B. H. Smith. At the close of the term he was re-elected, the termination
of his services occurring in March, 1883. His service in both branches of the Legislature of his
State equipped him for the higher office. Op- posed in his own State to the radical element, he tenaciously held in the debates and work in the Senate to those liberal-conservative views that gave the infant State of West Virginia its life and promoted the general welfare of the whole Union. When the Bourbon Democratic element opposed his election to the United States Senate, the more independent voters recognized the force of his liberal and advancing doctrines. Prejudices with Mr. Davis had no weight, and from this standpoint he carried victory with every assault. His honesty of purpose and gen- eral integrity attracted to his side Republicans and Democrats alike, so that, in his second elec- tion, he received the unusual compliment of having been returned to the Senate by the votes of both parties. On succeeding Senator Willey,
he took his seat on the Democratic side of the Chamber with the minority party. The duties assigned him were performed with force, though modestly accepted. Soon he became better known by his acts than speeches, and details of
a trying nature were allotted him. In every in- stance he was ready. Though a new member of the Senate and belonging to the minority party, he was soon placed upon the leading com- mittees. Early in his service he became a member of the Special Committee on Routes to the Seaboard, with the duties and inquiries at- taching to which he was quite familiar. The efficiency of the service rendered by this Com- mittee was in no small measure due to the care- ful investigations made by Mr. Davis, as the
files of the Senate Reports attest. Conflicting interests involving transportation were fre- quently weighed, balanced, and finally satisfied. Although a thousand and one schemes were from
time to time demanding recognition from the Committee, no applicant went unheeded. By such observing men as Windom, Bayard, Thur- man, Conkling, and Sherman and a host of prom- inent men attracted to them, Senator Davis was in constant demand, and appeal after appeal was submitted for his approbation. While others may have theorized, his practical experi-
ence stood the test and became invaluable in assigning him his true place. His own State was about the first to profit by the conclusions of this Committee, in the appropriations made by Congress for the improvement of water ways in West Virginia. One of the best results achieved was the aid given to the Great Kanawha. Neither nature nor his early training contributed to create in Mr. Davis the gift of oratory, but both empowered him with the magnificent traits already referred to. While not classed among the prominent speakers of the Senate, he was known as a working member and his acts were prolific. Yet his speech of the 3d of May, 1881, analyzing the question of indebtedness between the two Virginias, made a vivid impression upon his hearers, as did his trenchant attacks upon the faulty system of bookkeeping of the United States Treasury. In this he charged that certain alterations, to the extent that they did not faithfully represent the public accounts, were discernible in the books of the Depart- ment, and in particular, that after they had been for some years balanced, changes were traceable in the total of the Public Debt. His forcible accusations (proving a thorough mastery of the subject) provoked universal comment. While making no charges against the Treasury officials, he was the means of creating a Special Com- mittee to investigate the matter. Of this he was made Chairman, and the Committee's find- ing not alone sustained his allegations, but recommended certain methods for the future conduct of the Department, some of which ulti- mately became law. During the two years of his service that his party was in control of the Senate, he presided as Chairman of the Commit- tee on Appropriations, and the importance of the work performed has long since become histori-
cal. On the Republicans regaining control of the Senate, a special committee was created, that he might have the chairmanship. This was a conspicuous instance of the regard in which he was held by his associates in both parties, and the fidelity with which he discharged each re- curring duty fully justified the confidence. Apart from the duties of the Legislature and the attention required by his business enter- prises, no Democratic National Convention from 1868 until a very recent period has lacked the presence and aid of Henry G. Davis. From
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year to year, his political associates have not failed to assign him special offices in the councils of the party. In the campaign of 1880, he was made Chairman of the Congressional Campaign Committee, Chairman of the Finance Commit- tee, and a member of the Executive Committee. Of this Committee, Abram S. Hewitt, Augustus Schell, Governor Flower, and ex-Senator McDon- ald were members. Aside from his public ser- vices in the Legislature and in Congress, West Virginians owe him a debt of gratitude for his splendid effort in the direction of the State's development. His own interests in the mines, soil, timber, wealth, and general business of the community were always extensive, and he felt a pride in adding to the resources of the State and in aiding in the march of improvement. The West Virginia Central Railroad was mainly the creation of Mr. Davis. The names of those who centred their judgment in his foresight, by aiding in the establishment of this road, speak for themselves. Hon. S. B. Elkins is Vice- President, and among others who were asso- ciated with Mr. Davis at the inception of the undertaking, were ex-Secretary Blaine, ex-Sena- tor Bayard, Senator Gorman, and ex-Governor Whyte, of Maryland, the late Hon. Augustus Schell, Senator Windom, and Hon. William H. Barnum. Mr. Davis is President of the road. Six millions of capital is represented in stock, and the region traversed by the road includes some of the fairest and richest lands and mines in the country. When the debt question arose between the two Virginias, instead of adopting the popular advice, Senator Davis took a de- cided stand in favor of West Virginia assuming a fair and equitable proportion of the debt of the mother State. Upon his motion in the Legis- lature commissioners were appointed to treat with the State, with a view to settling the ques- tion of proportionate indebtedness. During his legislative work he was the means of securing the creation of the present County of Mineral, W. Va., and has aided in the building of Keyser, the seat of the County. His only sister married a Mr. Buxton, and now resides at Keyser, with Mr. Thomas B. Davis, a brother of Senator Davis. The elder brother, John B. Davis, deceased, be- came a leading banker at Richmond, and one of the prominent men of his community. The three brothers, who, more than thirty-five years
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