USA > West Virginia > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of West Virginia. Including reference articles on the industrial resources of the state, etc., etc. > Part 5
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Church, as a matter of good faith, and because a repudiation of it would reopen the questions of strife and bitterness. He was a member of a committee of the legislative department which was charged with the duty of submitting a plan for two distinct houses of the General Confer- ence, composed respectively of ministerial and lay delegates. He was in charge of the report in the body, and the plan, although defeated, received a large vote. He maintained that sooner or later its adoption was inevitable. He again took part in political affairs to a limited extent during the campaign of 1880. His friends thought that he never appeared to a better ad- vantage than during this canvass. His wisdom was ripened into the fullest maturity of his powers, and although singularly free from self- ishness in the sincerity of his opinions all his life, he seemed to be wholly absolved from any interest in the pending events save that of a high patriotic resolve for his country's welfare. This purpose made his speeches interesting to all parties, and, as they breathed a pure pur- pose, however their sentiments might be disap- proved, and were free from the acrimonious tone too often heard in the heat of the canvass, they were listened to with most respectful at- tention by the opposition, and with warm ad- miration by his allies. In May, 1881, by special request, he made the inaugural address at the opening of the Lincoln Club in Wheeling. In August, 1882, he addressed the Teachers' Insti- tute of Monongalia County on the subject of "National Aid for Public Schools," which was published by request. On the death of Capt. Wm. S. Cobun, Clerk of the County Court of Monongalia County, Mr. Willey was appointed to the vacancy, in November, 1882, which posi- tion he still holds. It is impossible in the limits assigned to this sketch to give even a synopsis of all of Mr. Willey's efforts and works in the various spheres which he has filled. Those heretofore given have been included with a view to indicate his position on current events, and to illustrate them, rather than as specimens of his style. He was a frequent contributor to public journals and reviews, both religious and political, and wielded always a graceful and able pen. Of Mr. Willey's oratorical powers it can be said they are of no ordinary character. They are best shown, perhaps, in some of his unstudied
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bursts of eloquence in advocacy at the bar. On such occasions, the sweep of his power seems utterly irresistible as the electric current can almost be seen to scintillate from the tip of his long, bony finger, and his high genius illumes his kindling eye. His triumphs at the bar are scattered over a period of a half-century, and would alone furnish material for an interesting volume. His reasoning powers are distinguished more for breadth of analysis than subtlety or acuteness; hence, he is not so well known in the ranks of the special pleaders. He understands more of the philosophy of the law than the mere forms by which it is too often made suc- cessful in its practice by men of less culture and intellect. As a statesman his record, so imper- fectly sketched here, is before his countrymen. While in the Senate of the United States, he did not fill so large a place in the public eye, or oc- cupy so much space in the public prints, as many others, yet it is believed that his fame will be in comparison like the silent, colorless rock at the foot of the nodding, waving monarch of the forest, enduring when the winds shall have ceased to rustle through its branches and its trunk will have returned to native mould. In the sphere of citizenship, Mr. Willey has ever been held in high esteem by his fellow- men. He has participated in all the public en- terprises in which the community has engaged, and has enjoyed the confidence of all for his discretion and sterling integrity. His reputa- tion for probity in public and private life is as unsullied as the new-fallen snow. Through his church relationship his name has become famil- iar to thousands of the hoines of the land as the synonym for purity and exalted Christian char- acter. His friendships are firm and unselfish. But in no manner will his memory be perpetu- ated in the future more signally or with more lasting certainty, than through the influence of a lofty example, exhibiting all the noble quali- ties that enter into the composition of a charac- ter which combines a just pride without osten- tation, candor without dissimulation, humility without affectation, learning without vanity, generosity without selfishness, and truth with- out fear. All of these elements are the environ- ments of his daily existence and
"Bespeak the good man who acts out the whole- The whole of all he knows of high and true."
Much and in fact nearly all of Senator Willey's local career is passed over for want of space, but the history and the progress of Morgantown for fifty years-yes, sixty years-has been his history as a citizen. One of the foremost law- yers of his day, he has been all this time quietly yet busily engaged in civil cases of more than ordinary importance. A member of the Bar of Monongalia says of him: " As a casuist, I know of no lawyer in the State who is his equal. No matter how complex, conflicting, and para- doxical a case might be, he would eventually fathom its depths, and do exact justice in his conclusions." Senator Willey married Eliza- beth E. Ray in the year 1834. To this union were born the following children: Mary E., who intermarried with M. D. Caselberry, M.D., and who deceased in September, 1862; Sarah B., who intermarried with J. M. Hagans, living; Wm. P. Willey, now Law Professor in the West Virginia University, married; Julia E., intermarried with ex-State Senator W. C. McGraw, living; Thos. R. Willey, now in the employ of the Government at Wash- ington, in the Pension Office, married; Louisa A., living with her father on Chancery Hill, un- married; Jno. B. Willey, living with his father at the old homestead, unmarried. Senator Willey resides on " Chancery Hill," in the home built by him in 1839. It is not a high dwelling, but broad and deep, with spacious halls and rooms, and looks as substantial to-day as ever. If the Senator had not been conspicuous in pub- lic life, his continued residence on Chancery Hill would entitle him to local celebrity, at least. For fifty years he has traversed the long, steep hills between his home and Morgantown's business centre, nearly a mile, and all this time has found both health and safety in his summit abode, and four times a day makes the journey. He is to be found in the handsome new Court House at half-past seven to eight o'clock, and as late as five in the afternoon. , At his home, he is to be seen surrounded with the brightness and newness of a man in middle life. Around him and in the library are the latest publica- tions on religion, science, art, and political econ- omy, and to these he is as devoted as ever. In truth, he is a noble example of a Christian statesman whom West Virginians will always be glad to honor.
ليبيا
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
SAMUEL PRICE.
HON. SAMUEL PRICE, an eminent lawyer, member of the Virginia Constitutional Conven- tions of 1850-51 and of 1860-61, Lieutenant- Governor of Virginia, President of the West Vir- ginia Constitutional Convention of 1872-73, and United States Senator from West Virginia, was born July 28, 1805, and died at his home in Lewis- burg, February 25, 1884. A portion of the fol- lowing sketch, with a few corrections, is copied from " Prominent Men of West Virginia :" " Hon. Samuel Price was one of the able men of Vir- ginia, when both Virginias were one. Not par- ticularly aggressive in spirit or ambitious for distinction, he nevertheless, by the native sim- plicity of his tastes, his habits of life and educa- tion, and better still by his enlightened sense of justice and hatred of wrong, was the fearless advocate of truth, morality, and right. There was absolutely nothing in his public or private life that was fictitious or artificial. His success in private life as well as in his professional un- dertakings, and his influence in public position, did not come to him by accident, but by the in- herent energy and force of his mental constitu- tion. He was eminent in his profession, as in him were combined those intellectual faculties and mental habits that make the lawyer, the statesman, and the public administrator. He was not a theorist or enthusiast. Had he pos- sessed more imagination, more of the ideal, doubtless he would have ranked higher as a man of power before the people; but it may be doubted whether such acquirements would have rendered him greater or more influential. I have said that Governor Price was not particu- larly aggressive; and yet by this I mean no dis- paragement of his massive native power as a man and citizen. Prudence very often is mis- taken for timidity, because it is difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins. Governor Price was a prudent and not a timid man. He was never hesitating or over-careful as to self, but was always concerned about the effects of any new and untried step in legislation upon the safety and happiness of the people and the honor and peace of the State. He did nothing from impulse; cool, deliberate, self-poised, no possi- ble excitement could unnerve him or throw him off his balance. With him it was the calm of
high resolve, persistent and tenacious, that tri- umphed over passion and sentiment. Men of such a mould are scarce, and their value as leaders of society is incalculable. Governor Price was most conspicuous for his great com- mon sense, which afforded that clearness and comprehension of mind that enabled him to form correct judgments and conclusions. He was a born jurist. Theories and abstractions were foreign to his nature. Free from all Utopian ideas, he passed upon men and measures as he found them, and not as they might or ought to be; and his every act invariably looked to the interest and welfare of all concerned. He was in a certain sense conservative. Like many other distinguished lawyers, he followed the language and forms laid down in the books; but withal he was a friend to every movement that had for its object the bettering of society and the purification of government. He never made set speeches or orations, but was never- theless clear, thoughtful, able in all his public addresses. When he spoke, he bore himself with dignity and graceful ease, choosing lan- guage the most simple to express his meaning. Of tremendous physical stature, imperial in his personal bearing, commanding in expression, with manly, unaffected speech, thoroughly in earnest, he never failed to force conviction on his hearers. Mr. Price was a Christian gentle- man in the fullest meaning of these words, and was ever true to his convictions. Moreover the writer, who knew him well, can bear testimony that he was a man of the finest sensibilities. If injury excited him to anger, it was a generous anger that could hardly outlive the occasion and perished of itself if left alone. He was a greater portion of his life a member of the Presbyterian Church, and for more than a quarter of a cen- tury a Ruling Elder. He carried his religion into both business and politics. The oft-men- tioned plea that the discharge of public political duty was inconsistent with the maintenance of spirituality was shown to be false by Mr. Price's upright life. People who are so very spiritual that they feel compelled to abstain from politi- cal associations ought to renounce the benefits that the political exertions of their supposed less spiritual fellow-citizens secure for them." Sam- uel Price was a native of Fauquier County, Va., where he was born July 28, 1805. On his pater-
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
nal side he was descended from Major Morris, of New Jersey, of Revolutionary fame. His mother's maiden name was Mary Clyman. The son always spoke of her as a woman of extraor- dinary intellect and piety. His education was obtained in the common schools of that period. They were indifferent, it is true; but to one who hungered for knowledge they offered the nec- essary rudimentary training that would fit one for the higher attainments that followed self- exertion and determination to succeed. He moved with his parents to Preston County in 1815, and when a youth went to Paris, Ky., where he studied law with Judge Hanson. He returned from Kentucky to Virginia, and went to Nicholas County, where in 1830 he took the census of that county. He was admitted to the bar at Summersville in 1832, and began practice. In those days, young lawyers extended their practice into the counties adjacent to their homes. Young Price, who was ambitious for success, took this course. He was almost as much at home in Greenbrier and other adjoining counties, as in Nicholas County. In 1831 he was chosen Clerk of the County Court of his adopted county, and in 1833 made Prosecuting Attorney for the same county. In 1834 he was elected to the Virginia Legislature from the dis- trict composed of Nicholas and Fayette Coun- ties ; was re-elected in 1835 and 1836. Mr. Price was known all his life as " an internal improve- ment man," and voted for every railroad in Vir- ginia, and was the very first to introduce a bill in the Legislature of Virginia for the building of what is now known as the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, and after violent opposition and much labor got it passed by a majority of only one vote-for at that early day in the history of railroads it was thought by most people a vision- ary scheme. From Nicholas County Mr. Price went to Wheeling in 1834, and successfully prac- tised his profession. He married while there, and in 1838 moved to Greenbrier County, as several courts were located at Lewisburg, viz., the District Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia, and the Circuit and County Courts. It was also the home of his wife's parents. From that time till the breaking out of the war he had a large and lucrative practice before the Supreme Court of Appeals, especially in important land cases, and
was very successful. His reputation was second to none who practised in that court. Vice-Pres- ident Henry Wilson said "he considered him the best land lawyer in the two Virginias." Mr. Price having become a citizen of Greenbrier County in January, 1838, he was also Represen- tative from that county from 1847 to 1852, except one year; was delegate from Greenbrier to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850-51. In that Convention the White Basis party held a caucus almost every night, at one of which it was resolved that three members should be selected to manage the question : one should be selected on account of his knowledge of parlia- mentary law, one because of his being high up in the alphabetical list, and the third and last for his sound judgment, and that all the members of the White Basis party should vote with them ; Mr. Price was selected as the member of sound judgment. During the Civil War, the term of Judge John J. Allen as one of the judges of the Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia expired by operation of law, but he was permitted to hold over until his successor should be ap- pointed. No election was held to fill the va- cancy, but Mr. Price was notified by one of that court that they, the judges, had consulted about a successor, and had agreed that he must be selected when an election should take place. This Mr. Price regarded as the highest intel- lectual compliment ever paid him. Mr. Price was again elected to the Constitutional Conven- tion of 1860-61, in which he steadfastly opposed secession, not deeming it a constitutional rem- edy (though he believed in the right of revo- lution), but on his return home he voted for it, when it was submitted to the people, and the county, which had sent him to Richmond a Union candidate, now voted almost unanimously for secession. He then returned to Richmond and signed the ordinance. In 1862, after the disastrous battle of Lewisburg, he was arrested by General Crook and sent to prison at Charles- ton, because he would not " take the oath." His reply to General Crook, when imprisonment at Camp Chase was threatened if the oath was not taken, was characteristic of the man: "You can send me to Camp Chase: I am in your power, but the army of the United States will not com- pel me to take that oath." Owing to many friends in Charleston using their influence in
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
his behalf, he was given special privileges and allowed to stop at Wright's Hotel at his own expense, until he should receive orders to go to Camp Chase. But the orders never came; and after remaining there about four months he was recaptured by General Loring's troops, who drove out General Lightburn and the Union forces. Mr. Price returned before the Confed- erate force retreated to Lewisburg some weeks after. In 1863 he was elected Lieutenant-Gov- ernor of Virginia, and continued in that office as President of the Senate till the close of the Civil War. Immediately after the surrender of General Lee, President Lincoln sent an order to Judge Hugh W. Sheffy, of Staunton, Va., who was Speaker of the House, with a pass from General Weitzel calling upon the prominent men of Virginia to meet in consultation for the best interests of the State, which order and pass were at once forwarded to Mr. Price at Lewis- burg by special courier, asking him to come and "help lift Virginia out of chaos." He started immediately at sundown and rode all night on horseback, being in the mean time joined by Mr. Caperton at White Sulphur Springs, to Jackson's River depot, the then terminus of what is now the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, where a special train was in waiting, and he went on in buoyant spirits to Staunton, where "printed orders" were being struck off for members of the Legislature to convene according to Mr. Lincoln's instructions, when they heard of his assassination. Then the people would do noth- ing. Mr. Price always regarded the taking off of Mr. Lincoln as unfortunate for the South. Referring to Mr. Lincoln's intentions on this subject, Col. A. K. McClure, LL.D., in the in- troduction to his work, "Lincoln and Men of War Times," has the following: " At the close of the war he [Lincoln] had his own plan deliber- ately formed for the recall of the legislatures of the Southern States to resume their functions under the Constitution. There can be no dis- pute as to Lincoln's intentions, as expressed in his own directions concerning Virginia, or his communication of these intentions to General Sherman. But when he found that he was not sustained he withdrew his instructions, to await the turn of events; and before he could recast his plans to make the present yielding lead to future achievement, the assassin's bullet ended
his great life." Mr. Price was elected a circuit judge in the fall of 1865, but declined to qualify, because he would not take the " test oath." He was chosen a delegate from Greenbrier County to the Convention' in 1872 that framed a new Constitution for West Virginia, and became Pres- ident of that body. The Legislature appointed him a Senator in the Congress of the United States to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Hon. Allen T. Caperton and he served from December 4, 1876, to January 31, 1877. Prior to the war, Mr. Price was a Whig, but from 1865 to the time of his death acted with the Democratic party. On February 6, 1837, Mr. Price married Miss Jane Stuart, a descend- ant of the Lewis family, of Revolutionary mem- ory, and a granddaughter of Col. John Stuart. This union was one of great harmony and hap- piness. Nine children were born to them. The wife, most tenderly loved, died in 1873. The death of Mrs. Price called forth much oral and written testimony to her splendid qualities of mind and heart. Of liberal education, modest and retiring, of marked refinement and thor- oughly acquainted with classical writings and with the best modern authors, she was a woman who graced the highest circles of society; and with it all she possessed the most unbounded benevolence for the needy and unfortunate and " laid aside contributions from her treasury for distribution to the destitute, of which none knew but the recipients." Several obituaries of this good lady were prepared by loving hands, and from one by the family physician, Dr. Thomas Creigh, published in the Independent, this closing paragraph is selected: "Blessed with all the comforts of life, she was rich in a nobler sense of the word-rich in the respect and esteem of the community-rich in the con- sciousness of a life devoted to pure and gentler pursuits-rich in the gratitude of the distressed and needy-rich in all the lovely traits of a pure Christian character, and richer still in the assured hope and faith of a blissful immortality." The death of Samuel Price awakened sentiments of heartfelt sorrow all over the two Virginias, and the family received many letters of sympathy and condolence from prominent people who were friends and admirers of the deceased advo- cate. The courts of Greenbrier and adjoining counties held special meetings and passed reso-
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lutions and tributes to his eminent worth as a legislator and jurist. The Greenbrier Indepen- dent of February 28, 1884, contains the fol- lowing :
" After an illness of only two days Hon. Samuel Price died at his residence in Lewis- burg on Monday morning, February 25, at one o'clock, from congestion of the brain. He was born in Fauquier County, Va., on the 28th of July, 1805-hence he was in the seventy-ninth year of his age. His grandfather on his mother's side lived to be one hundred and four years old. When Mr. Price was ten years old his father re- moved to what is now Preston County. When about twenty-one he went to Kentucky to teach school and pursue his studies in law at the same time under Judge Samucl Hanson, of Winches- ter. Upon his return to Virginia (as it then was) according to the law he must have his license signed by three judges, and this in the large circuits of those days was no little trouble. It was signed by Judges Smith, Summers, and Allen. After licensure he settled in Nicholas in November, 1828, as therc was only one lawyer there. He was soon made Prosecuting Attorney and his salary was sixty dollars per annum. The county then embraced Clay, more than one- half of Braxton, all of Webster, and part of Fayette. In 1834 he was elected to represent Nicholas and Fayette in the Legislature. After serving two terms he removed in 1836 to Wheel- ing. . He was in 1865 elected Circuit Judge, but Governor Boreman refused to commission him because of his war record. Upon the death of Senator Allen T. Caperton, of the United States Senate, Governor Jacobs appointed Mr. Price to fill the vacancy. Of this appointment a Democratic paper said : 'It is an appointment that will reflect credit on the State. The pres- ence of such men in the Senate will go far to redeem the character of that once dignified body.' After returning home he once more resumed his profession. The Richmond State says of him : 'He was an able, experienced and successful lawyer, and for many years was rec- ognized as the leader of the bar at which he practised.' . . . About the year 1850 he and his wife united the same day with the Presbyterian Church, and in 1858 he was chosen a ruling elder, which place he has filled well. He was a wise counsellor, judicious and firm in his opinions and earnest and faithful in the discharge of his duties. His church mourns his loss and will miss his presence and his counsels. He had anticipated his end. He knew that the time of his departure could not be far distant, and he was waiting for the summons. So, though the messenger camc suddenly, he was prepared, and has doubtless entered on his reward. The large number who gathered to pay him the last honors, and the deep emotion felt and exhibited
in the congregation, the closed business houses, all testified to his worth."
At a meeting of the Bench and Bar of Green- brier County, held at the court-house thereof on the 21st day of April, 1884, to take appropri- ate action in reference to the death of Hon. Samuel Price, long an honorable member of said bar, Judge Homer A. Holt was called to the chair and J. W. Arbuckle was appointed secretary. Thos. H. Dennis, John W. Harris, and Wm. P. Rucker were appointed a committee to report resolutions " expressive of the sense of the meeting and of the sincere grief we feel at his loss; to bear our testimony to his high charac- ter and distinguished abilities as a lawyer, and to place upon record this memorial of our high appreciation of his public services and our great admiration of his civic virtues." The preamble continues with a brief sketch of Mr. Price and concludes with these well-chosen words :
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