USA > West Virginia > Genealogical and personal history of the upper Monongahela valley, West Virginia, Volume II > Part 11
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Lindsay G., John C., resides in Uniontown, Pennsylvania; Dr. Le- Roy D.
(II) Dr. LeRoy D. Howard, son of Absalom and Rebecca Jane (Core) Howard, was born October 19, 1882. He attended the public and private schools of his native county. In 1902 he entered Jeffer- son Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from which he grad- uated in 1906, and immediately commenced the practice of medicine at Fairmont, West Virginia. After one year there, he entered the Jeffer- son Medical College Hospital, remained one year, then returned to Fairmont, where he formed a partnership with Dr. E. W. Howard, his cousin, and together they are conducting a large medical practice at that place. Besides carrying his license to practice medicine in West Virginia, he also has the right to practice in Pennsylvania. Dr. Howard is a member of the Marion County, West Virginia, State Medical societies, belongs to the Masonic and Modern Woodmen fraternities, also the Protective Home Circle order. Politically he is a Republican, while in religious faith he is of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married, June 23, 1909, Edna Pearl, daughter of T. J. and Martha Sturgen, who resided in Fayette county, Pennsylvania; the father died in 1904. One child has been born to Dr. Howard, Martha Rebekah, born November 23, 1910.
Among the professional men now located at the city of Fair-
LEPS mont, West Virginia, is a member of the Leps family, in the person of Clay W. Leps, a skillful dental surgeon. He is the son of George Edwin and Susan (Athey) Leps.
(1) George Edwin Leps was born in Hampshire county, near Rom- ney. He married Susan Athey, born at Burlington, Mineral county, West Virginia.
(II) Clay Whitshell Leps, D. D. S., son of George Edwin and Susan (Athey) Leps, was born October 26, 1886, in Keyser, West Virginia. He was educated in the high school of Keyser and prepara- tory branch of West Virginia University, after which he entered the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, from which he graduated with the class of 1909, with the merited degree of Doctor of Dental Sur- gery, and immediately opened an office in the Fairmont Trust Building at Fairmont, West Virginia, and is building up a lucrative dental prac-
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tice. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity at Fairmont, of the Monongahela Valley Dental Society and the West Virginia Dental Association. During his college days he was connected with the Harris- Hayden Odontographic Society and still keeps up his interest and membership in the same, as well as in the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery Alumni Association. The Theta Nu Upsilon fraternity and the Psi Omega fraternity held him as a worthy member, while in col- lege life, and he was secretary of the latter society, and in both of these he still takes considerable interest, Politically he is a Democrat, and belongs to the Presbyterian church. He is unmarried.
The Black family to which the present clerk of the circuit and intermediate courts of Marion county, William S. Black, belongs, is of Scotch-Irish ancestry.
BLACK
William Stephen Black, of whom this treats, was born in Brooklyn, New York, August 29, 1868, son of William Walter and Catherine T. (Martin) Black. He was educated in Brooklyn, and at the age of fourteen years commenced to earn his own living. In June, 1896, he came to Fairmont, West Virginia, and there secured employment with the Montana Coal and Coke Company, which company then operated the majority of the mines in Fairmont district. He remained with that company and its successor, the Fairmont Coal Company until June, 1905, when he engaged in the general insurance and real estate business. He followed that until 1908 and during the period was elected city clerk of Fairmont in 1907, and in the autumn of 1908 was elected clerk of the circuit and intermediate courts of Marion county. Mr. Black is a member of the Masonic order, belonging to the Blue Lodge, Chapter, Commandery and Shrine, of this most ancient and honorable fraternity; is also a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Elks and Wood- men of the World. He married, November 7, 1900, Mary Rebekah, born in Maryland, daughter of Andrew Jackson Clark.
SCHWANER Among the progressive type of foreign population now residing in Fairmont, West Virginia, at this date, may be mentioned that excellent photographer, Ernst Schwaner, a native of Marburg, Germany, born February 13, 1876. He was educated in the Fatherland, finishing his education at
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Frankfort-on-the-Main, then came to Baltimore, Maryland, where he also received American ideas as to his profession as a photographic artist. In 1906 he located at Fairmont, West Virginia, where he intends to make his permanent home. In his profession he ranks among the best, and his business is steadily increasing, which in these days of critical notions proves his ability as well as popularity as a man and artist. He has had no one to assist him through life, but pressed his own way steadily to the position he now holds. He is a member of the German English Lutheran Church, independent in politics, and much interested in the welfare of his adopted state and city.
SWIGER Among the quite early families who settled in Pennsyl- vania were the Swigers, of whom this narrative will treat. The earliest member of this family, of whom anything definite is now recalled, was John Swiger.
(I) John Swiger resided in Pennsylvania and emigrated to Harri- son county, Virginia (that part now within West Virginia), in a most unique, though by no means pleasant manner. He moved his earthly effects and brought his wife on horseback the entire distance. The wife rode the trusty horse and he walked. It goes without saying that they were early farmers, for that was about the only occupation of the pio- neers at that date.
(II) John (2), son of John (1) Swiger, the emigrant from Penn- sylvania, was born in Harrison county, Clay district, Virginia. He entered government land and made for himself a comfortable home. This farm is now owned by his grandson, Charles O. Swiger, born in 1866. John Swiger married and had a number of children, including a son named Edmond.
(III) Edmond, son of John (2) Swiger, was born in Clay district, Harrison county, Virginia, May 23, 1840. He was reared to and always followed agriculture. He was a rugged man and is still in per- fect health, living at Fairmont. Politically he is a Republican; and in his religious faith he is a Baptist. He married Romanza Criss, born in Harrison county, Virginia, in November, 1843; she removed when but a child with her parents to Parkersburg. She died August 4, 1894. She was a devout Christian woman, ever doing church and charitable work ; was a loving mother and model wife; all who made her acquaint-
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ance were her friends. The father of Romanza Criss was Reason W. Criss, who died when she was about eight years old. Her paternal grandfather was Vincent Criss. A brother of Romanza (Criss) Swiger, named Swazy Criss, now resides in South Auburn, Nebraska, where he practices law and has held several important positions in that state. He served in the Union cause during the civil war and was wounded at Spottsylvania Court House, by reason of which he lost a leg.
(IV) Charles O., only son of Edmond and Romanza (Criss) Swiger, was born in Harrison county, West Virginia, October 10, 1866. He was educated in the public schools of Shinnston, and when sixteen years of age commenced assisting his father in buying and selling horses, and in his farming operations. When twenty-one years of age he took the lands to work on his own account, but still continued to buy and sell horses for the market. He also dealt in cattle. Believing that better things than stock and farming were in store for him, Mr. Swiger sent teams and machinery into the fields in 1908, and December 15th of that year, on the old farm, he struck an oil well, now known as "Swiger No. 1," flowing at first twelve thousand barrels each twenty-four hours of high class oil. They dug trenches and placed vats in the ground to receive the oil. This was considered the best oil well in the state of West Virginia. It took twenty-five two hundred and fifty barrel tanks and two twelve hundred and fifty barrel tanks to hold the reserve oil, and was still running six thousand and eighty barrels daily. At first they dug vats in the ground to hold the oil, but later provided perma- nent tanks. He now has five other oil wells producing good results on the old homestead, which contains one hundred eighty-three acres, one hundred and forty of which have not yet been developed. In February, 1910, Mr. Swiger removed to Fairmont and is there engaged in the shoe business. Politically he votes the Republican ticket, and is a mem- ber of the Baptist church.
He married, March 18, 1888, Verna E. Bolton, born in Harrison county, West Virginia, in Clay district, February 26, 1865, daughter of J. W. Bolton, who removed to Iowa and died in 1890, after which his family returned to Harrison county, this state. Children of Mr. and Mrs. Charles O. Swiger : Mabel Ross, born April 22, 1890; Nettie Lee, February 3, 1892, married Seymour Anderson and resides in Shinnston, Clay district, Harrison county; Gertrude, August 4, 1894;
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Russell R., April 4, 1896; Harrold E., May 3, 1901 ; Ruba Cleo, June I, 1904. The two eldest children completed their education at the State Normal School at Fairmont, and Mabel Ross taught two terms of school, giving great satisfaction. Mr. Swiger having faith in good educational qualifications is doing all in his power to provide such for his family. The changes of the times when Mr. Swiger's great-grand- father and his bride emigrated to these parts, on horseback, are indeed marked. Then it was little else than a wilderness, infested with wild and dangerous beasts, but now it is within the great and highly de- veloped oil and natural gas fields of West Virginia.
SNIDER Among the brave men who were in full sympathy with the south at the time of the civil war, and who served in the confederate army, was David Newton Snider, now residing in Fairmont, West Virginia. He was born in Monon- galia county at the town of Georgetown, June 6, 1837, son of David R. and Maria (Miller) Snider. By trade David R. Snider was a tan- ner, and died at the age of seventy-four years. His wife died at the age of seventy-five years.
David Newton Snider was educated in the district schools, and when a mere youth learned the tanner's trade of his father, and worked at it until 1861, when he enlisted in the Eighth Kentucky Regiment, under Colonel Lyons, a graduate of West Point. His enlistment was at Hopkinsville, Kentucky, February 1, 1862. He went to Fort Donald- son (formerly Dover, Tennessee), and was present at its surrender, and from there went to Camp Morton, Indianapolis, as a prisoner-of- war, and there remained in military prison until the following July, when he was exchanged and sent to Cairo, Illinois, then ordered to Berg's Point, opposite Vicksburg, where he went into active service again. His command was sent to Corinth, covering the retreat back to Grenada, Mississippi, where a stand was made, and a six hour engage- ment followed. There he remained until Jefferson Davis and Joseph E. Johnston came there to review the southern army, commanded then by Pemberton. The command was then removed to Jackson, Missis- sippi, where they remained until General Grant crossed the river, when Mr. Snider's regiment was called down there to reënforce, but arrived too late, as they were at Corinth. They were then placed to cover the
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retreat back to Baker's Creek, sometimes called Champion Hill; there they were cut off, and a portion of the regiment went to Jackson, and another section to Vicksburg. Two days out they were permitted to mount on horses; they slipped away in the night, crossed the big black river, by fording it, and then joined the other portion of the regiment at Jackson. They acted as mounted guards for the infantry during the next few months when they were transferred to General Forest's com- mand and followed him through Tennessee and Kentucky, falling back, fighting their way back towards the sea, being the last regiment to make their surrender at Selma, Alabama.
The following is in part a few well-chosen remarks by their general, N. B. Forest, at the time of their disbanding :
In bidding you farewell, rest assured that you carry with you my best wishes for your future welfare and happiness and without in any way referring to the merits of the cause in which we have been engaged, your courage and determination as exhibited on many hard-fought fields, has elicited the respect and admiration of friend and foe. And I now cheerfully and gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness to the officers and men of my command, whose zeal, fidelity and unflinching bravery has been the great source of my past success in arms. I have never on the field of battle sent you where I felt myself unwilling to pursue. You have been good soldiers ; you can be good citizens. Obey the laws, preserve your honor, and the government to which you have surrendered can afford to be and will be magnanimous.
N. B. FOREST, Lieutenant-General.
Soon after his enlistment he was made a sergeant, and after the regiment became mounted he was sent to Clinton, with a squad of men, and there took typhoid fever which disqualified him for a long period. At the time of Sherman's second raid he was still ill, and was gathered up with others and sent back to Fort Morton, this being his second term in the same prison; he was held there until the end of the war. He received his final discharge at Fort Morton, April, 1865. Mr. Snider relates that he received the best of treatment at the keeper's hands in the Union prisons, under Colonel Owens. So well were prisoners treat- ed by him that a strong effort is now being made to raise money for the erection of a monument to his memory.
After returning from the war Mr. Snider again engaged in the tan- ning business with his father, continuing until the date of his marriage,
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when he settled on a farm, remaining until 1872, then removed to Fair- mont, going overland by team. He engaged in the grocery business for a few years, then went into the hardware business, with W. R. Ing- man, following the same until 1904, when he retired from his active pursuits. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church (South).
He married, October 31, 1867, Mary Cunningham, born October 2, 1836, in Monongalia county, Virginia, daughter of Ezekiel Cunning- ham, who was born in mid-ocean during a voyage of his parents to America. Mrs. Snider's grandmother, Ann (Prickett) Dragoo, was born at an Indian fort, near Holt, Marion county. Her mother was Charity (Taylor) Prickett, said to be the first white child born in Monogalia county.
The Virginia branch of this ancient and numerous
MORGAN Welsh family was founded more than two centuries ago, and during the successive periods of our colonial, revolutionary and national history has given to our country many use- ful and able citizens, distinguished both as soldiers and as members of the learned professions.
(I) Colonel Morgan Morgan, the first ancestor of record, was born in the principality of Wales, and received his education in London during the reign of William the Third. He came, during the reign of Queen Anne, to the province of Delaware, and engaged in business in what is now the town of Christianna. He married Catharine Garrison, of Delaware, and their children were: Morgan, Anne, Zackwell, Evan, David, mentioned below; Charles, Henry, James. Colonel Morgan was an ordained clergyman of the Church of England, and soon after his marriage removed from Delaware to the Valley of Virginia and set- tled at Winchester where he established a church of which he and his son, Morgan Morgan Jr., were pastors for many years. Colonel Zack- well Morgan, the second son, moved to the mouth of Decker's creek, and was the founder of Morgantown, Monongalia county. His son Zackwell fell in the defense of Washington City, at the battle of Blad- ensburg, August 24, 1814. Charles, the fifth son of Colonel Morgan Morgan, lived in Berkeley county, and his brother Henry, next in age, 8-2m
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removed to South Carolina. The two brothers, Charles and Henry Morgan, married sisters. James, youngest son of Colonel Morgan Morgan, was a captain in the continental army, and while on a fur- lough was captured by a Tory named Lewis and shot at a place in Berkeley county, Virginia, which was afterward called Torytown. The Rev. Morgan Morgan remained in Berkeley county on his father's farm.
(II) David, fifth child and fourth son of Colonel Morgan and Catharine (Garrison) Morgan, was born at Christianna, Delaware, May 12, 1721 (old style), and removed with his father to the Valley of Virginia, where he bought a farm near Winchester. He was a sur- veyor and was appointed by the colonial government of Virginia to assist Steven Holsten in making surveys and explorations of the south- western part of that state, and he was later appointed one of the com- missioners on the part of the colony of Virginia to assist Mr. (after- ward Colonel) Washington, in 1748, in discovering and establishing the northern boundary of Lord Fairfax's estate, which boundary was to constitute the dividing line between Maryland and Virginia. The historic monument erected at the head of the North Branch of the Potomac, known as the "Fairfax Stone," commemorates the consumma- tion of their labors. David Morgan was pleased with the country west of the Alleghenies, and, foreseeing its great future, removed to the mouth of Red Stone creek, Pennsylvania, in 1769, remaining two years, and in 1771 migrating into what is now Marion county and settling about six miles north of Fairmont, on the banks of the upper Monon- gahela. There he passed the remainder of his life and that beautiful region has ever since been the home of his descendants. He married Sarah Stevens, of a Pennsylvania Quaker family.
(III) Francis, son of David and Sarah (Stevens) Morgan, mar- ried and had a son Zackwell.
(IV) Zackwell, son of Francis Morgan, married and had a son John Perrymont.
(V) John Perrymont, son of Zackwell Morgan, was born near Milford (now Rivesville), West Virginia, and followed the calling of a farmer. He was a Democrat, and a member of the Methodist Epis- copal church. He married Helen M. Fast, nèe Ross, and their chil-
Le Enoughy
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dren were: Sophia, Catharine, David Ogden, Zackwell Gideon, men- tioned below; Mary Frances, Malinda E., Breckinridge.
(VI) Zackwell Gideon, fourth child and second son of John Perry- mont and Helen M. (Ross) (Fast) Morgan, was born January 13, 1850, in Marion county, and like his ancestors has engaged in agricul- tural pursuits. He has taken an active part in public affairs, and from 1902 to 1906 was sheriff of Marion county. He married Emily La- verna, born in Monongalia county, daughter of Nelson and Helen M. Fast. Nelson Fast is a son of the Hon. Richard Fast, of Monongalia county, who was a member of the Virginia legislature. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Morgan : John Ogden, mentioned below; Frank R., Rose, Brooks, Katharine.
(VII) John Ogden, eldest child of Zackwell Gideon and Emily Laverna (Fast) Morgan, was born April 7, 1878, near Rivesville, Marion county, West Virginia. He received his education in the com- mon schools and at the State Normal School. Ever since completing his course of study he has been engaged in the banking business. For twelve years he was with the Bank of Fairmont, now the National Bank of Fairmont, and he is at the present time cashier and director in the First National Bank. In politics Mr. Morgan is a Democrat. He affiliates with the Knights of Pythias, the Mystic Shrine, the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks and is a thirty-second degree Mason. He is a member of the Methodist Protestant church. Mr. Morgan married, September 8, 1908, at Mountain Lake Park, Maryland, Myrtle Knotts, and they are the parents of one daughter, Jane, born September 14, 1909.
The history of this family of Orrs traces back to the trying
ORR days of the revolutionary war when one of its number served in the American army, and fought for freedom.
The Orr who is the first known in the line now under consideration, but whose Christian name is unknown, was the father of John D. Orr, who became the grandfather of Morgan D. Orr, now residing at Fair- mont, West Virginia, of whom later account will be given.
(II) John D., son of the Orr named above, was born in Maryland, and after serving as a substitute for his father in the struggle for national independence, removed with the family to Pennsylvania, where
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John D. saw service in the Indian campaigns and was wounded at Crawford's Depot. He went to Preston county, Virginia (now West Virginia), in 1798, and married a Miss Johns and by her had children : John, a stockman of Preston county; Hiram, born October 1, 1804; George, a Preston county farmer; James, a Preston county farmer; Catherine, married Joshua Fortney, of Shinnston, West Virginia, a farmer; Ruth, married William Menear, a Preston county farmer.
(III) Hiram, son of John D. Orr, was born in Preston county, Virginia, October 1, 1804. He was educated in the primitive schools of Preston county, and followed farming and school teaching all his life, dying April 24, 1855, at Independence, Preston county, West Vir- ginia. Politically he voted the Whig ticket, and in his church faith was of the Baptist denomination. He married, February 19, 1829, Keziah, born November 13, 1809, daughter of John and Katherine (Fortney) Menear. Children : Eugene J., born December 30, 1831, died in Tay- lor county, West Virginia, in 1867, a farmer; Major Uriah N., born April 24, 1832, a retired Preston county lumberman and banker at Kingwood; Martha, born September 10, 1836, married a Mr. Menear; Morgan D., of whom further; Hugh N .; Miles H., a Preston county farmer. Mrs. Keziah (Menear) Orr died March 21, 1846. Hiram Orr married (second) Mrs. Charlotte (Hartley) Holt, daughter of Edward Hartley, and by this union was born Waitman L., a dealer in lumber, cooperage, etc., in Baltimore, Maryland, where he died in 1904.
(IV) Morgan D., son of Hiram and Keziah (Menear) Orr, was born in Preston county, Virginia, March 21, 1841. He was educated at the subscription schools, after which he was employed in the New- burg Coal Company, beginning as coal weigher, and remained with this company thirty-five years, holding many responsible positions, until they sold to the Consolidation Coal and Coke Company, when he retired. He went to Fairmont in 1864 and has lived in that city ever since; has served on the school board; has been mayor of the city, being elected in 1900 and served one term acceptably. Politically Mr. Orr votes the Republican ticket. Of his military career it should be recorded in this connection that he wore the loyal blue during the trying years of the civil war. June 21, 1861, he enlisted at Newburg, Preston county, Virginia, as a member of Company D, Third West Virginia Infantry Regiment, serving in all the West Virginia campaigns; was at the battle
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of McDowell, under Colonel Milroy; wounded at the battle of Cross Keys, June 8, 1862, and confined in hospital until April 17, 1863, when he was honorably discharged. In Grand Army of the Republic circles he stands eminent. He is an ex-commander and now adjutant of the post at Fairmont. He also holds membership in Palatine Lodge, No. 27, Knights of Pythias, as well as belonging to the Masonic fraternity, holding a membership with Blue Lodge, No. 9, and Chapter, No. 3.
Mr. Orr married Isabella, daughter of Lawrence and Mariam (Holmes) Henry, of Preston county, West Virginia. Mrs. Orr was born in Scotland. Children: 1. Lawrence Henry, born January 29, 1865. 2. Charles H., July 26, 1868, residing in Colorado. 3. Mary, April 24, 1871 ; married Frank Ellis, and died in 1900. 4. Alice D., September 7, 1876; married Garrett McCafferty, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 5. Marion Isabella, August 13, 1878; married Charles Gould, of Fairmont, West Virginia.
McDONALD Of good Scotch-Irish blood, this McDonald fam- ily was first represented in America by William McDonald, born in Ireland about 1820. He came to America when eleven years of age and settled in Baltimore, Mary- land, but subsequently removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, and was there apprenticed to a large furniture concern, and became foreman and superintendent. He remained there until 1862, then went to West Virginia, where he spent many years making mouldings for the new blast furnaces. He was possessed of a wonderful mathematical brain. He died in 1887. He married, in 1846, Harriet Smith, born in Brown county, Ohio, 1829.
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