USA > West Virginia > Marion County > History and progress of the county of Marion, West Virginia, from its earliest settlement by the whites, down to the present, together with biographical sketches of its most prominent citizens > Part 8
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In a few months after his arrival, Pierpont had completely restored the State Government. Nearly the whole Judiciary was changed, and it has been said by the leading journals and statesmen of the south that he gave Virginia the best Judiciary it ever had. It is worthy of note that there never was a word of suspicion, or any dishonest transaction about any officers connected with the State Government during his administration. He was the first Gov- ernor of Virginia who ever proclaimed a Thanksgiv- ing.
At the expiration of his term of office, Governor Pierpont returned to his boyhood's home in Fairmont, where he has since resided. During these years he has served one term in the Legislature, and was a Judge in the shoe and leather department of the Cen- tennial Exposition, at Philadelphia, in 1876. In 1871, he was elected President of the General Conference of the M. P. Church, held at Pittsburgh, being the only layman that has ever held that position, and for which he received many congratulations from the press and clergy throughout England and America. The position is equivalent to that of a bishop in the Episcopal Church.
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
COL. THOMAS S. HAYMOND.
Thomas S. Haymond was one of the most promi- nent characters of his day in the county. He was a son of William Haymond, jr., whose father was one of the earliest settlers of this region of the country- and a man who was celebrated for his intelligence and benevolence. Colonel Haymond was born upon his father's estate, in this county, January 15, 1794, and died in Richmond, Virginia, in the spring of 1869. He received a fair education, and his studious habits, coupled with his rare natural endowments, soon won for him a great and good reputation, which clung to him through life. When quite a young man, scarcely thirty years of age, he represented his native county in the Virginia Legislature, and while there held the respect and gained the admiration of his constituency for the admirable manner in which he discharged the duties of his office. In the fall of 1840, Mr. Haymond was sent to the United States House of Representa- tives by the people of his district, and while there he proved himself an able legislator and an effi- cient worker for the best interests of his State. At the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion, he removed south, and was in Richmond at the time of his death. For sometime previous to the war, Mr. Haymond held the office of colonel of a regiment of militia; hence the title which is generally prefixed to his name.
HON. BENJAMIN F. MARTIN.
Though at present not residing in Marion, Mr, Martin is a native of the county and spent a great portion of his life here. He was born near Farming-
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ton, October 2, 1828. He is a son of Jesse Martin, of that place, upon whose farm he lived and worked un- til he was twenty-one years of age. He was chiefly educated at Allegheny College, at Meadville, Pa., where he graduated with college honors in June, 1854. After returning from college he taught school in Fairmont for eighteen months, during which time he studied law. He was admitted to the bar and commenced to practice in March, 1856, removing in the following November to Pruntytown, where he has since resided. In 1872, Mr. Martin was a mem- ber of the Constitutional Convention of West Vir- ginia, and was a delegate to the National Democratic Convention at Baltimore the same year, voting against the nomination of Horace Greeley. In the campaign which followed, however, he yielded him active and earnest support. In 1872, he was a candi- date for Congress from this disteriet, on the Democratic ticket against Hon. J. M. Hagans. Both candidates claimed the election and the seat was contested-re- sulting in the declaration of the election of Hagans. In 1876, Mr. Martin was elected to the Forty-sixth Congress, and in 1878 he was re-elected. His term of office expires January 1, 1881. Mr. Martin is an effi- cient and faithful Representative and is very popular among the people of his district.
HON. A. BROOKS FLEMING.
The subject of this sketch, Judge A. B. Fleming, was born October 13, 1839, upon his father's farm, two miles west of Fairmont. He is the son of Benjamin F. and Rhoda Fleming, the latter a daughter of Rev.
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Asa Brooks. Until he arrived at the age of twenty he worked upon his father's farm about half of each year, attending school the other half. In 1859, he com- menced the study of law at the University of Vir- ginia; was admitted to the bar and commenced to practice at Fairmont, in 1862. In the year following (1863) he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Marion county, which office he held until 1867. He was married September 7, 1865 to Carrie M., daughter of James O. Watson. In 1872, Mr. Fleming was elected on the Democratic ticket a member of the West Vir- ginia Legislature, and was re-elected in 1875. While in the Legislature he rendered much important ser- vice to the State, fulfilled faithfully his duties as a legislator, and worked earnestly for the best interests of Marion county. In February, 1878, he was, by the Governor, appointed Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit (composed of the counties of Taylor, Harrison, Doddridge, Wetzel, Monongalia and Marion), to fill the unexpired term of Judge Lewis, deceased, until a suc- cesssor could be elected, and in the October following was elected by the people to fill the vacancy. His term of office will expire January 1, 1881.
For a number of years past Judge Fleming has been engaged in mining enterprises in connection with his father-in-law, Mr. Watson, and in farming, and has succeeded in accumulating quite a compe- tency. He is an able jurist, and is a gentleman of fine literary and business attainments, while his en- tire political and private life have been above re- proach, being very popular among his fellow citizens of all parties.
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
JOHN W. M'COY, ESQ.
The above named gentleman is a member of the Marion county bar, and is a lawyer of considerable reputation throughout the State. He was born near Middlebourne, Tyler county, Virginia (now West Vir- ginia), on the 14th of September, 1826; worked on his father's farm until he arrived at the age of twen- ty-one, going to school in the winters; was princi- pally educated at the Clarksburg Academy; was ad- mitted to the bar in 1854, and commenced the prac- tice of law at Middlebourne. He lived there until the spring of 1868, when he removed to Fairmont, Marion county, and has since resided there. In 1858, Mr. McCoy was elected prosecuting attorney of Tyler county. and was re-elected in 1860. In 1870, he was elected to the office of prosecuting attorney of Marion county, and at the expiration of his term was re-el- ected. In 1879, a bill organizing the county courts of Marshall, Wetzel and Marion into a circuit with a judge, was brought before the Legislature, and by that body put to the vote of the prople of the three coun- ties. Mr. McCoy was almost unanimously nominated for the judgeship of the new court. At the polls he received an overwhelming vote for the office, but the bill-known as the "County Court Bill"-was de- feated, thus leaving Mr. McCoy a judge without a cir- cuit. The large vote he received upon this occasion served to show his exceeding popularity among the people. Mr. McCoy is considered one of the best read lawyers in the State, and, as a counsel, has but few equals.
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
HON. J. C. BEESON.
Jacob Clark Beeson, son of Jesse and Anna Beeson, was born in Martinsburg. Berkeley county, this State on the 29th day of January, 1814, where he passed his life until March, 1857, when he came to Fairmont and engaged in the hardware business. He has since re- sided in that place, filling many important places of public trust. He was mayor of Fairmont, and mem- ber of the council at various times from 1862 to 1878, and in 1853, was elected Treasurer of Marion county. In 1866-7, Mr. Beeson represented this county in the West Virginia Legislature, being elected on the Re- publican ticket. Among other positions which he has held are those of President of the board of super- visors of the county, and President of the First Na- tional Bank of Fairmont, which position he now holds and has held for some years. Mr. Beeson, having accumulated a competency, some years ago retired from the mercantile business, and has since lived a comparatively inactive life at his beautiful home in Fairmont. He is a popular and influential citizen of the town and county.
HON. U. N. ARNETT.
This gentleman is well known throughout the State of West Virginia as a politician, having for some years taken an active part in the politics of his county and State. He was born March 7, 1820, and is, therefore, now sixty years of age. He is a son of Jonathan and Elizabeth Arnett, who lived near Rivesville, this county, where Mr. Arnett now re- sides, his calling being that of a farmer and grazier.
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
His boyhood was passed upon the farm, working at that calling in the summer, and in the winter attend- ing the common schools of the day. He entered pub- lic life in 1851, as a representative of Marion county in the Virginia Legislature, serving in that capacity for a period of six years. From that time up to 1870. he served at various times as a justice of the peace and as foreman of the grand jury, which latter posi- tion he held for over twenty years. In 1872, Mr. Arnett was a member of the constitutional conven- tion of West Virginia, and was soon afterwards elected State Senator from his district, which office he held for four years, two years of the time serving as President of the Senate. Mr. Arnett is a Democrat, and is one of the most popular men of his party in the county. He also possesses many friends belong- ing to other parties, they recognizing in him an hon- est opponent, and a faithful and distinguished legis- lator during the time he served in the Senate. He is one of our most wealthy citizens, and is the proprie- tor of a beautiful home, upon his estate on the Mon- ongahela river, near the town of Rivesville.
JUDGE A. F. HAYMOND.
The subject of this sketch was born on the 15th day of December, 1823, upon his father's farm, about three miles from Fairmont. He is a son of Colonel Thomas S. and Harriet A. Haymond. He attended the country schools in the neighborhood of his home until he arrived at the age of thirteen, when his father sent him to school at the Morgantown Academy. which institution he attended for about two years, and was then sent to the William and Mary College,
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at Williamsburg, Virginia, for a term of nine months. He did not return to the college after this session, on account of ill health, but began the study of law at home, and in the office of Edgar E. Wilson, at Mor- gantown. In 1842, when he was but nineteen years of age, he was admitted to the bar, and immediately commenced the practice of law in Fairmont, which profession he continued to follow here until the breaking out of the Rebellion, serving in the mean- time for several years as Prosecuting Attorney of Ma- rion county. In the spring of 1853, he was elected a member of the Virginia Legislature from this county, and again in 1857. He was a delegate from Marion to the Virginia Convention of 1861, and strongly opposed all movements towards Secession. He continued to oppose Secession until after that ordinance was passed and the war had fairly commenced, when he felt in his conscience that it was his duty to acquiesce, and go with his native State. He accordingly acted upon the promptings of his conscience and entered the field against the Union early in January, 1862. He re- mained in the military service of the south until the surrender of General Lee at Appomatox Court House, in April, 1865, when he was surrendered and paroled with Lee's army. He returned to Fairmont in June, 1865, and shortly afterwards resumed the practice of law. Mr. Haymond, however, was soon prohibited from the practice of his profession in the State courts by the "lawyer's test oath." Sometime afterwards, on a petition of Union citizens of Marion and Monon- galia counties, the Legislature of West Virginia passed a special act permitting him to practice in the State courts without taking the test oath, this being
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the first act of the kind passed by the Legislature. By an act of Congress he was afterwards relieved of his political disabilities, incurred by reason of his participation in the Rebellion. In 1872, Mr. Hay- mond was a member of the constitutional convention at Charleston, West Virginia, and on the 22d of Au- gust, of the same year, was elected a Judge of the Su- preme Court of Appeals of the State. In October, 1876, he was re-elected to this high office for a term of twelve years, commencing January 1, 1877. He is one of the most popular men in the State, and at the late election received a very large majority over his opponents, running considerably "ahead of his ticket." He was ever popular as a lawyer and as a citizen, and in the position which he now holds, he gives uni- versal satisfaction, being one of the ablest jurists in the State, and one of the most dignified and learned Judges upon the bench. He is a man of whom his fellow citizens in Marion county are proud, because of his many intellectual and social qualities, as well as of his great popularity throughout the State.
JAMES MORROW, JR., ESQ.
The position which the above named gentleman oc- cupies among the legal fraternity of West Virginia is second to none. He is one of the brightest and best known lawyers in the State, and is a distinguished citi- zen of Marion county. Mr. Morrow was born in that portion of Brooke county, Va., which now comprises Hancock county, West Virginia, in the year 1837, and passed his boyhood days upon his father's farm, at- tending school in the neighborhood, and laying the
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
foundation of his after life of usefulness. He received a classical education in the neighboring States of Pennsylvania and Ohio-" the people of the Northern Pan-Handle being in that day," as Mr. Morrow himself humorously expresses it, "obliged to resort to their more highly cultured neighbors for the humanizing agencies of higher education and harvest whisky." At the age of twenty years he commenced the study of law and continued to prosecute his legal studies until the year 1862, when he was admitted to the bar in Illi- nois. Three years afterwards, in 1865, he located in Fairmont and has since engaged constantly in the practice of his profession in Marion and adjoining coun- ties. In 1871, he represented Marion county in the West Virginia Legislature-the first session of that body after the removal of the Capital to Charleston- and was a member of the Committee on the Judiciary. He was a member of the Special Court in the con- tested election case of Harrison against Lewis for the office of Judge of this circuit, and wrote the opinion of the majority of the Court ; he was also counsel for Auditor Bennett and Treasurer Burdette in their im- peachment trials before the West Virginia Senate. In 1870-71, he occupied the editorial chair of the Fair- mont Liberalist for some months.
There are few such men as James Morrow in the State. He possesses rare legal abilities, and as an orator has few superiors. By his quiet humor, spark - ling wit, cutting sarcasm, eloquent and dignified lan- guage and manners, as well as by his great knowledge of the law, he has attained an enviable reputation as a pleader in court, while as a public speaker he is ex-
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HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY.
ceedingly popular. Aside from his abilities as a law- yer, Mr. Morrow is a gentleman of culture and refine- ment from a literary and social standpoint.
ROBERT B. LOTT, ESQ.
In these days of political trickery and thirst for of- fice, it is a rare thing to see a man who, for almost a score of years, has held one office and proved satisfac- tory to his fellow citizens of all parties, and against whom there was never a word uttered, but whose praise is sounded by all men, be they friends or foes. The subject of this sketch was such a man. Robert B. Lott was born June 19, 1835, at Washington, Penn- sylvania, and when he was about three years of age his parents removed to Fairmont (then Middletown) where he passed nearly all the remainder of his life. Here he received a common school education and al- ways bore a reputation for studious, sober and indus- trious habits. This reputation, formed in his youth, clung to him through life. When a young man he worked some as a tanner, but finally gave that busi- ness up, and became engaged as a grocer, which call- ing he followed until elected clerk of the Circuit Court of Marion county in 1861, which office he con- tinued to fill for several terms in succession, and un- til a few months previous to his death in 1879. Dur- ing the latter part of the War of the Rebellion he served in the Union army, leaving the office in charge of a deputy, but after his discharge in 1865, he again assumed control. Although of Republican principles in his politics, he was very popular throughout the county among citizens of all parties, because of the
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excellence and faithfulness with which he discharged the duties of his office. During the last few years of his life he was afflicted with hemorrhage of the lungs, and in the summer of 1878, in the hopes that it would benefit him, he visited Colorado, the fame of whose health-giving climate had reached him. This being the year for the election of clerks, he was pressed to become a candidate for re-election. He refused, how- ever, giving for his reasons, the poor state of his health. So earnest was the request of his Repub- lican friends, (in which they were joined by many Democrats) that he finally, but reluctantly, consented to become a candidate. He was in Colorado during the entire campaign, and the fact of his absence and non-participation in the canvass, together with the bad state of his health (many feeling sure that he would not live to fill the office should he be elected) contributed largely towards his defeat, by the Demo- cratic nominee, Mr. Clarence L. Smith, who defeated him by twenty-six votes. After the election, Mr. Lott's health being somewhat improved by the west- ern climate, he deemed it prudent to take up his resi- dence there with his family until he should recover sufficiently to again make Fairmont his home. He accordingly returned for his family, and bidding his many friends in the county adieu, he departed for Greeley, Colorado, where on the fifth of March, 1879, following, he died, his disease having made too much headway for the climate to prove permanently bene- ficial. His remains were brought to Fairmont, where they were followed to the grave by an immense con- course of friends, besides the masonic and military organizations of the town. In speaking of his death,
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the Fairmont West Virginian said among other things: "Having few faults and many virtues; possessing a character above reproach, and a name blemished by no unworthy act, 'Bob' Lott goes down to the grave in honor, his memory cherished by warm personal friends in every quarter of Marion county, and throughout the State."
RICHARD P. LOTT, ESQ.
Richard P. Lott, a brother of Robert B. Lott, was born in the town of Washington, Pennsylvania, March 16, 1833; he died in Fairmont, West Virginia, September 7, 1879, in the forty-seventh year of his age. This brief statement compasses the life history of a remarkable man, yet the task of appropriately elabo- rating that statement is by no means an easy one. He who occupies a position in his community so prominent as that occupied by Richard P. Lott, can- not have his connection with that community sev- ered, whether by death or other cause, and pass away beyond the portals unregretted, his deeds forgotten. As viewed from the active field to which our common humanity is summoned, his was largely an isolated existence. From his early youth through a life full of work and a career of much usefulness, he was the weary bearer of the burden of deformity, and, to a great degree, of physical helplessness.
At the early age of three years he fell a victim to an uncontrollable disease, the effects of which proved to him a grievous misfortune, since thenceforward he was a hopeless cripple, utterly unable to walk. The despair he felt when his terrible affliction became
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fully confirmed, and as even in his youthful fancy he confronted himself with a future barren of those pleas- ures found only in equal participation with his fel- lows in life's pursuits, can be imagined, but not fully realized by one not similarly situated ; and none but those who held his most intimate confidence in his manhood can estimate the intensity of the dark shadow that seemed to cloud his life when he allowed himself to contemplate his limited sphere. Yet pos- sessed of a rare faculty for suppressing his emotions he seldom betrayed the thought. For reasons obvious he was never able to attend school, excepting ocea- sionally during one term in his early youth, when he was conveyed to and from the school house by others ; he was, therefore, a self-educated man. Without other occupation he early turned his attention to books; and as he progressed in his studies, a strong desire for knowledge was engendered. He soon became master of the elementary, then of the more advanced branches; and not content with these he took up the more difficult studies, including the languages, and his zeal and ambition found reward in success. As he grew older he became a close observer of public af- fairs, and entered intelligently and with force into discussions of all topies demanding public attention, none enjoying an "intellectual battle " more than he. Having a taste for newspaper writing, he used the press as the channel through which to present his views upon questions of public import, and was ever welcomed as a contributor by all the journals in whose columns he sought space. He was a logical reasoner in debate, wielding a vigorous pen, yet wri- ting with a graceful freedom that won respectful at-
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tention from friend and opponent. Since he so closely identified himself with the politics of the day, he may be regarded as having been a "public man" in this respect, and in that field evidenced ability that, had he been favorably situated, would have won him distinction, and honors at the hands of the people. Originally he was of the Democratic school and an ardent admirer of Stephen A. Douglas-entering up- on political thought and action at the most brilliant period of that eminent gentleman's career, Mr. Lott took an active interest in his fortunes up to the as- sembling of the Charleston Convention of historic fame. With a clear perception, he foresaw the disas- ters awaiting the "Little Giant," and, in common with thousands of others, he recognized in the pro- ceedings of that convention the gathering of the clouds portending the storm of civil war, and with an earnest desire for peace, he regretfully transferred his alle- giance elsewhere. Espousing the cause of the Union, he addressed himself to the task of assisting in the perpetuation of the Federal Government. He was not prepared to endorse Mr. Lincoln, however, and cast his ballot for Bell and Everett. He afterwards became a warm supporter of the Lincoln administra- tion. During the campaign of 1860, and the years of turmoil that followed, Mr. Lott was a constant con- tributor to the political literature of the day. He vigorously opposed the ordinance of secession, and to him, probably, as much as to many others more pre- tentious, is due the large vote cast in opposition to that measure in the western part of the Old Dominion. When Virginia seceded, and war was inevitable, he
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was among the foremost advocates of the proposition for a new state.
Though a constant writer for the press, Mr. Lott's name rarely appeared in print, he preferring to em- ploy a nom de plume for all his productions. He was, however, at one time the recognized local editor of the Fairmont National. Early in the year 1861, he was placed in charge of the Fairmont Postoffice, and throughout the war, and for a period of eight years thereafter, as deputy and as chief, he discharged the duties of the position with signal ability, and to the satisfaction of the public. This was the only office he ever held.
For several years preceding his death, Mr. Lott was the subject of a disease emanating principally from his previous affliction, and he was finally compelled to abandon all occupation, which he did with great reluctance. At last, yielding to the summons, he passed away, closing an honorable life with the same practical stoicism that had characterized him 'midst his long years of suffering. A firm, true hearted friend, an intelligent, high-minded man and patriotic citizen, he passed into the unknown realms, leaving impressed upon the hearts of a whole community, en- dearing remembrances of " DICK LOTT."
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