History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 100

Author: Laidley, William Sydney, 1839-1917. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Chicago, Ill., Richmond-Arnold publishing co
Number of Pages: 1066

USA > West Virginia > Kanawha County > Charleston > History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens > Part 100

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Mr. Smoot was married to Miss Kanawha Laidley Whittaker, who was born at Wheel- ing. W. Va., October 20, 1853, a daughter of Charles S. and Margaret A. (Eoff) Whitta- ker. The father of Mrs. Smoot was born at

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Charleston, W. Va., in February, 1817, and died at the age of seventy-two years. Her mother was born at Wheeling in May, 1817, and died at the age of sixty-four years. Their burial was in Spring Hill cemetery, at Charles- ton. Three of their seven children survive, namely : Helen D. Harrison, Virginia C. Dry- den and Kanawha Laidley Smoot. They were members of the Episcopal church. Mr. and Mrs. Smoot are members of the Presbyterian church. In politics he is a democrat.

FRANCIS WORTH ABNEY, a promi- nent business man and financier of Charleston, formerly president of the Abney-Barnes Com- pany, wholesale dealers in dry goods anl no- tions, and now president of the Charleston- Kanawha Trust Company, was born in Bossier parish, Louisiana ; son of Asbury A. and Cath- arine McDade Abney. His parents were life- long residents of the state of Louisiana, his father dying in comparatively early life.

Mr. Abney was educated at Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia. For some years he was associated as partner with Col. Morgan Jones, the well known railroad man of the Southwest, now of Fort Worth, Texas, the business of the firm being that of railroad contractors. He was the first presi- dent of the Charleston, Clendenin & Sutton Railway (now the Coal & Coke Railroad), which he organized and partly built.

In 1876, Mr. Abney settled in Charleston, West Virginia, becoming associated in busi- ness with his father-in-law, Mr. Enos Arnold. In the following year they started a small wholesale dry goods business under the style of Arnold & Abney, which grew rapidly and soon commandel a prosperous trade. In 1887 Mr. E. A. Barnes entered the firm, which then became Arnold, Abney & Co., and so continued until 1900, when Mr. W. O. Abney and Mr. A. S. Thomas became associated with the busi- ness, as junior partners, the style of the firm then being changed to Abney, Barnes & Com- pany. By this time the business had grown until the sales amounted to about $800,000.00 annually.

In 1906 Mr. Abney retired from the busi- ness to become president of the Charleston-

Kanawha Trust Company, of which he was the organizer. In 1910 he reorganized this com- pany and materially increased its capital. This company does a very considerable business in financing new enterprises, including coal, oil, gas, timber and land companies, and has been very successful.

Mr. Abney married Kate V. Arnold, who was born in Charleston, and was the daughter of Enos and Cynthia Noyes Arnold. Mrs. Abney died in July, 1910. There are three daughters : Katie Belle, Cynthia A. (now Mrs. John S. Dana) and Mattie R. (now Mrs. Waller C. Hardy). Mr. and Mrs. Dana have three daughters-Frances, Arnold and Ade- laide; and Mr. and Mrs. Hardy have one son -Frank Abney. The Abney family are Pres- byterians.

Mr. Abney is regarded as one of the leading financiers of West Virginia. His business in- terests are very extensive, and he is or has been connected with almost every important enterprise in the city.

SAMUEL HOGG, deceased. Certainly no country has contributed more extensively to the excellent citizenship of the southern part of the United States than has England, and from Yorkshire have come representatives that have brought with them the sterling traits of character and the sturdy virtues which reflect honor on their ancestry. Although Samuel Hogg never crossed the Atlantic ocean to America, he has children and grandchildren in West Virginia, who recall him with affection and desire to perpetuate his memory.

Samuel Hogg was of Scotch ancestry but was born in Yorkshire, England, where he was reared, educated and spent a long and useful life. He was yet young when he evinced a handiness with tools and a fondness for work- ing in wood and this natural leaning made him learn the trade of contractor and builder. Finding an abundance of work in his line in the neighborhood of his birth, he never felt either the desire or necessity of changing his place of residence and spent his life in the county in which he was born. He married Jane Fen- wick, whose life was also passed in Yorkshire. her death occurring in her forty-third year.

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Her ancestors had been English for many gen- erations. Both she and husband were attend- ants of the Methodist Episcopal church. Four sons and three daughters were born to them, two sons and one daughter dying in infancy. One son, William Hogg, still lives in York- shire, where he follows the business of con- tractor and builder. He married there and has a large family. Another son, John E., has been lost sight of, probably being a resident of Texas. One daughter, Mary J., was married in England, to Smith Harding, who died there, after which, she came to America with her two children, subsequently marrying William Richardson, in Fayette county, W. Va. Her death occurred there after two children had been born to the second marriage. The third daughter, Annie, is Mrs. Samuel Dixon, who resides at No. 1331 Virginia street, Charles- ton, W. Va.

Mrs. Dixon was born in 1855, in Yorkshire, England. She was reared in her native coun- ty and attended school there and was married to Samuel Dixon, who was also born in York- shire. In 1878 the family left England for America, taking passage on the City of Mon- treal, landing at New York and going from there to Fayette county, W. Va. Mr. Dixon has been interested in coal mining in West Vir- ginia ever since.

To Mr. and Mrs. Dixon fourteen children were born-three in England-and four died in infancy. The survivors are : Frederick Fenwick, residing near Montgomery, in Kana- wha county, married and has one son, Sam- uel; Jane D., who is the wife of A. D. Calla- han, a native of Kentucky, and a mine super- intendent, and they live in Fayette county and have one son, Dixon; Isabel D., who is the wife of J. W. Smiley, of Fayette county, and has five children-Annette, Blanche, Doro- thea, Isabel and Samuel D .: Lillian D., who is the wife of Dr. Elbert S. Dupuy. of Fayette county, and has two children-Elbert W. and Ruth; May D., who is the wife of Harry H. Pinkney, of Raleigh county, W. Va., and has three children-Dixon, James A., and Mil- dred: George, who, like other members of the family, is interested in coal mining lives in

West Virginia married Frances Leckie, and has two children-George H. and Frederick; Eve- lyn, who lives in Fayette county; Ethel D., who is the wife of William P. St. Clair, of McDonald, W. Va., and has one son, William W .; William, who lives in Fayette county ; and Nellie, who lives at home and is a student in the Charleston high school. Mrs. Dixon is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, south.

MAJOR THOMAS L. BROUN, senior member of the prominent law firm of Broun & Broun, at Charleston, W. Va., has long been a representative citizen of this section, concerning the natural resources of which there are probably few men his superior in knowledge. He is known up and down and throughout the Great Kanawha Valley, and capitalists and investors for many years have relied on his information and advice. He is a Virginian, born in Loudon county, and is a son of Edwin Conway and Elizabeth (Chan- nell) Broun. ,

Edwin Conway Broun was born in Nor- thumberland county, Va., March 9, 1781. and . was a son of William and Janetta ( McAdam) Broun, and a grandson of George and Mar- garet Broun, who were natives of Scotland. Political and religious disturbances doubtless caused the migration of the LeBrun family from France to Scotland at a very early date, where the name was shortened to Broun, with the accent on the "u." as at present. In 1740 William and Robert Broun came to the American colonies, the former settling in Northern Neck, Va., and the latter near Georgetown, S. C., where he became a noted physician and the progenitor of a large family. William Broun practiced law in Virginia in colonial days and also reared a vigorous fam- ily, which has representatives all through the southern states.

Edwin Conway Broun for his second wife, married Elizabeth Channell, a daughter of James Channell and granddaughter of Wil- liam S. Pickett, of Fauquier county, Va. The third child born to this marriage was Thomas Lee Broun, whose birth took place December

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26, 1823, being one of the two survivors of ten children born to his parents.

Thomas L. Broun was given excellent educa- tional advantages, and in 1848 was graduated at the University of Virginia. For several years he taught school before entering upon the study of law, in which science he was sub- sequently graduated and was admitted to prac- tice in November, 1851. He formed business and law partnerships with several leading men of his time, and was chosen as attorney for a number of coal companies then engaged in min- ing and shipping cannel coal from the Coal river region. After the resignation of Gen. Rosecrans as president of the Coal River Navigation Company, Major Broun was elected to the office and continued to direct the affairs of the concern until the breaking out of the Civil War.

In 1861 Thomas L. Broun enlisted as a pri- vate in the Kanawha Riflemen, Confederate army, but was shortly afterward advanced to the rank of major in the 60th Va. Vol. In- fantry, which was a part of what was known as the Wise Legion. Major Broun was se- verely wounded at Cloyd's Mountain, Va., when leading his command with signal valor, and was seriously incapacitated for a long time on account of his injuries. At the close of the war Major Broun returned to Charleston, W. Va., which had been his home from the time he entered upon the study of law, and resumed charge of the Coal River Navigation Com- pany. On account of a temporary law that prevented the practice of his profession at that time in West Virginia, Major Broun removed to New York, in 1866, where he made law and land titles of West Virginia a feature of his law practice until the fall of 1870, when he returned to Charleston. He is one of the Nestors of the Charleston bar and is now asso- ciated in practice with E. F. and C. B. Broun, the firm name being Broun and Broun, with offices at Nos. 18-19 Citizens Bank Building, Charleston.

As indicated above, Major Broun is well qualified to exploit the wonderful natural re- sources of the great Kanawha Valley, having devoted many busy years to investigation, and shows his confidence in the continuance

of these natural conditions for a long period in the future, by having large investments here on his own account. With the growth all over the country of large fortunes, capital is constantly seeking profitable investment, and understanding this condition, for a num- ber of years Major Broun has been in the habit of distributing circulars truthfully telling of the great resources of this part of West Virginia still awaiting development. His statements are not made at random, being thoroughly substantiated by data, and on ac- count of his high personal standing, have al- ways been accepted as facts.

Major Broun was married in June, 1866, to Miss Mary M. Fontaine, a daughter of the late Col. Edmund Fontaine, who was formerly president of the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad. Major and Mrs. Broun have two daughters and one son. The family belongs to the Epis- copal church, in which Major Broun has long served as warden and vestryman. The fam- ily home is a handsome residence standing at No. 1017 Virginia street, Charleston.

Major Broun is a Mason, belonging to Kan- awha Lodge, No. 20, F. & A. M .; a member of Camp Patton, No. I, Confederate Veterans, and belongs to and takes a deep interest in the West Virginia Historical Society. His ser- vices have frequently been solicited as a pub- lic speaker, and on numerous occasions his ad- dresses before important bodies have been so eloquent as well as so enlightening that they have been published for general distribution. Particularly was this the case in regard to the address he made at Charleston, June 14, 1888, the occasion being the Memorial Day ex- ercises conducted under the auspices of Camp Patton, No. I, Confederate Veterans. An- other address which was also given at Charles- ton, on January 24, 1907, celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the birthday of Gen. Robert E. Lee, was an able effort, appreciative but temperate in every statement. It was most fitting that one of General Lee's old veterans, still bearing honorable scars of conflict received while following his great leader, should tell the younger generation of the noble qualities of one whose memory is now cherished all over the South and respected everywhere.

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Major Broun has taken much pains to com- pile an ancestral history of his own family, finding in his researches that the Brouns can claim close kindred with a nuniber of other old Virginia families including the Balls, the Conways, the Gaskins, the McAdams, and others. He has consulted well known authori- ties and old documents in his own possession and may be justified in feeling proud to con- nect his own paternal name with the ancestral line from which came George Washington and James Madison, presidents of the United States; Rev. Samuel Thomas, who was the first missionary sent to South Carolina under the direction of "The Society for the Propa- gation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts;" and of Captain Archibald Broun of South Carolina, who was an officer in the Revolutionary War; also of many distinguished members of the old and aristocratic South Carolina families, in- cluding the Huger, Deas, Singleton, Lesesne, Manning and Sinkler families, together with the Harlestons, of Alabama.

W. L. BROWN, bookkeeper for the Mar- met Coal Company, at Hernshaw, W. Va., has been a resident of this place since April, 1909, and has occupied his present position since that time. He was born July 27, 1884, in Oakfield, Perry county, O., and resided with his parents, W. R. and Sarah (Allton) Brown in the above mentioned county until 1899, when with his parents and a younger brother, Howard C., he came to West Virginia and located at Porter, in Clay county, then a pros- perous lumber village.

Mr. Brown acquired his early education in the public schools of Perry county, Ohio, and in the fall of 1904, after residing at Porter five years, entered upon his business course with the Bliss Business College, of Columbus, Ohio, from which institution he graduated in January, 1906. His first business connection was with the Standard Oil Co., at Charleston, W. Va., and after remaining with them two months secured a position as bookkeeper for the Dana Lumber Company, of Dana, W. Va., where he resided one year, after which he en- tered upon his present duties with the Mar- met Coal Co.

Mr. Brown's father, W. R. Brown, was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, in 1840, and is now a citizen of Charleston, residing at No. 144 Court street, having retired from the saw- mill business some years since. He married Sarah Allton, who was born in Perry county, Ohio, in 1852 and they have had a family of four sons and five daughters born to them, of which W. L. is the sixth in number.

Mr. Brown married Miss Laura Board in March, 1907. Mrs. Brown is a daughter of John H. Board, a substantial farmer, who lives on his 400-acre farm at Wellford, four miles from Clendenen, WV. Va. There have been two children born to Mr. and Mrs. Brown, a boy that died in infancy and Doro- thy Lee, a two months old babe. Mrs. Brown is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Politically, Mr. Brown is a repub- lican.

JAMES N. MAHAN, D. D. S.,* who does the largest business in dental surgery at Charleston, W. Va., has been an active prac- titioner in this city for the last eighteen years and is professionally known all over Kanawha county.

Dr. Mahan is of north of Ireland ancestry. His grandfather, John Mahan, came from there to America more than IIO years ago, locating in Monroe county, Va. He was an enlisted soldier in the War of 1812 and after that struggle was over he settled on his own land in Monroe county, where he died previ- ous to the Civil War. He married in Monroe county and became the father of ten children, all of whom lived to maturity and all married with one exception.

Nelson J. Mahan, the father of Dr. Mahan, was one of the younger members of the above mentioned family. He was born in Monroe county, Va., March 17, 1815, and lived there until 1840, when he came to Charleston, where he embarked in a coal and livery business which he continued until his death on January 13, 1889. He was a democrat in politics and was an intelligent citizen and a business man and neighbor who was held in esteem by all. On December 17, 1837, he was married to Miss Jennie Legg, who was born in Monroe

ORATIO L. DAVIS

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county, January 17, 1817, and died at Charles- ton, in May, 1886. She was a woman of beautiful character and her memory is ten- derly preserved by her children. She was of Maryland parentage and probably German an- cestry. Ten children were born to Nelson J. Mahan and wife, nine of whom grew to ma- turity, six of whom married, and five of whom still survive. Elizabeth is the widow of Elisha Evans and resides at Charleston, where she has children and grandchildren. Mary is the wife of David Egan, of Charleston, and has children and grandchildren. James N. is the third survivor. Anna resides with her brother in Nicholas county, W. Va. Charles is a mer- chant in Nicholas county, married Anna Mor- ris and they have children.

James N. Mahan studied dentistry for five years with the late Dr. J. A. Houser, formerly a skilled practitioner, who died here in 1893. Dr. Mahan then established his own business and has been a resident of Charleston ever since. He was one of the organizers of the West Virginia Dental Society, in January, 1892, at Wheeling, WV. Va., and was elected the first president of that body. For a number of years he has been a member of the committee on legislation and has been a member of the board of examining dental surgeons. He has always been a more or less active citizen and served in the city council from 1894 until 1897.

Dr. Mahan was married at Charleston to Miss Minnie Eyster, who was born at Cham- bersburg and educated at Woodstock, Va. She is a daughter of Capt. John S. and Salona (McConnell) Eyster. Capt. Eyster was born and died in Pennsylvania. A Federal soldier, he served on the staff of General McCall. He survived all the hazards of war and then went into the lumber business in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Mrs. Mahan was one in a fam- ily of four sons and three daughters, two sons and the daughters still surviving. Two chil- dren were born to Dr. and Mrs. Mahan: Les- lie Dana, who is an employe of the Kanawha National Bank; and Frances Virginia, who is a graduate of the Charleston High School. The family belongs to the Episcopal church.

Dr. Mahan is a Mason of advanced degree and a "Shriner."

ORATIO L. DAVIS, manufacturer of carbon black, vice president of the Eastern Carbon Black Company, which plant is lo- cated in Big Sandy district, at Barren Creek, on Elk river, Kanawha county, W. Va., is also general manager of this company and is a practical carbon black maker. He was born in Warren county, Pa., August 28, 1861.

Mr. Davis was reared and educated in Warren county and was thirty-one years of age when he went to Indiana, where he learned the art of making carbon black and remained identified with works in that state until 1903, when he came to West Virginia. The method of producing carbon black is unique and interesting. The substance is a residue made by impregnating natural gas with fire against a condenser. An automatic scraper in the shape of a horizontal plate car- ries the product into a hopper by way of a spiral conveyer, where it is then sifted through a 60-mesh wire, from which it reaches the storage department which has a capacity for handling 4,000 pounds a day. Here an auto- matic equipment completes the packing into bags and barrels and in this shape it is shipped, the largest customer of the Eastern Carbon Black Company being a printing plant at Norwood, Mass. Mr. Davis has been pro- ducing carbon black for nineteen years and since 1907 has been in business in Kanawha county, the Eastern Carbon Black Company being incorporated, with George H. Morrill, Jr., of Norwood, Mass., as president; Fred- erick P. Bagley as secretary and treasurer, Oratio L. Davis as vice president and general manager, and Alton N. Davis, of Charleston, \V. Va., as assistant manager. While the manufacture of carbon black is accomplished by imperfect combustion, the art of separating it at just the right state and time, has been brought to perfection by comparatively few men in this business, Mr. Davis being one of them.

In Warren county, Pa., Mr. Davis was mar- ried to Miss Louetta Reighner, a native of Clarion county, Pa., and they have four chil-

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dren: Willie May, Carl A., Ralph F. and Jim T. Mr. and Mrs. Davis attend the Chris- tian church, of which Mrs. Davis is a member. Politically the former is a democrat. He is a Knight Templar Mason and "Shriner," and he belongs also to the Elks and the Knights of Pythias.

JOHN B. LEWIS, deceased, who, for years was general superintendent for the Ches- apeake Mining Company, of West Virginia, was one of the prominent coal men of the Kan- awha Valley, one whose knowledge was re- lied on and whose judgment on coal lands and conditions was consulted by those interested in all sections of the state. Born in Wales, Au- gust 9, 1843, he was left an orphan in child- hood and was nine years old when his grand- mother Bowan brought him to America. He grew to manhood near Youngstown. O., at- tended school there for a time and earned his first money by working around the mines, and that he was a youth of intelligence, industry and good habits was proved by the fact that at the age of eighteen years he was given the management of a mine.

In the above position Mr. Lewis evidently acquitted himself well, as he was only twenty- one when he was sent by the company he was serving, to take charge of a mine on the Ohio river, near Pomeroy, O., becoming superin- tendent there, and in 1871 he came to Kana- wha county, W. Va., this vast coal district of- fering him business opportunities that he was quick to recognize. For a time he remained at Malden and then operated coal works at Alden and went from there to Lewistown, now Wini- frede, where he opened and superintended the first coal works. He was financially interested in the same and these mines bore his name. After leaving there he was connected with the Campbell Creek Coal Company for sixteen years. In August. 1890, Mr. Lewis came to Handley, W. Va., where he became associated as a partner, with J. Q. Dickinson, Malcolm Jackson and Seth Montgomery, in the organi- zation of the Chesapeake Mining Company. Under his management the company not only discharged every financial obligation but reached a high degree of prosperity. His use-

ful life came to a close on August 14, 1907. He was a consistent member of the Baptist church at Handley, W. Va. In politics he was a Republican. For many years he was promi- nent in Masonry and was a Shriner, and was connected also with the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Red Men. Few men of his day were better known in the West Virginia coal fields and none in this great in- dustry was more respected.

On December 20, 1866, Mr. Lewis was mar- ried to Miss Ann E. Collins, the only daughter of Richard and Catherine ( Vaughn) Collins. Richard Collins and wife were both born in England and were married there in 1849, com- ing then to America and locating at Pitts- burgh, Pa. Mir. Collins was a coal miner and his death occurred at Handley, W. Va., Janu- ary 1, 1911, at the age of eighty-one years. His widow survives and lives with Mrs. Lewis. There were two sons. William and Thomas, both deceased. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Lewis: Catherine, who is the wife of Thomas Scott, is prominent in missionary work at Handley, W. Va. : Mary. who is deceased, was the wife of William Rensford: Charlotte, who died in infancy; Sarah, who is the wife of Ernest Carter: Richard C., who died aged thirty-six years, married Nona Thompson; John and Fred, the former of whom died at the age of fourteen and the latter at the age of twenty years; and Charlotte (2), who is the wife of John Carter. There are twelve grandchildren in the family. Mrs. Lewis retains her husband's interest in the Chesapeake Mining Company. She is an active and valued member of the Baptist church at Handley.

HON. WILLIAM SEYMOUR ED- WARDS, a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1892 until 1895. and Speaker of the House from 1894 until 1895, is a well known member of the Kanawha county bar and is known both professionally and in business circles in many parts of the state. He was born September 14, 1856, in New York, and is a son of William H. and Catherine Colt (Tappan) Edwards.

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History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 100

Author: Laidley, William Sydney, 1839-1917. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1911 Publisher: Chicago, Ill., Richmond-Arnold publishing co Number of Pages: 1066

Author: Laidley, William Sydney, 1839-1917. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Chicago, Ill., Richmond-Arnold publishing co
Number of Pages: 1066