History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 107

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 107

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mr. Collins was married June 15. 1881, to Miss Addie A. Clark, who is a daughter of Alexander Clark, of Charleston. Mr. and Mrs. Collins reside at No. 1710 Piedmont road, Charleston.

WILLIAM W. MUCKLOW, a retired coal mine operator, for years was actively interested in the operation and development of coal prop- erties and from every point of view is a prac- tical mine man. He was born in the vicinity of

MATHEW SANDS

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Scranton, Pa., fifty-nine years ago and began to work as a breaker boy, when only ten years of age, and from that humble position was ad- vanced steadily and for seventeen years was inside superintendent of mines at Scranton be- fore he became associated with his brothers in the development of coal properties.

There were four Mucklow brothers and of these E. P. and William W. became very active in the coal business. E. P. Mucklow, who is now deceased, was very prominent in financier- ing the developing of the Mucklow coal mines on Paint Creek, Kanawha county, the first shovel of dirt thrown in the opening of these mines being on Thanksgiving Day, 1900, by the mine boss, John Cox. William W. Muck- low became general manager of the enterprise. which was called the Scranton Splint Coal Com- pany, the late E. P. Mucklow being secretary and treasurer, and W. Boyer, president. The first mine was known as the Scranton Splint mine, and the second, opened in 1902. as the Paint Creek mine, and a third, known as the Banner mine, was opened and operated by the same company. Mr. Mucklow's two other brothers are also connected with the company, George G. being storekeeper, and Richard, the mechanical engineer. After the business was well under way, the Mucklow brothers, under the name of the Scranton Splint Coal Company, shipped 1,500 tons of coal a day. Later it be- came a part of a consolidation known as the Paint Creek Collieries Company, one of the largest operators in the Kanawha Coal fields.

Mr. Mucklow was married at Scranton, Pa., to Miss Effie Miller, a daughter of Adam Mil- ler, the latter of whom moved from New Jersey to Scranton when that present notably beauti- ful city had but two houses and he melted the first iron ore in that famous iron section and became a well-known citizen. Two sons and six daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Mucklow : Jessie, who died in September, 1910, aged thirty-one years; Bertha, who is the wife of John Phillips, who is in business at Scran- ton, and has one daughter, Helen: Elizabeth, who is the wife of Frank Snyder, a mine super- intendent living at Charleston. and has three children : Lucy, Herbert and Helen; Josephine, who is the wife of John A. Green, superintend-

ent of the Paint Creek Collieries Company, re- siding at Charleston, and has two children: Majorie and Norman; Maude, who is the wife of George Arnott and resides in New York City; Effie, who is the wife of Samuel H. Stone, a physician at Paint Creek, and has one son, Samuel; Edward, who is identified with the Singer Sewing Machine Company, at Cin- cinnati, married Nina Owens of Charleston and has two children : Nedra and Donald; and Wil- liam W., Jr., who is a clerk in the Paint Creek Company store. Politically Mr. Mucklow is a Republican. The family belongs to the Meth- odist Episcopal church.

MATHEW SANDS, a retired farmer of Elk district, Kanawha county, W. Va., and also a veteran of the great Civil war, was born in Braxton county, Va., May 31, 1843, and is a son of James and Barbara Ellen (Mace) Sands.

James Sands was born in Braxton county, of which his parents, Mathew and Lucia ( Fields) Sands were also natives. He was a farmer and in 1854 moved to the head of One-Mile creek with his family, being one of the earliest set- tlers in this section. He died in 1864, aged forty-six years, but his widow survives. Her birth took place in Braxton county, Va., in 1812, and she is the oldest living resident of Kanawha county and remarkable as it may seem, she is in full possession of all of her fac- ulties. She is a daughter of Henry and Polly (Davis) Mace, who were the oldest settlers of Braxton county. Of ten children born to James Sands and wife, there are two sons and three daughters surviving, namely: David, residing in Clay county, W. Va .; Sarah A., wife of Vin- ton Z. Copen; Lovisa, wife of J. Rogers, of Clay county; Jemima, wife of J. Theel, of Kanawha county; and Mathew, of the present record. James Sands was an active politician and was a member of the Whig party.

After his school days were over, Mathew Sands assisted his father on the home farm un- til August, 1861, when he enlisted for service in the Civil war. entering Company C, 8th Va. Vol. Inf., under General Fremont and was with his regiment for three years in the Shenandoah Valley, reenlisting for the same

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period or during the war, in 1864, and being honorably discharged in 1865, having passed through this long period of danger without any serious injury. After his return home he learned the carpenter trade which he followed at Charleston for thirty years, when he gave it up and located on his present place in Elk district and became a farmer. For fifteen years he conducted a general store here and for twenty-five years was interested in an under- taking business on Cooper creek. Mr. Sands has now entirely laid aside business cares and has rented his farm to a reliable tenant. He remains interested in the George Crook Post, G. A. R., at Charleston, of which he is a char- ter member. He has held many district of- fices in the gift of the Republican party, of which he has been an influential member for many years.

On January 19, 1868, Mr. Sands was mar- ried first to Miss Elmyra Gatewood, a daugh- ter of Perry and Sarah (Slack) Gatewood. Mrs. Sands died June 9, 1871, at the age of twenty-one years, leaving two children: Perry C., a merchant at Charleston, who married Flora Gibson and they have one child; and Ida May, who is the wife of George Hammack, of Charleston, and they have eight children. Mr. Sands was married second, in 1874, to Miss Rachel Mace, who is the only living mem- ber of a family of eleven children born to her parents, who were Jacob R. and Anna ( Moore) Mace. Mr. and Mrs. Sands have no children.

MATHIAS WEHRLE, M. D., one of the well-known physicians of Kanawha county, W. Va., whose chosen field of labor is Elk district, has been practicing in this vicinity for the past eleven years. He was born February 5, 1865, at Charleston, W. Va., a son of Valentine and Mary (Orth) Wehrle.

Joseph Wehrle, the grandfather of Dr. Wehrle, was a son of George Wehrle, a wine grower of Germany, who also followed distill- ing wine and raising fruit. He died in 1849 at the age of forty-six years. He was married to Agnes Werner, who died in Charleston. Val- entine Wehrle was born in Baden, Germany, and came with his family to America in 1857, locating first at Charleston, where he engaged

in farming, and later became connected with the liquor business, in which he continued until his death in May, 1875. He married Mary Orth, daughter of Mathias Orth, also of Ger- many, and they three had children : Mathias, Joseph B. of Denver, Col., and Cath- erine, who is deceased. After the death of her first husband, Mrs. Wehrle was married to John Siegenthaler, of Switzerland, and they located on Cooper's Creek, where Mrs. Siegenthaler died February 27, 1897. By the second union there were two daughters : Elizabeth, who mar- ried B. K. Given, of Pynesville, Ky. ; and Susan, who married George Hemmersdorfer of Elk district.

Mathias Wehrle attended the common schools until sixteen years of age and then took a course at St. Alban's Institute, after which he taught school for three years. He then became inter- ested in the timber business, in which he con- tinued until deciding upon a medical career, when he entered the University of Vermont and later attended the University of Maryland. After his graduation he commenced practice in Jackson county, but in 1894 settled in Elk district, where he has continued to the present time. He is heavily interested in oil and gas development in Elk district, being president of the Elk Gas and Oil Co., of Charleston, and of the Shepherd Oil Co., in addition to being a large real estate owner in Charleston.

Dr. Wehrle was married June 1, 1904, to Mary Fogarty, who was born January 26, 1875, at Cooper's Creek, a daughter of Jerry and Elizabeth (Hanna) Fogarty. Dr. and Mrs. Wehrle have two children : Elizabeth, born May 14, 1905 ; and Marion, born July 5, 1908. Dr. Wehrle is a charter member of Blue Creek Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He is active in his support of the principles of the Independent party, and has held the office of county com- mitteeman.

UPSHUR HIGGINBOTHAM, in whose death, which occurred September 7, 1911, the city of Charleston, W. Va., lost one of its prom- inent young attorneys and popular citizens, was born near Athens, Mercer county, W. Va., De- cember 1, 1875. a son of Henry and Mary Su- san (Austin) Higginbotham.

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Henry Higginbotham, who was also a native of Mercer county, was born in 1840, and throughout his life was engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was a prominent Republican, serving as justice of the peace for a number of years. During the Civil War he was a mem- ber of the 17th W. Va. Cav., Federal army, under Col. French, and participated bravely in a number of important engagements. His death occurred in 1886. Mr. Higginbotham was married in Mercer county, to Mary Susan Austin, daughter of Rev. Garland A. and Eliza- beth (Hankins) Austin, natives of Henry coun- ty, Va. They were married there, but after the birth of six sons and six daughters came to Mercer county, W. Va., and there spent the re- mainder of their lives, Mr. Austin passing away at the age of eighty-four years, while his widow survived him until 1890, being ninety years of age at the time of her death. Both were mem- bers of the Christian church, in which Mr. Austin was a minister from young manhood until old age, infirmities causing his retirement. In political matters he was a Democrat. Of their twelve children, two sons and five daugh- ters were married and one son and three daughters still survive and have families. Five of their sons were in the Civil War, namely: Raleigh T., Dennis M., Daniel T., William C. and Albert G. Of these, Dennis M. was wounded at the battle of Winchester, and died in the hospital; Raleigh received a gunshot wound in the battle of Petersburg and died in- stantly ; and Daniel T. also was wounded, but survives at this time, as do the other two sol- dier-brothers. Mrs. Henry Higginbotham was born in 1844, in Henry county, Va., but was reared principally in Mercer county, and still lives, making her home with her children. She has been an active member of the Christian church all of her life. Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Higginbotham, one died in in- fancy ; Marshall N., a graduate of the St. Louis Law school, and a prominent attorney of Charleston, married Mary Higginbotham of Taswell, Va., and has one daughter, Virginia ; Olive is the wife of John G. Ellinghausen; T. Jefferson, a railroad engineer on the Virginia Railroad, married Macie Thorne, of Princeton, W. Va .; and Upshur is deceased.

Upshur Higginbotham was about fourteen years of age when he began work on a news- paper and a few years later entered Concord Norman. After that he taught school in Mc- Dowell and Mercer counties for several years and then entered the West Virginia University. After leaving the law department of that insti- tution, he engaged in the practice of law at Hinton, W. Va., and also edited the Summers Republican, and in addition to these activities he was appointed a referee in bankruptcy and later became private secretary to Congressman Joseph H. Gaines. After having been in Hin- ton for about four years, Mr. Higginbotham came to Charleston, where he was prominently identified in the practice of law until the time of his death. He was also active and successful as a Republican politician, being for six years secretary of the Congressional Committee of the Third district and for four years chairman of that committee. In 1911, at the time of his death, he had been acting in the capacity of city solicitor for two years, an office to which he had been appointed my Mayor Holley. Throughout his public life in Charleston, Mr. Higginbotham enjoyed the friendship of hun- dreds of citizens who recognized in him a man of sterling qualities, always fair and honorable, and an active worker in all things which were for the good of his city and his party. He was a member of the local lodge of Elks and was also a charter member of Delta Tau Delta fra- ternity at West Virginia University. The fu- neral services were held under the auspices of the Charleston Lodge of Elks.

In May, 1902, Mr. Higginbotham was mar- ried at Lowell, Summers county, W. Va., to Miss Roberta R. Kesler, who was born in that county, October 21, 1880, and educated in the public schools and the Concord State Normal College, from which latter institution she was graduated with the class of 1900. Abraham C. Kesler, grandfather of Mrs. Higginbotham, was a soldier in the Civil War, Confederate States Army. Her parents, Henry F. and Ella M. (Lively) Kesler, are now residents of Lowell, Mr. Kesler being a prosperous farmer and prominent Democrat, having served for some years as superintendent of schools. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kesler were attendants of the

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State Normal school at Athens, W. Va., and he was well a known teacher of vocal music during the earlier days of singing schools. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Higgin- botham, namely: Mary Catherine, who was born March 2, 1903; Henry Wesler, born March 30, 1905; Lucy Austin, born March II, 1908; and Upshur, born January 9, 1910.

GEORGE A. SCHLOSSTEIN, president of the Dunkirk Window Glass Company, of South Charleston, W. Va., a very large and important enterprise, is a representative and successful business man of this city. He was born August 10, 1867, in Germany, and is a son of George and Mary Schlosstein.

George Schlosstein was born in Germany and in early manhood crossed the Atlantic ocean in a sailing vessel that required fifty-four days to make the voyage. He landed in New York and went from there to Cincinnati, where he learned the brewing business, and from there to St. Louis, Mo., where he embarked in both a grocery and liquor business, later selling the grocery store to a brother. He continued to handle high grade wines and liquors which were shipped to him from Europe by his brothers. On September 1, 1877, he went into partner- ship with a Mr. Shaffer under the firm name of Shaffer & Schlosstein, in the manufacture of window glass, and remained in that city until 1894, when he discontinued there. Then, with his son, George A., he bought out the business of C. P. Cole, at Dunkirk, Ind., and started there with fine equipments and double capacity, but at that time natural gas was attracting in- vestments to that point and the father retired and returned to St. Louis, where his death oc- curred January 20, 1897, at the age of sixty- five years. His widow survives and makes her home at St. Louis, where some of her nine children live.

George A. Schlosstein has been connected with window glass making almost his entire business life. He was born in Germany, while his parents were on a visit there, his mother being a native of Cleveland, O. His boyhood home was St. Louis, Mo., where he went to the public schools until sixteen years of age, when he entered Washington University, where he

was a student for three years and then was graduated from one of the mechanical depart- ments. After his return, with a fund of prac- tical knowledge, he went into the glass business with his father and mastered all its details and continued in the business in St. Louis until 1894, when the plant was moved to Dunkirk, Ind., where operations were continued until 1907, when Mr. Schlosstein came to Charles- ton, establishing himself on his present site at South Charleston, his plant occupying seven and one-half acres, property which he owns. His factories are constructed of cement blocks and are equipped in a thoroughly modern man- ner. When operating at full power, he gives employment to 200 people. He has fine rail- road facilities, his plant being on the main line of the C. & O. Railroad.

Mr. Schlosstein was married to Miss Eliz- abeth Shadburne, of Louisville, Ky. They have a fine home in South Charleston and they are members of the German Lutheran church. In politics he is a Democrat.

FRANCIS L. HAPTONSTALL, one of Charleston's substantial retired business men, resides in his comfortable home at No. 1541 Washington street, having erected his residence here in 1905, and since 1858 has been a resident of this city. He was born December 28, 1834, near Frankford, in Greenbrier county, Va., and is a son of Isaac and Cynthia B. (Carpenter) Haptonstall.

Isaac Haptonstall was also born in Green- brier county, where he spent his eighty years of life. He was a stone mason by trade and also followed farming. During the War of 1812 he was drafted but secured a substitute. In politics he was a Whig and in religion a Bap- tist. He married Cynthia B. Carpenter, who was born on the Peedee river, in North Caro- lina, where her father died when she was young. The widow and children subsequently settled in Greenbrier county and all died there. Mrs. Haptonstall was a devoted worker in the Baptist church and always provided a hearty welcome for the traveling preachers of that faith. Eight children were born to Isaac Hap- tonstall and his wife, as follows: James, who was a brickmason by trade, died in Texas in

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1880, survived by three sons and one daugh- ter; Sarah A., who died at Charleston, was the wife of Samuel Robinson and they had three daughters and one son; Samuel C., who prob- ably met death while serving as a soldier in the Confederate Army during the Civil War ; David S., who died in Greenbrier county left two sons and three daughters; John E., who was a far- mer at the time of death, lived in Green- brier county ; Elizabeth M., who married twice, is the widow of Denison G. Potter and lives with her children in Kansas; Francis L .; and Aurelia Maria, who is the widow of Richard Snead, and resides with a daughter in Fayette county, W. Va.

Francis L. Haptonstall attended subscription schools in boyhood and the David L. Ruffner school at Charleston, and later Allegheny Col- lege. He learned the brickmason trade and followed it during his entire period of active life, working in Greenbrier, Monroe and Kana- wha counties and being concerned in the con- struction of many of the most imposing and substantial buildings in this section. During the Civil War he was a brave and cheerful sol- dier, serving for nearly three years and bear- ing the rank of sergeant. On August 13, 1862, he enlisted in Co. E, 13th W. Va. Vol. Inf., and was honorably discharged June 22, 1865, in the interim having participated in many bat- tles and in the dangerous campaign through the Shenandoah Valley.

Mr. Haptonstall was married first to Miss Mary C. Hyer, who was born in 1837, her par- ents being of Jackson county, now West Vir- ginia. Her death took place at Charleston in 1872 and she was survived by three children : Marcus L., who is weighmaster for a coal com- pany and lives at Boomer, W. Va., is married and has two sons and three daughters; Flor- ence, who is the wife of John Crawford, and lives in Illinois; and Mary, who is the wife of Samuel Morgan, residing on Tupper Creek, Kanawha county. Mr. Haptonstall's second marriage took place in 1873, at Gallipolis, O., to Miss Katherine S. Conser, who was born July 30, 1861, at Lock Haven, Pa., a daughter of George and Sarah Conser. Mrs. Hapton- stall is one of nine children, eight of the family still living. She is a member of the Methodist

church, while Mr. Haptonstall is a Baptist. He is a Republican in politics and was a member of the first city council under the first charter, just after the war.

OSCAR ALFONSO VEAZEY, civil and mining engineer at Pratt, W. Va., a man of years of experience along the line of his pro- fession, established his home at Pratt, W. Va., in 1877, but prior to that had been engaged in railroad construction in Kanawha county. He was born at Kanawha Falls, now Glen Ferris, Fayette county, W. Va., May 25, 1851, and is a son of James A. and Eliza (Stockton) Veazey.

James A. Veazey was born in Beaver county, Pa., and his wife at Kelly's Creek, Kanawha county, W. Va., her father, Aaron Stockton having settled there in 1830. James A. Veazey followed surveying in early manhood, but later became commander of a steamboat that plied between Pittsburg and Cincinnati. He died December 15, 1860, surviving his wife for one year, and the burial of both was at Gauley Bridge, in Fayette county. Of their five chil- dren, Oscar Alfonso is the sold survivor.

After the death of his parents, Oscar A. Veazey went to live with his maternal grand- parents and attended the private school taught by James H. Miller, Jr., and his wife, at Gau- ley Bridge. His next school was at Fayette- ville, where he was under the instruction of Prof. Heath, of Baltimore, and during the Civil War he pursued his studies with Mr. Brott at Charleston. In 1866 he entered St. Vin- cent's College, at Wheeling, where he remained for three years. On September 1, 1869, he came to Sewell, W. Va., as a member of the engineering corps under the late Major W. A. Jones, for the C. & O. Railroad, locating the line from Sewell to Hawks Nest. He then entered the office of the company at Kanawha Falls, doing estimating work, the offices being moved to Charleston in 1870. From then to 1872 he held the position of level rodman in the construction work between Winifrede Junc- tion and Huntley, under A. H. Campbell, a resident engineer, and during the larger part of the time was assistant engineer, the others having in the meantime resigned. This was

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the best kind of practical experience. In 1872 he opened a civil engineering office of his own, doing land surveying, mining and railroad work, and continued there until 1877, when he married and then settled at Clifton, which now is Pratt, at the same time transferring his busi- ness office.

On May 24, 1877, Mr. Veazey was married to Miss Mattie B. Smith, a daughter of J. S. F. and Martha J. (Hansford) Smith. Mrs. Veazey died October 21, 1906, survived by the following children: Verna, wife of J. A. B. Holt; Victor S., a civil engineer, married Marguerite Beirne ; Kathleen E., wife of Brad- ford Coleman; Edward, a mechanical engin- eer ; Louis A .; and three deceased. Mr. Vea- zey was married October 27, 1908, to Miss Maude C. Peery, a daughter of the late Capt. Thomas Peery, of Culpeper, Virginia, and they have two children: Genevieve and Mary A. Mr. Veazey is a member of the Roman Cath- olic church and belongs to the Knights of Columbus, at Charleston.

JOHN H. HIGH, for many years an im- portant government official and a prominent Republican in Kanawha county, WV. Va., and a member of the Charleston bar, although not an active practitioner, was born in Kanawha coun- ty, March 9, 1848, a son of Edwin and Martha (Slack) High.

Edwin High was born in Chester county, Pa., March 17, 1817 and he accompanied his parents, Benjamin and Elizabeth (Green) High, to what is now Harrison county, W. Va., in 1821. They were pioneers in that section and acquired and improved land and Benjamin High and wife spent their remaining years there. He was a Democrat but all his six sons except one, became Whigs and later Republi- cans. In 1838, Edwin High came to Kanawha county and settled at Charleston, farming be- ing, however, his main occupation. He died in Kanawha county when aged fifty-four years and four days. He was a man of courage and deep convictions politically and cast his first presidential vote for William Henry Harrison, and many years later cast the only vote for Abraham Lincoln in all Kanawha county. He married Martha Slack, who was born on the

Elk river, Kanawha county, March 31, 1815, and died at the home of her son, John H., in Charleston, November 20, 1893. She was a daughter of John and Comfort (Samuels) Slack, and a granddaughter of Philip Slack, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. This veteran spent his last years in Kanawha county. Four children were born to Edwin and Martha High, three of whom survive, the eldest son dying in infancy. John H. was the second born. Charles resides with his fam- ily on a farm in Poca district, Kanawha coun- ty. Mary is the wife of Alexander Burns. She resides in Elk district and has one child.

John H. High was reared and educated in Kanawha county. When seventeen years of age, in 1865, he enlisted in a company of the West Virginia State Guards and served three months, when the war closed. For twenty- three years Mr. High taught school in Kanawha county, prior to accepting a public office, and served two terms as a member of the board of education. In 1889 he was admitted to the bar at Charleston but in the same year he went into the revenue service of the government and never has given a great deal of attention to the practice of his profession. As far back as 1868 he was made a notary public and served continuously in that office until December, 1910. Also in 1889 he was appointed internal revenue guager, under President Harrison's adminis- tration, for the district of West Virginia, and, with the exception of the years of President Cleveland's administration, has been contin- uously in this office, being reinstated in 1897, under President Mckinley. For 15 months afterward he was stationed in Kentucky, where he was government storekeeper under Collect- ors Sam J. Roberts and John W. Yerkes. He is a factor in county politics and at one time was a member of the Republican county com- mittee.

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History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 107

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