History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 133

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 133

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tian Schwartz was a stanch Democrat in his political views, and it was in order to insure his freedom of thought and its ex- pression on public matters, that induced him to come to this section of the country.

Eight children were born to Christian and Dorathea Schwartz, five sons and three daughters. Of the sons-Jacob, Joseph and William all died young. The surviv- ors of the family are as follows: Louis; Louisa, who is the wife of John Imhoof, a merchant and farmer of Clarion County, Pa .; Dorathea, who is the wife of Edward Hedrick, a steel moulder; now living at Homestead, Pa .; Mary, who is the wife of Henry Bender, living at Beaver Falls, Pa .; and Philip, who owns and occupies a part of the old homestead on the Elk River.

Louis Schwartz was fifteen years old when the family came to Kanawha County, WV. Va. Before that he had attended school and had assisted his father in culti- vating the Pennsylvania farm. When he was eighteen years old he went into the lumber business and operated locally for three years, showing an aptitude for busi- ness, and then came to Charleston, where he worked in a bakery for some years. He then went into the restaurant business and for twenty-two years operated restaurants in Charleston that commanded the patron- age of the best people and brought him an ample fortune. When Mr. Schwartz re- tired from the restaurant business, he looked about for profitable investments and, with others, purchased 200 acres of land which is now one of Charleston's choicest suburbs, and he still owns one- fourth of this acreage. He has always shown himself an enterprising and pro- gressive citizen, has taken pride in his city and has proved his loyalty to it in many ways. Politically he is a Democrat but is in no sense a politician. For twenty-five years he has been identified with the order of Odd Fellows, and belongs also to the Knights of Pythias, and at one time was active in fifteen different social and frater- nal organizations.

. Louis Schwartz was married at Charles-

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ton, W. Va., to Miss Barbara Schmidt, who was born June 3, 1856, at Mt. Olivet, near Pittsburg, Pa., and is a daughter of Nich- olas and Elizabeth (Hugo) Schmidt. They were born in one of the Rhine provinces, in Germany, and came to the United States when young, and were married at New Al- bany, Ind. Some time later, Nicholas Schmidt engaged in a grocery business at Baltimore, Md., and from there removed to Pittsburg, Pa., where he was a dry goods merchant on Carson Street, near 12th Street, for twenty-five years. Failing health caused his retirement in 1875, and by the advice of his physician he came to the West Virginia mountains, locating in Union District, Kanawha County. During the rest of his life he continued in business in a moderate way and lived to the age of sixty-three years, while his widow reached the age of eighty-five, passing away at Charleston in 1879. They were members of St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church, of South Side, Pittsburg, Pa. Two sons and six daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt, all surviving except two- John, who died in infancy, and Maria, who was the wife of John . Bardo. Mrs. Schwartz and her brother, Jacob Schmidt, are the only members of the family residing in Charleston.

Mr. and Mrs. Schwartz have two daugh- ters: Dorathea Elizabeth and Alma Louise. The former is the wife of William A. Ma- han, who is a retired candy manufacturer now residing at Charleston, and they have two sons and one daughter-Louis W., Emma E. and William A. The second daughter is the wife of Conrad Weirsteiner, and they reside at Colorado Springs, Colo., where he conducts a large apiary and is considered an authority on bees and bee culture. They have had six children- Dorathea M., Mildred B. (now deceased), Josephine E., Conrad J., Richard A. and Barbara L. Mrs. Schwartz and daughters are members of the Roman Catholic church and they have many pleasant social connections.

PETER A. SIMPSON, funeral director, undertaker and embalmer, at Charleston, W. Va., was born January 22, 1871, near this city, a son of Charles E. and Rosanna (Fau- ber) Simpson.

He is a grandson of Peter Simpson, who was born at Christianburg, Va., July 15, 1821. The latter was apprenticed to a tanner, but disliking the business, left home at the age of sixteen years and walked to Kanawha county, now in West Virginia, stopping at Malden, where he found employment at the salt fur- naces and on the salt boats on the Kanawha and Mississippi rivers. About the time the Civil war broke out he purchased a farm on Davis Creek, where he died October 1, 1897. He was a man of sturdy patriotism and much interested in public affairs, and when the bat- tleship Maine was sunk in the harbor of Ha- vana, he expressed the wish to live until the President had formally declared war against Spain. His wish, however, was not granted, as he previously succumed to the ills of old age. He was a prominent Republican and was very active in the Methodist Episcopal church for fifty years. He married Millie Thomas, who was born in 1822 and died in 1907, aged eighty-four years. Her parents were pioneers in the Kanawha Valley and her brother, Ed- ward Thomas, was a well known river man.

Charles E. Simpson, father of the subject of this sketch, was the eldest of his parents' family of seven children. He was born at Malden, this county, August 5, 1847, and is now a resident of South Charleston. Like his father, he has been an active Republican and also has been a liberal supporter of the Metho- dist Episcopal church. He was first married to Rosanna Fauber, who was born on Davis creek, Kanawha county, W. Va., February II, 1848, and who died May 24, 1890. Charles E. Simp- son married secondly Jennie Smith, who was born in Scotland and was brought to America in childhood.

The children of Mr. Simpson's first mar- riage with Rosanna Fauber were as follows: Willie, who is the wife of William Summer- field, a carpenter living at Charleston, and has had seven sons; Minnie, who married Charles

PETER A. SIMPSON

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White, a carpenter and blacksmith, at Charles- ton, and has five children; Peter A., the sub- ject of this sketch; Mae, who is the wife of Harry Magill, residing at Grafton, and has one son; Mollie, who is the wife of Huston Branham, of Bell creek, Kanawha County; Charles M., an electrical engineer, who mar- ried Anna Beane and has five children; Millie A., who is the widow of Jerome Wildman and has one son; James E., who is a railroad man, lives in Oklahoma and has two children; and Iva M., Ira O., and several others who died in infancy. Four children were born to the second marriage-Earl, Cecil, George and Frank, all of whom reside with their parents.

Peter A. Simpson attended the public schools in his boyhood, but he attributes the greater part of his knowledge and a large part of his success in life to his mother, whose memory he reveres. Following her precepts, he passed through the critical period of early manhood without acquiring any evil habits and he considers his temperance and self restraint as having been potent factors in furthering his fortunes. In 1890 he learned the machin- ist's trade, which he followed for six years. He then went into the livery business, in which he continued until establishing his present business in 1900. He still retains the vehicles and horses that he had then in use and has added to the number of both. He now has thirty-six horses, four hearses, and a fine am- bulance, and carries a larger general equip- ment than any other house in his line in this city. He obtained his undertaker's diploma from the Cincinnati Embalming School, from which he was graduated in the class of 1903.

Peter A. Simpson was married at Charles- ton to Mrs. Mary J. (Hazelwood) Nutter, who was born near Roanke, Va., November 13, 1857, and there resided until reaching the age of fifteen years, when she came to Charles- ton. She was first married to George H. Nutter, who died August 21, 1892, leaving three children, namely: Grace H., who is the wife of Oliver H. Jennings, resides at South- port, Conn., and has one son, Oliver N. ; Harry H., who is a resident of Ohio and married Eugenia McDonald; and Hazel, who grad- uated in the class of 1908, from the Charles-

ton High School. Mr. and Mrs. Simpson have one daughter-Talma Adortha, who was born December 18, 1896. They are members of the First Methodist Episcopal Church at Charleston, and Mr. Simpson was one of the five members who located the new church and financed its erection. He is not a politician but votes as a Republican. For a number of years he has been a prominent Mason, having attained the 32d degree and belonging to the Mystic Shrine. At present he is captain-gen- eral of his commandery and in line for the of- fice of eminent commander. He is also very active as an Odd Fellow, being past noble grand and past chief patriarch and for five years was chairman of the board of trustees.

JOHN LEWIS DICKINSON,* cashier of the Kanawha Valley Bank, at Charleston, W. Va., is a worthy representative of one of the old and prominent families of Kanawha County. He was born at Kanawha Salines, now Malden, January 26, 1870, and is a son of John Q. Dickinson, who for so many years was identified with the great salt manufactur- ing industry.

John L. Dickinson attended the public schools and then became a student in the Vir- ginia Military Institute, in the class of 1890. Later he was entrusted with the operating of his father's salt furnaces at Malden, where he remained for some time. He then came to Charleston and served through the clerical positions preliminary to becoming cashier, in 1896. He is also a member of the board of directors of this solid old financial institution, one that stands foremost in capitalization in the state. In politics Mr. Dickinson is a Dem- ocrat and he has long made the city's best in- terests his own. He has been treasurer of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce since its organization and has been one of its most ac- tive promoters.

Mr. Dickinson was married in the city of Charleston to Miss Maude Hubbard, a daugh- ter of John and Anna Statia Hubbard, the former of whom is deceased. Mrs. Dickin- son was born at Malden and was educated at Charleston and at Miss Mason's Seminary, near Philadelphia, Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Dick-

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inson have had five children born to them: Mary Lewis, Anna Statia H., Nell Carmichael, Dorcas Laidley and Rebecca Grey. Mr. Dick- inson and family are members of the First Presbyterian Church at Charleston, in which he is a deacon. He is prominent in Masonry, and is past eminent commander of the Com- mandery and belongs also to Beni-Kedem Temple, Mystic Shrine.

BONNER H. HILL, mine inspector, was born July 25, 1873, at Chelyan, Kanawha County, W. Va., and is a son of Henry and Sallie Jane (Johnson ) Hill. Henry Hill, the father, was born in England, but came to America when young and spent a large part of his life here. He was a railroad contractor and assisted in the construction of the C. & O. Railroad between Fields Creek and Chelyan. He married Sallie Jane Johnson, who was born and reared in Kanawha County and they had two children-Bonner Henry and Annie Wilmot, the latter the wife of C. E. Foster. After the death of her first husband, Mrs. Hill married W. H. Saxton, who was a school- teacher as well as Mrs. Hill-followed the same profession for some twenty-five years, coming from Ohio. Three children were born to the second marriage: Pansy H., Ruth F. and Amelia G.

Bonner H. Hill spent his boyhood on the old Johnson farm, belonging to his mother, near Chelyan, and in the neighboring coal mining villages. By working in the mines during the summer and going to the public schools in winter, he obtained a common school education and later took a course in the Cap- itol City, Business College. He began mining coal in Peerless mine near Chelyan, when he was 13 years of age and filled all the positions in and around the mines from trapper boy to mine foreman, superintendent, and later state mine inspector. Mr. Hill was first appointed mine inspector in July, 1905 for a term of four years, his second appointment being dated September 17, 1909. The first appointment was made by Governor Dawson and the sub- sequent one by Hon. John Laing, Chief of the Department of Mines. Mr. Hill covers a wide territory, his field of inspection including

a part of Raleigh County, all of Boone County and all of Kanawha County south of Kana- wha River from Cabin Creek Junction (in- cluding the mines on Cabin Creek) west.

In 1904 Mr. Hill and W. M. Wagner bought a general store in Chelyan from J. M. Cal- vert, which they conducted for one year and he then sold his interest to William Dickin- son. Two years later he helped to organize the Cabin Creek Mercantile Company and shortly afterwards was appointed postmaster at Chelyan, an office he still acceptably fills. He is active and influential in politics and has represented Cabin Creek district on the Re- publican County Committee for eight years and is now treasurer of that committee.

Mr. Hill is identified with the Salina Ma- sonic lodge at Malden, W. Va. and the Flo- rentine Knights of Pythias lodge at Chelyan, and represented the latter in the Grand Lodge in 1905 and 1906. He was married Septem- ber 18, 1901 to Miss Wilmot T. Cole, daughter of the late Philip and Nettie ( Marie) Cole, and they have two children, Philip H. and Wilmot A.

GRANT COPENHAVER. county assessor of Kanawha county, W. Va., comes of an old agricultural family of Virginia, of Danish an- cestry. He was born in Elk district, this county, June 6, 1868, and is a son of Jacob Thomas and Virginia (Newcomber) Copen- haver.

The original home of the Copenhaver fam- ily was Denmark. where the family name is spelled and pronounced Copenhagen, like that of the capital city. From there, prior to the Revolutionary war, came the greatgrandfather of Grant Copenhaver. His son, Jacob, grand- father of our subject, was probably an infant at that time. Jacob died in Nicholas county. Va., at the age of eighty-eight years. He married a Danish maiden by the name of Dotz- man, who lived to the remarkable age of ninety- seven, showing clearly that she sprang from good and sound stock. The children of Jacob Copenhaver and wife were as follows: John, who was born in Nicholas county, now in West Virginia, died there: Joseph, who was born in Virginia, married and left a family:

STUART F. REED

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Jacob Thomas, father of the subject of this sketch; David, who went in early manhood to Iowa, where he later died; Samuel, who was born in Virginia, subsequently settled on a farm near Sioux City, Ia., and died there leav- ing children; James, who became a farmer in Kanawha county and married Keziah Slack, both being now deceased; William, born in Nicholas county, who lived for a time in Ka- nawha county, returning later to Nicholas county, where he followed farming and mill- ing and married Nancy Malcomb, who sur- vives him; and two daughters, one of whom died when young and the other after marriage.

Jacob Thomas Copenhaver was born in Nicholas county, now in West Virginia, and died in Kanawha county, March 21, 1906, be- ing buried in the old family cemetery on the farm where he located in 1851. This farm, containing 250 acres, he purchased in 1853, and besides operating it, he followed the pro- fession of surveyor. At one time he surveyed 60,000 acres for a Mr. Lewis, subsequently selling the tract for the owner. In his polit- ical views he was a Republican and for some years was active in party affairs. He was mar- ried in Monroe county, W. Va., to Virginia Newcomber, a native of that county. She still survives, being now eighty-two years of age. She is a member of the Baptist church. Of their children, one died at birth and one at the age of two years, the survivors being Mil- dred J., William F., J. Henry, Ellen M., Grant, and Virginia Florence. Mildred J. is the widow of William Burditt, who was a vet- eran of the Civil war. She resides at Mine, Kanawha county. William F. resides at Co- penhaver, Elk district, where he follows farm- ing. He married Florence Gibson for his sec- ond wife, his first union being with Grace Car- son. J. Henry Copenhaver, who is a farmer living near Blue Creek, Kanawha County, served four years as county assessor and four years as sheriff. He has been twice married, first to Lizzie Givens, who is survived by three children, and secondly to Chloe Jarrett, by whom he has one daughter. Ellen M. is the wife of Dr. J. L. Stump, who is engaged in medical practice at Charleston. Dr. and Mrs. Stump have two sons: Wilber C., cashier of

the Elk Banking Company, who is married and has two children; and Erra D., a physician at Charleston, who is a graduate of the Cin- cinnati, O., Medical College. Virginia Flor- ence is the wife of James Madison Fleshman, of Roanoke county, W. Va., who is a farmer in Big Sandy district. Mr. and Mrs. Flesh- man have two children, Clowney T. and Les- sie C.

Grant Copenhaver obtained his education in the public schools and has since devoted a large part of his time to agriculture. He has always been an active and public spirited citizen and since the year 1900 has been personally inter- ested in politics. He was then appointed dep- uty sheriff of Kanawha county and served in that office very acceptably for seven years, after which he was appointed assessor by the Board of Public Works. In 1908 he was elected county assessor for a term of four years and the duties of this office occupy much of his time. He is a staunch Republican and has frequently been a delegate to important con- ventions of his party. He was a member of the state convention that nominated Gov. Will- iam M. Dawson.

Mr. Copenhaver was married in Kanawha county to Miss Adaline Canterbury, a native of Elk district, the year of her nativity being 1873. Her parents were Thompson and Bet- sey (McMillan) Canterbury, both of whom are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Copenhaver have had eight children, namely: Altha, How- ard, Ellen M., Bessie C., John Thomas, Rus- sell Gaines, Ethel, and an infant that died at birth. Howard died when aged five months. Mr. Copenhaver belongs to the Odd Fellows at Clendenin and to the Knights of Pythias at Blue Creek.

STUART F. REED, the present Secretary of State of West Virginia, is a native son, hav- ing been born and reared to young manhood in Barbour County. The Reed home and farm is located in the Elk Valley about nine miles from the Baltimore & Ohio Railway. As a youth Mr. Reed worked hard on the farm, attended the common school and cultivated a taste for reading and study. At the age of sixteen he received a number one grade cer-

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tificate and began teaching in the country schools. He attended the Fairmont Normal School a part of two sessions-in all about ten months-and received the full course diploma. Receiving an appointment as a cadet he en- tered the West Virginia University and for three years pursued an elective course which included science, classics, history and law. The University conferred upon him the degree of LL. B.

Being an ardent admirer of West Virginia's renowned statesman and soldier, Gen. Nathan Goff, Mr. Reed while at college left his books and took part in the strenuous Goff-Fleming gubernatorial contest. In 1891 he became as- sociated with Gen. Goff and others in the pur- chase of the Clarksburg Telegram of which paper he became managing editor. He had ac- quired a taste for journalism while at the University, having been connected with the founding and early editorial management of the Athenaeum which is still the official paper of the University. He carried to his editorial desk an interest and enthusiasm that soon won recognition. He was elected President of the West Virginia Editorial Association three con- secutive terms and when, at his request, the honor was passed on to another, the editors of the State in token of their appreciation pre- sented him a solid gold watch and chain and Knight Templar charm set with diamonds and rubies.

Mr. Reed was nominated without opposition by the Republicans of his district for State Senate and was elected by a large majority. He entered upon his duties as the Clarksburg member of the twenty-third West Virginia Senate in 1895 and was the youngest member of that body. It is an interesting anomaly that his immediate predecessor, the distin- guished jurist, Judge Edwin Maxwell, also! from Clarksburg, had been the oldest member of the Senate. Mr. Reed took an active part in the work of the Legislature. He was made Chairman of the Senate Committee on Edu- cation, and was a member of the Judiciary and other important committees. He was selected by his party caucus to make the nominating speech on the occasion of the first election of the late Stephen B. Elkins to the United

States Senate. In an editorial in the Charles- ton Mail, his speech on that occasion was re- ferred to as the "clustering of the gems of rhetoric by a master hand." "No speech," says the Mail "has ever been heard in the hall of the House of Delegates of more genuine merit than that of Senator Reed naming the choice of the Republicans."

Mr. Reed took part in the debates of the National Congress of editors that met at Chi- cago during the World's Fair; was alternate delegate to the National Republican conven- tion at Minneapolis in 1892; and elected Vice President of the National League of Repub- lican Clubs at Detroit in 1898.

He was selected chairman and spokesman for the immense delegation of West Virgin- ians, numbering about three thousand, who made a pilgrimage to Canton, Ohio, in 1896 to pay their respects to their standard bearer, Major William Mckinley. Mr. Reed was the guest of Mr. and Mrs. McKinley during the day; from a stand near the front door of the home he addressed an audience of over fifteen thousand people, after which Major Mckinley spoke briefly expressing his gratitude for the interest and enthusiasm manifested by his West Virginia friends.

He was one of the founders of the National Republican Editorial Association, one of its first Vice Presidents, and was named as one of the committee to draft the constitution of this organization. The committee did its work in Washington in 1903. The other members of this committee associated with Mr. Reed were the late Postmaster General Charles Emory Smith, and Hon. Charles S. Frances, now Ambassador to Austria.

In January 1908 he was the guest of honor of the University Club of Western Pennsyl- vania, at Pittsburg, upon which occasion he delivered an address on West Virginia's Greatness which was highly complimented by the press and people of the State. The de- mand for copies of this address as so great that a second edition was published in pam- phlet 'form and widely distributed.

Receiving the nomination for Secretary of State in 1908, he made a vigorous campaign and was elected over his democratic opponent,

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Adam Littlepage, by a majority exceeding twenty thousand.

Mr. Reed was chosen as Grand Orator of the West Virginia Grand. Lodge of Free Ma- sons, under whose auspices he delivered the address on Labor Day, September 4, 19II, at Hamlin, West Virginia, in the presence of one of the largest audiences ever assembled in the county. Of this address the Lincoln Monitor, a newspaper of opposite political faith to Mr. Reed, said : "The reputation of this faultless speaker is not confined to West Virginia and with great expectations, which were not dis- appointed, the great crowd gave the speaker rapt attention. The hearts of young men and women were filled with higher impulses as they listened. He had complete control over the great crowd-their ambitions were thrilled, their intellects satisfied with the banquet he spread before them."

A characteristic of Mr. Reed is to seek to know and emphasize the good traits of his fellowmen. When the author of this book submitted the first draft of this biographical sketch in which the writer felt he had paid no more than a fitting and proper tribute to the man and his varied achievements, Mr. Reed promptly and emphatically demanded that the "eulogistic paragraphs" be omitted. Said he "Please do not try to make nie out better or wiser than other people. I say this in all sincerity for the days are few indeed when I do not meet many who possess either talents or virtues far superior to any that might be at- tributed to me."

He has given much of his time and energy to public affairs as evidenced by his having been honored with such positions as Regent of the State University, President of the Board of Trustees of Broaddus Classical and Scien- tific Institute, Postmaster of the City of Clarksburg, Eminent Commander of Knights Templars, and President of the first State Y. M. C. A. convention.

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History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 133

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