History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 75

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 75

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Andrew S. Pritt attended school in boyhood with his brothers and sisters in the nearest dis- trict school-house and has been engaged all his active life in agricultural pursuits and has been very successful in the management of his large estate. He has an interest in the Paradise Tele- phone Company. Mr. Pritt was married Sep- tember 30, 1877, to Miss Sidney A. Tollev. who was born in Poca District, a daughter of Alfred and Letha ( Williams) Tolley, and they have had the following children: Ida, who re- sides at home: Milton, who lives on Derrick Creek, married Alpha Asbury : Edna, who mar- ried Edward Bailey, resides in Union District; and Ezra. Dessie, Rosa and Birdie, all of whom live at home and all have been given many ad- vantages in the way of schooling. Mr. Pritt has been one of the school trustees of Poca Dis- trict for some twelve years. He is a Republi- can in politics and is a worthy citizen and a wide-awake business man.

SAMUEL C. PEELER. treasurer of the Morgan Lumber & Manufacturing Co., Charleston, was born in Rowan County, N. C., March 12, 1868, son of Alfred M. and Eliza (Lyerly) Peeler. His paternal grandfather, Samuel Peeler, who was, it is thought, a native of Pennsylvania, or possibly of Germanv, set- tled in Rowan County, N. C., after his mar- riage and died there at an advanced age. He was a farmer by occupation, and the father of a large family, all of whom are now deceased. Alfred M. Peeler, son of Samuel, also fol-

lowed agriculture and was at the same time a miller and lumberman, operating a planing mill. He spent his entire life in his native state, dving February 18, 1885. He and his partner, Thomas G. Linn, built and operated the first mill in Hickory. Later he became a partner in the Piedmont Wagon Co., from which his heirs now receive a substantial annual income. He was a Democrat in politics and a member of the city council. He was married in Rowan County, N. C., to Eliza Lyerly, who was born in that county in 1840, and who died January 14, 1908. Her parents were natives of North Carolina, in which state they died. The family were Lutherans in religious affiliations. Mrs. Peeler was one of a very large family, of whom three are still living, are married and have families. The children of Alfred MI. and Eliza Peeler were as follows: E. Gilbert is now a resident of Hickory. N. C., where he operates a planing mill. Samuel C. is the sub- ject of this sketch and will be further mentioned herein. Eli E. is a superintendent in the Hal- sey Planing Mills at Charleston, S. C., and like Gilbert is married and has children. Cora O. is the wife of P. P. Jones, chief of police of Hickory. N. C .. Sarah May is the wife of G. C. Fisher and resides at Salisbury. N. C. She has a daughter.

Samuel C. Peeler, after acquiring the ele- ments of knowledge, became connected with the milling industry, in which he remained for some years. He then became a machinist in a fur- niture factory at Asheville, N. C. After a stav there of four years, he came in 1892. to Charles- ton, W. Va., and was foreman in the milling department of the Morgan Lumber & Manu- facturing Co .. up to the time of its incorpora- tion, when he was elected its first treasurer and one of its directors. The company is capital- ized for $100.000 and does an extensive and prosperous business. Mr. Peeler votes the Democratic ticket, but is not actively interested in politics.

He was married in Charleston to Miss Jane Meade, who was born in this city in 1869, and who was educated and reared at Elizabeth, W. Va. Her parents were Gilbert and Frances (Ray) Meade, both natives of the Kanawha Valley, where they were well and favorably

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known, and where they died leaving a large family. Mr. and Mrs. Peeler have two chil- dren: Frances May, born February 7, 1893, who is attending public school; and Rachel Dayne, born July 3, 1900. Mr. Peeler is a member of the First Presbyterian and Mrs. Peeler is a member of the Christian church.

JOHN W. BURGESS, a successful gen- eral farmer who has lived on his present place in Elk district, Kanawha county, W. Va., for the past thirty-five years, was born in Fayette county, Va., August 23, 1850, and is a son of William T. and Amanda (Vandall) Burgess.

William T. Burgess was born in Giles county, Va., and died in 1864, when aged but thirty-nine years, being the victim of fever contracted while serving as a soldier in the Civil War. He enlisted in 1863 in Co. D, 29th W. Va. Cav. He was a black- smith by trade. He married Amanda D. Vandall, who was born seventy-seven years ago, a daughter of John D. and Rachel (Weisman) Vandall, all of Fayette county. Her grandafther was Abram Vandall, a soldier in the Revolutionary and Indian Wars. He married Mary Davis, who was a member of the family of Associate Judge Davis of Virginia. David Burgess, father of William T. Burgess, was born in Rock- bridge county, Va., and from there moved to Mercer county and after the Civil War, to Kanawha county. He followed the blacksmith trade. He married Mary Davis and they both survived into old age. To William T. Burgess and his wife the fol- lowing children were born: John W .; Josephine, who is the wife of J. Montgom- ery. of Charleston; and George W., of Car- roll county, O. Some years later the widow of William T. Burgess married Mathias Siers, who was born in 1831, a son of William Siers, and died May 17, 1884. Two children were born to this marriage, one of whom survives. Leonidas. who re- sides at Huntington, W. Va. Mrs. Siers is a beloved member of the household of her oldest son.

John W. Burgess attended the schools of

Fayette county in boyhood and then learned brickmaking and in 1863 came to Kanawha county with his mother, locating at Charleston, where he followed his trade for thirty years. In 1876 he came to his present farm and combined farming with brickmaking, but discontinued the latter in- dustry in 1903.

Mr. Burgess was married to Miss Martha E. Meadows, who was born July 12, 1849, a daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Cavender) Meadows. Five children were born to them, two of whom survive, namely : Lizzie, who married John Lewis, and they have one daughter, Lucile; and Izora W., who is the wife of Robert J. Patton, of Two-Mile creek, Kanawha county, and they have five children. The mother of the above family died April 3, 1884. Mr. Bur- gess married for his second wife, Lyda Edens, who was born in 1870, and died in April, 1902, aged thirty-two years. She was a daughter of Alexander Edens, one of the old pioneers of Kanawha county. The following children were born to this marriage: Commodore, a youth of twenty years, who resides at home; Mary Ellen, who is the wife of Augustus Price. a farmer on Blue creek; and Matie V., who lives at home. In politics Mr. Burgess is a Repub- lican and for the past five years has been serving in the office of road commissioner.

SIM IRION, a well known citizen of Charleston, W. Va., who is now connected with the office of the Business Men's Asso- ciation as secretary, has had a very in- teresting life and may justly be termed a self made man. He was born in Gallia county, O., March 21. 1855, and is a son of Robert and Mary C. (Plymale) Irion.

The Irion family probably originated in Germany and from there went to Scotland, from which country in 1748, Henry C. Irion and a companion named Bonner. escaped to the American colonies. At a later date Bonner returned to Scotland but it was at the price of his life. Henry C. Irion.settled in North Carolina and there married Sarah Cramm. Their one son, Henry Irion, came

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HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY

from North Carolina to Virginia in 1818, settling in Henry county, from which sec- tion they moved to Gallia county, O., a few years later. He married Sarah Hutchins, who accompanied him to Ohio, and both lived into old age, her death occurring in 1867, at the age of ninety-six years. He was a shoemaker by trade. They had the following children: William Cramm, Rob- ert, John, Henry and James, all of whom married and reared large families.

William Cramm Irion was born in North Carolina in 1803, and was a boy when his parents moved first to Henry county, Va., and later to Gallia county, O., having reached manhood by that time. He mar- ried Elizabeth Trotter, who was born in what is now Mason county, W. Va., the granddaughter of Ann Bailey, whose first husband was Richard Trotter, whose father had bought Ann Hannis for her passage from England. William Cramm Irion and wife spent their subsequent lives in Gallia county, where he was a farmer and justice of the peace, dying in December. 1872, be- ing then in his twenty-eighth consecutive year in that office. He was a man of clear judgment and his many decisions were never reversed. He was personally beloved and at his funeral people came from all over southern Ohio to pay tribute to his men- ory. Three sons and three daughters were born to him and wife and two of these, Davis and John Irion still live in Ohio.

Robert Irion, the second son, was born in 1836. He died a conscript soldier from the effects of sea sickness, while on a trans- port going to Washington, D. C., to be dis- charged after service in the Civil War. His body was interred at Fortress Monroe, Va., his age being under forty years. He was married April 27, 1854, in Gallia county, O., to Mary C. Plymale, who was born and reared in Ohio and still resides in Gallia county, having passed her seventy-third birthday on December 27, 1911. She has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church since girlhood. She was married second to Andrew Hardway, of Nicholas county, W. Va., who died in December,

1903, survived by two sons and two daugh- ters. By her first marriage she had four sons and two daughters.

Sim Irion was the eldest born of his par- ents. He had absolutely no early educa- tional advantages and his first employment after leaving the farm was as a deck hand on a Ohio river boat. He was ambitious however and it was through his own de- termination that between his sixteenth and twentieth year that he attended school and to such good purpose that he obtained a license to teach and afterward for some time taught school both in Ohio and West Virginia. He was later variously engaged until 1879, when he came to Putnam county, W. Va., and for a time was with the cooperage branch of the Standard Oil Com- pany. It was eight years later that he came to Charleston where he has lived since, al- though not continuously, having been in Central and South America from 1896 until 1899, being there in the interest of the Geo. D. Emery Co. and the Sim Irion Co. Since his return he was connected with the city auditor's office until April 8. 1911, since that date he has been secretary of the Business Men's Association. In 1889 he was court clerk in the West Virginia legislature. In politics he is a Republican and has fre- quently been a member of the school board of the city, and also in Putnam county.

On February 18, 1880, Mr. Irion was married first to Mary Roberts, an adopted daughter of his grandfather. She was well educated and was a graduate of St. Mary's College, O., and Mr. Irion gives testimony to the influence she exerted, her encourage- ment and help, assisting him at the most critical period of his life. She was born August 8, 1855, and died July 3, 1883, leav- ing no children. His second marriage was to Mary Noffsinger, who was born March 7. 1858, in Noble county, O., and they have had two sons: Frank, born September 4, 1890, who died November 24, 1891: and Thad, born September 28, 1892, who re- sides at home. Mr. Irion is a man of tem- perance both by precept and example. He is identified with the Masonic fraternity.

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W. S. HAMMAKER, who is interested in coal leases with the Susquehanna Coal and Lumber Co., and owns coal and timber lands in West Virginia, is one of the lead- ing citizens of Pratt, and bears a name that has become widely known through his writ- ings and through his investigations into many of the most vital subjects that now interest the thinking world. He was born near Roanoke, Va., June 1, 1849, and is a son of Michael and Irena (Minich) Ham- maker, natives of Germany, and, through the paternal line, kindred of the famous Hesse family.

\V. S. Hammaker attended Roanoke Col- lege and the St. Cloud Normal School, at St. Cloud, Minn. When seventeen years of age he learned the plastering trade and also worked at brickmaking for Ausman Trim- ble, at Coalburg, Kanawha county, for sev- eral summers. From 1868 until 1872 he was connected with the Lake Superior & Puget Sound Land Company, as engineer and town-site man and returned from the far west in order to give filial attention to his father who was then in feeble health. Perhaps much of the practical element found in his magazine writings is the result of his next seven years' labors, when he worked in and around the mines in the Kanawha valley, after which he opened a store at Paint creek, near Lock No. 3, which he successfully operated until 1882. From there he came to the village of Clif- ton, now Pratt, WV. Va., moving his store to this point, having the foresight that saw the future possibilities of the town, as pop- ulation and improvements swept onward.

At the time Mr. Hammaker came to this place no post-office had been established but through his strenuous endeavors pub- lic interest was aroused and a Government office was accorded but not to a place named Clifton, as this pleasant sounding name had already been supplied to a hamlet on the Ohio river. Agreement finally came about by which the name Dego was ac- cepted and Mr. Hammaker was made the first postmaster and served through a Re- publican administration and the succeeding

Democratic one, the period including some ten years. The name of Dego continued for sixteen years, when that of Pratt was adopted for a permanency, the change be- ing made in 1901, for various excellent rea- sons. While engaged in the mercantile business the C. & O. Railroad had space in his store for its ticket office. He disposed of his mercantile interests in 1897 to Walter Abney, after which he turned his attention to dealing in real estate and particularly in coal and timber lands. In the meanwhile he had done considerable literary work, be- ing a correspondent and writer for a num- ber of newspapers and magazines. When released from business cares he decided to travel, his main object being the securing of reliable information on the subjects in which he was most interested, so that his writings would be dependable and not like those of others who have put forward works filled with startling assertions but with no facts to back them up. Mr. Ham- maker traveled in every state of the Union except four, from the Atlantic to the Pa- cific ocean, in Mexico and in Canada, and probably learned much more than the ordi- nary traveler who depends largely on his guide books and is provincial enough to make no acquaintances on his journeys. On the other hand, Mr. Hammaker became ac- quainted with the municipal officers in every city, visited their boards of trade and their special institutions and when he re- turned home it was with a broadened mind and still more enlightened understanding and with valuable information at his com- mand. In 1907, accompanied by his family he went to Washington, D. C., where he pursued the same course, passing hours in the great national buildings and libraries, and before his stay of five months was over, spent two delightful weeks at Atlantic City, N. J. The trip home was made by way of Reading and Harrisburg, and in both cities he gained much information, in the former visiting the great iron and railroad plants for which it is noted. Mr. Hammaker is a member of the American Secular Union and Freethought Federation and was chair-

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man of the national congress of this body which met at St. Louis, Mo., in October, 1904, when delegates assembled from all over the world.

Mr. Hammaker was married September 20, 1877, to Susan M. Teubert, a daughter of John G. and Mary E. (Rudolph) Teu- bert, and they have one daughter, Grace Wayne, who is the wife of Lewis Hodges, a patent attorney at Washington, D. C. Mr. Hammaker is a Republican in politics. With his family he occupies one of the handsome residences of Pratt, which he erected here in 1897, and owns other prop- erty.

JOHN L. THORNHILL, vice president of the National City Bank, of Charleston, W. Va., and one of the aggressive and representa- tive business men of the place, established him- self here in 1888 as a commercial broker and dealer in insurance and real estate. He was born February 22, 1861, in Rappahannock County, Va., in the beautiful region which was so soon afterward the scene of the ravages of war. His parents were Lafayette Jonathan and Fannie M. (Zimmerman) Thornhill, both na- tives of Virginia. After the death of her first husband, Mrs. Thornhill married B. F. Mays, of Charleston, W. Va.

John L. Thornhill was the younger of the two children born to his parents. The death of his father when he was small deprived him of many advantages in the way of education which would naturally have come to him, and while yet young he was thrown entirely upon his own resources. He was a boy of good prin- ciples and naturally industrious, possessing also the courteous manner of a well born youth, and without difficulty he secured employment. He served for a time as telegraph messenger and later as a clerk in the Charleston postoffice. Wisely he learned a self-supporting trade. For six years he was manager of the Daily and Weekly Star, of Charleston, and continued ac- tive in the newspaper business until March, 1890. He is widely known in journalistic cir- cles and has an army of newspaper friends and admirers. In 1884 he was elected vice presi- dent of the West Virginia Press Association

and was the West Virginia delegate to the National Editorial Association which met at San Antonio, Texas, in 1888. Since 1890, however, Mr. Thornhill has devoted the larger measure of his time to his present line of busi- ness and maintains his office in the new Na- tional City Bank Building. He has been identi- fied also with the banking interests of the city for several years, being one of the organizers of the National City Bank, of Charleston, of which he has been vice president since it was founded, in February, 1907.

On October 15. 1890, Mr. Thornhill was married to Miss Clothilde D. Powell, a member of one of the old families of Danville, Va.

During the administration of Governor White, in August, 1904. Mr. Thornhill was ap- pointed a member of the Board of Regents of the Colored Institute and was reappointed by Governor Dawson and held the office until the State Board of Control took charge of all the state institutes. He is a member of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, and of several secret societies, and takes an active in- terest in all matters looking toward the up- building of Greater Charleston.

EDWIN R. DAVIS, a retired merchant re- siding at Clendenin, W. Va., was born August 22, 1844. in Big Sandy District, Kanawha County, and is a son of Edwin and Mary V. (Hart) Davis.

Edwin R. Davis was born in the State of New York, and in early manhood accompanied Captain Smith to Kanawha County as a teacher. He was accidentally killed by trees falling on him, in 1844, when aged thirty years. He married Mary V. Hart, who was born in 1821, a daughter of John and Christina ( Sny- der) Hart, who survived until February 25, 1908. She contracted a second marriage with O. V. Jarretts, of Jarretts' Ford. To the first marriage four children were born, two of whom survive : Edwin R. and John Hart, both living retired at Clendenin. To the second marriage three sons were born: Vernon, Staunton and Grant.

Edwin R. Davis attended school and then worked on a farm until he was fifteen years of

ELLIS T. CRAWFORD

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age, when he entered the state service and served during two years and two months of the Civil War, being stationed at Clay Court House. After he was mustered out he entered a school at Delaware, Ohio, where he completed a business course and a commercial law course. His first position was that of bookkeeper in Kentucky. In 1896 he came to Charleston and was clerk in a business house for one year, and then to Clendenin, where he embarked with his brother in a mercantile business and continued until 1905, when he disposed of his interests and retired.

Mr. Davis was married first to Miss Fanny M. Corn, who was born January 19, 1857, and died August 23, 1882. She was survived by two children: Lela May and Catherine L., the latter being a widow. Mr. Davis was married second to Miss Alice Lovenia Stewart, who was born December 18, 1858, in Lincoln County, Ky., a daughter of William Stewart, and four children were born to them: John Stewart, born in 1892; Edwin R., born in 1893 : William Lewis, born in 1896, and Fanny M., born in 1902. Mr. Davis and family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is treasurer and recording steward. He is a Re- publican in politics and served two years as re- corder of Clendenin. He is a charter member of the Masonic Blue Lodge at Clendenin and has been its secretary since organization.

ELLIS T. CRAWFORD, a representative business man of Charleston, W. Va., senior member of the real estate firm of Crawford & Ashby, belongs to an old Virginia family of Scotch-Irish descent. He is a son of David Willette and Annie T. (Thayer) Crawford.

Isaac Crawford, grandfather of Ellis T., was a prominent man in Roanoke county, Va., for many years, his death taking place prior to the Civil War. He was a farmer and miller. He married a member of the Willette family from Giles county, and she survived her hus- band by about two years. They were members of the Presbyterian church. They had the fol- lowing children born to them: David Will- ette, Calvin Campbell, who now lives in Hunt- ington, W. Va., served as a soldier in the Con- federate army during the Civil War; Samuel,

who is now deceased, was a farmer in Mercer county, Va .; Charles Napoleon went into the Confederate army at the age of fifteen years and is now a railroad contractor and re- sides at Lynchburg, Va .; James, who died young; Lewis, who is deceased, was a soldier in the Confederate army; Thomas P., who lives in Mercer county, W. Va., is a farmer and rail- road contractor; Anna, who is the wife of Marion George, of South Carolina; and Mar- tha, who is deceased, is survived by her hus- band, Alexander Clark, who lives in Virginia.

David Willette Crawford was born in Roa- noke county, Va., in 1839, and died at Charles- ton, July 21, 1877. He was a graduate of the University at Charlottesville, Va., and later be- came connected with his three brothers as con- structing contractors with the C. & O. railroad, and for many years was a civil engineer and railroad contractor at Charleston. He was also connected with Captain Christy in the wharf- boat business on the Kanawha river, where they owned and operated boats. Politically he was a Democrat and a strong man in his party affiliations. For many years he was identified with the Masonic fraternity. He married An- nie T. Thayer, who was of New England' stock and Mayflower ancestry. Her parents were James and Susan E. (Putney) Thayer, the for- mer of whom was a lawyer of promise but died before he was thirty years of age, leaving a widow and daughter. The maternal grand- father of Mrs. Crawford was Dr. David Put- ney and the paternal grandfather was James Thayer. The latter came from New England to Malden, Kanawha county, at an early day and owned and operated boats on the Kanawha river. From her ancestors Mrs. Crawford in- herited a quaint sugar bowl that came over in the Mayflower and this historic piece of china is very carefully preserved. Mrs. Crawford was born in 1846 but time has touched her very kindly. She is a member of the Presbyterian church, as was her late husband.

To David Willette Crawford and wife the following children were born: Ellis Thayer, David Willette and James Ernest. David Willette Crawford, who bears his father's hon- ored name, is a resident of Charleston and is associated in business with his brothers. James

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HISTORY OF KANAWHA COUNTY

Ernest Crawford, a leading business man at Charleston, married Mary Thomas, of Kana- wha county, and they have seven children: J. Ernest, Jr., Mary L., Anna, Rebecca. David W., Lewis and Ellis T., Jr.

Ellis Thayer Crawford was educated in the public schools and then made a special study of civil engineering. Since 1898 he has been a member of the firm of Crawford & Ashby at Charleston, a land firm of large importance. This firm buys coal and timber lands, mainly in Virginia, and in connection with this feature of their business they are interested in oil and gas. in mining in Mexico and there own valuable sil- ver mine properties. The firm enjoys the confi- dence of the public and are looked upon as hon- est. enterprising and wide awake business men. They all are Democratic in their political bias.

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History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 75

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