History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 77

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 77

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Edward S. Irwin was married at Cincin- nati to Miss Elizabeth A. Nevius, who was born March 3, 1845, and was reared at Charleston and resides in her beautiful home situated at No. 1506 Quarrier street, which she erected in 1909. Her parents

were James and Mary (McCleland) Nevius, the former of whom was born in Rock- bridge county, Va., a son of Abraham Ne- vius, who was one of the venerable men of that county at the time of death. He was of Scotch extraction and of Presbyterian religious faith. James Nevius was a black- smith and when he came to Charleston conducted a smithy for some years and was known as a man of strength and skill. For twenty years before death he lived retired. In early life a. Whig he subsequently be- came a Republican and during the Civil War was outspoken in his support of the Union cause. He was a working member of the Kanawha Presbyterian church. His first wife, the mother of Mrs. Irwin, died in 1849, when a little over forty years of age. His second marriage was in Kanawha county, to Panoply Kendrick, a native of New Hampshire and a daughter of a Bap- tist minister. She left no children.

Mrs. Irwin is the youngest of three sons and four daughters, all of whom grew to maturity, as follows: Nancy, who is the wife of Frank Cart, resides in Colorado and they have twelve children: John, who died in 1902, at Gallipolis, owned and operated a wharfboat there for twenty-five years, mar- ried Julia Baxter, who lives there with their one daughter, Ida; Fannie, who died in Missouri, aged sixty years, was the wife of James Sharrock, who is also deceased ; Robert Logan, who died in Colorado, had lived there many years, married Elisabeth Wilson who lives there with one son and two daughters; George, who now lives at Huntington, O., is a retired lumberman, married Emma Murphy and has four chil- dren; and Mrs. Irwin. She has three chil- dren: Mary N .; Bessie K., who is the wife of Washington L. Goldsmith, a prominent insurance man and has one son; and Rob- ert F., who is a commercial salesman. Mrs. Irwin and family are members of the Kan- awha Presbyterian church.

LIEUT. JOHN A. CROCKETT, who was for many years a highly esteemed resident of Charleston, W. Va., where he died April 10,

LIEUT. JOHN A. CROCKETT

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1896, belonged to a notable old Southern fam- ily, being a kinsman of the famous scout and Indian fighter, David Crockett, massacred at the Alamo, Texas, one year before the birth of our subject. The latter was born in Loudon district, Kanawha county, (now) West Vir- ginia, March 22, 1837, his parents being John Bearsford and Parphina ( Morris) Crockett.

John B. Crockett was born in Kentucky and was a young man when he came to Kanawha county, W. Va. He engaged in farming in Loudon district, near Brownstown, and there he married a daughter of Leonard Morris, who was a prominent citizen of the locality and a man of large estate. After their marriage they lived at Brownstown, where Mr. Crockett died at the age of seventy years and his wife when aged seventy-seven years. John B. Crockett was a Democrat in politics and he served as magistrate for many years. He had been a soldier in the Mexican War. In religion he ad- hered to the Presbyterian church in which he had been reared; his wife, however, was a Methodist. Their family numbered nine chil- dren.

John A. Crockett had good educational ad- vantages. For many years after his school days were over he devoted himself to the man- agement of his large farming interests. ' He inherited a large part of the Morris estates and owned hundreds of acres of fine land, on which extensive agricultural operations were carried on for years under his supervision. From this property, which was situated in Loudon and Malden districts, he. subsequently retired to Charleston, where he spent the rest of his life as an active citizen, occupying a handsome resi- dence at No. 1025 Lee street, where his widow still resides.

Lieut. Crockett earned his military title in the Confederate service, enlisting in 1861 as private in Company I, Eighth Virginia Cavalry, Capt. Irving Lewis and Colonel Jen- kins, commanding. He served all through the war, taking part in many hotly contested bat- tles, among them Chancellorsville, Winchester and Lewisburg, and whether in victory or de- feat always showed himself a brave and stead- fast soldier, by his efficiency and courage win- ning advancement to the rank of lieutenant.

He was frequently in charge of scouts, some- times penetrating into the Union lines and se- curing valuable information. He made many captures of men and material, but, being by na- ture and breeding a true gentleman, was always as kind and considerate to his prisoners as the exigencies of the service permitted. He him- self was never captured or wounded, though he suffered more or less from sickness as the result of the hardships he had to endure in common with most of his comrades.

Soon after the close of the war Lieut. Crock- ett was married, at Dego, Kanawha county, W. Va., to Miss Elizabeth Hannah daughter of Samuel Hannah both natives of this county. She died fourteen years after their marriage, leaving no issue.

In 1882 Mr. Crockett was married in Mal- den district to Miss Caroline Q. Smithers, who was born near Malden, Kanawha county, in 1847, a daughter of Benjamin S. and Eliza (Shrewsbury) Smithers, and a granddaughter on the maternal side of Joel and Sally ( Dickin- son) Shrewsbury, all old families of this sec- tion.

Benjamin S. Smithers was born September 14, 1809, at Long Reach, on the Ohio River, in the western part of what is now West Vir- ginia, while his wife was born in Franklin county, Va. They were married in Malden dis- trict and lived in the village of Malden. Benja- min S. Smithers was a son of Rev. David and Ruth (Smith) Smithers, natives of Delaware. Mr. Smithers became associated with Dickinson and Shrewsbury in salt manufacturing, after- ward purchasing about 600 acres of land in Malden district. He was a representative man of his section, in early days a Whig but later a Democrat, and was a liberal contributor to the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he was a member. He married Eliza Shrewsbury, who was born July 1, 1814, and died May 5, 1898, while on a visit to her daughter at Gal- lipolis O. She also was a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, a tender mother and de- voted wife, an admirable woman whose virtues are still remembered.

To Benjamin S. Smithers and wife the fol- lowing children were born: David S., who is deceased, married Emma Whittaker, who is

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also deceased, three children surviving ; Samuel T., who died unmarried at the age of forty-two years; Sallie D., who is deceased, was the wife of R. F. Watson, also deceased, and they are survived by two sons, Benjamin and Robert; Julia E., who is the wife of Frank Donnelly, of Gallipolis, O., and they have children : Ruth A., who is the widow of Gaston Norvell, has a large family; and Caroline O., who is the youngest surviving member of the family.

Mrs. Crockett was educated at Charleston and College Hill, O. She is the mother of two sons, John Benjamin and David Bernard, both of whom reside at home, neither being married. The former was born February. 5, 1884, and the latter December 5, 1886. They are well educated and both are enterprising young busi- ness men and the former is connected with the Standard Oil Company. Like their late father, they are Democrats in politics. Mrs. Crockett owns a large amount of property consisting of city realty and farm and coal lands, all of which she capably manages for herself. With her sons she is a member of the First Presbyterian church at Charleston.

JEFFERSON DAVIS MARSHALL, a pioneer merchant at Mammoth, W. Va., of which prosperous town he has been a resi- dent for the past eighteen years, was born on his father's farm in Carroll county, Va., March 9, 1862, and is a son of John and a grandson of John Marshall. The grand- father was an early settler in Carroll county and the father spent his entire life there. There were four children in his fam- ily: Jefferson Davis, William K., Joanna and Henry W., the two last named being deceased.

Jefferson Davis Marshall spent his boy- hood on the home farm but when he reached manhood determined to see more of the world. Having little capital he showed that he had determination and courage, for he walked the whole distance to that section of Ohio where were located the iron ore mines and good wages were paid industrious workmen. He remained in those mines for some time and then came to West Virginia and worked in the mines

in Fayette county for awhile and from there went to Boone county, Ind., and worked on a farm. Mr. Marshall afterward returned to West Virginia, where he en- gaged in farming in the summer and worked in the mines in the winter until the spring of 1892, when he went into the mer- cantile business in a small way at Cedar Grove. From there he moved to Mam- moth and opened the first store on the creek, this being before the railroad was construtced. In 1898 he moved to his pres- ent location, where he was shortly after- ward burned out, but subsequently rebuilt. In addition to his store, Mr. Marshall has a small truck farm. He is a successful busi- ness man and respected citizen.

In 1885 Mr. Marshall was married to Miss Alice Bowe, a daughter of the late C. H. Bowe, and they have four children: Minnie, who is the wife of D. S. Meyers; Ida May, who is the wife of Homer Dunbar and they have one child, Kathleen ; William A., and James Corbett. Mr. Marshall and family belong to the Baptist church. He is a Democrat in politics and takes a good citizen's interest in public matters. Mr. Marshall belongs to the Odd Fellows and is a member of the Encampment at Mam- moth; to the Knights of the Golden Eagle, also at Mammoth; and to the Senior. Order of American Mechanics, at Ward, W. Va.

JAMES F. LEWIS, who was born on the banks of the beautiful Kanawha River, at Charleston, W. Va., August 3, 1830, and died in his native place, January 31, 1908, passing away with the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens with whom he had been associated in business and public move- ments for so many years, was a son of James Alexander and Prudentia (Wilson) Lewis.

James Alexander Lewis was born and reared in old Virginia. Soon after mar- riage he came to Charleston and embarked in a mercantile business through which he accumulated a substantial fortune. He married Prudentia Wilson, who was born in Ireland and was brought to Virginia in childhood. They had twelve children born

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to them, all of whom are now deceased, but few reaching maturity. One son, John, was killed at the battle of Winchester, Va., dur- ing the Civil War, and his body was never recovered.

James F. Lewis completed his education at the University of Virginia. In 1853 he visited California, by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and remained four years in the far West and then returned on account of his father's failing health, the latter dying in the following year, and his wife in 1865. In 1861, James F. Lewis enlisted as a pri- vate in the 22nd Va., known as the Kanawha Riflemen, Confederate Army, for service in the Civil War, and shortly afterward was put on detached duty and made secretary to General Wise, with whom he remained until detailed in a similar capacity on another of- ficer's staff in the commissary department. He remained in the service until the termi- nation of the war and then engaged in the mercantile business at Charleston. In the panic of 1873 he suffered heavy losses but from these he recovered honorably and re- sumed business and with a competency re- tired some years before his death. He was a Democrat in his political opinions through out life. . On June 17, 1868, Mr. Lewis was married at Charleston, to Miss Anna Maria Brad- ford, who was born in what is now Putnam county, W. Va., November 10, 1836, a daughter of Alexander Slaughter and Mary Walker (Clarkson). Bradford. Alexander Bradford was born in Bedford county, Va., and in 1834 married Mary Walker Clark- son, of Albemarle county, Va., a daughter of James and Maria (Wood) Clarkson, in the following year moving to what is now Putnam county, where he died in 1839, of scarlet fever. His widow survived until December 3, 1878, her age being sixty-six years. They were attendants of the Epis- copal church. The grandparents of Mrs. Lewis were William A. and Anne (Slaugh- ter) Bradford, all prominent people in Put- nam county. Three children were born to the parents of Mrs. Lewis: Anna Maria, Mrs. Lewis; Alexander Henry, who was

accidentally killed by a comrade during the Civil War; and Mary M., who was married in 1861 to Charles P. Rogers, of Albemarle county, Va., and died suddenly a few months later, and his death occurred in I863. Mrs. Lewis was three years old when her father died and she was reared at St. Albans and at Charleston and educated in Dr. Brown's private school in this city. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Lewis: Comyn, who resides at South Ruff- ner, married Nannie Peyton; Henry B., who is cashier of the Kanawha Banking & Trust Company, married Anna Johnson of Baltimore, and Sue L., who is the wife of John Henshaw, of Fairmont, W. Va. Mrs. Lewis and family are members of the Epis- copal church.

CHARLES F. OSBORNE, who is cashier of the First National Bank of Clendenin, W. Va., is otherwise interested in business enter- prises of importance, being favorably known in business circles generally. He was born Feb- ruary 4, 1883, in Roane county, W. Va., and is a son of Millard Fillmore and Flora H. (Stump) Osborne. Both parents were na- tives of that part of Virginia now known as West Virginia. The father, Millard F. Os- borne, was a merchant and is now employed in a general store at Clendenin conducted by the Robertson-Parrish Co. The subject of this sketch was the second born of his parents' chil- dren, the others being: Harry, Clyde, Ray- mond, Jack and Luther, with one who is de- ceased.

Charles F. Osborne attended the public schools and afterward was engaged as a clerk in business houses of Clendenin, for ten years. In 1908 he became cashier of the First National Bank at Clendenin having been assistant cashier since 1907, Jasper Young now being assistant cashier. Mr. Osborne is also treasurer of the Koontz Oil and Gas Company of Clendenin, is a director of the First National Bank of Clen- denin, and is a stockholder of the Royalty Oil Company of Lincoln county, W. Va. In poli- tics he is a Democrat but has never accepted public office. He is prominent in Masonry, be- longing to the Blue Lodge at Clendenin; and

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the Chapter, Commandery and Shrine at tinued their business relations for forty-three Charleston.

GEORGE GOSHORN, deceased .- One of the old and representative business names of Charleston, W. Va., is that of Goshorn, which for many years has been identified with mercan- tile interests here. The founder of this family at Charleston was George Goshorn, the grand- father of George A. Goshorn, of the present generation, by whom the commercial interests of the family are still conserved. George Go- shorn was born in Pennsylvania, February 29, 1790. From his birthplace he moved to Bel- mont county, Ohio, later to Wheeling, W. Va., and in May, 1822, he came to Charleston.

George Goshorn deserves to be recalled in compiling a history of this section. He was a man of much business enterprise. He kept one of the early hotels and also, for years, operated what was known as the Goshorn Ferry. Being thus a man of importance he also became widely known through his business interests, these bringing him into contact with people from other sections, and the name of Goshorn was widely known even before the present business house was founded. George Goshorn died June 24, 1845. He married Jane Farrier, who died at Charleston in her eighty-fourth year. Seven children were born to them, the eldest of whom was John H. Goshorn, who, for so long a time, was unusually prominent in the business affairs of Charleston.

John H. Goshorn was born at McManus Creek, Va., in 1813, and in 1822 accompanied his parents to Charleston. In 1839, with his brother, William F. Goshorn, he embarked in business, occupying a building on the river bank opposite the court-house. In 1844 they opened a dry goods store in an upper room of the building later utilized by the firm of J. H. & W. G. Goshorn Company, subsequently adding dry goods, hardware and groceries to the com- modities they handled. In 1855 they added to their floor space and continued to do a large business in all lines until 1876, when the firm disposed of the dry goods stock. In the same year they opened up a wholesale and retail hardware business and turned the whole build- ing into one large store. The brothers con-

years when a break occurred occasioned by the death of William F. Goshorn, in May, 1882. Then the late John H. Goshorn organized the firm of J. H. & W. F. Goshorn Company, tak- ing into partnership his two nephews, William F. and H. D. Goshorn, and his son, George A. Goshorn, residents of Charleston.

'The above business has been continuously conducted for sixty-two years, the present style being the Goshorn Hardware Company, with the following officers: President, William F. Goshorn, who resides at No. 1775 Washington street, Charleston ; vice president, H. B. Smith; secretary, Julius A. de Gruyter ; and general manager, Henry D. Goshorn. This concern is still managed according to the sound business principles under which it was organized, and is now one of Charleston's most important and prosperous enterprises and in its management and ownership perpetuates a name that has been honored here for more than a half century.

GEORGE MINSKER, president and gen- eral manager of the Kanawha Woolen Mills, an important business enterprise of Charleston, W. Va .. founded by his father, the late Solo- mon Minsker, is a grandson of Ludwig and Henrietta (Keen) Minsker. They were na- tives of Germany and came to America and settled in Pennsylvania, where they reared children and lived into old age.

Solomon Minsker was born in Dauphin county. Pa., in 1832, and died on the stroke of midnight, February 1, 1908, in his home at Charleston, W. Va. He learned first the carpenter trade and later that of millwright, and was sent to West Virginia by the Win- frede Coal Company, as a skilled mechanic, and proved so acceptable and reliable an em- ploye that he was shortly afterward made pay- master for the company and afterward en- trusted with large amounts of money. In 1857 he came to Charleston and was given a contract to complete an unfinished flour mill and this work was so satisfactory in character when done that he was offered a partnership in the milling business and afterward became an active mill man and continued his interest in this line until the December before his death

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in the following February. About the close of the Civil War he started a woolen mill on the Kanawha River on the present site of the Charleston Utility Company's plant, and in 1869 the firm became known as Parsons, Ap- pleton & Co., and in 1874 they erected the new woolen mill on Clendenin and Virginia Streets. The plant was operated by this company for some years but in 1903 the business was incor- porated and since then George Minsker has been president of the company, Frank Wood- man being treasurer and being identified with the business since 1876, Mr. Minsker's connec- tion having covered a period of thirty-seven years.

Solomon Minsker was married in Kanawha county to Mary High, who was born in 1840, in the Kanawha Valley and spent her life at Charleston, dying in 1901. She was a daugh- ter of George and Barbara High, the former a native of Bucks county, Pa., and the latter of Harrison county, Va. Mrs. Minsker had been reared in the Methodist faith. Nine children were born to the above marriage and of these George was the eldest and six of the seven sur- viving members are married and have families.

George Minsker was married to Miss Flor- ence Clark, who was born near Malden, Kan- awha county, a daughter of Alexander and Eliza (Keis) Clark, who spent the greater part of their lives at and near Charleston. They were members of the Baptist church. Mr. and Mrs. Minsker have two daughters: Lucille H., who resides at home; and Genevieve K., who, like her sister, has been carefully educated and resides also at home. These young ladies with their mother are active workers and members of the First Presbyterian Church. In politics Mr. Minsker is a Republican with independent tendencies.

W. A. LAWSON, a prosperous farmer of Loudon district, whose well cultivated tract of forty acres lies five miles from Charleston, W. Va., on the road leading to that city, was born in Lincoln county, W. Va., August 14, 1870, and is a son of John and Lucretia (Cooper) Lawson.

John Lawson was born in Tennessee and came from there to Logan county and later to

Lincoln county and still later moved on the Coal River in Kanawha county, in all sec- tions following farming, his death occurring in this county at the age of sixty-eight years. He married Lucretia Cooper, who is also de- ceased. They had eight children, four of whom are living : R. L., Valeria O., W. A. and Anthony.

WV. A. Lawson attended school in Lincoln county and then worked on his father's farm until he was twenty-eight years of age, almost continuously, and then bought his present farm of J. H. Huling & Co. Mr. Lawson undoubt- edly has one of the most productive farms of the district and successfully raises all kinds of vegetables and fruit, making something of a specialty of berries which are of the finest qual- ity and command an excellent price.

Mr. Lawson was married to Miss Catherine W. Thaxton, a daughter of Obediah Thaxton, who is a farmer on Coal River, and they have two children-Ottie and Freeda, while three intermediate ones are deceased. They were Sylvia and twin babies. In politics Mr. Law- son is a Democrat. He belongs to the Odd Fellows and attends lodge at Spring Hill, IV. Va.

JOHN F. SOUTHWELL, manager of the Elk Hotel, one of the fine hostelries of Charles- ton, W. Va., is one of the younger business men of this city to which he came in Septem- ber, 1910, when he assumed his present respon- sibilities. He was born March 2, 1880, in Franklin County, Va., coming from an old family of that section, his grandfather, Finney Southwell, having been born in 1816, after his people had come there from New Hampshire.

Finney Southwell was a well known planter, an extensive farmer and an early tobacco grower in his locality. He lived in what was known as the Taylor Stone District, where his death occurred in 1900. He was a large- hearted, generous, free living man as regards hospitality and no one was more respected or esteemed in Franklin county than he. irrespec- tive of religion or politics. In the former he was a member of the southern body of the Methodist Episcopal church and in the latter he was a Democrat. He married in Franklin

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county and a large family was reared the three survivors being: John T., father of John F .; William, who occupies the old homestead; and Martha, who is the wife of James Tobias, a farmer in Franklin county.

John T. Southwell was born in Franklin county, Va., July 2, 1846, and has spent his life in the same county, now residing on his farm near Hale's Ford, on the Staunton River. He is one of the prominent Democrats of his section and is also a liberal supporter of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Miss Julia Pasley, a native of Franklin county, a daughter of Robert Pasley, who, at one time was sheriff of Franklin county and a man of fortune and prominence. To John T. South- well and wife there were born seven children, one of whom, Ewell J., died at the age of eighteen years. The record of the living is as follows: Othel E. formerly was in the can- ning business but now lives on a farm in Frank- lin county, is married and has three children. William R. lives at Bedford City, Va., and is connected with the American Tobacco Com- pany. Ophelia K. is the wife of Thomas Mor- gan and they have children and a pleasant home near Pine Hook, Va. John F. is the fourth member of the family. Grover C. resides at Huntington, W. Va., being connected with the C. & O. Railroad. Minnie is the wife of Thomas Poindexter and they live in Franklin county and have three children.

John F. Southwell was educated in Franklin and Roanoke counties, graduating from the Roanoke Business College in the class of 1903, after which he was express and station agent for the C. & O. Railroad at Huntington until the fall of 1910, when he came to Charleston. The Elk Hotel, of which he is manager, is a handsome building situated at the head of Broad Street, opposite the K. & M. Railroad depot, a very convenient location for the trav- eling public. The hotel contains seventy rooms, forty of these being finely fitted up for guests. Mr. Southwell proves that he under- stands one great desideratum in a hotel, and that is a fine cuisine, and his table is supplied with the best the market affords. His bar is one of the features of the house and liquors and vintages to suit every taste are provided.

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History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 77

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