History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 78

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 78

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Mr. Southwell was married at Huntington to Miss Rosa Schwartz, who was born in Wer- temberg, Germany, September 20, 1887, and accompanied a sister and two brothers to Amer- ica in 1894. She was educated at Cincinnati and Huntington. Her parents were Michael and Elizabeth Schwartz and they died in Wer- temberg, Germany, in middle life. The father was a baker by trade and he and wife were in- dustrious and estimable people. They be- longed to the Lutheran church. Mrs. Schwartz was the kind and loving mother of nine chil- dren and seven of these came to the United States, two of whom, Herman and Michael, died in Huntington, unmarried. Three sisters of Mrs. Southwell, Elizabeth, Catherine and Fredrica, live at Huntington, two of them being married. One brother, August, lives in the city of Cincinnati, where he has a family. Mr. and Mrs. Southwell have one daughter, Helen J., who was born May 8, 1910, and was but a few months old when her parents moved to Charleston.

MISS AMANDA J. DERRICK, who was born on Derrick's Creek, Poca District, Kana- wha county, W. Va., fifteen miles north of Charleston, is a daughter of John and a grand- daughter of Jonathan and Mary (Haynes) Derrick.

Jonathan Derrick was born in Botetourt county. Va., where he married and was the first pioneer settler in Poca district, on the stream which was named in his honor, Der- rick's Creek. To Jonathan and Mary Derrick the following children were born: Elizabeth, who married George Boggas, and they lived on Poca River and both died there; Mary, who married Solomon Aultz, and they lived on Mar- tin's Branch, in Union District; John, who lived in Poca district, all three having been born in Botetourt county; Katherine, who was the first one born in Kanawha county, married George Hainey and they moved to the West and the family has lost record of them; Mar- tha, who died aged two years; Rachel, who died when aged thirteen years; Nancy, who married Witson Jordon, and they also went to the West ; George, who was a carpenter, went to Kentucky and married and died there; An-

JAMES M. PAYNE

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drew, who lived and died on Derrick's Creek. married first Katherine Jordan, and second, Elizabeth Arthur; Michael, who lived on Poca River, married Julia Dawson and both are de- ceased; Leroy, who died at home of typhoid fever; Agnes, who also died from an attack of typhoid fever ; and Amanda, who died on Sandy River, in Jackson District, was the wife of Jer- emiah Gallahue. Jonathan Derrick had about 400 acres of land and cleared about all of it before his death, which occurred when seventy years of age. His wife died in her sixty-fifth year. They were buried in the family ceme- tery on Derrick's Creek. Both were worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal church and attended services in the log building at Sis- sonville.

John Derrick, father of Miss Amanda J. Derrick, was born March 30, 1809, in Boto- tourt county, Va., and had comparatively meager school advantages. His main school- book was a speller and the pupils sat before a huge fireplace into which whole logs were rolled, the floors were sometimes of rough logs and slabs did for seats. In those days school- ing did not continue long but enough was learned to lay a foundation upon which reading and subsequent association with others could build up a fair amount of knowledge. John Derrick was a man of natural intelligence and became a prominent man in his district, a mem- ber of the board of Education and a justice of the peace for a number of years. After his marriage he settled on a farm adjoining that of his father, containing something over 300 acres, which land he cleared himself. In Octo- ber, 1835, he married Mrs. Katherine Smith, widow of Stephen Smith and daughter of Jo- siah Thomas. She was born September I, 1804, in Kentucky, and died December 16, 1875.

To John and Katherine Derrick the follow- ing children were born: Jonathan M., who was a soldier in the Civil War, died in the army May 8, 1865, of measles, aged twenty-nine years, nine months and twenty-nine days; Josiah T., who died March 23, 1874, aged thirty-six years, ten months and twenty days, married Susan McMann, a daughter of Dr. McMann,

and is survived by one son; Mary Margaret, who died August 2, 1902, was the wife of John Goff and her burial was on Martin's Branch, in the McClanaghan Cemetery; Lucretia Ann, who died when one year old ; and Amanda Jane, the only survivor. The father died March 2, 1877, and both he and wife were buried on the old Derrick farm in Poca district. No family in all this section has been better known or more highly esteemed and respected.

Miss Amanda J. Derrick was born July 3, 1843, and has spent her whole life on a farm. She bought her present valuable property, what was known as the old Aultz farm, on November 19, 1908, from H. F. Aultz. It contains 107 acres of excellent land, is situated eight miles north of Charleston, on the Charleston and Sissonville turnpike road, and her residence is probably the best and most comfortable of any in Poca district. She directs the management of the farm herself, with the assistance of a niece and nephew, and hires considerable help. Miss Derrick is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

JAMES MONROE PAYNE, one of the leading members of the Charleston bar, of the law firm of Payne & Payne, belongs to an old Virginia family that traces an honorable an- cestry many generations back. He was born May 21, 1848, in Giles county, Va., and is a son of Charles H. and Rebecca ( Price) Payne.

Charles H. Payne was born in Franklin county, Va., a son of Thomas Payne, of Camp- bell county, Va., and Frances (Powell) Payne, of Franklin county. Agriculture was the main business of the older generations of Paynes. They did not seek public office.

James M. Payne was reared in his native county and enjoyed the educational and social privileges which the prominence and wealth of his family made possible. From Roanoke Col- lege, where he spent some years, he entered upon the study of law and was admitted to the bar of Craig county, Va., in October, 1871. For two years he engaged in the practice of his profession there and then came to Charleston where he has remained ever since. His first partner in law practice was S. S. Green, with

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whom he was associated until 1895. His pres- ent firm was formed in 1897 and his business office is in the Kanawha Valley Bank Building. The very significant change in the law of evi- dence, applicable to the trial of suits in eject- ment laid down in the case of Stockton against Morris, decided by the Supreme Court of Ap- peals of this State, was made at his initiative and presentation to the Court.

In October, 1880, Mr. Payne was married to Miss Belle Abney, who was born in Louisiana and died at Charleston in 1906. They had three sons: Arnold Abney, James Monroe and Francis Worth. The eldest son is a lieutenant in the United States Army. In 1908, Mr. Payne was married to Miss Virginia Austin, of Lewisburg, W. Va. They reside at No. 1210 Virginia street, Charleston. Mr. Payne is an elder in the First Presbyterian church, which he and his family attend.

Mr. Payne is a Democrat in sentiment and by inheritance, but he has never been unduly active as a politician and the only public office he has ever filled was that of councilman, local issues at that time convincing him that he could be useful in civic legislation. He has been offi- cially identified with numerous important busi- ness enterprises. He organized and was the president of the Charleston Home Telephone Company for some years. He has served also on many charitable committees and benevolent boards, and has lent his influence to everything that has promised permanent advantage to his city. Mr. Payne is one of the trustees of the Presbyterian Orphans' Home, of Lynchburg, Va. He has traveled extensively in his own and in foreign countries.

CHARLES C. LEWIS, capitalist and largely interested in the coal industry in the Kanawha Valley, has been identified with many of the important business interests which have served to increase and develop the commercial importance of Charleston.' He was born in Kanawha county, Va., now West Virginia, April 15. 1839, and is a son of John D. and Ann (Dickinson) Lewis, and a grandson of Col. William Dickinson, one of the early ex- ploiters of this section, a man of great courage and of public importance.

John D. Lewis, father of Charles C., was born June 6, 1800, in Bath county, Va. His parents moved to Mason county in his in- fancy and for the larger part of his life he lived near the mouth of Campbell's Creek, where he acquired large tracts of coal and salt land and became prominent in the development of both.

Charles C. Lewis enjoyed academic advan- tages in his youth and gained his first business experience as a clerk for his maternal grand- father. From 1861 until 1869 he was identi- fied with his father in the salt manufacturing industry and afterward passed two years in agricultural pursuits. In 1870 he became pres- ident of the Kanawha Valley Bank and re- mained at the head of this stable old institution for fifteen years. On removing to Charleston, he bought property on the corner of Kanawha and Brooks Street, and built a residence where he is residing at this time. In 1882, in part- nership with P. H. Noyes, he organized the wholesale grocery firm of Lewis, Hubbard & Co., which is one of the largest enterprises of its kind in West Virginia. He retired from active participation in its affairs when he was called on to give his time and attention to ad- ministering on the large estates of his father and other members of his family. Since 1894 he has been actively interested only in his coal enterprises.

Mr. Lewis was married in 1864 to Miss Eliz- abeth Wilson, a daughter of Nathaniel Wilson, and six children were born to them. The eld- est son, Charles C., Jr., is connected with the wholesale grocery house of Lewis, Hubbard & Co. The second son, John D., is secretary and treasurer of the Charleston Milling and Produce Co., and his residence is at No. 1206 Virginia Street. Mr. Lewis and family are members of the First Presbyterian church at Charleston, in which he is an elder. Mr. Lewis has always been a man of broad-minded view and generous sympathies. At times he has served in civic offices, for a number of terms being city treasurer, but business has always been more interesting to him than politics.

JOHN LEONARD, postmaster at Hughes- ton, W. Va., where he is also a general mer-

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chant, was born in County Roscommon, Ire- land, August 12, 1838. When four years old his parents, Michael Leonard and wife, took passage with their family for America. They both died on the ship and were buried at sea and it was fortunate for the orphan boy that his half-brother, James Donlan, was one of the party. The latter took care of the child not only until land was reached but until he was seventeen years of age, Mr. Donlan dying in Erie county, in 1878. Young himself, he found his first paying work on a farm in New York and while there saved enough to enable him to buy land in Erie county, Pa., and the brothers moved there in 1853 and there John Leonard found employment on a farm at $4 a month. He grew into an industrious young man and worked on farms and in livery sta- bles, in fact at anything that was honest, until 1860, when he went to the oil fields of Pennsyl- vania and had been there a few months when the Civil War broke out. In 1861 he enlisted for service in the 10th Pa. Reserves, and served two years in Co. H, under Captain Patridge, and during this time took part in the seven days of fighting in front of Richmond, the second battle of Bull Run, and the battles of South Mountain, Antietam and Fredericksburg. Being discharged on account of sickness he re- turned to Pennsylvania and then went to New York City and while there supported himself by driving an omnibus. After his return to Pennsylvania he drove a stage between Pitts- burg and Franklin, Pa., until 1867, when he came to Kanawha county, W. Va. Here he drove the stage from Charleston to Hughes Creek, his present place of residence, for two years and then spent a summer in Missouri. In the fall of 1869 he returned to Kanawha county and engaged in clerking for John Mc- Anney, who was one of the pioneer merchants. In 1870, when the C. & O. Railroad was being constructed through this section, Mr. Leonard went into business for himself.

In partnership with J. B. Malone, he bought the saloon business and privileges from a Mr. Morris at what was then known as Clifton but now is called Pratt, Kanawha county, but con- tinued there only one year when he sold and with his former partner obtained a lease of 100

acres on New River, from William Lewis. They engaged in merchandising on that tract until December, 1872, when Mr. Leonard moved to Cannelton, W. Va., where he pur- chased a building from Dr. C. R. Lewis, and went into business for himself. In 1877 he bought forty-six acres of land, on which he now lives, from A. S. Trimble and wife and moved his family here but continued his busi- ness at Cannelton until 1882, when he sold to his brother-in-law, Robert Beirne. Mr. Leon- ard then began the improvement of his prop- erty and erected his present store building and in 1883 opened for business. In 1893 he erected his comfortable ten-room residence, and after purchasing more land, sold seventy acres to a coal company but still has twenty acres. He is a Democrat in politics and has been post- master since 1893.

On January 5, 1875, Mr. Leonard was mar- ried to Miss Ann Beirne, who was born in Mon- roe county, W. Va., a daughter of Charles H. and Margaret Beirne, and they have four chil- dren, namely: Margaret, who is the wife of T. N. Jacob and they live at East St. Louis; Bettie Lee, who is the wife of Charles Collins, and they reside with Mr. Leonard and have two children-Sarah Lee and John Leonard; and Charles B. and John K., twins. The family belongs to the Catholic church.

JOHN FRANKLIN HUBBARD, whose birth took place in Bedford county, Va., in 1831, and his death at his home in the city of Charleston, W. Va., No. 1010 Kanawha Street, in June, 1894, was an upright and honorable business man of Kanawha county for many years and served one term as sheriff. The Hubbard family has long been prominent in different lines in Bedford county and before the Civil War were people of large estate. The father of the late John F. Hubbard was Graves Hubbard and a number of the repre- sentatives of the family live in Kanawha county.

John F. Hubbard became a clerk in a mer- cantile store as soon as his school days were over and at the age of twenty years came to Malden, Kanawha county and entered the general store of Col. William Dickinson.

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Some years later he embarked in the mercan- tile business at Malden for himself and contin- ued there until 1881, when he came to Charles- ton, where the remainder of his life was spent. In politics he was a Democrat and while re- siding at Malden was quite active but in later years was less interested. He united with the Presbyterian church at Malden under the pas- torate of Rev. Dr. Brown, who survives him and is now a venerable resident of Lewisburg, W. Va.

In 1861 Mr. Hubbard was married at Mal- den, to Mrs. Anna M. (Wilson) Holloway, who was born at St. Albans, Kanawha county, June 14, 1837, and was educated at Charles- ton and at Cincinnati, O. Her parents were Robert and Lucy (Jones) Wilson, the former of whom was born in Virginia and the latter in Georgia. They owned a large farm near St. Albans, on which they resided for some years and then moved to Malden, where Mr. Wilson was a merchant. His death occurred prior to the Civil War, at the age of seventy years, his widow living to be eighty years of age. They were Presbyterians. Mrs. Hub- bard was married first to Peter Holloway, who died two years later, leaving one daughter, Ella, who died at the age of eighteen years. To the second marriage the children born were : Robert Graves, Julia Frances, John W., Maude and Nell M. Julia Frances was born Decem- ber 23, 1863, and married Julius W. Staehlin, a native German, who was educated in the city of Munich and graduated from a college there when seventeen years of age. Later he ac- companied an uncle to the United States and lived for several years at Gallipolis, O., and then came to Charleston and was admitted to partnership in the wholesale grocery firm of Hubbard, Bedell & Co. Mr. and Mrs. Staehlin have three children: Robert H., born August 17, 1889, who is a clerk in his father's store ; John E., born January 1, 1892, is a student in Hampden-Sidney College, a member of the class of 1915 ; and Anna Pauline, who was born October 14, 1895. John W. Hubbard was born November 24, 1865, and is with the above named grocery house. He married Carrie Seashols and they have one daughter, Eliza- beth. Maude married John L. Dickinson,

cashier of the Kanawha Valley Bank and they have five daughters: Mary Lewis, Anastatia, Nell Carmichael, Dorcas and Rebecca Gray. Nell M., who was born June 2, 1877, is the widow of Randolph Tucker. Carmichael, who died at Charleston, in December, 1910. Mrs. Hubbard and her family are members of the Presbyterian church.

MATHIAS SIERS for many years was a well known resident of Charleston, W. Va., where he conducted a shoe business and for- merly had been a farmer in Kanawha county. He was born October 15, 1831, in Greenbrier county, Va., a son of William Siers, and died at his home in Charleston, May 17, 1884.

Mathias Siers grew to manhood in Green- brier county and worked on his father's farm. When the Civil War broke out he was a mem- ber of the Clay County Home Guards, in which organization he served for two years, and then enlisted in Co. K, 7th W. Va. Cav., and served through one year. He came then to Kanawha county, where, in 1865, he was mar- ried to Mrs. Amanda (Vandall) Burgess, widow of William T. Burgess, who died while in the army, in 1864. After a period of farm- ing in Kanawha county, Mr. and Mrs. Siers moved to Charleston, where he opened a shoe shop and continued in business there until the close of his life. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Siers, one son surviving, Leon- idas. He is an engineer and resides at Hunt- ington, W. Va. He served two years with the rank of corporal in the Ist U. S. Regulars, in the Philippine Islands. Mrs. Siers resides with her eldest son, John W. Burgess, of Elk dis- trict, Kanawha county. By her first marriage she has one other son, George W., residing in Carroll county, O., and a daughter, Josephine, who is the wife of J. Montgomery, a business man of Charleston. Mrs. Siers is well known and very highly esteemed.

CHARLES DE LA BOULAY FON- TAINE, was born in Henry county, Va., February 3, 1827, and died November 1, 1883, at Parkersburg, W. Va. He was of French Huguenot ancestry and the first of the family to come to America settled in Halifax county,

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Va., where the family became prominent and contributed many patriots who served in the Revolutionary War. John Fontaine, as the name was sometimes spelled, was the grand- father of the subject of this sketch and was born in Virginia. He was a slave owner in Henry county and had large plantations. He married Martha Henry, a daughter of the or- ator and patriot, Patrick Henry. One of their sons, John James Fontaine, who was born about 1780, was a commissioned officer in the Mex- ican War. He died in 1850, in Henry county, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, his ancestors having been Episcopalians. John James Fontaine married Mary Redd, and all of their seven children, with one exception, grew to maturity.

Charles De la Boulay Fontaine grew to man- hood in Henry county and was educated in his native state. In 1851 he went to Mississippi and lived on a farm near Okolona. During the Civil War he was a private soldier for two years in a Texas regiment which was com- manded by General Forest. His health failed and he secured an honorable discharge. He suffered the loss of his home and property through the ravages of war and died while making a visit to a son at Parkersburg, West Va. He was a strong Democrat all of his life, and for many years was identified with the Masonic fraternity.

In Okolona, Miss., he was married on Au- gust 6, 1857, to Miss Mary Triplette Dearing, who was born at Tuscaloosa, Ala., August 6, 1837, a daughter of Wyley and Eliza T. Dear- ing, the former of whom was born in North Carolina and the latter in Virginia. They were married in Alabama and both died in Mis- sissippi. They were members of the Presby- terian church, in which the father of Mrs. Fon- taine was an elder. Her mother, who died at the early age of thirty-six years, was a daugh- ter of John Nooe, who was a descendant of the colonial Governor Slaughter of Virginia, through his daughter Ann. The name is an honored one in Virginia.

To Mr. and Mrs. Fontaine eight children were born. The eldest were John and Ida N., twins. The former was a lumberman and met an accidental death by drowning in the Guyan-

dotte River, W. Va., in 1889 while booming logs during the Johnstown, Pa., flood. He married Estella Hagan, of Huntington, who survives and has one daughter. Ida N. is a very competent stenographer and resides with her mother at Charleston. Martha, who is now deceased, was the wife of Dr. Walter Bol- tan, now of Arkansas. Charles D. resides on a farm in Utah, married Grace Strong and they have three children : Maude, Paul and Harold. Wiley Dearing, who is a commercial traveler, lives at Charleston. He married Wilia Casto and they have three children : Charles Mauray, Douglas and John Wiley. Mary Bird, who is a teacher in the Charleston High School, resides with her mother. W. Robert and Emma P. both died in infancy. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Fontaine moved to Clarksburg, West Va., and from there came to Charleston. She and family attend the Presbyterian church, with the exception of Mary B., who is a mem- ber of the Episcopal church.

HUGH PIKE, who is an enterprising and representative business man of Handley, Kan- awha county, W. Va., owning and operating a general store, dealing in ice and also conduct- ing a dairy, was born at Franklinville, N. C., January 22, 1859, and is a son of Alfred and Martha (Shelton) Pike.

The father of Mr. Pike was a native of North Carolina, and the mother came from West Virginia. In 1859, after the birth of their son Hugh, they started westward in search of a new home, packing their belongings in a stout wagon with the children, and in their journeying passed through South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana, and entered Texas. They met with numerous adventures and mishaps but when all were prostrated with fever the situation became se- rious and finally the father and one daughter, Jennie, died. Alfred Pike had been previously married and his five children of that marriage were in the family party. The daughter died and the four sons : Oliver, William, David and John remained in Texas, where Oliver and John still reside. To the second marriage six children were born: Winston; Calvin, who is deceased; Hugh; Almeda, who is the wife of

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David Sanders; Hill, who is deceased; and Alfred. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Pike returned to the East with her own chil- dren. Her parents had settled near what is now Pratt, and she joined them in Kanawha county. Her death occurred on New River. over the line in Fayette county, at the age of sixty-three years.

After reaching Kanawha county, Hugh Pike, then being nine years old, was made a member of the household of his cousin, William Shel- ton, where he worked for board and clothes and remembers that he cut corn on the land which is now covered by the tracks of the C. & O. Railroad. Later he worked on the same financial basis for seven years for his uncle, Hiram Johnson, and during this time had two months of schooling, in this period mastering the alphabet. His next work was as water boy for the construction gang of the C. & O. Rail- road, and was paid fifty cents a day. From this humble position Mr. Pike steadily climbed, his next position being messenger boy for the old Kanawha Coal Company at Coalburg, and continued until the company was dissolved and then became cart boy at Crown Hill. He also was employed around the house of Superin- tendent B. Smith and was afforded an oppor- tunity to attend school, one which he appreci- ated and later, after saving some money he spent nine months in a commercial college at Cincinnati. He remained connected with the Crown Hill Coal Company for twenty years in different capacities. At times, when the company had shut down for a season, he worked on Government construction on the river and was employed at No. 3 lock, at Paint Creek. On the suggestion of Manager Gordon he went to the Sunnyside Mines, two miles above Hawks Nest, in 1889, and invested $1000 in stock there and served for two years as gen- eral manager, when he sold his interest and more or less gave up mining. Mr. Pike bought his present place at Handley, erected his store building and stocked it and began his mer- chandising in 1891. In a comparatively short time the business outgrew his quarters and he rebuilt and subsequently has erected other buildings as his undertakings have been in- creased. He is doing well in the ice business

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History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 78

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