History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 81

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 81

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He followed an agricultural life, after his marriage moving to Wood county near the present site of Parkersburg, and from there to Wirt county, where he acquired a farm near Elizabeth. Some years later he moved to fertile land up Tucker's creek and while he lived there the county divisions were made that changed the sections in Wood and Wirt counties to some degree, his land falling in Wirt county. His death occurred in 1867. He and wife were mem- bers of the Baptist church. Of his children the following names have been preserved : James, David, Thomas D., and Eliza. James has surviving descendants. His death was occasioned by lightning. David died in Iowa and his descendants still live there. Eliza married Martin Gross, of Gallia county, O., who moved to Indianap- olis, Ind., where she died and he still lives.

Thomas D. Gates was born in 1820, at Parkersburg, on the Ohio river, and was reared on a farm and later resided on the old star route from Wirt Courthouse, now Elizabeth, W. Va., to Point Pleasant at the mouth of the Kanawha river. He was mar- ried there to Anna March, who was ten years his senior, her birth having taken place in the State of New York, and she accompanied her parents from there to Point Pleasant. While their children were still young, Thomas D. Gates and wife moved first to Point Pleasant, and then across the Ohio river and located at Addi- son, in Gallia county, to take advantage of free schools, where he embarked in the mercantile business which he continued un- til the close of the Civil War. He then lo- cated at Burning Springs, on the Little Kanawha river, in Wirt county, where he sold merchandise for ten years. After his children were grown he sold out and moved to Bidwell, in Gallia county, continuing there as a merchant. His wife died in 1899 and he then came to Charleston and spent his last six years at the home of his son, Lovell C. Gates. Both he and wife were members of the Baptist church. For some years he was an active Repubilcan but later became a Democrat and while living at Bid-

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well was appointed postmaster by Presi- dent Cleveland. After coming to Charles- ton he reviewed public questions very thoughtfully and resumed his affiliation with the Republican party.

Ten children were born to Thomas D. Gates and wife, two of whom, Eliza and Anna, died young. The survivors are : Alexander P., a well known photographer at Charleston, married Mary Leonard, and they have one son and one daughter, the former of whom is also a photographer; Lovell C .; Thomas J., who resides on his farm near Lincoln, Gage county, Neb., married and has one son and two daugh- ters, the latter being teachers at Marietta, O .; Harriet, who is the widow of Sherman Parker, of Nebraska, has a large family ; William D., who is a carpenter by trade, lives at Grantsville, W. Va .; Almond D., who is an agent for typewriters, sewing

machines and

musical

instruments

Charleston, married first a Miss McCona- hay, who left three sons and two daughters, and married second, India Parker, of Galli- polis, O., and has one son, Alexander; Rosetta, who is the wife of Baz Whims, is a resident of Elizabeth, Wirt county, and they have two daughters; and Charles Amos, who is a well known grocer at Charleston, has a son and daughter.

Lovell C. Gates reached his age of legal responsibility while the family lived in Gallia county, O. In 1864 he enlisted for service in the Civil War, as a drummer boy, when nineteen years of age, entering Co. E, 14Ist O. Vol. Inf., under Captain Rothgeb, and remained with this regiment until the close of the war. In December, 1870, he came to Charleston and embarked in the feed and grocery business in which he continued for twelve years. In 1883 he started in his present line, builders' hardware and paints, from the first being on Kanawha street and at present being located in a building which he has occupied since 1910. Mr. Gates has always been a steady Republican but has never accepted political office for himself, and is ever ready to perform the duties that

good citizenship demands in time of any extremity or public calamity.

Mr. Gates was married first at Burning Springs, W. Va., to Miss Ellen Houchin, who was born and educated in Wirt county, W. Va., and died at Charleston in 1888, at the age of forty years. She was a daughter of John and Rachel Houchin. She was survived by one son, John C. Gates, who was born at Charleston in 1873, was educated in this city and now is business manager of a newspaper published in the state of Missouri. He married and has one son, Charles F. Gates, who is a resident of Baltimore, Md.

On April 21, 1891, Lovell C. Gates was married second to Miss Callie Parrish, of Charleston. Mr. and Mrs. Gates are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Gates is prominent in the Masonic fra- ternity. He belongs to Kanawha Lodge No. 20, F. & A. M .; Tyrian Chapter, No. 13; Kanawha Commandery No. 4 and Beni- Keedem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He has frequently been an officer in the differ- ent branches of the order and is a regular attendant on occasions of unusual interest, both at Charleston and other points. He belongs also to the George Crook Post, No. 3, G. A. R., of which he is past commander and of which he has been quartermaster for the past ten years.

WESLEY WILLIAMS, deceased, who for many years was a well known farmer in Loudon district, where he owned one hundred and twenty acres of valuable land, was born November 19, 1835, at Glen Easton, Marshall county, now West Vir- ginia, a son of Harmon Williams, who was a lifelong resident of that county.

Wesley Williams obtained his education in the schools of Marshall county and after- ward engaged in farming there with his father and later with an uncle, and after marriage lived for several years in Putnam county, later in Nicholas and Fayette counties, residing in the last named for nineteen years. He then came to Loudon district, Kanawha county, and was en- gaged in agricultural pursuits here during

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the remainder of his life. His one hundred and twenty acres is valuable, all being un- derlaid with coal, and there are twenty-five acres in timber. There are over three hun- dred bearing trees in the orchards. During the Civil War, Mr. Williams was a soldier in the Federal army and took part in many battles under General Grant and was also in the siege of Port Royal and the terrible battle of Gettysburg. He was never wounded but had many narrow escapes.

Mr. Williams was married to Pauline Schmitter, who was born in Switzerland, in the valley of St. Imier and was educated in the Buffalo Academy, under Prof. Rosseter. Her parents were Frederick and Malanie (Bedicheck) Schmitter, who came to America in 1847, when she was nine years old and located on Eighteen Mile creek, on a farm not far from Buffalo. In Switzer- land her father owned a pottery. Both of her parents died in their home near Buffalo, well known and highly respected people. To Mr. and Mrs. Williams the following children were born: Annie, who married William Crow of Penbrook, and has seven children; Louis N., who was an artist, died at the age of forty years; Josephine, who is the wife of B. F. Carper and has six children; Adele, who married Edward Anderson, and has five children; Sallie and Nettie, both of whom are deceased; Harmon, who married Zelda Adkins, and has three children; John D., who lives at Chillicothe, O .; Lena M., who is the wife of Alexander Stover, and has three children; Benjamin F., who mar- ried Stella Lewis, and has five children; and George, who is deceased. They also adopted and reared a nephew, Paul L. Mitchell. For fifty-four years Mrs. Will- iams has been a member of the Church of Christ. The death of Mr. Williams oc- curred on February 2, 1910. He was the one that was chosen to drive the gold spike on the completion of the B. & O. Railroad. He was a man of high standing in his dis- trict and was a trustee and an elder in the Church of Christ.

HON. PETER CARROLL, who has served as representative in the General Assem- bly of West Virginia and has frequently been elected to the Charleston city council and to other prominent positions by his fellow citi- zens, is equally a leader in the business con- cerns of Kanawha county and for years has been extensively identified with the lumber in- dustry. He was born in Perry county, O., June 2, 1856, and is a son of James and Ellen (Mallen) Carroll, and a grandson of James Carroll.

The grandparents of Mr. Carroll never left Ireland. They were honest, hard-working people and they reared a large family, four of whom, James, Peter, Elizabeth and Bridget, came to the United States. All married and left descendants.

James Carroll, father of Peter Carroll, was born in County Kildare, Ireland, in 1817, and was not more than fourteen years old when he came with his brothers and sisters to the United States. The voyage was made on one of the old slow-going sailing ships and the party landed at Castle Garden, New York, and from there made their way to near Lexington, Perry county, O. There James Carroll lived until his death. He was a highly respected man, a member of the Roman Catholic church, and he became a farmer but died before he had accumulated much property to leave his widow and children. He was married in Perry county to Ellen Mallen, who was also born in Ireland and was three years old when her par- ents, John and Katherine Mallen, made the long voyage of seven weeks' duration between Ireland and New York. They settled about 1820 at Chapel Hill, in Perry county, O., and they were among the founders of St. Ber- nard's Roman Catholic church at that place. They had five children, all of whom have passed away, Mrs. Carroll, who was born in 1817, surviving until 1882. James and Ellen Carroll had seven children, as follows : Michael, a merchant at Moxahala, O., who married Margaret Q. Brine; Mary, who is a resident of St. Louis, Mo .; Peter, subject of this sketch; Catherine, who is the wife of Al- bert Hilles, lives on a farm near Moxahala

HON. PETER CARROLL

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and has ten children; Anna, who is the wife of James Hillis, a farmer in Perry county, O., and has six children; Ellen, deceased, who was the wife of Richard Farrell, of Columbus, O., and had four children; and James, who died in 1896, at the age of twenty-five years, married Katherine Breece and left one son.

Peter Carroll is one of Kanawha county's capitalists at the present time but his boyhood was one of more or less deprivation and it was entirely through his own industry and perse- verance that he succeeded in gathering to- gether enough means to start himself in a lum- ber business on a very small scale, when he was already twenty-four years of age. He was but thirteen years old when his father died and he remained on the farm until he was sev- enteen, and after he secured employment on the public works he took care of his mother until he was twenty-one years old. He carried on his lumber business at Moxahala, O., until 1895, when he came to Charleston and started in the lumber business on the Elk river, in Clay county, organizing the Clay Lumber Company, of which he is treasurer and general manager. This company has done an exten- sive and successful business. He is also presi- dent of the Flynn Lumber Company, of Swiss, W. Va., where it operates largely, turning out 50,000 feet of lumber per day; is vice-presi- dent of the C. L. Munger Lumber Company, at Meadow river, W. Va., which owns a con- trolling interest in fifteen thousand acres of timber land; is president of the Carroll Hard Wood Lumber Company, owning twenty-six thousand acres in Kentucky; and is a director of the Kanawha Banking and Trust Company. Only a man with wonderful grasp of business could continue foremost in such large enter- prises, and that he has brought about his own prominence, without assistance, makes the fact of greater weight. Aside from business Mr. Carroll has also taken a hearty interest in pub- lic matters and has been a prominent factor in the Democratic party in this section. He has filled numerous public offices and has per- formed their various duties with an efficiency that has added to his reputation.

Mr. Carroll was married October 13. 1885. at Moxahala, O., to Miss Ellen McGonagle,

who was born and educated in Perry county. Her parents, R. J. and Lydia (Spencer) McGonagle, were also natives of Perry county, where the former died in 1908, at the age of eighty years. His widow survives. She is a member of St. Pius Roman Catholic church at Moxahala, as was her husband. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Carroll, namely: Richard J., who is a bright young business man associated with his father, was born in 1886 and was educated at George- town University; Bertha A., who was born June 10, 1888, was educated at St. Aloysius Academy, graduating in the class of 1906, and is the wife of Ignatius Wallen, of Charleston; Mary E., who was born August 17,. 1890, is a graduate of 1908, from the above institu- tion, and resides at home, an accomplished young lady; William A., who was born Au- gust II, 1892, is a student of the class of 1912 in the Charleston high school; Kathleen, who was born November 8, 1895, is also a student in the high school. Mr. Carroll and family are members of the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic church of Charleston. He belongs to the Knights of Columbus and also to the Elks.

ADAM W. HOLZ, proprietor of a meat market at No. 713 Virginia street, Charles- ton, W. Va., a member of the firm of Holz Brothers, is a representative business man of this city, which has been his home since he was two years of age. He was born in Meigs county, O., July 5, 1884, and is son of Philip E. and Margaret (Sharf) Holz.

His grandparents on both sides were born in Germany and settled in Ohio, where their children were born. The maternal grandmother still survives and at the age of ninety-six years is one of the most ven- erable residents of Minneapolis, Minn. She has been a member of the Lutheran church since girlhood. Philip E. Holz came to Charleston from Ohio in 1886 and he and wife reside at No. 139 Court street. He owns an excellent farm of one hundred and thirty-one acres situated south of the city in Loudon district. He has been engaged

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in the butcher business all his active life. In politics he is a Democrat and he and wife belong to the Lutheran church. Of the twelve children born to them, nine survive, only one of whom, Arthur J., has married. His wife was formerly Lucy Meadows. The names of the surviving children are : Adam W., Tillie, Arthur J., Helen, Philip E., Jr., Lydia, William, Margaret and Kath- erine, the younger three being yet in school.

Adam W. Holz obtained his education in the Charleston schools and then learned the butcher's business and as a practical butcher thoroughly understands the handling and preservation of meats. In 1905 Adam W. and Carl Holz took over the business of the Allen Meat Company at Charleston. Carl Holz died in 1908 and since March, 1911, Adam W. Holz has had Joseph Hess as a partner. The business is both wholesale and retail and only first class stock is handled. The firm owns its own refriger- ating plant and caters to the most exacting trade and is one of the most prosperous concerns in the city.

JAMES P. TUCKER, farmer and mer- chant and also proprietor of a blacksmith shop, owns twenty-five acres of excellent land near Hugheston, in Cabin Creek dis- trict, Kanawha county, W. Va. He was born at Cannelton, W. Va., three miles dis- tant from his present farm, January 28, 1851, and is a son of Littleberry and Mary (Lykens) Tucker.

Littleberry Tucker was born in Bote- tourt county, Va., and was brought to Kan- awha county when seven years old, by his parents, who located at the mouth of Smith- ers creek, just over the line in Fayette county, where the father soon afterward died. Littleberry was only a boy at the time but he managed to find enough work to enable him to support himself and mother and when he grew older settled on Hughes creek, which was then almost a wilderness, and spent the rest of his life there, his death occurring in October, 1884. His widow survived until April, 1885. She was born in 1826, in Fayette county, now

West Virginia. They had ten children, two of whom died young, and three others, Mack, Aaron and Nannie are also deceased, the last named having been the wife of Daniel Pritt. The survivors are: Jarrett, James P., John, Charles and Delilah, the latter being the wife of John Long.

James P. Tucker was brought to his present place of residence by his parents during the Civil War and inherited a part of his land and purchased the rest of it. In 1892 he erected his comfortable residence and in 1901 built his store. He is a busy and practical man and when not attending to his blacksmithing, farming or merchan- dising, is engaged in teaming.

Mr. Tucker was married February 22, 1875, to Miss Alice J. Huddleston, a daugh- ter of Job and Elizabeth (McCoy) Hud- dleston, the latter being a daughter of one of the pioneers on Paint creek, Kanawha county, Samuel McCoy. He was born at Richmond, Va., in 1778, and came to Ka- nawha in 1820 from Kentucky, locating at the mouth of Paint creek, and ten years later buying a farm twelve miles up the creek and died there in 1846. His early neighbors were Indians and he and family lived mainly on game that was then plentiful all through this section. He married Elizabeth Graves, who was born in Wales. Mrs. Huddleston survives and resides with Mr. and Mrs. Tucker. She recalls that when she first went through Charleston, as a child of ten years, the pres- ent beautiful capital city was but a few houses surrounded by corn-fields. On Sep- tember 19, 1844, she married Job Hud- dleston, who was born in Bedford county, Va., and died in 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Hud- dleston had ten children, as follows : George M., Thomas, Samuel, Alice, Luella, Hamilton M., Otho, Mary Cecely, Job and Calvin.

To Mr. and Mrs. Tucker the following children have been born: Albert, who mar- ried Hattie Dorman; Ernest W., who mar- ried Nettie Swiney; Anna, who is deceased, was the wife of Cyrus Bennett; Demmick, who married Rooney Keenan; George Mil- ton, who married Jessie Harrison; Carl,

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who married Virgie Proctor; Edwin, who married Maude Willis; and Collie, Irvin and Elizabeth. Mr. Tucker and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, south. He is identified with the Odd Fellows at London, W. Va., and the American Mechanics at Hansford. Politi- cally he is a Democrat.

THOMAS C. HALL, oil well contractor and producer, in Kanawha and other coun- ties, is vice president of the Jarvis Oil Com- pany, whose present interests are in Harper district, Roane county, W. Va. He was born at Harrisville, Ritchie county, W. Va., April 18, 1857, and is a son of Hon. Cyrus and Amelia (Scott) Hall.

More than one hundred and forty years ago the great-grandfather of Mr. Hall came to the American colonies and settled at Leesburg, Va., and there lived and died. His history is traditional but it is thought that he was a farmer, as the old Hall estate of many acres is still there, and it is the reasonable ambition of Thomas C. Hall to some day possess it, as it was the home of the founder of his family in this country.

William Hall, grandfather of Thomas C. Hall, was born about 1790, on the old homestead near Washington, D. C., and died in Wirt county, now West Virginia, at that time being eighty-nine years of age. He had married Sallie Lowther, who lived to be seventy-nine years old. Her father was Col. Lowther, whom General Wash- ington appointed a colonel to command local forces in the wilds of Harrison county, now West Virginia, where he had his head- quarters. A brother of William Hall, Rev. Ephraim Hall, was a pioneer preacher in the Territory of Ohio, and was a member of the first Constitutional Convention that completed the organization of that State.

Cyrus Hall, son of William and father of Thomas C. Hall, was born in Harrison county, now West Virginia. During the days of the Confederacy, he was a member of the Virginia senate and had many honors accorded him. He was a brilliant lawyer and during the Civil War period practiced

at Richmond, later at Parkersburg and still later at Charleston, having been in the in- terim, for some years, interested in the oil business. His death occurred at Charles- ton on January 15, 1909, at the age of eighty-seven years. He was married to Miss Amelia Scott, who was born in Ran- dolph county, now West Virginia, and died in Charleston in 1891, having lived out her three-score years and ten. Both she and husband were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. They had six children, two of whom, Campbell and Flora, died in childhood. The survivors were: Loretta, who is the wife of H. T. Sheffey, residing at Charleston; Thomas C .; Cyrus W., for- merly a leading attorney and jurist, who died at Charleston in 1910, married Myrtle Wood, who survives with two sons- Sheffey and Cyrus C .; and Benjamin B., who resides at Blue Creek, Kanawha county, married Susan Rawson and they have three children-Bessie, Helen and Snyder.

Thomas C. Hall had excellent educa- tional advantages and when ready to enter upon a business career, interested himself . in oil and gas, and with the exception of two years when he was a clothing merchant at Parkersburg, and two years during which he was a resident of Pittsburg, Pa., he has been continuously connected with these industries. Mr. Hall came to Charleston in 1879. He has sunk about forty oil and gas wells and is one of the owners as well as vice president of the Jar- vis Oil Company, which was organized some three years since and now has six producing wells. The other officers of this company are: John Davidson, president, and Peter Tillman, secretary and treasurer.

Mr. Hall was married at Charleston in 1881, to Miss Ella F. Bender, who was born here, a daughter of George and Sarah (Rundele) Bender. Her father was born in Germany and when he came first to the United States, settled at Maysville, Ky., moving from there to Charleston, where he became a merchant and spent the remain- der of his life in this city. He married a

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lady who was born at Wheeling, Va. They accident and bank burglary insurance. Mr. were members of the Presbyterian church. de Gruyter was married in 1889 to Miss Mary Noyes. They reside at No. 1598 Ka- nawha Avenue, Charleston. John Rundle, an uncle of Mrs. Thomas C. Hall, was the founder and editor of the first newspaper ever printed at Charleston. He was born at Wheeling, W. Va., and later lived at Cincinnati, O. Then he and sister came here, she as his housekeeper.

Mr. and Mrs. Hall have two children : Sadie B., who is the wife of Jesse V. Sullivan, a newspaper man of Charleston and Elsie G., who is a graduate of the Charleston high school, as is also her sister. Mr. and Mrs. Hall are members of the Episcopal church. He is a Republican in politics and has served prominently in conventions and as a delegate to important meetings of his party. He is identified with Masonic bod- ies at Harrisville and Charleston.

HON. J. A. DE GRUYTER, who served twice as mayor of the city of Charleston, W. Va., is one of the representative busi- ness men of the place, being the senior member of the well known insurance firm of de Gruyter & Frasier, and also secretary and treasurer of the Goshorn Hardware Company. His parents were M. F. and Julia (Crockett) de Gruyter.

J. A. de Gruyter has been connected with Charleston business enterprises since he was a school boy, early displaying unusual commercial qualifications, and later also a conception of public responsibilities that caused his election to a civic office before he had attained his majority. Since then he has served in many responsible positions and during his two administrations as mayor the city enjoyed great prosperity. He is widely known in his business connec- tions and is held in universal esteem for those qualities which West Virginians ad- mire in their public and representative men. The insurance firm of de Gruyter & Frasier is made up of J. A. de Gruyter and R. L. Frasier, with business offices at No. 1221/2 Capitol street, opposite the Hotel Ruffner, Charleston. They deal in fire, bonds, rents, health, tornado, elevator, steam boiler, plate glass, employers' liability, personal

ROBERT F. WASHINGTON, the genial proprietor of the Washington Hotel, at Charles- ton, W. Va., was born on the old family home- stead in Putnam County, WV. Va., April 19, 1864. and is a son of George Franklin and Mary L. (McGraw) Washington.

Charles Washington, the great-grandfather of Robert F. Washington, was a brother of Gen. George Washington, with whom he shared many family characteristics. He lived and died in Jefferson County, at Charleston, which was named in his honor. Samuel T. Washington, his son, was born at Charleston, in 1780, and was a plantation owner and was interested also in steam boats. He married and had three sons and one daughter : George Franklin and Frank, twins, the descendants of the latter living in Putnam County ; Samuel T., Jr., who died in Mason county, is survived by one son, Champ Washington, who lives at Buffalo, W. Va .; and Judith, who married a Mr. Hughy, and both died near Marmet, in Kanawha County.

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History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 81

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