History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 83

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 83

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H. A. Shirkey attended school in Poca district but as opportunities were poor here at that time, his father sent him to Law- rence county, O., for two terms, after which

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he returned home and assisted on the farm, and farming has been his main business ever since, although he has also been in- terested to some degree in timbering, and cattle raising has been an important indus- try in which he still engages but no longer ships cattle as formerly. He took up his residence on the farm following his mar- riage and has lived here'ever since, clearing and improving the larger part of the land. The substantial buildings now standing, Mr. Shirkey put up, using the old sites but erecting them according to modern ideas of comfort and convenience. He is his own manager and superintendent and declares that he works harder than he did when twenty years old, and in his vigor and ro- business shows that these responsibilities have been beneficial, many of his neighbors having called themselves old enough to re- tire long since. Mr. Shirkey is one of the men who will never rust out.

In addition to his large business interests, Mr. Shirkey has frequently been called upon by his fellow citizens to accept the cares and duties of public office and in every case has justified their confidence in him, proving a reliable and efficient officer. For four years he served as deputy under Sher- iff John W. Sence, and was later made the candidate of the Republican party for as- sessor and carried the county, overcoming a normal Democratic majority of fifteen hundred, and served four years in that office. He was then appointed United States marshal, and served three years, re- tiring then more or less from politics and since then has devoted himself closely to his large property and farm activities.

Mr. Shirkey was married May 19, 1867, to Miss Elizabeth J. Rose, who was born in Kanawha county, February 28, 1849, a daughter of William S. and Faunetta (Dawson) Rose, the former of whom was born in Alleghany county, Va., and the latter in Kanawha county, a daughter of John R. Dawson. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Shirkey, namely : David W., who is a resident of Montgom- ery, W. Va., married Matilda Colwell;

Mary Leslie, who is the wife of Dr. O. L. Aultz, of Charleston; C. P., who resides at Lumberport, W. Va., married Stella Ed- ward; Emma E., who died at the age of thirty years, was the wife of W. H. Mor- gan; H. Dilbert, who resides on a part of his father's farm, married Erna Allen and has two children-Mary G. and Emma ; Judith, who resides at Youngstown, O., married H. Frank Stover; E. B., who lives at Charleston, married Josephine Robin- son; and I. G., who lives at home. Mr. and Mrs. Shirkey are members of the Metho- dist Episcopal church. He is identified with the Odd Fellows at Sissonville, W. Va.

COL. FRED PAUL GROSSCUP is one of Charleston's most active and enterpris- ing citizens, through whose efforts the nat- ural resources of this section have become widely known and immense capital has been directed to Charleston and vicinity for profitable investment. Col. Grosscup was born in Ohio in the middle sixties and the name is well known in that and other states.

Col. Fred Paul Grosscup has been active in the affairs of Charleston for the past eighteen years and has served on the city conucil at times. He was the first business man to become prominent in natural gas production in southern West Virginia, which had its first commercial development some ten years ago. He is the prime mover in the developing of the suburban town of Dunbar and is making it one of the chief manufacturing centers of this state and in doing this plans to supply the manufactur- ers with cheap fuel and to make .Charleston the Pittsburg of the South. He is presi- dent of the Charleston-Dunbar Natural Gas Company which furnishes natural gas to both places. Mrs. Grosscup is a member of the public library board at Charleston.

ULRICH WANNER, a general farmer in Elk district, but practically a resident of Charleston, W. Va., is a well known citizen of Kanawha county, having been officially connected with public affairs for a number of years. He is a native of Switzerland,

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born July 11, 1854, and is a son of Michael and Agnes (Bechtoel) Wanner.

The parents of Mr. Wanner came to America with their children in 1865, the father selecting Sharpsburg, Pa., as the temporary home. He was a weaver by trade and a musician but provided for his family after coming to Elk district, Kana- wha county, in 1866, by the fruits of his toil as a farmer. Both he and wife survived into advanced age, his death occurring in his eighty-second year and hers when in her seventy-ninth. There were four daugh- ters and two sons in the family: Elizabeth, who is the wife of Joseph M. Hill, of Blue Creek, Elk district; Anna, who was the wife of J. W. Hill, a farmer : Barbara, who is the wife of H. P. Wagner, a farmer in Elk district; Katherine, who was the wife of Lawrence Wippel ; John, who resides on the old homestead ; and Ulrich. The par- ents of the above family were members of the Lutheran Reformed church.

After completing his period of school at- tendance, Ulrich Wanner assisted his father and until he was thirty years of age worked the land during the summer seasons and spent the winters in logging. In 1900 he came to Charleston and this city has con- tinued his place of residence. A stanch Re- publican, he has been a party worker for many years and has served in numerous county offices. For four years he was deputy assessor under John Herrman, in 1900 became deputy sheriff and served four years, and since 1907 has been custodian of the Kanawha county courthouse. He has a wide circle of friends and in every public position has won approbation for the efficiency with which his duties have been performed.

Mr. Wanner was married to Miss Minna Milbee, who was born in 1882 in Poca dis- trict, a daughter of Dr. John and Margaret (Hoffman) Milbee, and they have two chil- dren: Mabel, who is eight years old. and Helen, who has passed her sixth birthday. Mr. and Mrs. Wanner are members of the Presbyterian church.

JOHN R. SHANKLIN. The Shanklin family of West Virginia, a leading member of which is John R. Shanklin, a representa- tive business man of Charleston, traces his ancestry back to Scotland and the family record is as follows :

Richard Shanklin, the great-grandfather of John R. Shanklin, was born October 25, 1772, in Dundee, Scotland. He came to America after the Revolutionary War was over and settled in what is now Monroe county, W. Va., and died in 1841. He was an architect and builder. He built the old Sweet Springs Hotel, at Old Sweet Springs, Monroe county, W. Va., also the first house in the town of Union, Monroe county, in the year 1800, which building was used as an inn. It has since been owned by a Shanklin. . He was married in Monroe county to Catherine Alexander, who was also of Scotch parentage, and they lived and died in Monroe county.

Richard Vayer Shanklin, always called Dicky Vayer, was probably the eldest son of Richard and Catherine Shanklin. He was born at Union, Monroe county, June 20. 1800, and died in 1864. He was a farmer and a well known man in his com- munity. He married Amanda Crow, who was born in Virginia and died in 1875. the mother of one son, Andrew Madison Shanklin.

Adam Madison Shanklin was born in Monroe county, Va., in 1840. During the Civil War he served as a member of the Chapman battery, Confederate army, a brave and gallant soldier, but lost his life from the bullet of a sharpshooter, in 1865, at Leetown, Va. He was then only twenty- five years of age and was survived by a widow and one son, the latter. John R. Shanklin of Charleston. Mrs. Shanklin re- mained a widow for a time but subse- quently married William Barrar, who was born in England, April 12, 1841, and died October 24, 1904. His widow survived un- til December 27. 1909. Her maiden name was Mahala Bare. One son was born to the second marriage. W. G. Barrar, who is

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secretary of the West Virginia Heating and Plumbing Company, of which his half- brother, John R. Shanklin, is president. Mr. Barrar was married at Huntington, W. Va., to Miss Zaidee Point, and they have two children, William George and Dorothy Salome.

John R. Shanklin was born at Union, Monroe county, W. Va., July 13, 1863, where he was reared and educated. Being of a mechanical turn of mind, he decided to learn the machinist's trade and for this purpose went to Illinois and afterward to New York city, where he became a stu- dent in the trade school and in 1885 was graduated in the line of plumbing and heat- ing. In 1887 he came to Charleston to ac- cept the contract calling for the plumbing of the Ruffner Hotel, which, at that time was the largest hotel of the state. That contract was satisfactorily concluded and since that time Mr. Shanklin has made a specialty of heating and ventilating as an important part of his business. He is prominently identified with a number of large concerns at Charleston and in addi- tion to being president of the West Virginia Heating and Plumbing Company, he is president of the Charleston Sheet Metal Works and vice president of the Capital City Supply Company.

The West Virginia Heating and Plumb- ing Company was started in 1890 and oper- ated by Mr. Shanklin and J. H. Dowman for one year, when Clark Howell was ad- mitted to partnership and five years later the name of the firm was changed to How- ell & Shanklin, and they continued in the heating and plumbing business until 1901, when they sold out to the Capital City Sup- ply Company, of which Mr. Howell was made president, and Mr. Shanklin vice presi- dent, and that business still continues. The West Virginia Heating and Plumbing Com- pany was then given to the new venture, Mr. Shanklin becoming president and general mana- ger and later, W. G. Barrar, who was one of the original incorporators of this enterprise, be- came secretary and treasurer. In 1906 the busi- ness carried on as the Charleston Sheet Metal

Works was organized, Mr. Shanklin being made president and Mr. Barrar secretary and treasurer, these works being located at Fife street near Capital. The company built a commodious four-story building of reën- forced concrete at No. 233 Hale street for their heating appliances, and a four-story building of like material for the Capital City Supply Company. The latter is con- ducted as a mill and mining supply house and is one of the city's important plants. O. E. Howell is manager and the business is a wholesale one in West Virginia, while the heating and plumbing business is con- ducted in West Virginia and in adjacent states. All these concerns are in an ex- ceedingly prosperous condition and much of their success has resulted from the per- sonal efforts of Mr. Shanklin.

Mr. Shanklin was married at Hunting- ton. W. Va., to Miss Emma V. Shelton, a native of Barboursville. Cabell county, born in 1865. They have two children: Hazel, who was born July 29, 1890, and John A., who was born August 29, 1891, and is a student dent in the University of West Virginia. Mr. Shanklin was made a member of the Society of Heating and Ventilating En- gineers in June, 1909. In Masonic circles he is prominent. being a Shriner. In poli- tics he is a Republican.

JOSEPH WEBER, one of Loudon Dis- trict's enterprising and successful men, owns two hundred and forty-four acres of valuable land here, which is situated within three miles of Charleston. He was born in Germany, in 1854. a son of Deitrick Weber, a mechanic.

Joseph Weber went to school in boyhood and helped his father afterward and learned the cabinetmaking trade. In 1871 he came to the United States and located in Cincinnati, Ohio. There he started in the furniture manufactur- ing business in 1881, and was in that business for ten years. For ten more he was in the gro- cery trade and then came to Kanawha County and invested in the land which constitutes his present farm, and which at that time was all covered with a heavy growth of timber. Mr. Weber started upon its clearing at once and put

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it under cultivation as soon as cleared, and in a comparatively short time had the whole extent of his land ready to be made profitable. It is generally acknowledged that he has the best farm in the district and in addition to general farming he also carries on a wholesale dairy business.

Mr. Weber was married in 1880 to Miss Catherine Leising, who was born in 1857, a daughter of Henry Leising, of Oldenberg, In- diana, and they have a sturdy family of nine children, all surviving and but one married, this being Margaret, the eldest, who is the wife of George Rohling, of Cincinnati. The others are: Joseph T., Antoinetta, Louisa, Clement, Catharine, George, Lawrence and Edward. The family belongs to the Catholic church. In politics Mr. Weber is a Democrat. He belongs to the great Catholic Order of Knights of Co- lumbus.

ANDREW J. WATKINS, deceased, was a well known business man of Charleston, W. Va., for a number of years and for a still longer period was connected with boating on the Kana- wha River, being well and favorably known for many miles up and down the old Kanawha. He was born in 1840, at Buffalo, Mason county, Va,. obtained his education there, and began river life as a cabin boy and later as steward on a steamboat, which was owned by his uncle. Capt. Isaac Parker.

Early in the Civil War Mr. Watkins entered the Confederate army, in which he served as a private in the ranks for two years, and was then assigned to hospital work and continued in this until the close of the war. He returned to Mason County and resumed work on the river and perhaps would never willingly have given it up had not a serious accident occurred to his boat, the Cottage No. 2, about 1866 or 67, it being an explosion in the boilers. This disaster caused the loss of a number of lives and Mr.

Watkins was so severely injured that he was confined to a hospital for six months, when he resumed river work. Two years after his mar- riage he gave it up and embarked in the gro- cery business in partnership with his brother- in-law, Herman L. Gebhart, and continued so interested until his death, February 2, 1872,

two years after locating at Charleston. Mr. Watkins is still remembered by old river men with sentiments of affectionate regard and many can tell of his kindness of heart and gen- tleness of disposition. He belonged to the Ma- sonic fraternity, a member of Buffalo Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and to the Odd Fellow's at Charleston. He was a Democrat.

Mr. Watkins was married in 1868, at Charleston, to Miss Mary M. Gebhart, who has been a lifelong resident of this city and still occupies her beautiful residence, No. 1117 Quarrier street. Her parents were Lawrence and Catherine (Bender) Gebhart, natives of Germany, who accompanied their parents to America and were married at Cincinnati, Ohio. They came to Charleston about 1846, where the father died in 1853, at the age of thirty-two years. He had conducted a successful grocery business. Mrs. Watkins has one brother : Her- man L., and two sisters. Laura and Anna, both of whom reside with her. One brother, Joseph, died at the age of twenty-nine years. The mother of Mrs. Watkins was subsequently twice married, her death occurring July 27, 1895, at Gallipolis, Ohio, when aged seventy- two years. She was a member of the Lutheran church. Mrs. Watkins owns considerable valu- able property at Charleston and is quite capable of looking after her business interests. She is a member of the First Presbyterian church at Charleston as was her late husband.

E. C. CRANE, one of Poca District's most substantial citizens, who is a large farmer and extensive cattle raiser, and has five hundred acres in his home farm which is situated four- teen miles north of Charleston, and has a sec- ond farm of three hundred acres, sixteen miles north of Charleston, together with a third farm of one hundred acres, lying near the Jackson County line in Kanawha County, W. Va. Mr. Crane was born in Jackson County, West Vir- ginia, February 10, 1851, and is a son of Will- iam and Ellen (Dawson) Crane, and a grand- son of Nathaniel Crane.

Nathaniel Crane was a soldier in the War of 1812. He was born and reared in King and Queen County, Va., near Richmond, and when he came first to Poca District he secured 160

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acres of land from Henry Q. Middleton, the same now being owned by the Milan Brothers. The land was mainly utilized for grain raising during Mr. Crane's life. He died at the age of seventy-seven years. The name of his wife was Ellen and she was an admirable woman, a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, a kind neighbor and a second mother to E. C. Crane, taking him after the death of his father, who died early. To Nathaniel Crane and wife eight children were born: Mary, who was the wife of John Fisher, both being deceased; Nancy, who married George Garnes, and they are survived by twelve children; William, who died when but twenty-four years of age and his burial was at Richmond; George, who was eighty-one years old on April 7, 1911, has lived with his nephew, E. C. Crane, for twelve years, was four times married; Peter, who located in Indiana in early manhood has a family there; Sarah, who married Calvin Rawlings was killed by a falling tree, and it was a remarkable coin- cidence that her son met death in the same man- ner; James, who died in 1862 in Jackson County ; and Hannah, who is now deceased, was the wife of W. S. Dawson, and they had three children. William Crane of the above family. married Ellen Dawson, a native of Kanawha County, and a daughter of Noah and · Rachel (Fisher) Dawson. To this marriage two sons were born: an infant that died, and E. C. After the death of her first husband, Mrs. Crane married Wylie A. Berry, a native of Kentucky, and a veteran of the Civil War, who served in the Union army. The Crane family was Union in sentiment and six uncles of E. C. Crane were soldiers in the Federal army. Mrs. Berry survived to the age of seventy-seven years, dying after a brief illness of three days. She was a faithful member of the Adventist church.

E. C. Crane was eighteen months old when he was brought to the home of his grandparents in Poca District, and here went to school. He was more or less trained as a farmer and stock- raiser but from early manhood has been elected to serve in public offices, the duties of which have occupied him to some degree. When but twenty-two years of age he was elected con- stable on the Republican ticket, and served four

years as such. Afterward he served as deputy sheriff under Rome Pickens for one term and later served four years under Sheriff Peter Sill- man. His large acreage is very valuable land for general farming or grazing and possibly profit will be found in the development of a vein of limestone which runs underneath. He is interested as a good citizen in furthering lo- cal enterprises and is a director in the Kana- wha and Putnam County Telephone Company.

Mr. Crane was married November 7, 1907, to Mrs. Gertrude C. (Melton) Jones, who was born in Kanawha County, W. Va., and is a daughter of J. T. Melton and a granddaughter of Rev. Addison Melton, and the widow of James Jones. She had two sons: Homer and Delbert Jones. Mr. Crane belongs to the Red Men, the Forresters and the Odd Fellows, all at Sissonville, at which point he also receives his mail. He is widely known through Poca District, and is considered one of the represen- tative men.

J. AUGUSTUS RUFFNER, who is en- gaged in the insurance business at Charleston, .W. Va., is a member of one of the old and vig- orous families that has belonged to the Kana- wha Valley for generations. His birth took place at Charleston, on what is now Kanawha street, November 28, 1853, and he is a son of Joel and Diana ( Marye) Ruffner, and a grand- son of Daniel Ruffner. The emigrant founder bore the name of Peter Ruffner, and the first to locate in Kanawha Valley was Joseph who came from Shenandoah Valley in 1795.

Joel Ruffner was born and spent his entire life at Charleston. He married Diana Marye, who was born in Page County, Shenandoah Valley, Va., a daughter of William Stage and Mary (Ruffner) Marye, of French extraction. William Stage Marye and wife spent their days in Page County. They were members of the Episcopal church. Sixteen children were born to Joel and Diana Ruffner, and the youngest was named J. Augustus and is one of the nine survivors. The eldest living is Anna, who never married, and is now in her seventy-sev- enth year. Two of the sons, Daniel and Joel, were brave soldiers in the Civil War, the for- mer of whom was killed in Tennessee, during

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the second year of the war. Joel enlisted while still attending school, and assisted in raising the company of which John Swan was captain, he becoming lieutenant. He died of typhoid fever at White Sulphur Springs, Va.

J. Augustus Ruffner was educated in a pri- vate school, at the Upper Canada College at Toronto, and later took a commercial course in a business college at the same place. His uncle, George T. Marye, was, at that time a banker and broker at Virginia City, Nev., and the young man learned practical business methods with him and remained in what was then con- sidered the far West, for seven years. He then visited other sections-Arizona, California and Washington -- mining and prospecting during the greater part of the thirteen years he spent in those sections, for two years of the time en- gaged in merchandising in Arizona. In 1893 he returned to Charleston and embarked in the wholesale produce business and in other lines up to some twelve years since, when he became interested in the insurance business, which he has carried on ever since.

Mr. Ruffner was married at Tucson, Ari .. to Miss Carrie Boeh, who was born in Califor- nia, February 1, 1858, a daughter of Sabastian and Amelia (Christian) Boeh, the former of whom came from Alsace-Loraine, and the lat- ter from Hesse Castle, Germany. They were married in California and Mr. Boeh died at San Francisco at the age of fifty-five years. Prior to that he had been a merchant in Ore- gon. Mrs. Boeh died at Virginia City, Nev .. aged thirty-eight years. She was a member of the Lutheran church. Mrs. Ruffner was the second born in a family of four children, the others being: Fred, a business man at Port- land, Ore., who has a son named for himself: Rose, who is the wife of C. B. Session, lives at San Francisco, and has one son, Volney; and Louis, who is a resident of San Jose, Cal., and has a daughter.

Mr. and Mrs. Ruffner have four children. namely : Louis Chapin, who was born in Ari- zona, who was educated at Charleston, and is now engaged in business at Cincinnati. O., as a coal dealer: Rose Amelia, born in Arizona, who was educated at Charleston, married Harry Leinbach, of Syracuse, N. Y .. and

has a son, Harry; Ethel Marye, born in El Paso, Tex., who is the wife of McLean Nash, of Charleston; and William Alexander, who was born at Charleston and resides at home. Mr. Ruffner and family are members of the Presbyterian church. In politics he is a Demo- crat. He has never united with any fraternal organizations.

JOSEPH GRISHABER, whose fine farm of one hundred acres is situated in Loudon district. Kanawha county, W. Va., was born January 6, 1861, three miles from the upper bridge, in Kanawha county, and is a son of Lawrence and Elisabeth ( Whorley) Grisha- ber.

Lawrence Grishaber was born in Germany and when he came to Kanawha county, W'. Va., he lived on what is now the site of Charleston's stately capitol building, his em- ployer being S. Ruffner. Farming continued to be his occupation throughout his entire life. his death occurring when he was about sixty years of age. After marriage he settled on a farm three miles from Charleston and there his four children were born, namely: Joseph. Agnes, Charles and Elisabeth. The mother of this family died when the eldest son was fourteen years of age.

Joseph Grishaber attended school in boy- · hood until he was old enough to become self- supporting and then worked in a brickyard and later helped to lay the brick in the build- ing of the capitol. Subsequently he became a brick contractor and in this capacity was con- cerned in the building of the Arcade Hospital. three big schoolhouses, the poor farm build- ings, over one thousand buildings at Charles- ton, the Lincoln county jail, and many struc- tures at Cincinnati and in other places. He has always been a practical, hard-working man and since he has been engaged in farm- ing has labored to make his place the best and most attractive and productive in this section. His first purchase was a tract of sixty-two acres and he has been settled on his present farm for about twelve years. In addition to farming he raises cattle for his own use.

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History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 83

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