History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 95

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 95

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

in 1901, five persons of the name were William C. Rives, a prominent physician more or less conspicuous in the early his- and author and uncle of Amelia Rives, now the Countess Troubetzkoi, famous the world over for her literary work. tory of that county, three of them being brothers. These five Clarksons were Peter, John, William, James and Manaoh.

The line of descent under present con- sideration comes from John Clarkson, above mentioned, who served bravely in the Virginia militia during the Revolution- ary War. He passed his life in Albemarle county, being the owner of a large planta- tion, five hundred acres of which he pur- chased from Maj. John Wood and on which was located an early mercantile em- porium known as "Clarkson's store." He was not altogether fortunate in his busi- ness operations, however, as he lost much of his property before he died. His losses were not due to any lack of energy on his part, as he was an active and prominent citizen. A brother of his married a cousin of President Thomas Jefferson. He, him- self, married Nancy Harrison, a Virginia girl who made him a good wife and help- meet. They each attained an advanced age. They had three sons-James, John, and David-besides several daughters.

James Clarkson, through whom the present line descends, was born in Aibe- marle county, Va., about the year 1780 and also attained an advanced age, dying in 1860. He was a farmer by occupation. In 1835 he came to Kanawha county (now) W. Va., purchasing land on the south side of the Kanawha river. He became a well known and prominent citizen of this re- gion, was a Democrat in politics and, fol- lowing ancestral tradition, was an adher- ent religiously of the Episcopal Church. He married in Albemarle county, Va., Maria Wood, who was about the same age as himself, and a native of Albemarle county, where she died in about middle life. Her parents were David Josiah and Mildred (Lewis) Wood, and she was a granddaughter of Thomas Walker, pro- prietor of Castle Hill and one of the best known men of his day in the valley of Vir- ginia. From him the family estate has de- scended to Alfred Rives, brother of Dr.

James and Maria (Wood) Clarkson were the parents of six children, whose record in brief is as follows: (1). David, who was one of the early salt makers of Kanawha county, married Elizabeth Quar- rier and went to Missouri, in which state he owned property. He died there and his widow subsequently returned to Charles- ton, where she was a much beloved woman and where her death finally took place. They left children. (2). Mildred Lewis became the wife of Prof. William Brad- ford of Massachusetts, a descendant of William Bradford, the Mayflower passen- ger and first governor and historian of the Plymouth colony. She left one son, Will- iam, Jr., who was twice married and left an interesting family, he having recently died. (3). Mary Walker married Alexan- der Bradford, a brother of Prof. William Bradford above mentioned, the two broth- ers being professors in the University of Virginia. (4). John Nicholas was the father of Mrs. A. L. Langley, the direct subject of this sketch, and will be further mentioned herein. (5). Margaret died unmarried in Charleston, W. Va. (6). Robert graduated from the Philadelphia Medical College and was a prominent physician of Lafayette county, Mo., where he died. He married Miss Hattie Houcks. who came of Dutch stock, and she also died, leaving a son and daughter.

Col. John Nicholas Clarkson, briefly re- ferred to above, was born in Albemarle county, Va., October 24. 1816. He was only a boy when his father settled in Ka- nawha county and he grew up here becom- ing a deputy sheriff in 1836 when he had not yet attained his majority. For some time he followed the occupation of salt maker. On the breaking out of the Civil War, he was appointed by Gen. Henry A. WVise, ex-governor of this state, as his chief aid, with the rank of colonel. He served in the Confederate armies and was

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three times wounded by gunshot. A brief sketch of his military record is contained in a letter from Maj. Thomas L. Broun, who, after stating that Col. Clarkson took a very active part for the secession, of Vir- ginia, goes on to say :

"He was an ardent, earnest and very able supporter in the defence of Virginia. He was the chief advisor and counsellor of Gen. Floyd and Gen. Wise, also, in their campaigns in that part of Virginia extend- ing from White Sulphur Springs in Green- brier county to the Kanawha valley and to the Ohio river. He was chief of staff for Gen. Floyd, with rank of colonel. He was placed in command of a cavalry regiment, and did very active service with his regi- ment on Coal river, Guyandotte, the Ohio river and the Great Kanawha. Had fre- quent successful engagements with the en- emy and continued in this service until Generals Floyd and Wise were called to Richmond, in September, 1861, and Gen- eral Lee was sent to Big Sewell Mountains to take command of the Confederate forces then at Meadow Bluff near Lewis- burg and on Big Sewell Mountains, oppos- ing the forward and onward march of Gen- eral Rosecrans, with twelve thousand men.

"Subsequently the State of Virginia concluded to take possession of the salt works of Palmer and Stuart, at Saltville in Washington county, and to have salt made for the use of the Confederacy, as the Federal blockade had deprived the South of salt. The legislature of Virginia passed this act of confiscation, and Col. Clarkson was chosen to take possession of these salt works, and to organize a force to make salt for the use of the South. This Col. Clarkson did, and remained so doing until the close of the war."

Maj. Broun further says of Col. Clark- son that he "was noted for his great bravery and daring courage in all contests, and his ardent attachment to everything dear to Virginia. He was ready at any time to give up his life in defence of same."

John S. Wise, in a recent letter to Mrs. Langley says of Col. Clarkson : "My

father," (Henry A. Wise, ex-governor of Virginia and later brigadier-general in the C. S. army) "was devoted to him (Col. Clarkson) and regarded him as one of the most matchlessly brave human beings he ever knew." And further on in the same letter Mr. Wise says: "No woman in this world had a braver father than you did or one more simply truly loyal to his friends. you have a right to be proud of his courage and constancy."

Col. Clarkson's life was prolonged many years after the war, his death occurring October 14, 1906, when he was within ten days of his ninetieth birthday. During this long period he was one of the promi- nent business citizens of Charleston, a man highly respected and esteemed in the com- munity, and ready at any time to lend his aid and influence to any worthy cause. Though a son of the old South he showed his real Americanism by quickly adapting himself to the changed conditions of the new era which began with the close of the war, yet retaining in his dignified courtesy of manner, his hearty hospitality, and his keen sense of honor, all that was best in the old regime.

Col. John N. Clarkson was married, at the old St. John's church, Charleston, by Rev. Dr. Nash, in August, 1847, to Anne L. Early, who was born January 25, 1820, and who died in Marion, Smyth county, Va., while the family were refugees in April, 1865.

The Early family is of Irish descent and is supposed to have emigrated from County Donegal, in northwestern Ireland. Col. Joab Early moved to Putnam county from Franklin county. He was the son of Jubal Early and his wife, Mary Cheatham ; grandson of Jeremiah Early of Bedford county, and Sarah Anderson; great grand- son of Jeremiah Early, Sr., of Culpepper county and his wife, Elizabeth Buford; great-great-grandson of Thomas and Eliz- abeth Early of Christ Church parish, Mid- dlesex county, Virginia.

Four of Col. Joab Early's children lived in Charleston, Kanawha county. His eld-

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est son, Capt. Samuel Henry Early, mar- ried Hennan, daughter of Dr. John Jordan Cabell, of Lynchburg, Va., who owned and operated the salt works in Kanawha county. Dr. Cabell died in Kanawha in 1835 during an epidemic of cholera, and was buried in the upper cemetery in Charleston. Another daughter of Dr. Cabell, Frances, the wife of Thomas Friend, resided in Charleston; she was the mother of Mrs. Joel Quarrier, nee Frances Friend, and of Mrs. John Moseley, nee Paulina Friend, and of Josephine Friend, who died aged nineteen years unmarried. Robert Hairston Early (Col. Joab Early's third son) married in Franklin county, Harriet, daughter of Capt. Wiley Woods. While living in Charleston Mr. Robert H. Early held the office of sheriff. He moved with his large family and his youngest brother, Richard, to Lexington, Mo., where he resided many years and where Col. Joab Early died in 1871, being buried with Masonic rites. Two of Col. Early's daughters married and resided in Charleston : Elizabeth married Judge Robert Augustus Thompson (of a Culpep- per county family), at one time a member of Congress. In the early fifties this fam- ily moved to San Francisco, where Mrs. Thompson's two daughters now reside, and where both she and her husband died, the former in 1867 and the latter in 1900.

Ann Early married John N. Clarkson, as already narrated, and lived in Charles- ton until during the Civil War, when this family refugeed to . eastern Virginia. Later they moved to southwestern Vir- ginia, and Mrs. Clarkson died during their sojourn in Marion, Smyth county.

Capt. Samuel H. Early made Charleston his home during the period in which he and Col. Clarkson operated the salt works in Kanawha county, where his wife held landed interests from her father. The breaking out of the Civil War cut off com- munication with the western part of the state : his father and sisters with their fam- ilies had refugeed to eastern Virginia. After the close of the war Capt. Samuel

Early again turned his attention to the Ka- nawha property and other holdings in western Virginia, making lengthy visits to this new state, and while in Charleston, during the winter of 1873-4, he was seized with the illness from which he died in March, 1874, in the home of Mr. Joel Quarrier. While a citizen of Charleston Capt. Early lived in the brick residence afterwards owned by Mr. Ruby on the main street fronting and parallel with the river.

Col. John N. and Ann (Early) Clarkson were the parents of two children, John Nicholas, Jr., and Mary, whose name ap- pears at the head of this sketch.

John N. Clarkson, Jr., was born in Charleston, W. Va., in 1851 and was edu- cated in the University of Virginia. He has never married and now resides on his stock farm in Lincoln county, W. Va. He has been successful in his chosen vocation.

Mary Clarkson (Mrs. A. L. Langley) was born May 30, 1848, in Charleston, W. Va. She was educated by a governess and in St. Mary's College, at Raleigh, N. C., later attending a finishing school at Rich- mond, Va. She is a woman of keen intel- ligence and high culture, well read and well informed upon general topics, and has traveled the world over, having visited, among other famous places, the North Cape, in Norway, the most northerly point in Europe. She is a member of and active worker in the "Stonewall" Jackson Chap- ter, Daughters of the Confederacy. This chapter placed in the capitol grounds in Charleston, W. Va., a statue of Gen. Thomas J. Jackson ("Stonewall"). This monument was designed and executed by Sir Moses Ezekiel, an Italian sculptor, who was a pupil of General Jackson's while at the Virginia Military Institute. Sir Moses, while at school in Lexington, fought with the cadets at the battle of New Market, when Hunter invaded Vir- ginia on his way down the Shenandoah valley.

Mary Clarkson was married September 29, 1872, in Charleston, to Augustus L.

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Langley, who was born in Ohio in 1843 and who died in Charleston, W. Va., October 13, 1903. Mr. Langley was educated in the public schools of Ohio and was a com- mission merchant for many years. His grandfather, Philip Langley, was a mem- ber of the House of Burgesses of Virginia. He married Anna O'Neil of the District of Columbia. The father of Augustus was William H. Langley, of Virginia, who be- came a prominent miller in Ohio, dying at Gallipolis, that state some thirty years ago. He was president of the Hocking Valley Railroad. He married in Gallipolis, O., Caroline Miller, who died there in 1875 when quite advanced in years. They were Presbyterians in religious belief.

Mr. and Mrs. Augustus L. Langley be- came the parents of two children, namely: Anna, born in Ohio in 1876, was educated in Staunton, Va .- Mrs. Jeb Stuart being president of the school-and became the wife of John S. Witt, a wholesale shoe dealer of Lynchburg, Va. She has one son, John Augustus, born April 9, 1897. Clark, Mrs. Langley's second child, was born in West Virginia in 1879, was edu- cated in the University of West Virginia and graduated in the class of 1900 with the degree of B. L. He has bright prospects for a professional career. He is at present a resident of Idaho and is unmarried.

Mrs. Langley is a member of the Epis- copal church, as was also her husband. Since the latter's death she has looked after her own estate very successfully, showing excellent business capacity.

DAVID O'DANIEL,* a retired farmer and highly respected citizen of Elk district, was born near his present homestead in Kanawha county, April 15, 1839, and is a son of Chapman and Sarah (O'Daniel) O'Daniel.

Chapman O'Daniel was born in Wood county, now West Virginia, and after his marriage settled on a farm near Cooper Creek, where he resided during his entire subsequent life, his death occurring in 1895, when he was seventy-two years of

age. His father, James O'Daniel, was one of the oldest pioneers settling at the head of Cooper creek, near Elk river, and was probably born in Ireland. Chapman O'Daniel married Sarah, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Slater) O'Daniel, of Elk district. She died in 1879 at the age of fifty-seven years. To this marriage one child was born, David O'Daniel, of Elk district. The half brothers and sisters of Mr. O'Daniel are as follows: John, who is a farmer on Campbell's creek; Hedge- mon, who lives in Greenbrier county; Nancy, who is the wife of A. W. Wiseman, of Elk district; Eliza, who was the wife of M. Boggs; and Catherine, who is the wife of J. Smith, a farmer in West Virginia.

For ten years after leaving school, David O'Daniel followed farming on the home place, for Thomas Newhouse and William Graham. He also worked his way through the coal mines and later learned the cooper's trade and worked at it five years. When the Civil War broke out he enlisted in 1861 in Co. C, 7th Va. Vol. Inf. and served three years in the Federal army, under Generals Crook and Hunter, participating in all the battles of his command, but

fortunately escaping wounds or capture. After an honorable discharge he returned to the Elk river re- gion and resumed work at his trade and continued for seven years when he came to his present farm on which he carried on agricultural operations until he retired. He is one of the pioneer settlers on this · creek and one of the best known men in the district. He has been a good citizen in a quiet way, accepting responsibilities, when necessary but not seeking political office. He casts his vote with the Repub- lican party.

Mr. O'Daniel was married to Miss Eliza Light, who was born in 1847, in Elk dis- trict, Kanawha county, a daughter of Jo- seph and Rachel (Brown) Light, natives of Greenbrier county, Va. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. O'Daniel, namely: John, who is a coal miner in Fay- ette county, married Melissa Williams and

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has three children; James, who is his father's farmer; Wilbur, who is a farmer and miller in Kanawha county; Walter Frederick, who is a coal miner, married Rosa Williams, and has two children; Rachel Ann, who married Joseph Martin, a farmer in Elk district, and has seven children; Sarah, deceased, who was the wife of Thomas Shawn; and two who died young. For thirty years Mr. O'Daniel has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Mill Creek.

LEROY ALLEBACH, attorney-at-law, at Charleston, W. Va., has been a member of the Kanawha county bar since 1906, and is assist- ant general counsel for the Kanawha & Michi- gan Railway. He was born July 25, 1880, at New Bethlehem, Clarion county, Pa., and is a son of Anson M. and Clara C. ( Webster ) Alle- bach, and a grandson of Abraham and Kathe- rine (Krämer) Allebach.

The Allebachs have long been residents of Pennsylvania, where the family was founded by Christian Allebach. He came to America about 1704 from Wurtemberg, Germany, ac- companied by his large family, this being in compliance with a request made by an agent of Matthias Van Bebber, the latter having pur- chased a tract of five thousand acres of land from William Penn, located on Perkiomen creek, in Montgomery county, Pa., in what was then known as Van Bebber township, but in later years it became Hatfield township.

Abraham Allebach, son of Benjamin and grandfather of Leroy Allebach, was born in 1810 and died at New Bethlehem, Clarion county, in 1881. He served for a time in the Union army during the Civil War and partici- pated in the battle of Gettysburg. He was a large landowner, having property in Washing- ton, D. C., and prior to the Civil War had pre- empted lands in both Iowa and Minnesota. He married Katherine Krämer, who was born in Center county, Pa., in 1833, and died in 1902, aged sixty-nine years.

Anson M. Allebach, father of Leroy Alle- bach, was born in the house which was erected by his grandfather, Benjamin Allebach, and for the past thirty years has been superinten-

dent of the Northwestern Coal and Iron Com- pany and has been an active business man since he attained his majority. He married Clara C. Webster, who was born in 1858, and is a daughter of Leroy Webster, who was born in McKean county, Pa., in 1833, from which sec- tion he moved to Jefferson county and from there, in 1910, to the home of his daughter, Mrs. Allebach, at New Bethlehem. He served as a soldier in the Union Army for fifty months and was wounded eight times during his long period of service. He married Dollie Sher- man, a descendant of Roger Sherman of Colo- nial times. His father was George Webster, who was born at Portsmouth, N. H., and was a direct descendant of John Webster, who came to Boston, Mass., in 1636, later removed to Connecticut and was made governor of that state or rather the Connecticut colony, from 1645 until 1649. On the maternal side, Mrs. Allebach is connected with the New England Emersons, Wolcotts and Rogers.

Leroy Allebach was born on the place where his great-grandfather, Benjamin Allebach, set- tled when he moved into Clarion county, which is the home of his parents at the present time. He attended the public schools of New Bethle- hem and after completing the High School course, in 1900 was graduated from the Clar- ion Normal School; in 1903 from Grove City College, receiving his degree of A. B .; and from the University of Michigan in the class of 1906, with the degree of LL.B., and on the first of October in this year, entered upon the practice of law at Charleston. In 1910 he formed a partnership with C. C. Wiley, and was appointed claim agent of the K. & M. Rail- road Company in May, 1910, and assistant to the general attorney, in October, 1910, with offices in the City National Bank building. Mr. Allebach is a member of St. John's Episcopal church; of Kanawha Lodge No. 20, A. F. & A. M .; Tyrian Chapter, No. 13; Kanawha Commandery. No. 3, and belongs to the Beni- Kedem Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Charleston, and is also identified with the Elks in this city. He is more or less active in Republican political circles and stands high in general esteem both in his profession and as a man.

HON. GEORGE E. PRICE

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THADDEUS STEVENS CLARK,* a member of the prominent law firm of Chilton, Mac Corkle & Chilton, at Charleston, W. Va., has been engaged in the general practice of law in this city since 1896, coming here three years earlier. He was born September 30, 1867, in Carroll county, O., and is a son of Jesse Frank and Isabel (Roby) Clark.

In the days of the great-grandfather, Jesse Clark, the family was already an old one in the Valley of Virginia. After his marriage this ancestor of our subject moved to near Leesburg, in Carroll county, O., where he pur- chased land and cut off the timber and de- veloped a farm on which he lived until the close of his long and active life. The name of his wife was Grant, and she was born in Virginia. Among their children was William Clark, who was the grandfather of Thaddeus S. Clark, of Charleston. He was about four years old when his parents moved to Ohio and he spent his life in Orange township, Carroll county. He married Ursula Rouse, who belonged to an old Pennsylvania Dutch family. Their chil- dren were: Henry, who spent his life in Car- roll county, a farmer; David, who lived in Tuscarawas county ; Jesse Frank; Jane, who died at the age of sixty years; and Anna, who is the Widow Harris, resides with her one daughter, in Ohio.

Jesse Frank Clark was born in Orange town- ship, Carroll county, O., in 1835, on which farm he spent his life and died in 1898. He was a man of public importance in that section, a Republican in politics, and was county com- missioner of Carroll county. He married Isa- bel Roby, who was born in 1836, in Carroll county, and still survives, living in the old homestead in which she spent all her married life. With her husband she was one of the early members of the Methodist church and both were active in its good works. They had nine children born to them, namely: Edward, who died at the age of fourteen years; Rush, who died in 1910, aged thirty-two years; Charles, who lives in Ohio; Clyde, who also lives in Ohio; Thaddeus S .; Blanche, who is the wife of A. G. Morrison, lives at Leesville and has two children-Clark and Helen; Will- iam D., who has one son, Thaddeus, and lives 40

at Covington, Ky .; Nellie, who remains with her mother; and Jesse F., who is a farmer in Harrison county, O., and has two children- Franklin and Mary.

Thaddeus S. Clark was educated in the pub- lic schools and a commercial college, and in 1893 came to Charleston. In 1894 he began the study of law and in 1896 was admitted to the bar of West Virginia, afterward becoming a member of the law firm mentioned above. In politics he is a Democrat.

Mr. Clark married Miss Agnes Dooley, who was born and educated at Baltimore, Md. They have one daughter, Isabel T. Mr. Clark was reared in the Methodist and his wife in the Presbyterian church. They take part in the pleasant social life of the city and have a wide circle of congenial friends.

HON. GEORGE EDMUND PRICE, vice president of the Kanawha Banking and Trust Company, of Charleston, W. Va., a promi- nent Democratic leader and a foremost mem- ber of the Charleston bar, was born on a farm near Moorefield, Va., November 9, 1848, and in that town he first attended school and pre- pared for Georgetown College, at Georgetown, D. C.

Mr. Price was a brilliant student, carrying off most of the honors while at college, and was equally satisfactory as a student of law, and in December, 1871, was admitted to the bar, at Frederick, Md. In the fall of 1875 he returned to West Virginia, locating in Mineral county, where he continued in the practice of law until 1890. He became interested in poli- tics in early manhood, and his friends recog- nized his unsolicited claims to party recogni- tion in 1882 by electing him to the West Vir- ginia state senate, and through re-election he served in that dignified position for eight years and during several sessions of this honorable body was its presiding officer. His public record is one to which he can refer with justi- fiable pride. In 1890 he came to Charleston as a resident and entered upon the practice of his profession, becoming a member and remaining at the head of, through a number of changes, of a firm that has been very prominent in law

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practice here for many years. Its present style is Price, Smith, Spilman & Clay, and offices are maintained in the Coyle & Richardson building, Charleston. He has been identified with the Kanawha Banking and Trust Com- pany since its organization. Senator Price re- sides at No. 1119 Virginia avenue.

M. F. SPRUCE,* undertaker and funeral director at Cedar Grove, W. Va., who has spent his entire life in Kanawha county, was born on his father's farm in Cabin Creek dis- trict, in September, 1856, a son of George W. and Rachel (Foster) Spruce.

George W. Spruce, who was born in North Carolina, came to West Virginia in early man- hood and engaged in farming. He soon mar- ried and then moved to the present site of Cedar Grove, before the town was laid out or the mines opened. He married Rachel Foster, who was born in Kanawha county, a daughter of Turley Foster, a pioneer in this section, and they both attained old age. Seven children were born to them, the youngest of the family being named Millard Fillmore, in honor of President Fillmore, who had succeeded to the high office of President of the United States following the death of President Taylor, in 1850. Mr. Spruce has never done anything to bring discredit on an illustrious name. His brothers and sisters were: William J .; Mat- tie J., who is deceased (was the wife of W. B. Wilson) ; Alice, who became the wife of James Hull; Isabella, who married James T. Jolın- son; Benjamin F .; and George H. Pendleton.

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History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia and representative citizens, Part 95

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