USA > West Virginia > Preston County > History of Preston County (West Virginia) > Part 20
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In 1734, the territory of Preston County was a wilderness, and was known as a part of Orange County ; four years la- ter it formed a part of Augusta, and thirty-eight years after- ward was included as a part of that portion of the West Au- gusta District constituting Monongalia County, and so re- mained till 1818, when nearly all of its present territory was erected into a county by the time-honored name of Preston.
A century ago, far from the early centers of eastern civili- zation, within the sweep of the mountains so blue, lay the territory of Preston County, an almost unbroken wilderness with but here and there the solitary cabin of the white man. Preston County is to-day favorably known for the wise econ- omy and agricultural thrift of its inhabitants ; but a hundred years ago, where now its green meadows and golden harvests lie warm in heavens bright sunshine, heavy forests existed whose depths were filled with wild beasts and inhabited by savage Indians.
Eighteen years passed away, and a great highway over the Alleghany Mountains-the Northwestern Turnpike-was car- ried through its territory ; seventeen years more, and an iron
17
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HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY.
pathway for travel and commerce extended through the county. After the construction of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, eight short years went by, and then from the South Atlantic coast of the Republic rolled up the breaking thun- ders of the greatest civil war that ever occurred in the New World.
The storm of battle burst upon Virginia, and it was rent in twain. "The men from the sea-shore, " from the south dis- trict, from "the beautiful and historic Valley, " afterward "upon whose hoof-beaten bosom red battle so deeply stamped his foot and made it famous forever"-these all gathered beneath the Stars and Bars. But westward from the crest of the mountain, the sons of Virginia rallied under the Stars and Stripes. From the frowning mountains, to the bright waters of "the beautiful river, " rang the war cry of the Union and passed the watch-word, A New State.
From the days of the Rebellion Preston County has rap- idly increased in wealth and population, and at the present time needs only an active use of capital backed by energy, to develop her great mineral wealth, and place her as one of the foremost counties of the State, a position which she little lacks as it is, and to which she proudly aspires.
We close the chapter with the census returns of the county for the year 1880, as far and as full as they can be gotten at this writing.
The population of the several districts, according to the census of 1880, is as follows:
Kingwood
2824
Lyon .3391
Valley . 1507
Reno 3229
Total west side of Cheat 10,151
Grant.
2222
Portland. 2836
Pleasant 1824
Union 1933
Total east side of Cheat .. 8315
Total population of the county . 18,966.
235
FROM 1863 TO 1881.
The population of the several more important towns and vil- lages of the county, in 1880, was :
Newburg. 718 Cranberry .. 363
Rowlesburg. 402 Independence 249
Kingwood. 367 Brandonville. 115
Bruceton 72
The population of Preston for the seven decades since its formation, is as follows:
1820 .3422
1850 11,708
1830 5144
1860 13,312
1840 6866
1870 .14,555
1880 18,966
The per centage of increase is shown by the following table :
From 1820 to 1830 50 per cent. .33 66
From 1830 to 1840.
From 1840 to 1850
70
From 1850 to 1860.
13
From 1860 to 1870.
9
From 1870 to 1880. 30 6.6
Preston, in 1880, was the banner county in the State as regards raising oats and buckwheat, having produced 197,- 395 bushels of oats and 73,974 bushels of buckwheat.
The Assessors' books for 1880 show the number of acres assessed, including town lots covering 291 acres on the west side of Cheat, to be 390,027.
Valuation of Land. $1,810,050
Valuation of Buildings. . 526,030
Total of Land and Buildings. $2,336,080
The tax for general State purposes was $4274.35; for gen- eral school purposes, $2339.44: total tax for general State and school purposes, $6613.79. County levy was $10,579.26 ; aggregate district Levies were-for Roads, $2414.95; for Schools, $4703.80 ; for Buildings, 2070.13 : total sum of dis- trict levies, $9188.88: total assessment of taxes for 1880, $26,381.93.
236
HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY.
CHAPTER X. BIOGRAPHICAL .- CONGRESSMEN AND STATE SENATORS.
THE HONORABLE WILLIAM G. BROWN.
John Brown, grandfather of the Honorable William G. Brown, was born and educated hard by the City of Edin- burgh, in Scotland, the home of the Brown family, from which many of them have emigrated to England and Ireland and across the Atlantic to the United States.
When John Brown was twenty-one years of age he went to England, but not meeting with the expected degree of suc- cess in his business, he determined to emigrate to Ireland, whither a branch of his family had gone some years before. Going back to Scotland, he married a young lady by the name of Ann Morrow, and sailed to Londonderry, near which he settled and managed a large estate belonging to the father of General Montgomery who fell at Quebec, and sub- sequently to Lord Beresford, where he died at an advanced age, leaving six children to venerate his memory, namely, John, James, George, Peter, Thomas, and Ann who was married to a gentleman by the name of Ross. John held an office in the English navy, and went down in the ill-starred Royal George.
During the American Revolution, James Brown, the father of the subject of this sketch, sympathized with the colonies struggling for liberty, and spoke of the Crown and ministry of Great Britain in language that greatly irritated the loyal party. After the American Revolution crowned the new world with the laurels of liberty and independence, James
Hon. WILLIAM G. BROWN.
.
239
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Brown associated with those who aspired to compass the freedom of Ireland ; but the Protestant population were di- vided on the subject, and becoming discouraged, he concluded to emigrate to America. But before leaving Ireland he wed- ded a young lady by the name of Rachel Hawthorn, and in the fall of 1789 he and his wife's family sailed from Londonderry for Philadelphia, where they safely landed, and in the follow- ing spring removed to Northwestern Virginia, and settled in that part of Monongalia County which now constitutes Pres- ton County. James Brown purchased lands in the settle- ment called the "Dunkard Bottom," where he lived till 1838, dying at the age of seventy-seven years. His family con- sisted of five sons and three daughters-John C., who died on the old homestead in April, 1852; Robert, Joseph, Wil- liam G., Thomas, Jane, and Anne M., the wife of Elisha M. Hagans, Esq. Jane married a man named Bowen who set- tled in Wisconsin.
William Guy Brown, the fourth son, the subject of this sketch, was born September 25th, 1800. He profited by such schools and schooling as the country then afforded, the learning of the times being nothing more than the rudiments. of a good English education. He was noted for his fondness for reading and a desire to acquire knowledge.
Having been informed that his father was related to Robert Burns's mother, he felt inclined to court the muses ; but the muses were not propitious, and, like Blackstone, he turned hîs attention to the law.
He went to Parkersburg in the summer of 1852, and studied with Oliver Phelps and Joseph H. Samuels, Esq.
Mr. Brown came to the bar of his native county in the spring of 1823, and served as prosecuting attorney from that year till 1832. He evidenced a high order of intellect, and soon won the reputation of being a profound lawyer and a successful advocate.
He supported Andrew Jackson in his three candidacies for the Presidency, contributing largely to the old hero's popul-
240
HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY.
larity in Preston and Monongalia counties, which were then his field of practice.
He was elected to the General Assembly of Virginia in 1832, and in the exciting session of that year, he took sides with. those who condemned the course of South Carolina in the or- dinance of nullification.
In 1840, Mr. Brown was elected by the Democratic party to the legislature of Virginia and returned in 1841, 1842, 1843 ; and, as an evidence of his popularity, he was elected in 1843 without opposition. In the presidential campaign of 1844, Mr. Brown was appointed assistant elector for the Seventeenth Electoral District, and spoke through north- western Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania.
He received the nomination for Congress in 1845, and was elected by a large majority. In the adjustment of the con- troverted Oregon Boundary, Mr. Brown voted against the resolution to compromise on the parallel of 49 degrees, and claimed for the United States the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes as her northern boundary. He considered the compromise an imprudent "backing out" of the administa- tion and its supporters. He also stoutly advocated the war with Mexico.
He was again returned to Congress without organized opposition in the spring of 1847; and in the fall of 1850, was returned as a delegate to the Virginia convention, in which he sustained his reputation for tact and ability.
From 1851 to 1855, he served as a visitor to the Institu- tion for the Deaf and Dumb at Staunton, Virginia.
In 1860 he attended both National Democratic conven- tions at Charleston and Baltimore, and was a Douglass elector. He was also a delegate to the Virginia Convention of 1861, and opposed the secession of the State. Returning home, he was elected a Representative to the XXXVIIth. Congress, and served on the Committee of Manufactures, and the Militia.
In 1863, he was re-elected to the XXXVIIIth Congress, representing the new State of West Virginia, and serving on
.
241
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES,
the Committee of Claims. He was a member of the Con- stitutional Convention which held its sessions in Charleston in 1871-2. He was elected to the legislature of West Vir- ginia in August 1872, and served two years.
Mr. Brown has been President of the National Bank of Kingwood since the time of its organization to the present time.
In 1868 and 1869, he was assistant prosecuting attorney ; and, in the illness of the prosecuting attorney, Col. Charles Hooton, Mr. Brown was the leading prosecutor in the fa- mous Elihu Gregg case.
It was in the adroit defense of persons tried for high crimes and grave offenses that he has gained the greatest distinction. "Many instances could be given where he cleared his client to the utter astonishment of all, save those who heard the defense."
Mr. Brown has enjoyed good practice in his profession, covering a period of nearly fifty years, and is still at the bar. He has dealt extensively in real estate, and is one of the largest land owers in his section of the State. He is a mem- ber of the Presbyterian Church at Kingwood.
Mr. Brown has been twice very happily married. On the third of July 1828, he married Juliet A. R. Byrne, who died in 1851. And on the fifth. of June, 1855, he married Margaret P. Gay, daughter of Matthew Gay, Esq., of Mor- gantown.
Mr. Brown has only one representative of his name, a son, William G. Brown, Jr., who was born April 27, 1856, and who is a graduate of the West Virginia University, and now his father's law partner.
242
HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY.
THE HONORABLE JAMES C. M'GREW.
James Clark McGrew, son of Colonel James and Isabella McGrew, was born near the village of Brandonville in what is now Grant District, Preston County, West Virginia-then Monongalia County, Virginia,-on September 14th, 1813. His grandfather was Patrick McGrew, who was born and raised in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, from which county he removed to Virginia, and settled near Brandon- ville in the year 1786.
The great-grandfather of James C. was a Highland Scotchman, who came to America before the Revolutionary war, and first settled in the Valley of Virginia, but subse- quently removed to Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, where he died.
The mother of the subject of this sketch was a daughter of James Clark, who came in 1762 from the north of Ireland to America, and settled on the waters of Big Sandy, four miles north of Brandonville.
He received a good practical English education, and in 1833 engaged in mercantile pursuits in Kingwood, which he followed with fair success for nearly thirty years.
He married, in 1841, Persis Hagans, eldest daughter of the Honorable Harrison Hagans, of Brandonville, and sister of the Honorable J. Marshall Hagans, of Morgantown.
In 1861, he was elected a delegate to the Virginia Conven- tion which met in Richmond on the 13th of February of that year, and which passed an ordinance of secession, against which he voted, being a decided Unionist. Previous to the passage of the ordinance, and to aid in forcing such a result, a large number of daring and dangerous men had been col- lected at Richmond from the southern States by means of a secret circular sent out by some ultra-secession members of the Convention. The turbulent and dangerous element thronged the streets and public places, and the excitement throughout the city was intense. One night shortly before
Hon. JAMES C. McGREW.
245
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
the passage of the ordinance, hundreds of this excited mob, with torches, drums and fifes and secession flags, hooting and yelling, gathered in front of Mrs. Thornton's house where McGrew and his colleagues, the Honorable William G. Brown, and John S. Carlisle, a delegate from Harrison County, were boarding, and tying up ropes to the branches of the trees in front of the house, they called for Carlisle by name, and in no very polite or re-assuring language declared they had ropes ready for him and all like him.
As the rabble approached, McGrew being curious to as -- certain what the uproar meant, opened the window of his bed-room and, looking out, was brought face to face with the surging crowd. Not liking to "show the white feather" under the circumstances, he maintained his position at the window, looking down upon the ugly scene in the street until the mob, without attempting to enter the house, and having apparently exhausted their vocabulary of vile epithets, took down the ropes from the trees, and marched away to the tune of "Dixie."
He was one of the eighteen or twenty members of the con- vention who held a secret meeting on the afternoon of Sat- urday, April 20th, 1861, in a bed-room of the Powhatan Hotel in the City of Richmond, which was the germ idea that developed into the reorganization of the State govern- ment of Virginia, and ultimately into the division of the State and the formation of West Virginia, full particulars of which will be found in chapter IX.
He was one of the members from northwestern Virginia who resolved to quietly withdraw from the Convention, re- turn to their constituents, and appeal to the masses of the people against the ordinance of secession, and, if possible, retain Virginia in the Union.
His return home by a circuitous route to avoid forcible detention was fraught with dangers to himself in common with his colleagues, as detailed more at length in chapter IX ..
On the 29th of June, he, with eleven others, was expelled from the convention for being absent and engaged in what
246
HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY.
the convention called a "conspiracy against the State." He was elected to the legislature of West Virginia in 1863- 4-5, and assisted in organizing the State his efforts had aided to create. In 1866, he withdrew from public affairs, and en- gaged in the banking business as cashier of the National Bank of Kingwood, which started with, and still retains, an excellent reputation.
In 1863, he was appointed by Governor Boreman one of the managing directors of the West Virginia Hospital for the Insane, and served as such until 1871.
In 1868, he was elected to the XLIst Congress from the Second District of West Virginia, and re-elected in 1870, aid- ing while a member in the financial legislation of President Grant's first term.
At the close of his second term he retired from public life, against the solicitations of many of his constituents ; and has since been living a quiet, retired life, giving attention to his private affairs.
In January, 1881, he was appointed a delegate to the Methodist Ecumenical Conference which met in London, England, September 7, 1881, and on August 6th sailed from New York for Europe, intending to be present at the confer- ence, and to make a tour through Great Britain, the conti- nent of Europe, and possibly Palestine, Egypt and India.
247
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
THE HONORABLE JONATHAN HUDDLESON.
There lives in Valley District, two and a half miles north- east of Gladesville, an old gentleman once known to every voter in Preston, Taylor and Monongalia counties, because he represented these counties in the Senate of Virginia; but to day in his own senatorial district the younger generation scarcely know his name.
Born in Fairfax County, Virginia, in 1798, November 22d, he comes down from the Eighteenth Century, and has en- tered the last score of years amid the stirring scenes of the peerless Nineteenth Century.
As the oldest public man in the county, we sketch his own account of his life and public services.
He wedded Sarah Paxton Conn, November 28th, 1822, and kept boarding-house in Washington City, D. C., from 1822 till 1824. Next he lived in Alleghany County, Mary- land, and was superintendent on the National Road. He came to Preston County in 1847, and represented it, Taylor and Monongalia counties in the State Senate from 1855 · till 1859.
He introduced the bill establishing the asylum for the in- sane, located at Weston.
He originated a bill to settle the controverted line between Virginia and Maryland, a task for which he was well qualified, having resided in both States for a time.
He also had passed a bill establishing a line of ocean steamers, but the project was lost on the boisterous waves of civil war.
He was an admirer of Andrew Jackson, and visited the Hermitage as a member of a committee to confer with the old hero on the delicate question of the selection of a presi- dential candidate. Van Buren was objectionable to the De- mocracy of the South. Jackson was asked if he could not
248
HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY.
give up Van Buren. He replied, "I can give up any man- for the cause. "
He first proposed to his fellow committee-men the name of James K. Polk, of Tennessee, as a man who would unite all sections and bury all petty party jealousies.
He voted for the ordinance of secession, was confined two years at Wheeling and Camp Chase during the war, was im- prisoned on the testimony of a young man dressed in gray uniform who visited him one night, and next day sent on the provost marshal for his arrest.
In 1867, he went to Shenandoah Valley, bought property and remained till 1875, when he returned to his lands in Preston County, where his sons Henry W. and Thomas H. are engaged in farming ..
249
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
THE HONORABLE JOHN J. BROWN.
The Honorable John J. Brown was born in Kingwood in 1825, and residing in and near the town until 1864, was identified with Preston County as one of her useful citizens worthy of grateful recollection.
He received his education at Monongalia Academy, and Washington College, Pennsylvania.
He studied law with his uncle, the Honorable William G. Brown, at Kingwood, and was his law partner from 1849 till · 1861, when Mr. Wm. G. Brown was elected to represent the West Virginia (Wheeling) District in the Congress of the United States.
Mr. Brown was in Preston County in the exciting days of the secession movement and advocated the Union cause.
At the Union pole-raising, on Friday, the 25th of January, 1861, he made an eloquent appeal to the citizens of Preston, when presenting on behalf of the ladies of Kingwood, the flag of the United States to be unfurled to the mountain breeze on a pole one hundred and five feet high. The speech. will be found on pages 126 and 127.
He was one of the delegates of Preston County to the con- vention of 1861, to restore the government of Virginia ; and. also a delegate to the convention which framed the first con- stitution of West Virginia.
In 1863, under that constitution, he was elected to repre- sent the district composed of the counties of Preston, Mo- nongalia and Taylor, in the senate of West Virginia, and at the expiration of his term was re-elected, serving two terms in the senate.
In 1864, he removed to Morgantown, Monongalia County, where he still resides. He is now president of the Mer- chants' National Bank of West Virginia, at that place.
Living for nearly forty years in Preston County, and iden- tified with it as a useful servant, he is still kindly remem .. bered by our people.
250
HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY.
THE HONORABLE WILLIAM B. CRANE.
William Bonnell Crane, son of Jacob Crane, was born on the old "Crane Farm," near Muddy Creek, in this county, on the fifth of May, 1824.
He attended the schools of his neighborhood, and, although his advantages were none of the best, he acquired an education that enabled him to make himself a useful and influential man.
Growing up on the farm at home, hard work and out-door exercise developed his large frame, and his robust, portly form and manly bearing are still well remembered by the people of his acquaintance, as well as his wonderful feats of strength. Though remarkably large physically,he was quick of motion, and a swift runner.
He held a Colonel's commission in the militia, and was known best by the people as "Colonel Crane." He owned a number of farms in Portland District, dealt largely in live stock, and was engaged almost uninterruptedly in the mer- cantile business at Cranberry Summit during the last twenty years of his life.
He served in the legislatures of 1868 and '69 as a delegate from Preston, and in the State Senate from 1870 to 1872. (Under the Constitution of 1863, delegates were elected yearly, and senators biennially.)
When about thirty years of age he married Miss Rachel Elliott, and they lived happily together until the dread mes- senger of death called him away.
He was a regular attendant upon the services of the Baptist Church, of which his wife was a devoted member, and in March, 1871, he made a profession of religion and was baptized in Snowy Creek by the Rev. D. W. Rogers.
His home was made happier by five children-S. Fuller, now mail agent on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad from Parkersburg to Grafton; Marshall W., Eudora C., Jennie C. and Chester C.
251
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
In January, 1873, he was afflicted with a carbuncle on his neck, which, assuming a virulent type, proved fatal, and he died in peace March 14, 1873.
Colonel Crane was an honest, sympathetic, and generous. man. His liberality was remarkable; and it was largely his his efforts and means that erected the large Baptist Church building at Cranberry. Though devoted to his own church, he was too large in view and liberal in mind to be a bitter sectarian. He was a strong Unionist in the stirring times of '60 and'61, and a staunch supporter of that cause throughout the Rebellion. He was a modest, unassuming man, though one of great influence among his neighbors. The political honors conferred upon him came to him unsought. He was elected to the Legislature as a Republican, and served his people well and faithfully. Well remembered is the day of his funeral in March, 1873, by the many who attended. It was one of the largest ever known in the county, and the services, which were conducted by his friend and pastor, the Rev. D. W. Rogers, were very solemn. Col. Crane lived be- loved and esteemed by every one who knew him, and was greatly lamented in his death. His remains lie sleeping in the cemetery at Cranberry.
252
HISTORY OF PRESTON COUNTY.
THE HONORABLE CHARLES M. BISHOP.
The Honorable Charles Mortimer Bishop was born at Moorefield, Hardy County, Virginia, January 4th, 1827. His father's name was Adam, and his mother's maiden name was Rebecca C. Riley.
At the age of 7 years he began to attend school in his na- tive town. The school was taught by a man named Peck, and he attended it three years and a half. He also went to schools taught by two masters named Pugh and Scott, and subsequently attended a year at Charlestown, Jefferson County, after which he clerked six months for S. D. Brady, Esq., at Romney, Hampshire County.
In 1843, he came with his father to Kingwood, and at- tended school short time under the tuition of Nicholas Howell. Here he learned his father's trade, saddlery, and worked early and late, sometimes as high as sixteen hours a day.
On the 16th of July, 1851, he married Margaret E. Mor- ris, sister to Mrs. Smith Crane and daughter of Reuben Morris, Esq.
In the following December, he engaged in merchandizing at Rowlesburg, and remained there till August 16th, 1872, when he returned with his family to Kingwood.
While merchandizing at Rowlesburg he was also in partnership with Mr. D. Ridenour at West Union (now Au- rora), and with Mr. F. M. Huffman at Fellowsville.
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