USA > West Virginia > Summers County > History of Summers County from the earliest settlement to the present time > Part 49
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LIVELY.
This family name is celebrated principally through Colonel Wilson Lively, of Lowell. At the date of his death, he was resid- ing in the old "Graham House," at the west end of the railroad bridge at Lowell, at the old Graham ferry. There are but com- paratively few of the name now residing in the county, a large number being located in the counties of Fayette and Monroe. Two of Colonel Wilson Lively's daughters married and are now living on the old homestead, one being Mrs. Bunyan L. Kesler, and the other Mrs. Henry F. Kesler. Another daughter, Miss Bettie M. B., married Prof. James French Holroyd, both of whom were schoolmates at the Concord Normal School at Athens, West Vir- ginia, where Professor Holroyd and his family now reside, he being one of the oldest and most widely known, popular and dis- tinguished of the faculty of that institution. Mrs. Holroyd and the two Mrs. Keslers are sisters of the Hon. Frank Lively, of Hinton. West Virginia. The Livelys are of English descent, but as to the date of their emigration and settlement in this land, I am unable to state.
Hon. Frank Lively is the youngest child of Colonel Wilson Lively. He was born at Lowell, then known as Graham's Ferry, now Talcott District, then Monroe County. now Summers County. on the 18th day of November, 1864, attended the free schools in his boyhood, and then took the general course at the Concord Nor- mal School, graduating there with honor in 1882, after which he took a supplemental course and the law course at the University of West Virginia in 1883 and 1884, from which he graduated and took the degree of "Doctor of Laws" in 1884. After completing his course at school he located at Hinton in 1884, for the practice of his profession, and within about a year thereafter formed a co- partnership with Hon. W. R. Thompson in the practice of the law, which copartnership continued until after the removal of Mr. Thompson to Huntington. in 1890, when he was united in marriage
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HISTORY OF SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
to Annie E. Prince, of Hinton, a daughter of James Prince. . In 1900 he was elected prosecuting attorney over Mr. Thos. N. Read, by a majority of fourteen. He was the nominee of the Republican party, and it was in this election that the celebrated "Blue Pencil" wing of that party received its christening, it being claimed that the blue pencil cut a figure in the result.
Mr. Lively held this office, with Judge A. R. Heflin as his as- sistant, until April 1. 1905, when he resigned the office to accept the appointment from Governor White as Fish and Game Warden, E. C. Eagle being appointed the prosecuting attorney to fill out the unexpired term of Mr. Lively, with Judge Heflin to assist.
Upon the election of the Hon. Clark W. May as Attorney Gen- eral at the election in 1904, Mr. Lively was appointed Assistant Attorney General, which position he held until May 1, 1906, when he was appointed by Governor Wm. M. O. Dawson as pardon at- torney, and which position he now holds. In 1888 Mr. Lively was a candidate on the Democratic ticket for the nomination for prose- cuting attorney of Summers County, but was defeated by Jas. H. Miller. He retained his affiliation with that party until 1900, when he allied himself with the fortunes of the Republican party. and was nominated as the candidate of that party for prosecuting attorney, and was elected as herein stated. -
In 1904 he was the nominee of the same party for judge of the Ninth Judicial District, composed of the counties of Wyoming. Summers and Raleigh, against Colonel T. G. Mann, Major Jas. H. McGinnis and I. C. Christian. This was a celebrated campaign, and much bitterness was engendered in that party between the opposing candidates. Two executive committees were in opera- tion, and a general "war to the knife" contest resulted, two sets of delegates being appointed from Summers, the home county of Messrs. Lively and Mann; but when the convention came off neither Mr. Mann nor Mr. McGinnis permitted their names to go before the convention, and at the polls both Mr. McGinnis and Mr. Mann supported the Democratic nominee, and both being men of pronounced ability and probity, their influence largely aided in encompassing the defeat of Mr. Lively.
Mr. Lively is an active and an influential citizen, and until he entered politics and assumed charge of his duties as a public offi- cial, which requires practically all of his time. at Charleston, had a large clientele and a fair proportion of the legal business of the county. He has many warm friends, and a large following as a politician in his party.
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HISTORY OF SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
Colonel Wilson Lively was a colonel in the militia before the war, and was sheriff of Monroe County a number of times, and was a very popular and prominent citizen. The ancestors in the "old country" were centuries ago followers of the great English soldier and statesman, Oliver Cromwell, and after the restoration of the English kings to the throne of the kingdom, "came across the waters" and settled in the colony of Virginia, of which West Virginia is now a part.
The death of Colonel Wilson Lively was one of the tragedies growing out of the great Civil War. He was an intense South- erner, a Union man devoted to its adhesion, but loyal to his Com- monwealth, and when it seceded, like the great body of the loyal people of the State, went along. He was a member of the Virginia State Senate when Richmond fell and Lee surrendered, having been a member of that body throughout the war. It was the shock of the news of the evacuation of the Confederate capital and of the surrender of Lee at Appomattox which caused his death. He was on his way to Richmond, at Farmville, when the news reached him, and the shock was so great that he died within two hours thereafter.
Colonel Lively's wife was a Miss Gwinn, of the old family of that name of the county, and is of Irish origin. The only other members of the Lively generation now in the county are Le- roy Lively, of Green Sulphur District, a distant cousin of the Wilson Lively family, and David and Chris, of Barger's Springs.
BOWLING.
The Bowlings are a numerous family in the lower end of Mer- cer County, and it is a pioneer family. The most prominent citi- zen of the name in this county at this time is Walter P. Bowling. the present efficient and active deputy sheriff, with A. J. Keatley, sheriff of the county, and an enterprising merchant at Tophet, and the candidate for the nomination for clerk of the County Court at the next election. The original ancestor of the Bowlings was Jessie, who was kidnaped in England and brought to Maryland, where he remained until the Revolution, volunteered in the Con- tinental Army for six months, and continued in the active service until the close of the war. He came to Lynchburg after the Revo- lution, married Sarah Robinson, and then settled on Wolf Creek, in Giles County, where he reared a family of seven children- William, Thomas, John, Dorcas, Nancy, Virginia and Betsey. Wil-
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HISTORY OF SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
liam married a Perdue, and settled in Mercer County, near the present site of Athens. He was the pioneer settler in that district. Thomas settled on Twelve Pole, in Wayne County. John married Sallie Walker, and settled on the Bluestone, near Spanishburg. He reared a large family, who live in Mercer and Summers counties, nearly all living in Mercer. Nancy married Hiram Burgess, and settled on Bluestone, near the present location of Maxwell's Mills. Virginia married Joe Crawford, and they lived on East River. Dorcas Bowling was never married. The family name is spelled in several different ways-Bowling, Bowlin, Bolin and Boling; but it matters not how the name is spelled-they all descend from the same common ancestor.
F. A. Bowling, the successful merchant at Athens, is a promi- nent member of this family, who was in the Confederate Army, in which he was a soldier. He was elected and held the office of clerk of the Circuit Court of Mercer County for six years. Walter P. Bowling, the merchant of this county, is an enterprising citizen, and takes an active interest in public affairs, being active in the councils of the Democratic party, of which he is a member. He was born and reared in Mercer County, but has made this county his home for the last fifteen years.
Thomas Jefferson Bolin and his three brothers, Jessie I., Lee and Charles, all went out into the Civil War at its beginning, vol- unteering and becoming members of the first company that enlisted in the Southern Army from Mercer County. They were members of Captain Straley's company, except Charles, who joined another company. The four brothers were in the entire four years of the war until the surrender at Appomattox, and came out without a scratch or wound of the flesh. Thomas J. had the heel of his shoe shot off, his cartridge belt shot in twain and his clothes shot full of holes and his horse shot under him, but no shot reached his flesh. He was the father of Walter P. Bowling, the merchant of Tophet. The original Bowling settlers located on the Clover Bottoms in the Clay settlement, and were in that region in the Indian days. F. A., commonly known as "Alex .. " the merchant at Athens, was shot in the arm and shoulder during the war, being a brave Con- federate soldier. When he came back from the army he had noth- ing whatever. He dug "sang," sent it to Richmond, and secured a suit of clothes, then raised a crop and secured an education to teach school. After teaching several sessions, the late H. W. Straley furnished him $800 with which to begin merchandising at Athens. He was always noted for his honesty and fair and square
WALTER P. BOWLING, Merchant, Farmer and Capitalist.
A. J. KEATLEY. Present Sheriff.
·
THE NEWYORK PUBLIC LINGERY
ASTUA LENOX ANE TILEEN FI:15
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HISTORY OF SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
dealing, and is now estimated to be worth easily $100,000.00. He and H. W. Straley entered into a co-partnership with Walter P. Bowling, and founded the business of the latter at Tophet as W. P. Bowling & Co., which partnership continued for fifteen years, but is now owned entirely by the younger member of the firm.
DAVID G. BALLANGEE.
David G. Ballangee, the postmaster at Clayton, is now sixty- one years of age. He married Miss Delphia Flint, and they have reared the following-named children: Thomas G., now 36 years of age; Davis A., 35 years old; John C., 32 years old; Ella C., 30 years old ; Sarah A., 28 years old; Mina M., now 26; Medora R., 24; Mary E., 21: Emma S., 19; Homer C., 16; and Grace L., 13 years old.
Mr. Ballangee is one of the enterprising farmers of the county ; has installed a sawmill, blacksmith shop, commissary, and, having the postoffice, is an independent man, thrifty and honorable. He is a staunch Republican in politics, an advocate of the protective tariff, and is a Missionary Baptist. His mother was a Graham, daughter of Joseph Graham, and is therefore a descendant of that . ancient family, and is the owner of the old Graham homestead at the foot of Keeney's Knob.
Mr. Ballangee has always taken an active interest in politics, but not as a politician of the office-seeking kind, and while a Re- publican, has not been so strenuous that he has not voted for and supported candidates on the Democratic ticket whom he consid- ered better qualified and more worthy than the candidates on his own party ticket. Any country is better off by having such citi- zens as David Graham Ballangce. He was a "Union man" during the war, but was not an active participant, being under the age of enlistment at the declaration of hostilities.
LUSHER.
There is but one family of the name of Lusher in the county, and Thomas Daniel Lusher, of Lick Creek, in Green Sulphur Dis- triet, is the head of that family. He resides on the "Sugar Knob," and is now one of the aged citizens of that section. His father's name was George Lusher, who was a soldier in the war of 1812 with England. He lived to the good old age of ninety-nine years, and when in his ninety-ninth year walked the distance of seventeen miles on foot.
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HISTORY OF SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
T. D. Lusher was born in Greenbrier County, on June 26, 1823, and served throughout the Civil War as a soldier in the Confeder- ate Army. He married Miss S. J. Wood, a sister of Zacharia Wood, the famous hunter and Lick Creek blacksmith. The lat- ter was born July 17, 1826, and married a sister of Thomas D. Lusher.
Thomas D. Lusher has for many years been a consistent tem- perance advocate, a Missionary Baptist and a Democrat. He is the father of Andrew Jackson Lusher, Aeniss Lusher, Sarah Lusher, who married Robert Hix; and Amanda, who married Thomas Bryant. He is now one of the oldest citizens of the Green Sulphur District.
JOHN LOWRY.
John Lowry was one of the first settlers on the mountain at the head of Lick Creek. His son Giles resides on Little Wolf Creek, and was for a number of years the road commissioner for Greenbrier District; Samuel, who now lives in Monroe County and is engaged in the lumber business ; Tolliver, who in his younger days emigrated to Fresno, California, where he had by industry and thrift accumulated a handsome fortune, died in 1906; John L., commonly known as Jack, resides on the old farm near the head of Lick Creek, the spring which forms the head being known as Eleber Spring. One daughter married Henderson Allen, an- other married Andrew J. Lusher, and another married A. M. For- ren. John Lowry, Sr., was of English descent, a shoemaker by trade and a man of sterling honesty.
HOUCHINS.
The Houchins family is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and their set- tlement in this country antedates the formation of the county by many years. The first settler of the name, of which we have any tradition, was James Houchins, the grandfather of Wm. Houch- ins, Jr., now of Lerona, W. Va. He was a soldier of the war of 1812, and resided in Monroe County, emigrating from Patrick County, Virginia. Wm. Houchins, Sr., came to New River when a boy, with his brother James, and both grew up into manhood in the territory of Pipestem District. He was born in 1805. Wm. Houchins, Sr.'s, wife's maiden name was McDaniel, and there were born to them four girls and two boys. The boys were Wm. Houch- ins, Jr., and Ballard. The girls were Caroline M., who married a
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HISTORY OF SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
Caldwell; Mary, who died single; Martha, who died single, and Cela, who married the famous Primitive Baptist Minister, Joseph Hubbard.
Wm. Houchins was an old-time Whig, until that political party became disorganized and was absorbed by the present Democratic and Republican parties, a Union man and a Primitive Baptist. When war broke out between the States he remained loyal to the State of Virginia, and cast his lot with the fortunes of the old Commonwealth. He was commissioner of the revenue and a jus- tice of the peace, being a land-owner and farmer by occupation, and a good, honest citizen. He was also, as well as the rest of the old settlers, a great hunter and trapper. He and William Keaton killed five panthers on Camp Creek, in Mercer County ; they shot time about, killing one at cach shot. Wmn. Houchins killing three and Keaton two, there being only five in the flock. He also killed five deer while standing in the same track. The wind was blowing from the deer towards him, and they could not get his scent. He stood by the side of a tree, and it is said that he killed in his days at least 300 deer.
The son of Wm. Houchins, Sr., Wm., Jr., now resides at Le- rona Postoffice. He is one of the oldest and best equipped teach- ers of the county, and has followed that occupation for many years. He was also engaged for some time in the mercantile business, and is a land-owner and farmer, still holding a Grade No. 1 teacher certificate, good for five years, he having received that grade at the second examination ever had in the State under the present law. This shows a very complimentary standing in that profession, as the examinations were very rigid, and only a small proportion of the teachers came out with first grade and full term of five years. He married Alice Barker, a daughter of the late M. C. Barker, of Barker's Bottom, on New River.
Ballard, the other son of Wm. Houchins and Mary, his wife, resides near the old Wm. Houchins, Sr., homestead, in Pipestem District. He is a farmer and a Democrat in politics. He was one of the brave Confederate soldiers who fought on the side of the "lost cause," of which there were many from that section of the country.
James Houchins, a brother of Wm., Sr., was one of the found- ers of the county. He was one of the first supervisors of the county, and the old records show much of his handiwork. We are unable to give in detail but little of his family history, as his de- seendants have mostly removed from this section. He was a farmer and land-owner and an honest man. Like his brother William,
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HISTORY OF SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
he was a Democrat after the war, an old-time Whig before, and a Primitive Baptist.
There was another brother, John, who settled in Monroe County.
In the passing of these old citizens we are unfortunate in not. having more of their personal history, for it was of such men that the "bone and sinew" of the land was composed, and by their hardy energy that the country was made habitable, and to blos- som and bloom as the rose.
These Houchins were gruff, rough, strong-charactered men, without deceit or hypocrisy, and for what they stood were square from the shoulder.
JAMES.
The Wm. James Sons' Co., one of the leading business con- cerns of this section of the State, has done much for the building up of the cities of Hinton and Avis.
The founder of this house in this county, and of the above- styled firm, was William James, an Englishman by birth, having been born in London, England. on the 24th day of March, 1815, but spent his youth and until his emigration to America in the southern part of Wales. His mother was a Welsh lady. In 1835 W'm. James embarked for the United States, locating for a num- ber of years in Philadelphia, Pa. Later he removed to Cambria County and resided at Edensburg, returning across the ocean, how- ever, twice, making the two voyages to induce his widowed mother to emigrate to the United States, in which efforts he was unsuc- cessful, as she was not willing to undertake the perilous voyage, more perilous than now by reason of the great advancements in modern navigation. In 1844 he intermarried with Miss Mary Ev- ans, of Edensburg, Pa .. and of this union there were born nine children. eight boys and one daughter, the latter dying in her in- fancy, within a few hours after birth.
Mr. James was a man of fine business ability and judgment, and accumulated a handsome fortune in the manufacture of lum- ber, and from other enterprises promoted by him. His partners in business were his sons, adhering to the doctrine that "in union there is strength," admonishing his boys to adhere to this princi- ple; and the result of his wisdom in this particular is fully dem- onstrated by the successful business operations of the "James Boys." the family being associated in all enterprises in which they or either of them have engaged.
Wm. James, the father, with his wife, removed to the county
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in 1879, beginning business, however, a year or two before under the firm name of Wm. James & Sons. Before his removal his son, George James, and J. C. James, the eldest son, came to Hinton prospecting for a business location, in the early summer of 1876, and in the fall of the same year the father and J. C. made another examination of the prospects, and before the purchase of the tim- ber lands on the Bluestone River, securing also the first charter for booming and damming New River, for the purpose of advan- tageously transporting logs from the mountains. Work began on these improvements in 1877, by J. C. James, with some laborers from Pennsylvania and George James. It was during the follow- ing year the great flood of 1878 occurred, which destroyed much of the work done by the Jameses, and greatly disheartened them, and to some extent modified their plans. About the same time George James died from typhoid fever, and a little later another one of the sons, while attending school at the University of Virginia, visited his brother at Hinton, contracted typhoid fever and died.
Their misfortunes were quite discouraging, but the work went on. A great dam was constructed across Bluestone River, on the Charles Clark place, and dykes built in Greenbrier River, as well as a large steam saw and planing mill at Hinton, the noted James Pond having been acquired by Wm. James, with fine foresight, for the purpose of creating a harbor for the logs floated down the riv- ers, and it was on this pond the mills were built, and on which two of the largest mills in this region are now located. Large tracts of timber and timber lands were acquired. Mr. George James, up to the date of his death, was largely the promoter in the construction work. He was a magnificent young man, in the prime of young manhood, with the brightest prospects. He and his brother, J. C., had been companions in this work, and this death was especially a blow to him. Mr. Howard James died soon after, being a student of medicine, and concluding his course at the great University of Virginia. The family, up to these deaths, consisted of the father and mother, Wm. and Mary, John Clarkson, Doctor M., Dwight W., Alphias W., Eben B., Howard, George and Herschel. Mr. James, however, regardless of the discourage- ments, determined to construct his operations here, and in the fall of 1878 removed to Hinton, having purchased the "Sperry" prop- erty in Upper Hinton-a handsome residence-and a little later built a large frame storehouse on the corner of Third Avenue and Ballangee Street, in Hinton, and opened up the furniture business of James Brothers, which was operated by the two younger sons,
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A. W. and E. B., manufacturing a portion of the furniture at the Upper Hinton mills.
Mr. Wm. James contracted pneumonia, from which he died, and his remains now rest in the old cemetery on the hill in Avis. He was one of the founders of Hinton, and one of Nature's noble- men, the architect of his own fortime, of a Christian character, leaving to his children an ample fortune, and, best of all, a noble character, one of which any ancestry might be proud.
After his death the enterprises and industries which he had in good judgment founded continued, the widow being taken in as one of the partners, under the original firm name of Wm. James & Sons. Later it was changed to the W'm. James Sons' Co., and in 1894 it was transferred from a copartnership into a corporation, under the style of the \'m. James Sons' Co., with J. C. James as president ; P. L. James, a son of J. C., as secretary, and D. W. James as vice-president ; the two younger sons. A. W. and E. B., removing back to Pennsylvania, where they still reside in the city of Kane, a town named after the celebrated Arctic explorer, Dr. Kane, of which he was a native, leaving the control of the entire business, mainly in this State, in the hands of J. C. James, assisted by his brother, D. W. James.
The brothers, in addition to their enterprises in this section of the State, engaged in the lumber business, a chemical manufactur- ing plant, and railroading in Pennsylvania. They are. in addition to the plants in this county, interested in considerable coal lands and mining interests in Kanawha and Raleigh Counties.
D. M. James graduated at the University of Virginia, and is a minister in the Congregational Church in the city of Plymouth, Mass., where the Puritans landed from the Mayflower, and has made a reputation as a preacher of eloquence and ability.
The Wm. James Sons' Company erected the first houses known as "flats" in Hinton, situate on James Street, near the foot of the hill. The building is some 300 feet long, two stories high, and is adjusted for a residence of twenty-four families; is twenty-four houses in one, and is frame. The only other similar building in the city is that of Hon. Azel Ford and James Laing, on Temple Street, constructed of brick, the front being of pressed brick.
`J. C. James, the present head of the family, resides in Hinton. and is one of the leading business men of the State. He is a man of fine business attainments, always found at the front in any movement for the advancement and betterment of the public in- terests, and has done as much as any other one man towards the upbuilding of the community, and is looked to for his aid and good
HON. SIRA W. WILLEY, Twelve Years Postmaster of Hinton and Active Politician.
JOHN CLARK JAMES, Founder of the Wm. James Sons Co.
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HISTORY OF SUMMERS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA.
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