USA > West Virginia > Tucker County > History of Tucker County, West Virginia, from the earliest explorations and settlements to the present time; > Part 32
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Rufus Maxwell's children are, Wilson B., Mary A., D. Angelica, Hu, Cyrus H., Thomas E., John F., Levi H., Charles J. and Robert R. He is a farmer living three miles east of St. George, with 60 acres of improved and 1200 acres of wild lands. He has been county surveyor, county super- intendent of schools, and twice elected by Tucker and Ran- dolph to the legislature. His election to the legislature was in October, 1865, and he represented the delegate dis- trict composed of Randolph and Tucker Counties. That legislature met in Wheeling, January, 1866, and was prob- ably the most proscriptive legislature that ever met in West Virginia. But Mr. Maxwell steadily opposed the proserip- tive measures, and spoke and voted against the Registration Act of that session. Only five members of the House voted with him. They were, McCurdy, of Jefferson, D. D. John- son, of Tyler, John Kellar, of Barbour, Capt. Darnell, of Mason, and Mr. Cooper, of Hampshire. And later in the session Mr. Maxwell voted alone against "The Ninth Ju-
citizens bethought themselves to organize a "Home Guard." Not knowing exactly what it meant, they advised Mr. Maxwell on the subject, and asked what was the duty of a Home Guard. IIe replied : "Meet occasionally at some appointed place, muster up and down the road, boast that you can whip all the men the enemy ean send against you, and when the enemy comes, run off and hide."
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dicial Circuit Bill," which provided that Judge Nat. Har- rison should fill all vacancies occurring in all offices in his circuit, except members of the legislature. Maxwell says :
This act was as defiantly aggressive as the registration act, and more dangerous to liberty ; because, without even a plausible plea of necessity, it conferred absolute civil power upon a single individual, a judicial officer who was not worthy to wear ermine, being then under articles of impeachment, and who afterwards re- signed to avoid impeachment,
At the beginning of the session, there were fourteen avowed Conservatives in the House, but when this " Circuit Bill" came up on its passage, Maxwell was the only one who was in the front opposing it. His course in the legis- lature met the approval of his constituents, but the Consti- tution of West Virginia, then in force, provided that Tueker and Randolph counties should together elect one delegate, who for three terms should be a resident of Randolph County and for one term a resident of Tucker County. The election being held annually, and Mr. Max- well being a resident of Tucker, he was not eligible to a seat in the House again until 1869; and in October of that year he was again elected by a large majority.
He took an active part in the campaign that year for the election of members of the legislature. At that time there had sprung up, in the state, a sort of third party of con- siderable strength called Let-up Republicans, who claimed that the proper time had come for a modification of the laws restricting the right of suffrage, &e., and more particu- larly the laws imposing certain civil disabilities. He advised against holding a Democratic State Convention that year, and insisted that the people of each county and dis- trict should conduct the campaign according to the con- ditions in each : that there was but one issue involved
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that men always vote their sentiments and convictions if left free to do so; and that an aggressive organization of the Democratic party at that time would have a tendency to drive the Let-up Republicans back whence they came. This plan of campaign was pretty generally carried out, and was to the effect that,
Where the Democrats were sure of electing a Senator or a member of the House of Delegates, they should quietly agree and unite upon and rally in support of the best available Democrat ; but, where there existed any reasonable doubt of the success of a Democrat, they should withhold their candidate, and encourage public discussion as much as possible between the Let-up Republi- cans and the Radical Republicans, so that the split between them might be widened and deepened, and the antagonistic feelings be more intensified between the two wings of the Republican party ; and finally, that the Democratic voters should, in such counties and districts, rally and concentrate their votes upon the Let-up candidate.
The result was that, when the legislature met in January, 1870, the Radical Republicans found themselves in a minority, in the House of Delegates, for the first time in the history of the State; but they still, for a time, confidently claimed the Senate. William M. Welch, a Let-up Republi- can, and delegate from Mineral County, was chosen speaker of the House.
After the meeting of the legislature, Mr. Maxwell went immediately to work to ascertain the views of the members of the House and Senate with respect to the repeal or modification of the various "Iron-clad Test Oaths," and the repeal or modification of the Registration Law, and to other reforms. In a few days he claimed to know the opinions of nearly all the typical members of both Houses. He ascertained that the Republicans did not intend to make a vigorous defense of their out-posts-the teachers,' attor-
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neys' and suitors' test-oaths-but that they intended to defend their citadel-the registration laws and officers' test-oaths-to the last extremity.
It was found that the legislature was composed of five distinct parties, as follows : Extreme Radical Republicans, Radical Republicans, Let-up Republicans, Extreme Demo- crats and Moderate or "Policy" Democrats. None of these parties or factions could be so clearly distinguished from all the others as to enable one to tell the precise personal following of each. But, ex-Governor Pierpont was the type and apparent leader of the Extreme Radicals; and Nathan Goff, Sr., was leader of the more moderate Republicans, while W. H. H. Flick, Spencer Dayton and William M. Welch were the sachems and chief councilmen of the Let-ups. John J. Davis and E. A. Summers were the only members of the House that could be strictly classed as Ex- treme Democrats, although E. G. Cracraft and John Faris voted with the Extreme Democrats and Radical Republi- cans against the Flick Amendment. But they did it under immediate pressure of a constituency that were looking through smoked glasses. Among the Policy Democrats were found, Daniel Lamb, Benjamin Smith, Henry G. Davis, Henry Brannon, J. M. Jackson and others. But they were without any well recognized leader, and only their unity of purpose led them to a unity of action. They had no caucus after the House was organized, but often consulted one with another.
Soon after the organization, Henry G. Davis* suggested that the Let-ups should have the honor of bringing forward the reform measures, and Rufus Maxwell added that they should also have the honor of defending them, provided they do it in good time and
* Then a member of the State Senate.
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shape. This unwritten and informal understanding on our part required great dilligence to restrain zealous members from getting ahead of their business, by taking the wind out of the Let-up sails. But the plan succeeded, at least with all the more important meas- ures. * * *
"Policy Democrat" was a sort of pet-name among us. We got the name thus : One evening Rufus Maxwell was conversing with John J. Davis and remarked that the true policy of the Democrats was to secure all the reforms possible, and not hazzard much grasping after things we could not reach. To this Davis replied, with sarcastic affability that he didn't go much on Policy Demo- crats! that Democracy was founded on eternal principles. When this little incident was narrated to Daniel Lamb he laughed most heartily and remarked, "Now is the time for Democrats to have a policy and pursue it." This remark was true then with regard to State politics and has ever since been a living truth with regard to National politics.
WILSON B. MAXWELL,* son of Rufus Maxwell, was born April 17, 1853. In his younger days he possessed a most prolific imagination. He could imagine anything. He never went into the woods, or the orchard or beyond the yard-fence without having wonders to relate of deer, lions, hyenas and gigantic frogs that he had seen while gone.
Just before McChesney's skirmish it was rumored that the war was to be one of extermination, and that sixty thousand Yankees had been scattered along the B. & O. R. R. with instructions to sweep south and destroy everything that should fall into their power. The country was much agitated, and young Maxwell, although only eight years old, seemed to enter into the general anxiety. So, when his mother sent him to the spring for a bucket of water he im- agined that he saw Yankees. He ran to the house and re-
* See Ilistory of the St. George Bar in this book.
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ported that three soldiers had run down from the hill, stop- ped to load their guns, and then advanced toward the house. His father was reading the newspaper; but when he heard this, he ran into the wheat field and lay hid all day. It is needless to say that there was probably not a soldier within twenty miles.
During the war, farmers in Tucker did not work much, because they did not know at what time their property might be destroyed. They aimed to raise only what they conkl use. This seemed to give young Maxwell a distrust of farm work ever afterward, and he did not like to bnekle up fairly and squarely to agricultural drudgery, and, in fact, would not do it. Probably he thought that the war might flare up again at some unguarded moment and consume the work of the farmer, and, therefore, it would be as well to wait awhile longer till things should become more settled before expending much labor on the farm.
So, he waited, and along three or four years after the war, his two brothers, next younger than him, came to be large enough to do something. He assumed control of the farm work, and seemed to think that the eruel war was indeed over, and there would be no risk to run now in raising a crop of corn. After a long siege of it, and not a little help, he got the fields plowed, and by the first of June, every hill of corn was planted. Now came the plowing and hoeing of the corn. A long series of experiments has proven that corn must be cultivated or it will throw up the sponge and quit growing. So, W. B. decide l that his corn must be plowed and hoed. It had rained a good deal, and the fields wore tolerably large, and the corn was soon hidden by the weeds. In such a case, three furrows should be run for every row, to tear out the weeds, and make less work
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for those who had the hoeing to do. But, young Maxwell concluded that two furrows were plenty, and in short rows one was enough.
He plowed, and put his two younger brothers, one eight and the other six years old, to hoeing, and expected them to keep up with the plow. The little rascals didn't half work ; but, if they had worked their best, they could not have kept up with the plow. The sun was hot, and the weeds were rank, and the corn was little, and the clods were hard, and, withal, the progress was slow. W. B. would get to the field with the old white horse about nine o'clock a. m., and by making the old horse bend to it he would get a couple dozen rows ahead of the boys by the time the hottest and laziest part of the afternoon came on. Then he would tie the old beast up in the fence corner to rest and chew weeds, and he would climb on the fence in the cool shade of the butter-nut trees and sit there like the lord of creation to watch the boys hoe corn.
The boys were little, and one was awfully freckled ; but, in spite of this, they were full of energy and independence, and would not ask for help as long as there was any hope of pulling through without it: so, they would dig and hoe at the weed-infested corn rows until they saw that it was im- possible to get them all done before dark. Then they would suggest to W. B., who had been resting for two hours, that it would not be altogether alien to their wishes if he would lay hands on a hoe and lend a little assistance. But, he would reply by encouraging them to persevere, telling them that that was the way he got his start. Thus, the sun would go down, leaving ten rows for them to hoe in the morning while he was taking his morning nap; for, he
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was conscientiously opposed to getting up before eight o'clock.
When fall came, and the corn was cribbed, it looked like a small aggregate; and W. B. could not understand why the crib was not fuller. However, he didn't expect to need much of it, as he was going to school. He went to Morgan- town to the West Virginia University, and there fell in with J. J. Peterson, of Weston, and there is no telling how they planned mischief. Mr. Peterson may have been innocent, but it looks as if he had something to do withi coaxing Maxwell to run away from Morgantown and go to Weston to school. At any rate, Ire very suddenly appeared in Weston, and remained there a year or two, coming home once or twice to give the boys some advice about the farming. When he left Weston, he went to Clarksburg, and attended a private school taught by a man named Tur- ner. When he left Clarksburg, he did the most of his studying at home, out in the fields where the other boys were at work. He would repeat his old Latin Grammar, moneo, moneas, moneat, and tell the boys it meant, "mow weeds, mow grass, mow hay."
Thus the summer seemed to pass beautifully over him, and he gained a great deal of agricultural knowledge from his books. From the Georgics and Bucolics of Virgil he learned how to trim apple trees, plant grape vines, take care of horses and sheep, and he always told the other boys how to do it. From Horace, Juvinal and Quintilian he learned how to arrange words in sentences, and he told the boys, and it was a great encouragement to them as they dug away at the work and listened with all the patience of Job for the dinner horn.
W. B. Maxwell's talents seemed to fit him better for the
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profession of the law than for anything else, and accordingly, he commenced reading in 1873. In 1874 he was examined before Judges Lewis, Brannon and Huffman, and obtained license to practice. He located in St. George, and has since lived there, and has had a constantly growing practice. He is local counsel for the W. Va. C. & P. R. W. Co., the managers of which are Henry G. Davis, James G. Blaine, William Windom, and others. He has been county superintendent of Tucker.
In 1876 he was married to Miss Caroline Howell Lindsay, of Madison, Indiana. Their children are Claud, Bessie and Hu.
HU MAXWELL, (see Appendix).
CYRUS H. MAXWELL, son of Rufus Maxwell, was born in 1863. At the age of thirteen he went to Philadelphia to get his first rudiments of education regarding the world at large. After his return, the same year, he attended the country school at Low Gap, where he manifested a predis- position to take exceptions to every species of instruction that the teacher could devise or offer. His progress, how- ever, was well enoughı, and in 1879, at sixteen, he entered the Weston Academy, and commenced the studies of the higher mathematics and Latin. In these his progress was only tolerably rapid.' He found Cæsar and the Calculus much harder than Geography and Spelling; and, after a hard winter of study, and not many pages gone over to show for it, he left Weston and returned home to work on the farm. In the fall of 1880 he returned to Weston and again set toward his studies. But, the next fall, some little unpleasantness, for which, no doubt, he was mostly respon- sible, having arisen in the school, and also partly influenced
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by other considerations, he quit the Academy forever. He taught school four months on Smith's Run, in Lewis County, and in the spring of 1882 went to the normal school at Valparaiso, Indiana. Everything seemed to go against him there. He got the diptheria and was laid up awhile with that. Then he got the mumps, and lost more time. Scarcly was he able to be about when he was taken with the measles, and had another hard time. To add to his calam- ities, some scamp stole his money, and he was left short in that respect. He began to grow tired of the place ; and, collecting together what plunder he had left, he took the train for Chicago, in search of a better land. He was now nineteen years of age. His stay in Chicago was short, only a few hours, and when next heard of he was harvesting in the wheat fields of California. This work was too hard to suit him, and he hunted a vacant school and taught eight months, at $60 per month.
In the spring of 1883 he was joined in California by his brother Hu, and a series of trampings and wanderings was the result. They spent the summer visiting and exploring noted places on the Pacific coast, and places of wildness and romance among the deserts and mountains. They spent a month among the glades and snows of the Sierras, and explored the mysterious abyss of Nihilvideo, a report of which was published in The Wheeling Intelligencer. In July they crossed the deserts about Lake Tulare, and passed through the Avernal by night, having gone fifty-six miles over the burning sand without water, and reached the head of the Cholame River, in San Luis Obispo. After several days the Pacific Ocean was reached at San Luis Bay. They followed down the coast one hundred and ten miles to Santa Barbara, visiting, in the meantime, the wonderful Gaviota
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Pass, and Los Critas River, that flows sulphur water. The groves and gardens about Santa Barbara were the beauti- fulest they had seen in California, except about Los Angeles. But a spirit of adventure came near spoiling it all. Having hired a fishing-boat, "The Ocean King of San Diego," they resolved to have a sail, and in company with Bob Shelton, a young Kentuckian, two run-away boys from Iowa, one Spaniard, Chromo, and an Italian, Larco, they set sail from the Harbor of Santa Barbara, on the morning of August 4, 1883. It was a beautiful morning, and a gentle breeze was blowing, as they stood from the harbor. They passed the light-house some miles west of the city, and struck boldly off across the ocean toward Japan. . About noon a storm came on and the boat was driven before it for six hours. The ocean was very rough, and the boat was almost helpless, and lay on its side. About six o'clock in the evening it was driven on the Santa Barbara Islands, one hundred and fifty miles from San Diego. The party reached the shore in a skiff that had been tied on the deck of the fishing boat.
Only a limited quantity of provisions had been gotten ashore, and the wild foxes ran down from the mountains and eat part of that, so the supply only lasted about one meal. Two fish were caught and eaten and some cactus- apples were picked along the cliffs. On the third day the Spaniard caught a wild sheep among the mountains, and the whole party feasted, except Hu Maxwell, who was too con- trary to eat mutton, and went without anything to eat until a boat picked them up and carried them back to the Cali- fornia coast, on the third night. After this the three boys went up the coast three hundred miles to Monterey, and from thence passed up the Pajaro Rio and crossed the Coast Mountains to San Luis Rancho and were again in the
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San Joaquin Valley, one hundred miles from Fresno, the starting point. The way was mostly across a life- less desert, without water, trees or grass. Soon the horses gave out, and they were left in the care of the Ken- tuckian and the two Maxwell boys set forward on foot for Fresno. They had as provision, two biscuits, three potatoes and a quart of water in a canteen. They guided their course at night by the north star, and at day by the sun. The way was across a sandy desert, level as a floor, on which at day the mirage hid every object from view, and the scorching sun made the desert like a furnace. After two nights and a day they reached their destination. The hot sand had burnt their feet into blisters, and it was weeks before tlfey recov- ered from the effects of the thrist, hunger and hardships of the desert. It was many days before the Kentuckian got out, but he saved the carriage and horses. The journey all in all, from leaving Fresno till returning to it was over 1,000 miles, and more than 300 miles of it through deserts.
Not long after this, Hu left California, and C. H. Maxwell was again alone there. But he did not stay long. He taught a school at $75 a month, and upon its close returned, at the age of 21, to West Virginia, where he and his brother Hu bought the Tucker County Pioneer, and went into a part- nership to publish the History of Tucker County.
THE remaining five boys of Rufus Maxwell's family are young, the oldest, T. E. Maxwell being nineteen, and a school teacher; the next younger, John F., is a student at Weston, and is a landscape painter. L. H. and C. J. are school boys and printers, and R. R., the youngest, digs weeds out of the garden.
J. L. NESTER, son of Nathaniel Nester, born 1862, mar-
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ried, in 1882, to Sevana J., daughter of William Fitzwater. By occupation he is a farmer, owns 30 acres of land, 10 acres improved, 42 miles from St. George, on Bull Run. Children : Icy V. and Minnie O.
NATHANIEL NESTER, son of Samuel N., born 1833, was married, in 1861, to Melvina, daughter of J. W. S. Phillips. First wife died in 1875, and as a second wife he married Bede C., daughter of Moses Phillips. By occupation he is a farmer, owning 300 acres, 40 acres improved ; 4 miles west of St. George. His children are : Isaiah L., Albert E., Lemuel A. W., Buena Vista, Sampson F., Dorcas F., Saberna and Walter.
GEORGE M. NESTER, son of David Nester, was born in 1818 ; of German descent; married in 1848 to Eliza, daughter of Oliver Shurtleff. His wife died in 1871, and he married Mrs. Lyda Hovatter, daughter of Isaac Godwin ; is a farmer, 4 miles from St. George, on Bull Run ; has 70 acres of improved land, on a farm of 142 acres. At the commencement of the war he was elected justice of the peace, but would not serve. He was twice arrested by the Yankees. John, Samuel and George Nester were the first settlers on Bull Run. They killed ten bears soon after they settled there. George Nes- ter's children are Doctor L., Oliver D., Marcellus C., Mary M., Herschel M., Claudius B. M., Sarah L., Byron W. and Lloyd W.
GEORGE H. NESTER, of German descent, was born in 1846 ; is a son of John D. In 1871 he married Jane, daughter of Stephen E. Poling ; his wife died in 1874, and four years later he married Savilla V., daughter of Samuel Gainer, of Preston County. Farmer and shoemaker, owns 68 acres of land, 20 of which is improved ; lives 8 miles west from St.
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George; his present wife taught schools No. 1 and 5, Lick- ing District, on a No. 2 certificate. Children : Simon P., John, Samuel and A. Macy.
JOHN D. NESTER, son of David Nester, was born in 1821 ; married in 1843 to Margaret, daughter of George C. Goff; is of German descent; is a practical surveyor, and was County Surveyor 10 years ; owns 206 acres of land, and has 60 under improvement, 5 miles west from St. George; was County Commissioner one year. Capt. Hall took him pris- oner and held him five weeks during the war; settled in Licking District in 1855, and killed four bears in one day. Children : David K., George G., Winfield Scott, Amacy S. and Mary S.
D. S. NESTER, son of Jacob Nester, was born in 1851, and, like the rest of the name in that region, is of German de- scent and a farmer; he owns 149 acres, 109 of which is wild land; he lives on Bull Run, 5 miles from St. George, and is surveyor of roads. His children are Ira F., Flora M. and Lumma E.
JOHN H. NESTER, son of Samuel N., of Barbour county, was born in 1841; married in 1865 to Margaret Sears. Farmer of 70 acres, 40 acres improved ; lives 6 miles from St. George, on Bull Run. When he was six years old he killed a wild cat with a seng hoe. Children: Andrew J., E. Catherine, Lyda V., Martha J., Jasper R., Lavina F., Oscar, Solomon and Lawson.
ELI NINE, of German descent, son of John Nine, was born in 1844, in Preston County; married in 1872 to Margaret Weaver, of Preston County. Children : Earnest and Ellis. He is a farmer living in Canaan. His farm of 110 acres is all wild land but 9 acres. He has traveled to some extent,
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having visited Nebraska, Kansas, Indian Territory, Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Dakota, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan and Virginia. He practiced medicine in Missouri. He be- longs to the Homeopathic school.
HERSCHEL M. NESTER, son of G. M. Nester, born 1858, and lived 4 miles below St. George. In 1882 he married Almeda Dumire, of Black Fork.
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