History of West Virginia old and new, Volume 2, Part 169

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Mr. Anderson has been significantly loyal and public- spirited as a citizen, and he has been called upon to serve in various positions of distinetive trust and responsibility. Hle is a staunch supporter of the principles of the republican party,

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and has been influential in its councils and campaign activities in Wood County for many years. He served two terms as a member of the City Council of Parkersburg, under the regimes of W. H. Smith and Harry Thomas as mayor, and in 1897 he was appointed chief of the police department of the city, an office in which he gave fifteen months of effective service, his resignation having then been prompted by his desire to give his undivided attention to his private business. In 1920 he was elected a member of the Board of County Commissioners of Wood County, for a term of six years, and his virtual retire- ment from business gives him ample opportunity to devote his t'me and attention to the governmental affairs of the county, which is certain to benefit by his conservative judg- ment and deep interest in all that touches the community welfare.

In the year 188] was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Anderson and Miss Sarah E. Garloch, of Belpre, Ohio, and their only living child, James S., is one of the representative young business men of his native city, where, as previously noted, he has charge of the retail grocery business established by his father many years ago. The second child, Eva V., died when five years of age.

LOUIS STORCK. The marked success that comes to some individuals is not hard to understand, because it invariably is the reward of persistent industry, directed by good judg- ment and supplemented by sterling qualities that engage confidence and command respect. These conditions bring success in every country where opportunity is offered, as it is in the United Stataes, and it was the hope of finding this opportunity that brought Louis Storck, one of Parkersburg's prominent business men, to America before his boyhood was over.

Louis Storck was born iu Prussia, Germany, February 25, 1877, a son of Adam Storck. He attended the common schools in his native province and learned many useful les- sons, but by the time he was sixteen years old had found no opportunity to satisfy his ambition to get ahead in life and secure financial independence. Many of his friends and acquaintances reported themselves prospering in the United States, and in 1893 he took passage for this country, joining, after landing, former friends at Martin's Ferry, Ohio. From that day to this Mr. Storek has found legitimate opportunity and has had the good judgment to know how to take advantage of it.

For four years at Martin's Ferry he worked in a bakery and learned the business, going then to Bellaire, Ohio. There he was engaged for a few months as a shipping clerk for an enameling concern, after which he worked as a journeyman baker at Wheeling, West Virginia. In the mean- time, in 1896, his brother Daniel had come to the United States and joined him, and in 1899 the brothers embarked in a bakery business at Wellsburg, West Virginia, starting out with a combined capital of $150, and they prospered. In January, 1903, Mr. Storck bought an interest in the Juergens Baking Company at Wheeling, a going concern which was incorporated in 1904, consolidating the Wellsburg and Wheeling plants and great progress was made in the next four years.

In 1908 W. J. Juergens sold his interest in the above business to F. H. Frazier, the former president of the Wheel- ing Bread Company, which plant had been destroyed by fire in that year. With the experience brought into the business by Mr. Frazier the corporation found it possible to expand and an extensive business was done during the next three years. In 1911 the business style became The General Baking Company, with headquarters in New York City. Mr. Frazier was elected secretary of that organiza- tion and Mr. Storck was made manager of the Wheeling plant, a position he filled with extreme efficiency until he resigned in November, 1919, and came to Parkersburg and went into business for himself, purchasing the bakery inter- ests of the late J. W. Tonge. Mr. Storek has become one of the leading men in his line in this section and stands high in business circles here and elsewhere.

In 1908 Mr. Storck married Miss Minnie Schumann, of Wheeling, West Virginia, and they have two children: Elizabeth and Robert.

Mr. Storck is an active member of the Parkersburg Cham ber of Commerce, and belongs to the Rotary Club and the Order of Elks. He is proud of his American citizenship having taken out his naturalization papers as soon as pos sible. During the great cataclysm of the World war he wa: loyal and helpful to his adopted country, being entirely in sympathy with all for which this country stands.

JULIUS LASKY. In paying just tribute to a man of sterling worth, high ideals and notable in contributions to charity his fellow citizens who revere his memory do not ask as to hit native land. It is the man they honor, and in the United States of America the fact of his being the architect of hi: own fortunes but adds to the universal esteem. Thus th late Julius Lasky, an alien by birth and denied in boyhoo many educational and social advantages by circumstance over which he had no control, through industry, integrity and natural business capacity became a man of large capital an encourager of many substantial enterprises at Parkersburg and elsewhere, and so financially able and so truly a loya American that in the great World war he tendered his service to the United States Government as a dollar-a-year man.

Julius Lasky was born April 15, 1871, in Russia-Poland He was ten years old when his father, Max Lasky, left tha country with his family to seek better opportunities in the United States. For a time the foreign quarter in New Yorl City was the family home, but later the father went to Georgia and became a merchant, and continued in that line until his death. He became an American citizen and rejoicec to be such without forgetting the many glorious pages in the history of his native land.

Julius Lasky was the eldest of his parents' children and early began to make himself useful. After moving to Georgia he assisted his father, and through early manhood traveler through the cotton districts as a peddler. Afterward he he came a merchant at Bessemer, Alabama, and later at Aber deen, Mississippi, and during this time learned the custom! and acquired command of the language of this country. He returned then to New York City and went into a manufac turing business, but six months later decided to resume mer chandising, and with this end in view came to West Virginia seeking first a satisfactory location at Wheeling, but suhse quently deciding to make his home at Parkersburg. For nineteen years Mr. Lasky was a merchant in this city, ar honorable, trustworthy, able man. He was an untiring worker for every conceivable civic betterment of his adopter city and was a valued member of the Rotary Club and othe fraternal bodies.

At Bessemer, Alabama, February 12, 1893, Mr. Lasky mar ried Miss Rose Brown, and three sons were born to them Sol, Irvin and Manuel, who carry on the business which wa: founded by their father. When the World war was precipi tated the youngest son, Manuel Lasky, was attending Marietta College and was an enrolled member of the Student; Reserve Corps ready for military service.

During his many years at Parkersburg Mr. Lasky invester largely and wisely in real estate. He was essentially a busines; man and took no active part in politics or social life outside his own home, but he was mindful of the needs of others and many charities profited through his unostentatious benefac tions. Mr. Lasky died in his home at Parkersburg May 17 1921.

GEORGE E. LEAVITT, who is engaged in business in the City of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was born and reared il Wood County, West Virginia, and is a representative of on of the old and influential families of this section of the state His father, Joseph P. Leavitt, was engaged in business il New York City and was a man of substantial financial status In the '30s Joseph P. Leavitt closed out his business in the national metropolis and came to what was then the westeri part of the State of Virginia. In what is now the New England district of Wood Connty he purchased, at fifty cents an acre a tract of 1,000 acres of land, this property having at that time been virtually an untrammeled forest wild, with abso lutely no improvements to represent interposition on the par of man. The tract was largely covered with walnut, oak anc other hardwood timber, and at the prices which such timber commands at the present day the property would have made

Louis Storck

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him immensely wealthy. Joseph P. Leavitt had the qualities which make for success in pioneer activities. for he adjusted himself to and effected the development of his environment, reclaimed much of his land to cultivation, and by his strong personality and well ordered activities he contributed much to the civic and material advancement of this now favored section of West Virginia, his name meriting a high place on the roster of the honored and influential pioneers of Wood County. Here he continued to reside until his death in 1881. Mr. Leavitt was more than once married, but the family records in this connection are far from being complete. The Family name of one of his wives was Carr, and this name has been perpetuated in the personal or Christian names of a num- her of his descendants. Mary Elmondorf became the second wife of Mr. Leavitt. Charles P. and George E. Leavitt, two of the sons of thia sterling pioneer. were gallant young soldier of the Union in the Civil war. and Charles P. is still living, his nome being in the City of Columbus, Ohio. Virgil W. and Pierce, two other sons, were for a long period successful and popular teachers in the schools of Wood County, and many persons still residing in the county received early educational training under the effective direction of these brothers, Both Virgil W. and Pierce Leavitt eventually removed to Chatta- nooga, Tennessee, where the death of the former occurred and where the latter still resides. The family name has been one of prominence and influence in Wood County, and all of the children of the pioneer founder in this county are here remem- bered well and here stood exemplar of fine personal character- istics and exceptional ability.

George E. Leavitt. the son to whom this review is dedicated. was born on the old homestead estate in the New England District of Wood County. on the 15th of August. 1848, and to him, as to the other children. the father, who was a man of superior intellectuality, gave the best possible educational advantages. As a youth George E. Leavitt learned the cooper's trade, at which he became an expert workman, and it is related that his ambition led him to arise early in the morning and manufacture one or two barrels before break- fast. the penetrating sounds of his industry being the signal for the neighbors to leave their beds. The settlement con- sisted of less than a dozen houses at the time. By mistake Mr. Leavitt rose on one occasion at midnight and started working in his little cooper shop. The neighbors followed the call, as usual, and breakfast was prepared and eaten before the error in time was discovered. The protest that naturally arose waa. it is needless to say. such that George E. never repeated the experiment. Later Mr. Leavitt became specially well known as one of the leading and successful exponents of bee culture in this section of the state, and he gained high reputation as an apiarist. He also became a prosperous mer- chant at New England. where he conducted a large and well equipped general store that furnished supplies to a large con- tingent of the people residing in that section of the country. He there continued his mercantile business many years, and long served as post master of the village. During the period of the Civil war Mr. Leavitt was a patriotic soldier of the Union, his service having been in a cavalry regiment and he having participated in many engagements, including a num- her of battles of major importance. That he lived up to the full tension of conflict is indicated by the fact that while in active service he had three horses shot while under him. Mr. Leavitt continued his residence in Wood County as one of the well known and highly respected citizens of his native county, until about the year 1909, when he removed to Chattanooga. Tennessee, where he and his wife have since maintained their home, a cordial greeting and entertainment being ever assured them on the occasions when they visit their old home in Wood County. Mrs. Leavitt, whose maiden name was Alice S. McGee, was likewise born and reared in Wond County. The only one of their children now residing in Wood County is Carr T., who is successfully established in the undertaking business in the City of Parkersburg. where he has a modern and well equipped place of business. Carr T. Leavitt was born in New England, this county, January 3, 1874, was here reared to manhood and here received the advantages of the public schools. On the 15th of June. 1899, he wedded Miss Catherine M. Hofmann, and of the six children of this union five are living. The names of the children are here recorded in the respective order of birth: Elizabeth A.,

Charles H., Carr T. Jr., (deceased), George Edward, Cath- erine L. and Ralph J.

ERNEST W. MACKLIN, assistant general superintendent of the Eureka Pipe Line Company, with headquarters at Park- ershure, has been almost continuously in the service of this and the Standard Oil Company since he was a schoolboy. He is well known in Parkersburg and in oil circles throughout the Ohio Valley.

Mr. Macklin was born in the north of Ireland, Julv 7, 1886, son of Robert T. and Sarah W. (Walker) Macklin. Robert T. Macklin while his family were growing up around him in Ireland hecame convinced that no real opportunities awaited them in their native country, and it was for the sake of his children largely that he brought his family to the United States in 1890 and settled in Pittsburgh. He lived there about twenty years, but in 1910 removed to Los An- geles, California. where he died in 1918 and where his wife passed away in 1919. They were the parents of four sons and two daughters, Ernest W. being the youngest. Henry W .. the oldest, served through five enlistments in the United States Marine Corps, went around the world with his fleet. and is now & merchant in Los Angeles. Robert T. Jr., was & member of the National Guard of Pennsylvania, served in the Spanish-American war as a second lieutenant, and died at his home in San Bernardino, California, in 1920. The third son. James H., was in the signal corps of the Regular Army. had active duty in the Philippines and is also a resident of California. The two daughtera are Mav, wife of David Finnigan, and Netta, wife of Charles MeClintic.

Ernest W. Macklin was four years of age when brought to the United States, and his early education was acquired in the public schools of Pittsburgh. While still in his teens he went to work for the National Transit Company. a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, and remained in the service of that and other subsidiaries until 1911, when he came with the Eureka Pipe Line Company. Prior to that time his duties had taken him to different points around Pitts- hurgh and in West Virginia. In April, 1912, he established his permanent home at Parkersburg. Mr. Macklin also studied law in West Virginia University, passed the bar examination and was admitted to practice in all the courts of the state and in the Federal Court, and while he has never sought to build up a private clientage he employed his legal knowledge to advantage while associated with the general manager of the Eureka Pipe Line Company. In January, 1920, he was appointed assistant general superintendent at Parkersburg.

Mr. Macklin is a member of the Parkersburg Board of Commerce. the Rotary Club, the Country Club, the American Petroleum Institute, is a Royal Arch Mason, has attained thirty-two degrees in the Scottish Rite and ia a member of Nemesis Temple of the Mystic Shrine.

In March, 1906. he married Miss Nana B. Ice, daughter of Dr. C. H. Ice, of Mannington, West Virginia.

WILLIAM C. STILFS was a pioneer in the development of the oil industry in West Virginia and became one of the prominent oil producers in Wood County. where he established his resi- dence in the Volcano District in the year 1864 and where he continued his successful activities for more than thirty years. his death having there occurred in December. 1896. A man of fine initiative and executive ability, be left distinct and worthy impress upon the history of civic and industrial devel- opment and progress in this section of the state. and as one who stood exemplar of the best in the civic and business life of the community he is properly accorded a tribute of honor in this publication. Mr. Stiles was the organizer of the Volcanic Oil & Coal Company, the Laurel Fork Oil & Coal Company. and of the Laurel Fork & Sand Hill Railroad Com- nany. which built and placed in operation a line of railroad from Volcano Junction to Volcano. In his large and important enterprises he was associated with J. N. Camden, J. V. Rath- bone, Samuel D. Karns and others whose names are written large in the record of industrial advancement in this part of West Virginia. Mr. Stiles became an extensive land owner, and in this connection was actively associated with farm enterprise on a large scale. He was progressive and public- spirited as a citizen, with a full recognition of the civic stew -

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ardship which individual success involves, and he gave charac- teristically effective service as a member of the Board of County Commissioners of Wood County. He was one of the first to advocate and insistently urge the construction of good roads, and advised the policy of making a certain amount of improvement along this line each successive year. The Volcanic Oil & Coal Company based its operation on a paid- up capital of $63,000, and earned for its stockholders nearly $1,000,000. The Laurel Fork Oil & Coal Company was capitalized for $25,000 and paid in dividends about $200,000. The construction and equipment of the Laurel Fork & Sand Hill Railroad involved the expenditure of about $193,000, and it was leased to a transportation company, this enterprise having resulted in financial loss to the promoters and builders.

Mr. Stiles had the sterling attributes of character and the genuine and sincere personality that enabled him to gain and retain friends, and his generosity was at times so taken advantage of as to result to his financial disadvantage. Buoyant and optimistic, he was tolerant in his judgment of others and permitted nothing to dislodge his confidence in the general integrity of his fellow men. In this respect he did not permit the individual instance to cause a lack of general faith in his fellow men. Mr. Stiles was not formally identified with any religious organization, but showed much appreciation of and gave liberal support to the Protestant Episcopal Church, besides aiding financially in the erection of many church buildings for various denominations, the while he was ever ready to give his influence and material support to objects and measures advanced for the general good of the community. In politics, with well fortified opin- ions concerning economic and governmental policies, he was a staunch republican, and all of his sons hold to the same political faith. The wife of Mr. Stiles preceded him to eternal rest. Their children were six in number: Edward, the first born, is deceased; Robert D. is prominently identified with oil-production enterprise in the State of Kentucky; Charlotte is deceased; Ella Virginia is the widow of William D. Supplee, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and they have two sons, William D., Jr., and Warner R., both of whom were in the nation's service in the World war; Albert M., who resides in the City of Parkersburg, metropolis and judicial center of Wood County, married Miss Ann Jennings, and they have twin sons; Samuel B., of Parkersburg, is president and general manager of the Zero Oil Company. He married Miss Meigs Jackson, of Clarksburg, and they are popular factors in the representative social life of Parkersburg.

WILLIAM H. KESSELMAN has contributed materially to the furthering of the oil industry in West Virginia, especially through the medium of his successful enterprise as a manu- facturer of drilling and fishing tools used in connection with oil wells. His father became prominently identified with the same line of enterprise in Pennsylvania, and the family name has thus been associated with oil production for fully half a century. William H. Kesselman has a well equipped manufacturing plant in the City of Parkersburg, Wood County, and is one of the vital and successful business men of the metropolis and judicial center of Wood County.

Mr. Kesselman was born at New Castle, Pennsylvania, July 12, 1867, and is a son of William and Magdaline (Moser) Kesselman, both of whom were born and reared in Germany, whence they came individually to the United States, where their marriage was solemnized at New Castle, Pennsylvania. In his native land William Kesselman served a thorough apprenticeship to the trade of locksmith, and he there continued work as a journeyman at his trade until he came to the United States. Here he continued to follow his trade until 1871, when he removed with his family to Park- ers Landing, Pennsylvania, and there engaged in the manu- facturing of oil-well tools. With the extending of oil dis- coveries in the Keystone State he removed to St. Joe, Penn- sylvania, where he continued his manufacturing enterprise, as did he later at Butler, that state, where he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives and where the shop which he established is still in operation. In coming to the United States he was prepared to enter fully into the interests of the land of his adoption, and as soon as possible he com- pleted the technical course of procedure that made him a

naturalized citizen. He was a man of unassuming persona ity, quiet and industrious, strong in purpose, well fortifi in his convictions and honorable and upright in all of t) relations of life. He was prospered in his undertakings al was a loyal and appreciative citizen of his adopted lai until the close of his long and useful life. Of the childre five are still living, and of the number the subject of th sketch was the third in order of birth.

William H. Kesselman was reared in the old Keysto] State and is indebted to its public schools for his ear education. As a youth he gained practical experience connection with his father's manufacturing industry, ar from his boyhood to the present he has been closely ass ciated with the oil-well supply business. In 1896 he car to Parkersburg and erected the present manufacturing pla: of Kesselman & Company, of which he is the manager al part owner, as is he also of the one founded by his fath at Butler, Pennsylvania. The enterprise was initiated on modest scale, but the business of the firm has been extende until it now covers the various oil-producing states of tl Union.

In politics Mr. Kesselman designates himself independer and as a citizen he is loyal, progressive and public-spirite He is an active member of Parkersburg Board of Commer and the local Kiwanis Club, both of which have done mur to advance the civic and commercial interests of the city, ai in the Masonic fraternity he has received the chivalric d grees of the York Rite as a member of the local commande !! of Knights Templar, besides having attained to the thirt second degree of the Scottish Rite and is also affiliated wi- the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Myst Shrine.

On February 11, 190I, was solemnized the marriage of M Kesselman and Miss Annie E. Murphy, of Bellaire, Ohi They have no children.

GLEN WALTON BREWSTER, M. D., whose residence ar professional headquarters are maintained at Roderfiel McDowell County, is here the official physician and surge( for the Fall River Pocahontas Colliery Company and tl Hampton Roads, Flannagan and Marim Commerce co mines, besides which he has built up a large and represe tative private practice in this industrial community.

The doctor was born at Squire Jim (now McDowell Po Office), a McDowell County village named in honor of h uncle, James Brewster, who long served as justice of tl peace in the community, and whose homestead farm, knov as Newhall, was near the line dividing McDowell County ar Tazewell County, Virginia. The date of Doctor Brewster birth was April 16, 1880, and he is a son of Andre Crockett Brewster and Mary (Daniels) Brewster. TI Brewster family was early established in Tazewell Count Virginia, and Andrew Crockett Brewster, a son of Andre Brewster, was born in that section of Virginia that no constitutes McDowell County, West Virginia. Andre Brewster and five of his sons were loyal soldiers of t] Confederacy in the Civil war. Andrew Brewster was lo1 one of the representative farmers of McDowell Count served as president of the County Court, was influential all public affairs in his community, and he and his wife we members of the Christian Church.

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History of West Virginia old and new, Volume 2, Part 169

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