History of West Virginia old and new, Volume 3, Part 104

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Mr. Feeney was born December 15, 1888, at Burnsville, on the same street on which his business is now located, and is a son of John F. and Nora (Dolan) Feeney. His father was born January 5, 1856, on a farm in Lewis County, West Virginia, where he was reared and educated, and there mar- ried Miss Dolan, who had been born in 1862 in Gilmer County, but had been brought as a child to Lewis County, where she attended the public schools. Shortly after their marriage John F. Feeney, who was a cahinet maker by trade, embarked in business at Burnsville, first working at his trade and later opening a general store in which he sold all manner of goods. In him the business instinct was present in a marked degree, and he was successful in all his undertakings. He founded the furniture and undertaking business of which his son is now the head, and in his de- clining years disposed of his hollings. Mrs. Feeney died in 1893, firm in the faith of the Catholic Church. A demo- crat in his political views, Mr. Feeney was one of the in- fluential men of his party, and was called upon to serve in several official capacities, among them on the Board of Education and as a member of the town council. He and his worthy wife were the parents of four children: Thomas I., of this record; John W., who graduated from the San Bernardino High School in California, and who married Adaline Morissy, of Chicago; Madeline, a graduate of the Parkersburg High School; and Rose E., who died January 20, 1919.

Thomas I. Feeney was reared at Burnsville, where he com- pleted the prescribed course of the graded schools and spent two years in high school, and entered upon his industrial career in the capacity of a school teacher. After two years thus spent he decided that the educator's life was not his forte, and he accordingly went to Fairmont, where he - secured a position as bookkeeper. This likewise failed to satisfy him, and after one year's experience he returned to Burnsville, where he became store manager for his father, a capacity in which he remained two years, at the end of which time he bought the elder man out. He then con- ducted the business until the World war, when he was con- pelled to close his business and enter the United States serv- ice as a member of the One Hundred and Fifty-fourth Depot Brigade, on detached service at Camp Meade. After six months he received his honorable discharge and returned to re Burnsville, where he incorporated his business, the officers heing: President, Thomas I. Feeney; secretary, R. H. Kidd; treasurer, Russell T. Reed; and the foregoing, with the following, as the board of directors: F. W. Shrieves, H. C. Murphy, A. N. Stockart and H. C. Crutchfield. The company carries a full line of furniture of all kinds. Its undertaking department is likewise fully equipped, and Mr. Feeney and his representatives are prepared to advise with clients regarding a final resting spot, the details of funeral services, legal requirements, transportation, and all other necessary details in the reverent care of the dead. Mr. Feeney is also largely interested in the real estate business at Burnsville and the near vicinity, and has other matters of a business nature which require his attention.

In politics he is a democrat and has been prominent in public affairs, having served in various public offices, includ- ing those of mayor, councilman, recorder and member of the Board of Education, and in all has rendered excellent serv-

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ice. He is a member of the Catholic Church, attending services at Orlando. Mr. Feeney is unmarried.

C. B. CHRISMAN. Recognized as one of the thriving com- munities of Braxton County, Burnsville has been for many years accepted as one of the commercial centers of this sec- tion. Its geographical location and trade advantages make it a desirable market, and its growth and development along this and kindred lines have been largely due to the efforts of business men who have devoted themselves to its ad- vancement. These men have also contributed to progress in encouraging the development of the large agricultural territory coutiguous to this community. Among the ener- getic business men who have thus taken advantage of the opportunities offered and who while advancing their own interests have also assisted their community is C. B. Chris- man, manager of the Kanawha Grocery Company of Burns- ville.

Mr. Chrisman was born September 20, 1876, in Gilmer County, West Virginia, and is a son of Ballard and Fannie (Stalnaker) Chrisman. Ballard Chrisman was born in June, 1847, in Virginia, a son of Floyd and Margaret (Neal) Chrisman, who brought their family to West Vir- ginia at an early date and settled in Greenbrier County. Later they moved to Gilmer County and took up their residence ten miles from Glenville. There Floyd Chrisman spent the remainder of his long and useful life in the pur- suits of agriculture, and died when in advanced age, with the respect and esteem of his neighbors and acquaintances. He was a highly religious man, a faithful member of the Presbyterian Church, and one of the organizers of the con- gregation of that denomination at Sutton. In political mat- ters he was a stanch democrat.

Ballard Chrisman was a child when taken to Greenbrier County, and there grew up on a farm. His education was somewhat neglected, but he had the ambition that led him to educate himself, and so well did he do this that he was able to instruct others and was engaged in teaching for several years. After his marriage he settled on a farm in Gilmer County, and there his subsequent life has been spent in the pursuits of the soil. He has made a success of his operations and still resides on the old place, although he is how retired from active pursuits, having reached the ripe old age of seventy-five years. He is a democrat in his political belief, and his religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. His first wife died in 1876, leaving one child, C. B., of this record. Later Mr. Chrisman married again, and by his second union had five children.

C. B. Chrisman was an infant when his mother died and le was taken into the home of his paternal grandmother, who cared for him until his father married again, when he went to the home of his father and stepmother. After at- ending the common schools of his native community he pursued a course at the Glenville Normal School, and then entered upon his career as a teacher in the rural districts. He was thus engaged when the United States declared war against Spain, and he enlisted in Company L, Second Regi- nent, West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, with which he went first to Charleston and then to Middletown. This egiment was not called into active service, and at the close of hostilities Mr. Chrisman received his honorable discharge und went to Flatwoods, West Virginia, where he secured employment as clerk in a general store. After being thus mployed for some time and learning the details of the business, he, in 1901, came to Burnsville and engaged in the nercantile business. Later he went to Erbacon, West Vir- inia, for three years, and then returned to Burnsville and became associated with the Burnsville Grocery Company of which he later became president. In March, 1921, he be- ame general manager of the Kanawha Grocery Company, a arge and prominent concern, which is incorporated with the following officers: Dr. D. P. Kessler, president; C. F. Engle, vice president; and F. D. Lemon, secretary-treasurer. Mr. Chrisman is a man of superior business ability and one who has won and held the confidence and esteeem of his business associates.

In April, 1902, Mr. Chrisman married Miss Georgie Arm- Vol. 111-87

strong, a product of the public schools, and to this union there have been born three bright and interesting children: Mabel, Fred and Bonnie, all of whom are attending school. Mr. Chrisman belongs to Burnsville Lodge No. 87, A. F. and A. M., of which he is a past and the present master and a member of the Grand Lodge; Sutton Chapter No. 29, R. A. M .; Sutton Commandery No. 16, K. T .; Lodge of Per- fection, Clarksburg, and Consistory at Wheeling, being a thirty-second degree Mason. In politics he is a democrat.

LANTY H. WALKER. No more genial, better informed or diplomatie class of men can be found than those identified with the sales departments of the larger mercantile houses and department stores, for the nature of their work de- mands the possession of these attributes in order that they may succeed. Outside of the big cities the manager of the department store is supposed to have a wide acquaintance and to be familiar with the opinions and tastes of his cus- tomers, likewise a good salesman. Salesmanship is an art, involving an intimate knowledge of psychology, and a man's status as being an expert salesman carries the implication of a wide-spread popularity, a cleverly trained mind and a more than adequate equipment in other directions. In none of these attributes is Lanty H. Walker found lacking, and it is because of their possession, as much as anything else, that he is making a creditable success of the enterprise of which he is manager at Burnsville, the Walker Department Store.

Mr. Walker was born in Nicholas County, West Virginia, October 21, 1888, and is a son of L. O. and May L. (Eads) Walker. L. O. Walker was born at Tipton, Nicholas County, October 3, 1845, and was reared in his native county on a farm, securing his educational training in the district schools of the rural communities. On reaching manhood he met and married May L. Eads, who was born in Roanoke County, Virginia, October 4, 1860, and was brought as a child by her parents to Nicholas County, West Virginia, where she attended the public schools. Following their mar- riage Mr. and Mrs. Walker settled on a farm, and for some time devoted their whole attention thereto. Later they started a small store, handling only the more common neces- sities, and this soon grew to be quite an enterprise, neces- sitating much more attention. In 1900 Mr. Walker decided upon a more aspiring venture and moved his stock of goods to Summersville, where he carried on a successful mer- cantile business until selling out and going to Gad, West Virginia, where he likewise carried on an enterprise of this nature. In 1913 he made another change, this time coming to settle permanently at Burnsville, where he remained in business until his death in 1919. At the start of his career Mr. Walker was only a son of the soil, without any spe- cialized training for business pursuits, but possessing the inherent ability so necessary to the man who would succeed in the marts of commerce and trade. He was likewise a man of the strictest integrity and had the confidence, well- merited, of those associated with him in any enterprise. He was a democrat in politics, but did not seek public favor or preferment as a holder of public office. His religious affilia- tion was with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, to which also belongs Mrs. Walker, who survives him as a resident of Burnsville. They were the parents of nine chil- dren, of whom seven are living in 1922, as follows: Ora, the wife of A. E. Legg; Ollie, the wife of C. L. Evans; Laura, the wife of Dr. E. J. Summers; Bertha, the wife of E. V. Summers; Lanty H., of this record; Mamie, the wife of W. Lambert; and Pearl, the wife of Hugh Mearns.

Lanty H. Walker was born on a farm, but much of his boyhood was passed in the environment of small towns, where he secured his education in the public schools. From the start his business training was along commercial and mercantile lines, for when he was but a youth he entered his father's store and learned the business in all its details. At Burnsville he was associated with his father in the Walker Department Store until the elder man's death, since which time he has been managing the business for his mother. Mr. Walker is a man of energy and of ideas, and is conducting the establishment along the same policy of straightforward dealing and honest representation that gained it a reputa-

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tion under his father's management. He is a democrat in politics, but has not found time to enter political matters, although a public-spirited citizen of civic pride who assists good movements which promise municipal advancement. Fraternally he is a popular member of Burnsville Lodge No. 87, A. F. and A. M., and his religious connection is with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

CHARLES E. TREMBLY. The first settled communities were planted in Preston County in the closing years of the eighteenth century. The work of development has been continuous since then, being participated in by several gen- erations from the first pioneers. The land has been cleared, the resources exploited, roads and railroads have been built, towns have sprung up, and, while not one of the oldest of these, Terra Alta, situated on the mountain skyline has been a place of trade and community life for a long period of years. That it is now one of the progressive and thriv- ing small cities of the state is due to forces put in motion by a younger group of citizens within the past two decades. One of the active leaders, in fact one of the indispensable men in the newer life of the mountain town, has been Charles E. Trembly, banker and man of affairs. Mr. Trem- bly from the first had the outlook of one who is not satis- fied with half plodding performance, and the spirit of progress strong within him he has linked with a similar spirit in others like minded, and together they have ac- corded a respectful hearing to old tradition without being bound to its rate of progress, and the sum total of what they have accomplished comprise the improvements and the institutions of which Terra Alta is most proud as a pro- gressive municipality.

Mr. Trembly represents one of the oldest famiiles of Preston County and was born on a farm near Albright April 14, 1873. His Americanism is the product of almost two centuries. About 1730 the first of the Trembly family came from Scotland and settled on the eastern shore at Trembly's Point, near Elizabeth, New Jersey. It is said the house in which he lived is still standing. This Scotch immigrant was descended from French Protestants who during the era of religious persecution fled from the Prov- ince of Rochelle, France. One of the New Jersey family, Benjamin Trembly, just before the outbreak of the Amer- ican Revolution, moved on west in company with some of the McGrew family and settled around Cumberland, Mary- land. Samuel Darby, a Scotchman from the same New Jersey colony, accompanied them, but did not arrive in Preston County until after Trembly, who established his family at Bruceton Mills, while the Darbys located at Mil- lers, west of Clifton Mills. Patrick McGrew came on in 1786 and located a mile south of Brandonville. Thus by previous associations there was a link between these three prominent families in the wood and mountain region of Western Virginia.

Benjamin Trembly was born April 13, 1763, at Trembly Point, and was drowned at Ice's Ferry in Cheat River in 1818. His wife, Eunice Pennington, represented a leading family of New Jersey. Their children were: Josiah, John, Mary, Sarah, James and Ephraim. The son John was born March 20, 1786. He married Sarah Darby at Bruceton Mills, and in 1811 bought the Trembly farm near Albright. He remained there half a century and died in 1863, while the Civil war was in progress. His three children were: Eunice, who became the wife of John Bishop; Samuel and Benjamin, twin brothers.

Benjamin Trembly, who was horn October 16, 1816, mar- ried Mary Hartman. They lived their lives about Albright, and their children were George H., Joseph, Sarah, who be- came the wife of Guy A. Bishop, Michael, John, Samuel and Adam.

George H. Trembly was born near the little Cheat River Village of Albright April 7, 1837, and died in 1899. Jan- uary 9, 1868, he married Eva Charity Smith, who was born near Albright February 3, 1849, daughter of Jacob Smith. The children of this marriage are: Frank H., of Jackson- ville, Florida; Jay S., of Terra Alta; Charles E .; and Ella M., wife of A. W. Hawley, of Morgantown.

Charles E. Trembly while growing up at Albright had

a great ambition to get a liberal education, and after much persistence, thrift and earning his own way, he accom- plished that end. He attended the public schools, at the age of twenty-one graduated from the Fairmont State Normal School, subsequently was a student in the Pea- body Normal College at Nashville, Tennessee, and in 1899 graduated in the scientific course from the University of West Virginia. The qualifications represented in this lib- eral education were a splendid preparation for the work of education which he had chosen, and in 1898-99 he was assistant principal of the Davis High School, and for three years was acting principal, until he resigned in 1902 to become a citizen of Terra Alta and assistant cashier of the Terra Alta Bank. Mr. Trembly has been a factor in the success and prosperity of this institution as one of its managing officials for twenty years, and since November 14, 1910, has been cashier. Throughout this time he has kept in touch with men similarly minded with regard to what constitutes the commercial and civic prosperity of the com- munity. He has been a member of the City Council and recorder, and the steady influences and efforts emanating from him and his associates have brought to Terra Alta such modern facilities as water works, gas light, street paving and other improvements.

In Preston County August 5, 1915, Mr. Trembly mar- ried Miss Marjorie Crane, daughter of Dee Crane, who is potato expert with the University Extension Bureau of West Virginia. They have a son, Gray Crane. Mr. Trem- bly is a past master of the Masonic Lodge, is affiliated with West Virginia Consistory No. 1 of the Scottish Rite at Wheeling, is a past chancellor of the Knights of Pythias Lodge, an Odd Fellow, and has served officially as an elder in the Presbyterian Church.

STANTON TRIMBLE, M. D. The physician and surgeon of today not only is a highly trained individual whose every faculty has been brought to the highest perfection, but also one whose broad experience with people and affairs enables him to act with the efficiency of a really high-grade man, and to energize those with whom he comes into contact. The practical physician does not work for spectacular results, but for sane, sound, progress, not only in his profession but in other directions. One of the men of Braxton County who stands high among the physicians and surgeons of this class is Dr. Stanton Trible, who has been engaged in prac- tice at Burnsville since 1914.

Doctor Trimble was born in Barbour County, West Vir- ginia, August 24, 1882, a son of John A. and Euphiasia E. (Young) Trimble. John A. Trimble was born in 1848 in Barbour County, where he received his education and was reared as a farmer's son, and as a young man went to Harrison County, where he met Miss Young, a native of that county, born in 1849, who, like her husband, had enjoyed a rural school education. Following their marriage they went to Barbour County, where they settled down to agricul- tural pursuits, and through industry and good management became prosperous in this world's goods, being the owners of 300 acres of well-cultivated and highly improved farm- ing land. After a long and honorable career John A. Trimhle died on his farm, where his widow still makes her home in advanced age. She is a member of the Presby- terian Church and is highly esteemed for her many admir- able qualities of mind and heart. Mr. Trimble was a stanch republican in politics, and for some years served in the capacity of postmaster at Pepper, West Virginia. They were the parents of six children, of whom five are living in 1922: Camden, an agriculturist of Barbour County ; Huff- man, who is also carrying on agricultural operations in that county; Daisy, the widow of Dr. Erlo Kennedy; Dr. Stan- ton, of this notice; and Voie E., the wife of Clarence House. Ida May died January 9, 1916.

Stanton Trimble passed his boyhood on the bome farm in much the same manner as other farmers' sons of bis day and locality, receiving his early education at the rural schoolhouse. He had no inclination, however, to pass his life in agricultural pursuits, early deciding upon a profes- sional career, and accordingly was sent to the State Normal School at Fairmont for his preparatory work. Completing

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the course there satisfactorily, he then entered upon his professional studies at the Baltimore Medical College, Balti- more, Maryland, from which he was duly graduated as a member of the class of 1908, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Doctor Trimble's first field of professional work was at Kremling, Colorado, but after eight months in that community he returned to West Virginia and opened an office at Orlando, where he remained from 1909 until 1914. In the latter year he settled at Burnsville, where he has since succeeded in building up a large, lucrative and repre- sentative practice. He possesses ability and sympathy, and has gained the confidence and good will of the people of his community and the respect and esteem of his professional associates. Doctor Trimble belongs to the various organiza- tions of his profession, including the American Medical Association, and has maintained throughout his entire career a high standard of ethics and honorable practice. In poli- tics he supports the principles and candidates of the repub- lican party. His fraternal affiliation is with Orlando Lodge of the Odd Fellows order.

In 1910 Doctor Trimble was united in marriage with Miss Callie Stout, who was born at Bridgeport, Harrison County, West Virginia, and educated in the public schools, and they are the parents of two children: Stanton C., who was born June 26, 1913; and Mary E., born July 13, 1919.

HENRY B. MARSHALL. In annotating the qualities which have brought Henry B. Marshall to a position of importance among the bankers of Braxton County, those of persistence and singleness of purpose should not be overlooked. While he possesses other qualities which add to his equipment for successful participation in financial affairs, almost from the start of his career he has devoted himself whole-heartedly to one line of effort and has persevered in one avenue of activity. The result is that he is a thorough master of every detail of his special line of work, and as cashier of the Burnsville Exchange Bank occupies a place high in the esteem of his associates and firm in the confidence of the people of the community.

Mr. Marshall was born in Ritchie County, West Virginia, January 4, 1876, and is a son of Benjamin P. and Virginia (Jackson) Marshall. Benjamin P. Marshall was born in Albemarle County, Virginia, and as a youth was brought by his parents to Ritchie County, West Virginia, where he re- ceived a common school education, grew to manhood and married Virginia Jackson, a native of Ritchie County, and also a product of the public schools. Following their mar- riage they settled on a farm near the Village of Petroleum, in that county, and there spent the remainder of their well- governed lives. They became prosperous in a material way and in the respect in which they were held by their neigh- bors, and were active and faithful members of the Meth- odist Protestant Church. Mr. Marshall was a republican in his political views, and served one term as a member of the County Court. At the outbreak of the war between the states he enlisted in the Eleventh Regiment, West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for five years, or until the close of the war. He and his worthy wife were the parents of twelve children, of whom five died in infancy, the others being: One who died after reaching maturity; Fannie, the wife of R. M. Foutty, living in Wood County, West Virginia; Jennie, the wife of A. M. Douglass, of Cairo, this state; Viola, whose home is at Akron, Ohio; R. C., a hardware merchant at Cairo; C. A., who is carrying on operations on the old home farm in Ritchie County; and Henry B., of this review.

Henry B. Marshall was reared on the home farm in Ritchie County, where he obtained his primary education in the rural schools, and in the summer months assisted his father and brothers in the cultivation of the home fields. Subsequently he took a business course in a commercial college situated at Cairo, then returned to the farm, whence he removed to Cairo to accept a position as bookkeeper with the Bank of Cairo. During the time that he was identified with that institution he rose to the post of assistant cashier, and it was in a like capacity that he first joined the Burns- ville Exchange Bank in 1903. In 1907 Mr. Marshall became cashier of this institution, a position which he has since

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History of West Virginia old and new, Volume 3, Part 104

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