History of West Virginia old and new, Volume 3, Part 69

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About 1900, in company with his brother W. L. Smith, William Banfield and J. E. McDonald, Mr. Smith bought all the interests of the original bridge company, as also the steel company and the land company. At the time of the building of the bridge a single-track street railway had been built as far as Rock Springs Park, and later C. A. and W. L. Smith and J. E. MeDonald became sole owners of this as well as the other properties, acquiring the Ban- field interests by purchase. Charles A. Smith has done most of the development of this park, which included the re- building and improvement of the railway and its extension

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into a double-track system. The Smith brothers and Mr. McDonald operated this line until 1906 or 1907, when it was taken over by the Ely interests, Charles A. Smith becoming one of the leading stockholders in this company, with lines from Beaver, Pennsylvania, to Steubenville, Ohio, and other connecting points, comprising about 125 miles of trackage. For the past four or five years Mr. Smith has been gen- eral manager of the system, to which he devotes his per- sonal attention. This is now known as the Steubenville, East Liverpool & Beaver Valley Traction Company, and offices are maintained at the east end of East Liverpool.

Four and one-half miles south of Chester, on Fairview Road, Mr. Smith is the owner of Hill Crest Farm, a tract of 1,100 acres, on which he has an orchard of from 5,000 to 6,000 apple trees. Here he has the most modern improve- ments to be found anywhere, and his barn is a model for others to follow. Mr. Smith makes this farm his hobby, and his chief source of pride is his herd of 125 Hereford cattle, which he exhibits frequently at fairs, where he has carried off many honors. His home, however, is not made on the Hill Crest Farm, but at Chester, on the property formerly included in the Marks farm.

Mr. Smith was born at Wellsville, Ohio, and as a lad worked as a waterboy on gas pipe line construction work. Later he operated sawmills and developed gas and oil, and within ten years was the owner of the company for which he had formerly worked as waterboy, subsequently disposing of his holdings to great advantage. His career has been an active and interesting one, but he is modest about his achievements and does not care for praise thereof. A sup- porter of the good roads movement, he had accomplished much in this way both as a citizen and through his good roads contracting business. for the carrying on of which he maintains full and modern equipment. Other worthy civic enterprises have his co-operation, as bave those which pertain to education, religion and charity.

STEWART BROTHERS. In the Upper Ohio Valley there is no better known combination in the farming, dairying and stockraising industries than that formed by the Stewart brothers, E. C., Charles O., Samuel A., Anstin B. and Nick L., who are carrying on extensive operations two miles east of Chester, in Grant District, on Tomlinson's Run, where all reside with the exception of E. C. Stewart, whose home is at Chester.

The partnership of Stewart brothers in their present enterprise was established some seventeen years ago, one of the principal factors in the formation of the association being an older brother, Thomas G. Stewart, who continued as a partner for a number of years, but finally retired to Chester. Stewart Brothers own the old homestead. where their father, John D. Stewart, spent most of his life, hav- ing been born near that place. The father of John D. Stewart was George Stewart, a half brother of R. G. Stew- art, recently deceased. George Stewart was a son of Samuel Stewart, who was born in Hancock County and died when in advanced years. being buried at the Old Mill Creek Cemetery, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. Hewas a son of Col. George Stewart, who came from Ireland and gained his title in the Continental forces during the Revolutionary war, and after spending a few years in Alleghany County came. about 1790. to Hancock County, where he spent the rest of his life. He is said to be buried at the Old Mill Creek Cemetery. His old home farm is the present site of the operations of his great-great-grandsons. George Stewart, the grandfather of the brothers, was a farmer on this property for many years. but finally entered the feed business at East Liverpool, where he died in 1876, when ahout seventy years of age.

John D. Stewart married Miss Rachel Baxter, the dangh- ter of a neighboring farmer. and she passed away in 1899. Mr. Stewart surviving until 1904 and being sixty-two years of age at the time of his death. His last years were spent at Chester. where he owned several pieces of property. Originally he was a member of the Mill Creek Presbyterian Church but later hecame an organizer. member of the hnilding committee and member of the Board of Trustees of the Presbyterian Church at Chester. In addition to the

sons John D. and Rachel Stewart were the parents of three daughters: Dora K., who died in June, 1918, as the wife of H. F. Hobbs; Bertha, the wife of Rev. J. W. Dunbar, originally of Washington County, Pennsylvania, who was the first pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Chester and served in that capacity for a number of years, and is at the present at the head of the industrial school at Old Con- cord, Washington County, Pennsylvania; and Maud E., un- married, an instructor in the same school as Reverend Dun- bar, the School of Arts and Crafts, at Old Concord, Penn- sylvania, which is the first and probably the only institu- tion of its kind in the United States and is open to mem- bership to the children of any foreign-born parents.

For about twenty years the Stewart brothers were engaged in business as oil contractors, drillers and operators, and at this time have gas on their own farm. This is a tract of more than 500 acres, where there is a herd of from seventy- five to eighty cows, of which forty head are milked, and wagons have been operated at Chester and East Liverpool for about thirty years. This is the oldest dairy on the south side of the river, and has had as customers members of the same families for several generations. The animals on

the farm are of Holstein breed.

The brothers are variously identified with the business civic, political and fraternal interests of their community. Their father was an original director of the First National Bank of Chester, and E. C. and S. A. Stewart are now members of the directing board of the same institution while Thomas is a director of the Hancock County Building and Loan Company. E. C. Stewart is a democrat, and although living in a republican county has been elected county commissioner. His election, something over fifteen years ago, came as a result of his support of the good roads movement, and during his administration the board inaugurated this movement in Hancock County. He has not, however, been much of a party worker. The brothers all belong to the Presbyterian Church, in which E. C. and S. A. are elders and Thomas G. a member of the Board of Trustees. All the brothers are married, and among them have eleven children and an adopted child. E. C. Stewart married Eva Hunter, of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and they are the parents of three children: Clark Hunter Rachael Catherine and Elinore Elizabeth.

W. W. ROBINSON. A marked development of efficiency in the school systems of various communities in Hancock County has been noted in recent years, and in this connec- tion attention is called to the thriving and growing City of Chester, where the advancement and improvement have been definitely marked. Credit for this gratifying condi- tion of affairs rests with the aroused interest shown by pupils and parents, the co-operation of an intelligent and progressive school board and the trained activities of the superintendent of schools, W. W. Robinson.

Mr. Robinson was born in Richland County, Ohio, and as a youth attended the public schools. After his graduation from the high school at Bellville, Ohio, he entered the Ohio State University, where he pursued a scientific course, and when he was duly graduated from that institution became supervising principal of the centralized school at New Car lisle, Ohio, a position in which he remained four years. He then became teacher of science in the high school at East Liverpool, where he remained five years, and in 1921 assumed the duties of superintendent of schools of Chester. Mr Robinson is thoroughly imbued with the spirit of advance ment characterzing modern educational methods, and is affiliated with a number of teachers' and educationa organizations.

The Chester schools have experienced remarkable expan sion and advancement during recent years, the present enrollment being 730 pupils, taught by twenty-threc teachers, of whom there are 110 pupils in the high school taught by seven teachers. There are two well-located build ings, but lacking in capacity, and a new school buliding is the city's greatest need in an educational way. It is interesting to note that the number of high school pupils has about doubled in the last two years, whereas the entire enrollment has not increased to any material extent. Also

Vol. III-25

Chester R. Ogden. M. D. F.a.C.

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whereas in former days it was quite common to issue numer- ous work permits, at this time there are only an inconse- quential number being sought, thus indicating an increased interest in educational work on the part of both parents and pupils. Athletics to a reasonable extent are encouraged through a football team and both a male and female basket- ball team, and what is especially gratifying in this con- nection is that school athletics have become self-sustaining. citizens rendering enthusiastic support of every phase of such sport, realizing the many advantages resulting there- from.

It is not assuming too much to say that the gentlemen composing the Board of Education of Chester are fully appreciative of modern methods and all hold advanced ideas tending to make the Chester schools second to none in the county or state for a city of like size.

On January 16, 1915, Mr. Robinson married Miss Gertrude Wherry, of Mansfield, Ohio; two children have blessed this union, John D. and Ruth G. The family are Presbyterians. Mr. Robinson is a member of the Masonic Order, holding membership at Bellville, Ohio.

CHESTER PLANT, AMERICAN SHEET & TUBE COMPANY. The development of an important industry in a community is an epitome of the growth of the locality itself, for a city is but an aggregation of industries about which gather a vast army of men with their families who are in some way connected with the carrying on of these business operations. The thriving community of Chester, Hancock County, owes its growth and prosperity principally to its manufacturing interests, and a typical branch of its business and one of the leading sources of its income is the Chester plant of the American Sheet and Tube Company.

This plant, the largest of Chester's industries, with 360 employes and an annual pay-roll of more than $900,000, produces a special line of black plate used for ènameling and shipping milk and lyne cans, signs, stovepipes, stoves, metal furniture, asphalt containers, etc. The product meets with a splendid sale not only in this country, but abroad, and large shipments are made to numerous foreign coun- tries, especially Japan, where the product is used for house roofing, bath tubs, etc.

T. R. Timothy, general manager of the Chester Plant of the American Sheet and Tube Company, was born in Arm- strong County, Pennsylvania, and at the age of six years went to Wales with his parents, where he received a public school education, and as a youth applied himself to learn- ing a useful trade. He joined the American Sheet and Tube Company at Wheeling, West Virginia, later trans- ferred to Martins Ferry, Ohio, where he worked in the mill for four years, then spending a like period at Cambridge, Ohio, in a similar capacity. In 1895 he was transferred to Chester, where he worked his way up through the various positions until 1912, when he was made general manager. He has since remained in that capacity, and much of the success of this plant, which has shown a constant growth and development, can be accredited to his energy and abil- ity. He is a director of the Hancock County Building and Loan Company and has a number of civic and social con- nections.

F. R. Timothy married Carrie Obermann, a native of Wheeling, West Virginia, and they are the parents of three children: Thomas C., Carrie M. and Charles Edward. The family are members of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Tim- othy is a member of Ohio Lodge No. 1, A. F. and A. M. of Wheeling, West Virginia, Wheeling Consistory No. 1, of Wheeling, West Virginia, and Osiris Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., also the York Rite Order up to and including Wheeling Commandery No. 1, K. T.

CHESTER RUHL OGDEN, M. D., who is engaged in the practice of his profession in the City of Clarksburg, Har- rison County, is a representative of a family whose name has been one of prominence and influence in American his- tory since the early Colonial period. He is a direct de- scendant of John Ogden, who was born at Bradley Plain, Hampshire, England, September 19, 1609, and whose mar- riage to Jane Bond was recorded May 8, 1637. He became

one of the founders of Southampton, Long Island, in 1640, and in 1642 was the builder of "Stone Church," the first church building erected on Manhattan Island. He founded Northampton in 1647, and in 1650 established the first whaling industry on Long Island. In 1664 he became the founder of historic old Elizabethtown, New Jersey, and in 1673 became governor of New Jersey, his death having occurred at Elizabethtown, in May, 1682. He was the first of the family in America.

Dr. Chester R. Ogden was born in Harrison County, West Virginia, November 9, 1873. His father, Robert S. Ogden, was born in this county November 9, 1836, was long a representative farmer of the county, besides having conducted a general merchandise store at Sardis for forty years, and he was eighty-three years of age at the time of his death, February 22, 1919. His father, Dr. William R. Ogden, was born in Maryland, in 1804, and became a pioneer physician in what is now Harrison County, West Virginia, he having been a son of Nathan Ogden, who likewise was a native of Maryland, and who was a direct descendant of David Ogden, the latter having been either a son or a grandson of John Ogden, the founder of the family in America. David Ogden came to this country with William Penn on "Ye Good Ship Welcome" and was a zealous member of the Society of Friends. Nathan Ogden became the pioneer representative of the family in the present Harrison County, West Virginia, where he made settlement near Shinnston. The family gave patriot soldiers to the Continental Line in the war of the Revo- lution, and in succeeding generations many members have been prominent in political, professional and business af- fairs in divers states of the Union.

Robert S. Ogden married Miss Jane Rittenhouse, who likewise was born and reared in Harrison County, a daugh- ter of Bennett and Zilpha (Shinn) Rittenhouse, both the Rittenhouse and Shinn families having been early estab- lished in this county and the Town of Shinnston having been named in honor of the latter. The paternal grand- mother of Doctor Ogden of this review was Mrs. Mary (Shinn) Ogden, and hence both of his grandmothers were · representatives of the Shinn family, which is of English origin, as is also the Ogden family, the Rittenhouse family genealogy tracing back to staunch Holland Dutch origin. Mrs. Robert S. Ogden was fifty-six years of age at the time of her death, in 1900. The children, eight sons and three daughters, were reared at Sardis, where the family home was long established.

The preliminary education of Dr. Chester R. Ogden was obtained in the public schools of his native county, and in 1897 he was graduated from Salem College, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. For three years he was superintendent of the public school at Salem, and in 1897-8 he was a student in the University of West Virginia, where he completed his preparatory work leading up to that of his chosen profession. In 1902 he received from the Uni- versity of Louisville, Kentucky, the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and in the following year he engaged in active general practice at Clarksburg. He has taken effective post-graduate courses, and since 1916 has specialized in surgery. He is a member of the Harrison County Medical Society, the West Virginia State Medical Society, the Mississippi Valley Medical Association and the American Medical Association, besides being a Fellow of the Ameri- can College of Surgeons. The Doctor is a member of the surgical staff of St. Mary's Hospital in his home city, and is local surgeon for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. He has kept in the closest touch with advances made in medical and surgical science, and his contributions to va- rious periodicals of his profession have been timely and well received. He is a democrat in political allegiance, and he and his wife are members of the Baptist and Methodist churches, respectively. Doctor Ogden is a Knight Templar and Scottish Rite Mason, a member of the Mystic Shrine, is affiliated also with the Elks and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is a loyal and valued member of the local Kiwanis Club.

In the year 1902 was solemnized the marriage of Doctor Ogden and Miss Edna Elizabeth Louchery, daughter of

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Dr. and Mrs. Daniel Carson Louchery, of Clarksburg, and the two children of this union are Mary Elizabeth and Virginia Jane.

MARSHALL A. MAXWELL, assistant to the president of the A. J. King coal interests, with headquarters at Huntington, is an electrical and mechanical engineer with twenty years of experience in mining and public utilities in different parts of the United States and Canada.

He was born at St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, January 14, 1875, son of Joseph Henry and Emily (An- drews) Maxwell. Both parents were of United Empire Loyalist stock, the families being originally settled in Vir- ginia and Connecticut. M. A. Maxwell was educated in the common and provincial normal schools, spent some time as a teacher, and in 1902 graduated from McGill Univer- sity at Montreal with the degree Bachelor of Science in electrical and mechanical engineering.

The same year he moved to Easton, Pennsylvania, became assistant to the chief engineer of the Easton Power Com- pany and was promoted to superintendent the same year. From 1904 to 1908 he was a member of the firm Beadle & Maxwell, consulting engineers, with office at 82 Beaver Street, New York. From 1908 to 1910 he was at Boston as general superintendent of the Massachusetts Lighting Com- panies, a group of gas and electric public service properties.

Going to Alberta in Northwest Canada in 1910, on ac- count of his health, Mr. Maxwell formed the engineering and contracting firm of Maxwell & Mackenzie. This firm covered a broad and successful field of operations until the outbreak of the war, when the entire personnel enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force except Mr. Maxwell, who was rejected on account of age and physical condition. While in Northwest Canada Mr. Maxwell was instrumental in the development and operation of the Round Hill Col- lieries, Limited, of which he was managing director, the Spicer Coal Company and the Stoney Creek Collieries, Limited, of Alberta, in all of which he is a large stock- holder.

Mr. Maxwell in February, 1915, came to Logan, West Vir- ginia, as general manager of the Logan County Light & Power Company, a corporation organized to supply electric power to the coal fields of Logan County and vicinity. This company was successfully developed, and was sold to the newly formed Kentucky and West Virginia Power Company in 1919. At that date Mr. Maxwell retired and has since been associated with A. J. King in the administration of coal properties, and is also interested in various other public service corporations.

Mr. Maxwell is an associate member of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, the Engineering Institute of Canada, is an executive of the Kentucky and West Vir- ginia Mine, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, and is a member of fifteen years' standing on the Engineers Club of New York. He is a member of the Episcopal Church and the Masonic Order. In December, 1902, he married Edna Beatrice Clinch, of St. Andrews, New Brunswick.

JOHN R. SCHAEFFER. While a merchant for a number of years, John R. Schaeffer inherited the fine mechanical quali- ties of his forefathers, and probably his most distinguishing work has been in the field of photography. His artistry has served to give wide publicity to the wonderful scenery in his section of West Virginia. His home is in Gormania in Grant County, where the Schaeffers were among the first settlers.

However, he was born on a farm near Mount Storm in another part of Grant County, October 4, 1858. His great- grandfather, Adam Schaeffer, was a native of Germany, and after coming to the United States he settled in Preston County, in what is now West Virginia. His children were Abraham, Adam, Conrad, John, Jacob, Daniel, William, Mary, Catherine, Kate and Susan.

Of these children Jacob Schaeffer was born in Preston County in the year 1803. He grew up near Mount Carmel, and was one of eight brothers. He organized the first Sunday school in Preston County, at Mount Carmel, or Old Town, in 1825. Leaving that vicinity, he purchased land

on the Potomac River, settled in the wilderness and built his cabin on what later became the townsite of Gormania. At that time this locality was in Hardy County. His was the first home erected in Gormania. He kept a tavern there and also worked as a mechanic and became the first post- master. At that time the place was known as Schaeffers- ville. When he sold this place he returned to Preston County, where he died May 10, 1888. As a youth of seven- teen he learned the trade of wheelwright at Cumberland, and subsequently worked as a cabinet maker. He was a real artist in the making of furniture. While at Cumber- land he became acquainted with Miss Roseanna Eizenhart, whom he married. Their children were: George Adam, James Henry, Jacob Rhodes, William Franklin, Daniel Wesley, George and Samuel, twins, Francis Ashbury, Daniel Hess, Thomas Jefferson, Mary Ann Savilla Baxter, Martha Catherine Sophia, Harriet Elizabeth Priscilla, wife of John Ruckman of Gormania, and Martha C., who married Alex- ander Kitzmiller and now lives near Bayard, West Vir- ginia.

Daniel Wesley Schaeffer was born on the farm that now includes the homesite of Gormania, January 5, 1836. He was a Southerner in sentiment at the time of the war, was a democrat, but two of his brothers were republicans and were Federal soldiers, one of them dying while a prisoner of war. Daniel W. Schaeffer left his birthplace during the Civil war and located near Mount Storm, where he con- tinued farming until his death May 11, 1910. He was a Methodist and active in the formation of the society in the erection of a house of worship at Mount Storm. Daniel W. Schaeffer married Sarah Ann Shillingburg. Her father, Jacob Shillingburg, represented one of the old families in the Mount Storm vicinity, was born in 1807, and in 1830 married Polly Sollars. The children of D. W. Schaeffer and wife were: Mary Ellen, wife of David Aronhalt, of Mount Storm; John R .; Jacob Howard, of Mount Storm; Alice Virginia, of Mount Storm; George Payton, of Petersburg, West Virginia; and Fannie Priscilla, wife of D. M. Uphole, of Mount Lake Park, Maryland.

John R. Schaeffer spent his boyhood and youth on the farm where he was born, attended common schools and summer normals, and at the age of twenty began teaching. That was his vocation for a period of seventeen years. Besides his work in Grant County he taught for a time in Carroll County, Missouri, and in Davis County, Iowa. At Bloomfield, Iowa, he attended and received the Master of Didactics degree from the Normal and Scientific College there. His last work as a teacher was done as principal of the Gormania schools in 1909. He early became a devotee of photography, and for a number of years has been in busi- ness as an artist and printer, taking photographs and en- larging pictures. As noted above, much of this work has been in the scenic field, and he has carried his camera over many of the stretches of scenery in Western Maryland and West Virginia. During the road contest staged by the United States Government when a prize was offered for the best picture of the best road in public use and also the worst one in public service, he won the second prize with a picture of a good road on the State Road of Maryland, and also that of the worst road, for which his subject was a stretch ou the Northwestern Pike in Grant County. Mr. Schaeffer is author of the pictorial and historical work entitled: "From Baltimore to Charleston," issued in 1906, giving a history of the towns along the Western Maryland Railway. This is a splendid work of portraiture of the magnificent photog- raphy along the road and also the history of the highways and localities and something of their development.

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History of West Virginia old and new, Volume 3, Part 69

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