History of West Virginia old and new, Volume 3, Part 97

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He was a successful business man of large affairs, and a man who merited and possessed the full confidence of those associated with him in any venture or enterprise. He was a republican in his political sentiment and a man of influence in his party in Pennsylvania, and during the Civil war period served with the rank of colonel on the staff of Governor Curtain. He was a devont member of the Preshy- terian Church, in which he served as an elder, and lived his faith. At Paris, Pennsylvania, in February, 1840, he he was united in marriage with Miss Phoebe G. Averill, who was born in Jefferson County, Ohio, August 22, 1823, and they were the parents of one son, William H.

William H. Lee was still a child when taken by his parents to Carnegie, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, where he received his early education in the graded and high schools, this being subsequently supplemented by attendance at the Western University of Pennsylvania. As a young man he secured employment with the Keystone Coal Com- pany as the traveling representative in Pennsylvania, with which he remained until June, 1880. In 1892 he came to Sutton, West Virginia, and embarked in business on his own account by purchasing the old Sutton Hardware Company. With the expansion of business under his capable manage- ment Mr. Lee realized the need for more extensive quarters to handle his trade, and he consequently bought a piece of property and built his present modern and commodious plant, in which he handles all kinds of hardware, wholesale and retail. He has made a great success of his venture and is rightly accounted one of the leading business citizens of Sutton, where he has built up an excellent reputation for sound ability and the highest integrity. Mr. Lee is also a director iu the Sutton Electric and Water Works at Sut- ton, the officers of which are Patrick J. Berry, president and general manager; and Alf Watker, secretary and treasurer. This is likewise a going concern and one that has an im- portant part in the business life of the city.

On January 13, 1887, Mr. Lee was united in marriage with Miss Martha J. Davis, who was born at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and educated in the public schools of that «ity. To this union there have been born three daughters: Genevieve, a graduate of Mary Baldwin Seminary at Staunton, Virginia, is the wife of A. C. Herold; Florence M., who attended the Belmont Female School at Nashville, Tennessee, is now the wife of H. P. Hersperger; and Mar- garet G., who attended the Mary Baldwin Seminary, is now the wife of Mayor James A. Gartlin, of Burkesville, Ken- tueky. The family belongs to the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Lee is a republican in his political allegiance, and as a fraternalist is affiliated with Sutton Lodge No. 21, A. F. and A. M.

A. P. ARMSTRONG. Without force of character no man can achieve to any eminence no matter what path he chooses in life. His aims may be high, his principles excellent and his ideas brilliant, but unless he possesses vim, energy and strength to make practical his plans his efforts will be vain. The county seat of Sutton has given Braxton County some of its most forcible men, and from them have been chosen the individuals who have acted capably in official capacities. Among these may be mentioned A. P. Arm- strong, justice of the peace at Sutton and a member of an old and honored West Virginia family. Mr. Armstrong, who is still a young man for so responsible a position, has possessed the force of character necessary to bring him advancement, and his career promises to be a highly sne- cessful one.

A. P. Armstrong is a native son of Braxton County, hav- ing been born at Sutton, February 23, 1889, a son of C. and Elizabeth J. (Troxell) Armstrong. His father, a native of Glendon, West Virginia, was married there and as a young man was engaged in farming. Later, on coming to Sutton, he applied himself to the trade of blacksmith, a vocation which he had learned in his youth. He also served for some years as jail keeper and in other capacities, and was accounted a capable and reliable official. In politics he was a democrat. He died in 1910, in the faith of the Bap- tist Church, of which Mrs. Armstrong, who survives him as a resident of Sutton, is also a member. They were the par-

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ents of six children: W. L., a graduate of the law depart: ment of the University of West Virginia and now engaged in the practice of his profession at Sutton; Gideon, also a graduate of the State University, who is following a business career at Sutton; Mary, a graduate of the graded and high schools, who makes hier home with her mother; Jessie, also a graduate of the graded and high schools and the wife of Patrick Murphy, an attorney of Charleston; Dr. R. T:, who is engaged in the practice of dentistry at Gassa- way, West Virginia; and A. P., of this review.

A. P. Armstrong is indebted to the public schools of Morgantown for his primary education, which was later supplemented by three years of study iu the State Univer- sity. With this preparation he returned to his native place of Sutton and embarked on his business career in the ca- pacity of a public stenographer, a business in which he gained a wide acquaintance, made numerous friends and achieved some success. Urged by his friends, in the fall of 1920 he allowed his name to be used as a candidate for the office of justice of the peace, and in the November elec- tions of that year was chosen for the office. Mr. Armstrong has discharged the duties of his position in an entirely capable manner, exercising the powers of his office with dignity, impartiality and expedition. So thoroughly has he gained the confidence of his fellow-citizens that he is often called upon to decide disputes outside of court as an arbi- trator, in which capacity his quiet, unswerving strength lias brought peace to disturbed conditions.

Mr. Armstrong was united in marriage at Sutton with Miss Laura Bryson, of this city, a graduate of the public schools, and to this union there has come one child, Bettie Lee, born December 1, 1918. Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong are faithful members of the Baptist Church and generous con- tributors to various worthy causes of an educational, religious or charitable nature. In his political allegiance Mr. Armstrong is a democrat, but has never allowed his political leanings to affect liis decisions. As a fraternalist he holds membership in the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias and is a York Rite Mason and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine.

OLIVER SHURTLEFF. The work of the educator is very exacting in the demands which it makes upon its devotees. Ostensibly the duty of the instructor is to instill a prac- tical, working knowledge into each of his pupils, but equally important in his correlative, though less direct, function of instilling character and worthy precepts through his un- avoidable, personal influence. The first duty calls for an individual knowledge and of specialized training; the second for a capable and conscientious person whose life and mode of living provide a fit criterion for the younger generation. When an individual combines the possession of these at- tributes with the exclusion of strongly detrimental char- acteristics the early, formative years of future citizens may be safely entrusted to his care. Such a man is Oliver Shurt- Jeff, superintendent of schools at Sutton, West Virginia.

Oliver Shurtleff was born at Humboldt, Nebraska, and is a son of Roberta A. (Grady) Shurtleff and Edgar W. Shurt- leff, the former born in Ohio and the latter in West Vir- ginia. They were hoth educated in the public schools of their respective places of birth, and after marriage settled in Nebraska, whence they later removed to West Virginia. Edgar W. Shurtleff was for a number of years a hotel keeper, and also followed the vocation of market gardening and was a man who was held in high respect and esteem. He and his worthy wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the parents of five children.

Oliver Shurtleff was reared at Fairmont, West Virginia, where he received his education in the graded and high schools. After his graduation from the latter he enrolled as a student of the State Normal School at Fairmont, where he took one academic course and one professional course in teaching. Later he was a student at the University of West Virginia, where he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and then began his career as a teacher in West Virginia. After completing the above work in West Virginia Univer- sity he became a student in the Chicago University, where he is now working on his Master's degree. For ten years

he taught in the district schools, and for the next four years was district superintendent of rural schools in Marion and Monongalia counties. He then became a teacher in the high schools of Marion County, and was thus engaged when elected superintendent of the public schools of Sutton, Braxton County, in 1919. Mr. Shurtleff has succeeded in elevating the standards of education in the Sutton schools, and is recognized as a progressive leader in the educational field. He has had very agreeable success in his chosen line of work. From the start he was exceptionally fitted for the duties and responsibilities involved, and has invariably given his best efforts toward the betterment and growth of the institutions in his charge. He has taken a personal interest where some others might have felt only a business obliga- tion, and has instilled into the hearts and minds of his pupils a tenderness and respect. The Sutton schools include a normal department, which is in charge of Mrs. Shurtleff, who prior to her marriage to Mr. Shurtleff was Miss Mary McCulloch. She was born in Pennsylvania and had the same training as her husband, with the exception that her normal work was done at Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. They belong to the Presbyterian Church, of which Mr. Shurtleff is an official member. As a fraternalist he is affiliated with the local lodges of the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.

Mr. Shurtleff belongs to a family that came to the Amer- ican continent in 1637, locating in the Plymouth Colony. Members of the family have participated in all the different wars of the country, including the World war, in which Mr. Shurtleff enlisted as an athletic director and public enter- tainer. He spent one year in the army, and then resumed his profession of teaching.

WALTER LEE TAYLOR, one of the West Virginia leaders in the promulgation and development of corporation law, is one of the members of the profession who has always been identified with large affairs. His connection as counsel and official with a number of the largest companies of the state has brought to the realization of the public his masterly knowledge of the law, his deep penetration into its founda- tion principles, the- broad and high qualities of his mind, and his ability to apply his knowledge to circumstances and affairs. A large part of Mr. Taylor's legal career of thirty- two years has been passed in McDowell County, but at present his offices are maintained at Huntington.

Mr. Taylor was born in Giles County, Virginia, November 15, 1866, a son of Thomas Samuel and Nichatie Cherokee Tennessee Floyd (French) Taylor. The Taylor family was founded in America during Colonial days, when the first Taylor, emigrating from Scotland, located in Virginia. In Henry County of that state was born the grandfather of Walter Lee Taylor, Robert Taylor, who was a planter in Henry, Pulaski and Giles counties, Virginia, and died in the latter county prior to the birth of his grandson. Hel married Martha Minter, who was also born in Henry County, and died in Giles County. The French family originated in England, whence the first American ancestor immigrated to Virginia prior to the Revolutionary war, in which struggle the great-great-grandfather of Mr. Taylor, John Clay French, held the rank of colonel in the forces of General Greene.

Thomas Samuel Taylor, father of Walter Lee Taylor, was horn in Henry County, Virginia, November 21, 1838, and was nine years of age when taken by his parents to Pulaski County, that state, subsequently removing to Giles County where he was married. At the outbreak of the war between the states he gave up his position as a teacher in the rura. schools and enlisted in a Virginia infantry regiment in the Confederate service, which was attached to Pickett's Divi- sion, Longstreet's Corps, with which he was connected throughout the war. Mr. Taylor participated in the memorable Pickett's charge at Gettysburg, through which he came safely, but three days before the surrender of General Lee, at Appomattox, he was captured at Sailor's Creek, near Petersburg, Virginia, and was a prisoner at Washington, D. C., on the night President Lincoln was assassinated. He was then sent to Johnson's Island and held there until July, 1865, when he was released. Mr

Walter L. Taylor.

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Taylor then returned to Giles County, where he resumed his school teaching and continued as an educator until 1876, when he became sheriff and deputy treasurer of Giles County. He served as sheriff for twelve years, during eight years of which he also acted in the deputy treasurer's capacity, and in 1900 was made deputy sheriff, a position in which he served eight years. He finally retired to his farm at Thessalia, and his death occurred at Lynchburg, January 22, 1914. Mr. Taylor was a democrat. He was a very active supporter of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in which he was a Sunday school superintendent for thirty years. In Masonry he attained the thirty-second degree, was district deputy lecturer for the State of Vir- ginia, and was considered one of the brightest and best informed Masons in the state, being called upon frequently to deliver the Masonic addresses at the laying of the corner- stones and other functions. Mr. Taylor married Miss Nichatie Cherokee Tennessee Floyd French, who was born April 16, 1845, in Giles County, Virginia, and died in that county in February, 1901. She was named by Governor John B. Floyd of Virginia for his sister. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor became the parents of the following children: Walter Lee, of this review; Albert Tyler Hicks, local attor- ney for the Norfolk & Western Railway Company and for several other large corporations and a well-known attorney of Giles County, where he died in 1897, at the age of twenty- eight years ; Bertie A., who died at the age of twenty years; Mary A., the wife of Senator James A. Strother, a prom- inent attorney of Welch, West Virginia, and present repre- sentative to the State Legislature from McDowell County, this state; India F., the wife of Dr. Charles F. Shumate, of Lynchburg, Virginia, one of the leading osteopathic physi- cians of Virginia; Mattie N., who died at the age of two years; Marvin S., an attorney of Welch, West Virginia, and member of the firm of Taylor & Taylor, his partner being his wife, formerly Miss Rosa Quisenberry; Bayard H., en- gaged in the insurance business at Welch, who during the World war was sent by the governor of Virginia as the representative of that state of the Young Men's Christian Association to France, where he spent eight months at the front and was on the firing line when the armistice was signed; and Vera, who died at Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1918, as the wife of Dr. Charles F. Dickens, a dental prac- titioner of that city.

In 1905 Mr. Taylor married at Thacker, West Virginia, Laura J. Stafford, who was a sister of his first wife and lived happily with her until his death, and his widow departed this life at Huntington, West Virginia, in 1921. Walter Lee Taylor attended the rural schools of Giles County, Virginia, and at the early age of fifteen years be- gan teaching school. During the following eight years he continued to work as an educator, having various schools in Files, Bland and Tazewell counties, Virginia, and Sullivan County, Tennessee, and in the meantime applied himself to the study of law, beiug finally admitted to the bar in 1890. He immediately began practice in McDowell County, where e made rapid advancement in his calling, and where he till has a large and lucrative clientele. Mr. Taylor has isen to be known as one of the leading corporation lawyers of his state. He is attorney for the R. E. Wood Lumber Company and Montvale Lumber Company, both of Balti- nore, Maryland; the Atlantic Fuel and Steamship Company f Huntington, and several large coal companies in Me- Dowell County. In June, 1921, he established an office at 309 Robson-Pritchard Building, Huntington. He belongs o the various organizations of his profession and occupies place high in the esteem and regard of his fellow practitioners.

In politics Mr. Taylor is a stanch democrat and was prom- nent in the ranks of his party during his residence in Me- Dowell County, although his only public office was that of councilman of Welch, in which he served one year. He be- ongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and his Fraternal affiliation is with McDowell Lodge No. 112, A. F. und A. M., of Welch, West Virginia. His business connec- ions are numerous and important, he being president of he Torchlight Coal Company of Torchlight, Kentucky; vice president of the Pan Coal Company of Welch, West Virginia; president of the Southeastern Grain and Live-

stock Company of Jones County, North Carolina, owners of an 18,000-acre plantation; secretary of the Marvacar Min- ing Company, owning mines in Cherokee County, North Carolina; secretary of the New Garden Coal Land Company of Lockhaven, Pennsylvania; and a director in the R. E. Wood Lumber Company and the Montvale Lumber Company, both of Baltimore, Maryland. He owns the old Knabe homestead at Catonsville, Maryland, formerly the home of the well-known piano manufacturer of that name, and is interested also in farming land in Giles County, Virginia.

On September 9, 1891, Mr. Taylor was united in marriage in Giles County, Virginia, with Miss Ada Cecil, daughter of Daniel R. and Sophia (Anderson) Cecil, both of whom are deceased. Mr. Cecil was a substantial agriculturist of Giles County, and Mrs. Taylor is a graduate of the Wesleyan Female Institute of Staunton, Virginia. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor. Nichatie Cecil, the elder, married Hon. Ryland G. Craft, of Gates City, Vir- ginia, one of the five republican members of the Virginia Legislature of the session of 1922. He is a well-known at- torney and agent for the Ford automobile in Scott county, Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Craft have one daughter, Ann Tay- lor, born November 24, 1921. Walter Lee Taylor, Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, is a graduate of the Baltimore City College of Johns Hopkins University, degree of Bachelor of Arts, and was honor man in his senior class year. Dur- ing the recent war, at the age of nineteen years, he volun- teered for service, was accepted in the United States Navy, and attained the rank of ensign. During a part of his two years of service he was on the U. S. S. Saranac. He is now a student in the law department of the University of Baltimore, Maryland, but resides at Catonsville, Maryland, and is acting as private secretary to R. E. Wood, president of the R. E. Wood Lumber Company.

CHARLES KENNA SWITZER. A special aptitude for me- chanics manifested in boyhood has been turned to the ac- count of useful service in the world by Mr. Switzer through his veteran relations with the grain milling industry. He has operated mills in several sections of his native state, and for many years has been one of the most active of the group of citizens in the Philippi locality in the promo- tion of local manufacturing and industry.

Mr. Switzer, who is manager of the Switzer Mill Com- pany of Philippi, was born at Petersburg, Hardy County, April 8, 1853, son of David Nicholas and Frances Switzer. A more complete history of the Switzer family is given in another article in this work under the name P. A. Switzer. Charles K. Switzer spent his boyhood at Upper Tract in Pendleton County, where he remained until he was about eighteen years of age. He acquired his education in a country district, and when he left home he went to Fort Seybert and for five years operated the Jacob Cowger mill. Then moving to Kline Cross Roads in the same county, he took charge of and for some five or six years had the responsibility of managing the J. H. Harmon mill. Thus with a total of more than ten years in the milling industry he came to Philippi and was for several years located at the suburban town of Mansfield where he was a member of the mercantile and milling firm of Dyer and Switzer, his partner being Mr. E. R. Dyer.

In 1902 Mr. Switzer resumed his active business as a miller at Philippi, taking over the Haller Mill Company property and becoming its manager. It was conducted as the Philippi Mill Company until October 21, 1915, when the business was reorganized as the Switzer Mill Company. with C. C. Boyles as a partner. This mill is an important local industry and furnishes a market for the grain prod- nets raised in the county.

Mr. Switzer has carried a liberal share of community work since coming to Philippi. His chief enthusiasm, thought and study in a public way are devoted to educa- tion. For several years he was a regular contributor to the West Virginia Wesleyan College at Buckhannon, the Methodist School there. He was also one of the citizens of Philippi who joined their effort and money in securing the location of Broaddus College here. In 1916 Mr. Switzer became a member of the Philippi Board of Education,

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and is still in service. This board has set a fine example of progressiveness in the matter of securing thoroughly up- to-date schools for Philippi. In 1922 was completed a splendid new high school building at a cost of about $120,000. This is one of the best school houses in Bar- bour County. It is the culmination of a long and active campaign carried on by the advocates of improved school facilities, and it was only after three efforts had been made that the people of the district secured an overwhelm- ing majority for the bond issue required to put up the building.

Mr. Switzer is a democrat, having cast his first vote for Samuel J. Tilden, and only once has failed to vote for the democratic presidential candidate. He was reared a Metho -. dist, is a member of the Official Board of the church of Philippi and a trustee. Fraternally he is a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge and the Maccabees.

At Fort Seybert, Pendleton County, May 29, 1879, Mr. Switzer married Miss Minnie M. Dyer. She is a daughter of Mr. Allen Dyer and a sister of his former business associate at Philippi, and the history of the Dyer family is given elsewhere. Mrs. Switzer was born December 25, 1853. She and Mr. Switzer have three daughters: Ola, wife of W. G. Riley, of Gary, Indiana, and the mother of a daughter, named Jannis Irene; Fannie, who is the wife of W. H. Carter, of Middlebourne, West Virginia, and their children are Kenwood, Mary Frances and Ann; and Miss Neva, a graduate of Broaddus College and a teacher in the public schools of Fairmont.

JAMES E. HENRY. Six miles southwest of Morgantown on the Fairmont Road is the village center of Laurel Point, formerly a postoffice but now served by rural route No. 1 out of Morgantown. It has been a trading point for a great many years, and the principal general store is con- ducted by James E. Henry, and he is the logical successor of a business of this kind that has been conducted for at least three quarters of a century.

Mr. Henry represents one of the sterling pioneer families of Grant District in Monongalia County. His ancestor was Franklin Henry, a typical pioneer, who acquired some 400 acres in Grant District. He moved to West Virginia in Indian times and frequently had to place his family in the local forts to protect them. His son Eli spent his life in the same district and died at the age of sixty. The third generation here was represented by Sylvanus, who succeeded to the ownership of the old homestead and lived there until his death at the age of seventy-two. The three sons of Sylvanus were: Jesse H. who was county super- intendent of schools eight years; Omar C .; and Elroy, who is now principal of the Riverside school.

The father of the Laurel Point merchant was Edgar Henry, a son of Eli Henry mentioned above. Edgar Henry was a shoemaker and farmer and always lived on his farm in Grant District. He died at the age of forty-nine. His wife was Rachel Brand. daughter of Elliott and Susannah Brand, and she is still living at the age of seventy-seven. Edgar and Rachel Henry reared seven children: Emery Marcine, who was an able physician practicing in the home district where he died in 1909 at the age of forty-one after an operation in a hospital at Baltimore, and his son Otto is a professor in the Polytechnic College in Brook- lyn, New York; Grace is the wife of Joseph R. Conway, one of the oldest teachers in Monongalia County living at Westover; Charles is a fruit grower in the Grand Dis- trict; the next in age is James E .; Nettie is the wife of Amos Scott of Grant District; Otis is a farmer near the old homestead: and Ross is a commercial salesman.

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History of West Virginia old and new, Volume 3, Part 97

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