USA > West Virginia > Men of West Virginia Volume I > Part 2
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HON. ALBERT BLAKESLEE WHITE.
HON. ALBERT BLAKESLEE WHITE, governor of West Virginia, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, Septem- ber 22, 1856. His primary education was secured in the public schools of Columbus, and his college training was at Marietta College, where he was graduated, after a four-years course, in 1878, at the head of his class.
The young collegian removed then to Lafayette, Indiana, where he enjoyed journalistic experiences for three years, as managing editor of the Daily Journal. Failing health demanded a change of climate, and in 1881 he located at Park- ersburg, West Virginia, resuming news- paper work and purchasing the State Journal, issued in that city. Later Col. S. B. Baker, present Adjutant General
of West Virginia, was taken into part- nership, and in 1883 was begun the issue of a daily, which under the able management of Mr. White became a political as well as a literary power in the State. It contributed largely to winning the State for the Republicans, and during his connection with it, which ended in 1899, it was a most potent factor in the molding of public opinion.
In 1889 the future chief executive was appointed collector of internal rev- enue for the district of West Virginia, by President Harrison, and was again appointed to this office by President Mckinley in 1897. In 1900 he was the unanimous nomince of the Republican party for the governorship, and was elected by the overwhelming majority of 19,516 votes over his formidable op- ponent, Hon. John H. Holt, of Hunt- ington. He has been an active member of his party and an acknowledged leader ever since his location in the State, and in 1884 was an alternate, and in 1888 and in 1896 was a delegate, to the national conventions.
Governor White has never lost his interest in journalistic work. He has been the president of the West Virginia Press Association. At the Denver meeting of the National Editorial Asso- ciation in 1887, he was elected president to succeed Hon. Charles H. Jones, of
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Florida, and presided at the annual meeting held at San Antonio, in 1888. Governor White's term of office ter- minates in 1905. His past record has reflected honor upon himself and the State, and the mass of the people realize that he is honorably performing his duties and is deserving of the support and confidence of all men, for his honest and economical as well as progressive and dignified administration of govern- ment.
HON. ROMEO H. FREER.
HON. ROMEO H. FREER .- Among the many names that adorn the pages of West Virginia's history, there is none which shines with a bright- er luster than that of Hon. Romeo H.
Freer. "First in war; first in peace and first in the hearts of his country- men" was written of one of America's gallant sons. These words may be fit- ingly applied to the subject of this sketch. Romeo H. Freer was born at Bazette, Trumbull County, Ohio, No- vember 9, 1845. He is of French- English descent, his father being Josiah D. Freer, whose ancestors came from France and settled in New York State; while his mother was Caroline P. Brown, whose parents were English and who resided at St. Albans, Ver- mont. His ancestors on both sides fought in the American Revolution. When Romeo was three years of age, his father moved to Hartsgrove, Ash- tabula County, Ohio, and there he spent his youthful days, receiving his educa- tion in the common schools. At the outbreak of the Rebellion, he enlisted in the Union Army, although only 15 years of age, and served from 1862 to 1865. At the close of the Civil War, in 1866, he located at Charleston, West Virginia, and began reading law while teaching school. Two years later he was admitted to the bar, and the same year was made assistant prosecuting attorney of Kanawha County, which position he held until 1870, when he was elected to the office of prosecuting attorney. In 1873, he was appointed
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United States Consul to Nicaragua, Central America, during the second ad- ministration of President Grant. Mr. Freer was a Grant elector in 1872 and a Blaine elector in 1884. In 1877 he re- signed the office of United States Con- sul and was appointed Register of the Land Office for New Mexico which office he also resigned in 1879. In 1890 he was elected a member of the State Legislature, and at the end of his term was made prosecuting attorney of Ritchie County, which position he filled until 1896 when he was elected judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit. In 1898 he was nominated for Congress and after an exciting campaign was elected by a handsome majority. After serv- ing one term he was elected Attorney General of the State in 1900, an office he still holds.
In 1881 Judge Freer removed to Ritchie County, where in 1884 he was united in marriage to Mary Iams. Aside from his political life, Judge Freer has held many positions of honor and trust. He was department com- mander of the Grand Army of the Re- public in 1897 and in 1898 served as grand master in the I. O. O. F.
His name is identified with the his- tory of West Virginia. His life has been a busy one, but amid all the trials and vicissitudes of his career, he has
always been recognized as the champion of the people, and no one can assert that he ever proved disloyal to his friends or betrayed a public trust.
HON. JOHN HOMER HOLT.
HON. JOHN HOMER HOLT, of Grafton, Taylor County, West Vir- ginia, judge of the Third Judicial Cir- cuit, compose 1 of the counties of Bar- bour, Preston, Randolph, Tucker and Taylor, and a leading Republican poli- tician, was born in June, 1856, in Gil- mer County, Virginia, now West Vir- ginia, and is a son of Alfred T. and Maria A. (Stone) Holt.
Alfred T. Holt was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and died April 2, 1902, at the age of 82 years. For 66 years Mr. Holt was a consistent
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member of the Methodist Church, al- ways active in Sunday-school work, and one of the most highly esteemed men of his locality. His wife was born in Cul- peper County, Virginia, and was a daughter of John R. and Keturah (Cross) Stone. At an early age she accompanied her parents to Kingwood, Preston County, Virginia, now West Virginia. Her death took place in 1877. at the age of 55 years. They had a family of four children : James W., editor of the Grafton Sentinel; Keturah L., who married John W. Jaco, of Graf- ton; Leonora C .; and John Homer.
John Homer Holt comes of fine stock on both paternal and maternal sides, the Holts tracing an honorable line to English forebears and the Stones to some of Virginia's best blood. His education began in the common schools and was completed at Preston Academy at Kingwood. He then spent five years in school teaching, three terms of which were in Kingwood. This was merely a stepping stone, however, to assist in his study of the law, and he commenced his reading in the office of Brown & Mc- Grew in 1876. Mr. Brown was a dis- tinguished lawyer and represented his district in Congress. George H. Mc- Grew is now rector of a Protestant Epis- copal Church in Cleveland, Ohio. Our subject concluded his studies with
James A. Brown and was admitted to the bar in 1878 and began his practice at Kingwood, where he remained two years, removing to Grafton in 1881, which, with the exception of three years spent at Washington, D. C., has been his home ever since. . Mr. Holt has been an active Republican all his life. He was chairman of the Republican convention held at Huntington in 1892, which nominated Hon. Thomas E. Davis, of Grafton, for Governor, and was instrumental in securing his nomi- : nation. Being from Davis county, Judge Holt was elected to work in the interest of Davis and made a thorough canvass of the entire State. He was also chairman of the Republican con- vention which nominated George W. Atkinson, the first Republican Govern- or of the State since the Civil War. He has been brought conspicuously be- fore the public as his party's candidate for Congress on several occasions, having been a member of the State Legislature from Preston County in 1878. In 1896 he received the nomi- nation at the primary for prosecuting attorney of Taylor County, but before the election took place a judicial con- vention was held in which Hon. Joseph T. Hoke and Neil J. Fortney were can- didates from Preston County for the nomination. The convention could not
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agree and split, and the matter was taken to the Republican State Central Committee which decided that both of them should step aside. Without the knowledge of Mr. Holt, he was nomi- nated for the office and was elected by the largest majority received by any Circuit Court judge in the Third Judi- cial Circuit, and is now serving with eminent success. He has always been an active worker and his fine oratorical powers have made him in demand as a speaker in campaign work.
On February 22, 1886, in Washing- ton, D. C., Judge Holt married Marie Isabel Chaney, who was born in 1863, at Annapolis, Maryland, and is a daughter of Andrew W. and Katherine (Barber) Chaney. Four children have been born to this union, namely : John Homer, Ellen W., Margaret, and James Neil. Both Judge and Mrs. Holt are active members of St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church.
Judge Holt is widely known and is in every way a representative citizen of his section. As a jurist his standing is of the best and his record is one that is highly satisfactory to both his constit- uents and members of the bar. His circuit is composed of more counties than any other in the State and it is a matter of pride with him that he has been able to dispose of more business, in
the same length of time, than any other Circuit judge. He reflects honor on the position by his dignified bearing and his impartial rulings.
COL. ROBERT WHITE, one of the most brilliant lawyers ever pro- duced by the State of West Virginia, was born at Romney, Virginia, now West Virginia, February 7, 1833, and comes of a distinguished line of an- cestors. Colonel White is a lineal de- scendant of Robert White, a Scotch surgeon in the British Navy, who mar- ried a daughter of John Hoge, near York, Pennsylvania.
The Colonel's grandfather, also named Robert White, was a resident of Winchester, Virginia, and at the early age of 17 years became an officer in the Colonial Army during the American Revolution. He was seriously injured in the battle of Monmouth-a gunshot breaking one of his thigh bones. He also received a blow on the head from a musket in the hands of a Hessian soldier, the scar of which he carried through life. He was taken from the battlefield to his home at Winchester, where he was confined to his bed for two years, and during this time he took up the study of the law. He was admitted to the bar and soon after was made
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judge of his district, and then judge of the General Court of Appeals of Vir- ginia, a position he held until his death, at Winchester, in 1830. He married Arabella Baker, a daughter of John Baker, Sr., of Berkeley County, Vir- ginia ; her mother, Mrs. Judith ( Wood) Baker, was a daughter of Peter and Susanna (Howard) Wood, and a granddaughter of Henry Howard, of Howard Hall, England, of the house of Norfolk. A brother of Robert White, Alexander White, was an emi- nent statesman of the Revolutionary period-he was a member of the Vir- ginia House of Burgesses at the same time with Patrick Henry, and tradition has it that the latter never cast a vote without first consulting Mr. White. He afterward served in the First and the Second Congress of the United States, and was known as one of the most eloquent speakers of his day.
John B. White, the father of the gentleman whose name heads these lines, was clerk of both the Circuit and County courts of Hampshire County, then in Virginia ( from which county Mineral County, West Virginia, was formed), from the time he reached his majority until his death at Richmond in October, 1862. He was a man of unimpeachable character, and of high standing in the section in which he lived.
He married Frances A. Streit, a daugh- ter of Christian Streit, a Lutheran minister and a friend and com- panion of General Muhlenberg of the Colonial Army. Rev. Mr. Streit was pastor of a church in Winchester from the close of the Revolutionary War un- til 1830, in which year he died. Mrs. White died in 1867, having given birth to 12 children, among them Christian, who was a captain in the Confederate service, and, since the war, clerk of the County Court of Hampshire County, West Virginia ; Alexander, who was a lieutenant in the Confederate Army and died in 1884; and Henry, the youngest of the sons, who is living at Romney, West Virginia.
Col. Robert White obtained his early education in the common schools of Virginia. He then served in the county clerk's office with his father about six years, after which he entered upon the study of the law in the school conducted by Judge Brockenbrough, at Lexington, Virginia. He was admitted to the bar in 1854, and began practice at Romney. About one year before the beginning of the Civil War he became captain of a Virginia uniformed volun- teer military company, and at the open- ing of that memorable conflict was or- dered by the Governor of Virginia to report to "Stonewall" Jackson at Har-
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per's Ferry. He served with ability throughout the war, and was promoted to be major, then to the position of lieu- tenant-colonel, and finally to be colonel. He remained in the service until May 14, 1865, saw much hard service, and was in many of the most bloody com- bats that took place on Virginia soil. After the war he returned to Romney, and owing to his father's death and the fact that he was the eldest of the fam- ily, virtually became its head, and at once entered actively on the practice of his profession. He was associated in practice with John J. Jacob until the latter was elected Governor. While re- siding at Romney, Colonel White com- manded perhaps the largest practice ever had by any lawyer of that region of the State. He devoted his greatest efforts toward developing the beautiful South Branch Valley, which had been so desolated by the war. He prepared and secured the passage through the Legislature of an act establishing the Institution for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind, of West Virginia, and through his earnest efforts this institution was located in his native town. He served as one of its directors for many years. He also projected the railroad connect- ing Romney with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and was president of the local company for years. In 1876 Colonel
White was elected to the office of At- torney General of West Virginia, and on April 1, 1877, removed to Wheeling, then the capital of the State. When the Colonel left his old home, the respect and love of the Romney people for him- self and family were made evident ; peo- ple of all classes turned out with two brass bands to escort them to the suburbs of the town, where an address was delivered by one of the old citizens, and the family left their old home with the regrets of the people.
Prior to the election of Colonel White to the office of Attorney General, the railroads had never paid any taxes. He instituted proceedings to tax all the railroads in the State. The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company obtained an injunction against the levying of the taxes and this led to a test case. Colonel White argued the case in the lower courts, and the Supreme Court of West Virginia sustained his views. The United States Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Supreme Court of his State, and since that time the rail- roads have been compelled to pay thou- sands of dollars into the State treas- ury, thus greatly benefiting the people of the Commonwealth and lessening their burdens. Another case during his incumbency of the office of Attorney General serves to illustrate his utter
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fearlessness in the discharge of what he considered his duty. Elihu Gregg was convicted in the Circuit Court of Pres- ton County of burning the court house and public records of the county, and also of burning the janitress, who was asleep in the building; Gregg was sen- tenced to death. After sentence he es- caped to Greene County, Pennsylvania, where he was among his friends-his being a prominent family of that region. Requisition was made by Governor Mathews, of West Virginia, and Col- onel White, as Attorney General, was requested to appear before Governor Hartranft, of Pennsylvania, and argue in favor of the extradition. He did so, with the result that Governor Hart- ranft issued an order to extradite. Gregg immediately obtained a writ of habeas corpus and was carried before the court of Greene County, presided over by Judge Wilson, then of Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Colonel White found an infuriated mob of Gregg's friends awaiting his appearance, and the air was full of threats of lynching for the attorney who dared to attempt the extradition of Gregg. The Colonel was informed of this by a friend, who ad- vised him to leave town quietly at once. To this Colonel White replied he had a duty to perform, and would perform it if it were the will of a higher power,
and if not he could but die in the at- tempt for right and justice. Accord- ingly he made his way to the court house and by a few well-chosen remarks secured the attention of the crowd. Then in his masterly way he depicted the awful crime of the miscreant, and, warming to his subject, was on his feet five hours and 20 minutes, the result be- ing that the prisoner was extradited. Another case of particular importance was the test case of Kitzmiller vs. Will- iams, involving Confederate soldiers' belligerent rights, which, on the appeal from the Supreme Court of West Vir- ginia, Colonel White argued before the United States Supreme Court and se- cured a favorable verdict. Hundreds of similar cases had been fought, but not until this time were the rights of Con- federate soldiers recognized. Colonel White declined to accept a re-election as Attorney General, but has since been twice elected to the State Legislature, first in 1885 and again in 1891. He was an able, incorruptible and active legis- lator, and during both sessions was chairman of the finance committee and served on other important committees. The Legislature of 1891 was one com- posed largely of members of the same political faith as Colonel White. These members signed and presented to the Colonel at the close of the session a
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testimonial such as perhaps no other official in public life ever received in this State, and one of which he may justly be proud. It is as follows : "Hon. Robert White.
"SIR :- Among the members of the Legislature of West Virginia there is a general desire to express to you in some formal way their appreciation of the great zeal, ability and untiring industry that have marked your course in the Legislature this session. As chairman of the Finance Committee and one of the Judiciary Committee of the House, the duties incumbent upon you have been exceeding important and exact- ing, both in committee room and on the floor of the House. In the performance of these duties you have been so zeal- ous, industrious, painstaking and con- servative as to attract the attention and win the respect and confidence of the entire legislature and to deserve the thanks and gratitude not only of your fellow members but of the people of the state at large. Permit us, therefore, to tender to you some expression of our appreciation of the benefit to the State derived from your earnest labors and to say that we all feel that you have fully deserved not only our commendation but a right to the gratitude and respect of your fellow citizens throughout the State of West Virginia."
February 22, 1885, Colonel White was appointed by the Governor of West Virginia to represent the State at the dedication of the Washington Monu- ment at Washington, D. C., and on that day acted as one of the assistants to the grand marshal. He acted as grand marshal on the occasion of Admiral Dewey's visit to Wheeling, February 22, 1900, and was remembered by the Admiral, who subsequently sent the Colonel his picture with his compliments and signature at the top. He has filled the office of city solicitor two terms, and for many years was one of the counsel for the B. & O. Railroad Company. He has had charge of some of the most important cases that have ever come up for trial before the courts of the State.
Colonel White was married in 1859 to Ellen E. Vass, a daughter of J. C. Vass, an official of the old Bank of Vir- ginia, in Richmond. They had six children, only one of whom is living- Catherine, wife of Chiles M. Ferrell, of Richmond. The others were: John B., who died at the age of four years; James C., who died in infancy ; Robert, who died after the war; Marshall V., a business man of Philadelphia, who died in 1894, at the age of 27 years ; and Nellie, who died at the age of 14 years. Colonel White and his wife re-
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side at their comfortable home at No. 125 14th street. He has long been a ruling elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Wheeling, and represented the presbytery at the centennial session of the General Assembly at Philadel- phia. From early manhood he has been a Mason, and has been grand mas- ter of West Virginia. On December 14, 1899, the 100th anniversary of the burial of George Washington, the Ma- sonic fraternity of the world gathered at Mount Vernon, and the services held at Washington's death, 100 years be- fore, were as nearly as possible repro- duced. Colonel White had command on that occasion and stood by the side of President Mckinley during the lat- ter's speech. Politically he has always been a Democrat. Of more recent years the Colonel has achieved note as a lec- turer. One of his lectures; entitled "The Old Foundation Stands," was prepared and delivered in reply to the attack upon the Old Testament by Col- onel Ingersoll in his lecture,-"The Foundation of Faith." Colonel White has a number of times and in different states delivered this lecture and has hun- dreds of testimonials from public men and the press. The summer of 1900 was spent by the Colonel in Europe. He visited the village of Ober-Ammer- gati and prepared an unsurpassed lec-
ture on the "Passion Play of Ober-Am- mergau," which is well received wher- ever presented.
THOMAS ALEXANDER HARRIS, M. D.
THOMAS ALEXANDER HAR- RIS, M. D., of Parkersburg, West Virginia, who stands high in his pro- fession throughout the State, was born in Bedford County, Virginia. He is a son of Dr. Hector Harris, who was born in 1797, in Bedford County, Vir- ginia, where he practiced medicine all his life and died in 1872. Dr. Hector Harris married Catherine Alexander of Fredericksburg, Virginia. They reared five sons and one daughter.
Thomas Alexander Harris received
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his primary education in New London Academy, and then attended the Vir- ginia Military Institute of Lexington, Virginia, where he was graduated with the class of 1851. He next took a course at the University of Virginia and graduated with the class of 1854. He pursued his medical studies at the Crosby Street Medical School (now the Bellevue Hospital Medical College) of New York City, the University of Penn- sylvania at Philadelphia and Jefferson Medical College. During the spring of 1855 he was a resident physician at St. Joseph's Hospital, Philadelphia. In the fall of 1855 he began practice at Bristol, Virginia, and in 1857 moved to Hampton, Virginia, where he remained until the war broke out. He enliste.1 in the 23rd Georgia Regiment as sur- geon. After the battle of Malvern Hill, he was sent to Richmond as chief sur- geon for the Richmond defenses and was there until the evacuation.
After the war, Dr. Harris returne 1 to Richmond and there practicel until 1866, when he moved to Parkersburg, West Virginia. where he still resides and practices.
In 1856, Doctor Harris married Frances Reed of Franklin, Tennessee. She died in 1874 and left two children : Kate and Frank, the latter now with the Waters-Pierce Oil Company of Hobart,
Oklahoma Territory. Dr. Harris was again married, in 1875. to Ora L. Moss, of Parkersburg, and they have one child, Mildred. The Doctor is a member of the American Medical Association; a member and ex-president of the West Virginia Medical Association; and member and now president of the Little Kanawha and Ohio Valley Medical So- ciety. He is ex-president and ex-secre- tary of the State Board of Health.
JOHN M. GREER.
JOHN M. GREER .- "It will stand recorded on a tombstone, in the old cemetery near Evans, that John M. Greer was born on the 15th day of December, 1823, and died on the 9th of May, 1900; but the many
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who, in after years, may read that brief statement, will know little of the struggles, adversities, triumphs and de- votion to kinsmen and friends-in many instances requited by the basest ingrat- itude-of that remarkable man. His father was William Greer, who was drowned in Mill Creek, at what is now Cottageville, in 1837. His mother was Martha E. Greer, who died in 1873. He had three brothers (Samuel B., James A. and William T.) and two sisters (Mesdames Mary Lewis and Martha Gibbs), all of whom survive him.
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