USA > West Virginia > Men of West Virginia Volume I > Part 3
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"In 1864 he married Catherine Red- man, who bore him two children-Dan- iel W. and Maggie-the former living and the latter now dead. He was a member of no church, but seemed in- clined toward the Methodist and United Brethren.
"In politics, he was a Whig as long .as that party had an existence. He voted for Bell and Everett for President and Vice-President in 1860. He op- posed and voted against the Ordinance of Secession in 1861. During the Civil War he remained at home and so far as he could, upheld the old flag. After the war, believing that the proscriptive measures, then in force, were too severe, he joined in what was called the 'let up movement ;' gradually affiliated with
the Democratic party, and finally went into full fellowship therewith.
"He removed with his father and mother from Mason County to Jackson County in 1830 to the lands upon which Isaiah Cunningham now lives. His father left little or no property. John, being the oldest, assumed the task of providing for his widowed mother, his brothers and sisters. How well he suc- ceeded, those who knew them may at- test. While yet a boy he carried the mail along paths through the then wil- derness, over hills and across dangerous streams from Ripley to Arnoldsburg, when there was but one cabin between what is now Spencer and Arnoldsburg. He also carried the mail from Ripley to Belleville, when the latter place con- tained little more than the post office. At times he engaged to drive stock from Jackson County to Harrison and Lewis counties, making the round trip on foot, for the meager wages of $8 per month. He did not have educational advantages. His store of knowledge was obtained by observation and in the expensive school of business experience. His lack of education was his greatest hindrance. At manhood he possessed a strong. handsome physique, a large measure of sound common sense and good judg- ment ; was an excellent judge of human nature and, with the early advantages
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now enjoyed by our youth, would have become a great power in the affairs of State.
"On the 8th day of November, 1847, the County Court, composed of John Kountz, Jesse Carney, Thomas Cole- man and Dr. John Armstrong, justices, appointed him a constable in and for the fourth district of the county, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the failure of John K. Stone to give bond and qualify. 'And the court, giving their votes viva voce in open court, were unanimous for John M. Greer, the court being of opin- ion that he was a man of honesty, pro- bity and good demeanor.' John Harp- er, Hugh Kyger, Charles Carney and S. B. Seaman became his sureties on his official bond, the penalty thereof being fixed at $3,000. On the IIth day of June, 1849, he was, by the court consist- ing of John W. Rardon, E. S. Evans, Warren Reed, Joel Cunningham and Joel Sisson, re-appointed, and again gave bond, with Hugh Kyger, John Harper and W. H. Watson as sureties therein. On the 7th day of June, 1851, he was again appointed; and at the May election in 1854 he was by the peo- ple elected constable for the term of two years commencing on the first day of July of that year. On the 22nd of May, 1856, he was elected sheriff of this county, and gave bond as such in the
penalty of $80,000, with Levi Casto, H. G. Ayers, Jesse Carney, N. H. Barnett, J. H. Staats, J. D. Clifford, W. H. Wat- son and S. B. Greer as sureties. He was re-elected on the 27th of May, 1858, and qualified, giving bond in the penalty of $60,000. At the election in 1860, William T. Greer, youngest brother of the deceased, was elected sheriff over W. W. Parsons, after a hotly contested campaign. The County Court required bond in the penalty of $100,000, as it was alleged and not very vigorously denied, to prevent the sheriff-elect from qualifying. Finally the penalty of the bond was placed at $80,000, and Will- iam, aided by the efforts and influence of his brother John, gave it, and in due time entered upon the discharge of the duties of his office; but the war coming on, with its attendant dangers and risks, he did not serve out his full term. After the close of the war, in 1866, John M. Greer again became a candidate for sheriff, in opposition to George S. M. King, the Republican nominee. Party feeling ran high. A short time before the election, in October of that year, he was cited to appear before the board of registration upon the charge of disloyal- ty, and his name was stricken from the list of qualified voters. He was de- feated at the polls, but always claimed that he was unfairly and illegally treat-
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ed. In 1870 he again ran as an inde- pendent candidate for sheriff against D. J. Keeney, Republican, and received a majority of the votes cast. Keeney contested his right to hold the office on the ground that he (Greer) was not a registered voter. The board of super- visors, the legal tribunal at that time to hear and determine such matters, was composed of Iaiah Morgan, George W. Moffett, James Lathem, A. F. Parsons and George Casto, all now dead except Morgan and Moffett. Col. W. H. H. King, also now dead, was clerk. Greer's attorneys were Henry J. Fisher, Joseph Smith, John W. English and D. W. Polsley. For Keeney were James A. Hutchinson and John H. Riley. All are gone except Judge English and Riley. After a long legal battle, about which a volume might be written, the board decided that neither Greer nor Keeney was entitled to a certificate of election. On the 31st day of January, 1871, our Legislature passed an act in- troduced by Col. F. R. Hassler, then a member from Jackson County, reciting that at the general election held in the county of Jackson on the 27th day of October, 1870, John M. Greer was duly elected to the office of sheriff of said County of Jackson for the term of four years, commencing on the first day of January, 1871, and authorizing and
permitting him to qualify as such sheriff before the Circuit Court of the county or the judge thereof in vacation, which he did, and then, very satisfactorily to the people, served out his term. In 1872 he was again elected, defeating Capt. N. Poling by a large majority- the Constitution, adopted at the same election, making an election for sheriff and other officers necessary. In 1876, Samuel B. Greer, another brother of the deceased, was the independent candi- date for sheriff, defeating both Capt. D. R. King, Republican, and G. T. Doug- lass, Democratic candidate. Here again John M. Greer's never-failing devotion to his relatives was shown. He took upon himself the principal burden of furnishing bond. In order to fully sccure his friends who joined him in making his brother's bond, he conveyed a large portion of his lands to a trustee by deed in which it was provided that if any of his co-sureties should suffer loss or damage by reason of his or their suretyship, the trustees should sell the property conveyed and apply the pro- ceeds of sale to the payment of such loss. In 1880 he was beaten for sheriff by Col. F. R. Hassler by less than 100 votes. In 1892 he was again a candi- date for sheriff but did not receive the nomination in convention, and in 1896 he was nominated but was defeated at
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the polls by J. O. Shinn, by something over 100 votes. Had he lived he would have been the candidate of his party at the next election. In 1878 he was a candidate for State Senator, but was de- feated for nomination by Capt. J. J. S. Hassler.
"He once said to the writer that it gave him the greatest satisfaction of his life to know that of all the vast sums of money which he had collected as an officer or otherwise, amounting to many hundreds of thousands, he had never been a defaulter, had never been short in his accounts and had never caused a surety to pay a penny for him. A wonderful record indeed. His was the welcome home of the minister of every creed. His house was a hotel for the hungry and a hospital for the sick with- out money and without price. He sel- dom turned his back on the poor or oppressed. His name and his credit were at all times at the command of his friends, and frequently of his enemies. His accommodating disposition caused him much litigation and loss. He left quite a large estate which he disposed of with good judgment governed by his love of kin, that characterized his whole life. The writer knew him well for more than a third of a century, and dur- ing at least 25 years of that time had many business transactions with and
for him. He would earnestly contend for right, but the most uncharitable will hesitate to say that he would wil- fully or corruptly demand that which was wrong.
"A large concourse of friends fol- lowed his earthly remains to the old graveyard and placed them by those of his father and mother, there, as we are told, to await the resurrection. Peace to his ashes. Peace to his soul. May the gentle spirits guard his rest and smile about his tomb."
The above most beautiful and ap- propriate tribute to the late John M. Greer, appeared in the columns of the Jackson Herald under date of May 18, 1900, contributed by his friend, Hon. Warren Miller, ex-Member of Con- gress.
Daniel Webster Greer, the only son of the late John M. Greer, was born in 1855, in Ripley, Jackson County, West Virginia. He is one of the successful farmers and prominent citizens of the locality. Since the death of his father, he has been engaged in the settling of his estate. In politics he is a Democrat and as such has served four terms in the City Council. He has also been a mem- ber of the Board of Education. Fra- ternally he affiliates with the local lodge of Knights of Pythias.
On October 15, 1885, Mr. Greer
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married Julia C. Progler, who is a daughter of Major C. H. and Elizabeth (Smith) Progler. Two children have been born to them, Henry Progler and Mamie J. Mrs. Greer is a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Mr. Greer belongs to the Methodist Episco- pal Church, South.
VIRGIL ANSON LEWIS.
VIRGIL ANSON LEWIS, a well known citizen, author, and prominent educator of Mason County, West Vir- ginia, was born in Waggener district, that county, July 6, 1848.
His paternal ancestors were among the first settlers of the Shenandoah Val- ley, where they were the founders of the city of Staunton, Virginia. They were
active frontiersmen and participants in the Revolutionary and Indian Wars. His great-grandfather, Benjamin Lew- is, was wounded in the battle of Point Pleasant and, after the wars were over, in 1792, settled in what is now Mason County, West Virginia, and is buried in Waggener district near the spot where he thus found a home. His son George wedded Margaret Winkleblack, and they had eight children, one of whom was George W., who was born in Ma- son County, Virginia, now West Vir- ginia, October 2, 1819, and died there on the 6th of December, 1858. On the 20th of August, 1846, he was united in marriage with Lucy Edwards, who was born in Mason County, January 24, 1814, and died there December 14, 1885. Her parents were Isaac and Delila (Smith) Edwards, who were united in marriage January 18, 1799, in Monroe County, Virginia, now West Virginia, - theirs being the seventh marriage in that county-and removed to Mason County in 1802. Isaac Ed- wards, the father, was born in Augusta County, Virginia, April 27, 1778, and died in Mason County, April 13, 1853. His wife, Delila, died in Mason County, March 9, 1868. Lucy's paternal grand- father was Arthur Edwards, prominent in the early history of the Shenandoah Valley, where he was born in Augusta
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County, August 16, 1744, and January 15, 1775, wedded Jane Withrow, a daughter of Robert Withrow, of Penn- sylvania, who was born near Philadel- phia in 1759. Later he settled in Mon- roe County, whence he removed, in 1801, to Mason County, where he died in 1820. His wife survived him 10 years, and, dying in 1830, was buried by his side. The maternal grandfather of Lucy was James Smith, who was active in the affairs of the Yadkin Val- ley, North Carolina, during the Revo- lution; there he married Cassandra Tucker, settled in Monroe County, Vir- ginia, now West Virginia, in 1788, and 12 years later removed to Adams County, Ohio.
The children of George W. and Lucy (Edwards) Lewis were five in number, viz: Virgil Anson, the sub- ject of this sketch; Rinaldo J., born March 21, 1850, died February 1, 1868; Riley W., born August 6, 1856, wedded Fannie Smith of La Harpe, Illinois, Au- gust 28, 1879, who died July 16, 1882, and he died February 24, 1884, they leaving issue a daughter Maude, born October 6, 1880, who grew to woman- hood as the adopted daughter of her uncle, Virgil A; Delila S., born July 20, 1855, married Joseph Windon, December 31, 1882, and had issue a daughter, Lucy Irene, born June 8,
1891, died August 12, 1891, and a son, Wilbur Hardin, born April 27, 1893; Cassandra J., born November 12, 1857, wedded Joseph W. Rhoades in 1885 and died without issue at Point Pleas- ant, West Virginia, August 5, 1889.
Virgil Anson Lewis, mentioned as the first born of this family, was by the death of his father left an orphan at the age of 10 years and he worked ener- getically on the little farm in aid of the support of the widowed mother and or- phaned brothers and sisters. In winter he attended the "old field schools" of ante-bellum times. Upon the introduc- tion of the public school system in West Virginia, he resolved to prepare him- self for teaching and prosecuted his studies with that object in view. He worked in a printing office during va- cation and at one time owned a half interest in the West T'irginia Monitor, then published at West Columbia in his native county. Later, he was employed as shipping clerk at the Clifton Iron & Steel Works. Having made the neces- sary preparation in the high schools of his county, he engaged in teaching in the district schools ; then as principal in the graded and high schools of Buffalo and Winfield, in Putnam County, and in those of Leon, Hartford, Valley City and Mason City, in his native county. For several years he was a member of
-
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the Board of Examiners in the latter county. During vacation he entered in the study of pharmacy and was for a time employed as a druggist. In the years 1878-79, while teaching at Win- field, he studied law in the office of the late James H. Hoge, and was admitted to the bar ; later he was granted permis- sion to practice before the State Su- preme Court of Appeals and the United States District Court.
In 1891 Mr. Lewis was mayor of Mason City, his home town, serving one term and declining a second election. In the same year Governor Fleming ap- pointed him a delegate to the Southern States Industrial Congress, which that year assembled at Asheville, North Carolina. The next year he established the Southern Historical Magasine at Charleston, West Virginia.
His main energies have been given to educational and literary work, and in 1892 he was elected on the Democratic State ticket to the office of State Super- intendent of Free Schools, a position he filled for four years with credit to him- self and the State. He was renominated in 1896, but was defeated with his party ticket at the ensuing election. In 1893 West Virginia University conferred upon him the degree of A. M. In the same year, because of his activity in aid- ing the State educational exhibit, he re-
ceived a diploma of honorable mention from the Board of Lady Managers of the World's Columbian Exposition. The ensuing year he published a "Man- ual and Graded Course of Study for Country and Village Schools," which has been widely adopted and has re- ceived many complimentary notices from leading educators. While State Superintendent of Free Schools, Mr. Lewis served four years as a member of the Board of Public Works; four years as president of the State Board of Ex- aminers; four years as president of the State Educational Association; four years as president of the Board of Regents of the State Normal Schools ; and was, at the same time, a member of the Board of the Irreducible School Fund, and a Commissioner of State Printing. For more than 10 years he has been connected with the boards of one or more of the State institutions. From 1893 to 1897 he was editor and proprietor of the West Virginia School Journal. In 1896-97 he was president of the Ohio Valley College at Ravens- wood, West Virginia. He is a member of the National Educational Associa- tion and of the Southern Educational Association.
In 1899 he was prominently men- tioned as a candidate for the office of Governor, and, in fact, the delegates
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from Mason-his native county-went instructed to vote for him. But he had made no canvass and the nomination went to another. No more dignified, capable or scholarly man could have been selected to preside over the State of West Virginia.
In addition to educational work, his- tory has been a favorite theme with Mr. Lewis, and as an author he has won fame. Among his works may be men- tioned a "General History of West Vir- ginia ;" "History and Civil Government of West Virginia," which the Legisla- ture adopted for use as a text-book in the public schools of the State; "Life and Times of Anne Bailey, the Pioneer Heroine of the Great Kanawha Val- ley;" "The Original Indiana Terri- tory;" and he has joint authorship in the "History of the Great Kanawha Valley ;" "History of the Middle Ohio Valley ;" and "Virginia and the Vir- ginians;" and now has several manu- scripts ready for the press.
In 1880 he was elected a member of the Virginia Historical Society, and in 1891 to membership in the Western Re- serve Historical Society. The same year he founded the West Virginia His- torical and Antiquarian Society and was for seven years its secretary ; he is an active member of the Trans-Alle- ghany Historical Society' and of the
American Historical Association ; and a member and secretary of the Point Pleasant Battle Monument Commis- sion. He is a voluminous writer, a forceful speaker, and has delivered numerous lectures on subjects pertain- ing to education and literature. Fra- ternally Mr. Lewis is an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias.
On the 3Ist of October, 1886, Mr. Lewis wedded Elizabeth Stone, who was born April 8, 1862, at Mason City, West Virginia, a daughter of Richard J. and Anna E. (Biggs) Stone, and the issue of this union has been five chil- dren, viz .: Anna, born January 10, 1888; Hale, born January 23, 1890, died September 19, 1891; Lucy, born June 4, 1892; Virginia, born June 5, 1895; and Alfred Lynn, born January 6, 1898. Mrs. Lewis' father was born in Harrison County, Ohio, May 5, 1819, his parents being Jesse G. and Rachel (Jordan) Stone ; the latter was born in Baltimore County, Maryland, May 20, 1796, and died May 12, 1890, at Hock- ingport, Ohio, to which State her par- ents ,removed when she was 10 years of age and where, March 21, 1816, she was united in marriage with Jesse G. Stone, born in Virginia, November 26, 1794, and who was a son of Rev. Elijah Craig Stone, born in Culpeper County, Virginia, July 30, 1765, and a grand-
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son of Rev. Benjamin and Anna ( As- bury) Stone. Richard J. Stone, father to Mrs. Lewis, was an engineer, and as such served with the rank of Ist lieu- tenant in the war between the States. He saw the first realities of war on the 8th of April, 1863, at Clarksville, Ten- nessee, when a cannon shot carried away a portion of his shoulder and the entire biceps muscle from his left arm. Having recovered at a hospital in Cin- cinnati, he reported to the Gulf Squad- ron, where he served under Admiral Farragut on the gun-boats "Key West," "Osage," "Kickapoo," "Meteor" and "Fairy." While serving on board the last mentioned, he witnessed the de- struction of the Confederate ram "Ten- nessee," and the fall of Mobile. He died at Mason City, March 15, 1894. Mrs. Lewis' mother, Anna E. ( Biggs) Stone, who was united in marriage with Richard J. Stone in July, 1859, was born in Cape May County, New Jersey, November 14, 1827, her parents being Benjamin and Elizabeth (Blizzard) Biggs. This family removed to Ohio about the year 1835 and settled in Meigs County, that State.
Mrs. Lewis had a half-brother and a half-sister, the issue of her mother by a former marriage with Solomon Stone, a brother to her father, Richard J. The first of these, Isaac B., was born April
3, 1852, and died, unmarried, July 27, 1876. The second was Edith J., born October 19, 1857, united in marriage with Charles Varian, May 31, 1877, and had issue : Bessie, born March 17, 1879, died November 12, 1890; Horace I., born December 16, 1881, died No- vember 13, 1891 ; and Carl, born Octo- ber 19, 1885.
HON. JACOB BEESON JACKSON.
HON. JACOB BEESON JACK- SON .-- Among the distinguished sons of West Virginia who during life ad- ded to her prestige and material de- velopment and who, at death, left an- other honored name on her roll of statesmen, was the late Jacob Beeson Jackson, ex-Governor of the State.
The birth of this notable statesman
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; took place April 6, 1829, in the city of Parkersburg, a son of Gen. John Jay and Emma ( Beeson) Jackson. General Jackson was born February 13, 1800, and at the age of 13 years entered Wash- ington College, Pennsylvania, and one years later received from President James Monroe an appointment as cadet to West Point, which school he entered March 8, 1815. On July 24, 1818, he was graduated and was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the regular army. During 1820 and a part of 1821 he per- formed active service in Florida in the Seminole War and during the remain- ing part of 1821 and in 1822 he was attached to the staff of Gen. Andrew Jackson. On January 1, 1823, he re- signed his commission in the army and settled in Parkersburg where he com- menced the study of law, was ad- mitted to the bar and continued in prac- tice until his death, in 1877. Gen. John Jay Jackson was married in 1823 to Emma Beeson, daughter of Col. Jacob Beeson, the district attorney of the United States for the western disrict of Virginia. General Jackson held many positions of trust and responsi- bility in his county and State.
The late Jacob Beeson Jackson se- cured his literary education in the schools of Parkersburg, accepting a clerical position for two years after leav-
ing school, and in 1850 began teaching and preparing for the law. In 1852 he was admitted to the bar, in the same year beginning practice at St. Marys, and in the fall of 1852 was elected prosecuting attorney for Pleasants County, holding the office until 1861.
In 1864, Mr. Jackson settled per- manently in his native city, and in 1870 he was elected prosecuting attorney for Wood County, capably administer- ing this office until January 1, 1877. In 1874 his ability made him the suc- cessful candidate for the State Legis- lature, where he served two years. In 1879 he was elected mayor of Parkers- burg, and in the fall of 1880 this favorite son was elected Democratic Governor of the State of West Vir- ginia, a position which his ability served to adorn for a term of four years. Governor Jackson's clearness of per- ception in public matters as well as his fidelity to his people and what he deemed right, made him one of the most honor- able as well as useful executives the State ever had. His last years were spent in the practice of his profession in Parkersburg city, where he passed away on the IIth day of December, 1893.
In 1855, Governor Jackson was united in marriage with Marie Willard, daughter of the late Benjamin Willard,
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of Pleasants County, West Virginia. He was survived by one son, William W. Jackson, an attorney of Parkers- burg.
COL. THOMAS O'BRIEN, one of the most progressive business men of the city of Wheeling, West Virginia, is president of the People's Bank of Wheeling, and is closely identified with many important industries of the North- ern Panhandle of the State. He was born in County Cavan, Ireland, in 1830.
Colonel O'Brien came to America in 1851, and located in Wheeling, Vir- ginia, now West Virginia, where he en- gaged in various humble and laborious capacities. He finally obtained a posi- tion as laborer and clerk for the Balti- more & Ohio Railroad Company, which he held until the Civil War broke out. He displayed his patriotism by assisting to raise the first company of Virginia volunteers for the Union Army, and its services were tendered to the Federal government for the defense of the na- tional capital. He was made 2nd lieu- tenant and after four months' service was honorably discharged. Colonel O'Brien was given a clerkship in the post office at Wheeling and held that position until he voted for General Mc- Clellan, in 1864. He next engaged in the real estate and stock brokerage
business, in which he has since contin- ted. He was appointed surveyor of the port of Wheeling during Johnson's ad- ministration, and was later appointed colonel on Gov. John J. Jacob's staff, which position he occupied acceptably and well for a period of six years. He was nominated and elected by the Demo- cratic party as treasurer of West Vir- ginia in 1880, which responsible office he filled with credit to himself and his constituents until March 4, 1885. Colonel O'Brien is a councilman for the third and fourth wards of Wheeling, and takes a deep interest in all that per- tains to the welfare of the city. He has been a director of the People's Bank of Wheeling since 1874, and served as vice-president until the resignation of Mr. Reed, deceased, as president, when he was elevated to that position. Col- onel O'Brien was a stockholder and director of the Belmont Nail Company and of the Natural Gas Company of West Virginia, and was also president of two building and loan associations. He was one of the founders and origi- nal directors of the West Virginia China Company. He is a member of the Board of Trade.
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