USA > West Virginia > Men of West Virginia Volume I > Part 4
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35
Colonel O'Brien was united in mar- riage, in 1853, with Kate Gillespie, of Scotland, and of the 14 children born to them, eight are now living.
38
MEN OF WEST VIRGINIA
HON. JOHNSON NEWLON CAMDEN.
HON. JOHNSON NEWLON CAMDEN, ex-United States Senator from West Virginia and widely known in connection with the industrial de- velopment of this State, was born in Collier's Settlement, Lewis County, Virginia, now West Virginia, March 6, 1828.
Early in the 19th century, Henry Camden, with wife and four sons, migrated from Maryland to Virginia, planting there a family which became notable in the affairs of the Old Do- minion. John S., one of these sons, and the father of Johnson Newlon Camden, married Nancy Newlon, daughter of William Newlon, of Lewis County, and moved to the wild region
of the Elk River country, locating at Sutton, the county seat of the still sparsely settled Braxton County. At this time educational advantages in that region were limited, but our sub- ject was given the best the locality afforded, his physical growth, however, being hastened beyond mental attain- ment. In 1842, when in his 14th year, he went to Weston and en- tered the service of the county clerk of Lewis County for one year, and then spent three years at the Northwestern Academy at Clarksburg. The following year was spent as deputy clerk of the Circuit Court of Braxton County, with his uncle, Col. William Newlon. Between the age of 16 and 17 he received an appointment as cadet at the West Point Military Academy, and there he remained un- til through half the course, when he realized that his natural bent was in the direction of the law instead of the military. Resignation followed and close application to study resulted in his obtaining a license to practice in 1851, and soon thereafter he was made Commonwealth's attorney for Brax- ton County and subsequently of Nich- olas County. Mr. Camden became also interested in surveying and secured several tracts of land in these counties. In 1853 he settled at Weston and ac-
39
MEN OF WEST VIRGINIA
cepted a position as clerk and assist- ant cashier in the old Exchange Bank of Virginia, reserving permission to at- tend to his legal duties and land mat- ters. In 1857 he left the bank at Wes- ton, finding in neither the law or in banking the stimulus of genuine in- terest. In looking about for a vocation to which he could attach himself per- manently, he had his attention called to the West Virginia oil fields. Mr. Camden began an investigation as to the feasibility of making oil from can- nel coal and thus was brought to see that the character of the oils in the new fields was the same. He turned his at- tention to Burning Springs on the Little Kanawha River, where the first petroleum development was put to practical use. Mr. Camden organized a company, leased the land and began to bore for oil, realizing in one week for the company $23,000. With a foresight which has been a great factor in his success, Mr. Camden increased his investment, and formed a partner- ship with John and J. C. Rathbone, original proprietors of the district, pay- ing them $100,000 for one-half the tract. Although Mr. Camden did not possess sufficient means to handle this large enterprise himself, he found plenty of investors who had confidence in his sagacity and integrity, but just
at this critical time came the out-break of the Civil War. By mutual consent the enterprise was abandoned and the oil fields became subject to the depre- dations of both armies and many wells were finally deserted. However, Mr. Camden and the Messrs. Rathbone continued their operations during three years of the war and to such a degree that necessity arose for banking facil- ities, resulting in the founding of the First National Bank of Parkersburg, with a capital of $100,000, in the early part of 1862, and Mr. Camden was chosen its president, a position he still holds, making it one of the sound- est in the State. Mr. Camden's career in the Little Kanawha River oil dis- tricts would be but a history of their great development, for his master mind was the leader and director of these large interests. Later, when it became apparent that the Pennsylvania oil fields offered a still more advantage- ous prospect, Mr. Camden, with his partners, disposed of their Virginia in- terests, realizing a half million dollars. Later, with equal foresight, Mr. Cam- den and his associates set up a refinery plant at Parkersburg, and about this time the Standard Oil Company be- gan to control and absorb large oil in- terests all over the country, and it was his good judgment that caused Mr.
40
MEN OF WEST VIRGINIA
Camden to endeavor to join his in- terests with this great and wealthy corporation rather than to try to fight it. Accordingly there was organized the Camden Consolidated Oil Com- pany, and in the course of rapid events Mr. Camden's executive ability was so thoroughly recognized that he was made one of the directors and members of the executive committee of the Standard Oil Company, with special charge of its affairs in West Virginia and Maryland. The extent and im- portance of the refinery at Parkersburg became greatly increased after this com- bination and it grew to be one of the principal sources for the supply of the Southwest, turning out annually more than 300,000 barrels of refined oil. Mr. Camden then turned his attenion to the formation of the Baltimore United Oil Company, combining the oil refiners of that city under one management, with $1,000,000 capital, being made president of this great corporation. The limits of this article do not per- mit the details which conclusively show that Mr. Camden has done his . share in the work of making the Stan- dard Oil Company "without a rival among the corporate bodies in the trade of the world."
Equally would it be impossible in a biographical sketch only, to even
adequately outline the scope of Mr. Camden's numerous enterprises in West Virginia, whose interests he has always served, remaining a resident of the State, bringing here capitalists for developing her almost inexhaustible re- sources of oil, timber, coal and iron, and this brings us to his notable trans- portation enterprises. The first of these was the improvement of the Little Kanawha River and the establishment of slack-water navigation from Park- ersburg. About 1875 he engaged in his first railroad venture, the narrow- guage road connecting Clarksburg and Weston, a line ultimately extended to Buckhannon, Upshur County, and, still later, narrow-guage roads were projected to the county seats of Brax- ton, Gilmer, Roane and other counties which were beyond the reach of trans- portation other than that which pre- vailed since the early settlement of tlie country. Mr. Camden was also as- sociated with his friend and fellow- senator, Hon. Henry G. Davis, and others, in the construction of the West Virginia Central Railroad, now one of the most important roads in the coun- try. The Ohio River Railroad, be- tween Wheeling and Huntington, was also projected and built through Mr. Camden's resources and energy and he was chairman of its executive board.
41
MEN OF WEST VIRGINIA
He also projected and placed in suc- cessful operation the Monongahela River Railroad, from Fairmount to Clarksburg, of which he is president. In connection with this road, he or- ganized a coal and coke company, of which he is president, having a capital of $2,000.000, which is a rival of the largest coke companies of Pennsyvania and is one of the most valuable and im- portant of Mr. Camden's achievements. The Clarksburg, Weston & Midland road, connecting with the Mononga- hela road at Clarksburg, was trans- formed into the West Virginia & Pittsburg Railroad Campany, with Mr. Camden as president, and forms a con- tinuation of the same line to Weston and thence to Broxton Court House and thence to the Gauley River, in Webster County, where immense lumm- ber mills and a manufacturing town, named Camden-on-Gauley, have been built. From Weston, branch roads ex- tend to Buckhannon and thence to Newlon and Pickens, at the head of the Buckhannon River in Randolph Coun- ty, making about 500 miles of railroads in West Virginia projected and built by Mr. Camden and known as the "Cam- den System" in West Virginia. This "system" was augmented by the pur- chase by a syndicate, in which Mr. Camden was interested, of an immense
iron ore tract on Potts Creek, with a view of extending the West Virginia & Pittsburg road to a connection with it and the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway at Covington, Virginia, from Pittsburg to the iron ore fields of Virginia.
From this imperfect sketch some realization may be formed of Mr. Cam- den's character, his friends, his ability, and financial resources. Having demon- strated his capacity and given every evidence of high executive ability and strength of character, the people of West Virginia asked still more of him, and in a time of important political movements turned to him with the of- fer of honors and responsibilities. As early as 1867 he had led a movement to restore the franchise to citizens of West Virginia who lost it through con- nection with the Confederate cause, and the adherents of this cause formed what was named the Conservative party and ran Mr. Camden for governor, but he was defeated, the disenfranchising stat- utes and test-oath restrictions being too powerful for the new movement. In 1870 he declined nomination, but in 1872 he was again nominated but was defeated by a combination of the op- position with the Republicans. In 1874 he was warmly supported for the United States Senatorship, and in 1880 had grown so in favor and importance,
4
42
MEN OF WEST VIRGINIA
that he was almost unanimously chosen by the Democratic caucus and was elected by the Legislature of that year to the United States Senate, and at the succeeding election his leadership was so strong that he named and elected the gentleman upon whom his toga fell.
Today Senator Camden is the un- questioned financial and political leader in his State. His services in the State proved of great benefit to the whole Eastern country, the "long-and-short- haul" clause of the Inter-State Com- merce Bill being his personal amend- ment. Although since urged for other political honors, Senator Camden has refused, remaining a private citizen un- til 1893 when he was chosen by the State Legislature, United States Sen- ator to fill out the term of the late Sen- ator Kenna.
In 1858 Senator Camden married Anna Thompson, daughter of the late Judge George W. Thompson, of Wheeling, and his two surviving chil- dren are: Johnson N. Camden, Jr .; and the wife of Gen B. D. Spilman, of Parkersburg. Senator Camden is a man careful and deliberate in speech, of courteous manner, is an admirable host, stanch friend, a prudent and sa- gacious counsellor, and a man who has won the esteem of all citizens and is
acknowledged, irrespective of party, to be one of the ablest and most important men of West Virginia.
HON. EDWIN MAXWELL .- West Virginia can pride herself on no more honorable son than the late Hon. Edwin Maxwell of the city of Clarksburg.
He was born July 16, 1825, at Wes- ton, Lewis County, Virginia, now West Virginia. In 1827 his parents moved to a farm about one mile from Weston where they lived the remainder of their lives and where young Maxwell was
43
MEN OF WEST VIRGINIA
reared. Levi Maxwell, the father of the subject of this sketch, was a carpen- ter by trade and a man of superior in- telligence and sterling integrity. Levi Maxwell's wife was a daughter of Col. John Haymond, one of the pio- neers of Northwestern Virginia.
Edwin Maxwell, during his boy- hood days, had such school advantages as the age afforded, which, at best, were meager. He made the most possible out of his opportunities and accomplished much. He studied law under the tutor- ship of his uncle, Lewis Maxwell, and was admitted to practice in 1848. Dur- ing the early years af his professional life, he practiced in Upshur, Lewis, Braxton and Gilmer counties. In 1852 he moved to West Union, Doddridge County, and in 1857 he formed a law partnership at Clarksburg with Burton Despard, but continued to practice in Doddridge and the adjoining counties, serving two terms as prosecuting at- torney for Doddridge County. To this firm Nathan Goff, Jr., was admitted in 1865, and it so continued until 1867 when Mr. Maxwell was elected to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.
It had been one of the resolutions of his early life that he would not per- mit politics to withdraw his attention from his profession, but the stirring
times of the Civil War came on, and ordinary affairs of life became so sadly disrupted that he found it impossible to resist the appeals of his friends and party.
Throughout his long public life he was a stanch adherent to the principles of the Republican party. His political career began in 1863 when he was elected to the first State Senate on the Union ticket. He held this office until 1866, and during this period was chair- man of the judiciary committee and largely shaped the legislation of that time. In 1866 he served as Attorney- General under appointment by Gover- nor A. I. Boreman. In the fall of 1866 he was elected judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals and served in that capacity until December 31, 1872, when the operation of the new consti- tution ended his term. In 1880 he was again nominated for judge of the Supreme Court but went down to de- feat with his party at the polls.
In 1884 Judge Maxwell was the candidate of the Republican and Green- back-Labor parties for governor. During this campaign he was fre- quently referred to by the press as "Old Honesty." He was defeated with his party, but is was in this campaign that he turned the tide of political affairs in West Virginia, reducing the former
44
MEN OF WEST VIRGINIA
overwhelming Democratic majority about ten thousand votes.
In 1888 he was again elected to the State Senate; was chairman of the judiciary committee and was one of the committee that considered for weeks the celebrated contest of the two gubernatorial candidates, Goff and Fleming.
In 1892 he was elected by his party to the House of Delegates and was chairman of the judiciary committee.
Again in 1902, when in his 78th year. he was elected to the House of Delegates. While at his post of duty in Charleston, he contracted pneumonia and died February 5, 1903.
Many of the laws of West Vir- ginia bear the imprint of his wisdom and legislative ability. At all times during his long professional career of more than 54 years, he stood at the head of his profession and enjoyed the re- spect and confidence of all with whom he came in contact.
He leaves an imperishable legacy for probity and honesty in all his deal- ings, and a political fame unsmirched by the faintest suggestion of impro- priety.
Judge Maxwell was married in 1872 to Loretta Shuttleworth, daughter of Capt. John Shuttleworth. Mrs. Max- well died in 1895.
Judge Maxwell is survived by two sons Edwin Maxwell, Jr., of Seattle, Washington, and Haymond Maxwell of Clarksburg, West Virginia. The latter was admitted as law partner with his father in 1901.
GEN. JOHN HOOE RUSSEL.
GEN. JOHN HOOE RUSSEL, deceased, was for many years one of the most prominent business men of the most prominent business men of Huntington, Cabell County, West Vir- ginia. He was born June 15, 1842, at Huntsville, Alabama, and died Janu- ary 6, 1903, at his beautiful home in Huntington. West Virginia.
The father of General Russel, Dr.
45
MEN OF WEST VIRGINIA
Albert Russel, died in 1844. When still a youth, our subject displayed no- ticeable ability in the management of his mother's estate, a large plantation in Alabama. The troubles of the Civil War fell heavily there, and but for the foresight of the young manager greater losses would have resulted than did. By managing to have a herd of mules driv- en into Mexico and sold, he secured $3,000 in gold, which he securely con- cealed on the old plantation. After the close of the war, during which he lost his mother and his only brother, he re- turned and unearthed his treasure, and this formed his only capital. The wreck of the once large estate was turned over to his sister, who alone was left to him; leaving her in Huntsville with relatives, he took the $3,000 and went to Texas, where he embarked in a mercantile business, in partnership with M. Erskine Miller of Staunton, Virginia, a son-in-law of Gen. Echols of Louisville, Kentucky. They had three successful business years, but tired of their surroundings and returned to Huntsville. For a few years they carried on a dry goods business and then determined to go west, setting out for St. Louis, Missouri. At Cincin- nati they met General Echols, who was interested in Huntington, West Vir- ginia, and advised their locating there.
This was in 1873, very soon after the town was laid out, and Miller & Rus- sel opened the first grocery in the town, its location being on 3rd avenue, about identical with the present site of W. H. H. Holswade & Company's furni- ture store. The old building is now oc- cupied as a grocery, in another location, by G. C. Ricketts. In 1875 General Russel together with Col. Peter Buf- fington and others organized the Hunt- ington National Bank, which was the earliest and for many years the only bank in Huntington, and acted as its cashier until the death of Colonel Buf- fington, when General Russel succeeded him as president, continuing as such 1intil his own death ..
General Russel devoted his atten- tion to the bank and to his large real estate interests, having valuable invest- ments at Huntington, which turned out very profitably. He had, also, extensive coal land interests in Raleigh County, West Virginia, and was associated in this with Maj. Ely Ensign and M. Ers- kine Miller. At the time of his elec- tion to the presidency of the bank, he was the youngest bank president in the United States. He was a man of 1in- usual foresight and never was one to neglect his intuitions. At one time, while visiting White Sulphur Springs, he had an unaccountable premonition
46
MEN OF WEST VIRGINIA
of some impending calamity. His busi- ness was ever in his mind and he con- nected the feeling naturally with it. He wired to Cashier Oney to immediately send the large surplus then on hand at the bank to Cincinnati,-a most for- tunate precaution, as the bank was vis- ited and robbed by the James Boys just after General Russel returned. He or- ganized a posse and they pressed the outlaws so closely that they secured the most of the gold and silver that had been taken. One of the gang was sub- sequently captured and was identified by means of a revolver he had taken from General Russel. This weapon is in Mrs. Russel's possession. At the time of the failure of the Fidelity National! Bank of Cincinnati, with which the Huntington bank was a heavy deposi- tor, General Russel received inside in- formation of the probable failure of the Cincinnati bank just prior to its closing, He went immediately to Cincinnati, presented a check, demanded the entire deposit, and received the same, after some argument and delay. The next day the Cincinnati bank did not open for business, but the Huntington de- positors lost nothing. This is but one example of the tact and business acu- men which marked Mr. Russel's career.
Our late subject did not marry until past 50 years of age. His choice was
Nettie Phelps, a most beautiful and charming society woman of Richmond, Kentucky. She died at Huntington in November, 1896, and her one child, John Hooe, Jr., died in infancy, sur- viving his mother only six months. On May 8, 1901, Mr. Russel was united to a cousin of his former wife, Minerva Park Phelps, also of Richmond, Ken- tucky, and a descendant of the Byrd and Taylor families of Virginia than whom the State has none more aristocratic. Mrs. Russel is a refined and cultured lady, a graduate of Wellesley College, Massachusetts. Prior to her marriage she had given much time to literary and club work, was the secretary of the lo- cal chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and was a dele- gate to the National Congress held by this exclusive society, at Washington, D. C., in 1898. She is a member of the Baptist Church. With her one son, Al- bert Lacy, she resides in her beautiful home, at No. 1344 3rd avenue, Hunt- ington, which her husband loved and took so much pride in adorning. He served on the staffs of two governors of West Virginia as paymaster-general, with the title of brigadier-general, and was universally known by that title. He was fond of society and was one of the . recognized social leaders in Hunting- ton, his urbanity and courtesy being
47
MEN OF WEST VIRGINIA
those of a Southern gentleman. In the Episcopal Protestant Church in which he was reared, he served as vestryman, and contributed liberally to the church and also to various charities. In poli- tics he was always identified with the Democratic party, but was never in any sense a politician. In his death Hunt- ington lost one of her notable men.
JACOB LORENTZ ARMSTRONG.
JACOB LORENTZ ARM- STRONG was for many years one of the most prominent men in Jack- son County, West Virginia. He was identified with both public and political life and held many offices of trust and honor. Mr. Armstrong
was born in 1827, in Lewis County, Virginia, now West Virginia, and died in November, 1901, in Jackson County, West Virginia. He was a son of Dr. John J. P. and Margaret (Jones) Armstrong, the former of whom practiced medicine for a number of years and then moved to Roane County with his family. The latter was born in Wales and accompanied her parents to the United States when 10 years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Jones settled in Lewis County, and there reared a family.
In 1841 Jacob L. Armstrong locat- ed with his parents on Elk Fork, in Jackson County. In 1845 he moved to Ripley and served as deputy sheriff for eight years and was then elected justice of the peace and served as such for four years. Mr. Armstrong then engaged in a mercantile business and was a resident of Ripley until 1885. He was prominent in the Democratic party and for 20 consecutive years was clerk of the Circuit and County courts. He was solicited by Gov. H. M. Math- ews to become a member of the board of directors of the State Insane Asy- lum at Weston, and most usefully served for six years. In 1881 he was appointed by Gov. Jacob B. Jackson, a member of the board of regents of the State University at Morgantown,
48
MEN OF WEST VIRGINIA
and served in that body for six years. In 1885 Mr. Armstrong moved to Ra- venswood, having been elected cashier of the Bank of Ravenswood, in April of that year, and he continued in this capacity for II years, and served as its vice-president, being one of its direc- tors, principal stockholders and main advisers up to the time of death. Mr. Armstrong was a material factor in the organization of the Jackson County Building & Loan Association and in 1887 he was elected its first president and was continued in this position un- til his demise. He was for many years vice-president of the Ravenswood Dis- trict Fair Association. He held the important office of general receiver of the Circuit Court for a period of 10 years. Other positions of honor and trust were offered him at various times. After moving to Ravenswood, he was ยท elected a member of the Ravenswood Independent School District, and in 1898 he was elected president of the board, holding the position as long as he lived; and for a long period, even until his death, he was chairman of the High School Board of Ravens- wood. He was prominent in Masonry and in Odd Fellowship. For 40 years he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, but five years prior to his death he was confirmed
in the Protestant Episcopal Church, and served as one of its vestrymen un- til his death; he was also warden the last three years of his life and chair- man of the building committee, and one of the principal factors in erecting the new and handsome edifice in which this congregation now worships.
Mr. Armstrong was first married to Eliza Jane Ayers, who was a daugh- ter of William G. and Mary ( Hamel- ton) Ayers. Mrs. Armstrong was born in 1834 at Warm Springs, Bath Coun- ty, Virginia, and died in September, 1880. She was an attached member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. To this union six children were born, namely: Holly G .; Laura Vir- ginia, the wife of William Wirt Riley; Margaret Marceline, deceased; Otmer Fleet, deceased ; William Lee, deceased ; and Jacob Vaught, cashier of the Bank of Ravenswood. The second marriage of the late Mr. Armstrong was in 1888 to Alberta E. Glenn, who still survives.
The death of Mr. Armstrong came as a shock to the community. The day of his funeral obsequies was observed by the courts and schools, all business being suspended to pay respect and to show the esteem in which Jacob Lorentz Armstrong was held. The following editorials and resolutions, taken from the Ripley and Ravenswood newspa-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.