USA > West Virginia > Men of West Virginia Volume II > Part 12
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Mr. Dayton's career in Congress has been one of steady and powerful influence and growth. He was first placed on the naval committee, then one of the smallest and least consequential
committees in the House. He took up the work in earnest and took a leading" part from the start, and to him as much as to any other member is due the dis- tinguished credit and honor of bring- ing this branch of the government up to its present prominence and power. When he entered Congress we had only three battleships in commission, and three in course of construction. He was a believer in a strong navy and ad- vocated the construction of war ships of the most powerful class. The result is the splendid naval armament we now have. The naming of the powerful armored cruiser, "West Virginia," was a compliment to him. When Mr. Dayton first took his stand in favor of battleships as against smaller craft, there had never been a battleship in ac- tion, for that class of vessels was an ex- periment; but with the battle of Santi- ago, July 3, 1898, and the advent of such vessels as the "Oregon" it is no longer an experiment. Mr. Dayton took a foremost place in the promotion of dry docks as a part of the naval es- tablishment, and four such were pro- vided, at Portsmouth, Virginia, at Boston, at League Island and at Al- giers. Louisiana.
Among other notable services ren- dered his constituents, Mr. Dayton has taken great interest in the veterans of
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the Civil War, and has been able to pro- cure many pensions and promotions for the soldiers of West Virginia. He in- troduced a bill which passed the Senate, providing for the promotion of Lieut. R. M. G. Brown, of Preston County, West Virginia, upon the retired list of the navy, in recognition of his services in saving lives and property during the great storm in the Samoan Islands. He aided materially in securing the appro- priation of $5,000,000 to open the Mo- nongahela to free navigation, and for the construction of locks and dams in the river between Morgantown and Fairmont. Mr. Dayton has rendered valuable services in the geological sur- veys of the State, and rectified in Con- gress the mistakes made in the omission of data and visible monuments on which, in every county seat in the United States, the true north and south line of the place is marked. Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1866 and the laws of Oregon were made to apply to that territory. In 1898 a Congres- sional committee was appointed, of which Mr. Dayton was a member, which prepared a code for Alaska, in which Mr. Dayton did a large part of the work. For 10 days the House de- bated the code, during which time Mr. Dayton championed the bill, debating with the best lawyers, and Congress
passed the bill. His best work, up to that time, was in connection with the "Navy Personnel Bill,"-to regulate the line of promotions in the navy; to give all an equal chance; to equalize the pay of both civil and naval officers and to correct and regulate the course of study at the United States Naval Acad- emy at Annapolis. By this bill a great and practical reform was brought about in the navy. Mr. Dayton was its champion and made a number of speeches that showed his mastery of the subject ; and he has since been not- ed in the House as an authority on naval affairs. The bill became a law and the naval officers gave a banquet at Washington to Mr. Dayton and his confreres. The whole country is be- ginning to see the wisdom of his fore- sight and courage. He received the commendation of Rear-Admiral W. T. Sampson and other noted naval officers. After the blowing up of the "Maine" in Havana harbor, there was increasing excitement in Congress and the coun- try. It was a time for coolness and courage. It was for the Congressman from the Second Congressional District of West Virginia to make the first speech in the House, advocating the in- dependence of Cuba from Spanish rule. He concluded his remarks with these memorable words :
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"Two hundred and sixty-six brave men are dead to-day as a result of the 'Maine' tragedy. Over 200,- 000 have died in Cuba and 250,000 more, mostly women and children, are being held in imprisonment and starved there to-day. We do not know as yet that the Spanish authorities blew up the 'Maine' and destroyed the lives of our seamen, but we do know that Spanish authority is responsible for this whole- sale deadly murder in the first degree going on, within 100 miles of our shores. With food and raiment in one hand and with its strong power, backed by the righteous will of 70,000,000 of freemen, this administration must in- tervene, stop the horror and give Cuba her freedom. This intervention may be done, I hope, peacefully. If so, God be praised; but if not, and it can only be done by war, let it come. Humanity, mercy, charity, and all the attributes of God Himself, will be with us, and Cuba will be free."
During his terms in Congress, Mr. Dayton has kept up his law practice and has taken an active interest in pro- moting the industrial development of his State and is connected with many private business enterprises. He is a director of The First National Bank at Philippi.
On November 26, 1884, Mr. Day-
ton married Lummie Sinsel, of Graf- ton, West Virginia. Religiously he is connected with the Presbyterian Church. Fraternally, he belongs to the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias. He owns one of the most beautiful homes in his town and is a power for good in his community. His popu- larity in the State on account of his dis- tinguished services, is not limited to the Second Congressional District. The dean of the West Virginia Congress- men, he has won a position of eminence from which his friends desire him to retire only to accept higher honors.
I. C. WHITE, A. M., PH. D.
I. C. WHITE, A. M., Ph. D., State Geologist of West Virginia, has at- tained wide prominence in the science
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of geology, and is not only well known in West Virginia and the United States, but in foreign countries as well.
Dr. White was born in what is now Battelle district, Monongalia County, West Virginia, November 1, 1848. His great-grandfather, Grafton White, of English parentage, moved from Bal- timore to the vicinity of Morgantown in 1774. Grafton White's son, Will- iam, married Mary Darling, a native of Delaware, and moved to the head of Dunkard Creek, where he patented 4,000 acres of land, and thus formed the nucleus of what has been known as the "White Settlement." Michael White, father of our subject, was a son of William and Mary (Darling) White.
Upon the organization of West Vir- ginia University in 1867, Dr. White en- tered its portals as a cadet and gradu- ated therefrom in 1872. He taught during the fall of 1872 and 1873 in Kenwood School, New Brighton, Pennsylvania, and in Monongalia County, West Virginia, the following year. He was appointed on the Geo- logical Survey of Pennsylvania in 1875, as assistant to Prof. John J. Stevenson, in the survey of Washington and Greene counties and the southern por- tion of Allegheny and Beaver counties. He took a post-graduate course in ge-
ology and chemistry at Columbia Col- lege, New York city, during the winter of 1875-1876 under Newberry and Chandler. He was appointed assistant geologist on the Geological Survey of Pennsylvania in 1876 and given charge of the region on the Pennsylvania and Ohio State line, where differences had arisen between the geologists of those States, concerning the identity of the coal and limestone beds. Dr. White made an exhaustive study of the ques- tion in dispute and demonstrated the truth so clearly that his views have never been questioned by either party to the controversy. He was elected pro- fessor of geology at West Virginia University in June, 1877, but continued in the service of the Pennsylvania sur- vey during vacations until July II, 1894, when he was appointed to a posi- tion in the United States Geological Survey, his duty being to present a monograph on the bituminous coal fields of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, which work he completed and sent in for publication in August, 1888. He afterward engaged in an axhaustive survey of the Alleghany Mountain re- gion around White Sulphur Springs, in parts of Greenbrier, Monroe, Allegha- ny and Craig counties. He is a volu- minous author in his specialty, geology, as the following list of his publications
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will show : Report (Q) on Beaver, Allegheny and South Butler counties, 337 pages, 1878; Report (Q2) on Lawrence County and the Ohio line geology, 336 pages, 1879; Report (Q3) on Mercer County, 233 pages, 1880; Report ( P) on Permian Fossil Plants, joint author with William F. Fontaine, 143 pages and 38 double-page plates lithographed, 1880; Report (Q+) on Crawford and Erie counties, 406 pages, 1881 ; Report (Q5) on Susquehanna and Wayne counties, 243 pages, 1881 ; Report (Q") on Pike and Monroe coun- ties, 407 pages, 1882; Report (Q7) on Wyoming, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Co- lumbia, Montour and Northumberland counties, 404 pages, 1883 ; Report (T3) on Huntingdon County, 471 pages, 1885; The Comparative Stratigraphy of the Bituminous Coal Measures in the North Half of the Appalachian Coal Fields; Vol. I, Oil and Gas, West Vir- ginia Geological Survey, 1899: Vol. II. West Virginia Coal Fields, West Virginia Geological Survey, 1903. Be- sides these formal publications, Dr. White has contributed numerous ar- ticles on scientific subjects to the col- umns of Science, The American Journ- al of Science, The Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, The T'irginias, and others. His notes on the geology of West Virginia taken
during class excursions were reprinted in the West Virginia University cata- logues for 1883-84-85. Dr. White has been elected to fellowship in the follow- ing scientific societies : American Phil- osophical Society; American Associa- tion for the Advancement of Science; American Geological Society, of which he is treasurer ; Maryland Academy of Sciences; Washington Academy of Sciences ; New York Academy of Sci- ences; The Geological Society of Washington; and the National Geo- graphical Society. He bears the degree of A. M., conferred by his alma mater, and the degree of Ph. D., conferred by the University of Arkansas. Dr. White ably filled the chair of geology and natural history in the West Vir- ginia University for many years. He stands at the very forefront of Ameri- can geologists and is a recognized au- thority in that science throughout the Union.
In 1893 Dr. White was appointed one of the judges of the Department of Mines and Mining at the Columbian Exposition, and upon the organiza- tion of the judges was selected presi- dent. In 1897 he was appointed one of the delegates from America to the International Geological Congress which met in St. Petersburg in August of that year. He spent three months
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in Russia, traveling over 10,000 miles on two grand excursions through that vast empire, one of which took him across the Ural Mountains, into Siberia, and the other across the Caucasus and to Grozny and Baku, the famous Siber- ian oil fields. Returning home toward the close of 1897 via Constantinople, Athens, Naples and Gibraltar, he found that the State Geological Commission had during his absence and without his knowledge or consent unanimously elected him as State Geologist to super- intend the work of the recently organ- ized Geological Survey of West Vir- ginia. He was a delegate to the con- vention in 1892 that nominated Harri- son, but has always steadfastly refused all political offerings. In 1898 he pre- pared and published an important bul- letin on coal and one on petroleum. He was the first geologist to bring into prominence and apply in a practical way what is known as the "Anticlinical Theory" of oil and gas. Convinced of the essential truth of the "Anticlinical Theory," Dr. White concluded to give his results to the world for the benefit of all, and in the issue of Science for June 26, 1885, published an article under the title of "The Geology of Natural Gas," in which the claims and exceptions to the "Anticlinical Theory" were fully set forth. This theory was at once
attacked by Messrs. Ashburner and Chance of the Pennsylvania Geological Survey, but Dr. White put forth such a vigorous battle, aided as he was by Dr. Edward Orton, State Geologist of Ohio, that opposition was soon silenced and the scientific world accepted the theory as demonstrated.
Dr. White started in life without a very large share of the world's goods, but to-day is regarded as one of the leading men in the financial circles of the State.
R. W. McWILLIAMS.
R. W. McWILLIAMS, clerk of the Circuit and Criminal courts of Cabell County, West Virginia, since
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1896, was born in 1854 in Harrison County. Virginia, now West Virginia, and is a son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Bailey) McWilliams. The McWill- iams family originated in Ireland, from which country came John Mc- Williams and wife, grandparents, in the early part of the 19th century. They located as pioneers in the Shen- andoah Valley. Benjamin McWill- iams removed thence to Taylor County about 1845. Prior to the Civil War, he was a railroad man. In that con- flict he entered the service of the United States government under Cap- tain Ransom, as brigade wagon- master, and was killed in 1863, aged only 35 years. His wife was a daughter of Thornbury Bailey, of Virginia, and her death took place some years since. The surviving mem- bers of the family, aside from our sub- ject, are: Hezekiah B., a locomotive engineer in Texas; and Agnes, wife of C. P. Sincel, of Grafton, Taylor County, West Virginia.
Mr. McWilliams entered into all active business life while still young, beginning as a clerk for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, at Piedmont, West Virginia, where he remained some years and later followed railroad con- tracting in the West. In 1887 he lo- cated at Huntington and was there en-
gaged in the clothing business until 1890, under the firm name of H. B. McWilliams & Company. In 1896 he was elected to his present position after two years of service as city clerk.
In 1875 Mr. McWilliams married Elma V. Lock, daughter of John Lock of Taylor County, West Vir -- ginia, and they have reared a family of eight children. Their pleasant family residence is situated on the suburban neutral strip near Hunting- ton. They belong to the Congre- gational Church. Fraternally, Mr. McWilliams is associated with the Odd Fellows, National Union and Elks.
MILLARD F. GIESEY, a well known architect of the city of Wheel- ing, West Virginia, is a member of the firm of Giesey & Faris, a partnership that had its beginning in 1899. He was born in Wheeling, September 9, 1856, and is a son of Valentine and Adeline Giesey.
Valentine Giesey, who is still liv- ing, was born in Westmoreland Coun- ty, Pennsylvania. His wife was born in Maryland, and died in 1892. They became the parents of the following nine children : Millard F .; Charles E., deceased; William H., a carpenter re- siding in Wheeling: Mary E., wife of
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Harry Turner, an engineer in the glass plant at Bridgeport; James H., of Wheeling; Edward, a carpenter of Wheeling; John L., a contractor of Wheeling; Thomas G., a bricklayer of Steubenville, Ohio; and Albert V., a carpenter who makes his home in Wheeling.
Millard F. Giesey attended the pub- lic schools of his native city, and then pursued the study of architecture at home. He practiced his profession for six years, and designed a number of fine buildings in Wheeling and through- out the State. In July, 1899, he formed a partnership with F. F. Faris, who bears an excellent reputation as an architect, and the firm of Giesey & Faris has been a prosperous one from its beginning. They have offices at Nos. II and 12 Masonic Temple, and command a high class of patronage.
Mr. Giesey was joined in marriage, on May 22, 1879, with Margaret E. McAdam, who was born September 25, 1859, and is a daughter of James and Alice V. McAdam. Four children have been born to them, one of whom is liv- ing, Earl M., who was born Novem- ber 29, 1884. They are members of the Fourth Street Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Giesey is a member of Wheeling Lodge, No. 9, I. O. O. F .; Wheeling Lodge, No. 4. A. F. & A.
M .; Wheeling Union Chapter, No. I, R. A. M .; Cyrene Commandery, No. 7, K. T .; and Osiris Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. In politics, the subject of this sketch supports the Republican party.
WILLIAM A. HESLEP, M. D.
WILLIAM A. HESLEP, M. D., a prominent physician of St. Albans, Kanawha County, West Virgina, was born in Raleigh County, Virginia, now West Virginia, August 31, 1857, and is a son of Alexander Jackson and Mary E. (Ross) Helsep, both natives of Virginia.
Alexander Jackson Heslep was a well known citizen of Raleigh County where he followed the carpenter trade
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through all his active life. In 1868 he moved to Fayette County and resided there until his death, in 1883, at the age of 65 years. His widow, a native of Montgomery County, Virginia, sur- vived him some years, dying in 1899, aged 72. She was a member of the Methodist Church.
Dr. Heslep was the eldest son of his parents' family of seven children. He was educated in the schools of his na- tive locality and under his father's in- struction became a skilled carpenter, working at the trade some 18 years. In boyhood he had cherished the ambi- tion of becoming a physician and the inclination continued with him through all his early manhood. Finally he de- cided to enter upon the study of medi- cine. settling to it seriously in 1888. In 1891 he matriculated at Vanderbilt University at Nashville, Tennessee, and he was there graduated in 1892, with his medical degree. Dr. Heslep lo- cated first for practice at Fayetteville, removed then to Gauley Bridge and continued there for five years, succeed- ing very satisfactorily in his profes- sion. Since March, 1898, he has been located at St. Albans and there com- mands a good share of public patronage and has become widely known for his careful study of his cases.
In 1882 Dr. Heslep married Cora
A. Mahood, who was born in Giles County, Virginia, and three children have been born to them, namely: John Kenneth, Marjorie Cora and Frank Wysor. Politically, the Doctor is a stanch Democrat. He belongs to La- fayette Lodge, No. 57, A. F. & A. M., and Ivanhoe Lodge, No. 71, K. of P., of St. Albans, West Virginia. He is also a valued member of the Kanawha Medical Association. The religious connection of the family is with the Baptist Church.
HON. GEORGE C. STURGISS.
HON. GEORGE C. STURGISS, who for many years has been one of West Virginia's best known and most popular men, is a lawyer who has at-
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tained high distinction in his profes- sion and has frequently been called to fill offices of public trust. He resides in Morgantown and has always taken a deep interest in the growth and de- velopment of that community.
George C. Sturgiss was born at Po- land, Mahoning County, Ohio, August 16, 1842, and is a son of Rev. A. G. Sturgiss, who was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Rev. A. G. Sturgiss was united in marriage with Sabra L. Miner, by whom he had three sons, namely: Joseph, W .: George C .; and Alfred G. George C. Sturgiss was named for the Rev. George Cookman, a distinguished min- ister of the Gospel, who went down on the ill-fated steamer "President," in 1841.
George C. Sturgiss was but three years of age when his father died, and at the age of II years he started out to make his way in the world. He went to Monongalia County, Virginia, now West Virginia, to visit friends in 1859 and located at Morgantown. He at- tended Monongalia Academy for two years, and soon thereafter took up the study of the law under Waitman T. Willey, then a member of the U. S. Senate. He was admitted to the bar, May II, 1864, and at once entered up- on the practice of his chosen profession,
forming a partnership with Ralph L. Berkshire, later a judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals. Being a diligent student and attentive to business, he was not long in building up a lucrative practice. On September 22, 1863, he was married to Sabra J. Vance, daugh- ter of Col. Addison S. Vance. During 1864-65, he was paymaster's clerk in the United States Army, and the fol- lowing year served as first superinten- dent of free schools of Monongalia County, and was elected to a second term. During his administration he placed the free school system in that county on a firm basis. He served three consecutive terms in the House of Dele- gates of West Virginia, and never were his constituents more ably served in that body. Ex-Governor Atkinson, in his interesting work entitled "Promi- nent Men of West Virginia," says of him: "The writer, who was a legisla- tive reporter for the years in which Mr. Sturgiss was a member of the Legis- lature, remembers him as a young man of high personal character, attentive to his duties and very able in discharge of them. He was beyond question one of the most formidable and forceful mem- bers of those sessions."
In 1872, Mr. Sturgiss was elected prosecuting attorney of Monongalia County, and was re-elected to the same
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office in 1876, serving for eight con- secutive years. In 1880, he was nom- inated by acclamation as candidate for Governor by the Republican conven- tion, and although defeated he ran far ahead of his ticket in many counties. He is a man of personal magnetism, a clear forcible speaker, and possessed of no mean ability as an orator, and in his canvass of the State made many lasting friends. In 1889 he was ap- pointed by President Harrison to the responsible and trying position of dis- trict attorney for the District of West Virginia, an office which for a quarter of a century had been filled by men of recognized ability in the legal profes- sion. Mr. Sturgiss, in the onerous du- ties that fell upon him, measured up to the high standard of his predecessors and proved himself equal in all respects to the rquirements of the position.
He financed and rebuilt the West Virginia Northern Railroad from Tun- nelton to Kingwood in 1897, and in 1899 and 1900 built the Morgantown & Kingwood Railroad from Morgan- town to Masontown with a branch to the Fulmer mines (being president of both companies), in all of which work he was ably seconded by J. Ami Martin as vice-president and general superin- tendent. He is a large stockholder and director in the many industrial enter-
prises on the line of the latter road, in- cluding Sand & Stone Company, Tin Plate Mill, Aluminum Coating Com- pany, Prism Plate Glass Company, Planing Mill, Mirror Company, and is secretary and director of the Union Utility Company, controlling the water, gas, electric light and street car lines of Morgantown, and is a director in two of the banking institutions of that city.
He was for 12 years secretary of the board of regents of the State Uni- versity and for four years president of the board, and made the contracts for the purchase of the agricultural station farm and building, the library, Armory and Mechanical Hall, the finest build- ings in the group of buildings of the University, involving a cost including the additional land purchased, of over a quarter of a million dollars. The lands purchased quadrupled in value within four years. He heartily seconded the progressive and able administration of Dr. Jerome Hall Raymond, president of the University, and during the four years in which they were associated the attendance doubled, many new depart- ments were added and the University acquired a standing and influence in university circles never before ap- proached.
He is a member of the Methodist
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Episcopal Church, which has received many benefactions from him and his excellent wife. He is chairman of the board of trustees now building a new church that will cost when completed over $100,000.
He is now the owner and controll ing spirit of the Morgantown Post, the leading daily and weekly Republican paper in the Monongahela Valley, and is identified with every movement look- ing to the advance of the material pros- perity of the city and valley where he has spent over 40 years of his life.
GHARLES R. MCNUTT.
CHARLES R. McNUTT, one of the leading attorneys and successful business citizens of Princeton, West
Virginia, was born in 1854 at Prince- ton, and is a son of Dr. Robert Blaine and Ellen E. ( Peck) McNutt.
The McNutt family is of Scotch- Irish descent and John McNutt, the earliest known ancestor, was a native and resident of Scotland. A part of the family removed to County Donegal, Ireland, and from that point a John McNutt, son of Alexander and Jane McNutt, emigrated in 1745 and settled in Orange (now Rockbridge) County, Virginia, on the North River. John McNutt married Katherine Anderson, and their son William was born April 16, 1774. In 1806 the latter married Elizabeth Grigsby, born March IO, 1776 and they lived in Rockbridge County where he was a man highly regarded and a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church.
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