USA > West Virginia > Men of West Virginia Volume II > Part 14
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Mr. Stifel was united in marriage with Miss Schandein, of Philadelphia, and to them have been born two chil- dren, Arthur C., who is a student in the College of Textile Arts in Philadel- phia ; and Flora, who is at home. Po -. litically, Mr. Stifel is a Republican, but has never allowed his name to be con- sidered as a candidate for any office. His father was a strong Unionist and participated in some of the early move- ments to maintain the Union. In re- ligious views, the family have always- been Lutherans.
Mr. Stifel is a member of the Board of Trade; a director in the Wheeling Steel & Iron Company; a director in both the Wheeling and Riverside pot- tery companies ; and a director in the Wheeling & Belmont Bridge Company. He is president of the German Fire In- surance Company, of Wheeling, the leading concern of the kind in West Virginia. Mr. Stifel is a public spir- ited man, and takes an active and deep
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interest in all enterprises which tend to advance the prosperity of the city in which he lives.
GRANT P. HALL.
GRANT P. HALL, one of the prominent citizens and a leading attor- ney of Charleston, West Virginia, was born in Roane County, West Virginia, December 21, 1865, his parents, Will- iam and Isabelle Hall, being natives of Harrison and Monroe counties, respec- tively.
Mr. Hall received his education in the common schools of his native coun- ty, supplemented by a normal course at the Ohio Wesleyan University and Marshall College, Huntington, from
which latter institution he was grad- uated with honor in 1889. Having fully qualified himself by his educa- tional training and having received a teacher's certificate, he began, at the early age of 16 years to teach country schools in Kanawha and Clay counties, and continued in this occupation until 1893. He was then elected county su- perintendent of schools by 500 votes over J. B. Whittington, and served as such for two years. During his term in this capacity, he prepared himself for the legal profession. He was ad- mitted to the bar in 1895 and imme- diately entered into practice.
At the end of one year, during which period he gained an honorable position and lucrative business, his par- ty nominated him for clerk of the Cir- cuit Court of Kanawha County, to which position he was elected for a term of six years by more than 2,000 votes over his Democratic opponent, thus attesting his great popularity and the high esteem in which he is held by the people.
After his expiration of his term of office, Mr. Hall formed a partnership with Capt. S. B. Avis and the combina- tion is a strong one, making the ablest law firm in the Great Kanawha Valley. For a number of years he has taken a prominent part in politics and is chair-
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man of the Republican Senatorial Com- mittee for the Kanawha district.
On November 15, 1895, Mr. Hall was married to Anna Steel of Minne- apolis, Minnesota, and these children have been born to this union : Lucille, Frank, Harry Avis, Grant P., Jr., and Helen S., deceased. Mr. Hall is fra- ternally associated with Glen Elk Lodge, I. O. O. F., and Kenka Lodge, Knights of Pythias. The Halls oc- cupy a pleasant and attractive home in Charleston and are held in high favor by many friends and acquaintances.
WILLIAM WELLINGTON HUGHES.
WILLIAM WELLINGTON HUGHES, member of the law firm of Rucker, Anderson & Hughes, and a well known citizen of Welch, Mc-
Dowell County, West Virginia, was born in Lewis County, West Virginia, in 1873. He is a son of Henry F. and Virginia (Hall) Hughes, both of whom were also born in what is now West Virginia.
Henry F. Hughes was born in Lewis County in 1840, and is still en- gaged in farming in his native locality. During the Civil War, he served from 1861 to 1865 as a member of the 39th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf. In politics he is a Republican. In religious faith he is a Methodist. The mother of our subject was born in 1845 in Harrison County. They had a family of seven children born to them, namely : Charles S., a minister of the Methodist Church, located at Wakefield, Nebraska; Mary B., wife of Homer Paugh, of Harrison County, West Virginia; Byron, de- ceased; William Wellington; Viola ; Cora, deceased; and Alice. The family belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mr. Hughes attended the local schools and then the West Virginia Conference Seminary, at Buckhannon, and later the West Virginia University at Morgantown. He engaged in teach- ing for four years and during one year was a teacher in the Weston High School. After completing his course at the University, where he received
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his LL. B. degree. he began the practice of the law at Weston, where he re- mained 10 months. In June, 1901, he located at Welch, associating himself with Edgar P. Rucker, ex-Attorney General of the State, and Luther C. Anderson, forming the firm of Rucker, Anderson & Hughes, a leading one in the locality.
In politics Mr. Hughes is a Re- publican and takes an active interest in public matters. His ability is recog- nized and the firm to which he belongs is prominent in all the important liti- gation of the vicinity.
COL. JOHN D. HEWITT.
COL. JOHN D. HEWITT, a prominent coal operator of the Flat- Top field, residing at Bramwell, Mercer
County, is a gentleman widely known throughout West Virginia, and at the present time is on the staff of Gover- nor A. B. White.
Colonel Hewitt was born in Lan- castershire, England, but was a child when his parents moved to this country, and located in Pennsylvania, where his father engaged in coal mining. Our subject was reared in Pennsylvania and commenced work in the mines at the early age of 10 years. He continued to follow that occupation there until 1885, in December of which year he came to West Virginia. For six years prior to his removal he had conducted a
wholesale and retail lumber and coal business, and in this state he started the Buckeye Coal & Coke Company, of which he is the president and general manager. The business of the company has steadily and rapid- ly increased until it is one of the most important operating in the Flat- Top field. Mr. Stephenson of Roa- noke, Virginia, is vice-president of the company, and his son, W. C. Stephen- son, is secretary and treasurer. The general offices of the concern are at Freeman, Mercer County, where is located the store conducted by the company. The Buckeye Coal & Coke Company has 1,000 acres of leased land near Freeman, operates 180
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ovens, and employs some 250 men. In 1892, they commenced operating the Keystone, a more extensive plant, of 1600 acres and 300 ovens, where 400 men are employed. The equip- ment at both places is of the best, four engines being used at Keystone and three at Freeman. The total out- put of both colleries per annum ap- proximates 250,000 tons of coal and 100,000 tons of coke. The Buckeye Coal & Coke Company is a pioneer in the coke business in West Virginia, having built the first coke ovens in the State.
Colonel Hewitt has always been a very active Republican, and since 1888 has been a member of the Republican State Committee. He served four years on Governor George W. Atkin- son's staff, and is now a member of the staff of Governor A. B. White. He was a delegate-at-large to the National Republican Convention at Minneapolis in 1892, and served as the first mayor of Bramwell, where his fine home is located. Fraternally he has been equally prominent. He was the first commander of Ivanhoe Commandry, No. 10, K. T., at Bram- well; and is a member of Osiris Shrine Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Wheeling; and West Virginia Con- sistory, No. I, of Wheeling.
Colonel and Mrs. Hewitt are par- ents of the following children : Maud, a graduate of the Woman's College, Frederick, Maryland; Florence, at- tends Bryn Mawr Woman's College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania; F. R., a practical and thorough engineer in charge of the Buckeye plant, is a graduate of the University of Mor- gantown and is 22 years of age; J. D., Jr., is taking an engineering course in the Virginia Military Institute; Richard is attending Concord Normal School; and J. S. is attending the Bramwell schools. Religiously, the family is of the Episcopal faith.
JAMES F. McCASKEY, post- master of New Martinsville, and a fa- miliar and prominent figure in the pol- itics of Wetzel County, was born in New Martinsville, May 1, 1869, and is a son of Capt. John and Elizabeth (McEldowney ) McCaskey.
Capt. John McCaskey, the father of Postmaster McCaskey, served in the Civil War with distinction as captain of Company C, 15th Reg., West Vir- ginia Vol. Inf., enlisting as a lieuten- ant in 1862. By trade he was a gun- smith. In the "forties" he moved to New Martinsville from Fairview, Bea- ver County, Pennsylvania, where he was born, and for 18 years he served
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as justice of the peace in New Mar- tinsville. His death occurred in 1882, at the age of 49 years. He married Elizabeth McEldowney, who was born in New Martinsville, and was a daugh- ter of Samuel and Mary (Cochran) McEldowney. She died in 1874, aged only 39 years. She was a member of the Methodist Church. The eight chil- dren born to them were: Mary and Roberta, deceased; John S .; Margaret- ta, deceased, who was the wife of Les- lie J. Williams; Joseph R .; James F .; Francis, deceased; and Ambrose E.
Mr. McCaskey received his educa- tion in the schools of New Martinsville and then entered into the butchering business with his brother John S. Mc- Caskey. He also was employed in an iron mill at Pittsburg and in one at Ben- wood. Early in life his fealty to the Republican party was shown and in 1895-96 he was city marshal. On April 1, 1898, he received his commission from the late President Mckinley as postmaster and
was re-appointed March 4, 1902, by President Roosevelt. In this position he is capable, painstak- ing and obliging and is one of the most popular officials the city has ever had in this office. He is prominent in his party, is made a delegate to almost all its conventions and takes part in its councils.
In 1890 Mr. McCaskey was mar- ried to Clara Sebar, who was born Au- gust 14, 1868, in Wheeling, being a daughter of John and Catherine (Kei- fer) Sebar. The three children of this union are : Justus E., Mildred A. and Catherine E. Mrs. McCaskey is a member of the Methodist Church. The family home is a handsome new residence on High street.
DR. CHARLES A. WINGER- TER .- Among the names of those de- serving to be remembered in the annals of Wheeling, Ohio County, West Vir- ginia, is that of Dr. Charles A. Win- gerter, who died at his residence in that city on June 29, 1886, in his 48th year.
Dr. Wingerter was born at Oppau, in the Bavarian Palatinate, July 29, 1838, and removed to Wheeling with his father's family in 1849. His edu- cation was obtained in the schools of Germany and of Wheeling. After the completion of his preliminary studies, he chose the profession of dental sur- gery, entering upon it in 1860. He first became a student under Drs. Robertson and Orr, then of Wheeling, and re- mained with them two years. Ambi- tious to reach the highest degree of ex- cellence in his vocation, he followed up these practical studies and won his di- ploma at the Dental College of St.
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Louis, then one of the leading institu- tions of the kind in this country. He went to Zanesville, Ohio, to begin the practice of his profession and remained there one year. Returning to Wheel- ing. he thenceforward made that city his home during his life. He met with success in his vocation from the start and became the leading dentist of Wheeling and vicinity. By his genial manners, kindness of heart and gen- erosity he ever won new friends and held them to him. His excellent busi- ness judgment and his interest in mu- nicipal affairs led his fellow citizens to elect him to the City Council repeat- edly, and at the time of his death he was a leading member of the first branch of the municipal government. As a public officer, he was characterized by the same qualities that won him re- spect in every sphere of his busy life. Industry, intelligent judgment, fidelity to trust and the candid courage of clear convictions were the traits for which he was ever noted.
Dr. Wingerter was married in 1863 to Elizabeth White, a daughter of Mi- chael White, of Wheeling. To them were born nine children, five sons and four daughters, all of whom survive him. The sons are: Charles A., phys- ician and surgeon; Ferdinand, attor- ney-at-law; Adrian L., of the firm of
Wells & Wingerter, wholesale and re- tail cigar merchants ; John M., assistant ticket agent of the Baltimore & Ohio. Railroad Company; and W. Bernard, who is in the office of the Jewett Car Works at Newark, Ohio. The daugh- ters are: Mrs. Kate W. Flaccus, wid- ow of Charles C. Flaccus, Anna, and Clara, all of whom live with their wid- owed mother; and Mary Regina, who is a member of the Sisterhood of St. Joseph in Wheeling. Dr. Wingerter accumulated considerable property dur- ing his life, all of which was selected with good judgment, as a result of which his estate has continued to in- crease in value under the careful man- agement of his heirs. He was a direct- ing spirit in many business enterprises and was president of the Citizens' Rail- way Company at the time of his death.
If for no other reason, Dr. Win- gerter's name would deserve remem- brance from the fact that he was the first one in this or neighboring States to administer general anaesthetics. Dr. John Frissell, through the courtesy of his old and famous associates, Dr. Wil- lard Parker and Dr. Alonzo Clark, of New York, witnessed the administra- tion of chloroform in New York in the first year of its use there. He re- turned at once to Wheeling, and en- trusted to Dr. Wingerter the honor and
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responsibility of administering chloro- form to an uncle of James McCourt- ney, who was obliged to undergo an operation on the arm. This operation by Dr. Frissell, successfully done with the assistance of Dr. Todd and the elder Hullihen, was followed by many others in which chloroform and ether were used. Dr. Wingerter was for many years the recognized expert and the preferred anæsthetizer because of his skill and judgment in the use of what were then new and humane but also fearful and dangerous agents.
HON. CHARLES BROOKS HOARD.
HON. CHARLES BROOKS HOARD, whose death occurred at Ceredo, West Virginia, on November 20, 1886, was born at Springfield, Ver- mont, January 28, 1805. The fami-
ly, according to its early records, is descended from Norman stock which accompanied William the Conqueror in his subjugation of England in the Ilth century; early in the 12th cen- tury it is known to have possessed large holdings in England, Wales and Ire- land. The American ancestor was a London banker who with his wife and children reached Boston, Massachu- setts, in 1635. He dying soon after, his family removed to Braintree (now Quincy ), Massachusetts, and there the widow died in 1661.
In 1821, at the age of 16, Charles Brooks Hoard went to Antwerp, New York, where his older brothers had preceded him and were engaged in business. He was in the land office of Mr. Parish for some time at Parish- ville, and then, having returned to Ant- werp, began to learn watch repairing ; this business he mastered, after which he accepted a position in Mr. Parish's land office at Antwerp. In 1828 hie married Susan Heald, daughter of Daniel and Anna Heald. While with Mr. Parish he was elected a justice of the peace, and was re-elected for sever- al years after he was out of the land office. He also held the office of post- master at Antwerp under both Jackson and VanBuren. In 1837 he was elect- ed a member of the General Assembly
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from Jefferson County, and during that session ( 1837-38) the Legislature passed the celebrated "Safety Fund Banking Law," which proved of in- estimable value to the people of the Empire State. The security for issu- ing bank bills under that law was based upon mortgages of unincumbered im- proved farming land at one-half its assessed value. He was the author of the mortgage feature in the bill and its operation was peculiarly beneficial to such farmers as possessed good un- mortgaged farms but needed ready cash for improving them. In 1843 he was elected county clerk of Jefferson County and moved his family to Wa- tertown in 1844. He discharged the duties of county clerk with entire ac- ceptability. introducing many needed reforms, which gave great satisfaction to members of the bar, and all who had business with the office.
Soon after his term expired as coun- ty clerk, he with a Mr. Bradford en- gaged in the manufacture of portable steam engines, their plant being the pioneer factory for this class of en- gines. Mr. Hoard was a personal friend of Horace Greeley, dating from the time when Mr. Hoard was in the General Assembly of 1837. Mr. Gree- ley visited Watertown and there ex- amined the first engine which left the
shop of Hoard & Bradford, a two- horsepower machine which furnished power for a neighboring printing of- fice. On the occasion of Mr. Greeley's visit, the proprietor was in the act of feeding his cylinder press. The great editor was delighted and in a letter written for the Tribune he gave the in- ventors a very flattering notice. That was the beginning of a business that proved the most remunerative of any yet started in that part of the State. After four years of partnership, Mr. Hoard bought Mr. Bradford's interest and took his son into partnership. At the height of his business success, Mr. Hoard was elected a Representative of the 35th Congress from the 23rd Con- gressional District of New York and was re-elected to the 36th Congress by an increased majority.
The Civil War coming on at this time greatly reduced the number of orders for engines, because the South and the Mississippi Valley had from the start been the best sections for sales. As the business promised to be much less remunerative as long as the war lasted and perhaps for several years after its close, Mr. Hoard turned his attention to some other article which would give employment to his skilled mechanics and keep in operation his large works which then had spread
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over several acres, full of the best ma- chinery money could buy. As a tem- porary matter he undertook a $1,000, ooo gun contract with the government, agreeing to manufacture 50,000 Springfield rifles at $20 each. This contract proved extremely disastrous financially, and Mr. Hoard ceased to manufacture. He sold most of his splendid machinery to the Turkish government, but at such a loss as to use up nearly his entire fortune.
Having discharged every financial claim upon him and without a single law suit, he began to look around for some other business in which to repair his losses. After a winter spent in Mis- souri, where he had considerable land- ed interests, he removed, in 1868, to Ceredo, Wayne County, West Virgin- ia. at that time a town of about 125 people where Eli Thayer had planted (in 1857-58) a small colony of New Englanders in carrying out his coloni- zation scheme, which had a conspicu- ous place in the political history of the country just before the Civil War. Thayer and his associates had bor- rowed a considerable amount of money from Mr. Hoard, and mortgaged their town site and adjoining lands for sec- urity. The war practically obliterat- ed it as a colonization scheme, leav- ing Mr. Hoard to realize what he could
out of his securities. After investigat- ing the location and the mineral and timber resources naturally tributary to the Ohio River in that section, he de- cided to remain and bend his efforts to building up the town. He made two efforts, in connection with parties in West Virginia and outside of the State, to build a 50-mile railroad from the river at Ceredo back to the coal deposits, some 25 miles distant. Sev- eral thousand dollars were expended, and a few miles of grading done, but both efforts were unfortunate in being so timed as to encounter financial pan- ics-the first in 1873, and the second in 1882-83. A leading idea in these efforts was that it would be an induce- ment for some railroad from the South seeking the Ohio River to join it and thus be advantageous to Ceredo. This route is now occupied by a trunk rail- road.
From this time on Mr. Hoard, on account of advancing years, became less active in business affairs, but was thrown more or less among the lead- ing men of his part of West Virginia and of Southern Ohio and Eastern Kentucky. He was recognized as a man of advanced ideas and of large experience. He was generally respect- ed by all classes.
His two sons, Pitt Hoard, who
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moved with his family from New York to Ceredo in 1876, and S. Floyd Hoard who removed to Ceredo in the fall of 1871, are well known residents of Ceredo, having been associated with their father during his life, and togeth- er since his death, in the management of their landed interests in Ceredo and Wayne County.
S. M. NEASE.
S. M. NEASE, president of the Frank Glass Company of Wellsburg, Brooke County, West Virginia, and one of the town's substantial and rep- resentative citizens, was born March 5, 1868, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and is a son of H. B. and Jane (McElroy) Nease, both of whom were born in
Pennsylvania. The mother died May 17, 1899.
The Nease family is an old one on American soil and one member dis- tinguished himself in the War of the Revolution. Harman Nease, the great- grandfather, was born on the first isl- and in the Susquehanna River, below Harrisburg. He learned the carpenter trade at Germantown, Pennsylvania, and secured work on the repairing of Fort Duquesne, driving to Pittsburg with a four-horse team in order to reach his destination. He made Pitts- burg his home and there his son David was born and engaged for a long pe- riod in a sawmill business in combina- tion with boat building. Both David ¿ Nease and his father died in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, the latter at the age of 84 years and the former aged 67 years.
H. B. Nease, father of our subject,, was born in Steubenville, Ohio, and for a long period was successfully en-, gaged in an extensive lumber business in' Pittsburg and at Saginaw, Mich'- gan. He now lives, retired from ac- tivity, in Wellsburg and is financially interested in the glass business. His family consisted of five children, name- ly : Clara, deceased; Mary Emma; David A., president of the Coal River Coal Comanpy; Anna Bell, wife of
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Benjamin Moore of Chicago; and S. M., of this sketch.
S. M. Nease spent his boyhood in the busy city of Pittsburg and there received an excellent education. His business instincts were developed with his father in the lumber business, and he did much traveling through Mich- igan in the interests of the same busi- ness. In 1899 he moved to Wellsburg to engage in the glass business, secur .. ing a controlling interest in the Frank Glass Company, which was incorpor- ated in 1896, with Mr. Nease, presi- dent and treasurer (since 1892) ; M. D. Galbreath of Saline, Ohio, as secre- tary; and James Frank, of Wellsburg, vice-president and manager. They are the exclusive manufacturers of Mey- er's patent closure device for jars, etc., an arrangement by which the can can be made air-tight without the rubber coming in contact with the contents of the can. It is the only all-glass can in the market. The house makes a spe- cialty of preservers' and packers' glass- ware, and they give employment to about 200 men. In the spring of 1903. the Nease-Meyer Glass Company was incorporated. It is planned to build a large factory at Weston, West Vir- ginia, which will be in operation by September 1, 1903. Employment will be given to about 250 persons.
On June 14, 1892, Mr. Nease was united in marriage with Katherine E. Perrine, of Pittsburg, and their two children are: Sarah Josephine and Samuel M., Jr. Mr. Nease has other business interests, one of these being the Monarch Iron & Steel Company of Parkersburg, of which corporation he is president. He is a young man of great business ability and is well and widely known in his section of the State.
FRANK LESLIE BEARDSLEY.
FRANK LESLIE BEARDS- LEY, attorney-at-law, coroner of Kanawha County, West Virginia, and one of the most prominent and in-
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fluential citizens of Charleston, was born in Gallia County, Ohio, May 21, 1864. He is a son of H. J. and Eliza (Roach) Beardsley, both of whom were natives of Ohio. The elder Mr. Beardsley followed farming in his na- tive State during the greater portion of his life. Our subject's mother died in 1900.
Frank Leslie Beardsley was reared in his native locality, attended the com- mon schools and graduated with credit from the Gallipolis High School, in June, 1883, later taking a three- year course in the Ohio Wesleyan Uni- versity. He then began the study of the law with White & Holcomb, at Gallipolis and then entered the law de- partment of the University of Virgin- ia, at Charlottesville. Remaining there but one term, he then went to the Cin- cinnati Law School where he was graduated in 1888. In the same year he was admitted to the bar of Ohio and practiced at Gallipolis until Janu- ary 1, 1889, when he removed to Charleston, West Virginia. Since be- coming a resident of that city, Mr. Beardsley has enjoyed gratifying suc- cess and follows a general line of prac- tice. In 1896 he was appointed coron- er of Kanawha County and is also the efficient commissioner of accounts, re- ceiving both offices from the County
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