USA > West Virginia > Men of West Virginia Volume II > Part 20
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Mr. Smith has had much to do with the development and systemiza- tion of the service. He has been unas- signed and has worked from the At- lantic to the Pacific. . It has fallen to his lot to make investigations for serv- ice in districts represented by the fore- most men in the Nation. In Maine, his work was satisfactory to Thomas B. Reed; in New Hampshire, he re- ceived high praise from the exacting William E. Chandler ; in California, he made a friend of Eugene F. Loud; in Iowa, he was thanked by David B. Henderson, and in Illinois, Joseph G. Cannon was by the thoroughness of his work converted from an opponent to an ardent supporter of the service. A host of others might be named who have bestowed upon him the highest encomiums for efficiency. His meth- ods have been straight forward, with- out fear or favor. The best possible service, in the shortest possible time, at the least possible expense, has been his rule of action.
HULLIHEN QUARRIER, presi- dent of the Delaplain Dry Goods Com- pany, was employed by that firm as a boy in 1864, and has risen to a station of prominence in Wheeling and vicin- ity. The business of this concern was
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started in 1846 by L. S. Delaplain and Henry Tallant, as a wholesale dry goods house under the firm name of Tallant & Delaplain. It was first lo- cated on 12th street, which place is now occupied by Joseph Graves' Son. It was then moved on Main street to prac- tically its present location. In 1865 or 1866, Mr. Tallant retired from the business, and the firm name became L. S. Delaplain & Son. In 1882, the pres- ent building was erected by the com- pany ; it is of six stories, including the basement, and its dimensions are 40 by 110 feet. The firm name was later changed to L. S. Delaplain, Son & Company, and in 1894 the concern was organized and incorporated as the Dela- plain Dry Goods Company, with Hulli- hen Quarrier as president, and Joseph S. Gibbs, secretary and treasurer. These two gentlemen have been asso- ciated with each other upwards of 30 years, and under harmonious man- agement the business of the firm has greatly increased. Twenty-five men are employed by the company and traveling representatives are sent to Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia, where they have a well established trade.
Hullihen Quarrier was born at Wheeling 52 years ago and has since made his home in that city, with the ex-
ception of two years spent at Louis- ville, Kentucky. He is a son of Will- iam B. Qmarrier, who was born at Richmond, Virginia, in 1800, of Scotch parentage. The family is no doubt of French Huguenot origin. The grand- father of Mr. Quarrier came to this country from Scotland and was a. colonel during the Revolutionary War. He died at his country home at Wil- lowbend, Kanawha County, West Vir- ginia, where the last years of his life were spent. William B. Quarrier came to Wheeling at an early age and died here in 1862. He was for many years connected with the old Merchants' & Mechanics' Bank, of which he was an official. He was also one of the found- ers of the Second Presbyterian Church, and was an elder from the time of its organization until his death. A mem- orial window has been placed in the church to perpetuate his name, along with those of two other esteemed citi- zens who have passed away, Samuel Ott and Richard Hadden. Mrs. Quar- rier, who died in 1899, was a daugh- ter of Jesse Hudson, a plantation owner of the Kanawha Valley.
Hullihen Quarrier was educated in the public schools of Wheeling, and in 1864. as before mentioned, entered the employ of Tallant & Delaplain in the dry goods business. Always attentive:
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to his best interests and faithful to the interest of his employers, he made rapid advancement in the business un- til now he is president of the company in which he got his first start. He is a man of recognized business ability and enjoys the highest respect and esteem of all with whom he is acquainted.
Mr. Quarrier was united in mar- riage with Annie G. Hogg, of Cadiz, Ohio, a granddaughter of Chauncey Dewey and a niece of O. C. Dewey. Two children bless this union, Charles and Hullihen Dewey. The family home is at Echo Point, and has but re- cently been completed. In politics, Mr. Quarrier is a supporter of Republican principles. He is a Mason and Knight Templar, belonging to Bates Lodge, No. 33, A. F. & A. M .; and Cyrene Commandery, No. 7, K. T. He was president of the Chamber of Com- merce until that body was succeeded by the Board of Trade. Religiously, he is an Episcopalian and a vestryman in St. Matthew's Protestant Episcopal Church.
HON. H. C. GORDON, mayor of Huntington, who is now serving his second term as the highest municipal officer, is senior member of the fire in- surance firm of Gordon, Peyton & Perkinson, of that city. He was born
on a farm near Vevay, Indiana. His father, George Gordon, a farmer in that locality, died about 1893, but his mother resides in Jefferson County, in that State. Several brothers reside in Indiana, and one brother, who is now a farmer on East River, West Vir- ginia, was formerly engaged in busi- ness in Huntington.
Mayor Gordon was reared on his father's farm and then went to Cincin- nati, Ohio, and was employed by the firm of Gordon & Rouse, which was succeeded by the firm of H. Gordon, our subject's brother. In July, 1883, this lumber and mill business was re- moved to Huntington, and for the fol- lowing 12 years our subject was one of the concern's employees. In 1895 he leased the mill and conducted the business for two years, employing some 60 men, when the mill was then moved to Ironton, Ohio. In 1897 he engaged in a coal and lumber business, with of- fice at the corner of 16th street and 3rd avenue; the firm handles manu- factured pine, cypress, Washington cedar lumber and Kanawha River coal. For the past two years he has been also engaged in a fire insurance busi- ness with Messrs. Peyton and Perkin- son, with offices at No. 438 9th street. Mr. Gordon is public spirited and has proved his business ability not only in
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capably managing large business inter- ests of his own, but also in directing the affairs of the city to the satisfaction of all parties. His ability, fairness, his judgment and care for the city's needs have won him many friends.
Mayor Gordon married a Miss Bagley of Kentucky, and they reside in spacious apartments at the Adelphi Hotel. Mr. Gordon owns several fine residence properties and is one of the city's moneyed men. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons, the Odd Fellows, the Elks and the Modern Woodmen of America. Both he and his wife belong to the Methodist Church.
HON. HENRY CLAY HENDERSON.
HON. HENRY CLAY HEN- DERSON, president of the Parkers- burg National Bank, president of the
Williamstown National Bank, presi- dent of the West Virginia Western Telephone Company, was born Sep- tember 24, 1845, in Wood County, near Williamstown, Virginia, now West Virginia. He is a son of Hon. George Washington and Elizabeth Ann (Tomlinson) Henderson, the for- mer of whom was born in Wood County, Virginia, now West Virginia, on the Kanawha River, and died in 1866, at the age of 64 years. He was one of the section's largest farmers and stock raisers and foremost citi- zens. For many years he was a di- rector in the Parkersburg National Bank. He was a member of the Vir- ginia House of Delegates; formerly a Whig, during the Civil War a Union man, afterward a Democrat. Both he and Mrs. Henderson were members of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Mrs. Henderson was a daughter of Joseph and Susan ( McMahon) Tom- linson, the latter a daughter of Maj. William McMahon. Mrs. Henderson was born in 1810 near Williamstown in a house which was built in 1809 and is now the oldest in the vicinity, and died May 29, 1888. The children born to Hon. George Washington and Eliza- beth Ann (Tomlinson) Henderson were 12 in number, as follows: Jo- seph T., deceased; Mary P., wife of Benjamin T. Beeson; Alexander, de-
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ceased ; Georgiana H., deceased; Alex- ander Lithgow, deceased; Anna Maria, deceased; Lucy L., deceased ; Margaret W., wife of Dr. C. H. Bartlett, of Parkersburg, president of the State Dental Association; George W., de- ceased ; Henry Clay, of Williamstown, our subject ; Jock Bedell, on the farm; and Arthur Taylor, who is also en- gaged in farming.
Senator Henderson received his primary education in the common schools and later spent two years in college at Marietta and tlie two suc- ceeding years at Darmouth College, where he graduated in the class of 1867. After leaving college, he re- turned to the farm and soon became in- terested in general farming and the raising of fine stock ; he made his home on the farm until 1901, when he moved into Williamstown. In the fall of 1902 he was elected president of the Parkersburg National Bank to succeed the late Thomas G. Smith, having been a director of the institution for 14 years preceding. On July 28, 1902, the Williamstown National Bank opened for business and he was elected president of this bank also.
On December 19, 1877, Senator Henderson was married to Caroline Virginia Snodgrass, who was born in Marietta, Ohio, and was a daughter of
John W. and Eunice F. Snodgrass. They have a family of four children, namely : Elizabeth Eunice; Helen Tomlinson; Caroline Virginia, who married Rev. Harris . Bush Thomas, who sailed December 6, 1902, to Ponce, Puerto Rico, as a missionary ; and Edward Earl. The family belongs to the Protestant Episcopal Church.
Senator Henderson has been a leading factor in Democratic politics in West Virginia, and his entrance in- to public life was as a member of the House of Delegates, in 1876. In 1892 he was elected to the State Senate.
I. C. HERNDON.
I. C. HERNDON, prosecuting at- torney of McDowell County since 1896, and a member of the law firm
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of Herndon & Smith, of Welch, West Virginia, is one of the leading Repub- lican politicians and a representative citizen of the county. He was born in Mercer County, West Virginia, near Goodwill, in March, 1868, and is a son of the late W. H. H. Herndon.
The Herndon family is one of the old established ones of Virginia and the father of our subject was born in Campbell County in that State. His death occurred in Mercer County, West Virginia, in 1888, at the age of 48 years. He came to this State as a boy, with his father, Edward Watson Herndon, who located in Mercer Coun- ty. One of the uncles of our subject was the distinguished Maj. E. W. Herndon, of the Confederate Army; he married a sister of the late ex-Gov- ernor Zeb Vance, of North Carolina, and made his home at Asheville in that State. The mother of our subject was born in Mercer County and still resides there, at the age of 55 years. She is a daughter of Christian Belcher, and a member of one of the oldest fami- lies in that section of West Virginia. Her brother, Maj. George W. Belch- er, served with distinction in the Con- federate Army, and resided at Bram- well, where he was engaged in busi- ness for several years.
Our subject is one of a family of
nine children born to his parents,- eight sons and one daughter, the lat- ter being Ida M., the wife of Erastus B. Neal, of Riverside. The sons are: E. W., a business man of Baltimore, Maryland; Arthur M., with the Glen Jean Coal & Coke Company at Glen Jean, West Virginia; Walter H., with the Norfolk Coal & Coke Company at Maybeury, West Virginia; Fred T., in a mercantile business at Riverside, Mercer County, West Virginia, on Crane Creek; Charles S., a teacher at Sand Lick, McDowell County; Will- iam M., a student at the Concord Nor- mal School; M. M., at home; and I. C., of this sketch.
1. C. Herndon was educated in the local schools, the Princeton High School, spent two years at the Emory & Henry College, and in 1892 was graduated at law at the University of West Virginia at Morgantown. In the same year he was admitted to the bar of McDowell County, located at Welch and formed his present part- nership with Capt. R. R. Smith, for- merly a member of the State Legisla- ture.
Politically Mr. Herndon is a Re- publican, having been identified with this party sinec 1894. Fraternally he is a 32nd degree Mason, being a mem- ber of the Bramwell blue lodge, and of
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the shrine and consistory at Cincin- nati, Ohio. He is also a member of the I. O. O. F. lodge at Welch; of the Elks lodge at Bluefield; and of the Phi Sigma Kappa Greek-letter socie- ty at the University of Virginia. In religious belief, Mr. Herndon favors the Baptist Church.
C. R. SUMMERFIELD,
C. R. SUMMERFIELD, attorney- at-law, a member of the legal firm of St. Clair, Walker & Summerfield, of Fayetteville, Fayette County, West Virginia, is a prominent and repre- sentative citizen. He was born at Oak Hill, Fayette County, West Vir- ginia, October 10, 1861, and is a son of Benjamin and E. A. H. (Ellison)
Summerfield, both families being of old Virginia stock.
Benjamin L. Summerfield, our sub- ject's grandfather, was born and reared in Virginia, later locating in Raleigh County, about 1855, and two years later removing to Fayette Coun- ty. By trade he was a carpenter and during his last years he operated a mill near Fayetteville. He died in 1887, aged 88 years. The grandmother of our subject was a member of the old Means family of Virginia. She lived to be 80 years of age.
Benjamin Summerfield, the father of our subject, was born at Blacksburg. Montgomery County, Virginia, and was a carpenter for a number of years. He and his wife reside on their fine farm near Gatewood, Fayette County, West Virginia. Mrs. Summerfield is a daughter of Matthew Ellison, one of the pioneer preachers of that section of West Virginia, a power in the Bap- tist Church. Rev. Mr. Ellison mar- ried Elizabeth Love, who was born February 2, 1806, in Cabell, and died in 1902. Rev. Mr. Ellison labored chiefly in Raleigh County. His death took place at Anderson, while on a ministerial mission, at the age of 79 years. Ten children were born to Ben- jamin and E. A. H. (Ellison) Sum- merfield, as follows: Mary Etta, de-
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ceased; W. W., a resident of Gate- wood; C. R., of this sketch; J. E., a lawyer at Beckley: M. A., a jeweler at Montgomery ; R. B., a stenographer at Beckley ; Bertha and Blanche, twins ; and Benjamin, an infant, deceased.
Our subject was educated in the public schools and the Normal School at Athens, West Virginia, then called Concord, in Mercer County. He left this educational institution in his senior year and engaged in clerking at Con- cord for about one year, when he ac- cepted a position as chief clerk and buyer with the Crown Hill Coal Com- pany in Kanawha County. He re- mained with this company for nearly three years, and then entered the State University at Morgantown and was graduated there in 1891. with the de- gree of LL. B.
Mr. Summerfield then entered up- on
the practice of his profession, soon associating with him W. R. Thompson. In January, 1899, he be- came a member of the firm of St. Clair. Walker & Summerfield, which devotes its attention largely. to cor- poration practice. In politics he is a Democrat and was from 1894 to 1896 chairman of the Democratic County Executive Committee. In 1896 he was his party's candidate for prosecuting attorney.
In 1898 he was nominated for judge of the Criminal Court, but was defeated by the Republican nominee, J. H. Dunbar, now deceased, on ac- count of the county being normally Republican by a majority of more than 1,8oo, but he succeeded in reducing his opponent's majority to 224. He is recognized as one of the ablest of the young attorneys and is building up and establishing for himself upon a sure foundation a reputation as a law- yer, which seems to be his heart's de- sire. Fraternally he is a Knight of Pythias.
ABSALOM TITUS FAIR, presi- dent of the Board of County Commis- sioners of Wetzel County, West Vir- ginia, a prominent farmer and for the past 20 years a merchant at Red Mills, was born in Marshall County, Vir- ginia, now West Virginia, in 1843.
His father, Conrad Fair, was born in Pennsylvania, and died at the age of 83 years, in 1895. He was a farmer and a general merchant in Marshall County, where he located at an early day. In politics he was a Democrat prior to the Civil War, but afterward supported the Republican party. He belonged to the Christian Church. His first wife, Rebecca Kerns, who was born in Pennsylvania of German stock,
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died when her son, our subject, was six months old. Conrad Fair subse- quently married Elizabeth Holmes, and his third marriage was to Jane Allen. Six children were born to the first mar- riage, namely: an infant, deceased, Eliza, Susan, John, William M., and Absalom.
Mr. Fair has been a very successful farmer and merchant, and has been prominently identified with public af- fairs in Wetzel County. In 1898 he was elected a member of the Board of County Commissioners and is effi- ciently serving as its president. Under his administration a handsome new court house has been erected, at a cost of $125,000. He manages the affairs of the board with the same careful at- tention he has always given his private affairs and with corresponding suc- cess. Mr. Fair has paid much atten- tion to public education and has been a valued member of the Board of Edu- cation for 16 years and its president for 12 years, during which time many re- forms have been introduced and abises corrected. He is a Democrat politically, He is a member of the Silver Dollar Oil Company.
In 1862 Mr. Fair married Louisa Rogers, who was born August 6, 1843, in Staffordshire, England, and is a daughter of William and Lydia
(Brommell) Rogers. She migrated to Ohio County, Virginia, now West Vir- ginia, with her parents, when six years of age. The five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Fair were: Eliza Jane, de- ceased; Josephus, William, Conrad and Friend. Mrs. Fair is a consistent member of the Christian Church. Mr. l'air is held in very high esteem in his locality.
HON. OLIVER S. MARSHALL.
HON. OLIVER S. MAR- SHALL, an attorney of New Cum- berland, Hancock County, of recog- nized ability and prominence, has been a conspicuous figure in the affairs of the State of West Virginia. He was born September 2.4. 1850, in Hancock County, Virginia, now West Virginia,
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and is a son of James G. Marshall, grandson of John Marshall and great- grandson of Aaron Marshall.
Aaron Marshall, who was a native of Eastern Virginia, was a member of the well known Marshall family, many members of which figured conspicu- ously in the early history of the na- tion. Upon leaving Eastern Virginia, he first settled at Chartiers, Washing- ton County, Pennsylvania. He re- moved to Hancock County, Virginia, now West Virginia, in 1780, and died in 1827, advanced in years. He was a pioneer farmer of the Northern Pan- handle. His wife was a Miss Snow- den who came from the same district as he, in the Old Dominion.
John Marshall, the son of Aaron Marshall and grandfather of our sub- ject, served in the War of 1812 under Capt. John Edie, of Hancock County, in the vicinity of Fort Meigs, Ohio. He married Elizabeth Hays and they were engaged in farming throughout their lives in Hancock County. John Marshall died in 1859, at the age of 77.
James G. Marshall, the father of our subject, was a lawyer of Hancock County, of more than usual ability, was prosecuting attorney of the coun- ty for a number of years and died suddenly of heart failure, while in con- versation with his son, Oliver S., in
October, 1902, at the age of 76 years. He had retired from the practice of his profession a few years before, although to all appearances he was a well pre- served man. He was an important factor in the political affairs of his sec- tion and served in the Civil War as a lieutenant in the Union Army. He took an important part in the discus- sions relating to the separation of West Virginia from the Old Dominion. He married Levina Miller, who was born in Hancock County and died in 1891, aged 63 years. She was a daughter of John Miller, a native of Hancock County and a soldier of the War of 1812, who died on the farm where he was born and where he lived, in 1877, aged 89 years. John Miller's father was David Miller, who moved to Han- cock County at a very early date, and died in his 99th year. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. James G. Marshall, as follows : Oliver S., Eras- tus D., a lawyer residing in Chester, West Virginia, and practicing in East Liverpool, Ohio; John, who died at the age of five years ; and Ila.
Mr. Marshall received his early ed- cation in the common schools of his native county, acquitting himself with distinction and at the age of 18 began teaching. In 1873-74 he was a stu- dent at the West Liberty Normal
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School and was the valedictorian of his class of II members. Later he at- tended Bethany College from which he graduated in 1878 with the degree of B. S. and four years after was elected one of its trustees to fill a va- cancy occasioned by the death of Pres- ident James A. Garfield. From 1880 to 1885 he was principal of the New Cumberland graded school.
Mr. Marshall is a tried and true Republican. In 1884 he was elected clerk of the County Court of Hancock County and by successive elections con- tinued as such until 1896, at which he was elected to the State Senate from the First Senatorial District. In the same year he was admitted to the bar of Hancock County. He was presi- dent of the State Senate in the session of 1899. In 1892 he was a delegate to Minneapolis from the First Con- gressional District of West Virginia and cast his vote for Harrison.
Mr. Marshall was first married to Lizzie Tarr, who was a daughter of Campbell Tarr, of Brooke County. The two children of this marriage were: John, a student at Yale; and Olive, a graduate of the New Cumber- land High School. The second mar- riage of Mr. Marshall was to Nora Householder, the second daughter of Capt. William Householder, of Han-
cock County, and the children of this union are: Edith, Aaron and Vir- ginia. Mr. Marshall is a member of the New Cumberland Lodge, No. 43, A. F. & A. M., and Wheeling Com- mandery, No. I, K. T., the oldest com- mandery west of the Alleghany Moun- tains. He is also a member of the Uniform Rank, Knights of Pythias. For many years he has been an elder in the Christian Church.
PATRICK J. GILLIGAN .- The stone work of many of the most pre- tentious architectural accomplishments in Wheeling is directly traceable to the skill and intelligent understanding of Patrick J. Gilligan, one of the most successful stone contractors and build- ers in that part of the State. His birth, which occurred in County Sligo, Ire- land, March 17, 1848, chanced upon the day held in greatest veneration by all Irish hearts, which is devoted to a recapitulation of the numerous virtues to which the admirable St. Patrick was heir. It was not surprising therefore that Thomas and Sarah (White) Gilli- gan availed themselves of this happy augury, and named their son after the patron Gaelic saint.
Thomas Gilligan, who was a mer- chant during his active life in Ireland, lived and died in his native land, but
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two of his children, William and Mar- garet, came to America in the early "sixties" and were followed by their mother and the rest of the family in 1869. James, Thomas, and Patrick J. took up their residence in Wheeling. and there their mother died at the age of 76 years.
Having learned the trade of a stone- mason in his native land, Patrick J. Gilligan thought to apply it for a live- lihood in America, but upon arriving in Wheeling there seemed nothing to do in his line, so he was engaged at the Norway Iron Works from June until April. Following this he was em- ployed in cutting and laying stone for what is now the Baltimore & Ohio Rail- road bridge, at Bellaire, Ohio, and later worked in Wheeling for several con- tracting parties. Until the dissolution of the firm of Seabrook and McGan- non, he remained the firm's foreman of masonry, and had charge of the con- struction of bridges and culverts be- tween Short Creek and Wheeling. Go- ing to Pittsburg, he worked a few months for contractors, eventually en- gaging as foreman of masonry on the Pittsburg Water Works. He then un- dertook the improvements on Browns- ville avenue, Pittsburg. After a short time, Mr. Gilligan worked for promin- ent contractors of Wheeling. He was
then employed on the Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling Railway bridges, and in 1878 took a contract for work two and a half miles north of St. Clairsville, Ohio. This task accomplished, he worked at building and stone cutting for eight months at Kirkwood, Ohio, since which time he has contracted and built in Wheeling. At the present time he is engaged upon the construction of two of the largest blocks in the city, those of the News Publishing Compa- ny and the Locke Shoe Company. While making a specialty of stone con- struction, he has by no means confined himself to this branch of work, for St. Joseph's Academy, the old Grant House, Henry K. List's bank, Mrs. Hazlett's building, and many others equally important, were reared from the foundation up by Mr. Gilligan. He built the stonework of the Eighth Ward school house and the annex of the same.
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