USA > West Virginia > Men of West Virginia Volume II > Part 26
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ALFRED B. CARTER, who has been identified with the steel and iron interests of Wheeling and its vicinity for many years, was general superin- tendent of the National Steel Company for the Wheeling district until October 1, 1901, when he resigned, although he is still a director of the company. He is one of the active and enterprising spirits of the city. He was born in Fairfax County, Virginia, January 16, 1854, and is a son of George Hatley and Emma B. (Steenrod) Carter.
John Carter, the first of the Carter family to come to this country, located in Lancaster County, Virginia, in 1649,
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as the agent of Lord Fairfax. George Hatley Carter, the father of Alfred B., was born in Virginia, and became a member of the legal profession. He practiced in Wheeling when a young man, and then in Palmyra, Missouri, but, on account of failing health, re- turned to Fairfax County, Virginia, and died there. He was united in mar- riage with Emma B. Steenrod, who was born in Ohio County, Virginia, now West Virginia, a daughter of Dan- iel Steenrod. Her grandfather, Cor- nelius Steenrod, was a captain in the Colonial Army and served throughout the Revolutionary War, thus making Alfred B. Carter and his children, sons or daughters of the American Revo- lution. Daniel Steenrod was born in New York State, but was prominently identified with the early development of Wheeling. He engaged in farming on a large scale, was a very extensive land owner, and attained a high de- gree of success in every way. He died at the age of 80 years. He was promi- nent in the Baptist Church, and in the old stone Presbyterian Church at Elm Grove. He married Anne Gater, a daughter of one of the earliest settlers in Ohio County, and they became the parents of six children, one of whom, Lewis, was a member of Congress from this district in ante-bellum days.
Mrs. Carter, the mother of Alfred B. Carter, resides in Wheeling at the advanced age of 82 years, and is one of the oldest native inhabitants of Ohio. County. The subject of this sketch is one of a family of seven surviving chil- dren, the others being as follows : Lan- don E., who resides in Virginia; Mary I .; Sallie B .; Anne C .; Emma H .; and Edmonia R., wife of James R. Mc- Courtney, for many years a resident of Wheeling, but now of Washington City.
Alfred B. Carter was educated in Wheeling at Linsley Institute and St. Vincent's Catholic College. After leaving school his connection with the iron and steel business began and has since continued. He became junior clerk in the office of the Bellaire Nail Works. He subsequently served in various positions until, in 1887, he was elected secretary and treasurer of the Bellaire Steel Company. In 1899 he was elected president of the company and still holds that office. This com- pany was sold to the National Steel Company, but the officers of the old concern retained their positions. When the National Steel Company took charge, Mr. Carter was asked to assume the management of the Mingo Junc- tion works of that company also, and was made district manager at that time
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-early in 1899. Later his office was changed to that of general superintend- ent of the National Steel Company in the Wheeling district. He has been a director for many years in the Bellaire Steel Company, and when the National Steel Company was organized was elected a director in that company. He has since been re-elected, and is a mem- ber of the board of directors in each company at the present time.
Mr. Carter was united in marriage, November 2, 1887, with Gertrude E. Caldwell, who was born in Philadel- phia, and reared and married in Wheel- ing. She is a daughter of Hon. A. Bolton Caldwell, who was the first At- torney General of West Virginia. The latter was a son of Joseph Caldwell, whose estate and residence were where the lower part of Wheeling is, to a large extent. now built. He was for many years president of the Merchants' & Mechanics' Bank of Wheeling, and was one of the substantial early resi- dents of the city. Joseph Caldwell was a son of James Caldwell, who settled in Wheeling in 1772, and was one of the first judges of Ohio County. The mother of Mrs. Carter is Matilda (Newman) Caldwell, a native of Lou- isiana, and now a resident of Wheeling.
Alfred B. Carter and his wife have two children,-Gertrude I. and Alfred
B. Religiously, they are attendants of St. Matthew's Protestant Episcopal Church. Mr. Carter is one of the most active and enterprising citizens of Wheeling. He has been identified with many enterprises calculated to benefit and improve the city, and his energy and business sagacity are well known in several States. He is a member of the Board of Trade of Wheeling.
ANDREW JACKSON STEPHENSON.
ANDREW JACKSON STE- PHENSON .- Probably no citizen of Clay County, West Virginia. stands higher in public estimation than does Andrew Jackson Stephenson, who for 31 years has been the efficient clerk of the Circuit and County courts. Mr.
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Stephenson was born April 29, 1829, in Nicholas County, Virginia, now West Virginia, and is a son of David and Nancy ( Rader) Stephenson.
The Stephensons are descended from an old and honorable English ancestry. The grandfather of our sub- ject, Alexander Stephenson, married into the Ewing family, one of the most prominent in the State of Virginia. On the maternal side, the family is of Dutch extraction, and Mr. Stephen - son's mother and the mother of ex- Governor George W. Atkinson were sisters, both being daughters of George Rader. David Stephenson followed an agricultural life.
Andrew Jackson Stephenson was reared and educated in his native county, where he resided until 1864. In 1863 he was elected sheriff of Nicholas County, being the first offi- cial elected during the progress of the Civil War, but he did not serve. His sympathies were with the Union and as he made no secret of his convic- tions he suffered arrest from the Con- federate authorities and at one time was incarcerated in Castle Thunder. Mr. Stephenson displayed his tact and judgment by a conservative course af- ter the war, and much credit was given him for his influence in allaying excite- ment and bitter feeling incident to ex-
isting conditions. He became a mem- ber of a company of Home Guards, un- der Capt. B. L. Stephenson, a son of Hon. John G. Stephenson, who for 13 years was a prominent statesman in Virginia. Although Mr. Stephenson has been a consistent Democrat all his life, his public career has been so hon- orable that his influence extends be- yond party lines. For a long period he served his party as delegate to the various conventions and as chairman of the county committees and was so prominently identified with his party's success that he was its candidate, in 1900, for the State Senate, and was elected to take the place of Senator Pierson of Fayette County, who had been commissioned an officer in the Spanish War. The Legislature, how- ever, was overwhelmingly Republican, and he was not permitted to take his seat, his case being treated much in the same manner as was that of Sen- ator Campbell, of Jefferson County in the same session. In 1865 Mr. Steph- enson was first elected clerk of the Cir- cuit Court and recorder of Clay Coun- ty, and through subsequent re-elections he filled those positions until January I, 1897, except one term as clerk of the Circuit Court. His popularity was demonstrated very forcibly at the last election that he was a candidate when
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he was running against two candidates, one for the position of clerk of the County Court and one for clerk of the Circuit Court, and was elected to both offices by large majorities.
On July 24, 1854, Mr. Stephen- son was united in marriage with Mary Jane Forsythe, who was born March IO, 1832, and is a daughter of Abra- ham and Jane Forsythe, whose ances- tors, of English extraction, came from Augusta County, Virginia, the matern- al grandfather bearing the name of Wright. Mrs. Stephenson was one of a family of eight children born to her parents. Her eldest brother was killed in the Mexican War. Mr. and Mrs. Stephenson have had a family of nine children, one of whom, Benjamin L., who was born February 21, 1871, died at the age of nine months. The survivors are : Glendora, who was born April 18, 1855, married T. B. Ste- phenson and has three children; For- sythe, who was born January 3, 1857, is unmarried; Samuel, who was born March 10, 1859, resides in Charles- ton and has two children; Elijah Lor- ing, who was born May 25, 1861; Albert, who was born October 6, 1863, resides one mile from Clay Court House: Elizabeth F., who was born March 25, 1866, married John D. Carden and has five children; David
H., who was born May 22, 1868, is a farmer and stockraiser some 12 miles from Clay Court House, and has a family of six children; and Dr. Es- tin B., who was born May 13, 1873, and is not only a prominent physician of Clay Court House, but is also the mayor of the town and one of its lead- ing men.
Mr. Stephenson has retired from active politics but is still regarded as one of the most influential men of his county. He enjoys the confidence and high esteem of the public and is an honored resident of his own commun- ity. When he first located in Clay Court House, the present prosperous town consisted of one dwelling and a small fort which was used to shelter the Home Guards. With interest he has watched the growth and develop- ment of that section and has been no small factor in the same. His invest- ments have been made there and his interests have centered there, and, now, surrounded with an honorable and prosperous family, he is enjoying a vigorous old age. Mr. Stephenson is interested in a number of enterprises and is one of the dirctors of the Clay County Bank. Fraternally he belongs to Lodge No. 180, I. O. O. F., in Clay Court House. In religious be- lief he is a Methodist.
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HON. JOHN W. BLIZZARD.
HON. JOHN W. BLIZZARD, member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from Fayette County, West Virginia, and one of the intelli- gent and broad-minded citizens of Nut- tallburg, was born in 1841 in Nicho- las County, Virginia, now West Vir- ginia, being of Scotch-Irish and Eng- lish descent. He is a son of James and Nancy C. Blizzard, and grandson of Frederick and Mary (Campbell) Bliz- zard. The great-grandfather of Mr. Blizzard was born in Scotland, and immigrated to Virginia prior to the Revolutionary War in which he took an active part.
Frederick Blizzard, who was a na- tive of Pendleton, Virginia, now West Virginia, took part in the War of 1812. Although the family has never been noted for worldly wealth, its
members have all been most highly respected people and worthy members of society.
James Blizzard, the father of John WV. Blizzard was born in what is now West Virginia. Our subject's mother, who was a native of Greenbrier Coun- ty, Virginia, now West Virginia, died June 9, 1858, seven children surviving her decease. James Blizzard married a second time, and was the father of a large family of children. His death occurred in 1888, and his widow re- sides in Calhoun County, with three of her children.
John W. Blizzard was the fourth member of a family of 12 children born to his parents and one of the seven sur- vivors at the death of his mother. He received his education in the common schools at Preston and the Olin In- stitute at Blacksburg. Since 16 years of age, he has practically made his own way in the world, being engaged for a considerable period on construc- tion work for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, and then farming for three years. For 21 years Mr. Blizzard en- gaged in mining, but later purchased a small farm upon which he has made many improvements and where he has a very pleasant, attractive home.
Mr. Blizzard was married March 4, 1875, and has a family of three sons
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and three daughters, two of the daugh- ters and one son being married. He has always been more or less active in politics, but only in late years has con- sented to accept office. In 1902 he was elected a member of the West Vir- ginia House of Delegates and has per- formed the duties incident to the office with an eye single to the welfare of his section. He has always taken a deep interest in the laboring classes and belongs to the United Mine Work- ers of America. Mr. Blizzard and family belong to the Methodist Church.
COL. CHARLES CAMERON LEWIS, JR
COL. CHARLES CAMERON LEWIS, JR., of the firm of Lewis, Hubbard & Company, one of the larg- est wholesale houses in the grocery line in West Virginia, and a leading con- .cern of Charleston, was born August
28, 1865, in Kanawha County, West Virginia, and is a son of Charles Cam- eron and Elizabeth ( Wilson) Lewis.
The Lewis family has long been one of prominence, and of both social and commercial integrity in this sec- tion of the country for many years. The founder of the family in Virginia was John Lewis, a son of Andrew and Mary (Calhoun) Lewis, who was born in 1678, in County Donegal, province of Ulster, Ireland, and died in Virginia in 1762. Previous to settling in Augusta County, Virginia, he lived in Pennsylvania where he awaited the coming of his family. It is said that the family was of French Huguenot stock, driven from France to Ireland by religious persecutions. Other au- thorities, with probably more reason, assign it Welsh derivation. Although born in Ireland John Lewis was edu- cated in Scotland and was a man of in- fluence. He possessed by inheritance a handsome estate in Ireland and also leased valuable property contiguous to his own. In 1732, with others he came to America and settled upon a grant of 40,000 acres of land which had been obtained by Isaac Van Meter and his brother by warrant from the Governor of Virginia. John Lewis was the first white settler in Augusta County, and founded the town of
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Staunton. He married Margaret Lynn, a native of Ireland, whose father was the Laird of Loch Lynn, and a de- scendant of the chieftains of the once powerful clan of Lynns in the Scot- tish highlands. Four sons were born to them in Ireland,-Samuel, Thomas, Andrew and William,-and one in America-Charles-besides two daugh- ters, Margaret and Anne. In 1732 he settled near what is now Staun- ton, Virginia. There despite the wild conditions and the depredations of In- dians, he amassed a large fortune. In 1745 Augusta County was organized and John Lewis was appointed a mag- istrate. The first court house was erected at Staunton on the site of the present county clerk's office and the first court was held December 9. 1745. The descendants of John Lewis figured conspicuously during the Revolution and became important factors in coun- ty and State affairs. Col. William Lewis, a son of John Lewis, established a home at Sweet Springs, Monroe County, Virginia, now West Virginia; this ancesteral home was recently pur- chased by the subject of this sketch. It was one of the original land grants, and now includes 2,000 acres. It is a valuable property for either agri- cultural purposes or as a summer re- sort.
Charles Cameron Lewis was edu- cated in the public and high schools of Charleston and Hampden-Sidney Col- lege at Hampton Springs, Virginia, and later graduated from the Kanawha Military Institute. He became a civil engineer but before he had made much headway in his profession he accepted a position as treasurer of the Ka- nawha & Michigan Railway Com- pany, and continued with this company until the wholesale business of Lewis, Hubbard & Company was organized in 1880. He is also interested in the Payne Shoe Company, with head- quarters at Charleston. He is a man of great executive ability and is largely interested in coal lands and companies of West Virginia. He is president of the Greenbrier Grocery Company at Ronceverte; president of the Charles- ton Electrical Supply Company and in every way is a representative business citizen.
On September 9. 1898, Colonel Lewis was made inspector general of the West Virginia National Guards under Governor George W. Atkinson and he was very active in recruiting the ranks after the Spanish-American War had withdrawn so many mem- bers. Later he was promoted to the rank of brigade adjutant general with the rank of colonel. Colonel Lewis
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is a Republican in politics, but is no politician. He is a progressive and honorable business man and enjoys a large measure of the public esteem.
HON. W. R. BENNETT.
HON. W. R. BENNETT, judge of the Criminal Court of Fayette County, West Virginia, and one of the most prominent citizens of Montgom- ery, was born in Fayette County, August 7, 1864. He is a son of Thomas and Mary D. (Ryan) Ben- nett, the former of whom resides in Nisholas County and the latter of whom died in 1899.
The Bennett family is an old estab- lished one of Virginia, and there the grandfather, Elijah Bennett, was born.
He was one of the very early settlers in the western part of Old Dominion, now included in West Virginia, and died in Greenbrier County when his son Thomas was a boy.
Thomas Bennett was born in Greenbrier County and removed to Fayette County when about 30 years old. There he married Mary D. Ryan, who was a daughter of Col. William W. and Sally (Hundley) Ryan, both of whom were natives of Albermarle County, Virginia. Early in the "thirties," Colonel Ryan and his family started to move to Ohio, but after crossing the mountains they found such pleasant locations in Fay- ette County, that they decided to re- main there. Consequently Colonel Ryan bought a farm of 100 acres in the woods, near the Gauley River. There he built his house, worked in the summers on his land and taught the country school in the winters and became a successful and well known man. He was a great student and very familiar with the Bible. Both he and his wife were very consistant mem- bers of the Methodist Church, people admirable in life and character. Colonel Ryan died at the age of 85 and his wife a short time before, aged 84 years, both in Clay County. Only one of their family of 10 children still
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survives. Rev. E. W. Ryan, who is a presiding elder in the church at Ann Arbor, Michigan. Prior to removing thither, Rev. Mr. Ryan was very prominent both in church and public life, and was a member of the Consti- tutional Convention that adopted the State Constitution, before he was 21 years of age. The family has long been prominent and has always been opposed to slavery.
Judge Bennett is the fourth mem- ber of a family of 13 children born to his parents, six surviving. His father moved to Laurel Creek, Nicholas County, in 1868 when our subject was six years of age. Judge Bennett was reared on the farm and attended the common and high schools until the age of 18, when he was qualified to teach and as a teacher in Nicholas and Fay- ette counties he spent several years. At the age of 22 he married Anna Drennen, of Nicholas County, who died four years later, leaving two sons, -Romeo and Edward,-now aged re- spectively, 15 and 14 years. On May 4. 1897. Judge Bennett married Anna Kuhn, of Kanawha County, and they have children as follows: W. R., Jr., Mary Thelma, and Elijah Jacob.
Judge Bennett was 26 years of age when he turned his attention to the study of the law, and his reading was
done while occupied with farm duties. Steady application combined with natural ability and understanding en- abled him to prepare himself for ex- amination and this he successfully passed at Huntington, May 16, 1893, and on the same date he was admitted to the West Virginia bar. He then spent four months teaching, at Mont- gomery, suspending at the time of the Eagle riot, being then employed as counsel for the United Mine Workers of America and was their counsel un- til he went on the bench. Then he commenced his practice and soon came prominently into notice. On June 7, 1902 the United Mine Workers of America declared a strike. He had been their fair and impartial counsel- lor for some time and when he became a candidate for judge they cast their votes in favor of one they believed their friend and knew to be an honest man, and he not only was nominated for the judgeship but was elected by a large majority, although bitterly op- posed by the mountain corporations. His sympathies have always been with the laboring classes and he has many warm friends all through the Kana- wha and New River mining regions, and in the vicinity of his home.
Judge Bennett may be said to be a self-made man. When he removed 1
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to Montgomery 10 years ago, he was called upon to pit his legal ability against old and tried jurists,-gradu- ates of law universities. It has yet to be discovered when he was ever found lacking either in knowledge or judgment. When he gave up his private practice for the bench, it was bringing him an income of $3,000 per year. His course has met with general approval and it is safe to predict that higher honors await Judge Bennett. Fraternally he belongs to the Improved Order of Red Men. Religiously he is a Methodist.
C. H. TURNER, JR.
C. H. TURNER, JR., the junior member of the plumbing and steam- fitting business firm of C. H. Turner
& Company, of Clarksburg, West Vir- ginia, was born in Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia, December 10, 1874. He is a son of C. H. and Mar- garet (Williams) Turner.
C. H. Turner, Sr., is of English descent and was born in Albany. New York. His wife was born at Defiance,. Ohio. The family comprises five children, viz .: George, of Clarksburg ; Bertha, of Parkersburg; C. H., of this sketch; Coraline (Mrs. Charles Morgan,) of Parkersburg; and Cora, also of Parkersburg.
C. H. Turner, Jr., was reared in Parkersburg, where his father has con- ducted a plumbing and steam-fitting business for the past 30 years, and was educated in the public schools until the age of 16, when he entered Notre Dame University, Indiana, where he remained two years. In order to per- fect himself in mechanical engineer- ing, he then entered the University of West Virginia, at Morgantown, and upon completing the course went back to Parkersburg in 1897. In 1900 he- removed to Clarksburg and from that point manages the businessof the firm of C. H. Turner & Company, his father being the senior partner, and George Turner being bookkeeper. The business includes general contract- ing and plumbing and gas and steam-
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fitting and is located at 221 South Third street. This firm does the largest amount of business in their line, both in Clarksburg and the sur- rounding towns, being the best equip- ped in every way. The excellent work done for Broaddus College, and in the Goff building, the James flats, and the majority of the fine modern city residences testify to the excel- lence of their service, while other good examples are some of the best resi- (lences of Lumberport, and the sum- mer cottages at Mountain Lake Park. Mr. Turner has made many firm friends by his carefulness and prompt- ness in filling contracts and is one of the most enterprising young business men of the locality. Fraternally he belongs to the Elks.
C. M. BOGER, M. D., who since the fall of 1888 has been established in the practice of medicine at Parkersburg, was born in 1861, at Lebanon, Pennsyl- vania, and is a son of Prof. Cyrus Boger, who was then principal of the Lebanon High School.
Prof. Cyrus Boger was also born in Lebanon 69 years ago and has always been associated with the educational in- terests of Lebanon County, having been for 20 years superintendent of the
city schools and later county superin- tendent. With his wife he resides, re- tired from activity, in a pleasant home near the city of Lebanon. The mother of Dr. Boger was a daughter of Hugh Maxwell, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who was a prominent newspaper man, and the founder of the Marcell Intel- ligencer, a journal which was a power- ful supporter of James Buchanan, do- ing much to secure the latter's selection as minister to the Court of St. James, and substantially aiding him in his presidential campaign. Mr. Maxwell had great influence in his State although he did not seek preferment for himself. Professor Boger was an active anti- slavery man and served as a soldier dur- ing the Civil War. Until recently he has been an active supporter of the Re- publican party. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic. Dr. Boger is one of a family of. five chil- dren born to his parents, the other four being: William, who is superintendent of the Pennsylvania Steel Company's plant at Lebanon ; Charles, who con- ducts a drug store at Lebanon ; Henry, who is connected with the Pennsylvania Steel Company ; and Alice, who resides at home.
Dr. Boger's interest in medicine was first aroused in boyhood, when he be- came a clerk and student with the now
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retired drug firm of Bullock & Cren- shaw, of Philadelphia. In 1882 he graduated from the Philadelphia Col- lege of Pharmacy, and followed the drug business until he took up the study of medicine. In the spring of 1888 he graduated from Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia, set- tling in Parkersburg in the succeeding fall. There he has met with eminent
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