USA > West Virginia > Men of West Virginia Volume II > Part 8
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Samuel C. Burdett was educated in the public schools of Ohio, and learned the trade of painter and decorator and followed the craft until 1880. In the meantime he had prepared himself for entrance to the bar and was admitted in West Virginia. He removed to Charleston, Kanawha County, in No- vember, 1870, where he has resided ever since. He has made a success in his profession and the able manner in
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which he has handled noted cases and his thorough comprehension of crim- inal law has given him a reputation and a business which reaches over the State. Thus his election as prosecut- ing attorney for Kanawha County, West Virginia, in 1884, was most ju- dicious and he held the position until 1889, having previously been assistant prosecutor, from 1883 to 1885. In June, 1889, he was appointed assistant United States district attorney, under President Harrison's administration, and served four years until the change of administration. Upon the election of the late beloved President McKin- ley, he was re-appointed to the office, but in 1900 resigned it in order to con- fine his attention to an absorbing pri- vate practice.
Mr. Burdett has always been act- ively interested in politics and is stanch in his adherence to the principles of the Republican party. He has "stumped" the State during every po- litical campaign for the last 20 years, and, as he is a clear, forcible and log- ical speaker, is of the greatest service to his party, being known as the "Lit- tle Giant of Kanawha."
Mr. Burdett was married, first, to Miss Taylor of Louisiana and eight children were born to them. His sec- ond marriage was to Miss Cunning-
ham, who was born in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, and two chil- dren were born to this marriage.
WILLIAM McGARVIN.
WILLIAM McGARVIN, propri- etor of the Jacksonburg Drug Store, the only establishment of its kind at Jacksonburg, Wetzel County, West Virginia, was born August 26, 1838, at Chatham, Ontario, Canada, and is a son of John and Susan (Huston) McGarvin, an old agricultural family. The McGarvins have been residents of the Dominion for generations. Both parents lived to advanced ages, the fa- ther dying at the age of 95 years and the mother at 92. Of their seven chil- dren, six survive.
William McGarvin was reared and educated in Canada, and there learned
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the carpenter trade, which he later fol- lowed at Detroit, Michigan, for one year. In 1862 he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, engaging in work at his trade, later spent six months at Steubenville, and then went to Parkersburg, West Virginia, becoming interested in oil production. He has visited all the oil centers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia, and has made and lost fortunes in many places. In 1900 Mr. McGarvin settled in Jacksonburg, Wetzel County, West Virginia, since which time he has been engaged in the drug business, having at the present time a monopoly. He carries a full line of prescription drugs, patent med- icines, toilet and fancy articles, and meets with very satisfactory encour- agement in the prosecution of his busi- ness.
In 1871 Mr. McGarvin was united in marriage with Elizabeth Truman, a na- tive of Spencer, West Virginia, and two children were born to this union : Lillie M., wife of James L. Cade, of Mannington, West Virginia; and William E., of Kentucky. In politics Mr. McGarvin is a Republican. Fratern- ally he is an Odd Fellow. Mr. Mc- Garvin is a highly esteemed citizen, in- terested in the advancement of his sec- tion and a strong advocate of temper- ance.
F. S. THOMAS, M. D.
F. S. THOMAS, M. D., one of the most prominent physicians and sur- geons of Southwestern West Virginia, proprietor and physician in chief of the Thomas Private Hospital, at Charles- ton, was born in August, 1850, near Sissonville, West Virginia. He is a son of George D. and Sarah (Jones) Thomas, the former of whom was born in Virginia and the latter in the District of Columbia, the latter still surviving in Roane County, West Vir- ginia, at the age of 96 years.
Dr. Thomas received his primary education in private and select schools, where he was prepared for entrance to Marshall College. His medical read-
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ing was pursued with Dr. T. P. Car- penter, of Poca, West Virginia, and he graduated from the medical depart- ment of the University of Maryland in 1878. This was supplemented with study. experience and graduation, at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, in 1887. Since that time, for the past 15 years, he has taken post-graduate courses annually, both in Baltimore and New York, on the the- ory that this is the only true way for a physician and surgeon to keep abreast of the times, and to thoroughly absorb modern methods and discoveries. Dr. Thomas is a self-made man in every sense that the term implies, and it has been through his own perseverance and the exercise of an iron will that he has risen to his eminent position among the professional men of the State of West Virginia. He is re- garded with respect and esteem and is one of the truly substantial and rep- resentative citizens of Charleston.
In 1878, Dr. Thomas located at Malden. West Virginia, where he was successfully engaged in the work of his chosen profession for a number of years. In 1884 he began practice at Charleston where he was also inter- ested in a drug business, in partnership with Mr. Potterfield, the firm style be- ing Thomas & Potterfield. In 1902 Dr.
Thomas sold his interest to his partner, who still conducts a flourishing busi- ness, the firm by honest dealing hav- ing won the confidence of the public. Dr. Thomas has become one of the leading citizens and is identified with a number of the most important and suc- cessful business enterprises. He is president of the Charleston Ice & Coal Company, is a stockholder in the Charleston National Bank, and is also interested in coal mining operations. Perhaps, though, he is more widely known as the proprietor of the Thomas Private Hospital of Charleston, a no- ble institution in which the residents of that city take a just pride. The beautiful hospital building is an orna- ment to the city, while the institution's aims are of the noblest. The building was erected by the city during 1896-97, at a cost of $30,000, and is under lease to Dr. Thomas, who with a large staff of consulting physicians and surgeons conducts an institution of incalculable value to Southwestern West Virginia. Its scope is broad and its equipment complete. Dr. Thomas has a reputa- tion in the profession second to none in the State, and he has gathered about him specialists on every disease to which poor human flesh is heir. The hospital on account of its healthful and beautiful surroundings, and its most
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excellent management, provides not only for the dangerous sick, but also for those who seek rest and restoration from the strain of either business or so- cial life.
In 1879 Dr. Thomas married Ruth Lee Putney, who is a daughter of Dr. James Putney, of Malden, West Virginia, and a descendant of the old Putney and Ruffner families of Vir- ginia. Two children have been born to this marriage, James P. and Ruth M. In religious belief the family are Presbyterians. Dr. Thomas belongs to the Kanawha County Medical Society, and also the American Medical Asso- ciation.
DAVID BELL, an old and highly respected resident of Wheeling, is a member of the firm of Joseph Bell & Company, which deals in stoves. This is one of the reliable old business houses of the city, and has an established trade. Mr. Bell was born in Wheeling, Vir- ginia, now West Virginia, March 31, 1818, and is a son of Thomas Bell.
Thomas Bell was born in England and came to the United States when a young man. He was a seaman for many years, and after locating at Wheeling at an early day was engaged in boat building until his death, in 1833. He married, in England, Miss
M. Godfrey, a native of that country, and they had two sons,-Joseph, a prominent business man, of Wheeling ; and David.
David Bell had limited educational advantages, having attended school only up to his 12th year. He worked for Mr. Sweeney in the glass manufac- turing business for a period of 20 years, and in 1862 enlisted in the 11th Reg., West Virginia Vol. Inf., of which he was a commissioned officer. He saw hard service throughout the war, and established a good record as a soldier. After the close of the war, he returned to Wheeling, and under the firm name of Joseph Bell & Company engaged in the stove business, which he has con- tinued up to the present time. He is possessed of unusual business ability, and the same sagacity and keenness characterize his transactions, as in his younger days. He is well known to the residents of Wheeling, and enjoys the universal good-will of his fellow men. He is one of the oldest native born inhabitants of Ohio County.
In 1844, Mr. Bell was joined in wedlock with Mary Mosslander, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania, in 1821, and is now living. They reared four children, as follows: Jo- seph G .; Mary M .; Susan W .; and George T. Politically, Mr. Bell is a
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stanch supporter of the Republican par- ty. He is a member of the Franklin Lodge, No. 3, I. O. O. F., and is the oldest member of that order in West Virginia, having been an Odd Fellow for more than 63 years.
J. L. STUMP, M. D.
J. L. STUMP, M. D .- Charles- ton, West Virginia, is notable in many directions and one of these is that it is the home of a number of medical practitioners of skill and experience. A prominent physician and surgeon of that city is Dr. J. L. Stump, a native of the State, born at Steer Creek, Gil- mer County, May 19, 1852. He is a son of Rev. John and Mahala ( Huff- man) Stump.
The Stump family is of German origin. Dr. Stump's great-grand-fa- ther, Michael Stump, came to America and took part in the Revolutionary War, after its close settling in Gilmer County, Virginia, about 1799. Mich- ael Stump and his father-the great- great-grandfather of our subject, were with Washington on the memorable occasion of the crossing of the Dela- ware when the Hessian troops were surprised and captured and indications are that both were trusted and loyal soldiers. Records show that Michael Stump's son Michael-our subject's grandfather,-was a guest of General Washington, at Mount Vernon, in 1798 and took part in a fox hunt there. The elder Michael Stump entered thou- sands of acres of land in Virginia. Both he and his son Michael were sur- veyors and many of the old surveys made by them can be found among the records of that time. Michael Stump was accompanied across the mountains from the East to what is now West Virginia by two brothers,-George who settled in Marshall County, Vir- ginia, now West Virginia, and John, who settled in Kentucky. The grand- mother of Dr. Stump was a member of the old German Busch family and she became the mother of these chil- dren : George W., Jacob, Absalom, Eli,
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Henry, John, Martin, Alfred, Elliot, Archibald, Cynthia, Simon, Matilda and Margaret. The family all belonged to the Baptist Church. The grand- mother died at the age of 43 years and the grandfather married a second time. His death took place in 1884, at the age of 96 years.
Rev. John Stump, father of Dr. Stump, was born in Gilmer County, Virginia, now West Virginia. Al- though a man of meager book educa- tion, he became a power in the Baptist Church and through natural ability and extensive reading rose to a position as one of the mose intellectual men of his locality. Early in life he turned his at- tention to theology and as he was a gifted orator he was called upon dur- ing a long life to fill many of the lead- ing pulpits in the Baptist Church. For a long period he taught private schools and after the adoption of the public school system taught one term, but the greater part of his life was devoted to his ministerial and pastoral duties. His last days were spent in Kanawha County as pastor of the Virginia Avenue Baptist Church of West Charleston. His death took place in 1898, when he was 20 days over his 75th year. His wife, Mahala Huff- man, the mother of Dr. Stump, was
born in Barbour County, Virginia, now West Virginia, and died in 1889, aged 69 years. His second wife, Mrs. Hawthorne, died in 1901. His chil- dren were all the fruits of the first marriage, as follows: Albert H .; Su- sanna, deceased, who was the wife of E. J. james; M. J. ; Mandeville B., a Baptist minister of Normantown, Gil- mer County, West Virginia ; Dr. J. L., of this sketch; Florinda W., wife of Rev. William Burns; Anna H., wife of Dr. W. W. Chenewith; Dr. L. J. of Pocahontas, Virginia; and Belinda R. (Fetty).
Dr. J. I .. Stump was primarily edu- cated in schools over which his father had charge up to 1867. He attended the public schools of the newly adopted system during the winters of 1868 and 1869. He then engaged in teaching but in 1873 entered into a mercantile business, which he conducted until 1880. He began the study of medicine in 1876 under Drs. W. P. Ewing and Comstock, of Charleston, West Vir- ginia, and in 1878 and 1879 he attend- ed lectures at the Virginia Medical Col- lege. He engaged in practice after this course of lectures and in 1887 returned to the same institution, at Richmond, Virginia, and there his degree of M. D. was conferred upon him in 1888.
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Dr. Stump then settled at Charleston where he has ever since been success- fully practicing medicine and surgery and also building up a reputation as a public spirited and progressive citizen.
Although Dr. Stump takes only a good citizen's interest in politics, he was elected mayor of Elk City, when that part of Charleston was under its own charter and municipal govern- ment. His support is given the Repub- lican party. Under President Harri- son, he was appointed a member of the board of United States pension exam- iners, and at present is the very efficient member of the City Council from the Sixth Ward. He has long been prom- inent in Masonry and belongs to Ka- nawha Lodge, No. 20, A. F. & A. M .; Tyrean Chapter, No. 13, R. A. M .; Kanawha Commandery, No. 4, K. T .; and Beni-Kedem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S.,-all of Charleston. He belongs also to Glen Elk Lodge, No. 95, I. O. O. F.
In 1875 Dr. Stump was united in marriage with Margaret E. Copen- haver, who is a daughter of J. T. Copenhaver, of Kanawha County. Two children were born to Dr. and Mrs. Stump, namely : Charles W., an attorney-at-law, of Charleston, West Virginia ; and Erra D.
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WILLIAM HOLMES YEAKLEY.
WILLIAM HOLMES YEAK- LEY, M. D., a prominent medical practitioner of Tucker County, West Virginia, who has been a resident of Davis since 1902, was born May 14, 1874, in Frederick County, Virginia, and is a son of Martin F. and Martha A. (Hodgson) Yeakley, both of whom were also natives of Frederick County.
Martin F. Yeakley is a prosperous farmer living near Winchester, Vir- ginia. He is 69 years of age and is a survivor of the Civil War, in which he served in the 27th Regiment, Virginia Cavalry, from 1862 until the close of hostilities,-during seven months of this period he was confined as a prisoner of war. In politics he is a Democrat. Mrs. Yeakley was born 62 years ago in the vicinity of her present home.
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Both she and husband are members of the Lutheran Church. They reared a family of three children, viz .: Will- iam Holmes, our subject ; George F., a farmer; and Catherine E.
Dr. Yeakley was educated in the common schools of Frederick County and the Winchester High School, from which he graduated in 1889. From 1891 to 1893 he was a student at the Shenandoah Valley Academy, and then took a course at the Lebanon (Ohio) Normal School, during 1894- 95-96. Dr. Yeakley had thus a very solid education as a foundation for his medical training which he obtained at the University College of Medicine at Richmond, Virginia, which he entered in the fall of 1896, and from which he graduated in May, 1899, in medicine and surgery. Dr. Yeakley began the practice of his profession at Gaines- boro, Frederick County, but a short time later, in July, 1899, was honored with an appointment as assistant phy- sician at the Western State Hospital for the Insane, at Staunton, Virginia, and remained there until June 1, 1902, when he resigned his position to locate at Davis, West Virginia, where he has been very successful in his practice. In the meantime he was elected by the board of directors of the University College of Medicine as assistant in-
structor in anatomy, but declined the honor in order to continue his work in the hospital.
Dr. Yeakley is an enterprising, edu- cated and wide-awake physician and keeps fully abreast of the times in his profession. He is a valued member of the Virginia State and the Augusta County (Virginia) medical societies, and is surgeon for the West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company.
THOMAS M. HOOD, A. M., M. D.
THOMAS M. HOOD, A. M., M. D., one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Clarksburg, Harrison County, West Virginia, comes of old and honorable ancestry. Dr. Hood was born April 20, 1853, in Monon- galia County, Virginia, now West Vir-
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ginia, and is a son of John S. and Maria M. (Smyth) Hood, the former of whom was born in Carmichaels, Greene County, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Hood, our subject's mother, still resides in the old home in Monongalia County, at the age of 77 years. She was born and was reared in what is now the State of West Virginia, and was a daughter of Hynson Smyth, who was a native of Delaware, and of English descent. He came to Virginia about 100 years ago and died at the age of 87 years. His wife, Catherine (Bowlby) Smyth, was a direct descendant of the Carhart fam- ily. one of the oldest in New York.
The father of Dr. Hood came to Virginia, now West Virginia, when a small boy. He was a grandson of Archie Hood, who emigrated from Scotland to Pennsylvania, accompanied by two sisters. Archie Hood married and settled in Western Pennsylvania and there his son John, the grandfa- ther of Dr. Hood, was born. J. S. Hood followed agricultural pursuits all his life, and died in June, 1901, at the age of 80 years.
Dr. Hood attended the country schools during his boyhood and then entered West Virginia University, where he graduated in 1877, with the degree of A. B., three years afterward receiving the degree of A. M. He en-
tered Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia and graduated there with his degree of M. D. in 1880. For the succeeding seven years he engaged in a general medical practice. In 1887, after taking a special course in the Polyclinic Hospital, New York, he was elected assistant physician of the West Virginia Hospital for the Insane at Weston, West Virginia, where he re- mained until his resignation of the position in 1895. The same year, after taking a special course in the Post- Graduate Hospital, New York, he opened an office in Weston for general practice. In 1897, he removed to Clarksburg, Harrison County, where he now enjoys a lucrative practice. Al- ways abreast in his profession, this last year he has taken a post-graduate course at the Eye and Ear Infirmary, New York.
Dr. Hood is a physician of high standing in his profession. He is president of the Harrison County Med- ical Society, and he is a member of the West Virginia State Medical So- ciety, and of the American Medical As- sociation, and occasionally contributes to medical literature.
In 1882 he married Dora Foreman of Harrison County, West Virginia, the only daughter of Edgar and Mary (Flemming) Foreman, the former of
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whom is deceased. The latter, who re- sides at Shinnston, Harrison County, is a daughter of Solomon Fleming, a member of one of the old and prom- inent families of the State. Dr. and Mrs. Hood have had four children : Mary M .. who died at the age of II months; Edgar F .; Robert C .; and Agnes F. Dr. Hood is fraternally con- nected with the I. O. O. F. He is an upright and reliable man and has met with deserved success in business and professional life.
JAMES B. MENAGER.
JAMES B. MENAGER, a prom- inent attorney-at-law, a leading mem- ber of the bar of West Virginia and a representative citizen of Charleston,
West Virginia, was born in Mason County, Virginia, now West Virginia, October 23, 1850, and is a son of Louis B. and Cornelia (Steenbergen) Men- gaer.
Louis B. Menager was of French parentage. His father, Claudius R. Menager, was one of the first settlers of Gallipolis, Ohio, coming to America and landing at Gallipolis on Sunday, October 17. 1790. He left France dur- ing the stormy and bloody period known as the French Revolution, de- parting from Paris shortly after the storming of the Bastile, which historical event Mary Bobin, who afterwards be- came his wife, witnessed, for she was then a resident of the French capital. The maternal grandfather of our sub- jest, Gen. Peter H. Steenbergen, was of Holland-Dutch ancestry and was an early settler in the Ohio Valley on the Virginia side, his paternal ancestor leaving a high official position in Hol- land to make a new home in America.
Although Grandfather Menager was a refugee and belonged to the French nobility, he became an industri- ous American citizen. He is thus spoken of by William G. Sibley, the author of the history of the five hun- dred French people, who composed this Gallipolis colony: "A high minded and honorable man was Claudi-
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115 R. Menager, merchant, baker, and entertainer of travelers, whose indus- try coupled with that of his wife, whose name was Mary Bobin, to whom he was married a month after the colony arrived, made him the rich- est man in the town and one of the most respected. The tenor of his life was even." His children were : Peter, Edward, Roman, Louis B. and a daughter, Mary Gabriella, who became the wife of Gen. Louis Newsom. In religious belief they were Roman Cath- olics, but all of their descendants are of the Protestant faith, mostly Pres- byterians.
Louis B. Menager, father of our subject, was educated at Athens (Ohio) University and was engaged in commercial and agricultural pur - suits through life. He took a prom- inent part in political movements and was identified with the Whig party, lending his voice and influence in sup- port of its doctrines. He was firm in his denunciation of secession. Though not a lawyer, Louis B. Menager was an eloquent speaker and a great debater. His speech against the Virginia Ordin- ance of Secession made at the Court House at Point Pleasant, Mason County, in opposition to such distin- guished lawyers as Henry I. Fisher and others is still remembered and car-
ried the people of that county with him. Mr. Menager died in June, 1870, leaving three children as the fruits of his union with Cornelia Steenbergen, namely : Ida, wife of Dr. L. F. Camp- bell; James B. and Julius L. He also left a daughter by a former marriage, -Maria M., who is the wife of Rev. George T. Lyle, a Presbyterian divine.
James B. Menager was educated in private schools and at Bethany College, and also attended Washington and Lee University during the last year that Gen. Robert E. Lee was its president. Following this, he taught school one year and then began the reading of the law with Hon. C. P. T. Moore, who was judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals, and on the 25th day of Feb- ruary, 1872, he was admitted to the bar in West Virginia. Until March, 1903, he practiced his profession at Point Pleasant, Mason County, and then removed to Charleston where he has many legal friends and interests, being attracted to the Capitol City by its growing prosperity and prospects for future greatness.
Mr. Menager has been a general practitioner of the law and is re- garded as a most able practitioner, as well as a clear, forcible and eloquent speaker. In 1880 he was elected prosecuting attorney of his na-
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tive county and served for four years with distinction to himself and honor to his county. He was a presidential elector on the Republican ticket of West Virginia in 1880, receiving the largest vote cast for the electors on the Garfield and Arthur ticket in West Virginia that year. Since the admin- istration of the late President Harri- son, Mr. Menager has been active in the Democratic party. His change of political association was not so much a change of political belief as merely one of association. Mr. Menager, who was a firm believer in the "quantita- tive theory of money" and with others sought to accomplish that end by the free coinage of silver, recognizes now, however, that practically the same re- sults have been reached by the pres- ent method of enlarging the volume of our currency.
On June 14, 1886, Mr. Menager married Fannie Sehon Pomeroy, who was born at Pomeroy, Ohio, a village founded by and named after her pa- ternal grandfather. Mrs. Menager died on Tuesday, September 30, 1902 ; her death occurred so close to the hour of midnight that there was a conflict of opinions as to whether she died Septem- ber 30th or October Ist. She left four children, Charles L., Sibyl C., Frances P. and Louis B. His wife was a lineal
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