USA > West Virginia > Myers' history of West Virginia (1915) Volume II > Part 24
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left the State many years ago, and is now said to be still living in Philadelphia .- W. Va. Arch.
General David Hunter Strother.
Born at Martinsburg, Berkeley County, West Virginia. September 26. 1816; died at Charles Town, Jefferson County. was on the staff of General John Pope in 1862. Later. in 1865. he served as AAdjutant-General under Governor picture was sketched from life by Joseph H. Diss Debar. Later. in 1865, he served as Adjutant-General under Governor Pierpont when the seat of the Restored Government was re- moved from Alexandria to Richmond. Formerly, he was ar- tistic and literary contributor to "Harper's Monthly" under the nom-de-plume of "Port Crayon." His literary fame is almost world-wide.
Hon. John F. Lacy.
(From McEklowney's History of Wetzel County-1901.)
"John F. Lacy, representative in Congress from Sixth Iowa district, was born May 30. 1841, on the Williams farm. just above New Martinsville. Va. (now W. Va.). In 1855 he moved to Iowa, and has made his home in Mahaska County ever since. At the beginning of the Civil War. in May. 1861. he enlisted as a private in Company "H." Third Iowa Infantry ; afterwards made a corporal. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Blue Mills, Mo., in September, 1861, and was paroled with General Mulligan's command at Lexington, Mo .. soon after. The President issued an order for the discharge of all paroled prisoners, not then deeming it proper to recognize the Confederates by exchange. Mr. Lacy was discharged under this order. In 1862 an exchange of prisoners was agreed on. which released all discharged men from their parol. and Mr. Lacy at once re-enlisted as a private in Company "D." Thirty- third Iowa Infantry. He was soon promoted to the rank of sergeant-major of the regiment, and in May. 1863, was ap- pointed first lieutenant of Company "C." Colonel Samuel 1.
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Rice, of the Thirty-third Iowa, was made a brigadier-general, and Mr. Lacy was appointed by President Lincoln as assistant adjutant-general of volunteers on his staff. General Rice was killed at the battle of Jenkins Ferry, Ark., and Mr. Lacy was then assigned to the same position on the staff of Maj. Gen. Frederick Steele, in which capacity he served until his muster- out in September, 1865. He participated in the following battles : Blue Mills, Helena, Little Rock, Terre Noir, Elkin's Ford, Prairie d'Anne, Poison Springs, Jenkins Ferry, Siege of Mobile and storming of Blakeley. He was struck with a minie ball in the battle of Jenkins Ferry, but his poncho turned the ball aside and prevented any injury. His horse was killed under him by a shell in the battle of Prairie d'Anne.
"Major Lacy's advancement was continuous, and although he was only twenty-four years old at his discharge, he had in nearly four years' service done duty as a private, corporal, sergeant-major, adjutant-general of a brigade, adjutant-gen- eral of his division, adjutant-general of a corps, adjutant-gen- eral of General Steele's command (15,000 strong) in the Mo- bile campaign, and finally as adjutant-general of Steele's Army of Observation (of 42,000 men) on the Rio Grande.
"Mr. Lacy's education was obtained in the public schools and private academies. He was admitted to the bar in 1865. and has continually practiced law ever since, having enjoyed a very extensive practice in the State and Federal courts. He is the author of "Lacy's Railway Digest," which includes all the railway cases in the English language up to 1885; also author of "Lacy's Iowa Digest." He served in the Iowa Legislature in 1870, and afterwards as alderman and city so- licitor of Oskaloosa for a term cach.
"Notwithstanding his long service in Congress, he has retained his love for his profession, and kept up his connection with his law practice. He represented the Sixth Iowa district in the Fifty-first, Fifty-third, Fifty-fourth, Fifty-fifth and Fifty-sixth Congresses. He is now a member of the Fifty- ninth Congress. This district has long been a political battle ground, and Mr. Lacy has had a hard contest in each of the campaigns in which he has been engaged. His opponents were General Weaver, Mr. White, Mr. Taylor and Mr. Stock.
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in these various campaigns. Mr. Lacy has always preferred to be known through his chosen profession, rather than as a politician.
"An old and eminent member of the State bar and one of Mr. Lacy's most intimate professional associates, submits this estimate of his character :
"'As a lawyer, Mr. Lacy casily ranks among the leading lawyers of the State. His greatest success in life has been at the bar, and he still holds a good practice, although for ten years a member of Congress. llis success has been attained largely by his indomitable energy and industry. He is par- ticularly strong as a trial lawyer, being full of resources. When driven from one position he will seize another so quick- ly and support it by such ready reference to authorities, that he frequently bewilders his opponents and wins out on a new line, which seems to come to him by intuition as the trial pro- gresses. As an advocate to the jury, he is not severely logical, not confining himself strictly to a mere reference to the evi- dence, but takes a wider range, and by illustrations drawn from literature or history, he retains the interest of the jury. while at the same time emphasizing some feature of the case.'
"Major Lacy is one of the Wetzel County boys who went west to grow up with the country. His father, John M. Lacy, was one of the first settlers of New Martinsville. He came to the town when it became the county seat and built the house now owned by Mr. McCaskey. immediately east of the court house. Major Lacy and Philip G. Bier both filled positions as assistant generals of volunteers. They were in the same class at school at New Martinsville when little boys.
"Mr. Lacy's mother was Eleanor Patten, daughter of Isaac Patten, of Captine Creek. Belmont County, Ohio. She is held in pleasant memory by the old settlers. Major Lacy's parents both died in Iowa.
"Robert W. Lacy. an uncle of John F., formerly lived in New Martinsville. He died in Pasadena. California, a few years ago. His widow is the sister of Mrs. Dr. Young, of New Martinsville.
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"Mr. Lacy, in 1865, married Miss Martha Newell, of Oska- loosa. They have two daughters living, Eleanor, who is the wife of James B. Brewster, of San Francisco, and Bernice, who is now a young lady."
Note: Mr. Lacy was re-elected to Congress from Iowa, in 1912, and died while serving the people in early 1913.
Virgil Anson Lewis.
The author is indebted to Mr. G. A. Bolden, State Ar- chivist, for the following article on the life of Hon. Virgil A. Lewis, deceased :
Virgil Anson Lewis, who was one of West Virginia's dis- tinguished men of letters and occupied the honorable office of state archivist and historian for seven and a-half years, was born near West Columbia, Mason County, West Virginia, July 6, 1848, and died December 5, 1912. He was a son of George W. and Lucy (Edwards) Lewis.
Liberally educated, Mr. Lewis received his A. M. degrec in 1893, from the West Virginia University, earlier in life hav- ing prepared for the practice of law, being admitted to the bar in 1879. His tastes, however, led him into the wide field of literature and for many years his name has been a familiar and honorable one in educational and journalistic circles.
In boyhood he worked in a printing office and his ambi- tion to own a paper of his own was partially satisfied when he became financially interested in the West Virginia Monitor.
In 1892 he founded the Southern Historical Magazine, at Charleston, and from 1893-97 was the editor and publisher of the West Virginia School Journal, and during the same period was State Superintendent of Schools. Mr. Lewis has been honored by his section and State on many occasions, his learning and scholarship and his high standing as a man and citizen receiving generous recognition. In 1892 he was sent as a delegate to the Southern States Industrial Congress, held at Ashville, North Carolina ; was a member of the State Board of Public Works in West Virginia from 1893 until 1897, and was a member and Secretary of the West Virginia Commis- sion to the Jamestown Exposition in 1907. In 1890 he organ-
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ized the West Virginia Historical and Antiquarian Society. and he was a member of the Southern Educational Associa- tion, the National Geographical Society, the Mississippi Val- ley Historical Society and the Ohio Valley Historical Society.
Recognizing the value of books as educational tools, Mr. Lewis devoted a part of his time to the writing of volumes which are accurate historical annals and they find a place not only in every complete library, but with the records of his- torical societies everywhere. In 1889 he issued a History of West Virginia ; in 1891, the Life and Times of Ann Bailey. the Pioneer Heroine of the Great Kanawha Valley: in 1896. a Graded Course of Study for Country and Village Schools : in 1903, the Story of the Louisiana Purchase: in 1904, Early Educators of West Virginia: in 1905, Civil Government in West Virginia : and in 1909. History of the Battle of Point Pleasant.
This list does not include a vast collection of valuable reports containing accurate data on historical matter pertain- ing to the United States, and in particular to West Virginia.
On October 31st, 1886. Mr. Lewis was married to Miss Elizabeth Stone. lle was interested in the leading fraternal bodies, being a Mason, a Knight Templar, and a member of the Lodge of Perfection of the Scottish Rite: was a member of the Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows and a Past Grand Chan- cellor of the Knights of Pythias. He was a member for two terms of the Board of Directors of the Knights of Pythias Orphans' Home.
Robert McEldowney : A Sketch of His Life and Public Service
By Frank Wells Clark, New Martinsville. W. Va.
Robert McEldowney was born near New Martinsville. West Virginia. November 6th. 1837. and died in his native town on the 27th day of August, 1900. His boyhood days were passed in working upon the home farm and in attending the subscription schools of those days. He prepared for college at the Moundsville Academy, and was in the midst of his course at Marietta College at the beginning of the Civil War.
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In my county traditions of those early days have been handed down, and one oft hears of the jolly good times in which young Bob McEldowney was a prominent figure ; his unfailing good humor and overflowing vitality making him a leader then as always.
Knowing with what eager interest and attention he has to the end watched every changing phase of the political kaleidoscope, we can imagine how the boy, already in every- thing giving promise of the coming man, followed the stirring events out of which grew the War of the Rebellion-those days when Douglas and Lincoln and Greeley and Brecken- ridge and Seward and other Titans filled the public eye. When the Mother of Presidents decided to follow her sister States of the South, Robert McEldowney left his books and went to the front with the Shriver Grays, a company organ- ized in the northwestern counties of Western Virginia, which subsequently became Company G of the 27th Virginia In- fantry Regiment, and a part of the immortal Stonewall Brigade.
Private McEldowney received his first promotion only a few months after enlistment, and was commissioned first lieu- tenant early in 1862, receiving his commission as captain in 1863, when twenty-six years of age. Though he served in this capacity during the remainder of the war, yet he has not in- appropriately been called colonel, inasmuch as he frequently commanded his regiment on the field of battle during the last two years of the war.
He fought through the war, and no man saw more arduous service. He was with Jackson in the Bath-Romney expedition. He and his company were part of the famous foot cavalry of the Valley campaign, and were with the man of mystery and action at Kearnstown, McDowell, Front Royal, Winchester, and Port Republic. Of the little company of West Virginians a letter written on the field after the opening battle of this extraordinary campaign says: "The Shriver Grays, a gallant handful of exiles from Wheeling, only thirty strong, were thrown out as skirmishers to feel the enemy, and it took three regiments of Yankees to drive them back."
Afterwards he was before Richmond, in the army oppos-
-
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ing Mcclellan, at Gaines' Mill, White Oak Swamp, and Malvern Hill. He was at Cedar Mountain, and was severely wounded at the battle of Second Manassas. Wounded as he was, he led his company at Chantilly, but was for a time thereafter entirely disabled; rejoining his command in time to participate in the battle of Sharpsburg. He fought under Jackson at Fredericksburg, and was on the field of Chancel- lorsville, where the right arm of the Confederacy was laid low by the bullets of his own men. Under Ewell he was at Winchester, and took part in the invasion of the Keystone State. On the bloody field of Gettysburg, where was decided the issue of the four years' contest, he was again wounded : but was again in service the fall of 1863 at Mine Run. In 1804 he was in the army operating against Grant, being again slightly wounded in the battle of the Wilderness. After par- ticipating in the struggles at Spottsylvania Court House and Bethesda Church, he returned to the Valley, under Terry, and assisted in driving the Union forces from Lynchburg, and was a member of the Early expedition against Washington, which caused so much excitement at the National Capital.
Again at Winchester, at Fisher's Hill, at Cedar Creek. and at Hatcher's Run he was with his regiment, and was one of the band of heroes who attempted the capture of Fort Steadman, on March 25th, 1865. Here he was wounded in the leg, and was incapacitated for duty during the remaining days of the struggle.
In June. 1865, he was paroled, and returned from the hospital at Richmond to his home on the banks of the Ohio. He must have been an ideal soldier, and we know that he returned to his home a strong, robust man, unharmed by the temptations of army life, to which so many brilliant young men succumb.
Ilis next training was a business one. For three years he was in Philadelphia, employed as a bookkeeper by a promi- nent wholesale house. Returning to West Virginia, he offi- ciated as ticket agent of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Com- pany, at Wheeling, until 1872, when he again located in New- Martinsville, there to reside until his death. For a time he was employed by his brother, John C. McEldowney, who was
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then clerk of both the circuit courts of Wetzel County, leav- ing this work in a short time to take up the practice of his chosen profession-the law.
In 1874 he represented his county in the State Legislature. About 1879 he became the editor of the Wetzel Democrat. In 1884 he was married to Miss Anna L. Smith, of Pittsburgh, Pa., his wife and Geraldine, their only child, surviving him.
He was a brave soldier to the last, for, surely, never did the King of Terrors vanquish a more heroic soul. With his tongue partly gone, unable to talk without great pain, able to take only liquid food-his indomitable spirit was yet uncon- quered ; and every week, all over the commonwealth, men and women read his paragraphs and verses-read and wondered- read with tears in their eyes and a sharp pain piercing their hearts. All this, perhaps, comes home more to me than to some of you, for ever before me is a vivid picture of the cir- cumstances under which those lines were penned. How vivid, too, is the picture of those evenings when he received his friends, sitting in his arm chair, holding pencilled conver- sations with them: and of those nights of agony when he uncomplainingly struggled with the demon of pain during the long night watches, and the grateful pressure of the hand when morning came. Even during all this, as some one has well said, his writings were eloquent and cheerful-never more so.
Robert McEldowney was a many-sided man ; one of the most remarkable of West Virginians. This extended to his personal appearance, as he was of commanding stature and magnificent carriage-the observed of all observers wherever he went.
He was a man of wide information. He had read much. He had traveled extensively over our own country and was ever a keen student of human nature. He was a master both of pathos and humor.
He was, at best, an orator. He was, however, a purely extemporaneous speaker, and all things had to be propitious in order that he should do himself full justice. During his young days he was the beau ideal of the ladies, and in society he was always in demand.
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Hle was popular with the masses of the people, and might have achieved high political honors. It is the opinion of many politicians that he could easily have secured the Democratic nomination for Congressman in his district at any time during the last fifteen years ; but when approached on the subject he invariably discouraged the idea.
AAs an attorney he had a most active practice, covering all branches of the law. He was well grounded in the funda- mental principles of the law. Though cautious in counsel, he was pugnacious in fighting his cases when once his bear- ings had been taken. He did not love the grind and drudgery which are the cost of scaling to the heights of the legal pro- fession ; but he was faithful to his clients, and under the pressure of emergency, during the trial of cases, his work was at times brilliant.
He would, undoubtedly, have attained higher success in the law, had he not carried along with it the labor of another equally exacting profession. For twenty years he edited the Wetzel Democrat, and his brilliant, incisive, witty paragraphs made his name a houschold word throughout the State. It is not too much to say that he was the pride of the newspaper fraternity of West Virginia. Had he removed to a city his paragraphs would almost certainly have attracted national attention.
Permit me in conchision to quote two poems of Colonel McEldowney's which. I believe, have never been published. The first. entitled "The Soldier's Rest," was written in 1864:
"A soldier's rest! "Tis a fancied thing ; 'Tis a dreamful sleep on a fitful wing ; A butterfly's touch ou a faded flower ; A moment of sighs in a weary hour : A rainbow in the morning sky, Which fades to tell of the storm that's nigh.
A soldier's rest! 'Tis a rest unknown, From the torrid clime to the frigid zonc.
"A soldier's rest! When the strife is done, When the battle's lost and the victory's won.
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His face upturned to the starless sky, And the light gone out from his staring eye, Look on that brow-late worn by care: No passion's soul is imaged there ; For ah! in death there's naught to prove Of hope or hate, or fear or love.
. .
"A sod no mourner's foot hath prest In a silent wood is the soldier's rest : A rest through the long and lonely years, In a spot unblest by a mother's tears ; No sculptured stone there marks his bed, No sister's rose blooms o'er his head. He sleeps alone ! alone is blest, 'Tis Heaven's to mark the soldier's rest."
The following beautiful lines were written in 1800:
"For thy love all day I'm sighing Like a child For some hidden treasure sighing ; Far and wild Doth my wandering spirit rove. But to love Only thee All my soul in thus agreeing, Thou 'rt the most delightful being That the blessed sense of seeing Gives to me.
"When the shades of night are round me, Dearest love ! When the spell of sleep hath bound me, Like a dove Doth my winged spirit fly . To the sky, Dearest love ! Where my soul's ideal dwells, Where the heavenly music swells. And where love's pure fountain wells, Far above !
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"There on angel wings to meet ine With a kiss ! Thou dost come and fondly greet me, Oh, what bliss Doth my raptured spirit feel, As I kneel .It thy feet ! Round me holy lights are gleaming,
In this blest celestial seeming, Thus, if life were spent in dreaming, It were sweet!"
Presley Martin.
The subject of this sketch was born on Little Fishing Creek, about seven miles east of New Martinsville, Tyler County, Virginia, now Wetzel County, West Virginia, June 22, 1838; was married to Miss Phoebe Clark, daughter of Ebenezer Clark, May 3rd, 1860. They had five children- three sons and two daughters-three of whom are still living. His father, Benjamin Martin, was born at the mouth of Little Buffalo, on Middle Island Creek, in what is now Tyler County. W. Va., in the year 1802, but grew up in the neighborhood of the "Flats", on Grave Creek, in what is now Marshall County. About the year 1828 he was married to Miss Rebecca Jolliffe. who was born at the mouth of Little Paw Paw (in what is now Marion County), about the year 1806. Miss Jolliffe's mother's maiden name was Prickett, she being related to the Pricketts of Prickett's Fort fame, mention of which is made elsewhere in this book. Miss Martin's mother that is Presley Martin's grandmother Prickett-was a cousin to Betsey Dragoo, who was captured by the Indians near Prickett's Fort, in Monongalia County, and killed by her savage captors at the mouth of what has since been called Betsey's Run, on the North Fork of Fishing Creek, in Grant District, Wetzel County. (See story of Dragoos.)
Rebecca Jolliffe, when about ten years old, accompanied her parents. James and Drusilla Jolliffe, when they moved to the North Fork of Fishing Creek. A few years later Benjamin Martin, while carrying the United States mail from the mouth of Fishing Creek to Kingwood, became acquainted with Miss
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Jolliffe and ere long they were married, as above stated. The house in which they were married still stands.
Presley Martin's grandfather, John Martin, was born in New Jersey, and while a small lad, came with his parents to where Wheeling now stands. It is said that John Martin's father-Presley's great grandfather-was the first blacksmith to open shop in the town of Wheeling.
The foregoing information is given the writer by Presley Martin in a letter dated January 19, 1913, which closes with the following narrative :
"My grandfather, John Martin, while yet a very young man, took a scout with Lew Wetzel down the Ohio River- supposed to be just below the mouth of Proctor Creek. While Wetzel was making his circle -- as he always did before striking camp-to see if there were any signs of 'Red Skins' (as they always called the Indians). and about the time Wetzel rounded into the center, a big 'coon jumped up against a tree and young Martin killed it. While they were feeling it and talking about how fat it was, and what a fine mess they would have. Wetzel sprang up, with gun in hand, as though he had been told, and said, 'Indians, Martin!', and took another circuit and found Indian tracks. Wetzel said, 'Now what will we do-fight or go to the Fort?' (where Wheeling now is). After consultation, he thought best to make for the Fort, as he thought young Martin too young to risk a fight. When they came to what is supposed to be Proctor Creek, Wetzel took a run and cleared the creek-a jump of about twenty feet-while Martin had to swim. Grandfather said afterwards. in relating this incident, that he never before nor since had such a lively night's travel!"
At this writing, Mr. Presley Martin is a hale, hearty, well-preserved man of seventy-five. He is now residing with one of his daughters in New Martinsville. There is not a more highly respected or more widely known citizen in Wetzel County than our "Uncle" Presley.
Politically, he is an uncompromising Democrat, but has never aspired to political honors, being satisfied to look after his agricultural interests, in which occupation he proved very successful.
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S. R. Martin.
Upon the writer's request, Mr. Martin has favored the former with his autobiography.
Mr. Samuel R. Martin is among the leading citizens of Wetzel County, as were his father and grandfather before him. The Martins were among the early pioneers of Monongalia and Wetzel Counties and were foremost in the development of this section of the State, and none have been more worthy of the high esteem in which they have been held.
At the advanced age of 83 years, Mr. Martin is still a well-preserved man, with erect carriage and active step, pre- senting the appearance of one much younger. He is presi- dent of the New Martinsville Bank and helped to make that institution one of the leading concerns of its kind in the State.
Mr. Martin's letter follows:
"I was born on the 6th of October, 1830, near what is now New Martinsville, W. Va. ; was married on October 5th, 1854, to Miss Caroline Riggs, of Moundsville. In the spring of 1855 moved to Pike County, Mo., where we remained until March. 1865. when we returned to West Virginia and have resided in New Martinsville until the present time. My father, B. F. Martin, was born on January 4th. 1805, near Morgantown, and moved with his father ( Presley Martin), when only eight years old, to the mouth of Fishing Creek, in the year 1813. My father grew up, married, lived and died on the farm lying immediately north of what is now known as North Street in the town of New Martinsville. His death occurred on February 4th, 1882.
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