USA > West Virginia > Prominent men of West Virginia: biographical sketches, the growth and advancement of the state, a compendium of returns of every election, a record of every state officer; > Part 17
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lutely appeared to have no sort of care whether he lived or died-whether he was to be starved or shot and be buried in some lone spot, unhonored and unknown, if by such tragic end his country might live on, and her constitution and laws be respected by every citizen beneath the flag.
' Let the world go 'round and 'round. And the sun sink into the sea ! For whether I'm on or under the ground, Oh, what will it matter to me ?"
This imprisonment tended to bring out his strongest traits of character ; he never flinched nor murmured, but waited upon his fate like a strong man. He was a great favorite among the prisoners before his solitary confinement began, and his selec- tion as a hostage for Major Armsey caused great feeling among them, as well as at his home, where he was so well known and a general favorite. As soon as the Federal Government had been notified that he would be shot if Armsey was executed, naturally his powerful friends made great effort to save his life. For weeks the decision hung in the balance a feather's weight would have turned, and he and his comrades were suffering not only the tortures of half-fed, closely confined prisoners of war, but a terrible uncertainty as to their fate, that was even worse than prison treatment. It was while being thus tried, as in a crucible, that he gave evidence of a strength of character as unexpected as it is rare in man. In a letter to President Lincoln in relation to his confinement, now on file in the war office, the following striking passage occurs, which may well find place in history, among the annals of great men, and of itself a warrant to honorable fame :
" If Major Armsey is guilty he should be executed, regard- less of its consequences to me. The life of a single soldier, no matter who he may be, should not stand in the way of adher- ence to a great principle."
When Major Goff was released from Libby Prison and returned within the Federal lines, he was immediately sent for by Secretary Stanton, the great war secretary, who accompanied him to President Lincoln. Both of these eminent men requested the young Major to give them a detailed statement of his sufferings and the general condition of the Federal prisoners of war in Libby Prison. He cheerfully complied. For quite awhile there had been a suspension of the exchange
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of prisoners. Major Goff"'s statements made such a marked impression upon the minds of the President and his Secretary of War that in a very short time a general exchange of prisoners was announced.
But a little time had elapsed after his return to his regiment when Major Armsey, for whom he had been held as hostage and exchanged, was again captured by the Union forces and was under guard at Clarksburg. The news had no sooner be- come known among the people and the soldiers of the town, that the one for whom Major Goff had so greatly suffered was in their power, than his life was in danger. Just at this time Major Goff happened to come down from Grafton to his home, and he at once stayed the fury of the citizens by saying to the angry crowd: "Let no friend of mine lay a hand upon this man ; he is entitled to our protection, as a prisoner of war." The act and these words, beyond all question, saved the life of Major Armsey, as the latter has many times testified. This incident in the life of the young soldier shows the inherent principles of justice that imbued his character while he was yet a boy; and he used, as he had need, all of his great personal popularity among his townsmen to save the prisoner's life. It is needless to give more evidence of his soldierly character than this, from the beginning to its end, it attests at once the bravery and generosity of the man; the two elements of char- acter that make the perfect soldier.
At the close of hostilities, Major Goff was made a Brevet Brigadier General for gallantry on the field of battle, and was among the youngest generals in the Union army-being only twenty-three years of age when he received his commission. In March, 1865, General Goff was honorably discharged from the volunteer service. He promptly entered the University of New York, and in two years graduated as a Bachelor of Laws. He immediately began the practice of law in the courts of West Virginia at his old home in Clarksburg.
His first office was a member of the House of Delegates of West Virginia, to which he was elected from Harrison county in 1867, and re-elected in 1868. The writer during the session of 1867 made the acquaintance of the young soldier for the first time. He was closely shaven then as now, was neatly dressed, and had an elegant declamatory style of speech. He
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frequently took part in the debates of the House and always made a favorable impression.
His next position of trust was that of U. S. District Attorney for the District of West Virginia, to which he was appointed by President Grant in August, 1869. He was at that time a mere novice in the law. Indeed, he had never tried an im- portant case in court. Somehow-he can scarcely account for it himself-he filled the office from the very first with great acceptability. He met the ablest lawyers in the State in im- portant cases, and never made a failure in the management of a cause. For thirteen years he filled this important trust, and left a record as a government solicitor equal to the very best of his brother District Attorneys.
January 6, 1880, General Goff was nominated by President Hayes, to the Senate of the United States to be Secretary of the Navy, and was immediately confirmed as such, in Executive Session, by that august body, January 7. He accepted the portfolio, and continued in President Hayes' Cabinet until the close of his administration.
General Goff has been many times before the people of West Virginia for official position, but it can be truthfully said that with but one exception, he was nominated not from his own seeking, but by the demands of the people. The exception re- ferred to was in 1870, when he was nominated for Congress, and in that contest was defeated. In 1872, he was again nominated for the same position, and again was defeated. In 1876 the Republican State Convention nominated him for Governor by acclamation after he had absolutely declined to accept, if nominated. He was literally forced into making the
contest. The history of that political campaign is one of the most noticeable in the record of American politics. For three months General Goff traveled over the entire State, often walk- ing miles over the mountains to speak to a handful of people; frequently driving an hundred and more miles into the moun- tain fastnesses to keep his engagements and to carry out the programme he had made to meet the people of every county in the State. His speeches were brilliant efforts, and drew the people around him to such an extent that he ran ahead of his ticket in every county, notwithstanding the proverbial preju- dices of the people toward the party he represented, and
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especially against a man who bore a musket in opposition to the Southern Confederacy. In that campaign, General Goff made for himself a national reputation as a debater and stump speaker.
In 1882, again against his will, General Goff was the nominee of the Republican party for Congress in the First District. His campaign was conducted in the most systematie manner, and notwithstanding the district had gone Democratic by a large majority at the preceding election, he was elected by a majority of 1,867. In 1884 he was again his party's candidate for the same position, and again he begged that another should bear the flag as nominee. Once more he was victorious, but by the small majority of 204. In 1886 he was drafted into the service another time, and increased his majority above eight hundred. This gave him six full years in Congress ; years that he used to the advantage of his country, his party and himself. His high order of talent, coupled with his vast knowledge of measures and men, gave him a prominent position in the House of Representatives. As a parliamentary orator, as a debater on an issue squarely joined, when the position had been chosen and the ground laid out, General Goff must be assigned a very high rank. There never was a time in his public life that he did not fully measure up to his party's expectations. He never fell short of fully satisfying his admirers and friends. In the House of Representatives as at the bar and on the hustings, he never failed to acquit himself with fresh laurels. Of such a Representative, well may the people be justly proud.
In 1888, the Republican State Convention held at Charleston, again nominated General Goff as its Gubernatorial standard- bearer. Bravely he insisted that he was no candidate, and did not want position, but coming to him by acclamation as this nomination came, when almost every county in the State was represented in the Convention, he felt that he dare not refuse. He entered upon an extended canvass which encompassed the State, meeting the ablest men in the Democratic party in joint debate, and making by odds the greatest canvass ever carried out in West Virginia. For weeks after the election, it was not known whether he or his opponent was successful, because of closeness of the contest. The final official announcement was given out that Nathan Goff's apparent plurality over A. B.
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Fleming, his Democratic opponent, was one hundred and ten. This was deeply gratifying to the gallant General's personal friends, because the same official announcement that gave him a small plurality, showed that the remainder of the Republican ticket was defeated in the State by an average majority of about five hundred.
The charge of illegal voting was made against the Republi- can party, and notice of contest by Judge Fleming was promptly served on General Goff. The Legislature, which under the law is the body before which a gubernatorial contest must be settled, convened in January, 1889. The Democrats had one of a ma- jority on joint ballot. Party lines were closely drawn. The Speaker of the House of Delegates refused to open and publish the returns of the election for Governor, claiming that it was not his duty to make such publication while a contest was pending. The Legislature, after sitting its statutory forty-five days, adjourned. The 4th of March came-the day upon which the law requires the Governor to begin his term of office. General Goff, claiming that he had been duly elected by a ma- jority of one hundred and ten votes, took the oath of office in the State House at Charleston and demanded of Governor Wil- son that the Governor's office should be delivered over to him. Governor Wilson refused to recognize General Goff as the legal Governor of the State, claiming that he himself should retain possession of the office until the Legislature decided which had been elected by the people-Goff or Fleming.
Hon. Robert S. Carr, President of the State Senate, who by virtue of his office is the de facto Lieutenant Governor of the State, set up a claim to the Governor's chair, maintaining that Governor Wilson's term of four years having expired at noon, March 4, he could therefore no longer claim to be Governor; and that inasmuch as the Speaker of the House, in the presence of a majority of both branches of the Legislature, had failed and refused to open and publish the returns for Governor, as required by the plain provisions of the Constitution, therefore General Goff could not, because of such disability, legally take possession of the office, consequently he as the ex-officio Governor should act as Governor de facto until the Legislature settled the pending contest between Goff and Fleming.
All three of the claimants of the Governor's office amicably 19
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agreed, in order to avoid bloodshed, to submit their cases to the Supreme Court of Appeals for adjudication. Each claimant appeared by counsel before the Court, and ably argued every feature of the law involved, and the Court in a very few days, decided that Governor Wilson should continue in office until the Goff-Fleming contest was settled by the Legislature.
Before adjournment, the Legislature appointed a committee of five members-three from the House and two from the Sen- ate-with instructions to examine with care all the evidences of fraud in the election of 1888, which might be presented to them by both Goff and Fleming; and it was understood that an extra session of the Legislature is to be called by the Gov- ernor when said committee is ready to report. The Legislature will then pass upon the committee's report, and the contest will be formally and legally decided.
In 1884 General Goff was elected chairman of the National Republican Congressional Executive Committee, and managed its affairs so successfully and satisfactorily that in 1888 he was unanimously re-elected to that responsible position. For ten or fifteen years past he has taken part in National campaigns, speaking in every portion of the country. He is almost con- stantly in demand to deliver addresses before clubs and associ- ations in many of the States of the Union.
General Goff has long been the idol of the Republican party in West Virginia. No man so fully represents its fighting forces as he. Besides he is one of the brainiest men of his years in the entire country. He is to the manor born-a Virginian in whom there is no guile. No man in all my acquaintance knows better or as well the peculiar idiosyncracies of the peo- ple, and how best to place an audience, however large, under his complete control. In the argument of a case before a jury, he possesses the peculiar faculty of reading the mind of each juror and knowing in advance how he will decide. This is a rare faculty, and has assisted him greatly in the practice of his profession. While he is well up in all branches of the law, he is per se a jury lawyer. His success in that line of practice has been phenomenal.
He is a man of much magnetism, and possesses stability of character, strong convictions, and is unswerving in the path of duty. His mind has received the training and discipline of a
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quarter of a century of active toil, and the invigoration of count- less collisions in intellectual gladiatorship, both in temples of justice and upon the hustings-ever wielding the cimeter of ar- gument with manliness and dignity. In all his public discus- sions he has been conservative, appealing always to the pure and elevated judgment, and not to the passions or prejudices of the people. He is naturally good humored, and is one of the most genial of companions.
At the last session of the West Virginia Legislature, General Goff was the nominee of the Republican caucus for Senator of the United States, and for upwards of one hundred times his partisan friends cast their solid vote for him; but the one of a Democratic majority on joint ballot secured the election of another to that responsible position.
In 1867, General Goff married Miss Laura Despard, of Clarks- burg, a lady of worth and beauty and of wealthy parentage. This union was blessed with two sons-one a law student at Yale University, and the other a student at Washington, D. C.
Concerning his qualities as a man, it is not necessary to speak in detail. He could not have made the record he has without superior attributes. His political acts speak with more elo- quence than could mere words, and testify to the strong quali- ties of mind that have made him noted and respected by all classes, at home and abroad. His mental traits and genial man- ners have made him the associate, and gained for him the friend- ship, of the leading men of the Nation.
General Goff is a man of destiny-albeit he himself hews the stepping-stones by which one alone can ascend the temple of fame. The world has need of such men, and the future un- doubtedly holds greater honors in store for him.
The Columbian University at Washington, D. C., in 1888, conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, an honor, all will cencede, worthily bestowed.
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HON. HENRY M. MATHEWS, A. M.
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HENRY MASON MATHEWS.
HE Mathews family of Virginia is of Welch descent. As far back as 1681, Thomas Mathews, a Welchman was a naval officer in the British service, and distinguished himself at Capeu Passaro, under Admiral Bing, in 1718. For valiant ser- vices in that and other engagements, he reached the rank of Admiral. His death occurred in 1751. His son, Captain John Mathews, emigrated to America in 1730, located in Augusta county, Virginia, and with an issue of eight sons founded the Mathews family in this country. One of the sons, born in 1739, became Captain George Mathews, who distinguished himself in command of a company of United States "regulars " at the battle of Point Pleasant, Mason county, that resulted in the de- feat of the Indians, during the Revolutionary war. At the 'expiration of his army service he removed to Georgia, and was twice elected Governor of that State, in 1780 and 1794. He died in 1812. His nephew, Joseph Mathews, who was the grand- father of Henry Mason Mathews, located in Greenbrier county at an early period of that county's existence. He was a man highly esteemed and was called to fill many responsible public positions of trust. From him descended Mason Mathews, the father of the subject of this sketch. In addition to being elected to nu- merous subordinate county positions, Mason Mathews was an efficient representative of Greenbrier county in the Legislature of Virginia. His many virtues and deserving qualities as a man both in public and private life caused him to be held in high esteem by his fellow citizens up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1878, at the ripe old age of three-score and fourteen years. His home during his entire life time was Lew- isburg, the seat of justice of Greenbrier county.
Henry M. Mathews was born in Greenbrier county, Virginia, in 1834. He prepared himself for college at the Lewisburg Academy, chiefly under the charge of the Rev. P. M. Custer, a relation of the late General George Custer, and a Presbyterian minister of considerable eminence. Young Mathews became a student at the University of Virginia, from which he graduated in the classical course of study and received the B. A. degree, which was followed in due time by the honorary degree of M. A. For a time he studied law at the University of Virginia, and subsequently attended the Law School of the famous Judge
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John W. Brockenbrough at Lexington, Rockbridge county, from which he graduated as a Bachelor of Laws. In the fall of 1857, he opened an office in Lewisburg, and began the prac- tice of his profession. Soon thereafter he was tendered a pro- fessor's chair in Allegheny College, Blue Sulphur Springs, which he accepted under the expressed condition Fof also being per- mitted to conduct his legal practice in the courts. The chair assigned to him in the college was that of History, Modern Languages and Literature.
In 1861, when the civil war came on, Mr. Mathews entered the Confederate army as a volunteer, and soon reached the rank of Major of Artillery. He remained three years in the service, and participated in many hotly contested battles. At the close of hostilities, he returned to his home in Greenbrier county, and endeavored to resume the practice of his profession, which he was prevented from doing because he could not take the re- quired oath that "he had not aided or abetted the rebellion." He was elected to the West Virginia Senate by a very large vote, but was unable to take his seat in consequence of his ina- bility to take the "Test Oath" above referred to. After the repeal of the Proscriptive measures, which were in 1866 made a part of our State Constitution, Major Mathews was nominated by the Democratic party, in 1872, for the position of Attorney General of the State, was duly elected to the same, and served with great acceptability for the full term of four years. The same year he served as a member of the Constitutional Conven- tion which framed a new Constitution for the State. In 1876, he was his party's candidate for Governor of West Virginia, and was elected by the largest majority ever given any candidate before or since that time. He served out his four years' term, leaving an enviable record for fairness, efficiency and force. Ifis high scholarship, amiable disposition and splendid abilities equipped him, in an admirable manner, for the State's Chief Executive, and his administration was, in all respects, creditable to himself and his party.
Governor Mathews married Miss Lucy, daughter of Judge Joseph L. Fry-an eminent lawyer of Wheeling-in November, 1857. Joshua Fry, her paternal grandfather, was a professor in William and Mary College-the oldest educational institution in the South-and was subsequently Colonel of the First United
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States Infantry regiment, of which General Washington was Lieutenant-Colonel, that served in Braddock's war.
In appearance Governor Mathews was of medium height, fair complexion, blue eyes, cheerful expression, slightly bald, heavy beard, and on the whole a handsome man. His generous, joy- ful, social nature rendered him a favorite wherever known. He was an excellent lawyer and an eloquent public speaker. He died at his home in Lewisburg, April 28, 1884, in the prime of life, and was mourned by thousands of admiring friends.
DANIEL POLSLEY.
D ANIEL POLSLEY, Congressman, Judge, Lieutenant-Gov- ernor, was born at Palatine, Marion county, Virginia, November 3, 1803. His father was of German descent, and his mother a sister of the grandfather of Judge Alpheus F. Hay- mond. His early education was obtained while assisting in clearing and improving the farm. He studied law, and attended the lectures of Judge Tucker, in Winchester. After his father's death, he removed to Wellsburg, in Brooke county, and soon gained an enviable reputation at the Bar. In 1827, he wedded Eliza V. Brown, niece of the celebrated Philip Doddridge, and grand daughter of Captain Oliver Brown, an officer in the Revo- lutionary war. In connection with his profession, in 1833, he edit- ed and published the Western Transcript, a Whig paper. This he continued until 1845, when he retired from law practice, sold out his printing office, and moved to a 1200-acre farm on the Ohio riv- er, opposite Racine, engaging in agriculture, as more congenial to his unpretending nature. In the turbulent days of 1861, he was not allowed to longer remain in quiet life, and was elected a member from Mason county of the Wheeling Convention to restore the State Government. Upon its restoration, he was made Lieutenant-Governor. In 1862, he was chosen Judge of the Seventh Circuit of Virginia, and over the same counties in West Virginia afterwards, ably presiding until 1866, when he was elected to the Fortieth Congress from the Third District. At the end of his term, he located at Point Pleasant, where he died October 14, 1877. Unostentatious, yet able, honest, and active,' he was a force in the early days of our Statehood.
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HON. JACOB B. JACKSON, LL.D.
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JACOB BEESON JACKSON.
F ROM a family whose collateral branches extend into many States of the South, and whose name is not only historic but renowned and influential, destiny predetermined this per- sonal boyhood friend of the writer to become one of the Exec- utives of our State.
His immediate ancestry were noted, upon both maternal and paternal sides, among the pioneers of Wood county, and along the Ohio river, whose beautiful waves sweep noiselessly through Mississippi's currents to Gulf and farther sea. Upon his father's side are generals, jurists, statesmen ; upon his mother's, who was a Beeson, and one of the oldest and most intelligent settlers of the section, was firmness, probity, amiability and mental and physi- cal vigor. These combinations of character and constitution and innate worth manifest themselves in the career and public services of three brothers, John Jay, James Monroe, and Jacob Beeson, the youngest, imparting to each a wonderful similarity in appearance and action, yet an individual diversity which dif- ferent events and connecting circumstances moulded into dissim- ilarity easily recognized.
The Sixth Governor of our Mountain State was born April 6th, 1828. His early educational facilities were the best obtain- able in the days of select schools, when in Virginia, with ex- ception of the recognized poor, every parent or guardian paid for the tuition of the young entrusted to his or her care. One of these excellent schools was under the management of Rev. Fes- tus Hanks, whose every effort aimed to inspire in the boys oratorical tastes and a desire for education to fill the highest positions in the most creditable manner. Young Jacob always " spoke his piece " at the Friday afternoon exercises with force and effect, but never was credited with unusual industry or the eloquence which manifested itself so clearly in future days and political campaigns. He read law in the office of his distin- guished father, and was admitted to the bar in 1852. Departing from the county of his nativity and the assisting influences of home, he began practice in the adjacent county of Pleasants, at St. Marys. Genial and accommodating, he soon became pop- ular among the voters, and was elected Prosecuting Attorney, which position he held acceptably eleven years.
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