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 46
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edge was a great advantage to him in his intercourse with the people.
In 1843 he married Miss Olivia Jones, of St. Clairsville. His mother was still living, and he had educated a daughter of his brother's, who had grown to womanhood in his home. His affectionate nature constantly adopted all who came within the range of his intercourse, and his marriage brought him into a family to whom he became a constant direction and stimulus. His wife had been the idol of her little brothers and sisters ; and, when she was transplanted to another home more attractive and easy of access, it is not to be wondered at that some of them were there all the time. Mr. Peck gave to the whole family the most affectionate confidence. To the little girls, constant direc- tion. The youngest was about seven years of age, when he was married, and to her he gave a child's place in his heart. His kindness and affection to her knew no abatement. He edu- cated her, and after her marriage named her child for a friend whom he had loved in youth and lost by death. Each Sunday, until a few weeks of his death, a part of it was spent writing a letter to this child of his adoption. Such was his simple, loving nature; such his faithfulness to all he loved. The children of the family were his joy and recreation in his mature years, and he was their idol.
In 1849 Mr. Peck was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention of the State of Ohio, which met at Columbus, the first of the following June, but owing to the breaking out of cholera, adjourned to meet at Cincinnati the following Decem- ber. It was then the present Constitution was formed. The Convention was composed of many of the strongest men of the State-Judge Peter Hitchcock, R. P. Ranney, Wm. Kennon, Sr., W. S. Groesbeck, T. J. Andrews, J. R. Swan, Henry Stanberry and a great many others of not less brilliant minds. The Con- vention at that time framed the Constitution which has thus far stood as the organic law of the State for nearly thirty-eight years. There has been another Constitution framed since, but rejected by the people. Mr. Peck was greatly bored by the long speeches of one of the members about nothing. He said he did not know the difference between being notorious and celebrated. The winter in Cincinnati with his young wife was a great happiness. Most of the members were accompanied
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by their wives, and forty of their friends occupied the same house. Cincinnati was then a city of two hundred thousand. Besides public places of interest, they were most kindly enter- tained by many friends. While there they made the acquaint- ance of Frederica Bremer, the great authoress.
In April 1861 the war of the rebellion broke out. Mr. Peck spent the most of that whole year raising troops. He had been a Whig, but now joined the Union party. All legal business was greatly interfered with, so many, both lawyers and wit- nesses, being engaged in the war. He was a delegate to the State Convention held at Columbus, and made chairman of the committee for raising troops. In January, 1863, West Virginia had detached herself from old Virginia; Joseph H. Pendleton, Charles W. Russell, and several other prominent lawyers having joined the Confederate army, Mr. Peck was urged by his old friends, and almost compelled by his growing business in that State to remove there again, which he did in February, 1863. Many of his old friends had been in the rebellion, and their property and lives were often in much jeopardy, Mr. Peck was constantly striving to prevent these people from being too hardly treated by some very radical Federal officials ; for he said, in writing to a friend, "I then held, and have never had occasion to change my opinion, that those who risked their lives and their property were entitled to more credit after they had re- turned to their allegiance than those who stayed at home and advocated their cause without daring to risk their lives on it."
After a year's residence, he was elected to the Senate, and during that session slavery was abolished. When the vote was announced, Mr. Peck's colleague said aloud, " Slavery is now dead-gone into the bottomless pit." Mr. Peck quickly re- joined, "But the smoke of its torment ascendeth up forever and ever."
Mr. Peck remained in Wheeling nearly twenty-two years in the active practice of his profession. He worked very hard. He was so confiding and generous that he was constantly help- ing others ; and one hundred thousand dollars would not cover the security debts he paid for others, many of whom, he used to say, ought never to have been helped.
He was actively in the practice of the law sixty years. He lived through many of the great discoveries of the age. He
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remembered when the first cotton gin was invented; when cotton cloth was first manufactured by machinery ; when cut nails were made, before which time they were all hammered by hand on an anvil; when steam was first used to propel machin- ery; when Fulton built the first steamboat on the Hudson ; when the people flocked to see the first steamboat built at Wheeling; when electricity was first applied to the telegraph, the discovery of the telephone, and all the varied uses to which electricity has been applied; to the discovery of natural gas.
He could remember when St. Clairsville was a better town than Wheeling in a business point of view; when the latter place only contained twelve hundred people, and it grew under his eye to number thirty-four thousand.
In 1884 he went back to St. Clairsville to live. He began to feel the infirmities of age, and long for the green fields and the beautiful Belmont hills. One of his earliest possessions was a farm lying near the village, and here he began again superin- tending the improvement of his land and closing his business. He had lived to be in his eighty-seventh year. Almost all his friends had gone into the spirit world; and, though still alive to the joy of living, he thought and talked often, with resigna- tion and hopefulness, of the day he felt could not be far distant when he should pass to the brighter glories of that Better Land, which he did November 5, 1885.
" Warmed by celestial hope, faith's glowing eye Beheld afar, through Death's unsightly portals,
A better land, beneath a brighter sky- The land of the immortals.
" There shall they meet again the loved on earth, There scoff at Death's discomfited endeavor,
And in the country where their souls had birth, Make their abode forever."
No kinder, truer words were ever spoken than the words of regret which came spontaneously from the lips of various mem- bers of the Bar, who had known him in all the relations of life. Captain Lorenzo Danford said, "He was a man of great learn- ing and industry, of strict honor in his profession, wise in counsel, and brave in the advocacy or defense of the right. As a citizen, he was zealous for the public good and upheld with unflinching courage the public morals. As a man, he was kind and generous even to his own hurt. True to his friends, his example is a precious legacy to us all."
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Judge St. Clair Kelly said of him, "His name is associated with our early history, and with it we associate the distin- guished names, familiar to you all-Wright, Goodenough, Hammond, Tappan, the Kennons, Shannon, Cowen, and others. He acquired eminence as a lawyer. In his disposition, he was a chancellor. He not only looked to the facts, but to the justice and equity of the case. He was kind to all, friendly to all, especially those younger in years and with less knowledge than himself. It is not altogether as a lawyer, Mr. Peck ought to be regarded. His greatness was as a man, rather than a law- yer. He had wide views and talents. He delighted, not merely in law, but in trees, in fruits, in plants, and flowers, and music. He was in kindly relation to all nature, and all things were his friends ; and they repaid him with long, peaceful and joyous days."
Another said of him, " He was as honest a man as was ever at this Bar, and as honorable a man as ever lived in the county of Belmont."
J. B. Smith said, "I know of no man whose work was better done." Another said, speaking of his long life, " It is no won- der God gave him a long life in this world-four score and seven years. Surely to one who saw so much beauty in it, and who loved so much in it; who had so much that was lovable in himself, and who did so much good in it, surely to such a man, God would give a long life."
GEORGE MORRIS BELTZHOOVER.
N Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, February 8, 1844, was born the subject of this brief sketch. He is an Attorney-at- Law, with office at Shepherdstown, Jefferson county ; is an ac- tive Democrat, and representative in his party. He was pre- pared for college at Cumberland Valley Institute, Mechanics- burg, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Pennsylvania College, Gettysburg, with the class of '64; studied law, and was admit- ted to the Bar of Carlisle in January, 1866. In February of that year he located in Jefferson county, West Virginia ; was Pros- ecuting Attorney six years, from 1871 to 1876 inclusive, and has served as a Regent of the State University ; is popular, and was sent by the voters of his county to represent them in the House of Delegates of 1870, serving on various Committees.
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HON. CHARLES F. SCOTT.
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CHARLES FLETCHER SCOTT.
T HE State Secretary of the League of Republican Clubs of West Virginia, answers to this popular name, and is im- aged opposite. He was born September 8, 1837, in Brooke county, Virginia, of Scotch-Irish parentage. His father died in 1848, his mother in 1852, and in the fall of the latter year he attended school in Ohio, but at the end of three years returned in poor health, and went west to Iowa, where he- remained eighteen months. Returning east he attended school in Penn- sylvania. In 1861 he graduated at the Albany Law School, of New York, and imbibing the spirit of the hour, enlisted in a company then forming, but from injuries received while recruit- ing men, was not mustered in, and returning to his Brooke county home in 1862 inaugurated the new State movement in that section. He thus, unintentionally, attracted the notice and favor of the voters, who sent him to the House of Dele- gates in 1864, and re-elected him to that office in 1865. In 1867 he moved to Ritchie county, and edited the Republican paper of that county, in connection with his law practice. He was appointed Prosecuting Attorney to fill a vacancy in 1869, and then in 1870 was elected to the office, and also chosen State Senator, serving three terms from January, 1871 to 1877. Dur- ing these sessions he was energetic and popular in committee work and upon the floor in shaping legislation; and became known over the entire State for his genial manners, and his persuasive speeches upon important measures. In the centen- nial year he was nominated for Congress from his district, and although he made a prudent and vigorous canvass, yet was de- feated, the majority of the votes still being Democratic. In 1877 he moved to Parkersburg, practiced law, and for a time owned in part and edited the State Journal, a weekly then push- ing itself into patronage and wide circulation. In 1878 he was appointed by the President, Postmaster at Parkersburg, and held the responsible position for the succeeding seven years, resigning soon after the inauguration of a Democratic Admin- istration.
He is as pronounced in his religious as in his political faith, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; active in Sabbath school work and other duties, and has been honored therein by being sent as representative to the General Confer-
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ence, and other legislative bodies. He served his party, in leadership, as chairman of the Congressional Executive Con- mittee, and in the opening of the campaign of 1888, at the Wheeling meeting, was elected Secretary of the State League of Clubs, in which difficult position he proved himself an or- ganizer, and was re-chosen at the annual convention of 1889 for the ensuing four years. He has led an active, busy life, as a Republican, citizen, lawyer, and official. In September, 1889, President Harrison appointed him Pardon Clerk, a position of great responsibility, requiring judgment and judicial ability, which Mr. Scott possesses in no ordinary degree ..
CECIL CLAY.
HE ancestors of General Cecil Clay have lived since 1710 in Philadelphia, Pa., where he was born February 13, 1842, and where he was educated, being a graduate of the Pennsyl- vania University at seventeen; read law under his father; was Captain of Company K, Fifty-eighth Pennsylvania, and com- manded his regiment at Coal Harbor in 1864, and at Fort Har- rison, where he lost one arm and was wounded in the other. He was promoted to Major, November 2, 1864, to Lieutenant Colonel November 19, 1864, and to Colonel, November 20, 1864, which indicates gallant service, and was mustered out with his regiment June 24, 1866, and is now Brevet Brigadier General, U. S. Volunteers. From July, 1865, to January, 1866, he com- manded the District of Augusta, Breckenridge, Bath, Highland and Allegheny counties, Virginia, and was complimented for the manner in which he conducted it. General Clay went into the lumber business in Botetourt county, Virginia, near Clifton Forge, in 1866, and in 1870 moved to Greenbrier county, West Virginia, and founded the town of Ronceverte, where he organ- ized the St. Lawrence Boom and Manufacturing Company. He was made chief clerk of the Department of Justice at the Na- tional Capital and went there in 1882, where he became a trustee of the District of Columbia Reform School, also Colonel of the Second Regiment District National Guard. He is still Chief Clerk of the Department of Justice, and claims Greenbrier county as his home.
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JAMES THOMAS MCCLURE.
R EV. JAMES T. MCCLURE, D.D., was born near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 19, 1822. His father died when he was but a few months old, and the care of the family devolved upon the mother, who was an invalid. His early years were passed like those of most boys reared on farms, in school during the winter and farm work in the summer months. When about twelve years of age the desire for a classical education developed, but the limited means of the family seemed a bar to its accomplish- ment; but with that self-reliance and energy which have charac- terized his whole life, by teaching school and music, in which he excelled, he provided the means and graduated in Duquesne College, a branch of the Western University of Pennsylvania, in 1846.
Having chosen the ministry for his profession he studied the- ology one year in Due West, South Carolina, but completed his course in the Theological Seminary in Allegheny City in 1849. In the spring of 1850 he was called to the pastoral charge of the Associate Reformed (now United Presbyterian) Church of Wheel- ing, West Virginia, and began his duties March 10 of the same year. The 28th of the same month he was married to Miss Hel- en Wall, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who still lives and shares the affection and esteem of the people in a remarkable degree. Since that time his labors have been in the community where he first began his professional work, and his life for forty years has been identified with every movement for the elevation and reformation of his fellow-men.
Dr. McClure was always opposed to slavery, and at the out- breaking of the war gave his active influence in behalf of the Union cause, and did much for the soldiers in the camps and hospitals.
In 1866 he was appointed a Regent of the Normal Schools of the State and served until 1871, during that time acting as Sec- retary of the Board. He did more, probably, than any one else to perfect the system which has made these schools a power for good. He also served two terms on the School Board of Wheel- ing, and was nominated for a third term but declined to serve longer. For many years he was President of the Board of Trus- tees of Linsly Institute, at Wheeling.
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In his preaching, Dr. McClure avoids the sensational style so attractive to some, but is logical and strong in his oratory, fear- less in denouncing everything he believes wrong and injurious in the community. He is a good example of that class of theo- iogians who fear nothing except to do wrong. As a scholar he is profound and laborious, examining every question crit- ically and with candor. His long residence and work in the upper Pan-Handle have given him a commanding position and influence in church circles which few can hope to attain.
He is the author of a book entitled "Science and the Bible," which treats ably of the conflict claimed to exist between them. A work on the " Trial of Christ" is now in press.
But few ministers of the Word anywhere have been Dr. Mc- Clure's equal in swaying the people in the direction of moral and religious living.
JOHN MADISON ROWAN.
THE Speaker of the House of Delegates, session of 1887, was born May 17, 1830, in Botetourt county, Virginia. His life has heen an adventurous one. Until sixteen years old he worked on his father's farm in Monroe county, whither a re- moval was made in 1832. Was clerk in a store at Gap Mills two years, then, in 1849, with roseate dreams, followed the throng of gold-hunters to the Pacific, and remained in California three years. With little funds and enlarged experience he returned to Gap Mills and engaged in the vending of dry goods, until 1859, when he purchased a stock and grain farm near Union, where he still pursues a peaceful avocation. His liberal views, general experience and business qualities gave him influence and prominence among the people, and sent him as representative to two States, the old and the new. He was a member of the Vir- ginia General Assembly for the years 1861-'63-'65, from Monroe county. When the war ended, and his political disabilities were removed, he was elected to serve in the West Virginia House of Delegates of 1877, and again in 1887, in which latter session he was Speaker.
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JOHN J. CHIPLEY.
"PON the Judiciary Committee of the House of Delegates, session of 1887, served John J. Chipley, the member from Hardy county, who was born January 31, 1836, near Charles- town, Jefferson county, Virginia. He was reared upon a farm, received his academic education at Winchester, and then entered the famous law school of Judge Brockenbrough, in Lexington, whose tuition was recognized in all the South as a passport to legal recognition. Later in life-the data furnished does not in- dicate-he passed into Hardy county and located at Moorefield. He was elected to the West Virginia Legislature of 1877-'79 and served upon important committees; and, again, a Democratic constituency sent him to the House, as a delegate, in 1887, and he was one of the factors in the Senatorial struggle when the session closed without any joint result. In addition to member- ship of the Judiciary, he was upon the Committees on Humane Institutions and Public Buildings, Taxation and Finance, Peni- tentiary, and Railroads.
WILLIAM HENRY WOLFE.
R EECE WOLFE came to Virginia from Delaware in 1797; stopped in Morgantown a year; went to Parkersburg, where he remained until 1834. He was prominent in the organ- ization of Wood county, of which he was High Sheriff, under the old system of inheritance as the oldest Magistrate. He was one of the first Methodist preachers in the State. His son, Daniel N. Wolfe, was born in Wood county in 1806; was a prominent member and supporter of the M. E. Church, and took a decided stand against the division of the Church in 1844. Politically he was an ardent Whig, until the rebellion, when he as ardently supported the Government and acted with the Republicans. He died March 19, 1865.
William Henry Wolfe, his son, was born in Parkersburg, Octo- ber 19, 1835. After quitting school he clerked in the postoffice; afterwards was clerk in the Northwestern Bank of Virginia, and in 1865 was elected Cashier of the Second National Bank of Parkersburg, which position he still holds.
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RT. REV. R. V. WHELAN, D.D.
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RICHARD VINCENT WHELAN. .
HE Rt. Rev. Richard Vincent Whelan, D.D., was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in the year 1809. In his early boy- hood he was taught by a private tutor. Later he was sent to Mt. St. Mary's College, Emmettsburg, Maryland, where his collegiate course was completed. Then he repaired to Paris, France, and entered the world-renowned school of philosophy and theology, known as the Seminary of St. Sulpice. From first to last, as a boy, a young collegian, and as a philosopher and theologian, he evinced extraordinary talents, and such was his diligence and assiduity that his success throughout the whole course of his studies was commensurate with his high mental gifts. On his return from France, he betook himself to his loved Mount St. Mary's, became Prefect of Schools, and after- wards President. It is not surprising that the young Rev. R. V. Whelan, whose whole career had been noted for regularity, order and exemplary deportment, should now prove a model disciplinarian and presiding officer.
His stay at the venerable Mount was of brief duration. His superior, the Most Rev. Archbishop of Baltimore, called him to the work of the ministry among the people, and assigned him to duty at Martinsburg, Virginia. The same marvelous zeal and devotedness were noticeable from the day of his entering on the duties of that vast parish, which embraced several counties. With non-Catholics as well as with those of the household of the faith, Rev. R. V. Whelan was the model minister of religion. All admired his ability, his zeal and his gentle but resolute ministry.
When it was a question of selecting a Bishop for Richmond, Virginia, his superiors turned their eyes toward the young priest at Martinsburg, and Rome did not hesitate, on their recom- mendation to appoint him Bishop of that important city and large diocese. Accordingly on March 21, 1841, he was conse- crated second Bishop of Richmond, having under his jurisdic- tion the whole of Virginia. When it became advisable to divide this vast territory into two dioceses, Bishop Whelan on July 23, 1850, took the new See of Wheeling, in which he pre- sided till his demise, July 7th, 1874.
Both at Richmond and Wheeling, as Bishop, his life was truly apostolic, and few public men in church or State were
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more beloved by all true Virginians. All who were fortunate enough to enjoy his acquaintance loved him; and to this day bear testimony to the aggregate of noble qualities which made up his splendid character.
When greatness manifested itself in all things in his life, it seems dangerous to single out any one thing in which he might be considered especially noteworthy. Still it has been said, and probably with much truth, that he was all through his life the indefatigable and valiant champion of education. One of his first official acts as priest at Martinsburg was to establish an academy. So, likewise, when Bishop of Richmond; and he had hardly taken charge of the new See of Wheeling when he turned all his great energies to the securing of good schools. The Academy of the Visitation for young ladies, at Wheeling, now at Mount De Chantal, from its inception to the present day has been second to no other similar institution in the States, and enjoys a national reputation as a seminary of learning.
Bishop Whelan was undoubtedly a most remarkable man in his own church; and would have been equally distinguished in any walk of life. He will ever be remembered as a pure, up- right, devoted, able minister of the Gospel.
BENJAMIN MASON AMBLER.
NE of the " untitled toilers in the ranks of the Democracy " -but a worthy and effective toiler-is the subject of this sketch, a citizen of Parkersburg, who has resided and practiced law in this State since June 30, 1874. He was born in Winches- ter, Virginia, January 14, 1850, and after the usual primary schooling, at the age of seventeen he engaged with a corps of railroad engineers from 1867 to the fall of 1868; taught school the session of 1868-'9, and then attended the University of Vir- ginia until 1871; was an assistant teacher in the Academy at Winchester, 1871 to 1874. He married at Winchester, Virginia, November 17, 1875, and has been continuously in law practice at Parkersburg, having been City Attorney there from 1877 to 1889.
Mr. Ambler is universally regarded among his brother attor- neys as a lawyer of high attainments, and his genial nature ren- ders him popular with all whose pleasure it is to know him.
H
İm
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SAMUEL ERNEST JONES.
HE Rev. S. E. Jones is a native of Herefordshire, England, where he was born March 22, 1846; was educated in the public schools of that country ; taught school for several years after he reached the age of sixteen ; married Miss Elleanor J. Griffiths in June, 1870, and immediately sailed for the United States; was converted in 1872 in New York City ; his wife died in July, 1873; in October of that year he came to West Vir- ginia; taught school during the winter of 1873-'4, and joined the West Virginia Conference of the M. E. Church in March, 1874, at its Fairmont session. Mr. Jones has served the follow- ing churches as pastor: Mannington, one year; Bridgeport, one year ; Rowlesburg, one year ; Fetterman, one year; Weston, three years ; Oakland, three years ; Thomson Church, Wheeling, two years; Huntington, one year; Presiding Elder Wheeling District, two years, where he is now laboring. In August, 1877, he married Miss Belle Anderson, of Monongalia county, West Virginia. Mount Union College, Ohio, conferred upon him the degree of A.M., honoris causa, June, 1887. Mr. Jones is a diligent student, and maintains a high position as a minister of the denomination to which he belongs.
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