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 57
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In pastoral relation with this church he has continued to the division in 1872, and from that date to the present time in charge of the First Presbyterian church, which congregation has recently completed a beautiful stone edifice on Quarrier street of the state Capitol. In 1877 Central University of Ken- tucky conferred upon him the honorary title of D. D. For over
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twenty years he has been almost constantly engaged in pastoral and ministerial work in Kanawha. As a rule he preaches twc new sermons every Sabbath, lectures Wednesday night, and answers frequent calls to hold week day services, or attend funerals and meetings in the surrounding country.
WILLIAM PALLISTER HUBBARD.
S a lawyer, Wm. P. Hubbard has achieved enviable success. I
He rose by faithful study and constant application to his single calling. Too many lawyers depend for success upon the graces of rhetoric and appeals to the passions. Mr. Hubbard is not of that class. He studies his cases with precision and care, and always endeavors to investigate, in the minutest manner, all of their parts and bearings. He knows the law, and never fails to handle his cases in court ingeniously, and to demean himself in such a manner as to indicate that he understands precisely and completely what he is presenting. He is a cool, easy, delib- erate speaker. He presents facts and precedents upon which he relics in such a manner as to impress his hearers with the belief that he means what he says, and has but little fear of their suc- cessful controversion. His intellect is adroit and his logic in- flexible. He is therefore an acknowledged power at the West Virginia Bar. Engrossed in his profession, a student by choice and habit, and now only in middle life, he will yet reach higher heights in the calling which he adorns and loves.
W. P. Hubbard, son of the Hon. Chester D. Hubbard, was born in Wheeling, Virginia, December 24, 1843. His education was obtained in the public schools of his native city, at the Linsly Institute, Wheeling, and at Wesleyan University, Middle- town, Connecticut, from which latter institution he graduated B. A. in 1863. He at once began the study of law, and was ad- mitted to the Wheeling Bar in 1864, where he has continued to practice with marked success to the present time.
He was Clerk of the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1865 to 1870 inclusive. This position was a trying one, but he filled it in a masterful manner. The writer first met him in 1867, during the legislative session of that year, and remembers the dignity and ease he displayed in performing the clerical duties of the House. In 1865, for a short time, he served as Lieutenant
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of Company F, Third West Virginia Cavalry in the Army of the Union. His fellow citizens elected him as a Delegate from Ohio county in 1881, to the West Virginia Legislature, in which body he served with distinction. His thorough knowledge of par- iamentary laws, which he had mastered while clerk of the House of Delegates, gave him decided advantages in debate, and in securing the passage of such measures as he deemed impor- tant, and defeating those which he opposed. During that session he was made a member of the Committee to revise and « classify the Statutes of the State. He was the Republican can- didate for Attorney General of West Virginia in 1888, and was only defeated by a little less than two hundred of a majority, although the average majority over his ticket was nearly six hundred. He was, the same year, elected a Delegate to the Republican National Convention at Chicago. He has been urged, by a strong following, as a candidate for Congress from the First West Virginia District.
ELLERY CAMPBELL BEST.
OLONEL E. C. BEST is a native of Salona, Clinton county, Pennsylvania ; was born July 25, 1845; educated at the State College in Bellefonte, Pa .; was a Union soldier at 18-in '63 when Lee entered Pennsylvania-a merchant in his native town at the age of 21; a lumber dealer and hardware merchant in 1869 in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, of which city he was a Councilman. In September, 1882, he came to West Virginia and entered the St. Lawrence Boom and Lumber Company, and was elected Vice-President and General Manager. This com- pany built extensive booms in the Greenbrier river, also a large mill at Ronceverte which in one year cut over 23,000,000 feet of lumber. He is President of the Rush River Coal Company, a Director in the New River Coal and Coke Company, and is in- terested in the Lara mines. He is a leading member of the Christian (Disciples) church, and has a beautiful home in Ron- ceverte, of which town he served a term as Mayor. Through his efforts a flourishing lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons has been established there.
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HON. G. W. THOMPSON.
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GEORGE W. THOMPSON.
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UDGE G. W. Thompson, the subject of this brief memoir, was born in Ohio county, Virginia, May 14, 1806. His ther was a native of Armagh, Ireland, and his mother, Sarah albot, a descendant of the distinguished English family of that ime, was also a native of the same county. They were mar- ed and emigrated when very young to America, settling first Ohio county, Virginia, and subsequently moving across the ver into what has since become Belmont county, Ohio, but hich was then a part of Virginia's territory, where he lived to le age of eighty-five, having reared a large and excellent family, nd amassed one of the largest fortunes of that section of the untry. His household was known far and near for kindly ospitality, and, as it was upon the National road, in early days he only line of travel, few men were better known to the avelling public than John Thompson; and it was an almost niversal custom in those days for persons of consequence in assing by to call at the hospitable mansion.
Judge Thompson was educated at Jefferson College, Cannons- urg, Pa. From this institution he graduated during the Presidency of Dr. Matthew Brown, in the fall of 1824.
He commenced the study of law immediately thereafter, with he late William B. Hubbard, at that time a leading lawyer at he St. Clairsville, Belmont county, Ohio, Bar, but who subse- uently became an eminent banker at Columbus, Ohio. He was dmitted to the Bar in the fall of 1826. About that time his incle, William P. Thompson, a resident of Richmond, Va., a nan of wealth and high standing, invited him to Richmond to urther perfect himself in the law, before undertaking its prac- ice. He lived in Richmond about two years, during which period many of the most able sons of Virginia were in the Legislature, and in convention discussing those profound and philosophical principles that were laying the foundations of all the great thoughts which have culminated in the organization of the present parties, and have been made the basis of the best legislation in this country. He was profoundly impressed with these discussions, and largely to the impression made upon his mind at that time by these discussions may be ascribed the strong and decided principles which moved his after life.
In 1828 he returned to his home at St. Clairsville, where, en-
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tering upon the practice of the law, he soon achieved a large and lucrative practice, and entered with great heartiness into the political campaigns of that day, having espoused the Democratic side in politics.
In 1832 he married Elizabeth, the second daughter of the late Daniel Steenrod, Sr., then of Ohio county, Virginia, formerly of Dutchess county, New York. Their family consisted of six children, five of whom are living, namely : Annie, now wife of ex-Senator J. N. Camden, of Parkersburg, W. Va .; Col. W. P. Thompson, of New York; George W. Thompson, of Parkers- burg, W. Va .; Sallie, now wife of S. B. Bushfield, of Colorado, and D. S. Thompson, of Marion county, W. Va. Lewis Steen- rod Thompson, their second son, was killed in battle, while gal- lantly leading his command at the battle of Allegheny Moun- tain, December 13th, 1861.
Judge Thompson was a great admirer of Gen. Andrew Jack- son, and very warmly supported his administration.
In 1837 he moved to Wheeling, Virginia, and continued the practice of his profession, soon attaining a very large and im- portant practice. In the interim he was appointed Postmaster of Wheeling, by President Van Buren, in 1838, at the special recommendation of the Postmaster General, Amos Kendall. He entered actively and earnestly upon his duties, and at his recom- mendation, during his term of Postmaster, the distributing agencies at Washington, Pa., and Zanesville, Ohio, were consoli- dated, which made Wheeling the most important post station in the West at that time.
In 1842 when the controversy between the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company and Wheeling was at its height, the point being as to where the road should terminate in Virginia, and Wheeling being anxious to compel the road to come there, . a commission was appointed by the City to visit Richmond in its interests, consisting of the late Judge Moses C. Good and Judge Thompson. There were memorable discussions between the representatives of the railroad and the Commission from Wheeling before the Legislature, which finally terminated in the concession of a charter by the State of Virginia, to the railroad which fully protected the rights and interests of the City of Wheeling, and entirely prevented the then purpose of the Balti- more and Ohio Railroad to reach the river at a point which would have left Wheeling far out of its line.
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Later on Judge Thompson was appointed one of a joint com- mission with the Hon. William C. Rives and William Greene, on the part of the State of Virginia, and Hons. John Brough, Thomas Ewing and James Collins, of the State of Ohio, to de- termine the jurisdiction of the two States over the waters of the Ohio river, which bounded the States. Judge Thompson pre- pared the argument on behalf of the State of Virginia, which was adopted by his confreres as the basis of their demand, and in the final adjustment of matters, the contention of Virginia was conceded by the Ohio Commissioners.
In 1844 he was appointed United States District Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, by President Polk, in which position he remained until 1848, achieving unusual distinction in the discharge of his professional duties.
In 1851 he was elected to Congress, by the Democratic party and served part of one term. While in Congress he introduced a bill, and secured its passage, practically overturning a decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, which had been passed, directing the abatement and removal of the magnificent suspension bridge which spanned the Ohio river at Wheeling; and by this act declaring as it did, this bridge to be a part of a postal route of the United States, prevented the removal of the bridge. The distinctions in this case, and the requisite patience, great ability and fine judgment necessary to bring about its passage, in the face of a decree of the Supreme Court, and of the tremendous opposition of the entire river interests as well as the large influence of Pittsburgh and other Pennsylvania interests, which were arrayed against it, all of which were managed by the late Secretary Stanton with remarkable force and ability, is somewhat of an indication of the remarkable powers of Judge Thompson. In fact, it is the first occasion in the history of this country where a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States was set aside by an Act of Congress. The results of this act were far reaching in their influences, for it was the foundation for future legislation as to crossing navig- able rivers in the United States with bridges.
While Judge Thompson was serving his first term in Congress with so much distinction and advantage to his constituents, he was elected Judge of the Circuit Court of the Twelfth Judicial District, defeating the Hon. Joseph L. Fry, a gentleman of great
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erudition, who had been the Judge in that Circuit for many years, serving very acceptably. In 1860 he was again elected to the same position, his majority over Judge R. L. Berhshire be- ing more than two to one. He held the office of Judge until July, 1861, when he was removed because he declined to violate his conscience by taking the oath to support what was called the Restored Government of Virginia, at Wheeling, after the State of Virginia had seceded from the Union. He had no doubt that the course pursued in the establishment of that pro- visional Government was in violation of law, as he had also be- lieved no right existed in the States to secede. This course of action brought upon him severe persecution by the parties in power. Simply because he followed the dictates of his con- science, he was arrested many times and subjected to every con- ceivable indignity, which he bore with patient fortitude. At the close of the war he retired from active participation in poli- tics and from the practice of law, living in dignified retirement upon the farm of his wife, which she had derived from her father, Daniel Steenrod, finding agreeable occupation in literary work until his death, which occurred on the 24th of February, 1888.
His deep, penetrating mind was at home when wielding the author's pen, for in such an occupation he was securing the per- petuity of an energetic life and supplementing his career as a lawyer, jurist, scholar and statesman.
In 1866 he published a work entitled, "The Living Forces," the object of which was to identify the forces of nature as a rep- resentation of the spiritual and mental forces by which all things were made. He followed this publication with another volume in 1870, which was a further discussion of the same sub- ject, entitled : "Deus Semper;" and still another volume en- titled : "The Administration of Good and Evil," or what may be termed a summary of his previous philospohical works, em- bodying an immense field of ideas in a condensed form. These books do not by any means represent his exertions as a writer and author. He left very considerable manuscripts both in prose and poetry, which are yet to be published. His wide range of knowledge and wonderful command of language, joined to his genial temperament made him one of the most com- panionable of men and it gave him great pleasure to mould and
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fashion the thoughts of ministers of the Gospel who were deal- ing with great religious truths. In his day few men had more devoted friendships than Judge Thompson, and his party always adhered to him with inflexible fidelity. And had not his own disposition led him to the retirement from active politics for the Bench, he would have certainly occupied high political po- sitions for which his education and talents thoroughly fitted him.
NATHANIEL CAMDEN PRICKETT.
I T very seldom happens that a regular attendance upon politi- cal conventions does not create desire for official place. This exception is claimed for Attorney Prickett, who is a Democrat in faith, identified with every county interest, is a delegate to all conventions, but aspires to no office. He was born in Marion county, Virginia, 30th of April, 1853 ; the son of J. T. and Susanna P. Was raised on a farm, attended West Virginia University, studied law with Quincy B. Haymond and was admitted to practice in Jackson county in 1877. He lives in Ravenswood, is a Notary Public and United States Commis- sioner, and has presided as Worshipful Master of Ashton Lodge, of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons. He favors all temperance movements, non-partisan in their methods and management.
LEMUEL CHENOWITH.
L EMUEL CHENWORTH was born, June 25, 1811, in Beverly, Randolph county, Virginia, and there died August 26, 1887. His education was in the ordinary schools of the locality. By trade he was a carpenter and architect, and gained quite a reputation in the branch of Bridge Building. He was sent to the Legislature of 1871 as a member of the House of Delegates from the Twelfth district. He favored the liberal measure, known as the "Flick Amendment." He also supported and succeeded in obtaining an appropriation to aid in the con- struction of a bridge over the Tygart Valley river at Beverly. In his county and town he filled a number of minor offices of trust. The Presbyterian church at Huttonville was his last building of any note. He was a man of sterling worth, strictly moral, and devoted sincerely to the political and material inter- ests of his native county and State.
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PROF. J. M. FRASHER.
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J. M. FRASHER.
P PROFESSOR FRASHER, the Principal and Proprietor o the Wheeling Business College, English Training School and Shorthand and Typewriting School, of Wheeling, W. Va. is a native of Fayette county, Pa. He was born near Union- town in that State, January 14, 1835. He is of Scotch descent on his father's side. His ancestors left Scotland in the time of the Crusades and, coming to this country, settled near Win- chester, Virginia. Prof. Frasher was brought up on a farm, but his natural inclination not being in that direction, at the age of 21 he entered Madison College, situated not far from his home in Eastern Ohio, and later commenced a career of teaching, which he has followed for a period of over 30 years. During this time he has taught in schools of all grades, situated in various states of the Union. In 1859 he joined the Masonic Lodge, No. 202, of Port Washington, Ohio. He served in 1860 and was re-elected in 1861, as Secretary of that Order. Having become a noted penman, in 1865 he turned his attention to teaching in the Business Colleges and has taught in Indianapo- lis, Ind. ; Columbus, O .; Springfield, Mass. ; Zanesville, O., and Troy, N. Y. From the last named place, after spending four years with the Bryant & Stratton College of that city, in 1873 he moved to Wheeling, W. Va., where he assumed the respon- sibility of associate proprietor of what was then called the National Business College. At the end of two years, he became sole proprietor, and through his untiring efforts has built up a large and excellent school.
He is a man of great tenacity of purpose, singleness of aim, and simplicity of life and habit. He is a consistent man, the same at all times, and is conscientious, upright, and honest. The Penman's Gazette, of December, 1886, in speaking of him as a penman says :
"Prof. Frasher is one of the 'wheel-horses' of the profession, and has well earned all the reputation and prosperity he enjoys. He is one of the men who have made their impress on the pen- manship of the times, and he is noted for the excellent results obtained from his work, yet a man whose modesty impels him to avoid rather than seek notoriety."
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HENRY MOORE RUSSELL.
T the Wheeling, West Virginia Bar, Henry M. Russell is a noted Attorney. He was born at Wheeling, April 5, 1851, and has resided there continuously to the present, except during the late war, and while he was a student in college. From 1861 to 1865 he was in Southern Virginia, part of the time in Rich- mond, but the greater portion of the time in Halifax county. After the close of the war he became a student at Georgetown, D. C. College, from which he graduated A. B., and subsequent- ly received the Master's degree in cursu. After graduation he entered the law department of the University of Virginia, and graduated with the B. L. degree in 1870. He returned to Wheeling in 1871, and began the practice of his chosen profession, which he has kept up unceasingly ever since. He allows noth- ing to come between him and his work. Many times the allure- ments of office have been held out before him, but he always declined. During the Senatorial dead-lock in the West Virginia Legislature of 1886-7, when he was spoken of as a probable compromise candidate, he said to the writer that if the position of a Senator in Congress was tendered him he would decline it. A man of that peculiar mold could not fail to succeed at the law.
Mr. Russell has not yet reached the zenith of his power. At thirty-nine no man is at his best. He will grow until he is fifty- perhaps sixty, if he husbands his strength and is just to himself in the demands he makes upon both body and mind. For years he has been a hard student and worker. In early life he learned the lesson that work wins; that application to a particular calling pays. But he makes work an amusement and therefore rests himself by it. He reads a great deal, and yet he is at the same time a man of affairs as well as of books. He has a pleas- ant smile, a fascinating manner, an address of an accomplished man of the world. His broad forehead denotes intelligence; his square chin determination. His head is massive and sym- metrically developed, and rests upon square shoulders of a me- dium sized physique. His manner of speaking is deliberate, quiet and unobtrusive. He makes no endeavor at oratory, but his speeches are always etfective and convincing. His voice has somewhat of a metalic ring, and he never lifts it above a con- versational pitch. He has the gift of language so far that he never lacks the word which can be best placed. He never fails
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to restrain his feelings, and always pushes his logic and common sense to the front. There are but few in the writer's acquaint- ance his equal in the analytical and argumentative faculties. Wherever he is, whether in court or in his office, his grave, earnest, serious manner never varies. His conduct is always as admirable as his intelligence and knowledge of the subject he is discussing are commanding. He has had no experience in politics or statecraft. His whole life seems to have been ab- sorbed with but one thought and one aim-the heavy-weighted argosies of the law. He is already a superior lawyer, but he is not yet by any means at his best.
GEORGE GOAD.
ROM Strange Creek, Braxton county, came to the Legisla- ture of 1889, as a member of the House of Delegates, George Goad, who was born April 15, 1850, in Carroll county, Virginia. He has been a resident of West Virginia for 13 years; was educated as a farmer in the common schools of the vicinity; is a merchant and lumber dealer, and stock raiser and trader; owns and lives upon a 200 acre farm on the waters of Elk. In the Legislature, to which he was chosen as a Democrat by a majority of 560, he served upon the Committees, of Military, Roads and Internal Navigation, and Printing and Contingent Expenses.
JOSEPH L. FRY.
NE of the most efficient and popular municipal officers the city of Charleston has had is Mayor Joseph L. Fry. He is a native of that city, born October 7, 1851, the son of James H. and Jane A. (Donnally) Fry. He attended Mercer Academy two years and the Charleston Institute for the same length of time. He was elected Recorder of the city of Charleston in 1875, and was twice re-elected to that position, serving until 1881. He engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1887, when he was elected Mayor of that city, to which office he was re-elected in 1889. His popularity is evidenced by the fact of his election to whatever public office he has consented to accept.
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GEORGE WESTERN THOMPSON.
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GEORGE WESTERN THOMPSON.
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HE fleet railway car has superceded the passenger steamer along many of the banks of our lengthy rivers. The trav- eler, instead of waiting for the uncertain appearance of the packet, which ran at the rate of five to ten miles an hour, now reaches his station by a definite schedulezand speeds away from home to destination, from river source to mouth, from State to State, at the momentum of twenty to forty miles in the same measure of time. Along the wood-skirted banks of the stream which the French Indians named " The Beautiful," now stretches almost the length of West Virginia's western border, the track of the Ohio River Railroad.
This great enterprise was constructed well, and with a rapidity marvelous even in this rushing age. Among the prominent capitalists, native and foreign, contributing largely to its con- struction and the present efficient management of the owning company, is George W. Thompson, whose face fronts this sketch.
He is the son of the late Judge George W. Thompson, whose political and literary reputation is interwoven with the period previous to and since the formation of our State. He was born in Wheeling, Ohio county, Virginia, June 23, 1848. Receiving a fair English education in excellent schools, he afterwards en- tered the halls of Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, where he re- mained for some time as one of its most energetic students. He removed to Parkersburg in December, 1865, and was to the winter of 1868 employed in clerical positions in railroad and mercantile houses. He married Miss Belle, daughter of Gen- eral John Jay Jackson, in 1869. Along with Henry C., his brother-in-law, in December, 1868, he established the wholesale grocery firm of Thompson & Jackson, which still continues to be one of the most reliable and successful business houses of the city.
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