USA > West Virginia > West Virginia and its people, Volume II > Part 21
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William Bruce Smith, a well known architect and highly SMITH esteemed citizen of Huntington, comes of that hardy, enter- prising, north of Ireland stock, which has contributed so largely to the upbuilding and development of the best interests of our country.
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James Smith, father of William Bruce Smith, was a native of the north of Ireland, and while still a boy was brought by his parents to the United States. The family settled on a farm in Clearfield county, Penn- sylvania, and James Smith was all his life engaged in agricultural pur- suits. At the outbreak of the civil war he enlisted in a company com- manded by Captain Altz, of Pittsburgh, and served in the defense of the L'nion throughout the four years' conflict. Mr. Smith married Margaret Isenberg, a native of Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, and the follow- ing children were born to them: Belle, married David B. Defenbaugh ; John L. ; Daniel I. : Katherine, married Hewitt Isenberg; Annie, married William McClure ; McClellan, of Huntington, Cabell county, West Vir- ginia ; and William Bruce, mentioned below. All these children, with the exception of the two youngest, are now living in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania. James Smith, the father, died in 1892, at the age of seventy-one, and the mother passed away in 1902, being then eighty-four years old.
William Bruce, son of James and Margaret (Isenberg) Smith, was born March 7. 1864, in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, where he received his earliest education in the local schools. Later he went to Chicago, where he attended the high school, and also learned the trade of a carpenter and stair-builder. He lived twenty-three years in Chicago, and during the first four years of that period followed his trade, but after that studied architecture, and was for a time associated with J. W. Shroeder, the well known architect of that city. Later Mr. Smith went into business for himself, and for twelve years prospered in his under- taking. In 1904 he came to Huntington and opened his present office in the American Bank Building. Mr. Smith has superintended the erection of a number of important structures, among them, the Siegel-Cooper Building of Chicago and the fronts of Carson Pirie Scott & Com- pany's Building, also the Libhy McNeil & Libby Building, of Chicago. In politics Mr. Smith is an avowed adherent of the Republican party. He affiliates with the Masonic fraternity and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and is a member of the Northern Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Smith is a self-made man. In the practice of his profes- sion he has superintended the construction of many notable edifices, and in doing so he has been the architect of his own fortune.
Mr. Smith married, November 16, 1884, in Chicago, Lizzie, a native of that city, daughter of the late Samuel and Hannah B. McMeekim. Mr. McMeekim was for many years engaged in the railroad business in Chicago. Mrs. McMeekim died in 1907, in Huntington. Of the five children horn to Mr. and Mrs. Smith four are now living: Clarence, draughtsman in his father's office; Florence; Cora; and Leonora.
HICKS The Hicks family numbers among its members men wlio have successfully combined professional attainment with creditable public service, and are numbered among the most valued citizens of Huntington.
(I) Kelly Hicks, the first member of whom we have definite infor- mation, was a native of Virginia, the owner of an extensive farm and a large number of slaves, which he disposed of before the war with the states. He served as a soldier in the war of 1812, and during the civil war was a northern sympathizer. Mr. Hicks was six feet three inches in height, and at the time of his death had passed his eighty-fourth year.
(II) Bryant D., son of Kelly Hicks, was born at Winfield, Putnam county, Virginia, now West Virginia, May 11, 1846. He was for many years engaged in business as a farmer and timberman. During the civil
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war he enlisted in the Union army. He married Salena, born in Put- nam county, daughter of William Hanshaw, a native of Indiana, who re- moved to West Virginia, where he engaged in business as a coal operator and died in 1909, at the age of eighty-nine. Mr. and Mrs. Hicks were the parents of the following children : Squire, died in infancy : Ira Clay, mentioned below ; William K., editor of the Putnam Herald Dispatch ; Wesley D., a physician of San Antonio, Texas : Irene, living in Hunting- ton, widow of Clark Lorentz: Charles F., a leading state surgeon and superintendent of the Welsh Miners' Hospital, Mingo county ; J. Oscar, mentioned below ; Oliver E., a dentist of San Antonio, Texas; Marietta, living in Huntington ; Earl, studying dentistry at the Ohio (Cincinnati ) Dental College. Mrs. Hicks died January 9, 1895, at the age of forty- four, and Mr. Hicks, having retired from business, is now living in Hunt- ington.
(III) Dr. Ira Clay Hicks, son of Bryant D. and Salena ( Hanshaw ) Hicks, was born June 29, 1868, at Winfield, Putnam county, West Vir- ginia. He received his preparatory education in the common schools of his native place, afterward studying at Marshall College. He taught two years in Kanawha county and seven years in Putnam county, having re- ceived, in his county examination, one hundred per cent in every topic upon which he was questioned, the second instance of the kind on record in such an examination. He was employed during one term in instruct- ing teachers. In 1895 Dr. Hicks entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Baltimore, remaining until 1897, after which he passed an examination by the state board, being one of the successful five out of the eleven candidates, among whom there were only two under-graduates. In September, 1895, Dr. Hicks began practice at Hurricane, West Vir- ginia, and later returned to the College of Physicians and Surgeons, grad- uating in 1898 as vice-president of his class. After receiving his degree of Doctor of Medicine Dr. Hicks returned to Hurricane, where he re- mained eleven years, building up a large practice and establishing an en- viable reputation. In April, 1907, he came to Huntington, where his pro- fessional prestige has been greatly augmented. In 1900 and 1901 Dr. Hicks took a post-graduate course at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Baltimore, and in 1902 took a similar course at Johns Hopkins Univer- sity, also doing post-graduate work in 1903. For ten years he held the position of surgeon for the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad, his valuable services being most highly commended by Dr. C. W. P. Brock, chief sur- geon for the railroad.
In 1892 Dr. Hicks was elected to the office of county assessor of Put- man county, being the only successful Republican candidate at that elec- tion. From 1904 to 1908 he was one of the representatives of his party in the state senate. While Dr. Hicks has accomplished much profession- ally, the versatility of his talents has enabled him to represent his fellow citizens in a position of public responsibility, and as physician and legis- lator his attainments and services have met with merited recognition and reward. He affiliates with the Scottish Rite Masons, having taken four- teen degrees; is a Knight Templar and a Shriner, being identified with Beni Kedam Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Junior Order of United American Mechanics. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Dr. Hicks married, March 31, 1895, at Winifrede, Kanawha county, West Virginia, Helen H., born in that county, March 12, 1876, daughter of Dr. James A. and Melinda R. (Ballard) Diddle, who were married April 1, 1868. Dr. Diddle was born August 13, 1843, in Monroe county, Virginia, now West Virginia, and practiced medicine for many years at
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Winifrede, passing away July 22, 1909. Mrs. Diddle was born October 3, 1853, and was a native of the same county as her husband. Her death occurred May 24, 1905. Dr. and Mrs. Hicks are the parents of one daughter, Xilpha Irene, born May 31, 1897, now attending Marshall Col- lege. The home of Dr. Hicks and family is situated on the corner of Fifth avenue and Tenth street, in one of the finest brick residences in Huntington.
(III) Dr. J. Oscar Hicks, son of Bryant D. and Salena (Hanshaw ) Hicks, was born April 23, 1880, at Winfield, Putnam county, West Vir- ginia. Until the age of sixteen he attended the local schools, at the same time assisting his father on the farm. During the ensuing six years he was engaged in teaching in the county schools, and at the age of nineteen became principal of the Raymond city school. Throughout this period he pursued the study of medicine, and in 1906 graduated from the Ken- ticky School of Medicine at Louisville. During his last two years at college he served as an interne in the Louisville City Hospital. In 1904 Dr. Hicks came to Huntington and entered upon the active practice of his profession, making a specialty of gynaecology and nervous diseases. In 1910 he took a post-graduate course at Louisville University, and in 19II another at Tulane University. He has already made for himself an enviable position in the ranks of his professional brethren. In his profession Dr. Hicks has already accomplished much, but the larger part of his career is yet to come, and a past so rich in attainment prom- ises even greater results in the future. In politics Dr. Hicks is a Repub- lican. He is an extensive owner of residence property. His fraternal af- filiations are with the Blue Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights Templar, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Modern Woodmen. Mrs. Hicks is a member of the Congregational church.
Dr. Hicks married Anice D., born October 15, 1887, in Getaway, Ohio, daughter of Dr. A. C. Burns, a pioneer physician of Huntington, who died in January, 1908, aged sixty years. His widow, Diana (Templeton) Burns, is now living with Dr. and Mrs. Hicks in Huntington. Dr. Hicks and his wife had one child, Rex Burns, born February 13, 1912, died October 22, 1912.
One of the most popular citizens of Huntington VONDER HAAR is George Vonder Haar, who has been for many years prominently associated with the hotel busi- ness in this city. Mr. Vonder Haar, as his name denotes, is of German ancestry, and possesses many of the salient characteristics of the sturdy and persevering stock from which he sprang.
(I) Theodore vonder Haar, father of George Vonder Haar, was born in the province of Hanover, Germany, and in 1848 was brought by his parents to the United States. They settled in Cincinnati, where Theo- dore learned the shoemaker's trade which he followed all his life in that city. He married Margaret Fehring, and they became the parents of four children : George, mentioned below; William J., cigar salesman in Cincinnati ; Edward J., picture enlarger ; Catherine. Mr. and Mrs. von- der Haar both died at the age of sixty-nine, the former in 1905, and the latter in 1908.
(II) George Vonder Haar, eldest child of Theodore and Margaret (Fehring) vonder Haar, was born October 28, 1869, at Lebanon, Ohio, and later moved with his parents to Cincinnati, where he received his education. After leaving school he became clerk in a hat store in Cin- cinnati. At the end of five years he resigned his position and in 1888
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came to Huntington, where he has ever since been connected with the hotel business. In November, 1906, he assumed his present position in the Frederick Hotel. As a public-spirited citizen he ever takes a gener- ous interest in any project for the advancement of the best interests of Huntington. He is identified with the Democratic party, affiliates with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and is a member of the Roman Catholic church.
Mr. Vonder Haar is a self-made man. He has combined enterprise and energy with strict integrity, and to-day there is no man in Hunting- ton more respected or better liked than George Vonder Haar.
William Blackwell Miles, a long-time resident of Hunting- MILES ton, where he has been for many years associated as a machinist with the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad, is descended from ancestors who have been for several generations resident in Virginia.
(I) Drury Miles, grandfather of William Blackwell Miles, was all his life a farmer in Virginia, and at the time of his death lacked but a few days of completing his hundredth year.
(II) Marcus Elkins, son of Drury Miles, was born in Cumberland county, Virginia, and when a young man served throughout the civil war in the quartermaster's department of the Confederate army. After the return of peace he engaged in the railroad business. He married Han- nah Maria, born in Hanover county, Virginia, daughter of Albert Jones, also a native of that county, where he was a capitalist and an extensive owner of farm property. He died in 1872, at an advanced age. Of the four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Miles, two, Sheldon and Lizzie, are deceased. Those living are: William Blackwell, mentioned below; Mrs. George Burks, of Huntington. The parents of these children are both deceased, Mr. Miles having been seventy-three years old at the time of his death.
(III) William Blackwell, son of Marcus Elkins and Hannah Maria (Jones) Miles, was born May 27, 1865, in Buckingham county, Virginia. During his early childhood his parents moved to Hanover county and subsequently to Richmond, settling in the autumn of 1872 in Huntington. It was here that Mr. Miles grew up and was educated, finally attending Marshall College. He began his business career in the shops of the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad, where he served an apprenticeship as a machinist. Since completing his term Mr. Miles has remained with the railroad, and it is sufficient testimony to his industry, integrity and ability to say that he is now associated with them in the capacity of a head machinist. He has extensive coal interests in Logan county. Mr. Miles is one of those citizens, valuable wherever found, who by energy and perseverance in their chosen callings, combined with strict adherence to the principles of integrity, advance the material prosperity of the com- munity and help to maintain a high standard of business probity. In politics Mr. Miles is a Democrat. He has taken every degree in Masonry, and also affiliates with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a member of the Christian church.
Mr. Miles married, February 13, 1891, at Rockwood. Ohio, Etta, born in Logan county, daughter of the late John Edwin and Ann Avis Robert- son, his wife. Mrs. Robertson is now living in Huntington. Mr. and Mrs. Miles are the parents of one child: William Clarence, born 1895. now a student at Clifton Forge (Virginia) Seminary.
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Dr. Thomas Dugan, during the comparatively short dura- DUGAN tion of his residence in Huntington, has built up for him- self an enviable reputation as a dentist and gained many warm friends among his fellow citizens. He comes of a notably sturdy and energetic stock, in ability and character commanding the respect of all.
(I) Thomas Dugan, grandfather of Dr. Thomas (2) Dugan, of Huntington, was born, according to one tradition, in Ireland, and accord- ing to another in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When a young man he re- moved to Portsmouth, Ohio, where he engaged in mercantile business, later becoming a leading banker of that city. He was president of the Farmers' National Bank of Portsmouth, and loaned the money with which the site of the city of Huntington was purchased. He married Levenia Mackoy, born in Kentucky, and they were the parents of two children : 1. James S., of whom further. 2. Fannie, became the wife of J. C. Adams, a prominent citizen of Portsmouth, and died in 1885, at the age of thirty-two years, leaving two children : Earl and William, now en- gaged in the manufacture of fire-arms and fire-works in Portsmouth. The steamer "Fannie Dugan" was named in compliment to Mrs. Adams, and her father, Thomas (1) Dugan, gave two hundred and fifty dollars for the silver to be used in casting its bell, and also presented the piano to form part of its equipment. At the time of his death, a sudden one oc- curring in 1873, he was in the prime of life. The old Dugan residence still stands in Portsmouth, on the corner of Chillicothe and Eighth streets, and is one of the finest specimens of colonial architecture extant. Mrs. Dugan died in 1894, in Huntington.
(II) James S., son of Thomas (1) and Levenia (Mackoy) Dugan. was born December 26, 1850, at Portsmouth, Ohio. In 1886 he came to Huntington, where for over a quarter of a century he has been in the service of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Company. He married Lizzie W. Gore, born February 18, 1852, in Portsmouth, Ohio, daughter of John Gore, a farmer, who died in young manhood. Mr. and Mrs. Du- gan are the parents of the following children : Levenia : Thomas (2), of whom further : Walter L., of Seattle, Washington ; Mathias W., of Hunt- ington ; Fannie : Charlotte, wife of George Moore, of Huntington ; Pearl ; Alice, wife of Warren Johnson, of Huntington: Irwin: and Elizabeth, freshman in the high school.
(III) Dr. Thomas (2) Dugan, son of James S. and Lizzie W. (Gore) Dugan, was born May 6, 1879, on his father's farm, the old Dugan homestead, also known as "Elm Bank." He was seven years old when the family moved to Guyandotte, now the fifth ward of Huntington, leav- ing Greenup county, Kentucky, where the farm was situated. It was here that the hoy received his education, and in 1896 entered the shops of the Chesapeake & Ohio railroad as an apprentice to the trade of machinist, remaining until 1901, when he went to Missoula, Montana, and there for one year worked at his trade in the service of the Northern Pacific rail- road. His next removal was to San Francisco, where he was associated for one year with the Southern Pacific railroad, and then proceeded to Mexico, finding employment at different places with the Mexican Central railway. At the end of another year he went to Texas, and after a time turned his face homeward, arriving, after his wanderings, once more in Huntington. Here he again entered the service of the Chesapeake & Ohio railroad, and later became master machinist of the United States Coal & Oil Company, at Holden, West Virginia. This position he re- tained until 1908, when he began the study of dentistry, graduating in 19II. He immediately opened an office in Huntington and from the outset has met with marked success, building up a large and steadily
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increasing practice. In politics Dr. Dugan is a Democrat. His fraternal affiliations are with the Masonic fraternity and the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks. He is a member of the Protestant Episcopal church. Dr. Dugan's professional career opened under favorable auspices and the success which he has already achieved warrants bright anticipa- tions for the future.
Huntington has no more stirring business man than
MOSSMAN Guy Mott Mossman, treasurer and general manager of the well known firm of the Mossman Brothers Com- pany. Mr. Mossman, though not a native of Huntington, has been for the last fifteen years numbered among her most esteemed citizens and is closely identified with many of her leading interests.
(I) John Mossman, grandfather of Guy Mott Mossman, was born in Avon, county Cork, Ireland, when a young man he emigrated to the United States, settling in Orange, New Jersey. His trade was that of a weaver. During the civil war, though past the age of enlistment, he ren- dered valuable service by drilling all the recruits in his neighborhood, an office for which he was well fitted, having served in Ireland as a captain of the King's Guard. He married Grace O'Dell, a native of Passaic, New Jersey, and their sons served in the Union army. Mr. Mossman died in Gallia county, Ohio, where he had lived many years, having reached the age of seventy-seven. His wife, at the time of her death, was about seventy years old.
(II) Albert, son of John and Grace (O'Dell) Mossman, was born March 3, 1828, in Gallia county, Ohio, and followed the calling of a farmer. He was a member of the state militia. He married, March IO, 1853, Mary Elizabeth Watts, born December 15, 1832, in Gallia county, daughter of James and Margaret (Waddell) Watts. James Watts was born in 1800, at White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier county, Virginia, now West Virginia, and his wife, Margaret Waddell, was born in Poca- hontas county, Virginia. James Watts was the son of a revolutionary soldier, himself a Virginian. James Watts was a farmer and died in 1885. His wife died aged forty-seven years. They were the parents of thirteen children. Of the seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Albert Mossman the following are living : Dr. E. J. Mossman, of Point Pleasant, West Virginia ; John W., of Huntington; Daniel Andrew; Lillian T., wife of Louis A. Womeldorff, a farmer of Bidwell, Ohio; and Guy Mott, of whom further. The father of the family died in 1892, and the mother passed away in 1902.
(III) Guy Mott, son of Albert and Mary Elizabeth ( Watts) Moss- man, was born March 5, 1874, in Gallipolis, Ohio, where he received his education in the public schools and at the Gallia Academy. After leav- ing school he was for six years identified with the dry goods business in his native place, first as clerk and later as proprietor. On February 14, 1896, he came to Huntington, and at once took charge of the dry goods establishment formerly conducted by G. W. Cox. The business, which had become involved in difficulties, was by Mr. Mossman's energy and astuteness, extricated and placed on a firm basis, and Mr. Mossman then became one of the agents for the Prudential Insurance Company. After holding this position thirteen weeks he was promoted to that of assistant superintendent, a more speedy advancement to this office than had ever been known in the history of the company. For two years and a half Mr. Mossman served as assistant superintendent, and on June 20, 1899, he and his brothers, Daniel Andrew and John W., founded the Mossman Brothers Company, now the largest organization of its kind in West
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Virginia. The firm deals in general supplies, both wholesale and retail, and has storage capacity for over two hundred cars. The entire control of the product of this extensive business devolves upon Mr. Mossman, neither of his brothers having ever taken an active part in its manage- ment, and the high position which the house holds in the commercial world is wholly due to his individual efforts. Mr. Mossman is a director and stockholder in the Huntington Stove & Foundry Company, and a stockholder in the Union Savings Bank & Trust Company, as well as in several other similar organizations. His political principles are those upheld by the Democratic party, and his fraternal affiliations are with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Modern Woodmen of America, the United Commercial Travellers and the Royal Arcanum. Mr. Mossman is also a member of the Huntington Chamber of Commerce, and vice-president of the Merchants' Association of Huntington ; has tak- en an active part in the Ohio River Improvement Association since it was first inaugurated. He is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mr. Mossman married, November 16, 1903, Effie E. Hollberg, born October 16, 1881, in Jackson, Ohio, daughter of Henry and Catheryne (Nagle) Hollberg. Mr. Hollberg served throughout the civil war in the army of General Sherman, participated in many battles and was once wounded. Under both Cleveland administrations he held the office of postmaster of Jackson, Ohio, where he is now, at the age of seventy years, engaged in business as a coal operator. Mrs. Hollberg died some years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Mossman are the parents of two sons: Donald Hollberg, born November 14, 1905: and Guy Mott, Jr., March 14, 1908. The presence in any community of a man of Mr. Mossman's caliber im- parts to its commercial life an impetus and vigor which are a guarantee of future prosperity.
MILLER William Miller, immigrant ancestor of this branch of the Miller family in America, was a tanner and a planter of Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1638. He came to this country from England, probably about 1635, although he may have lived in Ger- many a few years previous. In 1643 and 1646 he served as a soldier against the Indians. He resided in Ipswich in 1648, and in 1654 was one of the twenty-three original settlers of Northampton, Massachusetts. He lived on King street in that town, and died there July 15, 1690. He ac- quired a plantation at Northfield in 1672 and settled there, but returned to Northampton probably on account of the Indian war. He married Patience -, who died, very aged, at Northampton, March 16, 1716. The Northampton records say that she was a skilled physician and sur- geon. Children : John, married, March 24, 1670, Mary Alvord ; Mary, married (first) December 18, 1672, Obadiah Williams, (second) Novem- ber 28, 1677, Godfrey Nims: Rebecca, died August, 1657. Born at Northampton : Patience, September 15, 1657; William, November 30, 1659: Mercy, February 8, 1658: Ebenezer, mentioned below ; Mehitable, July 10, 1666; Thankful, April 25, 1669; Abraham, January 20, 1671.
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