West Virginia and its people, Volume II, Part 35

Author: Miller, Thomas Condit, 1848-; Maxwell, Hu, joint author
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: New York, Lewis Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 866

USA > West Virginia > West Virginia and its people, Volume II > Part 35

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This is a well-known pioneer name in what is now

HICKMAN West Virginia, and has been borne by several Ameri- cans of distinction. Some at least of the persons of this name in America are said to be of German descent, and the present family is of this origin.

(I) - Hickman, the first member of this family about whom we have definite information, came from Germany to America. The name of his wife is not known, but he had a son, Adam, of whom further.

(II) Adam, son of - Hickman, married Mercy Pickering, of Masschusetts. Children: George, John, Benjamin, Elias and David, of whom further.

(III) David. son of Adam and Mercy (Pickering) Hickman, was born in 1812 and died in 1863. He was a member of the militia, and his duty in this office on one occasion took him across the state to Norfolk. Later, he was county clerk of Tyler county, Virginia. He married Nancy, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Wells. Child, David (2), of whom further.

(IV) David (2), son of David (I) and Nancy (Wells) Hickman. was born at Middlebourne, Tyler county, Virginia. October 8, 1844. His education was received in the common schools of Middlebourne, Sis- tersville, and West Union. He served as deputy county clerk under his father, until the latter's death. In 1864 he was appointed clerk of the board of supervisors and held this office until 1868. In that year he was elected recorder of Tyler county and this office was retained by him until the new constitution went into effect, in 1873. From 1873 to 1902 he was county clerk. Further, he has served several terms as councilman of Middlebourne. He was a director of the First National Bank at Mid- dlebourne and the Bank of Middlebourne. He married. September 19, 1866, Sarah E. Boreman, daughter of W. I. and Martha E. (Stealey) Boreman. Children : Martha B., born July 25, 1867, married Lloyd E. Smith : Francis R., born January 11, 1871, of whom further ; Catharine B., born January 20, 1877, married John A. George.

(V) Francis R., son of David (2) and Sarah E. (Boreman) Hick- man, was born at Middlebourne, January II, 1871. His life has been mainly spent at the place of his birth and he was formerly active in pub-

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lic life, after the manner of his father and grandfather. For several years he was deputy clerk of the county court of Tyler county and for several years also he was deputy clerk of the circuit court under J. G. Mayfield. But Mr. Hickman has now for ten years been better known in Middlebourne and elsewhere by his banking connections ; on March I. 1903, he assumed the duties of the position of assistant-cashier of the First National Bank, and he remained in this position for about four years, until June 1, 1907, when he was elected cashier of the same bank, and this position Mr. Hickman still holds. He married, January 10, 1905, Martha Blayne Spencer. Mr. and Mrs. Hickman have no chil- dren.

ENGLE A physician of fine professional education and wide ex-

perience in far separated parts of the world, yet a native of the place where he is now practicing, is Dr. Paul Engle, of Middlebourne, Tyler county, West Virginia. He is a representative of an old and prominent family of this section, which, like so many oth- ers in the northern counties of West Virginia, came hither from Western Pennsylvania.

(I) Christian Engle, the first member of this family about whom we have definite information, came from Greensboro, Pennsylvania, in the pioneer days of Northwestern Virginia, and settled at Middlebourne. He was a gunsmith. In the life of the Virginian community where he had settled, he held a prominent place. Here he served for a time as deputy county clerk, and for fifty years he held the office of circuit clerk of the county. He married Amy, daughter of Peter Hartley. Children : Laura, married Robert Martin; Peter, Lydia, Nancy, married William Hatch : Benjamin A., of whom further; Ezra.

(II) Benjamin A., son of Christian and Amy (Hartley) Engle, was born at Middlebourne, Tyler county, Virginia, June 22, 1848, and died at Middlebourne, October 3. 1912. While he held the office of deputy clerk of the county, he was engaged in the study of law and in 1874 he was admitted to the bar. From that time to his death, he was practicing law at Middlebourne. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Mr. Engle married Nancy E., daughter of Judge Stealey. Children : Paul, of whom further : Thomas S., born January 2, 1876. de- ceased ; Amy, married I. M. Underwood.

(III) Dr. Paul Engle, son of Benjamin A. and Nancy E. ( Stealey ) Engle, was born at Middlebourne, May 8, 1874. His early education was received partly in the public, and partly in private schools. For his professional studies, he went first to the University of Maryland, was graduated and received therefrom the degree of Doctor of Medicine, as a member of the class of 1901. Dr. Engle soon took further graduate study at the Polyclinic Medical College in Philadelphia in the year 1905. having been engaged, between his graduation and that time, in the prac- tice of his profession at Middlebourne. On leaving the Polyclinic Medi- cal College, he went to London, England, and took advanced work in the Metropolitan Clinic. For a few years Dr. Engle practiced in Los Angeles, California, and he was, in 1910-1911, in the city hospital there. But he returned to Middlebourne in 19II, and is now successfully engaged in practice at this place, and holds the office of health physician. Dr. En- gle is a member of the city council also. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons. Dr. Engle married, April 18, 1907, Bessie I., daughter of Solomon and Mary Shoup. Dr. and Mrs. Engle have no children.

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HILL While the origin of surnames is a subject about which few undisputed statements can be made, there is a large group of English surnames which it is natural to regard as adopted from local characteristics, whether belonging to nature or to the work of man, such as Hill, Wood, Lake, Pond, Forest, Park, Hall; and many of these are found also in a plural or possessive form, as Hills, Woods, Parks, Waters, and the like. The name Hill is by no means uncommon among Americans of British descent, and has been borne by a number of persons of distinction.

(I) Thomas Hill, the first member of this family about whom we have definite information, came in 1825, from Marion county, Virginia, to Tyler county, Virginia. In Tyler county he was a successful farmer. He married Margaret -; child, Lycurgus, of whom further.

(II) Lycurgus, son of Thomas and Margaret (-) Hill, was born at McKim, Tyler county, Virginia, in 1837, and died in March, 1902. He was a farmer and later a harness-maker. In religion he was a member and one of the staunch supporters of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Louisa, daughter of Jacob and Minerva (Miner) Lantz, who died in November, 1903. Children : Benjamin, Minerva, married Waldo Broadwater ; Lettie, married Harvey Marsh; Lina F., married N. D. Marsh ; Thomas P., of whom further.

(III) Thomas P., son of Lycurgus and Louisa (Lantz) Hill, was born in Tyler county, West Virginia, August 24, 1873. His education was begun in the public schools, including the high school grades, and he afterward attended the state normal school at Glenville, West Virginia. Then he studied law at the University of West Virginia, and was ad- mitted to the bar. In 1904 he came to Middlebourne, Tyler county, West Virginia, where he has since that time made his home, and been engaged. with success, in the practice of his profession and he is also a director of the First National Bank of Middlebourne. Mr. Hill has taken an active interest in educational matters also. In 1902 he was elected to the house of delegates of this state, and two years later he was elected state sena- tor. During his term in the senate, he served as chairman of the com- mittee on education, and through his influence the whole body of school laws of the state was revised. Of the first law establishing a county high school in the state of West Virginia, Mr. Hill was the author, and the first school of this character was established in Tyler county at Middlebourne. In 1894, he was chosen county superintendent of schools for this county: and he is at the present time (1913) principal of the public school at Middlebourne. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Hill's church is the Methodist Episcopal. He married, June 30, 1901, Cora, daughter of S. A. and Dorcas (Stoucking) Allen. Children : Earl, born August 3, 1902 : Pearl, born May 21, 1904; Freder- ick, born June 11, 1907; Thomas P., born June 25, 191I.

This name is found in various parts of the country and the present family is of Virginia origin.

CARTER (I) Henry Carter, the first member of this family about whom we have definite information, lived in the eastern part of Virginia, afterward in what is now Upshur county, West Virginia. He married -, and had a child. Henry Emerson, of whom further.

(II) Henry Emerson, son of Henry and Carter, was born at Sago, Upshur county, Virginia, in 1838, and died in 1879. He was a Methodist preacher. Mr. Carter married Samantha, daughter of Wil- liam and Nancy Reed, who died February 21, 1910. Children: Mar- doinus L., Florence May, married J. G. Mayfield ; Dora J., married L. L.

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Swan; Georgiana E., married J. C. Mayfield; Edward E., William H., married : Olin C., of whom further.

(III ) Olin C., son of Henry Emerson and Samantha ( Reed ) Carter, was born at Sago, Upshur county, West Virginia, May 12, 1869. He attended the public schools, and for seven years thereafter was engaged in school teaching. After this, he attended the state normal school at Fairmont. But changing his plans for a career, and determining to en- ter the practice of the law, he then attended the law department of the University of West Virginia, and he was graduated therefrom in 1896, when he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Shortly after his graduation, he came to Middlebourne, Tyler county, West Virginia, where he has lived since that time, and been successfully engaged in the practice of his profession. Two years later, in 1898, he entered the firm of Boreman & Carter and this firm has continued unbroken to the present time. Mr. Olin C. Carter married, at Middlebourne, in September, 1903, Mary F. McCay, daughter of Thomas and Minerva McCay. Child, Vir- ginia L., born October 27, 1907.

SMITH It would probably be difficult to find an extended part of the United States, north, south, east, or west, where this surname would not be the most common in occurrence of all. It has existed in America from the earliest times, has long borne a relative frequency at least comparable to that which it now has, and has been brought to this country continually by new immigrants. Beside the Smiths of British origin, much the largest portion of the whole, there are other Smiths of Dutch descent, whose name was originally Smit or Smitt, and of German descent. The reason for the frequency of this name is to be sought in its origin. While there is much disagree- ment among students of the subject concerning the origins and meanings of surnames, many English surnames certainly seem to be names of oc- cupation, at first designating the bearer as a man following such a trade or profession, and it is natural to assign Smith to this class of names. As "smiths" are necessary to the maintenance and prosperity of any com- munity, with the possible exception of the exclusively agricultural, Smith would, with the passing of trade names into surnames, quite naturally have become at once a very common family name, and not the name of a single family, nor that of a few families, but from the very first the com- mon surname of many families. Variant forms of this name, of much less frequent occurrence, are Smyth and Smythe. Names pointing to more specialized occupations, very much less frequent, are such as Goldsmith and Arrowsmith. It may be added that many persons of the Smith name have gained distinction, for there have been a large number of states- men and publicists in this country bearing this surname.

(I) John Smith, the first member of this family about whom we have definite information, lived in Greene county. Pennsylvania. The name of his wife is not known, but he had a son Isaac, of whom further.

(II) Isaac, son of John Smith, came from Greene county, Pennsyl- vania, to Tyler county, Virginia, and in this state he was a farmer. He married -- , daughter of Samuel S. Birkhead. Her father was the first county clerk of Tyler county. Child, David M., of whom further. (III) David M., son of Isaac and - - ( Birkhead) Smith, was born near Centerville, Tyler county, Virginia. He was a merchant at Center- ville, till he retired from business activity. In his young manhood, he was on two occasions elected assessor of the county. He married Mar- garet, daughter of Dr. Samuel and Amanda (Wells) Morey, who died in 1879. Child : Harry W., of whom further. 16

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(IV) Harry W., son of David M. and Margaret ( Morey ) Smith, was born at Centerville, September 1, 1868. Having attended the public schools, he went for further study to the University of West Virginia. In 1894 Mr. Smith was appointed deputy-sheriff of Tyler county, and he served for two years. In 1897 he bought the Tyler County Star, one of the leading newspapers of this county, which is still owned by him. Since 1909 he has been postmaster of Middlebourne. He is a member o. the Free and Accepted Masons and of the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Smith is a Republican. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and active in its work, being a class leader and teacher in the Sunday school of this denomination at Middlebourne. He married, December 25, 1901, Mary, daughter of A. S. and Helen ( Snodgrass) McDougal. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have no children.

GUTHRIE Dr. Lewis Van Gilder Guthrie, superintendent of the

West Virginia Asylum, at Huntington, is a representa- tive of the American branch of a family of Scottish origin, the members of which, in the successive generations, have ren- dered distinguished service as soldiers, statesmen and members of the learned professions.

John Guthrie, the original American ancestor of Dr. Guthrie, emi- grated from Edinburgh, Scotland, and located in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1682.

(II) Francis Guthrie, son of Dr. Nathan G. Guthrie, and grand- father of Dr. Guthrie, was born in New York state, died at the venerable age of eight-four years. He was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church, and for forty years he labored zealously and continuously in West Virginia.

(III) Francis A., son of Francis Guthrie, was born April 12, 1840, in Tyler county, Virginia. He was a college student in Meadville, Penn- sylvania, when the outbreak of the civil war changed the current of his life. He volunteered as a private, enlisting September 10, 1861, was promoted a sergeant, November 2, of the same year, and again promoted in July, 1862. The following November he was made first lieutenant, and on March 30, 1863, was promoted to captain of Company E, One Hundred and Eleventh Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He remained in the army throughout the war and saw much active service. After the return of peace he studied at Ann Arbor University, grad- uating from the Law School, and settled at Point Pleasant, West Vir- ginia, where he successfully practised his profession. In 1880 he was elected by a very large majority judge of the seventh judicial circuit, was re-elected in 1888 for another term of eight years, and for a third term in 1896. He also served a term as state's attorney. In politics Judge Guthrie was a Republican. He married Clara, daughter of Amocy Van Gilder, a native of New Jersey, who passed his life as a farmer in Ches- hire, Ohio. Judge Guthrie died in 1904, at his home at Point Pleasant, leaving a record of forty years' honorable professional and public ser- vice. In early manhood he served his country on the battlefield, while the long years of his maturity were devoted to the maintenance and exe- cution of her laws.

(IV) Dr. Lewis Van Gilder Guthrie, only child of Francis A. and Clara (Van Gilder) Guthrie, was born January 8, 1868, at Point Pleas- ant, West Virginia. He received his early education in the schools of the neighborhood, then studying at the Polytechnic College at Blacksburg. Virginia, and afterward at Roanoke College, Virginia. On leaving that institution he entered The College of Physicians and Surgeons, of Bal-

Guthrie

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timore, and while an undergraduate was appointed assistant resident physician at the Maternity Hospital, and graduated in 1889 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He at once began practice at Point Pleasant, and during the nine years that followed acquired a large con- nection and built up an enviable reputation. On June 1, 1897, Dr. Guth- rie was appointed superintendent of the Second Hospital for the Insane at Spencer, West Virginia, and after filling this position four years re- signed in order to accept his present office, on June 4, 1901.

Dr. Guthrie has been markedly successful both in his profession and in his business undertakings. While a resident of Spencer he was presi- dent of the Bank of Spencer, and has served as a director or officer in numerous Huntington corporations, and is at present vice-president of the First National Bank of Huntington. In politics Dr. Guthrie is a Republican. His first political appointment was during the Harrison administration when he was appointed local pension examining surgeon. He affiliates with the Point Pleasant Blue Lodge and Chapter of Ma- sons and Huntington Commandery, No. 9.

Dr. Guthrie married, June 15. 1889, at Point Pleasant, Margaret Lynn, a native of that place, daughter of Judge John W. English, of the court of appeals, and his wife, Fannie (Lewis) English. The latter died in 1909. and Judge English, now over eighty years old, is living in re- tirement at Point Pleasant. Dr. and Mrs. Guthrie are the parents of two daughters : Kathleen Lewis, now the wife of Frank W. Mccullough. of Huntington : and Fannie Elizabeth, eleven years old. The home of Dr. Guthrie is a residence set aside for the superintendent of the institution, and while situated in the delightful seclusion afforded by the beautiful grounds is actually but a short distance from the business center of Hunt- ington.

The West Virginia Asylum was originally the West Virginia Asylum for Incurables, and was authorized by the legislature of 1897. In 1001 it was deemed expedient to convert it into an institution for the insane, with a department for epileptics and imbeciles, and thenceforth its de- velopment was rapid. The legislature of 1903 changed the name from Asylum for Incurables to West Virginia Asylum, Dr. Guthrie and others being strongly in favor of substituting the word "hospital" for that of "asylum," the suggestion meeting. however, with unreasonable opposi- tion. The institution is situated on a site consisting of thirty acres of land donated to the state by the city of Huntington, the contour of the ground affording a natural drainage and suitable sites for the buildings, which are surrounded by natural forests of more than a thousand mag- nificent trees. For the last twelve years Dr. Guthrie has presided with distinguished success over this great institution, wisely directing its work of benevolence and meeting with forethought and decision the responsi- bilities of his important office. The present population of the institution (1912) is five hundred and fifty.

HOOPER Powell Hooper was born in Buckingham county, Virginia, in 1810. and died there in 1892, aged fifty-two years. He was a farmer by occupation and during the entire period of the civil war was a loyal soldier in the Confederate ranks. He partici- pated in severa! important battles and for many months was confined in a hospital as the result of injuries received at the front. He married Wil- lie Ann Holman, who was likewise born in Buckingham county. Virginia. and who is now a resident of Albemarle county. Virginia : she is fifty- eight years old. There were seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hoop- er, namely : Eugene, died in infancy : John Holman, is a farmer in Albe-

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marle county, Virginia ; George Lewis, maintains his home in Kentucky ; Ellen Powell, is the wife of H. S. Holman, of Cartersville, Virginia; Tandy Holman, mentioned below : Dollie M., married Harry Culberth, of Dillwyn, Virginia : William Powell, is a resident of Fayetteville, West Virginia.

(II) Tandy Holman, son of Powell and Willie Ann (Holman) Hooper, was born in Buckingham county, Virginia, June 12, 1878. He was educated in the public schools of his native place and subsequently pursued a commercial course in a business college at Richmond. He was reared to the invigorating discipline of the old home farm and early be- came associated with his father and brothers in the work and manage- ment of the same. He remained at home until he had reached his nine- teenth year and in 1898 came to West Virginia, locating at Glen Jean, where he worked in a general store for several years. In the latter part of the year 1905, he came to Oak Hill, in Fayette county, and here ac- cepted the position of cashier of the Merchants & Miners Bank, which opened its doors for business January 1, 1906. This bank has a capital and surplus of seventy-five thousand dollars and deposits amounting to over two hundred thousand dollars. Its official corps is as follows : George W. Jones, president ; J. S. Lewis, vice-president, and Tandy H. Hooper, cashier. The board of directors consists of the above officers and in addition to them, R. Mankin, George M. Jones, W. L. Lee, J. Clapperton, Jr., J. P. Staton, S. W. Price and R. H. Dickinson. In poli- tics Mr. Hooper owns a stalwart allegiance to the principles and policies for which the Democratic party stands sponsor, and in a fraternal way he is affiliated with Oak Hill Lodge, No. 120, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is master ( 1912). In his religious faith he is a devout mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. At Scarbro, West Vir- ginia, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hooper to Josephine Dillard. who was born in the vicinity of Montgomery, Fayette county, West Vir- ginia. Her parents have been dead for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Hooper have two children : Frank Powell, born May 12, 1904, and Mary Ann, born September 10, 1905.

This name, while not of the greatest frequency of occur- LONG rence, is found in various parts of the United States. Prob- ably the best-known American bearer of this name has been John D. Long, of Massachusetts, at one time secretary of the navy of the United States. The present family has been established now for three generations in Tyler county. West Virginia, and came into this state from Western Pennsylvania. A family of this name, of Irish des- cent, was settled in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, before the revolu- tion : several members of the family took part in that conflict, and some members of this family moved from Fayette into Greene county. It seems probable that the present family is of this stock.

(I) George Long. the first member of this family about whom we have definite information, was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania. With his wife he came into Tyler county, Virginia, and here he was a prosperous farmer. He married Lydia Johnson. Children: Ely B., Rachel M., married Jefferson Davis; Elizabeth, married Elias Wells ; Ruth, married Benjamin Clovi: Caroline, married W. A. Flesher ; George W., Sarah E., and Johnson G., of whom further.

(II) Johnson G., son of George and Lydia (Johnson) Long, was born on the homestead in Tyler county, Virginia, March 13, 1845. He. is one of the successful farmers of the county, and has held many pub- lic offices in his district. In the civil war, he enlisted in Company E ..

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Fourteenth Regiment, West Virginia Volunteer Infantry. He is a mem- ber of the Grand Army of the Republic. His church membership is in the Christian church, of which he is one of the strong supporters. He married Angeline, daughter of Enos Smith, who died December 24, 1909. Children: Will E., of whom further; Mattie F., married Emerson Hill; Mary A., married J. H. Robinson; O. Key, W. O., Minnie G., de- ceased, married R. J. Meade : Myrtle B., married F. C. Gorrell ; Maud B. and Golden R.

(III) Will E., son of Johnson G. and Angeline (Smith) Long. was born in Tyler county, West Virginia, April 25, 1870. His educa- tion was received in the public schools and in the Mountain State Busi- ness College, at Parkersburg. His early life was spent on the farm where he was born, and here he worked until he accepted a position with the Eureka Pipe Line. In this employment Mr. Long remained for eight years. He has been constable of his district. Then he was elected as- sessor, and he served eight years in this position. In 1908 he was elected sheriff of the county. He has been sergeant-at-arms of the state senate also, in 1906. He is director of a bank at Middlebourne and director of the Fire Association. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias at Middlebourne, and the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks, at Sistersville. At Middlebourne he makes his home. His religion is that of the Christian church. His grandfather built a church of this denomination on his farm, and Mr. Long is a member of the congregation which worships in this building. On January 1, 1913, Mr. Long retired to his farm, where he has built a nice new house and barns and has one of the finest up-to-date farms in the county. He married, April 25, 1898, Lucy M., daughter of John and Adeline Seckma. Child. Mabel, born June 27, 1900.

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West Virginia and its people, Volume II, Part 35

Author: Miller, Thomas Condit, 1848-; Maxwell, Hu, joint author Publication date: 1913 Publisher: New York, Lewis Historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 866

Author: Miller, Thomas Condit, 1848-; Maxwell, Hu, joint author
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: New York, Lewis Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 866