USA > West Virginia > West Virginia and its people, Volume II > Part 51
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MR.SeSage
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to Huntington, where he has since continuously practised, acquiring large and lucrative connections and building up a most enviable reputation. In 1897 he became president of the board of health, and also city physician, serving ten years in both these very responsible offices. Dr. Le Sage is a member of the West Virginia State Medical Society, and treasurer of the Cabell County Medical Society. He affiliates with Huntington Lodge, No. 53, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Huntington Chapter, No. 6, Royal Arch Masons, and Huntington Lodge of Perfection, No. 4, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. He is identified with the Republican party and is a member of the Presbyterian church. As physician, friend and neighbor Dr. Le Sage is heartily appreciated in Huntington, where his entire pro- fessional career of nearly a quarter of a century has thus far been passed, a fact in which his home city takes a justifiable pride. Dr. Le Sage mar- ried, December 22, 1897, at Gap Mills, Monroe county, West Virginia, Mary E., born March 12, 1870, at Sweet Chalybeate, Virginia, daughter of Andrew J. and Eliza Humphreys, who are the parents of three other chil- dren : William J., Leonidas W., and Rose I. Humphreys. Mr. Humph- reys was a farmer, and during the war between the states served in the Confederate army. Dr. and Mrs. Le Sage have one son : William Dovel Le Sage, born March 31, 1899.
This surname is English in origin. A "horner" is a
HORNOR manufacturer of horn, and in the old days in England, as elsewhere, a manufacturer of horn was rather a con- siderable personage for in those times horn was applied to many uses for which glass and other materials are used at the present day. The history of "Americans of Royal Descent" shows that families bearing the name of Hornor are descendants of Edward the Third of England, of Robert Bruce of Scotland, and of some of the ancient kings of Ire- land. There is mention in English records of Sir John Hornor, Knight of Cloford, who married (first) Lady Ann Spike. There were other Hornors, too, bearing titles, occupying exalted positions, and distin- guished both in peace and war.
(I) John Hornor, the immigrant ancestor in America of the Hornor family here dealt with, was born near Newcastle, England, died near the present town of Bordentown, New Jersey, April 23, 1759. He arrived in this country. November 1, 1683. on the ship "Providence," Captain Robert Hopper, captain, which cast anchor at Burlington, New Jersey, bringing with him Mary ( Pearcy) Hornor, his wife, and their ten chil- dren, the youngest being five years old. John Hornor appears to have been a man of culture and of means. He selected a tract of land, then partially improved, on a beautiful eminence commanding noble views of the Delaware, near White Hill, one mile south of the present town of Bordentown in the state of New Jersey. He settled there and resided there for the remainder of his life. When he died he was interred in the old burying ground of the Honors, which is still preserved and is near the town of Hornorville. He was an intimate friend of William Penn, and like him, a Quaker, as the majority of his descendants continued to be. John F. Hagerman in the "History of Princeton and its Institutions" says :
John Horner came to Princeton from Piscataway in 1696. He settled on the property which he purchased in that year of Dr. John Gordon, consisting of a tract of land embraced between the road leading from Queenstown to the Aque- duct Mill on one side and the road now known as Washington Street on the other side, and bounded on the north by the main street of Princeton; on the south by Millstone River and Stone Brook, covering about four hundred acres. This in-
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cludes the farm now held by Joseph Olden and Alexander Gray, formerly known as the Sergeant farm and the Hamilton farm, and the several lots on the south side of the street which has now been built on. Mr. Hornor was an enterprising man and by buying, selling, and exchanging lands he contributed much to the growth of the village.
And again :
John Hornor belonged to the Society of Friends and his name is entitled to be honored in the history of Princeton College. It was he who joined with John Stockton and Thomas Leonard, in a bond for one thousand pounds to secure the planting of the College there. John Horner gave them ten acres of land for the College and he sold them ten acres adjoining the seven acres which had been given it. He was present and assisted in laying the corner stone of this College in 1754. It was John Horner, John Stockton, Thomas Leonard, assisted some by Na- thaniel Fitz-Randolph, who accepted this property of the Trustees of the College to remove that institution to Princeton provided the trustees should receive ten acres of cleared land and two hundred acres of wooded land and one thousand pounds of proclamation money. They complied promptly with these conditions by securing to the College the land and money required. He must have lived to an advanced age and he must have been a man of considerable wealth. He certainly exhibited a liberal mind when he, a Quaker, bestowed his money and favors upon a College which was understood to be Presbyterian and whose Charter provided for the teaching of Divinity in it. From this college there were descendants bearing his name through nearly five generations in Princeton.
(II) Isaac, youngest son of John and Mary (Pearcy) Hornor, was born at Tadcaster, England. in 1678. He was in his sixth year when he accompanied his parents to America. He married (first) Elizabeth Sykes, of Chesterfield, New Jersey ; ( second ) Eleanor, daughter of Sam- uel Bowne. Children by first wife: Rachel and Elizabeth; by second wife: John, born in 1719. died in 1753; Mary, in 1721, died in 1786; Samuel, mentioned below ; Joseph, in 1726; Elizabeth, in 1729, died 1766; Isaac Jr., in 1732, died in 1822: Benjamin and Amy (twins), in 1737, the former died in 1823, and the latter in 1807.
(III) Samuel, second son of Isaac and Eleanor (Bowne) Hornor, was born near Bordentown, New Jersey, March 1, 1724, died in 1766. The eldest son of John Hornor, the immigrant ancestor, bore his father's name, but dying childless he left his estate to his youngest brother. Isaac the father of Isaac, aforementioned, who entailed to his eldest son by his second wife, who was John Hornor, the third of the name. Samuel Hornor had considerable property in the same neighborhood. He mar- ried, in 1740, at Trenton. New Jersey, Mary Leonard. The children were : John, mentioned below ; Amy, born January 10. 1754: Samuel, March 17. 1756: Sarah, July 27, 1757. married a Mr. Springer : Joseph, January 30, 1763.
(IV) John (2), eldest son of Samuel and Mary (Leonard) Hornor, was born near Bordentown, New Jersey, October 27, 1750, died in 1819. He was very much interested in the growth and development of Prince- ton University and gave largely of his own means and induced others to give. Hagerman's "History of Princeton and its Institutions" says : "After the death of Samuel Hornor the survivors of the family were at what we know as Queenstown. This place was formerly called Jugtown, a name given to it because the Hornors had a pottery there for many years and jugs were manufactured. Since then it is called Queenstown." John Hornor married. July 27, 1777, Patty or Patsey, daughter of John Richards, of Falmouth. The children were: John, born April 29. 1778, died 1848: Samuel, August 8, 1779: Mary Leonard, January 21, 1781 ; Amelia Richards, July 8, 1783 : William B. R., February 28, 1787 : Maria, July 18, 1789: James Yard, mentioned below.
(V) James Yard, youngest son of John (2) and Patty or Patsey
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(Richards) Hornor, was born April 9, 1793, at Stone House Mountain, Culpeper county, Virginia, died August 9, 1872, at his home in Clarks- burg, West Virginia, being buried in his own graveyard on the farm at Lumberport, West Virginia. When a lad of seventeen years he enlisted in the war of 1812, and drew a pension at the time of his death. He was postmaster at Lumberport. He was a successful merchant and farmer, and took part in all the affairs of the early history of Harrison county. He was a member of the Baptist church, and trustee of the early schools. His youth and early manhood were spent in his native place, but after he had been married some years he moved his family to Clarksburg, West Virginia. James Yard Hornor married (first) Dollie or Polly Oloman Ferguson, who was from Culpeper county or Falmouth, Virginia. He married (second) Mary Asson, daughter of Captain David and Sarah (Wamsley) Robinson (see Robinson VI). Children of second mar- riage : Mary Richards, Amelia Sarah, Frederick Mortimer, Susan Mar- garet, Almira Louise, James David.
(VI) Almira Louise, daughter of James Yard and Mary Asson (Robinson) Hornor, was born July 21, 1844, at the old home in Lum- berport. Harrison county, Virginia, now West Virginia. She married (first ) Dr. Edward R. Davis, son of Rezin and Ann Pollard Pindal (Britton) Davis ; he died March 17, 1872. She married (second) Octo- ber 3, 1883, Judge Gideon Draper Camden, of Clarksburg, who was prominent as a lawyer in Virginia, and died April 21, 1891. She mar- ried (third) June 24, 1897, in Clarksburg, West Virginia, the Hon. George W. Atkinson, at that time governor of West Virginia, becoming a resident of Charleston, the capital of the state. When Governor At- kinson's term of office was ended he was appointed United States attor- ney for the southern district of West Virginia. Four years later Gover- nor Atkinson was appointed by President Roosevelt an associate judge of the United States court of claims at the city of Washington, where he and his wife have resided since April 25, 1906. Children by first mar- riage: I. Edward R., born February II, 1869, died October 25, 1910; married, January 25, 1902, Garnet Amelia, daughter of Charles A. and Mary (Rhodes) Hornor, of Clarksburg, West Virginia, there being three sons, Edward R., James and Robert Rhodes, all living at Clarks- burg, West Virginia. 2. James Hornor, married, October 19, 1892, Edna daughter of the Hon. Matthew G. and Elizabeth (McCleary ) Holmes, of Clarksburg; children : Elizabeth, died at birth, Ewing McCleary and Louise (twins), Virginia, James, Edward, John Holmes.
Mrs. Atkinson is a member of the Daughters of the American Revo- lution, the Daughters of the War of 1812, the American Pioneers of Parkersburg, West Virginia, the Daughters of the Confederacy, Stone- wall Jackson Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, the Mothers of the World, the Daughters of the Spanish War Veterans, the Robinson Genealogical Society of the World, and the Civic Club of Clarksburg, West Virginia.
(The Robinson Line).
The surname Robinson in its'origin merely stands for the "son of Robin." Robin was a mediaeval diminutive or nickname for Robert, ex- amples being Robin Goodfellow, Robin Hood, and so on in England.
(I) John Robinson, the immigrant ancestor of the Robinson family in America here dealt with, was born in Cleasby, Yorkshire, England, died at New Charles Parish, York county, Virginia, March 1, 1688. He came with his brother to America sometime about the year 1620. He married (first) Elizabeth, daughter of Christopher Potter, of Cleasby. Children : John, William, Beverly, Moncure, Samuel, Anthony, men- tioned below ; James, Peter R., Mary, Margaret, Sarah, Anna.
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(II) Anthony, sixth son of John Robinson, was born May 1, 1662, at New Charles Parish, York county, Virginia, died November 11, 1727. He married and had children : Moncure, James, Peter, Samuel, Anthony, John, William, mentioned below ; Beverly.
(III) William, seventh son of Anthony Robinson, was born at New Charles Parish, York county, Virginia. He married Mary Margaret Webb. Children : Benjamin, mentioned below ; six other children.
(IV) Benjamin, son of William and Mary Margaret (Webb) Rob- inson, married Margaret Mary Asson, who was a widow of J. Wilkinson. Children : Elizabeth, married Henry Coffman; Felix, married a sister of Governor Wood, of Virginia; David, mentioned below ; Margaret, mar- ried Colonel John Somerville; Mary, married Dr. Caleb Boggess ; Mag- dalene, married John Boggess; Benjamin Jr., died unmarried; John, married Rebecca Wamsley ; Susan, married Alburtus Boggess ; Malinda, married George Wamsley Boggess: William Marshall, married Emily Stringer, of Virginia.
(V) David, second son of Benjamin and Margaret Mary (Asson) Robinson, was born September 13, 1788, died May 13, 1853. He mar- ried Sarah Wamsley, sometimes called Wormley, March 16, 1809, daugh- ter of Captain David Wamsley, who lived in Augusta county, Virginia. Captain David Wamsley married Sarah Delay, came to Virginia and set- tled on the farm now owned by Charlie Hood and his brother, Harry, at Shinnston, West Virginia. The children of Captain David and Sarah ( Wamsley ) Robinson were: Maloina F., married Dudley H. Rogers, child, Sarah E., married Taylor E. Fortney ; Mary Asson, mentioned be- low ; Susan Rebecca, Sarah Elizabeth, Fernando Asson, Margaret Asson, Amanda, David Wamsley Asson, married Sarah Webster.
(VI) Mary Asson, second daughter of Captain David and Sarah (Wamsley) Robinson, married James Yard Hornor (see Hornor V), who was then a widower with six children.
NICHOLS The ancestors of this branch of the Nichols family came from England and settled in Pennsylvania many years before the revolutionary war. Thomas Nichols married Margaret Morgan and they had the following children: William, see forward; Thomas, killed at the battle of Brandywine; James, died at Catfish Falls, Pennsylvania : Isabella, married Michael Beary ; Mary, married John Snider ; Margaret.
(II) William, son of Thomas and Margaret ( Morgan) Nichols, was born in Pennsylvania, died near Fairmont, Virginia, now West Virginia, November 30. 1843. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Rangers from 1778 to 1783, during the revolutionary war ; this organization furil- ished its own guns and ammunition. He married Jane, daughter of Henry McClelland, who emigrated from Scotland, and she was born on the ocean. She died May 16, 1838. Children; Henry, see forward; Thomas, married and settled in Pittsburgh; Margaret, married James Fitzmorris : Anna, married Reason Fowler; Priscilla, married Patrick Clelland ; Mary, married Matthew Gilmore: Isabella, married George McCray.
(III) Henry, son of William and Jane (McClelland) Nichols, was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, October II, 1791, died January 5, 1873, and is buried in the cemetery near the Baptist church of which he and his wife were very devout members, at Barrackville, about three miles from Fairmont, West Virginia. He moved to a farm on Buffalo creek, in what was then Monongalia county, Virginia, which is now Marion county, West Virginia, about the year 1826, but continued his
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occupation as an iron moulder at Oliphant Furnace, leaving there Satur- day evening and returning Sunday night, for several years. He married, July 3, 1815, Nancy McClelland, born January 15, 1796, in Fayette coun- ty, Pennsylvania, died June 8, 1865, buried in the same cemetery with her husband. She was no relation to the above-named persons of the same name. Children : James William, see forward: Jane Isabella, born Oc- tober 24, 1819, married Felix S. Wilcox ; Ann Eliza, born December 20, 1820, married John M. King: Mary Collins, January 14, 1823, married James Shriver ; Sarah Ann, born April 2, 1825, married John A. Heck ; William Alexander, born November 23, 1827, married Mary Ann Pin- del; Priscilla McClelland, born September 23, 1829, married Jesse Sharp; Larken McClelland, born May 9, 1831, married Mary Sinclair : Henry McClelland, born February 20, 1833, not married. killed in the civil war; John Robinson, born May 1, 1835, married Laretta Wilson : Thomas Luther, born May 12, 1840, died in infancy : Elsey Steenrod, born June II, 1841, never married.
(IV) James William, son of Henry and Nancy ( McClelland) Nich- ols, was born in Fayette county, near Oliphant Furnace, Pennsylvania, November 24, 1816, died in Fairmont, West Virginia, March 17, 1871. He was a miller by trade and followed this all his life in and around Fairmont. He was a member of the Methodist Protestant church, and taught a class in its Sunday school from early manhood until his death. In politics he was a Republican. He married, April 18, 1843, Mary B. Fleming, born July 9, 1825, died August 18, 1906, daughter of William B. and Hannah ( Miller) Fleming. Hannah Miller was the daughter of Peter and Mary Miller. Peter Miller was born in Woodbury, New Jer- sey, May 15, 1759, enlisted in the Continental army, and participated in the battles of White Plains and Long Island, New York. It is not known when he moved to Virginia, but at the time of his death he owned the land now composing the fifth ward of the city of Fairmont. Children of James William and Mary B. (Fleming) Nichols : 1. William Henry, died in infancy. 2. Francis Edmond, see forward. 3. Ella P., married John Fenton Clayton ; died February 4. 1879, in Greeley, Colorado, buried at Grafton, West Virginia ; had two sons: Edward Rowland, now mana- ger of the Maryland Coal Company in Harrison county, West Virginia. and Frank Wilson, died in infancy. 4. Laura Emma, married Charles L. Maulsby; now residing in California; children: Anna Clayton and Thomas Nichols Maulsby. 5. Minnie, married Charles W. Walker ; died August 8, 1888; children: Kephart Nichols, and one daughter, died in infancy. 6. Anna Pratt, died May 5, 1898.
(V) Francis Edmond, son of James William and Mary B. (Flem- ing) Nichols, was born September 20, 1846, about one mile from the city of Fairmont, West Virginia. He received his education at the only schools in existence in this section at that day, the private subscription schools, one of which was taught by Dr. W. R. White, and it was a most excellent educational institution for those days. Later Dr. White was state superintendent of public schools in West Virginia. He was also a noted Methodist Episcopal minister. After leaving the school room, Mr. Nichols followed bookkeeping for many years, and was with several well known business houses. His next step in business life was his ap- pointment as mail clerk, on the line of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, his regular run being between Grafton and Chicago. He followed this work for twelve years, until he resigned in 1884 to take up a more inde- pendent work, that of insurance, in which he is still engaged but at pres- ent confines himself to fire exclusively. His spacious, well-fitted offices are in the new Masonic Temple. He has now twenty-six companies for which he is agent, doing both city and farm insurance business. He is
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director in the Home Savings Bank and the National Bank of Fairmont. Politically he is a Republican, but has never aspired to nor been induced to hold public office, preferring to attend strictly to his private business. He is a far advanced Free Mason, having reached the thirty-second de- gree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. He has held all the chairs in the local lodges. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, Chapter and Commandery, and been the secretary of the local bodies at Fairmont for more than thirty years, except the Blue Lodge, of which he has been the secretary since 1904. He belongs to Crusade Commandery, No. 6, Knights Templar, and the Scottish Rite bodies at Wheeling. He is now holding the office of grand recorder of the Grand Commandery of West Virginia, having held this important office since 1904. Mr. Nichols is charter member of the newly organized County Club of Fairmont, and he with his family holds membership in the Methodist Protestant church, of which society he is a trustee. He also belongs to the Sons of the Revolu- tion, of which he is the state treasurer.
He married (first ) Emma V. Steele. September 25, 1889; she died August 9, 1893, leaving one daughter, Mary Louise, born January 12, 1892, graduated at the high schools of Fairmont, her native city, and later attended Walnut Lane School, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from which she graduated in 1911. He married (second) August 30, 1899, Laura, daughter of R. C. and Mary (Lott) Dunnington, of Fairmont, West Virginia. Mrs. Nichols' father was in the mercantile business, but during the latter part of his life in the insurance business, died in 1904; his wife died at Fairmont in the spring of 1911. Mrs. Nichols is one of seven children. Mary Louise, only child of Francis E. Nichols, is now an enthusiastic member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, being eligible by connecting back to men of service in that great struggle, on her paternal and maternal sides from the Nichols and Miller branches. Her connection with this body is at Fairmont, West Virginia, being a worthy member of William Haymond Chapter. The Fleming genealogy is given elsewhere in this work, and will complete the connection be- tween the Nichols and Fleming lines.
This Perry family is an old Maryland family, members of
PERRY which removed to the Virginias, and some are now residing at Halltown, West Virginia, Dr. W. E. Perry being of this branch of the Perry family. Nothing back of the grandfather of Dr. Perry is definitely known concerning the history of this line of Mary- land settlers.
(1) John (probably) Perry was a Maryland farmer before the civil war. He was of Mechanicstown, where he finally died, aged seventy- two years. Politically he was a Republican. He and his wife were par- ents of children as follows: John, James, Jacob Stokes, Henry, Marion and one other. Marion never married. They are now all deceased except the son, Jacob Stokes, of whom later. The family was of the United Brethren religious faith.
(II) Jacob Stokes, son of John (probably) Perry, was born January 8, 1827. He spent his early years in and about Mechanicstown, Mary- land, where he was born. He attended the public schools. He became a contractor and builder, also carried on an undertaking establishment at Mechanicstown. Politically he was a Republican, but never wanted or held public offices. He married Martha Ann Geesey, of whom but little is now known concerning her ancestry. Both reside at Walkersville at the present time ( 1913). he aged eighty-five years, and she aged seventy- eight years. She is a member of the United Brethren church, of which
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her husband was steward. Jacob Stokes Perry and wife had nine chil- dren : Washington Everett, of whom further ; James Pleasant, married a Miss Shank; Katie Idaho, married James W. Long: John Jacob, mar- ried three times; William K., married Mollie Barrick, issue one child ; Mattie L., married Earnest Greagory : three died in infancy.
(III) Dr. Washington Everett Perry, son of Jacob Stokes and Mar- tha A. (Geesey) Perry, was born near Walkersville, Frederick county, Maryland, October 5, 1860. He attended the public schools, thus lay- ing well the foundation for his education which was to extend into the higher branches and into a professional career. He was a student one year at Dayton Virginia College : two years at Baltimore (Maryland ) Col- lege of Physicians and Surgeons, when two years made the complete course in medicine. He has been engaged in medical practice ever since. Politically he votes the Democratic ticket. He holds a membership in the Modern Woodmen. at Harper's Ferry: in the Patriotic Order of the Sons of America and the Eagles, being a member of Aerie No. 1136, at Brunswick, Maryland.
He married, May 13, 1890, Annie Leon Gibson, born in Jefferson county, West Virginia, December 25, 1867, daughter of John Gibson, of Fauquier county, Virginia, a farmer, died in Baltimore, and buried near Charles Town, West Virginia, December 27, 1907. In 1865 he married Mary Elizabeth Trussell and they had eight children: Annie L., married Dr Perry ; Manly D., unmarried ; Harry G., unmarried, said to be the first rural mail carrier in the United States ; Emma B., married Dr. Wilson, of California ; Mary E., unmarried : three died in infancy. Children of Dr. Washington E. and Annie L. (Gibson) Perry : Gilbert Everett, born No- vember 18, 1891, graduated from Powhatan, 1913: John L., born Septem- ber 11, 1893, now attending Strayer's College, Baltimore: Mary M. E., born June 21, 1901, now attending Charles Town graded and high school.
The population of West Virginia is fundamentally OVERTON Virginian, but the lack of intercourse and mutual un- derstanding between the sections of the old state was at the bottom of the demand for a division. The Overton family has, how- ever, in comparatively recent times come across the Alleghany barrier, and is a Virginian family almost to the present generation.
(I) Benjamin Overton, the first member of this family about whom we have definite information, was born in Virginia. He served his country in the war of 1812. He married -- Geeter. Child, John P., of whom further.
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