USA > West Virginia > West Virginia and its people, Volume II > Part 52
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93
( II) John P., son of Benjamin and (Geeter) Overton, was born in Amelia county, Virginia, August 29, 1840. Until 1876 he was a railroad man, and after that for about thirty years he was engaged in arming. In 1907 he retired from business life and settled at Parkers- burg, West Virginia, which is now his home. He married Rose Ann, laughter of James T. Dolan. Children : 1. John Edward, of whom further. 2. Rebecca C., married Thomas Golden. 3. Mary Agnes. 4. ames B. 5. Thomas S. 6. Joseph A. 7. Ellen, married John W. Wes- er. 8. William. 9. Henry, in India. 10. Richard.
(III) John Edward, son of John P. and Rose Ann (Dolan) Over- on, was born in Ritchie county, West Virginia, October 10, 1869. He vas educated in the public schools, and took a business course at Dela- vare, Ohio, being graduated in 1893. For the next three years he was uditor of the Cairo & Kanawha Railroad Company, and since 1896 he las been engaged in mercantile business at Cairo. Ritchie county, West Virginia. Beside this mercantile interest, he has large holdings in oil 23
354
WEST VIRGINIA
and gas and is overseer and manager of the Cairo Insurance and Real Estate Agency. In the Bank of Cairo Mr. Overton is a director and the secretary of the board of directors. Under the new tax laws of West Virginia he was the first tax commissioner, and in this office he served for two years. In February, 1911, he was appointed postmaster of Cairo. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Knights of Pythias, and Parkersburg Lodge, No. 198, Benevolent and Protective Or- der of Elks.
He married, in 1896, Ada Millslagel. Children: Myrtle, born in 1897: John.
DICKINSON Colonel John Q. Dickinson, capitalist, banker and long one of Charleston's representative men, belongs to one of the interesting old families of the Virginias. This family traces descent from Joseph Dickinson, who may have been born in Bedford county, Virginia. April 11, 1742, his death being defi- nitely fixed as having occurred September 16, 1818, in Virginia, on his plantation on Goose creek in Bedford county. There are records to prove that he was a man of sterling qualities and that he was worthy to be the ancestor of his present descendants. He married Elizabeth Wool- bridge, born January II, 1744, was married March 6, 1769, and died No- vember 7, 1818. For many years they were leading members of the Goose Creek Baptist Church.
The following were children born to Joseph and Elizabeth Dickinson. The eldest, Edna, born September 15, 1770, married Joseph Stratton ; they came to what is now West Virginia, and they died and were buried near the mouth of Hughes creek. William, of whom further. Nancy, born October 20, 1773, married Jeffrey Robertson and they lived in Bed- ford county. Sally, born September 15, 1776, married Joseph Shrews- bury, and they came to Kanawha county. Pleasant, born April 15, 1785, lived, married and died in Franklin county, Virginia.
(II) William, son of Joseph Dickinson, was born January 7, 1772. He became associated with Joel Shrewsbury first as a tobacco merchant in Bedford county and after their marriage they came with their wives to the Kanawha Valley, the growing of tobacco being somewhat inter- rupted by the disturbance incident to the war of 1812. About this date they located in what was called the "Salines." now Malden, Kanawha county, on the Kanawha river, after a few years spent at a point now known as Dickinson. Here the salt wells were dug and the furnaces started of the Dickinson & Shrewsbury Company and during many years afterwards they largely controlled the salt industry and developed the business into a leading one of the state. They continued in business un- til about the outbreak of the civil war, when they dissolved partnership and the death of William Dickinson followed in the succeeding Novem- ber.
(III) William (2), son of William ( 1) Dickinson, was born in Bed- ford county, Virginia, January 1, 1798. He was brought up and mar- ried there, coming to Kanawha county in 1861, after which he became selling agent of the output of his father's salt mills, having his headquar -. ters at Nashville, Tennessee, where he remained until he decided to give up active business responsibilities to a large extent. He returned then to Malden and thereafter until his death on November 8, 1881, his time was occupied in looking after one salt furnace and the family's large landed possessions. He resided at that time on the Dickinson farm, lying fifteen miles up the Kanawha river, and which is locally known as the Dickinson-Shrewsbury homestead. He was a Whig and later a Demo-
355
WEST VIRGINIA
crat, casting his vote for Bell and Everett when that ticket was in the field for national consideration. Like his father he had high qualities of business ability.
He was married in early manhood to Margaret C. Gray, a daughter of John Gray, of Bedford county. Mrs. Dickinson survived until 1859. She was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church and was a woman of most engaging personality. She was the mother of two daughters and two sons: Mary, Jane, Henry C., John Q. Mary, who died in Kanawha county, was survived for some years by her husband, John A. E. Winkler. Jane was the wife of John A. Cobb and at death left three daughters.
(IV) John Q., son of William (2) Dickinson, the only member of his parents' family surviving, was born in Bedford county, Virginia, No- vember 20, 1831. He grew to manhood on his father's plantation, and early had duties assigned him in looking after the extensive farming operations and in directing the work of the slaves. When the civil war broke out he was ready to shoulder his musket with the first detail of soldiers called out but was restrained until a favorable opportunity came for him to leave home. In the spring of 1862, when his brother, Cap- tain Henry C. Dickinson, was in camp in Albemarle county, he decided to join him and taking a horse from his stable was soon on the way, subsequently enlisting in Company A, Second Virginia Cavalry, with his brother as his captain, Colonel Bradford being in command of the regi- ment. He proved himself a good and reliable soldier and took part in many serious battles before he was captured near Green Court House, Virginia, after which he was confined in the Federal prison at Fort Delaware until the close of the war.
Mr. Dickinson then came to the Kanawha Valley and his success in business life is a source of pride to his fellow citizens. Although the adverse fortunes of war fell upon him and his, he was of the manly fiber that enabled him to put aside much of the past and to plan hopefully for the future. He is the only one of the many salt makers of this val- ley who has continued in the industry and made it profitable. He is one of the largest land owners in this section and his properties are rich in mineral and gas. He is extensively interested in the production of coal and is president or otherwise officially connected with numerous coal com- panies of the state. Mr. Dickinson was one of the original stockholders of the Kanawha Valley Bank, the largest banking institution of the state, which was founded and incorporated in 1867. At that time his father was president, and both he and his brother, Henry C. Dickinson, were directors. For many years past Mr. Dickinson has been president of this bank, and in this as in his other business enterprises he has displayed the indispensable characteristics which contribute to financial success. His whole business career has been, more or less, a series of successful undertakings, and his time and attention have been so continuously en- gaged that public office, along the path of politics, has attracted him not at all. He is a Democrat from rearing and conviction but his activity goes no further than to performing the full duties of citizenship. He has been identified with the Masonic fraternity since early manhood.
Mr. Dickinson was married during the civil war to Margaret D. Lewis born in 1843, in Kanawha county, Virginia, where she has always lived. She is a daughter of John D. and a sister of Charles C. Lewis. Six chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson, of whom a partial record is as follows: William and Mosby, both of whom died in manhood, both having been graduates of a military institute and brilliant students : John Lewis, of whom further ; Charles C., who has charge of his father's salt furnaces at Malden, is a graduate of the above military school in the
356
WEST VIRGINIA
class of 1895, and married Nellie Alderson. Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson are members of the Presbyterian church at Malden.
(V) John Lewis, son of John Q. Dickinson, was born at Kanawha Salines, now Malden, January 26, 1870. He attended the public schools and then became a student in the Virginia Military Institute in the class of 1890. Later he was entrusted with the operating of his father's salt furnace at Malden, where he remained for some time. He then came to Charleston and served through the clerical positions preliminary to be- coming cashier in 1896 of the Kanawha Bank. He is also a member of the board of directors of this solid old financial institution, one that stands foremost in capitalization in the state. In politics Mr. Dickinson is a Democrat and he has long made the city's best interests his own. He has been treasurer of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce since its organi- zation and has been one of its most active promoters. He is prominent in Masonry and is past eminent commander of the commandery and be- longs to Beni-Kedem Temple, Mystic Shrine.
Mr. Dickinson was married in the city of Charleston to Maude Hub- bard, daughter of John and Statia Hubbard, the former of whom is de- ceased. Mrs. Dickinson was born at Malden, and was educated at Charleston and at Miss Mason's Seminary, near Philadelphia. Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson have had five children born to them: Mary Lewis, Anna Statia H., Nell Carmichael, Doras Laidley and Rebecca Grey. Mr. Dick- inson and family are members of the First Presbyterian Church at Charleston, in which he is a deacon.
Richard J. Wood. son of John Richard and Lucinda (de
WOOD Hart) Wood and grandson of Richard Wood, a son of John Wood, who came from Bedford county, Virginia, and settled in Patrick county, Virginia, was born October 4, 1828, and is now living in Floyd, Virginia. He was a farmer, but has retired from active business pursuits. During the civil war he was a member of the 5Ist Virginia Regiment in the Confederate army, attained the rank of cap- tain, and served throughout the war, part of the time under the command of General Floyd. He married Anna Judith Shortt, born November 5, 1834. Children : Jefferson P., born 1857: Daniel Hillsman, 1861 ; George Bunnion, 1863: Greenville Darius. 1867; Amos DeRussia, re- ferred to below : Sparrel Asa, born 1872; Robertson, 1877.
( II) DI. Amos DeRussia Wood, son of Richard J. and Anna Judith (Shortt) Wood, was born in Floyd county, Virginia, May 16, 1869. He received his early education at Oxford Academy at Floyd, Virginia, and then entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore, Mary- land, from which he graduated in 1893, and commenced the active prac- tice of his profession at Martinsville, Virginia. Later he took a post- graduate course at Johns-Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and also the post-graduate courses at the New York Polyclinic Hospital and the New York Opthalmic and Aural Institute in New York City, and in 1898 removed to Rocky Mount, Virginia. In 1908 he settled in Bluefield, West Virginia, where he is now living and practicing his profession. He is a member of the Mercer County Medical Society, the West Virginia State Medical Society, the Virginia State Medical Society and the Amer- ican Medical Association. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, and is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a Democrat in politics, and a Presbyterian in religion. He married, June 25, 1009, at Portland, Oregon, Anna Chapman, daugh- ter of David Emmons and Sarah Elizabeth (Pearis) Johnston, born in Princeton. West Virginia, May 25, 1876; her mother, Sarah Elizabeth
David & Johnston
357
WEST VIRGINIA
Pearis, was born October 31, 1842, and is a member of the family from which the town of Pearisburg, the county seat of Giles county, Virginia, takes its name. Children of David Emmons and Sarah Elizabeth (Pear- is) Johnston : Loula Adeline, born January 18, 1869, married F. L. A. Wilson, M. D., of Bluefield, West Virginia : Daniel Howe, November 4, 1872; Georgia Virginia, January 4, 1874; Anna Chapman, referred to above.
Amos DeRussia and Anna Chapman (Johnston) Wood have one daughter : Sara Pearis, born July 25, 1912.
David Emmons Johnston was born at Pearisburg, Giles county, Vir- ginia, April 10, 1845, of Scotch-Irish ancestry.
His great-grandfather, David Johnston, was born in the year 1726, in Fermanagh county, Ireland, and came to America when he was only ten years old, as cabin boy of the ship. He married Nannie, daughter of Richard Abbott, of Culpeper, Virginia.
David Johnston Jr., grandfather of Judge Johnston, was born in the year 1768, and married Mrs. Sallie Chapman Miller. They had three children, of whom Oscar Fitzalon Johnston, father of Judge Johnston, was the oldest.
Oscar Fitzalon Johnston was born in 1807, and married Elizabeth, daughter of Isaac French. He was a prosperous farmer and business man of Giles county. He was elected a member of the house of dele- gates of Virginia from Giles county in 1841. At his death, his son David E., then but a small boy, was left mostly to the care of his uncle, Chap- man I. Johnston, of Pearisburg.
David Emmons Johnston attended the schools of Pearisburg and Rev. James W. Bennett's school in Monroe county up to the breaking out of the civil war. Volunteering as a private soldier, in April, 1861, at the age of sixteen, he joined Company D, Seventh Regiment of Vir- ginia Infantry. This regiment was a part of the famous Stonewall Jackson's brigade. He served all through the war, was elected sergeant major, December 10, 1862, and was wounded in the battle of Williams- burg, May 5, 1862, and also at Gettysburg in the third day's fight, in "Pickett's Charge" and left on the battle-field seriously wounded, and was twice captured-at Gettysburg, and at Sailor's Creek, the latter occurring three days before Lee's surrender at Appomattox. At the close of the war he engaged in teaching school and reading law, and was admitted to the bar, locating at Princeton, West Virginia, in 1867. On February 6, 1867, he married Sarah Elizabeth, daughter of Daniel Howe and Louisa Adeline Pearis In 1872 he was elected prosecuting attorney of Mercer county, over Judge R. C. McClaugherty. He has always been a loyal Democrat and prominent in his party. He was elected to the state senate in 1878, where he served with distinction. In 1880 he was elected judge of the eighth judicial circuit of West Virginia, which office he held for the term of eight years. Upon his retirement from the bench, he formed a partnership with the late Dr. J. W. Hale, under the firm name of Johnston & Hale, and this firm enjoyed a large and lucra- tive practice, being one of the most prominent law firms in Southern West Virginia. In 1893 Judge Johnston removed from Princeton to Bluefield, where he resided for fifteen years, devoting most of his time to the practice of his profession. For seventeen years he was the attorney for the Norfolk & Western Railway Company. In 1898 he was elected a member of congress from the fifth congressional district, in a district with a large Republican majority.
In 1872 Judge Johnston was one of the organizers of the New River Railroad. Mining & Manufacturing Company, of which Dr. John B. Rad- ford was president. The charter was granted by the legislature of Vir-
358
WEST VIRGINIA
ginia, and the authorized capital stock was $2,000,000.00. It gave the company the right to construct a railroad from New River Depot in Pulaski county, Virginia, to some point in Mercer county, West Virginia, near Camp Creek, and made ample provisions for building branch roads in Mercer and other counties. The charter of the New River Railroad, Mining & Manufacturing Company was acquired by the Norfolk & Wes- tern Railroad Company, and in 1881 it began the construction of its New River branch.
In the early days of the Pocahontas coal fields, he was one of the organizers of the Bluestone-Flat Top Coal Company, which later was known as the Flat Top Coal Company. This company acquired and owned twenty thousand acres of coal lands in the section near Bluestone river and Flat Top mountain. These lands were sold for $105,000.00 and from them were formed the following companies: Bluestone Coal Company, Crane Creek Coal Company, Indian Ridge Coal Company. Wide Mouth Coal Company, Flat Top Coal Company, and Rich Creek Coal Company. During his residence in Bluefield he was largely inter- ested in its material development, and was one of the organizers of the following prominent Bluefield corporations : Flat Top Grocery Company, Bluefield Telephone Company, Bluefield Hardware Company, Bluefield Building & Loan Association, and State Bank of Bluefield, West Vir- ginia. In 1908 Judge Johnston moved with his family to Portland, Ore- gon, and resumed the practice of his profession in that city, where he now resides. In religion Judge Johnston is a Baptist, and has been prom- inent in his denomination for many years. He has always been a leader in the moral welfare of his county and state, and although he has en- gaged in many fierce political battles which tried men's consciences, he has always borne himself as a high-toned Christian gentleman, and has been respected as such by his bitterest political adversaries.
Judge Johnston is the author of two books: "Four Years a Soldier," a rare pen picture of the late civil war as seen and experienced by a private in the ranks, the early part of which is with Stonewall Jackson in the Valley Campaign-later with Lee, up and down the Chickahominy -before Richmond, Gettysburg and C. & C .: and "A History of the Middle New River Settlements and Contiguous Territory," a book of much research and real worth.
THISTLE Sampson Thistle, grandfather of Mrs. Maud (Thistle) Neuenschwander, was a farmer and passed his life upon his estate near New Martinsville. Sampson (2) son of Sampson ( I) Thistle, was born May 18, 1823, at New Martinsville, West Virginia, died in 1890. He received his education in the common schools. As a young man he entered mercantile life in Sistersville, built up a large business and was very prosperous. He was associated with his brother Archibald, the firm name being A. & S. Thistle. After the death of Sampson. Archibald Thistle conducted the business alone until his own death, which occurred in 1896. Sampson Thistle was a worthy citizen, respected by all for his many sterling qualities, while his cheer- ful disposition and his readiness to look upon the bright side of every situation caused him to be much beloved. He was a man of great kind- ness of heart. quick to extend a helping hand to those less fortunate than himself and to speak words of encouragement and cheer to those whose strength was failing in the battle of life.
Sampson Thistle married Dorinda Wells, and they were the parents of a son and a daughter: I. Charles, was for several years engaged in mercantile business. He married Adeline Graham by whom he became
359
WEST VIRGINIA
the father of three children, and his death occurred June 20, 1903. 2. Maud, who became the wife of William J. Neuenschwander.
MARTIN A man whose personal history is interesting, as being that of a life greatly altered by the civil war, and who has achieved a high position in the world of commerce which he first entered through necessity, is Charles Carroll Martin, the banker and wholesale grocer of Parkersburg, West Virginia. In Parkersburg. West Virginia, as well as elsewhere in this wonderful state there are two elements of population, diverse in origin, but now harmoniously blended; the old and original Virginian stock, and the later comers, largely of immediate or remote New England origin. Mr. Martin is a Virginian, his great-grandfather having crossed the Alleghanies and set- tled in Monongalia county. Despite the distinction always existing in America, having its roots in England itself, and probably deeply underly- ing the civil war, between the settlers of New England and those of the South, there are too many family names found in common among the im- migrants to both sections to allow the belief of great separation in blood or in family position and characteristics; some of these names are so distinctive that the New England and Virginia immigrants must be judged probably rather closely related. Martin is not one of these de- cidedly infrequent and significant names, but it is noteworthy that it is found as a Northern name also.
( I) Presley Martin, the son of the Virginian pioneer, who crossed the mountains of Monongalia county, lived on Crooked run, in that county, not far from Morgantown. He married Margaret Carter. Child, Benjamin Franklin, of whom further.
(II) Benjamin Franklin, son of Presley and Margaret (Carter) Martin, was born on Crooked run, near Morgantown. He married Eliza daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Tomlinson) Harkness. Her grand- parents, both paternal and maternal, had come from Maryland, and set- tled on the flats of Grave Creek, now Moundsville, West Virginia, early in the eighteenth century. When they had reached that point the In- dians were so hostile that they, with others, had to return to Maryland and it was two years before they again ventured to occupy the block- house which they had in their first settlement built at Grave Creek. Chil- dren of Benjamin and Eliza (Harkness) Martin: Charles Caroll, born October 2, 1840, at New Martinsville, Wetzel county, Virginia ; Samuel R., of whom further.
(III) Samuel R., son of Benjamin Franklin and Eliza (Harkness) Martin, was born in Virginia. In his young manhood he moved to Mis- souri, but in 1865 returned to West Virginia and is now living at New Martinsville, Wetzel county, West Virginia, where he is president of the New Martinsville Bank.
This is one of the old Protestant families of the county, APPEL hailing direct from Germany, where at Hesse-Cassel, John Appel, the earliest progenitor of whom anything is definitely known, was born. He was a carpenter and joiner, of whom little is re- corded except that he spent his life in the place of his birth, dying at about ninety years of age, and that he and his family were Lutherans. His wife, whose maiden name is not known, also died at Hesse-Cassel. There were seven children born to the pair, none of whom are now living.
(II) John (2), son of John (1) Appel, was born March 18, 1827, at Hesse-Cassel, Germany, died at Cumberland, Maryland, September
360
WEST VIRGINIA
15, 1910, at the age of eighty-three years. He grew to manhood in the old home and received his education at private schools in the vicinity. He followed his father's calling in the old country. After coming to the United States he worked at the same trade for awhile here, and then went into the merchandise business in which he continued. He was a member of the Republican party, but was not prominent in politics. He was a deacon in the Lutheran church, of which he and all of his family were members. He married (first) Frederica Hetzel, probably a native of Berlin and an immigrant to this country from Germany with the re- mainder of her family. Her father was Philip Hetzel, who became a merchant tailor in Cumberland, Maryland, where he died at the age of about seventy-five years. Besides Mrs. John Appel he had the following children who are still living: 1. John J. Hetzel, married Anna Barndol- lor; lives at Martinsburg, West Virginia; eight children. 2. Mary, married George Schaffer, lives at Cumberland, Maryland; ten children. 3. Matilda, married John Bauer; two children; she is now deceased. Mrs. John Appel died at Cumberland, Maryland, at the age of thirty-two years, having been the mother of five children, all of whom with one ex- ception are now living ; the names are as follows: I. Daniel Frederick, secretary of the new England Mutual Life Insurance Company ; resides in Boston, Massachusetts ; married Mary Horn; two children. 2. John Joshua, married Ella Miller ; lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he is in the real estate and fire insurance business. 3. George, died unmarried. 4. Philip Melancthon, of whom further. 5. Elizabeth Ella, married Harry Miller, a merchant, and lives at Hagerstown, Maryland. Mr. John Appel married (second) Anna Myers.
(III) Philip Melancthon, son of John (2) and Frederica (Hetzel) Appel, was born at Cumberland, Maryland, October 6, 1864. He passed his early life in Cumberland, receiving his education at private schools there, after which he entered business life in the employ of the National Tube Works, of Mckeesport. Pennsylvania. Later he became connected with a tannery operated by J. B. Hoyt & Company, of Paw Paw, West Virginia, for twenty years. After the termination of his engagement with the tannery, he traveled for a wholesale grocery house of Martins- burg, West Virginia ; and then returned to Paw Paw, where he entered the merchandise business in which he has now been engaged for the past two years. Mr. Appel is a member of the Republican party, in which he has been politically prominent, having been mayor of the city of Paw Paw for seven years during his former residence here. He is also well known in Masonic circles, and is a member of the Junior Order of Amer- ican Mechanics and the Knights of Pythias, in which he has passed all chairs. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.