USA > West Virginia > West Virginia and its people, Volume II > Part 57
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compelled to increase his output from year to year, until he now has the finest plant of its kind in the state of West Virginia.
Charles Nelson Matheny, a well-known lawyer and
MATHENY business man of Parkersburg, West Virginia. is de- scended from old families of northwestern Virginia, now West Virginia, and has among his relatives of pioneer days some of the most noted of the frontier settlers and Indian fighters.
(I) Noah Matheny, the first member of this family about whom we have definite information, lived in Marion county, Virginia. He mar- ried Child, William Henry, of whom further.
(II) William Henry, son of Noah Matheny, was born in Marion county, Virginia. There he was brought up, but he afterward moved to Wetzel county, thence again to Jackson county. He married Drusilla Ann. daughter of Morgan and Susanna (Martin) Morgan. This Mor- gan Morgan lived at Pine Grove, Wetzel county, Virginia, and was com- monly known as "Spy Mod Morgan," Mod being an abbreviation of Morgan, and the "Spy" being an appellation earned in the border war- fare, in which he and his brothers Levi and David had been prominent. The American ancestor of the Morgan family, also named Morgan Mor- gan, was born in Wales and educated in London, England; he was a military man, hence known as Colonel Morgan, and a minister of the Church of England. In Delaware, where he settled for a time, being there engaged in business at Christiana, he married Catharine Garretson ; soon after his marriage he moved to the valley of Virginia, and he es- tablished a church at Winchester, of which he and his son, Morgan Mor- gan Jr., were the ministers for many years. Two others of the sons of Morgan Morgan Sr. are of specail note : David, born at Christiana, Dela- ware, May 12, 1721, married Sarah Stevens, a Quaker woman of Penn- sylvania, moved with his father to the valley of Virginia, owned a farm near Winchester, assisted, in 1748, in the determination of the boundary between Virginia and Maryland, moved for a short time into Pennsyl- vania, but finally settled in Marion county, Virginia, about six miles north of Fairmont ; and Zacquil or Zackwell, well known in pioneer history as the founder of Morgantown, (West) Virginia. "Spy Mod Morgan" did not marry until he was over fifty years old, and he had two children, one of whom was Drusilla Ann, married William Henry Matheny. Chil- dren of William Henry and Drusilla Ann ( Morgan) Matheny : Charles Nelson, of whom further: Susanna Martin.
(III) Charles Nelson, son of William Henry and Drusilla Ann ( Mor- gan) Matheny, was born at Pine Grove, Wetzel county, Virginia, June 27, 1861. With his parents he moved to Jackson county, West Virginia, in the spring of 1865, and in that county he attended the common and select schools until he was sixteen years old. Then he studied at the State Normal School, Fairmont, West Virginia, and after finishing his course at this institution he was for a number of years a teacher. Then he began the study of law under Robert F. Fleming, at that time judge of the fifth judicial circuit of the state of West Virginia. He passed an examination under Judges Guthrie, Jackson and Fleming, and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1888. At first he practiced in Jackson county, West Virginia : but in 1892 he moved to St. Marys, West Virginia, and in 1901 came to Parkersburg, West Virginia, where he has since that time lived. Mr. Matheny is largely interested also in the oil business. He is a Republican, and was for one term postmaster of St. Marys under President Mckinley.
He married (first) in 1883. Electa Ann Swallow, who died November
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29. 1895; (second) March 18, 1897, Frederica, daughter of Samuel A. Barkwill, of St. Marys, West Virginia; she married ( first) John W. Porter, who was clerk of the county court of Pleasants county, West Vir- ginia, and died February 11, 1895. Samuel A. Barkwill was an immi- grant from England, who came to the United States about 1840.
IRELAND The ancestral line of this family is not traceable to the country of the same name, although circumstances point to a connection with other families by the name of Ire- land that are of Irish ancestry. There has been handed down through generations a tradition to the effect that the founder of the family in this country was a lad of unknown parentage and name, his mother and father having been lost at sea, and he himself reared on shipboard by the captain and crew ; because of a suggestion in his appearance of Irish nationality, he was dubbed "Ireland" and the name clung to him for lack of a better. After he had grown to manhood, he left the vessel on one occasion as it lay at anchor in an eastern harbor of this country, and charmed by the land which he thus visited for the first time, he made his home here and prospered.
(I) The earliest actually known progenitor of the family in this coun- try was William Ireland, supposed to be a descendant of the above-named lad : he was a native of Maryland, and with his son Alexander, also a native of Maryland, migrated to Harrison county, West Virginia, dying near Clarksburg. (II) Alexander, son of William Ireland, grew to manhood in the vicinity of Clarksburg, having a half-sister who became Mrs. Sheets. He married Elizabeth Ragan, the daughter of a revolu- tionary soldier of German lineage. She was born at West Milford in 1771, died in Tyler county, September 7, 1855, at the age of eighty-four years. About the year 1818 Alexander Ireland, with his family, re- moved from the vicinity of Clarksburg and made his home just above the mouth of Otterslide, on the farm that was formerly designated as the Joshua Davis place, now a part of the Flannagan homestead. Here he remained until some time in the early thirties, when he removed to Tyler county, where he died July 18, 1843, aged seventy-one years. Mr. and Mrs. Ireland were the parents of the following named children, whose descendants are now scattered throughout the Union: I. John, married (first ) Agnes Maxwell, (second) Amy Joseph. 2. Jacob, married Mar- tha Wells; he was the only one of the brothers and sisters who died childless. 3. Thomas, of whom further. 4. Jonathan, married Jane Rose. 5. Jesse, married Sarah Wells. 6. Alexander, married Sarah Bond. 7. William, married -. 8. Mary, married Robert Doak. 9. Eliza, married Alexander Doak. 10. Sarah, married Alexander Low- ther, of Oxford, living and dying in Ritchie county. 11. Margaret, mar- ried Thomas Bond. 12. Priscilla, married William Wells.
(III) Thomas, son of Alexander and Elizabeth ( Ragan) Ireland, was the first pioneer to find a home on the Middle Fork of Hughes river. In October, 1820, he was married to Katherine, daughter of Robert Low- ther, the eldest son of Colonel William Lowther. Shortly after his mar- riage he took up his residence on this river, near its confluence with the South Fork, on the farm that is now the property of his son, George M. Ireland. Here he prospered as a farmer and the remainder of his life was passed there. He was a man of great integrity and was one of the pillars of the White Oak Methodist Episcopal Church, he and his wife being among the charter members. Their children were: I. Robert, who went to Kansas where he died in 1870, and where his family still reside. 2. Alexander, residing in Ohio. 3. John C., died in Doddridge county.
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4. Albert, died in childhood, in the year 1849. 5. Mortimer, a superan- nuated minister of the Methodist Protestant church, living at Worthing- ton, Marion county. 6. George Monroe, of whom further. 7. Thomas W., deceased; was a prominent minister of the Methodist Protestant church ; was a resident of Morgantown : he was at one time a teacher in Ritchie county, and served a term as county superintendent. 8. James Franklin, who went to Colorado many years ago, where he still resides. 9. Elizabeth, died at a good old age. 10 and II. Catharine and Susan, who live with their brother, George M., at Pullman. 12. Sarah, now Mrs. Maulsby, of West Union.
( IV) George Monroe, son of Thomas and Katherine ( Lowther ) Ire- land, was born January 2, 1839, in Ritchie county, West Virginia. He became a farmer and stock dealer. At the outbreak of the civil war in 1861, he enlisted in Company E, Sixth Virginia Volunteers, and served all throughout the war as captain of that company. He became a prom- inent man in his own home district, of which he was supervisor for a number of years, and was one of the organizers of the Pullman State Bank at Pullman, becoming its first president. He is also a prominent man in religious circles, being an influential member of the Methodist Episcopal church and active in Sunday school work. Mr. Ireland mar- ried Mary Ellen, daughter of Andrew Law, of Ritchie county : she was the teacher of the first free school in the county. Mr. and Mrs. Ireland had the following children: 1. Anzonetta, married Zeri Z. Amos. 2. Albert Law, a Methodist minister ; married Minnie McKeill. 3. Paul Mon- roe, a lawyer : married Julia Blair. 4. George Boyd, deceased. 5. Wil- liam Porter, a farmer ; married Laura Pritchard. 6. Lucretia Ellen, married Fred A. Hall. 7. Ritchie Alexander, a physician. 8. Alonzo Dixon, of whom further. 9. Emery Ison, born at the old homestead on the Middle Fork river, June 10, 1874; graduate of the University of Morgantown ; after his graduation he entered the United States geologi- cal survey and is now topographer at Washington : he is a civil engineer ; he is a member of the Washington Society of Engineers and the Ameri- can Geographical Society; he married, December 15. 1909. Elizabeth, daughter Lee W. Funk, of Washington City.
(\') Alonzo Dixon, son of George Monroe and Mary Ellen (Law) Ireland, was born in Ritchie county, West Virginia, January 16, 1870. His education was acquired in the public schools and Fairmont Normal, after which he attended the National Penn Arch Hall, in Ohio, and West Virginia University, where he was graduated in the law department in 1895, receiving his degree of Bachelor of Laws. He began the practice of his profession at Harrisville. Ritchie county, and here he organized the People's Bank in 1898. becoming the assistant cashier. He after- wards received the appointment of official stenographer to the circuit court of the fourth judicial district. In 1901 he came to Parkersburg, engaging in the practice of law, and on January 1, 1903. he was appointed deputy clerk of the county court, resigning the position after five and a half years' service in order to accept the post of secretary to the Tri- State and Investment Security Company. On April 1, 1911, he formed a partnership with Harry D. Perkins, the style of the law firm being Ireland & Perkins : they have a large and growing practice, and Mr. Ire- land has become one of the most influential men hereabouts. He owns a large farm where he makes a specialty of raising fruit and blooded stock. He is a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
On May 7. 1896, Mr. Ireland married Lucy Burdette, daughter of Stephen and Frances Victoria Davidson. They have one daughter liv- ing. Dorothy Davidson, born March 1, 1904: another child died in in- fancy.
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CASTO This is an old name in what is now West Virginia, and per- sons bearing the name are found in various parts of the state. Among these have been and are many engaged in professional callings, medicine and the law.
(I) William Casto, the first member of this family about whom we have definite information, settled on a farm near Ripley, Jackson county, Virginia, which farm is still in the possession of the family. He mar- riad - -. Child, Levi, of whom further.
(II) Levi, son of William Casto, was born near Jane Lew, Lewis county, Virginia, April 1, 1808, died January 27, 1880. Throughout his life he was a farmer. He married Hannah, born August 3, 1813, died January 23, 1891, daughter of William Carney. Children: I. Arrilla, married Jacob Heyre. 2. James H. 3. George B. 4. Absalom H. 5. Francis A. 6. David C., born August 31, 1850; he received his early education in the public schools, and was for eight years a school teacher ; on June 24, 1874, he was graduated from the University of Ohio, and he then accepted the position of superintendent of schools at Elizabeth, Wirt county, West Virginia ; in 1877 he was admitted to the bar, but he still taught school for a short time : for two years he taught at Burning Springs, Wirt county, West Virginia, and he was from 1877 to 1881 county superintendent of schools of Wirt county ; from 1881 he has been engaged in the practice of law, and since 1896 he has been a resident of Parkersburg, West Virginia; he married Lucy Clyde Dorr : children : Lillian D., born November 23, 1878, died January 22, 1913, married, May, 1906, Robert T. Stealey; Dorr, a lawyer at Parkersburg, practic- ing with his father, one of the United States commissioners for the dis- trict of West Virginia. 7. Charles Evertt, of whom further. 8. Clare- mont E. T., of whom further. Six other sons, deceased.
(III) Charles Evertt, son of Levi and Hannah (Carney) Casto, was born at Ripley, Jackson county, Virginia. December 16, 1852. At one time he was a school teacher in the public schools of Kanawha county, West Virginia ; later he bought the old home farm, on which he has since passed his life. He married Margaret L., daughter of William and Fanette Rose. Children: I. Thomas J., a physician ; David C., pros- ecuting attorney of Writ county, West Virginia; Okey J., of whom further ; Verta, married Theodore Staats; Ruby, married E. E. Staats ; Bessie, married C. L. Chenoweth ; Mabel, married Clarence Rathbone ; Nellie.
(III) Dr. Claremont E. T. Casto, son of Levi and Hannah (Car- ney) Casto, was born in Jackson county, Virginia, November 30. 1854, died at Parkersburg, West Virginia, October 14, 1912. His education was begun in the public schools, and further prosecuted at Miami Col- lege, from which he was graduated and received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1875. Dr. Casto went after his graduation to Rockport. Wood county, West Virginia, where he practised his profession for twenty-six years. This long period of service was followed by a period of five and one-half years at Belleville, Wood county, West Virginia, where he engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery. Finally, in 1906, he came to Parkersburg, West Virginia, where he acquired a large practice. He was a member of the Free and Accepted Masons. Dr. Casto's religion was the Methodist Episcopal. He married, in 1875. Tennessee, daughter of Michael and Emily ( McCoy) Crow, of Jackson county, West Virginia. Children : I. Donza Clarence, born January 2, 1877: physician, graduate of the Baltimore Medical College; he was at the time of his father's death practicing with him, and has continued to practice at Parkersburg : married Willa F. Michael. 2. Emma, born
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July 3, 1880; married G. C. Holliday. 3. Charles Evertt, born August 14, 1883.
(IV) Dr. Okey J. Casto, son of Charles Evertt and Margaret L. (Rose) Casto, was born at Ripley, March 31. 1880. He acquired his education in the public schools, including the high schools at Ripley and at Fayette, Fayette county, West Virginia. He then studied at the Barnes Medical College at St. Louis and at the Maryland Medical Col- lege, Baltimore, Maryland, from which he was graduated May 14, 1902. After his graduation he established himself at Elizabeth, Wirt county, West Virginia. Here Dr. Casto has practiced medicine and surgery with success, and now has a large practice. He has served as a member of the town and county boards of health, also inspector of schools. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Dr. Casto married, May 14. 1905, Elosha, daughter of Francis and Marian - Hodge. Child. Charles Francis, born May 14, 1909.
BUKEY This is one of the oldest pioneer names of the vicinity of Parkersburg, West Virginia. In August, 1799, shortly after the formation of Wood county, Virginia, Harman Blenner- hassett, Hezekiah Bukey and Daniel Kincheloe were recommended as gen- tlemen qualified to be justices, and with the excption of the ill-fated Bler- nerhassett they served in this office. Charles A. Bukey, a present repre- sentative at Parkersburg of this old Wood county family, affords in his business career a remarkable illustration of the value of continuity and permanence, as he is now and has been without intermission connected with the same institution as he entered in young manhood, at the outset of his business life, but not in the same position, having been repeatedly pro- moted, from a minor rank to one of high responsibility.
(I) Van Hartness Bukey was born at Marietta, Ohio, died in Wash- ington, District of Columbia. His life, nevertheless, was mainly passed in what is now West Virginia. The widow is now living at Parkersburg, West Virginia.
(II) Charles Alexander, son of Van Hartness Bukey, was born at Parkersburg, West Virginia, November 30, 1861. In this city he was brought up, and his home has always been in the county. In the schools of the city and county he received a good education. At the age of nineteen he entered the service of the Parkersburg National Bank, and with this institution he has been connected ever since. Having thus been now for al- most thirty-two years in its service, he is nearly the senior of all the bank- ing officials of the eleven banks of this city. In this bank he has held various desks, and finally, in 1904, was made cashier, and the present time he remains in this position. Mr. Bukey is a conservative and thor- ough business and financial man, whose judgment is much sought and greatly valued in banking and other circles. While he has given close and strict attention to the affair entrusted to his official care, he has not neglected the duties of good citizenship, yet he has not taken an active part in the contests of political life. Mr. Bukey is a member of Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church, of Parkersburg. In the work and wor- ship of this church he has given particular and active interest to its musi- cal affairs, and he is himself a valuable member of the choir and of the music committee.
Charles Alexander Bukey married. at Parkersburg. October 26, 1902, Emily Smith, born at Parkersburg. October 19, 1871. daughter of Charles S. and Ella Despard. The Despard family is of Huguenot ori- gin. In the present day it is a well-known family at Parkersburg, and the wife of United States Senator Nathan Goff is a member of this
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family. Child of Charles Alexander and Emily Smith (Despard) Bukey: Mary Ellen, born at Parkersburg, March 21, 1907.
SIMMS Judge John Thomas Simms is of Scotch-Irish descent, the eldest son of Robert C. and Sarah Katherine (Jones)
Simms, and a lineal descendant of Edward Simms, one of three brothers who emigrated from Scotland to America in the early col- onial days, and settled finally in Culpeper county, Virginia. Edward Simms was a planter in these early days, and during the war of the revo- lution was a soldier in the continental army.
Judge John Thomas Simms was born at Ansted, Fayette county, West Virginia, May 10, 1875, his parents having removed to that section shortly before his birth. His boyhood and early manhood were spent on the farm, and he obtained the usual elementary training accorded to the boys of that section. He attended the public schools in the vicinity of his birthplace, but by far the most important part of his education was obtained at the Summersville Normal School and the Fayetteville Acad- emy. He was graduated from the normal, commercial and scientific de- partments, became a teacher in the last-mentioned institution, and later its principal. In the meantime he had taken up the study of law at the University of West Virginia, was graduated in June, 1903, and admitted to the bar. He commenced at once to practice his profession at Fay- etteville, the county seat of his native county, and still resides there. In Ig10 he was elected judge of the criminal court of Fayette county, West Virginia, and is serving in that official capacity at the present time, 1913. As a jurist Judge Simms evinces the highest capacity for original investi- gation and interpretation of the law. His mind early became skilled in logical reasoning. which enables him to solve a complex legal problem as easily as he would demonstrate a proposition in Euclid. He is an active member of the State and American Bar associations. In political mat- ters Judge Simms is Republican, and up to the time of his elevation to the bench was prominent in the politics of his state. His fraternal affilia- tions are with the Masonic order and with the Knights of Pythias. In religious belief he and his family are Presbyterians.
The following statements, summing up the character of Judge Simms as an educator and lawyer, are considered worthy of reproduction here :
"Mr. Simms as a student always impressed his teachers with his aptness, thor- oughness and evident industry. As a teacher, he was recognized as a leader in educational matters and was fast forging to the front when he chose to abandon this field and entered the profession of the law. As a lawyer, he is ranked as among the best and has been identified with much of the important litigation of southern West Virginia. As a jurist, he has already gained an enviable reputation for his ability, fairness and judicial capacity."
Judge Simms married, December 28, 1903. Eugenia A., daughter of the Hon. John D. Alderson, of Summersville. Nicholas county, West Virginia. They have three sons.
SMITH-BURCHE A former prominent citizen of Parkersburg, West Virginia, who although nearly half a cen- tury has gone since he passed from our midst has by no means been forgotten, was Beverly Smith, a native of Virginia. He was born in Fauquier county. October 28, 1809.
In 1836, immediately after his first marriage, Mr. Smith settled at Wheeling, Virginia, and there he was teller of the Northwestern Bank of
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Virginia. When branches of this bank were established at Parkersburg and at Morgantown, Mr. Smith was appointed cashier of the Parkers- burg branch, about 1839, and he held this office to the time of his death, a period of about twenty-eight years, but before that time the bank had become the Parkersburg National Bank. Mr. Smith was one of Park- ersburg's best citizens, and probably did more for the city and its pro- gress than any other person of his time. It is doubtful whether any other person enjoyed to an equal extent the confidence and good will of the people of this city. He was associated with every one of its interests, and commanded the respect and friendship of all the people, irrespective of class and condition, and was a man of enterprise and public spirit. In financial matters he was regarded as the highest authority in the com- munity. But his qualities of heart and character were fully equal in extent, as they were superior in worth, to his mental and business traits. In all his dealings he was honest, faithful and courteous, and he had the greatest confidence reposed in him by all. He was ever ready to lend a word of encouragement or do a deed of kindness. To any industrious and energetic person he was ready to give assistance, and he sometimes extended his hand to help those who were not successful in showing that they deserved his assistance. The estimation in which he was held in Parkersburg was shown in many ways. Among others during his life, he was several times elected a councilman of the city, and at the last election before his death he was the nominee of both parties and re- ceived nearly all the votes. Until the disruption of the party, Mr. Smith was an enthusiastic Whig ; he then became a Republican, and was a loyal and zealous upholder of the country in the time of strife. Although he was not a member of any church, he was a regular attendant at services. and lived an upright and consistent Christian life, in his domestic, social and civic relations. His ideals were always high, and he was what is now called a gentleman of the old school.
His sudden death, Sunday night, May 13. 1867, shocked the whole community. His wife was at the time in Cincinnati, and Mr. Smith was found dead in bed. The newspaper issues of that day speak of the loss to all the people and declare their sympathy to the family in warm, earn- est words, expressing. as one of them declared, less than they felt. The funeral services were largely attended, and an immense crowd followed the remains to their resting place in Cook's burying ground, the citizens having gathered together to pay their respects to his memory.
Beverly Smith married (first) January 27, 1836, Catharine Arthur Sterrett, (second) December 8, 1859, Virginia S. (Quarrier) Snodgrass, formerly of Charleston, West Virginia. Children, all by first marriage : 1. Fannie S., married, October 18, 1860, Dr. Samuel Q. A. Burche, of Washington, District of Columbia ; he is deceased, and his widow now lives at Parkersburg. 2. Laura V., married, October 18, 1860. John O. Talbott, of St. Louis, Missouri. 3. Eva P., married, May 12, 1864, Cap- tain S. L. Christie, a staff officer to General Cox. 4. Kate N .. married, October 10, 1878, Samuel Karrick Burche, of Washington, District of Columbia. 5. Sterrett. died April 15. 1865. 6. Beverly, died at Jackson- ville, Florida. February 4, 1900.
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