West Virginia and its people, Volume II, Part 6

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 6

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).

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July 20, 1781, and died in Parkersburg in 1821. He read law in Peters- burg and Richmond and settled in Wood county in 1801, representing said county as delegate in the session in 1809-10, and perhaps others. He organized a rifle company, was made captain and sent to the northwest during the war of 1812, and later breveted major. He was a member of the bar of Monongalia, Wood, and other western counties and was pros- ecuting attorney of Wood county.

He married in Richmond, Virginia, March 15, 1806, Harriet Quar -. rier ; she died in Charleston in 1875. Children: I. Alexander T., born April 14, 1807, died in Charleston in 1895. His only son, Richard Q., was a captain of Kanawha riflemen, C. S. A., and died in 1873. 2. Cor- inne, born April 14, 1807. 3. James Madison, born January 9, 1809. He was lawyer, banker, and saltmaker, and was in the legislature in 1848-49. He left a large family ; one son, Professor George S. Laidley, has been superintendent of Charleston schools for years.

(III) John Osborn Laidley, known as John Laidley of Cabell coun- ty, son of Thomas Laidley, was born in Morgantown, April 28, 1791, and died in April, 1863. He received a limited education, but in ISI0, he was editing the Monongalia Gasette. In 1813, January term, G. H. Neal, clerk of Wood county, certified that John O. Laidley was twenty-one years of age, was a man of good character, a citizen of Virginia and had resided within said county of Wood for the ten months last past. On the 14th day of June, 1813, Daniel Smith, D. Carr and James Allen, judges, certified that they had examined John O. Laidley touching his ca- pacity, fitness and ability, and found him duly qualified to practice law, and "these are therefore to permit the said John O. Laidley to practice as an attorney at law in the courts of this commonwealth, 14 June, 1813. DANIEL SMITH Seal

D. CARR Seal Seal"

JAMES ALLEN

He went to Cabell county, with John Samuels, and located at Bar- boursville, the county seat, remaining but a short while ; they then went to Norfolk and there united with Captain Samuel Kennedy's Artillery Com- pany of Monongalia county. Here they remained until the close of the war. After the war was over they returned to Barboursville. John Laidley was appointed prosecuting attorney and John Samuels was made clerk of the courts, and they both continued in said offices the rest of their lives. John O. Laidley was in the leigslature from Cabell county in session of 1819-1820, also in 1823-1824, and 1824-1825. He was also a member of the Virginia convention of 1829-30. In 1828 he removed from Barboursville to the Ohio river about halfway from Guyandotte to where Marshall Academy, now Marshall College, was afterwards located. It was in 1834 that said academy was built and the school opened, and no one did more to have the same commenced than did Mr. Laidley. In said Academy there was a chapel set apart, which the neighborhood found convenient to attend every Sunday morning ; the Southern Methodist or the Presby- terian found a minister there at all times and the same congregation was always on hand, no matter whom the minister might be. John O. Laidley was a Democrat and when the civil war came on, he was warmly opposed to secession insisting that it was wrong and suicidal to the south. He was confirmed in the Episcopal church, but was equally at home in any church where prayer was wont to be made.

He married in 1816, Mary Scales Hite of North Carolina ; she was a descendant of Jost Hite of the Shenandoah Valley. Their children were : Amacetta, wife of Hon. George W. Summers of Kanawha county ; Lou- ise, wife of W. H. Buffington of Cabell county ; Theodore, was educated at West Point, and when he died was colonel in the Ordnance Depart-

W. J. Laidley

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ment, U. S. A. ; Albert, was a merchant, lawyer, speculator. and elected to the legislature in 1860; he sold to C. P. Huntington the land on which the city of Huntington was built; Thomas M., was a physician, residing in Texas : Ulysses ; Sally ; John ; Eliza ; James ; William Sydney, of whom Huntington. In religious belief this family was about equally divided be- further ; George S .; Helen and Leander ; all of whom are deceased ex- cept William Sidney and his sister, Mrs. Helen M. Burks, who resides in tween the Methodists, Presbyterians and Episcopalians, and in political adherences about equally divided between the Union and secessionism.

(III) Thomas H., son of Thomas Laidley, was born in September, 1793, in Morgantown. He was never strong in his young days, attend- ing the schools when he was able to and was also taught at home ; lie studied medicine in Parkersburg, and with Dr. McLain, of Morgantown. and also with a doctor in Clarksburg. He removed to Carmichael's, Greene county, Pennsylvania, in 1826, and continued to practice there un- til 1875. His son, Dr. John B. Laidley, became his partner in 1856 and the father retired in 1875. He was a very quiet man but had the courage of his own convictions, and was on the right side of all moral questions. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church ; he was stern and austere commanding respect, but he was also kind and affectionate: he was known as a Democrat. In April, 1828, he married Sarah Barclay. who proved a devoted wife and mother. Children : Dr. John B. : Norval, born 1829, died 1902 : Eliza A., born 1832, died 1879. married J. J. Col- lier ; James Madison, born 1835, moved to Missouri: Thomas H., born 1837, married and had a son, Thomas H. Jr., born 1873; Wilbur Fiske, born 1839, married and moved west: Charles H., married and went to Iowa ; Alvin D., married a Miss Mcclintock, and he died in 1892 ; Leoni- das H., born 1844, married in 1880, and was a physician in St. Louis, and is now deceased ; Mary married a Mr. Randolph, and she died in 1801 ; Sarah Maggie, born 1850, married (first) Leonard, and (second) Henry Lewis, in Iowa. Many of these children moved west and several are deceased.

(III) Leander S., son of Thomas Laidley, was born in Morgantown, February 20, 1798. He sold goods for a while, and was a stock raiser. farmer and trader : he was also a justice of the peace. He married Eliza- beth Morgan of Manon county, born September. 1799. Their children were : Cordelia G., born 1819, died 1871, married C. T. Dana, 1838, who died in 1850: Serena E., born 1821, married Philemon Rice in 1847 ; Me- lissa A., born 1823, married J. S. Hawkins : Phylena E., born 1825, mar- ried Jolin Pritchard, in 1847: Louise V., born 1827, married (first) Wil- liam Burns, and (second) Rev. N. M. Dillon : Napoleon D., born 1829, died 1845 : Helen Mar, born 1831, married W. H. Armstrong in 1860, she died in 1895: Narcissa M., born 1833, married B. B. Dillon in 1882, she died in 1900; George S., born 1835, died in Iowa in 1886; Martha S., born 1839, married William Rex, she died in 1888: Agnes Hunter, born 1841, married L. E. Burgoyne in 1866.

(IV) Hon. William Sydney Laidley, son of John Osborn and Mary Scales (Hite) Laidley, was born June 27, 1839, at "Lamartine," the Laidley homestead in Cabell county, Virginia. He is descended from Baron Jost Hite, Strassburg. Germany, with also a mingling of Eng- lish and French blood in his veins, from the Scales and Du Bois families. and to some of these nationalities he is indebted for his humor and his artistic, literary and refined tastes. His schoolmates dubbed him "Doc," remembering that old saying "the seventh son must be a doctor." He at- tended school at Marshall College until nearly grown to manhood, then went to North Carolina, to assist his brother. Colonel T. T. S. Laidley. commander of the arsenal at Fayetteville, North Carolina. After his

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father's death in 1863, Mr. Laidley came to Kanawha county, at the so- licitation of his brother-in-law. Judge George W. Summers, where he en- tered his law office and read law with him until 1865, when he was ad- mitted to the bar, and the firm of Summers and Laidley was formed. This partnership did not last for many years, as the Judge's health failed, and in 1868 he died. Then Mr. Laidley and Colonel W. H. Hogeman, a talented young lawyer from New York, formed the new firm of Laidley and Hogeman, this continued for seventeen years. Besides their general practice, they were attorneys for the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad, and interested themselves in public matters of importance-legal, social and political. In 1885, Colonel Hogeman died and Mr. Laidley was again left alone, lamenting the loss of a congenial friend and able partner. He de- clined all proposals of new partnership, remaining in the office alone up to the present time, and now his son is associated with him, under the firm name of Laidley & Laidley. Mr. Laidley has been a resident of Kana- wha county almost fifty years, and has seen the many changes that have swept over Charleston, noting how the little village grew to the beautiful cosmopolitan city of to-day, and he has ever been interested in her wel- fare, doing his full share to help the home of his adoption. He has fol- lowed his profession industriously, especially practicing with pleasure and success in the Appellate courts of the state, yet has found time to serve the town, county and state as an official. He has been a councilman in Charleston for many years. He was elected judge of the county court in 1900, when every other Democrat was defeated. During his term of office the new court house was erected, the road to Sissonville rebuilt, and many other permanent improvements made, thus showing the wisdom and good management of the court. He resigned before the term of office for which he was elected had expired. He was elected to the state legis- lature of West Virginia, serving in 1872-73. Ever a staunch Democrat serving his party when and where he could, never bitter or vindictive, he always had many friends among his opponents. For many years he was either chairman or secretary of the County Democratic Executive Com- mittee and had much to do with the success of his party. In the councils of the church he has been well-known, too. Many times he was sent as a delegate to the Diocesan Councils and to the National Council-the gen- eral Convention of the Protestant Episcopal church. As a man, he is quiet and unassuming, genial in manner, with a keen sense of humor and fine appreciation of a good joke. He is clear and concise in his argu- ments, honest and true in his dealings with all men, inheriting his father's integrity and love of justice, and disgusted with all that men and women know as mean and tricky, a great reader of excellent literature, always happy with his books. He is especially fond of historic research. He was a member of the Historical Society of his county, as long as it ex- isted ; was the editor and chief writer of the Historical Magasine; and in- sistently urged others to write for that publication. Many valuable his- torical items would have been lost to the state and the city of Charleston had it not been for his genius in this particular. In IOII he edited the history of Kanawha county.

He has never sought an office, but when elected he has served honestly and ably, thinking only of the good of others, of the public at home and the nation, and never of his own aggrandizement. He has long been, and is today, an exceptional man and truly worthy citizen.

He married September 20, 1869. Virginia, daughter of Judge J. H. Brown. The following children were born : 1. Mary Louise, married Henry Bradford Clarkson : no issue. 2. Amacetta V., married Henry W. Good- win, now deceased ; no issue. 3. Dora, died aged twenty years. 4. Lucy B., married Joe Lane Stern ; they have five children : Mary L., Joe Lane

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(a daughter) L. Henry, Anne, Virginia. 5. Madelinc, unmarried. 6. Dorothy, unmarried. 7. William Sydney, Jr., is an attorney in the office of his father. 8. Janet, unmarried. 9. Douglas, twin with Janet, died in infancy.

CAPITO Pennsylvania has furnished many of the highly successful business men of present-day West Virginia, and a consid- erable number of capitalists of the state have had their birthplace in foreign lands or been sons of foreign-born ancestry. Among the prosperous men of this type may be named the Capitos, of Charleston, Kanawha county. The banking interests of this city,-West Virginia's seat of justice and government,-are in the hands of careful, conservative financiers, including Charles Capito, the president of the Kanawha Na- tional Bank.

(I) Godfrey Capito, his father, was a native of Germany. In 1856 he went to Mason City, West Virginia, from Pittsburgh. He became a well known and highly respected business man of Mason City, at first follow- ing the blacksmith's trade, but later engaging in the brewing business, in which he was quite successful. He married Catherine -, and had a son, Charles.

(II) Charles, son of the German emigrant, Godfrey Capito. was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November 1, 1849. He was only seven years of age when the family removed to Mason City, this state. There he had the advantages of the public schools, which later was supplemented by a six-year course at Concordia College, Fort Wayne, Indiana. After grad- uating he returned and engaged in business at Mason City for several years, up to 1872, first being in the drug business and later in a grocery. Wishing to increase his opportunities he moved to Charleston, in which city he has resided ever since. For eleven years he was engaged in the fancy grocery trade at Charleston, also handling large quantities of fresh vegetables in market style. His next business enterprise was that of a wholesale liquor dealer, from which he retired in 1905. In later years he became interested in the banking business of his adopted city. Since Sep- tember 1, 1910, he has been president and one of the directors in the Kan- awha National Bank, of which he was a director from its start in 1891. This is one of the safe and solid financial institutions of the city of Charleston. He has been officially connected with other large enterprises, being equally prominent in the Kanawha Valley Building & Loan Asso- ciation. He has ever been an active and useful citizen, and while accumu- lating a handsome competency for himself, has always worked for the general prosperity of others of his city and county. For a period of elev- en years he has been the president of the Charleston chamber of com- merce, which speaks much for his business sagacity and general business ability. Politically he was a Democrat up to 1893, since which date he has voted the Republican ticket. He is a member of the Lutheran church.

He married, April 26, 1877, Sophia Benz. Children : Gustave, a prac- ticing physician of Charleston : Bertha ; Henry, a prominent business man of Charleston, and superintendent of the Diamond Coal and Ice Com- pany : Kate, died at the age of twenty-two years. The Capito family have a large amount of Charleston and Kanawha county property, and own one of the finest residences in the city, located at No. 1605 Virginia street, and Mr. Capito still holds his former residence at No. 221 on the same street.

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CHURCHMAN The English residence of this family was at Saffron Waldron, Essex county. Several persons of this name came to Pennsylvania about the same time. Little is known, save of one of these, John Churchman. George Church- man, an immigrant to Pennsylvania, was a relative of John Churchman ; Susanna Churchman, of Chester county, Pennsylvania, was married, in Pennsylvania, in 1690, George and John Churchman being among the witnesses.

John Churchman, the founder of this family, was born about 1665, died in 1724. At the age of seventeen he emigrated to Darby, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, coming to America under the care of Thomas Car- ey. In the family of Thomas Carey, there was a daughter Hannah, then a child of six years, who afterward was the wife of John Churchman. He settled at Chester, Pennsylvania, but in 1704 removed to the woods of Nottingham, Chester county, Pennsylvania, where he and his family were among the first settlers. He married, in 1696, Hannah, daughter of Thomas Carey, who was born about 1676, died September 22, 1759. Chil- dren : George, born July 13, 1697, died April 29, 1767: Dinah, June 7, 1699, married Messer Brown ; Susanna, July 13, 1701, married William Brown ; John, August 29, 1703, died September 28, 1703; John, June 4, 1705, died July 24, 1775, married, November 27, 1759, Margaret Brown ; Thomas, November 16, 1707-08, died April 8, 1788; Miriam, August 25, 1710, married James Brown; Edward, September 14, 1713, died in De- cember. 1732-33: Sarah, March 17, 1716, died AAugust 2, 1750, married Joseph Trimble ; William. November 29, 1720, married Abigail Brown.

Several of the descendants of this John Churchman were noted per- sons. Among his sons the most famous was John, the second born of this name. He and his wife were both Quaker ministers, and he spent four years in Great Britain, on a religious visit. But his grandson, great- grandson of the immigrant, also named John, was the most distinguished of the family. Like several other of the descendants of the immigrant John, he was a surveyor ; he was also an eminent geometrician, and de- spite lack of opportunities his native ability gained him honor for scien- tific research and attainments in learned circles both in America and in Europe. Twice he visited Europe ; he died at sea returning from his second European journey, coming from St. Petersburg, Russia.

Apparently all, or nearly all, the early bearers of this name in Amer- ica were Quakers. Among the early settlers of the valley of Virginia, who were members of the Society of Friends, this name is found.

(I) John Knight Churchman, probably a descendant of John Church- man, the immigrant, was born in Augusta county, Virginia, in 1789. died in 1870. He was for twenty years sheriff of Augusta county. Child, Vincent Tapp, of whom further.

(II) Dr. Vincent Tapp Churchman, son of John Knight Churchman, was born at Staunton, Augusta county, Virginia, about 1824, died in Jan- mary, 1872. He was a large man, weighing over three hundred pounds. By profession, he was a physician and surgeon, and he served in this ca- pacity, in the Confederate army throughout the war between the States. He also had charge of the recruiting division at Staunton. He married Margaret, daughter of John Graham, who died in 1897. Her father was, through most of his life, a hotel proprietor at Greenville, Augusta county, Virginia, and he died at that place. Children : Alice, married J. C. Mat- thews, of Charleston, West Virginia; Vincent Tapp, of whom further ; Henry Jouette, a druggist at Springfield, Ohio; John Franklin, deceased : Anna, deceased : Margaret, deceased ; Graham, deceased.

(III) Dr. Vincent Tapp (2) Churchman, son of Dr. Vincent Tapp (I) and Margaret (Graham) Churchman, was born at Greenville, Virginia.

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August 31, 1867. He attended the public schools of Greenville, and after- wards the Staunton Military Academy, Staunton. At the University of Virginia he began his study of medicine, and this study lie prosecuted also at the Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, from which he graduated in 1889. He practiced first at Alderson, Monroe county, West Virginia, where he remained for two years. During this time he was engaged in general practice. Dr. Churchman then took a further course, of fifteen months' duration, at Jefferson Medical College, specializing in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. At the end of this study, in 1892, he came to Charleston, West Virginia, and has from that time been engaged in this special practice. He has the largest practice in West Virginia in these specialties. Dr. Churchman is also keenly interested in horses, and has taken a leading part in the holding of many successful horse shows at Charleston. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons. In po- itics, he is a Democrat. He is a Presbyterian. He married, at Charles- ton. November 1, 1906, Janet, born at Prince, West Virginia, daughter of John Kay. Her father is an immigrant from Scotland, now living at Leon, Mason county, West Virginia, where he is a farmer : her mother is deceased. Children : Vincent Tapp, Margaret Christina.

HUDSON At least two of the authorities on surnames-and it is singular and unusual to find such a measure of agree- ment among them-state that this name is a patronymic for Roger, being directly derived from its nickname Hodge or Hod. The best known of this name to visit American shores, and probably the first. though his purpose was not for settlement, was Henry Hudson, who al- though he commanded a Dutch expedition and is often called on account of his Dutch associations Hendrick Hudson, was himself an Englishman : the Hudson river, mainly in the state of New York, perpetuates his name.

A probable line of ancestry for the present family, through about two hundred years, is as follows. There is some difference in the authorities consulted with regard to the early record, and the connection between these persons and the recent ancestors is conjectural, yet it is based on probable evidence.

(I) Charles Hudson, the first member of this family about whom we have definite information, died in 1748. He was of Hanover county, Vir- ginia, and it is almost certain he never lived in Albemarle county, Vir- ginia ; he was, however, one of the earliest patentees in this county, his first entry being made in 1730, on the Hardware river. The land covered by this entry was below Carter's bridge, and it was of two thousand acres in extent ; other grants followed this first one, in the same vicinity. This land embraced Mount Air, which was one of the seats of the Hudson family for more than one hundred years. The stream entering the Hard- ware river, from the south, below Mount Air, was formerly known as Hudson's creek. In 1735, Charles Hudson took a patent in another re- gion also, but this latter land he sold two years later. His wife's sur- name was probably Royall. Children : William; John, of whom further ; Christopher : Mary, married John Wingfield : Elizabeth, married Nicholas Johnson ; Rebecca, married Robert Wathen ; Sarah, married Richard Hol- land : Ann, married Joseph Lewis.

(II) John, son of Charles Hudson, died about 1768: his will was proved in Albemarle county, Virginia, January 12, 1769. He lived on the lower Hardware river. He married Anne -. Children : Charles, mar- ried Jane Lewis; John, died in 1801; Christopher, of whom further : Mary, married Gaines : Anna Maria.

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(III) Christopher, son of John and Anne Hudson, died in 1825. He was a captain in the state militia ; in 1800 he was appointed a magistrate, but he resigned four years later. His residence was at Mount Air. He died possessed of more than five thousand acres of land. He married Sarah, daughter of David and Elizabeth Anderson ; her father and moth- er came from Hanover county, Virginia, and settled in Albemarle coun- ty. Children : Eliza Anderson, married George Gilmer; Ann, married William Tompkins: Anderson, of whom further.

(IV) Anderson, son of Christopher and Sarah (Anderson) Hudson, was born near Lynchburg, Virginia. He was a farmer, and served in the war of 1812. Child, Samuel, of whom further.

(V) Samuel, son of Anderson Hudson, was born in Virginia, about 1816, died in 1888. He was a farmer, and settled in Kanawha county, Virginia. Child, Anderson, of whom further.

(VI) Anderson (2), son of Samuel Hudson, was born in Kanawha county, Virginia, on his father's farm, in November, 1840, died December 13. 1907. He continued to reside on the farm. In the latter part of the civil war, being a Union man, he served in the Seventh West Virginia Cavalry, Company M. He married Roxie, born in Kanawha county, Vir- ginia, in March, 1851, now living at Charleston, West Virginia, daughter of Henry Hiram Holstein, who was born in Botetourt county, Virginia, died in 1897, at the age of seventy years ; he was a Union soldier in the civil war, serving in an Indiana regiment, and was a prisoner in Libby prison. Children of Anderson and Roxie ( Holstein) Hudson, all living : James Frank, of whom further; Cecile, married R. L. Dickinson, of Pratt, West Virginia ; Cora B., single, and living with her mother at Charleston ; Bertram A., living at Charleston, and now money order clerk in the postoffice ; Joseph A., living at Charleston, was formerly a travel- ing salesman for the Kanawha Drug Company, and is now assistant post- master at Charleston.

( VII) James Frank, son of Anderson (2) and Roxie (Holstein) Hudson, was born in Kanawha county, West Virginia, on the old Hud- son homestead farm, December 14. 1869. After having attended the local schools, he went to Barboursville College, Barboursville, Cabell county, West Virginia. After this he taught school for three years in his native county, and in 1900 came to Charleston, West Virginia, and entered the grocery business. For two years he was engaged in this business, having his own store. For the next four years thereafter he was chief deputy for John A. Jarrett, sheriff of the county, and he was then appointed tax assessor, under C. W. Dillon, of Kanawha county, according to the "Daw- son law." This was in 1905, and he was the first assessor appointed after this law went into effect in that year. After one year in this position he left political activity of this sort, temporarily. For five years he was secretary and treasurer of the Elk City Sand and Lime Company. On March 29, 1909, Mr. Hudson was appointed postmaster of Charleston, West Virginia, by President Taft, and this position he still holds, in 1912. He is a strong Republican, and was formerly decidedly active in politics. For eight years, until 1908. he was a member of the Republican county committee for Kanawha county : within this period he was acting chair- man for four years and secretary for six years. holding both these posi- tions during two years. From 1906 to 1908 he was also a member of the congressional committee of the party, and from 1908 to 1910 was a mem- ber of the Republican senatorial committee. His church is the First Presbyterian. He married, in Kanawha county, November 28, 1893, Sal- lie, born in Kanawha county, daughter of Enos and Mary (Calvert) Jar- rett. Her father was a farmer in this county ; he is deceased, but her mother is living at Charleston, having attained the age of eighty-three years.

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West Virginia and its people, Volume II, Part 6

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