West Virginia and its people, Volume II, Part 63

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 63

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).

Mr. Durham married Mary Drusilla, born May 1, 1875, in Marshall county, West Virginia, daughter of Richard Hardesty and Mary Isabel (Wills) Talbot, and they have two children: Edwin Arthur, born Au- gust 17, 1899; Marjorie Talbot, born June 15, 1901. Both are attending school. Mrs. Durham was educated at Urbana, Ohio, Pittsburg, and Stanton, Ohio, graduating at the last-named place in 1896. The name of Durham has been respected in Vermont and New York, and its pres- ent representative in Sistersville is maintaining the family tradition by causing it to be honored in West Virginia.

SHREWSBURY The Shrewsbury family of West Virginia is ably represented in the present generation by George Hutson Shrewsbury, a native of Point Pleasant, Mason county, West Virginia, born July 23, 1872, son of Columbus and Cynthia Ann (Jarrett) Shrewsbury.

(I) Columbus Shrewsbury was born in Brownstown, Virginia, now West Virginia, June 5, 1832, died in Charleston, West Virginia, in 1902. He resided the greater part of his life in Point Pleasant. He was a lawyer by profession, but devoted the greater portion of his time and attention to steamboating on the Ohio and West Virginia great waterways, having been the owner of three boats. He also served as deputy United States marshall under several Republican presidents, and later was elected sher- iff of Mason county, West Virginia, the duties of which office he dis- charged with fidelity and impartiality, year by year constantly growing in public estimation. He married Cynthia Ann Jarrett, who bore him six children as follows: Fannie E., unmarried, a resident of Charleston ; John Harry, deceased; Hattie C., married Byron C. Barber, now de- ceased; George Hutson, of whom further; Helen L., unmarried, a res- ident of Charleston ; Herman J., a resident of Charleston, engaged in the real estate business. The mother of these children died in 1882.

(II) George Hutson, son of Columbus Shrewsbury, was educated in the schools of Point Pleasant, in the Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio, from which he graduated in 1894, and then took up the study of law at Ada, Ohio, subsequently graduating therefrom. He was admitted to the bar of West Virginia, and in 1894 located in Charleston, beginning the active practice of his profession there in September, 1895, his office be- ing located in the Charleston National Bank Building. He is engaged along general lines, and is now in receipt of a lucrative patronage. He is a Presbyterian in religion, and a Republican in politics, but has never sought or held public office. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and Knights of Pythias.

Mr. Shrewsbury married, July 30, 1896, at Lebanon, Ohio, Carrie H. Sieker, a native of Lebanon, daughter of the late William and Henri- etta Sieker, the former of whom was a merchant of Lebanon. One child, Ruth H., born June 1, 1897.

431

WEST VIRGINIA

The Talbott family is one of the oldest, not only in

TALBOTT America, but in England. The founders of the name in England crossed to that country from Normandy with William the Conqueror more than nine hundred ago. The imme- diate ancestors of the American family came from England to Virginia early in the history of that state.

(I) William T. Talbott, who was born in England, settled while very young in Fairfax county. He had three children, all born in this county, where he himself died when they were in their youth. They were : Char- ity ; Cotteral, who in 1788 was married in Randolph county to Elizabetlı, daughter of Jacob Reger; Richard, of whom further.

(II) Richard, son of William T. Talbott, was born November 16, 1764, in Fairfax county, Virginia. He was the youngest of the family ; his father having died when the boy was very young, the latter was bound out. The man whom he served treated him badly, and his sister Charity, the eldest of the three children, aided him to escape. Accom- panied by his mother, sister and brother, he left Fairfax county, and crossing the Alleghenies the family made their home in Barbour county, a portion of the old homestead there still remaining in the Talbott family. This settlement of the Talbotts in Barbour county, now West Virginia, occurred in the year 1780, Richard being then sixteen years of age. In 1788 he married Margaret Dowden, born December 25, 1776, and who lacked three days of being twelve years old at the time of her marriage. Thirteen children were born to them, ten boys and three girls: Samuel, born December 13, 1790; Mary Ann, November 7, 1792; Jacob, Septem- ber 3, 1794; Abraham, October 16, 1796; Isaac, September 2, 1798; Rob- ert, of whom further; Elisha, January 7, 1804; Silas, June 11, 1806; Absalom, September 22, 1807; Elam, July 6, 1810; Zachariah, April 13, 1813; Margaret, October 27, 1815; Elizabeth, December 15, 1819.

(III) Robert, son of Richard and Margaret (Dowden) Talbott, was born in Barbour county, Virginia, February 3, 1801. He was a farmer and owned a large tract of land on the waters of Hacker near the Bever- ly and Fairmont turnpike. He married Mary Woodford, whose grand- mother was a daughter of Lord Howe, and who had married clandes- tinely Colonel William Woodford, an officer of the British army. Colo- nel Woodford had fought the colonists three years, and then joined the Americans and fought against the British until the close of the war. He subsequently located in what is now West Virginia, where his grand- daughter married Robert Talbott, and where his descendants now live. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Talbott were: John, Richard, David, William Woodford, of whom further; Salathiel, Marion, Robert M., Perry, Hannah, Jonah, Mary. All deceased except Robert M., Perry and Mary.

(IV) William Woodford, son of Robert and Mary (Woodford) Tal- bott, was born in Barbour county, Virginia. He married Sarah, daugh- ter of Abraham Simons, of the same county. Their children were: I. Salathiel M. 2. Melvin. 3. Lewis Wilson, born in 1855; married Mary Evelyn Bosworth ; studied medicine at the Maryland University at Balti- more, graduating in 1883, and has now a very large practice in Elkins, where he has resided since 1896. 4. Elam Dowden, of whom further. 5. Abram Ira. 6. Fitzhugh Lee. 7. William Floyd. 8. Waitman T. 9. Robert Dellet. 10. Mary Florence. 11. Virginia B. 12. Rosa May.

(V) Elam Dowden, son of William Woodford and Sarah ( Simons) Talbott, was born near Philippi, Barbour county, Virginia, November 8, 1857. He was educated at the common schools, and spent two years at the West Virginia University, part of one of which he was engaged in the study of the law, and took the summer lectures of Professor Minor at the

432

WEST VIRGINIA

University of Virginia. He was admitted to practice in December, 1883, and lias ever since actively followed his profession in the various courts throughout the state. His practice has been largely in land litigation, early in his career having passed upon the titles to several hundred thou- sand acres of timber land, and is counsel for nearly every lumber com- pany in Randolph county, among which are the Tygarts River Lumber Company, Glady Fork Lumber Company, Laurel River Lumber Com- pany. J. M. Bemis & Son, West Virginia Pulp & Paper Company, Poca- hontas Tanning Company, and numerous other lumber companies. He is director of the Davis Trust Company, Elkins, West Virginia; The Bank of Durbin, Durbin, West Virginia, and the Citizens Trust & Guar- anty Company, of Parkersburg, West Virginia, and has been identified with almost every important suit in Randolph county, and many adjacent counties in West Virginia, for the past twenty years. Shortly after he located in Randolph county he was a candidate in the Democratic pri- mary for prosecuting attorney, was defeated and never again offered for office until 1912, when he was elected a member of the West Virginia house of delegates ; was a delegate to the National Convention at Chicago in 1896; is now, and has been since its organization, president of the El- kins Commercial Club ; is a member of the State and Randolph County Bar associations. He spent two years of his life on the western frontier, clerking in a store, farming and herding cattle.

On June 15, 1886, he was married to Lutie Lee Bosworth, daughter of Squire Newton Bosworth, of Beverly, West Virginia. Mrs. Talbott and two of his daughters are members of the Presbyterian church, an- other of the Episcopal church, while he himself belongs to the Baptist church. Mrs. Talbott has been president of the U. D. C. almost con- tinually since its organization, and registrar of Randolph Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Talbott are as follows: I. Evelyn Bosworth, a graduate of Hollins In- stitute, Hollins, Virginia, now the wife of E. O. Fling, Elkins, West Virginia. 2. Marguerite, attended Hollins Institute until her junior year, and was then married to Benjamin C. Downing, superintendent of the car department of the Coal & Coke Railway, Elkins, West Virginia. 3. Eugenia Arnold, now the wife of James B. Baker, of Beverly, West Virginia, spent three years at Mt. de Chantal Seminary, Wheeling. 4. Winifred, graduate of Mt. de Chantal Seminary, Wheeling, West Vir- ginia. 5. Donald, a student at Broaddus Institute, Philippi, West Vir- ginia.

There are several names in this country of like pronuncia- YOKUM tion, and only slightly diverse spelling, Yokum, Yocum, Yoakum, Joachim, and perhaps others, which it seems probable are of common Swedish origin. It is reasonable to suppose that all bearing these names are descendants of one ancestor.

One of the almost forgotten chapters of modern and American his- tory concerns the short-lived effort of Sweden to be a colonizing power. In the early days after the discovery of America, the active days of English, Spanish, French, and Dutch enterprise in exploration and ex- pansion, Sweden also sought to have a part in the unfolding possibilities of empire. Their military power and energy were not equal to perma- nent and successful conduct of the enterprise, but New Sweden once lay near the Delaware, and several remains of this short-lived Swedish colony are still to be found in Delaware and in Philadelphia. To this part of history the present family owes its American transplantation.

(I) Peter Joachim, the founder of this family, came from Sweden,

DEo. M. Goku

433

WEST VIRGINIA

and helped to establish the Wicaco settlement, near Philadelphia, several years before the coming of William Penn, when the country along the Delaware was New Sweden. After Penn laid out his city he, with other Swedes, removed in 1682 to Swedes' Ford, Montgomery county. Penn- sylvania. He was an active and prominent man. In December, 1681, he served as a juryman in the Upland court. He was appointed supervisor of highways from Karker's mills to the Falls of the Schuylkill for one year, on March 14, 1682. About 1712 he settled at Upper Merion, Penn- sylvania. In 1693 there were nine persons in his family. In the colonial records of the same year the name of Mounce Yocum is also found ; he nay have been a brother.

(II) Philip Powell Yokum, probably a son or grandson of Peter Joachim, of whom above, lived in Philadelphia, about the first half of the eighteenth century. He married and had a child, Philip Powell, of whom further.

(III) Philip Powell (2), son of Philip Powell (1) Yokum, was with Washington and Fairfax on the Fairfax survey. Settling in Hardy county, Virginia, he served as constable about 1787. He married Eliza- beth, daughter of Michael Harness, a representative of an early Ran- dolph county family. Michael Harness was one of the first settlers in the South Branch valley, and it is said that on the entry of the party into the valley Elizabeth, then but eleven years old, led the party, thus being the first white female to set foot within this region. Child: Michael, of whom further.

(IV) Michael, son of Philip Powell (2) and Elizabeth ( Harness ) Yokum, came in 1776 from his father's settlement on the South Branch of the Potomac, and settled in Randolph county. He married Stump. Children: Jacob; William, of whom further.

(V) William, son of Michael and -- (Stump) Yokum, lived on the Valley river, one mile west of the present site of Beverly, Randolph county, West Virginia. His old log house is still standing, and is now owned by the Stephen B. Elkins estate and is located adjacent to the Doris and Elkins College at Elkins, West Virginia. He married, in July, 1804, Sarah, daughter of Solomon Ryan. Among his children was Jolin, of whom further.

(VI) John, son of William and Sarah (Ryan) Yokum, was born July 5, 1806. He married, in 1830, Malinda, daughter of David Holder ; the Holder family was probably from Kentucky. Children: George Washington, of whom further ; Noah, James, E. D. S.

(VII) Dr. George Washington Yokum, son of John and Malinda (Holder ) Yokum, was born December 31, 1831, died at Beverly, Janu- ary 30. 1905. He was reared on the homestead, but availed himself of every opportunity to store his mind with useful knowledge. In 1853 he began the study of medicine under Dr. William Biggs, a well-known physician living near Belington. He read with him for about one year, and then attended lectures at Jefferson College, Philadelphia. Settling first at Leedsville, where Elkins now stands, he began to practice in 1854. For a year after his marriage, in 1858, he lived at the "Round Barn" farm, now part of Elkins, but in 1859, he removed to Beverly, where he resided thenceforth until his death. . When Dr. Yokum came to Beverly he and Dr. Squire Bosworth were the only physicians in Tygart's valley. He was a man of observation, careful investigation, and retentive mem- ory, and of great force and strong character ; his library was the best of his time in Randolph county, and included. heside general literature, a large body of medical literature, and he kept pace with his profession. Thus he was a skillful physician, as well as the oldest physician in his part of the state. His practice extended for many miles from his home. 28

434

WEST VIRGINIA

Dr. Yokum was also a close student of men and of world affairs. Mr. Maxwell, the historian of Randolph and other counties, states that he was perhaps the best posted man concerning the early history of the county. He was interested in agriculture and stock raising, owning two large farms near Beverly and the "Sinks of Gandy Creek" farm. Be- side a thousand acres of cultivated land, he owned wild land. In busi- ness he was successful. He was one of the first board of directors of the Elkins National Bank, and was an active member of the board until a short time before his death, when ill health compelled his retirement from both medical practice and business. In the civil war he was a Con- federate sympathizer. After the battle of Rich Mountain, in 1861, he cared for Lieutenant DeLeniel and his wounded men, and assisted in the hiding and subsequent escape to the Confederate lines of Lieutenant DeLeniel. After the federal troops occupied Beverly, Dr. Yokum and others were made non-combatant prisoners of war; from July to Septem- ber, 1861, he was a prisoner at Camp Carlisle, Wheeling island. Being released in September, he returned to Beverly. From 1876 to 1880 he was president of the county court of Randolph county and during this time the building of the new court house was begun. He held the same office from 1886 to 1892. Other offices held by him were those of jus- tice of the peace for Beverly district, and mayor of Beverly. In 1892 he was an alternate delegate to the Democratic national convention. His last sickness was of several weeks' duration. When the funeral was held, at Beverly, February 2, 1905, Circuit Judge Holt adjourned the court to attend; a special train was run from Elkins. Rev. F. H. Bar- row, pastor of the Davis Memorial Presbyterian Church, at Elkins, con- ducted the services.

Dr. George Washington Yokum married, in 1858, Mary Catharine, daughter of George W. and Maria (Earle) Ward, who died at Beverly, 111 1900. Her father owned the "Round Barn" farm, now the Graham- Davis addition to Elkins. Children: Humboldt, of whom further; Bruce, born in 1866, married, in 1893, May Erwin Kittle.

(VIII) Dr. Humboldt Yokum, son of Dr. George Washington and Mary Catharine (Ward) Yokum, was born March 17, 1860. He at- tended the University of West Virginia from 1879 to 1883, taking a scientific course. He then spent one year at the University of Maryland, in Baltimore, and he graduated in 1885 from Jefferson Medical College with the degree of M. D. He served an interneship in the University of Maryland Hospital, Baltimore, and has since its expiration been in active- general medical practice at Beverly. He is a member of the American Medical Society, the State Medical Society, and the Tri-County Medical Society. Dr. Yokum is a contributor to medical journals. Like his fath- er, Dr. Humboldt Yokum has a broad sphere of activity. He is a leading business man, president of the Bank of Beverly, a member of the State Bankers' Association. Beside his home at Beverly, he owns lots at Bev- erly and Elkins and other lands, including large farm holdings. He is interested in stock raising and engaged therein. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. At the present time, 1912, he is serving his second term as president of the Beverly board of educa- tion, and is Democratic candidate for sheriff of the county.

Dr. Humboldt Yokum married, October 9, 1890, Hattie Maria, daugh- ter of Daniel Randolph and Margaret Christina (Chenoweth ) Baker, of Beverly ; for her ancestry see Baker sketch in this work. Mrs. Yokum is a member of the Methodist church, and interested in its affairs. Chil- dren : Gertrude, born in November, 1894, died in January, 1906; Hum- boldt Baker, born February 1, 1899; Mary Catharine, born in September, 1900, died in July, 1902 : Virginia Randolph, born May 23, 1904 ; Harriet Christine, born August 5, 1906; George Bruce, born August 5, 1906.

JTO

435

WEST VIRGINIA

This name is of great antiquity in England, traceable SHIRLEY beyond the Norman conquest. Of the American Shir- leys, the New England members of the family, at least, are supposed to be descended from two or more immigrant brothers from the north of Ireland, of the so-called Scotch-Irish stock, who came early in the eighteenth century and settled in New Hampshire.

(I) James Shirley, the first member of this family about whom we have definite information, was an early settler of Jefferson county, Vir- ginia, a farmer at Sharon. His grandson, George P., still owns the old homestead. He married -. Child: John G., of whom further.

(II) John G., son of James Shirley, was a general merchant at Mid- dleway, Jefferson county, Virginia. He held the offices of deputy asses- sor, sheriff of the county, and judge of the county court. He was a "minent Democrat. He married - - . Child: George P., of whom further.

(III) George P., son of John G. Shirley, was born in Jefferson county, West Virginia, December 31, 1869. He attended the schools of the county, and the Bowling Green Institute, Bowling Green, Caroline county, Virginia. He began the study of law at the University of Virginia and graduated in 1897 from the University of West Virginia with the de- gree of LL.B. Opening an office at Parsons, Tucker county, West Virginia, he entered on a successful general practice in the state and federal courts. In 1899 he was appointed by Federal Judge Jackson referee in bank- ruptcy and this position he still holds. He is a member of the State Bar Association, and has been secretary, treasurer and president of the Tucker County Bar Association. He has held chairs both in the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and in the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica. Mr. Shirley takes an active interest in civic affairs, but is not active politically. He is an Episcopalian, and his wife is a Baptist, active in the Baptist societies. He married a daughter of J. M. Tolbert, who is a farmer at Beverly, Randolph county, West Virginia. Children: Mary Margaret, born in 1901 ; George W., born in 1903; Virginia.

SHREWSBURY This family is of English ancestry and for many years resident in Virginia. The progenitor of the family in West Virginia was James Shrewsbury, who was born in Virginia, and at an early age located in West Virginia. where he engaged in farming for many years in Mercer county. He was one of the most prosperous farmers and highly respected citizens of the county. He died in Mercer county in 1875. In politics he was a Demo- crat, but never aspired to office.

(II) Lewis Cass, son of James Shrewsbury, was born in Mercer county, West Virginia. He attended the schools of his native county, and at an early age began his mercantile career as a. clerk in a store. After a few years service he removed to Beckley. He has met with marked success in his business ventures. In politics he is a Democrat and has held several offices, serving a number of years as justice of the peace. He married Nancy Rose, a native of Virginia, daughter of Bryant Rose, who served during the civil war in the Confederate army.

(III) Robert Lee, son of Lewis Cass and Nancy (Rose) Shrews- bury, was born in Mercer county, West Virginia, January 6, 1874. He prepared for college in the schools of his native county, graduating from Normal School at Athens, West Virginia. In 1895 he entered the Uni- versity of West Virginia at Morgantown with the degree of B. S., and in 1898 he studied law and began the practice of his profession in Logan in 1902. He is at present a junior member of the firm of Lilly & Shrews-

436

WEST VIRGINIA

bury. He is meeting with marked success in his professional labors and is one of the ablest attorneys of the county. Mr. Shrewsbury is a self- made man. He paid his way through school and college by teaching school and in various other avocations, and also generously assisted his brothers in securing an education. He is connected with many business enterprises. He is the president of the Elk Creek Coal & Land Com- pany, vice-president of the Fred Mullens Coal & Coke Company, secre- tary of the Robinson Consolidated Land Company, director and stock- holder in the Guyan Valley Bank, also stockholder in the Guyan Valley Grocery Company. In politics he is a Democrat. He represented his district in the state legislature in 1913. He is a prominent member of the Masonic order, having attained the Knights Templar degree.

He married, December 28, 1905, Rueby Ann, daughter of Sidney B. Robertson, of Huntington. They have one child, Robert Sidney, born in Logan, January 2, 1909. Mrs. Shrewsbury was born in Logan, West Virginia, June 29, 1886. Her father is now president of the Guyan Bank, also prominently connected with various other business enterprises in Huntington, West Virginia.

The name Miller is of very frequent occurrence in the

MILLER United States, and its possessors are to be traced not only to different ancestors, but to different nationalities. Most are English, Scotch or Irish : yet there are German Millers, whose name was originally Mueller. The German Millers are well represented in West Virginia.

(I) James W. Miller, the first member of this family about whom we have definite information, was a farmer and stock raiser in Lewis county, West Virginia. He was a prominent Democrat. He married . Child, Wade H., of whom further.

(II) Wade H., son of James W. Miller, was born at Horner, Lewis county, West Virginia, November 13, 1874. He was educated at Wes- leyan College, Buckhannon, Upshur county. West Virginia, and the State Normal School at Fairmont. He attended also the Akron (Ohio) Business College, and became a traveling salesman for the Standard Jewelry Company, of Detroit, Michigan. After traveling for this firm one year, he traveled in the southwestern states for the Illinois Alumi- num Company. He remained in their employment for fourteen months, when he resigned, and bought a controlling interest in the E. C. Linger Hardware and Furniture Company. at Parsons, Tucker county, West Virginia. This company is now succeeded by The Parsons Hardware and Furniture Company, which was incorporated in May, 1903, and re- organized January 18, 1905. by the election of H. E. Grieder as president, E. C. Linger as secretary, and Mr. Miller as vice-president and general manager. The capital stock is ten thousand dollars. In their three-story fireproof concrete building, equipped with show rooms and all that is necessary for the conduct of their business, they deal at wholesale and retail in shelf and heavy hardware and household furniture. Mr. Miller is also manager of the Victoria Theatre. a three-story concrete building, of fireproof construction, one of the most modern structures for theatri- cal purposes in West Virginia, seating one thousand persons; he is a large stockholder in the Citizens' Opera House Company, capitalized at five thousand dollars, which owns this theatre. Near Florence Villa, Florida, he has large orange groves, and there he spends part of the win- ter time. He is junior deacon of Pythagoras Lodge, No. 128, Free and Accepted Masons, and has been through the chairs of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge, No. 39. He is a Republican. Mr. Miller

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.

West Virginia and its people, Volume II, Part 63

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