West Virginia and its people, Volume II, Part 76

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 76

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(II) Sir Jonathan Beckwith, son of Sir Marmaduke Beckwith, was

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born in Richmond county, Virginia, and was a signer of the Northern Neck Declaration, protesting against the Stamp Act, in 1765. With the avowal of his patriotic sentiments the title of "Sir," which he had inher- ited from his father, was virtually renounced. He married Rebecca Barnes, of Virginia, and must have attained to a very advanced age, as he was living in Westmoreland county, Virginia, in 1835.

(III) Jennings, son of Sir Jonathan and Rebecca ( Barnes) Beckwith, was born in 1764, in Richmond county, Virginia, died in 1835, in West- moreland county. Virginia. He was a great sportsman, passing many years in hunting among the Indians of the far west. He married Eliza- beth Kill.

(IV) Richard Marmaduke Barnes, son of Jennings and Elizabeth ( Kill) Beckwith, was born in Jefferson county, Virginia, now West Vir- ginia, and was the owner of an estate called the "Retreat," in Frederick county. In 1813 he enlisted in the United States army, serving until 1816, in Captain Well's company. He married, September 13, 1813, Sarah, born in 1796, daughter of Captain George Hite, a revolutionary soldier, who was wounded and pensioned ; he was grandnephew of James Madi- son, president of the United States. In politics Mr. Beckwith was a Wliig, and he and his wife were members of the Protestant Episcopal church. He died in 1818, at St. Louis, Missouri, when on his way to visit his father who was then among the Indians of the far west. Mrs. Beckwith died in 1879, at the venerable age of eighty-four.

(V) George Hite Jennings, son of Richard Marmaduke Barnes and Sarah ( Hite) Beckwith, was born in 1816, at the "Retreat," and received his education in the common schools of his native county. He was a farmer and was the owner of an estate called "Shady Side." He mar- ried, in 1843, Annie Lloyd, born at Smithfield, daughter of Dr. Samuel Scollay and his wife, Harriet ( Lloyd ) Scollay. Dr. Scollay was a gradu- ate of Harvard University and practised medicine in three counties. He was a large landowner and died at Smithfield, aged seventy-seven years. Mrs. Beckwith died in 1868, at "Shady Side," and Mr. Beckwith passed away in Charles Town, in 1893.

(VI) Judge J. Frank Beckwith, son of George Hite Jennings and Annie Lloyd ( Scollay ) Beckwith, was born July 26, 1848, at Middleway, Jefferson county, Virginia, now West Virginia. He received his pre- paratory education in the county schools, afterward studying at the Roman Catholic College on Niagara river in the state of New York. Since 1887 he has been continuously engaged in the practice of his pro- fession in Charles Town, acquiring a large clientele and building up a most enviable reputation. He was appointed by Governor Wilson to complete the unexpired term of Judge C. J. Faulkner who was elected to the United States senate. He is now attorney for several corporations, and is identified with other industrial enterprises. As a public-spirited citizen Judge Beckwith takes an active interest in all reform movements connected wth his home city. He is a Democrat in politics, and in 1881- 82 and 1887-88 was elected to the legislature, serving with credit to him- self and satisfaction to his constituents. From 1881 to 1885 he was a member of the staff of Governor Jackson. He affiliates with the Royal Arch Masons and Knights Templar, and is vestryman and senior warden of Zion Protestant Episcopal Church. The career of Judge Beckwith has thus far extended over a period exceeding a quarter of a century, and his record as lawyer, legislator and private citizen has in all respects con- formed to the traditions of a noble ancestry.

Judge Beckwith married, in 1886, Annie Leacy, born in 1858, at Romney. Hampshire county, Virginia, daughter of Major Angus Wil- liam and Elizabeth Morton (Sherrard) McDonald, who were also the

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parents of a son, Angus McDonald, deceased. A sketch of Major Mc- Donald appears on another page of this work. Judge Beckwith and his wife have been the parents of four children: Angus McDonald. June 13, 1887, at Berryville, died November 21, 1906; Eloise Lloyd, born in 1889, at Charlestown ; Francis Jennings, born in 1892 : Elizabeth Morton, born in 1895.

PENDLETON The ancestor of the Pendleton family in West Vir- ginia, noted for the educational and legal acquire- ments of its chief representatives in this county, was Benjamin Pendleton, a farmer, born in the latter part of the eighteenth century, and passing his youth and young manhood in the troublous per- iod that marked the birth of the Union.

(II) David B., son of Benjamin Pendleton, was born in the year 1817, when the affairs of the infant nation were gradually becoming moulded into shape, and the beginnings were becoming manifest of that prosperity which was to characterize the young republic. Mr. Pendle- ton was a resident of Mercer county during his later years, but his early life was passed in Appomattox county, Virginia. There he was one of the most prominent and generally respected citizens in the county, well known for his educational acquirements which were beyond the ordinary in those days; he began his career of teaching in Virginia, and followed this profession for the remainder of his life. He became a justice of the peace, holding this office for some time; and was also a member of the board of examiners. He removed from Appomattox county to Mer- cer county before the outbreak of the civil war, and in the year 1862 entered the Confederate service. He was for a time in the commissary department, but saw active service at Fort Donelson, in which battle he fought and was taken prisoner by the Union forces under General Grant. He was held for a period of nine months by the enemy, after which he was exchanged and finished his full term of enlistment in the Confeder- ate army. He lived to be an old man of eighty-five years of age. dying in Mercer county, where the latter half of his life was passed, in the year 1902. His wife was Nancy Virginia Whittaker, younger than himself by many years ; she was born in the year 1847, and is now resident in Prince- ton. West Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Pendleton were the parents of seven children. five sons and two daughters, as follows: B. W., an attorney ; James H., deceased ; W. D., a banker and wholesale grocer ; S. E., de- ceased : E. S. : Mrs. C. H. Beard, who now resides in Roanoke, Virginia ; John R., of whom further.

(III) John R .. son of David B. and Nancy Virginia ( Whittaker ) Pendleton, was born January 22, 1882, in Mercer county. West Vir- ginia, where his father was then engaged in teaching school. He re- ceived an excellent early education, and after concluding his studies at the Concord State Normal School he entered the University of West Virginia, where he was graduated in the class of 1002. Turning his at- tention to the study of law, he soon acquired proficiency and began the practice of his profession in the year 1903. at Princeton, West Virginia. He became very successful and prominent, not only in the law but in public affairs generally. In the regular elections of 1908 he was elected prosecuting attorney, an office which he still holds and duties of which are admirably discharged by him. He is now a prominent man in the Dem- ocratic party, and is its nominee for judge of the criminal courts of Mer- cer county. In his religious affiliations he is a member of the. Methodist Church, South.

On June 16, 1900. Mr. Pendleton married Gertrude Douglass Hale,

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born in Princeton, September 9, 1885, daughter of the late Dr. J. W. Hale, of Princeton. Mr. and Mrs. Pendleton have no children.

WOOLFORD Of sterling French ancestry, this family was founded in America by Ferdinand Woolford, who was born and reared in France and who was a soldier, under Napoleon, on that fatal march to Moscow, during which both his feet were frozen and at which time he suffered terrible hardships from ex- posure. He immigrated to the United States in the carly part of the nineteenth century and for many years was a harness manufacturer in the city of St. Louis, Missouri, where his death occurred in 1860. He married and had a son. Charles F., mentioned below.

(II) Charles F., son of Ferdinand Woolford, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. When the cloud of civil war darkened the national horizon he enlisted for service in the Union army as a member of the Ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He died in the early seventies from disease con- tracted while in the army. His wife was Mary E. Gaffney in her girl- hood days and she was born in the city of Brooklyn, New York. Her death occurred in the latter part of the nineties. Mr. and Mrs. Woolford had one son, Charles, mentioned below.

(III) Charles, son of Charles F. and Mary E. (Gaffney) Woolford, was born in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, September 2, 1861. He received a very meager educational training in the public schools of Cincinnati, and at the age of eleven years was obliged to seek employment in order to help support his invalid father, who was suffering from hardships en- dured while in the civil war. His first work brought him one dollar per week and all his earnings went for the support of the family, of which he was the only child. For a time he worked in a toy factory and at the age of fourteen years entered upon an apprenticeship to learn the trade of scroll sawing. At the age of seventeen years he was a full- fledged journeyman and was able to command a good salary, all of which he gave to his mother. In 1887 he engaged in business for himself in Cincinnati, opening a shop for the manufacture of interior woodwork, mostly office and bank fixtures. He was engaged in that line of enter- prise for the ensuing eight years, when he disposed of his share of the business to his partner. In 1895 he engaged in the brewery business in Cincinnati, but at the end of three years the company, of which he was the head, failed and went into the hands of a receiver. In this manner he lost every dollar he possessed and became a poor man. Although dis- ; heartened by his losses, he resolved to make a new start and in 1899 be- gan to work for a salary again. In the following year he removed to Nolan, West Virginia, and there purchased a hotel, for which he paid three hundred dollars in cash, giving his note for the remainder of the purchase price. He met his debts promptly when due and continued to run the above hotel until 1910, when he disposed of it and came to Wil- liamson, Mingo county. Immediately on his arrival here he was ap- ' pointed to fill the unexpired term of M. Z. White as president of the county court of Mingo county. In 1910 he was elected to this office for a term of six years and he is proving himself a most efficient incumbent. In a business way he is a heavy stockholder in the Williamson Mercan- tile Company, of which he is president, and he is likewise a stockholder and equal owner of the Bishop-Persinger-White Insurance Company, which handles all kinds of insurance outside of straight life policies. He owns considerable real estate of value in and about Williamson, and is an essentially representative citizen in Mingo county, where he is recognized as a man of mark in all the relations of life. In politics he is a supporter

Luther @ anderson

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of the Republican party and he has always been active in behalf of this organization. At present he is superintendent of the reconstruction of the court house at Williamson and gives his time and attention to this matter without compensation. In religious matters he is a devout Luth- eran and his fraternal connections are with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias.

Mr. Woolford married (first) Louise Viegle, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in June, 1867. died in February, 1895. He married (second ) Laura Buschmann, a native of Cincinnati, where her birth occurred May 15, 1876, daughter of Henry Buschmann, of Kentucky, a retired mer- chant and a very wealthy citizen. Children of first marriage: 1. How- ard H., born in Cincinnati, Ohio, September 24, 1887 ; engaged in business at Chattaroy, West Virginia ; he is unmarried. 2. Ethel May, born June 16, 1889; married Nicholas R. Hatfield, and they reside at Nolan, West Virginia, where Mr. Hatfield is engaged in the real estate and mercantile business. Mr. and Mrs. Hatfield have two sons, Homer and Howard. Children of second marriage: 3. Cora, born in Cincinnati in 1904. 4. Selma, born at Nolan, West Virginia, December 4, 1908. Mr. Woolford is exceedingly fond of home life and devotes most of his spare time to his family and the entertainment of his intimate friends. As a gentleman and citizen he is well liked by his fellowmen in Williamson, where all accord him the highest esteem.

ANDERSON This family is of Scotch-Irish descent and emigrated to America previous to the revolutionary war. Mem- bers of the family first settled in Pennsylvania and later removed to Virginia.

(I) James Anderson, a direct descendant of the Virginia branch of the family, was born in Rockingham county, Virginia, in 1800, died in Lewis county, West Virginia, in 1884, where he had resided since 1840. He was a noted millwright, and erected many mills in West Virginia ; several of these mills built as early as 1840 are still in use.

(II) Lorenzo Dow, son of James Anderson, was born in Lewis county, Virginia, now West Virginia. January 25, 1841. He was en- gaged in farming for many years in Lewis county, West Virginia. He served in Company I, Third West Virginia Cavalry, under command of General Sheridan during the civil war. He married Rebecca, daughter of Samuel Wilson. Mrs. Anderson died in 1906, aged sixty-six years. Her grandfather, Ralph Wilson, was a captain under General Lewis and was killed at the battle of Mount Pleasant in 1774.

(III) Luther Colfax, son of Lorenzo Dow and Rebecca (Wilson) Anderson, was born in Lewis county, West Virginia, February 9, 1869. He attended the public schools of his county and finished his prepara- tion for college at the French Creek Academy. In 1890 he entered Ohio Wesleyan University and graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1894. He then entered the University of West Virginia and graduated LL.B. in 1896. In 1899 his Alma Mater conferred upon him the degree of A. M. in course. He served as assistant state superintendent of schools in 1897-99 and during 1899-1900 was assistant attorney general of the state of West Virginia. In 1900 he began the practice of his profes- sion in Charleston, West Virginia. as junior member of the firm of Rucker, Keller & Anderson, the other members being Edgar E. Rucker, a former attorney general of the state, and Benjamin F. Keller, now judge of the Federal court of the southern district of West Virginia. He continued with this firm and its successors until 1902, when he lo- cated in Welch, West Virginia. Since 1908 he has been the senior mem-

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ber of the law firm of Anderson, Strother & Hughes. He takes a deep interest in educational matters and has served as regent of the University of West Virginia, under the appointment of Governor Glass- cock. He is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and served as delegate to the general conference of the Methodist Episcopal church held in Minneapolis in 1912. In politics he is a Republican. He is the joint author of a work entitled: "The Negotiable Instrument Law of West Virginia."

He married, October 22, 1902, Frances Rummel, born in Charleston, West Virginia, February 9. 1881, daughter of Henry Rummel, who is engaged in the oil business in Charleston, West Virginia. Two chil- dren have been born to them: Henry Rummel, July 23, 1903; Luther Wilson. August 25. 1906. .

RADCLIFF Several explanations have been given of this family name. Two of these, which it may not be impossible to reconcile and combine, are as follows: That the family is descended from Richard Radclyffe, of Radcliffe Tower, near Bury, county of Lancaster. England, who flourished in the reign of Edward I .: and that the name is of local origin, derived from a place in Lancashire, England, so called on account of a cliff of red rock.

(I) The first Radcliff of this family, about whom we have defi- nite information, was a coal miner, and spent his life in Manchester, Eng- land. Son : Jothan, of whom further.

(II) Jothan Radcliff was born in Manchester, England, in 1832, and died at Vale Summit, Allegany county, Maryland. April 17, 1906. He was brought up in Manchester, and attended public schools in England. At the age of eighteen he came to America. He was a coal and rock miner. In the civil war he served for three years in the Second Mary- land Regiment, enlisting in 1862, and being discharged in 1865. He served under General Hunter, and was in numerous skirmishes. He married Elizabeth, daughter of William Wilmoh, who was born at Land's End, England, and died at Vale Summit, at the age of seventy-nine. Her father was a miner, and died at Land's End. Children: Robert A., of whom further ; Ellen, married Robert Houston. and live in Pittsburg ; Elizabeth, married Frederick Hadra, and live at Ridgeley. West Virginia : Joseph, married Eva Long. and live at Eckhard, Maryland ; George, mar- ried Patricia Rabbitt, and live at Elkins, West Virginia ; Louisa, married William Long, and live at Vale Summit ; Jothan, married Nellie Bischoff, and live at Ridgeley, West Virginia ; Bessie, married William McFarland, and recently removed from Big Savage, West Virginia, to New York state. Mrs. Jothan Radcliff, by a former marriage, had the following children, named Sleeman: William, married Margaret McFarland, and live at Hoffman Mines, Maryland ; John, married Isabel Fatkin, and live at Vale Summit : Mary, married Philip Oss and live at Vale Summit ; Thomas, married Edith Parker, and live at McKee's Rock, Pennsylvania.

(III) Robert A., son of Jothan and Elizabeth (Wilmoh-Sleeman ) Radcliff, was born at Vale Summit, November 26, 1860. He remained at his native place until he was twenty-four years old, attending public school at Vale Summit and the Northern Indiana Normal School at Val- paraiso, Indiana. He then spent about nine years in the west, being en- gaged in construction work in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Califor- aia. Returning to Vale Summit, he worked in the mines for two years, digging coal. In 1898 he opened a general merchandise business at Ridgeley, Mineral county, West Virginia, where he still resides and con- ducts the same business. In his store is also the postoffice, and he has

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recently been reappointed postmaster. He is a stockholder in the Cum- berland Savings Bank and in the. Miller Avenue Street Railroad Com- pany, of which latter corporation he is secretary. He is a member of Ohr Lodge, No. 131, Free and Accepted Masons, at Cumberland. Mr. Rad- cliff and his family are Methodists. He is a Republican.

Mr. Radcliff married, April 6, 1899, Hagar, daughter of William and Adaliah (Stottler ) Long, who was born at Vale Farm, near Frostburg, Maryland, July 2, 1866. Her father, born at Lomacoming, Maryland, was a farmer and blacksmith, and died at the age of forty-eight, near Palo Alto, Pennsylvania. Her mother was born near Cumberland, and is now liv- ing at Eckhard, Maryland. Children of William and Adaliah (Stottler) Long: Bettie, married William Fatkin, and live at Vale Summit; Charles, living, unmarried, at Vale Summit ; Kate, married Boone Stot- tler, and live at Myersdale, Pennsylvania ; Fannie, living at Ridgeley, un- married ; Ida, deceased, unmarried ; Emma, living at Ridgeley, unmar- ried ; Hagar, married Robert A. Radcliff, of whom herein; William. married Louisa Radcliff : Lynn, a traveling salesman, and unmarried ; Eva, married Joseph Radcliff, and live at Eckhard; Lucian, unmarried, living. Children of Robert A. and Hagar (Long) Radcliff: Vera Athalia, born in 1900: Harold Levi, born in 1903.

MUNSON This is an old English family, belonging to the peerage, and having a recognized history extending back through five centuries. The English spelling of the name is Monson, and the seat of the family is Burton Hall, Lincolnshire, Eng- land, the residence of the present Lord Monson, who, as well as his father, became greatly interested in genealogical researches and the history of the family in the old world and the new. They collected a great number of valuable manuscripts in reference to the various con- nections, which are now in the possession of the head of the family in England; but were unable to collect sufficient information in regard to the American branch of the house to establish the line unbroken. It is known, however, that the immigrant ancestor came over to this coun- try in the sixteenth century ; his descendants multiplied and flourished, whereas, in the old country, the family has decreased in numbers so that very few remain to bear the name. About the year 1637, Captain Thom- as Munson, a descendant of the immigrant ancestor, located in Hartford, Connecticut, and performed military service during the Pequot war in that year. When in 1887 a reunion of the American family was held in Hartford, Connecticut, cordial relations with the English cousins were cemented by a communication received from Sir Edmund Monson, of the British Legation at Copenhagen, and formerly (in 1858) attaché to the British Legation at Washington, D. C.

The immediate progenitor of the branch of the Munson family at present under consideration, was Samuel Munson, a shoemaker by trade, born April 9, 1781, at Morristown, New Jersey, who passed his life in Frederick and Washington counties, Maryland, and in Macon county, Illinois. He was a member of the Republican party, and died in Niantic, Illinois, November 20, 1866. He married a Miss Elizabeth McDonnell, and they had eleven children: I. Lewis, married Elizabeth Swope. 2. Ezra, married Catherine Castor. 3. Samuel Ugal. 4. Henry. 5. Julia Ann, married to Thomas Acom. 6. Benjamin Franklin, married Olive Clark. 7. John Jacob, married Rebecca Brenner. 8. Solomon Mil- ton. 9. Joshua, of further mention. 10. Josiah. 11. Samuel D. The family were all members of the Lutheran church, none of those whose names are here mentioned being now alive.

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(II) Joshua, son of Samuel and Elizabeth ( McDonnell) Munson, was born October 15, 1826, at Frederick, Maryland. He was reared in Wash- ington county, Maryland, becoming a farmer in that county and continu- ing his residence in the state all his life. He was a Republican in poli- tics, but never became prominent in public affairs, preferring a peaceful and industrious home life upon his farm. He died at Hancock, Mary- land, in the year 1892, being then sixty-six years old. His wife was a Miss Rebecca Smith, a native of Smithsburg, Maryland, and daughter of Jacob Smith, a farmer, who lived to the age of ninety years. Mrs. Mun- son, who died at Hagerstown, Maryland, at the advanced age of eighty years, was never connected with any church; she and her husband were the parents of eight children, all of whom with one exception, are still living ; they are as follows: I. Mary Jane, born March 16, 1849; she is unmarried, residing at Hancock, Maryland. 2. John W., born December 6, 1850; he married Columbia Simmons, and is a farmer, residing at Hancock. 3. Daniel B., born January 31, 1853: he died at the age of fifty-eight years. 4. Samuel H., born January 28, 1855 ; he married Alice Exline, and is a farmer at Hancock. 5. Alfred, born February 15, 1858; he married Mary Lineburg, and resides at Martinsburg, West Virginia. 6. Anna, born November 4, 1860; she is married to George Corbett, liv- ing at Hancock. 7. Lewis M., of further mention. 8. Henry, born July 29, 1868; he married Mary Suman, and lives at Hagerstown, Maryland. (III) Lewis M., son of Joshua and Rebecca (Smith) Munson, was born December 22, 1863, at Clearsprings, Maryland. His early years were passed in Washington county, on his father's farm, his education being acquired in the public schools of the county; after which he be- came a farmer like his father, remaining on the place until the year 1885. He then removed to Illinois and afterward to Kansas, where for three years he continued farming. In 1888 he came to Great Cacapon as a clerk, remaining thus for ten years and discontinuing in order to engage in a general merchandise business on his own account, which he is con- ducting at the present time. He has proved very successful in this ven- ture; and in addition to his store, he has since the year 1897 been in charge of the postoffice at Great Cacapon. In his political opinions he is a member of the Republican party ; he is also a member of the Odd Fel- lows Lodge, and its treasurer as well. He and his family are attendants of the United Brethren church.

On April 20, 1890, he was married to Miss Mary S. Whisner, a na- tive of Great Cacapon. She is the daughter of Levi Whisner, a carpen- ter, who was born in Morgan county, West Virginia, and is now residing at Great Cacapon ; her mother was a Miss Agnes Eversole, also a native of Morgan county. Mr. and Mrs. Whisner are the parents of seven children : William, married Mary Dawson: Samuel, married Mary Spring ; David, married N. McCown; Mary S. married Lewis M. Mun- son ; Estelle, married W. W. Pittman ; Myrtle, married Albert Britt ; Lulu, married B. S. Cross. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis M. Munson are the parents of four children, as follows: I. Charles Leonard, born March 13, 1891. 2. Lionel, born November 28, 1895. 3. Paul, horn December 8, 1897. 4. Mildred, born September 24, 1901.

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West Virginia and its people, Volume II, Part 76

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