USA > West Virginia > West Virginia and its people, Volume II > Part 89
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Dr. William N. Burwell was born at Millwood, Clarke BURWELL county, Virginia, June 12, 1859, and died March 19, 1909. He first studied at William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Virginia, and graduated from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1881, and after practicing his profession in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for two years, came to Parkersburg and entered into partnership with his brother, who had been located here some time.
Dr. Burwell was actively interested in local affairs, and had been for several years president of the Board of Health, and had acted as city health officer for several terms. He was also a member of the city council at the time of his death, and served in all these capacities in a most efficient manner. He was a member of the West Virginia Medical Society and the Ohio and Little Kanawha Valley Medical Society. He was a member of Mt. Olivet Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and of Calvary Commandery, No. 3. Knights Templar, and also of the local lodge of Odd Fellows.
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On October 21, 1885, Dr. Burwell was married to Miss Nellie Chan- cellor, daughter of Colonel W. N. and Ellen C. ( King) Chancellor; she was born in Parkersburg, July 25, 1860. They were the parents of one child, Nelson Chancellor, now engaged in the insurance business in Park- ersburg, West Virginia.
CHANCELLOR Colonel William Nelson Chancellor, one of Park- ersburg's most respected and influential citizens, was born June 25, 1830, at Harrisville, Ritchie county, which at that time was in Wood county, Virginia. He died May 26, 1908. His parents, Thomas and Prudence Chancellor, were among the early settlers of that place, and when he was eight years old they moved to Parkersburg.
At the age of fifteen years, Mr. Chancellor took a position in a dry goods store as clerk, and his close application to work soon won advance- ment. Three years later he was appointed teller in the Northwestern Bank of Virginia, which was located in this city, and served in that capac- ity for ten years. In 1863 he was one of the promoters of the First National Bank, and upon its organization he was elected cashier, and in 1872 was elected vice-president, which office he held until he was elected president, a few weeks prior to his death, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator J. N. Camden. He was a prominent figure in polit- ical circles in the Democratic party for many years. He was elected mayor of Parkersburg in 1874 and again in 1886, and nominated again in 1901. His opponent in the last campaign was Colonel W. W. Vrooman, but as neither desired the office they made no effort to be elected, although the latter was elected by the narrow margin of three votes and resigned after taking the office. Mr. Chancellor also represented the people of Wood county in the legislature, being first elected in 1875 and again in 1886. He also was a member of city council several times. During his political career, Mr. Chancellor on several occasions was urged to become a candidate for governor of West Virginia, and during the memorable gubernatorial contest in the legislature in 1889, had he given his consent he would have been named as the successful compromise candidate.
During his life he was prominently identified with a number of large enterprises, among which was the Camden Consolidated Oil Company, which was organized by Mr. Chancellor, J. N. Camden and W. P. Thomp- son. This company was later merged with the Standard Oil Company, and he retired from the oil business. He was also financially interested for a number of years in the Ohio River Railroad Company, of which he was one of the directors, also a director in the Clarksburg & Western Railroad Company. For many years he was a large stockholder in the Little Kanawha Navigation Company, in which he retained an interest up to the time the property of the company was taken over by the gov- ernment. He was also a stockholder in the Parkersburg Branch Rail- road Company, as well as being identified with the Parkersburg Gas Com- pany, and the West Virginia Fibre Company during their existence.
During his residence of seventy years in Parkersburg, Mr. Chancellor contributed as much, if not more, than any other one man, to building the city up to what it is today. A number of the prominent business blocks of the city today stand as monuments to his memory which were erected by his own individual capital, while others were jointly erected by him and those associated with him. A number of these blocks are located on Market street, and principally among these erected by his own capital is the Blennerhassett Hotel. Later he became interested in the Bank Block Investment Company, which company built the Chancellor Hotel,
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which was named in his honor, and of which company he was president. He also owned valuable real estate throughout the city, and had an ele- gant home on the corner of Juliana and 9th streets.
Mr. Chancellor married Ellen C. King, daughter of W. S. King, of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and they were the parents of five children, two of whom are living,-Mrs. W. N. Burwell and Mrs. H. P. Moss.
Mr. Chancellor's death was a distinct loss to the city of Parkersburg, and was received in all circles with sincere regret and profound sorrow. He was a courteous and genial gentleman, and was highly esteemed as the best type of citizen, a man of high sense of honor, integrity and uprightness.
Harry P. Moss, a prominent business man of Parkersburg, MOSS West Virginia, was born December 31, 1860, and died in that city January 11, 1909. He was a son of Dr. John W. Moss, one of the prominent physicians in the early history of the city, and also surgeon in the Ioth West Virginia Regiment. He died while his regi- ment was stationed at New Creek.
After graduation from school, Mr. Harry P. Moss purchased an inter- est in the business of S. L. Addison & Company, his partner being Wil- liam Bentley. They acquired the interest of S. L. Addison and W. I. Boreman, and the firm was known as Moss & Bentley. In a few years Mr. Moss purchased Mr. Bentley's interest and conducted the business himself until it was formed in a stock company which was known as the H. P. Moss Bookstore Company. The business had increased and de- manded larger quarters, and a portion of the Camden Theatre Block be- came the home of the business firm. He was also one of the stockholders and officials of the Opera Block Investment Company. He was a mem- ber of the St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church, and chairman of the official board of the church. He had also been vice-president of the Y. M. C. A., and took an active part in all the matters and works pertaining to the affairs of the organization.
He married Miss Annie Chancellor ( see Chancellor) daughter of W. N. Chancellor. Mr. Moss' death was a distinct loss to the community, where he was a respected citizen and had many warm friends.
SAVAGE The immediate progenitor of the present West Virginia family was George Savage, a native of Augusta county, Virginia, where he was born December 26, 1831. He was educated in the subscription schools of the county, and after his studies were completed he learned the carpenter's trade and entered into business for himself, and continued for a while in his chosen calling. September 29, 1853, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Tisdale, of Staunton, Au- gusta county ; she died the following year, December 3Ist, leaving a son, Thomas Shelton Savage, then only a few months old. After the death of his wife Mr. Savage removed to Parkersburg, West Virginia, and for the last fifteen years of his life was engaged in mercantile business in this city. He died in the city of his adoption in January, 1892, at the age of sixty-one years, having later in life contracted another marriage, his sec- ond wife having been a Miss Margaret Kmipple.
(II) Thomas Shelton Savage, son of George and Elizabeth (Tisdale) Savage, was born in Augusta county, Virginia, September 7, 1854, his mother dying shortly after his birth. While still very young his father removed to Parkersburg. West Virginia, where he attended the public schools. At the age of fifteen he became a clerk in his father's store.
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دائمة الفن
James N. grovous
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where he remained for about eight years, and on February 15, 1877, em- barked in a general merchandise business on his own account. He estab- lished himself on the corner of Avery and Thirteenth streets, remaining at this locality until April 10, 1907, when he sold out, turning his atten- tion to real estate dealings, in which he is still engaged with success. He is one of the leading men in business and commercial circles in Parkers- burg, and is connected with a number of important corporations and en- terprises, having been a director in the Citizens' National Bank since 1901, in which year he was also made president of the Parkersburg Ice and Coal Company. He is interested in fraternal organizations and is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons.
On May 17, 1877, Mr. Savage was married to Miss Mary Lavinia Padget, daughter of P. Padget, of Wood county. Mr. and Mrs. Savage have had two children: William P., born May 26, 1878, died May 4, 19II ; and Carrie L., born June 2, 1880, who is still living. Mrs. Savage's grandfather, Thomas Padget, was a farmer and carpenter of Wood coun- ty, who married a Miss Lavinia Henry. Their children were: John A., born January 31, 1853 ; Robert H., December 27, 1854; Nancy A., Octo- ber 7, 1856; Mary L., June 25, 1859; Martha B., August 20, 1861 ; Erila E., June 23, 1864; Francis S., March 6, 1868; Ella M., August 19, 1870; Ethelbert, April 22, 1872 ; and P. Padget, father of Mrs. Savage.
BROWN Hon. James F. Brown, actively and prominently identified with the professional and business life of the Kanawha Valley, is a worthy representative of an old family, hon- orable in the history of the Virginias. William Brown, the ancestor, came to Virginia from England about 1636 and settled in Westmoreland county. His youngest son, Maxfield, moved to Prince William, where and in the adjoining counties his descendants have ever since resided.
Dr. Benjamin Brown, son of George N. Brown, son of Newman Brown, son of Maxfield, from there, in 1805, moved to the banks of the Ohio river, where Huntington now stands, then part of Kanawha, later Cabell county, and held many positions of honor and trust, dying in 1847.
His son, James H. Brown, was born in Cabell county, December 25, 1818, died October 28, 1900. He graduated from Augusta College, Ken- tucky, in 1842, and in the same year was admitted to the bar. In 1848 he moved to Kanawha county, and ever afterwards made Charleston his home. He was an old time Democrat; he took active part in the cam- paign of 1844, advocating the annexation of Texas, the then paramount issue ; in 1854 was a delegate to the state convention nominating Henry A. Wise for governor ; in 1855 was candidate for state senator; in 1861 a member of the legislature, and upheld the maintenance of the Union; was also member of the convention that formed the new state and framed its first constitution, and was prominent in its deliberations. In 1861 he was commissioned judge of the eighteen judicial circuits of Virginia, from which he resigned in 1863; during his whole service as circuit judge no appeal was ever taken from his decisions. On the formation of the new state he was elected to the supreme court of appeals, and served eight years; in 1875 was caucus nominee of his party for the United States senate, and in 1883 and 1886 its nominee for congress; also, was elected to the legislature in 1882, and was an acknowledged leader of the house. He first married Louisa M. Beuhring, who died in 1872, daughter of the Hon. Frederick G. L. Beuhring, of Cabell county ; married (second) Sal- lie S., daughter of W. D. Shrewsbury, Esq., who died January 7, 191I.
James F. Brown, son of James H. Brown, was born in Kanawha county, March 7, 1852. He graduated from the State University, in
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1873, and two years later was admitted to the bar, his professional work extending not only over his own state but into other states and to the supreme court of the United States. As a lawyer he soon gained a high reputation ; the firm of which he is a member, Brown, Jackson & Knight, is one of the strongest legal combinations in the state. He has always been deeply interested in affairs affecting the commonweal. During his long service in the town council the then village of Charleston changed into a city ; many forward movements were inaugurated, among them the paving system, the sewerage of the town, the erection of a city hall, insti- tution of water works, introduction of street cars, erection of the Key- stone Bridge across Elk river, and the Charleston and South Side bridge over the Kanawha, in all of which movements he was prominent and effective.
His only personal political campaign was in 1882, when in his absence he was nominated by his party ( the Democrats) as one of three members for his county to be elected to the legislature. For the same position his father was nominated by the opposing party. After an earnest but digni- fied campaign the result showed both elected, though on opposing tickets, and both served in the same public body. In 1890 he was appointed to the board of regents for the State University, and continued in that posi- tion under four successive governors, notwithstanding the change mean-
while in the political control, had the satisfaction of seeing the university expanded, new buildings commenced, fuller equipment provided, and the attendance of less than two hundred at the time of his appointment advanced to more than twelve hundred at the end of his service. His participation in affairs has covered more than forty years, and he has noted and had part in the marvelous development in Western Virginia, evidenced in part by the growth of Kanawha county from fifteen thou- sand to more than eighty-one thousand in population, and Charleston's advance from a rural village of one thousand and fifty people to a city, and the capital of the new state. Mr. Brown is and has for many years been vice-president of the Kanawha Valley Bank, one of the leading financial institutions of the state, also of the Southern States Mutual Life Insurance Company, and is an active factor in many other of the live enterprises of the section.
Mr. Brown married, September 13, 1877, Miss Jennie M. Woodbridge, of Marietta, Ohio, daughter of the late John M. Woodbridge and Abigail Elizabeth (Darling) Woodbridge, of that city. Children: Louise Beuh- ring, wife of Oscar P. Fitzgerald; Elizabeth Woodbridge, wife of Angus W. McDonald; Jean Morgan, Ceres, Ruth Dannenberg, and Benjamin Beuhring, the latter now attending Princeton University.
james B. Jones, the first member of this family of whom we
JONES have definite information, was born in Fauquier county, Virginia. He was a farmer, also engaged in mercantile pur- suits, and was held in high repute and esteem. He married Eliza, daugh- ter of John Miller. Children: Edward Thompson, referred to below ; Annie A., now deceased.
(II) Edward Thompson, son of James B. and Eliza (Miller) Jones, is a graduate of the law school of the University of Virginia. He enlisted in the Confederate army at the opening of the civil war and attained the rank of quartermaster general. At the close of the war he resumed the practice of law at Washington, Rappahannock county, Virginia, where he is still living. He married Eliza Edmonia, daughter of John and Mary (Jordan) Miller. Her father was a descendant of Henry Miller, who served on the staff of King Frederick of Prussia and emigrated from
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Germany in 1720, settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Children of Edward Thompson and Eliza Edmonia ( Miller ) Jones: Edward Bar- tow, referred to below; John Brereton, born in 1864: Annie, born in 1866, married Rev. S. C. Clopton ; Jessie F., born in 1868: James Fullos, born in 1871.
(III) Edward Bartow, son of Edward Thompson and Eliza Edmonia (Miller) Jones, was born in Rappahannock county, Virginia, June 7, 1861. He received his early education in the public schools at Washing- ton, Virginia, and later advanced classical education under private tuition. He is a farmer and interested principally in cattle raising. He is a Dem- ocrat in politics. He married, in Harrisonburg, Virginia, May 6, 1908, Elizabeth, daughter of John Samuel and Caroline Virginia Harnsberger. Her father was a graduate of the University of Virginia and a lawyer, and was a captain in the Confederate army during the civil war. His children were : Gilbert Miller, George, Elizabeth, referred to above. Child of Edward Bartow and Elizabeth ( Harnsberger) Jones: Edward Bar- tow Jr., born July 25, 1909.
William Blagg, founder of this family in America, emi- BLAGG grated from Wales and settled in Albemarle county, Vir- ginia, where Charlottesville now stands. He went to High- land county, which was then a part of Albemarle county, but over one hundred miles west of where he first settled. His brother John, who came over with him, was a lieutenant in the colonial army and a captain in the revolutionary army. His name appears repeatedly in the "Dinwiddie Pa- pers." In vol. I. p. 433, a letter from Governor Dinwiddie to Lieutenant John Hamilton states: "I have appointed Mr. John Blagg, Ensign, so that he may be assisting you and help you to conduct the recruits as above." This is dated December 12, 1754. A footnote says: "Lieuten- ant John Blagg was present as a member of a court martial, held at Win- chester, May 2, 1756." In vol. II, p. 399, the minute of a court martial, held at Winchester, May 2, 1756, is given: "Lieutenant Blagg voted as a member and signs the report finding Sergeant Nathan Lewis guilty of retreating without orders and not going to the assistance of John Mercer when engaged with Indians April 18, near Edwards Fort, and sentencing him to death." "Report approved hy your humble servant, George Washington." Blagg seems, from the evidence given, to have been en- gaged in this battle. In vol. II, p. 592, there is a letter from Governor Dinwiddie to George Washington, April 6, 1757, in which he orders Gen- eral Washington to send two hundred men to Fredericksburg, under Lieutenant-Colonel Stevens, and others, including Lieutenant John Blagg, to be sent to South Carolina, "as it is found from a letter of the governor of South Carolina that the enemy designs to invade that province by sea." In the same volume, pp. 716 to 718, there are letters of Governor Din- widdie, dated November 23 and 24, 1757, to various parties, naming Lieu- tenant Blagg as bearer of dispatches and sums of money. He never mar- ried. William Blagg married Elizabeth J. Wilson. Children : 1. Samuel, born September 30, 1778; married Jennie Hempenstall. 2. John, born June 9, 1780; married Mariah ,Hiner. 3. William, born October 28, 1782; married Nancy Hiner. 4. Abraham, of whom further. 5. Mary, born April 16, 1787: married John Welsch ; moved to Ohio. 6. Harriet, born October 18, 1788: married Alexander Hiner : moved to Ohio. 7. Priscilla, born August 31, 1790: married James Jones. 8. James, born January 7, 1794.
(II) Abraham, son of William and Elizabeth J. ( Wilson) Blagg, was born March 30, 1784, died November 27, 1827. He married Jane Car-
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lyle Jones, who died November 27, 1862. Their children were: 1. Wil- liam, horn October 27, 1810, died in Gallipolis, Ohio, unmarried. 2. Henry J., married Phoebe Fox ; children : Margaret, Mary Ann, J. Mar- shall, William, Nancy. Benami Hansel, Squire J. 3. Benjamin H., of whom further. 4. James W., born September 15, 1815 ; married Rebec- ca Hook ; children: William, drowned in 1861. married Lizzie Barlow ; Robert, married a Miss Squires; Abraham, killed in battle in Shenan- doah Valley in 1863: Mary, married William Nipple; Martha ; John, married (first) a Miss Persinger, and (second) a Miss Stone ; Laura; Maggie, married W. H. Jack; Theodore. 5. Abraham, born June 1, 1817, died in 1827.
( III ) Benjamin Harrison, son of Abraham and Jane Carlyle (Jones) Blagg, was born September 15, 1812, in Pendleton county, Virginia, died January 14, 1883. in Upshur county, West Virginia. In 1858 he moved from Pendleton county to Highland county, and two years later went to Lewis county, where he lived for eighteen years, and then moved to Up- shur county. He was a farmer all his life, but engaged in other pursuits as well. He was a hatter by trade, and was engaged in the business at Walkersville, West Virginia, at the time that Imboden's cavalry of the Confederate army made their raid. His shop, tools and stock all having been destroyed in the raid he gave up the business, and for thirty years taught school and at the same time managed his farm. He married, Oc- tober 3, 1838, Sarah Spicer. Children : Abraham S., married Emily M. Armstrong: Francis Asbery; John Dyer ; Jane C .; Hannah C .; Mary Cathrine, married, October 19, 1872, W. D. McCutchan ; Sarah C., mar- ried A. F. Curry : Esther Clementine, born September 10, 1856, married A. M. McQuain : Benjamin H., of whom further : Charles H., John D., Francis A., Jane C. and Hannah C., died of diphtheria during the civil war, within twelve days of each other.
(IV) Benjamin Henry, son of Benjamin Harrison and Sarah (Spi- cer ) Blagg, was born February 4, 1860, near Crawford, Lewis county, West Virginia. He received his early education in the public schools of Lewis and Upshur counties, and later pursued a course of study at the University of West Virginia. In 1883 he moved to Mason county, locat- ing on a farm in Union district, where he lived until 1903, when he moved to Point Pleasant, his present residence. In 1898 he was elected county superintendent of schools and served in that office for four years, when he was admitted to the bar of West Virginia. He opened a law office in Point Pleasant in 1903, and has been in active practice of his profession ever since. He was elected prosecuting attorney in 1908, and has prac- tised before all the courts. His first appearance in the supreme court of West Virginia being in the case of Casto versus Baker, reported in 59 WV. Va., 683, March 13, 1906. He is a Republican in politics. In the Merchants National Bank of Point Pleasant he is a stockholder. He is past master of R. S. Brown Lodge, No. 120, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Jackson county ; is a member of Elmwood Lodge, No. 58. of United American Mechanics, and also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
He married, August 23, 1883, Luemma S., born October 8, 1865, daughter of Joseph and Lydia (Eagle) Crawford, of Upshur county. Children : Alva H., born April 26, 1885, died April 20, 1886; Donald O., born July 31, 1886, married Annie L. Knopp. July 1, 1909: Susie F., born September 17, 1888: Benjamin Vance, born January 1, 1891 ; Elva R. and Belva L., twins, born March 4, 1892: Eula C., born December 15, 1899: Okey J., born January 25, 1904.
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This name is quite uncommon, yet it has taken several HENSLEY forms, such as Hensleigh, Inslie and Insley, beside the one used in the present family. In one or another of its spellings, the name has existed in the county of Devon, Leicestershire, and doubtless other parts of England. It seems not improbable, in view of the comparative rarity of the name, that all bearing it, in any of these forms, are descendants of a common ancestor. New Jersey has the form Insley ; a brave loyalist lieutenant of this name was killed in that state in the revolution, in 1781. The name in the form Hensley, or with but slight variations in spelling ( such as was common in those days ), was well established in Virginia long before the revolution; the marriage license of a Samuel Hensley bears date of March 3, 1727; in 1734, several persons of this name were living in St. George's parish, Spottsylvania county ; a Samuel Hensley, who might well be the same person as in the marriage license, died in that county, January 7, 1765. William Hensley, of Spottsylvania county, died serving in the revolution, and there were two Hensleys in the Henry county militia in the same war. Simon Hensley, born in Washington county, Virginia, in 1785, settled in Sangamon county, Illinois.
(I) George William Hensley, the first member of this family about whom we have definite information, perhaps the original immigrant, was born in England, in 1778. While the place and date of his birth make it very improbable that he was descended from the earlier Virginian Hen- sleys, it is not at all improbable that he was closely related to them. By trade he was at first a blacksmith, later in life he was a farmer, owning a fine farm in Augusta county, Virginia. He was a Democrat, and his reli- gion was that of the United Brethren. He married Lockwood, of Augusta county, Virginia. Children : Harvey, John, Robert. George Wil- liam (2), of whom further : James L. and Mary.
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