West Virginia and its people, Volume II, Part 9

Author: Miller, Thomas Condit, 1848-; Maxwell, Hu, joint author
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: New York, Lewis Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 866

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(I) Matthew Geary, the first American settler of the name, was born in county Down, Ireland, and was a weaver by trade. He came to America as a young man, and settled at the Salt Licks on the Kanawha river, Virginia, where he engaged in the manufacture of salt, -a commodity, which in the days before the present extensive use of re- frigeration and consequent employment of fresh meat, was of the utmost importance. He not only made the salt, but also the barrels in which it was shipped. He sold his product to a man named Ruffner, with whom he was associated for a great many years. In the long journeys through the wilderness in quest of staves for his barrels he met Almira Ashley, who, in 1825, five years after he first reached America, became his wife. Her father was John Ashley, who had come in 1810, when she was four years old, to Roane county, Virginia, and settled in the dense wilderness at a place which afterwards became known as Osborne's Mills. So few were the inhabitants of that region at the time that he was the fourth settler. For nine years from the date of their marriage Matthew Geary and his wife lived on the Kanawha river, after which they removed to Osborne's Mills and there they lived the rest of their lives.

He was one of four men appointed to divide Roane county into dis- tricts, and one of these divisions was named Geary district in his honor. He served also as a justice of the peace, acting in that capacity until the day of his death. He became the owner of a tract of land of over 30,000 acres, and was greatly interested in public improvements of every kind. He was in a large measure responsible for the building of the turnpike between Charleston and Point Pleasant. The office of justice of the peace, which he held for so many years, was in those days a position of much greater scope than later, including a wide jurisdiction that involved almost everything connected with preservation of law and order. A post of this kind with such extended powers requires a man of sound judg- ment and of sterling common sense, and in Matthew Geary they were found united to a remarkable rectitude. It is said that no decision of his, made during his whole long tenure of office, was ever reversed. Though a member of no church, Mr. Geary's whole conduct of life was based upon the golden rule, and he was once heard to say, "The golden rule is my religion." Those who knew him testify most unstintingly to his having lived up to that creed. He never shirked a duty nor ever failed to help

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any case of need that came under his notice. He took William Hall, af- terward father of Hon. Grant Hall of Kanawha county, whose parents died when he was eight years old, and brought him up as an own son, deeding him at death one hundred acres of land. This is only one of a number of similar acts of generosity which have been told of him by Hon. B. J. Taylor, who is well acquainted with the leading facts of his life. Another friend, Mr. John Slack, who knew him well, adds the following testimony to his worth: "Mr. Geary was at least fifty years ahead of his time,-a man of much force of character and a natural lead- er. He had a remarkable concentration of mind, and could make a state- ment or tell a good story in fewer words and more to the point than most men. He was not only smart but honest, and though he had no early education he was a wide read man." Such a man and citizen was this pioneer, who played a man's part in the building up and civilizing of the Kanawha valley. It was in no spirit of self-glorification, but merely conscious of the rectitude of his life, that led him to exclaim be- fore he passed away, "The God I served will not condemn me !" He died January 24. 1865, being nearly seventy-three years old. Mr. Geary was a Republican in politics, and during the period of civil strife an ardent supporter of the union. He almost lived to see his hopes realized and the union restored. His wife survived him many years, dying October 8, 1894, aged eighty-seven years. She was of the same sturdy, heroic type of pioneer as her husband. It is upon the lives of such as they that the best elements of the republic have been built. She was a member of the Methodist church, and was a devout Christian woman, beloved and honored by all.

Matthew Geary and his wife were the parents of fifteen children, nine of whom lived to be heads of families. Of their descendants there are now living seven children, seventy-nine grandchildren and thirty-two great-grandchildren, in various states, and representing probably every vocation except that of the law.

(II) William Alexander, son of Matthew and Almira (Ashley) Geary, was born in 1846, on his father's farm at Osborne's Mills, Big Sandy creek, Geary district, Roane county, West Virginia. He has lived all his life in the homestead where he was born, of which he is the owner. He married, and has nine living children, of whom W. B. Geary is one of the youngest.

(III) W. B., son of William Alexander Geary, was born September 5. 1883, at Osborne's Mills, Roane county, West Virginia. His early ed- ucation was gained in the country schools, where he gave evidence of the energy and self-reliance that have marked his mature life. At the age of sixteen, with money he had earned himself, he entered upon a course of study at the State Normal School in Athens, Mercer county, West Virginia. Upon leaving school he obtained a position with W. L. Gwinn, a merchant. subsequently entering the employ of the Foster Hardware Company, of Huntington, West Virginia. Latterly he became connected with the Charleston Hardware Company, and made himself during two years master of all the details of the hardware business. This position he resigned in order to accept the presidency of the Perfect Gas Stove Manufacturing Company. After two years he sold his interest in this firm and, after buying Jarrett & Kehoe's shoe business, opened the Dia- mond Shoe Store, now at 215 Capitol street, which is considered one of the finest retail shoe houses in the state. In February, 1909. Mr. Geary built and opened the Fleetwood Hotel, at 219 Capitol street, and in July, 1910, took charge of and became sole proprietor of the Elk Hotel, at the Kanawha and Michigan railroad station. On October 26, 1912, with an associate. R. L. Walker, he opened to the public one of the finest depart-

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ment stores in West Virginia. This was formerly a business conducted by Starrett Brothers. As reorganized under the new management, the store has been entirely refitted and stocked with the choicest goods that New York and other eastern markets can afford, and the opening, on Oc- tober 26, 1912, was one of the notable local events, one which will be long remembered. The style of the present firm is Walker, Geary & Company.

Mr. Geary is also the owner of some valuable real estate in Charles- ton, and is interested in rich oil leases in the Blue Creek oil regions. These properties and various other business enterprises give ample scope to the energy and ability which are the keynotes to Mr. Geary's character, and his success in his various undertakings has given him place in the foremost rank of the younger business men of his city.

CHILD The Child family which later was found in Mobile, Ala- bama, came originally from New England, George Gilbert Child having been born at Higganum, Middlesex county, Connecticut. He died at the age of seventy-two in Mobile, having been engaged there in the cotton business throughout his life-time.

(II) George Gilbert (2), son of George Gilbert ( I) Child, was born in Mobile, in 1839, and is, at the age of seventy-three years ( 1912), liv- ing retired in Staunton, Virginia. He also was engaged for a number of years in the cotton business, and at the same time largely interested in banking. When the war broke out between the states, he entered the Confederate army, and served throughout the entire period with the Fifty-fifth Alabama Regiment. He married Christine, born in Mobile, in 1839, daughter of Cæsar De Pras, who had come from the island of San Domingo, in the West Indies, and had settled in Mobile. She died in 1907 at the age of sixty-eight. George Gilbert (2) and Christine (De Pras) Child were the parents of four children, all of whom are living: Gilbert, born in 1862, a salesman in Charleston, West Virginia ; John Ce- cil, of whom further ; Latham, born 1868, a merchant at Stuart's Draft, Virginia ; and Annie De Pras, widow of Junius R. Fishburne, who lives at Staunton, Virginia.

(III) John Cecil, son of George Gilbert (2) and Christine (De Pras) Child, was born February 14, 1864, at Mobile, Alabama. When he was four years old he was brought by his parents to Staunton, Virginia, and liere he passed his boyhood, and gained his elementary education in the schools of the town. He then went to Lexington, Virginia, and entered the engineering school of Washington and Lee University, receiving his degree in 1887. His first work when he left college and entered upon the active practice of engineering was with the Baltimore and Ohio rail- road, and the Central Georgia railroad. A year later he came to Elmo, West Virginia, July 4, 1888, and took up the work of a mining engineer. He remained there for a year, and then went to Thurmond, Fayette county, West Virginia, remaining there also for one year. He then formed a connection with the Otto Marmet Coal & Mining Company of Putnam county, West Virginia, an association which lasted eleven years. In 1906 he came to Charleston, and establishing himself there has since built up an important and extensive engineering business. Mr. Child is a member of the Masonic order and is affiliated with the Presbyterian church.

He married, June 25, 1895, at Paterson, New Jersey, Madeline Ward, born in Lancashire, England. Her parents were Charles and Jane (Nor- bury) Ward, who had come from England and settled in New Jersey. Mr. Ward was a silk weaver. Mr. and Mrs. Child have two sons : John

Edmund Schon

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Ward, born August 8, 1896, at Raymond City, West Virginia, and now attending the Charleston High School ; George Gilbert, Jr., born Novem- ber 17, 1898, also in a public school in Charleston.

BUTTS Shannon Butt, the first member of this family of whom we have any definite information, emigrated from England and settled in Botetourt county, Virginia. He later removed to Monroe county, where he died aged fifty-two years. He spelled his name "Butt," and his brother was the father of Major Archibald Butt, inilitary aide to President Taft, who perished in the disaster to the "Ti- tanic" in the spring of 1912. He married a Miss Reece. Among his children was A. Henry, referred to below.

(II) Dr. A. Henry Butts, son of Shannan and - (Reece) Butt, was born in Newell county, Virginia, about 1834, died there February 7, 1906, aged seventy-two years. He was a physician and served as a surgeon in the Confederate army throughout the civil war. After the close of hostilities he returned to his home and remained in active prac- tice of his profession until his death. He married Mattie, born in Pales- tine, Greenbrier county, West Virginia, about 1844, now living in Charles- ton, West Virginia, daughter of Charles Hines. Children : Hettie, mar- ried B. F. Kebler, M. D., now living in Dayton, Virginia; Charles S., a physician, now living in Newport News, Virginia: J. Fleetwood, a sur- geon dentist, now living in Charleston, West Virginia; Frank R., re- ferred to below; Mary, married W. W. McDonough, a surgeon dentist, now living in Oklahoma.

(III) Dr. Frank R. Butts, son of Dr. A. Henry and Mattie (Hines) Butts, was born in Greenville, West Virginia, July 9, 1873. He received his early education in the public schools and in the Shenandoah Institute at Shenandoah, Virginia. He then removed to Kansas City, Missouri, and entered the drug business, in which he remained for eight years, when he took up the study of dentistry at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, Maryland, from which he graduated in 1902. He then settled in Charleston, West Virginia, where he is now living and actively prac- ticing his profession. He is independent in his political views, voting for principal irrespective of party. He is a Presbyterian in religion, and is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He married, in Bushville, Maryland, September 10, 1902, Edna, born in Carter, Ohio. daughter of J. E. and Anna Oglesby. Her parents are still living in Car- negie, Pennsylvania.

John Leicester Sehon, first member of this family about SEHON whom we have definite information, was born in Hardy county, Virginia. Afterward having removed to Clarks- burg, he was there clerk of the court. He married Fanny Waggener, of Berkeley county, Virginia. Child: John Leicester (2), of whom fur- ther.

(II) John Leicester (2), son of John Leicester (1) and Fanny (Waggener) Sehon, was born at Clarksburg. He was a farmer. He married, in 1823, Agnes, daughter of Colonel Andrew and Margaret Lynn (Stuart) Lewis, who was born in Mason county, Virginia, in 1805 (see Lewis IV). Children : Fanny ; Margaret Lynn, married Valentine Horton ; Andrew Lewis; John Leicester; Sarah Elizabeth ; Stuart: Co- lumbus, born May 3, 1841, married Agnes Lewis; Edmund, of whom further ; Agnes.

(III) Edmund, son of John Leicester (2) and Agnes (Lewis) Sehon,

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was born in Mason county, Virginia, September 14, 1843. His education was received at West Chester and Chester, Pennsylvania, he attending the Pennsylvania academy. Being admitted to the bar he practiced law for ten years, in Greenbrier and Mercer counties, West Virginia, from 1860 to 1870, after that year in Mason county, West Virginia. But in 1892 he removed to Huntington, West Virginia, and organized the whole- sale grocery business of Sehon, Stevenson and Company, which has since that time been his principal business. While still living in Mason county, Mr. Sehon had been secretary of the Kanawha Lumber and Furniture Company. He has always been a Democrat. From 1868 to 1870 he was prosecuting attorney for Greenbrier and Mercer counties. In 1872 he was appointed director of the penitentiary, and served four years; he held the same position also from 1880 to 1884. In 1875 he was elected to the state legislature. He and his family are members of the Episcopal church.

He married, in Greenbrier county, June 30, 1870, Elizabeth Jane, daughter of William Robertson and Lucy Ann Margaret ( Bradford) Stuart, who was born in Greenbrier county, February 20, 1845. Her father was a Greenbrier county farmer. Children : Lucy, born Septem- ber 2, 1874, married John M. McCoach; John Leicester, September 23, 1876, married Lillian Gragard ; Bessie, February 4, 1879, married Mor- gan Nelson Cecil.

(The Lewis Line. )

Besides the name Lewis, there are similar French and German names, Louis and Ludwig respectively, the former of which has often been changed into Lewis by Frenchmen settling in England. It is possible that all the Lewises were originally French, the name being equivalent to Louis ; it is stated that the name Louis is found in France centuries be- fore Lewis in England. Nevertheless, there is said to be a Welsh name Liew, meaning light, found among the Britons who fought the Romans before the coming of our Lord. The names Louis and Lewis are really much too common to allow of probable proof of unity of origin. The name Lewis is borne by many large families in England and Wales, and it is asserted that this name was as common, by comparison, in Wales, for several centuries before the discovery of America, as Smith is in the United States to-day. A large number of families of this name have emigrated from Great Britain to all parts of the United States, and their descendants are numerous. There is, however, some reason to believe that two of the Virginia Lewis immigrants were closely related, and that the present ancestor was of the same Welsh family stock as they. While there are some traditional errors, some confusions, some uncertainties, about the Virginia Lewises,-as the story that they are descended from three brothers, sons of a French Huguenot refugee who settled in Eng- land and was made a field marshal in the English army, an earl and a baron, but who, in fact, died without issue,-the genealogy of this family is happily much better preserved and much clearer than that of all but a very few southern families. While it is not certainly known that the present family is connected by origin with any of the other Virginian families of the same name, the members of these families have always claimed relationship, and marriages between the posterity of this immi- grant and the posterities of others named Lewis have been so frequent that the families are now largely merged.

(I) Andrew Lewis, the first member of this family about whom we have certain information, lived in Ireland. He married Mary Calhoun (or Calahan). Children : At least two sons, including John, of whom further.

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(II) John, son of Andrew and Mary (Calhoun ) Lewis, the immi- grant, was born in Donegal county, Ireland, in 1678, died near Staunton, Augusta county, Virginia, February 1, 1762. In Ireland he was a pros- perous and respected esquire, holding a freehold lease for three lives of a valuable farm, and having tenants under him. In self-defense he killed his landlord. On account of the difference of station and of influence, it was judged prudent that he should flee the country, although he is said to have sent a statement of the affair to the authorities. He fled in dis- guise, and took a ship for Oporto, Portugal, where his wife's brother was a merchant. He arrived at Oporto in 1729, and remained there only a short time, a few years at most. His first American settlement was in Pennsylvania, whence, in 1732, he came into the unbroken wilderness of Augusta county, then embracing the greater part of northwestern Vir- ginia. Of this whole region, "Irish John" Lewis, as he was called, was strictly the pioneer. His coming was probably to escape detection and arrest, on account of his trouble in Ireland ; later, however, it is stated, a pardon was given him in Great Britain, and the King granted him a large portion of western Virginia. John Lewis came into this beautiful, but then wild, region as a member of the party of Joist Hite, which was formed to settle on the forty thousand acres granted, two years before, to the Van Meters, by warrant from the governor of Virginia. As the first white settler of the later Augusta county, though the region was then part of Orange county, he seems to have been the leader, and practically the law-giver, of the community which soon grew up about him. He seems to have been a man of culture and literary taste, and it is evident that this early forest community had much of this character. He was a man of courage, industry, wisdom and excellent morals. His wisdom was sufficient not to try to do everything by himself, but select suitable helpers. He had evidently not been impoverished by his flight from Ire- land ; on the contrary, he was a man of wealth and given to hospitality. A token of his foresight and energy is shown by his urging and obtaining, at that very early day. the widening and improvement of the road to Goochland. "Meeting-houses" were early established. John Lewis' first settlement was made a mile east of the present site of Staunton, and he called the place "Bellefonte," a name which shows both his scholarship and his appreciation of scenic beauty. He built a stone dwelling, which formed one side of Fort Lewis. By 1738 there were clearly a number of inhabitants west of the mountains. In 1745 the new county of Au- gusta was formed, and Mr. Lewis was one of the first magistrates and at the head of the court. He was also the founder of the town of Staunton, at the time of the organization of Augusta county. He married Mar- garet Lynn, said to have been daughter of a Scotch laird, born July 3. 1693, died near Staunton, in 1773. Children, all except the last born in Ireland : 1. Samuel, born in 1716, died unmarried. 2. Thomas, of whom further. 3. Andrew, born in June, 1720, died in 1781 ; married, in 1749. Elizabeth Givens: was the commanding officer at the battle of Point Pleasant, and served as brigadier-general in the early part of the revolu- tion : many members of the continental congress, including John Adams, had favored his selection as commander-in-chief of the revolutionary forces, and Washington held him in high estimation for his abilities and merits. 4. William, born November 17. 1724, died in November, 1811 : married, April 8. 1754, Anne Montgomery. 5. Margaret, born in 1726, died unmarried. 6. Anne, born in 1728. died unmarried. 7. Charles, of whom further.

(III) Thomas, son of John and Margaret (Lynn) Lewis, was born in Ireland, April 27, 1718. Being short-sighted he was less prominent in Indian warfare than the other brothers. He was colonial surveyor of

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Augusta county ; a member of the house of burgesses; a member of the Virginia convention of 1776; and, in 1777, one of the commissioners of the confederation, to treat with the Indian tribes who had been defeated at Point Pleasant. He was a man of much learning and ability, and his library was one of the largest and best in the colony. He married, Janu- ary 26, 1749, Jane, daughter of William Strother, of Stafford county, Virginia. Children : 1. John, born November 1, 1749, died unmarried. 2. Margaret Anne, born July 5, 1751 ; married (first) McClanahan, (second) William Bowyer. 3. Agatha, of whom further. 4. Jane, born .August 8, 1755, died in 1790; married Thomas Hughes. 5. Andrew, born October 16, 1757, died unmarried, in 1810. 6. Thomas, born January 26, 1700, died in 1847; unmarried. 7. Mary, born August 5, 1762, died in 1829; married John McElhany. 8. Elizabeth, born January 24, 1765; married, in 1783, Thomas Meriwether Gilmer. 9. Anne, born October 8, 1767: married (first) Douthat. (second) French. 10. Frances, born May 17, 1769, died in 1845; married Layton Yancey. II. Charles, born November 8, 1772, died in 1832; married - - Yancey. 12. Sophia, born October 18, 1775: married John Carthrae. 13. William Benjamin, born August 8, 1778, died in 1842; married M. Hite.

(III) Colonel Charles Lewis, son of John and Margaret (Lynn) Lewis, was born in Virginia, in what was afterward Augusta county, March I, 1736, died October 10, 1774.

In the colonial army he was a favorite officer, and one of the most skillful in border warfare. Once he was captured by the In- dians, and escaped by outrunning them. The battle of Point Pleasant, in which he met his death, was one of the greatest of frontier battles, remarkable in the personnel of each side, and in its is- sues. The penumbra of the revolution was over the country, and Eng- lish agents were, at least so it is supposed, already dealing with the In- dians, to secure their support in the coming troubles for the crown and against the colonists. A defeat at Point Pleasant would have gravely weakened the strength of the colonists; hence this battle has been re- garded as the first struggle of the revolution, and as surpassing in real significance any of the revolutionary contests except Sarotoga and York- town. The Indians, who threatened the settlers beyond the mountains, were the very flower of their race. No fair man can read today without shame and indignation of the actions of many of the early white settlers, whether in Virginia or New York, who even long after the revolution surpassed in treachery and cruelty the worst of which the red men were accused. The principal Indian leader in the battle of Point Pleasant stands out in history as honorable for military ability, humanity and character ; and a few years after the battle, when he was disposed to accept the inevitable and to be a faithful friend of the whites, he was foully murdered. This was Chief Cornstalk, and other Indian leaders of distinction were associated with him. Perhaps no other battle between white men and Indians has been so stubbornly fought, nor on so nearly equal terms. Colonel Charles Lewis with three hundred men formed the right line of the colonial army, and met the Indians at sunrise; his brother, General Andrew Lewis, was leader of the whole colonial army. Colonel Charles Lewis sustained the first attack and was mortally wounded in the first fire; he died soon after being carried to the rear. The battle lasted nearly all day ; it was terminated by an attack on the Indians from the rear. Chief Cornstalk, who had opposed the war, shortly afterward on behalf of the Indians arranged terms of peace, the other chiefs, who had formerly overruled his judgment, seeing the hope- lessness of further fighting. It is notable that this great battle was fought on lands which Brigadier-General Lewis had patented two years

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before, and which had been surveyed for him by George Washington. Colonel Charles Lewis and others who died in the battle were buried on the point between the Ohio and Kanawha rivers. The remains of Colo- nel Lewis have, however, been removed. Lewis county, now in West Virginia, is named for him. Colonel Charles Lewis married Sarah Mur- ray, of Bath county, Virginia, born August 1, 1743, half-sister of Colo- nel Cameron, of the same county. Children : I. Elizabeth, born, October 17, 1762, died unmarried. 2. Margaret, born March 29, 1765: married Pryor. 3. John, born November 4, 1766, died in 1843 : married Ra- chel Miller. 4. Mary, born November 10, 1768, died unmarried. 5. Thomas, born February 25, 1771, died unmarried. 6. Andrew, of whom further. 7. Charles, born September 11, 1774, died in 1803: married, in 1798, Jane Dickinson.

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West Virginia and its people, Volume II, Part 9

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